Intel seemingly has plans to expand its current Battlemage lineup with three new GPU models spotted through the grapevine. Information is few and far between, but from what we gather, it could position Team Blue a bit better across the wider market.
The brand has added three PCI IDs inside its Linux drivers, hinting that more GPUs are on the horizon. Since these new IDs are different, listed as E21x instead of E20x, they could be based on a completely different silicon. Like how the DG2-512 chip powers the A700 and A500 series cards and the DG2-128 powers the A300 and Pro A series.
These could become B380, B350, and B310 cards, or maybe a Pro variant like with the Alchemist architecture, but we can’t be sure for now. Previous rumours claimed that Intel is considering a 24GB Arc graphics card powered by a Battlemage GPU, so it looks like the sky’s the limit. Though unlikely, these could also be some OEM (original equipment manufacturer) or test designs that won’t find home in DIY consumer products. Only time will tell.
To date, Intel has only released two models, in the form of Arc B580 and Arc B570. Both are mid to entry-level solutions covering the $200 segment. In other words, there’s a lot of room to cover provided that Battlemage has some performance left on the table. After all, we are nearing two months after B580’s launch, yet many users are still complaining about store availability.
Thankfully recent leaks indicate that Battlemage architecture hasn’t said its final word as a G21 chip has been spotted in a shipping manifest. Its clamshell design means that these could be high VRAM versions of existing or upcoming cards, tailored towards users who want a little extra graphics quality and future-proofness. For reference, this is the same GPU used by Arc B580.
With that in mind, Intel’s next-gen Celestial architecture is already well-advanced, completely done hardware-wise. But before that, the brand still has time to launch a higher-tier GPU to show the true capabilities of its architecture. While some gave Alchemist a pass despite all its issues, Intel must prove itself this time – make or break.
