Intel Remains Committed to Desktop GPUs as New Battlemage Models Emerge in Shipping Records

Intel is steadfast in its mission to make waves in the discrete GPU sector. Recent shipping manifests have pulled back the curtain on some exciting developments, including progress on a new Battlemage GPU and a somewhat mysterious new SKU.

Intel’s Shift: Unveiling the Battlemage "BMG-G31" for Potential AI and Professional Work

Last year, Intel caught us off guard with the introduction of two exciting Battlemage GPUs—the Arc B580 and B570. These GPUs garnered significant attention at the time, primarily because NVIDIA and AMD were yet to launch their next-generation solutions. As we approach the end of the second quarter, Intel has remained quiet about its plans for desktop GPUs, giving some the impression that they might have stepped back. However, fresh insights from shipping documents are telling a different story.

A recent shipping manifest mentions a new addition, the "BMG-G31," which appears to be a more advanced silicon than what the current Battlemage lineup offers. This variant is rumored to boast around 24-32 Xe2 cores, a 256-bit memory bus, and 16 GB of GDDR6 memory. Despite rumors swirling online about the BMG-G31 being potentially canceled with no consumer market release in sight, Intel seems to be steering this model towards research and development, with a focus on AI and professional workloads.

Image Credits: @GawroskiT

In addition, there’s chatter about a bizarrely named variant—the BMG "C32." The name is puzzling since it appears to mesh Battlemage and Celestial initials. According to the details, this could very well be part of the Battlemage series, possibly as a reimagined version of the "BMG-G31." The word from tech commentator @mikdt suggests that Intel is indeed working on multiple Battlemage variants. However, it remains unclear if they are targeting the consumer desktop market.

Observing Intel’s strategy for its discrete GPU lineup will be intriguing, especially since the company is currently developing the Xe3 "Celestial" architecture, which is set to integrate with Panther Lake SoCs. With Intel’s new CEO pushing the company towards AI-focused solutions, it’s likely that Team Blue’s upcoming GPUs will be tuned for AI-centric applications.