Intel GPU process planning reveals
As Intel’s new high-performance gaming graphics card brand, Intel Arc is inaugurating its product lineup with the Alchemist card (DG2). According to Intel’s previously announced development plan, the Alchemist will be followed by Battlemage, Celestial, and Druid, spanning four generations of products. Distinct from its predecessors, the fourth-generation Druid will adopt a novel Xe architecture to supplant the original Xe-HPG architecture.
Wccftech reports that a product list aggregating completed and ongoing projects from Intel engineers on LinkedIn confirms Intel’s upcoming GPU fabrication plans. These plans encompass both discrete GPUs and integrated GPU modules, with all manufacturing being outsourced to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).
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Apart from the extant ACM-G10 and ACM-G11, the first-generation Alchemist lineup includes an unreleased ACM-G12 chip, which may potentially feature in this year’s product line refresh. Intel’s recent optimization endeavors have yielded appreciable performance enhancements. Coupled with promotional discounts, the Alchemist graphics cards now offer an excellent price-performance ratio, becoming an attractive option for mainstream gamers.
The next-generation Battlemage holds significant importance for Intel and is slated for release next year, with an anticipated 4nm or more advanced manufacturing process. Celestial, on the other hand, is expected to launch in the second half of 2026, utilizing a 3nm or more advanced fabrication process. The release timeline for these two GPUs suggests a two-year update cycle for Intel GPUs.
A recently leaked product plan from Intel engineers reveals that both Battlemage and Celestial will feature Xe2/3-HPG architectures for discrete graphics cards and Xe2/3-LPG architectures for integrated graphics. The Xe2-LPG architecture will be employed in Lunar Lake, likely adopting a 3nm process, while Xe3-LPG architecture will be used in Panther Lake. Discrete GPUs will precede the integrated GPU modules found in processors. As Intel introduces modular designs in processors, future GPU modules will also be dubbed “tGPUs.”
Moreover, the Alchemist’s corresponding Xe-LPG architecture GPU module has not yet materialized in integrated processor graphics. However, it is expected to appear in this year’s Meteor Lake, likely employing a 5nm manufacturing process and featuring 128 EUs. The subsequent Arrow Lake will retain the same GPU architecture, though the number of EUs will increase to 192.
