Intel’s Shift in Strategy: Battlemage GPUs to Focus Solely on Desktops and Workstations

At the beginning of CES 2024, Intel researcher Tom Peterson, in an interview with the media, revisited the much-anticipated new generation of “Battlemage” discrete graphics cards. He reaffirmed that the new products, utilizing the Xe2-HPG architecture, are set to launch in 2024. Unlike the Alchemist series based on the Xe architecture, Battlemage will be streamlined into two architectures: Xe2-LPG for integrated graphics and Xe2-HPG for discrete graphics. This approach aims to simplify driver development, reduce costs, and enhance compatibility.

Recently, Moore’s Law is Dead reported that Intel plans to narrow the scope of Battlemage’s application. The company does not intend to release Battlemage discrete cards for mobile devices, such as those using the MXM interface. Instead, these products will be limited to desktop and workstation systems. Nowadays, laptop manufacturers increasingly prefer to solder GPU chips directly onto the motherboard. The independent card format is gradually becoming obsolete. Even the most powerful gaming laptops no longer use MXM-spec discrete graphics cards, prioritizing space efficiency and enhanced cooling.

Intel’s Arc A series of mobile graphics cards have not been particularly popular, seeming to find more use in mini PCs. Even laptops that do utilize Arc A series mobile graphics cards have them directly soldered onto the motherboard. Due to the lukewarm reception of the Arc A series mobile graphics cards, Intel may reduce the application range of the new generation Battlemage on mobile platforms.

Additionally, there are rumors that Intel plans to eliminate the flagship BMG-G10 chip within Battlemage, retaining only the smaller-scale BMG-G21 chip. The former features 56 Xe cores with 16GB of GDDR6 memory and a 256-bit bandwidth; the latter has 40 Xe cores, a 192-bit bandwidth, and performance estimated between RTX 4060 Ti and RTX 4070.