Intel Arc Battlemage GPU Tipped For Beastly Core Upgrade And Over 3GHz Clocks
Rumors detailing several new specifications of Intel’s upcoming Battlemage GPU architecture have been published by RedGamingTech. The new rumors point toward Battlemage having double the core capacity on the top die compared to Intel’s Arc equivalent and will subsequently have GeForce RTX 4070 Ti to RTX 4080 grade performance on the flagship model. This is the first highly-detailed GPU leak we have seen for Battlemage to date. There have been previous rumors discussing Battlemage, but they have remained vague GPU specs and release dates. This latest rumor gives us highly detailed specifications on several fronts.
Battlemage will reportedly run on TSMC’s 4nm node and see a die shrink from 406mm to around 376mm - or a similar size to NVIDIA’s GA103 die. Along with the node and die shrink, Intel reportedly doubled the Xe core count on the top die from 32 Cores to 64 Cores; and the L2 cache is subsequently doubled to 48MB. Clock speeds will be increased significantly to 3GHz or beyond as well, probably in relation to the 4nm node shrink. The memory bus width will stay the same, at 256-bits wide, but Intel might use faster GDDR6X memory to compensate. Gaming versions of Battlemage are expected to launch around Q1 or Q2 of 2024, while data center versions are rumored to arrive in 2H of 2024.
Having RTX 4080-class performance would seriously increase Intel’s competitive prowess against NVIDIA and AMD. Intel would finally have a high-end offering and give the GPU market a 3rd high-end GPU option to choose from. It will also give Intel a chance to create more SKUs than what it has currently and segment the Battlemage lineup into several high-end, mid-range, and entry-level SKUs simultaneously.
However, if the rumors are true, then we will have to wait another year until we see RTX 4070 Ti/4080 performance from Intel. NVIDIA and AMD may have a refreshed lineup of GPUs by then, to further challenge Intel's Battlemage GPUs. But lately, we've been seeing two-year cycles between generations, without mid-cycle refreshes, so there is a chance Intel will have about a year of good competition with Battlemage before NVIDIA and AMD release their next-gen architectures.
