The launch of Intel’s first own desktop graphics cards was bumpy, but there is much to suggest that things will continue to go uphill in the future
For a long time, there was only AMD (or ATI) and Nvidia when it came to desktop graphics cards. This changed at the end of 2022 with the first Arc graphics cards. However, the launch didn’t go really smoothly, which raised doubts among some about Intel’s staying power in this area
Over a year later, a recent interview with PC World once again makes it clear that Intel has come to stay – something AMD and Nvidia will probably not be so happy to hear (via Videocardz.com).
What statements are involved? Tom Petersen from Intel, who was still employed by competitor Nvidia until 2019, talks about the next generation and the generation after next of Arc graphics cards, among other things, in the interview with PC World below.
He not only confirms that the hardware design of the next generation Battlemage has already been more or less finalized, but also that work is already underway on its successor, Celestial.
Battlemage: The focus is on the software
According to Petersen, around 30 percent of the desktop graphics card team is working on Battlemage, most of which is focused on the software.
This is such an important aspect because the existing potential of Intel GPUs cannot always be exploited in games due to certain driver problems.
As a result, there have been several major driver updates for the Arc GPUs over the past year, some of which have resulted in massive leaps in performance in certain titles
Petersen announces even more good news for Battelmage, but he can’t talk about it at the moment. However, he does give a rough release timeframe: He hopes that the next Intel graphics cards will be released by the end of 2024 (or before CES 2025).
Celestial employs the majority of the team
With Battlemage’s hardware design seemingly mostly finalized, it’s no surprise that the rest of the GPU team, or rather the hardware team, is fully occupied with work on the third-generation Arc Celestial
Admittedly, it remains completely uncertain for the time being what leaps in performance Intel will be able to achieve with the upcoming Arc generations and how they will fare, especially in the duel with the next GPUs from AMD (RX 8000) and Nvidia (RTX 5000).
From a gamer’s point of view, however, it is very welcome that Intel continues to take the topic of desktop graphics cards seriously and wants to make life as difficult as possible for AMD and Nvidia.
While new Intel GPUs are still some way off, fresh Nvidia graphics cards are just around the corner.
What’s your opinion on Intel’s Arc graphics cards, both in terms of the models already released and what’s to come in the future? Are they serious competition for AMD and Nvidia? Is there still too much of a problem with the software? Or do you also feel that the hardware is not competitive (enough)? Let us know in the comments!
