Intel Battlemage G10 and G21 next-gen discrete GPUs seen in shipping manifests — expected to address entry to mid-range market

Intel Arc A580 spotted
(Image credit: Intel)

Just as Intel said, it is indeed working on its next-generation discrete graphics processors codenamed Battlemage (and we already know it from the horse's mouth). Based on excerpts from shipping manifests published by @momomo_us, the company is working on at least two graphics processing units.  

The excerpts from shipping manifests reveal that Intel is working on both Battlemage G10 and Battlemage G21 discrete GPUs. Intel's current lineup of graphics processors includes ACM-G11 (entry-level) and ACM-G10 (midrange in terms of market positioning, higher-end in terms of silicon) graphics processors. Based on the existing nomenclature of Intel's Arc graphics processors, Battlemage-G10 will thus be the bigger silicon, with Battlemage-G21 as the smaller chip aimed at entry-level systems. Assuming that both offer decent performance levels, they may well end up in our list of the best graphics cards.

A shipping manifest

(Image credit: @momomo_us/Twitter)

Based on the shipping manifest, both the Battlemage-G10 and the Battlemage-G21 are shipped for R&D purposes (which is pretty much what one would expect for these devices at this point). Meanwhile, the G21 GPU exists in the pre-qualification (pre-QS) phase of silicon, but there is no mention of the G10's status. 

Pre-qualification silicon is used to validate the functionality and reliability of a chip and assess performance levels. Pre-QS silicon is typically not qualified for mass production. Yet if the silicon device is functioning and meets performance, power, and yield criteria, it may well be mass-produced. For example, AMD's Navi 31 GPU is mass-produced in its A0 silicon phase, which assumes that it met the targets set by the developer.

We frequently report on Nvidia's progress, most recently with the GeForce RTX 50-series graphics processors that promise to end up in our best graphics cards list based on industry leaks, but we rarely get to report on Intel's progress with its next-generation graphics cards. Today we had an opportunity to do so. 

While Nvidia seems to have a clean sweep on the discrete GPU market for laptops in this generation, Battlemage — given Intel's relationships with PC makers and OEMs — could pose some serious competition to the green team in the next round. What happens on the desktop discrete GPU market is about to be seen, but the shipment manifest indicates that we are going to have quite a battle there with AMD's RDNA 4, Intel's Battlemage, and Nvidia's Blackwell.

Anton Shilov
Contributing Writer

Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.

  • Notton
    Here is to hoping they are more viable than last gen.
    Reply
  • thisisaname
    Notton said:
    Here is to hoping they are more viable than last gen.
    It was not one of the best but it was a very good start, I just hope they build on it and make a lot better one. They also need to end the rumours they are stopping dGPU development and commit to it.
    I'm not going to be looking to buy any of the next generation (picked up a nice gaming laptop this generation) but generation after I could be interested.
    Reply
  • rluker5
    I want to hear more. If I were to upgrade anything this year it would be my A750 in the living room.
    Reply
  • atomicWAR
    thisisaname said:
    It was not one of the best but it was a very good start, I just hope they build on it and make a lot better one. They also need to end the rumours they are stopping dGPU development and commit to it.
    Yeah I was impressed with Intel's first attempt even if I wouldn't have touched one of their GPUs with a ten foot pole due to being a 144hz 4K gamer. And your dead on the money that Intel needs to kill the rumors they are leaving the dedicated GPU market. As you said they need to commit. They also need to do a good job convincing gamers that its not all PR/marketing speak. Another thing they need to do is be able to challenge Nvidia and AMD on the high end in a more timely fashion. I hear rumors they'll hit 4070 levels of performance but that at the cusp of the 5000 series dropping from Nvidia looks weak. I know pricing is king here but being late to market doesn't inspire a lot of user confidence.
    Reply
  • ilukey77
    Notton said:
    Here is to hoping they are more viable than last gen.
    actually the ARC770 16gb was more viable than some of the 8gb rubbish AMD and Nvidia spewed out ..

    My 7900xtx Red Devil had a incident with one melting plug so ive been using my all intel 14600kf and ARC770 build for a few weeks and it has performed perfectly ..

    Been playing nightingale at 70 fps 4k ultra no issues ..

    Think im going to re build my main using a 5090 and 9000x3d cpu and sit on it for a few gens when everything comes out !!

    But i will be closely watching Intel GPU's as they have done great this first gen and i dont see why they wont continue to do so !!

    If they can beat the 5090 in the next few gens ill move to intel GPU's no doubts !!
    Reply
  • gg83
    ilukey77 said:
    actually the ARC770 16gb was more viable than some of the 8gb rubbish AMD and Nvidia spewed out ..

    My 7900xtx Red Devil had a incident with one melting plug so ive been using my all intel 14600kf and ARC770 build for a few weeks and it has performed perfectly ..

    Been playing nightingale at 70 fps 4k ultra no issues ..

    Think im going to re build my main using a 5090 and 9000x3d cpu and sit on it for a few gens when everything comes out !!

    But i will be closely watching Intel GPU's as they have done great this first gen and i dont see why they wont continue to do so !!

    If they can beat the 5090 in the next few gens ill move to intel GPU's no doubts !!
    That will probably cost close to $5,000 just for those two components.
    Reply
  • ilukey77
    gg83 said:
    That will probably cost close to $5,000 just for those two components.
    probably closer to 6k aud but i wont be buying anything for a few years after that ..
    Reply
  • jlake3
    ilukey77 said:
    But i will be closely watching Intel GPU's as they have done great this first gen and i dont see why they wont continue to do so !!
    The A770 used a bigger die on a more advanced node then the then-current 3070Ti. Production date codes show they built a mountain of cards months ahead of launch while they tried to fix the drivers, leading to credible rumors that this was not the intended positioning or pricing but something they were forced into. Intel started hiding Arc’s numbers in their financials, which has fueled the rumor that Alchemist sales aren’t anywhere near covering R&D of future products.

    Selling big dies for cheap and using profit from other products to plug the gaping hole in the R&D budget might work out okay for buyers for one generation, but it’s not a sign Arc is doing great and is assured to keep doing great.

    I’d love to see a third competitor, I even bought an A380 to fiddle with, but I’m worried for their continued presence in the gaming/consumer dGPU space.
    Reply
  • Notton
    ilukey77 said:
    actually the ARC770 16gb was more viable than some of the 8gb rubbish AMD and Nvidia spewed out
    Yeah, the only thing keeping me from using the A770 are the drivers and just the general pricing of 16GB cards.
    It is definitely the cheapest 16GB card, but they are all way too expensive for the performance they offer.
    Reply
  • Eximo
    If the 4070 like performance rumors are true, I will probably get the top-spec Battlemage card just for fun. Would be a complete side-grade but I have had some fun messing with my A380 so far.

    With any luck the driver improvements will keep on rolling out and it will be card that ages well. Much like the Radeon drivers of old.
    Reply