Intel isn’t giving up on desktop graphics cards after Battlemage, as rumor claims 3rd-gen Celestial GPUs are still coming

3rd-gen Arc GPUs still inbound, claims new leak – even before 2nd-gen cards arrive

News By Darren Allan published 20 November 2024

• Intel is still planning for 3rd-gen desktop GPUs to follow Battlemage
• This dismisses other rumors that Intel may not make these desktop cards
• The truth is likely that Intel hasn’t yet fully made the decision itself

Intel’s Celestial graphics cards for the desktop, which will be the 3rd-gen of Arc GPUs, to follow Battlemage – the next-gen that’s imminent – are still being planned and worked on for the future.

That’s the latest word from the grapevine, courtesy of a well-known leaker on X, Bionic Squash.

As you can see, the leaker says that Intel still has plans for discrete GPUs (DGPUs), meaning desktop graphics cards, after the desktop models for Battlemage have been unleashed.

If the current run of rumors is correct, those Battlemage graphics cards could arrive in December, with one model being the B580 – possibly the top-of-the-range GPU – which was recently leaked.

Analysis: Some mixed messages from the rumor mill

You might be wondering: why would there be any concerns about Celestial, anyway? Well, in the recent past, there have been some suggestions that Intel might not have another generation of GPUs after Battlemage, or at least not desktop models – and that Celestial could be for integrated graphics only.

Bionic Squash seems pretty confident this isn’t the case, and recent hints appear to back that up. Intel is certainly working on Celestial already, and could even have radical plans for more powerful desktop GPUs in the 3rd generation, going by a recently spotted patent.

That said, Celestial GPUs of the desktop variety still haven’t turned up in leaks – it’s too early for that at this point – and some other recent chatter has suggested that Intel may be waiting to see how successful Battlemage is, before fully committing to discrete Celestial products. However, take that past rumor, and this new one, too, with plenty of caution.

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