Need More VRAM? Intel May Launch An Arc Pro Battlemage GPU With 24GB
Intel earned itself some high praise for its Arc Battlemage B580 graphics card, which we dubbed a "mighty midrange gaming GPU" in our review. Not only is it relatively affordable at $249 (when you can find it in stock from a first-party seller, that is), but it boasts 12GB of GDDR6 memory. That's notable, given the blow back NVIDIA has received for equipping some its models with just 8GB of VRAM. Well, it turns out there could be a professional variant in the mix with even more video memory—twice as much.
That's according to a report by Quantum Bits (via Google Translate), which claims a "larger memory version" of Battlemage will make a 2025 debut. The site says it received an "insider tip" suggesting that Intel took note of the burgeoning market for artificial intelligence (AI) products and solutions, and adjusted its discrete GPU roadmap to include a Pro series model with 24GB of VRAM.
Meanwhile, X/Twitter user Tomasz Gawroński (@GawroskiT) had posted a screenshot of a purported shipping manifesto of a Battlemage GPU in clamshell form earlier this month, at the time positing that it could be a 32GB "killer AI card." In response to the new report, he commented, "Well, 2 weeks ago I saw B580 in clamshell, so 24GB may be true."
In the early going, Battlemage is exclusive to the mainstream consumer market. However, it's worth noting that Intel released a professional line of Arc Alchemist GPUs, both in desktop/workstation (Arc Pro A40, A50, and A60) and mobile/laptop form. Those Pro GPU solutions top out at 12GB of VRAM, on the Arc Pro A60.
Given the rise of AI and a second-generation GPU architecture, it's certainly conceivable that we'll see a 24GB Battlemage model for the Pro segment. The bigger question mark is which segment Intel will target, be it workstations or data centers. We shall see, but it wouldn't surprise us at all if this rumor ends being true.
