Potential Specs For Intel's Next Arc Battlemage GPU Spotted
Back at Computex, Intel announced a trio of Pro GPUs based on its Battlemage GPU architecture—the same that powers the popular Arc B570 and B580 GPUs. One of those cards was essentially an Arc B580 with 24GB of VRAM onboard, and one of them was a dual-chip version of the same. The third card, the Arc B50 Pro, is a smaller GPU than anything Intel had announced for the Arc B-series. Enthusiasts lamented that the Arc B50 Pro and its 16GB of VRAM would probably be overkill for the reason they wanted it: a current-generation, low-profile, slot-powered GPU that still has a fully modern feature set.
Well, those enthusiasts' prayers may be answered soon. Lasse Kärkkäinen (@LasseKrkkinen on X, also known as Nappe1) spotted a change to the Mesa open-source project that adds support for a heretofore unseen configuration of Arc Battlemage. Strictly speaking, we don't know any of the specifications for sure, but we do know that the new card, if it comes to market, would be based on the same BMG-G21 GPU as the extant Arc B570 and Arc B580, so it's not the hotly-anticipated "Big Battlemage" GPU.
Wielding Occam's razor, we can pare down the possibilities to the most plausible explanation: this is a consumer-focused version of the Arc B50 Pro. That's exactly what Kärkkäinen posits, and we agree. While it's not super exciting for gamers—16 Xe cores is fewer than the 18 of the B570 and the 20 of the B580—this card could be a highly-affordable single-slot, low-profile GPU. That's a pretty thin market these days, as GPUs have improved largely through ballooning die areas and power budgets.
Indeed, browsing Amazon for single-slot graphics cards brings some some truly dire results. GeForce GT 610 cards, Radeon RX 550 cards, GeForce GT 1030 cards, and even some creaky old GeForce GT 210s. Even the much-reviled Radeon RX 6400 would be better than this, but those cards are nowhere to be seen. Your best option is almost assuredly the $109 Sparkle Arc A310 ECO, as Intel is already the company doing the best job of serving the slot-powered GPU market. Still, a newer Battlemage-based GPU would be both faster and more efficient.
Today's leak doesn't tell us anything concrete about any particular product that Intel may launch, but we're hoping for an attractively-priced dedicated GPU with competent eSports gaming and video processing performance that fits comfortably into a single slot and doesn't require an extra power connector. That would be extremely welcome in the modern wasteland of low-power graphics cards.
