During an interview at CES 2024, Intel’s Tom Petersen revealed some intriguing details about the company’s upcoming next-generation Arc GPUs. Confirming the earlier reports, Petersen stated that the Arc Battlemage Xe2 GPUs are on track for a 2024 release. He added that 30% of the software team is already working on preparing initial support for the discrete and integrated lineup that will accompany the new graphics cards and iGPUs.
Petersen did not reveal much about the Battlemage Xe2 GPUs, but he hinted at a possible release before CES 2025, suggesting a target release window within the second half of 2024. This is certainly exciting news for gamers eagerly awaiting Intel’s new GPU offerings.
In addition to the Battlemage Xe2 GPUs, Petersen also mentioned that the hardware team is devoting their efforts to the development of the next big thing for Intel: the Arc Celestial Xe3 GPU family. These GPUs are expected to arrive in 2025, alongside the Panther Lake CPUs, as both iGPUs and discrete GPU options for mobile and desktop products.
Moving beyond GPUs, Petersen also discussed the potential of Intel’s Neural Processing Unit (NPU) architecture. While NPUs have primarily been used for facial and voice recognition applications, Petersen suggested that they could be leveraged for more advanced tasks in gaming, such as character manipulation. This could open up new possibilities for lifelike human animations in games, similar to NVIDIA’s ACE (Avatar Cloud Engine).
Lastly, Petersen touched on the benefits of a disaggregated chiplet-based design for future Intel products. This approach offers cost advantages and enables the creation of chips that were previously unfeasible due to limitations imposed by monolithic designs. While Petersen couldn’t disclose specific details about Intel’s plans in this area, he acknowledged that the company is closely following the trend toward chiplet and multi-tile architectures.
With Intel’s upcoming Arc GPUs, advancements in NPU technology, and potential innovations in chiplet-based designs, it’s clear that Intel is making significant strides in the gaming and computing industries. Gamers and technology enthusiasts can look forward to an exciting future with Intel’s latest offerings.