Friday, January 27th 2023
Intel's GPU Business AXG Split and Distributed to Client and Enterprise Businesses, Plans "Alchemist+" and "Battlemage" Launches Over Next 2 Years
Intel in its Q4-2022 Financial Results presentation confirmed that it has split Accelerated Computing Group (AXG), the business that designs both client GPUs and scalar compute processors, and distributed its IP among the CCG (client computing group), and DCAI (data-center and artificial-intelligence group). CCG is Intel's largest breadwinner, and the group behind its Intel Core client processors. This business was receiving iGPU IP from AXG, and will now oversee all its client graphics portfolio. The DCAI group will handle the company's Data Center GPU lineup, with products such as "Ponte Vecchio."
Over 2023, Intel is expected to update its Arc Graphics series with the refreshed "Alchemist+" graphics architecture. Very little is known about "Alchemist+," except that it is rumored to introduced a more advanced third-party foundry node than its current TSMC 6 nm node; and while retaining the same IP as the current "Alchemist" GPUs, scale upward—either in terms of Xe core counts; or performance, by increasing clock-speeds. 2024 will see Intel introduce "Battlemage," its second client graphics architecture for discrete GPUs. "Battlemage" is expected to introduce new architectural changes, utilize an even newer foundry node, and significantly increase performance. Raja Koduri hinted in late 2022 that he still wants to build GPUs in the 200-300 W power-range, without implying that this constitutes "mid-range," so we'll have to wait and see how "Battlemage" improves performance/Watt over "Alchemist+."
Image Courtesy: VideoCardz
Over 2023, Intel is expected to update its Arc Graphics series with the refreshed "Alchemist+" graphics architecture. Very little is known about "Alchemist+," except that it is rumored to introduced a more advanced third-party foundry node than its current TSMC 6 nm node; and while retaining the same IP as the current "Alchemist" GPUs, scale upward—either in terms of Xe core counts; or performance, by increasing clock-speeds. 2024 will see Intel introduce "Battlemage," its second client graphics architecture for discrete GPUs. "Battlemage" is expected to introduce new architectural changes, utilize an even newer foundry node, and significantly increase performance. Raja Koduri hinted in late 2022 that he still wants to build GPUs in the 200-300 W power-range, without implying that this constitutes "mid-range," so we'll have to wait and see how "Battlemage" improves performance/Watt over "Alchemist+."
21 Comments on Intel's GPU Business AXG Split and Distributed to Client and Enterprise Businesses, Plans "Alchemist+" and "Battlemage" Launches Over Next 2 Years
The hard way.
Still though, future plans do mean they have to keep at the driver updates, are they going to keep pace? There's enough work, at least :) I guess the idea is, as it was initially, to make the Intel dGPU fairy tale last long enough for us to forget older APIs exist or until they can just brute force past all the TDRs and blue screens or no signals? And that is with the weird assumption current day APIs are all working fine on their GPUs as well. Which they don't.
As for scaling — if they have a new node that will allow them to clock higher at the same power target (I know it doesn't always work like that!), A770 does gain nicely, which one can see right now by breaching the power limit thanks to broken drivers, lol. If they can get to Timespy-level optimizations across the board in at least new games, at 2.8ghz it's firmly in the highly-overclocked 3070 territory instead of competing with 3060 non-ti. And they're willing to sell this at 350$ right now while throwing AAA games into the deal. It's not too bad, but they really need to work on the drivers 24/7.
Their SKUs release? Paper launch at best.