Intel Arc Celestial: Everything You Need To Know

Intel Arc Celestial: Everything You Need to Know

Intel Arc is the brand name for Intel’s discrete graphics cards that aim to compete with Nvidia and AMD in the gaming and creative markets. The first generation of Intel Arc, codenamed Alchemist, is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2023, offering performance comparable to the Nvidia RTX 30-series and AMD Radeon RX 6000-series cards. However, Intel is not stopping there, as it has already revealed its plans for the next two generations of Arc GPUs, codenamed Battlemage and Celestial.

Battlemage is the second generation of Intel Arc, which is scheduled to launch in the second half of 2024. Battlemage will use the Xe2 architecture, which is a successor to the Xe HPG architecture used by Alchemist. Battlemage will also be fabricated using TSMC’s 4nm process node, which should offer improved performance and efficiency over the 6nm process used by Alchemist. Battlemage will target the “Ultra Enthusiast” segment, which means it will compete with the high-end offerings from Nvidia and AMD, such as the RTX 40-series and Radeon RX 8000-series cards.

Celestial is the third generation of Intel Arc, which is expected to debut in 2026. Celestial will use the Xe3 architecture, which is a further evolution of the Xe HPG architecture. Celestial will also be manufactured using TSMC’s N3X (3nm) process node, which should provide even more performance and efficiency gains over the 4nm process. Celestial will also target the “Ultra Enthusiast” segment, which means it will aim to surpass the performance of the Battlemage cards, as well as the next-gen cards from Nvidia and AMD.

Intel has not revealed much details about the features and specifications of the Battlemage and Celestial cards, but we can expect them to support the latest technologies and standards, such as ray tracing, variable rate shading, mesh shading, DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan, and more. Intel has also hinted that the Battlemage and Celestial cards will have some unique features that will differentiate them from the competition, such as advanced AI capabilities, deep learning super sampling, and more.

Intel’s Arc GPU roadmap is ambitious and aggressive, as it shows that the company is serious about entering and expanding its presence in the discrete graphics market. Intel hopes that by partnering with TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor foundry, it will be able to deliver high-quality and competitive products that will appeal to gamers and creative professionals, as well as businesses that need powerful graphics solutions for AI and other applications. However, Intel will also face fierce competition from Nvidia and AMD, who have more experience and market share in the discrete graphics space, and who will not sit idly by while Intel tries to challenge them. Therefore, it remains to be seen how well Intel’s Arc GPUs will perform and sell in the coming years, and whether they will be able to fulfill Intel’s vision of becoming a leader in the graphics industry.