Intel’s had a rough couple of rounds in the ring lately. Every time they try to catch up, something trips them up again. Between their glitchy 13th and 14th-gen CPUs and the latest Core Ultra processors that can’t quite hang in the gaming ring, it feels like Intel’s been stuck in “almost, but not quite” mode for a while.
But now, with rumors swirling that their new Battlemage GPUs could drop in December.
The leak’s coming from a source with the unforgettable name Golden Pig.
Posting on Weibo (think of it as China’s Twitter), Golden Pig hinted that Intel’s Battlemage GPUs might be here as early as next month and promised “wonderful performance.” Now, “wonderful” is a big word in GPU land—especially for Intel, given their track record.
Could this mean Intel’s finally ready to throw something solid at Nvidia? Maybe.
But let’s not start building castles in the air just yet.
Because Battlemage isn’t out to topple RTX 4080 instead Intel’s GPUs are taking a more modest approach, aiming to compete with the RTX 4070.
You can consider Battlemage Intel’s version of the scrappy underdog.
For a lot of us, that’s exactly the kind of option we’re looking for – a GPU that holds its own and comes at extremely cheaper price compare to NVIDIA.
If you remember Intel’s last shot at GPUs—the Arc series—you’ll know they had their fair share of… “quirks.” Those cards ran hot, pulled a lot of power, and the performance? Well, it wasn’t exactly what anyone would call reliable.
But there’s some reason to believe that Battlemage might actually be a turning point for Intel.
They’ve already been testing out some Battlemage graphics tech in their latest Lunar Lake processors, and the results look more promising.
The integrated graphics (iGPU) on these CPUs is handling games a lot more smoothly than before. We’re seeing better consistency, fewer power issues, and a performance level that doesn’t make you wonder if Intel’s secretly trolling us.
That all sounds good, but Intel’s CEO, Pat Gelsinger, recently made a comment that has a lot of people confused.
He hinted that there might be “less need for discrete graphics” going forward.
What’s that mean? Could Intel be setting us up for an exit from the dedicated GPU market if Battlemage doesn’t go well? Or is Intel just throwing us a red herring? It’s hard to say.
So should you be hyped? Golden Pig’s leaks have been pretty reliable in the past, so the December release date might not be just wishful thinking.
