Intel is still powering through with the work on its next generation of graphics cards, even amidst all of the setbacks it has seen in the past month. Specifically, we get a look at the middle of the pack B5xx card which comes from an Intel GFX CI testing repository (via gaav87). The website states it tests i915 and Intel Xe device drivers automatically ready for release, and this leads us to believe the Battlemage cards are being tested before their release and mass introduction.

Seeing as the Battlemage release date rumors suggest a 2024 release, hopefully, they will still be on time with this testing phase now being carried out. Although not the flagship card, it might be a scattered release anyway as we’ve seen from the competition and original Alchemist release.

Leaked Battlemage specs

The Intel-GFX boot-up provides some basic information on the GPU, as we primarily get a look at the memory information and a hint at the cores inside. For this model, it looks to be hosting 12GB of VRAM on board, with a 192-bit bus and clocked at 19GB/s. These combine to get a total bandwidth of 456GB/s, which is surprisingly lower than most of the Alchemist lineup, specifically between the A380 and A580.

Although when compared to the competition, it’s a surprisingly good setup, as the capacity and bandwidth would put it on par with the RX 7700 XT and RTX 4070. However, the performance is going to rely on the processor inside as well and what kind of improvements Intel has managed to put on board. Supposedly this B500 GPU is expected to feature around 14 Xe2 (GuC in the leak) cores, which have been said to be 1.5x the performance of the Alchemist version along with general improvements to ray tracing as well.

Even with this boost, it doesn’t look like a highly specced card, but it might just bring a strong low-end performance. Whilst leaving the top-end cards to do the hard lifting and try to compete on a higher level. All in all, it still offers a potential alternative to just Nvidia or AMD so might bring some more competition in general.

About the Author

Sebastian Kozlowski

With a fascination for technology and games, Seb is a tech writer with a focus on hardware and deals. He is also the primary tester and reviewer at BGFG and PCGuide.