Intel has made significant progress in the development of its new Intel ARC graphics cards. The Xe3 “Celestial” architecture, which is to be the successor to the Xe2 “Battlemage”, has reached the so-called “pre-silicon” validation stage. At the same time, hints have again emerged that the high-end G31 chip could bring competition to the RTX 5070 – and at a significantly lower price.
Xe3 Celestial: Validation complete, production in sight
According to multiple sources, including a post from @Haze2K1 on the X Network, Intel has completed pre-silicon validation of the Xe3 Celestial architecture. This is a key development step that allows the architecture to be tested before the first physical chips are produced.
In this phase, Intel and its partners are testing frequency curves, power consumption and various operating states using hardware simulation. This means that the design is already final. Intel’s Tom Petersen confirmed that the team has even already moved on to Xe4 development. Real Xe3 samples could thus go into production in late 2025 or early 2026.
However, it’s not yet clear whether these will just be integrated GPUs in Panther Lake processors, or whether we’ll also see dedicated Xe3-based graphics cards. Either way, this is an important milestone and proof that Intel hasn’t given up on graphics just yet.
Intel G31 Battlemage: The secret trump card against the RTX 5070?
In addition to the Xe3, information about the G31 chip – a potentially high-end variant of the Battlemage architecture – has resurfaced. Leaked information from shipment databases point to components heading to Intel’s Vietnamese factory, where the Limited Edition reference models are reportedly being produced.
The G31 is expected to contain 32 compute units (EUs), which is 60% more than the current Intel Arc B580 (20 EUs). In theory, it could thus offer Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070-level performance, or at least very close to it. If Intel sticks to its aggressive pricing policy, it could make the G31 a “killer RTX 5070” for a price of around 350€.
What’s stopping Intel?
The question remains why Intel is still hesitating with the G31. The B580 was already out late last year. There has been speculation that the G31 could suffer from the same problem as the B580 – excessive load on the CPU. This could reduce its attractiveness. Still, there’s still time for Intel to get attention, especially when new GPUs from Nvidia aren’t expected until 2027 at the earliest.
Conclusion
Intel hasn’t officially announced either the Xe3 or the G31 yet. But recent developments suggest that the company is continuing to try to gain ground in the gaming graphics card market. If it manages to deliver a G31 with performance close to the RTX 5070 and a reasonable price, it may appeal to gamers looking for a powerful yet affordable solution. Until then, however, we can only wait.