Despite its flaws, Arc A770 16GB remains a cut above similarly priced graphics cards. Its larger memory bandwidth and capacity helps increase its value relative to its numerous 8GB competitors. Intel clearly know this, based on new Battlemage GPU specs leaks. Providing the company’s Xe2 architecture delivers, we could have a new champion pixel pusher for budget gamers on our hands.
Searching for the best graphics card under $400 today will unfortunately end in frustration. Whether you’re looking at a current generation models or older, there’s no easy choice. Intel could help simplify matters for this part of the market with its Battlemage GPUs. Consumers are crying out for a balance of bandwidth and performance, and a new B-Series SKU could be the answer.
According to Intel-GFX logs, unearthed by Anandtech Forums user gaav87, at least one Battlemage GPU is due a VRAM upgrade. According to the TXT file, the card sports 12GB of memory running at 19GB/s on a 192-bit bus. In total, its bandwidth clocks in at 456GB/s.
This specification would actually be 56GB/s behind the majority of the A-Series lineup in terms of bandwidth. Relative to GeForce and Radeon cards, though, it handily outclasses RTX 4060 Ti and RX 7600.
Furthermore, an additional 4GB of capacity should help offset issues caused by VRAM saturation in most instances. Radeon RX 7600 XT and GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB are testaments to the differences more memory can make. It’d be a terrible shame to see Intel Xe2 cores constrained by such shortfalls.
Its unclear what SKU (Arc B3XX, B5XX, B7XX) this pixel pusher is. Given that A770 debuted with 16GB, though, we presume this 12GB model is either a 5 or 3 class card. Hopefully, these specifications are indicative of a wider industry shift to large VRAM capacities. If not, then Intel may have found an invaluable advantage against Nvidia RTX 50 series and AMD RDNA 4 alternatives.
We shouldn’t have to wait long to find out, as Intel Battlemage should hit the scene later this year. Although, before discrete graphics cards arrive, Lunar Lake CPUs will give us our first taste of the Xe2 architecture in action.