Intel Arc Celestial discrete GPUs, or Battlemage-next, reach 'pre-silicon validation'

Discrete Xe3 'Celestial' GPUs have passed an important development milestone, but it remains to be seen if we see a third generation of Intel Arc cards.

Intel Arc Celestial discrete GPUs, or Battlemage-next, reach 'pre-silicon validation'
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TL;DR: Intel’s next-gen Arc Xe3 "Celestial" GPU architecture has completed pre-silicon validation, marking a key step toward production. Expected in integrated and possibly discrete forms, Xe3 aims to enhance gaming performance in upcoming Panther Lake processors, with mass production potentially starting late 2025 or early 2026.

Intel's Tom Petersen has previously confirmed that the company's next-gen Arc graphics architecture, Xe3 "Celestial," is effectively baked, meaning its specs, hardware, and other improvements have been finalized. He also hinted that the Arc design team has already moved on to Xe4. Xe3 "Celestial" is the successor to Xe2 "Battlemage," the architecture that powers the Intel Arc B580 GPU and the integrated graphics in the latest Intel Core Ultra processors.

Intel Arc Celestial discrete GPUs, or Battlemage-next, reach 'pre-silicon validation' 2
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According to a new post on X from @Haze2K1, discrete Xe3 "Celestial" GPUs have reached the pre-silicon validation. This phase allows Intel and its partners to boot and test the new architecture before physical silicon (actual graphics cards) becomes available. Traditionally, this would mean testing power and frequency curves and emulating the hardware in various states. Reaching pre-silicon validation means this work is now complete.

This is a big step toward full production, but it remains to be seen what form Xe3 will take - will it be strictly for mobile devices and integrated graphics, or will it include a mix of mobile and discrete hardware? Time will tell, with TechPowerUp adding that if everything else goes well, Intel could be mass-producing discrete Xe3 "Celestial" GPUs by the end of this year or early 2026.

We'd love to see some discrete Xe3 "Celestial" GPUs, as the affordable Intel Arc B580 presented a massive improvement over first-gen Arc. However, it's hard to say when it comes to Intel, as the company now has a new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, and some leakers and insiders have been suggesting that from now on, Intel won't focus on discrete GPUs.

According to reports, Intel's upcoming Panther Lake generation, which will launch later this year, will include integrated Xe3 "Celestial" graphics to boost gaming performance. This will likely be our first look at what Xe3 can do.