The Intel Arc GPU order indicates that Team Blue's dream of a graphics card is still alive.

Image Credit: GPU Mag Many believed that Intel Arc's future was seriously in doubt after Raja Koduri, head of Intel's Accelerated Graphics Unit, left his position. However, there is a reason for optimism because Intel is said to have placed a very sizable order with TSMC for Intel Arc GPUs for its lineup of next-generation graphics cards. According to a recent claim from the Taiwanese publication Commercial Times(opens in new tab), which cites insider sources, Intel has placed orders for TSMC silicon to power both its upcoming GPU line, Intel Arc Battlemage, as well as its upcoming GPU line, Intel Arc Celestial. After a rather bumpy start, this is a pretty clear indication that Intel is fully committing to its graphics card sector. As they've generally been hard to find and those cards that do exist in gamers' Computers have had some noticeable driver optimization issues, Intel Arc Alchemy hasn't established itself in the GPU market as much as many of us had hoped. Yet, the AMD and Nvidia monopoly is bad for all of us, so having a third competitor would provide much-needed competition. Image Credit: Beebom According to a source in the industry, the next-generation Battlemage cards, which are based on Intel's Xe2 architecture, will go on sale in the second half of 2024, followed by Intel Arc Celestial in the second half of 2026. This would place it many months after the introduction of the majority of the finest graphics cards from this generation from Nvidia and AMD, indicating that Intel is still lagging behind the other two market leaders in terms of production cadence. Even so, it's better to be late than never. The source further claims that TSMC's 4nm process will be used to manufacture Intel Arc Battlemage, while its 3nm process will be used to manufacture Celestial.

Intel Arc is still engaged in combat.

When Raja Koduri departed from Intel, I was really worried since his departure might have meant the demise of Intel's discrete graphics card division. There is every reason to believe that the existence of Koduri was the project's fatal blow. The economy hasn't been in the best shape, and Intel's financials have looked a little shaky this past year. That doesn't appear to be the case, and as noted by Tom's Hardware(opens in new tab), Intel is using Arc Alchemist as a teaching tool to improve Battlemage rather than as a reason to give up entirely. We sorely need another graphics card maker to release high-quality products to help keep prices down, given the massive price rise for GPUs in recent years, especially from historically cost-friendly AMD. Only Intel can enter that market due to the high entry barrier, thus its departure after Alchemist would have been very disheartening. Read More: Apple may buy Intel’s modem business for $1bn, the report claimed Fortunately, rumors that Intel Arc was dead were unfounded, and there is still time for a competitive and, presumably, more inexpensive range of graphics cards.