New Intel Arc Battlemage GPUs Leak May Shake Up the Market

A New Threat to Nvidia’s 5000 Series?

Intel’s Arc Battlemage graphics cards have been making headlines with rumors, reports, and an official reveal from Intel itself. But a recent Linux leak has revealed new cards that could potentially challenge Nvidia’s RTX 5000 series. According to Tomasz Gawroński, a gaming hardware enthusiast, the latest Linux patch may have revealed at least three new Arc Battlemage cards.

The Leaked Cards: What Do They Mean?

The listing shows three code numbers, with the patch notes stating that it’ll “Add 3 new IDs for BMG.” Gawroński interpreted it as Intel adding three new Battlemage IDs in this patch. Though there hasn’t been anything concrete in the leaked information establishing that these cards are higher-end models, if they are, it could flip the market on its head.

How This Could Turn the Tables on Nvidia

Nvidia’s RTX 5000 series managed to buck the expected trend of prices dramatically increasing every new generation. The flagship RTX 5090 is only a few hundred dollars above the RTX 4090’s launch day MSRP, and the RTX 5070 is one-third of the 4090’s price while nearly matching its performance with the use of DLSS.

A Cheaper Alternative?

Even if the Arc Battlemage cards don’t match the performance of the 5000 series or AMD’s RX 9070, a cheaper price point would allow Intel to finally gain traction in the mid-range market. With a majority of gamers still at 1080p, and only a chunk at 1440p as their main monitor resolution, a budget-friendly option could be just what the market needs.

The Competition Effect

I truly hope this is the direction Intel goes in. As I’ve been saying for quite some time now, Nvidia and AMD need a fire lit under their backsides in terms of offering truly budget graphics cards. And that fire is clearly the threat of real competition.