Intel’s BGM-G21 GPU added to LLVM project: potential first Battlemage GPU to launch

Battlemage BGM-G21 in LLVM patches

Intel issues patches for first discrete Battlemage GPU.

The BGM (Battlemage) series of GPUs are coming, contrary to what some rumors may suggest. Intel is not abandoning the discrete GPU market, but its scope may be limited to desktop GPUs. As far as leaks are concerned, graphics cards based on the new architecture will use two chips: the high-end G21 and low-end G10 processors. The former has just been spotted in recent LLVM patches.

LLVM is a collection of modular and reusable compiler technologies. GPU vendors pay close attention to this project and are always quick to provide updates, even for the architectures that were not released yet. As noted by Michael (@mikdt) who was first to notice the LLVM patches, this could suggest that Intel will be launching BGM-G21 first, as there is currently no trace of the G10 version.

Battlemage G21 LLVM patches, Source: Intel

The Battlemage doesn’t have a release date. Intel has learned a lesson from the hype generated around Alchemist, a current-gen architecture that was subsequently delayed until it was ready to launch alongside the new generation of AMD and NVIDIA GPUs. According to rumors, Battlemage is targeting the end of this year, possibly no later than November. That would put the product two and a half years after the first Alchemist (which came out in June 2022).

Interestingly, the competitor has added similar patches for its GFX1200 and GFX1202 architectures to LLVM. Those codenames are associated with AMD RDNA4 architecture which, similarly to Intel Battlemage, has not yet been released.

Source: Intel LLVM, @miktdt