Intel's 'Big Battlemage' GPU did not appear at CES but the rumours just won't go away

Intel's G31, the GPU otherwise expected to be known as the Intel Arc B770, is the rumoured graphics card that just won't die. It conspicuously did not appear at the CES show, but it's now been spotted in an Intel Panther Lake driver package, keeping hopes just barely alive.

As we understand it, somebody at the CES show rifled through the driver files of a laptop demo'ing Intel's new Core Ultra Series 3 chip and found references to the increasingly mythical G31 GPU.

We have, of course, seen what feels like countless references to B770 or G31 over the past year or so. But the card stubbornly refuses to make an official appearance.

It could be that Intel has never been planning to release such a GPU for the consumer market, and all of these rumours and leaks are for nought. But if the B770 is real, why didn't it appear at CES?

There are a number of theories. One possible factor is the ongoing memory price crisis, and Intel may want RAM prices to stabilise before launching a new GPU.

Another possibility is that Intel didn't want to detract from its Panther Lake launch. That new CPU, which uses Intel's 18A node, is certainly more important than a new gaming GPU for Intel. So, perhaps Intel wanted all the attention on Panther Lake.

Yet another option is that Intel is still polishing the drivers for its biggest and most powerful gaming GPU yet. Ultimately, we just don't know and can only hope Intel does indeed release a new GPU.

Performance expectations for B770 have varied, but something in the region of an Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti up to an RTX 4070 or even an RTX 5070 has been mooted. If Intel can get anywhere near the top end of the scale and include 16 GB of graphics memory, that would make for an awfully compelling gaming card, assuming Intel's usual competitive pricing for GPUs.

As ever, we're desperate for some more competition in the graphics card market, and Intel's Arc GPUs have long offered the glimpse of a more affordable possible future. Intel's current Arc B580 suffered a disappointing launch due to poor driver support, but that has since improved dramatically.

However, it still isn't performant enough to shake up the heart of the mid-range GPU market, where the Nvidia RTX 4070 and 5070 operate. Arguably, that's where some added competition would provide the most benefit to serious PC gamers. So, hope remains. But despite this latest leak and given it's over a year since the launch of the Intel Arc B580, it's beginning to fade.