Intel's Celestial GPUs: Next-Gen Discrete Cards Seemingly Alive and Kicking
You may have heard whispers of Intel's next-gen Celestial GPUs. There were even suggestions they were getting cancelled. Hold on to your hats folks. Fresh news suggests those behemoth Xe3-based discrete graphics cards are very much alive and kicking, and perhaps even nearer to launch than we all suspected.
A Sneak Peek Behind Intel's Curtain
It looks like a development timeline, possibly leaked by an Intel insider, has surfaced. It is not outlandish speculation; it suggests the Celestial project achieving a major milestone: Pre-Silicon Validation. What actually gets the juices flowing is that the leak is discussing discrete GPUs – precisely the sort some suspected might have been canceled.
Understanding 'Pre-Silicon Validation'
Think of it as finishing the blueprints a day or so prior to actual building commencing. Getting to this point means that the underlying architecture of the Celestial GPU is essentially done. We are talking about the foundation building blocks like the Xe compute cores, the XMX AI engines, and the key Ray Tracing units. The core architecture heavy lifting appears to be done.
Now, during this stage, Intel can allow its partners (such as laptop makers and graphics card companies) to begin testing the new architecture. They do so with sophisticated simulation tools – essentially a virtual version of the GPU executed in the cloud. This enables them to test firmware and prepare everything *before* the actual physical chips are even produced. Meanwhile, Intel's engineers are probably busy fine-tuning things such as power efficiency and performance-per-watt.
Potential Release Timeline
After this simulation and validation phase, the second giant leap is tape-out – sending off the final design to the factory to manufacture the actual silicon chips. While this leaked timeline will not give us an exact date for tape-out, it clearly implies that releases of these Celestial discrete GPUs are imminent. That is an extremely encouraging word for anyone waiting for Intel's next giant graphics push.
Intel themselves have not yelled about Celestial from the rooftops, but crucially, they have not denied its existence either. This leak adds fuel to the fire that something is afoot.
Potential Technical Features
Regarding potential features, other rumors postulate Intel might be employing a sophisticated "Xe3P" design, perhaps produced on their own state-of-the-art processes. There is also rumor of the inclusion of super-speedy GDDR7 memory. Intel seems to be reaching for the stars.
The bottom line is: do not count out Intel's discrete GPU aspirations yet. Celestial seems to be on track, going strong, and might be on its way sooner rather than later. Keep it tuned.
Source: @Haze2K1
