Intel Griffin Cove Leak: Killing AMD Zen 7 without E-Cores! (+ ARC Battlemage Update)

Summary

The video discusses the cancellation of Intel's Royal Core project, originally aimed at reclaiming x86 leadership, citing political reasons and a shift towards AI investments. Despite early milestones, sources reveal that the project faced significant challenges. The upcoming Battle Mage architecture is also addressed, expected to be uncompetitive against AMD's RDNA A4, with limited AIB support and a narrow launch focus. However, future architectures like Panther Lake and Nova Lake show potential for IPC improvements. Overall, the video presents a nuanced view of Intel's struggles and future prospects in the competitive CPU and GPU markets.

Takeaways

• 😀 The Royal core project, aimed at enhancing Intel's x86 leadership, was cancelled due to political issues and a shift in focus towards AI.
• 😀 Insiders indicated that while the Royal core showed promise, the cancellation was primarily motivated by financial considerations.
• 😀 Battle Mage GPUs are set to launch, but they are expected to compete poorly against AMD's RDNA A4 due to performance and support concerns.
• 😀 The upcoming Battle Mage lineup will feature architectures that may struggle to match the performance of existing AMD offerings.
• 😀 Intel's next CPU architectures, Panther Lake and Nova Lake, are expected to achieve IPC (instructions per cycle) improvements ranging from 5% to over 15%.
• 😀 Panther Lake is anticipated to feature a configuration of 8 big cores and 16 little cores, improving performance in specific applications.
• 😀 Nova Lake will utilize Coyote Cove cores, which are expected to enhance IPC even further compared to Panther Lake.
• 😀 After Griffin Cove, Intel is likely to eliminate efficiency cores from their architecture, aligning more closely with AMD's design approach.
• 😀 Limited AIB (add-in board) support for Battle Mage may hinder its market success, as many manufacturers are wary of Intel's graphics products.
• 😀 Overall, while there are concerns about the competitiveness of Intel's upcoming products, there is cautious optimism if IPC improvements materialize.

Q & A

What was the main reason for the cancellation of the Royal Core project?

The Royal Core project was canceled primarily due to political reasons and a shift in focus towards allocating more resources for AI projects rather than Intel's traditional CPU business.

What innovative feature was proposed for the Royal Core architecture?

The Royal Core architecture was designed to dynamically transform between six high IPC Mega cores and 24 high throughput cores based on the application's needs.

What is the expected performance of Intel's Battle Mage compared to previous graphics cards?

Battle Mage is expected to perform around the level of an RTX 470, which is considered not competitive compared to AMD's offerings.

What issues are anticipated with Battle Mage's market performance?

Battle Mage is expected to face challenges due to low AIB (Add-in Board) support and lack of competitive pricing against AMD's upcoming RDNA A4 series.

How does the performance variability of Battle Mage compare to its predecessor Alchemist?

Battle Mage is expected to have more consistent performance, with higher IPC per core and fewer instances of drastic performance drops seen in Alchemist models.

What future Intel architectures were mentioned as potentially promising?

The architectures Coyote Cove and Griffin Cove were mentioned as future projects that could bring significant improvements and competitiveness against AMD.

What IPC increase is anticipated for the Panther Lake architecture?

The Panther Lake architecture is expected to achieve an IPC increase ranging from 5% to 13%.

What distinguishes the Griffin Cove architecture from previous Intel architectures?

Griffin Cove is expected to abandon the e-core model and could integrate features from the canceled Royal Core, potentially enhancing efficiency and performance.

What potential issue could affect the release of future Intel graphics products?

If Battle Mage fails to perform well in the market, it could lead to Intel axing future graphics products and reverting to a tile-only architecture.

What is the significance of the upcoming Nova Lake architecture?

Nova Lake is expected to follow Panther Lake and may deliver higher IPC improvements, potentially surpassing AMD's Zen 6 offerings.