Intel's plan to stack an Arc GPU on its Meteor Lake CPUs will form 'a new class of graphics'

Intel Meteor Lake chip diagram render on a blue background
(Image credit: Intel)

Intel has some absolutely wild plans for upcoming processor graphics, and it's all kicking off with Meteor Lake in 2023. Intel plans to stack some of its Arc graphics on top of the CPU and SoC components, which it says will deliver discrete graphics performance with something more of what we'd expect from today's integrated graphics in efficiency.

"Meteor Lake is a brand new architecture that will enable tiled GPUs to be integrated on a 3D package. This is super exciting as this allows us to offer discrete graphics-class performance with the efficiency of integrated graphics," says Raja Koduri, Intel chief architect, during the company's latest investor briefing. (If you don't know what a tiled GPU is, don't worry—we explain a bit below).

"This is a new class of graphics—you can't really call it integrated or discrete."

It appears as though Meteor Lake will integrate 2nd gen Arc graphics, called Battlemage. That's not noted explicitly, but from the diagram below it seems that Intel's graphics generations will be in lock-step with CPU generations.

What we know so far is that Intel plans to launch Meteor Lake around 2023, as we have Intel Raptor Lake processors (based on Alder Lake) set to arrive before then. There will also be another generation following that, assumedly sharing the same architecture but with some improvements, called Arrow Lake.

(Image credit: Intel)

We have heard of Meteor Lake's chiplets prior to this, though. Intel had released a diagram showing its three-tile architecture (Compute, SoC, and GPU), though later pictures snapped by a CNET reporter showed another fourth chiplet on the package. It's early days, so we'll see where that goes, but it'll be exciting to see how this 3D packaged Arc GPU factors in. 

Intel is using Foveros stacking technology to achieve all of this, and its EMIB interconnect too, a fancy term for a high-speed connection between the different parts of a complex chip. The key for graphics, though, is that Arc GPUs use what Intel calls "tiles." These tiles, essentially discrete GPUs that can combine to make one larger chip, are supposed to offer Intel the ability to scale up and down its GPU component as it requires, and it looks like it plans to do just that with its Meteor Lake chips.

Though they're not quite ready right now, or indeed anytime this year. "We'll talk more about this in the future," Koduri says.

Koduri also briefly teases what's coming next after Meteor Lake and Arrow Lake. It doesn't have a name, but it's touted with a similar make-up to Meteor Lake/Arrow Lake though with a new Deep Link architecture and what's likely 3rd gen Intel Arc graphics.

"This is just the beginning of the strategic advantages that this tiled architecture will give us."

Sitting comfortably?

(Image credit: Secretlab)

Best chair for gaming: the top gaming chairs around
Best gaming desk: the ultimate PC podiums
Best PC controller: sit back, relax, and get your game on

No doubt it's an exciting time for Intel and indeed PC gaming—we're on the verge of a whole new third player in the graphics card market. That could be a really big deal for graphics card prices, as competition is good for the lot of us, and that's the case even if Intel's offerings aren't fighting it out at the high-end.

Though Intel does hope to fight (and apparently win) in every segment it competes in, meaning it needs a high-end ultra enthusiast GPU to beat Nvidia and AMD. Apparently, that is its Celestial GPUs, which are tipped for sometime around or after 2024.

Much sooner though we'll have our hands on the first of four million Arc Alchemist 1st gen GPUs from Intel, which will arrive in mobile in Q1 and then on desktop in Q2.

Jacob Ridley
Managing Editor, Hardware

Jacob earned his first byline writing for his own tech blog. From there, he graduated to professionally breaking things as hardware writer at PCGamesN, and would go on to run the team as hardware editor. He joined PC Gamer's top staff as senior hardware editor before becoming managing editor of the hardware team, and you'll now find him reporting on the latest developments in the technology and gaming industries and testing the newest PC components.

Read more
Intel architectural breakdown of new Battlemage GPU designs
Intel is 'confident' about next-gen Arc Celestial GPUs following Battlemage's success
Intel's Interim Co-CEO Michelle Johnston Holthaus holding a Panther Lake processor sample at its CES 2025 keynote
Intel on its next-gen laptop chip: 'Panther Lake will take everything you love about Lunar Lake to the next level'
Intel Gaudi 3
Intel nixes its next-gen AI GPU but still has plans to take on Nvidia
A screenshot from a video by Ordinary Uncle Tony, showing the internal structure of Intel's Arrow Lake desktop CPU
It looks like there will be no new Intel desktop CPUs until 2026 now that next-gen Nova Lake is officially a 2026 product
Intel Core Ultra 200HX and 200H series chip renders.
Intel announces new mobile Core Ultra 200HX Series processors to power the next generation of gaming laptops
Intel Arc B580 graphics card
New Intel Battlemage graphics cards spotted but they may not be the cut-price RTX 4070 killers we're all desperate for
Latest in Processors
A chip being held up in an Intel fab
Intel is reportedly 'working to finalize commitments from Nvidia' as a foundry partner, suggesting gaming potential for the 18A node
AMD Strix Point APU chip, held in a hand, with the reflected light showing the various processing blocks in the chip die
AMD's next-gen 'Gorgon Point' APU outted and seemingly sticks with RDNA 3.5 graphics which is disappointing for handheld gaming PCs if accurate
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivering pancakes and sausages to pre-GTC show hosts and guests, wearing an apron
'There might be a party. I wasn't invited,' says Jensen Huang of the rumoured TSMC proposal to join forces and run Intel's chip fabs
Nvidia Feynman GPU
While we despair of RTX 50-series supplies and wait on next-gen Rubin, Nvidia reveals its next-next GPU architecture will be known as Feynman and is due in 2028
Nvidia Vera CPU
Nvidia reveals Vera, a new CPU with 'custom' cores which could be very exciting for its upcoming premium PC processor
Machinery tools and equipment,Rolls of galvanized steel for production metal pipes and tubes for industrial ventilation systems in factory.
New super-thin '2D' metal sheets could enable ultra-low power chips and can you guess how they're made? Yup, by squishing stuff really hard
Latest in News
Assassin's Creed Shadows promo image
Ubisoft scores a legendary ratio against Elon Musk on his own platform—which hopefully marks a final end to all the Assassin's Creed Shadows' culture war nonsense
Tzarina Katarin Bokha, the Ice Queen of Kislev
Total War: Warhammer 3 rolls out a cool Kislev overhaul, changes befitting Tzeench’s magic, new projectile units and creakier skeletal horses
An image of a golden first place award from Geoguessr
'We're actually getting GeoGuessr on Steam before GTA 6': the Google Street View puzzler arrives on Valve's platform this April
Napster client circa 1999
Former music-pirating platform Napster to be reborn rather ironically as a metaverse for musicians to connect with their fans after $207 million deal
The snazzy red and black HyperX Cloud Alpha wireless headphones float in a teal void. The microphone is attached to the headset.
The best wireless gaming headset is now even better in the Amazon Big Spring Sale, boasting a more than $50 discount
A chip being held up in an Intel fab
Intel is reportedly 'working to finalize commitments from Nvidia' as a foundry partner, suggesting gaming potential for the 18A node