Intel's latest Permon update has added support for next-gen Lunar Lake CPUs & confirmed the latest Lion Cove and Skymont core architectures.
Intel Lunar Lake CPUs Confirmed To Utilize Next-Gen Lion Cove & Skymont Core Architecture
Intel's Lunar Lake CPUs are expected to go into production in late 2024 but the work on these next-gen CPUs is already underway. As spotted by @InstLatX64, Intel has added support for the chips in its latest Perfmon update which confirms the core architectures that will be utilized by the next-gen Core CPUs.
#Intel perfmon has been updated with #LunarLake = LionCove+Skymont
CPUID.1Ah.EAX=
20000000: #Tremont
20000001: #Gracemont
20000002: #Crestmont
20000003: #Skymont
40000000: #SunnyCove
40000001: #GoldenCove
40000002: #RedwoodCove
40000003: #LionCovehttps://t.co/mUNIXHoC4i https://t.co/J0oQcIyRvG pic.twitter.com/eYBKGZv3As— InstLatX64 (@InstLatX64) August 10, 2023
According to the update, the Intel Lunar Lake CPUs are now confirmed to feature the Lion Cove P-Core architecture and the Skymont E-Core architecture. Once again, Intel will be using a hybrid & disaggregated design which it has sets its eyes on for future client CPUs. There are no details on an exact number of cores or any configurations but it's still too early to talk about them considering the launch takes place sometime in 2025.
As for the Lunar Lake CPUs, the next-gen family is supposed to utilize both Intel's next-gen and external foundry processes. Arrow Lake is already scheduled for Intel 20A so we can expect Lunar Lake to be built upon the refined 18A (Angstrom) process while utilizing next-gen Foveros package technology with a pitch size of 25 microns. Based on previous reports, the Lunar Lake CPUs will be utilizing a fresh architecture that is built from the ground up and will focus mainly on delivering a major leap in performance per watt.
Considering its mobile-focused nature, the Intel Lunar Lake CPUs will drop down the number of iGPU EUs from 192 (Arrow Lake) to 64 though they will be based on the brand new Battlemage graphics architecture and a wider SIMD design. These Xe2-LPG GPUs will not only offer better performance per watt but also deliver brand-new graphics features and technologies. The CPUs also come with a brand new VPU which you can read more about over here. The Lunar Lake chips will be competing with AMD's Zen 5+ chips when they launch on the mobile segment.
Intel Mobility CPU Lineup:
| CPU Family | Panther Lake | Lunar Lake | Arrow Lake | Meteor Lake | Raptor Lake | Alder Lake |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Process Node (CPU Tile) | Intel 18A | TSMC N3B | TSMC N3B | Intel 4 | Intel 7 | Intel 7 |
| Process Node (GPU Tile) | TSMC N3E / Intel 3 | TSMC N3B | TSMC 5nm | TSMC 5nm | Intel 7 | Intel 7 |
| CPU Architecture | Hybrid | Hybrid (Dual-Core) | Hybrid (Triple-Core) | Hybrid (Triple-Core) | Hybrid (Dual-Core) | Hybrid (Dual-Core) |
| P-Core Architecture | Cougar Cove | Lion Cove | Lion Cove | Redwood Cove | Raptor Cove | Golden Cove |
| E-Core Architecture | Darkmont | N/A | Skymont | Crestmont | Gracemont | Gracemont |
| LP E-Core Architecture (SOC) | Darkmont | Skymont | Crestmont | Crestmont | N/A | N/A |
| Top Configuration (Compute Tile) | 4+8 (H-Series) | 4+4 (MX Series) | 6+8 (H-Series) 2+8 (U-Series) | 6+8 (H-Series) 2+8 (U-Series) | 6+8 (H-Series) 8+16 (HX-Series) | 6+8 (H-Series) 8+8 (HX-Series) |
| Max Cores / Threads | 16/16 | 8/8 | 14/14 | 14/20 | 14/20 | 14/20 |
| AI NPU | NPU5 (50 TOPS) | NPU4 (48 TOPS) | NPU3.5 (13 TOPS) | NPU3 (11 TOPS) | NPU2 (7 TOPS) | NPU2 (7 TOPS) |
| Planned Lineup | Core Ultra 300 | Core Ultra 200V | Core Ultra 200 | Core Ultra 100 | 14th/13th Gen | 12th Gen |
| GPU Architecture | Xe3-LPG (Battlemage) | Xe2-LPG (Battlemage) | Xe-LPG+ (Alchemist) | Xe-LPG (Alchemist) | Iris Xe (Gen 12) | Iris Xe (Gen 12) |
| Xe Cores (Max) | 12 Xe3 Cores | 8 Xe2 Cores | 8 Xe Cores | 8 Xe Cores | 96 EUs (768 Cores) | 96 EUs (768 Cores) |
| Memory Support | LPDDR5X-9600 | LPDDR5X-8533 | DDR5-5600 LPDDR5-7500 LPDDR5X-8533 | DDR5-5600 LPDDR5-7400 LPDDR5X - 7400+ | DDR5-5200 LPDDR5-5200 LPDDR5-6400 | DDR5-4800 LPDDR5-5200 LPDDR5X-4267 |
| Memory Capacity (Max) | 128 GB | 32 GB | 128 GB | 96 GB | 64 GB | 64 GB |
| Thunderbolt Support | TB5 | TB5 | TB5 | TB4 | TB4 | TB4 |
| WiFi Capability | WiFi 7 | WiFi 7 | WiFi 7 | WiFi 6E | WiFi 6E | WiFi 6E |
| TDP | 17-45W | 17-30W | TBD | 7W-45W | 15-55W | 15-55W |
| Launch | 2H 2025 | 2H 2024 | 2H 2024 | 2H 2023 | 1H 2023 | 1H 2022 |
About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.
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