Details of Intel's Nova Lake Desktop CPU lineup, Die & SKU configurations have been revealed, with the Core Ultra Series 4 family going for some big upgrades.
Intel Nova Lake "Core Ultra Series 4" CPU Lineup Is Looking To Be A Return To Form For Chipzilla On Desktops
Recently, there have been a lot of leaks surrounding the Intel Nova Lake CPU family. The lineup is going to be featured under the "Core Ultra Series 4" family with a brand new architecture, a new platform, and lots of new capabilities.
Starting with the main changes, the Intel Core Ultra Series 4 lineup will feature three new architectures: Coyote Cove for P-Cores, Arctic Wolf for E/LP-E cores, and Xe3/Xe3P for graphics cores. There will also be more upgrades in the form of NPU6, which will further boost the AI capabilities to 74 TOPS, up from 13 TOPS on Arrow Lake Desktop CPUs and 50 TOPS on Panther Lake Laptop CPUs. These changes will drive the CPUs to excel over everything that Intel has offered in the past.
Based on current rumors, Intel's Nova Lake CPUs will offer higher IPC than AMD's upcoming Zen 6 core architecture, and there are reports of a ~10% single-threaded performance uplift. The major bump comes from MT performance with the chips scaling all the way up to 52 cores, more than twice as many cores as AMD's upcoming Ryzen family, which will scale up to 24 cores. So let's see what Nova Lake has to offer in terms of die configurations and SKUs, as per Videocardz.
Intel Nova Lake Desktop Lineup Consists of Five Die Configurations, At Least 13 SKUs
So starting with the die configurations, Intel's Nova Lake Desktop CPUs consist of five primary dies, which feature single compute tile and dual compute tile flavors. The dual compute tile variants are labeled as "DS" and will cover the enthusiast models.
The most entry-level die is an 8C flavor with 4 P-Cores and 4 LPE cores. This is followed by the 16C flavor with 4 P-Cores, 8 E-Cores, and 4 LPE Cores. Next are two 28C flavors, which feature 8 P-Cores, 16 E-Cores, and 4 LPE Cores. One of these models is based on the standard design, while the second packs 'bLLC" or big LLC (Last Level Cache). These bLLC variants are Intel's answer to AMD's X3D CPUs, though they aren't based on the same die stacking technology as AMD's offerings.
The dual compute tile "DS" variants only include one configuration with a 52C model that features two dies, each with 8 P-Cores and 16 E-Cores. The 4 LPE cores remain intact and don't see a doubling since they aren't on the compute tile.
We know from previous reports that the single compute tile 'bLLC" models will feature 144 MB cache, while the dual compute tile 'bLLC" models will feature 288 MB cache. The standard compute tile will measure 98mm2 while the bLLC compute tile will measure 154mm2.
Intel Nova Lake-S Desktop CPU Die Configurations:
| Die Config | Variant | Core Config | LPE Cores | Cache | CPU PCIe Lanes | GPU Cores |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8C | Single Compute Tile | 4P+0E | 4LPE | Standard | 24 Gen5 | 2 Xe3 |
| 16C | Single Compute Tile | 4P+8E | 4LPE | Standard | 24 Gen5 | 2 Xe3 |
| 28C | Single Compute Tile | 8P+16E | 4LPE | Standard | 24 Gen5 | 2 Xe3 |
| 28C | Single Compute Tile | 8P+16E | 4LPE | bLLC "Big LLC" | 24 Gen5 | 2 Xe3 |
| 52C | Dual Compute Tile | 2x 8P+16E | 4LPE | bLLC "Big LLC" | 24 Gen5 | 2 Xe3 |
Now for the SKUs, Intel will be using the aforementioned Nova Lake dies to form its Core Ultra Series 4 Desktop lineup. Currently, the lineup is expected to include at least 13 models, which range from Core Ultra 9, Core Ultra 7, Core Ultra 5, and Core Ultra 3 flavors. Intel also has an even higher-tier planned for its 52C die variants, which include a 52-core and 44-core model.
These enthusiast models will feature a TDP of up to 175W. The rest of the lineup scales from 35W to 125W. The entry-level Core Ultra 3 and Core Ultra 5 models will feature 35W TDPs with up to 65W in power-unlocked models. The standard lineup will feature 125W TDPs with certain 65W power-optimized variants. There will also be "F" models in the lineup with an iGPU-less design. Talking about the iGPU, all Intel Nova Lake CPUs will feature 2 Xe3 cores, but there are plans to introduce a higher-end iGPU on one of the Nova Lake SKUs.
Intel Nova Lake-S Desktop CPU SKUs (Preliminary via Videocardz & Jaykihn):
| Model | Product ID | Cores | Core Config | Cache Layout | Total Cache | TDP/cTDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core Ultra X? | P3DX | 52 Cores | 2x 8P+16E+(4LPE) | bLLC "Big LLC" | 288 MB | 175W |
| Core Ultra X? | P2DX | 44 Cores | 2x 8P+12E+(4LPE) | bLLC "Big LLC" | 264 MB | 175W |
| Core Ultra 9 | P2D | 28 Cores | 8P+16E+4LPE | bLLC "Big LLC" | 144 MB | 125W |
| Core Ultra 9 | P2K | 28 Cores | 8P+16E+4LPE | Standard | 36 MB | 125W/65W |
| Core Ultra 9 | P2 | 22 Cores | 6P+12E+4LPE | bLLC "Big LLC" | 108 MB | 65W |
| Core Ultra 7 | P1D | 24 Cores | 8P+12E+4LPE | bLLC "Big LLC" | 132 MB | 125W |
| Core Ultra 7 | P1K | 24 Cores | 8P+12E+4LPE | Standard | 33 MB | 125W/65W |
| Core Ultra 7 | P1 | 16 Cores | 4P+8E+4LPE | Standard | 18 MB | 65W/35W |
| Core Ultra 5 | MS2K/MS2KF | 22 Cores | 6P+12E+4LPE | Standard | 27 MB | 125W/65W |
| Core Ultra 5 | MS2 | 12 Cores | 4P+4E+4LPE | Standard | 15 MB | 65W/35W |
| Core Ultra 5 | MS1 | 8 Cores | 4P+0E+4LPE | Standard | 12 MB | 65W/35W |
| Core Ultra 3 | T1 | 6 Cores | 2P+0E+4LPE | Standard | 6 MB | 65W/35W |
Intel Doubling Down On Extended Socket Support, New Platform Upgrades For Nova Lake CPUs
It is also stated in the details that Intel is once again doubling down on extended socket support with its next-gen LGA 1954 platform. The new Socket, labeled as "Socket V," is not only next-gen CPU-ready, with reports claiming Razor Lake, Titan Lake, and Hammer Lake, all landing on the same package, but will also make it easy for DIY users to reuse existing coolers without needing to change their cooling solutions.
Videocardz also posted a few days ago about certain enthusiast-tier LGA 1954 motherboards using a 2L (2-layer) ILM with two loading levers, which will offer additional cooling capabilities without requiring any custom or 3rd party contact frames, etc. This also points to the enthusiast nature of the high core count models.
Besides the socket upgrade, Intel will also offer extended DDR5 compatibility with up to 8000 MT/s speed support by default, and further with OC kits. Intel is also going to focus a lot on CUDIMM and CQDIMM in the future, which will expand the memory capacity support beyond 256 GB on 4-DIMM and even 2-DIMM motherboards.
Besides that, the CPUs themselves will host a range of updated controllers with native Wi-Fi 7, Thunderbolt 5.0, Low-Energy Audio, and ECC capabilities. The CPUs will offer up to x16 Gen5 lanes for discrete GPUs that can be broken down to four x4 lanes for quad AI GPU support, up to 8 SSD support with three Gen5 x4 lanes coming from the chipset, and additional Gen4 lanes.
Intel & AMD All Set For An Epic Desktop Showdown
So what does this all mean? Well, looking at the specifications and configurations for Nova Lake Desktop CPUs, it looks like Intel is all set for a huge comeback on the desktop platform. This means that AMD will be even more prepared with its next-gen Ryzen offerings.
And that means that we are in for an epic showdown between the two chipmakers when their next-gen CPUs land on retail shelves. There is still quite a bit of road ahead for both Intel and AMD to cover before we get to see the next-gen CPUs in action. We are likely going to see some hints, teasers, concepts, and more official details throughout 2026, but these will be exciting for PC hardware enthusiasts, and hopefully for budget audiences too, who want the current PC crisis to end as soon as possible to give them time to prepare for newer upgrades.
AMD Olympic Ridge vs Intel Nova Lake-S:
| CPUs | Intel Core Ultra 400 | AMD Ryzen 10000? |
|---|---|---|
| Family | Nova Lake-S | Olympic Ridge |
| Architecture | Coyote Cove (P-Core) Arctic Wolf (E/LP Core) | Zen 6 |
| CPU Process | TSMC N2P | TSMC N2P |
| Core Count (Max) | 52 | 24 |
| Thread Count (Max) | 52 | 48 |
| Max P-Cores | 16 | 24 |
| Max E-Cores | 32 | N/A |
| Max LP-E Cores | 4 | N/A |
| Max Cache (L2+L3) | 160-320 MB | 96 MB L3 |
| Max bLLC Cache | 144-288 MB | 64 MB per stack? |
| DDR5 (1DPC 1R) | 8000 MT/s CUDIMM - Yes | 7200 MT/s? CUDIMM - Yes |
| PCIe 5.0 Lanes (Max) | 36 | TBD |
| PCIe 4.0 Lanes (Max) | 16 | TBD |
| Socket Support | LGA 1954 | AM5 |
| Max TDP (PL1) | 125-175W | 125W+ |
| Max Power | ~700W (Dual) ~350W (Single) | TBD |
| Launch | 2H 2026 | 2H 2026 |
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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