Intel's Nova Lake flagship may temporarily consume up to 474W under heavy boost workloads.
Intel's Nova Lake Flagship 52-Core Chip Could Push PL2 Power to a Massive 474W as Intel Sends Revised Z990 Power Design Instructions With 3x 8-pin EPS Connectors
More leaks are surfacing regarding Intel's upcoming Nova Lake lineup. As of today, we expect Intel's top-of-the-line Nova Lake S desktop lineup to feature up to a 52-core configuration, which is a massive jump over the current 24-core/24-thread configuration from Intel Arrow Lake S series. Intel did offer up to 32 threads in the Raptor Lake/Refresh lineup, but with the addition of 20 cores, expect a decent jump in power consumption as well.
As far as the PL2 or Power Level 2 is concerned, it's expected that Intel's upcoming dual-tile desktop CPUs may support up to 474 W, as per LC Tech Leaks. Intel has reportedly revised the platform's power delivery design so that dual-compute-tile Nova Lake processors can support a PL2 target of up to 474W while operating at their intended stock performance limits.
The statement "Over 474 - dual die OC" indicates that power draw exceeding 474W would likely occur during overclocking when users are manually pushing the CPU beyond its default specs. The user also posted a pic of the 3x 8-pin socket design on the PCB, but in reality, it's a 2x 8 EPS + 1x PCIe 8-pin socket. The final change is said to take place on Z990 chipset motherboards soon, and we are likely going to see triple 8-pin EPS CPU power connectors on some motherboards.
However, leaker @jaykihn0 says that three connectors aren't necessary for dual-tile CPUs, but it's still a convenient addition. Moreover, the Z970 chipset won't be using a triple EPS connector configuration. As per the leaker, 3x EPS connectors are a "nice-to-have" feature, but they still don't unlock a higher power state for the 52-core CPU. There will be Z990 175W boards that will still ship with three connectors, but many will carry just two, and this doesn't affect the CPU performance profile.
The user explains how the boards will be segmented into different power classes, including 35W Baseline/cfgdwn, 65W Value/Performance, 125W, and 175W Baseline/Performance. Moreover, CPUs that are deployed on boards rated lower than their PL1 will operate at a lower performance profile by default. Nonetheless, despite a 474W PL2, the leaker claims "all" Z990 175W chipset motherboards are expected to be ready for 44 Core and 52 Core chips.
About the author: Sarfraz Khan is a hardware reporter with a focus on PC components and the builder community. With years of experience writing about PC hardware and laptops, his work has been featured on several reputable technology publications. Sarfraz's hands-on experience is demonstrated through his first-person accounts of using and comparing different hardware configurations, providing practical and relatable insights for everyday users. His technical analysis is respected by peers in the enthusiast community and has been cited by specialized hardware sites such as Germany's Igor's Lab.
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