The previous rumors about Intel's upcoming Nova Lake tile die are mostly correct, and we are seeing die sizes of nearly 100 mm² for these chips.
Intel Nova Lake Tile Die Reportedly Measures 14.8 mm x 6.6 mm, Bringing Nearly 17% Reduction in Size Over Arrow Lake
A new leak from prominent leaker Golden Pig Upgrade (via @9550pro) indicates that previous estimates of Intel Nova Lake tile die size are almost correct. We recently reported that the Intel Nova Lake tile die size will be nearly 110 mm2 using TSMC's N2 process node, while variants with bLLC will measure around 150+ mm2. The leaker reports that the Nova Lake (non-bLLC) will have a tile die size of 14.8 mm x 6.6 mm, which comes to around 97.68 mm2.
This is under 100 mm2, which is impressive considering it will bring an 8+16 core configuration using Coyote Cove Performance and Arctic Wolf Efficient cores. Plus, there will be additional non-overclockable 4 LP-E cores, as reported recently. Now, comparing the supposed Nova Lake tile die size with the Arrow Lake CPUs, we see a 16.7% reduction in die size, as Arrow Lake measures 117.2 mm2.
Keep in mind that the details aren't official, so do take these numbers with some skepticism. That said, the variants with 144 MB of on-die Last-Level Cache (bLLC) are reportedly going to measure roughly 57% more or 153.92 mm2 (14.8 mm x 10.4 mm). These SKUs are reportedly built specifically to compete against AMD's X3D SKUs for superior gaming performance, where higher L3 cache often leads to faster data retrieval. That said, these will result in higher pricing, as building a larger die on cutting-edge nodes like TSMC N2 will be more expensive.
Since there will be SKUs with dual-standard 8+16 tiles with 800+ Watts PL4 limit that could enable up to 52 cores in total, the bLLC variants will push the total die area to around 307 mm2. On the other hand, the non-bLLC dual-compute tile configurations will max out at around 195 mm2, based on the latest die-size information. Here is a quick summary of the die sizes we know as of today:
- Intel Nova Lake 8+16 (Standard Compute Tile) = ~97.68mm²
- Intel Nova Lake 8+16+144 MB (bLLC Compute Tile) = ~153.92mm²
- Intel Nova Lake 16+32 (Dual Compute Tile) = ~195mm²
- Intel Nova Lake 16+32+288 MB (bLLC Dual Compute Tile) = ~307mm²
- AMD Zen 5 8 Core CCD + 32 MB/64 MB X3D = ~71mm²
- AMD Zen 6 12 Core CCD + 48 MB/TBD MB X3DL3 = ~76mm²
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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