Details for Intel's "next-gen" Nova Lake lineup have finally surfaced, giving us a glimpse of the rumored core counts for multiple CPU variants.
Intel's Nova Lake-S Desktop CPU Lineup Will Succeed Arrow Lake-S SKUs, Likely Featuring Impressive Performance With Doubling of P & E Cores
Well, Intel's Arrow Lake series hasn't lived up to expectations at all. Since the ARL-S variants have brought in a rather disappointing performance, the next point of optimism is Nova Lake. Intel has offered little to no details regarding Nova Lake, but it seems like a new leak from the Redditor @Exist50 (via HXL) has given us a rundown of potential specifications of Nova Lake-S, HX, U, and H lineups, and they look pretty interesting.
Nova Lake Configuration Rumors
NVL-SK: 2*8+16
NVL-HX: 1*8+16
NVL-S/NVL-H: 4+8
NVL-U: 4+0https://t.co/olvUda0A2p— HXL (@9550pro) January 31, 2025
Intel's upcoming CPU lineup is said to feature a max core configuration of 2*8 P-Cores along with 16 E-Cores, which will mark a decent improvement from Arrow Lake-S's flagship CPU, the Core Ultra 9 285K. Along with this, we are looking at other lineups, such as Nova Lake-H, that will debut in the mobile segment. Here's what Nova Lake's core configuration looks like:
- NVL-SK: 2*8+16
- NVL-HX: 1*8+16
- NVL-S/NVL-H: 4+8
- NVL-U: 4+0
Based on the details, the Intel Nova Lake-S top configuration can offer up to 16 P-Cores and 32 E-Cores. It looks like Intel will be going with a dual compute tile, which would lead to these increased core counts as a means to tackle AMD's upcoming Zen 6 offerings, which are also expected to bump up the core configurations up to 32 cores per CCD.
Intel's Nova Lake-S Desktop CPUs will be the true successor to the Arrow Lake-S lineup and should be part of the "Core Ultra 400" series as the "Core Ultra 300" series will utilize the Panther Lake CPU design, but those chips aren't expected to launch on mainstream desktop platforms. They are expected to use Coyote Core P-Cores and Arctic Wolf E-Cores, and that's all we know for now, but given that Nova Lake is scheduled to launch next year, we do expect more information to surface in upcoming times.
Intel Desktop CPU Generations Comparison:
| Intel CPU Family | Processor Process | Processor Architecture | Graphics Architecture | Processors Cores/Threads (Max) | Platform | Memory Support | PCIe Support | Launch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alder Lake (12th Gen) | Intel 7 | Golden Cove (P-Core) Gracemont (E-Core) | HD 700 Series | 16/24 | LGA 1700/1800 | DDR5 / DDR4 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2021 |
| Raptor Lake (13th Gen) | Intel 7 | Raptor Cove (P-Core) Gracemont (E-Core) | HD 700 Series | 24/32 | LGA 1700/1800 | DDR5 / DDR4 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2022 |
| Raptor Lake Refresh (14th Gen) | Intel 7 | Raptor Cove (P-Core) Gracemont (E-Core) | HD 700 Series | 24/32 | LGA 1700/1800 | DDR5 / DDR4 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2023 |
| Arrow Lake (Core Ultra 200) | TSMC N3B | Lion Cove (P-Core) Skymont (E-Core) | Xe1 (Alchemist) | 24/24 | LGA 1851 | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2024 |
| Arrow Lake Refresh (Core Ultra 200 Plus) | TSMC N3B | Lion Cove (P-Core) Skymont (E-Core) | Xe1 (Alchemist) | 24/24 | LGA 1851 | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2026 |
| Nova Lake (Core Ultra 400?) | TBA | Coyote Cove (P-Core) Arctic Wolf (E-Core) | Xe3 (Battlemage) | 52/52 | LGA 1954 | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2026-2027? |
| Razer Lake (Core Ultra 500?) | TBA | Griffin Cove (P-Core)? Golden Eagle (E-Core)? | TBA | TBA | LGA 1954? | TBA | TBA | 2027-2028? |
| Hammer Lake (Core Ultra 700?) | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | LGA 1954? | TBA | TBA | 2029-2030? |
About the author: Muhammad Zuhair is a hardware and technology reporter for Wccftech, specializing in the semiconductor industry and the complex interplay between technology, manufacturing, and geopolitics. His coverage focuses on the corporate strategies and technological roadmaps of industry giants like TSMC, NVIDIA, Samsung, and Intel. Zuhair's expertise lies in deconstructing complex topics such as fabrication nodes (e.g., 2nm process), the economic impact of policies like the CHIPS Act, and the strategic development of AI infrastructure from NVIDIA, AMD and Intel.
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