Intel’s upcoming Nova Lake chips have just hit the rumor mill, and the latest leak reveals a few interesting details about how the Core Ultra Series 4 desktop family might take shape.
The company’s Nova Lake desktop range can be based on three different chip variants. These are reportedly called Nova Lake-S 8P+16E, 8P+12E and 6P+8E, giving us a first idea of ​​how Intel might segment its next mainstream desktop CPUs into high-end, midrange and entry-level classes.
Why is this leak attracting attention?
In addition to updating its desktop offerings, Intel may also reorganize core count scaling and product tiers. Wccftech says the top Nova Lake S chip is expected to have eight performance cores and 16 efficiency cores, while the mid-tier and low-tier versions reduce the number of E and P cores to cover different segments. If that’s true, Intel should continue to stick to its hybrid design strategy.
What does the leak actually say about the line-up?
The leaks suggest that the three dies could be assigned to the broader Core Ultra Series 4 stack, with the 8P+16E configuration likely able to handle higher-end SKUs, the 8P+12E portion covering the middle, and the 6P+8E die targeting cheaper chips. Each chip is said to contain integrated Xe3 graphics. To better compete with AMD’s X3D-style gaming chips, there are rumors of large LLC (or bLLC) variants that could have 144MB of cache, while dual-tile versions could be up to 288MB.
If this leak is money, Nova Lake could be another sign that Intel wants to tighten the separation between desktop processors without going overboard with core inflation limited to flagships only. Intel could even build a dual-compute tile Nova Lake chip with up to 52 cores, consisting of two dies each carrying 8 performance cores and 16 efficiency cores, plus 4 low-power efficiency cores that are not doubled.
The report also mentions a 44-core variant that uses the same dual-tile concept. Both are said to be aimed at enthusiast users and could operate at up to 175W. Additionally, the rest of the desktop lineup will include Core Ultra 9, 7, 5, and 3 series processors, with mainstream models ranging from 35W to 125W. Other notable info includes up to 74 TOPS of AI performance, standard DDR5-8000, Thunderbolt 5 and WiFi 7 support, and the new LGA 1954 platform, also known as Socket V.
