Intel's upcoming "Nova Lake" desktop processors are taking shape slowly, featuring a three-tier core design that could reach 52 total cores. Set for 2026, the flagship SKU combines 16 "Coyote Cove" P-cores with 32 "Arctic Wolf" E-cores, supplemented by 4 LPE-cores for background task management. Intel is reportedly also considering 28-core (8P + 16E + 4LPE), and 16-core (4P + 8E + 4LPE) SKUs too. The architectural design choice centers on Intel's hybrid manufacturing approach, leveraging both its internal 14A node and TSMC's 2 nm process technology. This strategic decision addresses supply chain resilience while potentially enabling higher yields for critical compute tiles. Intel's interim co-CEO Michelle Johnston Holthaus noted that Intel Foundry will need to earn Intel Product's trust with each new node, so if a node is not the best for their in-house IP, Intel will move to TSMC for production.

Initial engineering samples are already circulating among developers, according to shipping documentation from NBD, suggesting the validation phase is proceeding on schedule. Some specifications point to significant cache improvements, with documentation suggesting a 144 MB L3 cache implementation. However, the cache topology—whether unified or segmented—remains unspecified. The platform is expected to support PCIe Gen 6.0, though Intel has yet to confirm socket compatibility or memory specifications. However, we need to hold our expectations low. Previously unrealized configurations in Intel's roadmaps, like 40-core "Arrow Lake," never materialized, and instead, we got an eight-P-core version with 16 E-cores, totaling 24 cores. Final specifications may evolve as the platform progresses through development phases.

Intel's freshly uploaded fourth-quarter 2024 "CEO/CFO earnings call comments" document has revealed grand CPU-related plans for 2025 and beyond. One of Team Blue's interim leaders—Michelle Johnston Holthaus—believes that "Nova Lake" processors (a next-generation client family) will arrive in 2026, following a comprehensive rollout of "Panther Lake" CPU products. This official timeline matches previously leaked and rumored development schedules—most notably, in a shipping manifest that was discovered last week. In recent times, industry watchdogs have linked "Nova Lake" to Intel's own 14A node and a TSMC 2 nm process node. Additionally, tipsters pointed to an apparent selection of Coyote Cove performance cores and Arctic Wolf efficiency-oriented cores.

Following yesterday's official announcements, a leaker shared several insights—theorized core configurations and manufacturing details were posted on the Hardware subreddit. Community members were engaged in a debate over Intel's "killing of Falcon Shore," but a plucky contributor—going under the moniker "Exist50"—redirected conversation to all-things "Nova Lake." They believe that Intel has shifted all "compute dies to TSMC" for manufacturing, after a change in plans—initial designs had the "8+16 die" on TSMC's N2P, and the "4+8 die on Intel 18A." Exist50 seemed to have inside track knowledge of product ranges: "Nova Lake (NVL) has a unified HUB/SoC die across mobile and desktop. So yeah, the baseline there is 4+8+4. But there's at least one more die for mobile." The flagship desktop (NVL-S or NVL-SK) chip's configuration could feature as many as sixteen performance cores and thirty-two efficiency cores, due to tile reuse—2x (8P+16E). Exist50 advised Intel CPU enthusiasts to forgo current generation offerings. "Nova Lake" should be: "quite a jump from Arrow Lake (ARL) in terms of MT performance, to say the least. I think anyone who buys ARL will end up regretting it, big time!"

Intel shared some news and updates about its upcoming CPU architectures during the Q4 earnings call. Intel confirmed that "Panther Lake", its next major CPU, is set to be released in late 2025. "Panther Lake" will use Intel's latest 18A manufacturing process and might be part of the Core Ultra 300 series. "Panther Lake" is rumored to combine next-generation "Cougar Cove" P-cores with existing "Skymont" E-cores both in the Compute complex, and in the SoC tile as low-power island E-cores. However, Intel hasn't confirmed if it will be available for desktop systems.

The following CPU architecture, "Nova Lake", is set to debut in 2026. Unlike "Panther Lake", we know "Nova Lake" will work on desktop computers. This suggests desktop users might need to wait until 2026 for an upgrade unless Intel surprises us with a desktop version of "Panther Lake" or an alternative option.

Shipping manifests at NBD.ltd have revealed the presence of Intel's "Nova Lake" test chips, providing insight into the development timeline of the company's 2026 processor platform. The discovery comes as Intel prepares for the launch of its "Panther Lake" CPUs on the 18A process node in late 2025. Nova Lake is positioned to replace both Panther Lake for mobile devices and "Arrow Lake" for desktop systems. The manufacturing process remains unconfirmed, with Intel potentially using either its in-house 14A node or TSMC's 2 nm technology. Following recent practices, Intel may split production between its own facilities and TSMC for different components. Rumored specifications show that Nova Lake will use Coyote Cove performance cores and Arctic Wolf efficiency cores.

Unlike Lunar Lake, it will not incorporate on-package memory, maintaining a more conventional design approach. The test chip's appearance suggests Intel is adhering to its development schedule. This timing aligns with the company's plans for Panther Lake's mass production in the second half of 2025, a structured transition between generations. Documents point to "Razor Lake" as Nova Lake's eventual successor, though detailed specifications are not yet available. Panther Lake, the immediate predecessor to Nova Lake, will focus primarily on mobile computing, with desktop variants limited to Mini PC implementations. This approach mirrors the Meteor Lake generation, which saw limited desktop release through the "PS" series for Edge platforms. The Nova Lake platform is expected to support DDR5 memory and may introduce PCIe Gen 6.0 compatibility, with final specifications unconfirmed.

FinalWire Ltd. today announced the immediate availability of AIDA64 Extreme 7.50 software, a streamlined diagnostic and benchmarking tool for home users; the immediate availability of AIDA64 Engineer 7.50 software, a professional diagnostic and benchmarking solution for corporate IT technicians and engineers; the immediate availability of AIDA64 Business 7.50 software, an essential network management solution for small and medium scale enterprises; and the immediate availability of AIDA64 Network Audit 7.50 software, a dedicated network audit toolset to collect and manage corporate network inventories.

The new AIDA64 update introduces SensorPanel Core template, AVX2 accelerated benchmarks for Intel Arrow Lake processors, and supports the latest graphics and GPGPU computing technologies by AMD, Intel and NVIDIA.

Intel's future processor microarchitectures and their constituent CPU cores have hit the rumor-mill. The "Lion Cove" P-core is now current-gen, as products based on the Core Ultra 200V "Lunar Lake" processor, which implements it, have been announced. "Lion Cove" will also be the main workhorse of "Arrow Lake," and Intel's Xeon 7 P-core server processors. The core ditches Hyper-Threading, but introduces a double-digit percent IPC gain over "Raptor Cove." The thunder of "Lion Cove" was stolen by the new "Skymont" E-core during the "Lunar Lake" technical presentations, as it offers nearly the same IPC as "Raptor Cove," at much lower power, and is held back by a lack of HTT and its inability to operate at high clock speeds that "Raptor Cove" can. We predict "Skymont" is shaking things up at Intel, and will have an impact on the way the company's future CPU cores are designed—to place greater emphasis on power and die-area to achieve IPC growth targets with each generation.

The successor to "Lion Cove" is codenamed "Royal Core." This would be the first time in over five years (since "Sunny Cove") that Intel's P-core codename doesn't use "Cove," signaling a departure from that naming scheme. The first iteration of "Royal Core" will power Intel's "Nova Lake" microarchitecture that succeeds "Lunar Lake." A slightly updated version of this core, codenamed "Royal Core 1.1," will power the "Beast Lake" microarchitecture, which likely falls in the lineage of "Arrow Lake," if not being a direct successor to it. An alleged Intel employee's work project description revealed "Cobra Core," a CPU core that succeeds "Royal Core," although the codename of its parent microarchitecture hasn't been revealed. Microarchitectures such as "Beast Lake," and its successor implementing "Cobra Core" are slated for much later into the decade, and we don't expect them to see the light of the day till at least 2026-27, if not later.

A product roadmap leak at leading PC OEM Dell, disclosed the tentative launch dates of several future generations of processors by Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm. The slide was detailing hardware platforms for future revisions of the company's premium XPS notebooks. Given that Dell remains one of the largest PC OEMs, the dates revealed in the leaked slides are highly plausible.

In chronological order, Dell expects Intel's Core Ultra 200V series "Lunar Lake-MX" processor in September 2024, which should mean product unveilings at Computex. It's interesting to note that Intel is only designing "Lunar Lake" for the -MX memory-on-package segment. This chip squares off against Apple's M3, M4, and possibly even the M3 Pro. Intel also has its ambitious "Arrow Lake" architecture planned for the second half of 2024, hence the lack of product overlap—there won't be an "Arrow Lake-MX."