Intel Nova Lake single-cluster E-core cutdowns may not lose L3 cache

Intel’s Nova Lake processors with partially disabled E-core clusters may retain more L3 cache than previously expected. According to Intel hardware leaker Jaykihn, configurations created by disabling a single four-core E-core cluster will keep the L3 cache configuration of the fully enabled variant.

The 8P+12E+4 LP-E configuration is now said to feature 36MB of L3 cache, matching the 8P+16E+4 LP-E version. Earlier information suggested that the reduced E-core configuration would drop to 33MB.

Disabled E-core cluster does not reduce L3 cache

The same rule reportedly applies further down the lineup. A 4P+4E+4 LP-E configuration is now expected to retain 18MB of L3 cache, the same amount as the 4P+8E+4 LP-E configuration. This is another 3MB increase over the previously reported 15MB figure.

Not every Nova Lake configuration follows this pattern. Jaykihn says the 6P+12E+4 LP-E configuration remains at 30MB. This suggests the cache allocation depends on how Intel creates each SKU rather than simply scaling with the number of enabled E-core clusters.

The updated information also applies to Nova Lake-HX , Intel’s upcoming high-performance mobile platform. This means some HX processors with disabled E-core clusters could retain the same L3 cache capacity as higher-core-count models based on the same configuration.

Intel has not confirmed Nova Lake specifications or its final SKU lineup.

Source: Jaykihn

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