Something to look forward to: Intel's upcoming Arrow Lake processors could see a major bump in L2 cache compared to their predecessors. If the unofficial reports turn to be accurate, it would be a major win for PC gamers, as the added cache could improve performance across the board.

The news comes from prolific leaker Golden Pig Upgrade (via @9550pro ), who claims that 15th-gen Core Arrow Lake chips could have up to 3MB of L2 cache per Performance core. That would be a major upgrade over the current-generation Raptor Lake lineup, which offers 2MB of L2 cache per Performance core and 4MB of L2 cache per cluster of 4 Efficiency cores. The older Alder Lake chips, meanwhile, have just 1.25MB of L2 cache per P-core.

Also read: How CPU Cores & Cache Impact Gaming Performance

The move could mean that the total amount of L2 cache in Arrow Lake processors will be significantly higher than what we've seen in existing Intel CPUs. For example, the top-of-the-line Arrow Lake chip, potentially called the Core i9-15900K, could come with as much as 56MB of L2 cache, as opposed to just 32MB in the Core i9-13900K.

That's because in addition to the 8 'Lion Cove' P-cores, the flagship Arrow Lake chip is rumored to come with 32 'Skymont' E-cores, each of which is expected to ship with 1MB of L2 cache each. So, while the 8 Performance cores could have 24MB of L2 cache, the additional 32 E-cores could have at least 32MB of L2 cache, potentially making the Arrow Lake flagship significantly faster than its predecessor in most applications.

ARL-S Big Core L2 3MB (per Core) https://t.co/31XsVl4x8Z

– HXL (@9550pro) August 12, 2023

The additional cache in Arrow Lake chips could allow for improved gaming performance. That's because the built-in cache allows a CPU to store executable data close to its cores, thereby reducing the time taken to access it. The more the cache, the greater the amount of data that the CPU can access without latency, thereby improving performance. While L1 cache is the fastest as it's closest to the cores, L2 cache comes second, followed by the relatively slower L3 cache.

It is worth noting that Intel has yet to confirm Arrow Lake specifications, but they have revealed some tidbits, including the manufacturing process nodes and the potential launch window. At its Investor Meeting in 2022, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger announced that Arrow Lake will utilize three process nodes: Intel 4, Intel 20A, and External N3 technology. He also confirmed that the lineup will launch in 2024, following the release of Meteor Lake chips in 2023.