Intel Nova Lake this year
Nova Lake is Intel’s next mainstream client CPU generation after Core Ultra Series 3, which Intel uses for the Panther Lake lineup. Intel has pointed to an end of 2026 timing for Nova Lake on the yesterday’s investor call. That timing puts Nova Lake in position to carry a large part of Intel’s 2027 client stack.
Nova Lake would replace Arrow Lake on desktop. Nova Lake would also follow Panther Lake in mobile. On desktop, Nova Lake-S is widely expected to move to a new socket called LGA-1954. That would mark the next platform change after LGA-1851 used by Arrow Lake-S. Reports also suggest LGA-1954 may keep similar mechanical dimensions to LGA-1851, which could help cooler compatibility, but the platform would still require new motherboards and chipsets.
Along with our next generation Nova Lake, coming at the end of 2026, we now have a client roadmap that combines best-in-class performance with cost optimized solutions, giving me confidence that we are on a path to fortify market share and profitability, in both notebooks and desktops, over the next several years.
— Lip-Bu Tan, Intel CEO
Intel needs a clean, on-time client refresh that improves competitiveness across notebooks and desktops. Intel has also tied near-term risk to execution, including manufacturing yield progress.
For CPU cores, current reporting points to new architectures called Coyote Cove for P-cores and Arctic Wolf for E-cores. On graphics, rumors point to a mix of Xe3 and Xe3P IP in the package. The new series would top at 52 total cores and also feature a newer neural processor.
Currently, all eyes are on something called BLLC (Big Last Level Cache). This would be Intel’s response to AMD 3D V-Cache design, which has completely dominated the enthusiast segment, especially for gamers.
| Intel Desktop Platforms Specs (Rumors) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VideoCardz.com | Codename | Socket | CPU Cores | GPU | NPU | BLLC |
| 12th Gen Core Alder Lake-S | Alder Lake-S | LGA-1700 | 16 (8P + 8E) | Xe-LP | ❌ | ❌ |
| 13th Gen Core Raptor Lake-S | Raptor Lake-S | LGA-1700 | 24 (8P + 16E) | Xe-LP | ❌ | ❌ |
| 14th Gen Core Raptor Lake-S Refresh | Raptor Lake-S Refresh | LGA-1700 | 24 (8P + 16E) | Xe-LP | ❌ | ❌ |
| Core (Ultra) 200 Arrow Lake-S | Arrow Lake-S | LGA-1851 | 24 (8P + 16E) | Xe-LPG | NPU3 | ❌ |
| Core (Ultra) 200 Arrow Lake-S Refresh | Arrow Lake-S Refresh | LGA-1851 | 24 (8P + 16E) | Xe-LPG | NPU3 | ❌ |
| Core (Ultra) 400 Nova Lake-S ⬅️ | Nova Lake-S | LGA-1954 | 52 (16P + 32E + 4 LP-E) | Xe3(p)-LPG | NPU6 | ✅ |
Source: Intel Q4’25 earnings remarks
