Intel Nova Lake: Everything we know so far

We know that Intel's upcoming chip generation will include the Panther Lake and Arrow Lake Refresh architectures.

Panther Lake will be for thin and light laptops and possibly some gaming handhelds, while Arrow Lake Refresh will hit desktops and high-performance gaming and workstation laptops. While not yet officially confirmed, these architectures are expected to go to market as the Intel Core Ultra 300 generation.

But what about the next generation after that?

Considering what we know of Intel's development roadmap, the expected Core Ultra 400 chips are being worked on under the codename Nova Lake.

But what do we know about Intel's ambitious 2026 chipset so far? Let's take a look.

Intel Nova Lake: Release date

Nova Lake is the codename for Intel's next major CPU architecture, following Arrow Lake Refresh and Panther Lake this year.

Based on Intel's usual timeline, we don't expect to see Nova Lake until 2026. It will likely be released sometime in the fall, and more details on the chipset will emerge in the summer and early fall of that year.

Intel Nova Lake: Architecture

Intel Nova Lake is an SoC (system-on-a-chip) style processor, with a CPU and GPU integrated into the tile. Intel will likely include an NPU on Nova Lake, as it did for Arrow Lake.

Nova Lake's CPU tile reportedly features up to 52 cores, comprised of Coyote Cove P (performance) cores and Arctic Wolf E (efficiency) cores.

Early details on Nova Lake's architecture imply the chipset will have a hybrid integrated GPU that combines Intel's Xe 3 and Xe 4 graphics architectures on the integrated graphics tile.

According to well-known Intel leaker Jaykihn, the Xe 3 architecture is expected to handle graphics rendering, while the Xe 4 section of the tile will be used for display and media operations.

This could offer stronger integrated graphics power to Nova Lake systems, potentially negating the need for a discrete GPU.

While Intel has made serious strides with its discrete Arc GPU business, the company has also made powerful claims about its integrated graphics performance, particularly on mobile platforms.

The split graphics architecture on Nova Lake could indicate a switch from discrete GPUs to integrated graphics, even on desktop. Though only time will tell.

Intel Nova Lake: Platforms

Nova Lake is currently expected to power desktops (-S suffix chipsets), though there are also rumors of a high-performance (-H suffix) laptop variant and potentially a more efficiency-focused (-U suffix) laptop version.

Desktop Nova Lake chipsets will likely be available immediately at launch, though it appears anyone looking to upgrade their PC with Nova Lake will also need to invest in a new motherboard. The chipset changes the socket type to LGA1954, which is different from the current Arrow Lake and Arrow Lake Refresh models.

Intel traditionally launches the desktop variant of an architecture first, so Nova Lake will likely launch on desktop in the fall, with laptops coming in early 2027.

Outlook

It's still early to know how Nova Lake will perform or to have too many confirmed details on the chipset's architecture. But we will be collating more information as it becomes available ahead of the SoC's launch.

In the meantime, Intel is expected to launch its Panther Lake and Arrow Lake Refresh chipsets later this year.

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