Intel's Nova Lake processors nearing launch

Intel is preparing to launch its new generation of Nova Lake processors, with a potential presentation at CES 2027 in Las Vegas, followed by a commercial release shortly after. This upcoming release marks a significant step in Intel's efforts to remain competitive in the high-performance computing market.

Nova Lake's advanced manufacturing process

The Nova Lake architecture will be built on Intel's 18A process, competing with TSMC's N2 process, and will introduce the bLLC (Big Last Level Cache) technology, which is expected to compete with AMD's X3D. This advancement aims to improve data access speeds and overall performance.

Naming changes and performance benchmarks

Intel may also overhaul its processor naming convention, with all Nova Lake chips sharing the "Core 4000" designation with variations in suffixes. Initial samples of Nova Lake processors have been spotted on PassMark databases, showing that the 28-core Nova Lake-S achieved a score of 5,210 points on CPUMark, outperforming the Core Ultra 9 285K and AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D processors.

Performance improvements and limitations

However, multi-threaded performance still lags behind the best current processors. A leaker named Haze mentioned that Nova Lake would have an 8% improvement in instructions per cycle (IPC) over Arrow Lake, with the bLLC-equipped processors potentially achieving a 17% IPC improvement. Intel's APX technology could provide gains of about 15%, and gaming performance could see a 20% increase. However, these figures lack precision and official confirmation.

Gaming performance estimates

VideoCardz reported that documents suggest the 28-core Nova Lake-S processor could offer up to 16% higher gaming performance compared to the 250 W Core Ultra 9 285K in a 285 W configuration, with a potential 33% gain in a 296 W configuration. These figures are not official and remain speculative.