The final quarter of the year is here, and it increasingly looks like we will not see a new generation of x86 CPUs before the end of it, whether from AMD (Zen 6 has been launched in servers only) or Intel. There is a sign that the latter’s new CPUs are getting closer, though. The silicon for “Nova Lake” CPUs with a new architecture and 2nm manufacturing process has now successfully passed certification for USB4 and PCI Express 5.0 support.
Testing and validation of whether these technologies are implemented correctly and are fully compliant and compatible is administered by the consortiums responsible for developing these standards (USB-IF and PCI-SIG). As a result, information that testing has taken place is easier to obtain than information about the state of preparations progressing internally at Intel.
USB Controllers in the Processor and Chipset
According to the USB-IF database, Intel has already completed validation of USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (USB 20 Gb/s) controller in the chipsets for desktop motherboards for Nova Lake processors—the device is listed in the database as “Nova Lake PCH-S” with Device ID 6E6E, and the certification is probably valid for all the upcoming chipset models that we discussed here.
The desktop processor (Nova Lake-S), which contains the USB4 and Thunderbolt controller as well (as is already the case with today’s Arrow Lake on the LGA 1851 platform), is not yet in the databases, but the Nova Lake-H notebook processor has passed USB4 validation. It is quite possible that the desktop model will be covered by the same certification, because its controller is identical—the USB-IF has a procedure called “Qualification by Similarity” for these purposes, which allows redundant validation to be skipped in such cases.
Nova Lake-H is listed in the USB-IF database as a device with D331 and D333 Device IDs, and USB4 v2.0 support at 80 Gb/s has been validated for it (which should mean that the asymmetric 120 Gb/s mode can also be used). According to older information, Nova Lake desktop processors can also support 80Gb/s USB4, but the motherboards must have additional supporting chips capable of handling this speed, so it may be reserved for more expensive models.
PCI Express 5.0
More processors have passed compatibility validation with the PCI Express standard, apparently representing different Nova Lake variants—or rather, the PCI Express 5.0 controller integrated into them. These devices have D461, D465 and D467-D46A identifiers and have passed the conformance tests. Unfortunately, this information again confirms that the LGA 1954 platform with Nova Lake processors will not support PCI Express 6.0 with lane speeds of 8 GB/s, so there will only be PCIe 5.0 ×16 available (with the option to split it into ×8/×8) for GPUs and PCIe 5.0 ×4 for SSDs. This is not a surprise, however, as this was already known, and apparently AMD’s competing Zen 6 on the desktop AM5 socket will not support PCI Express 6.0 either.
Intel has also validated PCI Express 5.0 support in the 900-series chipsets for desktop processors. This was validated on devices with 6E38-6E3F, 6E30-6E35 and 6E40-6E47 identifiers, which gradually appeared in the validation database in April and August.
Desktop Nova Lake Release Probably Coming in Q1 2027
Along with this testing, Intel should now also be providing processor samples to motherboard and PC manufacturers for their own testing and development. This should hopefully increase the chances of leaks and the possibility that we will see some benchmarks revealing the performance of these new CPUs before their release.
However, the reports we have so far more or less indicate that the desktop version of Nova Lake with the new LGA 1954 platform will not launch until the first quarter of 2027 (possibly even in the first months) of the year, so you probably should not expect it before Christmas. What is not ruled out, however, is that Intel could launch some Nova Lake notebook processors before Christmas, either formally or even in actual notebooks released on the market. These could facilitate some regular reviews and performance tests coming out this year, in theory.
Source: Tom’s Hardware
English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš
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