{"id":249374,"date":"2025-06-19T19:25:04","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T17:25:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/?p=249374\/"},"modified":"2025-06-19T19:26:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T17:26:18","slug":"intel-nova-lake-cpus-come-with-big-igpu-and-media-engine-upgrades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/intel-nova-lake-cpus-come-with-big-igpu-and-media-engine-upgrades\/","title":{"rendered":"Intel Nova Lake CPUs will bring big iGPU and media engine upgrades"},"content":{"rendered":"

Intel’s Arrow Lake desktop CPUs<\/a> have much more interesting integrated GPUs than the previous Core processors, but they\u2019re derived from the 1st gen Arc graphics, lagging behind the Lunar Lake processors<\/a> that include the Xe2 architecture<\/a> like the new Arc “Battlemage” cards. However, it appears the upcoming Nova Lake<\/a> generation due out next year could mark a significant leap forward in integrated GPU capabilities and be quite compelling.<\/p>\n

On X (formerly Twitter), the insider going by the nick Jaykihn \u2013 who has previously leaked numerous accurate details about upcoming Intel processors and clearly has well-placed sources \u2013 has spoken up again. According to their sources, Nova Lake desktop processors (“Nova Lake-S”) will bring major upgrades in GPU and multimedia features.<\/p>\n

New graphics architecture<\/h3>\n

With the graphics core, Intel is not only catching up \u2013 it\u2019s going beyond. The Xe2 architecture will be skipped entirely on the desktop, and integrated GPUs in Nova Lake processors will already be based on the new Xe3<\/strong> architecture, which should still be hot off the press by the time these CPUs launch. This is the architecture that, in discrete Arc graphics cards, carries the codename Celestial<\/strong> (the “C” generation, denoting the third).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not yet clear what architectural innovations and improvements Celestial will bring, but Intel will likely aim to improve both the efficiency of the architecture and the performance per unit at a given clock speed. It\u2019s also expected they\u2019ll try to raise clock speeds. Celestial could potentially bring Intel closer to AMD and Nvidia in terms of GPU architecture. Support for newer technologies \u2013 like those in DXR 1.2 (especially Opacity Micromaps) \u2013 is also anticipated.<\/p>\n

Read more: DXR 1.2: New tech for better ray tracing graphics performance<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

And even newer multimedia<\/h3>\n

That said, Celestial appears to only provide the 3D core and compute units. According to Jaykihn, Nova Lake will also incorporate elements of the next-generation Xe4<\/strong> architecture. That architecture corresponds to the fourth-generation discrete “Druid” Arc graphics cards (assuming those make it to market and Intel doesn\u2019t cancel them).<\/p>\n

The multimedia blocks and display outputs are expected to be based on Xe4 \/ Druid. That\u2019s a good thing, as it increases the chances of features like HDMI 2.2 output<\/a> being supported. A newer multimedia block should also mean richer features and broader format support. Nova Lake will likely inherit playback support for the VVC format from Xe2 \/ Battlemage-based Lunar Lake CPUs, but the media engine in Xe4 could theoretically also support encoding to that format.<\/p>\n

According to another source (leaker going by Bionic_Squash), “professional codecs” will be supported. Unfortunately, this isn\u2019t explained further, so it\u2019s unclear whether that includes formats like Red Digital Cinema\u2019s Redcode RAW or Apple\u2019s ProRes. Among CPU and GPU vendors for PCs, Intel already has some of the best \u2013 if not the best \u2013 multimedia support. So it\u2019s quite possible that Nova Lake will be the most capable platform for hardware video playback and encoding at launch.<\/p>\n

\"Sch\u00e9ma<\/a>
Chiplet layout of the Intel Core Ultra 200 (Arrow Lake) processors<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The use of two different architectures may stem from Nova Lake once again being a chiplet-based processor. The Xe3-based integrated GPU \u2013 which resides in a separate tile \u2013 might indicate that this part of the CPU was developed earlier. Meanwhile, the media engines and display outputs are placed in the SoC chiplet, so the presence of newer IP there is notable. It suggests that the SoC chiplet design is more recent and possibly a higher priority.<\/p>\n

Intel’s chance to return to the spotlight<\/h3>\n

Nova Lake desktop processors should also be noteworthy in terms of performance, as Intel is reportedly planning to integrate up to 48 cores in desktop models. Together with the low-power LP E-Cores in the SoC chiplet, that could total up to 52 cores. These CPUs could thus dominate the desktop in multithreaded performance \u2013 though potentially at the cost of high power consumption (speculated to be between 300 and 400 W, though that remains to be seen).<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Read more: Intel Nova Lake has 52 cores. V-Cache and CPU w\/o E-Cores also planned<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    On the other hand, the chips are expected to be built on TSMC\u2019s cutting-edge 2nm process, and if Intel also manages to improve the architecture\u2019s energy efficiency, then even doubling the core count compared to today\u2019s Arrow Lake processors might not result in extreme power consumption (at least not beyond the 320 W or more seen in some Raptor Lake chips).<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s already more or less confirmed that Nova Lake-S will require a new socket (meaning a new motherboard will be needed) \u2013 specifically the LGA 1954. However, the physical size of the processor will remain the same, so cooler compatibility is likely to be preserved.<\/p>\n

    These processors and motherboards based on the LGA 1954 platform are expected to launch in the second half of 2026.<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Tip: Intel Nova Lake CPUs to use a new socket, LGA 1851 is done<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
    • Tip: <\/strong>Intel Nova Lake to keep compatibility with LGA 1700\/1851 coolers<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Sources: Jaykihn (1<\/a>, 2<\/a>), Bionic_Squash<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

      English translation and edit by Jozef Dud\u00e1\u0161<\/em><\/p>\n