Something to look forward to: Intel has revealed little about its next-generation socketed desktop CPUs. However, rumors suggest the company is preparing to challenge AMD's high-end, gaming-focused X3D processors after several years of stagnation. During a recent conference call, Intel confirmed its upcoming lineup remains on track for a launch later this year.
During Intel's fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call, CEO Lip-Bu Tan confirmed the company plans to introduce Nova Lake desktop processors – presumably labeled Core Ultra 400 – by the end of the year. Prior reports from trusted leakers indicate the high-end CPUs will include significant architectural overhauls.
While Intel has not disclosed official performance targets for Nova Lake, Tan said the company aims to strengthen its desktop and laptop market share in the coming years. The comment likely reflects Intel's gradually declining control over both segments amid the rise of AMD's Zen processors and Apple's M-series chips over the past eight years.
AMD's market share gains have accelerated since the introduction of 3D V-Cache, which raised the L3 cache ceiling for Ryzen processors to 128MB and delivered substantial gaming performance improvements. Intel's Raptor Lake and Arrow Lake lineups have yet to challenge recent Zen CPUs, but rumors indicate that both Nova Lake and Zen 6 will bring major upgrades later this year.
While Arrow Lake's top-end Core Ultra 9 285HX and Zen 5's flagship Ryzen 9 9950X3D top out at 36MB and 128MB of L3 cache, respectively, their successors could reach an unprecedented 288MB. As AMD upgrades 3D V-Cache, Nova Lake is expected to respond with large Last-Level Cache, a feature Intel previously introduced in its Clearwater Forest server processors.
The top-end Nova Lake CPU, possibly called the Core Ultra 9 485K, is expected to feature 52 cores: 16 Coyote Cove performance cores, 32 Arctic Wolf efficiency cores, four low-power island cores, Xe3 Celestial integrated graphics cores, and a 150W power rating – making it likely the most ambitious desktop processor in Intel's history. The Core Ultra 7 configuration includes 42 cores, while Core Ultra 5 chips will feature up to 28. Industry analysts expect Nova Lake to include high-end laptop processors, rumored to top out at 28 cores.
The desktop CPUs will also transition to Intel's new LGA 1954 socket and 900-series motherboard chipset. They will natively support DDR5 memory speeds up to 8,000 – or possibly 10,000 – MT/s, 48 PCIe lanes (including 24 PCIe 5 lanes), and additional USB and SATA connections. Although Intel recently introduced its 18A semiconductor node with Panther Lake notebook processors, Nova Lake will rely on TSMC's N2 process.