Intel's Nova Lake-AX CPUs Could Be Monsters For Gaming, With 28 CPU Cores and A Powerful GPU

Yahoo

18 hours ago

Intel is rumored to be gunning hard for the lightweight, high-performance, high-efficiency gaming market segment with its next-generation Nova Lake processors. A new class of CPU, called Nova Lake-AX, will reportedly sit above its "H-series" processors, offering greater performance without the need for a discrete GPU for gaming.
Where AMD uses the term APU to differentiate its chips with powerful onboard graphics from its usual CPUs with more modest onboard GPUs, Intel doesn't do that. That's exactly what this new Nova Lake-AX design appears to be, though. Alongside a reported 28 CPU cores, it could include 384 execution units on Intel's Xe3P GPU architecture, which could make it much more capable than even Intel's second-generation Arc graphics cards.
These are all rumors for now, and Intel hasn't made any kind of official announcement. But serial leaker OneRaichu on X (formerly Twitter) revealed some details on the leaked CPU range (via Videocardz). They suggested the top chip would have up to eight performance cores and 16 efficiency cores, alongside four low-power efficiency cores. If this chip is based on the same architectures as the main desktop and mobile chip lines, these AX CPUs will use Coyote Cove and Arctic Wolf designs for the performance and efficiency cores, respectively.
Credit: OneRaichu
Raichu also revealed that the new chips will have a 256-bit memory bus and offer support for LPDDR5X memory at up to 10667 MHz—a new record for any kind of commercial chip design.
The one big caveat to all this (besides the fact that it's purely a rumor for now) is that the product might not launch at all. Raichu suggests that the CPU was originally considered as an option, but that it may have been shelved in Intel's recent reshuffle and refocus on future chip lines using tighter process nodes.
However, if Intel can make a very powerful APU, it may be able to persuade some of the mobile handheld gaming system developers that its chips deserve inclusion instead of AMD. Although AMD is dominating desktop CPU sales, it's arguably the only game in town when it comes to handheld systems like the Xbox Ally X and Lenovo Legion Go S. Intel might have a stake in the laptop gaming market, but that is swiftly dwindling too, as its Core Utra 200 range struggles to find relevance.