- Intel could plan a major change with Nova Lake processors in 2026
- The rumor wants them to benefit from an additional cache for a faster game
- This is in the same vein of existing 3D-Cache chips of AMD, like the popular 9800x3d
The Nova Lake processors of Intel-which could be its next CPUs (although a refreshment of Arrow Lake can present them)-will remove a page from the 3D V-Cache game book, it seems.
Based on new rumors that float on X, as Videocardz points out, Intel is looking to use a large cache slab to make a much better CPU for players, just like the X3D chips of AMD.
Ryzen 7 7800x3d of AMD remains our best game processor (book for book), and Intel apparently hopes to exploit a similar vein with lake tokens using what is called “ bllc ” or a large last level cache.
Obviously, take all this with a lot of seasoning, but according to Raichu, a well -known leak on X, we will see a flagship product of Nova Lake with 16 performance cores (and 32 efficiency cores). At the same time, there will be a lower level chip with 8 performance cores (plus 16 efficiency) which will have BLLC on board (the flagship will not).
Another article on X, from Haze (a data minor), also says that there will be a second 8 -core model with fewer efficiency cores (12) which will have the new cache, as well as 4 low power (tiny) nuclei. Indeed, the two processors of Nova Lake 8-Core will have supposed to be those, as well as energy consumption of 125 W.
As Videocardz points out, the rumor plan is that 144 MB of Cache L3 is used by Intel, more than the current high -end payroll of 128 MB (on the Ryzen 9950x3d).
Whatever the exact configuration of these processors, the apparent plan is that this new type of cache feeds Lake Nova, processors should be published later in 2026.
As mentioned at the beginning, it is not clear if Nova Lake will be Intel generation processors, as the previous rumors have indicated, or if the Blue team could plan an update of the current lake tokens before that, to make its debut later this year, as supported by more recent speculations.
We could watch Arrow Lake Refresh like the Core 300 series (alongside Panther Lake, which will only be for laptops), and Nova Lake would be Core 400, in theory (for office computers and laptops).
Analysis: A return to the form?
So, it seems that Intel’s plan is a flagship processor of monster for Nova Lake, intended for PC enthusiasts who want a heavy weight chip that can do everything – with 16 performance cores – then a chip of 8 strong cores ideal for players. The latter will cost cheaper but will be hung for games with this new cache flavor, the equivalent of the X3D of AMD.
While AMD offers X3D processors with more than 8 cores, this model – the most recent incarnation of which is 9800x3d – is the general public offer for pricing players (12 core towers and 16 x3D cores are predictable).
Okay, is this new intel rumor likely? Well, Team Blue must do something to come back in the right books of the players, that’s for sure. The most recent Arrow Lake chips disappointed their PC game performances – even after several patches to smooth things – and its reputation was tarnished by previous generations suffering from well -documented stability problems (which are always a continuous concern in certain respects).
Indeed, some might say that it could be too late for Intel to be able to recover its position with the players. After all, confidence and confidence in the processor manufacturer have been damaged to a disturbing extent, at least from what I can say (online feeling in the various forums in which I regularly hide). Of course, this does not mean that Team Blue should not try – and maybe it can draw a hats rabbit, in terms of games, with a new direction for Nova Lake in terms of additional cache.
