Desktop Intel Meteor Lake MTL-S apparently tops out at Core i5 SKUs while Arrow Lake ARL-S could feature up to Core i9 CPUs

According to leaks and rumors that we’ve been hearing over the past months, desktop Intel Meteor Lake-S processors have had a troubled development. For instance, back in December 2022, we reported that the top MTL-S CPU could be a 14-core Core i5/i7 gaming chip, as the high-end 24 and 22-core MTL-S processors seemed to have been canceled. This was followed by rumors that the MTL-S CPU morphed into a laptop MTL-P variant and the desktop MTL-S wasn't present in the 12-month OEM roadmap. Now, courtesy of Bionic_squash on Twitter, we have what appears to be an official slide detailing some information about Meteor Lake and Arrow Lake CPUs.

Per the slide, the MTL-S and ARL-S CPUs will use the LGA 1851 socket with a package size of 45x37.5 mm which is the same as Raptor Lake-S. MTL-S and ARL-S motherboards will also reportedly be based around the Intel 800 series chipset. 

Interestingly, the MTL-S family of processors appears to top out at 65 W Core i5, while the ARL-S goes up to 125 W Core i9. So, in line with previous leaks and as confirmed by Bionic_squash in a reply down the original thread, we can expect the top MTL-S Core i5, possibly the Core i5-15500, to feature 6 P-cores + 8 E-cores for a total of 14 cores, while the flagship ARL-S Core i9, possibly the Core i9-15900K, could rock 8 P-cores + 16 E-cores for a combined 24 cores.

Other information presented in the slide includes 3 VR phases for the 65 W MTL-S Core i5 for the Baseline and 4 VR phases for the Performance SKUs, whereas the ARL-S will have 6-7 VR phases for the 125 W Core i9 chips.

Long story short, it appears that Intel will limit the desktop Meteor Lake processor to only the mid-range segment, as the enthusiast segment could be served by the Arrow Lake-S Core i9 CPUs. That said, it would be a while before we start hearing any official confirmations of MTL-S and ARL-S specifications from the company, so take the leak discussed here with a grain of salt.

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