Intel reportedly planning higher cache SKUs with Nova Lake lineup like AMD's X3D chips

Intel is working on its upcoming Nova Lake Core Ultra 400 series processors that are expected to come with high core counts but no hyperthreading. What Intel has lacked for a while is high cache or 3D V-cache SKUs like AMD does with its X3D lineup, but that may not be the case anymore. A recent leak has hinted at at least two SKUs in the Nova Lake lineup that will have larger cache memory.

The leak comes from Haze on X who posted on June 16 that the Nova Lake lineup has two models with bLLC or ‘big Last Line Cache.’ This suggests that there are atleast two models in the lineup that will feature larger cache memory similar to the X3D lineup of CPUs from AMD. One of the two processors is said to have an eight P-core and 16 E-core configuration while the other is said to come with an eight P-core and 12 E-core configuration.

Both these chips are also said to carry four LP-E cores and have a 125W TDP. At this point, it is unclear how much bLLC or L3 cache these processors will have, but looking at the 125W TDP, they could be part of the Core Ultra 5 lineup. As per recent leaks, the Nova Lake lineup is expected to include the following models and core counts:

• Core Ultra 9 485K: 16 P-cores, 32 E-cores, 4 LP-E-cores, 150 Watt TDP
• Core Ultra 7 465K: 14 P-cores, 24 E-cores, 4 LP-E-cores, 150 Watt TDP
• Core Ultra 5 445K: 8 P-cores, 16 E-cores, 4 LP-E-cores, 125 Watt TDP
• Core Ultra 5 435K: 6 P-cores, 8 E-cores, 4 LP-E-cores, 125 Watt TDP
• Core Ultra 3 425K: 4 P-cores, 8 E-cores, 4 LP-E-cores, 125 Watt TDP
• Core Ultra 3 415K: 4 P-cores, 4 E-cores, 4 LP-E-cores, 125 Watt TDP

AMD started shipping X3D chips with the Ryzen 5000 series and those quickly became the go to for gamers. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D then proved to be one of the, if not the best gaming CPU on the market. Intel, with its reported bLLC chips, seems to be following through with its vision of bringing 3D stacked cache to mainstream consumer chips. But, it should ne noted that these are rumors at this point as Intel has not shared any official information.