Intel's "Nova Lake-S" desktop processors are getting the finishing touches, with a likely arrival scheduled for the second half of 2026. As the successor to "Arrow Lake Refresh," Nova Lake-S introduces a modular design that separates graphics and media functions across distinct tiles. This approach builds on experience from "Meteor Lake," which splits its graphics engine from its media and display units onto separate chiplets. For Nova Lake-S, Intel plans to employ two different GPU architectures: Xe3 "Celestial" for graphics rendering and Xe4 "Druid" for media and display duties, all within a single package. Celestial will manage primary 3D rendering and gaming workloads, while Druid will handle display pipelines and hardware-accelerated video encoding and decoding. By utilizing a more advanced process node, such as TSMC's 2 nm, Intel can optimize media engine performance without increasing costs for the entire GPU subsystem.

On the CPU side, Nova Lake-S is expected to span four primary SKU tiers. The flagship model could feature 52 cores (16 P-cores, 32 E-cores, and four LPE-cores). A 28-core version may target high-end laptops and desktops with eight P-cores, 16 E-cores, and four low-power E-cores. A 16-core variant could serve both the lower-power desktop and laptop segments, featuring four P-cores, eight E-cores, and four low-power E-cores. Finally, an 8-core entry-level part offers four P-cores and four low-power E-cores. Although it remains uncertain whether all SKUs will combine both Xe3 and Xe4 tiles, Intel's tile-based strategy makes it straightforward to mix and match GPU configurations for different market segments. Rumors also suggest that Intel may use its 18A node alongside TSMC's advanced processes for various tile elements. As Panther Lake mobile parts approach the second half of 2025 and Arrow Lake Refresh prepares for its desktop release, Nova Lake-S is the pinnacle of Intel's advanced chip packaging.