Friday, June 27th 2025
Some Intel Nova Lake CPUs Rumored to Challenge AMD's 3D V-Cache in Desktop Gaming
Looking to challenge AMD's gaming CPU supremacy, Intel is reportedly developing Nova Lake processors with enhanced cache technology that could rival the popular 3D V-Cache found in X3D chips. According to leaker @Haze2K1, Intel plans to add "bLLC" (big Last Line Cache) to at least two Nova Lake models. This improved L3 cache is similar to AMD's 3D V-Cache, which has made X3D chips the top pick for enthusiast gamers since 2022. The new processors with bLLC will have 8 P-cores and 4 LP-E-Cores. One version will include 20 E-cores, while another will have 12 E-cores. Both are expected to keep a 125 W TDP rating.
Intel's bLLC technology already exists in Clearwater Forest server processors where local cache integrates into the base tile positioned beneath active tiles. This structural approach mirrors AMD's current 9000-series X3D design, where V-Cache attaches to the bottom of CPU dies—a significant improvement over earlier generations that placed cache on top, causing thermal issues and clock speed limitations. Yet, Intel said no to consumer plans for a technology similar to AMD's 3D V-Cache. In November 2024, Intel's Tech Communications Manager Florian Maislinger told YouTubers der8auer and Bens Hardware that they didn't plan such a desktop version. The Nova Lake-S family is set to hit the market in late 2026 or early 2027, with at least six desktop models using new LGA 1954 packaging. The lineup will start from the top-end Core Ultra 9 485K with 52 cores and 150 W TDP and go down to the basic Core Ultra 3 415K offering 12 cores at 125 W TDP.
Sources:
TechSpot, @Haze2K1 on X
Intel's bLLC technology already exists in Clearwater Forest server processors where local cache integrates into the base tile positioned beneath active tiles. This structural approach mirrors AMD's current 9000-series X3D design, where V-Cache attaches to the bottom of CPU dies—a significant improvement over earlier generations that placed cache on top, causing thermal issues and clock speed limitations. Yet, Intel said no to consumer plans for a technology similar to AMD's 3D V-Cache. In November 2024, Intel's Tech Communications Manager Florian Maislinger told YouTubers der8auer and Bens Hardware that they didn't plan such a desktop version. The Nova Lake-S family is set to hit the market in late 2026 or early 2027, with at least six desktop models using new LGA 1954 packaging. The lineup will start from the top-end Core Ultra 9 485K with 52 cores and 150 W TDP and go down to the basic Core Ultra 3 415K offering 12 cores at 125 W TDP.


140 Comments on Some Intel Nova Lake CPUs Rumored to Challenge AMD's 3D V-Cache in Desktop Gaming
The government wants what it wants, but that's not necessarily what works best for the company in the long run.
I don't believe in Intel going bankrupt either, but it is bleeding cash very rapidly, laying thousands off and loosing market share by the minute, and there's nothing the beloved government can do about it, other than throwing taxpayer money at a private company and wishing it catches up.
So like you said, Intel’s large contracts will not save them. Bankruptcy is a real possibility for Intel but I personally agree with you that they won’t go bankrupt. I think they will split or get bought out before that ever happens.
Apart from the 285k the 265k and 245k are amazing buys for 4K.
Regarding stuttering on X3D you maybe a minority or at the very very least dont notice it. Simply type in stuttering cpu reddit in google and the threads you will get are regarding X3D CPUs. Hell I typed in Intel CPU stuttering and the first result was 9800x3d stutters . Its there, the major annoyance I have from it, is that people defend it for no clear reason and say its because you didnt enable C-States or some setting that you would never even need to know about on an Intel platform.
I vowed never to listen to the internet again, Intel's latest current platform while not dishing out the bigger numbers I felt was overall more sophisticated, it even supports CUDIMMS. It just worked with everything such as streaming, video recording (which amd has issues with atm idk why), overclocking was actually fun, it ran cooler believe it or not since its not trying to boost itself to maximum thermals all the time, absolutely 0 stuttering and lets be honest theres no difference in games at 4K so my switch over to AMD got me a hotter CPU and lower benchmark scores .
It will only make the CPU more expensive.
He went on to say that he still thought it was a mistake to axe it and that it should have been on the flagship arl product.
I personally agree with you - the latency issues with ARL would have been greatly alleviated.
Intel is basically adopting V-Cache under a different name.......
But apparently simulations are good enough for Intel.
I do wonder how those actually perform relative to the addition of this cache...
I mean honestly, Intel's chip setup right now is extremely messy. At least with X3Ds there's some system to the development madness. Yes, its wired to a CCD. Bla bla bla. But there's some logic to it. With Intel? Its like whatever the fuck ever. The E-cores got fused on there just alleviate multitasking loads from P cores so they didn't run out of power budget. Now there's cache on top of it all to make sure they have highly responsive ST performance to match X3Ds... its not like we can discover any kind of meaningful Intel development here, they're just glueing on whatever works. And this is supposed to lead to a highly performant, competitive, AND power efficient product?! That's... a pretty special conclusion to be making out of all this imho. I think the better half of this development is made 'competitive' in Intel's mind because its paid by US citizens in the end. It has no business whatsoever in the real world or market. But then again, that's Intel's MO isn't it, as it has been for a few decades.
All I see here is Intel being, contrary to what it has been talking about in terms of change and readjustment, unable to help itself change its company culture and development cadence, but a big fat pause button is really what they need to rediscover how to make a truly good chip again. Right now? They're still floating their Core legacy that has been kicked to the curb a half dozen times already, and keep telling us how great it really is. They still think they can give you a reignited ol' quadcore derivative to extract money from you - but oh oh they added so many things on top of that cake, surely its nice now? Come on.
Intel needs a hard reset. A completely new, grounds up design that can actually scale linearly again and stand the test of time, and has a reliable socket that nobody can deny will last half a decade or more. Until then? They're dead in the water. I don't even care what they reinvent. Its all been done and it makes no sense to do it again, or re-release it as yet another Lake. They need a chiplet based design on their basic CPU core complex. Even with their recent releases they still haven't really achieved what AMD has done and made them successful. Yes, they fused chiplets together. But its far from a scalable, continuously developed floorplan.
I still have a 5775c system with 2133 ram. If fact I even put my 5090 in it.......and it works just fine at 4k it also works fine with my 4090 and 5070Ti
You can't revive what is already dead.
Soo why not? Lets hear it from your crystal ball of negativity Lol.
Just because of 52 core?
Ha Ha!
the Intel (ARL) lows are 2x the lows of the X3D chip (ARL, I haven't plugged back my RPL platform back yet, coz ARL is fun to tinker with, specially memory OC)This is fake, and was scrapped out recently by MLID..
Even the Nova Lake BLLC thing is "Take it with a grain of salt, its merely scrapped" according to the leaker..
Yeah, even for all of the same time, the E-Cores are perfect for their purpose, if they can keep the power consumption at very low levels.
Unfortunately you cant squeeze till the last drop of calculating power on such cpus till Intel won't put Rentable Units to replace Hyperthreading on heterogeneous architectures like this, .
I guess Karma is a beech...