What's the News? AMD announced the AMD EPYC Embedded 9006 Series SP7 CPUs, expanding its x86 processor portfolio optimized for embedded customer requirements and deployments. Advanced by the high-performance "Zen 6" core architecture, AMD EPYC Embedded 9006 CPUs combine up to 256 cores, scalable PCIe Gen 6 and CXL 3.1 connectivity, and advanced security from secure boot through runtime. With a throughput increase of up to 1.8x compared with the previous generation 5th Gen AMD EPYC 9005 Series processors, they provide the leadership compute and high-speed connectivity needed to scale throughput and handle increasingly demanding workloads in semiconductor automated test equipment (ATE), enterprise storage and network firewall applications. Seven-year product longevity, support for post-quantum cryptography for firmware signing, and ongoing security updates simplify maintenance and long-term support for mission-critical embedded applications.

Why It Matters? As AI infrastructure expands and data volumes grow, semiconductor ATE needs to validate memory and I/O devices faster, firewalls need to process and secure more network traffic, and storage controllers need to move and process more data. AMD EPYC Embedded 9006 processors deliver the high throughput, memory bandwidth and I/O performance required to meet these growing application demands.

AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) today announced the general availability of the 6th Gen AMD EPYC server SP7 processors, based on the new "Zen 6" architecture, extending its historical server CPU performance leadership as AI creates new demands across the data center. Systems powered by the new CPUs are shipping from all leading server vendors, and cloud instances from Microsoft Azure and OCI are coming soon.

Across five generations, AMD EPYC processors have repeatedly raised the standard for server CPU performance, energy efficiency and platform choice, culminating in 5th Gen AMD EPYC processors becoming the fastest-ramping and highest-volume EPYC generation in AMD history. Now, 6th Gen AMD EPYC server CPUs extend AMD CPU leadership, running AI agents, accelerated infrastructure and critical enterprise applications, helping customers expand computing capacity that runs their businesses.

[Editor's note: You can read our AMD Zen 6 Technical Deep Dive here]

Innovation across the semiconductor industry continues to accelerate, driven by growing demand for AI, more capable intelligent connected devices, and specialized computing across industries. As applications become increasingly diverse, silicon partners need access to a broad portfolio of advanced, power-efficient compute technologies to meet different performance, power and cost requirements.

Through Arm Flexible Access and Arm Total Access, Arm provides that choice, giving silicon partners access to a wide range of technologies to develop differentiated products and bring them to market faster. Today, Arm is expanding both portfolios with the new Arm Cortex-M42 processor, bringing efficient AI compute capabilities to more intelligent devices.

Synaptics Incorporated (Nasdaq: SYNA) today introduced the xMCU, a new class of microcontrollers that runs multimodal Edge AI, with the launch of the Synaptics Astra SR200 Series. Unlike conventional MCUs constrained by limited on-chip memory and compute, the xMCU combines heterogeneous, AI-native compute and acceleration with integrated high-bandwidth custom DRAM scalable to hundreds of megabytes, enabling larger AI models and richer multimodal workloads to run entirely on-device. The Astra SR200 Series of xMCUs is designed for the next generation of AI wearables, battery-powered sensing devices, connected cameras, streamers, and industrial vision and voice systems.

The SR200 Series is powered by the Synaptics Torq AI engine, which brings a standards-based hardware architecture and unified developer experience featuring the Coral NPU from Google Research. It also comes with the industry's first pairing of the Arm Cortex -M85 and Cortex -M52. Together with integrated vision and audio capabilities and hardware-rooted security, the SR200 Series brings unmatched system design efficiency and cost benefits to Edge and Physical AI designs.

Intel's "new" four-digit Core Ultra 4000 naming apparently isn't limited to desktop chips. Prominent leaker Jaykihn says on X that "Nova Lake-HX" laptop processors will use the same four-number format, while H-series and suffix-less mobile chips continue with the three-digit naming of the previous generation. The clarification follows a leaked list of seven "Nova Lake-S" desktop processors that showed names like Core Ultra 9 4970K BFC and Core Ultra 7 4870K BFC. In that list, the BFC suffix seems to mark the models with bLLC (big last-level cache). As for the mobile versions, HX chips have traditionally been BGA versions of Intel's desktop silicon, so it looks like Intel is grouping them with Nova Lake-S instead of the other laptop chips. Those would presumably fall under Core Ultra 400, although Jaykihn didn't name the series.

The HX claim isn't entirely new, either. When the Core Ultra 9 4950K surfaced in a CPU-Z leak in August, leaker Golden Pig Upgrade had already mentioned Core Ultra 4000HX naming for laptops. Jaykihn also seems to have cleared up one detail from the desktop list. Apparently, the non-BFC models keep their four LPE cores, even though the leaked table didn't show them for every SKU. We haven't seen any HX model names yet, and Intel hasn't confirmed the naming change. Nova Lake-S qualification samples are already showing up in HWiNFO, and reports point to an early 2027 launch. As if Nova Lake-S reusing Haswell's 4000-series numbering wasn't enough, laptop buyers will probably have to deal with two naming schemes in one generation.

Update Oct 17th: Leaker Jaykihn has now retracted part of that statement. Apparently, H-series and suffix-less Nova Lake Mobile CPUs also utilize the four-number "Ultra 4000" naming scheme.

GIGABYTE has released BIOS updates that prepare its entire Intel B760 and H610 motherboard lineup for upcoming LGA1700 processors, which the company says are "expected to launch in early 2027." As reported by Videocardz, the update covers DDR4 and DDR5 boards alike, so owners only need to flash the new firmware and drop in the new CPU once it arrives. GIGABYTE doesn't name the processors in its press release, and Intel has yet to announce anything new for the socket. However, the timing lines up what we've been reporting for months. Intel is said to be readying "Raptor Lake Next" chips for LGA1700 in 2027, based on the original Raptor Lake silicon.

That makes GIGABYTE's BIOS the closest thing to a confirmation of new DDR4-compatible Intel processors for 2027, and it comes before Intel has announced them. It looks like the firmware was rolling out quietly even before the press release. The B760 Gaming X AX, for example, received its F18 BIOS on September 29, with a changelog that lists a CPU microcode update and "preparation for upcoming processor support." GIGABYTE also claims to be the first vendor to cover every B760 and H610 model. The press release makes no mention of Z790, Z690, or B660 boards, and there's no word on whether those will follow.

Intel is reportedly planning another 10% price increase on PC CPUs in October, according to DIGITIMES. This would be the latest in a string of price hikes made in stages over the past year. The report doesn't specify whether this price increase will affect only desktop CPUs or whether mobile CPUs will also be included. Industry sources cited by the outlet say the goal is to improve gross margin rather than growing market share. That would be especially important, since global PC shipments are expected to dip slightly from 260 million to about 250 million units in 2027, even as prices continue to climb. If Intel can push CPU shipments back up toward 200 million units, DIGITIMES estimates its market share could recover to roughly 78%.

The report also claims Intel is considering ending its low-margin Small Core product line entirely, which could open the door for Qualcomm and MediaTek to expand further into the industrial PC and IoT chip markets that Intel currently leads. On staffing, sources suggest another 5% to 10% of the workforce could be cut, following Intel's trim of its Data Center and AI group in July. Headcount reportedly sits around 75,000 now, though the same sources say Intel plans to keep hiring alongside any cuts, and that its current size is already reasonable.

Axiomtek, a world-renowned leader relentlessly devoted to the research, development, and manufacture of innovative, highly efficient, and reliable industrial computer products, proudly introduces the GMB150, a next-generation Mini-ITX gaming motherboard powered by the latest AMD Ryzen Embedded P100 Series processors. As one of the first Mini-ITX gaming motherboards built on this new platform, the GMB150 combines advanced AMD "Zen 5" architecture, RDNA 3.5 graphics, and the AMD XDNA 2 AI engine into a single SoC, delivering up to 80 TOPS of heterogeneous AI computing performance.

Designed to meet the evolving needs of AI-powered electronic gaming machines, the GMB150 combines AI computing, gaming-specific peripheral integration, and hardware-level security in a compact Mini-ITX platform while maintaining the flexibility to support a wide range of intelligent edge applications. Leveraging the latest AMD Ryzen Embedded P100 Series platform, the GMB150 enables gaming OEMs to build more intelligent, secure, and future-ready electronic gaming machines through AI acceleration, advanced graphics, and trusted security.

More than ten years since the introduction of the HEATKILLER IV, Watercool is presenting a new generation of its CPU water coolers with the HEATKILLER V PRO and ULTRA. Developed from the ground up for the latest AMD processors on the AM4 and AM5 sockets, these models complement the existing product line. The proven HEATKILLER IV remains part of the lineup.

Key features of the new HEATKILLER V series include a completely redesigned cooling structure, a new pre-assembled mounting system, and indirect aRGB lighting. Right from its market launch, the HEATKILLER V ULTRA impressed PC Games Hardware and emerged as the top performer in their comparison test. The independent test confirms the development goals of the new generation: high thermal performance with efficient airflow and a cooling structure specifically tailored to current AMD processors.

Apple today debuted M6 in the new Mac mini and M5 Ultra in the new Mac Studio, providing an extraordinary leap in performance and AI capabilities. M6, Apple's first state-of-the-art 2-nanometer chip, advances every compute block, delivering gains across every dimension of performance. The chip features a larger 12-core CPU complex with the world's fastest CPU core, a larger 12-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, a Dual 16-core Neural Engine, and up to 170 GB/s of unified memory bandwidth.

M5 Ultra, the ultimate powerhouse for pro and AI workloads, uses next-generation UltraFusion technology to form a quad-die architecture for the first time in an M-series system on a chip (SoC). The chip includes an up-to-36-core CPU and up-to-80-core GPU with a massive 1.2 TB/s of unified memory bandwidth, 50 percent more than M3 Ultra. With their advanced technologies, these SoCs deliver extraordinary compute with industry-leading power efficiency, empowering users to do even more on a desktop.

Today, at AMD Advancing AI 2026 in San Francisco, HPE showcased its latest engineering innovation in supercomputing with the HPE Cray Supercomputing GX5000 featuring 6th Gen AMD EPYC processors. The GX5000 builds on the success of previous HPE supercomputing architecture that broke the exascale speed barrier, and dominates the world's top 10 list of fastest supercomputers, to support the most complex scientific and engineering problems involving AI and quantum.

The GX5000 delivers the industry's highest density performance with 40% more AMD EPYC 9996 cores per rack than the market's next densest offering. The GX5000 also maximizes capacity for growing HPC and AI workloads and improves operational efficiency by reducing carbon footprint with 25% less floor space compared to the previous generation and an increase of warm facility water by 25%, with up to 40C heating capacity, through next-generation direct-liquid cooling capabilities from HPE.

For more than 13 years, Surface has been shaped by the people who use it. Architects sketch buildings, developers train models, students build startups and field engineers solve problems that rarely make headlines. We didn't intend to design for one audience, but the people who've chosen Surface have defined it through their work. They build, shape, solve and ship, often before anyone else sees what's coming. That pattern is now the platform: new devices, new features and a continued commitment to the makers who show us what Surface means by how they use it.

Expanding Surface for the work ahead
2026 has brought important updates for Surface. We delivered our broadest Surface for Business lineup to date, with new enterprise features including an integrated privacy screen. Later this year, we'll deliver Surface Laptop Ultra, our most powerful Surface Laptop ever, built for developers and creative professionals pushing their work further. We'll also deliver Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, an entirely new category of Surface hardware purpose-built for AI developers who need sustained local compute. Surface is investing everywhere: from entry points to ultra-premium performance, from the enterprise to the individual maker. Today, we're introducing the next Surface Pro and Surface Laptop, powered by Snapdragon X2 processors.

AMD has updated its product portfolio with three "new" processors, Ryzen 7 4700LE, Ryzen 5 3501U and Ryzen 3 3100U. These "new" processors revive the older Zen2 and Zen+ architectures for OEM and entry-level systems. Worth mentioning that the Zen+ architecture was launched in 2018, while the Zen2 was introduced in 2019. The Ryzen 7 4700LE is a Zen2 based CPU with eight cores, 16 threads, 3.6 GHz base clock, up to 4.2 GHz boost, and a 65 W TDP. The processor uses the AM4 socket and is listed as an OEM-only part. Unlike most Renoir desktop APUs, the AMD specifications page does not mention integrated graphics.

In the Ryzen 3000U series AMD has also added two Zen+, Picasso-based mobile processors. The Ryzen 5 3501U is a four-core, eight-thread CPU with a 2.1 GHz base clock and 3.7 GHz boost. The Ryzen 3 3100U is a dual-core, two-thread processor with a 1.9 GHz base frequency and up to 3.2 GHz boost. The two processors share identical specifications: Radeon Vega 8 iGPU with eight compute units at 1,200 MHz, support for DDR4-2400 memory and the FP5 package. AMD lists a 15 W as the default TDP, configurable between 12 W and 35 W depending on system design requirements. According to the AMD product pages, both Ryzen 3000U models are scheduled for Q2 2026. The Ryzen 7 4700LE is OEM dedicated, while the Ryzen 5 3501U and Ryzen 3 3100U are likely intended for low-cost notebooks and embedded platforms. No pricing information has been disclosed.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. today announced the Snapdragon C Platform, a new entry-tier processor designed to make modern personal computing more accessible to students, families, and small businesses. Snapdragon C delivers responsive performance, cool, quiet designs and incredible all-day battery life in entry-tier laptops targeting $300 and up.

Snapdragon C supports smooth web browsing, video streaming, and productivity. It also includes an integrated NPU for AI capabilities in the entry-tier. Snapdragon C is engineered for power efficient everyday computing experiences people rely on in entry-level laptops without sacrificing portability or all-day battery life. The platform is designed for consistent performance of daily workloads in cool, quiet designs.

AMD appears to be preparing to launch its China-exclusive Radeon RX 9070 GRE through its global distributor network, according to VideoCardz. A recent image of a Sapphire Radeon RX 9070 GRE PULSE edition shows the packaging with English branding, which contrasts with the usual Chinese product naming Sapphire uses for the Chinese market. Another piece of evidence is the Newegg listings for prebuilt PC systems featuring Radeon RX 9070 GRE GPUs, as well as unofficial listings of the card itself. Specifically, the PULSE and PURE Radeon RX 9070 GRE models are listed on Newegg, although these listings are made by Chinese third-party retailers rather than official United States distributors. For now, these listings remain unofficial, but they suggest that AMD might allow its partners to offer these designs outside of China.

As a reminder, AMD's Radeon RX 9070 GRE was launched about a year ago specifically for the Chinese market. It features the Navi 48 XL GPU SKU with 3,072 Streaming Processors across 48 Compute Units. AMD pairs this with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 432 GB/s of bandwidth. Sapphire's custom designs, such as the PURE and PULSE, include a factory overclock, significantly exceeding AMD's boost clock of 2,790 MHz. Although specific data for the Sapphire Radeon RX 9070 GRE PULSE edition is not available, it is assumed that a factory overclock will be applied. For comparison, below is Sapphire's Radeon RX 9070 GRE edition for the Chinese market.

Today at Google Cloud Next, we are introducing the eighth generation of Google's custom Tensor Processor Unit (TPU), coming soon with two distinct, purpose-built architectures for training and inference: TPU 8t and TPU 8i. These two chips are designed to power our custom-built supercomputers, to drive everything from cutting-edge model training and agent development, to massive inference workloads. TPUs have been powering leading foundation models, including Gemini, for years. These 8th generation TPUs together will deliver scale, efficiency and capabilities across training, serving and agentic workloads.

In this age of AI agents, models must reason through problems, execute multistep workflows and learn from their own actions in continuous loops. This places a new set of demands on infrastructure, and TPU 8t and TPU 8i were designed in partnership with Google DeepMind to take on the most demanding AI workloads and adapt to evolving model architectures at scale.

AMD is preparing an update to its Ryzen 9000 series desktop processor lineup with the introduction of two new models, the Ryzen 7 9750X, and the Ryzen 5 9650X. Both these chips are non-X3D (lack 3D V-Cache), and implement the regular "Zen 5" CCD with 32 MB on-die L3 caches. The two are being designed with increased clock speeds and TDP, and their launch closely follows Intel's recent product stack refresh with the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and Core Ultra 5 250K Plus.

The Ryzen 7 9750X is an 8-core/16-thread chip with a base frequency of 4.20 GHz with 5.60 GHz maximum boost frequency, a significant increase over the 3.80 GHz base and 5.50 GHz maximum boost frequency of the Ryzen 7 9700X. The 9750X comes with a 120 W TDP out of the box. In comparison, the 9700X comes with 65 W TDP out of the box, and AMD allowed motherboard vendors to provide a BIOS-based 105 W TDP mode that doesn't break warranty, designed to improve boost frequency residency. The 9750X not only comes with increased clocks, but also increases the TDP further, to 120 W from that BIOS-based 105 W TDP mode.

ASRock, the global leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, mini PCs, gaming monitors, power supply units and AIOs, today announced that its Intel Z890, B860, and H810 series motherboards fully support the newly launched Intel Core Ultra 200S Plus processors, including the Ultra 7 270K Plus, Ultra 5 250K Plus, and Ultra 5 250KF Plus. With this support, gamers and creators can fully leverage the performance improvements of the latest processors, delivering enhanced gaming experiences and improved productivity.

Intel today introduced three new Intel Core Ultra 200S Plus processors, including the eight-core Ultra 7 270K Plus, as well as the six-core Ultra 5 250K Plus and Ultra 5 250KF Plus. Featuring increased E-core counts and updates through the Intel Platform Performance Package (IPPP), these processors deliver improved gaming performance and stronger multitasking capabilities. To further simplify installation, ASRock has integrated the IPPP driver into its Auto Driver Installer (ADI) utility on all 800 series models. Users only need to download the installation tool from the official support page to quickly enable the IPPP and enjoy noticeably improved gaming performance.

Apple today announced M5 Pro and M5 Max, the world's most advanced chips for pro laptops, powering the new MacBook Pro. The chips are built using a new Apple-designed Fusion Architecture. This innovative design combines two dies into a single system on a chip (SoC), which includes a powerful CPU, scalable GPU, Media Engine, unified memory controller, Neural Engine, and Thunderbolt 5 capabilities. M5 Pro and M5 Max feature a new 18-core CPU architecture. It includes six of the highest-performing core design, now called super cores, that are the world's fastest CPU core. Alongside these cores are 12 all-new performance cores, optimized for power-efficient, multithreaded workloads. Collectively, the CPU significantly boosts performance by up to 30 percent for pro workloads.

The GPU scales up the next-generation architecture introduced in M5 to an up-to-40-core GPU. With a Neural Accelerator in each GPU core and higher unified memory bandwidth, M5 Pro and M5 Max are over 4x the peak GPU compute for AI compared to the previous generation. The GPU substantially increases graphics capabilities—now up to 35 percent for apps using ray tracing than M4 Pro and M4 Max—enhancing advanced visual effects and 3D rendering. With M5 Pro and M5 Max, the new MacBook Pro is the ultimate powerhouse for pros and is available for pre-order starting tomorrow, with availability beginning Wednesday, March 11.

AMD has announced its EPYC 8005 series server processors, codenamed "Sorano". These new CPUs are filling the gap between the EPYC 9005 high-end Zen 5 lineup and the lower-tier EPYC 4005 parts. The new 8005 series succeeds the EPYC 8004 "Siena" family and targets single-socket (1P) platforms with an emphasis on telecom, edge, and vRAN (Virtual Radio Access Network) workloads. Built on the Zen 5 architecture, EPYC 8005 is designed around performance-per-watt and performance-per-dollar rather than peak multi-socket scalability. With these new server CPUs, AMD is targeting the telco sector where power and space-constrained environments are key factors in cell sites and distributed edge locations. AMD has not yet published a full SKU list or detailed specifications about the EPYC 8004 CPUs. However, the company says the lineup will scale up to 84 cores in a single-socket configuration, with SKUs operating in power envelopes up to 225 W.

AMD is also highlighting wide thermal operating ranges and support for NEBS (Network Equipment-Building System) compliant platforms. For vRAN specifically, EPYC 8005 adds targeted LDPC (Low-Density Parity Check) decoding optimizations to improve Layer 1 acceleration for 5G workloads. AMD claims improved uplink throughput and more efficient forward-error-correction processing, while maintaining the deterministic behavior required in RAN environments, thanks to the updated Zen 5 execution pipeline and vector capabilities. The EPYC 8005 "Sorano" CPUs should become available in the following months, with more details about the platform and performance likely closer to launch.

NVIDIA is reportedly preparing its long-awaited new consumer laptop processor for launch in the first half of 2026, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The chip uses a system-on-chip approach integrating CPU, GPU, and NPU into a single package. Systems based on those chips could first ship from OEMs such as Dell and Lenovo within months of launch, though no products have been confirmed. These systems are expected to focus on thin-and-light designs with an emphasis on efficiency and battery life. The report says NVIDIA is working with MediaTek on the processor, which will use the Arm architecture rather than x86. Internal names mentioned include N1 and N1X. The report also references a separate project involving Intel. That design would combine an Intel x86 CPU with NVIDIA graphics and neural processing technology, targeting improved graphics in slimmer laptops without a discrete GPU.

NVIDIA has not formally announced either chip, meaning specifications, pricing, and final configurations remain undisclosed. However, we reported in January that NVIDIA's Arm-based N1 and N1X laptop chips were getting closer to launch, with Lenovo accidentally confirming several upcoming models, including Yoga and Legion designs, through a since-deleted support page listing. Dell was also spotted testing the N1X, with a November 2025 shipping manifest surfacing a "Dell 16 Premium" powered by an N1X engineering sample. According to initial leaks, both chips are based on the same GB10 Superchip found in NVIDIA's DGX Spark AI mini PC, with the N1X reportedly packing 20 Arm CPU cores and a 48-unit iGPU. Despite expectations, NVIDIA skipped CES without any official announcement, and earlier rumors of delays pushing the launch to late 2026 hadn't been fully ruled out at the time. With NVIDIA GTC 2026 just a few weeks ahead (March 16-19), that's likely the event where those new mobile processors could be announced.

Microsoft's Windows 11 26H1 update, initially expected to offer only new silicon support without a host of new features, is now dedicated exclusively to new and upcoming Arm-based processors like the Snapdragon X2 Elite/Plus. This marks a significant shift in Windows 11's development path—a first divergence in Windows deployment in the recent timeline, and a first for Windows 11. As a result, regular PC users with x86-64 and older Arm-based platforms will continue to use the Windows 11 25H2 as a feature update. According to the latest Windows IT Pro Blog, "Windows 11, version 26H1 is not a feature update for version 25H2," indicating that a different version will serve as the next feature update for Windows 11, rather than the anticipated 26H1.

Microsoft is concentrating on providing full support for the new Windows-on-Arm platforms, some of which are already available. These platforms include Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Elite processors and NVIDIA's N1 and N1x SoCs. This new hardware requires optimization from Microsoft to ensure the best experience on Windows 11, so the company is dedicating most of its efforts for the 26H1 update to this task. Since new silicon requires fine-tuning, such as specific power profiles and hardware optimizations to extract maximum performance, Microsoft is separating Windows 11 into another branch to make sure that servicing and updates are easier, and also that shipping customized power/performance settings doesn't end up corrupting the build for non-Arm CPUs.

Intel's oft-leaked Core Ultra 200 Plus "Arrow Lake Refresh" processor series is expected to launch in March or April, according to rumors floated just after the conclusion of CES 2026. This past weekend, HXL/9550pro weighed in with a more focused timeframe—they propose that Team Blue will lift an important review embargo on March 23, at a very specific 6 a.m. (PST) morning slot. Evaluations of incoming Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, Ultra 5 250K, and Ultra 5 250KF desktop models are reportedly due for publication on that Monday. Oddly, the latest leak does not allude to an imminent embargo lift affecting "-HX" variants for the laptop/notebook market. Many Intel enthusiasts were looking forward to a major "Arrow Lake Refresh" unveiling at last month's CES trade show, but company leadership decided to go all-in with the introduction of "Panther Lake-H" mobile chips.

Throughout early 2026, Team Blue has kept quiet about forthcoming "Arrow Lake-S Refresh" desktop processors, but an official mid-January announcement—courtesy of the ASUS social media account—indicated a readying of BIOS support updates, in advance of an eventual retail launch. Up until recently, the Core Ultra 5 250K Plus model has been the most mysterious of Intel's "ARL-S Refresh" parts—a sudden increase in pre-release benchmarking activity and premature e-tail listings has occurred in parallel with whispers of a non-arrival of its flagship sibling. Late last week, two anonymous sources—in correspondence with VideoCardz—posited that Intel had removed the 24-core Ultra 9 290K Plus SKU from its near future "Arrow Lake-S Refresh" launch lineup. This past weekend Tom's Hardware (via momomo_us) spotted prematurely published pricing information, regarding the remaining Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, Ultra 5 250K, and Ultra 5 250KF models. An unspecified webstore listed price tags of $357.12, $245.92, and $227.38 (respectively).

Intel is preparing to launch its Core Ultra Series 4 "Nova Lake" processor generation toward the end of 2026, CEO Lip-Bu Tan confirmed. This processor generation would span various form-factors, including importantly, desktop. Intel is building its next-generation "Nova Lake-S" desktop processor around the new Socket LGA1954 platform that replaces the current LGA1851. The company is planning to release Core Ultra Series 3 "Arrow Lake Refresh" for LGA1851 in the run-up to "Nova Lake-S" by yearend.

With "Nova Lake," Intel is expected to make fundamental changes to its processor design to help the company claw back performance leadership over AMD in the desktop segment. These changes include a doubling in CPU core counts going up to 16P+32E, a new iGPU based on the Xe3 "Celestial" graphics architecture, a new NPU that meets Copilot+ requirements, and the introduction of special SKUs with BLLC (big last-level cache), Intel's answer to AMD's 3D V-Cache. Intel will update the CPU complex with new "Coyote Cove" P-cores, and "Arctic Wolf" E-cores, both of which are expected to improve IPC over the current "Lion Cove" and "Skymont" combo. "Coyote Cove" does not feature HyperThreading, something the Intel CEO wants to see restored on the company's P-cores, but "Nova Lake" will make up for it with a numerical increase in P-core counts.

Late last week, a not-yet-released Intel "Core 7 253PE" processor model leaked out via the PassMark CPU benchmark database. This ten P-Core (all performance) candidate signalled the first signs of "Bartlett Lake-S" activity in 2026, after many months of silence. Over the past weekend, additional "Team Blue Refreshed" product discoveries have been made. On Saturday (January 17) Vectral555 highlighted three new SKUs, but did not reveal the actual source of these leaks. Screenshots show model names, codes, and very basic specifications—evidently, these grabs were lifted from premature listings published by Mouser Electronics UK. The three unreleased OEM/tray products are categorized as Core 9 SKUs, all featuring 36 MB of cache, and destined for deployment on Team Blue's "FC-LGA16A" platform—this unusual socket name seems to be another way to refer back to the familiar LGA 1700 insert.

The "273PQE" model is boost clocked the highest at a maximum 5.9 GHz, the "273PE" SKU is specced at a max. 5.7 GHz, and the "273PTE" option makes do with 5.5 GHz. At the time of writing, the British wholesaler is offering both single unit and bulk orders. The fanciest "Core 9 273PQE" model is "on order" with zero units in stock, but tagged with £657.04 (single order) and £579.17 (bulk order, ten or more units) prices. The other options—"273PTE" and "273PE"—seem to be "non-stocked," and cost the same: £629.00 (single) or £554.46 (bulk). Intel could be prepping "Bartlett Lake-S" processors—under "Core Series 2" naming convention—for imminent launch. Two days ago, ITHome shared an impressively comprehensive list of Core 5, 7, and 9 model names plus basic spec credentials.