Intel's Future CPU Roadmap: Panther Lake, Wildcat Lake, and Nova Lake Specifications Leaked

Intel Panther Lake: Everything we know so far

Table of Contents Table of Contents Naming and release Specs Performance Conclusion Intel's desktop processors might not be setting the world on fire in early-2025, but its mobile chips are still some of the best in the game, and that's only going to continue later this year. Panther Lake is Intel's next-generation Core Ultra CPU design, and though originally expected to be a desktop and laptop line of processors, it'll most likely be a mobile-only design. That's still worth getting excited over though, with early rumors suggesting some impressive onboard GPU performance and improved AI capabilities. We don't have all the details just yet, but here's what we know about Intel Panther Lake so far. Recommended Videos Naming and release Intel has slated Panther Lake for release in the second half of 2025, likely towards the end of the year. There's some suggestion that production of the new chips won't enter full swing until 2026, also, which might mean availability of Panther Lake laptops is initially quite limited, increasing as the new year rolls around. Panther Lake CPUs will likely take on the moniker of Core Ultra 300 processors. Specs Intel hasn't released any firm specifications for the next-generation just yet, but we do have some details and some leaks which point to a focus on efficiency over raw power -- not a terrible thing considering some of Intel's recent generations. However, new architectures, enhanced graphics, and a new NPU, all on a new process node, should shake things up a bit. Cores Graphics Panther Lake H 16 (4P+8E, 4LPE) 12 Xe3 cores Panther Lake H 16 (4P+8E, 4LPE) 4 Xe3 Cores Pantehr Lake U 8 (4P+0E, 4LPE) 4 Xe3 Cores The above are some alleged leaked core counts for some Panther Lake performance and efficient CPUs, via VideoCardz. The lack of any kind of eight performance core variant suggests Intel isn't going to drive high performance for gaming or other demanding tasks on these processors, but should be able to run them incredibly efficiently for a big boost to battery life. Casual and esports gaming should be more than doable, though, with the new Xe3 graphics likely to be a solid alternative to entry-level mobile GPUs. Each Panther Lake CPU, regardless of configuration, will also include a new NPU that can output 50 TOPS by itself. That's a little more than we've seen from current-generation processors like Qualcomm's Snapdragon Elite X, but only by 5 additional TOPS, so it wouldn't be any kind of game changer. One aspect of these CPUs we can confirm, is that they'll be built on the Intel 18A process. That means it's keeping production in-house, which is likely part of Intel's drive towards greater profitability, with improved margins on future generations of CPUs. That doesn't mean much for consumers, outside of the fact that it may mean there is more limited stock to start with -- that would run in line with release date rumors. Performance This is a complete wildcard, as we just don't know what these chips can do without more details of their specifications, and ideally some hands-on testing time. Graphically, they're likely to take big leaps over anything we've seen before from Intel. Both AMD and Intel have been gunning hard for the entry-level GPU market for the past few years, and it seems likely that within this next-generation they could all but invalidate low-level mobile GPUs, like the Nvidia RTX XX50 series, and lower-power options, like the MX550. We'd like to see an eight-performance core option for these CPUs, as otherwise they're going to fall well behind AMD's alternatives in raw power for high-end tasks. Efficiency cores are great, but in limited quantities, they can't keep up. Conclusion It's a long way off before we even get a glimpse of these CPUs, but we'll be keeping our eyes peeled. As more details emerge, we'll keep this updated. Interested in what comes after even Panther Lake? We have a guide to Nova Lake too.

Intel Panther Lake and Wildcat Lake CPU specs break cover -- leak suggests up to 16 CPU cores and 180 total AI TOPS

Panther Lake is reserved for laptops, while Wildcat Lake supposedly succeeds the Alder Lake-N series. In a flurry of tweets detailing Intel's upcoming processors, avid hardware leaker Jaykihn has shared specifications for Panther Lake and Wildcat Lake. Arriving in H2 this year, Panther Lake is the successor to Arrow Lake-H, which launched at this CES. Meanwhile, Wildcat Lake is rumored to power Intel's next-gen N-series chips, designed for lightweight laptops and mini-PCs. Lunar Lake, crowned with the fastest integrated GPU per our testing, is a one-off design, as integrating memory directly into the CPU die has proven too costly for Intel to standardize. With no direct successor to Lunar Lake, Panther Lake follows Arrow Lake in less than one year, built using Intel's flagship 18A process technology. Wildcat Lake has remained chiefly undercover, apart from a few design tools that surfaced at NBD. The same leaker claims it is designed for low-power and low-cost Chromebooks, mini-PCs, and embedded devices, and it succeeds the Alder Lake-N series. There have been rumors of an 18-core counterpart of Panther Lake, though the exact specifications of these SKUs haven't been confirmed, per Jaykihn. Nonetheless, as reflected in the table below, the leaker has relayed details of three finalized Panther Lake variants. The top-end Panther Lake configuration boasts 16 CPU cores, likely based on Cougar Cove and Darkmont, alongside 12 Xe3 (Celestial) GPU cores. The second variant has fewer Xe3 cores but more PCIe 5.0 lanes, likely for a dedicated GPU. The third and last configuration features no E-cores, sticking to a 4P + 4LPE design. Wildcat Lake seemingly only has one variation with six cores (2P + 4LPE), presumably using the exact Cougar Cove and Darkmont cores as Panther Lake. However, the Compute Tile will likely only house the two P-cores, while the LPE-cores are expected to reside in the SoC Tile. On the other hand, 40 AI TOPS could make for some fascinating use cases of these processors in edge and mobile machine learning applications. Some SKUs may use LPCAMM, which offers fast and upgradable memory simultaneously. We don't have an expected release timeframe for Wildcat Lake, but early 2026 or even late 2025 may be potential candidates.

New Leaks Point Towards Intel Arrow Lake Refresh, Nova Lake Desktop CPUs With Up To 52 Cores, Panther Lake With Up To 180 TOPs

Fresh leaks & rumors surrounding Intel's next-gen Core CPU families, including Arrow Lake Refresh, Panther Lake & Nova Lake, have surfaced. Well, it looks like there's a lot to talk about and while none of the information shared here is official, it is stated by sources with a very accurate history. One of these sources is @Jaykihn, who has posted credible Intel information; the second is Golden Pig Upgrade at Weibo, who also has a great track record. But since this isn't official information, it means that Intel could change its course with those product lines that we will discuss below. The first rumor comes from Golden Pig Upgrade about Intel's Arrow Lake Refresh CPU family. The Intel Arrow Lake refresh CPU family was initially planned to be the follow-up to the current lineup & was going to be tagged under the Core Ultra Series 3 chips. These chips were going to incorporate the latest NPU architecture, which would have led to a bigger die size & offer higher AI TOPS versus the 13 TOPS on the existing Core Ultra Series 2 "Arrow Lake" chips. According to @Jaykihn, Intel's current roadmap features a vast array of NPU architectures following the NPU4 which is incorporated into Lunar Lake CPUs. These include the NPU5, which will offer 18-50 TOPS in 1-3 Tiled configurations, while the NPU6 architecture will feature up to 75 TOPS in a 4-tiled design. Intel's own drivers have confirmed the NPU5 architecture for Panther Lake and NPU6 architecture for future CPUs such as Nova Lake. The following are the compute capabilities of existing and those expected of next-gen NPUs: The Intel Arrow Lake Refresh lineup was going to cover both Desktop & Mobility segments until its cancellation rumors emerged last year. However, with the latest updates, it looks like Intel may once again be bringing the refresh out of the grave. Other things we can expect from the lineup are better optimizations for gaming at launch, which still isn't the case with the existing Core Ultra 200S lineup. The next lineup is the follow-up to Arrow Lake in the form of Panther Lake. Panther Lake is going to be a mobile-only lineup and will exclude On-Package memory solutions like the ones we saw on the Lunar Lake family. Jaykihn has further outlined the configurations for the entire family, which would include at least three segments: As you can tell from the configurations above, the top Intel Panther Lake-H SKU will feature 4 P-cores, 8 E-Cores, and 4 LPE cores. These will be configured alongside a 12 Xe3 iGPU based on the Celestial architecture and support LPDDR5X memory. The total platform TOPS will be rated at 180, which is a significant improvement over Arrow Lake's close to 100 TOPS. The TOPS will come from 10 INT8 (CPU), 50 INT8 (NPU5) and 120 INT8 (iGPU). The other configurations include 4+8+4 & 4+0+4 layouts with 4 Xe3 iGPU cores and 100 TOPS of AI compute. All chips will feature a total of four Thunderbolt 4 outputs. Intel will also have an entry-tier lineup called Wildcat Lake which will feature 2 P-Cores, 0 E-Cores, and 4 LPE cores with 2 Xe3 iGPUs, two TB4 ports, LPDDR5x/DDR5 memory support and a total of 40 TOPS. This lineup will be targeting budget-tier laptop designs. The Panther Lake-H lineup will be configured between 15-45W TDPs. In terms of memory support, Panther Lake-H CPUs will support LPDDR5X 6800/7467/8533 MT/s speeds and DDR5 6400/7200 MT/s speeds, while Wild Cat Lake CPUs will support 6800 MT/s for LPDDR5X and 6400 MT/s for DDR5 standards. A few SKUs will also come with LPCAMM2 support. Besides TB 4.0, Panther Lake-H CPUs will also support TB 5.0 functionality through a discrete PCH controller. According to the latest information, Intel's Panther Lake CPUs are confirmed for a 2H 2025 launch and will be the first client family to feature the 18A process node. It will remain a tiled architecture, so expect lots of updates on the design and architectural front with the new Cougar Cove P-Cores and updated Skymont E-Cores. Lastly, we get to talk about Intel's Nova Lake or Core Ultra Series 4 CPUs. Jaykihn responds to the rumors from a few days ago and follows up with more details regarding the lineup. It looks like the rumor did have some weight to it, and we can expect more than double the core counts on the next-generation desktop family. As per the details, Intel's Nova Lake CPUs will come in three preliminary silicon configurations which include: The top SKU is going to be offered in the Nova Lake-S Desktop & most likely the Nova Lake-HX Mobility lineup. This SKU will incorporate two compute titles with each offering 8 P-Cores based on the Coyote Cove and 16 E-Cores based on the Arctic Wolf architecture. There will also be 4 Arctic Wolf LPE cores on the low-power island for a total of 52 cores. It is not known if Intel will bring back hyper-threading to the table, but 52 cores is still a lot more than the 24 core count we got on Raptor Lake and Arrow Lake CPUs. It will be interesting to see if Intel will be able to manage the thread scheduling of this dual CPU tile design efficiently using new interconnect methods while packaging the silicon closer together than ever using advanced Foveros and EMIB packaging. Furthermore, the P-Core-only Nova Lake series is also discussed. However, it is stated that they won't be made for consumers and there will be up to 144 MB of cache on certain models. The Intel Nova Lake CPU family is also said to support AVX10.2 and APX.