Intel's Beefy 12-Core Xe Desktop iGPU May Slip From Nova Lake To Razor Lake

If you've kept up with leaks regarding Intel's Nova Lake processors, you'll naturally be aware that one of the more interesting SKUs mentioned by leakers has been a particular model sporting a powerful integrated GPU with 12 Xe cores. While it's quite normal for AMD to release its mobile silicon (with large integrated GPUs) on desktop sockets, Intel has never done that, but this chip was something else anyway; a full-power, full-fat desktop chip that happened to include a mobile-class integrated GPU. Only, apparently, it's no longer coming out with the Nova Lake launch and has instead been pushed back to the Razor Lake family.


That news comes from leaker Jaykihn, who is the one that told us about the part in the first place. Today's news was simple; he says that the "12Xe" parts formerly classified as Nova Lake are now classified as Razor Lake. What does that mean? Well, potentially a later release date, although it doesn't necessarily confirm that. It also doesn't imply anything about changes in design or architecture. In fact, it doesn't really tell us anything aside from that the chip won't be coming out with the original run of Nova Lake processors.

To be clear, Razor Lake is not entirely a refresh of Nova Lake. The desktop parts are said to use revised P- and E-core designs, and the process technology for at least some tiles is expected to be different; Razor Lake is said to target TSMC N2X for at least some tiles on some SKUs. However, portions of the Razor Lake family are thought to be based on the same technology as Nova Lake. Particularly, Razor Lake-AX, the long-awaited competitor to AMD's Strix Halo with a double-wide memory bus, was reportedly also pushed back from Nova Lake.

So, this chip being pushed from the Nova generation to the Razor generation really doesn't tell us much aside from that it might come out a bit later than previously expected, but again, even that isn't actually confirmed since we never really knew when it was coming out anyway. It could potentially use a revised fabrication process, as well, but that's pure conjecture.

That doesn't make us any less eager to put hands on the part, though. Intel's current Core Series 3 "Panther Lake" processors have twelve Xe3 cores, and Xe3P is said to be a significant revision of the GPU core design, so it may perform even better than the powerful "Arc B390" graphics found in Panther Lake and the Arc G3 Extreme. This could present a legitimate GPU-less path for gamers looking for a gaming system on a budget but wishing to retain the versatility and customization of a DIY PC build.