Intel Core Ultra 400K Nova Lake-S To Challenge X3D With Massive 144MB Cache

Those up-to-date with the best gaming CPUs know that AMD has stolen the crown from Intel with Ryzen X3D chips wielding massively increasing cache allotments. However, Intel's upcoming Nova Lake-S CPUs are rumored to have a massive cache configurations of their own. According to leakers on Twitter, unlocked Intel Nova Lake-S CPUs will feature bLLC (Big/Base Last Level Cache) with a cache size of 144MB, which dwarfs the 96MB cache size of even AMD's Ryzen 9 9800X3D. Based on past leaks pointing toward the existence of bLLC in Nova Lake CPUs, signs are pointing toward these rumors being true.  AMD Zen 6 leaks suggest that Zen 6 X3D CPUs will leverage a 48+96 MB (single CCD) cache, so in theory the next gen of AMD and Intel gaming CPUs should be on mostly-even grounds, with core architecture and speed now free to determine the winners. This is more in line with how gaming CPU wars were prior to the introduction of 3D V-Cache, where single-core throughput tied to architectural improvement was king. To those familiar with the history of gaming CPUs, Intel stealing the gaming performance crown is a very familiar idea. Prior to debuting Ryzen CPUs, AMD was stuck in a distant second place for gaming CPU performance, mainly focused on providing many cores for a strong value in an era where PC games weren't well-optimized for utilizing multiple cores.


The debut of the Zen architecture and its evolutions brought AMD to much closer parity with Intel, but AMD was unable to take a solid lead in gaming performance until debuting Ryzen X3D CPUs with the Ryzen 7 5800X3D in April of 2022. Since then, X3D versions of AMD's newer CPUs have dominated benchmarks and eaten into Intel's gaming CPU dominance, so it makes sense that Intel Nova Lake-S will adopt its own equivalent (bLLC) to bring the fight back to AMD.

Overall, this news bodes fairly well for consumers, since increased competition in the CPU space historically leads to lowered prices across-the-board. With X3D/bLLC cache now becoming the standard for gaming CPUs, we may even eventually see the tech come to more mid-range options. AMD has historically limited the X3D designation to its best Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 9 CPUs, but did release a limited-run Ryzen 7 5700X3D indicating awareness of more price-conscious gaming consumers. Intel already restricted overclocking to its best Intel Core 5/7/9 CPUs, so adding bLLC to that segmentation does make a lot of sense...and could prove potent if the unlocked Nova Lake-S Intel Core 5 Ultra CPU also leverages bLLC for less than the cheapest Zen 6 Ryzen X3D chip.

Image Credit: AMD