Intel Allegedly Readies Nova Lake-AX To Challenge AMD's Strix Halo

Before AMD revealed its Ryzen AI MAX ("Strix Halo") processors, we had many leaks and rumors about the capabilities of the chips: massive integrated GPU, desktop-class CPU horsepower, and a double-wide 256-bit memory interface to feed it all. We had a lot of questions, but one of the most pressing was "what does Intel have to respond to this with" and the answer so far has been "absolutely nothing."

That may change next year, as regular Intel leaker Jaykihn has just posited the existence of something codenamed Nova Lake-AX. What is "AX"? Nobody knows for sure, because Intel has never used that suffix before. However, the leaker did apparently confirm privately to Videocardz that Nova Lake-AX is intended to be a direct competitor to AMD's "Strix Halo".


What does that imply? Well, a double-wide memory bus, for one thing; that's the singular feature that sets AMD's Ryzen AI MAX processors apart from everything else on the market. The 256-bit memory bus means double the memory bandwidth of any other processor using the same RAM, and it also means double the capacity. If Intel wants to compete with Strix Halo—nevermind Apple's processors that Strix Halo was created to counter—then these parts are going to need that big memory bandwidth.

It also implies lots of CPU cores and a huge GPU. The Ryzen AI MAX+ 395, the top-end Strix Halo part, packs in two eight-core Zen 5 CCDs, the same exact configuration (and indeed the same silicon) used in the Ryzen 9 9950X. Interestingly, we've already heard that the top-end Nova Lake parts will use dual compute tiles to achieve no less than 52 CPU cores in a single socket. It's possible that those dual-compute-tile parts are in fact Nova Lake-AX, or perhaps that Nova Lake-AX will use the same configuration but with different SoC and Graphics tiles.


Of course, we have to mention that one of the other questions we had before Strix Halo came out was "who is this for, exactly?" The Ryzen AI MAX chips have an unusual configuration. They offer fantastic performance per watt on some tasks, like AI inference and PC gaming, but the performance per dollar is quite poor indeed compared to more traditional options. We haven't seen sales figures, but it's hard to imagine that Ryzen AI MAX uptake has been particularly strong given the brutal pricing disadvantage these systems suffer.

So saying, the idea that Intel feels the need to directly counter Strix Halo is very interesting. Intel's certainly in a position to do so, with strong GPU IP (as demonstrated by Lunar Lake) and strong CPU IP in Lion Cove and Skymont. If the company can overcome the platform problems that plagued Arrow Lake—many of which have already been resolved by software and firmware patches by this point—Nova Lake-AX could be a serious contender for 'fastest mobile processor.' Jaykihn didn't share anything besides the name, though, so we'll have to wait and see what the blue team finally releases.

_{Thanks to Videocardz for confirmation of Nova Lake AX's market segment.}