Intel's upcoming "Nova Lake" lineup for mobile devices has been revealed in bare-die form, thanks to the Moore's Law Is Dead YouTube channel. Leading the lineup is the "Nova Lake-HX," featuring an 8+16+4 core configuration with 8 P-Cores, 16 E-Cores, and 4 LPE-Cores. The total silicon size measures 12x30 mm, amounting to 360 mm², which is divided across six different dies manufactured on various nodes.
The first die is the graphics tile, built on the Intel 3-E node, embedding 4 Xe GPU cores and covering roughly 26 mm². Adjacent to it is a dummy die occupying 21 mm², used for the structural integrity of the package. Next, there is a large 72 mm² die built on the Intel 18A-P node, hosting 4 LPE-Cores and serving as a central hub.
Beside it is another 18A-P silicon die that functions as a peripheral control tile, measuring 58 mm². Finally, Intel uses an external foundry for the main compute tile, which is on the TSMC N2P node and hosts the 8P+16E CPU core configuration. This compute tile occupies the largest area of 104 mm².
Additionally, there is a passive tile next to it, with 85 mm² dedicated to the structural integrity of the package and the intended operation of the "Nova Lake-HX" chip. Next, we move to the less powerful "Nova Lake-H" variant, which will feature a 4+8+4 configuration with 4 P-Cores, 8 E-Cores, and 4 LPE-Cores. This package is significantly smaller, measuring only 12x23 mm for a total die area of 276 mm², also consisting of both functional and dummy dies.
The die configuration remains the same except for the main compute tile, which hosts a 4P+8E-core configuration on the TSMC N2P node, occupying 55 mm² of area. The adjacent passive die is also smaller, with an area of only 45 mm², while the peripheral control die, central hub die, and graphics tile are all made on Intel nodes and remain the same as in the "HX" variant. From previous rumors, we have learned that Intel's new four-digit Core Ultra 4000 naming isn't limited to desktop chips.
We could see these "Nova Lake-HX" laptop processors using the same four-number format, while H-series and suffix-less mobile chips continue with the three-digit naming of the previous generation. 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.
Source: TechPowerUp News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing