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New details about the rumored large cache CPUs in Intel's next-generation Nova Lake lineup suggest it will feature as much as 144MB of cache, but that it may be limited to a single CPU.
As reported by VideoCardz, leaker Jaykihn claims the added cache will be on die and limited to K-series midrange models with eight Performance cores maximum, rather than the Core Ultra 9 chips that are rumored to have up to 52 cores.
For several years, AMD has held a firm grip on the gaming performance crown thanks to the stellar capabilities of its X3D chips. What started with the 5800X3D became the 7800X3D and eventually the 9800X3D and 9950X3D. Each chip featured an additional 3D V-Cache chip soldered on top of the compute chiplets to boost gaming performance dramatically. It allowed even AMD's eight-core gaming chips to easily beat Intel processors with three times their core count in gaming workloads.
Intel has long been rumored to have its own form of 3D V-Cache technology in the works, and rumors say it will launch with Nova Lake at the end of 2026. But it may restrict that added cache-driven performance to the midrange, with Jaykihn claiming that the new 144MB cache variants of the Nova Lake lineup will only be available with 8P + 12E and 8P + 16E configurations.
It's no surprise to learn that it will also be limited to the K-series chips that have traditionally been Intel's performance standouts with each generation, with higher boost clocks and unlocked overclocking capabilities. The combination of new core architectures for Performance and Efficiency cores, on a new Intel process node, with up to 144MB of cache, could make these chips exceptionally fast for gaming. AMD's current lineup only features an additional 64MB of L3 cache, delivering a total of 96MB on the latest Ryzen 9000 models.
However, AMD is said to be working on a dual V-Cache version of its CPUs, with the potential to launch them in the new year. If AMD worked that out by dropping an additional 64MB of cache in there, that would give its new chips more than even Intel's planned option. Jaykihn suggests that Intel's design will not be a dual-die design, though, which could mean giving all 144MB of cache to the eight performance cores.
How this works out in real world gaming performance is anyone's guess, but it's intriguing that Intel seems set to offer more cores and higher clocks on non-large cache CPUs. The head-to-head with AMD's dual 3D V-Cache chips and its next-generation Zen 6 X3D designs should be very interesting indeed.