ⓘ Intel, edited

Previous rumours stated Intel's upcoming Razor Lake processors could bring substantial upgrades over Nova Lake. Leaker Jaykihn claimed, on multiple occasions, that select Nova Lake processors would feature bLLC, Intel's answer to AMD's 3D V-cache. Apparently, even Razor Lake, Nova Lake's successor, will get the same treatment, and this time, it won't be limited to desktops.

Jaykihn says bLLC, or big Last Level Cache, will apparently make its way to mobile processors with Razor Lake, effectively making it a formidable competitor to AMD's HX3D chips, and maybe even some Strix/Gorgon/Medusa Halo offerings. Other notable improvements include the architecture's Griffin Cove P-cores- an entirely new design rather than a refinement of Nova Lake's Coyote Cove cores.

Razor Lake is also reportedly being developed for TSMC's N2X node. It is worth noting that Moore's Law is Dead, another noted leaker, says Razor Lake could actually use TSMC N2P, not N2X. Based on Intel's recent designs, it is plausible that only the CPU tile will be fabbed on TSMC's cutting-edge node. Everything else might be distributed between Intel's own nodes or more mature offerings from TSMC from the N3/N4 family.

That said, it won't seemingly be present everywhere. Jaykihn says Nova Lake-HX will not feature bLLC, while the recently leaked Razor Lake-AX (formerly Nova Lake-AX) will miss out on it as well, even though it was initially rumoured to be one of the serious Strix Halo contenders from Intel. Razor Lake-AX is expected to reuse Nova Lake's Coyote Cove and Arctic Wolf CPU cores rather than the newer architectures found elsewhere in the Razor Lake family.

Regular Razor Lake processors should be considerably more interesting on the CPU side. Jaykihn describes the new Griffin Cove P-core as a full "tock" over Coyote Cove, stressing that the two are "completely different cores." As for graphics, Jaykihn claims Razor Lake-S and Razor Lake-HX will retain the same basic configuration as Nova Lake, with two Xe3 GPU cores. Razor Lake-AX is a different proposition, with previous leaks suggesting considerably more powerful integrated graphics.

Of course, Intel has confirmed none of this, and it is unlikely it will anytime soon. Razor Lake remains several generations away, but, nevertheless, the latest information suggests Intel may be reserving its more substantial CPU architectural changes and mobile bLLC implementation for Razor Lake rather than Nova Lake.

Anil Ganti - Senior Tech Writer - 2980 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2019

I've been an avid PC gamer since the age of 8. My passion for gaming eventually pushed me towards general tech, and I got my first writing gig at the age of 19. I have a degree in mechanical engineering and have worked in the manufacturing industry and a few other publications like Wccftech before joining Notebookcheck in November 2019. I cover a variety of topics including smartphones, gaming, and computer hardware.