Intel changes the base again

With Nova Lake, the chip manufacturer is once again introducing a new base. Owners of current LGA-1851 mainboards have to get a completely new mainboard for a processor upgrade. That should annoy many users.

Intel leaves customers in the rain

Intel apparently plans to change the CPU base after just one processor generation. As can be seen from freight documents, the chip manufacturer is already testing its upcoming Nova Lake-S processors on a new platform with the name LGA-1954. This means that owners of current mainboards with LGA-1851 sockers need completely new main boards for upgrading your CPU.

According to the information, the user Olrak29 on x (via Video card), the document contains corresponding references to developer tools for testing the new platform. Specifically, “NVL-S” (Nova Lake-S) and the base LGA-1954 are mentioned. The documents describe special test devices for the power supply to the upcoming platform.

Cleared performance jump

Despite the annoyance of the fast platform change, there is also positive news. Because Nova Lake should bring a significant leap. According to rumors, the top configuration of the Nova Lake CPUs will be equipped with a total of 52 cores (16 P cores + 32 e-cores + 4 LPE cores).

That would be more than twice the 24 kernels in the current flagship, the Core Ultra 9 285k. In addition, further variants with 28 cores (8 P cores + 16 e-kernels + 4 LPE cores) and 16 cores (4 P cores + 8 e-kernels + 4 LPE cores) are to be released. However, the maximum number of 52 should be reserved for the desktop models, while the 28-core variant for Nova Lake-HX-Gaming laptops is intended.

The market launch of Nova Lake-S with LGA-1954 is not expected in the immediate vicinity. Most experts expect a start in the second half of 2026, which would correspond to the usual two -year cycle of Intel for change of base. Previously, however, Panther Lake was released, Intel’s new chip generation for mobile devices.

Background to change the base

The currently used LGA-1851 socket was only introduced in October 2024 with the start of the Core Ultra 200 series (Arrow Lake-S). Its short lifespan is partly due to changes in Intel’s original plans. Because even before Arrow Lake-S, Meteor Lake should actually appear for desktop PCs with LGA-1851 sockers.

With the exception of the Embedded area, the chips were only launched in notebooks as Core Ultra Series 1 in notebooks due to disappointing performance. Therefore, Arrow Lake remains the only generation for the base. After all, a refresh could still appear. The competition from AMD shows that there is another way.

Here the different base are supplied with new CPUs for years. For the now nine-year-old AM4-socker, the Ryzen 5 5600T and the Ryzen 5 5600xt were released until the end of 2024.