Leaked specifications reveal Intel’s ambitious plans for Nova Lake-S, aiming to challenge AMD with a high-power, high-performance integrated GPU that could reshape desktop CPU offerings by CES 2027.
Intel is preparing a more ambitious integrated graphics design for its next desktop platform, Nova Lake-S, as it tries to narrow the gap with AMD’s Ryzen chips, according to reports based on leaked specifications. The top iGPU configuration is said to use 12 Xe3P cores and draw as much as 40W at peak, which would make it one of the most power-hungry integrated graphics setups Intel has ever planned for a desktop processor. Tom’s Hardware reported that the design is intended to give mainstream desktop systems far more graphics headroom without requiring a separate graphics card.
The same leak suggests one Nova Lake-S variant will pair that graphics block with a 16-core CPU layout made up of four performance cores, eight efficiency cores and four low-power efficiency cores. It is said to support 16 threads, with a 65W base power limit for the processor and a 154W turbo limit. The graphics portion would reportedly have its own power envelope, with a sustained limit of roughly 15W to 25W and a short-term peak of 40W, meaning final behaviour would depend heavily on cooling and motherboard power delivery, Tom’s Hardware said.
That is a notable change from Intel’s recent iGPU strategy. In Panther Lake, the company’s 12-core Xe3 graphics design is paired with 16MB of L2 cache, and the Nova Lake-S leak points to 20MB for Xe3P, a 25% increase. More cache matters because integrated graphics rely on shared system memory rather than dedicated video memory, so every improvement in on-chip storage can reduce latency and ease pressure on bandwidth, according to Tom’s Hardware.
Other reporting points to Intel treating Xe3P as a broader graphics family rather than a desktop-only feature. Tom’s Hardware and PC Gamer both noted that mobile Nova Lake-H processors are also expected to use 12-core graphics variants, with some configurations reportedly combining two groups of four Xe3P cores. That would align with Intel’s wider effort to make its integrated graphics more competitive across laptops and desktops, rather than reserving serious graphics capability for discrete cards alone.
If the figures are accurate, Nova Lake-S could become Intel’s strongest integrated graphics push in years. Tom’s Hardware said the design may arrive around CES 2027, though the company has not officially confirmed the chip or its final specifications. For now, the leak mainly suggests that Intel is willing to spend far more power on integrated graphics than it has in the past, which could make future desktop CPUs more attractive for compact systems and users who do not want a separate GPU.
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