Intel plans to launch Arrow Lake Refresh in 2025
In alignment with Intel’s previously disclosed roadmap, the next-generation Arrow Lake processors are slated for release in 2024. The desktop variant, Arrow Lake-S, will employ the LGA 1851 socket, and both P-Core and E-Core will be rejuvenated, transitioning to the novel Lion Cove and Skymont architectures, respectively.
As reported by “Moore’s Law is Dead“, the impending Arrow Lake-S processors, nestled under the “Core Ultra 200” series, are projected to be outfitted with either 24 or 26 cores—dependent on the precise calculation modality—comprising 8 P-Cores, 16 E-Cores, and an additional 2 LP E-Cores. However, it remains nebulous as to whether Intel will activate the LP E-Cores on the SOC module.
By 2025, Intel is poised to unveil the Arrow Lake Refresh, escalating the E-Core tally to 32, pitting it against AMD’s Ryzen 8000/9000 series. This augmentation mirrors the trajectory from Alder Lake to Raptor Lake, with a twofold increase in E-Core count. In essence, the zenith configuration of Arrow Lake Refresh will brandish 40 cores, distributed amongst 8 P-cores and 32 E-Cores. Circulating rumors suggest that AMD too contemplates introducing a heterogeneous core design to its desktop platform, ushering in products with 24 cores.
Intel harbors aspirations to incorporate the Intel 20A process on Arrow Lake, heralding two groundbreaking technologies: RibbonFET and PowerVia. RibbonFET embodies the realization of the Gate All Around transistor, superseding the FinFET introduced in 2011. This promises accelerated transistor switching speeds, delivering drive currents analogous to multi-fin configurations but in a more compact footprint. PowerVia, a unique Intel innovation, stands as the industry’s inaugural backside power delivery network, optimizing signal transmission by obviating the need for power routing on the wafer’s front side.
Given that Intel’s more distant Panther Lake will also utilize the LGA 1851 socket, this insinuates that the new platform will accommodate three generations of Core products. Panther Lake is set to feature P-Cores based on the Cougar Cove architecture, fabricated using the Intel 18A process.
