Is Intel set for a great CPU comeback? Nova Lake in 2026 could copy AMD's playbook for a key gaming boost

Intel might be planning a big change with Nova Lake CPUs in 2026
Rumor has it that they will benefit from additional cache for faster gaming
This is in a similar vein to AMD’s existing 3D V-Cache chips, like the popular 9800X3D

Intel’s Nova Lake processors – which could be its next CPUs (though an Arrow Lake Refresh could come before them) – are going to take a page out of AMD’s 3D V-Cache playbook, it seems.

Based on new rumors floating around on X, as highlighted by VideoCardz, Intel is looking to use a large slab of cache to make a much better CPU for gamers, just like AMD’s X3D chips.

AMD’s Ryzen 7 7800X3D remains our best gaming CPU (pound-for-pound), and Intel is seemingly hoping to tap into a similar vein with Nova Lake chips using what’s called ‘bLLC’ or Big Last-Level Cache.

Obviously, take all this with a good deal of seasoning, but according to Raichu, a well-known leaker on X, we’ll see a Nova Lake flagship with 16 performance cores (and 32 efficiency cores). Along with that, there’ll be a lower-tier chip with 8 performance cores (plus 16 efficiency) that will have bLLC on board (the flagship won’t).

Another post on X, from Haze (a data miner), also claims there will be a second 8-core model with fewer efficiency cores (12) that’ll have the new cache, and also 4 low-power cores (tiny ones). Indeed, both Nova Lake 8-core CPUs will supposedly have those, along with a power consumption of 125W.

As VideoCardz points out, the rumored plan is for 144MB of L3 cache to be utilized by Intel, more than AMD’s current top-end payload of 128MB (on the Ryzen 9950X3D).

Whatever the exact configuration of these CPUs might ultimately be, the apparent plan is to have this new type of cache powering up Nova Lake, processors expected to be released later in 2026.

As mentioned at the outset, it isn’t clear whether Nova Lake will be Intel’s next-gen CPUs, as past rumors have indicated, or whether Team Blue might be planning a stopgap refresh of current Arrow Lake chips before then, to debut later this year, as more recent speculation contends.

We could be looking at Arrow Lake Refresh as the Core 300 series (alongside Panther Lake, which will be only for laptops), and Nova Lake would be Core 400, in theory (for both desktops and laptops).

Analysis: a return to form?

A gamer sat at a desktop PC in an esports competition — (Image credit: Pexels)

So, it seems Intel’s plan is a monster flagship processor for Nova Lake, aimed at PC enthusiasts who want a heavyweight chip that can do everything – with 16 performance cores – and then a beefy 8-core chip that’s ideal for gamers. The latter will cost less but be pepped up for games with this new flavor of cache, the equivalent of AMD’s X3D.

While AMD does offer X3D processors with more than 8 cores, that model – the most recent incarnation of which is the 9800X3D – is the mainstream offering for gamers in terms of its pricing (the 12-core and 16-core X3D spins are predictably pricey).

Okay, so does this fresh Intel rumor seem likely? Well, Team Blue does need to do something to get back in the good books of gamers, that’s for sure. The company’s most recent Arrow Lake chips disappointed with their PC gaming performance – even after multiple patches to smooth things over – and its reputation has been tarnished by previous generations suffering from well-documented stability issues (which are still an ongoing concern in some respects).

Indeed, some might argue that it could be too late for Intel to recover its standing with gamers. After all, trust and confidence in the CPU maker have been damaged to a worrying extent, at least from what I can tell (from online sentiment in the various forums I regularly lurk in). Of course, that doesn’t mean Team Blue shouldn’t try – and maybe it can pull a rabbit out of the hat, gaming-wise, with a new direction for Nova Lake in terms of additional cache.

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Is Intel set for a great CPU comeback? Nova Lake in 2026 could copy AMD’s playbook for a key gaming boost