Intel Confirms Next-Gen Arrow Lake, Lunar Lake, Panther Lake CPUs For Client PCs

At Innovation 2023, Intel unveiled its next generation of client CPUs which include Arrow Lake, Lunar Lake & Panther Lake.

Intel Arrow Lake on 20A Fresh Out of Fabs, Lunar Lake Running & Booting In Labs, Panther Lake CPUs Confirmed Too

During the key event, Intel confirmed its three CPU product families that would replace its Meteor Lake CPUs that launch in December. First up, we have Arrow Lake which according to CEO, Pat Gelsinger, is hot out of fab and utilizes the 20A process node with production commencing next year and arrival expected in the second half of 2024. The Arrow Lake CPUs will further bring improvements to performance, power, and area and utilize a brand new core architecture which will be aimed at the laptop and desktop segments.

Gelsinger also showed an Intel 20A wafer with the first test chips for Arrow Lake processor, which is destined for the client computing market in 2024. Intel 20A will be the first process node to include PowerVia, backside power delivery technology, and the new gate-all-around transistor design called RibbonFET. 18A, which also leverages PowerVia and RibbonFET, remains on track to be manufacturing-ready in the second half of 2024.

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I know mobility is fun stuff but most of our readers are interested in what the next-gen desktop CPU family is going to look like and Arrow Lake will indeed be heading to the next-gen LGA 1851 socket featured on 800-series motherboards with the following features:

• LGA 1851 Socket Longevity Planned Uptill 2026
• DDR5 Only Compatibility, No DDR4 Support
• Kicks off With 800-Series Motherboards
• Support For Up To DDR5-6400 Memory (Native JEDEC)
• Increased PCIe Gen 5.0 Lanes Through CPU & PCH
• Arrow Lake-S First Desktop Family Supported
• Arrow Lake-S CPUs feature 3 MB L2 Cache Per P-Core
• Arrow Lake-S CPUs feature refreshed Alchemist iGPUs
• Arrow Lake-S CPUs feature integrated LLC "Adamantine" for GPU Tile
• Arrow Lake-S CPUs feature 8+16, 8+0, 6+8 CPU SKUs
• Launching In 2H 2024

In addition to that, Intel also showcased a demo unit featuring the next-gen Lunar Lake CPUs which are not only powering on but also booting into the operating system which is a key development. Lunar Lake CPUs are specifically going to target the mobile platform only, featuring a brand-new CPU architecture built from the ground up which will mark a major improvement over Arrow Lake. The graphics side will also utilize the next-gen Xe2 "Battlemage" architecture which will be a huge boost over the Alchemist offerings.

Chipzilla has previously revealed that the Lunar Lake family is originally aimed at the 15W low-power mobile CPU segment. The CPU will utilize a sub-20A node as its process technology alongside an external foundry node for various other IPs since this will be a multi-tiled chip design. You can expect all the latest and greatest innovations from Intel such as Foveros packaging (25um pitch). The Lunar Lake CPUs are positioned against Apple's M-class chips for its own Macbook and Mac systems while also tackling AMD APU architectures with a chiplet-esque design.

Lastly, we have Panther Lake which is confirmed to be a 2025 product. The Panther Lake CPUs are said to be a follow-on to Lunar Lake and are likely to be headed to both laptops and desktops too. Panther Lake CPUs are expected to feature Cougar Cove P-Cores and deploy the next-gen Xe3 GPU architecture, codenamed Celestial. Each CPU will offer a generational improvement over the last one, in terms of core, graphics, and efficiency capabilities.

What the blue team showcased today is a great roadmap with several products laid out for client PCs in the coming years. Now we only have to see if these products will meet schedule which has been the biggest concern for Chipzilla but considering that they are getting their grips back, we're likely to see a timely launch for the next-gen products.

Intel Desktop CPU Generations Comparison: