Intel’s Nova Lake-S lineup may include 44-core CPU

The roadmap for Intel's next-generation Nova Lake-S desktop processors is becoming clearer. According to the latest reports, Intel has revised its Core Ultra 9 Nova Lake-S desktop configurations, bumping the core count of the 42-core dual-compute-tile SKUs to 44 cores.

According to Jaykhin (via VideoCardz), this 44-core chip consists of 16x P-cores (Coyote Cove), 24x E-cores (Arctic Wolf), and 4 LP-E cores. The 2-core increase compared to the December 2025 report is in the P-cores, which were initially reported to have 14 cores.

This 44-core SKU is expected to be part of a broader family of “Big Last Level Cache” (bLLC) processors, which serve as Intel's direct response to AMD's 3D V-Cache technology. The lineup is led by a massive 52-core flagship featuring 288MB of bLLC across dual tiles, followed by the new 44-core variant. For the more mainstream enthusiast market, Intel is apparently preparing single-tile configurations with 28 and 24 cores, each carrying 144MB of bLLC.

The leaker also mentioned that Intel is evaluating locked, non-K variants for this cache-heavy family. This would be a departure from earlier strategies that restricted premium cache features to unlocked flagship models, potentially making high-performance gaming silicon more accessible to a wider range of PC builders.

KitGuru says: With Zen 6 also coming up, the next year is going to be very interesting in the CPU space. 

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