A presentation given by an Intel-authorized distributor in China, and later machine-translated, has surfaced detailing Intel's upcoming desktop CPU plans. The material is not confirmed to come directly from Intel, but reflects information Intel has reportedly shared with partners in closed-door sessions. Both Wccftech and TechPowerUp reported on the leaked slide, with TechPowerUp noting that Intel's own testing tools had already hinted at the pin count for the new socket before this slide confirmed it.
According to the leak, Intel's next desktop platform, Nova Lake-S, will be branded as the Core Ultra 400 family and will use a new LGA 1954 socket, compatible with 900-series motherboards. Mass production is slated to begin in Q4 2026, with a 28-core, single-compute-tile version launching first in Q1 2027. A higher-end 52-core, dual-compute-tile flagship is expected to follow later in 2027, with Wccftech suggesting a Computex 2027 timeframe for that model.
The chips are said to use new Coyote Cove P-core and Arctic Wolf E-core and LP-E-core architectures, paired with DDR5 memory and support for higher frequencies. The lineup will also include bLLC ('big LLC') cache variants offering up to 144 MB on the single-tile chip and up to 288 MB on the dual-tile version, which Wccftech says are intended to compete with AMD's 3D V-Cache-equipped processors.
A central point in both reports is Intel's stated plan to make LGA 1954 a long-term, multi-generational socket, allowing users to upgrade CPUs over several years without replacing their motherboard. TechPowerUp frames this as a shift toward a strategy similar to AMD's, which used the AM4 socket for roughly a decade and has committed to supporting AM5 through 2029; by contrast, Intel has moved through three different sockets in the past five years alone (LGA 1200, LGA 1700, and LGA 1851).
Beyond Nova Lake-S, Wccftech reports that the same LGA 1954 platform is expected to later support a 'Razor Lake' family, described as a refresh of Nova Lake, with a possible Q4 2027 launch that would more realistically arrive around CES 2028. Standard Razor Lake chips are said to pair Griffin Cove P-cores with Arctic Wolf E-cores, while higher-end 'AX' variants aimed at AMD's high-end 'Halo' chips would use Coyote Cove P-cores instead. Further out, a 'Hammer Lake' family is expected sometime in 2029-2030, using a rumored second-generation Unified Core architecture. In the meantime, Wccftech notes Intel plans to keep offering Raptor Lake chips on the older LGA 1700 platform as long as current memory market conditions persist.