An unreleased HP notebook, listed as the EliteBook X G3i and powered by what is presumed to be an Intel Nova Lake CPU, recently made its way onto the SiSoftware benchmark database. Assuming the laptop is the real McCoy, this is basically the successor to the current Panther Lake-powered EliteBook X G2i.
The SiSoftware entry identifies the HP laptop’s motherboard as HP 8FF4, while the CPU itself is simply registered as “Intel® 0000”. That designation for the CPU is typical for engineering samples that do not yet have an official name, such as Core Ultra X7 or X9, followed by its given number.
The repository does list some specifics with the processor: a 20-core CPU with a boost clock up to 4.6GHz and 18MB L3 Cache. Other details include four 4MB L2 Cache blocks, blocks that are not present within the current Panther Lake CPU architecture. It is possible that those 4MB L2 Cache blocks are being shared by the Coyote-Cove P-Cores that are expected to ship out with Nova Lake.
This is a rather interesting development, given that Nova Lake is both designated and expected to be the desktop PC space first. That being said, it’s not unusual for Intel to release a desktop CPU architecture into the laptop space. For example, the blue chipmaker’s current Arrow Lake architecture is shared across both desktop and laptop, with the latter usually reserved for high-end gaming laptops, bearing the HX moniker as part of their designation.
On the subject of Nova Lake as a whole, there’s still no word on its launch date, only estimates. Well, that, and an imminent price hike for its CPUs: Intel is expected to bump up CPU prices by as much as 10% next year and, more specifically, by March next year. In conjunction with that, the blue chipmaker is reportedly set to enter mass production for Nova Lake within the fourth quarter of this year, followed by a release within the first quarter of 2027. Hence, the aligned price hike.
(Source: SiSoftware, Videocardz, momomo_us via X)
