As we eagerly anticipate the next generation of processors from Intel, leaks and rumors about the upcoming Arrow Lake and Lunar Lake chips have been circulating, courtesy of the popular leaker Moore’s Law is Dead (MLID). While the information shared so far is undoubtedly exciting, it’s crucial to approach these claims with a degree of caution and not get carried away with the notion that Intel will easily outperform AMD in the battle of next-gen CPUs.
Table of Contents
Intel’s Arrow Lake may not have what it takes to beat AMD’s Zen 5
According to one of MLID’s top Intel sources, the Arrow Lake processors are expected to deliver a performance boost of 25% to 35% over the upcoming Meteor Lake chips. This impressive generational leap is even more remarkable considering that Arrow Lake is rumored to lack hyper-threading, a feature that has been widely speculated to be absent from these processors.
In terms of raw CPU performance, MLID believes that Arrow Lake will outperform AMD’s Zen 5 processors, which are expected to offer a more modest 20% generational improvement, or potentially even less. However, it’s essential to approach these rumored performance figures with caution, as they are subject to change.
While Arrow Lake is shaping up to be a compelling offering in terms of CPU performance, it might disappoint in the realm of AI capabilities. MLID suggests that the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) on Arrow Lake may not represent a significant step up from what’s already available on Meteor Lake.
Intel’s focus on accelerating AI performance will likely be more pronounced with the Lunar Lake processors, which are aimed at premium thin-and-light laptops. According to MLID, the NPU on Lunar Lake is expected to achieve over 40 TOPS (a measure of AI performance), substantially higher than the rumored 13 TOPS figure for Arrow Lake.
Regarding release timelines, MLID reiterates the long-standing rumor that Arrow Lake desktop CPUs, set to succeed Raptor Lake Refresh, are still on track for a late 2024 launch. However, the leaker suggests that this could be a “paper launch,” meaning that widespread availability and substantial stock on shelves may not occur until early 2025. In contrast, Arrow Lake laptop CPUs are expected to launch in early 2025, taking over from Meteor Lake. Meanwhile, Lunar Lake, which will be exclusively for notebooks, is slated for a Q4 2024 release, and this launch appears to be more firmly set.
MLID also shared details about the integrated graphics capabilities of both processor families. Both Arrow Lake and Lunar Lake will feature up to 8 Xe Cores, but the crucial difference lies in the architectures used. Arrow Lake will employ Alchemist+, while Lunar Lake will utilize the newer Battlemage architecture.
While Arrow Lake is expected to offer significantly better integrated graphics performance compared to Meteor Lake, Lunar Lake is poised to take the lead in this department, leveraging the second-generation architecture from Intel. Additionally, Lunar Lake is anticipated to halve power consumption compared to Meteor Lake while maintaining a focus on efficiency rather than outright performance.
It’s worth noting that MLID seems skeptical about the likelihood of higher-power Lunar Lake designs aimed at maximizing integrated graphics performance seeing the light of day. The emphasis appears to be firmly on power efficiency, with beefier mobile chips potentially coming from other product lines like Arrow Lake, although these are still speculative at this point.
As with any leak or rumor, it’s essential to exercise caution and wait for official confirmations from Intel before drawing any definitive conclusions. However, the information shared by MLID provides an exciting glimpse into Intel’s future plans and sets the stage for a highly competitive landscape in the next generation of processors.
