Intel’s Chief Financial Officer, David Zinsner, has confirmed the arrival of “another wave” of Intel Arrow Lake CPUs, bridging the gap between the existing Core Ultra 200-series chips and the anticipated Nova Lake processors. This announcement marks the first official acknowledgment from Intel regarding the long-rumored Arrow Lake refresh.
Performance Enhancements on the Horizon
The initial release of Arrow Lake CPUs showcased significant advancements in thermal management and power efficiency. However, as noted in a recent review of the Core Ultra 7 265K, these processors have faced challenges in competing with AMD’s latest offerings in the gaming arena. With the potential for higher clock speeds in the upcoming refresh, Intel may be poised to narrow this competitive gap. Nonetheless, it is the forthcoming Nova Lake architecture that holds the promise of transforming Intel’s standing in desktop PC gaming.
During his presentation at Citi’s 2025 Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) Conference, Zinsner elaborated on Intel’s innovative in-house 18A manufacturing process, which will be utilized for the upcoming Panther Lake and Nova Lake CPUs. In contrast, the core chiplet fabrication for the Arrow Lake CPUs is currently being handled by TSMC.
Zinsner candidly acknowledged the need for further development on the client side of Intel’s portfolio, stating, “We still have some work to do on the client side on the portfolio.” He added, “There’s another wave of Arrow Lake that we’ll see. But it’s not till Nova Lake that really, I think we have completely addressed that situation. And so we would expect to get to a pretty good place as we get into Nova Lake, and Nova Lake will have 18A as well.”
Rumors and Expectations
While Zinsner refrained from divulging specific details about the upcoming Arrow Lake Refresh CPUs, previous leaks have hinted at enhanced AI performance for the Neural Processing Unit (NPU). However, subsequent reports have suggested that the primary upgrade may simply involve increased clock speeds. The new chips are expected to retain the Core Ultra 200-series branding, with the Core Ultra 300 likely bypassing the desktop segment, and the Core Ultra 400-series designations reserved for the next-generation Nova Lake processors.
Although much of the discourse surrounding clock speeds, model numbers, and NPU capabilities remains speculative, one fact stands clear: additional Arrow Lake CPUs are on the horizon, providing at least one upgrade option for users of LGA1851 motherboards.
For those contemplating an upgrade, resources such as our guide to selecting the best gaming CPU and our best gaming motherboard guide—covering both Intel and AMD sockets—are available for your consideration.
As the excitement builds around the new Arrow Lake CPUs, the question remains: will you be tempted by this fresh lineup, or do you lean towards the AMD X3D CPUs? Join the conversation on our community Discord server.
