At Intel, rumors are swirling about the next generation: Nova Lake. In fact, in addition to the number of cores and the potential new platform, speculation is mounting regarding the power consumption of these future CPUs. Today’s rumors suggest these models will have very high power consumption… at least for the top-of-the-line variants. PL2 power consumption is therefore expected to skyrocket, easily surpassing what Arrow Lake has offered so far. 250W? That’s just the tip of the iceberg…
Nova Lake: Is the Next Generation Headed for High PL2 Power Consumption?
Up to 474W!
Broadly speaking, rumors suggest that Intel’s next-generation processors could feature a PL2 of 474W! Compared to Arrow Lake’s 250W, this represents a considerable increase of nearly 90%. That said, it’s important to note that PL2 power doesn’t represent sustained power consumption over time—only the peak power reached during short bursts of boost. There’s no doubt, however, that steady-state power consumption will be significantly lower: 175W. We’ve also learned that once power consumption reaches 700W, the CPU will begin to throttle its frequency to protect the platform.
This is due to an increase in the number of cores:
It’s also clear that these values apply only to the highest-end processors—those with a dramatically increased number of cores: we’re talking about CPUs with a maximum of 52 cores. Obviously, the more modest models will see their power consumption drop!
Additionally, we’ve learned that there may well be a method for classifying motherboards based on their ability to handle CPUs according to their PL1 power consumption: 35W, 65W, 125W, and 175W. For top-of-the-line models—or those aimed at power users and overclockers—a third CPU power connector might even be added!
In any case, the top-of-the-line Nova Lake models will require more robust motherboards, especially to handle the increased power consumption!
