Intel’s reportedly forthcoming 52-core Nova Lake desktop CPU is apparently very power-hungry in its short-burst PL2 (Power Limit 2) mode. According to a new rumour from tech leaker @laurentschoice on X, which has been corroborated by known (and often reliable) Intel leaker @jaykihn0, Intel’s incoming flagship processors feature two compute tiles that can draw up to 474W in their PL2 state.
If this rumour is accurate, Nova Lake will mark a significant increase in boost power draw compared to its predecessors, which have sat at around 250W since Intel’s 10th-gen (Comet Lake) lineup. This follows a previous rumour regarding a so-called PL4 emergency power limit, which is said to exceed 700W. While the latter is seemingly an electrical protection threshold designed for rare transient events, the 474W PL2 limit could be hit often, whenever favourable boost conditions are met.
To handle all this power, next-gen LGA1954 motherboards are expected to feature up to three 8-pin EPS power connectors, especially on high-end models with Z990 chipsets. On the other hand, @jaykihn0 has previously indicated that motherboard makers will also offer low-power classes of motherboards, targeting CPUs with 35W, 65W, and 125W PL1 power levels. For reference, the flagship 52-core Nova Lake desktop CPU is expected to have a 175W PL1 level.
Going back to PL2, while 474W may sound extreme, putting it into context changes the view substantially. If we divide this 474W rating by the rumoured 52 cores, we get 9.11W per core. For comparison, the Core Ultra 9 285K has a recommended PL2 of about 250W, which, when divided by its 24 cores, gives us 10.41W per core. Even if we remove Nova Lake’s highly efficient LP-E cores from the equation, we still get 9.87W per core.
These are just rough estimates, of course, as they don’t account for chipset and iGPU power consumption. This calculation also doesn’t differentiate between P and E cores, which have noticeably different power demands. However, despite the lack of precision, these calculations indicate that Intel’s Nova Lake architecture isn’t comparably inefficient on a per-core basis.
Regardless of power, the higher PL2 limit means this CPU may require a better cooling system than current chips, perhaps nothing less than a liquid cooler. In fact, buying a liquid cooler seems like a non-negotiable here, considering that even the Core Ultra 9 285K with its lower 250W PL2 level suffers from thermal throttling on air cooling.
Power aside, Nova Lake is expected to deliver a significant architectural overhaul over Arrow Lake with its flagship chip packing up to 16 P-Cores, 32 E-Cores, and four LP-E cores. As with all stories based on leaks and rumours, however, bear in mind that Intel hasn’t confirmed any of these details officially. Currently, Intel’s Nova Lake desktop processors are expected to launch sometime late this year or early next year.
