Summary
For the last decade or so, AMD has quickly gained favor in the PC community, becoming the new no-brainer choice across builds of all scales. The Zen architecture helped them gain a lead over Intel, and the competition worsened as Team Blue faced repeated setbacks and struggled to move to smaller nodes. Whatever gap with its X3D chips, which are well suited to gaming and certain professional workloads. But now, Intel is back and gearing up to release its next generation of CPUs. Dubbed Nova Lake, the new CPUs are supposed to mark Intel’s huge comeback with a new technology called bLLC (Big Last Level Cache) — essentially its equivalent of AMD’s 3D V-Cache. However, this new bLLC tech has one big problem and, given where things stand right now, it’s unlikely to help Intel close the gap with its rival. How Intel’s bLLC compares with 3D V-Cache Leaked specs put Nova Lake’s cache ahead of the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Intel’s bLLC is currently rumored to be a stronger rival to 3D V-Cache, with reports suggesting 288MB of cache for the flagship processor. For reference, this is 80 MB more cache than AMD’s strongest CPU right now, the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2. AMD’s X3D chips triple the L3 cache by stacking it on the CCD, rather than using a traditional vertical stack, and bLLC serves the same purpose but differs in implementation, since the additional cache will be implemented in the larger compute die rather than AMD’s separate SRAM die stacked over the compute die. However, this means the CPU right now, and we hope to hear more about the Nova Lake processors at CES 2027.bLLC is limited to Intel’s priciest chips The 52-core flagship is rumored to hit 474W at peak Nevertheless, the bigger picture is that bLLC won’t be available across all Intel processors. Again, leaks suggest the highest-end model in the Nova Lake family will feature a whopping 52 cores, the sub-flagship will feature 44 cores, and bLLC will likely be exclusive to only these two CPUs. The leak explicitly states that the 52-core CPU is set to exceed 474W in power draw for PL2 (via Jaykihn), and bigger numbers don’t automatically make for better CPUs. Even though Intel’s chips feature a mixture of performance (P-cores) and efficiency cores (E-cores), handling these big numbers requires substantial cooling, a high-end GPU, and a massive power supply, making the cost of a high-end Nova Lake unimaginable. 3D V-Cache has been successful because AMD offers it across CPUs in multiple price ranges. I don’t think anyone needs a 52-core CPU for gaming, especially since CPUs have one of the longest lifecycles for PC components. This makes the bLLC-featured Nova Lake CPUs a hard sell. AMD’s Zen 6 answer Olympic Ridge is rumored to pair 24 cores with 240MB of cache On AMD’s side, a few improvements and tweaks should suffice given the pace at which Intel is moving, but we do have a sense of what Team Red is cooking behind the scenes. Its next-gen flagship CPU is currently set to feature 24 cores and 240MB of L3 cache (via HXL). Compared to Intel’s flagship processor, AMD isn’t going with an absurd core count, so the power draw will also likely be lower. For raw performance, Intel will likely have an edge with a massive core count and a massive L3 over Zen 6, but since AMD pioneered 3D memory stacking, I expect a better implementation than Intel. Summing up, there’s not much info on Zen 6 CPUs as there is on Nova Lake, but even if they continue with minor improvements and not a big breakthrough, I foresee AMD winning because of its lineup-wise implementation of 3D V-Cache and appropriate power limits. Intel’s platform and timing problem Nova Lake needs a new LGA 1954 motherboard One of the biggest uncertainties is whether bLLC processors will even be released in the first wave of CPU releases—higher-end models are expected to arrive later. Nova Lake has to come out with a bang, but Intel’s gun seems jammed for now. Its new processors are based on a newer socket, which means upgrading motherboards, whereas the newer Zen 6 CPUs will be supported by the AM5 boards, so I doubt AMD users or current Intel users will make the switch to the newer socket. Should you wait for Nova Lake CPUs? The PC hardware market is super hot and expensive right now, and it will be for at least until 2028, when the situation gets a bit better. That said, CPUs last longer than nearly every other PC component, so for most budget and mid-range PCs, even the Ryzen 7000 processors will be good for a couple of years. Nova Lake’s big jump is enticing but isn’t a realistic ceiling for most PC users. I would’ve depended on its entry and mid-range options, but they won’t even feature bLLC, so I see Zen 6 winning over PC owners once again.