Intel's Arrow Lake Update Small Changes, No Big NPU Change
Recent news says Intel's new update for its Arrow Lake-S (desktop) and Arrow Lake-HX (mobile for big fans) CPUs won't have the big NPU (Neural Processing Unit) change that was once thought to be coming. This means the new chips will just have small tweaks from the first Arrow Lake products.
What Will the Arrow Lake Update Bring
New info from a source named "Jaykihn at X" tells us that Intel has chosen not to change the NPU's big design or its speed in the new CPUs. This means the NPU will work just like it does now, at about 13 TOPS. The main tweak in these updated CPUs may just be a bit higher clock speeds.
What we might see from this small update:
- No big changes to the NPU's design or speed.
- Just small gains in how well it works, maybe about 2-5%.
- It might use more power and get hotter, like past Intel updates.
- No change in how games play.
Even though Intel has updated other parts to make memory work better and connect things faster for Arrow Lake CPUs, these aren't big changes to the CPU itself.
Why Put Out a Small Update
It looks like the choice to do a small update might be more about selling strategy than new tech. The update might help motherboard makers sell more on the LGA 1851 platform. This could help them sell old stock before Intel's next big CPU design, "Nova Lake", comes out with a new LGA 1954 socket.
When to Expect the New CPUs
Intel plans to release the Arrow Lake Update CPUs in the later part of this year. We should learn more as the time gets closer.