Intel may be changing its processor naming scheme again with Nova Lake, just one generation after moving to shorter model numbers.
A new leak appears to show an upcoming Core Ultra 9 4950K, a 28-core desktop processor reportedly running on Intel’s next-generation Z990 platform. If accurate, the name would mark a return to four-digit model numbers. Previously, Intel switched from five-digit identifiers such as the Core i9-14900K to three-digit names with Arrow Lake, including the Core Ultra 9 285K.
The leaked screenshot, shared by Laurent’s Choice, doesn’t reveal much about the processor itself. However, the accompanying information points to a 28-core configuration and Intel’s 18A manufacturing process.
The chip was reportedly tested on a Z990 motherboard. It recorded scores of close to 1,000 points in single-core testing and around 20,000 points in multi-core testing. Those figures shouldn’t be taken as a meaningful performance comparison yet, though. The leak doesn’t provide details about clock speeds, power limits or the condition of the early silicon. Therefore, there’s no reliable way to compare the results with existing CPUs.
The reported core configuration is also interesting. The leak points to an 8P + 20E design, broadly matching an earlier Nova Lake leak. That leak described a 28-core Core Ultra 9 with eight P-cores, 16 E-cores and four LP-E cores. In other words, the new leak may simply be grouping the two types of efficiency cores together.
The mention of Intel 18A could be another important detail. Earlier Nova Lake leaks had pointed towards TSMC’s N2 process for the CPU tile. However, more recent reports have suggested Intel is shifting a larger portion of Nova Lake production to its own 18A node. That process is already being used for Panther Lake and Clearwater Forest.
There have even been claims that Intel could use 18A for non-bLLC desktop models while keeping higher-end cache-equipped variants on TSMC silicon, but that’s still firmly in leak territory.
If the reported specifications are accurate, the Core Ultra 9 4950K could have a nominal 65W TDP and reportedly won’t feature bLLC. More importantly, the appearance of the 4950K name suggests Intel could be about to rethink its CPU naming convention yet again.
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