Fresh leaks suggest Intel’s upcoming Core Ultra 400 desktop processors, based on the Nova Lake-S architecture, could push power consumption beyond 700W under full load.
Two well-known hardware leakers (Jaykihn and kopite7kimi) on X shared technical notes outlining early platform behaviour for the Core Ultra 400 series, including what appears to be a high-end PL4 power figure.
One post claims that a fully loaded Nova Lake K-series chip exceeds 700 watts, though the workload and exact testing conditions were not specified.
If accurate, that figure would represent a significant jump over recent Intel desktop processors, including Raptor Lake-S, which topped out far lower under comparable profiles.
The 700W claim reportedly refers to the PL4 rating, also known as Power Level 4, which represents the highest defined power limit in Intel’s power management hierarchy.
For comparison, earlier-generation 13th Gen desktop chips reached around 314W in performance profiles, while certain Extreme configurations reportedly pushed near 490W.
Overclocking and core configuration
Additional details suggest the 700W figure applies to a dual-tile configuration, with one variant combining 16 performance cores, 32 efficiency cores, and four low-power efficiency cores.
The same sources also outlined changes to thermal and monitoring behaviour for Nova Lake-S, including the inability to offset TJMax or disable thermal throttling.
The on-die thermal sensor reportedly measures temperatures from –64°C up to 100°C when users enable Negative Temperature Reporting.
Leakers claim LP E-cores ignore BCLK and ECLK adjustments, indicating Intel has tightened control over specific clock domains.
The processor can reportedly boot using only LP E-cores, or run LP E-cores alongside E-cores while disabling the P-cores.
Sources say users can disable entire compute dies, though the platform now groups P-cores and E-cores into clusters that restrict disabling to a per-cluster basis.
Intel has not confirmed these specifications, and no official PL4 ratings or final configurations have been announced for Nova Lake-S.
Intel previously stated that Nova Lake will launch by the end of the year, though the company has not clarified whether that timeline applies to desktop or mobile variants.
If these early figures prove accurate, Core Ultra 400 could mark one of Intel’s most power-hungry and performance-focused desktop platforms to date.
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