Intel Arrow Lake-U CPUs to be Fabbed Using Intel 3 Instead of Intel 20A, Expect a 10% Efficiency Boost Compared to Meteor Lake
Intel’s Arrow Lake-U lineup of processors, as per sources, will act as a low-cost alternative to the upcoming Lunar Lake-MX series. These CPUs will be built using the Intel 3 (3nm) process, instead of Intel 20A. Likewise, the leaker projects a perf/watt increase of about 10% as compared to Meteor Lake-U.
Arrow Lake-U Efficiency and Process Node
Lunar Lake is an upcoming lineup of low-power processors set to arrive by the end of 2024. Before these CPUs, we should see Arrow Lake-S and Granite Rapids in action. The mobile counterpart of Arrow Lake will roll out at CES 2025, based on a leak from the same source.
Arrow Lake-U CPUs are meant to be a low-cost substitute for Lunar Lake, as they are likely cheaper to produce. It is pertinent to mention that both lineups will use the same P-Core and E-Core architecture, however, the iGPU and process technology are quite different. More on that in a bit.
Intel’s Arrow Lake-U CPUs will be fabbed on the Intel 3 process, a node that was exclusively reserved for server offerings (Granite Rapids). This is in contrast to TSMC’s N3B node found on Lunar Lake. Adding to the dissimilarity, Lunar Lake by late 2024 will introduce Battlemage (Xe2-LPG) graphics. On the contrary, Arrow Lake-U will use a modified Alchemist+ µarchitecture (Xe-LPG+).
The leaker made a rather vague statement regarding the CPU µarchitecture. Arrow Lake, at least on desktop, will use Lion Cove P-Cores, a step up from Meteor Lake’s Redwood Cove cores. We are uncertain at this point, however, the shrink to Intel 3 from Intel 4 nets Intel a 10% efficiency uplift in MT workloads.
Summary
By the start of 2025, we’ll have a couple of options from Team Blue. On one hand, you can go all out and snag a Lunar Lake-MX equipped laptop, but be ready to empty your wallets. Arrow Lake-U appears to be a low-cost alternative, with ample performance and efficiency.
Do you think Lion Cove has significant IPC gains over Redwood Cove? Tell us in the comments.
Source: Bionic Squash
