Intel’s Arrow Lake Refresh: NPU Upgrade Incoming?

Intel’s Arrow Lake refresh, expected as the Core Ultra 300 series, might deliver more than just faster clock speeds. A revamped Neural Processing Unit (NPU) could bring it up to par with current mobile standards.

Core Ultra 300: Embracing a New NPU

Reports suggest the Arrow Lake-Refresh will incorporate the NPU from Lunar Lake (Core Ultra 200V). With 48 TOPS (trillions of operations per second), this NPU would enable Windows Copilot+ support. The existing Arrow Lake uses the NPU from Meteor Lake (Core Ultra 100), leaving desktop PCs and mobile Arrow Lake platforms without Copilot+ status – a feature AMD mobile processors already enjoy.

While Copilot+ adoption remains limited, the initial decision to equip Arrow Lake with an older NPU seemed questionable. The NPU isn’t a separate chip on the Arrow Lake package, making the replacement a complex endeavor. The same goes for Lunar Lake, albeit in a different form factor.

Intel’s potential choice to integrate the “NPU4” instead of “NPU3” could be driven by mobile considerations, ensuring the Core Ultra 300 series offers a competitive edge over the Core Ultra 200.

Mobile Landscape: Panther Lake on the Horizon

Later this year, **Intel** plans to launch its next-generation mobile CPU, Panther Lake, which will feature improved CPU architecture and enhanced integrated graphics.

LGA 1851: One Last Time for Core Ultra 300

Despite rumors, the Core Ultra 300 series for desktops will likely align with Core Ultra 200. The high-end Core Ultra 9 385K may be the last generation using the LGA 1851 socket. Nova Lake-S, as “Core Ultra 400,” is expected to transition to the LGA 1954 socket.