Intel’s upcoming Nova Lake processors are shaping up to be a little different from what many PC builders and laptop buyers expected—especially on the graphics side. Earlier talk suggested Nova Lake would blend two GPU generations, pairing Xe3 with a newer Xe4 design. A fresh clarification now indicates that isn’t happening.
Instead, Intel Nova Lake CPUs are expected to lean on a two-part approach built entirely around Xe3-era technology: Xe3 (often associated with “Battlemage”) for the core integrated graphics, and Xe3P (often associated with “Celestial”) specifically for the Media and Display engines. In other words, Nova Lake won’t include Xe4, but it should still gain a meaningful upgrade where video encoding/decoding and display features are concerned.
What’s actually inside Nova Lake graphics
The key detail is how Intel is dividing responsibilities inside the iGPU package:
1) Xe3 “Battlemage” for the graphics tile
This is expected to be the foundation for Nova Lake’s integrated GPU cores—handling typical GPU workloads like desktop graphics acceleration, light gaming, and GPU-accelerated applications.
2) Xe3P “Celestial” IP for Media and Display
While the main iGPU cores remain Xe3-based, Intel is reportedly bringing in newer Xe3P-based media and display blocks. That matters because media and display engines control large parts of the everyday experience: codec support, streaming efficiency, video playback, capture and transcode performance, multi-monitor behavior, and other display pipeline capabilities.
So even without moving to Xe4, Nova Lake can still deliver noticeable improvements in the areas people feel most often—especially creators, streamers, and anyone relying on modern video workflows.
How many Xe3 iGPU cores will Nova Lake have?
Early configuration details suggest Intel will scale Nova Lake iGPU resources depending on the segment:
– Nova Lake-S (desktop) and Nova Lake-HX (high-performance laptops) are expected to top out at 2 Xe3 iGPU cores.
– Other Nova Lake models could scale up to 12 Xe3 GPU cores, similar to existing designs that already target the 12-core iGPU class.
That implies the biggest iGPU configurations may focus on thin-and-light laptops and power-efficient systems, while higher-wattage desktop and HX-class chips may prioritize CPU performance and rely more on discrete GPUs for gaming and heavy graphics.
Nova Lake CPU lineup: expected core counts and power targets
Here are the reported configurations, showing a wide spread from extreme desktop-class power to ultra-mobile efficiency:
– Nova Lake-X: 16 P-cores, 32 E-cores, 4 LP-E cores, up to 2 Xe3 GPU cores, ~200W
– Nova Lake-S: 8 P-cores, 16 E-cores, 4 LP-E cores, up to 2 Xe3 GPU cores, ~125W
– Nova Lake-HX: 8 P-cores, 16 E-cores, 4 LP-E cores, up to 2 Xe3 GPU cores, ~55W
– Nova Lake-HX: 4 P-cores, 8 E-cores, 4 LP-E cores, up to 2 Xe3 GPU cores, ~55W
– Nova Lake-H: 4 P-cores, 8 E-cores, 4 LP-E cores, up to 12 Xe3 GPU cores, ~28W
– Nova Lake-H: 4 P-cores, 8 E-cores, 4 LP-E cores, up to 4 Xe3 GPU cores, ~28W
– Nova Lake-U: 4 P-cores, 0 E-cores, 4 LP-E cores, up to 4 Xe3 GPU cores, ~28W
– Nova Lake-U: 2 P-cores, 0 E-cores, 4 LP-E cores, up to 2 Xe3 GPU cores, ~15W
This lineup highlights Intel’s continued push toward hybrid CPU designs, mixing performance cores (P-cores), efficient cores (E-cores), and low-power efficient cores (LP-E cores) to better balance speed, battery life, and thermals across desktops and laptops.
Why Xe3P still matters (even without Xe4)
The most interesting part of this update isn’t that Nova Lake sticks with Xe3 for its iGPU—it’s that the Media and Display block is expected to move forward with Xe3P-derived capabilities. Those blocks often unlock practical upgrades that impact daily use more than raw shader performance does, such as smoother high-resolution playback, better encode/decode support, improved display handling, and stronger overall efficiency during video tasks.
Separately, Intel is also positioning Xe3P as the follow-up to the Xe3 family in its broader graphics roadmap, with expectations that it will appear in both integrated and discrete products, including AI inference-focused GPUs.
For Nova Lake, the takeaway is simple: don’t expect an Xe4-based integrated GPU jump, but do expect a more modern media and display engine paired with a familiar Xe3 graphics foundation—especially important for laptops and mainstream systems where iGPU features and video capabilities can matter as much as frame rates.
