TerryLaze PL4 is the maximum limit for extremely short spikes of 10ms ,it's basically the buffer area for when power goes above the PL3 limit, which itself is basically only a buffer for when power goes above PL2… PL4 (and 3) are not user adjustable, they are safety limits that the mobo makers should apply to keep their boards from cooking. PL1 and PL2 are the power limits that the CPU will be "devouring" that amount of. https://edc.intel.com/content/www/us/en/design/ipla/software-development-platforms/client/platforms/alder-lake-desktop/12th-generation-intel-core-processors-datasheet-volume-1-of-2/004/package-power-control/ Reply
usertests JRStern said: The whole thing sounds like a benchmark-beater. I gather the demand for high-power desktops if very limited. This sounds 1000% over-engineered and not even meant to sell in volume … unless the game market is expected to line up for it???? Multithreaded performance matters to you, or it doesn't. Few gamers need more than 8+16+4 cores, and if they do it's probably for something else. If Intel is offering 16+32+4 cores for $800, and 8+16+4 with bLLC (big last level cache) for $600, you want the latter or less for gaming. A PL4 power limit is a red herring. But it's obvious that 52 cores could use a lot of power. Reply
rluker5 I would hope you can get it to use a lot of power if you want. The big one is supposed to be pretty big. Cooling is another story though. I'm sure some will try to push them as hard as they can. That is their choice. Reply
bit_user rluker5 said: The big one is supposed to be pretty big. They're all still slotting into a socket about the same size as Arrow Lake, from what I've heard. rluker5 said: Cooling is another story though. Yeah, like don't even bother running the unlocked, dual compute tile version on air. Reply
rluker5 bit_user said: They're all still slotting into a socket about the same size as Arrow Lake, from what I've heard. Yeah, but over twice the cores as my 13900kf that can easily use half that power. bit_user said: Yeah, like don't even bother running the unlocked, dual compute tile version on air. And Thermalright makes some really good AIOs for in the range of $50. I've been using a Thermal Notte 240 for the last few years and it has been great. A 360 might be able to cool 400w and the voltage probably wouldn't even get close to degradation levels on tuned systems to get to 400w. Those base clocks might be a thing for people trying to run stock with a cheap tower cooler. But I do have to admit I'm not that excited about this release as my household pcs bottom out at the 13600kf (remember when those were so cheap?) already and that is easily enough to make any GPU I have (9070XT being the fastest) the bottleneck at 4k. Maybe I will be bored enough that I want to play with it enough to get it? It is a hobby, and while a new bicycle would probably benefit me more, I'm sentimental about the old bike I have. A Nova Lake setup would probably just be for benching, tuning and playing around with the controls. Windows has decent native options for clocks and thread scheduling. I really don't see much personal benefit outside of that. Maybe if reviewers butcher the review by using jedec ram and some half sed AI overclock that just dumps in power at 1.6v and get some surprised Pikachu face when the thing thermal throttles that might goad me a bit. I really can't see desktop CPU sales being that good for a few years going forward. They have to be a waste of money for the majority of consumers and the amount of time before an upgrade is worthwhile keeps going up. Reply
bit_user rluker5 said: And Thermalright makes some really good AIOs for in the range of $50. I've seen Albert's reviews and I still think the performance delta between the locked and unlocked dual-compute die CPUs will be negligible, on any form of air cooling. In a larger socket, it might be a different story. rluker5 said: my household pcs bottom out at the 13600kf (remember when those were so cheap?) I grabbed a i5-14600K for $170 at Microcenter. I thought that was a really good deal, until I discovered they sold as cheap as $150 in some of the "black October" online sales! I still have yet to install it, because my system had a weird crash that I was looking into. I might need a new motherboard (ASUS Pro WS W680-ACE), because I doubt it was the PSU (Seasonic Prime TX-750). System didn't bluescreen or fully reboot. Got stuck in some weird state with the fan off, but power LED on. Sleep and hibernation were disabled. Some slight burning smell. And I'm 100% sure there were no loose screws or other objects in the case. Only things plugged into the motherboard were two SSDs. rluker5 said: A Nova Lake setup would probably just be for benching, tuning and playing around with the controls. I want one for APX + AVX-512/AVX10.2. rluker5 said: Maybe if reviewers butcher the review by using jedec ram You know some will, but at least it'll be DDR5-8000. Reply
thestryker While it is what it is the headlines here sometimes drive me nuts: 700W is nowhere near "double" 490W. Anyways that out of the way I'd be surprised if the dual Compute Tile parts were lower than 350W PL2 and I'd bet on 200W PL1. What I'm most curious about is how the scheduling is going to work on those parts when compared to the single. I'm assuming the two compute tiles will be connected with high speed EMIB like SPR and EMR are so in theory they could prioritize the 16 P-cores. If there isn't a latency penalty that impacts performance I could see gamers potentially buying the top SKU and promptly disabling E-cores (this is assuming bLLC is actually coming to the dual Compute Tile SKUs and the jury is still out on this one). edit: just read a comment from Jaykihn saying preliminary 400W+ PL2 for performance mode on dual Compute Tile. Reply
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/intels-top-end-nova-lake-desktop-cpu-said-to-devour-up-to-700w-in-pl4-claimed-power-draw-close-to-double-arrow-lake#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
- Microsoft confirms Windows 11 26H1 will be for Arm devices only at launch — Snapdragon X2-powered devices officially shipping with 26H1
- Samsung and SK hynix shorten memory contracts as pricing power shifts back to suppliers — both companies now at 40-50% operating margins
- White House mulling tariff exemptions for Big Tech — Amazon, Google, Microsoft, other AI hyperscalers to be spared worst of import duties with U.S.-Taiwan deal
- U.S. government plans tariff exemptions for TSMC, if it follows through on American investment — $165 billion already pledged to increase production capacity, b
- GeForce NOW Celebrates Six Years of Streaming With 24 Games in February
Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.