Intel has stepped up its pre-release schedule for Arrow Lake processors, and the most recent rumor of a December 2024 launch is no longer true, according to fresh info from the grapevine.
This is the latest word from leaker Jaykihn, who claims on X that the Arrow Lake (Core Ultra 200) desktop (ARL-S) flagship CPU has had its Qualification Sample (QS) testing and validation brought forward by six weeks, which is quite the leap. (QS chips are essentially the finished version of the silicon in all but name – the CPUs in final testing).
ARL-S 8+16 die QS switched to ww34 bahahahahaTerrible timing for the December rumor (which is 100% not true).Late October.6+8 die (which will be used in non-k SKUs alongside 8+16) is still targeting ww49.July 12, 2024
Previously, Jaykihn had said that based on their sources, the QS validation would be in the first week of October, or week 40 of this year – but now as you can see in the above post, it’s moved up to week 34.
A subsequent screenshot of Intel’s updated Arrow Lake roadmap was then shared by Jaykihn, as VideoCardz reports, which shows the QS timeframe as week 34-36, but on X the leaker doesn’t express any doubts that it won’t be the earlier week.
Week 34 would mean the penultimate week in August, and would, in theory, give Intel the possibility of releasing Arrow Lake desktop processors late in October (or the first batch anyway).
The leaker notes how this pours cold water on the most recent theories (from last week) that Intel might not get Arrow Lake chips on shelves until December. Note that this was corroborated by Jaykihn’s previous leak to some extent, as a week 40 date for QS validation would line up with this very late in 2024 launch).
Jaykihn’s final mention of the 6+8 die in week 49 refers to the non-K processors for Arrow Lake – as opposed to the unlocked ‘K’ CPUs (that can be overclocked), which will be first out, in late October as noted. The non-K models should hit QS in early December apparently – that’s ahead of an early 2025 release as previously rumored (this timeline would point to February 2025, in fact).
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In case you were wondering, 6+8 refers to the CPU configuration of 6 performance cores plus 8 efficiency cores. (And 8+16 is the flagship, with 8 performance and 16 efficiency cores – just the same as with the current 14900K for Raptor Lake Refresh, which as you may have seen, is embroiled in quite some controversy right now).
(Image credit: Intel)
Analysis: Some better news for Intel – but still a steep hill to climb
Clearly this apparently very recent development – the timeframe shift happened literally a couple of days ago, we’re told – is a piece of positive news for those hoping to get an Arrow Lake CPU, and for Intel in general.
As we’ve written many times now, Intel really needs its next-gen desktop CPUs out as soon as possible – what with Ryzen 9000 about to pitch up, later in July – and a delay to December for the Core Ultra 200 family would be a major blow to Team Blue’s chances of success in the next-gen processor wars.
A late October on-sale date is more what we were expecting to happen based on previous spinning from the rumor mill, and the likelihood of the Arrow Lake reveal happening in September. (An initial announcement in September – at the Intel Innovation event – followed by a three-month delay before release would look pretty odd).
Even with an October release, Intel could still have its work cut out with Arrow Lake potentially being pipped by another launch from AMD. That’d be new 3D V-Cache processors, Ryzen 9000 X3D models, which are rumored to be on track for a September launch, meaning they’d still be cutting off Arrow Lake at the pass.