Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has outlined the company's plans for its upcoming Nova Lake and Coral Rapids processors, confirming that both product families will play an important role in strengthening Intel's position against AMD.
During Intel's third quarter 2026 earnings call, Tan said Nova Lake would address an important gap in the company's high-end desktop processor lineup, while Coral Rapids would help improve its competitiveness in the server market.
Intel also confirmed that Nova Lake is progressing ahead of schedule and expects the upcoming processor family to secure twice as many design wins as Panther Lake at launch.
The company plans to share additional details about Nova Lake at CES in January 2027.
Intel Nova Lake Will Address Its High-End Desktop CPU Gap
Intel acknowledged that its current desktop processor lineup has struggled to compete effectively in the premium segment.
The Core Ultra 200S Arrow Lake family did not deliver the gaming performance improvements many enthusiasts expected, while AMD's Ryzen X3D processors continued attracting buyers looking for high gaming performance.
Tan believes Nova Lake will help Intel address this weakness by offering a more competitive range of processors for enthusiasts, content creators, and mainstream customers.
Nova Lake, expected to arrive under the Core Ultra Series 4 branding, will reportedly include desktop processors with up to 28 cores in its initial release.
Higher configurations featuring two compute tiles and up to 52 cores are expected later in 2027.
These processors are also expected to introduce a larger cache configuration designed to improve performance in workloads where AMD's X3D processors currently perform well.
Intel has identified Nova Lake as its first client product associated with the 18A-P process technology, although reports suggest that some compute components may use TSMC's N2P manufacturing process.
Intel Expects Coral Rapids to Compete Against AMD EPYC in 2028
Intel also discussed its future Xeon processor roadmap, including Diamond Rapids and Coral Rapids.
Diamond Rapids is scheduled for 2027, while Coral Rapids is expected to arrive in 2028 using Intel's 14A manufacturing process.
According to Tan, Coral Rapids should become competitive with AMD's EPYC server processors.
Intel expects subsequent Xeon generations to improve its competitive position further.
The company is also reportedly planning to restore simultaneous multithreading with Coral Rapids, reversing an earlier architectural direction.
AMD continues increasing competition in the server market through its EPYC processor families, making execution of Intel's roadmap particularly important.
Memory Shortages Could Affect Intel's Recovery
Despite expressing confidence in its upcoming processors, Intel acknowledged that rising memory prices and supply shortages are affecting the PC market.
These conditions have already pressured Intel's client business during the third quarter of 2026, with additional challenges expected in 2027.
However, the company believes growing demand for local AI computing could create new opportunities for desktop PCs, laptops, and specialized computing systems.
Intel expects Nova Lake to support future market share gains once supply conditions improve.
The company has not yet provided complete specifications, pricing, or independently verified performance figures for Nova Lake and Coral Rapids.
Further details are expected at CES 2027, where Intel plans to discuss its upcoming client processor lineup.
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