Intel Cancels Arrow Lake-S Refresh CPUs, Focus Shifts to Next-Gen Nova Lake Lineup

Intel has reportedly shelved its Arrow Lake-S Refresh Desktop CPU family, which means any plans for an upgrade are likely off the table. The Core Ultra 200 series includes the Arrow Lake-S Desktop CPUs, and while these units are still anticipated to make way next month in October there were previous speculations hinting at a potential refresh made up to keep the existing chips warm. Over the last few months, it has been rumored that the refresh would include a better NPU and be built on an enlarged die, but this time around the “on paper” characteristics are being put into question.

Intel To Cancel Arrow Lake-S Refresh CPUs

The information comes from a Chiphell Forum member, Panzerlied of Hezelei’s Twitter account who has also provided NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 “Blackwell” GPU forecasts. In a forum discussion, Panzerlied stated that the Arrow Lake-S Refresh has been canceled, and the original lineup will now face off against AMD for at least two years on the desktop front.

Previous lines had stated that the Arrow Lake-S Refresh CPUs would have more cores and threads than what is coming with Raptor Lake, Intel must be very positive about these releases considering it’s going to wait for its next-gen Nova Lake CPUs before releasing new desktop hardware. This indicates that the CPUs codenamed Arrow Lake-S Refresh were supposed to be Pin-compatible with the LGA 1851 socket, and if rumors are to be believed, Nova Lake should work on this one too, although this lineup is still two years away, meaning circumstances could change.

intel’s Arrow Lake-S Desktop CPUs are going to be competing against the AMD Zen 5 chips, such as next-gen Ryzen 9000X3D series parts set to deliver impressive gaming performance. This will pose a significant challenge for Intel. There may also be updates with Zen 4 and Zen 5 chips, while AMD’s next-gen Zen 6 processors are anticipated to launch around the same time as Nova Lake in 2026.

To remain competitive, Intel should ensure that Nova Lake CPUs are compatible with existing platforms. Transitioning to a new platform would eliminate the advantages of having an LGA 1851 or 800-series motherboard, as it would only support a single generation of CPUs.

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