Intel Lunar Lake mobile CPU schematic confirms what we knew about it through rumours. Targeting a 2024 release date, this CPU is expected to have double the GPU horsepower while keeping consumption under control.
Lunar Lake processors supposedly have up to eight cores, split between half Lion Cove P-Cores and half Skymont E-Cores. This gives them balanced performance and power consumption, making them suitable for a wide range of tasks while maintaining energy efficiency when lightly loaded. I guess we should partly thank TSMC’s N3B node, which is the foundation of the compute tile.
These chips will target the mobile segment, focusing on powerful integrated graphics based on the brand’s upcoming Arc Battlemage architecture. Rumours suggest each chip will pack up to eight Xe2 cores with 64 Xe2 Execution Units (EUs). This sums up to 1,024 shaders since the Xe2 cores carry double the EU count compared to its predecessor.
In other words, Lunar Lake processors could deliver double the graphical performance of Meteor Lake. In fact, Igor also reports that the new Arc Battlemage iGPU is significantly faster than its predecessors, almost doubling the performance in internal tests.
With it, Intel could beat AMD in the handheld market when it launches later this year – until AMD counterattack. For now, only a small portion of manufacturers have selected an Intel chip – one of which is MSI with its Claw handheld. Bringing higher performance at a similar or lower power draw will undoubtedly attract more brands.
According to the schematic shared by Igor’s lab, the Lunar Lake-MX chip should support HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 2.1 via USB-C, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, Gigabit Ethernet, Thunderbolt 4 / USB 4, Gen 5 PCIe, plus the usual USB and storage interfaces. Each chip will have two LPDDR5x memory modules soldered directly on the interposer for improved performance and efficiency.
If Intel’s efforts payout, the Blue Team could claim back the efficiency crown, to the pleasure of battery-powered devices. But as always, promises are just words, so we need to wait for reviews to find the truth.