Intel Nova Lake-S Brings Native DDR5-8000 Support & 36 PCIe Gen 5 Lanes: A True Desktop Comeback
Intel’s upcoming Nova Lake-S desktop CPUs are shaping up to be a powerhouse, bringing serious firepower to the next generation of gaming and productivity rigs. New leaks, most notably shared by @jaykihn0, reveal that the Nova Lake-S platform will not only support DDR5-8000 memory natively, but also offer up to 36 PCIe 5.0 lanes – a significant leap from previous generations.
The native DDR5-8000 support (1DPC 1R) is a major upgrade from Arrow Lake-S’s DDR5-6400, positioning Nova Lake-S to take full advantage of ultra-fast memory modules. While extreme overclockers have already pushed DDR5 to over 9000 MT/s, this will be the first time 8000 MT/s is officially supported out-of-the-box by Intel. Pair that with CUDIMM and LPCAMM2 support, and it’s clear Intel is building this for both enthusiasts and performance-hungry users.
On the PCIe front, the platform will reportedly offer up to 48 PCIe lanes in total: 24 directly from the CPU (all Gen 5), 4 for DMI (also Gen 5), 8 Gen 5 lanes from the chipset, and 16 Gen 4 lanes. That means dual full-speed GPU slots or flexible configurations for next-gen SSDs – a clear nod to gamers and content creators who demand max bandwidth.
USB and SATA support are also getting a solid boost: expect up to 14 USB 2.0 ports, 10 USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), 10 USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), 5 USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20 Gbps), and 8 SATA III lanes. It’s a massive I/O buffet – no more compromises for power users juggling multiple peripherals and storage options.
Specs-wise, Nova Lake-S CPUs will feature up to 52 cores – doubling what Arrow Lake-S currently offers. That includes 16 P-cores, 32 E-cores, and 4 LP-E cores. This boost in parallel performance could be a huge win for creative workloads and next-gen gaming engines. Thermal design power (TDP) goes up slightly to 150W, expected given the scale of performance gains.
While AMD has enjoyed a few years of performance dominance, Nova Lake-S looks like a direct challenge. Some believe AMD’s upcoming Zen 6 and Zen 7 chips are already in panic mode, judging by the leaks suggesting shorter release cycles. The battle is heating up again, and for consumers, it means more choice, better performance, and hopefully – competitive pricing.
Enthusiasts will also be watching how this affects overclocking and memory tuning potential. With DDR5-8000 as the baseline, and the ecosystem catching up fast, we might finally see high-speed memory setups become mainstream instead of niche.
Intel’s Nova Lake-S and its accompanying 900-series motherboards are expected to drop in 2026. If the leaks are accurate, Intel isn’t just catching up – it’s aiming to lead.