Many people may not know that the core count of Intel’s flagship HX-series laptop processors has stayed at 24 cores for three consecutive generations—from the Core i9-13980HX, i9-14900HX, and Core Ultra 9 285HX to the latest Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus. The names have changed and the architecture has been upgraded, but the total core count has always been 8 performance cores plus 16 efficiency cores.
And this number is finally going to change. According to the latest leaks, the next-generation Nova Lake laptop flagship Core Ultra 9 4995HX will be upgraded to 28 cores, and leaks also indicate another model, the Core Ultra 9 4970H, will keep the same core count but switch its integrated GPU to the new 12-core Xe3P architecture.
Image source: VideoCardz
Intel Core Ultra 9 4995HX specs leaked! Nova Lake laptop flagship reaches 28 cores; 4970H gets 12-core Xe3P integrated graphics.
According to VideoCardz According to reports, leaker Jaykihn recently revealed on X the specifications of two Nova Lake laptop processors: the HX-series flagship Core Ultra 9 4995HX and the H-series Core Ultra 9 4970H, both belonging to the next-generation Core Ultra 4000 series.
Among them, the 4995HX uses a configuration of 8 P-Cores, 16 E-Cores, and 4 LP E-Cores, totaling 28 cores and 28 threads, but its integrated graphics only has 2 Xe3 cores, and power consumption is rumored to start at 55W:
@312c25 4970H is 4+8+4+12 and 4995HX is 8+16+4+2, yes.
— Jaykihn (@jaykihn0) October 17, 2026
The following are the specifications currently circulating for the 4995HX:
- Core configuration: 8 P-Cores + 16 E-Cores + 4 LP E-Cores, for a total of 28 cores and 28 threads
- CPU architecture: P-Core is Coyote Cove, E-Core is Arctic Wolf.
- Integrated graphics: 2 Xe3 cores
- Power consumption: base power consumption is about 55W, and the platform power consumption range is rumored to be 55W to 160W.
- Process: The compute module is reportedly using TSMC N2P, with dimensions of approximately 14.8 × 6.6 mm (about 97.7 mm²); this currently cannot be independently verified.
The existing flagship model Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus has 8 P-Cores plus 16 E-Cores, for a total of 24 cores, with no LP E-Cores. Therefore, the 4 cores the 4995HX is expected to add are all LP E-Cores, while the number of P-Cores and E-Cores remains the same as the previous generation.
Image source: Wccftech
Going from 24 cores to 28 cores, many people might assume that multi-core performance will increase significantly, but that is not necessarily the case. LP E-Cores are mainly focused on low-power operation and handling background tasks. Although they can also participate in multi-threaded computing, their performance positioning differs from regular E-Cores. Therefore, adding 4 LP E-Cores does not mean that performance in heavy workloads such as rendering and compilation will increase significantly.
What is actually likely to create a performance gap, instead, is an architecture update.
The Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus uses Lion Cove P-Cores and Skymont E-Cores, while Nova Lake switches to Coyote Cove and Arctic Wolf. However, there is currently no data on how much the new architecture improves clock speeds or IPC.
The integrated graphics part is a bit surprising: the 4995HX has only 2 Xe3 cores, fewer than the 4 Xe cores in the 285HX. However, the two use different architectures, so you can’t compare them directly by core count.
Jaykihn also revealed another Core Ultra 9 4970H processor, belonging to the Nova Lake-H series, with a core configuration of 4 P-Cores, 8 E-Cores, and 4 LP E-Cores, totaling 16 cores and 16 threads. Its base power consumption is rumored to be about 28W, with a platform power range of 28W to 115W.
This core configuration is exactly the same as the existing high-end Panther Lake-H models. For the Core Ultra X9 388H, it also uses a 16-core design with 4P + 8E + 4LP-E and a base power of 25W.
The biggest highlight is the integrated GPU: the Core Ultra 9 4970H features a 12-core Xe3P GPU. Existing high-end Panther Lake models use the Arc B390 integrated GPU; although it also has 12 cores, its architecture is Xe3. So this upgrade is not about adding cores, but changing the architecture, evolving from Xe3 to Xe3P.
Below is the rumored specifications table from this leak:
| Processor | Core Ultra 9 4995HX | Core Ultra 9 4970H |
|---|---|---|
| Series | Nova Lake-HX | Nova Lake-H |
| Core configuration | 8P + 16E + 4 LP-E | 4P + 8E + 4 LP-E |
| Core / Thread | 28／28 | 16／16 |
| CPU architecture | Coyote Cove／Arctic Wolf | Coyote Cove／Arctic Wolf |
| Integrated graphics | 2-core Xe3 | 12-core Xe3P |
| Rumored base power consumption | Approx. 55W | Approx. 28W |
| Rumored power consumption range | 55W～160W | 28W～115W |
| Corresponding current products | Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus (24 cores) | Core Ultra X9 388H (16 cores, Arc B390) |
| Primary positioning | High-end gaming and performance laptops | A laptop that balances high performance and integrated graphics. |
As for launch timing, foreign media currently generally expect that the first laptops equipped with Nova Lake-H and Nova Lake-HX may debut at CES 2027, around January next year, but Intel has not announced any release date. Core clock speeds, memory support specifications, final power settings, and the actual laptop availability dates are all still unknown.
Source: KOCPC Chinese