- Intel is shifting its desktop and mobile lineup (Nova Lake-S) to a four-digit branding system.
- The company will be calling the upcoming family the Core Ultra 4000 series instead of Core Ultra 400.
- The tested 4950K model features 28 cores split into 8 performance cores and 20 efficiency cores.
Intel’s next-generation Nova Lake-S desktop processors are beginning to show signs of performance, with an early engineering sample of the flagship Core Ultra 9 4950K reportedly appearing in the CPU-Z benchmark. Tested on an unreleased motherboard equipped with the Intel Z990 chipset, the LC Tech Leaks gives us an idea of what Intel’s upcoming platform could deliver.
However, the performance numbers are not the only interesting information. Nova Lake-S is also set to introduce a major change to Intel’s naming scheme, moving from its familiar three-digit model numbers to a four-digit system similar to AMD’s approach.
Intel CORE ULTRA 9 4950K. for Z990 boards
single thread score near 1000
multi thread score near 20000
28 cores
8P&20E#intel #lga1954 #techleaks pic.twitter.com/nzrNeN3GCG— LC Tech Leaks (and News) (@laurentschoice) August 19, 2026
The Nova Lake-S CPUs will be part of the Intel Core Ultra Series 4 processor family, which is the direct successor to Panther Lake (marketed as the Core Ultra Series 3). Until now, it was thought that the Core Ultra 400 series would be released, but everything now points to the Core Ultra 4000 series instead. That’s where the Intel Core Ultra 9 4950K currently has our full attention.
An Intel-focused leaker, Gotou_3rd, advises that the precise name may not be final because, according to his information, the Nova Lake-S Qualification Samples have not yet begun shipping. However, he confirms that the transition to four-digit references is real. Another well-known leaker, Golden Pig Upgrade, has also pointed to a Core Ultra 4000HX naming standard for laptop models, further supporting the potential of a broad processor rebranding.
but the naming schema is true, number part will be 4-number based. https://t.co/3oo1su7L2S
— Gotou_3rd (@Gotou_kai3) August 19, 2026
In January 2016, Intel announced functionality for emulating Nova Lake CPUs in its Software Development Emulator. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has stated that the company must accelerate Nova Lake to regain ground in the high-end desktop segment. This is especially true since AMD will launch its Zen 6 architecture in servers. Thus, AMD’s answer to these Core Ultra 4000 CPUs will take some time.
About the performance. The Intel Core Ultra 9 4950K has a 28-core configuration. Most dramatically, it “only” provides 8 high-performance cores (P-Cores) and 20 efficient cores (E-Cores). The leaked CPU-Z single-core score of around 1,000 points and multi-core score of 20,000 points make it, by far, the fastest consumer processor available. This score is much higher than the roughly 17,300 points recorded by the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2, putting the Intel Core Ultra 9 4950K 16% ahead in this benchmark.
Moreover, these 28 cores would not be the top-tier configuration of Nova Lake-S. According to a previously reported roadmap, the 28-core processors would be released in the first and second quarters of 2027, with unlocked “K” variants arriving between March and April 2027.
Later, 16- and 8-core models would appear, while a considerably more ambitious 52-core configuration, based on two compute tiles, would be available between the end of May and September 2027. All of these dates are unofficial and may change before launch, particularly because Intel has stated interest in moving the launch date forward.
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