Intel will reportedly upgrade its Wildcat Lake refresh to an 8-core config next year, leak claims — top-end silicon tipped to feature 4 P-cores and 4 LP-E cores as part of 'Core 400' series

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Wildcat Lake is seemingly due for a big upgrade next year.

Core Series 3 (Wildcat Lake) CPU
(Image credit: Intel)

Intel just launched its Core 300 series of mobile CPUs, also known as Wildcat Lake, for the budget segment a couple of months ago. But rumors for a next-gen refresh are already surfacing, with the latest one claiming that it will be a noticeable upgrade. Reliable tipster Jaykihn has just suggested that the Wildcat Lake refresh due next year will move to an 8-core config, up from the 6-cores that Wildcat Lake has right now.

The post you can expand above says "4+0+4," in reference to a rumored Wildcat Lake Refresh chip with 4 P-cores, 0 E-cores, and 4 LP-E cores, totaling out to 8 cores. Wildcat Lake today also has 4 LP-E cores but only 2 P-cores, so we're looking at a doubling in this aspect, and that should translate to real-world performance improvements. Keep in mind that these are Cougar Cove P-cores along with Darkmont-based LP-E cores, borrowed from Panther Lake silicon.

After all, Wildcat Lake is essentially just a cost-efficient and downsized version of Panther Lake that has an infused, monolithic CPU+GPU tile instead of separate chiplets bonded together — both are manufactured using Intel's 18A process. Wildcat Lake is, therefore, branded as the "Core 300" series, with the "Ultra" moniker removed to specify its lower-end capabilities.

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Just two days ago, a leak from the same insider claimed that a 6-core Nova Lake mobile part was cancelled because that slot would be better filled by the Wildcat Lake refresh instead. Intel likely didn't want the two to overlap, and now that we know about a potential 8-core config, it makes even more sense. Jaykihn also replied, saying that Wildcat Lake refresh will still have 2 Xe3 cores for integrated graphics.

In the replies to the post attached above, Videocardz separately claims the Wildcat Lake refresh would be part of the Core 400 series, but only for the Core 5 and Core 7 SKUs. The lowest-end Core 3 SKUs would still be branded as the Core 300 series, as they will not be getting refreshed. This could mean Intel is trying to target a more upscale audience with its Wildcat Lake refresh, while the cheapest parts remain unchanged.

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Hassam Nasir
Hassam Nasir
Contributing Writer

Hassam Nasir is a die-hard hardware enthusiast with years of experience as a tech editor and writer, focusing on detailed CPU comparisons and general hardware news. When he’s not working, you’ll find him bending tubes for his ever-evolving custom water-loop gaming rig or benchmarking the latest CPUs and GPUs just for fun.

7 Comments Comment from the forums
  • usertests
    Wildcat Refresh 4+0+4 is likely to perform similarly to an Intel Core Ultra 5 325 (Panther Lake 4+0+4), so it should outperform an i9-9900K in multi-threading, as long as you're not running it fanless or something.

    We need more iGPU performance in the low-end rather than CPU performance, but whatever, it's nice.
    Reply
  • sseemaku
    I thought after macbook neo, Intel can go back to 4 core CPUs again, but just make the laptop look shiny.
    Reply
  • Pierce2623
    The upgrade it REALLY needs is in Xe core count. With ~8 Xe cores and fast lpddr5x it could be a great little budget gamer for cheap laptops or handhelds.
    Reply
  • usertests
    Pierce2623 said:
    The upgrade it REALLY needs is in Xe core count. With ~8 Xe cores and fast lpddr5x it could be a great little budget gamer for cheap laptops or handhelds.
    Previous leak said NO upgrade in Xe core count. This is despite it needing a brand new tile since the CPU and GPU cores are both on it, unlike Panther Lake. But if Intel made too many upgrades, at some point they could end up with something as complex and expensive as Panther Lake.

    There's rumors of a "Nova Lake Edge" product with 8 E-cores and 12 Xe cores. But it's intended for AI inference.

    "Moon Lake" could be a true successor to Alder Lake-N a couple years from now. Any Xe3 core count above 2 would defeat Wildcat Lake (Refresh) in gaming.
    Reply
  • agentnathan009
    I think you meant to say "glued together". Intel needs to own their stupid marketing comment!

    After all, Wildcat Lake is essentially just a cost-efficient and downsized version of Panther Lake that has an infused, monolithic CPU+GPU tile instead of separate chiplets bonded together
    Reply
  • thestryker
    usertests said:
    Previous leak said NO upgrade in Xe core count.
    Jaykihn confirmed this again today.
    usertests said:
    There's rumors of a "Nova Lake Edge" product with 8 E-cores and 12 Xe cores. But it's intended for AI inference.
    If this is a dedicated die I suspect it would appear in other forms too (like maybe next gen handheld), but I have a feeling it will just be mobile NVL with P-cores fused.
    Reply
  • watzupken
    More cores = more expensive. The headline sounds like it is some sort of free upgrade, but I doubt that will be the case. It is good to have an option for more cores, but it will depend on the price. For example, buying a N3xx chip now cost as much as a low end Core series chip with better performing P-cores.
    Reply