Intel introduced its Hybrid architecture for desktops with the 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake-S." However, the Core i3 series SKUs in the 12th, 13th, and 14th Gen Core processors have remained 4-core/8-thread traditional multicore chips with four P-cores. Intel is now planning to change this with the upcoming Core Ultra 200 series "Arrow Lake-S." According to OneRaichu, a reliable source for Intel leaks, the company is finalizing a pair of Core Ultra 3 series desktop processor SKUs based on the "Arrow Lake" microarchitecture. These new chips will feature 8 cores, a significant increase from previous generations, although the specific nature of these 8 cores is not yet known.
Among the leaked SKUs are the Core Ultra 3 205 and the Core Ultra 3 215, both of which are 8-core chips. It is likely that these two SKUs will be differentiated similarly to past generations of Intel Core i3 desktop processors, possibly using cache sizes as a distinguishing factor (e.g., Core i3-10100 and i3-10300). The chips are expected to have a 4P+4E core configuration, as a "2P+6E" configuration may not be feasible due to the indivisibility of E-core clusters. However, it is unclear if the same rule applies to the "Skymont" E-core clusters. The dedicated L2 caches of both the P-cores and E-core clusters in these new SKUs may be smaller than those in Core Ultra 5 and higher SKUs. For example, the Core Ultra 200V "Lunar Lake" processor is expected to use "Lion Cove" P-cores with 2.5 MB of L2 cache per core, while the Core Ultra 9 285K may feature "Lion Cove" P-cores with 3 MB of L2 cache per core.
