While Intel Meteor Lake mobile processors are yet to become available, we already have a leak that provides quite a lot of details about the next-generation Lunar Lake hybrid mobile processor family (LNL MX) with supports for 8W to 30W base power designs and 16GB or 32GB on-chip LPDDR5x memory (Memory-on-Package, or MoP) to deliver higher memory bandwidth at reduced footprint and power.
Developed in collaboration with Microsoft, the new Lunar Lake processor will come with four P-cores and four low-power E-cores, a new generation NPU and GPU architecture for AI workloads, and improved power management for lower power consumption (40% scenario power reduction) and improved battery life.
Four SKUs are currently planned with either 16GB or 32GB dual-channel LPDDR5X memory:
- Core 7 MS3 (+ MoP) – Octa-core “12M” processor with 4x P-cores, 4x E-Cores, 8-core Xe2-LPG GPU, and 6-tile (12K9M) NPU
- Core 5 MS1 (+MoP) – Octa-core “8M” processor with 4x P-cores, 4x E-Cores, 7-core Xe2-LPG GPU, and 5-tile (10K7.5M) NPU
It looks like Intel Meteor Lake will only have four models instead of offering multiple SKUs with very few differences as they did in the past. When configured at 8W, the processor will be able to run in fanless systems, and 17W to 30W will be suitable for more powerful, but actively cooled systems.
The table above compares Alder Lake, Meteor Lake, and Lunar Lake platform features and some of the highlights for the latter include:
- Processor – Octa-core hybrid CPU with 4P (LionCover architecture) + 4E (Skymont architecture) design, 8MB cache
- Graphics – GPU supports real-time ray tracing, performance roughly equivalent to Apple M2 with 12W TDP/PBP
- VPU – H.266/VCC hardware video decoding
- AI accelerator – NPU 4.0
- Memory – LPDDR5x-8533 MoP
- Display Interfaces
- eDP 1.4 & 1.5
- HDMI 2.1
- DisplayPort 2.1
- Camera – Integrated IPU4 supporting up to four concurrent cameras, HDR
- Audio – HD audio up to 192Khz/24-bit, 5-core DSP
- Networking
- Gigabit Ethernet MAC working with Intel i219 controller
- “Integrated” CNVio3 WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 via “BE201” 2×2 MIMO module
- High-speed interfaces
- 4x PCIe Gen5, 4x PCIe Gen4
- 3x 40 Gbps Thunderbolt4/USB4
- 2x 10 Gbps USB 3.2
- Debugging – “Closed box debug” on Type-C port
- Power Management – PMIC power delivery
- Package – 27×27.5mm (BGA2883); height: 1.34mm (16GB RAM), 1.58mm (32GB RAM)
- Process – TSMC N3B
We’ve seen Package-on-Package (PoP) memory in Arm SoCs for years, but unless I’m mistaken, it’s the first time I see any Intel processor with integrated memory, and the company calls it “Memory-on-Package”, or MoP for shorts, instead.
Intel Lunar Lake mobile hybrid processors should launch sometime in 2024, and that would probably be H2 2024 considering the Meteor Lake mobile processor family has yet to launch. The slides above were initially posted on Twitter/X, but copies of the slides were eventually picked by Videocardz from a post on Anandtech forums.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
Support CNX Software! Donate via cryptocurrencies, become a Patron on Patreon, or purchase goods on Amazon or Aliexpress
Memory-on-Package / MoP: is it inside the processor / package and delivered that way from the factury, or is it clicked onto it (like the last picture seems to imply)?
Nope delivered that way, the interconnects are direct and much faster and far more efficient like the Mac unified memory. It looks like a a normal cpu and I guess this is why they have changed or are changing substrate to glass and doing weird things like underneath cooling.
We are seeing quite paradigm shift in the architecture and manufacture, but likely much will go this way.
I think intel are making a big push to recapture thier crown and it could go pear shaped.
It’s overrated, as usual. When main memory is nanometers away from the cores, then I’ll be impressed.
Isn’t Intel trying this with Meteor Lake first? Maybe optional or slightly different.
tomshardware.com/news/intel-demos-meteor-lake-cpu-with-on-package-lpddr5x
You’re right, I just didn’t see this news before.
I didn’t expect it to look that way either.
I thought everything would be packaged and look like one single chip.
I think it’s substantially similar to what Apple is doing, making it physically smaller for laptops/tablets and/or lower cost than separate packages, and boosting achievable memory bandwidth slightly (not a magic performance bullet that some people seem to assume). I believe the memory-on-package design is optional for Meteor Lake, but mandatory for Lunar Lake. Lunar Lake is a divergent design that may be intended to replace the 2+8 “U” chips we’ve seen for a couple of years, or act as a spiritual successor to the Amber Lake “Y” chips from a few years back. I’m not really sure, but it… Read more »
It looks like the 2nd gen Pentium II, the socketted not the slotted