Intel Arrow Lake-S & Arrow Lake-HX CPUs: Cache Improvements and AI Performance

Intel’s upcoming Arrow Lake-S and Arrow Lake-HX CPUs promise significant enhancements in cache size and AI capabilities compared to their predecessors. Leaked details from @Jaykihn shed light on these high-end chips, which are set to outperform Raptor Lake-S and Raptor Lake-HX CPUs.

Cache Structure

Arrow Lake-S and Arrow Lake-HX share a cache structure similar to Lunar Lake CPUs, utilizing Lion Cove performance cores and Skymont efficiency cores. However, there are key differences:

1. L2 Cache:
   • Arrow Lake CPUs feature 3 MB of L2 cache per P-core and 4 MB per cluster of 4 E-cores.
   • This surpasses Raptor Lake (2.5 MB per P-core) and Lunar Lake (3 MB per P-core).
2. L3 Cache:
   • Arrow Lake-S & Arrow Lake-HX CPUs offer 3 MB of L3 cache per Lion Cove P-Core and 3 MB per Skymont E-Core cluster.
   • Lunar Lake lacks dedicated L3 cache for E-cores.

AI Performance Boost

Arrow Lake CPUs benefit from three sources for improved AI performance:

1. Xe Graphics Architecture:
   • The integrated GPU achieves 9 TOPS (3x more than Raptor Lake).
2. Neural Processing Unit (NPU):
   • Estimated to deliver 13 TOPS.
3. CPU Cores:
   • Expected to reach 15 TOPS (87.5% increase).

Combined, Arrow Lake CPUs achieve a total AI performance of 37 TOPS, rivaling AMD’s Ryzen 8000G “Hawk Point” APUs.

Other Enhancements

Beyond cache and AI, Arrow Lake CPUs offer:

• PCIe Hot-Plug support for easier device connections.
• Enhanced ESPI device support.
• I3C interfaces for improved connectivity.
• Increased DMA Audio stream inputs.
• HD audio bi-directional streams.
• More channels per PDM stream.
• PCIe clock output and SRC clock requests.

Overall, Intel’s Arrow Lake-S and Arrow Lake-HX CPUs are poised to make a significant impact, especially when paired with the new LGA 1851 (800-series) motherboards and high-end laptops.