Intel's Full Nova Lake Desktop Lineup Leaks: 28-Core 4970K BFC Tops the Core Ultra 4000 Stack

By Hamza Faisal

Intel's next desktop CPU generation may already be fully mapped out. A leaked lineup table circulating over the past few days details seven Nova Lake-S desktop processors in the new Core Ultra 4000 series, topped by a 28-core Core Ultra 9 4970K BFC that carries a never-before-seen suffix. The leak, first shared by LC Tech Leaks and subsequently cross-checked by VideoCardz, fills in the gaps left by earlier sightings of individual chips and sketches out how Intel plans to fight its next battle with AMD.

The flagship 4970K BFC is listed with 8 performance cores, 16 efficiency cores and 4 low-power efficiency cores for 28 cores in total, a 125W TDP, integrated graphics with 32 execution units and vPro support. It sits above the previously leaked Core Ultra 9 4950K, which surfaced in a CPU-Z screenshot back in August. Between them, the stack adds a 65W Core Ultra 9 4900 BFC aimed at cooler, quieter builds, alongside Core Ultra 7 4870K BFC and 4850K parts and a pair of Core Ultra 5 4650K and 4650KF chips — the KF model dropping integrated graphics for budget buyers.

The real story is those three letters: BFC. Nobody outside Intel knows exactly what the suffix stands for, but every BFC chip in the leaked table is also marked as carrying bLLC — “Big Last Level Cache” — Intel's planned answer to AMD's 3D V-Cache. Reports put the stacked cache on these chips at up to 144MB of L3, and the lineup suggests Intel will use both core counts and cache size to separate its products, with the BFC variants sitting one rung above their standard counterparts.

That cache push matters because AMD's stacked-cache gaming chips have held a comfortable lead in gaming workloads for years, and Intel has never shipped an equivalent in its mainstream desktop line. If the leak holds, Nova Lake would be the first generation to bring stacked cache to regular desktop buyers rather than keeping it locked behind workstation or server parts.

The branding is a different battle. Intel is reportedly resurrecting four-digit 4000-series numbers last seen on Haswell desktop chips more than a decade ago — and leakers say Nova Lake laptop chips may join the same scheme under a “Core Ultra 4000HX” name, sitting alongside other mobile models that use a three-digit 400-series badge. Two numbering schemes, one generation, separated by a single digit: buyers will need to read the fine print.

Intel has already confirmed that Nova Lake will launch on desktop first, and qualification samples have been spotted in system monitoring tools like HWiNFO. Current reports point to an early 2027 arrival, which means product names — among the easiest things to change late in development — could still shift. Notably absent from the leaked table is the long-rumored 52-core dual-tile flagship; most reports now expect that one to follow the main lineup rather than launch alongside it.