Intel Arrow Lake-S & Arrow Lake-HX Refresh CPUs: No Changes to NPU, Only Enhanced Clock Speeds

Intel’s upcoming Arrow Lake-S and Arrow Lake-HX refresh CPUs are set to launch without any significant upgrades to their Neural Processing Unit (NPU) architecture. This update follows previous expectations of a major NPU enhancement.

Intel’s Arrow Lake-S & Arrow Lake-HX Refresh: Why the Lack of Major Updates?

Originally, there were indications that the Arrow Lake Refresh line for desktop “S”and enthusiast mobile “HX”would introduce substantial improvements to the NPU, potentially requiring a larger die size. However, Intel has decided against implementing any critical changes to the chip’s design.

Recent insights from Jaykihn on X confirm that both the Arrow Lake-S and Arrow Lake-HX refresh CPUs will remain unchanged in terms of NPU architecture or clock speeds. Consequently, these refreshed models will maintain the same NPU compute performance of 13 TOPS as seen in the current generation.

ARL-S and HX Refresh will not receive NPU changes. This is contradictory to the preliminary information published a year ago.

— Jaykihn (@jaykihn0) July 18, 2025

This lack of significant NPU updates means users can expect enhancements primarily in clock speeds. Such improvements are projected to yield only modest performance gains, possibly in the range of 2-5%.This trend has been noted in prior Intel refreshes, including the recent Raptor Lake “14th Gen, ”although increased power consumption and temperatures are always a concern with any CPU advancements.

Intel has continually worked to optimize the performance of the Arrow Lake line, incorporating updates like the Core Ultra 200S boost, which enhances memory performance and refines the fabric/D2D interconnect functionalities. However, these enhancements are largely platform-oriented rather than architectural.

As it stands, gaming performance should remain consistent across the refresh models. The release seems to be a strategic move by Intel to enhance offerings for their LGA 1851 platform, which has faced challenges in the retail market. Reports suggest that motherboard manufacturers are urging Intel to innovate, facilitating stock clearance before the next-generation Nova Lake’s LGA 1954 platform is unveiled. The Arrow Lake Refresh CPUs are anticipated to launch in the latter half of this year, so more details are expected soon.

Comparison of Intel Desktop CPU Generations

Intel CPU Family	Processor Process	Processor Architecture	Graphics Architecture	Processor Cores/Threads (Max)	Platform	Memory Support	PCIe Support	Launch Year
Alder Lake (12th Gen)	Intel 7	Golden Cove (P-Core) Gracemont (E-Core)	HD 700 Series	16/24	LGA 1700/1800	DDR5 / DDR4	PCIe Gen 5.0	2021
Raptor Lake (13th Gen)	Intel 7	Raptor Cove (P-Core) Gracemont (E-Core)	HD 700 Series	24/32	LGA 1700/1800	DDR5 / DDR4	PCIe Gen 5.0	2022
Raptor Lake Refresh (14th Gen)	Intel 7	Raptor Cove (P-Core) Gracemont (E-Core)	HD 700 Series	24/32	LGA 1700/1800	DDR5 / DDR4	PCIe Gen 5.0	2023
Arrow Lake (Core Ultra 200)	TSMC N3B	Lion Cove (P-Core) Skymont (E-Core)	Xe1 (Alchemist)	24/24	LGA 1851	DDR5	PCIe Gen 5.0	2024
Arrow Lake Refresh (Core Ultra 200?)	TSMC N3B	Lion Cove (P-Core) Skymont (E-Core)	Xe1 (Alchemist)	24/24	LGA 1851	DDR5	PCIe Gen 5.0	2025
Nova Lake (Core Ultra 400?)	TBA	Coyote Cove (P-Core) Arctic Wolf (E-Core)	TBA	52/52?	LGA 1954	DDR5	PCIe Gen 5.0	2026
Razer Lake (Core Ultra 500?)	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	LGA 1954?	TBA	TBA	2027?