Rumours are swirling once again around Intel ditching its hybrid P-core and E-core chip architectures for a single, 'unified core' design, although it looks like we might have a long wait yet
Those familiar with Intel's modern processor lines will also be familiar with the idea of Performance and Efficient cores. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, for example, is technically a 24-core chip, with eight of those cores being high-powered Performance versions for heavy processing duties, supported by 16 Efficient versions for low-priority tasks.
Intel's processors have been designed around this core segmentation architecture since Alder Lake, more commonly referred to as its 12th generation chips. However, rumours are swirling once again that Intel may be about to make a major switch up towards a "unified core" design, banishing its hybrid P-core, E-core, and LP-E core chip architectures to the history books (via Fudzilla).
Eagle-eyed X user @Silcon_Fly has spotted an Intel job listing for a senior CPU verification engineer to join its "Unified Core design team", with responsibilities to "lead, drive, develop and execute comprehensive verification plans to validate CPU logic against architectural specifications."
The potential benefits of a unified core design (or "one big core", as it's sometimes referred to) include a cleaner, simpler architecture with less scheduling tomfoolery to distribute tasks between their appropriate cores, and a better performance per area ratio given the limited die space on modern chips.
Previously, reports referencing a post from an Intel engineer in China suggested that Intel Arctic Wolf E-cores used in its upcoming Nova Lake chips would be the last before a switch to a unified architecture.
According to Fudzilla, current gossip suggests that Titan Lake will be where Intel makes the switch. Intel's Nova Lake chips are due for release sometime later this year, followed by Razer Lake, and then Titan Lake sometime after that.
So, if we are to see Intel move away from a hybrid chip architecture, it looks like we'll have sometime yet before we get the new processors in our hands (and our test rigs) to see what its new design can do.
Assuming Nova Lake releases on schedule, it's still possible that this unified architecture, if it makes it to production, won't be available until 2028 at the earliest—and perhaps even as late as 2030 or beyond, especially if Intel is hiring engineers for the project now.
At which point, the oceans will be boiling, the sun will be ever... I mean, the PC hardware space will likely look a whole lot different. We might even have some affordable memory to pair with Intel's new mono-core chip, as the RAMpocalypse is expected to make the next couple of years rather difficult in that regard. Let's all keep our fingers crossed for some big changes all round, shall we?