Intel’s Wildcat Lake Entry-Level CPUs to Exclude Ray Tracing, Include Two “Xe3” RT Units & XMX Cores

Okay, so here’s the deal. Intel’s got some new stuff coming out, and it’s all got names that sound like wildlife reserves—Wildcat Lake and Panther Lake? I mean, seriously, who names these? But yeah, they’re launching these chips as the next big thing for entry-level devices, like budget-friendly laptops and some tiny PCs. Wildcat’s replacing something called Alder Lake-N. Not sure what happened to Alder, maybe it ran out of steam? Who knows.

Anyway, Wildcat Lake CPUs will come packed with some fancy stuff. They’ve got these Cougar Cove things (sounds fierce, right?) and other jazzy names like Darkmont E-Cores and Xe3 graphics. I guess those make your Netflix binge smoother, or maybe they’re for work? Hold on, scratch that—I doubt anyone uses them to get real work done.

But yeah, here’s the twist. These newbies won’t do some stuff like ray tracing, which is kinda a thing for gamers. But I hear there are XMX cores with some XeSS support. Yep, no idea what that really means, but it sounds cool. I feel like it’s like when you order something online, and it arrives, and you’re like, “Oh, right, I meant to get this. Sort of.”

Thunderbolt 4 and DDR5X are part of the package, which sounds like a good deal if you’re trying to make your galactic spaceship faster. No, wait—it’s for your devices. Smaller and better sounds about right, and it looks like it could hit the shelves late 2025, maybe. Anyway, if you’re into tech and low-power gadgets, pop back in around then.

And those entry-level specs? Well, they’re lined up to be used all over, from mini PCs to random handheld devices. Getting sidetracked again—it’ll be in the sub-10W power range, which is awesome for saving electricity bills, I guess.

Okay, looking at this straight on a chart—Wildcat vs. Alder and Twin Lakes—the basics are lined out there. It’s like comparing your old school sneakers to the new flashy ones. Wildcat’s got the latest tweaks, maybe even a better style. Max P-Cores, E-Cores, and all that jazz. See it like trading up an old car for a new shiny model. Makes sense? Meh, kind of. If you’ve stuck around till now, kudos! I’m sure more details will pop up closer to launch. Laters!