Intel is reportedly rushing to get its next gen CPUs out the door by the end of this year, but it looks as though AMD’s Zen 5 chips are going to beat them in this race by a substantial margin. According to the latest leak, the Intel Arrow Lake release date will be “November at the earliest,” and it’s looking likely to be later.
Intel has struggled to get its latest desktop CPUs out in good time recently, and while you can find some of its latest 14th gen processors on our best gaming CPU guide, they’re barely any different from their 13th gen predecessors. While the company’s latest Meteor Lake architecture can be found in laptops, delays meant it didn’t make it to the desktop, and Intel really needs Arrow Lake to be competitive with AMD’s forthcoming Zen 5 architecture.
This latest leak comes from the rumor control towers at Moore’s Law is Dead, which in the video below claims to have received information from an insider about the availability of qualification samples (QS) for Intel Arrow Lake CPUs. As always with Moore’s Law is Dead, none of this has been confirmed by Intel yet, so it does need to be taken with a pinch of salt.
“We were just told by Intel that they’re hoping to ship Arrow Lake QS samples in October, and it usually takes another 1-3 months to launch a product after QS begins,” says the source. According to the source, however, Intel is throwing everything at this launch to make sure it doesn’t drag into 2025.
“The only reason I still think that it is possible for ARL [Arrow Lake] to launch in Q4, is that I know that there is A LOT riding on this product for Intel. If this was any other project at any other company, I would be telling you that December is already looking unlikely if QS is in October.”
The chances of the Arrow Lake launch being delayed until 2025 aren’t out of the question either. “If there are no new delays,” says the source as a caveat, “it’s certainly possible that ARL [Arrow Lake] will launch in Q4 of this year.” Either way, it’s looking touch and go if these rumors are true, and Intel will really need to hope that its new CPU architecture delivers on its promises.
In contrast, the AMD Zen 5 release date is looking likely to come even earlier than expected, if the rumors hold up. AMD is now expected to release its new CPUs in Q3 2024 (July to September) while it now looks as though Intel Arrow Lake won’t be with us until the end of Q4 (October to December).
To make matters more complicated for Intel, Arrow Lake will also require users to upgrade to a new LGA1851 motherboard, adding further cost for upgraders. Comparatively, Zen 5 will use the existing Socket AM5 platform, meaning you can just drop a new Zen 5 CPU into your existing AM5 motherboard if you have one. On the plus side, at least both platforms still use DDR5 memory, which is now well established and cheaply available.
Basically, it looks as though AMD is going to have a head start on Intel by several months, with a new CPU architecture that doesn’t require a new motherboard. Intel’s next gen CPUs will have to be really good, and competitively priced if they’re going to beat AMD in this generational battle.
In the meantime, if you’re looking to construct a gaming rig for yourself, make sure you read our full guide on how to build a gaming PC, where we run you through every part of the process step by step.