Intel continues to make steady progress toward the launch of its next-generation Nova Lake processors, which will be released as the Core Ultra 400 series.
The latest news we have is that these new platforms have just received approval from two key organizations: PCI-SIG and USB-IF. Basically, this means that the new hardware has successfully passed compliance and compatibility tests for the PCIe and USB connection standards. This is a required step before any launch, as it makes sure that the parts will communicate without problems with devices from other brands and allows Intel to use the official logos on its products.
Intel Nova Lake Adds Support for USB4 and PCIe 5.0
If we take a closer look at what was published in the certification records, we can already see some details about what these systems will offer. For laptops, the high-performance Nova Lake-H processors were certified to support the USB4 standard at 80 Gbps. This speed makes a lot of sense because it lines up perfectly with what Thunderbolt 5 offers.
On the other hand, for desktop PCs, the new 900-series chipset received certification for USB 3.2 Gen2, which ensures transfer speeds of up to 20 Gbps. In addition, a mysterious processor with native support for PCIe 5.0 appeared in the PCI-SIG databases, pointing directly to future motherboards.
It may seem strange that the company is certifying only specific components instead of presenting the entire chip family at once, but the strategy is quite smart. Intel is using a certification-by-similarity program. Since the architecture of the USB and PCIe connections is almost identical across the entire Nova Lake family, Intel only needs to validate a couple of key models. Once those models pass, the rest of the lineup receives certification almost automatically, saving time and paperwork.
While these certifications suggest that Nova Lake is getting closer to launch, the processors are still some time away from reaching stores. Intel appears to be completing these steps well ahead of the expected launch in the first quarter of 2027.
