Intel Razor Lake-AX Chips Could Use On-Package Memory: Rumor
A new rumor has appeared online regarding a portion of Intel's next-next-generation chips, the Razor Lake-AX. The Nova Lake successor and desktop chip line may use on-package memory, according to VideoCardz. The rumor doesn't confirm the memory type (e.g., LPDDR5X) or bandwidth, but it does raise some interesting questions about the direction Intel is taking with its future CPU designs.
Intel has played around with memory placement before. The brand's Lunar Lake Core Ultra 200V series of mobile CPUs used on-package memory, with Intel ultimately saying the design didn't make sense for cost and margins, nor for roadmap simplification. But now, according to X leaker Haze2k1, Intel is reportedly reconsidering the idea for Razor Lake. Since that's considered a desktop lineup, however, it could make for a radical redesign of how Intel's flagship CPUs are built.
However, since this is Razor Lake-AX, rather than Razor Lake across the board, it could be that Intel is experimenting with on-package memory for very specific chips in the lineup. These would reportedly be designed to tackle AMD's dominance in APUs, offering powerful CPU cores and high-end graphics on the same die, targeting gaming handhelds and entry-level gaming laptops. But on-package memory could give it an even greater advantage by offering far lower latency—if data doesn't have to travel through a memory controller and down wires to dedicated memory sticks, it can be far more responsive. At least in theory.
Intel's Razor Lake is likely to be built on a future process node, too, such as its 14A.Credit: Intel
In Intel's only recent use of on-package memory, its Core Ultra 200V processors came with 16GB or 32GB of LPDDR5X-8533 memory, with no option to upgrade after purchase. Intel would likely offer something similar with Razor Lake, though, since that isn't expected until 2028, the quantities could be higher. It's also possible we'll see Intel use a next-generation LPDDR6, though LPDDR5X is still likely to be relevant at that time.
That's all assuming the RAM pricing crisis has sorted itself out by then.
