The Biggest Innovation in Desktop CPUs May Come to Gaming Laptops, Too

AMD remains the unquestioned king of gaming desktop processors, in large part thanks to an innovative way of stacking CPU memory to boost performance. A multitude of leaks suggests Intel is taking the same route with its next-gen desktop chip. Even if you’re a mobile-minded PC user, you still have a reason to care, since this same technology could give a massive boost to next-gen gaming laptops. AMD’s X3D chips, like its top-end Ryzen 7 9850X3D gaming CPU and Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition creator chip, make use of what the chipmaker calls a “3D v-cache.” The cache is a chip’s dedicated high-speed memory. AMD essentially stacks one or more layers of memory cache on top of or below the processor cores, granting better performance for intensive graphics rendering tasks, like gaming. Intel is reportedly building its own version of the technology, known as “bLLC,” or “Big Last Level Cache.” That bLLC tech is supposedly coming to Intel’s next-gen Nova Lake desktop chips. Intel VP and general manager Robert Hallock told Tom’s Hardware his company plans to reveal the consumer-level chips “on desktop first,” even before it showcases some of the same technology used for data centers. The nex