Intel’s advanced features like AVX10, APX, and AMX instruction sets—designed for 512-bit acceleration and fast vector/matrix multiplication for tasks such as content creation, encoding/decoding, and AI—may not be exclusive to Intel Xeon processors. We could potentially see them in consumer “Nova Lake” processors. According to the Netwide Assembler (NASM), an assembler for the x86 CPU, Nova Lake might introduce these features in consumer PCs once again. A few weeks ago, it was believed that Nova Lake wouldn’t include any of Intel’s advanced x86 extensions. The latest GCC compiler patch indicated that the initial Nova Lake enablement does not incorporate AVX10, AMX, or APX. This sugges…
Intel’s advanced features like AVX10, APX, and AMX instruction sets—designed for 512-bit acceleration and fast vector/matrix multiplication for tasks such as content creation, encoding/decoding, and AI—may not be exclusive to Intel Xeon processors. We could potentially see them in consumer “Nova Lake” processors. According to the Netwide Assembler (NASM), an assembler for the x86 CPU, Nova Lake might introduce these features in consumer PCs once again. A few weeks ago, it was believed that Nova Lake wouldn’t include any of Intel’s advanced x86 extensions. The latest GCC compiler patch indicated that the initial Nova Lake enablement does not incorporate AVX10, AMX, or APX. This suggested that support for these new x86 instructions might be absent from the next-generation CPU.
Initially, Intel chose to disable AVX-512 for the “Alder Lake” and “Raptor Lake” client-oriented CPU lineups, meaning that only server-grade Xeon CPUs benefited from the accelerated 512-bit data paths. With the release of NASM 3.0 and its subsequent 3.1 update, we are once again optimistic that Nova Lake will bring 512-bit acceleration to its client CPUs. Rumored to feature up to 52 cores, including 16 P-Cores, 32 E-Cores, and 4 LPE-Cores, Nova Lake could be an ideal CPU for gaming and workstation tasks, covering a wide range of scenarios and workloads, except for server applications, which are reserved for Xeon. Additionally, it could take advantage of the extensive ecosystem of AVX-accelerated software available today.
For reference, AMD introduced full AVX-512 support with its “Zen 5” cores across its product range, providing a performance boost in optimized applications for both desktop and server CPUs. This marked the first time AMD did not emulate 512-bit AVX, which previously required splitting 512-bit data into two 256-bit units to be processed over two cycles. If Intel reintroduces full AVX-512 acceleration in its client SoCs, it will mark the first time both companies offer 512-bit vector acceleration in their consumer CPUs simultaneously.