THE CRUNCH
Intel has quietly published an internal test driver labelled "RPL-NEXT", apparently referring to the Raptor Lake Next CPUs first reported in June. The driver, spotted by @momomo_us on X, sits behind an Intel login with a "testbuild" label, suggesting an internal test that was not meant to be public. It appears to be a package for Smart Sound Technology, the audio signal processor built into Intel silicon since Alder Lake. On the same day, shipping manifests from Vietnam published by Club386 showed exports of CPUs labelled "Raptor Lake Next" dating back to August, complete with cache and clock speed details.
Four SKUs appear in the manifests: 99DLMV, 99DLMT, 99DLMW and 99DLMX, though details are known for only two. The 99DLMV is a 16-core chip with 8 performance and 8 efficiency cores, a 3.5 GHz base clock, 30 MB of cache and a 125 W TDP, which Tom's Hardware matches to existing Core i7 models. The 99DLMT has 20 cores (8P + 12E), a much lower 2.1 GHz base clock, 33 MB of cache and a 65 W TDP, suggesting an efficiency-oriented part. The remaining two are 65 W chips with 24 MB of cache, apparently replacing existing Core i5 models.
The leaks suggest the refresh tops out below flagship territory: a previous leak indicates Intel has no plans for a direct replacement for the Core i9-14900K. Raptor Lake Next chips are meant to plug into existing LGA-1700 motherboards, and Gigabyte's recent BIOS updates all but confirm they will keep DDR4 support. That matters because DDR5 prices are currently very high, and Intel's current Core Ultra "Arrow Lake" processors do not support DDR4 at all. No pricing has been announced, though Tom's Hardware expects the new chips to land near existing model prices, such as the Core i7-14700 at $366 and the Core i5-14400 at $208.