A new leak has revised expectations for parts of Intel's rumored Nova Lake CPU lineup, according to Tom's Hardware. The report cites tipster Jaykihn, who is said to be updating an earlier claim that Nova Lake SKUs with cut-down E-core clusters would also ship with reduced L3 cache. The updated leak now says some of those partially disabled configurations may keep the L3 cache pool of their fully enabled variants. Tom's Hardware reports that the rumored 8+12+4 configuration is now expected, by this leak, to carry 36MB of L3 cache rather than the previously discussed 33MB. That would match the L3 cache allocation attributed to the fuller 8+16+4 configuration. The same pattern is reported for another lower configuration. Tom's Hardware says the 4+4+4 Nova Lake setup is now said to retain 18MB of L3 cache instead of 15MB, matching the cache figure attributed to the fully enabled 4+8+4 version. The leak does not describe a uniform rule across the lineup. Tom's Hardware notes that the 6+12+4 configuration is still reportedly limited to 27MB of L3 cache, rather than the 30MB it might have had if the disabled E-core cluster's cache were also retained. On the provided reporting, the apparent takeaway is not linear scaling, but SKU-by-SKU segmentation. The report also says Nova Lake-HX, the mobile lineup, is covered by the same reported methodology. If the leak is accurate, some midrange desktop and mobile Nova Lake parts could ship with more native L3 cache than earlier rumors suggested. Intel has not confirmed these specifications in the provided material, and Tom's Hardware frames the information as preliminary and subject to change. A separate cache layer remains part of the broader Nova Lake rumor set. Tom's Hardware says Nova Lake is expected to introduce bLLC in consumer CPUs, aimed at challenging AMD's 3D V-Cache. The report says only mid- to high-end SKUs are expected to receive bLLC, including the 8+12+4 and 6+12+4 configurations, which are said to feature 132MB and 108MB of bLLC, respectively. Those figures are separate from native L3 cache and are not changed by this particular leak. Timing also remains unofficial. Tom's Hardware describes Nova Lake as part of the rumor cycle ahead of a potential CES 2027 announcement. Until Intel publishes the lineup, these cache allocations should be treated as leaked configuration claims rather than confirmed product specifications. Who benefits: If the leak holds, buyers considering some midrange Nova Lake desktop or HX mobile parts could benefit from more L3 cache than earlier rumors suggested. Intel would also have more room to segment SKUs beyond core counts alone. Who's exposed: Anyone building forecasts or product plans from early Nova Lake rumors is exposed to specification churn. The report itself shows that earlier cache expectations have already been revised.