Due around the 2026 or 2027 time frame, Intel hasn't explicitly said which production node will be used by Nova Lake, but given that it says its next mobile CPU, Panther Lake, will be produced internally on 18A silicon, and that Panther Lake comes before Nova Lake, 18A at least seems like a safe bet.

Thanks to a leaked shipping manifest, it looks like Intel may be sending early models of its upcoming Nova Lake CPUs to a select few. The notes on the shipping label suggest that the CPU in question was sent free of charge for research purposes,

Recently exposed manifests reveal that Intel has begun shipping test samples of its next-generation server and desktop processors. While much about these upcoming CPUs remains uncertain,

Nova Lake is expected to require a new socket, and unless Intel ports Panther Lake to a desktop, LGA 1851 could be one of the shortest-lived platforms in Intel's history. In addition, Linux patches indicate Intel is actively developing software support for upcoming CPU generations, including Nova Lake and its supposed successor, "Razor Lake."