Rumor mill: Intel is reportedly working on new low-power "Twin Lake" processors for budget laptops. While the existence of a Twin Lake chip was originally tipped by prolific hardware leaker @OneRaichu, a new X post by tipster @InstLatX64 has now seemingly revealed more details.

According to the latest rumors, the Intel N250 is expected to be a successor to the N100 "Alder lake-N" CPU, and will reportedly feature only efficiency cores like its predecessor. It is tipped to be a 4-core, 4-thread SKU with a 1.2GHz base clock, but other critical details, like the boost frequency and cache, have not yet been leaked.

Without any more details from reliable sources, we don't really have an idea about what to expect from the new chip, but online speculations suggest that it could be built on the same underlying technology as its predecessor. According to Tom's Hardware, the Intel N250 will most likely be based on the Alder Lake-S architecture, meaning it could have four Gracemont efficiency cores like the N100.

VideoCardz believes that devices powered by the N250 could make it to the market in the first half of 2025, while TH speculates that it could be priced at $55, similar to the N100. We don't know what kind of machines will use the new chip, but going by precedence, it might make it to entry-level laptops, mini PCs, and Chromebooks, which favor power efficiency over raw performance.

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It is worth noting that the Twin Lake lineup may not be restricted to the N250 but include more SKUs in the future. That's because Alder Lake N, Intel's latest low-power lineup, includes multiple different CPUs, led by the Core i3-N305, which is a relatively high-performance chip with 8 cores clocked at up to 3.8GHz. However, it remains super-efficient, thanks to its 15W TDP.

If the N250 ships with Gracemont cores as speculated, it could be a little disappointing for some potential buyers, as it is getting a little long in the tooth. It has already been superseded by "Crestmont" cores in the current Core Ultra 100 "Meteor Lake" lineup, while the upcoming Core Ultra 200V "Lunar Lake-MX" processors are expected to feature "Skymont" efficiency cores. That said, Twin Lake could still be a worthy replacement for the age-old Pentiums and Celerons, which can still be found in some affordable laptops and Chromebooks.