Nvidia will announce an x86 CPU in collaboration with Intel at its GTC event, according to one report, though Intel itself shoots down the whole idea

In September of last year, we were all rather surprised by the announcement that Nvidia and Intel had teamed up to produce custom x86 processors for data centers and x86-RTX SoCs (system on chips) for personal computers. Even though the first hints of a name for one of these products, Serpent Lake, popped up soon after, the consensus was that it would take some time for this venture to bear real fruit. But one report suggests that we won't need to wait long at all, just one more week, to be precise.

That's according to Jukan on X, who is an analyst for Citrini. They write: "Some sell-side analysts are expecting that Nvidia may unveil an x86 CPU developed in collaboration with Intel at GTC 2026," and finish this off with a simple "I think so too."

Yes, I know. That's hardly compelling evidence to confirm that Jenson is going to bounce onto stage waving around a new Intel-Nvidia chip that will soon be powering laptops, mini PCs, and maybe even full desktops at this year's GTC event. But let's assume for the moment that it's correct—what can we extract from this?

The most obvious point is that this has been a very rapid project, even if one accounts for the fact that the two companies were probably in cahoots long before the official announcement. While it's not totally impossible that the buddies in blue and green have managed to make something so quickly, it just seems too rapid to be credible, though.

Even if it's a very mangled affair of jamming some random Intel CPU and a small GeForce RTX chip onto the same package, it takes a long time to test and fully validate such a creation, let alone produce all the necessary software and firmware to go with it.

After all, it took years for Nvidia to get its Arm-RTX SoC ready for use in PCs. But we don't need to overthink this much, because Intel itself has confirmed that it won't be anything like as quick as this.

"Obviously, it’s a couple [of] years out before those products come to market, but so far the progress has been great," said Dave Zinsner, Intel's chief financial officer, in an investment call last week.

Zinser could be sandbagging somewhat, or it might be a case that Nvidia ends up announcing some details about what to expect in the future at GTC, but a finished product? That seems very unlikely, all things given. My gut feeling is that Jensen will say something about the custom x86 processor for data centers, perhaps just a codename or some basic specifications, as that's the company's main focus these days, but there will be nothing about the SoC for PCs.

And let's face it, with the current memory crisis only getting worse, launching a potentially expensive product into a market that's expected to decline rather sharply until DRAM and NAND flash become plentiful and affordable again, would be a one-way ticket to disaster town.

Best gaming rigs 2026

1. Best gaming laptop: Razer Blade 16

2. Best gaming PC: HP Omen 35L

3. Best handheld gaming PC: Lenovo Legion Go S SteamOS ed.

4. Best mini PC: Minisforum AtomMan G7 PT

5. Best VR headset: Meta Quest 3

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