Monday, October 2nd 2017
Intel Coffee Lake CPUs Have Different Pin Configuration than Previous Generation
Intel is set to release its newest generation of processors, known as code name Coffee Lake in just a few days. Recent controversy has focused around the inability of newer processors to be used with motherboards supporting the previous generation CPUs. Intel has released data sheets for Coffee Lake CPUs, and images of the socket's layout support Intel's statement that Coffee Lake will indeed need a new socket design. Specifically, there are more pins responsible for delivering the main power for the CPU cores, known as VCC pins, with Coffee Lake motherboards sporting 146 VCC pins illustrated in the first image below, compared to Kaby Lake and Skylake's 128 illustrated in the second image.
With these pins responsible for delivering power to the CPU cores, this may suggest that previous generation motherboards allowed for lower power operation than is possible with the higher core count of Coffee Lake processors. Whatever the reason, it definitely confirms that Coffee Lake CPUs are hardware-incompatible with previous generation motherboards, and not simply a software or BIOS-level lock.
Source:
Intel
With these pins responsible for delivering power to the CPU cores, this may suggest that previous generation motherboards allowed for lower power operation than is possible with the higher core count of Coffee Lake processors. Whatever the reason, it definitely confirms that Coffee Lake CPUs are hardware-incompatible with previous generation motherboards, and not simply a software or BIOS-level lock.
28 Comments on Intel Coffee Lake CPUs Have Different Pin Configuration than Previous Generation
But seriously, this has always been dealt with by using a different socket. If it must have the same number of pins then it should have different notches and a new name (ala 2011-3). This may not be as bad as the days when the power and cassette drives had the same connector and mixing them up could fry your computer, but it is a similarly bad design.
its from technical standpoint that I can't put KL chip onto your new chipset 300 series
clearly not from business motive at all
Gee I thought Intel was greedy company, turn out it wasn't
Thanks Intel /s
All in this is the first time intel has shown an imperical socket pin difference comparison like this , it's reasuring and reasonable , it's a shame imho they are not as clear consistently with specs and info but hopefully they might improve.
Oh and after a look at both pics just on a phone i think intels definitely just shown how easily it can puff out a bit of smoke and completely blind those that want to be, to just how devious they are..
Every chip has an interposer attached to its Beol this is a multi layer pcb chip mouting package that connects and defines all of the actual chips connections to the socket, some are virtually pass through , like memory channels others are not ,but this extremely important and unloved part of every chip is an easily changed part , the interposer costs significantly less to design and make then the chip.
It's a play for money in my book still ,but with at least some reasoning and fair play.
I believe that the leaked picture of the 8th gen CPU retail box design already has a label "Requires 300-series motherboard" or something like that. Same goes for motherboards: all of them have QVL and compatibility lists. So, if someone sticks a wrong CPU in a wrong board/socket - it's their fault. There is no excuse for being illiterate. Plus, there will always be dummies who will stick LGA1155 CPU in an LGA1150 socket, bend PGAs, put TIM on the bottom of the CPU, or clean the debris from LGA socket with their fat dirty clumsy fingers, buy a $300 tablet for their 4 y.o. kid to watch cartoons, perform bend tests on their own smartphones, throwing electronic things into liquid or spilling liquid onto electronic things. If those people did not exist, I'd be out of job right now.
I get it, these are copypasted out of Intel's datasheet and glued together but still.
"With these pins responsible for delivering power to the CPU cores, this may suggest"
Zzzzzzzz
On the other hand they managed to fit an 18 core processor on a socket they where designing for 12 core processors, with no extra pins needed, having much higher power consumption than the 165W TDP limit of that socket. No problems there. But there they didn't wanted to compete with just a 12 core model against a 16 core model, at least from a marketing perspective neither had the time to create/market a new chipset/socket.
As I said in the past.
Does it has to do with Intel? Excuses, excuses, excuses.
Does it has to do with Nvidia? Excuses, excuses, excuses.
Does it has to do with AMD? The firing squad is ready.
It's not like every overclocker has been running 200+ watts through this socket for ages...
While it is true now that CFL pin-out is technically different from SKL/KBL, it still doesn't change the fact that Intel delibrately designed those sockets in such ways because of greed.
This also pretty much confirms the rumor that 8-core CFL and Z390 would not be compatible with 6-core/Z370.
Say Z68 boards supported Haswell CPUs and you had a Z68+2500k which you swapped for a 4790k. You would still be left without USB3.0, only 2 SATA3 ports, PCIe2.0, a small DMI bus, no m.2, more restrictive iGPU display configs. In those cases it would only be sensible to rewire the socket because you are now having to add new interfaces without removing the older ones which may not even be used on the newer socket, may require additional I/O on the CPU chip, etc... And as a user you would upgrade the board as well more often than not...
That said, in this case it's pretty stupid unless I've overlooked something on the diagrams that is actually changed... They added 14% extra Vccin connections for a chip that seems to draw only marginally more power in the first place, on a socket that seems to have no trouble running way out of power spec, on pins that were unused...
If it fits it should work though? Right? It worked for Phenoms and stuff... :banghead:
P.S. I know, that you cannot do it backwards due to keying, but I've seen some people (clients) with bent CPU pins who tried to install their old CPU into a newer AM3/AM3+ board to save time and money.
P.P.S. People get upset when either Intel or AMD changes something, even though there was nothing engineeringly-challenging (gotta coin this term) to make it fully compatible with an old socket, but I still want to remind you all that it did happen in the past many times, and some of those even went unnoticed. At least today we have a "heads-up" message. Oh... just stop with this "beating on AMD underdog" bullshit. All of those companies get their fair share of criticism, both reasonable and unreasonable.