Today, Intel has decided to surprise us and give an update to its upcoming CPU lineup for desktop. With the 11th generation, Core CPUs codenamed Rocket Lake-S, Intel is preparing to launch the new lineup in the first quarter of 2021. This means that we are just a few months away from this launch. When it comes to the architecture of these new processors, they are going to be based on a special Cypress Cove design. Gone are the days of Skylake-based designs that were present from the 6th to 10th generation processors. The Cypress Cove, as Intel calls it, is an Ice Lake adaptation. Contrary to the previous rumors, it is not an adaptation of Tiger Lake Willow Cove, but rather Ice Lake Sunny Cove.
The CPU instruction per cycle (IPC) is said to grow in double-digits, meaning that the desktop users are finally going to see an improvement that is not only frequency-based. While we do not know the numbers yet, we can expect them to be better than the current 10th gen parts. For the first time on the Intel platform for desktops, we will see the adoption of PCIe 4.0 chipset, which will allow for much faster SSD speeds and support the latest GPUs, specifically, there will be 20 PCIe 4.0 lanes coming from the CPU only. The CPU will be paired with 12th generation Xe graphics, like the one found in Tiger Lake CPUs. Other technologies such as Deep Learning Boost and VNNI, Quick Sync Video, and better overclocking tuning will be present as well. Interesting thing to note here is that the 10C/20T Core i9-10900K has a PL1 headroom of 125 W, and 250 W in PL2. However, the 8C/16T Rocket Lake-S CPU also features 125 W headroom in PL1, and 250 W in PL2. This indicates that the new Cypress Cove design runs hotter than the previous generation.
74 Comments on Intel Confirms Rocket Lake-S Features Cypress Cove with Double-Digit IPC Increase
So will those be working in a bios update or will we be forced to upgrade to get that PCIe 4.0?
www.overclock3d.net/news/cpu_mainboard/pcie_4_0_support_on_z490_-_what_the_deal/1
Let's see what they are up to this time.
And since you have a 400 series already, you can also keep that as a spare computer, or sell it together.
My Mobo (msi gaming plus) is apparently listed with PCIe 4.0 everything but redrivers.
Hopefully it will work. Cause I really don't want to spend another $200 cad on a new motherboard then buy a new processor. Might as well just go AMD at that point
Not sure why you need re-drivers, you only get support on the first x16 slot and the first M.2 slot, which should have have a "reserved" sticker on it.
This is much like the B550 boards for AMD.
Well, if it will end up being the case then I'll just replace my ES chip with one of these rocketlakes.
I mean, you do have an MSI board and they even have X570 boards that don't support PCIe 4.0 on all slots, so anything is possible, but I doubt you'll have any issue.
Re-drivers are again only needed for boards that supports two x8 slot configurations, which yours doesn't.
I did realise one thing though, you might not get PCIe 4.0 support for your SSD, as it seems like both of your SSDs are wired to the chipset. Most other boards have a reserved slot specifically for this, but it seems MSI didn't bother doing it with your board. Look at page 20 in the manual and you'll see how things are wired up.
All of MSI's MPG Z490 boards seems to be wired up in the same way.
If not, then off to AMD I go.
Edit:. According to the slide on the site, m.2 is supposed to too be PCIe 4
www.msi.com/Motherboard/MPG-Z490-GAMING-PLUS/Overview
Under protection and certification.
But, too little too late? :(
And this list I found
Even the Godlike appears to be wired up via the chipset.
Again, the idea here is that the primary x16 slot (and possibly the secondary in dual x8, if correctly designed) and the first M.2 slot will work with PCIe 4.0 lanes from the CPU.
That's the only PCIe 4.0 connectivity that's expected.
I guess it's possible that the Gen 4 switches mentioned in the diagram you posted allows one M.2 slot to shift from being connected to the chipset to going directly to the CPU, as having looked a bit more closely at things, it appears that all of Gigabyte's high-end designs also have all their slots connected via the chipset.
However, some of their cheaper boards state this for the top most M.2 slot. I.e. it's currently not functional and will require a new CPU to be "activated". This is also why it states "Reserved for future" on the boards. I presume that's meant to say Reserved for future use, but someone figure they could save some space by removing a word...
All the while, AMD delivers an extra kick with advertising SAM with their GPUs and 5000 series Ryzens, making it all the more tempting for those looking into new builds or upgrades over the holidays to just go all AMD. Moreso since AMD would still be the only side that has PCIe 4.0 motherboards that can run all those newfangled GPUs advertising PCIe 4.0 on the box (even if it's just market speak and PCIe 3.0 is fine). And to top it all off, AMD is still has possible Ryzen XT CPUs in the works (if going by their footnotes during the 5000 series reveal) that they can release later in 2021 as production matures.