Intel wants 700-Series Chipset Motherboards without DDR4

[TheLostSwede]

Although Intel's upcoming 13th generation of desktop CPUs that goes under the code name of Raptor Lake, are expected to retain support for DDR4 memory, it has come to our attention that Intel will make a big push towards DDR5 when the platform launches later this year. Intel is apparently already asking motherboard makers to avoid using DDR4 in combination with the upcoming 700-series chipsets and the only reason for this would be to speed up the transition to DDR5. According to various leaks and rumors we should expect to see support for DDR5 at 5600 MHz for Raptor Lake, which is at least a step in the right direction.

What this doesn't mean, is that Intel has removed support for DDR4 in the CPUs, as it's still very much present and is expected to work fine in 600-series chipset motherboards. As such, there shouldn't be any issues upgrading to a new CPU, at least not after a quick UEFI update. From our understanding, it's partially related to the fact that DDR4 and DDR5 motherboards have quite different UEFI code when it comes to the memory support and in turn it means that the board makers are going to end up spending a lot more time getting their boards working, as is already the case with the 600-series chipsets. We can sort of understand Intel's sentiment here, but we're also expecting to see some motherboards based on the 700-series chipsets with DDR4 support, least not from the likes of ASRock that has always liked to create non-conforming motherboards. However, this also looks like it's the end for DDR4 support from Intel, which wasn't entirely unexpected.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Ruru]

From Intel's perspective this is understandable, but DDR5 has still a huge price premium over DDR4..

 

[illusion archives]

If the DDR5s would be cheap , that would not bother anybody .
So will those OEMs have enough PMIC and VRM at that time ?

 

[dj-electric]

You want exclusive, here's exclusive.
DDR4 support is said by the guys behind the processors to still be important, and they are very well aware of the world situation of DDR5's availability.
While not a promise, a guarantee of DDR4 support has been granted by decision makers, especially in the more budget friendly part of the ecosystem.

The push with the new chipset will be newer versions of IO, and i even heard a hint about something relating to a retroactive upgrade of CPU M.2 speed standard to 5.0, but nothing concrete

 

[TheLostSwede]

If the DDR5s would be cheap , that would not bother anybody .
So will those OEMs have enough PMIC and VRM at that time ?

In six months time, unlikely unless something changes.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

The writing was on the wall that Intel was eventually going to do this, cuz we all know AMD wouldnt and is perfectly fine with the dual capability. There had to be a (time) line drawn somewhere.

 

[TheLostSwede]

You want exclusive, here's exclusive.
DDR4 support is said by the guys behind the processors to still be important, and they are very well aware of the world situation of DDR5's availability.
While not a promise, a guarantee of DDR4 support has been granted by decision makers, especially in the more budget friendly part of the ecosystem.

Hey, why didn't you apply to become a news writer here if you have exclusive sources for information?

The push with the new chipset will be newer versions of IO, and i even heard a hint about something relating to a retroactive upgrade of CPU M.2 speed standard to 5.0, but nothing concrete

You mean like what I posted on Monday?

Intel Unintentionally Shares 700-Series Chipset Spec

In an updated datasheet, which is currently still available online, Intel seemingly forgot to remove the specs of its upcoming Z790, H770 and B760 chipsets. The changes are fairly minor, although we obviously don't know if Intel are planning any changes on the CPU side in terms of connectivity...

www.techpowerup.com

Yes, that doesn't confirm PCIe 5.0 for the NVMe lanes from the CPU, but that seems very likely.

 

[dj-electric]

Hey, why didn't you apply to become a news writer here if you have exclusive sources for information?

Ah... that would be a conflict of interest

Regarding the M.2 support, from what I reckon, that would be for 12th gen CPU's too. Again, not concretely confirmed
The funny thing to me, is that I do understand that some, or even a large quantity of current boards could support a PCIE5 M.2 for the CPU?
As of to why, I never got an answer

 

[TheLostSwede]

The writing was on the wall that Intel was eventually going to do this, cuz we all know AMD wouldnt and is perfectly fine with the dual capability. There had to be a (time) line drawn somewhere.

It's more of a heads up to those hoping to continue to use DDR4, which will be possible with the new CPUs, but might not with motherboards past the 600-series chipsets.
I had the information verified today, hence why I wrote it up, even though I guess it could still be considered a rumour.

Ah... that would be a conflict of interest

But it's not for you to hang out here and post in the forums?

Regarding the M.2 support, from what I reckon, that would be for 12th gen CPU's too. Again, not concretely confirmed

And how do you recon that would work? The 12th gen CPUs only have PCIe 4.0 lanes for the NVMe interface.

 

[dj-electric]

Here's another piece of something to think of - Intel has improved its simulation, validation, bring ups so vastly from a gen to gen on the same uArch, that assuming or suspecting a Q3 release shouldn't be off the table.

Those units are running very close to what they will run at in terms of finalization and shelf quality - already.

About use of 12th gen for nvme - maybe the opposite is true in this case, where 13th gen could provide that backwards to 600 series. That said, I won't be surprised if marketing decides to block this upgrade

But it's not for you to hang out here and post in the forums?

About this part, nah, not so much. There's a bit of difference in my eyes between being behind publishing this stuff as an official item and between just throwing hints online about what I know, and what can't get me in personal trouble

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Guess Intel should furnish ddr5 with the chips
Intel should be fine with this they leave plenty of room in the box seeing there's no cooler included

 

[TheLostSwede]

Hi,
Guess Intel should furnish ddr5 with the chips
Intel should be fine with this they leave plenty of room in the box seeing there's no cooler included

There's actually no shortage of DDR5 as such, the current shortage is largely related to there having been a staff shortage with regard to packaging the DDR5 dies and a shortage of power regulation components for the DIMMs, which might persist for some time. The last issue, which is not exclusive to memory, is shipping related issues, which pretty much everyone is suffering from at the moment.

Here's another piece of something to think of - Intel has improved its simulation, validation, bring ups so vastly from a gen to gen on the same uArch, that assuming or suspecting a Q3 release shouldn't be off the table.

Those units are running very close to what they will run at in terms of finalization and shelf quality - already.

I'm expecting a Computex announcement.

About use of 12th gen for nvme - maybe the opposite is true in this case, where 13th gen could provide that backwards to 600 series. That said, I won't be surprised if marketing decides to block this upgrade

That might be doable on the other hand.

About this part, nah, not so much. There's a bit of difference in my eyes between being behind publishing this stuff as an official item and between just throwing hints online about what I know, and what can't get me in personal trouble

So what's your Twitter handle?

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

About use of 12th gen for nvme - maybe the opposite is true in this case, where 13th gen could provide that backwards to 600 series. That said, I won't be surprised if marketing decides to block this upgrade

A likely excuse for blocking would be that a new socket has not finished being designed yet.

We all know Intels fascination for new sockets every other chipset.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Intel doesn't seem to be having any shipping issues.

 

[dj-electric]

So what's your Twitter handle?

Don't do the whole Twitter thing, really. Sorry.

We all know Intels fascination for new sockets every other chipset.

Only thing to say about that, is that it seems like we might get to use LGA1700 for Raptor Lake, as well as Meteor Lake this time. Crossing fingers for a tri-gen cross support.
Post Meteor Lake is where NBT (Next big thing, their code name for a new P core) Core uArch will land, and this is where Intel might deploy another new socket

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

So what's your Twitter handle?

do you go around flirting with everyone? A/S/L maybe?

 

[TheLostSwede]

A likely excuse for blocking would be that a new socket has not finished being designed yet.

We all know Intels fascination for new sockets every other chipset.

Well, no socket change this time around.

 

[zlobby]

Hmm, why won't they ban USB in favor of Thunderbolt as well? Also, limit the PCIe to 5.0 and above.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

Hmm, why won't they ban USB in favor of Thunderbolt as well?

Royalties, knowing Intel.

 

[Ruru]

Hi,
Guess Intel should furnish ddr5 with the chips
Intel should be fine with this they leave plenty of room in the box seeing there's no cooler included

They did bundle RDRAM with Pentium 4 in the early 2000s so why not once again.

 

[TristanX]

great idea, but let Intel lower prices by 30% to cover difference between DDR4 and DDR5 prices

 

[TheLostSwede]

Hmm, why won't they ban USB in favor of Thunderbolt as well? Also, limit the PCIe to 5.0 and above.

Cost?

 

[Why_Me]

The writing was on the wall that Intel was eventually going to do this, cuz we all know AMD wouldnt and is perfectly fine with the dual capability. There had to be a (time) line drawn somewhere.

Are you saying Zen4 will support DDR4?

 

[Ruru]

Are you saying Zen4 will support DDR5?

That's what all the rumors are saying, and I would be surprised if they wouldn't support.

*Updated* AM5 socket release date, price & more - What we know

AMD's AM5 is the socket type for the AMD Ryzen 7000 series of processors on the Zen 4 architecture. Our Ryzen 7000 series CPU reviews are live, take a

www.wepc.com

 

[TheUn4seen]

Thank you but no, thank you.
It's understandable that Intel's corporate drones want to scream about their "market leadership" and other childish e-peen enhancement techniques, but here's a reality check: There's a war in Europe with a downright scary escalation path and another war brewing in the Asia-Pacific region, which threatens global economy on a fairly large scale. Semiconductor shortages continue to ravage people's wallets. Forcing consumers to buy expensive memory which has little practical meaning and mostly serves the manufacturer's wallet makes sense in the high-end market, but doing it for the whole portfolio doesn't seem reasonable at this point in time. Winding down the corporate greed seems more productive but unlikely.