Intel Will Beat AMD to Market With DDR5 and PCIe 5.0

Intel will feature DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 first, but AMD won’t be far behind

By Jacob Roach June 16, 2021

A new rumor details the motherboard launch plans for AMD and Intel throughout 2022. According to the rumor, Intel is gearing up to launch its Z690 platform later this year for Alder Lake processors, followed by a Z790 launch in mid-2022 for Raptor Lake processors. AMD is said to release the first AM5 motherboards (presumably with the X670 chipset) slightly before the Z790 launch.

The rumor comes from Uniko’s Hardware editor and tester PJ. The Japanese outlet has accurately predicted past product launches, including the specs for the recently released RTX 3080 Ti. The rumor doesn’t provide much information outside of the launch windows for upcoming Intel and AMD motherboard platforms throughout the next year and a half.

Z690 2021 Q4
B660 H610 2022 Q1
Z790 2022 Q3

AM5 2022 Q2

— PJ (@PJ_Lab_UH) June 16, 2021

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The Z690 launch window is the easiest to confirm. Given everything we know about Alder Lake right now, we expect the first processors to be announced in September with a launch date in November. Intel needs to release Z690 boards on or before the launch date. Alder Lake processors use the new LGA1700 socket, making the new processors incompatible with older Z490 and Z590 boards. The Z690 chipset is rumored to feature DDR5 memory support and PCIe 5.0, making Intel the first to market with these new features.

Following the Z690 launch will be the B660 and H610 chipsets, and this launch window is easy to confirm as well. B- and H-series motherboards are compatible with the same chips you can use on Z690, though they come a more limited feature set. If these new boards keep with past Intel chipsets, neither will support overclocking. You’ll need a Z690 board for that.

Shortly after these boards launch, the rumor suggests that AMD will release the first AM5 motherboard. The rumor doesn’t specify a chipset name, though it should be X670 to keep in-line with previous chipsets. X670 boards are for AMD’s upcoming Raphael processors that feature the Zen 4 architecture (tentatively named Ryzen 7000). If the Raphael leaks are accurate, the X670 chipset will support PCIe 5.0 and DDR5. AMD is said to be using a new LGA socket design for AM5, too, which will show up for the first time on these boards.

Rounding out the 2022 launches will be the Z790 chipset, which should coincide with the launch of Raptor Lake processors. It’s possible that the chipset will come out a while before the processors, though. Z790 boards will reportedly use the same LGA1700 socket as Z690 boards, allowing users to use an Alder Lake processor with a Z790 board. That said, we’re at more than a year out at this point. The launch windows aren’t clear right now.

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