A recently leaked diagram of the Arrow Lake platform gives us a glimpse of the upcoming 800-series motherboards designed for next-gen CPUs using the LGA 1851 socket. The leaked diagram suggests that Intel will provide a total of 32 PCIe lanes, with two NVMe SSD slots connected to the CPU, and the platform does not support DDR4 memory.
The leak, initially reported on Chiphell Forums and discovered by HXL in X, via Powerup Technology, reveals an Arrow Lake desktop processor on the LGA 1851 socket with 16 PCIe 5.0 lanes for the graphics card. It also includes one dedicated PCIe 5.0 slot and one PCIe 4.0 slot for NVMe SSDs. With Arrow Lake, users will no longer need to choose which components receive extra PCIe 5.0 bandwidth, offering more lanes compared to current Intel 700 series motherboards.
The diagram also indicates that the Arrow Lake platform will only support DDR5 memory, signaling the end of DDR4 RAM usage with Team Blue processors. The connectivity of the 800 series chipset is expected to improve, featuring Intel Wi-Fi 7 with Thunderbolt 4 as standard. Additionally, the platform will support USB 3.0 (5G, 10G, and 20G) and Intel 2.5Gb LAN, while PCIe 3.0 support will be phased out to focus on future technologies.
The leak further reinforces rumors that the Z980 motherboards will not support Thunderbolt 5, despite advancements in other areas of the platform. Intel is anticipated to launch Arrow Lake processors in Q3 2024, sticking to their usual release timeframe. The introduction of the LGA 1851 socket marks the first socket change since 2021, requiring users to upgrade their motherboards to take advantage of the Arrow Lake processors, which will be under the Intel Core Ultra 200 series.
By adopting DDR5 memory, Intel is expected to boost the performance of its processors, replacing the PCIe 4.0 lanes with PCIe 5.0 for improved speed and efficiency. AMD made a similar transition in 2022 with the Ryzen 7000 series, while Intel’s Raptor Lake generations continued using DDR4 for two more years. Users still utilizing DDR4 RAM will need to upgrade to DDR5 and compatible motherboards to leverage the benefits of Arrow Lake for both work and play.
In conclusion, the Arrow Lake leak provides insights into the upcoming 800-series motherboards designed for the next-gen CPUs using the LGA 1851 socket. The platform is expected to ditch DDR4 memory in favor of DDR5, offer improved connectivity features, and focus on future technologies such as PCIe 5.0 while phasing out older standards like PCIe 3.0. Intel’s Arrow Lake processors are set to launch in Q3 2024, requiring users to upgrade their motherboards to take full advantage of the new capabilities.
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