Gigabyte has just confirmed that all its Raptor Lake-era LGA1700 motherboards will support a new lineup of “future processors” from Intel, including “DDR5 and DDR4 models alike.” Gigabyte didn’t name the CPUs in question, but they’re highly likely to be the rumoured range of Intel Raptor Lake Next chips.
The move follows an earlier (now deleted) statement from the motherboard maker, where it said its existing boards based on Intel’s budget-friendly B760 and H610 chipsets would accommodate the new chips. However, in its latest press announcement, the company says the upcoming CPUs will be supported by its full lineup of Z790, B760, and H610 boards.
Intel’s Z790 chipset was released to accompany the first Raptor Lake CPUs all the way back in 2022, when the 13th-gen processor lineup was released. Later 14th-gen chips were also supported by Z790, and now some new CPUs are coming as well.
“For anyone who has already invested in an LGA1700 system, this is the upgrade path you were hoping for,” says Gigabyte. “More options, lower cost, zero hassle. Greater performance is now within easy reach, and it starts with a BIOS update.”
You’ll need to flash your motherboard’s BIOS in order for it to accept one of these future CPUs, but that’s it. You won’t have to swap out your board or rebuild your system in any way.
According to the latest rumours, Intel is planning to launch its Raptor Lake Next lineup imminently. It’s a decision that’s very likely to have been driven by the accelerating cost of DDR5 RAM, with owners of older DDR4 memory looking for alternative routes to upgrading their systems. AMD has already rereleased its Ryzen 7 5800X3D for the same reasons.
There won’t be a Core i9 Raptor Lake Next chip, according to current leaks, with Intel instead focusing on the budget and mid-range sectors. In particular, Intel is rumoured to be planning a Core i5-14600K replacement with eight P-Cores and eight E-Cores, which could be a tempting upgrade for DDR4 owners looking for a chip that can handle both gaming and multi-threading.
The forthcoming lineup is rumoured to be coming under the Core 200-series banner, but with no Ultra tag. We’ve already seen this strategy with Intel’s latest Raptor Lake laptop chips, such as the Core 7 240H.
Intel is also rumoured to be planning a Core 7 option with eight P-Cores and 12 E-Cores, as well as a Core 3 chip with just four P-Cores and no E-Cores. Another hopefully budget-friendly option is a rumoured Core 5 chip with six P-Cores and four E-Cores, just like the Core i5-14400F, but hopefully with a faster clock speed.
