Details on Intel’s Raptor Lake 13 desktop CPU platform. The slide gives us a good look at the features to expect from upcoming processors, but it’s also missing a crucial feature.
Intel Raptor Lake Desktop CPU Platform Details Leaked: DDR5-5600 Support Confirmed, But No Word on PCIe Gen 5 M.2 Support
On paper, Intel’s 13th Gen Raptor Lake CPUs appear to be an optimized version of the 12th Gen Alder Lake CPUs. They are based on the same 10nm ESF “Intel 7” processing node, use the same P-Core and E-Core design, and are supported on existing motherboards. But a lot is changing with Raptor Lake, and we’re going to detail everything from official details to rumors we know about Alder Lake so far, and what to expect from Intel’s next line of desktops going head-to-head against AMD’s next Ryzen will also CPU lineup for desktops.
13th Gen Intel Raptor Lake Desktop CPUs Expected Features:
- Up to 24 cores and 32 threads
- Brand new Raptor Cove CPU cores (higher P-Core IPC)
- Based on the 10nm ESF “Intel 7” process node.
- Supported on existing LGA 1700 motherboards
- Dual channel DDR5-5600 memory support
- 20 PCIe Gen 5 lanes
- Improved overclocking capabilities
- 125W PL1 TDP (Flagship SKUs)
Intel is sticking with its LGA 1700 platform for at least one more CPU line, and that’s Raptor Lake. Chipzilla confirmed that Raptor Lake CPUs will be compatible with existing LGA 1700 motherboards based on the 600-series chipset. But as with every generation, motherboard manufacturers will offer a brand new line of motherboards based on the 700-series chipset, which will feature higher I/O lanes. Additionally, Raptor Lake chips will support DDR5-5600 speeds, which is a nice step up from the native DDR5-5200 speeds that Alder Lake supports. The CPUs will also continue DDR4-3200 support on the D4 series motherboards.
This provides a good upgrade path for users who are currently using a mainstream Core i3 or Core i5 CPU and want to upgrade to a high-end chip. You can easily replace your existing 12th Gen CPU with a higher-end Core i7 or Core i9 SKU, boosting the overall performance of your PC.
Intel desktop platform chipset comparison
| chipset name | Raptor Lake-S (RPL-S) PCH / 700 Series (Z790) | Alder Lake-S (ADL-S) PCH / 600 Series (Z690) | Rocket Lake-S (RKL-S) PCH / 500 series (Z590) | Comet Lake-S (CML-S) PCH / 400 Series (Z490) | Coffee Lake S (CNL-H) PCH / 300 series (Z390/H370, B360, Q370, H310) | Coffee Lake S (KBL-R) PCH / Z370 platform |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| process node | 14nm | 14nm | 14nm | 14nm | 14nm | 22nm |
| processor | 24.16 °C, 12 °C, 10 °C, 6 °C, 4 °C (pending) | 16°C, 12°C, 10°C, 6°C, 4°C (full enterprise/consumer SKU stack at launch) | 8C, 6C (full enterprise/consumer SKU stack at launch) | 10C, 8C, 6C, 4C, 2C (full enterprise/consumer SKU stack at launch) | 8C, 6C, 4C, 2C (full enterprise/consumer SKU stack at launch) | 8C, 6C, 4C (6 consumer SKUs at launch) |
| memory | Up to DDR5-5600 (native) Up to DDR4-3200 (native)? |
Up to DDR5-4800 (native) Up to DDR4-3200 (native) |
Up to DDR4-3200 (native) | Up to DDR4-2933 (native) | Up to DDR4-2666 (native) | Up to DDR4-2666 (native) |
| Media, Display & Audio | eDP / 4DDI (DP, HDMI) display capabilities | eDP / 4DDI (DP, HDMI) display capabilities | DP 1.2 and HDMI 2.0, HBR3 HDCP 2.2 (HDMI 2.0aw/LSPCON) 12-bit AV1/HEVC & VP9 10-bit Enc/Dec, HDR, Rec.2020, DX12 Integrated dual-core audio DSP with USB audio offload SoundWire digital audio interface |
DP1.2 and HDMI1.4 HDCP 2.2 (HDMI 2.0aw/LSPCON) HEVC & VP9 10-Bit Enc/Dec, HDR, Rec.2020, DX12 Integrated dual-core audio DSP SoundWire digital audio interface |
DP1.2 and HDMI1.4 HDCP 2.2 (HDMI 2.0aw/LSPCON) HEVC & VP9 10-Bit Enc/Dec, HDR, Rec.2020, DX12 Integrated dual-core audio DSP SoundWire digital audio interface |
DP1.2 and HDMI1.4 HDCP 2.2 (HDMI 2.0aw/LSPCON) HEVC & VP9 10-Bit Enc/Dec, HDR, Rec.2020, DX12 Integrated dual-core audio DSP |
| I/O & Connectivity | Integrated USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20G) Integrated Intel Wireless-AC (Wi-Fi6E/ 7 BT CNVio) with Gig+ Integrated SDXC 4.0 controller Thunderbolt 4.0 |
Integrated USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20G) Integrated Intel Wireless-AC (Wi-Fi6E/ 7 BT CNVio) with Gig+ Integrated SDXC 4.0 controller Thunderbolt 4.0 |
Integrated USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20G) Integrated Intel Wireless-AC (Wi-Fi6E/ BT CNVi) Integrated SDXC 3.0 controller Thunderbolt 4.0 (Maple Ridge) |
Integrated USB 3.2 Gen 2 Integrated Intel Wireless-AC (Wi-Fi / BT CNVi) Integrated SDXC 3.0 controller Thunderbolt 3.0 (Titan Ridge) with DP 1.4 |
Integrated USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5Gbps) Integrated Intel Wireless-AC (Wi-Fi / BT CNVi) Integrated SDXC 3.0 controller Thunderbolt 3.0 (Titan Ridge) with DP 1.4 |
Integrated USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5Gbps) Thunderbolt 3.0 (Alpine Ridge) |
| storage | Next-gen Intel Optane memory PCIe 5.0 (CPU lanes), 6x SATA 3.0 |
Next-gen Intel Optane memory PCIe 5.0, 6x SATA 3.0 |
Next-gen Intel Optane memory PCIe 4.0, 6x SATA 3.0 |
Next-gen Intel Optane memory PCIe 3.0, 6x SATA 3.0 |
Next-gen Intel Optane memory PCIe 3.0, 6x SATA 3.0 |
Next-gen Intel Optane memory PCIe 3.0, 6x SATA 3.0 |
| Max. PCH PCIe lanes | Up to 20 (Gen 4) Up to 8 (Gen 3) |
Up to 12 (Gen 4) Up to 16 (Gen 3) |
Up to 24 (Gen 3) | Up to 24 (Gen 3) | Up to 24 (Gen 3) | Up to 24 (Gen 3) |
| Max CPU PCIe lanes | open | Up to 16 (Gen 5) Up to 4 (Gen 4) |
Up to 20 (Gen 4) | Up to 16 (Gen 3) | Up to 16 (Gen 3) | Up to 16 (Gen 3) |
| Maximum USB ports | Up to 5 (USB 3.2 Gen 2×2) Up to 10 (USB 3.2 Gen 2×1) Up to 10 (USB 3.2 Gen 1×1) Up to 14 (USB 2.0) |
Up to 4 (USB 3.2 Gen 2×2) Up to 10 (USB 3.2 Gen 2×1) Up to 10 (USB 3.2 Gen 1×1) Up to 14 (USB 2.0) |
Up to 3 (USB 3.2 Gen 2×2) Up to 10 (USB 3.2 Gen 2×1) Up to 10 (USB 3.2 Gen 1×1) Up to 14 (USB 2.0) |
Up to 10 (USB 3.2) Up to 14 (USB 2.0) |
Up to 10 (USB 3.1) Up to 14 (USB 2.0) |
Up to 10 (USB 3.0) Up to 14 (USB 2.0) |
| security | N / A | N / A | N / A | Intel SGX 1.0 | Intel SGX 1.0 | Intel SGX 1.0 |
| power management | C10 and S0ix support for modern standby | C10 and S0ix support for modern standby | C10 and S0ix support for modern standby | C10 and S0ix support for modern standby | C10 and S0ix support for modern standby | C8 support |
| begin | 2022 | 2021 | 2021 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
The 13th Gen CPU will also have improved overclocking capabilities. Alder Lake is currently ramping up to 5.5GHz with the upcoming Core i9-12900KS SKU, which has a maximum power rating of up to 260W, the highest power ever on the mainstream platform. In addition, the Raptor Lake CPUs offer 16 PCIe Gen 5.0 lanes, 4 PCIe 4.0 lanes and a x8 connection (Gen 4) for DMI. The PCH will include additional PCI Gen 4.0 lanes in addition to more USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20G) ports, PCIe 3.0 and SATA III connections.
There’s also new AI M.2 module support supported by Raptor Lake CPUs, but the slide doesn’t mention PCIe Gen 5 support for M.2 anywhere, which is a bit odd. Recently there have been rumors about Intel’s Z790 motherboards with PCIe Gen 5, but considering AMD is going Gen 5 with its 600-series platform, Intel is very likely to offer Gen 5 M.2 SSD support on its latest motherboards , but the x16 Gen 5 CPU lanes are shared between the dGPU and the M.2 SSDs.
Comparing Intel mainstream desktop CPU generations:
| Intel CPU family | processor process | Processor cores/threads (max.) | TDP’s | platform chipset | platform | memory support | PCIe support | begin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandy Bridge (2nd generation) | 32nm | 4/8 | 35-95W | 6 series | LGA1155 | DDR3 | PCIe Gen 2.0 | 2011 |
| Ivy Bridge (3rd generation) | 22nm | 4/8 | 35-77W | 7 series | LGA1155 | DDR3 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2012 |
| Haswell (4th generation) | 22nm | 4/8 | 35-84W | 8 series | LGA1150 | DDR3 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2013-2014 |
| Broadwell (5th generation) | 14nm | 4/8 | 65-65W | 9 series | LGA1150 | DDR3 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2015 |
| Skylake (6th Generation) | 14nm | 4/8 | 35-91W | 100 series | LGA1151 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2015 |
| Kaby Lake (7th Generation) | 14nm | 4/8 | 35-91W | 200 series | LGA1151 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2017 |
| Coffee Lake (8th generation) | 14nm | 6/12 | 35-95W | 300 series | LGA1151 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2017 |
| Coffee Lake (9th generation) | 14nm | 8/16 | 35-95W | 300 series | LGA1151 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2018 |
| Comet Lake (10th generation) | 14nm | 20.10 | 35-125W | 400 series | LGA1200 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2020 |
| Rocket Lake (11th Gen) | 14nm | 8/16 | 35-125W | 500 series | LGA1200 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 4.0 | 2021 |
| Alder Lake (12th generation) | Intel7 | 16/24 | 35-125W | 600 series | LGA1700/1800 | DDR5/DDR4 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2021 |
| Raptor Lake (13th generation) | Intel7 | 24/32 | 35-125W | 700 series | LGA1700/1800 | DDR5/DDR4 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2022 |
| Meteor Sea (14th Gen) | intel 4 | TBA | 35-125W | 800 series? | LGA1851 | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2023 |
| Arrow Lake (15th generation) | Intel 20A | 40/48 | TBA | 900 series? | LGA1851 | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2024 |
| Mondsee (16th gen) | Intel 18A | TBA | TBA | 1000 series? | TBA | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0? | 2025 |
| Nova Lake (17th generation) | Intel 18A | TBA | TBA | 2000 series? | TBA | DDR5? | PCIe Gen 6.0? | 2026 |
News source: HXL