From the surface, Intel’s desktop CPU roadmaps have been a bit murky over the past yr or so. We now have affirmation that Intel’s 14th Gen Raptor Lake refresh is coming in October. Meteor Lake was initially anticipated as an alternative, earlier than it was cancelled in favor of Arrow Lake.
No matter Lake(s) finally ends up showing in 2024, we’re certain to be getting a brand new LGA1851 socket to switch the almost two yr outdated LGA1700 socket that is current on present 600-series and 700-series motherboards.
Igor’s lab has been on a roll. Following its efficiency projections for Arrow Lake, Igor has now revealed a treasure trove of knowledge concerning the LGA1851 socket, which is able to accompany not simply Arrow Lake processors, however absolutely a era past that. The LGA1851 socket can be current on Intel’s 800-series chipset motherboards, presumably debuting within the type of Z890.
Because the title suggests, LGA1851 comes with 151 extra pins than the present LGA1700 socket does. The additional pins are primarily there to enhance help for PCIe 5.0 SSDs. This implies 800-series boards will help a full bandwidth PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for a graphics card and a PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe SSD on the identical time. The CPU ought to help a immediately linked secondary PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD too.
That each one however matches AM5 motherboards with Excessive chipsets. Within the case of AMD although, a secondary PCIe drive can run at PCIe 5.0 speeds too, albeit in a x8/x4/x4 configuration. Present LGA1700 boards will help a PCIe 5.0 drive, however meaning sharing bandwidth with the first x16 slot, even with just one drive put in. LGA1851 is a particular enchancment in that regard.
Now let’s speak concerning the socket’s dimensions, and what it means for present CPU coolers. The excellent news is the X, Y, and Z dimensions are the identical, and due to this fact the motherboard mounting holes doubtless can be too. However the dynamic stress most has almost doubled, from 489.5 N to 923 N. Which means LGA1851 CPUs would require extra downward stress from CPU coolers. In flip, meaning many coolers would require LGA1851-specific mounting kits.
There’s one other attention-grabbing factor to notice. Intel has confronted some points with bowing of LGA1700 CPUs, but Igor’s Lab notes that enquiries concerning transient bend pressure must be directed to native engineers. This is able to seek advice from socket producers comparable to Lotes or Foxconn. Although the mechanisms look principally the identical as they at present do, producers will definitely be implementing tweaked mounting mechanisms. This could eradicate any warping points which might be exacerbated with elevated downward stress.
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It is a bit disappointing to not get one thing just like the LGA2066 mechanism with retention clips on both sides of the CPU. Possibly it’d value 2.764 cents extra to make? Personally I am a giant fan of AMD’s Threadripper mounting mechanism, however that requires a further hex screwdriver and it’d by no means be carried out on price range B810 or B860 motherboards for value causes.
So whereas the LGA1700 and LGA1851 sockets will look comparable and have comparable dimensions, they’re primarily fully completely different when it comes to CPU compatibility and doubtless cooler compatibility too.
Upgrading will come at a steep value. DDR4 help is to be axed, so if you happen to purchase a brand new Arrow Lake CPU, you may want a brand new motherboard, DDR5 reminiscence and doubtlessly a brand new cooler (or at the least a mounting package) as properly. AMD patrons took the ache with an identical requirement on the time of the launch of the AM5 platform. Although cooler help carried over from AM4, patrons have been damage by the horrendous pricing of DDR5 reminiscence on the time.
Assuming Intel sticks to its development of retaining socket help for 2 generations, the excellent news is that 800-series boards with the LGA1851 socket ought to help Lunar Lake CPUs too. It is no leap to imagine we’ll see LGA1851 900-series motherboards accompanying Lunar Lake, although that is trying like a 2026 proposition at greatest. Begin saving, although AI would possibly kill us all by then anyway.
