These events are part of the preparations for the launch of Intel’s 800-series motherboards, such as the Z890, which were previewed at Computex without being named.
The new diagram, spotted by Chiphell, indicates that the PCI-Express configuration is consistent with previously disclosed documents. The new CPUs will feature 16 dedicated Gen5 lanes for graphics (the primary PCIe slot) and an additional 4 Gen5 lanes for storage.
There is a Gen4x4 interface directly connected to the CPU, permitting users to attach one more SSD directly to the CPU, albeit using the slower standard. Crucially, users will no longer need to forfeit Gen5 lanes for GPUs and storage.
The CPUs will also incorporate Thunderbolt 4 controllers and support up to four displays through integrated Arc Xe-LPG graphics. Users can connect DisplayPort 2.1 or HDMI 2.1 monitors to the motherboard. The chipset diagram verifies support for USB 20G, 10G, and 5G connections, although the precise numbers are not detailed.
A notable change for the new LGA-1851 platform is the absence of support for DDR4 memory. In contrast to the Z690/Z790 boards, which supported DDR4 and DDR5 (necessitating users to select a board specifically for each memory type), the new LGA-1851 boards will exclusively support DDR5.
Initially, there was resistance to this change due to the high cost of DDR5 memory. Nevertheless, DDR5 prices have decreased considerably over the past two years, aligning with the emergence of Arrow Lake details.
Intel has declared that Arrow Lake-S processors are scheduled to launch in the third quarter of this year. Although the company has not verified the new motherboards' precise release date or availability, it is evident that the new Core Ultra 200K series CPUs will necessitate these new motherboards. This implies that the boards must be released before or concurrently with the latest CPUs.