Something to anticipate: The support for the most recent DDR5 memory (as well as DDR4 for those who can’t upgrade yet) has been a major topic of discussion for motherboards for Intel’s upcoming Raptor Lake processors. Although it’s unclear how much users will require those lightning-fast speeds in the near future, recent reports indicate that some boards will also support PCIe 5.0 storage.
Moore’s Law is Dead has learned from sources that the premium versions of the upcoming Intel Z790 motherboards will support PCIe Gen 5 M.2 SSDs, but not the entry-level models. The M.2 slots for the X670 Extreme, X670, and B650 among AMD’s upcoming AM5 boards will be PCIe 5.0 compliant.
SSDs with read speeds around 13GB/s have recently been unveiled by manufacturers as PCIe 5.0 devices. However, tests reveal that most applications people use today don’t fully utilize PCIe 4.0 SSDs, and PCIe 3.0 drives are probably still adequate. This year’s PCIe 5.0 SSD support is probably mostly preventative.
The sources also provided information on the release date of Z790, which helps to clarify when Intel might introduce the Raptor Lake CPUs to go with them. Without disclosing full specifications, the Z790s could make their debut later this month or in late August. Prior to production, validation will begin in August. Raptor Lake’s release will almost certainly be delayed until the boards are ready, which would be consistent with prior projections of Q3 or Q4.
