Intel Raptor Lake-S: Block diagram shows the most important (new) features

In Asia, the Intel Raptor Lake-S block diagram from an Intel event was leaked. It reveals all the facts about the desktop platform that will inherit from Alder Lake this fall as the 13th generation. Intel has already confirmed some details, others are suspect – and they are now confirmed. But there are also surprises.

More cores, more cache

Intel has already announced that Raptor Lake-S will provide more cores. This is accompanied, at least in part, by a change in the configuration of the L2 and L3 cache of the single processor, since the core structure remains unchanged compared to Intel Alder Lake. The doubled number of electronic cores with L3 cache chips ensures that the total volume of L3 also increases. In addition, the capacity of the L2 cache was increased in the cores of both electronic cores and P-cores.

Raptor Lake-S also still supports DDR4

On the other hand, platform equipment only takes a small step forward. The 700 series chipsets around the Z790, H770, B760 & Co now officially support DDR5-5600 along with the CPU, and the overclocking of both the CPU and RAM has been improved. Intel is also highlighting renewed support for on-chip DDR4-3200 memory. Next year, this will be a unique selling proposition, because rival AMD will only offer DDR5 with the AM5 platform.

Graphics cards are again supplied with 16 PCIe 5.0 lanes from the processor, and four lanes are available directly from the CPU for mass storage. This is where the block diagram presents the first surprise: they obviously have to stick to the PCIe 4.0 standard and not upgrade to PCIe 5.0, as rumors always claim. At this point, AMD will be ahead with the AM5. However, it remains to be seen how motherboard manufacturers will implement the foundation offered by Intel, given that there are Alder Lake motherboards that support PCIe 5.0 SSDs, but only then by sharing the lane with a PCIe x16 slot – an example of a motherboard with ASRock DeskMini B660.

Intel is also confirming additional PCIe lanes for the Platform Controller (PCH) in the Raptor Lake-S. The chipset, as it is colloquially called, should, among other things, offer additional 20Gbps USB 3.2 ports, and Thunderbolt 4 is also included.

Core i9/i7/i5/i3-13000 from fall

Early motherboard manufacturers are already preparing their own circuit boards, with a start date expected this fall. Recently, the first standards appeared with early samples, but they gave a very mixed picture. The 13th Gen Intel Core will also work on motherboards with the current 600 and LGA 1700 chipset – assuming a compatible BIOS.