Intel might be gearing up to release its 13th generation processors (codenamed “Raptor Lake”), but it is yet to reveal a release date.
It is likely, however, that the launch will take place in the fourth quarter of this year (sometime this October), meaning that PC gamers looking to upgrade their rigs with the latest tech will want to wait for Intel to let the “raptors” loose from their cages…
This is because Intel’s 13th gen could deliver quite a jump in performance – for instance, the high-end Core i9-13900 processor has beaten the i9-12900 by a big margin in leaked benchmarks.
Also, Raptor Lake processors could reach insane clock speeds if rumors are confirmed true. As was recently reported on notebookcheck.net, at least one of Intel’s upcoming Raptor Lake processors could surpass the 6 GHz barrier… This is a CPU clock speed which would have been considered within the realm of sci-fi a couple of decades ago, no doubt.
As stated earlier, there might be only one 13th gen SKU capable of hitting such clock speed, most likely the top-end Core i9-13900K. This might only be via the use of Intel’s ETVB technology, which stands for “Efficient Thermal Velocity Boost”.
Intel recently updated its XTU overclocking utility to support ETVB, meaning this latest Raptor Lake rumor (which came via Twitter user @OneRaichu) is more credible.
By comparison, Intel’s top of the line Core i9-12900K is able to hit clock speeds of 5.5 GHz, using the current TVB (Thermal Velocity Boost) technology.
Aside from this, PC technology enthusiasts and gamers looking to upgrade their rigs with a 13th gen processor (when they launch later this year) will also welcome the fact that Raptor Lake will continue to support DDR4 memory, just as the current 12th gen Alder Lake processors do.
Actually, a leaked list of upcoming ASRock motherboards (ASRock being one of the top manufacturers in the world), has revealed that some of these will support DDR4 memory as was recently covered on PC Gamer. This is not only the case for the low-end H770 boards, but also some of its Z790 models will feature DDR4 RAM support.
Motherboards with the next-gen Z790 chipset will be the most complete when it comes to features, while also letting gamers overclock their “K” variant processors (Intel’s overclockable processors such as the upcoming Core i9-13900K).
No B760 motherboard models were included in this leak, although these are also expected to offer support for DDR4 memory, making them a good choice for PC gamers on a budget looking to upgrade their PC with a Raptor Lake processor.
The thing is, current B660, Z690 and H670 from ASRock and other motherboard manufacturers like ASUS and Gigabyte will also be compatible with the upcoming Raptor Lake processors, as they use the same LGA 1700 CPU socket.
So those looking to upgrade to a Raptor Lake processor this fall may not only be able to keep using their current DDR4 memory kit, but also their motherboard, saving money on their upgrade. This is something that may give Intel an edge over its rival AMD, which is gearing to launch its Zen 4 processors later this year. These will only support DDR5 memory, meaning many upgraders will have to fork out for both new RAM and motherboard if they wish to hop onto AMD’s train…
Either way, it’s looking like the coming months of 2022 will be an exciting time for those into PC technology and gaming, so it would be a great thing if Intel’s 13th gen Raptor Lake processors turn out to be as good as everyone is hoping they will when they hit shelves later in the year.
Tiger Lake 11th gen (Intel Corporation)