The full lineup of Intel’s 600-series chipsets for Alder Lake processors has appeared in Intel driver software. In total there will be eleven different chipsets, including some chipsets for workstations.
References to the chipsets appeared in Intel chipset driver 10.1.18836.8283, noted Twitter user 9550pro on. The drivers mention, among other things, the arrival of an X699 chipset, presumably for processors in the hedt segment.
It is not clear for which cpu series that X699 chipset would be intended. Intel is expected to release Sapphire Rapids-X-hedt processors in the second quarter of 2022, although there were earlier rumors that these CPUs would work with a W790 chipset. It is also possible that Intel will come up with different types of chipsets for Sapphire Rapids processors, for example for gaming and workstations. However, this has not yet been officially confirmed.
The driver further mentions several Intel 600 chipsets, including the expected Z690, H670, B660 and H610 models. The driver also lists W-series chipsets for workstations, Q-series chipsets for business and enterprise, and some chipsets with an E suffix. VideoCardz speculates that chipsets with such an E suffix are intended for laptops. It is also possible that E-chipsets are intended for embedded applications, also notes Twitter user and leaker harukaze5719 on.
The Intel 600 chipsets are intended for motherboards with socket LGA1700. The first of these will be introduced later this year, along with Intel’s Alder Lake processors. These CPUs will have a ‘hybrid’ architecture with different fast and economical cores and support for PCIe 5.0 and DDR5. Intel recently shared details about these CPUs.
Intel 600 chipsets
| Series | Enthusiastic | Workstation/business | Mainstream | Laptop(?) |
| chipset | X699 (has?) Z690 |
W685 W680 Q670 |
H670 B660 H610 |
Q670E R680E H610E |
Image via 9550pro on Twitter