Intel’s Raptor Lake processors, which will succeed the just-released Alder Lake generation at the end of next year, are rumored to also support DDR4 memory. This would give LGA1700 motherboards with DDR4 slots an upgrade option.
The information comes from Moore’s Law is Dead, which has more often put accurate information about Intel products online early. He wants to reassure buyers of DDR4 motherboards for Alder Lake processors; there would be speculation that the Raptor Lake generation no longer supports that memory type, but according to the leaker that is not correct.
The current Alder Lake processors bring DDR5 support for the first time, but the DDR4 successor is poorly available, has a hefty price tag and doesn’t perform much better. Manufacturers also release many DDR4 variants of their Z690 motherboards. There are no motherboards that offer the option of using DDR4 and DDR5.
According to previously leaked information, the Raptor Lake processors will have a maximum of 24 cores and 32 threads, and will be released in late 2022. The desktop CPUs fit in the same LGA1700 socket as the Alder Lake processors and are made on the same Intel 7 process.
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Intel 7 | Intel 7 | Intel 4 |
| Golden Cove | Raptor Cove | Redwood Cove |
| Gracemont | Gracemont | Crestmont |
| 16 (8P+8E) | 24 (8P + 16E) | Nnb |
| LGA1700 | LGA1700 | Nnb |
| DDR4/DDR5-4800 | DDR4/DDR5-5600 | DDR5 |
| PCIe 5.0 | PCIe 5.0 | PCIe 5.0 |
Raptor Lake Processors – Image via AdoredTV