A series of rumors regarding the Intel HEDT Sapphire Rapids & Mainstream Raptor Lake-S CPUs have been posted by reliable leaker, Enthusiast Citizen over at Bilibili. The rumors detail launch dates and the accompanying platforms for the next-gen CPU lineups.
Intel HEDT Sapphire Rapids Xeon W-3400 & W-2400 CPUs In Q4 2022, 13th Gen Raptor Lake-S Desktop CPUs in October 2022
We have known for some time now that Intel is working on its brand new desktop CPU lineup for 2022 which includes both HEDT & mainstream parts. The Intel HEDT family will comprise of brand new Sapphire Rapids chips which will be branded as the Xeon W-3400 & Xeon W-2400 series SKUs while the mainstream family will comprise of 13th Gen Raptor Lake-S CPUs. Now we have detailed both families here and here, respectively.
The Intel HEDT lineup will feature support on a W790 platform which is codenamed 'Fishhawk Falls' and will support a range of chips ranging from mainstream HEDT to premium HEDT parts. The 13th Gen Raptor Lake Desktop CPUs on the other hand will feature support on the new 700-series board platform while staying compatible with existing 600-series motherboards.
Intel Sapphire Rapids HEDT Desktop CPU Family
So starting with the HEDT lineup, the Intel Sapphire Rapids family will consist of up to 24 cores for the mainstream HEDT and up to 56 cores for the premium family. All of these chips will feature a singular Golden Cove core architecture and won't get the hybrid P-Core / E-Core treatment like the mainstream desktop SKUs. You can expect the mainstream family to feature fewer DDR5 memory channels, PCIe lanes, and IO compared to the premium family.
Intel 'Expert' Sapphire Rapids HEDT CPUs 'Expected Features':
- Up To 56 Cores / 112 Threads
- LGA 4677 Socket Support (Possible Dual-Socket Motherboards)
- 112 PCIe Gen 5.0 Lanes
- 8-Channel DDR5 Memory (Up To 4 TB)
Intel 'Mainstream' Sapphire Rapids HEDT CPUs 'Expected Features':
- Up To 24 Cores / 48 Threads
- Up To 5.2 GHz Boost Clocks
- Up To 4.6 GHz All-Core Boost
- LGA 4677 Socket Support
- 64 PCIe Gen 5.0 Lanes
- 4-Channel DDR5 Memory (Up To 512 GB)
The rumor states that Intel has postponed the launch of its Sapphire Rapids HEDT family to Q4 with a high probability of an October launch. Both CPU segments will feature support on the new W790-powered platform.
Intel HEDT Processor Families:
| Intel HEDT Family | Sapphire Rapids-X? (Sapphire Rapids Expert) | Alder Lake-X? (Sapphire Rapids Mainstream) | Cascade Lake-X | Skylake-X | Skylake-X | Skylake-X | Broadwell-E | Haswell-E | Ivy Bridge-E | Sandy Bridge-E | Gulftown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Process Node | 10nm ESF | 10nm ESF | 14nm++ | 14nm+ | 14nm+ | 14nm+ | 14nm | 22nm | 22nm | 32nm | 32nm |
| Flagship SKU | TBA | TBA | Core i9-10980XE | Xeon W-3175X | Core i9-9980XE | Core i9-7980XE | Core i7-6950X | Core i7-5960X | Core i7-4960X | Core i7-3960X | Core i7-980X |
| Max Cores/Threads | 56/112? | 24/48 | 18/36 | 28/56 | 18/36 | 18/36 | 10/20 | 8/16 | 6/12 | 6/12 | 6/12 |
| Clock Speeds | ~4.5 GHz | ~5.0 GHz | 3.00 / 4.80 GHz | 3.10/4.30 GHz | 3.00/4.50 GHz | 2.60/4.20 GHz | 3.00/3.50 GHz | 3.00/3.50 GHz | 3.60/4.00 GHz | 3.30/3.90 GHz | 3.33/3,60 GHz |
| Max Cache | 105 MB L3 | 45 MB L3 | 24.75 MB L3 | 38.5 MB L3 | 24.75 MB L3 | 24.75 MB L3 | 25 MB L3 | 20 MB L3 | 15 MB L3 | 15 MB L3 | 12 MB L3 |
| Max PCI-Express Lanes (CPU) | 112 Gen 5 | 65 Gen 5 | 44 Gen3 | 44 Gen3 | 44 Gen3 | 44 Gen3 | 40 Gen3 | 40 Gen3 | 40 Gen3 | 40 Gen2 | 32 Gen2 |
| Chipset Compatiblity | W790? | W790? | X299 | C612E | X299 | X299 | X99 Chipset | X99 Chipset | X79 Chipset | X79 Chipset | X58 Chipset |
| Socket Compatiblity | LGA 4677? | LGA 4677? | LGA 2066 | LGA 3647 | LGA 2066 | LGA 2066 | LGA 2011-3 | LGA 2011-3 | LGA 2011 | LGA 2011 | LGA 1366 |
| Memory Compatiblity | DDR5-4800? | DDR5-5200? | DDR4-2933 | DDR4-2666 | DDR4-2800 | DDR4-2666 | DDR4-2400 | DDR4-2133 | DDR3-1866 | DDR3-1600 | DDR3-1066 |
| Max TDP | ~500W | ~400W | 165W | 255W | 165W | 165W | 140W | 140W | 130W | 130W | 130W |
| Launch | Q4 2022? | Q4 2022? | Q4 2019 | Q4 2018 | Q4 2018 | Q3 2017 | Q2 2016 | Q3 2014 | Q3 2013 | Q4 2011 | Q1 2010 |
| Launch Price | TBA | TBA | $979 US | ~$4000 US | $1979 US | $1999 US | $1700 US | $1059 US | $999 US | $999 US | $999 US |
Intel Raptor Lake Mainstream Desktop CPU Family
The 13th Gen Intel Raptor Lake-S Desktop CPUs will retain a hybrid design on the 'Intel 7' process node. The P-Cores will be upgraded to the new Raptor Cove architecture while the E-Cores will get slight improvements in cache while the overall cores will also see an increase. The maximum core count has been leaked as a 24 core and 32 thread part (8 P-Cores + 16 E-Cores). The TDPs will be around the same limit as the existing parts and clocks are expected to hit up to 5.8 GHz as per the rumor mill. Once again, the cache will see a major boost.
Intel 13th Gen Raptor Lake Desktop CPUs Expected Features:
- Up To 24 Cores & 32 Threads
- Brand New Raptor Cove CPU Cores (Higher P-Core IPC)
- Based on 10nm ESF 'Intel 7' process node
- Supported on existing LGA 1700 motherboards
- Dual-Channel DDR5-5600 Memory Support
- 20 PCIe Gen 5 Lanes
- Enhanced Overclocking Features
- 125W PL1 TDP (Flagship SKUs)
Now for the platform itself, Intel's Raptor Lake-S Desktop CPUs will come with both DDR5 & DDR4 memory support, giving them a major advantage over AMD's DDR5-only AM5 platform. Another advantage for Intel is that they will have compatibility enabled on both 600-series (Z690/H670/B650 & H610) motherboards along with the new 700-series chipsets (Z790/H770/B760). The Z790 & 13th Gen Raptor Lake Desktop CPUs are expected to launch in October, the same time as the HEDT CPU lineup along with the Z790 motherboards.
The mainstream H770 and B760 chipsets will launch by Q1 2023 but H710 will not be produced as H610 will be carried onwards for low-tier PC segments. The new 700-series motherboards are also rumored to feature DDR4 support and we can also see PCIe Gen 5.0 M.2 slots on the new lineup which will compete with AMD's own AM5 platform that has Gen 5 for M.2 and dGPU.
Intel Raptor Lake vs AMD Raphael Desktop CPUs Comparison 'Confirmed'
| CPU Family | AMD Raphael (RPL-X) | Intel Raptor Lake (RPL-S) |
|---|---|---|
| Process Node | TSMC 5nm | Intel 7 |
| Architecture | Zen 4 (Chiplet) | Raptor Cove (P-Core) Gracemont (E-Core) |
| Flagship SKU | Ryzen 9 7950X | Core i9-13900K |
| Cores / Threads | Up To 16/32 | Up To 24/32 |
| Total L3 Cache | 64 MB (+3D V-Cache) | 36 MB |
| Total L2 Cache | 16 MB | 32 MB |
| Total Cache | 80 MB | 68 MB |
| Max Clocks (1T) | 5.85 GHz | 5.8 GHz |
| Memory Support | DDR5 | DDR5/DDR4 |
| Memory Channels | 2 Channel (2DPC) | 2 Channel (2DPC) |
| Memory Speeds | DDR5-5200 | DDR5-5600 DDR4-3200 |
| Platform Support | 600-Series (X670E/X670/B650/A620) | 600-Series (Z690/H670/B650/H610) 700-Series (Z790/H770/B760) |
| PCIe Gen 5.0 | Both GPU & M.2 (Extreme chipsets only) | Both GPU & M.2 (700-Series only but split) |
| Integrated Graphics | AMD RDNA 2 | Intel Iris Xe |
| Socket | AM5 (LGA 1718) | LGA 1700/1800 |
| TDP (Max) | 170W (TDP) 230W (PPT) | 125W (PL1) 240W+ (PL2) |
| Launch | September 2022 | October 2022 |
