Intel’s LGA 1851 socket seems all set to replace LGA 1700, which is currently being used on both Alder Lake and Raptor Lake platforms. It might get another chance with the upcoming Raptor Lake refresh, but its successor will launch this year for Intel’s 15th Generation CPU lineup, codenamed Arrow Lake.
Recently, hardware testing site Igor’s Lab shared some internal Intel data pertaining to its theoretical performance, and now the site has revealed some engineering details on the socket. Two categories are set to receive major changes: I/O options for PCI and the CPU’s mounting.
It’s been public knowledge that LGA 1851 was in the works, and as the name suggests, it will pack 151 more contact pins compared to its precursor. Despite using extra pins, it won’t have any difference in the dimensions from its predecessor and won’t have any noticeable changes in appearance.
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When Will Intel Release The LGA 1851 Socket?
Intel is expected to unveil the LGA 1851 socket alongside the brand-new 800-series chipset this year, assuming the company achieves all its execution targets. Similar to its previous iteration, the socket will come equipped with an elongated, rectangular design that will require users to ditch the "dot in the middle" thermal paste approach.
The most noticeable change for the socket, as per Igor, is that the company will finally be readying it for the future by making it fully compatible with PCIe 5.0 devices. This will also allow Intel to catch up with AMD, which has already adopted this approach with its current AM5 socket.
Intel’s current LGA 1700 platform only offers a PCIe 4.0 x4 connection for SSDs. If users were to drop in in a Gen 5 SSD, the socket would have to borrow 8 lanes from the GPU, which are also PCI3 4.0.
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Can Intel Match AMD’s Offering With The Latest Socket?
To fix this, Intel will offer a dedicated PCIe 5.0 x4 connection for an M.2 SSD and a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface for an additional drive. This seems like it can fulfill the requirements of most users who only need one super-fast drive for their operating system. However, despite the advancement by Intel, it doesn’t seem to match AMD’s offering for AM5, which supports two Gen 5 SSDs with an x4 connection.
Moreover, the GPU will have a full-fledged PCIe 5.0 x16 interface, which will be a big upgrade from the current PCIe 4.0 design and similar to what AM5 brings to the table. Both NVIDIA and AMD are expected to change when they launch their next-gen architectures.
NVIDIA is expected to unveil Blackwell in 2025, but it’s uncertain when RDNA 4 will hit the market. Though, reports suggest that it will launch this year itself.