With each new generation of processors it is normal for them to be more powerful. Which means they require faster memories, which can come in two forms. The first with the adoption of new standards and the second with higher speeds. This will be the case for upcoming Intel Core 13 processors with support for DDR5-5200 without overclocking . And it is not the only news, since for this we will not need a next-generation motherboard.
One thing most of the public is unaware of is the fact that neither Intel nor AMD design the memory interfaces for their processors. If not, it is companies like Cadence, RAMBUS, Mentor Graphics and others that do it. That is why we should not be surprised by the fact that the Intel Core 13 with Raptor Lake architecture support DDR5.-5200 and do so at the same time as AMD solutions. This translates at the performance level in that with the modules at that speed the integrated memory controller will not go into Gear 2 mode and, therefore, into overclock mode
Intel Core 13 processors support DDR5-5200
If we think about it coldly it is not a surprise either. Rather it is the fact that to use this speed of memory it is not necessary to use a next generation motherboard. We have been able to know this through the specifications of the Mini-ITX PH12ADI board based on the H610/Q670 chipset . Which has surprised us by the fact that although the memory controller is not currently on the motherboard, the limit for RAM without overclocking was expected to remain at DDR5-4800 MHz.
It’s not that current Intel Core 12 boards don’t support higher speeds for RAM. Yes they do and for testing there are all the DDR5 memory modules on the market. However, they do it in Gear 2 mode where the IMC is set to half the speed of the RAM for timing. Which slightly increases the latency with the memory in exchange for supporting memories with more bandwidth. The fact that the standard maximum speed for DDR5 has increased also means that we will see faster memory modules than today. Although today we are still waiting for Intel to detail the operation of the memory controller of its new processors.
So the good news is that in order to use faster DDR5 memories than the current ones , we will not need to change the motherboard . At the moment we don’t know what the Intel 700 series will bring. Although everything points to better processor power management and a new mechanism for overclocking. Which would not be possible to use on 600-series motherboards. We may also see support for NVMe PCIe 5.0 SSDs starting in stores later this year.