What just happened? Intel's next processor series, Raptor Lake, won't be taking its cue from AMD's Zen 4 platform by supporting only DDR5 memory. It was long suspected that this would be the case, but a leaked list of upcoming Asrock Z790 and H770 motherboards confirms that the 13-gen chips will support both memory types.

VideoCardz obtained the list of Asrock flagship Z790 and mid-range H770 mobos. It includes both DDR4 and DDR5 variants of certain boards, much like the current 600-series chipset mobos used by Alder Lake.

Alder Lake is Intel's first consumer chip series to support DDR4 and DDR5, depending on which board you buy, but some feared that its Raptor Lake successor would use only the more expensive DDR5 variant.

There have long been rumors that Intel intends to keep support for both memory types with Raptor Lake. Given that the next-gen CPUs share the same LGA 1700 socket as Alder Lake and will be backward compatible with 600-series chipsets---Alder Lake CPUs will work on 700-series boards, too---it's not too surprising that Intel is refusing to drop DDR4.

Intel's stance is a contrast to AMD's Zen 4-based processors arriving later this year---possibly in September with a lineup that will mirror the Ryzen 5000 launch. The Ryzen 7000 series will only support DDR5, meaning anyone hoping to bring their DDR4 modules with them when they upgrade will be disappointed.

Asrock's list of 13th-gen motherboards consists of nine Z790 boards and three H770 boards, with four of the 12 being DDR4 versions. Here's the full list:

  • ASRock Z790 Taichi
  • ASRock Z790 Pro RS/D4
  • ASRock Z790 PG Lightning
  • ASRock Z790 PG Lightning/D4
  • ASRock Z790M PG Lightning/D4
  • ASRock Z790 PG Riptide
  • ASRock Z790M PG Riptide
  • ASRock Z790-C
  • ASRock Z790-C/D4
  • ASRock H770 PG Lightning
  • ASRock H770 PG Lightning/D4
  • ASRock H770 Steel Legend

The good news is that DDR5 prices are falling, but they remain more expensive than their predecessor, which could give Intel an advantage over AMD in the battle of next-gen chips.

Raptor Lake, which arrives later this year, will increase Alder Lake's maximum number of Efficiency cores (Gracemont) to 16, bringing the total max core count to 24. The chips are also rumored to feature boost clocks that reach 5.8 GHz.