Gigabyte Adds “Next-Gen Intel Desktop CPU” Support To Its 600 & 700-Series Motherboards

Gigabyte has silently released a new BIOS update for its 600 and 700-series motherboards which adds support for Intel’s next-gen desktop CPU.

Intel Raptor Lake Refresh Launch Nears As Gigabyte Adds Support On 600 & 700-Series Motherboards

Gigabyte has released a new BIOS for its motherboards that addresses the hidden backdoor that allowed hackers to install malware on affected systems. We reported this issue a few days ago and it’s good to see that Gigabyte took swift action to resolve this issue across its motherboard lineup.

However, in doing so, Gigabyte has also introduced support for Intel’s next-generation desktop CPU. Gigabyte hasn’t mentioned what specific CPU this is going to be but the description states that the BIOS supports and powers up the new processors. This is a quite vague statement & by power up, it is likely referring to booting into the system but since this BIOS is still a bit too early, there will be some problems on the firmware side such as improper boost functionality, power management, etc.

AORSU Z790 & Z690 AOURS Xtreme Motherboard BIOS:

gigabyte-z790-aorus-xtreme-intel-next-gen-desktop-cpu-supportgigabyte-z690-aorus-xtreme-intel-next-gen-desktop-cpu-support

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As for what this “Next-Gen” CPU might be, the obvious answer is Intel’s Raptor Lake Refresh which is going to be the 14th Gen Desktop lineup. And since both 600 and 700-series platforms are on the support list, this means that LGA 1700/1800 socket will have support for three generations of CPUs including 12th-Gen Alder Lake, 13th-Gen Raptor Lake, and 14th-Gen-Raptor Lake Refresh.

Based on whispers from Computex, motherboard manufacturers only very recently received the BIOS firmware that is required to support Raptor Lake Refresh. Gigabyte also introduced its new Z790 AORUS Xtreme X & Z790 AORUS Master X motherboards which are the first to feature WIFI7 and 5GbE LAN support. These motherboards will be outfitted with the latest BIOS to have out-of-box support for the next-gen Intel Desktop CPU lineup.

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So just as a recap, here’s everything we can expect from Intel’s 14th Gen Raptor Lake Refresh Desktop CPUs:

  • Same Architecture as Raptor Lake (Raptor Cove P-Cores + Gracemont E-Cores)
  • Same Process Node as Raptor Lake (Intel 7 aka 10nm++)
  • Higher Clock Speeds Beyond 6.0 GHz
  • Support For Faster DDR5 Memory DIMMs
  • Much Higher Power Consumption (Close To 300W)
  • Compatibility With Existing LGA 1700 / 1800 Socket Motherboards

Intel’s 14th Gen Raptor Lake Refresh Desktop CPUs are expected to launch in the second half of 2023. Intel also has a Vision event planned for September which is likely to be the announcement stage for the new chips and much more so stay tuned for more information.