With Intel expected to formally confirm the launch of their new 13th-gen Raptor Lake desktop processors in around a month’s time, this will clearly come hand-in-hand with a brand new generation of motherboards from manufacturers such as MSI, Gigabyte, ASUS, and many others! – One good piece of news in this regard is that with Intel retaining the LGA1700 socket, some fairly solid levels of backwards compatibility should be available. There have, however, been questions raised as to what the top-tier Z790 models will offer and specifically in terms of RAM compatibility.
Well, following a report via Videocardz, information has appeared online from an upcoming MSI Z790 motherboard and it does seem to confirm that top-spec designs will still continue to offer DDR4 memory support.
MSI MEG Z790
Now, it should, of course, be noted that DDR5 will undoubtedly be the primary point of focus on Intel’s Raptor Lake platform with the listing suggesting that speeds of up to 6,800MHz will be supported. A pretty hefty increase on what was available on Alder Lake which clearly shows that DDR5 technology, development, and support are coming along nicely.
What about DDR4 though? Well, while it does appear, based on these MSI specifications, that we might effectively be hitting the limits of what’s achievable on the platform, a maximum supported speed of 5,333MHz is still clearly nothing to be sniffed at! – More than anything though, it’s clearly excellent news to see that Z790 will continue to offer DDR4 support!
Intel Supports While AMD Moves On!
There are clearly question marks as to just how much longer DDR4 memory will continue to be supported on new platform releases. AMD, for example, is (likely) set to completely transition away from DDR4 memory with the launch of its Ryzen 7000 desktop processors. In other words, so far as we can tell at the time of writing, AMD Ryzen 7000 will only offer DDR5 support.
In regards to Intel though, well, I think we can likely expect their upcoming Raptor Lake processors to likely represent their last foray in the DDR4 desktop world. Their 14th-gen Meteor Lake will, after all, be moving to a new socket and this clearly seems to represent a solid point to make the full-blown transition.
For Z790 at least though, MSI is ready for Raptor Lake and DDR4 which clearly suggests that other motherboard manufacturers will also continue to offer some support in their top-tier models.
What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!
