Intel has been using the LGA1700 socket for a number of years now, with the upcoming 14th Gen Core "Raptor Lake Refresh" CPUs to continue using the LGA1700 socket, with users on the platform NOT needing to upgrade their motherboard if they want to upgrade. All you'll need is a BIOS update, making the upgrade path nice and easy for your Gaming PC.
But, after that, we'll see the 15th Gen Core "Arrow Lake" CPUs will launch in 2024 and will debut on the new LGA1851 socket which will see new motherboards released. We will have the new Arrow Lake CPUs including the flagship Core i9-15900K processor inside of our Ready to Ship Gaming PCs.
The new LGA1851 socket will feature a completely different pin configuration and will shift exclusively into DDR5 memory, marking a huge change from LGA1700 which has both DDR4 and DDR5 motherboards on the market. Not only that, but the new LGA1851 motherboards will require new CPU coolers, but we're hearing there will be a new mounting kit released for LGA1700 so existing coolers will work.
Igor's LAB has teased new (and the very first) schematics and 3D drawings of the new LGA1851 sockets... which we've got below.
Intel's new motherboards ready for LGA1851 socket will do things a little differently: Arrow Lake CPUs will not limit the PCIe 5.0 interface to just 16 lanes for graphics cards, where instead there'll be 4 dedicated lanes for CPU-attached super-fast SSD storage. Why does this matter? LGA1851 motherboards and 15th Gen Core "Arrow Lake" CPUs won't need to compromise on their 16 lanes for the GPU if they use super-high-speed Gen5 SSDs.
The new LGA1851 socket also requires higher dynamic pressure (Dynamic Compression Maximum) which ranges from 490N to 923N, with the static pressure of the Z-height of the integrated heatspreader (IHS) remaining the same as the current-gen LGA1700 socket. We should expect some coolers to be compatible -- with the new mounting kits -- but some, unfortunately, won't be.
