Corsair Struts Its Vengeance DDR5 RAM Ahead Of Intel Alder Lake Launch

As the launch of Intel’s 12th generation Alder Lake CPU lineup edges closer, it’s about that time when the manufacturers of high-end components, chief among them being the memory makers. begin to give fans teasers of their next-generation products. In this case, memory and accessories maker Corsair is wasting no time on the matter and recently posted an image of Vengeance-themed DDR5 RAM.

Posted via Corsair’s official Twitter account, the image gives us a clear look at the memory’s heatsink design. In comparison, it doesn’t stray from the brand’s current design language for its DDR4 RAM, the only difference being that the DDR5 memory modules in the image aren’t fitted with an RGB strip in their spine. That said, it is likely that the company will offer variants of its next-generation memory with the multi-coloured LED aesthetic.

It is also worth noting that Corsair has also begun teasing the imminent arrival of its Dominator DDR5 series RAM on the product’s landing page, albeit simply being an outline of the module. On top of that, the brand has also started supplying engineering samples of DDR5 memory kits to reviewers.

As for their speeds, neither the tweet nor the images shares any details on that, but JEDEC specifications state that the new memory standard’s default speed should start at 4800MHz and run with 1.1V, across the board. Of course, how well Corsair’s new DDR5 RAM will handle overclocking will eventually boil down to several factors, such as whether or not the brand is using binned chips or a PMIC. 

MSI Seemingly Confirms Launch Date of Intel Alder Lake CPU Lineup

During its Architecture Day in August, Intel has promised that its 12th generation Alder Lake CPU lineup will launch this year, but fell short of providing a solid date for the event. Well, thanks to MSI, it appears that the date seems to be set for 4 November.

The alleged confirmation date stems from the Taiwanese PC components and laptop maker’s press release, announcing that it would be providing a free upgrade kit for Intel LGA1700 CPUs, along with their Coreliquid CPU coolers. More specifically, consumers will need to fill up a form in order to receive the upgrades but as of this publication, the button that would usually take them to the necessary portal is greyed out and sporting the words “Coming Soon”.

More to the point, the availability date of 4 November initially drew suspicions from Videocardz, whom after reaching out to what it says were reliable sources, was confident that the date is when Intel plans to launch its Alder Lake-S desktop CPU lineup. Further, that date reportedly coincides with the product’s sales and review embargo.

Intel is expected to launch three SKUs under the Alder Lake-S series, including the Core i9-12900K, Core i7-12700K, and Core i5-12600K. As it stands and given how these things usually go, Intel has yet to officially confirm anything, so take this news with a pinch of salt.

Intel 12th Generation Alder Lake CPU Samples Allegedly Being Sold Early In China

It seems that the wait for Intel’s 12th generation Alder Lake-S desktop CPUs may not be as long as we initially expected. According to prominent hardware blogger and leakster, YuuKi_AnS, early samples of the unreleased CPU lineup are currently being sold in China.

According to their sources, samples of the top-of-the-line Core i9-12900K were being sold between 6900 Yuan (~RM4516) and 7500 Yuan (~RM4909). Bear in mind, these prices are not reflective of the product’s final SRP, which we’re certain will be different once the lineup officially launches.

That said, the early sales of qualification samples also point towards Intel’s progression with the chips; if samples are already out this early on the market, it’s clear that the chipmaker’s development of its 12th generation desktop CPUs is ahead of schedule.

As pointed out by PCGamer, one of the more interesting aspect of Alder Lake-S is its unique and uneven core-to-thread ratio, brought about through the “big.LITTLE” combination of Golden Cove and Gracemont cores. For example, the Core i9-12900K is expected to feature 16-cores, 24-threads, while the Core i7-12700K will reportedly have a 12-cores, 20-threads layout.

It’s also been somewhat confirmed the upcoming 12th generation CPU lineup will support next-generation features, such as PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 memory, all through a new 600 series chipset that, surprisingly, will also be backwards compatible with the following 13th generation Raptor Lake-S CPU lineup.

Intel Confirms 600 Series Chipset Support For Alder Lake-S, Raptor Lake-S CPUs

Intel appears to have provided confirmation that its upcoming 600 series motherboards will support both 12th generation Alder Lake-S and 13th generation Raptor Lake-S CPUs, when all three products launch in the future. The chipset board’s compatibility was discovered within documentation submitted to the SATA-IO, the body responsible for getting hardware vendors to adhere to SATA specifications and other accessories.

Breaking down the document further, it lists the model number and name of the product, Alder-Raptor Lake, along with four device IDs, 7AB0, 7ACB, 7A30, and 7A4B. Beyond that, however, there is no further information about the chipset board.

That said, the discovery does provide a bit of good news for the future; rather than create another motherboard chipset for each consecutive CPU generation, Intel has once again chosen to enable backwards compatibility between its 12th and 13th generation Core series lineup. Much like the Z270 chipset that supports both its 6th generation Skylake and 7th generation Kaby Lake processors, albeit with less features available for the former.

As for the CPU lineups themselves, we at least know that Alder Lake-S is set to be the second lineup to use a hybrid processor architecture, the first having been its 10th generation Lakefield CPUs that were recently discontinued, at least for its laptop segment anyway.

We also know that the Alder Lake-S will be the first CPU lineup to move away from the already archaic 14nm die lithography and into 10nm. Further, the new CPU series is expected to support the new DDR5 memory standard, as well as PCIe 5.0 and the possibility of a 14-core CPU as one of its offerings.

Intel Alder Lake-S “Socket V” Chipset To Feature Lower Z-Stack, Rectangular Design

Intel’s 12th generation Alder Lake-S desktop CPUs are expected to make their debut sometime before the end of the year and while rumours may suggest that the top-of-the-line model will support as many cores as AMD’s current flagship Ryzen 9 5950X, little else is known about the lineup. That is, up until now.

According to a report by the German tech site, Igor’s Lab, Alder Lake-S’ chipset isn’t just shipping out with a larger LGA1700 chipset – codenamed Socket V – but it will also be the first socket to house a completely new processor design in a long time. Specifically, blueprints obtained by the German publication point at Socket V supporting a processor with a rectangular design. Further, the Z-Stack, which is the total height of the CPU package, will be lower by approximately 1mm.

Not only that, but Igor also seems to have stumbled upon a set of blueprints that point to a new cooler that seemingly makes use of the high-performance thermoelectric cooling technology. This isn’t the first time such a cooler has made headlines; with its LGA1200 chipset, Intel partnered up with Cooler Master to create and launch the MasterLiquid ML360 Sub-Zero cooler.

Igor also managed to get his hands on schematics that seem to detail a low-profile reference cooler that look like they could be bundled with the lineup’s mid-range and entry-level processors at launch. Naturally, given the increased die size and pin density, it is very unlikely that this cooler will be backwards compatible with LGA1200 chipsets.