Intel Arrow Lake-S Desktop “800-Series” CPU Platform Leak Reveals 20 Dedicated Gen5 Lanes, Faster DDR5 Support

A block diagram of the Intel Arrow Lake-S “800-series” Desktop CPU platform has been leaked, revealing dedicated Gen5 lanes.

Intel’s Arrow Lake-S Desktop CPUs support the 800-series platform with up to 20 dedicated PCIe Gen5 lanes

Intel’s 800-series platform for Arrow Lake-S Desktop CPUs has leaked again. We previously saw platform details leak back in January (2024) and now we have a newer platform diagram that’s a bit less detailed than the previous one, but it appears to have been revealed in a partner presentation and posted on Chiphell Forums.

In terms of platform, Intel will offer Arrow Lake-S Desktop CPUs on its brand new LGA 1851 socketed motherboards with the 800-series PCH, including the Z890, H870, B860, and H810 series. The top-tier motherboards will feature up to DDR5-6400 memory, and the previous platform chart revealed two additional SKUs with 6+8 and 6+16 configurations.

• Arrow Lake-S 8+16 (24 cores / 32 threads)
• Arrow Lake-S 6+16 (22 cores / 28 threads)
• Arrow Lake-S 6+8 (14 cores / 20 threads)

The new Intel 800 series desktop platform supports much higher memory speeds natively with up to 6400 MT/s quoted in a dual-channel configuration. The CPUs feature native x16 PCIe Gen5 dGPU and x4 PCIe Gen5 M.2 lanes plus an additional x4 Gen4 PCIe lanes for M.2. Breaking down the CPU and PCH I/O we have:

Arrow Lake-S CPU I/O Capabilities:

• DDR5 UDIMM/SODIMM – 6400 MT/s Native
• 1×4 eDP 1.4b
• DP2.0 UHBR20/HDMI 2.1
• 2x USB 4.0 + TBT4/DP
• 2.0/HDMI 2.1 Type-C
• 24 PCIe lanes in total
• 20 PCIe Gen5 lanes (1×16 + 1×4)
• 4 PCIe Gen5 lanes (1×4)
• 8 SATA III lanes

ARL-S PCH for 800 series motherboards:

• DMI Gen4 1×8
• 24 PCIe Gen4 lanes in total
• 6 x4 controller (maximum)
• 14 Root Port (Max)
• 8 SATA III lanes
• 3x GbE ports
• 10 USB 3.2 Gen2 x1 ports (every two ports can be used as one USB Gen 3.2 Gen2x2 port, maximum 4 supported)
• 14 USB 2.0 ports
• 802.11ax R2 with TDBC (160+80), BT6/WIFI7
• 1x CSME-SPI
• 2 x TCH SPI

Interestingly, Intel’s Arrow Lake Desktop CPUs will feature 20 usable PCIe Gen5 lanes, while AMD’s Ryzen 9000 Desktop CPUs will feature 24 usable PCIe Gen5 lanes. Thus, AMD has an advantage in the total number of Gen 5.0 lanes the CPU offers. In terms of memory support, Arrow Lake CPUs will stick to DDR5-6400 native support, while Zen 5 CPUs will stick to DDR5-5600 native support.

Intel Arrow Lake-S Desktop CPUs feature the next-generation LGA 1851 socket, also found on 800-series motherboards, with the following features:

• LGA 1851 socket lifespan planned until 2026
• Only DDR5 compatibility, no DDR4 support
• Get Started with 800 Series Motherboards
• Support for up to DDR5-6400 memory (Native JEDEC)
• More PCIe Gen 5.0 lanes via CPU and PCH
• Arrow Lake-S First Desktop Family Supported
• Arrow Lake-S CPUs have 3 MB of L2 cache per P-core
• Arrow Lake-S CPUs feature updated Alchemist iGPUs
• Arrow Lake-S CPUs feature integrated LLC “Adamantine” for GPU Tile
• Arrow Lake-S CPUs come in 8+16, 8+0, 6+8 CPU SKUs
• Launch in 2H 2024

At Computex 2024, all of Intel’s motherboard partners unveiled their next-gen designs based on the Z890 PCH and the LGA 1851 socket. While none of the manufacturers listed the boards as Z890 products, they are easily recognizable as the labels were engraved on the heatsinks and IO plates. Below is our coverage of the Z890 motherboard from the event:

Intel’s Arrow Lake-S Desktop CPUs are positioned for launch for gaming platforms such as desktop PCs later this year (October) and will compete with AMD’s Zen 5-based Ryzen 9000 “Granite Ridge” CPUs coming later this month (July 31). Stay tuned for more information.

Comparison of generations of Intel Desktop CPUs:

News source: HXL (@9550pro)