[PLUS] Four Socket 1700 motherboards with DDR5 for Alder Lake in the new test course

Intel is said, partly rightly so, to frequently introduce new platforms. At least the last socket change was well justified, because the very different internal structure of the new Alder Lake processors requires a different power supply, their PCI-E 5.0 controller requires higher-quality conductors and the RAM interface would not be compatible with existing mainboards either been fully compatible.

In addition, Intel has redeveloped the accompanying Z690 I/O hub, called PCH (Platform Controller Hub) at Intel, and equipped it noticeably better than the Z590 predecessor. The same is likely to apply to the smaller offshoots that will appear later (see CPU home page), so that new circuit boards make sense in every class and the introduction of the LGA1700 as a new socket is more or less incidental.

However, the mainboards that will be released in 2021 all use the Z690. Compared to upcoming mid-range solutions, this brings better equipment and the release for CPU overclocking using a multiplier and BCLK, which Intel traditionally blocks in B and H models. However, equipment in general and the Z690 as such are also associated with higher costs and with the PCI-E 5.0 and DDR5, which are difficult to implement, Alder Lake brings further price drivers with it. Our test field is not only “high-end” in terms of equipment, but also in terms of cash register. Surcharges of 20 to 30 percent are required compared to the named predecessors from the Z590 generation or compared to the X570 counterparts for AMD. So pricing positives in this article are relative – some offerings are better than others, but none are cheap, although we’ve deliberately avoided most manufacturers’ flagships. For PCGH 03/2022 we are planning a second part with Z690 representatives from the lower end of the portfolio, which will at least stay under the 300 euro threshold and use cheaper DDR4 RAM.

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