Gigabyte 600 Series BIOS updates to support upcoming Intel Raptor Lake Processor
A repeated series of BIOS updates to motherboards indicates a significant upcoming launch from either AMD or Intel because the firmware upgrades are to prep motherboards for the Next Gen processor. For example, Gigabyte has released BIOS updates for the 600 Series motherboards, which are aimed to support the 13th Gen Raptor Lake CPUs. In addition, the update will also support the current Gen Adler Lake processor.
Raptor Lake is expected to be released near the end of the year. On the other hand, Intel has not officially announced a specific launch date.
A word from Gigabyte execs:
"Gigabyte has been working closely with Intel to provide users the optimal performance, compatibility, and user experiences. The Gigabyte R&D team has prepared well-verified BIOS code exclusively for Z690, B660, and H610 motherboards, along with the coming new generation of Intel Core processors. This ensures users a perfect articulation for platform upgrade once the new processor hit the market. "
If you carefully read the quote, it mentioned three motherboards about supporting Intel's next-Gen CPUs, but no mention of" 13th Gen or Raptor Lake in their section.
Either way, the BIOS updates are geared towards a significant hardware announcement. Intel has stated that Raptor Lake will double the performance over Alder Lake by double-digits. In addition, doubling the number of E-cores at the top end, Raptor Lake will offer up to 24-cores/ 32 thread configurations consisting of 8 P-core and 16 5-cores.
Intel has referenced "enhanced overclocking features" and an AI M.2 module that will be an AI compute accelerator slotted into an M.2 socket. Raptor Lake will be the last use of the Intel 7 node as it will shift to Intel 4 for Meteor Lake in 2023, INtel 20A for Arrow Lake in 2024, and Intel 18A for Lunar Lake.
