[Hardware]Intel Rocket Lake-S would not be compatible with the Z490 and H470 chipsets

[SougarLord]

 

Intel Z490 chipset motherboards may not support Rocket Lake-S processors

To our knowledge Intel and motherboard builders have indicated support from the Z490 chipset to Alder Lake-S processors. Apparently Intel would have the firmware for the new BIOS quite advanced. But it is also that the Z490 chipset motherboards support PCIe 4.0, an interface that the Comet Lake-S does not support.

 
Well, in a Chinese forum they indicate that Intel Rocket Lake-S processors will not work on Z490 chipset motherboards. What is the reason for this statement?

As indicated the reasons would have to do with the lack of support at the chipset, BIOS and power supply system level. It appears that the power distribution in the Rocket Lake-S processors would be very different than in the Comet Lake-S.

 

Intel has generated two classifications for the 400 Series chipsets. The PCH-H group includes the Z490, W480, Q470 and H470 chipsets. On the other hand, the PCH-V would be the B460 and H410 chipsets.

 

The user who wrote the post explains that each CPU has a CPU_ID that is used by the chipset to know which processor is mounted. If the chipset does not recognize the CPU_ID of the processor, the system does not work. To correct this, you can disable the CPU_ID in the BIOS IME or modify the chipset.

 

It is also indicated that it could be an Intel decision to force users to upgrade the motherboard as well. A restriction that could be circumvented by motherboard assemblers by using the 500 Series motherboard microcodes.

 

Lack of compatibility due to power supply system

But the biggest reason would have to do with the power supply design. We should note that Rocket Lake is an import of the 10nm node with heavy consumption. This would be the origin of the problem with these new processors.

 

The power subsystem must transform the 12V and 5V voltages into lower voltages to power the processor. Comet Lake-S and Rocket Lake-S are practically identical with respect to Vcore and Vgt voltages. The VCCSA and VCCIO voltages had been remodeled. Due to the remodel the motherboard must have a PWM IC that conforms to Intel's IMVP8 requirements. So those motherboards that do not meet this requirement will not be able to support Rocket Lake-S processors.

 

power supply intel z590 rocket lake

 

Whoever created the post has even said that motherboard models will not be compatible with Rocket Lake-S:

 

MSI Z490 S01

MSI Z490M S01

ASROCK Z490 Phantom Gaming 4

ASROCK Z490 Pro4, Z490M Pro4

ASROCK Z490M-ITX / ac

ASROCK B460M Steel Legend by ASRock

Better be cautious in this case, as it could be a rumor against Intel. The company has indicated on several occasions the existence of backward compatibility. We will wait for the launch and then we will know the truth.