Since January 4, 2021, Intel has begun removing its 300 series chipsets. The company recently released a document Product change notification detailing the end-of-life chronology of its chipsets that support eighth- and ninth-generation Intel processors, and by the end of January 2022, the chipsets will be silicon history. The 2020 launch of the 10th generation Intel CPUs and 400 series chipsets already explained the withdrawal of the 300 series, but it is now official.
The last date anyone can order a 300 Series motherboard is July 23, 2021, and the final shipping date will be January 28, 2022. This affects consumer desktop chipsets. Z390, Z370, H370, B365, B360, H310C and H310D, and the consumer mobile chipset QMS380, which is based on an already old motherboard socket, the LGA 1151. (The Q370 chipset does not appear in the list, but is a business-focused chipset that supports vPro versions of eighth- and ninth-generation Intel processors).
From a production standpoint, that makes sense. Intel and other technology companies have trouble getting the production capabilities they need to keep up with demand. CPUs, GPUs and other components have been seen or are still affected, and with Intel catching up with AMD in supporting PCIe 4.0, I can understand why it wants to focus on more recent improvements and have more future in their production approach. The 400 series chipsets are based on the new LGA 1200 socket, which supports the PCIe 4.0 standard that Intel plans to incorporate with its 11th generation desktop processors.
But it makes things complicated for consumers who want to keep up with Intel. I have written about it before, but chipset compatibility is one of the most important things AMD has on Intel right now. Depending on the CPU, AMD (non-APU) processors run on several generations of motherboards. The Ryzen 2000 series works with chipsets of the 300, 400 and 500 series, and the Ryzen 3000 and the It works in 5000 series with 400 and 500 series chipsets. It’s also worth noting that AMD’s Ryzen 3000 series APUs work with 300, 400, and 500 series chipsets.
Some previous rumors pointed to AMD launching a 600 series chipset before the end of 2020, but obviously that didn’t happen, and I’ll be surprised if AMD announces a new chipset at CES. The 500 Series motherboards support PCIe 4.0 and have AMD Smart Access Memory (SAM) integrated into the BIOS to work with the new Radeon graphics cards. (However, SAM does not own AMD. Nvidia is currently working on a upgrade similar to its RTX 30 series cards.)
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At the hardware level, there seems to be no reason for AMD to launch a new chipset yet. AMD has kept its promise to support the AM4 socket until 2020 and looks set to continue to do so until 2021, as motherboard manufacturers are still implementing BIOS updates to make the 400 series motherboards run on processors. the 5000 series. Upcoming versions of the AMD chipset could have a completely new socket, which wouldn’t be so bad considering how many generations of CPUs were left in the AM4, and it hasn’t announced any end-of-life plans for the your chipsets.
By contrast, Intel has launched a new chipset and / or socket every one or two generations. In the case of seventh- and eighth-generation CPUs, the company released an update to the LGA 1151 socket that made version 2 incompatible with seventh- and sixth-generation processors, so anyone upgrading to a Core i -8000, whatever is needed at the time needed to get a new motherboard. It was near the end of 2017 and early 2018, depending on when exactly each processor was launched.
In 2020, Intel launched the 1200 socket that would require anyone interested in upgrading from a 9th generation or earlier CPU to acquire a new motherboard. Not only that, Intel suspended its eighth-generation CPUs in June 2020. And while AMD has stopped manufacturing its Ryzen 1000 and Ryzen 2000 at this time (or rather I guess it has stopped working with the 2000 series, as there is no longer any option to buy any these CPUs directly from AMD on their website), if you still have one of these chips, you can easily find a motherboard that will work with them.
Intel’s CPUs, sockets, and chipsets have not been passed down from generation to generation in the same way that AMD has designed its products, and now that Intel has begun the EOL process for its 300 series chipsets, both consumers like laptop makers will be forced to adopt at least 10th-generation Intel processors in July 2021, which means good-priced laptops Acer Nitro 5 with a 9th generation processor it could soon be harder to find or it can become virtually non-existent. Intel has not released any EOL plans for its 9th generation CPUs, not even its LGA 1151 socket, but the 300 series chipsets were the last to have the 1151 socket and the 1151 socket is needed for a 9th generation processor. When the end of the 300 series is combined with the release of eighth-generation Intel CPUs … this could be the last step before Intel decides to permanently remove the 1151 socket and 9th-generation CPUs.
If you’re a DIY-er PC, planning to upgrade your PC is a little harder. Right now, if you’re still trying to find a 9th-generation CPU, you’re probably better off waiting until at least after CES, when Intel is likely to reveal more information about its 11th-generation processors.