Intel 15900K/Core Ultra 9 285K to Feature 20 PCIe 5 Lanes, 24 on AMD Ryzen 9 9950X

Intel’s (formerly 15th Gen) Arrow Lake-S processors are scheduled to launch in the last quarter of 2024. We have known their core counts, architecture, and process nodes. Now, a leak on Chiphell has revealed the I/O capabilities of these processors. Arrow Lake-S will ditch the LGA1700 socket (and the associated 600/700 series motherboards) in favor of LGA1851. The 800-series chipset will be the first to leverage it, including Z890, B860, H870, and H810.

According to the above-leaked image, Intel’s Arrow Lake-S processors will offer 20 PCIe Gen 5 lanes (usable), including 16 for the discrete graphics and four for an M.2 NVMe SSD. There will be another 4-lane PCI Gen 4 cluster for M.2 storage, and x2 Thunderbolt 4 ports (which is new, TBT ports usually come from the IO/chipset).

The same configuration was earlier confirmed in a leak from @yuuki_ans, confirming that the 6P + 8E and 8P + 16E SKUs will feature 20 PCIe Gen 5 lanes. In comparison, AMD’s Ryzen 9000 CPUs will come with 24 PCIe Gen 5 lanes.

Intel, however, has an advantage in the memory department. While AMD’s Ryzen 9000 chips will have a 6000 MT/s or 3000 MHz sweet spot (Infinity fabric in 1:1 ratio), the Arrow Lake chips will have a stock memory frequency of up to 6400 MT/s.

Intel’s 800-series chipsets will feature up to 24 PCIe Gen 4 lanes, 8 SATA III lanes, and 3x GbE ports. The USB ports will comprise 10 USB 3.2 Gen2 x1 (or 5 USB 3.2 Gen 2×2), 14 USB 2, and a BT6/WiFi7 adapter. On the other hand, AMD’s 800-series chipset will feature the following configurations:

	CPU PCIe Lanes			Chipset Lanes
	GRAPHICS	NVMe	USABLE PCIe/PCIe 5.0	CPU OVERCLOCKING	DDR5 MEMORY OVERCLOCKING/ AMD EXPO	USB 5Gbps	USB 10Gbps	USB 20Gbps	SATA PORTS (OR PCIe 3.0)	USB 4.0
X870E	1×16 or 2×8 PCIe 5.0	1×4 PCIe 5.0+4x PCIe GPP	44/24	Yes	Yes	2	12	2	8	STANDARD
X870	1×16 or 2×8 PCIe 5.0	1×4 PCIe 5.0+4x PCIe GPP	36/24	Yes	Yes	1	6	1	4	STANDARD
X670E	1×16 or 2×8 PCIe 5.0	1×4 PCIe 5.0+4x PCIe GPP	44/24	Yes	Yes	2	12	2	8	optional
X670	1×16 or 2×8 PCIe 4.0	1×4 PCIe 5.0+4x PCIe GPP	44/8	Yes	Yes	2	12	2	8	optional
B650E	1×16 or 2×8 PCIe 5.0	1×4 PCIe 5.0+4x PCIe GPP	36/24	Yes	Yes	1	6	1	4	optional
B650	1×16 or 2×8 PCIe 4.0	1×4 PCIe 4.0 (or PCIe 5.0)	36/0	Yes	Yes	1	6	1	4	optional
A620/A620A	1×16 PCIe 4.0	1×4 PCIe 4.0	32/0	No	Yes	2	2	–	4	optional
PRO 665	1×16 or 2×8	1×4 PCIe 4.0 (or PCIe 5.0)	36/0	No	No	1	6	1	4	optional
PRO 665	PCIe 4.0	1×4 PCIe 4.0 (or PCIe 5.0)	36/0	No	No	1	6	1	4	optional
PRO 600	1×16 or 2×8	1×4 PCIe 4.0+4x PCIe GPP	28/0	No	No	0	0	0	0	optional
PRO 600	PCIe 4.0	1×4 PCIe 4.0+4x PCIe GPP	28/0	No	No	0	0	0	0	optional

Via: HXL on X.

Further reading:

AMD Zen 5 Unveiled with a 16% IPC Uplift: A Look at the Ryzen 9000 Core Architecture.

AMD Ryzen 9000 vs Intel 15th Gen/Core Ultra 300 CPUs Specs, Pricing, and Release Date.

Intel Golden Cove vs Raptor Cove vs Redwood Cove vs Lion Cove: Intel’s P-Core Architectures Compared

Additionally, there has been some speculation regarding the core topography of Arrow Lake. The following design (via 포시포시) is considered fairly accurate:

Unlike previous generations, the E-cores have been placed between columns of P-cores. Previously, the P and E-core clusters were separate, like below: