The next Intel Core CPU socket will support four chip generations, says leak

Intel is reportedly planning to support four generations of CPUs with its forthcoming LGA1954 socket, ditching its previous strategy of only supporting one or two generations before gamers need to upgrade their motherboard. According to the latest rumor, the new LGA1954 Intel CPU socket will not only support the forthcoming Nova Lake lineup of CPUs, but also the next-gen Razer Lake, Titan Lake, and Hammer Lake chips as well.

It's a strategy that mirrors what we've seen from AMD, where the AM4 socket was used for Zen, Zen+, Zen 2, and Zen 3 CPUs, giving gamers an upgrade path that doesn't require them to buy a new motherboard just to upgrade their CPU. This strategy has worked well for AMD, with all the company's chips on our best gaming CPU guide using the same AM5 motherboard socket, while Intel chips from the last two years currently use both the LGA1700 and LGA1854 sockets, with LGA1954 reportedly coming next.

This latest rumor forms part of a big Nova Lake info dump from YouTube tech leaker Moore's Law is Dead (MLID), shown in the video below. The information is not confirmed by Intel, so take it with a grain of salt for now, but it hints at a potentially positive change for Intel's CPU strategy. Forcing people to upgrade their motherboard every two generations, or in some cases (Rocket Lake) just one, currently makes getting an Intel CPU look much less appealing than going with AMD, as it severely limits your future upgrade options.

"I know it sucks that you have to upgrade to that [LGA1954] to get Nova Lake," says MLID, "but apparently it is planned to support Razer Lake, Titan Lake, and, exclusive from Moore's Law is Dead, something called Hammer Lake as well." This is certainly the first I've heard of Hammer Lake, and it's going to be a long way in the future if it's on the cards.

That's "four generations," clarifies MLID, "meaning at least four years, maybe six years, of support for their new platform." However, Tom from MLID also adds a caveat, claiming that Intel wanted to use one desktop socket for Meteor Lake, Arrow Lake, Arrow Lake Refresh, and Panther Lake too, "and that didn't happen, so maybe they'll screw this up too. But this seems different to me, this seems like they really do want to be competitive with AMD and platform longevity, and that is exciting."

Indeed, this would be a really smart move from Intel if it gets it right. Currently, the LGA1854 socket is only used for Intel Arrow Lake CPUs, such as the Core Ultra 7 265K, with upcoming Arrow Lake Refresh CPUs reportedly only including minor tweaks to these CPU designs, before Intel is said to be transitioning to yet another new socket with LGA1954. If that socket does indeed then support four full generations of Intel CPUs, though, then AMD will no longer have an advantage in this respect. On a side note, if Hammer Lake is indeed a thing, then I'm looking forward to the MC Hammer puns I can use in stories about it.

While we wait for more concrete information about these future Intel CPUs, why not check out our guide to buying the best gaming motherboard, especially if you're thinking of buying a new CPU now? A look at our best gaming RAM guide will also set you up for any near future upgrades, as both Intel and AMD's latest platforms require DDR5 memory.

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