Two weeks before the launch of the new hybrid processor from the Raptor Lake-S series, which is supposed to provide significantly more performance with more cores, clock speed and TDP, the first Z790 – Mainboards can be pre-ordered. Prices range from 270 to 1,420 euros at a high level.
Intel's Raptor on the trail of AMD's Raphael
After the six CPU models of the Core i 13000 series, with the Intel Core i9-13900K/KF at the top, have already been sighted in German retail stores at prices of 375 to 750 euros, the well-known Z790 mainboards are now joining them from Asus, Gigabyte and MSI, thus completing the new platform. As with AMD, the prices are rather high and start at 272 euros for the very simple MSI Pro Z790-P WIFI DDR4 for the “old” memory standard.
310 euros to 1,420 euros are called
The Z790 mainboards specially advertised with “Gaming”. start at 298 euros with the Gigabyte Z790 Gaming X AX and quickly end up in the “middle” price range of the high-end class, which is now around 400 to 500 euros.
At the top is the Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Extreme for 1,419 euros, followed by the Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Hero for 819 euros and the MSI MEG Z790 Ace for 816 euros.
Overall, Intel's new platform is at a similar level in terms of costs as AMD's Ryzen 7000 (test) aka Raphael. Both Intel's CPUs and the board partners' Z790 mainboards are slightly cheaper compared to the AM5 platform. In addition, the 600 mainboards of the previous generation for Raptor Lake-S and cheaper DDR4 can be used.
The retail prices for pre-ordering the mainboards that will be released on October 20th together with the new hybrid CPUs are largely based on the manufacturers' RRP.
H770 and B760 give hope
While even the mid-range of the AM5 mainboards with B650 and B650E chipsets are currently not available in stores for less than 200 euros, Raptor Lake's hopes are pinned on the H770 and B760 chipsets, which will later penetrate into such price regions could. Overall, AMD Ryzen and Intel Core i-series platform costs have increased once again.