News Intel Raptor Lake Mobile Chips Soldered Into Micro-ATX Motherboards for $180

[Admin]

If you fancy using a Raptor Lake Mobile chip as the foundation of a mini desktop build, China's Erying has you covered with its MoDT motherboards.

Intel Raptor Lake Mobile Chips Soldered Into Micro-ATX Motherboards for $180 : Read more

 

[bit_user]

I wonder if the timing of these product launches has anything to do with Intel getting out of the NUC business. A mobile SoC soldered onto a small motherboard is exactly what NUCs are (although smaller form factor than these). Maybe Intel was resistant to products like these, which could undercut their NUC business and other NUC-class machines? Now that they're out of the biz, maybe they made pricing more attractive or supply more available for such products.

On a related note, when are we going to see Raptor Lake-N mini PCs? Has anyone heard anything about it? I felt like Alder Lake-N took an eternity to reach the market. Hopefully, Raptor-N won't be nearly as long.

 

[edzieba]

Those are Flex ATX (mini ITX but with an extra slot) boards, not mATX. Note the screw holes are in a 2 x 3 layout, not 3 x 3.

 

[oofdragon]

Guys this is real cheap. Does it support ddr5, GPU, nvme? Because..bwhy bother paying extra? Knowing you won't be able to swap CPUs I mean

 

[bit_user]

Guys this is real cheap. Does it support ddr5, GPU, nvme?

Yes, it's a good deal, if we can get it for that price outside of China.

From the article:

​

"Dual DDR4 DIMM slots for up to 64 GB"​

​

"PCIe Gen 4 slot offering just 8 lanes for a graphics card."​

​

"two PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 NVMe slots for your SSDs"​

​

Because..bwhy bother paying extra? Knowing you won't be able to swap CPUs I mean

• 45 W TDP
• Nonstandard heatsink mount means you'll either be limited to whatever cooling solution they include or you're really rolling the dice on being able to rig up something that works any better. I've been down this road, and unless you like fabricating that sort of stuff, it's a definite negative.

I guess those are the two main drawbacks I see. DDR5 might be nice, but I wouldn't expect to see a significant difference with just the 4P + 4E or 6P + 4E configurations they offer.

I don't consider the GPU slot a major drawback, if you have a PCIe 4.0-compatible GPU. Someone with a GPU that could really benefit from more lanes will have no trouble affording a better CPU/motherboard for it.

 

[newtechldtech]

This is completely useless , If you want the Mobile CPU , then get the "T" class desktop CPU . i7 13700T and the i5 13400T , if you want Lower TDP. and you will sacrifice nothing because they are the same desktop CPU but with mobile TDP

 

[bit_user]

This is completely useless , If you want the Mobile CPU , then get the "T" class desktop CPU . i7 13700T and the i5 13400T , if you want Lower TDP.

But this is cheap. I think that's the key point you're missing.

The list price on those CPUs is $221 and $384, respective. I didn't find street prices, because they appear to be specialty SKUs. Then, you have the motherboard, and if those CPUs are OEM, then you'd have to buy a separate cooler.

 

[SirNathan]

Those are Flex ATX (mini ITX but with an extra slot) boards, not mATX. Note the screw holes are in a 2 x 3 layout, not 3 x 3.

Nope, Flex ATX is a derivative of Micro ATX, released as a spec by Intel in 1999. The Mini ITX with an extra slot is named Mini DTX (although most sellers will still call them ITX on Newegg, Amazon, etc). Both Mini ITX and Mini DTX use a similar 2x3 pattern.

 

[thestryker]

I wonder if the timing of these product launches has anything to do with Intel getting out of the NUC business. A mobile SoC soldered onto a small motherboard is exactly what NUCs are (although smaller form factor than these). Maybe Intel was resistant to products like these, which could undercut their NUC business and other NUC-class machines? Now that they're out of the biz, maybe they made pricing more attractive or supply more available for such products

These were available with ADL around the time RPL was coming out so I think the timing may have more to do with the forthcoming MTL and RPL-R releases than anything else since the OEMs have undoubtedly already shifted to make end of year new product releases.

But this is cheap. I think that's the key point you're missing.

The list price on those CPUs is $221 and $384, respective. I didn't find street prices, because they appear to be specialty SKUs. Then, you have the motherboard, and if those CPUs are OEM, then you'd have to buy a separate cooler.

AFAIK these are always OEM so you're definitely right about them being bad comparatively price wise if you can even find one.

These mobile board PCs are honestly some of the best value systems you can buy for entry level computing with expandability. The higher end one has 64 EUs and there might be some with 96 EUs forthcoming so better than you can do from Intel with a desktop chip. They've got PCIe 4.0 x8 which is plenty for any modern GPU that you'd want to pair with a system like this. Prior boards supported XMP so you should be able to get a low latency (for SODIMMs at least) 3200 kit.

 

[edzieba]

Nope, Flex ATX is a derivative of Micro ATX, released as a spec by Intel in 1999. The Mini ITX with an extra slot is named Mini DTX (although most sellers will still call them ITX on Newegg, Amazon, etc). Both Mini ITX and Mini DTX use a similar 2x3 pattern.

Nope.
Mini-DTX omits the extra holes below the second PCIe slot. The second PCIe slot is also 'double spaced' from the x16 slot, making this a 3-slot board (possible on FlexATX, not possible on mini DTX) with only two positions populated.

 

[bit_user]

Mini-DTX omits the extra holes below the second PCIe slot.

Does anyone know who maintains these standards? Is there a official spec we could reference?

 

[edzieba]

Does anyone know who maintains these standards? Is there a official spec we could reference?

ATX is administered by Intel - for whatever reason, the standard index pages are non-public, but the standards themselves are (e.g. ATX 3.0 PSU) and easily found via google. DTX was administered by AMD, but is long abandoned (archived site here). Mini-ITX was from Via, oddly enough, and with the corpse of Via being chopped and changed between different parties nobody seems to have owned up to who owns ITX, or just nobody wants to maintain it.

 

[Deleted member 431422]

It's a really nice choice for the average user browsing the web, movies, music. Those CPU's have enough power for years to come. Now you need a tiny case and silent cooling.

 

[bit_user]

Now you need a tiny case and silent cooling.

A tiny case makes silent cooling harder. For a 45 W TDP, you'll still want quite a bit of cooling capacity (let's not forget Intel's high PL2 values).

However, the reality is that you'll probably be stuck with whatever cooler comes pre-installed on the board. So, if it's noisy, then a larger, noise-optimized case might help. Generally, a case with good airflow should be beneficial.

 

[newtechldtech]

But this is cheap. I think that's the key point you're missing.

The list price on those CPUs is $221 and $384, respective. I didn't find street prices, because they appear to be specialty SKUs. Then, you have the motherboard, and if those CPUs are OEM, then you'd have to buy a separate cooler.

It is cheap because it is sold in China. and the quality of the motherboards are very bad and very cheap.

 

[bit_user]

It is cheap because it is sold in China.

Yeah, I actually have a theory that Intel gave them a special price on CPUs for China-marketed products. While some of these can "leak" into the US and Europe via AliExpress, they would probably get in trouble if they tried to do mass distribution via OEMs or retail/e-tail.

The main point being that we shouldn't assume the same pricing would be possible on boards specifically marketed for the US and Europe. That's why I say you should never compare AliExpress prices to products properly designed and sold to these markets.

 

[newtechldtech]

Yeah, I actually have a theory that Intel gave them a special price on CPUs for China-marketed products. While some of these can "leak" into the US and Europe via AliExpress, they would probably get in trouble if they tried to do mass distribution via OEMs or retail/e-tail.

The main point being that we shouldn't assume the same pricing would be possible on boards specifically marketed for the US and Europe. That's why I say you should never compare AliExpress prices to products properly designed and sold to these markets.

It is funny that Intel always sold the "T" class the same price of standard non "k" prices .. for example , the I7 13700 and the i7 13700T are both sold for $384 ..the same for i5 , which makes no sense .
If they want to sell them the same price , just make one CPU and allow it to be locked via bios to 45 watts TDP when needed.

The T CPUs are best for passive 100% silent PCs ...

 

[thestryker]

Yeah, I actually have a theory that Intel gave them a special price on CPUs for China-marketed products. While some of these can "leak" into the US and Europe via AliExpress, they would probably get in trouble if they tried to do mass distribution via OEMs or retail/e-tail.

The main point being that we shouldn't assume the same pricing would be possible on boards specifically marketed for the US and Europe. That's why I say you should never compare AliExpress prices to products properly designed and sold to these markets.

I don't think we'll ever see boards like these actually properly released outside of China due to minimal market. Ever since I found out about the 4+ 2.5gb port fanless mini PCs I've looked through stuff sold on AliExpress and the majority of form factors are types that never appear in NA/EU in any form. Those that do tend to be random rebrands of the exact same thing being sold directly out of China.

I often wonder how it would go if any of the bigger OEMs just sold things along these lines without worrying about marketing or fancy branding. A chunk of the offerings are basically just laptop boards in a case and I'd imagine if marketing/packaging costs didn't exist the profits would be decent albeit low.

It is funny that Intel always sold the "T" class the same price of standard non "k" prices .. for example , the I7 13700 and the i7 13700T are both sold for $384 ..the same for i5 , which makes no sense .
If they want to sell them the same price , just make one CPU and allow it to be locked via bios to 45 watts TDP when needed.

The T CPUs are best for passive 100% silent PCs ...

When they're OEM only and end users cannot readily buy them it doesn't really matter where they price them. This is probably why the tray price is the same.

 

[DaveLTX]

Yes, it's a good deal, if we can get it for that price outside of China.

From the article:

​

"Dual DDR4 DIMM slots for up to 64 GB"​

​

"PCIe Gen 4 slot offering just 8 lanes for a graphics card."​

​

"two PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 NVMe slots for your SSDs"​

​

• 45 W TDP
• Nonstandard heatsink mount means you'll either be limited to whatever cooling solution they include or you're really rolling the dice on being able to rig up something that works any better. I've been down this road, and unless you like fabricating that sort of stuff, it's a definite negative.

I guess those are the two main drawbacks I see. DDR5 might be nice, but I wouldn't expect to see a significant difference with just the 4P + 4E or 6P + 4E configurations they offer.

I don't consider the GPU slot a major drawback, if you have a PCIe 4.0-compatible GPU. Someone with a GPU that could really benefit from more lanes will have no trouble affording a better CPU/motherboard for it.

That's wrong. The 11980HK boards (started roughly a year ago, they're still on sale) have a 115x/1200 mount pattern.

Also, these are actually supported by Intel themselves I would suspect

 

[bit_user]

That's wrong. The 11980HK boards (started roughly a year ago, they're still on sale) have a 115x/1200 mount pattern.

If you're right about those, then you're still making the assumption that these would support LGA 1700 heatsinks. At minimum, one obvious issue would seem to be height. Although, if you look at the board shots, they do indeed appear to have some sort of heat-spreader installed. So, you could be right about that.

Anyway, find some specs and we'll know for sure.

Also, these are actually supported by Intel themselves I would suspect

In what sense?

 

[DaveLTX]

If you're right about those, then you're still making the assumption that these would support LGA 1700 heatsinks. At minimum, one obvious issue would seem to be height. Although, if you look at the board shots, they do indeed appear to have some sort of heat-spreader installed. So, you could be right about that.

Anyway, find some specs and we'll know for sure.


In what sense?

I have the alder lake ones and they also have 115X pattern. I'm not assuming anything here.
The heatspreader is built to be equal to 115X height. I've direct die mounted the 11980HK in pursuit of lower temps

The BIOSes are completely unlocked and seems to be a BIOS build that only Intel will possibly let out (manufacturer support is important when you're building boards and these don't have basic dumped BIOSes unlike the cheap X79/X99 boards
There's even full XMP support and reBAR configurations AND EVEN OVERCLOCKING ability on the K skus

 

[bit_user]

Why is this old article back in the newsfeed? I don't see any mention of updates.

Anyway, it's a good chance for a little check on pricing & availability:

The Chinese retail listings show the Raptor Lake Core i5 Mobile version is 1299 Chinese Yuan ($180), and the Raptor Lake Core i7 Mobile version of the system board is 1699 Chinese Yuan ($234). Buying these products in the west might be a little tricky, but we shall have to wait and see how widely they get distributed.

Weirdly, AliExpress seems to have two ERYING stores - an "official" store and a "global" store. The prices differ as you'd expect, but neither match those listed in the article. The M-ATX i5-13420H costs $244 and $363, respectively. I thought maybe the latter includes RAM and SSD, but don't see any difference in the specifications. There's no indication they won't both ship to the US. I wonder if maybe the "Global" store is just someone trying to scam unsuspecting buyers, although it could be legit if that version has different BIOS or something.

• https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805761499481.html
• https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805930327716.html

Caveat emptor.

 

[thestryker]

probably a publishing glitch as there's some new boards https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-com...tx-raptor-lake-mobile-motherboards-are-coming

As for ordering from aliexpress I tend to just check vendor history as there's no rhyme or reason behind naming. The last router box I bought there were 4 or so variations of Topton.

 

[bit_user]

As for ordering from aliexpress I tend to just check vendor history as there's no rhyme or reason behind naming. The last router box I bought there were 4 or so variations of Topton.

Wow. Such is the state of trademark enforcement in China, I suppose.
: /

Doesn't give me a ton of confidence if/when I'd order anything from AliExpress. So far, the closest I've come is ordering a couple things off ebay shipped directly from China.