Gigabyte says new Intel processors will arrive on the five-year-old LGA1700 socket in early 2027, and has updated the BIOS across its whole B760 and H610 lineup. The socket takes DDR4, which costs far less than DDR5 in a market where AI has pushed memory prices to records.
Gigabyte says new Intel processors will arrive on the LGA1700 socket in early 2027. That socket dates from 2021. The motherboard maker has pushed BIOS support for them across its entire B760 and H610 range.
The reason is memory. LGA1700 boards take DDR4 as well as DDR5, and DDR4 costs a fraction as much to fill a machine with. PC Gamer drew the connection and Engadget reported it.
AI demand has made memory the most expensive part of a PC. The crunch has already dragged DDR2, a standard from 2003, up 55% to 60% in a quarter. Now it is pulling a five-year-old socket back into production.
Neither company says so directly. Gigabyte’s announcement does not mention memory prices at all, and Intel has not confirmed the new chips.
What Intel has said came in August. Robert Hallock, who runs its enthusiast channel business, told Tom’s Hardware that “LGA 1700 is still a good socket” and that older parts are “a core part of the portfolio” for years to come.
He described “a sudden inrush of demand” for those chips. Tom’s Hardware found the Core i5-14600K at $262 on Amazon, against $200 or less for most of last year.
Europe is where the squeeze shows most. Desktop shipments across the region are forecast to fall around 20% this quarter and almost 30% in the fourth, according to Context.
Gigabyte’s pitch is aimed squarely at that problem. Its announcement tells system builders and retailers that full-lineup support means “” and smoother inventory planning.
Put plainly, European retailers sitting on unsold LGA1700 boards have been told the boards are current again. Buyers get an upgrade without replacing the board or the memory.
Intel is weighing bigger changes too. Hallock indicated the industry is considering splitting mainstream and enthusiast product lines because of the pricing pressure.
Shoppers are already paying. Currys, Britain’s largest electricals retailer, warned in July that memory costs would reach its shelves later this year.
The wholesale picture is no better. TrendForce expects conventional DRAM contract prices to rise 13% to 18% this quarter, after industry revenue jumped 59.5% in the second.
Hallock said pricing would “” and come back to normal. Until it does, Intel’s answer to expensive memory is a socket it launched the year before ChatGPT.