Intel Begins Z690 & B660 Chipset Discontinuation In March, Will Focus On 700-Series PCH

Intel is expected to discontinue its Z690 & B660 chipsets for motherboards within this quarter as reported by sources within the industry.

As per MyDrivers, it is reported that the Z690 & B660 chipsets will be officially discontinued by Intel as the vendor moves its inventory to the newer Z790 & B760 chipsets. The Intel Z690 & B660 PCHs were launched in late 2021 alongside the 12th Gen Alder Lake CPU family so it hasn't really been a long time since these were out. In fact, the Z690 & B660 motherboards are widely available in the retail segment with some impressive deals as of late which is also a sign of reaching close to EOL.

The Intel Z790 & B760 chipsets are the official replacement and successors to the 600-series PCH lineup but they don't offer a huge incentive to update. They do offer a bit more features but also cost extra. Furthermore, both chipsets feature the same LGA 1700/1800 socket so users can stick to their existing motherboards and use a 13th Gen CPU if they want to.

While Intel hasn't officially announced the discontinuation plan yet, we were able to confirm with three major motherboard vendors that this is indeed the case and all brands will be finalizing the LTB (Last-Time-Buy) for 600-series (Z690 & B660) by March 2023. Motherboard vendors may likely extend the shelf life of a few DDR4 models within the Z690 & B660 family as they have better sell-in-value and are also more suitable for mainstream consumption while all DDR5 motherboards will be shifting to the newer Z790 & B760 families.

Also, while motherboard vendors may discontinue the 600-series PCH, Intel may still ship them to system integrators for use in their pre-build PCs. Intel is expected to announce the discontinuation in the coming weeks.