Intel announced via a product change notification document [PDF] this week that the Q87, H81, C226, QM87 and HM86 chipsets are hanging up their boots.
The 8-series chipsets, codenamed Lynx Point, emerged in 2013. Intel tailored the chipsets specifically for its 4th Generation processors, codename Haswell, which dwelled on the LGA1150 CPU socket. While Haswell processors were based on the 22nm process node, Lynx Point was fabricated on the 32nm manufacturing process.
The H81 chipset was widely popular in entry-level and budget motherboards, while the Q87 chipset was often found on business-oriented motherboards. The C226 chipset was the rarest of the lot and popped up every once in a while in server and workstation products. Finally, the QM87 and HM86 chipsets targeted laptops.
Intel partners that are still interested in one of the Haswell chipsets have until March 31, 2021 to place orders. The last shipment date is September 30, 2021.
The majority of Intel's Haswell desktop CPUs are already in the retirement home, so the chipsets won't be missed by many. The discontinuance of the H81 and Q87 chipsets will likely be a blow to the very selected few of manufacturers that still plan to put out products for Haswell. However, not all is lost because the B85 chipset is still in circulation, although its days are probably numbered as well.
