Intel Z990 Motherboard? Surprise Gigabyte Reveal Looks Ready For Nova Lake

There's been a lot of chatter recently about the fact that Intel's next-generation platform is expected to last for at least three CPU generations, and possibly four. Of course, you're still going to have to buy the next-generation platform in the first place, and naturally, that means all new motherboard designs. None of the ODMs are talking about Intel's next-gen platform yet, but Taiwanese tech blog BenchLife managed to snap some pictures at Computex that appear to be of a Gigabyte Z990 motherboard for Nova Lake.


The CPU socket of the board was covered up, so there's no actual way for anyone to identify the chips that the board was built for. However, we can still glean a ton of details from simply gawping at the thing. Right up front is the detail that it apparently has no less than three CPU power connectors, although we have to correct BenchLife here; rather than three EPS12V CPU power connectors, it appears to actually have two EPS12V connectors and an 8-pin PCIe peripheral power connector above the CPU socket. There's another 8-pin peripheral power connector near the 24-pin ATX power connector, too, implying this board is built for serious overclocking—or simply that so much power is required to support those rumored 52-core Nova Lake CPU SKUs.

Indeed, this is clearly an extremely high-end motherboard, judging not only from the ridiculously over-engineered power delivery but also from the bare amount of features that it has. In the pictures, you can identify no less than six M.2 sockets, all covered underneath cooling plates, and the back panel of the board has four USB Type-C ports along with a pile of USB Type-A ports and other conectors. At least two of those USB Type-C ports should be Thunderbolt 5 if this is truly Nova Lake.


Another key feature on the Gigabyte motherboard is the inclusion of a magnetically-attached cooling fan to blow air over the RAM slots. You might not think of memory as something that needs active cooling, but as we push DDR5 speeds and voltages ever higher in the search for performance at any cost, RAM cooling has become extremely important. If this machine is meant to be paired with RAM running at 8000 MT/s or higher, then that fan might just be critical to achieving that performance.

You can head over to BenchLife to see the rest of the pictures as well as read that site's commentary on the board. Gigabyte's Product Manger apparently wouldn't comment on when or if this motherboard will see the light of day, but we wouldn't be surprised if this was the next-gen AORUS Xtreme TOP.