The Z990 PCH for Nova Lake motherboards is apparently 22% smaller than Z890, despite featuring a higher power maximum power draw of up to 14W. The leaked picture of the PCH shows a 11.15 x 6.5mm die and 25 x 24mm package, but we're unsure what motherboard it actually comes from.
At under $270, the Gigabyte Z890 Aorus Elite Wifi7 Plus is a worthwhile mainstream motherboard. Fast networking and ample storage options are just two of the highlights of this refreshed Z890 offering.
The ROG Crosshair 2006 is a premium mid-range AM5 board with retro flair, robust power delivery, dual LAN, Wi-Fi 7, and five M.2 sockets – but the limited run and nostalgia premium is the real reason you might want to spend $100 more over the similar Dark Hero.
The Asus Prime Z890-P Wifi is a solid, all-around budget-class board for Z890 and the latest Core Ultra chips. However, other boards around its price offer compelling features and better value.
The combined sales of the four biggest motherboard manufacturers are expected to fall by at least 28% in 2026, with the entire industry selling 11.7 million less units due to increasing PC component costs.
Gigabyte’s Z890 Aorus Elite Duo X lands square in the mid-range sweet spot, offering ample connectivity, five M.2 sockets, native Arrow Lake Refresh support, and CQDIMM compatibility, all for a compelling sub-$280 price.
Colorful’s iGame X870E Vulcan OC V14 is a capable premium mid-range motherboard built for overclocking, thanks to its robust power delivery, cooling, and design. It faces tough competition at its price point, but remains a solid, feature-rich option under $700.
Gigabyte’s X870E Aorus Xtreme X3D AI Top delivers flagship-class hardware and excellent performance at a comparatively lower price, balancing high-end features, comprehensive connectivity, and even AI-focused tools for premium AM5 builds.
New AGESA updates are bringing EXPO 1.2 support to more and more 800-series AM5 motherboards, but CUDIMM support remains only partial. Because Zen 4 and 5's IMC is incompatible with CUDIMM, it can only run in bypass mode with limited speeds. Moreover, older 600-series motherboards are now also expected to get EXPO 1.2 support later.
Nvidia's N1 SoC leaks yet again, but this time in the flesh, with potentially a laptop motherboard featuring the long-rumored chip. It was spotted on sale on a Chinese marketplace for roughly $1,400. The pictures show the PCB rocking 128 GB of LPDDR5X-8533 RAM, robust power delivery, and a decent I/O selection.
We take a deep-dive into the past, present, and future of the ubiquitous PCIe standard, and look ahead at the challenges that await manufacturers when integrating PCIe 6.0 and beyond into real-world hardware.
The Gigabyte X870E Aorus Xtreme AI Top delivers strong performance, premium features, and a slick appearance, but high pricing and newer refresh boards, like the X3D version, make it a tough sell unless you snag a refurb deal.
The MSI X870E Carbon Max adds an OC Engine chip and a larger BIOS, though changes little else. But did it need to? See how the refresh fares against similarly equipped rivals in the crowded $500 space.
A motherboard that can accept both DDR4 and DDR5 memory can be the difference between you being able to build a new PC or putting it off till the shortage is over. ASRock's new H610M Combo II is otherwise pretty barebones, not even featuring PCIe 4.0 storage, but it does have enough to get you by before things settle down.
The B850 Tomahawk Max Wifii II refines the popular budget AM5 board with additional M.2 storage, an OC Engine chip, a 64MB BIOS, a minor facelift, and a small price increase.