A Gigabyte motherboard leak has just revealed the name of the flagship motherboard chipset for Intel Arrow Lake, as well as adding more evidence that this new gaming CPU lineup will feature the Intel Core Ultra branding. The new CPUs will use a new socket called LGA1851, which will require a new motherboard, with top-end products apparently based on a new Intel Z890 motherboard chipset.
This follows the naming convention of Intel's last few chipsets for its best motherboard offerings, with the Z790 and Z690 chipsets coming before it, so it isn't a huge surprise, but this is the first time we've seen it in writing on a physical product. If you want to get the most out of Intel's best gaming CPU options when they come out, then you'll want an Intel Z890 motherboard, as this is reportedly the only chipset that will enable you to overclock your CPU.
We've already seen a few Gigabyte LGA1851 motherboards in the flesh at Computex earlier this year, but the names of the chipset and CPU lineup were blocked out with white rectangles, as Intel has an embargo for both these brands. Now, however, thanks to a post on X (formerly Twitter) by regular tech leaker HXL, both have apparently been revealed.
The photo shows what looks like the bare PCB for a forthcoming Gigabyte Z890 Aorus Pro Ice motherboard, with "Z890" in very big letters next to the LGA1851 socket location. Underneath the chipset name, the lettering on the motherboard also says, "Support Intel Core Ultra processors," adding to the already-large pile of leaks saying that Intel will use the Core Ultra branding for its new Arrow Lake CPUs.
From what we can see, the Gigabyte Z890 Aorus Pro Ice has a regular motherboard layout, with four DIMM slots next to the CPU socket, but Gigabyte had other LGA1851 motherboards on display at Computex with much more intriguing designs. One, which we've pictured below, was labeled as the "Z Aorus Tachyon Ice," and we can now expect to be called the Gigabyte Z890 Aorus Tachyon Ice.
Not only does this motherboard look great, with its frosty white PCB and flashy heatsinks, but it also flips the CPU socket by 90 degrees, and features just two DDR5 DIMM slots at the top, with a heatsink panel on the right of the CPU socket. We don't know what's under this heatsink, but it could be a new CAMM2 memory connector, meaning the board could support both CAMM2 and DIMM modules, or perhaps there might be an extra couple of M.2 SSD slots underneath it.
Intel is expected to release its new Arrow Lake CPUs before the end 2024, although it hasn't officially released any details yet. However, there are already rumors about the new Core Ultra 9 285K clock speed, and you see everything we know about these new CPUs in our Intel Arrow Lake guide, including the rumored specs.
We're hiring!
Do you love tweaking your CPU and GPU to get the best frame rates in your games? Can you write informative and interesting copy quickly, coherently, and accurately? Then we want to hear from you. PCGamesN is looking for a new, UK-based hardware writer to write news, reviews, guides, and op-eds about all the latest PC gaming tech, particularly when it comes to CPUs and GPUs.
If you'd like to join our passionate, hugely experienced hardware team, then send us your application without delay as the closing date is July 26.