Thunderbolt 4 and Arrow Lake-S CPU-equipped Z890 motherboards

Motherboard Intel Z890

Up to four "Arc Xe-LPG" iGPU cores and native Thunderbolt 4 support for desktop processors from Arrow Lake are features of the Intel Z890 motherboard. Meteor Lake will make up half of the iGPU "Xe-LPG" cores in Intel Arrow Lake-S desktop CPUs, and the Z890 motherboard will have native Thunderbolt 4 connectivity.

Details regarding Intel's "Core Ultra 200" desktop CPUs from Arrow Lake-S and the associated 800-series platform are starting to come together. The most advanced Z890 chipset and iGPU setups.

Date of release of Z890 Motherboard

The Intel Z890 motherboard is anticipated for early 2025 or 2[024]. Intel Arrow Lake CPUs will be supported by motherboards of the next generation.

Knowledge gained via rumours and leaks:

Since LGA 1851 is a new socket, LGA 1700 coolers are incompatible.

Z890 only supports DDR5, not DDR4.

PCIe: Gen 5.0 lanes offer bandwidth to support faster storage and graphics cards.

Anticipated to be mainstream, Thunderbolt 4 enables numerous high-resolution screens and faster data transfer.

Intel Z890 motherboards are often superior to Z690 ones. They are appropriate for power users and gamers because they support the newest CPUs, RAM, and storage.

Motherboard Z890 Leaks and rumours could alter the specifications:

Based on the first-generation Core Ultra 100 "Meteor Lake" family, the Intel Core Ultra 200 "Arrow Lake-S" Desktop CPUs will start with Core Ultra 5 SKUs. Core Ultra 9 285K, Core Ultra 7 265K, and Core Ultra 5 245K are the three possible "Unlocked" SKUs that were covered in a previous study that can be found here.

It looks that the Core Ultra 3 chip will not be offered. Instead, Intel will likely keep selling and upgrading its Core i3 CPUs to meet the entry-level demand, which is not as great as it might seem given entry-level prices. Intel might provide an update with entry-level SKUs on the existing LGA 1700 platforms, such as the next Bartlett Lake-S Desktop processors.

The Intel Arrow Lake-S "Core Ultra 200" Desktop CPUs can have up to 4 Xe-Cores in terms of iGPU configurations, based on the Alchemist Xe-LPG graphics architecture. These have half as many cores as the best Intel Core Ultra 9 "Meteor Lake" CPUs, and some SKUs should also contain three and two Xe-cores. You can see how these iGPUs perform by using the Intel Core Ultra 7 165U/155U performance tests, as these also come with four Xe-core iGPUs.

Desktop processors should have higher clock speeds because they have larger TDPs. Expect a decent performance, but don't expect too much. The highest dies from Meteor Lake with 8 Xe-cores are currently capable of competitive and sometimes even faster performance than the AMD Ryzen 8000G APUs, which they would surely not be able to match.

In relation to the cache, it seems that another leaker has discovered that each Lion Cove P-Core can hold up to 3 MB of L3 cache. As per MebiuW, the 4 E-Core Skymont E-Core cluster will feature a 3 MB L3 cache, while the Lion Cove P-Core will also have a 3 MB L3 cache. Consequently, the total cache is now 36 MB, 33 MB, and 24 MB for the top 24 core CPUs (Core Ultra 9 285K), the 20 core CPUs (Core Ultra 7 265K), and the 6+8 core combinations.

Not to mention, new details have surfaced regarding the top Intel Z890 motherboard that will be part of the 800-series platform. Reports state that these motherboards support Thunderbolt 4 natively and offer several other improvements, including an improved Arrow Lake-S (Core Ultra 200) memory controller that should enable faster memory.

The following is what is currently known about desktop CPUs made by Arrow Lake-S:

LGA 1851 Socket Life Estimated to End in 2026; Compatibility Limited to DDR5 Only Not Supported for DDR4

starts with the 800-Series motherboards.

Supported Memory Up to DDR5-6400 (Native JEDEC)

PCIe Gen 5.0 Lane Rises Through CPU & PCH

The features of the first desktop family that Arrow Lake-S (DIY) CPUs support include A 3-MB P-Core L2 Cache

The Arrow Lake-S CPU's features The Alchemists of iGPUs

The Arrow Lake-S CPU's features CPU SKUs: 6+8, 8+16

Lake S 8+16 Arrow (24 Cores)

Lake Six+8 Arrow-S (14 Cores)

Absence of Help for Hyper-Threading

In 2024's second half

Furthermore, we have been informed by a little birdie that motherboards from the Intel 800-series will soon be in use.

Z890 motherboards' compatibility with Thunderbolt 4

New nomenclature: the Core Ultra 200 series will be used for Arrow Lake-S CPUs. Hereby, Core i9, i7, and i5 are replaced.

Extra cores: The Core Ultra 7 265K and the flagship Core Ultra 9 285K may contain 20 and 24 cores, respectively (8 performance and 16 efficiency).

New LGA 1851 socket that supports earlier coolers: Arrow Lake-S CPUs will use the new LGA 1851 socket, despite Intel's announcement that coolers compatible with LGA 1700 sockets will also function with LGA 1851.

DDR5 only: Unlike previous generations that supported both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, the Arrow Lake-S will only function with DDR5 memory.

Alchemist integrated graphics, PCIe Gen 5.0 capability, and Thunderbolt 4 compatibility on the Z890 motherboard are more features.

Cost of Z890 motherboard

As of now, Z890 motherboards aren't officially available, therefore a precise price is hard to come by. However, given the present cost and stated features of the Z790 boards, we can make some educated guesses:

Price Range: Z890 motherboards should cost roughly the same as, if not more than, the Z790 models. Z890 boards range in price from $250 to well over $1000 for the most expensive models that have every imaginable feature. Z790 boards are priced between $200 to $800.

Amounts that Determine the Cost: The final cost will be influenced by features such as power delivery modules (VRMs), the number of PCIe slots, networking and WiFi capabilities on board, and brand repute. High-end features like multiple Thunderbolt 4 connections and advanced overclocking capabilities will come at an additional cost.

News Source: Z890 motherboards