Gigabyte has recently confirmed that their new line of Z490 motherboards will be compatible with PCIe 4.0 devices. However, there will be some limitations in functionality – it’s just currently unclear what this limitation is.
It’s thought that the limitation is to do with Intel’s Rocket Lake-S series currently being kept under embargo. Rocket Lake-S is due to be launched after Comet Lake-S makes an appearance.
Rocket Lake-S will either be an additional part of the 10th Generation Core series or it will become part of the 11th Generation Core series later on this year. With details being quite vague at the moment regarding Rocket Lake-S, there isn’t a definitive answer out there.
PCIe 4.0 Support From New Z490 Motherboards
What we do know is that Rocket Lake-S will feature PCIe 4.0 support. This means that new motherboard manufacturers should ideally be gearing up to get ready for the new generation of Intel chips.
Since a few brands have launched their new Z490 motherboards recently, the addition of (or lack of) PCIe 4.0 support has been a source of great interest and debate.
So far it looks like AMD’s new Z490 motherboard will come with PCIe 4.0 support as will MSI’s Z490 GODLIKE motherboard, but it’s not clear whether other recently announced motherboards will include this.
It looks like ASUS’s ROG Maximus XII version will feature PCIe 3.0 instead of 4.0 which is interesting, although there is a rumor it will support Intel’s Rocket Lake-S series despite this.
Gigabyte’s Z490 Hardware Specs
What we know from Gigabyte is that this new motherboard design will feature the following:
- 2x PCIe 4.0 slots
- PCIe 4.0 Turbo B-Clock
- PCIe 4.0 Switches
- PCIe 4.0 Re-driver
- M.2 PCIe 4.0 slot
- 3.3x Slot Signal Stability
- 4x Lower Low Signal Loss PCB
Gigabyte has also announced that there will be a wide range of different Z490 models available to choose from. As well as the AORUS range, a new addition is the VISION range which is primarily designed for content creators.
The full list can be found below:
- Z490 AORUS Xtreme WF
- Z490 AORUS Xtreme
- Z490 AORUS Master
- Z490 AORUS Ultra (G2)
- Z490 AORUS Pro AX
- Z490 AORUS Elite AC
- Z490 AORUS Elite
- Z490 AORUS Ultra
- Z490 VISION D
- Z490 VISION G
- Z490 GAMING X
- Z490 M GAMING X
- Z490 UD AC
- Z490 UD
This looks like a promising announcement from Gigabyte so far. When more details come out surrounding the full lineup, we will keep you updated.