Z990 leak claims 474W power target for dual-tile Nova Lake CPUs
Intel has updates Z990 power guidance with three EPS CPU connectors
Leakers claim Intel has revised its power guidance for Z990 boards, but the connector count may still depend on the motherboard vendor. Intel’s next desktop platform may bring another board power change for high-end Nova Lake-S CPUs. LC Tech Leaks claims Intel has issued revised Z990 power design guidance with three 8-pin EPS CPU power connectors.
The same source, backed by known Intel leaker Jaykihn, says the revised design reserves 474W for nominal performance on a dual-compute-tile SKU . Anything above that level would reportedly apply to dual-die overclocking. Intel has not confirmed these figures or the final Z990 board requirements.
Z990 power architecture will feature THREE 8 PIN CPU power plug ( against 2 now ). @intel revised power design delivery reserves 474 Watts for a nominal performance on dual computing SKU.
Over 474 = dual die OC
Actual board picture below (no rendition) #techleaks #texhnews … pic.twitter.com/Cd3Eb3Su1i
— LC Tech Leaks (and News) (@laurentschoice) June 26, 2026
Intel adds a 3rd EPS connector for Z990 Peformance boards
The claim was later clarified after users pointed out that the board photo showed a different connector layout. According to LC Tech Leaks, the early Z990 picture shows two EPS CPU connectors and one PCIe 8-pin connector. That was described as Intel’s original Z990 power instruction.
3 connectors is a nice-to-have vendor-enabled feature that does not unlock a higher power state for 52C.
Some Z990 175W Performance boards will ship with 3 connectors, others with 2. It’s a vendor choice and does not affect the CPU performance profile.
— Jaykihn (@jaykihn0) June 26, 2026
Apparently, Intel has sent new corrective instructions to motherboard makers. These reportedly call for three EPS CPU connectors on updated Z990 designs. Larger board pictures were not shared.
Jaykihn adds that three connectors are not required to unlock a higher power state for the 52-core configuration. According to posts on X, some Z990 175W Performance boards may ship with three connectors, while others may keep two. He also says Z970 boards should not be expected to use three connectors.
The same source says CPUs installed in boards rated below their PL1 will use a lower performance profile by default. The current board segments are listed as 35W Baseline/cfgdwn, 65W Value/Performance, 125W Baseline/Performance and 175W Baseline/Performance. These profiles are still subject to change.
CPUs socketed in boards rated for lower than their PL1 will run at a lower performance profile by default.
This is relevant when trying to run dual-tile CPUs on lower motherboards, or for the dual-config CPUs (35W/65W, 65W/125W; non bLLC)
(2/2)
— Jaykihn (@jaykihn0) June 26, 2026
Intel 900 series
Intel’s 900-series platform is expected to include B 960, Z970, Z990, Q970 and W980 chipsets for the LGA-1954 socket. Z990 is expected to sit above Z970 with more chipset I/O and full overclocking support.
GIGABYTE has already shown an unnamed future motherboard tied to Z990 reports. That board had three 8-pin power connectors in Computex photos, although the exact layout and final retail design were not confirmed.
Source: Jaykihn/LC Tech leaks
