Intel’s new roadmap lists Z990 and Z970 chipsets for the next-gen LGA-1954 platform
According to our information, Intel has added Z990 and Z970 to its chipset roadmap, updated recently. The roadmap targets the LGA1954 socket. We have no details on specifications yet, including I/O, lane counts, or feature differences between the two chipsets.
Since Intel has not released H870 for Arrow Lake-S series, we expect that Z970 will be its spiritual successor. Intel will keep an H-class desktop chipset tier, but introduce it under a new name as part of this platform update. We have also been told that Z970 should use the same underlying chipset as B960, with no further details shared at this time. That points to segmentation through firmware and board features rather than a separate silicon design, but Intel has not outlined any positioning. This may be related to overclocking options.
New chipsets for the new platform, enter Core Ultra 400S Nova Lake-S
These chipsets are tied to the Nova Lake-S desktop platform, which is expected to ship as the Core Ultra 400S series. The move to LGA1954 means new motherboards for the Nova Lake-S lineup. Intel has not shared platform-level details for the chipset family yet.
As for timing, Intel has publicly stated that Nova Lake is coming at the end of 2026 . That places Z990 and Z970 in the same late-2026 desktop cycle, unless Intel updates its schedule.
Source: VideoCardz
