Thanks to a slip-up by ASUS, we have an early look at what the company is planning for its Comet Lake-S motherboard lineup.
@momomo_us discovered that images for three Z490 models – the PRIME Z490-P, PRIME Z490-A, and TUF Z490-PLUS – were accidentally published on its official website, and VideoCardz was able to make a few copies before they were taken down. Those of you who are familiar with the PRIME and TUF aesthetic won’t find anything too shocking here, but the leak does suggest that Intel’s 10th gen parts are just around the corner.
“The ASUS PRIME Z490-P is a standard ATX form factor motherboard aimed at low-budget systems,” described VideoCardz. “These motherboards often lack oversized VRMs, RGB features or massive covers over the I/O brackets. This motherboard represents the most basic design from ASUS.”
“The PRIME Z490-A is a premium design with preinstalled I/O bracket, massive cover and shields for at least two M.2 drives. The Z490P has two PCIe x16 slots and four x16 slots, whereas the Z490A has three PCIe x16 slots and three PCIe x1. Neither of the two has built-in WiFi adapters and they both seem to have only one Ethernet ports.”
The TUF Z490-PLUS, on the other hand, is more of a monochrome motherboard with two PCIe x16 slots, three PCIe x1 slots, two M.2 slots, and onboard Wi-Fi. ASUS says that it’s been engineered with military-grade components.
Intel’s 10 Gen Core processors and Z490 chipset are rumored to launch mid-May.