Z490 Chipset
In order to support this new socket and new features, Intel has a brand-new chipset for Intel Comet Lake generation of CPUs, the Intel Z490 desktop chipset. One of the good things about a new chipset is the ability to support more and newer features. As of right now, the Z490 chipset is the most advanced desktop chipset from Intel with the most features.
PCI-Express
The basis of this chipset, however, right now, is still based on PCI-Express 3.0 speeds. The interface between the CPU and the chipset right now is still DMI 3.0. The PCI-Express lanes coming from the CPU and the chipset are still PCI-Express 3.0. In fact, there are still 16 lanes from the CPU and 24 lanes from the chipset, the same as the previous chipset equaling a total of 40 PCIe lanes.
This new chipset does not support PCI-Express 4.0 with the Intel 10th Generation Core Desktop Processors Comet Lake S. However, in an interesting twist, this chipset should support PCI-Express 4.0 on motherboards that are designed to be “PCIe 4.0 ready” when Intel Rocket Lake S (11th Gen Core Desktop Processors) are released. The Z490 chipset is forward compatible with the next generation Intel desktop CPU release Rocket Lake S. Those CPUs will be required to provide PCI-Express 4.0 support.
If you buy a motherboard that says it is “PCIe 4.0 ready” then it should work in PCI-Express 4.0 with the next generation 11th Gen Core Processors Rocket Lake S. Boards that support PCIe 4.0 will depend on the manufacturer and model and will vary. There will be a mix of boards that don’t support this and boards that do.
Features
As we mentioned, one of the advantages of Z490 is its ability to support some new features. Chief among those will be motherboards with a more beefed up VRM configuration and thermal solutions to handle the higher TDP, power, and frequency demands of the new Comet Lake S CPUs. Motherboard manufacturers are having to get creative and robust to make sure they can properly support these CPUs.
The Z490 chipset also supports higher memory frequencies. Memory gets a boost from DDR4-2666 to now DDR4-2933. There will also be more headroom for overclocking memory frequency and of course overclocking support on CPUs.
A couple of other very exciting features worth discussing with the Z490 chipset are higher performance data connections. Optional in motherboards is now the possibility to have Intel’s 2.5G Ethernet I225 connection support for very fast ethernet connections, most likely on the more expensive boards. You can also get Intel’s Wi-Fi 6 AX201 (Gig+ CNVi) 802.11ax native support built-in. The chipset also supports Intel Optane SSD performance as well as PCIe 3.0 NVME. There is support for six USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports and ten USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports. This puts very high-end connectivity in your hands from all fronts.