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t CES 2021 in January, slightly under the

radar, Asus and other major

motherboard makers announced their

lineups of new Intel Z590 motherboards that

would launch on January 27. That’s well ahead of

Intel’s upcoming 11th Gen Core “Rocket Lake-S”

desktop CPUs, which are slated for shelves

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Z590 boards (that honor goes to Gigabyte). But

now that Intel has pulled back the curtain on

Rocket Lake, manufacturers are free to follow suit

with their own corresponding announcements.

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does it promise over the Z490 platform (which

launched a mere 10 months ago)? Is it a must-

have for leading-edge gamers and content

creators or just another minor upgrade for Intel,

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with AMD and its long-running Socket AM4-

compatible motherboards?

FROM Z490 TO Z590: AN

EVOLUTIONARY STEP UP

One sticking point during Intel’s launch of its

10th Generation Core (“Comet Lake-S”) chips last

year was the upgrade to the Z490 platform,

Intel and Board Partners Tip

Z590 Motherboards: Will They

Be Worth the Upgrade?

COMMENTARY

PCMag Hardware

Analyst Chris

Stobing tests and

reviews consumer

gadgets and PC

hardware, including

laptops, monitors,

storage, and

networking

equipment.