Decenta lists first Intel Nova Lake-S motherboard with B960 and Q970 variants

Decenta lists the first Intel Nova Lake- S LGA 1954 motherboard, featuring B960 and Q970 variants with distinct PCIe 5.0 connectivity and storage options.

Intel's next-generation LGA 1954 socket is finally seeing hardware on the market, with Decenta listing its first compatible motherboard. This development signals that the Nova Lake-S platform is moving from rumor to tangible product availability for builders. Buyers interested in the upcoming Core Ultra 400 series now have a concrete reference for system design and expansion capabilities.

Decenta lists first Intel Nova Lake-S motherboard with B960 and Q970 variants

The listed product is the M26-NVLS-ATX09, a standard ATX motherboard designed specifically for Intel's new socket architecture. It supports Intel Nova Lake-S Core Ultra 400 series CPUs and comes in two distinct chipset variants. These variants cater to different performance tiers, offering either the B960 or the more feature-rich Q970 chipset.

Spec comparison

Socket: LGA 1954
Chipset: B960 or Q970
Memory Support: 4x DDR5 slots, up to 6400MT/s
PCIe 5.0 x16 Slots (Q970): 2 slots (1×16, 1×8)
PCIe 5.0 x4 Slots (Q970): 4 slots (2×4, 2×2)

The Q970 variant provides extensive connectivity with two PCIe 5.0 x16 slots, one wired for full 16 lanes and the other for 8 lanes. It also includes four PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 storage slots, plus two additional PCIe 5.0 x4 slots wired with only two lanes. In contrast, the B960 version is more limited, featuring a single PCIe 5.0 x16 slot and dropping secondary slots to Gen 4 speeds.

Both motherboard versions share identical memory configurations, featuring four DDR5 slots that support DIMMs operating at up to 6400MT/s. The B960 model includes one PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slot and one SATA 3.0 M.2 slot for storage. Networking is handled by three Intel NICs, specifically the i219, i210, and i226V controllers. Rumors suggest the LGA 1954 socket could support multiple future CPU generations, including Nova Lake, Razor Lake, and Hammer Lake, with a potential debut in Q1 2027.

Decenta has not yet released pricing or specific availability dates for the M26-NVLS-ATX09. The listing confirms the physical specifications and chipset options but leaves commercial details pending. This initial listing serves as the first public confirmation of the hardware specifications for Intel's upcoming LGA 1954 platform.

Source: TweakTown