The short version
- Decenta, a Chinese industrial PC maker, has listed the M26-NVLS-ATX09, the first motherboard for Intel's next desktop chips, Nova Lake-S.
- It uses the new LGA 1954 socket, so today's LGA 1851 and LGA 1700 boards won't take Nova Lake.
- It comes in B960 and Q970 versions with DDR5 support and PCIe 5.0 slots.
- Leaks point to a Q1 2027 launch for the chips, sold as Core Ultra 400. Intel hasn't given a date, and there's no India pricing for anything yet.
What's on the board
The listing is for a standard ATX board aimed at industrial PCs, not gamers, but it's the first real hardware for the new platform. Both versions have four DDR5 slots rated up to 6400 MT/s and 8+1+1 power phases.
- Q970 version: two PCIe 5.0 x16-size slots (one running at x16, one at x8) and four PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots for SSDs
- B960 version: one PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, PCIe 4.0 for the rest, one PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot and one SATA M.2 slot
B-series chipsets usually end up on mid-range consumer boards, so the B960 spec is a rough early hint of what cheaper Nova Lake boards might offer.
What we know about Nova Lake
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has said Nova Lake will arrive at the end of 2026. More recent leaks of Intel's roadmap, reported by VideoCardz, push the first desktop chips to January to March 2027, possibly with a CES 2027 reveal.
Older leaks say the top chip could have 52 cores: 16 performance cores, 32 efficiency cores and 4 low-power cores. None of that is confirmed, and specs often change before launch.
The new socket problem
On paper, LGA 1954 means a new motherboard for anyone upgrading to Nova Lake. That's nothing new for Intel: LGA 1851 only covered one generation of Core Ultra desktop chips (the 200S series and its Plus refresh). Rumours say LGA 1954 could cover the two generations after Nova Lake as well, but that's unconfirmed.
It also lands at an awkward time. Intel has just raised processor prices for PC makers, and there are signs it may keep selling new chips for older LGA 1700 boards. If you're building a PC in India now, today's platforms aren't going away soon.
What to watch: CES 2027 in January, and the first consumer Z990 and B960 boards from Asus, MSI and Gigabyte.
Images: Intel Corporation.
