What's the story on a Z590 stinger??

Not even a 2.5G NIC? So much for future-proofing, looks like I'll need to take up a PCIe slot with a NIC in a year or two.

I am a little disappointed the Wi-Fi version does not go to Wi-Fi 6e and Bluetooth 5.2..

VRM of Z590 Dark have got 90A on element, like a Z490 Dark, or 100A like a last tendention at Z590 - Gigabyte Z590 Xtreme a example?
And E-ATX i hope? Not typical ATX.
I wish to take last architechture on DDR4 - maybe Rocket-Lake will be. I hope his performance be better then first leaks and reviews.
 

kougar
Rocket lake was confirmed to be 20 PCIe lanes. So that's x4 lanes for these boards to utilize. Doubled-edged sword though, because it means even though Rocket Lake works in Z490 boards they won't get those extra x4 PCIe lanes. And to be clear, Intel already officially confirmed Alder Lake is launching at the end of this year. Z690 or whatever they call it will require DDR5 and won't be compatible with Rocket lake or older CPUs. 

Yea i wish this was the release time for Alder Lake.. I'm ready to upgrade but damm twice in one year feels like I'm building two PC's, And if Alder Lake be the chip we been finally waiting for I'm gonna flip out.

Sn8ke_iis
So does this mean the Z490 Dark is not PCI 4.0 capable?

Correct - Z490 is not PCIe 4.0 capable, although I believe Z490 will still be compatible with the new CPU. PCIe 4.0 requires hardware which only a very few Z490 boards have.
 

 
Btw, thanks EVGA, wasn't sure EVGA would even put out a board for this end-of-line CPU.
 

Xtrem

DEJ915

Xtrem
Also would it support an i9-10850K?

Z590 is backward compatible with 10 series 1200 CPUs

Thanks!

fragility_V1

Xtrem
I bought my Z490 on 11/19/2020 and would like to step up...  Does anyone know if I can make it? I see under my products that it says:
This product is not available for Step-Up. Please read the terms and conditions of our Step-Up program.

I think it's 90 days.  There only appears to be renders of the board with no actual release date.  So it's probably a month or so still, if not more.  If you were eligible (which it looks like not),  I don't think you'd make the window having bought your board back in November.

Unfortunate... I'm tired of dealing with the issues with my board (Wifi and memory issues) and now I have to take pictures of the socket and send it back to EVGA for a replacement which probably is a refurb... 
 
Last question, what form factor do you think these boards will be?  ATX or E-ATX?

Dark is E-ATX, FTW is ATX. You can see how far the board sticks out on the Dark from the mounting holes on the right side of the board

Sn8ke_iis

Nereus

Sn8ke_iis
So does this mean the Z490 Dark is not PCI 4.0 capable?

Correct - Z490 is not PCIe 4.0 capable, although I believe Z490 will still be compatible with the new CPU. PCIe 4.0 requires hardware which only a very few Z490 boards have.
 

Thanks Nereus, where would I be able to confirm this?

I bought the board for Rocket Lake, it was on a great sale. Hard to pass up for arguably the best OC motherboard in the World. I’d had read that dropping PCIe 4.0 from the Z490 specification was a last minute decision by Intel. And that quite a few will be able to support it with the proper BIOS update. Just got it, so I’m eligible for the step up program. Or might just throw it on EBay.

I don’t plan on running SLI so PCIe 4.0 isn’t a deal breaker. It’s a nice first world dilemma to ponder over. Any advice or what you would do is appreciated.

https://itigic.com/all-co...-boards-with-pcie-4-0/
 
https://wccftech.com/z490-motherboards-pcie-gen-4-support-detailed-asus-msi-asrock-gigabyte/
 

 
 

My current workstation is about to die on me and since I need it for work I really want to put together a new one.
Ryzen being unavailable I've kind of come to the conclusion to buy a 10850K and a Z490 Dark KPE (on sale at Amazon at the moment).
I can rationalize not waiting for the 11900K (8 vs 10 cores) but now I feel like I need to wait for the Z590 Dark...
What do you guys think?

Currently the Z490 Dark (KPE) is not on the Step-Up list for the US (only Europe).
On the other hand, I'm kind of only considering hte Z490 Dark at the moment since it's on sale anyways.
I hate making decisions :(

Thanks for your input, I think that's exactly what I needed to hear ;)
Will probbaly pull the trigger on the 10850K and and Z490 Dark KPE then (and 64GB RAM for good measure).

Nice to see a Z590 dark also

Is there any news about being able to disable `spread spectrum` in this one? imo z490 dark was the worst dark just because of that. Everything is fine, but undershooting everything because of energy efficiency is just weird. Please..

Mostly the cost is the based on the EVGA construction quality. The EVGA boards are much thicker I think 8 Layer PCB, they have a more optimized and better voltage regulation and power phase system. Only two memory slots close to the CPU for better memory stability when overclocking. They also have allot less BS features than other companies have (although I am sad to see RGB starting to sneak into the DARK series HEY EVGA ITS NOT DARK IF IT HAS RGB COLORS!!!) Most of the MSI and ASUS stuff is currently not really performance based its hyped-up slick GUI's and CPU crushing Software applications that are well marketed mostly for the flashy kiddie fan boys and people that don't know how to configure their system so MSI and ASUS will build you undependable mindless drone software that will do it for you. Plus the EVGA BIOS is really well done. I mean what does RGB do for a computer, nothing! Oh it looks pretty, Power Gaming and overclocking is not about pretty its about Horsepower, power gaming is the same its about raw power and framerates. There used to be a saying Chrome don't get you home with regard to Cars and Motorcycles. Well RGB doesn't get you Frames! Its overhyped Marketing! There are no performance gains and you can legitimately argue RGB kills performance through the Software Applications that are non standardized across all manufacturers, which is proven on Gamers Nexus and other tech channels. EVGA use high quality caps which is really subjective, but when it comes to sound quality you actually need the better bigger caps, I design and build Tube Guitar Amps and quality sound comes from large filter caps of higher quality. They also have multiple bios features and 90 degree 24 pin connections etc. The build quality and feature list is great, not as many features as some of the higher end boards but the build quality is superior. If you look at MSI and ASUS the higher end boards are where you see high power phase counts and I/O features. But their boards are not as many layers and support from them is a nightmare especially ASUS. EVGA Support has never let me down even when I call on a Saturday.
 
The issue I have with this whole mess is the way intel continues to add little and expect their customers to go out and buy a new board to get all the features. I mean they have been at 16 PCIe lanes for years and they think takin away two cores and adding 4 lanes is competitive. Intel is becoming less respected and much less innovative, innovation at Intel is almost non-existant, they offer little and charge allot, and expect you to run out and buy a new board every 2 CPU iterations. I just bought a Z490 KP edition board and am running a 10900KF which runs great and is overclocking like a champ. But if I want faster memory support and PCIe 4 I may have to replace processor and likely the motherboard again. Intel is getting punch drunk from the beating AMD is putting on them, and then to try and gain back marketspace they are offering iterative improvements that make no sense. Intel are drunk at the wheel and I am concerned they could fold at the rate of dumpster fire decisions they are making. Meanwhile AMD is sitting back licking their chops and cant wait to raise their prices. Everybody jumped on the AMD bandwagon based on Price. If Intel continues to falter AMD will raise prices, they have stock holders just like intel does.
 
Everybody loves to hate the Boss, and when the new Boss shows up they find out he's the same as the old Boss. AMD is a company and they are in this to make money! Neither INTEL OR AMD are your friend, the best you can hope for is Value, Innovation and NO BS SUPPORT.

_7ucky_
Thank you for the detailed response. EVGA motherboards never really came up in discussions when I was looking for a board for my new build, but it seems extremely high end so it's just a bit curious that it was absent from the conversations I read. I get that it's probably a pretty niche product since they're most well-known for their GPUs, but still surprising nonetheless.

Hahaha, I also questioned the addition of RGB to a board called "Dark". 

Interesting EVGA didn't come up.  I usually place them high up in my go-to lists.  Were your discussions primarily around AMD?  Then it makes sense EVGA wasn't brought up, they're only team blue.