Something to look forward to: Asus plans to showcase a new series of AM5 motherboards under the "Neo" branding at CES 2026 in Las Vegas. The company previously confirmed that it will also unveil a range of new ROG Strix, ROG Crosshair, TUF Gaming, and ProArt motherboards at the event.
The 18-second promotional video released by Asus suggests that the new Neo lineup will offer several upgrades over existing models, including tools to enhance cable management, optimize operating temperatures, and provide other advanced features aimed at enthusiasts, hobbyists, and DIY system builders.
The video also appears to show a set of pogo pins located next to the AM5 socket, a feature typically found in consumer electronics such as battery docks and smartphone chargers. While their exact purpose remains unclear, the "AIO_POGO" label has sparked speculation that the pins may be designed to improve cable management for all-in-one liquid coolers.
The Neo boards could also introduce a vapor chamber cooling solution for M.2 SSDs, as indicated by a label reading "3D VC M.2." This addition would be a welcome upgrade, offering an innovative way to manage the heat generated by first-generation PCIe Gen5 SSDs.
While vapor chamber cooling is already widely used in high-end smartphones, graphics cards, and CPU coolers, this marks the first time it is being directly integrated into a mainstream consumer motherboard to regulate SSD temperatures. The result could be improved performance and increased longevity for high-speed drives.
The upcoming boards are expected to support most AM5 processors, including the new 3D V-Cache chips anticipated early next year. The so-called "Granite Ridge Refresh" CPUs reportedly include the Zen 5-based Ryzen 7 9850X3D and the leaked Ryzen 9 9950X3D2, featuring 16 cores, 32 threads, and 192 MB of L3 cache.
AMD plans to support the AM5 socket beyond Zen 5, with Asus and ASRock recently confirming compatibility with Zen 6 CPUs. AM5 debuted in late 2022 alongside the Zen 4-based Ryzen 7000 processors, introducing an LGA design, DDR5 support, and PCIe 5.0 compatibility.
Asus teases "Neo" AM5 motherboards with vapor chamber cooling, improved cable management
