ASUS Confirms 800 Series Motherboards Will Get BIOS Ready Updates for Intel Arrow Lake Refresh CPUs Later This Month
ASUS has confirmed that its 800 series motherboard lineup will receive BIOS updates later this month that are designed to be ready for Intel Arrow Lake Refresh processors, even though Intel has not formally announced the refreshed desktop lineup yet. In an official post on X, ASUS states that these boards will be BIOS ready for the upcoming CPUs, positioning the update as an out of the box compatibility move for users planning a near term platform upgrade once the new chips land.
🚀 Ready for the future of Intel!#ASUS W880, Z890, Q870, B860 & H810 motherboards are 🧠✨ BIOS READY — rolling out in late January.
— ASUS (@ASUS) January 22, 2026
All set for Intel Arrow Lake Refresh! Upgrade smoothly. Next-gen power is coming!#ProWS #ROG #Strix #TUFGaming #ProArt #Prime #motherboard pic.twitter.com/6TIQLxBF4z
Based on ASUS’s statement, the BIOS roll out will cover a wide range of chipsets across workstation, embedded, and mainstream consumer segments, including W880, Z890, Q870, B860, and H810. From a platform strategy perspective, this is ASUS tightening execution on the readiness story, ensuring early adopters and system builders can avoid the common friction point of needing a supported CPU just to flash a board before a new generation becomes usable.
While Intel did not announce Arrow Lake Refresh at CES, the market has been tracking ongoing leaks and discussion around a Core Ultra Plus refresh for desktop. The rumored desktop stack referenced in the current chatter includes 3 SKUs: Core Ultra 5 250K Plus, Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, and Core Ultra 9 290K Plus. Expectations center on either higher core configuration, higher boost clocks, or both, relative to the current Arrow Lake family. With no official Intel spec sheet yet, it is best to treat these SKU details and performance expectations as rumor until Intel confirms names, core counts, and clocks.
ASUS is not the only vendor signaling preparation. CES coverage also pointed to GIGABYTE showcasing an Arrow Lake Refresh compatible board under the name Z890 AORUS ELITE WiFi7 PLUS, and it is reasonable to expect broader BIOS enablement across existing Z890 class products across vendors as the launch window becomes clearer. The key near term takeaway is simple: motherboard makers are moving ahead of Intel’s public launch timing to reduce upgrade friction and keep retail boards aligned with what is likely coming next.
If Intel does move forward with a March or April timing as currently rumored, ASUS’s later this month BIOS cadence is a practical hedge: it de risks early adopter builds, supports SI deployment planning, and helps the channel avoid a messy split between old BIOS inventory and new CPU availability.
From a builder perspective, this is the kind of low drama platform readiness that matters, especially for enthusiasts who want to drop in a new CPU on day 1 without treating BIOS flashing like a side quest.
What are you planning for your next build cycle, staying on current Arrow Lake, or waiting specifically for the Core Ultra Plus refresh?
