| ASRock Releases Z68 Motherboard with PCI Express 3.0 Slots |
| Author: Cássio Lima |
Date: June 29, 2011 - 7:52 AM PST |
| Category: Motherboard |
| More Info: http://www.asrock.com/news/index.asp?cat=News&id=211 |
ASRock took the lead from all the other motherboard manufacturers by launching the world's first motherboard that supports the PCI Express 3.0 standard, the Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3. The main thing about the PCI Express 3.0 is that it can provide a bandwidth of 1 GB/s in one direction (2 GB/s per lane; each lane has two directions). The original PCI Express specification supported 250 MB/s per lane, and PCI Express 2.0 supported 500 MB/s per lane. This means that a PCI Express 3.0 x16 slot provides a maximum transfer rate of 32 GB/s (2 GB/s x 16), whereas a PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot can reach up to 8 GB/s. Bear in mind that you need a PCI Express 3.0 video card to achieve the bandwidth of PCI Express 3.0 slots. The ASRock Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 is an LGA1155 socket motherboard based on the Intel Z68 chipset. It features two PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots, one PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot, two PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots, two PCI standard slots, four DDR3-2133 memory sockets, four USB 3.0 ports, six SATA-600 ports, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, 7.1 channel audio, an 18-phase regulator voltage circuit, VGA and HDMI video outputs, and a Fatal1ty USB Mouse Port, which allows polling rate adjustment from 125 Hz to 1000 Hz. ASRock’s motherboard also supports Virtu and Intel Smart Response technologies. Information on pricing was not provided. 
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| MSI Announces A75MA-G55 Motherboard for AMD Llano APUs |
| Author: Cássio Lima |
Date: June 28, 2011 - 2:10 AM PST |
| Category: Motherboard |
| More Info: http://www.msi.com/news-media/news/1278.html |
MSI has just announced the A75MA-G55, a brand new motherboard for the upcoming desktop APUs (Accelerated Processing Units) manufactured in 32 nm technology from AMD. These new APUs will be part of the AMD A-Series (codename Llano) and will feature a new socket, dubbed FM1. The A75MA-G55 features an FM1 socket, four DDR3-1866 memory sockets, two PCI Express x16 slots, six SATA-600 ports, four USB 3.0 ports, 7.1 channel audio, Gigabit Ethernet, and HDMI, DVI and VGA video outputs. This motherboard uses military-class components, such as Hi-c capacitors and solid ferrite-core coils, also known as SFC, Super Ferrite Choke, which, according to MSI, can provide up to a 20% improvement in efficiency. Information on pricing or availability was not provided. 
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| ASUS Announces Motherboards for AMD Llano APUs |
| Author: Cássio Lima |
Date: June 24, 2011 - 6:39 AM PST |
| Category: Motherboard |
| More Info: http://www.asus.com |
After Biostar and ECS, now it’s time for ASUS to launch their first motherboards for the upcoming desktop APUs (Accelerated Processing Units) manufactured in 32 nm technology from AMD. These new APUs will be part of the AMD A-Series (codename Llano) and will feature a new socket, dubbed FM1. APUs (Accelerated Processing Units) are AMD processors that have a CPU, a GPU, and a north bridge (including a memory controller) in the same die. They’re also known as Fusion processors. ASUS has launched two models: F1A75-V EVO and F1A75-V Pro. Both feature an FM1 socket, four DDR3 memory sockets, three PCI Express x16 slots, seven SATA-600 ports, USB 3.0 ports, 7.1 channel audio, and HDMI, DVI and VGA outputs. Information on pricing or availability was not provided. 
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| Biostar Announces Motherboards for AMD Llano APUs |
| Author: Cássio Lima |
Date: June 20, 2011 - 8:40 AM PST |
| Category: Motherboard |
| More Info: http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/news/news.php?id=108 |
Next month, AMD is going to launch their first desktop APUs (Accelerated Processing Units) manufactured in 32 nm technology. These new APUs will be part of the AMD A-Series (codename Llano) and will feature a new socket, dubbed FM1. APUs (Accelerated Processing Units) are AMD processors that have a CPU, a GPU, and a north bridge (including a memory controller) in the same die. They’re also known as Fusion processors. In spite of still being a few weeks away from the official launch of AMD A-Series APUs, Biostar has already announced their first FM1 motherboards, which include three models: TA75A+, TA75M+, and TA75M. All of them are equipped with the upcoming Hudson D3 chipset, four DDR3 memory sockets, six SATA-600 ports, four USB 3.0 ports, 7.1 channel audio, one (TA75M) or two (TA75A+, TA75M+) PCI Express x16 slots, and HDMI, DVI and VGA outputs. Information on pricing was not provided.
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| ASRock Unveils Motherboards Based On AMD 9 Series Chipsets |
| Author: Cássio Lima |
Date: June 12, 2011 - 8:09 PM PST |
| Category: Motherboard |
| More Info: http://www.asrock.com/news/index.asp?cat=News&id=208 |
ASRock has introduced their first motherboards for AMD’s Bulldozer processors, which will be launched in a few months. The boards are based on the latest AMD 9 Series chipsets and support the new AM3+ socket. In the table below you can see the main specs for these new motherboards. Model | 990FX Extreme4 | 970 Extreme4 | Form Factor | ATX | ATX | Chipset | 990 FX | 970 | Memory | Four DDR3-2100 sockets | Four DDR3-2100 sockets | PCI Express x16 slots | Three (x16/x16/x4) | Three (x16/-/x4 or x8/x8/x4) | PCI Express x1 slots | Two | Two | PCI slots | Two | Two | SATA-600 | Eight ports (RAID 0,1,5,10) | Five ports (RAID 0,1,5,10) | USB 3.0 | Four | Four | Audio | 5.1 | 7.1 | Lan | One Gigabit Ethernet port | One Gigabit Ethernet port | Voltage Regulator Circuit | 8+2 phase | 5 phase |
The 990FX Extreme4 also comes with a front panel that supports two USB 3.0 ports and provides a 2.5-inch SSD/HDD rack. Information on pricing or availability was not provided. 
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ASRock 990FX Extreme4
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ASRock 970 Extreme4
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| Computex 2011: Several Socket 2011, Intel X79 Motherboards Spotted |
| Author: Gabriel Torres |
Date: June 4, 2011 - 4:13 PM PST |
| Category: Motherboard |
| More Info: http://www.intel.com |
During this Computex, we could see some socket 2011 motherboards based on the Intel X79 chipset, which will be targeted at the forthcoming enthusiast-grade “Sandy Bridge-E” processor. All manufacturers made it clear that the boards displayed are early mock-ups, and that the final specifications for the products may be different, which is why we won’t publish the specifications for each individual motherboard. From what we could see, socket 2011 motherboards based on the Intel X79 chipset will come with support for a four-channel memory configuration, making the memory to be accessed as a 256-bit device and proving double the bandwidth as compared to the dual-channel configuration and 33% more bandwidth than the triple-channel configuration. The socket 2011 will have a dual-latch mechanism system, as we show below. These are the motherboards we saw during Computex: - ASUS: CIX79, CIX79 Deluxe, CIX79 EVO, CIX79 LE, CIX79 Plus, and CIX79 Pro
- ASRock: X79 Extreme4
- ECS: X79R-A
- Gigabyte: GA-X79A-UD3
- MSI: X79A-GD65, X79A-GD70, and X79A-GD80
- Sapphire: PB-CI7X79N
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| Computex 2011: AMD Launches 9-series Chipset |
| Author: Cássio Lima |
Date: June 2, 2011 - 5:33 AM PST |
| Category: Motherboard |
| More Info: http://www.amd.com/us/press-releases/Pages/desktop-9-series-chipsets20... |
Usually, as a brand-new processor is launched, a new series of chipsets is also launched to support it. But in the case of AMD’s first CPUs based on the Bulldozer microarchitecture (codename Zambezi), things were a little different. The chipset was launched first and the Bulldozer-based processor is expected to be launched in a couple of months. The recently-launched AMD 9-series chipsets support today’s socket AM3 processors and the upcoming socket AM3+ CPUs based on the Bulldozer microarchitecture. It means that you can buy a motherboard based on an AMD 9-Series chipset, and install an existing socket AM3 CPU (such as Phenom II, Athlon II etc.), but you won’t be able to install a Bulldozer processor on a current socket AM3 motherboard. The AMD 9-series family is comprised with the following models: - AMD 990FX
- AMD 990X
- AMD 970
Technically speaking, the AMD 9-series is identical to the AMD 8-series. The new name is just to clarify compatibility with Bulldozer-based processors, i.e., users can easily know that motherboards using a 9-series chipset are a socket AM3+ model. Several manufacturers have launched motherboards based on this new chipset, as you can see below.
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| Computex 2011: Gigabyte Releases Z68 Motherboard With On-Board SSD |
| Author: Gabriel Torres |
Date: June 1, 2011 - 7:57 AM PST |
| Category: Motherboard |
| More Info: http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3896#ov |
Gigabyte released four motherboards based on the Intel Z68 chipset with an mSATA socket, allowing you to install an SSD unit that is based on this form factor. With this SSD installed, you are able to use Intel Smart Response Technology, which uses the SSD to store most-frequently accessed programs and data, improving the hard disk drive performance. Click here to read our review on this technology. One of these models, the GA-Z68XP-UD3-iSSD, comes with an Intel 311 Series 20 GB SSD already installed on the motherboard, making it easier for users who want to use the Intel Smart Response Technology. Also, Gigabyte is proving a program called EZ Smart Response Utility, which allows you to migrate your existing hard drive to the SRT configuration without losing your existing programs and data, since to install SRT you must set the SSD and hard drive in RAID 0, which makes the existing contents of your hard drive inaccessible. Below, you see pictures of the GA-Z68XP-UD3-iSSD. Other features include two PCI Express x16 slots supporting both SLI and CrossFireX modes, four USB 3.0 ports, four SATA-600 ports, two FireWire ports, professional-level audio (Realtek ALC889 codec, 108 dB signal-to-noise ratio) and one HDMI port. This motherboard supports LucidLogix Virtu technology, which makes the computer switch between a video card and the CPU integrated graphics, depending on the task you are doing. 
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| ECS Announces Motherboards for AMD Llano APUs |
| Author: Cássio Lima |
Date: May 18, 2011 - 7:21 AM PST |
| Category: Motherboard |
| More Info: http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Media/NewsRoom_Detail.aspx?NewsID=140... |
Next month, AMD is going to launch their first APUs (Accelerated Processing Units) manufactured in 32 nm technology. These new APUs will be part of the AMD A-Series (codename Llano) and will feature a new socket, dubbed FM1. APUs or Accelerated Processing Units are AMD processors that have a CPU, a GPU, and a north bridge (including a memory controller) in the same die. They’re also known as Fusion processors. In spite of still being a few weeks away from the official launch of AMD A-Series APUs, ECS has already announced their first FM1 motherboards, which include three models: A75F-A Black Deluxe, A75F-M and A75F-M2. All of them are equipped with the upcoming Hudson D3 chipset, USB 3.0 and SATA-600 ports. Below we’ve listed the main specs for these new boards. - A75F-A Black Deluxe (ATX): Four DDR3 sockets, four USB 3.0 ports, five SATA-600 ports, one eSATA-600 port, one PCI Express x16 slot, 8-channel audio with SPDIF, and HDMI, DVI and VGA outputs
- A75F-M (ATX): Four DDR3 sockets, four USB 3.0 ports, six SATA-600 ports, one PCI Express x16 slot, 8-channel audio with SPDIF, and HDMI, DVI and VGA outputs
- A75F-M2 (micro-ATX): Two DDR3 sockets, four USB 3.0 ports, six SATA-600 ports, one PCI Express x16 slot, 6-channel audio, and HDMI, DVI (optional), and VGA outputs
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| Intel Intros Z68 Express Chipset |
| Author: Cássio Lima |
Date: May 11, 2011 - 9:58 AM PST |
| Category: Motherboard |
| More Info: http://www.intel.com/products/desktop/chipsets/ec-z68/z68-overview.htm |
Today Intel officially launched their Z68 Express chipset. It is designed for the second generation Intel Core i3/i5/i7 CPUs (based on Sandy Bridge architecture), and it combines the best world of both P67 and H67 chipsets. First of all, the Z68 Express chipset allows users to overclock the CPU and/or memory, a feature not present on the H67 chipset. If you wanted to overclock your Sandy Bridge processor, you would need to buy a P67-based motherboard. However, the P67 chipset does not support the Sandy Bridge's integrated GPU. You have to buy a discrete GPU to install on a P67-based motherboard, disabling the integrated GPU. To make things worse, you can’t use Intel's Quick Sync transcode engine if you're using a discrete GPU; you need to use the processor's integrated GPU to take advantage of this technology. However, Intel's Quick Sync technology is supported by the H67 chipset. So, until now you had to decide on either overclocking or Quick Sync, but not both. The Z68 chipset overcomes the limitations mentioned above and combines the best features of both the P67 and H67 chipsets. It supports overclocking and Quick Sync. The Z68 chipset brings two new features: Virtu and Intel Smart Response technologies. The former dynamically switches between the Sandy Bridge's integrated GPU and a discrete GPU based on what you are doing. Simply put, the discrete card will be used only to run 3D games, while the integrated GPU will be used for trivial 2D applications. Intel Smart Response technology is an SSD caching that copies your most commonly used applications from your hard disk drive to your SSD in order to load faster. The Z68 chipset supports one x16 PCI Express lane (or two x8 lanes), RAID (0,1,5,10), 14 USB 2.0 ports, four SATA-300 ports, two SATA-600 ports, eight PCI Express slots, Gigabit Ethernet, and four DDR3-1333 memory sockets. 
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Several manufacturers have launched models based on this new chipset from Intel, as you can see below.
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