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Gigabyte bolts an SSD to a motherboard (so you don't have to)

Gigabyte has decided to simplify matters for those who want the power of an SSD in their desktop, but don't want to deal with the hassle of buying and connecting one. The company's new Z68XP-UD3-iSSD (catchy, no?) motherboard comes with a 20GB Intel SSD 311 mounted right on it. It's not clear if you can simply dump files on it like a normal drive -- what it can do, however, is use Intel's Smart Response tech to cache frequently accessed data, like your OS, to improve performance. Essentially, it turns any hard disk you connect to the system into a hybrid drive with a much larger reserve of flash storage, which should sound somewhat familiar. The board also features the ability to switch between discrete and built-in graphics thanks to Lucid Logix's Virtu. The rest of the features are pretty standard fare: USB 3.0, a pair of 16x PCI-E slots, and 6GB SATA connections. The latest Z68 board from Gigabyte will go on sale early in June and, while we don't have a price, we've done a little (PR) embedding of our own after the break.

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GIGABYTE Offers Bundle on Z68XP-UD3-iSSD Motherboard featuring 20GB Intel® SSD 311 Series
SSD Bundle Enables Users to Effortlessly Take Advantage of Intel® Smart Response Technology for an Instant System Performance Boost
2011/05/27

Taipei, Taiwan, May 27, 2011 - GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards and computing hardware solutions today announced the new GIGABYTE Z68XP-UD3-iSSD motherboard based on the Intel® Z68 Express chipset and pre-bundled with the 20GB Intel® Solid-State Drive 311 Series. The included mSATA-based single level cell (SLC) solid-state drive (SSD), allows users to take advantage of the performance benefits of Intel® Smart Response Technology straight out of the box. The package is expected to be available to end-users in early June from selected online retailers internationally.

"We are thrilled to deliver the world's first motherboard to come pre-bundled with an IntelSSD 311," commented Richard Chen, VP of Worldwide Sales and Marketing at GIGABYTE. "Our customers realize the performance benefits that Intel Smart Response Technology has to offer, and the Z68XP-UD3-iSSD is the easiest way for them to instantly take advantage of the performance boost."

"By offering the Intel SSD 311 Series, optimized for Intel Smart Response Technology, with GIGABYTE's Z68XP-UD3-iSSD MOTHERBOARD, we can bring the benefits of increased system responsiveness to more users," said Pete Hazen, director of marketing for Intel's Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group. "A bundle such as this offers users an easy, plug-and-play entry into the quicker response environment of caching with an SSD."

Intel® Smart Response Technology
GIGABYTE Z68 series motherboards are equipped with the much anticipated Intel® Smart Response Technology, allowing users to experience system performance similar to SSD-only systems. Intel® Smart Response technology works by using intelligent block-based caching of frequently used applications to improve system performance and responsiveness. In fact, GIGABYTE Z68 motherboards with Intel® Smart Response Technology are able to outperform hybrid drive systems by more than 4X (PC Mark Vantage HDD test score) and deliver a 60% performance improvement over HDD-only systems in PC Mark Vantage Suite.

GIGABYTE mSATA Ready Motherboards (Total of 5 models)
GA-Z68XP-UD3-iSSD (bundled with Intel® Solid-State Drive 311 Series)
GA-Z68XP-UD3 GA-Z68XP-D3 GA-Z68AP-D3 GA-Z68P-DS3

GIGABYTE will display the GA-Z68XP-UD3-iSSD package at Computex 2011. To find out more about the GA-Z68XP-UD3-iSSD, please visit: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3896