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Gigabyte announces support for Intel Collage in Z77 motherboards, invites you to make a DIY 4K display
Running a PC with a Gigabyte motherboard, dual Thunderbolt ports and four monitors? You might want to consider revising that NVIDIA Surround setup into makeshift 4k display. Gigabyte has announced that it will soon be issuing updates for its Z77 motherboards to include support for Intel Collage technology, allowing users to split a 4k video signal between four HD monitors. Not a bad trick, considering the cost of native 4K displays. Intel's Collage feature is available to any manufacturer interested in implementing it, but Gigabyte is proud to be the first out of the door. All you have to worry about is training yourself to ignore that unsightly monitor bezel.
Project Inverted turns a gaming PC inside-out with hand-made casing
While we've seen some exotic PC mods in our time, most of those still dutifully stuff all the computer parts into a box, hiding them from the outside world. Martijn Laman isn't one for that kind of traditionalism. His recently completed Project Inverted, just highlighted by ASUS, puts most of the hardware on the outside: the Sabertooth Z77 motherboard, Core i5 processor, fan cooling, memory, Radeon HD 6870 video card and watercooling pipes all sit in plain sight. Everything is joined by a unique, hand-cut case whose backbone and elevated base hide the custom wiring, the watercooling pump, two solid-state drives and controllers for both fans and lighting. And did we mention the 7-inch touchscreen? The result is a truly special gaming rig that's relatively quiet and pristine despite baring its heart and soul for all to see. Building a replica won't be quick, nor will it be cheap at about €1,500 ($1,909), but Laman's detailed assembly process could well be the inspiration for a few more extroverted PCs.
An early look at Ivy Bridge motherboards: or, the side order without the main
Ssshh. Ivy Bridge is officially still a mystery, remember? Nevertheless, through some quirk of chronology, the accompanying Z77 chipset for motherboards has already been announced. If there's a reason for this early entrance, it's probably because Z77 is backwards compatible with Sandy Bridge, which means that the latest crop of motherboards from Asus, Gigabyte, Intel and MSI can be considered fully-fledged products in their own right. Well, kind of, anyway. In reality, some of the key selling points of Z77 won't get activated until you clamp on Ivy Bridge silicon -- including PCIe 3.0 support (hitherto only found on X79 big-momma-boards), so the real testing can't begin in earnest until the new kid arrives. With that caveat out of the way, read on for a quick review round-up.
