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ASUS kills USB 3.0-laden P6X58 motherboard for reasons unknown
Such a shame, no? As has become all too common in the uncertain world known as ASUS' R&D lab, it looks as if yet another promising product has been canned before it ever had a chance to truly live. After the aforementioned company's P6X58 Premium motherboard set the world ablaze just over a week ago, primarily due to the USB 3.0 sockets shown there on the left, the mainboard has reportedly been canceled for reasons unknown. According to a report over at The Inquirer, an ASUS spokesperson claimed that the mobo had been shelved "not for any particularly interesting reasons," leaving us to wonder when we'll ever see a motherboard equipped with that so-called SuperSpeed magic. Our true emotions are captured nicely in the video just past the break.[Via HotHardware]
ASUS P6X58 Premium motherboard arrives complete with USB 3.0 ports
We've seen cables, controllers, drivers and years of promises, and it looks like we now finally have some pictures of the first official USB 3.0 motherboard out in the wild. That milestone comes courtesy of ASUS, which looks to have gone all out (or as far out as motherboards can go) with its new P6X58 Premium model. As you can see above, it packs a pair of easily identifiable USB 3.0 ports and three standard USB 2.0 ports, along with accommodations for a Core i7 processor, six DDR3 memory slots, three PCI-Express 2.0 slots, and plenty of other standard fare. Still no word on a price or release date, unfortunately, and the folks at Xfastest unsurprisingly weren't able to provide any benchmarks or the like, considering that there isn't much in the way of actual USB 3.0 gear to test it with just yet.[Via Everything USB]
Zotac Ion-based IONITX-A SFF motherboard review roundup
Jonesing for a new small form factor PC, are you? Not so keen on selecting a pre-fabricated unit? If you definitely fit the bill here, it's worth taking a gander at Zotac's recently released IONITX-A motherboard. As the first of its breed to actually ship, a whole lot is riding on its solder points, and according to reviews found 'round the web, it's done a satisfactory job of living up to expectations. The test bench-abusin' kids over at Hot Hardware found that Zotac's board (and the included dual-core Atom 330 CPU) performed "as expected," notching results that were "significantly better than any of the single core Atom 230-based systems." The unique DC power input was also lauded, and the silent nature made this a perfect candidate for a low-power, highly-capable carputer building block. All in all, this here mobo won't transform your life, but it's certainly a welcome extra in the all-too-stale DIY SFF market. Check the links below for all the bar charts you can handle.Read - Hot Hardware ("most appealing of the Ion-based products")Read - PC Perspective ("an impressive motherboard for its size")Read - The Tech Report ("as good as the Ion platform gets")Read - Tom's Hardware ("it's most promising destination is in the HTPC space")
Zotac jumping in Ion-filled waters with new Mini-ITX motherboards
We'd heard a few whispers rolling through the gentle breeze that Zotac would be hopping on the Ion bandwagon early on, and sure enough, it looks like said firm is indeed latched on. Reportedly, the outfit will be producing a few Mini-ITX motherboards in the near future that support Intel's Atom 230 / 330 processors and come loaded with NVIDIA's GeForce 9400M G chipsets. The mobos would also include all of the basic amenities: Ethernet, two RAM slots, HDMI / DVI / VGA outputs, a trio of SATA ports and a WiFi module. There's still no word on what system maker is looking to slap these into their next-generation nettops, but who knows, maybe this will end up being the first standalone Ion-based board for the DIYers in attendance.[Via Expreview, thanks Shawn]
Video: Via announces Surfboard netbook with 1080p graphics
Via Technologies has announced its new Surfboard C855 mainboard reference design directed at the netbook market. This guy is built around the company's new VX855 chipset and promises 1080p Full HD video playback, 8-channel HD audio, hardware decoding for H.264, MPEG-2/4, VC-1 and WMV9, and support for Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS and 3G connectivity. According to the company, the thing will play HD video with under 40 percent CPU use, supporting up to 1366 x 768 internal display resolution (1920 x 1440 external). What do you think? Are you a would-be netbook developer looking for "a complete, ready-to-build solution," that offers "a superior multimedia entertainment experience?" Be sure to check out that video after the break.
GIGABYTE BIOS hack subverts NVIDIA SLI certification, sticks it to the man
When NVIDIA announced support for SLI on motherboards sporting Intel's X58 chipset, there was something of a hidden catch -- manufacturers needed to pay to become "certified." Yes, you might have thought all you needed was a pair of parallel PCI-E slots and couple of matching video cards to get your SLI on, but non-certified boards find themselves shunned by NVIDIA graphics hardware. However, where there's a will there's usually a way, and for at least one of those woefully illegitimate mobos there's a workaround. GIGABYTE didn't bother to get certification for its EX58-UD4 motherboard, but it did for the EX58-UD4P, and it turns out the same BIOS works on both. Naturally it takes a little extra work to get the wrong version up in the right EEPROM, but the read link has all the details you need to re-flash with finesse.
MSI Winki eyes-on: it's an instant-on OS, but for desktops
MSI did a laudatory job this morning baffling us with its Winki release, but we managed to find an exceptionally kind, English-speaking representative at its CeBIT booth today who broke it down for us. In short, Winki is MSI's new instant-on operating system. It's Linux-based, and looks a heck of a lot more elaborate than the HyperSpace instant-on OS that we toyed with in January. The kicker is that at least for now, this thing is only for desktops, as it's actually built into a small module (shown above) that plugs directly into an MSI motherboard. At first, only select mainboards will come bundled with Winki, but it just might roll out across MSI's entire mobo line. The dame we spoke with wouldn't divulge any details on whether this OS would ever come to its wide-ranging laptop line, but we suspect it will in due time. Winki provides easy access to IM services, Skype and the internet, which is a shortcut to Doom away from being all the true gamer needs in life, anyway.%Gallery-46705%
ASUS Marine Cool concept motherboard hands-off
We saw the first motherboard we'd actually consider buying a clear case for earlier this week when ASUS announced its new Marine Cool concept mobo, so we couldn't resist the urge to swing by and grab a few snaps of it here at CeBIT. Unfortunately, the board was sitting behind 3-inches of bulletproof glass, but that didn't stop our lens from getting as close as possible. We'll be frank -- this thing looks even better in person, and it just might be the catalyst the mobo world needed to start caring about design.%Gallery-46327%
ASUS to showcase Marine Cool concept motherboard at CeBIT
Check it, OC'ing freaks -- ASUS is apparently planning to debut a new concept motherboard at CeBIT, the aptly titled Marine Cool. The high-end mobo is said to be "unlike any other motherboard on the market," with the all new backplate being the showstopping feature. It's said that the backplate features a "micro-porous ceramic" technology, which delivers quicker heat dissipation than existing alternatives. If you're still scratching your head in a seemingly futile attempt to figure out why this matters, the new cooling tech should allow for components to handle even more extreme overclocking without having to hook up some sort of liquid nitrogen rig. One curious aspect was the decision to include dual SO-DIMM slots in place of traditional desktop-grade DIMM slots, though we don't suspect that'll be a deal breaker for those willing to accept sacrifices for maximum cooling. As is always the case with ASUS, there's no indication of a price or eventual commercialization date, but hopefully we'll get more from the show floor in Hannover.[Via HotHardware, thanks JC]%Gallery-46119%
Intel's Core i7 Extreme Edition 965 overclocked to 5.5GHz
Right, so Intel's 3.73GHz Core i7 Extreme Edition 965 is fast enough for the vast majority of PC users across the globe, but not for Japanese overclocking enthusiast duck. Oh no -- duck decided to pair the chip up with ASUS' ROG Rampage II Extreme motherboard, which facilitates hardware-based OC'ing, in order to reach a top speed of 5510.09MHz. The point of the exercise? Just to say he could, not to mention set the bar for OC Team Italy to try and demolish.
AMD's Maui HTPC platform demoed on video
If you were mildly intrigued by AMD's Maui HTPC platform, but have since pushed off the idea of crafting your very own media center PC, we're glad to have your attention once more. HotHardware had a chance to toy around with a Maui-based system, and rather than telling us about it in a dissertation-style writeup, it simply flipped on the video camera and hosted up a 7.5 minute clip showing it off. Have a look after the break.
AMD's Maui HTPC platform now on sale
HTPC-centric motherboards aren't exactly everywhere these days, so we figured it prudent to pass along this heads-up. AMD's flexible Maui platform is now on sale, bringing with it a low-power Phenom or Athlon X2 processor, an AMD 780-series (or higher) IGPU, an ATI TV tuner and AMD's Live media center software elements. Reviews from buyers have been generally positive thus far, and you can snag one now for $189.99.[Via HotHardware]
Gigabyte shows off robust Core i7 prototype motherboard
Surely you've been wondering what types of motherboards would be surfacing to support Intel's Core i7, no? Regardless of your answer, we're pretty sure the gamers and performance mavens in the house will appreciate Gigabyte's latest effort. The prototype mobo, coined Extreme Edition, was recently displayed at NVIDIA's NVISION 08 expo, and if the final version is anything like this, we'd say some records are in real danger of being obliterated. The unit was said to be based on the X58 chipset and provide support for up to six graphics cards, 24GB of DDR3-1333 RAM (or 6GB of DDR3-1900/2000 using overclocked 2GB DIMMs) and a separated 12-phase power supply for the CPU. Interested yet?
Popcorn Hour's A-110 HD media streamer / B-110 motherboard reviewed
If you've been putting off that purchase of Popcorn Hour's evolutionary A-110 HD media streamer or all new B-110 motherboard, here's a decent compilation of facts and opinions to help you make up your mind once and for all. The cats over at DigitalReviews took the time to not only detail, test out and report back on the newest duo from the company, but it also revisited the original (and heralded) A-100 in order to give a better comparison. Overall, critics did tend to prefer the A-110 over its predecessor, but the minor list of changes made it a hard sell for folks teetering on upgrading. The B-110 was seen as an even tougher sell, with only the hardcore DIY crowd likely to even find it worth investigating. Nevertheless, we won't spoil the rest for you -- head on down to have a look for yourself.[Thanks, Anton]
Popcorn Hour's B-110 HTPC motherboard gets pictured, previewed
Ah, ha! There you are, Mr. B-110. When your partner in crime, the simultaneously announced A-110 HD media streamer, was spotted over at CNET UK, we knew you wouldn't be too far behind. Sure enough, the DIY motherboard -- which was designed for individuals looking to concoct their own HTPC -- has been unboxed and handled over at the aforementioned site. There is one part in particular that caught our eye in reading through the preview; the 7.1-channel analog outputs that are on the mobo will not be activated on this model, with CNETers suggesting that another, more robust version could be on the horizon. Yeah, HDMI 1.3a is still there for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD pass-through, but we are somewhat dismayed by the analog news. Anywho, check the read link for a few more snapshots and a read of what it's packing.[Thanks, John]
Popcorn Hour puts A-110 HD media streamer, B-110 mobo up for pre-order
Who knows if Popcorn Hour really is still working on a couple more HD media streamers, but its latest one is definitely up for pre-order. First whispered about a few months back, the $215 A-110 is a revamped A-100 that adds 2.5- / 3.5-inch SATA HDD and USB Slave functionality, HDMI 1.3a support (for full HD audio pass-through) and an optical S/PDIF to replace the coaxial S/PDIF socket. For those of you looking for even more flexibility, you can take a look at the outfit's new B-110 Baseline. This "Home Theater Motherboard" arrives with the media enthusiast in mind, boasting support for HDMI 1.3a, optical / coaxial S/PDIF connectors, four USB 2.0 ports and a mini-ITX form factor. Both pieces should ship out within two to four weeks, but considering just how sticky things were when the A-100 launched, we'd tack on a few weeks to that estimation just in case.[Thanks, Stephen and Jeff]
Fabled Opus motherboard appears in Xbox 360
Well, what have we here? One of those unicorn-like Opus motherboards? According to an image put forth by one Electric Tuner, that's exactly what we have. If you'll recall, we heard back in February that Microsoft may be utilizing the Opus mobos in order to fit the newer 65 / 90-nanometer CPU / GPU combo into RRoDed Xbox 360s that are just collecting dust in warehouses. Thus, you'll find no dedicated HDMI port here, but it should operate much cooler and in a more reliable fashion than the pre-Falcon rigs. There's no word on how exactly this unit was acquired (a replacement, perhaps?), but you can head on down to the read link for one more picture and a little discussion.[Via Xbox-Scene, thanks Leonardo]
Atom-powered D945GCLF Mini-ITX motherboard now available
We've heard lots of racket about Intel's hot new Atom chip courtesy of all those subnote manufacturers who plan on using it, but Tranquil PC has noted that the first Mini-ITX motherboard to get powered by said processor is now available for ordering. The Intel D945GCLF comes loaded with a 1.6GHz Atom 230 CPU and support for high-definition audio, 10/100 LAN, PCI, SATA II, GMA 950 graphics and DDR 2 533 / 667 (just to name a few highlights). The board can be ordered up as we speak for £52.90 ($103), and shipments are expected to make their way out during the first week of June.[Via Tranquil PC's Weblog, thanks David]
Mobo gets rebadge happy with two new low-cost subnotes for Brazil
It looks like folks in Brazil are soon going to have a few more low-cost subnote options to consider, with Mobo announcing two new but curiously familiar-looking models. That includes the Positivo Mobo (pictured above), which appears to almost certainly be a rebadge of Airis' Kira 740 Eee PC lookalike (or a rebadge of whatever that is a rebadge of). That likelihood is further backed up by the nearly identical specs, including the usual 7-inch display, Via C7-M processor, 1.3-megapixel webcam, and built-in WiFi, although this particular model appears to come with 2GB of flash memory in place of the Kira's standard 40GB hard drive. Set to be released alongside it is the company's Mobo Kids laptop, which is just a straight up rebadge of Intel's Netbook platform (a.k.a. Classmate 2), with it boasting the same Celeron M processor and presumably all the same specs seen in other incarnations like CTL's 2go PC. Look for both of 'em to pack the same R$999 price tag (or $590), with the Positivo Mobo hitting stores first on May 23rd and the Mobo Kids following sometime in July.[Via Zumo Blog, thanks Leoberto]
Intel's Skulltrail QX9775 hits 6GHz, manages not to spontaneously combust
Yeah, we've seen other mad scientists take way more antiquated chips to higher figures on the GHz scale, but can that cryogenically cooled P4 handle all those SSE4.1 instructions? The latest feat of overclocking prowess comes to us courtesy of K|ngp|n, who has apparently taken Skulltrail beyond the 6GHz mark. You'll also notice the 1,716MHz FSB (!!!) and the fact that it's sizzling along at 1.953-volts -- but hey, no one said running Crysis would be easy, right?[Via The Inquirer]
