Gigabyte Stuffs 20GB Intel SSD Onto Z68 Mainboard

We've seen some fairly unusual motherboards, and some fairly advanced ones as well. But what about a mainboard with an SSD infused onto it? It's true, and it's real. Gigabyte has just announced a new mainboard with an SSD on it, the Z68XP-UD3-iSSD. The board has a 20GB Intel SSD 311 built right onto it, which enables users to take advantage of Intel's Smart Reponse technology for a serious performance boost. It's an mSATA-based SLC SSD, and while the company doesn't make clear if you could load an operating system onto it, it should hasten the transfer of frequently used files.

The new Z68 board should ship in June, but a price has yet to be disclosed. So, how long before this trend trickles over onto other mainboards?

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 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