Items tagged with Motherboard
NZXT has not been in the motherboard game very long, having made a name for itself with computer cases and later branching into cooling products, power supplies, lighting, and even custom PC builds. However, it found a way to stand out from the crowd. This is exemplified again with its latest motherboard offering, the stylish N7 Z490. This is the third motherboard in NZXT's lineup, the other two being (in descending order) the N7 Z390 and its first-ever board, the N7 Z370. And like those two previous models, the N7 Z490 blends high-end features with the ability to trick out the aesthetic, using metal shrouds. There are two to choose from at the outset—matte white, as seen in the photo above,...
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We are still waiting for AMD to formally release its B550 chipset, though based previous leaks, we know its hardware partners have several planned B550 motherboard models. There's now even a picture of an actual B550 motherboard that is out in the wild. Not to be confused with AMD's B550A chipset for OEMs, B550 is a bit of a different beast and a true upgrade over the previous generation chipsets. Some background information is in order here. The B550A chipset is really an extension of the previous generation B450 chipset. It is only for OEM system builders, so you are not going to mosey over to Amazon or Newegg and find any B550A motherboards for sale. Technically, B550A offers support for PCI...
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Well, look what we have here—a teaser image of a mysterious motherboard from Gigabyte. It's assumed this one will carry the Aorus branding, and if we direct our attention to the socket, we can further speculate this is a board intended for AMD's upcoming third-generation Ryzen Threadripper processors due out next month. Details are in short supply here, but the socket in the image looks the same as AMD's existing TR4 socket found on current generation X399 motherboards. At this stage of the game, it would not make much sense to tease another current generation Threadripper motherboard, so what we are almost definitely looking at is a Gigabyte Aorus TRX40 board based on an upcoming TR4+...
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Following the launch of Intel's latest Core X-series (Cascade Lake-X) of high-end desktop (HEDT) processors, MSI has come out with a trio of new X299 motherboard options for creators and professionals, including the Creator X299, X299 Pro, and X299 Pro 10G, the latter of which comes bundled with a 10G "Super LAN" card for ultra-fast wired connectivity. MSI X299 Pro 10G And X299 Pro The bundled LAN card (Aquantia AQC107 controller) is addition to the dual LAN ports that already come on the X299 Pro 10G. One of those is a regular 1GbE LAN port (Intel I219-V controller) and the other is a faster 2.5G LAN port (Realtek RTL8125-CG controller). "Designed to satisfy any professional workflow, X299 PRO...
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It is pretty remarkable what kind of PC you can build around a small form factor (SFF) setup these days. To drive the point home, ASUS is launching a pair of miniature motherboards based on AMD's X570 chipset, either of which would enable a user to build a high-end PC with a Ryzen 3000 series serving as the system's heartbeat. First up is the ROG Strix X570-I Gaming, as shown above. This one is a mini-ITX motherboard—it measures 6.7 x 6.7 inches (17 x 17 cm), which is smaller than a micro-ATX motherboard. Though it's built to fit inside an ultra-compact case, there are some premium features to play with, such as Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) connectivity and automated system-wide tuning. Here are...
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Make no mistake, Threadripper is not dead. AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su confirmed there will be at least one more round of Threadripper CPUs, based on the company's Zen 2 CPU architecture. In the lead up to the eventual launch, USB-IF has made references to three new chipsets for the upcoming Threadripper chips, those being TRX40, TRX80, and WRX80. It's not yet clear how each chipset will differentiate itself from the others—it's possible that the TRX80 and WRX80 could have more DDR4 DIMM slots than TRX40, and perhaps more PCI Express lanes as well, though we're merely guessing. And while we are doing that, it's probably a safe bet the WRX80 chipset will be for workstation motherboards. Click to...
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AMD has come out swinging with its Ryzen 3000 series of desktop processors, based on its Zen 2 architecture, and accompanying X570 chipset with PCI Express 4.0 support. Users will soon be able to build a burly PC based on the company's latest and most advanced technologies. But as intriguing as the announcements have been so far, as we saw at AMD's Next Horizon Gaming Event at E3, the company likes to surprise us with follow-up launches, like its 16-core/32-thread Ryzen 9 3950X. So, what else might AMD have in store? Rumor has it there is an even higher end X590 chipset around the corner. To be clear, X570 is already a premium chipset, and is the successor to X470, which itself was a successor...
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At long last, AMD formally introduced its next-generation Ryzen 3000 series of desktop CPUs based on its Zen 2 architecture, along with an accompanying X570 chipset. Coinciding with the announcement, ASUS opened up its warchest of new X570 motherboards, but there are several other hardware partners with X570 boards of their own. Let's have a look at what's out there. Gigabyte Gigabyte X570 Aorus Xtreme Starting with Gigabyte, the company so far has unveiled eight X570 motherboards, including one under its own brand and seven more under its Aorus division. The flagship model of the bunch is the X570 Aorus Xtreme (shown above). This board is absolutely built for overclocking—it has a 16-phase...
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We have seen a flurry of product launches over the past few months from Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA. While we get to reap the rewards of technology’s ever steady march of progress, their partners have been hard at work ensuring their offerings can withstand the ever increasing demands of bleeding-end hardware, and appeal to consumers at the same time. In this spirit, Gigabyte recently invited us to a launch event in Miami for its newest Aorus branded motherboards, graphics cards, and peripherals. Technically, everything Gigabyte showed us had already been announced, but the presentations did offer a glimpse into many of the engineering and marketing decisions the company has made in an...
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Analysts are predicting motherboard and graphics card makers will be taking a hit for the entire first half of 2019 thanks to a downturn in the cryptocurrency mining realm, and shortages of Intel CPUs. Intel has had significant issues with its move to the 10nm process node and will see shortages of some of its current generation 14nm++ processors as well. Due to the processor shortages, motherboard makers will see fewer sales because enthusiasts and PC builders won't need the boards if there are no CPUs to plug into them. Sources claim that inventory levels were up at Asustek, Gigabyte, and other motherboard and graphics card makers in Q3 2018. Increased inventory means less product shipped,...
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Nobody outside of Intel truly knows that is going on behind closed doors in Santa Clara. Nevertheless, the web is never short on rumors or speculation, and right now the unsubstantiated chatter is centered on Intel's upcoming Z390 chipset for Coffee Lake. While initially intended as a new chipset with a few additional features not found on Z370, there is evidence to suggest that Intel might turn it into a rebranding effort instead. The question is, would Intel really rebrand its Z370 as Z390? This goes back to what we just said, that nobody outside of Intel truly knows what the chip maker is thinking or planning. However, it wouldn't be a stretch if Intel went that route, as Z390 and Z370 have...
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Gamers or HTPC fans who are looking for a feature-packed mITX mainboard supporting Socket 1151 Coffee Lake CPUs might want to check out the new EVGA H370 Stinger. As the name of the board implies, it uses the Intel H370 chipset and is an economical offering that supports Core i3, i5, and i7 Socket 1151 Coffee Lake-S processors. The board is also Intel Optane Memory Ready and has an HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.2 output integrated. The H370 Stinger supports 7.1 channel high definition audio and optical out. EVGA includes Intel Dual-band WiFi / Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity with external antennas for better signal strength. The board has a single M.2 Key E 32mm socket and a single M.2 Key...
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Intel just announced an array of new products including powerful 6-core Core i9 and Xeon mobile processors, a family of 8th Gen Core processors with Iris Plus Graphics, updated consumer and commercial Core desktop processors, and the first Optane Memory laptop solutions. Amidst the dizzying array of products that were announced, Intel also unveiled a new family of 300 series chipsets with enhanced audio and I/O, targeting both the consumer and corporate product segments. The new chipsets also feature integrated Intel 802.11ac Wi-Fi and native USB 3.1 Gen 2 support. The new chipsets in the Intel 300 series include the H370, H310, Q370, and B360. As you can see in the table above, the chipsets...
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Biostar didn't want to wait around until Monday to pull the wraps off its new B360 and H310 motherboards. These boards are intended for a slew of Coffee Lake processors that Intel is due to announce on April 2, so it appears someone at Biostar hit the "Go" button too soon. The pages for the mainboards have since been pulled from its website, but not before all the details and images were siphoned by eagle-eyed enthusiasts . There are a pair of Biostar Racing mainboards including the Biostar B360 Racing GTS5S and the Biostar B360 Racing GTS3S. Both of those boards have dual M.2 ports for storage while the GTS5S packs a trio of PCIe 3.0 x16 slots for graphics and three PCIe 3.0 x1 slots. The...
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Around this time last month, AMD got a jump on the hectic craziness surrounding the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) by making a series of product announcements, including a second generation Ryzen lineup based on its Zen+ architecture, a tweaked version of Zen. In preparation for these upcoming Ryzen 2000 series desktop chips, ASRock has released BIOS updates for a bunch of its AM4 motherboard. This has been the promise from the get-go, that AMD would support future processor launches on its AM4 platform rather than requiring that users buy a new motherboard. Things don't always work out as planned, and with Intel launching a new Z370 chipset that is required for Coffee Lake, we have been taking...
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Graphics card prices are insane right now, a direct result of the shortage created by cryptocurrency miners snatching up cards quicker than retailers than stock their shelves. This has led to huge markups on practically every mid-range and high-end GPU product, usually through third-party sellers. The solution? That is a point of debate, and interestingly enough, Newegg has begun bundling other hardware with graphics cards. This raises a question—is Newegg essentially masking the price gouging that is taking place, or trying to allocate a portion of inventory to gamers? That will surely be debated too. We have mixed feelings about this ourselves, based on the bundles we have seen so for....
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Forget about planning just for Patch Tuesday, the second Tuesday of every month when Microsoft issues security updates to Windows users. As companies scramble to mitigate Meltdown and Spectre, you should be planning for Patch January, and maybe February as well. Case in point, ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSI have all now released firmware updates for a whole bunch of motherboard models. "ASUS is aware that the current Intel microcode version might be subject to recently identified security vulnerabilities. We are diligently working to update ASUS motherboards that support 6th, 7th or 8th Generation Intel Core processors or Intel Core X-series processors for X99 and X299 platforms. We recommend customers...
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If you're planning to go the Ryzen Threadripper route with your new build, but haven't yet settled on a motherboard choice, Gigabyte has thrown yet another option onto the pile. While most Threadripper motherboards released up to this point are noteworthy in their own right, the new X399 DESIGNARE EX does manage to stand apart from the crowd. First, let's start with the aesthetics, which are downright awesome on this motherboard. The vast majority of Threadripper boards released thus far have stuck to a very black or dark aesthetic, whereas with its DESIGNAIRE EX, Gigabyte lightens things up a bit. It gives us a nice blend of silver-on-black, with a splash of color added by way of RGB LED over...
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For long-time enthusiasts that were around during the ascent of personal computers, the Commodore Amiga remains one of the most beloved systems of all time. When it was originally released back in the mid-80’s, the Amiga could do things that no other consumer-class computer could – its graphics, sound, and multi-tasking capabilities were simply unmatched at the time. That initial sense of amazement at the Amiga’s unique capabilities is one of the reasons why the platform continues to have rabid fans some 30+ years later and why a small group of skilled enthusiasts have designed and manufactured a brand-new circuit board, dubbed the Amy-ITX, that brings actual Amiga hardware to the current mini-ITX...
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Today we are going to take a look at three popular Intel Z270-based motherboards targeted at power users and gamers, produced by enthusiast favorites Gigabyte, ASUS and MSI. The three boards we've rounded-up here cover a wide range of price points. The Gigabyte Aorus Z270X-Gaming K5 and ASUS ROG STRIX Z270F Gaming boards represent more mainstream segments, while the MSI Z270 XPOWER Gaming Titanium targets the ultra high-end. Although AMD's powerful Threadripper processors and Intel's upcoming 18-Core Skylake-X behemoth have gotten the lion's share of attention lately, more mainstream processors like Intel's Kaby Lake-based Core i7s and Core i5s sell in much greater quantities. As such, we...
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We are still waiting for Intel to serve up its Coffee Lake processor lineup on the desktop. Barring a last minute change of plan, Coffee Lake CPUs will require a new motherboard even though they will use the same LGA 1151 socket that is compatible with Kaby Lake. Once such contender has emerged on the web—MSI's Z370 Godlike Gaming, a high-end motherboard based on Intel's forthcoming Z370 chipset.Based on previous leaks and rumors, we are expecting Coffee Lake and Z370 motherboards to arrive sometime in the fourth quarter of this year. We also expect to see plenty of motherboard announcements leading up the launch of Coffee Lake on the desktop, as seems to always happen whenever there is a new...
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We have already seen some impressive things from AMD's long awaited Zen microarchitecture in the form of Ryzen, and in the not-too-distant future Threadripper will carry the torch on the desktop. However, things are just getting started. Zen will really spread its wings in the server and data center market, boy-oh-boy does Gigabyte have one heck of a motherboard ready. Gigabyte's new MZ31-AR0 has a boring name but a fun assortment of features of AMD's aptly named EPYC 7000 series processor family. Many of them are overkill for the desktop, including the 16 (yes, SIXTEEN) memory slots that support up to 1TB of DDR4 RAM. This is a large-size motherboard based on the E-ATX form factor. It is outfitted...
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