Items tagged with motherboards
Things just got real in the enthusiast space, folks. In what amounted to a mic drop moment, Intel unveiled new high-end desktop (HEDT) processors based on Kaby Lake-X and Skylake-X, the top part of which is a monster 18-core CPU under the company's new Core i9 branding. With the cat officially out of the bag, motherboard makers were free to announce accompanying X299 chipset motherboards for Intel's new chips. ASUS and its Republic of Gamers (ROG) division wasted no time in doing so.ASUS ROG unleashed three performance grade X299 motherboards at Computex, each one "expertly tailored for different priorities." They include the Rampage VI Extreme for builders who covet a custom liquid cooling setup...
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We are expecting there to be some exciting announcements at Computex next week, one of which might include Intel's next generation X299 platform for Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X, the company's new generation of high-end desktop (HEDT) processors. Whether that actually happens at Computex or not, there is little doubt we are getting close to an official launch, as the first leaked images of X299 motherboards have found their way to the web.The images all belong to Gigabyte and its Aorus brand for gamers. At the top of the stack is the X299 Aorus Gaming 9 that is decked out in RGB lighting and no less than five reinforced PCI Express x16 slots. Have a look:Also visible are multiple M.2 slots for installing...
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The reviews are out confirming that Ryzen is the real deal, which means you can go forward with purchasing parts for your new build around AMD's latest silicon. If that's your plan, you'll need a new motherboard, as AMD introduced a new socket (AM4) for Ryzen. The market isn't yet overflowing with AM4 motherboard options, though if you're wanting to roll with MSI, it has a handful of options available at a variety of price points. Starting at the top is MSI's X370 XPower Gaming Titanium. This is a $300 motherboard based on AMD's top-end X370 chipset and includes just about everything but the kitchen sink. It's a spiffy looking board with heavily plated titanium heat sinks, four DDR4 DIMM slots...
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Forget about minor leaks when it comes to Ryzen, the floodgates have opened in the past couple of weeks and we're now drowning in news, rumors, and speculation surrounding AMD's next-generation CPU architecture. And with good reason—if Ryzen lives up to the hype, it will be a rebirth of sorts for AMD, which hasn't competed with Intel at the high-end for a long time. But what about the motherboards that will run these fancy new high-potent chips? We're starting to see leaks of those, too.Just a few days ago, our newshound from the north (way north, as in moose territory) Rob Williams posted pictures of motherboards and rendered retail box art for a handful of AM4 platform products from ASUS, Biostar,...
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Today we are going to take a look at Gigabyte’s Z170X-Designare motherboard, one of the company's more recent Socket 1151-based boards for Intel's 6th Generation Skylake-based processors. At first glance this is an unassuming board, at least in terms of its appearance. It features a dark and subdued black PCB with chrome highlights and nothing overly dramatic or gaudy. Yet for the sub-$250 price tag, this motherboard is loaded up with a strong array of cutting edge technologies. Among them is support for Intel Thunderbolt 3 across the board’s USB Type-c connection on the back I/O. This same port supports USB 3.1 and Mini-DisplayPort connections as well, offering a wealth of connectivity...
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We have another premium Z170-based motherboard on the test bench today, by way of MSI. The MSI Z170A Gaming M9 ACK motherboard is the company’s top end gaming board for use with Intel 6th Generation Skylake-based Core series processors. The MSI Z170A Gaming M9 is packed with a host of premium features aimed at improving and enhancing your experience. Like most gaming enthusiast boards, this one also commands top dollar, but still manages to ring in $100 shy of the wallet-busting ASUS Z170 ROG Maximus VIII we previously reviewed. Some of the more notable features on this motherboard include a built-in armored backplate and a DoubleShot Pro compatible networking solution from Killer Networking...
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EVGA set up shop in a swank suite at the Bellagio Hotel a short distance away from the craziness of the Las Vegas Convention Center, to display its latest products to CES attendees. As you’d expect, EVGA had a wide array of motherboards and NVIDIA GPU-based graphics cards on hand, including a custom GeForce GTX 980 Ti geared for the upcoming wave of VR gear, but the company also revealed some upcoming products that have nothing to do with graphics. Some of EVGA’s high-end, custom GeForce GTX cards were displayed in a glass case, with a trio of EVGA’s custom SLI bridges situated just in front. The company’s TORQ gaming mice were on display as well, along with...
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Intel Skylake processors have landed and motherboard manufacturers now have a wide range of boards sporting the necessary LGA 1151 socket and Z170 chipset to support the CPUs. Under the microscope today we have a high-end model from Gigabyte, the formidable Z170X-Gaming G1—a board that's virtually bursting at the seams with top-end features for the discriminating enthusiast. It's got everything from a 22 phase power array, to support for USB 3.1, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, quad GPUs, Gen3 x4 M.2 connectors and dedicated network processing via onboard Killer DoubleShot Pro X3 NICs—just to name a few.Gigabyte Z170X-Gaming G1 MotherboardSpecifications & FeaturesCPU:Chipset:Multi GPU:Memory:Audio:Connectivity:Slots:Storage:USB...
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If you're contemplating a small form factor build for your next system, you may want to consider ASRock's new Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac motherboard. That's a mouthful and as the name suggests, this is a mini ITX motherboard for space saving builds, though don't be fooled by its diminutive size. Though its small in form, it offers a high level of function, starting support for Intel's 6th Generation Core processor line (Skylake) that utilizes the new LGA1151 socket. You could certainly do worse for a Skylake chip -- this thing boasts an eight-layer PCB with an eight-phase power design. It also uses high end components such as "Premium 60A Power Chokes, Dual-Stack MOSFET, Nichicon 12K Platinum...
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Although Intel has something new coming down the pipeline in the not-too-distant future, Haswell-E and the X99 chipset will remain its flagship, high-performance desktop platform for quite some time. As such, motherboard manufacturers are still pumping out new, fresh designs featuring the X99 chipset. Two of the newest boards to hit the scene come by way of EVGA and ASUS. Both companies just announced fresh micro-ATX motherboards, targeting a couple of different market segments.First up we present the EVGA X99 Micro2. The EVGA X99 Micro2 build upon the original X99 Micro (which we showed you here), but kicks things up a few notches with USB 3.1 Type-C support, additional SATA ports, an improved...
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We are back with another high-end X99-based motherboard on the test bed. This time around we've got the latest from ASUS, the Sabertooth X99 TUF motherboard, which supports USB 3.1 and sports ASUS' "OC Socket". The first wave of motherboards based on Intel’s X99 chipset launched with attractive features and eye-catching designs. But as time has passed, most motherboard manufacturers have continued to update and optimize their X99-based offerings. ASUS had already offered some stand-out features in its first salvo of boards. This was largely thanks to the company’s OC Socket used on its X99-based boards. With the OC Socket, ASUS has added 6 extra pins to the 2011 pins found on Intel's...
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AMD on Thursday introduced the world to its A10-7870K APU, otherwise known as Godavari, though it's actually a light refresh of the existing Kaveri core. Codenames aside, the A10-7870K APU is a compelling option with a slight speed bump in clock frequency over the A10-7850K (3.9GHz to 4.1GHz versus 3.7GHz to 4.0GHz) and a big bump in the graphics core clock speed (866MHz versus 720MHz). If you're thinking about picking up the chip when it becomes available in June but don't know if it will work in your in your Gigabyte-brand FM2+ motherboard, you can put your mind to rest -- it will. It doesn't matter which specific model you own, Gigabyte says that its entire lineup of FM2+ boards...
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Intel's X99 chipset, aka Wellsburg, is the company’s latest chipset for the high-end desktop market segment. Motherboards making use of the chipset have been readily available since last summer of 2014. Still, it took some time for motherboard manufacturers to kick out boards which can better take advantage of the supported Haswell-E processor family, and the promised drool-worthy feature set. With several Z97 chipset motherboards tested and reviewed, we now levy our attention toward the ASRock X99 Extreme 11 motherboard. This one stands atop the pile as the company’s flagship offering with a features set that reads like an ideal wish list for enterprise, overclockers and gamers alike. The Extreme...
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If you rolled your own rig, there's a good chance you're rocking a motherboard made by ASUS. As one of the pioneering forces in the DIY PC category, ASUS has a long and storied history of building enthusiast oriented boards, and today it's the leading manufacturer of motherboards, keeping Gigabyte an arm's length away in the race to sell the most hardware. And to date, ASUS has sold over half a billion motherboards since the company was formed in 1989. To celebrate hitting its 500 millionth motherboard milestone, ASUS is kicking off a global competition in which fans and followers around the world can both learn a little bit about the company's history and win some prizes, culminating...
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We’ve already given you an overview of ASUS’ line of Z97-based motherboards (as well as a group of competitors' boards), and ASUS is rounding out that series with the new Maximus VII Formula and Maximus VII Formula/Watch Dogs Edition motherboards. These boards feature CrossChill Copper hybrid cooling, which features a copper cooling channel with internal fins that fit air or liquid cooling, SupremeFX Formula 2014 audio with EMI isolation and top-of-the-line components, and an Intel Gigabit Ethernet NIC that promises “no-delay gameplay”. Other features include a DIGI+ IIIVRM, NexFET MOSFETS, and ROG Armor that offers some additional physical support for the motherboard...
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We’ve had a few looks at Gigabyte’s Black Edition motherboards (including in our first Z97 roundup), and Gigabyte has posted a video showing off the manufacturing and testing facility in Taiwan where the boards are built. Gigabyte’s Colin Brix hosts the video and notes that the company puts the Black Edition boards through a 168-hour (that’s one week) server test to ensure total stability. He says that the new facility is capable of testing thousands of motherboards at a time. (Fun fact: The systems are running Litecoin during that whole time.) The Black Edition boards that pass the test are issued a certificate of validation--a token measure, it seems, but if you’ve...
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ASUS’ Republic of Gamers (ROG) motherboards have been around for a while, and ASUS has rolled out some solid pieces of ROG-branded hardware to go along with them, but the company has taken things to a whole new level by launching an entire lineup of ROG-branded gaming machines that includes a desktop, a console, a gaming notebook, a graphics card, and a monitor. G20 The ROG G20 gaming desktop is a SFF rig with no visible exhaust vents--it relies on a hidden airflow tunnel and natural convection for cooling--and ASUS claims it offers near-silent performance. Under the hood it rocks a quad-core Intel Core i7 processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 GPU, and it’s designed in part to run...
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More Z97 motherboards are emerging, and EVGA is the latest to announce its lineup. The company has just three boards built for Intel’s Z97 platform, but they include multiple form factors to satisfy a variety of enthusiasts. EVGA’s Z97 boards are focused on a new look for the BIOS, more efficient VRM, and a solid array of features and ports. The EVGA Z97 Classified is an EATX board sporting a chilled-out black, gray, and brownish look that features 4-way SLI support, an mSATA /mPCIe slot, and new overclocking software. This year’s ATX board, the EVGA Z97 FTW, has the same overclocking software as the Classified, and it supports 2-way SLI. Instead of an mSATA slot, the FTW has...
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It’s that time of year again folks, and we’ve been getting some previews of the hot new motherboards coming down the pike. We already discussed what Gigabyte has in store, but ASUS gave us the grand tour of their new, extensive lineup of Z97 motherboards. We’re talking the whole socket LGA 1150 schmeer here, from mainstream boards to deluxe models to ROG gaming boards to the TUF and workstation models. Z97-Deluxe First off, I have to say that ASUS’ deluxe and mainstream motherboards are just about the prettiest I’ve ever seen. Those pewter-ish accents look superb in person--metallic and cool without being ostentatious--and just look at those circular...
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MSI is bringing a great big bag full of new products to CES this year, and the lineup includes new gaming notebooks including one with a 3K display, quadro workstations, motherboards, tablets, touchscreen notebooks, and an intriguing all-in-one gaming PC called the MSI AG2712A. We’ve actually heard about several of these products already, so hit up the following links for all of the juicy details. The MSI 3K GT60 gaming laptop offers an unbelievable screen res, and we’re deeply intrigued by what the AG2712A all-in-one gaming PC can (or can’t) do. It’s also impressive that MSI has a 17-inch gaming notebook in the GS70 that’s so thin, as usually those mobile gaming...
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Compact motherboard, meet compact graphics card. MSI announced a sweet-looking mobo/GPU one-two punch that offers a mini-ITX motherboard and a commensurately-sized graphics card to better enable users to put together a compact yet powerful gaming system. The MSI Z87I Gaming AC supports Intel’s 4th-gen (Haswell) processors and features a Killer E2205 gigabit NIC that includes built-in 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, and Intel WiDi. There are five SATA 6Gbps ports, one eSATA 6Gbps port, and a single PCIe 3.0 x16 slot. It also has six USB 3.0 and four USB 2.0 ports, as well as 8-channel audio and DisplayPort, HDMI, and DL-DVI-I. The companion to the Z87I Gaming AC is the GTX 760 Gaming ITX...
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Although Intel is Chipzilla, the company can’t help but extend its reach just a bit into the exciting and growing world of DIY makers and hobbyists. Intel announced its Galileo development board, a microcontroller that’s compatible with Arduino software and uses the new Quark X1000 SoC processor (400MHz, 32-bit, Pentium-class, single- core and thread) that Intel announced at the IDF 2013 keynote. The board makes use of Intel’s architecture to make it easy to develop for Windows, Mac, and Linux, but it’s also completely open hardware. If this sounds similar to the low-cost Raspberry Pi board, that’s because they’re definitely of the same ilk. Galileo is just...
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