Motherboards News - Page 27

AMD is already offering performance improvements on its new Ryzen 7 1800X processor for games like Ashes of the Singularity and DOTA 2 - but there are some big surprises coming soon with a new AMD Generic Encapsulated Software Architecture (AGESA) point release 1.0.0.4 to motherboard partners.

The new AGESA-powered BIOS pushed out in April will offer some great improvements, including:

Better yet, that super cool guy Robert Hallock from AMD teased that this is just the beginning of Ryzen improvements - as there'll be an update in May that will push for better overclocking of DDR4 RAM on Ryzen motherboards.

GIGABYTE has been owning with its new AORUS push, and now we have the upcoming Z270X-Designare motherboard, and a slick silver/black/blue look which has me salivating all over my keyboard.

The new Z270-powered Designare motherboard has been fully validated and optimized for NVIDIA's high-end Quadro workstation and high-end graphics cards, so if you're looking for performance without limits - GIGABYTE's new Z270X-Designare motherboard is what you should be looking at.

VP of GIGABYTE's Motherboard Business Unit, Henry Kao, explains: "Content creators need a high-performance platform that can keep up with the inventive minds as they craft their masterpieces".

AMD launched its new Ryzen 7 family of CPUs, and while there were a bunch of different AM4 ready motherboards released, there weren't any mITX boards for super-small, yet super-powerful Ryzen-based gaming PCs.

That will end with Biostar's upcoming X370GTN, a new mITX motherboard based on the X370 chipset. Biostar has included everything you'll want and need on the X370GTN, with PCIe 3.0 x16, an M.2 slot, USB 3.1, and more. Here's what I/O you've got on the board:

And on the back, the Biostar X370GTN has:

ASUS has just revealed its new high-end monster motherboard, the ASUS ROG Maximus IX Extreme, which is their "seriously powerful new Z270 gaming motherboard that's expertly tooled to be totally cooled, with an integrated monoblock for water-cooled performance right out of the box" - awesome, right?!

The new ROG Maximus IX Extreme is based on the Kaby Lake compatible Z270 chipset, ready for the latest Core i7-7700K processor - and of course, ASUS' awesome Aura Sync technology. There's built-in support for insanely fast DDR4 4133MHz RAM, the latest SupremeFX S1220 codec with 113dB SNR, and so much more.

We have dual M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 slots, a USB 3.1 front panel connector, the latest 802.11ac with MU-MIMO and 40Gbps speeds through Thunderbolt 3.

We all know that fully decked out gaming PCs with RGB LEDs are all the rage right now - ASUS has a big following as it is with its hugely popular lineup of motherboards, graphics cards, and more - now has Aura Sync.

ASUS Aura Sync can take control of all of your Aura-enabled ASUS products, so if you have the new ROG Maximus IX Formula alongside the new ROG STRIX-GTX1080-A8G-GAMING graphics card - and RGB LED strips, Aura Sync handles it in one easy spot.

AMD is days away from the huge launch of its next-gen Ryzen processors, but there is another big event happening simultaneously - motherboard makers are preparing their new Ryzen capable motherboards - and they look amazing.

As you can see, ASRock, ASUS, Biostar, GIGABYTE, and MSI all have motherboards ready for Ryzen - with a slew of boards that start with flagship motherboards, mid-range boards, down to the lower-end variety if you don't want to spend $150-$200+ on a new Ryzen motherboard.

What will the different chipsets offer? The enthusiast X370 chipset is where you'll want to be, as it provides everything - USB 3.1 Gen 2 support, overclocking, and CF/SLI support.

ASRock looks like its ready to impress AMD Ryzen CPU owners with their upcoming motherboards, led by the flagship ASRock X370 Killer SLI/ac motherboard.

The new ASRock X370 Killer SLI/ac motherboard has two reinforced PCIe 3.0 x16 slots that are ready for SLI and CrossFire setups, but it also features 2 x M.2 slots for super-fast storage solutions. It will also rock 802.11ac wireless connectivity, with a very slick black and white color scheme.

Next up, we have the ASRock AB350 Gaming K4 which also features 2 x M.2 slots - showing us that ASRock is serious about providing high-end features on cheaper motherboards. This board is a mid-range board with the B350 chipset, but it also has 2 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots - but no SLI/CF support.

Can you believe we are so close to one of the most important launches from AMD in over half a decade with their next-gen Ryzen CPUs? As we get closer, we're learning more and more about them, and now we're getting some full frontal shots and details on the motherboards from ASUS and GIGABYTE.

Starting with GIGABYTE, we have their upcoming AORUS AX370-Gaming 5 board - which looks slick as hell with its black, silver and orange theme. Both boards are based on the X370 chipset, ready for any Ryzen CPU you throw at it - right up to the flagship Ryzen 7 1800X processor.

ASUS will have its Crosshair VI Hero motherboard, as well as the Prime X370-PRO, which doesn't look as flash as GIGABYTE's offering - but it does feature their Aura Sync technology for some LED goodness.

AMD is so, so very close to the unveiling of its next-gen Ryzen CPUs and now we're finally hearing about what I've personally said is the most important part of Ryzen's success: motherboard prices.

ASUS will have 4 motherboards ready for Ryzen processors on February 24, with the ASUS Prime B350M-A priced at $69, the Prime B350-PLUS at $89, the Prime X370-PRO at $149, and finally, the higher-end Crosshair VI Hero priced at just $209.

Doubled with the fact that you can pick up a 6C/12T Ryzen 5 1600X for $259, or the higher-end 8C/16T Ryzen 7 1700X for $389... these motherboard prices are great. It's going to open up a world of enthusiast gaming for people who don't have the money to sink into an expensive X99-based platform from Intel for the 10C/20T processors.

So, you have a Z170 motherboard, and Intel Kaby Lake is the CPU you want? OK, first of all, you must know that even though Kaby Lake is compatible with Intel's Z170 Skylake chipset, the CPU is designed for Intel's Z270 Kaby Lake chipset to use its new features.

As an overclocker, tester, and reviewer, I always move to the latest chipset if I decide to upgrade my CPU, and of course not an H/B or something chipset, I go to the root chipset - that means Z170/Z270. But, if you still want to stay on Z170, here's a comparison of the two designs and a must-do List to make your shiny new Kaby Lake CPU work on it.

It's clear you have more things on Z270 - 2x M.2 SSD, more USB, more SATA ports, etc.