Motherboards - Page 22

CES 2016 - AMD unveiled their new Wraith cooler at CES 2016, but had some more surprising news: that their upcoming socket AM4 platform will have a single socket. Yes! A single socket.

This means that there will only be one socket to choose from for the Zen-based CPUs and APUs, bringing their platform into unison. Right now, both AMD and Intel's sockets are fragmented, but everything goes into one path with AM4 which is just so great - not just for consumers, but for system builders, too.

As for Zen, AMD is promising 40% more instructions per clock than the current Excavator cores, by utilizing simultaneous multi-threading (SMT) architecture, that is similar to the way Intel does things with its Core series, compared to the cluster-based multi-threading (CMT) approach.

CES 2016 - GIGABYTE has decided to show off its X170 (C236) and X150 chipset (C232) chipset motherboards. These motherboards carry unique IO shield covers, and in the case of the X170-Gaming 7 WS, an audio cover shield.

If you want to use an LGA1151 Xeon processor with the latest Skylake microarchitecture you must use an X series chipset, and the new chipset doesn't offer support for an iGPU. The X series motherboards also support select i3 and i5 Skylake CPUs, but the i7s and "K" SKUs are not supported. The X170 chipset supports a maximum of eight SATA ports, which is 2 more than the Z170 chipset. If you want support for Intel vPro technology the motherboard must also have an Intel i21X-LM series NIC, which these boards do carry. Some of the motherboards also have discrete clock generators, hinting to the fact that GIGABYTE might provide a method for overclocking non-K series processors, but GIGABYTE did not confirm or deny.

The X170-Gaming 7 WS is pretty much identical to the Z170X-Gaming 7, in terms of features and even VRM components and features such as OC buttons (hinting at possible non-K OC) and POST code display. There is also a version of the motherboard that supports ECC memory, it's called the X170-Extreme ECC, and is identical to the X170-Gaming 7 WS except for memory support. The motherboards all have one Intel NIC and one Killer NIC, and have the Core3Di audio chipset.

CES 2016 - MSI has just unveiled its latest motherboard for gamers, the new X99A GODLIKE GAMING CARBON Edition, which features MSI's Mystic Light technology. The improved Mystic Light RGB LED feature includes 16.8 million colors, and 16 LED effects to spruce up your X99-powered gaming machine.

The X99A GODLIKE GAMING CARBON Edition features Steel Armor technology, which is now available for DDR4 Boost on the GODLIKE motherboard. This offers up improved EMI-shielding, and even better signal strength for better memory performance.

We also have Audio Boost 3 Pro, Killer DoubleShot-X3 Pro, Turbo M.2 connectivity, two USB 3.1 Type-A and Type-C connectors, and much more. MSI has also included its Turbo Socket technology, removing all of the limits for overclocking by providing a total of 2036 pins (up from 2011) for better overclocking on the Intel Extreme processors.

ASUS motherboards are a staple of the PC master race, with the Taiwanese giant teasing its new ROG Maximus VIII Formula motherboard over the Christmas break. The new ROG-powered motherboard is using Intel's Z170 chipset.

The biggest thing here is that ASUS has used RGB lighting on the ROG Maximus VIII Formula, with RGB LEDs placed all around the motherboard that lets users customize their motherboard to their personal liking. It's an interesting move by ASUS, but we've seen other companies pushing into RGB lighting this year, too.

The new Maximus VIII Formula motherboard has some things in store for users that should keep them happy, including a charcoal black PCB with a silver aluminum finish on the PCH heat sink. The entire PCB is also covered by a protective shield that has been used by ASUS since the Maximus VI Formula, otherwise known as ROG Armor.

BioStar brings the performance gains of CPU overclocking to non-K Skylake chips with its new Hyper OC technology.

CPU overclocking has traditionally been reserved for Intel's enthusiast-grade K-series CPUs, however key hardware makers like BioStar and ASRock are bridging the gap to enable overclocking to non-K Skylake processors. BioStar's new HyperOC firmware allows easy overclocking of non-K series Skylake processors on BioStar Z170 motherboards, merging performance with accessibility and convenience.

BioStar's official press release notes that the Hyper OC software can boost the clock speed of entry-level CPU's like Intel's 3.3GHz Pentium G4400 by up to 36%. The company also used its Hyper OC tech to boost an Intel Core i3-6100T by 35% to an overclocked clock frequency of 4.32Ghz. The Hyper OC firmware can be downloaded with a simple BIOS update on select Z170 mobos including BioStar's Z170W, HI-FI Z170Z5, GAMING Z170X and GAMING Z170T models.

MSI has launched its C236A and C236M motherboards, intended for workstation, entry server, and datacenter use. In other words: they're high-end.

Both boards support Intel's Xeon E3 v5 series CPUs and are aimed squarely at multi-GPU users, specifically Quadro and FirePro. You can see this reflected partly in the spatial design of the boards, which look to nicely accommodate multiple GPUs, as well as the Steel Armor reinforced PCI-e slots which are said to handle even the heaviest cards just fine.

Other features include DDR4 Boost, support for Turbo M.2, Turbo U.2 and SATA Express storage, USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C connectors, Military Class 4 components, Audio Boost, Intel Gigabit LAN, and Click BIOS 5.

ASUS's latest motherboard is the E3 Pro Gaming V5. Designed with the LGA1151 socket and C232 Express chipset, it's the first ASUS motherboard compatible with Intel Xeon E3-1200 v5 processors, though it supports 6th-generation Intel Core, Pentium, and Celeron processors as well.

The V5 supports DDR4 (4x DIMMs, up to 64GB DDR4 2133MHz) and quad-GPU setups, and features USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A and reversible USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C (14 ports with data transfer speeds of up to 10Gbit/s) as well an M.2 connection for your SSD. Speaking of storage, up to six SATA drives at 6Gbps are supported.

For cooling, it packs a dedicated water pump header. On the audio front, you get SupremeFX for high-quality audio and a 115dB signal-to-noise ratio. Meanwhile, Intel Gigabit Ethernet technology is said to offer "exceptionally high" TCP and UDP throughput, allowing the CPU to do work harder for the game outside of networking tasks.

According to reports published by DigiTimes, 2015 has proven to be a disappointing year for motherboard sales, and the downward trajectory is expected to continue well into 2016.

Major hardware players like GIGABYTE and Asustek have shipped 17 million self-branded motherboards in 2015, down 10% from last year and lower than annual sales forecasts. Both companies originally planned to move 20 million motherboards in 2015, but that projection was scaled down to 18 million in light of early-year earnings reports. Despite the sales slump, ASUS saw impressive sales in November with an month-over-month revenue increase of 21%. GIGABYTE, on the other hand, saw a dip in revenue with an on year sales drop of 13.6% during the same period.

While the sales slump isn't expected to crush either tech titan, smaller-scale companies won't be so lucky. Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS), MSI and Biostar are getting hit by the dip, and Chinese motherboard supplier Onda is expected to pull out of the market completely in 2016.

A recent press release issued by ASUS outlined some research conducted by Hardware.fr, explaining that this co-company of LDLC is the biggest component seller in France and draws up RMA statistics every six months. With a minimum simple size of 500 devices, ASUS took the top spot for minimal RMAs between October 1 2014 - April 1 2015.

Joe Hsieh, the ASUS Corporate Vice President and General Manager, Motherboard and Desktop System Business Unit, says that this win is due to "our dedication to perfection and tireless efforts, leading to the development of advanced such as 5X Protection II," beating down other large players like ASRock, GIGABYTE and MSI this time around.

ASUS also attributes its win to reliability and safety testing, claiming complete a marathon "total validation time amounting to over 7000 hours," resulting in a total 1.89% failure rate across the board.

MSI is launching its second generation of environmentally-conscious and power-efficient ECO motherboards. Based on the 100-series Skylake chipset and an optimized PCB and circuitry design, the new models -- H170M ECO, B150M ECO, and H110M ECO -- are said to lead in power efficiency without hurting capability in any way.

Included software offers in-depth control over power consumption (even case fans and LEDs can be turned off) and features. If you don't want to do all the tinkering yourself, presets are included.

As for compatibility, all Intel 6th Core, Pentium, and Celeron processors are supported, though Intel S & T series are recommended for their power efficiency. Memory-wise, high-speed DDR4 in single and dual-channel is supported.

PAX Australia 2015 - ASUS always impresses us at trade shows, and PAX Australia 2015 was no different. The company was teasing its new super-tiny, ROG-powered Maximus VIII Impact - powered by the new Z170 chipset from Intel and ready for the Core i7-6700K processor.

The ASUS Maximus VIII Impact features the company's SupremeFX IMPACT III sound card, which will provide crystal clear gaming audio all day and night long.

ASUS also had the ROG GR6 on display, offering PC performance inside of the size of a console. It's an ultra-compact gaming desktop, which also happens to look great, too.

Aimed at high-end gamers, ASUS' ROG Maximus VIII motherboard series launched a few weeks ago, and today the latest entry makes its way to retail: the ROG Maximus VIII EXTREME flagship.

Features include Z170 chipset support, quad-GPU setup support, 4x DDR4 (3866 OC, 64GB) slots, thermal backplates, 24-bit ESS Hi-Fi Sabre DAC, HDMI/DisplayPort 1.2 ports (max resolution 4096 x 2160 @ 24 Hz / 4096 x 2304 @ 60 Hz), Bluetooth V4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (dual band 2.4/5 GHz), and the ROG SupremeFX 2015 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC, to name several. For the full spec list, head to the product page here.

The board will set you back a whopping $499.99.

ASUS has just unveiled its latest Z170-based motherboard, the new ROG Maximus VIII Impact. The new Maximus Impact motherboard is the best yet, set to make it the centerpiece of new high-powered mini-ITX gaming PCs.

The new ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Impact features Intel's latest Z170 chipset, compatible with the new Skylake-powered processors like the Intel Core i7-6700K. The motherboard itself features two DDR4 slots that will take DDR4 RAM right up to a huge 4133MHz when overclocked. The motherboard features a "full-scale voltage-regulator module (VRM) dubbed Impact Power III vertically-mounted onto the tiny board, allowing you full access to digital power management for ultra-precise and stable overclocks with your processor and memory".

On the audio side of things, ASUS has deployed its SupremeFX Impact III which features beautiful LED-illuminated audio jacks and Sonic SenseAmp technology. Connectivity wise we have the brand new 802.11ac Wi-Fi with MU-MIMO technology which is built-in, so it doesn't take up any additional space. ASUS has also provided USB 3.1 Gen. 2 Type-A and reversible Type-C connectivity, as well as a built-in U.2 connector which provides up to 32Gbit/s of bandwidth.

If you're looking for blisteringly-fast RAM to throw into your next rig, now is the time to open your eyes. DDR4 is hot off the press and it seems each and every company is fighting for that top clock spot.

The latest news from ASRock are some brand new records set during IDF 2015. First up is the 4x Intel XTU category, seeing a score of 1910 marks, followed by the MaXXMEM category at 3894.5 marks. Achieved with the help of overclockers 'Splave' and 'L0ud_sil3nc3', this 1910 4x Intel XTU record was posted at no other time than during a live keynote (see above).

With the help of Kingston DDR4 memory, the MaXXMEM 3894.5 score was achieved on the second day of overclocking, with Intel CEO Brian Krzanichru watching closely, offering the help of an i7-6700K CPU.

Intel is about to press the launch button on its upcoming Skylake processors, a range that will include the new flagship Core i7-6700K processor, and while we've seen some of the GIGABYTE and BIOSTAR boards, now we're getting a sneak peak at one of MSI's enthusiast boards.

The MSI Z170A XPOWER Gaming Titanium Edition is a work of art, sporting a beautiful white and black color scheme that is going to look great with the right components. One of the standout features on the new Z170A XPOWER Gaming Titanium Edition motherboard is the inclusion of the 'MSI OC Dashboard'. This dashboard is located next to the DIMMs, and lets you overclock your system very easily.

The MSI OC Dashboard has a few buttons on it that lets you overclock your CPU, but it also features direct BCLK control from the new tool. You can also do a complete discharge of the motherboard, which is a different touch than we're used to. On the board itself, we have two M.2 slots, 8 x SATA 6Gbps ports, two SATA Express ports, two USB 2.0 connectors, a right-angled USB 3.0 connector, and an internal USB 2.0 port.

If you're a little short on cash or just crazy about overclocking, MSI is offering up some beastly prizes including its new GODLIKE motherboards alongside Intel CPUs and PCIe NVMe drives, HyperX RAM and HyperX SSDs to winners of this newly-announced event.

These high-end prizes will be distributed to top placing competitors in the wide variety of competitions on offer including 2D battle and 3D battles expanding to categories such as ambient and extreme cooling, with limitations on overclocking specifics and CPU frequencies.

If you're interested in learning more about the competition or entering for yourself, you can head to the official event page or check out the press release.

The release of Intel's new processors along with the Z170X chipset is right around the corner, and now we're getting to see what GIGABYTE is preparing for us in the form of the Z170X SOC Force.

GIGABYTE will have a slew of new boards arriving with the Z170X chipset, including: Z170X Gaming G1, Z170X Gaming 7, Z170X Gaming 5, Z170X Gaming 3, Z170X-UD7-TH, Z170X-UD5-TH, Z170X-UD3 and a Mini-ITX Z170X. The GIGABYTE Z170X SOC Force is going to be the flagship motherboard from the company, with an e-ATX design, and the usual orange and black color scheme with silver accents across the board.

GIGABYTE will be providing a 20 Digital Phase Power design with a Gen.4 IR Digital Controller and Gen.3 PoweIRstage ICs. Not only that, but GIGABYTE has provided high-end black capacitors, a Turbo B-Clock chip that provides the ability to push the BCLK frequency between 90-200MHz (instead of 100, 125 and 167MHz). The GIGABYTE Z170X SOC Force features four DDR4 DIMM slots supporting up to 64GB with speeds of up to 3400MHz.

Stacked full of features and capital letters, MSI has recently announced its X99A GODLIKE GAMING motherboard to the public, set out to support X99 platforms with a Killer DoubleShot-X3 PRO network setup, Turbo M.2 connectivity, USB 3.1 Type-A and Type-C, fancy LED schemes and more.

RGB is seemingly everywhere right now, with MSI announcing this model to be its first RGB LED motherboard to market, supporting over 2,000 color variations and plenty of style presets including "breathing, flashing and waving." For those looking into extreme and extended LAN options, the Killer DoubleShot-X3 PRO offers two Killer Ethernet connectors and a Killer 1535 Wi-Fi adapter. Complete with a network manager, traffic will be optimized to ensure no lag is experienced.

Designed for Intel LGA 2011-v3 socket processors including the new Intel Core i7 series, this motherboard contains 10 SATA 6Gb/s ports, one Turbo M.2 32Gb/s SATA option and five PCIe 3.0 x16 slots. As for connectivity, you can expect to see one USB 3.1 Type-C port, one USB 3.1 Type-A port, eight USB 3.0 options and six USB 2.0 connectors.

With the launch of Intel's new Skylake processors and chipsets right around the corner, GIGABYTE has begun teasing its new motherboards with a seriously slick new look. GIGABYTE will be kicking off its new Gaming G1 series based on the Z170 chipset, with boards like the one pictured below.

GIGABYTE will include the GA-Z170X Gaming G1, GA-Z170X Gaming 7, GA-Z170X Gaming 5 and the GA-Z170X Gaming 3 motherboards all rocking the Z170 chipset. There will also be other motherboards such as the new GA-Z170X-UD5 TH and GA-Z170X-UD3, which will be joined by the new Z170 SOC Force that will be for the super enthusiasts and overclockers.

The flagship motherboard featuring the Z170 chipset will be the new GA-Z170X Gaming G1, which will feature an E-ATX form factor and the usual arsenal of technologies, features and goodies for enthusiasts and overclockers to enjoy.

Nearly all motherboards feature PCIe 3.0, but we're going to be seeing more and more about PCIe 4.0 in the coming years, now that the PCI Special Interest Group (PCI SIG) getting closer to the final version of the PCIe 4.0 specification.

The PCI SIG has been developing PCI Express 4.0 for a few years now, with the new standard set to feature a huge 16GT/s per lane, which is double that of the 8GT/s that PCIe 3.0 is capable of. The standard isn't finalized jut yet, as there are quite a few steps to overcome first. One of the first is the interconnect attributes, fabric management, and the programming interface that is used to design and build systems and peripherals that are PCIe 4.0 compliant.

PCIe 4.0 will usher in a new connector, but it is backwards compatible with PCIe 3.0 cards. But, PCIe 4.0-based cards will not work with the old PCIe 3.0 ports. Al Yanes, the President of the PCI SIG explained in an interview with EE Times: "We are getting 16GT/s, something no one thought was possible a few years ago. The base distance is still being validated but it's typically 7 inches or so. Longer channels of 15 inches or so with two connectors will have retimers, but Gen 3 has used retimers - now we will need to use them for shorter long channels".