Gigabyte is set to start offering free upgrades on Z97 Black Edition motherboards. Starting from today, those who register the purchase of a Z97X-UD5H-BK, Z97X-UD3H-BK or a Z97X-Gaming G1 Black Edition motherboard within four weeks of purchase will be able to take part in the ‘Take One, Get Two' promotion, …
Read More »Asustek to cut prices, sell mainboard + graphics card bundles
In an attempt to remain on top positions on the market of PC components, Asustek Computer recently started to cut prices on certain mainboards and plans promotions to sell bundles containing mainboards and graphics cards. In addition, the company plans to spend rather whopping amount of money to strengthen its …
Read More »MicroStar International rumoured to adjust mainboard business
Although desktop computers are not going to leave the market any time soon, they are not as popular as back in the days. As a result, sales of many desktop components are stagnating these days, forcing manufacturers to adjust their businesses to stay profitable. A new market rumour suggests that …
Read More »Kitguru TV: Which Gigabyte X99 board to choose?
As the dust starts to settle from the launch of Intel's X99 platform and the latest GTX9xx cards from nVidia, level heads are looking at the benefits being offered by the new technologies, and beginning to think about making the investment. With prices varying so much, which mainboard is right …
Read More »ASRock X99 OC Formula Motherboard Review
In case you missed our recent review of the Core i7 5960X, Intel's first consumer eight-core CPU is an all-round powerhouse with strong overclocking potential to boot. So what better way to analyse ASRock's X99 OC Formula motherboard than by pushing our 5960X as far as we can take it? …
Read More »MSI 970 Gaming Motherboard Review
As model names go, the MSI 970 Gaming sends a direct message in no uncertain terms. This motherboard uses an AMD 970 chipset that supports socket AM3+ and is aimed at punters who wish to build a PC using an AMD FX processor. The Gaming part of the name comes …
Read More »MSI X99S Gaming 7 Motherboard Review
While the X99 platform and its plentiful PCIe connectivity form a strong gaming foundation, the cost of an LGA2011-3 motherboard, DDR4 memory, and the Haswell-E CPU will put a considerable dent in any buyer's pocket. So when we see a gaming-orientated motherboard offering 3-way graphics capability, eight-core CPU support, and …
Read More »Asus X99 Deluxe Motherboard Review
Intel's Haswell-E Core i7 5960X is an all-round powerhouse, there's no question about that. But a powerful chip is only a portion of the battle – an accompanying motherboard and high-speed RAM are essential in exploiting the processor's dizzying multi-core performance. Enter Asus' showcase motherboard for the latest HEDT chipset …
Read More »Asustek plans to sue its rivals for patent infringement
Unlike chip designers, makers of mainboards tend not to sue each other for patent infringements. They quietly follow each other with certain innovations. According to a new media report, Asustek Computer plans to break this tradition and sue some of its competitors for using its intellectual property. Several weeks ago …
Read More »Asus reveals X99 range of motherboards
There has been an absolute flood of X99 news to announce today. Now we have our first look at the Asus range of motherboards, the X99-Deluxe, X99-Pro and X99-A with a new OC socket alongside exclusive five way optimisation technology. The X99-Deluxe is the flagship model, it comes with a …
Read More »Gigabyte launches X99 series motherboards
Gigabyte has just launched its new motherboard lineup, based on the X99 chipset for Intel's new Core i7 Extreme Edition CPUs. The new range comes in three categories, G.1 Gaming, SOC overclocking and the company's signature “Ultra Durable” model. “Given this incredibly powerful platform from Intel, GIGABYTE wanted to make …
Read More »MSI X99S Gaming 7 (LGA 2011-v3) Motherboard Preview
The latest revision of Intel’s High-End Desktop (HEDT) platform is upon us and that means one thing is for sure – new processors and motherboards. Bringing the HEDT platform to the feature-rich realms of 2014, new motherboards based around the LGA 2011-v3 socket will use an X99 chipset that possesses …
Read More »Gigabyte X99 SOC Force (LGA 2011-v3) Motherboard Preview
Intel's latest revision to its High-End Desktop (HEDT) platform is upon us and that means one thing is for sure – new processors and motherboards. Bringing the HEDT platform to the feature-rich realms of 2014, new motherboards based around the LGA 2011-v3 socket will use an X99 chipset that possesses …
Read More »Asus X99 Deluxe (LGA 2011-v3) Motherboard Preview
The latest revision of Intel's High-End Desktop (HEDT) platform is upon us and that means one thing is for sure – new processors and motherboards. Bringing the HEDT platform to the feature-rich realms of 2014, new motherboards based around the LGA 2011-v3 socket will use an X99 chipset that possesses …
Read More »MSI launches X99 Gaming and MPower motherboards
X99 is all set to launch later today and MSI is prepared with its new range of X99 Gaming and X99 MPower motherboards, offering up advanced overclocking tools and low lag Killer E2200 game networking. The X99 Gaming motherboards come with a brand new “Streaming Engine”, a dedicated hardware encoding …
Read More »Gigabyte J1900N-D3V Review
The Gigabyte J1900N-D3V is more than a simple motherboard as it replaces the usual chipset and CPU socket with an Intel Celeron J1900 SoC (System on Chip). Add some RAM, storage and a power source and you have the basis for a compact PC which is pretty good going for …
Read More »Intel and MSI offering cashback on Z87 and Z97 hardware
If you've been considering one of the new Z87 or Z97 motherboards along with a new Intel CPU lately, then chances are you're expecting to shell out a fair number of your hard earned pounds to do so. Fortunately, it turns out MSI and Intel are now offering cash back …
Read More »Asus: it takes at least nine months to build a mainboard from scratch
Asustek Computer has revealed some additional details regarding its product development cycles and decision making process. Apparently, it takes at least nine months to develop and build a new mainboard for a new microprocessor. Actual mass production of new motherboards starts only about a month before launch. “[We start planning] …
Read More »Biostar Hi-Fi Z97WE Motherboard Review
While Biostar may not be the first company that springs to mind when we ask you to name a motherboard vendor, the Taiwanese board maker does have a long history of providing well-priced Intel- and AMD-based components. We take a look at Biostar's competitively-priced Z97 flagship – the Hi-Fi Z97WE. …
Read More »The USB 3.0 type-C reversible connector ready for production
The USB 3.0 promoter group this week announced the completion of the USB type-C specification that defines the next generation USB connector. The new plug is reversible and is considerably thinner than existing ones. Moreover, it will support up to 10Gb/s transfer rates as well as up to 100W power delivery. …
Read More »MSI show off upcoming Z97 black and white motherboard
The cat is out of the bag, MSI is coming out with a black and white themed Z97 motherboard dubbed the ‘Z97 SLI Krait Edition'. This new motherboard was born out of sheer consumer demand. Color themed PC builds have become pretty common in recent years, something that MSI knows very well …
Read More »AMD to release A68 chipsets next month – report
Advanced Micro Devices is projected to release its new-generation entry-level chipsets next month, according to a media report. While typically launches of new chipsets should boost sales of mainboards, motherboard manufacturers are not really happy with AMD because they still have a lot of current-gen core-logic sets. AMD A68 chipset …
Read More »Win 3x BioStar A68N-5000 Motherboards
This week we have a great giveaway for our readers courtesy of BIOSTAR. They are giving away three BioStar A68N-5000 motherboards to three lucky readers! This competition is only running for a week, so if you get your entry in quick you are in with a good chance of walking …
Read More »Asustek unleashes ROG Crossblade Ranger mainboard for AMD APUs
Perhaps, A-series accelerated processing units (APUs) from Advanced Micro Devices do not offer extreme levels of performance, but since AMD does not really update its top-of-the-range FX-series products, many of its fans turn their heads to the hybrid Fusion chips that feature both x86 and graphics processing engines. In a …
Read More »MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC Motherboard Review
Flagship parts on a mainstream platform can cause confusion for motherboard vendors. Do they go all-out, offering 4-way SLI and CrossFire via a PLX chip, with the knowledge that many people inclined for such configurations will use a HEDT platform instead? Or do they put that expenditure into a full-blooded …
Read More »Asus Maximus VII Ranger & Hero Motherboard Review
Z87 saw cost-effective gaming-calibre motherboards take the limelight. All of the big vendors released at least one product that provided gaming-orientated features in a cost-effective package. Asus SKU of choice was the successful Hero – a board which ticked many of the boxes and did so with an efficient price …
Read More »Raspberry Pi model B+ launched
The original Raspberry Pi miniature system birthed a bunch of exciting projects around the world, from teaching children the basics of programming and integration, to building quadcopters, MAME machines, time-lapse cameras and a host of others. Now though a new version has been launched, with the creators keen to point …
Read More »Details of Intel Skylake client platforms leak online
A web-site has published the first details regarding Intel 100-series chipsets that will power personal computers based on the code-named Skylake microprocessors. As expected, Intel’s next-generation core-logic sets will support SATA Express as well as some other innovations. What is interesting is that the new chipsets will also support enhanced …
Read More »ASRock Z97 Extreme6 Motherboard Review (w/ Samsung XP941 M.2 SSD)
Intel's 9-series chipset saw the widespread adoption of high-speed storage connections operating via the PCI Express interface. While the 10Gbps transfer speeds of SATA Express and M.2 connections were a noticeable speed boost over the ageing SATA 6Gbps interface, they were still a far cry from the bandwidth offered by …
Read More »Exclusive interview with Asrock COO L L Shiu
One of the most remarkable stories in the technology industry has been the rise of Asrock as a leading mainboard manufacturer. This company started life as an off-shoot from established manufacturers in 2002. At the start, it provided simple, low-cost alternative options for the system building sector of the PC …
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