Motherboard

Boards designed for extreme overclockers have been constants for all of Intel's most recent platforms. Gigabyte hit success with the Z87X-OC motherboard by driving the overclocking-geared part to an aggressive mid-range price point. Many of the key overclocking-orientated features were still present, but the bank-busting price tag was not. Gigabyte is attempting to …

It's approaching that time of the year; the launch of Intel's ‘future chipset' is just around the corner and board partners are busy preparing their products for the retail channels. Full reviews of motherboards based on the ‘future Intel chipset' still cannot be published for another few weeks (as we …

Asus Sabertooth motherboards have proven popular since their inception a number of generations ago. Based on their widespread popularity it comes as no surprise that The Ultimate Force (TUF) motherboards are making an appearance for the ‘future Intel chipset'. A number of the upcoming chipset's specifications help bolster the feature-set …

Although Intel Corp. decided not to bring support for next-generation solid-state drives with Serial ATA Express (SATAe) interface this year, Asustek Computer earlier this year demonstrated motherboards with SATA Express connectors and vowed to bring the new interface to the market. On Wednesday the company said that it can now …

MicroStar International is working on a new family of mainboards based on Intel Corp.’s upcoming Z97 core-logic that will support the forthcoming microprocessors for enthusiasts code-named Devil’s Canyon as well as future chips based on the Broadwell micro-architecture. All mainboards will be aimed primarily at gamers, but who said that …

Biostar, a second-tier maker of mainboards that specializes on various niche and unique solutions, this week introduced BTC-24GH, a special mainboard designed for Bitcoin mining and featuring 64 special-purpose ASICs [application-specific integrated circuits] which were specifically designed for mining of the virtual currency. In the world of crypto currencies, a …

MSI has debuted a load of imagery and details about its upcoming line of “Gaming” motherboards, which are focused on exactly that. While we'll have to keep you guessing on what chipset it uses, we can tell and show you a lot about the upcoming range of boards. First off, …

Thunderbolt continues to gain pace in the marketplace, especially amongst professional users to whom time is money. Today we take a look at Asus's Thunderbolt 2-equipped Z87-Deluxe/Quad, aimed at small-scale professional users who regularly transfer large amounts of data. Asus has taken its standard Z87-Deluxe motherboard and added an Intel …

We managed to get some time with MSI's Joran Schoonderwoerd at the MSI stand in CEBIT – check out the video below. Under NDA we can't divulge any information on the upcoming boards and the board names are partially masked to protect the Intel NDA, but we have attached some …

One of the coolest rumoured features of Intel's next-gen chipset mainboards is the ability to get OCZ Revo type speeds for small, affordable SSD units. Asrock and Plextor have a next-gen demo at CeBIT 2014 and there's no Intel in sight. To say that SATA has been holding SSD back …

The SAPPHIRE BP-FT3GS features the latest embedded SOC architecture from AMD in a very small 100 x 100mm (or 4 x 4 inch) format. The latest AMD G-Series FT3 SOC combines a low power CPU, control circuitry and discrete level graphics in a single device. This low-power solution delivers much …

While not everything is clear about Intel Corp.’s new microprocessor introduction plans, it looks like the company has finalized its desktop chipset launch schedule. According to a media report, Intel’s new core-logic sets aimed at enthusiasts will debut in mid-May. Such a release timetable will allow Intel and its partners …

Almost three years has passed since SandForce introduced its SF2200 series of controllers. Despite well-publicised problems SandForce's SF2281, in particular, was a radical product; it was one of the first controllers employed by SSD manufacturers to push the SATA 6Gbps connection to its realistic limits. Wind the clock forward to …

We are currently running a fantastic competition thanks to our good friends at Gigabyte UK. One lucky reader will have the chance to win some incredible hardware , in fact the main components to build a new, kick ass system! Be sure to join in the fun over at the …

Much of the computing industry is rapidly moving towards physically smaller components without downsizing performance. Can MSI's Mini-ITX Z87I Gaming AC prove that Small Form Factor gamers need not worry about finding a motherboard which tends to their requirements? MSI's first take on a gaming-orientated Mini-ITX motherboard sees the inclusion …

Intel Corp.’s next-generation 9 core-logic sets may not be packed with loads of innovations, but they still feature technologies not available on today’s platforms. Among those are support for higher-performing storage devices and improved security. Intel 9-series chipsets – Z97 and H97 – are expected to be shipped sometime in …

Today we are going to take a look at the Gigabyte F2A88XM-DS2 motherboard, aimed at those looking to build an AMD APU based system with a limited budget.  This particular motherboard is a bit of a departure from the usual high end product we are used to receiving from Gigabyte …

With so much of Haswell’s performance being related to on-chip parameters, many users are quick to question the relevance of a high-end motherboard. Does MSI’s Z87-G43 Gaming act as proof that an entry-level board can compete with the high-end contenders on the Z87 chipset? Featuring support for two-way CrossFire (albeit …

The 4770K offers quite possibly the highest per-clock performance numbers of any consumer-grade processor currently on the market. It’s just that fact which makes Haswell’s multiplier-unlocked Core i7 a plausible option for workstation applications. And with that possible usage scenario comes the requirement for workstation-grade LGA 1150 motherboards. Is ASRock’s …

Introducing itself to the low-cost gaming motherboard scene, can Gigabyte's G1.Sniper Z87 retain the features that makes its higher-priced siblings attractive purchases? Targeting mid-range gamers Gigabyte's G1.Sniper Z87 features a Killer E2201 NIC, support for 2-way SLI and CrossFire, and an eye-catching green and black colour scheme. Further enhancements are …

Forming the entry-level Z87 board in ASRock's gaming-orientated Fatal1ty series, is the Z87 Killer able to prove itself as a good-value gaming motherboard? Designed to meet the requirements of gamers, ASRock outfits its Z87 Killer with a number of premium add-on components which it calls Gaming Armor. An audio upgrade …

Since its inception earlier this year, MSI's Gaming series of components has been a success story. With its well-respected ATX Gaming series motherboards receiving positive feedback, MSI turns its focus to winning over mATX gamers. Enter the micro-ATX Z87M Gaming. Retaining many of the gaming-orientated features that made its ATX …

MSI has released some teaser images for its upcoming miniature gaming hardware, including a new motherboard and a small form factor GPU, both designed to fit into half size cases, whilst still giving you enough oomf for all the latest games. “We’re very close to expanding our #GAMING family with …

How does a company make a multiple award-winning, enthusiast-grade motherboard even more ‘extreme'? By making it into a black edition version, of course. Asus has updated its critically-acclaimed Rampage IV Extreme X79 motherboard to ‘Black Edition' status. Have the upgraded components and IVB-E tweaks resulted in yet another rampaging master …

Asus has today announced the launch of its newest E-ATX gaming motherboard, the Rampage IV Black Edition, designed specifically to take full advantage of Intel's latest line up of LGA 2011 i7 Ivy Bridge E processors, letting overclockers really go to town and pull the full potential from their CPU. …

As a chipset, X79 is starting to show its age, especially when compared to the feature-heavy Z87 PCH. This can pose problems for motherboard manufacturers looking to sell a value-orientated product that isn't stripped to the point where masses of consumers are alienated away from the target audience. Cutting down in …

Today we are going to take a look at the ASRock FM2A88X Extreme6+ motherboard which is their flagship FM2+ model. We recently looked at a Gigabyte's flagship FM2+ motherboard – the G1 Sniper A88x and we were very impressed with the overall package. ASRock have made quite a name for …

Today we are going to look at one of the first Socket FM2+ motherboards designed for gaming, the Gigabyte G1 Sniper A88X.  This has similar characteristics as the other products in Gigabyte's gaming range, including the trademark green and black colour scheme. As its name suggests, the Gigabyte G1 Sniper A88X features the …

A little under two years after the release of Intel's high-end desktop – Sandy Bridge-E – LGA 2011 processors and the corresponding X79 chipset, it's time for the platform to go through its refresh phase. Featuring a die shrink from SB-E's 32nm to 22nm, Ivy Bridge-E is intended to take …

While it seems that some mainboard vendors will need new models and/or BIOS updates in order to provide AMD FX9000 series processors with full support, KitGuru has been contacted by Asus to confirm that “Support has been there all along”. Nice to know they care, but what does it really …