24 Jun 2011

ASUS P8Z68-V PRO Review: Our First Z68 Motherboard

ASUS P8Z68-V PRO: Friend or Foe?

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4330/asus-p8z68v-review


Yet another 6-series chipset is upon us from Intel. In terms of just consumer level desktop Cougar Point chipsets, this makes the seventh on offer—the Z68 is being marketed as the logical progression from both P67 and H67 for consumers. Z68 introduces a host of new features, including combined overclocking of the CPU and integrated Intel HD Graphics, SSD caching, and use of integrated GPU features such as Quick Sync while still maintaining full discrete GPU usage in true 3D applications. ASUS have kindly supplied us with their P8Z68-V PRO model, which should retail at $210, and is a small price premium as an update from the P8P67 PRO model we looked at previously.

10 May 2011

P67 $190 Part 2: MSI, ASRock and ECS


http://www.anandtech.com/show/4323/p67-190-part-2-msi-asrock-and-ecs

Our first look at $190 P67 boards started with ASUS and Gigabyte.  Within hours of posting the review, I was commandeered by several other companies to look at their $190 motherboards.  This is still one of the best selling P67 price points, even with Z68 around the corner.  Here, we look at the MSI P67A-GD65, the ASRock P67 Extreme6 and the ECS P67H2-A2, and come up with some interesting results.  Read on…

28 Mar 2011

H67 – A Triumvirate of Tantalizing Technology


http://www.anandtech.com/show/4241/h67-a-triumvirate-of-tantalizing-technology


Sandy Bridge is more than just P67.  With the plethora of issues regarding the B2 stepping and Intel’s recall, there is still hope in the land of Sandy Bridge.  Before Z68 is launched sometime later this year, we have laid our hands on some H67 boards.  The H67 allows us to use the onboard graphics capabilities of the Sandy Bridge platform, at the expense of processor overclocking, as well as one of the two graphics based PCIe slots that P67 afforded.  Today we are examining the Gigabyte H67MA-UD2H, the ECS H67H2-M and the ASRock H67M-GE/HT, all below the $150 mark, all micro-ATX.

20 Jan 2011

The Battle of the P67 Boards - ASUS vs. Gigabyte at $190


http://www.anandtech.com/show/4130/the-battle-of-the-p67-boards-asus-vs-gigabyte-at-190


In the world of motherboards and manufacturer competition, the idea is to beat your competitor.  To develop the product, with more features, more fancy gadgets, and perform better than your competitor at every price point.  Today, we pit arguably the two most popular motherboard vendors at a price point that will see a significant number of sales from consumers and enthusiasts alike – the ASUS P8P67 Pro and the Gigabyte P67A-UD4, which were both released during the Sandy Bridge week for $190.  Forget all the marketing fluff; this is a showdown!

8 Jan 2011

Welcome to Sandy Bridge, with the ASRock P67 Extreme4


http://www.anandtech.com/show/4080/welcome-to-sandy-bridge-with-the-asrock-p67-extreme4

The launch of the Sandy Bridge platform today brings Intel’s newest socket, the new LGA-1155 platform, into the hands of the consumer. Pre-release information across the internet has heralded this new platform for its per-clock performance, and the reduction in complexity when it comes to overclocking. Through the ASRock P67 Extreme4 motherboard, let us examine some of the new features Sandy Bridge has to offer, and see whether this board is worth the $150 projected price point.

3 Dec 2010

Zotac Announce two 880G AMD Mini-ITX Motherboards


http://www.anandtech.com/show/4046/zotac-announce-two-880g-amd-miniitx-motherboards

The mini-ITX market is gathering pace, and seemingly every motherboard company wants a piece of the action.  Some get it almost right, such as the Gigabyte H55N-USB which is the only motherboard this year we’ve given a highly recommended rating, whereas others can get it very, very wrong.  Mini-ITX specialists Zotac have recently announced their next two AMD offerings.

14 Nov 2010

A brief look at upcoming ASUS P67 Motherboards


http://www.anandtech.com/show/4019/a-brief-look-at-upcoming-asus-p67-motherboards

With the launch of Sandy Bridge on the horizon, the larger motherboard manufacturers are putting the final touches to their products.  ASUS, Gigabyte, EVGA, MSI, Foxconn, and others will all be vying for your hard earned cash by attempting to wow you with images of hardware, and words regarding supposed performance.  So when ASUS started handing out images of their upcoming high-end P67 range, we had to dissect and pass on the information.   Click through for the P8P67 Pro, P8P67 Deluxe and the P67 Maximum IV Extreme.

29 Sept 2010

A Quick Glimpse of the Biostar TP67XE and TH67XE


http://www.anandtech.com/show/3950/a-quick-glimpse-of-the-biostar-tp67xe-and-th67xe


With Intel’s new socket 1155 and Sandy Bridge archtecture nearly upon us, it was only a matter of time before motherboard vendors started to release promotional shots of their offerings.  We saw a few pre-production boards at Computex, enough to wet the appetite, but nothing set in stone. Now however, some high-resolution images of final production boards have fallen into our lap in the the form of their TP67XE and TH67HE offerings.

6 Aug 2010

ASUS Rampage III Formula to debut ‘soon’



ASUS’ Republic of Gamers range is soon to have a new member, in the shape of the ASUS Rampage III Formula.  Using the X58 chipset, this board is designed for looks, uncompromised performance, overclocking, and the best possible online gaming experience with the new SupremeFX X-Fi 2 audio solution.  However, based on our recent high-end X58 roundup, the X58 market is stagnating between the budget X58 and high end, where the minor features that few people end up using seem destined to create a huge markup price.  ASUS hopes to alleviate such issues with the release of the Rampage III Formula, by finding a happy medium.

5 Aug 2010

Logitech Releases a Smörgåsbord of Gaming Peripherals


http://www.anandtech.com/show/3840/logitech-releases-a-smrgsbord-of-gaming-peripherals

A competitive gamer loves being at the cutting edge.  Every piece of hardware needs to be meticulously set to his or her specifications and customisations – being hindered by substandard equipment is not an option.  For a number of years, Logitech have played a role in this field, trying to give the gamer what they want – assuming money is no object, of course.  Today they have announced a triumvirate of a new headset, new mouse and new keyboard to add to any prospective warrior’s arsenal, if your wallet stretches that far.