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.