Category Archives: Motherboards

NVIDIA nForce 650i Ultra chipset, which is similar to the 650i SLI with the exception of SLI support, is finally making an appearance in reference board form, DailyTech reports.

“Supported features of NVIDIA’s budget performance chipset include dual-channel DDR2-800, Gigabit Ethernet with FirstPacket technology and high definition audio. The chipset also supports Intel Core 2 Extreme, Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Duo processors with 1066 MHz and 800 MHz front-side-buses”, a report based on forum posts at ChileHardware says.

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Chipset maker Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS) today announced that it has signed a long-term licensing contract with Intel for the manufacture and sale of chipsets for the Intel Core 2 Quad processors with 1333MHz front side bus.

“SiS will be offering the next generation products to support high-speed FSB 1333MHz for the Intel Core 2 Quad processors,” said Daniel Chen, the CEO and President of SiS, “These new chipsets will strengthen SiS product portfolios with another high-end option for consumers seeking extreme performance and innovative design.”

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XFX has launched its MB-N680-ILT9 motherboard based on the NVIDIA’s new 680i LT SLI chipset, which is compatibile with Intel’s socket 775 processors.

“For extreme gaming performance at a great price, the 680i LT SLI features True Dual PCI Express slots, best-in-class performance and supports 1333MHz FSB and memory speeds reaching 800 MHz for SLI Ready memory with EEP. NVIDIA MediaShield storage, a suite of features that includes RAID and SATA drive support, safeguards users’ most important digital media assets. The 680i LT SLI also features TCP/IP Acceleration, which delivers the superior system performance by offloading CPU-intensive packet filtering tasks in the hardware,” XFX published.

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EVGA 122-CK-NF67-A1 ATX form factor motherboard based on the latest NVIDIA nForce 680i LT SLI chipset for Intel LGA 775 processors is now available at NewEgg.

Priced at $199.99, the EVGA 122-CK-NF67-A1 nForce 680i LT SLI provides support for Intel’s Quad-core, Core 2 Extreme, Core 2 Duo and Pentium processors with 1066/800MHz front side bus, as well as up to 8GB of DDR2 800 memory. There are two PCI Express x16 slots, which enable dual graphics gaming in SLI mode, according to motherboard’s product page.

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NVIDIA has launched its nForce 680i LT SLI chipset, which is the trimmed down and cheaper version of nForce 680i SLI.

The NVIDIA nForce 680i LT motherboards for Intel 775 socket processors “bring the award-winning performance of the nForce 680i SLI media and communications processor (MCP) to a sub-$200 price point.”

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Asus P5K-WS, one of the first motherboards based on the Intel P35 chipset (codenamed Bearlake), is showcased at ongoing CeBIT show.

The P5K-WS supports Intel Core 2 Duo / Extreme processors and DDR2-800 memory and provides 1333MHz front-side bus. Asus P5K-WS offers SATA2 hard drive support and has dual Gigabit LAN, as well as 8-channel HD audio, Digit Life reports.

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Sapphire has announced its PURE Innovation PI-AM2RS690MHD motherboard, based on the latest AMD 690G chipset with AMD’s socket AM2 processor support and with HDMI output.

“Now with HDMI, the new Pure Innovation HDMI mainboard boasts support for the impressive AMD Athlon 64/FX/ X2 processors, memory exapnsion of up to 8GB of 533/667/800 Dual Channel, PCI-Express Technology, onboard X1250 graphics and HDMI to fill your multimedia needs, onboard LAN/Firewire/USB 2.0 affords the luxury of connectivity without limitations, and for peak hard drive performance and backwards compatibility both IDE and RAID 0/1 SATA II suuport,” the Sapphire PURE Innovation PI-AM2RS690MHD product page says.

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Micro-Star International presented the motherboards it will be releasing in the coming months at the ongoing CeBIT show in Hannover, Germany. The one of this motherboards is MSI P6N Diamond based on Nvidia chipset which supports Creative’s X-Fi Extreme Audio. X-Fi onboard means lower costs and better performance than other integrated audio solutions, Digi Times reports.

MSI P6N Diamond mainboard marks the first appearance of X-Fi on it and company plans to feature X-Fi on future boards too, including ones based on Intel’s recently unveiled Bearlake chipset family, according to MSI. The company says that Creative has recently submitted both 32- and 64-bit drivers for WHQL testing, and it expects Windows Vista certified drivers to be available around the time the P6N Diamond launches, according to Digi Times.

MSI P6N Diamond has three x16 PCIe Express slots. The four slots are paired up electrically as two x16 and two x8 and allow the P6N to support SLI plus a couple of PCIe add-in cards now, but MSI also mentioned SLI Physics and Quad-SLI will also be possible in the near future. Additionally, MSI highlighted that the RAID controller on the P6N supports hardware RAID 0 and 1 as well as RAID 5 in software.

The second interesting motherboard that MSI has on show at CeBIT is the P956 Neo2. This Intel 965 Express based board has been customized to support ATI Crossfire which is implemented via a PCIe x16 slot and an open ended x4 slot.

There are also AMD 690 chipset-based motherboards, as well as boards based on an Nvidia IGP – likely to be the upcoming MCP 73 for Intel and MCP 68 for AMD.

Digi Times says P6N Diamond will be priced around US$280 and P956 Neo2 will be priced around US$170. Both motherboards are scheduled to launch in the second quarter.

Digi Times

BIOSTAR Microtech has launched TF7050-M2 motherboard, based on the new NVIDIA GeForce7050PV/ nForce630a Chipset. TF7050-M2 comes with integrated HDMI with on-chip HDCP and High Definition Audio(HDA), according to Biostar.

The on board HDMI connector is designed to meet the output protection management (HDCP) and security specification of the Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD Formats, allowing the playback of encrypted movie content on PCs when connected to HDCP-compliant displays. High Definition Audio (HDA) brings consumer electronics quality sound to the PC delivering high quality sound from multiple channels. Using HAD, system can deliver stunning 192kHz/32-bit quality from eight channel, supporting the latest audio formats. And TF7050-M2 offers both HDMI and TV-Out ports to support HDMI and HDA function, according to Biostar.

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Intel will launch Bearlake chipsets for desktop computers at CeBIT 2007 show. The new series introduces support for DDR3 memory, front side bus speeds up to 1333MHz and are designed to support Intel’s upcoming 45nm-process CPUs, the Core 2 Duo (Wolfdale) and Core 2 Quad (Yorkfield), DigiTimes reports.

“The main chipset on show is known as the P35 and is to be positioned as the successor to Intel’s current 965 Express series for mainstream desktops, according to sources. Motherboards based on the P35 will be able to support FSB speeds up to 1333MHz (up from the 1066MHz of the 965) which will be required for several of the CPUs Intel is planning to launch in the second half of the year. The P35 also introduces support for DDR3 memory which is currently specified to run at up to 1066MHz, versus DDR2’s 800MHz, and so offers greater memory bandwidth. DDR3 also operates at just 1.5V compared to DRR2’s 1.8V,” the report says.

CeBIT 2007: Intel to launch Bearlake chipsets for desktops (part 1)

SiS announced today that it will unveil the most advanced chipsets supporting Windows Vista at CeBIT 2007. The SiS672FX series, SiS671FX series, and SiS771 series chipsets are SiS special innovations.

They are designed for optimum compatibility with Windows Vista, and support mobile PCs and desktop PCs platforms. All of these chipsets have received certification from Microsoft. At CeBIT this year, SiS will introduce its full product line of chipsets for powering Windows Vista. For Intel platform, SiS presents SiS672FX, SiS672, SiSM672MX, SiS671FX, SiS671, SiS671DX, and SiSM671MX chipsets; for AMD platform, SiS unveils the SiS771 chipset. With SiS high-end Mirage3+ graphics engine, high quality digital entertainment experiences can be explored thoroughly.

In order to present the high performance systems that adopt the latest SiS Windows Vista ready chipsets, this year, SiS set up a flagship section to live demo its star products. Furthermore, NB live-demo section and static motherboard section will also be highlighted in this exhibition.

In the live-demo section, the SiS672FX/SiS968, SiS672/SiS968, and SiSM672MX/SiS968 chipsets for Intel platforms will be on display; also, the SiS771/SiS968 chipsets for AMD platform will be presented. All of the platforms will be running Windows Vista. With SiS Mirage3+ graphics engine, the SiS672FX, SiS672, SiSM672MX, and SiS771 chipsets support DirectX9. Also, the Mirage3+ graphics engine is integrated with Pixel Shader 2.0, Texture Pipelines, Texture Filtering and Cubic Mapping Technologies to enhance the performance of the 2D and 3D graphics. Combining with the equipped media player and SiS Real Video technology, the video quality can be performed perfectly whenever you are watching TV shows, VCD, DVD, or pictures. In addition, SiS chipsets enhance the security and reliability of the systems when users are surfing the internet, emailing, using instant messenger, and editing documents using Windows Vista.

In the Mobile platform live-demo section, SiS also focuses on customers’ NB PCs which adopt SiS’ latest Vista ready chipsets. The SiS671DX/SiS968 chipsets are adopted by in Asus F5V; the SiSM671MX/SiS968 chipsets are adopted by Clevo M720S.

In static motherboard section, SiS showcased full range of motherboards aiming to fulfill different customers’ requirements. On display are SiS672FX-based motherboards from Asrock, ECS, Foxconn, Gigabyte, MSI, and USI. There is one SiS672-based motherboard from Asus, and the SiS671FX-based motherboards from Asus, ECS, Foxconn, Gigabyte, MSI, PC Partner, PCchips, and USI, will also be displayed. The SiS671-based motherboards from Axper and MSI and the SiS671DX-based motherboard from Gigabyte will be presented in static MB display section. All of the above-mentioned motherboards are compatible with Windows Vista which enable a more efficient search engine for more secure web surfing, better graphics performance, and higher integrated media functions.

Press Release

AsRock has released ConRoe1333-DVI/H motherboard based on Intel 945G and ICH7 chipsets compatible with FSB 1333/1066/800/533MHz. ASRock ConRoe1333-DVI/H supports Intel Core 2 Extreme, Core 2 Duo, Pentium D, Pentium 4 and Celeron D processors, but not Quad Core CPUs.

ConRoe1333-DVI/H is compatible with Windows Vista Premium 2007 Logo Ready, featuring Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with maximum shared memory of 224MB and 7.1 CH Vista Premium Level HD Audio (ALC888 Audio Codec).

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MSI has launched a series of socket AM2 motherboards based on AMD’s 690G and 690V chipsets, The Inquirer reports.

The K9AGM2-FIH motherboard is based on AMD’s 690G chipset and features both HDMI interface and HDCP decoder, with the HDMI and D-Sub connector onboard. The HDMI interface delivers video resolutions up to 1920×1080 (1080i) HD video output. The resolution depends on the driver and output screen’s specifications.

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Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS), will reveal their newest Intel Bearlake-based motherboards at CeBIT 2007 show this month. The new ECS P35T-A, G33T-M and Q35T-M motherboards feature the next generation chipsets and will be continued by the current P965, G965 and Q965 Broadwater-based motherboards, offering across-the-board performance benefits. All these new motherboard support latest Intel Core2 Duo and Intel Core2 Quad processors. The P35T-A is designed for gaming and performance users, the G33T-M and its integrated graphics core is designed for the digital home, and the Q35T-M brings more functionality to enterprise and office users, ECS says.

Several factors give these next generation ECS Bearlake motherboards their improved performance. The Northbridge chipset supports a 45nm-process microarchitecture CPU, these chipsets feature a 1333 MHz Front Side Bus (FSB), DDR3 memory and work seamlessly with Intel’s new ICH9 Southbridge I/O chip. The ICH9 Southbridge will have at least three versions, a standard ICH9, the ICH9R with added support for RAID storage, and the ICH9DH designed specially for digital home applications.

The P35T-A motherboard supports Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad-Core processors and provides PCI Express X16 slots (X16, X4) with dual graphics solutions. New Intel Matrix Storage Technology is featured for better content protection and performance, as well as Intel’s Advance Memory Controller with Intel Fast Memory Access to better manage the DDR3 memory up to 1333MHz. The G33T-M supports Intel Core2 Duo CPUs with up to 1333MHz FSB and Core 2 Quad up to 1066MHz FSB. It provides advanced high-definition video playback (Intel CVT), Intel Quiet System Technology. The Q35T-M provides embedded security and manageability geared for business platforms. This motherboard is based on Intel’s vPro technology to better manage workstation PCs remotely.

CeBIT 2007, the world’s largest IT show, will be held in Hannover, Germany from March 15th to March 21st.

ECS Web Site

Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) will display ATI’s re-named chipset motherboards for AMD Socket AM2 Processors at CeBIT 2007 in Hannover, Germany.

ECS will bring three products for AMD’s latest Socket AM2 based on AMD-ATI chipsets. With Socket AM2 support, these motherboards not only support current 64-bit architecture AMD Athlon 64 FX, Ahtlon 64 X2 Dual-Core, Athlon 64 and Sempron CPUs, they also provide full support for advanced DDR2 memory and dual-channel technology, as well as Windows Vista Premium, the company says.

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