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:: PC Perspective . News . Motherboard
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 .:Motherboard News
Ryan Shrout | Source: General | Subject: Motherboard
Look, I think we have all had enough with the politics and sideshow that has revolved around the first motherboard to integrated the Lucid HYDRA vendor-agnostic multi-GPU technology, the MSI Big Bang Fuzion. Regardless of WHY we don't have our product yet, we are still waiting for the final retail availability for the product and the ability to spend some quality time with it. Here's a summary of what we have learned over the last months:
What is most interesting is what appears to be a README file associated with the Lucid HYDRA driver and hardware setup. Below I will copy some of it here and then analyze what some of it means for enthusiasts looking at the product for early 2010.
Supported Operating Systems
* Microsoft Windows Vista (SP2) 32-bit and 64-bit - Support dual NVIDIA graphic cards - Support dual ATI graphic cards * Microsoft Windows 7 RTM OS 32-bit and 64-bit - Support dual mixture of NVIDIA and ATI graphic cards - Support dual NVIDIA graphic cards - Support dual ATI graphic cards * Microsoft Windows Editions include: - Windows Vista Home Basic - Windows Vista Home Premium - Windows Vista Business - Windows Vista Enterprise Edition - Windows Vista Ultimate - Windows 7 (RTM) Home Premium - Windows 7 (RTM) Professional - Windows 7 (RTM) Ultimate The chances are good that this driver was released before the Oct 23rd release of the retail version of Windows 7 so that would explain the mention of Windows 7 RTM. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of both Vista and Windows 7 are support so that is a plus but multi-vendor support (mixing NVIDIA card with ATI cards) is only possible on Windows 7. That is because Vista does not support the ability to install multiple vendors drivers on the same system. Supported GPUs and display drivers * NVIDIA - GPUs G90/G200 series, Single core only, no Dual core GPU support in this version (GTX295 is not supported) - NVIDIA display drivers: 185.85, 186.18, 190.38, 190.62, 191.07 * AMD/ATI - GPUs HD4XXX series, Single core only, no Dual core GPU support in this version (HD4870x2 is not supported) - ATI/AMD display drivers: Catalyst 9.7 and up * Multi vendor - Operating system: Windows 7 only (due to native limitations of other Windows versions) - GPUs: NVIDIA G90/G200 series, AMD/ATI HD4xxx Series, Single core only, no Dual core GPU support in this version - Display drivers: NVIDIA 185.85, 186.18, 190.38, 190.62, 191.07 / AMD/ATI Catalyst 9.7 and up Want to know if your GPU is going to work with HYDRA technolgy? Just take a look at the list above. You will notice that the AMD Radeon 5000-series is not listed here - from what I know in my communcations with Lucid, it will indeed be there with the product ships in December or January. You can also see that multi-GPU cards like the GTX 295 or Radeon HD 4870 X2 are NOT supported with HYDRA right now and we are not sure if they actually will be. The reasoning seems to revolve around the fact that all of these cards are using a PCI Express bridge chip that essentially hides the GPUs from direct access by the Lucid HYDRA chip itself. Without a direct PCI Express connection to the GPU it looks like even the Radeon HD 5970 will be out the picture as well. Important
The HYDRA driver only support up to 2 graphic cards in this version. The future version will support up to 3 graphic cards. Then you only need to update the driver. That seems pretty straight forward - though I do wonder how long we'll have to wait for this 3rd GPU support... After this we see a very long list of games supported by either dual NVIDIA configurations, dual ATI configurations or mixed GPU configurations. Rather than extended this already lenghty news post, I have included the list in this thread in our forums for you to look at. The list is pretty good for only-NVIDIA and only-ATI configurations but it is rather small for mixed vendor configurations, which is a bit of a let down. I am hoping that for the retail release that particular list will be extended - and it is pretty likely that this is what MSI wanted as well - hence the delay from the initial October 29th release date. Important
If you use NVIDIA + ATI GPUs combination, it is recommanded installing the NVIDIA graphic card to the first PCI-E x16 slot. MAJ/EDIT du 19.11.2009 10:00 GMT Using PhysX/Physics with 3rd GPU The HYDRA driver enables to use a 3rd GPU card installed on the system for PhysX/Physics calculation. In order to active this feature: - A 3rd GPU should be installed on the available PCI-E slot. - The 3rd GPU can be a much lower performance that the other 2 GPUs (for example, 2x GTX260 for graphic enhancement and 1x GT9600 for PhysX/Physics). The Lucid driver is recommending here that the NVIDIA card be installed as the first card (and thus the one that your monitor would be connected to) even though in my meetings with the HYDRA team we were told that in general the most powerful GPU should be the primary. Either way, it is nice to see PhysX mentioned here at all - it will be supported as the 3rd GPU. Users that are looking forward to more Batman: Arkham Asylum or other future PhysX-enabled titles rejoice. That's all we have for today - if you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them in this thread where we copied the early list of supported games. More soon!
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Motherboards.org | Subject: Motherboard
Intel's chipsets are as famous as their processors, but finding an Intel branded board seems to be becoming rarer. The Intel DP55WG is out there however, and motherboards.org tested it out. It is a full ATX board with a P55 Express chipset and it uses a custom BIOS setup designed in house by Intel. The board its self is not a great overclocker, but it is worth pointing out that the using the Turbo button will work to get you to the upper edge of the boards performance, no need to manually tweak it. Check out the full review.
"Intel bills the DP55WG as a Media machine with a touch of Extreme. With Firewire, and a fully fledged audio solution in the form of a Realtek ALC889 which has content protection and Firewire, the DP55WG is a great solution for those wanting a Media PC with all of the features to play back Blu-Ray. Intel knows their customer base with motherboards for every need. From a performance point of view, the DP55WG performs near on par with its DP55KG in terms of performance but falls short on overclocking as one would expect from a non-Extreme board from Intel. Compatibility was excellent with the 870 and 750 working as advertised. This board is available from Newegg at $140, making a very respectable board at that price range. A solid Hot Product is to be found here, not really for the overclocker, but great for everyone else." Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Motherboard
During a recent trip to northern California, I stopped by the offices of ASUS and found this motherboard just sitting on the table in a conference room BEGGING to be poked and prodded. What happens when a motherboard manufacturer tries to target a super reliable motherboard rather than a super tweakable motherboard?
Apparently you get a certificate proving it. This document will come with every new ASUS Sabertooth 55i motherboard to validate all the components used in its construction are of a higher quality than nearly any motherboard on the market today.
The first in a new series from ASUS known as TUF (The Ultimate Force), the Sabertooth 55i is built using military-grade components and integrates some new technologies in order to make it more stable and reliable than any other motherboard. This platform is targeted towards the user that wants a system that will give them absolutely NO hiccups. Though not aimed at the overclocker, my guess is that this board will likely overclock pretty well anyway.
Some of the unique features on this board include heatsinks covered in a ceramic coating (branded CeraM!X, really) that increases surface area for heat dissipation, an included bracket and fan for the memory modules area, military certified capacitors and MOSFETs and more. This is also the first P55 motherboard that will offer power switching on the PCI Express bus and PCH, not just to the CPU alone.
We didn't get to see the board running or get to play with it yet, so we have a lot more time scheduled with this motherboard in the not too distant future. It will be interesting to see what kind of market there is for an obviously expensive motherboard that is NOT targeted at the overclocking enthusiast. Are users going to be willing to pay for stability and reliability? And can we PROVE that the components on the Sabertooth 55i are actually making a difference? We will know soon!
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: AnandTech | Subject: Motherboard
What could be more fun than seeing just how far you can push a group of four P55 motherboards with the help of a pair of compressors to bring the temperatures down below freezing? That is exactly what AnandTech has just finished doing. A pair of EVGA P55 boards along with a single ASUS and Gigabyte all underwent testing. Those with the original Foxconn socket found their deaths thanks to socket burn syndrome.
All pushed an 2.93GHz i5 870 to the 5GHz mark, with 50MHz separating the top and bottom overclocks. Check out the benchmark scores!
"Some of you asked us for scores and benchmarks showing just how far we managed to push the top P55 boards in our sub-zero cooled benchmarking (amidst socket failures) test suite. So we are here today to show how these boards fared against each other when using the same components. Be warned the results are geared more towards benchmarking fanatics and are not in any way indicative of your everyday web browsing PC needs... " Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Tech Spot | Subject: Motherboard
Sitting in the middle of ASUS' P55 line of boards is the $220 P7P55D Deluxe, still sporting most of the new features such as Express Gate, instant-on OS, BIOS OC profiles, and heat-pipe cooling for the hotter components on the board. You will also find 9 SATA 3Gbps ports, although ASUS decided to place 3 completely different controllers on the board to handle them. A VIA VT2020 10-channel high definition audio codec makes its first appearance but the one outstanding feature for Tech Spot was the overclocking potential which was the best they have seen from a P55 board.
"Asus anticipates selling nearly half a million P55 motherboards by the end of the year. If this is the case, it will mean that P55 products alone will have accounted for 10% of the annual motherboard shipments for the Taiwanese manufacturer. In other words, there is quite a bit on the line for both Asus and its competitors. In an effort to meet the diverse demand expected for P55 products, Asus released a total of nine P55-based motherboards on the platform's launch day, ranging in price from $135 for the basic P7P55D LE to ~$250 for the Maximus III Formula and P7P55 WS SuperComputer. The P7P55D series sits at the center of Asus' P55 line-up, and the $220 P7P55D Deluxe we are reviewing today is meant to be your no-nonsense choice if you are looking for an integral P55 solution. Then the obvious question has to be what exactly makes this motherboard special?" Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: Motherboard
Not having quite as many features as the Extreme Series, the ASUS Crosshair III Formulamotherboard is still one of the better implementations of the 790FX chipset from AMD. The biggest feature for most will be the dual PCIe 16x slots, giving you some serious potential for multi-GPU setups. [H]ard|OCP does recommends using AMD's OverDrive utility as opposed to the TurboV from ASUS, there was a definite ceiling using TurboV while OverDrive gave much better results.
"ASUS releases yet another Republic of Gamers motherboard, this time for our AMD users. The Crosshair III Formula is the latest incarnation of the ROG series which means that it comes from excellent pedigree. The Crosshair III Formula has some big shoes to fill. Is the Crosshair III AMD 790FX chipset motherboard is up to the challenge?" Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: MSI | Subject: Motherboard
[City of Industry, CA] MSI, a leading high-performance mainboard company, unveil its first gaming series mainboards in Intel P55 platform featuring awe-inspiring graphics and audio functionality to offer serious gamers immersive gaming experience. The state-of-the-art gaming line is inspired by the mighty Big Bang. Unique and innovative, the all-new Big Bang series will deliver the shock and awe of unprecedented experiences and expand into its own collection of galaxies. The first Big Bang branded mainboard, Trinergy is designed with eye-catching features such as NVIDIA SLI technology and QuantumWave audio processing with the latest THX TruStudio PC and Creative EAX ADVANCED HD 5.0 plus exclusive performance boost design from MSI. Powered by NVIDIA nForce 200 SLI processor, the Trinergy offers extreme gamers the most powerful graphics-intensive capability up to triple graphics configuration. Aimed at gamers and enthusiasts seeking cinematic enjoyment, QuantumWave™ audio card is designed to plunge you into the heart of the action, delivering the fullest audio experience for games, music and movies while remaining true to the source. The Big Bang Trinergy also features cutting-edge 100% Hi-c Cap to maximizing system performance. This supreme component adopted for gaming machines can guarantee server-grade operation stability in an extreme condition. Besides, it is equipped with an external OC Dashboard that gives extreme gamers on-the-fly overclocking to optimize FPS without interrupting your session. If you’re into a little of amateur overclocking, with MSI’s exclusive chip-driven OC Genie, you can enjoy the convenience and hugely improved performance with a simple press of a button. Big Bang Fuzion
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Motherboard
ASUS has a couple of new motherboards coming down the pipeline very soon that introduce new features including support for SATA 6G storage and USB 3.0 devices. Both SATA 6G and USB 3.0 technologies are awaiting actual devices that utilize them to hit the streets, but it is good to see ASUS taking the high ground and offering these options on motherboard for users that want future-proof their new builds.
The SATA 6G support is powered by the Marvell 9123 chipset and a high-speed PCIe bridge chip while the USB 3.0 is coming from an unknown add-on controller. UPDATE: ASUS got back to me and told us that the USB 3.0 implementation on both of these motherboards uses the NEC UPD720200 chipset on a single PCIe 2.0 x1 lane that supports up to 5.0 Gb/s. Considering 4.8 Gb/s is the theoretical maximum speed for USB 3.0, this implementation should have all the bandwidth you could need. 
This is the ASUS P6X58D Premium motherboard that implements both of these features for the LGA1366 Core i7 platform while including three PCIe x16 slots and six DDR3 memory slots. You can see the USB 3.0 ports on the back panel here (the blue ports).
The P7P55D-E Premium motherboard will be one more LGA1156 motherboard to come from ASUS with TONS of features. Besides the new SATA 6G and USB 3.0 support, it includes a 48-phase power solution and the ASUS instant-boot ExpressGate OS.
We are looking forward to seeing these motherboard cross our test bench and should have a brief preview on the first SATA 6G-ready hard drive this week!
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: The Tech Report | Subject: Motherboard
Gigabyte's GA-P55M-UD4 and MSI's P55M-GD45 are in a head to head battle at The Tech Report. Both are microATX boards giving you the advantages and drawbacks to picking a smaller board, the power draw is lessened and the price is lower, but you miss out on a few expansion slots. There was no clear winner in this battle, while neither board sacrificed performance while being trimmed down there were some problems. For Gigabyte it was the BIOS and MSI has problems with peripherals. They are still strong choices and well worth considering. "The first wave of P55-based Lynnfield motherboards has included not just the usual ATX fare, but also number of interesting MicroATX models. We've rounded up a pair of micro boards from Gigabyte and MSI to see how they stack up against full-size competition." Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: X-Bit Labs | Subject: Motherboard
The ASRock P55 Deluxe sports quite a few
features including the ability to use most LGA775 coolers thanks to some interesting thinking on the part of their engineers. There are enough high end features to make you question what ASRock is intending in the marketplace as they have tended towards the value end of the spectrum. Unfortunately, the glow only lasted until the first POST, after that X-bit Labs found the BIOS to be a rather difficult beast to deal with. In the end that brought the review to a less than positive conclusion.
"The top ASRock mainboard on Intel P55 Express chipset looks good, comes with rich accessories bundle and boasts a number of different functions and features. Unfortunately, fault-free performance in nominal mode is not one of them: the board couldn’t ensure stable CPU functioning at nominal settings." Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Motherboard
You know that we at PC Perspective are very excited to get our hands on the upcoming MSI Big Bang motherboard, the first motherboard to utilize the Lucid HYDRA chip for vendor-agnostic mulit-GPU scaling. We have been covering the technology for the past year or so and actually saw the motherboard at work at the most recent Intel Developer Forum.
I just came across some other news about this motherboard in regards to the sound system it will be utilizing. The Big Bang Fuzion motherboard will be the first to offer THX's new TruStudio PC technology with Creative EAX Advanced 5.0 support. TruStudio PC is a collaborative effort between THX and Creative with the goal of creating the best possible audio experience for music, movies as well as games.
TruStudio PC offers up the following features and technologies: THX TruStudio PC Surround
THX TruStudio PC Surround provides immersion control to enhance the natural sense of audio depth and spaciousness by creating virtual surround sound channels. Stereo content or multi-channel content played over stereo speakers and headphones will sound as if it’s coming from all sides while voices remain centered in front and original balance and timbre is preserved. THX TruStudio PC Crystalizer THX TruStudio PC Crystalizer restores the natural dynamic range that is lost when iTunes and MP3 music gets compressed. This makes the music sounds as good as the artist originally intended, and adds an enhanced level of realism for movies and games. THX TruStudio PC Speaker THX TruStudio PC Speaker fills in the missing low frequency tones and gives the extra impact for a better entertainment experience. Consumers no longer have to tolerate lack of bass in speakers built into notebook PCs, 2.0 speakers or headphones, as THX TruStudio PC Speaker technology dramatically improves the sound experience without a subwoofer. THX TruStudio PC Dialog Plus THX TruStudio PC Dialog Plus enhances the voices in movies for clearer dialog, allowing the listener to hear the dialog over the rest of the soundtrack and over ambient noise in the listening environment. THX TruStudio PC Smart Volume THX TruStudio PC Smart Volume addresses the problem of abrupt volume level changes during playback and between songs by automatically and continuously measuring volume, and intelligently applying gain and attenuation to compensate for those changes. 
MSI's upcoming "Big Bang" motherboard The MSI Big Bang Fuzion motherboard is shaping up to be quite the enthusiast offering with features like this as well as the Lucid HYDRA technology and world-class overclocking features and functionality. We are eagerly looking forward to testing it soon!!
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: InsideHW | Subject: Motherboard
Picking up a motherboard and CPU for a total cost of $200 really makes putting together a budget AMD system easier, but the question of which motherboard to choose remains. As the majority of AM2/AM2+ boards have onboard video as well as sound, the list of components you need to purchase to finish the build is relatively short. InsideHW looks to help you with your decision by gathering together 10 AMD boards from 4 different manufacturers to see how they compare in terms of performance as well as the features that each provide.
"Since AMD presented some very interesting low-budget CPUs lately, next good question is: which motherboard should you purchase with that CPU? We decided to review all AM2/AM2+ motherboards with price tag between 50€ and 70€ because we believe that some of those motherboards can be very good choice especially for new Athlon II CPUs. Except price, there was another feature that all motherboards should have: support for DDR2 memory. Since we are choosing motherboard for a budget PC and DDR2 memory is cheaper and offers similar performances to DDR3, it was logical choice. So, let’s get cracking…" Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Neoseeker | Subject: Motherboard
Neoseeker has gathered a five 785G based AMD motherboards, all of which are priced under $100 to see which board shall rule. For the IGP, it seems that it is the existence of DDR3 sideport memory
that makes all the difference in performance. Power consumption and overclockability are manufacture based and with ASUS, Gigabyte, ECS and MSI boards to choose you have a choice of different blends. It will take you a while to get through but if you plan on building an AMD system with integrated graphics, then your attention will be rewarded.
"We had taken a look not so long ago at the 785G IGP video performance, in a two part
article (Pt. I and Pt. II). Motherboard manufacturers obviously released products
based on this brand new chipset as soon as the NDA was lifted.
This release is more oriented toward the mainstream and HTPC market though, so this is a little bit different than the high-end video card reviews we often publish. In fact, none of these motherboards support CrossfireX setups, even though the ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO and the Gigabyte MA785G-UD3H have two PCI-E x16 slots. The others only have one PCI-E x16 slot since they are mATX-sized. These are the MSI 785GM-E65, the ECS A785GM-M and the Gigabyte MA785GMT-UD2H. All of them support Hybrid Crossfire, which makes the integrated HD 4200 working with the low-end dedicated card for a substancial boost." Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Benchmark Reviews | Subject: Motherboard
One of the bigger arguments right now concerns Intel's two current chipsets, the P55 and the X58. With the X58 comes support for LGA1366 processors, a family that holds the performance crown, a separate PCIe controller and support for triple channel DDR3. All of those features come at a premium, making the X58 series of motherboards the most expensive to purchase. The younger P55 board supports the new LGA1156 chips, which have an integral PCIe controller and can only support dual channel RAM setups. That does save some cost, though most companies have gone all out packing the boards with a long list of extra features. One such board, the Gigabyte GA-P55-UD6 is being tested at Benchmarks Reviews against a GA-EX58-UD4P. If you squint, you might be able to make out the performance differences which may not be what you expect.
"For computer enthusiasts, the last Intel milestone was the Core i7 processor launch that paralleled the X58-Express motherboard chipset launch back in November of 2008. Ten months later and well into September of 2009, Intel has returned with the P55- Express chipset for mainstream users who pair it with the new LGA1356 socket. On the outside little more than the processor socket and memory configuration has changed, replacing dual-channel for triple. PCI-Express now offers only one 16x lane instead of two, while the number of SATA and USB ports continues to give more expansion room than the average user might need. The consumer might not know what to expect when choosing between the two products, other than one is mainstream (P55) and the other is for extreme enthusiasts (X58). In this article, Benchmark Reviews directly compares the Intel Core i7-860 equipped Gigabyte GA-P55-UD6 motherboard against the GA-EX58-UD4P with Intel Core i7-920. Testi! ng a Core i7-860 against an i7-920 might not seem fair, and it's a little biased to compare P55 against X58, but the final outcome might just surprise you." Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: MSI | Subject: Motherboard
[City of Industry, CA] World-leading graphics card and mainboard manufacturer, MSI, has announced a technology partnership with LucidLogix at IDF to expand its high-end product line design to deliver a more advanced gaming experience for enthusiasts. Through the formation of this technology partnership, MSI and LucidLogix demonstrate how inventive collaboration can extend capabilities and create product innovation. The all-new premium line is inspired by the “Big Bang” in astronomy, and is dedicated to unique innovation. Powered by the new Lucid HYDRA 200 real-time distributed processing engine, the MSI Big Bang features the first-ever universal multi-GPU mainboard. Already, its first technology showcase at IDF drew worldwide attention. "MSI's BigBang Motherboard is a turning point for the Multi-GPU industry," said Offir Remez, President of LucidLogix. "Our close collaboration with MSI has allowed us to rapidly design and produce a first-ever universal multi-GPU motherboard that takes a major leap into mass market parallel graphics processing." “To satisfy diverse market demands, MSI remains committed to providing customizable solutions” said Henry Lu, MSI’s Global Senior Vice President. “With leading technology from LucidLogix, MSI Big Bang offers unprecedented flexibility and graphics-intensive capability. Enthusiasts can personalize their own gaming experience with state-of-the-art capabilities.” Designed to deliver an ultra-realistic, immersive gaming experience, the P55-based platform, Big Bang, features several awe-inspiring features. The official global launch date will be right before Christmas holidays on October 29. For more information, please visit: http://event.msi.com/mb/bigbang/
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: The Tech Report | Subject: Motherboard
You can catch a review of two P55 based motherboards, the $150 Asus P7P55D and the $170 Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4P over at The Tech Report. The capabilities and
compatibilities of
the two boards are very similar, with the Gigabyte having a bit of an advantage in its onboard audio, the real difference shines out in the overclocking options. The auto overclocking ability in both boards is strong, with the Gigabyte board again in the lead. Once the overclocking software finds a stable frequency you can either stop there, or do what comes naturally to most enthusiasts and use it as a starting point for fine tuning. Take a look at the two boards in action here.
"Ultra-high-end motherboards for Core i5 and i7-800 processors make little sense, but there are plenty of excellent mid-range models to choose from, including Asus' P7P55D and Gigabyte's GA-P55-UD4P. We've taken a close look at how those two boards match up against the P55 competition." Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: Motherboard
Now that the NDA is lifted, [H]ard|OCP is revisiting the P7P55D Deluxe
motherboard for the new Lynnfield based chips. We already have a good idea of the features and abilities of the board but now it is time to get down to the actual results of benchmarks and overclocking. If you are a manual overclocker, then this board might be attractive, as the auto-overclocking did not work as well as MSI's implementation. The BIOS may not be as comprehensive as an ROG C58 board, but you will still get that Lynnfield screaming.
"When Intel launches a new processor ASUS is among the first companies with products ready to go that will support it. Among the first boards based on the Intel's new LGA1156 socket is the ASUS P7P55D Deluxe. This is a feature rich design based on the Intel P55 Express chipset, supporting Intel's new LGA 1156 Core i5 and Core i7 processors." Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: ASUS | Subject: Motherboard
Fremont, CA, Sept. 8th, 2009 - ASUS, the leading innovator of advanced motherboard solutions, today launches the ASUS P7P55D Series motherboards. Featuring the Intel P55 Express chipset, the P7P55D Series supports the latest LGA 1156 socket for Intel Core i7/Core i5 Processors for maximum performance. The P7P55 Series is based on groundbreaking "Xtreme Design", a winning design formula drawn from many years of engineering innovation, to optimize overall system performance and hardware reliability. It also includes the latest Hybrid Technology - Hybrid Processor, Hybrid Phase, and Hybrid OS - to give users intelligent performance enhancements, active cooling, and rapid online access. Achieving 6Gbps Storage Bandwidth with Exclusive Expansion Bridges
Optimizing Efficiency with Revolutionary Hybrid Phase Power Delivery
Enhancing Performance with an Intelligent Hybrid Processor
Hybrid OS Delivers Express Gate and Windows 7 Benefits
Warranty and Service
Specifications
* Available only in the P7P55D Premium and Deluxe models ** Hybrid Phase = Xtreme Phase * T.Probe. Hybrid Phase equates power efficiency achieved in other power phase designs *** The PCIE GEN2 SATA6G card is sold separately.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: Motherboard
P55 based motherboards have been previewed all across the web over the past few weeks, Ryan has a stack almost as tall as himself. We have become quite familiar with their capabilities to over clock easily, the features they carry depending on manufacturer and series, but until today we have not seen performance numbers. The secret is out, expect all the P55 reviews you see from here on out to sport solid benchmarking data from at least one of the three Lynnfield processors.
Start your re-visitation of the P55 series at [H]ard|OCP where they have posted results from their tests of the MSI P55-GD80. It really impressed them overall, with special mention to an overclocking tool that works as advertised. "MSI pulled out all the stops in designing P55-GD80. This motherboards sports the new P55 chipset supporting the Lynnfield Core i5 and Core i7 processors. From its sharp looks to its bullet proof design, this board looks about ready to take its X58 based brethren head on." Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: GIGABYTE Technology | Subject: Motherboard
City of Industry, September 08, 2009 – GIGABYTE Technology CO., LTD., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, is pleased to launch their latest generation P55 series motherboards, based on the Intel P55 chipset, GIGABYTE P55 motherboards build upon the success of their Ultra Durable 3 design featuring 2oz copper PCB and deliver a host of cutting-edge features including the industry’s first 24 phase VRM design, innovative Smart6 PC management tools and Dynamic Energy Saver 2 power saving utilities just to name a few. Supporting the latest Intel Core i7 and Corei5 processors featuring LGA 1156 socket (code named Lynnfield) GIGABYTE P55 series motherboards set a new standard in high performance computing. With the memory controller integrated directly into the processor die, GIGABYTE P55 motherboards support 2 channel DDR3 memory for blazing fast memory performance up to 2200MHz and above. Additionally, the GIGABYTE P55 Series features Intel Turbo Boost Technology, which is able to power down idle processor cores and dynamically reroute the power to the active cores for significant performance boosts, and at the same time, maintain greater energy efficiency. The GIGABYTE P55 series mark another milestone for innovative GIGABYTE motherboard design, with the introduction of the world’s first 24 phase power VRM design featured on the GA-P55-UD6. The innovative 24 phase power VRM has been designed and engineered to deliver fast transient response times through quick and seamless power delivery during extensive CPU loading variations. In addition, heat from the VRM is effectively reduced by spreading the load between all 24 power phases, resulting in a cooler and more stable platform. You can also see some Kingston HyperX memory on this board with Lynnfield Core i5/i7 reaching 1233 MHz.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: Motherboard
Instead of an FTW or a Rampage, EVGA has opted to name its new motherboard the X58 SLI Classified. This is their flagship board, with 4 PCIe 16x slots, a total of 9 SATA channels and 1 eSATA and 8 channel Realtec Audio along with a host of other extras. It does lack 2oz copper shielding, 32 phase power and other features we have seen with the competitors high end x58 boards, something which may have contributed to the host of problems [H]ard|OCP encountered with this board.
"EVGA decided to take the Intel camp by storm with its introduction of the X58 SLI Classified on to the Core i7 scene. Boasting a vast array of overclocking features and hardware optimizations, this could very well be the board to beat…" Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Motherboard
The subject of the newest review here at PC Perspective is a tiny little AMD 785G based board with some impressive features. Though the ECS A785GM-M only a mATX board, it can handle AMD's new 140W processors, AMD Hybrid Crossfire technology and DirectX 10.1, all for just $100. Our own Steve Grever takes you through the boards performance, from overclocking to gaming results using the onboard ATI Radeon HD 4200. You can see the results in his full review at the top of the page.
"The main features that will really draw consumer attention to the
A785GM-M is the integration of ATI's HD 4200 graphics on the motherboard.
While we weren't able to play some of the top FPS games on the market at
decent resolutions, we were able to play games like Quake Live and F.E.A.R.
at relatively high resolutions. The addition of HDMI and high-quality audio
options makes this board ideal for those upgrading their HTPCs to handle
high-definition content."
Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Motherboard
P55 based motherboards have been teasing enthusiasts for over a week and from every possible direction. While you cannot yet buy them, and no site is supposed to publish actual performance benchmarks with numbers of the new P55 and i5 combo so we aren't quite sure how it will measure up to the x58 and i7 combo we are familiar with. A quick guess can tell you what it will be like; the programs that can use hyperthreading and take advantage of the extra memory bandwidth of triple channel RAM are next to zero. Almost directly next to zero. That leaves clock speed, and those will be in the same ball park; so guess away.
Ryan just finished up with a preview of what will be ASUS's second most feature filled, as well as pricey, P55 motherboard called the P7P55D. Among other things, it sports a certain SATA 6G chip that is rather exciting. "We have yet another P55 motherboard preview to share with you today as we continue to prepare for the mounting barrage of Intel Lynnfield processor reviews and associated P55 offerings. This ASUS P7P55D Premium looks to be the only (or one of just a couple) boards to actually keep the Marvell 9123 SATA 6G chip. The power phase technology on the Premium is also pretty unique - be sure to stop in and see what is coming next month!" Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Josh Walrath | Source: PC Perspective Forums | Subject: Motherboard
Some months ago I wrote up a little article talking about how it seems that NVIDIA is no longer all that interested in competing with the chipset division at AMD. While the 980a/780a/750a are all very nice chipsets, we have yet to see a true AM3 motherboard featuring an NVIDIA chipset and sporting SLI support. Well, the day has finally come. MSI is stepping up to the plate with one of the first new 980a designs in some time, and AM3 to boot. That's right, Phenom II X4 and DDR-3 combined with SLI. About damn time.
The MSI NF980-G65 is a very full featured board. It has 3 x PEG slots for up to triple SLI action (16x, 8x, and 8x respectively). The 980a chipset is combined with the nForce 200 chip to give that kind of functionality. 6 SATA ports, a whole bundle of USB 2.0, Gig-E, Firewire, and HDMI out for those wanting to use the internal graphics for some reason. The board does not look to be cheap, as it will likely be in the $200 range. Still, it is a welcome sight for those who are AMD CPU fans, and who wanted to upgrade to AM3 yet still be able to utilize multiple NVIDIA cards in SLI. 
While at Quakecon I was able to sit down with some of the NVIDIA guys and discuss the situation with AMD processor support and SLI. There really is nothing nefarious going on (from what I could tell), but rather that AMD is pricing the competition out of the market. NVIDIA is a "for profit" corporation, and they expect most of their products to actually make money. If they were to compete with AMD in the chipset section, then it would be a losing proposition. We can see from the pricing of most AMD motherboards that AMD is not actually making any money per chipset sold (that includes the northbridge and the southbridge). AMD is essentially sacrificing chipset margins to enable potentially higher margins for their CPUs (the cost of the platform is overall lower, and thereby more attractive to consumers), or perhaps more significantly they are sacrificing chipset margins to gain overall CPU marketshare. NVIDIA's choice was to continue pursuing marketshare in the AMD market (which is relatively small), or put their energies into the Intel platform and Ion (far more CPUs sold there, plus higher margins on their products). Also, Intel still has cruddy integrated graphics on their side, which is an added bonus for NVIDIA. As we well know, the integrated graphics on the AMD side are as good, if not slightly better overall than what NVIDIA offers. It really does make sense for NVIDIA to spend the engineering and marketing resources to sell products that actually have decent margins. In the short term, AMD is gaining ground because of their pricing, but in the long term they could seriously be cutting their own throats. AMD has survived going against Intel for decades because it has always been willing to partner with other companies, and leverage the synergy that resulted into better products and platforms. The SNAP alliance was a perfect example of this. NVIDIA was able to make a significant impact in the chipset market, and AMD was able to leverage the advanced chipset features that NVIDIA brought to the market. Still, it is nice to finally see a AM3 SLI enabled product, and kudos for MSI for stepping up to the plate and delivering a very interesting product. A thanks to Brothergc who found the board and posted it in the forums this morning.
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Motherboard
Though this motherboard was shown for the first time in public at the PC Perspective Hardware Workshop at QuakeCon last week, we thought we post up a couple of photos of it since they were handed our way. The ASUS Maximum III Gene motherboard is a mATX board based on the P55 chipset, ready for the upcoming Lynnfield processor launch. For a mATX motherboard, this offereing DEFINITELY has a lot of unique and high-end features.
You can see that there are a pair of PCIe x16 slots for both CrossFire and SLI support as well as an additional PCIe x4 connection and legacy PCI slot.
You can see physical power and reset buttons, at least 6 SATA 2 ports, 4 DIMM slots that support DDR3 memory and whole lot more. Look for a preview of this board very soon and a whole HOST of reviews once the NDA lifts on Intel's new CPUs.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Neoseeker | Subject: Motherboard
Sticking the Intel X58 chipset on a mATX board seems to be rather popular, both for motherboard manufacturers as well as the enthusiast crowd. The Asus Rampage II GENE
was first, but MSI has followed up with their new $169 X58M microATX motherboard. Even with its small size, it can still handle 6 DIMMs a pair of PCIe 16x cards and 7 SATA devices, just to name a few of the features appearing on this board. Overclocking is also strong on this relatively inexpensive board, a 200MHz base clock is beyond its means, but getting an i7 920 to 3.8GHz is still a nice showing from this board. Get all the juicy details at Neoseeker.
"The X58M is a very capable motherboard out of MSI's entry-level lineup: it packs a whole bunch of features into a small mATX form factor. And with the ability to install the usual six DDR3 modules in triple channel configuration, as well as two video cards in CrossFire or SLI, the X58M is on equal footing with some of the more expensive, higher-end X58 ATX boards we have reviewed." Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: Motherboard
The ASUS P6T7 WS SuperComputer motherboard sports an incredible seven PCIe 16x slots along with a $450 price tag, making it attractive to only a few of the most driven enthusiasts. In order to manage that feat ASUS placed two NF200 chipsets
on the board to provide the extra PCIe lanes. The gaming performance of those NF200s did not impress [H]ard|OCP overly, what they were more interested in was the potential GPU power available for CUDA applications or for Folding@Home.
"ASUS' latest X58 chipset motherboard from its extremely popular workstation board series, the P6T7 WS SuperComputer is poised to impress many folks looking for more PCIe lanes than the next guy." Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Ryan Shrout | Source: AnandTech | Subject: Motherboard
The gang over at Anandtech have posted a preview of the EVGA designed P55 FTW motherboard for the upcoming Lynnfield platform. I'm going to just post a single picture here to wet your appetite but you should over to their site for all the details.
Companies such as EVGA, DFI and MSI continue with a purist approach to PWM design for all major power rails. We happen to sit with the camp that believes in the importance of fast transient response and low noise attributes first. The proof is in the pudding and we’re eager to compare several boards side by side to see if any additional overclocking headroom can be realized that supports the ‘more phases=unconditionally better’ theory. Initial in lab tests indicates that the only thing that really matters from a user perspective is that the given PWM design is capable of pumping out the required current comfortably and cleanly. The rest comes down to heat management and ease of cooling; anything more seems to be a matter of marketing rather than real substance.
Ryan Shrout | Source: techPowerUp! | Subject: Motherboard
The gang over at techPowerUp! got some VERY interesting images of an upcoming motherboard from MSI codenamed "Big Bang". This motherboard not only sports the upcoming Intel P55 chipset for Lynnfield processors, but also includes the LucidLogix HYDRA chip that we have discussed many times before.
At this time we don't have many more details, but this would be the first consumer-based implementation of the HYDRA chip that offers hardware-agnostic multi-GPU support with SUPPOSED near-linear scaling. Since we first talked with the developers of the technology in 2008, we really haven't heard much from them and seeing an implementation like this so suddenly is kind of surprising. 
According to the source, all of three of the PCIe x16 slots on this board connect to the HYDRA controller chip in order to allow for the multi-GPU scaling technology to work. There is no indication of actual PCIe bandwidth configurations or where the HYDRA chip actually communicates with the system: through the P55 chipset or directly to the CPU's integrated PCI Express channels. 
We have put in questions to the appropriate people and will update you with anything we find!! You can look through ALL of our Lucid HYDRA chip coverage here in our search engine.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Hardware Canucks | Subject: Motherboard
While other sites are previewing P55 motherboards that support the currently unobtainable i5 processor series. Hardware Canucks is instead reviewing a new take on an old chipset. The Blood Iron P45-T2RS Elite
is for those still using LGA775 chips like the C2D Xeon E3110 they used to benchmark the board. Soon to be selling for ~$100, the baord supports 1600MHz FSB processors, a single x16 PCI-E slot as well as 3 x1 PCI-E slots, 8 channel audio and up to 6 SATA drives. Perhaps the weakest point to this board that it is limited to DDR2, though that might be a good thing if you have a few DIMMs lying about unused. Check out how much tweaking ability DFI included in the BIOS by reading on.
"Even with the the i7 and their accompanying X58 boards being the current most sought -after combination when it comes to CPUs, LGA775 chips continue to sell well. Because of this, many companies have opted to release additional P45 boards into their lineups. DFI has done just that with their new $100 Blood Iron P45-T2RS Elite. Can this board live up to the legends put forth by past DFI products? We intend to find out." Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
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