In addition to the G1.Assassin 3, Gigabyte showed off its first motherboards with Thunderbolt 2.0 connectors. Armed with 20 Gb/s of bandwidth, Thunderbolt 2.0 gives you enough bandwidth to drive high-resolution displays (beyond WQHD), and storage arrays with SSDs. Among these motherboards are the Z87X-UD7 TH. Gigabyte distinguished the "UD7" brand extension from "OC," which marks products that prioritize performance-enhancing components over connectivity, while the UD7 leads the company's mainline Z87X pack with top-grade connectivity, and electricals not too far behind the Z87X-OC.

The Z87X-UD7 TH is built in the standard ATX form-factor. It draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, 8-pin EPS, an optional 4-pin ATX, and an optional SATA power input. It uses a 16-phase VRM to power the CPU, which uses high-grade PowIRstage driver-MOSFETs. The VRM cooler is a combination of an active air-cooled heatsink, with a coolant channel that lets you make it part of your liquid cooling loop. This cooler shares some of its heat with the heatsink covering the PLX PEX8747 bridge chip, and the PCH, which also features a fan-heatsink. The board features five PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots, of which three are gen 3.0 x16 capable, and four gen 3.0 x8 capable. A mechanism lets you bypass the bridge chip, and connect a single graphics card directly to the CPU. Two PCI-Express 2.0 x1 slots complete the expansion area.

Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) today announces its new H81 series motherboards, featuring new Intel 8-series Chipsets specifically designed for the new 4th Generation Intel Core processor family. ECS H81 series motherboards are designed for different applications, such as Internet café, multi-media, and general office productivity. Also, ECS H81 series motherboards are available in a full product lineup of ATX, Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX form factors.

All H81 series motherboards are certified with ECS' new Durathon durability technology which includes Triple Density PCB, Extreme Temperature Resistance, 1.5K Point Marathon Testing, and Superior Solid Capacitors designed to greatly improve motherboard quality, stability and longevity. In addition, electrostatic discharge protection provides additional safety. Durathon motherboards use the highest quality components and go through rigorous testing that is above and beyond industry standards to ensure the highest standards of reliability.

Alas! We've all been through this before, through the everlasting pain and beset by the agony of waiting forever and ever. Beneath years of tears and doubt, it takes patience to wait for that special silver lining, and so is the long anticipated AMD FM2+ series. Although the new FM2+ "Kaveri" APUs will not be available until next year, AMD fans can still get the latest ASRock FM2+ motherboards that also support FM2 APUs first right now, and then wait for the upcoming FM2+ APUs, but don't hold your breath.

ASRock's first FM2+ motherboard, FM2A88X Extreme6+ is based on AMD's most high end A88X chipset, and as aforementioned, the socket will support both FM2+ and FM2 APUs. Major improvements for this next generation AMD motherboard includes support for PCIe Gen 3.0 with FM2+ APUs, Quad Monitor from the onboard DVI, D-Sub, HDMI, DisplayPort connectors, Dual channel DDR3 DIMMs that can reach up to 2600+MHz. And then there's also AMD Radeon HD 8000/7000 Series graphics with DX11.1, Japan made premium gold capacitors, Digi Power and 8+2 power phase design.

ASRock unveiled its first socket FM2+ motherboards, ready for the upcoming A-Series "Kaveri" APUs, and backwards-compatible with A-Series "Richland" and "Trinity" ones. Among the most notable of ASRock's FM2+ products are the FM2A88X-Extreme6+ and the FM2A88M-Extreme4+. The former is a feature-rich ATX form-factor offering, while the latter isn't too far behind with its feature-set, albeit in the micro-ATX form-factor. The FM2A88X-Extreme6+ features a 10-phase VRM to power the APU socket, which is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, and two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (electrical x8/x8 when both are populated). A third PCI-Express x16 is electrical gen 2.0 x4, and wired to the A88X FCH. Two each of PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and legacy PCI make for the rest of the expansion.

Storage connectivity on the FM2A88X-Extreme6+ includes seven SATA 6 Gb/s ports, and one eSATA 6 Gb/s. Display connectivity includes dual-link DVI, DisplayPort 1.2, and possibly HDMI 2.0. 8-channel HD audio with optical SPDIF output, gigabit Ethernet, and six USB 3.0 ports. Moving on, the FM2A88M-Extreme4+ features a simpler 6-phase VRM for the APU socket, which is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, and a single PCI-Express 3.0 x16. The other long slot is electrical gen 2.0 x4. One each of PCI-Express 2.0 x1 and legacy PCI make for the rest of its expansion. Display connectivity includes dual-link DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI (2.0?). Four USB 3.0 ports, 8-channel HD audio, and gigabit Ethernet make for the rest of it.

BIOSTAR is preparing a series of motherboards based on the new AMD FM2+ socket design. This is a revision of current FM2 APUs, both FM2+ & FM2 APUs can work on any FM2+ motherboard, chipsets include A88X, A78 and A55; however, FM2+ APUs cannot work on existing FM2 motherboards due to different pin sockets ( A85X, A75, A55 chipsets).

In other words, the new AMD socket FM2+ motherboards will retain backwards compatibility with previous generation Socket FM2 APUs. BIOSTAR's new line of FM2+ APU motherboards is a great choice for users who wish to reserve the opportunity for future upgrades while taking advantage of AMD's new FM2+ infrastructure. The new BIOSTAR FM2+ socket boards are backwards compatible with the older generation APUs and are already in production. These boards will proudly show off BIOSTAR's in-house technology, such as audio, power regulation upgrades and more?

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today announced its latest range of 8 series motherboards based on the new Intel H81 Chipset (PCH) supporting the latest 4th generation Intel Core processors. GIGABYTE Intel H81 series motherboards include ATX and Micro-ATX models, bringing together a unique blend of features and technologies that offer the absolute best in terms of quality, durability and overall lifespan.

GIGABYTE H81 series motherboards stand out from the competition with signature features that guarantee the utmost in both performance and reliability. High quality components for key areas of the motherboard are joined by an updated and improved UEFI DualBIOS which offers a customizable, full HD BIOS environment, plus the new GIGABYTE App Center, which combines key GIGABYTE applications in a simple, unified interface. GIGABYTE H81 series motherboards also provide additional USB 3.0 ports and support the latest 4K resolution displays on both HDMI and DisplayPort.

Motherboards in the ATX form-factor, based on entry-level chipsets are a rarity, but one that MSI attempted anyway. The company rolled out its H81-P33 socket LGA1150 motherboard in the 220 x 305 mm ATX form-factor, based on Intel's entry-level H81 Express chipset. The board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS connectors; and uses a 6-phase VRM to condition it for the CPU. The CPU socket is wired to two DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting up to 32 GB of dual-channel DDR3-1600 MHz memory; and a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slot (gen 3.0 is unsupported on H81 platform).

Apart from the PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slot, two other PCIe 2.0 x1 slots, and three legacy PCI, make for the rest of the expansion. The H81 Express PCH gives out two each of SATA 6 Gb/s and SATA 3 Gb/s ports, wired out as internal ports on this board. Its four USB 3.0 SuperSpeed ports are wired out as two on the rear panel, and two via header. Display outputs include one each of dual-link DVI and D-Sub (VGA). 6-channel HD audio, gigabit Ethernet, legacy PS/2 mouse/keyboard, and a number of USB 2.0/1.1 ports make for the rest of the connectivity. The board is driven by AMI UEFI BIOS, which supports Windows 8 fast boot. Expect a sub-$100 price-tag on this one.

ASUS posted official BIOS updates for its socket LGA2011 motherboards, that let them support Intel Core i7 "Ivy Bridge-E" processors. The updates can be installed either using an old LGA2011 processor, or using ASUS USB BIOS Flashback, in the absence of an older processor. For ASUS' mainline P9X79 series, "Ivy Bridge-E" support is lent by BIOS version number 4301. The P9X79 series includes P9X79 LE, P9X79, P9X79 Pro, and P9X79 Deluxe. For ROG Rampage IV Extreme and Rampage IV Gene, it's version 4401, and for ROG Rampage IV Formula, it's 4402. For TUF Sabertooth X79 it's version 4309. Get your corresponding BIOS file here.

ASUS announced six new entry-level motherboards based on the Intel H81 chipset in ATX, Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX form factors. Designed for 4th generation Intel Core processors, the ASUS H81 Series features exclusive ASUS 5X Protection technology for superior reliability and is available in a range of specifications that cater for a variety of PC needs.

The ASUS H81 Series comprises the H81-Plus ATX motherboard; the H81M-Plus, H81M-A, H81M-C and H81M-E Micro-ATX motherboards; and the H81I-Plus Mini-ITX motherboard. All models feature two DDR3 (1600MHz) DIMM slots for up to 16GB RAM, one PCI-Express x16 (@x16) slot and two SATA 6Gbit/s ports. All models also include the latest ASUS UEFI BIOS, Realtek 7.1 audio and USB 3.0 with USB 3.0 Boost technology for data transfer rates up to 1.7 times faster than ordinary USB 3.0 with industry-standard UASP (USB Attached SCSI Protocol) devices.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today announced its new FM2+ motherboard lineup supporting the forthcoming 'Keveri' AMD APUs with support for existing socket FM2 Trinity and Richland APUs.

GIGABYTE A88X motherboards feature a number of features and technologies and also include the first AMD G1-Killer gaming motherboard, the G1.Sniper A88X which includes GIGABYTE AMP-Up Audio, a range of advanced audio technologies that are designed to give audio enthusiasts and PC gamers more control over their motherboard audio than ever before. GIGABYTE A88X series motherboards also offer unique GIGABYTE features, including UEFI DualBIOS, Digital Power delivery, as well Triple Display support.

GIGABYTE announced its first socket LGA1150 motherboards based on Intel's new H81 Express chipset for entry-level desktop platforms, among the trio of H81-based motherboards launched today, are the H81M-DS2, H81M-D2V, and H81M-D3V. The three are based on a common compact micro-ATX PCB design measuring 226 x 170 mm, and differ with connectivity features. The H81 Express is basically B85 Express without SBA, and fewer SATA 6 Gb/s ports, and PCIe gen 2.0.

The H81M-DS2 has a focus on legacy connectivity, which could go well with POS (that's point-of-sale, but we won't disagree with what you made out) PCs that are wired to old LPT printers. Its legacy ports include an LPT parallel port, an RS232 COM serial port, separate PS/2 ports for mouse and keyboard. Its lone display output is a D-Sub (VGA). The H81M-D2V sheds LPT while retaining a the RS232 COM port, and a slightly more modern display connectivity that includes D-Sub (VGA) and DVI. It features a single, common PS/2 connector. The H81M-D3V has the least legacy connectivity, with just DVI and D-Sub for display outputs, no rear-panel COM or LPT ports, and a common PS/2 connector.

Motherboards running C2-stepping Intel 8-series chipsets should begin surfacing on the market in September 2013, according to a DigiTimes report. The C2-stepping addresses a design flaw in the 8-series chipset's integrated USB 3.0 host controllers, which causes connected devices to improperly reinitialize after the system resumes from a sleep state such as S3 (suspend-to-RAM), forcing users to unplug and replug such devices; which can particularly be an irritant for people running USB 3.0 external RAID boxes.

The USB 3.0 erratum came to public light a bit too late for Intel to delay the June launch of its 4th generation Core "Haswell" processors platform. By the time it emerged that Intel was working on the C2-stepping, production of socket LGA1150 motherboards were already on full-swing, and at the time it was predicted that motherboards with the rectified chipsets would fill up inventory by late-Q3 or early-Q4, 2013. This update point out at September checks out.Source: DigiTimes

ASUS today announced that the latest UEFI BIOS for its motherboards based on Intel H87 and B85 chipsets unlocks previously inaccessible overclocking features for 4th generation Intel Core processors. Before this update, the overclocking features of new Haswell 'K Series' processors could be enjoyed only with motherboards based on the Intel Z87 chipset. Now, however, performance enthusiasts can exploit the power of Haswell K Series processors using ASUS 8 Series motherboards like the ASUS H87M-PRO and B85-PRO. The BIOS update is a free download for 10 ASUS motherboards - the H87-PRO, H87-PLUS, H87M-PRO, H87M-PLUS, H87M-E, H87I-PLUS, B85-PRO, B85-PLUS, B85M-E and B85M-G.

Once installed, the update enables frequency multiplier-based overclocking in one simple step for unlocked Intel K Series processors such as the Intel Core i7-4770K and Core i5 4670K. The BIOS also includes several features to make life simpler for PC users. A 'Last Modified' log makes it easy to determine when and how a particular setting was changed, and custom settings can be saved to a 'favorites' list for rapid switching to suit different applications.

BIOSTAR, maker of Embedded/IPC solutions, Graphics Cards, and Motherboards, has officially announced their complete range of Intel 8 series chipset motherboards, including H87, B85 and H81 have the CPU overclocking ability.

BIOSTAR has achieved the K series CPU overclocking by not only Z87, but as well as H87, B85, and H81 motherboards that giving all users an additional value and experiencing optimum overclcoking. Without any complicate setting, users just need to simply adjust the CPU ratio from BIOS setting. More importantly, BIOSTAR has once again offering an affordable solution to every overclockers.

Intel's first processors in the BGA (ball-grid array) package, arrive by the end of 2013, according to a leaked roadmap slide. Some of the first of these processors will span across entry-level market segments, covering the Celeron and Pentium brands. The term system-on-chip (SoC) better defines these chips than processors, as they completely integrate the processor as we know it, with the motherboard chipset. Motherboards with BGA processors come with the processors non-replaceable, and hard-wired to the board, with a stock fan-heatsink.

Intel's first SoCs for the desktop are based on the "BayTrail-D" silicon. These include the Celeron J1750, Celeron J1850, and Pentium J2850. Celeron J1750 is a dual-core part, with the CPU cores clocked at 2.41 GHz, GPU at 792 MHz, and a TDP rated at just 10W. Celeron J1850, on the other hand, is a quad-core part, with its CPU cores clocked at 2.00 GHz, and the same 792 MHz GPU. Pentium J2850 tops the series, being a quad-core part with CPU cores running at 2.41 GHz, and GPU at 792 MHz. Both these quad-core parts stick to 10W TDP. Being SoCs, these chips integrate connectivity otherwise handled by a PCH, into the processor package. According to an Intel roadmap slide, the three parts will spearhead Intel's BGA CPU lineup deep into 2014, at least as far as late-June.

Now your K-Series CPUs don't necessarily need to go along with Z-Series chipsets to experience the joy of overclocking. ECS recently announced that its motherboards with all Intel 8 Series chipsets, including H87, B85, and H81, have the CPU overclocking ability, giving non Z-Series motherboard users the benefit of additional performance through CPU overclocking.

ECS has achieved Non-Z Series CPU overclocking with H87, B85, and H81 motherboards by simply adjusting the CPU Ratio inside the BIOS, offering an extremely easy way of overclocking your CPU. More importantly, H87, B85, and H81 CPU overclocking ability provides an affordable solution for seasoned or casual overclockers at a wide range or price levels.

Who ever said that only K series CPUs and the Z-family platform are capable of being overclocked? The avant-garde company ASRock has broken this limitation with an exciting new feature named Non-Z OC! Via this feature overclockers may install their K series CPUs to ASRock's Fatal1ty H87 Performance or any other H87 B85 chipset motherboards and start overclocking immediately!

The first ASRock motherboard that implements the Non-Z OC feature is Fatal1ty H87 Performance, which is also the H87 motherboard with the most number of power phases in the market currently. Along with its powerful 8 Power Phase design, the CPU frequency can be effortlessly overclocked up to 26%! Simply update to the latest version of our UEFI, then you'll find the Non-Z OC feature sitting in the OC Tweaker page, select a frequency from a couple of preset settings, restart, kick back to enjoy your drink and voila!

EK Water Blocks, Ljubljana based premium water cooling gear manufacturer, is preparing a a new line of blocks for the latest NVIDIA GeForce GTX based ASUS DirectCU II series graphics cards and ASUS Republic of Gamers Z87 LGA-1150 motherboards:

ASUS Republic of Gamers Motherboards:

• ASUS Maximus VI Extreme
• ASUS Maximus VI Formula
• ASUS Maximus VI Hero
• ASUS Maximus VI Gene
• ASUS Maximus VI Impact

Graphics cards:

• ASUS GTX780-DC2-3GD5 GeForce GTX 780 3GB GDDR

Accidents happen, especially when you try to avoid them. But rest assured that ASRock's latest ATX sized OC Formula Series motherboards, including Z87 OC Formula/ac (with 802.11ac WiFi support) and Z87 OC Formula are protected by a special layer of Conformal Coating. As you've probably already heard, Conformal Coating protects the motherboards from conductive liquids, dust, corrosion and extreme temperatures*. And if you still feel skeptical about the lifespan of your overclocking oriented motherboards, fear not! ASRock guarantees 5 year warranty!

ASRock's Z87 OC Formula/ac and Z87 OC Formula are designed by the world famous overclocker Nick Shih. These two motherboards possess both hardware and software features for extreme overclocking, and they are also fully loaded with a set of lifestyle based features named A-Style. ASRock provides the five year warranty package as long as the malfunctions and defects occur under normal use conditions and aren't caused by misuse or abnormal operations**. If unfortunately the motherboard cannot be repaired, ASRock will replace the product with equivalent or next generation products.

ORIGIN PC has officially launched their most powerful small form factor (SFF) chassis yet, the Silverstone SG10, to their award-winning desktops. Designed as the ultimate SFF with full support of standard size components such as ATX power supplies, full tower CPU coolers and up to DUAL NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690's in QUAD-SLI, the SG10 has the ability toplay any PC Game, including popular AAA titles CRYSIS 3 and METRO: Last Light at a visually stunning 2560x1600 resolution with buttery smooth frame rates.Who says power can't be achieved with at small footprint? With the new SG10 you can now experience the performance of a full-size desktop, but at a fraction of the size.

Sapphire unveiled its first socket LGA1150 motherboards, designed for 4th generation Core "Haswell" processors, although they're not completely out of the pipeline, and Sapphire is yet to finalize heatsink designs. Among the boards shown at Computex are the micro-ATX Pure Platinum Z87M-PR, and the ATX Pure Platinum Z87A-MA, both of which offer a pretty mid-range feature-set. The Z87M-PR gives you a 5-phase VRM that powers the CPU, four DDR3 DIMM slots, a single PCI-Express 3.0 x16, and one each of mPCIe, PCIe 2.0 x1, and legacy PCI. The board offers four each of SATA 6 Gb/s and USB 3.0 ports, eight USB 2.0/1.1 ports, DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI display outputs, gigabit Ethernet, and 8-channel HD audio.

The Z87A-MA, on the other hand, offers the same CPU VRM as its little sibling, one PCI-Express 3.0 x16, a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical gen 2.0 x4, wired to the PCH), two PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and two legacy PCI. You get six each of SATA 6 Gb/s and USB 3.0 ports, but oddly enough, the rest of the connectivity is a notch worse. 8-channel HD audio makes way for 6-channel. Sapphire's other motherboards are more interesting finds, but more on that later.

ECS' socket LGA1150 motherboard series launch was rather low-key, and with good reason. The company was saving its best, the Z87H3-AH series, for a Computex unveiling. Pictured below are the Z87H3-AH and Z87H3-AH Golden "Gank Machine" motherboards. The non-golden variant doesn't get dull gray this time around, but a red, black, and silver color scheme. The Golden variant, on the other hand, gets gold, silver, and black. Both boards are otherwise identical. The LGA1150 socket is powered by a 12-phase VRM. The bigger of the two VRM clusters is cooled by an active fan-heatsink.

The CPU is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, and three of the board's four PCI-Express x16 slots (electrical gen 3.0 x16/x8/NC or x8/x4/x4), the fourth x16 slot is electrical gen 2.0 x4, wired to the Z87 PCH. On the storage connectivity front, you get six SATA 6 Gb/s ports, an eSATA 6 Gb/s port, and an mSATA 6 Gb/s slot. Display outputs include HDMI and mini-DisplayPort, which doubles up as Thunderbolt. The rest of the board's notable connectivity includes two gigabit Ethernet interfaces, one driven by Bigfoot Killer E2201, and the other by common Realtek fare; 802.11 b/g/n WiFi (using a USB dongle), Creative Sound Core3D 8-channel audio, and ten USB 3.0 ports. The board features several overclocker-friendly features, such as a 3-digit POST diagnostic readout, voltage measurement points, quick CMOS reset/restore, etc.

Premium socket LGA1150 motherboards shipping with Thunderbolt connectivity hardly surprise us, yet ASRock managed to do so, with a nifty little addition to its functionality. The company's Thunderbolt-equipped motherboards, namely Z87-Extreme4 TB4, Z87-Extreme9/ac and Z87-Extreme11/ac, feature a full-size DisplayPort input in addition to two Thunderbolt ports that each double up as mini-DisplayPort outputs wired to the processor's integrated graphics. This allows you to install a discrete graphics card of your choice, wire its DisplayPort output to the board's input, and get its digital display output relayed through the Thunderbolt ports, using which you can daisy-chain your high-resolution display with other high-bandwidth devices. On its specs sheets, ASRock is dubbing this implementation as an "experimental feature," and isn't making a song-and-dance about it. In any case, it sure gives ASRock a sharp edge over Thunderbolt-equipped motherboards from other brands, and in our opinion, is the best implementation of Thunderbolt to date.

MSI rolled out a trio of socket LGA1150 motherboards in the mini-ITX form-factor, Z87I, H87I, and B85I, based on Intel Z87, H87, and B85 chipsets, respectively. Pin-compatibility between the three chipsets means that the three boards are based on a common design. The three feature a 4-phase CPU VRM, two full-size DDR3 DIMM slots, a PCI-Express 3.0 x16, and a combination of 24-pin and 4-pin power connectors.

The Z87I and H87I are nearly identical, with VRM cooling, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, and Bluetooth 4.0. The Z87I edges past the H87I with support for CPU overclocking, and a second gigabit Ethernet connection. The B85I lacks a VRM heatsink, and the wireless connectivity card. Instead, it gives you a vacant mPCIe slot. It offers 6-channel HD audio, instead of the 8-channel solution, on the other two. All three feature at least one gigabit Ethernet connection, DVI and HDMI display outputs, six USB 3.0 ports, and a number of USB 2.0/1.1 ports.

The world-renowned motherboard manufacturer MSI announces motherboards that are equipped with Intel's newest 8 series chipset today. There is the "GAMING" series that are wildly popular among gamers, which is equipped with the Killer network chip and Audio Boost, in which the Z87-GD65 GAMING motherboard was even awarded the Computex 2013 Best Choice Golden Award! This was the first time a motherboard won a Golden Award, which proves that MSI's GAMING series motherboards are definitely the best choice for gamers.

For overclocking enthusiasts, MSI continued using the design standards which have passed the OC certified tests, creating the all new "Overclock" series, which includes the Z87 XPOWER, the Z87 MPOWER MAX, and the Z87 MPOWER. The Z87 XPOWER has a 32-phase digital power design, and supports 4-Way SLI / CrossFire. The Z87 MPOWER MAX and Z87 MPOWER are suitable for heavy-duty overclocking enthusiasts. Not only did they all pass rigorous overclock burn-in tests (OC Certified), they also come with the Extreme Tuning Utility adjustment software which was developed in cooperation with Intel. These rich overclocking software features and hardware design, make it a must-have weapon to break world-records.