Latest Motherboard

ASUS Technology has recently launched its latest motherboard, which features several digital home functions, support for Intel’s Core2 Extreme and Core2 Duo processors and ATI CrossFire graphics - the P5W DH Deluxe. Company representatives said in several statements that this ‘deluxe motherboard’ offers multimedia entertainment, wireless networking, data protection, easy access and management of various functions without being restricted by the computer desk.
A new feature – the EZ-Backup – enables users to back up hard drive data without the need of complicated software configurations.
Consequently, the user can utilize the SATA2 technology to arrange RAID 1 (default) or RAID 0 systems without BIOS or any other setup process.
Moreover, the new motherboard is said to deliver steadier power supply for the CPU, therefore generating less heat than conventional power solutions and providing a cool computing environment for stable performance and higher overclocking margin. Also, it seems it can reduce the input ripple current and output ripple voltage, diminishing the risk of high power stress effects of the CPU and power modules.
Another feature - WiFi AP Solo - offers an access point and wireless client modes in order to increase the versatility of the PC.
Even when the system is on stand-by, the AP mode continues to connect devise in the WLAN for games, Internet access and printer functions sharing. WiFi-AP Solo is an onboard feature, which means users can save the extra cost for a standalone AP.
ASUS delivers a DH Remote used to turn the computer on and off, activate/ suspend mode and, more important, to access and manage the various digital home features offered by the P5W DH Deluxe. But the remote also delivers traditional functions, such as volume control, play, pause, fast forward and rewind.
As every manufacturer tries to eliminate the need for fans, ASUS developed a fan-less concept in order to provide a cool environment without all the items. As a result, the heat pipe, heat sinks and strategic board layout were developed to dissipate heat efficiently.
The cooling solution is called Stack Cool 2 and it is, in fact, a fan-less and zero-noise ASUS innovation, which is meant to transfer heat generated by the critical components to the other side of the specially designed PCB (printed circuit board) for heat dissipation without the noise made by high-speed fan rotation.

Latest Processor

The 45nm Hi-k Intel Xeon processors are compatible with server platforms using the Intel 5000 chipset family. In addition, Intel is launching three platform solutions to support 45nm processors, including here the Intel 5400 chipset-based platform (previously codenamed "Stoakley") that is optimized for high-bandwidth applications such as high-performance computing (HPC), the Intel 5100 Memory Controller Hub chipset and Intel ICH-9R I/O controller (previously codenamed "Cranberry Lake"), which are cost-optimized solutions that support either one or two processors and also provide reduced power consumption using native DDR2 memory, as well as the Intel 3200 chipset-based platform (previously codenamed "Garlow") that is specifically designed for single-processor entry servers. Furthermore, Intel’s 45nm Hi-k Xeon processors also extend performance-per-watt characteristics by delivering an improvement of 38 percent over its previous-generation Quad-Core Xeon 5300 Series processors.
The move from 65nm to 45nm involves more than just a shrink of current chip designs. The processors also include such additional features as new Intel Streaming SIMD Extensions 4 (SSE4), which are 47 new instructions that speed up workloads including video encoding for high-definition and photo manipulation, as well as key HPC and enterprise applications. Furthermore, they come packed with enhanced Intel Virtualization Technology, as the virtual machine transition (entry/exit) times are improved by an average of 25 to 75 percent through hardware with no changes to software required.
Other additional features include a fast divider that roughly doubles the speed over previous generations for computations used in nearly all applications through a technique called Radix 16, a wider 128-bit shuffle unit that improves the performance for SSE-related instructions that have shuffle-like operations. This feature will increase performance for content creation, imaging, video and high-performance computing.

Latest PCI Slots

It looks like the latest Intel offering on the chipsets aimed at desktop computer systems and high performance levels is doing pretty good as just a few days after its official launch date there are many motherboards based on it. While most first tier mainboard producers like Asus, Gigabyte and MSI already announced and presented products based on the Intel X38 chipset, Abit is a little late to the party as the company only now announced its X38 centered mainboard, the IX38 QuadGT Speedster.
The IX38 QuadGT Speedster mainboard from Abit comes equipped with the LGA 775 socket so it is able to accommodate Intel made central processing units that are produced using the 65 and the 45 nanometer fabrication processes. Just like the Asus made mainboards that are centered around the Intel X38 high performance chipset, the Abit product is able to handle a superior frontside bus speed of 1600MHz that is higher than the officially supported 1333Mhz rating.
As this mainboard is aimed at the gaming and enthusiast market segments it comes with solid state capacitors that should increase its reliability as well as DDR2 compatible random access memory slots that are rated for 1066Mhz memories while also integrating two full speed x16 PCI Express slots that offer support for AMD CrossFire setups. This new Abit mainboard also comes with digital PWMs that are based on the Smart-Slave technology, allowing for a much better efficiency of conventional PWMs while keeping the noise level down.
On the cooling side, just like MSI and Asus, Abit went for a copper heat pipe based passive cooling solution that is able to cool off the hottest spots of the mainboard, including the PWM area, northbridge and southbridge, while at the same time looking more slim and lightweight than other similar products.
The latest Intel compatible mainboard from Abit comes with all the normal features that users expect to see in a nowadays product including Gigabit Ethernet, six Serial ATA II ports that are offering integrated RAID capabilities as well as JBOD, eight high definition surround sound processor, 12 high speed USB 2.0 ports and a legacy Parallel ATA connector.
The Abit IX38 QuadGT Speedster mainboard is now readily available for purchase and it comes with a price tag that looks pretty good as it offers a well balanced price and performance ratio at around $200.

Latest Memory

OCZ announced the launch of its latest "ultra-high performance and high reliability memory" modules that are part of the DDR3 Gold series targeted at "mainstream system builders, gamers, and professionals upgrading to the latest Intel platforms". The latest of the Gold DDR3 memory modules features a high clock frequency of 1600MHz andlow 8-8-8 timings. This memory is a more standard abiding one than the 1800MHz modules that jumped 200MHz over the JEDEC's certified standard for DDR3 and it works with 1.8V, a little lower than the 1.9V needed by the previous model."More and more consumers are now starting to adopt DDR3 solutions with the platforms becoming more readily available," commented Alex Mei, EVP and CMO of OCZ Technology Group and he was cited in the company's press release. "To meet the needs of all levels of consumers during the proliferation of DDR3 technology OCZ is now introducing a DDR3-12800 Gold kit specifically designed for gamers looking to take advantage of the performance benefits of DDR3 technology in their cutting-edge desktops."The DDR3 PC3-12800 Gold Edition memory modules are developed to make the most of the new Intel P35 and X38 Express chipsets and they will be available in dual channel kits( 2x1024MB) and separate 1GB packaged modules. According to the press release, "OCZ has been working closely with the leading platform providers to ensure optimal performance and compatibility on all the next generation computing platforms that will be introduced later this year".Just like all OCZ products, this too comes with a lifetime warranty and has been hand tested for "quality assurance and compatibility". The gold-mirrored XTCXtreme Thermal Convection Z3 heatspreader that is specific to OCZ's Gold memory products is used on these memory line as well, in order to achieve the best heat dissipation and to ensure optimal system stability.