One of the new features on Intel Z77 boards is the Virtu HyperFormance. In fact, this is something similar to the past whereby you can mix and match ATi and NVIDIA card to speed up the 3D performance. Instead of having two physical cards, Virtu HyperFormance uses the Graphics cores of the Intel processor to speed up the 3D performance.

So, how much improvement can be achieve. Click the link below for the answer :

Link

ASRock showcased it’s slate of Intel Z77 motherboards at launch event held at IBIS hotel, Singapore
Bluetooth 13 Apr 2012

ASRock needs no introduction as we have been reviewing their boards since 2004. ASRock, together with it’s distributor ASView held a technical seminar for the media and end users at IBIS hotel Singapore hours ago.

Many were present and they include Chris Lee, Marketing Director of ASRock Taiwan. Next to him is the renown gamer Johnathan Wendel (Fatal1ty). Others present include representatives from Corbell, distributor of ROCCAT products.

Chris Lee presented and introduced the new series of Intel mainboards for the Ivy Bridge. The boards come in full ATX, mATX, ITX sizes and there are also specific FATAL1TY gaming series boards.

As Intel Z77 chipset powers the next generation processors Ivy Bridge., it would have some enhanced features that were not found in the Z68 chipset. One of these features is the Virtu Unviersal MVP. With the HyperFormance enabled, it allows you to boost the graphics performance by up to 90% combining the integrated and discrete graphics on board. Next is Virtual VSync. This feature allows it to bring GPU performance from 60 fps vsync limit to its maximum while keeping VSync image quality with no tearing. Thirdly, it is Switchable graphics dynamically assigns tasks to the best graphics resouce regardless of physical cable connections.

In addition, there is Intel Smart Conncet Technology which keeps content continuously updated while the PC is in sleep mode. It will periodically wake up the PC and check updates for email, twitter or facebook updates.  There is also Intel Rapid Start Technolgy which lets you wake up  your PC from deep sleep to full wake up in a flash moment.

Here are the series of boards on display for Intel B75, Q77, Z75, Z77, H77 chipsets :

Z77E-ITX
B75M
B75M-ITX
Q77M vPro
Z75 Pro3
Z77 Pro4-M
Z77 Pro4
FATAL1TY Z77 Professional
FATAL1TY Z77 Professional-M
FATAL1TY Z77 Perforamance
FATAL1TY Z77 Performance-M
Z77 Extreme9
Z77 Extreme6
Z77 Extreme4
Z77 Extreme4-M
H77 Pro4 MVP

On Page 2, the presenter demonstrates the feature – Virtu HyperFormance.

Discuss in our ASRock forum

BIOSTAR Launches TZ77A Enthusiast-level overclocking motherboard.

Taipei, Taiwan, April 3, 2012 – BIOSTAR MICROTECH INT’L CORP., BIOSTAR Group, famous for high performance motherboards, graphics cards, industrial computing systems and computer peripherals, has launched the new TZ77A motherboard based on the new Intel Z77 chipset. This motherboard supports Intel’s 3rd and 2nd generation Core i7 and Core i5 processors based on the socket 1155. It supports up to 32 GB of DDR3 memory in its four slots with possibility to overclock it from 1333 MHz to 2000 MHz! The board looks stylish with its black PCB, grey heatsinks, and nicely contrasting orange slots.
Multiple graphics cards are supported for excellent gaming performance with ATI CrossFireX supporting two or more graphics cards at a time. It also features 3D video output using the HDMI port compliant with version 1.4 for watching Blu-ray 3D movies. The 8-phase power design provides amazing stability while overclocking the system allowing it to achieve the best performance at the lowest temperature, while the 100% solid capacitors last much longer than ordinary capacitors, thus increasing the life of the motherboard. A Rapid Switch 2 is a set of switches present on the motherboard to easily shut down and restart your system, while Rapid Debug 3 LEDs indicate information code indicating the current state of the system, which can be useful for debugging errors.

In addition to four SATA 3 Gb/s ports, there are two more SATA 6 Gb/s ports for faster storage devices. Peripheral and storage devices can be connected to the six USB 2.0 High Speed and three USB 3.0 Super Speed ports. Home theatre affection also benefit by the7.1-channel Blu-Ray Audio that can recreate theatre-like sound at up to 24 bit/192KHz right in your living room with the latest Blu-ray titles. Clean Tone 2 technology ensures very low noise level in the output audio with a signal to noise ratio of over 98dB.

Some of the other features of the TZ77A are BIO-Remote 2 Technology, which lets users control the PC remotely, using an Android mobile or Apple device. Power consumption is kept in check by BIOSTAR G.P.U. (Green Power Utility) Technology, while overclocking is handled by BIOSTAR Toverclocker utility. Charger Booster technology can charge your Apple devices up to 42% faster. BIO-Flasher helps effortlessly update your BIOS from any connected storage drive, while BIO-ReLife Technology can recover the system from a USB flash drive even if the BIOS gets corrupted. Users can get easy technical support using the eHot-Line utility, which automatically and instantly sends support request to BIOSTAR Globe tech support.

http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/introduction.php?S_ID=580

It is a known fact that Apple products tends to draw more current than the usual gadgets from other manufacturers. As there are plenty of USB ports on motherboards or notebooks, the tendency of plugging in to the PC for quick charge is quite the norm for most readers.

On the left is the charger for iPhone 3GS. On the right is the charger with adapter (middle) for new generation iPad.

In the past, we have iPhone 3GS that charges real slowly on the standard USB ports.  This changed when Gigabyte introduced their 3X USB Power. Basically, other manufacturers followed suit by throwing in a driver which allows the USB port to output ~1A instead of the usual 500mA.  This speeds up the charge time by almost 2X.

Other manufacturers – ASUS, ECS, MSI, BIOSTAR, ASROCK all has similar products allowing you to ‘quick charge’ your Apple device. Unfortunately, the software will only work with their own brand and models of motherboards.

The picture above shows the original iPhone 3GS USB power adaptor with Input of 100-240v 0.15A, output 5v, 1A.

For notebook users, manufacturers seldom update drivers and you will usually end up with “Charging with this accessory is not supported”. We did some research and found out that ASUS AI CHARGER works on my HP Envy 14″ notebook. You can download the software, install and reboot your machine. Once you plug in your iPhone or iPad, you will see it charging with 1A.

The picture above shows the new charger that outputs 2.5A, 250V and the adaptor has an input of 100-240v 0.45A and output at 5.1V 2.1A.

The new Apple iPad was released a couple of weeks ago. We did an experiment, charging it using with an iPhone 3GS charger. It simply took forever to charge. We estimate that it takes around 1 hr to charge 10%. If the standard iPhone charger takes so long to charge, we can confirm that the new iPad probably require more power to charge it.

We then tried it on our HP notebook and ASRock NetPC (both with USB boosting software installed). Both machines have no problems detecting  and charging it (prior to installing the driver, it won’t even charge it).

We took a look at the charger and noticed the differences in the iPad and iPhone charger, the output rating is quite different. With the driver installed, the iPad can still be charged but it will be at half the speed compare to if you charge from the power plug supplied.

The question now remains if motherboard manufacturers design a specific USB charge port just to output 2A for charging the iPad ? Would you rather charge your iPad with the accompanied charger or buy another board with such a feature ? Discuss.

Getting ready for the next upgrade ? The BIOSTAR TZ77XE4 is ready for the next generation 22nm Ivy Bridge processor from Intel. Check out the unboxing video here and stay tuned for our review at OCWorkbench soon.

Advanced Micro Devices has dumped its share in GlobalFoundries Inc, 3 years after spinning off the company that manufacturer it’s chips. With the seperation, AMD will now be free to use other foundries to manufacture their processors as the Abu Dhabi-controlled foundry would no longer have exclusive manufacturing rights to some of AMDs chips.

In the past, GlobalFoundries struggled to bring its 28nm chip fabrication on-line last year, prompting AMD to shift its production to rival TSMC. This probably sour relationships and is the fundamental reason for dumping it’s stake in GlobalFoundries.

AMD shares were down nearly 3 percent at $7.27 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Source : Reuters

Although the product is not available, leaks from various sources indicate that the flagship product, Intel Core i7-3770K is a quad-core processor with 128 KB of L1 cache (4×32 KB), 1 MB of L2 cache (4×256 KB) and 8 MB of L3 cache. The default speed of this new ivy bridge processor clocks at 3.5GHz; similar to Core i7 2500K.

Other than being a 22nm processor, the ivy bridge processors basically has an improved graphics core built in with support of HDMI 3D etc.

According to some sources, engineering samples of the Intel Core i7-3770K going is capable of doing an overclock of 2X the default clock reaching 7.06GHz on Dry Ice cooling. The applied voltage is 1.889 Volts, with a 63x multiplier and 112.11 MHz.

As this processor is more affordable than the Intel Sandy Bridge-E LGA2011, at 1/3 of it’s price at USD 350 range, there will be utmost interest in this new processor to pair it up with either the new Intel Z77 boards or the older boards.

The following is a screen shot of the CPU-Z, we suspect that this preliminary information is leaked by engineers from one of the big mainboard manufacturer. Looks like they don’t really care about NDA signed with Intel. Discuss.

Source

MSI Z68 (G3) / H61 (G3) mainboard supports Intel next generation ivy bridge 22nm processors with BIOS update. So, if you own one of these boards, you can just update the BIOS and run your new processor on the existing Z68 or H61 board listed below.

Source

For those of you who are waiting to upgrade to the next generation of processor the ivy bridge (desktop), the good news is that motherboards will go on sale in early April worldwide.

In fact, sources revealed that most have begun shipping orders to their distributors and are ready. They are mostly waiting for the green light.

As the board is backward compatible with existing LGA 1155 processors. You can use existing processor first on the new board.

The Z77 chipset supports 22nm Ivy Bridge processors, native support for the high-speed USB 3.0 interface and fast SSD caching with the Intel Smart Response Technology (SRT). The new Ivy bridge processors supports the new CPU core supports DX11 video and HDMI 3D Visual Interface for stereo content. With Lucid Virtu, it is able to tap the power of the embedded video for quicker compression and encoding of video.

So, will you be upgrading this April ?

* When quoting our news please quote us as OCWorkbench in full and not OCW. Thanks.

ASUS Launches ROG Rampage IV GENE X79 mATX Gaming Board

The power of Intel® Socket LGA 2011/X79 Express Chipset CPUs joins game-optimized sound, better online performance, and digital power

Singapore (January 16, 2012) ― Rampage IV GENE continues the legacy of Republic of Gamers motherboards by delivering gamers with enhanced performance that places a premium on fidelity and speed. SupremeFX III™ EMI-shielded audio guarantees better in-game sound, Intel® Ethernet LAN and ROG GameFirst technology boost online multiplayer performance, while ROG Extreme Engine Digi+ II digital voltage regulation promotes improved overclocking. The board further uses Black Metallic capacitors and NexFET™ Power Block MOSFETs for added durability and heat resistance. Unlike budget micro ATX boards, it supports 2-way NVIDIA® SLI™ and AMD CrossFireX™.

SupremeFX III™ audio

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) remains a detriment to quality sound, causing distortion and loss unless properly mitigated. Rampage IV GENE uses a custom PCB “red line” layout which physically isolates SupremeFX III™ hardware from the rest of the motherboard to eliminate interference and generate clearer, more precise, and deeper audio. Better sound helps competitive gamers with improved positioning and spatial awareness, in addition to promoting greater immersion. SupremeFX III™ comes with its own steel shield, a 1500uF capacitor for stable audio power delivery, plus gold-plated audio jacks. The setup has been tested to 110dB SNR, ensuring lossless performance. EAX® Advanced HD 5.0, Creative® Alchemy, and THX® TruStudio™ PRO are all fully supported. Rampage IV GENE comes bundled with a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi MB2 suite, providing the finest game audio of any micro ATX board, with realistic sound effect reproduction, lifelike music, and theater-grade movie sound.

Lag-resistant online gaming and multi-GPU support

Intel® Ethernet reduces CPU utilization by as much as 35% when processing online activity compared to systems using standard LAN, which combats latency and boosts packet transmission. Better network performance presents an edge for gamers, with the overwhelming importance of global online multiplayer gaming requiring faster connections for a smooth and competitive experience. ROG-exclusive GameFirst contributes to achieving this goal, working as a connection supervisor to prioritize bandwidth availability and ensure games receive sufficient resources, even when downloading occurs in the background. To further accommodate gamers, Rampage IV GENE supports PCI Express 3.0 and 2-way SLI™/CrossFireX™ for increased future proofing and flexibility.

Greater overclocking through improved endurance and stability

Rampage IV GENE ships with the exclusive ROG Extreme Engine Digi+ II design, consisting of digital voltage regulators for refined tuning and higher power efficiency. Gamers can adjust voltages in more precise increments, which aids in overclocking. Supporting this, Black Metallic capacitors and NexFET™ Power Block MOSFETs easily surpass the capabilities of generic parts. They resist heat better, last up to five times longer, and can take up to 20% higher temperatures than generic components, culminating in a highly durable and long lasting board that reduces the likelihood of instability even when running high intensity applications.

First X79 board officially certified by the USB-IF

In addition to its many advantages, the Rampage IV GENE has also secured the honor of being the first Intel® X79-based motherboard formally authorized and certified USB 3.0-ready by the USB Implementers Forum. Certification speaks of the extensive testing and compatibility assurance ASUS puts into every board from early development to shipping. Always committed to advancing technology and giving consumers the best performance possible, ASUS has gone further and self-developed USB 3.0 Boost to accelerate data speeds beyond reference requirements. The multi-mode design of USB 3.0 Boost increases device connectivity for both the traditional BOT protocol and the newer UASP, and its inclusion on ROG boards offers gamers even better value than before.

Complete range of X79 gaming boards

The release of Rampage IV GENE follows the previous launch of Rampage IV Extreme and Rampage IV Formula Intel® Socket LGA 2011/X79 Express Chipset-based models. The three maintain ROG leadership in the gaming and overclocking motherboard segments, providing consumers with superior performance and the finest quality in a vibrant PC gaming scene where technical excellence is critical.

A few weeks ago, we attended an event by Promise technology, showing off it’s Thunderbolt NAS devices. As Apple is the only company that builds Thunderbolt capable notebooks, PC which is based on Intel processors and chipsets do not have motherboards which cater to this new transmission standard. According to Digitimes, Intel has recently notified its partners that the company will fully release its Thunderbolt technology in April of 2012 with several first-tier PC players already preparing to launch Thunderbolt-supported motherboards, notebooks and desktop PCs, according to sources from PC players.

Most board makers are still using third party USB 3.0 solutions while the Apple has it adopted into its products such as monitor, MacBook Pro, iMac, MacBook Air and MacBook Mini, it has strongly boosted demand. With the price of Thunderbolt technology dropping in 2H 2012, it is expected that board makers and notebook makers will adopt this technology onto to PC platform.

Currently Sony is expected to adopt Thunderbolt technology into its product lines with players such as Asustek Computer also expected to adopt the technology into their high-end notebook products. Gigabyte Technology, which has been aggressively adopting new transmission technology into its product line, is also expected to launch Thunderbolt-featured motherboard by April 2012 to compete against other brands.

Here is a link to the Promise SmartStor products which feature the Thunderbolt technology.

3D view of MSI X79A-GD45 Intel X79 Express Sandy Bridge-E motherboard

When it comes to AMD CPU vs Intel CPU, fan boys will sure be siding their favourite. In our review of the Gigabyte X79-UD7, we compared the Intel Core i7 3960X against the Core i5 2500K.

In addition, we would like to know how the new 6 core processor Core i7 3960X will fare against the Phenom II X6 1100 which sells for only 1/4 of the price of the 3960X.

Would it be worth paying 4X the price for the processor for just that performance ? Read our review with benchmarks and judge for yourself.

Read review here.

Introduction to Gigabyte X79-UD7
Bluetooth 22 Nov 2011

Last week, Intel launches it’s new series of processors based on the LGA 2011 Socket type. WE have already previewed the performance on launch date last week. Today, we will take at the the Gigabyte X79-UD7 motherboard. This new board features some interesting features that were never seen before on previous generation boards.

The X79-UD7 is based on Intel X79 Express chipset. It supports the Intel® Core™ i7 processors in the LGA2011 package. It has 4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 32 GB of system memory. It employs a 4 channel memory architecture that supports DDR3 2133/1866/1600/1333/1066 MHz memory modules (DDR3-2400 is possible with OC). It supports non-ECC and XMP memory modules.

The board consists of 2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x16 (PCIEX16_1, PCIEX16_2); 2 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8 (PCIEX8_1, PCIEX8_2)
* The PCIEX8_2 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16_2 slot. When the PCIEX8_2 slot is populated, the PCIEX16_2 slot will operate at up to x8 mode.
(All PCI Express x16 slots conform to PCI Express 3.0 standard.). There are 3 x PCI Express x1 slots (All PCI Express x1 slots conform to PCI Express 2.0 standard.)

The board support 4-Way/3-Way/2-Way AMD CrossFireX™/NVIDIA SLI technology and the PCIEX16 slots operate at up to x8 mode when 4-Way/3-Way AMD CrossFireX™/NVIDIA SLI is enabled.

In terms of expandability, the board has 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (SATA3 0/1) supporting up to 2 SATA 6Gb/s devices; 4 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors (SATA2 2/3/4/5) supporting up to 4 SATA 3Gb/s devices which support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10. In addition, there are 2 x Marvell 88SE9172 chips that supports 4 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (GSATA3 6/7/8/9) supporting up to 4 SATA 6Gb/s devices.

The Intel X79 Express chipset also support Up to 14 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (8 ports on the back panel, 6 ports available through the internal USB headers). There are 2 x Fresco FL1009 chips which supports Up to 4 USB 3.0/2.0 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 2 ports available through the internal USB header).

The audio on board is based on the Realtek ALC898 codec HDA and supports 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel, Dolby® Home Theater, S/PDIF Out. There is also a Intel GbE LAN (10/100/1000 Mbit) network port on board.

In addition, this new board features GIGABYTE 3D Power (patent pending)

GIGABYTE X79 series motherboards are the first to take advantage of the exclusive GIGABYTE 3D Power, an all new hardware and software-based Digital Power Engine for both the PWM and Memory that delivers unprecedented power delivery control.

All New Digital Power Control for the CPU and Memory
Utilizing a brand new Digital PWM controller, GIGABYTE’s 3D Power features precise Auto Voltage Compensation to deliver a steady flow of power to the CPU and memory no matter the loading. This all new, all digital power system provides enthusiast users with exceptional control over the overclocking potential of their GIGABYTE X79 motherboard.
GIGABYTE is the first in the industry to utilize digital memory controllers for not only the Memory, but VTT and VSA, for real-time monitoring and adjusting. Digital memory control allows users to monitor and record DDR power and current in real-time while gaming, overclocking or at idle. Users can also set OVP (Over Voltage Protection) to safeguard your memory, adjust memory Load-line Calibration to fix memory vdrooping for a quicker response time and adjust memory PWM frequency on-the-fly.

GIGABYTE 3D Power(patent pending) Utility

	Users can now enjoy a fully interactive 3D utility that facilitates adjustment of the 3 dimensions that control the power delivery to your CPU and Memory: Voltage, Phase and Frequency. These parameters are crucial to how the digital PWM supplies power to critical areas of the motherboard and can help users quickly obtain the highest, most stable overclock.
	3D Power: Voltage Control Voltage parameters can be modified within 3D Power, including load line calibration the of CPU. By adjusting load line calibration, Vdrooping can be avoided, maintaining optimal voltages levels despite increasing current levels. OVP (over voltage protection) can also be adjusted to change default protection range of the CPU, memory controller, VTT and system memory.
	3D Power: Phase Control Users can calibrate OCP (Over Current Protection) for the CPU, integrated memory controller and system memory power levels. This allows the Phase control to deliver even more power to the system when needed.
	3D Power: Frequency Control GIGABYTE’s digital PWM allows for adjustable frequency control via the International Rectifier (IR3567) PWM controller. 3D Power frequency control allows users to change the PWM controller frequency so that the CPU VRM can adjust power delivery speeds more quickly. Users can also adjust the PWM spectrum or maximum and minimum overall frequencies.

It also comes bundled with GIGABYTE Bluetooth 4.0 and WiFi Card

With 2 kinds data transfer mode, GIGABYTE Bluetooth 4.0 and WiFi Card providing spec 300 Mbps transfer rates, 802.11n supports the latest WiFi specifications for better signal coverage, and featuring the newest Bluetooth 4.0, you will not suffer from signal loss like before.

This morning, we sighted the Intel Core i7 3960X selling at Low Yat Plaza in Kuala Lumpur. There is no bundle (with board) pricing attached. This processor is priced at RM 3550 (~SGD1450, USD1122). The price is USD is definitely more than the suggested listed price of USD 990 by USD 132.

Gigabyte will soon release 3 new iOS apps for their motherboards.

THe first is a Picture Viewer. The 2nd is Cloud OC where you can now
access commonly used OC functions eg. Tuner, System INfo, Hardware Monitor etc.

Cloud BIOS is the third application and you can overclock, select boot disk, check PC status.

These few applications will be available once App Store approve it.

Android versions are on it’s way.

G.Skill launches its new RipjawsZ!

Extreme Performance Quad-Channel Memory kits certified exclusively for Intel X79 platform.

The world’s fastest 64GB kit: DDR3 2,133MHz 64GB(8GBx8) 1.5V XMP 1.3

The world’s fastest 32GB kit: DDR3 2,400MHz 32GB(8GBx4) 1.65V XMP 1.3

The world’s fastest 16GB kit: DDR3 2,500MHz 16GB(4GBx4) 1.65V XMP 1.3

Taipei-Taiwan, 14st November 2011. G.Skill has announced the development of its brand new RipjawsZ series quad-channel memory modules, designed specifically for Intel LGA2011 Sandy Bridge-E processors and X79 systems.

A World First in Super-Sized & Super-Speed

The new RipjawsZ builds on a history of Ripjaws world first performance boundaries and award-winning quality, by including extreme performance kits such as, DDR3 2,500MHz 16GB (4GBx4) 1.65V kit, and super size kits including DDR3 64GB (8GBx8) 2133MHz at only 1.5V, and the fastest ever 8GB DIMMs in the DDR3 2,400MHz 32GB(8GBx4) kit. The following screens show two RipjawsZ 2,400MHz 32GB(8GBx4) kits running together at 2400MHz 64GB and booting at breath-taking 2600MHz 64GB with ASUS Rampage IV Extreme motherboard.

*DDR3 2600MHz 64GB *DDR3 2400MHz 64GB Pi 32m 12P

XMP 1.3 Ready

Working closely with Intel and leading motherboard manufacturers, all high-end RipjawsZ memory kits (1866MHz and above) come with the latest Intel XMP 1.3 standard developed for the X79 platform. It provides PC enthusiasts an entirely trouble free overclocking experience to boost their X79 systems to extreme levels of performance, while retaining system stability.

Hand-tested in real-world PC setups

The G.Skill engineering team has closely worked with leading motherboard manufacturers, to qualify compatibility and performance reliability under these extreme conditions. It continues to strive to develop the best quad channel memory kits for Intel X79 platforms. All RipjawsZ memory kits are hand tested in a range of X79 motherboards according to G.Skill’s rigorous qualification procedure to ensure the maximum quality product.

The following is a specifications list for G.Skill RipjawsZ family. Specifications are subject to change without notice. For further details please check the G.Skill website at www.gskill.com.

All G.Skill memory products come with a lifetime warranty and the G.Skill technical team is always ready to provide consumers with complete technical support via online forums, telephone and email.

Intel Core i7-3960X LGA2011 and intel X79 Express chipset
bluetooth 14 Nov 2011

Today, Intel introduces it’s new Intel X79 chipset and Intel Core i7 Sandy Bridge-E processors. This new generation of processors and chipsets takes over the previous generation of Core i5/i7 as the highest end Intel 32nm architecture platform.

One of the most formiddable change on this new architecture is the introduction of quad channel memory support, supporting up to 256bits.

The Intel Core i7-3960X features 6 Cores, 12 therads. It is spotted in a Intel LGA2011 socket which is larger than existing Intel processors. It supports Intel Turbo Boost technology 2.0, Hyper threading, 15MB intel Smart Cache. It also has an integrated memory controller supporting 4 channels of DDR3-1600 (mostly overclockable to DDR3-2400/2500). Intel AVX, AES, SSE 4.1 and SSE 4.2 instructions are supported as well.

The Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme edition has an unlocked multiplier and has a base clock of 3.3GHz with Turbo Cache to 3.9GHz. It has 6 cores 12 threads, with 15MB Cache. TDP is 130W and it is priced at USD 990.

The Intel X79 Express chipset supports 14 hi-speed USB 2.0 ports, dual EHCI, GbE MAC, HDA, 8 PCIe 2.0 express lanes, 6 SATA ports (esata), Intel Rapid storage technology enterprise is optional.

As for the 2nd generation core i7 LGA2011 processor, it supports 40 lanes of PCIe 2.0. It supports different combinations including 2 x 16 + 1 x 8 or 1 x 16 + 3 x 8 or 1 x16 + 2 x 8 + 2 x 4. Although it is still indicated as PCIe 2.0, it actually will support PCIe 3.0 in future.

The X79 chipset does not have native USB 3.0 support. As for overclocking, previous generation calls it BCLK. On the Sandy Bridge-E it is renamed as DMICLK.

IN a few days time, end users will be able to purchase the new Intel Sandy bridge E processors from retail stores to pair them with their Intel X79 mainboards.

While waiting, let’s take a look at what MSI has in store with their MSI X79A-GD45 motherboard with this unboxing video.

The MSI X79 Big Bang-XpowerII is the board that will be well liked by overclockers, power users and gamers. Featuring 6 full length PCIe 3.0 slots, it offers the maximum expandability for graphics cards, supporting both Quad NVIDIA SLI or AMD Quad CrossFire X. It supports the next generation LGA2011 processor with quad channel memory architecture. The board also has 8 DIMM slots capable of supporting up to DDR3-2400(OC).

Multimedia capabilities wise, it supports X-Fi sound Loseless HD audio. It also has dual GbE LAN, USB Safeguard feature.

On board you will also find OC Genie, the auto overclocking button. There is also MultiBios, Debug LED on the left bottom corner of the board.

The components are Military class certified to last longer than others under extreme conditions.