Asus' P8Z68-V Pro shows up early on Chinese site

Detailed pictures of one of Asus upcoming Z68 chipset based motherboards have made an appearance on a Chinese website and it gives us a pretty detailed look into what Asus has coming. The model is the P8Z68-V Pro which should be towards the upper end of Asus Z68 boards, at least judging by its features.

The P8Z68-V Pro has a fairly standard board layout with three x16 PCI Express slots of which the first two can operate in dual x8 mode (the second slot is disabled if the primary slot is used in x16 mode) and the third one being a x4 slot. There are also two x1 PCI Express slots and two PCI slots. Asus has gone for Intels standard four SATA 3Gbps and two SATA 6Gbps ports and added a pair of additional SATA 6Gbps ports via a Marvell controller. Theres a front header for two USB 3.0 ports via an ASMedia host controller as well as pin headers for six USB 2.0 ports and two FireWire ports.

Around the back things are a little bit unusual, as Asus has dropped the PS/2 ports entirely on this board which is somewhat unexpected. As such the rear I/O configuration consists of six USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, an eSATA port, a D-sub, DVI and HDMI port, a Gigabit Ethernet port, 7.1-channel audio jacks, an optical S/PDIF out and a Bluetooth dongle.

Other features include power and reset buttons, Asus various EPU, TPU and what not features that tend to be standard on Asus boards these days. The board also uses Asus Digi+ VRM and the board appears to have a 16-phase PWM design. Overall it looks like a pretty decent design, but wed expect Asus to offer at least a model or two above the P8Z68-V Pro as well as a couple of more affordable models.

Source: MyDrivers.com

AMD Refreshes Phenom II Lineup With Three New Processors

Remember the article which we previously posted regarding the appearance of the Phenom II X6 1075T processor showing up on online lists? Well, it seems that AMD has gone and finally released the news that we have all been waiting for: an official announcement of the chip's existence, along with its pricing.

In a recent press release, AMD has announced that it has released several new desktop processors to increase the performance of its "affordable grades of chips". And among the processors listed, three were to be sold under the Phenom brand: the previously mentioned AMD Phenom II X6 1075T, along with the new AMD Phenom II X2 560 Black Edition dual-core processor.

Specifications-wise, the Phenom II X6 1075T will sport six processing cores, a clock speed of 3.0GHz (3.50GHz with TurboCore) and 9MB of cache, and is expected to be well-received by enthusiasts like how its other hexa-core counterparts have been. The 560BE, on the other hand has a speed of 3.3GHz and 7MB of cache.

In terms of pricing, the 1075T will retail for "less than US$250", which puts it right between the 1055T and 1090T, both of which currently cost US$200 and US$300 respectively. Meanwhile, the 560BE will cost US$99, or approximately S$132.

In addition, AMD has also released a new Phenom II X4 970BE, which comes which a clock speed of 3.5Ghz, 6MB of L3 cache and will cost US$180, which we have already reviewed here.

Source: AMD

ASUS Eee BOX Actual Product First Look

Our friends fromCHW hastaken a snapshot on the upcoming desktop variant of the EeePC from ASUS. Knownas the Eee BOX B202, it is using Intel Atom processor with 945 chipset, 1GB DDR2memories, 80GB hard drive and runs on Linux. ASUS is slated to unveil it over atComputex in June.

ASUS P5W64 WS Professional

ASUS Technology Pte Ltd (ASUS) the worldwide leader of motherboards is proudto introduce the P5W64 WS Professional workstation-class motherboard, nicknamedthe Wall Street Quartet. It supports the quad-PCI Express architecture, enablinga system to connect up to eight monitors.

Based on the Intel 975X chipset and supporting the Intel Core2 CPU (and futuremulti-core CPUs), the P5W64 WS Professional provides powerful computing andsuperior scalability for computing demands of today and tomorrow.

Ideal for Multiple-Displays

Aptly nicknamed the Wall Street Quartet, the P5W64 WS Professional comesequipped with four PCI Express slots, enabling a system to accommodate up toeight monitors. The new motherboard is ideal for the finance sector, wheremultiple monitors are necessary to watch the market, or professionals in otherfields requiring similar display needs. The PCI Express slots support high-speedinput/output control cards as well, providing excellent flexibility andcompatibility that make the P5W64 WS Professional a unique solution.

Superb Platform for 975X Chipset and Dual-Core Processing

Based on the Intel 975X chipset, the P5W64 WS Professional supports Intel’s mostpowerful processors, including the advanced Intel CoreTM2 and future multi-coreCPUs. Together with ATI’s CrossFire multiple-GPU technology and nativedual-channel DDR2 800 support up to 8GB, the P5W64 WS Professional is powerfulenough for any resource-intensive application.

Expandability for future upgrades

The P5W64 WS Professional offers two PCI slots, two IEEE 1394a ports, eight USB2.0 ports and eight Serial ATA-II 3Gb/s ports for establishing two sets of RAID.With superior expandability, the all-new motherboard is ready for the next phaseof personal computing.

Noiseless cooling

Stack Cool 2 is a fan-less and -noiseless cooling solution offered exclusivelyby ASUS. It effectively transfers heat generated by the critical components tothe other side of the specially designed PCB (printed circuit board) foreffective heat dissipation. The result is a temperature decrease of up to 20degrees Celsius.

8-Phase Power Design

The 8-Phase Power Design generates less heat than conventional power solutions.It reduces input ripple current and output ripple voltage, which prevents theCPU and VRM (voltage regulation modules) from suffering high power stress. Ithas the advantages of quick transient response and stability, especiallybeneficial when CPU requires more power during heavy loads and overclocking.

Specification summary

- Intel CoreTM2 Extreme, Intel CoreTM2 Duo, the future multi-core CPU, Pentium Dand Pentium Extreme Edition, Pentium 4, and Celeron CPU
- Intel 975X + Intel ICH7R chipsets
- Front side bus 1066/800MHz
- 4 x DIMM, max. 8GB, DDR2 800/667/533, ECC and non-ECC un-buffered memory
- 4 x PCI Express x 16 slots, 2 x PCI 2.2
- Dual Gigabit LAN
- 8 x Serial ATA 3 GB/s ports
- 2 x IEEE 1394a
- 8 x USB 2.0 ports

Apple to reveal iPhone 5 and iPad mini at two separate press events

A new report has just rolled in and it is suggesting that Apple won’t reveal both the iPhone 5 and iPad mini at the same press event.

Apple reporter Jim Dalrymple conveyed to Apple Insider that the maker of the iPhone will have separate a event announcing the iPhone 5, but focusing most of its attention on iOS 6. Then on a separate date, sometime around early October, Apple will hold a press event to present the iPad mini to the public.

“I’m thinking it makes more sense for Apple to hold two events. First, an iPhone event, focused solely on the new iPhone and iOS 6. Then, the iPhone ships nine days later, and there’s another wave of iPhone-focused attention as the reviews come out. Then, in the first or second week of October, Apple holds its traditional “music event”, exactly along the lines of the events at which they’ve been debuting new iPods for the last decade,” he said.

Many are anticipating Apple to reveal the iPhone 5 on September 12, and while it will be nice if Apple decides to drop the iPad mini madness on loyalists on the same date, an official first look at the iPhone 5 alone will suffice.