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The new ASUS Maximus IV boards are "twins"

Subject: Motherboards | September 8, 2011 - 01:48 PM |
Tagged: Maximus IV Extreme-Z, Maximus IV Gene-Z, asus, uATX, lga1155

If you are looking for a top of the line Z68 motherboard then two of the models you should consider are the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z and Maximus IV Gene-Z.  While they share many characteristics you can think of the Extreme-Z as the gaming board because of the four PCIe 16x slots and the Gene-Z as the media motherboard as it sports an HDMI out which the Extreme-Z does not.  As well as the difference in output, the Extreme-z has the common Realtek ALC 889 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC while the Gene-Z has the higher end SupremeFX X-Fi 2 built-in 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC.  The final difference and perhaps the easiest to spot is that the Extreme-Z is a full ATX board while the Gene-Z is uATX.  Check out the performance of both boards in Legit Reviews latest article.

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"The ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z is aimed at those looking to squeeze every last Megahertz out of their second generation Intel Core processor. With features like the LN2 switch that will help get past that pesky little cold bug problem, we know this board is meant for the extreme user. When we were performing our overclocking with the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z it was a very smooth process. We were able to increase our multiplier to x51 and our Bclk to 100.4, though it showed up as 100.5 in CPUz. These settings brought us past the 5.1GHz mark and we were there in under an hour..."

Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:

Motherboards

 

Source: Legit Reviews

Podcast #168 - ASUS MARS II, Coolermaster CM Storm Headphones, News of the Week, and more!

Subject: General Tech | September 1, 2011 - 05:13 PM |
Tagged: podcast, nvidia, mars ii, mars, GTX580, coolermaster, CM Storm, asus, 580

PC Perspective Podcast #168 - 9/01/2011

This week we talk about the ASUS MARS II, Coolermaster CM Storm Headphones, News of the Week, and more!

You can subscribe to us through iTunes and you can still access it directly through the RSS page HERE.

The URL for the podcast is: http://pcper.com/podcast - Share with your friends!

  • iTunes - Subscribe to the podcast directly through the iTunes Store
  • RSS - Subscribe through your regular RSS reader
  • MP3 - Direct download link to the MP3 file

Hosts: Josh Walrath, Jeremy Hellstrom, Allyn Malventano and Scott Michaud

This Podcast is brought to you by MSI Computer, and their all new Sandy Bridge Motherboards!

Program length: 1:08:21

Program Schedule:

  1. 0:00:38 Introduction
  2. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
  3. http://pcper.com/podcast
  4. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
  5. 0:02:34 CM Storm Sirus Headphones Review
  6. 0:10:32 ASUS MARS II Dual GTX 580 3GB Graphics Card Review
  7. 0:19:35 UPDATE: Where Have All the 6970s Gone?
  8. 0:22:22 This Podcast is brought to you by MSI Computer, and their all new Sandy Bridge Motherboards!
  9. 0:24:20 Windows 8 Will Support Mounting ISO and VHD Files Natively
  10. 0:27:10 GLOBALFOUNDRIES 20nm tape out
  11. 0:32:22 New Firmware Offers Performance Boost To Crucial M4 SSDs
  12. 0:46:35 Cedar Trail preview, can it keep Intel's netbook lineup alive?
  13. 0:52:35 Mod a dial that goes to 11 onto your AMD graphics card
  14. 0:55:15 Hardware / Software Pick of the Week
    1. Ryan: Don't buy the Samsung Verizon 4G LTE portable router!
    2. Jeremy: Gigabyte's new pranking tool
    3. Josh: Far Cry and Far Cry 2 on Steam... CHEAP
    4. Allyn: OpenDNS
    5. Scott: 2nd production run of HP Touchpads
  15. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
  16. http://pcper.com/podcast   
  17. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
  18. 1:06:50 Closing

Source:

ASUS MARS II Dual GTX 580 3GB Graphics Card Review

Author:
Date: August 25, 2011
Subject: Graphics Cards
Manufacturer: ASUS
Tagged: ROG, nvidia, matrix, mars ii, mars, hd 6990, GTX 580, geforce, asus

Is a GTX 590 just not enough for you?

A Legacy of Unique Engineering

ASUS has often been one of only a handful of companies that really pushes the limits of technology on their custom designed products including graphics cards, sound cards, notebooks, motherboards and more.  Just a little over a year ago I wrote a review of the ASUS ARES Dual Radeon HD 5870 graphics card - the first of its kind and it was labeled the "Ultimate Graphics Card" at the time.  Life on the top of mountain doesn't last that long in the world of the GPU though and time (and the GTX 590 and HD 6990) left the Greek god of war in the rearview mirror.

asus01.jpg

This time around we have a successor to the MARS - the NVIDIA version that combines two top-level GPUs on a single PCB.  The new ASUS MARS II we are reviewing today is a pair of binned GTX 580 GPUs paired together for full-time SLI and built with a limited edition run of 999 units.  In many ways the MARS II and the ARES share a lot of traits: custom designed cooling and PCB, a unique aesthetic design, limited edition status and significant physical weight as well.  Of course, the price tag is also pretty high and if you aren't comfortable reading about a $1300 graphics card you might as well turn around now...  For those that dare though, you can be sure that the MARS II will have you dreaming about PC gaming power for years to come!

Continue reading our review of the ASUS MARS II Dual GTX 50 3GB!!!

Podcast #167 - HD6970 shortages, the ASUS ROG Matrix GTX580, HP selling it's PC business and more!

Subject: Editorial | August 25, 2011 - 03:47 PM |
Tagged: ROG, radeon, podcast, HD6970, GTX580, asus, amd, 6970

PC Perspective Podcast #167 - 8/25/2011

This week we talk about HD6970 shortages, the ASUS ROG Matrix GTX580, HP selling it's PC business and more!

You can subscribe to us through iTunes and you can still access it directly through the RSS page HERE.

The URL for the podcast is: http://pcper.com/podcast - Share with your friends!

  • iTunes - Subscribe to the podcast directly through the iTunes Store
  • RSS - Subscribe through your regular RSS reader
  • MP3 - Direct download link to the MP3 file

Hosts: Ryan Shrout, Jeremy Hellstrom, Josh Walrath and Allyn Malventano

This Podcast is brought to you by MSI Computer, and their all new Sandy Bridge Motherboards!

Program length: 1:28:47

Program Schedule:

  1. 0:00:38 Introduction
  2. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
  3. http://pcper.com/podcast
  4. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
  5. 0:01:32 Where Have All the 6970s Gone?
  6. 0:12:23 ASUS ROG Matrix GTX 580 Platinum 1.5GB Graphics Card Review - Best of the best?
  7. 0:26:00 This Podcast is brought to you by MSI Computer, and their all new Sandy Bridge Motherboards!
  8. 0:27:05 Llano is running short
  9. 0:33:50 HP conference call this afternoon, could a major division drop?
  10. 0:35:50 Corsair Unveils Two New 90GB SATA 6Gb/s SSDs, A World's First
  11. 0:42:02 Battlefield 3: This is what the PC players will be enjoying
  12. 0:43:59 Intel returns to upgrade cards for more of their crippled parts
  13. 0:48:20 Gigabyte motherboard with 20GB cache
  14. 0:50:49 Drobo Improves Storage with new App-Driven Delivery
  15. 1:00:25 Deus Ex gives beautiful performance on cards costing less than $250
  16. 1:01:22 Steve Jobs steps down blah blah
  17. 1:02:15 Emails from Graeme about a SWTOR rig
  18. 1:06:41 Email from Eric about a new MB/CPU
  19. 1:11:20 Email from a lot of people - What SSD would Allyn buy?
  20. 1:14:30 Email from Mark about Matrox TripleHead2Go
  21. 1:19:32 Hardware / Software Pick of the Week
    1. Ryan: Blue Icicle
    2. Jeremy: Space Marine demo on Steam
    3. Josh: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122326
    4. Allyn: Unlocker (is finally 64 bit)
  1. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
  2. http://pcper.com/podcast   
  3. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
  4. Closing

Source:

ASUS ROG Matrix GTX 580 Platinum 1.5GB Graphics Card Review - Best of the best?

Author:
Date: August 24, 2011
Subject: Graphics Cards
Manufacturer: ASUS
Tagged: ROG, Overclocked, matrix, GTX 580, asus

Republic of Gamers Means Business

Introduction

I have got to be honest with you - most of the time getting me excited for graphics cards any more is a chore.  Unless we are talking about a new architecture from NVIDIA or AMD, card vendors are hard pressed to the same attention from me they used to a couple of years ago when every card release was something to pay attention to.  Over the next week or so though it turns out that ASUS and Gigabyte have a few noteworthy items definitely worth some grade-A analysis and reviewing starting with today's: the ASUS ROG Matrix GTX 580 beast.

asus01.jpg

The Republic of Gamers brand is reserved for the highest-end parts from the company that are obviously targeted at three main segments.  First, the serious gamers and enthusiasts that demand the top level performance either because they can't stand to lose at gaming or just want nothing but the best for their own experiences.  Secondly are the professional overclockers that live on features and capabilities that most of us could only dream of pushing and that need LN2 to get the job done.  Finally, the case modding groups that demand not only great performance, but sexy designs that add to the aesthetics of the design as whole and aren't boring.  The ROG brand does a very commendable job of hitting all three of these groups in general and specifically with the new Matrix-series GTX 580.  

In the following pages we will document what makes this card different, how it performs, how it overclocks and why it might be the best GTX 580 card on the market today.

Continue reading our review of the ASUS ROG Matrix GTX 580 Platinum!!

A platinum monolith, ASUS' overclocked GTX 580

Subject: Graphics Cards | August 18, 2011 - 11:14 AM |
Tagged: asus, GTX 580 Platinum, factory overclocked

The ASUS GTX580 Platinum is an overclockers dream, from the hand picked cards and components to the Mod Zone area of the PCB which has solder points that allow you to turn off overcurrent and overheating safeguards and turn up the voltage.  You don't have to be an extreme overclocker to enjoy the card, right out of the box the GPU runs 44MHz above stock at 816MHz and [H]ard|OCP hit 891MHz without changing any settings but the frequency ... they also passed 1GHz with some extra voltage.  At $529 it does cost you quite a bit to purchase but it surpasses even the MSI Lightning Xtreme Edition that so impressed Josh.  As you can see below, it is also larger.

ASUS_gtx580platinum.jpg

"ASUS has launched the new ROG MATRIX GTX580 Platinum video card that can be described as the pinnacle enthusiast GeForce GTX 580 GPU. Will all of this customization and new features mean you get fast video card? If this overclock doesn't impress you we suggest trading in your computer and finding a new hobby."

Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:

Graphics Cards

Source: [H]ard|OCP

The new B3 revision of the ASUS P8P67 Pro is more Solid than Snake

Subject: Motherboards | August 17, 2011 - 03:43 PM |
Tagged: lga1155, asus, P8P67 Pro rev b3

When testing the ASUS P8P67 Pro, [H]ard|OCP managed to get 4.8GHz out of an Intel i5 2500K; about as good a recommendation as you could hope for.  That is in addition to ASUS' specific BIOS which will disable Turbo scaling, pegging the CPU to the top speed whenever it is in use, which explains the higher scores in some of the benchmarks they ran.  The built in OC Tuner BIOS application will overclock the board for you, in the tests after about 5 minutes and a few reboots it stabilized a 2600K on the board at 43x102.1 or 4.39GHz and could be pushed higher if you manually raised the multiplier. The board may not have some of the extras available on other makes but as far as stability goes this board is hard to beat.

h_p8p67 pro.jpg

"ASUS' latest foray in to the Intel LGA1155 market shows up in a competitive package, the P8P67 Pro. The board combines the features and technologies you've come to expect from ASUS and promises not to disappoint. This motherboard also happens to target the sub-$180 market so it will be on the list for budget minded builds."

Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:

Motherboards

Source: [H]ard|OCP

X58 is still the king, check out the ASUS ROG Rampage III

Subject: Motherboards | August 9, 2011 - 03:53 PM |
Tagged: asus, rampage III, ROG, X58

If you fell the inescapable need to overclock your CPU to insane speeds and get the bit of extra oomph that triple channel DDR3 can provide then the ASUS Rampage III is the ~$600 motherboard for you.  [H]ard|OCP recently reviewed the board and its incredible list of extra components, even going so far as trying to kill it in a three day incubation test.  Four PCIe 16x slots (dual 16x, quad 8x), two PCIe 1x slots, two SATA Gbp/s ports, a half dozen SATAII ports with two eSATA round out the internal connections.  Externally two USB 3.0 ports and eleven USB 2.0 ports will get your peripheral connected and there is not only a normal gigabit ethernet connection, they included wireless and a KillerNIC which happens to be on an ASUS ThunderBolt card.  Read on at [H]ard|OCP. 

H_rampageIII.jpg

"While P67 and Z68 is all the rage, if you are looking for the most powerful computing system money can buy, then X58 is still it. ASUS promises to deliver everything you expect out of X58 and then some with its latest Republic of Gamers branded board. If you are looking for the ultimate X58 motherboard, it's the Rampage III Black Edition."

Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:

Motherboards

Source: [H]ard|OCP

Asus May Launch a Kal-El Powered Transformer Tablet This Year

Subject: General Tech | August 3, 2011 - 08:20 AM |
Tagged: tablet, nvidia, kal-el, asus

As Superman fans well know, Kal-El is faster than a speeding bullet, and NVIDIA’s new Tegra 3 Kal-El chip is no different. We reported on a demonstration of the Kal-El chip running games with dynamic lighting and realistic cloth physics earlier this year, and it is certainly an impressive mobile chip.

Speaking of “impressive,” Asus’ chairman Jonney Shih was quoted by Forbes recently in stating that the upcoming Transformer 2 device would be “impressive.” While Shih was not able to share any details about the device in question, he did mention that Asus will be unveiling new tablets before the end of this year. With the NVIDIA Kal-El chip set to launch this month, the timing is certainly favorable for a quad core Transformer 2.

ASUS_Transformer.jpg

The Transformer 1, will the second iteration have even more oomph?

Of all the Android tablets, the Transformer has been one of the most well recieved; therefore, it seems likely that Asus would pursue another iteration of the device.  Whether that device will be powered by the Tegra 3 chip is still uncertain, however.  Do you think the rumor of a quad core Transformer is likely, or is this something that is "too good to be true?"

Source: Forbes

The ASUS Vulcan ANC Pro Gaming Headset has gaming in its name for a reason

Subject: General Tech | August 2, 2011 - 03:43 PM |
Tagged: asus, ROG, Vulcan ANC Pro, headset, audio

If you find yourself gaming in a noisy environment and are trying to keep your contribution to the noise down by using headsets it can be frustrating if you cannot hear the game you are playing.  ASUS has a way to solve that, thanks to the active noise cancellation in their Republic of Gamers Vulcan ANC Pro Gaming Headset.  Red & Blackness Mods tried out a pair for review and were impressed by the light weight of the headset as well as detachable mic for when you don't need to communicate with team mates.  They were not overly impressed with the sound quality but as these are specifically designed for gaming that is not a major concern and not attempting for high end audio helped keep the price down.

ranb_asus_vulcan.jpg

"Asus mostly known for their high end laptops and motherboards have recently started pumping out various accessories and even touchpads. Today we are taking a look at the Asus Vulcan ANC Pro Gaming headphones that you can pick up for around 50$. What type of quality and sound quality can we expect from these?"

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Audio Corner

Source: R&B Mods

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