The many faces of Sandybridge motherboards

Subject: Motherboards | October 18, 2011 - 06:21 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: Z68XP-UD3, x68, sapphire, sandybridge, Pure Platinum Z68, p67, Maximus IV Extreme B3, Intel, gigabyte, G1.Sniper, asus

When building a SandyBridge system you have several types of motherboard chipset to choose from, some with more capabilities than others.  The ASUS Maximus IV Extreme B3 is the odd duck in this roundup, being the only P67 board in an Z68 round up which means that it loses out on Intel SRT, which is not a drawback for those planning on using an SSD with a high enough capacity to be used as a main drive.  The two Gigabyte boards and the Sapphire board are Z68 and therefore sport all of the bells and whistles that come with that chipset.  In terms of pure performance and overclocking ability it is not the feature set that matters, it is the ability of the board its self.  Check out which of these 4 boards reigns supreme in Neoseeker's benchmarks here.

"A quartet of motherboards based the Intel P67 and Z68 chipsets arrives at Neoseeker's labs, covering both the value and enthusiast market spectrums. There just might be something for everyone with a Intel LGA 1155 socket CPU in our latest motherboard roundup."

Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:

Motherboards

• EVGA X79 Classified E779 Motherboard Pictured At GeForce LAN 6 @ Legit Reviews
• Biostar TZ68K+ - Energy-Efficient LGA1155 Mainboard for Thrifty Users @ X-bit Labs
• ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3 Review @ Kitguru
• BIOS Option Of The Week - PCI Clock Synchronization Mode @ Tech ARP
• ASUS M5A99X EVO Motherboard Review @ OCIA
• Sapphire A75 Pure Platinum Review @ OCC
• Gigabyte GA-A55-DSP3 Motherboard Review @ HardwareHeaven
• GIGABYTE Super4 A75-UD4H Socket FM1 Motherboard Review @ Legit Reviews

ASRock Vision 3D HTPC With Sandy Bridge CPU Leaks to Web

Subject: General Tech | September 8, 2011 - 08:09 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: sandybridge, Intel, htpc, asrock

ASRock, a company most well known for its motherboards, has built a sleek little HTPC (home theater PC) whose specifications recently leaked to the web. Powered by a choice of Intel’s latest Sandy Bridge Core i3, i5, or i7 processors, and a discrete Nvidia GT540M graphics card with 1 GB RAM the small black or silver chassis has enough power to deliver 2D or 3D video with ease. Further, the computer features a Blu-ray drive, the aforementioned Nvidia 3D Vision technology, a media center remoter, and a media card reader.

Connectivity includes headphone and microphone inputs, two USB 3.0 ports, SD card reader, and power button on the front. The rear of the HTPC contains a host of connectivity options including a power jack, S/PDIF, 7.1 channel analog audio jacks, Ethernet, two USB 3.0 ports, DVI, E-SATA, HDMI 1.4a, and four USB 2.0 ports. Air ventilation slots and a Kensington lock slot.

Needless to say, this little PC is loaded with options, and would even be capable of some light gaming in addition to its role as a movie and multimedia playback device. The aesthetics are pretty good as well. Do you have a dedicated HTPC box in your entertainment center or do you use extender devices like the Xbox 360 to play your media on the TV?  You can see more photos and details on the HTPC over at Engadget.

No Intel architecture refresh can be complete without a Pentium model

Subject: Processors | August 12, 2011 - 01:35 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: sandybridge, pentium, G850, Intel

Intel has updated the Pentium processor for the SandyBridge era with the 32nm G620, G840 and G850, all of which cost under $100.   All are rated at 65W TDP with 3MB of level 3 cache, an integrated DDR3 memory controller, PCI Express 2.0 interface, Direct Media Interface 2.0, and Intel HD Graphics 2000.  Legit Reviews tested the 2.9GHz G850 model and found no surprises, neither good nor bad.  The Pentium line remains the workhorse model, perfect for office usage, web browsing and even watching movies.  Those who make movies or want to do more than basic gaming are better off looking at an older LGA1156 processor or even a slightly more expensive Intel or AMD chip.  If you've a relative that only needs a PC for light duty tasks, consider a system built around one of these new SandyBridge Pentiums.

"After trying out both the Intel Pentium G620 and Pentium G850 we must admit that we are still impressed by what these cost effective mainstream processors can do. Thanks to the powerful Intel 'Sandy Bridge' microarchitecture these dual-core processors don't run too far behind the more expensive offerings from Intel and AMD. You can find some pretty good deals on LGA775 and LGA1156 platforms right now, but the Intel Pentium series for LGA1155 has more features and as you could see in the performance tests they weren't that far behind in the benchmarks..."

Here are some more Processor articles from around the web:

Processors

• All Core i3 Models @ Hardware Secrets
• Intel Sandybridge 2500k @ XSreviews
• Intel Pentium G620 Sandy Bridge 2.6GHz CPU Review @ Legit Reviews
• Desktop CPU Comparison Guide @ TechARP
• AMD A6-3650 Llano APU Review @ Hardware Canucks
• AMD A6-3650 APU/Processor Review @ TechwareLabs
• AMD Fusion A8-3850 APU "Llano" On Linux @ Phoronix

Toshiba Satellite p755, at least the 3D isn't proprietary

Subject: Mobile | July 14, 2011 - 02:10 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: toshiba, 3d display, 15.6 inch, sandybridge

It's yet another 3D laptop, as the only thing geekier that walking around staring at a notebook is to do so wearing big green NVIDIA glasses.  The arguments for and against 3D vision aside, this 15.6" 1366x768 TFT LED is powered by a 2.3GHz Core i5 with 6GB DDR3, a Geforce GT540M with 1GB dedicated VRAM and a Blue-ray drive.  Those features, especially the Blue-ray and 3D display help push the price over the $1000 mark.   The Inquirer had fun reviewing this laptop, but were not impressed with the low brightness in 3D mode and were very disappointed with the battery life.

"THE SATELLITE P755 is one of Toshiba's top of the range laptops. It aims to offer the full entertainment and multimedia package with Nvidia's active shutter 3D technology built in.

The laptop is good looking with its silvery grey textured finish. We think it looks stylish without going over the top and the design should appeal to a range of tastes."

Here are some more Mobile articles from around the web:

Mobile

• GIGABYTE P2532 15.6-inch Multimedia Notebook @ Tweaktown
• AMD Raises the Mobile Performance Bar with Radeon HD 6990M @ AnandTech
• Cooler Master NotePal X-Slim Laptop Cooler @ Pro-Clockers
• Cooler Master NotePal X-Slim Silent Notebook Cooling Pad Review @Hi Tech Legion
• HP Touchpad 4G Coming to AT&T @ AnandTech
• SWAP Rebel Smart Watch @ XSReviews
• One-click unbrick for Samsung phones @ Hack a Day
• Novatel Wireless MiFi 4510L Review - The Best 4G LTE WiFi Hotspot? @ AnandTech

SandyBridge graphics performance showdown; Linux versus Win7

Subject: Processors | July 13, 2011 - 05:27 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: linux, windows, ostc, SBNA, sandybridge

In the first showdown that Phoronix tried, the Linux driver for Intel's HD3000 iGPU beat out the Win7 driver handily.  That win was due to the OSTC Linux engineers at Intel doing a bang up job on the Linux drivers, while the Windows team lagged behind a bit.  A few months have passed and the laggards on the Windows team have since released a major update to their drivers, necessitating Phoronix to repeat the test.  Unfortunately for them the Linux team has also released improvements, specifically "Sandy Bridge New Acceleration".  Can the Windows team retake the lead, or should you switch to OpenGL games on Linux? Read on to see.

"The new benchmarks going out today on Phoronix are looking at the performance of Intel's Sandy Bridge graphics with the latest Microsoft Windows 7 and Ubuntu Linux drivers. Not only are we using the very latest drivers, but there is also a separate Linux test run with SNA, the "Sandy Bridge New Acceleration" architecture enabled."

Here are some more Processor articles from around the web:

Processors

• CPU Performance Comparison Guide Rev. 5.7 @ TechARP
• Intel Core i3-2120 3.3GHz Sandy Bridge Processor Review @ Legit Reviews
• AMD A8-3850 Llano @ LostCircuits
• Overclocking AMD’s A8-3850 Llano APU @ Overclockers.com

The difference a letter can make; 4 LGA1155 boards from Gigabyte

Subject: Motherboards | July 6, 2011 - 06:27 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: gigabyte, sandybridge, ga-z68x, lga1155

Gigabyte's GA-Z68X-UD3P-B3, GA-Z68X-UD4-B3, GA-Z68X-UD5-B3 and GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 are up for review on X-bit Labs right now.   You need to be fairly observant to notice the difference in the models and have a great memory to know which is which at a glance.  They all share some similar characteristics, such as the lack of onboard video out but also share positive traits like Dual BIOS and Phase LEDs and a number of USB 3.0 and SATA 6G ports.  They had a few problems during the review which you might want to find out about before purchasing one of these boards.

"Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3P-B3, GA-Z68X-UD4-B3, GA-Z68X-UD5-B3 and GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 mainboards do not have video Outs, that is why integrated graphics doesn’t work on them. They can use Intel Smart Response technology, but do not support any of the Lucid Virtu modes. Read our in-depth review to find out about other features of these mainboards."

Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:

Motherboards

• Asus P8P67 Deluxe @ X-bit Labs
• Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3-iSSD vs ASUS P8Z68-V Pro @ t-break
• MSI Big Bang Marshal @ Tweaktown
• ASUS Maximus IV Extreme P67 Motherboard @ Pro-Clockers
• ASUS P8Q67-M DO/CSM Motherboard @ Hardware Secrets
• ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe Motherboard Review @Hi Tech Legion
• Foxconn H67A-S Motherboard Review @ eTeknix
• ASUS Republic of Gamers Maximus IV Gene-Z Motherboard Review @ HardwareHeaven
• Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5 AM3+ Motherboard Review @Hi Tech Legion
• BIOS Option Of The Week - TM2 Bus VID @ TechARP
• Gigabyte 990FXA UD5 Motherboard Review @ Ninjalane

Gigabyte Launches New Super4 Motherboards Based On Intel's H61 Chipset

Subject: Motherboards | June 10, 2011 - 04:07 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: sandybridge, lga1155, Intel, h61, gigabyte

Gigabyte is on a roll lately as far as cranking out new motherboard series, and their latest unveiling introduces a new lineup that the company has dubbed its “Super4” motherboard series. The new motherboards amount to a budget Sandy Bridge platform that is positioned to save budget PC gamers a few bucks compared to the more feature-full, and more expensive, P67 and H67 chipsets by cutting out features that they do not necessarily need.

The GA-H61M-USB3-B3 Model Is Part of the New Super4 Series.

To be more specific, the new Super4 series is a new line of Gigabyte motherboards based around Intel’s H61 Express chipset, and supporting Intel’s latest Sandy Bridge socket 1155 processors. This chipset is fairly similar to it’s higher-end H67 brethren; however, it features only a single PCIe 2.0 x16 slot, 10 USB 2.0 ports, and four SATA II (3.0 Gb/s) ports versus the two PCIe 2.0 x16 slots, 14 USB 2.0 ports and six Sata II ports of H67. (A full comparison by Intel of the two chipsets can be found here.  Another differentiator between the two chipsets is the number of RAM DIMM slots available.  Whereas H67 boards could support four DIMM slots, H61 boards will only include two slots.

Gigabyte has then further added USB 3.0 support to their specific motherboards by including two USB 3.0 ports on the rear IO panel powered by an Etron EJ168 chip. Realtek Audio and Gigabit Ethernet is also included and accessible via the rear IO. As far as expansion slots, on the GA-H61M-USB3-B3 for example, Gigabyte has laid out the expansion slots as follows: One PCIe 2.0 x16 (running at x16) slot, one PCIe x1 slot, and two PCI slots. As the motherboards are based on Intel’s “H” chipset variant, their are the traditional DVI-D and VGA video outputs for the Intel processor graphics.

The new Super4 motherboard roll-out currently includes the following models: GA-P61-USB3-B3, GA-P61-DS3-B3, GA-HA65M-D2H-B3, GA-H61M-USB3-B3, GA-H61M-D2-B3, and GA-H61M-S2V-B3.

Gigabyte’s marketing team has appeared in full force, presenting the new Super4 series as “Super Safe, Super Speed, Super Savings, and Super Sound,” where the four pillars make up the motherboards “Super4” moniker.  The boards will likely retail for under $100 USD and will be priced lower than P67 and H67 based boards due to the fewer ports and supported PCIe x16 slots reducing the manufacturing cost. For single graphics card gaming rigs with only one or two storage drives, the new H61 motherboards may well prove to be a viable option. You can learn more about the boards by perusing the press release as well as by staying tuned to PC Perspective.

More high end SandyBridge goodness, the ASUS P8Z68-V Pro

Subject: Motherboards | May 16, 2011 - 05:00 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: asus, z68, sandybridge

The expiration of the NDA on the Z68 chipset has launched an impressive amount of reviews, which represents just how much choice you will have if you upgrade to a high end SandyBridge motherboard.  That is also easy to see if you search NewEgg for Z68 based boards, which range from $120ish to over $350 depending on the features.  One possibility is the ASUS P8Z68-V Pro, a middle of the road $210 board sporting two PCIe x16 slots running 8x is you use dual GPUs along with an impressive array of output and input ports and 7.1 sound.  Legit Reviews didn't hand it an Editors Choice Award for nothing, this board has a lot going for it.

"Prior to the Intel Z68 chipset, you would have to choose. Either you could have integrated graphics and no overclocking capabilities, or overclocking abilities as well as the need to invest in a discrete graphics card. Fortunately that is no longer the case. We now have the best of both worlds at our fingertips with motherboards like the ASUS P8Z68-V Pro that we have been looking at today. Every gaming benchmark that we ran, the ASUS P8Z68-V Pro was able to out perform the GIGABYTE P67A-UD7..."

Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:

Motherboards

• MSI Z68A-GD80 (B3) Motherboard @ Hardware Secrets
• ASUS P8Z68-V Pro @ Bjorn3D
• ASRock Z68 Pro3 @ Tweaktown
• Gigabyte Z68X-UD5-B3 Motherboard @ Hardware Secrets
• MSI Z68A-GD80 @ Tweaktown
• Gigabyte Z68X UD5 @ OC3D
• Asus Sabertooth P67: an Armored LGA1155 Mainboard @ X-bit Labs
• ASUS P8P67 WS Revolution @ Overclockers.com
• MSI P67A-G43 LGA 1155 Motherboard Review @ ReviewDesk
• Gigabyte G1.Assassin Review @ Neoseeker
• GIGABYTE X58-USB3 @ Tweaktown
• How To Fix The PCI Express x1 Bug @ TechARP
• BIOS Option Of The Week - SDRAM ECC Setting @ TechARP