Friday, April 30, 2010

First USB 3.0 hub passes GIGABYTE USB 3.0 mobo compatibility testing

Buffalo USB 3.0 Hub1_L

A short while ago the Buffalo BSH4A03U3 USB 3.0 hub was deemed compatible with all GIGABYTE USB 3.0 motherboards for SuperSpeed USB use. This is the first working USB 3.0 hub that we’ve seen and a very exciting product if you consider that you could power two 2.5 inch external drives (while copying legally obtained content…), sync and charge your phone from another port and still have one port free for other USB connectivity – all from a single USB 3.0 port with 3x USB power of course.

I think this calls for a video. Stay tuned…

Go OC underway

image

The GIGABYTE Open Overclocking Championship got underway in early April with the UK event kicking things off on the 9th. if you’re interested in following the country qualifiers, below are some links that may be of interest. In May we plan to launch a new microsite for the global final in September, 2010, and this site will include all the results so you can see who will be battling it out at the regional finals in June and July.

Russia: http://gooc2010.gigabyte.ru/index.htm 

Taiwan: http://gooc2010.gigabyte.com.tw/ 

Japan: http://club.gigabyte.co.jp/event/gooc2010/gooc2010.html 

Middle East: http://www.gooc2010.arabhardware.net/ 

South Africa: http://www.prophecy.co.za/forums/topic/84065-gigabyte-gooc-south-african-country-qualifiers/ 

Singapore: http://forums.vr-zone.com/cdl-trading-virtual-service-center/609618-go-oc-2010-gigabyte-open-overclocking-competition-2010-singapore-edition.html 

India: http://www.techenclave.com/site-announcements/gigabyte-open-overclocking-championship-go-oc-164484.html 

More to follow soon…

Thursday, April 29, 2010

New photo album for AMD 800 motherboard series on facebook

870A_UD3_Rev20_L

We just created a new facebook photo album for our new mobos using the AMD 800 series chipsets. Look for it here. There are still one or two models that will be added a little later.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

GIGABYTE Supports Campus Party in Madrid, Spain

Some of European's best overclockers gathered in Madrid, Spain, earlier this month to have some fun putting on an Extreme Overclocking demonstration for the Spanish TV cameras and crowds. 

There was a few hiccups due to airport closures with Icelandic volcano's angry smoke outbursts which stranded hicookie and the TV crew from Overclocking-TV.com but it all went well for those that made it. That is until they had to return back home lol. 

If you'd like to read about it some more or check out the pics of some crazy system builds check out HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE :). Don't skip watching this YOUTUBE video of Massman letting his hair down during his trip back home hahahah.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

XL-ATX chassis list on the 890FXA-UD7 web page

Some of you may be wondering where to find a list of XL-ATX supporting chassis. We have provided a list on the GA-890FXA-UD7 web page in the right hand column just below the CPU Support List link. There’s a direct link here.

XL-ATX Chasses Support List

These cases will also work with the soon to be released GA-X58A-UD9.

Incredible iPad 1.73A charge from a GA-890FXA-UD7 motherboard!

Just took this pic after our On/Off Charge and AMD 800 series chipset motherboard technology demo today. During the event we managed 1.6A (I think Lars from Semiaccurate and Richard from Bit-tech got shots I’m sure). After the event we ran down the iPad battery some more and tried a different cable to produce a whopping 1.73A charge! The monster setup in the background is our new flagship GA-890FXA-UD7 with 4-way CrossfireX on an XL-ATX form factor.

In our marketing materials we say that our USB ports can provide 1.5A, but with any motherboard fuse there will be a degree of tolerance built in. Ours is a little higher even than 1.73A by the way…

Press Release: GIGABYTE Unveils Industry-leading AMD 800 Series Motherboards

-- Featuring 4-Way CrossfireX, CPU Core Auto Unlock, On/Off Charge for iPhones, USB 3.0, 3x USB Power and more...

Taipei, Taiwan, April 27, 2010 - GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards and other computing hardware solutions today unveiled an exciting range of motherboards based on the highly anticipated AMD 890FX, 880G and 870 chipsets. The new models are the GA-890FXA-UD7, GA-880GMA-UD2H and GA-870A-UD3, all of which support the AMD Phenom™ II X6 six-core processors, native SATA 6Gb/s (via the SB850 Chipset) and ATI CrossFireX™/Hybrid CrossFireX™ multi-GPU technologies. The new additions also boast unique GIGABYTE technologies such as Auto Unlock that enables hidden CPU cores, On/Off Charge for enhanced iPhone/ iPad/iPod Touch charging, USB 3.0 and 3x USB power that distinguish them as industry leaders in this market segment.

As the flagship model for the series, the GA-890FXA-UD7 is designed to appeal to extreme overclockers, gamers and tech enthusiasts who demand only the latest, most advanced equipment. It features the AMD 890FX + SB850 chipset combination with support for 4-way ATI CrossFireX™ on an XL-ATX form factor and the highest quality 8+2 CPU VRM power phase design that handles 140W CPU power requirements with ease. In addition, the GA-890FXA-UD7 comes with the unique Hybrid Silent Pipe that allows for highly efficient system cooling without generating fan noise. Other noteworthy features include GIGABYTE 333 Onboard Acceleration technologies, onboard debug LEDs, and support for DDR3 1866.

For media center enthusiasts, the GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-UD2H motherboard features ATI Radeon™ HD 4250 integrated graphics that offers exceptional power efficiency and versatile high definition graphics configurations for the living room. ATI Radeon™ HD 4250 graphics includes support for Microsoft® DirectX® 10.1, for next generation features and performance that make this solution a leader in its class. The GA-880GMA-UD2H can also accommodate discrete VGA cards with ATI Hybrid CrossFireX™ for those enthusiasts who want to play demanding games on their media centers.

clip_image002Auto Unlock

GIGABYTE Auto Unlock technology features a unique Core Boost micro-processor that enables the CPU’s hidden cores (when available), effectively providing a CPU upgrade while running multi-threaded applications or multi-tasking. More information is available from the official GIGABYTE motherboard web page.

“The GIGABYTE 800 series motherboard line-up is one of the most exciting launches we’ve had in a while due to the sheer number of unique new features, from both AMD and GIGABYTE, that make their debut on these products,” commented Tim Handley, Deputy Director of Motherboard Marketing at GIGABYTE Technology Co. Ltd. “Perhaps the most interesting of these is On/Off Charge, the first of many unique features derived from GIGABYTE 3x USB Power technology. On/Off Charge USB ports will make their way onto a majority of GIGABYTE motherboard models in the coming months as a standard feature that iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users can look for when they upgrade their PCs.”

clip_image004clip_image006On/Off Charge

GIGABYTE On/Off Charge allows iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users to charge their devices from the USB ports of their PC regardless of whether it is on or off. This capability is enabled by the On/Off driver utility combined with a dedicated white and red On/Off Charge USB port connector that connects to two front panel USB ports for user convenience. In addition, GIGABYTE 3x USB Power technology allows these users to enjoy faster device recharging by tripling the current that is available from all USB ports.

clip_image008USB 3.0 Support

The GIGABYTE AMD 800 series motherboards support USB 3.0 (SuperSpeed USB) via an onboard NEC uPD720200 host controller. With superfast transfer rates of up to 5 Gbps, users are able to experience an almost 10x improvement over USB 2.0. Additionally, backwards compatibility with USB 2.0 assures users of continued use of their legacy USB 2.0 devices. The onboard NEC SuperSpeed USB technology also provides new power management features that include increased maximum bus power and device current draw to better accommodate power-hungry devices.

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3x USB Power Boost

The GIGABYTE AMD 800 series motherboards feature a 3x USB power boost, delivering greater compatibility and extra power for USB bus powered devices. GIGABYTE’s unique USB power design is also able to efficiently regulate output over the full voltage range, which greatly enhances USB device operation and compatibility. In addition, dedicated lower resistance fuses ensure lower voltage drops, and provide more stable and plentiful power delivery.

clip_image012SATA 6 Gbps Support

GIGABYTE AMD 800 series motherboards feature 6 ports of high-speed native SATA Revision 3.0 with 6 Gbps link speeds for twice the data transfer rates of SATA Revision 2.0 (3 Gbps). Moreover, they support multiple RAID configurations that include RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 that provide users with a range of choices for high performance or high reliability data storage.

A list of XL-ATX suitable cases is available on the GA-890FXA-UD7 web page. More information about the GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD7, GA-880GMA-UD2H and GA-870A-UD3 motherboards is available from their respective product web pages. More information about GIGABYTE On/Off Charge and 3x USB Power is available from http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/WebPage/mb_on-off-charge/on-off-charge.htm and www.usb3motherboard.com.

The GIGABYTE 800 Series Motherboard List

AMD 890FX

AMD 890GX

AMD 880G

AMD 870

GA-890FXA-UD7

GA-890GPA-UD3H

GA-880GA-UD3H

GA-870A-UD3

GA-890FXA-UD5

 

GA-880G-UD3H

 
   

GA-880GMA-UD2H

 
   

GA-880GM-USB3

 

GA-880GM-UD2H80G

 

Share the news to Facebook and Twitter
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The official press re;ease with prettier formatting is available here.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

GIGABYTE On/Off Charge: anytime high-speed iPhone charging from your PC’s USB ports

ON_OFF_Charge

An estimated 50 million iPhones, 35 million iPod Touches and 450 thousand iPads have been sold into the global consumer market over the past few years. It’s quite understandable then that companies will would want to optimize their products for compatibility with these highly popular devices.

Opportunity…

Most smart phones can charge overnight from your PC even if the PC is turned off, however this is not the case with the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch that only charge when the PC is running. In addition, these devices can only draw a mere 0.5A from traditional USB ports for a trickle charge that can take a lot longer than you hoped it would. 0.5A is so minimal that the iPad needs to be turned off itself in order to charge from a USB port. These devices charge a lot quicker and more conveniently with the chargers that are provided with them because the chargers offer higher current (more Amps).

At the same time, GIGABYTE has a unique technology called 3x USB power that was introduced to provide a better user experience regardless of the quality of USB cable being used. Poor quality cables suffer power degradation that can affect USB device operation, so for example, if the device is asking for 0.5A and the USB port can only put out 0.5A, the device may only receive 0.4A due to cable power degradation. By making more power available from the USB port, the device still receives the amount of current that it needs to operate reliably and people are happy with their GIGABYTE motherboard.

3x USB power makes up to 3 times the amperage available: USB 2.0 specification is 0.5A, GIGABYTE 3x USB power provides up to 1.5A; USB 3.0 specification is 0.9A, GIGABYTE 3x USB power provides up to 2.7A.

So On/Off Charge technology is a derivative of 3x USB power that GIGABYTE developed to optimize the ‘i-device’ experience for millions of people around the world by allowing them to charge their devices quicker.

Charging While Your PC is Off

imageOn/Off Charge consists of a software driver that allows the motherboard to recognize the i-device and provide the amount of power that it asks for, together with a dedicated USB onboard header that allows it to charge even when the PC is turned off. We chose to use an onboard USB header so that the On/Off Charge USB ports could be front panel ports for ease of use. The On/Off Charge driver is compatible with over 40 existing motherboards (that don’t have the On/Off Charge USB port connector) and has been available for download on the GIGABYTE motherboard utilities web page since March 11th. We decided to go public with it only once the new motherboards with the onboard port connector become available, and we are about to launch the first range of boards next week with the introduction of the AMD 800 series chipset models. Future GIGABYTE motherboards will have the white and red On/Off Charge USB port connector.

So, with the On/Off Charge driver installed, any USB port on the GIGABYTE motherboard models listed here will be able to charge an iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch while the PC is running, but only those using a new model with the i-device connected to a white and red On/Off Charge USB port will be able to charge the i-device while the PC is off. If you connect your iPhone to a non On/Off Charge USB port while the PC is running and then shut down the system, it will continue to charge your device. So the advantage of the using the white and red On/Off Charge USB port is that you are able to connect and charge your device while the PC is off.

Demo

Here is a demonstration picture that we took yesterday to help explain On/Off Charge:

Print

The PC on the left does not have On/Off Charge technology and is not charging the iPhone while the PC on the right with On/Off Charge is charging both an iPhone (0.52A) and an iPad (0.97A) simultaneously. Both PCs are off.

Useful links:

- Netbooknews.com

- Tweaktown.com 

- Semiaccurate.com 

- GIGABYTE’s MoboTV Youtube Channel

- More information about On/Off Charge

- GIGABYTE’s official On/Off Charge press release

- GIGABYTE Motherboard Tech Column photo album on facebook

- Download the GIGABYTE On/Off Charge driver

Friday, April 23, 2010

GO OC UK Country Qualifiers

ScreenHunter_01 Apr. 23 12.56 GOOCsss

Our good friends over at Hexus have posted their video coverage for the GO OC UK country qualifiers. To see the contestants and to get a good idea of what an extreme overclocking event is all about, visit Hexus.tv.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

News: ASMedia seeks USB 3.0 chip orders with aggressive quotes

USB30

Digitimes reports that ASMedia’s USB 3.0 controller chip will come to market in June at 50% cheaper than the NEC controller. We mentioned before that NEC is currently the only certified SuperSpeed USB controller chip provider and this may be the reason why ASMedia can come in at such an aggressive price – they will be the first real competition for NEC.

The report says that all the major motherboard brands are expected to adopt the ASMedia solution. It also says that VIA will have a SuperSpeed USB chip in Q4, 2010. I guess that healthy competition in the controller chip space will provide an incredible shot in the arm for SuperSpeed USB adoption in the 2nd half of 2010. This news could not have come at a better time considering the large number of USB 3.0 device vendors who are planning their product launches for Computex, 2010.

Extreme overclocking the French way!

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During Q1 this year we held a number of P55 Extreme OC challenges around the world. Here is some footage of the French event from OC TV and OC Teamfr.

If you’ve ever wondered what extreme overclocking is about, these videos will give you a good idea of how it works and what kind of people enjoy it.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

GOOC Australia 2010 Announced

GIGABYTE Australia have announced their "GIGABYTE Open Overclocking Championship for Australia 2010". There's lots of info in this thread:


GOOC Australia 2010 is going to be bigger and better this year.
  • Huge amount of competition prizes
  • All expense paid trip to Indonesia for the extreme OC finals winner (18-6-2010 until 21-6-2010)
  • Door prizes from event sponsors
  • Booth babes galore
  • Three times bigger venue with threefold increase in guests compared to last year
  • Huge food and drinks tab
  • 7x competitors in live finals (4x extreme + 3x enthusiasts)
  • Up to $500 travel budget for extreme OCers and $100 for enthusiasts

 ....and many more awesome reasons to come so register now to book a spot and come watch the live overclocking competition and more in Sydney on 15th May (limited to 150 people). REGISTRATION WEBSITE WILL GO LIVE AT THE END OF THE WEEK AND WILL BE OPEN UNTIL 14th May. You must be over 18 years old to register!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

News: Intel quietly phasing out its branded motherboard business in China

Our friends at Digitimes are reporting that Intel motherboards will not be available in China for much longer and that they plan to focus on less developed regions to help ‘mature’ them for better things to come. One can’t help but wonder if this will impact their future business in other developed regions…

Monday, April 19, 2010

GIGABYTE X58A-UD3R earns SuperSpeed USB certification

X58A_UD3R_L

Good news from the USB-IF this morning: the GA-X58A-UD3R motherboard just passed SuperSpeed USB certification and is now listed on the SuperSpeed USB Compliance Home page.

A list of USB 3.0 motherboards from GIGABYTE is available here.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

GIGABYTE X58A-UD9 photos are starting to suface online

Photos of GIGABYTE's latest monster motherboard X58A-UD9 are starting to surface on forums and websites.

Check out some of the shots over at XtremeSystems: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=4337135#post4337135

Justin from Atomic Magazine in Australia is also mighty impressed with the board in his preview here: http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/Review/172001,gigabyte-x58a-ud9.aspx

Announcing the GIGABYTE Desktop Wallpaper Contest

Desktop Wallpaper Contest_L

Create your own wallpaper to win a GIGABYTE PC from GIGABYTE (www.gigabyte.eu) and PIXELGANGSTER (www.pixelgangster.de).

GIGABYTE and PIXELGANGSTER are looking for the best desktop wallpaper and anybody with graphic design skills is welcome to take part in the contest. To participate, submit your wallpaper designs before April 30th and from the voting for the best wallpaper design will start from May 1st. The winner will be the GIGABYTE theme with the most hits and downloads. The full list of prizes are:

1st place: Hyrican PC (GIGABYTE Edition)

2nd place GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H Motherboard

3rd place: GIGABYTE KM 7580 Mouse/Keyboard

Additional information can be found at:

1. English: http://event.gigabyte.de/wallpaper2010/index.php?lang=en

2. German: http://event.gigabyte.de/wallpaper2010

Monday, April 12, 2010

GIGABYTE motherboard iPad charge Q&A

We’re getting quite a few queries about the previous blog entry (iPad charging from GIGABYTE motherboards with 3x USB power) so we have prepared a basic question and answer sheet. Go ahead and leave and unanswered questions in the comments section below this post and we’ll update the list with new answers.

1. Why can’t most motherboards charge the iPad?

a. Industry reports say that the 2.5W (0.5A x 5V= 2.5W) provided by standard USB 2.0 ports is not enough to charge the iPad during the device’s operation. However, it is enough for a slow charge if the device is shut down. New Apple PCs apparently provide 5.5W (1.1A x 5V = 5.5W) from their USB 2.0 ports, enabling iPad charging both while the device is being used (on) and when it is not being used (off).

2. What can users do to enable iPad charging from their GIGABYTE motherboards?

a. Users of GIGABYTE motherboards based on Intel X58, P55, H57, H55 and new AMD 800 series chipsets can download and install the on/off Charge driver from the GIGABYTE motherboard utilities web page in order enable iPad charging.

3. Where can users download the GIGABYTE On/Off Charge driver?

a. The GIGABYTE On/Off Charge driver is available from: http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/Utility_DownloadFile.aspx?FileType=Utility&FileID=148.

4. What enables certain GIGABYTE motherboards to charge an iPad?

a. Firstly the On/Off driver allows the motherboard to communicate with the iPad and tell it to start charging. Secondly, we also have GIGABYTE 3x USB power from all USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports that effectively makes triple the amount of power available to each USB port for charging and powering USB devices. So there are two features from GIGABYTE that enable iPad charging both while it is in operation and also when it is not.

5. Is iPad charging part of GIGABYTE 3x USB power technology?

a. Yes, GIGABYTE 3 x USB power allows for triple the amount of power from USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports. The actual amount of power being used by the iPad is determined by the iPad itself (as it is with all devices). GIGABYTE 3X USB power simply makes additional power available so that it is there for devices that demand more power. Here is a list of relevant power specifications:

 

Standard Specifications

GIGABYTE 3x USB

USB 2.0 ports

0.5A x 5V = 2.5W

1.5A x 5V = 7.5W

USB 3.0 ports

0.9A x 5V = 4.5W

2.7A x 5V = 13.5W

6. Which models support iPad charging?

a. The following models support iPad charging:

Intel X58

Intel P55

GA-X58A-UD7

GA-P55A-UD7

GA-P55-UD4

GA-P55-UD3L

GA-EX58-EXTREME

GA-P55A-UD6

GA-P55M-UD4

GA-P55-US3L

GA-X58A-UD5

GA-P55-UD6-C

GA-P55A-UD3P

GA-P55M-UD2

GA-EX58-UD5

GA-P55-UD6

GA-P55A-UD3R

GA-P55-USB3

GA-EX58-UD4P

GA-P55A-UD5

GA-P55-UD3P

GA-P55-USB3L

GA-EX58-UD4

GA-P55-UD5

GA-P55A-UD3

GA-X58A-UD3R

GA-P55A-UD4P

GA-P55-UD3R

GA-EX58-UD3R

GA-P55A-UD4

GA-P55-UD3L-TPM

GA-EX58-DS4

GA-P55-UD4P

GA-P55-UD3

Intel H57

Intel H55

AMD 800

GA-H57M-USB3

GA-H55-UD3H

GA-890GPA-UD3H

GA-H55M-UD2H

GA-890XA-UD3

GA-H55M-S2H

More to be announced soon…

GA-H55-USB3

GA-H55M-USB3

Over 40 GIGABYTE motherboard models allow you to charge your iPad – while you use it!

Last week the web was awash with iPad news. Some news was positive while other news not so positive due to the relatively high iPad power requirements for recharging from PC USB 2.0 ports. Yahoo News has a good report with the most important details.

Here’s a summary: PCs with normal USB 2.0 ports offer only 500mA (0.5A x 5V = 2.5W) and this is not enough to charge the iPad while it is being used (while it is On), but allows for a trickle charge (read slow charge) it when it is shut down (while it is Off) . Some new Apple systems offer 1,100mA (1.1A x 5V = 5.5W) and this is apparently enough to fully charge the iPad while it is being used (On) and when it is shut down (Off) in a couple of hours.

GIGABYTE 3x USB Power

So here’s the good news: GIGABYTE USB 3.0 motherboards feature a very unique technology that we call 3x USB power. This essentially triples the amperage from the USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports in the I/O panel and also from the onboard headers that provide front panel USB ports. That means that we can provide 1,500mA (1.5A x 5V = 7.5W) from our USB 2.0 ports and 2,700mA (2.7A x 5V = 13.5W) from our USB 3.0 ports. Of course the device using the USB port dictates how much power it actually draws – we make the additional power available to the device.

So how can you enable iPad charging from your GIGABYTE motherboard? It’s simple, any GIGABYTE mobo based on an Intel X58, P55, H57, H55 and AMD 800 series chipset can support iPad charging after you’ve downloaded and installed the new On/Off Charge driver.

You can also find a video explanation here and we will follow-up with more info and pictures on the GIGABYTE Motherboard Tech Column facebook fan page. The official GIGABYTE news release will be available from here.

Bitfenix to feature SuperSpeed USB front connectors compatible with GIGABYTE USB 3.0 mobos

Bitfenix

Our friends over at Bitfenix have recently released their new website in preparation for their launch. We are hearing about some really interesting new USB 3.0 compliant products from the startup and are already working on compatibility testing with GIGABYTE USB 3.0 motherboards.

PC cases with USB 3.0 support are particularly interesting here at GIGABYTE because they will make up a new product category for our list of USB 3.0 motherboard compatible products from our SuperSpeed USB partners. Stay tuned for more details around Computex time.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

USB 3.0 voted most important new motherboard technology

USB 3.0 Poll

A recent reader survey on TweakTown polled 5021 readers about what they think is the most important new motherboard technology. USB 3.0 won with a convincing 29%. CPU upgradeability and SATA 3.0 (6Gbps) followed in 2nd and 3rd place with 23% and 22% respectively.

Another high scoring item was overclockability with 12%. The full results can be found here.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Midget H55 motherboard showdown: mobo round-up from The Tech Report

Tech Report Award

The Tech Report has an excellent round-up of small form factor H55 chipset mobos that compares offerings from a number of vendors including GIGABYTE. Here are some good quotes:

“Gigabyte has scaled the motherboard market in recent years and is now on relatively equal footing with long-time industry leader Asus.”

“Why pay that much more for the (other mobo) when the Gigabyte gets you roughly the same feature set and performance for just $110? It's not like the H55M-USB3 is just cheaper—it also serves up a second physical x16 slot, RAID support for two SATA ports, and a DisplayPort connector for integrated graphics. The H55M-USB3 is more power-efficient than the EVO at idle, too, and it's nearly as good an overclocker.”

Read the review conclusion here.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Two Rosewill 3.5 inch enclosures pass GIGABYTE USB 3.0 motherboard compatibility testing

Roswill USB 3

The newest additions to the GIGABYTE USB 3.0 motherboard compatibility list are two LED lit external enclosures from Rosewill. They come in two attractive flavors: black and silver. Here’s a closer look at the black version:

Rosewill External 3.5 USB 3_L

More information is available at www.usb3motherbaord.com or from the Rosewill website.

Swedish overclocking champion "Elmor" breaks 32M SuperPi World Record on GIGABYTE X58A-UD9


GIGABYTE X58A-UD9 motherboard was behind yet another significant global world record today. Elmor, Swedish overclocking champion, broke the record with a Core i7 980X running at 6431MHz. GIGABYTE's bios engineers made some significant changes with help of some top overclockers to improve bios efficiency beyond its competitors. Congratulations Elmor!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Thermaltake USB 3.0 single bay docking station passes GIGABYTE compatibility testing

At CES this year we saw some very interesting USB 3.0 external drive docking stations from Thermaltake. The first is a single bay version that has just passed GIGABYTE USB 3.0 motherboard compatibility testing.

Thermaltake Single Bay

It’s called the BlackX5G and if, like me, you can’t find it on their website keep an eye on this page and it should show up soon. I for one am looking forward to the dual drive docking station because it’s a perfect fit for the 5Gb/s bandwidth that SuperSpeed USB has to offer (2 x 2.5Gb/s SATA 2 drives = 5gB/s). Hopefully we’ll be playing around with one of those big boys soon.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

More GIGABYTE USB 3.0 Mini-ITX goodness

image

SemiAccurate.com has published some pictures of the soon to be released GA-H55N-USB3- the world’s smallest USB 3.0 motherboard. The picture above shows the I/O panel that is jam-packed with high definition video and audio ports.

We’re currently at the SuperSpeed USB developers conference in Taipei where Henry Kao, our Senior VP of worldwide sales and marketing, was asked to speak during the keynote about market acceptance – we shipped our 1 millionth USB 3.0 mobo in March. This baby is also on display here for the first time with it’s retail box alongside it. Have a look at the tiny case it’s in below.

Not surprisingly, the two most common applications that are being mentioned for the Mini Monster are a media center in a similar case to the picture above, and also a portable LAN gaming system with a VGA card in the PCIe x16 slot. Silverstone has some nice chasses for this purpose.

Here’s another picture of the board in my hand where you can see my fingers protruding beyond the top and sides of the board.

DSC04111