First USB 3.0 hub passes GIGABYTE USB 3.0 mobo compatibility testing

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

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…

New photo album for AMD 800 motherboard series on facebook

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.

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.

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.

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.

Auto 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.”

On/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.

USB 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.

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.

SATA 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

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The official press re;ease with prettier formatting is available here.

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

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

On/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:

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

GO OC UK Country Qualifiers

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.

News: ASMedia seeks USB 3.0 chip orders with aggressive quotes

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.