AMD made additions to its Radeon-branded SSD lineup, with the new R3 Series. Targeted at the entry-level segment, these drives come in capacities of 120 GB, 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB; and combine TLC NAND flash memory with Silicon Motion SM2256KX controllers. The 120 GB, 240 GB, and 480 GB variants offer read speeds of up to 520 MB/s, the 960 GB variant up to 510 MB/s. The 120 GB variant writes at up to 360 MB/s, the 240 GB and 480 GB variants at 470 MB/s, and the 960 GB variant at up to 450 MB/s. The drives are built in the 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch form-factor, and feature the SATA 6 Gb/s interface. The 120 GB, 240 GB, and 480 GB variants are priced at US $40.99, $69.99, and $136.99, respectively. Prices of the 960 GB variant are not known.

ASRock introduced the H110M-HDVP entry-level socket LGA1151 motherboard with additional legacy connectivity for office PC builds to cope with old peripherals. The board is built in the slim micro-ATX form-factor, drawing power from a combination of 24-pin and 4-pin ATX power connectors, conditioning it with a basic 3+1 phase VRM. The board features two DDR4 DIMM slots, supporting up to 32 GB of dual-channel memory.

Expansion slots on the H110M-HDVP include one each of PCI-Express 3.0 x16, legacy PCI, and two PCIe 2.0 x1. Storage connectivity includes four SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Display outputs include one each of HDMI, D-Sub, and DVI. Among its legacy connectivity options are two RS-232 serial COM ( one on the rear panel, one via header), parallel LPT (through header), and separate PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports. Four USB 3.0 ports (two via headers, two on the rear panel), 6-channel HD audio, and gigabit Ethernet, make for its modern connectivity. Expect a sub-$80 price.

Lite-On unveiled the Mu-II line of consumer SSDs. Built in the 2.5-inch form-factor with SATA 6 Gb/s interface, the drives come in capacities of 120 GB, 240 GB, and 480 GB. The drives feature Toshiba-made 15 nm TLC NAND flash memory. The 480 GB variant offers sequential speeds of up to 555 MB/s reads with 520 MB/s writes; the 240 GB and 480 GB variants, and up to 500 MB/s reads with up to 360 MB/s writes for the 120 GB variant. Standard features include TRIM and NCQ. The drives will be backed by 3-year warranties.

ECS introduced the H110I-C4P value mini-ITX motherboard based on the Intel H110 Express chipset, and designed for 6th generation Core, Pentium, and Celeron processors, in the LGA1151 package. The board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 4-pin CPU power connectors; conditioning it for the CPU with a simple 4-phase VRM. The CPU is wired to a pair of DDR4 DIMM slots, supporting up to 32 GB of dual-channel DDR4-2133 memory.

Expansions slots include a PCI-Express 3.0 x16, and an M.2 2242 slot with 20 Gb/s bandwidth. Storage connectivity includes four SATA 6 Gb/s connectors. Display connectivity includes one each of DisplayPort and HDMI. Other modern connectivity includes four USB 3.0 ports (two on the rear panel, two by headers), 6-channel HD audio, and gigabit Ethernet. Expect a sub-$80 price-tag.

Intel unveiled the SSD 5 series (SSD 540s) of mainstream solid-state drives. The SSD 5 Series is part of Intel's new nomenclature for its consumer SSD lineup. The SSD 7 Series leads the pack with the highest performance, leveraging exotic interfaces such as M.2 PCIe, U.2, or PCIe add-on card, and NVMe protocol; the SSD 5 Pro series retains conventional 2.5-inch SATA 6 Gb/s and M.2 SATA interfaces, but with the fastest MLC NAND flash memory. The SSD 5 series, however, offers TLC NAND flash memory, and is designed to be cost-effective.

The SSD 5 series comes in capacities of 180 GB, 240 GB, 360 GB, 480 GB, and 1 TB, and in two form-factors - 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch, and 80 mm M.2 with SATA 6 Gb/s interface. Transfer rates vary by model, but you're looking at read speeds of up to 560 MB/s, with write speeds of up to 480 MB/s. The SSD 5 Series is perhaps the only TLC NAND flash SSD in the market to ship with a 5-year warranty.

Plextor announced the M7V, a new line of cost-effective consumer SSDs, which succeed the M6V Series launched last July. Available in 2.5-inch and M.2 form-factors, the drives take advantage of the SATA 6 Gb/s interface. Available in capacities of 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB, the M7V is driven by a Marvell 88SS1074B1 processor, wired to Toshiba 15 nm TLC NAND flash memory, and DDR3 DRAM caches of 256 MB, 512 MB, and 768 MB, respectively. The 512 GB M.2 variant features higher 1 GB DRAM cache. The drives offer sequential transfer rates of up to 560 MB/s reads on all three variants, with up to 500 MB/s, 530 MB/s, and 530 MB/s, respectively. Depending on the capacity, you get a manufacturer rated TBW tolerance of 80 TB, 160 TB, or 320 TB. Plextor didn't announce pricing.

QNAP Systems, Inc. today released the world's first M.2 SSD-based NAS - the TBS-453A NASbook. Featuring a quad-core Intel processor and using M.2 SSDs for storage, the TBS-453A not only provides full NAS functionalities with RAID protection in an ultra-compact size, but can also act as a physical network switch and share network access with multiple users. With its compact, near-silent design, dual HDMI output, and 4K display, the TBS-453A NASbook can fit in anywhere to boost the productivity and connectivity of small offices.

"M.2 SSDs are now used in thin-and-light laptops and small-form-factor PCs. Remarkably small in size, they deliver high performance with zero noise and are expected to become more affordable as they become more popular," said Jason Hsu, Product Manager of QNAP, adding "In light of M.2 SSD's benefits, we are proud to present the industry-first TBS-453A M.2 SSD NASbook to provide users with a portable yet versatile NAS."

GIGABYTE unveiled its flagship socket AM3+ motherboard featuring an up-to-date feature-set, the 990FX-Gaming. The board is part of the new wave of socket AM3+ motherboards AMD promised, in its recent AMD FX + Wraith release, to serve up modern connectivity such as USB 3.1 and M.2 slots with NVMe support. The board supports 220W FX-9000 series processors, in addition to the latest FX-8370, out of the box. It draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors, and conditions it using a 10-phase VRM.

The AM3+ socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR3-2400 MHz memory; and the AMD 990FX north bridge. This chip puts out two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots. The board's third PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slot is electrical x4, and wired to the SB950 southbridge. Storage connectivity includes six SATA 6 Gb/s ports, and an M.2 (20 Gb/s) slot. The board features GIGABYTE's top of the line AMP-Up onboard audio implementation, including a 110 dBA SNR CODEC, a TI Burr Brown OPA2134 user-replaceable OPAMP, Nichicon Muse capacitors, and ground-layer isolation. Networking is care of a Killer E2201 controller. Modern connectivity includes two USB 3.1 ports, and four USB 3.0 ports. The board is driven by UEFI BIOS, and features GIGABYTE's dual-UEFI tech. GIGABYTE is pricing the 990FX-Gaming at US $150.

GIGABYTE unveiled the F2A88X-D3HP mid-range socket FM2+ motherboard, based on AMD A88X chipset. Built in the ATX form-factor, the board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors; conditioning it for the APU with a 6-phase VRM. Expansion slots include one PCI-Express 3.0 x16, a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4), two legacy PCI, and three PCIe 2.0 x1 slots.

The board supports up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR3-2400 memory. Storage connectivity includes eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Modern connectivity includes two USB 3.1 (10 Gb/s) ports, with one each of type-A and type-C; and four USB 3.0 ports (two on the rear panel, two via headers). Display outputs include HDMI 1.4a, dual-link DVI, and D-Sub. 8-channel HD audio with ground-layer isolation and electrolytic capacitors; and gigabit Ethernet, make for the rest of its connectivity. The board is driven by UEFI BIOS, with GIGABYTE's proprietary Dual-UEFI technology.

Plextor announced the M6S Plus line of performance consumer SSDs, succeeding the company's current M6S lineup. The drives implement Toshiba A19 toggle NAND flash memory built on the 15 nm process, and are driven by Marvell 88SS9188 controllers. Available in 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB variants, the drives serve up sequential transfer rates of up to 520 MB/s reads on all three variants, and up to 300 MB/s, 420 MB/s, and 440 MB/s writes, respectively. Random access speeds range up to 90,000 IOPS reads, with up to 80,000 IOPS writes. Plextor's proprietary PlexTurbo data-caching and PlexCompressor data-compression tech carries over from the M6S. Built in the 7 mm thick, 2.5-inch form-factor, the drives feature SATA 6 Gb/s interface.

Sony is making its international debut in consumer SSDs, with the SLW-M series. The company was selling some of its first SSDs locally in Japan. Built in the 7 mm thick 2.5-inch form-factor, the drives feature SATA 6 Gb/s interface, and come in capacities of 240 GB (SLW-MG2) and 480 GB (SLW-MG4). There's no word on the controller or NAND flash make, but the company is advertising performance figures of up to 560 MB/s reads, with up to 530 MB/s writes. A 9.5 mm spacer, and a license to Acronis True image 2015 HD come included. Sony is also including its very own drive management software, the Sony SSD Toolbox.Update: DIYPC HK posted a picture of the drive's PCB. It reveals a rebranded Phison S10 series controller, and Toshiba A19 TLC NAND flash.

ASRock introduced the A88M-ITXac socket FM2+ motherboard. As its name suggests, the board is built in the mini-ITX form-factor, and is based on AMD A88X chipset, supporting the latest socket FM2+ APUs and CPUs. The board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors, conditioning it with a 5-phase CPU VRM. The socket is wired to two DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting up to 32 GB of dual-channel DDR3-2400 memory; and the board's lone expansion slot - a PCI-Express 3.0 x16.

Storage connectivity on the A88M-ITXac includes six SATA 6 Gb/s ports, and an M.2 PCIe port (on the reverse side of the PCB). Network connectivity includes 802.11ac WLAN (up to 433 Mbps), Bluetooth 4.0, and gigabit Ethernet. Display outputs include one each of HDMI 1.4a, dual-link DVI, and D-Sub. The board supports AMD Dual-Graphics, which lets you run the APU's onboard graphics in tandem with a select Radeon discrete graphics card, for added performance. Four USB 3.0 ports, and 6-channel HD audio make up the board's modern connectivity. The company didn't announce pricing.

AMD marks a major step towards delivering choice and innovation in the data center with the launch of the AMD Opteron A1100 System-on-Chip (SoC), formerly codenamed "Seattle". Jointly with its software and hardware partners, AMD is accelerating time-to-deployment of ARM-based systems and driving forward ecosystem support for ARM in the data center.

"The ecosystem for ARM in the data center is approaching an inflection point and the addition of AMD's high-performance processor is another strong step forward for customers looking for a data center-class ARM solution," said Scott Aylor, corporate vice president and general manager, Enterprise Solutions, AMD. "The macro trend of convergence between networking, storage and servers is an important catalyst in this evolution. Customers now have access to 64-bit ARM processors from the only silicon provider that also has decades of experience delivering professional enterprise and embedded products."

Samsung launched the 750 EVO line of mainstream SSDs, designed for the OEM channel, particularly business desktops and notebooks. These 2.5-inch drives, featuring SATA 6 Gb/s interfaces, offer extended corporate warranty periods. Some models offer warranties as high as 6-year, others 5-year. The drives are available in two capacities, 120 GB and 250 GB, with variants based on warranty policy on offer. Under the hood, these drives offer a feature set similar to the 850 EVO series - up to 540 MB/s sequential reads, up to 520 MB/s sequential writes, 97,000 IOPS 4K random access for the 250 GB variant, and 94,000 IOPS random access for the 120 GB variant.

Here are some of the first pictures of GIGABYTE's upcoming B150N Phoenix mini-ITX motherboard for socket LGA1151 processors. Positioned between its mainline 100-series N products, such as the H170N-WiFi and its more premium Z170-based ones; this distinctively branded board features an orange+black color scheme (probably signifying the legend of the Phoenix?). Its PCB is a slight variation on that of the H170N-WiFi, although the two aren't identical.

The B150N Phoenix takes input from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors, with a simple 5-phase VRM conditioning it for the CPU. The CPU socket is wired to two DDR4 DIMM slots, and a PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot. An mPCIe 3.0 x1 slot wired to the PCH, drives the board's included WLAN+Bluetooth card. Modern connectivity includes USB 3.1 (one each of type-A and type-C ports), six other USB 3.0 ports (four on the rear panel, two by header), gigabit Ethernet, and 8-channel HD audio. Display outputs include HDMI and DVI. Four SATA 6 Gb/s ports and a 32 Gb/s M.2 slot (reverse side of the PCB) make up for the storage connectivity. The company didn't disclose pricing.

Compact desktop maker Shuttle is giving final touches to its XPC SH170R6 compact desktop barebones system. Designed to support 6th generation Intel Core "Skylake" processors, the SH170R6 gets you started with a custom-design motherboard based on the Intel H170 Express chipset, with two expansion slots (one PCI-Express 3.0 x16 and one PCI-Express 3.0 x4); four DDR4 DIMM slots, a 32 Gb/s M.2 slot, four SATA 6 Gb/s ports; a heat-pipe based CPU cooler, and an 80 Plus Bronze rated 300W power supply.

The case itself offers room for a 5.25-inch optical drive, and two 3.5-inch drives (one of which is an externally accessible bay). The system board offers external connectivity of two DisplayPort 1.2 connectors (supports one Ultra HD display), an HDMI port, six USB 3.0 ports, an eSATA 6 Gb/s port, gigabit Ethernet, and 8-channel HD audio. There's provision for an mPCIe WLAN card. Slated for release later this month, the SH170R6 is expected to be priced at 258€ excluding VAT (around 307€ with 19% VAT).

Ahead of its launch, ASUS showed off its flagship socket LGA1151 motherboard, the ROG Maximus VIII Extreme. Based on the Intel Z170 Express chipset, this board offers the largest feature-set from ASUS' stable, for the enthusiast crowd. Built in the ATX (almost E-ATX wide) form-factor, the board retains the styling of its series siblings, such as the Maximus VIII Hero, but does away with the red+black for a more contemporary golden orange+black scheme, which made its debut with the GeForce GTX 980 Ti MATRIX Platinum graphics card (also pictured here).

The board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, 8-pin EPS, and 4-pin ATX power connectors, and conditions it for the CPU with a 16-phase VRM. The CPU socket is wired to four DDR4 DIMM slots. Expansion slots include four PCI-Express 3.0 x16, from which three are wired to the CPU, and one to the PCH. All four are PCIe gen 3.0. Storage connectivity includes an SFF-8639 U.2 32 Gb/s connector, an M.2 32 Gb/s slot, two SATA-Express 16 Gb/s, and eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Networking includes 802.11 ac WLAN, Bluetooth 4.0, and gigabit Ethernet (all Intel controllers). The new SupremeFX onboard audio solution borrows a lot of tech from ASUS' discrete sound cards, and comes with an 5.25-inch front-panel bay with rotary controls, and front-panel jacks. The board features a boat-load of overclocker-centric features, including dual-BIOS.

MSI launched its premium socket LGA1151 motherboard for the mini-ITX form-factor, the Z170I Gaming Pro AC. The board offers a premium feature-set, including support for dual-channel DDR4 memory, with MSI's DDR4 Boost technology. It draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors, and conditions it using a 5-phase VRM. Expansion slots include a PCI-Express 3.0 x16, an mPCIe (for the WLAN card), and an M.2 (reverse side of the board), with PCI-Express 3.0 x4 wiring.

Storage connectivity includes an M.2 slot (reverse side of the PCB), with 32 Gb/s PCIe bandwidth, and four SATA 6 Gb/s ports, two of which convert to a SATA-Express 16 Gb/s connector. Display outputs include one each of DisplayPort and HDMI. Networking features include a gigabit Ethernet interface (Intel controller), 802.11 ac, and Bluetooth 4.0. The onboard audio solution packs an 8-channel 115 dBA SNR CODEC. There's also a USB 2.0 port specialized for USB headsets. Six USB 3.0 ports make for the rest of it.

GIGABYTE unveiled its first BRIX mini-PC that's powered by Intel Celeron N3000 "Braswell" SoC. The 14 nm chip embeds a dual-core CPU based on the "Airmont" micro-architecture, clocked at 1.04 GHz, with a Turbo Boost frequency of 2.08 GHz; and featuring HyperThreading. Also embedded are 1 MB of cache, an 8th generation Intel IGP with 12 execution units, and a dual-channel DDR3L-1600 IMC.

The BRIX measures 56.1 mm x 107.6 mm x 114.4 mm, and is a barebones unit, you'll have to add your own memory and storage. Despite the chip's dual-channel memory interface, BRIX only offers one DDR3L SO-DIMM slot (max 8 GB). Storage connectivity includes an M.2 slot with both PCIe 2.0 x2 and SATA 6 Gb/s wiring, and a 9 mm thick 2.5-inch drive bay with SATA 6 Gb/s. A micro-SD slot is also offered. Network connectivity includes gigabit Ethernet. Display outputs include HDMI and D-Sub. 2-channel HD audio, and four USB 3.0 ports make for the rest of it.

MSI is set to fuse its two premium motherboard lines - OC Series and Gaming, with its upcoming Z170 family. The company's upcoming Z170 XPower Gaming Titanium Edition is the first such product. This stunning looking board features a silvery-white PCB, with the frosty-silver scheme continuing on to the chipset and VRM heatsinks. Its main PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (which are wired to the CPU), feature a chrome tipped slot brace. Built in the ATX form-factor, the Z170 XPower Gaming Titanium Edition draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, 8-pin EPS, 4-pin ATX, and 6-pin PCIe power connectors. It uses a 16-phase VRM with tantalum capacitors, to condition power for the CPU. The CPU is wired to four DDR4 DIMM slots, supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel memory.

Expansion slots include four PCI-Express 3.0 x16, from which three are wired to the CPU (electrical x16/NC/NC or x8/NC/x8 or x8/x4/x4); the fourth is electrical PCIe 3.0 x4 and wired to the PCH. Three PCIe 3.0 x1 slots make for the rest of the expansion area. Storage connectivity includes two M.2 32 Gb/s slots, two SATA-Express 16 Gb/s, and eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Display outputs include one each of DisplayPort and HDMI. USB connectivity includes 4 USB 3.1 slots, which include a mixture of type-A and type-C, with a physical type-A port pointing "forwards." MSI AudioBoost 3 audio solution, and Killer E2200 NIC make for the rest of its connectivity. The board features a detachable module with OC controls, called the OC Dashboard. This plugs into headers around the voltage measurement points. You also get automatic overclocking via a rotary knob. MSI will launch this board in its first wave of socket LGA1151 motherboards.

With its 6th generation Core "Skylake" processors, Intel is throwing in everything it's got, into increasing performance of the integrated graphics. This is necessitated not by some newfound urge to compete with entry-discrete GPUs from NVIDIA or AMD, but a rather sudden increase in display resolutions, after nearly a decade of stagnation. Notebook and tablet designers are wanting to cram in higher resolution displays, such as WQHD (2560 x 1440), 4K (3840 x 2160), and beyond, and are finding it impossible to achieve them without discrete graphics. This is what Intel is likely after. The aftereffect of this effort would be that the iGPU will be finally capable of playing some games at 720p or 900p resolutions, with moderate eye-candy. Games such as League of Legends should be fairly playable, even at 1080p. Intel claims that its 9th generation integrated graphics will over a 50% performance increment over the previous generation.

Moving on to CPU, and the performance-increase is a predictable 10-20% single/multi-thread CPU performance, over "Broadwell." This is roughly similar to how "Haswell" bettered "Ivy Bridge," and how "Sandy Bridge" bettered "Lynnfield." Intel will provide platform support on some of its "Skylake-U" ultraportable variants, for much of the modern I/O used by today's tablets and notebooks, which required third-party controllers, and which competing semi-custom SoCs natively offer, such as eMMC 5.0, SDIO 3.0, SATA 6 Gb/s, PCIe gen 3.0, and USB 3.0. Communications are also improved, with 2x 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 4.1, and WiDi 6.0.

Here's the first picture of GIGABYTE's upcoming Gaming 3 motherboard. We're not allowed to name the chipset, that's as well-guarded a secret as Coca Cola's recipe, so you'll just have to use your imagination. This socket LGA1151 motherboard, is designed to strike a price-features sweetspot, and supports 2-way NVIDIA SLI and AMD CrossFireX. Built in the ATX form-factor, the board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS connectors, and offers a 7-phase CPU VRM. The socket is wired to four DDR4 DIMM slots, supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR4 memory, and two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (x8/x8, when both are populated). A third PCI-Express x16 slot (electrical gen 3.0 x4), is wired to the PCH, along with three other PCI-Express 3.0 x1 slots.

Storage connectivity includes two 32 Gb/s M.2 slots, three SATA-Express 16 Gb/s, and six SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Among the USB connectivity are two USB 3.1 ports (with at least one type-C port), at least eight USB 3.0 ports (from which four are given out via headers), and a number of USB 2.0/1.1 ports. The AMP-UP audio solution combines a 115 dBA SNR CODEC with ground-layer isolation, an OPAMP tuned for gaming and music, audio-grade capacitors, and EMI shielding. Networking is care of a Killer E2200 chip. Display outputs include D-Sub, DVI, and HDMI. GIGABYTE-exclusive Dual-UEFI BIOS is featured. Also offered is TurboOverclock+, a hardware-based overclock automation and stability testing system. This board will be a part of GIGABYTE's first wave of next-generation motherboards. It will include keys to some cool World of Tanks DLC.

OCZ announced the Trion 100, a new lineup of cost-effective SSD for first-time users graduating from HDDs, and for those who want fast read-intensive drives to replace storage HDDs in their systems. Some extremely low price-per-gigabyte figures build their case. The drive features 19 nm TLC NAND flash chips made by Toshiba, driven by a controller also made by Toshiba. This controller features an SLC-caching tech that deals with a small portion of the TLC NAND flash as SLC (by storing just one bit per cell), which has the maximum sequential transfer performance. The controller juggles hot-data in and out of this portion from the rest of the TLC area. Other controller features include DEVSLEEP mode support. In this mode, the drive draws just 6 mW of power. Other essentials such as TRIM and NCQ are also featured.

OCZ Trion 100 comes in four capacities - 120 GB, 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB, priced at US $56.99, $87.99, $184.99, and $369.99, respectively. All four variants offer sequential read speeds of up to 550 MB/s, while the maximum sequential-write speeds are rated at 450 MB/s, 520 MB/s, 530 MB/s, and 530 MB/s, respectively. The maximum 4K random-read performance for the 120 GB variant is rated at 79,000 IOPS; while the other three offer up to 90,000 IOPS. Random-write performance figures for the four variants are 25,000 IOPS, 43,000 IOPS, 54,000 IOPS, and 64,000 IOPS, respectively. The drives are built in the 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch form-factor, with SATA 6 Gb/s interface. The drives ship with OCZ's SSDGuru software that lets you monitor the drive's health, update its firmware, and wipe it. OCZ is offering a 3-year warranty with these drives.Read our review of the OCZ Trion 100 480GB.

ASUS introduced the N3150-C and N3050-C, two mini-ITX motherboards based on the Intel Celeron quad-core N3150 and N3050 SoCs, respectively. The two SoCs are based on the "Braswell" silicon, embedding quad-core or dual-core CPUs based on the 64-bit x86 "Airmont" CPU micro-architecture. The dual-core N3050 features HyperThreading, enabling four logical CPUs, while the quad-core N3150 lacks it. Both chips also embed dual-channel DDR3L IMCs, supporting up to 8 GB of memory; 8th generation Intel graphics with 12 execution units, and TDPs under 6W.

The N3150-C and N3050-C from ASUS feature a common PCB design, with 24+4 pin power inputs, two full-size DDR3 DIMM slots, a single open-ended PCI-Express 2.0 x4 expansion slot, an mPCIe slot, two each of SATA 6 Gb/s, USB 3.0, and USB 2.0 ports, 6-channel HD audio, gigabit Ethernet, HDMI and D-Sub display outputs; and legacy connectivity that includes two PS/2 ports, and a serial (RS-232) port.

For those looking to build a gaming rig on a shoestring budget, yet want a "gamer-centric" motherboard that has good onboard audio, GIGABYTE launched just the thing - the P85-Gaming 3. This socket LGA1150 motherboard is based on Intel B85 Express chipset, and derives the "P" in its model name from the fact that it has minimal connectivity for its integrated graphics (just one HDMI port), since its target buyers use discrete graphics cards anyway. The board is built in the slim (190 mm wide) ATX form-factor, and draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors. The CPU is powered by a basic 4-phase VRM.

Expansion slots include one PCI-Express 3.0 x16, a second x16 slot that's electrical gen 2.0 x4 and wired to the PCH; and two each of PCIe 2.0 x1 and legacy PCI. Storage connectivity includes four SATA 6 Gb/s and two SATA 3 Gb/s. Its onboard audio solution features a Realtek ALC892 CODEC, backed by audio-grade electrolytic capacitors, a headphones amp, and ground-layer isolation. Gigabit Ethernet, and four USB 3.0 ports (two on the rear panel, two by headers), make for the rest of it. Expect an attractive sub-$100 price tag.