GIGABYTE created UEFI-equipped revisions of most of its socket AM3+ motherboards with the advent of FX "Vishera" processors last year, but held back with its flagship motherboard for the platform, the 990FXA-UD7. The company released an updated revision of the motherboard, dubbed 990FXA-UD7 Rev 3.0, completely skipping "Rev 2.0." While the new board is essentially laid out similar to its predecessor, a lot has changed.

To begin with, its based on GIGABYTE's newer (though not latest) Ultra Durable 4 construction. A 10-phase high-amperage VRM powers the AM3+ socket, which appears to be ready for AMD's FX-9000 series CPUs for overclockers. The CPU VRM uses driver-MOSFETs, although not quite the PowIRStage chippery we find on Ultra Durable 5 motherboards. A thicker, chunkier heatsink is used to cool these driver-MOSFETs and the AMD 990FX northbridge. This cluster of heatsinks is connected to the one that cools the AMD SB950 southbridge over a heat pipe. The AM3+ socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, which support up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR3-2000+ MHz memory.

Cooler Master showed off its Hyper 103 compact tower-type CPU cooler at Computex. Pictured below, the cooler is ideal for single-fan configurations, and features a stack of trapezoid aluminum fins, to which heat is transferred by three 6 mm-thick copper heat pipes. This stack is ventilated by a custom-design 92 mm PWM-controllable fan. The fan retention lets you swap out the included fan with any other standard 92 mm one. The stock fan spins at 800 - 2,200 RPM, pushing up to 43.1 CFM of air, with up to 30 dBA noise. The cooler weighs about 580 g (500 g heatsink with 80 g fan). It measures 108 x 89.5 x 138.5 mm. All modern CPU socket types are supported, including LGA2011, LGA115x, LGA1366, AM3+/AM3, and FM2/FM1.

After the successful launch of the ETS-T40 series, Enermax now presents a new line of CPU Coolers in the series, the ETS-T40-Black Twister (ETS-T40-BK) and ETS-T40-White Cluster (ETS-T40-W). The new lineup not only inherits the superior performance of the ETS-T40 series with patented technologies, but also features an attractive heat sink decked out in a stunning coat, increasing the options and appeal of the ETS-T40 series family.

Black Twister and White Cluster are available in midnight black and arctic white colors, respectively. Both models employ a unique TCC (Thermal Conductive Coating) to create better velocity of thermal transference and prevent oxidation on the contact surface. ETS-T40-Black Twister features a circular blue LED PWM fan for a mesmerizing presentation. On the other hand, ETS-T40-White Cluster is equipped with the white LED fan with the unique PWM APS (Adjustable Peak Speed) control which offers 3 peak RPM options to satisfy the needs of consumers who prefer manual adjustability.

Antec unveiled a pair of new all-in-one CPU coolers in the Kühler H2O series, the Kühler H2O 1250 and Kühler H2O 650 (pictured in that order). The two build over their Series 4 predecessors with more powerful pumps, and new high-airflow fans that focus airflow through the radiator. The fan's motor doubles up as the pump's, and so the air and coolant flow are in perfect proportion. The H2O 650 features a 120 x 120 size radiator with a single fan, while the H2O 1250 doubles the dissipation area with a larger 240 x 120 radiator, that uses two of those fans. The two ship with support for the latest CPU socket types, including LGA115x, LGA1366, LGA2011, AM3+/AM3, and FM2/FM1.

Mid-April, we learned that AMD was working on its next "TWKR" chip for overclockers, based on the existing "Vishera" silicon. It turns out it is, and scrapes 5.00 GHz frequency at some unreal TDP levels for a client processor. SweClockers reports that AMD is working on at least two new socket AM3+ FX-series processors to make it competitive against Intel's 4th generation Core series. Among these are the FX-9000, and the FX-8770. The FX-9000 leads the pack with 4.80 GHz out of the box clock speed, and a TurboCore frequency of 5.00 GHz. Clock speeds of the FX-8770, on the other hand, haven't been disclosed. A catch here is the TDP of these chips. Two hundred and twenty Watts! The jump from 3.80 GHz to 4.80 nearly doubled TDP from 125W to 220W. Prices of the two remain under the wraps. AMD plans to unveil the two at E3, sometime between 11th and 13th June.

Thermal Solutions specialist GELID Solutions reveals the Rev. 2 GX-7 CPU cooler of its GAMER product line. Engineers at GELID Solutions have upgraded the award-winning GX-7 to the Rev. 2 GX-7 by adding the Slim 12 PL Blue fan and the multi award-winning GC-Extreme thermal compound. Contrary to traditional heat pipe arrangement the Rev. 2 GX-7 offers a special array of heat pipes to take full advantage of all 7 heat pipes heat transfer capacity. Further V-shaped aluminum fins were used in the center of the heat sink to allow airflow to reach the heat sink more evenly. Openings inside of the heat sink and near the heat pipes let fresh-air flow in from the top and the bottom to the zones where normally poorly ventilated and eliminate the creation of hotspots. The unique heat sink shape supports dual fans.

AMD introduced two additions to its FX line of socket AM3+ processors, the six-core FX-6350, and the quad-core FX-4350. The two were released as OEM-only parts, late last year, and are now being released to the retail channel, in PIB (processor-in-box) packages. Based on the 32 nm "Vishera" silicon and "Piledriver" micro-architecture, the two chips are designed to hold two extremely catchy sub-$150 price-points.

The FX-6350 features a nominal core clock speed of 3.90 GHz, a maximum Turbo Core frequency of 4.20 GHz, 6 MB of total L2 cache, and 8 MB L3 cache. The FX-4350, on the other hand, features 4.20 GHz clock speed, with 4.30 GHz Turbo Core, 4 MB of total L2 cache, and 8 MB of L3. Both parts feature unlocked base-clock multipliers, modern instruction-sets such as AVX, AES-NI, SSE4.2, SSE4.1, FMA2, and XOP. Both further have TDP rated at 125W. The FX-6350 retail PIB package will be priced as low as US $132, while the FX-4350 will go for as low as $122. The two will also ship with AMD's newest case-badge design, pictured below.

In an effort to clear inventories of its current-generation A-series "Trinity" desktop APUs, creating room for next-generation "Richland," AMD is preparing a string of price-cuts for April. APUs including (but probably not limited to) A8-5600K, and A4-4000 series could be part of these price cuts.

In addition to its APUs, AMD is also planning early price-cuts of some of its socket AM3+ CPUs, such as the FX-8320, FX-6300, and FX-4300, which is probably preemptive to Intel's June launch of Core "Haswell" desktop processors. AMD recently launched the mobile variants of its A-series "Richland" APUs, its desktop variants could be launched some time in Q2 2013, beginning with high-performance parts such as the A10-6800K and A8-6600K.

Evercool announced the HPR 9225EA entry-level tower-type CPU cooler. It uses a stack of 43 aluminium fins, to which heat is conveyed by two 6 mm-thick copper heat pipes, which make direct contact with the CPU at the base. The stack is ventilated by a 92 mm fan that spins at speeds up to 2,200 RPM, pushing 35.6 CFM of air, with 26.3 dBA noise output. Measuring 97 x 73 x 118 mm (WxDxH), the cooler weighs about 400 g. It supports most modern CPU socket types, with the exception of LGA2011. Among the socket types supported are LGA115x, LGA775, AM3+/AM3/AM2+, and FM2/FM1. The company did not give out pricing information.

It's not retirement time for AMD's 45 nm "Regor" silicon just yet, with the company announcing the Athlon II X2 280 value dual-core processor. Built in the socket AM3 package (compatible with AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+ motherboards), and based on the company's K10.5 micro-architecture, the chip features two x86-64 cores clocked at 3.60 GHz, 1 MB of L2 cache per core (2 MB total), an instruction set that includes SSE3 and SSE4A, and a dual-channel integrated memory controller that supports both DDR2 and DDR3 memory types. The chip can take advantage of HyperTransport 3.0 interface, with a maximum data-rate of 4.0 GT/s. It features a rated TDP of 65W, and is designed for entry-level desktops. It is priced at US $49.99.

MSI rolled out a new value socket AM3+ motherboard, the 970A-G43. Based on the AMD 970 chipset with SB950 southbridge, the ATX form-factor board covers all the essentials for a single graphics card gaming PC build, on a tight budget. It uses a simple 5-phase VRM to power the AM3+ socket. The board uses an all solid-state capacitor loadout, by saving on MOSFETs. The CPU VRM uses inexpensive On-Semi DPAK fare. The socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR3-1866 MHz memory.

Among the expansion slots are a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (wired to the 970 northbridge), a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4, wired to the SB950 southbridge), and two each of PCI-Express 2.0 x1 and legacy PCI. Storage connectivity is care of six SATA 6 Gb/s ports supporting RAID 0/1/5/10. A couple of 2-port USB 3.0 controllers wired out four ports, of which are two are given out by a standard front-panel header. Completing the package are 8-channel HD audio (Realtek ALC887), gigabit Ethernet (Realtek 8111E), and a handful of USB 2.0/1.1 ports. The board is driven by AMI UEFI BIOS. The 970A-G43 is priced at $89.99.

Phanteks launches PH-TC12DX, a U-Type dual tower heat-sink with four 6mm heat-pipes allows for optimal airflow and cooling. PH-TC12DX's 6mm heat-pipes are linearly aligned and developed to have the least amount of air and thermal resistance. Incorporating P.A.T.S and C.P.S.C Technologies, PH-TC12DX delivers better heat dissipation and heat transfers. PH-TC12DX includes dual PH-F120HP PWM Premium fans to allow for higher performance and/or silent operation.

Scythe released the Apsalus entry-level liquid CPU Cooler (model: APSALUS3-120). Based on an Asetek platform, the pre-assembled (maintenance-free), closed-loop cooler uses an exposed copper base with pump assembly, joined the the 1U 120 mm radiator that packs the reservoir, which is ventilated by a 120 mm Scythe-made fan. The base measures 72.3 x 72.3 × 27.3 mm, the radiator 120 x 150 x 27 mm (excluding the fan), and the coolant pipes are about 326 mm long. The cooler supports all modern CPU socket types, including LGA2011, LGA115x, LGA1366, FM2/FM1, and AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2. It is priced around 6,980¥ ($84).

Antec introduced V4 series design updates for its Kuhler H2O 620 and H2O 920 closed-loop CPU coolers. The new coolers are outfitted with a higher-pressure pump, and split-flow copper fin design in the radiators. The company claims the two innovations work to drop temperatures down a further 2-4°C, over temperatures previous versions achieve. Lastly, the coolers are labeled with guaranteed support for current and upcoming CPU socket types, including LGA2011, LGA115x, LGA775, FM2/FM1, and AM3+/AM3/AM2+. Prices remain unchanged.

MSIs AM3+ mainboards support the latest AMD Vishera processors. In support of this fact is the recent overclocking record on the MSI 990FXA-GD80 which hit the 8.37 GHz mark with an FX-8350 processor, making it the fastest AMD FX-8350 in the world.

Additionally, the Z77 MPOWER and Big Bang-XPOWER II Mainboards have both made significant advancement in the HWBOT over-clocking leaderboards with MSI Lightning graphics cards. T0LSTY from Ukraine scored 18103 which puts him at the top of 3DMark 11 Performance Single Graphics Card scores with a Z77 MPOWER and R7970 Lightning and was the first contestant to break the 18,000 Marks barrier! T0LSTY, not satisfied with one record, also claimed the top spot in the Unigine Heaven DX11 single card benchmark.

Reeven unveiled the Arcziel 12 CPU cooler. Classified in the large category, the Arcziel 12 is a top-flow air-cooler that uses an aluminum fin stack arranged along the plane of the motherboard, to which heat is conveyed by six 6 mm-thick copper heat pipes that make indirect contact with the CPU over a nickel-plated copper base that's polished to a mirror-finish. The six heat pipes pass through the aluminum fin stack at two points, to even heat distribution. The heatsink is then ventilated by a 120 mm PWM fan that spins at 500 to 1900 RPM, with noise-output of up to 35 dBA. Measuring 140.5 x 131 x 126 mm, the cooler weighs about 557 g. It supports all modern CPU socket types, including LGA2011, LGA115x, AM3+, and FM2. It is slated for November 21.

It looks like the flagship FX-8350 and next-best FX-8320 won't be the only FX "Vishera" eight-core chips from AMD, despite the fact that the two occupy low price points of US $194 and $164, respectively. A new model called the FX-8300 surfaced on CPU support lists of a certain motherboard vendor, which reveals quite a bit about it. To begin with, the FX-8300 (model: FD8300WMW8KHK) features nominal core clock speed of 3.20 GHz, with TurboCore frequency of around 3.60 GHz. Its clock speed may be the lowest among its peers, but that results in a significant drop in rated TDP. The new eight-core chip has a rated TDP of 95W, down from 125W of the FX-8320 and FX-8350. It is based on the same C0-stepping silicon as the other models. Socket AM3+ motherboards with AGESA micro-code 1.5 should be able to support it. As for pricing, we expect its 95W TDP to serve as a selling point, and don't expect it to be much cheaper than the 125W FX-8320.

AMD's FX "Vishera" socket AM3+ processors are in for a long haul. According to a DonanimHaber report based on a leaked company roadmap slide, the company plans no new processor architecture to succeed it in 2013. The company recently launched its FX "Vishera" line of eight-, six-, and four-core chips just an year following FX "Zambezi," leading analysts to believe the company would launch a new micro-architecture each year to keep up with Intel's "tick-tock" product development strategy.

The roadmap slide, pictured below, shows AMD FX "Vishera" continuing through 2013 as the flagship desktop platform, followed by "Richland" third-generation desktop APU, which combines "Piledriver" CPU components with "Radeon 2.0 cores" (we're guessing those are Graphics CoreNext stream processors), which maintains socket FM2 platform; and low-power "Kabini" APU, which carries the mantle from "Brazos."

Korean enthusiast PC components major Zalman announced a trio of closed-loop liquid CPU coolers, the LQ310, LQ315, and LQ320; which are designed to handle maximum thermal loads (Qmax) of 300W, 330W, and 340W, respectively. The USP for all three is an extremely dense copper micro-fin structures inside the main block, where heat is dissipated to the coolant. The three feature what is essentially the same block and pump, and differ with the size of the radiator.

The Radiator component of the LQ310 measures 153 x 120 x 25 mm, that of the LQ315 is slightly thicker, at 35 mm, and LQ320 at 51 mm. A Zalman-made 120 mm fan, with 900 to 2,000 RPM speed range, long life bearing, and 4-pin PWM control, is standard issue for all three models. All modern CPU socket types are supported by the three, including LGA2011, LGA115x, AM3+/AM3, and FM2/FM1. The LQ310, LQ315, and LQ320, are priced at US $85, $100, and $120, respectively.

Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) has announced the newest member of its high-performance Black Series of PC motherboards. The ECS A970M-A DELUXE supports AMD AM3 and AM3+ APUs, and gets the most from them with the latest ECS innovations for power, ease-of-use, and reliability. With features like full Windows 8 support, an upgraded user friendly BIOS - EZ BIOS, dust defending technology - Anti Dust Technology (ADS) and 8 channel HD audio, the A970M-A DELUXE is the heart of the ultimate gaming center and perfect all-round PC.

The A970M-A DELUXE is built around the AMD 970 chipset, to squeeze the maximum performance out of the most powerful cutting edge CPUs, while still maintaining compatibility with older technology.

Gigabyte's entire fleet of AMD 9-series chipset socket AM3+ motherboards, launched in 2011 with AMD FX "Bulldozer" processors shipped with Phoenix AwardBIOS, even as other motherboard makers such as ASUS, MSI, Biostar, and Sapphire moved on to AMI Aptio UEFI BIOS. Gigabyte's AwardBIOS implementation did feature the company's biggest excuse for delayed implementation of UEFI across its entire product line, HybridEFI: a BIOS tweak that lets you boot from volumes bigger than 2 TB.

In the wake of second generation FX "Vishera" processors and Windows 8 with its UEFI-enhancements, Gigabyte finally decided to make amends to its socket AM3+ motherboard lineup, by introducing revisions of existing motherboard models, featuring AMI Aptio UEFI BIOS, and its dual-UEFI redundant BIOS technology that protects against failed BIOS updates. Gigabyte's UEFI-equipped AM3+ motherboards will follow revision number scheme from 3.xx, jumping from its canonical revision number scheme of 1.xx. For example, pictured below is the newly launched 970A-D3 Rev 3.0, which jumped from Rev 1.4. The revisions are largely identical to their predecessors, except of course implementation of the AMI Aptio UEFI BIOS and dual-UEFI feature. When buying, look for the revision number in the main barcode sticker on the box, and on the bottom-left corner of the motherboard itself.

The world renowned mainboard manufacturer MSI announced that once the BIOS of MSI AM3+ mainboards have been updated, they will support newest 2012 FX Processor (Vishera). When used with MSI's exclusive OC Genie one-second overclock technology, the performance of the 2012 AMD FX Processor can be easy increased!

MSI's excellent R&D skills allow users to enjoy faster performance and experience the newest technologies. This is done by simply updating the BIOS to support new 2012 AMD FX Processor without having to buy a new compatible mainboard which proves that purchasing MSI mainboards is a safe choice.

Noctua today presented its new NH-L9i and NH-L9a low profile CPU coolers for Intel and AMD. At a super-low profile of only 37mm, the NH-L9 coolers are ideal for extremely slim cases and with footprints tailored to the respective socket keep-out zones, they provide full compatibility with tall RAM modules and VGA cards on mini-ITX mainboards. Topped off with the new NF-A9x14 PWM premium fan, the NH-L9 coolers fuse everything users have come to expect from Noctua's larger coolers into a super-compact package for slim HTPC systems.

"The response on our first low profile cooler, the NH-L12, has been overwhelming", says Mag. Roland Mossig, Noctua CEO. "However, users asked for even smaller, lower height models that also provide better compatibility for extra slim, ITX based HTPCs. We're thrilled that we can now meet this demand with the new NH-L9 coolers."

AMD announced the 2012 FX "Vishera" line of eight-core, six-core, and quad-core desktop processors. Based on the new "Piledriver" CPU micro-architecture, the new processors feature increased performance and an updated instruction set, over the previous generation. To begin with, the processors are based around the "Vishera" silicon, built on the 32 nm HKMG process at Global Foundries. With a transistor count of 1.2 billion and a die area of 315 mm², Vishera packs four Piledriver modules, with two cores each, 2 MB L2 cache per module (8 MB total), and 8 MB of L3 cache. Eight-, six-, and four-core models are carved out by toggling the number of modules between four, three, and two.

The Vishera silicon also features an updated CPU instruction set, which includes SSE/2/3/S3/4.1/4.2/4A, AVX, AES-NI, FMA/FMA2/FMA3, XOP, and F16C. An x86 processor by design, Vishera features the AMD64 x86-64 instruction set. Its updated integrated memory controller supports up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR3 memory, with a standard speed of DDR3-1866 MHz, and more possible with overclocking. The memory interface is single, monolithic 128-bit, unlike the dual 64-bit IMC approach of the "Stars" micro-architecture. Built in the same socket AM3+ package as the previous generation FX, the new chips are compatible with existing AM3+ motherboards with a BIOS update. The 2012 FX processor lineup includes a total of four models, the FX-8350 flagship eight-core, FX-8320 performance eight-core, FX-6300 mainstream six-core, and FX-4300 value quad-core. All models feature unlocked base-clock multipliers, making each of them fit for overclocking. Their specifications and target SEP pricing are tabled below. Market prices could be about 5~10% above the SEP prices.

According to new reports, AMD's next-generation FX "Vishera" processors built on its "Piledriver" architecture could surprise buyers with pricing, in a similar way to the A-Series "Trinity." AMD's FX "Vishera" socket AM3+ processors will not exceed US $200, according to the report. The launch pricing (along with specifications compiled from older reports) reportedly looks like this:

• AMD FX-8350 - $199: 8 cores, 4.00~4.20 GHz with TurboCore, 16 MB total cache
• AMD FX-8320 - $175: 8 cores, 3.50~4.00 GHz with TurboCore, 16 MB total cache
• AMD FX-6300 - $135: 6 cores, 3.50~4.10 GHz with TurboCore, 14 MB total cache
• AMD FX-4300 - $125: 4 cores, 3.80~4.00 GHz with TurboCore, 8 MB total cache