MSI rolled out two of its performance Lucid Hydra based motherboards it's been working on, the socket LGA1156 P55A Fuzion and socket AM3 870A Fuzion. The P55A Fuzion uses a 10-phase CPU VRM that makes use of high-C capacitors, Lotes-made socket, two-phase VRM for the memory, and expansion slots which include two PCI-E 2.0 x16 (full-bandwidth), two PCI-E x1, and two PCI. The PCI-E x16 slots are wired to the Lucid Hydra 200 chip that gives each graphics card full interface bandwidth, and offers vendor-neutral multi-GPU pairing. Users can pair NVIDIA graphics cards with ATI, and can also mix and match different GPUs. Connectivity features include two SATA 6 Gb/s ports, six SATA 3 Gb/s, USB 3.0, 8-channel audio, and gigabit Ethernet.

The 870A Fuzion is based on the AMD 870 chipset with SB850 southbridge. It supports socket AM3 CPUs, including six-core Phenom II X6. The CPU is powered by a 4+1 phase VRM. Expansion slots include two PCI-E 2.0 x16, two PCI-E x1, and one PCI. Apart from the CPU architecture, this board has all the features of P55A Fuzion, except that it has eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Connectivity here, too, includes USB 3.0, 8-channel audio, Lucid Hydra multi-GPU technology, and gigabit Ethernet. The 870A Fuzion is expected to be priced around US $160, while the P55A Fuzion is expected to go for $190.

Thermalright is ready with a Black variant of its Venomous X CPU cooler. It uses essentially the same materials as the standard model, except for its black nickel-plating, which makes it suit aesthetics of certain builds. It uses Thermalright's standard tower design, with six heatpipes. It has provision to hold a 140 mm fan on either side. The unit measures 127 x 63 x 160 mm, weighing 755 g. It supports all current sockets, including LGA1366, LGA1156, AM3/AM2(+), and LGA775. The Venomous X comes with a tube of Chill Factor III TIM bundled. It will be priced around the 55 EUR mark.

One of Zalman's latest creations is a refresh on its CNPS9900 CPU cooler, the CNPS9900 MAX. While identical to the CNPS9900 base model (copper) in many ways, the MAX sports a black+graphite look, making use of nickel-plated copper. The design involved two loops of copper fins to which heat is conducted by heat pipes, while air is circulated by a 120 mm FDB bearing fan that spins between 800~1200 rpm, with a noise output of 18~43 dBA. The cooler measures 94 (L) x 131 (W) x 152 (H) mm, weighing 730 g. It supports all current CPU sockets out of the box, including LGA-1366, LGA-1156, AM3, and LGA-775. A tube of ZM-STG2 thermal compound is bundled with it. There's no word on the pricing yet.

Prolimatech's latest creation is an HTPC-friendly low-profile CPU heatsink named Samuel 17, after the Biblical Old Testament chapter with the story of David and Goliath. The cooler uses a CPU base in which six nickel-plated copper heat pipes make direct contact with the processor, and convey heat to a dense aluminum fin array that propagates along the plane of the motherboard. On this, users can install a 120 mm fan. The heatsink measures 92 x 45 x 82 mm, weighing 410 g. It supports all current sockets including LGA 1366, LGA 1156, LGA 775, AM3/AM2(+). It is expected to be priced at 40 Euros when it goes on sale.

AMD let loose no less than six new processor models in its value-mainstream Athlon II series. Spread across its dual-core (X2), triple-core (X3), and quad-core (X4) lines, the new models seek to displace existing ones from their price-points and hold key value market positions. Leading the pack is the Athlon II X4 640. Based on the 45 nm Propus die, the X4 640 has a clock speed of 3.00 GHz (15 x 200 MHz), with 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and 4 GT/s HyperTransport 3.0 interface. Built on the AM3 package, the X4 640 supports DDR3 and DDR2 memory standards. It has a TDP of 95W. This chip is priced at $122. The second quad-core model is the energy-efficient Athlon II X4 610e. With a clock speed of 2.40 GHz (12 x 200 MHz), the X4 610e comes with half the TDP of standard models, just 45W. Energy efficiency comes at a small premium, with the X4 610e going for $145 a piece.

The triple-core Athlon II X3 series also gets two additions, with the X3 445 and X3 415e. The X3 445 is based on the Rana die (Propus with one core disabled), and has L2 cache of 512 KB per core. It is clocked at 3.10 GHz (15.5 x 200 MHz), and has a TDP of 95W. It is priced at $87. The energy-efficient X3 415e is clocked at 2.50 GHz (12.5 x 200 MHz), has 45W TDP, and is priced at $102. Dual-core Athlon II X2 chips get the same treatment, with a new fast and energy-efficient model, each. Based on the 45 nm Regor die, the Athlon II X2 has two physical cores with 1 MB of L2 cache per core. The Athlon II X2 260 introduced now, has a clock speed of 3.20 GHz (16 x 200 MHz), 65W TDP, and is priced at $76. The energy-efficient X2 245e is clocked at 2.90 GHz (14.5 x 200 MHz), and has a TDP of 45W. This one goes for $77. All prices are per unit in 1000-unit tray quantities.

Following the apparently-successful launch of the ROG Crosshair IV Formula, ASUS is preparing the second, even-higher end offering under the Republic of Gamers (ROG) series for the socket AM3 platform, the Crosshair IV Extreme. First pictured and detailed in March, the Crosshair IV Extreme turned out to be a little more than just a beefier Crosshair IV Formula with a stronger VRM and more expansion slots; it has an important addition to its feature-set which was revealed after some websites pictured the board without its chipset heatsink. The Crosshair IV Extreme makes use of the Lucid Hydra engine, with a 32-lane Hydra bridge chip that supports 3~4 graphics cards. While the AMD 890FX isn't deficient of PCI-Express lanes, the addition of Hydra gives the motherboard the unique ability to mix and match graphics cards, with special modes for pairing ATI GPUs, NVIDIA GPUs, and ATI + NVIDIA GPUs. Another feature that got revealed with the heatsinks off is the CPU VRM, which makes use of no less than 11 independent phases, and a super ML capacitor that helps voltage tuning with high precision, and conditions CPU voltage better than conventional capacitors. ASUS may choose Computex as the ideal launch-vehicle for the Crosshair IV Extreme.

Sapphire is back to its vocation of being a motherboard vendor, the popular ATI Radeon board partner designed a new socket AM3 motherboard based on the new AMD 890GX + SB850 chipset, dubbed the Sapphire Pure CrossfireX 890GX. The board is built on the ATX form-factor, though comes with only four expansion slots spaced out. The AM3 CPU is powered by a 10-phase VRM, it is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots for dual-channel memory. The AMD 890GX northbridge is cooled by a large heatsink which shares its heat with one of the VRM heatsinks. The ATI Radeon HD 4290 IGP is assisted by 128 MB of SidePort memory apart from sharing the system memory.

Out of the four expansion slots, two are PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x8 when both are populated) with some sort of manual PCI-E lane switching, and one each of PCI-E x1 and PCI. The SB850 southbridge gives out six SATA 6 Gb/s internal ports, while an additional controller provides an IDE connector (for two IDE devices). The eSATA port is driven by manually connecting it with one of the internal ports. Connectivity includes 8 channel audio with optical and coaxial SPDIF, USB 3.0, and display connectivity, which includes DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI with 7.1 channel audio. Available soon, Sapphire is yet to disclose its price.

BIOSTAR MICROTECH INT'L CORP., a professional manufacturer of motherboards today reveals its new "TA890FXE" motherboard with "BIO-unlocKING" utility that makes it possible to turn a budget quad-core version of a CPU into full six-cores for significant computing gains.

AMD new Phenom II X6 processor with 890FX chipset combination, a high-powered computing platform designed to meet the demand of today's gaming enthusiasts. The AMD Phenom II X6 processor can switch between utilizing two or three cores for functions such as running productivity software to six cores for content creation and immersive 3D applications.

ASRock introduced its newest high-end motherboard for the AMD platform, the 890FX Extreme3. This socket AM3 motherboard is based on AMD's 890FX + SB850 chipset, and is geared for high-end discrete graphics setups. The CPU is powered by an 8+2 phase VRM that is cooled by an elaborate active heatsink that also draws heat from the 890FX chip. The board BIOS carries memory multipliers to support DDR3 1800 MHz with ease. Expansion slots include three PCI-Express x16, of which the blue slots are PCI-E 2.0 x16, while the third white slot is PCI-E 1.1 x4; and two each of PCI-E x1 and PCI. All six SATA 6 Gb/s ports from the SB850 are internal, while an additional VIA storage controller handles eSATA and IDE. Connectivity includes gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0, eSATA, and 8-channel audio with SPDIF connectors. The ASRock 890FX-Extreme3 should reach stores in a few weeks.

AMD announced the immediate availability of the AMD Phenom II X6 processor and AMD 890FX chipset ushering in a new era of immersive 3D entertainment and visualization. Trailblazing consumers seeking immersive 3D entertainment and high definition multi-monitor display now can affordably upgrade to six-core performance and award-winning ATI Radeon HD 5000 series graphics. Today also marks the availability of the flagship AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition processor, AMD's fastest and most tunable desktop processor ever.

"With AMD Phenom II X6 processors, discerning customers can build an incredible, immersive entertainment system and content creation powerhouse," said Bob Grim, director of Client Platform Marketing at AMD. "AMD is answering the call for elite desktop PC performance and features at an affordable price."

MSI unveiled the 870A-G54, a value socket AM3 motherboard based on the AMD 870 + SB850 chipset. The 870 is AMD's value discrete graphics chipset, which supports one graphics card over a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 link, or two cards over two electrical x8 links, as implemented on this board. The CPU is powered by a 5+1 phase VRM which uses high-C capacitors. Expansion slots include two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x8 when both are populated), supporting ATI CrossfireX; three PCI and one PCI-E x1. The SB850 southbridge gives out six internal SATA 6 Gb/s ports, an additional controller drives the IDE. Connectivity includes 8-channel audio with optical SPDIF, two USB 3.0 ports, a number of USB 2.0 ports, and gigabit Ethernet. The MSI 870A-G54 will be released in the coming weeks. This is the second board from the company based on this chipset, the other being the Lucid Hydra-equipped 870A-GD60 Hydra.

At Embedded Systems Conference today, AMD announced two new complete platforms for the embedded market, the compact ASB2 platform and the high-performance AM3 platform, that offer myriad combinations of power and performance with up to 74 percent improvement in performance-per-watt over previous generations. AMD's new flexible embedded platforms consist of chipset and graphics solutions along with high-performance CPUs as low as 8W TDP for the ideal solution based on application requirements. System designers focusing on their next-generation products can see immediate benefits commonly associated with industry-standard x86 processors, including streamlined design and development, a large software ecosystem, and fast time-to-market.

"The barriers to widespread adoption of x86 in the broad embedded market have traditionally been a combination of power, price and the physical footprint of the silicon," said Buddy Broeker, director, Embedded Solutions Division, AMD. "AMD's embedded solutions have been steadily driving down those barriers while adding enterprise-class performance and features that may not have been readily available to designers in the past. Our commitment to the embedded market grows stronger as we look to a future introduction of AMD Fusion technology products into the embedded space."

G.Skill International Co. Ltd., manufacturer of extreme performance memory and high performance solid-state storage, has today launched its latest Flare series high-performance DDR3 kits rated at 1800MHz, and optimized for AM3 790 & 890 platform with AMD C3 stepping processors.

G.Skill's Flare series has been specifically designed and tested for AM3 790 and the latest 890 platforms, in combination with AMDs recent C3 stepping CPUs, and has passed a strict testing regime to ensure the best performance and stability. G.Skill Flare provides AMD enthusiasts the perfect choice of high frequency memory that allows a greater attainable CPU bus clock, in order to overclock further and have best performance for productivity and gaming.

To facilitate the upgrade to AMD's next-generation processors, world-renowned mainboard and graphics card manufacturer MSI has announced that all AMD series products will be compatible with the Phenom II X6 6-core processor. With a simple BIOS update, older MSI AM3 mainboards will be capable of supporting this processor.

The all-new Phenom II X6 processor features 45nm processing technology, a true six-core design which can execute 6 threads simultaneously and the AMD Turbo Core Technology. What's more, with up to 9 MB cache, overall performance is significantly enhanced compared to the previous generation Phenom II X4 processor. The Phenom II X6 is the best option for the latest and most powerful MSI based AMD platform.

Here they are, boxes that carry AMD's first desktop six-core processors, the Phenom II X6. This line of "true six core design" processors from AMD target performance/price sweet-spots in the sub-$300 segment, targeting higher-end Intel Core i5, and even Core i7 series processors from Intel. The Phenom II X6 is based on the 45 nm "Thuban" core, and comes in the socket AM3 package. The processor is said to be backwards-compatible with socket AM2+ on motherboards with a BIOS update. Expreview sourced pictures of three Phenom II X6 processor-in-box (PIB) units, of model 1055T.

ASRock is ready with its premium motherboard based on the AMD 870 + SB850 chipset, the ASRock 870 Extreme3. Either the company seems to have jumped the specifications of the 870 by adding external PCI-Express lane switching that gives it proper CrossFire capability, or that the 870 will indeed support 2-way CrossFire with its lone PCI-Express 2.0 x16 link split into two x8 links between the two cards, leaving no room for a "890X" chipset. The 870 Extreme3 supports socket AM3 processors with a 4+1 phase VRM that can take 140W TDP processors. It will support upcoming Phenom II X6 and Phenom II X4 T series processors. It integrates ASRock's proprietary UCC chip that unlocks disabled cores on certain processors.

The board is advertised to support DDR3-1800 MHz memory by overclocking. Expansion slots include two each of PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x8, when both are populated), PCI-E x1, and PCI. The SB850 southbridge gives out five internal SATA 6 Gb/s ports, with one eSATA. Other connectivity features include 8 channel HD audio, a 2-port USB 3.0 controller, a number of USB 2.0 ports, FireWire, and gigabit Ethernet. Diagnostic LED display and onboard power and reset switches make for the rest of it. The ASRock 870 Extreme3 will retail a little later this month.

BIOSTAR, a professional manufacturer of motherboards today reveals its new AMD 870X chipset motherboards; both models "TA870+" and "TA870" are from the T-Series family representing high quality components and excellent overclocking capability. "TA870+" supports existing and upcoming socket AM3 processors, including Phenom II X6 core processor. "TA870+" is ATX form factor, powered by a 5 phase PWM supporting 140W processors; 100% X.D.C. solid capacitor, with two PCI-Express 2.0 slots and five SATA 6 Gb/s ports; on-board 8 channel audio with Blu-Ray support.

BIOSTAR's AMD 8xx series chipset family motherboards have adopted 3 unique features to differentiate with others; they are "GTO 6³", "BIO-unlocKING" and "BIO-Remote". "GTO 6³", it allows 60%+ overclocking capability on CPU frequency; it also supports true SATA 6 Gb/s for fast data transfer rate; and fully compatible with AMD Phenom II X6 six-core processors.

ASUS is readying one of its first motherboards based on the AMD 880G chipset, the M4A88TD-V EVO / USB3. This model comes in two variants, with or without USB 3.0 support, designated with the -USB3 suffix in the model name. It is a socket AM3 motherboard, supporting the upcoming line of Phenom II X6 and Phenom II X4 T series processors. The CPU socket is powered by a 10-phase VRM, it is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots for dual-channel memory. Even as ATI CrossFire is not part of the 880G's feature-set since it won't support an external PCI-Express lane switch like the 890GX, ASUS found a way around and provided a second PCI-Express x16 slot, only that this one is electrical PCI-Express 1.1 x4, wired to the SB800 southbridge chip.

The 880G embeds an ATI Radeon HD 4250 IGP with 128 MB of DDR3 sideport memory. It connects to its display with DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI. The board supports ASUS' Core Unlocker feature that attempts to unlock disabled cores on some processors. Other expansion slots include one PCI-E x1, and three PCI. The southbridge gives out six SATA 6 Gb/s ports, five of which are internal, and one eSATA. An additional VIA-made controller drives an IDE connector. Other connectivity options include a number of USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports on the USB3 variant, 8-channel HD audio, FireWire, and gigabit Ethernet. The new boards will be released in a few weeks' time, probably targeting the sub-$150 price points.

Noctua today announced the availability of the new NM-A90 Upgrade-Kit for NH-U12P SE2 and NH-U9B SE2 users. The upgrade makes it possible to install the heatsink turned by 90° on AMD motherboards. NH-U12P SE2 and NH-U9B SE2 users can order the NM-A90 kit free of charge on Noctua's website.

"We've received excellent customer feedback on our new SE2 coolers", says Mag. Roland Mossig, Noctua CEO, "but some AMD users expressed the wish to have the possibility to change the alignment of the coolers on AMD motherboards. We've always been convinced that premium quality products and premium quality service should go hand in hand, so we're responding to this demand by offering the new NM-A90 kit as a free upgrade."

A set of new slides by AMD to sections of the industry spills the beans on AMD's processor offer outlook for perhaps the rest of the year. It shows AMD to maintain focus on value-oriented models that etch away Intel's market share on grounds of price/performance, while the higher-end of the spectrum keeps up with the latest technologies including the industry-wide advent of the six-core processor era, as well as new power-state management technologies such as TurboCore, which steps up clock speeds of certain cores of the processors while powering down others, which the load is low or less-parallel.

Front-line processor lineups include the Phenom II X6, and Phenom II X4, including a new T X4 series that includes TurboCore support. AMD's transition towards these chips from the existing Deneb-based quad-core ones starts within this quarter lasting throughout Q2 and part of Q3 2010. It includes Phenom II X4 960T, a 3.00 GHz (3.40 GHz turbo) chip based on the Zosma die. It goes up with the Phenom II X6 1035T, a six-core chip clocked at 2.60 GHz (3.10 GHz turbo). A notch higher up is the Phenom II X6 1055T, clocked at 2.80 GHz (3.30 GHz turbo), which comes in 95W and 125W variants. At the top is the Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition, an overclocker-friendly chip that runs at 3.20 GHz (3.60 GHz turbo). A little later in Q3, AMD will add in the Phenom II X6 1075T, clocked at 3.00 GHz (3.50 GHz turbo).

In a few weeks' time, AMD will be releasing its brand new set of six-core Phenom II X6 processors. These processors are based on the "Thuban" core, which is a socket AM3 implementation of the Istanbul six-core architecture. Along with as many as four Phenom II X6 models including a high-end Black Edition part, AMD will be introducing new quad-core processors under the Phenom II X4 T series. Some of the first two models in this series includes the Phenom II X4 960T and Phenom II X4 940T.

The Phenom II X4 960T operates at 3.30 GHz, while the 940T runs at 3.00 GHz. What makes these chips different from existing chips based on the Deneb die is that it is in fact based on the Thuban die with two cores disabled. The resulting quad-core chip is codenamed Zosma. The other characteristic feature about not only Zosma, but also Thuban in general, is the introduction of a feature called "Turbo Core". The feature senses performance needs and steps up clock speeds of some cores, while powering down others. The stepping up of clock speed happens on the fly, and using a jump in BClk multiplier by a few units. The new chips also come with the unofficial incentive of being able to unlock the two disabled cores to turn it into a six-core chip. Unlocking may not work in all cases.

Scythe announces its newest high-end CPU cooler, named "Yasya" to the market. Yasya CPU Cooler is the first cooler from Scythe equipped with the newly developed T.M.L.F. (Trident Multi Layer Fin) structure. This special design maximizes the cooling surface to provide the best cooling result of the heatsink. By placing the heatsink fins as well as total of 6 copper heatpipes in unparallel design, static pressure loss is minimized and heat transfer is maximized. New 120 mm "Slip Stream 120 Adjustable PWM" case fan is supplied for optimized airflow. Although the fan supports the PWM feature user can manually adjust the speed between 470 to 1,370 rpm and 740 to 1,900 rpm.

Easy mounting is available by the famous V.T.M.S. (Versatile Tool-Free Multiplatform System) which requires no motherboard removal for the heatsink mounting. Yasya CPU Cooler is compatible to all current sockets, including the new socket LGA 1156. Scythe Yasya will be available worldwide from early March 2010 at the price of 57 US$ (excl. Tax) / 35,90 Euro (Excl. VAT).

AMD's much talked about six-core processors, the Phenom II X6 series, consists of three models for what we know in good detail: model numbers 1075T, 1055T, and 1035T at the bottom. But what remained a mystery were their clock speeds. A leak by one of the motherboard manufacturers who recently released supportive BIOS updates reveals the clock speed for the entry-level Phenom II X6 1035T to be 2.60 GHz, that of the 1055T to be 2.80 GHz, and of the high-end 1075T to be 3.00 GHz. As revealed earlier, the 1035T has a TDP of 95W, while the 1055T has both 125W and 95W variants in the making, and the 1075T has a TDP of 125W.

With so many motherboard vendors specifically designing their upcoming products to be ready for "140W TDP", it isn't hard to guess that there could be a higher-end part in the making, which is probably clocked even higher, and comes with the Black Edition branding. All Phenom II X6 processors are based on the "Thuban" core, a port of the Istanbul six-core architecture to the AM3 package. There are six cores with dedicated 512 KB of L2 caches and a shared 6 MB L3 cache (total cache being 9 MB). The new chip will be announced in the weeks to come.

Do you desire for a free CPU upgrade? Of course, you do! ASRock Inc. today launched the UCC [Unlock CPU Core] Series motherboard that delivers added core processing power by enabling the ASRock exclusive UCC function of the AMD CPUs. Unprecedentedly integrated with ASRock exclusive UCC Chip, ASRock UCC function is well-designed to provide extra performance boost on ASRock UCC Series motherboards. In conjunction with AMD's 8XX Series chipsets, ASRock 890GX Extreme3 motherboard, the first UCC series motherboard, comes with unique UCC feature and supports both advanced rendering from HD 4290, DX10.1 graphics technology and ATI Quad CrossFireX, 3-Way CrossFireX technologies.

Equipped with an exclusive ASRock UCC Chip, ASRock 890GX Extreme3 is able to support the excellent UCC function. ASRock UCC feature allows users to enjoy an instant performance boost by simply tuning on the UCC switch on BIOS. ASRock 890GX Extreme3 is the ASRock True 333 series motherboards. The board offers the latest SATA3 6.0Gb/s and USB 3.0 5.0Gb/s technologies from the industry-leading NEC support. The real I/O includes 1 x external SATA3 connector through the Bundled eSATA3 Bracket and 2 x USB 3.0 ports for 10X faster data transfer speed. For memory part, it supports 4 X DDR3 1800(OC), Hyper Transport Bus 5200 MT/s, ATI Quad CrossFireX and 3-Way CrossFireX. For audio aspect, it features 7.1 CH, VIA 2020 audio codec with Premium Blu-ray audio support. Combined with advanced rendering from AMD Radeon HD 4290, DX10.1 graphics, ASRock 890GX Extreme3 offers the spectacular visual output (output options include: D-Sub, DVI-D, HDMI) as well.

OEM major Foxconn made additions to its own channel brand of motherboards with two Digital Lifes series models based on the AMD 890GX chipset, supporting socket AM3 processors. The nearly identical Foxconn Digital Life A9DA-S and A9DA (pictured in the same order below), are ATX boards building on the features the chipset provides. The CPU is powered by an 8-phase VRM. The AMD 890GX embeds an ATI Radeon HD 4290 class IGP with 128 MB (+UMA) SidePort memory and connectivity which includes DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI.

Expansion slots include two each of PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x8 when both are populated), PCI-E x1, and PCI. The SB850 southbridge gives out six SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Other standard features include 8-channel HD audio, gigabit Ethernet, and a number of USB 2.0 ports. The A9DA-S is the more premium variant, it has a heatsink over the CPU VRM, and a VIA 2-port FireWire controller. The two should be available in stores soon.