ASUS is reportedly preparing a new variant in its GeForce GTX 285 lineup: the ENGTX285-UL/HTDI/1GD3 "Ultimate". ASUS seems to have done away with using the "TOP" branding to denote the fastest variant in a given graphics card series. ASUS stuck with the NVIDIA reference design for this variant, while looking to squeeze out the most factory overclocking the reference design has to offer.

The ASUS GeForce GTX 285 Ultimate boasts clock speeds of 712/1620/1380 MHz (core/shader/memory). The card finds competition in EVGA's GeForce GTX 285 FTW, which has similar, albeit slightly higher clock speeds. The rest of its specifications remain standard, having the 55 nm G200b core, 240 stream processors, 1 GB of GDDR3 memory across a 512-bit wide memory bus, and support for 3-way SLI. ASUS may look to price it in the US $449 price point.

According to Benson Lin, president of ASUSTeK's Asia-Pacific division, the company is all set to send away their 8.9-inch Eee PCs. Prompted by the fact that 10-inch siblings and even bigger models are becoming mainstream in 2009, ASUS will phase out its smaller netbooks. Of ASUSTeK's 2009 Eee PC shipments, 10-inch models will account for 95% of total sales, while the other 5% will be 7-inch models for telecom service operators, Lin said.

ASUS chose last month's CES event to announce its flagship gaming notebook, the W90. Usual high-end specifications aside, the most distinct component used in it is the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4870 X2, AMD's flagship mobile graphics platform, which is on the brink of snatching the performance crown away from NVIDIA for the platform. A North American sales representative for ASUS tells GPU Café that the W90 will be available from February 23, which perhaps makes it the launch-date for the Mobility HD 4870 X2. It is also noted that the Mobility HD 4670 will be out around the same time, while Mobility HD 4850 will arrive a week or two later.

XtremeSystems forum member Kinc posted some early performance numbers relating to the Mobility HD 4870 X2, featured on the ASUS W90 with an Intel Core 2 Quad T9400, which effortlessly overclocked to 4 GHz on the notebook's stock cooling system. The Mobility HD 4870 X2 carried clock speeds of 600/900 MHz (core/memory). The notebook used Intel's X38 core-logic. At the said parameters, it was put through 3DMark 06. The notebook secured a score of 20,284 3DMarks at default setting. When released, the Mobility Radeon HD 4870 X2 will replace NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTX SLI as the fastest mGPU solution, replicating a similar feat by its desktop cousin.

The premium motherboard market's newfound love for the micro-ATX form-factor has been dutifully addressed by companies such as DFI, by releasing the LANParty Jr series, featuring high-end chipsets and almost complete feature-sets that rival full-sized ATX motherboards. ASUS has now decided to put its Republic of Gamers (ROG) series on the prowl with its first high-end mATX motherboard: Rampage II Gene.

As the name suggests, the motherboard supports Intel Core i7 series processors, and is based on the Intel X58 chipset. ASUS keeps the segment of buyers in mind that builds light-weight, yet full-featured LAN party machines. The Rampage II Gene features an 8-phase CPU power circuit. It features six DDR3 DIMM slots for to support up to 24GB of triple-channel DDR3 memory. It holds two full-length PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots plus a PCI-Express x4 open-ended slot. Both ATI CrossFireX and NVIDIA Quad-SLI are supported. The ICH10R southbridge provides six SATA II channels with RAID support. Also provided is an onboard SupremeFX X-Fi sound system that provides support for most of Creative's X-Fi sound technologies. Two gigabit Ethernet interfaces and support for the iROG - TweakIT features, that simplify overclocking, make for the rest of the package. The Rampage II Gene is expected to be priced above $200 in the US.

ASUS, a pioneer in the adoption of cutting-edge notebook graphics, announced today the ASUS N81Vg, the world's first notebook to feature the new NVIDIA GeForce GT 120M graphics processing unit (GPU). The NVIDIA GeForce GT 120M GPU features NVIDIA CUDA technology with 32 processor cores, DirectX 10 support, and 1080p High Definition video playback through NVIDIA PureVideo HD technology. Coupled with the ASUS N81Vg's 14-inch LED backlit display, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 120M delivers unrivaled visual clarity and vibrancy.

As a globally renowned manufacturer of computer peripherals and optical drives, ASUS is constantly at the forefront of cutting edge technologies, providing users with innovative solutions for everyday computing. In pursuing this philosophy, the new ASUS External Slim SDRW-08D1S-U utilizes user-centric design in the Scenario-Based Design model to better address the needs of the user. By integrating these needs into its development and creation, the ASUS External Slim SDRW-08D1S-U combines both aesthetics and practicality.

ASUS, leading producer of PC chassis, today released the new ASUS VENTO TA-U Series chassis. Targeting users who require a chassis that provides excellent functionality as well as trendy aesthetics, the VENTO TA-U Series utilizes an exquisitely handcrafted aluminum body and features exceptional ventilation for both performance and stability. It also allows users to enjoy hassle-free installation and optimized scalability-making it the best choice for gamers and power users alike.

Weakening demand, deteriorating economy and product launches by the dozen have led to ASUS, one of the largest manufacturers of computer hardware to suffer overstocked inventories. A local daily in Taiwan in a recent report suggests that the company is planning to reduce its inventories by as much as 30% in Q1 2009. ASUS currently holds US $1.33 billion-worth inventory, which it plans to reduce to $1.03 billion.

In the process, the company may incur losses amounting of around 20% amounting to roughly $35.5 million for the fourth quarter last year due to depreciation, the paper noted. Inventory levels of motherboards and graphics cards by ASUS may be sized down to the levels of 8~10 weeks, with those of pre-built PCs expected to be lower. The company also reduce its operating costs by 10%. In the wake turbulent economic weather the world over, ASUS will be employing new strategies to face fluctuations in exchange rates.

Phoenix Technologies Ltd., the leader in PC 3.0 products, services and embedded technologies, today announced a partnership with ASUS to accelerate the adoption of its award-winning HyperSpace product by consumers worldwide. HyperSpace is a revolutionary new instant-on and always-connected application environment that makes operating a mobile PC as easy and efficient as operating a cell phone.

Based on the partnership agreement, ASUS will incorporate HyperSpace into its next generation notebooks. With HyperSpace-installed notebooks, users can instantly launch important web-based applications (before Windows ever boots), automatically connect to the best available network, dramatically extend battery life and achieve new levels of uptime and security protection. HyperSpace is available for download at hyperspace.com

Stylishly Entertaining - the ASUS F50 and F70 range of notebooks combine cutting-edge design with equally innovative multimedia features tailored specifically for users who desire both high definition audio visual entertainment and extensive multitasking capabilities on the move. Each notebook is quintessentially trendy, imbued with Infusion styling that sets it apart from conventional notebook design. The F50GX features graphics prowess in the form of an integrated graphics solution imbedded in the chipset, providing users with graphical performance likened to a dedicated graphics card. The F70SL features 1TB of storage for massive storage capability, enabling users to do more anytime, anywhere.

ASUS' iconic Republic of Gamers series motherboards have a new member in its series: the G-Panel. This is an overclocking panel, a diagnostics display, and a fan-controller rolled into one. The device can be used outside a case, on a test-bench, or even its 2U design for fitting into cases, where it occupies two 5.25 inch drive-bays. French website Matbe caught a few glimpses of it at the CES event.

The G-Panel provides an extensive feature set. To begin with, every diagnostic reading otherwise found in the system BIOS or high-level OC software is shown, that include clock-speeds, voltages and temperatures, all updated in real-time. The user can manage system overclocking using the panel's controls. Using the same controls, fan-speeds can be managed, as the device gives out four fan connections for case fans, in addition to all the fan-connections the motherboard provides. The G-Panel is compatible with select ASUS ROG series motherboards, though the exact compatibility list, availability and pricing are not known at this point.

NVIDIA's newest release, the GeForce GTX 285 goes on sale starting today. The graphics card was announced earlier this month along with NVIDIA's flagship GeForce GTX 295 graphics card, choosing CES as an ideal launch platform. Leading NVIDIA add-in card partners such as ASUS, BFGTech, EVGA, Gigabyte, MSI, XFX and Zotac, etc., put their base-model and factory-overclocked cards on sale, starting from US $379.99 for the XFX base-model, all the way up to $429.99 for the EVGA SSC model, in the US.

The GeForce GTX 285 replaces GeForce GTX 280 as the fastest single-GPU graphics card. It is NVIDIA's second-fastest graphics accelerator, sporting 240 shader cores and 1 GB of GDDR3 memory across a 512-bit wide memory bus. Essentially it resembles the GeForce GTX 280, except for the newer 55nm manufacturing process it's built on, the higher reference clock-speeds, and reduced power-consumption.

Weak market demand, a market saturated with low-cost PCs, and intra-brand competition has reportedly led to first-tier motherboard vendors such as ASUS and Gigabyte to suffer overstock of their Intel 4-series chipset motherboard inventories. The Intel 4-series chipset is the fourth generation of desktop chipsets for LGA-775 processors. It includes popular models such as P45, P43, the mainstream G45, G43 and G41, and others that include Q45, B45 and B43. Motherboards made by leading companies have had less than expected market demand. Earlier in September last year, when ASUS announced price-cuts for its 4-series motherboards, reported back then to make them "competitive", sources tell DigiTimes that the company was already facing swelling inventories.

As a result of this, the biggest loser seems to be ASUS, with a swelling inventory of 6~7 million units, valued at around $180 million, followed by Gigabyte holding an inventory worth around $130 million, which are quickly depreciating in value as the market gets closer to the launch of Intel's 5-series chipsets and the Ibex-Peak platform. With Intel planning to stick to its launch-schedule for its newest platform, motherboard vendors can only hope for Intel to reconsider its plans, delay its launch, and allow the inventories to get digested.

ASUS, a world-leading company in the new digital era, has been a staunch supporter of environmentally-friendly computing. Staring from 2000, ASUS has initiated the GreenASUS project, which focuses on four Green Home Runs-Green Design, Green Procurement, Green Manufacturing, and Green Service and Marketing. Since then, ASUS has constantly strived to in its efforts to be more environmentally-friendly. In 2004, ASUS launched the world first lead-free motherboard, and phased in lead-free manufacturing process to all product lines. This year, ASUS will be the first in the IT industry to launch Halogen-free product processes across its major product lines.

Asus has a large booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center as well. They are showing off their large line-up of EeePC branded unit. The big surprise is the new PC - the D200, which comes in a very small form factor and features a small LCD screen up front. It also comes with 2GB of memory an Atom N270. There is also a gigabit router built into the system.

The ASUS W90 represents a shift in the manufacturing and designing of the notebooks of today, where style plays an equally important role as performance. In blending the two elements together, the ASUS W90 can be likened to a high performance sports car-providing users with exhilarating performance and immaculate charm. Be it for entertainment or for work, the ASUS W90 is the definitive notebook for the modern, discerning consumer with an eye for design and attention to performance.

ASUS is proud to announce the world's first notebooks equipped with the AMD ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4600 Series GPU-the ASUS N81Vp and N51Tp. These notebooks will leverage the new GPU technology to deliver astounding multimedia experiences for discerning consumers. Furthermore, each N Series notebook also comes with innovative technological developments such as the highly-efficient Super Hybrid Engine (SHE), the built-in Express Gate operating system and the SmartLogon facial recognition system.

ASUS is reportedly preparing eight new motherboards based on the AM3/AM2+ sockets, ready for AMD's 45nm desktop CPUs. While two of these have already caught the media's attention, there are more. Tabled below are the eight motherboards based on the AMD 7-series chipsets, the ASUS M4A series, and NVIDIA nForce 700 series (and 900 series chipsets, if the "980a SLI" reference in the table isn't a typo), the ASUS M4N series.

Getting into some details, the M4A79-T is the high-end AMD CrossFireX supportive platform based on the AMD 790FX + SB750 chipset, that supports dual-channel DDR3-1600 (OC) memory. It will feature four PCI-Express x16 slots. The M4A79 Deluxe supports DDR2 memory. It is known that the upcoming AM3 socket Phenom II processors will be backwards compatible with AM2+ (DDR2) platforms. The M4A78T-E is the based on the AMD 790GX + SB750 chipset, it supports DDR3. The M4A78-E supports DDR2, while being based on the same chipset. The M4N series motherboards, start from the 3-way SLI supportive M4N82 Deluxe based on the 780a/980a SLI chipset, again it isn't known if the chart sourced has a typo. There is the M4N72-E based on the nForce 750a SLI, and finally the M4N78 Pro. All the M4N motherboards support DDR2 memory.

ASUS, world-leading producer of top quality graphic solutions, has today introduced the world's fastest dual and single GPU graphics cards incorporating the latest generation of NVIDIA GPUs-the GeForce GTX 295 and GeForce GTX 285 chipsets; with the ASUS ENGTX295, ENGTX285 ULTIMATE, and ENGTX285 TOP graphics cards. With an outstanding 3DMark Vantage Extreme Preset score of 9126, the ENGTX295 leads the pack as the world's fastest graphics card; while the ASUS ENGTX285 ULTIMATE and ENGTX285 TOP deliver 10% and 5% improvements respectively in gaming experiences when compared to reference designed boards. Furthermore, in order to show that ASUS cares for all gamers, both the ASUS ENGTX295 and ENGTX285 Series graphics cards will come bundled with a special coupon to obtain up to $25 or 10% off on a total of 5 games or CUDA applications at the NZONE webpage.

ASUS is preparing the industry's first notebook with a 512 GB solid-state drive (SSD). The ASUS S121 comes in an ultrathin form-factor while carrying hardware that puts it in the grey-area between netbooks and UMPCs.

The S121 comes with a 12-inch LCD screen with a compact yet rugged chassis. It is powered by an Intel Atom processor running at 1.33 GHz and 512 MB of RAM. Its storage is care of a rather massive 512 GB SSD. Its availability and price isn't known at this point, though we suspect that with the exclusiveness built around this product coupled with ASUS categorizing it outside its ULPC/netbook lineup, it will carry a rather high price tag.

Even though the EeePC is selling like hot cakes, nothing is stopping ASUS from developing more and more Eee-branded products. Their latest creation is called Eee Keyboard - a full-sized keyboard with built-in computer that includes wireless and Ethernet network, single speaker, built-in mic, and a 5-inch touchscreen display. The whole system weighs in less than 2 pounds and can connect to an external display. ASUS Eee Keyboard is still only a prototype, but who knows.

Following the success of becoming the world's first sound cards to be equipped with the next generation DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby Digital Plus bitstream on the PC platform, the ASUS Xonar HDAV1.3 Series once again moves to the forefront as the world's first and only solution to offer Dolby TrueHD audio bitstream on the PC platform. A powerful combination comprising of C-Media's custom-made AV200 audio processor and ArcSoft's TotalMedia Theatre software player lets users be the first to enjoy Dolby TrueHD's lossless compression rate of 24bit/192KHz over to their AV receivers. This breakthrough in the emerging Blu-ray era was unprecedented before the release of the Xonar HDAV1.3.

With motherboards based on AMD's newest AM3 socket surfacing from the likes of ECS and ASRock, market heavyweights such as ASUS have decided to pixellate their offerings on the internet. ASUS for one has two motherboards in the pipeline, under the M4A series. As the series name suggests, It's based on the AM3 socket (AM2+ was M3A) and based on AMD chipset. AM3 boards based on NVIDIA nForce chipset will be most likely called the M4N series.

Here are the initial offerings: M4A78 Pro and M4A79 Deluxe. The two are based on the AMD 780G and 790FX chipsets respectively. Both the motherboards use DDR2 memory. A complete range of AM2, AM2+ and AM3 socket CPUs are supported. Surprisingly neither support DDR3 memory, the one that makes AM3 stand apart from AM2+. The two are expected to be released in January, their prices are unknown at this point in time.

To keep up with the latest trends in processor technologies, ASUS has been constantly launching powerful CPU coolers to cater to the demands of gaming enthusiasts worldwide. However, one of the most eagerly-awaited would no doubt be the latest ASUS Triton 88 CPU cooler. This "fierce-looking" exterior of the Triton 88 comprises of an exclusive twin-pillared heatsink design, a 120mm inner-fan with a Diamond blue LED, and 6 copper heatpipes. With this ensemble of thermal features, it is able to deliver ultimate cooling performances for up to 180W and can support multiple applications-including the latest Intel Core i7 processor (LGA1366).

ASUS' Eee PC has been named Forbes Asia's Product of the Year for 2008, right after being crowned Stuff Magazine's Gadget of the Year and Computer of the Year. In justifying its selection, Forbes hailed the Eee PC for "its innovation and disruption", and added that the "ultraportable" netbook had "changed the global PC industry". This new addition to the Eee PC's mantle joins numerous other awards chalked up in the media, design and industry circles over the past year, most notably NBC.com's Best Travel Gadget and the prestigious G-Mark Award.