NVIDIA seems to be striking gold with its newest platform core logic, the MCP7A, MCP79 chipsets, with the mobile version of MCP79 especially taking the limelight. This is the chipset that Apple uses in its updates to the Macbook Pro. Several PC industry majors such as Acer, ASUS, HP, and Dell, are planning to launch several notebook models based on the MCP79. Some players even project the chipset to grab a 20% share among Intel CPU-based notebook platforms.

ASUS is planning to launch the F50GX notebook using the said chipset with a 16-inch 16:9 aspect ratio panel, and GeForce 9600M discrete graphics card, targeting the gamer market. The company is also planning to launch more MCP79-based notebooks by the end of this year or beginning of next year, according to Tony Chen, general manager of notebook business in ASUS. The general manager of GeForce products at NVIDIA, Ujesh Desai, pointed out that over 10 models of notebooks from global first-tier notebook vendors, will be launched by the end of the year.

ASUS, producer of top-notch thermal products, has today released the latest flagship model in the ASUS AMAzing series-the Axe Square. Decorated with a dazzling gold-aureate color that complements the uniquely axe-shaped design, this high performance cooler exudes the ultimate in aesthetic appeal; and comes in a limited edition luxury packaging. Furthermore, the Axe Square is also able to deliver enhanced cooling that support exceptional overclocking performances of up to 180W-all the while still retaining extremely low acoustic levels through the automatic PWM function.

When ASUS selected the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 GPU for its new CG6155 extreme gaming machine, it wasn't simply because of its raw graphics horsepower. Creating the best gaming PC used to be a simple matter of using CPUs and GPUs with highest available raw power to deliver the fastest gaming experience. But while CPU performance and raw graphics rendering are still important, new advances in physics, multi-GPU technology, 3D stereo, and parallel computing have amplified the importance of the GPU, making the right GPU a critical component in consumers' buying decisions.

Featuring the award-winning GeForce GTX 280 GPU and a motherboard built around the NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI MCP platform technology, the ASUS CG6155 gaming PC supports NVIDIA 3-way SLI technology enabling ASUS customers to equip their PC with one, two or even three GeForce GTX 280 GPUs. The CG6155 is a true "extreme gaming" machine, designed for hardcore gaming aficionados who want the maximum visual and physics fidelity possible.

The P6T WS Professional workstation motherboard is the ideal foundation for a powerful workstation-capable of delivering powerful and dependable performance; together with unparalleled I/O scalability for the most demanding tasks and upgrades in the future. Through ASUS' innovative design, the P6T WS Professional is able to support both SLI and CrossFireX technologies in order to deliver extreme and incredible graphical processing performance. Furthermore, it is also equipped with 2 built-in SAS connectors and 2 PCI-X slots onboard to allow users the flexibility of choice in multiple storage solutions. With such diverse features; and the capability to deliver extreme power efficiency through the ASUS EPU, the P6T WS Professional is a 'thoroughbred' that delivers both performance and improvements in the quality of work.

ASUS is proud to announce an exclusive partnership with NVIDIA in the creation of the most powerful DirectX (DX) 10 motherboard-the ASUS P5N7A-VM motherboard. A showcase of intelligent and innovative motherboard design, the P5N7A-VM features an LGA775 socket for Intel Core 2 Extreme / Core 2 Quad / Core 2 Duo processors and supports the GeForce 9300 / nForce 730i chipset and memory expansion of up to a maximum of 16 GB with four DDR2 800/667 dual channel memory slots. With support for Hybrid SLI, CUDA and PhysX graphics acceleration, the P5N7A-VM promises to be the most powerful DX10 motherboard in the consumer market today.

ASUS, the world's leading producer of motherboards, today unveiled the most advanced and highest performing enthusiast motherboard at present: the Republic of Gamers (ROG) Rampage II Extreme. In keeping with ROG's commitment to producing cutting-edge, boundary-redefining products for the serious gaming and overclocking community, the ROG Rampage II Extreme incorporates the latest innovations and components into its architecture, such as the latest Intel chipset and SLI/CrossFireX on Demand-delivering blistering performance through its support for the new range of Intel processors and multi-GPU technologies such as 3-Way SLI and CrossFireX. To enable users to push the capabilities of the new platform to the limit, the ROG Rampage II Extreme features ROG Extreme Engine, a true multi-phase power management system-16 phases for the CPU and 3 phases each for QPI/DRAM, the Northbridge and memory-with premium Multilayer type Polymer Capacitors (ML Caps) that keep the power supply stable even under the most demanding loads.

NVIDIA Corporation today announced that the world's preeminent motherboard manufacturers, ASUS, EVGA, MSI, Gigabyte, and DFI, have all licensed NVIDIA SLI technology for their new lineup of motherboards designed to work with Intel Bloomfield CPUs and X58 chipsets. The addition of SLI to these motherboards and adoption by major OEMs including Dell and others means consumers will be able to harness the power of award-winning GeForce GPUs in single, SLI, or 3-way SLI configurations for the fastest visual computing experience on upcoming Intel Bloomfield platforms.

"Dell Gaming is known for industry-leading graphics and unparalleled performance," said Patrick Cooper, Director of Product Planning for Dell Gaming. "With the marriage of NVIDIA SLI and the latest generation of Intel chipsets, we will continue to offer hardcore gamers the opportunity to push their Alienware systems beyond the limits of today's hottest titles."

ASUSTek is reportedly prepping ASUS Xonar Essence STX, the next installment in the Xonar sound card lineup. The report does not include information on EAX support or gaming experience with Essence STX, but it's the music that will really matter with this card. According to ASUS, the Xonar Essence STX will boast a Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) of 124dB with 0.0003% distortion, and will be the first card available with an onboard headphone amp. The amp will drive up to 600ohms headphones with less than 100dB distortion. Whats more, Xonar Essence STX will provide independent outputs for headphones and normal audio. The whole card will be using high-quality Nichicon capacitors. The frequency response for Xonar Essence STX is <10~90 kHz @ 3.5dB. That's not all, just like some high-end Auzentech sound cards, the Xonar STX will also allow changing the original op-amp ICs, without having any soldering skills. Under the plastic of the card, there are op-amp sockets that will allow a replacement operational amplifier to be installed very easy. The release date and pricing information for this pure audiophile card are still to be proclaimed.

Cognizant that the brilliant reproduction of colors is the key to believability and immersion during movie watching and gaming, ASUS today launched the VK266H and VW266H widescreen (16:10 aspect ratio) LCD monitors which support 1920x1200 high resolution, Full HD 1080p video playback via an HDMI input, a high 20000:1 contrast ratio, 2 ms (gray-to-gray) response time and ASUS' exclusive Splendid Video Intelligence Technology. Splendid utilizes a color engine that analyzes the properties of video content being played back and automatically optimizes image quality for the best visual results in any usage scenario-ultimately making for a vastly improved personal entertainment experience. In keeping with ASUS' recent drive to integrate video conferencing features into its monitors, the ASUS VK266H is also equipped with a rotatable 2.0 megapixel webcam with Smart EV (Exposure Value) Control technology to enable high quality and convenient real-time video communications under different lighting conditions.

DigiTimes reporters have posted information that ASUS is working on a touch-screen equipped Eee PC. The new netbook will start appearing during the first or the second quarter of 2009, according to the report which claims to have the information from various panel makers. ASUS is also expected to ship the touch panel netbooks with Windows 7, Microsoft's latest OS. AU Optronics (AUO) and Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) will most likely supply the touch panels. They both plan to launch 11.6-inch and 12.1-inch touch panels in February next year, so if the calculations are right the new Eee PCs will be assembled with their panels. ASUSTeK is yet to decide what panel size to use.

Patriot Memory, a global provider of premium quality memory module and flash memory solutions, today announced the Lite Series SSD storage solutions. Available in both 32GB and 64GB capacities, these upgrade solutions are designed specifically for the ASUS Eee PCs.

"Small form-factor mobile PC's are becoming extremely popular among consumers," says Meng Jay Choo, Flash Product Manager for Patriot Memory. "Patriot's new Lite Series SSD solutions offer consumers the perfect storage upgrade to store their important music, video and data files without worrying about running out of space on their ASUS Eee PC."

After flaunting the P6T Series motherboards, and the monstrous Rampage II Extreme, ASUS decided to expand its Bloomfield CPU-supportive motherboard lineup with its workstation-class offerings. ASUS is known for bringing in workstation boards on desktop platforms. They have had Intel 975P based workstation boards, just as they had nForce 590 SLI boards. These desktop-thru-worksation platforms are usually single CPU socket platforms, with certain workstation features, such as PCI-X interface, enterprise-grade storage controllers, among other features that make them durable and suitable for mission-critical environments. They don't sport enterprise chipsets, and hence carry batch-leading desktop chipsets.

With Nehalem and the new Socket 1366, ASUS did just that, with the inclusion of two single-socket workstation boards. These motherboards, at the outset support the upcoming Core i7 processors, and have the potential to support Xeon processors that use the same socket, or even the same core. There are two models lined-up: P6T6 WS Revolution and P6T6 WS Pro. The P6T6 WS Revolution is the flagship board. It features six full-length PCI-Express slots, which might have variable number of available PCI-Express lanes, depending on the number of PCI-E cards connected. It features a 16+2 phase CPU power circuit. The board features the Tylersburg X58 chipset, along with an ICH10 series southbridge. There is passive cooling for the VRM area, northbridge, and a large southbridge block, that could be possibly cooling a supplementary PCI-Express switch chip. Storage options include Serial-attached SCSI (SAS), SATA II and e-SATA ports.

Remember the A-DATA DDR3 triple channel memory and the ASUS P6T Deluxe motherboard? They are both detailed on our page, but this story aims to show how both parts perform when working coupled with a quad-core Core i7 engineering sample CPU. The results you're about to see below are achieved by three 1600MHz A-DATAs overclocked to over 2000MHz. The result is system memory read/write speeds of up to the incredible 20515/16946 MB/s. The latency time is also worth mentioning - 22.9ns.

Consistent with the tradition of breaking new grounds, ASUS is proud to present the world's first Intel Quad Core Gaming notebook-the G71. Specifically designed with gamers in mind, the G71 is the first in ASUS' planned series of Quad Core gaming notebooks and an addition to its expanding G Series. The G71 delivers a total gaming experience in a highly portable package, with an emphasis on audio clarity and stunning graphics performance.

French site Matbe, posted today photos of the first ATI video card produced by ASUS and branded as Dark Knight edition. This is the third card (correct me if I'm wrong) to go under this relatively new series of ASUS video cards. The EAH4870 DK/HTDI/512M is an ATI Radeon HD 4870 with 512MB GDDR5 memory, a PCI-Express 2.0 interface CrossFireX support and dual-DVI connectivity. Although the Dark Knight nickname suggests boosted clock speeds the card comes at the reference 750MHz GPU and 3600MHz memory speeds. It only features an improved cooling system, that consists of four heatpipes and bigger fan. Early European etailers already price the card at 263 Euro. A Dark Knight HD 4870 with 1GB onboard memory is also rumored to be in the works.

Super Talent posted a press release this morning, informing everyone that it is starting a new line of SSDs, available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities, that are designed specially for the ASUS Eee PC. Judjing from the three sizes, these will be intended for the latest Eee PC S101 netbooks, ASUS introduced last weekend. The new Eee PC SSDs are mini PCIe and offer reasonable read/write rates of 40/15 MB/sec respectively. The drives are sampling now, and will enter mass production in November. Super Talent lists the expected street price at $53, $79, and $149 for the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models.

It appears that the ASUS Rampage II Extreme motherboard we spotted last week has been an early sample that was designed for testing only. Today pictures of the retail version, the one that customers will see from now on appeared. The retail version of Rampage II Extreme will ship with a whole new cooling system, well known from various other Republic of Gamers mainboards, but different from the one we posted earlier. Aside from the cooling changes, the motherboard will have the same features as we reported here. I can only add the SupremeFX 7.1 sound blaster and the ASUS LED poster to our previous information of extraordinary features.

ASUSTeK Computer released today its newest and most expensive Eee PC netbook, the Eee PC S101. Designed to attract users with its style and premium finish (available in three colors - brown, champagne or graphite), the S class Eee PC also offer the latest hardware that a netbook can integrate. Measuring 264 (W) x 180.5 (D) x 18 ~ 25 (H) mm, the Eee PC S101 will be available in 3 different models. The first one has a 16GB SSD + 16GB SD card (32GB total storage space), Windows XP OS and a retail price of around $699. The second version comes with a 32GB SSD, Linux OS and will retail for around $699 as well. Finally, there's the 64GB SSD model with Linux which will have a price tag of around $799. Feature-wise all three Eee PC S101 models have a 10.2-inch wide active matrix LED backlit screen (1024x600 resolution), 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, 1GB RAM, 10/100/1000 Mbps ethernet controller, WLAN support, Bluetooth, 4-in-1 MMC reader and a 0.3MB integrated webcam. For more information, please visit the Eee PC - Blog.

After yesterday's ASUS P6T Deluxe quick introduction, today is time for the heavy artilery to come by and stop at our front door. For sure ASUS, one of the biggest brands in the computer industry is not going to have only one or two motherboards to support Nehalem. Although the platform is not yet officially introduced, ASUS is ready with its Rampage II Extreme motherboard. As the name suggests this will be the enthusiast range of motherboard offerings support for LGA 1366 processors, triple-channel DDR3 memory and up to three PCI-Express x16 graphics cards. The new Republic of Gamers machinery might not have a fancy heat pipe cooling (it might not need one) but it has a few other tricks, such as a special VTT CPU power card that provides a 16-phase CPU and 3-phase memory power design. The board also features a number of strange buttons that will help experts overclock their hardware. The Rampage II Extreme also has six SATA 3.0 Gbps connectors, dual Gigabit Ethernets, FireWire, eSATA ports and most likely support for both ATI CrossFire X and NVIDIA triple SLI technology. Let the pictures finish this post:

To support the upcoming LGA-1366 socket Core i7 processors, motherboard manufacturers have their first-waves of motherboards ready. ASUS for one, has had its P6T Deluxe pictured before several of its competitors could have their flagship motherboards pictured on the internet. Enter P6T Deluxe OC Palm Edition. What's new with this motherboard is that it bundles a gadget ASUS calls an "OC Palm", looking at its visual similarity to hand-held PCs. The device holds controls apart from an LCD screen. What this gadget does is, that it allows you on-the-fly overclocking of several system parameters for which, you would have had to use the system BIOS configuration. The device is handled by software that does the changes, it connects to the motherboard using standard USB interface, and the LCD screen gives the convenience of overclocking even when say playing a game. That apart, the package gives you essentially the same P6T Deluxe motherboard.

Take a good look at ASUS. First they come up with notebooks and PC monitors with leather infused, and then bamboo upholstery, and now, they've taken the "luxury" moniker to a whole new level, with a notebook that gives out fragrances. Believe it. The ASUS F6V is touted to be a "fragrance" notebook, not that it has the machinery to generate fragrances, but that the notebook has planted fragrance packs that send out the fragrance with flowing hot air from the notebook's heat-vents.

ASUS would be launching four models with identical system specifications, but different fragrances (flavours), chassis colour and body-graphics. Standard system specs include an Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 processor, ATI Radeon HD 3470 graphics with 256 MB dedicate memory, 2 GB of DDR2-800 memory (up to 4 GB supported), a 250 GB SATA hard drive. It comes with a 13.3 inch screen, support for wireless networking, Bluetooth 2.1 and tips the scales at 2 kg (roughly 4 lbs).

ASUS has sensed that there is a sizable market for discrete high-end sound cards, and is now out to grab its share. There are primarily two kinds of high-end sound card segments: gamer-grade and audiophile-grade. ASUS has created a new sound card to cater to each segment, though there could be more SKUs carved out of these sound card designs. The gamer-grade card, called Xonar Essence. From what the picture vaguely shows, the card continues to use the AV200 audio chipset, also seen is the bus translation logic, made by PLX. The card uses PCI-Express x1, though interestingly, requires that you collect a Molex connector to fuel it. It is said to carry industrial-grade Japanese capacitors. The portion of the card that houses vital DAC/ADC circuitry is covered by a fancy EMI shield. It is said that this card comes with a signal to noise ratio of 124 dB.

On with the audiophile card, ASUS has introduced the Xonar HDAV series sound cards. There are two cards: HDAV 1.3 and HDAV 1.3 Deluxe, depending on the presence of a daughter-card that expands the card's connectivity. The card uses RCA connectors for both digital and analog outputs. It also features two HDMI 1.3 ports for both output and input (for recording/mastering), is HDCP compliant and allows audio pass for protected Blu Ray content. The Xonar Essence awaits launch while Xonar HDAV 1.3 has been launched, and product page published. Pictures (in order) for Xonar Essence, Xonar HDAV 1.3 Deluxe, its connectors and package are provided.

ASUS today informed that it will be adding 3.75G connectivity to its hugely-popular series of Eee PC netbooks, enabling convenient and high-speed access to the Internet anytime, anywhere. The inclusion of 3.75G will allow for low latency mobile broadband Internet access at high downlink and uplink speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps and 2 Mbps respectively. 3.75G will make its first appearance in Eee PC 901 netbooks released to market from October 2008 onward.

NVIDIA seems to have made an exception with the GeForce 9800 GTX / GTX+, for allowing its partners to design and sell non-reference design graphics cards based on the said GPU. Earlier we had seen pictures of a card designed by Palit, perhaps the first non-reference 9800 GTX+, taken during this year's NVISION event. It's ASUS now, with their non-reference GeForce 9800 GTX+ accelerator branded as EN9800GTX+ DK/HTDI/512M, in which "DK" abbreviates Dark Knight.

The card uses a custom PCB designed by ASUS, the power inputs are pushed to the posterior end of the card, a black metal railing is seen covering the side of the card (XFX style), the center of attraction is the large cooler designed by ASUS. It consists of aluminum fin arrays on either sides of a fan, to which heat is conveyed by four heat-pipes. The has a double-slot design, sports 512 MB of GDDR3 memory and is 3-way SLI capable. The card can be pushed as far as 735 MHz (core) and 2,200 MHz (memory). ASUS has set up its product page already.

The Intel P45 chipset has had a fair bit of success in the markets these days. ASUS has a whole range of motherboards based on the P43 and P45 chipsets to cater to all price-bands ranging from US $100 to $250. P45 itself however, comes at a time when a section of the industry is gearing up for the upcoming range of processors from Intel, based on the newer LGA-1366 socket, which would be followed later by the LGA-1160 socket. ASUS plans to give its range of P45 chipset based motherboard some model-specific price cuts that channel vendors determine. ASUS commented that it decided to reduce prices in order to meet demand for P45-based motherboard among students.

It is also noted that other first-tier motherboard vendors wouldn't be able to follow suit with price-cuts due to the impact it could have on their revenues. So a price-cut from ASUS alone could put ASUS in a comfortable position since they could be the only ones selling their products at attractive prices, and so, make up for the revenue lost on the price-cuts while preparing its market for the next line of products in the months to come.