DFI finally added an AM3 motherboard based on the AMD 790FX chipset to its lineup. The LANParty Dark 790FXB-M3H5 makes it to the tier of motherboards that are based on the AMD 790FX + SB750 chipset, and support DDR3 memory. Looks and feature-wise, this board is near-identical to the LP DK 790FXB-M2RSH, except for the fact that it features the AM3 socket, supports the latest AMD AM3 CPUs out of the box, and supports DDR3 memory. DFI advertises this board to be "the best OC platform".

The board features a 4+1 phase CPU power circuit. It features two full-length electrically 16-lane PCI-Express 2.0 slots to support ATI CrossFireX. The third full-length slot is electrically x4. The board supports DDR3 800/1066/1333 MHz memory, and DDR3-1600 by overclocking. DFI uses the Marvell 8056 gigabit Ethernet controller, which is advertised to be 15% faster than competing models. Audio is care of Realtek ALC885 HD audio. LANParty ABS II on the fly overclocking feature, backed by DFI's iconic Genie BIOS, make for the rest of the feature-set.

Apart from being a major add-in board (AIB) partner for AMD's ATI Radeon and FirePro lines of graphics products, Sapphire is also a notable motherboard manufacturer that has been using chipsets by ATI for several generations of platforms now. Its latest offering is the DDR3-supportive Pure CrossFireX 790GX AM3 motherboard. It has been spotted at a Japanese store, where it was priced at 18,980 JPY (around 192.5 USD).

Based on the AMD 790GX + SB750 chipset, the motherboard features an AM3 CPU socket. Four DDR3 DIMMs provide support for up to 16 GB of DDR3 memory. A 5+1 phase CPU power circuit is present. Heatpipe based cooling spreads heat between the northbridge and VRM heatsinks. The southbridge gets its own small heatsink. Two PCI-Express x16 slots are provided, which arrange as electrically x8, x8 when both are populated. The motherboard lacks onboard lane switching logic, and relies on a switch card that has to be installed on the second PCI-E x16, for the first one to provide all its 16 lanes to the installed graphics card. The motherboard features a Radeon HD 3300 class IGP with dedicated 128 MB of DDR3 sideport memory. Audio-routed HDMI, DVI and D-Sub connectors are provided onboard.

Following Sapphire's move to create a Radeon HD 4670 SKU with GDDR4 memory, GeCube has one of its own, ready for launch. The RV730-based graphics card has 512 MB of GDDR4 memory, across a 128-bit wide memory interface. It uses a simplistic design for its PCB and cooler. The card draws all its power from the PCI-Express slot.

The clock speeds on this card differ from the reference ATI specifications. The core is clocked at 750 MHz, with the GDDR4 memory at 2200 MHz. With the memory speed on offer not much higher than what GDDR3 offers, the inclusion of GDDR4 looks more like a dressing to the SKU. It remains to be seen if the memory benefits from overclocking, to overcome the bottlenecks of the narrow memory bus. Rest of its specifications are standard: 320 stream processors, DirectX 10.1 compliance, and support for ATI CrossFireX technology. It is yet to be priced.

ATI's CrossFire multi-GPU technology started off on the Intel platform with ATI's own brand of chipset before AMD acquired the company. AMD/ATI then allowed CrossFire and the succeeding CrossFireX standards to be supported by Intel chipsets. The only current chipset platform that doesn't support CrossFire is the NVIDIA nForce series, which as ASRock demonstrated during the ongoing CeBIT event, breaks the dogma.

ASRock devised a BIOS for its nForce 740i based N7AD-SLI motherboard that enables support for CrossFire. AMD's Catalyst drivers were able to detect the motherboard as a qualified platform and enable CrossFire between two installed ATI Radeon accelerators. The setup was able to show performance increments during a 3DMark06 session. ASRock is reportedly working out similar BIOS firmware for several other motherboards made by it, and wants to enable CrossFire, CrossFireX for all its nForce motherboards.

Coming out of nowhere, ATI CrossFire Xtension may become your favourite application after the next sentence. Just released with the pilot version 1.0, ATI CrossFire Xtension is a cool utility that allows you to create custom profiles and force CrossFire support on non-supported or new games and applications, both for Direct3D and OpenGL. Better see for yourself if the app works. Here's the download link.

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.

Following the release of the X58 SuperComputer high-end motherboard, ASRock made an addition to its socket LGA-1366 motherboard lineup with the X58 Deluxe. The new SKU is simply a trimmed-down package of the X58 SuperComputer, with a few features and accessories removed. The motherboard continues to be a high-end offering from ASRock that supports leading multi-GPU standards in their highest-possible configurations: ATI CrossFireX and NVIDIA 3-Way SLI and Quad-SLI. It retains the PCB and component-layout of the X58 SuperComputer for the most part.

The changes kick-in where, the X58 Deluxe makes do with only a single gigabit Ethernet interface, as opposed to two on the X58 SuperComputer. It does away with an SLI interconnect bridge that spans across two expansion slots (2S). The SuperComputer package originally bundled three SLI bridges in all: 2-way 2S, 2-way 3S and, 3-way. The 2S bridge connected two NVIDIA graphics cards on neighbouring PCI-Express x16 slots. With the red-coloured slots wired-up for a maximum of 8 PCI-E lanes only, the 2S bridge become redundant and not recommended for common two-card SLI setups. The rest of the offering remains the same, with support for up to 24GB of DDR3 memory, four PCI-Express x16 slots, 8-channel HD Audio and gigabit Ethernet. The new model is expected to be priced a little lesser than the X58 SuperComputer. It is yet to be officially announced by the company, though already listed on its website.

AMD today released its timely update to the ATI Catalyst system drivers package that provides drivers driver support for ATI Radeon graphics accelerators, AMD 7-series chipset with integrated graphics. The drivers are effictive for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Linux operating systems.

The new release expands the feature-set of the ATI Catalyst, along with a set of fixes as described in the release notes (PDF). The fixes mostly revolve around Catalyst Control Center and the video acceleration features of the driver. To begin with, the new driver provides full OpenGL 3.0 support, including a few new GL extensions. The release also favours Linux by providing support for Hybrid CrossFireX. More importantly, the Linux version of the driver, provides MultiView support, that enables using independent display-heads on setups with multiple ATI GPUs. It is supported by any combination of ATI Radeon GPUs, Radeon HD 2000 series and later.

DOWNLOAD: ATI Catalyst 9.1 for Windows XP (32bit) | Windows XP (64bit) | Windows Vista (32bit) | Windows Vista (64bit)

After AMD embraced the DDR3 memory standard, the eventuality always existed where motherboard vendors could release motherboards that supported both DDR2 and DDR3 memory standards, to support the complete spectrum of processors built for the AM2, AM2+ and AM3 sockets with appropriate memory modules installed. The Jetway MA3-79GDG COMBO will be one of the first in its kind.

Based on the AMD 790GX + SB750 chipset, the MA3-79GDG COMBO holds two DDR2 DIMM slots for DDR2-1066 MHz memory, and two slots to support DDR3-1066 MHz memory. Memory support is subject to the processor being used. The motherboard comes in the micro-ATX form-factor and goes ahead with providing support for the ATI CrossFireX multi-GPU standard apart from its Radeon HD 3300-class IGP. The rest of this motherboard consists of a standard feature-set, with single PCI and PCI-Express x1 slots, 8-channel audio with optical and co-axial SPDIF audio connectivity, IGP video output through DVI, HDMI and D-Sub connectors, gigabit Ethernet and eSATA. This motherboard will reach stores next month and hopes to cash-in on its biggest USP: upgrade-friendliness. Its price isn't known at this point.

Sapphire looks to continue bringing out new graphics cards based on the Radeon HD 4670, to cater to the sub-$100 segment, this time with the Ultimate Radeon HD 4670. This one is Sapphire's silent-cooled card that takes advantage of the RV730 core and its favourable thermal properties. The card uses a blue PCB that draws all its power from the PCI-Express interface.

The cooler consists of a central GPU block that doubles up as a heatsink. From this block, arise two heatpipes that convey heat to an aluminum fin array that extends to the back of the card. The card features 512 MB of memory across a 128-bit GDDR3 bus. Outputs provided include an HDMI connector along with DVI-D and D-Sub connectors. There are no CrossFire bridge connectors on the PCB, leaving the option of internal-CrossFire. The card is said to use reference AMD clock speeds. It is priced at 73€.

Having absorbed Voodoo PC, HP is going full-cylinders with its gaming PC lineup. It has not overlooked gaming notebooks either. In the works is the HP Firefly, a gaming notebook with exclusive features, driven by bleeding edge hardware in a stylish chassis. The Firefly is in a concept design phase, with working prototypes being readied for events such as the upcoming CES expo.

To run you through with the features, the top lid of the notebook holds a 17" main LCD with a native resolution of 1920x1200. The lid also holds a small 4" screen with a resolution of 800x400, which can be used as a HUD or a secondary utility display. Also mounted are front speakers and a night-vision webcam. The business end of the notebook holds an illuminated keyboard with a right-hand placed track-pad. The exterior of the notebook has some techno-themed motifs printed or engraved. Under the hood is a quad-core Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9xxx CPU clocked at 2.40 GHz, 4 GB of memory, and a graphics subsystem consisting of two ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870 GPUs in CrossFire. Two 250GB hard-drives operate in RAID 0 for storage. There is a Blu-Ray drive provided. Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio handles 6-channel audio with game audio effects processing and Dolby Digital output capabilities. We will learn more about this notebook come CES.

AMD has released an ATI Catalyst driver hotfix, Catalyst 8.11 with Intel X58 i7 Driver, that aims to improve performance on Intel X58 platfoms with ATI graphics accelerator installed. The X58-specific optimizations would also be part of next month's Catalyst 8.12 release. The hotfix applies to all discrete graphics cards, ATI Radeon X1000 series and later. The game-specific improvements are universal (helps everyone). A concise list of improvements this hotfix brings about as listed by AMD is as follows:

• Improves performance in various Direct3D and OpenGL applications on the X58 platform. AMD's next official ATI Catalyst release (ATI Catalyst 8.12) will include these optimizations
• Improves performance for the DirectX 9 version of Far Cry 2 on CrossFire compatible systems
• Improves performance for the DirectX 10 version of Far Cry 2 on both single and CrossFire compatible systems
• Improves performance for the DirectX 10 and DirectX 10.1 version of Stalker Clear Sky on both single and CrossFireX configurations at higher resolutions
• Brothers in Arms - Hells Highway no longer displays corruption on the 'Black Friday' level.

DOWNLOAD: for Windows XP (32/64-bit) | for Windows Vista (32/64-bit). More information can be found here.

Alienware introduced its fleet of high-performance gaming PCs based on Intel's newest Core i7 processors. The range is branded as Area 51 X-58. Its range starts from US $1,349, with the base model using the Core i7 920 processor, which is configurable to Core i7 940 and the Core i7 965 Extreme Edition. Memory options go up to 12 GB of DDR3 1066 MHz memory, and base graphics card being the ATI Radeon HD 4870, configurable up to NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 SLI or Radeon HD 4870 X2 CrossFireX.

There are options for up to 2 TB of storage, or the option to pick performance over storage, with two WD VelociRaptor 300 GB drives in RAID 0. Parallel to this brand is Alienware's other brand, the ALX X-58. The ALX comes with the same base CPU and memory, but ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 or two GeForce 9800 GTX, 2 TB of storage, along with the option of a Blu-Ray burner. The ALX X-58 starts at $3,699. These systems come equipped with 700, 1000 or 1200W power supplies depending on the hardware opted for.

Smoothcreations (www.Smoothcreations.com), a leading manufacturer of Custom PC gaming systems, desktop workstations, and Laptops, introduced today, in collaboration with Intel , are proud to announce the Smoothcreations "Prophet i7" series.

Stop showing up to Lan parties with gaming rigs that look like some else's pc. Turn heads, and then shred them with the Prophet i7 series. The first portable performance PC from Smooth Creations.

Configurable options available in price point category platform solutions. The Ultimate LAN party system: The Smooth Creations Prophet i7 series was designed to intimidate, perform and back up every piece of trash talk you fling at your gaming buddies. These custom painted gaming beasts deliver the graphics-shredding processing power you need to conquer your next LAN event.

"The Prophet i7 Portable design makes it easy to go to those LAN parties without having to lug heavy pc equipment around", Mario Gastelum, Product Marketing. The "Prophet i7" models are stacked with Intel Core i7 CPU's and a tasty choice of Diamond Radeon HD4870's or 2x 4870X2 H20 Special Edition graphics cards in Crossfire configurations. Or you can choose some ass kicking BFG Geforce 280 GTX's or 260 GTX's in SLI or TRI SLI configurations. Be rest assured that not only will you have a screaming looking case - but a serious war gaming machine that will get you the highest frame rates playing Crysis or Far Cry 2. Any i7 Platform that is built with a pair of BFG's Geforce 260 or 280 GTX will get a FREE custom painted BFG logo & themed fender guitar and a free copy of Far Cry2.(Ed. note: The green/gray Hellcat system image has been added, so you get an idea about the look of the casing from Smoothcreations)

The year 2008 so far, has been very eventful for the graphics card market. A reinvigorated GPU lineup by ATI, brought in some fierce competition to NVIDIA, which resulted in a tug-of-war with pricing graphics cards in the market, with either company refusing to lose on grounds of pricing. This event, coupled with the announcement of several game titles by game publishers, resulted in bumper-sales of graphics cards, giving the present state of the global economy little or no relevance.

The months to come hold the same amount of importance for both AMD and NVIDIA, where the next round of competition begins with successors to current high-end products being slated. NVIDIA is expected to continue with its monolithic high transistor-count GPU design methodology, while AMD could bring in a little change to the way it uses two efficient GPUs to build powerful products.

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.

AMD today introduced the ATI Radeon HD 4830 graphics card, raising the performance bar for graphics cards priced at less than $150 (USD) and presenting gamers with even more affordable access to award-winning ATI Radeon HD 4800 series performance. Like all ATI Radeon HD 4800 series products, the new offering delivers class-leading game performance1 and superior HD multimedia capabilities, as well support for the latest DirectX 10.1 games soon to be released for the holiday season.

"The ATI Radeon HD 4830 graphics card is another example of how AMD's scalable design strategy is paying off," said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, Graphics Products Group, AMD. "With a single chip we have been able to quickly and efficiently bring to market graphics card designs ranging from below $150 through $549 SEP, with leading performance in every segment. The ATI Radeon HD 4830 continues that great trend, providing tremendous value to gamers for less than $150."

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.

CoolIT Systems had several cooling products on site designed to reduce the noise and temperatures of the latest graphics cards from ATI and NVIDIA.Just announced last week, Cooling System for the HD 4870 X2 using a 120 mm fan.

Pictures of the first prototype AMD 790GX motherboard with integrated Radeon HD 3300 IGP started sufracing yesterday. The upcoming AMD 790GX chipset not only supports CrossFire X and Hybrid CrossFire, but it also adds 3-way Hybrid CrossFire in the loop. 3-way Hybrid CrossFire combines an integrated graphics with two PCI-E 2.0 x8 slots that can be used in CrossFire mode. Just an example, imagine two HD 3870 X2 cards working in CrossFire X helped by an AMD Radeon HD3300 IGP graphics. When in 2D mode only the integrated graphics will be used and thus save power, but if the system is running at full throttle all three cards will be operating. Yes, the HD3300 IGP graphics won't give any significant boost in games and 3D apps, but at least it'll be built into the motherboard and will be working without requiring any additional interventions, so why don't use it? The AMD 790GX based products are expected to go on sale in May.

Taipei, Taiwan, February 26, 2008 -Catering to users who need a powerful motherboard with high speeds and great expansion slot interface support, ASUS, worldwide leader in motherboard design and production, has today released the Z7S WS workstation motherboard. This innovative motherboard is equipped with dual socket 771 and utilizes the latest Intel 5400 chipset for vigorous performance. It also supports fully buffered DDR2 800MHz dual-channel memory, dual PCI Express 2.0 x16 lanes; and comes in the compact CEB form factor. With this innovative motherboard, users will enjoy convenient slot expansion and enjoy fast and efficient work efficiency.

Admittedly this isn't the first review of AMD's new 3870 X2 running in CrossFireX, but it does seem to give a better indication of real world performance. As in the previous test, this article shows unimpressive 3DMark scores, but as the author is quick to point out, 3DMark06 is known to be quite heavily dependent on the CPU so doesn't always give a reliable indication of real world GPU performance. More interesting are the benchmarks of Call of Juarez and F.E.A.R., which show performance increases of around 50% and 75% respectively. It's important to remember that AMD's CrossFireX driver is still in development, but these figures should give a rough idea of what is to be expected. You can read FPSLABS' full article here.

When we reported about the Inquirers review of the Asus Z7S we were quite skeptical. ASUS contacts could not confirm existence and even doubted the news themselves due to various reasons. (naming scheme, FB-DIMM's on enthusiast board, etc)
Besides a small review the Z7S was not heard of. Though we are happy to be able to tell you it isn't a hoax, a contact at Asus confirmed existence of the board and it is indeed aimed at previous PC-DL/NCCH-DL users.
Unfortunately nothing new is known, but seeing how the aforementioned boards were priced odds are it will not cost you an arm and a leg. Which is, of course, relative.
Strategically it would make sense to release this around the release of Skulltrail, the only board with similar features. So let's hope for some more news next month.

We all know the Inquirer isn't always right. However this story seems solid. The Inq is reporting of a new Asus s771 board. Of course nothing special, though next to Skulltrail this would be the only board with overclocking options in the BIOS.

Foxconn is showing off its impressive new Quad CrossFire motherboard at CES, which features no less than 10 slots - four PCI-E 16x, four PCI-E 1x and two standard PCI. The motherboard also has a watercooled northbridge and southbridge. I'll let the pictures say the rest.