ESS Technology, Inc., the industry leader in audio semiconductor devices, today announces two 8-channel DACs with integrated line drivers with exceptional performance. The incorporated ESS patented Hyperstream IV architecture provides the listener with the legendary SABRE sound quality with improved audio performance and a refined and enjoyable listening experience.

The ES9082 SMART DAC and ES9081 DAC are ESS' next generation devices that deliver a True DNR of +120dB and -108dB THD+N with 2VRMS line driver for each of the 8 channels allowing for an amazing audio experience while reducing the Bill-Of-Material (BOM). Channels can be summed to improve performance in an application requiring fewer channels. A 2-channel differential configuration can achieve up to +127dB DNR with a 4VRMS output. ESS' True DNR performance does not rely on Dynamic Range Enhancement (DRE) technology that shows higher DNR but is known to cause pop noise in some applications.

We are excited to announce the first Surface AI PCs built exclusively for business: Surface Pro 10 for Business and Surface Laptop 6 for Business. These new PCs represent a major step forward in customer-focused design and are packed with features that business customers have been requesting - from amazing performance and battery life to more ports, better security and custom, durable anti-reflective displays. These are the first Surface PCs optimized for AI, with the new Copilot key being added to Surface Laptop 6 and Surface Pro keyboards that accelerate access to the best Windows AI experiences. In addition to the new Surface for Business products, we are pleased to announce the Microsoft Adaptive Accessories will now be available to commercial customers.

These new PCs are powered by the latest Intel Core Ultra processors. We partnered with Intel to deliver the power and reliable performance our customers depend on, along with compelling AI experiences for Surface and the Windows ecosystem. Surface has also been leading in Neural Processing Unit (NPU) integration to drive AI experiences on the PC since 2019, and the benefits of these connected efforts are evident. From a performance perspective, Surface Laptop 6 is 2x faster than Laptop 52, and Surface Pro 10 is up to 53% faster than Pro 9. The benefits of the NPU integration include AI features like Windows Studio Effects and Live Captions and the opportunity for businesses and developers to build their own AI apps and experiences.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced Swift Pro PG248QP, featuring an innovative FHD (1920 x 1080) 540 Hz (OC) Esports-TN (E-TN) panel for the smoothest and clearest visuals ever. It's the fastest gaming monitor available today and is up to 50% more responsive than traditional TN panels. The PG248QP boasts numerous features that will appeal to esports gamers, including NVIDIA G-SYNC Ultra Low Motion Blur 2 (ULMB 2) technology for supersmooth visuals, the NVIDIA Reflex Analyzer for measuring system latency, and a unique base with retractable claws to free up more desktop space for a keyboard and mouse.

Made for esports pros
This groundbreaking ROG Swift Pro esports gaming monitor series pushes the boundaries of speed and responsiveness to provide pro gamers and enthusiasts with unparalleled gaming experiences. The PG248QP uses a 24.1-inch E-TN panel to deliver stunning visuals at a buttery-smooth 540 Hz (OC), making it the fastest gaming monitor available. Its features include an adjustable base with retractable claws that ensure a smaller desktop footprint, leaving more space for a keyboard and mouse. The PG248QP meets the requirements of DisplayHDR 400 certification to immerse gamers in incredibly lifelike gaming worlds bursting with color.

beyerdynamic, the renowned manufacturer of professional audio equipment, is expanding its MMX gaming product range. The manufacturer is launching the new MMX 200 wireless gaming headset, a product that takes gaming sound to a new level. The beyerdynamic MMX 200 wireless offers the perfect combination of crystal-clear studio sound, META VOICE microphone, and wireless connectivity for PC and console gaming enthusiasts. With features like Augmented Mode, LOW LATENCY, and Hybrid Mode with Bluetooth 5.3, the MMX 200 wireless becomes an essential companion for every gamer seeking top-notch performance and boundless flexibility.

PROFESSIONAL SOUND IN EVERY GAMING ENVIRONMENT
Specially designed by beyerdynamic acousticians for gamers, the integrated 40 mm studio driver systems deliver a clear, comprehensive soundscape. This not only impresses during gaming but also enhances voice communication and the enjoyment of music and movies. Precise in-game sound localization enables crucial gameplay maneuvers and enriches gaming worlds, making them appear even more realistic with their distinctive audio profiles.

NACON, a leader in premium gaming accessories and parent of the RIG audio brand, proudly unveils the RIG 900 MAX HX. Licensed for Xbox, the 900 MAX marks the pinnacle in wireless game audio, merging capabilities such as a personalized Dolby Atmos headphone experience, dual wireless connectivity with Bluetooth audio, and a seamless charging base station for the definitive gaming experience.

The 900 MAX is the first gaming headset to offer the ability to personalize your Dolby Atmos headphone listening experience when enjoying gaming in Dolby Atmos on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One or PC. Traditional audio experiences over headphones are designed using generic head and body types without considering the natural diversity of the human body. Leveraging the companion Dolby Personalization mobile app, the 900 MAX unlocks an exceptional Dolby Atmos experience by providing you with a custom personal profile tailored for you.

The SMSL SU-9 PRO ES9039PRO DAC is now available! Priced under $500, SMSL brought another decent DAC—the SU-9 PRO. It has the highest performance commercial DAC chip in the form of the new ES9039PRO and is one of the most affordable DACs capable of fully unfolding and natively decoding MQA files. All this, and more, comes at just a $499.99 price tag.

The SU-9 Pro is a technological marvel. It boasts the latest flagship, 8-channel, ES9039PRO decoding chip from ESS Technology to maximize its performance. It also utilizes a self-developed brand-new CK-03 jitter processing circuit, greatly lowering the clock jitter. As for the amplification stage, 11pcs OPA1612 were used. SU-9 Pro has built-in shielding and low-noise power processing, improving the power efficiency, bringing a lower power consumption, and specially designed discrete component linear regulated power supply and several low-noise regulated power supplies provide low-noise power supply for analog circuits!

A bit late to the game compared to its competitors, MSI has finally published its product pages for three of its upcoming X670 and X670E motherboards. The three models are the MEG X670E ACE, the MPG X670E Carbon WiFi and the Pro X670-P WiFi. Earlier todaywe got a first hint with regards to the pricing of a couple of these boards and now we have most of the technical details with regards to the boards themselves. As with all other boardmakers, MSI hasn't revealed any information with regards to memory clocks and obviously no details about which CPUs will be supported. We already had a pretty good idea what to expect from these boards based on the details MSI released at Computex, but features like the power design weren't revealed at the time, nor did we get a very good look at the board.

The MEG X670E ACE appears to be MSI's high-end board for those that aren't interested in spending a small fortune on the Godlike board and it should cater to just about all needs. The board has a 22+2+1 phase power design and MSI is using a heatpipe as well as a stacked fin-array heatsink and a MOSFET backplate to help cool the oversized power circuitry. Other features include 10 Gbps Ethernet, although there is only one Ethernet interface, a DisplayPort 1.4 compatible USB-C 10 Gbps port (which was said to be DP 2.0 compliant at Computex), as well as two 20 Gbps USB-C ports around the back. USB4 is nowhere to be seen, but is most likely related to ASMedia being late to the game with its host controller. MSI has gone for a design where the x16 PCIe 5.0 lanes from the CPU are split between the first two PCIe x16 slots and the third slot is using four lanes of PCIe 5.0 from the CPU. The final four PCIe 5.0 lanes from the CPU are for one of the M.2 NVMe slots and the board has a further three M.2 PCIe 4.0 slots. On top of that, MSI also includes an M.2 Xpander-Z Gen5 Dual add-in card that can accept a further two PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD at the cost of eight PCIe lanes from the GPU.

During AMD's Meet the Experts event, ASUS revealed more details about its ROG Crosshair X670E Extreme, a board the company revealed during Computex, but didn't show the rear I/O of. However, ASUS also unveiled the ROG Crosshair X670E Hero, a board the company hadn't shown off prior to the AMD event. Both boards will feature a pair of USB4 ports, with both ports supporting DisplayPort Alt Mode. Both boards feature a further two USB-C ports, plus seven plus USB-A ports. The Extreme features 10 Gbps and 2.5 Gbps Ethernet, whereas the Hero gets to make do with 2.5 Gbps Ethernet, although it gains an HDMI output. Both boards have a full set of audio jacks and WiFi 6E support, as well as a rear mounted clear CMOS and BIOS FlashBack button.

Taking a closer look at the Hero board, it has two PCIe x16 PCIe slots, plus a single, open-ended PCIe x1 slot. The board supports four M.2 NVMe slots for SSDs and comes with a PCIe 5.0 card for a fifth drive. It also has what appears to be six SATA ports, a front header for a 20 Gbps USB 3.2 2x2 USB-C port that also supports up to 60 W USB PD and Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+. The Hero board will be kitted out with an 18 phase power design, with the Extreme getting a 22 phase design, both with a 110 Ampere power stage. ASUS has moved its audio solution to the ALC4082 USB based audio codec and at least the Extreme will have an ESS ES9218 audio codec. ASUS is also bringing over the Q-Release solution for graphics cards to these boards, as well as the Q-Latch for M.2 SSDs.

Although there was a leak with a partial picture of the ASRock X670E Taichi board just days before Computex 2022 kicked off, it was hard to draw any real conclusions from it. The company has revealed more details about it, alongside the X670E Taichi Carrara, X670E Steel Legend and the X670E Pro RS. Let's start with the plain X670E Taichi, since this was the board that leaked. As is obvious now, the board doesn't feature a fan on the chipset heatsink, but rather a set of cogs, something we've seen before from ASRock. The board has very limited expansion options when it comes to PCIe slots, with a pair of x16 slots, which are sharing the 16 PCIe 5.0 lanes from the CPU and that's it. ASRock has gone for four M.2 slots, of which one is PCIe 5.0, most likely the one next to the memory slots. Interestingly, ASRock has kitted out the X670E Taichi with Thunderbolt 4, which means we're looking at an Intel chip here and there should also be support for USB4 and the two ports are located around the back of the board.

Although AMD didn't provide too many details during its Computex 2022 keynote speech about the upcoming AM5 platform, the company did announce that there will be at least three chipsets for the platform and showed pictures of some upcoming motherboards. ASUS has kindly filled in some more details about its upcoming ROG Crosshair X670E Extreme, which will be one of its higher-end models. Sadly the pictures posted are kind of tiny and the company didn't provide a shot of the rear I/O. That said, ASUS did point out some of its new features that we can expect to find on the ROG Crosshair X670E Extreme.

For starters, the board will have a pair of PCIe 5.0 x16 slots, although each slot is likely to only have eight lanes each, when both slots are in use, but ASUS doesn't mention any details here. The board has support for up to five M.2 NVMe SSDs, four of which support PCIe 5.0. Only two are onboard, with the other three being via ASUS' proprietary ROG PCIe 5.0 M.2 card and ROG GEN-Z.2 card. ASUS also promises USB4 support, as well as a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 header with Quick Charge 4+ as well as up to 60 W charging support, for cases with a front USB-C port. On top of the rear I/O is an AniMe Matrix LED display that can be user customised.

It appears that ASRock got a little bit too excited and posted a Computex video earlier today that contained a brief glimpse of its upcoming X670E Taichi motherboard. The screenshot that was captured by Wccftech doesn't give away too much details, but the board appears to have at least three M.2 slots and a pair of PCIe x16 slots, of which at least one is meant to be of the PCIe 5.0 variety. The rest of the board is covered in heatsinks and various shrouds. The board will feature Realtek's ALC4082 USB attached audio codec, as well as a ESS ES9218 DAC. It is also said to sport a 26-phase VRM setup. The board is also expected to have Thunderbolt 4 support. The video has unfortunately been taken down, so we'll have to wait until next week to find out more details.

In related news, @momomo_us has leaked details of several upcoming AM5 motherboards, of which four models are from ASRock and two from ASUS. The ASRock models are the X670E Taichi mentioned above, the X670 PG Riptide, X670 Phantom Gaming 4 and the X670 Steel Legend. The two ASUS models are the ProArt X670E-Creator WiFi and the ProArt B650-Creator. Finally Gigabyte has revealed that the company will be displaying its X670 Aorus Xtreme, X670 Master, X670 Pro AX and X670 AERO D at Computex next week. The company mentions PCIe 5.0 for both graphics and the M.2 interface, which pretty much cements the earlier rumors about AMD offering PCIe 5.0 support for the M.2 interface on the AM5 platform.

Although we're going to try and cover all the newly launched Intel Z690 based motherboards more thoroughly before the retail availability date, we had a quick look already on what's on offer and we were struck by something rather odd when it comes to Gigabyte, most of their new boards only have two 3.5 mm audio jacks around the back. This is not limited to their cheaper SKUs, but is found through the entire product stack.

We're not entirely sure what's going on here and will check with Gigabyte once someone is awake that we can talk to about it, but we're fairly certain that this is going to cause a bit of a backlash from their customers. This was actually something we kind of saw in the leaked image of one of the Aero boards, as it didn't look like it had any audio jacks at all, but that wasn't the case. Instead, it seems to have something to do with Gigabyte's move away from the Realtek ALC1220 Intel HD audio based codecs that the company have been using for the past few generations of boards.

Here's the first picture of GIGABYTE's next-generation flagship Socket LGA1200 motherboard based on Intel Z590 chipset, with out-of-the-box support for 11th Gen Core "Rocket Lake" desktop processors, the Z590 AORUS Xtreme. Featuring the company's most premium component selection, the board pulls power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and two 8-pin EPS power connectors, conditioning it for the CPU using a massive 21-phase VRM. The only expansion slots on this board are three PCI-Express x16, from which at least two are wired to the CPU (Gen 4.0 x16 or Gen 4.0 x8/x8 with Rocket Lake, Gen 3.0 with Comet Lake); with the third slot being wired to the PCH. Underneath the cladding are three M.2 NVMe slots, from which one is Gen 4.0 x4, and wired to the CPU, while the others are wired to the PCH.

The GIGABYTE Z590 AORUS Xtreme reportedly one-ups the current generation with new connectivity that includes Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax over 6 GHz radio band), and Thunderbolt 4. The board also features 20 Gbps USB 3.2x2 ports, and wired networking options that include 10 GbE and 2.5 GbE. The board will also be among the first to feature the latest Realtek ALC4080 audio CODEC that replaces the ALC1220 as the company's most premium CODEC. The main stereo channel on the board will still be pulled by an ESS Sabre Reference DAC. We should learn more about this board around mid-January, when Intel is expected to allow its motherboard partners to announce their Intel 500-series chipset products.

ASRock introduced the W480 Creator premium motherboard for creators, which supports 10th Gen Core and Xeon W-1200 series processors in the LGA1200 package, based on the "Comet Lake" microarchitecture. Built in the ATX form-factor, the board draws power from a 24-pin ATX and two 8-pin EPS power connectors, conditioning it for the CPU with a 16-phase VRM cooled by large aluminium fan-heatsinks. The LGA1200 socket is wired to four reinforced DDR4 DIMM slots supporting up to 128 GB of dual-channel DDR4-4800 (OC) memory, including ECC unbuffered DIMM support when paired with Xeon W-1200 processors; and two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (x8/x8 with both populated, else x16). These slots are gen 4.0 capable with future processors that offer PCIe gen 4.0 support. Storage connectivity includes three M.2 NVMe slots with PCIe gen 3.0 x4 wiring, each; and six SATA 6 Gbps ports.

Much of this board's serious "creator" USP begins with its connectivity. It offers two Thunderbolt 40 Gbps ports via type-C connectors, each with its own mini-DisplayPort 1.4 passthrough input that you connect to your graphics card. Networking connectivity includes a 10 GbE wired network connection powered by an AQuantia AQC107 controller; a second 2.5 GbE connection driven by Intel i225-LM controller, and an 802.11ax WLAN connection by an Intel AX201 adapter that also provides Bluetooth 5. The onboard audio solution packs some serious hardware, with an ESS Sabre 9218 DAC handling the front-panel headphones out (130 dBA SNR), a Realtek ALC1220 HDA codec handling the other channels (120 dBA SNR), WIMA capacitors for the front outputs, and the right and left audio channel wiring being routed through distant PCB layers to minimize crosstalk. The company didn't reveal pricing.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphic cards, continuing the success co-branding their Z390 product line with G2 Esports, is launching the latest Z490 AORUS ULTRA G2 motherboard. In order to satisfy the high-performance low temperature needs of professional gaming teams, the Z490 AORUS ULTRA G2 uses direct 12 phases digital power design and tantalum capacitor array, providing strong and stable power delivery and minimizing oscillation, bringing you the 10th gen Intel Core i9-10900K excellent high-class processor.

Daisy Chain memory routing and anti-interference design deliver improved memory overclocking and stability. As for Fins-Array II, Direct-Touch Heatpipe II and 7.5 W/mK LAIRD thermal conductivity pad alongside G2 Esports optimizations, we bring you an improved efficacy stabled user experience. In addition to ESSential USB DAC's vocal cohesion and immersive sound, it makes the Z490 AORUS ULTRA G2 Motherboard a must have for every pro player, even more so the best pick for any gamer at home assembling their own gaming PC.

Leading global motherboard manufacturer, ASRock, proudly announces its latest flagship motherboard, the Z490 AQUA to the delight of gamers and power hungry users alike. And to highlight our launch we are limiting the Z490 AQUA to only 999 units making it extremely valuable. Using the latest 16 Phase 90 A Dr.MOS & 2 oz copper PCBs, it delivers up to 95% VRM efficiency. To keep VRM's and 10-core processors cool even during sustained heavy loads or even overclocking, the Z490 AQUA features an advanced water cooling system that decreases heat on the CPU VRMs to reduce VRM temps dramatically.

Decked in a matte black undershell, the Z490 complements what young gamers want in a machine these days, simple, refined edges encased with a metallic armor which highlights the vibrant, techno LED lighting which screams I'm a water cooling aficionado and a PC mod enthusiast. "Be Aqua, Be Cool" highlights ASRock's determination to be the frontrunner in water-cooled gaming motherboard manufacturers and the PCIe 4.0 ready means it's prepped and the hardware is ready with PCI-Express Gen-4 support. By uniquely adding an external base clock generator, PCIe 4.0 components such as extra slots and an M.2 socket we're assured the motherboard is ready to accommodate the next generation of CPUs.

Creative rolled out the Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus, a discrete internal sound card with PCIe interface. The card is a step up from the Sound BlasterX AE-5, and is positioned below the AE-7 the company debuted in June 2019. The new AE-5 Plus uses the same Sound Core 3D audio processor as the rest of the AE series, but with an ESS Sabre Ultra DAC carried over from the AE-5, which offers 122 dB SNR, sound resolution of 32-bit 384 kHz, and 0.00032% total harmonic distortion. Much like the AE-5, it lacks user-replaceable OPAMPs. What sets the AE-5 Plus apart is support for Dolby Digital Live and DTS encoding, just like the AE-7 and AE-9, which is something the original AE-5 lacks. It also only comes in a black color-scheme, unlike the AE-5. The company didn't reveal pricing, although we expect it to be around 10-15% pricier than the $149 AE-5.

Creative Technology Ltd continues its legacy of revolutionizing audio with the launch of its most advanced PCI-e sound cards ever - the Sound Blaster AE-9 and Sound Blaster AE-7. Built with only the most premium components, and complemented with the latest technologies from Creative, these sound cards are designed to define a new performance standard in this class for the ultimate PC entertainment experience.

Up till 1989, the only sounds coming out of the PC were mere beeps. The same year, Sound Blaster was born, and PC audio was transformed forever. Since then, over 400 million Sound Blasters have been sold; and the Sound Blaster brand has become synonymous with the term sound card and high-quality PC audio - first for gaming, and then movies and music. With experience and expertise refined over three decades of audio innovation, Sound Blaster has continued to reinvent itself with the development of digital audio processing technologies. Each new innovation served to redefine what the ultimate audio experience really means, such as when it evolved beyond the PC in the form of external sound cards for platforms like gaming and entertainment consoles.

Motherboard vendors are betting big on the success of AMD's "Valhalla" desktop platform that combines a Ryzen 3000-series Zen 2 processor with an AMD X570 chipset motherboard, and have responded with some mighty premium board designs. GIGABYTE deployed its full spectrum of Aorus branding, including Ultra, Elite, ITX Pro, Master, and Xtreme. The X570 I Aorus Pro WiFi mini-ITX motherboard is an impressive feat of engineering despite its designers having to wrestle with the feisty new PCIe gen 4 chipset. It draws power from a combination of 24-pin and 8-pin connectors, and conditions power for the SoC with an impressive 8-phase VRM that uses high-grade PowIRstage components. A rather tall fan-heatsink cools the X570 chipset, with a 30 mm fan.

Connectivity options on the X570 I Aorus Pro WiFi are surprisingly aplenty. The sole expansion slot is a PCI-Express 4.0 x16, but the storage connectivity includes not one, but two M.2-2280 slots (reverse side of the PCB), each with PCI-Express 4.0 x4 and SATA 6 Gbps wiring. Four SATA 6 Gbps ports make for the rest of the storage connectivity. Networking options include 2.4 Gbps 802.11ax WLAN, Bluetooth 5.0 (Intel , and 1 GbE, all pulled by Intel-made controllers. USB connectivity includes six 5 Gbps USB 3.2 gen 1, and two 10 Gbps USB 3.2 gen 2 ports (of which one is type-C), and two 5 Gbps ports by headers. The onboard audio solution has 6-channel analog output, but is backed by a premium Realtek ALC1220VB Enhance CODEC (114 dBA SNR).

At Computex 2019, we spotted three new socket LGA2066 motherboards from GIGABYTE, and several other manufacturers. At its Computex 2019 keynote, Intel announced that in Q3 2019, the company is launching new Core X series HEDT processor models "for creators." When combined with the handful new LGA2066 motherboard models we've spotted, it becomes highly likely that the processors Intel is launching this Fall could be LGA2066-compatible. Without further ado, the X299G Aorus Master, the X299G Aorus Xtreme Waterforce, and the X299G Designare 10G.

The X299G Aorus Master is different from the X299 Aorus Master launched last November, and the X299G Designare 10G is different from the X299 Designare EX launched way back in 2017. The X299G Aorus Xtreme Waterforce is the first "Xtreme" sub-branded LGA2066 product. What's common to these three boards is out-of-the-box support for the upcoming HEDT processor models, besides 9th generation "Skylake-X" Refresh processors, and the original "Skylake-X" chips.

Colorful Technology Company Limited, professional manufacturer of graphics cards, motherboards and high-performance storage solutions is thrilled to announce its latest AIO creation for gamers featuring the latest in gaming hardware for the most unrivaled gaming experience in an AIO PC yet. The new COLORFUL iGame G-One All-in-One PC packs powerful hardware in a slim display removing the need for a dedicated tower for your components. The iGame G-One AIO PC features a stylish yet aggressive design which is sure get attention whatever the setting whether it be work or play. The COLORFUL iGame G-One All-in-One PC is expected to to have an MSRP of around $5000.

CORSAIR , a world leader in PC gaming peripherals and enthusiast components, today announced the addition of two new high-performance mice to its rapidly expanding gaming peripheral lineup. IRONCLAW RGB WIRELESS, a wireless version of the acclaimed IRONCLAW RGB launched in early 2019, uses hyper-fast SLIPSTREAM CORSAIR WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY alongside an 18,000 DPI optical sensor to provide gamers with cutting-edge wireless performance and superb accuracy and tracking. GLAIVE RGB PRO sees the popular GLAIVE RGB, featuring three interchangeable side grips, updated with a new 18,000 DPI sensor and additional RGB lighting. Whether gamers choose the wireless freedom and palm grip-friendly shape of IRONCLAW RGB WIRELESS or the customizable grip of GLAIVE RGB PRO, they'll find a CORSAIR mouse that elevates their gameplay and in-game performance.

IRONCLAW RGB WIRELESS retains the palm grip-optimized shape and rubberized side of the wired version, while adding CORSAIR's industry-leading 2.4GHz SLIPSTREAM WIRELESS. With unbelievably fast sub-1ms wireless latency, a wireless range of up to 33ft, and Intelligent Frequency Shift (IFS) ensuring a stable signal even in heavy wireless traffic, SLIPSTREAM WIRELESS offers a wired mouse gaming experience, without the wire.

GIGABYTE today announced its almost-flagship socket LGA2066 motherboard, the X299 Aorus Master. The Master brand-extension, if you'll recall, is positioned just a notch below the flagship Aorus Xtreme, which makes this board a successor to the X299 Aorus Gaming 7. The X299 Aorus Gaming 9 and Designare-EX remain the company's flagship LGA2066 products, until they're succeeded by a new Aorus Xtreme product. There's still plenty to go around with the new X299 Aorus Master, beginning with its updated design scheme that's in sync with the company's latest Z390 motherboard lineup. It ships with out-of-the-box support for Core X 9000-series processors. The board is wider than ATX, although not quite E-ATX. It draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, two 8-pin EPS, and an optional 6-pin PCIe power. A 12-phase VRM powers the CPU, cooled by a 2-stage heatsink. Expansion slots include four PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (x16/NC/x16/NC or x16/NC/x8/x8 or x8/x8/x8/x8). The DIMM and PCIe slots feature metal reinforcement.

Storage connectivity on the GIGABYTE X299 Aorus Master includes three M.2 slots with PCI-Express 3.0 x4 wiring, each with heatsinks; and eight SATA 6 Gbps ports. Networking includes a 2.5 GbE wired interface driven by Realtek Dragon 8125AG controller, a 1 GbE driven by Intel i219-V controller, and 802.11 ac + Bluetooth 5 interface driven by Intel 9260 WLAN card. USB connectivity includes four USB 3.1 gen 2 ports (two on the rear panel including a type-C, two by header), driven by a combination of ASMedia ASM1142 controller and the X299 PCH. The onboard audio solution is quite something. An ESS Sabre 9218 DAC (130 dBA SNR!) drives the main front + headphones channel with Ti Burr Brown OPA2111KP OPAMPs and WIMA capacitors; while a 120 dBA SNR Realtek ALC1220VB pulls the remaining channels. Manually-switchable dual-BIOS, 7-segment POST code readout, USB flash-back, and a boatload of other overclocker-friendly features complete the board. Expect it to be priced around USD $399.

ASUS introduced the Republic of Gamers (ROG) Strix Fusion 500 gaming headset, a step up from the Strix Fusion 300 the company launched last September. The headset essentially retains the design of the Fusion 300, but steps it up with gold-metallic body panels around the cans, RGB multi-color LED diffusers replacing the red LED accents, which you can control via ASUS Aura Sync RGB software; and under the hood enhancements.

The headset uses a higher quality ESS Sabre 9018 DAC combined with ESS 9601 amplifier. The DAC has a high SNR, and puts out 24-bit/96 kHz audio. The enhanced audio setup is mated with 50 mm ASUS Essence drivers, and improvements made to the passive acoustic dampening material around your ears. ASUS included game-specific virtual-7.1 surround DSPs with this headset. Available now, the ASUS ROG Strix Fusion is priced at USD $179.99, about $50 pricier than the Fusion 300.

Zorloo is pleased to introduce its second-generation portable USB-DAC product, ZuperDAC-S, today. It builds on its wildly praised ZuperDAC to enable computers or mobile phones an unprecedented HiFi music experience. Today, computers and mobile phones are powerful enough to handle different audio protocols. However, the last but most critical step in the entire digital-to-analog conversion process, i.e. turning musical data 0 and 1 into audible sound waves, always sucks. Constrained by the limitation of this internal conversion process, audio may also have to be re-sampled to fit the pipeline.

Bypassing the internal conversion with ZuperDAC-S drastically improves sound quality to a new level. It supports up to 192kHz sampling frequency and 24-bit depth, which eliminates unnecessary sample rate and bit depth conversion. The music output from ZuperDAC-S is exactly what was recorded. ZuperDAC-S uses the ESS Sabre 9018 audiodac and delivers a stunning 120dB SNR and 0.0005% THD+N performance. It delivers a balanced, clear and articulated sound in a wide soundstage. The integrated headphone amplifier output can connect directly to headphones, or go through the amplifier systems.