Here are some of the first pictures of GIGABYTE's Aorus branded Z370 series motherboards. The lineup begins with the Aorus Z370 Gaming 3 and Aorus Z370 Gaming K3. These two boards are nearly identical to each other, and differ with only their onboard gigabit Ethernet controller, with the Gaming K3 featuring the latest Killer E2500 controller, while the Gaming 3 features Intel i219-V. Both boards feature just the one PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot wired to the CPU, with the second slot being electrical x4 and wired to the PCH. GIGABYTE has been traditionally generous with its onboard audio solutions, and these boards are no exception. You get a Realtek ALC1220 (120 dBA SNR) CODEC strapped to a single headphones amp circuit, ground-layer isolation, and audio-grade capacitors.

Moving slightly up the ladder is the Aorus Z370 Ultra Gaming, pictured below. You get a similar CPU VRM implementation to the Gaming K3, but with two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (x8/x8 with both populated) wired to the CPU, for multi-GPU setups. You also get a stylish I/O shroud. Positioned above the Ultra Gaming, is the Aorus Z370 Gaming 5. This board features a stronger CPU VRM, three M.2 slots as opposed to two on the Ultra Gaming, a higher grade onboard audio with a high-grade OPAMP, more USB 3.1 ports, 802.11 ac + Bluetooth WLAN; and a full-length I/O shroud. Leading the pack (for now) is the Aorus Z370 Gaming 7. Positioned further above the Gaming 5, this board features the highest-grade onboard audio solution from GIGABYTE, with an ESS Sabre AMP; M.2 SSD heatsinks, two gigabit Ethernet interfaces (Intel + Killer), and reinforcement braces around even more slots. These boards are expected to launch on the 5th of October, 2017.

Creative Technology Ltd today announced at E3 2017 the latest addition to its Sound BlasterX Pro-Gaming Series, the Sound BlasterX AE-5. E3 is the world's premier event for computer, video and mobile games and related products, making it the perfect place to debut the next era of PC audio.

The sound card features the world's best gaming headphone amplifier for PCs. The Sound BlasterX AE-5 delivers the ultimate audio performance with the full force of a 122 dB 32-bit / 384 kHz ESS Sabre DAC, a kick-ass custom-designed 600Ω discrete headphone amp, audiophile-grade components, and proprietary Sound Blaster audio enhancement technologies.

ASUS today announced Strix Raid DLX, Strix Raid Pro, and Strix Soar, gaming sound cards that deliver sensational, high-definition 192kHz/24-bit audio, 7.1-channel surround-sound, and Perfect Voice noise-cancellation technology for incredible gaming experiences.

Strix Raid DLX is a premium soundcard built with high-end components to satisfy gamers who demand the ultimate audio performance. Strix Raid DLX features an ESS SABRE9016 digital-to-analog converter (DAC) - the world's highest performance 32-bit and 24-bit audio DAC - to deliver rich, immersive, and clear sound with an incredible 124dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Designed for enthusiast gamers, Strix Raid Pro and Strix Soar come with the high-performance ESS SABRE9006A DAC for pure, full-sounding audio with an impressive 116dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Low-dropout (LDO) regulators and Hi-Fi-grade Nichicon FineGold, Nichicon Muse, and German WIMA capacitors ensure optimized power delivery.

ESS Technology today announced that MSI, the leading gaming notebook manufacturer and innovator, has selected ESS Technology's SABRE HiFi Audio DAC for the first notebooks featuring Intel's latest sixth generation Intel Core i7 Skylake processors. Targeted at hardcore gamers, these hotly anticipated MSI notebooks will be available through MSI e-Commerce channels on September 1, 2015.

"MSI is thrilled to work with a technology leader like ESS on the most innovative gaming notebooks we have ever introduced," said Eric Kuo, Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing with MSI. "The entire SABRE brand is revered by audiophiles around the world as the pinnacle of audio excellence. It's the perfect choice for our hardcore gamers who look for the best features and the best systems to deliver an unparalleled gameplay experience."

MSI, world leading in motherboard technology, announces the most powerful X99 gaming solution, the X99A GODLIKE GAMING motherboard. Featuring Killer DoubleShot-X3 Pro, Turbo M.2 connectivity, 2X Faster USB 3.1 Type-A and Type-C and a whole new gaming oriented LED feature, MYSTIC LIGHT, the X99A GODLIKE GAMING is the most powerful motherboard to serve you in battle.

The X99A GODLIKE GAMING is world's first RGB LED motherboard, supporting more than 2000 colors and many style presets such as breathing, flashing and waving. Make your build look on fire or cold as ice. You are in control. Simply select any of the colors from the palette to suit the systems' design. Just change it to another one using the easy to use Mystic Light APP available on PC, phone and tablet, and make your PC look & feel brand new! With 2048 different colors and 7 different LED modes, the Mystic Light provides infinite possibilities for gamers to personalize their gaming rig.

The past two generations of motherboards saw the onboard HD audio finally get a quality leap it deserved, as motherboard makers addressed the shortcomings of onboard audio in dealing with heavy gaming and audiophone headsets. We've seen things like a 115 dBA SNR CODEC by Realtek (ALC-1150), ground-layer isolation, de-pop circuits, audio-grade electrolytic capacitors, and headphones amps become essentials for today's high-end motherboard onboard audio solutions. It looks like MSI is trying to push that envelope even further with Audio Boost 3 Pro, a new onboard audio solution making its debut with the X99-GODLIKE Gaming, which could also feature on some upcoming high-end LGA1151 motherboards by the company.

To begin with, the solution consists of two separate DACs. An ESS Sabre 124 dBA SNR chip handles the front-out and headphones out channels; while a Realtek ALC1150 (115 dBA SNR) handles other analog channels in a 7.1-channel setup. The way this works is that the Realtek chip is wired to the HDA channel of the PCH, while offloading select channel D/A conversion to the Sabre chip. Further downstream to this chip is a 600Ω headphones amplifier chip by TI. Even the other analog channels have amplifier circuits. Signal loss is prevented by Nichicon Muse electrolytic capacitors. The CODEC and DAC are capped by an inner EMI shield, and the board's outer metal shroud; and is isolated from the ground-layer of the rest of the board. This solution also features Nahimic, a sound quality enhancing DSP used in the defense and aerospace industries. All analog jacks feature gold-plating. Digital outputs include optical TOSLINK. Unrelated to the audio solution, the X99-GODLIKE also features a special USB port meant for headsets, that has additional electrical stabilizers.