ASUS has begun rolling out BIOS updates that add motherboard support for Windows 11 even for processor families that Microsoft said would be left out of their latest Windows OS. Ever since the introduction of Windows 11, the message around specific hardware requirements has been difficult to pinpoint, as the company struggles to send a clear message on exactly which users should be looking to update their hardware - and which should not. ASUS' new BIOS updates will certainly add to the stirring pot, as they are being touted to enable Windows 11 support for Intel CPU families that Microsoft doesn't officially (yet) support for the OS release: Skylake (6th Gen) and Kaby Lake (7th Gen). According to Microsoft, only 8th Gen (Coffee Lake) and later Intel CPUs are supported by Windows 11.

The new BIOS updates typically activate TPM on the users' machine, should it be off at the BIOS level. ASUS has already released beta BIOS versions that introduce support for Windows 11 on Z270, H270 and B250 motherboards, and launched a hub page with compatibility status for a number of its motherboard releases. According to the company in the respective motherboard support pages, "The following motherboards are compatible with Windows 11 under current testing. The upgrability [sic] is subject to the support from operation system or 3rd party drivers availability." Which of course means that even if ASUS has gotten preview versions of Windows 11 to run on systems with this hardware, there's no way to know if the final, retail Windows 11 version will actually offer support for these CPUs. Of course, driver compatibility is also in question, since nothing guarantees Windows 11 to competently manage your hardware on the basis of Windows 10-bound driver packages.

Response from motherboard manufacturers to the Intel B365 Express mid-range socket LGA1151 chipset has been rather lukewarm, with very few product launches. The B365 Express is a rebadged H270 Express with 8th and 9th generation Core CPU support replacing 6th and 7th gen. ASUS launched one of its first ATX form-factor boards based on this chipset, with the Prime B365-Plus. The board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors, conditioning it for the CPU with a 4+3 phase VRM. The CPU socket is wired to four DDR4 DIMM slots, and a PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot. The board supports 9th generation Core processors out of the box.

Besides the main x16 slot, the board's expansion slots loadout is designed to benefit from the increased 20-lane PCIe budget of the B365 Express. You get a PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (electrical gen 3.0 x4) slot, and four PCI-Express 3.0 x1 slots. There are two M.2 slots on offer. The bottom slot has PCI-Expres 3.0 x4 wiring only, and supports M.2-22110 drives, while the top M.2 slot has PCI-Express 3.0 x2 and SATA 6 Gbps wiring. There are six SATA 6 Gbps ports. Display connectivity includes one each of D-Sub, DVI, and HDMI. USB connectivity includes eight USB 3.0 ports, four on the rear panel, four by headers. The board's sole 1 GbE network interface is controlled by a Realtek 8111H PHY. The onboard audio solution is driven by an entry-level Realtek ALC887 CODEC. Expect this board to be priced around $90.

ASUS has released BIOS updates for its 200-series motherboards (for the Z270, H270, Q270 and B250 chipsets) that brings full official support and compatibility with Intel's Optane products, such as the recently-released cache SSD.

These first Optane drives use the M.2 form factor, and are designed to be used as ultra-fast caching drives for slower, HDD-class storage - a case of having your cake and eating it too, looking to ally the speed benefits of an SSD with the capacious storage space of traditional plater-based storage. Intel says an Optane-cached 1TB hard disk (at 7,200 rpm) will become twice as responsive when performing daily computing tasks or booting up, and can reduce the time it takes for a game to launch (or level to load) by around the 65% mark. A pure SSD solution will always be faster - and usually more predictable - than the Optane-cached HDD, but Intel's Optane solutions offer a tempting option in terms of a cost-effective speed boost (a 16GB module goes for around $44.)

MSI, world leading in gaming motherboard innovation, is thrilled to announce four new ARCTIC white GAMING motherboards, the Z270/H270 TOMAHAWK & H270M/B250M MORTAR ARCTIC, are added to the Arsenal GAMING Series. The second generation of ARCTIC models not only inherited the spirit of the unique ARCTIC design, it also adopted a plethora of features from other 200 series GAMING motherboards for an improved gaming experience. Enjoy never seen before low latency online gaming with MSI GAMING LAN, while benefiting from enhanced, studio grade sound with Audio Boost. Featuring heavy plated heat sinks, fully styled to perfectly match the ARCTIC look and feel, the new ARCTIC motherboards are ready to conquer the battlefield.

Early 2017, a new wave of socket LGA1151 motherboards based on Intel 200-series chipset will launch, alongside the company's 7th generation Core "Kaby Lake" processors. The lineup will be led by the Z270 Express, targeting performance desktops, and H270 Express, targeting premium commercial desktops. The question on your mind probably is what sets these chipsets apart from the current 100-series Z170 and H170 chipsets. Here are some pointers.

To begin with, motherboards based on Z270 and H270 chipsets are assured to support Core "Kaby Lake" processors, out of the box. The 100-series chipset motherboards inventory with retailers may require BIOS updates, although some of the newer production batches could ship with the latest BIOS that support "Kaby Lake." Secondly, the Z270 and H270 support Intel Optane technology, a new breed of bleeding-edge performance SSDs based on the company's 3D X-point non-volatile memory, which is the very latest in sold-state storage, and purported to be the fastest. The chipets also support Rapid Storage Technology v15.