EK Water Blocks, Ljubljana based premium water cooling gear manufacturer, is excited to introduce a new line of EK Kits. Gaming Series kits or in short G Kits are a great choice for every liquid cooling beginner and users want to take advantage of their 5.25" bays.

The G kits are EK's fifth lineup of kits, joining the existing Slim, Liquid, Performance and Xtreme Series. Gaming kits come in three different versions, where the size of the radiator and number of fans is the only difference between them. As with all other EK kits, G series kits are named after the radiator size that comes with each kit. Hance, EK-KIT G240, EK-KIT G280 and EK-KIT G360.

One of Zalman's latest creations is a refresh on its CNPS9900 CPU cooler, the CNPS9900 MAX. While identical to the CNPS9900 base model (copper) in many ways, the MAX sports a black+graphite look, making use of nickel-plated copper. The design involved two loops of copper fins to which heat is conducted by heat pipes, while air is circulated by a 120 mm FDB bearing fan that spins between 800~1200 rpm, with a noise output of 18~43 dBA. The cooler measures 94 (L) x 131 (W) x 152 (H) mm, weighing 730 g. It supports all current CPU sockets out of the box, including LGA-1366, LGA-1156, AM3, and LGA-775. A tube of ZM-STG2 thermal compound is bundled with it. There's no word on the pricing yet.

ASUS is also planning to expand its TUF series motherboard lineup with the Sabertooth X58. This socket LGA-1366 uses the design model of the TUF series, which includes 2 oz copper layered PCB, a choice of high-grade components, and CeraMX ceramic surface heatsinks that have greater heat dissipation area. These give the board higher thermal limits, making it suitable for operation in really hot places (or simply turning that into overclocking headroom in cooler places).

The CPU is powered by an 8+2 phase VRM, wired to six DIMM slots for triple channel memory. Expansion slots include three PCI-Express x16, two PCI-E x1, and one PCI. Apart from the six SATA 3 Gb/s ports, there are two 6 Gb/s ones. Other connectivity features include USB 3.0, gigabit Ethernet, 8-channel audio and FireWire. Expect this model to be priced in the league of premium ones.Image Courtesy: Future Looks

ASUS showed off a unique motherboard concept part of its Republic of Gamers series, the ROG Immensity. This socket LGA-1366 motherboard comes with onboard graphics, using a discrete ATI Radeon HD 5000 series GPU with dedicated GDDR3 memory. While the Intel X58 Express + ICH10R chipset are very much there, the X58 is wired to a Lucid Hydra Engine chip, which drives both the PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots. It is probably also connected to the ATI Radeon GPU, giving users the ability to stay connected to the on board GPU, while 3D graphics is accelerated from any graphics card plugged in to the PCI-E slots, of any make, and in any combination (including NVIDIA + ATI). The Hydra chip handles the load-balancing between the GPUs depending on their computation power and features available.

Apart from this unique feature, the ROG Immensity is designed for extreme overclocking, making use of an 8-phase PWM circuit with additional stabilizers and power conditioning using super-ML capacitors. Memory is powered by a 6-phase PWM circuit with its own power-conditioning super-ML capacitor. All ROG-exclusive features such as iROG and ROG-Connect are present. Connectivity features include SATA 3 Gb/s RAID, two SATA 6 Gb/s ports, USB 3.0, Bluetooth, gigabit Ethernet, and 8-channel audio. Four PCI-E x1 slots make for the rest of the expansion. For now ASUS chooses to call this a concept design, so it's uncertain whether it will release it to market any time soon.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards and computing hardware solutions is proud to unleash their latest monster performance GA-X58A-UD9 motherboard, featuring a revolutionary new 24 phase Unlocked Power design, 4-way graphics support including NVIDIA SLI and ATI CrossFireX, as well as a host of unique GIGABYTE features such as 333 Onboard Acceleration and On/Off Charge.

"GIGABYTE set out to completely redefine what is possible performance and feature-wise on the X58 platform, and the GA-X58A-UD9 truly delivers on both fronts," commented Tim Handley, Deputy Director of Motherboard Marketing at GIGABYTE Technology Co. Ltd. "Providing the industry's highest caliber CPU power delivery with our unique 24 phase Unlocked Power design and including all of the features which set GIGABYTE motherboards apart from the competition, the GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD9 fits into a whole new first class category all its own."

Gigabyte's upcoming extreme high-end motherboard that made news for being the foundation of some world-record overclocking feats based on the Core i7 980X EE processor, the GA-X58A-UD9, has finally faced the lens. The picture reveals a beastly-looking socket LGA-1366 motherboard featuring a very strong VRM and full-on PCI-Express connectivity. The CPU is powered by what appears to be a 24-phase VRM, which draws power from two 8-pin connectors. It is wired to six DDR3 DIMM slots for triple-channel memory.

The heatsinks over the CPU VRM are connected to the those over the chipset with heatpipes, the heatsink over the X58 chipset has a fusion cooler which can provide water-cooling, as well as attach to a Silent Pipe heatsink block. The heatsink over the ICH10R southbridge is about as big as the ones on the UD5, Extreme, and UD7 models. We expect there to be one or two nForce 200 bridge chips over the two x16 links from the X58 chipset, giving out a total of four x16 links. All 7 expansion slots are PCI-Express x16, looking at the three blocks of external PCI-E lane switches, there indeed are three x16 links split between six slots, and the 7th being a full x16 slot. So the electrical configuration could be x16/x8, x8, x16/x8, x8, x16/x8, x8, x16, for the seven slots.

On the occasion of Game Developers Conference, an annual conclave of game developers, in San Fransisco, USA, Intel previewed to audiences its latest Core i7 980X Extreme Edition six-core processor. This meant that the media could publish performance evaluations of the new processor. Intel seems to have pulled it off with this launch. There is a broad consensus among the media that the six-core processor has a performance incentive with most of today's multi-threaded application that scales up well compared to quad-core processors.

The 980X is also the first high-performance processor based on the 32 nm Westmere architecture. The processor is able to maintain a TDP rating of 130W, on par with its 45 nm Nehalem quad-core counterparts. It has six cores operating at 3.33 GHz, with HyperThreading technology enabled, there are 12 logical CPUs (threads) for the operating system to deal with. Each core has 64 KB L1, 256 KB L2 caches, while a large 12 MB L3 cache is shared between all the cores. The Core i7 980X comes in the LGA-1366 package. Most existing motherboards with the Intel X58 Express chipset will be able to support it with a BIOS update. Intel will formally release the processor by April, at an estimated price of US $999.

A few weeks ahead of Intel's launch of its Core i7 980X "Gulftown" six-core processors, ASRock used the chip in a live-demo for one of its new motherboards. ASRock was probably trying to show off high performance numbers for its X58 Extreme3 motherboard using [perhaps] the most powerful LGA-1366 processor ever made, with a benchmark application best suited for it: Cinebench R10. Being a multi-threaded benchmark, the Core i7 980X scored 25,711 points. A quad-core Core i7 processor typically scores around the 20,000 mark. The exhibitors also confirmed that the 980X will be an Extreme Edition part with a clock speed of 3.33 GHz. As for the exhibit itself, ASRock pleaded innocent saying it had necessary permissions to display performance numbers of the 980X, well ahead of its launch. While tech forums are rife with unofficial benchmark scores of Gulftown, by forum members who test engineering samples with a level of anonymity, this is the first time a motherboard partner came all out with an official demo of the chip's capabilities. Intel's Core i7 980X will be released in a few weeks' time. ASRock's X58 Extreme3 is said to support the chip out of the box, though most socket LGA-1366 motherboards should be able to support it with a simple BIOS update.

The much talked about 'value' addition to Intel's Core i7 series in the LGA-1366 package, the Core i7 930, has begun being listed on online stores. The quad-core upper-performance segment chip is listed on popular European retailer, Home of Hardware (HOH.de), for 254.82 €, around 25 € higher than the price of Core i7 920 (D0 stepping) on the same store. Company roadmaps suggest two things about the positioning of this SKU: 1. that it will displace the Core i7 920 from its price-point, and eventually replace it; and 2. that February 28 could be the date when this SKU becomes official to markets worldwide.

The Core i7 930 is based on Intel's 45 nm Bloomfield D0 core. The quad-core chip comes in LGA-1366 package, and operates at 2.80 GHz (133 MHz x 21), with a Turbo Boost speed of 3.06 GHz (133 MHz x 23). It has HyperThreading technology enabled, to provide the operating system with 8 logical CPUs to deal with. It has 256 KB of L2 cache per core, and 8 MB of shared L3 cache. The QuickPath Interconnect between the chip and the X58 chipset operates at 4.80 GT/s. It features a triple-channel on-die memory controller. Most existing LGA-1366 motherboards should support it, some requiring BIOS updates.

EKL brand Alpenföhn unveiled its newest CPU cooler, the Matterhorn. This cooler measures 138 x 100 x 158 mm, and weighs 1067 g (2.35 lbs). The construction is similar to that of several coolers in its category. A pre-lapped copper base draws heat from the CPU. From this, six heatpipes pass, conducting heat to a block of aluminum fins. The fins have notches that help heat dissipation over the air being blown by an attached Föhn120 Wing Boost 120 mm fan, which spins at 500 to 1500 rpm, with a max noise output of 24.8 dBA. The Matterhorn supports most current CPU sockets including LGA-1366, LGA-1156, LGA-775, AM3, AM2(+). Its price and availability are yet to be known.

Koolance rolled out its newest CPU water-block, the CPU-360. The new block boasts of broad compatibility with all current CPU socket types, an advanced microfin cold plate with 0.25mm fins, 0.30 mm channels, and an optimized flow path. The cold plate is complemented with a brass top, all metal surfaces have nickel plating to minimize corrosion. The block measures 4.9" x 4.9" x 0.6" (12.5cm x 12.5cm x 1.5xcm), and weighs 411 g (14.5 oz). While the package excludes nozzles, it includes all the retention material needed for Intel sockets LGA-775, LGA-1156, LGA-1366, and AMD sockets AM3/AM2+/AM2. The CPU-360 is listed on Koolance website at US $84.99.

MSI seems to be almost ready with a new high-end motherboard for the socket LGA-1366 Intel Core i7 platform. The new MSI Big Bang XPower motherboard is based on the usual Intel X58 Express + ICH10R chipset, and offers six PCI-Express x16 slots, which which it can support CrossFireX, SLI, and still have room for dedicated PhysX accelerators or other PCI-E devices. The XPower also features support for SATA 6 Gb/s and USB 3.0 using additional controllers.

The CPU is powered by a 16-phase DrMOS PWM, which draws power from two 8-pin power connectors. It makes use of High-C capacitors for higher durability. An additional 6-pin PCI-Express power input adds electrical stability to the PCI-Express x16 slots. The socket is wired to six DDR3 DIMM slots for triple-channel memory support, which are powered by a 3-phase VRM.

EVGA showed of its almost-ready dual LGA-1366 high-end workstation motherboard at the ongoing CES event. The motherboard pictured sports a component cooling covering all its vital areas except for one of the CPUs' VRM areas, it gives a fair idea about what the final product could look like. The board itself was detailed earlier.

The chipset cooler design borrows heavily from single-slot graphics cards. A monolithic baseplate covers the northbridge Intel 5500(?), ICH10-class southbridge, and the two NVIDIA BR-03 bridge chips. The heatsink becomes taller over one of the CPU sockets' VRM area. Air is drawn in from the round intake, and pushed out near the expansion slots. the gaps between the expansion slots will do their part in directing the hot air away.

One of ASUS' premier offers for this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) event is a new high-end socket LGA-1366 motherboard, the Republic of Gamers (ROG) Rampage III Extreme. The board succeeds the Rampage II Extreme which launched over an year ago along with Intel's then new Core i7 series processors. The new model based on the Intel X58 Express + ICH10R chipset, comes with four well spaced out PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots, a new set of overclocking enhancements such as the ROG connect which lets you control the motherboard's overclocking from any Bluetooth and Java enabled mobile phone, SATA 6 Gb/s and USB 3.0 connectivity using ASUS' innovative PCI-Express 2.0 bridge implementation, and a more powerful CPU VRM to keep the board stable with bleeding-edge settings.

The board features an enhanced CPU VRM which is now powered by two 8-pin ATX connectors apart from two 4-pin Molex connectors. Some of these could be redundant and needed only for electrical stability. The CPU and memory power circuitry makes use of super-ML capacitors for cleaner power delivery. Voltage readouts are located next to the DIMM slots for accessibility. The motherboard makes use of slimmer component heatsinks that look to be made of the ceramic composite which the TUF Sabertooth P55 motherboard uses.

The recently surfaced high-end dual socket LGA-1366 motherboard is pictured in full, without its cooling assembly. The picture reveals quite a bit about EVGA's new monstrosity. To begin with, the motherboard is neither ATX, nor EATX in the truest sense. Like the recently announced X58 Classified 4-way SLI which was based on the "XL-ATX" form-factor, this motherboard seems to be 13.58 inches (344.93 mm) long, and about as wide as EATX (330 mm, 13 inches), or maybe a little more.

Each LGA-1366 socket is wired to six DDR3 DIMM slots for triple-channel memory, and is powered by an 8-phase digital-PWM circuit. Each socket further has a 3-phase power circuit for its DIMM slots. The CPU VRM for each socket takes input from an 8-pin ATX, and what appears to be a 6-pin +12V (PCI-E?) connector. The motherboard further takes power from a 6-pin PCI-E power connector apart from the usual 24-pin ATX power connector. Some of these inputs may be redundant and needed only for additional electrical stability to support competitive overclocking.

EVGA is keeping up its streak of releasing high-end motherboards for processors based on the new Intel Nehalem architecture, with a new dual-socket monstrosity. Slated for CES 2010, not much about this high-end workstation motherboard has been revealed beyond the picture below. From the looks of it, probably EVGA is making a high-end, overclocker-friendly dual LGA-1366 motherboard based on the Intel 5500 "Tylersburg" chipset with the usual ICH10R southbridge. Existing LGA-1366 processors that support dual-socket operation which includes Xeon 5500 series may work on it. Probably, a future high-end Intel Core family CPU is released that is capable of dual-socket setups, too. The picture reveals two LGA-1366 sockets, each powered by an 8-phase digital PWM circuit. Each socket is wired to six DDR3 DIMM slots supporting triple-channel memory for that socket. More this CES.

Thermaltake seems to have finished development of its new high-end CPU cooler, the Thermaltake Frio. Designs of this cooler surfaced as early as in June this year, originally slating it for Computex 2009. After some development delay, it has finally taken shape with the disctinct black+red color scheme the company's Level 10 case comes with. The design consists of a CPU contact block from which five seemingly 8 mm heatpipes arise, conveying heat to a dense aluminum fin array which has largely rectangular fins. The array is cooled a 120 mm fan. There is provision to install one on either sides, that rotates at speeds between 1200 - 2500 rpm. The cooler supports all current CPU sockets, including LGA-1366, LGA-1156, LGA-775, AM3/AM2+. The cooler is now slated for CES 2010.

Contrary to older reports, Intel will stick to the Core i7 brand identifier to sell its first consumer (client) six-core processor based on the Nehalem architecture, codenamed "Gulftown". The first offering of these socket LGA-1366 processors, is the Core i7 980X Extreme Edition. Its positioning and pricing shows that Intel will replace its current flagship desktop processor, the Core i7 975 Extreme Edition with it, and at the very same price-point of US $999 (in 1000 unit tray quantities).

A future price list also shows that the Core i7 980X Extreme Edition is slated for March 2010. A month ahead of its launch, Intel will introduce the Core i7 930, which succeeds the Core i7 920 at its price-point of $284. The Gulftown core will be manufactured on Intel's brand new 32 nm HKMG process, it features 6 processing cores with 12 threads (HyperThreading Technology), triple-channel DDR3 memory with its integrated memory controller, 6.4 GT/s QPI link to the Intel X58 Express chipset, 12 MB of L3 cache, compatibility to platforms that support the Core i7 9xx processors, and 130W TDP. The Core i7 980X Extreme Edition comes with a clock speed of 3.33 GHz, The Core i7 930 on the other hand, is a quad-core processor which runs at 2.80 GHz.

Noctua today officially presented its long-awaited NH-D14 premium CPU cooler. Combining a massive six heatpipe dual radiator design with an exquisite NF-P14/NF-P12 dual fan configuration, the NH-D14 is built to further improve the renowned quiet cooling performance of Noctua's award-winning NH-U12P series.

"Our NH-U12P coolers are widely regarded as one of the best solutions on the market, so it makes us especially proud that we can offer a further substantial improvement in quiet cooling performance with the new NH-D14", explains Mag. Roland Mossig, Noctua CEO. "The NH-D14 in Ultra-Low-Noise mode actually outperforms the NH-U12P at full fan speed, so we're confident that this cooler will appeal to overclockers and silent enthusiasts alike."

Intel updated its socket LGA-1366 Xeon processor portfolio with the W3565. Based on the Nehalem architecture, this quad-core processor is made for single-socket servers and workstations. It has near-identical specifications to the consumer-grade Core i7 960, in having a clock speed of 3.20 GHz (24 x 133 MHz), 8 MB of L3 cache, and a QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) speed of 4.8 GT/s. The QPI speed is perhaps the only thing that differentiates it from the W3570, which has the same clock speed, albeit a QPI speed of 6.4 GT/s. This one specification makes for a large price difference. While the new W3565 is priced at $562, the W3570 is priced at $999. With the introduction of the new processor, Intel is set to retire the 2.93 GHz W3540, and 3.06 GHz W3550.

Intel's Core i7 LGA-1366 performance segment processors is in for another update, past the recent introduction of the Core i7 960 (3.20 GHz). The newest entry replaces the popular Core i7 920, and leverages the company's socket LGA-1366 platform as the ultimate high-performance desktop platform. The Core i7 930, like all processors in the Core i7 900 series, runs on motherboards with the Intel X58 Express chipset. The processor comes with a clock speed of 2.88 GHz. Assuming it retains the base frequency of 133 MHz, we're not entirely sure how 2.88 GHz is worked out with a bus multiplier value that is a whole number. Since the Core i7 930 replaces the i7 920, it is expected to seat itself at the same price point of $299. Since this release comes slightly ahead of that of Intel's "Gulftown" 6-core processor, in Q1 2010, it remains to be seen if this processor continues to be built on the 45 nm HKMG process, or the newer 32 nm one.

Close to an year after Danamics released its so-perceived revolutionary LM10 liquid-metal CPU cooler, which was shelved a mere two months after its launch, the company is back with its successor. The new Danamics LMX looks bigger, meaner, and more compatible. The principle involves circulating liquid metal through heatpipes in an aluminum fin array. The liquid metal is circulated using an electromagnetic pump, though the unit has a shielded magnetic field that does not interfere with components outside it. The flowing liquid metal disperses heat to parts of the cooler better, resulting in higher cooling performance compared to other forms of air-cooling.

The unit measures 158.2×170.5×90 mm, weighing 1180 g. The heatsink fins are made of nickel-plated aluminum. Two 120 mm fans strapped on to either sides, are made by SilenX. This completely monolithic cooler has snap-on assembly, meaning it's as easy to install as almost any other air-cooler. It supports Intel sockets LGA-1366, LGA-775, and AMD AM3/AM2(+). It is priced at 159 EUR, significantly lower than its predecessor which went for 280 EUR. A flash animation of how the cooler works, among other details, can be accessed here.

The inclusion of USB 3.0 and SATA 6 Gb/s into the feature-sets of mid-thru-high end motherboards, have sparked off a mini wave of motherboard SKUs carved out on the basis of these features alone. Gigabyte, which recently unveiled its P55A family of socket LGA-1156 motherboards, has just done the same for its high-end socket LGA-1366 motherboard, with the introduction of the GA-EX58-Extreme2. Unlike other motherboards by the company that simply slipped in USB 3.0 and SATA 6 Gb/s while retaining essentially the same component layout, the GA-EX58-Extreme2 is a completely new design, that does not look similar to that of its predecessor, the GA-EX58-Extreme.

Gigabyte made use of not one, but two Marvell 88SE9123 2-port 6 Gb/s controllers, to give out four 6 Gb/s ports (color-coded white), all internal. Furthermore, two USB 3.0 controllers have been included to provide four ports. Unlike its predecessor, the GA-EX58-Extreme2 provides four PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots (electrical x16, NC, x16, NC; x16, NC, x8, x8; or x8, x8, x8, x8, depending on how they're populated.) The CPU is powered by a 24-phase circuit, and is wired to six DDR3 DIMM slots to support up to 24 GB of memory across a triple-channel interface. The chipset and VRM cooler supports water-cooling. The rest of its feature-set remains in tune with its predecessor: six SATA 3 Gb/s ports, dual gigabit Ethernet, 8-channel audio, and support for both ATI CrossFireX and NVIDIA SLI technologies. Gigabyte may include this into the wave of products it plans to launch ahead of the winter shopping season. A video preview can be watched at the source.

After releasing a wave of socket LGA-1156 motherboards under the P7P55D series, ASUS is ready with its newest socket LGA-1366 offering, based on the Intel X58 Express chipset, supporting Core i7 "Bloomfield" processors. The P6X58D Premium first surfaced back in July, but hit development roadblocks due to industry-wide issues with the SATA 6 Gb/s controller it used, which now seem to have been ironed-out. It brings to the table support for new technologies such as USB 3.0, and SATA 6 Gb/s, along with making use of the company's Xtreme Phase motherboard component design. The two SATA 6 Gb/s ports are color-coded white, and placed next to the SATA 3 Gb/s ports color-coded blue, provided by the ICH10R southbridge. The white ports are driven by a Marvell SATA 6 Gb/s controller. The two USB 3.0 ports on the other hand, are color-coded blue, and are placed next to the PS/2 connectors on the rear-panel. They are driven by an NEC-made controller.

The LGA-1366 socket is powered by a 16-phase circuit. The six DDR3 memory slots support up to 24 GB of DDR3 memory across a triple-channel (192-bit) memory interface. Components, heatsinks, and slots on the board stick to the blue/white/black color-scheme. Heatsinks over the VRM, northbridge, and southbridge are connected by heatpipes. Expansion slots include three PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrically x16, x8, x8, or x16, x16, NC, depending on how they're populated), two PCI, and one PCI-Express x1. Connectivity includes two gigabit Ethernet interfaces, USB 3.0, FireWire, and a number of USB 2.0 ports. ASUS-exclusive features include Precision Tweaker 2 (that provides voltage control with a fine-resolution), Stepless Frequency Selection, and ASUS CPU Parameter Recall. The new motherboard should reach markets this November.

Intel silently made its newest addition to the Core i7 desktop processor family official: the Core i7 960. This socket LGA-1366 processor is designed to work on motherboards with the Intel X58 Express chipset. After Intel's gradual replacement of the Core i7 965 Extreme Edition with the Core i7 975 Extreme Edition, there remained a scope for a non-XE Core i7 model with the same clock-speed as the i7 965 XE, albeit with an upwards locked bus frequency multiplier.

The Core i7 960 comes clocked at 3.20 GHz (24.0 x 133 MHz), with a maximum Turbo Boost speed of 3.43 GHz. It has four processing cores, and with the HyperThreading Technology, provides the operating system with eight logical CPUs. It comes with a QuickPath Interconnect speed of 4.8 GT/s, and supports up to 24 GB of memory with its triple-channel (192-bit wide) DDR3 memory interface. Each processing core has a dedicated L2 cache of 256 KB, while an 8 MB L3 cache is shared between all four cores. It is built on the 45 nm HKMG process, with a TDP of 130W.

The Core i7 960 is touted to displace the Core i7 950 from its existing price-point of around US $562 (in 1000 unit tray quantities). As evidence of that, popular American retailer Newegg.com has listed the OEM part (chip-only) at $589.99, a mere $10 higher than the retail box of the Core i7 950 listed on the same store.