The Pentium brand is so important for Intel, that it continues to exist, and the company celebrated its 20th anniversary by launching a special edition dual-core socket LGA1150 Pentium chip that comes with unlocked multipliers. Trouble is, people who buy it would have to opt for expensive motherboards just to overclock it, and would rather balance their expenses with Core i3 and cheaper motherboards, instead. To address that, and bring a bottle to Intel's celebrations, ASRock launched the Anniversary series, with the ATX Z97 Anniversary, and the micro-ATX Z97M Anniversary. As their names suggest, the two are based on Intel's overclocking-ready Z97 Express chipset. The idea behind the two could be to combine the Z97 chipset with a basic VRM that's just about enough to push the Pentium Anniversary Edition chip to its limits.

The Z97 Anniversary is a highly space-optimized ATX motherboard. It draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, 8-pin EPS, and 4-pin Molex power connectors. It uses a 5-phase VRM to condition power to the CPU, cooled by a heatsink. The CPU is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, and the lone PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot. Three PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and two legacy PCI make for the rest of its expansion. Storage connectivity includes six SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Networking is care of an Intel-made gigabit Ethernet controller. The onboard 6-channel HD audio is handled by an ALC887 CODEC, but backed by electrolytic capacitors. HDMI is its only display output.

ASRock updated its Fatal1ty branded socket AM3+ motherboard. The new ASRock 990FX Fatal1ty Killer gives AMD platform gamers most advancements in onboard connectivity. To begin with, the board is based on the AMD 990FX chipset, with SB950 southbridge. It draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors, and conditions it for the CPU with a 10-phase VRM. The CPU is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR3-2400 memory.

Expansion slots include two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 wired to the AMD 990FX northbridge, a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4) wired to the southbridge; and two PCI-Express 2.0 x1 slots. Storage connectivity includes five SATA 6 Gb/s, and one M.2, with a combination of PCIe 2.0 x2 and SATA 6 Gb/s link layers. The board features Realtek's latest ALC1150 HDA CODEC, which boasts of 115 dBA SNR; equipped with ground-layer isolation, and a headphones amp. Wired networking is care of a Broadcom Killer E2200 controller. Four USB 3.0 ports, and gaming peripheral-optimized USB 2.0 ports (stabilized power); make for the rest of it. The board is driven by AMI Aptio UEFI BIOS, supporting Windows 8 Secure Boot.

After its Chaintech deal, Coloful acquired a great deal of ingredients need to build a motherboard lineup. The company took the battle to the top (high-end), by launching three new high-end socket LGA1150 motherboards, all based on Intel's latest Z97 Express chipset. The lineup begins with the Battle Axe Z97 X5; moves on to the Battle Flag Z97 X5; and is led by the iGame Z97 Ymir.

The Battle Axe Z97 X5 offers a 9-phase CPU VRM, four DDR3 DIMM slots, one PCI-Express 3.0 x16, one PCI-Express 2.0 x4 (physical x16), two legacy PCI, and a PCIe 2.0 x1 making up the expansion area; five SATA 6 Gb/s, and one M.2 making up the storage connectivity; four USB 3.0 ports; DVI + D-Sub + HDMI display connectivity; 8-channel HD audio, and gigabit Ethernet. The Battle Flag Z97 X5 tops that up with a similar CPU VRM, but two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (x8/x8 when both are populated), six SATA 6 Gb/s, an M.2 in addition to an mSATA 6 Gb/s; and 8-channel HD audio with ground-layer isolation. Leading the pack is the iGame Z97 Ymir, with a strong 17-phase CPU VRM, three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (x8/x4/x4 when all three are populated), eight SATA 6 Gb/s and one mSATA, but a surprising lack of M.2; Killer E2200 NIC, and 8-channel HD audio.

GIGABYTE Technology, a leading creator of high performance server hardware, and Cavium, Inc. (NASDAQ: CAVM), a leading provider of semiconductor products that enable intelligent processing for enterprise, data center, cloud, wired and wireless networking, today announced a strategic partnership to deliver workload optimized server platforms based on Cavium's 64-bit ARMv8 ThunderX product family.

GIGABYTE's award winning product portfolio has been long recognized in the industry as a leader in design and innovation. With a broad offering of volume server platforms GIGABYTE has demonstrated engineering expertise in areas of system level integration of compute with I/O, large memory configurations and power optimization. With a world-wide presence GIGABYTE is uniquely positioned to accelerate the delivery and deployment of ThunderX based systems into cloud and data center.

In addition to the Atomic 990FX, which features a full-coverage water block, Sapphire also showed off its cousin from the Intel platform, the Atomic Z97 (SIZ97). The motherboard in the picture below may look barren without its heatsinks, but that's because it has none, its water-block is standing right next to it, and needs to be installed after you drop in a CPU. Among its features are a 6-phase high-current CPU VRM, two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots, five SATA 6 Gb/s, one mSATA 6 Gb/s, and mainstream connectivity.

Sapphire's Atomic brand often sprung up some surprising products in the VGA space, including some of the very first graphics cards with factory-fitted liquid-cooling solutions. Its latest creation is the Atomic 990FX, a socket AM3+ motherboard in the ATX form-factor, with a full-coverage water-block. "Full coverage and motherboards?" you ask? Yes! This board features a full-coverage block that features coolant channels that pass through not just the CPU, but also CPU VRM, and the chipset. It features three PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots, four DDR3 DIMM slots, six SATA 6 Gb/s ports, gigabit Ethernet, and 8-channel audio.

ASUS also showed off its H97 Pro-Gamer motherboard, designed for gamers who don't overclock their CPU or memory. Branded outside the ROG series, the board still retains its black+red product styling. Its feature set includes an 8-phase CPU VRM, four DDR3 DIMM slots; two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (x8/x8 with both populated), two PCI-Express 2.0 x1, three legacy PCI, making up the expansion area; storage connectivity that includes six SATA 6 Gb/s, a SATA-Express slot, and an M.2 slot; Intel-made gigabit Ethernet with GameFirst II, and SupremeFX II audio.

ASUS showed off its first socket FM2+ motherboard in its Republic of Gamers family, the ROG Crossblade Ranger. Based on the AMD A88X FCH chipset, the Crossblade Ranger offers an 8-phase CPU VRM, four DDR3 DIMM slots, two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (gen 3.0 x8/x8 when both are populated), a third PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4) slot, eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports, Intel-made gigabit Ethernet with ASUS LANGuard, and SupremeFX audio. The board supports both SLI and CrossFire. We expect this board to be priced under $150.

ASUS made an additions to its TUF (the ultimate force) line of super durable motherboards, with the TUF Sabranco Z97, and the TUF Sabertooth Z97 MK2. "Sabranco," according to ASUS is a combination of the words Sabertooth and branco (Portuguese for white). It's essentially a TUF Sabertooth Z97 MK1, with a milky white PCB, and a thermal armor that features "arctic" military camouflage pattern, used by armed forces operating in snowy conditions. The Sabertooth Z97 MK2, on the other hand, is a lighter variant of the MK1, minus SATA-Express, and a lighter CPU VRM.

Just like its rival MSI, ASUS has decided to showcase a little USB advancement at Computex 2014. To do that the company put on display not one but two LGA1150 motherboards (probably Z97-based) featuring USB 3.1 support courtesy of an ASMedia controller.

The USB 3.1 ports on ASUS' boards - codenamed Quicksilver (ATX) and Shadowcat (mini ITX), offer maximum transfer rates of 10 Gbps and up to 100 W for connected devices. Shadowcat also packs two DDR3 memory slots, four SATA ports, one PCI-Express x16 slot, Gigabit Ethernet, 5.1 channel audio, and D-Sub, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort outputs.

At its Computex 2014 booth EVGA is showcasing a prototype motherboard powered by Intel's upcoming X99 chipset. This Haswell-E-supporting LGA2011 board packs eight DDR4 memory slots, ten SATA ports, five PCI-Express x16 slots allowing for SLI/Crossfire setups, 7.1 channel audio, dual Gigabit Ethernet, and various goodies to help overclockers get the most out of their setup.

EVGA's X99 board is likely set to debut as soon as Intel launches the chipset and the new Core i7-5xxxK line of processors, sometime in Q3.

MSI unveiled its first socket AM3+ motherboard bearing its coveted Gaming Series badge, the 970 Gaming. Based on AMD 970 chipset with SB950 southbridge, the board offers most modern gaming features for the AM3+ platform. It supports FX "Vishera" eight-core processors. The board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS connectors, and features a strong 8-phase CPU VRM that's cooled by a massive heatsink. The AM3+ socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR3-2400 MHz memory.

Expansion slots include two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (x8/x8 when both are populated), and two each of PCI-Express 2.0 x1 and legacy PCI. Storage connectivity includes six SATA 6 Gb/s ports. There are four USB 3.0 ports on offer. Things get interesting with its Qualcomm Killer E2200 gaming-optimized wired NIC, the same one featured on its flagship Z97 Gaming 9 AC; and Audio Boost HD audio, which features a 115 dBA SNR CODEC, ground-layer isolation, a 600Ω headphones amp, electrolytic capacitors, and gold-plated jacks. MSI didn't disclose pricing.

It what may look like MSI paying GIGABYTE back in its own coin (of copying color scheme and nomenclature), but is actually a completely different target market the company is going after; the new ECO line of motherboards by MSI offer essential feature-set to mainstream desktop builders, while cutting down greatly on redundant components, costly dyes, and over-the-top packaging materials. The boards also feature energy-efficient VRM designs, to cut power consumption down as much as the platform can allow. MSI unveiled three ECO products, the H81M ECO, the B85M ECO, and the H97M ECO.

In addition to the first motherboard with DDR4 memory support, MSI showed off the industry's first motherboard featuring 10 Gbps USB 3.1 ports. The unnamed socket LGA1150 motherboard is based on Intel's Z97 Express chipset, and uses a third-party ASMedia ASM1142 controller to drive two USB 3.1 ports. The controller is wired to the PCH over PCI-Express 2.0 x2. The rest of the board's feature-set appears consistent with the Z97 Gaming 7.

MSI showed off its very first LGA2011-2 motherboard, based on Intel's X99 Express chipset, supporting Core i7 "Haswell-E" HEDT processors. The unnamed board is still in its early stages of development, none of its product styling (colors, heatsinks/lack-thereof) are final. The board features eight DDR4 DIMM slots, with which it should support up to 64 GB of quad-channel DDR4 memory. The CPU is powered by an 8-phase VRM. Expansion slots include four PCI-Express 3.0 x16. Storage connectivity includes one each of SATA-Express, M.2, and eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Most of its connectors are not even placed, but one can expect multiple USB 3.0 ports, two gigabit Ethernet connections, Thunderbolt, etc.

Gigabyte's G1.Gamer line of motherboards are notorious for overlooking the mini-ITX form-factor. The company made up for that by unveiling the Z97N-Gaming 5, a feature-packed socket LGA1150 mini-ITX motherboard based on the Intel Z97 Express motherboard, ready for Intel's Core "Devil's Canyon" enthusiast processors. The board draws power from 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors, and uses a 6-phase CPU VRM. Expansion slots include one PCI-Express 3.0 x16, and an mPCIe 2.0 x1. It lacks SATA-Express and M.2 due to its limited PCB real-estate, but still offers five SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Display outputs include dual-link DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort. Realtek ALC1150 HD audio (115 dBA SNR), and Broadcom Killer E2200 gigabit Ethernet are star attractions. Also featured is a WLAN board supporting 802.11 ac and Bluetooth 4.0.

Intel's next-generation HEDT (high end desktop) platform, consisting of Core i7 "Haswell-E" processors and X99 Express chipset motherboards, are unlikely to get a showing at Computex 2014, according to an OCWorkbench report, which has its feet on the ground in Taipei. What makes this development surprising, is that Intel is expected to launch the platform in the second half of 2014, and after Computex, the company won't get another major tradeshow until 2015 International CES, slated for January. What's even more surprising, is that Intel has already launched 9-series motherboards for socket LGA1150, that are designed to support its 14 nm Core "Broadwell" mainline processors. According to the report, Intel will have its motherboard partners focus on already launched Z97 Express and H97 Express motherboards, with a focus on the platform's support for M.2 and SATA-Express interfaces, that enable a new generation of faster SSDs.

Ladies and gentlemen, may we present quite simply the greatest PC technology of 2014. COMPUTEX TAIPEI, the latest ICT exhibition in Asia, the major festival that all tech guys can never miss which is going to take place during 3rd to 7th this year. No matter you're a heavy gamer searching for shocking machines or a record-breaking overclocker looking for crazy gears or just interesting in discovering the latest tech products, ASRock's booth at L1018, 4F, Taipei World Trade Center, Nangang Exhibition Hall will serve you pretty well.

ASRock is all thrilled to present four different types of quality products lineup, including super-alloy components built Intel 9 Series motherboards, the award-winning gaming PC M8, Mini PC series, industrial PC series, and ASRock Rack Server/workstation series.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, launched today its latest 9 series G1 Gaming motherboards based on the Intel Z97/H97 Chipset with support for the latest Intel 4th and 5th generation Core processors. The new G1 Gaming motherboards are packed with absolutely everything you'll need to build an uncompromising, high-performance gaming PC.

The GIGABYTE G1 Gaming motherboards deliver a range of exciting features such as the GIGABYTE's Amp-Up Audio and several other advanced technologies for serious gamers and audiophiles, including the world's first onboard OP-Amp socket. Additionally, the Killer E2200 gigabit Ethernet controller offers enhanced online gaming and online media performance compared to standard solutions.

ECS, Elitegroup Computer System, the global leading motherboard manufacturer today announces that all of its 8 series motherboards offer support for the New 4th Generation Intel Core Haswell Refresh Processors. With only a simple BIOS update, users can easily take full advantage of the newly launched CPUs.

With the anticipation and excitement coming along with the new 4th Generation Intel Core Haswell Refresh Processors, ECS takes it one step further when it comes to fulfilling users' satisfaction by getting new drivers and BIOS ready. ECS has provided support across the entire 8 series product line, including Z87, H87, Q87, B85 and H81 chipset based motherboards.

Computex, 2014, Asia's largest high-tech event, will run from June 3rd to the 7th this year in Taipei, Taiwan and BIOSTAR will showcase three product families featuring the latest Embedded, PC Mainboard and Graphics Card solutions including Intel's recent released "Haswell Refresh" processors and 9 Series chipsets in the Nangang Exhibition Hall at Booth L0128.

One specific mainboard that BIOSTAR will be showing is the Hi-Fi Z97WE, based on the Intel Z97 chipset with key features such as PCIe M.2 support, Dual GbE LAN and BIOSTAR exclusive Hi-Fi audio technology.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards launched earlier this month their new 9 Series motherboards based on the Intel Z97/H97 chipsets with support for 4th and 5th generation Intel Core processors. Today, GIGABYTE introduces several new additions to the Ultra Durable motherboards family.

"With these new 9 Series Ultra Durable motherboards, we're making sure that costumers can rely on GIGABYTE's trusted quality and have a PC platform that will last, no matter what the future technological evolutions might be." commented Henry Kao, Vice President of GIGABYTE Motherboard Business Unit. "In addition to supporting future 5th generation Intel Core CPUs, we are also adding several features normally reserved for our higher end motherboards including high quality audio, networking and onboard overclocking, ensuring our customers will have a 'future-proof' platform.

BIOSTAR has released the A88MQ motherboard based on the new AMD FM2+ socket design that supports AMD Multi-Core (x4, x2) socket FM2+/FM2 processors AMD A-series/ E2-series processors all in a micro ATX form factor. Using the AMD A88X Chipset, the A88MQ, gives users the options for small build using the MicroATX form factor. It gives 4 DIMM slots supporting DDR3 RAM up to 64GB. It uses the newest SATA3 6Gb/s bus which is twice the speed of previous SATA2. There is also support for AMD Dual Graphics Technology.

The A88MQ will give users the 6+ Experience. The first, Audio+ includes audio features from BIOSTAR which are extensive with True Blu-Ray Audio and SPDIF out. The Video+ features support for full HDMI 3D 1080p and a Dual-Link DVI port for resolutions up to 2560x1600. The Speed+ features include support for SmartSpeedLAN which is a free software application that monitors and manages your PC's network behavior. There is also Charger Booster, the fastest and most efficient charger solution for Apple devices such as iPads and iPhones.

Cyberpower Inc., a manufacturer of custom gaming machines, notebook systems, and high performance workstations, today announced its Power Mega Pro series - a redesigned family of AMD and Intel high-performance workstations powered by AMD and Intel processors that offer a minimum of 8 processing threads configurable up to 40 threads with dual Intel Xeon E6-2690 v2 processors.

From video editing to 3D design and rendering, the Power Mega Pro series is crafted with premium components to ensure a seamless, reliable computing experience to tackle the most demanding CPU and GPU-intensive applications. CYBERPOWERPC did extensive research and testing to design the perfect mix of seven base model Power Mega Pro systems - all of which offer workstation level performance for running advanced applications out of the box. Customers have a choice of the OpenGL performance of an NVIDIA Quadro GPU, or the ability to distribute a load across 20 or more Intel Xeon processing threads.

MSI launched its Intel Z97 chipset-based Gaming series lineup with three ATX motherboards, the Z97 Gaming 3, the Z97 Gaming 5, and the Z97 Gaming 7. The company now made a high-end addition, with the Z97 Gaming 9 AC. Built in the standard ATX form-factor, the board is filled to the brim with features targeted more toward high-end gaming PC builds, than professional CPU/memory overclocking. It still offers a decent overclocking feature-set. To begin with, the board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, 8-pin EPS connectors, and uses a 16-phase VRM to condition power for the CPU, which is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, and three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (x8/x4/x4 when all three are populated, x8/x8/x0 when two are, and x16/x0/x0 when one is. 3-way SLI and CrossFire are supported.

An EMI shield covers the rear-panel I/O, while another shields the entire onboard audio circuitry, and the NICs. Audio is care of a 100+ dBA SNR DAC, which an external headphone amp circuit, ground-layer isolation, audio-grade capacitors, and EMI shielding. Wired connectivity is handled by Broadcom's newer Killer E2205 gigabit NIC. Wireless connectivity is handled by an Intel-made chipset that offers 802.11 ac WLAN, and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity. Storage connectivity is devoid of SATA-Express, but features eight SATA 6 Gb/s, and an M.2 slot. Overclocking features include voltage measurement points, and POST LED display. Expect this one to go for over US $200.