GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards and other computing hardware solutions today announced the launch of the world's first motherboard designed from the ground up for extreme overclockers, the GIGABYTE GA-X58A-OC. Its overclocking specific performance design defines a whole new category of enthusiast focused motherboards that introduces never-seen-before tweaking and insulating features.

"The GIGABYTE X58A-OC introduces some really exciting and unique overclocking technologies like the PWM frequency switcher, a full range of onboard hardware OC buttons, onboard SATA power connectors for stable multiple graphics configurations, and DualBIOS switcher that up until now have just been ideas discussed in private OC forums and messages," commented HiCookie, GIGABYTE In-house Overclocking Expert. "Tweaking features aside, we have also adopted high current components such as POScaps and MPFC (Max Power Ferrite Core) Chokes that allow overclockers to bench more reliably and with more power so they are able to smash more world records. As an avid overclocker myself, having the freedom to help design a board specifically for overclockers has been a dream come true, and I really hope that overclockers enjoy benching on this board as much as we enjoyed making it!"

Globally-renowned graphics card and mainboard manufacturer MSI today officially unveils its N500 series of graphics card featuring the award-winning Twin Frozr II Thermal Design. The Twin Frozr II Thermal Design has garnered unanimous praise from professional media and end-users for providing the best balance between cooling performance and lowest sound levels. With the Twin Frozr II cooler, noise output is reduced by up to 8.4dB (when compared to the reference design). More importantly, operating temperatures are reduced by up to 20°C versus other cooling solutions. Thanks to MSI Afterburner, unsurpassed clock speeds can be achieved with the combined features of the excellent Twin Frozr II Thermal Design and MSI's N580GTX and N570GTX GPU.

The Lightning graphics card series from the world-leading graphics card and mainboard manufacturer, MSI, has been receiving unanimous recognition from power users and major media worldwide. The new member of the series, N480GTX Lightning, is tailored for extreme overclocking. By the world's first Power4 architecture to provide sufficient and stable power, the OC potential of the N480GTX Lightning has been significantly increased. With its incredible core clock - 1450MHz, N480GTX Lightning created the new world record of 3DMark Vantage at 39281. Without a doubt, the N480GTX Lightning is, by far, the top graphics card designed for Extreme Overclocking.

Furthermore, the N480GTX Lightning is equipped with a number of the latest MSI-exclusive features, including the Twin Frozr III thermal solution that maintains GPU temperature at 18°C lower than the reference thermal design; the GPU/Memory/PLL triple overvoltage functions by the Afterburner utility and the new-generation Military Class Components. In addition to showing MSI's demand for continuous improvement, these state-of-the-art features bring consumers more powerful OC features beyond their imagination.

MSI, the world's renowned graphics card and motherboard manufacturer, today officially launched the N450GTS Cyclone series of graphics cards, which are equipped with NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 GPU core. With MSI-exclusive Cyclone thermal design and a 9cm PWM fan, not only its airflow enhanced by 50%, but a whopping 17 °C temperature reduction can be achieved when compared the reference design. Using MSI's exclusive overclocking software, Afterburner, users can adjust the GPU voltage and increase the overclocking rate significantly. In addition, all-solid capacitor components are used in this series, which gives users high stability and a long product lifespan. Also supported is the NVIDIA PhysX & 3DVision technology, which offers gamers an all-new visual experience and makes this series of graphics cards from MSI the superior choice for serious gamers who want to get the most value out of their card.

Over the last week, the enthusiast community witnessed high drama as some world-renowned overclockers were disqualified from the MSI Lords of Overclocking online competition for engaging in malpractice. Futuremark noticed that some validation entries from top scoring candidates originated from the same setup, confirmed from consistency in Futuremark product key and PCI devices. Top three position-holders at the LoOC competition admitted to using scores generated by a third person, AndreYang. Hiwa, eXtremetweaker.de, KJ and Skinnee were named as disqualified candidates.

What happened next could come as a surprise to some. Major overclocking communities banned these individuals, some permanently, with enthusiast charts aggregator HWBOT handing out a 1 year ban to each of them (although HWBOT wasn't involved in that competition), and XtremeSystems.org issuing lifetime bans. Even as some question the motives behind Andre sharing scores with four people at the same time, the candidates deny that Andre had any intention to profit from it, other than just helping.

Extreme audio & video performance and intelligent overclocking are among the most critical demands of power users. Globally-renowned mainboard and graphics card manufacturer MSI have unveiled their all-new 890FXA-GD70 and AMD 800 series mainboards. Featuring ultimate stability, easy overclocking and extreme performance, these boards targets advanced users who demand ultimate performance and beyond with overclocking.

The 890FXA-GD70 features AMD's latest SB850 southbridge chipset support and server-grade, Military Class specifications for the ultimate performance platform. Also included is the OC Genie intelligent overclocking utility, designed by MSI especially for the AMD platform. With the Unlock CPU Core function, consumers can enjoy ultimate performance at a reasonable price by taking their tri-core processor and making it into a quad-core. The 890FXA-GD70 also fully supports the latest generation USB 3.0 & SATA 6Gb/s transfer technologies that boost high capacity file transfer speed and quality to future standards. In addition, the environmentally conscious and economical DrMOS design is also included (on select models only) making this mainboard a must buy for the enthusiast.

Gaming has evolved into a leading growth industry and dynamic motivator for the technology sector, as CeBIT 2010 further illustrates. It's a massively popular pastime drawing people, all united through thrilling entertainment. ASUS shares the passion, maintaining a tradition of ingenuity aimed at meeting the needs of gamers both with the hardcore Republic of Gamers brand (ROG) and powerful mainstream solutions. It seeks to innovate and introduce new exciting ways to enjoy gaming, believing it should be natural to take up rather than complicated.

NVIDIA today let loose of GeForce 196.34 beta driver suite. The beta release comes after the recently-released GeForce 196.21 WHQL drivers, and corrects a severe bug which prevents GPU overclocking. It retains the rest of the feature-set of its WHQL predecessor. Being a beta release, its use is unsupported by NVIDIA, though a WHQL-signed version can be expected soon.

The GeForce 196.34 beta driver suite provides system software for NVIDIA GeForce desktop and mobile graphics processors, NVIDIA ION platform, along with Graphics Plus components such as CUDA, PhysX, 3D Vision, etc.

DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 196.34 BETA

ASRock has updated the BIOS of its H55M Pro socket LGA1156 motherboard to include a "Turbo 100" feature. The feature is designed to run with the entry-level Pentium Dual-Core G6950 processor, which overclocks it from 2.80 GHz to 4.20 GHz, with a turbo ratio of 100%. This, the company claims, provides a significant graphics performance boost (tabled below). The new BIOS can be downloaded from ASRock Forums' Intel section.

The EVGA EVBot is a useful tool for tweakers and overclockers to maximize their system and have fun tweaking their EVGA products. With the ability to adjust on the fly voltages, clock frequencies and much more, the EVGA EVBot unleashes the full potential of your select EVGA motherboards or graphics cards! Optimistic Booster allows EVBot to take over and increase CPU frequency for a short amount of time. (ex. up 4MHz ever 4 seconds, down 3MHz every 3 seconds) This allows you to obtain the highest performance possible for a benchmark run. Simple and straight forward to use, and best of all, no drivers needed! Just plug and play.

AMD's dual-GPU flagship graphics accelerator, the Radeon HD 5970, is closer than you think it is. Slated for 18th Nov, it includes every feature that allows AMD to reclaim the performance leadership it yearned for since the beginning of this year. In a series of company slides sourced from XtremeSystems Forums, it is learned that this could be one of the first accelerators which AMD "openly" markets as having a "Massive Headroom" for overclocking. While the clock speeds on the HD 5970 are lower than those on the single-GPU HD 5870, AMD lifted limits on what the driver-level ATI Overdrive software can offer in terms of clock speeds. While the engine (core) and memory speeds are set at 720/1000 MHz, the unlocked ATI Overdrive lets users take the clock speeds all the way up to 1000/1500 MHz. That's 30% for the core, and a stellar 50% for the memory.

To back such speeds, AMD seems to have splurged heavily on top-notch components on the PCB. To begin with, the PCB holds two high-grade AMD Cypress GPUs, each with all its 1600 stream processors enabled. The GDDR5 memory, while clocked at 1000 MHz or 4 GT/s, is technically rated by its manufacturer to run at 1250 MHz or 5 GT/s. All systems are powered by high-grade digital PWM voltage regulators, with independent Volterra VRM controllers that allow real-time monitoring, and software voltage control. Barring the five-odd cylindrical solid-state capacitors, Japanese pure ceramic surface-mount capacitors are extensively made use of.

Apacer, one of the world's leading brands of memory modules, has announced its brand-new "Giant II DDR3 Overclocking Memory Module series" in response to the global trend of gaming economics, helping fervent gaming players build their ultra-speed gaming PC. Apacer's "Giant II DDR3 Overclocking Memory Module series" inherit the huge heatspreader design of the Giant Series and further adopt the unique "air-fall" vents for quick heat dissipation even at overclocking high temperature, maintaining great operation stability while the player can enjoy the sensational gaming experience.

Apacer's "Giant II DDR3 Overclocking Memory Module Series" selects the best-performing Elpida's 1Gbit, 128x8 particles suited for overclocking, which are screened in the triple channel test environment using the advanced test fixture and programs under diversified parameters of voltage and time sequences. Stricter than other brands' screening standards, the particles are further tested in the high temperature and high pressure environment for 72 hours to wash out unstable ones and ensure best overclocking performance and stability. The much-tested "Giant II DDR3 Overclocking Memory Module Series" has four models: DDR3-1600MHz, 1866MHz, 2000MHz, and DDR3-2133, the most stable and performing model in the market, with two capacity choices: 3GB (1GBx3) and 6GB(2GBx3), to meet the different requirements of professional players who demand ultra game performance.

The world-leading graphics card and mainboard manufacturer, MSI, today announces all-in-one graphics card tweak utility "Afterburner". All MSI graphics card users can download it for free on Afterburner website today. The powerful overclocking, tweaking, and monitoring features of Afterburner are incomparable among competitors. The MSI graphics card users can immediately enjoy the overclocking performance and tweaking pleasure brought by Afterburner now.

Afterburner fully supports the GPU/Shader/Memory clock adjustment of NVIDIA and ATI graphics cards. Beside general overclocking features, Afterburner has the exclusive over-voltage technology, which supports NVIDIA and ATI high-end product-line and MSI award-winning Lightning series. With these graphics cards, the extra over-voltage function will be activated, and can highly boost the graphics card overclocking capability and make the games runs more smoothly. According to the internal test result, MSI N275GTX Lightning core clock can be overclocked to the awesome 1175MHz and reached the unprecedented 85% overclocking capability.

Intel's upcoming dual-core derivatives of the Nehalem/Westmere architecture, codenamed "Clarkdale" seems to have some interesting electrical characteristics. The CPU component of the chip is built on Intel's brand new 32 nanometre process that facilitates higher transistor densities, and in the process, intends to bring down TDP. An overclocking feat by Coolaler.com seems to suggest one of two things: either these chips have naturally low vCore voltages, or that the overlocking headroom at low-voltages is exceptional. Coolaler used a pre-release engineering sample of the Core i3 Clarkdale processor on a compatible platform, and achieved 4 GHz of clock speed with the vCore at 0.832 V. The frequency multiplier of the CPU was set at 25.0x, and a bus speed of 160 MHz used. Intel will be ready with these processors by the end of this year.

AMD's Phenom II TWKR 42 quad-core CPU was made with only one objective: to deliver record-setting CPUs to more professional overclockers than thought was possible. Having rolled out at least 100 units, AMD opened a door for several world-record attempts. Some of the most important ones took place at the SF3D OC Gathering in Finland. The new world record the group of overclockers put up was 7.00 GHz. The record was attempted on a DFI LANParty 790FXB-M3eH7 motherboard, and involved (from what the validation page shows) a bus speed of 250 MHz, and 28.0x bus multiplier. Its voltage remains a secret-sauce.

Other highlights include a run of 3DMark06 with the CPU clocked at 6.54 GHz, on a different bench. 3DMark06 tests the stability of this clock speed, as the test includes the CPU test score. The bench was aided by two ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 GPUs in CrossFireX mode. The same bench was used for a run of 3DMark05, with the CPU clocked at 6.67 GHz. This time however, the CPU test was not part of the score.

ASUS, the world's leading producer of motherboards, today put world record-breaking power into the hands of AMD Phenom II users with the launch of the ROG (Republic of Gamers) Crosshair III Formula. Based on the AMD Socket AM3 platform, the Crosshair III Formula harnesses its full complement of ROG-exclusive features and technologies to unleash the full overclocking potential of Phenom II processors-enabling budget-conscious enthusiasts and gamers to enjoy extreme levels of performance at an affordable mid-price point.

DFI LANParty AMD series motherboards, including the highest end 790FXB family and multi-media 790GX family, have proved excellent performance on Phenom II overclocking. Now, LANParty team is focusing on "Main stream Overclocking", DK 790X-M2RS is the first product that aims this segment.

Compared with the high-end 790FXB family, the DK 790X-M2RS has the equivalent overclocking BIOS settings and also retains exclusive overclocking features such as "debug LED", "built-in power/reset button", and "six fan connectors". Therefore, the DK 790X-M2RS is really a cost-effective overclocking motherboard.

DFI LANParty, one the most famous mainboard brands worldwide, will hold the first session of global online overclocking competition during April to May of 2009. In addition to a handsome sum of money as prize and awards to the top three, the top ten candidates will also be honored as "LANParty certified overclocker".

"LANParty certified overclocker" enjoys the priority to obtain information on the new products, directly talk with R&D engineers and provide suggestions for the products under development. For more information, please visit this page. For registration or inquiries mail to wr@dfi.com.tw.

Along with the two new Phenom processors, Advanced Micro Devices today releases an updated version of its Overdrive software. That's the company's utility for real-time monitoring, overclocking and tweaking of AMD chipsets. It is incredibly simple and easy to work with. To download the updated AMD Overdrive utility version 3.01, please click here. The link will also lead you to the full changelog.

ASUS, world-leading producer of top quality graphic solutions, has today introduced the ASUS EAH4890 Series-the world's first graphics cards to utilize Voltage Tweak technology. With this innovation, users will be able to boost GPU voltages via the SmartDoctor application and enjoy up to an amazing 15% in performance improvement. For users who are looking for a graphics card offering astounding graphical performances even on default settings, the ASUS EAH4890 TOP will enable an 8% performance boost, delivering exhilarating gaming experiences.

Silicon Power has unveiled its first overclocking DRAM product called the Xpower series for gamers, and all power users that demand top of the line memory. Available in 2x2 GB configuration, the new Silicon Power Xpower DDR2 RAM operates at 1066 MHz using CAS latency of CL5-5-5-15 at 2.0 Volts. Typical for modern high-performance memory modules, the Xpower series are covered with an aluminum heatsinks for better heat distribution. These Silicon Power DDR2 kits are also backed with a lifetime warranty.

Galaxy today announced a new video-card management software, the Xtreme Tuner. Unlike other manufacturers coming up with different bits of software to tune the graphics card's running-state parameters and BIOS manipulation, Galaxy's software provides a consolidated interface for monitoring the various parameters of graphics cards and controlling clock-speeds, fan-speeds, BIOS manipulation and BIOS flashing from within Windows.

The software becomes especially handy when all controls are present in one page. It is noted of this software to support all current NVIDIA GeForce-based graphics cards, with the exception of BIOS flashing being exclusive to some Galaxy-made graphics cards. This is attributed to Galaxy using a dual-BIOS design with some of its cards. Incidentally, Galaxy has another software utility called Magic Panel, which now seems to be exclusive for Galaxy products in the Asian markets. The interface of the Xtreme Tuner can be indexed in the picture below as: 1. Graphics cards fan speed control area, 2. Graphics card's Core/ Memory/ shader clock control area, 3. Operation Monitor, 4. BIOS Flashing interface, and 5. Application settings.

DOWNLOAD: Galaxy Xtreme Tuner

Overclocking video cards has become a child's play these days, thanks to helpful software utilities that feature simple sliders to adjust clock speeds, test and apply overclocked parameters. Those serious about overclocking take to high-end cooling, and volt-modding. EVGA picked on a gray-area, where users should be given a level of control over the GPU's voltage. The company is known for taking initiatives in making performance control accessible to most users by providing easy to use utilities such as the EVGA Precision.

Now, the company is coming up with a nifty utility called the EVGA Voltage Tuner. Exclusive for registered users of EVGA GeForce GTX 200 series graphics cards, the utility allows a decent level of control over the GPU's voltage settings, within a range permissible by the GPU's BIOS. While this utility isn't an all out substitute to volt-modding, it allows for all the voltage tuning the default state of the graphics card's electrical components allow. A simple slider allows for adjusting the GPU core voltage with a resolution of milli-Volts. The results of using this utility are impressive, with a small voltage adjustment sending the maximum core overclock up by 100 MHz, a significant amount when it comes to GPUs. The first version of this utility is said to support GeForce GTX 260 (65nm), GeForce GTX 280 and GeForce GTX 295. Suceeding versions may expand the compatibility list to include some important graphics cards, namely GeForce GTX 285 and GTX 260 (55nm). The second and third screenshots below show a before&after scene of adjusting voltages using this utility.

Many hear about overclocking events around the world, mostly being held in exotic locations. AwardFabrik organized such an event in good old Germany, inviting some great overclockers to try their hand at pushing the systems during various contests and competitions. The event lasted for two days and the contestants use up a whopping 1.450 liters of LN2 during the time. Check out the link below for some great images and insight, as to what happens during such an event.

Have you ever thought of overclocking your shiny little netbook, probably not, but here's what might happen if you're wondering. In my humble opinion this is ridiculous, but it's possible. Overclocking experts from Team Australia, using an ordinary MSI Wind U100 netbook and a single Kingston 2GB DDR2 667Mhz SO-DIMM, have done the unthinkable, overclock the hell out of an Intel Atom N270 netbook processor. If you remember, MSI recently released a v1.09 BIOS for the Wind that allows overclocking. That's exactly what Team AU have done, dismantle an MSI Wind netbook, put some LN2 cooling and use the latest BIOS to max the Intel Atom CPU frequency. The end result is pretty good, they've managed to push the poor 1.6GHz Atom N270 CPU to an amazing 2385MHz (FSB 199 x 12 multiplier) and take a CPU-Z snapshot. There's really no point in doing that, but it's pure fun. The full discussion thread for this insane experiment is posted over at XtremeSystems.