After trying to avoid UEFI BIOS by sticking to "HybridEFI" workarounds to its existing AwardBIOS code on most of its socket LGA1155 and AM3+ motherboards, GIGABYTE reluctantly transitioned to UEFI with its socket LGA2011 motherboards, on which it fused its innovative Dual-BIOS technology with UEFI to come up with Dual-UEFI technology. One can imagine this to be particularly tough to implement on lower-end models, since UEFI with graphical setup program requires higher-capacity EEPROM chips, and since Dual-UEFI would need two, it would stress component costs, but GIGABYTE did it anyway.

In Japan, the company released the latest revision of the GA-H61MA-D3V (rev. 2.0), an entry-level socket LGA1155 motherboard based on the Intel H61 chipset, which features Dual-UEFI. Apart from this, the board also features GIGABYTE's Ultra-Durable 4 Classic component loadout, which consists of a new fiberglass fabric weave PCB that's more resistant to humidity that causes short-circuits, high ESD-resistance ICs, anti-surge ICs located on critical circuits, low RDS (on) MOSFETs, and a 100% high-grade solid-state capacitor design.

Intel's X79 chipset for Sandy Bridge-E platform was originally designed to have four SAS (serial-attached SCSI) channels apart from its usual loadout of SATA ports. Early prototypes of socket LGA2011 motherboards displayed at last year's Computex event (June), carried a large number of chipset-driven ports. However, Intel found the chipset-integrated SAS RAID controller (independent device from the SATA RAID controller) to have "unreliable performance", and hence changed its specification at the last moment. So the production specification of X79 ended up having the same SATA port loadout as P67 (two SATA 6 Gb/s + four SATA 3 Gb/s).

This specifications change did not result in a design change of the X79 PCH package, its die remained the same, so did its package and pin-map, which motherboard vendors had for nearly an year. So ECS decided to implement the SAS ports despite being out of specifications. LegitReviews discovered that its X79R-AX sample very much did have SAS ports wired to the PCH. With firmware of the SAS RAID controller and drivers, it could enable and use those ports. Although the SAS ports are physically present on the board, users have to enable them via the UEFI firmware setup program (BIOS).

ZOTAC also displayed an upcoming socket LGA1155 motherboard based on Intel Z77 chipset, in the mini-ITX form-factor, which is geared for overclocking, that's right, overclocking. ZOTAC has, in the past, designed a similar motherboard based on the Z68 chipset. This mini-ITX board draws power from 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS connectors, it supports upcoming "Ivy Bridge" Unlocked LGA1155 Core processors out of the box.

The LGA1155 socket (LOTES Black, powder-coated to prevent shrinking when subjected to subzero cooling), is powered by an 8-phase VRM circuitry, complete with a feature-rich controller, Pulse-made inductors, and driverMOSFETs (DrMOS), and High-C capacitors. The DrMOS chips are cooled by a high-density heatsink that shares some of its heat with the heatsink over the Z77 PCH, over a heat pipe.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today announced its participation at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas where it is debuting a number of new and exciting motherboard technologies that will be central to it's motherboard design in 2012 and beyond. International media and customers will get a sneak peak of GIGABYTE's new technologies at their suite in The Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas, from January 10-13.

GIGABYTE is showing forthcoming 7 series motherboards featuring the very latest in CPU power delivery with GIGABYTE's unique Digital Power Engine called 3D Power. Offering digital control over all the main onboard power zones, this new digital PWM design allows users to manipulate and monitor the power provided to 2nd Gen Intel Core and Next Gen processors for the LGA 1155 socket.

Sapphire Technology, a leading manufacturer and global supplier of graphics, mainboard and multimedia solutions has just announced a new mainboard developed to support the latest family of CPUs from Intel, the Sapphire Pure Black X79N.

The Sapphire Pure Black X79N is a full ATX sized board that supports the latest generation Intel processor family using socket LGA 2011. It has 4 DDR3 DIMM slots supporting up to 32 GB of quad channel memory, including the latest high speed types.

Windows 8 implements a radical new user interface called Metro for desktop PC's, which has so far received a mixed reception. However, there's many other changes under the hood and one of those is how password security is handled, which we look at here. It's a fact of life, that in today's modern world, we have to remember a plethora of passwords and PIN's, which can be daunting. This leads to security issues as users end up writing down passwords and/or create very insecure ones which can be easily guessed. Windows 8 aims to uphold strong password security, while at the same time, easing the burden on the user. Also, passwords can be obtained in various ways by miscreants, such as phishing, keylogging, guessing, and cracking. Windows addresses each of these problems in three main ways:

BIOS developer Phoenix Technologies announced its latest SecureCore Tiano (SCT) version 2.2 UEFI firmware that will be designed for PCs running Windows 8 operating system. The desktop client motherboard BIOS industry is currently dominated by AMI with its AMIBIOS and AMI-UEFI solutions, although Phoenix' AwardBIOS is still found on certain channel PC motherboards. It's with mobile computing devices that Phoenix' firmware solutions get a lot more prevelent. SCT 2.2 is looking to mark the company's bid to return to competitiveness in the PC motherboard BIOS market.

SecureCore Tiano 2.2 is a UEFI BIOS/firmware that conforms to UEFI 2.3.1 specifications, TCG 2.0, 1.2 (Trusted Computing Group) specifications, ACPI 4.0 and 5.0, SMBIOS 2.7, NIST-SP800-147, and USB 3.0 native, making it a feature-packed solution. In addition to Windows on x86 PC platforms (Win32, Win64, WoW64), Phoenix will develop firmware support for the upcoming Windows on ARM (WoA) platform. It is collaborating with ARM majors Qualcomm and Texas Instruments in this regard.

We have brought you the potential perils of the upcoming UEFI Forum-implemented - www.uefi.org - Windows 8 secure boot feature here, here and here. However, it appears that it may not be so 'secure' after all, since there appears to be a surefire way to circumvent it, at least for the moment, while it's in development.

Softpedia has scored an exclusive interview with security researcher Peter Kleissner, who has created various Windows (XP, Server 2003 etc) "bootkits", which allow OS infection at the highest privilege level, giving unrestricted access to the whole of the PC. His latest one, called Stoned Lite, shows how the Windows 8 secure boot process, still in development, can be subverted, as it stands. He is planning to release details of how the code works at the upcoming International Malware Conference (MalCon) - malcon.org - that will take place in India on November 25th. It appears that the real vulnerability exists in the legacy BIOS boot procedure, not in Microsoft's implementation of secure boot, as Kleissner said:

The problem with the legacy startup is that no one verifies the MBR, which makes it the vulnerable point. With UEFI and secure boot, all the boot applications and drivers have to be signed (otherwise they won't be loaded). You can compare it to TPM, although Arie van der Hoeven from Microsoft announced that the secure boot feature is mandatory for OEMs who want to be UEFI certified. It is a good message that security is not an option.

This week, ASUS, along with the rest of the PC motherboard industry, launched its socket LGA2011 board lineup, with its three main lines: P9X79, ROG Rampage IV, and TUF Sabertooth X79. The ROG line included the Rampage IV Extreme, which ended up being ASUS' flagship socket LGA2011 motherboard for the platform's launch. It's filled to the brim with all the features gamers and overclockers will ever need. But as with most ROG lines, Rampage IV will have a complete triad: Extreme (already launched), Formula (a notch below Extreme, but still offers great features), and Gene (Micro-ATX, stuffed with features).

Press shots and presentation slides of the Rampage IV Formula started making waves today. Pictures reveal the board to be standard ATX. Unlike the Extreme, Formula has just four DDR3 DIMM slots (one slot per memory channel), yet it supports all the DRAM multipliers Extreme does. The CPU is powered by a 11-phase Digi+ VRM. It is wired to four PCI-Express 3.0 (capable) x16 slots, among which two are PCI-Express 3.0 x16 capable, and all four are x8 capable, depending on the way they are populated with addon cards. Apart from these long slots, there are two PCI-E 2.0 x1. 4-way SLI and CrossFireX are supported. Storage connectivity includes four SATA 3 Gb/s (black), four SATA 6 Gb/s (red, two from the PCH, two from third-party controller), and two eSATA 6 Gb/s (also from a third-party controller).

ASUS, maker of the world's best-selling and most innovative motherboards, is excited to release a wide range of new X79 motherboards. All feature the new Intel X79 Express Chipset, with support for 2nd generation Core i7 processors in the new LGA 2011 Socket. The complete lineup includes P9X79 Series motherboards with total performance tuning and control, the enthusiast-centric ROG Rampage IV Extreme, the ultra-reliable TUF SABERTOOTH X79, and the professional P9X79 WorkStation Series supporting NVIDIA 4-way SLI and AMD CrossFireX.

All motherboards feature ASUS Dual Intelligent Processor 3 technology with the latest ASUS DIGI+ Power Control design providing three digital voltage controllers onboard, one for the CPU and two for DRAM. ASUS' class-leading Digital Power designs result in better performance, greater stability, and enhanced overclocking for all users. All of the new motherboards ship with multi-GPU support, PCI Express 3.0 capabilities*, exclusive ASUS UEFI and up to 64GB of quad-channel DDR3 support via 8-DIMM slots.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today announced the launch of their latest X79 series enthusiast motherboard range. Supporting the latest 2nd Generation Intel Core i7 processor family for high-end desktops, these new X79 Express Chipset motherboards unite unrivalled desktop PC performance with a new level of hardware flexibility and control. GIGABYTE 3D Power and its all new 3-way Digital Power Engine offers ultimate control of your PC's power delivery, while GIGABYTE 3D BIOS provides a wholly more intuitive and graphical UEFI BIOS environment.

"This new GIGABYTE X79 series range of boards are all about giving enthusiasts and professionals unprecedented control over their PC's hardware," commented Tim Handley, Deputy Director of Motherboard Marketing at GIGABYTE. "GIGABYTE 3D Power and 3D BIOS give hardcore gamers, extreme overclockers and cutting-edge content creators absolute mastery over every aspect of their PC."

Leading international mainboard and graphics card manufacturer MSI today announces the official release of its X79A-GD65 (8D), X79A-GD65, X79A-GD45, and X79MA-GD45 mainboards. The new mainboards are based on Intel's latest X79 chipset and uses the LGA 2011 socket supporting the 2nd generation Core i7 processors. The X79A-GD65 (8D) features with 8 memory DIMMs, supports 16GB DDR3 memory modules, bringing maximum capacity up to a staggering 128GB! For superior quality and stability, MSI X79 series mainboards adopts Military Class III components. With DrMOS II - the next generation of DrMOS with improved double thermal protection - the lifetime of components is maximized, even in warmer environments or when the machine is heavily overclocked.

MSI X79 series mainboards also feature the latest PCI Express Gen 3 bus and MSI's proprietary Click BIOS II for maximum performance and user convenience. When taking into account all of the other advanced technologies supported such as 3-Way NVIDIA SLI and 4-way AMD CrossFireX multi-GPU processing technology, THX TruStudio PRO sound, Multi-BIOS II, Control Center II, and Super Charger, MSI X79-series mainboards are simply the best choice for enthusiasts!

MSI is among the most secretive companies with their socket LGA2011 motherboard early information as the big Sandy Bridge-E day approaches (mid-November), yet we managed to score some early pictures of their top-end product from our spy-satellites and a network of cold war era retirees. Enter the MSI Big Bang XPower II, the company's top-tier socket LGA2011 motherboard for enthusiasts. This board is designed in the XL-ATX form-factor, and will fit in cases with at least 10 expansion slot bays. Thanks to the added board area, it's able to accommodate both a strong VRM, and high room for expansion (with eight DDR3 memory slots and seven PCI-Express slots).

To begin with, the LGA2011 socket is powered by a 24-phase VRM that makes use of driver-MOSFETs, solid-chokes, and High-C POSCAP capacitors. The memory is powered by a 4-phase VRM. The board draws power, apart from the 24-pin ATX, from two 8-pin EPS connectors, and an optional 6-pin PCIe (to stabilize PCIe slot power delivery). We can see many accessories to this VRM, such as phase-loading LEDs, and consolidated voltage measurement points. We are particularly intrigued by the design of the heatsinks over the VRM and chipset. The one over the VRM looks like the barrels of a Gatling gun, while the one over the chipset looks like a small piece from an ammo belt. You will either love it or detest it.

Last week we got a glimpse of Gigabyte's new 3D BIOS technology, a UEFI setup program with an innovative and functional user interface built into Gigabyte's upcoming X79 motherboards. Today Gigabyte released a new video detailing another such innovation, called 3D Power. This program gives you total and unrestricted control over the three main dimensions of your motherboard's power delivery: voltages, PWM frequency, and phase control. Gigabyte announced that all its upcoming X79 motherboards will feature PWM (pulse width modulation) CPU power design, backed by highly capable PWM controllers that give you a plethora of things you can tweak.

To begin with, the 3D Power application starts up with a cube that has the icons of the three main elements. Clicking on "voltage" gives you control over voltage-related settings in three main pages, turbo voltage response, load line calibration (active V-droop control), and active over-voltage protection. Load line calibration allows you to fine-tune the extant of V-droop correction over a variety of power domains, such as CPU, VTT, IMC, and DRAM.

With the Sandy Bridge LGA1155 platform, announced at the start of this year, the PC motherboard industry saw a wide transition to UEFI, a new board firmware that overcomes many of the limitations of the decades old BIOS, including the archaic user interface. The second biggest motherboard vendor by volumes, Gigabyte, wasn't part of that wave. It continued to use dated Phoenix AwardBIOS with a few riders that made it look like the company was dragging its feet over UEFI adoption.

First, it tried to address the 2.2 TB boot volume size limitation by coming up with an address-space tweak it ended up calling HybridEFI (which has nothing to do with EFI). Next, it addressed the need for a more intuitive (preferably GUI) setup program with a Windows-based CMOS setup program called TouchBIOS, it came with the Fisher Price looking interface that every other manufacturer's UEFI setup program had, topped off with touchscreen support. However, faced with the inevitability of facing lack of support for Ivy Bridge (more here) and Sandy Bridge-E, the company decided to take the plunge. It wants to come up with something that's a lot more functional than most others' UEFI setup programs that feel like the same old interfaces skinned. Enter Gigabyte 3D BIOS.

ASRock's first wave of socket LGA2011 motherboards comes a full circle with the X79 Extreme4. The series consists of the X79 Extreme4, X79 Extreme4-M (micro-ATX), X79 Extreme7, and X79 Extreme9. There aren't many micro-ATX LGA2011 motherboards that we're hearing about, and hence ASRock might get the opportunity to charge a premium for the X79 Extreme4-M, making this the most affordable LGA2011 board from ASRock's stable. It still packs a lot of features and connectivity. To begin with, it is consistent with the black and gold styling of the other boards, including the active fan-heatsink over the X79 PCH.

The LGA2011 socket is powered by an 8-phase VRM design, which is identical to that of the X79 Extreme4-M. The socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting quad-channel DDR3 memory (one DIMM per channel). It has an interesting combination of expansion slots, making use of all 7 spaces available to the ATX form-factor. It includes three PCI-Express x16 (first two are permanent PCI-Express 3.0 x16, the third is permanent PCI-Express 2.0 x8), two PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and two legacy PCI. Storage connectivity includes two SATA 6 Gb/s and four SATA 3 Gb/s internal ports wired to the X79 PCH, three additional SATA 6 Gb/s and one eSATA 6 Gb/s wired to ASMedia-made SATA controllers.

ASRock's socket LGA2011 motherboard lineup doesn't end with X79 Extreme7 as thought before, the company thinks there's scope for an even more loaded model that's literally bursting with connectivity and expansion features. Enter the X79 Extreme9. This board uses high-grade digital PWM circuitry to power the CPU. It draws power for the CPU VRM from two 8-pin EPS connectors. Unlike the X79 Extreme7, this board features eight DDR3 DIMM slots, two per memory channel. Expansion slots include five PCI-Express 3.0 x16, and a PCIe x1.

Since it completely ran out of room on the main PCB, ASRock put two important connectivity features on a separate (included) addon card, called the ASRock "Game Blaster". This card occupies the PCIe x1 slot, it packs a next-generation Creative SoundCore3D audio processor (more advanced than X-Fi), and a low-overhead/low-latency gigabit Ethernet connection. It's not exactly known if this connection is driven by a Killer 2100 or a more common PCIe GbE PHY backed by ASRock's proprietary packet prioritization software (XLAN).

ASRock showed off pictures of the first socket LGA2011 motherboard in the compact micro-ATX form-factor, the ASRock X79 Extreme4-M Within its small board footprint of 240 x 240 mm, the X79 Extreme4-M offers almost every feature the platform has to offer. To begin with, the LGA2011 socket is powered by an 8-phase VRM that makes use of high-grade solid-state chokes, and driver-MOSFETs. It is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, two on either sides of the socket. All four expansion slot bays available to the mATX form-factor are made use of, with three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 and one legacy PCI.

The electrical configuration of the three PCI-Express slots appears to be x16, x8, x16 (permanent). The chipset is cooled by an active fan-heatsink. All six of its SATA ports are wired as internal ports, with two SATA 6 Gb/s and four SATA 3 Gb/s. Connectivity features include 8+2 channel HD audio with optical and coaxial SPDIF outputs, four USB 3.0 ports (two on the rear panel, two via header), one gigabit Ethernet, a number of USB 2.0 ports, Firewire, and legacy PS/2. The CMOS can be reset from the rear panel. The board will be driven by UEFI firmware.

EVGA released a teaser picture of its X79 FTW motherboard. This is EVGA's third LGA2011 motherboard, after the E-ATX Super Record 3 and XL-ATX X79 Classified. This board confines itself to the dimensions of a standard ATX form-factor motherboard (240 x 300 mm). It targets the gamer-overclocker market. The LGA2011 socket is powered by a 14-phase VRM, while the memory, 4-phase. EVGA completely did away with cylindrical conductive polymer capacitors, and used a 100% POSCAP capacitor design. Power is drawn in from a 24-pin ATX (angled) connector, 8-pin EPS, and a 4-pin Molex (for PCIe slot electrical stability). There are just four DDR3 DIMM slots, one per memory channel.

Expansion slots include four PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (two are x16 capable, all four are x8 capable), a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x8), and one PCIe x1. NVIDIA 4-way SLI and AMD CrossFireX are supported. The only internal SATA ports on this board are the ones the X79 PCH gives out, two SATA 6 Gb/s and four SATA 3 Gb/s. There are two eSATA ports, driven by a third-party controller. There are as many as eight USB 3.0 ports on the rear-panel, and two via internal header. 8+2 channel HD audio, two GbE connections, a Bluetooth connection, and PCH-wired USB 2.0 ports (for keyboard/mouse) make for the rest of the standard connectors. There is an EVBot header on the rear-panel, that lets you connect to the EVBot monitoring/control module. The UEFI BIOS is stored in two separate EEPROMs, and a 2-way switch lets you manually switch between the two. Expect the X79 FTW to be a part of the company's first wave of LGA2011 motherboards.

Leading global graphics card and motherboard brand and manufacturer MSI officially announced the Z68MA-G43 (G3) motherboard today. The new motherboard will be the first in the industry to adopt the next-generation PCI Express Gen 3 high-speed data transfer standard to deliver unprecedented levels of performance with a staggering 32GB/s of bandwidth. The motherboard will also feature MSI's proprietary ClickBIOS II that will allow enthusiasts to use the mouse or even touch control panel to adjust the system and overclocking settings through UEFI BIOS or Windows applications.

In addition, OC Genie II is included and can be used to optimize the CPU, memory, integrated graphics card, and storage devices for maximum stability and performance in just one second. When combined with Intel Smart Response Technology the performance of conventional HDDs can be increased by as much as 457%. With support for all solid capacitors, USB 3.0, SATA 6G, HDMI / DVI / D-Sub video-out, and multiple CrossFireX graphics cards, the new motherboard meets enthusiasts' demands for system stability, expandability, and extreme game graphics.

Here are the first pictures of ASUS P9X79 Deluxe, the company's premium segment LGA2011 motherboard based on the X79 chipset. This features in ASUS' main motherboard lineup, and not sub-lineups such as Republic of Gamers (ROG) or The Ultimate Force (TUF). The P9X79 Deluxe is loaded with features and connectivity options. To begin with, the LGA2011 socket is powered by a next-generation Digi+ VRM design by ASUS, driven by Dual Intelligent Processors III (next-generation Energy Processing Unit (EPU) chip and TurboV Processing Unit (TPU)). Like with the ROG Rampage IV Extreme, VRM is spread across three sides of the socket, and each cluster of MOSFETs is cooled by heatsinks. The socket is wired to eight DDR3 DIMM slots in two sets of four slots, supporting quad-channel DDR3. The memory VRM uses a Digi+ design, too.

Among the six expansion slots, there are four PCI-Express x16 slots, and two PCIe x1. The PCH gives out six SATA ports, two 6 Gb/s (white), four 3 Gb/s (blue), the two additional 6 Gb/s ports come from a third-party controller. There are two power-eSATA ports on the rear panel. The eight USB 3.0 ports on this board are spread across as six ports on the rear-panel, and two via standard header. Other connectivity includes 8+2 channel HD audio, two gigabit Ethernet connections, USB 2.0, and Bluetooth.

Here is ASUS' top of the line LGA2011 motherboard targeting the gamer-overclocker market, the Republic of Gamers (ROG) Rampage IV Extreme. This board offers all the expansion room and connectivity you'll ever need, plus a wealth of nifty features that help overclockers and ease incremental upgrades. To begin with, the Rampage IV Extreme employs a strong digital PWM circuitry that supports heavy voltage-assisted overclocking with Vdroop control.

The LGA2011 socket is wired to eight DDR3 DIMM slots (two per channel). CPU and memory VRM areas are located along three sides of the socket, all cooled by heatsinks that are connected by heat pipes. These VRM heatsinks share heat with the one over the X79 PCH, which is actively cooled by a fan.

Intel's next generation "Ivy Bridge" Core processors slated for 2012 will mark the beginning of Intel's transition to the brand new 22 nanometer fab process. It looks like Ivy Bridge will significantly benefit from this transition, since Intel will raise the bar in terms of energy-efficiency. Even the fastest P1 (performance 1) tier quad-core chips will have TDP rated as low as 77W, down from the 95W Core i7 2600K, for example, has.

The punters at Intel marketing have sliced the market down to finer segments, to better address it. The market is sliced in terms of price-segments (vertical), and in terms of target users (horizontal). The two markers are independent of each other, yet they complement each other in pin-pointing areas of the market Intel can address. Ivy Bridge LGA1155 is restricted to P1 (performance tier 1) segment on the top, with higher tiers, along with HEDT (high-end desktop) being reserved for Sandy Bridge-E LGA2011, and future "Ivy Bridge-E". Horizontally, Intel will have "K" quad-core parts for Enthusiast, standard (locked) quad-core vPro for the Standard, "T" quad-core for Performance-optimized lifestyle, and "S" for Power-optimized lifestyle. Chaotic as it looks, the table below lays out the lineup perfectly.

Leading international mainboard and graphics card maker MSI released the mainboard BIOS with full AMD AM3+ 8-core CPU support for download today. Enthusiasts that own one of the listed mainboards1 can now download the update to support the latest AMD AM3+ 8-core CPUs (B2 Stepping). For those planning to purchase a new mainboard, if the box is labeled with "Supports AM3+ CPU with New BIOS," the mainboard will support the powerful AMD AM3+ 8-core CPUs out of the box. Enthusiasts that have purchased a mainboard that is on the list of compatible mainboards can update the BIOS themselves to support the latest AM3+ 8-core CPUs. Also, new in this BIOS update is official support for MSI's proprietary ClickBIOS II system optimization tool for all AMD 900 mainboards. The graphical UEFI BIOS provides mainboard-level support, and exporting OC Profiles to USB drives offers unparalleled convenience.

BIOSTAR is ready with its new performance-segment socket AM3+ motherboard based on the AMD 990FX + SB950 chipset, the TA990FXE. It carries on with the design elements and component choices for some of BIOSTAR's recent Intel Z68 motherboards, it's likely that the board will carry a sweet-spot price. The CPU is powered by a 5-phase VRM, it is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting dual-channel DDR3-2000 MHz memory.

Expansion slots include three PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (x16/x16/x4), a PCIe x1, and two PCI. Five of the six SATA 6 Gb/s port from the southbridge are internal ports, with the sixth one being assigned as an eSATA. The connectivity loadout covers essentials: 8-channel HD audio, USB 3.0, gigabit Ethernet, and FireWire, apart from USB 2.0 and PS/2. The board is driven by AMI UEFI firmware, with BIOSTAR's own GUI setup program.