Shuttle Computer Handels GmbH, the European subsidiary of Shuttle Inc., one of the leading developers and manufacturers of compact PC solutions such as the world-renowned XPC Mini-PC Barebones, now also offers models compatible with the fourth generation of Intel Core processors ("Haswell") for socket LGA 1150.

Shuttle provides high-quality, powerful cube-shaped PCs for all platforms of the Intel Core processor family. And Haswell is no different. With the XPC Barebone SH87R6 and XPC Barebone SZ87R6, the manufacturer presents two solutions based on this processor type that are suitable for a wide variety of applications. The Mini-PCs are not only intended to be used as powerful and energy-efficient desktop PCs, but also as high-performance workstations or mini-servers. Thanks to their compatibility with a wide range of removable graphics cards, gamers are also happy to use these machines as easy-to-carry gaming rigs.

Addonics Technologies today unveiled the Sapphire Snap-In Disk Array, a high performance external storage device family that is easily expandable with RAID capability. The Sapphire Disk Array is a great portable storage solution for a wide range of applications that demand high performance and large amount of storage in the field.

The new product comes in a choice of models equipped with different interfaces for fast external storage performance via an eSATA, SuperSpeed USB 3.0, or a mini SAS connection. The Sapphire Disk Array allows users to hot swap up to four SATA 2.5-inch hard drives, SDDs, just like using a tape cassette. The four drives can be set up as four individual drives or a large volume and high performance RAID group with redundancy for reliability. On the model that comes with USB 3.0 connections, the four drives can also be instantly turned into a network attached storage (NAS) solution for sharing data over the network by attaching to the optional Addonics NAS 4.0 adapter.

Lian-Li Industrial Co. Ltd today announces the release of a new brushed aluminum full tower chassis with a versatile cooling design and removable motherboard tray - PC-A79 - in North America. Capable of supporting HPTX, E-ATX, XL-ATX, ATX, and Micro-ATX motherboards, this fully aluminum full tower easily contains the latest high-end components, while keeping these components at optimal operating temperatures with its versatile and effective cooling design.

The PC-A79 gives DIY builders several cooling options for a variety of system setups. For the front intake, the three HDD cages have 120mm fans mounted to them. These cages can be set up so that the fans are either towards the front of the case or behind the cage. A dust filter on each on the individual 5.25" front bezels prevents dust from coming in, no matter the setup.

Xigmatek rolled out Accessor, a new line of front-panel utility consoles that give you accessible USB ports, and multi-format card readers. The series include 5.25-inch Accessor Ultimate and 3.5-inch Accessor Pro variants, which fit into exposed drive bays in your PC case. Both use a USB 3.0 SuperSpeed internal standard header connection to your motherboard; the 5 Gb/s bandwidth is then used to drive downstream USB 3.0, USB 2.0/1.1 ports, and multi-format card readers. Power is drawn from a standard 4-pin Molex connector.

Accessor Ultimate offers one eSATA port (relayed from an internal SATA port), two USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0/1.1 ports, and a card reader that supports CF, SD, MMC, MS, xD, M2, and micro-SD formats. On its other end is a USB 3.0 standard internal header (for downstream USB 3.0 ports), a USB 2.0/1.1 internal header (for the USB 2.0 hub), a SATA cable (for the eSATA port), and a 4-pin Molex connection. The Accessor Pro, on the other hand, gets you one USB 3.0 port, and the same exact card-reader as the Accessor Ultimate. Unlike it, though, the Accessor Pro features a standard USB 3.0 type-A plug that runs to the rear panel of the motherboard, and a single-port USB 2.0/1.1 header for the card reader. Both are available in two color options - black and silver. Xigmatek didn't reveal pricing/availability information.

ASRock unveiled the H87E-ITX/ac, its first mini-ITX motherboard featuring 802.11ac WLAN. Based on Intel's H87 Express chipset, the board seats Core "Haswell" processors in the LGA1150 package. It draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS connectors, conditioning it for the CPU with a 4-phase VRM. Up to 32 GB of dual-channel DDR3 memory is supported through a pair of conventional 240-pin DIMM slots. A PCI-Express 3.0 x16 makes for the board's lone expansion slot, aside from the mPCIe that's populated by the WLAN card.

Connectivity on the H87E-ITX/ac include 802.11ac WLAN, based on Intel's i217V chipset, offering up to 867 Mbps of wireless bandwidth, gigabit Ethernet, and Bluetooth 4.0. It makes use of all SATA channels of the H87 PCH, offering five internal SATA 6 Gb/s, and an eSATA 6 Gb/s. 8-channel HD audio based on Realtek ALC1150 CODEC, with optical SPDIF, four USB 3.0 ports, a pair of USB 2.0/1.1 ports; and display connectivity that includes one each of DVI, DisplayPort, and HDMI, make for the rest of it. ASRock will begin shipping the board a little later this week.

First sighted in January, ASUS' P9X79-E WS socket LGA2011 motherboard is ready to take on the new breed of Core "Ivy Bridge-E" and Xeon "Ivy Bridge-EP" lines of processors, even if initial versions of its BIOS don't advertise that support. Based on Intel X79 Express chipset, the board is built in the 305 x 267 mm SSI-CEB form-factor. The LGA2011 socket is powered by a 10-phase VRM, with 2+2 phase memory VRM. The CPU socket is wired to eight DDR3 DIMM slots, four on its either sides, supporting up to 64 GB of quad-channel DDR3-2133 MHz memory. The board features a total of seven PCI-Express x16 slots. 4-way NVIDIA SLI and AMD CrossFireX are supported.

Storage connectivity on the P9X79-E WS includes two SATA 6 Gb/s ports from the X79 PCH, four SATA 6 Gb/s from a Marvell-made 4-port SATA 6 Gb/s AHCI/RAID controller, four SATA 3 Gb/s from the PCH, and an additional two eSATA 6 Gb/s from an ASMedia-made controller. There are just four USB 3.0 ports on offer, all ASMedia-made controllers. Other connectivity includes two gigabit Ethernet interfaces, both driven by Intel-made controllers, 8-channel HD audio, legacy connectivity such as PS/2 and RS232 COM (header), and a pinch of overclocker-friendly features in the BIOS and on-board. The P9X79-E WS from ASUS is priced at US $499.99.

Galaxy extended its top-end Hall of Fame (HOF) brand extension to motherboards, and unveiled its flagship socket LGA1150 motherboard, the Z87 HOF. The board uses two PEX8747 x48 bridge chips, probably chained, to give out four PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots, all four of which stay at electrical x16, no matter how you populate them. The board uses a 16-phase VRM to power the CPU, which draws power from two 8-pin EPS connectors, in addition to the 24-pin ATX. The board takes advantage of its unique PCI-Express configuration to support 4-way SLI and CrossFireX.

Sadly, the board doesn't impress quite as much with storage connectivity. You get four SATA 6 Gb/s ports, an mSATA/mPCIe, and an eSATA. DVI, HDMI, 8-channel HD audio, and gigabit Ethernet make for the rest of it. The board gives you plenty of overclocking features, such as onboard OC controls, dual-BIOS, voltage measurement-points, an OC module, and a feature-rich UEFI setup program.

ECS' socket LGA1150 motherboard series launch was rather low-key, and with good reason. The company was saving its best, the Z87H3-AH series, for a Computex unveiling. Pictured below are the Z87H3-AH and Z87H3-AH Golden "Gank Machine" motherboards. The non-golden variant doesn't get dull gray this time around, but a red, black, and silver color scheme. The Golden variant, on the other hand, gets gold, silver, and black. Both boards are otherwise identical. The LGA1150 socket is powered by a 12-phase VRM. The bigger of the two VRM clusters is cooled by an active fan-heatsink.

The CPU is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, and three of the board's four PCI-Express x16 slots (electrical gen 3.0 x16/x8/NC or x8/x4/x4), the fourth x16 slot is electrical gen 2.0 x4, wired to the Z87 PCH. On the storage connectivity front, you get six SATA 6 Gb/s ports, an eSATA 6 Gb/s port, and an mSATA 6 Gb/s slot. Display outputs include HDMI and mini-DisplayPort, which doubles up as Thunderbolt. The rest of the board's notable connectivity includes two gigabit Ethernet interfaces, one driven by Bigfoot Killer E2201, and the other by common Realtek fare; 802.11 b/g/n WiFi (using a USB dongle), Creative Sound Core3D 8-channel audio, and ten USB 3.0 ports. The board features several overclocker-friendly features, such as a 3-digit POST diagnostic readout, voltage measurement points, quick CMOS reset/restore, etc.

We've had GIGABYTE's premium mainline socket LGA1150 motherboards, the Z87-UD4H and Z87-UD5H detailed last week. A little earlier, we've been through the company's gamer-centric G1.Sniper series, and Z87 OC Force. Below are pictures of the company's sub-$150 lineup based on the Z87 Express and B85 Express chipsets, the B85M-D3H, the Z87-D3HP, and the Z87-UD3H.

The B85M-D3H, as the name might give away, is based on Intel's B85 chipset that gives you most of the platform's feature-set, including Small Business Advantage, but excluding CPU overclocking features. Built in the micro-ATX form-factor, the board offers a simple 4-phase CPU power supply, four DDR3 DIMM slots, a single PCI-Express 3.0 x16, a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4), two legacy PCI, four SATA 6 Gb/s and two SATA 3 Gb/s, four USB 3.0 ports (two rear, two by header), a combination of DVI, HDMI, and D-Sub display outputs; gigabit Ethernet, and 8-channel HD audio.

In addition to the Z87N-WiFi mini-ITX motherboard, GIGABYTE showed off a couple of its top ATX products from its mainline Z87X series, the Z87X-UD4H and Z87X-UD5H. The two mark GIGABYTE's complete breakaway from the blue color scheme, and lack the color even on their heatsinks. The Z87X-UD4H features a hot-rod red+silver+black color-scheme, while the Z87X-UD5H features gold+silver+black. Both boards are based on the company's Ultra Durable 5 construction. Both boards appear to offer overclocker-friendly features that are reserved for the high-end, such as redundant BIOS, diagnostic LEDs and measurement points for each power domain, and high-grade electrical components.

The Z87X-UD4H offers a 16-phase CPU power supply, three each of PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (electrical x16/x8/x4), PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and a legacy PCI. It offers eight internal SATA 6 Gb/s ports, two eSATA 6 Gb/s, ten USB 3.0 ports (six on the rear panel, four by headers), 8-channel HD audio, and display outputs that include DVI, D-Sub, HDMI, and DisplayPort. The Z87X-UD5H, on the other hand, offers the same 16-phase CPU VRM and the same expansion slot layout as its sibling, but tops it up with ten internal SATA 6 Gb/s ports, dual gigabit Ethernet, a second DVI connector instead of D-Sub, and FireWire (by header). The two will most likely be part of GIGABYTE's first wave of socket LGA1150 motherboards, and could be priced above $150.

Other World Computing (OWC), a leading zero emissions Mac, and PC technology company, announced today that its OWC Mercury Elite Pro Qx2 Hardware RAID data storage/backup solution supports USB 3.0 'SuperSpeed' performance when paired with the Newer Technology eSATA to USB 3.0 Adapter. The adapter, which utilizes an available eSATA drive port, offers a Plug and Play connection to USB 3.0-equipped Macs or PCs for real-world sustained data transfer rates of more than 200MB/s from the Qx2 to meet the needs of demanding performance-intensive professional applications such as Audio/Video editing, HD-video, digital photography, professional music, graphics, redundant backup, and any use requiring data storage performance and reliability.

Newer Technology, Inc. (NewerTech), developer of PC, Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, and iPad performance upgrades and accessories, today announced the miniStack MAX, is now available in DVD/CD only read/write optical drive models for those computer users that don't require the Blu-ray functionality other miniStack MAX models provide. As the only four-in-one external drive, optical drive, SD card reader and USB powered hub solution on the market, the miniStack MAX supports multiple interfaces for Plug and Play storage of entire music, photo and video libraries, as well as burning backups via the internal optical drive, with new and legacy Macs or PCs.

Chinese peripherals company Orico introduced a trio of external multi-bay 3.5-inch HDD enclosures. These include a gigantic 10-bay stacker (model: 1088USJ3), and its 8-bay (8988USJ3), and 5-bay (5988SUSJ3) siblings. The three use standard ATX PSUs to power the drives. The three feature matte black SECC steel bodies, with brushed metal front. The three internally use SATA 6 Gb/s interface, and lockable caddies. The 10- and 8-bay models only feature USB 3.0, while the 5-bay gives you both USB 3.0 and eSATA host connectivity options. The enclosures lack RAID support, so each disk is visible to the host as an independent mass storage device, with partitions showing up as volumes. The 10-, 8-, and 5-bay enclosures are priced at RMB 2399¥ ($390), 1999¥ ($325), and 1399¥ ($227), respectively.

Other World Computing (OWC), a leading zero emissions Mac and PC technology company, today introduced the OWC Mercury Helios+E2 Thunderbolt SSD Solution. The bootable 'all-in-one' storage performance and expansion solution offers owners of Thunderbolt technology enabled Macs and PCs sustained read/write data throughput up to 617MB/s from up to 960GB of OWC Mercury SSD capacity; two Thunderbolt interfaces for connecting multiple Thunderbolt devices; and two eSATA 6Gb/s expansion ports for connecting up to an additional 32TB or more of external storage/backup capacity.

Today, at the NAB Show in Las Vegas, LaCie announced it has the largest range of Thunderbolt solutions certified for use with Thunderbolt equipped Mac or PC. As the preeminent provider of Thunderbolt peripherals, LaCie is the only manufacturer to ensure five products in its Thunderbolt Series are compatible with Mac OS X and Windows 7 and 8 computers.

Intel's Thunderbolt certification program is a thorough process put in place to ensure an optimal end user experience with both Mac and PC. As a result, LaCie ensures its Thunderbolt product family offers universal compatibility and delivers reliable performances up to 800 MB/s for the most challenging media applications.

By far the most comprehensive expansion dock we've come across, the Echo 15 from Sonnet plugs into your MacBook's 10 Gb/s Thunderbolt port, and then productively uses that bandwidth to hook you up with 15 connectivity options. These include a 3.5-inch SATA 6 Gb/s internal drive bay (2 TB HDD optional), a slimline optical drive (options include DVDRW and Blu-ray writers), two eSATA 6 Gb/s ports, 4-channel HD audio, four USB 3.0 SuperSpeed ports, gigabit Ethernet, and FireWire 800, each device is Mac OS X compatible. The device features two Thunderbolt ports, so it can be daisy-chained with other devices. Prices start at US $399.95.

Definitely, 2013 starts with a big boom at Thecus. After the launch of the N12000PRO and N16000PRO, the announcement of the 64 bit ThecusOS 6.0, the unveiling of the N2520/N4520 and Intelligent NAS utility at CeBIT 2013, it's time for the NVR family to impress the world with 7 new devices with updated architecture to offer superior performances.

We here by present you in tower format the V2510, V4510, V5510 and V6810; and for the rackmount category, we have the new V4510U, V8810U and V16810U. All equipped with the VisoGuard security system management software developed in partnership with Netavis, these new NVR will offer better performances than ever for all type of users with needs of 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 or 16 bays of storage.

NETGEAR, Inc., a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers, today announced a new portfolio of networked-attached-storage (NAS) products which run on the newly developed ReadyNAS OS 6. These revolutionary devices are built on a custom platform designed as "storage made easy" for both the home and small to medium-sized businesses (SMB). NETGEAR also unveiled a suite of new downloadable applications for these products on the genie+ marketplace.

With a sleek new interface and a rich set of embedded or easily downloadable applications, this NAS storage portfolio pairs the latest in performance and scalability with cutting-edge technologies such as unlimited snapshots and cloud-managed replication, which dramatically reduces any possibility of data loss. Once again, NETGEAR is taking features and capabilities previously available only from expensive, large-enterprise vendors and lowering the cost while dramatically simplifying deployment and manageability to provide users with affordable, powerful, and reliable NAS storage.

Addonics Technologies today announced an internal and external reader/writer that allows you to use mSATA SSDs or CFast cards as removable media on any computer. Both solutions ensure maximum performance from mSATA or CFast media to simplify the task of transporting files from digital cameras, mobile devices, notebook and desktop PCs at read/write speeds of 5,000 mbps (USB 3.0) or 6,000 mbps (SATA/eSATA).

The Addonics External Reader/Writer comes bundled with mSATA and CFast adapters. The adapters convert the mSATA or the CFast media into a 1.8" micro SATA storage device that can be inserted into the open slot of the Reader/Writer. Designed to be powered directly from the USB port or eSATA/USB combo ports, the Reader/Writer connects to any system via eSATA or USB 3.0 and is plug-n-play with no software drivers to install.

GIGABYTE rolled out the C1007UN-D mini-ITX motherboard, for entry-level desktops. It ships with an Intel Celeron 1007U BGA processor hard-wired to the board, with a compatible fan-heatsink pre-installed. Based on the 22 nm "Ivy Bridge" micro-architecture, the 1007U is a dual-core chip, clocked at 1.50 GHz, with 2 MB of L3 cache, and 17W TDP. Backing the chip on this motherboard is Intel's NM70 chipset.

The C1007UN-D from GIGABYTE features two DDR3 DIMM slots supporting up to 16 GB of dual-channel memory. Storage interfaces consist of one SATA 6 Gb/s and two SATA 3 Gb/s internal ports, and an eSATA 3 Gb/s port. Legacy PCI makes for the lone expansion slot. Connectivity includes two gigabit Ethernet interfaces, 6-channel HD audio, six USB 2.0 ports, an RS232 COM port, LPT (by header), and PS/2. Display outputs include D-Sub (VGA) and HDMI. GIGABYTE did not release pricing information, but considering the CPU itself is priced around $90, we expect this board to be priced around $150.

Apart from motherboards, the only big product segment ASRock made a name for itself is with pre-built mini-PCs. The company wants to put its experience to good use by cashing in for the market's newfound love for compact (mini-ITX) gaming PCs, the ones that save precious real-estate on congested living room TV racks and dorm rooms. Pictured below is the company's first such effort, timed with the launch of Intel's next-generation Core "Haswell" processor, and supporting socket LGA1150 platform based on Z87 Express chipset.

There are three components to ASRock's creation: a unique SFF case, co-designed by BMW Design; the ASRock Z87E-ITX motherboard, and a GeForce GTX 680 graphics card. The case looks pretty slick, coming from BMW. It stays slim by using a PCI-Express riser, allowing you to install graphics cards along the plane of the motherboard. The Z87-E ITX, like most efforts by ASRock in the past, is extremely feature-rich for its size. It uses a 6-phase VRM to power the LGA1150 CPU, features two DDR3 DIMM slots, PCI-Express 3.0 x16 and mini-PCIe 2.0, for the WLAN+Bluetooth card.

The Z87X-OC may be reserved for people who seldom patronize the PC case industry; but for everyone else, GIGABYTE has three options based on Intel's Z87 Express chipset, which supports overclocking on 4th generation Core "Haswell" K-series processors (detailed here). Leading the trio is the feature-rich Z87X-UD5H, followed by the fairly well-equipped Z87X-UD3H, and trailed by the most affordable of the three, Z87X-D3H.

The Z87X-UD5H packs a massive 16-phase CPU VRM, even if it's not backed by the Z87X-OC's voltage-control/monitoring paraphernalia. The CPU is wired to three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (x16/NC/NC or x8/x8/NC or x8/x4/x4), three PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and a legacy PCI. The board features a total of ten SATA 6 Gb/s internal ports, six of which are driven by the Z87 PCH, four by third-party controllers. Display connectivity includes two HDMI ports, and one each of dual-link DVI and DisplayPort. 8-channel HD audio with TOSLINK digital output, two gigabit Ethernet interfaces, eight USB 3.0 ports (six rear, two by header), make for the rest of it.

Addonics Technologies today announced the Addonics Cipher RAID Rack and the Cipher RAID Tower, two RAID Storage solutions with AES 256-bit hardware encryption for high capacity storage. Both products are ideal for securing large volumes of sensitive information, data archiving or video recording. The Addonics 1U Cipher RAID Rack is designed to accommodate up to four 3.5" SATA hard drives in a 1U Rack mount chassis. The Cipher RAID Tower accommodates up to five 3.5" SATA hard drives in a 4-bay lightweight sturdy aluminum chassis for easy transportation.

Both units, which are operating system independent, connect to systems via a single eSATA or USB cable to a USB 3.0 or 2.0 port. Both Cipher RAID storage solutions come integrated with bullet proof, highly secure AES 256-bit full disk hardware encryption that is simple to use. There is no software to install or special training required. The encryption and description are activated by a simple insertion of a cipher key, similar to opening a door with a key. The FIPS certified hardware crypto engine integrated inside the Cipher RAID Tower ensures maximum performance of the hard drive. Data is encrypted and decrypted on all drives simultaneously on the fly, totally transparent to the user.

ASUS augmented its socket FM2 motherboard lineup with the F2A85-V, a lite variant of the F2A85-V Pro the company kicked off its Trinity APU-compatible motherboard lineup with. The new F2A85-V trims down on a few things over the -Pro variant, such as simpler independent VRM and FCH heatsinks with no heat-pipe connecting them, fewer APU power phases, and a lighter expansion slot layout that isn't ideal for multi-GPU setups.

To begin with, the F2A85-V features a 6-phase APU VRM that draws power from a 4-pin ATX connector, compared to the 8-phase one drawing from an 8-pin EPS, on the F2A85-V Pro. The FM2 socket is connected to four DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting a maximum of 64 GB of dual-channel DDR3-1866 MHz memory; and a single PCI-Express 2.0 x16. Other expansion slots include a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4, wired to the A85X FCH), two PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and three legacy PCI slots.

Since Thecus has entered the enterprise level NAS market with the N12000 and the N16000; they proved that the reliability and stability already found within its existing line of NAS could be tailor made to service heavy storage and heavy demand businesses. And to better serve the needs of the diverse enterprise users, the N12000V and N16000V followed which offered a choice between more value and more power. As the technology evolves quickly, Thecus is now proud to announce its new large business solution, the N12000PRO and N16000PRO.

"Thecus is dedicated to serve enterprise level needs with the best technology available," said Florence, CEO and General Manager of Thecus Technology. "Paired with powerful Intel processors and functions which provide advanced security features, our customers can rest assured that their data is being managed by professional hands."