Intel's 9-series chipset saw the widespread adoption of high-speed storage connections operating via the PCI Express interface. While the 10Gbps transfer speeds of SATA Express and M.2 connections were a noticeable speed boost over the ageing SATA 6Gbps interface, they were still a far cry from the bandwidth offered by …
Read More »Gigabyte Z97X-SOC Force Motherboard Review
Boards designed for extreme overclockers have been constants for all of Intel’s most recent platforms. Gigabyte hit success with the Z87X-OC motherboard by driving the overclocking-geared part to an aggressive mid-range price point. Many of the key overclocking-orientated features were still present, but the bank-busting price tag was not. Gigabyte …
Read More »New Biostar TB85 mainboard pushes bitcoin mining
Taipei electronics firm Biostar has announced a new motherboard, this timing pushing not only its abilities when it comes to the office or the game room, but the depths of its bitcoin mine as well. The TB85 supports both 4th generation i7 and i5 CPUs and up to 16GB of DDR3 …
Read More »Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 7 Motherboard Review
Continuing our recent focus on gaming motherboards, we have the Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 7 in for review. Hitting retail with an aggressive sub-£140 price tag, Gigabyte is aiming to lure in potential buyers with the Gaming 7 motherboard's gaming-orientated features, striking colour scheme, and four-year warranty. Fusing together the company's high-performance G1 Audio with …
Read More »ASRock Fatal1ty Z97X Killer Motherboard Review
Sitting in the middle of ASRock's current Z97 gaming motherboard line-up, the Fatal1ty Z97X Killer targets the fierce sub-£130 marketplace. Can its feature set, overclocking capabilities, and general performance allow it to stand out in a hotly-contested segment of the market? ASRock supplies its Z97X Killer with a number of popular …
Read More »MSI Z97 Gaming 5 Motherboard Review
Gamers have long been one of the core consumer groups for the DIY computing industry, but recent months have seen the popularity of gaming-branded components hit a new level. Motherboards are a great example of this; in the eleven months since the inception of Intel's Z87 chipset, the number of …
Read More »Asus Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 Motherboard Review
Intel's Z97 chipset has launched and TUF series motherboards are part of the Asus welcoming party. Sporting the new Intel chipset and old TUF features that have made previous generation Sabertooth boards lucrative components, we put Asus' Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 in the firing line of our critical analysis. Do …
Read More »Asus Z97-A Motherboard Preview
Tending to the needs of budget users wanting Intel's mainstream chipset, the Asus Z97-A motherboard aims to offer a low-cost route onto the LGA1150-based platform. Still managing to offer support for SATA-Express and M.2 storage interfaces, let's take a look at the other features that make Asus' Z97-A an interesting low-cost proposition. …
Read More »Asus ‘Z97’ Series Motherboard Line-up: Say Hello to ROG Ranger
KitGuru was recently invited to a press event where Asus discussed and showed-off its series of motherboards based on the ‘future Intel chipset'. While information surrounding the chipset is still under Intel's NDA, prepare to indulge in a photographic gallery of Asus' upcoming motherboards. Asus ‘Z97' Series motherboards Asus' ‘Z97' …
Read More »Gigabyte Z97X-SOC Force Motherboard Preview
Boards designed for extreme overclockers have been constants for all of Intel's most recent platforms. Gigabyte hit success with the Z87X-OC motherboard by driving the overclocking-geared part to an aggressive mid-range price point. Many of the key overclocking-orientated features were still present, but the bank-busting price tag was not. Gigabyte is attempting to …
Read More »Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H-BK Black Edition Motherboard Preview
It's approaching that time of the year; the launch of Intel's ‘future chipset' is just around the corner and board partners are busy preparing their products for the retail channels. Full reviews of motherboards based on the ‘future Intel chipset' still cannot be published for another few weeks (as we …
Read More »Asus Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 Motherboard Preview
Asus Sabertooth motherboards have proven popular since their inception a number of generations ago. Based on their widespread popularity it comes as no surprise that The Ultimate Force (TUF) motherboards are making an appearance for the ‘future Intel chipset'. A number of the upcoming chipset's specifications help bolster the feature-set …
Read More »MSI’s next-gen motherboards are all about gaming
MSI has debuted a load of imagery and details about its upcoming line of “Gaming” motherboards, which are focused on exactly that. While we'll have to keep you guessing on what chipset it uses, we can tell and show you a lot about the upcoming range of boards. First off, …
Read More »Asus Z87-Deluxe/Quad Motherboard Review
Thunderbolt continues to gain pace in the marketplace, especially amongst professional users to whom time is money. Today we take a look at Asus's Thunderbolt 2-equipped Z87-Deluxe/Quad, aimed at small-scale professional users who regularly transfer large amounts of data. Asus has taken its standard Z87-Deluxe motherboard and added an Intel …
Read More »MSI Z87I Gaming AC Mini-ITX Motherboard Review
Much of the computing industry is rapidly moving towards physically smaller components without downsizing performance. Can MSI's Mini-ITX Z87I Gaming AC prove that Small Form Factor gamers need not worry about finding a motherboard which tends to their requirements? MSI's first take on a gaming-orientated Mini-ITX motherboard sees the inclusion …
Read More »Gigabyte F2A88XM-DS2 Motherboard Review
Today we are going to take a look at the Gigabyte F2A88XM-DS2 motherboard, aimed at those looking to build an AMD APU based system with a limited budget. This particular motherboard is a bit of a departure from the usual high end product we are used to receiving from Gigabyte …
Read More »MSI Z87-G43 Gaming Motherboard Review
With so much of Haswell’s performance being related to on-chip parameters, many users are quick to question the relevance of a high-end motherboard. Does MSI’s Z87-G43 Gaming act as proof that an entry-level board can compete with the high-end contenders on the Z87 chipset? Featuring support for two-way CrossFire (albeit …
Read More »MSI showcases its 2014 line up at CES
This year's Consumer Electronics Show kicked off today and it looks like the folks over at MSI are off to a flying start as they have begun showcasing the company's 2014 line up of high performance Gaming Laptops, Workstations, All-in-Ones, Tablets and PC components. At the MGM Skyline Marquee Suites, you'll …
Read More »ASRock Z87 Extreme11/ac Motherboard Review
The 4770K offers quite possibly the highest per-clock performance numbers of any consumer-grade processor currently on the market. It’s just that fact which makes Haswell’s multiplier-unlocked Core i7 a plausible option for workstation applications. And with that possible usage scenario comes the requirement for workstation-grade LGA 1150 motherboards. Is ASRock’s …
Read More »Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 Motherboard Review
Introducing itself to the low-cost gaming motherboard scene, can Gigabyte's G1.Sniper Z87 retain the features that makes its higher-priced siblings attractive purchases? Targeting mid-range gamers Gigabyte's G1.Sniper Z87 features a Killer E2201 NIC, support for 2-way SLI and CrossFire, and an eye-catching green and black colour scheme. Further enhancements are …
Read More »ASRock Fatal1ty Z87 Killer Motherboard Review
Forming the entry-level Z87 board in ASRock's gaming-orientated Fatal1ty series, is the Z87 Killer able to prove itself as a good-value gaming motherboard? Designed to meet the requirements of gamers, ASRock outfits its Z87 Killer with a number of premium add-on components which it calls Gaming Armor. An audio upgrade …
Read More »MSI shows off new Mini-ITX mobo and GPU
MSI has released some teaser images for its upcoming miniature gaming hardware, including a new motherboard and a small form factor GPU, both designed to fit into half size cases, whilst still giving you enough oomf for all the latest games. “We’re very close to expanding our #GAMING family with …
Read More »Asus Rampage IV Black Edition (X79) Motherboard Review
How does a company make a multiple award-winning, enthusiast-grade motherboard even more ‘extreme'? By making it into a black edition version, of course. Asus has updated its critically-acclaimed Rampage IV Extreme X79 motherboard to ‘Black Edition' status. Have the upgraded components and IVB-E tweaks resulted in yet another rampaging master …
Read More »Asus launches Rampage IV Black motherboard
Asus has today announced the launch of its newest E-ATX gaming motherboard, the Rampage IV Black Edition, designed specifically to take full advantage of Intel's latest line up of LGA 2011 i7 Ivy Bridge E processors, letting overclockers really go to town and pull the full potential from their CPU. …
Read More »ASRock FM2A88X Extreme6+ Motherboard Review
Today we are going to take a look at the ASRock FM2A88X Extreme6+ motherboard which is their flagship FM2+ model. We recently looked at a Gigabyte's flagship FM2+ motherboard – the G1 Sniper A88x and we were very impressed with the overall package. ASRock have made quite a name for …
Read More »Intel Core i7 4960X EE CPU / Asus X79-Deluxe Motherboard Review
A little under two years after the release of Intel's high-end desktop – Sandy Bridge-E – LGA 2011 processors and the corresponding X79 chipset, it's time for the platform to go through its refresh phase. Featuring a die shrink from SB-E's 32nm to 22nm, Ivy Bridge-E is intended to take …
Read More »ASUS confirms that support was there all along for FX9000
While it seems that some mainboard vendors will need new models and/or BIOS updates in order to provide AMD FX9000 series processors with full support, KitGuru has been contacted by Asus to confirm that “Support has been there all along”. Nice to know they care, but what does it really …
Read More »New MSI motherboards target specific markets at i49
We've already told you how MSI has made a big splash at i49 with its all-in-one systems and of course with its handsome Dutch PR man, Joran, but that's not all it had on show. There was also a couple of newly released motherboards that drew my attention – one …
Read More »ASRock Z87 OC Formula Motherboard Review
Built for hardened overclockers, does ASRock's Z87 OC Formula have what it takes to compete with the likes of MSI's Z87 XPower and Asus' Maximus VI Extreme? Utilising an E-ATX form factor and packed with overclocking-geared enhancements, ASRock's Z87 OC Formula represents the company's motherboard designed specifically for hardened tweakers …
Read More »Asus Maximus VI Hero (Z87) Motherboard Review
Providing a fresh burst of excitement in Asus' premium Republic Of Gamers series, the Maximus VI Hero is the first ROG motherboard built specifically for the mid-range gamer. Has Asus' price-constricting approach paid off? Sparking attention due to its true gaming-orientated design and a price tag to match, the Maximus …
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