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Computex 2013: Motherboards, Peripherals, And Mobility
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1. MSI At Computex

Earlier this month, our editorial teams from Germany, Italy, and the U.S. were on the ground in Taiwan, covering the Taipei International Information Technology Show (better known as Computex) to bring you information about upcoming and prototype products. In this second part of the series, we have follow-ups from our visits to MSI, , Intel, Trendnet, Roccat, and Gigabyte.

MSI


MSI is in the midst of a brand revamp, splitting its PC products into three tiers: classic (with a blue and black color scheme), gaming (black and red), and overclocking (yellow and black). Company reps also briefed us on the incrementing of its Military Class feature suite, which now follows the MIL-STD-810G specification.

First, we were shown some of MSI's new classic-series Z/H/B87-based solutions in mini-ITX trim. All of them conform to the Military Class 4 standard the company defined for itself, which includes more space around the processor interface to accommodate larger coolers. Representatives claimed these would be available in the middle of June, though a quick glance through some of our favorite online vendors suggests they aren't ready yet.



Stepping up to the mid-range gaming tier, all of the employ Killer's Ethernet controllers, Sound Blaster Cinema, and Audio Boost, a feature that purportedly isolates the audio circuitry to minimize interference. A 600 ohm amplifier and gold-plated jacks round out the audio package's value adds. Currently, MSI's Z87-GD65 Gaming sells for $188 on , while the Z77A-G43 Gaming is priced at $120.

We also had a look at some of the company's gaming-series graphics cards, which are factory-overclocked and include an application that modifies for lower noise, reference-class operation, or more aggressive performance and cooling. The GeForce GTX 770 Gaming is already available at $400, while the 780 is expected to show up next month sometime.

2. MSI, Continued

Next, we have MSI's flagship overclocking tier. The company has an internal standard called OC Certified, which dictates that the boards in this category operate with a processor set to at least 4.6 GHz for 24 hours. A cooling test ensures that the voltage regulation circuitry runs stably without airflow in an ambient environment of 30 degrees Celsius. Platforms in the overclocking segment come equipped with the same features as MSI's gaming-level boards, with the addition of dual-antenna 802.11b/g/n wireless solutions, unofficial DDR3 data rates of up to 3000 MT/s, and more generally tuner-friendly options. 

MSI introduced three OC Certified boards at Computex: the Z87 MPower ($235), Z87 MPower Max ($260), and the Z87 XPower ($440). The MPower and MPower Max are very similar except that the Max includes four more power phases (20 instead of 16) and two more internal USB 3.0 ports (four instead of two). Both support up to three graphics cards in SLI/CrossFire configurations. The Z87 XPower is MSI’s ultra high-end flagship, with a PLX switch for four-way graphics arrays, Sound Blaster X-Fi MB3, and a logo that illuminates within a layer of the board’s PCB.

The GeForce GTX 770 Lightning slots into the overclock brand featuring something that MSI calls Unlocked Digital Power. In essence, the card's voltage and clock rate limits can be increased beyond the point of practicality with a mouse click in Afterburner. MSI says the card should be available at the beginning of August, which seems like a long time to wait for a GeForce GTX 770 card. We're hoping this one is worth the anticipation. 

Aside from its component-level products, MSI showed off a handful of interesting all-in-one PCs and notebooks. The AG2712A is an Ivy Bridge-based gaming PC equipped with a mobile Core i7 and Radeon HD 8970M. It features a 10-point capacitive 27” touchscreen that can bypass the attached PC entirely if you'd like to hook up a console and game on the screen. Expect it to show up for somewhere in the $2000 range.

The Adora24 gets more of an entertainment PC focus. Equipped with an Ivy Bridge-based mobile Core i3 or i5 and GeForce GT 740M graphics, MSI claims that this slim (21 mm minimum width) all-in-one is the first with a flicker-free function to reduce eye strain. It should be available next month.

The new GS70 should arrive in the August time frame, priced between $1699 and $1899, depending on how it’s equipped. Basic specifications include a Haswell-based Core i7 CPU, a 17.3” display, RAID support, and a GeForce GTX 765M graphics module, all housed in a metallic chassis. It appears to be pretty thin for a gaming-oriented notebook, and MSI is particularly proud of its cooler design that exhausts air above the keyboard. We're curious to see how that works out. The GS70 can also use any combination of three screens simultaneously for productivity. We doubt the GK106-derived GPU is going to game well at 4800x900 or 5760x1080.

The GT60 gets an update with 3K Edition branding, adding support for four display outputs without an adapter. It’s also equipped with the MSI’s NOS feature, draining the battery and using AC power to prevent throttling under heavy loads. This feature is new on Haswell-equipped GT60s. The platform supports RAID 0 across three SSDs and up to GeForce GTX 780M graphics. Plan to pay between $1399 and $1899.

MSI also showed off a handful of prototype features under development.  We saw a GS70 with a touchpad housing a second screen. The company says it can be used as an actual display or to expose macro keys while gaming. Expect this capability to show up at the end of 2013 or beginning of next year.

We also saw the Mousebook prototype sporting a touchpad that can be removed and used as a wireless mouse.

3. ASRock At Computex

We've looked to for innovation in the past, and the company didn't disappoint us at this year's Computex. Its upcoming M8 is an attractive barebones system with a mini-ITX motherboard, Haswell-based processor, 450 W power supply (the team claims a GeForce 680 isn't a problem), and 802.11ac wireless networking. The round LED display up front is able to display the time, CPU utilization, and more. ASRock also claims to be considering an API for more customizable control. 

The chassis was developed by BMW Group DesignworksUSA, the same organization responsible for Level 10 family. Its side panels are secured magnetically; overall, it's a pretty cool little enclosure. The whole package is expected to see availability in July for $500. Could this become a more potent alternative to the next generation of consoles? Once you populate it, the M8 is going to cost quite a bit more. But you're also looking at significantly more horsepower, too.

We also saw ASRock's next generation of the Vision HT miniature HTPC. Of course it employs a mobile Haswell-based processor. More surprising to us was the addition of a new ability that lets you use the HDMI input as a pass-through for a Mobile High-Definition Link-capable phone, sending the display output to whatever monitor you connect to the Vision HT. A hotkey enables the switch when the PC is on, and the feature auto-senses when the Vision HT is off. Additionally, 802.11ac comes standard, offering throughput as high as 866 MB/s. The higher-end Vision X is expected to offer the same pass-through functionality, but with an MXM module and Radeon HD 8850M graphics. Availability is expected in July, though company representatives couldn't give us pricing details.

ASRock is pushing a feature suite it's calling A Style on its newest motherboards, including Purity Sound (leveraging Realtek’s 7.1-channel ALC1150 codec), a TI 5532 premium headset amplifier, HDMI input for sharing a monitor between devices, 802.11ac dual-band Wi-Fi, a form of waterproofing, and a feature it calls Home Cloud, allowing remote wake and control of your PC via smartphone or computer.

A little more about that waterproofing feature: this is an option for high-end overclockers who don't want to worry about condensation, mostly. The process of adding a liquid-resistant film limits production to about three boards per hour, so quantities are limited. ASRock demonstrated a Z87 OC Formula running while water was being poured on it.

ASRock splits its boards into the bottom-tier Pro, gamer-oriented Extreme, higher-end Fatal1ty, and overclocker-oriented OC Formula line-ups, each with specific capabilities and features to attract eyes in those respective segments.

The company had a lot of motherboards on display. Starting with the mini-ITX Z87E-ITX, we see six-phase power, a sextet of SATA 6Gb/s ports, mSATA support, 802.11ac wireless connectivity, and a processor interface positioned as far away as possible from the to avoid cooler interference. It also has the same HDMI pass-through functionality mentioned previously, otherwise limited to Pro4/Extreme4 boards and higher.

Next is the Z87 Extreme6/ac. Also equipped with the 802.11ac Wi-Fi module, ASRock demonstrated this board driving a 4K display through Intel's on-die HD Graphics engine. It also sports the company's Purity Sound suite through the Realtek ALC1150 codec. This board currently sells for $200 on Newegg.

The Z87 Extreme9/ac will include four-way support and a Thunderbolt controller.

ASRock was showing off its Z87 Extreme11/ac driving a total of 22 SSDs, six of which were hosted by Intel's Z87 PCH and 16 attached to LSI's next-gen SAS controller and expander. The configuration was capable of more than 5.4 GB/s of sequential throughput. ASRock has a PLX switch on-board to enable four-way graphics configurations, and it also challenges the possibility of a bottleneck with a Thunderbolt controller, too. We're told to keep an eye out for the Extreme11 sometime between July and September.

4. Intel At Computex

Rather than discussing CPU specifications, Intel's team spent its time focusing on the end-user experience. First, we were able to play with Lenovo's K900 smartphone, equipped with an Clovertrail+-based Atom Z2580 processor (dual-core 2.0 GHz with Hyper-Threading) and PowerVR SGX 544MP2 graphics. Surprise, it runs Android. The device is both attractive and responsive, boasting a 5.5” screen and 13 MP camera. Despite the size, it's hardly unwieldy thanks to a slim 6.9 mm profile and 165-gram mass. It may already be available in China for the equivalent of $540; the international market will need to wait until later in the summer for access to the K900.

We also witnessed another round of power usage demonstrations, beginning with a Core i5-4350U-equipped Ultrabook. The entire system, driven by that 15 W CPU, idled at less than 4 W. During HD video playback, it averaged between 5.5 and 6 W, though we saw spikes as high as 25 W. Armed with a fairly average battery pouch, that'd yield between nine and 10 hours of video playback. The Haswell architecture might not be impressing our editors in the desktop space, but its power-friendly attributes make it much more meaningful in the mobile segment.

A second power demo, this time comparing Clover Trail in a Windows 8-based tablet to Qualcomm's Snapdragon SoC and its Krait architecture. Both exhibited similar idle power use. Clover Trail was spiking higher in the logged power chart, while the Snapdragon SoC took longer to get back to idle. Of course, as you've seen, our biggest beef with the current crop of Windows 8 tablets is their build quality, particularly given premium prices. Hopefully this turns around with the Silvermont generation.

The last power demo was a Google Nexus 10, with its two Cortex-A15 cores at 1.7 GHz and Mali-T604 driving a 2560x1600 display. Claiming to measure total system power, the CPU cores, and graphics engine, Intel showed a combined CPU and GPU load throttling the tablet's performance. This is well-known behavior; it wasn't something we learned at Computex. But expect Intel's message moving forward to echo this theme: current ARM-based SoCs don't manage power gracefully. The Nexus 10 goes all-out until it runs into a thermal limit, at which point performance gets hammered. That's not behavior most enthusiasts would tolerate on the desktop. 

Intel promises to behave better under Windows 8. It showed us a Bay Trail tablet based on a 22 nm SoC driving a 2560x1440 screen. We were then shown a second tablet looping a 3D demo. We touched the back of the chassis and it was barely warmer than room temperature. It turned out to be running a build of Android.

Next up was a prototype Ivy Bridge-Y-based platform running Android. Complemented by a 500 GB SSD, Intel had a first-person shooter running smoothly on it. Purportedly, battery life is as good as any Ivy Bridge-based Ultrabook. This isn't a planned product, but it does show the potential of Intel's new 7 W CPU segment.

Intel then showed off the latest Haswell-powered Acer Aspire S7. The S7 carries over its same form factor from last generation, but includes a 47 Wh battery now, up from 36 Wh. The sample in Intel's booth employed a 15 W Haswell processor with GT2 graphics. It was smooth enough in a touch-enabled game called Defense Grid, but we have to suspect that if it were capable of better numbers in a more popular title, Intel would have been using something else. We're told that a 28 W processor with Iris graphics should achieve about twice the performance. Maybe that's when we'll start seeing more familiar games being exhibited on an Ultrabook.

Finally, we got our hands on a second Aspire S7 equipped with a beautiful 4K screen with 10 ms response time. The higher-resolution panel doesn't affect battery life as much as you might suspect because it includes Panel Self-Refresh, which uses built-in logic to maintain an image on-screen with the need for a refresh, so long as the output doesn't change. This is only a demo, but apparently, Acer plans to manufacture the S7 with options like the one on display in Intel's booth.

5. Trendnet And Roccat At Computex

Trendnet

Trendnet showed off its newest dual-band routers, the AC1200 ($130) and triple-antenna AC1750 ($150). The model numbers are a bit of a misnomer; they indicate theoretical 802.11ac plus 802.11n throughput. So, for example, the AC1200 is supposed to be capable of up to 867 Mb/s through ac and 300 Mb/s through 802.11n. The AC1750 has a claimed 1300 Mb/s ac ceiling and up to 450 Mb/s of 802.11n bandwidth through three transmit and three receive antennas.

The company also announced its TEW-800MB wireless AC1200 media bridge at Computex. Equipped with a quartet of gigabit Ethernet jacks, along with two transmit and receive antennas for 802.11ac and n, media devices around the bridge get wired access to your wireless network. It should be available in July at around $160.

Trendnet also sells power-link networking solutions capable of transfer rates as high as 500 Mb/s. This stuff is best-suited to environments riddled with thick walls, where wireless networking just can't cut it.

Finally, the company showed off a 720p cloud-connected camera that doesn't require a static IP address. This security-oriented product features a wider angle and better resolution than older VGA-limited models. Unfortunately, it can't yet record over Trendnet’s cloud service. The company is looking to add that functionality within the next year. In the meantime, you can use the camera to record locally.

Roccat

Roccat is celebrating the five-year anniversary of its Kone release with a Kone Pure Optical for $69. As with the company’s other mice, its lighting can be fine-tuned with RGB controls in the software.

We were also treated to a demo of the upcoming Ryos MK Pro, expected within the next couple of months. Featuring per-key lighting controls and an available SDK for custom effects, we'll be curious to see what enterprising enthusiasts do with Roccat's software. The estimated price on this one is $150.

Lastly, we got another update on Roccat's Power-Grid software. At various stages during its development cycle, the folks at Roccat showed us the utility's progress. Now, Power-Grid is in closed beta and the company is planning to launch a final version at gamescon. In case you're unfamiliar with the software, it wireless interfaces with iOS- and Android-based devices, giving you remote control, custom macros, news, and more. Tom's Hardware is even featured as a resource in the initial build!

6. Gigabyte At Computex

Upon arriving to Gigabyte's booth, the company started by showing a selection of peripherals. It has a new mouse under its Aivia brand called the Neon. Naturally, you can use it like any other mouse. Or, there's a gyroscope inside that lets you wave it around in the air to control the cursor that way. It also has a built-in laser pointer and comes bundled with software enabling on-screen drawing. The USB wireless dongle doubles as a charging cable, and Gigabyte says 10 minutes plugged in is enough to keep the Neon going for three hours.

Aivia's Uranium is a more gaming-oriented design with an OLED-equipped wireless receiver. This wireless mouse can operate in wired mode if charging is necessary. The display can help assign macros or display the mouse's status. The receiver is also useful for storing configuration information. Expect the Uranium to surface soon for roughly $130.

The last peripheral we were shown was Aivia's Force K7 keyboard, featuring ultra-short key travel for gamers interested in quick response. It features selectable blue, green, and cyan lighting behind the keys, though the letters themselves aren't illuminated.

Gigabyte then showed off its latest Windforce cooling system, armed with a metal shroud. The company says it's able to contend with a 450 W thermal load, and proved the design's mettle by demonstrating it attached to a constant heat source. We've already seen the newest Windforce design on Gigabyte's GeForce GTX 770, though it's also in use on an overclocked GeForce GTX 780 and will soon show up on a GK110-equipped Titan card. You'll have the option to swap out Nvidia's stock cooler with Gigabyte's Windforce solution.

Inevitably, we made our way to Gigabyte's unavoidable motherboard display. The company launched more than 40 models. It's tweaking with its color scheme, and we saw a lot of black PCBs with beefy heat sinks and more power phases (perhaps ironic given the voltage regulator integration inherent to Haswell). There are more red- and gold-colored products. Gigabyte's representative let us know that the-UD4 line-up is being positioned against Asus' RoG products at lower prices, but similar features.

The mini-ITX F2A85XN-WIFI caught our eye, based on AMD's Socket FM2 platform with Richland APU support. This board comes equipped with a Bluetooth 4.0/Wi-Fi module and enables AMD’s Wireless Display technology. We’re told the original prototype didn’t overclock well, so Gigabyte went back to the drawing board and got higher-end power components to combat this.

The Z87X-UD5 is an upper-mainstream platform with dual Thunderbolt ports, on-board 802.11ac, and Bluetooth 4.0. Gigabyte's demo was driving a 4K screen from a single Thunderbolt cable. Note the red accents; Gigabyte claims its customers were requesting this specifically.

Next up, the H87N-WIFI and Z87N-WIFI. These products include a wireless module that extends support for Intel's WiDi technology.

The Intel Small Business Advantage platform, which bundles software tools for blocking USB ports, managing security, and automating backup, is like a cheaper version of vPro without the enterprise-class remote control and assistance features. It bridges a gap in the SMB market that Gigbayte says sells really well. Intel includes this functionality with boards based on the H87 and B85 Express chipset, and vendors can enable it on their products as Gigabyte does with the B85M-D3H and H87N-WIFI.

7. Gigabyte, Continued

Gigabyte also had new boards to show off from its G1.Killer family. They all have high-end audio features now, thanks to Creative's Sound Core3D chip. Moreover, the platforms include socketed op-amps for enthusiasts who'd rather tweak the audio output themselves. The amp can even be bypassed through software. Company reps claim that Gigabyte is the first company to offer this as an option on its motherboards. And while we've tested sound cards with socketed op-amps before, this is indeed our first board equipped with that flexibility.

Each board comes with two amps and an extractor tool to swap them. There’s also an upgrade kit on the way with three amps that Gigabyte plans to sell for $50. As an audio hack, I’m happy with a software equalizer and a clean circuit. However, audiophiles might see the benefit of a more specialized sound subsystem (if they're willing to give motherboard-down audio a try in the first place, that is). To its credit, Gigabyte does try to isolate the audio circuit as much as possible, separating the PCB layer and leveraging gold-plated connectors to discourage corrosion.

While the Assassin sits at the top of the G1.Killer series, the Sniper represents the upper mainstream. Gigabyte has two new offerings in that range: the ATX-sized G1.Sniper 5 and microATX G1.Sniper M5. The Sniper 5 can handle four-way CrossFire and SLI thanks to a PLX switch. It comes with new heat sinks that accommodate fans or water blocks. Killer's Ethernet technology is also part of the deal, along with an Intel network controller.

AMD gets some love in the form of Gigabyte's G1.Sniper A85X with a Socket FM2 interface. It's expected to sell for between $100 and $110. You get the same Creative Sound Core3D chip, the socketed op-amp, and support for two-way CrossFire and SLI. Purportedly, the company is also thinking about introducing a Socket AM3+-equipped G1 board for the Steamroller architecture update to AMD's FX family.

We also saw a B85-based G1.Sniper B5. It might seem strange that there's a gaming-oriented platform based on a business-class chipset, but Gigabyte envisions this one in Internet cafes. It doesn’t include Sound Core3D, but instead hosts a Realtek audio chip.

Next, we got our hands on the Z87X-OC and Z87X-OC Force. Both boards feature a host of powerful overclocking features and on-board buttons for controlling them. In the picture above, you can clearly see USB ports on the front edge for convenient access on an open bench.

The mainstream Z87X-OC was designed by well-known overclocker HiCookie, who Gigabyte hired as a consultant. It has more metal inside the power connectors to keep them from melting under heavy loads. A new feature called OC Ignition delivers power to the system when the CPU is off, so fans spin, PCI Express slots are fired up, and the memory doesn't flush. PCIe slots can be turned on or off individually via DIP switches. And you get a graphics card brace for holding add-in cards steady outside of a case. There’s also a feature to drop clock rates during the early stages of LN2 overclocking. HiCookie already broke a record with the Z87X-OC, taking a G.Skill memory kit to 4.168 GT/s. The previous record was 3 GT/s. Expect to find this product for sale in the $200 range.

The Z87X-OC Force is Gigabyte’s highest-end overclocking board, populating an E-ATX form factor. It comes with extra features like a PLX switch for four-way CrossFire and SLI compatibility, dual gigabit Ethernet controllers, four SATA 6Gb/s ports, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and a front-access USB 3.0 panel. Expect to pay $410 for the honor of owning this one, though.

It’s nice to see that Gigabyte finally updated its software suite with a consistent and customizable interface. The new App Center (for Intel 8-series chipsets only, unfortunately) hosts applications like EasyTune, which is more feature-rich and, frankly, not as ugly. New overclocking-friendly UEFI features are good to have as well. Gigabyte's Memory safe, for example, reverts to a known-good data rate if an overclock fails. There's also an option to go straight into the UEFI without hitting the Del key. That's particularly nice in a Windows 8 world, where you need to be super-fast to beat the boot process.

Gigabyte’s Touch chassis fits Intel's standard for all-in-ones. It accommodates SO-DIMM memory, mSATA drives, and it requires no fan; the enclosure functions as a heat sink instead. 

The Brix PC hosts soldered-in mobile Ivy Bridge-based CPUs ranging from the Celeron 1007U to the Core i7-3537U. It comes with Wi-Fi, USB 3.0, HDMI output, DisplayPort output, and LAN connectivity. You simply drop in memory and an mSATA drive. The first model is already available on Newegg for $300. Gigabyte also has an upcoming version with a built-in projector, but we weren’t allowed to take photos of that prototype. Expect it in the August timeframe.

We saw two other upcoming mini-PCs using the same chassis. Both prototypes are called GB-XM1, but one is powered by AMD’s Kabini APU (from the E1-2100 to A4-5000), while the other is Haswell-based (Core i3-4010U to Core i7-4500U)

The new Padbook S1185 convertible tablet hosts anywhere from a Pentium to a Core i5 CPU, and is purported to offer five usable hours of battery life in Core i5-equipped trim. Gigabyte is introducing a nifty feature that simulates a touchpad on the side of the tablet so thAT your finger doesn’t get in the way of what you’re looking at. The S1185 is expected to sell for $900. 
 

The P35K is a new gaming laptop with optional Thunderbolt connectivity. It comes with a backlit keyboard, 15.6” full HD IPS panel, and is fairly thin at 21 mm-tall. Armed with a Core i7 CPU, up to a GeForce GTX 765M GPU, and as many as four storage drives, it should be a capable $1300 laptop.

The P34G is the P35K’s little brother. Gigabyte boldly claims that this is the thinnest and lightest gaming laptop on earth, though that's certainly open to interpretation. It’s also 21 mm-thick, but weighs a svelte 1.7 kg with a 14” screen. Armed with a Haswell mobile Core i7 CPU and GeForce GT 760M graphics, this product will set you back about $1000 when it surfaces.