Tom's Hardware's AMA With Asus, In Its Entirety

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Ivy Bridge-E, SATA Express, And More Mini-ITX

Q. If there's new motherboard for Ivy Bridge E, will features found on current Z87 boards like latest version of Bluetooth, 802.11AC, ROG's mini combo II card, be carried over?

A. Can’t comment on potentially upcoming or in development products. With that noted we continue to offer support for our current line of x79 Motherboards whether it be updating software packages or the UEFI to ensure superior performance, compatibility and overall functionality. You can rest assured Asus is always working on new and exciting projects.

Q. If there are new Ivy Bridge E boards, then are you guys planning to make a dual socket ROG or TUF motherboards?

A. For most users using Bluetooth on the desktop it is used for peripherals where the 2.1+EDR on the Extreme meets an acceptable usage model. Keep in mind though 4.0 only provides benefits to very specialized mobile devices. The main benefit of 3.0 or greater is the increase in throughput. This is only important if you sync or transfer files through Bluetooth.

Q. I saw the Bluetooth on P9X79 Deluxe has media playback controls you can use from a smart phone, does ROG Bluetooth have that too?

A. The Deluxe offer additional functions offered via the Wifi implementation offered on the Deluxe. Currently as the ROG series (X79) do not offer Wifi these type of functions are not present.

Q. When will we start to see SATA Express on motherboards?

A. The specification has not seen fully complete finalization or been fully validated. Until this occurs you will not see the specification be considered for integration. In the interim there are many other choices like PCIe based SSD solutions.

Q. I seem to recall you guys have a motherboard that's designed for LAN parties where you can lock your keyboard and mouse to prevent others from taking it. What was that motherboard called again?

A. Our Gene series are models focus at portable gaming or small form factor gaming systems or LAN parties. In our UEFI we do offer advance control options for USB port initialization.

Q. Hhow many tflops will the 780 Asus have?

A. Our non-reference GTX 780 meets and exceeds the performance of the reference GTX780 due to improve GPU Boost clocks due to reduce load based temperatures and allowing the card to clock higher.

Q. Question: I have a ROG MvF board and I would like to know if/ when will AI suite 3 be able to run on my board?

A. AiSuite III was developed and validated on the Z87 chipset. As of now there are no plans to release it for previous chipsets. We have recently released updates for AiSuite II along with continued UEFI support for Z77 motherboards. As a whole while there are visual changes many of the key functions and features in AiSuite III are present in AiSuite II.

Q. I would like to request mini-ITX FM2/FM2+ boards...(assuming Kaveri is indeed FM2+ as leaked by AMD).

A. Overall we have not had the response for the community to dedicate resources to development of mini ITX for current AMD chipsets. In addition there are considerable variables to incorporate and consider when developing mini ITX based solutions. We previously offered a FM1 mini ITX solution ( F1A75-I Deluxe ) but did not have the response from the community as such no currently plans are in place for FM2. With that noted we are currently active in developing different form factor solutions for AMD chipsets. One recent model is our new E2KM1-I Deluxe so watch out for more.

Q. Being deaf in one ear, your new Sonic Radar for ROG boards could be a howling big deal to me (and others in a similar situation). Will these drivers be made available for other Asus boards? I have a Maximus V Gene that also has SupremeFX sound, and would love to get Sonic Radar for it too.

A. There is a possibility we may be able to release this software package to previous boards. We are working on doing this already on our ROG Xonar Phoebus sound card. While there is no guarantee this will occur Z77 is still active in us supporting it through software and UEFI based updates. Your feedback and inquiry in this respect are appreciated.

Bestofmedia Team
17 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Aoyagi
    So I take it Asus is, in fact, not planning to broaden its AMD laptop selection since they didn't respond to the question about that. Unfortunate, I really liked the brand.
    Reply
  • kennai
    On page 8, the first answer is to the second question, and the second question is to the first answer. Was staring at that second answer for like 2 minutes being like, whaaaaat.
    Reply
  • kennai
    On page 8, the first answer is to the second question, and the second question is to the first answer. Was staring at that second answer for like 2 minutes being like, whaaaaat.
    Reply
  • bim27142
    They didn't answer my question. :( :( :(
    Reply
  • Madn3ss795
    I was excited so see any sights of an ITX AMD board from Asus. Sadly all answers led to a big "NO".
    Reply
  • slomo4sho
    Sadly, Asus is too Intel focused to concern themselves with any innovating anything on their AMD lineup.
    Reply
  • vmem
    11057585 said:
    Sadly, Asus is too Intel focused to concern themselves with any innovating anything on their AMD lineup.

    ASUS is a business, and like any good business they're only concerned with MAKING MONEY. this is actually a GOOD THING, they have a clear goal and they know how to go about doing it: make good products that consumers want to buy.

    a huge part of making money and running a business is getting brand recognition, something AMD has been TERRIBLE at until recently. and ASUS made their point clear, they're not favoring Intel, their marketing research simply says there is insufficient demand. this is because when you walk into best-buy or even microcenter, at least 90% of the people shopping there still equate Intel with CPU. when that changes, ASUS will focus on AMD more. it's really that simple
    Reply
  • vmem
    11055330 said:
    Awesome info here... though I'm kinda bummed they had no info about pricing on that 39" 4k monitor. I'm drooling at the thought of acquiring one of those since it's using a cheap VA panel, assuming ASUS doesn't get greedy and charge a ton for it.

    Can't wait to be rid of this 1080p plague.

    I don't think it's a simple matter of greed. they can't price it TOO cheaply, or else their 31" 4K monitor with the nice Sharp panel won't sell. They have to price it appropriately for the quality and the market. if I were to venture a guess I'd say it'll be around $2-2.5K when it comes out.
    Reply
  • lp231
    11057635 said:
    11055330 said:
    Awesome info here... though I'm kinda bummed they had no info about pricing on that 39" 4k monitor. I'm drooling at the thought of acquiring one of those since it's using a cheap VA panel, assuming ASUS doesn't get greedy and charge a ton for it.

    Can't wait to be rid of this 1080p plague.

    I don't think it's a simple matter of greed. they can't price it TOO cheaply, or else their 31" 4K monitor with the nice Sharp panel won't sell. They have to price it appropriately for the quality and the market. if I were to venture a guess I'd say it'll be around $2-2.5K when it comes out.

    From the web, the 31.5" will cost around $3799 to $4000. I expect the 39" to be close to $10,000.

    Reply
  • slomo4sho
    11057620 said:
    ASUS is a business, and like any good business they're only concerned with MAKING MONEY. this is actually a GOOD THING, they have a clear goal and they know how to go about doing it: make good products that consumers want to buy.

    a huge part of making money and running a business is getting brand recognition, something AMD has been TERRIBLE at until recently. and ASUS made their point clear, they're not favoring Intel, their marketing research simply says there is insufficient demand. this is because when you walk into best-buy or even microcenter, at least 90% of the people shopping there still equate Intel with CPU. when that changes, ASUS will focus on AMD more. it's really that simple

    AMD had nearly 50% market share in 2006 which has gradually dwindled to the current ~16-17% which is around a 10% drop from a year ago. The overreaching bias on tech sites over the years have fortified Intel's position as a monopoly over the CPU market and the lack of features such as PCIe 3.0 and Thunderbolt on AMD exemplifies the perception that AMD is inferior to Intel.

    The reality is that AMD has a clear advantage in integrated GPU solutions that would be optimal for small form factors but the lack of hardware and absence of media coverage perpetuates a fallacy that Intel provides the best solution for all computer needs.

    I, for one, will not be supporting Asus since ASRock and MSI continue to provide a much more balanced solutions on both platforms.
    Reply