Each new year brings new ideas for the developers of PC hardware. Since motherboards are indisputably the main component in the PC integration, their design and facilities are given the most attention. Hence, each manufacturer tries to implement some unprecedented technologies to attract potential audience by an improved performance and possibilities. Intel Thunderbolt technology is a hit of 2012; that is why, motherboard designers turned their looks into this direction. Gigabyte was among the first companies to integrate Thunderbolt interface into its products: model Z77MX-D3H TH is a bright evidence of it.



Integration


Motherboard Gigabyte Z77MX-D3H TH resembles the modification of its predecessor Z77MX-D3H, except for the availability of Thunderbolt interface and design of PCB. The renunciation of the third PCIe x16 slot allowed the manufacturer to free four lines of PCIe bus and employ Thunderbolt technology for their activation. As a result, a new product has got a …

Asus decided to distinguish itself against the rivals by introducing a motherboard, based on Intel H110 chipset, which boasts a range of integrated facilities. One of such boons is the support for M.2 Socket 3 interface with a bandwidth index of 10 Gb/sec. However, when it operates in SATA mode, one out of four SATA 6 Gb/sec ports is disabled. If PCI-e drive is installed, there will be no restrictions.



Mainboard Asus H110M-E/M.2 supports all modern CPUs from Intel with Socket LGA1151. The PCB accommodates a pair of DIMM slots for the installation of 32 GB DDR4-2133 MHz memory. This micro-ATX board is equipped with a 4-phase Digi+ VRM as well as 5X Protection II protection technology.


The model houses a pair of PCI-e 2.0 x1 expansion slots & a single PCI-e 3.0 x16 slot. Storage subsystem is introduced by one M.2 slot and 4x SATA III ports. Audio subsystem is built on 8-channel Realtek ALC887 controller, whereas network facilities are backed by Realtek RTL8111H controller. …

Chieftec, one of the largest German hardware manufacturers, has recently introduced a new series of power supply units, codenamed Navitas. The series is represented by 5 models: GPM-650C with 650W nominal power, GPM-750C with 750W nominal power, GPM-850C with 850W nominal power, GPM-1000C with 1000W nominal power, and GPM-1250C with 1250W nominal power correspondingly. All the products have won 80Plus Gold certificate, due to more than 90% efficiency in the high workloads.



Chieftec Navitas PSUs correspond to ATX12V v2.3 standard and support Intel Core 4th gen. processors that require little current strength on +12V rail in sleep mode. The models also support active power-factor correction option to provide for the maximal stability during operation. They are equipped with a composite cable system and a single +12V rail, estimated for the maximal current from 54 A to 104 A (this index depends on the unit’s power).


All five units are cooled down by 140 mm fans with PWM …