IEI has replenished its line of products with a motherboard series intended for application in small-type home PCs due to the implemented mini-ITX form-factor. All previous products of this manufacturer were basically oriented on the enterprise sector, however IEI decided to widen its facilities by developing quite new motherboards for home use. The series is represented by two models: Kino-CVR-D25502 and N26002 which have got a lot of common, as well as, different parameters.



In fact, the major distinctions between the two models can be dwindled down to the implemented processors. Kino-CVR—D2550 employs two-core Intel Atom processor D2550, while N26002 model is equipped with Intel Atom 2600. The difference is seen also in clock frequencies and RAM volume capacities. D2550 is able to achieve 1.86 GHz and is notable for 4 GB RAM capacity; N2600 achieves 1.6 GHz and characterizes by only 2 GB RAM capacity.


IEI Kino-CVR motherboards employ Intel ICH10R southern bridge. RAM …

Asus has replenished its graphics card series based on Kepler architecture with a brand variation of one-chip GeForce GTX 680 adapter. Brand Asus GeForce GTX 680 card has been developed on an original in design circuit board and is notable by the doubled to 4GB GDDR5 memory capacity. Nevertheless, the most outstanding characteristic of a new product is the implementation of a two-slot cooling system, codenamed DirectCU II. Earlier Asus equipped its GeForce GTX 680 adapters with three-slot coolers.



The company decided to concentrate mainly on the introduction of an uncommon cooling system, leaving all frequency showings identical to the recommended by Nvidia index. Thus, graphics core operates at 1006 MHz frequency, while memory module works at 6008 MHz. Memory chips are soldered on both sides of the circuit board. The reverse side of PCB is covered by an aluminum plate that is in direct contact with GDDR5 chips.


Some IT professionals dare assuming that the rejection of …

Model Matrix-HD7970-P-3GD5 is supposed to be the most powerful graphics card delivered by Asus that is based on Tahiti chip. This card belongs to Matrix series targeting primarily gamers and overclockers. In addition, Radeon HD 7970 is one of the most highly-productive adapters with a striking overclocking potential. Thus, Asus has managed to implement both performance and power in a single product to provide for the utmost results and utmost convenience.



Design


Graphics card from Asus features similar to other Matrix-series models design. Its frontal panel consists of a large cooler with two voluminous fans. This cooling system is covered by a shroud with red insertions. Its rear panel accommodates a perforated plate that leaves bare only a few zones on a textolite (CrossFire sockets, iROG controller, VGA Hotwire zone); spacing under the cooler is covered by a thick plate-heatsink that prevents textolite deformation. The side panel contains a pair of 8-contact power …