Gigabyte has won its unflinching reputation as the leading manufacturer of multifarious hardware components primarily thanks to catering for the needs of any customer, either it is a corporate client or an average home user. Today the company decided to cater for the needs of enthusiasts and overclockers, who long for extreme performance, extreme speeds, as well as for limitless facilities, by introducing two new high-end motherboards. Codenamed Z87X-OC and Z87X-OC Force, the boards are based on Intel Z87 Express chipset that supports the 4th generation Intel Haswell processors.




Motherboards Gigabyte Z87X-OC and Z87X-OC Force feature Ultra Durable 5 Plus design, an improved hardware base, and an optimized cooling system. Both models have got 12-phase power stabilization system and an updated UEFI DualBIOS technology. These boards employ Gold Plated Solid Power Connectors that imply an increased usage of gold in 8-contact socket for CPU power supply and in 24-contact …

ASRock enters the market with another budget-oriented micro-ATX mainboard – the H110M-DS/Hyper (the recommended price makes up $60). The greenhorn is designed on Intel H110 chipset as well as ASRock Hyper BCLK Engine. The latter realizes the overclocking of Intel Skylake CPUs (for Socket LGA1151) by means of BCLK alteration; therewith, all other key nodes operate off-the-shelf.



ASRock H100M-DS/Hyper employs 4+1-phase power subsystem. The PCB accommodates 2x DIMM slots for DDR4-2133 MHz RAM with the maximal volume of 32 GB. Storage subsystem is represented by four SATA III ports, whereas expansion facilities include one PCIe 3.0 x16 and one PCIe 2.0 x1 ports.


Audio subsystem is governed by Realtek ALC887 controller and three 3.5-mm sockets. In its turn, network facilities are backed by Realtek RTL8111GR controller. Connectivity options embrace one RJ-45 port, one DVI video port, two PS/2 ports, and four USB ports for peripherals (both v 2.0 and v 3.0).

Following the success of Revolution X’t series of power supply units, Enermax has introduced the second generation of revolutionary solutions: the Revolution X’T II. The series counts four models of 160x150x86 mm dimensions, each complying with 80Plus Gold certificate (up to 92% efficiency level). All the new-comers are able to operate in a wide voltage range (100-240 V) to meet the requirements of different PC platforms.



Enermax Revolution X’t II units come equipped with a single +12V rail with high output capability, high-end Japanese electrolytic capacitors, DC-to-DC converters as well as other reliable hardware. The chassis is cooled down by 139-mm fan, based on patented Twister bearing; consequently, the fan is estimated for 160.000 hours of fail-safe activity.


In order to reduce the end price of the models, Enermax has implemented hybrid cabling: key cables are connected to the chassis, while accessory cables might be detached when unnecessary. The units …