We're definitely getting close to the launch of Intel's Z68 chipset and more details of Gigabyte's upcoming boards have turned up on the internet. Not only have we found pricing of the three high-end boards, but the Z68X-UD5 and Z68X-UD4 have been given a thorough going over in a detailed preview, of course without benchmarks as Intel don't condone benchmark figures ahead of a launch.

The Z68X-UD5 is pretty much the same motherboard as the P67A-UD5 with the exception of the chipset of course. In fact, the boards are so similar that if it wasn't for the red ports around the back on the Z68X-UD5 and the silk screen on the board with the model name, we wouldn't be able to tell the two boards apart. If this is a good or a bad thing is a matter of what you're after in terms of features, but it's pretty clear that there's no real reason to get the P67A-UD5 any more, especially as the price difference appear to be minimal. In fact, the Z68X-UD5 has already appeared on an Australian online retailer priced at AU$319 (S$427) and the same company stocks the P67A-UD5 for AU$305 (S$408). In as much as this is a price premium, we're sure it won't last for long.

The Z68X-UD4 on the other hand is nothing like the P67A-UD4, instead this looks like the P67X-UD4 which was shown off at CeBIT but never launched. We can't say we're overly keen on the board layout, as Gigabyte has made a few peculiar choices here. For starters the 16-phase VRM is taking up an unusual amount of space on the PCB and this means you end up losing the first expansion slot. The slot layout consists of a pair of x16 slots in a dual x8 configuration when both are used, two x1 PCI Express slots and two PCI slots.

We're still not sure about the Aivia branding on Gigabyte's gaming peripherals, but its latest mouse addition, the M8600 wireless macro gaming mouse looks pretty interesting despite a very long and somewhat awkward name. It's Gigabyte's first wireless gaming mouse and one of only a handful wireless gaming mice on the market.

It's hard not to draw parallels between the M8600 and Logitech's old G7 mouse, especially as the two are using a cartridge based rechargeable battery system. Rather unusually for a wireless mouse, Gigabyte has based its batteries on Li-Ion technology, but even so the battery life in only rated at 50h per battery pack. That said, Gigabyte claims that it takes a mere two seconds to change the battery pack, or “as fast as reloading a gun” according to the product website.

However, unlike the old G7 the M8600 also sports a front USB port, although it appears to only be compatible with the supplied cable judging by its somewhat odd shape. When the cable is connected the mouse switches over to wired mode and works just like any old wired mouse. The upside of this is that you don't have to worry about your batteries running out, wireless interference or any potential lag that there might be in the wireless connection.

Gigabyte has also implemented its “Ghost macro engine” which means you get a whopping 32KB of onboard memory, although this is apparently enough to store no less than five user profiles and 70 macros. The battery charger will not only charge the secondary battery pack, but you can also place the mouse on it when you're not using it and the battery pack inside the mouse will charge. The charger also doubles as the wireless receiver.

GIGABYTE, a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, welcomes a new member to its line of wireless mice, M7800E Wireless Laser Mouse. Designed for men of urban chic style, M7800E is coated with a “matte black” layer.

The ultra sized receiver is 40% smaller than regular receivers, and it highly increases the portability of the mouse. With 800 1600 dpi switch, high-precision laser sensor, battery life of 6 months, and software for customizable buttons, the refined M7800E is your best partner at work.

Product Features

    “Matt black” coating
    Ultra nano receiver
    Battery life up to 6 months
    800 ~ 1600 DPI switch

GIGABYTE, a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, has launched its latest premium graphics card, the GeForce GTX 590 (GV-N590D5-3GD-B). With two NVIDIA GeForce GTX 500 Series GPUs on a single printed circuit board (PCB) and high speed GDDR5 memory, the GV-N590D5-3GD-B is the "world's fastest DirectX 11 graphics card on the planet for gamers who need top performance". The GeForce GTX 590 supports Microsoft's DirectX 11, and features many innovative NVIDIA technologies including 3D Vision Surround, Quad SLI, CUDA, and PhysX.

To cater to hardcore gamers, GIGABYTE has come up with a premium package consisting of the GV-N590D5-3GD-B graphics card and the M8000Xtreme gaming mouse.

Heart-pounding gaming experience

The GV-N590D5-3GD-B features two GeForce GTX 500 series GPUs on a single PCB, providing a total of 1024 CUDA cores (512 CUDA cores per GPU) and 3072MB of memory (1536MB per GPU). The monster card delivers massive tessellation performance thanks to its GPU architecture and can provide incredibly detailed environments and characters. In addition, the GV-N590D5-3GD-B is equipped with one mini DisplayPort and three dual-link DVI outputs to enable panoramic gaming across multiple screens from a single card.

Groundbreaking Audio Technology Paired With Cutting-Edge Computing Power and Elegant Product Designs to Deliver Compelling Multimedia Experiences

SINGAPORE - 5 October 2010 - Creative Technology Ltd. today announced that the Creative THX TruStudio Pro™ suite of groundbreaking audio technologies is now incorporated in GIGABYTE's latest M1425 and T1125 notebooks, enabling users to enjoy superior multimedia entertainment experiences complete with true-to-life audio.

THX TruStudio Pro recreates on the PC the same dynamic experience enjoyed during live performances, in films and in recording studios. This suite of cutting-edge audio technologies not only delivers the fullest audio experience for music, movies and games, but also respects their integrity by remaining true to the source and intention of the artists who created them.

"The stylish M1425 notebook and versatile T1125 notebook reflect GIGABYTE's continuous efforts to combine great designs with powerful computing technologies, and we are extremely delighted that GIGABYTE has carefully selected THX TruStudio Pro as their audio enhancement technology of choice," said Steve Erickson, VP and GM for Audio-Video Group at Creative.

"Many years of collective experience and research have been drawn from both Creative and THX in developing this suite of advanced audio technologies, and we believe this is just the beginning of more and more PC manufacturers adopting THX TruStudio Pro to enable exciting cinematic experiences and thrilling game play on the PC."

GIGABYTE Press Release

As people nowadays care more about our environment, GreenMax, the new lineup of GIGABYTE power supply, is built for energy saving and performance. It strikes a perfect balance between environmental caring and your expectations for a high performance power supply.

GreenMax power supply features 80 Plus Bronze Certification with 87% efficiency at best. The efficient circuit design not only reduces power loss but also enhances the performance of the power supply, which makes GreenMax the best supporting component for your PC system. Meanwhile, the Japan made main capacitor, which costs much higher than the ordinary ones, prolongs the product life of each GreenMax power supply unit and provides a more steady output.

The uniquely designed sleeved cables further induce the air convection within the system and also provide protection to sensitive main connector wirings. With a life-time of 120,000 hours, protection for OVP / OCP / OPP / OTP / SCP and complying with the latest Intel ATX 12V V2.3 design guide, GreenMax ensures its users a long-lasting power supply.

Gigabyte is preparing to release its Pure Classic series of portable hard drives. Measuring 120 x 81 x 14mm and weighing 150g, the 2.5" hard drives are available in USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 models.

These stylish drives feature a matt finish and are bundled with a leather pouch. Available in 320Gb, 500Gb, 640Gb, and 750Gb capacities, the Pure Classic portable hard drives are covered by a three year warranty.