[DrNip]

Anyone read this? Did I read it right that the whole lineup of Asus mobos will be using EFI instead of BIOS? Boy I can't wait for Sandybridge. I hope the BCLK limitation rumor is just a rumor.

Between a ROG and a TUF place

Today we had the opportunity to head into London where ASUS was on hand to show us a few of its upcoming P67 motherboards and talk a little bit about what will set them apart from the pack. We'll be looking at some of the new technology that will be packed into the boards in another article - you can read it here - but for now, we'll just take a peek at the actual products.

The company will be debuting a full range of boards when Intel's Sandy Bridge CPUs launch in January 2011. At the top of the stack will be the Republic Of Games (ROG) Maximus IV Extreme, designed for the most hardcore of overclockers. With this board, the manufacturer has tried to cut away all the unnecessary components, and that means that legacy ports - including PCI and FireWire - have been removed. Even USB 2.0 ports have been taken off, leaving nothing but ten super-speedy USB 3.0 ports in their stead.



The Maximus - like all of the boards shown today - will also replace the existing BIOS with new-fangled EFI, bringing both shorter boot-times and an easy-to-use mouse-driven GUI. In addition, the board will pack four SATA 6 ports, dual gigabit Ethernet and support for three-way SLI or CrossfireX configurations, as well as a whole host of ROG-exclusive features to help push it to the limit - our favourite of which was the ability to flash the BIOS from a USB key with nothing but a PSU connected.



For those who value durability above all else, ASUS is also launching a new entry in the TUF series of motherboards. The P67 Sabertooth is designed to go through the wars and having been tested against military standards, it's proven that it is able to withstand even the most extreme conditions. As well as top-quality components, the board has two new features dealing with heat distribution that really set it apart.



Tactical Vest - as it's being called for now - is a removable plastic shroud that covers the entire motherboard, directing air over certain components and away from others with specially-cut channels and vents. Designed for use with a fan that forces air down onto the CPU, the manufacturer claims better heat distribution and improved stability - a key factor for the TUF series. To help keep temperatures in check, this board will also feature the 'Thermal Radar', a series of nine temperature-sensors positioned at key points across the board.

Something for everyone

Of course, ASUS knows that not everyone is looking for an extreme motherboard, so it will launch a pair of products that fit into the enthusiast and mainstream market segments, respectively. The P8P67 Deluxe and P8P67 boards will include many of the same features as their high-end brethren at a lower price. While there will obviously be some omissions, they'll still be kitted out with the 'Dual Intelligent Processor 2' for easier overclocking and better efficiency, USB 3.0 support - including front-panel headers - EFI instead of ye olde BIOS, the ability to control settings from a smartphone via Bluetooth and access to the company's all-new software suite - but again, we'll get into all of that later.



As well as a number of other differentiating features, one of the most interesting additions on the Deluxe version is the included USB 3.0 breakout box. Knowing that a lot of people don't have chassis with SuperSpeed ports on the front panel, the boards will ship with a 3.5in box that plugs into the motherboard giving easy access to two of the connectors.



It looks like ASUS is coming out firing on all cylinders for the launch of Intel's next-gen CPUs. Each of the boards should be available alongside the Sandy Bridge processors in the new year with pricing in the region of $300 for the Maximus, $220 for the P8P67 Deluxe and $150 for the P8P67 (£234, £172 and £117, inc VAT). Unfortunately, no pricing has been set for the Sabertooth board, but with the other entries in the TUF series being marketed aggressively, we'd expect this one to be no different.

Source:
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=27262