Specs Exposed for Intel Executive 7-Series Motherboards

Besides the drama-causing Ivy Bridge CPUs that didn't get delayed after all (well, mostly), Intel is working on the 7-series Panther Point-based motherboards, of which some have been specifically detailed. 

It is Intel's line of business platforms whose hardware details have been uncovered, courtesy of a report on the part of VR-Zone. 

Though the 7-Series will include many others, these three are the ones that office computers will benefit most from utilizing. 

The most unique of the Executive line, as the trio is called, bears the name of DQ77KB (codename Kearnens Bend) and uses the Q77 chipset. 

Featuring the mini-ITX form factor, it uses just 19W to power a PCI Express 2.0 x4 slot (linked straight to the CPU), two DDR3 memory slots (1,333 MHz), two SATA 6.0 Gbps ports, three SATA 3.0 Gbps ports, eDP (embedded DisplayPort), four USB 3.0 connectors, five USB 2.0 ones and Gigabit Ethernet, plus DisplayPort and HDMI. 

Taking everything into account, this thing is an especially appealing option for people who want to make their own all-in-one PC. 

On the other end of the spectrum lies the DB75EN (Elkhorn Creek), a B75-powered micro ATX board with a PCI Express 3.0 x16 slot, one PCI Express 2.0 x1 slot, two legacy PCI slots, one SATA 6.0 Gbps port, three SATA 3.0 Gbps, four memory slots and headers for two USB 3.0 ports and four USB 2.0 ports. 

Additionally, this product boasts 5.1-channel audio, a DVI-D video output, a D-Sub connector, Gigabit Ethernet and eSATA. 

Finally, the third board, also a micro ATX platform, is called DQ77MK, relies on the Q77 chipset and has the Moccasin Peak codename. 

It is more or less similar to DB75EN, save for a single PCI slot, one PCI Express 2.0 slot and an open-ended PCI Exppress 2.0 x4 slot (x16 slots can be fitted into it). There is also a mini-card PCI Express slot that enables SSD caching when in mSATA mode. 

Windows 7 and 8, plus RedHat and SUSE Linux, are supported on all three, as is the Intel Rapid Storage technology with RAID, albeit only on the Q77 models. Unfortunately, while the release is planned for April, prices are still a mystery.

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