4/08/2012 06:27:00 PM
dannzfay
Like others before it, Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) has brought out some Ivy bridge-ready motherboards, but its announcement focuses on the top pair instead of describing the whole collection.
In this respect, ECS is more similar to Biostar rather than Gigabyte, ASRock and Micro-Star International (MSI).
The company has formally unleashed the Z77 Black Extreme Series - Golden Limited Edition, which gets its name from triple-thickness gold plated connectors.
There are two models in the line, Z77H2-AX and Z77H2-A2X, both of which feature black PCBs with gold-plated key components, ostensibly so that they won't wear out after component changes/upgrades.
We'll let people decide for themselves if all that precious metal is worth paying for. The slogan of the line is, after all, “My Game, My Rules.”
Spec-wise, people will find three PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots on the Z77H2-AX and two on the Z77H2-A2X, plus a mini PCI Express slot.
A pair of legacy PCI slots is also present, as well as two PCI Express 2.0 slots for good measure.
Furthermore, the Z77H2-AX, through a PLX ExpressLane PEX 874 Multi-Graphics Solution Chip, has double the PCI Express 3.0 support (2x16), which means that all three PCI Express slots can work at x16, not just x8.
Moving on, in addition to these multi-GPU setup-enabling assets (SLI/CrossFireX), ECS tossed in a bunch of storage connectors and, of course, video outputs (HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI, etc.).
The Z77H2-AX uses two eSATA, four SATA 6.0 Gbps and two SATA 3.0 Gbps ports (for HDDs and SSDs), while the Z77H2-A2X comes with a single eSATA.
The list goes on with Wireless LAN, Bluetooth, USB 3.0 (six ports/headers), USB 2.0 (again, 6 ports/headers), Gigabit LAN, EZ charger and all the technologies Intel promised for its next-generation platform (Lucid Virtu MVP, Intel Smart Response, etc.)
Prices have not been mentioned and sales will only start in the US (at first), in a fairly low supply too. Then again, the Z77H2-AX and Z77H2-A2X Black Extreme Series wouldn't be the Golden Limited Edition otherwise.
Posted in: 
0 comments:
Post a Comment