As we ring in the New Year Intel is prepping the launch of their newest processor family along with a new socket and chipset to go along with it. Intel’s newest processor family is based on the new Sandy Bridge microarchitecture, a complete change from the Nehalem microarchitecture that we have seen for the past few years. With Sandy Bridge we also have H61, H67, and P67 chipsets sporting a new LGA 1155 socket that is very similar to the old 1156 socket. Today we are going to take a closer look at Intel’s i5-2500K along with their DH67BL motherboard.

With X58 motherboards ranging in price from just over $150 to a crazy $600, it can be daunting to find a nice mix of features and quality without breaking the bank. Gigabyte has a range of X58 boards separated with the UDx moniker. The UD stands for Ultra Durable and the 'x' indicating the number of special features, making it easy to spot the more expensive and features filled boards. Today we are taking a look at the X58A-UD5, a mid-range 1366 socket motherboard from Gigabyte. With a price point less than half of their UD9, it has the potential to be a perfect mix of value and performance. Let’s take a look.

A quick preview at Gigabytes upcoming 6 series motherboards for sandy bridge CPU's. One word sums them up... SEXY. The new heatsink design is slick and out of the way, the black PCB on the P67A-UD3R would look at home in any gaming rig. Of course you will find all of the features you have come to expect like their USB 3.0, SATA 6, and triple power to the USB's for charging your iPod.

 

Almost three years after the launch of their 7 series platform, AMD released their new 890 FX platform this past April. With us still running an 790FX in our AMD test bench, It’s about time we upgraded to the newest motherboard series. MSI was kind enough to send us their 890FXA-GD70 to take a closer look at. Paired up with a Phenom II Black Edition 965 and an NVidia GTX460, it should be a good combination.

When it comes to motherboards, they really do come in every shape and size. With high performance gaming motherboards, generally you have to get a full ATX motherboard to get a wide selection of features. Micro ATX is a little smaller but not small enough for true portability. That’s where Mini-ITX comes into play. Most of the Mini-ITX boards on the market use the older 775 socket and have a limited number of features. Today we have the opportunity to take a look at Gigabytes H55N-USB3, their first Mini-ITX board. With my recent obsession with small form factor gaming rigs, you will have to forgive my excitement to check this out.