There seems to be a single-slot ATI Radeon HD 5700 series trend going on, with XFX designing two single-slot ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics cards, a base model (HD-577X-ZMF3), and an Eyefinity-5 model (HD-577X-Z5F3). Both cards use PCB and cooler designed by XFX. The cooler particularly looks familiar in design to the countless single-slot GeForce graphics cards designed by the company, one of the recent ones being a GeForce 9800 GT. The cooler makes generous use of copper.

Both cards stick to the reference AMD clock speeds, 850 MHz core and 1200 MHz (4800 MHz effective) memory, and feature 1 GB of GDDR5 memory across a 128-bit wide memory interface. Power is taken in from a single 6-pin PCI-E input. While the base model has display outputs which includes two DVI and one mini-DisplayPort, the Eyefinity-5 model features five mini-DisplayPort connectors. The cards will be released around the middle of this month, and Japan prices (which tend to be higher than US/EU prices) indicate 17,500 JPY (US $202) for the base model, and 18,000 JPY ($208).

Source: PC Watch

At the ongoing CeBIT event, Gigabyte showed off its latest offer of motherboards including an interesting one based on AMD’s upcoming 890FX chipset. Made for socket AM3 processors from AMD, the GA-890FXA-UD5 is based on the AMD 890FX chipset with SB850 southbridge. It expands a little on the chipset’s features. The CPU is powered by a 10-phase VRM. It is wired to four DDR3 memory slots that are powered by a 2-phase VRM. The AMD 890FX drives four PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots (electrical x8 when all are populated, x16 on alternate slots otherwise). There are two PCI-E x1 and one PCI. All six of the SATA 6 Gb/s ports from the southbridge are internal, while an additional GSATA2 controller gives out two SATA 3 Gb/s ports, and drives the IDE connector. Connectivity options include 8+2 channel audio with Dolby Home Theater, two gigabit Ethernet interfaces, FireWire, and two USB 3.0 ports, apart from a number of USB 2.0 ports. The board is expected to release later next month.

Source: PC Watch

At its displays at the ongoing CeBIT event, ASUS surprised many with a pair of Crosshair IV Series motherboards showing a renewed interest at the very high-end of the AMD platform. Incidentally, the company is also preparing a mid-range motherboard based on the AMD 890FX chipset, the M4A89TD PRO. The new board builds entirely on what the chipset has to offer with a slight addition of a two-port USB 3.0 controller. The AM3 socket is powered by a 10-phase VRM, supporting 140W CPUs. It is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots with its own 2-phase VRM.

The 890FX chipset gives out two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 full-bandwidth slots, other expansion slots include an open-ended PCI-E 1.1 x4, a PCI-E x1, and two PCI slots. All six SATA 6 Gb/s ports the SB850 southbridge gives out are internal, an additional JMicron controller gives out IDE and eSATA. The board boasts of ASUS’ “Core Unlocker” switch which simplifies unlocking disabled physical cores on some dual, triple, and quad-core chips. Other features include 7.1 channel audio, gigabit Ethernet, and USB 3.0 for connectivity. The M4A89TD PRO should be released around the time when AMD unveils its latest processors.

Source: PC Watch

Biostar is readying a mid-range motherboard in its T-Series lineup based on AMD’s upcoming 890FX + SB850 chipset. The T-Series TA890FXE was pictured at the ongoing CeBIT event without its cooling assembly. It supports existing and upcoming socket AM3 processors, including Phenom II X6. The CPU is powered by a 5+1 phase VRM, supporting 140W processors. The 890FX chipset gives out four PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots supporting ATI CrossFireX technology, apart from two legacy PCI slots. The SB850 southbridge gives out six SATA 6 Gb/s ports, of which five are internal, probably one external. An additional storage controller by VIA drives the lone IDE connector. 7.1 channel HD audio, gigabit Ethernet, and FireWire make for the rest of it. The TA890FXE is expected to be out later in April, when AMD unveils its latest processors.

Source: PC Watch