ASUS is readying one of its first motherboards based on the AMD 880G chipset, the M4A88TD-V EVO / USB3. This model comes in two variants, with or without USB 3.0 support, designated with the -USB3 suffix in the model name. It is a socket AM3 motherboard, supporting the upcoming line of Phenom II X6 and Phenom II X4 T series processors. The CPU socket is powered by a 10-phase VRM, it is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots for dual-channel memory. Even as ATI CrossFire is not part of the 880G’s feature-set since it won’t support an external PCI-Express lane switch like the 890GX, ASUS found a way around and provided a second PCI-Express x16 slot, only that this one is electrical PCI-Express 1.1 x4, wired to the SB800 southbridge chip.

The 880G embeds an ATI Radeon HD 4250 IGP with 128 MB of DDR3 sideport memory. It connects to its display with DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI. The board supports ASUS’ Core Unlocker feature that attempts to unlock disabled cores on some processors. Other expansion slots include one PCI-E x1, and three PCI. The southbridge gives out six SATA 6 Gb/s ports, five of which are internal, and one eSATA. An additional VIA-made controller drives an IDE connector. Other connectivity options include a number of USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports on the USB3 variant, 8-channel HD audio, FireWire, and gigabit Ethernet. The new boards will be released in a few weeks’ time, probably targeting the sub-$150 price points.

Source: Zol.com.cn

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