GIGABYTE Launches New 6 Series Motherboards

Taipei, Taiwan – January 6, 2011 – GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards and other computing hardware solutions, today launched their latest generation of motherboards for the new 2nd generation Intel® Core™ processors (aka Sandy Bridge). The new series of motherboards are based on the Intel® P67 and H67 Express Chipsets, and deliver a host of cutting-edge features designed to provide Maximum CPU Power.

GIGABYTE 6-series motherboards support dual channel DDR3 memory for blazing fast memory performance of 2200MHz and above through the integrated memory controller of 2nd generation Intel® Core™ CPUs. Additionally, these CPUs feature Intel® Turbo Boost 2.0 Technology, which is able to power down idle processor cores and dynamically reroute the power to the active cores for significant performance boosts, and at the same time, maintain greater energy efficiency. Key GIGABYTE technologies featured on these motherboards include an industry-leading 24 phase power design, an Intel® approved Intersil VRD 12 (Voltage Regulator Down) compliant PWM controller, Dual CPU Power, Driver MOSFETs (the new addition to GIGABYTE’s signature Ultra Durable™ 3 features), proprietary DualBIOS™ 3TB+ HDD technology, 10 USB 3.0 ports (total of 18 USB ports with 8 USB 2.0), 3-Way SLI™/CrossFireX™ support, 3x USB Power, On/Off Charge and more…

An extensive range of GIGABYTE 6 series motherboards will be available at launch with ten ATX models and seven Micro-ATX models to choose from. They follow GIGABYTE’s normal naming scheme with the P67A-UD7 down to the H67M-D2. Notably, there are 3 models that target the SMB (Small and Medium Business) market, namely the B65M-D2, B65M-D2 and Q67M-S2H. Additional models are planned to launch throughout the first and second quarters, with an estimated 40+ GIGABYTE socket 1155 models available by the middle of 2011.

GIGABYTE 6 Series Motherboards - ATX form factor

GIGABYTE 6 Series Motherboards - mATX form factor

“This is the most important launch that we’ve had in recent years, because we expect the LGA 1155 socket to be around for many years to come,” commented Tim Handley, Deputy Director of Motherboard Marketing at GIGABYTE. “That’s why we’re planning to offer almost 50 different models by the middle of the year. It’s exciting for us to incorporate many of the high-end features on mainstream and entry level boards, such as the Max CPU Power VRM design that was first introduced on the X58A-UD9, to give our products a serious competitive advantage in the market. We’re more than just ready for Sandy Bridge, we’re eagerly looking forward to it!”

New VRD 12 (Voltage Regulator Down) Specification Design
GIGABYTE 6 series motherboards are designed with Intel’s latest Voltage Regulator Down specification (VRD 12) using Intel® qualified Intersil PWM controllers that offer SerialVID (SVID) for transferring power management information between the processor and voltage regulator controller. This allows more robust and efficient signaling control between the CPU and PWM controller, hence delivering a more energy efficient platform.

Maximum CPU Power Delivery
GIGABYTE 6 series motherboards with their unique CPU power design, promise to deliver first class system performance and stability. With up to 24 phase power, Dual CPU Power and Power Phase Boost with Multi-gear Switching, the world’s leading motherboard CPU power technology will soon be available on performance and even mainstream motherboard models instead of only being available on extreme models, as it has been in the past.

Dual CPU Power
GIGABYTE’s proprietary Dual CPU Power Technology allows CPU VRM power phases to split evenly into 2 sets of power engines that operate in tandem. This allows 1 set of power phases to rest while the other is active as opposed to a traditional power design where all the power phases are always active. As such, GIGABYTE Dual CPU Power effectively halves the amount of work done by each set of power phases to significantly increase motherboard durability and reliability.

Driver MOSFETs
By incorporating the MOSFETs and driver IC in accordance with the Intel ® Driver MOSFET specification, GIGABYTE 6 series motherboards allow higher power transfer and increased efficiency at higher switching frequencies to satisfy the power requirements of modern processors. Driver MOSFETs also help to reduce VRM real estate requirements for a cleaner, less cluttered CPU zone.

GIGABYTE DualBIOS™ with 3TB+ HDD Support
GIGABYTE DualBIOS™ is a patented technology that automatically recovers BIOS data when the main BIOS has crashed or failed. Featuring 2 physical BIOS ROMs integrated onboard, GIGABYTE DualBIOS™ allows quick and seamless recovery from BIOS damage or failure due to viruses or improper BIOS updating. In addition, GIGABYTE DualBIOS™ now supports booting from hard drives that are 3TB (terabytes) or more without the need for partitioning, and effectively provides future-proofing for higher volume single drive data storage.

Support for 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ Processors
GIGABYTE 6 series motherboards, with their industry-leading CPU power delivery, are the right choice for the new 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ processors (socket LGA1155). These CPUs introduce the new Sandy Bridge micro architecture with Intel® AVX instructions, optimized Turbo Boost and Hyper-Threading technologies that promise huge leaps in floating point intensive application performance. GIGABYTE 6 series motherboards offer an additional performance boost by unlocking the CPU through the user friendly GIGABYTE EasyTune 6 overclocking utility on the fly from within the Windows® environment.

PC Gaming, Video/Picture Editing, Home Cinema, and More…
GIGABYTE 6 series motherboards support CrossFireX™ or SLI™ multi-graphics technologies that allow users to transform their PC into a gaming powerhouse for an immersive 3D gaming experience. Alternatively, users with lesser graphics performance requirements can benefit from the new Intel® HD Graphics 2000/3000 that is integrated into the CPU (note that only certain motherboards using the Intel® H67 Express Chipset support this graphics option. Please consult the GIGABYTE website for more information). Intel® HD Graphics 2000/3000 features Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX) and Intel® Quick Sync Video that allows users to edit or convert videos and photos quickly and efficiently. The new Intel® HD Graphics also boasts Intel® Clear Video HD Technology that provides users with spectacular Full HD 1080p Blu-ray playback on selected GIGABYTE H67 series motherboards with multiple display interfaces such as DVI, HDMI, D-sub and Display Port.

High Performance Data Storage
With more USB 3.0 ports than ever before (up to 10 on the P67A-UD7), GIGABYTE 6 series motherboards offer extremely fast connectivity for portable flash and external backup drives (up to 10x USB 2.0 speed). For a significant performance boost during daily operations, configure your PC with a SATA 6Gbps hard drive as your operating system and application drive. Combined with SATA 6Gbps, GIGABYTE XHD Technology offers a performance boost of up to a theoretical 4x that of SATA 3Gbps through a simple and intuitive utility, allowing users to boot-up their systems and launch applications faster than they ever thought possible.

For more information about GIGABYTE 6 series motherboards please visit the GIGABYTE Tech Daily blog or the official motherboard website.