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CES 2008 Day 3
Author: Dennis Garcia
Published: Monday, January 14, 2008
Foxconn Booth
The new F1 prototype motherboard got quite a bit of press during CES and for good reason. The board features 4 16x PCI Express slots and supports the elusive Quad Crossfire video configuration. As we all know ATI has some of the largest videocards on the market so how do you get 4 of them on a single motherboard. Technically, you don't that is unless you make th board taller. The processor and chipset are clearly Intel and to make room it features a total of 10 expansion slots.
Those in the know will realize this is 3 more than normal meaning that unless you acquire a custom case from Foxconn or build it yourself its not going to fit into anything currently on the market.
Then again it is a prototype.
Those in the know will realize this is 3 more than normal meaning that unless you acquire a custom case from Foxconn or build it yourself its not going to fit into anything currently on the market.
Then again it is a prototype.
Speaking of cases, there were a few on display. Being a long time casemodders here at Ninjalane it is clear to us that these are not the most modder friendly cases on the market, the metal is thin and reinforcements are virtually non-existent. However you cannot expect much from a standard everyday case.
The marketing spin to all of this was focused on the rounded corners and higher quality metal that was used during construction.
We'll believe that after putting one under the Dremel.
The marketing spin to all of this was focused on the rounded corners and higher quality metal that was used during construction.
We'll believe that after putting one under the Dremel.
BlackOps Rox!
The highlight for us was the live demo machine designed to show off the new enthusiast motherboard platform called BlackOps. The BlackOps is the natural progression from the Mars series and features an entire list of improvements.
The current board is based on the X48 chipset supporting DDR3 and 3-way Crossfire.
Some of the other highlights include
- Dual physical BIOS chips allowing you to run 2 versions of a BIOS and quickly swtich between them.
- Heatpipe cooling with a very unique Northbridge chipset cooler. The cooler is made from solid copper and will allow you to attach a fan, attach a waterblock top (complete with hose barbs) or a chill tower for dry ice or LN2 cooling. The best part is that all 3 of these accessories will be in the box and ready to install.
- 8 phase power supply with robust power regulation, basically this means you have dynamic control over power delivery to the processor and the board will monitor levels and increase or decrease power as needed.
- Quantum BIOS for Overclocking, this BIOS is amazing, it comes with an auto overclocker option or manual control and when you start reaching the "unsafe" limits the colors will change from green to red.
We have several BIOS photos to post along with some interior shots of the watercooler in action on the next page.
The current board is based on the X48 chipset supporting DDR3 and 3-way Crossfire.
Some of the other highlights include
- Dual physical BIOS chips allowing you to run 2 versions of a BIOS and quickly swtich between them.
- Heatpipe cooling with a very unique Northbridge chipset cooler. The cooler is made from solid copper and will allow you to attach a fan, attach a waterblock top (complete with hose barbs) or a chill tower for dry ice or LN2 cooling. The best part is that all 3 of these accessories will be in the box and ready to install.
- 8 phase power supply with robust power regulation, basically this means you have dynamic control over power delivery to the processor and the board will monitor levels and increase or decrease power as needed.
- Quantum BIOS for Overclocking, this BIOS is amazing, it comes with an auto overclocker option or manual control and when you start reaching the "unsafe" limits the colors will change from green to red.
We have several BIOS photos to post along with some interior shots of the watercooler in action on the next page.
