At Computex 2014, we're expecting the proverbial Noah's Flood of new SSDs in the M.2 form-factor, which overcome the bandwidth limitation of SATA 6 Gb/s, and aren't as messy when installed as SATA-Express. The first generation of M.2, at its physical layer, is PCI-Express 2.0 x2, with a theoretical maximum bandwidth of 1000 MB/s per direction. Among the first such drives is the XP941 from Samsung. The drive went into mass production way back in June 2013, but it's only now hitting the stores, as the first motherboards with M.2 slots launched, with the advent of Intel's 9-series chipset.

What sets this drive apart from conventional M.2 drives is it follows a draft specification that mandates PCI-Express 2.0 x4 interface. When installed on slots with x4 wiring, the drive offers sequential read speeds of up to 1,170 MB/s, and up to 930 MB/s maximum writes. It also offers 4K random read performance of up to 122,000 IOPS, and 4K random write performance of up to 72,000 IOPS. The only 9-series motherboard with such a slot is the Z97 Extreme6 by ASRock. You could also try using PCI-Express 2.0 x4 add-on cards such as the one Plextor's M6e comes with. The 512 GB variant of the drive is priced at 79,800 JPY including local taxes (US $780).

Earlier this week, the latest ASRock Intel 9 Series Super Alloy motherboards have made their debuts and received a lot of favorable reviews immediately.

With ASRock Super Alloy Technology, the 9 Series products are equipped with numerous high class components to ensure their stabilities and reliabilities. As if that wasn't enough, there are more unique features applied on these new products, including Purity Sound 2 with Nichicon Fine Gold Series Audio Caps, ELNA Audio Caps on mainstream motherboards, ASRock HDD Saver Technology, APP Shop, and ASRock Cloud.

As motherboard manufacturers unveiled their new Intel 9 Series products one after another, we can see the proliferation of PCIe Gen2 x2 M.2 interface on Desktop motherboards very clearly. However, ASRock Inc. took the lead among other competitors once again. This time it's the Z97 Extreme6 which boasts "Ultra M.2 PCIe Gen3 x4" socket stands out. With its doubled transfer bandwidth, ASRock Ultra M.2 is able to completely break through the speed limit of SATA3 6 Gb/s and blow others away!

The Secret of Ultra M.2
Ultra M.2 is one of ASRock's creative innovations. Compared to normal M.2 with PCIe Gen2 x2 bandwidth, ASRock is the first one in the world to double the M.2 bandwidth to PCIe Gen3 x4! Furthermore, the layout of Ultra M.2 is also specially designed. On a regular motherboard design, the signal route starts from the M.2 device, goes through the onboard chipset, and finally reaches CPU. In contrast, by connecting the M.2 interface to CPU directly, ASRock Ultra M.2 has lower latency and pushes the I/O speed to a new level!

ASRock Inc., the global leading motherboard manufacturer, unveils the brand new Intel 9 series motherboards with ASRock Super Alloy technology! Packing the Intel Z97 / H97 chipsets, ASRock 9 series Super Alloy motherboards provide great compatibility and fully support the 5th, New 4th and 4th Generation Intel Core Processors in Socket 1150. The product lines include the Extreme series for high-end PC, the Fatal1ty Killer Gaming series for elite gamers, and the OC Formula series for OC enthusiasts.

Derived from the "built for stable and reliable" designing concept, ASRock does not compromise on any details. The 9 series motherboard are specially designed with ASRock Super Alloy technology, including 12K Platinum Capacitors with the longest lifespan in the industry, the next-gen NexFET MOSFET, Dual-Stack MOSFETs (DSM), Premium Alloy Chokes, and XXL Aluminum Alloy Heatsinks. Clearly, ASRock has shown its ambition to redefine the horizon of motherboard craftsmanship.

ASRock rolled out the Q1900DC-ITX, a low-power computing motherboard based on Intel Celeron J1900 "Bay Trail" SoC. The chip embeds a quad-core x86-64 CPU clocked at 2.00 GHz, with Turbo Boost speeds of up to 2.42 GHz. The board is designed to draw power from an external power brick, over 2-pin DC-in. It uses a chunky fan-less heatsink to cool the SoC, which is wired to two DDR3L SO-DIMM slots. Expansion includes one PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and an mPCIe. Storage connectivity doesn't let down, and includes two each of SATA 6 Gb/s and SATA 3 Gb/s. The board offers legacy connectivity such as LPT and COM over headers. Display outputs include DVI, HDMI, and D-Sub. 8-channel HD audio, gigabit Ethernet, two each of USB 3.0 and USB 2.0/1.1, and PS/2 mouse/keyboard connectors make for the rest of it.

With leading motherboard manufacturers ready with their socket LGA1150 motherboards based on Intel's upcoming Zx7 Express chipset, ASRock joined in to unveil its offerings. ASRock's lineup includes five models based on the chipset. The most affordable of the lot will be the Zx7-Extreme4. This board offers an impressive 12-phase CPU VRM, two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (x8/x8 when both are populated), one PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4), and three PCI-Express 2.0 x1. Its storage connectivity includes eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports, from which two can mod into a SATA-Express connection with the conveniently placed SATA-E driver port; and one M.2 slot. Other features include Intel-made gigabit Ethernet, ASRock Purity sound with audio-grade capacitors and ground-layer isolation, and dual-UEFI BIOS. To not step on Gigabyte-held patents, ASRock's dual-BIOS implementation isn't automated, and you have to manually toggle between the two EEPROMs using a 2-way switch.

CyberPower Inc., a global manufacturer of custom gaming PCs, today announced its MEGA MINER series, a family of high-performance systems designed and optimized not only for gaming, but for cryptocurrency mining as well. The MEGA MINER series is powered by AMD's Radeon R9 series graphics cards, which provide up to 1000KHash/sec on a single card. With the ability to add up to three cards per system, the MEGA MINER has been intelligently designed with the GPU power to perform the necessary calculations faster to earn more coins.

The MEGA MINER series comes with a choice of AMD's FX-4300 processor or Intel's Core i3-4130 Haswell processor depending on the model. The series also utilizes the Thermaltake DPS series of 80 Plus digital power supplies, which conveniently monitor one of the most vital pieces of information all coin miners need to know - your electricity cost. The MEGA MINER systems combine powerful mining hardware with the precision and control of Thermaltake DPS power supplies for the best coin mining experience.

The global leading motherboard manufacturer, ASRock, announces that all of its 8 series motherboards will support Next Generation Intel Core Processors. With only a few clicks, users are able to update the BIOS and enjoy the outstanding performance of their new processors.

ASRock provides the latest BIOS not only to those high-end and mainstream motherboards, but also to those entry level ones. From the Z87, H87, B85 series to the H81 series, there is no 8 series motherboard left behind this full-scale support.

ASRock announced a trio of socket AM1 motherboards for AMD's "Kabini" series APUs, Athlon and Sempron-branded CPUs, in the FS1b (AM1) package. The lineup includes the AM1B-M, a compact micro-ATX model; and two mini-ITX ones, the AM1H-ITX, and the AM1B-ITX. The AM1B-M draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 4-pin ATX connectors, and uses a 3-phase VRM to power the APU. A PCI-Express 2.0 x16, and a PCIe 2.0 x1 make for its expansion slots. Connectivity includes two SATA 6 Gb/s ports, two USB 3.0 ports (rear), D-Sub display output, gigabit Ethernet, and 6-channel HD audio.

The AM1H-ITX, and the AM1B-ITX appear to be based on a common PCB design, but differ with connectivity. The former is gear towards modern connectivity options. It draws power from either a 24-pin ATX, or a 2-pin external DC input. The board is loaded with features, including HDMI and DVI display outputs, four SATA 6 Gb/s ports, four USB 3.0 ports, PCI-Express 2.0 x16 and mPCIe slots, and 8-channel HD audio. The latter is geared more towards essential/legacy connectivity. It features the same display outputs, but chucks out 2-pin power input, and 8-channel HD audio to make room for a parallel LPT port.

G.SKILL International Co. Ltd., the leading high performance memory designer and manufacturer, is proud to announce that its Ripjaws SO-DIMM 1.35V high performance DDR3 memory series for laptops & small form factor PCs reached a whopping 2600MHz on ASRock's latest barebone system "M8".

As high end desktops slowly evolve itself into small form factor, G.SKILL spared no time expanding its best-in-class quality & overclocking legacy from desktop memory to SO-DIMM memory, by overclocking its "Ripjaws" 2133MHz C11 8GB(4GBx2) 1.35V memory kit to a whopping 2600MHz under dual channel operation on ASRock M8!

TeamGroup announced the new world record of Super Pi 32M (Air Cooling) on Jan. 22, 2014. Working together with HKEPC OC Lab in Hong Kong, TeamGroup overclocking memory module has achieved new record" 4min 38sec 329ms ", not only placed among the Top 5 world record of Super Pi 32M, but also the only non-extreme cooling record in Top 10 Global Ranking.

Super Pi 32M is the most popular test program for pro overclockers to compare the performance and stability of their computers. It's also one of the main items in HWBOT Global Ranking. By using Gauss-Legendre algorithm, it can accurately calculate π to 232 square roots--the 32M digits after decimal point and need extremely high stability of system memory. Beside the performance of processor, memory module clock and low latency timing are also the keys of computing speed. Shorten the computing time is the target for overclockers around the world to compete.

Breaking news today, ASRock is officially the world's first motherboard manufacturer to support AMD 2400MHz+ AMP (AMD Memory Profile)! To be even more specific, two of ASRock's FM2+ motherboards both FM2A88X Extreme6+ and FM2A88X-ITX+ have passed the tests and obtained "AMP 2400 Ready" logos! Moreover, ASRock proudly announces that all of their FM2+ Series motherboards will soon support the new AMP 2400 standard.

Who would ever think that overclocking the system's memory could become so easy? With AMD's latest AMP 2400 and a couple of memory modules that support these technologies, users may simply choose their own desired memory frequency in ASRock UEFI Utility and lay back to enjoy the results!

Dear God, all I need is an all rounder server motherboard that offers 16x 12G SAS-3 connectors while taking up less space and using less power, a Mezzanine slot for upgrading to 10GLAN plus ECC memory for stability, is that too much to ask for? Not really, because your wish is ASRock Rack's command! ASRock Rack's E3C224D4M-16RE is the world's first 12G SAS-3 server motherboard specifically built to fit our enterprise customers' needs.

ASRock Rack's E3C224D4-16RE adopts LSI SAS 3008 controller + 3X24R expander to support 16 SAS-3 (12Gb/s) ports directly onboard with 4 SAS HD connectors. A whopping total of 22 connectors, including 16 SAS-3 connectors provided by LSI SAS 3008 controller + 3X24R expander and 6 SATA ports, which can offer more than enough storage options! ASRock Rack is a pioneer in introducing the SAS-3 12Gb/s standard to the server marketplace.

Here's the first detailed body-shot of ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX Killer, which was teased by the company earlier today, and which could end up being one of the most feature-rich socket AM3+ motherboards, if the end is neigh for AM3+. Designed for gaming PCs with up to two graphics cards, although it features three long x16 slots, the Fatal1ty 990FX Killer is a full-size ATX motherboard. It's design appears to be more gamer-centric than overclocker-centric. It draws power from 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS connectors, with an optional 4-pin Molex connection to stabilize power to add-on cards; and conditions it for the AM3+ CPU using a 10-phase VRM that's cooled by an heatsink that's independent from that which cools the AMD 990FX northbridge (i.e. no heat-pipe linking the two). The AM3+ CPU socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, which support up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR3-2400 MHz memory; and to the 990FX northbridge over a 5.2 GT/s HyperTransport link.

The AMD 990FX chipset puts out two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots, the third slot is electrical PCI-Express 2.0 x4, and possibly wired to the SB950 southbridge. The southbridge handles five internal SATA 6 Gb/s ports, the sixth port is wired out as eSATA. The Fatal1ty 990FX Killer, as teased this morning, is among the first motherboards to feature an M.2 slot, extended out of a PCI-Express link. PCIe SSDs tend to be faster, as more interface bandwith is on tap. As many as six USB 3.0 ports are on offer, of which one switches between header and internal type-1 port (for those tuck-away software license keys) all of which are driven by third-party controllers. Wired networking is care of a Killer E2200 network controller, that's optimized for gaming. The board features 7.1-channel HD audio, with a high SNR CODEC, PCB ground-layer isolation (to prevent electrical noise), and an EMI shield for the CODEC; which ASRock collectively labels "Purity Sound." The board is driven by AMI UEFI BIOS, with full support for Windows 8 Secure Boot.

While tossing and turning in bed, great minds often stumble upon the same philosophical questions of life. Are you there God? What is love? And what are the definitive attributes that differentiate a gaming motherboard from regular motherboards? Now ASRock elaborates the definition of real gaming motherboards with their new Killer Series - Z87 Killer, B85 Killer, 990FX Killer and FM2A88X+ Killer!

Christmas is right around the corner, and ASRock is ready to celebrate the upcoming merry holidays with new designed Killer Series motherboards! Standing next in line to the former ASRock Fatal1ty Z87 Killer is yet another serious gaming motherboard, which is equipped with Killer E2200 Series LAN, Gaming Armor, Key Master and XSplit, but this time it adopts an Intel B85 chipset - ASRock Fatal1ty B85 Killer!

Amid the heaps of Z87 chipset motherboards which have already been around for a while, there can only be one that rises from the top with its delicacy and perfection. The long wait has ended, here comes the king of all Intel 8 Series motherboards. All hail ASRock Z87 Extreme11/ac, the most high end Z87 motherboard on the face of earth!

Insane Specs: 22 SATA3 (16 SAS-3 12 Gb/s) / 4-Way Multi-GPU / Thunderbolt 2
Using out of the world to describe ASRock's flagship motherboard Z87 Extreme11/ac is actually an understatement. This motherboard boasts a whopping 22 SATA3 ports, including 6 SATA3 ports by Intel Z87 chipset, and another 16 SAS-3 12.0 Gb/s ports from the added LSI SAS 3008 Controller plus 3X24R Expander, which can reach up to an unearthly 6.1 GB/s transfer speed!

Dig the fact that there's probably no way you're ever going to end up dirty rich overnight, not unless you hit the jackpot or discover Davy Jones' treasure. Or maybe what you could try is to mine for the legendary peer-to-peer digital currency bitcoin.

Recently, bitcoin is gaining more and more popularity and value around the globe. A Norwegian man that invested in $27 of bitcoin back in 2009 fluctuated into $886,000 windfall. There's also a new permanent bitcoin ATM installed in Canada. The process of obtaining these digital coins through computing is called "mining", and ASRock is here to assist you to jump in the gold rush immediately with two new motherboards designed for bitcoin mining - H81 Pro BTC and H61 Pro BTC!

Sometimes it's not a matter of what you have, but what you do with it. The ideal situation is when you can do what you want in style. Introducing a new line of iBUYPOWER gaming systems designed with performance, aggressiveness, and an all-around dash of awesome.

Designed by BMW Group Designworks USA and manufactured by Asrock, the new M8 Chassis at iBUYPOWER brings aggressive yet sophisticated design to PC gaming enthusiasts. Best of all, it comes equipped with nearly all necessary parts on tow. Each M8 system built by iBUYPOWER is ready for the CPU, GPU and storage options of your choosing. Everything else is built into the system. This means that quality and consistency are maintained from the factory. Every component is thoroughly tested and validated - all you have to do is determine how fast you want to go!

The world's leading motherboard brand ASRock announced the winner list of FM2 A10 OC COMPETITION with HWBOT, sponsored by AMD, PowerColor, ADATA, and Thermaltake today. CherV, the overclocker from Hong Kong, broke the world record of CPU-Z once again and achieved the highest 3DMark11 Performance with ASRock FM2A88X Extreme6+ and AMD A10-6800K CPU.

The final champion of CPU-Z and 3DMark11 Performance, CherV, achieved an all-time high CPU-Z score of 8520.22 MHz and highest 3DMark11 Performance score of P 3177 with ASRock FM2A88X Extreme6+. With the amazing result, the final champion won the prizes worth over $5,000 USD, bonus prize of $2,000 USD, and extra $2,000 USD for breaking world records in 2 overclocking benchmarks.

Announced early this month, the M8 gaming-craving barebone PC has now become available in the US. Developed by ASRock in collaboration with BMW Group DesignworksUSA, the M8 measures 372 (W) x 123 (H) x 400 (L) mm, it packs a 450 W power supply and is equipped with a Z87-M8 motherboard offering support for 4th gen Intel Core processors, up to 16 GB of RAM, and one dual-slot PCIe graphics card.

ASRock's compact barebone can house a 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch storage drive, one slim optical drive, and includes WiFi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, a 4-in-1 card reader, Gigabit Ethernet, four USB 3.0 and four USB 2.0 ports, plus HDMI and DisplayPort outputs. The M8 is priced at $549.99.

If you're on the hunt for a computer that is not merely capable of running all of the latest hardcore PC games on maximum performance, but also decorated in such sophisticated appearance that it constitutes your right to be a gamer no matter how old you get, then ASRock and BMW Group DesignworksUSA has the perfect answer for you! Gamers beware, the long anticipated Intel 8 Series gaming rig M8 is hitting the markets!

"Our goal was to create desirability and iconic differentiation in a small Gaming-PC," said Sonja Schiefer, Director, Munich Studio, BMW Group DesignworksUSA. "To enhance the perception of pure power we created a design language focused on superlative and a design solution that is very much an exaggerated mode of expression."

The world's leading motherboard brand ASRock announced today its latest overclocking competition with HWBOT "ASRock FM2 A10 OC COMPETITION," which will be separated into two benchmarks: CPU-Z and 3DMark11 Performance. The participants will be competing for the highest CPU-Z and 3DMark11 Performance score submissions to HWBOT.

The contest starts from September 23rd and runs until October 21st, it is open to all overclockers with ASRock FM2 or FM2+ series motherboards and AMD A10 series APUs. The total prize is worth more than USD $10,000 dollars and the final champion of each benchmark will be awarded with a top prize worth $2,800 dollars value. Any entry that breaks the world record will be awarded with an additional USD $1, 000 cash prize. With the grand prize and the sponsorship from AMD, PowerColor, ADATA, and Thermaltake, ASRock FM2 A10 OC COMPETITION will be the most attractive OC event for worldwide overclocking enthusiasts.

Alas! We've all been through this before, through the everlasting pain and beset by the agony of waiting forever and ever. Beneath years of tears and doubt, it takes patience to wait for that special silver lining, and so is the long anticipated AMD FM2+ series. Although the new FM2+ "Kaveri" APUs will not be available until next year, AMD fans can still get the latest ASRock FM2+ motherboards that also support FM2 APUs first right now, and then wait for the upcoming FM2+ APUs, but don't hold your breath.

ASRock's first FM2+ motherboard, FM2A88X Extreme6+ is based on AMD's most high end A88X chipset, and as aforementioned, the socket will support both FM2+ and FM2 APUs. Major improvements for this next generation AMD motherboard includes support for PCIe Gen 3.0 with FM2+ APUs, Quad Monitor from the onboard DVI, D-Sub, HDMI, DisplayPort connectors, Dual channel DDR3 DIMMs that can reach up to 2600+MHz. And then there's also AMD Radeon HD 8000/7000 Series graphics with DX11.1, Japan made premium gold capacitors, Digi Power and 8+2 power phase design.

ASRock unveiled its first socket FM2+ motherboards, ready for the upcoming A-Series "Kaveri" APUs, and backwards-compatible with A-Series "Richland" and "Trinity" ones. Among the most notable of ASRock's FM2+ products are the FM2A88X-Extreme6+ and the FM2A88M-Extreme4+. The former is a feature-rich ATX form-factor offering, while the latter isn't too far behind with its feature-set, albeit in the micro-ATX form-factor. The FM2A88X-Extreme6+ features a 10-phase VRM to power the APU socket, which is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, and two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (electrical x8/x8 when both are populated). A third PCI-Express x16 is electrical gen 2.0 x4, and wired to the A88X FCH. Two each of PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and legacy PCI make for the rest of the expansion.

Storage connectivity on the FM2A88X-Extreme6+ includes seven SATA 6 Gb/s ports, and one eSATA 6 Gb/s. Display connectivity includes dual-link DVI, DisplayPort 1.2, and possibly HDMI 2.0. 8-channel HD audio with optical SPDIF output, gigabit Ethernet, and six USB 3.0 ports. Moving on, the FM2A88M-Extreme4+ features a simpler 6-phase VRM for the APU socket, which is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, and a single PCI-Express 3.0 x16. The other long slot is electrical gen 2.0 x4. One each of PCI-Express 2.0 x1 and legacy PCI make for the rest of its expansion. Display connectivity includes dual-link DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI (2.0?). Four USB 3.0 ports, 8-channel HD audio, and gigabit Ethernet make for the rest of it.