ASUS servers have proven their capabilities as part of the MOGON supercomputer project, which was co-developed by ASUS and Megware for Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and ranked 81 on the prestigious TOP500 supercomputer list in June 2012. ASUS now presents one of the world's first servers to support the Intel Xeon Phi 5110P coprocessor and NVIDIA next-gen Kepler-based Tesla K20/K20X GPUs, unveiled at the 2012 Supercomputing Conference, held November 10-16 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The ASUS ESC4000 G2 Series provides up to 4TFLOPS peak computing power, delivering extreme hybrid performance as demanded by HPC customers. ASUS also offers ESC2000 G2 and ESC1000 G2 Series servers and workstations with ASUS SSD technology that accelerates storage by up to three times in workstation-related tasks.

Not yet announced by AMD, the Radeon HD 8000 family of graphics cards has already started to creep up courtesy of several e-tail stores who jumped the gun and put up for pre-order an ultrabook (the ASUS VivoBook U38DT-R3001H) equipped with a Radeon HD 8550M. Unfortunately the listings are short on details and only mention that the Radeon HD 8550M (which hopefully isn't a rebranded 7 series card) has 1 GB of memory.

In addition to the HD 8550M, ASUS' 1.6 kg ultrabook packs a 13.3-inch (1366 x 768) LED-backlit display, a 1.6 GHz A8-4555M processor, 4 GB of RAM, a 500 GB hard drive, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, B&O ICEPower audio, an SD card reader, three USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI output, and a 6-cell battery providing up to 5 hours of operation. The VivoBook U38DT-R3001H runs Windows 8 and is priced at €799.

ASUS' EeeBox line of compact PCs will soon be expanding thru the release of two new models, the EB1035 and EB1505. Both models come with Windows 8 pre-installed and feature a 1.1 GHz Celeron 847 processor, 2/4 GB of RAM, up to a 500 GB hard drive (the EB1035 also includes a 32 GB SSD), Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, a 4-in-1 card reader, two USB 3.0 and four USB 2.0 ports, plus D-Sub and HDMI outputs.

The EB1505 also packs a slim optical drive (DVD writer or Blu-ray combo drive) and measures 193 x 39 x 193 mm, while the ODD-less EB1035 is 219 by 29 by 172.5 mm. No word on pricing.

ASUS extended its Assassin's Creed III game bundle to include GeForce GTX 670 DirectCu II 4 GB (model: GTX670-DC2G-4GD5) and GeForce GTX 660 DirectCu II 2GB (model: GTX660-DC2TG-2GD5). The two dual-slot DirectCu II cooler-equipped graphics cards ship with coupons for the game that can be redeemed on Steam. The GTX670-DC2G-4GD5 packs 4 GB of memory, 915/980/6008 MHz clock speeds (core/boost/memory), while the GTX660-DC2TG-2GD5 ships with 2 GB of memory, and factory-overclocked 1072/1137/6108 MHz clock speeds.

ASUS, a global leader in the new digital era, today announces VivoTab, a thin and light tablet featuring Windows 8. With an MSRP starting from US$799, VivoTab has an 11.6" multi-touch HD display, Wacom digitizer stylus and Intel Atom dual-core processor for an excellent combination of performance and energy efficiency. Its optional Mobile Dock offers increased productivity too, thanks to its full keyboard and a built-in battery that gives up to 19 hours' mobile use.

ASUS VivoTab has a 1.8GHz Intel Atom Z2760 dual-core processor with enhanced performance and incredible energy efficiency allowing Windows 8 to run both, the latest software and legacy applications, giving users a wide choice of software for every need. VivoTab's 11.6" multi-touch display has a pin-sharp 1366 x 768 HD resolution with vibrant colors, wide viewing angles and superior outdoor visibility, thanks to the amazing brightness of its Super IPS+ technology. ASUS TruVivid technology enhances image clarity still further by reducing the display thickness, while scratch-resistant Corning Fit glass with anti-fingerprint coating keeps the screen crystal-clear.

Integrating new AMD Opteron 6300 processors, a full range of ASUS servers and server boards offers greater flexibility with five expansion slots and extreme computing power via support for up to four CPUs and two GPUs in select models (RS920A-E6/RS8, RS924A-E6/RS8 servers) to accommodate the needs of data center, enterprise and HPC applications. The dedicated BIOS developed by ASUS to make the most of the new processors is now available at the official ASUS support site.

RS920A-E6/RS8 and RS924A-E6/RS8 servers have been designed with a 4-way layout that supports up to four AMD Opteron 6300 processors on a single board, delivering extreme computing power and enhanced scalability. With each Opteron 6300 processor utilizing 16 cores, the new ASUS servers can sustain up to 64 cores as well as a maximum 512GB memory. They ship with four PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots plus one dedicated slot for an ASUS PIKE RAID card. This layout offers more flexible system setup and upgrade options, with an internal design that allows for up to twin double-deck graphics cards. The combined CPU/GPU power on offer creates high-output hybrid computing that matches the processing-intensive demands of HPC and data center applications.

ASUS PL-X51P and PL-X52P powerline adapters enter the market as part of a new trend that makes use of prevalent power plugs to offer easy-setup networking that covers entire homes and offices. Doubling the utility of electrical outlets without creating additional clutter, they offer high speed 500 Mbps data rates, four Gigabit LAN ports, VIP bandwidth prioritization, and a smart energy-saving standby mode.

With their extra-outlet noise filtering design, the compact PL-X51P and PL-X52P deliver on the promise of uncompromising powerline connectivity, giving customers access to wider coverage with no additional infrastructure. The PL-X51 includes one powerline adapter, while the PL-X52P ships as a two-adapter bundle.

ASUS slipped in a new high end GeForce GTX 680 graphics card, the GTX680-DC2-4GD5, which features a dual-slot DirectCU II cooler, and 4 GB of memory. The company's DirectCU series lineup for the GTX 680, till date, only included triple-slot cooling solutions. The dual-slot cooler has been extensively used by ASUS on several performance-segment GPUs. The card ships with NVIDIA-reference clock speeds of 1006 MHz base, 1058 MHz GPU Boost, and 6008 MHz (GDDR5-effective) memory. The card features memory chips on either sides of the PCB, and so an aluminum back-plate comes pre-installed. Expect the card to be priced around US $520. A variant called GTX680-DC2G-4GD5 is available, which packs a game bundle that includes Assassin's Creed III, I Am Alive, R.U.S.E, Splinter Cell: Conviction, and Rainbow Six Vegas 2. Its price is unknown.

ASUSTOR Inc., a leading innovator and provider of network storage solutions, has announced the launch of its all new AS 6 Series Network Attached Storage (NAS). The AS 6 Series NAS devices come in two, four, six and eight-bay models and feature System Sleep Mode (S3) along with near instantaneous wake up times. Equipped with the Intel Atom 2.13 GHz dual-core processor and 1GB RAM (expandable), the 6 Series combines supercharged performance with low power consumption. Intel technology also makes it possible for the devices to boast HDMI outputs which allows for the playing of HD video and multimedia directly to HDMI ready displays.

"In the last ten years we have seen exponential growth in the amount of digital assets worldwide. Properly securing and managing these assets has become a big issue," said Shawn Shu, President at ASUSTOR. "At ASUSTOR we truly understand how to secure our customers' most valued digital assets while providing dynamic new ways for them to interact with and access these assets."

ASUS, a global leader in the new digital era, today announces the launch of the MX279H and MX239H displays. These 27" and 23" displays feature a frameless design with a 178° wide-view angle Advanced-High Performance In-Plane Switching (AH-IPS) panel that provides stunning visuals while Bang & Olufsen ICEpower-derived dual 3 W stereo speakers along with ASUS SonicMaster technology provide a soundtrack to match. These simple but elegant displays provide an immersive home theater experience.

A simple, elegant, and stylish design
The ASUS Designo MX Series displays sport ultra-slim profiles - with the MX239H measuring just 14.5mm at its thinnest point; while the larger MX279H comes in at 17.5 mm - thereby minimizing the desk space required. In addition, the MX Series' edge-to-edge, frameless design has a bezel thickness of only 0.8 mm. This simple but elegant design is further accentuated by a sundial-inspired stand which provides a sturdy base to rest on. The MX Series' design also has garnered accolades at the 2012 Good Design Awards.

ASUS ROG Orion PRO and Orion full-size gaming headsets are designed to provide gaming enthusiasts with the finest audio immersion and positioning needed in any game and at any location. After extensive research and development and taking customer feedback into account, the ROG team concluded that user comfort is key when it comes to gaming headsets. As such, ROG Orion PRO and Orion possess 100 mm over-ear cushions for greater comfort, and bring immersive audio with large 50 mm neodymium drivers.

Gaming comfort with superb audio performance

Following a prolonged trial period aimed at finding the perfect fit, ROG designers chose large 100 mm over-ear cushions covered in highly-breathable quality leather treatment. They fit snugly on heads to generate greater user comfort over extended gaming sessions while eliminating ear fatigue. Large 50 mm neodymium drivers on both Orion PRO and Orion have been meticulously fine-tuned to provide dynamic audio positioning, while the larger ear cups afford passive noise cancellation that isolates up to 30dB of high frequency ambient sounds such as environmental noise and human voice. This high degree of noise elimination makes busy LAN parties virtually library-quiet, allowing gamers better focus.

The ROG GX1000 laser gaming mouse ships with high precision sensors capable of up to 8200 dpi and PTFE feet for effortless surface grip, giving gamers instant-response capabilities with every move. Its ergonomic design further offers optimal hand comfort to eliminate fatigue and increase accuracy even after long hours of gaming. Quick-access customizable dpi switching and indication plus six programmable macros cater to games of all genres, and the trademark ROG logo emblazoned on the mouse maintains stylish consistency with other ROG products. The GX1000 truly showcases those who wield it as belonging to an elite group of gamers.

In late-2011, ASUS set itself a target of shipping 25 million PC motherboards in the following year. Contributing to its optimism were three new platform launches - Intel Core "Ivy Bridge" (7-series chipset), AMD "Trinity" (socket FM2), and AMD Vishera; and Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system, prompting PC upgrades. Falling demand in US and Europe, and weaker-than-expected shipment growth in China forced ASUS to trim its 2012 target down from 25 million to 22.2 million. In 2011, the company shipped 23.2 million motherboards.

In the first three quarters, ASUS shipped 16.7 million motherboards, and expects to ship no more than 5.5 million; down 5% sequentially, and flat year-over-year. The company faced severe competition from Gigabyte, which shipped 14 million motherboards in the three quarters thus far, and expects to ship 4.5 million in Q4, totaling 18.5 million for the year. The third biggest motherboard vendor, ASRock, is astray from its 2012 goal of 9 million shipments, and is hoping for a more conservative 7 million units target for 2012.

Thanks to successful product lines, ASUS posts record Q3 2012 profits of $230 million, a 43 percent jump from last year's $160 million. The Q3 results posted by the company are its best in the last four years. The company owes its quarterly success to association with Google in making the Nexus 7 tablet, its own Transformer Prime TF01 convertible tablet-netbook, and a vast portfolio of notebooks covering all market segments, including Ultrabook. The company looks forward to and equally good Q4.

ASUS has today announced the European release of its first VX Series monitors, the 23-inch VX238T and VX238H. Both models come in a sleek and slim (2.1 cm) chassis and feature LED backlighting, a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, 250 cd/m2 brightness, a dynamic contrast ratio of 80,000,000:1, two built-in 1.5 W speakers, and the Splendid Video Intelligence Technology which optimizes video performance and image fidelity by enhancing color, brightness, contrast, and sharpness.

The VX238T costs €179 and has a 5 ms response time, plus D-Sub and DVI inputs, while the VX238H, which goes for €189, boasts a 1 ms (GtG) response time, and D-Sub and dual HDMI connectors. The displays are backed by a three-year warranty.

MediaTek Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia, today announced that its MT7620 Wi-Fi System-on-a-Chip (SoC) has been selected for the new ASUS RT-N14U N300 wireless router, debuting globally this quarter.

The MT7620 is the latest addition to MediaTek's family of highly integrated, single-chip Wi-Fi SoC products, currently being deployed by many wireless router and repeater makers worldwide. It incorporates advanced signaling technologies, giving device manufacturers robust tools to develop best-in-class energy-saving wireless routers, with particular benefit when connected to battery-powered devices such as smartphones, notebooks, and tablets.

Welcoming the busiest time of the year for gamers, ASUS ROG is proud to offer buyers of participating products a bonus game in collaboration with Ubisoft. Select ROG motherboards, desktops, audio cards, and headsets are taking part in the promotion, as well as specific ASUS graphics cards. All deliver the best gaming hardware in their respective segments, driven by exclusive innovation and careful attention to the needs of gamers. As the leading makers of performance PC gaming hardware, ROG and ASUS offer superior products now made even better with attractive bonus games from one of the largest video game publishers.
World's leading gaming gear now bundled with best-selling and innovative games

The exclusive campaign adds further incentive to invest in the best. Participating products include select ROG motherboards, desktops, audio cards, and headsets, plus several ASUS graphics cards. All bear the ROG and ASUS passion for top-echelon performance, aggressive design, and gamer-focused features. Customers receive an exclusive Ubisoft digital game download code, which can be used at the ASUS UBIShop promotion page to redeem one of the five games specified in this press release. The promotion and its dedicated page will go live October 31, 2012.

As the online karaoke and recording phenomenon continues to gain traction, demand has emerged for dedicated hardware that enables pro-level singing and recording via PC at home. The ASUS Xonar D-KARA karaoke audio card (PCI interface) presents professional effects and recording capabilities, designed by Xonar and music industry engineers. It supports simplified pre-set recording and extra-detailed input, with strong hardware that ensures optimized voice syncing and ultra-vivid 106dB SNR.

D-KARA helps customers enjoy social singing, recording, editing, and sharing of vocal performances, consolidating features under the user-friendly Xonar Audio Center.

To serve home and office users who need wider wireless coverage, the ASUS RT-N12HP high-power wireless-N300 router employs detachable 9dBi antennas and a unique hardware signal power amplifier. It extends Wi-Fi range by up to 300%, at the same time offering 3-in-1 utility as a router, access point, and range extender. The user-friendly interface also supports up to four separate networks, with different bandwidth and access privileges.

High-power technology generates up to 300% wider wireless coverage
The RT-N12HP utilizes a custom hardware architecture that augments wireless transmission and signal quality with detachable 9dBi high-gain antennas and a discrete signal power amplifier. These create a major increase in 802.11n wireless coverage, up to 300% longer-range compared to standard N300 routers. At the same time, the improved hardware ensures a more stable and consistent signal. The RT-N12HP is therefore a highly viable choice for homes and small businesses that want complete coverage via a single networking device.

MarketResearch.com has announced the addition of "Ultrabooks Market to 2016 -- Financial and Technological Support from Intel Corporation Coupled with Demand from Business Users Segment Will Drive Growth," to their collection of market reports.

GBI Research's new report, "Ultrabooks Market to 2016 -- Financial and Technological Support from Intel Corporation Coupled with Demand from Business Users Segment Will Drive Growth," provides key information and analysis on the Ultrabooks market. The Ultrabook is defined by Intel as being any notebook using Intel processors and meeting certain chip manufacturer specifications. However, in general the term is being used for notebooks that are lightweight (less than four pounds), ultra-thin (less than 2.1cm thick) and have screen sizes varying from 13 to 15 inches. GBI Research expects the global Ultrabooks market to reach $75.8 billion in revenue in 2016, from just $1.3 billion in 2011, growing at a CAGR of 69.2% during 2012-2016.

AMD today announced its collaboration with Microsoft Corp. for more than 125 Windows 8-based PC designs from leading OEMs including ASUS, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and more. With a hardware accelerated user interface, Microsoft and AMD have collaborated to design Windows 8 to unlock the high performance graphics capabilities found in AMD accelerated processing units (APUs) and discrete AMD Radeon graphics processing units (GPUs) to deliver the best HD video, gaming and app experience consumers want with the always on, always connected, touch-driven interface with great battery life they need.

"There is a lot of exciting innovation happening in the marketplace today -- from the new Windows 8 graphics-accelerated user interface and apps, to ultraportable and sleek hardware designs -- and AMD's CPU, GPU and APU technology designed for Windows 8 helps enable a no-compromise solution," said Stefan Kinnestrand, director of Product Management, Windows Division at Microsoft.

The ASUS ROG G46VW finally brings genuine game-driving power to the compact and portable 14" segment. Endowed with every advantage offered by other ROG gaming notebooks, it embeds 3rd generation Intel Core i7 processors, discrete NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M graphics, NVIDIA Optimus technology for long battery life, and extra-fast data transfers with Intel Thunderbolt. Advanced ROG engineering achieves unmitigated performance in a very transportable and light product. The G46VW keeps the powerful rear-venting dual-exhaust thermal design of fellow G Series notebooks, running cool and quiet. It offers gamers superior comfort and input ergonomics, maintaining renowned eye-catching G Series aesthetics. For customers who demand true mobility without having to forego performance gaming, the G46VW presents an ideal proposition.

SanDisk Corporation, a global leader in flash memory storage solutions, today announced that the company is providing the solid state drive (SSD) for the new ASUS TAICHI Ultrabook, introduced today by ASUS. Running on the Windows 8 operating system, the unique ASUS TAICHI is an ultrabook that features a tablet on the outside of the laptop lid, allowing users to quickly and easily transition from a tablet to notebook functionality, or operate both simultaneously, for superior mobile computing versatility.

With fast, reliable storage provided by a customized SanDisk X100 SSD, a high-performance stand-alone SSD model, the sleek and powerful ASUS TAICHI features a full notebook experience for consumers or business users, as well as the convenience of a tablet with stylus support, all in one device. The SanDisk X100 SSD used in the ASUS TAICHI (available in both 256GB and 128GB1 capacities) enables the ultrabook to boot up quickly and provides incredibly responsive, small form factor storage. With the ASUS TAICHI, both the tablet and notebook screens can be used at the same time, each featuring different content and applications. This enables the device to be easily shared by family, friends or co-workers simultaneously. While offering both notebook and tablet capability, the ASUS TAICHI is surprisingly thin and lightweight, due in large part to the compact form factor of the SanDisk X100. The customized SanDisk SSD also enhances application performance in the ASUS TAICHI and includes thermal control features to help protect the device from overheating, even when both the tablet and notebook capabilities are being operated at once.

ASUS unveiled the Zenbook UX42VS, UX52VS and U500VZ. This launch marks the first 14- and 15-inch models in a series that consists of ASUS' flagship Ultrabook products. The UX42VS features a 14-inch 1366 x 768 pixels screen, it tips the scales at 1.9 kg, and features a wedge-shaped chassis that is as just 6 mm thick at its thinnest point. It is driven by Intel Core i3/i5/i7 processor (options), with 6 GB of memory, GeForce GT 645M graphics, and 1 TB of SSD-accelerated HDD storage.

The Zenbook UX52VS and U500VZ feature 15-inch screens. The UX52VS (pictured below), features Core i5/i7 ULV processor options, 10 GB of memory, GeForce GT 645M graphics, and SSD-accelerated 1 TB HDD. The U500VZ is an anomaly in this lineup, as it features mainstream quad-core Core i7 processor, 8 GB memory, 1080p display resolution, GeForce GT 650M graphics. Despite the kind of hardware it packs, it weighs just 2 kg, and retains the wedge-shaped chassis that's as low as 6 mm-thick.

ASUS also unveiled the 15-inch VivoBook S500 compact touch-enabled Windows 8 notebook, which joins the X202 or C200, and S400. A physical upscale of the 14-inch S400, the S500 starts at US $649.99, armed with Core i5 and Core i7 processor options, 4 to 16 GB memory options, integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics, and 500 GB HDD storage that's cached by a 24 GB SSD. In addition to WiFi b/g/n, gigabit Ethernet, 1.3 MP web-camera, and Bluetooth, the S500 features USB 3.0 ports and HDMI display output. It features a compact wedge-shaped body that resembles (although not compliant of) the Ultrabook specification.