The more competition, the better for us. ASUS intends to take its place among Dell and Alienware, by commencing production of its first high-performance laptop under the Republic of Gamers (ROG) line. Dressed in a stunning aluminum alloy shell finish, the G70S holds two NVIDIA GeForce 8700M GT graphics working in SLI, Intel Core 2 Duo T9500 processor, 2GB DDR2 667MHz memory, two 300GB hard disk drives in RAID 0 or RAID 1, 17-inch widescreen display with 1440x900 resolution, HDMI outputs and Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate OS. Peripheral equipment includes a 2MP web camera, TV tuner, a wireless module with Intel Wireless-N wireless network support and built-in 4-in-1 card reader. More pictures are available at HKEPC.

Although ASUS promised in January that the company is planning to integrate WiMAX technology into its next generation Eee PCs, DigiTimes today reported that this is not going to happen and instead of WiMAX the recently revealed Eee PC 901 will get Bluetooth as standard option.

After two quarters of evaluation, Asustek believes the WiMAX market will not reach maturity in 2008, and has therefore decided to push WiMAX only in its 14.1- to 15.4-inch notebooks, mainly in the US market, noted the sources. Asustek will keep to its original plans to launch WiMAX-based VX2, U6 and V1 notebooks before the end of this year, however, the cancellation of the WiMAX Eee PC is likely to impact the company's original goal of having WiMAX featured in 15% of notebook shipments in 2008.

ASUS has released a new series of VENTO TA-D chassis. Comprised of the TA-D1, TA-D2, TA-D3 and TA-D5 (released in April this year), this series of chassis utilizes a sturdy yet aesthetically pleasing design that incorporates various innovations with considerate design for easy installations. Additionally, the VENTO TA-D Series also provides an advanced ventilation system that maximizes thermal efficiency for key components - especially the CPU and graphics card.

Taiwanese manufacturer ASUS is to embed a lightweight open source version of Linux called "Splashtop" into all its motherboards it was announced recently. On Wednesday, DeviceVM, the company behind the distribution, said the hardware manufacturer would be putting Splashtop - which ASUS calls "Express Gate" - into a million motherboards a month. Splashtop boots from a flash chip on the motherboard before the main OS is loaded and includes a Firefox Internet browser, e-mail client, Skype and the Splashtop desktop. At first the Linux-based software will be available immediately in the new Intel P45 based P5Q Deluxe, P5Q-WS, P5Q3 Deluxe and P5Q-E series motherboards, due to be out by the end of June. After that the Splashtop OS is planned to be integrated into numerous other ASUS motherboards and even some notebooks in the near future. "In response to great user feedback, our plan is to proliferate Express Gate across our entire motherboard product portfolio, starting with over one million motherboards per month," says Joe Hsieh, General Manager, ASUS Motherboard Business Unit. "Consumers want to turn their PCs on and off like any other appliance, and Express Gate has made that possible."

ASUS today issued a statement in regard to the GIGABYTE claims posted here.

It has come to our attention that a certain Taiwanese Motherboard Manufacturer has made false claims against ASUS motherboards. These claims have given rise to false information being communicated in both the mainstream media and technology channels. ASUS wishes to clarify the issues and so avoid any further confusion. After investigation, it is clear that this company in question made use of a sponsored gathering of local and international media to deliberately spread information that we consider both untrue and without credible verification. This "disinformation" is not only extremely damaging to ASUS but also completely misleading to the consumers.

ASUS reserves the right to take legal action against any individual, organization or corporation which creates or spreads such rumors.

Last week the long-awaited Eee PC 900 has finally hit retail stores. Now, one week later we'll talk about the new upgraded Eee PC 901 model that's rumoured to be the first Atom-based Eee machine. It might look like a regular shiny-white Eee PC 900, but if you take a closer look you'll find some subtle design changes. If we assume that the pictures posted by the French site blogeee.net are accurate, the Eee 901 will be sleeker and more stylish than the original. The noteworthy changes include a redesigned trackpad, the missing ASUS logo and the changed power button position. The computer is expected to be showcased at the Computex 2008 exhibition next month, where Intel is also expected to roll out its Atom CPUs.

I will finish my day reporting a story published by Tom's Hardware that involves two big motherboard manufacturers - GIGABYTE and ASUS. According to GIGABYTE's technical team, ASUS is lying about its EPU (Energy Processing Unit) energy efficiency performance figures and is playing tricks with its users. ASUS claims that EPU outfitted motherboards can deliver up to 80.23% "power savings" from motherboards without EPU components. Yea, but that's not what GIGABYTE thinks. Test results from GIGABYTE's lab show that the claimed 80% energy efficiency is around 58.6% in reality, and ASUS is "playing numbers marketing" and "cheating end users." GIGABYTE engineers continued: "We found that [Asus'] EPU in 4 phase mode CAN NOT act PWM phase changing while Asus still claims EPU is a hardware based energy saving chip. Don't get fooled. The EPU (AIGear3+) is pure software based, not hardware!" "How can you believe it? Everything [Asus] say are lies," they added. GIGABYTE even pointed out that ASUS motherboards use poor quality non-Japanese solid capacitors. Read the full story here.

ASUSTeK's latest low-cost ultraportable laptop Eee PC 900 is now in stock at major US etailers such as Buy.com ($565.99) and ZipZoomfly ($599.99). ZipZoomfly offers the second gen Eee laptop with a 8.9-inch 1024x600 display, Intel's Celeron M 430 processor at 1.7GHz, a 12GB solid state drive, 1GB of RAM (DDR2-400), built-in 1.3MP web camera and Windows XP Home OS. The second etailer Buy.com offers the same laptop with the only difference being the Linux OS and the 20GB of SSD storage (4GB built-in + 16GB Flash based) for $565.99. All current laptops are model EEEPC900-W017 and come in white color only.

In order to cater to the safety and security of consumers, ASUS, leading producer of motherboards worldwide, has announced key motherboard innovations to provide users with the ultimate in safety and data security. Available on the P5Q series and other top-notch motherboards, these innovations include ESD and Overcurrent Protection for safeguarding users against electrostatic discharges and overcurrent; as well as the ASUS Data Guardian (TPM) and Drive Xpert for data security and backup. With these features, users will be able to enjoy a full range of protection during everyday computing.

Exclusive shots from the latest ASUS R.O.G. Maximus II Formula (Intel P45) with integrated SupremeFX Creative X-Fi sound card. Let the pictures speak for themselves.

Not long ago ASUS demonstrated a concept card called Trinity which had three RV670 GPUS mounted through two daughter boards. Today ASUS is taking this concept a step further with the introduction of the ASUS Splendid MA3850M modulized card that is assumed to be more than a museum piece. The Splendid MA3850M has a modular structure with single ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3850 GPU loaded on a ASUS Splendid HD PCI-Express daughter card that is 27% shorter than an average PCI-E graphics card. Moreover, the card supports ATI's proprietary PowerPlay technology, and ASUSTeK's Splendid HD processor that enhances image and video quality without increasing CPU load. Clocked at 668MHz/1.65GHz core/memory clocks and fueled by 512MB DDR3 and 256-bit memory interface the card will perform on par with other generic HD 3850 video cards. The manufacturer did not announce availability or pricing for this new graphics product, but you can find a little bit more info here.

The guys over at NordicHardware have posted a quick review of the ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe motherboard which you might consider interesting. Based on the still unreleased Intel P45 chipset, ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe is the top version of ASUS' future line-up that will include motherboards like P5Q-E, P5QC, P5Q PRO and P5Q. Start reading the full review here.

Today we have one of the first functional P45 motherboards in the world. We took it into the lab and ran some tests to see how it stands up to the predecessors, and what makes it worthy of the Deluxe suffix. Beside the raw benchmarks, we've also done some quick overclocking tests and take a peek at ASUS' new Memory OC Charge technology.

ASUS apologized in public today in connection with recent reports that the company had mislead customers and early reviewers. Several consumers in Hong Kong who purchased Eee PC 900 on the first day of its launch have complained that the battery that came with their systems is a 4-cell, 4400mAh model, not the 4-cell, 5800mAh and 4-cell, 5200mAh batteries that were reported by early reviews. ASUS explained that the bigger batteries were provided to the media for testing by mistake, while the 4400mAh model is the standard that should ship with Eee PC 900. ASUS plans to introduce a 5800mAh upgrade part in the near future. All unsatisifed users will be offered an free update from ASUS. The company is currently ecaluating a replacement program, details of which it will introduce soon.

In a brief conversation Helen Ling, an ASUS representative from the company's UK office, told TechRadar that Intel Atom based Eee PC systems are also going to debut soon. When asked about the arrival of Intel Atom inside the Eee PC she said that the new machine will arrive by the "end of June in [the] UK, I would have thought." Later in the session Ling also added: "I think it should be after Computex". Atom will debut during the 28th Taipei International Information Technology Show (Computex 2008) which will run from June 3 to June 7, 2008. Current ASUS Eee PC 900 low-cost laptops are still powered by a Celeron M processor.

Ready to receive HD in all its full glory is the new ASUS M70 notebook that provides a WUXGA widescreen with 1920x1200 pixels resolution and Blu-Ray support. Combined with cutting-edge audio technologies including built-in Altec Lansing Speakers and Dolby Home Theater, the M70 is supremely suited as a digital entertainment and productivity tool. In addition to the all-rounded AV features, the M70 is the world's first notebook to offer an ample storage of 1TB (2x 500GB) that can store up to 285,000 digital photos, 25,000 songs or 120 hours of HD movies! For unparalleled high definition enjoyment, the M70 is the one and only entertainment notebook choice that is big on visual, audio and storage!

Riding on the successful design of the Hassle-Free DIY CPU cooler series, the Triton 70 and Triton 75, ASUS brings worldwide enthusiasts to a brand new dimension of cooling with its new member of Triton family - the Triton 85. This exquisitely designed CPU Cooler takes the innovative features of Triton Series - the high-density fins, dynamic fan speed control and pure copper heat pipes, and improves on them to bring about the quietest and most powerful performance. Compared to box coolers, the Triton 85 exhibits only a mere 16 dBA during operations, and is still able to enhance 35% cooling performance! Additionally, it is also aesthetically pleasing with a painted shining silver coating - bringing about a brand new style that fulfills gamers' requirements.

Amid the buzz of reaching a new milestone of 1 million Eee PCs sold in just 5 months after its launch, ASUS has provided yet another round of excitement with its release of the new Eee PC 900. This new generation of the ever popular PC packs in a whole range of hardware that includes a 8.9 inch widescreen, a 1.3M pixels webcam, the new innovative FingerGlide and 12GB and 20GB storage capacities for Windows and Linux platforms respectively - catering to wider consumer needs while still maintaining the "Easy to learn, work and play" concept by keeping the overall weight under 1kg.

ASUS today released the ASUS EN9600GT SILENT/HTDI/512M graphics card. Incorporating our latest thermal solution - the V-Cool Heatsink, which features the V-Engine concept and Intercooler technology, the EN9600GT SILENT is the perfect solution for users who want a quiet system that doesn't compromise performance. This exclusive innovation guarantees an absolutely quiet operating environment, and an efficient means of heat dissipation, resulting in extraordinarily stable performance. The unique design of the V-Cool Heatsink will lower GPU temperatures by 10ºC in comparison to reference designed boards; while the integrated SmartDoctor feature provides users with the option to overclock the Shader Clock for even better graphical performance.

ASUS, producer of top quality graphic solutions, has today unveiled the world's first on-board triple GPU solution with the concept model ASUS EAH3850 TRINITY/3DHTI/1.5G graphics card. With three RV670PRO GPUs onboard, users can enjoy an astonishing 139% improvement in speeds when compared to single-GPU solutions. Additionally, the EAH3850 TRINITY is equipped with a MXM module for upgrade possibilities and two exclusive extra DVI outputs. It also features a specially designed water cooling solution - ensuring efficient heat dissipation for stable performance. On top of all this, the ASUS EAH3850 TRINITY is equipped with a world-exclusive large onboard memory size of 1.5GB - designed to provide feature-rich DirectX 10 gaming and the best multimedia playback at ultra-high resolutions and maximum quality settings.

Overclockers Kinc and Elmor from NordicHardware, have managed to break the 3DMark06 world record this weekend using two of ATI's latest dual GPU video cards. With Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 (C1 stepping) @ 5.719GHz (439.9x13), ASUS P5E64 WS Pro motherboard, 2x ASUS EAH3870X2 TOP overclocked to 990MHz/1125MHz core/memory and Windows Vista OS they were able to reach 32,601 3DMark. The cooling used for the CPU was liquid nitrogen (LN2) while both graphics cards were air cooled.

Taiwan's ASUSTeK Computer Inc. said on Monday that it had filed a patent infringement suit against International Business Machines Corp (IBM) in a US court earlier this month.

We sued IBM for its infringing two of our patents related to storage on the Internet and server technology,

said an ASUSTeK spokesman who declined to give more details. ASUSTeK's move is part of a legal battle that first started on December 7th, when IBM filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission against ASUSTeK and its North American subsidiary ASUS Computer International. Back then IBM said the infringing products include notebook computers, servers, routers and some components. It said the patents cover important aspects of computer systems, including power supplies, computer cooling and computer clustering capabilities. IBM sought import restrictions on some ASUSTeK computer products and components.

ASUS' Windows XP preinstalled Eee PC has now become available on Best Buy, two days before the previous April 9th shipping date. Dubbed EEEPC4G-BK010X, and coming with two color options - Black or White (available only online), the Windows XP Eee PC have a price tag of $399.99, identical to that of the Linux Eee 4G version. Specs of EEEPC4G-BK010X are as follows: Intel Celeron M processor 900MHz, 512MB DDR2, 7" WVGA TFT-LCD widescreen display (800x480 resolution), Intel UMA graphics with up to 64MB shared video memory, 4GB SSD, built-in Web cam and microphone, and Windows XP Home Edition preinstalled.

For users who require extreme graphical support and robust performance, ASUS is launching the new ASUS Crosshair II Formula Motherboard. This powerful motherboard includes innovative technologies like CPU Level Up, Hybrid SLI and 3-Way SLI for the best performance and graphical support. It is also ready for AMD Socket AM2+ Phenom FX / Phenom X4 / Phenom X2 / Athlon X2 / Sempron and legacy AM2 processors; and features up to 5200 MT/s via HyperTransport 3.0-based system bus speeds for AM2+ CPUs.

Yet another world's first from ASUS, the EAH3650 SILENT/HTDI/1G graphics card model with 1GB graphics memory. This powerful graphics card features the latest generation of ATI GPUs; and with an unparalleled large onboard memory size, is designed to provide feature-rich DirectX 10.1 gaming and the best multimedia playback at ultra-high resolutions and maximum quality settings. Additionally, it natively supports HDMI and is equipped with a noiseless cooling solution - allowing home theater lovers to enjoy enhanced and convenient home multimedia to the fullest.

ASUS today also unveiled the world's first on-board dual HD3850 graphics card with the ASUS EAH3850X2/HTDI/1G. Equipped with two HD3850 GPUs, an astonishing 34% and 5% improvement in speeds can be achieved when compared to single-GPU solutions and two single-GPU Crossfire configured graphics cards respectively. The EAH3850X2/HTDI/1G also comes specially designed with dual fansinks for both GPUs - ensuring efficient heat dissipation for more stable operations. On top of all this, the ASUS EAH3850X2/HTDI/1G is equipped with a large onboard memory size of 1GB - designed to provide feature-rich DirectX 10 gaming and the best multimedia playback without any lagging at ultra-high resolutions and maximum quality settings.