ASUS is excited to announce the world's first motherboard certified by Intel with Thunderbolt 2 technology, the Z87-Deluxe/Quad. Based on the new Intel Z87 chipset and ready for the latest 4th generation Intel Core processors, the ASUS Z87-Deluxe/Quad ATX motherboard has two Thunderbolt 2 ports which allow for up to 12 simultaneously connected devices. Each port is capable of up to a 20Gbit/s transfer rate and is backward compatible with first generation Thunderbolt.

"Z87-Deluxe/Quad has been subjected to a tremendous amount of compatibility, BIOS, as well as video/audio and other tests to verify its quality and design," said Joe Hsieh, ASUS Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the Motherboard and Desktop System Business Unit. "Being the world's first certified motherboard for Thunderbolt 2 technology also means setting the standard for all of the upcoming products, which is something that ASUS has always done."

ASUS today announced the ET2301, an all-in-one desktop PC that's perfect for the varied needs of today's home users, thanks to a 23-inch Full HD display that can be positioned at almost any angle for comfortable 10-point multi-touch control. Powered by a 4th generation Intel Core desktop processor, the ET2301 AiO PC features IPS display technology for brilliant colors and wide viewing angles, ASUS SonicMaster Premium technology with a powerful array speaker and desktop Intel Thunderbolt connectivity.

Known more for its server and workstation motherboards; and rackmount server chassis; Supermicro dipped its toes into consumer (DIY) motherboards, announcing the C7Z87-OCE, a socket LGA1150 motherboard based on the Intel Z87 Express chipset. Built in the standard ATX form-factor, this board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, and 8-pin EPS connectors. It features a rather bland blue PCB, with seemingly basic heatsinks over the chipset and CPU VRM. In reality, the 22 nm-built Z87 Express PCH, with a 4.1W TDP can make do with a heatsink like that. The one on the VRM, on the other hand, is suspect. It appears to use a 6-phase digital PWM circuitry with driver-MOSFETs.

The LGA1150 socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, and three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (x16/NC/NC, x8/x8/NC, x8/x4/x4). A trio of close-ended PCI-Express 2.0 x4 find room in between them. The board offers a total of eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports, six from the Z87 PCH, two from a third-party controller. Also on offer, are eight USB 3.0 ports, four on the rear panel, four by headers. The board offers 8-channel HD audio with optical SPDIF output, a pair of gigabit Ethernet interfaces, Thunderbolt (which doubles up as mini-DisplayPort), dual-link DVI and D-Sub display outputs. Although driven by AMI Aptio UEFI BIOS, it features a classic keyboard-driven setup program UI. The company didn't release pricing. Find a complete review at the source.

Intel issued a product change notification (PCN), marked 112432-00, which attempts to improve the reliability of the system under heavy wireless network stress. A design flaw in Intel's reference NUC boxes equipped with wireless LAN and Thunderbolt came to light late last year, when a reviewer at TechReport discovered that when under stress, the mPCIe WLAN card can overheat, causing the neighboring mSATA SSD to malfunction. In its latest PCN, Intel included a 9.5 mm-thick flexible thermal pad on the top panel, which draws heat from the SSD, and conducts it to the chassis.

NEC Display Solutions of America, a leading provider of commercial LCD display and projector solutions, announced today the 24-inch MultiSync PA242W-BK color accurate display and color critical PA242W-BK-SV display solution with SpectraViewII calibration software and sensor. The PA242W display is built on a GB-R LED backlight, which provides a wider color gamut and more color control than a conventional white LED backlight.

Suitable for applications where accurate color is necessary such as photography, retouching, video editing and pre-press, the MultiSync PA242W monitor offers a robust design with a fully ergonomic stand for added comfort during use. It also features a 1920 x 1200 resolution and 10-bit wide color gamut LCD panel that provides the accurate, vibrant colors that professionals require.

Eurocom is currently shipping the fastest Haswell based 4th gen Intel Core i7 powered notebook with dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M graphics. The EUROCOM Scorpius 2.0 is a ultra high performance, VGA upgradeable laptop computer designed to offer the utmost in performance and capability. The Scorpius 2.0 is a fully customizable and upgradeable 17.3" Laptop with the newest and best available components to offer our customers the absolute best in no compromise performance.

Featuring dual graphics technology including dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M graphics cards offer EUROCOM Scorpius 2.0 users up to 8 GB DDR5 video memory, 3072 CUDA cores, 256 TMUs and 64 ROPs. The addition of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M, the highest performance mobile solution from NVIDIA, gives Eurocom customers a superior choice of graphics processor to configure into their new Scorpius, which already consists of AMD Radeon, NVIDIA GeForce and NVIDIA Quadro graphics to give Eurocom customers the exact graphics configuration to fit their specific application.

During the Worldwide Developer Convention (WWDC) this Monday, Apple presented its radically redesigned Mac Pro which represents a complete and long overdue departure from the shapes, sizes and general design language of its workstations. Personally I can not decide which is the most striking visual aspect of the new Mac Pro, the truly tiny size of this multi-GPU powerhouse, or its curiously cylindrical shape. Alas, my true curiosity lies with the cooling solutions employed by the designers to address the inevitable heat issues associated with densely packing such potent hardware. The monolithic appearance of the Mac Pro is interrupted only by a cutout in the cover that allows access to the back panel, where the entire I/O interface is located. Apart from the usual suspects (USB, RJ45, etc), the user is presented with no less than six Thunderbolt 2 ports, which some might find problematic considering they constitute the entire expansion potential of the new Mac Pro.

ASMedia owes a big part of its brand value to the initial popularity of third-party USB 3.0 host controllers, before motherboard chipsets started integrating it. It's only natural that the company is enthused about the upcoming USB 3.5 standard. At a recent media event, the company announced that it would be among the first to offer USB 3.5 host controllers, when the standard enters the consumer market some time in 2014.

With each new major version of USB, the specification increases interface bandwidth by 10 times. This time however, bandwidth is only being doubled, and so the version numbering is 3.5 and not 4.0. USB 3.5 will offer a bandwidth of 10 Gbps, will be able to deliver higher power to devices, and will maintain backwards compatibility with all older USB standards. USB 3.5 host controllers could compete directly with Thunderbolt. Despite a 2-year headstart, the 10 Gbps Thunderbolt interface is being offered only by one major host controller manufacturer, Intel, and the controllers are expensive compared to USB 3.0 host controllers. Unless that changes, Thunderbolt's future as a mainstream consumer interface will be in jeopardy with the advent of USB 3.5.

On Thursday at Computex, Intel unveiled a prototype thumb drive which employs the Thunderbolt interface and claims data transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps. Dubbed the "world's fastest thumb drive," Intel's prototype device boasts transfer speeds far beyond those reachable by established standards such as the omnipresent USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 devices, of which the latter attains a theoretical maximum transfer speed of 5 Gbps.

The small drive hosts a 128 GB SanDisk SSD and connects directly to a Thunderbolt port on your PC or laptop, dismissing the need for the usually expensive cables associated with Thunderbolt peripherals, typically external storage solutions but also monitors. Thunderbolt hasn't seen wide adoption yet, primarily because of high costs, both implementation costs (expensive controllers) as well as adoption costs (few and expensive compatible devices). However that could soon change, seeing how many motherboards that offer Thunderbolt support were unveiled only in the last few days at Computex, one would think that Intel's Haswell platform could accelerate Thunderbolt adoption despite lacking native chipset support for the standard.

ECS' socket LGA1150 motherboard series launch was rather low-key, and with good reason. The company was saving its best, the Z87H3-AH series, for a Computex unveiling. Pictured below are the Z87H3-AH and Z87H3-AH Golden "Gank Machine" motherboards. The non-golden variant doesn't get dull gray this time around, but a red, black, and silver color scheme. The Golden variant, on the other hand, gets gold, silver, and black. Both boards are otherwise identical. The LGA1150 socket is powered by a 12-phase VRM. The bigger of the two VRM clusters is cooled by an active fan-heatsink.

The CPU is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, and three of the board's four PCI-Express x16 slots (electrical gen 3.0 x16/x8/NC or x8/x4/x4), the fourth x16 slot is electrical gen 2.0 x4, wired to the Z87 PCH. On the storage connectivity front, you get six SATA 6 Gb/s ports, an eSATA 6 Gb/s port, and an mSATA 6 Gb/s slot. Display outputs include HDMI and mini-DisplayPort, which doubles up as Thunderbolt. The rest of the board's notable connectivity includes two gigabit Ethernet interfaces, one driven by Bigfoot Killer E2201, and the other by common Realtek fare; 802.11 b/g/n WiFi (using a USB dongle), Creative Sound Core3D 8-channel audio, and ten USB 3.0 ports. The board features several overclocker-friendly features, such as a 3-digit POST diagnostic readout, voltage measurement points, quick CMOS reset/restore, etc.

Premium socket LGA1150 motherboards shipping with Thunderbolt connectivity hardly surprise us, yet ASRock managed to do so, with a nifty little addition to its functionality. The company's Thunderbolt-equipped motherboards, namely Z87-Extreme4 TB4, Z87-Extreme9/ac and Z87-Extreme11/ac, feature a full-size DisplayPort input in addition to two Thunderbolt ports that each double up as mini-DisplayPort outputs wired to the processor's integrated graphics. This allows you to install a discrete graphics card of your choice, wire its DisplayPort output to the board's input, and get its digital display output relayed through the Thunderbolt ports, using which you can daisy-chain your high-resolution display with other high-bandwidth devices. On its specs sheets, ASRock is dubbing this implementation as an "experimental feature," and isn't making a song-and-dance about it. In any case, it sure gives ASRock a sharp edge over Thunderbolt-equipped motherboards from other brands, and in our opinion, is the best implementation of Thunderbolt to date.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today launched its latest 8 series range of motherboards supporting Intel 4th generation Core processors. Equipped with a range of new features and technologies including industry-leading digital power delivery, advanced network and device charging, gold plated hardware, new designed UEFI DualBIOS, GIGABYTE App Center and killer good looks, GIGABYTE 8 series motherboards are the most compelling choice for your next rig.

"With these new 8 series motherboards we're adding more high-end features and technologies than ever before, blurring the traditional definitions of mainstream and high-end segments to offer our customers the ultimate platform," commented Henry Kao, Vice President of GIGABYTE Motherboard Business Unit. "With great aesthetics, solid performance and more advanced features than ever before, GIGABYTE 8 series motherboards are setting the standard for excellence."

Ahead of its grand Computex launch alongside the Core "Haswell" processor family, Intel's homebrew socket LGA1150 Desktop Board products are being previewed online. One such covers the company's flagship motherboard, the DZ87KLT-75K "Kinsley." The board features a CPU power supply that's most compliant to Intel's iVR design for Core "Haswell" processors, with an 8-phase design. You'll either love or hate the new heatsink design. Expansion slots include three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (x16/x8/x4), three PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and surprisingly, a legacy PCI.

Storage connectivity includes six SATA 6 Gb/s ports from the Z87 PCH, two from a third-party controller, and an mSATA 6 Gb/s. The board features a single first-generation Thunderbolt port, which doubles up as mini-DisplayPort, the only other display output than HDMI. A variant of this board without Thunderbolt (in which the port works only as mini-DisplayPort), could be sold as DZ87KL-70K. Rest of the board's connectivity include eight USB 3.0 ports (six rear, two by header), eight USB 2.0/1.1 ports, two 800 Mbps FireWire ports (one rear, one by header), 8-channel HD audio with optical SPDIF, two gigabit Ethernet interfaces, and an optional front-panel module that gives the board front-panel USB 3.0 ports, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, and Bluetooth 4.0. In addition to the five 4-pin PWM fan headers, the board appears to feature several overclocker-friendly features. Find a video presentation at the source.

ECS introduces the first Intel 8-Series Motherboards featuring the new 4th Generation Intel Core processor family for their new family of desktop motherboards Pro, Deluxe and Essentials.

The new ECS (Elitegroup Computer Systems) family of motherboards featuring the new Intel 8-series Chipset family with new designed specifically for the new 4th Generation Intel Core processor family of CPUs, which will be available and shipping worldwide in Q2 2013. The new chipset features support for full SATA III 6 Gb/s internal ports and PCI-Express Gen.3 x16 bus design. They also integrate USB 3.0, Thunderbolt, and enable responsiveness technologies like Intel Smart Response, Intel Smart Connect, and Intel Rapid Start.

If you've been following news of computing technologies, you've probably already noticed the presence of Thunderbolt technology. Now the maestros of motherboard manufacturing, ASRock is the world's first to add more of these wonderful Thunderbolt ports to the upcoming Intel 8 Series motherboards! What's more, the company's top-of-the-line Z87 Extreme9/ac motherboard is the world's first Intel 8 Series motherboard to pass the Intel Thunderbolt certification.

These Thunderbolt ports will come on ASRock's Z87 Extreme9/ac, which are allegedly arriving to the market very soon, along with dozens of other exciting new features, such as ASRock's A-Style. So, if you're looking forward to build a solid next gen desktop rig with insanely fast data transfer abilities and innovative new software or hardware features, keep your eyes open for this bad boy.

Belkin today announced the availability of the Thunderbolt Express Dock, a sleek, compact, cable-clutter-free dock for Mac computers with Thunderbolt ports. Belkin's Thunderbolt Express Dock is the only solution that is equipped with two Thunderbolt ports, allowing users to daisy-chain up to five additional Thunderbolt high-speed devices while maintaining maximum throughput and granting instant access to multiple desktop devices with one cable. It maintains the portability of your laptop by eliminating the constant need to plug and unplug numerous desktop peripherals.

Designed to be an easy and powerful way to increase productivity and take advantage of Thunderbolt technology, Belkin's Thunderbolt Express Dock allows creative professionals the ability to edit films in full HD 1080p, and transfer volumes of data in seconds at bidirectional 10Gbps channels. That is up to 20 times faster than with USB 2.0 and up to 12 times faster than with FireWire 800.

Other World Computing (OWC), a leading zero emissions Mac and PC technology company, today introduced the OWC Mercury Helios+E2 Thunderbolt SSD Solution. The bootable 'all-in-one' storage performance and expansion solution offers owners of Thunderbolt technology enabled Macs and PCs sustained read/write data throughput up to 617MB/s from up to 960GB of OWC Mercury SSD capacity; two Thunderbolt interfaces for connecting multiple Thunderbolt devices; and two eSATA 6Gb/s expansion ports for connecting up to an additional 32TB or more of external storage/backup capacity.

Akitio, makers of network and direct attached storage products has announced the addition of their new 256 GB one bay, bus powered Thunderbolt storage solution. This larger capacity SSD product joins the original 120 GB SSD solution previously introduced by Akitio last year. The new 256 GB option is something that Akitio users have been longing for as the original 120 GB product was just not large enough for many people involved in video editing and other occupations where larger storage capacity was required.

By incorporating a thunderbolt connection with an SSD, and a high performance SATA controller, Akitio is able to obtain data transfer speeds of up to 464 MB/second making it the fastest one bay, bus powered external storage device on the market. The Neutrino comes bundled with a thunderbolt cable making it a true "plug and play" solution.

At the ongoing Intel Developer Forum (IDF) 2013 event in Beijing, Intel announced second-generation Thunderbolt specification. Pin and plug-compatible with existing Thunderbolt devices, the second-generation Thunderbolt doubles bandwidth over its predecessor, offering devices an enormous 20 Gb/s of bandwidth, four times that of USB 3.0 SuperSpeed. The bandwidth enables users the ability to transfer uncompressed 4K Ultra-HD video without causing display to lag.

To back the specification, Intel announced the "Falcon Ridge" line of Thunderbolt host controllers, mass production of which will commence by late-2013, going into 2014. In addition, the company launched two "Redwood Ridge" host controllers, DSL4510 and DSL4410. The two add DisplayPort 1.2 capability when connecting to native DP displays, improve power management, and reduce platform BOM cost.

G-Technology, a leader in delivering premium storage solutions for audio/video production, photography and the creative professional market, announced today its new G-DRIVE PRO with Thunderbolt, a compact, desktop external hard drive that delivers hard drive capacity with SSD-like performance, taking full advantage of the speed and power of Thunderbolt.

Leveraging G-Technology's well-known G-DRIVE design, the new G-DRIVE PRO with Thunderbolt delivers sustained data transfer rates of up to 480 MB/s, which is up to three times faster than standard 3.5-inch desktop external hard drives. The broader creative professional market now has access to an extremely high-performance, high-capacity and portable editing solution for maintaining 2K and 4K workflows.

G-Technology, a leader in delivering premium storage solutions for audio/video production, photography and the creative professional market, announced today the first solutions in its new Evolution Series family - the G-DOCK ev with Thunderbolt, and the G-DRIVE ev and the G-DRIVE ev PLUS external hard drive modules with USB 3.0.

Together, they provide quick content transfers for photography, 2K and 4K digital cinema workloads with easy storage expansion, high performance and high reliability in a user configurable solution. The G-DOCK ev with Thunderbolt is the only two-bay solution with interchangeable and rugged storage modules that have the flexibility to be taken into the field and used as true standalone external drives.

Today, at the NAB Show in Las Vegas, LaCie announced it has the largest range of Thunderbolt solutions certified for use with Thunderbolt equipped Mac or PC. As the preeminent provider of Thunderbolt peripherals, LaCie is the only manufacturer to ensure five products in its Thunderbolt Series are compatible with Mac OS X and Windows 7 and 8 computers.

Intel's Thunderbolt certification program is a thorough process put in place to ensure an optimal end user experience with both Mac and PC. As a result, LaCie ensures its Thunderbolt product family offers universal compatibility and delivers reliable performances up to 800 MB/s for the most challenging media applications.

By far the most comprehensive expansion dock we've come across, the Echo 15 from Sonnet plugs into your MacBook's 10 Gb/s Thunderbolt port, and then productively uses that bandwidth to hook you up with 15 connectivity options. These include a 3.5-inch SATA 6 Gb/s internal drive bay (2 TB HDD optional), a slimline optical drive (options include DVDRW and Blu-ray writers), two eSATA 6 Gb/s ports, 4-channel HD audio, four USB 3.0 SuperSpeed ports, gigabit Ethernet, and FireWire 800, each device is Mac OS X compatible. The device features two Thunderbolt ports, so it can be daisy-chained with other devices. Prices start at US $399.95.

MSI, the world-leading manufacturer of Gaming motherboards, graphics-cards and All-in-Ones PCs storms CeBIT with a new line-up of Gaming products. Hardware enthusiasts and gamers will flock to MSI's new Z77 GAMING motherboards with their new distinctive looks. To complement MSI's new Gaming motherboards MSI will also display a new concept of graphics cards that match the striking looks of the new gaming motherboards. CeBIT 2013 will also be the first opportunity to touch MSI's new AG2712, world's first Gaming All-in-One. 2013 is an exciting year in the computer industry and MSI has reserved a spot in the driver's seat, as can be seen on CeBIT 2013.

Velocity Micro, the premier builder of award winning enthusiast desktops, laptops, peripherals, and Cruz tablets announces the release of the Raptor MultiPlex, a fully customizable home theater and gaming hybrid system designed to dominate the living room.

Capable of 1080p gaming, media streaming, Cable Card functionality with DVR, Blu-ray playback, and so much more, the Raptor MultiPlex converges the gaming PC with home theater devices to create an immensely powerful system. Configurations start at $1,899.