Sorry, I really couldn’t resist that title. It’s too brilliant to let go. So, what exactly IS Sandy Bridge? Well this happens to be the next-generation of processor architecture from Intel. This is Nehalem’s successor and boasts features such as Hyper-Threading, Turbo Boost and other such useful things.
This chip looks fantastically fast and so far the experts are all saying that it looks set to deliver on all its promises. There certainly are some delicious features in there and it is fast enough to be renamed Quick Sand.
With this all set to get revealed and shown off at CES in January next year it should come as no surprise that all the other peeps are leaping out of the woodwork to show off their complementary technology.
ASUS have just announced their very pretty and very compatible new motherboard that will handle Sandy Bridge like it’s a well trained puppy. There are two offerings coming out of the ASUS stable and both will have built-in Bluetooth 2.1 plus USB 3.0 capability. There will even be, wait for it, a USB 3.0 front header.
Thing is, I do love the way ASUS design things to make life a little bit easier. This front header decision means that you get the fast data transmissions without having to fuddle about with ports and cords and other such faffy things. Nice.
The features that ASUS has introduced over the past year or two, such as dynamic overclocking and power management, will be in position. You’ll also find all the heat management features and sensors that make it easier for users to monitor their motherboards and stay in control.
Another thing that you’ll notice about their Sandy Bridge motherboards is that they are verrry pretty to look at. Yes, I know that they are usually hidden within the bowels of your PC but they are lovely enough to photograph and wall mount beside your desk.
No, I don’t think that’s too geeky and hereby give you permission to go ahead and do just that.
The ASUS P8P67 Deluxe motherboard will come with a device that lets you add USB 3.0 functionality to your PC even if you don’t support the ports. The gamer mad version from RoG is the Maximus IV Extreme (I love that name, it sounds like a Roman gladiator), and then there’s the Sabertooth variation that does high performance but not high maintenance.