With the deluge of i7 components hitting shelves it is no shock when one of the enthusiast favorite mainboard manufacturers announces an entry into the area. DFI's latest LANParty motherboard is the UT X58-T3eH8, a Core i7 board based on Intel's X58 chipset.
The board is a great option to look at for any enthusiast looking to build using the new CPUs. It offers traditional DFI quality components and features a whole lot of bell and whistles. The 6DIMMs offer 3-channel memory support. A trio of PCIe 2.0 slots allow you to choose between nVidia and ATI as both 3-Way SLI and CrossFireX are supported. The "Flame Freezer" cooling system included with this model helps keep the north and south bridge chipsets running cool. Robust and full-featured PWM has been included to help keep the system running smoothly under even the most demanding of consitions. The latest in tuning options become available when you enter the Genie BIOS Extreme Edition and take control of over 100 different options. Simple and automated BIOS configurations are also supported for those less ambitious or less experienced buyers. The high quality Bernstien audio chip and Dual Gigabit LAN (and teaming function) from Marvell round out the board's impressive features.
No price is available for the UT X58-T3eH8 as of yet, but knowing DFI it won't be too outrageous. Just enough to know you're buying an enthusiast board, so you may as well spend a good amount on a fast Core i7 CPU to go with it! By the end of the month you can expect to lay hands on one of these beauties.
On the other hand, the leaders will continue to innovate, Ma said. "During downturns in the past, some companies move faster,' he said.
TSMC claims that several companies have jumped on its 40-nm process, such as Altera, AMD, Broadcom, LSI, Marvell, Nvidia, NXP, ST and Sun. At 40-nm, TSMC offers several derivatives, including general purpose (40G) and low-power (40LP) versions.
The 40G process targets performance-driven applications, including processors, graphics chips, networking devices, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), storage ICs and others. The 40LP process targets low-power applications, including cellular baseband, application processors, portable consumer and wireless connectivity devices.
TSMC's 40G and 40LP processes passed process qualification, reaching 'first wafers out' status as planned and completed product qualification in October. Both processes offer mixed-signal and RF options, along with embedded memory.
Besides 40-nm, TSMC is leading in other processes. In September, the company rolled out its 32- and 28-nm processes. The 32-nm process is a cost-down version of its 40-nm technology, while 28-nm is considered by TSMC as a 'full-node' offering.
At 28-nm, TSMC plans to offer two separate options for the gate stack: conventional silicon oxynitride (SiON) and a high-k/metal-gate technology. But at 32-nm, the company will only offer a SiON for the gate stack.
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