Before becoming one of the most successful manufacturers of netbook systems, Taiwan-based ASUSTek was best known for its high-end motherboards. With renowned products such as the Striker and follow-up Striker II mobos, the ASUS brand is a common choice for a high number of computer enthusiasts. Recently, the Taiwanese mobo maker has announced a new motherboard, specifically designed for professionals.

 

The ASUS Z7S WS is essentially a workstation motherboard designed to provide the performance level required by today's graphics designers and workstation users. Built on an Intel platform, the new motherboard equips a dual socket 771 that provides support for two Intel Xeon processors. The board features the latest Intel 5400 chipset, which enables it to bring a robust performance in a CEB (Compact Electronics Bay Specification) form factor. Furthermore, the company has built the motherboard so that it can allow users to conveniently improve system performance through the provided expansion slots.

 

“ASUS has designed a high-performing and power-efficient foundation for Intel Xeon processor-based workstation systems with the Z7S WS," Director of Platform Technology Marketing for Intel's Server Platform Group, Dylan Larson, said. "Intel is pleased to recognize ASUS for their innovation excellence.” Mr. Larson added.

 

Built on a black PCB, the Z7S Workstation motherboard equips two PCIe x16 slots working at full x16 link, with CrossFireX support for extensive graphics quality. It also provides a PCI-X slot, PCI and a PCIe x16 slot that works at x8 link. With 6 FB-DIMM DDR2, the board can support a whopping 24GB of memory, which should ultimately enable a fast desktop workstation system.

 

Besides the tech specs, the board also provides a number of ASUS features, including Smart Fan, Rack Ready, and Rack Optimized design.

 

The company has not made any pricing details available yet, but the board should arrive soon, through selected partners.