14 DAY TRIAL // AVADirect has just announced that their desktops systems can now be configured with motherboards based on Intel's recently released Z68 chipset which offers support for the Quick Sync and Smart response technologies.
“We recently added a new line of motherboards featuring Intel's new Z68 chipset. Customers have the ability to purchase them as an item, or included in a custom configuration listed on our website,” reads a post by Joseph Mundy, sales executive at AVADirect.
“The Z68 chipset is what truly makes the wait for the socket 1155 Sandy Bridge processors worth it.
“They include all features different motherboard models offer separately, depending on the model, into a single chipset,” concluded the company's rep.
The Intel Z68 is best described as a hybrid between the P67 and the H67 platform controller hubs (PCHs), and was designed in order to fill the gap left by these two solutions in Intel's chipset lineup.
As a result, the Z68 packs the best parts of the two PCH chips, including the multiplier overclocking support of the P67 and the FDI interface of the H67, which is required in order to use the Sandy Bridge on-die GPU.
Furthermore, the Z68 Express also supports an SSD caching technology, called Smart Response by Intel, which allows users to speed up their storage system by pairing together a solid state disk with an HDD and using the former as a fast cache memory for the hard drive.
Right now, AVADirect sales nine different Z68 boards from manufacturers such as Asus, Gigabyte and MSI and their prices start at $128.92 and go all the way up to $326.59, when bought separately.
These motherboards also come pre-installed in some of AVADirect's LGA 1155 systems, such as the PC Core gaming machine, that sports a Gigabyte Z68MA-D2H board model and a $1262.62 price tag.