14 DAY TRIAL // Asus has recently announced the introduction of seven new LGA 1155 motherboard models that are based on the Intel H61 Express chipset and that are compatible with Intel's latest second-generation Core processors also known as Sandy Bridge.
The boards came in various form factors, including ATX, micro-ATX, and mini-ITX, and all of them feature Asus' own iGPU Level Up technology that can overclock the integrated GPU in order to deliver better graphics performance.
All three ATX models come equipped with similar features such as dual DDR3 DIMM slots, Gigabit LAN and 8-channel audio.
Expandability wise, the boards pack a single PCI Express x16 slot, three PCIe x1 and three regular PCI slots, as well as four SATA 3Gbps ports.
The high-end ATX model, dubbed the P8H61 PRO, adds two SATA 6Gbps ports controlled by an ASM 1061 IC and two USB 3.0 ports driven by an ASMedia 1042 chip.
The micro-ATX boards have a similar feature set to that of the ATX models, but drop some of the PCI and PCI Express x1 slots. Of the three, only the P8H61-M offers USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps connectivity.
Finally, the last model to be announced is the mini-ITX P8H61-I that packs dual full sized DIMM DDR3 memory sockets, one PCI Express x16 graphics slot, Gigabit LAN, 8-channel audio as well as four SATA 6Gbps ports.
According to HardwareLuxx, the Asus P8H61 Plus and P8H61-M LE are available immediately for 84€ and 69€, respectively, while the rest of the motherboards will be available starting from April with prices ranging from 69€ to 89€.
The H61 chipset is destined to be used in budget Sandy Bridge systems and should be a great choice for users who will buy cheaper Pentium CPUs, which are expected to launch sometime later this year.
Until now, apart from Asus, Biostar, ECS, Gigbayte and MSI have also announced solutions based on the LGA 1155 H61 chipset.
