Gigabyte and MSI are two of the most important motherboard manufactures in the world (except for Asus, of course). That's why no one was surprised the two companies having announced their brand-new motherboards powered by the upcoming X48 chipset from Intel, with full support for the company's quad-core powerhorses.

First-tier motherboards are unable to ship their X48-based motherboards, but Gigabyte and MSI broke the "pact" with Intel and announced their new goodies, along with the technical specifications of the upcoming chipset.

For instance, Gigabyte announced a few days ago the availability of a new X48 motherboard to feature a new and revolutionary technology that acts like a gearbox. The unique Dynamic Energy Saver (DES) technology is capable of throttling the whole system up and down, depending on its workload at the time.

On the other side, MSI showcased its own version of the X48-enabled motherboard to feature the same dual-channel power supply design as the previous X38 model, that will contribute to better power management. Also, the MSI model will feature the an update to the company's proprietary cooling technology, called Circu-Pipe fansink as well as the MSI SkyTel technology.

Although the companies hasted in detailing upon their upcoming gear, they are forbidden to ship it otherwise than for sampling purposes until Intel officially unveils the X48 family of chipsets. This is not likely to happen anytime soon, as the motherboard manufacturers have applied some pressure on Intel in order to delay the X48 launch date until they get rid of the older X38-enabled motherboards that have piled inside their warehouses.

There are rumors that the only motherboard manufacturer that still has issues with the X38 motherboards inventory is Asustek Computer, and Intel is waiting for its nod in order to unleash the new X48s. Along with the X48 chipset, Intel has delayed the release of the accompanying quad-core processor, the QX9770.