14 DAY TRIAL // With Intel's Lynnfield processors officially launched, motherboard makers have been given a green light to announce their own designs, based on the much-anticipated P55 chipset. Following the announcement from MSI and ASUS, two of the world's leading vendors of hardware components, it now looks like it's time for DFI and ECS to take the stage and introduce their latest additions. On that note, the two have recently announced the launch of their LANParty DK P55-T3eH9 and Black Series P55H-A motherboards, respectively.
Kicking off with DFI's entry, the T3eH9 has been designed to support Intel's latest processors, compatible with the new LGA1156 socket, coupled with dual-channel DDR3 memory DIMMs. The board boasts a black PCB with black and red highlights on the integrated components. In addition, users will be able to take advantage of the exclusive 'ABS II' CPU auto-upgrade tool, combined with digital PWM for an increased power efficiency.
ECS's offering doesn't fall too far from the tree, as it also has been built to provide DIY users with a platform that can support Intel's latest mainstream processors, the Lynnfield-based Core i5 750 and Core i7 860 and 870.
The board offers a pair of PCI-Express x16 graphics slots with support for ATI's CrossFireX multi-GPU technology, eSATA for external storage, a number of SATA ports with RAID 0/1/5/10 support, 14 USB 2.0 ports, 8-channel HD audio and Gigabit Ethernet. There's also the six-phase PWM and a couple of the company's own goodies, like the M.I.B. II OC BIOS utility and eJiffy, a Linux-based, instant-on solution.
The boards should hit the retail channels very soon, but we are yet to see any details regarding the pricing of these new motherboards. We also expect more of these Lynnfield-ready boards to surface in the upcoming days.
