14 DAY TRIAL // Since the newest Intel Haswell and Devil's Canyon CPUs showed up, most motherboard makers have focused on performance when they introduced motherboard for them. Now, though, things have settled, allowing for the emphasis to move back to energy efficiency.
Case in point, Micro-Star International has launched three ECO Series mainboards: MSI H97M ECO, B85M ECO and H81M ECO.
The H97M ECO is a full ATX platform, while the other two are micro-ATX boards better suited for mini / home-theater PCs and industrial systems.
The three are designed with components and power-saving technologies that can cut 40% off the power needed for the platform to run, when the ECO Mode is engaged.
There are actually three power modes you can choose from: ECO mode, Lounge mode and Server mode. Pressing the onboard ECO button will prompt the BIOS to load the default ECO Mode without disabling common functions.
Other than that, the motherboards have all the standard features: SATA 6.0 Gbps storage support, USB 3.0, Gigabit LAN, two or four DDR3 memory slots, and several PCI Express 3.0/2.0 x16/x8/4/x1 slots as well.
Essentially, they are efficient mainboards which, nonetheless, can help set up powerful PCs with advanced gaming capabilities if the mood strikes you. Prices weren't specified in the product release.