Thrifty enthusiasts willing to build up an efficient gaming system are given a chance to enjoy the privileges of a new motherboard from Asus: the B85-Pro Gamer. The model employs an affordable set of components, although it is highly competitive with more powerful solutions. This ATX board is based on Intel B85 Express chipset for Socket LGA1150 platform and supports Core i3/i5/i7, Celeron and Pentium (Haswell gen.) CPUs.



Asus B85-Pro Gamer comes with 4x DIMM slots that are ready to welcome up to 32 GB of DDR3-1600 MHz memory modules (two-channel). Storage section is represented by six SATA ports, four of which support 6 Gb/sec standard. Expansion of functional facilities might be realized due to three PCI slots, two PCI-e 2.0 x1, and two PCI-e x16 slots. The delivery of power supply is organized by means of 1x 24-contact socket and 1x 8-contact socket.


The hardware base also embraces network gigabit Intel I217V controller with an integrated GameFirst II technology; the …

ASUS has recently announced the Prime A320M-E system board, intended for desktop PCs with AMD Ryzen processors.



The novelty, performed in the MicroATX form-factor with 226 × 221 mm dimensions, operates the AMD A320 system logic set. Two modules of DDR4-3200(O.C.)/2933(O.C.)/2666 RAM can be used (overall capacity is 32 GB). There is one PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 slot for a discrete graphics accelerator and two PCIe 2.0 x1 connectors for expansion cards. Drives can be linked up to four standard Serial ATA 3.0 ports. Moreover, one may use an М.2 solid-state module. The gigabit Realtek RTL8111H controller enables wired network connection. The Realtek ALC887 multichannel audio codec ensures audio quality.


Interface options include PS/2 jacks for a keyboard and a mouse, DVI-D, D-Sub and HDMI ports for displays connection, a network cable jack, one USB 3.1 Gen 2, four USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports, alongside with a set of audio jacks.


ASUS supplied its product with the 5X Protection III …

The Akasa Co. keeps releasing cases for system cards, intended for Intel NUC series mini PCs. The latest Akasa Newton S7 sample is aimed at Intel NUC7i5BNH, NUC7i5BNK, NUC7i3BNH and NUC7i3BNK sets boards, and the most important matter for replacing a standard case with a new one is aluminium utilization, providing passive CPU cooling. The framework upper lid and sides are made ribbed to perform the role of an effective heatsink.



On the front panel there are two USB 3.0 ports, the power button, the infrared sensor, as well as the headset and mic jack. The back panel has two connectors for removable antennas of wireless modules. Inside there is enough space for a 2.5-inch drive, not higher than 9.5 mm.


The Akasa Newton S7 framework’s modest dimensions (176.5 x 200 x 53.5 mm only) and the standard VESA mounting let fix this specialty on a display’s back panel.