Let’s start with the general technical characteristics:


Processors: AMD Sempron, Athlon, Phenom II, FX, Socket AM3 and Socket AM3 +

Core logic chipset: AMD 970 + AMD SB950

RAM: 4 x DDR3 for DIMM socket

Supported memory: up to 64 GB (unbuffered, non-ECC); dual-mode support, AMD A.M.P. and Intel X.M.P; support for DDR3 1066/1333/1600/1866/2133/2400 (OC) + MHz

Audio: Realtek ALC1150 (up to 8 channels)

Network: 1xIntel I211AT (10/100/1000 Mbit)

Expansion slots: 1 PCI Express x16 2.0 slot (PCIE2), physically as x16

1 x PCI Express x16 2.0 (PCIE4) slot, physically as x8

2 PCI Express x1 2.0 slots (PCIE1 and PCIE3)

2 x PCI slots

Graphics tandems support: AMD CrossFire; NVidia SLI

Disk subsystem: AMD SB950; — 6 SATA2 3Gb/s ports, support for ACHI, NCQ, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0 + 1.

USB: AMD SB950:

— 8 ports USB 2.0/1.1 (2 connectors on the board for connecting 4 ports, 4 ports on the back of the board)

ASMedia ASM1042A:

— 2 USB …

Asus has recently introduced another desktop PC model, entitled VivoPC K20. The new-comer is characterized by small-sized dimensions (381x279x96 mm, capacity — 10 liters) and stylish bodywork. It takes little space on the table and might be placed as in vertical so in horizontal aspects. The customers will be surprised to see a keyboard and a mouse in the nominal delivery set.



Asus VivoPC K20 supports the installation of motherboards based on Intel H110 chipset with Socket LGA1151 CPUs (Pentium, Celeron, Core i3/i5/i7). The CPU comes with an integrated Intel HD Graphics core; however, it’s possible to add a self-dependent graphics card. The PCB allows for the installation of up to 16 GB of DDR4-2133 MHz memory.


Storage subsystem offers space for HDDs of up to 3 TB capacity. The connection of other storage solutions is realized via a pair of SATA 6 Gb/sec ports. Expansion facilities are due to one PCIe 3.0 x16 and one mini-PCIe slots.


The CPU is cooled down by an …

Introduction

Solid state drives of M.2 format are becoming increasingly popular. Compact dimensions, no additional wires in the system and significantly increased performance. Even this short list of advantages is enough to understand why the owners of various form factor systems have opted for high-speed M.2 PCI-E drives. Of course, if you can do it financially, because productive SSD of this format are still much more expensive than SATA-drives. Manufacturers are looking for ways to make it easier for users to move from one category to another. For example, the company Kingston recently introduced a line of M.2 NVMe drives of the initial class - Kingston A1000. Let's see what such devices are capable of, getting better acquainted with a 480 GB model.

 

Closer View

The new lineup at the start includes three models of the most popular volumes - 240 GB, 480 GB and 960 GB. The hardware platform of the Kingston A1000 drives includes a 4-channel Phison PS5008-E8 …