Gigabyte intros next-gen USB and SATA-equipped motherboards

Gigabyte has joined Asus in the race to build motherboards equipped with USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s connectivity, introducing an entire P55-based lineup sporting the next-generation I/O technology. The company has brought a host of new motherboards to the table, including the GA-P55A-UD6, GA-P55A-UD5, GA-P55A-UD4P, GA-P55A-UD4,GA-P55A-UD3P, GA-P55A-UD3R, GA-P55A-UD3.

This series of boards can be easily distinguished by the "P55A" branding, as opposed to the company's previous "P55" boards -- they also feature "Gigabyte 333 onboard acceleration." The "333" refers to the onboard third-gen SATA and USB parts, as well as USB 3.0's new voltage profile, which Gigabyte says offers triple the power to external devices.

With seven listed units, Gigabyte likely has most budgets and builds covered. All of the boards support Intel's recent Lynnfield (Core i5 and i7 8xx) LGA 1156 processors. The motherboards rely on NEC's uPD720200 chip for USB 3.0, and Marvell's 88SE9128 controller for 6Gbps SATA, and bring the expected features and in-house technologies.

By Matthew DeCarlo, TechSpot.com 

Asus shows USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s-equipped board

I'm sure you've caught wind of the various revamped interfaces slated for debut in the coming year, such as USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s. Naturally, as consumer electronics begin to sport these next-generation parts, motherboard makers will jump to provide the necessary connectivity. In fact, Asus has been working on motherboards with each spec -- though some projects fizzled out. The company didn't give up altogether though, recently unveiling the P7P55D-E Premium, the first motherboard to unite USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s.

If the P7P55D-E Premium sounds familiar it's probably because it shares many parallels with the $280 P7P55D Premium, which only has SATA 6Gb/s. Alongside the third-generation SATA and USB ports, Asus' P7P55D-E Premium will feature support for Intel LGA 1156 processors, up to four DIMMs for a total of 16GB DDR3 2200MHz (OC) RAM, two PCI-E 2.0 x16, x1, and PCI slots with support for SLI as well as CrossFireX. Also integrated are a PATA host adapter, dual Gigabit Ethernet

, an IEEE1394a port, and an assortment of USB 2.0 and SATA 3Gb/s connectors.
The board also boasts a slew of other goodies, including onboard power on and reset buttons, and a ton of Asus-specific technologies. The only thing it's missing is Light Peak -- but that will come in due time. There's no official pricing, but it's fair to assume that it will debut at $300 or more.