ASUS Cuts Loose On New Hardware At Computex
Computex Taipei is one of the foremost tech expo’s of the consumer hardware industry. Today, ASUS kicked off the show with a keynote presentation unveiling some high-caliber hardware. A few things we knew were coming, but dropping a few new bombs as well.
We’ve covered the PG278Q before, but for a quick recap the monster monitor packs a punch:
- 27″ TN panel (though ASUS insists it’s a ‘very high quality‘ TN panel) at 2560×1440
- 144Hz refresh rate, backed by G-Sync
- Thin 6mm bezel
- 1ms grey-to-grey response time
- VESA mount, tilt/swivel/pivot/height adjustable
While ASUS is still withholding any specific launch details, our press release lists an “estimated price” of $799 and an expected launch window of late July.
The ROG Maximus VII Impact aims to offer enthusiast performance in a small package. The Impact leverages the unused PCI lanes to squeeze in a combination mPCIe 802.11ac/Bluetooth 4.0 module and a dedicated SupremeFX audio card. ASUS also offers an optional card they refer to as the Impact CoolHub which features two additional 4-pin PWM headers and an LN2 header for top-tier overclockers. The board also has select tuning features specifically geared towards Haswell-E chips.
The Impact’s ATX big brother, the Maximus VII Formula, features ASUS’s hallmark flagship Thermal Armor with an integrated water cooling plate covering the VRMs and a sleek backplate that covers a majority of the rear side of the motherboard. The Formula also comes with an mPCIe combo 802.11ac/Bluetooth 4.0 card, with an mPCIe and M.2 slot. Not to be ignored, is the two SATAe connectors, one running natively off the chipset and another from an ASMedia controller.
The GX500 is a super sleek and gaming notebook that ASUS has managed to cram a 15.6″ 4K display powered by NVIDIA’s GTX 860M. ASUS claims their VisualMaster technology has managed to push the GX500 to provide a true 100% NTSC color reproduction. So far, no base price is announced, but we’ll likely see one closer to the Q3 release date.
With the GR8, ASUS dips it’s toes into SteamBox territory. The machine is built from the ground up to be a streaming juggernaut. With gigabit Intel LAN, AC wireless, Miracast, and WiDi support, and full SteamOS compatibility, it’s a pretty impressive little box. As far as hardware is concerned, ASUS disclosed an i7 CPU, but no SKU, along with a GeForce GTX 750 Ti graphics card powering the machine. So, while the machine can output 4K, the rendering may better be left to something a little beefier. ASUS promises easy storage and RAM upgradability but mentioned nothing in the way of CPU or GPU upgrades. Like the 4K gaming notebook above, the GR8 has no suggested base price and will see a Q3 release.
The G20 is a small form factor desktop build that ASUS suggests will offer “the latest Intel Core i7” and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780. ASUS designed the chassis to naturally exhume heat silently, aided by two fans that keep below 25dbA. ASUS plans to offer the machine with a variety of ODD’s, SSD’s, and HDD’s. From the press release’s description, it sounds like the machine will be powered by an external proprietary supply. The machine is expected to retail between $800 and $1700 depending on configuration and will also hit the market in Q3.
Lastly, ASUS’s next iteration of the ARES series, the ARES III. Hailed as the world’s fastest GPU, the ARES III runs dual hand-picked Hawaii XT GPUs backed by 8GB of GDDR5. The ARES comes with a preinstalled custom EK water block. ASUS sternly recommends a 360mm radiator and a high-flow liquid setup, but says with this, the ARES III will run 25% cooler than a reference 295X. ASUS hints at a price point between a 295X and a Titan Z(between $1500 and $3000).
Stay tuned for more from Computex 2014 news through the week!