Folks over at Nordic Hardware had reported that Asus is preparing the ROG Maximus III Extreme motherboard for launch at DreamHack in Jönköping, Sweden, this end November. Based on the LGA-1156 socket, this P55 based motherboard is the best in its league and features an additional PCI-Express bridge chip for two x16 links.

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DFI announced Hybrid platform that adopts the latest DFI patent technology. The DFI HB P45-ION-T2A2 board combines P45 + ICH10R with NVIDIA ION which operate completely independently. The first platform consists P45 + ICH10R chipset where you need to install an Intel processor, DDR2 memory and a graphics card. As for the second platform, it is NVIDIA ION based with an integrated Atom N230 processor where you only need to install SO-DIMM DDR2 memory. The two platforms have independent HDD system but sharing USB, 8-channel audio, SPDIF etc through the onboard KVM and LAN switch. SRP for end users is USD $399 and shipping date is 27th of November.

Clunk.org has news that DFI is preparing to launch the MI-P55-T36, the first mini-ITX based P55 board in the world. Measuring 170 x 170mm, the compact Core i5/i7 LGA 1156 board features 6 phase PWM (with Japanese made solid capacitors), 2x DDR3 slots for dual channel memory, 3x SATA II ports (for HDD/optical devices), a 16x PCI-e 2 slot (for graphic card), 7.1ch HD audio and a host of features supported by the P55 chipset.

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Nvidia is in the news again, for all the wrong reasons. Lucid Logix' HYDRA has been a promising and anticipated product ever since it was announced back in 2008. Lucid claimed it would allow graphics cards from different manufacturers to scale better than current AFR solutions such as SLI or Crossfire. So, you could combine a Radeon card with a Geforce (or more cards) and they would scale accordingly, by using methods such as Split Frame Rendering.

Both AMD and Nvidia were understandably skeptical about this solution. Now, Lucid's Hydra 200 chip is ready and available in MSI's Big Bang Fuzion motherboard.

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With some misinformation on the web for the past few days, MSI today has officially unveiled the Big Bang Trinergy that supports 3-way SLI on Intel P55 Express chipset. This cool board sports other goodness like Creative EAX ADVANCED HD 5.0 support, 100% Hi-c Caps, OC Dashboard, DrMOS and the 1 second overclock utility OC Genie. Next in line is the Big Bang Fuzion that features the Lucid HYDRA chip supporting multiple and mixed GPUs. Of course, expect the Fuzion board to cost more.

ASUS listened. They flown in R & D Engineers from Taiwan to satisfy your crave!

Nvidia's nifty pico-ITX motherboard platform, Ion, is set to get a refresh within the next two months. The first generation ion was a promising platform for netbooks and nettops, featuring the Geforce 9400M chipset, which is about 10 times faster than the pathetic 945 graphics that normally ship with Intel chipsets for Atom. The big advantage is it does make HD playback possible.

We can expect Ion 2 to support Pinetrail CPUs and provide a faster IGP, though current details are obscure.

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ASUS unveiled the first motherboard in its newly-developed “TUF” (The Ultimate Force) Series, the SABERTOOTH 55i.  It is designed around a “Marine Cool” concept, incorporates the Intel P55 chipset fitted with the new CeraM!X heatsink. Ceramics replace traditional anti-oxidant compounds to create a microfin surface texture for enhanced cooling. The board includes the CoolMem! Fan Frame that encloses most standard 40mm or 50mm computer fans and fits them directly over the memory module. More...

DFI launches the DFI LANParty BI 785G-M35, adding on to its Blood Iron (BI) series of motherboards. Based on the AMD 785 chipset, the motherboard comes equipped with an onboard graphics solution, the ATI Radeon HD 4200. The motherboard incorporates DFI LANParty’s unique "ABS II" CPU Auto Upgrade Technology, allowing users to enjoy high performance without compromising on cost. The BI 785G-M35 has an embedded Realtek ALC885 for its audio solution, delivering 8 channels of high definition audio with a high S/N ratio of 106 dB. This is certainly a board worth watching out for and we believe it will appeal to users who are assembling a MATX PC on a shoe string budget.

ASUS has launched the ASUS P7P55D Series motherboard, featuring the latest Intel® P55 Express chipset. The P7P55D Series supports the latest LGA 1156 socket for Intel® Core™ i7/Core™ i5 Processors and is based on its groundbreaking “Xtreme Design”. The boards are rumored to hit retail stores by year end and prices have not been announced yet.