1-2 Chapter 1: Product Introduction
Chapter 1
1.3 Special features
1.3.1 Product highlights
LGA1155 socket for Intel
®
Second Generation Core™ i7 / Core™ i5 / Core™ i3
Processors
This motherboard supports the Intel
®
second generation Core™ i7 / Core™ i5 / Core™ i3
processors in LGA1155 package with memory and PCI Express controllers integrated to
support 2-channel (4 DIMMs) DDR3 memory and 16 PCI Express 2.0 lanes. This provides
great graphics performance. Intel
®
second generation Core™ i7 / Core™ i5 / Core™ i3
processors are among the most powerful and energy efcient CPUs in the world.
Intel
®
Z68 Express Chipset
The Intel
®
Z68 Express Chipset is the latest single-chipset design to support the new 1155
socket Intel
®
Core™ i7 / Core™ i5 / Core™ i3 second generation processors. It uses serial
point-to-point links, which allows increased bandwidth and stability, and provides an improved
performance. It also provides two SATA 6.0 Gb/s and four SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports for faster
data retrieval at double the bandwidth of current bus systems. Moreover, Intel
®
Z68 Express
Chipset also supports iGPU function, letting users enjoy the latest Intel integrated graphic
performance.
Intel
®
Smart Response Technology
Intel
®
Smart Response Technology boosts overall system performance. It uses an installed
fast SSD (min 18.6GB available capacity) as a cache for frequently accessed data.
Harnesses the combination of SSD-like performance and response with hard drive capacity,
running 4X faster than an HDD-only system.
* Intel
®
Smart Response Technology supports Windows
®
7/ Vista operating systems.
** Intel
®
Smart Response Technology is supported by 2nd generation Intel
®
Core™ processor
family.
*** Operating systems must be installed on the HDD to launch Intel
®
Smart Response Technology.
The capacity of the SSD is reserved for caching function.
Quad-GPU SLI™ and Quad-GPU CrossFireX™ Support
The motherboard’s powerful Intel
®
Z68 platform optimizes PCIe allocation in multiple-GPU
congurations of either SLI™ or CrossFireX™. This allows you to enjoy a never
before-experienced brand new gaming style.
Dual-Channel DDR3 2200(O.C.) / 2133(O.C.) / 1866(O.C.) / 1600 / 1333 / 1066 Support
The motherboard supports DDR3 memory that features data transfer rates of 2200(O.C.) /
2133(O.C.) / 1866 / 1600/ 1333 / 1066 MHz to meet the higher bandwidth requirements
of the latest 3D graphics, multimedia, and Internet applications. The dual-channel DDR3
architecture enlarges the bandwidth of your system memory to boost system performance.
* Due to CPU behavior, DDR3 2200/2000/1800 MHz memory module will run at DDR3 2133/1866/1600
MHz frequency as default.