FOXCONN has been previewing the next motherboard in its Quantum Force product line----BLACKOPS. It will be based on a new enthusiast-class chipset from Intel and features a number of innovations designed for enthusiasts and extreme overclockers.
     Demonstrated to media and select customers at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last month, BLACKOPS looks set to delight enthusiasts with its unique BIOS features and smart integrated cooling solution.
     The 4-in-1 Quantum Cooler is an all-copper NB-SB-VRM heatpipe solution with a difference; thanks to bundled accessories, the North Bridge (NB) section of the cooler can be quickly adapted for passive or active air cooling, water cooling or even extreme LN2 or dry ice cooling.
     Last month FOXCONN revealed that the same motherboard would also include an 8-phase Digital PWM for power regulation----one reason for the recent 6GHz overclocking benchmarks with the Intel QX9770 Core 2 Extreme processor. However, BLACKOPS innovations are not just limited to the hardware.
     Speaking from CES 2008 in Las Vegas, Quantum Force Technical Consultant Peter Tan also revealed some of the unique functions to be found in the new Quantum BIOS----a more advanced version of the Gladiator BIOS found on last year's MARS motherboard:
     "We have opened up many more settings for end users to access compared with the Gladiator BIOS, but this new BIOS is not just about more settings. Quantum BIOS introduces a new way of organizing the information and options found in traditional BIOS menus, and we believe that we have created something more intuitive and user friendly. In addition, we've tried to explain what each setting does, and we have arranged them in logical groups where settings have an affect on each other."
     No information on pricing or availability was released at CES, but the product will be available "this quarter" according to Quantum Force Product Manager Greta Kuo.
     For further information about Quantum Force go to http://www.quantum-force.net
     Although you can't buy it yet at the retailer end, BLACKOPS looks set to become a prolific record-breaker even before it hits the shelves.
     The boffins and boffesses at Quantum Force headquarters have entrusted one of their precious samples to the Swiss, who it seems are not just famed for their neutrality, cuckoo clocks, army knifes and rich chocolates, but are rather keen on pumping up the bus on the front side and deep-freezing their processors.
     The Swiss masters will put BLACKOPS through its paces at the time2wonder 2008 (www.time2wonder.ch) eSports and overclocking weekend taking place February 23rd-24th in Switzerland.
     Members of OC Team Switzerland include splmann, gianni-gt and cicolino----all of whom will be on hand throughout the weekend to torture test and prove the latest Quantum Force creation.

Entry-level AMD solutions
     Value seekers will be happy to learn that FOXCONN has announced the A78AX family----A78AX-S (7.1 Channel HD Audio) and A78AX-K (5.1 Channel HD Audio)---- of discrete motherboards based on the AMD 770 chipset with SB700 southbridge----providing a low-cost, low-power solution for the latest AMD processors.
     As the first motherboard manufacturer to use the SB700 southbridge across its entire AMD 7-Series chipset range, FOXCONN are leading the market in providing more connectivity options for mainstream desktop computing. The A78AX has been configured to provide 6 SATAII connectors with RAID functionality, and up to 10 USB2.0 ports.
     The A78AX (includes HyperTransport 3.0 technology and full support for AM2+ Phenom processors and socket AM2 Athlon and Sempron models.
     Supporting the latest PCIe Gen2.0 graphics cards, the A78AX includes 1 PCIe x16 Gen2.0 and 2 PCIe x1 Gen2.0 ports, along with 3 PCI slots for older cardbus products. PCIe Gen2.0 technology doubles the available aggregate bandwidth between PCIe Generation 2 cards and the motherboard. This means a Gen2.0 16-lane (x16) link can provide up to 16GB/s of bandwidth; 8GB/s in each direction. PCIe Gen2.0 is backwards compatible, and so existing PCIe "Gen1" cards can be plugged into Gen2.0 slots.
     Also included on all A78AX motherboards is FOXCONN's proprietary FoxOne Premium solution, which enables easy overclocking, fan control and system monitoring from a dedicated Windows application to save users from navigating complex BIOS options.
     The 4 phase power design on the A78AX motherboards provides superb stability and lower operating temperatures. This delivers more performance headroom and greater reliability to meet the demands of everyday computing.
     The A78AX fully supports the new AMD OverDrive utility for overclocking, system monitoring and benchmarking, making it easier to tune and rate system performance.