Computex Diary: Day 3

Even more from Asus

Having thought we’d seen everything Asus had to offer for the show at its press-conferences, we were promptly proved wrong when we swung by Asus’ stand. Pride of place was taken by its bonkers (and utterly impractical, but we didn’t want to pry) Zeus concept motherboard.


Matching an X79 chipset with a pair of GTX 680 2GBs on-board (sat beneath a rather insubstantial looking heatsink) it’s an interesting idea for future high-end products, but we got the impression it was very much a concept rather than a new direction for Asus’ board design.


Also putting in an appearance was Asus’ RoG Mars graphics card, although again we were a little mystified. In the past Asus’ Mars card have combined two of the top end GPUs in Nvidia’s product stack, but for the 6-series, the GTX 690 4GB already does this (albeit with slightly lower clock speeds). Again, Asus insisted this was an early prototype though.


Wrapping up Asus’ Computex showing (really this time) were these splendid custom-painted Sabertooth-Z77 motherboards and this fantastic scratch built RoG mod by bit-tech forum member nhenhophach. You can read the scratch build project log in our forum, but the end result was just stunning. Complete with custom reseroirs for its liquid cooling loop. immaculate plumbing, and plate metal doors, it's a great looking build.

BitFenix

BitFenix announced its arrival onto the hardware scene at Computex two years ago with its Colossus chassis, but its head turner at Computex was undoubtedly its new Mini-ITX prodigy case. Small enough to lift with one arm, but capable of mounting full size components and even a dual 120mm fan radiator, we’re very much looking forward to checking out the Prodigy soon.

Silverstone

Our final stop of the day was to Silverstone, where we quickly spied a (very) early prototype of the Silverstone’s new Raven 4 chassis. Rather than stick to the 90° rotated layout of the Raven, Raven 2 and Raven 3 though, Silverstone has adopted the invertex-ATX design of its (very good) TJ08-E. The front fasica is mounted onto a hinge, swinging out to reveal a front panel dominated by a huge dust filter.


Silverstone told us that its current mesh and filters dramatically reduce airflow, so by pushing for a thinner, less restrictive filter, it can greatly increase airflow into the case. We loved the invertex-ATX design of the TJ08-E, so have high hopes for the Raven 4.

With that, we disappeared out into the Taipei evening, journeying in search of someone to pick-up the bill for dinner and perhaps buy us a few drinks. Did we succeed? Was the food any good? And what did we see on our final day at the show? Come back tomorrow to find out!