Cool evolution?

The theme for ASUS' latest workstation board seems to be all blue and cool. The retail box is completely blue, so are the parts on the motherboard: Blue heatsinks, blue slots, blue SATA connectors.

The Eagle flies with 1600Mhz FSB

 The Intel P45 Express chipset is the 2nd 4 series chipset from Intel after the X48, poised to replace the P35, the P45 is is positioned as a mid-end chipset for both the enthusiasts and professional alike, with a series of feature refresh from its P35 predecessor. Notable updates include a 1600Mhz FSB update, official DDR3-1333Mhz support, PCI-E 2.0 support with a possible dual x8 split for ATI Crossfire configurations (the P35 could only do x16+x4). The I/O Controller Hub (ICH) is also updated to ICH10, with LPT support completely removed, as well as potential support for 10GBe Connectivity. 10GBe connectivity will be something that we will not see in the near future, as 10GBe LOM chipsets are expensive and scarce, and the necessary networking equipment is still not available to the average home user.

ASUS Energy Processing Unit

With the focus now shifting towards making more energy-efficient products, motherboard manufacturers such as ASUS and Gigabyte have come up with technologies to keep power consumption (and heat output) down. ASUS names their technology the Energy Processing Unit (EPU) while Gigabyte calls theirs the Dynamic Energy Saver (DES).

According to ASUS, the "ASUS EPU utilizes innovative technology to digitally monitor and fine-tune the CPU power supply with improved VR responses in heavy or light loadings. Working together with AI Gear 3+, it automatically provides power for higher performance or improves efficiency by 50% when the PC is running low intensity applications - helping you attain the best possible power efficiency and energy savings of up to 80.23% to help save the environment".