Introducing the Danshui Bay concept:

Simply put, ASUS are wanting to combine two chipsets on one motherboard – the X58 socket 1366, and the X79 socket 2011.  If we completely disregard the technical challenges this faces, it provides the interesting idea of something that might be possible in the future:  You want to upgrade your machine to the latest chipset and processor.  Rather than throw your old processor away or sell it on, you could buy a motherboard that lets you harness the power of the old processor and a new processor together, in some form of chimerism.

As for the technical challenges in producing such a product, I could reel off a whole list.  For a start, chipsets are not designed to talk to each other.  Processors need dual QPI links to talk to each other of the same model – how that would work with different socket processors with different caches and core counts is also a mystery, as with 1366 you would need an appropriate Xeon.  With two chipsets, you’ll have to have a different set of memory for each processor, and possibly getting a mismatch there based on dual/tri/quad channel memory.  Each processor requires its power and a set of PCIe each – unless you disregard the PCIe of one of the chipsets but then you would have to have at least the processor of the other socket in order to run a discrete GPU.  The same goes with SATA ports, I/O connectors, USB headers, and so on.

Obviously, this board presented is a mockup – merely bits and pieces put together.  It’s showing sixteen SATA 3 Gbps and six SATA 6 Gbps for a start, as well as no significant power delivery and an obscene form factor.  ASUS only want to know that if there was a demand for such a product, despite the technical limitations.

The ROG Maximus IV Extreme-Z and ROG Maximus IV GENE-Z use the Intel Z68 chipset and ASUS’ overclocking system, but the GENE-Z shrinks things down to the microATX form factor. Both support both NVIDIA SLI and AMD CrossFireX, but can also intelligently switch between discrete and integrated graphics using the Lucid Virtu virtualization engine. Finally, there’s SupremeFX X-Fi 2 audio and Intel Ethernet with GameFirst for prioritizing online gaming network traffic.

Both new graphics cards use NVIDIA’s GTX 580 GPU, with the ROG MATRIX GTX 580 getting one of them and the ROG MARS II getting a pair. Each packs GPU Tweak for easier overclocking, as well as 19-Phase Super Alloy Power. Dual fans keep things cool, with ASUS claiming the MATRIX pulls through 600-percent more air and makes for 20-percent cooler operation than the NVIDIA reference design.

Finally, ASUS throws in some accessories, including the ROG Vulcan ANC Headset with an active-noise-cancellation system, and the VG278 3D 27-inch display, which has HDMI 1.4 and a built-in infrared emitter. No pricing or availability for any of the new ROG range.

Known as the Z68ITX-WiFi (rough MSRP of $244) and Z68 GT430 ITX-WiFi ($295), both boards are brimming with features, including an unoccupied LGA1155 processor socket, two SATA 3Gb/s and 6Gb/s ports, an assortment of USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports and headers, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and 7.1-channel audio with an optical S/PDIF output.

Despite their similarities, each board has its own perks. The former offers a second Gigabit Ethernet jack, two HDMI outputs and a Mini DisplayPort connector, and a spare PCI Express x16 slot. Additionally, the Z68ITX-WiFi has a pair of full-size DDR3 DIMM slots and passive cooling enabling a silent machine with the right CPU heatsink and case fans.

Conversely, the latter comes with an embedded Nvidia GeForce GT 430 graphics processor that relies on heatsink and fan combo for cooling. It loses the second network and HDMI ports, but gains two DVI outputs, one eSATA port, and a full-size DisplayPort connector. It also “downgrades” to an open-ended PCI Express x4 slot and DDR3 SO-DIMM slots.