The buzz surrounding the launching of various Intel (News - Alert)-based motherboards has the news sector kind of scratching their heads. The upcoming processors, which all hit the news earlier this year in March, included a Haswell-K processor with overclocking enhancements, an unlocked Iris Pro processor for Broadwell, and there was even some information on an 8-core Haswell-E processor. The actual details on these, however, have all been redacted.
What does this mean and what can we expect? Well, news as of very recently in a press release says GIGABYTE launched its new 9 series motherboards based on the Intel Z97/H97 chipsets with support for 4th and 5th generation Intel CoreTM processors. Those details, according to a company statement, are probably ones that only matter to gamers; the GIGABYTE 9 series G1TM gaming motherboards were designed to deliver top-notch features that gamers like, including audio technologies that allow gamers to experience sound effects while gaming, in the best way possible.
ASUS also announced a full range of ASUS-branded motherboards powered by Intel Z97 Express and H97 Express chipsets, and including support for 4th, New 4th, and 5th-generation Intel Core processors, which includes Haswell, Haswell Refresh, Haswell Refresh K-series / Devil’s Canyon.
According to AnandTech, what we are seeing is a bit of an NDA confusion. Specifications are now coming out with actual launch dates, and maybe we’ll be lucky enough to see the news in full, not bits and pieces redacted by PR agencies with limited information.
A quick search shows that the news is actually coming back, with actual information, as just this week Florida-based Origin PC announced that it's become the first system builder to offer motherboards based on the new Intel Z97 chipset (9-series). The option is now available in its line of Genesis, Millennium, and Chronos desktops.
While well-crafted non-disclosure agreements provide businesses with legal and equitable remedies for improper disclosure or use of proprietary information, the agreements alone may not be effective to stop a few bad apples from potentially harmful disclosures.
In this case, it isn’t so much harmful as it was before its time, thus ruining the audience reception.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson