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With some of the first USB 3.0 and SATA 6 devices already released, the first capable motherboards are now available for purchase. Asus and Gigabyte were both known to be working on new boards earlier this summer and both companies are now shipping their latest models.
Asus is shipping two boards, one with a P55 chipset, and the other with an X58. Due to the single lane bandwidth bottleneck of the P55 chipset, Asus uses a bridge chip (PLX8613) and four PCIe lanes so the board can run in SLI and Crossfire modes. Gigabyte is shipping seven different boards in the P55A series. Gigabyte opted to avoid the bridge chip so dual-card modes will not be enabled in the board.
These motherboards are shipping despite delayed chipset releases from Intel supporting the latest interfaces. Manufacturers do not expect to have new Intel chipsets with USB 3.0 support until 2011.
Asus P7P55D-E-Premium
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[1] http://www.maximumpc.com/user/jcbarry
[2] http://www.dailytech.com/Motherboards+Supporting+USB+30++SATA+6Gbps+Now+Available/article16634.htm
[3] http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/exclusive_first_usb_30_and_sata_60_expansion_card_will_sell_30
[4] http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/first_certified_usb_30_product_available
[5] http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/everything_you_need_know_about_sata_6gbsec
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