Asus P7P55D EVO and PRO motherboard now available in the Philippines

Done buying up all the parts necessary for your new PC running on Intel's P55 Express chipset? If not, and you're still in the process of picking out a motherboard to use your new Lynnfield processor on, then add these two newly available Asus mobos into your list of options. The Asus P7P55D PRO and Asus P7P55D EVO are the two most affordable P55 motherboards from Asus with 2 PCI-E 2.0 x16 slots that run in x8/x8 mode when used with 2 GPUs.

I used to recommend the cheaper vanilla P7P55D and even the P7P55D LE motherboards from the same company, until I found out that the second PCI-E 2.0 x16 slots on those ones only ran on x4 mode with a second GPU. For those that don't know, this is very bad news if you want to run your GPUs in Crossfire, and at least x8/x8 is necessary to be able to experience the benefits of such a dual-GPU configuration. And so, the Asus P7P55D PRO and EVO are yours for the picking. Happy New Year!

Sources: [P7P55D PRO, P7P55D EVO]

Intel Core i3 530 arriving on January 4, now on pre-sale at PC Hub Gilmore

First listed on the price list of local computer parts reseller Enigma Technologies, Intel's Core i3 530 processor is now on pre-sale at PC Hub Gilmore. The asking price may still be a bit steep for some -- 5,999 Pesos -- especially for a dual-core CPU with a 133MHz FSB. This new Core i-series processor will be compatible with LGA1156 socket motherboards, which are available for as low as 5,000 Pesos. So perhaps there is a point to having a CPU this affordable and, ahem, underpowered (compared to even the i5 750). Expect the first batch of i3 530s to arrive by January 4th.

Source: [PC Hub]

PCHub Gilmore offers pre-sale of Sapphire Radeon HD 5970 for 32,500 Pesos ($690 USD)

Click to enlarge
Seems like I'm not the only one who thinks the Radeon HD 5970 should be sold for so cheap! PC hardware store PCHub in Gilmore has just listed Sapphire's reference Radeon HD 5970 for pre-sale and their asking price is well north of the projected SRP of Asus Philippines. While Asus may start offering their EAH5970 for only 21,990 Pesos, Sapphire's is available for 32,500 Pesos or about $690 USD. And you still have to wait for it--for two to three weeks probably. Coupons for DIRT 2 and Battleforge (two of the world's first DX11 games) are included with the HD 5970. So, 32,500 Pesos a piece. Personally, I think I'd rather enjoy setting that same amount of money on fire or watching it get flushed down the toilet in front of me. But if you want the best graphics card money can buy right now, PCHub's pre-sale is still ongoing. Check out the source link below for details.

Source: [PCHub]