Computex 2014: The ASUS Booth Tour
by Ian Cutress on June 11, 2014 11:45 AM ESTThe TUF Sabranco
Camouflage usually comes in three main varieties for most ground troops of a nation’s armed forces: regular, sand and snow. Due to popular demand on the ASUS forums it would seem that a snow version of TUF, the consumer endurance range from ASUS, is coming to market. One of the prototypes was up on display at the booth, combined with the TUF Fortifier which had also been decorated to match the motherboard. The motherboard itself is purchased as white by ASUS then components added, similar to some Galaxy graphics cards in the past.
The Sabranco is still a work in process, as dictated by the glass sheet in front of it and a ‘do not touch’ sign. There is not much to tell from these images, however the dual fan placement element of the TUF Fortifier is here, as well as the SATA Express connector with the SATA ports.
The Thermal Armor around the power delivery has the two switches to direct airflow around that area. The name ‘Sabranco’ is a portmanteau of Sabertooth and Branco, the Portuguese for white. So I am not one who enjoys portmanteau in general (with ‘chillax’ being on the bad end of the scale but ‘ginormous’ seems reasonable’), and I am not sure Sabranco rolls off the tongue as easily as some of the other ASUS product names. The best alternative as a name for this I could come up with, when ASUS asked what I would call it instead, was the ‘TUF Antarctic’, so go with the color along with the harsh conditions TUF is designed to be used in. I guess I might have been influenced by the case design ASUS had on display to show off what a white system might look like:
As mentioned, this white TUF motherboard is most likely coming to market however it is a few months away from release right now. I suspect the first socket for this model will be Z97, though depending on the demand for X99, perhaps an extreme edition will be made.
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lemon1510 - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
Where did you got the specs from? The official ASUS site says "GTX 750 Ti" as GPU while you refer to a 750M which is in a completely different league in terms of performance =S.Ian Cutress - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
You are right, the GR8 is a 750 Ti - that's what I wrote in our original news item when it was announced. Corrected.rocktober13 - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
It would be nice if ASUS initially offered a version of the GR8 without Windows 8 to hit a lower price point. I would rather have a Ubuntu + Steam (with in home streaming) + XMBC combo. More functionality than SteamOS and available now. Also, I hope the included Windows 8 is the Pro version otherwise it's another $100 to add WMC with the basic edition.rocktober13 - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
*XBMCCalaverasGrande - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
surprised there are not more UHD and 4k models.Not everyone wants a 30" monitor on their desk. I'm hoping to see more 24" UHD or 4K displays. Sure there is the Dell, but I kind of hate how Dells current industrial design looks with those awkward stands.
TylerGrunter - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
Wasn´t the MeMO Pad 8 going to be out with the Atom Z3580 and have a FullHD panel?From their own press releas:
http://press.asus.com/PressReleases/p/ASUS-Present...
I guess there are two models, the ME181C and the ME581CL, but I find terribly confusing that they call them both MeMO Pad 8
churchgeek - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
A 10-but display!pandemonium - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
ASUS really is becoming 'the' brand of choice for all of their vested markets.Thanks for the coverage!
X3ON - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
The ROG GX500 looks pretty interesting,The top and bottom shells are made og brushed aluminium, but what about the area around the keyboard? Is it plastic or matte black aluminium?
Nadrik23518 - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
Any idea when and if Asus will offer to market a 24 inch monitor with G-sync? Why is Asus siting on G-sync? Can they give the buying community a firm date of when they will offer a monitor with G-sync? I have held my next purchase of a gaming monitor for over a year now. If all they are going to do is talk about G-sync and show mock-up monitors without ever coming to market with a product, I will purchase my second choice.