DirectX 11 graphics cards are here, super-speedy SSDs are readily available and quick DDR3 memory is cheaper than ever. But, for the enthusiast, the next big thing is likely to be Intel's first consumer-orientated hexa-core processor, codenamed Gulftown.
Expected to appear early in 2010 - and certain to be on show at next month's CES - the chip is essentially a 32nm, six-core derivative of Bloomfield that's armed with hyper threading and 12MB of L3. That, on paper, makes it a 12-thread CPU that's on track to become the most powerful option for the enthusiast buyer.
Although already expected to slot into LGA1366 sockets on existing X58 boards, ASUS has today moved to ease the minds of extreme users by confirming that an array of its currently-available boards will offer Gulftown support via a "comprehensive BIOS upgrade".
General manager of ASUS' motherboard business, Chie-Wei Lin, reckons Gulftown and X58 is on track to become one of "the fastest personal computing platforms in history", and his company has gone on to detail which of its boards will support Gulftown.
Planning on a hexa-core ASUS build? Here's the list of supporting boards, and the required minimum BIOS version:
| Model | BIOS Version |
| P6X58D Premium | 0222 |
| P6TD Deluxe | 0209 |
| P6T Deluxe V2 | 0704 |
| P6T Deluxe | 1804 |
| P6T SE | 0608 |
| P6T | 0904 |
| Rampage II Extreme | 1639 |
| Rampage II GENE | 1033 |
