Foxconn Dreadnought motherboard is priced at $399

Foxconn unveiled a new expensive motherboard based on the NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI chipset. The Foxconn Quantum Force Dreadnought costs $399, it supports Intel Core 2 processors with FSB up to 1600MHz and has support for 3-way SLI. Special features include 8-phase digital PWM, the 4-in-1 Quantum Cooler that supports passive, air, water and extreme cooling, a special audio solution, the Quantum BIOS, some overclocking features and some accessories for enthusiasts.

New power regulation offers better stability and higher output capability
The 8 phase Digital PWM provides more robust power delivery, standing up to the demands of enthusiasts and overclockers. Quantum Force engineers have spent 3 months finely-tuning and optimizing this digital system so that it operates with better power efficiency, has a faster and more stable response to changes in power consumption, and delivers higher current output capability to support extreme overclocking.

“There is no doubt that the 8-phase Digital PWM can sustain the massive demands which will be placed on it by enthusiasts and extreme overclockers... it can even do this whilst generating less heat switching between different voltage requirements with greater speed and reliability” asserts Peter Tan, Quantum Force Technical Consultant.

4in1 Quantum Cooler
The 4in1 Quantum Cooler is an all-copper NB-SB-VRM heatpipe solution with a difference; thanks to bundled accessories, the North Bridge (NB) section of the cooler can be quickly adapted for passive or active air cooling, water cooling or even extreme LN2 or dry ice cooling! The 4in1 Quantum Cooler “is the most adaptable and effective cooling solution ever integrated onto a motherboard”, according to Peter Tan. The Dreadnought version of the 4in1 Quantum Cooler also includes an optional NB heatsink spreader for improved passive cooling of the NVIDIA® 790i Ultra SLI northbridge.

New audio technology
Dreadnought includes a new audio solution using Low ESR Metallized Polyester Film capacitors to deliver greater sound clarity and audio fidelity. The onboard audio circuits of the 7.1channel HD audio use metallized polyester film capacitors with low ESR to improve audio quality and reduce interference. These components are widely used in high-end audio equipment. ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance) is the degree to which natural resistance occurs in a capacitor, generating heat and resulting in failure or distortion of signals. The use of low ESR capacitors in audio circuits reduces occurrences of electrical noise and improves frequency response - especially in the higher audio ranges of 20-48KHz.

Quantum BIOS
The new Quantum BIOS is a quantum leap over the previous generation Gladiator BIOS found on the MARS motherboard. The new BIOS menus are intuitive and user friendly, organized in groups of inter-related settings. Not only are there many more voltage options, but they are arranged into groups relating to the different areas that they affect … CPU, Memory, FSB, etc. Notable additions to the tweaking options are CPU PPL and GTL for quad-core overclocking – expected to be widely-used by overclockers pushing their Core™2 Extreme and Core™2 Quad processors.

Unique accessories for enthusiasts
Just like the BLACKOPS motherboard, Dreadnought includes a range of accessories designed to provide additional convenience and performance enhancements for overclockers. In addition to the 4in1 Quantum Cooler accessories (which include a NB fan, extension tower for LN2 cooling and water cooling block), Dreadnought owners will also receive the Quantum Lap motherboard tray for convenient workbench access to all parts of the motherboard, and the Quantum Flow kit – which improves airflow around installed VGA cards. The Quantum Flow fan can be installed in a horizontal or vertical position, and lowers temperatures around multi-VGA rigs by around 5ºC.

Safety and convenience for overclocking
Onboard CMOS reset and power on/off buttons, a 2-digit LED debug display and the OC Recover feature all combine to speed up recovery time from unsuccessful overclocking attempts, whilst the new Twin BIOS feature safeguards against BIOS corruption and enables hot-swapping of BIOS chips.

Foxconn Quantum Force Dreadnought Specifications:

	Dreadnought, NVIDIA 790i Ultra SLI
CPU Support	Supports Intel® 45nm processors, Intel® Core™2 Extreme, Core™2 Quad and Core™2 Duo. Check website for other processor support.
FSB	1600/1333/1066/800MHz
Memory	Dual DDR3 2000/1600/1333/1066 x 4 DIMMs, Max. 8GB
Expansion	3* PCIe x16 (3* x16 bandwidth) with 3-way SLI, 1* PCIe x1, 2 * PCI
Connectivity	6* SATAII, RAID, 2* eSATA, 10* USB 2.0, 2* IEEE1394a, 1* ATA 133
Audio	7.1 channel HD Audio with Low ESR capacitors
Networking	Dual Gigabit LAN
Form	Factor ATX