PRESS RELEASE



(January 2013) — ASUS today announced new products that elevate gaming and home entertainment to exciting new levels, including the ROG ARES II graphics card with dual AMD® HD 7970 GHz Edition GPUs and the Xonar Essence One MUSES Edition USB DAC with headphone amplifier. ASUS also announced the compact E2KM1-I Deluxe Mini-ITX motherboard that provides a solid energy-saving foundation for home theater PCs, and gave a sneak preview of the ROG RAIDR Express high-performance solid-state storage device for desktop PCs.

ROG ARES II sets new performance record

The limited-edition ROG ARES II graphics card packs two AMD® Radeon™ HD 7970 GHz Edition GPUs. Its slender two-slot design suits a variety of PC cases. ROG ARES II is the fastest graphics card currently available, and has a new hybrid thermal design that combines liquid and air cooling. ROG ARES II outperforms the dual-GPU GeForce® GTX 690 reference card by a significant 13%, yet its operating temperature is an incredible 31°C lower.

ROG ARES II features 6GB of GDDR5 video memory for ultra-detailed settings in the latest games at resolutions of 1920 x 1200 and beyond. Exclusive 20-phase power delivery with hardened Super Alloy Power long-life components better withstand heat and stress, prolonging the lifespan of ROG ARES II by up to two-and-a-half times, compared to the GeForce® GTX 690 reference card. ASUS DIGI+ VRM digital voltage regulation further enhances stability and offers precise overclocking control, managed with the bundled ASUS GPU Tweak utility.

Perfectly matched for home entertainment

The ASUS E2KM1-I Deluxe Mini-ITX motherboard is purpose-designed for compact home theater PCs that take up little space in the living room. Pre-configured with a dual-core AMD® E2-2000 processor and Radeon™ HD 7340 DirectX® 11-compatible graphics capable of 1080p Full HD video playback, the E2KM1-I Deluxe combines efficient power delivery and modest energy requirements for long-term savings on electricity bills. The E2KM1-I Deluxe also features exclusive Wi-Fi GO! technology for seamless wireless connectivity with smart TVs, PCs, smartphones and tablets.

For sound, the ASUS Xonar Essence One MUSES Edition USB DAC with headphone amplifier enhances PC audio output for true hi-fi quality. It features six premium MUSES 01 Op-Amps from the New Japan Radio Company, which are considered to be among the best components in the audio industry for their clean and clear sound delivery. Xonar Essence One MUSES Edition features 8x symmetrical upsampling for increased precision in audio reproduction, ensuring that no detail is lost. The dedicated 600-ohm headphone amplifier also improves audio tone and timbre with dynamic sound range extension for greater listening enjoyment.

Accelerated desktop storage with ROG RAIDR Express

True to the ROG ‘Choice of champions’ creed, RAIDR Express is an advance look at an innovative new solid-state storage device for gamers seeking the ultimate in desktop PC performance. ROG RAIDR Express delivers significantly faster data transfer speeds and game loading times than SATA-based SSD storage, thanks to the greater bandwidth of its PCI Express interface. ROG RAIDR Express maintains full compatibility with all major chipsets and operating systems, and can be used as a bootable drive for accelerated PC performance across the board.

Specifications