Legit Reviews

Taipei, Taiwan--December 2005-- ULi Electronics Inc. (ULi) unveils High Definition PCI Express™ Single Chip ¡V M1697. M1697 is ULi's latest single-chip solution to empower high-performance PCI Express™ AMD64-based PC systems for sockets 754, 939, 940 and M2 processors.

Focusing to provide motherboard manufacturers and system integrators with greater design-flexibility and economical manufacturing cost, the M1697's innovative single chip architecture offers the lowest latency to achieve maximum system performance while providing manufacturers with the most innovative technology and features, including advanced storage capabilities for multiple disk RAID environments and next-generation SATA II 3Gbps supporting Native Command Queuing (NCQ) capability. Compatible with all SATA hard drives, the M1697 provide support of up to four external SATA II (eSATA II) ports with hot swap capability that allows external hard drives to be removed or added without the need to shut down or restart the system.

"By bringing advanced technologies into one single chip, manufacturers are presented with a solution that enables them to built motherboards with high-end level of quality and features at a very competitive price point." said Alex Kuo, President of ULi. "The M1697 breaks the barriers in performance, scalability, features, and cost, greatly positioning ULi to become a preeminent supplier of AMD64¡Vbased platforms."

M1697 features highly scalable PCI Express™ interfaces at 1 x16 or 2 x8 (4GB/sec peak bandwidth per direction) for graphics and 3 x1 or 1 x4 for high-speed I/O devices to fulfill various market requirements. When paired with ULi's highly versatile M1695 HyperTransportTM tunnel chip, the combination presents yet another notable world first chipset solution to offer a full 2 x16 PCI Express™ that delivers the highest throughput required amongst performance intensive multimedia and gaming environment. While the integrated 7.1-channel High Definition (HD) Audio technology brings 3D gaming to a new level of realistic breathtaking, surround-sound experience to your PC.

"The ULi M1697 is a compelling solution for price-conscious users looking for top-shelf features and performance," said Lester Lau, Brand Manager of ABIT Computer Corporation. "The combination of ULi technology and ABIT engineering in our UL8 Pro motherboard will most certainly turn some heads in the enthusiast space."

"The unveiling of M1697 is another boost for ASRock. ULi's latest single chip - M1697 offers great flexibility and cost-effective PCI Express solution. ASRock is ready to go with this grand launch with 939GLAN-SATA2 based on M1697 with specification of FSB1GHz, PCI Express and SATA II that matches NF4-Ultra series." said ASRock Inc.

"Today's tech-savvy consumers are looking for alternative solutions that would enable them to get the same level of performance and features obtained from high-end solutions at an affordable price," said Joe Hsieh, Motherboard Business Group VP of ASUSTeK. "ULi's M1697 single chip coupled with AMD64 technology sets a new standard of excellence that will completely redefine the high-end enthusiast arena."

"It's been a long time that EPoX has seen powerful solutions that combines powerful performance and overclocking potential from 3rd party chipset vendor," said Timothy Hsu, Marketing Director of EPoX. "We've tested the ULi M1697 single chip and we're very pleased with its performance. We welcome its arrival!"

"We are excited to implement ULi's M1697 single chip to our upcoming AMD64-based motherboards. The advanced features and performance offered by ULi's M1697 enable us to penetrate and fulfill the strong demand for high performance PCI Express solutions designed for the highly competitive, cost and quality conscious market." said Gigabyte Technology.

M1697-based motherboards from several leading partners including ABIT Computer Corp., Albatron Technology Co. Ltd., ASRock Inc., ASUSTeK Computer Inc., DFI Inc., EPoX International Inc., Giga-Byte Technology, Jetway Information Co. Ltd., and MSI are expected to appear in the market by Q1 of 2006.

About ULi

ULi Electronics Inc. is a leading fabless IC design company that develops world-class solutions for consumer electronics and professional computing products. ULi's expertise in the PC information industry and solid design capability superbly positioned ULi as a major component supplier dedicated to bringing system manufacturers more highly integrated, performance enhancing and cost effective IC solutions. For more information about ULi, please visit our website at http://www.uli.com.tw