ASUS announces Ivy Bridge PCI-Express motherboards, for early early-adopters

If you get your jollies from things like procuring motherboards months before compatible chips are released, then boy have we some good news for you! ASUS is releasing three PCI-Express 3.0 enabled motherboards that are capable of handling Intel's souped-up Ivy Bridge chips when they debut next year. The company isn't in the business of giving its boards romantic names, so the three Z68-powered arrivals will be called P8Z68-Deluxe/GEN3, P8Z68-V Pro/GEN3 and P8Z68-V/GEN3. The whole lot will get two PCI-Express 3.0 slots, LucidLogix Vertu graphics-switching and USB 3.0. They'll be available from October -- the Deluxe model will peel €230 ($310) from the rear of your pocket, while the V-pro commands a more modest €185 ($250) and the V an even lower €160 ($220). After the break, we've got a shot of the German spec list that those nice folks at TechConnect managed to snaffle. Go on, geek out -- we won't tell.