Gigabyte is a brand well-known for its insistence on quality and its focus on the high-end. With the recent movement of various industries into the “green” revolution and ecological sensitivity, Gigabyte has applied their brand of quality and approached this movement in the same way they approach their PC component production – in a no-holds barred insistence on doing things all the way, particularly in the case of DES, or Dynamic Energy Saver.

Not a company to do half-measures, Gigabyte held a Dealer’s event at The Oasis, a small pool of green in the middle of the otherwise concrete-bound Gilmore area containing lots of nature and greenery – a perfect backdrop for their talk of energy saving initiatives both in their products and in their corporate culture. The event was one of the biggest of recent memory to be dedicated solely to a primarily motherboard / VGA card brand like Gigabyte, and the event’s focus on green computing and the technology behind it made the event doubly relevant.

Gigabyte’s DES hardware and software solution was described in detail during the event, and the HWZ team was there to cover all the details – ranging from its cost-cutting features, to software functions, to the actual chips and indicator hardware included on the boards themselves. Join us as we run through this significant event in pictures and put in our observations on the importance of Gigabyte’s stand on both green computing and in their focus on quality.

"The Oasis" was an appropriate name for the venue chosen to hold Gigabyte's Quarterly Product Update event "Think Green, Be Green". As with all activities of the motherboard and VGA giant, ecological sensitivity was of primary importance.

On display were all the motherboards currently in Gigabyte's lineup, even including some soon to be released models such as a P45 based (!) beauty sporting four LAN ports and 10 SATA connectors.

Sporting similar color motifs, Gigabyte's family of motherboards are instantly recognizable to the enthusiast. With their emphasis on the Dynamic Energy Saver system, we were encouraged to examine the motherboards for the relevant circuitry - primarily the "5-gear" indicator lights and the Intersil chip that makes the multiple power phases possible.

The "5-gear" power phase enables Gigabyte motherboards to be very flexible and adaptable to the power demands of the user. On idle and low-power activities such as browsing and typing, the motherboard system automatically ratchets down the gears to a low power-state, to conserve energy. On the other hand, the same system is able to instantly change gear to full power when the user demands the best performance, say during gaming and video editing. The Intersil chip is currently the only solution capable of 5-level power phases, competitor equivalents have 2 phase changes.

Besides motherboards, Gigabyte was also out in full force with their line of premium PC enclosures, including this water cooling integrated full tower in the above picture. VGA cards and other products under Gigqabyte's sole local distributor were also on display.

Mr. Tim Handley, Regional Marketing Director in charge of Asia and Africa, handled the key address and explained Gigabyte's initiatives locally, and gave us and the assembled dealers and retailers a step-by-step explanation of DES and the technology behind it.

Gigabyte's DES front end displays the vurrent power phase and the amount of power being consumed at any one time, plus records the total power saved from when DES is activated. Power savings calculated from typical idle and power usage of local computers indicate total savings to reach an average of P1100 in a year's time. 

Gigabyte also took the opportunity to announce dealer promotions including a trip to Gigabyte's Taiwan factory, which coincidentally is known for a transparent approach to public relations, being one of only a few factories allowing visits from the press. 

Gigabyte executives and the local distributor team hamming it up for the camera.

Gigabyte's latest "Green" initiative is perfectly reflected in their company culture of saving energy, and coupled with their excellent engineering applied to the implementation of technology such as DES, puts Gigabyte in the perfect position to anticipate consumer demands for performance wrapped in quality and backed by the proper "green" thinking.