Nowadays second- and third-tier mainboard tend to leave highly-competitive market of motherboards or merge with bigger players. But it seems that some companies want to enter the market instead: according to a media report, SupremeTec International, a maker of industrial computing solutions, wants to start selling enthusiast-class mainboards.

SupremeTec International was established in January, 2001, with the aim to develop and manufacture a variety of industrial computing solutions, including products for gaming, industrial automation, medical, transportation, public service, telecom, networking security, military and other industries. Currently the company sells an array of mainboards for industrial computing, industrial systems (including single-board PCs, embedded machines and so on) as well as industrial LCD displays.

Industrial computing solutions often have special requirements for extra robustness, high temperature operation and other. Enthusiast-class personal computers also operate in extreme conditions, when end-users try to squeeze every single MHz of additional performance out of their microprocessors, memory modules and graphics cards. Therefore, experience of creating advanced industry computing solutions may be valuable in the enthusiast computing space.

Keeping the aforementioned facts in mind, SupremeTec decided to enter the market of mainboards for enthusiasts. A news-story at VR-Zone web-site claims that SupremeTec wants to enter the U.S. market with its Prometheus IC2-P35 motherboard based on Intel P35 chipset. There are hardly many details concerning the new solutions, but it is known that it is aimed primarily at experienced computer users and carries Swiftech coolers for core-logic as well as Sound Blaster X-Fi 7.1-channel audio. It is projected that the novelty will cost “below $200”.

Even though solutions for industries and enthusiast-class hardware may have certain similarities when it comes to their engineering on the board level, they are totally different on all other levels. Enthusiasts require rich overclocking and system management capabilities as well as some other peculiarities not available on other kinds of motherboards. Moreover, despite of not being commodity products, enthusiast-class mainboards are sold through other channels than industrial solutions.

Diamond Flower Inc. (DFI), who is also known for both industrial computing solutions as well as consumer motherboards, recently decided not to develop mainstream-class solutions for mass market, but concentrate on industrial and enthusiast motherboards.