Asus Reportedly Cancels First USB3 Motherboard

Just two weeks ago, we reported how problems with Marvell's SATA 6GB (88SE9123) had led motherboard manufacturers to delay certain P55-based products. Now, Asus has reportedly pulled its P6X58 Premium motherboard altogether. As originally conceived, said board would have featured both USB3 and SATA 6GB as major selling points; it's possible Asus killed the board rather than ship a premium-class product with just one differentiating feature.
 
USB 3.0, now in blue. Picture courtesy of XFastest
 
An Asus spokesperson told The Inquirer that the board was cancelled "not for any particularly interesting reasons." As if, you know, Asus routinely showed its premium boards at major trade shows, only to cancel them two months later. At this point, it's not clear if Asus's decision to nuke the motherboard had anything to do with USB 3 performance or not. If Intel's controller is having growing pains, it's perfectly possible that Asus opted to pull the feature for now, and will add it back when it's time for the next product refresh. Given the wide variety of USB 3-capable equipment on the market (none), the manufacturer is scarcely missing anything by opting to wait a little while.
Tags:  Intel, core i7, Asus, P55