Although Gigabyte Technology was the last among first-tier motherboard makers to enter the optical storage arena, it will be the first to release a DVD-Dual drive, supporting 4x burning for both the DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW formats, according to DigiTimes.

Gigabyte is outsourcing manufacturing of the drive to Taiwan-based Lite-On Group, and volume production will begin in August, according to the company. No retail price has been set, but sources said that the FOB price quoted to wholesalers is US$150-160.

Gigabyte projects DVD-Dual drives will become a mainstream component in the PC market in one to two years. Global sales this year could reach about 12 million units.