Not too long ago we posted about Intel’s Z68 chipset and its ability to take advantage of Smart Response Technology. This is essentially the use of a small SSD as a high-speed cache for a traditional hard drive, giving the computer the speed of an SSD combined with the capacity of a spinning disk. Now we’ve learned that hardware site VR-Zone got a sneak peak at Gigabyte’s new GA-Z68P-DS3 motherboard motherboard, which, as you can probably tell from the name, uses that Z68 chipset. The best part though is that the motherboard has a mini SATA (mSATA) slot on-board, which means that Smart Response can actually be put to use.

As luck would have it, Intel has the perfect fit for that mSATA slot and Smart Response. The company’s 311 series SSD (PDF product brief here) fits into an mSATA slot and packs 20GB of blazing fast storage. The drive is 1/8th the size of a 2.5-inch disk and weighs just 10 grams so it barely takes up any room in a computer case. You can see it mounted in the dead center of the Gigabyte motherboard above.

Aside from mSATA the GA-Z68P-DS3 has support for second generation Core processors (Sandy Bridge), six rear USB slots, HDMI, Intel HD audio, a PS/2 port, two 6Gbps SATA ports, and 4 Gbps SATA ports, plus all the other stuff you’d expect from a modern motherboard. Intel counts the Z68 as a mainstream chipset so despite the new technology the board is a bit pedestrian, but it looks like a very solid offering for a large segment of the computer-building market.

And, seemingly for a bit of irony, Gigabyte left the parallel and serial ports on the back. You know, if you have an old printer you’d like to use…