The cheapest 140mm fan we’ve tested so far beats even significantly more expensive 120mm models at comparable noise levels. That’s because of the use of a larger cross-sectional area, as well as the efficient impeller geometry that the Stratus 140 PWM definitely has. “Cheap” fan doesn’t necessarily mean “weak”, though of course there are some compromises based on more limited manufacturing resources than with more expensive fans. Read more “Endorfy Stratus 140 PWM: Low price, high efficiency”
State-of-the-art process nodes are getting more expensive, and even the cost per transistor isn’t dropping anymore, so we’ll increasingly see cheap CPUs and GPUs being unable to use the latest processes. Fortunately, TSMC is also preparing lower-cost versions alongside the high-end nodes. Right now, 6nm node serves the role, but cheaper 4nm manufacturing should soon be available instead, which could help a lot especially for GPUs. Read more “TSMC has cheaper 4nm node, making low-end CPUs, GPUs viable”
With the RS Max fans, Corsair is aiming really high. Across the most popular 120 and 140mm formats, it has incorporated technically what should define perhaps the most efficient fans of their kind. Especially when it comes to the 140mm variant. It too is 30mm thick, which combined with the curved LCP blades makes it a theoretical favorite to win many “first places”. Read more “Corsair RS Max: Fans that can rise to the top”
Noctua’s long-awaited next-gen fans in the 140mm format have experienced a setback in their planned release, but they also haven’t. They have indeed been delayed from the second to third quarter of 2024 in terms of standalone availability, but they should be out soon together with the cooler that replaces the NH-D15 at the top of the lineup. In addition, it’s also been somewhat declassified which of the “older” projects is nearing completion. Read more “Noctua: New 140 mm fans to premiere on a CPU cooler”
Some really attractive things are often overlooked or given less attention than they deserve, for various reasons. This is somewhat the case with the technically remarkable fan from PCCooler CPS – the F5 R120. This 120 mm fan with its features is in the company of the most prominent names, although it has its weaknesses as well. These may or may not interest you either. It depends on the use case. Read more “PCCooler CPS F5 R120 BK: Mid-range attacking the top”
Cooler Master has released, in its own words, a versatile PC case. By this (versatile) it seems to refer, among other things, to the support of motherboards with unconventional placement of connectors on the back of the PCB. But within a certain universality, the MasterBox 600 is ready for practically all component formats. The size of the case corresponds to an average midi-tower. Read more “MasterBox 600. New case (also) for boards with rear connectors”
This year, the vague uncertainty about Windows 11 not supporting older computers turned into reality, as the OS began using the POPCNT instruction, causing it to stop working on many processors. However, this was not all and the requirements may increase further. In fact, now Windows 11 is starting to require additional instruction set extensions that will shut down more processor families, including Phenoms and the first APUs. Read more “Windows 11 stops working on more processors, requires SSE4.2”
Today marks the launch of a new version of the popular Endorfy Fera 5 cooler, with the Black attribute. The name suggests that this cooler has a matte black finish, which will be appreciated especially by fans of minimalist PC builds. Of course, it will have to be tested whether this finish has a negative effect on cooling efficiency or whether there is any deterioration in acoustics. So let’s venture into the dark future of Endorfy coolers together. Read more “Endorfy Fera 5 Black – Bestseller on the way to darkness”
Twenty liters of volume, yet still room for graphics cards such as the GeForce RTX 4090 or the tallest tower coolers. Plus a handle on the top. Few things better define a case for gaming events where you come with your own powerful PC. In this case, we’re talking about the DeepCool CH160. This is a new “SFF” case with a suggested price of just 60 EUR, where the emphasis is on efficient cooling rather than premium design. Read more “DeepCool CH160 is a cheap ITX case for large components”
The ongoing contest for Enermax PSUs is now even more attractive. You can also enter for fans, which we will be happy to add to the package for the winner. And also for free. In their case, we don’t even require them to be paired with the main build (with the Enermax PSU). You can use them as you see fit in some other computer where they will do a better job than gathering dust on the shelves of our testlab. Read more “Enermax contest bonus: You’ll also get fans with the PSU”
One of the most revered SSD coolers ever. With the CLR-M2XT, Axagon opted for a transverse fin layout, which makes this cooler different from all the others (within Axagon). The fins are naturally shorter and there is less surface area per one, but again there are more of them and to achieve the highest cooling performance the designers tried to work well with the height as well. But, again, in a way to maintain as much compatibility as possible. Read more “Axagon CLR-M2XT. With 40 fins for powerful SSDs”
We recently mused that Intel could catch up, if not overtake AMD in iGPU performance, but now there’s information suggesting upcoming Intel Xeon processors could close the gap with AMD in servers. In fact, the “Granite Rapids” processors appear to eliminate AMD Epyc processors’ long-standing lead in core count and will bring as many as 128 cores. However, these will probably use the not-so-successful Meteor Lake microarchitecture… Read more “Next-gen Xeon 6 has 128 Meteor Lake P-Cores and 500W TDP”
For coolers (but also cases) with the Digital attribute, DeepCool creates a built-in display. Its implementation is minimalist in spirit, doesn’t increase the price significantly, and can be considered useful. With regard to monitoring CPU temperatures and load intensity, it’s a thematic value added, which we’ll now look at in the context of the powerful AK620 (Digital) dual-tower cooler. Read more “Display on a CPU cooler: DeepCool AK620 Digital preview”
A curious “scandal” has now surfaced on the Internet: it seems that decorative RGB LEDs in your computer may not be a purely cosmetic feature that has no effect on the hardware. Users on social media have noticed that the illumination can leave an irreversible mark on your hardware, so to speak, such as on a graphics card that you have next to your RGB memory. Whether this can also have adverse effects on users is hard to say. Read more “Caveat: RGB LEDs can damage graphics cards and other hardware”
Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new. Read more “ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II: Not only the most efficient”
DRAM used in operating memory has long been experiencing problems. It doesn’t have the best scaling to new manufacturing nodes, which limits capacity growth. Things used to be similar with 15nm NAND Flash, the last gen before planar technology was replaced by 3D NAND. That literally breathed new life (or at least TBWs) into SSDs. However, a stacked “3D” version is now shaping up for DRAM as well, giving hopes it could be similarly groundbreaking. Read more “Stacked DRAM on the horizon. Could be a revolution like 3D NAND”
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