Intel Xe HPG gaming GPU photos leaked. RTX 3070 Ti performance?

Very first photos of the 2nd generation Intel’s standalone GPU have been leaked, maybe a little earlier than expected. This timeit is not the small and feeble mobile GPU Iris Xe Max, which could only compare to GeForce MX, but the Xe HPG gaming graphics. The card in the photos allegedly has a TDP of up to 275 W, supports ray tracing, AI upscaling and its performance should be somewhere around Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti. Read more “Intel Xe HPG gaming GPU photos leaked. RTX 3070 Ti performance?” »

Ryzen Threadripper with Zen 3 – release date? August, reportedly

Zen 3 has been out for quite some time, but AMD has not yet announced a new high-end Threadripper version. Fortunately, we don’t have to worry anymore: Threadripper with Zen 3 is said to be delayed, but is expected to be released in the summer in 4–5 months. In addition, we also have good news for those interested in Ryzen with integrated graphics. Unlike the 4000 series, desktop APUs with Zen 3 cores are supposed to be commercially available. Read more “Ryzen Threadripper with Zen 3 – release date? August, reportedly” »

Ryzen 5000 with iGPU? Models and specs revealed

AMD Ryzen 5000 desktop processors currently lack models with integrated GPU. But this summer, AMD will release an APU codenamed Cezanne, which is monolithic 7nm processor with Zen 3 cores and integrated graphics, based on the same silicon as the mobile Ryzen 5000. We now know the specifications for three models designed for socket AM4: Ryzen 3 5300G, Ryzen 5 5600G and the fastest octa-core Ryzen 7 5700G. Read more “Ryzen 5000 with iGPU? Models and specs revealed” »

Nvidia introduces Resizable BAR on GeForce: BIOS, driver

Nvidia finally introduces PCI Express Resizable BAR, as an alternative to Radeon’s Smart Access Memory that can improve the game performance of all GeForce RTX 3000s by up to several percent. BIOS updates and a new driver that handles ReBAR have been released for all manufacturers’ cards. But Nvidia has also expanded the list of games supporting this feature, which has reached 17 titles. Download links and other information included. Read more “Nvidia introduces Resizable BAR on GeForce: BIOS, driver” »

Intel plans Raptor Lake CPUs with better cache after Alder Lake

According to a roadmap leak, Intel is preparing another family of 10nm processors after the 12th generation (Alder Lake). It’s called Raptor Lake and it should be released around the end of 2022. We already have the first look at what it should bring – Intel plans to stick to the big.LITTLE architecture, but with performance improvements and changes to L3 cache that should improve performance especially in games. Read more “Intel plans Raptor Lake CPUs with better cache after Alder Lake” »

Intel Rocket Lake processor models, specs and prices revealed

The wait for Intel desktop processors with the new architecture is almost over. The 11th generation Core for desktop was officially released last week and it’s just days to sales and reviews. Intel has now officially announced the complete specifications and especially the prices of all models. The most powerful Core i9-11900K will go for $ 539 or almost € 550, but a 6-core for cheap gaming PCs will go for mere € 160/$ 157. Read more “Intel Rocket Lake processor models, specs and prices revealed” »

Release dates of Intel Rocket Lake and 10nm Alder Lake leaked

Intel has kept offering desktop processors with Skylake architecture for five and a half years. Ironically it looks like now, two new architectures will follow each other in just nine months, both with a 20% increase in IPC: according to current information, the Rocket Lake processors (11th gen Core) will be released in March 30, but 12th generation Alder Lake and the new LGA 1700 platform are set to go on sale in December. Read more “Release dates of Intel Rocket Lake and 10nm Alder Lake leaked” »

Recycling in China: laptop CPUs turned into LGA 1151 upgrades

There’s an interesting industry built on reusing old hardware in China. For example Xeon E5 CPUs and newly-produced gaming motherboards for them, but recently they started converting mobile Intel BGA processors into socketed CPUs for desktop. Not so old Comet Lake chips with six and eight cores are now being offered this way and you can even use them to upgrade B150/Z170/Z270 series boards, which officially only support quad-cores. Read more “Recycling in China: laptop CPUs turned into LGA 1151 upgrades” »

Radeon AI upscaling alternative to DLSS coming this spring?

Radeon graphics cards currently have one disadvantage: they do not support Nvidia’s DLSS AI upscaling technology, which significantly increases FPS in exchange for some (hopefully slight) quality loss. AMD announced development of its own alternative when RX 6000 cards lanched, but it was not clear how long it would take. It may come relatively soon, as a big driver update is coming in the spring and “AMDLSS” could be part of it. Read more “Radeon AI upscaling alternative to DLSS coming this spring?” »

Intel Sapphire Rapids leaked: huge chiplet CPU with an FPGA

We are currently waiting for Intel’s new desktop processors (Rocket Lake, later Alder Lake), but it looks like the company is planning much bigger changes for servers. A sample of a Sapphire Rapids server processor and possibly high-end desktop surfaced on the web and it looks very interesting: it is composed of chiplets, some versions should have HBM2 memory inside and a small FPGA has even been found under the IHS. Read more “Intel Sapphire Rapids leaked: huge chiplet CPU with an FPGA” »

ClockTuner for Ryzen 2.0: Hybrid OC for max MT and ST performance

ClockTuner for Ryzen, an app which automatically finds safe voltages and overclocks for Ryzen processors to improve performance, is now getting a new version. It is completely redesigned and introduces support for the new Ryzen 5000 “Vermeer” processors with Zen 3 architecture as well as Ryzen 4000G APUs. The main new feature is a completely new method of OC that maximizes both ST and MT performance, something not possible before. Read more “ClockTuner for Ryzen 2.0: Hybrid OC for max MT and ST performance” »

Water block on SSD? XM2 Hydro X started selling for $40

Corsair has been dealing with SSDs in recent days. In a short time sequence, it first announced and then released two extra-fast SSDs, of which the cheaper one with NAND QLC memory. These are not yet widely used among models with PCI Express 4.0 support. But the real curiosity is the third thing on the list – a water block with which you can order the more expensive SSD or buy it separately for your own one. Read more “Water block on SSD? XM2 Hydro X started selling for $40” »

A look at Nvidia DXR, Broadcast App and DLSS visual quality

We are introducing a new testing methodology for graphics cards. One of the reviewed cards will be the GeForce RTX 3070 and we have an interesting one: Aorus GeForce RTX 3070 Master 8G with six video outputs. Before the review comes out, we’ve use it for a visual comparison to see the impact of ray tracing and how the different DLSS settings in the latest Cyberpunk 2077 patch will affect the quality of the game graphics. Read more “A look at Nvidia DXR, Broadcast App and DLSS visual quality” »

Nvidia intros PCIe Resizable BAR: Smart Access Memory for GeForce

With Radeon RX 6000 GPUs and Ryzen 5000 CPUs, AMD unveiled the Smart Access Memory feature, which improves GPU performance by giving the CPU access to whole graphic memory. It was touted as an exclusive feature for these products, but it won’t be in the end. Nvidia has now announced PCIe Resizable BAR, essentialy the same feature, and it’s soon going to be supported by GeForce RTX 3060. Older cards will need a BIOS updat, though. Read more “Nvidia intros PCIe Resizable BAR: Smart Access Memory for GeForce” »

Laptop AMD Ryzen 5000 is here. Zen 3 and clock up to 4.8 GHz

We’ve already covered Intel’s news from CES 2021, (10nm Jasper Lake, Tiger Lake-H35 and Rocket Lake desktop) and now it’s time to turn to AMD’s showings at the virtual event. The company unveiled the expected Ryzen 5000 mobile processors which brings the Zen 3 architecture to laptops. They are based on the Cezanne APU and should come to notebooks from next month on. We already have the specifications of 15 and 45W(+) models. Read more “Laptop AMD Ryzen 5000 is here. Zen 3 and clock up to 4.8 GHz” »