Until now, no fans with ARGB LEDs have been made from liquid crystal polymers. Now, the Toughfan 12 RGB and Toughfan 14 RGB are changing that. And since the aerodynamic performance is heavily dependent on the rigidity of the blades, especially in restrictive environments, Thermaltake’s rendition will be some of the most efficient flashy fans overall. If not the most efficient, the Toughfans have the geometry for it. Read more “The very first LCP fans with LEDs are from Thermaltake”
We’ll be releasing our full tests of the Intel Core i9-13900K (Raptor Lake) tomorrow. The sample arrived at the editorial office after the gallows deadline and it was not possible to make the full tests, but for now we have at least something that may get you in the right mood. One of the pleasant surprises is the higher single-threaded performance at lower power draw than AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs. And that’s even at a record 5.8 GHz. Read more “First results of Raptor Lake: A fairy tale in a single thread and…”
Over time, we have tested ten motherboards with Intel B660 and Z690 chipsets in great detail. From more than 5000 different measurements, we can thus confidently deny some speculations that are usually spread on the Internet from the ignorance of the authors of articles or comments (in discussions). But this is natural. The less substantial the reviews are, the more fertile ground they create for various confusions. Read more “Analysis: What have we learned from motherboard tests”
Current ATX (2.x standard) power supplies are quite unprepared, at least for the RTX 4090 graphics card. Connecting it to them is only possible via an adapter, and a rather awkward one – with a big tangle of wires. As an alternative, BeQuiet! has released its solution, the 12VHPWR adapter. In its essence, it is a fork (with two 12-pins) that will work with the upcoming ATX 3.0 power supply standard. Read more “600 W via two 12-pins. BeQuiet! has an adapter for RTX 4090”
For rather incomprehensible reasons, the cooling performance of the vast majority of AIO liquid coolers is degraded by the use of an unsuitable backplate. The backplate is usually undersized, made of plastic, and cannot exert optimal pressure on the processor. To give you an idea of how a “traditional” plastic backplate stacks up against a proper, steel one, we’ve prepared a comparison of the two. Read more “Plastic vs. metal backplate Alphacool (under LGA 1700)”
Noctua has announced a new release schedule for its products. And within it, the main question was this – Did the new generation of 140mm fans stay in the fourth quarter of 2022? It did. Given the more advanced time (towards the end of the year), it is thus likely that 140mm fans made from improved LCP from sterrox are right around the corner. Noctua also needs them for the successor to the NH-D15 cooler, which is due out just after them. Read more “Noctua’s current roadmap: 140mm “sterroxes” later this year”
The coexistence of third-party SSD coolers that are sold separately with the ones you get in the price of the motherboard invites closer examination. Which of these solutions makes more sense and when? We’ll start answering that question starting now, beginning with an analysis of the BeQuiet MC1 cooler, which will be the first to be confronted with a whole host of motherboard SSD coolers. Read more “Test: BeQuiet! MC1 compared to SSD coolers on motherboards”
Here we have a test of the latest motherboard, which is designed primarily for the needs of Intel Alder Lake processors. It is also compatible with Raptor Lakes, but most importantly we finally have a tough opponent for the MSI Pro Z690-A DDR4. That board has set the bar really high among the cheaper models. But Gigabyte also has one ace up its sleeve in the low-end segment. The Z690 Gaming X DDR4 motherboard is truly a class act! Read more “Great value for money? Gigabyte Z690 Gaming X DDR4”
Deepcool’s latest line of tower coolers (AK) kicked off a year ago with the twin-tower AK620, which was later gradually followed by the smaller AK400 and AK500 models. There are more of these “AK” coolers now and for those users who don’t like the grey fins, Deepcool has an alternative. The coolers with the Zero Dark designation will soon be available in a black coated version. Read more “CPU coolers Deepcool AK now also available in black”
The large number of creases on the heat spreader of CPUs for the AMD AM5 platform means a lot of places where thermal paste can run off and dry out. Removing it is then very laborious when cleaning, which is why Noctua has released a frame to protect these critical spots. And it will also protect the exposed SMD next to the heat spreader from paste or possibly liquid metals. Read more “Paste on AM5 won’t get where it doesn’t belong – Noctua NA-TPG1”
The cheapest Ryzen 7000 processor (7600X) is a class above Intel’s cheapest Core i5-class processor (12400). Ryzen dominates in virtually everything, and it does so at higher efficiency. Yes, it’s not the same price range, and the R5 7600X is ultimately “killed” by the high price (not just in terms of the CPU itself, but the entire platform), but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a great processor. Read more “AMD Ryzen 5 7600X: The most popular Core i5 declassed”
BeQuiet! has released an official statement on which of their coolers support the new AMD platform with the AM5/LGA 1718 socket. Physically, almost all models can be installed, but still make sure you don’t happen to have the one that can’t. It’s also good to know that for full compatibility, the right spacing of holes is not enough, but also the right cooling performance. Only two coolers are recommended by BeQuiet! for the Ryzen 9 processors. Read more “We have a list of BeQuiet! coolers with AMD AM5 support”
The choice of liquid metals is rather limited. And even the few options, that are designed for application in PCs, have fairly poor distribution. This could be changed/improved by the involvement of Thermaltake, which after all has a wider field of operation than the above mentioned companies. Their solution (TG-60) is a replacement for conventional pastes, but with significantly higher thermal conductivity. Read more “Thermaltake TG-60 is a new, hopefully more available liquid metal”
More aggressive power limits? Okay, but at a higher efficiency than Intel can do, AMD told itself while working on the Ryzen 7000 processors. And that’s how it really is, despite record-high clock speeds that are truly unusual for a new, unrefined manufacturing node. If this is just the beginning… In any case, not everything is rosy and AMD’s new processors have downsides that will need to be addressed in the future. Read more “AMD Ryzen 9 7900X test: A BANG of an intergenerational leap”
Deepcool’s new CPU cooler is one of the biggest options that doesn’t collide with memory. Compared to most single tower coolers, the AK500 is significantly wider, but at the same time it doesn’t exceed dual tower heatsinks with often comparable finned area. It is true that it has one less fan compared to them, but again, one that promises high static pressure and therefore less airflow loss due to the heatsink. Read more “Deepcool (AK500) goes for 1-kilo heatsink with one fan”
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