Fractal Design offers a USB-C hub that can be used to connect fans featuring this not-so-typical connector. Yes, the fans support this interface. The hub otherwise provides everything you would expect—fan speed control as well as selection of lighting colors (or lighting effects). Communication with the motherboard works in several ways. In this article, we’ll take a look at the details of the Adjust Pro. Read more “Fractal Design Adjust Pro: Modern hub with USB-C”
Multiple fans connected to a single header may exceed the capabilities of your motherboard (or potentially a fan hub). This is due to a higher current draw than the maximum rating. We’ll analyze when and under what circumstances you should be cautious in this article. The threat of permanent device damage is quite real, but it’s fairly simple to safely prevent it. So, let’s take a look at it. Read more “Beware: 1 A fan headers can be too weak”
From the HWCooling Techtour ’24 conference, we have materials that could be useful for educational purposes. Therefore, within this article, we are publishing a breakdown of a CPU and motherboard, the still-relevant materials that were used for printing large-format posters. We no longer have the physical copies—they have been distributed to some schools—but the digital version of these materials is also beneficial. Read more “Material for schools: CPU and motherboard breakdown”
Intel unveiled the Core Ultra 300 “Panther Lake” processors last week, which we have covered here. What we left aside is that Panther Lake also debuts a new GPU architecture, Xe3. Aside from the move to a 1.8 nm node, this is arguably the biggest change Panther Lake introduces, as the CPU cores appear mostly unchanged. Xe3 is Intel’s most advanced GPU to date and in this article, we take a closer look at what it brings. Read more “Xe3: What’s new in Panther Lake’s GPU architecture? [analysis]”
A graphics card is a computer component that processes graphics in games but can also serve for compute or various professional graphics tasks. Besides compute units, it has another simpler role—it provides the actual video output to the monitor connected to the graphics card’s ports. This role can also be handled by a GPU integrated in the processor (or earlier, in the chipset). Here, however, we will focus on discrete graphics cards. Read more “How a graphics card works. Intended for secondary schools”
In this article we cover the basic details of power supplies intended for PCs. That means the content will explain how supplies are classified by size and electrical standards, what connectors they use to power computer components, and what lies behind their operation. Why does something like a computer power supply exist—why isn’t the computer powered directly from the mains (without a PSU)? Read more “How a power supply unit works. Dedicated to secondary schools”
This article covers the basic details of computer cases. This means the content will include knowledge on how PC cases are categorized by size, what their components are (and why these are often used in modern designs), and also, for example, how and where individual components are installed. There is more to computer cases and what lies behind how they “function.” Read more “How a PC case works. Dedicated to secondary schools”
Image upscaling technologies have already gained favor with most gamers. Still, there remains a group of opponents who prefer “perfectly” rendered images over those they see as made up by artificial intelligence. With the Radeon RX 9060 XT and AMD’s FSR 4, we’ll show why that view isn’t entirely accurate—and how new algorithms manage to deliver near-native detail from low-res frames with a level of detail comparable to traditional native rendering. Read more “Why FSR 4 Matters in GTA V Enhanced on AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT”
The new AMD Radeon RX 9000 cards with RDNA4 architecture bring higher performance and a suite of technologies to make gaming more enjoyable and improve responsiveness. We’ll focus on the technologies available to gamers and what stands behind names like Anti-Lag 2 or FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR4). The videos show how Anti-Lag reduces latency and how FSR4 boosts frame rates with demanding detail settings. Read more “AMD Radeon RX 9000: Hands-on with RDNA4’s Latest Features”
Unofficial leaks from the past initially didn’t paint the RDNA 4 architecture as a major new design, suggesting that it’s more akin to RDNA 3 bugfix – except for new ray tracing units. But it turns out that was a big misconception, as RDNA 4 is a significant upgrade that leaves no GPU subsystems untouched, far beyond just adding new ray tracing units. It also brings enhanced AI acceleration and redesigned compute units (shaders). Read more “Better, more capable than expected: RDNA 4 architecture deep dive”
No, the melting power connectors issue on GeForce cards is not solved as Nvidia claimed ahead of the new generation’s launch. There’s fresh GeForce RTX 4090 cases happening literally as we speak, and the risk seems even greater with Blackwell GPUs. The 12VHPWR (or 12V-2×6 now) connector has not just one but multiple flaws due to which it might never be truly reliable. Perhaps it would be best if it was discontinued in its current form. Read more “Uneven Resistance and Lack of Headroom: Why 12V-2x6s Fail”
Nvidia’s new graphics cards – the GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 – won’t be out until the 30th, but NDA is over and the first reviews of the top-of-the-line RTX 5090, which we also tested, are out. In this article, we take a look at the Blackwell architecture that powers these new GPUs, its new features and functions. DLSS 4, compute unit architecture and features of the GPUs as well as the software side of this new generation. Read more “Blackwell: GeForce RTX 5000 architecture and innovations [Analysis]”
Intel has unveiled the new Arc graphics cards, dubbed Battlemage or also “B-Series”, featuring a vastly improved architecture, giving Arc a second chance to gain favour with gamers – though it will have to do this mainly through low prices, as the newly released GPUs will only compete in the bracket of cheaper mainstream graphics. We’ve dedicated this article to the cards themselves now we’ll have a look at the architecture itself. Read more “Batttlemage: Details of Intel Xe2 GPU architecture [Analysis]”
Questions about when will Nvidia modernize the control panel for graphics cards have been around since a decade ago. They were only answered this year when Nvidia unveiled a beta version of the successor to the control panel and the GeForce experience. We take a look at one of the new features it offers – OSD, HUD, in short an overlay window that, alongside the usual monitoring values, can display real-time PC latencies. Read more “Added Value of the Nvidia App: Quick Latency Insights via HUD”
Frame rate has been the only metric for comparing performance in games. Even at smooth frame rates, however, gaming can be uncomfortable if there is a significant amount of input lag – the game responds to controls with noticeable lag. There are countless tools for measuring frame rates, but unfortunately not for testing responsiveness. Here we introduce the specialized Frame Latency Meter recently made available by AMD. Read more “Introduction to input lag testing with AMD Frame Latency Meter”
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