Category: Extra tests

Endorfy Fera 5 Black – Bestseller on the way to darkness

CPU coolers, Extra tests | | Pavel Sekerka

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” »

Axagon CLR-M2XT. With 40 fins for powerful SSDs

Cooling, Extra tests, SSD coolers | | Ľubomír Samák

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” »

ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II: Not only the most efficient

Extra tests, Motherboards | | Ľubomír Samák

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” »

Ray tracing for old games: NVIDIA RTX Remix tested

Extra tests, Graphics | | Jan Olšan

Sometimes people say that today’s games don’t measure up to the old ones and don’t offer much besides visuals. But what if modern visuals could be added to classic games that are even twenty years old? NVIDIA’s RTX Remix technology (or software) is supposed to do just that, making it relatively easy to add better graphics to even very old games using a mod – including raytracing effects and things like DLSS or DLAA. Let’s see how it works. Read more “Ray tracing for old games: NVIDIA RTX Remix tested” »

Detailed analysis: How much SSD coolers lower temperatures

Cooling, Extra tests, SSD coolers | | Ľubomír Samák

The SSD cooler database finally adds SSD temperature results without a cooler. These show to what extent a cooler is beneficial, or by how much it knocks down controller and memory temperatures. Some really significantly, for others it’s worse. There are more reasons for this, but the important thing is to have a check on what is happening and under what circumstances. You might end up using an alternative cooler instead of the motherboard one. Read more “Detailed analysis: How much SSD coolers lower temperatures” »

Gigabyte B760I Aorus Pro DDR4: Small, powerful, attractively priced

Extra tests, Motherboards | | Ľubomír Samák

In the tests, we looked at a Mini-ITX motherboard. A warning finger is usually put over this format in connection with powerful CPUs, but often unjustifiably. This would be the case even with one of the cheapest models for the LGA 1700 platform – the B760I Aorus Pro DDR4. The “cut off” is mainly things you may not need, for example because a larger number of slots not only won’t be used, but also doesn’t fit into the vision of a space-saving PC build. Read more “Gigabyte B760I Aorus Pro DDR4: Small, powerful, attractively priced” »

EK-Nucleus CR360 Lux White – Simply gorgeous liquid cooler

Cooling, CPU coolers, Extra tests | | Pavel Sekerka

I probably don’t need to introduce EK Water Blocks here. It produces high-end components for water loops and for the last few years it has been using its experience in this field in designing AIO coolers as well. The EK-Nucleus CR360 Lux represents the top of the current range and will impress you above all with its clean and elegant design. With good test results, one can expect an attractive ratio of price, quality and efficiency, considering its price. Read more “EK-Nucleus CR360 Lux White – Simply gorgeous liquid cooler” »

Asus TUF B760M-BTF WiFi D4: All connectors out of sight

Extra tests, Motherboards | | Ľubomír Samák

Why put connectors from the front of the motherboard when they can be from the back? This is what Asus and other manufacturers are thinking with boards with, say, an inverted connector layout. The TUF B760M-BTF WiFi (D4) model has all connectors moved from front to back. This, with the current trend of glass side panels, mainly contributes to a nicer look. But we’ll also be interested in other, measurable things as part of our analysis. Read more “Asus TUF B760M-BTF WiFi D4: All connectors out of sight” »

Nvidia DLSS (3.5) in Alan Wake II. When does the game run best?

Extra tests, Graphics | | Ľubomír Samák

Alan Wake II is the first game to support Nvidia DLSS 3.5 from the start. In addition to the technological aspect, there is also the high popularity among gamers. This gives us the basic reasons to take a close look at the performance under different settings. In diving in with the gaming performance, we will be interested not only in the visual side, but also the power consumption. Not just of the graphics card, but the CPU as well. Read more “Nvidia DLSS (3.5) in Alan Wake II. When does the game run best?” »

Minitest: Cheap PSUs vs. graphics cards coils whine

Extra tests, Graphics, PSUs | | Ľubomír Samák

You’ve already read the extensive analysis of graphics card coil whine changes depending on the PSU used. One last thing is missing for it to be complete. And that is to add the behavior of cheap PSUs with lower quality components. Otherwise, one could still speculate that across classes the situation could be significantly different. Could it? This is what we will focus on in the measurements with “80 Plus” PSUs, one of which is also already quite old. Read more “Minitest: Cheap PSUs vs. graphics cards coils whine” »

Thermaltake Toughfan 14 Pro: Number one for radiators

Cooling, Extra tests, Fans | | Ľubomír Samák

While the selection of high-end 140mm fans is quite narrow, there is one model that may be of interest to you. Especially if you want the “most effective” for your radiator, at low noise levels. Certain features of the high-end admittedly don’t appear on the Toughfan 14 Pro, but when it comes to cooling radiators, Thermaltake’s fan doesn’t have much competition in this discipline. It will defend its place in silent builds. Although… Read more “Thermaltake Toughfan 14 Pro: Number one for radiators” »

Which combo whines the least? 12 PSUs, 3 graphics cards…

Extra tests, Graphics, PSUs | | Ľubomír Samák

“After replacing the PSU, the video card coils stopped whining”. An extremely common statement and yet it always remains on a subjective level, which is a pity. But that is also why we will now look at things in an exact, numerical way. We do this by testing several graphics cards, where for each, noise levels of VRM coils are monitored with each ATX (3.0) power supply used. So how is it with the “whining”? When is it stronger and when is it weaker? Read more “Which combo whines the least? 12 PSUs, 3 graphics cards…” »

Fractal Design North XL case test: When bigger is better

Extra tests, PC cases | | Martin Bednár

We’ve already had one case featuring a wooden front panel. But it might not be “big enough” for someone’s needs, which the XL variant now addresses. Among other things, in this article you will also find tests with two different fan configurations. And also a comparison of cooling with the smaller North Mesh model. And not only with it, we already have a total of 25 other cases in the database for comparison. Read more “Fractal Design North XL case test: When bigger is better” »

Arctic Freezer 36 A-RGB – In the spirit of bold innovation

Cooling, CPU coolers, Extra tests | | Pavel Sekerka

The German company Arctic celebrates 23 years of its founding this year and to mark the occasion, new Liquid Freezer III AIO coolers were recently introduced. Today also sees the launch of new Arctic Freezer 36 air coolers. These coolers come with a number of bold innovations and one of them has led to some changes to the format of today’s review. Today, we’re going to take a look at the top model in this series with the A-RGB Black moniker. Read more “Arctic Freezer 36 A-RGB – In the spirit of bold innovation” »

Fractal Design Venturi HP-14 PWM: Against vibrations above all

Cooling, Extra tests, Fans | | Ľubomír Samák

Venturi fans have some of the softest mounting corners. The transmission of vibrations from moving parts further away to anything (case plates, heatsink fins, …) is thus very significantly damped. Compared to other (even more modern Fractal Design models), these fans have more robust blades, which are both thicker and wider, and as a result, higher static pressure is also achieved at comparable speeds. Read more “Fractal Design Venturi HP-14 PWM: Against vibrations above all” »

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