The SilentiumPC Spartan 5 cooler with the “Max” attribute differs from, say, the basic variant only by having twice as many heatpipes. So four instead of two. The other elements are the same, so naturally the question comes to how much the two added heatpipes, which the more expensive SPC cooler has in addition, will increase the cooling efficiency. By quite a bit, or by nothing at all – depending on the processor used. Read more “SilentiumPC Spartan 5 Max: Extra heatpipes for CPUs over 130 W”
MSI’s second cheapest motherboard with the Intel Z690 chipset costs significantly less compared to the higher-end Tomahawk DDR4. The difference in features is small. And perhaps too small, as the specifications artificially downgrade some components. The power delivery is less efficient and the heatsinks are more modest, but the roughly 80 EUR saved is almost as much as the cost of upgrading from a Core i5-12600K to a Core i7-12700K(F). Read more “Better than on paper. Low-cost “OC” mobo MSI Pro Z690-A DDR4″
The database of results of inexpensive low-profile CPU coolers is slowly growing. We tested the largest of the top-flow models from Akasa on the Intel LGA 1700 platform.Given the claimed TDP of 125 W, it looks like this might not only be a replacement for the Laminar RM1 and RS1 that come with more economical processors, but also a solution for open multiplier models that don’t come with a cooler. Read more “Akasa AK-CC6606BP01: A stronger alternative to the Laminar RM1”
Recently, Fractal Design has been introducing cases like clockwork. Today, a model from the well-established Meshify 2 series has come out. The new product is with the RGB attribute, but also noteworthy is a cut-down version with the Meshify 2 Lite (RGB) designation with a cheaper price. What the original version had to give up to create the Lite version, we’ll show you in a comparison of the two cases. Read more “Fractal Design Meshify 2 Lite RGB and Meshify 2 RGB review”
We didn’t make it to the release day of the Radeon RX 6000 refresh, but we’ve got them – performance tests with the Resizable BAR active. Mostly this technology is useful, but in some cases it is harmful. The test results show how AMD tunes this technology across different driver versions, optimizes it, and sometimes breaks and doesn’t fix some things for a change. However, these are outnumbered, and quite overwhelmingly, by improvements. Read more “Radeon RX 6650 XT with AMD SAM: +6 % performance for 20 W”
Now that’s what we call a turnaround. Remember how the BioniX F120 failed on obstacles? The newer BioniX P120 (A-RGB) no longer has such a fundamental limitation. On the contrary, it is significantly less stifled by obstacles than many competing fans. Just tame those vibrations, fine-tune the acoustics, where there are some flaws, and it’ll be great. The basis (the rotor) is better in practice than the label parameters suggest. Read more “Arctic BioniX P120 A-RGB: The lit specialist for filters and grilles”
Lian Li Lancool? Lian Li is historically known for using more aluminium than its “steel” competitors. Lancool, on the other hand, was at a time a separate brand for, say, cheaper Lian Li derivatives. But what does a “Lian Li Lancool” Mesh Performance look like? The name promises an emphasis on cooling, but the case is also characterized by the extra modularity of the individual parts. Read more “Lian Li Lancool II Mesh Performance: Modularity first”
The second version of FidelityFX Super Resolution is officially released. This upscaler premiered in Deathloop, the first and so far the only supported game. We compared FSR 2.0 with FSR 1.0 in our tests, both visually and performance-wise. While FSR 1.0 couldn’t compete visually with Nvidia’s DLSS, and the result was significantly worse, AMD pulled the thorn out of its heel with FSR 2.0. A full-featured alternative is now available. Read more “FSR 2.0 is no eyesore now. AMD upscaler analysis in Deathloop”
The Radeon RX 6650 XT replaces the RX 6600 XT in AMD’s lineup. That one beats the GeForce RTX 3060 in performance under certain circumstances, but always only narrowly. Now, after the GPU’s frequency and memory bandwidth increase, Radeon’s dominance is clear, and yet efficiency is still on AMD’s side. The non-reference Sapphire Nitro+ design is also super-quiet – the cooler is now quite a bit more robust. Read more “Sapphire RX 6650 XT Nitro+ test: RTX 3060 falls even further behind”
Routers, for the most part, are not among the design-appealing devices you’d want to show off. They are usually white or black boxes with antennas sticking out of them and you hide them somewhere behind your computer, TV or in a closet. But that doesn’t have to be the rule, and the new Asus ZenWiFi Pro XT12 is proof of that. In addition to the unconventional design, the tested model impresses with its focus on mesh networking, which Asus routers are known for. Read more “Asus ZenWiFi Pro XT12 – tower router with WiFi 6 and 2.5 Gb LAN”
How many generations of processors could the Freezer 7 cool? The most. No other brand of coolers has been around for so long. That’s worthy of respect, but the fact remains that the progression in efficiency is rapid from revision to revision. Some improvements do come, but at a slower rate than competing solutions that are way more cost-effective. Thus, Freezer 7 often reaches the shelves of brick-and-mortar stores and PC builds only by inertia. Read more “Arctic Freezer 7 X rev. 3: The cooling legend that missed the boat”
Predisposed to more demanding industrial conditions, Akasa OTTO fans go well beyond “normal” home computer use. Complete water and dust resistance, three-phase torque and, above all, a unique vibration elimination system. The effectiveness of the proven “S-Flow” rotor is high, but there is one thing Akasa has overdone a bit. That is, if the OTTO SF12 fan is really meant for system cooling. Read more “Akasa OTTO SF12: Anti-vibration membrane, wavy blades and IP68”
Noctua has recently launched the Noctua NH-D12L, a fairly compact cooler with a height of just 145 millimetres. This makes it an ideal cooling solution for smaller cases, but also for servers with a height of 4U. Thanks to its interesting design and high-end fan, this cooler should offer very solid cooling effectiveness. But of course this assumption needs to be thoroughly verified, which is the aim of today’s article. Read more “Noctua NH-D12L: A breath of fresh air for short twin-tower coolers”
In the cheaper mid-range of processors, only Intel has been involved in recent years, gaining a lot of popularity in the segment of the cheapest Core i5s. Similar to the popularity that the Ryzen 5 3600 once had. Since its release, however, Intel has turned around three generations of competing processors to get on the proverbial horse. To knock it off it though, AMD is coming up with the Ryzen 5 5600. Read more “AMD conquers Intel territory: Ryzen 5 5600 vs. Core i5-12400(F)”
Akasa has been working for a long time on small and simple coolers to serve as a low-cost replacement for bundled solutions. This company was among the first to come out with support for Intel LGA 1700 and even with more options. In this test, we’ll be checking out the AK-CC6603EP01 mid-range model, which takes on not only the competing Arctic Alpine CO, but also both Intel Laminar coolers (RM1 and RS1). Read more “Akasa 77 W cooler (AK-CC6603EP01) test for Intel LGA 1700”
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