ROG Strix SCAR 18 or a test of RTX 4090/Core i9-13980HX combo

Extra tests, Notebooks | | Tomáš Brestovanský

Processors and graphics cards of the latest generations are already available in laptops nicely together, side by side, which also applies to the Asus model series – SCAR 18. We are talking about powerful hardware, or the most powerful, as far as the configuration we tested is concerned. This one features both a top-notch CPU and GPU . Meanwhile, the Scar 18 is a relatively compact laptop considering its high performance. Read more “ROG Strix SCAR 18 or a test of RTX 4090/Core i9-13980HX combo” »

Kioxia trying HLC NAND with 7 bits per cell, LN2 cooling required

News, SSDs, Technology | | Jan Olšan

A few years ago, we used to look down on TLC NAND flash that stores 3 bits in a single cell and ask for SSDs with SLC (just 1-bit) flash memory. Since then, TLC has become the norm, and the lower-quality tier was taken over by QLC chips with 4 bits per cell and even worse endurance and performance. And it seems this trend could continue, as Kioxia and WD are preparing “hepta-level cell” NAND that would store 7 bits at once. Read more “Kioxia trying HLC NAND with 7 bits per cell, LN2 cooling required” »

Endorfy Navis F360 – Third time’s the charm…

Cooling, CPU coolers, Extra tests | | Pavel Sekerka

Today I would like to introduce another liquid all-in-one cooler from Endorfy. After testing the Navis F240 ARGB and Navis F280, it’s now the turn of the biggest brother of these coolers, the Navis F360. As with the other coolers in the updated Navis series, here you’ll also find the good old Endorfy Fluctus fans. And with a price tag of around 110 EUR, there is again a decent potential for an attractive price/performance/quality ratio. Read more “Endorfy Navis F360 – Third time’s the charm…” »

Jim Keller’s new firm plans RISC-V CPUs with Apple-like wide cores

News, Processors | | Jan Olšan

RISC-V processors are still yet to reach above the embedded sector, but with the current developments around ARM, they may be closer to that goal than we think. They ISA might even come to the highest performance processor segment currently ruled by Intel and AMD that ARM itself (with the exception of Apple) is still just trying to crack. Tenstorrent, led by Jim Keller, is now developing processors that could be close to those from Apple. Read more “Jim Keller’s new firm plans RISC-V CPUs with Apple-like wide cores” »

Top price/performance in 15 mm – Arctic P12 Slim PWM PST

Cooling, Extra tests, Fans | | Ľubomír Samák

Low-profile fans are often seen as compromise solutions that will not achieve the efficiency of thicker models. This may or may not be true. In practice, the Arctic P12 Slim beats a number of full-size fans. Sure, Arctic’s 15mm fan has many shortcomings, but these are vindicated by the very low price. In the 120mm format, it is one of the cheapest, but definitely not the “weakest” slim fans. Read more “Top price/performance in 15 mm – Arctic P12 Slim PWM PST” »

A620 chipset specs in detail: a PCIe Gen4 uplink surprise

Motherboards, News | | Jan Olšan

Last Friday, the last day of Q1, low-cost AM5 boards for Ryzen 7000 processors based on the low-end A620 chipset were released by all the manufacturers in a coordinated fashion (we’ve put together an overview of the models here), but AMD itself didn’t make any announcements at first, so we didn’t have exact specs. These have been published now and include one surprising thing which makes the A620 better than expected. Read more “A620 chipset specs in detail: a PCIe Gen4 uplink surprise” »

Thermalright’s new two-heatpipe SSD cooler, the HR-10 2280

Cooling, News, SSD coolers | | Ľubomír Samák

Thermalright’s latest SSD cooler (HR-10 2280) builds on the HR-09 2280. The task for its design seems to have been as follows – to increase cooling efficiency while reducing height. The result is a heatsink with significantly more fins than the older model, and instead of one heatpipe, it is now two, so that the available surface area (fins) is used more evenly. Read more “Thermalright’s new two-heatpipe SSD cooler, the HR-10 2280” »

BeQuiet! Silent Wings Pro 4 (BL099): A 140mm sovereign

Cooling, Extra tests, Fans | | Ľubomír Samák

Finally, a 140mm fan that doesn’t wade between the 120mm ones, but has a clear edge over them – even the “best” ones. And it’s a completely different story than its smaller brother, whose biggest negatives are avoided by the 140mm model. But there is one new, rather unnecessary flaw. However, it can be eliminated, with a trade-off. But you might not even notice it, and then you can consider this fan an excellent choice. Read more “BeQuiet! Silent Wings Pro 4 (BL099): A 140mm sovereign” »

MSI MPG A850G: One of the first ATX 3.0 PSUs in detail

Preview, PSUs | | Ľubomír Samák

Power supplies with support for the latest ATX 3.0 standard are slowly increasing in numbers and we will make some order among them – by pointing out the “better” and “worse” models. Based on this, you will then be able to choose the one that you consider to be more advantageous with regard to the price and to the use case. We’ll start lightly, with a brief analysis of the 850-watt A850G, by MSI. Read more “MSI MPG A850G: One of the first ATX 3.0 PSUs in detail” »

Cheap A620 AM5 boards are out, starting at $85. Here’s the models

Motherboards, News | | Jan Olšan

In the last few days, inexpensive A620 chipset-based AM5 motherboards for Ryzen 7000 started leaking. We’ve already seen photos of one model and it seems that AMD has timed the unveiling and release for the last day of March (maybe they wanted to formally make it before the end of the first quarter). And now, boards with this chipset were launched from all the usual manufacturers, with the cheapest ones going as low as $85. Read more “Cheap A620 AM5 boards are out, starting at $85. Here’s the models” »

First AMD FSR 3.0 sneak peek, technology is similar to DLSS 3

Graphics, News, Technology | | Jan Olšan

Few months ago, AMD has announced ongoing work on the third generation of FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) upscaling, which should bring a similar feature to DLSS 3 – interpolating of intermediate frames inserted between legitimate game frames, much like TVs do with video and movies. AMD has now formally confirmed this and presented FSR 3.0, which will offer frame interpolation and will again be open technology (including source code). Read more “First AMD FSR 3.0 sneak peek, technology is similar to DLSS 3” »

BeQuiet! Light Wings fans now also in white

Cooling, Fans, News | | Ľubomír Samák

For users who prefer a contrast to the traditional stuff, BeQuiet! has released white Light Wings fans, in both 120mm and 140mm formats. By the standards of lighted fans, these will be models with some of the stiffest blades, especially in the smaller format. Because of its design characteristics, it is highly likely to achieve extremely low vibration alongside a superbly non-intrusive sound profile. Read more “BeQuiet! Light Wings fans now also in white” »

DeepCool CH510 Mesh Digital: Temperatures right under your nose

Extra tests, PC cases | | Martin Bednár

If you like to monitor the temperatures of your components, we have a tip for you to take your temperature monitoring to the next level. The new CH510 Mesh Digital has a small display on its front to show the current temperature of select hardware. But just monitoring isn’t enough, you also need to take action to lower the temperatures, and in that the case itself falls a little short. Just one pre-installed fan may not be enough. Read more “DeepCool CH510 Mesh Digital: Temperatures right under your nose” »

Enermax introduces ATX 3.0 standard with the Revolution series

News, PSUs | | Ľubomír Samák

Enermax now also has its irons in the fire among ATX 3.0 PSUs. The “weaker” variant has a rated power of 1000 W, the more powerful up to 1200 W. The main attraction of these PSUs (not only the new Enermax Revolution, but ATX 3.0 models in general) is the 16-pin connector for external power supply of GeForce RTX 4000 graphics cards. And the Enermax PSUs have two of them, which is one of the competitive advantages compared to other solutions. Read more “Enermax introduces ATX 3.0 standard with the Revolution series” »

Core i5-13400F complete gaming tests (B0 vs. C0). W/o E cores too

Extra tests, Processors | | Ľubomír Samák

The third and final Intel Core i5-13400F CPU test with measurements beyond standard will add to what the previous two have shown. We ran the two existing steppings – B0 (with Raptor Cove/Raptor Lake P cores) and C0 (Golden Cove/Alder Lake) – through all the games we use to test processors, in four different display setups. In the case of stepping B0 even with modified CPU settings, with E cores disabled. Read more “Core i5-13400F complete gaming tests (B0 vs. C0). W/o E cores too” »

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