The ongoing contest for Enermax PSUs is now even more attractive. You can also enter for fans, which we will be happy to add to the package for the winner. And also for free. In their case, we don’t even require them to be paired with the main build (with the Enermax PSU). You can use them as you see fit in some other computer where they will do a better job than gathering dust on the shelves of our testlab. Read more “Enermax contest bonus: You’ll also get fans with the PSU”
November 3 saw the expected unveiling of a new generation of Radeon graphics cards from AMD with RDNA 3 architecture, a competitor to the GeForce RTX 4000, the already selling new GPU generation from Nvidia. In this article, we’ll discuss the chiplet design of the new 5nm AMD GPUs, the changes in architecture, and the new functionality and features that they bring. RDNA 3 has a lot of new stuff compared to the previous generation. Read more “AMD RDNA 3 details: architecture changes, AI acceleration, DP 2.1”
We come to the analysis of a fan that even if it dates back to cooling prehistory, many manufacturers are only now discovering the aerodynamic qualities of its design. Although the Gentle Typhoon is a great inspiration to many manufacturers (including Noctua), it does have one weakness. And a rather fundamental one. It is very high, excessive vibrations, which we will unusually devote a separate test to. Read more “Gentle Typhoon’s high vibrations resemble SilverStone’s sins”
The Noctua NF-A12x25 fan may be the closest to perfection of the 120mm fans, but even the best things have their weaknesses. This will be no exception and there are elements of the NF-A12x25 that make sense to get into. And that this is true, Noctua will prove sooner or later in the next generation of 120 mm fans. But we’ll discuss the topic of what exactly to tweak, to do neater, right now.. Read more “HWCooling tips to optimize the Noctua NF-A12x25 fan”
Monitors usually offer a very similar and rather unremarkable design in black or grey. Gaming models are trying to break out of this stereotype, with various red elements or RGB lighting. However, the world of professional monitors is virtually black and white, and MSI thought it would bring some colour to this environment, and not a grey one, but an “Ultramarine” one at that. That’s a colour particularly associated with Renaissance artwork. Read more “Bit of a “different” monitor. MSI Modern MD272QP Ultramarine”
Large diagonal monitors are slowly but surely starting to catch on with more users, and the recent rise in popularity is no doubt mainly due to the boom of more OLED models. However, these aren’t the only option and you’ll find a number of IPS and VA models on the market, including the G4380UHSU from iiyama. This gaming monitor is based on a 42″ fast (144Hz) 4K panel. Price? 650 EUR. Read more “Iiyama G-Master G4380UHSU: A monitor as big as a TV”
While modern processors offer high performance, this is inevitably linked to the need for highly effective cooling. So I’m always happy to welcome a cooler on the market with the promise of high effectiveness at an interesting price. One of them is the AK620, which represents the top of DeepCool’s range. It offers a modern design, an attractive price tag and the potential to cool even high-end processors. So we’ll see how well it performs in our stress tests. Read more “DeepCool AK620 – Solid dual-tower cooler for a good price”
Standalone graphics card coolers have not been increasing in numbers lately. This is probably also due to non-reference graphics cards that include a decent cooler. But Raijintek still sees some room in them and is preparing a new revision of Morpheus – 8069. Big heatsink, big fans, high TDP (360 W) and silent operation even with performance that is otherwise (with built-in coolers) “audible”. Read more “Raijintek isn’t done with GPU coolers, readying the Morpheus 8069”
With the addition of the Shadow Wings 2 tests, you now have a full overview of the features of all unlit BeQuiet! fans in 120 mm format. Shadow Wings 2 is between Silent Wings 3 and Pure Wings 2 in terms of both price and design. In terms of efficiency, they are closer to the more expensive Silent Wings 3 and in certain situations they give top-notch results. Given the lower price, this can be a very attractive option, but there are some things to look out for. Read more “BeQuiet! Shadow Wings 2 (BL085): A cheaper option”
When the specs of the Ryzen 7000s first leaked, one thing was disappointing. These processors use 5nm process that is much more efficient, yet AMD has not exploited this potential. Likely due to pressure from Intel’s big.LITTLE processors, the company has increased power draw to raise multi-threaded performance and instead of 65W and 105W TDPs, the TDPs went up to 105W and 170W. But lower-power versions are fortunately in the pipeline. Read more “65W CPU with Zen 4 architecture is coming: AMD Ryzen 7 7700”
The release of Intel Raptor Lake processors also coincided somewhat with the release of the latest update for Windows 10, the 22H2. We write this in this context because it (22H2) quietly removes the most significant performance shortcomings, and the difference to the detriment of the older builds can be as much as 57 %. Most of the time this update doesn’t change performance too much, but when it does, it changes it greatly. Read more “Older Windows 10 versions than 22H2 slow down Raptor Lake CPUs”
A fully active Intel Raptor Lake CPU chip, that’s tremendous performance for all situations, but also a lot of worries. These revolve around how to use this great potential and not hold anything back. There are more obstacles than usual. When it’s not on a software basis, it’s a struggle with cooling for a change. And you already know that the 13th-generation Intel Core CPU is sometimes more efficient than the Ryzen 7000. Read more “Intel Core i9-13900K review: Biggest predator in the lake”
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”
Latest comments