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”
So far, little information has emerged about what to expect from AMD Ryzen processors with the Zen 6 architecture. The core itself should be an evolution of Zen 5, given AMD’s model resembling “tick-tock”, where even-numbered cores are less aggressive enhancements of tech introduced in odd-numbered ground-up redesigns. But it looks like everything else in the SoC could be a radical shift from the aging concept of Ryzen processor uncores. Read more “Zen 6 finally brings more advanced 2.5D chiplets, has RDNA 5 GPU”
Aquarium or terrarium? In short, a proper glass (panoramic?) case with a good view of the components. It is not only the appearance that is supposed to be “attractive”, but also the abundant options for cooling, or rather installation of liquid coolers. And reconfiguring the system fans can also make sense with the DeepCool CH780. We chart the differences in the comparison tests as well. Read more “DeepCool CH780: Wide viewing angles at the core”
In a move marked by broader changes, DeepCool is releasing the Mystique line of liquid coolers. Of the main things that affect cooling efficiency, the design of the pump, coldplate, and fans have all been affected. The attractiveness is also supposed to be enhanced by the addition of a brightly colored display for monitoring CPU activity, for example. Price-wise, Mystique coolers are among the cheaper ones when compared to similarly equipped competitors. Read more “Mystique 360: The first of next-gen DeepCool AIOs”
It’s the fastest Core i3 yet, but it’s also the hungriest. The 14100F’s (Raptor Lake Refresh) biggest competition in its own ranks is in the form of older models (13100F and 12100F). These are a bit slower, but lower-power. The “better” choice depends on what holds more weight on your scales. Maybe it will be that record-breaking speed? In this class (Core i3), power consumption is always relatively low. Read more “Intel Core i3-14100F: Four cores whipped to the max”
Buying a network card is in some cases a more elegant option than replacing the entire motherboard. For such situations, Axagon has an on-PCI Express card 2.5-gigabit one in the form of the PCEE-G25, for example, for home users. We’ve subjected it to a great deal of comparison with integrated adapters. And before you get into it, one question: Can you estimate how much power such a simpler network card might consume? Read more “Axagon PCEE-G25 vs. 20+ iLAN on motherboards”
Windows 11 came out with fairly strict hardware requirements, causing worries with mandatory TPM2 for a while, for example. It also officially supports only a very limited list of new processors, with the vague threat that future updates may not work on older ones. Now Microsoft has quietly tightened the screws. Fortunately, it is not going to enforce this whitelist, but the system will stop working on a number of older processors. Read more “Microsoft tightens Windows 11 requirements, breaks all Core 2 PCs”
Zen 5-based AMD processors will launch this year (perhaps in Q3). Unlike Zen 4 which was just Zen 3 refined, Zen 5 will be another big upgrade, and according to various hints including statements by the architect Mike Clark, it could be AMD’s most interesting core since the first Zen. Interestingly, up until now, the only information about it has come from a single YouTuber source. But it has just been officially confirmed directly by AMD. Read more “AMD confirms Zen 5 details: 6 ALUs, full-performance AVX-512”
In cooperation with Axagon, we have prepared a cyclical activity for this year, which may be of interest to HWCooling readers. We’ll post a detail of some piece of hardware and you can guess what it is. You can compete (and eventually win something) on a regular basis, with a new challenge every month. But for now, you need to get “to the next round” through the next one, in February. Read more “Axagon Riddle (2/2024). Can you guess what’s in the photo?”
Yet again, reports of melted 12-pin power connectors and damaged GeForce graphics cards are coming in – this time involving hundreds of CableMod adapters – and with that, the debate about whether the 12-pin is dangerous is back. Unfortunately, it’s full of black and white arguments that are pretty much off the mark. We will try to point out such fallacies. The issue is in fact much more complicated than the positions usually taken on it. Read more “12-pins on GPUs melting again: Both fans and critics are wrong”
Among RTX 4060 Ti graphics cards, Asus has multi-functional designs with an M.2 slot for NVMe SSDs. These, unlike other models, don’t waste the potential of the PCI Express ×16 interface so significantly. To evaluate this design, partial results from motherboard tests are now extremely useful. Those results that relate to the M.2 slot speeds and the efficiency of SSD coolers. After all, the Asus Dual RTX 4060 Ti SSD also competes in both disciplines. Read more “Rare host: How does an SSD work in the Asus Dual RTX 4060 Ti?”
The GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super Ventus 3X graphics card came out with a BIOS that MSI (and even Nvidia) wasn’t happy with. After the second revision, there is the third, the last revision of the BIOS. This one increases the power limit to allow higher GPU clock speeds to be achieved. However, this comes at the cost of a bit lower power efficiency. To update or not to update? That’s for everyone to decide for themselves, if they get the chance. Read more “The Ventus 3X (RTX 4070 TiS) case: Final vs. original VBIOS”
Although releasing a fresh LGA 1851 desktop platform with brand new Arrow Lake processors this year, news are coming that Intel also plans another refresh of Raptor Lake processors as a plan B. But these chips, called Bartlett Lake, may yet be more interesting than one would expect. In fact, they might feature an entirely new, more powerful chip without E-Cores aimed at gaming performance, that would still run on the LGA 1700 socket. Read more “Non-hybrid Intel gaming CPU? Bartlett Lake to have 12 big cores”
Couple days ago, documents leaked on Arrow Lake-S processors and Generation 800 chipsets – Intel’s next-gen desktop platform with the new LGA 1851 socket, due out in the second half of the year. Besides the things we already analysed, those documents also indicate that Arrow Lake P-cores have only one thread. This has now been confirmed by a log from testing a sample of this CPU. After 22 years, Intel processors are dropping HT. Read more “Arrow Lake CPU spotted. Missing HT and AVX-512 confirmed”
One of the negatives of Intel Arc graphics cards is their high idle power consumption. Competing solutions from a similar class are, in short, significantly less power hungry. To some extent, the consumption of Arc graphics cards can also be reduced in a very simple way. However, the latter also brings unwanted side effects that are not convenient in common practice and the whole thing is likely to be discarded because of them. Read more “Arc A580’s “Power Saving Mode” doesn’t bring only benefits”
First there was a report that things might not be so hot with Intel’s next generation of desktop processors – the 2nm Arrow Lake on the LGA 1851 platform. To make things better, the other side seems to have its own issues too: AMD’s Zen 5 will be delayed. Hopefully it won’t be anything dramatic, but the reports of spring launch that we recently shared won’t come true. It’s not clear if this will also delay gaming models with 3D V-Cache. Read more “Zen 5 is delayed. AMD has confirmed desktop launch in H2 2024”
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