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 May. Read more “Axagon Riddle (5/2024). Can you guess what’s in the photo?”
The more efficient Alder Lake processors with TDP/PL1 35–65 W are out. We are, of course, ready, and for a perfect overview we have complete tests of the Core i5-12400, i.e. the successor of the most popular models of the past generations. You can compare this processor in all aspects not only with them, but also with the Ryzen 5 5600X . It looks like this processor will sell like hot cakes. Read more “Core i5-12400 with DDR4 test: Meet the fresh bestseller”
One of the hot topics of last year was AMD not making Zen 3 processors compatible with the first generation of AM4 socket boards, so the 300 series chipsets are out of luck. However, this issue has seen an unexpected development. Last month, a number of 300-generation boards received new BIOSes, enabling official upgrades to newer processors – Ryzen 4000G APUs and, in some cases, even Ryzen 5000s. Read more “Gigabyte and MSI B350 & X370 boards support Ryzen 4000/5000”
To write that we have something mapped out to the last detail is perhaps too bold, but after proper preparation, few pieces of hardware are as easy to evaluate as fans. Of course, this had to be preceded by long preparations, developing a methodology, but you already know the story. What you don’t know yet is the first fruit, or rather the results of Akasa, SilentiumPC, SilverStone, Xigmatek or more exotic Reeven fans. Read more “Big test of 120 mm fans. We known everything about eight of them”
New AM5 platform and a socket is coming this year for AMD CPUs, even adopting the LGA approach for the first time. Some details have already leaked, but much remains unknown. Rather interesting news about the new chipsets, to be used on ADM AM5, has popped up recently: a mainstream version named B650 and a high end version called X670 are coming, the latter being notable for allegedly consisting of multiple chips. Read more “AMD X670 chipset on AM5 platform could be a pair of B650 dies”
WiFi 6 has been with us for a while now, but the adoption of this new wireless standard has been a bit lackluster. And it’s not for lack of clients, WiFi 6 is in new devices for sure. I consider the main reason to be poorer availability, as WiFi 6 has so far appeared mainly in top router models costing hundreds of euros, which only a connoisseur will reach for. But with the arrival of the affordable RT-AX53U, this situation is changing. Read more “Asus RT-AX53U: Cheap router in test, or WiFi 6 for the masses”
In the summer we reported that Russia is now making (or rather designing, as fabbing will happen at TSMC) its own ARM Baikal-M CPUs, which are also being used in computers intended for state administration. It was an outdated SoC with Cortex-A57, the very first 64-bit ARM cores. But now the same company has a much cooler processor: a 48-core with a newer architecture that could replace the cheaper server Xeons and Epycs. Read more “Russia has local Baikal-S server CPUs. 6nm 128-core in the works”
The choice of more powerful single tower CPU coolers is growing. A year ago there might have been a shortage, but now, one model after another. The latest is the Forza 85, with which Cougar builds on the slimmer design of the Forza 50. Very high cooling performance is to be expected not only because of the extra weight and a high-speed fan, but also because the closed fins on the sides achieve the highest possible pressure. Read more “Cougar sends a new cooler into battle, the massive Forza 85 tower”
EKWB has released a striking block for those who like small but powerful and quiet computers. The Momentum² is designed for the ROG Strix X570-I Gaming, a Mini-ITX board from Asus. It is a monolithic design, which is supposed to be characterized by low restrictiveness (thus it is also suitable for slower pumps), but mainly by a wide reach – in addition to the CPU, it covers both the VRM and the AMD X570 chipset. Read more “New EK Momentum2 block covers 2/3 of the motherboard”
Until now, Thermalright’s current thermal pastes have been from the TF series. The latest paste (CFX) no longer carries this label. This might be because it no longer fits into the current pyramid due to its properties. The new CFX thermal paste is among the top of the company’s range in terms of parameters, but we believe that you may pay less for it per unit of “ability to dissipate heat” than is usual with Thermalright. Read more “Enough TF thermal paste for now, Thermalright introduced the CFX”
Last month, Intel has released Alder Lake CPUs, with the highest Core i9-12900K model scoring both single-thread and gaming performance lead. But there’s more coming. Intel is now said to be developing Core i9-12900KS, an even faster model, or rather a special edition. This CPU should perform even better, thus securing Intel’s lead against the possibility that AMD counterattacks i9-12900K successfully with its 3D V-Cache CPUs. Read more “Intel plans a special edition 5.2GHz all-core boost Alder Lake”
The variety of liquid coolers is growing rapidly, but few build on such a strong brand as the two new Sapphire products. We’re talking about the “Nitro+”, an attribute that has gained a very good reputation in the graphics card market. Sapphire is going down a similar path as it once did with the Vapor-X. But this cooler succeeded only on the GPU, the CPU design didn’t stand too strong compared to the competition. The AIOs will hopefully turn out a lot better. Read more “Sapphire comes out with AIO coolers under the Nitro+ brand”
Shortly after the leak of a detailed photo of the box cooler for Core i7, Core i5 and Core i3 Alder Lake CPUs, the most powerful model is revealed in all its glory. This one is naturally more robust and the tall fins are no longer plastic, but made of aluminium. It uses fixed mounting via screws, which is good news as well. The cooler also includes a backplate, which is handy since this cooler is significantly taller and heavier than the current stock coolers. Read more “More metal, no push-pins; Intel’s upcoming Core i9 coolers”
More complex, tall coolers for SSD always attract attention. However, their fin area tends to be significantly oversized, at least for current semiconductor storage models. No extremes are needed for cooling ten watts at most. However, higher cooling performance might be warranted later, for PCI Express 5.0 SSDs. From this perspective, the ElecGear active cooler is a rather timeless novelty. Read more “Two heatsinks, a heatpipe and a fan; the new ElecGear SSD cooler”
Five to ten years ago, Intel had been the undisputed king of silicon processes, but the delay of 10nm node has ended that and TSMC has been the clear leader since. It is often said that its processes are specialised for mobile use, still remaining inferior to Intel in terms of the maximum achieved clock frequency. But this might change soon. The company will now focus on this very area and high performance chips for PCs. Read more “N4X: TSMC unveils special processes for high performance chips”
Intel’s box coolers have been stagnant for a long time. Since the first models on the LGA 775 platform (which is already quite historic), not much has changed with their coolers. However, a significant shift away from the usual shape will come at the beginning of the year with the more economical Alder Lake processors. We wrote about this in September, but the latest visualizations reveal some striking details. Read more “The design of new coolers for 65-watt Intel CPUs is now clearer”
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