Aorus 15 BSF (2023): The less expensive of the powerful laptops

It took longer than I planned, but we finally got our hands on an Aorus gaming laptop. Specifically, the 15-inch model set for 2023 with a Raptor Lake Core i7 processor and an Ada Lovelace RTX 4070 graphics card. This configuration may impress with a rather attractive price. But then again, in the fierce competition from ROG, MSI and Legion models, the Aorus 15 BSF won’t have it so easy. Read more “Aorus 15 BSF (2023): The less expensive of the powerful laptops” »

Do you like small GPUs? Gigabyte RTX 4060 Windforce OC 8G details

Nvidia’s smallest, lowest-power, cheapest, and possibly most efficient Ada Lovelace GPU is already a reality in GeForce RTX 4060 graphics cards. Thanks to the low power draw, even very small designs with excellent compatibility with surrounding components are possible. The Gigabyte Windforce OC 8G, which does not outweigh even a half-liter can, is one of these. Read more “Do you like small GPUs? Gigabyte RTX 4060 Windforce OC 8G details” »

Gigabyte A620M Gaming X vs. 200+W. No fireworks in sight!

Some people paint disasters around cheap motherboards (literally, flames in the graphics editor and such… natural disasters sell), yet often you have nothing to worry about and nothing burns up anywhere. Such A620M Gaming X can handle even the most powerful processors for AMD AM5 socket with ease. It doesn’t make much sense to pair it up like this, as the features are tailored to the undemanding user, but it is an option. Read more “Gigabyte A620M Gaming X vs. 200+W. No fireworks in sight!” »

Gigabyte Aorus RX 7900 XTX Elite 24G. If RTX 4090 is too costly…

The most powerful Radeon (RX 7900 XTX) is both slower and less efficient compared to the GeForce RTX 4090, but it’s also roughly 700 EUR cheaper. And that’s what gives it an unprecedented price/performance ratio for a high-end graphics card. The latter is more attractive even than the lower-end RX 7900 XT, and that’s also the case with Gigabyte’s top-of-the-range Aorus Elite, which, oddly enough, only comes at a minimal premium. Read more “Gigabyte Aorus RX 7900 XTX Elite 24G. If RTX 4090 is too costly…” »

One of the fastest, Gigabyte RTX 4090 Gaming OC 24G

For a long time they were missing in our test database, but now we are adding them – the results of a GeForce RTX 4090. When it comes to gaming performance, graphics cards with AD102 GPUs have no competition, but it often costs an extreme 450 W. The Gigabyte Windforce cooler handles such an onslaught by a wide margin though, on top of, and now hold on to your hats, non-loud coils, somewhere on the level of the RTX 3060 (Ti). Really. Read more “One of the fastest, Gigabyte RTX 4090 Gaming OC 24G” »

A620 chipset specs in detail: a PCIe Gen4 uplink surprise

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” »

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

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” »

Gigabyte Aorus 140 ARGB: Short/quiet and lighted (blades)

Blade length is always the “topic”, but will be more common with 140mm fans than smaller variants. Some bet on long blades for preference of selected features, the other manufacturer on short ones. And such (short) and overall more robust blades are also used by the 140mm Aorus fan. From certain points of view this is quite a big advantage, but for which something had to be sacrificed. It’s a quid pro quo. Read more “Gigabyte Aorus 140 ARGB: Short/quiet and lighted (blades)” »

“Weaker PCB”, but still (Gigabyte Aorus X670 Elite AX) stands out

Motherboards for the AMD AM5 platform with chipsets without “E” in the designation have weaker connectivity derived from the processor, but if you do not require PCIe 5.0 for the graphics card, you do not really need to worry. And not at all with the Aorus X670 Elite AX board, which defends the “Elite” label without the slightest difficulty. For proper features, but also for the fact that Gigabyte has once again pushed the performance more than usual. Read more ““Weaker PCB”, but still (Gigabyte Aorus X670 Elite AX) stands out” »

Gigabyte M32UC: 4K at 160Hz on curved 32 inches

Monitors at the moment are probably dominated by 27-inch models, which is logical given their price and availability. The next step in the evolution are 32-inch models, which include the tested M32UC from Gigabyte. This one is very similar to the recently tested G32QC. However, appearance is the only thing they are similar in, as the M32UC is a bit of a “different animal”. 4K at 160Hz and KVM are just the tip of the iceberg of what the monitor offers. Read more “Gigabyte M32UC: 4K at 160Hz on curved 32 inches” »

Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX: “Optimized for gaming”

With motherboards, we don’t like to write about “gaming” hardware. They usually have virtually no effect on gaming performance. In this case, however, there is something to the marketing slogan, although not for free, and in some cases the higher performance is paid for by higher power draw in games. However, there are naturally more reasons to care about or, on the contrary, to avoid the Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX. Read more “Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX: “Optimized for gaming”” »

Great value for money? Gigabyte Z690 Gaming X DDR4

Here we have a test of the latest motherboard, which is designed primarily for the needs of Intel Alder Lake processors. It is also compatible with Raptor Lakes, but most importantly we finally have a tough opponent for the MSI Pro Z690-A DDR4. That board has set the bar really high among the cheaper models. But Gigabyte also has one ace up its sleeve in the low-end segment. The Z690 Gaming X DDR4 motherboard is truly a class act! Read more “Great value for money? Gigabyte Z690 Gaming X DDR4” »

At last, a Mini-ITX board with Intel Jasper Lake SoCs. And it is fanless

One of the casualties of chip crisis were the low-power Celeron and Pentium processors of the “Atom” lineage. It’s a year and a half since Intel launched the 10nm Jasper Lake generation with Tremont cores but the supply has likely been insufficient till now, there are virtually no desktop boards for low-power builds. Things seem to be getting better finally and Mini-ITX boards with Jasper Lake are coming. Fanless ones, even. Read more “At last, a Mini-ITX board with Intel Jasper Lake SoCs. And it is fanless” »

Gigabyte Aorus 120 ARGB: Not just stylish, but a proper fan

Gigabyte’s new fan stands out from the crowd of flashy, inefficient PC components. The Aorus 120 ARGB may entice the user with its illuminated rotor, but the features that make a fan a fan don’t play second fiddle either. Although there is still room for tuning and improvement, the Aorus 120 ARGB excels in many ways and beats even competing models from traditional fan manufacturers in some areas of application. Read more “Gigabyte Aorus 120 ARGB: Not just stylish, but a proper fan” »

Gigabyte B660 Aorus Master DDR4: A board both efficient and flashy

Last time, we looked at a motherboard that is suitable for use with cheaper processors thanks to its lower price. Now we have the roughly 50 EUR more expensive Gigabyte B660 Aorus Master DDR4. The premium here has a clear justification and reflects on the better features. The power delivery is significantly more efficient, the heatsinks are more effective, and the features are richer overall, including illumination. Read more “Gigabyte B660 Aorus Master DDR4: A board both efficient and flashy” »