Tech News
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The Nvidia RTX 3080 eBay Debacle Exposed a Scalper Bot Civil War @ Gizmodo
By now most of you will have heard or "seen" what happens when scalpers do that they can to scam you out of something. I went to PAX Prime a couple years ago, the show sold out in like 30min and yet there were 10+ scalpers selling day passes to the show and buying passes from folks who were leaving.
That isn't right but, it is the world we live in.
Well, when the NVIDIA RTX 3080 launched it wasn't the consumers who won but the botnet placing fake orders with the intent they would resell them on ebay where another set of bots would place fake bids to get people to pay way more than what the card was worth. What more, these bots would shove the price up high enough that someone who thought they had lost would actually win the auction because the bot retracted their inflated bids. Talk about bait and switch and a great way to ruin your ebay reputation.
Gizmodo set out to uncover the botnet world after reading a post on the NVIDIA forums from a user who created a counter bot just to mess with scalpers.
Now RTX 3080 GPUs are being listed on eBay with bids that exceed $10,000. But those ridiculously high bids might be the result of bots created by fed-up potential buyers. After I wrote about who in the hell would buy a RTX 3080 for $70,000, I quickly received dozens of messages from people pointing me to a post on the Nvidia forums where a user claimed that they wrote a bot to inflate scalper prices. The post on Nvidia’s forums has since been removed, but I was able to connect with the post’s author
Super crafty and reminds me of an article I wrote about "traffic pumping" or more specifically how to inflate web traffic for fun and profit. It is a thing but rarely used these days.
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GeIL Announces the Co-branded ORION Phantom Gaming Edition Memory with ASRock
Fully compatible with latest ASRock Phantom Gaming Motherboard, Frequencies from 2666MHz to 3600MHz, and capacity for 8GB to 64GB kit
Taipei, Taiwan - September 22nd, 2020 – GeIL, Golden Emperor International Ltd. – one of the world's leading PC components & manufacturers today is proud to announce the partnership with the motherboard leader, ASRock, in expanding Phantom Gaming product line and launching the co-branded ORION Phantom Gaming Edition DDR4 Desktop Memory. This new product provides frequencies from 2666MHz to 3600MHz with higher capacities up to 64GB (2x32GB) to deliver better performance to hardcore gamers, video content creators, and PC builders.
Since the successful collaboration on the EVO SPEAR Phantom Gaming Edition Memory in 2019, the next chapter is the ORION Phantom Gaming Edition Memory. This new product comes with Intel and AMD package versions, as well as tested and optimized on the latest AMD and Intel platforms separately to ensure optimal performance. Per a strict validation process, ORION Phantom Gaming Edition Memory is fully compatible with the ASRock Phantom Gaming Motherboard, including the latest high-end B550 PG Velocita, Z490 PG Velocita, Z490 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3 and more.
ORION Phantom Gaming Edition Memory is designed to accelerate system gaming responsiveness when the system is full-loaded and satisfies content creators who are thirsting for extra performance.
Available as single 32GB modules or dual module kits with a maximum capacity of 64GB. The ORION modules offer speeds up to 3600MHz at CL16 with voltages ranging between 1.2V and 1.35V depending on module selection.
The meteor shower pattern design stands out against the understated Charcoal Gray heat spreader design, allowing modules fit in most case design and color theme. To avoid collision with CPU coolers, ORION Phantom Gaming Edition Memory features the approximately standard height heat spreaders and is compatible with most PC cases on the market.
"GeIL has been in partnership with the ASRock Phantom Gaming Edition for years. Today, we are so excited to announce the ORION Phantom Gaming Edition Memory, which compatible with ASRock's high-end PG Velocita Motherboard and the Phantom Gaming Motherboard. We ensure our creative engineering results trusted quality for our customers." said Jennifer Huang, the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at GeIL.
"GeIL has worked closely with ASRock and launched EVO SPEAR Phantom Gaming Edition Memory last year. The new ORION Phantom Gaming Edition Memory has brought our partnership to the next level, and provided another option which enables the gamers to build a unique Phantom Gaming PC,” said Chris Lee, General Manager of ASRock Motherboard & Gaming Peripherals Business Unit. “The Phantom Gaming Alliance keens to provide the gamers not only unquestionable performance, compatibility, and exterior design, but also a unique gaming experience.”
Backed by GeIL's lifetime warranty, ORION Phantom Gaming Edition Memory is available in frequencies from 2666MHz to 3600MHz and various kit capacities from 8GB to 64GB. Also, it is fully compatible with the ASRock Phantom Gaming Intel and AMD RyzenTM Motherboard for excellent quality and reliability.
Official Webpage:
ORION Phantom Gaming Edition: http://www.geil.com.tw/product/?id=54
ORION Phantom Gaming AMD Edition: http://www.geil.com.tw/product/?id=53 -
Microsoft now owns The Elder Scrolls, Fallout and Doom @ PCGamer
So, this seemed to have come from left field. How is it that NVIDIA buying ARM could be leaked 6 months before it happened and yet Microsoft buying the parent company to one of the better game developers on the planet slip by me??
Well, I blame stock market insiders for the NVIDIA thing and it seems I need more tipsters to stay on top of the Microsoft thing. Come to think of it, I don't get many tips anymore which is sad since that is how you get the juiciest stuff.
Bethesda’s games have always had a special place on Xbox and in the hearts of millions of gamers around the world," he said. "Our teams have a close and storied history working together, from the amazing first DOOM, and its id Tech engine, innovating games on PCs to Bethesda bringing their first console game to the original Xbox, the groundbreaking The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Over the years I’ve had many deep conversations with the creative leaders at Bethesda on the future of gaming and we’ve long shared similar visions for the opportunities for creators and their games to reach more players in more ways.
Xbox boss Phil SpencerLets hope they make things better for Bethesda with even better game titles and something "new" instead of just re-skinning games to take advantage of the GTA effect.
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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3000 Series - Review Release Day
Well, it happened again, through some, or no, fault of my own we are left without a review sample for launch day. Normally I'd be super mad (well I still kinda am) but, I have to remember that stock is boring and that what I prefer to focus on is "how can this product be better?"
Better is a little subjective since you can take a reference card, slap on a hot clock and call it better however, that is not even close. What I like to see is custom PCBs, enhanced cooling and the little tweaks that video card makers can apply to really unleash the potential of the new RTX 3000 Series GPU. We are talking factory overclocking, watercooling and the largest of large VRMs for whatever stability you can ask for.
But, if you are the type who wants to see the ordinary and would rather watch YouTube while imagining how things could have been while rocking your GTX 580 then by all means click on the links below. In doing so you will be supporting the superior written word in the computer hardware review world and letting NVIDIA know that the smart people can still read.
Just remember that better things are coming, which will likely be copied by some lazy TechUtainment Channel.
Web Reviews
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Review: Ampere Is A Gaming Monster @ Hot Hardware
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Performance In Blender, Octane, V-Ray, & More @ Techgage
Nvidia RTX 3080 Founders Edition @ LanOC Reviews @ LanOC
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 PCI-Express Scaling @ TechPowerUp
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 with AMD Ryzen 3900XT vs Intel Core i9-10900K @ TechPowerUp
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition @ TechPowerUpAnd Finally
We talked about the RTX 3000 Series on the most recent version of the Hardware Asylum Podcast. Most of the info we talked about was public minus performance but if you know what to look for you can figure out the missing pieces pretty easily. Be sure to check it out.
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Alphacool Eisblock Aurora Plexi GPX-N RTX 3080/3090
NVIDIA RTX 30 Series is about to be released and the aftermarket is buzzing with perfornance accessories including this RGB enabled waterblock from Alphacool.
Alphacool presents the Eisblock Aurora Plexi GPX-N cooler for reference design Nvidia RTX 3080 and 3090 graphics cards. The cooler offers outstanding cooling performance thanks to its full cover design. The new backplate, which is delivered together with the cooler, also contributes to this. This stabilizes the graphics card and ensures an even contact along the whole cooler. The water block cold plate is made of nickel-plated copper. The cooler covers all relevant components such as voltage converters and the graphics memory.
The Alphacool Eisblock GPX-N Aurora Plexi has an LED strip across the entire width with addressable 5V digital RGB LEDs. These illuminate the entire cooler homogeneously and ensures an outstanding ambience in the PC housing.
Compatibility list:
ATTENTION: The following models were visually checked for compatibility. Please note that this list may change at short notice.More compatible models will follow in this list for this cooler. We are currently checking other PCB designs from various manufacturers!
RTX 3080
Zotac GAMING GeForce RTX 3080 Trinity (ZT-A30800D-10P)
PNY GeForce RTX 3080 XLR8 Gaming EPIC-X RGB 10240 MB GDDR6X (VCG308010TFXMPB)
PNY GeForce RTX 3080 XLR8 Gaming EPIC-X RGB 10240 MB GDDR6X (VCG308010TFXPPB)
Inno3D GeForce RTX 3080 iChill X4 10240 MB GDDR6X (C30804-106XX-1810VA36)
Inno3D GeForce RTX 3080 Twin X2 OC 10240 MB GDDR6X (N30802-106XX-1810VA34)
Inno3D GeForce RTX 3080 iChill X3 10240 MB GDDR6X (C30803-106XX-1810VA37)
Palit GeForce RTX™ 3080 GamingPro (NED30800191A-132AA)
Palit GeForce RTX™ 3080 GamingPro OC (NED3080S191A-132AA)
Galax GeForce RTX 3080 SG 10GB GDDR6X 320-bit DP*3/HDMI (38NWM3MD99NN)
KFA2 GeForce RTX 3080 SG 10GB GDDR6X 320-bit DP*3/HDMI (38NWM3MD99NK)
Gainward RTX 3080 Phoenix
Gainward RTX 3080 Phoenix GS
RTX 3090
PNY GeForce RTX 3090 XLR8 Gaming EPIC-X RGB, 24576 MB GDDR6X (VCG309024TFXPPB)
Inno3D GeForce RTX 3090 iChill X3, 24576 MB GDDR6X (C30903-246XX-1880VA37)
Inno3D GeForce RTX 3090 Gaming X3, 24576 MB GDDR6X (N30903-246X-1880VA37N)
Inno3D GeForce RTX 3090 iChill X4, 24576 MB GDDR6X (C30904-246XX-1880VA36)
Zotac GeForce RTX 3090 Trinity, 24576 MB GDDR6X (ZT-A30900D-10P)
Palit GeForce RTX™ 3080 GamingPro (NED3090019SB-132BA)
Palit GeForce RTX™ 3080 GamingPro OC (NED3090S19SB-132BA)
Galax GeForce RTX 3090 SG 24GB GDDR6X 320-bit DP*3/HDMI/ (39NSM5MD1GNA)
KFA2 GeForce RTX 3090 SG 24GB GDDR6X 320-bit DP*3/HDMI/
Gainward RTX 3090 Phoenix
Gainward RTX 3090 Phoenix GS -
Taiwan mobo brands to benefit from new CPUs and GPUs in 4Q20
The rule of the world is supply and demand. When supplies are good they can meet demand and make money. When demand is down nobody buys, supplies are in excess and companies lose money. When demand is high and supplies are low it just pisses people off.
With the launch of just about everything in 2020 there are bound to be winners and losers and is seems Taiwan hardware makers are looking at a banner year.
Taiwan-based motherboard and graphics card brands, and their upstream component suppliers are expected to see sales grow in the fourth quarter of 2020, thanks to the new PC hardware released by Intel, AMD and Nvidia.
Following Intel's releases of 10th generation Core S series desktop processors in May, targeting the high-end gaming market, Nvidia's latest GeForce RTX 30 series GPUs will also hit store shelves in September. AMD's Zen 3-based Ryzen processors and RDNA 2-based Radeon 6000 series GPUs will also debut in October.
-- snip --
Nvidia also recently announced the GeForce RTX 3090, 3080 and 3070 based on its Ampere architecture and will release them gradually in the near future.
All of these vote well for hardware makers and should make plenty of hardware enthusiasts and gamers happy this holiday season.
Check out the full story at Digitimes
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Gigabyte B550 Vision D @ Guru3D
Every once in awhile a motherboard comes around that really makes an impression. Maybe it is the over the top RGB or even the extremely overbuilt VRM but nothing drops the panties faster than a motherboard with clean lines and almost apple like flair.
Thing is we have been conditioned to feel that certain types of motherboards are better than others and at first glance the Gigabyte B550 Vision D is just another understated, un-overclockable motherboard with style that will live out its life enclosed in a solid box surrounded by dirt.
Oh, and I love this intro paragraph.
Built-in the ATX form-factor, the design resembles GB’s Designaire models. Make no mistake, this is a high-end product. It should provide excellent stability, and boasts features not to be found in cheaper models. The design is very attractive: it’s very subtle, and doesn’t scream “I have a big-a** radiator and lots of RGB”. The GIGABYTE B550 Vision D uses a black-and-white contrasting design, with white heatsinks on an all-black PCB. This is a 30.5 x 24.4 cm, ATX-factor product equipped with a B550 chipset, and it offers such features as 14 -phase power design, 2x Gigabit Ethernet and a built-in Wi-Fi receiver. Priced at about 260 USD
Sadly, I think motherboard designs have gotten a little excessive. Sure, I love the backplates and decorative heatsinks but for a product that is designed for creators, a demographic that knows shit about computers, it doesn't need much.
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Thermaltake DistroCase 350P Mid-Tower Chassis Available Now
Stunning Visuals with Spectacular Water Cooling
In what might be one of the biggest cash grabs in the custom PC world we have the Thermaltake DistroCase. I have seen versions of this case at Computex and CES and while it is super impressive to see in the person AND I see the vision behind why it was created AND why it is being pushed into the market. I'm not a fan.
Distribution plates are not a new thing in the watercooling world and their creation was to clean the custom show builds and make running tubes easier. Anyone who has done a hardline build will know how difficult it is to create a compound curve only to have it slightly off forcing you to bend it again. Well. the distro plate makes it so you won't have as many curves for visually cleaner build.
Personally, I'm not a fan because it can easily be damaged and you'll spend days cleaning it when things go sideway. But, it still looks nice, has RGB and you know someone from reddit will buy it for the Karma.
Taipei, Taiwan-September 14th, 2020-Thermaltake, the leading PC DIY premium brand for Cooling, Gaming Gear, and Enthusiast Memory solutions, is excited to announce that the DistroCaseTM 350P Mid-Tower Chassis has hit the shelves, and is now available on the TT Premium Online Shop and DE Alternate. The DistroCaseTM 350P Mid-Tower Chassis is an advanced, innovative, and multi-functional chassis with a truly eye-catching design that will grab a lot of attention. This fully modular chassis is designed with SPCC & PMMA made distro plate as the main body, which is a perfect fit for users who adore its beauty and enjoy the fun of water cooling. Users can also use the exclusive Thermaltake NeonMaker Light Editing Software to orchestrate a surreal underwater-like light show. This multi-functional PC enclosure is also incorporated with its water channels, reservoir, and multiple inlets and outlets, providing users, gamers, and enthusiasts an easier way to design their water loops.
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NVIDIA Buys ARM - Creating a Premier Company for the Age of AI
News of NVIDIA buying companies isn't anything new. Some of the notable purchases include 3Dfx (for SLI), ULi (for motherboard chipsets), AGEIA (for PhysX) and Mellanox (for Datacenter).
We can now add another company to that list. ARM. ARM is the technology behind mobile hardware that is not only powerful (relatively speaking) but power efficient. Combine that with the power of the NVIDIA GPU and their AI initiative and you have a good formula for success.
Today, we announced that we have signed a definitive agreement to purchase Arm.
Thirty years ago, a visionary team of computer scientists in Cambridge, U.K., invented a new CPU architecture optimized for energy-efficiency and a licensing business model that enables broad adoption. Engineers designed Arm CPUs into everything from smartphones and PCs to cloud data centers and supercomputers. An astounding 180 billion computers have been built with Arm — 22 billion last year alone. Arm has become the most popular CPU in the world.
Simon Segars, its CEO, and the people of Arm have built a great company that has shaped the computer industry and nearly every technology market in the world.
We are joining arms with Arm to create the leading computing company for the age of AI. AI is the most powerful technology force of our time. Learning from data, AI supercomputers can write software no human can. Amazingly, AI software can perceive its environment, infer the best plan, and act intelligently. This new form of software will expand computing to every corner of the globe. Someday, trillions of computers running AI will create a new internet — the internet-of-things — thousands of times bigger than today’s internet-of-people.
Check out the link below to read the entire BLOG post on Nvidia.com
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Corsair Gaming, Inc. Launches Initial Public Offering
Back "in the day" an IPO was a really big deal as it indicated that a company was ready to take things to the next level. An IPO was also a make or break point for a company, some surged while others lost so much value that they were driven into obscurity.
There were rumors that Corsair was planning an IPO a few months ago and we have finally got confirmation of that today. Corsair will be trading under "CRSR" with an initial offer price between $16 and $18 USD.
Corsair has been a great company to work with and while I cannot say I have worked with them in in over 15 years I do wish them all the best however, I suspect in less than a year they will resend their IPO and move back to being a private company again.
FREMONT, CA. September 14, 2020—Corsair Gaming, Inc. (“Corsair”), a leading global provider and innovator of high-performance gear for gamers and content creators, announced today that it has commenced an initial public offering of 14,000,000 shares of its common stock, approximately 7,500,000 of which are being offered by Corsair and approximately 6,500,000 of which are being offered by a selling stockholder. In connection with the offering, the underwriters will also have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,100,000 shares of common stock from the selling stockholder. The initial public offering price is estimated to be between $16.00 and $18.00 per share. Corsair has applied to list its common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol “CRSR.” The offering is subject to market conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether, or when, the offering may be completed or as to the actual size or terms of the offering.
Don't be suprised if I follow this one for quite awhile.
