Tech News
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ASRock Radeon RX 5500 XT Phantom Gaming OC 8 GB @ TechPowerUp
Dare I say Navi?? The fabled GPU from AMD that someone "might" be able to buy!
ASRock's Radeon RX 5500 XT Phantom Gaming comes at AMD MSRP of $200, yet features a solid cooler with a metal backplate, idle-fan stop and very low temperatures. 8 GB GDDR6 give the card a performance advantage over the 4 GB version, even at 1080p. Is future-proofing worth it?
For the AMD fan I'm sure one of these cards is on your list and will be a primary purchase this shopping season. I'd say get them while they are hot because when they cool down they aren't working.
(Just a little heat joke there)
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Cooler Master Launches New MasterBox MB311L and MB320L Cases
Cooler Master Launches the MasterBox MB311L ARGB and MasterBox MB320L ARGB Desktop Computer Cases
Includes Two ARGB Fans and Tempered Glass Side Panel for $59.99LOS ANGELES, CALIF., FEB. 11, 2020 – Cooler Master today announces two mATX ARGB Towers: the MasterBox MB311L ARGB (Mesh Front Panel) and MasterBox MB320L ARGB (Acrylic Front Panel). Following in the principles of the award-winning MB Series, versatility is paired with presentation to ensure that any gaming system built inside the MB300 series looks as good as it performs.
MasterBox MB3LL ARGB: Mesh Front Panel
The MasterBox MB311L ARGB is a Micro-ATX airflow PC case pre-installed with two ARGB fans and made to be built with the latest gaming hardware. The front panel’s façade is made entirely of Fine Mesh, placed between two honeycomb vents on either side to maximize airflow.
MasterBox MB320L ARGB: DarkMirror Acrylic Front Panel
The MasterBox MB320L ARGB is a Micro-ATX PC case with two pre-installed ARGB fans and honeycomb mesh ventilation on either side of the DarkMirror front panel. The DarkMirror acrylic front panel is smoked a shade darker to sharpen the contrast of the ARGB fans pre-installed behind it, highlighting its best features.
Tempered Glass and ARGB on-a-Budget
The case includes a tempered glass side panel and two pre-installed 120mm ARGB fans for $59.99 – ideal for builders on a budget.
Pricing & Availability
The MasterBox 311L ARGB and MasterBox 320L ARGB are available for preorder on Amazon for $59.99.
For more information, please visit:
MB311L ARGB: https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-MasterBox-Airflow-Tempered/dp/B0842TKK19
MB320L ARGB: https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-MasterBox-Airflow-Tempered/dp/B0842T2KWZ?th=1 -
Abkoncore A900 @ TechPowerUp
You know I have seen this mouse before. It had a sleek design, two buttons at the front and a set of headlights to illuminate your mousepad to success. Now, if I could only remember where I saw that mouse before. Hummmm I'm gonna say it was the Aorus Thunder M7 MMO Gaming mouse. It had lights up front though I'm pretty sure there was another.
The Abkoncore A900 is a medium-sized, ambidextrous mouse with side buttons on the left side only. Despite being priced as a budget mouse, it comes with features one would expect from a premium model: PixArt PMW3389 sensor, Omron switches for the main buttons, and full RGB lighting.
Despite the interesting design and creative use of lighting the mouse looks good and has all the right components. Of course being cheap also helps move product allowing users to decide if what they got equals what they spent.
(The answer is usually no)
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The Ultimate Show Case – InWin 909EK
The InWin 909 is a very iconic case that has been around for a very long time. We reviewed the Mini ITX version back in 2014 and I'm glad to see it getting new life with some help from EK.
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EK®, the leader in custom loop liquid cooling is proud to announce the launch of a limited edition product which is a result of a successful collaboration between EK and InWin, the renowned case manufacturer. It started as the “best build of CES” and now it is sold in a limited edition under the name EK-Quantum InWin 909EK – Silver Limited Edition.
EK-Quantum InWin 909EK - Silver Limited Edition
The EK-Quantum InWin 909EK case is a unique and heavily modified version of the very popular high-end InWin 909 case. The case itself is wider than a regular InWin 909 case in order to be able to fit two thick 480mm XE radiators with their fans. It features an integrated distribution plate which acts also as a motherboard tray, and it can support a dual D5 pump setup. This makes it really special as there is no similar case on the market. The InWin 909EK case is a part of the EK Quantum Line of products, which represents perfection in design and it is limited to only 200 pieces!
Availability and Pricing
The EK-Quantum InWin 909EK cases are made in Taiwan and are readily available for pre-order through the EK Webshop or EK Partner Reseller Network. The estimated shipping time for this product is the 19th of March 2020 -
G.SKILL Trident Z Neo DDR4-3600 MHz CL16 2x8 GB @ TechPowerUp
I have a kit of these modules in the lab and cannot wait to see what they can do. Oh and I have the quad channel kit which is double the modules for Threadripper goodness.
With a market that is flooded with "Ryzen Optimized" memory kits, it can be hard for a particular kit to stand out. The G.SKILL Trident Z Neo does just that. With a striking new take on the award winning Trident Z design and specifications that are as good as it gets for Ryzen, the Trident Z Neo just might be the ultimate Ryzen memory kit.
Speaking of Ryzen Optimized, I am finding that some modules that are designed for the Ryzen are actually incompatible. Sure, they work great on the Intel side of things but when it comes to Ryzen qualifications they are either not being testing with the proper motherboards or are not matching well with the Ryzen memory controllers.
So, be sure to test your memory completely before throwing away the box.
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Glorious Model D @ TechPowerUp
Ok, so... what is the deal with the Glorious Model D. Is it a bedroom accessory?? A movie prop for the p0rn industry?
Give up? Ya it is a mouse and not just any mouse but one with holes!! I guess the mouse is getting the D.
After the highly successful Model O and O-, Glorious now release their take on a lightweight right-handed ergonomic mouse. Sporting the same PMW3360 sensor, Omron switches for the main buttons, 68 g weight, and high quality feet and cable, the Model D should be worth a look for anybody in the market for an affordable gaming mouse.
Cooler Master has been pushing a super light mouse called the MM710 and weighs in at 53g so I think you can see where this is going. As a gaming and PC enthusiast I am offended by super light mice. If you are looking for a travel mouse and cannot be bothered with the weight of something good then either grow some balls! Or use the touch pad. That is literally why it was created.
Thing with PC hardware is that everything good has already been created and now we are seeing the results of creative people "scrambling" to push the envelope and get something new out there. Someone will eventually buy them and in a market with 0 sales anything is good.
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Team Group MP33 NVMe 512 GB SSD @ Guru3D
It has been awhile since we have heard anything "good" coming out of the Team Group memory camp, and to be honest after they waved me away during my frequent Computex visits I kinda stopped paying attention.
Well, Guru3D has a review of their new MP33 NVMe SSD and I can only assume it is good. Good being a relative assumption given the modest 1800 MB/s read on the 1TB and 2TB drives which is about half that of the Samsung 960 Pro.
On the 30th of September, Team Group announced its MP33 NVme SSD, boasting features like PCIe Gen3 x4 high-speed interface. We had the opportunity to test the 512 GB model. The MP33 is an SSD with a storage capacity of 128 GB/256 GB /512GB/1 TB, and also a 2 TB option.
Of course storage, reviews, and performance are all relative. For every product that gets a gold star there are products that are designed to hit the market and take advantage of the price wars.
btw, all you folks calling yourself "enthusiasts" and buying whatever shows up at the top of the lowest price sort on Newegg are giving the PC industry a bad name and are fully responsible for why lack luster products are getting released.
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EK Highlights from CES 2020
EK, the premium liquid cooling manufacturer was showcasing new products at CES 2020 for multiple product lines. The EK showroom suite was divided into three main categories and in such fashion.
LIQUID COOLING FOR STARTERS
Gamers are your thing? We suggest that you Play It Without Compromise. The EK Fluid Gaming Line was showcasing a pre-built, fully liquid-cooled PC. Proper liquid cooling should be available for everyone, so it is the mission of Fluid Gaming to be brought to the masses. If you are looking for a plug and play pre-built liquid-cooled PC, EK-Fluid Gaming is the one that will bring it to your doorstep. The complete lineup consists of a total of six PCs and they are already available for purchase through the Fluid Gaming web page. The PCs are built in the US and at the moment, shipping only on the territory of North America for now.
The easiest way to Start Your Liquid Cooling Journey is with the EK-AIO which will be launching in three standard sizes with single, dual and triple 120mm fans. The EK-AIO is a zero-maintenance liquid cooling solution, bringing extra cooling performance to their gaming or productivity environment. These minimalistic, addressable D-RGB lit All-In-One closed-loop cooling units will be available or purchase in a matter of weeks!
If you want to take if one step further The EK Classic Kits are the easiest way to get started with one of the most powerful ways of cooling your PC, the custom loop liquid cooling. These kits are a blend of carefully selected parts with additional accessories that will help the user to build their first open loop cooling solution. These kits are easy to assemble, and EK has made sure that there are support video tutorials available that will guide the user through each step of the process. The kits will be refreshed in the following months with angled adapters, an offset spider mount for the combo unit, a tube cutter, and a filling bottle, just to make sure that the assembly process is as smooth as it gets. With the EK Classic Kits, it is clear that Anyone Can do It!
THE ART OF PC MODDING
The EK Quantum Lineup is, by all means, the one with the most updates and upcoming products. On display were the already launched Kinetic TBE and Kinetic FLT combo units alongside with the Volume reservoirs. All of these products were filled with a purpose-made, RGB specific coolant for perfect light diffusion. The mixture is perfectly balanced so that the light is evenly scattering inside of reservoirs, water blocks and tubing as well. Using a coolant like this will only amplify your RGB experience with perfect light scattering effects. There is no specific launch date for the RGB specific coolant yet, but hold on to your hats, it’s coming soon!
EK-Quantum Reflection Series Distribution Plates
Further down the line, EK has prepared three case-specific coolant distribution plates belonging to the EK-Quantum Reflection line of products. All three are using D5 pumps and they are purpose-built for the Phanteks Evolve X, the Fractal Design Define R6, and the Corsair Obsidian 1000D, whereas the latter one is using a dual D5 setup. As for the distribution plate Fractal Design Define R6, additional compatibility for other Fractal Design cases is yet to be confirmed.
EK-Quantum Magnitude
The EK-Quantum Magnitude is just around the corner with four versions of the water block being prepared for the most popular AMD and Intel sockets. There are two addressable D-RGB Nickel Plexi and Nickel Acetal versions with the addition of a Full Nickel variant, and a Copper Acetal combination, catering to the old school liquid cooling enthusiasts.
The AMD AM4 Magnitude water block is also featuring an offset jet design in order do deliver maximum cooling performance. The Magnitude water blocks are not using jet plates, but rather relies on a precisely machined cold plate in order to achieve the best possible contact with the CPU IHS.
COOLING SOLUTIONS FOR PROFESSIONALS
EK is officially launching a line of products that are meant for professional use. Often these products feature robust, industrial material choices and no RGB whatsoever. The EK-Professional Line of products is all about the use of high-quality materials, longevity and enhancing the power of your PC or computing unit.
These new products are also suited for the most demanding customers, like servers and data centers. Heat is the side-product of the data center operation that can, if uncontrolled, shut down or even damage electronics. EK thermal balancing solutions can transfer the heat away from the processors and other high-density computing units. That heat can then be used where it is needed so that it is not going to waste.
CUBIX Workstations Featuring EK
Meet the all-new CUBIX workstation that is co-developed with EK. With the expertise of both of these companies, we got the best from the knowledge of building workstation PCs and expert liquid cooling solutions. Liquid cooling, also commonly called water cooling, is the best solution for rapid heat removal due to its unmatched thermal performance. It is the only cooling solution for your Workstation PC that allows successful heat removal from critical spots in the modern-day computer with zero noise pollution! This workstation PC runs 5 fully water-cooled GPU’s each running at x16 bandwidth and 2 scalable CPU’s each with their dedicated high-performance water block. Also, it has the potential to run 4TB of ram.
Flat PC for Autonomous Car Software Development
A small form factor workstation for autonomous vehicle software developers. Its a reliable, strong and compact computing station that can be easily carried inside a car trunk or cabin. Our compact liquid cooling solution enables the cooling of critical computing components during demanding load, high ambient temperatures, and vibration. The unit can be cooled with an external cooling radiator, or it can be even connected to the autonomous vehicle default onboard cooling loop.
Automotive-grade AIO
Vehicles present challenging working conditions for electronics because of the environmental changes like temperature, humidity, and vibrations during movement. We have developed liquid cooling components that can withstand the harsh conditions in the world of autonomous transportation. With our new water block design, we have managed to eliminate some of the vulnerabilities that could lead to potential damage to the electronics. This is achieved with a new production technology, which enables new and clever designs that have fewer assembly parts. These designs also make the product suitable for mass production. -
Introducing the EVGA SR-3 DARK Motherboard
The DARK rises again. Not content to merely shatter records and competition in the consumer market, the EVGA SR-3 DARK merges two extreme performance lines of EVGA motherboards to bring balance to the force with exceptional performance and engineering.
Featuring the Intel® C622 chipset, hexa-channel memory support, 23 phase power design, 16-layer PCB, dual-10GbE LAN ports, a waterblock to passively or actively cool the DARK’s VRM, and so much more, this board is packed with everything and is still compact enough to fit in a full E-ATX form factor
With the EVGA SR-3 DARK, you don't need to see its identification to know that the next evolution of the X299 and Z390 DARK motherboards features the latest improvements for performance and enthusiast needs.
16-Layer PCB
A 16-layer high-speed E-ATX PCBA with gold-plated shielded edge enhances stability for heavy loads, improved overclocking, and durability for today's extreme cooling hardware.
Highly-Efficient 24-Phase PWM
The SR-3 DARK features a 24-phase Digital VRM (18 VCore, 1 VSA, 1 VCCIO, 4 VDDR) for the cleanest, most stable power design to ensure that you're ready for Intel’s 28-core XEON® W-3175X Processor.
300% Higher Gold Content in CPU Socket
Higher volume of precious metal (300% Gold) used in the Narrow 30u socket creates lower contact resistance, resulting in better power delivery.
Intel® sSATA to Mini-SAS 6Gb/s Port
The Intel® C622 PCH supports 10 SATA 6Gb/s drives, including an additional 4 ports through a mini-SAS connector located behind the SATA Ports. The controller also supports NCQ, TRIM, hot swap capability, and RAID levels 0/1/5/10.
PCIe Disable Switches
The SR-3 DARK offers PCIe disable switches to quickly shut off PCIe slots to troubleshoot or restore used resources without the need to physically uninstall hardware.
Triple BIOS Select Switch
Switch between up to 3 different BIOS ROMs for overclocking, benching, 24/7 use, or anything you can think of.
SW Slow Mode Switch
Changes the CPU Ratio to the minimum CPU ratio in real-time for stability purposes or to reduce heat/power usage between long benching sessions.
ProbeIT Connectors
Attach your Digital Multimeter to the included ProbeIT adapter and monitor all your voltages in real-time.
Creative Core3D Audio
Creative 5.1 Channel Audio with output amplifiers – the industry standard for audio quality.
Safeboot Button
Pressing this button will restart the system and launch into the BIOS at safe setting, while keeping the same settings when you previously left the BIOS. Handy for those times when the board fails to POST, but you only need to make one or two changes to fix it! -
SK hynix to Introduce Consumer PCIe NVMe SSDs at CES 2020
Seoul, Korea – December 27, 2019 – SK hynix Inc. (or “the Company,” www.skhynix.com), a global semiconductor maker based in Korea, is set to introduce its newest offering of “Gold P31” and “Platinum P31” PCIe NVMe Solid State Drives (SSDs) at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2020, which will be held on January 7–10 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The drives are built with SK hynix’s 128-layer 4D NAND flash, only six months after the Company announced the mass production of the world’s first and highest vertical stack for NAND flash, demonstrating the chipmaker’s technological edge.
As a leading manufacturer of memory chips, SK hynix builds and supplies its own DRAM and NAND flash devices, as well as SSD controllers designed and developed in-house. The company has a proven track record as a major supplier to global OEMs including top-tier PC makers, who have trusted and purchased SK hynix’s SSDs for nearly a decade now. As a next step, SK hynix is now expanding into the consumer market with its newest drives.
“SK hynix’s new SSDs were built as premier solutions for users seeking advanced performance to run multimedia tools and the most demanding of PC games,” said a company spokesperson. “We are excited to introduce SK hynix’s Gold S31 SATA, Gold P31 PCIe, and Platinum P31 PCIe SSDs for the first time at CES, at a time when the brand continues to expand its presence in the United States.”
The new Gold P31 and Platinum P31 PCIe SSDs will be on display at SK hynix’s booth #13529 in the Las Vegas Convention Center’s Central LLCC Hall. Before this newest addition, SK hynix launched “SuperCore” series of consumer SSDs starting with Gold S31, the 2.5-inch SATA III SSD offering the industry’s best-in-class speed and reliability, available on Amazon in the U.S.
About SK hynix
SK hynix Inc., headquartered in Korea, is a top-tier semiconductor maker that offers DRAM, NAND flash, and CMOS Image Sensors (CIS) for a wide range of renowned electronics makers across the world. The company’s shares are traded on the Korea Exchange, and the Global Depository shares are listed on the Luxemburg Stock Exchange. Further information on SK hynix is available at https://www.skhynix.com and https://news.skhynix.com.
