Tech News
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Asus Crosshair VI Hero @ LanOC Reviews
More Ryzen based reviews. It seems I'll have to get used to seeing AMD based news in the Hardware Asylum inbox again. Honestly I'm still in shock over it.
It’s crazy to look back at the original Crosshair and see just how much things have changed. Hell, the original was running on a Nvidia nForce 590 chipset, how many people even remember that Nvidia had their own chipsets! Anyhow, even all the way back to the original Asus has always packed the Crosshair boards full of features and from what I’ve seen of the new Crosshair VI Hero it looks like they have done the same thing again. This is one of the two boards that came with our initial review setup for the new Ryzen processors. So today I’m going to check out the new Crosshair VI Hero and see what it is all about and find out if it is a good option to consider for those of you excited to build a new high-end AMD build.
I'm pretty sure I have a Crosshair stored away in the tech closet. It should have gone away a LONG time ago but I had plans to put an 8-core AM3+ on LN2 and that board was the only one strong enough to really get the most from those processors.
My Hero. (sorry, couldn't resist)
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CRYORIG A40 Ultimate Closed Loop Water Cooler Review @ APH Networks
The Ultimate AIO Closed Loop Water Cooler. Hummm.
Do you think that is just marketing or, did CRYORIG really make an AIO that can be the best at everything?
The CRYORIG A40 Ultimate may lack RGB LEDs or other fancy additions, but it makes up for it in performance, and even adds a pretty cool little fan over the water block.
Somehow I think the "lack" of RGB LEDs isn't a bad thing however dem ph4ns!! Back in the day I seem to remember Antec showing a cooler like this with a fan on the pump block and claims of awesome performance. Deep down I know that having a fan to cool your pump seems a little silly but, there is some heat absorbed into the loop from anything that moves. In this case the pump and by cooling it outside of the water loop you can lower overall temps.
Thing is, it isn't very efficient. In fact dumping heat into the case only to be sucked out via the radiator fan not only raises the ambient temperature but also lowers overall thermal performance.
You know, if you want to get technical. It still looks cool though
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G.SKILL Announces "OC World Cup 2017" Online Qualifier Overclocking Competition
Taipei, Taiwan (14 March 2017) – G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world’s leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory and gaming peripherals, is announcing the online qualifier competition of its biggest annual overclocking competition G.SKILL OC World Cup 2017!
G.SKILL OC World Cup 2017
G.SKILL OC World Cup overclocking competition consists of three rounds: Online Qualifier, Live Qualifier, and Grand Finals. The top 6 contestants from the Online Qualifier round will receive an invitation to the Live Qualifier round, as well as the chance to qualify for the Grand Final round, in the G.SKILL booth at Computex 2017 from May 30 to June 2, 2017 in Taipei, Taiwan. The top two finishers from the Live Qualifier round will compete head-to-head on the fourth day of Computex 2017 for the grand prize.Round 1: Online Qualifier
The Online Qualifier round will be held on HWBOT (hwbot.org) from March 17 to April 18, 2017, featuring 4 benchmarks: Highest DDR4 Frequency, Geekbench 3 Multi-Core Full Out, 3DMark11 with IGP, and SuperPi 32m Full Out. Contestants must use G.SKILL DDR4 memory, Intel Core i3-7350K processor, and Z170/Z270 chipset motherboards. For more event details and rules, please visit the competition page on HWBOT: http://oc-esports.io/#!/round/gskill_ocworldcup_2017_qualifier$16,200 USD Total Cash Prize & $10K for the Champion!
G.SKILL OC World Cup competition features the largest single cash prize in overclocking competition with USD $10K for the Grand Champion. In addition, all 6 participating contestants of the live qualifiers will win the sponsorship of G.SKILL’s new upcoming DDR4 memory.
Champion: USD $10,000
2nd: USD $2,500
3rd: USD $1,500
4th: USD $1,200
5th: USD $1,000 -
Raidmax Alpha RGB Mid-Tower Case Review @ Hypothermia
Raidmax, now there is a name I haven't heard in a very long time. Back in the day, (Speaking in Ninjalane terms now btw) I reviewed a few Raidmax products and actually fought to review the Raidmax Samurai 908 in the classic red. At the time many people called it an Alienware clone and there were rumors that Alienware made them change a few things before it went up for sale.
Hypothermia.us just posted a review of another Raidmax chassis called the Alpha RGB. As the name suggests this is an RGB enabled case and I'm surprised to say it takes RGB LEDs to 11. Maybe not the GTX 1080 Ti 11GB @ 11Gbps level but pretty darn close.
Like with a RGB remote close
The fact is, this is an inexpensive chassis aimed at the gaming crowd and, for the most part, we think it will be a hit. For less than the price you pay for a new video game you get a very handsome, customizable case that, once it is upgraded with an intake fan or two, will serve you very, very well. You can rest easy knowing that Raidmax has a long history of making great products that are extremely affordable and backed by a year 2 year warranty.
The review is short, full of images and even comes with a YouTube video so be sure to check it out.
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One Motherboard Maker Explains Why AMD AM4 Boards Are Missing @ Legit Reviews
We are all familiar with hardware shortages. When Skylake launched the 6700K version was in high demand and short supply making it difficult to not only find a processor but also find one at a decent price. The NVIDIA Pascal GTX 1080 and GTX 1070 were both in very short supply after the launch and remained that way for several months.
Normally shortages are a good thing however the impact is not only to the consumer but also to the manufacturer who is depending on sales to make money.
Legit Reviews hits the phone lines to figure out why we can't get our X370 fix.
If you’ve looked at building an AMD Ryzen 7 system you’ll find that the processors are pretty easy to find, but good luck finding a motherboard. Most of the AMD motherboards based on the X370 and B350 chipsets are out of stock and back-ordered. It doesn’t matter what brand you are looking for as ASUS, ASRock, Biostar, Gigabyte, and MSI are all selling out quickly due to the limited quantities available. Over the past 72 hours we’ve reached out to all of the board makers and AMD to see if we can figure out what is going on
It would seem that the gist of the whole situation is that since AMD has been out of the motherboard game for a long time it was difficult for them to get enough chips out in time to meet the manufacturing demands. As some of you may know the fabs that make motherboards are fully scheduled and sometimes need a 6 month lead to ensure that tooling is available and that the staff is properly trained.
Smaller fabs don't have these tight constraints but, the larger ones that make the majority of our hardware aren't always dedicated to making one particular product. One week they might be making motherboards while the next they are building control boards for flat screens.
Give it a month, things will turn around.
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EVGA Z270 Classified K Motherboard Review @ ThinkComputers
One of the best Z270 motherboards I have ever used is the EVGA Z270 Classified K. This is the board I used in the delidding video and has so far been rock solid in both ambient and extreme overclocking.
While the board no longer supports 4-Way SLI it is outfitted with the latest gaming features like Killer Networks ethernet and high quality audio from Creative. Thinkcomputers has a review of the Z270 Classified K that might be worth checking out.
Back in January at CES 2017 EVGA showed us their Z270 motherboard lineup which they launched at the show. This included the Z270 Classified K, Z270 FTWK, and the Z270 Stinger. Today we have the chance to take a look at one of those boards, which is the Z270 Classified K. The Z270 Classified K currently sits as EVGA’s flagship Z270 motherboard and it is jam packed with features! This E-ATX motherboard features Creative Sound Core3D audio, Killer E2500 gaming networking, Thunderbolt 3, U.2 as well as dual M.2 32 Gb/s ports, a 13-phase power delivery system and more! Let’s get this board on the test bench and see what it can do!
Whoa. I sure hope I don't get fined for the littering of Z270 keywords!..
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Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti Launch Day - Titan beware
Last week NVIDIA created a rift in the enthusiast world continuum by releasing the much anticipated GTX 1080 Ti. This is no ordinarily GPU but rather a cut down version of Titan XP that is actually faster, due to some creative overclocking.
Overclocking? Yes, Overclocking. That thing NVIDIA has been trying for years to stop is now a mainstay in the Pascal lineup. Now, if they would only bring back extreme overclocking I think my enthusiast life will be complete.
At least for the summer.
There are a grip of GTX 1080 Ti reviews out there including one from Hardware Asylum!
Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition VIdeo Card Review
Web Reviews
- The NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti 11GB Review @ Hardware Canucks
- Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics card reviewed
- Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition @ LanOC Reviews
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition 11 GB @ techPowerUp
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Review: The Fastest Gaming Graphics Card Yet
- GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Review (what a lame title, sheesh)There is likely to be way more reviews out there including those from sites that no longer send out press releases. #slackers
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G.SKILL Announces Flare X Series and FORTIS Series DDR4 Memory for AMD Ryzen
Taipei, Taiwan (3 March 2017) - G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory and gaming peripherals, is announcing two new DDR4 memory series, the Flare X series and FORTIS series, designed and tested specifically for the new AMD Ryzen™ processor platform. With a brand new architecture, processor, and chipset from AMD, high performance overclocking memory kits must be validated for optimized compatibility and stability for the new hardware.
Flare X Rises
Designed for the latest AMD Ryzen processor, the Flare X series DDR4 memory kit marks the return of the legendary G.SKILL Flare series that provided awesome performance in the previous generation of DDR3 memory. Built with carefully selected IC chips specifically tested and validated on the AM4 platform, the Flare X series will provide the best compatibility and stability for systems with the AMD Ryzen CPU.
FORTIS for Gaming
Designed for the best quality, reliability, and compatibility, the G.SKILL FORTIS series is the most ideal and cost effective DDR4 solution for building a performance AM4 gaming system.
AMD-Tuned DDR4-3200MHz CL14 64GB(4x16GB)
Not needing to sacrifice frequency for capacity, G.SKILL's R&D team achieved an impressive overclock on a 64GB (4x16GB) kit to frequencies of DDR4-3200MHz at ultra-low timings of CL14-14-14-34. See below for a validation screenshot for the kit on the ASUS ROG Crosshair VI Hero motherboard and the AMD Ryzen™ 7 1700 processor:
AMD-Tuned DDR4-3466MHz CL16 16GB(2x8GB)
Further pushing the boundaries of 16GB (2x8GB) memory kits on the AM4 platform, G.SKILL tuned it to a blistering fast DDR4-3466MHz CL 16-16-16-36. Tested on the 8-core AMD Ryzen™ 7 1700 processor and ASUS ROG Crosshair VI Hero motherboard, this is the fastest G.SKILL memory kit that's been designed for AMD thus far.
DDR4 Specifications & Availability
The Flare X and FORTIS series will both be available in DDR4-2133MHz and DDR4-2400MHz upon release under various capacity configurations, ranging from 16GB to 64GB. Flare X series will be available in higher memory frequency speeds of DDR4-3200MHz and DDR4-3466MHz. Both Flare X and FORTIS series will be available via G.SKILL worldwide distribution partners in March 2017. Please see the table below for more details.
About G.SKILL
Established in 1989 by PC hardware enthusiasts, G.SKILL specializes in high performance memory, SSD products, and gaming peripherals designed for PC gamers and enthusiasts around the world. Combining technical innovation and rock solid quality through our in-house testing lab and talented R&D team, G.SKILL continues to create record-breaking memory for each generation of hardware and hold the no. 1 brand title in overclocking memory.
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The Truly Ergonomic Mechanical Keyboard @ techPowerUp
The name of this company is a bit of a misnomer when applied to their Ergonomic mechanical keyboard. Looking at the design I can't see how it is really all the ergo, nor comfortable to type on.
Of course, if the company ever sent me one I might be inclined to give it a try and maybe change my mind though, to be honest. I'm still married to my Microsoft Natural Elite and can't imagine typing on anything else.
Even if it was supposed to be better.
The Truly Ergonomic Keyboard in its current revisions 227 and 229 aims to get past the issues that plagued the predecessors to re-establish a loyal customer base. It features all new switches, updated firmware, support for niche keyboard layouts, full programmability and more in a form factor smaller than most keyboards.
The problem I have with their ergo keyboard is the size. TechPowerUp comments on how it is smaller than most which is due to the lack of a 10-key but to be truly ergo I feel it needs to be wider so your hands aren't so close together.
10-key would also be nice but, only because we are used to having one.
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Asustor AS6202T NAS review @ Guru3D
Funny thing, I just got done installing the Asustor AS6204T NAS for a client of mine to replace an aging Dell server that has been running non-stop for the past 13 years. Let’s hope this cutting edge prosumer level NAS can last just as long.
While the NAS installed is the 4-drive version of the one in this review I can tell you that the OS and hardware are identical and even offers a RAM upgrade if you plan to run a good number of web applications from it.
In this review we test the Asustor AS6202T NAS. The AS6202T is more powerful in the sense that it comes with a much stronger processor, more memory and a plethora of features. The 2 in that product name means we'll be testing the 2-bay version of this quad-core processor based NAS with 4 GB of internal RAM memory.
My install featured a three drive RAID-5 using the out of box Asustor NAS OS and configuration. Much to my surprise the install went flawless and so far has been working great without any issue, including a nightly backup to an external USB 3.0 portable hard drive.
