Tech News
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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.
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VIPER GAMING by PATRIOT presents High-Speed Kits of VIPER 4 BLACKOUT MEMORY
High-speed 16GB(2x8G) kits available in 4133MHz, 4266MHz, and 4400MHz to meet enthusiast demand.
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA — September 9th, 2020 — VIPER GAMING by PATRIOT™, a trademarked brand of PATRIOT and a global leader in performance memory, solid-state drives, and flash storage solutions, today is excited to announce the launch of their high-speed 16GB kits of VIPER 4 BLACKOUT PERFORMANCE MEMORY, available in speeds from 4133MHz up to 4400MHz. These modules are designed to maximize the performance potential of computer systems, including hardcore gaming and video processing rigs.
The VIPER 4 BLACKOUT MEMORY has been universally recognized among enthusiast-grade builders as a brand they can trust when maximizing overall system performance while complementing their system designs with a stylish, eye-catching heat spreader. These high-speed 16GB kits are available in speeds from 4133MHz up to 4400MHz, built to offer an extremely fast DDR4 DRAM memory kit with exceptional stability and compatibility across the latest Intel and AMD Ryzen platforms. They are also built from rigorously tested memory chips and a 10-layer black PCB for ensuring the top quality.
Each module is wrapped by a military-grade aluminum heat spreader with an advanced cooling fin array to optimize its thermal performance and efficiency.
"The hardcore gamers and overclockers have encouraged us to go further with our award-winning VIPER 4 BLACKOUT PERFORMANCE MEMORY, and they have expressed their keen interest in a higher frequency kit. We always believed that performance and speed mean nothing until built on stability and reliability," said Roger Shinmoto, the Vice President of VIPER GAMING by PATRIOT™.
Backed by a PATRIOT/VIPER limited lifetime warranty, the VIPER 4 BLACKOUT Series 16GB(2x8GB) High-Speed kits launch in frequencies of 4133MHz, 4266MHz, and 4400MHz and are available in major retailers.
FEATURES:
- Series: VIPER 4 BLACKOUT
- Edition: Black Sides / Black Top
- Capacity: 16GB (2 x 8GB)
- Compatibility: Tested across latest Intel and AMD series motherboards for reliably fast performance
- Feature Overclock: XMP 2.0 support for automatic overclocking
- Aluminum heat spreader for faster heat dissipation and cooler operation
- Limited lifetime warranty
For more information about VIPER 4 BLACKOUT DDR4 PERFORMANCE MEMORY, please visit: here
Availability (From our Amazon Store Links)
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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Unboxing & Preview @ TechPowerUp
Well, I guess the NVIDIA documentation didn't say anything about posting photos along with an unboxing article. and, yes before you ask NVIDIA didn't send me a GPU for launch so I’ll be stuck again reporting 2nd hand on the awesome which is RTX 30.
I should be more upset but, after getting passed over for the awesome GTX 10 series launch I just don’t care much anymore. For me, the AIC board partner products are a little more interesting.
Image from TechPowerUpWe go hands on with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition, which was announced just a few days ago. This first "Ampere" card comes in an amazing packaging, that further supports the product's ultra-high-end premium look and feel. We also take a closer look at the new 12-pin power connector.
It would seem that the power connector rumors are true, the new RTX cards come with a 12-pin power connector and the overall design is really really nice. Being that I'm the type to recommend custom PCBs over reference designs I might make an exception when it comes to the new RTX 30 Series.
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Antec DF600 Flux @ TechPowerUp
I'm not sure where I have seen this case before. The case I am thinking of is a standard mid-tower with spots for three cooling fans up front, of course with RGB and some sort of protector over the fans to keep out cats, fingers while allowing dust and air to enter.
The case also appears to have a tempered glass side panel and is available in black... Humm
Oh ya, my bad. I just described every flipping case on the market!!
The Antec DF600 Flux clocks in at just $70, but comes with all the bells and whistles we are used to at the $100 price point. Five fans, a clean window, Velcro strips, plenty of space for cooling and storage, RGB controller, and fan hub—the DF600 Flux looks to be breaking new ground in terms of value for your money.
When it comes to price, $70USD is pretty good though for the money I might suggest picking something better.
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Crucial P5 NVMe M.2 SSD Review Round Up
It has been awhile since I have posted one of these so, go easy on me.
In April 2020 Crucial announced a new line of performance SSDs that expanded on the P1 line of NVMe drives. A total of two drives were announced and I was able to review the Crucial P2 NVMe drive in May, as that was the first one to be released.
Sadly the drive was "slow" but my particular drive was considerably faster due to the components used. Seems the P2 was a product designed to handle a variety of different NAND configurations. I'm not sure if P5 will follow this model but it seems pretty good out of the gate.
Web Reviews
Crucial P5 1TB PCIe M.2 2280 SSD Review @ Madshrimps.be
Funky Kit Review - Crucial P5 500GB M.2 NVMe SSD
Crucial P5 1TB PCIe M.2 SSD Review @ CDRLabs.com
Crucial P5 1 TB M.2 NVMe SSD @ TechPowerUp
Crucial P2 & P5 Review @ Vortez -
rucial Ballistix DDR4 2x32GB 3600MHz BL2K32G36C16U4B @ LanOC Reviews
Gotta say it is nice to see memory reviews hitting the Internet again. Quite a few companies including Corsair, GSKill and Kingston are extremely reserved when it comes to sending samples making it difficult to find good information on them. I suspect this is a factor of margins and the company insistence that memory doesn't need to be reviewed.
I'd like to offer another option which is the reluctance of Tier 1 review sites flat out refusing to review memory. This has a trickle down effect for smaller sites since it tends to shrink the marketing budget. I will be honest in saying that reviewing memory is kinda boring, the articles are not very popular and few people (reviewers included) actually understand that makes memory special.
In this review from LanOC we can get a sample of the new Crucial Ballistix 3600Mhz modules featuring a new heatspreader design and a really impressive CAS 16 timing set.
I’ve had the chance over the years to check out a wide variety of Crucial Ballistix branded memory. Being a part of Micron, they have always been priced well, and as far as memory goes been solid. Styling-wise I loved the old Ballistix designs and there are a few of the modern designs like the Elite and their Tactical Tracer RGB kits that I was able to 3D print and CNC carve custom designs for. But as a whole, their mainstream stuff, while not bad looking has looked dated for a while now. So back at the start of the year, they announced new memory kits with new heatspreaders and I was excited to see what Crucial had going on. It took a while to come in, but I recently finally had the Crucial Ballistix BL2K32G36C16U4B kit come in which is their 2x32GB dual channel kit running at 3600 MHz. The timing couldn’t be much better given my personal PC has been begging for more memory with Microsoft Flight Sim 2020 and chrome having full-on MMA fights for the memory. So today I’m going to check out the new design and see how this kit performs.
Call me crazy but, I'm not a fan of the new heatspreader design. I got to see it in person during CES and it simply doesn't seem to have enough style to set it apart in the market. But, Crucial seems to like it and will likely change the design again in a couple years. If they are looking to reclaim the top spot in the retail memory market they are going to have to settle down.
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Introducing the EVGA GeForce RTX 30 Series Graphics Cards
The Definition of Ultimate Performance
Announcing EVGA GeForce RTX 30 Series Powered by the NVIDIA Ampere architecture
An undeniable force is here. The planets align as the next evolution of the ultimate gaming experience has emerged. The EVGA GeForce RTX™ 30 Series Graphics Cards have arrived. These new cards are colossally powerful in every way, giving you a whole new tier of performance. They are powered by the NVIDIA® Ampere architecture, which doubles down on ray tracing and AI performance with enhanced RT Cores, Tensor Cores, and new streaming multiprocessors. The EVGA GeForce RTX 30 Series are the absolute definition of ultimate performance.
The new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 Series GPUs, the 2nd generation of RTX, features new RT Cores, Tensor Cores and streaming multiprocessors, bringing stunning visuals, amazingly fast frame rates, and AI acceleration to games and creative applications. Powered by the NVIDIA Ampere architecture, which delivers increases of up to 1.9X performance-per-watt over the previous generation, the RTX 30 Series effortlessly powers graphics experiences at all resolutions, even up to 8K at the top end. The GeForce RTX 3090, 3080, and 3070 represent the greatest GPU generational leap in the history of NVIDIA.
EVGA GeForce RTX 3090
The EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 is colossally powerful in every way imaginable, giving you a whole new tier of performance at 8K resolution. It's powered by the NVIDIA Ampere architecture, which doubles down on ray tracing and AI performance with enhanced RT Cores, Tensor Cores, and new streaming multiprocessors. Combined with the next generation of design, cooling, and overclocking with EVGA Precision X1, the EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 Series redefines the definition of ultimate performance.
EVGA GeForce RTX 3080
The EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 delivers the unprecedented performance that gamers crave for 4K resolution gaming, powered by the NVIDIA Ampere architecture. It's built with enhanced RT Cores and Tensor Cores, new streaming multiprocessors, and superfast G6X memory for an amazing gaming experience. Combined with the next generation of design, cooling, and overclocking with EVGA Precision X1, the EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Series presents a new definition in ultimate performance.
EVGA GeForce RTX 3070
The EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 is powered by the NVIDIA Ampere architecture. Built with enhanced RT Cores and Tensor Cores, new streaming multiprocessors, and high-speed G6 memory, it gives you the power you need to rip through the most demanding games at 1440p resolution. Combined with the next generation of design, cooling, and overclocking with EVGA Precision X1, the EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 Series creates a definition for ultimate performance.
EVGA iCX3 Cooling Technology- Micro-thin Heatpipes - Built in Micro-thin Heatpipes on the EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 backplate adds additional heat transfer from the memory backside.
- Air-Through PCB - Carefully placed cut-outs in the PCB and backplate improve airflow and decrease exhaust recovery.
- Unified Copper Block for GPU and Memory - A unified copper block which EVGA has previously used on the HYBRID cooler solution and is proven to lower both GPU and memory temperatures.
- Through-Hole Heatsink Fins - The EVGA iCX3 heatsink features many L-shaped fins with hundreds of through-holes to allow cool air to run through the entire heatsink evenly and quietly.
- HDB 2.0 0dB Noise Motor Fan - 2nd Gen HDB fan on EVGA graphics card features an optimized HDB active motor for silent 0dB mode, asynchronous fan mode, and a special upraised “E” pattern that further reduces turbulent noise.
- ARGB GeForce RTX 30 Series LED - Vibrant, customizable range of color and brightness to light up your system. A next-level sputter coating yields a smooth silver texture on the panel with low-level LED lighting.
- Asymmetry Fan Arrangement and Design - Asymmetry fan layout to allow the airflow to cover nearly the entire heatsink increasing airflow for better heat dissipation.
Built for EVGA Precision X1
Built for NVIDIA GeForce RTX, EVGA Precision X1 is the next generation overclocking software to maximize and control your EVGA graphics card. With the new EVGA Precision for Game Bar widget, you can get instant access to monitoring and overclocking built right into Windows Game Bar. Want to overclock and monitor without even exiting your game? It’s all here.
DXR (DirectX Ray Tracing)
DirectX Ray Tracing allows games to simulate how light works in real life, providing incredibly realistic and beautiful graphic effects like global illumination, reflections, and shadows. GeForce RTX GPUs were designed from the start for the demands of ray tracking workloads. Specialized RT cores, found only on GeForce RTX graphics cards, provide billions of rays per second of performance, and up to 3X the frame rate with DXR games and applications. This makes ray tracing at real-time frame rates possible for the first time.
DirectX 12 Ultimate
DirectX is an API that enables developers to add amazing graphics effects to Microsoft Windows-based PC games. DirectX 12 Ultimate is the newest version of the API and new gold standard for the next-generation of games. DX12 Ultimate takes games to a whole new level of realism with support for ray tracing, mesh shaders, variable rate shading, and sampler feedback. GeForce RTX is the first and only PC platform with support for these game-changing features.
To learn more about EVGA GeForce RTX 30 Series graphics cards, please visit https://www.evga.com/articles/01434.
