Tech News
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ASUS Prime X299 Edition 30 @ TechPowerUp
Motherboards have come a long way. What was once just a PCB has transformed into industrial works of art with epic shrouds, integrated lights, strategic reinforcements and amazing performance. The only thing missing is not knowing what will happen next.
During Computex 2019 I got to see the ASUS X299 refresh motherboards and one of the highlights was their 30 year anniversary X299 Prime. The board is an amazing work of art with just the right amount of everything.
The ASUS Prime X299 Edition 30 is a celebration of 30 years of design innovation by one of the world's most prominent hardware manufacturers. Featuring active VRM cooling, 16 Vcore power stages, an OLED display, and a new Smart Control Console, can this flagship stand up to 30 years of high expectations?
I like how the reviewer baits us with a question asking if the board can stand up to 30 years of high expectations. I’m pretty sure 30 years ago nobody at Asus could have imagined a board like this would ever get released or even see the need for all that fluff just getting in the way and raising the cost.
30 years ago was a different time and this is the board of the future.
Actually, the board isn't much different from what you would find with any X299 ROG, just a different paint job and a few less gaming features.
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Antec P82 Flow Computer Case Review @ APH Networks
Antec, now there is a name I haven't heard in a long time.
You know, back in the day Antec was pretty good and really one of the few names in town offering custom computer hardware. Sadly, the luster has been lost but, every once in awhile something will slip out, a little nugget and it is up to us to decide if it is gold or...
The Antec P82 Flow is sleek looking computer chassis with tempered glass and a focus on airflow, but has room for improvement when it comes to cable management and fan control
For this case, I'm not sure what to think. They claim "Flow" and given the number of fans I can see why. I also see that YT channels are crapping all over this case due to the "GN Effect" where cases without direct airflow get highlighted as bad products. There are no bad products just bad reviewers applying their standards to products that aren't in the same league and then exploiting it for clickbait.
Or we can compare it to dating. Reviewer sees a dime but is so far out of their league they miss the true gems because of misplaced standards.
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Corsair Dark Core RGB Gaming Mouse
Looks like Corsair is at it again with their coordinated launch of gaming hardware and this time they are hitting us with a wireless mouse. Despite the claims that wireless mice are actually pretty good I'm old school in saying that wired hardware is the best. Heck wired anything typically offers better performance and is often times cheaper.
Check out some of the web reviews for the Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro: (cause: you know Corsair didn't send me one, again...)
- Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro @ TechPowerUp
- Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro Gaming Mouse Review @ ThinkComputers.org
- CORSAIR DARK CORE RGB PRO SE Wireless FPS/MOBA Gaming Mouse Review @ Madshrimps.be
- Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro Wireless Optical Mouse Review @ APH Networks
- Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro? gaming mouse @ Guru3D
- CORSAIR Dark Core RGB PRO SE Review @ VortezOne of these days I might finally get Corsair to send me something, its only been something like 17 years!!
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Patriot P300 512GB M.2 PCIe SSD Review @ CDRLabs
Some say that NVMe is the name of the game. Others say that winning the game is the only thing that matters. And, well the winners combine the two.
Patriot's P300 SSD is a great choice for the cost-conscious consumer looking to boost the performance and storage capacity of their desktop or notebook computer. This compact, M.2 form factor SSD is powered by Phison's PS5013-E13T controller and is available with up to 1TB of KIOXIA's (Toshiba) 96-layer BiCS4 3D NAND. Combine this with a PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe 1.3 interface and you have a drive capable of delivering 25% higher transfer speeds and IOPs than PCIe Gen3 x2 solutions. In our sequential read and write tests, the 512GB version of the P300 was able to read at speeds as high as 1,740 MB/s and write at speeds in excess of 1,549 MB/s. It also did reasonably well in our random write tests, producing nearly 159,000 IOPS, but lagged behind many of the other PCIe SSDs when doing random reads at low queue depths
I'm not going to say that the P300 is the fastest drive out there but it is pretty darn affordable and the way I see it, any chance you can run a NVMe drive in your rig you are on the path towards a great thing called faster response time.
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NVIDIA Announces GTC 2020 Keynote with CEO Jensen Huang Set for May 14
Get Amped for Latest Platform Breakthroughs in AI, Deep Learning, Autonomous Vehicles, Robotics and Professional Graphics
SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NVIDIA will release its GTC 2020 keynote address, featuring founder and CEO Jensen Huang, on YouTube on May 14, at 6 a.m. Pacific time.
Huang will highlight the company’s latest innovations in AI, high performance computing, data science, autonomous machines, healthcare and graphics during the recorded keynote. Participants will be able to view the keynote on demand at www.youtube.com/nvidia.
Originally scheduled for March 23, the GTC 2020 keynote was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. NVIDIA moved the conference online, where the GTC Digital event has attracted more than 45,000 registered attendees who have participated in 300 recorded talks and dozens of instructor-led sessions.
Announcements included in the keynote will be posted at nvidianews.nvidia.com.
About NVIDIA
NVIDIA’s (NASDAQ: NVDA) invention of the GPU in 1999 sparked the growth of the PC gaming market, redefined modern computer graphics and revolutionized parallel computing. More recently, GPU deep learning ignited modern AI — the next era of computing — with the GPU acting as the brain of computers, robots and self-driving cars that can perceive and understand the world. More information at http://nvidianews.nvidia.com/. -
Micron Expands Crucial NVMe SSD Line to Offer Next-Level Performance
New Crucial P5 and P2 SSDs give PC and gaming enthusiasts a full range of powerful options
BOISE, Idaho, April 21, 2020 — Gamers, content creators and everyday computer users now have powerful performance options to match their budget with Crucial’s new full line of NVMe SSDs.
Crucial, Micron’s leading global brand of memory and storage, introduced the new Crucial P5 and P2 SSDs today, expanding its NVMe PCIe solid-state drive portfolio beyond the award-winning P1 SSD. The new drives extend Crucial’s P-series product line to offer exceptional speeds, large capacities and durable data protection. Customers can expect the perfect upgrade for their unique computing needs, built with Micron innovation and available at a competitive price.
P5 SSD
The Crucial P5 SSD is engineered for serious gamers and creative professionals who demand quick response times when editing, designing, gaming and multitasking. The drive features read/write speeds up to 3400/3000MB/s, delivers seamless performance with Micron’s TLC 3D NAND technology and controller, and offers capacities ranging from 250GB to 2TB for ample storage. This powerful combination allows operating systems and apps to open quickly and games to load easily so users are ready to play.
“The Crucial P5 is our fastest and most innovative SSD product to date, pushing the capabilities of NVMe Gen 3 to meet the demands of a rapidly growing market,” said Teresa Kelley, vice president of Micron Consumer Products Group. “PC and gaming enthusiasts will find that the P5 was built to answer their call for high performance and processing power.”
For gamers who want battle-ready PCs and on-the-go professionals who demand laptops that work as hard as they do, the P5 is built to be reliable. Dynamic write acceleration, error correction algorithms and adaptive thermal protection work together to optimize performance and durability. Crucial SSDs also undergo thousands of validation hours and dozens of qualification tests. The P5’s endurance is rated at MTTF greater than two million hours for extended longevity. Data security is also enhanced with rapid, full-drive encryption capability, helping to protect data from security threats without performance degradation.
P2 SSD
Ordinary download speeds are often a source of frustration. Computer users want more power at a price that fits within their budget. Built for value-conscious customers looking for a fast, affordable SSD, the Crucial P2, accelerated by NVMe technology, doesn’t scrimp on speed. For multitaskers, that means faster data transfers and quicker access to files for a more productive day. The new P2 SSD is available in capacities up to 1TB.“Whether people are upgrading an existing system or planning a new build, the Crucial P2 gives them power and dependability,” said Kelley. “We are one of the few SSD manufacturers that designs and manufactures our own NAND. Engineered with Micron expertise and rigorously tested at every stage of development, the P2 is built on a 40-year legacy of innovation and high-quality products.”
Easy Installation and Support
The P5 and P2 SSDs will be available at crucial.com and through select global partners. The drives are backed by Crucial’s five-year limited warranty and easy to install with the help of an owner’s manual, screwdriver and the Crucial SSD installation guide. It provides easy-to-follow steps and videos for stress-free installation. Acronis® True Image™ HD software helps to migrate data quickly and easily. The Crucial Storage Executive software tool allows users to see how much storage (GB) they’ve used, download the latest firmware and improve drive performance. -
ID-Cooling SE 234 ARGB @ TechPowerUp
I met with this company several times during Computex and it seems we never hit things off enough to get review product sent to the lab.
No worries, TechPowerUp has a review of a very interesting cooler with an RGB fan.
ID-Cooling continues its entry-level air cooler dominance with the SE 234 ARGB. This single-tower design is offset for maximum memory compatibility and delivers remarkably good performance along with an attractive design.
In terms of cooler design it would seem they have sampled HEAVLY from Noctua and a few other coolers that I have seen in the past.
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Intel Xeon Gold 5220R + Xeon Gold 6226R Linux Performance @ Phoronix
When the EVGA SR-3 was launched I started looking all over for a processor. At the time there was only one that allowed overclocking and it was a smooth three grand AND not available. The only alternative is the "Xeon (insert metal) Scalable Proceesors" which are not only locked but vary in price from just a few pennies to like 12 grand.
Seems excessive to me.
Phoronix has a review posted related to two Scalable Processors and how their performance reflects in Linux. Much like with Windows, the drivers have a lot to do with overall performance so it will be interesting to see the results.
At the end of February Intel launched the Xeon Scalable "Cascade Lake Refresh" processors with a number of more aggressively priced SKUs with different core counts and clock speeds compared to the original Cascade Lake CPUs launched last year. Intel recently sent over the Xeon Gold 5220R and Xeon Gold 6226R processors and we've begun our Linux benchmarks of them. In this article is our initial look at their performance using a near-final build of Ubuntu 20.04 and seeing how the performance stacks up in raw performance and performance-per-dollar against the AMD EPYC competition.
I know my way around a Linux console but to be honest I know just enough to be dangerous and don't use it enough to really become an expert.
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Cooler Master MasterAir G200P CPU Heatsink Review @ APH Networks
In what might be the smallest heatsink ever we have the Cooler Master MasterAir G200P. This is a heatsink for LGA 115x based systems and appears to be using a Noctua inspired mounting system. This isn’t because they are copying Noctua but, rather because the cooler is so small there wasn't room to use anything crappy.
The Cooler Master MasterAir G200P is a low profile RGB CPU cooler with the capability of fitting in almost any computer case on the market today.
Personally I'm not a fan of small coolers, Sure I have used them before and we use one in the podcast rig we use to record the Hardware Asylum Podcast but, generally speaking, small coolers run hot and the reason people need them is because they are building in a small case. If that case does not vent correctly or you exceed the thermal limits of that case you're in for a bad time.
Oh and speaking of Noctua they build a cooler like this not to long ago designed for server use. If you want to see how close the copy is check out our review of the Noctua NH-L9i and be amazed.
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Crucial X8 Review @ Vortez
In recent years I have been pretty close with Crucial. That is a big deal for me since before that I would usually get snubbed then I would make a joke about being able to throw rocks at the building and yet not getting a product to review.
That was some good banter and in keeping with tradition we have a portable storage solution reviewed that isn't too bad.
Offering the drive in 500GB and 1TB capacities, with speeds up to 1050MB/s in both directions, the drive can be used for modestly-sized backups, as a Steam drive to take round to a friend’s or just for transferring files at speeds way in excess of what a typical USB flash drive is capable of.
Some of the external SSD drives I have won't work on all systems. Where they may work well on my Windows 10 machine it just won't connect on Server 2008 R2. Pretty sure that is an OS dependency or could be the USB controller. Either way the speed is there however compatability can be kinda meh.
