Tech News
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PCI Express 4.0 will mean the end for GPU power cables
Somehow I missed the news on the PCI Express 4.0 specification announcement and by the looks of it they are not only going to increase the transfer speed but also the wattage output from 74w to over 300w which brings up some interesting questions.
First would be, how is this going to change motherboard layout? For instance current video cards require around 300w of extra power just for the GPU. While it would be nice to pull this from the 24pin power connector there is a reason we have an 8pin CPU power connector right next to the VRM.
So, if you think about it instead of having the PCI Express power going directly to the video card it will connect directly to the motherboard and then be required for EVERY card you plug into the system. I'm not sure we are really solving anything by doing this.
Likewise I would be concerned about corrosion on the PCI Express slot pins and how that will impact extreme overclocking and those living in high humidly areas of the world.
The previous iterations of the connection have prepared us for an expected doubling of available bandwidth across the interface. From PCIe 1.0 we’ve seen an effective doubling of peak bandwidth from each successive generation - starting at 250MB/s for a x1 connection and moving up to a little under 2GB’s for PCIe 4.0. That means for a full x16 socket then your PCIe 4.0 GPU is going to have a total of 31.508GB/s of available bandwidth at its disposal.
While those are pretty numbers for the numerologically-obsessed the ones that have really got my attention have come from a report on Tom’s Hardware. They spoke to Richard Solomon, vice president of the PCI-SIG, about the potential power delivery from the new PCIe 4.0 slots: off the top of his head he couldn’t give the final proposed upper limit for socket power, but said the minimum would be at least 300W. He also stated that members of the PCI-SIG had suggested several options and that maybe even 400W or 500W could be possible from a single PCIe 4.0 socket.It will be interesting to see how this all plays out and if it creates more problems than it solves. With that said, rumors claim we will be able to see PCIe 4.0 it in action later this year.
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MSI X99A GAMING PRO CARBON (with Broadwell-E) @ techPowerUp
One of the best X99 motherboards I reviewed is the MSI X99 Gaming 7. It had style, stability and just the right amount of features. With the launch of Broadwell-E many companies have taken the opportunity to revamp their product lines to add more features and generally improve stuff.
MSI delivered us a new X99 motherboard, the X99A-GAMING PRO CARBON, a stealthy all-black motherboard with some RGB Mystic Light goodness. Designed for those new multiple GPUs you just bought, the MSI X99A GAMING PRO CARBON is ready to take your VGAs, your memory and your new Broadwell-E CPU to the limits to then stay there!
While I have grown attached to the Red Black and Chrome color schemes the feature offerings found on the Carbon editions are just too good to pass up.
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Zotac GTX 1060 AMP! Edition @ LanOC Reviews
Ok I am impressed, Like Ultra Impressed with a capitol LUI.
I have tried for YEARS to get anything out of Zotac for review and while I have swag, empty promises and Zotac buyers saying I need to review Zotac gear I get nuffin and here we have another US based hardware review site reviewing one of the low end Zotac 1060 AMP! edition cards.
Sure it is AMP! with the exclamation point (very important) but still.
Last week I spent the entire week covering AMD cards, so to mix things up today I want to revisit the GTX 1060. This time, however, I’m taking a look at the Zotac GTX 1060 AMP! Edition. I had a chance to check out how well the Founders Edition card and now today I can see how the 1060 performs with a little bit of an overclock and an aftermarket cooler. With all of that, this card also retails for less than the Founders Edition card. The GTX 1060 AMP! Edition isn’t the smallest GTX 1060 out on the market, but it is noticeably smaller than the Founders Edition, if it performs well I might just see if it fits in our most recent Lunchbox build as well
To my credit I don't hound on mfgs as much as I should and the few times I have asked I get a "na man, we got nuff for you" so I simply stopped asking.
Of course my bitchin' aside, check out the review and see if this card might replace that GT210 you have in your current rig.
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Thermaltake Core P100 Pedestal Extension Review @ [H]
I am legit like "WTF?"
The Thermaltake Core P100 Pedestal is an expansion part for the Thermaltake W100 full tower case previously reviewed here. What the P100 does is give you the ability to expand you cooling system's ability or give you space for extra storage among other things into an entirely self-contained unit below the W100 chassis.
So, as it would turn out this is a review of a module extention for the Thermaltake W100 line of cases. You know, something to put your extra junk in that wouldn't fit in one of the largest cases on the market.
I would hate to have to turn in my Enthusiast Badge but I have a hard time beliving that anyone needs a 5 foot tall computer chassis to hold a system. Then again we do have the EVGA DG-87 and anything from CaseLabs.
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Kingston HyperX Savage 960GB SATA III SSD @ Bigbruin
Savage, with a brand name like that you have to wonder if the engineers are really scared of this drive or if it is really that good.
I vote for the second.
Kingston is the world's largest independent manufacturer of memory products, which includes solid state drives. They have SSDs with features and capacities for just about any application, but for those looking for the ultimate in performance, they have their HyperX series. In this review, we will be checking out the 960GB HyperX Savage SSD, which is powered by a quad-core, 8-channel Phison S10 controller that gives it read speeds of up to 560MB/s and write speeds up to 530MB/s.
This is a SATA 3 SSD so speeds will be a little slower than say a NVMe based drive but at 960GB nobody can complain. In fact you could get away with using this drive for storage while a proper NVMe drive handles OS and program duty.
I do like the construction of the HyperX Savage drives. very solid with some "heft" for that added bit of mental quality.
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EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 – Now Available with 3GB GDDR5
August 18th, 2016 - The EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB graphics card are loaded with innovative new gaming technologies, making it the perfect choice for the latest high-definition games. Powered by NVIDIA Pascal – the most advanced GPU architecture ever created – the GeForce GTX 1060 3GB delivers brilliant performance that opens the door to virtual reality and beyond.
These cards also feature EVGA ACX cooling technology. EVGA ACX once again brings new and exciting features to the award winning EVGA ACX cooling technology. SHP gives increased heatpipes and copper contact area for cooler operation, and optimized fan curve for even quieter gaming. Of course, ACX coolers also feature optimized swept fan blades, double ball bearings and an extreme low power motor, delivering more airflow with less power, unlocking additional power for the GPU.
EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB Superclocked – Small Size, Huge Performance
The EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 may look small, but it offers big performance. In fact it is about 20% faster than a GeForce GTX 970! All while being 28% smaller and running 17% cooler overall. The EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 Superclocked is the perfect card for the HTPC or small form factor PC enthusiast.EVGA PrecisionX OC Unlocks the Power of Pascal
The next generation of EVGA PrecisionX has arrived with EVGA PrecisionX OC. This new version of Precision is built for the NVIDIA Pascal architecture and combines the best of EVGA Precision and EVGA OC Scanner to give you never before seen overclocking features and built in automatic overclock tuning.Includes Exclusive Features for EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB:
- DirectX 12 OSD Support – See the on screen display on DirectX 12 games.
- EVGA OC ScannerX Integration – Automatically find your optimal voltage/frequency curve!
- K-Boost Function – Maximize your clocks with this exclusive feature.
Learn more at http://www.evga.com/articles/01047/evga-geforce-gtx-1060-3gb/
About EVGA
EVGA is the #1 NVIDIA authorized partner in channel sales throughout North America and Latin America and a leading Power Supply Manufacturer. Based on the philosophy of intelligent innovation, market knowledge, and the real time operation, EVGA continues to identify the need in the market place and providing the solution to that need. By offering product differentiation, 24/7 tech support, a 90 day Step-Up program, and other customer focused programs, EVGA is a clear leader in all categories: etail, retail, distribution, and system integration. With headquarters in Brea, CA, EVGA’s global coverage includes EVGA GmbH in Munich, EVGA LATAM in Miami, and EVGA Hong Kong. For further information online about EVGA, visit: www.evga.com -
ASUS Rampage V Extreme 10 Motherboard Review @ [H]
Here we go, now this is a motherboard I can get excited about, its Rampage and Extreme together with a number 10 at the end. If that isn't awesome then I'm sure someone will think it is.
ASUS celebrates the 10th anniversary of its Republic of Gamers brand in style with the new Rampage V Extreme 10! To properly commemorate its decade of innovation, this motherboard needs to be nothing short of the best motherboard ASUS has ever built and a worthy successor to the Rampage name.
I'm not sure about the LEDs on the video card paddle locks though, that just seems weird. And not in a good way like Deadpool but in a "Lets see how far we can go because we are ASUS bitch" kind of way.
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Deepcool Genome @ techPowerUp
Remember that time when a company thought it would be cool and progressive to release a case with a full DIY watercooling loop built in?
Ya, that was pretty cool.
The Deepcool Gamer Storm Genome is a gaming chassis with an embedded Captain 360 cooling solution and cool double-helix reservoir. Many have tried offering a case and liquid-cooling combo in the past, but this seems to be one of the first cases out there that does not only seem to look good but also ends up being functional - but only a closer examination of its genes will tell.
For how cool this case really is I have to admit I find the styling to less than attractive and in a way kinda pointless. Not only are you paying extra for the watercooling components but you are stuck with whatever Deepcool decides to include with the case.
Less than a win win in my book.
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ASUS ROG STRIX X99 Gaming Review @ Vortez
Gaming!
That is all I'm going to say about that.
STRIX X99 Gaming arrives under the Republic of Gamers branding and is the latest in a number of products to join the STRIX portfolio. Bearing a stylish design, the STRIX X99 Gaming has the visual appearance and all the features too – this motherboard has characteristics which both gamers and overclockers will appreciate. Onboarding power/reset buttons, MemOK!, water pump fan headers, dual X16 mode PCI express and an assortment of storage options.
ROG has gaming in the name, not sure they need to add it to the product name too but, thats just me with my "get off my lawn" stick wondering what I am yelling about because "ASUS only cares about who ASUS cares about"
I guess with the edition of the X99 STRIX it is gaming.
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Riotoro CR1080 Tiny ATX Case Review @ Legit Reviews
Now here is a case, a computer case that is, that was taken straight from Star Wars. And, we aren't talking the prequels or even the latest one that only the younglings will understand either, We are talking Episode IV: A New Hope and pretty early in the show too.
If you haven't heard of Riotoro before, you're not alone. They are a pretty new company founded by former employees of Corsair and NVIDIA. They believe that PC enthusiasts were being overcharged in order to have the best hardware. So they set out to design and provide enthusiast grade products at a lower price point. Previously, Legit Reviews took a look at their Prism CR1280 case, Riotoro's first case, and the first RGB lit case. Today, we are taking a look at their newest case, the CR1080, this is only their fourth case they have released. This is a small case that is designed to support full size ATX motherboards, standard power supplies, and even some of the longest graphics cards.
On a side note the amount of disgruntled employees starting their own companies because they can do it better is "too damn high".
#justsayin
