Tech News
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EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti FTW ACX 2.0+ - FASTEST EVGA GTX 980 Ti Next to K|NGP|N
September 10th, 2015 – Introducing the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti FTW. Accelerated by the groundbreaking NVIDIA Maxwell architecture, the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti FTW ups the game with dual 8-Pin Power inputs, 8+2 Phase Power Design, Dual BIOSes and an included EVGA backplate. Not to mention this card packs 2816 NVIDIA CUDA Cores and 6GB of GDDR5 memory, giving you the horsepower to drive whatever comes next. In fact, the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti FTW provides over 3x the performance and 3x the memory of previous-generation cards*.
This card also features EVGA ACX 2.0+ cooling technology. EVGA ACX 2.0+ brings new features to the award winning EVGA ACX 2.0 cooling technology. A memory MOSFET Cooling Plate (MMCP) reduces MOSFET temperatures up to 13%, and optimized Straight Heat Pipes (SHP) additionally reduce GPU temperature by 5C. ACX 2.0+ coolers also feature optimized swept fan blades, double ball bearings and an extreme low power motor, delivering more air flow with less power, unlocking additional power for the GPU.
*GeForce GTX 680
Key Features:
- Fastest EVGA GTX 980 TI Next to K|NGP|N and Classified – 1291MHz Boost Clock with room for more.
- 8+2 Power Phase Design allows for robust overclocking with an additional 25W of power headroom.
- EVGA ACX 2.0 Cooling offers dramatically lower GPU temperatures and saves power, allowing for more power to be allocated for overclocking.
- Double Ball Bearing Fans offer 400% longer lifespan than traditional sleeved bearing fans.
- dB Noise Inverter turns the fans off below 60C, generating 0dB of noise.
- Preinstalled Backplate included.
- Built with 6GB of high performance GDDR5 memory for the best image quality and 4K gaming performance.
Learn more about the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti FTW: http://www.evga.com/articles/00957/EVGA-GeForce-GTX-980-Ti-FTW/
About EVGA
EVGA is the #1 NVIDIA authorized partner in channel sales throughout North America and UK. 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 -
The Nano is so Small Nobody gets a Sample - Or will they?
As a hardware reviewer I have had my fair share of passovers and to be honest many of them were my fault usually because I didn't keep in touch. I will also admit that in the past I had some folks on the staff that followed the rumors very closely and that helped immensely in knowing what to chase down and what to ignore.
The AMD Nano is a product I would have 100% ignored. I mean, seriously its a small video card big deal! Of course, given a chance I'd do a review and it would get a chance to be dissected and even put thru the standardized tests. I fully believe that the card would likely not set any speed records and might eventually overheat but the review would get done and with results anyone could reproduce.
Currently the Internet is on fire with news indicating that some Tier 1 review sites aren't getting a Nano sample. My first reaction is "big deal" however the reasons for why they didn't get a sample is a little more interesting.
There are two articles so far talking about this.
First one at HardOCP
- AMD, Roy Taylor, the Nano, and the Press
Keep in mind that Kyle likes to flex his muscles and call people out, I respect that as it really is how things "should" be done but rarely happens cause: politics.The Second is at TechReport
- AMD VP explains Nano exclusion: TR reviews aren't fair
At first I read this as "omg Scott is butthurt again" but, like Kyle, he brings up some interesting points however pawning them off as "I don't care" isn't really working.Anyhow, at least now we know that AMD is actively seeking to punish those in the press who are less than compliant. I personally am sadded by this development—although I am always proud to be singled out as an example of a reviewer who is perhaps a little bit too "independent." We will continue to make corporate types uncomfortable with empirical testing and honest assessements going forward. -TechReport
As was quoted in Pulp Fiction "Marsellus: The night of the fight, you may feel a slight sting. That's pride fucking with you. Fuck pride. Pride only hurts, it never helps."
Overall I get it, Hardware Review Sites are only relevant so long as the public respects their opinions and if manufacturers stop trusting a site then why would their community?
Bottom line: This is a good fight to bring to light however, will it go anywhere? Prolly not.
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PowerColor DEVIL Radeon R9 390X Review
Zee Devil cards are back!
This R9 390X is a chip we have seen before but the card configuration is really something. Half air cooled and half water and some amazing attention to detail.
We review the PowerColor DEVIL Radeon R9 390X. This product is Hybrid cooled meaning air for the VRM area and liquid cooling on the Hawaii GPU, now called Grenada. Thanks to this cooler the card hovers just above the 50 Degrees C, that's under full gaming load whilst being factory overclocked towards 1100 MHz on the GPU base clock.
Performance wise you won't see much of a difference however the AIO watercooling loop will draw GPU heat out and away from system and generally keep things much cooler than before. That can aid in overclocking headroom and overall stability.
A Win Win as they say.
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MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition @ HardwareOverclock
Krait, It just sounds mean and might be one of the coolest brand names I have ever seen. At least for a motherboard.
Sadly the review is in "not English" but the photos look good.
HardwareOverclock.com has just posted another review. Last week we have taken a look at the MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition. Looking for that creative, one-off build? Black & White design makes a system look classic, sophisticated and full of class. Famous case modders around the world cheer for the design choices. Other vendors are also releasing black & white designed products, perfect to create a full black & white system.
The black and white color scheme is a new thing for MSI and I think they wear it well.
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How Podcasts Have Changed in Ten Years
Podcasting has a very unique set of challenges and while it is good to see that Podcasting has changed (as this article illustrates) There is an underlying problem of promotion, adoption and reach.
WE’VE ALL HEARD that a podcasting boom is underway. Since January 2013, the number of podcasts listed on iTunes US has doubled (see Activity below). Part of the allure for content producers is that podcasting is a wild frontier in the new media landscape, waiting to be shaped and settled. Some have questioned if podcasting is the new blogging, referring to a similar boom during the early and mid-2000's, but that remains to be seen.
I’ve noticed since starting a podcast of my own that research on the field is scant. Most of the research I’ve read has focused on listener behavior, which is fine for marketers, but other questions about the medium have gone unanswered. I decided to address a few.
With the Hardware Asylum Podcast I have taken the traditional approach, shared it on my website, shared it on Social Media, Google+ and even Twitter. I even tried sharing it on Reddit but aside from a steady stream of growth (based on downloads from my website) it hasn't really "taken off". I blame this on two things.
- First, Podcasting tends to be limited to a small group of people, usually with above intelligence and rather enjoy listening to things.
- Second, Unlike videos Podcasting doesn't have a dedicated network that is actively promoting the content. Take YouTube for instance, this is a single network that gets paid by hosting and promoting user submitted content. These submitters get a cut and everyone is happy, iTunes has no structure so there is no incentive.
I doubt podcasting will get such a network given that "people" these days are rather mindless when it comes to surfing the web. People want to be entertained and that means moving pictures and the silo’ed dominance of YouTube.
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A Beginners Guide To LN2 Benchmarking - Subzero Series
I have done a few of these in the past and its funny how many different ways you can do LN2.
If you are reading this, then maybe you are ready to make the jump into subzero benchmarking or just interested in a simple how to. Subzero benchmarking is where you use LN2 (Liquid Nitrogen), DICE (Dry Ice), Phase change units or even, for those daring enough, LHE (Liquid Helium). The main focus of this guide is to show you what you need to start of on LN2 or DICE. We will look at what is needed and some terminology on CPU and Graphics subzero overclocking and benchmarking.
So far I don't think anyone, including me, has really captured the step by step on LN2 overclocking because it take a certain amount of determination to get started.
Be sure to check out the Xtreme Build where I spec all the parts you need to do a proper 4-way SLI overclock using LN2.
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MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti Lightning Review @ Guru3D
This little gem has been all over my social streams and I have to say I'm glad to see it back. As some of you may know (or will know now) MSI tried doing a GTX 780 Lightning but ran into a whole host of issues and eventually scrapped it. The GTX 780 Ti was no better and GTX 980 was non-existent.
But now.... Now we have the GTX 980 Ti Lightning.
We review the long anticipated and awaited MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti Lightning edition. You'll retrieve up-to 1.3 Volts to play with on the GPU voltage range for example. This 6 GB card is overclocked for you at default already, typically a reference GTX 980 Ti will run 1 GHz. The Lightning however comes with default clocks of 1203 (base) / 1304 (boost) MHz. Armed with 6 GB graphics memory this product was built to impress.
Based on the specs posted in the "quote" the Lightning is clocked 10Mhz faster than the EVGA Classified and comes with some voltage. Not bad though as I determined in my review of the EVGA GTX 980 Ti Classified the chip doesn't scale with voltage.
However, the ASIC on my classy was pretty much crap and without a "Kingpin" card to steal away chips there is a chance the MSI version might just clock better. I'll be on the hunt to get a sample, until then the web reviews might be all we get.
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DEEPCOOL Launches LUCIFER K2 CPU Air Cooler
Beijing, China – September, 2015 – DEEPCOOL
DEEPCOOL is a company that built with vision of providing best thermal solutions for worldwide customers by constantly seeking for innovative breakthroughs. After the success of Lucifer V2, DEEPCOOL launches another high performance CPU cooler under its sub-brand: GAMER STORM, which with some FREE upgrades, named as LUCIFER K2.
Lucifer K2 is a new generation of Lucifer V2, it has preserved some key features from Lucifer V2 of great heat dissipation performance: fanless design, 6 high-performance heatpipes. However,Lucifer K2 has a slightly different in some detail aspects compared with Lucifer V2, features Polished Pure Copper Base and Bundled Silent 20mm Slim Fan. Also,breakthrough has been created for its special designed perfect compatibility of Memory installation.
Bundled Silent 20mm Slim Fan with Red impeller & black frame
One 120mmx120mmx20mm slim PWM fan built for a better silent level with good cooling performance.
Perfect Compatibility with Memory Slot
Deflected heatpipe design offers a perfect compatibility of Memory installation, all Memory slots can be used freely.
Perfect Fanless Cooling Design
More than 1,000,000mm² devour heatsink, even the fanless equipment is capable of cooling CPU up to 130W with the help of good airflow channel inside the case.
6 Copper Heatpipes & Polished Pure Copper Base
6 copper heatpipes are firmly stacked into the aluminum fins to conduct the heat quickly. The copper base with a convex shape to touch CPU closely, the gapless touch accelerates the heat transfer from CPU to the cooler efficiently.
LUCIFER K2 will be available globally on early September 2015.
MSRP: $79.99
For more information, please visit: www.deepcool.com -
Asylum Review Block: GTX 950 - The Lil One
Last week Nvidia launched the GTX 950 which promises to be a pretty good card for those gaming on a budget. Along with the card they also announced some updates to GeForce Experience that use the processing power of your GPU to stream games to your friends and even allow them to co-op with you over the interwebs.
Of course, pending your internet quality, speed and availability.
Here is a short list of web reviews featuring the GTX 950.- MSI GeForce GTX 950 Gaming 2 GB @ techPowerUp
- ZOTAC GeForce GTX 950 AMP! Edition Video Card Review @ TT
- EVGA GeForce GTX 950 FTW Edition Video Card Review @HiTech Legion
- Asus GTX 950 Strix @ LanOC Reviews
- EVGA GeForce GTX 950 SSC 2 GB @ techPowerUp
- Gigabyte GeForce GTX 950 OC 2 GB @ techPowerUp
- ZOTAC GeForce GTX 950 AMP! Edition 2 GB @ techPowerUp
- ASUS GTX 950 STRIX OC 2 GB @ techPowerUpIt would seem that TechPowerUp wins when it comes to posting GTX 950 reviews. I guess that makes sense since most of the cards have the same clock speed with only a cooler change onboard.
Look for our review of the GTX 950... soon?
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Should Hardware Asylum have a Forum??
A few people asked me about setting up a forum again. When I setup Hardware Asylum I did so with the idea that I was done with forums. A forum was the genesis of Ninjalane.com and did a lot to build up the site. Eventually it turned into an anchor and got overrun with spam. Indirectly I can thank HWBot and my activities there for the downfall but that is a story for a different time.
With the launch of PHPBB 3.1 I'm considering giving the whole forum thing a try, (again).
So the question is. Forum: Yes? or No??
if Yes, what forum features would you be interested in seeing?? (aside from normal discussion about reviews, overclocking, cooling etc..) I'm thinking maybe doing a classified section, which is something I was against back in the day, and trying a self help or education section where people can post questions and get expert answers.
Thoughts? Post them in the comments section or email me.
