Tech News
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GIGABYTE Hosts X99 CHAMPION CHALLENGE on HWBOT
Tweak your GIGABYTE X99 Systems for Big Cash Prizes
City of Industry, California, April 20th, 2015 – GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today announced another great competition for the overclocking community with the GIGABYTE X99 CHAMPION CHALLENGE, to be hosted this May on HWBOT.org. This new challenge gives the community a chance to test their skills on the GIGABYTE X99 platform by tweaking both the CPU and graphics side of things. By participating, overclockers have the chance to win $2,800 USD in cash prizes and some exciting hardware, including the leader of them all, the X99-SOC Champion!
Attention overclocker nation. You have until May 1st 2015 to get your platform ready and jump in to become the X99 Champion! To make your way up to the grand prize of $1,500 USD, you’ll have to collect the most points by submitting your best scores in 6 different stages designed to test both your CPU and Graphics card overclocking skills. Do you feel up to the challenge? Good luck to all!!
How to win
Points will be given to the top ranking scores in each stage. The top 3 participants with the most points at the end of the challenge will win cash prizes. You also have the chance to win some great hardware via 3 lucky draws. Lucky Draw #1 will be rewarding participants that submitted scores with temperatures set above 25 Celsius, Lucky Draw #2 will be rewarding participants that submitted scores with temperatures set below 25 Celsius, and Lucky Draw #3 will be rewarding participants that submitted the lowest score. Please see the contest rules for more details.
Contest StagesStage 1: XTU - May 1st until May 8th, 2015
CPU frequency 4GHz max
RAM at 3300MHz max.
GIGABYTE X99 Motherboards only
Stage 2: XTU - May 8th until May 15th, 2015.
CPU frequency 4.5GHz max
Uncore at 4.5GHz max.
GIGABYTE X99 Motherboards only
Stage 3: XTU - May 15th until May 31st, 2015.
CPU frequency 5GHz max
GIGABYTE X99 Motherboards only
Stage 4: Fire-Strike - May 1st until May 27th, 2015.
Single NVIDIA GT 730 graphics card
GIGABYTE X99 Motherboards only
Stage 5: Catzilla 720p - May 1st until May 28th, 2015.
Single NVIDIA GT 730 graphics card
GIGABYTE X99 Motherboards only
Stage 6: 3DMark 2001 SE - May 1st until May 28th, 2015.
Single NVIDIA GT 730 graphics card
GIGABYTE X99 Motherboards only
Contest Rules- This competition is limited to GIGABYTE X99 motherboards only
- Submissions will open on the first day of the stage at 00:01 (UTC +8) and close on the last day at 23:59 (UTC+8)
- To be eligible for the Lucky Draw #1, participants must submit in all stages, and have their XTU submission shown ABOVE 25 Celsius. One random winner will be selected within the eligible participants.
- To be eligible for the Lucky Draw #2, participants must submit in all stages, and have their XTU submission shown BELOW 25 Celsius. One random winner will be selected within the eligible participants.
- To be eligible for the Lucky Draw #3, participants must have submitted within the 3 lowest scores in any of the stages. One random winner will be selected within the eligible participants.
- User ranked #1, #2 and #3 in any stage ae not eligible for the lucky draw.
- Every submission must include the competition background, XTU’s CPU frequency and temperature and a picture of the rig.
- A participant is eligible to win only once. If he is found to be the winner in multiple categories, the prize will go to the runner up.
Contest Prizes Stage 1 ~ 6- $1,500 USD for 1st place
- $800 USD for 2nd place
- $500 USD for 3rd place
Lucky draw (To be held at the end of the competition)- An X99-UD4P motherboard for one randomly selected overclocker with temps above 25 Celsius.
- An X99-Gaming 5P motherboard for one randomly selected overclocker with temps below 25 Celsius.
- An X99-SOC Champion motherboard for one randomly selected bottom 3 low score overclocker.
The GIGABYTE X99 CHAMPION CHALLENGE will run from May 1st until May 31st 2015, 23:59 (UTC +8).
For complete contest rules, scoring and more details, please visit the contest page on HWBOT.org:
http://oc-esports.io/#!/round/gbt_x99_champion_challengeFor more information about GIGABYTE motherboards, go to:
http://www.gigabyte.us/ -
SilverStone Kublai KL05 Computer Case Review @ APH Networks
How is this for a review quote
A budget case with a window. How will the SilverStone KL05 fare?
Truth is, many of the cheapest cases you can buy come with pre-modded windows and has been that way since the days of installing plexi side panels using window edging for a motor home.
The Kublai is actually a really good case and is designed such that system integrators can build in it quickly and still get decent results.
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Crucial Ballistix Sport LT DDR4 2400MHz @ PureOverclock
Darren and I talked about these modules in the latest podcast episode [Orange and Black Attack Stack, Custom Watercooling and The Beast]. Of course the modules in the podcast were the Elite's and the review is looking at the Sport, however the underlying chips are likely the same.
The Ballistix performance series memory has proven popular for their stock performance, overclock-ability, quality and the ever changing style employed by Crucial. We are looking at the latest addition to the Ballistix family, the Ballistix Sport LT. These should land right between the Sport models and the higher end Elite kits, hopefully netting us the best of both worlds, tighter timings and high clocks.
These modules are the taller "tactical" style with grey metal heatspreaders and ridge vents. A bit dated given that nobody is doing military theme motherboards anymore but, the specs look good for a 2400Mhz module kit.
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AMD’s FX-8320E: The Right Answer For The Gamer On A Budget? @ Techgage
A bit of an older article but Techgage brings up an interesting question. Can you really game on an AMD FX processor? I already know the FM2+ based boards make good low in gaming rigs but for the cost it always seems like Intel is the better choice.
Released this past fall, AMD’s FX-8320E processor promises to deliver a lot of processing power for those on a budget. It sports eight cores, and as a Black Edition, its overclocking capabilities are unrestricted. But is that enough to make this the best go-to budget processor, especially for gamers?
AMD based systems have several things against them, the first being the aging motherboard supply. Sure you can find a AM3+ motherboard but for a long while nobody had them stocked and what is available aren't all that special. The second is that even though the proc has 8-cores they are generally slower than Intel cores and thus have slower performance in DX9 based games.
Of course, DX11 is a different story.
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Gigabyte X99-UD4 Motherboard Review @ ThinkComputers
I actually like how you can get many of the top-end features on a mid-range motherboard. Of course things like that really eat in to the profit margins but that is what people want these days.
When it comes to X99 motherboards we have taken a look at boards from ASUS, MSI, ASRock and EVGA. The company not on that list is Gigabyte and today we are getting our first look at one of their X99 motherboards. The X99-UD4 is set to be a more affordable motherboard in their X99 stack and is not really aimed towards gamers or overclockers, but offers a great set of features any user will appreciate. The board is part of the companies Ultra Durable line and features an all digital power design, 4-way graphics support, dual M.2 slot, SATA Express support, Intel Gigabit LAN, and the companies AMP-UP audio solution. Did I mention the board lights up too? Let’s get the board on the test bench and see if Gigabyte has a winner on their hands.
I'm hoping to get more X99 motherboards in for review, they really are an untapped market.
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MAINGEAR Ships World’s First X99 Small Form Factor Gaming Systems
Blazing fast, 8 core processor performance now available in compact PCs, including Potenza, DRIFT and TORQ Super Stock editions
Kenilworth, New Jersey – April 10, 2015 – MAINGEAR, an award-winning PC system integrator of custom gaming desktops, notebooks, and workstations, unveils the world’s first lineup of high-performance compact mini ITX based gaming systems with Intel’s X99 chipset Intel Core i7 extreme edition processors.
Designed to deliver unmatched performance in full-sized desktops, Intel’s X99 chipset is now available in Super Stock editions of the compact POTENZA with VRTX cooling, the console-sized and STEAM ready DRIFT, and the fully custom liquid-cooled ultra-compact TORQ. Each desktop is fully customizable, comes standard with liquid cooling, and is available in MAINGEAR’s true automotive paint finishes.
“Our selection of compact gaming beasts with the X99 and extreme edition processors are roadsters with the power and performance of V8 engines,” states Wallace Santos, CEO and Founder of MAINGEAR. “Our goal is to provide the best in computer gaming and our selection of world’s first small form factor X99 desktops proves that MAINGEAR is still the leader.”
The X99 chipset delivers massive gaming output in a small form factor by supporting up to the Intel i7 5960X 8 core hyper threaded processor and ultra-fast DDR4 memory. It is compatible with all Haswell-E Intel Core i7 processors with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0, enables overclocking for even faster speeds, and features an array of speed boosting features designed to maximize performance.
MAINGEAR’s compact line of gaming systems with Intel’s X99 platform is now available at www.maingear.com/sffx99. For more information about MAINGEAR’s lineup of high performance gaming units, visit www.maingear.com.
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About MAINGEAR
MAINGEAR is a high performance PC system integrator that offers custom desktops, notebooks and workstations. Each system is hand crafted for precision performance and uncompromised quality, and has won multiple Editors' Choice awards from publications such as PC Gamer, Hot Hardware, PC World, Maximum PC, Computer Shopper and more. With a passion to build the best and most innovative high performance computers, MAINGEAR sets the standard among system integrators. -
Voltivo 3D Creation Contest
Some say that 3D printing is the future and while the devices aren't all that common there are a few talented folks out there printing some really amazing things.
Voltivo 3D is hosting a 3D modeling contest where they are inviting people to submit their orginial 3D designs for a chance to win some great Voltivo products.
Check out the following page for more details including prizes and rules.
Voltivo 3D Creation Contest Runs from April 10th – May 15th 2015
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Scythe Ashura SCASR-1000 Heatsink Review @ Frostytech
Love the logo on Scythe products, hate their fans.
On the review bench today we have Scythe's Ashura heatsink; this is a fairly standard tower cooler equipped with a 140mm fan. The Ashura cooler stands 162mm tall, making it suitable for full tower cases where AIO liquid coolers are often too bulky.
This is actually a rather large tower cooler when compared to other more standard towers. I find that this is done for one of three reasons. 1) everyone else is making big coolers, 2) need more heat capacity, 3) looking to make their coolers quiet
Which one do you think they decided on.
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Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR4-3400 Review @ Hardware Canucks
Have you found yourself with a Gigabyte X99 SOC Champion and can't decide on what memory would go best with the motherboard? Do you like limited edition products and don't mind paying for them? Is there a grand burning a hole in your pocket?
If so this memory kit from Corsair might be exactly what you are looking for.
Corsair's $1000 Dominator Platinum DDR4-3400 Orange kit is the fastest currently on the market and it's meant exclusively for Gigabyte's X99 SOC Champion motherboard.
Most enthusiasts would pick up this kit simply to color match their motherboard and ignore the 3400Mhz memory speed. Overclockers on the other hand might actually find the super speed an easy way to buy some extra speed in their benchmarks.
Dunno, either way a grand for memory is a little steep esp after spending a grand on a processor.
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XSPC X20 420 Single Bayres/Pump Combo @ PureOverclock
I have been looking at building a custom watercooler again and am really amazed at how much things have changed. In a way it seems like the innovation has been drained from the niche leaving only a few select brands to choose from.
That isn’t likely to be a bad thing, just a bit of a change. Kind of like this combo unit reviewed at PureOC
With advances in pump, radiator, reservoir and fitting designs, things have gotten to the point where almost anyone can create and install a custom cooling solution specific to their system. XSPC is one of the handful of pioneering companies that made custom liquid cooling so commonplace today. The new X20 420 Single and Twin pump BayRes may save on space and and your hard earned money.
I'm not sure I would ever go combo unless it was a bayres design. They are compact and really are the best of both worlds. Sad thing is, very few cases have 5.25" drive bays anymore.
