Tech News
-
Ballistix Elite 3466 MHz DDR4 Memory Kit Review
When it comes to memory one of the longest running brands is the Crucial Ballistix which makes sense considering that the parent company, Micron, builds the chips powering many of the popular high performance modules on the market. Crucial has been known to deliver some extremely solid memory but has always been plagued with "not being all that fast".
Well it would seem some of that is changing with their Ballistix Elite DDR4 line with speeds topping out at 3466Mhz. Still not the fastest you can buy but better than nothing.
Our last Ballistix memory review was the Ballistix Sport LT 16GB Red DDR4 2666Mhz Memory Kit, which was good and represents the entry speeds for performance or enthusiast level DDR4. If you want a little more speed and capability, you can have a look at some Ballistix memory at the other end of the performance spectrum, the Ballistix Elite 3466MHz DDR4 Memory Kit. 3466 MHz memory speed is amazing, but it’s becoming common amongst high end memory. 3466Mhz is a full third faster than the Ballistix Sport LT 16GB Red DDR4 2666Mhz, which is enough to get anyone’s attention.
To be fair Crucial is offering OEM replacement modules so, for many of you wanting to keep your factory processor warranty it is important to run memory that is approved and compatible with your processor. Crucial is a front runner in that space whereas other memory makers focus on high-performance modules that are not warranty friendly.
-
ASRock Z370 Taichi @ TechPowerUp
TAICHI!!!
ASRock does it again with their famous Taichi series this time supporting the new ExpressoJavaCoffee Lake processor platform from Intel. Coffee Lake is what I would consider the first real upgrade since Sandy Bridge and supports some pretty amazing performance.
Sadly to take advantage you have to get a 300 series motherboard and is where Tachi comes in.
With yet another platform upon us, we have yet another ASRock Taichi motherboard to play with. The ASRock Z370 Taichi is just like all the other Taichi boards before it, ready to make the most of what Intel's Z370 platform has to offer, and with three 32 Gb/s M.2 slots, you can throw in all your HDDs and SSDs, too.
If I was to be impressed with the motherboard it would be the onboard graphics. Not so much what comes from the CPU but, rather what is printed on the PCB and accented by the chipset coolers. Call me crazy but I like gears.
-
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1080 Ti ArcticStorm Mini with Fearless Cooling
Gonna post this because of "FEARLESS COOLING"
HONG KONG –October 19, 2017 -ZOTAC International, a Hong Kong based and a global manufacturer of innovation, is pleased toannounce the launch of ZOTAC GeForce®GTX 1080 Ti ArcticStorm Mini. Get the best of both worlds with the most compact GeForce®GTX 1080 Ti water blockedgraphics card packing the ultimate gaming performance combined with fearless cooling.
The card combines the 212mm (8.35-inch) long super compact design of the GeForce® GTX 1080 Ti Mini with a full-coverage water block utilizing a nickel plated direct copper contact with precision 0.3mm micro-channels for maximum heat extraction.
The see-thru tinted acrylic top allows the cooling magic to be visible,supported by a metal backplate, the overall color neutral design adds the finishing touches with an all-white LED lit touch. Builder’s now have the option of making one of the most compact with extreme cooling PC gaming systems around and have it fit into any color scheme.
Make for the ultimate compact gaming system with an open-loop water cooling system that incorporatesstandard G1/4 type fittings make ZOTAC GeForce®GTX 1080 Ti ArcticStorm Mini compatible with most third-party liquid cooling solutions. A pair of barbs supporting 10mm ID tubing are also included.
#FearLessCooling
-
Patriot launches Viper LED Gaming Mouse Pad
Illuminate Your Way to Victory
Fremont, California - October 9th, 2017: Patriot, a global leading brand in performance memory, SSDs, gaming peripherals, and flash storage solutions today announced a new addition to its Viper series, the Viper LED Gaming Mouse Pad. The Viper Series Gaming LED Mouse Pad offers fantastic decorative LED backlighting with an advanced polymer gaming surface. The Viper LED gaming mouse pad is a perfect match for any high-end gaming mouse and is designed to provide a better gaming experience for the serious gamer.
Patriot is committed to creating a better gaming environment for enthusiasts and gamers and is launching the Viper series LED mouse pad right after V570 Blackout edition gaming mouse.
Most of the gamers agree that peripherals with fantastic backlighting will stimulate their gaming appetite. The Viper LED gaming mouse pad features six different LED color settings that provide a continuous backlighting effect around and beneath the entire mouse pad. Users may customize their own LED lighting effects through the control switch on the USB power cord.
Whether users play MMORPG or a fast-paced FPS the precise control and accuracy of the mouse is a key to winning battles. The Patriot Viper LED mouse pad made of high-quality rigid polymer, which provides a scratch-free, sleek surface to enhance the mouse controlling performance while enhancing durability. For providing a smoother gaming surface for the mouse, polymer material ensures your gaming mouse glides with just the right amount of resistance for precise movements without sacrificing speed.
To complement the multi-colored LED backlighting, the Viper LED gaming mouse pad features a high-grip rubber backing that covers the entire surface guaranteeing a non-slip performance during intense gaming battles. The dimension of the Viper LED mouse pad also follows the scale of current a wide-screen monitors allowing the gamer highest degree of flexibility when setting up their battle stations.
*The mouse pad features a single mini USB cable with the controller located on the braided cord and backed by a 2-year warranty
Viper LED Gaming Mouse Pad Features High-light
- Continuous LED Backlighting beneath
- Six colors LED illumination
- Six different sets of LED lighting effects
- High-quality rigid polymer surface
- Non-slip rubber backing design
- Micro USB connector with braided cord
- Warranty: Two-year limited warranty
- Unit Dimension: 35.35cm(L) x 24.27cm(W) x 4.6cm(H) / 13.9”(L) x 9.5”(W) x 1.1”(H)
-
Thermaltake Releases New Toughpower Grand RGB Platinum Power Supplies
Patented 256-Color Riing RGB Fan with 5 Lighting Modes
Taipei, Taiwan-October 12th 2017-Thermaltake is adding the new Toughpower Grand RGB Platinum Series to its Power Supply line-up. The newest addition to the Toughpower Grand RGB family covers capacities ranging from 850W to 1200W, featuring a pre-installed, patented 256-color Riing 14 RGB fan with 5 lighting modes (RGB Cycle Mode, Solid Red, Solid Green, Solid Blue, and Solid White), a LED Off mode and a built-in memory function that remembers users last lighting mode selection even after a shutdown.
Outside of the RGB LEDs, the fully modular members come in compact sizes to provide users with more room for cable routing, cooling and more. The application of PCB layout with PFC & LLC integrated circuit efficiently reduces ripple noise and gives better voltage rail control, and the ultra quiet Smart Zero Fan permitszero noise when the fan operates below 40% working load, plus, the 100% high quality 105°C Japanese made capacitors offers the highest stability and reliability. With an ample 10 year warranty, the Toughpower Grand RGB Platinum Series is the best choice for those who are seeking a flashy looking Power Supply with superior balance of performance and quality.
For more details on Thermaltake Toughpower Grand RGB Series (850/1050/1200W) please visit:
850W –http://www.thermaltake.com/products-model.aspx?id=C_00003136
1050W –http://www.thermaltake.com/products-model.aspx?id=C_00003137
1200W –http://www.thermaltake.com/products-model.aspx?id=C_00003138 -
Out now - 3DMark Time Spy Extreme - 4K DirectX 12 benchmark
Futuremark released a major update for 3DMark today that adds Time Spy Extreme, a new DirectX 12 benchmark test for 4K gaming PCs.
Time Spy Extreme is a benchmark for gamers who want to play at the highest settings, system builders configuring 4K-capable machines, and overclockers who are tweaking the latest PC hardware for every last bit of extra performance.
3DMark Time Spy Extreme - 4K DirectX 12 benchmark
Time Spy Extreme is the world's first 4K DirectX 12 benchmark test, developed with input from AMD, Intel, NVIDIA, and the other members of our Benchmark Development Program.With its 4K Ultra HD rendering resolution and a redesigned CPU test, Time Spy Extreme is the ideal benchmark test for the latest high-end graphics cards and new processors with 8 or more cores. You don't need a 4K monitor to run the test, though you will need a GPU with at least 4 GB of dedicated memory.
Ideal for new multi-core processors
The CPU test has been redesigned to let processors with 8 or more cores perform to their full potential. Compared with Time Spy, the Extreme CPU test is three times more demanding. It also lets processors use more advanced instructions sets up to AVX2 when supported.You'll find a more detailed description of the tests and scoring methods in the 3DMark Technical Guide.
Time Spy Extreme Stress Test
The update also adds a new Time Spy Extreme Stress Test. Stress testing is a good way to check the stability of your system after buying or building a new PC, upgrading your graphics card, or overclocking your GPU. It can help you identify hardware problems or a need for better cooling.Available now
Time Spy Extreme is available now as a free update for 3DMark Advanced Edition and 3DMark Professional Edition licenses purchased after July 14, 2016.For people who bought 3DMark before July 14, 2016, Time Spy Extreme can be added to 3DMark by purchasing the Time Spy upgrade for $9.99 from within the application, (the update is free for people who already own the upgrade).
Standalone versions of 3DMark will prompt you to download and install the update. On Steam, 3DMark is updated automatically.
3DMark Advanced Edition - $29.99
3DMark Advanced Edition unlocks all benchmarks and additional features including Time Spy Extreme, Stress Tests, and Custom Run settings.
- Unlock all benchmarks and feature tests including Time Spy Extreme.
- Check your PC's stability with 3DMark Stress Tests.
- Explore your PC's performance limits with custom settings.
- Get in-depth insights with interactive performance graphs.
- Automatically save your results offline.
-
Intel Will No Longer Provide Per-Core Turbo Frequencies
Ok so this is an interesting bit of news. In the wake of a massive CPU launch that has all but redefined desktop CPU performance Intel is telling the world that they are not going to publish "per core turbo frequencies" and will instead let the board makers figure it out on their own.
In a way this mirrors what NVIDIA has done with their Turbo 3.0 where the top frequency is based on the environment and power demands so if you have a favorable environment then your PC will run faster. It also makes tuning a motherboard pretty much impossible.
Extremetech asked Intel "What the F dude?"
[W]e’re no longer disclosing this level of detail as its proprietary to Intel. Intel only specifies processor frequencies for base and single-core Turbo in our processor marketing and technical collateral, such as ARK, and not the multi-core Turbo frequencies. We’re aligning communications to be consistent. All Turbo frequencies are opportunistic given their dependency on system configuration and workloads.
~Intel
Given that Intel now has a multitude of Turbo configurations it will be interesting to see just how much control "we" are given when it comes to overclocking and system tuning. For instance there are already 7Ghz scores on HWBOT.org AND we know that Coffee Lake is still using the crappy TIM under the heatspreader so it is possible to overclock using current configurations and getting there will require that you delid the CPU else it will likely thermally throttle due to excessive heat at the CPU core.
There are several reasons to view this change as a negative. First, not all Intel CPUs are equally aggressive when it comes to their Turbo scaling, even if they have the same or similar Turbo ranges. This is one reason why the gap between chips can be wider than they’d otherwise be. The Core i7-8700K, for example, has a peak all-core frequency of 4.3GHz on six cores, which is fairly close to its peak frequency of 4.7GHz for single-core.
I will be interested to see how this all pans out and if the update really has any effect on what consumers and enthusiasts get with the final product. In fact, this announcement could really be an official change to how they write up their tech specs.
-
Intel Coffee Lake Launch Day
Intel releases realistic processors with excellent performance at an affordable price and nobody bats an eye.
AMD finally releases a processor with real performance potential and everyone loses their e'ffin minds, Including Intel
As you may have noticed today is a new Intel launch day, this time to announce the new "Coffee Lake" processors. These are a mainstream proc using the LGA 1151 socket but require a new chipset making you wonder if "Tick Tock" really went away or was just renamed to keep things fresh.
Most everyone is calling Coffee Lake a "reaction" to AMD Ryzen, not because Ryzen is faster, better or cheaper but rather because spec hounds claim Ryzen is better because it has more cores than Intel stuff. Forget that Kaby Lake is faster or that current games suck at using more than 4 cores effectively and makes this release all about launching hex-core processor cause: reasons.
Web Reviews
Intel Core i3-8350K 4.0 GHz @ TechPowerUp
Intel Core i7-8700K and Core i5-8400 Processor Review @ Legit Reviews
Intel Core i7-8700K Processor Review @ ThinkComputers
Intel Core i7 8700K Linux Benchmarks @ Phoronix
Intel Core i7-8700K And Core i5-8400 6-Core CPU Review: Coffee Lake Has Arrived
Intel's Core i7-8700K CPU reviewed <-- Look ma TechReport does it different
Intel Core i5-8400 2.8 GHz @ TechPowerUp
Intel Core i5-8600K 3.6 GHz @ TechPowerUp
Intel Coffee Lake Core i7-8700K Review @ Vortez
Intel Core i7-8700K 3.7 GHz @ TechPowerUpDespite all this Ryzen Bashing and attempts to say ThreadRipper is in the same class as an LGA 115x (anything) you have to wonder if people really are mental or just dense. I say buy what you can afford and upgrade when you can. Ensure you have proper sized powersupplies and allocate more money for motherboards and quality memory.
Do this an you will be well on your way to becoming cool in the eyes of Hardware Asylum
-
Intel 8th Gen Core CPUs – Coffee Lake @ LanOC Reviews
Ummm, Go Wes? Ya something like that
Its hard to believe considering we just finished up an Intel launch, but it is already time to check out Intel’s next launch. Kaby Lake was launched at the beginning of this year and the Mainstream lineup of CPUs is getting refreshed with Coffee Lake and Z370. This is the 8th generation of Intel’s Core processors going back to the original launch back in 2006. While I’m sure Kaby Lake owners aren’t going to be all that happy about the relatively early launch, but those who waited might be excited to find out that Intel has added cores to the mainstream lineup and is bumping up the entire product stack. As someone who is still building my wife’s Kaby Lake build, I completely understand the feeling. But as long as she never finds out her new PC is already out of date I will still be alive long enough to put the i7 and i5 CPUs that Intel sent over to the test.
I'm not one to dis but... There are five (5) "Launch(es) in that paragraph and an admittance that he isn't building the SO the computer she should have. I'm really not sure which is worse.
-
Patriot Launches Viper V570 RGB Blackout Edition Laser Gaming Mouse
Fremont, California - October 3rd, 2017: Patriot, a global leader in performance memory, SSDs, gaming peripherals and flash storage solutions today announced a new addition to its Viper V570 gaming mouse line, Viper V570 RGB Blackout Edition Laser Gaming Mouse. The V570 RGB Blackout Edition’s innovative MMO+FPS hybrid design and its rich feature set offer high performance, versatility, and customization for the most serious gamers.
“We are excited to announce the launch of the new addition to our innovative and bestselling Viper V570 RGB laser gaming mouse series. “said Roger Shinmoto, Patriot’s Vice President of Product Development. “The unique FPS and MMO hybrid design allows gamers to dominate a wide array of games.”
V570 RGB Blackout Edition’s also comes with a dedicated sniper button, a feature that gives the user a tactical advantage in any FPS game. The Viper software allows programming of thirteen available buttons on the V570. Also, it allows setting up of custom RGB profiles as well as sensitivity to suit individual gaming strategies. For greater control and feel, gamers can add up to 34.2 grams or weight allowing flexibility and comfort while using the gaming mouse.
The Viper V570 RGB Blackout edition laser gaming mouse is equipped with an Xtreme precision laser sensor and Omron switches for reliability and speed while maneuvering through the most demanding games. The Viper Software allows you the flexibility to program four sensitivity levels up to 12,000 DPI which can be switched on the fly with the press of a button.
Ergonomic design and ceramic foot pads allow for maximum performance and speed over any surface. Backed by Patriot’s award-winning customer service and a two-year warranty, the V570 RGB Blackout Edition is compatible with nearly every Windows® operating system, including Windows® 10 and later, and Mac® OS X, or higher.
Viper V570 Blackout Edition RGB Laser Gaming Mouse Specifications
- 8000 DPI hardware/12000 DPI software
- Light source: Laser
- IPS: 150
- Polling rate: 1000Hz
- Switch: Omron (10M clicks)
- Sensor: Avago ADNS-9800
- Controller: Sonix
- Warranty: Two-year limited warranty
Availability and Pricing : MSRP: $ 69.99 at Patriot store, select retailers, and e-tailers
