Tech News
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ASRock Radeon RX 9070 Steel Legend OC Graphics Card Review @ ThinkComputers.org
Published: Friday, March 28, 2025 | By: GuestTech media outlet ThinkComputers recently published an in-depth review of the ASRock Radeon RX 9070 Steel Legend OC graphics card. Based on AMD’s Navi 48 architecture, this factory-overclocked model features 3,584 stream processors and 16GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit interface. It delivers a game clock of 2,210 MHz and a boost clock of 2,700 MHz, exceeding reference specifications. The card showcases a refined white aesthetic with RGB-illuminated triple-fan cooling, a full metal backplate, and a reinforced frame. Additional highlights include Polychrome SYNC, striped ring fans, and ultra-fit heatpipes, designed to ensure enhanced cooling performance and long-term durability.
"AMD's Radeon RX 9000 series really has gamers excited. One of the main reasons for this is gamers actually have a viable second option when choosing a new graphics card. Since the introduction of NVIDIA's RTX 50 series was no competition at all, and with what some would call lackluster performance, phantom MSRPs, and no availability gamers where chomping at the bit for an alternative. Finally they have one in the Radeon RX 9070 series..."
I just have to say, there was a time when companies felt the need to "name everything" If the product was new and unique a name like that would be perfect and would help to make it stand out in the marketplace. If the name was good enough, it would become legend.
However, calling your product "Steel Legend" and hoping for the same respect is laughable at best
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Micron Innovates From the Data Center to the Edge With NVIDIA
Published: Thursday, March 27, 2025 | By: GuestMicron HBM3E 12H and LPDDR5X-based SOCAMM solutions designed to unlock full potential of AI platforms
SAN JOSE, Calif., March 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GTC 2025 -- Secular growth of AI is built on the foundation of high-performance, high-bandwidth memory solutions. These high-performing memory solutions are critical to unlock the capabilities of GPUs and processors. Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), today announced it is the world’s first and only memory company shipping both HBM3E and SOCAMM (small outline compression attached memory module) products for AI servers in the data center. This extends Micron’s industry leadership in designing and delivering low-power DDR (LPDDR) for data center applications.
Micron’s SOCAMM, a modular LPDDR5X memory solution, was developed in collaboration with NVIDIA to support the NVIDIA GB300 Grace™ Blackwell Ultra Superchip. The Micron HBM3E 12H 36GB is also designed into the NVIDIA HGX™ B300 NVL16 and GB300 NVL72 platforms, while the HBM3E 8H 24GB is available for the NVIDIA HGX B200 and GB200 NVL72 platforms. The deployment of Micron HBM3E products in NVIDIA Hopper and NVIDIA Blackwell systems underscores Micron’s critical role in accelerating AI workloads.
Think AI, think memory, think Micron
At GTC 2025, Micron will showcase its complete AI memory and storage portfolio to fuel AI from the data center to the edge, highlighting the deep alignment between Micron and its ecosystem partners. Micron’s broad portfolio includes HBM3E 8H 24GB and HBM3E 12H 36GB, LPDDR5X SOCAMMs, GDDR7 and high-capacity DDR5 RDIMMs and MRDIMMs. Additionally, Micron offers an industry-leading portfolio of data center SSDs and automotive and industrial products such as UFS4.1, NVMe® SSDs and LPDDR5X, all of which are suited for edge compute applications.“AI is driving a paradigm shift in computing, and memory is at the heart of this evolution. Micron’s contributions to the NVIDIA Grace Blackwell platform yields significant performance and power-saving benefits for AI training and inference applications,” said Raj Narasimhan, senior vice president and general manager of Micron’s Compute and Networking Business Unit. “HBM and LP memory solutions help unlock improved computational capabilities for GPUs.”
SOCAMM: a new standard for AI memory performance and efficiency
Micron’s SOCAMM solution is now in volume production. The modular SOCAMM solution enables accelerated data processing, superior performance, unmatched power efficiency and enhanced serviceability to provide high-capacity memory for increasing AI workload requirements.Micron SOCAMM is the world's fastest, smallest, lowest-power and highest capacity modular memory solution, designed to meet the demands of AI servers and data-intensive applications. This new SOCAMM solution enables data centers to get the same compute capacity with better bandwidth, improved power consumption and scaling capabilities to provide infrastructure flexibility.
- Fastest: SOCAMMs provide over 2.5 times higher bandwidth at the same capacity when compared to RDIMMs, allowing faster access to larger training datasets and more complex models, as well as increasing throughput for inference workloads.
- Smallest: At 14x90mm, the innovative SOCAMM form factor occupies one-third of the size of the industry-standard RDIMM form factor, enabling compact, efficient server design.
- Lowest power: Leveraging LPDDR5X memory, SOCAMM products consume one-third the power compared to standard DDR5 RDIMMs, inflecting the power performance curve in AI architectures.
- Highest capacity: SOCAMM solutions use four placements of 16-die stacks of LPDDR5X memory to enable a 128GB memory module, offering the highest capacity LPDDR5X memory solution, which is essential for advancements towards faster AI model training and increased concurrent users for inference workloads.
- Optimized scalability and serviceability: SOCAMM’s modular design and innovative stacking technology improve serviceability and aid the design of liquid-cooled servers. The enhanced error correction feature in Micron’s LPDDR5X with data center-focused test flows, provides an optimized memory solution designed for the data center.
Industry-leading HBM solutions
Micron continues its competitive lead in the AI industry by offering 50% increased capacity over the HBM3E 8H 24GB within the same cube form factor. Additionally, the HBM3E12H 36GB provides up to 20% lower power consumption compared to the competition's HBM3E 8H 24GB offering, while providing 50% higher memory capacity.By continuing to deliver exceptional power and performance metrics, Micron aims to maintain its technology momentum as a leading AI memory solutions provider through the launch of HBM4. Micron’s HBM4 solution is expected to boost performance by over 50% compared to HBM3E.
Complete memory and storage solutions designed for AI from the data center to the edge
Micron also has a proven portfolio of storage products designed to meet the growing demands of AI workloads. Advancing storage technology in performance and power efficiency at the speed of light requires tight collaboration with ecosystem partners to ensure interoperability and a seamless customer experience. Micron delivers optimized SSDs for AI workloads such as: inference, training, data preparation, analytics and data lakes. Micron will be showcasing the following storage solutions at GTC:- High-performance Micron 9550 NVMe and Micron 7450 NVMe SSDs included on the GB200 NVL72 recommended vendor list.
- Micron’s PCIe Gen6 SSD, demonstrating over 27GB/s of bandwidth in successful interoperability testing with leading PCIe switch and retimer vendors, driving the industry to this new generation of flash storage.
- Storing more data in less space is essential to get the most out of AI data centers. The Micron 61.44TB 6550 ION NVMe SSD is the drive of choice for bleeding-edge AI cluster exascale storage solutions, by delivering over 44 petabytes of storage per rack,8 14GB/s and 2 million IOPs per drive inside a 20-watt footprint.
As AI and generative AI expand and are integrated on-device at the edge, Micron is working closely with key ecosystem partners to deliver innovative solutions for AI for automotive, industrial and consumer. In addition to high performance requirements, these applications require enhanced quality, reliability and longevity requirements for application usage models.
- One example of this type of ecosystem collaboration is the integration of Micron LPDDR5X on the NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Orin platform. This combined solution provides increased processing performance and bandwidth while also reducing power consumption.
- By utilizing Micron’s 1β (1-beta) DRAM node, LPDDR5X memory meets automotive and industrial requirements and offers higher speeds up to 9.6 Gbps and increased capacities from 32Gb to 128Gb to support higher bandwidth.
- Additionally, Micron LPDDR5X automotive products support operating environments from -40 degrees Celsius up to 125 degrees Celsius to provide a wide temperature range that meets automotive quality and standards.
Micron will exhibit its full data center memory and storage product portfolio at GTC, March 17 – 21, in booth #541.
About Micron Technology, Inc.
Micron Technology, Inc. is an industry leader in innovative memory and storage solutions, transforming how the world uses information to enrich life for all. With a relentless focus on our customers, technology leadership, and manufacturing and operational excellence, Micron delivers a rich portfolio of high-performance DRAM, NAND, and NOR memory and storage products through our Micron® and Crucial® brands. Every day, the innovations that our people create fuel the data economy, enabling advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and compute-intensive applications that unleash opportunities — from the data center to the intelligent edge and across the client and mobile user experience. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), visit micron.com.To learn more about SOCAMM, Please visit: https://www.micron.com/products/memory/lpddr-modules/socamm
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Montech XR Wood @ TechPowerUp
Published: Wednesday, March 26, 2025 | By: GuestTechPowerUp recently published a review article on the Montech XR Wood, a mid-tower PC case that blends modern performance with a touch of classic design. The review highlights its standout aesthetic, featuring a sturdy steel frame paired with elegant American Walnut wood accents on the front panel, offering a unique combination of durability and visual appeal.
"The Montech XR Wood takes the same frame as the original XR but re-imagines it as a classic mid-tower. This basis gives it an extremely solid and competitive foundation. Montech has made sure to take advantage of that, designing the XR Wood to be even more intriguing..."
The XR Wood comes equipped with four PWM ARGB fans—three 120 mm fans in the front and one 120 mm at the rear—delivering efficient airflow right out of the box. It supports flexible cooling configurations, including space for up to a 360 mm radiator in both the front and top panels. Internally, the case offers generous space for hardware installations, accommodating up to four 2.5" drives or two 3.5" drives. Thoughtful design touches, such as Velcro straps and grommeted pass-throughs, contribute to clean and effective cable management. The XR Wood is available in both black and white versions, catering to a range of style preferences.
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New Variant: The 90° WireView Pro GPU by Thermal Grizzly
Published: Wednesday, March 26, 2025 | By: DennisWith the 90° WireView Pro GPU, Thermal Grizzly Holding GmbH introduces a new version of the popular tool for measuring the power consumption of graphics cards. The 90° WireView Pro GPU shares all key features with the WireVire Pro GPU version, including internal and external temperature sensors as well as a sensor pin detection system for the 12VHPWR power connector. These, along with the acoustic alarm, are designed to protect the graphics card from damage. The main difference of the 90° variant is that the power supply cable is routed downwards toward the bottom of the case when the GPU is installed horizontally.
The WireView GPU Series was developed in collaboration with Jon “elmor” Sandström, a renowned hardware R&D engineer, extreme overclocker, and founder of Elmor Labs. To better protect the graphics card from potential damage, both Pro versions of the WireView feature a sensor pin detection system that detects, among other things, whether the 12VHPWR power plug from the power supply is correctly inserted.
Another key feature of the Pro versions is the temperature sensors on the PCB, which measure the temperature at the power connectors. The user can define a threshold value on the WireView Pro GPU, which triggers an acoustic alarm when exceeded. Additionally, an alarm can be set to activate when a defined current threshold is exceeded.
The 90° WireView Pro GPU also includes two temperature sensors that can be connected to measure, for example, the temperature of the GPU's memory or voltage regulators.
The 90° WireView Pro GPU is available with the 12VHPWR 16-pin power connector (4x sensor + 12x power/ground) in two versions: "Normal" (N) and "Reverse" (R).
Features of the 90° WireView Pro GPU at a glance:- OLED display
- Power consumption measurement
- Power usage logging
- Temperature sensors on power connectors
- External temperature sensors
- Sensor pin detection
- Alarm function
- NEW: Cable routing toward the bottom of the case
The following values can be displayed on the OLED display of the 90° WireView Pro GPU:
- Temperature display of power connectors in degrees Celsius [°C]
- Display of temperatures from optional temperature sensors in degrees Celsius [°C]
- Current power consumption in watts, current voltage in volts, and current in amperes
- Minimum and maximum power consumption in watts [W]
- Average power consumption via the 12VHPWR power cable, averaged over the last 60 seconds [RAVG in W], and total power consumption [E in Wh]
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Funky Kit Review - GAMEMAX N90 Mid-Tower Chassis
Published: Wednesday, March 26, 2025 | By: DennisThe Gamemax N90 Mid-Tower Chassis is reviewed on FunkyKit as a versatile and affordable case that provides ample space for component installation, cable management, and airflow. The review highlights the clean design, tempered glass side panel, tool-less fan mounts, multiple drive bays, and support for various cooling and power supply configurations. While the reviewer appreciates its features and value proposition, they note minor drawbacks such as paint chipping during assembly and slightly cramped rear compartment for cable routing. Overall, the Gamemax N90 is recommended for budget-conscious builders seeking a reliable and feature-rich mid-tower chassis.
The GAMEMAX N90 chassis has a unique look and aesthetic, owing to its innovative top-and-bottom compartments, and a 270 degrees curved tempered glass panel that offers a stunning panoramic view. It offers good compatibility with a wide range of motherboards and large graphics cards, and comes with plenty of cooling options to support both 360mm and 240mm radiators.
For those of you in the US looking to buy one of these, look for the Gamemax N80 as the design is almost identical.
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NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and Industry Visionaries to Unveil What’s Next in AI at GTC 2025
Published: Saturday, March 15, 2025 | By: DennisGTC 2025 to Feature Huang’s Keynote and More Than 1,000 Sessions, Providing a Glimpse Into the Future of AI Infrastructure, Scientific Computing, AI and Robotics
SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NVIDIA today announced GTC 2025, the world’s premier AI conference, will return March 17-21 to San Jose, Calif. — bringing together the brightest minds in AI to showcase breakthroughs happening now in physical AI, agentic AI and scientific discovery. GTC will bring together 25,000 attendees in person — and 300,000 attendees virtually — for an in-depth look at the technologies shaping the future.
NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang will deliver the keynote from SAP Center on Tuesday, March 18, at 10 a.m. PT focused on AI and accelerated computing technologies changing the world. It will be livestreamed and available on demand at nvidia.com. Registration is not required to view the keynote online.
Onsite attendees can arrive at SAP Center early to enjoy a live pregame show hosted by the “Acquired” podcast and other surprise festivities. Virtual attendees can catch the pregame show live online.
“AI is pushing the limits of what’s possible — turning yesterday’s dreams into today’s reality,” Huang said. “GTC brings together the brightest scientists, engineers, developers and creators to imagine and build a better future. Come and be first to see the new advances in NVIDIA computing and breakthroughs in AI, robotics, science and the arts that will transform industries and society.”
AI is here, and it’s mainstream — powering the everyday brands that shape people’s lives. At GTC, some of the world’s largest companies, groundbreaking startups and leading academic minds will convene to explore the transformative impact of AI across industries.
With over 1,000 sessions, 2,000 speakers and nearly 400 exhibitors, GTC will showcase how NVIDIA’s AI and accelerated computing platforms tackle the world’s biggest and toughest challenges — spanning climate research to healthcare, cybersecurity, humanoid robotics, autonomous vehicles and more. From large language models and physical AI to cloud computing and scientific discovery, NVIDIA’s full-stack platform is driving the next industrial revolution.
At the conference, attendees can also look forward to curated experiences, including dozens of demos spanning every industry, hands-on training, autonomous vehicle exhibits and rides, and a new GTC Night Market featuring street food and wares from 20 local vendors and artisans.
Notable speakers include:
- Pieter Abbeel, director of the UC Berkeley Robot Learning Lab and co-director of the UC Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Lab
- Drago Anguelov, vice president and head of research, Waymo
- Frances Arnold, Nobel Laureate in chemistry and Linus Pauling Professor of chemical engineering, bioengineering and biochemistry, California Institute of Technology
- Gülen Bengi, chief marketing officer, Mars Snacking
- Esi Eggleston Bracey, chief growth and marketing officer, Unilever
- Noam Brown, research scientist, OpenAI
- Nadia Carlsten, CEO, Danish Centre for AI Innovation, Novo Nordisk Foundation
- Max Jaderberg, chief AI officer, and Sergei Yakneen, chief technology officer, Isomorphic Labs
- Athina Kanioura, executive vice president and chief strategy and transformation officer, PepsiCo
- Jeffrey Katzenberg, founding partner, WndrCo
- The Rt Hon Peter Kyle MP, secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, United Kingdom
- Yann LeCun, vice president and chief AI scientist, Meta; professor, New York University
- Arthur Mensch, CEO, Mistral AI
- Joe Park, chief digital and technology officer, Yum! Brands; president, Byte by Yum!
- Rajendra “RP” Prasad, chief information and asset engineering officer, Accenture
- Raji Rajagopalan, vice president, Azure AI Foundry, Microsoft
- Aaron Saunders, chief technology officer, Boston Dynamics
- RJ Scaringe, founder and CEO, Rivian
- Clara Shih, head of business AI, Meta
- Alicia Tillman, chief marketing officer, Delta Air Lines
- Pras Velagapudi, chief technology officer, Agility Robotics
More than 900 organizations will participate, including Accenture, Adobe, Arm, Airbnb, Amazon Web Services (AWS), BMW Group, The Coca-Cola Company, CoreWeave, Dell Technologies, Disney Research, Field AI, Ford, Foxconn, Google Cloud, Kroger, Lowe’s, Mercedes-Benz, Meta, Microsoft, MLB, NFL, OpenAI, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Pfizer, Rockwell Automation, Salesforce, Samsung, ServiceNow, SoftBank, TSMC, Uber, Volvo, Volkswagen, Wayve and Zoox.
Quantum Day Arrives
NVIDIA will host its first Quantum Day at GTC on March 20. The event will bring together the global quantum computing community and key industry figures.Leaders from the quantum computing industry will join a panel with Huang from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. PT, shedding light on the current state and future of quantum computing. The panel will be livestreamed and available on demand, and feature pioneers in quantum computing, including:
- Alan Baratz, CEO, D-Wave
- Ben Bloom, CEO, Atom Computing
- Peter Chapman, executive chair, IonQ
- Rajeeb Hazra, CEO, Quantinuum
- Loïc Henriet, co-CEO, Pasqal
- Matthew Kinsella, CEO, Infleqtion
- Subodh Kulkarni, CEO, Rigetti
- John Levy, CEO, SEEQC
- Andrew Ory, CEO, QuEra Computing
- Théau Peronnin, CEO, Alice & Bob
- Rob Schoelkopf, chief scientist, Quantum Circuits
- Simone Severini, general manager, quantum technologies, AWS
- Pete Shadbolt, chief scientific officer, PsiQuantum
- Krysta Svore, technical fellow, Microsoft
Quantum Day will also feature technical sessions with partners, NVIDIA researchers and more.
AI Training and Certification for Developers
NVIDIA is training the workforce of the future to equip them with critical skills for navigating and leading in an AI-driven future.GTC attendees can participate in more than 80 hands-on instructor-led workshops and training labs provided by NVIDIA Training.
For the first time, onsite attendees can take certification exams for free — gaining a tremendous opportunity to validate their AI and accelerated computing skills and advance their careers.
In addition, new professional certifications will be available in accelerated data science and AI networking, as well as workshops in generative AI, agentic AI and accelerated computing with CUDA® C++.
Learn more about training offerings at GTC on the event webpage.
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HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro Gaming Mouse Review @ ThinkComputers
Published: Saturday, March 15, 2025 | By: DennisBack when HyperX wasn't run by HP they had some really innovative products. We have reviewed a few over the years but, after the purchase and asset transfer it seemed like HP was just happy just how things were.
Well, color me surprised, there is a new (upgraded) mouse in the HyperX lineup and ThinkComputers has the scoop.
It seems every two years or so, HyperX updates their Pulsefire Haste mouse, and that tradition carries on, as in this review we are taking a look at the brand new Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro. The Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro is a wireless gaming mouse with multiple connectivity options, great battery life, and more, all wrapped up in a lightweight package. I have been using the previous Pulsefire Haste 2 for nearly two years, and have not once thought about replacing it, until now. It has been reliable, just like the original Pulsefire Haste, and so when I had the chance to look at the latest and greatest Haste 2, I said "Sign me up!". Are the changes to the Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro enough to claim the throne that is my desk? Let's find out!
Its kind of a basic wireless mouse, no fancy buttons, but the 26k resolution and 90 hour battery life is nice.
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PowerColor Hellhound Radeon RX 9070 Review @ Vortez
Published: Saturday, March 15, 2025 | By: DennisWhen it comes to AMD video card makers, a few names come to mind and PowerColor is often at the top of the list. Many would argue that their cards are not really "that good" but nobody would argue about the success of their marketing.
Names like "Devil" and "Hellhound" are just awesome to say, especially when you are talking up your build at the local LAN or tech gathering.
What bothers me is that, when you start diving into the details you quickly realize that much of the marketing is fluffy pluff. Take for instance this quote.
Powercolor’s Hellhound Radeon RX 9070 OC Edition arrives with a 70MHz factory overclock to 2.59 GHz, as well as augmented cooling in the form of a dual-slot triple-fan solution with long heatsink and Honeywell PTM7950 phase-change thermal pads.
A 70Mhz overclock, OMG call in the fire department!!
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SAPPHIRE Radeon RX 9070 XT NITRO+ review @ Guru3D
Published: Saturday, March 15, 2025 | By: DennisHave you ever wondered what a brick would look like if you added some fans, RGB and called it a video card?? Seems that Sapphire has done just that with their latest Nitro+ edition RX 9070 XT graphics card.
We review the SAPPHIRE Radeon RX 9070 XT NITRO+, this model based on the RX 9070 XT SKU has drawn significant attention among tech gurus for its technical design and distinctive features. The card’s design includes a mesh structure that improves airflow while concealing the power connector behind a removable backplate. This is the first Radeon from Sapphire to use a 16-pin power connector. Although the overall power consumption is designed to stay below 375W, this specification has sparked discussions among hardware enthusiasts.
I like how AMD enthuisasts are now getting concerned about the power capacity of the 16-pin power sockets being used on their graphics cards. While I do believe the connector could be designed better, I also belive that many of the problems spawn from user error.
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G.SKILL Unveils Enhanced DDR5 R-DIMM with 16-Layer PCB and Voltage Protection
Published: Saturday, February 22, 2025 | By: Dennis(21 February 2025) – G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world’s leading brand of performance overclock memory and PC components, is thrilled to announce the introduction of an enhanced revision of DDR5 R-DIMM memory to the market. Based on the newly released JEDEC revision standards for DDR5 R-DIMM, the new G.SKILL R-DIMM memory features a 16-layer PCB for improved signal integrity, as well as adding two transient voltage suppression (TVS) diodes and a fuse for voltage protection. Designed for enterprise servers and professional workstations, the new DDR5 R-DIMM memory brings cutting-edge advancements to performance and protection.
Improved Signal Integrity with 16-Layer PCB
These new DDR5 R-DIMM memory modules feature an advanced 16-layer PCB, a significant upgrade from previous 8- or 10-layer designs. The increase in the PCB layer count improves signal integrity for better reliability and stability in data transmission, even under high-performance or overclocked workloads – making it an ideal DDR5 R-DIMM memory choice for high-performance computing applications on servers or workstations.Enhanced Voltage Protection with Added TVS & Fuse
Safeguarding against irregular power levels, each of these new DDR5 R-DIMM module is equipped with two bi-directional TVS diodes and a fuse to ensure sustained voltage levels are maintained and protect the memory module against power spikes. This dual-layer protection serves to enable optimal stability and reliability, making the new G.SKILL DDR5 R-DIMM memory the ultimate choice for critical workloads and next-gen high-performance computing systems.Availability
These new G.SKILL R-DIMM memory kits based on the latest standards and designs is expected to be available via G.SKILL worldwide distribution partners in mid-2025.