Tech News
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Nvidia plans to release three new chips for China @ Reuters
Published: Thursday, November 9, 2023 | By: DennisI have been watching the NVIDIA situation for quite a while seeing things rise and fall with every news and analyst report coming out with speculation on who will win. the US and their export restrictions or NVIDIA with their endless number of ways to chop up a GPU.
From a technology standpoint, it doesn't matter if your AI chip is 800 series of 200 series, the underlying technology allows these chips to scale indefinitely so while a 800 Series chip would be cost effective, buying four 200 series chips will get you the same thing.
The real question that should be asked is "how will these export bans impact competition?" For instance, if China cannot get NVIDIA chips they will simply go to a China friendly supplier and either buy from them OR, find another fab that can create clones of these chips. Not only will that kill a revenue stream BUT, will also create a new competitor who won't be bound by the rules of the governing country.
The new rules put a cap on how much how much computing power a chip can pack into a small size. The rules also include what analysts call a "grey zone" in which the chips might still be allowed to ship to China but will require a license.
In a note to clients,
Wells Fargo analyst Aaron Rakers wrote that all three of Nvidia's reported chips appear to fall below the absolute caps on computing power, but one of them appears to be in the grey zone and will require a license.
It will be interesting to see how this trade war will escalate, I suspect they are playing a war of attrition though, eventually something will break and that is when the real trouble will start.
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Top Noctua presents chromax.black versions of NH-D9L and NH-L9x65
Published: Tuesday, November 7, 2023 | By: DennisAircooling is still a major part of custom PCs and becomes a bigger deal when the form factor of the PC has been shrunk. Noctua has developed a number of thermal solutions for SFF builds including the Noctua L9x65 Low Profile Heatsink and Noctua NH-D9L 92mm D-Type Heatsink. These coolers are considerably smaller than most and work quite well when matched with an appropriate CPU.
For instance, we use the L9x65 in the multi-purpose SFF build used to record the Hardware Asylum Podcast and various streams and media captures for the Ninjalane Twitch.tv Channel and Hardware Asylum YouTube Channel. The cooler is exceptional quiet and offers the right amount of cooling to maintain maximum performance.
Noctua has announced a variation of these popular coolers in the more "globally acceptable" chroma.black color scheme.
Vienna, November 7th 2023 – Noctua today expanded its chromax.black line with all-black versions of the award-winning NH-D9L and NH-L9x65 CPU coolers: Staying true to the successful formula of the original models, the new chromax.black versions with their black fans and black coated heatsinks combine the same signature quiet cooling performance with a sleek stealth look.
“Many users who build Small Form Factor systems value build-aesthetics just as much as performance and quietness of operation”, says Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). “Our NH-D9L and NH-L9x65 are highly popular among Small Form Factor builders, so we’re excited to introduce them in all-black chromax versions!”Be sure to check them out before building your next SFF system and check out our reviews for more detailed performance information.
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MSI MEG Z790 ACE MAX Review @ Guru3D
Published: Tuesday, October 31, 2023 | By: DennisLeave it to the Guru to get the exclusive review of this fine MSI motherboard. Seems that after the compounding issues plaguing MSI they closed their marketing doors and went silent. After that we had the global lockdown and things with MSI have never been the same.
I'm still a big fan of MSI boards, they seem to be solid performers and the dragon logo just goes with everything.
With the launch of the Raptor Lake refresh processors, MSI has decided it's time to give their motherboards a refresh as well. Allow us to introduce you to the all-new MSI MEG Z790 ACE MAX, which stands as one of MSI's top-performing motherboards for the Z790 platform. This motherboard boasts a robust 24+1 VRM design, PCI Express 5.0 lanes, an abundance of M.2 slots (supporting both PCIe Gen4 and Gen5), dual 2.5 GigE ports, and, believe it or not, it even comes equipped with WIFI7.
Hopefully we can get one of these boards in the lab soon.
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YEYIAN Gaming Unveils INTEL Core™ 14th Gen Raptor Lake CPU-Powered Gaming PCs with Unprecedented Gaming Performance
Published: Monday, October 30, 2023 | By: DennisBrand new ODACHI and YARI prebuilt gaming desktop PCs release the utmost gaming experience.
San Diego, California, October 24th, 2023 - YEYIAN GAMING, a leader in innovative pre-built gaming PCs, peripherals, and computer components, is thrilled to announce the market launch of eight new gaming desktop PCs powered by the latest INTEL Core i9/i7/i5 14th Gen unlocked CPUs. Four of the eight new models are available exclusively for purchase on Newegg. These newly launched models are meticulously crafted to redefine the gaming experience, catering to both professional gamers and avid enthusiasts alike.
The highlight of this remarkable launch is the fusion of INTEL 14th gen processors with NVIDIA RTX 4000 series graphics cards, culminating in an unparalleled gaming extravaganza that redefines the boundaries of what's possible in the gaming world.
These new models are designed to deliver the ultimate gaming performance and experience for pro gamers and enthusiasts. The new models include five ODACHI models and three YARI models, each featuring a different configuration for various gaming and performance levels, which are: ODACHI 49KFD-4901U, ODACHI 49KFC-4901U, ODACHI 49KFC-4901N, ODACHI 49KFC-47T1N, ODACHI 49KFC-47T1U and YARI 47KFB-47T1N, YARI 47KFB-47T1U, YARI 47KFB-46T1N.
The ODACHI models are housed in the YEYIAN Vector Elite gaming PC case, offering a spacious interior and a sleek design. The YARI models are housed in the YEYIAN Arc gaming PC case, providing a compact and elegant solution to the gaming PC. All models are equipped with pre-installed ARGB cooling fans and an AIO liquid cooler for excellent thermal performance and maximized airflow to guarantee that 14th gen processors and RTX 4000 graphics cards will be operating with unparalleled stability and reliability.
“YEYIAN and INTEL have partnered again and are thrilled to offer an entire line of gaming desktop PCs built on the 14th Gen platform. The first eight models are designed to unleash the full potential of the Core i9/i7/i5 14th Gen processors, which are the ultimate choice for gamers and enthusiasts. With the latest game titles demanding more power from the processor, the INTEL Core series processor delivers accountable and robust performance that gamers always rely on. And when these new gaming PCs are paired with NVIDIA’s RTX 4000 series graphics cards, the gaming experience will be taken to a whole new level.” explained Frank Lee, the Vice President of YEYIAN GAMING.
The eight newly presented YEYIAN ODACHI and YARI gaming desktops are designed to be an affordable option for hardcore gamers. All INTEL 14th Gen desktop systems are built from carefully selected PC components, including NVMe M.2 SSDs, the DDR5 DRAM modules, 80+ Gold and Platinum power supplies, WIFI 6, and Windows 11 pre-installed. For the best in style and cooling performance, the YEYIAN Vector Elite and Arc gaming case are used and come with 4 PWM RGB system fans and CPU AIO liquid coolers.
The new INTEL 14th Gen CPUs Raptor Lake are the latest desktop processors from INTEL and offer higher clock speeds than the 13th Gen CPUs across both performance and efficiency cores. They are fully compatible with the 700- and 600-series motherboards with a simple BIOS update and include three unlocked and overclockable models: the Core i9-14900K/KF, the Core i7-14700K/KF, and the Core i5-14600K/KF. The Core i9-14900K/KF has 24 cores and 32 threads and can reach up to 6 GHz. The Core i7-14700K/KF has 20 cores and 28 threads with four more efficient cores than the previous generation. The Core i5-14600K/KF has 14 cores and 24 threads with two more performance cores than the previous generation. The new INTEL Extreme Tuning Utility (XTU) also features the AI Assist feature, which allows one-click AI-guided overclocking for select unlocked INTEL Core 14th Gen desktop processors.
These newly launched INTEL 14th Gen ODACHI and YARI II gaming desktop PCs are now available at major US retailers. All YEYIAN Gaming desktops come with the YEYIAN-Shield Silver Care program warranty to provide hassle-free customer support for gamers and content creators.
YEYIAN GAMING invites gamers, tech enthusiasts, and the media to explore the future of gaming with these remarkable machines.
To learn more about YEYIAN INTEL 14th Generation gaming desktops: https://us.yeyiangaming.com/intel-14th-generation
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be quiet! Straight Power 12 1200W Power Supply Review @ APH Networks
Published: Monday, October 30, 2023 | By: DennisWhen it comes to power supplies you have good PSUs and you have overkill PSUs. The Straight Power from be quiet! is pretty much middle of the road with a 1200w power handling.
The be quiet! Straight Power 12 1200W proves to be a well-constructed power supply at a decent price for something that offers quite a lot of power while operating without much fanfare.
Recently we reviewed the Dark Power 13 1300w Platinum Monster from be quiet and have to say, most of us are not worthy when it comes to a power supply like that. Be sure to check out the reviews for more awesome power info.
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Intel Core i9-14900K Raptor Lake Tested at Power Limits Down to 35 W @ TechPowerUp
Published: Monday, October 30, 2023 | By: DennisI've been using the new Core i9 14900K processor and have found it to be extremely efficent and has many of the same thermal limits from the Core i9 13900k.
There's no denying that Intel's Core i9-14900K is a power hog. This article examines the power, performance and thermals effects of limiting its power consumption, with very interesting results. Additionally, we investigate undervolting to determine if efficiency can be optimized even further.
This should be a rather interesting article showing that with modern processors the issue of heat can mean the different between good performance and questionable decisions. It also shows how pointless overclocking currently is without extreme cooling.
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Nvidia to make Arm-based PC chips - We knew this was coming
Published: Tuesday, October 24, 2023 | By: DennisIn the world of "oh that is obvious" we have reports of NVIDIA working on their own CPU design based on the ARM architecture.
Unless you have been living under a rock you will have heard that NVIDIA tried to buy ARM last year for a respectable amount of money. However, the sensitive regulators in the UK blocked the sale and what would have eventually become a company bigger and more powerful than Intel and AMD. (IMO)
NVIDIA is not a company to abandon their plans and continued on. Before the ARM buyout there was a system called GRACE. GRACE was a data center product using a low powered ARM based CPU coupled with a powerful NVIDIA GPU designed to create a massively scalable compute module which was basically what crypto miners were building in their basements using off the shelf components, minus the ARM Processor.
Had NVIDIA been able to complete the purchase they would be able to build their new CPU designs at a fraction of the cost while still getting income from Qualcomm (and others) due to the current ARM licensing agreement.
Licensing and traditional architecture aside the ARM based CPUs RISC based processors and are extremely power efficient leading to their adoption into mobile devices and several Apple based laptops. The power of the CPU comes in the form of multithreading and by adding more cores to the CPU they can easily scale past the power of current desktop CPUs without producing as much heat.
Combine that with an NVIDIA GPU and you have an extremely powerful all-in-one system that could replace every x86 based notebook with better battery performance and lower temperatures.
Exclusive: Nvidia to make Arm-based PC chips in major new challenge to Intel
Oct 23 (Reuters) - Nvidia (NVDA.O) dominates the market for artificial intelligence computing chips. Now it is coming after Intel’s longtime stronghold of personal computers.
Nvidia has quietly begun designing central processing units (CPUs) that would run Microsoft’s (MSFT.O) Windows operating system and use technology from Arm Holdings(O9Ty.F), , two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The AI chip giant's new pursuit is part of Microsoft's effort to help chip companies build Arm-based processors for Windows PCs. Microsoft's plans take aim at Apple, which has nearly doubled its market share in the three years since releasing its own Arm-based chips in-house for its Mac computers, according to preliminary third-quarter data from research firm IDC.It will be interesting to see what actually comes out of the NVIDIA camp and if puppetmasters controlling ARM actually allow them to compete in the market.
I am expecting big things and so far, the NVIDIA track record for new ventures has been extremely positive, even when they exit the new segment several years later.
To read more about this "exclusive" story as reported by Reuters, check out the link below.
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Amazon Prime Day Deals - Round Up
Published: Tuesday, October 10, 2023 | By: DennisAmazon is pretty good about having flash sales and special sales events that entice people to buy more stuff. What is interesting is that many hardware makers have turned to Amazon as a major storefront for their products instead of relying on Newegg (and others) to promote and sell their products.
Amazon Prime Big Deals Days happens October 10th and 11th with some pretty amazing discounts on a variety of different products. Here are some that were sent in.
YEYIAN: a PC and component maker
- YEYIAN ODACHI Intel 13th Gen VR Gaming PC
- YEYIAN 24” Curved Gaming Monitor
- YEYIAN ODACHI Gaming PC
- YEYIAN Sigurd 3001 27” Curved PC Gaming Frameless LED Multistand Monitor
Thermaltake: a PC and component maker
Here is a link to the featured deals and some highlights below
- LCGS Graphite 360 Gaming PC
- Ceres 300 Snow Edition Mid Tower PC Case
- ToughPower GX3 850W ATX 3.0 Power Supply
- TOUGHAIR 510 TDP Dual-Fan CPU Air Cooler
Zotac Gaming: Maker of some pretty good video cards, I wouldn't know since they rarely send out samples for media review.
Here is a link to the Zotac featured deals and some highlights below
Lexar Memory: Maker of some super speedy storage solutions
Here is a link to their Amazon webstore with some great deals on memory products
Be sure to check out Amazon for the Prime Day Deals for some discounts on your wanted and/or needed accessories.
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Cooler Master MasterLiquid 360 Atmos Liquid CPU Cooler Review @ ThinkComputers
Published: Friday, October 6, 2023 | By: DennisThe modern PC has evolved beyond the small 60mm delta screamers to require a little more from your cooling system. The latest LGA 1700 systems run pretty hot and while your standard 240 AIO will get the job done, it can sometimes get your fans "a running a bit fast".
This is where a 360 AIO can be a benefit like the ones we have reviewed or, this one from Cooler Master.
Here at ThinkComputers we are no strangers to Cooler Master and their products, especially when it comes to their all-in-one liquid coolers. So here we are again with a new AIO from Cooler Master, the MasterLiquid 360 Atmos. No, there aren't any surround sound speakers found on this cooler, but there are some pretty cool features included with the 360 Atmos, like an included lighting controller, SickleFlow Edge fans, and an updated pump housing design that steps up the aesthetics game quite nicely. With a few other changes here and there, the Cooler Master MasterLiquid 360 Atmos is poised to be the next generation in liquid cooling, so follow along as we take a closer look!
I'm not sure what the deal is with the Atmos name but, it looks pretty good so, we should let the relapse in Cooler Master intellegence slide.
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G.Skill TridentZ DDR5 7200 CL36 2x24 GB review @ Guru3D
Published: Friday, October 6, 2023 | By: DennisDespite G.Skill no longer supporting "us" with review samples I am still a big fan of their memory lines and will often choose for my build recommendations. That isn't to say that "other" memory is not good but, does imply that I trust the performance and style you get from G.Skill.
With that being said, The new TridentZ sticks are pretty damn nice and have a perfect color combo.
G.Skill is a company (from Taipei) whose products don’t need an introduction. The main “dish” is the RAM, from the DDR5 type. The provided sample is from a Trident Z5 series. We already covered the 5600 MHz CL36 (RGB-less) variant back in March’2022 (and it earned the “Recommended” award), and 7200 MHz CL34 (with the RGB lighting) also in March, but 2023 (this time it was the “Top Pick”). This time around, the sample is from the high-capacity kits (2x24 GB/2x48 GB) that were announced, yes – also in March (‘23), reaching up to 8200 MHz for the 2x 24 GB edition, and up to 6800 MHz when two 48 GB modules are used.
Now, if you are the type that would rather follow a different path and has finally given up on Corsair and their Bullshit then check out the Viper Venom line from Patriot. It is quite good.
