Tech News
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EVGA Z490 FTW WIFI @ LanOC Reviews
Published: Sunday, June 28, 2020 | By: DennisIt is nice to know that there are a few reviewers that agree with me. Wes over and LanOC took the new EVGA Z490 FTW out for a spin and it seems they also had trouble deciding how to put the board into a positive light. (Must have been ROG envy, #justsayin)
One thing I didn't include in my review was the frustration I had getting things installed. Not so much drivers but, getting memory installed took way more force than it should have. The same was true for PCI Express cards and even the power plugs. I did ask EVGA about this and they claim it must have been a fluke with my particular sample and AND, I believe them. It is not uncommon to have a bad batch of components and more often than not *that* is why RMA exists.
(BTW RMA doesn't exist for people who break stuff on purpose or for those who cannot get something to work correctly.)
With a small B550 break out of the way, I did still have another Z490 motherboard come in after the Z490 launch that I wanted to check out. That board is from EVGA and unlike all of the other board manufacturers, EVGA doesn’t have 15 or 20 different options. They always like to keep things a little simpler. They have two Z490 motherboards and only one available just yet, the Z490 FTW WiFi. I’m excited to see what EVGA has going on for this generation so let’s dive in and take a closer look then put it through its paces.
Be sure to check out my review of the EVGA Z480 FTW WiFi Motherboard. Its not a bad board but, did leave a LOT on the table when you start looking at what else is out there.
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Intel Rocket Lake-S 8-Core 11th Gen Desktop CPU Benchmark Leaked
Published: Sunday, June 28, 2020 | By: DennisIt is interesting to see that most of the processor leaks these days are coming from when benchmark results are uploaded to the company website instead of being emailed around. This was a serious problem back in the day and would incite some pretty serious witch hunts to find where the leak came from. Some of the classic ones to stir up the hornets were when NVIDIA results made it to the Futuremark Hall of Fame. As we know NVIDIA plays their product releases very close to the chest and when leaks happen they tend to make a big deal out of it.
There seems to be less honor in the community these days and maybe it is a case of "leaked sex tapes" that might get a day in the press only to quickly go away provided that nobody says something. However, when the person in the tape makes a big deal out of it that tends to make things worse.
In this case we have leaked Rocket Lake benchmark samples making it to Geekbench not only does Geekbench allow the results to remain online but rumor mill sites latch on to it and start dissecting what has been posted. It is almost like they were tipped off because, seriously, who the F browses the Geekbench results on a daily basis. #facepalm
https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/compute/1124595Check out the news release on HotHardware as they report on data collected from the new Intel Xe onboard GPU that should be available in the new 11th generation Intel CPUs. I don't suspect onboard graphics will replace your RTX 2080 Ti any time soon but, you never know.
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Redragon Cobra M711 FPS @ TechPowerUp
Published: Thursday, June 25, 2020 | By: DennisI'm going to short cut my normal rant about poor product names and refer to the opening paragraph in the review over at TechPowerUp. (It is that good)
Redragon is the gaming peripheral brand of Eastern Times Technology Co., Ltd., which is based in China and was established in 1996. The Cobra M711 FPS is an upgraded version of the Cobra M711. While the right-handed ergonomic shape hasn't changed, the sensor has been updated to the PMW3360, which is one of PixArt's top-tier optical sensors. Furthermore, LK optical switches are used for the main buttons, which promises low button latency. Lastly, rich RGB lighting is included as well, which can further be customized in the software, along with many other settings.
~TechPowerUpThat alone should explain everything.
As a mousa (yes the Red Dragon Cobra is a mouse) it looks really good, has nice weight (kinda), a good shape and some good RGB accents. What I cannot place is where I have seen this design before. OR if the shape of a good mouse is following the car trend where that one shape just works so everyone uses it.
Either way check out the article.
BTW this bad boy is on Amazon for $22 Bux!!
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GIGABYTE Z490 AORUS XTREME Review @ Vortez
Published: Thursday, June 25, 2020 | By: DennisNot sure if I have ever mentioned this but, I really like the new Aorus product naming scheme. The names are clear and indicate a level of quality that anyone can understand. Of course, we won't mention how they were sampled from MSI and ASUS but, I can say that it worked for them and it is working for Aorus (Gigabyte)
Now, what is not working is having to flip through two pages of review documentation just to get a shot of the motherboard and in which case was not even the first photo in the review. #justsayin
And, this quote isn't really doing much fror me either.
The Z490 AORUS XTREME follows in the footsteps of other products using the XTREME moniker by offering the very best for overclockers and hardware enthusiasts. Across this motherboard there are an abundance of features regardless of which region is under consideration.
What I can say is that the Aorus X490 Xtreme is a pretty pimp motherboard with a full coverage shroud protecting our fragile eyes from the beauty, which is the PCB. On top of that a large section if it covers the critical M.2 drive slots while the CPU and memory are left hanging in the wind for everyone to see.
I guess those RGB M.2 drives won't be much use in a build using this board.
Gotta say, I'm a fan.
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Hardware Asylum and Lexar Fathers Day Giveaway Winners
Published: Monday, June 22, 2020 | By: DennisI hope everyone had a wonderful Fathers Day. The winners have been picked and notification of prize will be sent via Gleam using your account information.
There was a really good turn out this time around and I wanted to personally thank everyone who entered!
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Kingston KC2000 1 TB M.2 NVMe SSD @ TechPowerUp
Published: Friday, June 19, 2020 | By: DennisThe adoption of NVMe drives has been slow since they first started hitting shelves. Some of that can be attributed to low capacity while others might be related to performance. Now that drives are getting easier to buy the selection has grown.
Last year we found a bug in Kingston's SSD firmware, which inflicted a significant performance penalty. Now a software fix is publicly available, and it makes a big difference. The Kingston KC2000 is now the fastest SSD we ever tested, it even manages to beat the Samsung 970 Pro.
I hate to see things like this but that is the nature of the review business. Equally annoying are the instances where independent reviews don't match the advertised performance because there was a manufacturing variance added to accomidate for huge margins in performance.
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Lexar Announces Entry to DRAM Market with New Laptop and Desktop Memory Solutions
Published: Friday, June 19, 2020 | By: DennisSan Jose, USA, June 17, 2020 – Lexar has spent the last year producing its robust portfolio of SSD products and is excited to announce its entrance into the DRAM market. The two new DRAM offerings provide high-level performance to boost the speed of your laptop or desktop, respectively.
Key Features:
- Improve your computer’s performance
- High speed DDR4 memory – with speed of 2666 MT/s
- Easy to install
- Lifetime limited warranty
The Lexar® DDR4-2666 SODIMM Laptop Memory and Lexar® DDR4-2666 UDIMM Desktop Memory both offer speeds of 2666 MT/s so you can wake up your PC. This performance upgrade gives you faster startups, increased responsiveness, quicker application load times, and is an overall upgrade to your operating experience so you can multitask with ease.
Featuring a low voltage design of 1.2V, the new DRAM 2666 ensures stability under long-term and high-intensity applications making it ideal for the new smart home offices and classroom setups.
With its first offering just released, Lexar is already poised to develop other high-performing quality DRAM solutions later this year, staying true to its innovative roots.
“We are very excited to introduce DRAM memory to our product portfolio. Given our extensive offerings of memory card and USB drive solutions, we enter the DRAM market, pairing our fast-growing SSD lines to offer users a full suite of high-performance solutions to expedite their workflow from camera to computer. While remote office and anywhere learning are on the rise, our goal is to continue offering products that deliver superior quality and performance, so that you can build a Smart Workroom or a Smart Classroom for the best user experience. Lexar looks to continue advancing our DRAM offerings, with additional high performing models to launch later this year.” said Mike Chen, General Manager.
Lexar® DDR4-2666 SODIMM Laptop Memory is available this month at an MSRP of $19.99 USD (4 GB- 2666MHz), $29.99 USD (8 GB – 2666MHz), and $64.99 USD (16 GB – 2666MHz) $159.99 USD (32 GB – 2666MHz).
Lexar® DDR4-2666 UDIMM Desktop Memory is available this month at Platinum Micro at an MSRP of $32.99 USD (8 GB – 2666MHz), and $64.99 USD (16 GB – 2666MHz) $149.99 USD (32 GB – 2666MHz). (Global)
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Funky Kit Review - Cougar Vantar MX Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
Published: Friday, June 19, 2020 | By: DennisI always get a chuckle when "these" reviews come in. It is not that they are bad products but the company name is.. ya. ok moving on.
The Cougar Vantar MX is a keyboard that offers great quality and performance for a respectable price tag. The Cougar UIX allows you to customize your keyboard as you wish and works flawlessly.
This is a great quote and from a design standpoint this keyboard looks very similar to the AZIO boards we reviewed a couple years ago. Sure there are a few design changes and when it comes to keyboards you can't fiddle with the layhout too much or you get people freaking otu and mitypimf th2ngsa.
Ask me how I know, thanks Microsoft.
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Cooler Master MWE 650 White V2 650W Power Supply Review @ APH Networks
Published: Friday, June 19, 2020 | By: DennisQuestion: when is a white PSU not actually white?
Answer: When it is the famed Cooler Master MWE 650 White V2 power supply.
You know some time ago I reviewed a MWE PSU, the MWE Gold 750 and I found it to be a really good modular PSU, Gold rated and supported up to 6 PCI Express and two 12v CPU power connections. The wattage was right for 98% of all builds and the price was right.
The question is, why is the PSU in this review "White"? Could it be the lowest 80 Plus rating?
The Cooler Master MWE 650 White V2 650W is primarily a budget power supply for a budget build.
I'm not sure the description is all that helpful so, you'll just have to check out the review yourself. Or, check out my review of the MWE 750 Gold and pick one up for yourself.
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Stand-Alone D5 With a Quantum Top from EK
Published: Tuesday, June 16, 2020 | By: DennisEK® Water Blocks, the world-renowned premium liquid cooling manufacturer, is releasing the EK-Quantum Inertia D5 PWM D-RGB standalone pump units. These standalone pumps are an evolution of the very popular and successful EK-XTOP Revo D5 PWM pumps, now available with sophisticated D-RGB LED lighting and an updated design aligning with the EK Quantum Line.
EK-Quantum Inertia D5 PWM D-RGB is a high-performance liquid cooling pump, built around the market-proven genuine D5 pump and the new Quantum Inertia top with an advanced vibration-reducing mounting clamp.
The D5 pump is equipped with an electronically commutated spherical motor. In a pump with a spherical motor, the only moving part is a spherically shaped rotor which in this pump is held in place by a bearing ball made of ultra-hard and wear-resistant ceramic. The Revo D5 pump volute/body system features a fully rounded design thus offering greater usability, allowing installation at any angle within 360° of rotation. A special rubber shock absorber is used to de-couple the main pump body from the mounting clip for silent operation, free of vibration-induced noise. Additionally, horizontal and vertical positioning is supported for easier tube routing possibilities.
Inertia standalone pumps come in two different models, with either a CNC-machined black POM acetal or CNC-machined cast-acrylic. Both the 50cm long power cable and 60cm long PWM signal cable are equipped with black sleeving.
