Tech News
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Intel Xeon Gold 5220R + Xeon Gold 6226R Linux Performance @ Phoronix
Published: Monday, April 13, 2020 | By: DennisWhen the EVGA SR-3 was launched I started looking all over for a processor. At the time there was only one that allowed overclocking and it was a smooth three grand AND not available. The only alternative is the "Xeon (insert metal) Scalable Proceesors" which are not only locked but vary in price from just a few pennies to like 12 grand.
Seems excessive to me.
Phoronix has a review posted related to two Scalable Processors and how their performance reflects in Linux. Much like with Windows, the drivers have a lot to do with overall performance so it will be interesting to see the results.
At the end of February Intel launched the Xeon Scalable "Cascade Lake Refresh" processors with a number of more aggressively priced SKUs with different core counts and clock speeds compared to the original Cascade Lake CPUs launched last year. Intel recently sent over the Xeon Gold 5220R and Xeon Gold 6226R processors and we've begun our Linux benchmarks of them. In this article is our initial look at their performance using a near-final build of Ubuntu 20.04 and seeing how the performance stacks up in raw performance and performance-per-dollar against the AMD EPYC competition.
I know my way around a Linux console but to be honest I know just enough to be dangerous and don't use it enough to really become an expert.
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Cooler Master MasterAir G200P CPU Heatsink Review @ APH Networks
Published: Monday, March 30, 2020 | By: DennisIn what might be the smallest heatsink ever we have the Cooler Master MasterAir G200P. This is a heatsink for LGA 115x based systems and appears to be using a Noctua inspired mounting system. This isn’t because they are copying Noctua but, rather because the cooler is so small there wasn't room to use anything crappy.
The Cooler Master MasterAir G200P is a low profile RGB CPU cooler with the capability of fitting in almost any computer case on the market today.
Personally I'm not a fan of small coolers, Sure I have used them before and we use one in the podcast rig we use to record the Hardware Asylum Podcast but, generally speaking, small coolers run hot and the reason people need them is because they are building in a small case. If that case does not vent correctly or you exceed the thermal limits of that case you're in for a bad time.
Oh and speaking of Noctua they build a cooler like this not to long ago designed for server use. If you want to see how close the copy is check out our review of the Noctua NH-L9i and be amazed.
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Crucial X8 Review @ Vortez
Published: Wednesday, March 25, 2020 | By: DennisIn recent years I have been pretty close with Crucial. That is a big deal for me since before that I would usually get snubbed then I would make a joke about being able to throw rocks at the building and yet not getting a product to review.
That was some good banter and in keeping with tradition we have a portable storage solution reviewed that isn't too bad.
Offering the drive in 500GB and 1TB capacities, with speeds up to 1050MB/s in both directions, the drive can be used for modestly-sized backups, as a Steam drive to take round to a friend’s or just for transferring files at speeds way in excess of what a typical USB flash drive is capable of.
Some of the external SSD drives I have won't work on all systems. Where they may work well on my Windows 10 machine it just won't connect on Server 2008 R2. Pretty sure that is an OS dependency or could be the USB controller. Either way the speed is there however compatability can be kinda meh.
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Team Group MP33 512 GB M.2 NVMe SSD @ TechPowerUp
Published: Wednesday, March 25, 2020 | By: Dennisit is no suprise that NVMe is the way to go when it comes to high-end storage options. The drives still lack storage capacity but offer enough space to satasify most everyone.
Team Group has their own drive and TechPowerUp has a review.
Team Group's MP33 SSD is based on 96-layer TLC NAND from Toshiba paired with a new Phison controller that achieves impressive sustained writes and has the best thermals we've ever seen. Even when fully loaded, without airflow, there is no thermal throttling.
Of course, one of the biggest issues with NVMe is speed. The interface is the fastest you can get however the controller and chips used have a profound impact on total transfer speed and access times.
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Here Are All The Free Games You Can Claim Right Now @ Gamespot
Published: Monday, March 23, 2020 | By: DennisGamespot has a list of free games available now (or when this post went live) to help many of us pass the time while stuck at home.
Being stuck inside can be a real hassle, but thankfully, online storefronts and developers are taking note and giving away a bunch of games for free to help us kill the time. PS4, Xbox One, and PC games are all being given away. Because of this, we've decided to collect all of the games that are free for a limited time so you can easily claim any you're interested in. This list won't include any games that are normally free-to-play--like Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Apex Legends--but you're sure to find something to fall in love with, whether it's an old PC classic, a must-play iPhone game, or a brand-new game.
For me I'll be playing some Doom Eternal, Borderlands 3 (maybe, the game kinda sucks) and 7 Days to Die.
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Lian Li Strimer Plus @LanOC Reviews
Published: Monday, March 16, 2020 | By: DennisSo, do you remember those RGB lighted power cables from Computex 2019?? Well, I do and to be honest they got WAY too much press. First off all they weren't lighted cables but more of a lighted covering that looked like cables. In photos they looked amazing but in reality they were just adding bulk to your build.
LAN OC has a review of these cable lights posted and I'm not sure if they are dissing on them or actually found a use.
Lets find out.
I’ll be the first to admit that the entire RGB scene has just been crazy, anything and everything you can think of now has it. It's not for everyone and for some of the people who don’t like it, it can even lead to an angry response. Three years ago, I wrote an article on the topic of why RGB can still be useful even if the idea of that rainbow look isn’t your thing. Last year Lian Li came out with one of the most outrageous RGB products with their Strimer RGB cable extensions and this year they have upped the ante by upgrading them with addressable lighting with a lot more effects. Today I’m going to check them out and see what they are all about and try to figure out if they should only be used on the craziest RGB builds or if maybe you can use them as an accent in a “normal” build.
Well based on the intro I'm not sure though it seems they are trying to rationalize RGB? I mean how can you do that??
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Funky Kit Review - Patriot Viper VPR100 RGB 1TB M.2 PCIe SSD
Published: Wednesday, March 11, 2020 | By: DennisNVMe is the way of the future, down with SATA, Down with IDE and down with PATA. We need M.2 and we need it yesterday.
Oh ya, its been out for a LONG time. So, where you been?
The Viper VPR100 RGB is an interesting SSD that's perfect for any gamers, who are looking for a fast and exceptional looking M.2 SSD drive. There are not many SSD with RGB lighting and even less at a similar price, so the VPR100 is for sure worth considering. With extended warranty and high compatibility with popular motherboards ... you really can't go wrong with this drive.
When NMVe hit the market is was an Intel exclusive and Intel charged you for the privilege. Shortly after Samsung was allowed to produce NVMe drives and the performance storage market somewhat exploded from there. Buyer be aware though, not every NVMe M.2 SSD is created the same and some aren't really all that good.
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Silicon Power P34A60 PCIe 3x4 M.2 2280 512GB SSD Review @ Madshrimps
Published: Sunday, March 8, 2020 | By: DennisRumor is if you want to get super fast NVMe storage performance you need to be running PCI Express Gen 4 which begs the question. Why do we care about SSD drives that are limited to PCI Express Gen 3??
I think the answer is obvious, AMD
The mainstream PCIe Gen 3x4 P34A60 mainstream SSD from Silicon Power does offer good all-around performance and does not drop to very slow speeds when the cache fills up completely, as we could notice from the HD Tune Pro write test. When copying large files continuously to the drive, we haven’t seen drops of under 90MB/s, which is great for a TLC-based drive, while the 512GB capacity should be enough for a boot drive.
Be sure to check out the full review at Madshrimps.
On a related note, its sites like Madshrimps that makes me wonder why I had issues with getting articles on Ninjalane.com to rank. I mean Ninjas are better than Shrimps right??
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Palit GeForce RTX 2080 Super Gaming Pro OC @ TechPowerUp
Published: Sunday, March 8, 2020 | By: DennisPalit isn't a big brand in the US but from what I remember they are "the" video card maker in the EU, similar to how EVGA is the defacto USA brand. Because of this it is difficult to keep track of what Palit does aside from buying Gainward and killing off one of the best video card makers in the business.
Palit's RTX 2080 Super Gaming Pro OC is a new variant with a triple-slot, triple-fan cooler, to replace their dual-fan designs. It delivers solid temperatures and noise levels. At $720, the card is priced very reasonably, yet includes a factory overclock, idle-fan-stop, and backplate.
Say it aint so plucky!, a RTX 2080 Super with a triple slot cooler?? Where are they getting their market research, Hong Kong?? (Zotac for those of you who are GPU challenged.)
Actually, one look at the cooler and I think we know that to be true.
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Happy Leap Day Everyone
Published: Saturday, February 29, 2020 | By: DennisAs they say leap year only comes along every 4 years as a way to align the world back to the calendar. It is somewhat of a compromise for the imperfect science known as the universe.
While I chug away reviewing new hardware in the Ninjalane Labs I wondered. How many times have I posted on February 29th over the entire 20 years this website has been live.
In terms of news, there have been a total of 3 posts. The first was in 2004 which is a year after I first attended Computex. The second was 2008 when I would post NL: Review Blocks to help share the articles and reviews that other hardware sites were posting.
The final post was in 2012 with a posting about the Gigabyte Battlefield 3 cup which was an online competition with a grand prize of 1200 USD!!
An interesting side note, in 2012 I started two reviews. The SilenX EFZ-120HA5 Heatsink Review and Silverstone ST1200-G Strider Gold Evolution Power Supply Review were started on 2/29/2012 and posted within a day of each other.
It would seem that after 2012 I didn't post anything on Leap Day, until now. There have been 2664 news posts since 2/29/2012 and while that may seem like a lot it works out to be less than 1 post a day. I have to say, I'm a little disappointed in that number but, it has been a great ride even though very few readers stop by to read the news anymore.
Happy Leap Year everyone! Enjoy your extra day in 2020 and I hope the rest of the year is wonderful.
