Nvidia has yet to officially announce the RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3070 Ti, but that hasn’t stopped listings popping up from some partners. Over the weekend, both unannounced GPUs appeared on Razer’s website as an option for pre-built PC orders.
The listings, spotted and shared by @harukaze5719, show that Razer began letting customers choose an Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti or RTX 3070 Ti as a configuration option when purchasing a pre-built gaming PC. At the time of writing, adding one of these options doesn’t always work, as it looks like the site has only been partially updated.
The listings don’t detail the full specifications of the graphics cards, but it does confirm that the RTX 3070 Ti will feature 8GB of memory, and the RTX 3080 Ti will come with 12GB.
Image credit: @harukaze5719
The pricing of each card alone can’t be determined, but calculating the price difference between each system can give us a vague idea of it. A Razer system configured with a Ryzen 9 5900X CPU, an X570 motherboard, and an RTX 3090 graphics card is priced at ¥39,999 (£4395), but reducing the GPU option to an RTX 3080 Ti and the motherboard to a cheaper model reduced the price to ¥24,999 (£2747). That’s a £1648 difference.
There are also two RTX 3070 Ti pre-built systems, one costing ¥13,499 (£1483) and the other ¥14,999 (£1648). Nvidia is expected to announce the RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3070 Ti next week.
KitGuru says: Based on the prices of these systems, how much do you think each of these graphics cards will cost?
We now know a lot more about AMD’s forthcoming 3D die stacking technology, thanks to new tweets from reliable hardware leakers ExecutableFix and Patrick Schur. These tweets claim that we can first expect to see this tech at play in the EPYC Milan-X series of data center processors.
Milan-X aka Milan-X(3D). Genesis IO-die with stacked chipletsI love lasagna 😋 https://t.co/O2FrGxyd8PMay 25, 2021
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AMD is working on a new CPU (codename Milan-X) that will use stacked dies. 😏May 25, 2021
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A year ago, AMD revealed via its Financial Analyst Day 2020 event that the chipmaker was working on a new breed of processors that would utilize its X3D chip packaging technology. AMD’s X3D hybrid technology is based on 2.5D packaging and 3D stacking. In layman terms, it allows AMD to stack various dies on top of each other inside the chipmaker’s multi-chip modules (MCM). Considering the similarity, X3D is basically AMD’s response to Intel’s Foveros 3D stacking technology.
The latest rumors claim that Milan-X will be the first wave of chips to feature X3D chip packaging. Given the codename, it’s reasonable to assume that Milan-X is comprised of Zen 3 cores, just like the EPYC 7003 (Milan) parts. ExecutableFix claims that Milan-X is based on the Genesis IO-die, alluding to the same I/O die inside Zen 3 EPYC chips.
However, we don’t expect AMD to push the core barrier with Milan-X. At its presentation, the company explained that the objective behind X3D was to provide up to 10X higher bandwidth. However, the company never revealed what it planned to stack. ExecutableFix thinks that AMD is stacking chiplets, but core complex dies (CCDs) seem unlikely, given the cooling that they require.
Therefore, AMD is very likely stacking memory on Milan-X as opposed to compute dies. Furthermore, the diagram that was shared at AMD’s Financial Analyst Day 2020 exhibited a 2×2 layout with four interconnected chiplets and four stacked dies above a huge interposer. The four chiplets are probably the compute dies, and we suspect that AMD’s stacking HBM packages on Milan-X. Apparently, there’s one stacked die per each individual chiplet. The presence of HBM memory would do wonders on an EPYC processor, especially in a data center environment that’s heavy on workloads that are sensitive to bandwidth.
Even on AMD’s roadmap, the X3D processor was marked as “future.” We haven’t heard anything about Milan-X until today. However, AMD President and CEO Dr. Lisa Su is scheduled to deliver the a keynote at Computex 2021 called “AMD Accelerating – The High Performance Computing Ecosystem” so we may hear some more about Milan-X very soon.
Despite the massive ongoing semiconductor, GPU and general technology shortage manufacturers are facing right now, the desktop PC market continues to grow, with new data revealing that nearly 1 million PCs are currently being sold every day. This has led the IDC to project an 18.1% growth rate for the market across all of 2021.
These numbers are astonishing to see, given how nasty component shortages have been for all computer-related devices over the past year. If demand is this high right now, we wouldn’t be surprised to see even more market growth once component shortages start expiring in the next year or two. While it’s true that a potential end to the pandemic might see demand drop a little, the IDC expects a 5-year annual growth rate of 3%.
Ironically, a large driving factor behind recent desktop PC sales has been the decline of laptop volume; the IDC notes that while the more technologically advanced components in laptops like CPUs, GPUs and memory are gaining in volume, laptop bottlenecks are arising elsewhere.
Instead, the shortage issues have been driven down to audio ICs, sensors, PMICs, and display drivers, which use much older (mature) nodes of 40 nm or larger. Over 50% of the entire semiconductor industry functions on these older nodes, and production for 40nm (or older) is only gradually increasing with no plans from fabs to aggressively accelerate production.
This has led the IDC to anticipate a change in the laptop and PC market, where laptop buyers will instead opt to buy desktop PCs, which will become the much more affordable option as laptop components become rarer and more expensive.
The IDC also notes that desktop PC sales, in general, are steadily increasing due to the continued popularity of PC gaming and content consumption (YouTube, Netflix etc). But, we’re still far away from a complete rebound from the shortages. Luckily, the consumer market is expected to rebound to pre-pandemic levels first, before any other market. We don’t know when that’s going to happen, but it’s still good news nonetheless.
After almost a decade of total market dominance, Intel has spent the past few years on the defensive. AMD’s Ryzen processors continue to show improvement year over year, with the most recent Ryzen 5000 series taking the crown of best gaming processor: Intel’s last bastion of superiority.
Now, with a booming hardware market, Intel is preparing to make up some of that lost ground with the new 11th Gen Intel Core Processors. Intel is claiming these new 11th Gen CPUs offer double-digit IPC improvements despite remaining on a 14 nm process. The top-end 8-core Intel Core i9-11900K may not be able to compete against its Ryzen 9 5900X AMD rival in heavily multi-threaded scenarios, but the higher clock speeds and alleged IPC improvements could be enough to take back the gaming crown. Along with the new CPUs, there is a new chipset to match, the Intel Z590. Last year’s Z490 chipset motherboards are also compatible with the new 11th Gen Intel Core Processors, but Z590 introduces some key advantages.
First, Z590 offers native PCIe 4.0 support from the CPU, which means the PCIe and M.2 slots powered off the CPU will offer PCIe 4.0 connectivity when an 11th Gen CPU is installed. The PCIe and M.2 slots controlled by the Z590 chipset are still PCI 3.0. While many high-end Z490 motherboards advertised this capability, it was not a standard feature for the platform. In addition to PCIe 4.0 support, Z590 offers USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 from the chipset. The USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 standard offers speeds of up to 20 Gb/s. Finally, Z590 boasts native support for 3200 MHz DDR4 memory. With these upgrades, Intel’s Z series platform has feature parity with AMD’s B550. On paper, Intel is catching up to AMD, but only testing will tell if these new Z590 motherboards are up to the challenge.
The ASUS ROG STRIX Z590-I Gaming WiFi is a compact power house featuring a robust 10-phase VRM with top of the line power stages and a substantial VRM cooling solution. BIOS flashback has also been included, as well as ASUS’s excellent BIOS designed to provide an optimal, stress-free overclocking experience. The ASUS ROG STRIX Z590-I Gaming WiFi also offers great connectivity with WiFi 6, 2.5 Gb/s Ethernet, and Thunderbolt 4. All of this performance is packed into an ITX form factor with some clever engineering to make it all fit.
Let’s take a closer look at what the ASUS ROG STRIX Z590-I Gaming WiFi has to offer.
1x Thunderbolt™ 4 USB Type-C® port 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C® port 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 port 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 port 4x USB 2.0 ports 1x HDMI™ port 1x ASUS Wi-Fi module 1x Intel® I225-V 2.5 Gb Ethernet 3x Gold-plated audio jacks 1x BIOS FlashBack™ button
AMD Zen 4 Processor (Image credit: ExecutableFix/Twitter)
Hardware leaker ExecutableFix has provided further details on AMD’s next-generation Zen 4 processor. This new information comes in hot on the heels of the recent sneak peek at the AM5 socket.
The AM5 socket has been rumored to shift over to a Land Grid Array (LGA) design, meaning the pins are in the socket instead of on the processor. If true, AM5 would mark a turning point in AMD’s history. Although AMD utilizes the LGA design for its HEDT (High End Desktop) and server platforms, the chipmaker has never employed the layout on a mainstream consumer platform. It’s debatable on whether a LGA design is safer over a Pin Grid Array (PGA) design for the end user. Some might argue that having the pins in the socket means you no longer have to worry about bending the processor pins during installation. On the flipside, it’s not unusual for motherboards to arrive with bent pins or cases of users accidentally dropping a processor into the socket and bending the pins in the process.
According to ExecutableFix, Zen 4 (presumably Raphael) processors will be the first Ryzen mainstream chips to arrive without pins. The markup of how the processor may look appears intriguing. The leaker previously claimed that Zen 4 will employ the LGA1718 package, so the chip should have 1,718 contacts. Curiously, the contacts appear to be divided into two sections. The layout is similar to AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper and EPYC processors. Although we didn’t count the contacts, we can assume that each section holds 859 contacts.
Despite the increased pin count, ExecutableFix stated that the AM5 socket measures 40 x 40mm, so it should still be a square shape. What we don’t know is that if the AM5 socket will retain the locking mechanism or the mounting holes. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess whether consumers will need to invest in a new cooler, or if existing cooling solutions are still viable with a mounting converter kit.
AMD Zen 4 Raphael Specifications
Zen 4*
Alder Lake*
Zen 3
Codename
Raphael
Alder Lake
Vermeer
Branding
Ryzen 6000
Core 12000-series
Ryzen 5000
Lithography
5nm
10nm
7nm
Socket
LGA1718
LGA1700
AM4
Maximum Cores
24
16
16
Memory Support
DDR5
DDR5 / DDR4
DDR4
PCIe Support
PCIe 4.0 x 28
PCIe 5.0 x 16, PCIe 4.0 x 8
PCIe 4.0 x 24
Maximum TDP
170W
?
105W
*Specifications are unconfirmed.
Zen 4 will likely continue to leverage a chiplet design. It wouldn’t surprise us one bit if AMD added another core complex die (CCD) to Zen 4 to offer more cores. Zen 3 maxes out at two CCD with eight cores each, which is how the Ryzen 9 5950X got up to 16 cores. An additional CCD would push the core count up to 24, but that is pure speculation for now. However, it would certainly explain the increased TDP (thermal design power) ratings with Zen 4 chips.
If ExecutableFix’s information is accurate, the Zen 4 processors could debut with a 120W TDP. There’s mention of a special edition 170W SKU, although the leaker didn’t provide any details. The extra pins should help improve power delivery as well as increase I/O connectivity.
As for memory support, Zen 4 will no doubt support DDR5 memory. It seems logical since Intel is already embracing DDR5 with its upcoming 12th Generation Alder Lake processors, and AMD probably doesn’t want to be left in the dust. However, Zen 4 doesn’t seem to carry over support for DDR4, unlike Alder Lake.
While the rumors still have Zen 4 on the PCIe 4.0 interface, ExecutableFix believes that processors will offer 28 PCIe 4.0 lanes. For comparison, existing Zen 3 chips deliver 24 PCIe 4.0 lanes. It’s only a four-lane increase, nevertheless, it should be sufficient enough for motherboard vendors to offer at least some connectivity improvements.
Intel’s Alder Lake is due in late 2021 to early 2022. If leaked roadmaps are to be trusted, Zen 4 might not land until the fourth quarter of 2022. In that case, Zen 4 or Ryzen 6000’s target will probably be Raptor Lake, which is the rumored successor to Alder Lake.
Microsoft claims that as of a new release this week, its Edge browser will be the “best performing browser on Windows 10.” The announcement was made at the company’s annual Build developer conference, being held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When Edge version 91 releases, it will include two new features in startup boost and sleeping tabs that should boost performance. Startup boost makes the browser launch more quickly. Microsoft says “core” Microsoft Edge processes will run in the background and won’t need more resources when you add additional Windows. This should, Microsoft says, make for far faster launching.
The second feature, “sleeping tabs” sounds like it will address a bigger issue in the browser market. It aims to boost performance of the browser by “freeing up system resources from unused tabs,” including putting ads to sleep in background tabs. This month, Microsoft intends to enhance the feature to allow for up to 82% memory savings, per its internal testing using preview builds of the browser.
Since last year’s Build, Microsoft has made more than 5,300 commits to the open-source Chromium project, so that other browsers using the project can also see improvements made to Edge. Microsoft has also added a Progressive Web Apps, or “PWAs” build on Edge to the Microsoft Store.
Microsoft Edge is taking on an increasingly important role as part of Windows 10.
Microsoft is retiring Internet Explorer
on June 15, 2022, for most versions of the operating system. At Build, the company is pushing developers to transition away from IE11 websites and apps, though Edge’s Internet Explorer mode is expected to last through at least 2029.
At Build, Microsoft will discuss the WebView2 embedded web control and Edge in a session about apps for hybrid work, while the Edge team will also have a session to take questions directly from attendees.
Other Windows-based announcements include the ability to use Windows Terminal as the default emulator, along with a “Quake mode” to open a new terminal with a keyboard shortcut. Additionally, there will be GUI app support on the Windows Subsystem for Linux. More will be announced at Build throughout the week.
High demand for PCs and, importantly, desktop PCs has already resulted in increased graphics card, PSU, HDD, and SSD pricing, but apparently, now DRAM is getting even more expensive, too. According to a new report from Taiwan, memory prices are set for double-digit growth in the coming months.
Contract memory prices are projected to increase by 10% – 20%, DigiTimes reports (based on a Seeking Alpha story). According to the report, memory prices may rise by up to 25%, depending on the kit. Keeping in mind that demand is high and DRAM is transiting to DDR5 memory, the increase is not surprising.
Most enthusiasts who buy premium memory kits shouldn’t be particularly worried — high-end memory kits already carry a hefty price tag. Hence, a 10% increase in DRAM IC prices isn’t too extreme. However, every penny counts when it comes to mainstream desktop and laptop PCs, so this is where that 10% – 25% contract price hike gains importance. In fact, even a 2% to 5% increase in the bill-of-materials (BOM) can increase the price of a laptop by a significant sum.
DRAM quotes are not alone when it comes to price hikes, according to the report. Prices of NAND memory have also increased by 10% so far this year, and given the current Chia Coin farming craze, it’s easy to expect that trend to continue.
ADATA is Taiwan’s largest manufacturer of flash storage and DRAM memory for computers. They have been at the forefront of SSD development for many years, bringing us famous SSDs like the SX8200, SX900, and S510.
Today we are reviewing the ADATA SE900G, which is the company’s latest portable SSD. It is one of the first external storage drives that utilizes the blazing fast USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 20 Gbps interface, which doubles the transfer rates over USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 aka USB 3.1 Gen 2. Many portable SSDs using USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 were bottlenecked by the USB interface speed, so it makes sense to increase the interface transfer rate another notch. At this time, not a single AMD AM4 motherboard natively supports the 20 Gbps USB interface, on the Intel side there’s about 60 motherboards, most using the Z590 chipset. For all our testing we used a Gigabyte GC-USB 3.2 Gen2x2 PCI-Express x4 add-in card—so we can properly test ADATA’s SE900G portable SSD.
Another highlight of ADATA’s SSD is that it has a dazzling RGB lighting implementation that covers almost the whole front of the SSD.
Internally, the SE900G uses a USB-to-PCIe bridge chip, paired with a full-size ADATA SX8200 Pro SSD. The SX8200 Pro uses Micron 96-layer B27A 3D TLC flash, and a Silicon Motion SM662EN controller, with 1 GB of Samsung DRAM.
We review the ADATA SE900G in the 2 TB variant, which retails for $285, but it is also available in capacities of 512 GB, and 1 TB. Warranty is set to five years for all these models.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE (Fan Edition) could be officially launching soon according to a new German product page spotted by WinFuture. The tablet appears to be a renamed version of the previously leaked “Galaxy Tab S7 Plus Lite” that first made the rounds in March 2021. The Galaxy Tab S7 FE is the first Fan Edition of one of Samsung’s tablets, a tweaked version of the earlier iPad Pro-inspired 12.4-inch Tab S7 Plus.
While the Tab S7 FE shares the same 12.4-inch screen size as the older Tab S7 Plus, it appears to be using a TFT LCD display, like the 11-inch Tab S7, rather than the OLED found in the Tab S7 Plus. Another cost-saving measure is found in the processor: the Tab S7 FE has a Snapdragon 750G octa-core processor and 4GB of RAM. For storage, the tablet comes with 64GB of UFS memory, which is partially used by the device’s One UI skinned version of Android 11, and expandable with a microSD card. The Tab S7 FE hangs on to the optional 5G support of its more expensive siblings.
Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S7 Fan Edition with optional S Pen stylus.Image: Samsung
If you happen to be a tablet photographer, the Tab S7 FE includes an 8-megapixel back camera and a 5-megapixel front camera. In a plus for anyone who’s complained about camera orientation on the iPad Pro, the Tab S7 FE’s front-facing camera is in landscape orientation, perfect for long Zoom calls. To get the device through those long calls, the FE has a 10,090mAh battery, which Samsung claims should last up to 12 hours on LTE (oddly, no estimate is given for 5G), and 13 hours specifically for video playback.
The silver Galaxy Tab S7 FE with S Pen stylus.
Image: Samsung
The black Galaxy Tab S7 FE.
Image: Samsung
The FE can come with an optional S Pen for note-taking tricks like converting handwriting to text. The tablet also has Samsung DeX, which can add Windows-esque interface elements like a taskbar, window-ing, and a “Start menu” automatically when you attach a keyboard. Whether any of those tablet features can elevate the FE into a true productivity device for you is harder to say. We found the Tab S7 and S7 Plus to still work best for simpler tablet tasks like video watching and web browsing rather a whole day of work. Nothing about the Fan Edition suggests that will be different.
The Galaxy Tab S7 Fan Edition currently isn’t for sale in Germany (you can sign up to be notified when it’s available) and is priced at €649 (approximately $792) for either the silver or black version. That’s less than the typical price of a base Galaxy Tab S7 in Germany (€698) and for the larger screen size of a €979 S7 Plus. Should the Tab S7 FE come to the US, it will likely cost less than the rough conversion of the German price to US dollars. We’ve reached out to Samsung and will update if we hear back.
WinFuture says Samsung has other colors and models with different specs in the works as well. We’ll keep an eye out for an official announcement in the future.
Chipmakers might finally be cashing in on the global chip shortage. Times-Taipei News reported last week that since the second quarter of 2021, “more than 30 semiconductor companies have issued price adjustment letters, with product price increases ranging from 10% to 30%,” according to a translated version of the report.
Times-Taipei News said UMC, SMIC, and Power Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. are among the companies adjusting their prices. The reasons cited for those adjustments vary, but Rockchip reportedly said, “the cost of wafers, printed circuit boards, and packaging and testing have risen sharply to varying degrees.”
The price adjustments seem to vary by chip type. The report claimed that signal chain ICs saw price increases between 10% and 20%, for example, while the price of power management ICs was said to have risen between 10% and 30%. Some memory chips were also said to have risen in price by as much as 20%.
Those already steep increases might actually be tame compared to other adjustments. Times-Taipei News said that “the price of some IC products has soared dozens of times at present, which has caused difficulties in the production and operation of small and medium-sized enterprises,” per an “industry insider.”
There is at least one major exception to this trend: TSMC. According to the report, the company hasn’t issued any price increases, which means the world’s largest chipmaker is holding the line. Or at least it’s presenting that facade—its decision to end price discounts will have the same effect on the cost of its chips.
The effects of these price increases will probably still be felt throughout the industry, even without TSMC. Power management chips are nearly ubiquitous, for example, which means a wide variety of products could see their prices rise as well. That effect could also be compounded in products that rely on multiple types of chips.
DigiTimes also reported today that DRAM and NAND prices are expected to rise through the third quarter due to strong demand across various segments, panic buying spurred by the Chia cryptocurrency’s ascendancy, and limited supply of NAND flash device controllers leading to higher prices for those chips.
The report said that DRAM memory contract pricing rose “over 20%” in the second quarter, with “prices for PC DRAM chips hiking more than 25%,” per anonymous sources. DRAM contract prices are expected to rise an additional 10% to 20% in the third quarter, while NAND contract prices could rise by as much as 10%.
AMD CEO Lisa Su has made it clear she doesn’t think people should be too worried about the chip shortage. But at least in the short term, it’s going to be hard to find many products, from the PlayStation 5 to the latest graphics cards, and now it seems many of the devices that do manage to make it to consumers might cost more.
Radxa have announced that it has updated its Raspberry Pi alternative, Rock Pi 4 line of single-board computers with the Rockchip OP1 processor, onboard eMMC storage, and a pre-installed version of Twister OS to create the new Rock Pi 4 Plus family of products. Via CNX-Software.
Camera connector for camera (possibly the Raspberry Pi official camera)
Gigabit Ethernet with PoE support (Model B and additional HAT required)
Dual-band 802.11ac WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.0 (Model B)
2 x USB 3.0 ports
2 x USB 2.0 port
40 Pin GPIO
Real Time Clock
USB C PD
There are two models of the Rock Pi 4 Plus at launch, the Model A and Model B, that can both be configured with either 2GB of LPDDR4 memory and 16GB of onboard eMMC storage or 4GB of LPDDR4 memory and 32GB of onboard eMMC storage.
We noticed on the Aliexpress listing that the primary difference between the Model A and Model B is that the latter offers wireless connectivity out of the box and POE support via a HAT.
The inclusion of the community created Twister OS is an interesting addition. Twister OS has been with us for around a year and has seen some success as an alternative to Raspberry Pi OS. It is a solid operating system that comes with plenty of extras.
Radxa did say these new models will be 11% faster than their predecessors thanks to the OP1. It’s not clear how that would be the case, however, because OP1 appears to be a brand name for the RK-3399 SoC used in the original models. Radxa may have upgraded the Rock Pi 4 Plus to the RK-3399Pro, which adds a 2.4 TOPS NPU to the base SoC, but that doesn’t mesh with the company’s claim that the “OP1 brings faster performance on both CPU and GPU” to the new models.
Radxa said all of the original Rock Pi 4 accessories will be compatible with the Rock Pi 4 Plus. The new models are supposed to be available via AliExpress, Allnet, and Amazon, but at time of writing the storefronts only offer the Rock Pi 4 Plus Model B.
After putting the Mirror Maze system together last fall, I needed a break from all the work that goes into a high-end custom build. Plus, I had plenty of PC cases to review. So when Singularity Computers reached asking if we were interested in checking out its Spectre III chassis, I didn’t immediately jump at the chance. But the more I thought about the case, the more I envisioned just what a system in this stunning case could look like, and the itch to build just wouldn’t go away. So I agreed to take on the case, started getting together a list of other parts I’d need and, well, here we are.
I’ve been planning ‘Blue Shift’ for the last few months, and in contrast to what we would usually do, this build doesn’t use the latest next-gen hardware. I don’t have a Ryzen 5000 CPU or an RTX 3000 GPU, and I’d rather the limited stock of those parts go to one of our readers. With everything going under waterblocks in this build anyway, does it really matter if the silicon is hiding underneath is the absolute latest and greatest?
Because this is a more fun (and far more complex) build than we typically do for case reviews, I’ll slow the pace down and look at each step in detail. I’m also leaving the full parts list till the end, because it’s last-generation hardware, and regardless, this build is all about cooling and aesthetics. So without further ado, lets dig in.
Most cases cost about $100, stepping up to $200 if you’re shopping premium, and $300 if you’re shopping for a premium ITX case. But Singularity Computers’ Spectre III is a jaw-dropping $1400.
That’s expensive. Really expensive. But the Spectre III is also unlike most other cases out there. For one, it’s designed solely for custom liquid cooling. And instead of being a sealed box for your parts, it’s an open chassis meant to show off your hardware as attractively as possible. Featuring CNC-machined, anodized aluminum and an absolutely massive acrylic reservoir/distribution plate, this case really is unlike anything else that’s out there.
The case also comes flat packed. For details on what that looks like and how to assemble the chassis, check out our Assembling Singularity Computers’ Spectre III feature.
Theme Reveal
If you haven’t guessed already from the build’s name (Blue Shift), the central color theme for this build is going to be blue. Red is a color that I feel is overused in gaming product design. I could have chosen green, but settled on blue as a classic choice with oddly calming qualities.
Of course, I could have chosen any number of other colors, or gone with opaque or exotic cooling fluids, but out of respect for the Spectre III’s absolutely stunning, material-focused design I decided to dial the unconventional styling of the Mirror Maze build back and go for a more classic and timeless theme. Because of this, I’ll be sticking to EKWB’s Nickel-plated Torque fittings, paired with transparent blue fluid – a classic color combination that you simply cannot go wrong with.
Yep, you read that right. We have to prepare the CPU block. Not because there’s anything inherently wrong with EKWB’s Magnitude CPU block, but in service of the Blue Shift theme. So, I popped off the top of the block so that I could swap the accent plate from the pre-installed silver color, to blue.
This plate sits below the acrylic cover, which makes it perhaps a bit scary to replace as it requires not only breaking the factory-tested seal of the CPU block’s internal gasket, but also re-tightening the acrylic afterwards. Acrylic can crack easily, so I was careful not to overtighten the block’s top upon re-installation. But you shouldn’t be getting into custom watercooling with this amount of acrylic if you’re aren’t prepared to take things slow and steady.
I already had the 12-Core AMD Ryzen 9 3900X, 32GB of Corsair memory, and two 1 TB Samsung SSDs installed onto the Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Formula motherboard, but I had two other things I still needed to do here: install the CPU block and disconnect the chipset fan.
You see, as this is an open system, I wanted it to be as quiet as possible. The chipset fan, which sadly shows up on nearly all AMD X570 motherboards, generally isn’t very loud compared to most systems, but I found that in the Mirror Maze system, it was the loudest component, and that was in a closed chassis. So naturally, I did the only sensible thing: tear the board apart so that I could disconnect it. Whether this is wise with regards to thermals remains to be seen, but I’ll be sure to touch on that again in the testing section later on.
Meanwhile, while I had the motherboard’s shroud off anyway, I also routed the EKWB Magnitude CPU block’s D-RGB cable underneath it for a tidier end result.
Dropping the motherboard into the Spectre III case was simple. First, I had to install the standoffs. The holes for these are pre-threaded in the acrylic, so I had no fear of having to work these in. Then, I placed the case on its back, laid the motherboard in place, and fastened it with the required screws. I also connected up the GPU riser cable.
Installation of the GPU was a breeze too. It simply slotted right into the GPU riser I had installed earlier and fastened with a spacer and two screws on the IO bracket. I already had the waterblock installed on the GPU from the last build, but if you’re curious how to go about that, check out our how to install a GPU waterblock feature using this specific card.
I then proceeded to install the radiators. First, I installed the Noctua NF-A12 Chromax.Black.Swap fans onto them, using four black anti-vibration grommets per fan. I made sure to pay careful attention to where I wanted to route my cables: behind the radiators.
Then, I dropped the radiators into place. For the front radiator, I aligned its height to have its ports match the height of the ports on the distribution plate so that I could easily achieve clean tubing runs here later. The top radiator I simply placed in the middle, where I liked it most aesthetically, though I did have to move this later in the build to line up with ports.
Of course, at this point I also had to tidy up the cables for the fans. Luckily, the Spectre III comes with a neat little fan and RGB hub, which has D-RGB and PWM fan inputs, with outputs for six PWM fans and three D-RGB devices. I connected up all six fans here, along with the three RGB strips of the Spectre III.
Then, I shoved all the cables neatly behind the radiators, using zip ties where necessary to keep things in place and looking tidy. These zip ties can be fixed in place using the long screws the fans use to attach to the radiator.
For power, I went with the new be quiet! Dark Power 12 power supply. On-hand we have a 750W unit, which isn’t overly powerful, but it’s perfectly enough for powering our Ryzen 9 3900X and RTX 2080 Super, along with the six fans and RGB devices in our system.
Because I’m planning on using an external power supply when filling time comes, I’m happy to get all the cables installed at this stage already. So, I removed the cover on the rear and got to work.
First, I test-fit the cable combs to ensure I was using the correct ones. They come with an adhesive backing, which I removed to stick them in place. Then, I proceeded to install the custom Cablemod ModFlex cables with Pro aluminum combs, which was an oddly meditative task. It was time-consuming, but with a beautiful end result.
That said, although I’m pleased with the end result, in hindsight I would get cables with more combs. For this set of Cablemod cables, I got three aluminum combs on the 24-pin ATX cable, two on the EPS cable, and five on the PCIe power cable. I’d bump those numbers up by one more just so you can chuck a comb at the bottom of the cable, after the Spectre III’s cable management system near the power supply, as it’s quite a messy view going into there, and one comb on each cable could do wonders to tidy it up without making a lot more work of it.
I also connected up the D-RGB cables of the CPU and GPU blocks using an EKWB D-RGB splitter, connecting it to the bottom D-RGB header of the motherboard. I also hooked up the power button, power LED, and water pump headers at the bottom of the motherboard. The case does not have any front IO, so there was none of that to worry about.
At this point, the system was looking great, and I decided to call it a day. Building the custom loop would have to wait for the next day. But for you, that’s just a click away to the next page.
At this point, leakers all seem to be in agreement that the RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3070 Ti will be announced later this month, but when will the first cards be available to buy? According to sources, the RTX 3080 Ti will be hitting the market in the first week of June.
According to Wccftech, the upcoming RTX 3080 Ti and the RTX 3070 Ti will release on June 3rd and June 10th, respectively. This same report also reinforces the rumour regarding the end date of the review embargos of these cards, which is reportedly set for June 2nd for the RTX 3080 Ti and June 9th for the RTX 3070 Ti.
If all these dates prove to be true, buyers will have one full day to read or watch reviews and then decide which card to buy. Then, the battle for stock availability begins.
So far, it is expected that the RTX 3080 Ti will be powered by the GA102-225 GPU with 10,240 CUDA cores and 12GB of GDDR6X memory. As for the RTX 3070 Ti, it should come with a fully enabled GA104 GPU with 6144 CUDA cores and 8GB of GDDR6X.
KitGuru says: Are you hoping to get one of the new RTX 30 series graphics cards? Which are you looking to buy?
New leaks for the upcoming Radeon RX 6600 series suggest that the GPU is not far from releasing. At this point, OEMs appear to be getting their hands on reference models of a Radeon RX 6600 XT graphics card, images of which have been posted online.
Over on Twitter, a picture of an alleged OEM ‘Navi 23’ GPU has been shared, showing a reference Radeon cooler with stickers on the back of the backplate labelling it as a “Radeon Navi 23 XT 8GB” card. The label further indicates that the card features 3x DisplayPorts and an HDMI port, and is from PC Partner Limited.
It is said that this is oem navi23 and the source has been deleted. pic.twitter.com/i8iXLalIsR
— vegeta (@Broly_X1) May 21, 2021
Previous rumours have said that the Radeon RX 6600 XT will feature 8GB of GDDR6 memory, so this image is in line with that. Other rumoured specifications of this SKU include a Navi 23 GPU with 2048 stream processors clocked at 2684MHz, while memory should be clocked at 16Gbps. TGP is expected to be around 130W.
As for when this card might be announced, AMD’s Computex keynote is coming up on the 1st of June, hosted by CEO, Dr. Lisa Su.
KitGuru says: RDNA 2 tech is slowly working its way down to the mainstream GPU segment. Have any of you been waiting on cheaper RX 6000 series GPUs before upgrading?
Hardware leaker ExecutableFix, who has a good track record, has shared the potential specifications for AMD’s forthcoming AM5 socket. Nonetheless, this is the first time that we’ve seen anything related to AM5 so take the information with a bit of salt.
The Twitter user started his tweet with mentions of the LGA1718 socket. This is the most interesting bit since AMD has been using a Pin Grid Array (PGA) design for his mainstream chips for over a decade now. If the leaker’s information is accurate, the AM5 socket might finally switch over to a Land Grid Array (LGA), just like Intel.
The current AM4 socket has a total of 1,331 contacts. The AM5 socket, on the other hand, reportedly arrives with 1,718 contacts. It’s a pretty significant 29.1% increase in contacts, but still not as much as Intel’s transition (41.7%) from the LGA1200 socket to LGA1700 socket. The big question on everyone’s mind is whether AM5 will warrant a CPU cooler upgrade.
One of, and perhaps the most important feature that consumers will be expecting from the AM5 socket is support for DDR5 memory. It’s hard not to get excited when DDR5 is expected to feature capacities up to 128GB per memory module and data rates up to DDR5-10000. Intel’s 12th Generation Alder Lake (https://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-alder-lake-specifications-price-benchmarks-release-date) processors are projected to land late 2021 or early 2022 with support for DDR5. It’s unlikely that the AM5 socket will come out before this year so it appears that Intel has beaten AMD to the DDR5 chase.
The leaker claims that the AM5 socket will retain support for PCIe 4.0. It makes perfect sense since the best graphics cards and best SSDs are far from saturating the PCIe 4.0 interface. Preparing for PCIe 5.0 will just add an unneeded premium to AM5 motherboards. A fresh, new socket typically commands a new chipset. In the case of the AM5 socket, we should expect AMD to launch the corresponding 600-series chipset along with the new platform and processors.
While we’re on the topic of processors, AMD’s Zen 4 chips (reportedly codenamed Raphael) will in all probability be the first products to leverage the AM5 socket. We still don’t know a lot about Raphael, yet but we suspect that the processors should be product of TSMC’s 5nm process node, similar to AMD’s EPYC Genoa parts.
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