Someone has gotten their hands on a database full of Facebook users’ phone numbers, and is now selling that data using a Telegram bot, according to a report by Motherboard. The security researcher who found this vulnerability, Alon Gal, says that the person who runs the bot claims to have the information of 533 million users, which came from a Facebook vulnerability that was patched in 2019.
With many databases, some amount of technical skill is required to find any useful data. And there often has to be an interaction between the person with the database and the person trying to get information out of it, as the database’s “owner” isn’t going to just give someone else all that valuable data. Making a Telegram bot, however, solves both of these issues.
Few days ago a user created a Telegram bot allowing users to query the database for a low fee, enabling people to find the phone numbers linked to a very large portion of Facebook accounts.
This obviously has a huge impact on privacy. pic.twitter.com/lM1omndDET
— Alon Gal (Under the Breach) (@UnderTheBreach) January 14, 2021
The bot allows someone to do two things: if they have a person’s Facebook user ID, they can find that person’s phone number, and if they have a person’s phone number they can find their Facebook user ID. Though, of course, actually getting access to the information you’re looking for costs money — unlocking a piece of information, like a phone number or Facebook ID, costs one credit, which the person behind the bot is selling for $20. There’s also bulk pricing available, with 10,000 credits selling for $5,000, according to the Motherboard report.
The bot has been running since at least January 12, 2021, according to screenshots posted by Gal, but the data it provides access to is from 2019. That’s relatively old, but people don’t change phone numbers that often. It’s especially embarrassing for Facebook as it historically collected phone numbers from people including users who were turning on two-factor authentication.
At the moment it’s unknown if Motherboard or security researchers have contacted Telegram to try to get the bot taken down, but hopefully it’s something that can be clamped down on soon. That’s not to paint too rosy a picture, though — the data is still out there on the web, and it’s resurfaced a couple of times since it was initially scraped in 2019. I’m just hoping that the easy access will be cut off.
When you think of Asus, generally, you only think of its as a motherboard, graphics card, and laptop manufacturer. But the company has expanded its influence over the past few years to include PC peripherals, PC cases, and AIO liquid coolers. So it should come as no surprise that Asus is entering the case fan market with its own ROG Strix XF120 120mm chassis fan.
The XF120 features high-end specs. Similar to the ML120s from Corsair, the XF120 comes with a MagLev bearing, reinforced fiberglass material, grooved fan blades with rounded edges, and anti-vibration pads.
The operating range for the XF 120 is quite good, with its minimum RPM targeted at just 250RPM and a maximum RPM of 1800RPM. This is perfect for a case fan, as generally, case fans don’t need to run at the same RPM levels as CPU cooler fans.
(Image credit: YouTube)
XF120 Specs:
Acoustics:
22.5dba
Cooling Stats:
62.5CFM/3.7mmH20
Longevity:
400,000 hours
For Asus’ first chassis fan, the specs for the XF120 are quite good; compared to big case fan brands like the Silent Wings 3 from Be Quiet! or the Fractal Design Venturi, the XF120 brings similar performance with better acoustics.
But compared to Asus’ biggest competitor, the Corsair ML120, that fan has better cooling performance specs-wise. But that fan also has a much higher RPM range and is optimized towards airflow and static pressure, whereas Asus’ XF120 is optimized purely for airflow, not static pressure.
The Asus XF120 looks promising, but we still don’t know what it will cost – all we know is a release target for April. Hopefully, we can get a few of these XF120s in our lab to test in the future.
Gigabyte’s Aorus RGB Memory DDR4-3600 C18 is a very nice memory kit that’s thwarted by a high price tag and limited availability.
For
Excellent performance
Faster than the similarly-specced competition
Against
Too expensive
Little room for overclocking
Lighting requires proprietary software
In today’s world, computer hardware vendors have to venture into new markets to stay relevant. Some brands remain faithful to their roots, but the majority of hardware brands have branched out from their comfort zones to take up new adventures. Gigabyte, for instance, is mostly known for its motherboards, graphics cards, and gaming laptops, but the company has also tried its hand in the memory market. Gigabyte’s memory collection isn’t quite there yet, but its Aorus gaming memory aims to steal a piece of the pie.
Gigabyte builds the Aorus RGB memory modules on a black PCB that’s accompanied by a stylish aluminum heat spreader with an asymmetric design. The heat spreader, which is 2mm thick to help improve heat dissipation, can either arrive in silver or grey (or, as Gigabyte calls it, Aorus Grey) depending on the memory kit’s frequency. In our case, the heat spreader came in Aorus Grey.
The memory modules are equipped with a discrete LED diffuser, which helps keep their height down to 39mm (1.54 inches). Gigabyte touts up to 12 different lighting modes for its Aorus RGB memory, but the actual number varies from kit to kit.
As expected, the memory is part of the Gigabyte’s proprietary RGB Fusion 2.0 ecosystem; therefore, it’s possible to synchronize its lighting with other Aorus-branded hardware and peripherals. The brand provides the RGB Fusion 2.0 software, which is the only way to control the memory lighting if you don’t have a Gigabyte motherboard.
Gigabyte doesn’t include any dummy sticks for this particular DDR4-3600 16GB (2x8GB) memory kit; you only receive two 8GB DDR4 memory modules out of the box. Despite what Thaiphoon Burner says, Gigabyte claims that the Aorus RGB memory is made from a 10-layer PCB. They conform to a single-rank design with Hynix H5AN8G8NCJR-VKC (C-die) integrated circuits (ICs).
The memory modules will run at DDR4-2666 with the typical 19-19-19-43 timings without any adjustments. With XMP activated, you’ll find the memory modules at DDR4-3600 with slightly better 18-19-19-39 timings while pulling 1.35V. For more on timings and frequency considerations, see our PC Memory 101 feature, as well as our How to Shop for RAM story.
Comparison Hardware
Memory Kit
Part Number
Capacity
Data Rate
Primary Timings
Voltage
Warranty
G.Skill Trident Z Neo
F4-3600C14D-16GTZNB
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
14-15-15-35 (2T)
1.45 Volts
Lifetime
Adata XPG Spectrix D60G
AX4U360038G14C-DT60
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
14-15-15-35 (2T)
1.45 Volts
Lifetime
Team Group T-Force Xtreem ARGB
TF10D416G3600HC14CDC01
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
14-15-15-35 (2T)
1.45 Volts
Lifetime
Adata XPG Spectrix D50
AX4U360038G18A-DT50
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
18-20-20-42 (2T)
1.35 Volts
Lifetime
HP V8
7EH92AA#ABM x 2
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
18-20-20-40 (2T)
1.35 Volts
5 Years
GeIL Orion AMD Edition
GAOR416GB3600C18BDC
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
18-22-22-42 (2T)
1.35 Volts
Lifetime
Gigabyte Aorus RGB Memory
GP-AR36C18S8K2HU416R
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
18-19-19-39 (2T)
1.35 Volts
Lifetime
Our Intel test system consists of an Intel Core i9-10900K and Asus ROG Maximus XII Apex on the 0901 firmware. On the opposite side, the AMD testbed leverages an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and ASRock B550 Taichi with the 1.30 firmware. The MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Gaming Trio handles the graphical duties on both platforms.
Intel Performance
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Gigabyte’s kit provides powerful performance on the Intel platform. The Aorus RGB outpaced other C18 memory kits and even some of the lower latency C14 rivals in application performance. Gaming, on the contrary, is another story. The Aorus RGB memory dropped to the penultimate position on the gaming charts.
AMD Performance
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Unfortunately, the Aorus RGB memory couldn’t maintain its dominance on the AMD platform. We see the DDR4-3600 C14 memory kits back up top in our application tests. Nonetheless, it’s important to mention that the Aorus RGB memory was the fastest of the DDR4-3600 C18 memory kits.
The Aorus RGB memory was the second-worst overclocker out of our DDR4-3600 memory kits. With the help of a 1.45V DRAM voltage, the memory got to DDR4-3900 with 20-20-20-40 timings.
Lowest Stable Timings
Memory Kit
DDR4-3600 (1.45V)
DDR4-3733 (1.45V)
DDR4-3900 (1.45V)
DDR4-4000 (1.45V)
DDR4-4133 (1.45V)
DDR4-4200 (1.45V)
G.Skill Trident Z Neo
13-16-16-36 (2T)
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
19-19-19-39 (2T)
Adata XPG Spectrix D60G
13-15-15-35 (2T)
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
20-19-19-39 (2T)
Team Group T-Force Xtreem ARGB
13-14-14-35 (2T)
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
19-19-19-39 (2T)
Adata XPG Spectrix D50
14-19-19-39 (2T)
N/A
N/A
18-22-22-42 (2T)
N/A
N/A
HP V8
14-19-19-39 (2T)
N/A
N/A
N/A
18-22-22-42 (2T)
N/A
GeIL Orion AMD Edition
16-20-20-40 (2T)
19-22-22-42 (2T)
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Gigabyte Aorus RGB Memory
16-19-19-39 (2T)
N/A
20-20-20-40 (2T)
N/A
N/A
N/A
Similarly, there wasn’t much headroom for manual tweaking. The Aorus RGB memory was stable with a CAS Latency of 16, but the rest of the timings had to remain at 19-19-39. We had to boost the DRAM voltage to 1.45V to achieve complete system stability.
Bottom Line
Gigabyte did a good job on the Aorus RGB Memory DDR4-3600 C18 as it looks and performs great. However, the brand kept the memory inside its own RGB ecosystem, meaning that you will need to use Gigabyte’s software to control the memory’s lighting effects properly. On the performance end, the memory is a strong performer, but just don’t expect to squeeze many extra megahertz out of it. Overclocking headroom isn’t great on the Aorus RGB memory.
Unfortunately, the Aorus RGB Memory DDR4-3600 C18 is also a very elusive memory kit. Like us, you will have a hard time finding it in a retailer other than Amazon. When in stock, the Aorus RGB Memory DDR4-3600 C18 retails for $149.99, making it one of the most expensive DDR4-3600 memory kits, even by C18 standards.
This isn’t something you see every day: Artifact Studios has made a sneaker that has all the bells and whistles of a full-grown gaming PC equipped with an RTX 3080 Founders Edition and paired with NZXT components. If you’re a fan of high-end sneakers and PC hardware, this is a dream come true!
The shoe features a black and white color scheme, awfully similar to that of NZXT’s H710 computer case that comes in a black and white finish. There’s a CPU block on the side of the shoe that looks like the block from an NZXT Kraken AIO. The screen on the CPU block is fully functional, just like the real thing.
Inside the shoe, there’s a fully built PC inside that you can see through a fake-looking tempered glass, with a motherboard, four memory sticks, another CPU water block with another fully functional screen, and fans on the bottom of the “case.” It looks very realistic — you can even see a fake CMOS battery on the motherboard itself.
This shoe is definitely a work of art; for now, though it seems it is just a prototype. But maybe with enough hype, Artifact Studios will make a limited production run of the NZXT-themed shoe!
(If you haven’t caught on already, no, this shoe is not a real gaming PC.)
Hitman 3 just launched, and IO Interactive’s latest stealth assassination sandbox game has garnered high ratings from many publications — PC Gamer gives it a 90, for example. But what sort of hardware do you need to run the game properly? We’ve grabbed a copy from the Epic Games Store, downloaded all 55GB, and set about running some benchmarks.
Anyone familiar with the past two Hitman releases will be right at home with the launcher, which includes a couple of built-in benchmarks if you go into the Options screen. The graphics options also look pretty much the same as before. There are ten main settings, plus super sampling — aka, supersampling anti-aliasing (SSAA). You should probably leave this off on most GPUs, or at most, use it very sparingly. Setting SSAA to 2.0 effectively quadruples the number of pixels the game renders before downsampling to your selected resolution, so running at 4K with SSAA at 2.0 is the same as running at 8K. If you have a 1080p display, though, it might be worth enabling. The remaining settings cover the usual gamut of texture quality, shadows, reflections, and a few other miscellaneous items. We’ll discuss those in more detail below.
We did some initial testing with both the Dartmoor and Dubai benchmark sequences, ultimately opting for Dubai as it feels a bit more representative of what you’ll actually experience in the game. The Dartmoor test is more demanding and features a lot of physics and particle simulations, but for a stealth game, we don’t think most people are concerned with pulling out a pair of machine guns and laying waste to an empty mansion. The Dubai sequence consists of various camera angles from the game’s first mission, which has NPC crowds but no explosions. Dartmoor might be useful as a worst-case view of performance, but it also stutters quite a lot during the first ten seconds while the level is still loading.
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(Image credit: IO Interactive)
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(Image credit: IO Interactive)
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(Image credit: IO Interactive)
We’ve defined our own ‘medium’ and ‘ultra’ settings for our testing, and we test at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K on both. Medium has everything at medium where applicable, plus anisotropic filtering at 4x, variable rate shading at performance, and simulation quality at base. Ultra just maxes out all of the settings, except for super sampling, as noted above. Interestingly, there’s no DirectX 11 option this time — it’s all DX12, all the time. On the previous two games, DX12 did help performance on most GPUs, and it definitely helped fps at lower resolutions and settings. IOI seems ready to ditch the old DX11 option and focus solely on DX12, and as we’ll see in a moment, performance hits relatively high frame rates.
Our test PC, for now, consists of a Core i9-9900K running on an MSI MEG Z390 ACE motherboard with 2x16GB Corsair DDR4-3600 CL16 memory. We’ve grabbed the latest AMD and Nvidia GPUs for starters, but we’ll look at adding more GPUs and some additional CPU tests soon. (Updated with RTX 20-series GPUs now. More to come!)
Hitman 3 has some sort of partnership with Intel this time, but it sounds like it’s focused on CPU optimizations rather than GPU enhancements. Unfortunately, the extra ‘Intel sauce’ doesn’t show up in the settings menu, and the details of what Intel has helped with are rather vague. Eight-core and higher CPUs may show some extra details, and Xe Graphics might have a few extras as well. Based on what we’ve seen so far with AMD and Nvidia GPUs, the Intel collaboration might be more for future updates (Intel discrete graphics is mentioned at the end of the video, for example).
Projected reflections are more complex than screen space reflections (Image credit: IO Interactive)
Hitman 3 Graphics Benchmarks
(Image credit: IO Interactive)
(Image credit: IO Interactive)
Starting at 1080p, whether you’re running medium quality or ultra quality, performance isn’t going to be a problem with any of the RTX 30-series or RX 6000-series graphics cards. Even the RTX 20-series cards, from the 2060 up, skate past 1080p with nary a hiccup.
Interestingly, AMD’s GPUs all have a clear performance lead, despite being CPU limited. Nvidia’s GPUs all max out at around 220-230 fps at medium and 190-200 fps at ultra, while AMD’s GPUs hit 270 fps and 230-235 fps. AMD did release new 21.1.1 drivers that are game ready for Hitman 3, but we did a few initial tests with 20.12.1 drivers, and performance wasn’t all that different (a few percent slower at most).
Regardless, we need to step up the resolution if we’re going to tax these modern GPUs. We’ll add additional commentary once we’ve tested with some mainstream and budget GPUs as well.
(Image credit: IO Interactive)
(Image credit: IO Interactive)
Running at 1440p, the RTX 3060 Ti still reaches 132 fps at ultra quality, so discussions about what GPUs run Hitman 3 best are still largely academic. The RTX 2060 also breaks 60 fps, sitting at 81 fps. Basically, if you have a high-end graphics card from the past two generations, you should be fine, and most of the GPUs (RTX 3070 and above) average 144 fps or more — perfect if you have one of the best gaming monitors. If if you can’t quite break 144 fps, using a G-Sync or FreeSync display should smooth out the occasional stutters.
Looking at the individual cards, the RTX 3090 barely drops at all going from 1080p to 1440p, while the other GPUs lose anywhere from 5 percent (6900 XT) to 30 percent (3060 Ti) of their 1080p performance. That’s pretty typical, and the drop corresponds to whether a particular setup is more CPU or more GPU limited.
(Image credit: IO Interactive)
(Image credit: IO Interactive)
Wrapping up with 4K testing, the RTX 3060 Ti still breaks 60 fps at 4K ultra, along with the 2080 Super. Anything below that mark struggles a bit, though even the RTX 2060 is still playable at 42 fps. Based on what we’ve seen so far, Hitman 3 isn’t nearly as demanding as some other games — at least, not in this initial release.
Meanwhile, the AMD vs. Nvidia comparisons continue to favor AMD by quite a lot, at least on the latest generation GPUs. Well, they’re favored based on the theory that the suggested prices on the various GPUs are anything remotely close to reality (which they’re not right now). Nvidia narrows the gap at 4K, but the RX 6800 XT is still faster than the RTX 3090, and the RX 6800 is nipping at the heels of the RTX 3080 and easily stays ahead of the RTX 3070.
We’ll be running some GTX 16-series and RX 5000-series benchmarks next to see how last-gen GPUs stack up in the near future. Based on what we’ve seen so far, Hitman 3 isn’t nearly as demanding as some other games — at least, not in this initial release.
Hitman 3: Future Updates Planned
That last bit is important. Hitman 3 is already a very nice looking game, but IOI plans to update the game with additional features, including ray tracing support, in the coming months. However, it’s not clear when the DirectX Raytracing (DXR) update will arrive — or if it will even make the game look all that different.
One of the big benefits of ray tracing is the ability to do “proper” reflections and lighting. Most games fake shadows, reflections, and other elements using various graphics techniques, but Hitman 3 goes beyond straight SSR (screen space reflections) in some areas. For example, it was a nice surprise to see Agent 47 and his surroundings properly reflected in building windows right at the start of the first level. Bathroom mirrors also work properly. But other reflective surfaces only do SSR, meaning they can only reflect what’s visible on the screen.
There are some compromises with the mirrored reflections, though. They appear to run at half the target resolution, which means there’s a lot of aliasing present. That’s a bit odd, as it shouldn’t be hard to run an AA post-processing filter to improve the look. Still, after seeing so many reflective surfaces in other games that don’t accurately model things (I’m looking at you, Cyberpunk 2077, with your lack of V reflections), at least Hitman 3 attempts to bridge the gap between SSR and full ray traced reflections.
The thing is, Hitman 3 already looks good right now, and if the choice comes down to improved reflections and shadows but performance plummets, most people will be happier with higher fps. Or maybe IOI is waiting for Intel’s high-end Xe HPG solution that will also support ray tracing, in which case it might be late 2021 before we get the patch. For now, the game runs well and looks very pretty. If your PC could handle the previous two Hitman games, it should still be fine for this third chapter that concludes the current story arc.
Putting an AMD Threadripper HEDT chip inside a laptop might sound strange, but someone was determined to make it a reality. As spotted by Hackaday, Jeff from the Excursion Gear YouTube channel went the extra mile with his DIY laptop, by including a 16-core, 32-thread AMD Ryzen ThreadRipper 1950X.
To make what Excursion Gear dubbed “the most powerful laptop in the world,” Jeff used a pre-built HP media center PC case, which he cut down by a few inches, as the laptop chassis. Specs-wise, Jeff went with an AsRock X399M Taichi Micro-Atx motherboard, 32GB of Corsair Vengeance RAM running at 3,600 MHz and a Zotac GTX 1050 Ti graphics card. For the display, he called in an 18.3-inch portable 4K monitor.
For cooling, this bootleg Threadripper machines uses a Dynatron A28 1U passive EPYC heatsink, which is low profile anddesigned for server-based rackmount cases. Two Delta BFB1012HH blower fans keep the Threadripper cool.
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(Image credit: YouTube)
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(Image credit: YouTube)
The most difficult part of the process, according to the builder, was figuring out how to run the “laptop” purely on battery power. Jeff eventually went with six Dell companion 18,000mah power banks, paired to an HDPlex 400W ATX SFF power supply. The six power banks combined produce up to 390W of power, more than enough for the Threadripper 1950X-based system.
Considering Origin PC makes the Ryzen 9 5950X an option in its laptops, this DIY laptop is probably not the fastest in the world. But a Threadripper-based laptop is quite an engineering feat on its own.
Gigabyte presented nine Intel Z590-based Aorus-branded motherboards at CES earlier this month, but didn’t actually showcase perhaps the most ambitious model in the lineup: The Z590 Aorus Tachyon, which can deliver up to an almost-ridiculous 1300A of power to Intel’s upcoming Rocket Lake chips. For reference, most flagship motherboards top out around 1000A.
If you’re looking for the ultimate in overclocking performance, it all starts with power delivery, and the Tachyon comes well-equipped for the task – just be sure to bring either extreme cooling, like LN2, or one of the new sub-ambient coolers, like the EKWB QuantumX Delta TEC or Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML360 Sub-Zero.
Tachyon is a hypothetical particle that travels faster than light. As the motherboard’s name suggests, the platform is aimed at the most extreme overclockers and has several features designed for professional overclockers.
The motherboard features a 10+2+1-phase (Vcore+GT+VCCSA) digital voltage regulating module based on the Renesas ISL69269 PWM controller with phases rated for up to 100 Amperes each, according to ChipHell. But as photos of the board published by Overclocking.com indicate, a VRM that can deliver up to 1300A to Intel’s 11th Generation Core ‘Rocket Lake-S’ CPU is certainly just one of the features meant to maximize overclocking potential of the Z590 Aorus Tachyon.
The Gigabyte Z590 Aorus Tachyon comes in the E-ATX form-factor that allowed the manufacturer to ensure the best possible routing with thick traces, enough space between traces, smooth angles, and other aspects to ensure signal integrity and clean power. As a bonus (in this case), the large form-factor allowed Gigabyte to install overclock-specific elements onto the motherboard (e.g., a range of manual hardware overclocking buttons).
The Z590 Aorus Tachyon motherboard has only two slots for DDR4 memory, which was done to maximize DRAM overclocking potential by simplifying signaling topology and delivering cleaner power to memory modules. Of course, two memory slots limit the motherboard’s maximum memory capacity to 64GB, but this is a fair tradeoff if you’re looking to do some heavy memory overclocking.
Like most platforms for overclockers, Gigabyte’s Tachyon features two BIOS ICs: one for overclocking experiments and another for regular usage. But in the case of the Z590 Aorus Tachyon, some BIOS settings can be controlled manually using six switches. One knob can switch between BIOSes, and another two switches are assigned for LN2 operation, but it is unclear what the rest three do. Additionally, the Z590 Aorus Tachyon motherboard has hardware A/B and +/- buttons to alter the CPU multiplier and control BCLK.
The platform also has a traditional debug LED able to display a two-symbol code. For more precise control of overvoltages, there is an onboard voltage measurement module to conveniently probe voltages with a multimeter.
Other notable features important for enthusiasts include four PCIe x16 slots, pre-installed radiators for M.2 SSDs, Gigabyte’s proprietary ‘Solid Pin’ ATX power connector, and two EPS power connectors.
Gigabyte classifies its Z590 Aorus Tachyon as a successor of its rather legendary SOC (SuperOverClocking) series motherboards from the mid-2010s.
Gigabyte doesn’t list its Z590 Aorus Tachyon motherboard on its website among other Intel Z590-powered platforms yet, which may indicate that either the company has not finalized the feature set and design of the product, or it just doesn’t want to share them before the board hits store shelves. Anyhow, right now, we have no idea when the Z590 Aorus Tachyon is set to be available and how much Gigabyte plans to charge for it.
AMD’s Ryzen 3000 and Athlon processors (including the unlocked $49 Athlon 3000G) have shaken up the low-cost landscape and made a splash on our CPU Benchmark Hierarchy, but crushing shortages of chips has gripped the industry, which impacts the low end of the market in a particularly painful way. So even though quad-core models with gaming-capable integrated graphics have an MSRP for a mere $100, and the Athlon lineup now dips below 50 bucks (although it’s not always easy to find the 200GE at the moment), supply is short. Intel’s response to AMD’s challenge has brought Hyper-threading to its low-end Pentium processors and two additional cores to the Core i3 line, which greatly improves performance for its budget chips even though they’re still limited in terms of their graphics.
AMD hasn’t released its Ryzen 5000 chips for the low-end yet; the series bottoms out at the Ryzen 5 family. We expect that Ryzen 3 models will come in due course, shaking up our low-end rankings. Intel also has its Rocket Lake processors incoming next month, but these chips will use the refreshed Comet Lake architecture for the Core i3 and below chips, so they probably won’t have much impact on our rankings.
The 200-series AMD chips are surprisingly capable at gaming even without a dedicated card. For more details about how the 200GE stacks up against Intel’s comparable budget chip, see our feature AMD Athlon 200GE vs. Intel Pentium Gold G5400: Cheap CPU Showdown.
For those looking for something with a bit more gaming prowess without having to resort to a dedicated graphics card, AMD’s Ryzen 5 3400G is tough to beat. While the Ryzen 4000 APUs are faster, they’re not readily available and cost a lot more. The 3400G is a solid option but doesn’t offer a big performance boost over previous-generation chips like the Ryzen 5 2400G.
If your budget is a bit more flexible and you’re looking to pair your processor with dedicated graphics for gaming, AMD’s Ryzen 3 3300X is great if you can find it at retail around the MSRP of $120, and Intel’s new Core i5-10600KF is impressive at about twice that amount. But like so many other PC components, both of these processors are hard to find in stock at reasonable prices. Hopefully availability will improve over time, but it probably won’t happen until later in 2021, at which time we’ll have new processors.
When choosing a CPU, consider the following:
You can’t lose with AMD or Intel: Both companies offer good budget chips, and overall CPU performance between comparative parts is closer than it’s been in years. You can see how the chips stack up in our CPU Benchmark Hierarchy. That said, if you’re primarily interested in gaming, Intel’s chips will generally deliver slightly better performance (and consume more power) when paired with a graphics card, while AMD’s Raven Ridge models (like the AMD Ryzen 3 2200G) do a better job of delivering gaming-capable performance at modest settings and resolutions without the need for a graphics card.
Clock speed is more important than core count: Higher clock speeds translate to snappier performance in simple, common tasks such as gaming, while extra cores will help you get through time-consuming workloads faster.
Budget for a full system: Don’t pair a strong CPU with weak storage, RAM and/or graphics.
Overclocking isn’t for everyone, but the ability to squeeze more performance out of a budget offering is enticing. Intel doesn’t have overclocking-capable processors for the sub-$125 market, but AMD’s processors allow for tuning, and in most cases the bundled AMD cooler is sufficient for the task. Automated overclocking features in most motherboards make the process easy, so even the least tech-savvy users can enjoy the benefits.
For even more information, check out our CPU Buyer’s Guide, where we discuss how much you should spend for what you’re looking to do, and when cores matter more than high clock speeds. If you can expand your budget and buy a mainstream or high-end processor, check out our lists of Best CPUs for Gaming and Best CPUs for Applications. Below, you’ll see our favorite budget picks.
The Ryzen 3 3300X unlocks a new level of performance for budget gamers with four cores and eight threads that can push low- to mid-range graphics cards to their fullest. This new processor wields the Zen 2 architecture paired with the 7nm process to push performance to new heights while enabling new features for low-end processors, like access to the speedy PCIe 4.0 interface. The 3300X’s four cores tick at a 3.8 GHz clock rate and boost to 4.3 GHz, providing snappy performance in lightly threaded applications, like games.
AMD includes a bundled Wraith Spire cooler with the processor. Still, you might consider budgeting in a better low-end cooler to unlock the full performance, particularly if you are overclocking. Speaking of which, the Ryzen 3 3300X can overclock to the highest all-core frequencies we’ve seen with a Ryzen 3000-series processor, making it a great chip for enthusiasts. Unlike AMD’s other current-gen Ryzen 3 processors, you’ll need to pair this processor with a discrete GPU, but the low price point leaves extra room in the budget for a more capable graphics card.
You can stick with the value theme and drop this capable chip into existing X470 of B450 motherboards, but you’ll lose access to the PCIe 4.0 interface in exchange for a lower price point. Better yet, AMD will have its new B550 motherboards on offer in June 2020. These new motherboards support the PCIe 4.0 interface but provide lower entry-level pricing that’s a better fit for this class of processor.
When money is tight, being able to game without a graphics card can lead to serious savings. And with RAM prices continuing to soar, those working with small budgets need to tighten the strings anywhere they can.
That makes the four-core, four-thread Ryzen 3 2200G particularly appealing for budget gaming builders and upgraders. The $99 chip delivers solid 720p performance thanks to its Vega on-chip graphics, decent CPU muscle for mainstream tasks, and can be dropped into an existing inexpensive 300-series motherboard (after a requisite BIOS update), to form the basis of a surprisingly capable low-cost PC. It’s also unlocked, so with proper cooling you can tune the graphics or the CPU to best suit your needs.
Overclocking is possible, though officially unsupported
All models provide similar performance after overclocking
Reasons to Avoid
Graphics engine and memory can’t be overclocked
Weak single-threaded performance
AMD’s Athlon 240GE serves as the flagship of the company’s budget lineup, but it still packs a convincing punch for low-end gaming systems. The integrated Radeon Vega 3 graphics facilitate playable frame rates at lower resolutions and quality settings, but the 3.5 GHz base clock is the only differentiating feature between the Athlon 240GE and its counterparts. Due to the unofficial support for overclocking, that means you can tune the Athlon 200GE to the same top performance as the more expensive chips, but at a $20 price savings.
If overclocking isn’t in your plans, the Athlon 240GE is the best budget chip in its price band. Intel’s competing Pentium lineup lacks the graphical horsepower to be serious contenders for the extreme low-end of the budget gaming market, but they are attractive if gaming isn’t your primary goal. That is, of course, if you can find them.
Overclocking is possible, though officially unsupported
All models provide similar performance after overclocking
Reasons to Avoid
Graphics engine and memory can’t be overclocked
Weak single-threaded performance
AMD’s sub-$60 Zen-based Athlon is a good all-around value, thanks to its four computing threads and Vega 3 graphics that are capable of light gaming at lower resolutions and settings. Lightly threaded performance isn’t great, but when you’re spending this little on a CPU, you should expect compromises somewhere. And while it isn’t officially supported by AMD, if you have a compatible motherboard, this chip can be overclocked to eke out some extra CPU performance.
If your build budget can swing it, the $100 Ryzen 3 2200G is a much better chip with more cores and beefier graphics. But if you can only spend $60 or less on your CPU and you aren’t adding a dedicated graphics card, the Athlon 200GE is tough to beat. Intel’s competing Pentiums, the Gold G5400 and G4560, deliver better CPU performance. But they have higher MSRPs, and production shortages have made them hard to find unless you’re willing to spend close to $100 or more, making them incomparable in terms of budget CPUs.
Read: AMD Athlon 200GE Review
Integrated Graphics Gaming Performance
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You won’t find many game titles that will play well at the popular 1920X1080 resolution on the sub-$80 chips, but there are a few. As we can see, AMD’s $100 Ryzen 3 2200G is the undisputed king of the hill for 1080p gaming on integrated graphics, but the Athlon chips also push out playable frame rates in a few titles (if you’re willing to tolerate lower graphics quality settings).
Switching over to 1280×720 finds the Athlon processors providing up to 50 FPS at stock settings and experiencing a decent performance boost from overclocking. Remember, all of the Athlon chips will benefit equally from overclocking, meaning the Athlon 200GE and 220GE will achieve the same level of performance as the overclocked Athlon 240GE. That’s an amazing value for these low-cost chips. It should go without saying, but the Ryzen 3 2200G’s Radeon Vega 8 graphics engine blows through the 1280×720 tests with ease.
Intel’s Pentium lineup, and even the Core i3-8100 for that matter, struggle tremendously under the weight of these titles. Gaming at 1920×1080 is a painful experience: You won’t find many games that are playable on Pentium processors at that resolution. Switching over to the 1280×720 resolution brings the Core i3-8100 and Pentium G5600 into acceptable territory, but those chips still can’t match the Athlon’s performance, not to mention the crazy good savings. Intel’s Pentium G5400 is particularly disappointing, though, due to its pared-down UHD Graphics 610 engine. We wouldn’t recommend this processor for gaming on integrated graphics.
But it’s hard to recommend Pentium processors at all right now. Intel is struggling with a shortage of 14nm production capacity, so these chips are extremely hard to find, and when you do find them, they are subject to severe price gouging.
Discrete GPU Gaming Performance
We focus primarily on integrated graphics gaming performance for ultra-budget chips, but these processors are also a great pairing with low-end discrete graphics cards. Below, we’ve tested the chips paired with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 2080 at the 1920×1080 resolution to remove any GPU limitations from our tests below. We tested with an Nvidia GeForce 1080 FE graphics card to remove graphics-imposed bottlenecks, but the difference between the processors will shrink with the cheaper graphics cards that are commonly found in budget builds. Provided the performance deltas are small, you can select less expensive models and enjoy nearly the same gaming experience with graphics cards on the lower-end of the GPU benchmarks hierarchy.
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Intel’s Coffee Lake Pentium models come with slight frequency improvements, a 3W increase in the TDP rating, and 4MB of L3 cache. These slight adjustments deliver a surprising boost to performance compared to the previous-gen Kaby Lake models. The Coffee Lake Pentium Gold G5600 even beats out the Kaby Lake Core i3-7100 in most of our gaming benchmarks, highlighting the impressive performance gains Intel made within a single generation.
The G5600 grapples with the Ryzen 3 2200G. The Ryzen 3 2200G is relatively simple to overclock with single-click options in the BIOS, and the bundled cooler provides enough headroom for all but the most extreme overclocking efforts. At stock settings, the 2200G trails the Intel Pentium Gold 5600, but the advantage of AMD’s unlocked multipliers is clear: At $99, the tuned Ryzen 3 2200G’s performance nearly matches the $117 Core i3-8100.
The Ryzen 3 2200G also comes with powerful integrated graphics that provide surprisingly strong gaming performance at lower resolutions and quality settings. That’s a feat the Core i3-8100 simply cannot match. If you’re seeking the absolute best gaming performance (when paired with a dedicated card) regardless of price, the Core i3-8100 fits the bill. If you want the most bang for your buck or plan on gaming on integrated graphics, the Ryzen 3 2200G is the clear value winner.
Productivity Performance
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The Core i3-8100’s solid mixture of frequency and IPC throughput delivered to our expectations. The agile processor took the lead in several of our lightly-threaded applications, like the Adobe Cloud suite, but it is also surprisingly powerful in threaded workloads. The Intel Core i3-8100 also offers superior performance in applications that use AVX instructions, like HandBrake, which is a great addition to its impressively well-balanced repertoire. Much like we observed in our gaming tests, the Core i3-8100 offers the best overall performance.
Even after overclocking, the AMD Ryzen 3 1300X isn’t competitive enough with the Core i3-8100 to justify its higher price tag, and the lack of integrated graphics also restricts its appeal.
The Ryzen 3 2200G continues to impress with its lower price point and competitive performance, not to mention the integrated Vega graphics, making it the obvious choice for budget builders who are willing to spend a little extra time on tuning.
The Pentium lineup excels in most applications, but the Athlon processors also offer an impressive level of performance. It’s also noteworthy that Intel’s Pentium processors don’t accelerate AVX instructions, a staple in many types of rendering applications, while the Athlon processors fully support the densely-packed instructions. Intel’s chips lead in lightly-threaded applications, like web browsers, but the competing AMD chips also offer more than suitable performance in those workloads.
Upcoming 11. the generation of Intel Core processors promises to be very intriguing. So far, the results of the engineering samples of the new chips have promised a big leap in performance, but the grain of uncertainty in this topic has been sown by the recent leaks on the 6-core Core i5 model – 11400 , which barely beat its predecessors from the previous generation, and at the same time lags behind the i7 model – 8700 K from the Coffee series Lake. However, we want to calm down enthusiasts lurking for the top Rocket Lake units – Intel Core i9 – 11900 K has just appeared in the popular Geekbench, and the result obtained allows us to believe that that the single-thread performance leader is coming.
As long as the manufacturer does not overdo the Rocket Lakes’ price and these processors are normally available, the leading Ryzen will be in a lot of trouble.
Intel Core i5 – 11400 slightly faster than Core i5 – 10400 on Geekbench test. Surprisingly low result of Rocket Lake chip
Tested Intel Core i9 – 11900 K is probably a retail version – indicate are high clock speeds of 3.5 GHz (base) and 5.3 GHz (Thermal Velocity Boost). The system was made in lithography 14 nm and has 8 cores and 16 threads. From Core i7 units 11. Generation will differ only in higher clocks. The model was placed on the Gigabyte Z motherboard 490 AORUS Master, which apparently had no problem with Rocket Lake support. The result in Single-Core was 1892 points, while in Multi-Core the processor dialed 10934 points
Intel Core i9 – 11900 K – the processor in the new CPU-Z performance test towers over the AMD Ryzen 9 chip 5950 X
For comparison, in the same AMD Ryzen 7 tests 5800 X (8R / 16 W) he noted 1669 points (SC) and 10427 (MC), AMD Ryzen 9 5950 X (16 R / 32 W) – 1682 points (SC) and 16726 (MC), and the direct predecessor of Intel Core i9 – 10900 K (10 R / 20 W) – 1402 point (SC) and 10933 (MC). As you can see, in the Single-Core category, the top Rocket Lake is second to none. In multi-core applications, there is also nothing to be ashamed of – though to 32 – thread Ryzena cannot take off, it represents Ryzen’s level 7 anyway 5800 X and i9 – 10900 K of 20 threads. As long as the manufacturer does not overdo the price and the processors are normally available, the new Ryzen will be in a lot of trouble.
Home/Component/Cooling/Asus to launch ROG Ryujin II 240 CPU cooler with a 3.5-inch display
João Silva 39 mins ago Cooling, Featured Tech News
Asus is readying up a successor to its ROG Ryujin AIO CPU cooler. The new ROG Ryujin II 240 is fairly similar to its predecessor with one key difference – a massive 3.5-inch LCD screen on top of the pump.
Featuring a 240mm radiator and 2x 120mm fans, the upcoming ROG Ryujin II 240 also comes with a 3.5-inch screen that allows the user to see the temperatures of the system components or display custom images. The predecessor of this cooler, the ROG Ryujin 240, already featured a screen on the pump, but it was only about half as big (1.77-inch) and it was an OLED instead of LCD.
According to VideoCardz (via TechPowerUp), Juan Jose Guerrero III, ASUS Technical Marketing Manager, shared a photo of the unreleased ROG Ryujin II 240 mounted on a Z590 ROG Maximus Hero motherboard. Although the photo doesn’t show any RGB, this AIO CPU cooler will feature Asus Aura addressable RGB lighting, allowing users to synchronise it with other Asus Aura Sync compatible components.
Asus has not announced pricing or availability details yet but we should hear more on that soon.
KitGuru says: Have you ever owned an Asus AIO CPU cooler? Do you like the 3.5-inch display screen on the ROG Ryujin II AIO? Would you like to have this cooler in your system?
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Introduction to the EKWB AIO Elite D-RGB specifications by 360 mm
This is not the first time that we tested an all-in-one kit from EKWB , on the other hand, one of the most famous brands of custom systems and with a more varied catalog of exchange blocks, but It is also true that our previous experience was with a less massive system than this, although among our results lists it is still one of the most compensated that we have tested in recent months.
The EKWB AIO D-RGB of 243 mm we tested is very similar to this new kit, uses the same exchange block and has the same lighting capacity, but it is nowhere near as massive as mo the Elite model we tested today. This new model not only uses a larger radiator, of 395 mm, but also mounts six high-quality fans designed for liquid cooling systems to maximize low performance any circumstance.
Technical characteristics of the EKWB AIO Elite 395 D-RGB
Dynamic pressure: 2. 89 mmH 22 (at maximum frequency)
Fan Power Connector: 4-Pin PWM
Fan voltage: 12 v
Fan current: 0. 64 To
Set TPD: 350 w
Warranty: 5 years.
Radiator
This kit that we analyze today has an approximate cost of 240 Euros, is relatively inexpensive considering its characteristics, so perhaps some of the elements are not all “excellent” that we can see in customized solutions of this same brand. I am talking in this case of the radiator that opts for a more economical but efficient solution made of aluminum, but with the same design that EKWB uses in its more expensive and advanced copper models.
In this In case our test sample uses an aluminum radiator made of 360 mm, but the Elite range can also be found in a variant with a radiator of 350 mm which is also a great option since it mounts 4 fans of 1400 mm that will move more air with less noise. Even so, the version that increases the cooling capacity the most is still this thanks to the greater exchange surface of its radiator of 360 mm and its six 200 mm.
The radiator has the usual flat pipe design through which the coolant circulates connected with zigzag aluminum sheets to maximize the exchange surface. It is the same design that we see in any refrigeration system. One of the peculiarities of this radiator is that the support is completely flat and the connections used by EK, the connection fittings are made of aluminum with a turning capacity of 395 degrees .
In the model that we have analyzed, from 360 mm, we can mount up to six fans of 200 mm (which this kit includes) and the thickness of the radiator is 27 mm. It is very standard and should be able to be installed in almost any box that has been intended for cooling systems. With this configuration, with six fans, with this radiator, we could dissipate more than 350 w heat with very low noise levels.
Exchanger and pump
In this Elite kit from EKWB we see the same design as the normal models use the same pump set plus exchange block, except that this diffuser is dark in color and does not really have any type of integrated lighting, except for the EKWB logo that crowns the cover. The rest is identical to the model we already tested and that is good because EKWB has an excellent set that includes something that we love in this type of system, such as a variable speed PWM control pump.
The heat exchanger is completely made of copper to maximize heat exchange, on the one hand it has a micro-channeling design that increases turbulence and adds exchange surface and on the other, in the area of contact with the processor, a medium polish with the thermal paste already applied. EKWB adds extra thermal paste so that we can maintain our block at least a couple more times. It is a block, and a fixing system, designed for any processor on the market except AMD Threadripper processors.
The pump is a PWM-adjusted impeller, with 4-pin connector, mounted on a steel chassis within the exchange block. It has the possibility of adjusting the turning speed between the 1000 and the 3300 rpm with adjustment between 25 and the 100% of frequency. It is a tad faster and more powerful than in the normal models of the brand that mount a pump with the same possibilities, but with a minimum frequency of 450 rpm and a maximum of 3600 rpm. The increase in frequency does not add much sound load and if a performance plus.
The entire block is made of low permeability ABS, except for the aluminum reinforcement for the inlet of the tubes, and includes an anchoring system for any modern or old AMD and Intel processor. The only exception is the AMD Threadripper for which this model does not have mounting capacity, the pity is that this model has ample capacity to handle these processors and would be an economical option for users of these powerful processors.
Tubes
EKWB has used reinforced tubes in this kit, tubes of which they do not give more details about the specific material of their manufacture, although without a doubt we are talking ndo of synthetic polyamide tubes. The tubes have internal reinforcement to avoid pinching and are low permeability to avoid the maintenance of the system during all the years of its life, offering the manufacturer a five-year guarantee on this model.
The tubes also have a braided nylon cover to increase their resistance. This will prevent friction from damaging the tube inside the cover. The tubes, which we have not seen for a long time in an AIO (All in One) refrigeration system, end in aluminum fittings with 360 degrees. This material is rare to see in this type of assembly, usually they are nylon or ABS fittings to match the pump block cover.
The tube has almost 450 mm long, so it is perfect for mounting in modern Mid-tower boxes, both for side mounting, top mounting or on the same support plate plate. We should not have a problem mounting in any modern box of the right size and designed for liquid cooling systems.
Fans
EK adds some of its best fans, the Vardar S, to its Elite series of cooling kits A- RGB. The Vardar S is a fan of 120 mm specially designed for use in radiators. It has a static pressure achieved by the design of its seven blades. This model, to be A-RGB, uses the entire surface of the blades and rotor as a lighting diffuser.
Supports A-RGB connectivity, with built-in bridge and independent wiring, and PWM connection for the rotor. The working frequencies are between 600 and the 2200 rpm, so we must have a good control over them if we don’t want high noise levels. Produces up to 38 noise dBA at maximum rotation frequency.
Its only defect is that the fans do not have some kind of silentblocks integrated, although the flat surface of the radiator mounting system It seems to make a good connection and we have not noticed any vibration during our tests and in this case it is harder than in the model we tested previously that only mounted two fans.
Noise and temperature
Testing machine:
Processor: AMD Ryzen 3800 X
Memory: GoodRA M 19 GB DDR4 3600
Source: Seasonic Connect 751 w
Hard Drive: Corsair MP 600
Box: Seasonic SYNCRO Q 742
As usual we have tested this kit with our fully integrated liquid cooling system test bench. It consists mainly of an AMD Ryzen 7 3800 X with a TDP consumption of 100 W to which we let its turbo frequencies self-manage during stress tests.
Idle noise (dBA)
Load noise (dBA )
CPU Temp (Idle)
Idle (rpm)
Radiator Temp (charge)
CPU Temp (load)
Load (rpm)
Assembly
Another advantage of this Elite series, over the more standard models, is that they have a lighting concentrator and fans that we can easily hide behind the motherboard. It supports up to six fans and six ARGB connections and also has its own built-in ARGB LED for an extra pop of color. The anchor of this hub is that of a 2.5 ”unit, so we can mount it in any anchor for this type of units in our chassis.
Of this mode we will have a single connection for the A-RGB with our motherboard, and it supports all the first brands, and a connection for the CPU fan and that the motherboard manages all in the same unified way.
If I recommend using the dedicated connectivity of the most modern motherboards for the management of the variable pump, thus we will have the best performance and the lowest possible noise with a centralized management that the motherboard manufacturers have also worked very well to optimize our cooling.
The assembly of the block is really simple, both for AMD and Intel and it is just as accessible if we do it with the plate removed from the box or with it already mounted when we have to do maintenance. It has its own backplate anchoring system, which in AMD takes advantage of the standard one, and its four-point anchor is very easy to adjust and makes perfect contact thanks to its integrated spring system at each pressure point. Someone with experience can take time to assemble this kit in a box around the 31 minutes, most of that time locating fans and wiring.
Superb cooling, good price
The larger a radiator and the more fans we place, the better the cooling it produces, care must be taken in the vibration and noise that all this large number of fans can produce , we can also use several of them in the box and leave the block with three, for example, we will always have that option.
Be that as it may, and being a bit louder than other kits in our comparison, the performance of this unit in load is perfectly acceptable, not to mention that it is quite silent and above all it gives us an important extra cooling. It is quite a powerhouse when it comes to AIO systems and has everything we expect from a modern, high-quality system. All this with a very attractive price of just over 200 Euros.
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Instacart is laying off every employee who voted to unionize, Motherboard reports. The news comes as the company shuts down in-store operations at some grocery stores amid the coronavirus pandemic and doubles down on curbside pickups.
The layoffs impact 10 unionized workers at a grocery store called Mariano’s, in addition to other Instacart employees. The group in Skokie, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, voted to unionize last year with the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1546 (UFCW). It was a landmark victory for gig workers and represented “the first time employees of tech companies that rely predominantly on contract labor have formed a union to collectively bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions,” according to my colleague Nick Statt.
Employees were in the process of negotiating their first contract when news of the layoffs hit. “These layoffs are totally discouraging for any gig workers who are trying to do something to make these jobs better,” one unionized worker told Motherboard. They said they were fighting for health insurance and vacation time in their initial contract.
UFCW told Motherboard the layoffs will impact nearly 2,000 of the company’s 10,000 grocery store workers.
The news could have a chilling effect on other organizing efforts by Instacart employees across the country. The company’s leadership has already shown its hostility toward organizers, running a union-busting campaign that included bringing in managers to the grocery store in Skokie to convince workers to vote against the union.
Although the pandemic has changed the company’s in-store shopping model, it’s also brought a significant increase in demand for grocery delivery. This year, Instacart plans to go public, an event that could value the company at roughly $30 billion.
The company announced the layoffs in a blog post about new grocery pickup models. Instacart said it would transfer some of the impacted shoppers to other grocery stores and provide “transition assistance” to people looking for work. “We know this is an incredibly challenging time for many as we move through the COVID-19 crisis, and we’re doing everything we can to support in-store shoppers through this transition,” the blog post says.
According to Motherboard, workers could get as little as $250 in severance.
Instacart would not tell The Verge whether the union employees would be among those getting transferred. The layoffs are scheduled to happen between March and June, according to Motherboard.
In a statement emailed to The Verge, an Instacart spokesperson wrote:
As a result of some grocers transitioning to a Partner Pick model, we’ll be winding down our in-store operations at select retailer locations over the coming months. We know this is an incredibly challenging time for many as we move through the COVID-19 crisis, and we’re doing everything we can to support in-store shoppers through this transition. This includes transferring impacted shoppers to other retailer locations where we have Instacart in-store shopper roles open, working closely with our retail partners to hire impacted shoppers for roles they’re looking to fill, and providing shoppers with transition assistance as they explore new work opportunities. We’re also providing all impacted shoppers with separation packages based on their tenure with Instacart.
The statement was pulled directly from the company’s public blog post.
The leaks so far indicate that the upcoming Intel Rocket Lake processors will literally dethrone their predecessors and raise the Blue on the seat again a leader in the segment of gaming systems. Everything clearly indicated that the new Cypress Cove architecture will bring a noticeable increase in performance, while the network has seen quite disappointing results of the mid-budget Core i5 unit – 11400, which has been tested in Geekbench. This layout was only slightly ahead of its predecessors based on the Comet Lake architecture, and at the same time it was brutally dethroned by the also 6-core, but much more expensive Ryzen 5 5600 X.
Based on the Geekbench results, AMD Ryzen 5 5600 X beats Rocket Lake by approx. 30%. The difference is therefore considerable, but let’s not forget that the Core i5 – 11400 will be a much cheaper unit. We must also take into account the fact that we did not know the exact specification of the test platform or the state of advancement of the engineering version of the chip.
Intel Core i9 – 11900 K vs AMD Ryzen 9 5900 X – the manufacturer declares the highest performance in new computer games
Intel Core i5 – 11400 is 6- core / 12 – threaded processor with 2.6 GHz clocks (base ) and 4.4 GHz in turbo mode The processor has been tested on the MSI MPG Z 490 M motherboard Gaming Edge, we are probably talking about an ES2 engineering sample, which should offer very similar performance to the retail units due in March. In Geekbench benchmarks, the chip scored 11900 point in Sing le-Core and 6197 in Multi-Core, which means that Rocket Lake is on average 9% faster than its predecessor, the model Core i5 – 10400. It is worth noting that the upcoming chip is 100 MHz faster in turbo mode. With the new Cypress Cove cores we could have expected a bit more difference.
The mysterious Intel Alder Lake-S processor has arrived in SiSoft Sandra. Has 16 cores and supports DDR5 memory 4800 MHz
Worst of all, Core i5 – 11400 looks pale compared to other 6-core species. In the same tests, Core i7 – 8700 K is on average a few percent faster, and AMD Ryzen 5 5600 X recording results in Geekbench at the level of 1605 (SC) and 8099 (MC) beats Rocket Lake by approx. 30%. The difference is therefore considerable, but let’s not forget that the i5 – 11400 will be a much cheaper unit. We must also take into account the fact that we did not know the exact specification of the test platform or the state of advancement of the engineering version of the chip. So we have every right to hope that the final performance of the upcoming Intel processors will remain at a higher level, especially as the Core i9 and Core i7 models performed very well.
Intel’s 11th Generation Rocket Lake-S processors will likely make their debut in late March, but that doesn’t mean that the rumor mill will stop churning. The Core i5-11400 and Core i7-11700 (via Tum_Apisak) are the two latest Rocket Lake-S parts to break cover, and it looks like they could shake up our CPU Benchmark Hierarchy when they come to market.
By now, Rocket Lake-S shouldn’t need any introductions. The approaching 14nm chips leverage Intel’s Cypress Cove microarchitecture, which is basically a backport of the 10nm Sunny Cove cores from Ice Lake chips. Rocket Lake-S also features Xe LP graphics and natively supports PCIe 4.0 and DDR4-3200 memory modules. The processors will continue to slot into the LGA1200 socket, but it’s probably the last generation of chips to use the socket before Intel transitions to the LGA1700 socket for Alder Lake-S.
The Core i5-11400 comes furnished with six cores, 12 threads and up to 12MB of L3 cache. The hexa-core chip seemingly features a 2.6 GHz base clock and 4.4 GHz boost clock. The Core i7-11700, in return, sports eight cores, 16 threads and a 16MB L3 cache. The processor appears to have a 2.5 GHz base clock and 2.5 GHz boost clock, but the latter looks like a misreport (or a limitation of an egineering sample). In any event, neither processor carries a suffix, conveying that these are 65W Rocket Lake-S SKUs.
The Core i5-11400 had single- and multi-core scores of 1,247 and 6,197 points, respectively, in Geekbench 5. According to the average metrics, the Core i5-10400 delivers a single-and multi-core score 1,115 points and 5,676, respectively. Therefore, the Core i5-11400 offers up to 11.8% higher single-core performance and up to 9.2% better multi-core performance than the current Core i5-10400.
The Core i7-11700’s scores are lower than the Core i5-11400, so the run was likely not particularly useful and influenced by the lower clock speed. This isn’t unusual because unreleased hardware doesn’t always play nice with some benchmarking software. As evidenced by the Core i7-11700’s low boost clock speed, something (maybe cooling or firmware) was holding the octa-core processor back during the benchmark.
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Core i5-11400 (Image credit: Primate Labs Inc.)
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Core i7-11700 (Image credit: Primate Labs Inc.)
Although Intel has allowed motherboard vendors to show off their shiny Z590 motherboards, the chipmaker hasn’t officially released Rocket Lake-S yet or provided detailed specifications. Intel has repeatedly stated that the chips will arrive in the first quarter of this year.
Since Alder Lake-S launches in the second half of the year, it’s safe to assume that Rocket Lake-S will have to debut around March time. After all, Rocket Lake-S is just the band-aid solution to hold off AMD’s Ryzen 5000 processors until Alder Lake-S is ready for airtime. Assuming Alder Lake and its Golden Cove high performance cores are up to snuff, naturally.
Nowadays, a computer set is often not only designed to function, but also to look. Especially in the era of housings with panels made of tempered glass and RGB LED backlight. No wonder that manufacturers release components of various styles in order to reach the widest possible audience. Photos of the approaching motherboard from the Taiwanese giant appeared on the network. I am talking about the MSI MPG Z 590 Gaming Force model dedicated to Intel Rocket Lake-S processors. It is a representative of the mid-price segment with a solid, well-cooled power section and very … original colors. The dominant colors here are black, purple, gold and pink, and the keynote is supposedly Hip Hop.
MSI MPG Z 590 Gaming Force convinces not only with its original design, but also with factory M.2 heatsinks or a POST screen.
MSI MPG Z Test 490 Carbon EK X – Water Cooled Motherboard
MSI MPG Z 590 Gaming Force is an ATX format motherboard that is equipped with the Intel Z chipset 590 and LGA socket 1200, both dedicated to processors Intel 11. Generation On black laminate we find 16 – phase power section cooled by metal, richly ribbed heatsinks. In addition, the user receives two reinforced PCI Express 4.0 x slots 16 (they work in the x8 / x8 system with both slots populated), one “regular” PCI Express 3.0 x4 and two PCI Express 3.0 x1. For data carriers, there is one M.2 PCIe 4.0 x4 slot, two PCIe 3.0 x4 and six traditional SATA III ports.
MSI Prestige P Test 100 X – Creator PC with Intel Core i9 – 10900 K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER
I / O Panel MSI MPG Z 590 Gaming Force hosts four USB 2.0 ports, one each HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 type C, three USB 3.2 Gen 2 type A, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 type A, RJ – 45 and six audio connectors. The Taiwanese are convincing, apart from the original style, with such flavors as the POST screen or factory metal heat sinks for semiconductor carriers in the M.2 standard. The suggested motherboard price has not been revealed, but in the case of MSI the MPG series is usually positioned as “average”.
Source: momomo_us @ Twitter
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