Home/Component/CPU/Leaked Intel roadmap points to new Alder Lake-S CPUs coming Q3 2021
João Silva 5 hours ago CPU
A newly leaked Intel roadmap has given us a hint at what to expect from Intel in the coming months. As it turns out, Intel Alder Lake-S could be landing a bit sooner than anticipated, with this roadmap showing plans for a Q3 2021 release.
The roadmap leaked by @9550pro refers to Intel workstation products. Divided into “Expert WS”, “Mainstream WS”, and “Entry WS”, the roadmap hints at a release of the Alder Lake workstation platform in Q3 2021. The platform seems to feature the Intel W680 chipset, 125W (K processors), 65W, and 35W processors with up to 16 cores, 20 PCIe lanes, and the LGA1700 socket.
image credit: @9550pro
The roadmap further informs us of an 8+8 SKU, which is set to enter production starting on the 35th week of 2021. A 6+0 SKU is also confirmed, due to enter production on the 41st week of 2021.
It’s worth noting the roadmap might not be updated to Intel’s current plans. As seen by the image, Intel Rocket Lake-S shows up with a release in 2020, but these processors only just arrived at the end of March.
KitGuru says: When do you expect to see Alder Lake processors hitting the shelves? Are you interested in seeing what the platform upgrade brings to the table?
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AMD will bring Ryzen 5000G APUs to retail later this year
Earlier this week, AMD officially announced the Ryzen 5000G series of processors with integrated Radeon …
João Silva 1 day ago Featured Announcement, Graphics
ASRock has released its flagship Radeon RX 6900 XT graphics card – the Radeon RX 6900 XT OC Formula, complete with a 21-phase power design for enhanced overclocking potential.
Based on the RDNA2 architecture, the ASRock Radeon RX 6900 XT OC Formula features a Navi 21 GPU with 80 CUs and 16GB of GDDR6 memory across a 256-bit memory bus. The 21-phase power design pushes the GPU even further, delivering more power to the GPU and paving the way for higher overclocks.
The ASRock Radeon RX 6900 XT OC Formula uses a triple-fan configuration with Striped Axial fans to cool the 3-slot extended heatsink. On light loads, the fans do not spin to reduce noise. The backplate protects the PCB and enhances the card’s cooling capabilities with small hexagonal holes that allow air to be pushed through it.
The base clock is set at 2125MHz, but depending on the active BIOS, boost and game clocks vary. There are two BIOS versions to choose from: P BIOS, with a game clock of 2295MHz and a boost clock of 2475MHz, and Q BIOS, which has a game clock of 2165MHz and a boost clock of 2365MHz.
The all-metal shroud features a green band around it and ASRock Polychrome RGB that users can synchronise with other compatible products. Available video interfaces include an HDMI 2.1 port and 3x DisplayPort 1.4 with DSC. The card is powered by 3x 8-pin power connectors.
KitGuru says: Are you still looking for a Radeon RX 6900 XT card for your system? What do you think of the ASRock Radeon RX 6900 XT OC Formula graphics card?
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Vote in the KitGuru Reader Survey and win a Zotac ZBox Magnus One w/ RTX 3070
Once a year, we ask you, our readers, to tell us what’s hot and what’s not in our unique KitGuru Reader Survey. This year, Zotac has offered up a stunning prize for one lucky participant to win: a very special ‘barebones’ PC that comes complete with an Intel Core i7-10700 processor and an Nvidia RTX 3070 graphics card!
Home/Software & Gaming/Days Gone PC features and improvements announced, releasing on May 18th
Matthew Wilson 2 days ago Software & Gaming
We’ve known for a while now that Days Gone is the next major PS4 console exclusive to be coming to PC. Now, we have a date and our first look at the PC version in action ahead of launch next month.
Days Gone is coming to PC on the 18th of May on Steam and the Epic Games Store. Similarly to last year’s Horizon Zero Dawn release, Days Gone will support 21:9 ultrawide displays, third-party controllers like the Xbox gamepad, as well as keyboard/mouse with remapping functions.
In the trailer above, we can see the PC version in action, running at 4K and 60 frames per second. The PC version will also include improved graphics over the PS4 version and unlocked frame rates, so you can run it well above 60 frames per second as long as you have the hardware for it. Speaking of hardware, below you will find the minimum and recommended PC specifications for the game:
Minimum:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: Intel Core [email protected] or AMD FX [email protected]
The PC version includes increased level of detail, field of view and foliage draw distance, as well as the usual graphical customisation options we expect to balance fidelity and performance. The Photo Mode is also included for those who enjoy taking impressive screenshots.
Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.
KitGuru Says: I skipped Days Gone on the PS4 but I’m really looking forward to picking up this PC version. Are any of you planning on grabbing this next month?
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Xbox controller ‘stick drift’ lawsuit will not go to trial
Last year, we learned that Nintendo isn’t the only company facing lawsuits over gaming controller …
In a shocking move, MSI Russia has has reduced the warranty period for 18 graphics cards, as reported by PC Gamer. MSI typically offers a 36-month warranty on graphics cards; however, the brand will only back the affected models for six months now.
MSI Russia shared the news on the company’s warranty webpage but didn’t share its exact reasoning. The list includes AMD Polaris and Navi cards, as well as Nvidia’s Turing and latest Ampere products representing some of the best graphics cards for gaming.
Graphics Card
Ethereum Hash Rate (MH/s)*
Architecture
GPU
Radeon RX 570 Miner 8G
31.31
GCN 4.0
Polaris 20
Radeon RX 580 Miner 8G
32.74
GCN 4.0
Polaris 20
Radeon RX 5500 XT Miner
25.06
RDNA
Navi 14
Radeon RX 5600 XT Miner
37.68
RDNA
Navi 10
Radeon RX 5700 Miner
50.99
RDNA
Navi 10
Radeon RX 5700 XT Miner
54.28
RDNA
Navi 10
GeForce RTX 2060 Super Gaming X RU
37.74
Turing
TU106
GeForce RTX 2060 Gaming Z RU
37.74
Turing
TU106
GeForce RTX 2060 Super Ventus OC RU
37.74
Turing
TU106
GeForce RTX 2060 Ventus OC RU
37.74
Turing
TU106
GeForce RTX 2060 Ventus XS OC RU
37.74
Turing
TU106
GeForce GTX 1660 Ventus XS OC RU
21.44
Turing
TU116
GeForce GTX 1660 Super Ventus XS OC RU
26.64
Turing
TU116
GeForce RTX 3060 Ventus 2X OC RU
48.00
Ampere
GA106
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Ventus 2X OC RU
60.21
Ampere
GA104
GeForce RTX 3070 Ventus 3X OC RU
61.79
Ampere
GA104
GeForce RTX 3080 Ventus 3X 10G OC RU
97.88
Ampere
GA102
GeForce RTX 3090 Ventus 3X OC RU
121.16
Ampere
GA102
*Data from Minerstat
MSI Russia didn’t point to cryptocurrency mining, but it still comes to mind as a potential driver for the drop in warranty, especially considering the first six models are obviously tailored towards cryptocurrency miners, such as the famed Radeon RX 580 Miner.
It’s a bit surprising to see Ampere cards on MSI’s list, since the Ampere SKUs are GeForce gaming graphics cards. But cryptocurrency miners have repurposed Ampere, such as the GeForce RTX 3060 for mining activities.
Mining cryptocurrency takes a heavy toll on graphics cards, since mining farms operate 24/7. Graphics cards used for mining are more likely to suffer a premature death, which is particularly problematic given today’s graphics card shortage. Graphics card vendors aren’t eager to replace these cards, and, in fact, many vendors explicitly state that cryptocurrency mining isn’t covered under their warranty.
Nvidia’s answer to crytocurrency mining was to introduce the Cryptocurrency Mining Processor (CMP) product line. However, CMP options aren’t very appealing to casual miners, considering their price tag and warranty. Although Nvidia never acknowledged it, many CMP devices are using rewarmed Turing silicon. For example, the CMP 30HX performs similarly to the GeForce GTX 1660 Super in mining Ethereum. We’ve seen the CMP 30HX on the market with a price tag as high as $723 with warranty periods up to three months. It’s easy to see why miners would avoid the CMP lineup since the GeForce counterparts are often cheaper and feature longer warranties.
If the rumor about Nvidia giving its Ampere silicon an overhaul is accurate, graphics card vendors won’t have to resort to shortening warranty periods to protect their GeForce products from mining. The chipmaker is reportedly reinforcing its anti-mining algorithm on the new Ampere dies, so that mining performance is gimped straight out of the box.
This shouldn’t affect shoppers outside of Russia, but we’ve reached out to MSI to see if the company can shed any more light and if we could see similar action in other countries.
Update: Today’s Newegg Shuffle is now over. Here’s hoping you were able to snag something!
Original Story:
The Newegg Shuffle soldiers on, with today bringing us another chance to potentially buy one of the best graphics cards. Today’s Shuffle has several options for GeForce RTX 3060 graphics cards, one GeForce RTX 3060 Ti graphics card and one Radeon RX 6700 XT graphics card. Three of these cards also have mobo bundle options with boards from Gigabyte and Asus. These graphics cards rank towards the top of our GPU benchmarks hierarchy, and prices are at least a bit lower than what we’ve seen in our eBay GPU pricing index.
For those unfamiliar with the process, Newegg Shuffle uses a lottery format. You select the component(s) you’d like to potentially buy. Then there’s a drawing later today, and the ‘winners’ get notified by email with the chance to purchase the part (only one) within a several hour period. Based on our experience, you won’t get selected most of the time. But hey, it’s free to try.
Today’s options and prices consist of the following:
Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 for $509
Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 for $519
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3060 Ti for $619
Gigabyte Radeon RX 6700 XT with Gigabyte xX570 Aorus Elite for $894
Gigabyte Radeon RX 6700 XT with Gigabyte B550 Aorus Pro for $894
Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 with Asus ROG Strix B550-E for $754
Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 with Asus ROG Strix B550-F for $719
All of the graphics card prices are roughly 50-60% higher than the official launch MSRPs from AMD and Nvidia, though these are third-party custom cards that may come with extra features. The RTX 3060 and 3060 Ti cards are perhaps the best of the bunch, with performance rivaling the previous generation RTX 2060 Super and 2070 Super for a lower price. And if you prefer AMD, the RX 6700 XT card certainly has you covered.
With component shortages plaguing the PC industry, not to mention the smartphone and automotive industries, the latest word is that prices aren’t likely to return to ‘normal’ throughout 2021. If you can keep chugging along with whatever your PC currently has, that’s the best option, as otherwise prices are painful for all of the Nvidia Ampere and AMD RDNA2 GPUs.
ASRock has introduced its fastest air-cooled graphics cards to date, the Radeon RX 6900 XT OC Formula 16GB. The new board carries factory-overclocked AMD’s top-of-the-range Navi 21 XTX GPU (5120 stream processors) GPU that can boost to almost 2.50 GHz and backed by a sophisticated voltage regulating module (VRM).
The Radeon RX 6900 XT OC Formula has a 21-phase VRM along with three eight-pin auxiliary PCIe power connectors to deliver up to 450W of ‘clean’ power to the GPU to guarantee stable operation at factory clocks as well as enable some further overclocking potential.
(Image credit: ASRock)
Speaking of clocks, the ASRock Radeon RX 6900 XT OC Formula 16GB has a base GPU frequency of 2125 MHz, up from 1825 MHz recommended by AMD. Meanwhile, the board comes with two BIOS modes: the Q mode and the P mode. In Q mode the GPU features game clock of 2165 MHz and a boost clock of 2365 MHz. In P mode, the graphics processor operates at 2295 MHz ~ 2475 MHz, which is considerably higher when compared to frequencies of other factory-overclocked Radeon RX 6900 XT graphics cards introduced so far.
ASRock’s Radeon RX 6900 XT Graphics Cards
Radeon 6900 XT OC Formula
Radeon RX 6900 XT Phantom Gaming D
Radeon RX 6900 XT
Base
2125 MHz
1925 MHz
1825 MHz
Game
2165MHz
2105 MHz
–
Game P Mode
2295 MHz
–
–
Boost
2365 MHz
2340 MHz
2250 MHz
Boost P Mode
2475 MHz
–
–
Being one of the fastest factory-overclocked Radeon RX 6900 XT graphics cards announced to date, the ASRock Radeon RX 6900 XT OC Formula comes with an extremely large triple-slot OC Formula 3X cooling system featuring two aluminum heatsinks, seven heat pipes, three striped axial fans, and a backplate. To make the cooler look and feel even more attractive, it is equipped with ARGB LEDs and has a metal cover. Since the cooling system is large, the card measures 332 × 137 × 61 mm, so those who plan to use will need to ensure that it fits into their chassis.
(Image credit: ASRock)
ASRock unveiled its Radeon RX 6900 XT OC Formula board at the same day when PowerColor launched its Red Devil Ultimate and Liquid Devil Ultimate graphics cards that support GPU clocks of up to 2425 MHz and 2525 MHz, respectively. PowerColor officially stated that its graphics boards were based on cherry picked GPUs, but ASRock did not make such a claim. Therefore, it is unclear whether ASRock used hand-picked GPUs to build its Radeon RX 6900 XT OC Formula or its advanced VRM and cooling system can enable Navi 21 XTX GPUs operate at clocks that are about 10% higher when compared to those recommended by AMD.
(Image credit: ASRock)
ASRock did not say when it plans to start shipments of its flagship Radeon RX 6900 XT OC Formula 16GB nor did it disclose its MSRP. Setting a recommended price on graphics card these days does not make a lot of sense as it will be sold at a price that significantly exceed its MSRP. Nonetheless, it would still be interesting to see — at least on paper — how much ASRock charges for a ~10% performance gain over AMD’s reference design.
Parallels has released a new version of its Parallels Desktop for Mac virtualization software that features full native support for Mac computers equipped with either Apple M1 or Intel processors. The program allows users to run Windows 10 Arm Insider Preview as well as various Linux distributions on systems running the M1 SoC at native speeds.
Running Windows on Apple’s Mac computers may not be a priority for most of their owners, but there are still quite a lot of users who need to run Windows applications from time to time. Since the latest Apple MacBook Air/Pro 13 and MacMini are based on the Arm-powered M1 SoC, it’s impossible to install regular Windows 10 as the second OS on them. Furthermore, unlike other programs for Mac, virtualization machines did not run well on M1-based Macs via the Rosetta layer, so Parallels had to redesign its Parallels Desktop to make it run on an Apple’s M1 SoC natively.
Parallels Desktop for Mac 16.5 supports all the capabilities that that users of PDM are used to on Apple M1 systems, including coherence mode, shared profile, and touch bar controls, just to name a few.
In addition to Windows 10 for Arm, Parallels Desktop for Mac 16.5 also supports guest operating systems on M1 Macs,including Linux distributives Ubuntu 20.04, Kali Linux 2021.1, Debian 10.7, and Fedora Workstation 33-1.2.
To ensure flawless operation of its Parallels Desktop for Mac virtual machine, Parallel used help of more than 100,000 Mac M1 users who ran Microsoft’s Windows 10 on Arm Insider Preview along with various software from PowerBI to Visual Studio and from SQL server to Meta Trader. In addition, engineers from Parallels did not forget games and ensured that titles like Rocket League, Among Us, Roblox, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and Sam & Max Save the World worked well on Parallels Desktop for Mac 16.5 and Apple M1-powered systems.
Right now, Parallels Desktop for Mac 16.5 is good enough to launch it commercially, according to the company.
There are some interesting findings about performance of Apple M1 and Parallels Desktop 16.5 for Mac:
An M1-based Mac running Parallels Desktop 16.5 and Windows 10 Arm consumes 2.5 times less energy than a 2020 Intel-based MacBook Air.
An Apple M1 machine running Parallels Desktop 16.5 and Windows 10 Arm performs 30% better in Geekbench 5 than a MacBookPro with Intel Core i9-8950HK in the same conditions.
Apple M1’s integrated GPU appears to be 60% faster than AMD’s Radeon Pro 555X discrete graphics processor in DirectX 11 applications when running Windows using the Parallels Desktop 16.5.
“Apple’s M1 chip is a significant breakthrough for Mac users,” said Nick Dobrovolskiy, Parallels Senior Vice President of Engineering and Support. “The transition has been smooth for most Mac applications, thanks to Rosetta technology. However, virtual machines are an exception and thus Parallels engineers implemented native virtualization support for the Mac with M1 chip. This enables our users to enjoy the best Windows-on-Mac experience available.”
Update: The Shuffle has ended. Did you get selected? If so, let us know in the comments, you lucky dog!Original Story: The Newegg Shuffle continues, with another chance to potentially buy one of the best graphics cards — or one of the best CPUs. Today’s Shuffle has several options for GeForce RTX 3070 and GeForce RTX 3060 graphics cards, one Radeon RX 6700 XT and mobo bundle, along with AMD’s Ryzen 7 5800X and Intel’s Core i7-10700. and bundles on tap. The graphics cards rank in the upper segment of our GPU benchmarks hierarchy, and prices are at least a bit lower than what we’ve seen in our eBay GPU pricing index.
For those unfamiliar with the process, Newegg Shuffle uses a lottery format. You select the component(s) you’d like to potentially buy. Then there’s a drawing later today, and the ‘winners’ get notified by email with the chance to purchase the part (only one) within a several hour period. Based on our experience, you won’t get selected most of the time. But hey, it’s free to try.
Today’s options and prices consist of the following:
Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 White for $840
Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 for $770
Asus GeForce RTX 3060 Ultimate KO for $520
Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 for $510
Gigabyte Aorus RX 6700 XT Elite with X570 Aorus Elite WiFi for $1,010
Gigabyte RTX 3060 Eagle with B550 Aorus Elite for $615
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X for $429
Intel Core i7-10700 for $255
All of the graphics card prices are roughly 50-60% higher than the official launch MSRPs from AMD and Nvidia, though these are third-party custom cards that may come with extra features. The RTX 3070 cards are perhaps the best of the bunch, with performance rivaling the previous generation RTX 2080 Ti for a lower price. And if you like RGB and bling, the ROG Strix card certainly has you covered.
The two CPUs are perhaps a bit less exciting, except they’re both selling for less than MSRP. AMD’s Ryzen 7 5800X isn’t quite as difficult to find in stock as the more sought after Ryzen 9 5900X and 5950X, but it’s still a good choice, particularly with a price that’s $20 below AMD’s official MSRP. Intel’s previous generation Core i7-10700 on the other hand is merely a decent CPU but without any overclocking support — basically the Comet Lake equivalent of the Core i9-9900 — but it’s also a viable pick at just $255.
With component shortages plaguing the PC industry, not to mention the smartphone and automotive industries, the latest word is that prices aren’t likely to return to ‘normal’ throughout 2021. If you can keep chugging along with whatever your PC currently has, that’s the best option, as otherwise prices are painful for all of the Nvidia Ampere and AMD RDNA2 GPUs.
The current Newegg shuffle ends in just over an hour. Good luck!
AMD has announced a new version of its Ryzen 5000 desktop processors — the Ryzen 5000 G-Series, which (like AMD’s previous G-Series offerings) adds an integrated GPU to the company’s existing Ryzen processors.
The company is launching six new APUs today. There are three 65W chips for more powerful machines — an eight-core Ryzen 7 5700G model, a six-core Ryzen 5 5600G, and a quad-core Ryzen 3 5300G — along with a trio of 35W GE chips with slightly less power and thermal headroom. And like their GPU-less counterparts, the new chips use AMD’s 7nm process and feature its Zen 3 architecture.
AMD Ryzen 5000 G-Series APUs
Model
Cores/
Threads
TDP
Base / Boost Frequency
(GHz)
GPU Compute Units
GPU clock speed
Model
Cores/
Threads
TDP
Base / Boost Frequency
(GHz)
GPU Compute Units
GPU clock speed
Ryzen 7 5700G
8C/16T
65W
3.8GHz / 4.6GHz
8
2,000MHz
Ryzen 7 5700GE
8C/16T
35W
3.2GHz / 4.6GHz
8
2,000MHz
Ryzen 5 5600G
6C/12T
65W
3.9GHz / 4.4GHz
7
1,900MHz
Ryzen 5 5600GE
6C/12T
35W
3.4GHz / 4.4GHz
7
1,900MHz
Ryzen 3 5300G
4C/8T
65W
4.0GHz / 4.2GHz
6
1,700MHz
Ryzen 3 5300GE
4C/8T
35W
3.6GHz / 4.2GHz
6
1,700MHz
The integrated GPUs here are nothing to write home about: they’re based on AMD’s legacy Vega platform instead of its newer RDNA / Navi process that’s used in its latest Radeon GPUs. But they do look capable enough for midrange gaming, particularly if you’re only interested in playing less demanding games like Overwatch, Rocket League, or Fortnite.
To start, the new chips will only be available as part of pre-built OEM systems — similar to AMD’s Ryzen 4000 APUs — but the company promises that this time, it’ll be offering the chips directly to customers interested in using them in their own custom-made machines sometime later this year.
In its review of PowerColor’s Radeon RX 6900 XT Red Devil Ultimate, French publication Overclocking.com discovered that the graphics card is based on a new variant of the Navi 21 (Big Navi) silicon. The review brought to light the possibility that other vendors may also be preparing faster custom Radeon RX 6900 XT graphics cards.
There are currently three variations of the Navi 21 die on the market. The XL version is used in the Radeon RX 6800, the XT in the Radeon RX 6800 XT and lastly, the XTX in the Radeon RX 6900 XT. As exposed in the review, the Radeon RX 6900 XT Red Devil Ultimate leverages the Navi 21 XTXH die, which is why even the latest version of GPU-Z doesn’t recognize the die. Through the help of PowerColor, Overclocking.com got its hands on the latest version of AMDVbFlash, a utility to flash firmware on Radeon graphics cards. The tool effectively confirms the existence of the Navi 21 XTXH silicon on the RX 6900 XT Red Devil Ultimate.
The Radeon RX 6900 XT already utilizes the full Navi 21 die, which brings 5,120 shading units and 80 ray tracing acceleration cores. Therefore, the XTXH variant in all likelihood is just a higher-binned die with improved clock speeds and a more generous power limit. Since AMD provides the dies to its partners, it’s reasonable to think that the XTXH is AMD’s idea rather than the partners doing their own binning.
Coming back to the Radeon RX 6900 XT Red Devil Ultimate, the RDNA 2 graphics card comes with two modes of operation. The silent profile limits the game and boost clocks to 2,135 MHz and 2,335 MHz, respectively, while the OC profile cranks them up to 2,235 MHz and 2,425 MHz, respectively. Basically, we’re looking at a 10.9% and 7.8% higher game and boost clock speeds, respectively, in comparison to the vanilla Radeon RX 6900 XT. Does the increase warrant a new die revision? Apparently AMD (or at least PowerColor) thinks so.
Overclocking.com noticed that with the Radeon RX 6900 XT Red Devil Ultimate the core and memory frequency sliders were unlocked in AMD’s Radeon software. It’s uncertain if the newly lifted limits are a product of the Navi 21 XTXH’s firmware. The power limit option is still locked though. But the Radeon RX 6900 XT Red Devil Ultimate has a 330W power restriction, so there is enough thermal headroom for overclocking. Overclocking.com got its sample to 2,750 MHz on air and up to 2,850 MHz under liquid nitrogen.
The Radeon RX 6900 XT Red Devil Ultimate is probably just one of many custom Radeon RX 6900 XT iterations that will leverage the Navi 21 XTXH silicon. Given the timing of the review, we wouldn’t be surprised if vendors announce these higher-binned Radeon RX 6900 XT graphics cards in the next couple of days. But with the current situation for graphics cards, we fear the announcements might as well be vaporware.
AMD has announced that its 7nm Ryzen 5000G series APUs, codename Cezanne, are now shipping to OEMs with availability for the DIY/retail market coming later this year. AMD announced three primary 65W models that span from four Zen 3 cores up to eight cores, accompanied by Vega graphics that span from 6 graphics cores to eight. AMD hasn’t shared pricing for these processors yet — that information will likely come during the retail launch later this year. In either case, we are sure that these new chips will rank on our list of Best CPUs and Best Cheap CPUs.
Compared to intel’s Core i7-10700, AMD claims the chips are 38% faster in content creation, 35% faster in productivity, and are up to 2.17X faster in gaming, which comes courtesy of the built-in Radeon Vega graphics engine. AMD also provided plenty of benchmark comparisons, albeit against Intel’s 10th-gen processors and not the Rocket Lake chips that come with the more potent UHD Graphics 750 engine powered by 32 EUs with the Xe architecture.
As expected, AMD also released three low-power 35W variants with lower base frequencies to fit inside more restricted power/thermal environments and smaller builds. As with all Zen 3 processors, the Ryzen 5000G chips step up to a faster DDR4-3200 interface, which will certainly help the integrated GPU in gaming performance. However, AMD has stuck with the PCIe 3.0 interface found on all of its current-gen APUs.
Given the ongoing graphics card shortages, newly revamped APUs could be a welcome sight for the gaming market. That is if AMD can keep them in stock, of course. In either case, AMD’s willingness to bring these APUs to market is laudable given that its previous-gen Ryzen 4000 series APUs only landed in the OEM/pre-built market.
AMD Ryzen 5000G G-Series Specifications
AMD Ryzen 5000 G-Series 65W Renoir APUs
CPU
Cores/Threads
Frequency (Up to) Boost / Base
Graphics Cores
Graphics Frequency
TDP
Cache
Ryzen 7 5700G
8 / 16
3.8 / 4.6
RX Vega 8
2100 MHz
65W
20 MB
Ryzen 7 4700G
8 / 16
3.6 / 4.4
RX Vega 8
2100 MHz
65W
12 MB
Ryzen 5 5600G
6 / 12
3.9 / 4.4
RX Vega 7
1900 MHz
65W
19 MB
Ryzen 5 4600G
6 / 12
3.7 / 4.2
RX Vega 7
1900 MHz
65W
11 MB
Ryzen 3 5300G
4 / 8
4.0 / 4.2
RX Vega 6
1700 MHz
65W
10 MB
Ryzen 3 4300G
4 / 8
3.8 / 4.0
RX Vega 6
1700 MHz
65W
6 MB
The Ryzen 5000G lineup spans from four to eight cores, with the key addition being the Zen 3 architecture that provides a 19% IPC uplift over the Zen 2 architecture used in the previous-gen Ryzen 4000G models. We also see higher clock rates across the lineup, with peak boost speeds now weighing in at 4.6 GHz for the eight-core 5700G, whereas the previous-gen models topped out at 4.4 GHz. We also see that base clocks have increased by 200 MHz across the 65W chips.
The new architecture also grants higher L3 cache capacities. For instance, the eight-core 16-thread Ryzen 7 5700G now has 20MB of L3 cache compared to its eight-core predecessor that came with 12MB. These are the natural byproducts of the Zen 3 architecture and should benefit general iGPU performance, too.
AMD continues to pair the chips with the Vega graphics architecture, just as it did with the 4000-series APUs, but AMD reworked the architecture for its last go-round — the reworked RX Vega graphics delivered up to ~60% percent more performance per compute unit (CU) than its predecessors, which equated to more graphics performance from fewer CU. We aren’t sure if AMD has made a similar adjustment this time around, but we’ve reached out for more detail. We do know that the graphics units run at the same frequencies for each model.
All of the chips come with a 45W to 65W configurable TDP (cTDP), broadening the range of potential uses for these higher-end Ryzen 5000G APUs. If you need to dip below the 45W range, you would look at the GE Models below.
AMD Ryzen 5000 GE-Series 35W Renoir APUs
CPU
Cores/Threads
Frequency (Up to) Boost / Base
Graphics Cores
Graphics Frequency
TDP
Cache
Ryzen 7 5700GE
8 / 16
3.2 / 4.6
RX Vega 8
2000 MHz
35W
20 MB
Ryzen 7 4700GE
8 / 16
3.1 / 4.3
RX Vega 8
2000 MHz
35W
12 MB
Ryzen 5 5600GE
6 / 12
3.4 / 4.4
RX Vega 7
1900 MHz
35W
19 MB
Ryzen 5 4600GE
6 / 12
3.3 / 4.2
RX Vega 7
1900 MHz
35W
11 MB
Ryzen 3 5300GE
4 / 8
3.6 / 4.2
RX Vega 6
1700 MHz
35W
10 MB
Ryzen 3 4300GE
4 / 8
3.5 / 4.0
RX Vega 6
1700 MHz
35W
6 MB
Here we can see the new 35W models, which aren’t as exciting for regular users but are a boon for HTPC and SFF enthusiasts. As expected, base clocks are lower than the 65W models, but that’s needed to squeeze into the 35W TDP envelope. However, AMD retains the impressive single-threaded boosts, which is impressive.
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(Image credit: AMD)
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AMD Ryzen 5000G Performance Claims
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(Image credit: AMD)
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(Image credit: AMD)
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(Image credit: AMD)
AMD presented plenty of comparisons to Intel’s Core i7-10700 and the Core i5-10600, but bear in mind that these are Intel’s previous-gen Comet Lake processors. That means these results are not representative of performance with the 11th-gen Rocket Lake chips that come with a significantly upgraded Xe UHD Graphics 750 engine that’s powered by 32 EUs. As per usual, take any vendor-provided benchmarks with the requisite grain of salt. The test notes are at the end of the album.
We’ve already seen listings of the Pro variants for commercial systems, but there are very few details about systems that will come with the consumer Cezanne chips. We expect that several vendors will announce new pre-built systems with the APUs over the coming weeks. We’ll update as we learn more.
Microsoft today announced the next iteration of its Surface laptop, the Surface Laptop 4. It will start at $999 when it goes on sale on April 15. Perhaps its biggest selling point is choice, with options for both 11th Gen Intel Core processors or an 8-core AMD Ryzen (again called the Microsoft Surface Edition).
Both the 13.5-inch and 15-inch version of the Surface Laptop 4 will offer Intel and AMD options. This is a change from the Surface Laptop 3, which offered Intel in the 13.5-incher and
AMD in the 15-incher
(with the exception of business models).
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (13.5-inches)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inches)
CPU
Up to AMD Ryzen Microsoft Surface Edition R5 4680U (8 cores), Up to Intel Core i7-1185G7
Up to AMD Ryzen Microsoft Surface Edition R7 4980U ( 8 cores), Up to Intel Core i7-1185G7
Graphics
AMD Radeon RX Graphics or Intel Xe Graphics
AMD Radeon RX Graphics or Intel Xe Graphics
RAM
Up to 16GB (AMD), Up to 32GB (Intel), LPDDR4X 3,733 MHz
Up to 16GB (AMD, DDR4, 2,400 MHz), up to 32GB (Intel, LPDDR4, 3,733 MHz)
Storage
Up to 256GB (AMD), Up to 1TB (Intel)
Up to 512GB (AMD), Up to 1TB (Intel)
Display
13.5-inch PixelSense display, 2256 x 1504, 3:2
15-inch PixelSense display, 2496 x 1664, 3:2
Networking
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.0
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.0
Starting Price
$999 (AMD), $1,299 (Intel)
$1,299 (AMD), $1,799 (Intel)
The design of the Surface Laptop 4 is largely unchanged, with a 3:2 touchscreen display with 201 pixels per inch, options for Alcantara fabric or a metal deck. There is, however, one new color, ice blue, which debuted on the Surface Laptop Go last year.
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(Image credit: Microsoft)
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(Image credit: Microsoft)
Many of the biggest changes can’t be seen. For the first time, Microsoft is offering a 32GB RAM option on the Surface Laptop (with an Intel Core i7 at 1TB of RAM on both sizes). The company is claiming up to 19 hours of battery life on the smaller device with an AMD Ryzen 5 or 17 hours with a Core i7. On the bigger size, it’s suggesting up to 17.5 hours with an AMD Ryzen 7 and 16.5 hours with Intel Core i7. Microsoft is also claiming a 70% performance increase, though it doesn’t say with which processor.
The new AMD Ryzen Microsoft Surface Edition chips are based on Ryzen 4000 and Zen 2, rather than Ryzen 5000 and Zen 3, which is just rolling onto the market. We understand Microsoft’s chips are somewhat customized, including frequencies similar to the newer chips. But these new processors should, in theory, lead to increased stability and battery life.
While Microsoft is being more flexible on allowing both Intel and AMD options on both size machines, you won’t find them with identical specs when it comes to RAM and storage. The 13.5-inch laptop will offer Ryzen 5 with 8GB or 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, while the Intel 11th Gen Core process range will include a Core i5/8GB RAM/512GB SSD option to start, as well as both Core i5 and Core i7 models with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage and a maxxed out version with a Core i7, 32GB of RAM and 1TB storage drive. The Ryzzen versions only come in platinum, while all but the top-end Intel model also include ice blue, sandstone and black.
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(Image credit: Microsoft)
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(Image credit: Microsoft)
On the 15-inch model, you can get a Ryzen 7 with 8GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage, or an R7 with 16GB of memory and a 512GB SSD. For intel, You can choose between an Intel Core i7 with either 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage or 32GB of memory and 1TB of storage. These only come in platinum and black.
Commercial models will add more configurations for businesses, including a 13.5-inch model with 512GB of storage and a Ryzen processor. Overall, there are a lot of configurations, so hopefully people are able to find what they want. But there are definitely more options on the Intel side of the Surface fence.
The port situation is largely the same as last year, including USB Type-A, USB Type-C, a headphone jack and the Surface Connect port. Microsoft still isn’t going with Thunderbolt, and will be using USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 on both the Intel and AMD models. The replaceable SSD is back, though Microsoft continues to state that it isn’t user serviceable, and that it should only be removed by authorized technicians.
It’s been a long wait for the Surface Laptop 4. The Surface Laptop 3 was introduced at an event in October 2019 and went on sale that November. Last year, Microsoft revealed the cheaper, smaller Surface Laptop Go but didn’t update the flagship clamshell. We’ll go hands on with the Surface Laptop 4, so let’s hope the wait was worth it.
Microsoft is also revealing a slew of accessories designed for virtual work. They include the $299.99 Surface Headphones 2+ for Business, which is certified for Microsoft Teams with a dongle, shipping this month; Microsoft Modern USB and wireless headsets ($49.99 and $99.99, respectively, releasing in June); the Microsoft Modern USB-C Speaker ($99.99, releasing in June); and the Microsoft Modern webcam, a $69.99 camera with 1080p video, HDR and a 78-degree field of view that will go on sale in June.
Dell’s Inspiron line-up of mid-range casual use case laptops is a bit confusing right now. There’s lots of model numbers, a lot of similar colors, the latest Inspiron 13 is only available as a convertible, and certain current Inspiron 15 models uniquely have a somewhat bulkier and older looking design. To address this issue, Dell announced today that it’s now ditching model numbers and universalizing a single design across the Inspiron laptop family, with one exception — the brand new Inspiron 16 Plus. It’s also giving us a laptop version of the 11th gen Inspiron 13, and a convertible version of the Inspiron 14.
(Image credit: Dell)
The design Dell’s opted for is already available on certain Inspiron 14 and 15 models, and seems to take cues from the more premium XPS line. It’s got thin bezels around its screen, plus a lid that lifts that keyboard up at a slight angle when you open the laptop. It comes across as significantly more modern than the design you’ll see on lower model numbers for the current set of Inspiron 15s, which have a much thicker bezel and don’t lift the keyboard up when you open them.
Inspiron 13
Inspiron 14
Inspiron 14 2-in-1
Inspiron 15
Inspiron 16 Plus
CPU
Up to 11th Gen Intel Core i7
Up to Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i7 or Up to AMD Ryzen 7 5700U
Up to Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i7 or Up to AMD Ryzen 7 5700U
Up to Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i7 or Up to AMD Ryzen 7 5700U
11th Gen Intel Core H-Series
GPU
Intel Iris Xe
Intel Iris Xe or Intel UHD or Integrated Radeon Graphics or Nvidia GeForce MX450
Intel Iris Xe or Intel UHD or Integrated Radeon Graphics or Nvidia GeForce MX450
Intel Iris Xe or Intel UHD or Integrated Radeon Graphics or Nvidia GeForce MX450
Nvidia GeForce GTX or RTX
Memory
Up to 16GB LPDDR4x-4267
Up to 32GB DDR4-3200
Up to 16GB DDR4-3200
Up to 32GB DDR4-3200
Up to 32GB DDR4-3200
Storage
Up to 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
Up to 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
Up to 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
Up to 2x 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
Up to 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
Display
13.3 inch, Up to 2560 x 1600, VA
14.0 inch, 1920 x 1080, VA
14.0 inch, 1920 x 1080, VA
15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080, Touch optional, VA
16.0 inch, 3072 x 1920, LED
Starting Price
$599
$549
$729
$549
$949
NA Release Date
April 12th (retailers), August 3rd (Direct from Dell)
May 4th
May 4th
May 4th
June 3rd
Also, there are now laptop options available for all sizes, from 13 inch to 16 inch. The Inspiron 13 7000 2-in-1 is now unfortunately gone, with the non-convertible Inspiron 13 laptop replacing it. However, there will now be a new Inspiron 14 2-in-1 convertible alongside the new Inspiron 14 laptop.
(Image credit: Dell)
There’s also new color options across the whole Inspiron line, including silver, pink, blue and green. Certain colors will be limited to specific regions, models and processor types (Intel and AMD will have separate color options for the Inspiron 14 2-in-1), but that’s still a wider selection than the silver and black we’ve seen so far.
(Image credit: Dell)
Of note here is the new Inspiron 16 Plus, which is the first 16-inch Inspiron. This laptop has a unique design that doesn’t lift the keyboard up, but still has thin bezels. That’s probably due to the laptop’s size and power, as it packs 11th Gen Intel H-Series processors plus either GTX or RTX graphics.
(Image credit: Dell)
For the rest of the Inspirons, except for the Inspiron 13, you’ll have access to 11th Gen Intel processors ranging from Core i3 to Core i7 as well as AMD Ryzen processors ranging from the 5300U to the 5700U. The Inspiron 13 only has Intel processors, also ranging from the Core i3 to the Core i7. All of these models use either integrated graphics or the modest Nvidia GeForce MX450 discrete GPU.
The Inspiron 13 will also uniquely feature a 3:2 aspect ratio (with two different resolution options), while the Inspiron 16 Plus will have a 16:10 aspect ratio. All other models will rely on a traditional 1920 x 1080 screen, although the Inspiron 14 2-in-1 will have a touch screen, as will certain configurations of the Inspiron 15.
Nvidia introduced its Arm-based Grace CPU architecture that the company will use to power two new AI supercomputers. Nvidia says its new chips deliver 10X more performance than today’s fastest servers in AI and HPC workloads.
The new Grace CPU architecture comes powered by unspecified “next-generation” Arm Neoverse CPU cores paired with LPDDR5x memory that pumps out 500 GBps of throughput, along with a 900 GBps NVLink connection to an unspecified GPU for the leading-edge devices. Nvidia also revealed a new roadmap (below) that shows a “Grace Next” CPU coming in 2025, along with a new “Ampere Next Next” GPU that will arrive in mid-2024.
Notably, Nvidia named the Grace CPU architecture after Grace Hopper, a famous computer scientist. Nvidia is also rumored to be working on its chiplet-based Hopper GPUs, which would make for an interesting pairing of CPU and GPU codenames that we could see more of in the future.
Nvidia’s pending ARM acquisition, which is still winding its way through global regulatory bodies, has led to plenty of speculation that we could see Nvidia-branded Arm-based CPUs. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang confirmed that was a distinct possibility, and while the first instantiation of the Grace CPU architecture doesn’t come as a general-purpose design in the socketed form factor we’re accustomed to (instead coming mounted on a board with a GPU), it is clear that Nvidia is serious about deploying its own Arm-based data center CPUs.
Nvidia hasn’t shared core counts or frequency information yet, which isn’t entirely surprising given that the Grace CPUs won’t come to market until early 2023. The company did specify that these are next-generation Arm Neoverse cores. Given what we know about Arm’s current public roadmap (slides below), these are likely the V1 Platform ‘Zeus’ cores, which are optimized for maximum performance at the cost of power and die area.
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(Image credit: Nvidia )
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(Image credit: ARM)
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(Image credit: ARM)
Chips based on the Zeus cores will come in either 7nm or 5nm flavors and offer a 50% increase in IPC over the current Arm N1 cores. Nvidia says its Grace CPU will have plenty of performance, with a 300+ projected score in the SPECrate_2017_int_base benchmark. That’s impressive for a freshman effort — AMD’s EPYC Milan chips, the current performance leader in the data center, have posted results ranging from 382 to 424, putting Grace more on par with the 64-core AMD Rome chips. Given Nvidia’s ’10X’ performance claims relative to existing servers, it appears the company is referring to primarily GPU-driven workloads.
The Arm V1 platform supports all the latest high-end tech, like PCIe 5.0, DDR5, and either HBM2e or HBM3, along with the CCIX 1.1 interconnect. It appears that, at least for now, Nvidia is utilizing its own NVLink instead of CCIX to connect its CPU and GPU.
As we can see above, the first versions of the Nvidia Grace CPU will come mounted as a BGA package (meaning it won’t be a socketed part like traditional x86 server chips) and comes flanked by what appear to be eight packages of LPDDR5x memory. Nvidia says that LPDDR5x ECC memory provides twice the bandwidth and 10x better power efficiency over standard DDR4 memory subsystems.
Nvidia’s next-generation NVLink, which it hasn’t shared many details about yet, connects the chip to the adjacent CPU with a 900 GBps transfer rate (14X faster), outstripping the data transfer rates that are traditionally available from a CPU to a GPU by 30X. The company also claims the new design can transfer data between CPUs at twice the rate of standard designs, breaking the shackles of suboptimal data transfer rates between the various compute elements, like CPUs, GPUs, and system memory.
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(Image credit: Nvidia)
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(Image credit: Nvidia)
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(Image credit: Nvidia)
The graphics above outline Nvidia’s primary problem with feeding its GPUs with enough bandwidth in a modern system. The first slide shows the bandwidth limitation of 64 GBps from memory to GPU in an x86 CPU-driven system, with the limitations of PCIe throughput (16 GBps) exacerbating the low throughput and ultimately limiting how much system memory the GPU can utilize fully. The second slide shows throughput with the Grace CPUs: With four NVLinks, throughput is boosted to 500 GBps, while memory-to-GPU throughput increases 30X to 2,000 GBps.
The NVLink implementation also provides cache coherency, which brings the system and GPU memory (LPDDR5x and HBM) under the same memory address space to simplify programming. Cache coherency also reduces data movement between the CPU and GPU, thus increasing both performance and efficiency. This addition allows Nvidia to offer similar functionality to AMD’s pairing of EPYC CPUs with Radeon Instinct GPUs in the Frontier exascale supercomputer, and also Intel’s combination of the Ponte Vecchio graphics cards with the Sapphire Rapids CPUs in the Aurora supercomputer, another world-leading exascale supercomputer.
Nvidia says this combination of features will reduce the amount of time it takes to train GPT-3, the world’s largest natural language AI model, with 2.8 AI-exaflops Selene, the world’s current fastest AI supercomputer, from fourteen days to two.
(Image credit: Nvidia)
Nvidia also revealed a new roadmap that it says will dictate its cadence of updates over the next several years, with GPUs, CPUs (Arm and x86), and DPUs all co-existing and evolving on a steady cadence. Huang said the company would advance each architecture every two years, with a possible “kicker” generation in between, which likely will consist of smaller advances to process technology rather than architectures.
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(Image credit: Nvidia)
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(Image credit: Nvidia)
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(Image credit: Nvidia)
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(Image credit: Nvidia)
The US Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory will build a Grace-powered supercomputer. This system will be built by HPE (the division formerly known as Cray) and will come online in 2023, but the DOE hasn’t shared many details about the new system.
The Grace CPU will also power what Nvidia touts as the world’s most powerful AI-capable supercomputer, the Alps system that will be deployed at the Swiss National Computing Center (CSCS). Alps will primarily serve European scientists and researchers when it comes online in 2023 for workloads like climate, molecular dynamics, computational fluid dynamics, and the like.
Given Nvidia’s interest in purchasing Arm, it’s natural to expect the company to begin broadening its relationships with existing Arm customers. To that effect, Nvidia will also bring support for its GPUs to Amazon Web Service’s powerful Graviton 2 Arm chips, which is a key addition as AWS adoption of the Arm architecture has led to broader uptake for cloud workloads.
I have been in the modding scene since 2005, creating mostly scratch build projects out of wood, acrylic and aluminum. The most notable of these have been Sangaku, Yuugou and Chiaroscuro with Chiaroscuro having been completed back in 2008. After a long hiatus, I completed Morphosis for the Cooler Master World Series 2019 and, for the Cooler Master World Series 2020 contest, which just announced winners in March 2021, I built something really special.
Meet Ikigai (生き甲斐) a Japanese concept meaning “a reason for being”, my latest case mod project. The word refers to having a meaningful direction or purpose in life, constituting the sense of one’s life being made worthwhile, with actions (spontaneous and willing) taken towards achieving one’s ikigai resulting in satisfaction and sense of meaning to life. In other words, It means I really enjoy building computer cases and I devoted four months of my life to bringing this case to fruition working most nights and weekends. It’s a passion project in every sense.
The case started as a simple concept, like most of my cases. I wanted a vertical tower style case with less than 20 liters of volume that would take up little space on my desk, one that is water cooled and combines my love of handmade wood joinery, and Japanese design aesthetics. It also uses CNC machining techniques and integrates the water cooling and electrical systems. Like I said, simple. I also wanted to keep the case open to show off every component, making sure that every angle of the case was aesthetically pleasing.
Components
Motherboard
MSI B550I Gaming Edge Wifi
CPU
AMD 5600X
GPU
MSI AMD Radeon 5700 Gaming X
PSU
Cooler Master 650 SFX
Memory
G Skill Ripjaws V 3600mhz 32GB
Storage
Western Digital SN750 1 TB, SN550 1 TB
Watercooling
Alphacool GPU Block
Radiator Optiumus CPU Block
EKWB fittings and tubing
Fans
Cooler Master SF360R
Proof of Concept Models
Before I began my build, I prototyped with some basic, non-functional wooden models. While the models might not be functional, they are to scale. I wanted to stay under 20L so I needed to be sure to make use of every mm of space. I decided on a central acrylic panel which would contain the watercooling distribution panel, hide the cabling, and allow the components to be attached. The top section would hold a SFX power supply and the back would have room for a 360mm radiator with full size fans to provide ample cooling power. I went through several iterations of these wood models because, even though I was modeling in cad, things change once you have the real hardware, in the real world and it’s all part of my design process.
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
With some of the final components arriving, I could mock up the case more accurately. Here I have the radiator and fan assembly in along with the motherboard and graphics card to check for clearances in the watercooling. This would all be hard piped PETG tubing and I was trying to avoid any surprises later on by planning ahead.
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Wenge Dovetail Joints
After at least 3 practice mockup cases, I finally had my final dimensions nailed down and it was time to start the final case design. I wanted a wood that was beautiful in its own right with a modern-looking grain that didn’t distract from the clean lines of the case design. I decided on Wenge as my wood of choice, a very hard, dense, and brittle wood which seems to be a cross between charcoal and concrete. It was difficult to work with by hand but sharp tools plus perseverance made it happen.
Case Joinery
I started with the main mitered dovetails of the case by first making a practice joint out of cherry. By doing this, I not only made a visual reference that I could use later to avoid confusion but I dusted off the mental cobwebs; it’s been a long time since I’ve done a joint like this.
I wanted the grain to flow around the case so I cut the entire frame out of one piece of wood, matching the grain around the case as it went along. This also meant my joints would need to be good the first time around or the grain wouldn’t match up.
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
I used a dovetail guide by Lee Valley to make the dovetail cutting easier. Here I am cutting the tails first.
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
With the first side cut, I transferred the lines to the next piece with a marking knife. By using the kerf of the joint as a guide, I can be sure the knife marks will be exact.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Next, I repeated this process to make the pins of the dovetail joint, making sure I am cutting on the correct side of the line. A little pencil marking helps with this also.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Once all of the cuts were made, I used a coping saw to remove the bulk of the waste. Then I used a guide block and chisels to creep up to my marking knife lines.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Once the main part of the joinery was done, I cut the miters on all four corners with a crosscut handsaw.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
To ensure the accuracy of the miters I made a guide block and used a chisel to sneak up on my lines, ensuring a perfect 45 degree angle. Given how hard this wood was, I had to resharpen my chisels multiple times for this to work well.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
After quite a bit of time spent cleaning up the joints, testing and refitting as I went, while trying not to break them, I ended up with tight fitting joints. This process took about two days and a lot of patience.
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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