Intel Corp. has cancelled release of its code-named “Cannonlake” processors and will introduce “Kaby Lake” chips instead in 2016. Intel’s first 10nm central processing units will be code-named “Ice Lake” and will be available only in 2017. Moreover, “Ice Lake” CPUs will re-introduce fully-integrated voltage regulator (FIVR). All Intel’s processors …
Read More »Gamerstorm Tristellar Chassis Review
One glance at the Mini ITX Deepcool GamerStorm Tristellar makes it clear this isn't a run-of-the-mill PC case. In fact you might struggle to tell it is a PC case at all. Watch our video and you'll see there is a degree of confusion ‘the motherboard goes here – wait, it …
Read More »First review of Intel Core i7-6700K ‘Skylake’ published: up to 29% faster than Core i7-4790K
A web-site has published what it claims to be the first fully-fledged review of Intel Corp’s yet unannounced Core i7-6700K central processing unit code-named “Skylake”. As it appears, Intel’s forthcoming flagship chip for enthusiasts will be up to 29.1 per cent faster than the company’s current Core i7-4790K central processing unit. …
Read More »TSMC rumoured to delay 10nm risk production, actual chips due in 2017
If the semiconductor market rumours are correct, then Intel Corp. might not be the only chipmaker, which plans to delay mass production of chips using 10nm manufacturing process. Apparently, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. postpones risk production using 10nm fabrication process by two quarters. “TSMC will start risk production in its …
Read More »MSI unveils Krait Z170: Intel’s ‘Skylake’ platform goes white
MicroStar International this week introduced its new premium mainboard based on the Intel Z170 core-logic. The platform represents the best that the new Intel 100-series “Skylake” platform offers, including input/output capabilities. To make it more appealing for PC modders, MSI equipped its product with white heat-spreaders. The MSI Z170 Krait …
Read More »Sapphire Tri-X Radeon R9 Fury 4GB
Today we take a look at AMD's second graphics card based on the 28nm ‘Fiji' Silicon. The Sapphire Fury card is the first to hit our labs, and it features a new version of their highly acclaimed ‘Tri-X' cooling solution. To reduce the retail price against Fury X – the …
Read More »OCZ Trion 100 240GB and 480GB SSD
Today we look at the new OCZ Trion 100 drive, in 240GB and 480GB capacities. These drives are designed to deliver excellent all round performance while being very cost effective at £60.99 and £124.99 inc vat respectively. This is also the first 100% Toshiba based OCZ SSD featuring a Toshiba …
Read More »Nvidia CEO touts ‘ping-pong’ strategy for Tegra system-on-chips
For many years Intel Corp.’s “tick-tock” strategy has been a perfect example of firm execution, wise innovation and timely product-launches. In the recent years the “tick-tock” cadence essentially broke down, but the method of step-by-step innovation in different directions have been inherited by other companies. For example, Nvidia has its …
Read More »MSI’s flagship X99A Godlike Gaming motherboard is now available
MSI has officially released its new flagship motherboard based on the X99 chipset. The X99A Godlike Gaming motherboard takes on the familiar red and black colour scheme we are used to seeing on MSI's gaming products while also packing in plenty of features for enthusiasts to make use of. Key …
Read More »Asus Strix R9 Fury with DirectCU III: Custom design, massive cooler
Asustek Computer will use its own printed circuit board design as well as its own high-performance cooling system on its upcoming Strix R9 Fury graphics card based on AMD’ Radeon R9 Fury graphics processing unit. The custom PCB and the massive cooler are designed to improve overclocking potential of the …
Read More »DRAM prices continue to drop despite of looming back-to-school season
Despite of the fact that personal computer makers are now buying dynamic random access memory in a bid to support demand during the back-to-school season, DRAM prices continue to drop. Not only weak demand impacts DRAM prices negatively. All memory makers are transiting to thinner manufacturing technologies and Samsung even …
Read More »AMD FirePro S9170 sports 32GB of GDDR5, 2.62TFLOPS DP performance
Advanced Micro Devices on Wednesday introduced its FirePro S9170 accelerator for high-performance computing applications. The new card not only boasts with extreme performance, but is also equipped with 32GB of GDDR5 memory. The product will be available later this quarter at a rather moderate price. The AMD FirePro S9170 is …
Read More »Rise of the Tomb Raider will have improved TressFX
When the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot launched on the PC, AMD gave its new hair technology feature, TressFX, its début. Since then, the feature has been implemented on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 re-releases of Tomb Raider early last year and now, Crystal Dynamics has revealed that it will …
Read More »MSI GTX980 Ti Gaming 6G
We have reviewed many GTX980 Ti partner cards in recent weeks and today the MSI GTX980 Ti Gaming 6G makes a somewhat belated appearance in our labs. This high end board is actually one of the cheapest flagship, overclocked Ti's currently available – hitting the £599.99 inc vat point – …
Read More »AMD officially cancels 20nm chips, takes $33 million charge
Advanced Micro Devices this week formally confirmed that it would not produce any of its chips using 20nm process technology at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Instead, the company will focus on development of its chips to be made using various FinFET process technologies. As a result of the cancellation, the …
Read More »Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Chassis Review
Phanteks has released a budget PC case with a model code that suggests it is a junior version of the Enthoo Pro. In fact the Pro M (M for mid-tower) is a hybrid of the Pro and the recent Enthoo ATX, with a number of changes to keep the price …
Read More »Sapphire Tri-X R9 Fury graphics card: Reference PCB and triple-fan cooler
A web-site has published the first images of Sapphire Technology’s Tri-X R9 Fury graphics cards. The adapters will use reference printed circuit boards developed by Advance Micro Devices as well as massive cooling systems designed by Sapphire. AMD Radeon R9 Fury graphics cards will be based on a version of “Fiji” …
Read More »Asus preps three new custom GeForce GTX 980 Ti cards
Asutek Computer is working on three more graphics cards based on the GeForce GTX 980 Ti graphics processing unit. The new boards will feature powerful cooling systems, custom multi-phase voltage regulator modules (VRM), increased clock-rates and great overclocking potential. Asustek’s Strix GeForce GTX 980 Ti with DirectCU III cooling system …
Read More »Intel’s ‘Kaby Lake’ processors will be released in late 2016 – report
Intel Corp.’s “Kaby Lake” central processing units will be released exactly a year after the company’s “Skylake” chips due this August and September. The introduction of chips in late third quarter means that the company will further postpone the roll-out of microprocessors made using 10nm fabrication process. As reported, Intel’s …
Read More »ASUS STRIX Gaming GTX 980 Ti DirectCU 3
Today we look at one of the most exciting graphics cards to hit our labs this year – the new Asus STRIX Gaming GTX 980 Ti featuring the latest Direct CU 3 cooling system. This 3 fan cooling system uses a new patented wing blade fan to provide greater air …
Read More »AMD lowers revenue expectations because of poor APU sales
Advanced Micro Devices on Monday lowered its revenue guidance for the quarter citing slow demand for its accelerated processing units by end-users and PC makers. The company expects its revenue and profitability to be lower than originally anticipated. AMD claims that its sales in Q2 will be approximately 8 percent lower …
Read More »Samsung announces 2TB solid-state drives for consumers
Solid-state drives have higher performance compared to hard disk drives, but when it comes to storage capacities HDDs are unrivalled. High-capacity SSDs are usually very expensive and are not considered as replacement for hard drives. However, Samsung on Monday introduced its new 850 Evo and 850 Pro solid-state drive that …
Read More »KitGuru Prize Winner review: OCZ Vector 180 SSD
We run a lot of competitions on our Facebook page and some of these are ‘review competitions'. The idea is simple – we give the winner a product, and they review it for our readers. Reader Glyn Horton recently won an OCZ Vector 180 480GB SSD in one such competition …
Read More »Asustek readies Strix Radeon R9 Fury with DirectCU III cooler
Even though AMD’s flagship Radeon R9 Fury X is exclusively made by a contract manufacturer under supervision of Advanced Micro Devices and actual suppliers of graphics cards cannot change its cooling system or clock-rates, the upcoming AMD Radeon R9 Fury will provide a lot more flexibility for makers of add-in-boards. …
Read More »TSMC builds first 10nm validation chip with quad-core Cortex-A57
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has announced that it had produced the first verification chips for its 10nm manufacturing technology. The world’s largest contract maker of semiconductors plans to start risk production using 10nm fabrication process late this year and to initiate high-volume manufacturing in late 2016 or in 2017. At …
Read More »Kingston remains world’s No. 1 memory module supplier
The year 2014 was very favourable for producers of dynamic random access memory as well as for makers of various DRAM modules thanks to rather high prices and stable demand for personal computers and other devices. Kingston Technology remained the top producer of memory modules on the planet with nearly …
Read More »Specifications of AMD Radeon R9 Fury and AMD Radeon R9 Nano revealed
Advanced Micro Devices has reportedly finalized specifications of its upcoming Radeon R9 graphics cards based on the code-named “Fiji” graphics processor, the Radeon R9 Fury and the Radeon R9 Nano. Both products promise to be rather powerful, but will still be noticeably slower than the Radeon R9 Fury X. AMD’s …
Read More »Visiontek Radeon R9 Fury X 4GB Review
Today we take a somewhat belated look at the latest AMD flagship, the R9 Fury X. This graphics card has been designed to tackle Nvidia in the high end, specifically their similarly priced GTX980 Ti. The Fury X is the first consumer GPU equipped with Stacked High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) …
Read More »Biostar preps Intel ‘Skylake’ mainboards with DDR3 and DDR4 memory slots
Even though the vast majority of enthusiast-class mainboards for Intel Corp.’s upcoming code-named “Skylake” processors will rely mostly on DDR4 memory, lower-end solutions may support DDR3L as well. Moreover, for maximum flexibility, Biostar is readying two LGA1151 motherboards with both DDR3L and DDR4 memory slots. Biostar plans to release two …
Read More »Asus Strix GTX 980 Ti: 14-phase VRM, new cooling, extreme clock-rates
Asustek Computer has officially unveiled its new Strix GTX 980 Ti graphics card, which promises to be one of the most advanced graphics adapters based on the GeForce GTX 980 Ti graphics processing unit. The new solution boasts extremely sophisticated voltage regulator module (VRM), an all-new cooling system, high frequencies …
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