Zhaoxin finally released its oft-delayed KX-7000 CPU series last December—the Chinese manufacturer claimed that its latest "Century Avenue Core" uArch consumer/desktop-oriented range was designed to "deliver double the performance of previous generations." Freshly discovered Geekbench 6.2.2 results indicate that Zhaoxin has succeeded on that front—Wccftech has pored over these figures, generated by an: "entry-level Zhaoxin KX-7000 CPU which has 8 cores, 8 threads, 4 MB of L2, and 32 MB of L3 cache. This chip was running at a base clock of 3.0 GHz and a boost clock of 3.3 GHz which is below its standard 3.6 GHz boost profile."

The new candidate was compared to Zhaoxin's previous-gen KX-U6780A and KX-6000G models. Intel's Core i3-10100F processor was thrown in as a familiar Western point of reference. The KX-7000 scored: "823 points in single-core, and 3813 points in multi-core tests. For comparisons, the Intel's Comet Lake CPU with 4 cores and 8 threads plus a boost of up to 4.3 GHz offers a much higher score. It's around 75% faster in single and 17% faster in multi-core tests within the same benchmark." The higher clock speeds, doubled core counts and TDPs do deliver "twice the performance" when compared to direct forebears—mission accomplished there. It is clear that Zhaoxin's latest CPU architecture cannot keep up with a generations old Team Blue design. Loongson's 3A6000 processor is a very promising prospect—reports suggest that this chip is somewhat comparable to mainstream AMD Zen 4 and Intel Raptor Lake products.

After years of delays, Chinese chipmaker Zhaoxin has finally launched its long-awaited KX-7000 series consumer CPUs, only one of its kind in China, based on the licensed x86-64 ISA. Zhaoxin claims the new 8-core processors based on "Century Avenue" uArch deliver double the performance of previous generations. Leveraging architectural improvements and 4X more cache, the KX-7000 represents essential progress for China's domestic semiconductor industry. While still likely lagging behind rival AMD and Intel chips in raw speed, the KX-7000 matches competitive specs in areas like DDR5 memory, PCIe 4.0, and USB4 support. For Chinese efforts to attain technological independence, closing feature gaps with foreign processors is just as crucial as boosting performance. Manufactured on a 16 nm process, the KX-7000 does not use the best silicon node available.

Other chip details include out-of-order execution (OoOE), 24 PCIe 4.0 lanes, a 32 MB pool of L3 cache and 4 MB L2 cache, a base frequency of 3.2 GHz, and a boost clock of 3.7 GHz. Interestingly, the CPU also has VT-x, BT-d 2.5, SSE4.2/AVX/AVX2 support, most likely also licensed from the x86 makers Intel and/or AMD. Ultimately, surpassing Western processors is secondary for China next to attaining self-reliance. Instructions like SM encryption catering to domestic data protection priorities underscore how the KX-7000 advances strategic autonomy goals. With its x86 architecture license giving software compatibility and now a vastly upgraded platform, the KX-7000 will raise China's chip capabilities even if it is still trailing rivals' speeds. Ongoing progress closing that performance gap could position Zhaoxin as a mainstream alternative for local PC builders and buyers.

MONTECH is a brand originally founded in 2016 that has been quite successful in the Asian market. Now it is looking to expand to Western countries, with a commitment to quality ensured by experienced engineers & designers from Taiwan.

MONTECH's core value is bringing "good value" to customers. The products are either better equipped or sold at a cheaper price than their competitors. Although the price may be lower than competitors', quality control is very demanding, including a random sampling of up to 40% of the finished products. The cases are aspiring to be very innovative and functional. The Air900 series, which will be launched this June, emphasizes airflow and dust protection. It comes with 3 dust filters (front, top, bottom), big area airflow design, and the unique design of detachable mesh on the sides.

Japanese company Century Micro launched the world's first low-profile (half-height) DDR4 DIMM (model: CK4GX4-D4RE2133VL81). With a module height of just 1.87 cm, the 4 GB module uses DRAM chips made by SK Hynix, and offers JEDEC-specified DDR4-2133 MHz speeds, with 15-15-15 timings, and 1.2V DRAM voltage. It sells in 16 GB kits of four modules, which sells at 51,980 JPY (US $428), including taxes.

Japanese memory maker Century Micro announced its entry-level DDR4 ECC registered memory modules. Compatible with Intel Xeon E5-2600 v3 and Core i7-5000 HEDT processors, the modules come in density of 8 GB (model: CD8G-D4RE2133L82), making up single-module and four-module (32 GB) kits. The CD8G-D4RE2133L82 complies with JEDEC specifications, and runs at DDR4-2133 MHz speeds, with a module voltage of 1.2V, and timings of 15-15-15. The module features an 8-layer PCB, and appears to use DRAM chips made by SK Hynix. The modules will start selling in a couple of weeks from now.

Century Japan announced the CSS25U3 line of external drive enclosures. Capable of holding 9.5 mm-thick HDDs and SSDs in the 2.5-inch SATA form-factor, the enclosure supports SATA 6 Gb/s interface internally, and connects to the host over USB 3.0 SuperSpeed. A single cable handles both power and host-connectivity. Measuring 85 x 134 x 12.5 mm (WxDxH), its dry-weight is 60 g. It is available in four color options: black (CSS25U3BK6G), silver (CSS25U3SV6G), green (CSS25U3GR6G), and red (CSS25U3RD6G). To stay in shape, the enclosure avoids using a square type-B receptacle, and instead uses a rectangular type-A one. Slated for the end of this month, it is expected to be priced at 2,480 JPY (US $25.7).

Have you ever felt the need to have control (which can't be second-guessed by the OS) over which drives stay active in your multi-bay drive enclosure? If so, this enclosure (model: CRCH35U3IS) from Japanese peripherals vendor Century could be a Godsend. The enclosure allows you to manually toggle power to individual drives. It features four 3.5-inch SATA 6 Gb/s lockable caddies, and connects to its host over USB 3.0 SuperSpeed interface. A single SSD has been tested to achieve transfer rates as high as an honest-sounding 400 MB/s. The enclosure is cooled by a temperature-activated fan, which can be overridden. Measuring 130 x 260 x 185 mm (WxDxH), the enclosure weighs about 3.2 kg (probably because it includes a power supply). Slated for early-December, it is priced at 17,800¥ (US $220)

Century Japan released Greenline 2.5-inch (model: CGL25U3S6G), a SATA HDD/SSD enclosure that takes advantage of the USB 3.0 SuperSpeed interface, and UASP (USB-attached SCSI protocol). UASP gives the enclosure superior performance over standard USB mass-storage device protocol, particularly during random-access. UASP streamlines the command pathway, allowing multiple commands to be transacted between the host and the drive, simultaneously. Internally, the enclosure supports SATA 6 Gb/s interface. The enclosure bears a sleek piano-black finish with a green highlight. Measuring 84 x 135 x 14.5 mm (WxDxH), its dry-weight is 67 g. Slated for late-September, it is expected to be priced at 2,980 JPY (US $38).

For those with appetite for terabytes of storage space, Century Japan announced the CRST1035EU3 "Sky Tower" external HDD enclosure. The enclosure stands tall, ten 3.5-inch SATA bays-tall, with lockable caddies. It uses USB 3.0 and eSATA interfaces to communicate with a host, and an external power supply. Cooling the unit is a 140 mm 1400 RPM fan with a maximum noise output of 34 dBA. The enclosure makes the host identify each drive as an independent mass-storage device, as it lacks RAID functions. Measuring 179 x 385 x 330 mm (WxDxH), the enclosure weighs 6 kg (dry-weight). Slated for late-September, it is priced at 36,800 JPY (US $470).

Century Japan released a new drive dock (model: CMRK-S4) for PCs with vacant 5.25-inch drive bays, which provides four 2.5-inch SATA hot-swap drive bays, supporting drives as thick as 12.5 mm (such as WD VelociRaptor without its heatsink, or Seagate Cheetah. The four bays have lockable caddies. Since this is a passive dock, the SATA connections are relayed to the back. The four bays are cooled by a 40 mm exhaust fan on the back. The fan spins at speeds of around 4,000 RPM, with noise output around 25 dBA. Measuring 145.7 x 149.3 x 41.6 mm (WxDxH), the dock weighs 500 g, owing to its mostly metallic built. Slated for early August, it is expected to be priced at 3,980 JPY (US $50).

Century Japan introduced CRNS35U3MR "EX Volume" 2-bay HDD enclosure, which provides fast external storage. The enclosure holds two 3.5-inch SATA hard drives in lockable caddies. It allows you to run them in standalone (as independent USB mass-storage volumes), or in RAID 0 (performance) and RAID 1 (redundancy) modes. To alleviate host interface bottlenecks, the enclosure utilizes USB 3.0 SuperSpeed interface.

The enclosure draws power from an external AC power line (power supply is located internally), its controller logic spins down the hard drives sensing extended periods of inactivity (5 minutes, by default). The enclosure also has a temperature-controlled fan that completely spins down, below a temperature threshold. Measuring 130 x 210 x 115 mm (WxDxH), the enclosure weighs about 1922 g. Slated for early-June, the CRNS35U3MR from Century is priced at 14,800 JPY (US $186).

Century unveiled the mini2 KD25/35MS2 triple-SATA mini-dock. It is a box measuring 136 x 84 x 26 mm, weighing 430 g, which has three SATA 6 Gb/s (power and data) interfaces on three of its sides, which attach three HDDs/SSDs. The device can perform disk cloning, copying of specific partitions (logical drives), specific files, and secure DoD-grade erase functions, without the need of a host PC. Slated for early May, the KD25/35MS2 is priced at 29,800 JPY (US $371).

Century also rolled out a 2-bay RAID box for those of you out of drive-bays (model: CRTS35EU3R). This glossy-white enclosure measuring 80 x 189 x 144 mm (WxDxH) packs two 3.5" SATA drive bays with caddies. It can run installed hard drives as independent mass storage volumes, in RAID 0 mode (high-performance), and RAID 1 (redundancy). The enclosure connects to a host over eSATA and USB 3.0. It uses 40 mm fans to ventilate the unit, keeping the drives and its RAID logic cool. The enclosure also comes with power-saving features that can spin down the drives when there's no access for a while (both drives spin down, if they're configured in RAID). The CRTS35EU3R goes for 9,980 JPY (US $123).

Century Tech of Japan introduced a new SATA HDD/SSD cloning dock with a snap-on design (model: CRAS2U3CP). The dock allows you to quickly clone a SATA HDD/SSD without needing a host machine, as well as connect any two SATA drives to a host machine over USB 3.0 interface, as USB Mass Storage devices, with transfer rates of up to 200 MB/s. The top of the unit has a row of LEDs that displays the progress of disk cloning. When not connected to a host over USB, the device requires power drawn from an AC adapter. Measuring 70 x 16 x 65 mm (WxDxH), it weighs about 55 g, and can be carried around in a small pouch. Slated for next week, the CRAS2U3CP from Century is priced at 4,980 JPY (US $61).

Japanese company Century Co., launched the CROS2EU3CP 2-bay SATA HDD/SSD dock. The dock is built in the typical toaster/cartridge form-factor, and holds two drive-bays, that support SATA devices in the 3.5", 2.5", and 1.8" form-factors, using standard SATA data+power interface. The dock connects to a host PC over USB 3.0 and eSATA. A unique feature here is the dock's ability to clone HDDs/SSDs without needing a host PC. Measuring 143 x 70 x 132 mm (WxDxH), the dock weighs 544 g. The dock is PnP compatible with Windows 7, Vista, XP; and Mac OS X. Slated for market release on March 2, the Century CROS2EU3CP costs 7,980 JPY (US $100)