AMD has announced full and immediate retail availability of their Wraith Max cooler through retail channels. The 140 W TDP Wraith Max cooler was previously only available through a bundle with AMD's top of the line Ryzen 7 1700X and 1800X. However, through popular demand, AMD have decided to make that cooler available solo. Ease of installation through AMD's Spring-Screw mechanism, jolly good looks, LED lighting, relatively silent performance (38 dBa) and respectable performance seem to have been enough to convince AMD users.

The Wraith Max cooler is compatible with AMD AM4, AM3+, and FM2 motherboards. The RGB ring's color can be customized through a myriad of RGB control apps from various manufacturers, such as Asus' Aura Sync, Gigabyte's RGB Fusion, MSI's Mystic Light, Biostar's Vivid LED DJ, and ASRock's RGB LED tools. AMD also offers the AMD Wraith Max RGB lighting control software (powered by Cooler Master) as a free download. The Wraith Max comes with both a USB header cable and an RGB LED header to control the lighting feature. A copper base plate and heatpipes, along with pre-applied thermal paste and a 92mm Cooler Master fan. The down-blowing fan also provides an extra bit of cooling for the socket area and VRMs. Perhaps the $59 price-tag will turn some prospective buyers off, but still, this remains the best stock cooler option in the market, and for someone who wants to keep an AMD cooling identity, is the best available option.

ID-Cooling introduced the second edition of its Hunter Duet dual-block CPU + VGA closed-loop cooler. The new Hunter Duet II features improvements to the CPU and VGA pump-blocks that increase coolant pressure, and 50% higher heat dissipation thanks to the larger 360 mm x 120 mm radiator, compared to its predecessor's 240 mm x 120 mm. Like its predecessor, the design of the Hunter Duet II includes two pump blocks - a conventional block over the CPU, and one over the GPU. The GPU component features a cooler shroud with a fan which ventilates aluminium heatsinks over the memory and VRM.

The two blocks are attached in serial, while the heat is dissipated by the radiator, ventilated by three included 120 mm fans. The cooler has a combined thermal capacity of 500W. The Hunter Duet II supports newer CPU socket types, including AM4, LGA2066, LGA2011(v3), LGA115x, AM3(+), and FM2(+). Its VGA component supports most GPUs with mount-hole spacing of 58.4 mm and 53.3 mm. Its blocks feature ceramic bearings. The company didn't reveal pricing or availability information.

ECS unveiled the A78F2-TI, an interesting thin mini-ITX motherboard. Don't be fooled into thinking it's a socket AM1 board. It's socket FM2+, with the cooler mount hole design of Intel LGA115x. That's right, this is arguably the first AMD platform board with square, spaced out cooler mount holes. Don't get your hopes up just yet. Between an FM2 socket, and the APU's chunky IHS, there's more thickness than an Intel socket with a CPU installed. So it may not support all heatsinks. The board draws power from an external 2-pin power brick. It uses a 3+1 phase VRM to condition power for the FM2+ socket.

The A78F2-TI runs AMD A78 FCH chipset. The APU is wired out to two DDR3 SO-DIMM slots, and mPCIe slots. Storage connectivity includes two SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Display outputs include two HDMI ports, a DisplayPort, and an LVDS. Two USB 3.0, six USB 2.0/1.1 ports, gigabit Ethernet, and 6-channel HD audio make for the rest of it. The A78F2-TI is built not just for SFF builds, but also (and especially) all-in-one desktops.

Cooler Master launched the Hyper 103 compact tower-type CPU cooler it first unveiled way back in June, at the 2013 Computex. Its heatsink features trapezoid aluminium fins that are dimpled and punched to provide turbulence, and improve heat dissipation. Three 6 mm-thick copper heat pipes, which make direct contact with the CPU at the base, convey heat to the fin-stack. A 92 mm PWM-controlled fan, which spins at speeds ranging from 600 to 2,200 RPM, pushing up to 43.1 CFM of air, and with a noise output ranging from 17 dBA to 30 dBA, ventilates it. Measuring 108 mm x 89.5 mm x 138.5 mm (WxDxH), the cooler weighs about 580 g. It's compatible with most modern CPU socket types, including LGA115x, FM2, and AM3+. Expect the Hyper 103 to be priced around $30.

DeepCool has just added a new CPU cooler to its product portfolio, a model known as IceEdge 400 E (Elite Edition) that supports Intel LGA1156/LGA1155/LGA1150/LGA775 and AMD FM2/FM1/AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2/940/939/754 processors with a TDP of up to 130 W.

Pictured below, DeepCool's creation measures 100 x 86 x 125.5 mm, it weighs 475 grams and features an aluminum heatsink, four direct touch copper heatpipes, and a 92 mm Hydro Bearing fan that operates at 2200 RPM and has a sound output of 26.3 dBA. The IceEdge 400 E's price tag was not announced.

The world's leading motherboard brand ASRock announced today its latest overclocking competition with HWBOT "ASRock FM2 A10 OC COMPETITION," which will be separated into two benchmarks: CPU-Z and 3DMark11 Performance. The participants will be competing for the highest CPU-Z and 3DMark11 Performance score submissions to HWBOT.

The contest starts from September 23rd and runs until October 21st, it is open to all overclockers with ASRock FM2 or FM2+ series motherboards and AMD A10 series APUs. The total prize is worth more than USD $10,000 dollars and the final champion of each benchmark will be awarded with a top prize worth $2,800 dollars value. Any entry that breaks the world record will be awarded with an additional USD $1, 000 cash prize. With the grand prize and the sponsorship from AMD, PowerColor, ADATA, and Thermaltake, ASRock FM2 A10 OC COMPETITION will be the most attractive OC event for worldwide overclocking enthusiasts.

Xigmatek rolled out second generations of two of its iconic mainstream CPU coolers, Gaia II and Loki II (pictured in that order). With its 120 mm PWM fan detached, the Gaia II measures 120(W) x 50(D) x 159(H) mm, and is a conventional aluminum fin tower heatsink, with three 8 mm-thick exposed copper heat-pipes tasked with drawing heat directly from the CPU, and transporting it to the aluminum fin stack. Weighin 460 g, the Gaia II is a mid-range heatsink. Its included 120 mm spinner can push up to 56.3 CFM of air, spinning at 800 to 1,500 RPM. Gaia II is designed to handle thermal loads as high as 150W.

Moving on, Loki II is a compact tower-type CPU cooler for light thermal loads, as high as 130W. It features a dense aluminum fin stack to which heat directly drawn from the CPU is conducted by three 6 mm-thick exposed copper heat pipes. The heatsink is ventilated by a rare 92 mm PWM-controlled fan, which can push up to 52 CFM of air, spinning at speeds between 1,200 and 2,800 RPM. Measuring 92(W)x134(H)x50(D) mm without the fan, Loki II weighs about 330 g. Both coolers are designed to support the latest CPU socket types, including Intel LGA1150/LGA1155/LGA1156, LGA1366, AM3+/AM3, and FM2/FM1. Xigmatek didn't announce pricing, but we imagine the two Asgardians to replace their current-generation counterparts, at $30 and $25, respectively.

AMD's energy-efficient socket FM2 desktop APU, the A10-6700T, is expected to go on sale later this week. Its selling point is the 45W TDP, with no reduction in core-count, or other components. Based on the 32 nm "Richland" silicon, the A10-6700T features four "Piledriver" x86-64 cores clocked at 2.50 GHz, with TurboCore frequency of 3.50 GHz, and 4 MB of total L2 cache. It features a Radeon HD 8650D graphics core with 384 stream processors, and untouched clock speeds of 760 MHz core, and 844 MHz boost. The chip also features a dual-channel DDR3-2133 MHz integrated memory controller, and a PCI-Express gen 2.0 root complex. The A10-6700T is expected to be priced around $150.

GIGABYTE rolled out its newest entry-level socket FM2 motherboard, the F2A75M-DS2. With it, GIGABYTE established AMD A75 chipset and black PCB color as the new baseline for its AMD platform motherboards. Built in the compact micro-ATX form-factor measuring 174 x 226 mm, the motherboard seats AMD A-series APUs and Athlon processors in the FM2 package, with out of the box support for A-series "Richland" APUs.

The F2A75M-DS2 draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS connectors, a 4+1 phase VRM powers the APU socket, which is wired to two DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR3-2133 MHz memory; and a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slot. A PCI-Express 2.0 x1 and legacy PCI make for the rest of its expansion. Display outputs include dual-link DVI and D-Sub. Storage connectivity includes four SATA 6 Gb/s ports from the A75 FCH. Four USB 3.0 ports (two on the rear panel two by header), 6-channel HD audio, gigabit Ethernet, PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo, and a number of USB 2.0/1.1 ports make for the rest of the connectivity. The board is driven by AMI Aptio UEFI BIOS, backed by GIGABYTE's dual-UEFI technology. Expect this one to go for around $60.

AMD's A-series "Richland" APUs are great to have in HTPC builds, but their 65W to 100W TDPs can be a put-off for some. The company is working on a pair of energy efficient socket FM2 APUs based on the silicon, with TDP rated at 45W. The first of the two is the A10-6700T, which features a significantly lower CPU clock speed of 2.50 GHz, with an unknown TurboCore speed; and GPU clock speed of 720 MHz. It's not known if the chip is dual-core or quad-core, but given that quad-core non-K A10-6700 rates in at 65W, it's not improbable for A10-6700T to be one, as well. Also unknown is the stream processor count. Moving on, we have the A8-6500T. Its CPU clock speed is further lowered, to 2.10 GHz, and GPU to 720 MHz, like the A10-6700T, its CPU and GPU core/SP counts are under the wraps.

The world-renowned motherboard manufacturer MSI announced that its full line of FM2 series motherboards support AMD's 3rd GENERATION APU processors. MSI cooperated with AMD and became the first to pass all verifications and tests even before the announcement of the new APUs. That's why MSI's FM2 series motherboard (A85X, A75 and A55) users will be able to enjoy the excellent performance brought by the new processor simply by updating the BIOS and drivers through MSI's official website! The all new A10-6800K has outstanding CPU performance and 3D gaming capabilities as powerful as using independent graphics cards! When used with MSI's FM2 series motherboards, it can unleash superior performance through MSI's exclusive one second overclocking technology, OC Genie II. It only requires one action to overclock the CPU and the frequency of the built-in GPU. OC Genie II can increase the performance by 13%.

While Sapphire's LGA1150 motherboard lineup came across as a little lukewarm, the company more than made up for that with its fleet of motherboards that take advantage of AMD's newest A-series and E-series APUs and SoCs. First, there's the PGS A320M, a micro-ATX motherboard that ships with a FirePro A320 socket FM2 APU pre-installed. Largely identical to an A10-5800K, and based on the "Trinity" micro-architecture, the A320 features FirePro-branded professional graphics that's certified for most modern 3D productivity applications, and can give display output at resolutions as high as 4096 x 2160. The board features one each of DisplayPort 1.2, dual-link DVI-I, and D-Sub display outputs. Other features include eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports, four USB 3.0, gigabit Ethernet (Broadcom controller), and 8-channel HD audio.

Things get interesting with a contraption called IPC-FS1r2A75. This board comes in a proprietary IPC form-factor, features an FS1 rev 2.0 socket, which seats R-series APUs, an embedded AMD Radeon E6000 series GPU based on the Graphics CoreNext arhitecture, with its own dedicated GDDR5 memory on-package, and AMD A75 FCH chipset. The board offers six mini-DisplayPort and four HDMI outputs, two DDR3 SO-DIMM slots, an open-ended PCI-Express 2.0 x4 slot, four mPCIe slots (in stacks of two), five SATA 6 Gb/s ports, six USB 3.0 ports, two gigabit Ethernet connections, and 6-channel audio.

AMD today announced its 2013 Elite A-Series Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) for desktops, codenamed "Richland", which delivers a superior PC solution with increased computational performance, discrete-level graphics and an easy upgrade infrastructure. At COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2013, AMD showcased the complete breadth of its 2013 APU portfolio with the launch of the new Elite A-Series APU for desktops which power a diverse range of OEM systems and feature new generations of software and applications that harness the unrivaled compute power of the 2013 AMD APU product lineup: the fastest AMD APUs ever.

"The new AMD A-Series APU is ideal for desktop PC builders and mainstream gamers wanting outstanding performance for their money, and today AMD delivers an excellent new follow-on to the recently announced mobile lineup," said Bernd Lienhard, corporate vice president and general manager, Client Products Division at AMD. "The combination of high-performance, third-generation desktop APUs with our existing portfolio of low-power, mobile APUs gives us our strongest-ever lineup of products for our customers and our technology partners."

At Computex, GIGABYTE showed off the first AMD platform motherboard in its coveted G1.Killer series, which targets gamers and overclockers, the G1.Sniper A85X. The board is based on AMD A85X FCH chipset, and comes with out-of-the-box support for AMD A-series "Richland" APUs, including the AMD A10-6800K quad-core APU, with the fastest integrated graphics in market. Built in the narrow ATX form-factor, the G1.Sniper A85X draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS connectors, and uses a 6-phase VRM to condition it for the APU.

The FM2 socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, which support up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR3-3000 MHz memory; and a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slot. In addition, the board offers a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4, wired to the FCH), three PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and two legacy PCI. The board shines in connectivity, where it offers eight SATA 6 Gb/s internal ports, a combination of DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI display outputs, Creative Sound Core3D audio with user-replaceable OPAMP and audio-grade capacitors, four USB 3.0 ports, and gigabit Ethernet. The board is driven by AMI Aptio UEFI BIOS, backed by GIGABYTE Dual-UEFI redundancy, and the new BIOS interface that made its debut with GIGABYTE's socket LGA1150 motherboards.

Presenting the winners of the BIOSTAR HiFi Contest. In April, we ran a Facebook giveaway in collaboration with BIOSTAR, giving away three A85W-HiFi socket FM2 motherboards to participants from the US, with a catchphrase that best describes the awesome Puro HiFi integrated audio solution you with with these motherboards. Without further ado, the winners:

• Andrew from Minneapolis, MN
• Jesse from Coeur d'Alene, ID
• Daniel from Folsom, CA

Huge congrats to you guys! Have fun with your new A85W-HiFi! TechPowerUp will return with more interesting contests.

Desktop variants of AMD "Richland" APUs in the socket FM2 package, will arrive this June. Three of the first models to be released to the market, the A10-6800K, the A10-6700, and the A4-4400, could already be in stock with certain retailers, and were pictured. The A10-6800K (AD680KWOA44HL) features four x86-64 cores based on the "Piledriver" micro-architecture, 4.10 GHz core clock speed, 4.40 GHz maximum Turbo Core frequency, and Radeon HD 8670D graphics, clocked at 844 MHz. It features an unlocked base-clock multiplier.

The A10-6700 (AD6700OKA44HL) features the same graphics core as the A10-6800K, but features 3.70 GHz CPU clock speed, 4.30 GHz maximum Turbo Core frequency, and an upwards locked base-clock multiplier. The A4-4400 (AD4400OKA23HL), on the other hand, is an entry-level dual-core chip with 3.70 GHz core, 3.90 GHz Turbo Core, and Radeon HD 8370D graphics.

AMD is ready to launch the next generation of company's APUs in June, 2013, codenamed "Richland". The new Fusion S-Series "Richland" CPU Series will have an updated graphics code which turns out to be HD-8000 series graphics and support native DDR3-2133. Today, BIOSTAR full range FM2 motherboards are ready to support the new "Richland" series; users just need to update BIOS and Drivers which are available at BIOSTAR homepage.

Evercool announced the HPR 9225EA entry-level tower-type CPU cooler. It uses a stack of 43 aluminium fins, to which heat is conveyed by two 6 mm-thick copper heat pipes, which make direct contact with the CPU at the base. The stack is ventilated by a 92 mm fan that spins at speeds up to 2,200 RPM, pushing 35.6 CFM of air, with 26.3 dBA noise output. Measuring 97 x 73 x 118 mm (WxDxH), the cooler weighs about 400 g. It supports most modern CPU socket types, with the exception of LGA2011. Among the socket types supported are LGA115x, LGA775, AM3+/AM3/AM2+, and FM2/FM1. The company did not give out pricing information.

ASUS augmented its socket FM2 motherboard lineup with the F2A85-V, a lite variant of the F2A85-V Pro the company kicked off its Trinity APU-compatible motherboard lineup with. The new F2A85-V trims down on a few things over the -Pro variant, such as simpler independent VRM and FCH heatsinks with no heat-pipe connecting them, fewer APU power phases, and a lighter expansion slot layout that isn't ideal for multi-GPU setups.

To begin with, the F2A85-V features a 6-phase APU VRM that draws power from a 4-pin ATX connector, compared to the 8-phase one drawing from an 8-pin EPS, on the F2A85-V Pro. The FM2 socket is connected to four DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting a maximum of 64 GB of dual-channel DDR3-1866 MHz memory; and a single PCI-Express 2.0 x16. Other expansion slots include a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4, wired to the A85X FCH), two PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and three legacy PCI slots.

In what could bring an ear-to-ear grin on DIY NAS/home-server builders, ASRock launched the industry's first mini-ITX motherboard with a total of eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports (of which one is eSATA 6 Gb/s). The new FM2A85X-ITX, as the name suggests, is a socket FM2 motherboard based on the AMD A85X chipset, in the mini-ITX form-factor. Everything on this board is just where you'd want it to be: the centrally-located APU socket is powered by a fairly strong 6-phase VRM, which along with ancillary phases, draws power from 24-pin ATX and 4-pin CPU power connectors.

The APU socket, which supports today's AMD A-series "Trinity" APUs, and likely tomorrow's A-series "Richland" APUs, is wired to two DDR3-DIMM slots supporting a maximum of 32 GB of dual-channel DDR3-1866 memory; and the lone expansion slot, a PCI-Express 2.0 x16. The AMD A85X FCH wires out seven internal SATA 6 Gb/s ports (with RAID 0/1/10 support), and an eSATA 6 Gb/s port. Display connectivity includes one each of dual-link DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI. The board features a total of four USB 3.0 ports (two on the rear panel, two by headers). Gigabit Ethernet, 8-channel HD audio, PS/2 keyboard, and a number of USB 2.0/1.1 ports make for the rest of the connectivity. The ASRock FM2A85X-ITX is expected to be priced around US $110.

Global leading motherboard brand ASRock announced today to organize ASRock FM2 OC Competition with HWBOT, the top organization hosting the world's only 24/7 overclocking competition to bring together 35,000 participants and feature competitions in thousands of categories. The participants will be competing for the highest CPU-Z or 3DMark Vantage score which is submitted to HWBOT.org.

The contest, sponsored by several prestigious brands including AMD, Kingston and Cooler Master, starts from January 7 and runs until February 4. It is opened to all overclockers with ASRock brand motherboards and AMD Socket FM2 CPUs. The total prize is worth up to 6,740 dollars and the final champions of the CPU-Z and 3DMark Vantage event will be awarded with a top prize worth of 2,170 dollars respectively. The grand prize makes it one of the most eye-catching online OC competitions on FM2 platforms, which is estimated to attract enthusiastic overclockers worldwide.

MSI rolled out its second socket FM2 motherboard for the week, following the A85XMA-E33, unlike which, the new board is built into a full-size micro-ATX (240 x 240 mm) PCB. Yet, designers couldn't find room for eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports, which the A85X FCH is capable of handling, or four DDR3 DIMM slots. The FM2 socket is powered by a simple 5-phase VRM that's cooled by a chunky MOSFET heatsink, it's wired to two DDR3 DIMM slots, and a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slot. Other slots include two PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and a legacy PCI. Display outputs include DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI; 8-channel HD audio, four USB 3.0 ports, and gigabit Ethernet make for the rest of its notable rear-panel connectivity. Here's hoping that by simply opting for the A85X, without wiring out eight SATA ports, doesn't let MSI get away by making A85XMA-E35 any costlier than AMD A75-based boards with similar features.

MSI unveiled a new entry-level socket FM2 motherboard, the FM2-A75MA-P33. Based on the AMD A75 FCH chipset, the board supports newer A-series "Trinity" APUs. The board uses a 5-phase VRM to power the APU, which is wired to two DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting up to 32 GB of dual-channel DDR3-1866 MHz memory; and a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slot. PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and legacy PCI make for the rest of the expansion.

Storage connectivity on the FM2-A75MA-P33 includes six internal SATA 6 Gb/s ports, supporting RAID 0/1/10. The A75 FCH gives out four USB 3.0 SuperSpeed ports, which are wired out as two type-A ports on the rear-panel, and two ports by header. The board features headers for legacy connectivity such as LPT (parallel) and COM (serial). Display connectivity includes one each of dual-link DVI and D-Sub. 6-channel HD audio, gigabit Ethernet, a number of USB 2.0/1.1 ports, and PS/2, make for the rest of the connectivity. The FM2-A75MA-P33 is expected to be priced around $70.

MSI's FM2-A85XA-G65 breaks world records again! Featuring MSI's new DigitALL power design with Military Class III components, the FM2-A85XA-G65 reached an astounding 2844MHz memory frequency and 170.5MHz BCLK with an AMD A10-5800K processor. The combination of MSI FM2-A85XA-G65 and AMD A10-5800K scores over 10000 Marks in 3DMark Vantage P mode. It shows that MSI FM2 series has great overclocking potential and brings better gaming experience to users.

AMD's new A10-5800K Trinity APU is a powerful solution that combines excellent CPU performance with unprecedented integrated GPU performance. MSI's FM2-A85XA-G65 is the excellent companion for AMD's latest series of APUs as it combines great performance features with a keen eye on power consumption. With the push of a button, OC Genie II will boost your APU and GPU performance. Graphics performance is boosted with both AMD CrossFire and Dual Graphics.

The most talented overclocker in the world, Nick Shih breaks another record. Well, actually it's more likely the other way around. World record breaker Nick Shih overclocks again! This time he has reached an unearthly 7930.69 MHz with the new socket FM2 APU and ASRock's FM2A85X Extreme6 motherboard, which places him numero uno on HWBOT again.

"I absolutely love having fun with some of the best gizmos around, such as the new socket FM2 APUs and ASRock FM2A85X Extreme6. You can always expect amazing results when you are dealing with these reliable hardware. For me, 7.93 GHz is merely a warm up. 8 GHz ready or not, here I come!" exclaimed the much excited Nick Shih.