One of the runaway features for NVIDIA's latest RTX-20 series of graphics cards was the introduction of support for the OC Scanner feature - a program that automagically tests a range of frequencies on your NVIDIA graphics card and overclocks it to a deemed "stable" sweet-spot. This practically obviates the need for manual fine-tuning, though of course, the best results should always be found down that road - provided there's enough tinkering.

The latest version of MSI's Afterburner (v4.6.0 beta 10, available in the source link) now brings this functionality to Pascal-based graphics cards (besides some other features, such as voltage control, for Turing; check the entire release notes after the break). Have fun.

MSI late November released BIOS updates for its entire range of socket AM4 motherboards, mainly to include AGESA 1.0.0.6, which improves memory compatibility. The updates also pack various motherboard model-specific fixes. Apparently there has been a goof-up with this update (not in a bad way, though). The latest BIOS updates "accidentally" unlock the otherwise locked Athlon 200GE dual-core processor with integrated graphics.

No, you won't get more cores or iGPU stream processors, but the base-clock multiplier letting you easily overclock the processor is now unlocked. This adds value to the $55 processor, given that competing Celeron and Pentium Gold SKUs are overpriced in the market these days. In their overclocking adventures with the 200GE paired with a MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC motherboard, TechSpot observed that the chip (which is clocked at 3.2 GHz by default) wouldn't POST beyond 3.90 GHz, and that you need vCore at 1.4 V to sustain even 3.90 GHz. They found 3.80 GHz at 1.35 V to be 100% stable (an 18.75% overclock). The memory clocks are still restricted to DDR4-2666, although you can still play with timings.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash products, announces that it has established a new facility at its headquarters in New Taipei, Taiwan dedicated to pushing the limits of memory performance, the XPG Overclocking Lab (XOCL). The XOCL is the first facility of its kind among worldwide DRAM makers, is an expansion of ADATA's continued effort towards achieving record-breaking memory speeds, and will focus on experimenting with new techniques.

"With growing demand for memory modules that can operate at ever-higher frequencies, ADATA believes the future of overclocking lies beyond the established techniques of air and liquid cooling," said Neo and Stin at ADATA Technology. "The mission of the XPG Overclocking Lab is to explore new, potentially more effective methods that can break the threshold of memory speeds and incorporate them into XPG products for the benefit of users."
The XOCL will actively seek out partnerships within the industry, including with hardware makers and overclockers, to achieve its mission. Over the summer, ADATA overclocked its XPG SPECTRIX D80 RGB DDR4 memory module to 5531MHz in a liquid-nitrogen-cooled configuration, a new record. The milestone was achieved through a joint effort with MSI.

Gigabyte is a little bit late to the party, but better late than never, for sure. The company has launched four new graphic cards -AORUS Geforce RTX 2080 Ti XTREME 11G, AORUS Geforce RTX 2080 Ti 11G, AORUS Geforce RTX 2080 XTREME 8G. All of them are equipped with "top-of-the-line" overclocked GPUs, and the AORUS Engine software makes it easy to control clock speeds, fan performance or power target. These cards feature the RGB three-ring light effect, WINDFORCE 3x 100mm Stack Fan, and 7 video outputs.

Those fans allow to reduce the graphics card length, but they also generate more wind pressure and therefore improve dissipation not only for the GPU but also for VRAM and MOSFET. According to Gigabyte these are the only GeForce RTX20 Series products that offer 7 video outputs: 3 HDMI, 3 DP and one USB-C for greater flexibility when connecting different monitors without any adaptors. There's a new aero-space graded PCB for these cards, that have a 12+2 Phase PCB design (RTX 2080 Xtreme) with a 16+3 phase PCB design for the RTX 2080 Ti Xtreme.

GALAX has announced availability of their OC Lab Edition GPU Pot, a non-plant-based solution for users to cool their graphics cards with. The OC Lab Edition GPU Pot is fully made of 99.9% purity copper, which allows it to withstand up to -196 ºC. Not many more details are available for now, except pricing, and it's something to definitely not smile about: the OC Lab Edition GPU Pot will cost users $229.99.

GALAX, however, being a customer-friendly brand, are suggesting users put down an order for three of these OC Lab Edition GPU Pot alongside three of their own Galax HOF OC Lab WC cards, which go for $1,799... netting you a $600 discount on the pots. So, yeah. There's that. If you want it.

Shuttle Computer Group, Inc., one of the world's leading designers of small form computers, announces a new and powerful cube-sized computer, its SZ270R9, designed for advanced home and portable gaming, along with virtual reality applications. Unlike other PCs, once set, users can overclock with the Turbo button for the quickest, most realistic action. In spite of its small size, it has an impressive expansion capability and storage capacity. With lots of interior space, the SZ270R9 supports large-format dual-slot graphics cards; users can install up to four 2.5" or 3.5" hard drives and two m.2 bays. It also supports Intel's new Optane Memory to improve data processing and system speed.

"This is the ultimate gaming PC, power packed with an external design that looks like you're ready for battle," said Robert Garcia, channel manager, Shuttle Computer Group. "And when you press the overclock button, watch out! You'll be the winner for sure."

NVIDIA's decision to prohibit AIB partners from factory overclocking their GTX 1070 Ti graphics is a decision that may not sit well with hardware enthusiasts, but it's one that makes the most sense from a business perspective. As it is, it's expected that overclocked versions of the GTX 1070 Ti graphics cards, which have come to offer a more compelling NVIDIA option against AMD's Vega 56 graphics card, will offer performance that is by all accounts comparable to that offered by its more expensive (and older) GTX 1080 graphics cards. So NVIDIA is just ensuring that its introduction of the GTX 1070 Ti with its $459 MSRP doesn't cannibalize sales of their higher tier graphics card through higher out-of-the-box performance via factory overclocking.

BIOSTAR announces the availability of its Radeon RX Vega 64 VAVAT5VM88 graphics card in selected regions. The BIOSTAR RX Vega 64 epitomizes the best in high-end graphics with high resolutions, high frame rates and exceptional power efficiency with the all new Vega architecture. Building the ultimate gaming system with the recently introduced BIOSTAR RACING Z370GT6 motherboard for the new 8th generation Intel Core processors, makes these the perfect compliment.

BIOSTAR RADEON RX VEGA 64 (Air Cooling)
The Vega 64 is one of AMD's newest and most powerful graphics cards today featuring 8GB HBM2, the latest in graphics memory technology, with a 2048-bit memory interface and 4096 stream processors. It delivers smooth extreme gaming performance in the newest DirectX 12 and Vulkan games making it perfect for gaming and also for professional content creation. The Vega 64 also offers some of the highest hash rates in crypto mining, thanks to its powerful yet power efficient usage.

Built on Intel's C621 chipset, ASUS's new WS C621E SAGE motherboard possesses some interesting traits. For a start, this workstation motherboard not only supports one LGA-3647 socket processor, but two of them in tandem. That's right. Enterprise users in need of raw processing power can drop in a pair of Intel Xeon Platinum 8180 processors and build themselves a beastly workstation with 56 cores and 112 threads at their disposal. But, what really separates the WS C621E SAGE from the competition is the motherboard's overclocking capability. Since Intel locks the multiplier for their Xeon processors, owners are accustomed to settle for factory clock speeds. However, ASUS has engineered a method to allow Xeon owners to overclock their processors to take their performance to a next level. Given the locked multiplier, we assume that overclocking is probably done through base clock adjustments.

Processing power is crucial for productivity, but having enough memory for heavy-duty tasks is equally important. For that same reason, ASUS has incorporated 12 DDR4 memory slots into the WS C621E SAGE. Users can go with either RDIMM or LR-DIMM ECC modules with speeds up to DDR4-2666. This opens the door to running 1.5 TB of memory. Now that's something you don't see everyday.

HP has announced the first Omen X laptop for the consumer market, and this is one laptop that HP hopes is enough to rule them all. Omen is HP's high-performance gaming brand, and the Omen X brings with it true desktop replaceability pedigree to justify that target audience. Most important: the Omen X laptop allows for overclocking, due to a cleverly designed vapor-chamber and high-powered fans cooling methodology. It allows users to overclock their unlocked i7 processor, alongside the DDR4 memory and GTX 1080 graphics card - and a translucent window lets you take a peek under the hood. A single removable panel offers access to the RAM, storage and other user-replaceable parts. A mechanical keyboard with programmable macros ensures perfect responsiveness and customizability, sporting per-key RGB lighting.

GALAX is apparently on the verge of launching two GPU overclocking-specific products, materialized in the HOF Power Board and an LN2 memory pot kit. Built to increase overclockability in your graphics card of choice, the GALAX power board will allow you to feed the GPU with way more power than it is designed to receive - provided you have decent cooling for the increased temperatures and operating voltages. And with the caveat of whether or not your GPU manufacturer of choice allows such changes in voltage.

BIOSTAR RACING and PRO series motherboards offer one of the widest selection of AM4 motherboards for Ryzen 3, 5, 7, Bristol Ridge and 7th Generation A-series. Gamers looking to take full advantage of the affordable AMD quad-core CPUs can select from BIOSTAR's RACING X370 series: RACING X370GTN, RACING X370GT7, RACING X370GT5 or RACING X370GT3. While anyone aiming to build a value and performance system can select from BIOSTAR's RACING B350 series: RACING B350GTN, RACING B350GT5, RACING B350GT3 and RACING B350ET2 and PRO B350 and A320 series: TB350-BTC, TA320-BTC, A320MH PRO and A320MD PRO.

It would seem Intel's X299 platform is already having some teething issues, with user "der8auer" of overclocking fame claiming the platform is essentially a complete "VRM disaster." In the video in which these claims are made, he levies the blame to both Intel and the motherboard manufacturers "50/50." For Intel's part, he blames them for the short product launch which was pulled in from August to June, giving the motherboard manufacturers in der8auer's words "almost zero time for developing proper products."

In the video, der8auer elaborates to basically claim a completely lack of consistency among the quality of VRMs and their heatsinks in various manufacturers. In his first test, he takes a CPU that is known to do 5.0 GHz and on a Gigabyte Aorus branded mainboard found himself unable to even hit 4.6 GHz with dangerously high VRM temperatures. He goes on to blame the heatsinks on the VRMs, going so far to call the Gigabyte solution more of a "heat insulation" device than a cooler, as a simple small fan over the bare VRM array did many magnitudes better than a simple standard install with the stock VRM cooler attached. After an MSI-branded board did similar, it became clear this was not an isolated issue.

Some photos, screenshots and benchmarks of what appears to be an XFX RX 580 graphics card are doing the rounds, courtesy of overclocker Lau Kin Lam, who shared them (alongside a three-hour log video) on his Facebook page. Apparently, this is a special, China-only edition of the card, which is a shame, considering the great-looking waterblock that is smiling for the camera. The fact that this card is using a reference board with one 8-pin power connector may prove relevant to its overclocking efforts (and those of other, non-reference boards that we've seen carry both the 8-pin and an extra 6-pin power connector.

HyperX, a division of Kingston Technology Company, today announced it is now expanding the HyperX FURY DDR4 memory product line with several new colors options - red and white - with frequencies up to 2666 MHz to support the demand of our gaming community. HyperX is the first company to offer plug and play memory to gamers and continues to develop industry leading gaming gear. FURY DDR4 memory is optimized to be compatible with Intel 200 series processors and X99 chipsets. Additionally, FURY DDR4 memory has been compatibility tested with AMD's new Ryzen processors, in the HyperX Labs and by our motherboard partners.

"FURY DDR4 memory is our most popular DDR4 memory range, and our new products offer more options to choose from", said Edward Baily, HyperX Business Manager, EMEA. "With three color options, builders and enthusiasts have more ways to customize their new PC's or upgrade the PC they use today."

I should break down the bad news first: we here at TechPowerUp won't be able to provide you with a timely, straight-from-the-oven Ryzen review. Like some other publications, our Ryzen review sample failed to arrive on time. And trust us - we did will it to do so as much as we could, risking a Stranger-Things-esque nosebleed. Alas, to no avail.

The good news is that while we won't be able to offer you our own review of AMD and Jim Kellers' latest high-performance x86 brainchild, we will still strive to bring you meaningful coverage on it. This article aims to make an overall aggregation on review consensus, benchmarks and capabilities of the newest AMD CPU. Trying to add something, we'll also try and evaluate whether AMD learned - or didn't learn - something from its Bulldozer launch fiasco, in a pure marketing perspective. This will justify the editorialized nature of this article, but only after we dive straight to the numbers. Without further ado, follow on to the numbers.

Colorful Technology Company Limited, professional manufacturer of graphics cards and motherboards, is proud to announce its latest motherboard for enthusiasts and gamers featuring the latest Intel Z270 chipset to support LGA1151 processors including the newly announced 7th generation Core processors from Intel with their new iGame Z270 Gamer. Customization motherboard. This latest products joins the family of iGame enthusiast and performance series of motherboards and graphics cards which focuses on not just the needs of gamers for a faster and robust system but serves as a canvas to promote their creativity and idea with great customization options.

MSI, world leading in motherboard technology, announces the most powerful X99 gaming solution, the X99A GODLIKE GAMING motherboard. Featuring Killer DoubleShot-X3 Pro, Turbo M.2 connectivity, 2X Faster USB 3.1 Type-A and Type-C and a whole new gaming oriented LED feature, MYSTIC LIGHT, the X99A GODLIKE GAMING is the most powerful motherboard to serve you in battle.

The X99A GODLIKE GAMING is world's first RGB LED motherboard, supporting more than 2000 colors and many style presets such as breathing, flashing and waving. Make your build look on fire or cold as ice. You are in control. Simply select any of the colors from the palette to suit the systems' design. Just change it to another one using the easy to use Mystic Light APP available on PC, phone and tablet, and make your PC look & feel brand new! With 2048 different colors and 7 different LED modes, the Mystic Light provides infinite possibilities for gamers to personalize their gaming rig.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash application products, is honored to announce that its XPG Z2 DDR4 3400 computer memory is able to clock up to 4034MHz when used with an air-cooled msi X99A XPOWER AC motherboard. This creates a new overclocking world record for production line DDR4 computer memory.

In cooperation with motherboard manufacturers, ADATA strives to achieve the best performance in DDR4 memory compliant with the Intel X99 architecture. The XPG Z2 DDR4 3400 breaks the record with extremely high clock frequency of 4034MHz, impressing both gamers and standard CPU clock users alike with outstanding sustained performance, cooling and stability.

NVIDIA re-enabled overclocking on its GeForce GTX 900M series mobile GPUs, by releasing a new hotfix driver (GeForce 353.00 Hotfix). Launch drivers originally allowed overclocking on NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 900M series mobile GPUs. NVIDIA disabled overclocking with its R347 drivers, stating that overclocking was originally allowed due to a bug, drawing outrage from the PC enthusiast community. NVIDIA then re-enabled overclocking with its 347.88 drivers, with a quasi-apology. Then, without making much noise, the company disabled overclocking (or the "clock-block," as the enthusiasts are calling it), with its R350 drivers, which stayed on even as the drivers graduated to R352 series.

Following our May 21st report uncovering this, the company slipped out a driver hotfix, late last night. Version 353.00 Hotfix comes with a single item on its release notes, which reads "Fixes a regression that prevented overclocking the GPU on some GeForce Notebooks" (read: Whoops!). So gaming notebook owners have the freedom of overclocking their GPUs to tweak up eye-candy on the latest games, such as GTA V and The Witcher 3, which would have been buggy and unplayable, if users reverted to older R347 drivers, just to be able to overclock.

DOWNLOAD: GeForce 353.00 Hotfix for mobile GPUs

G.SKILL International Enterprises Co., Ltd., the world's leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory and solid state storage, proudly announces the 2nd annual "OC World Cup 2015" overclocking competition. This year, as a contribution to the overclocking community and to dedicated extreme overclockers worldwide, G.SKILL is raising the total cash prize to a staggering $16,200 USD. Following the tradition of the event, the Champion of the OC World Cup 2015 will receive a cash prize of $10,000 USD.

The OC World Cup 2015 is split into three rounds: Online Qualifier, Live Qualifier, and Grand Final. Live Qualifier and Grand Final will be held live at the G.SKILL booth during Computex 2015.

Under pressure from users angry with NVIDIA for disabling overclocking on mobile-GPUs in the GTX 900M series, with its most recent driver update, the company decided to restore overclocking with its next driver update scheduled for March. To those who want overclocking right now (to make certain games at certain settings playable again), NVIDIA suggests reverting to the older GeForce 344.75 drivers. With the most recent driver update, NVIDIA controversially disabled overclocking on its GeForce GTX 900M mobile GPUs, causing angry comments on its GeForce user forums.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash application products, today launches the latest XPG V3 series overclocking memory, running at a stellar 3100 megahertz. Its dual channel is designed to bring gamers and PC enthusiasts ultimate performance by Intel Core fourth and fifth-generation processors and the latest Z97 platform.

The Thermal Conductive Technology for Great Heat Dissipation
With speed up to 3100 MHz and transfer bandwidth reaching 24.8 GB/s, the XPG V3 series once again pushes gaming to the next level. It supports Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) version 1.3 and utilizes the Thermal Conductive Technology (TCT), which reduces the system temperature effectively. It enables every chip have contact with the heat sinks directly, ensuring IC and PCB operate in an environment of equal temperature for the best stability, even in full-speed operation.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards launched last week at their press conference the new extreme overclocking Z97X-SOC FORCE LN2 motherboard. Engineered specifically for the most hardcore overclocker needs, the SOC-FORCE LN2 motherboard has already established itself as the clear Z97 overclocking leader at this year's Computex OC competitions.

"One of the greatest parts of working for GIGABYTE as an overclocker is the ability to come out with what at first seems like crazy idea, have our skilled engineers be able to build it, and have the backing of our management to allow the concept to go into production for sale," commented Hicookie, Chief Overclocking Evangelist, GIGABYTE Motherboard Business Unit. "The Z97X-SOC FORCE LN2 is a true testament to this forward-thing philosophy, and I can't wait for other overclockers around the world be able to use this motherboard to break even more world records."

MSI launched its Intel Z97 chipset-based Gaming series lineup with three ATX motherboards, the Z97 Gaming 3, the Z97 Gaming 5, and the Z97 Gaming 7. The company now made a high-end addition, with the Z97 Gaming 9 AC. Built in the standard ATX form-factor, the board is filled to the brim with features targeted more toward high-end gaming PC builds, than professional CPU/memory overclocking. It still offers a decent overclocking feature-set. To begin with, the board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, 8-pin EPS connectors, and uses a 16-phase VRM to condition power for the CPU, which is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, and three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (x8/x4/x4 when all three are populated, x8/x8/x0 when two are, and x16/x0/x0 when one is. 3-way SLI and CrossFire are supported.

An EMI shield covers the rear-panel I/O, while another shields the entire onboard audio circuitry, and the NICs. Audio is care of a 100+ dBA SNR DAC, which an external headphone amp circuit, ground-layer isolation, audio-grade capacitors, and EMI shielding. Wired connectivity is handled by Broadcom's newer Killer E2205 gigabit NIC. Wireless connectivity is handled by an Intel-made chipset that offers 802.11 ac WLAN, and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity. Storage connectivity is devoid of SATA-Express, but features eight SATA 6 Gb/s, and an M.2 slot. Overclocking features include voltage measurement points, and POST LED display. Expect this one to go for over US $200.