Reports around the web (and posts on Intel's forums) speak in hushed, strained and horrified voices at how some users with Intel's Core i7-7700 processors are seeing strangely random temperature spikes on their processors, which prompts their cooling solutions to spin to the rescue. The report only mentions Intel's 7700 (non-K) processor; though it would seem this issue is more prone to happen with the K version of the processor, according to Intel's forums.

Apparently, some users are seeing temperature spikes that reach as high as as high as 90°C (out of a recommended 100ºC.) Some users even go as far as admitting to have replaced Intel's fabled TIM, and running the CPU under a water cooling solution, only to find those temperature spikes still happening - and their cooling solutions rev up in response. "My own chip suffers from it, (without any overclocking) which is quite an annoyance," a user wrote. "This despite a delid modification and a proper water loop, resulting in the fans ramping up and down very frequently, and the temperature appearing to frequently spike near the danger zone." Intel, naturally, deployed a sanitized response, saying that "the reported behavior of the 7th Generation Intel Core i7-7700K Processor, showing momentary temperature changes from the idle temperature, is normal while completing a task (like opening a browser or an application or a program)." Business talk all the way, but to be honest, we don't even know if there is a real problem here, though there are so pretty interesting OCCT graphs being posted on the forum page. What do you say? Any of our users have seen similar issues?

MSI has been doing the round with its Trident line of "console-sized" PCs. After upgrading its original model to a Kaby Lake-based platform, the new, limited Arctic edition of the Trident 3 features a bolster to its GPU computing power, RGB lighting - and a price hike to boot. MSI has also included an HDMI port on the front of the Trident 3 Arctic, gearing it up towards the VR market.

The new Arctic variant features a GTX 1070 graphics card in an ITX format, which is fed by a Core i7-7700, on the H110 chipset. The memory subsystem delivers 16GB of 2400MHz DDR4, expandable up to 32GB. A 256GB M.2 SSD (SATA) and a 1TB spinning HDD handle storage. MSI claims the system only reaches 32dB at full load, taking power off a 330W adapter. For the hardware specs and the neat, icy, small-sized package (346.25 x 232.47 x 71.83 mm), MSI is asking for a neat $1500.