1usmus, creator of the Ryzen Custom Power Plan, describes his experience overclocking AMD's new third-generation HEDT Threadripper platform, and shares a lot of information about cooling, CCX quality, per-CCX overclocking, memory tweaks, VRM options, and BIOS setup tips. Benchmarks are included, too.
We wrap up our coverage of individual entries debuting CORSAIR's Hydro X series with the mainstream XC7 CPU water block. Sharing a lot of DNA with the impressive XC9, this block aims to offer a good balance of cost, aesthetics, and performance while maintaining a low barrier of entry for newcomers to PC watercooling.
The Addlink X70 RGB SSD lets you control its lighting through motherboard software from all the big vendors, so you can sync it to the rest of your system. Performance is good, too, especially random and sequential writes. The preinstalled heatsink works well, keeping temperatures in check.
CORSAIR's acquisition of SCUF Gaming meant we got our hands on a custom SCUF controller for the PS4 and PC, so we of course had to take a look at their Xbox controller as well. Today, we check out the SCUF Prestige Xbox/PC controller, which includes the critical accessories while still providing a plethora of customization options!
Thermaltake goes all out with the Floe DX 360 TT Premium Edition. This 360 mm closed loop liquid cooler packs a hefty punch delivering performance you can count on. It even has everyone's favorite feature with the inclusion of software-controlled RGB lighting with 16.8 million colors. With so much to offer, what could go wrong!
Zhiyun's Weebill-S can handle heavy camera-lens combos despite its small size and low weight. It is also supported by a large number of optional accessories, which greatly enhance its capabilities. It might not make you a good videographer if you lack the talent or the technique, but will surely make your videos look better.
The Abkoncore A900 is a medium-sized, ambidextrous mouse with side buttons on the left side only. Despite being priced as a budget mouse, it comes with features one would expect from a premium model: PixArt PMW3389 sensor, Omron switches for the main buttons, and full RGB lighting.
Thermaltake carries their Level 20 branding of thick aluminium panels over to keyboards with the Level 20 GT RGB keyboard. Coming in three switch options, including a Razer Green edition with Razer Synapse support in addition to Tt iTAKE and RGB Plus, it aims to balance hardware and software for an attractive unit.
ASUS aims to deliver the ultimate flagship Threadripper motherboard with the ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme. Every bit of their design expertise has been condensed into this E-ATX package. Twenty 70 A power stages? Check. Five M.2 slots, including two on a DIMM.2 expansion card? Check. Full color OLED display? Check. Performance? Let's find out!
The Aerocool AirHawk Duo ARGB boasts two 200 mm ARGB fans in the front and a third, smaller unit in the rear. Aerocool even ensures you can control the lighting through the chassis and the motherboard of your choice. Add the cool metal mesh front and glass side panel and you have a classic chassis mainstream gamers could totally go for.
CORSAIR's acquisition of SCUF Gaming meant that we got our hands on a custom SCUF controller, which in turn means we definitely had to review it. Today, we take a look at the SCUF Impact for the PS4 and PC, which is their most successful controller thanks to a ton of configuration options on both looks and function alike!
Western Digital's WD Red SA500 is a solid-state-disk optimized for NAS usage, either as cache drive or for primary storage. With a price of $140 for 1 TB, the SSD is priced more aggressively than Seagate's IronWolf 110 NAS competitor, yet offers similar performance and still retains the five-year warranty.
The RHA MA650 Wireless are neckband-style wireless in-ear headphones. They go for $99/€99 and offer more features and better sound quality than you might expect. A solid choice when looking for a pair of wireless headphones in this price range.
The TerraMaster F5-422 is a 5-bay NAS featuring one 10 GbE and two Gigabit ports. It achieves good throughput in multi-client scenarios, but IOPS performance could be better. It still is a solid, affordable choice for users who do not need the software packages other NAS vendors provide.
The Red Devil is PowerColor's RX 5600 XT flagship with 14 Gbps GDDR6 memory. It uses a triple-slot, dual-fan cooler that is whisper-quiet when gaming and features fan-stop technology. Also included is a powerful 8-phase VRM, dual BIOS and adjustable RGB lighting.
Bitspower updates their mainstream CPU blocks with the Summit M series, adding temperature sensing and an onboard OLED display to differentiate it from other offerings on the market. There is also the now-expected RGB lighting, but in the form of addressable LEDs controlled via your motherboard for increased compatibility.
The first TRX40 board to reach my test bench, and also the first motherboard to boast 90 A power stages from Intersil (16 of them!), the ASRock TRX40 Taichi promises serious overclocking potential for the new Ryzen Threadripper processors without resorting to an E-ATX form factor.
The Gigabyte GTX 1650 Super WindForce OC is only marginally more expensive than the NVIDIA MSRP, yet includes premium features like fan-stop, a dual-fan thermal solution, overclock out of the box, and a backplate. We take a closer look, also to decide how it competes against the AMD RX 5500 XT.
Adesso isn't too known as a brand among mouse enthusiasts. Let's see if Adesso is able to change that with this 9-button, 6400 CPI right-handed ergonomic mouse.
EVGA updates their first foray into the PC keyboard market with RGB backlighting and a new software driver. The Z10 RGB offers everything but the kitchen sink, with a larger-than-full-size form factor to incorporate an LCD display, plenty of additional buttons for functionality, sliders, spare USB ports, and more!
Today, we take a look at the brand new Bluetooth-enabled ANANDA-BT headphones from HiFiMAN. These headphones support all the Hi-Fi protocols over Bluetooth. Priced at $999, the ANANDA-BT is one of the most expensive Bluetooth headphones around.
Scythe attempts to maintain their product philosophy of offering good cooling products of value with the Kaze Flex 120 RGB PWM fan. An iteration of the existing Kaze Flex, the addition of RGB lighting comes to attract a large market that increasingly wants color customization for custom PC builds.
MSI's Radeon RX 5600 XT Gaming Series comes in two flavors: the Gaming X and the Gaming Z, which has higher memory clocks. We compare both cards and their massive triple-slot thermal solution that achieves amazing temperatures and noise levels. Fan-stop is included, too.
The PassMark Inline PSU tester lets you perform in-depth testing of power supplies, beyond what a simple multimeter can do. It's also compact enough to carry with you in the field. We cross-verified its readings against our professional lab equipment with surprisingly good results.
Sapphire's RX 5600 XT Pulse comes at $289, which is only a small $10 premium over the AMD MSRP, yet it's faster than the GeForce RTX 2060. The card's cooler does a great job and delivers good temperatures paired with amazing noise levels, and it has fan-stop, too.
