Tech News
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EK Highlights from CES 2020
Published: Sunday, January 19, 2020 | By: DennisEK, the premium liquid cooling manufacturer was showcasing new products at CES 2020 for multiple product lines. The EK showroom suite was divided into three main categories and in such fashion.
LIQUID COOLING FOR STARTERS
Gamers are your thing? We suggest that you Play It Without Compromise. The EK Fluid Gaming Line was showcasing a pre-built, fully liquid-cooled PC. Proper liquid cooling should be available for everyone, so it is the mission of Fluid Gaming to be brought to the masses. If you are looking for a plug and play pre-built liquid-cooled PC, EK-Fluid Gaming is the one that will bring it to your doorstep. The complete lineup consists of a total of six PCs and they are already available for purchase through the Fluid Gaming web page. The PCs are built in the US and at the moment, shipping only on the territory of North America for now.
The easiest way to Start Your Liquid Cooling Journey is with the EK-AIO which will be launching in three standard sizes with single, dual and triple 120mm fans. The EK-AIO is a zero-maintenance liquid cooling solution, bringing extra cooling performance to their gaming or productivity environment. These minimalistic, addressable D-RGB lit All-In-One closed-loop cooling units will be available or purchase in a matter of weeks!
If you want to take if one step further The EK Classic Kits are the easiest way to get started with one of the most powerful ways of cooling your PC, the custom loop liquid cooling. These kits are a blend of carefully selected parts with additional accessories that will help the user to build their first open loop cooling solution. These kits are easy to assemble, and EK has made sure that there are support video tutorials available that will guide the user through each step of the process. The kits will be refreshed in the following months with angled adapters, an offset spider mount for the combo unit, a tube cutter, and a filling bottle, just to make sure that the assembly process is as smooth as it gets. With the EK Classic Kits, it is clear that Anyone Can do It!
THE ART OF PC MODDING
The EK Quantum Lineup is, by all means, the one with the most updates and upcoming products. On display were the already launched Kinetic TBE and Kinetic FLT combo units alongside with the Volume reservoirs. All of these products were filled with a purpose-made, RGB specific coolant for perfect light diffusion. The mixture is perfectly balanced so that the light is evenly scattering inside of reservoirs, water blocks and tubing as well. Using a coolant like this will only amplify your RGB experience with perfect light scattering effects. There is no specific launch date for the RGB specific coolant yet, but hold on to your hats, it’s coming soon!
EK-Quantum Reflection Series Distribution Plates
Further down the line, EK has prepared three case-specific coolant distribution plates belonging to the EK-Quantum Reflection line of products. All three are using D5 pumps and they are purpose-built for the Phanteks Evolve X, the Fractal Design Define R6, and the Corsair Obsidian 1000D, whereas the latter one is using a dual D5 setup. As for the distribution plate Fractal Design Define R6, additional compatibility for other Fractal Design cases is yet to be confirmed.
EK-Quantum Magnitude
The EK-Quantum Magnitude is just around the corner with four versions of the water block being prepared for the most popular AMD and Intel sockets. There are two addressable D-RGB Nickel Plexi and Nickel Acetal versions with the addition of a Full Nickel variant, and a Copper Acetal combination, catering to the old school liquid cooling enthusiasts.
The AMD AM4 Magnitude water block is also featuring an offset jet design in order do deliver maximum cooling performance. The Magnitude water blocks are not using jet plates, but rather relies on a precisely machined cold plate in order to achieve the best possible contact with the CPU IHS.
COOLING SOLUTIONS FOR PROFESSIONALS
EK is officially launching a line of products that are meant for professional use. Often these products feature robust, industrial material choices and no RGB whatsoever. The EK-Professional Line of products is all about the use of high-quality materials, longevity and enhancing the power of your PC or computing unit.
These new products are also suited for the most demanding customers, like servers and data centers. Heat is the side-product of the data center operation that can, if uncontrolled, shut down or even damage electronics. EK thermal balancing solutions can transfer the heat away from the processors and other high-density computing units. That heat can then be used where it is needed so that it is not going to waste.
CUBIX Workstations Featuring EK
Meet the all-new CUBIX workstation that is co-developed with EK. With the expertise of both of these companies, we got the best from the knowledge of building workstation PCs and expert liquid cooling solutions. Liquid cooling, also commonly called water cooling, is the best solution for rapid heat removal due to its unmatched thermal performance. It is the only cooling solution for your Workstation PC that allows successful heat removal from critical spots in the modern-day computer with zero noise pollution! This workstation PC runs 5 fully water-cooled GPU’s each running at x16 bandwidth and 2 scalable CPU’s each with their dedicated high-performance water block. Also, it has the potential to run 4TB of ram.
Flat PC for Autonomous Car Software Development
A small form factor workstation for autonomous vehicle software developers. Its a reliable, strong and compact computing station that can be easily carried inside a car trunk or cabin. Our compact liquid cooling solution enables the cooling of critical computing components during demanding load, high ambient temperatures, and vibration. The unit can be cooled with an external cooling radiator, or it can be even connected to the autonomous vehicle default onboard cooling loop.
Automotive-grade AIO
Vehicles present challenging working conditions for electronics because of the environmental changes like temperature, humidity, and vibrations during movement. We have developed liquid cooling components that can withstand the harsh conditions in the world of autonomous transportation. With our new water block design, we have managed to eliminate some of the vulnerabilities that could lead to potential damage to the electronics. This is achieved with a new production technology, which enables new and clever designs that have fewer assembly parts. These designs also make the product suitable for mass production. -
Introducing the EVGA SR-3 DARK Motherboard
Published: Saturday, January 04, 2020 | By: DennisThe DARK rises again. Not content to merely shatter records and competition in the consumer market, the EVGA SR-3 DARK merges two extreme performance lines of EVGA motherboards to bring balance to the force with exceptional performance and engineering.
Featuring the Intel® C622 chipset, hexa-channel memory support, 23 phase power design, 16-layer PCB, dual-10GbE LAN ports, a waterblock to passively or actively cool the DARK’s VRM, and so much more, this board is packed with everything and is still compact enough to fit in a full E-ATX form factor
With the EVGA SR-3 DARK, you don't need to see its identification to know that the next evolution of the X299 and Z390 DARK motherboards features the latest improvements for performance and enthusiast needs.
16-Layer PCB
A 16-layer high-speed E-ATX PCBA with gold-plated shielded edge enhances stability for heavy loads, improved overclocking, and durability for today's extreme cooling hardware.
Highly-Efficient 24-Phase PWM
The SR-3 DARK features a 24-phase Digital VRM (18 VCore, 1 VSA, 1 VCCIO, 4 VDDR) for the cleanest, most stable power design to ensure that you're ready for Intel’s 28-core XEON® W-3175X Processor.
300% Higher Gold Content in CPU Socket
Higher volume of precious metal (300% Gold) used in the Narrow 30u socket creates lower contact resistance, resulting in better power delivery.
Intel® sSATA to Mini-SAS 6Gb/s Port
The Intel® C622 PCH supports 10 SATA 6Gb/s drives, including an additional 4 ports through a mini-SAS connector located behind the SATA Ports. The controller also supports NCQ, TRIM, hot swap capability, and RAID levels 0/1/5/10.
PCIe Disable Switches
The SR-3 DARK offers PCIe disable switches to quickly shut off PCIe slots to troubleshoot or restore used resources without the need to physically uninstall hardware.
Triple BIOS Select Switch
Switch between up to 3 different BIOS ROMs for overclocking, benching, 24/7 use, or anything you can think of.
SW Slow Mode Switch
Changes the CPU Ratio to the minimum CPU ratio in real-time for stability purposes or to reduce heat/power usage between long benching sessions.
ProbeIT Connectors
Attach your Digital Multimeter to the included ProbeIT adapter and monitor all your voltages in real-time.
Creative Core3D Audio
Creative 5.1 Channel Audio with output amplifiers – the industry standard for audio quality.
Safeboot Button
Pressing this button will restart the system and launch into the BIOS at safe setting, while keeping the same settings when you previously left the BIOS. Handy for those times when the board fails to POST, but you only need to make one or two changes to fix it! -
SK hynix to Introduce Consumer PCIe NVMe SSDs at CES 2020
Published: Saturday, January 04, 2020 | By: DennisSeoul, Korea – December 27, 2019 – SK hynix Inc. (or “the Company,” www.skhynix.com), a global semiconductor maker based in Korea, is set to introduce its newest offering of “Gold P31” and “Platinum P31” PCIe NVMe Solid State Drives (SSDs) at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2020, which will be held on January 7–10 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The drives are built with SK hynix’s 128-layer 4D NAND flash, only six months after the Company announced the mass production of the world’s first and highest vertical stack for NAND flash, demonstrating the chipmaker’s technological edge.
As a leading manufacturer of memory chips, SK hynix builds and supplies its own DRAM and NAND flash devices, as well as SSD controllers designed and developed in-house. The company has a proven track record as a major supplier to global OEMs including top-tier PC makers, who have trusted and purchased SK hynix’s SSDs for nearly a decade now. As a next step, SK hynix is now expanding into the consumer market with its newest drives.
“SK hynix’s new SSDs were built as premier solutions for users seeking advanced performance to run multimedia tools and the most demanding of PC games,” said a company spokesperson. “We are excited to introduce SK hynix’s Gold S31 SATA, Gold P31 PCIe, and Platinum P31 PCIe SSDs for the first time at CES, at a time when the brand continues to expand its presence in the United States.”
The new Gold P31 and Platinum P31 PCIe SSDs will be on display at SK hynix’s booth #13529 in the Las Vegas Convention Center’s Central LLCC Hall. Before this newest addition, SK hynix launched “SuperCore” series of consumer SSDs starting with Gold S31, the 2.5-inch SATA III SSD offering the industry’s best-in-class speed and reliability, available on Amazon in the U.S.
About SK hynix
SK hynix Inc., headquartered in Korea, is a top-tier semiconductor maker that offers DRAM, NAND flash, and CMOS Image Sensors (CIS) for a wide range of renowned electronics makers across the world. The company’s shares are traded on the Korea Exchange, and the Global Depository shares are listed on the Luxemburg Stock Exchange. Further information on SK hynix is available at https://www.skhynix.com and https://news.skhynix.com. -
Thermaltake View 51 Tempered Glass ARGB Edition Full-Tower Chassis
Published: Saturday, January 04, 2020 | By: DennisTaipei, Taiwan-January 3rd, 2020-Thermaltake, the leading PC DIY premium brand for Cooling, Gaming Gear, and Enthusiast Memory solutions, is thrilled to announce a new member of the View Series chassis - the View 51 Tempered Glass ARGB Edition full-tower chassis coming in both black and white versions.
The I/O ports are positioned vertically on the right side of the front panel with tempered glass windows on its left, showing the two preinstalled 200mm ARGB fans, which work with the one 120mm ARGB fan on the rear side creating the perfect airflow. With a press of the RGB button alongside the I/O ports, the RGB fans can sync with motherboards from ASUS, MSI, GIGABYTE, and ASRock to display your own lightshow. View 51 TG’s magical interior space design serves outstanding liquid cooling expansions and advanced cable management. This well-engineered full-tower chassis utilizes a swing-out side panel and a total of three 4mm tempered glass panels allow its users to demonstrate their DIY handwork and showcase their internal components. With the support of the latest architecture, the View 51 TG ARGB Edition is not only fascinating in its appearance but provides endless possibilities for pc lovers.
For more details on Thermaltake View 51 Tempered Glass ARGB Edition Full-Tower Chassis , please visit:
White- https://www.thermaltake.com/view-51-tempered-glass-argb-snow-edition.html
Black- https://www.thermaltake.com/view-51-tempered-glass-argb-edition.html -
Happy New Year from Hardware Asylum
Published: Wednesday, January 01, 2020 | By: DennisSo, funny story
Back in the early days of Hardware Asylum which can be best said as “When Hardware Asylum as actually Ninjalane” I would do a short holiday post. For the fourth of July I might do a digit check to ensure everyone had all their fingers and toes and for Christmas and New Years I might congratulate fellow hardware enthusiasts on another successful year of great computer building.
I would have to look but, I’m pretty sure I haven’t done that since Hardware Asylum launched and I’m feeling pretty bad about that. No sense of community, no giving back and I’d like to change that.
Welcome to 2020, I hope this year serves you well and, if you voted for Pedro, all your dreams will come true.
I have CES 2020 coming up and will be in Vegas for a few days checking out the new tech. After that I’ll be recording the January Hardware Asylum Podcast and I’ll be publishing a new “State of the Hardware Asylum Address 2020” that none of you will want to miss.
Happy New Year from all of us at Hardware Asylum
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VIPER GAMING by PATRIOT Unleashes VPR100 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 x4 RGB Solid State Drive
Published: Monday, December 09, 2019 | By: DennisFREMONT, CALIFORNIA — Dec. 5th, 2019 — VIPER GAMING by PATRIOT, a trademarked brand of PATRIOT and a global leader in performance memory, solid state drives, and flash storage solutions, is pleased to announce the official launch of the VPR100. The new m.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 x4 RGB solid state drive offers capacities available from 256GB up to 2TB. The VPR100 is targeted to deliver uncompromising speed and performance for intense gaming, overclocking, video content creating, and 3D rendering. Built with the latest Phison E12 PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe controller to bring out lightning-fast sequential Read and Write speeds and OS start-up time. The VPR100 utilizes a low-profile aluminum heatshield that not only dissipates performance-robbing heat but also brilliantly highlights the on-board LEDs making the VPR100 an eye-catching centerpiece of any PC build.
The VPR100 is the first PCIe m.2 SSD that offers users to customize their RGB illumination through the user-friendly VIPER RGB app 2.1 application. The software equipped with up to five customizable lighting profiles along with eight pre-programmed RGB lighting patterns, including viper, heartbeat, breathing, and more. The user-friendly interface makes it easy for the user to select from the entire RGB spectrum and lighting patterns to match their gaming setup.
The VPR100 RGB SSD is fully compatible with the many sync software on the market today, including ASUS AURA Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light Sync, and ASRock Polychrome Sync giving users the ultimate RGB control.
SSD Read and Write speeds are essential metrics when choosing a performance-based NVMe m.2 SSD especially when the system is subjected to heavy workloads like intensive gaming or UHD video editing. The VPR100 offers better performance over traditional non-PCIe storage products and is considerably more compact. The VPR100 delivers exceptional sequential Read and Write performance with up to 3,300 MB/s Read speed on 1TB/2TB model and 2,900MB/s Write speed. The drive provides 4K random-read IOPs up to 700K and random-write IOPs up to 650K on the 1TB/2TB model for exceptional throughput. Performance is enhanced thanks to the structure of the Intelligent SLC (Single Level Cell) caching algorithm, ensuring that data is handled quick and efficient.
The VPR100 is built with best-in-class components on a 10-layer PCB board for ensuring the best signal integration and excellent stability and an External Thermal Sensor to monitor internal temperatures of the drive and prevent the risk of overheating. It aims to reduce performance degradation and extends the life of the drive. The VPR100 is built with a military-grade aluminum heatshield with a unique alloy design to provide excellent thermal dissipation. -
SiSoftware Sandra 20/20 (2020) SP1a Released
Published: Tuesday, December 03, 2019 | By: DennisUpdate November 25th: Released patch (version 30.24) to add further hardware and software support.
Update October 24th: Released patch (version 30.21) to corrrect Windows 7 / Server 2008/R2 run-time issues.
We are pleased to release SP1a (version 30.24) update for 20/20 (2020) with the following updates:
Sandra 20/20 (2020) Press Release
Hardware Support:
- AMD Ryzen2 (series 3000 Matisse), Stoney Ridge updated support
- Intel Cascade Lake (CSL), Comet Lake (CML), Cannon Lake (CNL), Ice Lake (ICL) updated support
CPU Benchmarks:
- Tools (Visual C++ compiler 2019) Update
GPGPU Benchmarks:
- CUDA: Updated SDK 10.2/10.1
- OpenCL: Updated SDK support
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EK-Meltemi 120ER Fan @ TechPowerUp
Published: Tuesday, November 26, 2019 | By: DennisSo, there are fans and then there are FANS. While they both "blow" there is a difference between the two. One one hand you have a fan that any YouTube channel will love, they can put paper strips on the fan and show that it moves air from one location to another.
On the other hand you have FANS, these are manly fans, no offence to womenly fans as some of them can be just as powerful and loud however, we need fans with blemishes and big blades and who are not afraid to get their gears wet or call each other dude and kiss the fins of a finely crafted radiator for a lifetime of servatude.
We are talking, of course, about the EK Meltemi. Or as the name suggests a fine wine you have at the race track.
EK Water Blocks adds to their fan portfolio with the massive 38 mm thick Meltemi. Available in their -ER (extended range) version, the EK-Meltemi aims to take their popular Vardar fan as a base and build upon it with a bigger, badder motor, and promises high static pressure optimization for PC DIY water cooling.
All jokes aside, this fan is pretty darn impressive BUT..
I have seen better.
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EK-Classic InWin 303EK Available for Pre-Order
Published: Tuesday, November 26, 2019 | By: DennisFirst we have case manufactures building heatsinks and AIO coolers. Then we have video card makers releasing power supplies and memory and now we have a watercooling company (one of the largest in the world) releasing a custom case from InWin complete with a distro plate.
For those of you who don't know, a distribution plate is a fancy name for a watercooling manifold that becomes a decorative part to your casemod and often replaces, or enhances, the reservoir you normally have. For many this helps to clean up the build and give "builders" an easy excuse for why they aren't "modding"
The EK-Classic InWin 303EK case is a unique version of the popular In Win 303 case. It features an integrated distribution plate and this makes it really special as there is no similar product on the market. This is the only mass-produced case that is specifically re-designed and modified to seamlessly integrate the coolant distribution plate equipped with a powerful DDC pump. The 303 is one of InWin’s most popular cases which has been on the market for quite a while now. It is a tested, market-proven case with interesting fan and radiator layout options. The 303EK version brings this a new level, wherewith the purchase of the case, the customer will get a fully integrated coolant reservoir and a pump in the form of a distribution plate.
Look for it on the EK Web Shop for a little over 300 bones.
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Be Quiet! Dark Rock Slim @ LanOC Reviews
Published: Tuesday, November 26, 2019 | By: DennisCall me old school but I still think cooler reviews are relevant and that people looking to build a PC should venture out and read what other people are saying instead of picking the Hyper 212 cause some reddit friend put it into their PC Parts Picker shopping list.
By now most of you know of the company Be Quiet! and their heatsinks, fans, and power supplies. Early on when they first came to the US market they were involved in our LANs as a sponsor and we have covered a few of their heatsinks in the past. But they have grown in popularity a lot in the heatsink market especially with their all-black styling, quiet fans, and good performance. Especially with a few of their heatsinks in the SFF community and with their high-end heatsinks for those of you dedicated for the best possible cooling performance without the downsides of All in One coolers like pump noise and the potential for leaks. Well I have had their Dark Rock Slim sitting around the office and as I clean things out for the end of the year I didn’t want to miss checking it out. It is designed for those of you who need a thinner cooler for memory, motherboard, and case clearance reasons. Today I’m going check it out and see how it compares to a few other 120mm air coolers.
I am still going to go on record and say the mounting hardware from Be Quiet is one of the worse on the market EVER and that is a very LONG list to sample from.
Be sure to check out our review of the Be Quiet Shadow Rock Slim that we did back in 2014. Its not bad.
