Tech News
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VIPER launches the NEW VP4300 PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 2280 SSD
Published: Thursday, April 15, 2021 | By: DennisBuilt on the latest high-speed Innogrit controller. To deliver ultra-fast transfer speeds for workstation PCs and performance gaming laptops. Now available in capacities of 1TB/2TB.
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA — April 15th, 2021 — VIPER™, a trademarked brand of PATRIOT™ and a global leader in performance memory, solid-state drives, and flash storage solutions, is proud to launch its Viper VP4300 PCIe Gen4 x 4 NVME M.2 2280 SSD today. The SSD is built using the latest Innogrit Gen 4x4 high-speed controller-IG5236 and the highest quality DDR4 DRAM cache, which delivers blistering transfer speeds for massive system DATA throughput. The drive provides the 4K Aligned Random-Read and Random-Write up to 800K IOPs and Sequential Read and Write speeds up to 7,400MB/s and 6,800MB/s, respectively. Faster overall performance from system boots to accelerating system responsiveness when loading games or data-intensive applications. The all-new Viper VP4300 is available in capacities of 1TB and 2TB.
Keeping the NVMe m.2 SSD thermally stable is essential for maintaining the drive's performance and stability, as every system is different. Motherboards come with integrated coolers, while ITX desktops and performance laptops have limited space.
The Viper VP4300 SSD comes with two heat spreaders to meet all thermal demands: an aluminum heatshield and an extremely thin, single-use, graphene thermal pad, which can be used together or independently in a variety of different system configurations from a full tower desktop to a restricted ITX tower or gaming laptop.
The aluminum and graphene heatshields offer two height profiles and can be used independently or together for superior heat dissipation in any build. The Graphene heatshield is recognized as an ultra-thin and lightweight thermal pad and best used when space is limited, or an integrated heatsink is being used, and best of all users can choose which one to use according to the allowed installation space.
Many traditional NVMe SSDs set performance restrictions that limit Read and Write data transfer speeds to maintain a workable operating temperature. The Viper VP4300 is designed with a cutting-edge Thermal Throttling technology that uses a built-in thermal sensor and firmware to manage the SSD temperature. This will prevent overheating and easily leverage the best performance under a variety of different system tasks.
Backed by VIPER GAMING's 5-year warranty, the Viper VP4300 M.2 SSD is one of the most reliable choices for PC enthusiasts, hardcore gamers, content creators, and animation rendering professionals who require ultra-fast bootup speed and instantaneous access for superior productivity. Joining the Viper VP4100 in the Gen4 x 4 segment, the Viper VP4300 is now expected to be available at suggested major retailers worldwide.
Features Highlights
- Built with the latest Innogrit IG5236 PCIe Gen 4 x 4 NVMe controller to unlock ultra fast sequential Read and Write speeds up to 7.400MB/s and 6,800MB/s.
- Thermal Throttling Technology and built-in thermal sensor to provide additional protection and sustain the best performance under intense workloads.
- Delivers the perfect combination of overall performance, ultra-fast transfer speeds, and enhanced multitasking capabilities.
- Built on a 10-layer PCB to guarantee excellent signal integrity for ultra-stability.
- Two optional heatshields included in the package: Aluminum heatshield x 1, Graphene heatshield x 1
- O/S Supported: Windows® 7*/8.0*/8.1/10 (*May require driver)
- Must be on the latest AMD CPU and Motherboard, at time of release, to obtain optimal Gen4x4 speed. Other platforms will be backward compatible with Gen3x4
Availability:
MSRP: 2TB - $499.99, 1TB - $254.99 -
GIGABYTE Z590 AORUS MASTER Review @ Vortez
Published: Thursday, April 15, 2021 | By: DennisAn interesting thing happened during the Rocket Lake launch. Nobody contacted me to do a review and on top of that I haven't seen many reviews come through my inbox with can only indicate one thing.
Rocket Lake sucks. There have been plenty of records set with the Intel 11 Series processor but they all seem to be memory related which would indicate that the CPU is still heat bound and is likely marking the end of the "Core" era.
In the spotlight today we have the Z590 AORUS MASTER – a stellar offering which strives to leave no stone unturned in regards to features and outright performance. Boasting support for up to 5400MHz DDR4, a plethora of USB 3.2 connectivity and PCIe 4.0, MASTER is really designed for the tech enthusiast who does not have any intention of comprising.
I'll be picking up a 11 Series in the next couple weeks and will chrun through some motherboards but, until then check out thie review from Vortez and see what you think of the Gigabyte Master Z590.
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BIOSTAR Announces the New B550T-SILVER Motherboard
Published: Thursday, April 15, 2021 | By: DennisApril 15th, 2021, Taipei, Taiwan - BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices today, unveils the brand new B550T-SILVER motherboard.
Built to run the latest AMD Ryzen processors on AMD’s B550 single chip architecture, the new B550T-SILVER motherboard from BIOSTAR is truly a masterpiece in design and engineering. With all the essentials for a motherboard of its kind, this Mini-ITX motherboard is versatile for any occasion.
Featuring a 2-DIMM DDR4 RAM configuration that can support up to 64GB of high speed 4933+(OC) RAMs, the B550T-SILVER motherboard works amazingly well for a home or office PC that takes less space yet carries a lot of power at its core.
PCIe 4.0 and Wifi 6 are some of the noticeable features of the B550T-SILVER motherboard powered by BIOSTAR’s signature Digital PWM technology that delivers power throughout the system in a stable and reliable way. Furthermore, PCIe M.2 4.0 provides fast storage solutions with a 16GT/s bit rate and backward compatibility.
The rear I/O of the B550T-SILVER motherboard consists of 6 USB ports consisting of a single USB 3.2 (Gen2) Type-C port, a single USB 3.2 (Gen2) Port and 4 x USB 3.2 (Gen1) ports provided for USB input as well as an additional PS/2 port for users looking to plug in an older mouse or a keyboard depending on user preference.
Furthermore, 2 x WiFi Antenna ports with the capability to run WiFi 6 and a single LAN port powered by Realtek RTL8125B chipset are readily available in the motherboard for faster internet connectivity.
The B550T-SILVER motherboard comes with a single display port as well as an HDMI 2.1 port capable of supporting up to 4K, vivid, crystal clear images. This together with the 3 audio ports powered by the ALC897 chipset is capable of providing the users with an extremely immersive audio and visual experience.
To Conclude, the new B550T-SILVER motherboard brings cutting-edge technology in a small form, highly suitable for gaming and casual content consumption. It is undoubtedly the best choice in the market for that small sleek HTPC build.
Digital PWM
- Increases system efficiency
- Has faster transient performance
- Delivers stable power and reliability
Dr. MOS
- Makes you overclock smoothly
- Improves thermal performance
- Delivers superior efficiency and performance
PCIe 4.0
- Supports a 16GT/s bit rate
- Maintains backward compatibility
- It’s 2X bandwidth than PCIe 3.0
PCIe M.2 4.0
- Delivers lower latency
- Delivers the highest bandwidth 64Gb/s
- It’s 2 times faster than PCIe M.2 3.0
Debug LED
- Informs you on the status of your board or hardware
- Helps you identify any issues going with your board or hardware
WiFi 6 (No Wifi 6 card included)
- Improves network efficiency
- Provides a wider range to increase network capacity
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Patriot Viper VP4300 M.2 PCIE Gen4 x4 2TB SSD @ Funkykit
Published: Thursday, April 15, 2021 | By: DennisWhen it comes to M.2 SSDs you have a choice. You can choose to pick any random old drive and then deal with how to keep the drive cool or you can pick the Patriot VP4300 and get the choice of coolers. You can use one with your motherboard or use the included cooler.
Either way it is a "Win-Win", oh and I suppose the drive is pretty fast too.
So inclusion, the Patriot Viper VP4300 PCIE Gen4 is one of the fastest M.2 NVMe SSD we've tested to date. With super fast read and write speeds, it's ideal for the hardcore enthusiasts whether you're using it for gaming or content creation. For performance alone, the Viper VP4300 gets our Editor's Choice award.
Check out the review at Funky Kit and click on the banner to buy one for yourself. I'd say there is a discount but...
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NVIDIA Announces CPU for Giant AI and High Performance Computing Workloads
Published: Monday, April 12, 2021 | By: Dennis- ‘Grace’ CPU delivers 10x performance leap for systems training giant AI models, using energy-efficient Arm cores
- Swiss Supercomputing Center and US Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory First to Build NVIDIA CPU-Powered Supercomputers
SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GTC -- NVIDIA today announced its first data center CPU, an Arm-based processor that will deliver 10x the performance of today’s fastest servers on the most complex AI and high performance computing workloads.
The result of more than 10,000 engineering years of work, the NVIDIA Grace™ CPU is designed to address the computing requirements for the world’s most advanced applications — including natural language processing, recommender systems and AI supercomputing — that analyze enormous datasets requiring both ultra-fast compute performance and massive memory. It combines energy-efficient Arm CPU cores with an innovative low-power memory subsystem to deliver high performance with great efficiency.
“Leading-edge AI and data science are pushing today’s computer architecture beyond its limits – processing unthinkable amounts of data,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. “Using licensed Arm IP, NVIDIA has designed Grace as a CPU specifically for giant-scale AI and HPC. Coupled with the GPU and DPU, Grace gives us the third foundational technology for computing, and the ability to re-architect the data center to advance AI. NVIDIA is now a three-chip company.”
Grace is a highly specialized processor targeting workloads such as training next-generation NLP models that have more than 1 trillion parameters. When tightly coupled with NVIDIA GPUs, a Grace CPU-based system will deliver 10x faster performance than today’s state-of-the-art NVIDIA DGX™-based systems, which run on x86 CPUs.
While the vast majority of data centers are expected to be served by existing CPUs, Grace — named for Grace Hopper, the U.S. computer-programming pioneer — will serve a niche segment of computing.
The Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory are the first to announce plans to build Grace-powered supercomputers in support of national scientific research efforts.
NVIDIA is introducing Grace as the volume of data and size of AI models are growing exponentially. Today’s largest AI models include billions of parameters and are doubling every two-and-a-half months. Training them requires a new CPU that can be tightly coupled with a GPU to eliminate system bottlenecks.
NVIDIA built Grace by leveraging the incredible flexibility of Arm’s data center architecture. By introducing a new server-class CPU, NVIDIA is advancing the goal of technology diversity in AI and HPC communities, where choice is key to delivering the innovation needed to solve the world’s most pressing problems.
“As the world’s most widely licensed processor architecture, Arm drives innovation in incredible new ways every day,” said Arm CEO Simon Segars. “NVIDIA’s introduction of the Grace data center CPU illustrates clearly how Arm’s licensing model enables an important invention, one that will further support the incredible work of AI researchers and scientists everywhere.”
Grace’s First Adopters Push Limits of Science and AI
CSCS and Los Alamos National Laboratory both plan to bring Grace-powered supercomputers, built by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, online in 2023.”NVIDIA’s novel Grace CPU allows us to converge AI technologies and classic supercomputing for solving some of the hardest problems in computational science,” said CSCS Director Prof. Thomas Schulthess. “We are excited to make the new NVIDIA CPU available for our users in Switzerland and globally for processing and analyzing massive and complex scientific datasets.”
“With an innovative balance of memory bandwidth and capacity, this next-generation system will shape our institution’s computing strategy,” said Thom Mason, director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. “Thanks to NVIDIA’s new Grace CPU, we’ll be able to deliver advanced scientific research using high-fidelity 3D simulations and analytics with datasets that are larger than previously possible.”
Delivering Breakthrough Performance
Underlying Grace’s performance is fourth-generation NVIDIA NVLink® interconnect technology, which provides a record 900 GB/s connection between Grace and NVIDIA GPUs to enable 30x higher aggregate bandwidth compared to today’s leading servers.Grace will also utilize an innovative LPDDR5x memory subsystem that will deliver twice the bandwidth and 10x better energy efficiency compared with DDR4 memory. In addition, the new architecture provides unified cache coherence with a single memory address space, combining system and HBM GPU memory to simplify programmability.
Grace will be supported by the NVIDIA HPC software development kit and the full suite of CUDA® and CUDA-X™ libraries, which accelerate more than 2,000 GPU applications, speeding discoveries for scientists and researchers working on the world’s most important challenges.
Availability is expected in the beginning of 2023.
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Intel Xe-HPG DG2 GPU Engineering Sample Pictured
Published: Friday, April 9, 2021 | By: DennisFor years Intel has been trying to break into the GPU market and while almost EVERY Intel CPU comes with a graphic processor they are not gaming ready video devices and designed mostly to compliment systems deployed into the enterprise space.
Well, it would seem that Intel has finally started making some headway into the GPU space should have something ready by the end of the year. If the rumors are true this could be a super tastey video card and even if it cannot complete with the NVIDIA flagship it will have a profound impact on the lower end market segment.
The card features 512 Execution Units and will be the flagship model for Intel's upcoming Xe-HPG lineup reportedly targeting performance between the RTX 3070 and RTX 3080. The final product is rumored to feature a base clock of 2.2 GHz along with 16 GB GDDR6 memory and a 256-bit bus. The sample has a TDP of 275 W with 8 + 6 pin power connectors up from original targets of 225 W - 250 W.
These specs make is seem like they are going after NVIDIA so I'll be sitting here watching to see what unfolds. Be sure to check out TechPowerUp and the Moores Law is Dead channel for more information related to this story.
Never know it could be completely fake.
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Patriot launches Supersonic Rage Pro USB 3.2 Gen.1 Flash Drive
Published: Tuesday, March 23, 2021 | By: DennisUSB 3.2 Gen.1 with high IOPS and fast read and write, making it the best solution for boot drives. Now available in capacities from 128GB to 512GB.
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, March 18th, 2021 – PATRIOT™, a global leader in performance memory, SSDs, gaming peripherals, and flash storage solutions, is proud to announce the market launch of the new Supersonic RAGE series, Supersonic Rage PRO USB 3.2 Gen. 1 flash drive today. This USB 3.2 Gen.1 flash drive supports UASP mode to ensure the fastest data Read and Write speeds. The RAGE PRO series USB drive comes with an LED activity indicator and features a high-quality aluminum-coated housing for extra protection and better thermal performance. The USB drive is available in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. It operates completely driver-free on Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP/2000, Linux, AndroidOS, ChromeOS, and Mac OSX and later. The Supersonic Rage Pro USB 3.2 Gen.1 flash drive is the ultimate solution for consumers who demand massive multi-platform data storage with excellent reliability.
"Improving user experience is always a top priority when we start to design new products. Every detail is inspected as it could be the one that pushes this product beyond the competition," said Roger Shinmoto, Vice President of Product Development. "From the inside out, the Supersonic RAGE PRO USB 3.2 Gen.1 flash drive is a next-gen portable USB storage solution for all users while offering performance benefits to our more demanding customers who need it most," he added.
FEATURES:
- USB 3.2 Gen. 1 compliant (backward compatible with USB 2.0)
- Up to 420MB/s Read
- Up to 8,000 4K Random IOPs
- Aluminum coated housing gives the better thermal and solid body
- Supported UASP mode provide fastest response read and write
- LED light indicator
- Plug and Play, driver free
- Compatible with Windows 7/8/10, Linux 2.4 and Later, Mac OSX and later
The Supersonic RAGE PRO series supports UASP mode (USB Attached SCSI Protocol). This mode allows for faster Read/Write speeds from removable storage devices. Compared to traditional USB 3.0 BOT, the UASP mode will boost overall performance with 70% faster read and 40% faster Write speeds at its peak. The Supersonic RAGE PRO delivers 420MB/s in Read speed and up to 8,000 4K Random IOPS. The Rage Pro is also optimized as a boot drive for Windows OS and other operating systems, while the extra IOPS and random 4K read and write speed provides excellent reliability and faster boot times. The Rage Pro can also be an alternative solution when users need an independent rescue drive for laptops and desktops. The LED indicators allow users to visually confirm when data is being processed and is entirely plug-and-play compatible.
The Supersonic RAGE PRO USB 3.2 Gen.1 flash drive will be launched in major US retailers and available in 3 capacities: 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB, all backed by Patriot 5-year Warranty.
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Lexar Announces New NQ100 2.5 SATA III
Published: Monday, March 22, 2021 | By: DennisSan Jose, USA, March 17, 2021 — Lexar, a leading global brand of flash memory solutions, today announced the new NQ100 2.5” SATA III (6Gb/s) SSD. The NQ100 solid-state drive is an easy upgrade for users looking to improve the performance of their laptop or desktop computers.
Key Features:
- Boost your computer’s performance for faster startups, data transfers, and application loads
- Fast performance, easy upgrade
- Shock and vibration resistant with no moving parts
- Three-year limited warranty
Improve your system’s performance and enjoy faster startups, data transfers, and load times for applications. Boasting read speeds of up to 550MB/s, the Lexar NQ100 SSD will refresh your laptop or PC for a faster experience. The NQ100 SSD is also shock and vibration resistant, making it more reliable and durable than a typical hard drive. It is also cooler, quieter, and more energy efficient than traditional HDD.
“Lexar is dedicated to expanding our SSD portfolio and continue to offer high-quality solid-state drives for various computing needs. The new Lexar NQ100 SSD provides customers with an easy yet cost-effective way to boost PC performance, and with capacity options ranging from 240GB-960GB, users can easily expand storage for their content-driven lifestyles," said Joel Boquiren, General Manager of Lexar.
NQ100 SSD is available this month for purchase online at an MSRP of $30.99 USD (240GB), $52.99 USD (480GB) with 960GB to be announced at a future date.
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TerraMaster Introduces D2-310 2-Bay RAID Storage with USB 3.1
Published: Monday, March 22, 2021 | By: DennisEmpowering creative professionals in small home and office setups with 5Gbps SUPERSPEED+
March 16th, 2021 Shenzhen, China - TerraMaster, a professional brand that specializes in providing innovative storage products, introduces the D2-310 2-bay RAID storage with USB 3.1 5Gbps port for small home and small office setups. The D2-310 features a high-speed USB 3.1 Gen1 SUPERSPEED+ 5Gbps Type-C that’s compatible with Windows and Mac systems. The highly-compatible, high-speed Type-C connector deliver speeds of up to 410MB/s, allowing users to copy 1GB videos in just 2~3 seconds.
Competitively priced at $159, the D2-310 is perfect for creative professionals like video editors, graphics designers, and animators working at home and in small offices. Its two bays support 2.5” and 3.5” SATA drives and up to 36TB storage capacity (2x 18TB 3.5” HDDs). It uses a sturdy aluminum enclosure with superb temperature management and low noise.
Designed for Professionals
For professionals that demand high-speed, high-capacity, and secured storage, the D2-310 is the perfect storage solution for your valuable work files whether you are using a Windows or Mac computer. The USB 3.1 Gen 1 5Gbps SUPERSPEED+ Type-C connection can deliver a maximum read speed of 410MB/s and maximum write speed of 400MB/s using SSDs. Users can have up to 36TB of storage. Users can also select one of the four support storage modes including RAID 0, RAID 1, JBOD, and SINGLE to fit their needs.Designed to Fit Your Needs
For professionals that work with sensitive data such as financial records and corporate records, the D2-310 comes with the necessary safety features to secure your data at all times. Use RAID 1 mode to automatically secure stored data with a mirror backup. For professionals like video editors and content creation that need speed, RAID 0 mode offers faster speeds, reducing copy time significantly to boost productivity.Learn more about the TerraMaster D2-310 2-bay RAID storage at TerraMaster
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AMD Will Not Artificially Limit Radeon 6000 Crypto Mining Performance @ Hot Hardware
Published: Monday, March 22, 2021 | By: DennisWith all of this talk about crypto consuming the entire supply of gaming GPUs it really puts some perspective into the power of money and why get rich quick schemes actually work.
At least for one person.
You see when you drive the promise of money into the minds of people and then make it extremely easy to obtain said money, they do whatever it takes to make that one thing happen. Spend over a grand on a video card and in a year they might be able to pay it off. Pick up a second and halve that prospect.
This sort of model rarely happens in the world and is a powerful motivator. So, what happens when a company releases a product that has been designed for a single purpose which doesn't include crypto. For business types and crypto miners they would say it is a failure while gamers might hail it as the second coming.
Enter the Radeon 6000, the card that is so sub-standard it is only good at playing games.
The quick and simple answer is a resounding "no." According to AMD Director of Product Management Nish Neelalojanan, "[AMD] will not be blocking any workload." While that is good news at face value, AMD doesn't exactly need to put an actual hardware/software limiter on GPUs like the Radeon RX 6700 XT and Radeon RX 6800 XT to limit the appeal to cryptocurrency miners. The company's design choices during development mean that RDNA 2 GPUs are a relatively poor choice from a performance/efficiency angle.
We can thank the power of CUDA and AI for why NVIDIA cards work well to solve complex math problems and how a product that is too good will keep it out of the hands of gamers until the next product release.
