Hardware

An Affordable, Stylish PC Case

By Chris Ledenican @ Hot Hardware

SilverStone released a handful of new cases and coolers a few months back, targeting an array of price points for DIY PC builders. One of the more affordable additions to the line-up was the SilverStone Fara B1 mid-tower we’re evaluating today. The Fara B1 is priced to move at about $60, but it has the looks and features of much more expensive cases. Of course, looks can be deceiving, so we decided to get our hands on the Fara B1 to see if its worthy of consideration for your next budget-friendly desktop #PCMasterRace build.

Read the Review Here

By Hilbert Hagedoorn @ Guru3D

In this article, we will test the ASUS ROG STRIX XG279Q. This is a 27-inch 2560 x 1440 screen, IPS based with a 170 Hz refresh rate. Oh yes, and some RGB lighting as well as offering FreeSync and GSync compatibility in the form of adaptive sync. All that for € 679,00 / 599 USD.

Read the Review Here

Check out these latest hardware announcements for today from around the web. Also included are some hardware news bits, and on some days, a few rumors tossed in for good measure. Click on the links below to read the official press release, visit the products web page, or to an independent news source.

• ID-COOLING Releases IS-47K 47mm Low Profile CPU Cooler
• Deepcool Announces GAMMAX X 400 PRO Processor Cooler
• PNY Announces CS2130 M.2 NVMe SSD
• Deepcool Offers Modular GOLD Certified Power Supply
• AMD Declares That The Era of 4GB Graphics Cards is Over
• Thermaltake Introduces the ToughDesk 500L RGB Battlestation Gaming Desk
• Thermaltake Announces Argent Series Gaming Gear
• Thermaltake Announces RIING Pro RGB 7.1, Shock XT Series & Isurus Pro V2 In-ear Gaming Headsets
• MSI Intros the Immerse GH30 V2 Gaming Headset
• LG Launches 38WN95C-W Monitor: 38″ Nano IPS, QHD+, 144 Hz – 170 Hz, 1 ms, Adaptive-Sync, 2300R, VESA DisplayHDR 600
• ASUS Launches its ThunderboltEX 3-TR Expansion Card for Intel 10th Generation Systems
• Thermaltake Introduces the New ARGB TH-series AIO Liquid Coolers
• Thermaltake Announces TOUGHFAN TOUGHFAN 12 High Static Pressure Fan and Pure Series Duo Fans
• HP Portable SSD P500 1TB Is Now Available
• Corsair Recalls SF Series of PSUs Due to Failure Concerns
• ASUS Rolls Out Prime TRX40-PRO S Motherboard
• BIOSTAR Announces Racing B450GT Motherboard
• NZXT C850 GOLD Certified Power Supply is Marketed with Zero RPM Fan Mode
• Buffalo Unleashes Three Wi-Fi 6 Compatible Wireless LAN Routers Leading with WXR-5700AX7S

By Nate @ TechPowerUp!

The Z490 board I have the privilege to introduce is the ASRock Z490 Velocita. The widely successful Phantom Gaming line is back, and with a new member. ASRock’s Phantom Gaming family of motherboards was introduced with the Z390 platform not much more than a year ago. The product line features black, red, and gray styling, 2.5 Gb/s LAN, and an emphasis on performance. This newest member of the Phantom Gaming family is no exception, even the name “Velocita” translates to “speed.”

Read the Review Here

Refreshing the Upper Mid-Range

By Joe Shields @ Tom’s Hardware

In our first of four upper-midrange Z490 motherboard review, we take a close look at the Gigabyte Z490 Aorus Master to see what sets it apart from the competition around this price point. The $389.99 Gigabyte board is pointed squarely at the enthusiast and gaming markets, and is priced about $130 higher than the ASRock Z490 PG Velocita, the first Z490 board we reviewed.

Read the Review Here

RGB-less, all-black and very impressive

By Hilbert Hagedoorn @ Guru3D

Meet the MSI Z490 UNIFY, a new series targeted to be a high-end solution. Interesting to see that this is an RGB-less all-black design. Priced at 299 USD, it comes with AX WIFI and has a 2.5 Gbps ethernet jack and a 16-phase power design. And that makes it one of the cheapest enthusiast-class boards with 16 CPU phases backed by 90A power stages.

Read the Review Here

Check out these latest hardware announcements for today from around the web. Also included are some hardware news bits, and on some days, a few rumors tossed in for good measure. Click on the links below to read the official press release, visit the products web page, or to an independent news source.

• Fractal Design Introduces Define 7 Compact Case
• Lamptron Unveils CU135 ARGB Fan and Lighting Controller
• Thermaltake Launches the World’s First CPU & Memory AIO Liquid Cooler
• Bitspower Intros Touchaqua Sedna O11D Lite-F for Lian Li O11 Dynamic
• Thermaltake Unleashes High Capacity TOUGHRAM RGB 32GB and 64GB Memory
• Corsair Silently Releases 4 TB version of Force MP510 NVME SSD
• HighPoint Launches Low-Profile, Bootable NVMe RAID Controller
• HP Engineers Powerhouse Portfolio Designed for the Next Generation
• Razer Updates Its Membrane-Mechanical Crossbreed With the Ornata V2 Gaming Keyboard
• MSI Announces Liquid Cooled MPG Z490 Carbon EK X Motherboard
• Lian Li Adds Two Models to Desk-type PC Case

Check out these latest hardware announcements for today from around the web. Also included are some hardware news bits, and on some days, a few rumors tossed in for good measure. Click on the links below to read the official press release, visit the products web page, or to an independent news source.

• Corsair Launches White Dominator Platinum RGB Series DDR4 Memory Kits
• Intel Discontinues 8th Gen Core “Coffee Lake” Desktop Processor Family
• Thermaltake Launches AH T200 Micro Chassis
• Thermaltake Presents the New Core P8 Tempered Glass Full-Tower Chassis
• Thermaltake Announces the DistroCase 350P Mid-Tower Chassis
• Thermaltake Launches the Tower 100 Mini Chassis
• Thermaltake Introduces the Toughpower PF1 80 PLUS Platinum Power Supply
• Abkoncore Releases The C710S Mid-Tower Case
• ASUS Intros ROG Strix B460-H Gaming Motherboard
• Gigabyte Z490 AORUS ULTRA G2 Motherboard Finds its way to the Market
• Cooler Master Intros MasterFan ARGB + PWM Hub: Control Both Speed and Lighting
• Zadak Enters the Mainstream Cooling Market with the SPARK AIO 240
• ASUS Sneaks Out ROG Strix TRX40-XE Gaming Motherboard
• Abkoncore Releases its Ultra Silent Mid-Tower S500 Chassis

Source: TechPowerUp!

AMD on Tuesday re-released its Radeon Software Adrenalin 20.4.2 graphics drivers as a WHQL-signed driver. The company hasn’t released a driver update since April 21 (the same 20.4.2 as a beta). With no new AAA game releases, there probably wasn’t much AMD could do. Then again, 20.4.2 beta came with a long list of “known issues” (new issues identified by AMD that needed to be solved), which could have been fixed in the last 35 days or so. The WHQL is identical to the beta. It comes with optimization for Gears Tactics and Predator: Hunting Grounds, and fixes a handful of issues.

The Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.4.2 WHQL drivers are available online at the AMD driver download page.

Source: TechPowerUp!

NVIDIA has today launched the latest version of its “Game Ready” graphics driver lineup with the 446.14 WHQL drivers. This release brings mostly performance optimizations and bug fixes for the video game Valorant. In addition to these performance optimizations and fixes, optimal support for Minecraft Dungeons, Disintegration, and Crucible is included. An important new feature update is the inclusion of Variable Rate Supersampling (VRSS) support for Onward. NVIDIA has also fixed driver installation issues on Colorful GeForce GTX 1650 that may have bugged some users of the cards.

You can download the GeForce Software 446.14 WHQL drivers via GeForce.com.