MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK

MSI opted to color the MAG B550 Tomahawk in a mixture of black and gray. Black is the more prominent color, but there’s a good amount of gray that adds contrast and keeps the board from looking too dull. MSI also put some RGB LEDs around the chipset heatsink that add some much-needed color to the board when it’s powered up.

Read more @ PC Magazine

MSI MEG Z490 GODLIKE

In case the name wasn’t a clue-and-a-half: This is no modest motherboard. MSI’s MEG Z490 Godlike is the company’s Intel Z490 flagship, competing directly with the likes of Asrock’s Z490 Taichi and Asus’ Z490 ROG Maximus XII Extreme in terms of both price and features. (The Z490 chipset is the top-end chipset for Intel’s latest desktop CPUs, allowing for extensive CPU and memory tweaking.) With an MSRP of $749.99, this deluxe motherboard certainly isn’t for the casual user or PC builder. 

Read more @ PC Magazine

ASUS Adds Resizable BAR Support to Z490, H470 & B460 Motherboards

Resizable BAR (Base Address Register), the technology behind AMD’s Smart Access Memory (SAM), isn’t exclusive to Ryzen owners anymore. Asus has released an entire wave of new firmwares for various Z490 motherboards that enable the Resizable BAR feature.

The firmware, which sports the 1002 version number, is fresh out of the oven as Asus evidently uploaded it just yesterday. The firmware is currently in the beta stage so there might be some bugs here and there. It also lacks a detailed description of the changes. We can, however, confirm that the 1003 firmware effectively brings support for Resizable BAR, as evidenced by the newly added “Above 4G Decoding” and “Re-Size BAR Support” options in our ROG Maximus XII Apex motherboard’s BIOS.

Read more @ Tom’s Hardware

MSI MPG B550 GAMING CARBON WIFI

With the B550 chipset, AMD has added a cheap alternative to the X570. With the appearance of the more modern chipset, the board partners have of course also presented new mainboards, which have become more attractive overall. Because in addition to more up-to-date standards with regard to expansion slots and network features, the power supply was also often drilled out – as is the case with the MSI MPG B550 Gaming Carbon WiFi here.

Read more @ Hardware Journal (German)

Palit GeForce RTX 3060 Ti DUAL OC

We review the actual budget offering of the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, in a Palit DUAL OC 8GB revision, it’s the value proposition from Palit. The 3060 Ti series are bound to please many as they offer proper gaming performance competing at GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER levels, even slightly above it. Armed with 8GB GDDR6 is might but just what the gaming community needs.

Read more @ Guru3D

ASUS ROG STRIX B450-I GAMING

The mini-ITX format is a delicate matter like aligning the legs of an LGA socket. Here, a factor such as congestion / oversaturation is already starting to play a role. Adding something over and above the standard set has to be greatly perverted, resorting to non-standard solutions, “sandwich” approach, daughter boards, and sometimes to changing the usual topology.

Read more @ OC Club (Russian)

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Review Roundup

Today marks the launch of NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, running up an MSRP of $399. This new card is the successor to the more budget minded (well, somewhat budget minded) RTX 2060 SUPER of last year. With a TDP boost of 25W over the 2060 SUPER, the new 3060 Ti boasts performance on par with the 2080 SUPER. Read more at the reviews listed below:

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti FE @ TweakTown
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti FE @ Hot Hardware
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti FE @ Guru3D
ASUS GeForce RTX 3060 Ti STRIX OC @ Guru3D
MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ti TRIO X @ Guru3D
GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Gaming OC PRO @ Guru3D
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti FE @ PC Perspective
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti FE @ Tom’s Hardware
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti FE @ KitGuru
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti FE @ Hexus
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti FE @ PC Magazine
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti FE @ TechSpot
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti FE @ TechPowerUp
ASUS GeForce RTX 3060 Ti STRIX OC @ TechPowerUp
MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Gaming X TRIO @ TechPowerUp
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Gaming OC PRO @ TechPowerUp
Palit GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GamingPro OC @ TechPowerUp
ZOTAC GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Twin Edge @ TechPowerUp

More to come as they roll in…

BIOSTAR Racing B550GTQ

The BIOSTAR Racing B550GTQ features dual M.2 slots, each with their own full coverage heatsink, RGB lighting, a Micro ATX form factor, and even an integrated rear I/O cover. Perhaps most interesting, the B550GTQ utilizes 90 A power stages in an APU-optimized configuration. How will the VRM stand up to my Ryzen 9 3900X test CPU? Let’s find out!

Read more @ TechPowerUp

GIGABYTE BIOS Update: AMD 500 Series Motherboards Get Smart Access Memory + Rage Mode

Taipei, Taiwan, Nov. 27th, 2020 – GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions, today announces the latest BIOS update on AMD X570、B550 and A520 motherboards for the features of AMD Smart Access Memory and Rage mode. These innovative features enabling a bandwidth boost when the CPU accesses the GPU memory on graphics cards, which enhances and unleashes the ultimate system performance. Now, users with an “AMD Yes” platform on GIGABYTE AMD 500 series motherboards with AMD Ryzen™ 5000 processors and Radeon™ RX 6000 series VGA cards, will be able to experience an extra gaming and performance boost.

Through the AMD Smart Access Memory and Rage mode, the CPU has access to the GPU memory. This access unlocks the limited bandwidth to full bandwidth when running 4K gaming. By accessing the GDDR6 GPU memory more rapidly on AMD 500 series motherboards paired with Ryzen™ 5000 series processors and Radeon™ RX 6000 series VGA cards, CPU’s operating performance and gaming performance are both improved. Based on results of gaming tests with Smart Access Memory and Rage Mode enabled, the 1080P gaming improved by 17%, and a performance increase of 10% was unlocked on 2K and 4K resolutions.

To utilize Smart Access Memory for optimized performance is quite simple on GIGABYTE’s AMD 500 series motherboards pairing AMD Ryzen™ 5000 series processors and Radeon™ RX 6000 series VGA cards. Just simply update to the latest BIOS and VGA card driver from GIGABYTE’s official website. Enable “Above 4G Decoding” and “Re-Size BAR Support” in the BIOS setting, and make sure the system operating under UEFI mode. The Rage mode can be simply activated in the VGA card driver. Now you can enjoy the performance boost on GIGABYTE’s gaming platform!

Read more @ GIGABYTE