An interesting post by user momomo_us on Twitter is showing ASUS adding support for MemTest86 directly within the UEFI BIOS. If you’re not into overclocking, you may not be aware of the utility for checking for faulty memory modules, or testing out stability of DRAM overclocks. It’s a very useful tool if you’re pushing your DDR to the limits to identify stability loss points, whether on the controller or the DRAM side. It also appears there a 60 day trial of AIDA64 Extreme is also to be included. The board’s mentioned here are in the ROG line, Z590 chipset. Head over to see more.
ASRock Z590 Steel Legend WiFi 6E – Previewed
When removing the ASRock Z590 Steel Legend WiFi 6E for the box, we’re greeted by a black PCB with grey and white patterns stenciled on its entirety. The heatsinks and shrouds are all grey/silver, providing a stark contrast against the dark board. I’m personally not a fan of all the patterns, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That said, the Steel Legend will fit into most build themes without issue.
Read more @ Tom’s Hardware
ASUS Pro WS WRX80E-SAGE SE WIFI: Hands-On
First thing I noticed when the motherboard was delivered was just how heavy it is. On the scales, the board and box comes to 5.4 kg (11.9 lbs), and the board is most of that. I don’t even think my heaviest laptop weighs that much, and this is a lot more than the motherboard that ASUS made for Intel’s overclockable 28-core Xeon W-3175X a couple years ago. It’s hard to get across in words on a page about the weight, but put it this way, it can replace some dumbbells that is for sure.
Read more @ AnandTech
Hardware Review Roundup: 1/29/21
Storage: addlink S95 2TB M.2 SSD @ TweakTown, Corsair MP600 CORE 2TB M.2 SSD @ TweakTown, Corsair MP600 CORE PCIe 4.0 M.2 NVMe @ Guru3D, Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 4TB M.2 SSD @ TweakTown, QNAP TS-453D @ Bjorn3D
Audio: Creative SBS E2900 @ Hot Hardware, Belkin SOUNDFORM ELITE Hi-Fi Smart Speaker @ [M]adShrimps
Cases: Cooler Master Pi Case 40 @ Bjorn3D
GPU: ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti OC Edition @ TweakTown
Intel Core i9-11900K, Core i7-11700K, and Core i5-11600K Specs Leak
Courtesy of a report from Videocardz, we have potential specifications today on Intel’s upcoming 11th Gen processors. it would appear that this slide came from and MSI presentation, showing default DDR4-3200 support across the board. TDPs are in line wth expectations at 125W for each processor. The base clocks range from 3.5GHz on the i9-11900K to 3.9GHz on the i5-11600K. The Coire i9-11900K Thermal Velocity Boost maxes out at 5.3GHz single core, 4.8GHz all core. Standard Turbot Boost caps out at 5.1GHz on the same chip. Head on over to read more.
Intel Core i9-11900KF Hits 98°C, 250W?
Based on an AIDA64 stress test screenshot over at Chiphell, the Intel Core i9-11900KF is potentially shaping up to be one hot, power hungry beast. It appears that this chip was tested, at “stock” settings, on an ASRock Z590 Steel Legend. They shows the FPU stress test running, which will certainly push the boundaries of any CPU when it comes to thermals as well as power draw. This test can easily push a simple Ryzen 5 5600X into the 80’s and 90’s depending on cooling type, but this Core i9-11900KF is purportedly cooled with a 360mm AIO. Head on over to see more.
Hardware Review Roundup: 1/26/21
Storage: Crucial P2 2TB M.2 NVMe @NikKTech, Samsung SSD 870 EVO @ HotHardware, Samsung 870 EVO @ TweakTown, TeamGroup CX2 1TB SATA3 SSD @ Guru3D, Patriot PXD 1TB Portable USB 3.2 External SSD @ [M]adShrimps, ADATA XPG Gammix S70 2TB M.2 NVMe @ TweakTown
Cases: Corsair 5000D AIRFLOW @ TweakTown,Lian Li O11 Dynamic Mini @ OCInside, SilverStone Fara R1 @ ThinkComputers, SilentiumPC Armis AR7X EVO TG ARGB @ NikKTech
Memory: GeIL Orion AMD Edition DDR4-3200 16GB @ TweakTown, Patriot Viper RGB 32GB DDR4-3600 MHz Kit @ ThinkComputers
Graphics: ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3090 OC Edition @ TweakTown, MSI Radeon RX 6800 XT GAMING X TRIO @ TweakTown
KBM: i-Rocks K71M @ NikKTech, Corsair Katar Pro Wireless Gaming Mouse @ NikKTech, HyperX Pulsefire Haste Gaming Mouse @ TweakTown
Cooling: EK Water Blocks EK AIO 360 D-RGB AIO @ NikKTech, ARCTIC Freezer 50 @ TweakTown
ASRock X570 PG Velocita
ASRock looks to effectively tread a middle ground with the X570 PG Velocita. There’s plenty of good at the mooted £240 price point, including a 14-phase supply, 2.5G Ethernet and WiFi, above average cooling, a fast, intuitive BIOS, and performance about as good as X570 gets.
That’s not to say it’s perfect. We’d like a third M.2 slot, especially if using the Thunderbolt connector, 20Gbps USB certainly wouldn’t go amiss, and we’d prefer ASRock to tone down the aesthetics some. Then there’s competition such as the MSI MAG X570 Tomahawk WiFi, which offers ostensibly the same level of features for £40 less. Choices, choices.
Read more @ Hexus
MBR Review: GIGABYTE A520 AORUS ELITE
“The A520 AORUS ELITE occupies the high-end of A520 based motherboards, yet is still affordable. I picked this one up for a mere $89.99, a relative steal in comparison to most B550 motherboards, and still cost effective over B450 boards carrying a $30-40+ premium. Yes, it gives up overclocking support of the processor. If you’re looking to overclock your CPU, A520 is not the place to be. However, that doesn’t mean you’re entirely limited to stock performance.”
ASUS ROG STRIX X570-E GAMING
The ASUS ROG Strix X570-E Gaming is using a strong looking 16-phase power delivery in a 12+4 configuration. It is using twelve International Rectifier IR3555 60 A power stages for the CPU and four IR3555 for the SoC. The board uses an ASUS specific ASP1405 PWM controller operating at 6+2, with two power stages per channel. ASUS is using teamed power stages for better transient response and lower latencies for higher bursts of power. Keeping the power delivery cool is a dual heatsink array which is interconnected by a single heatpipe.
Read more @ AnandTech