As a high-end motherboard for AMD’s AM5 platform, the ASRock X870E Taichi OCF is clearly positioned above the classic enthusiast segment and is aimed at users who are specifically looking for maximum electrical and signal reserve. With this model, ASRock consistently transfers the OC Formula concept to the X870E chipset and thus to the [...]
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CPU, Memory & Mainboard
When resource scarcity, hype-driven demand and the creativity of engineers come together, the strangest products often emerge. This is also the case with today’s test specimen, which at first glance may appear to be a run-of-the-mill 2x 16 GB DDR5 kit, but in reality is a curious oddity that is deceptively put in front of uninformed [...]
Even though DDR5 ICs with higher capacities have been increasingly introduced in recent months – if we are honest, 16 GB per module is more than enough for most “normal” use cases in the gaming and office world. The smaller ICs with 16 Gbit gross capacity are therefore still in high demand, not least because they are also cheaper, and [...]
In principle, we already know or at least suspected it: The DRAM market has been in a significantly tense phase since the third quarter of 2025. Classic PC and server DRAMs have become noticeably more expensive after suppliers once again signaled shortages and in some cases even announced daily prices. TrendForce has raised its expectation for [...]
For once, today’s review is not about superlatives, but about reliability, minimalism and value for money. The T-Create Expert series from Teamgroup is aimed at workstation users who are simply looking for reliable, fast RAM, without any RGB eye candy or gaming touches. Of course, a good portion of performance should not be missing, because [...]
With Panther Lake, Intel is defining the next generation of its client and mobile processors, which are based on the 18A process and are positioned as the successor to Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake. The platform is designed to offer higher performance, lower energy consumption and more flexible system integration. Intel is relying on a combination [...]
Today I would like to update you on a detail that is often overlooked in practice, although it is crucial for the correct classification of measured values and manufacturer specifications. This is the distinction between front header and front audio. While the front header refers to the internal pin connector on the mainboard, via which the cable [...]
Gigabyte is focusing on more variety in the new iteration of AMD chipsets and is launching some stylish boards for the increasingly popular color white with the ICE models. The design cleverly plays with black contrasting elements on the mainboard, which results in a very appealing look and can therefore be integrated well into most cases. This [...]
In today’s test, everyone has to be strong: the mainboard, the CPU’s memory controller, the power bill during the stability test and, of course, the user. Particularly since DDR5, it is actually desirable to avoid fully populating all RAM slots. Otherwise the losses in the stable possible clock rate and consequently the performance are [...]
It continues with the 32 Gbit DDR5 ICs and this time the manufacturer is Samsung, so much in advance. The South Korean flash giant is following Micron into the consumer sector of DDR5 memory chips with a net capacity of 4 GB. This means that there are now two freely available IC types with which RAM kit manufacturers such as Kingston can offer 32 [...]
Anyone who regularly records streams, prepares scenes, manages cameras or uses external capture hardware in their own video studio with software such as OBS Studio will sooner or later be faced with the question of a suitable technical basis for a dedicated recording computer. It’s not just about raw computing power or maximum features, but [...]
Today I would like to give the stage to a special guest: CENS, Clemens Nüssler by name, is one of the most successful overclockers in the world and moves confidently at the very edge of the enthusiast scene. In today’s article, he provides an exclusive insight into his first experiences with AMD’s new Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9000WX [...]
Although I have featured SoC mainboards several times in the past, for example in the article about the Jonsbo N2 NAS case, we have never featured such a powerful one here. With our series of test reports on mini PCs, we have already impressively demonstrated that mobile processors no longer have to hide from their desktop counterparts. This [...]
The time of 32 Gbit DDR5 ICs is here, on conventional desktop UDIMMs. With Crucial’s new 64 GB modules, we are looking at the first memory modules with 32 Gbit or 4 GB capacity that are freely available on the market. Accordingly, this results in 32 GB single-rank or 64 GB dual-rank modules, the latter of which we are testing today in a kit [...]
On June 12, 2025, AMD presented its current technology roadmap for professional computing platforms at an international trade event. The focus was on new solutions for high-end workstations, AI infrastructure and the further development of the open software platform ROCm. The company presented its next generation of EPYC processors, Radeon [...]
Since the market launch of the Core Ultra platform, I have consistently kept my entire test system in the then frozen configuration and also created a bit-identical SSD image to ensure later comparisons under identical starting conditions. For this retest, it was therefore sufficient to simply update the mainboard UEFI to the latest revision [...]
Nanya is not a typo in a fantasy novel, but a lesser known and actually the world’s fourth largest DRAM manufacturer, after Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron. Nanya is perhaps best known from the DDR4 era, where their 8 Gbit B-Die was able to imitate the well-known Samsung 8 Gbit B-Die in many aspects and was one of the few high-performance, low [...]
Ryzen X3D CPUs are known to be a force in gaming, even without fast RAM. However, this doesn’t mean that optimized system memory settings can’t be used to achieve even better performance. After all, the cache is just that – a cache – and sooner or later the data has to be written to or read from the RAM. Not every gamer has the time [...]
With the NZXT N9 X870E, NZXT is once again entering the realm of motherboard development – this time based on the current AMD X870E chipset and therefore the AM5 platform. The aim is to appeal to enthusiasts and design aficionados alike: In addition to modern technology, the full metal cover and the consistent white and black design with RGB [...]
AMD now has another ace up its sleeve with the Ryzen 9 9950 X3D, while Intel is stuck in a self-inflicted drought. The X3D technology, which comes with an additional 3D V-Cache, shows once again that AMD knows exactly where to start in order to squeeze the maximum gaming added value out of the existing architecture. The Zen 5 substructure is [...]
Ryzen HX3D series: top performance for mobile devices The AMD Ryzen HX3D series represents the high-end option in mobile processors and has been specially developed for powerful laptops and compact workstations. With a combination of up to 16 cores, 32 threads and the innovative 3D V-Cache technology, the HX3D series sets new standards in mobile [...]
Static overclocking of CPUs has been a thing of the past, inefficient and literally uncool, and not just since yesterday. Instead, dynamic OCs as an optimization of the boost behavior ex works are often the method of choice nowadays. Not least because AMD had completely deactivated static overclocking in the past with X3D CPUs especially popular [...]
Gaming was yesterday, in the truest sense of the word. I’ve linked yesterday’s article with the gaming benchmarks below. Today we finally have something for the working people, who of course also like to play games in the evening after work. But does the whole thing still fit together and can you finally do both properly on a single PC [...]
It’s the first time in 15 years that I’ve had to post a CPU launch article later, but I’m doing it anyway for two reasons. Firstly, I owe it to the readers without emotion, and secondly, after reading many other reviews, there were still things that could be added. After all, a purely repetitive publication of already known data [...]
The ASRock Phantom Gaming X870E NOVA WiFi is a high-quality motherboard for the latest generation of AMD processors and is aimed at users who expect modern technologies and reliable performance. It impresses with a simple but elegant look with a subtle color scheme and robust workmanship. Particularly striking is the efficient cooling performance [...]
Of course, it’s not just me who has my own personal opinion on Intel’s Arrow Lake S, but many other colleagues too. That’s why I’ve summarized the most important conclusions and assessments for me and put these summaries, which don’t necessarily have to coincide with mine, together again for discussion in the forum. I [...]
The time has finally come and the results for Intel’s new Core Ultra 200 series are on the table. I can already spoil the fact that we will see very interesting, but partly mixed results today compared to AMD’s Ryzen 9000 series, especially in the gaming sector. The tension curve was also extremely tense for me and so it ended up as it [...]
Intel’s Arrow Lake processors, which will soon be physically released to end users, represent a significant evolution for Intel and are intended as a response to AMD’s Zen 5 chips. These processors, which belong to the 15th generation of Core processors, will be available in desktop (Arrow Lake-S) and laptop (Arrow Lake-H) variants and [...]
I recently replaced the MSI MEG X670E Ace in my benchtable with the MSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi because a new (old) chipset for the Ryzen 9000 feels better and Intel is also releasing a new chipset together with Arrow Lake S into the product cycle. Just between you and me: in terms of performance, this stunt is superfluous, but with USB 4.0 and WiFi [...]
It wasn’t easy to find the right attributes for AMD’s new Ryzen 9 9950X and the right headline for the test article. But while I was able to pull myself out of the noose elegantly with a relatively large amount of text, AMD will probably still have to sit, sweat and make a lot of improvements. There were certainly other reasons for the [...]
Testing the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X as a harbinger of AMD’s new Ryzen 9000 series would only really be a cracker if AMD had raised the bar to completely new heights in terms of either performance or price or both. That’s not exactly the case, but the test is still very interesting because you have to look at all the charts in their entirety [...]
Anyone who has been following me and my tests on igorslab.de for a while knows that whenever there is a new RAM IC on the market, I have to have it and test it immediately! After SK Hynix and Micron in particular have recently launched new memory chips on the market, Samsung is now following suit. Background and unboxing The 16 Gbit B-Die, which [...]
I already posted yesterday in a news item and briefly commented on what Intel officially published on the night of 22 July 2024 via Reddit as a kind of interim report. However, according to the unanimous opinion of all colleagues and readers, the whole thing is unsatisfactorily short and contains nothing substantial apart from the announcement of [...]
Analogous to my last news about Intel’s stability problems with the 13th and 14th generation K processors, the long-awaited statement from Intel appeared yesterday, which has now been published on Reddit and confirms my publication on Saturday. Sometimes you just have to push a little bit to get the blue giant to make a move 😉 Intel comments [...]
Today, AMD held a keynote at this year’s Computex. At this trade fair, AMD presented its new AI chip. The AMD Instinct MI325X. Let’s take a brief look at the history of AMD’s Accelarator and its future plans. it all started in 2020 with its AMD CDNA MI100 Accelerator. The first purpose-built accelerator for FP64 and FP32 HPC [...]
AMD unveiled some new things for you at this year’s Computex. There are the first technical specifications of its Ryzen 9000 series, small details about its Zen 5 technology, a new AI chip, but a few new chipsets have also been announced. There is also an update on the Ryzen 5000XT series. As you can see, they have a lot up their sleeve [...]
When a memory manufacturer launches new DDR5 memory chips on the market, a review from us is naturally not far away. After Micron introduced the 24 Gbit Rev B ICs in the middle of last year, there are now more new additions almost a year later, but this time with 16 Gbit and initially only in products of their own brand, Crucial. The [...]
After we published Aris’ article about the power consumption of the Core i9-13900K in Cinebench 23 on Monday, I’m following up today with a larger program scope. And yes, I’m deliberately using a Z690 board because I also used it for the launch of Raptor Lake S and the subsequent refresh. That makes the comparison much easier [...]
There’s been a lot of talk lately about Intel’s potential degradation issues with the high-end 13th and 14th generation CPUs, so I thought I’d use Powenetics and test an i9-13900K under three different power settings: Standard, Performance and Extreme. Then there’s the “Insane” profile, where you set the 4096 [...]
Even though Intel is currently being celebrated for the new BIOS profiles for CPUs from Raptor Lake onwards on all the Z790 mainboards – has anyone ever asked themselves what will happen to the Z690 mainboards, which are also compatible? There’s nothing yet, nothing has been announced and you slowly get the impression that those [...]
The problem with the Intel desktop processors of the 13th and 14th generation, i.e. Raptor Lake-S and Raptor Lake-S-Refresh, is not getting any smaller and the bad news does not stop. At this point, one could almost believe that Intel has simply left the whole thing to the motherboard manufacturers and is hoping to divert attention away from its [...]
Some of my articles mature like old wine and it’s certainly not wrong to look at them from time to time, even with current references. This is especially true now with regard to the current “drama” surrounding Intel’s CPUs and the move with the specs for the baseline. Nobody can pretend that Intel didn’t know anything [...]
I have not yet commented on the now ubiquitous investigations and explanations of the problems with Intel’s 13th and 14th generation K-CPUs, because pure speculation brings nothing but more speculation. As I also don’t use any special “OC features” from certain motherboard manufacturers in all launch reviews and also in my [...]
Some things are accidental discoveries and are actually so trivial that nobody even bothers to question the current flows in the PC and, above all, to measure them. We only ever measure the 12-volt rails and are happy. But with connectors such as the 12VHPWR or 12V2x6 over 6+2 pin, the 8-pin EPS and the 24-pin mainboard connection, does exactly [...]
A test is always particularly exciting when you come across unexpected problems for which the test subject is not actually responsible. This was also the case here. A RAM test, even if it’s a rather high-priced kit, now runs according to the same pattern for me and isn’t witchcraft. But this time I found myself trapped in an almost [...]
Intel has taken a significant step in its development with the new “Meteor Lake” CPU platform, marketed as “Core Ultra”. These processors are the first from Intel to use the “Intel 4” process, which is based on EUV lithography, and the first Intel client CPUs where parts of the SoC are manufactured by TSMC [...]
Much helps much, my grandma used to say. And before you throw something away, it’s better to make something new out of it. So say my grandma and Intel. After Raptor Lake is before Arrow Lake, and so the Raptor refresh comes almost exactly one year later. Says Intel and my grandma is silent. And so, in addition to a bit more clock, at least [...]
What hasn't been the noise in the leaf and video forest in recent weeks. There was even talk of a VRM disaster or a TIM gate (heat paste instead of lot), but if you look at everything carefully and carefully, the G... Thermal p aste instead of solder One of the reasons for the whole cooling problem is Intel's use of inappropriate (but arguably [...]
There are always challenges that the company has to overcome in connection with AGESA (AMD Generic Encapsulated Software Architecture). The exact causes of the problems with AGESA 1.0.7.0 are difficult to determine, but are believed to be due to a combination of faulty or inadequately tested code changes and insufficient communication between AMD [...]
The process with the destroyed Ryzen 7000X3D CPUs has of course already interested me and I didn’t want to just cover a news and that was it. So I took the damage picture from Reddit and put the back of the CPU in the right position first. We can see the destroyed Ryzen 7 and the dent along with the scorched copper pads in the picture. The [...]
