Thermalright is about to release a new ‘tower’ CPU cooler, codenamed Archon IB-E X2. Featuring 155x106x170 mm dimensions, the model supports Intel LGA 2011/115x and AMD FM1/AM2+/AM3+/FM2+ platforms. The launch date is on hold, though the recommended price might rise up 65 EUR.



Thermalright Archon IB-E X2 consists of a voluminous aluminum heatsink with 43 thin pins, which are pierced by eight U-shape nickel-plated heatpipes, and a polished copper base also with a nickel-plated coverage.


The framework is replenished by two 140 mm fans Thermalright TY-141; they are thought to support PWM technology that promotes for speed variation from 900 RPM to 1300 RPM. The fan blades produce up to 74 CFM airflow, consuming not more than 2.4 W power. Average noise level fluctuates within the measures of 17-21 dB.


Moreover, the vendor equips the cooler with a brand thermal compound — Thermalright Chill Factor III. The latter transcends common Chill Factor item in terms of heat …

The ADATA company has set before the public its fastest solid-state drive under the XPG SX8200 code name. This device is performed in the M.2 2280 form factor and based on the 2nd generation 3D NAND TLC 64-layer architecture. The novelty got the SMI controller and will be released in 240, 480 and 960 GB variants.

 

XPG SX8200 features excellent performance measures owing to the presence of the PCIe Gen3 x4 interface, the NVMe 1.3 specification and SLC Caching and DRAM Cache Buffer technologies support. These figures, however, depend on the model’s capacity.

 

According to the CrystalDiskMark benchmark the maximum sequential read/write speed reaches 3,200/1,700 MBps. AS SSD Benchmark cites the following speed rates: 2,500/1,600 MBps. At the same time, 4 KB random read/write figures are 310,000/280,000. TBW is 160 TB by the 240 GB model, 320 TB by the 480 GB version and 640 TB be the 960 GB sample.

 
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Paying tribute to fashion design that encourages the creation of color, which is smooth and simple, Gigabyte had created something called «3D BIOS», which is actually UEFI, which offers a «more intuitive» way to navigate the menu and set the motherboard settings.



New 3D BIOS allows both novice and mainstream users to get an easier way to interact with the BIOS, which will be first used on the motherboard Gigabyte X79, designed for enthusiasts and overclockers of Sandy Bridge E platform.


Fortunately, the motherboard from Gigabyte will have to double the embodiment of UEFI BIOS, which will ensure its operation both in 3D BIOS, and in extended BIOS mode. Switching between two of these modes will be performed with one mouse click.


But back to the 3D BIOS. The new development is an interface with a rotating perspective view of the motherboard, which allows users to make easy access to various components. It is implemented in such a way: the user moves the mouse over …