The number of graphics solutions designed by HIS cannot be figured from a cursory calculation only. Indeed, the company's product line counts dozens of cards destined at various audiences, with various needs and budgets. Take HIS HD 7850 series alone: it consists of ten models (three with 1GB memory and seven with 2GB memory). The latest HIS 7850 IceQ X Turbo X belongs to '2GB echelon' and is distinguished by the heightened GPU and memory frequency. Upon the whole, this graphics adapter features outstanding cooling and overclocking facilities.



Design and PCB


Graphics adapter HIS 7850 IceQ X Turbo X is a standard representative of the second HD 7850 revision. It is housed on a short printed circuit board and is equipped with only a single power socket, two heatpipes and a large fan. HIS developers advanced the heatpipes outside the board to elongate its contours; nevertheless, this card can't be considered voluminous, since its width hasn't been touched at all. The top part …

MSI has updated its lineup of mini-PCs with a new model – the Cubi 2 – that supports Intel Kaby Lake processors. Hence, the greenhorn comes equipped with either Intel Core i3-7100U two-core CPU that runs at 2.4 GHz frequency, Intel Core i5-7200U that operates at 2.5-3.1 GHz frequency (base/dynamic), or Intel Core i7-7500U that runs at 2.7-3.5 GHz frequency (base/dynamic). The model houses an integrated Intel HD Graphics 620 GPU.



MSI Cubi 2 mini-PCs are available in two formats: ‘light’ (115.2x112.2x34.6 mm), targeting M.2 SATA drives; ‘standard’ (115.2x112.2x42.7 mm), targeting traditional 2.5-inch drives. Besides, the models come in two case colors: black & white.


Internal layout allows for the installation of DDR4-2133 MHz memory modules of up to 32 GB capacity. They support motherboards with Intel H110 chipset and a single expansion slot which is occupied by M.2 2230 Wi-Fi + Bluetooth adapter by default.


This mini-PC accommodates gigabit LAN port, …

Chassis of Full-Tower form-factor usually have solid framework due to the layout scheme and the necessity to enclose a lot of components. Developers from Lian Li company have totally demolished the current tendencies and announced the release of their PC-V750 Full-Tower model with the front-end PSU localization. This allowed the designers to dramatically decrement the size of the chassis without sacrificing its capacity and general specifications. The compact size of the chassis is considered to be a kind of ‘revolution’ in the market, since it is compatible not only with ATX and microATX motherboards, but also with Extended-ATX boards.



Lian Li PC-V750 casing is made of aluminum and approximates 7.35 kg in weight. Its dimensions provide for the installation of massive CPU-coolers (up to 170 mm in height), up to ten expansion cards, including 380 mm 3D cards. The chassis is equipped with five fans of 120 mm each: the two fans are located on the front plate, the other two – …