AMD is continuing its work on the new GPU generation codenamed ‘Sea Islands’. The new series is prognosticated to be released in the coming winter. All the products with this GPU will be branded Radeon 8000. AMD manufacturers claim that their new graphic processing units will be 40% more efficient due to the implemented advanced technologies. There is not so much news about the future GPU architecture, although cardinal changes are barely possible.



Sea Islands chips will be equipped with 5.1 billion transistors as compared with the current 4.3 billion items applied in the products. This augmentation will facilitate the increment of efficiency. The chips will be developed according to the already tried-and-proven 28 nm technological requirements. The increase of transistors is not as large due to the adherence to the ascribed norms. It should be underlined that the implementation of the old technologies does not imply the considerable warming up of the chips; the developments …

Taking into account the increasing number of cases when it’s impossible to install highly efficient air coolers on mini-ITX motherboards, Corsair has developed a universal low-profile liquid cooler. Entitled Hydro Series H5 SF, the unit shows compatibility with the majority of small-sized platforms for Intel LGA1366/115x and AMD FM1/FM2/AM2/AM3 sockets. Besides, this model is able to manage with up to 150 W of thermal power.



Corsair Hydro Series H5 SF is distinguished by an unusual framework. It employs dedicated props which hover the heatsink over the motherboard; thus, the system does not require additional space within the case. The base is made of polished copper.


The aluminum heatsink (167x40x57) is accompanied by a 120-mm fan that drags out hot air from heat-generating components. Its rotation speed varies from 1000 RPM to 1800 RPM, producing 12-24 CFM airflow. Still, the fan appears to be rather noisy with the peak levels of 36-42 dB.


Corsair bundles the …

Taking into account an ever increasing demand for USB 3.0 interfaces, SilverStone has elaborated a dedicated PCI expansion card, entitled ECU01. The card is designed in a low-profile form-factor with the support for PCI Express 2.0 x2 bus. It features a pair of 19-contact USB 3.0 sockets, each of which offers two USB 3.0 ports.



In keeping with the manufacturer, this comprehensive model is called to satisfy the need for high-speed interfaces, absent with old-fashioned systems. For sure, the amount of connectivity ports integrated within the motherboards (usually of entry-level/budgetary standard) is not always enough for enthusiasts and gamers. Hence, there can appear an acute need for additional expansion cards, like ECU01.


SilverStone ECU01 is based on Etron EJ198 controller, featuring an additional SATA interface that is responsible for an efficient power supply. Moreover, the model supports UASP protocol that accelerates data transfer speed. If the current OS does not …