Cases, Cooling & PSU News - Page 6

ENERMAX is known for creating high-performance PC components and hardware, and over the years, we've reviewed and been impressed by several of the company's power supplies, coolers, and cases. Today, we've got word of two new arrivals into the latter category with the new ENERMAX MS31 mid-tower and MS21 mini-tower cases.

Available in both black and white, these new cases from ENERMAX are designed for maximum airflow and lower noise levels, which is why they feature full mesh front panels alongside 4 pre-installed 120mm ARGB PWM fans. From there, the cooling potential only increases with the larger MS31 mid-tower case able to accommodate up to 11 fans, including those on a massive 420mm AIO CPU cooler in the front.

Although the MS21 mini-tower case is smaller and created for those looking for a more compact PC build, it can still support up to 8 fans, including those on a 360mm AIO CPU cooler in the front.

This year, Corsair introduced its new iCUE LINK Smart Component Ecosystem to both simplify the DIY PC building process and add a little more style to the look and feel of a highly customized rig. The heart of iCue LINK is a System Hub that can synchronize and control up to 14 iCUE LINK devices. The best part is that the devices only need to be linked to each other (via two-way communication), significantly reducing cable clutter for a more elegant build. No more MOLEX connectors!

And with that, Corsair has introduced some new additions to its Hydro X Series that fully support the new iCUE LINK ecosystem - the new flagship iCUE LINK XD5 RGB ELITE LCD Pump/Reservoir and iCUE LINK XG7 RGB 40-Series GPU Water Blocks.

Designed for custom cooling loop systems, the Hydro X Series, with the addition of iCUE LINK, has just made the process of putting together one of those liquid and tube-filled rigs much easier. The results look incredible, and for me, a big part of the reason why I'm posting this is because the images supplied by Corsair are pure PC-building eye candy of the highest order.

APNX has just announced a bunch of new products, with one of them being their new AP1-V cooler It is impressive: an air cooler that handles thermal loads from CPUs with up to 245W TDP. APNX, you might ask... is a new case and cooling manufacturer that has just announced its new C1 Mid-Tower case, AP1-V CPU cooler, new fans, and more.

The new AP1-V cooler features a one-piece aluminum alloy frame that looks sleek, with APNX's exclusive "Heat Core Touch Technology" that provides a seamless connection that optimizes thermal conductivity, providing stable operation under high temperatures.

There are two FP1 fans that blow the heat away from the heat pipes, of which there are 5 x high-performance heat pipes that are 6mm in diameter that effectively draw heat from the processors.

German PC hardware maker, be quiet! is known for creating some high-quality premium gear, and its latest PC case certainly fits into that category. The new Dark Base 701 is designed for high airflow and aesthetics, with a full mesh on the top and front, some subtle ARGB effects, and the company's impressive Silent Wings 4 fans keeping things cool.

For those with experience with or are aware of be quiet!'s Dark Base 700 PC case from 2017, designed for silent operation, the Dark Base 701 takes a different approach. The three pre-installed Silent Wings 4 140mm PWM high-speed fans ( with a maximum speed of 1900 rpm) are powerful, and with room for five additional 120mm or 140mm fans, the cooling potential here is exceptional.

Another area where the Dark Base 701 impresses is with the ease of installation, which includes a motherboard tray that lets you assemble outside of the case alongside completely tool-less HDD and SSD installation.

The new XPG Invader X is the latest mid-tower PC chassis from XPG, the gaming performance brand from ADATA. One look at the frameless tempered glass front and side panels, and you can tell this is a case all about highlighting and showcasing your build's components, from the CPU cooler to the GPU, fans, and RGB lighting.

As part of the announcement for the XPG Invader X, the company describes it as a case you'd put on a desk instead of underneath one. Of course, it's not all about style, as cooling is always a big part of XPG's case design - and with the Invader X, you've got a pre-installed 120mm ARGB fan plus 4 x 120mm ARGB reverse-blade fans to play with.

Radiator-wise, the Invader X supports up to 360mm in both side and top orientation - which means there's support for GPUs up to 400mm in length. Not only a looker, XPG boasts that with multiple fans, radiator support, and optimal airflow, it's a case tailor-made for overclocking.

With a resolution of 1100 x 3840 pixels, the 14.1-inch capacitive touchscreen display on the new Y70 Touch case from HYTE makes it the first '4K' PC case we've seen. The latest edition to the company's slick Y-Series of cases puts a big display on one of the corners of the fishbowl-like see-through design.

The 10-point multi-touchscreen display with a 283 PPI pixel density and 60 Hz refresh rate arrives pre-installed on the HYTE Y70 Touch. Per the images provided, the HYTE Nexus Touch interface for the display is all about integrating handy features for users to play and engage with.

In addition to being able to monitor PC performance (naturally), there's even an option to display Twitch chat for streamers and viewers (that you can interact with), Google calendar features, weather reports, a notation system, and more. As far as fancy features for a PC case designed for gaming go - this is right up there!

Intel has teamed with Spanish firm Submer in a new development into the world of single-phase immersion cooling technology. Their new cooling technology can keep a CPU running at 1000W of power cool, which is incredibly important in the server, data center, HPC, and AI spaces.

Pushing silicon to its limits in terms of clock speeds -- so we're talking CPU and GPU here -- cranks up the heat generated and, thus, heat that needs to be dissipated. 75W consumer, or up to 300W+ consumer CPUs, are right to cool with a 240mm or 360mm AIO liquid cooler.

1000W of heat coming from a CPU and keeping it cool with new immersion tech? That sounds very cool, pun intended. Submer specializes in enabling data centers across the world, taking care of the cooling solutions for HPC, hyperscale, data centers, Edge, AI, DL, and blockchain applications. But now, with the gigantic boost in everything AI hardware, servers are running hot-hot-hot, and now the massive advancement from the new Forced Convection Heat Sink (FCHS) package, which will be a huge upgrade to thermal dissipation.

ENERMAX's latest all-in-one CPU cooler series is definitely for those looking to cool their CPU and the surrounding VRM, as the new LIQMAX FLO series is the first from the company to add a VRM fan. It uses ENERMAX's latest Dual-Chamber Xtreme pump and silent fan technology, and as you can see in the image below - it not only cools the CPU but pumps out the air in four directions to cool your motherboard's components.

VRM cooling as part of a CPU AIO cooler is not something you see every day, so it's cool to see the addition of a 60mm VRM fan within the water block itself. ENERMAX notes that it makes a significant difference to "air circulation within the system and efficiently reducing the temperatures of CPU VRMs and surrounding components on the motherboard."

The radiator fans and the new VRM fan include PWM functionality to ensure maximum quietness when not used. And when in use, things will remain pretty quiet, too, with the ENERMAX LIQMAX FLO series utilizing the company's Silent Flow PWM fans that will top out at 23.46 dBA thanks to the improved blades and refined angle.

PAX Australia returned to Melbourne this weekend, a celebration of gaming, tabletop, esports, and pop culture that saw thousands brave the unseasonably chilly weather (to be fair, Melbourne's weather is always all over the place) to take in the sights, play the latest games (or some classics), or sit in on one of the many panels. I was keen to get my hands on a pre-release version of Super Mario Bros. Wonder at the massive Nintendo booth and check out a stack of locally grown indie games. However, PC Gaming was the show's star - and many of the top brands were on hand with local builders and partners to showcase the latest hardware.

Plus, in the case of Yamaha, showcase one of their guitars turned into a PC. Seeing this one from a distance, I had no idea it was secretly a gaming PC - mainly because it was wedged between an actual drum kit and electric pianos (this is Yamaha, after all). It was only when I saw the liquid cooling and fans on the back that I realized it was indeed a gaming PC with I/O ports on the side and hardware hidden in the guitar's casing.

Like many at PAX this year, Yamaha partnered with the PC design gurus over at Aftershock to create this very cool fusion of music and technology. With a ZOTAC GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER, it might not be the most powerful rig on our list, but it's certainly a show-stopper. And yes, a playable instrument, too.

Coming from EK, the company's new EK-Quantum Torsion A60 PC case is a little bit special not only in how stylish and futuristic it looks but also that it's created specifically for liquid-cooled builds and entirely built of CNC-milled aluminum, aside from the tempered glass side panel so you can see all the liquid-cooled goodness.

Weighing in at 22 kilograms or around 50 pounds, it's sturdy and then some, and one of the heaviest mid-tower cases we've seen - but that's expected when looking at 6082 aluminum alloy, one of the strongest and corrosion-resistant metals you can use. Every piece of the case is held together with hex screws so that you can disassemble, customize, and modify it.

It's also limited, with EK only producing 777 EK-Quantum Torsion A60 PC cases, with two-thirds Black and one-third Silver.