Cases, Cooling & PSU News - Page 2

While we were at Computex 2023 here in Taipei, Taiwan, we couldn't help but notice the massive case suspended in the air in front of the InWin booth. Now InWin has been making some interesting choices in the chassis market for quite some time already, and for Computex 2023, there is no exception. One interesting choice is the MOD FREE case design.

Yep, that is the new MOD FREE case that InWin has announced for Computex 2023. Featuring a very modular approach, the MOD FREE looks like it could accommodate your current build and your future ones for many builds to come.

Can you guess how many systems are in this monstrosity? The answer is three. Yes, that's right - three mITX motherboards, all complete with high-end NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPUs and full-size ATX power supplies. This makes me think about breaking them apart for LAN parties.

FSP, one of the early pioneers of PSUs in the computer industry, while at Computex 2023 in Taipei, Taiwan, has released a 2500-watt abomination of a PSU. This high-end PSU is more geared toward edge computing, server, and workstation environments. The Cannon Pro, model number FSP2500-52AGPBI, is a powerhouse of a PSU, which is why it's needed for such heavy workloads to ensure stability.

Specs of FSP's Cannon Pro 2500 watt ATX 3.0 PSU

Coming in the ATX form factor, measuring 150 x 200 x 86mm, the Cannon Pro still is a big boi; however not much bigger than FSP's own Hydro PTM Pro 1650-watt. The most notable features include the 80 Plus Platinum certification, ATX 3.0 with PCIe Gen 5 support, which enables four of the latest power-hungry RTX 4090s GPUs to run smoothly without issue; this would also suggest that there are four 16-pin 12VHPWR connections to provide good clean stable power.

Typically up until now, only around 1600-watt PSUs were available due to many electrical system constraints. Still, somehow FSP has managed to find a way to bust through that issue leaving it wide open. Running a single 12V rail, the Cannon Pro delivers 2500 watts with a little over 208 amps; however, it is only recommended to run on 200 to 240-volt systems.

A gaming PC built with good cable management is the direct result of skill, experience, and art because you're looking at a system where components, fans, RGB headers, and anything in-between has some sort of cable that requires being connected to either the motherboard or power supply. And wrangling all of those cables is no easy feat.

Corsair's new iCUE LINK Smart Component Ecosystem.

This is where Corsair's new iCUE LINK Smart Component Ecosystem fits in, which is all about simplifying the DIY PC building process through a reversible single-cable with a built-in micro-controller that can link, chain, and connect to a System Hub. According to Corsair, it will help to eliminate "nests of wires, connection hubs, PWM and RGB splitters cluttering up your case."

At Computex 2023, we checked out a few different Corsair builds using the new iCUE Link system, and the results were as impressive as you'd expect. Even in the tidiest builds, there's usually a hidden nest of cables all grouped together at the back of the case like a mini server rack.

SFF cases have been all the rage lately, and it seems Fractal is launching yet another mITX case that might tickle your pickle. The Terra, which seems to have the same Scandinavian design elements as the company's North case, is a 10.4L mITX SFF case that is more akin to the sandwich style of an SFF case.

The internals of the Terra features a movable spine with seven pre-marked positions, allowing the use of every possible space available. This allows support for triple-slot GPUs, up to 322 x 72 x 131 or 322 x 62 x 145mm, with a CPU height clearance of 48mm. A max CPU height clearance of 77mm is achievable by using a GPU sized at 322 x 43 x 145 or 322 x 33 x 145mm. A PCIe 4.0 x16 riser cable is also included.

The Terra also supports larger SFX-L power supplies, while water-cooling support is limited to a single 120mm radiator if a shorter 200mm GPU is installed. The Terra can accommodate two 2.5" SSDs, however, one must be sacrificed if an SFX-L power supply is used. Made from 8mm thick anodized aluminum, walnut front trim, and gull-wing action side panels, it sure makes for some of Terra's most exciting features.

While at Computex 2023, we found ourselves at the XPG booth and found this monstrosity. Who would want to run four RTX 4090s at 100% load? Well, this is just to show how robust their flagship PSU is; XPG decided it was time to max out its Fusion 1600w ATX 3.0 PSU fully.

XPG's Fusion 1600w ATX 3.0 PSU running four ASUS Strix RTX 4090s at full load.

In the picture above, you can see via XPG's Prime software showing the DC Output wattage, which has surpassed 1800 watts and actually hitting up to 2000 watts at times for brief periods in the millisecond range.

Also, the efficiency of this load, which is generated with a ChatGPT application on the left-hand side, as well as running four instances of Furmark, is at 90% while maintaining about a 33C temperature, which is equally impressive in its own right.

Announced at this year's Computex, Enermax's PlentiMax series has been a solid foundation for any high-end gaming computer, but this year Enermax decided to combine the two latest ATX standards into one powerful, future-proof design. This allows the end-user to be able to move from one standard to the other without having to purchase a new PSU to accommodate the new standard.

Specs of Enermax's PlentiMax Gemini 1200w Platinum ATX3.0/ATX12VO PSU

At Computex 2023, Enermax showed off their new Plentimax Gemini 1200w Platinum ATX 3.0 and ATX12VO, which is impressive in its own right to have both ATX standards built into one platform, thus saving cost to the consumer if one ATX standard is more applicable to the situation or build.

Having a full list of features that include a native 600w PCIe 12VHPWR cable, the ability to reach 74% efficiency at only a 2% load, ECO intelligent overload and overhead protections, the fan also remains inoperative with system loads under 60%, a 50C product reliability certification testing, and having a very small form factor of 150 x 150 x 86mm.

Yesterday we were invited out to the ASUS HQ here in Taipei where we were fortunate enough to be shown some new products ahead of Computex, which is starting today.

One of the new products that were available at the ProArt booth area; ASUS, will display the complete ProArt component ecosystem, featuring the new ProArt LC 420 all-in-one CPU cooler, as well as a range of ProArt motherboards and graphics cards renowned for their minimalist design, all-in-one CPU cooler, as well as a range of ProArt motherboards and graphics cards renowned for their minimalist design.

"ProArt is designed to empower creators, artists, and case modders alike, and this ethos will be exemplified through a stunning ProArt case mod artwork entitled Island, which will also be at the show. Inspired by the ProArt spirit, it beautifully exemplifies the seamless integration of technology and creativity."

Complete off-the-shelf PC builds for gaming and content creation have been a thing since the earliest days of home computing - although we didn't call it content creation back then. In 2023, all-in-one desktop PCs come in a range of flavors, and with Cooler Master being a mainstay for cases and cooling, it's now ready to unleash some pretty exciting all-in-one desktop PCs of its own.

Cooler Master's Cooling X complete desktop PC with liquid cooling for the CPU and GPU in the side panels, image credit: Cooler Master.

The Cooling X and the Sneaker X both feature bold and striking designs. The Sneaker X stands out because it's "a stylish desktop PC inspired by iconic sneakers" explicitly designed for sneaker enthusiasts and collectors. The Cooling X is impressive because it's a compact, fully liquid-cooled desktop PC with a Ryzen 9 7950X3D CPU and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 graphics card.

The Cooling X features a custom in-house pump designed for silent and effective liquid cooling, with the solution including specific liquid cooling side panels (one for the CPU and one for the GPU) - which is how the PC keeps its overall size in check.

The idea of a fanless PC is usually associated with a rig used for non-gaming tasks, productivity, and some multimedia. Perhaps playing games from the 16-bit generation if you're looking for an interactive fix, but nothing from RTX On era.

Streacom's new passively cooled SG10 chassis, image credit: Streacom.

Streacom's new stylish-looking SG10 case is looking to change that and has been designed for a fanless gaming system that can dissipate up to 600W of thermal energy. This means you could easily equip this with a decently high-end CPU and a GPU like the new GeForce RTX 4070 or RTX 4070 Ti. Think of it as a massive heatsink and PC case in one.

Streacom plans to showcase this passively-cooled no-fan chassis at Computex 2023 in a few weeks, and as the TweakTown crew will be on the ground reporting from the event, we'll be there to see it in person.

Not that it's practical to take the axial fans from NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4090 and GeForce RTX 4080 graphics cards and use them in a DIY CPU cooling setup, but you can get your hands-on the same fans, which is exactly what someone has done with the results shared on the Chiphell forums.

GeForce RTX 4090 axial fans used to cool a CPU, image credit: Chiphell.

The axial fans from the Founders Edition GPUs were used to cool an Intel Core i5-13600KF processor, where the operating temperature dropped considerably when stacked up against traditional cooling. Compared to the Thermalright TL-C12 cooler, the temperature dropped by up to nine degrees Celsius when using NVIDIA's Founders Edition fans during the Cinebench R23 benchmark.

Compared to the Cooler Master Mobius 120P ARGB, a more well-known cooler, temperatures dropped by up to five degrees Celsius.