Cases, Cooling & PSU News - Page 4

Entering the suite of Cooler Master at CES 2024 had us waiting in reception for a moment, while just inside, we saw one of the biggest yet amazing custom mods for a system with this amazing shark mod. While out of reach of many and too big for most home offices, it was something to behold as we appreciated all the work that goes into something of this caliber.

As we were assigned a representative for their cooling products, the focus this year was to utilize a hexagonal head unit shape that harkens back to the design of the Cooler Master logo, albeit not stretched wide as the logo is. Here we have their new ATMOS-designed head units, with a slightly tinted cover over the sleek finned inner portion resting upon an ARGB color plate.

As many are doing this year, one of the cooler parts of the ATMOS AIO is that the fin arrangement in the previous image is removable. Doing this will allow customers to 3D print whatever they can come up with, place it in the center of the head unit, and then replace the tinted cover to keep it safe and sound while giving users a custom visual appeal.

In its partially disassembled state, we get our first look at the new CR360 Direct Die D-RGB from EK. What makes these coolers special is that EK worked with der8auer for the frame to allow users who wish to delid their CPUs to mount them securely into place, and as you can see, the cold plate on these models is not flat.

There is a bevel in the der8auer bracket where the bevel around the contact area of the head unit will set into. Looking closely at the packaging, you will also see that with the fact that you are delidding the processor, the coolers need to be socket specific, in this instance LGA1700.

Here we have the completed unit, with one of the two optional head unit covers sporting the exposed metal skull and EK logo over the more vanilla-looking cover with its circular machined metal cover seen near the bottom of the previous image.

As we continue our quest to bring you the latest and greatest from CES 2024, MSI had much to show off at CES 2024, and Ryan will be covering most of those products very soon; there was one standout amongst it all that grabbed our attention. While MSI does not seem to be making the move to white just yet, we have seen from many manufacturers they are all trying to keep up with the AIO market and deliver something new for the masses to drool over, and MSI did not disappoint, and what we have below is the latest and greatest from them.

While Ryan and I were moving around the room, we did see some amazing gear, but the one and only cooling product on display was this simpler designed yet visually appealing MSI MAG Coreliquid E360 that we cannot wait to get our hands on for testing and review. Moving away from previous designs, this model comes with an enlarged copper mating surface to help achieve ultimate heat exchange with the latest generation CPUs. The pump inside is designed to split the warmed and cooled water to better reduce temperatures in the heat source. It also boasts maximized micro-channels to dissipate heat more efficiently.

The head unit offers a 270° rotatable cover, with a durable three-phase pump motor to reduce vibrations and noise while also offering better longevity. As shown, the MAG Coreliquid E360 is intended for LGA1700 and AM5 CPUs only. Also, as is the trend, the E360 comes with ARB fans to accompany the illuminated head unit.

Immediately inside the room with XPG, we ran into a set of Lancer RGB 8000 DDR5. Similar to what we have already seen, this series will now support up to 8000 MHz via an XMP 3.0 profile for the latest Intel and AMD systems. As you can see, there is RGB lighting and the Lancer triangular branding, which will come in capacities of 16 and 24GB per module.

Moving to our right, we then hit this kit of Caster RGB 7200. As the name suggests, speeds will top out at 7200 MHz with Intel XMP 3.0 support, but it will work for both camps. It also has RGB and the same triangular branding, but this time, they mentioned improved stability and reliability with a PMIC and on-die ECC, which all DDR5 has. At this time, the Caster RGB is slated to come with only 16GB modules.

We then ran into the Lancer RGB ROG Certified 7200 sticks. While these will have an XMP 3.0 profile boasting 7200 MHz in speed, they will have a second set to 7600 MHz. Along with the same features as the previous kits, these are ROG certified to ensure compatibility with ASUS ROG motherboards but will ship with 16GB as the only choice in stick density.

The first of the AIOs we ran across at the Enermax suite was this LIQTECH XTR, where the XTR stands for Xeon and ThreadRipper. Along with a larger head unit for better contact with the much larger IHS of the workstation CPUs, you can get them in 240mm, 280mm, 360mm, and even 420mm versions. You can access real-time CPU and GPU stats on a head unit designed to fit sTR5 and LGA4677 sockets. Cooling capacity covered 500W with the EF1 pump design, a Central Cooling Inlet (C.C.I.), and patented Shunt-Channel Technology (S.C.T.)

We next ran into the LIQMAXFLO cooler, which comes in 240mm, 360mm, and 420mm options boasting a 60mm ARGB VRM fan. These models can cool up to 420W of TDP with an Advanced Dual-Chamber Xtreme Pump with an enlarged inlet and increased pump pressure, which is said to boost flow up to 20%. On top of that, these models use a 38mm thick radiator with C.C.I. and S.C.T. included but still have one trick up their sleeve. The cover on the head unit is removable and allows users to 3D print whatever works best for them stylistically if you have access to more magnets to attach your custom covers.

In the previous image, you can see five covers that Enermax has on display, but from a contest they ran, what you see now is the overall winner. Made of two parts, there is a black body to this design, which is topped with opaque plastic, which allows the ARGB lighting from within the head unit to make the top glow while also adding some style with the ten-fin layout of the central portion, allowing airflow into the VRM cooling fan.

As we entered the room for the ASUS portion of CES 2024, we were greeted with an assortment of laptops, monitors, and GPUs, which Ryan will be covering soon, but just beyond that was a huge wall of RGB illumination with the ROG logo and REPUBLIC OF GAMERS spelled out for all of us to enjoy.

Around the corner, we ran into this ROG STRIX LC III 360 ARGB CPU cooler that sports a new block design with a 360° rotatable logo and over ten custom Aura lighting effects on this 7th gen V2 Astetek model. It also sports premium ROG ARGB fans with high airflow, optimized acoustics, and a silent mode.

On this ROG STRIX Z790-A Gaming Wi-Fi II motherboard, we also found the ROG STRIX LC III 360 ARGB LCD White Edition AIO. This one has a 2.1" IPS LCD that is also 360° rotatable, so one can display system stats, custom art, time of day, system monitoring, or personalized images. This is also a 7th gen V2 design with premium ROG ARGB fans.

While visiting GIGABYTE's CES 2024 suite at the Venetian for CES 2024 in Las Vegas, we found a few new ATX 3.0 PSUs that were coming to GIGABYTE's UD PSU lineup very soon. Previously we had looked at GIGABYTE's UD850GM PG5 model and found it to be a pretty decent little PSU, so we have our expectations for the upcoming models. So lets talk about what these two PSUs are all about.

The first ATX 3.0 PSU is the UD1300GM PG5, is an 80 Plus Gold rated ATX 3.0 PSU on a single 12V rail. Having support for a single PCIe 5.0 12VHPWR connector which is rated for up to 600 watts. Being built with 100% Japanese capacitors, build quality should be good. All cables are fully modular as well as having OVP, OPP, SCP, UVP, DCP, and OTP protections. Currently available now for $229.99.

Next up is the UD1600GM PG5, which is an 80 Plus Platinum rated ATX 3.0 PSU again on a single 12V rail. This time however, the UD1600GM PG5 has two PCIe 5.0 12VHPWR connections to support two GPUs at 600 watts apiece. Again being built with 100% Japanese capacitors helps ensure power stability is at a high point. Again all the cables are fully modular just like on the UD1300GM PG5 and has all the same protections in place. The UD1600GM PG5 is the larger of the two ATX 3.0 PSUs that were announced. MSRP and release date is unknown at this time.

When we arrived at the be quiet! suite for CES 2024, we were immediately greeted with a wall of products, or more likely, the packaging of just about all the options smaller than cases to gander at prior to getting into the nitty gritty of what follows. While they do not have a large amount of new gear to show off, we were told that there are some new and exciting things coming soon, even some keyboards and streaming gear.

The first thing we noticed sitting on the table was the Dark Rock Elite, which we have yet to get into our hands. It is an upgrade to the vanilla Dark Rock coolers but keeps all the ideas and concepts that make be quiet! coolers such an attractive product to many buyers.

What sets the Dark Rock Elite apart from all the other air coolers is that be quiet! make is the addition of ARGB to the top of the tower. While this may not be an amazing addition to their lineup for some, it is a major departure from the traditional offerings they have given their users in the past. The best part is while talking to Kevin, we arranged for a sample to arrive at our door not long after we return home.

CES 2024 - Our first gathering with GIGABYTE came in the form of a media event with many members from other sites, as GIGABYTE showed off what is new in the world of GIGABYTE and AORUS products. While Ryan will be covering more of what we saw here, we will keep this one short and to the point of what we cover daily.

After a short video presentation, we were urged to have a walk around the various tables, and what follows comes in the form of a couple of new AIOs as well as a look at a set of DDR5 for those looking for a themed build that is exclusively GIGABYTE through and through.

While this image it not so much tech related as to what was described above, we just could not pass up on the opportunity to show off the statue that was just behind the table we sat at while watching the video presentation, and we found it too good not to show.

Cooler Master has just taken the wraps off of a couple of next-gen CPU coolers with the introduction of the new G11 AIO and V8 3DVC, both capable of keeping high-end CPUs cool with up to 300W.

The new Cooler Master V8 3DVC joins previous-gen V8 coolers with a redesign and incorporation of a 3D Vaper Chamber and advanced super-conductive heat pipes in a single unit. The use of a 3D Vapor Chamber is designed by Cooler Master in a way that the heat gets evenly distributed throughout the heatsink acrosstheh composite heat pipes.

Cooler Master houses the CPU heatsink inside of a stylish shroud, with a slick black and silver design, with dual 120mm Mobius fans keeping that behemoth 300W of heat at bay. If you're using a high-end Core i9 process from Intel, handling 300W of heat isn't something that would go astray. There's a big market for high-quality air coolers versus using a larger, bulkier, system-consuming all-in-one (AIO) cooler.