Desktop
Earlier this month, AMD launched the first two desktop CPUs using their latest Zen 5 microarchitecture: the Ryzen 7 9700X and the Ryzen 5 9600X. As part of the new Ryzen 9000 family, it gave us their latest Zen 5 cores to the desktop market, as AMD actually launched Zen 5 through their mobile platform last month, the Ryzen AI 300 series (which we reviewed). Today, AMD is launching the remaining two Ryzen 9000 SKUs first announced at Computex 2024, completing the current Ryzen 9000 product stack. Both chips hail from the premium Ryzen 9 series, which includes the flagship Ryzen 9 9950X, which has 16 Zen 5 cores and can boost as high as 5.7 GHz, while the Ryzen 9 9900X has 12 Zen...
ASRock’s 4X4 Box-R1000: A Ryzen-Based 0.87-Liter SFF PC
ASRock has introduced what could be the world’s smallest system based on AMD Ryzen processor. The 4X4 Box-R1000 ultra-compact form-factor (UCFF) PC can fit on the palm of a...
22 by Anton Shilov on 7/5/2019Intel’s Islay Canyon Mini NUCs Available: Whiskey Lake, Radeon 540X, 8GB LPDDR3
Several retailers have started sales of Intel’s NUC 8 Mainstream-G systems previously known as codenamed Islay Canyon. The ultra-compact form-factor PCs pack Intel’s 8th Gen Core i5/i7 processors for...
43 by Anton Shilov on 7/1/2019Spotted at Computex: ZOTAC’s Mek Mini Prebuilt PC Goes Pink
Having launched their gaming-focused Mek Mini, Mek Ultra, and VR Go 2.0 computers over the past year, ZOTAC can now address virtually all segments of gaming PC market. But...
18 by Anton Shilov on 6/21/2019From Mining to Mini-PC Gaming: Comino Goes High-End Gaming PCs
As noted multiple times, technologies developed during the cryptocurrency mining boom can be easily applied elsewhere. Comino, which last year demonstrated its liquid-cooled mining servers, is no longer focused...
6 by Anton Shilov on 6/13/2019ZADAK Demonstrates MOAB: "World’s First Portable Water-Cooled PC"
In US military terminolgy, the MOAB is the Mother of All Bombs – the world’s most powerful non-nuclear bomb. Now, ZADAK is building its own MOAB (of sorts), in...
6 by Anton Shilov on 5/31/2019Computer Upgrade King Shows Off a Compact 32-Core Ryzen Threadripper PC
Workstations based on AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper processors with up to 32 cores are available from the vast majority of boutique PC makers. Since we are dealing with hardware for...
9 by Anton Shilov on 5/28/2019ZOTAC Launches Zbox Q-Series Mini Creator PCs: Intel Xeon & NVIDIA Quadro Inside
ZOTAC this week formally introduced its Zbox Q-series compact PCs that are powered by Intel’s Xeon processors and NVIDIA’s Quadro P-series graphics cards. The manufacturer officially calls its Zbox...
8 by Anton Shilov on 5/22/2019Corsair’s Vengeance 5185 PC: Core i7-9700K + GeForce RTX 2080, and Lots of RGB
Having launched their Corsair One small form-factor PCs, as well as Bulldog PCs for the living room, Corsair is now entering the market of mainstream gaming machines with its...
17 by Anton Shilov on 5/20/2019The Lenovo ThinkCentre Nano M90N: When Small Is Beautiful
People today want larger displays. Yet here comes a problem: the amount of space on the desk is finite, so there is a need for smaller desktop PCs and...
22 by Anton Shilov on 5/13/2019Compulab Launches Airtop3: A Fanless PC with Core i9-9900K & Quadro RTX 4000
Compulab has introduced its new Airtop3 passively-cooled desktop platform, which is aimed at commercial and industrial users looking for a high-performance passive PC. The Airtop3 combines high-end, high performance...
20 by Anton Shilov on 4/25/2019Intel 9th Gen Core Processors: All the Desktop and Mobile 45W CPUs Announced
How Intel has launched its range of ninth generation processors has been an odd and awkward one. Despite the launch of the 8-core 9900K last year, we still haven’t...
135 by Ian Cutress on 4/23/2019ZOTAC Mek Mini: A Small High Performance Gaming PC
ZOTAC this week launched its small form-factor (SFF) Mek Mini desktop computer, aimed at gaming in a small volume. The system will be initially available in only one configuration...
16 by Anton Shilov on 3/22/2019HP Unveils ProDesk 405 G4 Desktop Mini PC: An SFF Ryzen Pro Desktop
Over the past few months we have seen increasing adoption of AMD Ryzen processors by manufacturers of ultra-compact form-factor (UCFF) desktops. At present, the number of UCFF systems powered...
27 by Anton Shilov on 3/20/2019Apple Upgrades iMac and iMac Pro: More Cores, More Graphics, More Memory
Apple has introduced its updated iMac all-in-one desktop computers to use Intel's latest generation processors with up to eight cores plus AMD’s latest Pro graphics, and its iMac Pro...
31 by Anton Shilov on 3/19/2019Akasa's Turing: A Passively-Cooled Chassis for Intel’s Bean Canyon NUC
Akasa is prepping an aftermarket chassis for Intel’s 8th Gen "Bean Canyon: NUC systems. The Turing chassis will allow Intel’s NUC 8 ultra-compact form-factor (UCFF) computers to be converted...
32 by Anton Shilov on 2/8/2019EGlobal's NUC-Like PC Packs Intel’s Unlocked Hex-Core i7-8750HK CPU
EGlobal, a PC maker from China, has started sales of its ultra-compact form-factor (UCFF) S200 PC. Uncommon for UCFF PCs, EGlobal's latest machines are based around Intel’s 45W laptop...
41 by Anton Shilov on 2/4/2019ASUS Announces VivoMini VC65-C1 SFF PC with Ultra HD Blu-Ray & Core i7-8700T
ASUS has quietly introduced a new lineup of ultra-compact form-factor (UCFF) PCs, with an interesting balance between media playback and display capabilities. The VivoMini VC65-C1 systems are based around...
29 by Anton Shilov on 1/25/2019CES 2019: Origin PC Readies An All Glass Cube Compact PC
Origin PC demonstrated its all-new Cube desktop machine at CES. The fully-upgradeable computer comes in an all-glass compact chassis that can house a standard-length video card, a liquid-cooled factory-overclocked...
14 by Anton Shilov on 1/22/2019CES 2019: Digital Storm Entry-Level Vanquish PC with Bespoke Chassis
Digital Storm is known for beautiful-looking gaming PCs semi-customized but mostly built from off-the-shelf components. In a bid to differentiate itself from other makers, as well as DIY builds...
6 by Anton Shilov on 1/18/2019CES 2019: ECS SF110-A320 Ultra-Compact PC using AMD Ryzen
One of the market segments that AMD has not yet established a meaningful presence in with its Ryzen processors is the ultra-compact form-factor (UCFF) PC market. AMD's limited progress...
29 by Anton Shilov on 1/17/2019