While with Intel’s previous Z590 generation MSI’s Unify-X was the last of the motherboards I tested, we turn the tables on this generation with the new Alder Lake CPUs. The MSI MEG Z690 Unify-X, as it is called with its full name, is a motherboard with a strong focus on overclocking and only 2 DIMM slots, but with its price it can also [...]
Today I turn for the first time in detail to AMD’s upcoming Socket AM5 (version 2), as it will be used for the upcoming Raphael CPUs (Ryzen 7000). AMD consequently changes from the PGA (Pin Grid Array) with the contacts on the CPU to the much easier to handle LGA (Land Grid Array) because of the large number of required (1718) pins. After we [...]
Right off the bat, a little warning to readers, because the following article is likely to have relevance only to a relatively limited readership. It’s all about the past 11th generation Intel Core CPUs and the Extreme Overclocking motherboards around the Z590 platform. Now Alder Lake is already on the market, but on the one hand older [...]
The race for ever faster CPUs and above all GPUs is now producing such blossoms that even existing standards have to be softened or modified for the new energy waste offensive that soon every end consumer will have to save up for a portable nuclear power plant if they don’t want to be in debt with the energy supplier well into old age. To [...]
The MEG Z590 Unify-X is the last, but also the cheapest XOC 2-DIMM motherboard that finally made it to us for review. MSI also wants to target professional overclockers and enthusiasts who want to get the maximum performance out of their Rocket Lake CPU at all costs, be it for benchmarking competitions or just daily gaming. Now let’s take a [...]
Gigabyte’s Z590 Aorus Tachyon, unlike many other Rocket Lake XOC (Extreme Overclocking) motherboards, has been available virtually since the platform’s launch, albeit in fairly limited quantities. A 2-DIMM topology optimized for RAM overclocking, ample power supply and OC features en masse are supposed to squeeze out the absolute [...]
You can find the Realtek ALC4080/4082, which was already launched in 2020, as a sound solution on many new Intel boards of the middle and upper class and due to a certain feature, which is also due to the saving of Intel SKUs, you get new problems at the same time. The problems with the SPDIF (optical output), which have already been fixed by a [...]
EVGA’s Z590 Dark is probably one of the most sought-after XOC motherboards for the current generation of Intel CPUs, not least because of its uncompromising design, legendary reputation and limited availability of its predecessors. Whether EVGA has created a worthy successor with the project name “E599” to also fire Intel’s [...]
Disclaimer: The following article is machine translated from the original German, and has not been edited or checked for errors. Thank you for understanding!
Disclaimer: The following article is machine translated from the original German, and has not been edited or checked for errors. Thank you for understanding!
First of all, I can actually reassure everyone with some newer hardware, because the discussions about the compatibility with TPM 2.0 and especially the exploding prices for external TPM modules have virtually expoded in the last few days since Microsoft’s announcements about Windows 11 and the availability of such modules is now close to [...]
Dare to Challenge – rarely has a slogan been more fitting than that of the Z590 OC Formula, ASRock’s new high-end overclocking motherboard! Intel’s latest mainstream CPUs of the Rocket Lake family don’t bring any big advantages for gamers, but for friends of memory overclocking the 11th generation opens completely new [...]
As some of you might have noticed, there have been less articles from me on igorslab.de the last weeks than usual. The reason for this, besides the usual fubar in my day job, was my participation in the G.Skill Tweakers Contest on hwbot.org, which I even managed to win in the “Ambient” category shortly before the end. The goal of [...]
In the course of a soon to be released crossover project of my two hobbies hardware and 3D printing MSI kindly provided me with this board. And even though mainboards are not really my area, I took a closer look at it within my possibilities. The following is the short test: Packaging and scope of delivery Compared to the almost container [...]
Having assembled quite a few PCs already, I’ve always wanted to build a mini-I-X system for everyday use. So it came as a call that my work colleague asked me for a new PC, well, the help to build him something tailor-made. After a short information gathering regarding the application of the PC as well as the budget, it was only a few mouse [...]
We already know since my launch article “Intel Core i9-11900K, Core i7-11700K, Core i5-11600K and Core i9-10900K against Zen3 – Last man standing in silicon” that Intel’s 11th generation doesn’t act particularly squeamish at the power supply. But also not detailed enough, because there was one thing I couldn’t [...]
The Realtek ALC4080, which was launched in 2020, can now be found as a sound solution on many new mid-range and high-end Intel boards without the customer really knowing what’s behind it. Exactly that I would like to change today gladly and have a suitable data sheet from a mainboard developer procured. The ALC4080 breaks with the long [...]
Unofficially it went with the ComboAM4PI V2 1.2.0.1 already longer, but since 03.03.2021 AMD announced also officially the support of Zen2. Up to now, AMD required a current Zen3 CPU, a B550 or X570 motherboard and an updated BIOS. Or just a current Intel solution. Now also officially Zen2 and it is time to draw here once the direct comparison [...]
If you are in urgent need of a new computer, you have to put up with the extreme prices on the one hand and the limited availability of the components on the other. It’s annoying, but it’s not likely to change anytime soon. Because you can’t always choose the time of an upgrade, or the conditions never really fit 100% anyway [...]
MSI has also begun to introduce new BIOS versions for the X470 and B450 motherboards that support AMD’s Ryzen 5000 desktop CPUs. MSI is the next manufacturer to offer support for AMD’s 3rd generation CPUs. Ryzen Generation (Ryzen 5000 ‘Vermeer’) on its motherboards, which are now available for download from the official [...]
