Until recently, anyone looking to buy one of Intel’s 8th Gen Coffee Lake CPUs was limited to just a single chipset on their accompanying motherboard: the rather expensive Z370. Then Intel announced two more entry-level chipsets at the start of April in the shape of the H370 and B360, and now it looks like there’s another one in the works as well: the enthusiast-oriented Z390. Read the rest of this entry »
RPS Feature Ryzen from the ashes
AMD’s 2nd Gen Ryzen+ CPUs have put on a pretty impressive show so far, from the entry-level Ryzen 3 2200G and Ryzen 5 2400G with integrated Radeon Vega graphics right up to the mid-range Ryzen 5 2600 and 2600X – which for my money are better buys than Intel’s current crop of Core i5 chips. Now it’s time to look at AMD’s pair of flagship processors for 2018, the Ryzen 7 2700 and its souped-up counterpart, the 2700X.
With eight cores and 16 threads each, these top-end CPUs are AMD’s answer to Intel’s fancy 8th Gen Core i7 Coffee Lake chips, most notably the Core i7-8700 and its unlocked, overclockable sibling, the Core i7-8700K. Can AMD pull off that coveted hat-trick of CPU brilliance? The answer would appear to be…sort of, just about, but also not quite.
RPS Feature A new star has Ryzen
The Ryzen 5 2600 and 2600X are AMD’s new mid-range desktop CPUs, and they’re primed and ready to take on Intel’s 8th Gen Core i5 Coffee Lake processors. With six cores and 12 threads apiece, plus respective base clock speeds of 3.4GHz and 3.6GHz, they may not look like huge improvements over their 1600 and 1600X Ryzen predecessors on paper, but this time it’s what’s inside that counts, as both chips now have a faster, more efficient architecture behind them and better tech to help them reach their improved max boost clock speeds of 3.9GHz and 4.2GHz more regularly.
Today, I’ll be looking at both the Ryzen 5 2600 and its X-rated sibling together in one big mid-range face off, pitching them against each other and seeing how they compare to help you decide which one is worth buying.
In the age of Intel’s 8th Gen Coffee Lake CPUs, not to mention AMD’s Ryzen+ chips, it’s probably unlikely that you’ll be considering one of Intel’s old Kaby Lake X processors for your next PC build. Still, just in case you are thinking about buying an Intel Core i7-7740X or Core i5-7640X, you should probably know that they’re about to be discontinued starting in this merry month of May, according to a product change notification on its website. Read the rest of this entry »
AMD’s second generation of Ryzen CPUs are finally here. Also known as Ryzen+ or the 2000-series, these four new desktop chips are set to replace last year’s Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 families, offering more competitive performance compared to Intel’s 8th Gen Coffee Lake CPUs.
There’s a fair amount to get your head round, though, especially when you start throwing AMD’s 2000-series (but not Ryzen+) Ryzen Vega APUs into the mix as well, so I’ve put together this hopefully helpful guide that sets out all things Ryzen-related, including the price and specs of all the chips you can buy right now, as well as the proposed release dates for the rest of AMD’s upcoming Ryzen roll-out plan.
RPS Feature Ryzen from the dead
Graphics card prices have been up in the clouds so long that the idea of them ever falling back down to something that doesn’t make us weep with despair seems almost as fanciful as the idea of earning more than six pence from the dreaded ongoing crypto-mining craze. They will, of course, come down at some point, but that’s of little comfort to us in the here and now, especially if you’re in need of a new PC.
But let me ask you a question. Do you really need a fancy new graphics card? Because if money’s tight and you’re willing to put up with a few compromises, the AMD Ryzen 5 2400G could be just what you’re looking for.
Read the rest of this entry »
RPS Feature Budget GPU killer
Graphics card prices continue to outrage and frustrate almost every PC person on the planet. No one likes spending more than they have to in order to play the newest, shiniest games, but the current cost of GPUs is almost enough to make you want to throw your PC out the window and turn tail to join the console brigade. It’s that bad.
Before you do that, though, you’ll be pleased to hear there’s some very good news to be found in AMD’s recently released Ryzen Vega CPUs. Thanks to their built-in Radeon Vega graphics – Vega being the same name given to AMD’s top-end GPUs like the Radeon RX Vega 64 and Radeon RX Vega 56 – both the quad-core 3.5GHz AMD Ryzen 3 2200G on test today and the quad-core 3.6GHz Ryzen 5 2400G (which you’ll be hearing more about later this week) offer a surprisingly decent stab at 1080p gaming without the need for dropping hundreds of pounds on a dedicated card. Read the rest of this entry »
Bad news for anyone still rocking a really, really old Intel processor today, as the CPU giant has announced it’s going to stop developing microcode updates to deal with the ongoing security problems caused by Spectre and Meltdown for certain types of architecture. The news comes with the release of a new microcode revision guide that sets out the current schedule of planned updates for each type of affected CPU.
Good news for Intel fans this morning. PC security flaws and definitely not James Bond movie titles Spectre and Meltdown will likely be largely eradicated in future hardware releases, the CPU giant’s CEO Brian Krzanich has said in a blog post.
We suspected this would probably be the case when the flaws were first unveiled at the beginning of the year by Google’s Project Zero group, but now we know for sure. While one form of Spectre will continue to be addressed by software updates, the second Spectre variant and Meltdown will be dealt with the hard(ware) way, with Intel saying “we’ve made changes to our hardware design to further address” these flaws.
Earlier this week, AMD’s new Ryzen APUs with built-in Vega graphics – the Ryzen 3 2200G and the Ryzen 5 2400G – finally went on sale for $99 and $169 apiece. That’s how much AMD said they would cost and most retailers, lo and behold, have been selling them for those exact amounts.
Newegg, however, haven’t been playing ball this week, as their initial prices for the pair of Ryzen Vega APUs were around $20 more than their recommended retail prices. Fortunately, the metaphorical mob has retaliated quickly against these price shenanigans (hopefully by pelting them with old eggs), and affected customers are now being offered partial refunds to bring their purchases back in line with everyone else.
When Intel and AMD said they were teaming up for a new kind of 8th Gen Core processor with onboard AMD Radeon RX Vega M graphics, many assumed (myself included) that this would be the start of a new, if slightly weird and wonderful relationship between the once bitter rivals.
However, it would appear that the future of Intel’s AMD Vega CPUs will rest very much on the success of its initial launch this spring, according to AMD CEO Lisa Su, suggesting the partnership may be a one-time-only deal if it doesn’t take off.
It’s a bad time to buy PC hardware right now, what with graphics card prices going through the roof due to crytpocurrency mining and practically every CPU on the planet being vulnerable to the recently uncovered Spectre and Meltdown CPU flaws. Fortunately, PC land’s CPU woes may not be around for much longer, as Intel’s suggested its new, upcoming Cannon Lake and Ice Lake processors won’t be affected by the same security exploits as literally almost every other CPU they’ve made since 1995. Thank the blessed silicon gods.
2018 in PC-land has been dominated by a lot of nervous sideways glances about whether or not the security flaw affecting pretty much every processor going is a clear and present danger or just Millennium Bug 2.0. Katherine has written us a good explainer for the CPU exploits known as Meltdown and Spectre, and the industry at large has been fast-tracking patches.
Sadly these bring with them a theoretical performance hit, although this seems negligible if not non-existent when it comes to games specifically. Rather more problematic is that Microsoft’s official fix for Windows has itself been causing chaos – to the point that it’s been hastily withdrawn for the clutch of AMD processors it’s been causing BSODs and bootloops on. Oops.
No one likes going back to work after Christmas. The early mornings, the ever-disappointing trains and having to deal with hordes of perpetually grumpy commuters… it all sucks. But just imagine coming back to the office only to discover that the things you make and sell to people all across the globe and form the basis of every PC in the known world have a major security flaw that you can’t really fix. And some of the fixes you can implement may put a serious dent in your PC’s performance.
That’s what happened to the CPU industry this week, and I can only imagine a lot of Intel, AMD and ARM execs are pulling what I’m going to call the ‘Total Recall Arnie scream’ this very moment. Happy New Year!
Two weeks ago, AMD unveiled its Ryzen Mobile processors for laptops, promising superior graphics performance for ultra-slim devices. Now, it’s Intel’s turn, as it’s just announced a brand-new 8th Gen Core processor that aims to deliver that same premium gaming experience for devices measuring less than 16mm thick. The clincher? AMD’s the one providing the onboard graphics. Funny how these things work out, isn’t it?
RPS Feature The year of the CPU...
Yes. I know. There has indeed been an awful lot of CPU coverage lately. What with AMD’s Ryzen and Ryzen Threadripper chips, plus the sudden launch of Intel CPUs with up to 18 cores, not to mention Intel finally upping its mainstream ante from four to six cores, 2017 has surely been the year of the CPU. Which begs an obvious question. What is now the best gaming CPU? Judging that on the hoof as the launches come thick and fast isn’t always easy. But now the dust has settled. Now we know how all these new CPUs stack up. It’s time to pick a winner.
AMD have been making quite the comeback of late. First came their Ryzen desktop processors – which are pretty darn great compared to their respective Intel competition. Then, they went after Nvidia’s GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 graphics cards with their trio of Radeon RX Vega chips. Now, it’s time for AMD laptops to get a look in, as Ryzen Mobile is finally here. Read the rest of this entry »
RPS Feature Sub £200 scorcher...
Intel’s new 8th Gen Core chips are out and there is much rejoicing. For the first time in about five years, Intel has made an unambiguous step forward with its mainstream CPUs. In short, they’ve bunged in an extra pair of cores across the board. Where once you had two cores or four cores, now you have four cores or six cores. Of course more cores don’t automatically translate into a better gaming experience. But I still think the new Core i5-8400 will become the chip of choice for gamers. Here’s why.
RPS Feature Better late than never...
Or should that be nearly the right chips at slightly the wrong prices? Either way, as I was saying Intel has finally pulled its finger out and given us PC diehards something to be other than apathetic about. No, not ridiculoso $2,000 processors with 18 cores. But new mainstream processors codenamed Coffee Lake that have now taken the leap from solid rumour to retail reality. With more cores across the board, it’s Intel’s biggest upgrade for at least five years and undeniably a good thing for gamers.
RPS Feature Ermegerd, some good Intel news...
I’m jumping the gun just a little but a few of you have sent emails on precisely this subject and there’s a significant quantity of fairly solid info out there, so let’s talk about the shape of all things CPU and gaming. AMD’s Ryzen chips have very obviously been the big news thus far this year. But completing the picture for the next six months or so is what will shortly amount to the most significant update to Intel’s CPU line up from a gamer’s perspective in about five years. For once, it’s going to be unambiguously good news… Read the rest of this entry »
