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AMD’s AM4 motherboards get a mid-range face-lift with new B450 chipset
When AMD launched their 2nd Gen Ryzen+ CPUs earlier in the year, they made a pledge that their AM4 motherboard sockets would continue to receive support until the year 2020. To that end, AMD have just announced a brand-new mid-range chipset for AM4 motherboards, the B450. Read below for the full low-down.
Lian Li’s bonkers Strimer RGB power cable is now up for pre-order
Just when you thought PCs had reached their maximum RGB capacity, case maker Lian Li has only gone and plonked another 12 of them straight onto your PSU's main power cable. First announced at this year's Computex show in Taiwan, Lian Li hope their new Strimer RGB cable will bring yet another taste of the rainbow to your beloved tower - and it's now available for pre-order.
Feature: Anything but the B-team
Asus ROG Strix B360-F Gaming review: A great foundation for Intel Coffee Lake PCs
When Intel first introduced their 8th Gen Coffee Lake CPUs, anyone looking to upgrade their processor only had a single choice of motherboard chipset: the rather expensive Z370. Mercifully, Intel have now expanded their 300-series family to encourage budget builders to make the jump too - and the B360 chipset is one of them. To find out if it's any cop against pricier motherboards, I've got…
Feature: Intel-ligent systems
Intel Coffee Lake: Everything you need to know about Intel’s 8th Gen Core CPUs
Intel's 8th generation of Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs are in full swing. Officially launched in October 2017 under the umbrella term 'Coffee Lake', these are the CPUs powering almost every new PC and laptop you can buy today. There's a smaller subset using AMD's Ryzen+ CPUs (which have plenty to recommend them if you have a gander at our Ryzen 5 2600/2600X…
Feature: Building blocks
Building your own gaming PC isn't too bad if you know what you're doing, but for first-time builders it can be quite the daunting experience. Sometimes, it's just easier to get someone else to do all the legwork for you, especially if you're after something small and diddy like the rather swish Zotac MEK1. Other times, though, it can be both cheaper and more satisfying to make one…
Feature: Down to the wire
Hooo boy. Here comes the fun part of our How to Build a PC guide. And by fun, I mean, excruciatingly awful and needlessly fiddly. It's time to connect up your system panel connector and all your case cables to all the teeny tiny metal prongs dotted around your motherboard. Hooray!
Feature: The mother of all problems
You've just learned how to install your power supply; the next step in our How to build a PC guide is installing your motherboard. This is arguably one of the fiddliest bits of building a PC, so it's important to take your time here. I'll be building into an ATX-sized motherboard into a mid-tower case in this particular instance, but the same steps apply for…
Feature: The mother of all questions
What motherboard / CPU combo do I need to build an Intel Coffee Lake or AMD Ryzen PC?
When it comes to building your own PC, there are some bits of the upgrade process that are easier to work out than others. Picking the best graphics card for your system is pretty easy, as is deciding which CPU you want to go for. The hard part is finding the right motherboard for everything you've just bought. We're here to help. Below, you'll find an…
Feature: Fanning the flames
Asus ROG Crosshair VII Hero (Wi-Fi) review: The coolest motherboard around for Ryzen+ (literally)
The Asus ROG Crosshair VII Hero (Wi-Fi) - try saying that three times fast - is quite possibly the ultimate ATX motherboard for cooling and USB junkies - if you're batting for team Ryzen+, that is. If you thought having eight USB ports on the Asus ROG Strix X470F-Gaming and MSI X470 Gaming M7 AC was generous, the Crosshair VII Hero adds four more to…
Feature: All aboard
AMD's Ryzen+ CPUs have arrived and if you've read our Ryzen 5 2600/2600X or Ryzen 7 2700/2700X reviews, then you'll know there's a lot to like. Indeed, one of the great things about AMD's new family of processors is that you might not even have to buy a new motherboard to start using them, as every Ryzen+ chip will happily slot into every existing AM4…
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.
Feature: Above board
Asus ROG Strix X470F-Gaming review: A good foundation for Ryzen+
If you're considering buying one of AMD's new Ryzen+ CPUs like the Ryzen 5 2600 or Ryzen 7 2700X, then you may also want to think about getting a new X470-based AM4 motherboard to go with it. It's not strictly necessary - all of AMD's 2nd gen Ryzen processors will work with existing AM4 motherboards, whether you've got one with a high-end X370 chipset or the more entry-level A320…
After months of murky rumours, vague interview statements and subsequent but equally unclear clarifications, AMD have confirmed once and for all that their AM4 motherboard platform will continue to receive support until the year 2020. This will come as excellent news for existing Ryzen users and incoming Ryzen+ buyers, as it means that any potential new motherboard purchase isn't about to go the way of every other tech…
Feature: Ryzen shine
AMD Ryzen+: Everything you need to know about AMD’s 2nd Gen CPUs and more
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…
Asus unveil new H370 and B360 motherboards for Intel’s Coffee Lake CPUs
Asus have announced a string of new motherboards for the launch of Intel's latest 8th Gen Coffee Lake CPU chipsets. Arriving in ROG Strix, Prime and Tuf Gaming brand flavours, these new H370 and B360 boards aim to bring more connectivity at a price that should (hopefully) keep those tears of despair at bay if you decide to use as the foundation for your next PC - which is a…
AMD are sending out free processors to fix Ryzen Vega motherboard issues
AMD's new Ryzen processors with Vega graphics have been causing quite a stir lately. Offering Nvidia GeForce GTX 1030 levels of graphical fidelity without the need for a dedicated card, the Ryzen 3 2200G and Ryzen 5 2400G are quickly becoming the CPU of choice for many budget system builders - at least when US retailer Newegg isn't charging $20 more than AMD's official prices for them anyway. Now,…
Feature: Start saving now
Best of CES 2018: The top PC gizmos you’ll want to own this year
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is over for another year. It was a slightly weird show this year, marred by an embarrassing power outage, one too many pointless robots (Cloi, I'm looking at you) and the creeping feeling that the world's biggest tech show might just be becoming a bit irrelevant. Fortunately, PC gamers still have plenty to look forward to in 2018, from giganto gaming screens…
Feature: It's all-new. Is it any good?
Hello, good evening and give it up for an all-new Intel CPU. By chip industry standards, it's been a long time coming. But with a nonchalant shrug of its 14nm FinFETs, Intel's new Skylake chip has crashed the desktop PC party. Dare we hope for genuine progress? Or is the new Core i7-6700K yet another samey CPU from Intel? I also have an early take…
Feature: What you really don't need
Catharsis comes in many forms. But there's none so satisfying as a good old fashioned sweary rant. Hell, I'm not even talking about a pseudo-Charlie-Brooker-but-not-nearly-as-witty polemic. More shouting obscenities into the wind. The time has come for me to unload on my top ten most cursed ruses in PC gaming hardware. In truth, the following is not entirely devoid of practical insight. But you have…
Feature: How I Met Your Motherboard
With CPUs, GPUs and screens (x2) in the bag, it's time to put the RPS spotlight onto that most mysterious of PC components, the motherboard. By some metrics, mobos are pretty easy to pick these days. For starters, there aren't many chipset vendors to worry about. Only AMD and Intel are really left in the game. But Intel, in particular, has plenty of marketing tricks…
