AMD's Ryzen 9000 X3D series is possibly the most highly anticipated CPU launch next to the Intel Arrow Lake CPUs rumored to be launching in October. It now seems that through rumors, we may be getting a base 6 core 9600X3D to add to the mix, bringing a very accessible CPU into the hands of budget gamers.

If we take the 7800x3D as an example, it has to be one of AMD's most popular CPUs, it still costs around $380. If the 9600X3D can come in at around the base price of a 9600X, then we're off to the races.

AMD is rumored to have planned a 9600X3D

The Rumor comes to us from the same person who suggested that the 9800X3D will be launching in November, and not October like originally rumored. Hoang Anh Phu had this to say under their post on the 9800X3D.

We don't know too much about this processor just yet, as this is pretty much the only rumor we have to go off, but Hoang Anh Phu is a pretty reputable source with a history of leaking meritable hardware news.

The 9600X3D, according to VideoCardz, could feature 32MB per CCD (32MB L3) + 64MB 3D V-cache. It obviously remains to be seen in the absence of performance benchmarks how the X3D series will shape up, and any (if all) improvements that AMD may have made to the cache system.

The 5800X3D was locked to overclocking, and the 7000X3D series did improve on that, but it was still locked to conventional overlocking. The main difference was that the 7000X3D series left more room to boost to higher frequencies automatically. However, the base performance of the chip still suffered slightly.

We hope that AMD continues to work on this, and gets to a point where there's no restriction placed on the CPU for including the 3D V-cache.

Intel Arrow Lake is presumably right around the corner, but that doesn't stop people from trying to sell mechanical samples early. Someone has posted 6 Arrow Lake-S mechanical samples on Taobao, a Chinese marketplace, and is asking for $1,360 (converted) for the full set.

It should be painfully obvious that these will not function the same as the official release versions of the CPUs, but they could be a cool collector's item.

Arrow Lake mechanical samples for sale on a Chinese marketplace

Hardware detective @harukaze5719 discovered this Taobao listing and posted it on X apparently some of Intel's early LGA 1851 have been lifted from the lab, and put up for sale. Tom's Hardware reports that the CPUs have different power limits, says the seller, though we couldn't find such information on the listing, maybe someone over there spoke to the seller personally.

This does indicate that these CPUs are functional, however, there's no way that they would function as well or as reliably as the release versions of the Arrow Lake CPUs. So think again if you think this listing is a cheap way to snag some Arrow Lake CPUs early. It'd be a cool talking point the next time you're talking to someone about CPUs.

Mechanical samples are mainly to test the, well, mechanical components of the CPU, such as how it fits into a socket how to design the retention mechanism, and so on. Component manufacturers often receive these samples to help them design motherboard sockets and coolers to properly fit the CPU. And it looks like these CPUs have been well tested given the state of the IHS.

It's impossible to determine the individual model of each CPU, as mechanical samples only carry the "Intel Confidential" markings, the same as engineering samples. There could be 6 "Core Ultra 9 285k's " here for all we know.

ASUS is well known for its PC hardware, prebuilt PC's, and laptops, it just about manufacturers everything you could need to make a PC. It comes as no surprise then that ASUS is once again manufacturing a line of motherboards for an upcoming CPU release. These motherboards belong to the LGA 1851 socket that will accompany Arrow Lake CPUs.

This tease comes to us from ASUS on Facebook, of all places, where ASUS released a short 18-second video somewhat teasing the curves and contours of its new and upcoming motherboards. We know that these aren't the X870 motherboards because we already have full product pages on those, no need for a teaser there - and the fact the Intel logo is in the video at the end.

Z890 motherboards teased in the video

We think that there are around 5 or 6 motherboards teased in this video though we are confident there are at least 4. It is hard to tell which bits belong to the same motherboard. We have identified the 4 motherboards below.

We think that the first motherboard teased is the Maximus Extreme, as the name suggests this is the most extreme motherboard that ASUS makes and is aimed towards enthusiasts who don't mind spending thousands on a motherboard. The extreme is usually characterized by flashy I/O panel displays. These motherboards are often sent into EOL soon after they are released, which makes them somewhat special edition.

The next motherboard we assume to be the TUF, why you ask? Because it's written on the thing. The TUF offers a unique sort of middle ground in terms of connectivity and features, it also has a very industrial aesthetic which we really like.

This motherboard has to be the I/O plate of an ASUS Prime, which comes as the budget option. ASUS Prime motherboards hold a valuable position on the market, as they are the entry-level into these high-end chipsets. You often find that Prime motherboards have more features than other entry-level motherboards of the same price.

The last motherboard we could confidently identify is the ASUS Z980 Maximus Hero. This motherboard serves as a kind of tamer and more affordable version of the Extreme, and it usually has a longer life. As we mentioned, extreme motherboards sometimes go into EOL soon after they are released. As a result, Hero motherboards are more affordable but aren't cheap by any means.

Final word

As flashy and nice as these motherboards look, we can't shake the rumor that LGA 1851 might be a one-trick pony and only stick around for one CPU generation. Imagine dropping 1k on a motherboard only to find out that it only serves one generation of CPU.

Regardless, ASUS makes some of the best-looking motherboards on the market and we're excited to see what innovations they have made this time. If the tease is accurate to the motherboards that we are getting, then you can color us excited.

The X3D chips are probably the most exciting product that AMD currently makes, and we're not bagging on all the other products. it's like watching AMD invent Ryzen all over again and constantly improve upon it. Just like Ryzen, the X3D chips started strong and have improved as the generations advanced, but what is to come out of the 9000 X3D series? We might know very soon.

9800X3D could come sooner than expected

VideoCardz reports that Gigabyte just had a conference regarding the X870 motherboards, this is likely where leaker Zhangzhonghao, who has recentlaiy changed their name, got this information. And opted to share it on the popular forum Chiphell.

The information was likely available as motherboard manufacturers are told about upcoming CPU releases in advance, and this is usually a pretty hush-hush topic for obvious reasons.

Zhangzhonghao states: "This time the 9950X3D and 9900X3D will have some new features so they won’t be released together with the 9800X3D. I estimate they will be released early next year."

The more interesting thing to note is that the 9950X3D and 9900X3D will be bringing "new features". Whether this be AI integration or better overclocking support, is unknown. but we are looking forward to seeing what that is.

It's safe to say that we all assumed that AMD would follow a similar pattern of releases as they did for the 7000X3D series. However, even more rumors have now surfaced regarding the 9800X3D.

Hoang Anh Phu, the popular hardware leaker on X, has chipped in, and reckons the 9800X3D will launch in early November, as likely indicated by the rocket emoji. This means that the earlier date suggested could have been referring to an announcement, not a release.

It's not safe to assume any of these rumors are true just yet, as always there is no official comment from AMD, and there likely never will be. We are excited to see what the 9000 X3D series will bring.

For those on the fence, we fully encourage building your own gaming PC if possible, not only will you learn a new skill but you will save yourself some money in the process.

How we test PCs and components

We test all of the latest CPUs and GPUs from various manufacturers at launch to see how well they perform in various gaming benchmarks. We also get hands-on with various prebuilt PCs for a variety of brands and then compare our results to see if they perform as they should. When testing a prebuilt the main focus is performance, however, value for money and build quality are also major factors when making recommendations.

Best prebuilt gaming PC

This gaming PC features the exceptional RTX 4090, a GPU that performed incredibly well in our tests. Whether it's gaming in stunning 4K, rendering intricate videos, or streaming smoothly, this prebuilt will handle it all.

The combination of the RTX 4090 and the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D offers the highest-end gaming performance. You can expect over 100FPS gaming at 4K in many games, with the settings maxed out. The system further elevates performance with its 32GB DDR5 RAM, adequate cooling system, and a rapid 2TB storage drive. All these features culminate in a high-end PC that's geared to serve you impressively for the foreseeable future.

This ABS Vortex-X Aqua features the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super graphics cards and the Intel Core i7 13700K CPU, another fantastic component pairing for gaming enthusiasts.

The RTX 4080 Super is a highly capable 4K graphics card that outperforms Nvidia's previous flagship (RTX 3090 Ti). While this falls short of the 4090, it is a more affordable option for those looking to play 4K and excellent at 1440p with high refresh rates. The 13th-gen i7-13700K is no slouch either, in fact, it is one of the best gaming CPUs available and will go a long way to enhancing your overall gaming experience. Again we see another 32GB RAM kit which is likely to be more than most gamers need, however, it adds to the future-proofing of your investment.

Sadly, we are only seeing a 1TB SSD, however, it is extremely fast and will load up your operating system and games in no time at all.

Another high-end gaming PC here from ABS, capable of playing any game in maxed-out settings when at 1440p. This is a great option for those seeking high FPS across a number of titles, with some reasonable 4K performance too. The RTX 4070 Ti Super is a top-tier card and when paired with the 14700KF, you have yourself a PC that can pretty much do anything.

The only real downside to this machine is the 1TB SSD. This will fill up fairly fast and is an area you may want to expand in the near future. Regardless, it's fast and will load your operating system and games in no time at all.

The ABS Cyclone Ruby comes in at a great price, offering reasonable value for a prebuilt. It features a potent gaming CPU, the Ryzen 7 7700X, perfectly paired with the RTX 4070 Super GPU. Together, these components ensure a hassle-free 1440p gaming experience, regardless of the game or settings involved.

This prebuilt doesn't stop impressing there. It is outfitted with 32GB of fast DDR5 RAM, which is not only ample for current needs but also future-proofs your system, eliminating the need for an upgrade anytime soon. In terms of storage, it boasts a 1TB SSD, not an awful lot of space but enough to get you going.

The Thermaltake LCGS Quartz i460 R4 is the perfect companion to tackle your competitive esports titles, with the budget yet powerful CPU/GPU combination inside.

We see the 13th-generation Intel i5-13400F CPU, a reasonable processor for the price. The single-core performance on this processor may not be amazing but it runs at a max clock speed of up to 4.6GHz. The processor is multithreaded, with 10 cores and 16 threads, meaning it will make light work of heavy load tasks and generally make your prebuilt gaming PC feel quicker.

The RTX 4060 GPU is considered budget-level but still solid for 1080p gaming and has decent benchmarking results for its price. You can play many games in high settings or enjoy high FPS counts in your favorite competitive games. You also get to take advantage of ray tracing, with the accompanying DLSS technology.

This machine features a fast 1TB SSD storage solution, giving you more than enough to hold your operating system and most of your favorite games.

Why you should buy a prebuilt gaming PC

Prebuilt gaming PC vs custom build

It is no secret, that here at WePC we always recommend you build your gaming PC but we understand that not everyone has the time. Building your gaming PC is great because you can control everything that goes into it and, more importantly, it tends to offer much better value.

You may think you’ve seen a bargain but the reality is that prebuilt computers often come with a markup (around $100-$400 depending on the build price, it goes up as the price of the build does) to cover the physical building and software of the machine. Just to put it into perspective, the markup of a prebuilt is essentially the same price as an entire component.

FAQs

Final Word

With so many options out there, buying the best prebuilt gaming PC can sometimes be a bit tricky. Well, this article aims to try and help solve this issue, with our recommendations covering a wide range of budgets and gaming needs. You can rest assured that every selection offers a fantastic gaming experience for the price and comes from reputable manufacturers.

Anticipation for AMD's new X870 & X870E motherboard lineups is starting to grow as we near their expected release date - which has just been announced by some of AMD's partners in China. The new lineup of boards are said to launch on the 30th of September (what everyone had already speculated) at 21:00 Beijing time.

AMD has been incredibly quiet on the new chipset front recently, despite some major leaks surfacing over the last couple of weeks. In fact, the brand haven't actually released an official release date statement yet - but it seems partners have taken that privilege away from them this time around.

X870(E) motherboard pricing

X870 & X870E launch dates confirmed in Beijing

According to latest sources, all major motherboard vendors (ASRock, ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI) will launch their respective models at 21:00 Beijing time on the 30th of September, 2024. As expected, the X870 models look set to be the cheaper range according to unofficial Chinese pricing (see above) - with products starting from as low as 2099 Yuan or $299.

At that price, the entry-level X870 models would hit shelves for around $100 cheaper than industry experts expected - which is a great sign if to be believed. That said, the Gigabyte X870E AORUS PRO Ice was rumored to launch at $299, around $200 cheaper than the latest Chinese leaks.

The new X870 & X870E motherboards will fully support AMD's new Ryzen 9000 series CPU lineup, alongside the latest AGESA BIOS version that allows users to enable higher TDP for better performance. With 5 short days to go to the launch, it'll be interesting to see how long AMD stay quiet on this one. It's surely only a matter of time before the brand release an official statement regarding the latest chipset motherboards.

Computex 2024 is just around the corner and this year we have a sneaking suspicion that ASUS will be focusing their presentation on AI tech. Below are some of the recent developments made by the company in this area, which we expect they will expand upon over the coming months.

Why is AI so exciting?

It’s not too much of an exaggeration to say that we stand on the precipice of a new industrial revolution, powered by Artificial Intelligence; one that looks like it could be as transformative to the way humans live their lives as the introduction of the internet, electricity, and steam power. AI-assisted tech will make vast changes to virtually every industry there is, vastly increasing efficiency and freeing up human labor for more complex tasks as it takes care of the more mundane processes for us, but also helping us to take on the greatest technical problems of our age, like providing healthcare for an aging population with limited resources.

Have a read below of some of the latest ways ASUS has contributed to the AI revolution.

ASUS’ developments in AI tech so far

Although we’re going to have to wait until Computex itself to hear about their latest innovations, ASUS have already come out with various groundbreaking applications of AI tech, in both hardware, firmware, and software. Below we’ve listed a few of the most exciting applications we currently know about which are either released or in development in 2024.

ASUS Vivobook S 15 Copilot+ laptop

The ASUS Vivobook S 15 Copilot+ comes equipped with a Qualcomm Oryon CPU and Snapdragon X Elite NPU (Neural Processing Unit: essentially the AI brain of the machine), the latter of which is the fastest currently available in the laptop market. The NPU assists the CPU with many processes, making it lightning quick, and utilises a combination of on-device and cloud-based AI to power various processes and features. 

The Copilot in the name refers to Microsoft Copilot: an AI model/chatbot which has various features that can help improve the productivity of the user. Some of these features are as follows: 

Recall is an advanced general search feature that will allow you to basically search, by entering descriptive language of what you are looking for, virtually anything you were looking at/doing on your computer at a previous point in time be it an email/PDF document/image/web page. You could enter a particular sentence fragment on a document you can’t remember the name/location of, or from a web page you viewed, but more impressively you can also enter visual descriptions of images or videos you’ve watched e.g. if you saw a piece of art depicting a rural landscape but can’t remember the name of it, typing ‘art of farmhouse on a field’ should allow the AI to find it and bring the page up again once more.

Cocreator is a generative image tool that uses a sketch made by the user in Microsoft Paint and/or a text description to come up with its own image, which can then be adjusted by the user.

Live Captions gives real-time translations from 44 languages (into English) for any video or audio call, which makes international communication a whole lot easier.Besides the AI features, the laptop comes with an excellent 120Hz 3K OLED screen (perfect for creative use, watching movies, and even some light gaming). It’s also fantastically light and slimline (measuring just 1.47cm thick and weighing only 1.42kg), making it a highly portable device. It comes with a great degree of connectivity, including 2x USB 4.0 ports with USB-C charging, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, HDMI 2.1, a MicroSD card, audio combo jack, and the latest WiFi 7 connectivity. Finally, the 18-hour battery duration it promises to come with is very impressive indeed, and would match some of the longest currently available in any laptop.

AI-assisted Ultrasound Solutions

Asus has helped develop new ultrasound tech that gives more accurate diagnostics and evaluation, with a more advanced imaging function, whilst simultaneously simplifying the menial tasks required during ultrasound imaging, freeing up the medical professionals for more high-value tasks.

The AI developments with this technology incorporate the following functions: AI Voice Control, AI Smart Preset, and AI Auto Measurement. With the first of these, radiologists can use verbal commands to initiate 20 ultrasound parameters, removing the need for manual inputs and thereby increasing efficiency. With the second, the AI ‘automatically detects the area being examined and fine-tunes the settings for precise scanning.’ Finally, AI Auto Measurement automatically computes statistical calculations, removing the need for a human to be directly involved.

Taiwanese Healthcare system

ASUS has introduced a variety of groundbreaking health innovations over previous years, including wearable devices for tracking health, platforms for medical information, and AI-powered tools to assist in medical diagnoses. These technologies aim to boost efficiency and enhance the quality of healthcare services in Taiwan.

Individual Healthy Aging & Rejuvenation Platform (iHARP). iHARP is a system which collects and analyzes patient data (including those outside of the hospital) via wearable health trackers, monitoring their daily vital signs. This enables proactive identification of any issues. It also includes an AI speech recognition system that detects the early stages of cognitive decline in patients, by analyzing subtle changes in speech patterns.

On top of this, iHARP includes a medical transcription service that enables healthcare professionals to dictate patient notes for the conversations they have with the patient during appointments, thereby reducing administrative workload.

Zenbo Junior. Zenbo Junior is an AI product designed with the elderly in mind: a friendly robot helper that can assist them with healthcare information requests and organization of their treatment. It can verbally deliver health-related information, assist in scheduling online appointments and connect with healthcare professionals as required.

Alienware has just unveiled its latest esports-tailored gaming Pro headset today, designed for elite-level players looking to take their gameplay to the next level. The brand have collaborated with over 100 esports players - including Team Liquid players - to ensure the new Gaming Pro headset meets the requirements of competitive players.

In search for industry leading performance, Alienware has equipped the Pro Gaming headset with 50mm Graphene coated drivers, pro tuned sound profiles, and two-mic AI noise cancellation features. The shape and weight of the headset has also been carefully thought through for improved comfort, better PNC, and extended gaming sessions.

Sadly, it isn't all good news for the Alienware Gaming Pro headset, as the starting price in North America is set for $229 - landing it firmly in the higher end of the price spectrum.

Team Liquid player testimonials:

In the brand's press materials, a number of Team Liquid players were quoted on how they found the experience of using the new Pro headset.

Alienware Pro gaming headset: full specifications

Below, find the full list of specifications for the new Alienware Pro Gaming headset.

As you can see, there's plenty to mull over with the Alienware Pro headset - they've clearly done their market research when designing this headset.

Like all good headsets, the Pro Headset offers up a bunch of customization features via its Alienware Command Center 6.4 hub - which allows you to tweak a bunch of different features to your exact requirements. Below are some of the features you can tweak:

Overall, the headset seems like a pretty good piece of kit, and I can't wait to get my hands on it for a full review. Having said that, while $229 isn't exactly the most expensive headset on the market, it does put it into the higher end of price spectrum which, at the time of writing this, is an extremely competitive space.

Intel's new Arrow Lake-S CPUs are slated to be released in October, and we are already picking up on rumors that the successor to the imminent release has been canceled. Not much is known about the refresh, obviously, but there were a few rumors that the refresh would feature a new NPU and a larger die size. However, it seems that we can forget about any of that.

This new leak comes from a Chiphell Forum member known as Panzerlied, who, as WccfTech says, has passed on rumors of the 50 series Blackwell GPUs in the past. When replying to another forum member about the next generation being a refresh, Panzerlied states:

"Cancelled, ARL-S battle for two years"

This (we believe) roughly translates to: Arrow Lake-S has been canceled, and the current generation Arrow Lake-S will be in a battle with AMD for two years. This is interesting because it's normally AMD that lets generations stew for a few years before updating them.

What does that mean for LGA 1851?

The successor to Arrow Lake-S refresh was supposed to be Nova Lake, and as far as we know it still is, but according to leaks, it's going to be on a different motherboard socket.

If all this is said to be true, it means that the Arrow Lake-S CPUs that we're about to see may be the only generation that sits on LAG 1851, making a motherboard upgrade necessary for you to accommodate the next generation.

It might be better suited to Intel to incorporate Nova Lake into LGA 1851 to ensure its longevity. There's nothing we dislike more as PC builders than swapping motherboards, it's a bothersome and time-consuming process, and we don't want to be doing that every single year.

Recently, MSI had invited some press to a factory for a tour, likely in preparation for the new motherboards that are launching over the next month or so, and during that tour, there was a presentation about upcoming motherboards.

VideoCardz reports that MSI confirmed Project Zero's expansion into the next generation of motherboards and disclosed that there would be 3 new models for Intel and 2 new models for AMD. Why the mismatch, we don't know. Maybe it is informed by the purchase numbers of the current Project Zero motherboards.

What makes the Project Zero motherboards so special?

If you're unfamiliar with Project Zero from MSI and like tidy PCs, then you'll love this. These motherboards are dedicated to making things as tidy as possible, so they have most of the power and feature connections on the back of the motherboard, tucked away where you can't see them.

There are advantages and disadvantages to this, but you do have to be significantly more careful when building with them and don't stab yourself on the rear fan connections.

Because of the rear connections, and the relatively new concept, there aren't many cases that support these motherboards fully just yet, that's why MSI is releasing a new one. Introducing the MAG PANO 110R PZ, which is set to release "soon".

MSI didn't reveal a specific release date for these motherboards, nor the case, and they were announced very close to the release of X870, which should be arriving at the end of the month. However, that doesn't mean that the new Project Zero boards won't make the cutoff. So far they have done pretty well at avoiding leaks.

If you're in the market for a new PC, then this 7700X gaming PC from Skytech may very well tickle your fancy. The Skytech Azure comes equipped with an RX 7800 XT, which is more than capable of dabbling in 4k with FSR, and 32GB or RAM. It's nice to see one of these companies not try to peddle a "high-end" gaming PC with a standard HDD in it too, as this one comes with a 1TB SSD as its storage option.

If this deal has caught your interest, then you might be delighted to know that this PC is $220 off right now. Better yet, Newegg are giving away a free 180Hz 1440p monitor with this PC too - but you have to act fast as the sale is very limited.

Why is this Skytech 7700X & 7800 XT deal worth considering?

Skytech are a renowned brand when it comes to building some of the market's best custom PCs and the Azure 2 7700X/7800 XT model we're highlighting is a fine example of just that. But why should you consider this PC build?

This gaming PC will play pretty much any game that you throw at it in 1440p at high FPS, that is of course, depending on the game. This combination of CPU and GPU built on the AM5 platform is a force to be reckoned with. A lean, mean 1440p machine if we ever did see one.

Skytech is also known, and well-reviewed might we add, for their build quality and warranty honoring. You know that when you buy Skytech you are in good hands.

Once you factor the above in, alongside the newly discounted price, it's easy to see why this PC is getting so much attention right now. We did a quick price comparison on some of the market's other leading retailers, and finding a similarly specced PC for the same price is hard to find.

Get a free 1440p 27-inch monitor worth $199 with this deal

Did we mention that you get a free 27-inch 1440p 180 Hz monitor with this offer? If you need further evidence that this machine is capable of 1440p high FPS gameplay, it comes with a monitor that can display exactly that.

The monitor in question is the Skytech Gaming 27-inch 1440p curved display, which not only offers a healthy 180Hz refresh rate, but also comes with a 1500R VA panel, FreeSync and G-sync support, and a 3.7 ms response time - which isn't horrendous in today's market.

The monitor in question is priced at $195 at the time of writing this, making it a hell of an offer when everything is factored in.

We've not even got the Intel Arrow Lake out of the gate yet and it may have already been revealed what Intel is planning to codename their 2026 lineup of CPUs. To our knowledge, this is the first time that we have seen confirmation of this codename. It just goes to show how far ahead these manufacturers have to think. Each time we get a new CPU release, it's the product of maybe 3 - 5 years of work.

Intel Razer Lake-S codename leaked by a reliable source.

leaker on X @9550pro (known as HXL) has revealed that Intel may be calling its 2026 CPUs Razer Lake-S. It has also been suggested, that LGA 1851, which is set to debut alongside the Arrow Lake-S CPUs said to be launching next month, will only last 2 years. This is in contrast to AMD who say that they want to keep the current generation of motherboards (AM5) in support until 2027.

Razer Lake-S is set to be the successor to Nova Lake-S. While this name has appeared before, according to VideoCardz, this is the first time a credible source has commented on it. And if their track record is to be believed, HXL is absolutely a reliable source of information.

Intel hasn't made any formal announcements on Desktop CPUs, the tech giant seems to be more focused on mobile CPUs at present, we are still waiting for concrete confirmations of Arrow Lake-S, which may be just shy of a month away.

Upgrading your motherboard every 2 generations is something that Intel has done over the last decade or so, with a lot of users complaining about the frequency at which you need to update your to newer motherboards. it seems that this leak is suggesting that Intel isn't looking to stop this trend anytime soon.

Specifically, we're concerned with the Core Ultra flagship, the 285K, which is essentially the 15900K if the name change wasn't a thing. With this being the flagship, you can expect the best performance and the highest price. If the latest benchmark leaks are to be believed, it's looking good for the flagship's generational improvements, we reported on a 26% increase in V-ray performance over the 14900K.

Intel Core Ultra 9 285K release date rumors

As of the time of writing, the consensus is that the release date for the 285K will fall on October 24th, as TechPowerup mentions here. It was previously assumed that the October 10th date would be the launch of the CPU. However, with Intel staying quiet and not giving us anything concrete, we can never be 100% certain.

We can take a look at some historical data to help us gauge when the Core Ultra 9 285K might be released. If we take the last few generation's release dates into consideration we get:

Source: TechPowerUP

As you can see, post-Covid Intel has a tendency to like to release flagships in or around October, which lines up with the leaks that we have seen popping up. Funnily enough, both the 14900K and 13900K were announced at the Intel Innovation event of their respective years, which is usually hosted at the end of September.

However, Intel has postponed this Innovation event for 2024 until 2025. So we may not get an announcement at all, Core Ultra CPUs could shadow launch, on either October 10th or 24th. Unlikely, but it is a possibility.

Intel Core Ultra 9 285K price prediction

There's no official word on the price of the 285K, but there have been a few leaks. These leaks are usually pretty quick to be corrected, as they are usually unintentionally leaked by retailers, but there's one from a Canadian retailer, Shoprbc, that still stands.

On Shoprbc, the Core Ultra 9 285K is listed for $852 CAD, which directly converts to $628.65 USD. CPUs and other hardware rarely directly convert across different currencies, so it's likely we'll see the Core Ultra 9 launch at around $589 - $609. Although there is always the possibility that it will actually launch for more.

We can use a little historical data to help back up our claims. If we look back to the same CPUs that we compared the 285K to before, we can get a better idea of the price that the 285K is likely to release.

Source: TechPowerUP

As you can see, the price has pretty much stayed the same for the flagship models over the last three generations, but a lot has happened this year that makes it likely we'll see a small price increase. If not, well happy days, just better to expect the worst and be pleasantly surprised.

Taking advantage of the Core Ultra 285K release

The release (or the run-up to the release) will likely cause prices to drop for the last couple of generations. This is sometimes done because the manufacturer or retailer wants to get rid of old stock - but, as we just saw with the RTX 4090 price increase in the German Market, that isn't always the case. You can use this to your advantage if you want to snag an older 13th or 14th-generation CPU now that Intel has fixed the issues with them.

Using Camelcamelcamel, we can observe this with the 12900K, as soon as the 13900K was released, we saw a massive drop of about $100, maybe even more.

Interestingly, the 14900K, because of the generally bad reception of the 14th gen just being a refresh and very underwhelming, actually drove up the price of the 13900K. So it is clearly very dependent on the success of the CPU generation, as well as just the actual release of it.

We saw a price increase likely because of the users still using 12th/11th/10th generation Intel CPUs opting to upgrade to the cheaper and better value for money 13th generation instead of the poorly reviewed 14th generation. Intel would have chosen to increase prices to pad the poorer sales of it's new tech.

Anyway, TLDR is if the Core Ultra CPUs bomb, then we might not see the same decrease in price as we did for the 12th gen when the 13th gen was released.

Intel Core Ultra 9 285K predicted specifications

There have been numerous rumors supposedly containing the specifications of the Cre Ultra 9 285K, even the box has supposedly been pictured. But without a clear announcement or confirmation from Intel, it's all up in the air.

One of the most detailed supposed specification leaks comes from @jaykihn0 on X, which reckons to detail the specifications of the entire Core Ultra lineup.

It's unclear where this information came from, as no source was claimed so take this information with a pinch of salt. This isn't your usual specs table, and a lot is going on here, so let's break it down and focus on just the 285K.

As you can see, Intel has not hyperthreaded any of the cores in the Core Ultra 9 285K, or any other Core Ultra CPU for that matter. This is a bold move, but it seems to have paid off as the Core Ultra 9 seems to outperform the 14900K quite readily. At least, that's what preliminary benchmarks suggest.

The highest logged CB r23 multi-core score so far for the Core Ultra 9 is 43,011, and the highest 14900K score sits at 40,400. The fact that the Core Ultra can achieve that with eight fewer logical processors is rather astounding.

Some other differences according to NanoReview include the 7nm manufacturing process, compared to the 10nm process that the 14900K is built on, this is likely to create an IPC increase of around 10% - 15% if we were to make a guess. This is based on similar nm shrinkages on AMD offering the same range of performance benefits. As with anything that is rumored, take this information with a pinch of salt.

Do you need a new motherboard for the Core Ultra 9 285K?

Yes, you will need a new motherboard to house the Corer Ultra lineup of CPUs. This is because Intel's latest lineup sits in a different socket. LGA 1851, whereas the current generation belongs to socket LGA 1700. These new motherboards should be released alongside the Core Ultra lineup because neither is useful without the other.

As of right now, we expect the Z890 chipset to be released first, but we don't know much about the features that are coming to these motherboards just yet. We assume that they are going to feature Gen 5 PCIe GPU connectivity and storage as standard, as well as newer USB 4 connectivity. We just assume that we have nothing to back that up so don't take it as gospel.

Final Word

Though we do not have a fully confirmed release date or price for the Core Ultra 9 285K, we have a pretty good idea thanks to the combined force of leaks and historical data. These new CPUs are pretty hyped so we hope that they live up to the expectation. If not, we fear that the price of lower-end CPUs may suffer, as we outlined with the 13900K. Bear that in mind if you're waiting for the Core Ultra 9 285K.

The most popular PC gaming platform just got even more popular, Steam managed to smash last month's players online record by a respectable 1.1 million. The previous record stood at 37.2 million, but this time the PC gaming giant managed 38,367,277 online players over the weekend.

Let it be noted, that these are not concurrent players, these are concurrent online players. If you've never felt a part of something, you might have been a part of this. The record came on Sunday at 2 pm UTC, reports Steam DB, this is probably not the exact time that the record hit, but Steam DB only graphs by the hour.

Steam record likely thanks in part to Black Myth: Wukong

Since its release about a month ago, BM: Wukong has reached a staggering concurrent player all-time peak of 2,415,174 and it continues a steady run rate of about 530K per day over the last week or so. It has shuffled up and down the Steam DB top 100 charts since its release and it now lands at number 5 on the list.

Whatever the reason, it's nice to see that Steam, is still on the up. Steam offers fantastic discounts at times, and if you only shop for Steam discounts, your PC will (eventually) pay for itself. Steam is pretty community-focused, so it's good to see that users still supporting the platform after 21 long years.

If you were on your Steam account and logged in this Sunday just gone, then you were a small part of the history that unfolded today. If Steam never breaks this record again, you'll forever be a part of the biggest concurrent user event in history (until it's broken by something in the future).

It's been two years since Jensen Huang showcased the brand's hugely impressive RTX 4090 to the world, with the flagship GPU quickly becoming one of the most sought-after products on the market. Since then, the RTX 4090 has seen plenty of price fluctuation over the past 24 months, with the card finally seeing a decline in more recent months.

Sadly, that trend looks to be over - especially in the German market - as new reports suggest retailers are preparing for the arrival of the brand's new RTX 5090. This comes off the back of leaks earlier last week that suggested the RTX 4090 was actually being discontinued for the same reason, adding some legitimacy to the claims.

Regardless, the RTX 4090 is now apparently on the rise, with prices increasing and stock becoming increasingly difficult to get hold of.

Retailers seemingly clear shelves for 5000 series

While nothing has been officially confirmed by NVIDIA, it seems increasingly likely that retailers are clearing stock to make way for the brand's upcoming 5000 Series launch. As you can see from the table above, pricing has increased significantly over the last couple of months, especially when comparing August 2023 prices to September 2024.

Taking a closer look at the pricing, you can see that the RTX 4090 has increased by around €100 in the German market since April, 2024. Alternate, Caseking, and Mind Factory are all seemingly low on the stock front as well, with only a couple of offers (around €2000-2700) up for grabs.

With RTX 4090 stock being pretty solid in the German market since its launch two years ago, this aggressive decline in availability could highlight an official unveiling sooner rather than later. Of course, that is pure speculation, but one would have to assume that is the case based on the current state of affairs.

The Core Ultra 9 is the confusing (but becoming clearer) rebrand of the flagship Arrow Lake-S CPU, which is said to be unveiled sometime next month. You can think of this CPU as the i9-15900K we'll never get. Regardless, a leak of a V-ray score submitted using the Core Ultra 285K has surfaced, and it's not looking so great for Intel's upcoming arrival.

The Core Ultra 9 285K features eight P-cores on the Lion Cove core architecture and 16 E-cores based on the Skymont architecture, but the CPU only has 24 threads. This is a bold move from Intel given that about every CPU I've ever known from them has been hyperthreaded, but if it works, it works, and it clearly does as you see when we compare the scores of the Core Ultra to the 14900K.

Core Ultra 9 285K V-ray performance

WccfTech has reported on a leaked V-ray benchmark containing a score submitted by the 285K, Intel's new flagship managed to pump out a score of 44,883, which is around 26% faster than the 14900K, which scored 35,558 in the same benchmark. Incredibly impressive given that the 14900K is hyperthreaded and has an additional eight logical processors to work with.

This is a fantastic result for Intel, to gain 26% over the previous generation in any capacity is a win no matter which way you look at it. However, the very same benchmark could have 3D model artists and graphic designers turning to AMD for their processing needs.

AMD could be better than Intel for some rendering workloads this generation

We understand that a sample size of one isn't much to go off, but we do know that AMD was once king of the castle when it came to multi-core performance, and with Intel dropping Hyperthreading, this could be the perfect time to strike.

The new Ryzen 9 9950X scores a massive 49,360 in the same benchmark, around 10% faster than the Core Ultra 9. 10% may not seem like a lot, but if you could drop 10% off an hour render 3 times a day, it starts to add up - time is money after all.

If this is how the rest of the rendering benchmarks shape up, then we could see a flock of renderers and graphics designers alike flocking to AMD for their latest processors. However, Cinebench leaks still show the Core Ultra on top. If we take this list from Nanoreview into account, we see the Core Ultra 9 around 3k points ahead of the 9950X despite having a logical processor deficit.

As with leaks and rumors, we have to wait for the full reviews and scores to be released before we can make a definitive statement. It could be true that AMD is just better in some applications than Intel is, despite having an overall less powerful CPU.

The ASUS TUF Gaming GT302 ARGB is a brand-new mid-tier ATX case with a focus on maximising airflow throughout your build (currently available for a reduced price on the ASUS site). We had the pleasure of getting our grubby mitts on one of these new units to see what it could do. Read on for all the details!

TUF Gaming GT302 ARGB specs & features

Features to maximise cooling

There are two variants of the GT302: the tempered glass model and the mesh model, though this only refers to the side panels. Both side panels are interchangeable, which is a nice feature. The front of the case (whether you pick the mesh or tempered glass variant) has a square-type mesh grill with large, porous spaces to maximise airflow. The type of mesh you have can have a significant impact upon the cooling within your case, and the proportions of this one minimize any obstruction. 

The three 140mm fans on the front would typically be set to intake air, and they’re capable of an impressive 115 CFM of airflow (3mmH2O of static pressure) thanks not just to their impressive diameter, but also their extra-thickness (28mm). When the case was turned on it was certainly noticeable how well these bad boys could shift that sweet cool air. There’s also a fourth 140mm fan included on the rear.

The detachable top panel has a mesh cover and can be fitted with either a 360mm or 280mm cooling radiator if you’re going for an AIO build (like we did in ours).

There’s ample room in the case for the flow of air over the components, and if you choose to opt for a back-connect / hidden connector build, this can be maximised even further.

BTF / hidden connector compatibility

BTF stands for ‘Back To (the) Future’ and is ASUS’ name for their range of back-connect/hidden connector components; chief among these being back connect motherboards. These are essentially motherboards that have all of their cable mounts located on the underside, meaning that the main compartment of the case remains as cable-free as possible, which is better for both aesthetics and also maximising airflow through minimizing obstructions.

Besides a motherboard that will support this, you also need a compatible case with the proper spaces for the cables to pass through, and mounting fixtures, the ASUS TUF Gaming GT302 is one of these cases. Although we didn’t go for a back-connect setup in our build, you can read here about how we accomplished this in a different case using the ASUS TUF Gaming B760M-BTF motherboard. Additionally, click here to explore the full ASUS BTF ecosystem lineup, including graphics cards!

Other features

The TUF Gaming GT302 can fit up to four 2.5” SSDs as well as two 3.5” HDDs with its improved bracket design: which is as much storage space as pretty much any consumer would reasonably need and then some.

The rear section of the case has some great cable management features, including a cable grommet bar with three large straps that allows you to neatly organize two different sets of cables should you wish. There are also three cable clips on the back side above the PSU which we found very useful for routing the 8-pin wiring. You also get a unified front I/O header in the main compartment which further helps to improve tidiness within your build.

The ports on the front of the case include two USB-A 3.0 ports, plus a USB Type-C port that can shift data at up to 20Gbps.

Case Airflow: Positive vs Neutral vs Negative air pressure

Positive air pressure basically means there is more air being taken in than there is being taken out of the PC. Neutral means that the inflow is matching the outflow of air (though in practice getting truly neutral airflow is highly unlikely), and negative means that there is more air being taken out than in, leading to a stronger vacuum effect. The actual differences in air pressure terms are pretty small, as the PC case won’t be airtight/pressurized, but it can lead to some noticeable differences.

There is debate in the PC building community about which of these is best. Negative airflow is generally believed to lead to cooler internal temperatures, however, the downside is that it can increase greater dust build-up in your case, as more air will be sucked through non-filtered perforations in your case. There’s no wrong answer here really - whichever you pick is ultimately down to your building preferences.

GT302 airflow smoke test

You can see the video of our airflow smoke test below. The end effect with our particular setup was slightly negative, bordering on neutral air pressure, what with the 3x 140mm intake fans plus the 1x 140mm and 3x 120mm radiator exhaust fans. The smoke density is slightly higher towards the front of the case where it’s being taken in by the fans, but then there’s a fairly even distribution across the case after this.

If you were to take out the AIO, opt for an air-cooled CPU and just go for the single exhaust fan, you’d expect to see a greater build-up of smoke representing a positive air pressure overall.

Our GT302 build

Our build was put together chiefly by what we had spare, plus the cheap motherboard we used for smoke testing: i.e. not necessarily the best of the best, but the beauty of this mid-tower ATX case is it’s very versatile. The GT302 will support up to the largest graphics cards currently on the market (the RTX 4090) plus ATX or the larger E-ATX motherboards; specifically, the case will support a graphics card up to 407mm long or 125mm thick if you opt for a vertical mount.

We used a combination of ASUS-branded components (the fans, AIO cooler, GPU, and power supply) with a mix of other bits.

For the fans, we just used the pre-installed 140 x 28 mm ARGB models (the TUF gaming AR140s) as these are capable of an impressively high airflow as discussed.

MSI has now released a BIOS update "for trial use" that facilitates the new CCD patch that reduced the latency on Ryzen 9000 series processors. This patch was first released on ASUS motherboards, along with the last stable update to the 105 TDP modes for Ryzen 96 and 9700X.

How to get the new BIOS update

If you're on an MSI motherboard, all you need do is head to the manufacturer's website and snag yourself a new BIOS, assuming you know how to install it.

This is the page for the B650-A, one of MSI's more popular boards, we have no basis for that, it's just one that we see around a lot, informing the user that the AGESA update is in trial use. This tells us that it is some sort of beta, as stated in the version name.

Interesting to see that all of the motherboard manufacturers release these motherboard BIOS updates at different times. It could be model-dependent, maybe certain manufacturers have more motherboards to update than others.

Funnily enough, there are a couple of X670s missing from that list, like the X670E Gaming Plus, which is still on AGESA 1.2.0.1. We don't know if that's a choice MSI has made, or if it's just coming at a later date.

WccfTech has put together a full list of MSI boards that have gotten this update so far, they can be observed below:

These are direct links to MSI's support pages on the corresponding motherboards. If you want to download the new BIOS update you can find it here. If you're unsure of how BIOS updates are applied, you can check out our guide linked above.

With the announcement of Intel's Core Ultra lineup seemingly right around the corner, it's amazing we haven't seen more visual confirmations of the series. We have a leak from prolific hardware leaker @momomo_us on X, picturing the dark-themed Core Ultra CPU boxes. If we were judging by the CPU boxes alone, it would look like these Core Ultra CPUs mean business.

Intel's Core Ultra possible box design

It seems as though Intel has adopted a new darker aesthetic for its Arrow Lake-S processor boxes, it seems in line with the rebrand that the CPUs are going through this generation. Intel however is still sticking to the on-brand blue that we're sure everyone is fond of, who doesn't like blue?

To compare, here is the rumored new box of the Intel Core Ultra, next to the box of the 14900K.

Not the largest image but it'll do for a leak. I like to think that the difference in the boxes represents a difference in the design of the new processors. After all, they are on the LGA 1851 socket, have a new name, and are shaping up to be the fastest CPUs that we have seen yet.

It's not just the Core Ultra 9 that was pictured, the Ultra 7 and 5 were also shown in the leak, following the same box-shape premise that we have now, just with different designs. The Core Ultra 9 remains the fanciest box.

The new design of the Core Ultra 285K was posted on the r/Intel subreddit by CoffeeBlowout and the users on there are absolutely loving it.

One user likened it to the 12900K box but was quickly corrected on dimensions, as is the nature of Reddit. If you're interested in specifications, we'll put a little comparison down below, just bear in mind that the specifications for the Core Ultra 9 285K are still rumored.

Interestingly, Intel has chosen to forgo all hyperthreading on the Core Ultra series. We will see how that translates to gaming performance.

It's been announced today that PlayStation will be unveiling a couple of 30th Anniversary special consoles this year, with pre orders starting on September 26th. The consoles will be in celebration of the brand's - you guessed it - 30th Anniversary of the original PlayStation launch, which first hit shelves in 1994. Good times.

The 30th Anniversary collection will use the original grey coloring for both the console (PS5 Pro & PS5 Digital Edition) and DualSense controller. Alongside the old color scheme, the new special edition PS5 Digital Edition console will also feature a "PlayStation 30th Anniversary" printing across the middle, alongside PlayStation's old school logo at the top.

PlayStation celebrate 30th years

The controller will also feature the brand's retro logo for the 30th Anniversary edition, and to be honest, it looks pretty awesome. On the grip side, the new logo has been used to texture the grip of the controller - a nice touch.

The brand are also releasing a 30th Anniversary edition PlayStation Portal which will feature the same design language as both the PS5 Pro and PS5 Digital Edition.

According to PlayStation's official unveiling video, Hideaki Nishino, Senior Vice President at Sony Interactive Entertainment, confirmed that the brand would only be selling 12,300 models of the PS5 Pro 30th anniversary edition.

MSI have just come out with their latest AIO design: the MAG CoreLiquid I series, featuring the MAG CoreLiquid I240 with 240mm radiator, and the MAG CoreLiquid I360 with a 360mm, both incorporating 120mm fans and both available in either black or white.

One of the key selling points of this liquid cooler, besides its low noise, and high cooling performance, is the user-friendly design which makes installing it a piece of cake, whether you’re a PC building veteran or a complete novice. We managed to get our hands on the larger I360 to test it out in a PC installation and were very pleased with the results. Read below for all the details!

What makes the MAG CoreLiquid I so easy to use?

The MAG CoreLiquid I series has several features that are ideal for first-time builders, or just those who want less faff in their PC build. 

Firstly, all the fans in the radiator come pre-installed, we’ve seen this on a couple of other models but it’s still pretty rare in the cooler market, and it’s definitely a feature we like: you can pretty much pull it straight out of the box and stick it right into your case! 

Secondly, as part of MSI’s ‘EZ Connect’ design philosophy, cabling is limited to just a single main cable which splits into two wires at the end, this is a significant reduction when compared to the six cables that you needed to plug in on the previous 360mm models from MSI, and helps massively when it comes to cable management and creating a neater-looking build. 

The universal bracket which comes with the cooler fits both AMD and Intel CPUs, rather than you having to mess about working out which is the right one for your setup. It also comes pre-installed onto the water pump so you don’t have to do this yourself either.

Finally, the cooler comes with a labelled accessory box where everything in it is clearly laid out: this is such a simple but massively helpful touch for first time builders, and one that’s great to see.

In short, this is as close to a plug-and-play AIO cooler as you can currently buy on the market.

MSI MAG CoreLiquid I price

In terms of pricing the MAG CoreLiquid I is pretty affordable. The larger model comes in with an MSRP of $140 / £140 and the smaller I240 costs $110 / £110.

Features in-detail

There is a great amount of innovation in the different aspects of the MAG CoreLiquid I series’ design. Some of our favourite key features are discussed below:

The water pump & tubing

The pump of the cooler has a precision-engineered motor for superior water cooling efficiency. The placements of the tubing also makes for smoother water flow and reduces the overall vibration. All this means the pump has a particularly low noise-output alongside great cooling performance.

The tubing is also evaporation proof, being constructed from nylon-braided EPDM material that has a resistance to high and low temperatures, corrosion, and ageing degradation over time. It’s also nice and flexible for when you’re constructing your build and repositioning the tubes.

Enlarged copper base

Beneath the pump section where it rests against the CPU is the copper cold plate, which has a relatively enlarged surface area and thickness: meaning better heat conduction and performance.

The micro channelling on the interior of the cold plate is extra small (with a 0.1mm skived fin), meaning more micro channels over the same surface area, therefore better heat conduction.

LDB bearing

The fan bearings are made using the latest MSI LDB technology which both makes them quieter when spinning, reduces degradation over time through friction, and improves the consistency of the airflow for the fans.

Cable cover

A bit of a lower-tech addition, but a welcome one, the cable cover attaches to the side of the radiator to cover up the clutter and helps give a cleaner overall look inside your PC case.

Dual-sided infinite mirror cooler

The aesthetic design of the cooler is reminiscent of a diamond, with a striking angular design, and it has within it a dual-sided ‘infinite mirror’ that reflects the RGB from within your build and also lights up itself. Using the MSI control software you can control the GEN2 ARGB lighting to personalize the look of your build to meet your tastes.

Environmentally friendly

Although it doesn’t impact the performance of the component, MSI are committed to environmental sustainability through reducing packaging and other commonly included, unnecessary bits such as installation clips, which we’re very much in favour of. This also extends to the universal bracket.

UNI Bracket

As mentioned the pre-installed UNI Bracket supports both Intel and AMD sockets, further reducing wastage and therefore making it a more environmentally friendly product, besides the obvious benefits to ease of installation and any future hardware upgrades.

Labelled accessory box

Finally, there’s the aforementioned accessory box, which comes with all the extra stand-off bits, buckles, screws, and lubricant grease in nicely labelled sections.

What PC build would best suit this cooler?

The MAG CoreLiquid i is a great pick for virtually any PC that can fit it in the case, be it an ultra high-end model, a more mid-range gaming PC, or an affordable build. The key thing is to make sure that the radiator (be it 360mm or 240mm) can fit inside your chosen case.

Take a look at our B760M build guide for an RTX 4070 Ti PC we put together ourselves that’s capable of playing any AAA game out there at 1440p on the highest settings. We used an older MAG CoreLiquid E360 cooler for that one, but you can swap it out for this newer model no problem for almost the same price.

X3D CPUs are the supercharged gaming equivalent to the standard "X" series of AMD processors. Though perfectly capable, X3D uses 3D caching technology to increase gaming performance. And because of this, they are often considered the best CPUs for gaming. It's far more complicated than that in reality, but you get the idea. Now, when exactly can we expect the 9800X3D to land in our hands?

The latest rumors from the X3D mill suggest that the CPUs will be unveiled at next year's CES - albeit unconfirmed by the brand. Furthermore, you'll likely want to pair the 9000X3D series with an X870 motherboard, but they are said to be releasing right around the corner. So if you plan to pair the two, you might be advised to wait and buy them both together, giving the X870 a chance to come down in price a little.

Ryzen 7 9800X3D release date rumors

A recent post has been made suggesting that the 9800X3D could be released in early November 2024, this comes as part of a series of leaks from both X and Chiphell.

This leak came shortly after another leaker on Chiphell, zhangzhonghao, suggested that the 9950X3D and 9900X3D won't be released until early next year, which coincides with CES predictions outlined below by an X post from a reputable leaker, @9550pro, stating that X3D might not be unveiled until CES 2025.

This appears to track with the announcement of the 7000X3D series that was also announced at CES 2023. If you ask us, this is a smart move considering the imminent release of Intel Core Ultra CPUs, it's likely AMD is adopting the 'wait and see' approach to these CPUs, maybe in hopes of strengthening the X3D chips last minute where Intel's newer chips might weak. But apparently now the 9900 and 9950 have some new technology, so we might be getting the 9800X3D to tide us over until the release of the rest of the X3D series.

If we this information into account, we can predict that the X3D chips will be available between February and April 2025. Except maybe not the 9800X3D. The last generation's equivalent, the 7800X3D, was technically released on January 4th but wasn't made available until April 6th. Not everything has to be a pattern, but we do like a pattern. We'll just have to wait and see.

Ryzen 7 9800X3D price prediction

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we don't yet have any concrete announcements or even leaks regarding the next presumed king of gaming, as the 7800X3D is often described. Speaking of, we can use the MSRP of the 7800X3D to predict the price of the 9800X3D. If we take a look back, we can see a definite pattern.

The Ryzen 7 7700X was released at an MSRP of $399, and the 7800X3D was $449 (the only reason we didn't compare it to the base 7800X is because there isn't one). If we go back even further, the 5800X launched at $449, with the 5800X3D launching much later, but at the same price.

Using this data, we can predict that the 9800X3D will launch at somewhere between $420 - $460, likely being $449, just tacking on a few extra dollars to account for price increases. Though the 9700X was released at $359, so it's possible we could see a general decrease. But we doubt it.

Of course, with nothing confirmed by the brand just yet, the 9800X3D could launch at any price. One thing's for sure, with so much anticipation around this launch, it's the price that could make or break the success of this series.

Taking advantage of the 9000X3D release

It's also possible that the release of the X3D CPUs could cause a drop in the price of the base 9000 series and 7000X3D series (depending on the success) as they try to get rid of old stock. You could use this to your advantage if you're looking to pick up a base 9000 series or don't mind being a generation behind.

According to Camelcamelcamel, we did see a baseline price drop (with a few fluctuations), of several 7000 series CPUs after the release of 7000X3D.

Ryzen 7 9800X3D predicted specifications

Once again, there is nothing official or even rumored regarding the specs of the 9800X3D, this thing is pretty much a ghost on the internet right now. Not even TechPowerup has a page on it, and it seems like they are the first to know about anything. That means all we can do is predict.

Below you will see a table of predicted specifications of the 9800X3D

The 9800X3D will likely have similar specs to the 7800X3D, just be Zen 5-based, and have slightly higher clock speeds. And of course, all the IPC improvements the new CPU core architecture brings. One of the downsides of X3D is the sensitivity to high temperatures and speeds that the cache faces. So with that in mind, unless AMD has improved on this further as they did with 7000X3D over 5000X3D, we'll likely see some overclocking limitations again.

It is presumed that the 9000X3D will also use a dual CCD design to try to mitigate the limitations placed on the CPU by the cache, further reinforced by the fact that the 9000 series already takes full advantage of a dual CCD design. This is done by attaching the X3D cache to one CCD, so that only "half" of the CPU is limited. CCD latency was recently addressed in an AGESA update if you were aware of that issue.

It's not a lot to go off but like we said, this thing is a ghost, as is true for the rest of the 9000X3D series. But if AMD has managed to make further tweaks to the V-cache, we could see AMD propeller to the top of the performance leaderboard once again.

Do you need a new motherboard for the 9800X3D?

Technically, no you do not, but these CPUs were likely intended to be used with the upcoming X870 motherboards, as was the rest of the 9000 series. But your X3D CPU will be fully supported by any AM5 socket motherboard, be that A620, all the way up to the X870.

The new motherboards do feature some nice-to-have bits and updated connectivity for faster communication, but they come at a price. And with the X3D likely being limited to how much you can overclock them, it's doubtful you'll be needing a robust surplus power delivery system, such as the ones spotted on new MSI motherboards.

Final word

So, we might not know exactly when the 9800X3D is going to be released, but we have used our knowledge and historical data to put together a pretty solid prediction of when we think the new CPUs will launch. Just bear in mind that that's exactly all they are, predictions. Even so, there's not long to wait now, if our predictions hold true. Not knowing is part of the fun, right?

New GPUs are cropping up left, right, and center these days, and no, we're not talking about the highly anticipated NVIDIA RTX 5000 Series. Alongside BioStar, whos just launched a 6 year old GPU, ASUS has today unveiled a new PRIME RTX 4060 Ti Super GPU, tailored towards the small form factor market, apparently.

It will measure in at 300 x 120 x 50mm and will take up 2.5 slots, making it a fairly average-sized GPU if truth be told. Regardless, the GPU will feature 8,440 CUDA cores and 16GB of GDDR5X VRAM, which should be capable of running lesser-demanding games in 4K.

ASUS PRME RTX 4070 TI Super specs and rumors

According to Videocardz, the GPU - despite not being confirmed - looks set to use the AD102 GPU. As you can see from the reference images below, the GPU's capacitor layout is exclusive to the AD102 GPU and not the AD103 GPU that is used in both the RTX 4080 and RTX 4080 Super. Speculation suggests that ASUS release a more powerful variant that uses the AD102 GPU, but up to now, that is pure speculation.

From the unveiling, two models were announced, with the only tangible difference being a slightly tweaked clock speed between the two. One will offer a factor overclocked 2,625 MHz speed, whereas the other will run at a slower reference of 2,610MHz. That said, custom OC settings are available for both cards, with speeds running between 2,640Mhz and 2,655Mhz.

At the time of writing this, there is no indication on when these new cards will be pushed to market and no retailer is currently listing them right now.

This bundle includes the Ryzen 9 7900X, as we have mentioned, and the MSI X670E Gaming Plus - a motherboard praised for its reliability and features, not to mention its clean, no-nonsense aesthetics. Both of these components can be yours for just $529.99 right now, making it a fantastic starter set for any budding gamer.

If you were to buy these components individually, the 7900X would set you back $326.80, and the motherboard $239.99, totaling $566. That's a saving of $36 - A little treat for you outside of any major sales period.

What makes this Micro Center bundle worth considering?

This CPU & Motherboard bundle is great for a few reasons, not just for the value for money it offers.

Firstly, let's look at the CPU - the Ryzen 9 7900X. This chip has been superseded by the more powerful Ryzen 9 9900X recently, but that doesn't mean its a bad CPU - quite the contrary. This CPU offers fantastic value for money, even at full price - delivering a healthy generational uplift over its predecessor (the Ryzen 9 5900X).

The 12 core, 24 thread CPU offers a base clock speed of 4.7 GHz and max boost of 5.6 GHz, respectively. It features on AMD's latest AM5 socket, comes with 64 MB of L3 Cache, and features AMD Radeon graphics right out of the box - not that you'll be using it.

So what does all this mean? Basically, it means the Ryzen 9 7900X is more than powerful enough to deliver excellent performance in both gaming and heavy workstation type tasks. If you're a content creator, for example, the Ryzen 9 7900X is going to breeze through almost any task you give it. Maybe you want to start your streaming career and need a good CPU which is going to deliver solid gaming performance while keeping your stream running smoothly - well, in that case, the Ryzen 9 7900X is a fine choice.

Paired alongside the 7900X is MSI's XX670E Gaming Plus motherboard - a staple when it comes to creating a strong foundation for a solid gaming PC or workstation. Despite the X670E range shortly being superseded by the X870 & X870E variants, these boards still offer almost everything you could want for the next few years to come.

Overall, a stellar little bundle that is great for any individual looking to upgrade their rig, start their gaming journey, or make the switch from Intel to AMD - something that is happening more frequently thanks to the latest 13th and 14th Gen instability issues that continues to plague its users.

Intel is rumored to be announcing its latest Core Ultra processors soon, with events taking place on October 10th. Though it is not confirmed, we strongly suspect these new CPUs will be the headlining focus of the keynote. The focus today is the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and the Ultra 7 265KF, which have been spotted on Geekbench several times.

Geekbench Core Ultra scores

The latest leaks show lower-than-expected scores, as we have found scores higher, courtesy of benchleaks on X. The latest leaks detail the Core Ultra 9 285K scoring 3,186 on the single-core, and 21,075 on the multi-core. This submission was made on the 16th of September.

This happens to be a slightly lower score than we expected for the Core Ultra 9 285K, as we have witnessed scores in the region of 3,420 on the single, and 23,376 on the multi.

As for the Core Ultra 7 265KF, we saw a single-core score of 3,186, and 19,799 on the multi. This does happen to be the best score we have seen for the Core Ultra 7 so far, as data on VideoCardz confirms.

We're slightly underwhelmed by the scores of these Intel processors so far, as they are only marginally faster than AMD in the multi-core portion of the test. There is some time yet for Intel to tweak and motherboard manufacturers to dial in everything they need to to make the most out of these CPUs.

But if this is the pinnacle of what Intel has to offer this time around, we can see a lot of users flocking to X3D when that releases for the 9000 series.

Intel is usually able to provide faster memory support than its competitor, AMD, having done so for its last three generations of CPUs belonging to the DDR5 standard. As the expected release of the Core Ultras series draws nearer, leaks are surfacing that Intel could be providing support for very high-speed DDR5 CUDIMM memory, reports WccfTech.

CUDIMM is a new type of DDR5 memory released earlier this year, it stands for "Clocked Unbuffered Dual In-Line Memory Module". The primary purpose of this new DDR5 type is to provide higher speeds with better stability. A user by the name of MebiuW on Weibo had the following to say:

A huge uplift over Raptor Lake R and Ryzen 9000 series

10,000MT/s is a heck of an increase over the current generation of Intel CPUs (Raptor Lake-R) which can struggle to hit 8,000MT/s. In a similar situation, the latest Zen 5 CPUs can struggle to maintain 7,000MT/s. This is a good reason to opt for the Core Ultra series as memory support is completely off the charts if the rumors are true.

The CUDIMM technology incorporates a clock driver for regeneration clock signals, this is fancy speak for stable memory. While 10,000MT/s seems unlikely to some, this technology can be used to create such speeds (8,000 - 10,000MT/s) and some companies are already taking full advantage of the new technology.

One recent example is Asgard, which lifted the veil on its fastest CUDIMM kit yet, running up to 9,600MT/s. It's hard to fathom such a speed in use with the current hardware we have available to us, but if the rumors are to be believed, Core Ultra should be able to take full advantage of memory modules such as this one from Asgard.

Upon launch, AMD's Ryzen 9000 series were not only slated for their less-than-impressive performance, but also received criticism over the high latency between CPU Cores. This latency was measured at around 180 ns, according to domdtxdissar on the Overclock 3D forums, which was a lot higher than that measured on the previous generation Ryzen processors (around 76 ns on the 7950X).

With the introduction of AGESA update 1.2.0.2, the core-to-core latency of Ryzen 9000 series CPUs was significantly reduced, allowing for a respectable performance uplift. We conducted our own test of AGESA 1202 and found that the stable 105W TDP mode in that update allowed for fantastic uplifts. Now we know that there was more at play.

ASUS was the first motherboard manufacturer to debut this new AGESA update in the form of a beta BIOS, this is when we tested the 105W TDP mode on the 9600X, and when we discovered around a 5% uplift in the Cinebench benchmarks - but that's just one benchmark that isn't particularly latency-bound.

Ryzen 9000 latency tests

domdtxdissar, on the Overclockers 3D forums "heard rumors" of the performance and latency improvements that the AGESA 1202 update brought and decided to put it to the test.

Using capframeX core-to-core latency, they benchmarked the 9950X and found that the cross-CCD latency was around 180 ns when performed on AGESA 1.2.0.1A. However, when they performed the same benchmark after updating to AGESA 1.2.0.2, the tests revealed a cross-CCD latency of just 75 ns, less than half of the original latency.

This seems to have fixed the issues that the Ryzen 9000 series has been having since its launch a little over a month ago. We see that the latency has improved by more than half. These results may vary for other Ryzen SKUs and motherboards.

Reviewers should now begin testing the Ryzen 9000 series again in preparation for the Core Ultra launch. AMD should just about be up to snuff in the nick of time, the more we investigate the Ryzen 9000 series, the more we seem to find wrong with it. Maybe we should just stop looking.

ASRock has revealed all and posted a page on its X870 motherboard lineup, while we only have a few of the specifications for each motherboard it's certainly enough to be excited about. AMD's X870 motherboard lineup is said to be launching on September 30th, that's the latest predicted release date, anyway, and with that date already leaked and so much info being available already, manufacturers are sort of left to their own devices when revealing their boards properly.

This is why motherboards have been popping up left, right, and center over the last few days. While they mostly offer the same features in similar amounts, it's nice to see the effort put into the designs of the upcoming X870 motherboards. And it'll certainly be interesting to see if donning the 9000 series on an X870 over an X670 will offer any particular advantage.

ASRock X870 & X870E motherboards

Here is the selection of ASRock motherboards available on its website, there is an extensive list of motherboards made to cater to every budget. The motherboards are showcased in the order that they are on ASRock's webpage.

X870E Taichi

X870E Nova WiFi

X870 Steel Legend WiFi

X870E Taichi Lite

X870 Riptide WiFi

X870 PRO RS WiFi

X870 PRO RS

There are no prices attached to these motherboards just yet, and when you click through to the individual motherboards, it returns a 404. I guess you can't have everything just yet. ASRock's motherboards are way more popular in the US (or at least what It seems like) as we hardly ever see the likes of the Tiachi in the UK.

None of these motherboards look particularly stripped and budget, maybe ASRock is going for more of a premium feel this time around. Usually, the more budget motherboards are very barebones, but none of these seem to appear that way. Maybe it'll be left to the B80s and the A820s to play the budget picks this generation.

Motherboard manufacturers are readying themselves for the release of AMD's latest X870 chipset this month, with popular brands like MSI, ASRock, and now Gigabyte all lifting the lid on their own offerings.

The latest leak on the X870 front is from popular retailer B&H Photo Video, where product listings for its full range of X870 & X870E motherboards have been pushed live - highlighting model names and potential pricing.

Gigabyte X870 pricing leaked

According to the leak, the new boards will start at around $219 for the entry-level model, running up to $799 for the more enthusiast models. If pricing is to be confirmed, then it's pretty much in line with what you'd expect from a new range of boards - despite the AORUS XTREME AI TOP's eyewatering price point.

At the time of writing, it's unclear whether the full range of boards displayed on B&H will be available on the September 30th launch date. Review samples are seemingly being sent to reviewers as we speak, so it's only a matter of time before we find out just what these boards can do.

Below is a full list of available boards and what they could be priced at:

According to AMD, the RX 7800 XT is "the ultimate 1440p upgrade", putting it slap bang into one of the most competitive markets the GPU sector has to offer. It'll be going toe-to-toe with not only the RTX 4070 and 4070 Super, but its own RX 7700 XT - which more than excelled in our gaming benchmarks.

In our review, we test the RX 7800 XT in a plethora of different scenarios to see how it competes against the market's current crop of 1440p options, testing it in numerous games and synthetic benchmarks - concluding with our thoughts on design, value for money, and whether its worth the upgrade.

How we tested the AMD RADEON RX 7800 XT

Testing and benchmarking the hardware we receive at WePC is at the heart of everything we do. For the RX 7800 XT, we spent around a week testing it in a number of different games (over a number of resolutions) and pushing it to its limits in synthetic benchmarks - such as 3DMark and Cinebench.

We used the same tried and tested benchmarking rig that we've used for some time now, equipped with AMD's Ryzen 9 7950X and ASUS's X670E HERO motherboard. For each game, the GPU gets tested over 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions - with each test resolution being subject to three unique runs for consistency.

See our indepth testing methods here.

Test bench specs

Pricing and availability

The RX 7800 XT was launched as a mid-tier card back in September, 2023, with an MSRP of $499 - putting it around $100 cheaper than the NVIDIA RTX 4070 (which has since been superseded by the Super variant) and roughly $150 cheaper than last-gen's AMD RX 6800 XT on its launch.

That, on paper, makes the RX 7800 XT an incredibly attractive prospect, especially when you factor in the new architecture it uses - alongside the newly implement AI cores and Ray-tracing performance (which we'll touch upon in more detail later).

Of course, since its arrival back in 2023, GPU prices have continued to fluctuate quite dramatically, with the RX 7800 XT currently floating $480 mark - with deals seeing pricing fall to around $450. The RX 7800 XT is readily available at all major hardware retailers at present.

Specifications & gallery

Design

The RX 7800 XT is a medium sized, dual-fan card, that offers a fairly subtle design characterized by a near all-black color theme. It features a simple dual-fan cooling solution with very little 'gamey' accents - totally void of RGB lighting or other loud design aspects.

In fact, the design is so subtle, the RX 7800 XT reference card we tested would fit into almost any PC build - whether you're a hardcore gamer looking for a simpler aesthetic or an everyday user looking for additional graphics performance.

The card measures in at 267mm x 111mm x 50mm, making it versatile enough to fit into most smaller form factor PC builds (excluding some mini ITX builds). It requires 2 x 8-pin power connectors and features 3 x DisplayPorts alongside a solitary HDMI 2.1 port - meaning it'll be a great fit for anyone looking to power faster refresh rate monitors at higher resolutions.

The RX 7800 XT reference will only take up two slots, however, some AIB variants may differ - especially models equipped with larger triple-fan configurations.

Sadly, the RX 7800 XT does not feature an USB-C output, meaning it won't be ideal for individuals looking to create a workstation based around a USB Type-C monitor.

Overall, the RX 7800 XT is a quiet, subtle, featureless card (from a design standpoint) that doesn't need shiny lights and loud accents to look good. If you're looking for a card that offers a little more bling, there are plenty of AIBs that will do just that.

Features, chipset & architecture

AMD's RX 7800 XT runs on the brand's RDNA 3.0 architecture, utilizing the same NAVI 32 GPU found in the RX 7700 XT - albeit slightly tuned-up for additional performance. The RX 7800 XT offers up 60 Compute Units, 3,840 Shading Units, and 60 RT cores - a slight improvement over the RX 7700 XT.

In terms of clock speeds, again, the RX 7800 XT and 7700 XT are fairly close, with the 7800 XT actually slower across the board. In fact, the RX 7800 XT offers a fairly low base clock of 1,295 MHz, whereas the 7700 XT boasts a much higher 1,700 MHz, respectively. Boosted clock speeds are comparatively closer when comparing the two cards, with the 7800 XT boosting as high as 2,430 MHz.

Overall, the RX 7800 XT is slower across the board - however, as it features more of everything, it does perform to a slightly higher level. Additionally, users, in theory, should be able to increase the performance threshold with some relatively straightforward GPU overclocking.

When it comes to VRAM, the RX 7800 XT does show a clear improvement over the 7700 XT, featuring 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and a 192 bit memory bus. The card also offers a 624.1 GB/s bandwidth, which is around 50% up on the 7700 XT (432.0 GB/s) and 20% up on the RTX 4070 (504.2 GB/s). The RX 7800 XT's 256 bit memory bus is also a stark improvement over both aforementioned cards, highlighting a potentially missed opportunity for NVIDIA.

As far as efficiency is concerned, NVIDIA showcases far better overall TGP than the RX 7800 XT - which runs a relatively high 263W. Despite that being around 30% higher than that of the RTX 4070, it does show a decent improvement over its predecessor (RX 6800 XT 300W).

the RX 7800 XT looks and feels like a decent generational uplift over its predecessor, the RX 6800 XT. Not only does it come equipped with AMD's brand new RDNA 3 architecture, but it also offers far better value for money and efficiency too.

RX 7800 XT performance & benchmarks

Jumping into the gaming performance & benchmarks portion of the RX 7800 XT review, it's safe to say we were excited to see what this thing could bring to the table. Remember, when looking through the results we ran, AMD specifically said they were targeting the 1440p sector, meaning we should see good performance results in that particular space.

Overall, the RX 7800 XT performed to a pretty high standard when gaming, with most games hitting well over 100 FPS in both 1080p and 1440p resolutions. Some more demanding titles in 4K resolution struggled to breach 50 frames per second on average, which was no surprise when you compare the results against the RTX 4070 and RTX 4070 Super. In fact, on average, the RX 7800 XT was only only around 8-15% behind that of the RTX 4070 Super - which is a decent result when price is factored into the equation.

Gaming benchmarks

As for testing, we put the RX 7800 XT through 10 popular gaming titles and a number of synthetic benchmarks to see how it performed across the board. We'll start with the gaming results then move onto the synthetics.

We kickstarted our benchmarking with everyone's favourite FPS shooter, Counter-Strike - a low-level demanding game that runs well on pretty much any system made within the last 10 years. Jokes aside, the RX 7800 XT performed to a pretty decent standard, topping out at 120 FPS in 4K - if that's your thing. It fell to 72 FPS in the 99th percentile, offering up a pretty stable experience during 4K gameplay.

Of course, being a competitive shooter, we quickly chopped the resolution down to 1080p, with FPS spiking to around 321 on average. Again, 99th percentile results showed 185 FPS, respectively, with the RX 7800 XT producing a very fluid experience when it mattered most.

Next up was F1 23, a more demanding game that benefits from high FPS to increase the visual smoothness of the gameplay. As you can see, the RX 7800 XT did start to struggle when we cranked up the resolution to 4K settings - with 38 FPS being our average (dropping to 28 frames in the 99th percentile).

Both 1440p and 1080p were far more forgiving resolution, with 1440p averaging around 73 frames per second during a full session. In 1080p, things looked slightly better, with gameplay resulting in 109 FPS, respectively.

Next up, we played the aging title Shadow Of The Tomb Raider - the first game we could test Ray Tracing. As you can see from the results above, running the game in 1080p - whether we had RT enabled or not - resulted in well over 100 FPS. With graphics settings at their highest and RT on, the game ran at a smooth 122 FPS on average - dropping to 88 frames in the 99th percentile.

In 4K, the RX 7800 XT did struggle to maintain 60 FPS on average, dropping to 58 when RT was enabled. Overall, the gaming experience was pretty smooth, even in the more demanding parts of the game.

Next up was Rainbow 6 Siege, another classic FPS shooter than runs on pretty much anything these days. As you can imagine, the RX 7800 XT provided ample framerates when in ultra settings over numerous resolutions. Even at 4K, the 7800 XT managed to churn out well over 100 frames per second on average, with 99th percentile drops still around 110 frames.

Avatar Frontiers of Pandora was up next, the action shooter based on the popular film franchise. With plenty going on here, we saw a decent dip in performance when compared to the other less-demanding titles like CS2 and Rainbow 6 Siege. In fact, 1080p performance saw performance dip to under 100 frames per second which, despite not sounding too exciting, did still provide a smooth experience during extended gaming sessions.

There wasn't a huge difference between 1080p and 4K in this game, with 4K performance netting around 50 frames per second on average.

Assassin's Creed was up next, and as you can see, the RX 7800 XT was able to push 130 frames on average at 1080p - with 99th percentile drops to around 95. Even at 4K, we experienced decent performance of around 70 FPS on average, offering up a smooth gaming experience. The 99th percentile drops in 4K weren't too damaging to the game's feel, with 55 FPS drops being the worst of it.

One of the least demanding game in our testing roster was up next, Doom Eternal - and as you can imagine, the RX 7800 XT performed to a very high level. It produces well over 200 frames per second in all resolutions, with 4K and RT enabled even seeing a 100 FPS average. Not super surprising as the game could run on pretty much anything - but still good to see.

Lastly, we have one of the most demanding games on the market, Cyberpunk 2077. While 1080p RT OFF saw good stable performance of over 100 FPS, the same can not be said for more demanding resolutions with Ray Tracing enabled. In fact, even at 1080p, RT was such a draw on the GPU, we saw FPS fall to an average of 45.

For players wanting to enjoy 4K gaming on Cyberpunk 2077, we did manage to hit an average of 40 when playing with RT off - which is not bad if you're playing on a larger screen where you can lock the FPS to 30.

Synthetic benchmarks

We finished the benchmarking section of the review by running the RX 7800 XT through a few basic synthetic benchmarks, including Cinebench R24, HandBrake, Blender 4, and 3DMark. In 3D Mark, the RX 7800 XT scored 12,331 in Fire Strike Ultra, 9,080 in Time Spy Extreme, and 10,318 in Port Royal - around 20% up on the results were saw when testing the RX 7700 XT.

We used HandBrake to encode Tears of Steel (4K) and results saw the tool take 1 minute 13 seconds to complete - with an average FPS of 247 during the process. Afterwards, I ran the GPU through Blender 4, with results in Monster hitting 1130, Junkshop 586, and Classroom 561 samples per minute. We concluded this section by running the card through Cinebench R24 and scored 10,785 respectively.

Is the RX 7800 XT worth it?