Qualcomm Snapdragon Tech Summit Live Blog: Compute Spotlight

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We're here in sunny Hawaii for day two of Qualcomm's annual Snapdragon Summit.

Yesterday, of course, was the company's prime keynote, where they announced their forthcoming Snapdragon X Elite SoC for laptops, as well as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for smartphones. As well, the company gave us our first look at their Oryon CPU architecture, which will be driving the X Elite, and eventually Qualcomm's smartphones, automotive chips, and more.

For day two of their event, today Qualcomm is going to take us through the technical side of their new chips, revealing a bit more about how they work and what new features and abilities have been added in this generation. So please join us for our live blog coverage of Qualcomm's technical track disclosures.

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Qualcomm Previews Snapdragon X Elite SoC: Oryon CPU Starts in Laptops

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While Qualcomm has become wildly successful in the Arm SoC market for Android smartphones, their efforts to parlay that into success in other markets has eluded them so far. The company has produced several generations of chips for Windows-on-Arm laptops, and while each has incrementally improved on matters, it’s not been enough to dislodge a highly dominant Intel. And while the lack of success of Windows-on-Arm is far from solely being Qualcomm’s fault – there’s a lot to be said for the OS and software – silicon has certainly played a part. To make serious inroads on the market, it’s not enough to produce incrementally better chips – Qualcomm needs to make a major leap in performance.

Now, after nearly three years of hard work, Qualcomm is getting ready to do just that. This morning, the company is previewing their upcoming Snapdragon X Elite SoC, their next-generation Arm SoC designed for Windows devices. Based on a brand-new Arm CPU core design from their Nuvia subsidiary dubbed “Oryon”, the Snapdragon X Elite is to be the tip of the iceberg for a new generation of Qualcom SoC designs. Not only is it the heart and soul of Qualcomm’s most important Windows-on-Arm SoC to date, but it will eventually be in smartphones and a whole lot more.

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Nvidia and AMD’s rumored plans to make Arm-based PC CPUs could turn the laptop world upside down

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Nvidia is planning to make Arm-based processors to challenge Intel’s dominance in the world of Windows PCs, according to a new report – as is AMD.

Reuters has the scoop with this one – add an appropriate dose of caution as ever with rumors – and on the Nvidia side, the report cites two sources familiar with the purported plans.

Apparently Nvidia is ‘quietly’ designing these new CPUs which will presumably go in laptops (using Windows on Arm) – and likely also desktops too – as part of Microsoft’s scheme to encourage chip makers to use Arm-based processors.

After all, Microsoft has doubtless been watching Apple have its own very successful venture, shifting to in-house Arm chips and away from Intel with Macs, and Nadella’s company wants a piece of that action.

As the Reuters report points out, in the three years since Apple kicked off with the launch of the M1, it has nearly doubled its PC market share according to preliminary Q3 figures from analyst firm IDC.

Microsoft’s scheme has apparently also caught the attention of AMD, and Team Red will apparently make Arm-based processors in the same vein as Nvidia, again if the word of two separate sources proves correct.

We’re told that both Nvidia and AMD could have PC chips out in quite swift fashion, perhaps even as soon as 2025.

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Analysis: A worrying prospect for Intel

Windows on Arm has struggled to make any meaningful impact whatsoever, thus far, with existing Qualcomm chips as the engine of devices running the OS. Nvidia and AMD entering the stage could be a turning point, though, in producing peppier chips, and that’s clearly what Microsoft is hoping for.

Obviously it’s not quite as simple as ‘ooh, let’s do what Apple does’ with faster, better and more efficient silicon, as marrying the hardware and software sides of the equation is a very different problem for Microsoft and would-be partners Nvidia and AMD.

Apple, of course, has complete control over its hardware and software stack, which is a considerable advantage in terms of getting everything working in harmony and producing the best results. And the results produced with the M1 and M2 SoCs (with the M3 to follow next year most likely) have been remarkable to say the least.

Microsoft’s other issue would be persuading developers to code for Windows on Arm, when Intel chips remain dominant – and Team Blue wouldn’t be easy to dislodge. (Interestingly, Microsoft has just implemented an advisory service to help devs create apps for Windows on Arm).

Clearly, this potential development will worry Intel. Apple’s MacBooks are forging forward with those Arm-based chips, as noted. With the M1 and M2 boasting serious power-efficiency chops, this is, unsurprisingly, something Intel has turned to focus on – Meteor Lake laptop processors (due in December) have been designed to major in the efficiency department. (And Raptor Lake Refresh desktop CPUs feel like an afterthought in comparison).

So, laptops may be Intel’s fortress, but the assault from Apple is being taken seriously, and further competition from possibly Nvidia and AMD in a couple of years’ time is not going to help Team Blue.

If both Nvidia and AMD get behind Windows on Arm in laptops (and yes, chips for desktop PCs could also be made, of course, as mentioned at the outset – but notebooks would be the major drive presumably), then maybe it will become a more potent force in the computing world. We still have trouble believing that, in all honesty, but the addition of two big players in the form of Teams Green and Red could swing it, if anything will…

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Could Nvidia scrap the RTX 4080 graphics card? New rumor suggests it might

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Nvidia might be mulling scrapping the RTX 4080 graphics card, if a fresh rumor pans out – but clearly this is one we should regard with a large amount of skepticism.

For starters, the source of the rumor is IT Home (via Tom’s Hardware), a Chinese tech site with a somewhat patchy record, with the actual speculation itself coming from Bopantang news.

According to the source cited, the RTX 4080 graphics card may be ‘discontinued’ – note that it’s may, rather than a firm assertion – and Nvidia could effectively replace it with the RTX 4080 Super (or 4080 Ti, whichever naming scheme Team Green plumps for).

Essentially, the incoming RTX 4080 refresh is going to replace the existing RTX 4080, or that’s the contention.

IT Home recently put forward the rumor – one heard elsewhere – that Nvidia has three new models of Lovelace graphics cards inbound, also pointing to Benchlife (another Chinese source) which believes one will be an RTX 4080 Super with 20GB of GDDR6X VRAM.

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Analysis: How realistic is the idea of canceling the 4080?

Well, there’s been a persistent buzz that sales of the RTX 4080 have been an uphill struggle for Nvidia, of course, ever since the graphics card was launched. A near vertical struggle, in fact, and the timing of this report is interesting, because YouTube leaker Moore’s Law is Dead (MLID) – a prominent source of GPU (and CPU) rumors – noted that his retail sources are saying RTX 4080 sales are really, really bad in his latest video.

So, you might think that there could be some weight to the idea that Nvidia is mulling a cancelation of the RTX 4080, rather than watching it limp on. Although MLID’s theory is that Nvidia may push up the price of the RTX 4090 – to follow what’s happening in China (where the GPU will be imminently banned, so demand is unsurprisingly surging) – in order to make the RTX 4080 seem more attractive (and hold its MSRP better).

Mind you, we’re not talking about a complete cancelation of the RTX 4080, and we presume the source of the above rumor isn’t, either (though that isn’t made clear – maybe the source is). But we presume Nvidia would run an effective cancelation, winding down production to next to nothing, rather than actually nothing.

As we’ve theorized before, it would surely seem too embarrassing for Team Green to outright cancel the RTX 4080 – admitting it was a mistake effectively – when Nvidia already ‘unlaunched’ the other initial 4080 variant (12GB model). It starts to look like Nvidia doesn’t know what it’s doing in that case, making multiple blunders, or at least that’s the way we see it.

Also, other rumor-mongers have not mentioned any canceling of cards, and certainly MLID believes the RTX 4080 will run alongside the new Super or Ti spin – and RTX 4070 refreshes – if only to make them look good value, relatively speaking, when they launch. (Assuming the 4080 goes up in price as is Nvidia’s purported intention, according to MLID).

IT Home’s source also expects RTX 4080 prices to go up, but not due to any strategic maneuvering with RTX 4090 pricing – rather, simply because with production being wound down, 4080 stock is going to be thin on the ground soon enough.

Time will tell, and add huge amounts of seasoning with all this speculation. It’s becoming pretty clear that Nvidia has some fresh would-be contenders to grab a spot on our best graphics cards list, but as to what they are, or how the Lovelace range is going to be rejigged – well, the likelihood is that Team Green may not have made those final decisions yet.

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The Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 750W PSU Review: Mid-Range 750W PSU With 12VHPWR

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Thermaltake is a company based in Taiwan that specializes in designing and manufacturing computer hardware components and accessories. Established in 1999, the company's product range includes thermal solutions such as CPU coolers and cases and power supply units, keyboards, and mice. Thermaltake operates globally and has a presence in multiple markets, serving a customer base that ranges from casual computer users to hardware enthusiasts. The company's products are subject to various industry certifications and standards.

Known for its diverse portfolio, ranging from cases and coolers to power supply units (PSUs), the company has a reputation for merging aesthetics with functionality. Among the lineup of their power supplies, the Toughpower GF A3 750W PSU stands as a prominent offering aimed at enthusiasts who demand a balanced mix of reliability, performance, and energy efficiency.

As PSUs are the backbone of any computing system, providing stable and efficient power is paramount. Thermaltake's Toughpower GF A3 750W PSU aims to do just that while adding modularity and aesthetic appeal into the mix. It is designed to target the bulk of advanced PC builders, which means it will also have to compete against myriads of similar products for a piece of that saturated market pie. In this review, we will dissect this power supply's features, performance, and overall value proposition to determine whether it meets modern PC builds' demands.

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Intel said 14th-gen desktop CPUs support Thunderbolt 5 – but it turns out that was a mistake

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Intel has corrected itself when it comes to the new Raptor Lake Refresh range of desktop processors, clarifying that these 14th-gen chips won’t support Thunderbolt 5 after all.

When Raptor Lake Refresh launched, Intel’s release statement observed that the 14th-gen processors “include support for … upcoming Thunderbolt 5 wired connectivity.”

A correction has now been issued – as flagged up by Tom’s Hardware – in which Intel clarifies that the above assertion was incorrect.

Intel notes: “While some processors in the Intel Core 14th Gen processor family will include support for Thunderbolt 5, Intel Core 14th Gen desktop processors, specifically, will not support it.”

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Analysis: An eye-opening launch blunder

Thunderbolt 5 connectivity is hardly the biggest issue around Intel’s Raptor Lake Refresh – naturally, all the focus has been (as ever) on how much faster they are gen-on-gen, as well as how much power they chug, and pricing. Still, it’s pretty bad for Intel to get a fundamental fact on the 14th-gen wrong in its launch announcement.

At least we now know that the desktop CPUs won’t get Thunderbolt 5, which may leave you wondering – which 14th-gen processors will, then? Intel must be referring to the other family of chips launching in December, running alongside Raptor Lake Refresh, namely Meteor Lake.

Meteor Lake are laptop (mobile) processors, and so this makes sense – that’s where Thunderbolt ports are most prevalent. They’re present on far more notebooks than desktops.

It’s also worth noting that Thunderbolt 5 has not long been announced, and devices using the standard won’t be around until 2024 (later in the year, probably). So, there’s still a fair bit of road to go before it really arrives, but Thunderbolt 5 is a huge deal simply because of how blazing-fast it is. However, it’s something Raptor Lake Refresh PC owners will have to live without, it seems.

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Zotac's Zbox Pico PI430AJ Uses Frore's AirJet Solid-State Active Cooling

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Zotac has introduced the industry's first compact PC featuring Frore's AirJet solid-state cooling system. Zotac's ultra-compact Zbox Pico PI430AJ is powered by Intel's Core i3 processor is designed primarily for everyday home and office computing, as well as applications like digital signage.

As far as specifications are concerned, Zotac's Zbox Pico PI430AJ is a fairly sophisticated machine featuring Intel's eight-core Core i3-N300 CPU, 8 GB of LPDDR5 memory, and an M.2 SSD. For connectivity the PC offers a Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth 5.2 adapter, a single GbE port, a USB Type-C port, two USB 3.2 Type-A connectors, and two display outputs (DisplayPort and HDMI).

The Zbox Pico PI430AJ has two major selling points: it is as small as modern smartphones, and it is passively cooled using Frore's AirJet solid-state cooling module, or chip. AirJet's module dissipates heat from electronic components by propelling ultrasonic waves of air across fin-like structures on each chip. This mechanism effectively directs a cool flow of air across the chip's surface area, moving heat away from the silicon components while not collecting dust. Compared to conventional fan cooling methods, AirJet stands out by offering equivalent heat dissipation with enhanced power efficiency and quieter operation. Specifically, each chip can remove 5W of heat, with the capacity to scale up; for instance, two chips can expel 10W.

Zotac's Zbox Pico PI430AJ seems to use two AirJet modules, so they can dissipate up to 10W of power, which should be more or less enough for Intel's Core i3-N300.

Zotac claims that its Zbox Pico PI430AJ Mini PC is now available for purchase in both Windows and barebones versions in select regions (primarily APAC and EMEA, from the looks of things), but is disclosing its recommended pricing.

While Frore's AirJet solid-state active cooling makes a lot of sense for Zbox Pico PI430AJ as it enables it to run faster for longer periods, it should be noted that for Zotac this mini PC is a way to try out the technology in a mass-produced product. That said, if AirJet meets Zotac's expectations for performance, reliability, manufacturability, and costs, expect the company to use it for other PCs as well.

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Intel Announces 14th Gen Core Series For Desktop: Core i9-14900K, Core i7-14700K and Core i5-14600K

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Ahead of tomorrow's full-scale launch, Intel this afternoon is pre-announcing their 14th Generation Core desktop processors. Aptly codenamed Raptor Lake Refresh, these new chips are based on Intel's existing Raptor Lake silicon – which was used in their 13th generation chips – with Intel tapping further refinements in manufacturing and binning in order to squeeze out a little more performance from the silicon. For their second iteration of Raptor Lake, Intel is also preserving their pricing for the Core i9, i7, and i5 processors, which aligns with the pricing during the launch of Intel's 13th Gen Core series last year.

Headlining the new lineup is Intel's latest flagship desktop processor, the Core i9-14900K, which can boost up to 6 GHz out of the box. This is the second Intel Raptor Lake chip to hit that clockspeed – behind their special edition Core i9-13900KS – but while that was a limited edition chip, the Core i9-14900K is Intel's first mass-produced processor that's rated to hit 6 GHz. Under the hood, the i9-14900K uses the same CPU core configuration as the previous Core i9-13900K chips, with 8 Raptor Cove performance (P) cores and 16 Gracemont-based efficiency (E) cores, for a total of 24 CPU cores capable of executing on 32 threads.

Intel 14th Gen Core, Raptor Lake-R (K/KF Series) Pricing as of 10/16
AnandTech	Cores P+E/T	P-Core Base	P-Core Turbo	E-Core Base	E-Core Turbo	L3 Cache (MB)	iGPU	Base W	Turbo W	Price ($)
i9-14900K	8+16/32	3200	6000	2400	4400	36	770	125	253	$589
i9-14900KF	8+16/32	3200	6000	2400	4400	36	-	125	253	$564
i9-13900K	8+16/32	3000	5800	2200	4300	36	770	125	253	$537
i7-14700K	8+12/28	3400	5600	2500	4300	30	770	125	253	$409
i7-14700KF	8+12/28	3400	5600	2500	4300	30	-	125	253	$384
i7-13700K	8+8/24	3400	5400	2500	4200	30	770	125	253	$365
i5-14600K	6+8/20	3500	5300	2600	4000	24	770	125	181	$319
i5-14600KF	6+8/20	3500	5300	2600	4000	24	-	125	181	$294
i5-13600K	6+8/20	3500	5300	2600	3900	24	770	125	181	$285

Moving down the stack, arguably the most interesting of the chips being announced today is the new i7-tier chip, the Core i7-14700K. Intel's decision to bolster the core count of its Core i7 is noteworthy: the i7-14700K now boasts 12 E-cores and 8 P-cores, 4 more E-cores than its 13th Gen counterpart – and only 4 behind the flagship i9. With base clock rates mirroring the previous generation's Core i7-13700K, the additional efficiency cores aim to add extra range in multitasking capabilities, designed to benefit creators and gamers.

Rounding out the 14th Gen Core collection is the i5 series. Not much has changed between the latest Core i5-14600K and the Core i5-13600K, with the only differences coming in E-core turbo frequencies; just a 100 MHz uptick here. Both families share the same 6P+8E (20T) configuration, 5.3 GHz P-core turbo, and 3.5 GHz P-core base frequencies. Price-wise (at the time of writing), the Core i5-13600K is currently available at Amazon for $285, which is a $34 saving over the MSRP of the Core i5-14600K, and that money could potentially be spent elsewhere, such as storage or memory.

Since the Intel 14th and 13th Gen core series are essentially the same chips but with slightly faster frequencies, Intel has made no changes to the underlying core architecture. Intel does include a new overclocking feature for users looking to overclock their 14th Gen Core i9 processors. Dubbed 'AI Assist,' it enhances things through its Extreme Tuning Utility (XTU) overclocking software. Harnessing AI to provide users with more intelligent options for overclocking settings outside of the traditional look-up tables based on set parameters, Intel's AI Assist goes further. Using various systems with various components such as memory, motherboards, and cooling configurations to train the AI model, Intel claims their in-house AI is constantly being trained to offer users the most comprehensive automatic overclocking settings thus far.

Of course, it should be noted that overclocking does, in fact, void Intel's warranty, so users should use this feature at their own risk.

Intel boasts up to 23% better gaming performance with their in-house testing than Intel's 12th Gen Core series (Alder Lake), the first platform to bring the hybrid core architecture to Intel's desktop lineup. It must be noted that Intel hasn't compared performance directly to 13th Gen (Raptor Lake), likely due to the close similarities both families share: same cores, same architecture, just slightly faster frequencies out of the box.

The Intel 14th Gen chips are designed for the preexisting 600 and 700-series motherboards, which use the LGA 1700 socket. Motherboard vendors have already begun refreshing their Z790 offerings with more modern features, such as Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, providing motherboard manufacturers decide to integrate them into their refreshed Z790 models. Official memory compatibility remains the same as 13th Gen, supporting DDR5-5600 and DDR4-3200 memory. Though overclockers may find the highest binned chips more capable than before, with Intel teasing speeds beyond DDR5-8000 for their best chips.

The Intel 14th Gen Core family of desktop processors (K and KF) is launching on October 17th at retailers and system integrators. Pricing-wise, the flagship Core i9-14900K costs $589, the Core i7-14700K will be available for $409, and the more affordable Core i5-14600K for $319.

Gallery: Intel Announces 14th Gen Core Series For Desktop:

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Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU postmortem finds nasty cooling flaw – but don’t panic

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A couple of Nvidia graphics cards have reportedly been affected by a flaw in their cooling systems – but these seem to be very rare occurrences.

The issue is with the vapor chamber, as flagged up by a Quasarzone forum member, which has an apparent problem with oxidization of the heatsink and holes appearing in the vapor chamber.

The impaired cooling system then leads to the graphics card overheating, and eventually failing completely.

However, for now, we have to take these reports with a heavy dose of caution, as this problem has only been found in an RTX 3080 (Founders Edition from Nvidia), and an RTX A6000 card (a heavyweight GPU, not a consumer model).

Plus we see in the tweet highlighting the issue, from leaker Harukaze5719, that someone is claiming this has happened with an RTX 2080, too.

interesting forum post...In 3080 FE, A6000 vapor chamber found defection.In some cases, cracks occurred in VC solution, and blue copper with chemical reaction inside.via: https://t.co/YAp5Mr6Xih pic.twitter.com/NqCFsOKWidOctober 14, 2023

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As you can see in the photographic evidence provided, the blue material is the copper oxide.

Quasarzone first discovered this flaw with the mentioned RTX 3080, while investigating the reasons why it had been bricked.

As Tom’s Hardware, which spotted this, points out, the exact same issue in a second Nvidia graphics card, the A6000, is a suggestion – but only that – that this could be a wider problem.

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Analysis: Why this isn’t a big deal (yet)

Of course, we have no idea how widespread the flaw might be, and two single reports – plus a claim on X (formerly Twitter) from a completely unknown source, heap the seasoning on there – does not represent a reason to panic that your RTX 3000 series graphics card might develop this problem itself.

If the issue really is a design flaw in some way here, we haven’t seen any other reports of such oxidization and holes in the vapor chamber with Nvidia’s graphics cards. And you’d expect with the volume of these products sold that we would have done.

To play devil’s advocate, it’s possible there have been graphics card failures caused by this which haven’t been reported simply because they weren’t investigated. However, on balance, we feel this is likely to be a rare issue indeed, and certainly based on this report – and what we know so far – we don’t think there’s any real cause for worry.

Still, this is something to keep an eye on, and now that it’s known about and the issue has some visibility, we’ll be monitoring whether more reports crop up.

Should you be more tentative about buying a second-hand Ampere GPU due to this apparent gremlin? Well, no, not really, but that said, you should always be careful about purchasing an older graphics card anyway, and ensure you’re dealing with a trusted seller. The used market is a bit of a minefield, and more so since mining GPUs started to be ditched in large quantities.

(A cheap RTX 3080 might be tempting, naturally, but as per the advice in our best graphics card roundup, at this point, you might want to look at getting an RTX 4070 instead).

If you are at all concerned about this problem, one thing you can do is keep an eye on the temperature that your Nvidia graphics card is running at from time to time – using a monitoring utility (like HWInfo, for example) – and look out for those temps increasing as the months and years roll on. (That could indicate a number of issues, of course, not just the highlighted one).

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Intel Core i9-14900K CPU leak shows it beating AMD’s 7950X3D by a long way in some games

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Intel’s Core i9-14900K is the flagship CPU of the supposedly imminent Raptor Lake Refresh range, and we’ve just caught sight of a leaked slide that details the gaming performance of the processor.

The slide shared on X (formerly Twitter) by HXL is purportedly direct from Intel and is part of the marketing materials around the 14th-gen launch (add your own seasoning as ever with leaks like this).

Intel official 14900K vs 7950X3D gaming performance slides.+Metro ExodusStarfieldTotal War: WARHAMMERAshes of the SingularityCS：GO-Dota2FortniteCyberpunk 2077League of LegendsHorizon Zero Dawn pic.twitter.com/N6v78zA2C4October 10, 2023

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It compares the Core i9-14900K to AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X3D, so it’s a battle of the flagships across a whole bunch of PC games, 25 of them in total. Intel selected 1080p resolution at high details to ensure the processor takes as much strain as it can (with higher resolutions, the GPU steps in to bear more of the workload).

As to the winner, it’s the 14900K that comes out on top with 14 of the game benchmarks, with the 7950X3D triumphing in 10 – the remaining game is a draw where both CPUs offer equal frame rates.

The big wins for Intel included Metro Exodus and Starfield, both of which exhibited 23% better performance than the AMD flagship.

Total War: Warhammer was a similarly impressive 22% victory for Intel, with Ashes of The Singularity up 15%, and CS:GO at 14%. Other wins were slightly more modest (single-digit) affairs for Intel, and AMD did take the crown in a fair few games as noted, though only by a fair distance in a trio of titles. Those were Cyberpunk 2077 (where the Intel CPU was 89% as fast as the 7950X3D), Fortnite (82%), and DOTA 2 (77%).

The overall result was Intel’s Core i9-14900K being 2.5% quicker than the Ryzen 9 7950X3D.

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Analysis: If we’re talking gaming, what about the 7800X3D?

A margin of 2.5% doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s certainly a victory for Intel, in terms of being quicker in a greater number of games, and having more of those bigger wins, too. Depending on the game you’re playing – as ever – the difference could be a fair whack, and you’re more likely to see markedly better performance with the Raptor Lake Refresh flagship processor. If these results hold up more broadly, of course, come review and release time.

Naturally, there are some caveats here, the first being that as always with this kind of marketing slides, we need to take them with some caution. Bias in cherry-picking game benchmarks is inevitable – with any company, not just Intel – though to be fair to Team Blue, it seems like an overall reasonable comparison (AMD does achieve a number of wins, after all, so it’s not like Intel dumped any game Team Red did well in).

Also, we don’t know the configuration of the test PCs used, either, which could have something of a bearing on the results.

Next up, while the comparison between two top dog CPUs is obviously valid in terms of pitting one flagship against another, for gamers, there’s a wrinkle here, and it’s called the Ryzen 7 7800X3D.

(Image credit: Future/John Loeffler)

Purely for gaming performance, the 7800X3D gets very close to the 7950X3D (mostly), and due to the latter’s design (two CCDs, one with 3D V-Cache, one without), there are even some issues with certain games being a bit slower with the 7950X3D. (Those can be worked around in large part, admittedly, but it’s a bit of extra hassle).

The broad point is that the 7800X3D is an equally compelling option as the 7950X3D for gamers in many ways, and price-wise, the 14900K won’t remotely compete in a head-to-head gaming battle with that CPU. Yes, there are going to be benefits for the Intel chip outside of gaming, for sure, so it does depend on your own personal use case – that goes for the 7950X3D too – but for gaming only, the 7800X3D is a tough customer to beat. Especially at the prices it has been reduced to of late, which frankly represent ridiculously good value.

The other thing to mention here is that we’re expecting the 14900K to be a bit of a power-guzzler, at least if the rumors are right. While Raptor Lake Refresh does usher in efficiency improvements over Raptor Lake, the theory is Intel has more than spent those advancements on pushing clocks to achieve a suitably fast enough gen-on-gen performance gain.

So, while there are a bunch of potential catches here, this Intel leak does paint a more compelling picture for the 14900K than we expected in gaming. For those not just purely interested in gaming, the Raptor Lake Refresh flagship could represent a compelling option that has the raw grunt to deal well with heavyweight tasks, as well as putting in an excellent gaming performance, too.

What’s also going to be very interesting is to see the 14700K, as it’s the only 14th-gen CPU rumored to get more cores added, so it could be a very tempting upgrade to the 13700K, which it should be noted is currently top of our best processors list. Naturally, pricing for the 14700K, and the 14900K along with other Raptor Lake Refresh chips, will be key as to how they compare to Intel’s previous generation, and AMD’s line-up.

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Seagate Releases Game Drive PCIe 4.0 SSDs for PlayStation 5

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Western Digital's WD_Black SN850P was the first officially PlayStation 5-licensed SSD to hit the market. Seagate wants a piece of that and has hopped on the PlayStation 5 train with the new Game Drive PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD series, officially licensed for Sony's current-generation gaming console.

Unlike Microsoft, which uses a proprietary SSD expansion card for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, Sony opted to employ a standard M.2 slot for storage expansion on the PlayStation 5. The Japanese console maker's decision provides more storage options for gamers since they have many M.2 SSD offerings on the market. The M.2 slot has also paved the way for SSD manufacturers to partner with Sony to release licensed drives, which have been tested and approved for the PlayStation 5. Therefore, you don't want to worry whether the SSD's heatsink keeps the drive cool or if the Game Drive will fit inside the PlayStation 5.

Seagate's Game Drive SSDs, like the WD_Black SN850P, stick to the PCIe 4.0 x4 interface. That's the same interface in the PlayStation 5, so it makes little sense for vendors to tailor faster toward the gaming console. The Game Drive SSDs utilize Phison's PS5018-E18 PCIe 4.0 SSD controller capable of hitting write and read speeds over 7 GB/s. Built with TSMC's 12nm process node, the E18 is a popular, high-end SSD controller for mainstream PCIe 4.0 SSDs. The E18 comes equipped with three 32-bit Arm Cortex R5 CPU cores and an eight-channel design to support NAND flash speeds up to 1,600 MT/s and capacities up to 8 TB. Seagate pairs the E18 controller with unspecified 3D TLC NAND in the company's Game Drive SSDs.

Seagate Game Drive Specifications
	1 TB	2 TB	4 TB
Part Number	ZP1000GP304001	ZP2000GP304001	ZP4000GP304001
Seq Reads (MB/s)	7,300	7,300	7,250
Seq Writes (MB/s)	6,000	6,900	6,900
Random Reads (K IOPS)	800	1,000	1,000
Random Writes (K IOPS)	1,000	1,000	1,000
Endurance (TBW)	1,275	2,550	5,100
Active Power, Average (W)	6.3	7.8	8.6
Idle Power PS3, Average (mW)	20	25	30
Low Power L1.2 mode (mW)	<5	<5	<5

Seagate offers the Game Drive SSDs in 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB variants. Sony recently deployed a software update for the PlayStation 5 to support 8 TB SSDs. It's a shame that Seagate doesn't commercialize an 8 TB variant of the Game Drive SSDs as competing brands, including Corsair, Sabrent, PNY, Addlink, and Inland, all have 8 TB drives in their arsenals.

Seagate's Game Drive series delivers sequential read and write speeds up to 7,300 MB/s and 6,900 MB/s, respectively. Random performance scales up to 1,000,000 IOPS writes and reads. However, the sequential and random performance vary by capacity. The 2 TB model is the only SKU to hit the maximum quoted figures. The Game Drive series' sequential read performance is on par with the WD_Black SN850P. Sequential write performance is somewhat faster. However, the WD_Black SN850P flaunts better random performance than the Game Drive.

Endurance doubles by the capacity. The 1 TB is rated for 1,275 TBW (terabytes written), while the 2 TB and 4 TB drives are at 2,550 TBW and 5,100 TBW. That's one aspect where the Game Drive is substantially better than the WD_Black SN850P. For comparison, the WD_Black SN850P's endurance levels for the 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB drives are 600 TBW, 1,200 TBW, and 2,400 TBW, respectively. Seagate's SSDs are over 2X more durable than the Western Digital drives.

Gallery: Seagate Game Drive

The Game Drive 1 TB and 2 TB models are shipping now and have $99.99 and $159.99 MSRPs, respectively. However, they're selling for $104 and $174 on Amazon. Meanwhile, the Game Drive 4 TB will set you back $449. The 1 TB and 2 TB drives are $10 cheaper than the WD_Black SN850P. The WD_Black SN850P 4 TB is up to $70 less expensive. Due to the licensing fees, Seagate's Game Drive series is significantly more costly than the non-licensed SSDs. For comparison, the WD_Black SN850X, which is commonly regarded as one of the best SSDs for the PlayStation 5, is available at $69 for the 1 TB model, $129 for the 2 TB model, and $282 for the 4 TB model.

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Intel Core i5-14600K leak suggests a mid-range CPU that’s worth getting excited about

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Intel’s Core i5-14600K has turned up in a leak that shows the incoming desktop CPU for Raptor Lake Refresh is still looking promising.

Tom’s Hardware flagged up the benchmark result for the 14600K, which was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Benchleaks, an account that posts a good deal of benchmark spillage as the name suggests.

[GB6 CPU] Unknown CPUCPU: Intel Core i5-14600K (14C 20T)Min/Max/Avg: 5090/5289/5253 MHzCodename: Raptor LakeCPUID: B0671 (GenuineIntel)Single: 2819Multi: 16666https://t.co/xzI9dQ7NRESeptember 29, 2023

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The Geekbench 6 result recorded by the Intel CPU consists of 2,819 for single-core performance and 16,666 for multi-core.

As Tom’s points out, compared to the existing Core i5-13600K, that makes the 14600K almost 6% faster for single-core, and 11% quicker in multi-core.

We also get a glimpse of some specs here, with the processor shown as having 14 cores and 20 threads (like its predecessor), and also a top boost of a smidge under 5.3GHz.

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Analysis: Rumors are aligning

There are a few things that are lining up with the 14600K leaks at this point. For starters, that boost of 5.3GHz compares to 5.1GHz for the 13600K (top boost for performance cores), so it’s 200MHz faster. That’s what the rumor mill has claimed will be the increase across the board for most Raptor Lake Refresh processors (some may vary slightly from that, but most should hit a 200MHz step-up).

Another fairly recent leak provided Geekbench scores that indicated the 14600K will be 5% and 17% faster (for single and multi-core) than the 13600K, so what we see here – around 6% and 11% – is again pretty much in the same ballpark. (The multi-core estimation here is somewhat more modest, and probably a bit more realistic, we think).

As this is still pre-release silicon, there’s a chance clocks could end up higher – but we’re so close to launch now that we're likely looking at the final engineering samples. And besides, as mentioned, the widely rumored increase at this point is 200MHz.

Still, this leak, and others, do point to the 14600K as being one to watch out of the Raptor Lake Refresh family, especially as it’s the successor to the processor which we called the best everyday CPU in our review.

The other chip to keep an eye on is the 14700K, but sadly, there’s little excitement that has been drummed up elsewhere in Intel’s 14th-gen desktop range at this late stage. (Although overclocking potential is another highlight from the grapevine).

The overall vibe still remains one of uncertainty, and the next-gen series of CPUs being a relatively modest step forward from current Raptor Lake CPUs, but with a couple of potential exceptions as noted. The good thing is that those exceptions are in the most important territory when it comes to solidly performing chips that won’t break the bank. (Assuming Intel doesn’t knock the value proposition of these possible highlights with price hikes).

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