That title is fun right? Yesterday AMD had it’s Financial Analyst Day which turned out to be quite the product announcement. Zen was a pretty disruptive release and it seamed to prompt Intel to add more core options to their X299 platform releasing sometime this year. It looks like AMD doesn’t want to be outdone though, so they’re releasing a monstrous 16 core, 32 thread chip that will thoroughly compete with Intel’s enthusiast offerings, but there might be some slightly disappointing news from yesterday as well. Technical details are pretty scarce right now, but PCWorld as an excellent slide showing the major highlights of yesterdays event. We only know the core and thread count of Threadripper for the time being, but seeing as how it’s based on Zen architecture, it will most likely have super competitive TDP and multi-threading performance numbers. AMD also announced Epyc, which looks like it will have 32 cores and 64 threads. This is completely designed for the enterprise market though, since it appears to have lower clockspeeds as well. The other fun announcements were related to Vega, but gaming seems like a minor focus in comparison to the professional uses mentioned during the FAD. This where things get a bit murky. It’s looking more and more like AMD isn’t releasing a card that directly tackles the GTX 1080 Ti initially. While Vega, labeled Frontier Edition, has high levels of compute power, Raja had a straightforward menti...

To be fair, I’m not sure I’ve ever sat in a DXRacer yet. However, I’ve sat in many gaming chairs at conventions and such that left me wondering what the point was. Sure, it could’ve been the fatigue of trekking all over Vegas, but sitting in Corsair’s T1 Race Gaming Chair was the best seating experience of my life. My entire body literally melted into sheer comfort! Corsair doesn’t need anything else, yet they still have a hefty amount of features that keep it competitive, even at the $349.99 MSRP. Just keep in mind that the weight limit is around 265 lbs. Look, I do own gaming chairs now and yes, they do help with my overall comfort levels immensely, but months later and the feel of the T1 Race has yet to leave my memory. Check out the full press release info below for images, links and more info! Inspired by Racing, Built to Game: CORSAIR Launches T1 RACE Gaming Chair  FREMONT, CA – May 16th, 2017 – CORSAIR®, a world leader in enthusiast memory, PC components and high-performance gaming hardware today announced the launch of its first gaming chair, the T1 RACE. Inspired by racing, crafted for comfort and built to last, the T1 Race joins CORSAIR’s award-winning range of mice, keyboards, headsets and mousepads to complete the ultimate gaming experience. Built using a solid steel skeleton and dense foam cushions, the T1 RACE has the strength to ensure a lifetime of sturdiness, while it’s 4D-movement armrests raise, lower, sh...

AMD’s Ryzen release has been picked apart pretty well now, but it still stands as a solid release from team Red. Performance has been under the microscope so much, that power efficiency could get overlooked. Part of that is the fact that Intel doesn’t offer the wide range of variety in core counts that Ryzen has right now, but the other part is the fact that the wait for Intel competition has been long as well. However, with Skylake X about to release on the X299 platform, it strange to say that Intel looks like they’re struggling with power efficiency compared to AMD. WCCFTech has more info on the upcoming chips from Intel, including TDP ratings. I still can’t wrap my head on around the 7740K that is supposedly the “fastest” chip in the Kaby Lake lineup. When you go down the chart, the specs are identical accept for the socket type. Oh, and it somehow has a higher TDP in spite of having the same clockspeeds and L3 Cache. Moving on to the new i9 chips though, their TDPs range from 140W to 160W. This seems to show us two really important things about Intel. The great news is that Intel hasn’t been holding back single-thread performance for the purpose of squeezing the market dry. Their IPC architecture is truly a marvel. The bad news is that Intel could’ve been offering more cores to buyers way before now. Considering the flagship gives us 12 cores and 24 threads pretty easily, it’s hard to imagine why mainstream has bee...

I’m not into cars, but it seems like I run into plenty of PC builders who are. Well I have good news for you if you like your computer to look like you’re hot rod. Also, why doesn’t every hardware company have a press release page on their site that’s as great as Corsairs? I digress! Corsair has some new Dominator kits that bring some of the most unique styling I’ve seen in memory. Don’t worry though, that unique styling comes with some blistering speeds and what looks like some impressive cooling capabilities. Check out the full press release for more details and remember, these are a limited release so jump on them while you still can. FREMONT, CA — May 11th, 2017 — Corsair®, a world leader in enthusiast memory, high-performance gaming hardware and PC components today announced the immediate availability of its new DOMINATOR PLATINUM Special Edition Torque DDR4 memory. Inspired by those for whom speed is an obsession, each module features a uniquely heat-treated effect top bar, combining the iconic DOMINATOR PLATINUM design with the aesthetic of high-performance engines. Completed by a brushed black aluminum heatsink, stunning built-in lighting and orange accents, each kit is individually numbered using high precision laser engraving, guaranteeing exclusivity. Available in limited quantities, DOMINATOR PLATINUM Special Edition Torque DDR4 memory is built for speed – inside and out. Fully compatible with the latest Intel® X99 an...

I was completely taken off guard by Enermax/Lepa when I visited their booth in January. They had some great looking products, yet it felt like there wasn’t enough people taking notice. My feelings on the subject could be completely off, but it isn’t going to stop me from showing off more releases I think many builders would be interested in. It looks like the Enermax NEOChanger Reservoir and Pump kits are about to release and while I may be one of the few writers that gets excited about everything RGB, I’m really excited about the lighting on these units. There’s much more going on with these units than a simple RGB lighting effect. For starters, the RGB cycles can be controlled separately by an included remote if you need stand alone lighting control. However, the lighting can also sync with your motherboard’s if it has a 4-pin RGB header. The best part though is the flow rating on that pump. At 900 L/h, these seem like extremely capable units for a custom loop with multiple components. Top it all off with an RPM meter and it looks like a great offering from Enermax. Performance is a primary concern for many of us, but I still feel like RGB lighting is a great addition to any great part. Surely I’m not the only one who ends up staring at color cycle effects for minutes at at a time! Check out the rest of the press release below for more details and specifications. Stay tuned at PureOC because we plan to have a more detailed look at the ...

Corsair is releasing a fully built gaming PC? Let me go over to Newegg and see how much cheaper it would be if I built it my….. Huh. Normally, we don’t cover pre-built systems because we believe in the rewarding experience of building our own. While that never changes, there are times that a fully built system can catch our eyes though. Let’s face it, occasions arrive where we need to recommend a good pre-built system, or even want something compact to use in place of carrying our main rigs to things like LAN parties. What really surprised me was the fact that I could MAYBE match the price of this Corsair One system if I built it myself. While I’ll list the full details in the press release below, I mainly want to cover the specs of the base system. The MSRP starts at $1,799.99 and here’s what you end up with. The processor is the locked version of the 7700, but it still has a 240mm Corsair cooler on it. Of course you can expect Corsair Vengeance for the RAM and a Corsair PSU, but they also include one of their Force 240 GB SSDs. There’s also a terabyte HDD for additional storage. The big bonus is the fact that this system includes a solid gaming graphics card in the form of a GTX 1070. When the marketing claims VR ready, they mean that in a solid way. At this point, when I was mirroring these components on a Newegg list, I was having a hard time matching the MSRP that Corsair is offering in the One series. When you top off the final pr...

The debate of AMD vs Intel vs Nvidia is an age old one that will probably never cease. As long as there’s innovation in the PC market, there’s bound to be a new top dog in the fight. Intel still has the IPC lead in processing and Nvidia is killing it in performance and energy efficiency with their GPUs. So why, when given a sizeable budget and asked by my friend to build a PC, would I go all out with an AMD base? Check out the video for the full answer because the Red side seems to be offering one of the best, non-compromised experiences we’ve ever seen from them. As always, remember that experiences vary and feel free to add your thoughts to the equation by heading over to the PureOC forums!

Oh, Intel! Couldn’t you at least PRETEND you care a little for your enthusiast customer base? It looks like complaints about the 7700K having heat issues went farther than even I knew. If reports are true, some users have tried de-lidding, running at stock, and placing their CPUs under liquid to still see spikes go up in the 90s with minor tasks. I have to say I can believe it though, but it’s Intel’s response that is almost laughable, at least until you think about the true ramifications. I finally got a hold of a 7700K so I could review a couple of Z270 boards during CES. I’ve complained a number of times about the abnormally high temps, especially since I like to test overclocking on a day-to-day use, rather than simply going for the absolute highest clockspeed possible. In my testing, I would see massive temperature swings during idle periods, but didn’t think too much of it because they weren’t quite as extreme as what other users are reporting. In short, while the cheap thermal interface material between the chip and the heat spreader is a big part of the problem, it could be something to do with the architectural design as well. Intel finally decided to give an official response to the reports and while some of this can be expected, the whole package is kind of hard to swallow. They basically say that the chip is designed to run this way, to adjust dramatic changes in fan speed by using your motherboard fan curves, and that they...

I know pre-built systems aren’t our thing usually, but I had to post this PR because Gigabyte has an impressive little device on their hands. Honestly, if I had the spare cash, this would be my LAN party machine for game days (that I hardly ever have anymore) or my editing station for travel. Shoot, it would even sub as a great paper-weight that does so much more than holding paper. The internal heatsink in this device was fantastic, allowing high performance hardware to run cooler than most, if not all, mini-PCs can handle. Check out the info on the award below and while we won’t be able to get to Computex this year, we will be keeping an eye on the news! GIGABYTE Mini PC Recognized for Outstanding Form & Function City of Industry, California, May 2nd, 2017 – GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, is excited to announce that the BRIX Gaming VR has won a d&i award ahead of Computex 2017. This soon to be released Mini PC exemplifies the spirit of the d&i awards with its combination of gaming prowess and aesthetically pleasing design. Thanks to its small size of only 2.6L and powerful hardware, the BRIX Gaming VR miniature PC is perfect for use in VR setups, especially for standing and “room-scale” VR. This Mini PC packs a powerful NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX™ 1060 into a sleek, black, brushed aluminum chassis with orange highlights. Its subdued but sporty look can fit into any room, whether a room ...

From the moment I first saw the Captain series of CPU coolers from Deepcool/Gamerstorm, it’s been my favorite design for a pump and block combo. Even then, the only thing I felt the design needed was RGB lighting to be complete. It turns out dreams really do come true because the Captain EX RGB looks like it just launched with availability coming next month. Outside of the RGB changes, everything else about the EX series is staying the same. We still have 120mm and 240mm rad options, while also staying in line with previous pump and flan flow specs. However, it looks like the unit will also include a single RGB LED strip as well. This is a fun surprise for people who enjoy lighting behind their tempered glass side panel. I’m still hoping that Deepcool will add 140mm and 280mm versions to the lineup, but I can’t help but be excited for these units to become available. Each unit will cost a decent amount, with the 120EX retailing for $99.99 and the 240EX going for $129.99. These aren’t the highest prices, but if you’re simply looking for performance then there’s several units that can give the Captains a run for their money. It’s when you start looking for the RGB options that these units get pretty competitive. Honestly, these units easily top my list for coolers I’d like to use in builds that cater to performance and ease of install, but still look excellent. Check out the link below for some extra details and we’ll kee...