Assemble that Passes # 303
I Intel Rocket Lake processors have just arrived, but we already know they won't have long life. Launched to counter the excellent 5000 series, they raised the performance bar a few notches and improved connectivity thanks to PCIe 4.0 and Thunderbolt 4 lines, but they certainly didn't upset the CPU landscape. On the other hand, they are destined to remain in the field only until the arrival of Intel Alder Lake processors which, at least for the higher-end families, will also count on support for the PCIe 5.0 standard and for GDDR5 memories.
The move to PCIe 5.0, oversized for the needs of a gamer, will probably only benefit professional solutions, at least initially, but GDDR5 memory could guarantee a notable performance leap given the return of both AMD that Intel to architectures able to exploit RAM faster and faster. And this is precisely one of the intrinsic characteristics in the generational change of memories, something that this time, it seems, will first benefit Intel. For Alder Lake we are talking about the third quarter of 2021, while AMD has indicated the end of 2022, perhaps in September, for the arrival of the Zen 4 architecture, intrinsically confirming the rumors about the arrival at the end of 2021 of a Zen 3 series. +, however, not to be underestimated given the optimization margins of this architecture.
Alder Lake uses an architecture composed of two types of cores, one high efficiency and one high power But as we all know, Alder Lake will not only aim for power, marrying the big.LITTLE philosophy based on the combination of high efficiency cores and high performance cores. However, we have already talked about this. What we have not talked about is the next step that at Intel should correspond to the Intel Raptor Lake-S series that we expect to bring to maturity precisely the hybrid core philosophy. Not surprisingly, as reported by a reviewer of Uniko's Hardware, the thirteenth generation of Intel processors will use the same LGA 1700 socket as Alder Lake, also guaranteeing backward compatibility with the latter. However, it will use the Z790 chipset which could prove very useful with flagship processors. On the other hand, we expect not particularly high frequencies from Alder Lake and the Z690 chipset, as often happens when there is a radical architecture change. But in the same way we are waiting for a big jump in terms of clocks from the next series which will have to compete with the Zen 4 architecture, among other things.
AMD's transition to the Zen 4 architecture is in fact scheduled for 2022 , with a new socket that will inevitably break the backward compatibility chain carried out so far by Ryzen processors. But the transition to the AM5 socket will also guarantee greater possibilities for evolution, in addition of course to DDR5 and PCIe 5.0. According to rumors, AMD may not switch to a big.LITTLE philosophy until 2023 or even beyond, but it should have important innovations in store regarding latencies, caches and internal functioning, with the aim of enhancing communication between the GPUs and the CPU, with the latter becoming a brake on the former regardless of power. The resizeable BAR has shown that by removing some obstacles it is possible to improve something, but we expect important evolutions in the future and not only from AMD. On the other hand, this is a common problem and one that Intel will have to face firsthand once the Intel Xe-HPG GPUs are launched.
For now, however, the main problem is not to exploit the GPUs but to find them. On the other hand, the entire chip market is crushed by the discrepancy between a very high demand and the impossibility of revolutionizing an immense production that cannot afford waste. Nonetheless, sales of GPUs increased by 38%, but the market seems to have run out of inventory and production resources. In the future, however, he should be more prepared.
Intel's flagship gaming GPU of the Xe-HPG series As we mentioned some time ago, TSMC and Samsung have invested $ 100 billion each in expanding their respective production lines. Intel instead stopped at 20 billion, but it is still an important signal. Also because last year the company seemed willing to rely more and more on TSMC, it seems to have changed its path, probably prompted by investments for 200 billion in the field of US chip production. Enough to also aim for a technological leap, as a rumor that speaks of Intel's intention to buy SiFive seems to suggest.
SiFive is a startup specialized in the production of chips based on RISC-V architecture which in 2020 is was valued at $ 500 million and that Intel could acquire, provided the rumors are reliable, for $ 2 billion. A big leap then, but it could make sense both in view of the upcoming investments in the field of chips, and in extending Intel production to non-x86 processors, perhaps in view of the clash with NVIDIA that has acquired ARM for 40 billion dollars. . But it could also be useful in the clash with Apple, given the high margins for improvement of RISC-V chips in terms of power, efficiency and production cost, already lower than other types of processor.
Budget configuration
The budget configuration is the one aimed at saving but it is not certain that there is no room for the upgrade where interesting prospects arise. The proposals in this range include solutions designed for low-tech games and 1080p-oriented builds.Stable at around € 275, the Ryzen 5 3400G has increased by around € 50 in a few weeks, thanks to a question high which is not surprising. On the other hand, it mounts a Radeon RX Vega 11, guaranteeing excellent performance in terms of mobile graphics that see it surpass, in this field, the GT 1030, the only option available at acceptable prices in large retailers.
The AMD processor , it must be said, it is no longer a first, and is not suitable for those who need great computing power, but in the low end it still does great and in addition to guaranteeing an excellent integrated GPU, it is already ready to host a GPU discreet, provided of course to find it. In fact, the situation is still very complex and dedicated options are still lacking in the low range.
BUDGET Component Price PROCESSOR AMD Ryzen 5 3400G 3.7-4.2GHz 275,00 € MOTHERBOARD Gigabyte B450M DS3H 80,00 € Integrated VIDEO CARD 00,00 € RAM G.Skill Aegis 2x8GB 3000MHz CL16 85,00 € POWER SUPPLY EVGA 450 BR 80+ Bronze 45,00 € HARD DISK Kingston A400 480GB SATA III 50,00 € CASE Fractal Design Focus G Mid Tower 55,00 € TOTAL 590,00 €
Gaming Configuration
In the gaming segment there are usually those components that allow you to face the game on the PC without fear and to hold on for some time. The frame rate showdown is just around the corner but, with a good base, it's always possible to sell the old GPU before it devalues too much so you can buy a new one just in time to take on the next hardware-smashing blockbuster.With a small but interesting price drop, the Core i5-11600K is back on the pitch with excellent gaming performance and the IPC increase of the Rocket Lake-S architecture. It also benefits from 16 PCIe 4.0 lanes and for the ratio between price and quality it is, basically, one of the most interesting options of the eleventh series of Intel processors.
Video cards still suffer from very strong surcharges and a low availability, but the arrival of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3000 Ti and some new refueling have allowed someone to take home a latest generation GPU at acceptable prices. In addition, the European prices of the GeForce RTX 3060 have returned to fall, making us prefer it to the even more powerful Radeon RX 6700.
GAMING Component Price PROCESSOR Intel Core i5-11600K 3.9-4.9GHz 250, 00 € MOTHERBOARD ASUS TUF Gaming B560-Plus 155,00 € VIDEO CARD GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3060 Gaming OC 12 GB 620,00 € RAM Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO 2x8GB 3200MHz CL16 110,00 € POWER SUPPLY be quiet! Pure Power 11 600W 80+ Gold 80,00 € HARD DISK Crucial MX500 1 TB SATA III 100,00 € CASE Corsair iCUE 465X RGB Mid Tower 110.00 € TOTAL 1425.00 €
Hardware Comment
The pushed configuration makes sense only for those who aim for high resolutions, aware that luxury often does not go hand in hand with rationality. On the other hand, let's face it, who doesn't like having a nice engine under the hood even if you have to respect the speed limit?We also keep the AMD Ryzen 5800X, finally available for under 400 euros at the big distribution. The two superior models have also become cheaper, with a big drop for the Ryzen 5 5950X, but the 5800X is enough to take advantage of powerful GPUs, the ones for which we are forced to save some money even at the high end.
On the other hand, high-end video cards remain very expensive. The Radeons are easier to find, but still suffer from the huge jump in price compared to the lower models. For all this we keep the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, from time to time still available at acceptable prices and strong thanks to ray tracing and DLSS, keeping our ears open given the imminent arrival of the interesting Fidelity FX Super Resolution from AMD.
EXTRA Component Price PROCESSOR AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 3.8-4.7GHz 400,00 € DISSIPATORE ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II ARGB 240 85,00 € MOTHERBOARD ASUS TUF GAMING Z590-PLUS WIFI 220, 00 € VIDEO CARD GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3070 Ti EAGLE OC 8 GB 925,00 € RAM G.Skill Trident Z RGB 2x16GB DDR4 3600MHz CL16 230,00 € ANTEC POWER SUPPLY HCG-850 80+ Gold 130,00 € HARD DISK Samsung 980 PRO 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 € 195.00 PHANTEKS CASE Eclipse P400 Mid Tower € 110.00 TOTAL € 2295.00
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