Category: Article

Explaining all the details of these new NZXT Kraken X-3 RGB AIOs may be repetitive reading for those of you who caught our original review of the Kraken X-3 and Z-3 series earlier this year, if that applies to you then you might want to skip past this introduction as the only significant change with this new bunch of AIOs is the addition of RGB fans, and of course the inclusion of the 240mm Z53 which was missing from the original launch in July.

The addition of the Z53 to the Kraken AIO range means you can now enjoy the benefits of a CPU block LCD screen with a 240mm AIO, which is probably the most commonly used size. The new NZXT Kraken Z53 will set you back around £199 which means you are paying a premium for having the luxury of an LCD screen as this is the extreme top end of the 240mm AIO price range. However, if the performance of the 280mm and 360mm Z-3 and X-3 coolers are anything to go by, the 240mm Z53 should be up there with the best.

Our main focus of this review is the new Kraken X73 RGB, as mentioned previously the only difference with these coolers compared to the originals is the new RGB fans. Gone are the Aer P 120mm units with interchangeable colour trims that came with the regular X-3 AIOs, and in are the new Aer RGB 2 fans with an opaque diffuser ring housing eight RGB LEDs.

Another noticeable difference between the two types of fans is the speed range, The original Aer P 120mm fans offer a range of 500-2000 RPM while the new Aer RGB 2 120mm units speed range is reduced to 500-1500 RPM. The new Aer RGB 120mm fan also features 2 more blades and a sharper blade angle compared with the Aer P, so it will be interesting to see how these changes of blade design and rotational speed affect thermal performance.

Other than those changes to the fans, the core design of the X-3 RGB coolers remains identical to the non-RGB versions using the 7th generation Asetek pump/CPU block and radiator combination with the usual features such as premium braided reinforced tube sleeving, articulating 90-degree fittings at the CPU block side and of course the Kraken X-3 RGB includes the same infinity mirror CPU block top cover design as the original Kraken X-3.

Users of the Z-3 series pay a premium for the LCD screen compared with the comparable X-3 counterparts. The same applies to this new X-3 RGB range, the original X73 (non-RGB) 360mm flagship will set you back around £159 in the UK, another £40 is added on top of that price for the new Kraken X73 RGB which may feel like a price worth paying to RGB enthusiasts for full RGB integration.

The NZXT Kraken X73 RGB is available to pre-order in the UK now, priced at £199.99 which may be a large chomp out of most people’s whole system budget, but if the performance of the regular Kraken X-3 series is anything to go but, it may be an expense worth forking out for.

NZXT Kraken X-3 RGB Features:

Complete RGB lighting effects

Infinity Mirror CPU block design

Latest 7th generation Asetek pump

Specification:

NZXT Kraken X73

Water Block

Dimensions(LxWxH): 80 x 80 x 55 mm
Material: Block: Copper, Housing: Plastic

Pump

Motor Speed & Power: 800 – 2,800 + 300 RPM, 12V DC, 0.3A

Tube

Length: 400mm
Material: Ultra-low Evaporation Rubber with Nylon Braided Sleeve

Radiator

Dimensions: 121 x 394 x 27mm
Material: Aluminium

Cap

Material: Plastic and brass
Rotation Orientation: 360° with 30° increments
HUE 2 Channel Output Voltage: 5V DC
HUE 2 Channel Output LED Qty.: Up to four LED strips – 10 LEDs per strip, Up to five Aer RGB fans, Up to six HUE 2 accessories

Fans

Aer RGB 2 120
Quantity: 3
Dimension: 120 x 120 x 26mm
Speed: 500 – 1,500 + 300 RPM
Air Flow: 17.48 – 52.44 CFM
Air Pressure: 0.15 – 1.35mm-H₂O
Noise: 22-33dBA
Bearing: Fluid Dynamic Bearing
Power Consumption: 12V DC, 0.18A, 2.2W
Connector: 4-pin PWM
Life: 60,000 hours / 6 Years

Warranty

6 Years

Compatible Socket & CPU

Intel Socket LGA 1200, 1151, 1150, 1155, 1156, 1366, 2011, 2011-3, 2066
Intel Core i9 / Core i7 / Core i5 / Core i3 / Pentium / Celeron
AMD Socket AM4, sTRX4*, TR4*(*Threadripper bracket not included)
AMD Ryzen 7 / Ryzen 5 / Ryzen 3 / Ryzen 9 / Threadripper

We covered the unboxing of the original Kraken X73 in detail during our initial review, since this new X73 RGB is almost identical, we will skip the unboxing this time around for a more streamlined review. If you want to check out the original unboxing and first look, head over to our original review HERE.

However, it is worthwhile checking out these new Aer RGB 2 fans and comparing them against the original Aer P 120mm units that came with the regular X-3 and Z-3 coolers.

I was expecting the Aer RGB 2 fans to look very similar to the Aer P, possibly with just the Colour Trim rings exchanged for RGB modules. That is not quite the case, the Aer RGB 2 fans have a much more chunky feel to them and are probably not as nice looking as the Aer P fans when the RGB lighting isn’t active.

Aer RGB 2 fans have nine blades compared with seven in the Aer P and the blade angle of the Aer RGB fans is steeper than its Aer P sibling. The four screw mounting points feature anti-vibration rubbers to reduce noise, Aer RGB 2 are also equipped with a Fluid Dynamic Bearing and have a 60,000 hour/6 year lifespan.

Connectivity consists of a standard 4-pin PWM plug to connect directly to motherboard headers as well as a proprietary 4-pin RGB connection that links fans together to be connected to the RGB cable connection on the Kraken X73 AIO CPU block.

When the RGB is illuminated, these new Aer RGB 2 fans look great. There are no obvious signs of LED hotspots or light bleeding out from around the sides of the diffusers and the RGB lighting effects are bright and vivid, good job NZXT.

Our CPU cooler test system is Intel Z390 based, therefore, we will be following the relevant Intel 115X socket installation procedure.

We begin the process by using the long black screws and washers and installing the fans to the radiator in a push airflow configuration, you may want to delay this step until later when you decide on the position and orientation of the radiator inside your case.

Next, align the universal backplate with the mounting holes on the motherboard, flip the motherboard back over and using the standoff specific to your system, fasten the backplate in position.

The CPU block cold plate comes with thermal compound pre-applied. With the corresponding upper mounting bracket fitted to the CPU block, lower the block down over the CPU and tighten the thumbscrews evenly and progressively in an X pattern to ensure mounting pressure is evenly spread across the CPU heat spreader.

Connect the thee 4-pin PWM fan cables to the included 3-way splitter cable and connect the other end of the splitter cable to the CPU fan header, labelled as CPU_FAN on the Z390 Aorus Xtreme.

There are two wiring connections on the CPU block, a multi-pin cable connects to the block that provides SATA power, pump speed output and RGB lighting, connect this cable to the pump now.

Now, connect the 3-pin fan header cable coming from the pump to a motherboard header, we used the CPU_OPT header on our Z390 Aorus Xtreme motherboard, and connect the SATA power cable from the CPU block to a spare SATA power connecter from the system power supply.

Using the RGB link cables, daisy chain the fans together as shown. Connect the end of the main RGB cable to the remaining IN port on the last fan in the chain and connect the opposite end of the RGB cable to the RGB connection coming from the CPU block housing.

To complete the installation, connect the micro-USB cable to the port on the CPU block and connect the USB 2.0 header connection to a spare USB header on your motherboard for RGB and pump speed control via the NZXT CAM software.

The installation process is virtually identical to the regular Kraken X73 but takes a couple of minutes longer due to the additional RGB fan connections required. Overall the installation is straightforward, it takes approximately 15-20 minutes and even a complete PC building novice shouldn’t find the process too difficult.

Testing Methodology

To measure the performance of CPU coolers, we devised an easily repeatable series of tests. The only variable is the coolers themselves to ensure the results can be accurately compared against one another.

Test Rig

CPU – Intel Core i9-9900KS

Motherboard – Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Xtreme

Memory – 16GB (2x 8GB modules) Corsair Vengeance DDR4 3200 C18

Storage – Corsair Force LE120 120GB SATA SSD

Power supply – Seasonic Prime PX-850 850W 80+ Platinum

Thermal compound – Corsair TM30

Chassis – Open test bench

Operating System – Windows 10 1903

Thermal Testing Procedure

The procedure will consist of several tests that will produce four temperature readings for each cooler. The data can then be used to compare thermal dissipation performance.

First, we will lock the Intel Core i9-9900KS at its 4.0GHz all-core base clock frequency, with a 1.150V VCORE applied in the BIOS. Then, run a 20-minute CPU stress test using Aida64 with CPU, FPU and cache stress tests selected.

To simulate overclocked frequency, we will then lock the Core i9-9900K to 4.7GHz on all cores with a 1.265V VCORE applied and run the same 20-minute load test again. To measure an extreme overclocking situation, we will lock the Core i9-9900KS frequency to 5.1GHz on all cores with 1.320V VCORE and run the tests one final time – this should push the limits of the cooling performance of even the very best CPU coolers.

Admittedly, the overclocked frequencies/voltage may not be the highest achievable, nevertheless, it will give us a good set of data to compare the effect frequency/voltage changes have on temperature.

The temperatures presented in the graphs will be average Delta temperatures measured over the length of the test. We will calculate the Delta temperature by deducting the ambient temperature in the test room from the measured CPU temperature, both at idle and under load.

Load temperatures are achieved by running AIDA64 stressing CPU, FPU and cache again for 20 minutes. This should give the CPU enough time to reach its maximum temperature. Throughout testing, Load Line Calibration will be set to level 6 (turbo), CPU power limits and c-states disabled in BIOS and all CPU Fans/pumps set to maximum RPM to find the raw thermal performance of each cooler. During the 20-minute load stress periods, CPU temperature is logged by HWINFO and an average CPU temperature is calculated from this data.

To measure the thermal performance of each CPU cooler with noise normalised, we will run the 4.7GHz load test one final time with the noise output of the CPU cooler set at 40dBA, which is measured using a sound meter placed 1 meter from the test bench. Noise normalised testing will determine the efficiency of the cooler at a given noise level.

Noise Testing

Maximum noise levels will be measured with our sound meter at a distance of 1 meter from the test bench. The cooler’s fans/pump will be set to their maximum RPM rating. The ambient noise level in the room is measured at 37.3dBA, the peak noise level of the cooler will be recorded in dBA.

Thermal Performance: Fans at 100% RPM

The 500RPM reduction in fan speed with these new Aer RGB 2 fans shows in our raw thermal performance test with the fan speed set to maximum RPM. At all three tested CPU frequencies, the NZXT Kraken X73 RGB is a few degrees behind the regular Kraken X73, but still does a great job in our extreme overclock test with the CPU frequency at 5.1GHz across all cores.

Thermal Performance: Noise Normalised (40dBA)

During our noise normalised test with noise levels equalised to 40dBA, the Kraken X73 RGB is right behind the regular X73 which shows that the change in design of the new Aer RGB 2 fans still provides high airflow at lower RPM.

Maximum Noise Levels

The introduction of Aer RGB 2 fans has reduced noise levels considerably compared with the Aer P fans found in the regular Kraken X-3 and Z-3 coolers. NZXT has traded off a little thermal performance at maximum RPM to favour lower noise levels which makes the X73 RGB one of the quietest AIO coolers we have tested recently.

When NZXT got in touch with KitGuru about these new Kraken X-3 RGB AIOs, I was wondering whether the addition of more RGB would be a good thing or not. The original X-3 and Z-3 series were already impressive coolers in terms of thermal performance, before this review the X73 was the leader in our thermal performance charts by a clear margin and the regular non-RGB versions already impressed in the looks department too.

Hardcore RGB enthusiasts may have been a little put off by the lack of RGB fans with the regular Kraken X-3 series so I can see why NZXT wanted to make this addition. The new Aer RGB 2 fans have little resemblance to the Aer P fans and I’m still unsure of which fans I prefer the look of when the RGB lighting isn’t powered on, the Aer P fans probably just edge it for me.

However, once the RGB lighting effects are switched on, the Aer RGB 2 fans look fantastic and will be sure to please RGB enthusiasts. The colours are bright and vivid, there is very little in the way of LED hotspots or light bleed coming from the light diffusers, and the fans still look pretty subtle as far as RGB fans go.

Adding RGB fans to the Kraken X-3 range has affected the price of course. The cost of the X73 RGB is around £40 higher than the regular non-RGB version which isn’t a huge increase but it does bump up the price to almost £200, which is at the top end for a 360mm AIO and may put this cooler out of reach of many user’s budgets.

Nonetheless, you really can’t argue with the thermal performance, coming not far behind the regular X73 in our tests is an impressive achievement, especially with the speed reduction of 500RPM of the Aer RGB 2 fans used in the Kraken X73 RGB. This new fan design also lowers noise output considerably compared with the regular X73 so that is a bonus for those who want a quiet system too.

Taken as a whole, the new Kraken X-3 RGB coolers thermal performance is solid, aesthetics look great with the addition of RGB fans and there is only a slight increase in installation time and difficulty compared with the regular X-3, as you just have to connect a few extra cables. The whole installation takes approximately 15-20 minutes, even a complete PC builder novice shouldn’t find it too difficult.

It is very difficult to find many faults with the Kraken X-3 series, the only complaint with the regular version could have been the lack of RGB fans, but now with this new X-3 RGB series, that problem doesn’t exist. The lack of motherboard RGB synchronisation could also be an issue for some and admittedly not everyone is a fan of the NZXT CAM software.

One other potential sticking point for some could be the price, but when you take all the features, Asetek’s high build quality, the class-leading thermal performance and six-year warranty, is it worth paying out that little bit extra for peace of mind? Maybe.

Pros:

Two RGB lighting zones.

Easy installation.

Great thermal performance.

Low noise output.

Cons:

Lack of motherboard RGB synchronisation.

The iCue H115i Elite Capellix is the latest CPU chiller from Corsair and boy is it colourful. You’d better like lights if you’re planning on picking up this all-in-one cooler. This thing has a lot of lights. OK, the RGB functionality is far from the only thing Corsair’s latest all-in-one water cooling solution has going for it. But it is very much central to the proposition.

The model currently roasting our retinas is the H115i and thus a 280mm member of a model line also available in 240mm and 360mm form factors. The aforementioned RGB-ness concerns the fans and the top cover of the pump head. The latter comes with an alternative transparent cover if you want to maximize the RGB goodness in that area.

The clever bit, as implied by the wordy moniker, is the use of Corsair’s Capellix LEDs. Corsair reckons they’re not only 90 per cent smaller than conventional LEDs. They’re also more efficient, brighter and run cooler. Add that all up and you have a lighting solution that gives you more mounting options, increased visual impact and fewer downsides and concerns around power use and heat.

The net result is that Corsair has squeezed no fewer than 33 LEDs into the pump head, plus eight per fan. The lighting effects are certainly a clear cut above the RGB normal, with slick transitions and animations and generally a more complex and detailed overall effect. However, the pump head itself looks a little old fashioned, especially compared to the most advanced alternatives such as the NZXT Kraken Z73 with its funky pump-top screen, albeit that’s a much more expensive product.

Anywho, that RGB stuff is controlled by the iCue Commander Core lighting and fan-speed controller box. Along with the pump head, it supports up to six RGB-enabled fans and hooks up neatly to the motherboard via a USB header. Less visually edifying—or physically reassuring, for that matter, is the cable connecting the pump to the motherboard header to initiate operation. It feels fragile and looks cheap.

The other half of the equation is obviously the cooling on offer. Here Corsair has equipped the H115i with a low-noise centrifugal pump with a flow-rate spec of 0.82L/min and a claimed 20dB of noise. The radiator, meanwhile, clocks in at 322x137x27 millimetres and as standard comes with a pair of 140mm mag-lev fans running at speeds from 400 to 2,000rpm.

The full package includes mounting for both Intel and AMD CPU sockets covering all the latest kit. The pump head comes primed with a layer of thermal paste, but there’s no extra tube. So, either bring your own paste or don’t muck the installation up.

Speaking of mucking things up, the instruction booklet is a little light on details and the package labelling, which includes a bag unhelpfully labelled ‘miscellaneous hardware’, could be clearer. But it’s not truly an impediment to assembly. More of an issue, in our kit at least, was the tightness of the screws for attaching the fans to the radiator. They were stiff enough to risk rounding off the heads, which isn’t ideal.

Once up and running, the H115i runs super quiet at idle. In fact, you’ll struggle to detect it with normal hearing. Better still, in even the most extreme performance mode noise levels are extremely well controlled. To give the H115i the most demanding, we tried it out with the flaming inferno that is Intel’s 14nm Core i9-10900K 10-core CPU. The result was tangibly lower temps than several other AIO coolers we’ve test-driven with the 10900K, including the NZXT Kraken Z63. If it’s maximum performance and minimum racket you seek, therefore, you could do an awful lot worse.

At least you could if reliably controlling the Corsair iCue H115i Elite Capellix was a given. In our experience and with the current software and firmware, that’s not quite the case. Initial installation and setup with Corsair’s iCue software went smoothly and the interface offers more RGB configuration options than you could humanly desire.

The cooling configs include quiet, balanced, extreme or zero RPM modes, while the cooling and RGB functionality come together neatly via emergency triggers that can be set to not only ramp-up fan speed but also indicate an issue with an LED colour change when temps blow past a user-defined limit. Nice.

Less edifying is the fact that we had numerous issues with software and driver. After running fully stable at first, a system reboot had the iCue software initially refusing to recognise the cooler was present and then indicating it was present but with a warning symbol and essentially zero functionality. A quick perusal via the world’s de facto search tool suggests ours was not an isolated experience. It seems issues with Corsairs iCue platform are not uncommon. Which is a pity, because we otherwise reckon there’s plenty to appreciate. Assuming, that is, you really do like lights.

AMD’s Threadripper Pro processors for workstation desktops are finally here. These chips disrupt a market that Intel has dominated since AMD discontinued its Opteron lineup in 2017. In fact, they have the potential to upend it by offering up to an incredible 64 processing cores on a single CPU die. That’s far more in core count than an Intel Xeon W-class chip, and still more than a match for two Xeon scalable chips, while obviating the complexity and cost of multiple-CPU implementions.

Read on to find out if a Ryzen Threadripper Pro is worth considering in your next workstation.

Threadripper Pro: A Lenovo Exclusive (for Now)

Unlike the non-“Pro” consumer Ryzen Threadripper, AMD has no plans to offer Ryzen Threadripper Pro chips as standalone purchases. For its debut, the Pro chip is available exclusively in the Lenovo ThinkStation P620, a workstation tower that we are reviewing in parallel with this story. AMD says it will make the chip available to other workstation vendors after the exclusivity arrangement ends, though it did not provide a timeline for that.

Now, for the technical details. Let’s start with the basic specifications of the four Ryzen Threadripper Pro chips that were announced this past summer…

Per-chip pricing isn’t available, as you can see. These chips can only be purchased as part of a prebuilt system. A little online shopping, however, shows that the ThinkStation P620’s pricing is in line with a comparable Intel-based workstation when it comes to cost per CPU core. (More on that in our ThinkStation P620 review.)

Two of the Ryzen Threadripper Pro chips, the Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3975WX and the 3995WX, have the same core and thread counts as their non-Pro counterparts, the Ryzen Threadripper 3970X and the Ryzen Threadripper 3990X. The other two chips, the Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3945WX and 3955WX, do not have current-generation Ryzen Threadripper counterparts, as their 12-core/24-thread and 16-core/32-thread footprints are filled by the Ryzen 9 3900X and Ryzen 9 5900X (at the 12-core level), and the Ryzen 9 3950X and Ryzen 9 5950X (at the 16-core). The Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3945WX is notable for its high 4GHz base clock.

WRX80: A New Chipset for Threadripper

The Ryzen Threadripper Pro shares many specifications with the non-Pro version, including a 280-watt thermal design power (TDP) rating and AMD’s Zen 2 architecture. (See our Ryzen 9 3900X review for a primer on Zen 2.) However, the Pro chips have slightly lower clock speeds, likely for stability or thermal reasons. For example, the Ryzen Threadripper 3970X has a base clock of 3.7GHz and boost clocks of 4.5GHz, while the core-equivalent Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3975WX lowers those to 3.5GHz and 4.2GHz, respectively.

The Ryzen Threadripper Pro also uses the new WRX80 chipset, which brings on a bunch of improvements over the TRX40 chipset. (TRX40 debuted to support third-generation Threadrippers.) The WRX80 supports up to 128 PCI Express 4.0 lanes, up from 88 for the Ryzen Threadripper and its TRX40 chipset. It also doubles the memory channels from four to eight and works exclusively with error correcting code (ECC) memory.

The interior of the ThinkStation P620 and its WRX80 motherboard.

The ECC support is a crucial distinction in the workstation world. ECC is essential technology for fields, such as science, architectural design, and finance, in which unimpeachable accuracy and every decimal place matters. Non-Pro Ryzen Threadripper chips, in contrast, support ECC memory only in conjunction with certain motherboards.

For business, the Ryzen Threadripper Pro offers a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) for hardware encryption, along with AMD’s Ryzen Pro line of security and management technologies, its answer to Intel’s vPro.

One last curiosity about the Ryzen Threadripper Pro is that it does not require Windows 10 Pro for Workstations, like some Intel Xeon chips do. Thanks to a licensing agreement between AMD and Microsoft, Ryzen Threadripper Pro systems can use straight Windows 10 Pro, which will help keep costs down. The arrangement makes sense, since Windows 10 Pro for Workstations supports technologies that Ryzen Threadripper Pro workstations will not use, such as multi-CPU implementations.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro vs. Intel Xeon

Intel’s competition for Ryzen Threadripper Pro chips with 16 or fewer cores comes from its Xeon W-class line. Here are the closest comparisons Intel’s Xeon offers for the 12-core and 16-core Threadripper Pros.

The Intel chips are largely outclassed on paper, only outdoing AMD’s offerings with their higher boost clocks and lower TDP ratings. However, given AMD and Intel chips are built on different architectures, little can be assumed from clock speed and other differences, such as cache amounts. In addition, the higher maximum memory ceilings of the AMD chips are largely on-paper advantages, since most workstations with the chips above would not be ordered with more than 1TB of memory. (That said, some Xeon scalable chips can support 1.5TB or more.)

What can’t be ignored is the Ryzen Threadripper Pro’s massive advantage in PCI Express lane support. It also supports PCI Express 4.0, a potentially big deal in workflows where maximum storage throughput is beneficial. (See our Samsung SSD 980 Pro review to see how fast a PCIe 4.0 SSD can get.)

Cooling on the Threadripper Pro 3955WX is implemented via a twin-stack air cooler with two fans. No single Xeon W-class chip matches the 32-core/64-thread Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3975WX in core and thread count, so that leaves the job up to Intel’s scalable Xeon line, specifically the Xeon Gold and Platinum chips with 16 or more cores. Two of them can be used in a dual-CPU workstation to achieve equivalent core and thread counts, though as of this writing, I was unable to find a dual-CPU Intel tower workstation that supported more than a total of 56 cores and 112 threads (two 28-core/56-thread chips), leaving the monster 64-core/128-thread Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3995WX in a class of its own.

Testing the Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3955WX

Our testing focuses on the one Ryzen Threadripper Pro processor we’ve managed to get our mitts on so far, the 3955WX, a 16-core/32-thread chip that is a sensible choice for any kind of demanding workflow. Our test platform is the Lenovo ThinkStation P620 with Windows 10 Pro, 32GB of DDR4-3200 ECC memory, a 512GB PCI Express 3.0 SSD boot drive, and a 5GB Nvidia Quadro P2200 graphics card.

The memory is two 16GB ECC modules. That’s a somewhat unfortunate arrangement, since it makes use of only two out of the Ryzen Threadripper Pro’s possible eight memory channels. That said, none of our testing is particularly memory-bandwidth-sensitive, so the impact on our testing should be minimal.

Use the drop-down or the arrows at the top of the chart, below, to switch among various benchmarks. We ran our usual CPU testing suite, which comprises a host of core-crunching, media-processing, and single-threaded tasks. We’ve included, for context, recent Ryzen 7, Ryzen 9, Core i7, and Core i9 mainstream CPUs, plus the latest Threadripper, Xeon, and Core X-Series high-end chips we’ve tested.

For the Threadripper Pro 3955WX, pay special attention, across the charts, to the comparison numbers served up by these four chips:

The Intel Xeon W-2295: Intel’s closest Xeon W-series competition, with 18 cores.

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X: AMD’s 24-core non-Pro Threadripper CPU of the current generation.

The AMD Ryzen 9 3950X: The top Zen 2 chip of the mainstream Ryzens from the previous generation (the Ryzen 3000 series), with 16 cores. (We are working on testing the newer Ryzen 9 5950X.)

The Intel Core i9-10980XE Extreme Edition: The top (18-core) CPU in Intel’s Core X-Series high-end desktop line, around $1,000, mainly still relevant due to its support for more PCI Express lanes than Intel’s mainstream Core CPUs.

For starters, the Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3955WX is neck-and-neck with the Ryzen 9 3950X in almost every test, a small surprise given considering that they share the same core and thread count and have similar clock speeds. Likewise, the Threadripper 3960X consistently dominates, no surprise at all given its substantial core/thread advantage.

Next, let’s look at the Intel Xeon silicon. The Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3955WX has a slight disadvantage next to the Xeon W-2295 in decidedly single-threaded scenarios, such as the geriatric iTunes 10.6 and in the single-core run of POV-Ray 3.7. However, the bigger news is that the Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3955WX matches or beats it just about everywhere else, especially in the fully threaded Cinebench tests, an impressive stat considering the AMD chip has two fewer cores. This indicates that AMD’s Zen 2 architecture offers better per-core performance than the Intel chip’s aging 14nm “Cascade Lake” process.

Meanwhile, the Core i9-10980XE, also in the Cascade Lake generation, trades blows with the Threadripper Pro 3955X but generally comes in a bit behind it on the multi-core-heavy trials. It does fare a bit better than the Xeon in most cases.

Watch Out, Intel! CPU Competition on Workstations, Too, Is Heating Up

Though the Ryzen Threadripper Pro’s Zen 2 architecture isn’t AMD’s latest and greatest—Zen 3 came out just in the final quarter of 2020—it still compares more than favorably with Intel’s “Cascade Lake” Xeon chips. Our results show that it punches above its weight, offering more per-core performance than Intel’s chips, and, as you can see in our Lenovo ThinkStation P620 review, at a comparable price-per-core.

The excitement is somewhat dampened by Lenovo’s exclusive hold on the Ryzen Threadripper Pro, though at least it’s a temporary arrangement. Before we see Threadripper Pro, if ever, in DIY or consumer hands, we’d have to see at least a small ecosystem of WRX80-based motherboards emerge. Before and beyond that, though, we hope the chip is swiftly adopted by rival workstation makers, such as Dell and HP, to bring some competition to a market that very much needs it.

Windows 10 includes a custom volume mixer, which sounds like a great idea on paper—who wouldn’t a way to control the volume of individual apps? It’s incredibly useful when you need to dial back your game audio a bit so you can hear your guildmates on Discord (or the YouTube video you’re listening to in the background). It’s not so useful when you forget it exists.

For the past week or two, some YouTube videos I’ve watched have sounded a little faint. I didn’t think much of it at first, assuming I simply bumped the dial on the external DAC I use with my headphones. I cranked that up a little bit, which solved the YouTube problem, but I then had to dial back Windows 10’s overall volume because my games and system sounds were coming in a bit too hot.

I didn’t really think about the relationship between my apps and volume. Instead, I kept moving my system’s volume up and down as needed when switching between apps. I figured some of the YouTube videos were just encoded at a lower volume. It happens. The difference between those videos’ volumes, my system volume, and the volumes of my other apps wasn’t jarring enough to make me think something was wrong.

Something was wrong.

After around two weeks of this, it finally clicked. Maybe there was something weird going on with my audio levels. And right before I was about to bury myself in Windows 10’s sound settings, I remembered that damn Windows 10 volume mixer.

You can see it in action yourself by right-clicking on the volume icon in the lower-right corner of your taskbar, and then left-clicking on “Open volume mixer.” In a perfect world, all of the sliders would be at the exact same level, like so:

If you’re seeing some sliders set much differently, or finding that some apps are muted even though you’re still hearing sounds in others (or hearing general Windows system sounds) you’ve found your problem.

To fix this, you’ll have to engage in a fun dance of moving all the sliders either to the top or the bottom of their ranges so they all match. Then, move your Device volume (the left-most slider) to a comfortable position, and it should move all of the other sliders at the same rate. Getting everything to equal out can be a little annoying, but that’s how you fix it.

I haven’t tried it, but there’s another technique to consider: I believe you can also pull up Windows 10’s Sound mixer options via a Start Menu search. In the screen that appears, scroll down a bit, and then click on the “Reset” button in the lower-left corner. This should turn all of your apps up to 100%—that’s one-hundred percent of the system volume, since it’s a relative measurement—without messing with your actual system volume and blowing out your eardrums in the process.

Thanks to Apple’s new M1 processor, the latest MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini machines are breaking benchmarks left, right, and center. That’s enough for many of the geekrati to level up to the ARM-based hardware, but Apple has something spectacular planned for 2021.

Building on his previous reports, noted Apple analyst Ming Chi-Kuo lays out a stronger case for Apple switching to mini-LED displays in the MacBook hardware next year. With Apple’s suppliers gearing up for a massive switch in production, it’s clear that the LED panels offering improved colors, higher contract, and better brightness, are on the way. Tim Hardwick reports:

“According to the report, Apple is set to launch its first mini-LED iPad Pro in the first quarter of 2021 and mass produce mini-LED MacBook Pro models in the second quarter, and a number of Taiwan manufacturers are building a “pre-emptive presence” in the Mini-LED segment in anticipation.”

consideration of the silicon. The M1 chip is posting some great numbers of benchmarking sites, and the raw processing power is already matching top tier chips from Intel. While there is more to a computer than the processor, it makes a pretty big difference.

While many are pointing out that Intel still has the superior chip, that misses two pieces of positioning.

The first is that you have to look at the chips being compared. The entry level MacBook Air, with the lowest specced M1, is outperforming everything bar Intel’s top tier of chips. Put the M1 chip against one of Intel’s entry level chips, say in the Core i3 range, and you have a more honest comparison.

Yet the M1 chip is the first generation chip. Literally any MacBook released after this point is going to have more performance in it. When Apple rolls out an M2, or perhaps even the presumptively named M1X for faster desk-bound machines, I would expect Intel to lose that the performance lead.

Then there is Apple’s hardware and software. For all of the slick presentation and joyful initial reviews the M1 and the associated Mac machines are still first generation hardware; coupled with a signification update to macOS to allow it to run on Apple’s ARM-based silicon. While some apps work wonderfully, others are causing problems, running slower than on the Intel Macs, and significantly impacting on battery life.

As with any computing platforms, many of these problems will be addressed with software updates in the majority of cases, although the possibility remains that issues could be found in the hardware. Much as the lore of Apple is rock solid, in practice this is first generation hardware and software. The cautious should wait.

And finally, as typified by this report on the upcoming use of mini-LED screens in next year’s MacBook machines, the current MacBook Air and MacBook Pro machines are old designs. While they have the M1 chip inside, and the necessary updates circuitry to accomodate the changes, apple declined to make any external changes.

That certainly makes the sell to the average consumer a little easier (“look,” the theory goes, “it’s the same Mac you know and love, but its faster and has a longer lasting battery”), yet the brave new world of ARM surely demands a brave new design with the latest technology? That’s coming next year.

A faster processor that will out-gun most if not all of the x86 options; iterations to improve the first generation hardware and software; and the latest technology. All of these are expected in next year’s new MacBooks. 

Tech enthusiasts gleaned some pre-launch insight into the AMD Radeon RX 6800/XT graphics cards ahead of launch thanks to developer Patrick Schur sharing an AIB card BIOS with veteran tech reviewer Igor Wallossek. Now it looks like history is repeating, with the dynamic duo teaming up to produce insightful analysis of an ‘AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT’ before it becomes official.

The Igor’s Lab blog, spotted via VideoCardz, says that Schur sent along two AMD Navi22 AIB BIOS files for analysis. Before we go on to that it is worth stopping and considering the questions – qhat is an AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT? According to this leaked information it is, nice and neatly, about half-an-RX 6900 XT. Compared to that known quantity flagship it has half the Shaders/TMUs/ROPs/RT Units at 2560/192/64/40. Other spec downgrades are the 3MB L2 cache (down from 4MB), and that the RX 3700 XT has 12GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus.

Checking over the BIOS with his More PowerTool, Igor reckons that “enormous clock rates are expected” from the RX 6700 XT partner cards. The top GFX clock rates supported by the partner BIOS is 2,854MHz – that is higher than the RX 6800 XT limit of 2,800MHz, but less than the RX 6900 XT limit of 3,000MHz. It is much faster than its predecessor, the RX 5700 XT / Navi 21, could muster.

The two BIOS files under scrutiny had been set to different TGPs; one a moderate 186W, the other pushed it to 211W – expected to be a BIOS from a heavily overclocked sample. Another interesting insight derived from the BIOS settings is that the lower TGP model might well be a single fan design (looking at the very high cooling fan RPM). The OC model, meanwhile, has a 15 degree higher temperature max fan target of 95°C.

The rumour mill points to the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT arriving in Q1 next year, and it is possible a non-XT version will arrive at the same time. Reports suggest that Nvidia is imminently launching the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti so it will be addressing the biggest GPU market first, if stocks are available.

Sometimes for a company to get its projects over the line, it requires the help of crowdsourcing ideas. One such company is Eve Tech, or EVE for short, and looking to build on the success of its first-generation EVE V 2-in-1 dubbed the “Surface Pro Killer”. Today the company has officially lifted the lid on its second-generation EVE V. The new EVE V 2-in-1 includes a whole host of impressive features and specs including Intel’s Tiger Lake mobile processors with Xe integrated graphics, Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 6, and a 13.4″ 4K (3840 x 2400) with 10-point multitouch. The design of the device has been through deep interactions with interested end-user customers to build a device with the specifications that they want.

The EVE V 2nd generation has crammed all of its technology into a very high specification 2-in-1 with consultation of potential customers. For a convertible designed to compete with the latest and greatest, Eve Tech has lifted the lid on the EVE V 2nd Gen specifications, the technologies under the hood, as well as an impressive array of features.

Focusing on the screen, the EVE V is using a 13.4-inch Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide (IGZO) panel with a native 3840 x 2400 pixel (4K 16:10) resolution. This has a 16:10 aspect ratio, with two different variations including the higher-spec 4K resolution, or an FHD 1920 x 1080 resolution at 16:9. Some of the finer specifications of the screen include a 1500:1 contrast ratio, up to 500 nits of brightness, and is using edge-to-edge Corning Gorilla Victus glass, announced recently as one of the most scratch resistant glass surfaces.

The Tiger Lake processor comes with four cores and eight threads, as well as Xe graphics and Thunderbolt 4 support. For a convertable, the EVE V uses a lot of that IO, with three Type-C ports, two of them Thunderbolt 4. The two Thunderbolt 4 Type-C ports also include DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 1.4b video support, with a power output of up to 5V or 15 watts as well as charging capabilities. Other connectivity includes a USB 3.2 G2 Type-C port, with a single 3.5 mm audio jack, a microSD reader with compatibility for SDXC up to a maximum of 2 TB. The sound capabilities are also impressive with dual 0.7-watt front-facing speakers, and a pair of 1 W front-facing low-frequency speakers that resemble subwoofer qualities. Some variations of the EVE V will come with a Nano Sim slot for 4G capabilities.

Included with the EVE V is its V pen, which has been upgraded over the EVE V 2016 model. It is based on Wacom’s AES 2.0 technology and features 4096 pressure levels which is designed to benefit from the 10-point touchscreen. The new V keyboard supplied includes a folio cover with a soft touch feel, with a Windows Precision touchpad that includes a textured glass surface for optimal precision. It also includes an adjustable backlight for low light situations. There is a 5 Megapixel rear-facing camera, as well as a 720p front-facing camera for conference calls, as well as a fingerprint reader integrated into the power button.

Although Eve Tech hasn’t fully announced the availability of the V, it estimates that it’ll start shipping by the end of Q3 2021, and will be available globally across various retailers. Users can reserve the EVE V with a fully refundable down payment of $300, with the remaining expected to be paid prior to shipping.

The EVE V will start at $1399 for the base model with a Core i5, 16 GB of memory and a 512 GB NVMe SSD, with the top-spec model with the Core i7, 32 GB of RAM, and a 2 TB NVMe SSD for around $2000. This is inline with some of the premium Tiger Lake notebooks we have seen being launched recently with 3840×2400 screens, such as the Dell XPS13 and the Razer Book 13.

Wi-Fi 6 has accelerated its creep into mainstream wireless networking, urged along by the similarly accelerating spread of gigabit internet. Until the last few months or so, purchasing a Wi-Fi 6 device has largely been a decision more about future-proofing and less about immediate gain. That’s quickly changing, however, with all manner of wireless device manufacturers releasing products boasting about blazing this and blistering that, and it’s finally time to take a serious look at 802.11ax routers.

The Asus RT-AX88U was an early entrant in the field, and the company now has several follow-ups, including our best gaming router runner-up: the RT-AX86U. There, I gave it credit for being extremely fast and for its restrained physical design. However, I took issue with Asus’s UI decisions. In the end, I concluded that I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good gaming experience. Now I’m taking an even deeper dive to find out: Is this router worth it for just any old person and not just gamers presumably reading this in a hoodie with some kind of RGB lighting and heat vents? I think so, and you should, too.

As far as the design of the Asus RT-AX86U goes, there isn’t much to say, and frankly, that’s a good thing. It’s neither a slab nor a monolith, neither an ancient alien artifact nor an air freshener chic pod (though it can be a Gundam, apparently). It’s black, it stands upright, and it has three stabby, removable, adjustable antennas jutting from the top. It has four outgoing gigabit ethernet ports—one of which is an auto-prioritizing gaming port—in the back, a gigabit WAN, and a 2.5-gigabit LAN/WAN port for those lucky enough to be able to make use of it. Two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports give you a fast NAS if you’ve got a hard drive lying around.

Getting it set up is a quick process, refreshingly letting me choose up front whether to separate the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. Knowing that I would need to reconfigure some real dumb smart devices, I opted for separation, and my network was up and running in about five minutes.

But it should be noted there are two ways to handle setup and management. One is via a lovely mobile app, and the other is via the browser, and I hate the browser-based UI of Asus routers. It’s just a weird, unfocused, confusing mess. If you’re the type of person who wants deep, granular control of your home network, but don’t want to shell out for expensive enterprise-grade hardware, you could do a lot worse than Asus, but prepare to hunt for the settings you need to adjust. Trudging through the settings reveals menus and submenus that stretch out seemingly to infinity, with an intimidating depth that would have most people regarding it with narrowed eyes and a feigned understanding, muttering, “Yes, I see,” as they slowly mouse up to click the X button on that tab.

The intro screen has a basic network topology map which gives you a diagram of what all is connected, and a section where you can split out your 2.4 and 5 GHz bands or update your network SSID and password. After that, you get the shiny feature-y stuff, the majority of which, like the specific data-type prioritizing Adaptive QoS, Traffic Analysis, and various media modes and security, is powered by Trend Micro.

Together they offer a host of security features in the AiProtection section, promising to block malicious sites, protect you from Distributed Denial of Service attacks, and network vulnerability attacks like Heartbleed, while also monitoring outgoing traffic for suspicious packets from virus-infected devices. Each tab under this section gives you reports of suspicious network behavior, with downloadable logs for your review. In testing at wicar.org, the router blocked all but two of 10 sites, with Safari catching the last two. It seemed to work well, though the experience is barebones, and unlike the rest of the settings for the router, there are no opportunities for customization, just toggles for each of the three categories of protection. But using this, or a few other key features powered by Trend Micro, will bring you eventually to this EULA notice:

It seems that in order to have access to Trend Micro’s features, you must agree to give them access to all kinds of data, which may include your e-mails or your web browsing history. It’s spooky stuff, as usual, but thankfully all fairly easy to opt in or out of, as well—so long as you can bear the ensuing message about the valuable capabilities you’ll lose out on. So, it’s not quite the deal with Ursula the Sea Witch I initially worried it was, and, in the end, the details in the EULA are perhaps not unexpected for security software like this. I reached out to both Asus and Trend Micro for their input on what sort of data they collect and how exactly it’s used, and we’ll update here when we get a response.

Deeper in the menus, you will find a surprisingly pleasant Open NAT section with pre-configured port reservations for specific games and consoles, and NAS options that include support for Apple’s Time Machine backup software. Most people will go wall-eyed looking at options past these, but it’s worth noting that if you want to use features like OFDMA and MU-MIMO, beamforming, and, I don’t know, the actual Wi-Fi 6 standard, you’ll want to push on into the advanced settings—just don’t expect to understand much of what you are presented with here, unless you have studied networking down to a very specific level. That said, if you have time and sufficient grit, you can sift through it and find some truly powerful options.

Now, for all the shade I throw at the browser interface, Asus actually does a pretty decent job with their mobile app. Appearance-wise, it’s far from the tidy design of most of Asus’s competitors; the app looks the way we might have imagined the UI of the future would in the early aughts or late ‘90s—all sci-fi space controls floating against a star field, complete with animations that are just there to look neat. While very silly, it’s a breath of fresh air after using the web interface, with more of the stuff you would want quick access to right there on the home screen, like Adaptive QoS mode switching, letting you quickly switch priority to games, video conferencing software, media streaming, and more.

While not quite as robust as the browser UI, the mobile app is far more user-friendly, even if it isn’t perfect. I greatly appreciated seeing signal noise shown for individual devices—also an option in the browser—which helps a lot when placing them for the best signal, which is especially important for things like smart speakers, which can be made or broken by your choices regarding network topology.

Looking at the feature list, it’s not unusual to wonder why in the hell you would want to command your router with Alexa. But, in the interest of being thorough, I grabbed my long-banished Echo Dot to test, and I did find some genuinely useful bits here—temporarily activating your guest network, for example, or pausing wifi. Perhaps the most useful of the bunch is the ability to change Adaptive QoS modes without going into the app.

The main shortcoming of Alexa Skills remains: Every command must be prefaced with “Alexa, ask my router…”, followed by a prescribed set of phrases you must memorize (or look up every time, defeating the purpose). The pricier RT-AX88U gives you a small selection of more natural-sounding phrases like, “Alexa, pause my wifi.” I tried anyway; not only did it not work, but Alexa pretended not to know who I was.

The rest of my smart home experience on this router, initial difficulties aside, was a good one—lightbulbs flicked on and off, routines ran, and my chosen smart assistant didn’t hesitate to respond to my requests.

The RT-AX86U is powered by a 1.8 GHz quad-core CPU with 1 GB of RAM and 256 MB Flash memory. Theoretically, it can transmit up to 4804 Mbps on the 5 GHz band, or up to 861 Mbps on the 2.4, but you’ll never see those speeds, nor should you expect them. It has four antennas—one of which is an internal, printed circuit board antenna, and works all the way up to the 160 MHz band, which is a key component of Wi-Fi 6, and necessary to reach the fastest speeds the router is capable of. It has a long list of other terms that describe how powerful it is.

As I’ve noted previously, the RT-AX86U is great for gaming. I wanted to take it further, so I decided to stress test the router, streaming music at the highest quality available on multiple devices, watching a 4K nature documentary on Apple TV, which is known for its high-bitrate streaming, conducting a video call with a friend, and playing CS:GO on official servers. This is a realistic scenario in my home, and the RT-AX86U aced it—I saw no sign of buffering or stuttering anywhere, my friend reported clear audio and smooth video, and in-game ping seemed unaffected. In raw numbers, I had to move into my back yard to get anything slower than the max I’m getting from my ISP, finding that I had good, usable internet even at the farthest reaches of my yard, which is about a fifth of an acre.

I tested file transfers with a 734 MB copy of Ernest Saves Christmas—a typical use case for network storage—and found the transfers to be very fast, with the limiting factor seemingly the actual read/write capability of the router. Transfer speeds reached as high as 465.79 Mbps, but averaged between 310 and 350 Mbps, and hardly budged at any distance. Write speeds were about half that.

After determining that the RT-AX86U was gross overkill for my needs, I thought I would look at Asus’s AiMesh, which lets you use multiple Asus routers to create a mesh network. Self-healing and pretty straightforward to set up, an AiMesh network can definitely get you that kind of blanketed internet plants crave.

I tested the mesh capabilities with the addition of an RT-AX82U, and for some reason, setting this up ended up actually being the only way I could finally get my “smart” bathroom light switch to join my new network. I came to this experience with the breezy setup of Eero already in mind and found it similarly easy with Asus. Network performance was as expected, with devices generally connecting to the node closest to them or, at least, with the lowest amount of signal noise, and no real noticeable changeover time. Basically, mesh networking is a revelation to anyone who hasn’t used it, and that much is true here, as well.

In the end, the Asus RT-AX86U is a great router, with speedy performance and easy setup, despite an annoying menu system. Actually getting down and dirty in the settings is a pain, thanks to confusing, incompletely explained technicals and messy organization, but basic and intermediate settings can be easily changed in the mobile app. Security and device prioritization for the router is decent, though I recommend you review the EULA before proceeding to make sure you’re comfortable with the exchange you must make to take advantage. The mesh setup was fairly painless. The RT-AX86U met and, in some cases exceeded, my expectations, at least where it counts. Of course, you’re going to pay for it, at MSRP $250—though you can find decent discounts at the usual online retailers.

Whether you just want lag-free gaming or you need something that can handle a heavy overall load, this router does it with aplomb. We are rapidly approaching the day when recommendations like this one isn’t just about future-proofing, but you will find in the RT-AX86U a router more than capable of meeting the unexpected demands put upon all of us this year. If you’ve got a smaller home that needs a lot of power and would prefer to check out mesh networking at a later date, this is absolutely the router for you.

ASRock and Razer have today announced a product collaboration. Two of ASRock’s premium models for AM4 are being updated with Razer styling and Razer Chroma connectivity: the X570 and B550 Taichi Razer Edition. Built upon the popular Taichi series, both of the new Razer Edition variants include a 16-phase power delivery, with official support and compatibility with Razer’s Chroma RGB ecosystem.

Whenever Razer does a collaboration with any company in the hardware industry, it gets people excited and talking. One of the most prominent brands globally with its green inspired peripheral range, as well as its various wacky ideas such as an RGB gaming toaster; I can’t ever be as excited for a toaster as much as the Chroma Edition.

Back to the actual hardware, and it has teamed up with ASRock, a company seemingly fearless when trying new and off-the-wall ideas. This has realised the two new models, the B550 and X570 Taichi Razer Edition. The Taichi series is one of ASRock’s most popular ranges, especially in the premium motherboard space, and the new Razer Editions will build upon this with both the AMD AM4 500 series chipsets being treated to some Chroma.

Both the ASRock X570 and B550 Taichi Razer Edition models will feature much of the same feature set including a large 16-phase VRM, built with premium 60 A chokes and Nichicon 12K black capacitors. In regards to the actual specifications, both of these new models correspond nearly identically with its non Chroma counterparts. The X570 Taichi Razer edition includes three PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots, eight SATA ports from the chipset, a 2.5 GbE port as well as a Killer AX1650 Wi-Fi 6 module. For the B550, it is slightly lower down the pecking order due to the PCIe 4.0 support coming only from the CPU. It includes one PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slot, with an additional PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slot with eight SATA ports, four from the chipset and four from an ASMedia SATA controller.

The biggest impact and only differences between the standard X570 and B550 Taichi’s compared to the Razer Edition models comes visually, with Razer’s flair located around the board itself. The addition of addressable RGB headers taps into one of the biggest RGB Ecosystems around, the Razer Chroma RGB. On both models, the Razer logo can be found on the rear panel cover and the chipset heatsinks, for a bit of added flair and vibrance that RGB offers. These aren’t OLED screens, just Razer branded vanity plates.

It should be noted that Razer is famous (infamous?) for doing things like green USB ports to unify the branding. That hasn’t happened here however, indicating that this is more of a collaborative branding exercise rather co-design effort.

As it stands, the ASRock X570 and B550 Taichi Razer Editions aren’t on the open market and neither company has opted to announce a release date or pricing. Given that both models include official pages (X570 and B550) on the ASRock website means that this launch for its target markets (TBA) should be imminent.

It’s getting pretty difficult to make a laptop that stands out. There are countless thin and light notebooks with comfortable keyboards, beautiful screens and enough power for most professional workflows. To really make an impression, manufacturers have to introduce some unique features that rise above mere gimmickry. HP’s latest attempt is something called Presence Aware on the EliteBook 1040, which lets the machine know when you’re in front of it so that it can dim the screen when you leave and wake up when you return. There’s also a new AI noise reduction tool to make your voice sound clearer on calls. 

Though we don’t review many commercial laptops like HP’s EliteBook series, we’re making an exception this time because interesting new features like Presence Aware and AI Noise Reduction tend to show up in HP’s consumer models after debuting in business-first lines. The $1,560 EliteBook 1040 is our first chance to determine if these are actually useful or if they’re actually useful.

Summary

The HP EliteBook x360 1040 G7 is our first chance to test the company’s presence-sensing feature that dims and locks your computer when you leave and wakes it when you return. It works as advertised, but is mostly useful for people working in an office and don’t always remember to lock their machine when they step away. The EliteBook x360 1040 G7’s screen is on the dim side, but if you can tolerate that you’ll appreciate its beautiful design, reliable performance and good battery life.

Design

HP has become a leader in laptop design, with its Spectre series being some of the best-looking ultraportables around. The company’s machines often have super thin silhouettes with unique flourishes like leather coverings. The EliteBook 1040 is less striking — its silver exterior and sloping profile are pretty typical these days, but touches like the angled lip and shiny branding on the back edge add subtle style. HP also said this year’s model is slightly smaller and lighter than the last generation. Regardless, this is a good-looking machine, and one of few commercial laptops that also looks stylish. 

The 14-inch display is surrounded by thin bezels on the right and left, though the top and bottom borders are wider to accommodate a Windows Hello-capable IR webcam (and, uh, HP’s logo). You can use a dedicated keyboard shortcut to trigger a physical shutter to keep prying eyes from spying through your webcam. Meanwhile, next to the spacebar sits a fingerprint sensor. Unlike Samsung’s Galaxy Book Flex 13, which also has a fingerprint scanner on the keyboard, HP’s reader takes the form of a button that you can actually push down on. It’s a bit superfluous since you don’t have to press the key for the laptop to read your fingerprint. 

Possibly because it’s meant for business users, the EliteBook 1040 comes with a conservative (which is to say generous) port selection, including two USB-A connections, an HDMI socket, a microSD card reader and a headphone jack. There’s also a pair of Thunderbolt-friendly USB-C ports, which you can use to charge the device on the right edge. That said, having one on either side would have been a bit more convenient. 

Display and audio

The EliteBook’s 1,920 x 1,080 screen is crisp and colorful. I enjoyed watching Engadget’s docuseries Superhumans and the speakers flanking the keyboard were loud and clear. I also played videos of Costa Rica in 4K and they looked rich and detailed, while Christmas jazz music was bright and well-rounded. 

I do wish the display were brighter, though — it was sometimes hard to see in sunlight. It’s still clearer than HP’s other laptops with built-in privacy filters, though. By skipping out on the filter, the EliteBook 1040 instantly improved its viewing angles. 

Keyboard and trackpad 

I’ve loved HP’s EliteBook keyboards for some time now, and the 1040 doesn’t disappoint. The buttons are satisfyingly deep and offer clicky feedback that reminds me of mechanical keys. The layout is well spaced, and since this is a 14-inch machine there’s also room on the right for an additional column of keys including Home, Page Down, Page Up and End. 

HP also threw in a nifty programmable key in the shortcut row at the top, which you can set to launch your favorite apps, files or websites. Using a combination of Ctrl, Alt and Shift with the programmable button, you can create up to four different shortcuts. For example, you could set the key to launch your messaging apps, browser with tabs open for email and calendar, as well as your photo and audio editing software. This way, you can start your work day with all your frequently used tools with just a push. Then you could set Shift-ProgramKey to pull up three different browsers set to the PlayStation 5 order page for various retailers when a drop is about to happen. It’s a simple but surprisingly useful feature that I wish more companies would adopt.

Presence Aware and AI Noise Reduction

Another feature unique to the new EliteBook 10 series is HP’s Presence Aware. This uses a proximity sensor to tell if you’re in front of your laptop to dim your screen and lock your machine when you walk away, and wake it up when you’re back. Because it uses a proximity sensor instead of a camera, Presence Aware will also work if you’ve shuttered the webcam, and it’s not looking for identifying features like your eyes or face.

On my first review unit I couldn’t use Presence Aware at all; the settings page just said “Service Unavailable.” The second unit worked fine, and I set the system to dim and lock within five seconds of me leaving. It mostly behaved as I expected: The system woke up once I returned, and signed me in via Windows Hello using the webcam. 

Since I’m working from home and no one else is here, Presence Aware doesn’t offer many benefits for me other than a fraction of a second saved by not having to hit a button to wake the laptop up. HP claims that this can also help save battery by putting the machine to sleep when you’re away, though I don’t find it that different from existing screen timeout tools. 

When we do return to offices, though, this feature could be useful for those of us who don’t always remember to lock our laptops when we leave our desks. It still requires at least a few seconds after you walk away to lock your machine, so if someone stood in front of your desk once you leave they could thwart the auto-lock. But at least if you are still in the vicinity, you’d be aware of would-be interlopers.

point out that it uses a 60-degree TOF sensor that scans a wider angle so it’s quicker at knowing when you’re back at your desk.

Another feature that’s new with the EliteBook 1040 is an “AI noise reduction” tool that’s supposed to suppress ambient noise for “crystal-clear conferencing.” You might want to reword your claim, HP, because even though the feature seemed to work, it didn’t make my voice sound completely clear. 

I used Audacity to record myself speaking while I played sounds of a siren on my phone, and the AI was smart enough to silence the noise when I wasn’t talking. Whenever I did say anything, though, the mic activated and the EliteBook picked up the wailing sounds in the background, so I still had to compete to be heard. It’s impressive that the system is smart enough to know when I’m speaking and open up the microphone, but it doesn’t appear to be suppressing the sounds it claims it does while I’m talking. These noises include rustling paper, barking dogs and slamming doors. HP also didn’t respond to a question about whether this is something you can turn off. 

Performance and battery life

Thanks to its 10th-gen Intel Core i7 processor, the EliteBook 1040 was more than capable of handling my daily workflow. I encountered no delays as I wrote up news posts while covering a live event on YouTube, downloading and editing pictures and researching stories. It kept running even as I pushed it harder, jumping in and out of League Of Legends to chat with my friends on Discord and Telegram. That said, it did take a second or so to switch between those apps. 

The EliteBook also lasts a long time. On our video rundown test, it clocked 14 hours and 23 minutes, which is a respectable score. In general use, the EliteBook 1040 also managed to stick around all day.

Wrap-up

The EliteBook x360 1040 G7 starts at $1,500 with a hefty discount on HP’s website right now, and for that price there are plenty of better consumer options to consider. Of course, your company’s IT department might be willing to pay more for the security software and protocols that are compatible with its setup. 

But features like HP Presence Aware and noise reduction are what I’m more concerned about in this review and neither of them are very exciting just yet. If they’re a taste of what’s to come in future mainstream laptops, I believe companies will continue to struggle to find ways to make their products stand out. Aside from those features and its somewhat dim screen, though, the HP EliteBook x360 1040 G7 is a good if somewhat pricey laptop.