INCOMING / NEWS
AMD releases
unlocked Athlon
InWin unveils
$500 case
AMD has released a Zen-based budget
APU with an unlocked multiplier. The new
Athlon 3000G combines a dual-core (four-
thread) CPU with an integrated Radeon
Vega3 GPU, which contains 192 stream
processors. It’s based on AMD’s 14nm
1st-gen Zen core, rather than the latest Zen
2 core, but it does have a very low price of
just £45 inc VAT from scan.co.uk.
The new chip is clocked at 3.5GHz at stock
speed, but the unlocked multiplier could
potentially enable you to get more speed out
of it. With just two cores and 1MB of L2 cache,
it’s not going to break any benchmarking
records, but if you’re strapped for cash, that’s
a very tempting price for a chip that contains
both a CPU and a GPU.
PHIL HARTUPInWin has announced a new full tower case with a huge price tag. The
925 has a recommended retail price of $500 US (around £466 inc VAT),
making it ideal for when you’re building a PC that deserves a home nicer
than yours. It looks spacious, gorgeous, robust and well-ventilated.
Made from 4mm-thick brushed aluminium, the 925 has a chunky,
unthreatening and almost cartoonish aesthetic, with some distinctive
visible nuts and bolts and a big tempered glass window to show off
the cavernous interior. There’s also an addressable RGB logo on the
front panel, which helps break up the otherwise stern frontage.
Cooling options are substantial, with room for three 120mm or two
140mm fans in the front panel, three 120mm fans in the top, three 120mm
fans in the rear and the option to install up to 360mm radiators in the front
or the top. The rear cooling option is particularly substantial, with most
cases favouring only a single 120mm exhaust fan. The hard disk cage
can also be removed to provide space for a water-cooling reservoir.
Storage options are surprisingly ordinary given the size of the
case, with space for four 3.5in and three 2.5in disk drives. The drive
bays are stashed in a compartment in the belly of the case along
with the PSU. There is a large amount of ostensibly unclaimed space
within the case, which lends itself to creative builds rather than
efficiency. There’s no word on UK availability for the InWin 925 yet.
PHIL HARTUP