How many GPU cores would that allow? Some rumors are
suggesting up to 144 SMs and 1 8,4 32 CUDA cores on the top
model, and that would likely be a harvested chip. Combine
that with fourth-generation tensor cores, third-generation RT
cores, more cores in general, architectural enhancements, plus
potentially higher clocks and more cache, and Lovelace should be
able to keep Nvidia in the pole position.
But it’s not just AMD and Nvidia this time. Intel’s Arc Alchemist
(aka DG2) cards should finally launch in early 20 22. We’ve talked a
bit about Arc over the past year, and there are plenty of unknowns.
Still, with the top cards reputed to contain 512 vector engines
(the new name for Intel’s Execution Units of previous integrated
GPUs), or 4096 GPU cores running at up to 2.3GHz, plus lots of
GDDR6 memory, Intel Arc should perform decently.
Let’s be real: It’s not going to match Lovelace or RDNA 3. But
it might be able to compete with the existing RDNA 2 and Ampere
products. More importantly, it may be available at a reasonable
price, with the top model reportedly selling for $ 650 (according to
Intel’s own accidental leak). If it can keep up with an RTX 3070 and
actually have stock at that price, that would be a great starting
point. The sequel to Alchemist, Battlemage, can then worry about
closing the gap. Let’s just hope drivers are up to snuff.CASES& COOLINGRETHINKING HOW WE CHILL
NANO? NO, NOLAST YEAR WE SPOKE in-depth about how the world of cooling
PCs was changing exponentially quickly. We’d seen the likes of
nano-particle coolant enter the fray, courtesy of Mayhems, and
were convinced it was going to make its way into the world of AIOs.
Sadly this just hasn’t come to fruition, and as the genius behind
Mayhems has stepped back from the world of development, we’ll
be curious to see if any of that innovation makes its way into the
world of AIOs. That said, the world of CPUs still hasn’t changed.
New generation chips are still as hot as they’ve ever been, and
although we’ve not seen a new generation of processor from AMD
just yet, it’s highly unlikely we’ll see a reduction in heat.The answer to these heightened temperatures so far seems
to come from larger and larger radiators. Corsair launched an
industry-first 42 0mm AIO early in 20 21, and it’s something that
we’re likely to see start popping up from other manufacturers
too. In the short term, it certainly makes sense. It’s far easier to
just bump up radiator sizes than mess around with unpredictable
new coolant, especially for mass-produced products, and
although nano-coolant showed potential, it wasn’t without its
flaws—namely, cost and production time.
Given many case manufacturers also create their own coolers,
we’d be surprised not to see some 4 20mm AIOs pop up from
the likes of Cooler Master. Expect to see more AIOs with in-
built displays, and potentially even a return look at expandable
AIOs, compatible with graphics card water blocks and beyond.
We’ve already seen Asus co-design a GPU with Noctua this year,
extending that notion to graphics cards, and making it compatible
with a liquid-cooled loop would be the logical next step.CASE SHIFT
ANOTHER UNIQUE WAY of combating the problem with heat
comes from case design. With the success of more open-style
air-flow cases, from the likes of Hydra and Yuel Beast, we’d put
money on some of the more mainstream case manufacturers
following suit.
You can already see a lot of that design language going into
Fractal Design’s Torrent chassis, with its broad focus on airflow,
and vast gaps on its intake fans. This will inevitably lead to larger
build-ups of dust, but it does allow much better access to air. We
even cooled a Core i5- 106 00K using a slim-line Noctua NH-L9i
without issue, purely by using an open-air chassis.
Case design takes time, and bringing a product into production
typically takes anywhere between 12 to 24 months. It may only
be a matter of time before Fractal, Phanteks, and NZXT launch
something a bit bolder than the current airflow variants of their
more famous Evolv, H510, and Define lineup of cases.EOL FOR MICRO-ATX & DRIVE BAYS
SADLY, this might also be the final year that we see the availability
of two specific types of cases—at least, at the premium end of the
market. With more and more high-frequency chipset launches
and a dwindling fan base due to GPUs moving away from Crossfire
and SLI support, Micro-ATX seems to be dying a slow death at the
hands of case manufacturers.AMD’s Instinct MI250X uses dual GPU chiplets and
stacked dies to achieve record performance. Does
this represent the shape of things to come in 2 022?While available to the public at a more
reasonable price, sadly nano-coolant
hasn’t made its way into AIOs just yettech preview 2022