Lenovo has taken the wraps off its sleek, lightweight, and power-packed ThinkPad P1 Gen 7.
The new laptop supports up to a Core Ultra 9 185H CPU and users can choose between integrated Intel Arc graphics, Nvidia RTX 1000/2000/3000 Ada Generation GPUs, or an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060/4070 GPU, allowing it to handle most AI processing needs.
The ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 is the first mobile workstation to come with LPDDR5x LPCAMM2 memory, with a capacity of up to 64GB. It can accommodate 2 x PCIe 4×4 M.2 2280 SSDs for up to 8TB storage.
Crafted from premium aluminum, the laptop comes with a 16-inch display with a 16:10 aspect ratio, and narrow bezels providing a 91.7% screen-to-body ratio. Lenovo offers a choice of three displays – FHD+ IPS, QHD+ IPS, and UHD+ OLED Touch.
Connectivity comes in the form of Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3, and the laptop sports 2 x Thunderbolt 4 ports, 1 x USB-C (10Gbps), 1 x USB-A (5Gbps), an SD Express 7.0 card reader, HDMI 2.1, and an audio jack.
The new device features a liquid metal thermal design (in select configurations) which Lenovo says “enhances cooling performance and long-term reliability, catering to critical workflows when complex tasks require maximum performance for extended periods.”
Battery life is always important in laptops, and the ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 has a 90Whr customer replaceable unit.
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“Lenovo’s latest ThinkPad P series mobile workstations are taking a significant step forward by featuring cutting-edge Intel Core Ultra processors equipped with a dedicated neural processing engine,’ said Roger Chandler, Vice President and General Manager, Enthusiast PC and Workstation Segment, Intel.
“Designed to enhance AI PC capabilities on laptops, this technology also improves performance, power efficiency and enables superior collaboration experiences, allowing users to be creative for longer periods without the need for constant charging.”
ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 will be available from June 2024, with prices starting at $2,619.
There’s a new Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 on the block and while it might not be the best graphics card out there, it has one massive advantage: it’s adorably cat-themed.
The card is currently available through one of Nvidia’s Chinese board partners, ASL, and can be shipped out to the US. Even better, the price is less than a normal RTX 4060. The design is a collaboration between ASL and SupremoCat, a Chinese cartoon brand, and features Wuhuang and Bazhahey (a cat and pug duo) wearing sunglasses and placed at the center of each fan. To top it off, the card is a pretty pastel pink, giving it even cuter vibes.
If you’re in the US, you can order this card on AliExpress for $374.99, which isn’t too shabby. And if you sign up for an AliExpress Choice subscription you can get free delivery on your order, which is an even better incentive considering how slow and expensive international shipping can be.
Make gaming PCs and peripherals cuter, please
I’ve been shouting from the digital rooftops for years that we need more cute tech to combat the dreaded gamer aesthetic that’s still popular with manufacturers to this day. Seeing this adorable collab birth such a cute graphics card is music to my eyes and I want to see more of this in the future.
Gaming setups are normally incredibly boring, a generic mix of RGB lighting trying to liven up black computers and accessories. But having unique colors, designs, shapes, and more does far more to add real personality and distinctiveness to a gamer space. I want people to immediately see my obsession with sickeningly cute animals the minute they lay eyes on my desk, not have strobe lights flash in their eyes.
So yes, I want more pink and purple laptops and keyboards with cat and dog keycaps, and there’s definitely a market out there for people like me.
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The time has never been better to consider a new mid-range graphics card now that AMD made its latest GPU available worldwide. Naturally, potential buyers are going to compare the RX 7900 GRE vs RTX 4070, given their close proximity in price, but it’s also important to consider what they each offer in terms of performance, features, and overall value for your money.
The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE is a curious graphics card, launching in February 2024 after being launched exclusively in China back in June 2023, but it’s now available to the rest of the world and offers phenomenal performance for a far more palatable price tag than many of the best graphics cards on the market right now. With the promise of the Big Navi 31 die and 16GB VRAM under the hood, it even proves itself to be one of the best 4K graphics cards for those who are on a tighter budget but want some of that sweet, sweet 2160p gaming (with appropriate settings tweaks).
The RTX 4070 has had something of a resurgence recently, having been effectively replaced by the RTX 4070 Super back in January of this year. The latter card offered 20% more CUDA cores at the same $599 price point, essentially getting you significantly more performance without the need to splash out. But that release also dropped Nvidia‘s suggested retail price of the Nvidia RTX 4070 by about 10%, making it an even stronger contender for the title of best 1440p graphics card.
But there’s more to it than all that, and while we’re fond of both mid-range GPUs, we wouldn’t be TechRadar if we didn’t dig deep into our test bench to put each of these fan-favorites to our extensive battery of performance tests to find out which one comes out on top.
RX 7900 GRE vs RTX 4070: Price
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
When weighing up a mid-range graphics card, the pricing is always paramount. The brand new RX 7900 GRE comes in clutch with an advantage straight out of the gate with its recommended retail price of just $549 / £529.99 / AU$929. In contrast, the RTX 4070 launched at $599 / £589.99 / AU$999 for the Founders Edition model, but has also dropped down to $549 / £529.99 / AU$929 in February.
What’s particularly aggressive about the RX 7900 GRE is how it slots into the current RDNA 3 lineup, being just $50 more than the excellent AMD RX 7800 XT from last year. In comparison, the RTX 4070 is quite the jump up from its sibling, the Nvidia RTX 4060 Ti, which starts at $399 in the US.
On price alone, then, this would appear to be a tie between the RX 7900 GRE vs RTX 4070, but price isn’t the same thing as value, and in the case of the RX 7900 GRE, it’s overall performance-to-price ratio after our testing reveals that it gives you more for that investment, giving it the decisive edge here.
Winner: AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE
RX 7900 GRE vs RTX 4070: Specs
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
AMD’s RX 7900 GRE immediately stands out as a mid-range GPU by offering 16GB GDDR6 VRAM on a 256-bit memory bus. It’s built on the AMD Navi 31 die with a total of 5,120 Stream Processors. By comparison, the RTX 4070 is built on the AD104 die with a total of 5,888 CUDA cores and 12GB GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit memory bus.
There we see the immediate architectural differences between mid-range RDNA 3 and Ada respectively. The former opts for a larger memory bus with a higher amount of slower memory, compared to the latter’s lower memory pool that’s considerably quicker. Despite their differences, the two models are remarkably close in total bandwidth available with the GRE boosting 576 GB/sec to the RTX 4070’s 504.2 GB/sec.
That slight lead in bandwidth comes at the price of increased power draw, however. That’s because the 7900 GRE has a 260W TDP compared to the 4070’s 200W TDP, for a difference of 30%. Ada’s architecture is therefore considerably more efficient than its rival. With that said, the red corner wins favor by fitting its latest GPU out with the standard two 8-pin PCIe connectors with no need for the likes of a 16-pin adapter, though.
The design languages of both are similar at base level. The 7900 GRE and 4070 are both dual-slot GPUs which means they should be ideal for a smaller form factor mini-ITX build just as much as a wider tower.
It’s worth noting that the GRE uses the same chip as the AMD RX 7900 XT and AMD RX 7900 XTX, just with substantially less VRAM and a smaller memory bus to utilize, and the memory interface matches that of the RX 7800 XT, even with slightly slower memory speed. It’s interesting to see how Team Red has effectively repurposed the Navi 31 silicon for a value play, though.
In the end, then, AMD’s offering has more VRAM, a larger memory bus, and a higher bandwidth for less money, so for that reason, we’re giving Team Red the edge here.
Winner: AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE
RX 7900 GRE vs RTX 4070: Performance
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
It all comes down to performance as to whether you should invest in either an RX 7900 GRE or the RTX 4070, and here we’ve done an unhealthy amount of benchmarking and testing on these two cards and collected reams of data to help highlight what you can expect from each. Measuring their general performance using synthetic benchmarks, some things become pretty clear right out the gate.
The lead taken by the RX 7900 GRE extends into our industry-standard synthetic benchmarks as well.
Taking 3DMark Sky Diver and Fire Strike Extreme as prime examples, AMD’s GPU achieved scores of 169,170 and 27,595 when compared to Nvidia’s offering of 120,719 and 20,457, trailing behind by quite a significant margin.
This is also true with the ray tracing-focused Port Royal with the RX 7900 GRE scoring 11,768 against the RTX 4070’s 10,415. The RTX 4070 does manage to score well ahead of the RX 7900 GRE when it comes to raw compute performance though, so data scientists and ML researchers are going to want to opt for the Nvidia RTX card.
Where we deviate from the script somewhat is with creative workloads where the Nvidia GPU pulls out some very solid wins.
This is most evident in Blender 4.0 with the Monster, Junkshop, and Classroom benchmarks with respective scores of 2,657, 1,267, and 1,332. There’s no other way to phrase this, the GRE just can’t match the output with scores of 1,252, 623, and 618, respectively.
In AdobePhotoshop, AMD does manage a better showing, with the RX 7900 GRE beating the RTX 4070 in the PugetBench for Creators 1.0 Photoshop benchmark, 10,650 to 9,695, though the RTX 4070 beats the RX 7900 GRE in Adobe Premiere, getting a score of 12,317 to the RX 7900 GRE’s 11,200 in PugetBench. The RX 7900 GRE also manages to encode 4K video into 1080p about 10 FPS faster than the RTX 4070, though both still perform exceptionally well in this test.
But these are really gaming graphics cards at the end of the day, and putting the RX 7900 GRE vs RTX 4070 across several gaming benchmarks really did surprise us.
These cards have more than enough resources to game well above 1080p, but for those who might be using older monitors or might want to bring things down to full HD to take advantage of faster frame rates will have a lot to like about both cards, but the RX 7900 GRE still comes out well ahead of the RTX 4070.
In Cyberpunk 2077 at max settings without RT or upscaling enabled, the RX 7900 GRE manages to pull out a blazing fast 151 FPS compared to the RTX 4070’s 97 FPS, a difference of about 55% in the RX 7900 GRE’s favor. The RX 7900 GRE is even able to match the RTX 4070’s ray-tracing performance in Cyberpunk 2077 (both scoring 46 FPS with Psycho RT on Ultra quality), though notably, the RX 7900 GRE’s minimum FPS is nearly twice that of the RTX 4070’s, so you’ll get much smoother gameplay overall.
In total, the RX 7900 GRE averages about 111 FPS at 1080p, compared to the RTX 4070’s 82 FPS, a difference of about 35% in the RX 7900 GRE’s favor.
Starting with AMD’s latest offering, the RX 7900 GRE was able to achieve 60 FPS average in Metro Exodus with Extreme settings, as well as 102 FPS average in Cyberpunk 2077 at Ultra. Impressively, this streak continued in Returnal with 121 FPS average at Epic settings, and Tiny Tina’s Wonderland at 116 FPS on Badass.
The RTX 4070 is no slouch either. The mid-range Ada also got an average of 60 FPS in Metro Exodus on the Extreme preset but just 65 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077 when set to Ultra. Scores are similar with Returnal and Tiny Tina’s Wonderland, with averages of 88 FPS and 97 FPS, falling just short of what the RX 7900 GRE was able to output. This is likely due to the smaller memory pool available.
Neither card flourishes in 4K, sadly, so if you’re considering either GPU you’ll want to keep things locked to QHD for the most part.
Looking at Metro: Exodus, you’re going to get around half the framerate with the GRE pulling in only 35 FPS; playable, but far from ideal. It’s a similar story with Cyberpunk 2077 with the RX 7900 GRE scoring 43 FPS on average. Returnal fared better with 68 FPS on average and Tiny Tina’s Wonderland keeping rock solid at 60 FPS. Playing at 2160p is possible with the RX 7900 GRE, but your results will be less consistent unless you tinker with the settings some.
The RTX 4070 falls well short of the RX 7900 GRE at 4K. You’re looking at quite the reduction in Metro: Exodus and Cyberpunk 2077 with an average of just 29 FPS apiece, falling just short of playability. Returnal does a bit better at 51 FPS but is well behind the 4K@60+ offered by the RX 7900 GRE. Tiny Tina’s Wonderland also lags behind with 50 FPS – a full 10 FPS deficit – or about 18% slower.
In the end, its not really all that close, with the RX 7900 GRE outperforming the RTX 4070 across all but a few benchmarks, and it only gets soundly beaten in Blender 4.0 3D rendering, a test that Nvidia has a natural advantage thanks to it being tied so heavily to Nvidia’s CUDA graphics language.
Other than that, though, the RX 7900 GRE scores nearly 27% better than the RTX 4070, which is incredible considering that they are both the same price. In Nvidia’s favor though, it’s taking a lot of power for the RX 7900 GRE to pull this off, so if efficiency and sustainability are important to you, the Nvidia RTX 4070 gets a lot of performance with much lower power.
Winner: AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE
Which one should you buy?
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
Which GPU you should buy will ultimately come down to your needs.
If you primarily want a mid-range graphics card for gaming first and foremost, then you’re going to be better served by the AMD RX 7900 GRE. AMD’s card performs better and more consistently in 1080p, 1440p, and even 4K.
However, if gaming is more of a secondary activity and you want a graphics card for creativity and productivity then there’s a case to be made for the RTX 4070 here. If you’re looking to get into 3D modeling on the (relative) cheap, Nvidia’s midrange card can get you a lot farther than AMD’s, but this is honestly a very narrow advantage, and most people are going to want to get the RX 7900 GRE. Considering there’s no difference in price between the two, it’s an easy call to make on this one.
In a darkened room at Nvidia’s ‘Future of Gaming’ showcase at a fancy London hotel earlier this week, I was ushered before a bank of computer screens showing live gameplay from a very exciting game: Valve’s Half-Life 2.
Alright, HL2 isn’t a new game – in fact, it turns 20 this year! – but it’s still a timeless classic that has topped many a list of the best PC games. And while Valve will probably never release Half-Life 3, the mega-hit second game still has plenty of life left in it, thanks to Nvidia’s incredibly clever RTX Remix tool.
Announced way back in September 2022 at Nvidia’s GTC showcase, RTX Remix is an AI-powered tool for remastering old 3D games with updated graphics and fancy modern features like ray tracing. Remix entered open beta earlier this year, and is primarily targeted at modders looking to visually upgrade their favorite games; it’s built on Nvidia’s AI-focused ‘Omniverse’ platform, offering a comprehensive box of tricks for making the remaster process faster and easier than ever before.
Portal with RTX looks fine, but Portal already looked good – Half-Life 2 is a much better showcase for RTX Remix. (Image credit: Valve, Nvidia)
Nvidia worked with official developers to create a showcase for Remix in Portal with RTX, a shiny new remaster of the legendary 2007 puzzle game, but Half-Life 2 RTX is a passion project being produced by modders with Nvidia providing some background support. And can I be honest? It looks f*cking awesome.
Giving new life to Half-Life
The live demo I was shown by Nvidia showcased one of the game’s most iconic locations: the run-down, zombie-infested town of Ravenholm, where protagonist Gordon Freeman ends up after a less-than-fortuitous series of events. Two displays were set up side-by-side to show both the original game and the Remixed work in progress – and the difference was phenomenal. For all its accolades, classic Half-Life 2 does very much look like a game made two decades ago, while the work-in-progress remaster looks great.
RTX Remix allows for modding in real-time – in other words, you can have the game running while also having the dev environment open in a different tab, and changes you make are reflected (after a short delay) in the live game. An Nvidia staffer gave me a brief walkthrough on using the tool, and it’s a remarkably streamlined process. You can generate an asset library by simply walking around in-game and letting Remix capture your surroundings, and use generative AI tools to rapidly produce improved textures and 3D models.
While the ray-traced lighting and reflections are the most immediately noticeable difference, the improved texture detail and remodelled assets are good too. (Image credit: Future / Valve)
One scene displayed during the demo saw me walking through a dimly lit courtyard beset with corpses – including a dismembered pair of legs hanging from a tree. Despite the grisly setting, I couldn’t help but be impressed: the legs swing from a rope and cast realistic dynamic shadows in the Remixed version, while the original features no shadows at all. It also highlighted the improved ground textures, and Nvidia pointed out in a different scene that Remix’s generative AI capabilities can extrapolate the environment to add extra details – in this case, climbing vines and weeds partially covering a ruined wall.
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CONTENT WARNING: You can see the clip below, but please be aware that it contains some 2004 gore as described above, now with added ray tracing! I do wish Nvidia had given me a slightly less gruesome example.
Another standout example (albeit a rather mundane and less gory one) was a simple 3D object asset of a broken engine. I lined up both versions of the game to view the item’s original and Remixed models, and the new model is massively more detailed. And I do mean massively: not only does the ray tracing work wonders to more realistically illuminate the object, but it actually looks like a 3D asset from a 2024 game, not a 2004 one.
The same 3D game asset looks incredibly different in the Remixed version of Half-Life 2. (Image credit: Future / Valve)
A change of heart – and art
I’ll admit, when RTX Remix was first announced, I was pretty cold about it. I liked the look of the (still in development) Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind remaster, but I had fears that Remix would become a blunt implement for major publishers to churn out low-effort remasters that threw the important art direction of classic games in the trash. I wasn’t the only one, either – my colleague Allisa James had some major reservations about Remix too.
But I’m relieved that two years on, Nvidia is putting power in the hands of modders rather than shareholders. When I asked Nvidia GeForce ‘Evangelist’ Jacob Freeman (amusingly appropriate name, I know) about RTX Remix, he explained that the tool would be available for official game dev projects, but had been created with modders – not profits – in mind. It’s certainly a refreshing change of pace, and it helps that some of these Remix projects look pretty fantastic.
Morrowind is another good example of a game that definitely could benefit from an AI-powered remaster using RTX Remix. (Image credit: Nvidia, Bethesda)
I still maintain that some games might suffer from AI-infused remastering. Mirror’s Edge is a good example. For starters, it still looks pretty good today, but more importantly, it’s a game where color and lighting are used very carefully to inform the gameplay – meaning that a Remixed version might impact the delicate intersection between art direction and game mechanics. But for games like Morrowind and Half-Life 2, which have decidedly not aged well from a graphical standpoint, it’s perfect. I can’t wait to see what talented modders create with it.
If you’re interested in RTX Remix, you can download the beta version from Nvidia’s website. Bear in mind that right now, Remix only works with DirectX 9 and some DirectX 8 games – so in other words, you’re currently limited to a pool of games released between 2000 and 2006. Of course, the tool is still in development, and Nvidia has said that it would like Remix to work with a much broader spectrum of PC games, so in other words: watch this space!
Nvidia’s next generation of graphics cards, reportedly known as Nvidia Blackwell, has been the subject of plenty of rumors since at least 2023.
The most recent one seems to confirm that the RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 will be launching in Q4 2024, according to Twitter leaker Kopite7kimi and reported on by PC Gamer. While finally getting a hold of what could easily be the best graphics cards sounds like great news to some, finally getting a sign of the cards’ imminent release, they’re honestly coming out way too soon.
There have been reports that the Nvidia RTX 5080 would have better ray tracing capabilities and pricing than the 4080 and that the RTX 5090 would be up to 70% faster than the 4090, which sounds great on paper. But when you consider how already powerful the 4000 series of cards are, it seems a bit pointless. It’s wonderful that ray tracing, speed, and performance might be improved, but to what benefit?
We aren’t even taking full advantage of current gen cards, so what’s the value of buying a Nvidia 5000-series GPU later this year?
PC games haven’t even reached the point that they truly challenge the mid-range and high-end 3000-series of graphics cards (hell, an argument can be made that they can’t fully challenge the RTX 2070 Super in ways that truly matter), let alone the current gen. One could argue that the only reason why the current gen was so necessary was thanks to the crypto mining craze completely ruining the 3000-series market and making it nigh impossible to get your hands on one for a remotely affordable price.
And right now, the 4000-series is quite excellent performance-wise, as it’s able to handle ray tracing and other advanced effects and tools like no other. The RTX 4090 in particular is nearly perfect in what it can offer, and the lower cards are still absolute performance beasts. This isn’t even mentioning the Super series refreshes, which added even more oomph to your favorite graphics cards while keeping the prices either the same or lowering them.
There’s also the fact that some cards, like the RTX 4070, didn’t sell nearly as well as Nvidia wanted and in fact were rumored to be a “disaster.” While that doesn’t reflect the sales numbers for the rest of the graphics cards, it’s not a good look to see the base versions of your mid-range cards doing poorly. And while the RTX 4080 Super seems to be out of stock in many retailers, that could just as well be due to low stock in the first place.
With all these issues cropping up, releasing RTX 5080 and 5090 doesn’t seem to be such a smart move on Nvidia’s part. Though the Q4 2024 launch date is still just a rumor, it would be wise for the tech giant to release these cards in 2025 at the earliest to give its 4000-series some proper breathing room.
There’s perhaps no better cheap gaming PC deal right now to kick-start your 1080p setup on a budget than this RTX 4060-equipped Cooler Master HAF Pro for $845 at Amazon.
The combination of an upfront discount and handy coupon code at checkout makes this machine easily one of the cheapest we’ve seen to feature an RTX 4060 graphics card. Usually, machines carrying this mid-range GPU run around the $1,000 mark so this HAF Pro is a bargain for those on a budget.
A few other selling points include the combination of a 1TB SSD and 16GB RAM, plus a decent case and power supply that should set you up for easy upgrades down the line. Straight out of the box, you get great performance out of this HAF Pro if your target is playing games smoothly at 1080p resolution.
You do, however, get a 12th gen Intel Core i5 chipset in this machine, which is a little older now. It’s a decent pairing with the RTX 4060 (the graphics card does most of the heavy lifting), but it’s coming up to two generations old now so it’s definitely a candidate for an upgrade. Thankfully, the low asking price of this deal at Amazon means you should have plenty of cash left in the bank for the next upgrade.
March isn’t traditionally known for its gaming laptop deals, but there are some absolutely outstanding options on the market right now. Dell and Best Buy, in particular, are offering massive price cuts of up to $600 on some of our favorite gaming laptops.
Our top choice for those on a budget is this RTX 4060-equipped MSI Cyborg for $849 (was $1,099) at Best Buy – one of the cheapest machines we’ve ever seen to feature the powerful graphics card. Pound for pound, this machine is a great budget buy if you need something relatively powerful without breaking the bank.
For something with a little more oompth, consider this outstandingly cheap MSI Crosshair for $1,199 (was $1,399), which features an RTX 4070 graphics card, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD. This machine isn’t the cheapest out there right now but it’s really great value considering the level of specs you’re getting here.
And, for a premium gaming laptop where looks are as important as performance, consider the excellent Asus Zephyrus G14 for $999 (was $1,599) at Best Buy or the Alienware M16 for $1,499 (was $2,199) at Dell. Both these choices feature superb components for the price – but also an eye-catching design that sets them apart from the usual cheaper models.
You can read more about our choices just down below, or head on over to our gaming laptop deals page for even more recommendations.
The surge in demand for large-scale generative AI models has led to a significant increase in hardware requirements, making model training costly and inaccessible for many SMBs and educational establishments.
High-performance custom PC builder Maingear has partnered with storage giant Phison on a new range of Maingear Pro AI workstations that boast powerful Intel Xeon W7-3455 CPUs.
The new workstations can be configured with up to 1TB of DDR5 memory, and up to 4x RTX 5000 Ada or 4x RTX 6000 Ada GPUs. These GPUs are supported by Phison aiDAPTIV+ caching SSDs and software, to significantly lower the cost of LLM development and training.
Off-the-shelf components
Maingear Pro AI workstations fit in a standard desktop tower PC design so they can easily be stored under a desk, or placed anywhere in an office (a 4U rackmount chassis is also available). Maingear says these workstations have been designed with off-the-shelf components for easy upgrades and Noctua cooling components to manage heat and reduce noise when under load.
Maingear founder and CEO, Wallace Santos, stated, “Our dedication to crafting highly capable yet budget-friendly solutions guarantees SMBs, universities, and research facilities a competitive advantage in an industry formerly restricted by multimillion-dollar investments.”
Nvidia has been slowly launching its Super refreshes of the RTX 4000-series of graphics cards, updated versions with much-improved performance. And, according to a new rumor, the mid-range models might also be getting its own refresh.
There has been an alleged leak of plans for refreshed versions of RTX 4060, 4060 Ti, and 4070 graphics cards, which was revealed by Twitter/X user Zed__Wang and reported on by PCGamesN. Thanks to the table, we know the three brand-new dies for the cards as well as the release windows: March 2024 for the RTX 4070 and April 2024 for both the RTX 4060 and 4060 Ti.
(Image credit: Zed__Wang)
While details for these newer versions are sparse, we normally could assume that a larger die comes with superior memory bandwidth, VRAM capacity, and performance. However, according to the same leaker, this is not the case.
When asked about the spec difference between the original and the refreshed GPUs, they responded “only change the chip; the spec keeps the same.” It seems like, at most, we might see a few additional CUDA, RT, and Tensor cores but that’s all.
These mid-range refreshes could be a dud
If this leak is to be believed, then this refresh sounds like a whole lot of nothing. If the broader specs aren’t even being upgraded, then what’s even the point of releasing them in the first place? The only way it would make sense is if the new cards were cheaper than the basic versions.
One good thing about the Super series that have previously launched is that it’s already been lowering the prices of AMD’s RDNA 3 graphics cards, going by the dropping prices of the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT and the RX 7900 XT once the RTX 4080 Super, 4070 Ti Super, and RTX 4070 Super hit retailers. So if these newer mid-range cards end up launching, then that could mean the matching AMD cards could also see a price decrease.
It’s rather sad that these are the only positives of getting RTX 4060, 4060 Ti, and 4070 refreshes if the rumors are actually true. Here’s hoping that if Nvidia does decide to release them, they’ll be worth investing in.
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Comino, known for its liquid-cooled servers, has finally released its new flagship for testing.
The Comino Grando Server has been designed to meet a broad spectrum of high-performance computing needs, ranging from data analytics to gaming.
In a comprehensive test by StorageReview, the Grando Server, alongside a Grando Workstation variation, was put through a series of rigorous benchmarks including Blender 4.0, Luxmark, OctaneBench, Blackmagic RAW Speed Test, 7-zip Compression, and Y-Cruncher.
(Image credit: Comino)
The server, equipped with six Nvidia RTX 4090s, AMD‘s Threadripper PRO 5995WX CPU, 512GB DDR5 DRAM, a 2TB NVMe SSD, and four 1600W PSUs, delivered impressive results, as you’d expect from those specifications.
Grando Server features advanced liquid cooling, allowing it to accommodate those six Nvidia 4090 GPUs side by side, a setup that Lyle Smith from StorageReview noted would be impossible with air cooling.
GPU-driven performance systems done right
The main difference between the Grando Server and Grando Workstation lies in their GPU and CPU capabilities. With its higher core count, the Server model is well-suited for parallel processing tasks. While still powerful, the Workstation offers fewer cores and is better suited for balanced performance across various applications.
The Grando Workstation that Smith tested featured four Nvidia A100 professional GPUs, a Threadripper Pro 3975WX processor, 512GB DDR5 DRAM, and a 2TB NVMe SSD.
In his review, Smith found the Comino Grando Server and Workstation to be “prime examples of GPU-driven performance systems done right.”
He said, “Performance-wise, the benchmark results paint a clear picture: the Grando Server excels in GPU-intensive tests like OctaneBench and Blender 4.0, highlighting its capability to breeze through high-end rendering jobs. With its tailored CPU-GPU balance, the Workstation version offers versatility for various professional applications. The speed and efficiency of both systems in managing large datasets, as evidenced by the 7-zip Compression and Y-Cruncher benchmarks, underscore their capacity for handling data-intensive operations, a critical advantage in today’s data-driven landscape.”
StorageReview approved of the Comino Grando systems so much that it rated them one of its “Best of 2024” award winners.
