ASRock, the leading global motherboard, graphics card and mini PC manufacturer, today launched the new Steel Legend and Challenger Series graphics cards based on the new AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT GPUs. The new ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT Steel Legend and Challenger Series graphics cards are built on the advanced AMD RDNA 3 architecture, featuring up to 32 redesigned compute units and second-generation AMD Infinity Cache technology. They also offer the latest features and capabilities including AMD Radiance Display Engine, full AV1 encoding and more to power high-performance 1080p gaming, streaming and content creation applications. Meanwhile, with support for AMD HYPR-RX with AMD Fluid Motion Frames users can crank up their game settings for fully immersive and highly responsive gaming.

The new ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT Steel Legend and Challenger Series graphics cards are equipped with high-speed 16 GB GDDR6 memory at 18 Gbps and are pre-overclocked to deliver higher levels of performance. The AMD Radiance Display Engine provides 12-bit-per-channel color for up to 68 billion colors for incredible color accuracy. In addition, ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT Steel Legend and Challenger Series graphics cards also support various ASRock exclusive features such as the Striped Axial Fan, the Ultra-fit Heatpipe, a stylish metal backplate, and Polychrome SYNC technology to provide excellent cooling efficiency, solid construction, and fancy ARGB lighting effects. Powered with these exclusive features, ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT Steel Legend and Challenger Series graphics cards are ideal choices for 1080p gamers and content creators.

AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT went on sale today, at a starting price of $330. Designed for maxed out AAA gameplay at 1080p, this card can try its hands with 1440p gaming, at mid-thru-high settings; you can use features such as FSR 2, FSR 3 Frame Generation, the AMD Fluid Motion Frames feature that extends frame generation to any DirectX 11/12 game; as well as the HyperRX one-click performance enhancement that's part of the AMD Software control panel app. AMD had already maxed out all available shaders on the 6 nm "Navi 33" monolithic silicon, but has opted not to rope in the larger "Navi 32" chiplet GPU for the RX 7600 XT. Instead, it attempted to squeeze out the most performance possible from the "Navi 33," by dialing up clock speeds, power limits, and doubling the memory size.

You still get 32 compute units on the RX 7600 XT, which are worth 2,048 stream processors, 64 AI accelerators, 32 Ray accelerators, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, but the 128-bit GDDR6 memory bus now drives 16 GB of memory running at the same 18 Gbps speed, yielding 288 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU game clock has been increased to 2.47 GHz, up from 2.25 GHz on the RX 7600. The power limit has been increased from 165 W to 190 W on the RX 7600 XT; and implementing DisplayPort 2.1 has been made mandatory for board partners (they can't opt for the DisplayPort 1.4a like they could on the RX 7600). AMD claims that the 16 GB of video memory should come in handy for content creators, and those dabbling with generative AI.

We have three reviews of the Radeon RX 7600 XT for you today, so be sure to check them all out.

Sapphire Radeon RX 7600 XT Pulse | XFX Radeon RX 7600 XT Speedster QICK 309 | ASRock Radeon RX 7600 XT Steel Legend

ASRock showcased customized Radeon RX 7600 XT 16 GB GPU offerings at CES 2024—only a couple days after AMD's official unveiling of its expanded lower mid-range RDNA 3 line. ASRock was among a select few Team Red board partners with finalized units (based on Navi 33 XT) on display—it seems that the Taiwanese manufacturer is preparing for a retail launch of its Radeon RX 7600 XT Steel Legend 16 GB OC and Challenger 16 GB OC graphics card models. ASRock's website has been updated with product pages for the latest Radeon RX 7000-series entries, but press material for an imminent product launch has not been published (at the time of writing).

ASRock's mid-tier triple-fan Steel Legend and entry-level dual-fan Challenger designs are a familiar sight across the company's Radeon RX 7000 and 6000 product lines—last September, customized Radeon RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT models were unveiled as sporting these shrouds, along with higher-end Phantom Gaming OC options. A slightly overclocked Radeon RX 7600 XT GPU is not expected to be a heat producing monster, so expensive cooling solutions are not a necessity for a cost-conscious audience—likely targeting a decent level of 1080p gaming performance. The ASRock Radeon RX 7600 XT Challenger 16 GB OC model is expected to launch at an MSRP of $329 (AMD's official guide SEP), while the fancier Steel Legend OC is believed to be only marginally more expensive.

ASRock, the leading global motherboard, graphics card and mini PC manufacturer, today launched the new Phantom Gaming, Steel Legend and Challenger series graphics cards based on AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT GPUs. The new ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT Series graphics cards are built on the groundbreaking AMD RDNA 3 architecture, featuring 60 and 54 redesigned compute units, respectively, and second-generation AMD Infinity Cache technology. They also feature the AMD Radiance Display Engine, full AV1 encoding and are optimized for high-performance 1440p gaming, streaming and content creation applications. The ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT Series graphics cards also provide the horsepower to step into 4K gaming.

The new ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT Series graphics cards are equipped with high-speed 16 GB and 12 GB GDDR6 memory at 19.5 Gbps and 18 Gbps, respectively, and are pre-overclocked to deliver higher levels of performance. The AMD Radiance Display Engine provides 12 bit-per-channel color for up to 68 billion colors for incredible color accuracy. In addition, ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT Series graphics cards support various ASRock exclusive features, including the Striped Ring/Axial Fan, Air Deflecting Fin, Ultra-fit Heatpipe, Metal Backplate, and Polychrome SYNC technology to provide cooling efficiency, solid construction, and fancy ARGB lighting effects. With these exclusive features, ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT Series graphics cards are ideal choices for 4K/2K gamers and creators.

You can check out our review of the ASRock Radeon RX 7800 XT Phantom Gaming graphics card.

ASRock earlier today debuted its Steel Legend brand in the graphics card market with the Radeon RX 7600 Steel Legend OC. The company also updated its previous-generation product stack with the Radeon RX 6650 XT Steel Legend. This card looks visually identical to the RX 7600 Steel Legend, since it uses the exact same cooling solution, but is based on the older RX 6650 XT GPU based on the RDNA2 graphics architecture. ASRock has given this card a factory-overclock among its RX 6650 XT series, with a boost clock of 2669 MHz vs. 2635 MHz reference.

The RX 6650 XT Steel Legend targets white-themed PC builds, where its white cooler-shroud, frosty fan impellers, and white+silver backplate should complement builds with motherboards from ASRock's Steel Legend series. Each of the three fans in the Steel Legend cooler has RGB LED illumination. The card draws power from a single 8-pin PCIe power connector. The company didn't reveal pricing, but given that prices of the RX 6650 XT have slipped to around $235, one can expect this card to retail for at least $40 less than the RX 7600 Steel Legend.

ASRock, the leading global motherboard, graphics card and mini PC manufacturer, today launched the new Phantom Gaming, Steel Legend and Challenger series graphics cards based on the new AMD Radeon RX 7600 GPUs. In addition to the popular Phantom Gaming and Challenger models, the new Steel Legend series graphics cards are designed in white with eye-catching snow camouflage elements and fancy ARGB lighting effects that support Polychrome SYNC technology, providing more premium choices for consumers who want to assemble white-themed PC builds.

The new ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7600 Series graphics cards are built on the groundbreaking AMD RDNA 3 architecture, featuring up to 32 redesigned compute units and second-generation AMD Infinity Cache technology. They also offer the latest features and capabilities including AMD Radiance Display Engine, full AV1 encoding and more to power high-performance 1080p gaming, streaming and content creation applications. The new ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7600 Series graphics cards are equipped with high-speed 8 GB GDDR6 memory at 18 Gbps and are pre-overclocked to deliver higher levels of performance. The AMD Radiance Display Engine provides 12 bit-per-channel color for up to 68 billion colors for incredible color accuracy.

ASRock's upcoming Radeon RX 7600 Steel Legend has been pictured, and this is the first graphics card in the Steel Legend lineup. ASRock previously had a couple of Steel Legend series motherboards, and it appears that the Radeon RX 7600 will be the first graphics card in this series.

The ASRock Steel Legend series graphics cards will feature the same white and silver color scheme and feature a dual slot, triple fan cooler design. The ASRock RX 7600 Steel Legend will also feature a unique backplate. ASRock already has a few white graphics cards which are a part of the Taichi White and the Aqua series. As detailed earlier, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 is based on the 6 nm Navi 33 XL GPU with 2048 Stream Processors and pack 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit memory interface. It needs a single 8-pin PCIe power connector and has a 165 W TBP.

According to leaked details, it appears that ASRock is preparing at least three custom versions of the upcoming Radeon RX 7600 graphics card, including Phantom Gaming, Challenger, and Steel Legend series. The list of ASRock custom Radeon RX 7600 graphics cards comes from the ECC listing, and these three are listed among some other yet to be announced graphics cards.

As you can see from the list below, ASRock will have three Radeon RX 7600 versions, all of which are factory-overclocked. The Phantom Gaming version should be a more premium model, while the Challenger and Steel Legend should be closer to MSRP. The Steel Legend is a novelty in ASRock's graphics card lineup, and we expect a similar silver design found on ASRock's Steel Legend motherboards. The list also includes the recently announced Radeon RX 7900 XT Taichi White and a low profile Intel Arc A380 graphics card.

Leading global motherboard manufacturer, ASRock, is proud to announce its AMD B650E/B650 motherboard series. These motherboards are targeted at the mainstream AM5 segment featuring various exciting new products such as our flagship B650E Taichi, the high-end B650E Steel Legend Wi-Fi for high end market, B650E PG Riptide Wi-Fi and B650 PRO RS for mainstream users, and B650 PG Lightning a new SKU joining the Phantom Gaming family targeted the entry level market. ASRock also offers the new B650E PG-ITX WiFi for small form factor enthusiasts.

ASRock went all-out on its VRM design by creating a 24+2+1 phase Smart Power Stage (SPS) Dr.MOS on the B650E Taichi series, providing users with the most powerful AM5 platform it can offer ready to unlock maximum CPU performance. The flagship ASRock B650E Taichi motherboards are equipped with many exciting features and technologies such as PCIe 5.0 technology for graphics cards and M.2 SSDs, an incredible IO that includes the latest USB4 offering a fast and simple level of connection for work or home.

Unfortunately there's no pricing attached to this leak, unlike the earlier pricing details for MSI's B650 motherboards from B&H, but Videocardz has managed to get the specs for ASRocks upcoming B650 and B650E motherboards. Once again we're looking at a collection of seven models, four B650E and three B650 models in total. Something interesting to note that Videocardz is pointing out, is that only the cheapest board in the lineup has a six layer PCB, with most models using an eight layer PCB and the Mini-ITX board is going up to 10 layers. In other words it seems like most entry level boards are now using high-end PCBs, due to the transition to PCIe 5.0.

The base model is the B650 PG Lightning, which is a pretty feature stripped motherboard, yet all PCIe slots are said to be PCIe 4.0 and it has a pre-installed I/O shield. It comes with 2.5 Gbps Ethernet, but WiFi is optional. At least there's a rear mounted 20 Gbps USB-C port here and the board has a total of three M.2 slots, of which one is PCIe 5.0. On the same kind of level sits B650 Pro RS, which is a step down in the sense that one of the M.2 slots PCIe 3.0 x2 and it has fewer PCIe slot, but it appears to have slightly fancier cooling for the VRMs and it gains a DisplayPort output around the back.

Leading global motherboard manufacturer, ASRock, proudly announces its new series of Intel Z790 motherboards supporting the latest 13th Generation Intel Core Processors. ASRock's Z790 series includes premium Z790 Taichi, including a new Special Edition Z790 Taichi Carrara, in addition to Z790 Steel Legend WiFi targeting high-end users, Z790 PRO RS, Z790 PG Lightning and Z790 PG Riptide designed for mainstream users, and also the Z790 PG-ITX/TB4, a powerful mini ITX motherboard with Thunderbolt 4 for small form factor lovers.

Leading global motherboard manufacturer, ASRock, is proud to announce its X670E motherboard series, ready for new AMD Ryzen 7000 Series processors. This first wave of AMD Socket AM5 motherboards includes Special Edition X670E Taichi Carrara, flagship X670E Taichi, high-end X670E Steel Legend, mainstream X670E PRO RS, and entry X670E PG Lightning.

"With the AM5 platform we're investing in the next generation of high-performance computing and gaming," said David McAfee, Corporate Vice President and General Manager, Client Channel Business Unit, AMD. "With the continued support of best-in-class partners like ASRock, AMD is bringing the most advanced features and technologies to desktop. The X670 Extreme is designed to bring the best connectivity and ultimate overclocking with PCIe 5.0 support."

ASRock will announce no fewer than thirteen motherboard models based on the upcoming Intel Z790 chipset, the top chipset option for the 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" desktop processors. "Raptor Lake" is backwards-compatible with Intel 600-series chipset motherboards; and the Z790 is expected to support 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" processors, since both generations share Socket LGA1700. ASRock's lineup is led by the Z790 Taichi, and its variant that features a white-marble finish, the Z790 Taichi Carrara, several models in the Phantom Gaming (PG) series, including the PG Riptide, PG-ITX/TB4, and new extensions including the PG Sonic, and PG Lightning. The Sonic Mixer brand that's making a debut with the AMD X670 chipset is also to be seen here. There's just the one Steel Legend SKU, and a couple of PRO series. The list also mentions one model based on the mid-tier B760 chipset.

At this point, we don't know if this is a limitation at AMD's level or ASRock's, but someone with access to a retail ASRock X670E Steel Legend motherboard, with all its packaged paraphernalia in place, spotted an interesting sticker covering the board's four DDR5 DIMM slots. The sticker has some info on the ideal DIMM slot selection for dual-channel memory (4x sub-channels); but what catches our eye is a table which states just how long the motherboard will take to train the memory the first time it's booted up, or after a clear-CMOS operation (where your BIOS settings are erased).

The table says that a typical setup with two 16 GB modules (read: two single-rank modules in a 1 DIMM per channel/1DPC configuration), takes 100 seconds to train (or until first boot). Two 32 GB modules (typically a pair of dual-rank modules in 1DPC configuration) take 200 seconds, as do four 16 GB modules (four single-rank modules in a 2DPC configuration). The least optimal config, four dual-rank modules in a 2DPC configuration, takes a whopping 400 seconds (almost 7 minutes) to train. That's 100 to 400 seconds of a black screen, or no display signal, enough to unnerve anyone and assume something is DOA.Update Sep 2nd: The source behind this story confirmed that this is an ASRock-level issue, and that it's been "fixed" with the latest BIOS.

Update Sep 8th: This has been fixed according to ASRock.

ASRock is bringing as many as five motherboard models based on the AMD X670E chipset, for upcoming Ryzen 7000-series Socket AM5 processors. The lineup includes the twins X670E Taichi and X670E Taichi Carrara at the top; followed by the X670E Steel Legend, X670E Pro RS, and the X670E Phantom Gaming Lightning. The X670E Taichi/Carrara feature a mammoth 26-phase VRM, which going by the trends, could use 90 to 105 A power-stages. You get two PCi-Express 5.0 x16 slots (x8/x8 with both populated), at least two Gen 5 M.2 slots wired to the SoC, additional Gen 5 M.2 slots from the chipset, and a plethora of connectivity options.

What sets the two Taichi boards apart is the Carrara does away with the matte-black "gearwheel" design theme, and instead features a white marble appearance. It's not known if the marble pattern is a print, or if ASRock used actual stone. ASRock has been trying to upmarket its Steel Legend SKUs for the past couple of generations, and it appears like the X670E Steel Legend will be the third-based board from the series, with no PG Velocita SKU in sight. You get just the one PCI-Express 5.0 x16, at least two Gen 5 M.2 slots, a couple of Gen 4 M.2 slots, and fairly premium connectivity, including WLAN.

Is there anything better than yet another benchmark leak of upcoming products? This time around we don't have to make do with Geekbench or some other useless benchmark, as a bilibili user in the PRC has posted a video where he has put the upcoming Intel Core i5-13600K and Core i7-13700K CPUs through 10 different games, plus 3DMark Fire Strike and Time Spy. This has been done at 1080p, 1440p and 2160p at that, using a GeForce RTX 3090 Ti graphics card. Both CPUs are QS or Qualification Samples, which means they're going to be close to identical to retail chips, unless there are some last minute issues that are discovered. The CPUs were tested using an ASRock Z690 Steel Legends WiFi 6E motherboard, well, two actually, as both a DDR4 and a DDR5 version were used. The DDR4 RAM was running at 3600 MHz with slow-ish timings of 18-22-22 in gear 1, whereas the DDR5 memory was running at 5200 MHz, most likely at 40-40-40 timings, although the modules were rated for 6400 MHz, in both cases we're looking at 32 GB.

Courtesy of @harukaze5719, we have some much easier to read graphs than those provided by the person that tested the two CPUs, but we've included the full graphs below as well. Each CPU was compared to its current SKU equivalent from Intel and in many of the games tested, the gain was a mere percent or less to three or four percent. However, in some games—at specific resolutions—especially when paired with DDR5 memory, the performance gain was as much as 15-20 percent. A few of the games tested, such as FarCry 6 at 4K, the game ends up being GPU limited, so a faster CPU doesn't help here as you'll see in the graphs below. There are some odd results as well, where the DDR5 equipped systems saw a regression in performance, so it's hard to draw any final conclusions from this test. That said, both CPUs should offer a decent performance gain, as long as the game in question isn't GPU limited, of around five percent at 1440p when paired with DDR5 memory.

As we approach the launch of Intel's upcoming Raptor Lake desktop processors, we are getting more leaks of testing performed by system integrators and 3rd parties that have early access to the engineering sample (ES) chips. A few days ago, we saw an Intel Core i7-13700K CPU run Geekbench 5 benchmark with the older DDR4 memory on ASRock Z690 Steel Legend WiFi 6E. Today, we are seeing a similar test performed on the same processor, with ASRock Z690 Steel Legend WiFi 6E/D5 equipped with DDR5 memory. While the previous DDR4 testing used modules running at 3200 MT/s, the DDR5 testing uses 5200 MT/s rated DRAM with unknown timings and setup.

As far as performance goes, the single-core result of the 16-core Intel Core i7-13700K processor was 2090 points with DDR4, while DDR5 showed a slight regression of 2069 points. Of course, this could be attributed to the margin of error. As far as multi-core performance goes, the DDR4 testing managed to produce 16542 points, whereas the DDR5-equipped platform scored 19811 points. This is an immediate 20% performance uplift in multi-core score. It shows that all the cores present in Raptor Lake processors are starving for bandwidth, and a faster memory protocol can bring quite an improvement. As usual, we have to wait to confirm this information with our testing so that we can draw more conclusions.

With Intel Raptor Lake-S desktop processors around the corner, we see an ever-increasing number of entries to the popular synthetic benchmark databases. Yesterday we had an Intel Core i5-3600K CPU, while today, we are presented with Core i7-13700K SKU. The new 13th generation Core i7-13700K CPU features eight P-cores and eight E-cores. Compared to the 12th generation Core i7-12700K, this is a step up with eight P-cores and four E-cores. According to Geekbench 5 benchmark, the new Qualification Sample (QS) of Core i7-13700K CPU was running at the minimum clock of 5.289 GHz, maximum clock of 5.381 GHz, and average speed of 5.36 GHz. It was tested on the same configuration as yesterday's i5 SKU with ASRock Z690 Steel Legend WiFi 6E motherboard with 32 GB of DDR4 memory.

As far as the results are concerned, the 13th gen i7-13700K SKU scored 2090 points in the single-core test, while the multi-core score totaled 16542 points. If we compare this to the 12th gen i7-12700K CPU that it replaces, the new model leads by about 10% and 17% in single-core and multi-core tests, respectively.

It's a busy day when it comes to Intel Raptor Lake benchmark leaks and this time around, we're looking at a pair of Core i5-13600K CPUs, but in two different motherboards. The first CPU sits in an ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme board and is paired with 32 GB of DDR5 memory, whereas the second CPU is in an ASRock Z690 Steel Legend WiFi 6E board, this one also paired with 32 GB of RAM, but DDR4 rather than DDR5. Both systems are running Windows 10 and unlike the Core i9-13900K results that we saw a couple of weeks ago, these two results are both valid according to the Geekbench results browser.

Courtesy of @harukaze5719 we have a nice graph with the results below, even comparing them to the average Geekbench results for a Core i5-12600K, as well as a Ryzen 9 5950X and a Ryzen 5 5600X. The Core i5-13600K beats everything in the single threaded results and the ASUS system is not far behind the Ryzen 9 5950X in the multithreaded tests. The ASUS system is significantly faster than the ASRock one though, so it seems like Raptor Lake is really making the most out of DDR5 memory. As we don't know the memory clocks, it's hard to say if that is also a contributing factor here, but it's likely that the ASUS system uses much faster memory, as in some of the sub-tests like Rigid Body Physics, the two systems are on par in terms of performance. It'll be interesting to see how Intel prices these upcoming CPUs, especially considering that the company has already warned it'll raise its prices in time for the retail availability of Raptor Lake.

Although Intel's 13th generation of Core CPUs—codenamed Raptor Lake—aren't expected to launch until sometime in September or October this year, details of some of ASRock's motherboards for the new CPUs have leaked. ASRock is preparing to launch at least nine Z790 and three H770 motherboards, of which at least four will have support for DDR4 memory, according to VideoCardz. The list is missing a flagship Aqua model, but contains Taichi, Pro RS, Phantom Gaming Lightning and Riptide models, as well as a Steel Legend H770 boards and a couple of -C models, which are likely budget boards, despite being based on the Z790 chipset.

There will be a microATX Phantom Gaming Lighting board with DDR4 and a Phantom Gaming Riptide model with DDR5 support. So far no other features have been reported and from our understanding, the Z790 won't differ hugely from the Z690 chipset. The extra PCIe lanes from the 13th gen Core CPUs are expected to support PCIe 5.0 this time around, which will allow for faster NVMe based M.2 drives to be used. Intel is not planning on integrating Thunderbolt 4 support in these CPUs based on available information.

Although there was a leak with a partial picture of the ASRock X670E Taichi board just days before Computex 2022 kicked off, it was hard to draw any real conclusions from it. The company has revealed more details about it, alongside the X670E Taichi Carrara, X670E Steel Legend and the X670E Pro RS. Let's start with the plain X670E Taichi, since this was the board that leaked. As is obvious now, the board doesn't feature a fan on the chipset heatsink, but rather a set of cogs, something we've seen before from ASRock. The board has very limited expansion options when it comes to PCIe slots, with a pair of x16 slots, which are sharing the 16 PCIe 5.0 lanes from the CPU and that's it. ASRock has gone for four M.2 slots, of which one is PCIe 5.0, most likely the one next to the memory slots. Interestingly, ASRock has kitted out the X670E Taichi with Thunderbolt 4, which means we're looking at an Intel chip here and there should also be support for USB4 and the two ports are located around the back of the board.

Intel's next entry-level processor for the Socket LGA1700 platform is the Core i3-12100. Carved out of the "Alder Lake-S" H0 silicon, this processor features 4 "Golden Cove" performance cores with HyperThreading enabling 8 logical processors, and no E-cores. The processor ticks at 3.30 GHz, with 4.30 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0 frequency. Each of the four cores has 1.25 MB of L2 cache, and they share 12 MB of L3 cache. The i3-12100 gets a Gen12 Xe LP-based iGPU, while a variant of the processor, the i3-12100F, lacks integrated graphics. Intel is rating the processor base power value at 60 W, with 77 W maximum turbo power.

XFastest scored an i3-12100 engineering sample, and wasted no time in comparing it with the Ryzen 3 3300X. The i3-12100 was tested on an ASRock Z690 Steel Legend motherboard that has DDR4 memory slots. 16 GB of dual-channel DDR4-3600 memory and RTX 3060 Ti were used on both the Intel and AMD test-beds. A Ryzen 3 3100 was also used on the AMD side. Right off the bat, we see the i3-12100 take a significant lead over the AMD chips at PCMark, posting a roughly 15% performance lead. Cinebench R23 is another test where the little "Alder Lake" scores big, posting a roughly 26% performance lead in the multi-threaded test, and 27% in the single-threaded test. This is mainly because the 3300X is based on "Zen 2" while the i3-12100 uses the cutting-edge "Golden Cove" cores. AMD hasn't bothered with "Zen 3" based Ryzen 3 desktop processors in the retail market.

As we're getting closer to the reveal of Intel's 12-series of CPUs and the Z690 chipset, we're seeing more and more retailers leak pricing information about the various products and today pricing of some upcoming ASRock Z690 has leaked courtesy of Amazon UK. We're looking at a good spread of boards here, from the high-end Z690 Taichi to entry level Phantom Gaming 4, which should give a good idea on what to expect to pay based on where in the range the board is located.

The cheapest board of the eight is the Z690M Phantom Gaming 4 which is a DDR4 board and this mATX board comes in at £172.50, or about $238. Keep in mind that UK VAT is at 20 percent, so the pricing might not be directly comparable to US pricing. Next up we have the full-sized Z690 Phantom Gaming 4 which comes in at £213.50 or US$295, with the DDR5 version actually being slightly cheaper at £207.15 or US$286.

G.Skill Memory unveiled new variants of its SniperX line of DDR4 memory co-branded with the ASRock Steel Legend brand. This purely cosmetic collaboration sees the memory module receive stainless steel-finish aluminium heatspreaders with white urban camo heatspreader crown that blends into the design scheme of ASRock's Steel Legend motherboard design scheme. You also get prominent Steel Legend branding on the heatspreaders. The first such kit is the F4-3600C18D-32GSXAS, a 32 GB (2x 16 GB) kit with modules that tick at DDR4-3600 with 18-22-22-42, at 1.35 V. Since Steel Legend is mainly a middle-of-the-market brand by ASRock, one can expect other kits in the series, particularly 16 GB (2x 8 GB), with mid-range frequencies (ranging between DDR4-3200 to DDR4-4000). G.Skill also collaborated with ASUS TUF Gaming for special edition SniperX kits.

ASRock today launched a trio of socket LGA1200 motherboards part of its Steel Legend family. These include the H470 Steel Legend, the B460 Steel Legend, the and Micro-ATX B460M Steel Legend. All three boards offer ASRock's BFB (base frequency boost) technology that improves performance of non-K processors by letting them sustain boost frequencies better. The H470 Steel Legend leads the pack with a 11-phase CPU VRM that draws power from a combination of 8-pin and 4-pin EPS connectors; enlarged VRM heatsinks, two M.2-22110 slots with heatsinks and PCI-Express 3.0 x4 wiring; an M.2 E-key slot for WLAN cards, and connectivity that includes a premium Realtek ALC1200-based onboard audio solution, 2.5 GbE wired networking powered by a Realtek-made controller, and a couple of USB 3.2 gen 2 ports, including a type-C port.

The B460 Steel Legend uses a different PCB design from its H470-based sibling. A simpler 9-phase VRM powers the CPU, pulling power from a single 8-pin EPS connector. You still get two M.2 slots with PCI-Express 3.0 x4 wiring and heatsinks; and an M.2 E-key slot for WLAN cards. Connectivity is similar to the H470-based board, too, with a 2.5 GbE wired networking interface, and a premium onboard audio solution based on the ALC1200. Lastly, there's the B460M Steel Legend, which maximizes the Micro-ATX form-factor PCB area. The CPU VRM solution is carried over from its ATX sibling (9-phase, single 8-pin EPS). ASRock managed to squeeze in two M.2 slots (one of them with a heatsink, both with gen 3.0 x4 wiring), and preparation for WLAN. Much like the other two, you get an ALC1200-based premium onboard audio solution, and a 2.5 GbE networking interface. The company didn't reveal pricing.