Intel's upcoming Core i7-9700K processor is the first Core i7 SKU to lack HyperThreading, but that isn't stopping the chip with 8 physical cores from edging past its predecessor posting strong multi-threaded performance. Chinese publication ZOL managed to overclock the chip to 5.50 GHz under liquid cooling with all its cores enabled, by simply dialing up the unlocked multiplier to 55.0X, and a rather high 1.535V core voltage.

The overclocked i7-9700K was put through Cinebench R15, where it scored 250 points in the single-threaded test, and 1827 points in the multi-threaded one, a 7.31x multiprocessing ratio. A current-generation 6-core/12-thread Core i7-8700K typically manages around 1550 points at stock speeds (at least 4.30 GHz all-core Turbo Boost frequency), in the multi-threaded test. The i7-9700K could hence be less ahead of its predecessor than hoped. It's the 8-core/16-thread Core i9-9900K, which could grab enthusiasts' attention (and monies).

It's not just GIGABYTE, even ASUS has several of its graphics cards leaked to the web. We see pictures of at least three products by the company, an ROG Strix-branded RTX 2080, a cheaper RTX 1080 Dual, and a rather basic-looking RTX 2080 Ti. The new-generation DirectCU III cooler introduced with the ROG Strix RTX 2080 looks more menacing than ever. The 2.5-slot cooler appears to feature two large aluminium fin-stacks, ventilated by three 100 mm spinners, with up to 5 copper heat pipes making direct contact with the GPU at the base. The RTX 2080 Dual features a much simpler fin-stack cooler, ventilated by just two 90 mm spinners. The RTX 2080 Ti Turbo features a lateral-blower cooler, and may be priced on par with NVIDIA's reference design.

Videocardz has done it again, and have gotten their hands on manufacturer's images of as of yet unreleased graphics cards. This time, it's ASUS' products that have been brought to the limelight, with not one, but two custom versions of their upcoming GeForce GTX 1070 Ti graphics cards being pictures next to their retail boxes.

The first graphics card is the 1070 Ti Turbo (TURBO-GTX1070TI-8G), which like most ASUS Turbo models, should be among the cheapest 1070 Ti options - it forfeits any additional engineering besides NVIDIA's reference design, and adds ASUS' Turbo blower-type cooler. The 1070 Ti STRIX (ROG-STRIX-GTX1070TI-A8G-GAMING), on the other hand, is a custom-engineered version of the GTX 1070 (GP-104) silicon, and should come with the same higher margins as other ASUS custom products. A mainstay of ASUS STRIX designs is the presence of Aura Sync RGB lighting control, and a triple-fan configuration, which should bring operating temperatures down considerably. We should start seriously considering the chance that we'll see an as of yet unannounced NVIDIA graphics card actually launch with custom partner designs before custom versions of AMD's Vega graphics cards ever hit the retail channel. Though to be fair, it's much easier for AIB partners to simply recycle NVIDIA custom designs for this particular graphics card than design an entirely new one for AMD's Vega.