HW News: AMD X370 High-End Chipset, NZXT Aer, Rosewill Cullinan

This week's news announcements include AMD AM4 Zen chipset naming (rumors, technically), NZXT's new RGB LED 'Aer' fans, and a pair of cases from Rosewill and Cooler Master.

AMD's initial AM4 chipset announcement was made at PAX, where the B350, A320, and XBA300 chipsets were announced for mainstream and low-end Gen 7 APUs. The high-end Zen chipset for Summit Ridge was concealed during this announcement, but is now known to be the X370 platform.

X370 will ship alongside the Summit Ridge CPUs and will add to the lanes available for high-speed IO devices, mostly SATA and new generation USB. Most of the IO with the Zen architecture will be piped through the CPU itself, with what remains of the chipset acting more as an IO controller than a full chipset.

Right now, we really only have the name – X370 – and the specs of the lower end chipsets that will be used with the upcoming SoCs.

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Here's the script for the rest of the news:

NZXT Aer

NZXT's new Aer series fans enter the company into the RGB fan arena, where it'll primarily compete with incumbents Thermaltake and Corsair. The Aer fans are PWM enabled and pair with the HUE+ for customizable RGB LED control, including daisy-chains of fans to group units together in their RGB functions.

The fans will be available in 120mm and 140mm models, and will use fluid dynamic bearings that accommodate an RPM range of 500-1500. Airflow is rated at 20-61.4CFM for 120mm, or 23.9-71.6CFM for 140mm. 8 LEDs are present per fan, using light channels to increase brightness and undesirable reduce light bleed.

The fans are available at $30 apiece for the 120mm models, or $35 for the 140mm models, putting NZXT close in price to Corsair's RGB fans. Bundle packs are available with a HUE+ and two fans for $80 to $90. The Aer fans will begin shipping in October.

Rosewill Cullinan

The Rosewill Cullinan case that we saw at Computex is available as of today, in theory, and our review will be live in the immediate future. This is one of the many cases along the front edge of 2016's tempered glass trend, and uses 4mm thick glass on the left and right panels, with tinted tempered glass also covering the front intake. There's about an inch of distance between the front glass and the chassis, allowing intake through the sides of the case as is done with most modern, flat front cases – the 400C, 600C, and S340 included.

From what we've looked at so far, the Cullinan is the most promising case that Rosewill has made since its R5 from several years ago, something we'll explain more in our review. The street price is expected at $150, though MSRP is $180. Shipping should begin within the next week or two. Wait for our review before making any decisions, though.

CM MasterCase 3 Pro

Cooler Master also just announced its MasterCase Pro 3, a Micro-ATX version of the MasterCase 5 that's most marketed for its modularity.

The MasterCase Pro 3 uses thumbscrews to secure mounting hardware to the chassis frame, including radiator mounts for the top and front and drive cages scattered around the case. Accessories and modular kits are sold separately, for further modification of cases, though the base unit should sell for around $100.

The unit includes two 140mm fans at 1200RPM, front and rear, and can fit radiators up to 280mm in size. Eight total hard drives and five total fans can fit within the micro-ATX enclosure, with the PSU partitioned in to a lower compartment alongside the drives.

Host/Script: Steve “Lelldorianx” Burke
Video: Andrew “ColossalCake” Coleman