Today's Reviews
Cases
CPU Coolers
Desktop PC
Memory
Monitors
Motherboards
Notebooks
News Archive
Tuesday, June 30th 2020
Kingston A2000 1 TB M.2 NVMe SSD Review - 8% Faster Thanks to New Firmware
The Kingston A2000 has recently received a firmware update, which makes a big difference in performance. It now rivals the Samsung 970 EVO, at much better pricing. With just $128 for the tested 1 TB version, or 13 cents per GB, the A2000 offers better value than most SSDs on the market.
CORSAIR iCUE LT100 Smart Lighting Towers Review - RGB Your Desk!
CORSAIR adds to their ecosystem of RGB goodies with the iCUE LT100 smart lighting towers. Complementing the LS100 lighting strips, you can add 2–4 towers with 46 dRGB LEDs each in the living room, on your PC desk around your monitor, or anywhere with an AC wall socket for a dazzling light show.
Xiaomi Launching 65-inch 120 Hz OLED TV Under "Master Series"
Xiaomi is looking to grab a piece of the premium TV market with the new Master Series. Xiaomi's new flagship TV, to be announced for the Chinese market on July 2nd, will be offering up a 65-inch OLED panel with a snappy 120 Hz refresh rate, which means it will be able to take full advantage of next-generation consoles' "up to" 120 Hz FPS delivery. Besides the OLED chops, there's Dolby Certification for both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.
Other specs include HDMI 2.1, VRR support, and ALLM (Automatic Low Latency Mode). A quad-core Arm Cortex-A73 custom chip will be powering the TV's graphical and OS processing. Apparently there will be some sort of RGB lighting on the TV's frame, and a metallic remote control with NFC support aims to increase the premium feeling. Xiaomi's CEO Lei Jun described it as "Xiaomi's ultra-high-end OLED TV" and "very amazing." Well. We'll have to see now won't we. If it's actual competition to today's premium mainstream LG C9 and Samsung Q90R TVs, it's bound to sell like hotcakes.
Other specs include HDMI 2.1, VRR support, and ALLM (Automatic Low Latency Mode). A quad-core Arm Cortex-A73 custom chip will be powering the TV's graphical and OS processing. Apparently there will be some sort of RGB lighting on the TV's frame, and a metallic remote control with NFC support aims to increase the premium feeling. Xiaomi's CEO Lei Jun described it as "Xiaomi's ultra-high-end OLED TV" and "very amazing." Well. We'll have to see now won't we. If it's actual competition to today's premium mainstream LG C9 and Samsung Q90R TVs, it's bound to sell like hotcakes.
Louqe and Noctua Present NH-L12 Special Edition CPU Cooler for the Ghost S1 Case
Louqe and Noctua today presented the new NH-L12 Ghost S1 edition CPU cooler. Coming with a single 92 mm fan and Noctua's second-generation NT-H2 thermal compound, as well as the latest SecuFirm2 multi-socket mounting system, the NH-L12 Ghost S1 edition has been customised to be an ideal companion for quiet high-end builds in Louqe's award-winning Ghost S1 enclosure.
"We've tested pretty much every low-profile cooler on the market in the Ghost S1 and even tried to create a complete custom solution in collaboration with Noctua, but nothing worked as well as our long-term favourite, the NH-L12," explains Patrik Michalski (Louqe CEO). "That's why we've ended up creating a customised special edition of this cooler that will be the ideal choice for all Ghost S1 users who are looking for the best possible air cooling solution."
"We've tested pretty much every low-profile cooler on the market in the Ghost S1 and even tried to create a complete custom solution in collaboration with Noctua, but nothing worked as well as our long-term favourite, the NH-L12," explains Patrik Michalski (Louqe CEO). "That's why we've ended up creating a customised special edition of this cooler that will be the ideal choice for all Ghost S1 users who are looking for the best possible air cooling solution."
CORSAIR Launches iCUE LT100 Smart Lighting Towers
CORSAIR, a world leader in high-performance gaming peripherals and enthusiast components, today announced the latest addition to the growing lineup of RGB ambient lighting products in the iCUE Smart Lighting Ecosystem, iCUE LT100 Smart Lighting Towers. LT100 Smart Lighting Towers are available as a starter kit featuring two aluminium towers each equipped with 46 brilliant fully customizable RGB LEDs, as well as an optional expansion kit for adding additional towers to your setup. LT100 Smart Lighting Towers bathe your room in immersive ambient lighting that enhances your visual and audio experience, creating large-scale light shows that can be synchronized with other iCUE RGB lighting products such as LS100 Smart Lighting Strips or CORSAIR PC components and peripherals.
Each LT100 Smart Lighting Tower stands 422 mm tall and shines with 46 RGB LEDs, with a reversible orientation that can be faced forward for brighter, more vivid lighting or backward for subtler illumination that plays off the walls of your space. When connected to your PC and CORSAIR iCUE software, the towers can match and diffuse the colors at the edges of your screen in real-time, bringing the action in games and media beyond the screen. LT100 Smart Lighting Towers can also be used as an audio visualizer to bring music to life, or be customized in iCUE with a nearly limitless combination of colors and effects for your own unique lighting setup.
Each LT100 Smart Lighting Tower stands 422 mm tall and shines with 46 RGB LEDs, with a reversible orientation that can be faced forward for brighter, more vivid lighting or backward for subtler illumination that plays off the walls of your space. When connected to your PC and CORSAIR iCUE software, the towers can match and diffuse the colors at the edges of your screen in real-time, bringing the action in games and media beyond the screen. LT100 Smart Lighting Towers can also be used as an audio visualizer to bring music to life, or be customized in iCUE with a nearly limitless combination of colors and effects for your own unique lighting setup.
Micron Technology Reports Results for the Third Quarter of Fiscal 2020
Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU) today announced results for its third quarter of fiscal 2020, which ended May 28, 2020. "Micron's exceptional execution in the fiscal third quarter drove strong sequential revenue and EPS growth, despite challenges in the macro environment," said Micron Technology President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra. "We are ramping the industry's most advanced DRAM technology into production and have delivered more than 75% of our NAND volume as high-value solutions, supported by record SSD revenue in the quarter. Our portfolio momentum positions us exceedingly well to leverage the long-term growth across our end markets."
Philips Announces 558M1RY and 278M1R Monitors for Console Gaming
MMD, the leading display specialist and brand license partner for Philips Monitors are releasing two new Momentum monitors, one of which includes a product collaboration with Bowers & Wilkins. The first is the 558M1RY which at 55 inches (139.7 cm) is the largest console gaming optimized monitor on the market, the second being the 278M1R, a 27-inch (68.6 cm) monitor designed for esports. The 558M1RY will bring a whole new dimension to gaming, boasting a 4K UHD resolution, up to 120Hz refresh rate, a specially designed speaker by Bowers & Wilkins, and Ambiglow which extends around the screen. The 278M1R is the first Philips monitor designed exclusively with esports players in mind, it's 27 inches and is HDR Ready. The 55" will be available end of June 2020 and the 27" as of July 2020.
The 558M1RY is a truly one box solution to immersive gaming and entertainment. Players will be completely engrossed in their games with a 55-inch screen and 3 sided Ambiglow. The monitor dazzles with its UltraClear 4K UHD resolution, featuring 3840 x 2160 pixels and DisplayHDR 1000. Users can adjust the HDR to their preferences with HDR Game, HDR Movie, HDR Photo and an HDR personal modes; HDR can also be completely turned off.
The 558M1RY is a truly one box solution to immersive gaming and entertainment. Players will be completely engrossed in their games with a 55-inch screen and 3 sided Ambiglow. The monitor dazzles with its UltraClear 4K UHD resolution, featuring 3840 x 2160 pixels and DisplayHDR 1000. Users can adjust the HDR to their preferences with HDR Game, HDR Movie, HDR Photo and an HDR personal modes; HDR can also be completely turned off.
Kioxia to Complete Acquisition of LITE-ON Technology's SSD Business
Kioxia Holdings Corporation, the world leader in memory solutions, announced today that it expects to complete its acquisition of LITE-ON Technology Corporation's Solid State Drive (SSD) business, Solid State Storage Technology Corporation and its affiliated companies on July 1, 2020. The company entered into a share purchase agreement on August 30, 2019 in connection with the acquisition. Both parties are now following the necessary procedures in order to close the transaction on July 1, 2020.
As the demand for SSDs continues to increase with rapid expansion expected in the coming years with the rise of digital transformation, this acquisition will allow Kioxia to strengthen its SSD business significantly and help meet the projected growth in demand.
As the demand for SSDs continues to increase with rapid expansion expected in the coming years with the rise of digital transformation, this acquisition will allow Kioxia to strengthen its SSD business significantly and help meet the projected growth in demand.
ASRock Launches Radeon RX 5600 XT Challenger Pro 6G OC Graphics Card
The leading global motherboard, graphics card and mini PC manufacturer, ASRock, has launched new Radeon RX 5600 XT Challenger Pro 6G OC three-fan graphics card. The Radeon RX 5600 XT Challenger Pro 6G OC features ASRock's new styled shroud design with upgraded cooling fins, AMD's second-generation Radeon RX 5600 XT 7 nm GPU, plus 6 GB 192-bit GDDR6 memory and PCI Express 4.0 bus. The ASRock Radeon RX 5600 XT Challenger Pro 6G OC graphics card provides excellent overclocking settings, which enables users to enjoy a smooth 1080p gaming experience.
The ASRock Radeon RX 5600 XT Challenger Pro 6G OC adopts AMD's second-generation Radeon RX 5600 XT GPU. With factory default GPU base/game/boost clock settings, this new graphics card can reach 1420/1615/up to 1750 MHz respectively. The boost clock setting is 4% higher than the AMD's standard settings. Furthermore, the clock frequency of GDDR6 memory is set as 1750 MHz, which is 17% faster than AMD's memory default value - 1500 MHz. The ASRock Radeon RX 5600 XT Challenger Pro 6G OC is equipped with 3-fan cooler, 6 GB 192-bit GDDR6 memory and latest PCI Express 4.0 bus standard; ideally partnering with AMD Ryzen 3000 CPU systems and ASRock B550 and X570 motherboards. These premium specifications allow Radeon RX 5600 XT Challenger Pro 6G OC graphics card to have outstanding performance and bring users excellent 1080p gaming experience.
The ASRock Radeon RX 5600 XT Challenger Pro 6G OC adopts AMD's second-generation Radeon RX 5600 XT GPU. With factory default GPU base/game/boost clock settings, this new graphics card can reach 1420/1615/up to 1750 MHz respectively. The boost clock setting is 4% higher than the AMD's standard settings. Furthermore, the clock frequency of GDDR6 memory is set as 1750 MHz, which is 17% faster than AMD's memory default value - 1500 MHz. The ASRock Radeon RX 5600 XT Challenger Pro 6G OC is equipped with 3-fan cooler, 6 GB 192-bit GDDR6 memory and latest PCI Express 4.0 bus standard; ideally partnering with AMD Ryzen 3000 CPU systems and ASRock B550 and X570 motherboards. These premium specifications allow Radeon RX 5600 XT Challenger Pro 6G OC graphics card to have outstanding performance and bring users excellent 1080p gaming experience.
IBASE Announces SI-642-N IPC for Outdoor Displays
IBASE Technology Inc., a world leader in the manufacture of a wide range of digital solutions, has rolled out the SI-642-N 4K digital signage player that leverages the 8th Gen Intel Core U-series processors. The platform can be used in commercial establishments to increase brand awareness and customer engagement or deployed in transportation networks to provide real-time information and advertising relevant to the traveler.
The fanless SI-642-N offers high performance and high reliability for 24/7 operation in an industrial grade design. It is integrated with the IBASE iSMART and Observer technologies for remote monitoring, power on/off scheduling, power recovery and low temperature boot functions. With the Intel HD Graphics 620, the system can simultaneously support two independent displays (1x HDMI 2.0 & 1x Active DisplayPort 1.2) with 4K (4096 x 2160) @60Hz resolution as well as two independent audio outputs.
The fanless SI-642-N offers high performance and high reliability for 24/7 operation in an industrial grade design. It is integrated with the IBASE iSMART and Observer technologies for remote monitoring, power on/off scheduling, power recovery and low temperature boot functions. With the Intel HD Graphics 620, the system can simultaneously support two independent displays (1x HDMI 2.0 & 1x Active DisplayPort 1.2) with 4K (4096 x 2160) @60Hz resolution as well as two independent audio outputs.
Samsung 980 PRO Clears Korean Regulators, Comes in Three Sizes
Samsung's upcoming flagship client-segment M.2 NVMe SSD, the 980 PRO, has cleared Korean regulators. The drive comes in three capacity variants, led by a 1 TB model (model: MZ-V8P1T0), a 500 GB model (MZ-V8P500), and a 250 GB model (MZ-V8P250). The maximum capacity being rather low at 1 TB suggests that Samsung could stick with MLC (2 bits per cell) NAND flash for the 980 PRO, coupled with an in-house controller that takes advantage of PCI-Express 4.0 x4 host interface to offer sequential transfer rates of up to 6,500 MB/s reads, with up to 5,000 MB/s writes and high random access throughput on account of the MLC NAND flash setup. For higher capacities from Samsung, one should look out for successors of the 970 EVO Plus, which could use 3D TLC NAND flash combined with a similar controller to the 980 PRO, although there's no word on when that drive would launch. The 980 PRO is expected to launch before October.
Cyberpunk 2077 will have "GTA Mode"
CD Project RED, the maker behind highly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077 game has given out some exciting information about the game. In a recent interview with PCGamesN, Max Pears, a designer involved in Cyberpunk 2077 development, has said that the game will have a "Grand Theft Auto (GTA) mode". "If you want to go out on a rampage and have no remorse, then you have got the option, and that's fine with us", said Mr. Pears. "However, once you start to play the missions and see the amount of options you have. I think that will make players stop and think a little bit before doing something reckless.", he adds, "We've seen a lot of people default to that 'GTA mode' and then after a little bit they realize how many things are different and adjust how they play". The game is officially launching on November 19, so we have to wait and see that gameplay.
AMD Ryzen 7 4700GE Memory Benchmarked: Extremely Low Latency Explains Tiny L3 Caches
AMD's 7 nm "Renoir" APU silicon, which features eight "Zen 2" CPU cores, has only a quarter of the L3 cache of the 8-core "Zen 2" CCD used in "Matisse," "Rome," and "Castle Peak" processors, with each of its two quad-core compute complexes (CCXs) featuring just 4 MB of it (compared to 16 MB per CCX on the 8-core "Zen 2" CCD). Chinese-language tech publication TecLab pubished a quick review of an alleged Ryzen 7 4700GE socket AM4 processor based on the "Renoir" silicon, and discovered that the chip offers significantly lower memory latencies than "Matisse," posting just 47.6 ns latency when paired with DDR4-4233 dual-channel memory.
In comparison, a Ryzen 9 3900X with these kinds of memory clocks typically posts 60-70 ns latencies, owing to the MCM design of "Matisse," where the CPU cores and memory controllers sit on separate dies, which is one of the key reasons AMD is believed to have doubled the L3 cache amount per CCX compared to previous-generation "Zeppelin" dies. TecLab tested the alleged 4700GE engineering sample on a ROG Crosshair VIII Impact X570 motherboard that has 1 DIMM per channel (the best possible memory topology).
In comparison, a Ryzen 9 3900X with these kinds of memory clocks typically posts 60-70 ns latencies, owing to the MCM design of "Matisse," where the CPU cores and memory controllers sit on separate dies, which is one of the key reasons AMD is believed to have doubled the L3 cache amount per CCX compared to previous-generation "Zeppelin" dies. TecLab tested the alleged 4700GE engineering sample on a ROG Crosshair VIII Impact X570 motherboard that has 1 DIMM per channel (the best possible memory topology).
Crysis Remastered Gameplay Trailer Premieres July 1st
EA and Crytek have been preparing to remaster the popular Crysis game for some time. And finally, we know the dates when we can see some gameplay as well as when we can get the game to play it. On the official Crysis YouTube channel, there is a video titled "Crysis Remastered - Official Gameplay Trailer Premiere", which is premiering on July 1st at 12 PM ET / 9 AM PST time. After the July 1st premiere, the full game will be available on July 23rd. You can set a reminder on YouTube so you get a notification when the premiere starts. Below we have put the YouTube link so you can check it out and join others in waiting.
TEAMGROUP Announces T-FORCE CARDEA Ceramic C440 M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD
T-FORCE, the gaming brand of TEAMGROUP, today announces the new CARDEA Ceramic C440 Solid State Drive with latest and ultra-fast M.2 PCIe Gen4x4 interface. It is the first of its kind in the industry to be made with ceramic composite cooling materials, and obtained Taiwan Utility Model Patent (No. M595313). The snow-white ceramic has a unique texture, and the special aerospace ceramic can achieve excellent heat dissipation effect. Not only bringing a new color into the gaming world, it also unleashes an ultimate performance with read/write speed of 5,000/4,400 MB/s.
With NVMe 1.3 specification, T-FORCE CARDEA Ceramic C440 Solid State Drive creates a higher standard for M.2 solid state drive by using the latest, ultra-fast M.2 PCIe Gen4 x4 interface to achieve a sequential read/write speed of 5,000/4,400 MB/s. The use of aerospace ceramic composite cooling materials not only provides excellent heat dissipation, but also reduces heat by 18% when the case is equipped with a fan. At the same time, it is also lightweight and thin, anti-electromagnetic interference, high temperature resistant, extreme temperature shock resistant. Besides, it is made with environmentally friendly materials, which is RoHS compliant. The combination of CARDEA Ceramic C440's snow-white heat spreader and the golden T-FORCE displays a trendy style. It will be even more eye-catching if it is matched with a white motherboard and case. The thickness is only about 1 mm which perfectly showcase the aesthetics of thinness of T-FORCE CARDEA Ceramic.
With NVMe 1.3 specification, T-FORCE CARDEA Ceramic C440 Solid State Drive creates a higher standard for M.2 solid state drive by using the latest, ultra-fast M.2 PCIe Gen4 x4 interface to achieve a sequential read/write speed of 5,000/4,400 MB/s. The use of aerospace ceramic composite cooling materials not only provides excellent heat dissipation, but also reduces heat by 18% when the case is equipped with a fan. At the same time, it is also lightweight and thin, anti-electromagnetic interference, high temperature resistant, extreme temperature shock resistant. Besides, it is made with environmentally friendly materials, which is RoHS compliant. The combination of CARDEA Ceramic C440's snow-white heat spreader and the golden T-FORCE displays a trendy style. It will be even more eye-catching if it is matched with a white motherboard and case. The thickness is only about 1 mm which perfectly showcase the aesthetics of thinness of T-FORCE CARDEA Ceramic.
Belkin Completes Thunderbolt 3 Dock Family With New Thunderbolt 3 Dock Core
Belkin, the connected things division within the Belkin International and Foxconn Interconnect Technology entity, today announced the Thunderbolt 3 Dock Core. It completes Belkin's family of Thunderbolt 3 docks, including the Thunderbolt 3 Dock Pro, Thunderbolt 3 Dock Plus and the Thunderbolt 3 Dock Mini.
The Thunderbolt 3 Dock Core, the world's first Thunderbolt -certified, dual-powered dock, offers compatibility to bring the benefits of Thunderbolt 3 technology to both Mac and Windows laptops. Like the entire Belkin Dock family, it's designed for users who need fast transfer rates and a one cable solution to connect laptops to peripherals. The Thunderbolt 3 Dock Core has a small, compact footprint, reducing clutter and multiple cables on a desk.
The Thunderbolt 3 Dock Core, the world's first Thunderbolt -certified, dual-powered dock, offers compatibility to bring the benefits of Thunderbolt 3 technology to both Mac and Windows laptops. Like the entire Belkin Dock family, it's designed for users who need fast transfer rates and a one cable solution to connect laptops to peripherals. The Thunderbolt 3 Dock Core has a small, compact footprint, reducing clutter and multiple cables on a desk.
Kioxia Demonstrates Next Generation NVMe SSD Form Factor for Cloud and Data Centers
Kioxia Corporation has developed and started shipment of engineering samples of next generation Enterprise & Datacenter SSD Form Factor (EDSFF) E3.S which is being standardized by the SNIA SFF TA Technical Work Group. E3.S is a new form factor standard for NVMe SSDs in Cloud and enterprise data centers, especially targeting PCIe 5.0 and beyond. The E3.S will contribute to the design and development of next generation systems, such as cloud, hyper-converged and general-purpose servers and All Flash Array (AFA) systems in cloud and enterprise data centers.
The E3.S specification allows for size, power and capacity options, all with a common connector. Designed for future PCIe generations that offer higher power budgets, EDSFF E3.S delivers improved performance, cooling and flexibility over other form factors. Kioxia's E3.S engineering samples, based on Kioxia's CM6 Series PCIe 4.0 NVMe 1.4 SSD in a 2.5-inch form factor, demonstrated approximately 35% greater performance with the same controller and BiCS FLASH 3D TLC flash memory in the EDSFF E3.S form factor with x4 lanes and 28 W (+40%) of power.
The E3.S specification allows for size, power and capacity options, all with a common connector. Designed for future PCIe generations that offer higher power budgets, EDSFF E3.S delivers improved performance, cooling and flexibility over other form factors. Kioxia's E3.S engineering samples, based on Kioxia's CM6 Series PCIe 4.0 NVMe 1.4 SSD in a 2.5-inch form factor, demonstrated approximately 35% greater performance with the same controller and BiCS FLASH 3D TLC flash memory in the EDSFF E3.S form factor with x4 lanes and 28 W (+40%) of power.
BenQ Announces Updated ZOWIE FK-B, ZA-B Standard Edition Series Mice with 3360 Sensor
BenQ announces the updated ZOWIE FK-B & ZA-B series in matte black finish and the 3360 sensor. Unlike previous FK & ZA models, the updated series have a symmetrical right-handed design. The side buttons on the right side have been removed to prevent interference with a right-handed user's grip.
The mouse cable attachment point has also been raised at an angle to lower the chance of the cable dragging on the mousepad. The mice also come with a report rate switch at the bottom to quickly and conveniently switch to your preferred setting. which come equipped with the 3360 sensor, providing gamers with a different mouse tracking feel.
The mouse cable attachment point has also been raised at an angle to lower the chance of the cable dragging on the mousepad. The mice also come with a report rate switch at the bottom to quickly and conveniently switch to your preferred setting. which come equipped with the 3360 sensor, providing gamers with a different mouse tracking feel.
Microsoft Rumored To Release Budget Xbox Series S Console
In a recent report by the Verge, Microsoft is reportedly planning a budget console to go along with the Xbox Series X known as the Xbox Series S. The Xbox Series S will be a successor to the popular Xbox One S, codenamed Lockhart it's set to feature the key next-generation improvements found in the Xbox Series X and provide them at a lower price point.
Sources say that the Xbox Series S will target 1080p 60FPS and 1440p 6̶0̶F̶P̶S̶ 30FPS gaming performance, this will be achieved with roughly 1/3rd of the GPU power at 4 TeraFLOPs, and 10 GB of GDDR6 RAM. The Xbox Series S console is rumored to share the same 7 nm AMD Zen 2 SoC a̶t̶ ̶a̶ ̶l̶o̶w̶e̶r̶ ̶c̶l̶o̶c̶k̶ and the same ultra-fast PCIe 4.0 SSD. The console may not feature a disc drive like the Xbox One S All Digital Edition. Microsoft is yet to publicly say anything about the console, so take these rumors with a grain of salt.
Update Jun 30th: Sources tell Eurogamer that Microsoft is planning to unveil the console at an event in August.
Sources say that the Xbox Series S will target 1080p 60FPS and 1440p 6̶0̶F̶P̶S̶ 30FPS gaming performance, this will be achieved with roughly 1/3rd of the GPU power at 4 TeraFLOPs, and 10 GB of GDDR6 RAM. The Xbox Series S console is rumored to share the same 7 nm AMD Zen 2 SoC a̶t̶ ̶a̶ ̶l̶o̶w̶e̶r̶ ̶c̶l̶o̶c̶k̶ and the same ultra-fast PCIe 4.0 SSD. The console may not feature a disc drive like the Xbox One S All Digital Edition. Microsoft is yet to publicly say anything about the console, so take these rumors with a grain of salt.
Update Jun 30th: Sources tell Eurogamer that Microsoft is planning to unveil the console at an event in August.
Sabrent Launches Rocket XTRM-Q 8 TB External Thunderbolt 3 SSD
Sabrent was first to market with their 8 TB M.2 NVMe SSD just last month, and now they have released the world's first 8 TB external PCIe SSD. The Rocket XTRM-Q 8 TB features the aforementioned Rocket Q 8 TB NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD housed inside a Thunderbolt 3/USB 3.2 enclosure, this allows the drive to reach read speeds of 2.7 GB/s via Thunderbolt 3 or 900 MB/s via USB. This makes it not only the largest external SSD but also one of the fastest currently on the market.
The SSD features a sleek modern design with an aluminium casing with anti-slip bottom pads for stability. The Sabrent Rocket XTRM-Q is available in capacities of 500 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB, 4 TB, and 8 TB. The drives are currently available for purchase via Amazon for $170, $220, $360, $830, and $1600 respectively.
The SSD features a sleek modern design with an aluminium casing with anti-slip bottom pads for stability. The Sabrent Rocket XTRM-Q is available in capacities of 500 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB, 4 TB, and 8 TB. The drives are currently available for purchase via Amazon for $170, $220, $360, $830, and $1600 respectively.
Monday, June 29th 2020
Today's Reviews
Cases
CPU Coolers
Keyboards
Monitors
Motherboards
Multimedia
Notebooks
Cooler Master Masterbox TD500 Mesh Review - Airflow for the Masses
The Cooler Master Masterbox TD500 Mesh checks off all the right boxes for an appealing mass-market choice. With its sub-$100 price tag, three fans, RGB, and clean looks, it goes down the path of "trusted and true", and it actually ends up being quite the confident stride for good reason.
Quick Look: Team Group T-Force Spark RGB 128 GB - RGB on Your Flash Drive
Just when you thought they've put RGB on everything, Team Group releases a RGB USB flash drive with the T-Force Spark RGB 128 GB. Our review goes into detail how the RGB works and what to expect performance-wise.
TerraMaster Invites Developers To Create Their Own App
TerraMaster, a professional brand that specializes in providing innovative storage products including network attached storage (NAS) devices, introduces the TerraMaster TOS APP Development Guide which allows independent developers to create apps that can run on the TerraMaster TOS. The TerraMaster TOS APP Development Guide provide developers a complete suite of tools and a suitable app development environment for creating applications. With this, TerraMaster can work hand-in-hand with developers that will help grow the TerraMaster TOS into a more robust and feature-packed storage ecosystem that will benefit all TerraMaster NAS users.
Developers are given the liberty to develop any application that will fit their needs. Developers can list the developed app on the TerraMaster TOS for other end users to use. Likewise, developers can also charge users for their apps. TerraMaster outlines a simple process for the app development below.
Developers are given the liberty to develop any application that will fit their needs. Developers can list the developed app on the TerraMaster TOS for other end users to use. Likewise, developers can also charge users for their apps. TerraMaster outlines a simple process for the app development below.
AeroCool Rolls Out the Prime Mid-tower Case
AeroCool really likes vertical RGB diffusers that cleave the front panel from the middle, as evident with the Klaw and Playa cases. Its latest such creation is the Prime, a value-segment ATX mid-tower case. It is characterized by three large ARGB LED diffusers along the center of the front-panel, flanked by a pair of mesh intakes for the front fans. The included 120 mm exhaust fan also featuring ARGB embellishments. Inside the case features a single chamber layout (no horizontal partition).
The motherboard tray of the AeroCool Prime offers clearance for graphics cards up to 30.2 cm in length, and CPU coolers up to 15.9 cm in height. Storage features include two 3.5-inch drive bays, and up to three 2.5-inch mounts. The crawlspace behind the motherboard tray is 1.89 cm wide. Ventilation includes two 140/120 mm front intakes, a 120 mm top exhaust, and a 120 mm rear exhaust. You can mount a 240 mm x 120 mm radiator along the front intake. Front panel connectivity includes two USB 3.x type-A ports (standard header), and HDA jacks. The case measures 205 mm x 442 mm x 376.5 mm (WxHxD). There are two minor variants of the Prime, the v1 comes with a non-illuminated rear fan, while the v2 comes with one that has ARGB illumination. The company didn't reveal pricing.
The motherboard tray of the AeroCool Prime offers clearance for graphics cards up to 30.2 cm in length, and CPU coolers up to 15.9 cm in height. Storage features include two 3.5-inch drive bays, and up to three 2.5-inch mounts. The crawlspace behind the motherboard tray is 1.89 cm wide. Ventilation includes two 140/120 mm front intakes, a 120 mm top exhaust, and a 120 mm rear exhaust. You can mount a 240 mm x 120 mm radiator along the front intake. Front panel connectivity includes two USB 3.x type-A ports (standard header), and HDA jacks. The case measures 205 mm x 442 mm x 376.5 mm (WxHxD). There are two minor variants of the Prime, the v1 comes with a non-illuminated rear fan, while the v2 comes with one that has ARGB illumination. The company didn't reveal pricing.
ASUS Also Announces the RT-AX55 802.11ax Router Ready for Ai Mesh
In addition to the Alan Walker variant of the ROG Zephyrus G14 notebook, ASUS announced the RT-AX55, a mid-range 802.11ax home router that's ready for Ai Mesh. The router offers 802.11ax at data-rates of up to 1201 Mbps over the 5 GHz band, up to 574 Mbps over the 2.4 GHz band (1.77 Gbps combined), 802.11ac at up to 867 Mbps, and 802.11n up to 300 Mbps; along with MU-MIMO support. Both its WAN uplink and 4-port downstream Ethernet are 1 GbE. The router also offers the latest WPA3-Personal and WPA2-Enterprise security, besides older WPA standards. The company didn't reveal pricing, but the RT-AX55 could command a 2-figure price.
ASUS ROG Announces Collaboration with DJ Alan Walker for Exclusive Zephyrus Variant
ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced a new collaboration with acclaimed DJ and music producer Alan Walker to create gaming content, tech and other experiences that will help elevate and bring gaming to a wider audience.
Over the years, the gaming audience has expanded to include not only esports athletes and enthusiasts, but also a diverse audience of creators. ASUS ROG is committed to staying at the forefront of gaming technology by innovating products that empower these next-gen gamers in fulfilling their creative vision. As a self-made entrepreneur, gamer and music producer, Alan Walker stood out as a quintessential creator with valuable insights into what the next generation needs. His background, skills, and interest in gaming make him an ideal partner for ROG. "I can't wait to begin this journey with Republic of Gamers. Since the beginning of my career, I've wanted to combine and merge the worlds of music, tech and gaming in everything I do. And this is a great opportunity to continue that mission. A big thanks to everyone at ROG for giving me this opportunity!" said Alan Walker.
Over the years, the gaming audience has expanded to include not only esports athletes and enthusiasts, but also a diverse audience of creators. ASUS ROG is committed to staying at the forefront of gaming technology by innovating products that empower these next-gen gamers in fulfilling their creative vision. As a self-made entrepreneur, gamer and music producer, Alan Walker stood out as a quintessential creator with valuable insights into what the next generation needs. His background, skills, and interest in gaming make him an ideal partner for ROG. "I can't wait to begin this journey with Republic of Gamers. Since the beginning of my career, I've wanted to combine and merge the worlds of music, tech and gaming in everything I do. And this is a great opportunity to continue that mission. A big thanks to everyone at ROG for giving me this opportunity!" said Alan Walker.
Microsoft Seemingly Introducing File Recovery Tool in Future Windows 10 Update
Microsoft seems to be on the verge of introducing a new file recovery tool in a future Windows 10 update. The news, courtesy of The verge, paints a MS-DOS-based tool that would allow users to recover most of the "basic" files they'd be looking for after accidental deletion: MP3 files, MP4 videos, PDFs, JPEG images, and Office, Word as well as PowerPoint documents. The File Recovery Tool is already available as a download from Microsoft's app store (and requires Windows 10 version 19041.0 or higher).
The lack of a GUI could be a put-off for some users; but again, this is a free tool from the company. As a refresher, a file isn't fully deleted if you only use Windows' "delete" function - even if you delete it from the Recycle Bin afterwards. All that does is tell the OS that that those particular storage addresses are available for being written to again - the bits that the file is made of are still there. This is the reason why successful file recovery depends mostly on whether or not new information has been written to those particular cells again. If it has, chances to recover your data are slim.
The lack of a GUI could be a put-off for some users; but again, this is a free tool from the company. As a refresher, a file isn't fully deleted if you only use Windows' "delete" function - even if you delete it from the Recycle Bin afterwards. All that does is tell the OS that that those particular storage addresses are available for being written to again - the bits that the file is made of are still there. This is the reason why successful file recovery depends mostly on whether or not new information has been written to those particular cells again. If it has, chances to recover your data are slim.
GALAX Designs a GeForce GTX 1650 "Ultra" with TU106 Silicon
NVIDIA board partners carving out GeForce RTX 20-series and GTX 16-series SKUs from ASICs they weren't originally based on, is becoming more common, but GALAX has taken things a step further. The company just launched a GeForce GTX 1650 (GDDR6) graphics card based on the "TU106" silicon (ASIC code: TU106-125-A1). The company carved a GTX 1650 out of this chip by disabling all of its RT cores, all its tensor cores, and a whopping 61% of its CUDA cores, along with proportionate reductions in TMU- and ROP counts. The memory bus width has been halved from 256-bit down to 128-bit.
The card, however, is only listed by the Chinese regional arm of GALAX. The card's marketing name is "GALAX GeForce GTX 1650 Ultra," with "Ultra" being a GALAX brand extension, and not an NVIDIA SKU (i.e. the GPU isn't called "GTX 1650 Ultra"). The GPU clock speeds for this card is identical to those of the original GTX 1650 that's based on TU117 - 1410 MHz base, 1590 MHz GPU Boost, and 12 Gbps (GDDR6-effective) memory.
The card, however, is only listed by the Chinese regional arm of GALAX. The card's marketing name is "GALAX GeForce GTX 1650 Ultra," with "Ultra" being a GALAX brand extension, and not an NVIDIA SKU (i.e. the GPU isn't called "GTX 1650 Ultra"). The GPU clock speeds for this card is identical to those of the original GTX 1650 that's based on TU117 - 1410 MHz base, 1590 MHz GPU Boost, and 12 Gbps (GDDR6-effective) memory.
AMD to Bundle "Assassin's Creed: Valhalla" with 3rd Gen Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 9 Processors
AMD is planning to bundle "Assassin's Creed: Valhalla" will 3rd generation Ryzen desktop processors in a yet-unannounced game bundle likely to go live on July 7, according to a VideoCardz report. Localized to select markets and retailers, the bundle will see AMD giving away coupons for the latest chapter in the Assassin's Creed universe, with retail Ryzen 7 3700X, Ryzen 7 3800X, Ryzen 7 3800XT, Ryzen 9 3900X, Ryzen 9 3900XT, and Ryzen 9 3950X. Interestingly, there's no release date for the game itself, besides a vague "Holiday 2020" as announced by Ubisoft, so it's likely that redeeming the game bundle coupon will simply add ownership of the game to your UPlay account (similar to a pre-order), which you can download/pre-load and play when the game is released.
Sony PlayStation 5 Hardware Pricing and Availability Leaked: €100 Premium for BD Drive
Prices of Sony's various PlayStation 5 components just hit the web, thanks a Cowcotland report citing IronManPS5, a source with high reliability with PlayStation 5 leaks. To begin with, the standard PlayStation 5 console, which includes one Dual Sense controller, is priced at 499€. This console includes a Blu-ray disc drive so you could keep a physical library of all your games. Additional Dual Sense controllers can be bought for 59€ a piece. The PlayStation 5 Digital edition, which lacks an optical drive and makes you rely entirely on your Internet connections to get games, is priced a whopping 20% less, at 399€.
Other hardware accessories include an elegant recharging station for the Dual Shock controllers at 29€, which can recharge up to two controllers at a time; a wireless Media Remote accessory that lets you use your PS5 as a streaming entertainment device for your TV, priced at 29€, and an HD stereo web-camera for 59€. One accessory that stands out is the Pulse 3D wireless gaming headset for the PS 5, by Sony, which uses a high quality audio setup from Sony, priced at 179€. The PlayStation 5 family is expected to be available from November 14, 2020.
Other hardware accessories include an elegant recharging station for the Dual Shock controllers at 29€, which can recharge up to two controllers at a time; a wireless Media Remote accessory that lets you use your PS5 as a streaming entertainment device for your TV, priced at 29€, and an HD stereo web-camera for 59€. One accessory that stands out is the Pulse 3D wireless gaming headset for the PS 5, by Sony, which uses a high quality audio setup from Sony, priced at 179€. The PlayStation 5 family is expected to be available from November 14, 2020.
Shuttle Announces Fanless All-in-One PCs with Intel Core i3 processor
It was just over eleven years ago in spring 2009 that Shuttle launched its very first All-in-One PC in the form of the X50. A lot has happened since then. The model range has constantly evolved and has now become an established and important part of the Shuttle XPC product family we would not want to miss. Durability thanks to it being fanless, quiet running, low maintenance and flexible use - this sums up the X50 model range, which is now entering its seventh generation with the X50V7U3.
The machines in a 15.6-inch format (39.6 cm) are aimed less at customers from the B2C sector, but more at B2B target groups in different markets. The POS segment, in which the X50V7U3 may be used as a checkout system, for example, should be highlighted in particular. It benefits here from one particular feature: The whole front with the resistive touchscreen is protected in accordance with protection class IP54. This means the X50V7U3 is protected from dust and splashing of water, which confirms its robustness.
The machines in a 15.6-inch format (39.6 cm) are aimed less at customers from the B2C sector, but more at B2B target groups in different markets. The POS segment, in which the X50V7U3 may be used as a checkout system, for example, should be highlighted in particular. It benefits here from one particular feature: The whole front with the resistive touchscreen is protected in accordance with protection class IP54. This means the X50V7U3 is protected from dust and splashing of water, which confirms its robustness.
AMD Releases Radeon Software Adrenalin 20.5.1 with Graphics Hardware Scheduling
AMD today released its first public beta driver that enables graphics hardware scheduling feature support with Windows 10 May 2020 Update (version 2004). This oddball release has the same version number as the previous-release, version 20.5.1 Beta, but with graphics hardware scheduling retrofitted. The driver hence ships with the version name "Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.5.1 Beta with Graphics Hardware Scheduling." This Microsoft-supplied feature allows GPU hardware to better manage its resources, and potentially improve performance in certain applications. Currently, only AMD's RDNA-based Radeon RX 5600-series and RX 5700-series GPUs support graphics hardware scheduling - not even the RX 5500-series gets it; older generation AMD GPUs, such as the RX Vega series lack it, too.
DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 20.5.1 with Graphics Hardware Scheduling beta
DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 20.5.1 with Graphics Hardware Scheduling beta
Apple MacOS "Big Sur" Beta Driver Code Points to AMD "Navi 31" GPU
AMD's "Navi 20-series" GPUs implementing the RDNA2 graphics architecture are barely close to launch (September 2020 unveiling expected); and there's already talk of the "Navi 30-series." When digging through the driver code for AMD Radeon graphics that ships with Apple's MacOS "Big Sur" developer beta 1, Hardware Leaks (_rogame) uncovered pointers to an AMD "navi31" GPU. This could be the very first indication that AMD will codename successors of the RDNA2-based "Navi 2#" GPUs, such as the "Navi 21," under the "Navi 3#" series. It remains to be seen if these chips implement the RDNA3 graphics architecture, or are a refresh of RDNA2-based chips on a newer process.
European Hardware Awards Announced; AMD CPU and GPU Division Wins Big
The European Hardware Association (EHA), comprised of the nine largest independent technology news and review websites on the continent, has announced its hardware winners for 2020. And AMD has completely blindsided its competition in all possible metrics, whether you're talking about the GPU or CPU side of the equation. AMD's CPU division has completely razed Intel's offerings when it comes to awards, with no Intel CPU even being credited with a single prize. AMD's Ryzen 3000 series won the most-desired award in the form of the "Product of the Year" award. The Ryzen 3000 chiplet design in itself won the EHA "Best Technology" Award; and more specifically, AMD's Ryzen 9 3950X took home the "Best CPU" prize; the Ryzen 5 3600 won "Best Gaming Product"; and the Ryzen 3 3300X won "Best Overclocking Product".
But AMD didn't stop in the CPU category, besting even rival NVIDIA in the GPU side of the equation. AMD's Navi 10 GPU, used in the Radeon RX 5700 series, has won the "Best GPU" category, while the "Best AMD-based graphics card" award goes to the Sapphire RX 5700 XT Nitro+ (the ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080 Ti OC won "Best NVIDIA Graphics Card" category). Another AMD-inside design won the "Best Gaming Notebook" Award - ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14, which packs AMD's mobile Renoir CPUs inside.
But AMD didn't stop in the CPU category, besting even rival NVIDIA in the GPU side of the equation. AMD's Navi 10 GPU, used in the Radeon RX 5700 series, has won the "Best GPU" category, while the "Best AMD-based graphics card" award goes to the Sapphire RX 5700 XT Nitro+ (the ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080 Ti OC won "Best NVIDIA Graphics Card" category). Another AMD-inside design won the "Best Gaming Notebook" Award - ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14, which packs AMD's mobile Renoir CPUs inside.
AMD "Cezanne" APU to Stick with "Vega" iGPU, "Van Gogh" Gets RDNA2
The earliest reports on AMD's next-generation "Cezanne" APU silicon pointed at the possibility of the chip combining "Zen 3" CPU cores with a next-generation iGPU solution based on RDNA2 ("Navi 2#"). AMD plans to launch "Cezanne" in 2021, which makes it the immediate successor to "Renoir." A report by Igor's Lab has fresh details on "Cezanne." Apparently the chip sticks with the "Vega" graphics architecture on its iGPU. This doesn't necessarily mean that it's the same exact iGPU as the 8 CU version on "Renoir."
On the other hand, the "Van Gogh" silicon slated for 2021 is expected to receive RDNA2 graphics. It's important to note here that "Van Gogh" and "Cezanne" sit in the same product stack, and "Van Gogh" does not succeed "Cezanne." Rather, it's the codename for an entry-level APU, succeeding "Dali" (Athlon 3000G), which also means the RDNA2-based iGPU will be a lot slimmer than the "Vega" based one on "Cezanne." It's only by 2022 that AMD will have a performance-segment APU with RDNA2-based iGPU, with "Rembrandt." Find our older article getting into AMD's roadmaps here.
On the other hand, the "Van Gogh" silicon slated for 2021 is expected to receive RDNA2 graphics. It's important to note here that "Van Gogh" and "Cezanne" sit in the same product stack, and "Van Gogh" does not succeed "Cezanne." Rather, it's the codename for an entry-level APU, succeeding "Dali" (Athlon 3000G), which also means the RDNA2-based iGPU will be a lot slimmer than the "Vega" based one on "Cezanne." It's only by 2022 that AMD will have a performance-segment APU with RDNA2-based iGPU, with "Rembrandt." Find our older article getting into AMD's roadmaps here.
Lenovo Readies ThinkCentre M75n IoT Fanless Mini PC Powered by Athlon Silver 3050e
Lenovo is giving finishing touches to the ThinkCentre M75n IoT, a fanless compact PC to be used as an IoT node, succeeding the Intel-powered M90n IoT. The new M75n is powered by an AMD Athlon Silver 3050e SoC (6 W TDP), compared to the M90n that uses a 15-Watt Core i3. The IoT box is rated for 24x7x365 operation, which makes it capable of use even as an industrial PC. The 3050e chip offers a 2-core/4-thread CPU, 1.40-2.80 GHz CPU clocks, 4 MB cache, and a basic AMD Radeon iGPU. Connectivity includes a pair of USB 3.1 gen 2 type-A, two type-C, an M.2-2280 slot with PCI-Express and SATA connectivity; an E-key slot for a WLAN module, gigabit Ethernet, and a pair of COM ports. The box measures 179 mm x 88 mm x 34.5 mm.
Intel Gen12 iGPU on "Rocket Lake" will be Slimmer than the one on "Tiger Lake"?
The Gen12 Xe integrated graphics component of the upcoming "Rocket Lake-S" desktop processor will be slimmer than the one on the upcoming 10 nm "Tiger Lake" silicon, according to a Geekbench hardware detection unearthed by TUM_APISAK. An 8-core/16-thread "Rocket Lake-S" sample surfaced on the Geekbench database, which shows the iGPU to feature 32 compute units as read by the OpenCL benchmark (corresponding with 32 execution units), compared to 96 on the "Tiger Lake-U" mobile processor die. The iGPU is also clocked rather conservatively on this ES, at at 1.15 GHz. The CPU component, on the other hand, ticks at 3.20 GHz, boosting up to 4.30 GHz. It's likely that with the power budget of the desktop platform, the iGPU will be able to sustain boost frequencies better.
LG Releases New LG TONE Free True Wireless Earbuds with UVnano Self Cleaning Case
LG Electronics (LG) revealed two new LG TONE Free true wireless earbuds (models HBS-FN6 and HBS-FN4), both delivering exceptional listening experience with lifelike audio thanks to Meridian Audio technology. LG HBS-FN6 features LG's industry-first UVnano case which eliminates bacteria and germs on the earbuds as they charge. The new canal-type design delivers a more comfortable fit and comes in two colors: matte Stylish Black and glossy Modern White.
The earbuds deliver an extra dimension courtesy of HSP (Headphone Spatial Processing) technology from Meridian - LG's long-standing audio partner in delivering superior sound - powered by Digital Signal Processing, a technology that Meridian has been perfecting for over 25 years. DSP not only recreates a realistic soundstage that simulates the experience of listening to real loudspeakers, it also delivers vocals with pristine clarity, completely immersing the listener.
The earbuds deliver an extra dimension courtesy of HSP (Headphone Spatial Processing) technology from Meridian - LG's long-standing audio partner in delivering superior sound - powered by Digital Signal Processing, a technology that Meridian has been perfecting for over 25 years. DSP not only recreates a realistic soundstage that simulates the experience of listening to real loudspeakers, it also delivers vocals with pristine clarity, completely immersing the listener.
Tencent Preparing to Launch Live Streaming Platform Partner Program to Compete with Twitch
Tencent is getting ready to roll out their new live streaming platform across the US as a direct competitor to Amazon's Twitch. The Tencent live streaming platform has been in testing since March, initially called Madcat, and now branded as Trovo Live. Trovo Live's interface closely resembles that of Twitch and has a large emphasis on mobile gaming which makes sense given that Tencent owns Fortnite and PUBG Mobile.
Tencent has recently plans on the Trovo Live website on its 30 million dollar program to entice creators to the site. Tencent dominates the Chinese game streaming market but has had trouble breaking into Western markets. The Trevo Live Partnership program is set to go live in July and aims to attract 500 influential streamers to the platform. Trovo Live has already attracted some streamers from Mizer and Twitch so it will be interesting to see if it succeeds.
Tencent has recently plans on the Trovo Live website on its 30 million dollar program to entice creators to the site. Tencent dominates the Chinese game streaming market but has had trouble breaking into Western markets. The Trevo Live Partnership program is set to go live in July and aims to attract 500 influential streamers to the platform. Trovo Live has already attracted some streamers from Mizer and Twitch so it will be interesting to see if it succeeds.
AMD Ryzen 4000 "Vermeer" CPUs Almost Ready to Hit the Market
AMD has been working hard to prepare its next-generation Ryzen 4000 CPUs codenamed Vermeer, and we have some exciting news about it. Thanks to the sources over at Igor's Lab, we have information that AMD Vermeer CPUs are close to launching. Apparently, the CPUs have are now at B0 stepping and are going through the usual validation process. The B0 stepping is where the CPU is fully working and now it just needs to go on mass production. The next step for the CPU is high-volume manufacturing and in a very quick time, the CPUs will be ready to hit the market.
Usually, it takes 3-4 months for silicon to be manufactured, so if AMD has orders set at TSMC's factory for the manufacturing of its processors, we could get the processors very soon. Given that AMD is ready with the design, and there is a lack of competition from team blue, AMD is very flexible with timing. The processors can be ready whenever AMD needs them to be. After a while, AMD is in a position to dictate the market needs and tailor them to their own. This used to be a position where Intel was before the Ryzen era. Now if AMD needs to do a launch as quickly as possible they can. If not, they have the design ready and can push it a few months.
Usually, it takes 3-4 months for silicon to be manufactured, so if AMD has orders set at TSMC's factory for the manufacturing of its processors, we could get the processors very soon. Given that AMD is ready with the design, and there is a lack of competition from team blue, AMD is very flexible with timing. The processors can be ready whenever AMD needs them to be. After a while, AMD is in a position to dictate the market needs and tailor them to their own. This used to be a position where Intel was before the Ryzen era. Now if AMD needs to do a launch as quickly as possible they can. If not, they have the design ready and can push it a few months.
Intel Updates Its ISA Manual with Advanced Matrix Extension Reference
Intel today released and updated version of its "Architecture Instruction Set Extensions and Future Features Programming" Reference document with the latest advanced matrix extension (AMX) programming reference. This gives us some insights into AMX and how it works. While we will not go in too much depth here, the AMX is pretty simple. Intel describes it as the following: "Intel Advanced Matrix Extensions (Intel AMX) is a new 64-bit programming paradigm consisting of two components: a set of 2-dimensional registers (tiles) representing sub-arrays from a larger 2-dimensional memory image, and an accelerator able to operate on tiles, the first implementation is called TMUL (tile matrix multiply unit)." In other words, this represents another matrix processing extension that can be used for a wide variety of workload, mainly machine learning processing. The first microarchitecture that will implement the new extension is Sapphire Rapids Xeon processor. You can find more about AMX here.
ASUS Rolls Out VA27DQSB Eye Care Monitor with Thin Bezels on 3 Sides
ASUS today rolled out the VA27DQSB Eye Care Monitor, designed for multi-display setups in office environments, as you can stack these display along the sides and above, in a 1x3 or 2x3 configuration. The VA27DQSB is a 27-inch monitor with Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) resolution, an IPS panel with 178°/178° viewing angles, 75 Hz refresh rate, VESA Adaptive Sync support, and TUV Rhienland-certified low blue-light and flicker-free brightness adjustments (uses a non-PWM method of dimming the LEDs). The included stand offers height adjustments by 150 mm, 90° rotation, tilt up to 35°, and sideways pivot, besides being detachable for use with VESA-compatible multi-monitor mounts. The company didn't reveal pricing.
EK Quantum Torque Series Fittings Expanded With Static Extenders
EK, the premium water cooling gear manufacturer, is extending the Quantum Line Torque fittings with static extenders. With these premium interconnects, it will become very easy to get the correct positioning of the fitting to lessen any work when tube routing or attach a component directly to another via an M-M static extender. Aesthetically they are a perfect match with the EK-Quantum Torque fittings.
DeepCool Intros Gamer Storm TF-120S and TF-140S Fans for Radiators
DeepCool today introduced the Gamer Storm TF-120S and TF-140S fan sets optimized for liquid-cooling applications owing to high static pressure, and a frame-design that's better suited for mounting along radiators. These fans are an evolution of the TF-series fans DeepCool debuted in 2015. The TF-120S is a 120 mm fan that comes in pack of four fans; while the TF-140S is a 140 mm fan, shipping in packs of three. Both SKUs include 4-port PWM fan hubs so a single PWM signal can power all fans in the set.
Much like the original TF-series from 2015, the TF-120S and TF-140S feature "double layer fan blade" design, which when combined with the "wasp waist" fan frame design work to increase air-flow and static pressure. The TF-120S spins between 500 to 1,800 RPM, pushing up to 64.4 CFM of air, with a pressure of 2.33 mm H₂O, and up to 32.1 dBA noise output at max speed; while the TF-140S does 400 to 1,600 RPM, pushing 97.03 CFM of air-flow, with 2.00 mm H₂O pressure, and up to 39.8 dBA noise output at max speed. The company didn't reveal pricing.
Much like the original TF-series from 2015, the TF-120S and TF-140S feature "double layer fan blade" design, which when combined with the "wasp waist" fan frame design work to increase air-flow and static pressure. The TF-120S spins between 500 to 1,800 RPM, pushing up to 64.4 CFM of air, with a pressure of 2.33 mm H₂O, and up to 32.1 dBA noise output at max speed; while the TF-140S does 400 to 1,600 RPM, pushing 97.03 CFM of air-flow, with 2.00 mm H₂O pressure, and up to 39.8 dBA noise output at max speed. The company didn't reveal pricing.
Sunday, June 28th 2020
Intel "Alder Lake-S" Confirmed to Introduce LGA1700 Socket, Technical Docs Out for Partners
Intel's Core "Alder Lake-S" desktop processor, which succeeds the 11th generation "Rocket Lake-S," is confirmed to introduce a new CPU socket, LGA1700. This new socket has been churning in the rumor mill since 2019. The LGA1700 socket is Intel's biggest mainstream desktop processor package change since LGA1156, in that the package is now physically larger, and may be cooler-incompatible with LGA115x sockets (Intel H# sockets). The enlargement in package size is seen as an attempt by Intel to give itself real-estate to build future multi-chip modules; while the increased pin-count points to the likelihood of more I/O centralization to the processor package.
The "Alder Lake-S" silicon is rumored to be Intel's first 10 nm-class mainstream desktop processor, combining a hybrid core setup of a number of "Golden Cove" high-performance CPU cores, and a number of "Gracemont" low-power cores. The processor's I/O feature-set is expected to include dual-channel DDR5 memory, PCI-Express gen 4.0, and possibly preparation for gen 5.0 on the motherboard-side. In related news, Intel put out technical documentation for the "Alder Lake-S" microarchitecture and LGA1700 socket. Access however, is restricted to Intel's industrial partners. The company also put out documentation for "Rocket Lake-S."
The "Alder Lake-S" silicon is rumored to be Intel's first 10 nm-class mainstream desktop processor, combining a hybrid core setup of a number of "Golden Cove" high-performance CPU cores, and a number of "Gracemont" low-power cores. The processor's I/O feature-set is expected to include dual-channel DDR5 memory, PCI-Express gen 4.0, and possibly preparation for gen 5.0 on the motherboard-side. In related news, Intel put out technical documentation for the "Alder Lake-S" microarchitecture and LGA1700 socket. Access however, is restricted to Intel's industrial partners. The company also put out documentation for "Rocket Lake-S."
AMD B550 Motherboard Shown Running Zen+ "Pinnacle Ridge" and "Picasso" CPUs
The AMD B550 chipset isn't supposed to run 1st- and 2nd-generation AMD Ryzen processors, or even Ryzen 5 3400G and 3200G APUs based on the older "Zen+" microarchitecture. AMD specifically made a packaging badge that reflects this. The B550 chipset only supports 3rd gen Ryzen "Matisse," and is ready for upcoming "Renoir" and "Zen 3" based "Vermeer" processors, when they do come out.
Given this, imagine our surprise when someone with access to a B550 motherboard was able to run older processors on it. PC enthusiast 188 "momomo_us" posted screenshots of an ASUS TUF Gaming B550M-Plus motherboard running "Zen+" based Ryzen 5 3400G APU based on the "Picasso" silicon, and Ryzen 5 2600X processor based on the "Pinnacle Ridge" silicon, complete with CPU-Z validations. The board is shown running BIOS version 0608 (dated 15/06/2020). There's nothing in the official change-log to indicate Zen+ support, nor in its CPU support list, and the CPU-Z screenshots don't reveal AGESA version in the BIOS version string. An impressive feat nonetheless. We still can't recommend taking the risk of buying B550 motherboards with older processors. Find the CPU-Z validation for the 3400G+B550 and 2600X+B550.
Given this, imagine our surprise when someone with access to a B550 motherboard was able to run older processors on it. PC enthusiast 188 "momomo_us" posted screenshots of an ASUS TUF Gaming B550M-Plus motherboard running "Zen+" based Ryzen 5 3400G APU based on the "Picasso" silicon, and Ryzen 5 2600X processor based on the "Pinnacle Ridge" silicon, complete with CPU-Z validations. The board is shown running BIOS version 0608 (dated 15/06/2020). There's nothing in the official change-log to indicate Zen+ support, nor in its CPU support list, and the CPU-Z screenshots don't reveal AGESA version in the BIOS version string. An impressive feat nonetheless. We still can't recommend taking the risk of buying B550 motherboards with older processors. Find the CPU-Z validation for the 3400G+B550 and 2600X+B550.
Friday, June 26th 2020
Today's Reviews
Cases
CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
Keyboards
Memory
Monitors
Motherboards
ASUS Radeon RX 5700 XT TUF EVO Review - Improved Cooler, Tested
Our ASUS RX 5700 XT TUF EVO review takes a look at the new cooler design, which fixes the memory temperature problem of the original TUF without the "EVO". The card is very solid and runs quietly with excellent GPU temperatures and idle-fan stop.
ICY DOCK ICYNano MB861U31-1M2B NVMe USB-C Enclosure Review
Most M.2 NVMe drive enclosures can at most hold a 2280 drive. The ICY DOCK ICYNano MB861U31-1M2B, however, is meant to be used with up to a 22110 drive, which puts it squarely in that enterprise-grade spectrum occupying around 5% of the market.
Cyberpunk 2077 Graphics Comparison Video Between 2018 and 2020 Builds Shows Many Differences
Cyberpunk 2077 is the year's most awaited game release, and has been met with not one, but two delays already. Originally expected to ship in April of this year, it has since been postponed to September, and now to November 19th on account of extra optimization and bug quashing from developer CD Projekt Red. However, the recent gameplay videos released for the game by the developer showcase the amount of work that has gone into the engine since 2018, when we were first treated to a gameplay video.
The video after the break comes courtesy of YouTube user 'Cycu1', who set up the 2018 and 2020 trailers side by side. In it, you can see extreme improvements to overall level and character detail (some of this can certainly be attributed to a lower-quality 2018 video compression). However, the video also showcases some lighting differences (I guess it's subjective whether this has worked out for better or worse, but the new videos supposedly make use of ray tracing). Another point that I'd like to call your attention to is that there seem to be some environment differences between the two versions - it seems that some environments were simplified compared to their 2018 version, such as the "Going Pro" mission - the chair and panels were removed from the environment and replaced by what looks like a garage door. Whether this was done as a way to improve performance is on CD Projekt Red's purview.
The video after the break comes courtesy of YouTube user 'Cycu1', who set up the 2018 and 2020 trailers side by side. In it, you can see extreme improvements to overall level and character detail (some of this can certainly be attributed to a lower-quality 2018 video compression). However, the video also showcases some lighting differences (I guess it's subjective whether this has worked out for better or worse, but the new videos supposedly make use of ray tracing). Another point that I'd like to call your attention to is that there seem to be some environment differences between the two versions - it seems that some environments were simplified compared to their 2018 version, such as the "Going Pro" mission - the chair and panels were removed from the environment and replaced by what looks like a garage door. Whether this was done as a way to improve performance is on CD Projekt Red's purview.
Microsoft Moves to Permanently Close Physical Shops
Microsoft has decided to revamp their customer interaction priorities. The company has recently announced they will be closing off all Microsoft physical stores and doubling down on its digital storefronts - the company is looking to start offering new services such as one-on-one videochats, where customers can converse with Microsoft employees when making a purchase - effectively digitizing one of the salient aspects of brick-and-mortar stores. Stores which have been closed since March this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The decision rolls back o Microsoft's continued work on deploying physical spaces where its products can be admired, touched, and tested by prospective buyers. It looked like Microsoft was looking to recreate the Apple Store experience - adding a more premium, more personal touch to their products. However, physical stores are both more expensive to upkeep and vulnerable to more liabilities than digital-only storefronts, and it seems Microsoft has decided the stores just weren't cutting, whether financially or in brand image. No mention on layoffs was made by Microsoft in the announcement, so it seems that most of these workers will be moving on to other endeavors inside the company - likely some of them to the aforementioned 1:1 digital shop customer service. Just another step in an increasingly digital world. The closing of Microsoft Store physical locations will result in a pre-tax charge of approximately $450M, or $0.05 per share, to be recorded in the current quarter ending June 30, 2020.
The decision rolls back o Microsoft's continued work on deploying physical spaces where its products can be admired, touched, and tested by prospective buyers. It looked like Microsoft was looking to recreate the Apple Store experience - adding a more premium, more personal touch to their products. However, physical stores are both more expensive to upkeep and vulnerable to more liabilities than digital-only storefronts, and it seems Microsoft has decided the stores just weren't cutting, whether financially or in brand image. No mention on layoffs was made by Microsoft in the announcement, so it seems that most of these workers will be moving on to other endeavors inside the company - likely some of them to the aforementioned 1:1 digital shop customer service. Just another step in an increasingly digital world. The closing of Microsoft Store physical locations will result in a pre-tax charge of approximately $450M, or $0.05 per share, to be recorded in the current quarter ending June 30, 2020.
Intel Lakefield Core i5-L16G7 Performance Benchmarks Leak
Performance benchmarks have started leaking for Intel-s upcoming Lakefield CPUs - low-power SoCs designed with Intel's latest technology. The Lakefield family of CPUs will make use of an Arm-similar big.LITTLE design, where this particular CPU, the Core i5-L16G7, will ship with four low-power "Tremond" cores and one large, high-performance "Sunny Cove" core for peak workloads. Built using Intel's Foveros stacking technology, these are the first chips to be built on Intel's modular platform, which should allow for pairing of I/O dies, chiplet-like CPU arrangements and memory in a 3D package. Physical distance reductions impact latency and power consumption, which should allow for an interesting design result.
Notebookcheck has tested an Intel Lakefield Core i5-L16G7 CPU that's being deployed on upcoming Samsung's Galaxy Book S, and the results are sort of a mixed bag. For one, Intel's Lakefield seems to be around 67% slower than the company's previous ultra-low-power architecture, Amber Lake. Something of this might have been caused by the fact that the Lakefield CPU didn't boost towards its advertised 3.0 GHz; it only managed to reach 2.4 GHz, which obviously hampered performance. Perhaps pre-release silicon is the culprit, or perhaps it's the galaxy Book S that's been configured with more restrictive thermal and power characteristics than the chip was actually designed to run at. The chip did manage to run the FireStrike test beating the Amber Lake-based Acer Swift 7 by 23%, though, so not all is looking bleak.
Notebookcheck has tested an Intel Lakefield Core i5-L16G7 CPU that's being deployed on upcoming Samsung's Galaxy Book S, and the results are sort of a mixed bag. For one, Intel's Lakefield seems to be around 67% slower than the company's previous ultra-low-power architecture, Amber Lake. Something of this might have been caused by the fact that the Lakefield CPU didn't boost towards its advertised 3.0 GHz; it only managed to reach 2.4 GHz, which obviously hampered performance. Perhaps pre-release silicon is the culprit, or perhaps it's the galaxy Book S that's been configured with more restrictive thermal and power characteristics than the chip was actually designed to run at. The chip did manage to run the FireStrike test beating the Amber Lake-based Acer Swift 7 by 23%, though, so not all is looking bleak.
Matrox Shipping QuadHead2Go Q155 Card to Accelerate Artistic and Large-Scale Video Wall Development
Matrox is pleased to announce that the Matrox QuadHead2Go Q155 multi-monitor controller card is now shipping. Powering up to four Full HD displays from a single HDMI video source—including HDCP devices—the QuadHead2Go Q155 card provides OEMs, system integrators, and AV installers with an innovative tool to quickly and easily add more displays to video walls of any type and size. Designed to integrate seamlessly into Matrox-based or third-party platforms, QuadHead2Go is ideal for a wide variety of video wall applications, including digital signage, control room, broadcast, and more.
QuadHead2Go Q155 controllers capture a single video signal—of up to 4Kp60 and 8Kx8K—for display across up to four screens, at resolutions up to 1920x1200 per output. The input content could be from any HDMI source—including digital signage players, media players, laptops, and more—while displays can be arranged in a variety of artistic configurations or classic rectangular 2x2, 2x1, 3x1, 4x1, 1x2, 1x3, or 1x4 setups. Pair multiple QuadHead2Go units to add more displays and/or combine with Matrox D-Series quad-4K graphics cards to power up to an astonishing 64 1920x1080p60 monitors from one system.
QuadHead2Go Q155 controllers capture a single video signal—of up to 4Kp60 and 8Kx8K—for display across up to four screens, at resolutions up to 1920x1200 per output. The input content could be from any HDMI source—including digital signage players, media players, laptops, and more—while displays can be arranged in a variety of artistic configurations or classic rectangular 2x2, 2x1, 3x1, 4x1, 1x2, 1x3, or 1x4 setups. Pair multiple QuadHead2Go units to add more displays and/or combine with Matrox D-Series quad-4K graphics cards to power up to an astonishing 64 1920x1080p60 monitors from one system.
GoodOffer24 Helps You Save Big on Genuine Software to Spend More on Hardware
With hardware component prices on the simmer, it helps to save costs wherever you can. Give your PC discounted, genuine, globally-valid Windows and Office software from GoodOffer24. TechPowerUp readers get even lower prices, so the savings can make a big difference with component choices, helping you upsize with hardware. Get geniune Windows 10 Pro for 10.39€. Upgrading a small/medium business? Get yourself the mighty and highly manageable Windows 10 Enterprise 2019 LTSC for 9.85€. Got more than one PC? A twin-pack of Windows 10 is in the offing for 15.39€. Office 2019 Professional Plus is the latest and greatest productivity software geared towards collaborative home offices. Get its lifetime-valid license for 28.69€ and say goodbye to annual Office 365 payments. Also get Office 2016, and combinations of your favorite edition of Windows with Office. GoodOffer24 uses PayPal, so both your purchase and payment instruments remain safe.
Don't forget to apply the coupon code TP30 at check-out to avail the prices you see here.
Buy Windows 10 Pro for 10.39€ from GoodOffer24 | Buy Windows 10 Enterprise 2019 LTSC for 9.85€ | Buy Windows 10 Pro 2-PC for 15.39€ | Buy Windows 10 Home for 10.31€ | Buy Office 2016 Professional Plus for 29.39€ | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2016 Professional for 37.09€ | Buy Windows 10 Home + Office 2016 Professional for 39.69€ | Buy Office 2019 Professional Plus for 28.69€ | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2019 Professional for 36.39€
Don't forget to apply the coupon code TP30 at check-out to avail the prices you see here.
Buy Windows 10 Pro for 10.39€ from GoodOffer24 | Buy Windows 10 Enterprise 2019 LTSC for 9.85€ | Buy Windows 10 Pro 2-PC for 15.39€ | Buy Windows 10 Home for 10.31€ | Buy Office 2016 Professional Plus for 29.39€ | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2016 Professional for 37.09€ | Buy Windows 10 Home + Office 2016 Professional for 39.69€ | Buy Office 2019 Professional Plus for 28.69€ | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2019 Professional for 36.39€
Microsoft Reveals List of Games Optimized For Xbox Series X
Microsoft has today revealed the complete list of games certified under the 'Optimized for Xbox Series X' program which is the indicator for games that take advantage of the full power of Xbox Series X. Games featured on the list could benefit reduced load times courtesy of the Xbox Velocity Architecture, include heightened visuals and DirectX raytracing, and feature higher framerates up to 120FPS.
Titles featuring the new Optimized for Xbox Series X badge can include brand new games built natively for the Xbox Series X such as Halo Infinite, or previously released games which have been enhanced to take advantage of the power and features Xbox Series X has to offer, like Gears 5. Microsoft has currently certified 22 games but plans to increase that number in the coming weeks and months leading up to Xbox Series X launch. The full list of games can be viewed below.
Titles featuring the new Optimized for Xbox Series X badge can include brand new games built natively for the Xbox Series X such as Halo Infinite, or previously released games which have been enhanced to take advantage of the power and features Xbox Series X has to offer, like Gears 5. Microsoft has currently certified 22 games but plans to increase that number in the coming weeks and months leading up to Xbox Series X launch. The full list of games can be viewed below.
CD Projekt Red Releases Latest Cyberpunk 2077 Trailer Featuring DLSS 2.0 & Ray Tracing
CD Projekt Red has released their latest trailer for Cyberpunk 2077 showcasing the spectacular visuals for the upcoming action-adventure-RPG. NVIDIA has confirmed that the trailer included Ray-Traced Diffuse Illumination, Ray-Traced Reflections, Ray-Traced Ambient Occlusion, and Ray-Traced Shadows real-time ray-tracing effects. These effects are powered by the DirectX 12 Ultimate's DXR Raytracing API and are optimized for GeForce RTX graphics GPUs.
NVIDIA also announced that the game would feature DLSS 2.0 tech which uses custom deep learning neural networks to boost game FPS. When Cyberpunk 2077 launches later this year, it will be available on GeForce NOW, with full support for ray-tracing effects and DLSS 2.0 at 1080p 60 FPS.
NVIDIA also announced that the game would feature DLSS 2.0 tech which uses custom deep learning neural networks to boost game FPS. When Cyberpunk 2077 launches later this year, it will be available on GeForce NOW, with full support for ray-tracing effects and DLSS 2.0 at 1080p 60 FPS.
Creative Launches SXFI TRIO: USB-C In-ears with the Super X-Fi Difference
Creative Technology today announced the launch of the Creative SXFI TRIO, a triple-driver USB-C in-ear headphones that is designed to deliver high-quality holographic audio with all-day comfort on Android phones, PCs and laptops.
Implemented with the latest Super X-Fi Gen2 technology, users can expect greater accuracy in personalization and a better all-round audio experience. Powered by the same triple-driver system as the well-received Aurvana Trio and fitted with a custom-designed Kevlar USB-C cable, SXFI TRIO sets to exceed expectations with balanced, accurate, and natural-sounding digital audio for users on the go.
Implemented with the latest Super X-Fi Gen2 technology, users can expect greater accuracy in personalization and a better all-round audio experience. Powered by the same triple-driver system as the well-received Aurvana Trio and fitted with a custom-designed Kevlar USB-C cable, SXFI TRIO sets to exceed expectations with balanced, accurate, and natural-sounding digital audio for users on the go.
Lexar Announces New SL200 Portable SSD
Lexar, a leading global brand of flash memory solutions, today announced the new Lexar SL200 Portable SSD. The family line of SSD products continues to expand and grow stronger with this latest addition to the SSD portfolio. This portable drive lets you take your data on-the-go, so you're covered in the field or the office. To keep your data secure, it's drop-, shock-, vibration-resistant, and features an advanced security solution with 256-bit AES encryption. The sleek SL200 has a premium finish available in 512 GB and 1 TB of storage space. It also displays more than adequate transfer speeds of up to 550 MB/s and a write speed of up to 400 MB/s. It's easy to connect to your system using the included USB Type-C to USB Type-C or USB Type-C to Type-A cable, and it's ready to use.
Alphacool Announces Water Cooling Solutions for Server Racks
As hardware gets increasingly more powerful it generates more and more waste heat. This can lead to thermal problems, especially with server racks that have the hardware packed so close together. Compact air coolers are hardly able to dissipate the excess heat from processors. It becomes even more problematic when one or more graphics cards also need to be cooled. At full load processors and graphics cards struggle with temperatures and can quickly start to throttle down their clock rates early due to thermal throttling.
Many server operators want simple and cost-effective solutions to solve this problem. Therefore, Alphacool has developed and launched a whole range of water cooling sets for 1 to 4U server racks in cooperation with its Enterprise Solutions customers. All sets can also be individually extended or adapted. Quick-release fasteners, additional pumps, radiator, and graphics card coolers can be added by arrangement and the components can be adapted to individual requirements. The sets are delivered to the customers pre-filled.
Many server operators want simple and cost-effective solutions to solve this problem. Therefore, Alphacool has developed and launched a whole range of water cooling sets for 1 to 4U server racks in cooperation with its Enterprise Solutions customers. All sets can also be individually extended or adapted. Quick-release fasteners, additional pumps, radiator, and graphics card coolers can be added by arrangement and the components can be adapted to individual requirements. The sets are delivered to the customers pre-filled.
Axiomtek Launches Vision AI Motherboard Powered by Ryzen Embedded V-series
Axiomtek, a leading design and manufacturing company of innovative, high performance and reliable PC-based industrial computer products, is proud to introduce the MIRU130, a powerful embedded vision and AI motherboard for graphics-intensive applications such as machine vision and deep learning. It is powered by the onboard AMD RYZEN Embedded V1807B/V1605B processor with AMD Radeon RX Vega graphics. The embedded vision board features two PoE GbE LAN ports for camera interfaces and an integrated real-time vision I/O that includes 4-CH isolated DIO. The MIRU130 is feature-rich, highly expandable and easy-to-deploy with a compact design for space constraint enclosures. It is an ideal solution for systems integrators who are searching for a powerful, easy-to-integrate motherboard for vision-based AI applications.
The high performance MIRU130 measures 244 x 170 mm and has a vision-specific I/O with 2-CH trigger input, 2-CH LED lighting controller, 2-CH camera trigger output and an encoder input for conveyor tracking. It offers high graphical capabilities through the integrated AMD Radeon RX Vega graphics with support of DirectX 12 and allows dual display through one HDMI and one DisplayPort interfaces. The MIRU130 has two IEEE 802.3at PoE ports and two GbE LANs for connecting with industrial cameras.
The high performance MIRU130 measures 244 x 170 mm and has a vision-specific I/O with 2-CH trigger input, 2-CH LED lighting controller, 2-CH camera trigger output and an encoder input for conveyor tracking. It offers high graphical capabilities through the integrated AMD Radeon RX Vega graphics with support of DirectX 12 and allows dual display through one HDMI and one DisplayPort interfaces. The MIRU130 has two IEEE 802.3at PoE ports and two GbE LANs for connecting with industrial cameras.
Basemark GPU will be the first benchmark for Apple Silicon based Macs
On Monday 22nd of June Apple announced Mac transition to Apple Silicon. Even though this transition was quite expected, the industry got very excited upon the announcement. Apple released quite a lot of information about their plans, but one key question remained unanswered: how fast are Apple's new ARM based Mac chips?
Apple said people should expect pure performance in one category in particular - graphical performance. What is the performance difference over the Intel integrated graphics that ship in a new MacBook Air? There is no public information available about it.
Apple said people should expect pure performance in one category in particular - graphical performance. What is the performance difference over the Intel integrated graphics that ship in a new MacBook Air? There is no public information available about it.
Thursday, June 25th 2020
Today's Reviews
Cases
CPU Coolers
Memory
Motherboards
NAS
InWin C200 Review - Back to the Roots for Creators
The InWin C200 is aimed squarely at creators and professionals who require storage capabilities coupled with modern hardware support. Taking cues from times long past, InWin combines the layout of classic 5.25" equipped enclosures from back in the day with modern accents, like a bottom-mounted PSU bay and metal shroud.
Quick Look: Vissles 2-in-1 Music Pill
The Vissles 2-in-1 Music Pill combines truly wireless in-ears with the ability to transfer the audio to a small 3W speaker within the charging case.
Lenovo Introduces New Factory Services for Expanded Portfolio of Windows Secured-core PCs
Lenovo today announced a significant expansion of Secured-core PCs within its ThinkShield portfolio. In addition to offering a wider selection of these devices, Lenovo also introduced its new Secured-core PC Enablement Service to support customers with custom imaging, BIOS protection, and configuration of operating system settings. Designed to simplify and further secure the deployment of these devices within an organization, this new factory service can be purchased as an add-on to the device.
Integrating hardware, firmware, software and identity protection, Windows 10 Secured-core PCs offer a deeper level of protection against highly advanced threats and increasing risks of cyberattacks and malware. Since their introduction in October 2019, Lenovo has offered two devices that are capable of being ordered as Secured-core PCs, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 4 and the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 7. As part of the recent Secured-core PC portfolio expansion, Lenovo will now offer ten additional devices: the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 8, ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 5, ThinkPad X13, ThinkPad X13 Yoga, ThinkPad T14s, ThinkPad T14, ThinkPad T15, ThinkPad P1 Gen 3, ThinkPad P14s and ThinkPad P15s premium laptops. These Modern Standby enabled laptops focus on providing a smarter and more secure working experience and feature several innovations to empower remote workers. Emerging technologies including PrivacyGuard, WiFi 6 and up to CAT 16 WWAN can be invaluable in meeting the needs and desires of remote workers.
Integrating hardware, firmware, software and identity protection, Windows 10 Secured-core PCs offer a deeper level of protection against highly advanced threats and increasing risks of cyberattacks and malware. Since their introduction in October 2019, Lenovo has offered two devices that are capable of being ordered as Secured-core PCs, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 4 and the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 7. As part of the recent Secured-core PC portfolio expansion, Lenovo will now offer ten additional devices: the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 8, ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 5, ThinkPad X13, ThinkPad X13 Yoga, ThinkPad T14s, ThinkPad T14, ThinkPad T15, ThinkPad P1 Gen 3, ThinkPad P14s and ThinkPad P15s premium laptops. These Modern Standby enabled laptops focus on providing a smarter and more secure working experience and feature several innovations to empower remote workers. Emerging technologies including PrivacyGuard, WiFi 6 and up to CAT 16 WWAN can be invaluable in meeting the needs and desires of remote workers.
OWC Announces First-ever Thunderbolt 3 Certified Bus-powered Portable Storage Enclosure
OWC; a leading zero emissions Mac and PC technology company and one of the world's most respected providers of Memory, External Drives, SSDs, Mac & PC docking solutions and performance upgrade kits announces the new OWC Envoy Express, the world's first Thunderbolt 3 certified bus-powered portable storage enclosure that makes for effortless DIY projects. Shorter than a ballpoint pen and weighing only 3.3 ounces, the rugged anodized aluminium pocket-sized enclosure and unique laptop mounting system are ready for go-anywhere use.
While small in form, the OWC Envoy Express is big news. For the first time ever in the history of Thunderbolt, users can buy a bus-powered Thunderbolt certified enclosure and install their own drive in it. Finally, a DIY kit that allows users to break free of pre-configured choice limits in order to build a pocket-sized storage solution that meets their specific needs. And rebuild it anytime those needs change. Equally revolutionary is the included slide mount. This surface-safe removable drive holder allows the user to slide the Envoy Express onto the back of a laptop screen for out-of-the-way mobile use convenience. More options. More usability. More functionality….first and only from OWC.
While small in form, the OWC Envoy Express is big news. For the first time ever in the history of Thunderbolt, users can buy a bus-powered Thunderbolt certified enclosure and install their own drive in it. Finally, a DIY kit that allows users to break free of pre-configured choice limits in order to build a pocket-sized storage solution that meets their specific needs. And rebuild it anytime those needs change. Equally revolutionary is the included slide mount. This surface-safe removable drive holder allows the user to slide the Envoy Express onto the back of a laptop screen for out-of-the-way mobile use convenience. More options. More usability. More functionality….first and only from OWC.
Steam Summer Sale is Here, with Deep Discounts on Thousands of Games
The Summer Sale is officially underway, now through July 9th at 10am Pacific! Save on thousands of games, earn points when you buy, then make a quick stop at the all-new, here-to-stay Points Shop.
The Points Shop features dozens of Summer Sale souvenir options for you to collect, including new animated stickers and chat effects, profile backgrounds, mini-profile backgrounds, avatars, avatar frames, and more! Plus, discover hundreds of profile backgrounds and emoticons associated with your favorite games, now available in exchange for Steam Points.
The Points Shop features dozens of Summer Sale souvenir options for you to collect, including new animated stickers and chat effects, profile backgrounds, mini-profile backgrounds, avatars, avatar frames, and more! Plus, discover hundreds of profile backgrounds and emoticons associated with your favorite games, now available in exchange for Steam Points.
Alphacool Debuts NexXxos ST30 Full Copper Radiators and Eisbaer Extension Kits
Alphacool today announced three new NexXxos ST30 series full-copper pre-filled AIO radiators, and two Eisbaer TPV Extension Kits. Expand your Alphacool CPU or GPU AIO with the prefilled Alphacool radiators. Connect the quick release fasteners with the corresponding AIO and enjoy higher cooling performance. It is that simple.
The Alphacool Eisbaer TPV Extension Set offers the easiest way to connect the expandable AIO systems from Alphacool with other components. The Extension Set is compatible with all Alphacool AIO systems for processors and graphics cards. The 12.7/7.6 mm TPV hose is 30 cm long and has a straight Alphacool TPV connection with G¼" thread at one end. At the other end there is a quick-release coupling with a male or female connection. The safety quick-release fasteners use a twist lock. This means that unintentional opening of the quick release fastener is almost impossible.
The Alphacool Eisbaer TPV Extension Set offers the easiest way to connect the expandable AIO systems from Alphacool with other components. The Extension Set is compatible with all Alphacool AIO systems for processors and graphics cards. The 12.7/7.6 mm TPV hose is 30 cm long and has a straight Alphacool TPV connection with G¼" thread at one end. At the other end there is a quick-release coupling with a male or female connection. The safety quick-release fasteners use a twist lock. This means that unintentional opening of the quick release fastener is almost impossible.
Xbox Head Phil Spencer Is Confident in Xbox Series X Virtues Against PS5
Phil Spencer, head of Xbox at Microsoft, said in an interview that he is confident in the Xbox Series X's hardware advantages against Sony's PS5. After witnessing PS5's reveal, Phil said that he "felt good after seeing their show. I think the hardware advantages that we have built are going to show up as we're talking more about our games and frame rates and other things." Being a good sport as he usually is, Phil Spencer also said that he felt Sony had done a good job with their PS5 announcement.
Of course, Xbox Series X's hardware advantage over PS5 is a hotly debated topic already, so there is not much to see there. However, some might say that Sony's show was much more impressive than Xbox's when it comes to the - well - platform-defining metric - games. PS5 showed some very interesting exclusives during its show, and Sony knows that this a field where they have an historic advantage against Xbox - generally speaking, Sony's exclusives are usually held in a much higher regard that Microsoft's.
Of course, Xbox Series X's hardware advantage over PS5 is a hotly debated topic already, so there is not much to see there. However, some might say that Sony's show was much more impressive than Xbox's when it comes to the - well - platform-defining metric - games. PS5 showed some very interesting exclusives during its show, and Sony knows that this a field where they have an historic advantage against Xbox - generally speaking, Sony's exclusives are usually held in a much higher regard that Microsoft's.
AMD Exceeds Six-Year Goal to Deliver Unprecedented 25 Times Improvement in Mobile Processor Energy Efficiency
AMD today announced it has exceeded its moonshot 25x20 goal set in 2014 to improve the energy efficiency of its mobile processors 25 times by 2020. The new AMD Ryzen 7 4800H mobile processor improves on the energy efficiency of the 2014 baseline measurement by 31.7 times1, and offers leadership performance2 and extraordinary efficiency for laptop PCs. Greater energy efficiency leads to significant user benefits including improved battery life, better performance, lower energy costs and reduced environmental impact from computing.
"We have always focused on energy efficiency in our processors, but in 2014 we decided to put even greater emphasis on this capability," said Mark Papermaster, chief technology officer and executive vice president, Technology and Engineering at AMD. "Our engineering team rallied around the challenge and charted a path to reach our stretch goal of 25 times greater energy efficiency by 2020. We were able to far surpass our objective, achieving 31.7 times improvement leading to gaming and ultrathin laptops with unmatched performance, graphics and long battery life. I could not be prouder of our engineering and business teams."
"We have always focused on energy efficiency in our processors, but in 2014 we decided to put even greater emphasis on this capability," said Mark Papermaster, chief technology officer and executive vice president, Technology and Engineering at AMD. "Our engineering team rallied around the challenge and charted a path to reach our stretch goal of 25 times greater energy efficiency by 2020. We were able to far surpass our objective, achieving 31.7 times improvement leading to gaming and ultrathin laptops with unmatched performance, graphics and long battery life. I could not be prouder of our engineering and business teams."
Bad Intel Quality Assurance Responsible for Apple-Intel Split?
Apple's decision to switch from Intel processors for its Mac computers to its own, based on the Arm architecture, has shaken up the tech world, even though rumors of the transition have been doing rounds for months. Intel's first official response, coupled with facts such as Intel's CPU technology execution being thrown completely off gear due to foundry problems; pointed toward the likelihood of Intel not being able to keep up with Apple's growing performance/Watt demands. It turns out now, that Intel's reasons are a lot more basic, and date back to 2016.
According to a sensational PC Gamer report citing former Intel principal engineer François Piednoël, Apple's dissatisfaction with Intel dates back to some of its first 14 nm chips, based on the "Skylake" microarchitecture. "The quality assurance of Skylake was more than a problem," says Piednoël. It was abnormally bad. We were getting way too much citing for little things inside Skylake. Basically our buddies at Apple became the number one filer of problems in the architecture. And that went really, really bad. When your customer starts finding almost as much bugs as you found yourself, you're not leading into the right place," he adds.
According to a sensational PC Gamer report citing former Intel principal engineer François Piednoël, Apple's dissatisfaction with Intel dates back to some of its first 14 nm chips, based on the "Skylake" microarchitecture. "The quality assurance of Skylake was more than a problem," says Piednoël. It was abnormally bad. We were getting way too much citing for little things inside Skylake. Basically our buddies at Apple became the number one filer of problems in the architecture. And that went really, really bad. When your customer starts finding almost as much bugs as you found yourself, you're not leading into the right place," he adds.
ASUSTOR NAS Enrolled as Adobe Video and Audio Partner
ASUSTOR Inc. is now included in the list of Adobe official video and audio partners. Every ASUSTOR Network Attached Storage (NAS) provides high capacities as well as backup capabilities, providing professional creators with a secure and professional video and audio creation environment. In order to meet the needs of both professional creators and remote workers, ASUSTOR has optimized this solution for Adobe Creative Cloud video applications, providing a safe storage solution for both video and audio content as well as enabling smooth collaboration between teams of content creators. ASUSTOR NAS devices support a wide variety of videos, music, images and other files in a safe and stable storage space, exceeding the standards of professional designers in both content creation and remote collaboration.
Newer ASUSTOR NAS devices have faster Ethernet connections, including but not limited to 2.5-Gigabit or 10-Gigabit Ethernet. These connections enable quicker uploads and downloads, especially for those who work with files in Adobe products. For those working with Adobe products, ASUSTOR provides a comprehensive backup solution that greatly improves the experience for working with photos, images, videos and music. ASUSTOR also has multiple ways that content creators can manage and store multimedia, including, but not limited to remote backups, cold storage with MyArchive and ASUSTOR Live, which broadcasts and records live streams to multiple platforms. ASUSTOR NAS continues to be an excellent choice for Adobe creative professionals.
Newer ASUSTOR NAS devices have faster Ethernet connections, including but not limited to 2.5-Gigabit or 10-Gigabit Ethernet. These connections enable quicker uploads and downloads, especially for those who work with files in Adobe products. For those working with Adobe products, ASUSTOR provides a comprehensive backup solution that greatly improves the experience for working with photos, images, videos and music. ASUSTOR also has multiple ways that content creators can manage and store multimedia, including, but not limited to remote backups, cold storage with MyArchive and ASUSTOR Live, which broadcasts and records live streams to multiple platforms. ASUSTOR NAS continues to be an excellent choice for Adobe creative professionals.
Sony Launches Playstation Bug Bounty Program
Thanks to the report of ZDnet, we have information that Sony has launched a bug bounty program for its Playstation console. Sony will pay security researches upwards of $50K for a bug they discover. Of course, there are smaller rewards and it depends on what type of bug is discovered. The starting amount for the bug bounty program is $100. The area of bug exploits includes Playstation Network, the PlayStation 4 console itself, and the PS4 operating system. The bug bounty program is going to be available and managed through the HackerOne platform, where multiple companies like PayPal, Slack, etc. keep track of bugs and offer rewards for them. You can check out the Playstation bug bounty program here.
Microsoft Ports OpenJDK to Windows on Arm
Microsoft has a goal to nurture the Windows on Arm (WoA) ecosystem and give new adopters the best possible experience. Today, Microsoft made an important announcement. The OpenJDK, an open-source implementation of the Java platform, is coming to the WoA project. Why this is so important you might question yourself? Well, the OpenJDK enables plenty of Java applications to run, so with this, Microsoft is giving WoA users a whole set of new supported applications. Take for example Minecraft Java edition. Now you can run that as well thanks to the new port. This shows commitment to the Arm platform by Microsoft and strong will to not abandon it.
Electronic Arts and LaLiga Announce 10-year Partnership Renewal
Today, Electronic Arts and LaLiga announced a long-term partnership that will continue to offer unrivaled authenticity to EA SPORTS FIFA players for the next 10 years. Under the partnership renewal, EA SPORTS will remain the exclusive Official Video Games Partner of LaLiga while the two organizations will expand their efforts to create world-leading football entertainment. This includes a joint commitment to grow fandom and esports participation through LaLiga's official esports competition, eLaLiga Santander.
The new agreement comes as the world is playing and watching more EA SPORTS FIFA than ever before as football fandom continues to grow. EA SPORTS FIFA 20 for console and PC is the most-played game in franchise history. Unique players have increased 10 percent year-over-year and daily active players reached an all-time engagement high. Fans are watching record volumes of EA SPORTS FIFA content as more than 12 billion minutes have been viewed on Twitch since launch--the equivalent of more than 133 million traditional football matches. The 260 percent year-over-year growth in EA SPORTS FIFA content viewership was also fueled by the recent global EA SPORTS FIFA Stay and Play Cup that aired to millions in more than 100 countries.
The new agreement comes as the world is playing and watching more EA SPORTS FIFA than ever before as football fandom continues to grow. EA SPORTS FIFA 20 for console and PC is the most-played game in franchise history. Unique players have increased 10 percent year-over-year and daily active players reached an all-time engagement high. Fans are watching record volumes of EA SPORTS FIFA content as more than 12 billion minutes have been viewed on Twitch since launch--the equivalent of more than 133 million traditional football matches. The 260 percent year-over-year growth in EA SPORTS FIFA content viewership was also fueled by the recent global EA SPORTS FIFA Stay and Play Cup that aired to millions in more than 100 countries.
Intel's Raja Koduri Brandishes a Large Chip Package, Calls it BFP (Big Fabulous Package)
Raja Koduri likes to show off his work in GPU engineering, way back from his days at AMD. His latest bragging rights is what he calls the "BFP" (big fabulous package), a large GPU package that's larger than even an AMD SP3 package, roughly 75 mm x 80 mm in size, looking at its "family" photo where a AA battery is used for scale. This could very well be the largest version of Xe "Ponte Vecchio." Koduri's caption reads "And..they let me hold peta ops in my palm (almost)," likely referring to the chip's tensor ops performance. He also posted pictures of Xe's various test platforms, from Intel's labs in Folsom, California.
Microsoft Acquires CyberX to Accelerate & Secure Customers IoT Deployments
The Internet of Things (IoT) is providing breakthrough value to businesses across every vertical, from manufacturing, to energy, to agriculture, to real estate, to healthcare and more. IoT provides real-time insights into assets, enabling businesses to reduce operational expenses, unplanned downtime and unnecessary servicing.
While the benefits of IoT are well established and significant, one of the biggest hurdles for customers is securing IoT devices - both for new digitization initiatives as well as for legacy Operational Technology and industrial control system environments. Two years ago, Microsoft announced a $5 billion investment in IoT to further our commitment to build a trusted, easy-to-use platform for our customers and partners to build connected solutions - no matter where they are starting in their IoT journey.
While the benefits of IoT are well established and significant, one of the biggest hurdles for customers is securing IoT devices - both for new digitization initiatives as well as for legacy Operational Technology and industrial control system environments. Two years ago, Microsoft announced a $5 billion investment in IoT to further our commitment to build a trusted, easy-to-use platform for our customers and partners to build connected solutions - no matter where they are starting in their IoT journey.
ECS Releases Low Power H410 Thin Mini-ITX Motherboard
Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) has recently unveiled the thin H410H6-TI2 motherboard for Intel 10th Generation Core Processors up to 65W TDP. The H410H6-TI2 is powered via a single 19V DC jack which eliminates the need for a dedicated PC power supply while also severely limiting upgrade options. The thin Mini-ITX motherboard measures just 170x170mm which makes it a good option for system integrators.
The motherboard comes with x2 DDR4 SO-DIMM slots which supports up to 32GB ram at 2933Mhz, x2 SATA3.0 6Gbps connectors, x1 M.2 SATA/PCIe slot, and x1 M.2 wireless adapter slot. The board features Gigabit LAN powered by the Realtek 8111H while six-channel HD audio is provided by the Realtek ALC662. The motherboard rear I/O includes x2 USB3.2 Gen1, x2 USB2.0, x2 audio connectors, x1 Gigabit LAN, x1 HDMI, and x1 D-Sub. Pricing and availability for the board are currently unknown.
The motherboard comes with x2 DDR4 SO-DIMM slots which supports up to 32GB ram at 2933Mhz, x2 SATA3.0 6Gbps connectors, x1 M.2 SATA/PCIe slot, and x1 M.2 wireless adapter slot. The board features Gigabit LAN powered by the Realtek 8111H while six-channel HD audio is provided by the Realtek ALC662. The motherboard rear I/O includes x2 USB3.2 Gen1, x2 USB2.0, x2 audio connectors, x1 Gigabit LAN, x1 HDMI, and x1 D-Sub. Pricing and availability for the board are currently unknown.
GOG Releases Cyberpunk 2077 Goodies Collection & Ultimate RED Collection
Good Old Games have recently released a free limited edition Cyberpunk 2077 digital Goodies Collection available on their site. The pack which totals 4GB includes a compilation of official digital content previously released by CD PROJEKT RED as well as brand new concept arts, desktop wallpapers, and printable posters. The giveaway is time-limited and will run until 4th July 2020, 5 PM UTC.
The Ultimate RED Collection has also returned to the store, containing a pre-order for Cyberpunk 2077 and all The Witcher games. This pack is priced at 87.77 USD and is available until the 4th of July 2020, 5 PM UTC. In addition to the aforementioned deals GOG is also offering a Cyberpunk 2077 merch discount for any per-orders of the game standalone or as a part of the Ultimate RED Collection before July the 4th 2020, 5 PM UTC. This discount pack includes deals reaching up to -35% on selected Cyberpunk 2077 merch available in CD PROJEKT RED STORE, J!NX online store, and Things From Another World store.
The Ultimate RED Collection has also returned to the store, containing a pre-order for Cyberpunk 2077 and all The Witcher games. This pack is priced at 87.77 USD and is available until the 4th of July 2020, 5 PM UTC. In addition to the aforementioned deals GOG is also offering a Cyberpunk 2077 merch discount for any per-orders of the game standalone or as a part of the Ultimate RED Collection before July the 4th 2020, 5 PM UTC. This discount pack includes deals reaching up to -35% on selected Cyberpunk 2077 merch available in CD PROJEKT RED STORE, J!NX online store, and Things From Another World store.
Wednesday, June 24th 2020
Today's Reviews
Cases
CPU Coolers
Gaming PC
Harddisks
Monitors
Multimedia
Notebooks
Processors
$700 Best-Value Gaming PC Build Guide (Jun 2020)
In our latest PC Build Guide update, we take a look at delivering the best bang for the buck gaming PC we can at the $700 price point. No cutting corners, no compromises, this build will give users a jumping-off point for the best-possible performance without burning a hole in their wallet.
Redragon Cobra M711 FPS Review
Equipped with optical switches for the main buttons and PixArt's PMW3360 sensor, the right-handed ergonomic Cobra M711 FPS includes features you'd typically only see in higher price brackets. Additionally, full RGB lighting and software support are on board as well.
AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT Geekbenched, Roughly 5% Faster than 3900X
AMD recently announced its 3rd Gen Ryzen 3000XT "Matisse Refresh" processors, with July 7 availability, and it appears like samples of the processors already hit leaky taps on the web. TUM_APISAK discovered a Geekbench 5.1 submission of a Ryzen 9 3900XT 12-core/24-thread processor sample. The processor is paired with a GIGABYTE X570 AORUS Master motherboard and 16 GB of dual-channel DDR4-3600 memory. The 3900XT scores 10945 points in the multi-threaded test, and 1324 points in the single-threaded one; both of which are roughly 5% higher than those of the 3900X. The Geekbench score is indicative that AMD wants to slim the already single-digit percentage gaming performance gap with the Core i9-10900K, and extending its multi-threaded productivity performance lead on account of more cores/threads.
Western Digital Announces Ultrastar DC SN840 NVMe SSD and OpenFlex Data24 NVMe-oF
Western Digital today announced new solutions that provide the foundation for next-generation data infrastructures designed around Ultrastar NVMe SSDs and supercharged by NVMe-oF. Building upon the company's innovative design and integration capabilities - from NAND Flash to storage platforms - the new dual-port, performance Ultrastar DC SN840 NVMe SSDs and in-house RapidFlex NVMe-oF controllers are standalone solutions that combine to create the new OpenFlex Data24 NVMe-oF Storage Platform, a new shared storage JBOF (Just a Bunch of Flash) enclosure that extends the value of NVMe to multiple hosts over a low-latency Ethernet fabric network. These new solutions further expand Western Digital's data center portfolio to help customers transition to higher efficiency NVMe SSDs and more advanced shared storage architectures to meet the evolving demands of performance-driven applications and workloads.
In today's global digital economy, microseconds count. As hyperscale cloud and enterprise data centers constantly work to remove bottlenecks to ensure uncompromised performance and availability of essential applications, while also keeping pace with unprecedented data growth, customer adoption of NVMe and NVMe-oF solutions continues to accelerate. Industry analyst firm IDC expects hyperscalers, OEMs and end-user IT organizations to continue to transition away from legacy SATA and SAS interfaces, with NVMe on track to reach more than 55 percent of total enterprise SSD units shipped in 2020 and grow at a 2018-2023 CAGR of 38 percent.
In today's global digital economy, microseconds count. As hyperscale cloud and enterprise data centers constantly work to remove bottlenecks to ensure uncompromised performance and availability of essential applications, while also keeping pace with unprecedented data growth, customer adoption of NVMe and NVMe-oF solutions continues to accelerate. Industry analyst firm IDC expects hyperscalers, OEMs and end-user IT organizations to continue to transition away from legacy SATA and SAS interfaces, with NVMe on track to reach more than 55 percent of total enterprise SSD units shipped in 2020 and grow at a 2018-2023 CAGR of 38 percent.
KIOXIA America Highlights Next-Gen SSDs that Boost Server, Storage Performance
This week at the HPE Discover Virtual Experience, KIOXIA America, Inc. (formerly Toshiba Memory America, Inc.), will showcase the critical role its flash-based solid state drives (SSDs) are playing in addressing the challenges of today - while accelerating the digital transformation of tomorrow. KIOXIA offers the industry's broadest SSD product portfolio and has been collaborating with HPE to create best-in-class storage solutions for years. KIOXIA SSDs can be found in HPE's server and storage solutions, including HPE ProLiant Servers.
At the virtual event, KIOXIA America will highlight its broad range of products that are optimizing HPE solutions. These products include a new series of PCIe 4.0 SSDs, the first-ever 24G enterprise SAS SSDs built on SAS-4 technology, and a new class of SSDs that are faster and cost-effective replacements for SATA SSDs. In addition, KIOXIA America will conduct a speaking session focused on SSD trends and technology for high-performance storage solutions built for HPE ProLiant servers.
At the virtual event, KIOXIA America will highlight its broad range of products that are optimizing HPE solutions. These products include a new series of PCIe 4.0 SSDs, the first-ever 24G enterprise SAS SSDs built on SAS-4 technology, and a new class of SSDs that are faster and cost-effective replacements for SATA SSDs. In addition, KIOXIA America will conduct a speaking session focused on SSD trends and technology for high-performance storage solutions built for HPE ProLiant servers.
As CERN Plans LHC Expansion, AMD Powers Latest Science Feats
AMD has entered a strategic partnership with the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in which the company seems poised to see its EPYC processors powering the latest and greatest when it comes to man-made incursions into the secrets of the universe. AMD's 2nd Gen EPYC 7742 processors are already being deployed in CERN's current Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a physics-defying particle accelerator. The LHC has already given us discoveries as important as the Higgs-Boson - a fundamental particle that has given profound insight into the workings of the Universe according to the Standard Model, and the discovery of which garnered the 2013 Nobel Prize for physics.
The current LHC is a 17-mile-long (27 km) underground ring of superconducting magnets housed in a pipe-like structure, or cryostat, which is cooled to temperatures just above absolute zero. Every single particle collision in the LHC generates some 40 TB/s of data that has to be stored, analyzed, and its irrelevant components discarded so as to generate usable data (all in the name of science). Even as AMD's EPYC 2 lineup is already being used for this effect in the current LHC, CERN has recently announced plans to back a €20bn investment on a second generation Hadron Collider. The Future Circular Collider (FCC), as it is being tentatively called, will be four times the size (over 100 km long) and six times more powerful than the LHC. And you can rest assured that all that data will still need to be processed, at a rate that's likely to increase proportionally to the power of the Future Circular Collider. Whether AMD will be the chosen partner for the hardware needed for this task remains unclear, but the fact that AMD's products are already being used in the current LHC could spell a very relevant outcome for AMD's financials in the future. Not to mention the earned bragging rights on account of their hardware being used for sciences' most extraordinary feats.
The current LHC is a 17-mile-long (27 km) underground ring of superconducting magnets housed in a pipe-like structure, or cryostat, which is cooled to temperatures just above absolute zero. Every single particle collision in the LHC generates some 40 TB/s of data that has to be stored, analyzed, and its irrelevant components discarded so as to generate usable data (all in the name of science). Even as AMD's EPYC 2 lineup is already being used for this effect in the current LHC, CERN has recently announced plans to back a €20bn investment on a second generation Hadron Collider. The Future Circular Collider (FCC), as it is being tentatively called, will be four times the size (over 100 km long) and six times more powerful than the LHC. And you can rest assured that all that data will still need to be processed, at a rate that's likely to increase proportionally to the power of the Future Circular Collider. Whether AMD will be the chosen partner for the hardware needed for this task remains unclear, but the fact that AMD's products are already being used in the current LHC could spell a very relevant outcome for AMD's financials in the future. Not to mention the earned bragging rights on account of their hardware being used for sciences' most extraordinary feats.
JOLED Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Samsung
JOLED, a Japanese Display, Sony and Panasonic group, has recently filed patent infringement lawsuits against Samsung. The fillings against Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, and Samsung Electronics' U.S. subsidiary, were filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas on June 22. There's a concurrent filling against Samsung's German subsidiary running through the District Court of Mannheim in Germany as well. JOLED claims Samsung has been infringing on JOLED's intelectual property on OLED technology (on which the company holds around 4,000 patents) particularly in Samsung Galaxy handsets that have been sold in the US.
We covered JOLED's entrance in to the OLED market back in December 2018. At the time, the company was entering the small-display market with 21.6" offerings. Meanwhile, the company received a 20 billion yen (around $187 million) cash injection from CSOT, a Chinese display company owned by TCL Corporation. This allowed to company to scale its OLED manufacturing for large display panels; the company announced mass production of TV-bound OLED panels on June 19th.
We covered JOLED's entrance in to the OLED market back in December 2018. At the time, the company was entering the small-display market with 21.6" offerings. Meanwhile, the company received a 20 billion yen (around $187 million) cash injection from CSOT, a Chinese display company owned by TCL Corporation. This allowed to company to scale its OLED manufacturing for large display panels; the company announced mass production of TV-bound OLED panels on June 19th.
Chenbro RB133G13-U10: Barebone 1U Dual Xeon NVMe SSD Server System
Chenbro launches the RB133G13-U10, a 1U dual Intel Xeon Scalable NVMe SSD server barebone system designed for all-flash array (AFA), tiered and virtualized storage applications in Enterprise. Offering Intel VROC, Apache Pass, and Redfish compliance, the RB133G13-U10 is ideal for high-performance applications such as software-defined storage, virtualization, HPC, Cloud computing, and SaaS, with end-to-end security and effortless management. The scale-up storage design helps Enterprise remain agile to meet future business needs.
The RB133G13-U10 is a custom 1U chassis pre-fitted with dual Intel Xeon motherboard. Ready to install two Intel Xeon Scalable processors with up to 28-cores, 165 W TDP, with a maximum of 2 TB of DDR4 memory, 2X 10 GbE connectivity, 1X PCI-E Gen 3 x16 HH/HL expansion slot and with support for up to 10X hot-swappable NVMe U.2 drives, it is an ideal barebone storage solution that scales as a company's needs grow.
The RB133G13-U10 is a custom 1U chassis pre-fitted with dual Intel Xeon motherboard. Ready to install two Intel Xeon Scalable processors with up to 28-cores, 165 W TDP, with a maximum of 2 TB of DDR4 memory, 2X 10 GbE connectivity, 1X PCI-E Gen 3 x16 HH/HL expansion slot and with support for up to 10X hot-swappable NVMe U.2 drives, it is an ideal barebone storage solution that scales as a company's needs grow.
NVIDIA Releases GeForce Game Ready 451.48 WHQL Drivers
NVIDIA today released the latest version of its GeForce "Game Ready" software. Version 451.48 WHQL drivers are NVIDIA's first official/public GeForce software release with Windows 10 May 2020 Update (version 2004) support, complete with WDDM 2.7 support, and DirectX 12 Ultimate API support, including Windows 10 hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling support. The drivers also add official support for the Vulkan 1.2 graphics API. NVIDIA also expanded the list of G-SYNC compatible monitors to include several new monitor models. Grab the drivers from the link below.
DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 451.48 WHQL Drivers
ZADAK Announces a New Flagship Compact Water Cooled PC with the MOAB II ELITE
ZADAK, a leading provider of PC enthusiast components, introduces the MOAB II ELITE, the next gen. compact water cooled PC case into their growing line of products. The MOAB II ELITE is a compact case (311 mm x 193 mm x 371 mm), built around the patented CNC-milled aluminium water distribution plate. The distribution plate is meticulously designed and manufactured with built-in water channels to reduce unnecessary tubing for clean builds. The MOAB II ELITE is now compatible with graphics card of up to 280 mm in length and most m-ATX motherboards. Other notable features include the world's first capacitive touch switch for powering on/off, a digital display providing real-time water temperature measurements, and customizable ARGB accent lighting.
The MOAB II ELITE also features the patented CNC-milled aluminium water distribution plate, that eliminates unnecessary tubing. The unit itself is hidden in the center of the case. While this creates a compact build, it also reduces the risk of leaking and cracking. In addition, the case includes a 240 mm radiator connected to the water distribution plate, which is strategically placed on the backside.
The MOAB II ELITE also features the patented CNC-milled aluminium water distribution plate, that eliminates unnecessary tubing. The unit itself is hidden in the center of the case. While this creates a compact build, it also reduces the risk of leaking and cracking. In addition, the case includes a 240 mm radiator connected to the water distribution plate, which is strategically placed on the backside.
Bitspower Unveils Mono Block for ASRock X299E-ITX ac LGA2066 Motherboard
Hot on the heels of the Mono Block for ROG Maximus XII Hero, Bitspower unveiled another, smarter Mono Block product, this time tailor-made for the ASRock X299E-ITX/ac, one of the only few full-featured socket LGA2066 motherboards in the Mini-ITX form-factor. The Mono Block uses nickel-plated copper with mirror-finish as its primary material, an acrylic top as its secondary material, and a metal top-plate over the top.
The top is studded with addressable RGB LEDs that take in standard 3-pin ARGB input. The top also features an OLED display that can display things such as coolant temperature. The Mono Block provides active cooling for both the LGA2066 CPU socket, and the CPU VRM area of the X299E-ITX/ac. A TouchAqua D-RGB multi-function controller module is included, which lets you control lighting and the OLED. The block measures 105 mm x 117 mm x 32 mm. Available now, the Bitspower Mono Block for ASRock X299E-ITX/ac is priced at USD $260.
The top is studded with addressable RGB LEDs that take in standard 3-pin ARGB input. The top also features an OLED display that can display things such as coolant temperature. The Mono Block provides active cooling for both the LGA2066 CPU socket, and the CPU VRM area of the X299E-ITX/ac. A TouchAqua D-RGB multi-function controller module is included, which lets you control lighting and the OLED. The block measures 105 mm x 117 mm x 32 mm. Available now, the Bitspower Mono Block for ASRock X299E-ITX/ac is priced at USD $260.
NZXT N7 Z490 Motherboard Renders Revealed
Here are some of the first pictures of the N7 Z490 motherboards by NZXT. Historically, NZXT is known to source its motherboard through OEMs such as ECS, but with great design and quality oversight, which could be the case with the Z490-based N7 board, too. Built in the ATX form-factor, the N7 Z490 draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, and 8+4 pin EPS power connectors, conditioning it for the CPU with a 12-phase VRM. The board is characterized by a front shroud that covers most of the business side of the PCB, and comes either in matte black or white, blending into the design scheme NZXT uses for its cases.
Expansion slots on the N7 Z490 appear to include one PCI-Express 3.0 x16, one x16 (electrical x4), and three x1 slots. Storage options include two M.2-2280 slots, each with PCI-Express 3.0 x4 wiring; and four SATA 6 Gbps ports. USB connectivity includes two 10 Gbps USB 3.1 gen 2 ports (from which one is type-C), and four 5 Gbps USB 3.1 gen 1 ports. An HDMI port provides the sole display output. Networking options include 802.11ax + Bluetooth 5 provided by an Intel AX201 WLAN card; and 2.5 GbE wired networking from a Realtek RTL8125BG controller. The onboard audio solution uses premium Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec. There's no information on pricing or availability.
Expansion slots on the N7 Z490 appear to include one PCI-Express 3.0 x16, one x16 (electrical x4), and three x1 slots. Storage options include two M.2-2280 slots, each with PCI-Express 3.0 x4 wiring; and four SATA 6 Gbps ports. USB connectivity includes two 10 Gbps USB 3.1 gen 2 ports (from which one is type-C), and four 5 Gbps USB 3.1 gen 1 ports. An HDMI port provides the sole display output. Networking options include 802.11ax + Bluetooth 5 provided by an Intel AX201 WLAN card; and 2.5 GbE wired networking from a Realtek RTL8125BG controller. The onboard audio solution uses premium Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec. There's no information on pricing or availability.
BIOSTAR Launches VIP Care Website
BIOSTAR, a leading brand of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices, today announces the launch of their new customer VIP CARE service. In hopes of improving customer satisfaction, BIOSTAR launches a new VIP CARE portal to make product warranty and repair services easy and effortless. All BIOSTAR consumers now have the chance to enjoy extra benefits for all new BIOSTAR product purchases by following a few simple steps. By scanning the product QR code and registering the product with BIOSTAR at their new VIP CARE webpage, customers can enjoy the luxury of added benefits and after-sale services like extended warranty period up to 5 years on selected products and the ability to keep track of the warranty period in real-time. It should be mentioned that proof of purchase must be submitted when registering the product with BIOSTAR for validation purposes.
Western Digital Comments Some More on WD Red Hard Drives
We want to thank our customers and partners for your feedback on our WD Red family of network attached storage (NAS) hard drives. Your real-world insights shared through in-depth reviews, blogs, forums and from our trusted partners are directly contributing to our work on an expansion of models and clarity of choice for customers. Please continue sharing your experiences and expectations of our products, as this input influences our development.
Due to the fact that the range of use cases for NAS has become increasingly diverse, we are now making it easier for users to match the right drive with their applications and workloads - from moderate small office/home office (SOHO) workloads to intensive small- and medium-business (SMB) use, as well as more demanding environments.
Due to the fact that the range of use cases for NAS has become increasingly diverse, we are now making it easier for users to match the right drive with their applications and workloads - from moderate small office/home office (SOHO) workloads to intensive small- and medium-business (SMB) use, as well as more demanding environments.
Sharkoon Announces the REV 200 Case
Sharkoon Technologies is an international supplier of PC components and peripherals, offering performance at a reasonable price. With the REV 220 ATX midi tower, Sharkoon now presents another PC case in the REV series. Like the REV200, this case also possesses a clever and revolutionary case configuration: in comparison to conventional PC cases, Sharkoon has designed for a mainboard which is turned 90 degrees, while the rest of the hardware is thus installed vertically. The PC case is supplied with five pre-installed 120-millimeter fans for the necessary airflow. A cable compartment at the top and a multi-functional tunnel at the bottom also ensure a neat and tidy appearance inside the case.
The front of the REV220 has an aluminium plate with a diamond cut. This impressively sets the stage with an RGB background illumination. The plate is placed on a front panel which has a carbon fiber look, providing a distinctly qualitative design to the casing.
The front of the REV220 has an aluminium plate with a diamond cut. This impressively sets the stage with an RGB background illumination. The plate is placed on a front panel which has a carbon fiber look, providing a distinctly qualitative design to the casing.
Square Enix & Marvel's Avengers Game will Support Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X
Square Enix and Marvel have partnered to bring gamers from all around the world a perfect combination - science fiction movies and the ability to play one as a game. Together, Square Enix and Marvel have made a game called Avengers, based off of the Avengers movie trilogy. Today, Square Enix will be hosting a live stream at 10 AM PT time, to show off the gameplay, showcase missions and co-op abilities, and much more. You can join the live stream once it starts here. Besides the live stream, the company has announced that it will offer a free upgrade to the next generation of consoles, for anyone who buys the game for the current generation. That means that if you purchase the game for your current Xbox One or PS4 console, you will get a free upgrade for PS5 or Xbox Series X consoles. The game is going to launch on September 4th.
Epic Games Store Records 61 Million Monthly Active Users During "The Vault" Free Game Campaign
Havas Media the agency hired to manage the Epic Games Store recent game giveaway campaign "The Vault", which ran from May 14th through June 18th has revealed some new statistics on the success of the program. The Vault campaign focused on 21 key markets where several major titles were given away for free such as Grand Theft Auto V, Civilization VI, Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, and Ark: Survival Evolved.
The campaign provided a major boost to the Epic Games Store setting many new user milestones, including average Peak Concurrent Users (PCCU) on PC of 13 million and Monthly Active Users (MAU) on PC of over 61 million. This brings the store much closer to Steam which had 95 million monthly active players in 2019 and has 14 million to 20 million peak concurrent players each day.
The campaign provided a major boost to the Epic Games Store setting many new user milestones, including average Peak Concurrent Users (PCCU) on PC of 13 million and Monthly Active Users (MAU) on PC of over 61 million. This brings the store much closer to Steam which had 95 million monthly active players in 2019 and has 14 million to 20 million peak concurrent players each day.
Intel Gives its First Comments on Apple's Departure from x86
Apple on Monday formalized the beginning of its departure from Intel x86 machine architecture for its Mac computers. Apple makes up to 4 percent of Intel's annual CPU sales, according to a MarketWatch report. Apple is now scaling up its own A-series SoCs that use Arm CPU cores, up to performance levels relevant to Macs, and has implemented support for not just new and upcoming software ported to the new Arm machine architecture, but also software over form the iOS and iPadOS ecosystems on Mac, starting with its MacOS "Big Sur" operating system. We reached out to Intel for some of its first comments on the development.
In a comment to TechPowerUp, an Intel spokesperson said "Apple is a customer across several areas of our business, and we will continue to support them. Intel remains focused on delivering the most advanced PC experiences and a wide range of technology choices that redefine computing. We believe Intel-powered PCs—like those based on our forthcoming Tiger Lake mobile platform—provide global customers the best experience in the areas they value most, as well as the most open platform for developers, both today and into the future."
In a comment to TechPowerUp, an Intel spokesperson said "Apple is a customer across several areas of our business, and we will continue to support them. Intel remains focused on delivering the most advanced PC experiences and a wide range of technology choices that redefine computing. We believe Intel-powered PCs—like those based on our forthcoming Tiger Lake mobile platform—provide global customers the best experience in the areas they value most, as well as the most open platform for developers, both today and into the future."
Oculus Discontinues the Content Consumption Focused Oculus Go headset
Since we launched Oculus Go two years ago, VR technology has improved at an incredible pace. Oculus Go's success first proved that the all-in-one form factor can deliver highly immersive experiences. A year later, Oculus Quest redefined the category, with full head and hand movement powered by our Insight tracking system. Quest enabled incredible VR games like Beat Saber, Dance Central, and The Climb with the freedom of an untethered experience, plus access to high-powered PC games like Asgard's Wrath and Stormland through Oculus Link. Just past the one-year anniversary of Quest, we're humbled by its continued success. The community response has been overwhelmingly positive, and you've told us loud and clear that 6DOF feels like the future of VR. That's why we're going all-in, and we won't be shipping any more 3DOF VR products. We'll end sales of Oculus Go headsets this year as we double down on improving our offerings for Quest and Rift.
AOC Announces China Exclusive U28P2U Monitor: 28", 4K, IPS
AOC has recently listed a new monitor on its Chinese website, the U28P2U/BS is a 28 inch 4K IPS monitor featuring a 4 ms G2G response time, and a 60Hz refresh rate. The screen seems to be more orientated to the office/creator community with a typical brightness of 300 cd/m², 1000:1 contrast ratio, 1.07 billion color bit depth, and 178° viewing angle. Color accuracy on the monitor includes 119% sRGB color space coverage, 107% NTSC coverage, and 97% DCI-P3 coverage along with an average factory calibration of ΔE<2.
In terms of I/O the monitor includes x2 HDMI2.0, DisplayPort, x4 USB3.2 Gen1 Type-A (1x with fast charging), 1x USB upstream, and x1 3.5 mm audio output. The included stand features tilt (-5°- 35°), pivot (0° - 90°), swivel (+/- 175°), and height adjustment of 130 mm, VESA mounting is also possible with the 100×100 mount. Pricing and availability are currently unknown.
In terms of I/O the monitor includes x2 HDMI2.0, DisplayPort, x4 USB3.2 Gen1 Type-A (1x with fast charging), 1x USB upstream, and x1 3.5 mm audio output. The included stand features tilt (-5°- 35°), pivot (0° - 90°), swivel (+/- 175°), and height adjustment of 130 mm, VESA mounting is also possible with the 100×100 mount. Pricing and availability are currently unknown.
Tuesday, June 23rd 2020
Today's Reviews
Headphones
Monitors
Motherboards
Notebooks
ADATA XPG SPECTRIX D60G DDR4-3600 MHz CL14 2x8 GB Review
ADATA brought a new level of illumination to the memory market with the XPG SPECTRIX D60G which boasted more RGB LEDs per square millimeter than any other kit out there. Now, they've released a Ryzen optimized spec with Samsung B-die, running at 3600 MHz with tight timings of 14-15-15-35.
Bitspower Intros Mono Block for ASUS ROG Maximus XII Hero
Bitspower today introduced its Mono Block for ASUS ROG Maximus XII Hero, and its Wi-Fi variant. The monoblock provides liquid cooling for both the LGA1200 socket and the CPU VRM of the board. The block's main coolant chamber passes not only through a micro-fin lattice over the CPU socket area, but also over the CPU VRM area. The Bitspower Mono Block uses nickel-plated copper as its primary material, with a clear acrylic top that's studded with addressable RGB LEDs. The contact areas feature a mirror finish. A single 3-pin ARGB connection lights them all up. The Mono Block measures 141 mm x 115 mm x 27.5 mm (LxWxH), and features standard G1/4" threading for your own fittings. Available now, it is priced at USD $210.
ASUS Intros ZenScreen MB14AC Portable Monitor
ASUS today introduced the ZenScreen MB14AC, part of the company's growing line of portable monitors. Unlike the ROG Strix ZXG17AHP, the ZenScreen is targeted more toward the portable mainstream. The MB14AC is a downscale of the MB16ACE from 2019, and a 14-inch 16:9 screen offering Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) resolution, using an IPS panel. A single USB-C connection provides both power and display from your notebook to the ZenScreen (it uses a DisplayLink USB video adapter of its own). It also accepts DisplayPort TMDS signals from the USB-C connector, if found. Other display specs include 250 cd/m² maximum brightness, 700:1 static contrast ratio, and 178° H/V viewing angles. The company didn't mention pricing.
Mercedes-Benz, NVIDIA Partner to Build Advanced, Software-Defined Vehicles
Mercedes-Benz, one of the largest manufacturers of premium passenger cars, and NVIDIA, the global leader in accelerated computing, plan to enter into a cooperation to create a revolutionary in-vehicle computing system and AI computing infrastructure. Starting in 2024, this will be rolled out across the fleet of next-generation Mercedes-Benz vehicles, enabling them with upgradable automated driving functions. Working together, the companies plan to develop the most sophisticated and advanced computing architecture ever deployed in an automobile.
The new software-defined architecture will be built on the NVIDIA DRIVE platform and will be standard in Mercedes-Benz's next-generation fleet, enabling state-of-the-art automated driving functionalities. A primary feature will be the ability to automate driving of regular routes from address to address. In addition, there will be numerous future safety and convenience applications. Customers will be able to purchase and add capabilities, software applications and subscription services through over-the-air software updates during the life of the car.
The new software-defined architecture will be built on the NVIDIA DRIVE platform and will be standard in Mercedes-Benz's next-generation fleet, enabling state-of-the-art automated driving functionalities. A primary feature will be the ability to automate driving of regular routes from address to address. In addition, there will be numerous future safety and convenience applications. Customers will be able to purchase and add capabilities, software applications and subscription services through over-the-air software updates during the life of the car.
Alienware Launches AW410K Gaming Keyboard
Alienware today announced the AW410K Gaming Keyboard, an RGB-capable mechanical keyboard sporting either Cherry MX Red or Cherry MX Brown switches. The AW410K features a SB passthrough port so that you don't lose the USB port that the keyboard populates on your PC. The keyboard is a full-size type (which means it has a dedicated number pad) with integrated Macros in the function keys for multimedia capabilities.
The keyboard features two levels of adjustment via the two feet on top of it, a braided cable and a metal top plate for that added premium feel. Other interesting and all-important technologies in the gaming space are also present, such as anti-ghosting, macro programming and on-board memory that allows for the storage of user-defined macros. The Alienware AW410K Gaming Keyboard will launch August 4th and will cost $129.
The keyboard features two levels of adjustment via the two feet on top of it, a braided cable and a metal top plate for that added premium feel. Other interesting and all-important technologies in the gaming space are also present, such as anti-ghosting, macro programming and on-board memory that allows for the storage of user-defined macros. The Alienware AW410K Gaming Keyboard will launch August 4th and will cost $129.
Acer Announces Predator X25 Monitor: 25", 1080p, 360 Hz
Acer today announced one of the world's highest refresh-rate monitors in the form of the Predator X25. Joining in the likes of Alienware and ASUS, who have already announced their own 360 Hz in the form of the AW2521H and ROG Swift 360, respectively. The Predator X25's über-high refresh rate will leave players out of any excuses so as to why they weren't able to react in time to a threat.
The 360 Hz refresh rates comes with compromises (resolution is only 1080p), and there will be NVIDIA's G-Sync on-board (but a graphics card and CPU combo that can push those 360 FPS to really make use of this refresh rate... Hmm. That's a tougher deal). Alienware has confirmed their AW2521H monitor uses IPS panel technology, and it would thus seem likely that Acer also makes use of that particular panel technology on the Predator X25. However, we'll have to wait and see. The monitor brings some quality of life technologies, such as ergonomics tilting (25 degrees backward, 5 degrees forward), swivel (30 degrees) and height adjustment (4.7 inches). The monitor also features an RGB lighting on the back of the monitor that can light up according to scenes being rendered or according to music you're playing, there's automatic brightness exposure, and a friendly reminder schedule that pops up a warning for users who have been using the monitor for too long, reminding them to take a little walk. No pricing or release date were available at time of writing.
The 360 Hz refresh rates comes with compromises (resolution is only 1080p), and there will be NVIDIA's G-Sync on-board (but a graphics card and CPU combo that can push those 360 FPS to really make use of this refresh rate... Hmm. That's a tougher deal). Alienware has confirmed their AW2521H monitor uses IPS panel technology, and it would thus seem likely that Acer also makes use of that particular panel technology on the Predator X25. However, we'll have to wait and see. The monitor brings some quality of life technologies, such as ergonomics tilting (25 degrees backward, 5 degrees forward), swivel (30 degrees) and height adjustment (4.7 inches). The monitor also features an RGB lighting on the back of the monitor that can light up according to scenes being rendered or according to music you're playing, there's automatic brightness exposure, and a friendly reminder schedule that pops up a warning for users who have been using the monitor for too long, reminding them to take a little walk. No pricing or release date were available at time of writing.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 Adds Star-Studded List of Pro Skaters to Remaster
The genre-defining Tony Hawk's Pro Skater franchise made its mark on videogames in the '90s touting the top names in skateboarding at the time. With the launch of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 on September 4, 2020, the legacy continues with some of the most preeminent pro skaters in the world today -- Nyjah Huston, Leo Baker, Leticia Bufoni, Aori Nishimura, Lizzie Armanto, Shane O'Neill, Riley Hawk and Tyshawn Jones -- joining the lineup of OGs in the remaster.
"Modern-day skateboarding originated from a generation of skaters who grew up playing the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games," said Michelle Bresaw, Vice President of Product Management and Marketing at Activision. "The world-class pro skaters we're adding to this remaster took the tricks and combos from the videogame and made them possible in real life. We're proud that the remaster will represent the skate culture landscape today with a diverse roster of skaters that will appeal to any gamer."
"Modern-day skateboarding originated from a generation of skaters who grew up playing the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games," said Michelle Bresaw, Vice President of Product Management and Marketing at Activision. "The world-class pro skaters we're adding to this remaster took the tricks and combos from the videogame and made them possible in real life. We're proud that the remaster will represent the skate culture landscape today with a diverse roster of skaters that will appeal to any gamer."
Microsoft Defender ATP is now Available for Linux
It is known that Microsoft has been working on bringing its Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) on non-Windows platforms, and it finally has happened. Today, Microsoft is enabling users of popular Linux distributions to use its Defender ATP locally. This is an important announcement as Microsoft is bringing even more software to the Linux ecosystem. With this, Microsoft is making Defender ATP the software tool to manage and monitor security on all enterprise platforms available - Windows, Windows Server, macOS, and now even Linux. Supported distributions include RHEL 7.2 or higher, CentOS Linux 7.2 or higher, Ubuntu 16 LTS or higher LTS, SLES 12 or higher, Debian 9 or higher, and Oracle Linux 7.2.
Acer Expands ConceptD Series for Creators With New Notebooks, Desktops and Monitors
Acer today announced a new suite of premium notebooks, desktops, and monitors to expand its ConceptD line, a series of powerful devices specifically designed for creators. Included in the lineup is the ConceptD 3 notebook range featuring the ConceptD 3 Ezel convertible notebook for creators on the move, the powerful ConceptD 100 desktop for content creators who work in small businesses and creative studios, and a trio of ConceptD monitors such as the ConceptD CP5, the ConceptD CP3 and the ConceptD CM3 for computer graphics professionals.
The ConceptD Series includes a variety of devices to suit the creative needs of professionals across the board from design students and YouTube enthusiasts to CAD designers, video editors, illustrators and animators.
The ConceptD Series includes a variety of devices to suit the creative needs of professionals across the board from design students and YouTube enthusiasts to CAD designers, video editors, illustrators and animators.
Acer Launches Premium Convertible 2K Chromebook Spin 713 Based On Project Athena
Acer today expanded its offering of Chromebooks for consumers and businesses with the new stylish Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (CP713-2W) and Acer Chromebook Enterprise Spin 713, featuring 10th Gen Intel Core commercial processors that deliver the latest in connectivity, productivity, performance and platform stability, designed to enable the superior productivity and performance that businesses need when working in the cloud. It brings together cutting-edge hardware, specs and design with the speed, security and simplicity that Chrome OS is known for.
Part of Intel's Project Athena innovation program, the new Acer Chromebook Spin 713 is powered by the latest 10th Gen Intel Core processors[3] that offer first-rate performance and battery life. In addition, its 2K 13.5-inch VertiView display features a productivity-boosting 3:2 aspect ratio, creating extra vertical space and reducing scrolling.
Part of Intel's Project Athena innovation program, the new Acer Chromebook Spin 713 is powered by the latest 10th Gen Intel Core processors[3] that offer first-rate performance and battery life. In addition, its 2K 13.5-inch VertiView display features a productivity-boosting 3:2 aspect ratio, creating extra vertical space and reducing scrolling.
Acer Refreshes Predator Helios, Predator Triton and Nitro Gaming Notebooks
Today at Acer's online global press conference, the company announced significant new updates to four of its popular gaming notebooks: the Predator Helios 700, Predator Helios 300, Predator Triton 300 and Nitro 7. These new refreshed models bring exciting updates across the board, giving gamers of all levels and types something to look forward to.
The notebook lines now include the latest 10th Gen Intel Core H-series processors for desktop-caliber performance that can be taken anywhere. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER or RTX 2070 SUPER GPUs deliver the performance needed to drive fast displays with high refresh rates for blur-free seamless visuals in even the most demanding of AAA games. To keep the notebooks operating at peak performance and optimal temperatures, Acer has equipped the notebooks with enhanced thermal designs, new cooling technologies and additional heat pipes.
The notebook lines now include the latest 10th Gen Intel Core H-series processors for desktop-caliber performance that can be taken anywhere. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER or RTX 2070 SUPER GPUs deliver the performance needed to drive fast displays with high refresh rates for blur-free seamless visuals in even the most demanding of AAA games. To keep the notebooks operating at peak performance and optimal temperatures, Acer has equipped the notebooks with enhanced thermal designs, new cooling technologies and additional heat pipes.
Ampere Altra Family of Cloud Native Arm Processors expands to 128 cores with Altra Max
Ampere today announced further roadmap details of its Ampere Altra server processor family. In March the company announced Ampere Altra, the world's first cloud native processor, featuring 80 cores. Today, Ampere unveiled preliminary details of the expansion of the cloud-native processor family by adding Ampere Altra Max, which has 128 cores, providing customers with another cloud-optimized processor to maximize overall performance and cores-per-rack density.
Ampere Altra Max is ideal for applications that take advantage of scale-out and elastic cloud architectures. Compatible with the 80-core Ampere Altra and also supporting 2-socket platforms, Ampere Altra Max offers the industry's highest socket-level performance and I/O scalability. It will be sampling in the fourth quarter and additional details will be provided later this year.
Ampere Altra Max is ideal for applications that take advantage of scale-out and elastic cloud architectures. Compatible with the 80-core Ampere Altra and also supporting 2-socket platforms, Ampere Altra Max offers the industry's highest socket-level performance and I/O scalability. It will be sampling in the fourth quarter and additional details will be provided later this year.
Acer Launches Enduro Lineup of Rugged Notebooks and Tablets
Acer today launched Enduro, its new line of rugged notebooks and tablets specially designed to provide the durability, portability and performance needed by professionals working in the field. First responders and industrial manufacturing workers will find the Acer Enduro N7 to be a reliable companion, while event producers and outdoor hobbyists will appreciate the thin-and-light yet durable Enduro N3. A series of Enduro tablets are also available for retail, warehouse and manufacturing usage scenarios.
"With an increasingly modern workforce, more and more mobile devices are being deployed in the field where they are subject to harsher handling. Enduro, our new line of rugged notebooks and tablets, was created to provide our customers with the durability and performance that gets the job done," said Andrew Chuang, General Manager, Rugged Computing, Acer Inc.
"With an increasingly modern workforce, more and more mobile devices are being deployed in the field where they are subject to harsher handling. Enduro, our new line of rugged notebooks and tablets, was created to provide our customers with the durability and performance that gets the job done," said Andrew Chuang, General Manager, Rugged Computing, Acer Inc.
LaCie Announces 1big Dock SSD Pro And 1big Dock Storage Solutions
Today, LaCie, the premium brand from Seagate Technology, announced two new storage solutions for creative professionals and prosumers. The new LaCie 1big Dock SSD Pro and LaCie 1big Dock enable professionals to streamline and optimize their studio workflow with a complete desktop storage solution. Designed by Neil Poulton, the LaCie 1big Dock SSD Pro (2 TB and 4 TB SSD capacities) and 1big Dock (4 TB, 8 TB, and 16 TB HDD capacities) add to LaCie's line of versatile data storage systems built for creative professionals.
LaCie's 1big Dock SSD Pro is ideal for editing data-intense 6K, 8K, super slow motion, uncompressed video, and VFX content. Building on LaCie's pedigree of unmatched performance and style, the 1big Dock SSD Pro leans on Seagate's cutting-edge FireCuda NVMe SSD and Thunderbolt 3 to deliver staggering read speeds of up to 2800 MB/s. It streamlines workflow with two Thunderbolt 3 ports that are USB-C compatible, and a docking station including one built-in USB 3.0 port, cinema-grade memory card slots (CFast 2.0, CFexpress, and SD), and a DisplayPort 1.4 output connection. It is the ideal peripheral for most professional cinema cameras including leading brands like ARRI, Blackmagic, RED, and Canon.
LaCie's 1big Dock SSD Pro is ideal for editing data-intense 6K, 8K, super slow motion, uncompressed video, and VFX content. Building on LaCie's pedigree of unmatched performance and style, the 1big Dock SSD Pro leans on Seagate's cutting-edge FireCuda NVMe SSD and Thunderbolt 3 to deliver staggering read speeds of up to 2800 MB/s. It streamlines workflow with two Thunderbolt 3 ports that are USB-C compatible, and a docking station including one built-in USB 3.0 port, cinema-grade memory card slots (CFast 2.0, CFexpress, and SD), and a DisplayPort 1.4 output connection. It is the ideal peripheral for most professional cinema cameras including leading brands like ARRI, Blackmagic, RED, and Canon.
Dell Announces G Series Notebooks and Desktops and Gaming Hardware
Summer is traditionally a season for togetherness - family vacations, backyard barbeques and outdoor festivals. Of course, all things traditional have been upended recently and the concept of togetherness has been redefined. As a father of two young girls whose job requires experiencing the latest Dell gaming systems and gaming titles, I've had to balance home with work. Sure, we might take turns playing our favorite games, but even in our cozy family ecosystem we all need space to do our own things. It's that recognition of individual needs that brings families together and makes me appreciate the Dell G Series even more - this is a product ecosystem designed for gamers at every level.
With its myriad of form factors, colors and configurations, the G Series stands out as one of the broadest selections of gaming systems Dell has ever offered. Its appeal parallels the strong growth of the PC gaming industry and the big tent of gamers it welcomes. What's consistent across the G Series ecosystem is the upscale design, performance muscle and great value - ultimately delivering the best gaming experiences without a significant investment. Dell is introducing the new G7 15/17, a powerful gaming laptop that stands out with its own sophisticated style that can easily go from classroom to gaming.
With its myriad of form factors, colors and configurations, the G Series stands out as one of the broadest selections of gaming systems Dell has ever offered. Its appeal parallels the strong growth of the PC gaming industry and the big tent of gamers it welcomes. What's consistent across the G Series ecosystem is the upscale design, performance muscle and great value - ultimately delivering the best gaming experiences without a significant investment. Dell is introducing the new G7 15/17, a powerful gaming laptop that stands out with its own sophisticated style that can easily go from classroom to gaming.
Acer Announces Swift 5 Notebooks Powered by Intel "Tiger Lake" Processors
Acer today announced its new Swift 5 notebook that offers a new take on productivity, powerful yet light enough to be carried around throughout the day. The ultraportable device is a beacon of both design and performance, sporting a professional aesthetic that is backed up by impressive functionality. This year's model features ultra-narrow bezels that allow for a 90% screen-to-body ratio, a touchscreen with Antimicrobial Corning Gorilla Glass and new colors, such as mist green.
"The new Swift 5 pushes the envelope on what thin-and-light notebooks can be," said James Lin, General Manager, Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer Inc. "A productivity powerhouse housed in a sleek and ultraportable chassis, the Swift 5 is an excellent option for professionals who are always on the move and seeking a device capable of keeping up with them."
"The new Swift 5 pushes the envelope on what thin-and-light notebooks can be," said James Lin, General Manager, Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer Inc. "A productivity powerhouse housed in a sleek and ultraportable chassis, the Swift 5 is an excellent option for professionals who are always on the move and seeking a device capable of keeping up with them."
HANNspree Announces New Range of Portable Monitors
HANNspree has today announced a new range of portable monitors. Ready for work or play on the fly, the new super-slim and lightweight 15.6 inch models need just one cable to create an instant dual-screen display. Choose between a standard (HL161CGB) or multi-touch display (HT161CGB) to extend your mobile workspace and keep you productive where you are.
Amongst the lightest portable monitors on the market, these new HANNspree models make for easy handling and are perfectly proportioned for slipping into a travel bag when you are away from the office or your home. A single Type-C USB 3.1 connector cable makes these monitors plug-and-play with almost any laptop or PC. Transferring data directly from the host and acting as an energy efficient power supply, this simple connection completely eliminates the need for additional media and power cables for optimal portability.
Amongst the lightest portable monitors on the market, these new HANNspree models make for easy handling and are perfectly proportioned for slipping into a travel bag when you are away from the office or your home. A single Type-C USB 3.1 connector cable makes these monitors plug-and-play with almost any laptop or PC. Transferring data directly from the host and acting as an energy efficient power supply, this simple connection completely eliminates the need for additional media and power cables for optimal portability.
Intel Plans to Volume Manufacture Nanowire/Nanoribbon Transistors in Five Years
Semiconductor manufacturing is a hard business. There is a constant need for manufacturers to compete with each other and if they don't, they get left behind. Intel, as one of the biggest semiconductor makers in the world, is always trying to invent new technologies spending massive R&D funds on semiconductors. New technologies such as nanowire/nanoribbon transistors, which are supposed to enable transistor sizes unimaginable now, are on its way to make it in the hand of consumers. During the international VLSI conference, Intel's CTO Mike Mayberry held a presentation about how Intel plans to address the demand for more compute by showing off new technologies.
With a presentation titled "The Future of Compute", Mr. Mayberry made some exciting claims and predictions. So far, we have been used to FinFET transistors since the 22 nm node from Intel. However, as nodes get smaller the gate of the transistor is not enough to keep it from switching randomly. So to avoid that problem Intel, along with other semiconductor manufacturers like Samsung, created a solution called Gate-All-Around FET (GAAFET). This technology takes a transistor fin and wraps in around all sides (see picture below), so the gate has better switching control, preventing random switching and errors. As a fin, nanowire or nanosheet (wider option from nanowire) can be used and they can be stacked. These allow for additional control of tailoring whatever a node will be used for high performance or low power. Intel predicts that they will start high volume manufacturing of silicon based on this technology in five years. This is setting an important milestone for Intel as well as other industry players, as now everyone will rush to deliver it first. It is now a waiting game to see who will actually come out with it first.
With a presentation titled "The Future of Compute", Mr. Mayberry made some exciting claims and predictions. So far, we have been used to FinFET transistors since the 22 nm node from Intel. However, as nodes get smaller the gate of the transistor is not enough to keep it from switching randomly. So to avoid that problem Intel, along with other semiconductor manufacturers like Samsung, created a solution called Gate-All-Around FET (GAAFET). This technology takes a transistor fin and wraps in around all sides (see picture below), so the gate has better switching control, preventing random switching and errors. As a fin, nanowire or nanosheet (wider option from nanowire) can be used and they can be stacked. These allow for additional control of tailoring whatever a node will be used for high performance or low power. Intel predicts that they will start high volume manufacturing of silicon based on this technology in five years. This is setting an important milestone for Intel as well as other industry players, as now everyone will rush to deliver it first. It is now a waiting game to see who will actually come out with it first.
QNAP Launches Quad-core Intel-based TS-x53D 2.5GbE NAS Series
QNAP Systems, Inc., a leading computing, networking, and storage solution innovator, today launched the TS-x53D 2.5GbE NAS series, available in 2, 4, and 6-bay models. With a quad-core 2.0 GHz processor and dual 2.5GbE connectivity, the TS-x53D series not only provides modern businesses with an excellent 2.5GbE NAS solution, but also satisfies gamers as ample storage for their vast game collections. This reliable and secure NAS series delivers high cost-efficiency by offering more value-added capabilities, including PCIe expansion, multi-cloud backup, cloud storage gateway, 4K HDMI output, and more. The TS-x53D series comes with a 3-year standard warranty, and can be extended up to 5 years with a purchased warranty extension.
"The TS-x53D allows users to upgrade network speeds from 1 Gigabit to 2.5 Gigabit using existing CAT5e cables, and to streamline file backup and sharing, video streaming, and even gaming storage," said Jason Hsu, Product Manager of QNAP. "QNAP's QSW 10GbE/Multi-Gig switch also provides a perfect addition to create a high-speed, future-proof collaborative network environment."
"The TS-x53D allows users to upgrade network speeds from 1 Gigabit to 2.5 Gigabit using existing CAT5e cables, and to streamline file backup and sharing, video streaming, and even gaming storage," said Jason Hsu, Product Manager of QNAP. "QNAP's QSW 10GbE/Multi-Gig switch also provides a perfect addition to create a high-speed, future-proof collaborative network environment."
Google Chrome Set To Receive The Same Memory Optimizing Tech as Microsoft Edge
Microsoft introduced the Windows segment heap memory improvements for modern and system apps such as Microsoft Edge to reduce memory requirements. In a recent blog post, Principal PM Manager of Microsoft Edge Kim Denny announced that with the latest Windows 10 May 2020 Update Microsoft Edge saw a memory usage reduction of up to 27%. The New Microsoft Edge referenced here has adopted the chromium source engine which shows the possible memory reduction effects on google chrome.
In a recent chromium commit discovered by WindowsLatest shows a chromium developer stating that users "could save hundreds of MB in the browser and Network Service utility processes, among others, on some machines,". Considering Google Chrome has the largest market share of any browser by a healthy margin and given its memory-hogging tendencies this development will be a very welcome addition. The feature is currently being implemented and should hopefully be available soon.
In a recent chromium commit discovered by WindowsLatest shows a chromium developer stating that users "could save hundreds of MB in the browser and Network Service utility processes, among others, on some machines,". Considering Google Chrome has the largest market share of any browser by a healthy margin and given its memory-hogging tendencies this development will be a very welcome addition. The feature is currently being implemented and should hopefully be available soon.
Activision Announces Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time
Bandicoots get ready fur it, Crash is moving 4-ward into 2020 with a brand-new game that's built from the ground up and "It's About Time." No, literally! Activision Blizzard, Inc., and developer Toys for Bob, are giving fans the true sequel to the original trilogy with Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time. Our lovingly absurd marsupials are back and putting a fresh spin, jump and wump on conflicts of cosmic proportions, discovering expansive new worlds, unexpected allies, larger-than-life boss battles and powerful new Quantum Masks that must be united to restore order to the multiverse. Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time will be available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, Xbox One and Xbox One X on October 2, 2020. Pre-orders are available now.
Team Group Announces ASUS TUF Gaming Alliance Co-branded SSDs
In collaboration with ASUS TUF Gaming Alliance, TEAMGROUP today announces the launch of T-FORCE CARDEA II TUF Gaming Alliance M.2 Solid State Drive and T-FORCE DELTA TUF Gaming Alliance RGB Gaming Solid State Drive (5 V). Certified and rigorously tested by the TUF Gaming Alliance, the exterior design inherits the original pattern elements and adds the TUF Gaming camouflage logo to showcase gaming colors with strong military style. It can be synchronized with ASUS AURA SYNC motherboard lighting control software. With the comprehensive evolution of accessing performance, it is definitely the first choice for gamers who love military style.
T-FORCE CARDEA II TUF Gaming Alliance Solid State Drive is the first M.2 SSD certified by ASUS TUF Gaming Alliance. With TEAMGROUP T-FORCE's patented gaming cooling fin, PCIe Gen 3 x4 high speed interface and NVMe 1.3 protocol, the sequential read/write speed is up to 3400/3000 MB/s, and random read/write speed is up to 180K/160K IOPS, offering up to 1 TB of capacity. The buit-in smart algorithm contains a variety of management mechanisms such as the garbage collection function, Wear-Leveling technology and ECC (Error Correction Code) function, which can improve the efficiency and reliability of data transfer, and prolong the service life perfectly.
T-FORCE CARDEA II TUF Gaming Alliance Solid State Drive is the first M.2 SSD certified by ASUS TUF Gaming Alliance. With TEAMGROUP T-FORCE's patented gaming cooling fin, PCIe Gen 3 x4 high speed interface and NVMe 1.3 protocol, the sequential read/write speed is up to 3400/3000 MB/s, and random read/write speed is up to 180K/160K IOPS, offering up to 1 TB of capacity. The buit-in smart algorithm contains a variety of management mechanisms such as the garbage collection function, Wear-Leveling technology and ECC (Error Correction Code) function, which can improve the efficiency and reliability of data transfer, and prolong the service life perfectly.
DeepCool Launches New Unique X-Frame MF120 GT A-RGB Fans
DeepCool, a leading brand in designing and manufacturing CPU cooling systems launches a brand new unique case fan, the MF120 GT, which features 20 addressable RGB LEDs across the X-Frame that shine through translucent fan blades to create a distinct look from either side in push or pull configurations.
Adjusting colors is easy with direct control through supported RGB software from popular motherboard brands and through Razer Chroma. An included RGB wire controller offers a quick alternative to select through various color profiles to match any build theme. Designed to perform as well as it looks, the MF120 GT provides great cooling performance and PWM control for balanced thermal and noise levels.
Adjusting colors is easy with direct control through supported RGB software from popular motherboard brands and through Razer Chroma. An included RGB wire controller offers a quick alternative to select through various color profiles to match any build theme. Designed to perform as well as it looks, the MF120 GT provides great cooling performance and PWM control for balanced thermal and noise levels.
Intel Compares Notebooks with Two Different GPU Models to Stake Gaming Performance Leadership Claim
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (mobile) and the RTX 2060 Max-Q graphics solutions may look identical but they're not. That didn't matter for Intel marketing, which used them to show Intel's 10th Gen Core processors to be "18-23 percent" faster at gaming than AMD's Ryzen 4000 "Renoir," according to a fascinating discovery by _rogame. In a real-world gaming performance slide that's part of an Intel Partner Connect presentation, Intel compared two notebooks, one with a 45-Watt Core i7-10750H processor, and the other with a 35-Watt AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS.
The Ryzen-powered notebook is equipped with an RTX 2060 Max-Q, and is a 22 mm-thick 14-incher, while the Intel-powered notebook uses an RTX 2060 (mobile), and is a 27 mm-thick 15.6-inch notebook that's firmly in the H-segment (mainstream notebook). The RTX 2060 Max-Q has much tighter boost frequencies of 1185 MHz than the RTX 2060 (mobile), with its 1560 MHz boost. Power management is a lot tighter on the Max-Q SKU, too, with 65 W power limits against 90 W on the RTX 2060 (mobile). Intel Partner Connect is a platform for the company to interact with some of its biggest distributors and retailers.
The Ryzen-powered notebook is equipped with an RTX 2060 Max-Q, and is a 22 mm-thick 14-incher, while the Intel-powered notebook uses an RTX 2060 (mobile), and is a 27 mm-thick 15.6-inch notebook that's firmly in the H-segment (mainstream notebook). The RTX 2060 Max-Q has much tighter boost frequencies of 1185 MHz than the RTX 2060 (mobile), with its 1560 MHz boost. Power management is a lot tighter on the Max-Q SKU, too, with 65 W power limits against 90 W on the RTX 2060 (mobile). Intel Partner Connect is a platform for the company to interact with some of its biggest distributors and retailers.
COUGAR Launches its First Ergonomic Chair ARGO
COUGAR, leading brand in the development of PC gaming hardware and peripherals, announces today the arrival to the world markets of an innovative Ergonomic Gaming chair, the combination of Gaming and Ergonomics to help gamers optimize their performance.
"In the last five years, COUGAR has been receiving feedback from customers that expressed a wish for an improvement in the gaming chairs market, which had long been plagued by problems such as non-functional designs, poor quality, overheat and humidity from the body, pain and fatigue and more problems. In view of this, COUGAR decided to take matters into their own hands. We love gaming, and we have worked hard for years to provide PSUs, cases, cooling and peripherals suited to gamers' specific needs. We took a long, hard look at the gaming chairs market and to be honest, with few exceptions, we did not like what we saw. We knew it was time for us to do something about it," said Lio Huang - Brand Director.
"In the last five years, COUGAR has been receiving feedback from customers that expressed a wish for an improvement in the gaming chairs market, which had long been plagued by problems such as non-functional designs, poor quality, overheat and humidity from the body, pain and fatigue and more problems. In view of this, COUGAR decided to take matters into their own hands. We love gaming, and we have worked hard for years to provide PSUs, cases, cooling and peripherals suited to gamers' specific needs. We took a long, hard look at the gaming chairs market and to be honest, with few exceptions, we did not like what we saw. We knew it was time for us to do something about it," said Lio Huang - Brand Director.
Monday, June 22nd 2020
Today's Reviews
Accessories
CPU Coolers
Desktop PC
Harddisks
Motherboards
Processors
SilentiumPC Grandis 3 EVO ARGB & Grandis 3 Review
SilentiumPC has updated their heavyweight cooler lineup with the Grandis 3 and Grandis 3 EVO ARGB. These hefty dual-tower coolers feature a value-focused design, but considering we have seen high-end coolers humbled by cost-effective competitors in the past, anything can happen.
Thermaltake AH T600 Review - "AH" for Attack Helicopter!
From a design perspective, the Thermaltake AH T600 is a bold chassis. Thermaltake utilizes an almost insane material mix with heavy inspiration drawn from modern military helicopters to create a large full-tower chassis with all the capabilities one looks for in a liquid cooling case.
Western Digital WD Gold 18TB SATA HDD Starts Selling
Western Digital started selling an 18 TB variant of its WD Gold line of "enterprise class" SATA hard drives (model: WD181KRYZ). The WD Gold series tops the company's SATA HDD lineup and its in the gray area between client and scalar enterprise segments, where the company sells its HGST Ultrastar HDDs. WD Gold drives are still rated for 24x7 operation, and can be safely used in large RAID arrays. The drives are confirmed to lack SMR and DM-SMR; and are confirmed to use CMR (conventional magnetic recording), which ensures predictable write speeds and random-write performance. The WD Gold WD181KRYZ features 7,200 RPM spindle speed, HelioSeal technology (the main disk chamber is sealed and filled with inert helium gas), and 2.5 million-hour MTBF. Performance numbers and cache size for the 18 TB model are unknown, but the 14 TB variant in this series offers up to 267 MB/s sequential transfers, and features a 512 MB DRAM write cache. The WD181KRYZ is listed on UK store SCAN for £520.
AMD EPYC Scores New Supercomputing and High-Performance Cloud Computing System Wins
AMD today announced multiple new high-performance computing wins for AMD EPYC processors, including that the seventh fastest supercomputer in the world and four of the 50 highest-performance systems on the bi-annual TOP500 list are now powered by AMD. Momentum for AMD EPYC processors in advanced science and health research continues to grow with new installations at Indiana University, Purdue University and CERN as well as high-performance computing (HPC) cloud instances from Amazon Web Services, Google, and Oracle Cloud.
"The leading HPC institutions are increasingly leveraging the power of 2nd Gen AMD EPYC processors to enable cutting-edge research that addresses the world's greatest challenges," said Forrest Norrod, senior vice president and general manager, data center and embedded systems group, AMD. "Our AMD EPYC CPUs, Radeon Instinct accelerators and open software programming environment are helping to advance the industry towards exascale-class computing, and we are proud to strengthen the global HPC ecosystem through our support of the top supercomputing clusters and cloud computing environments."
"The leading HPC institutions are increasingly leveraging the power of 2nd Gen AMD EPYC processors to enable cutting-edge research that addresses the world's greatest challenges," said Forrest Norrod, senior vice president and general manager, data center and embedded systems group, AMD. "Our AMD EPYC CPUs, Radeon Instinct accelerators and open software programming environment are helping to advance the industry towards exascale-class computing, and we are proud to strengthen the global HPC ecosystem through our support of the top supercomputing clusters and cloud computing environments."
Apple Introduces macOS Big Sur with a Beautiful New Design
Apple today previewed macOS Big Sur, the latest version of the world's most advanced desktop operating system. macOS Big Sur introduces a beautiful redesign that is entirely new yet instantly familiar. Safari is packed with new features, including a customizable start page, elegantly designed and more powerful tabs, quick and easy translation, and a new Privacy Report. The updated Messages app lets Mac users send and receive more personal and expressive messages, and easily keep track of and interact within group messages. Maps also offers an all-new experience with immersive features for exploring and navigating the world.
"macOS Big Sur is a major update that advances the legendary combination of the power of UNIX with the ease of use of the Mac, and delivers our biggest update to design in more than a decade," said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering. "With its modern and clean look, huge improvements to key apps including Safari, Messages, and Maps, and new privacy features, we think everyone is going to love the breakthrough experience that macOS Big Sur offers."
"macOS Big Sur is a major update that advances the legendary combination of the power of UNIX with the ease of use of the Mac, and delivers our biggest update to design in more than a decade," said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering. "With its modern and clean look, huge improvements to key apps including Safari, Messages, and Maps, and new privacy features, we think everyone is going to love the breakthrough experience that macOS Big Sur offers."
ASUS Republic of Gamers Launches Zephyrus Duo 15
ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today launched the groundbreaking ROG Zephyrus Duo 15, which integrates two displays in an ultraslim form factor to bring a new dimension of versatility to premium gaming laptops, without sacrificing any of the high-powered performance that defines ROG.
Empowering gamers who also create with flexible designs that streamline their work is a passion at ROG. Multi-monitor arrangements enable gamers, creators, and power users to work more effectively on their desktops. Laptop users are also commonly seen using their phones as a second screen. To make that level of productivity portable, the Zephyrus Duo 15 doubles down on displays with an elegant Active Aerodynamic System (AAS) Plus design that makes the full-width ROG ScreenPad Plus touchscreen an integral part of the cooling system. As the AAS Plus system tilts the laptop up, the second display also rises for comfortable viewing, while revealing a large air intake for deep airflow. The sophisticated cooling design gives Zephyrus Duo 15 ample thermal headroom to fit powerful flagship processors in a ground breaking multi-screen gaming laptop.
Empowering gamers who also create with flexible designs that streamline their work is a passion at ROG. Multi-monitor arrangements enable gamers, creators, and power users to work more effectively on their desktops. Laptop users are also commonly seen using their phones as a second screen. To make that level of productivity portable, the Zephyrus Duo 15 doubles down on displays with an elegant Active Aerodynamic System (AAS) Plus design that makes the full-width ROG ScreenPad Plus touchscreen an integral part of the cooling system. As the AAS Plus system tilts the laptop up, the second display also rises for comfortable viewing, while revealing a large air intake for deep airflow. The sophisticated cooling design gives Zephyrus Duo 15 ample thermal headroom to fit powerful flagship processors in a ground breaking multi-screen gaming laptop.
EK Pumpless Quantum TBE DDC Pump-Reservoir Combos Hitting the Market
EK, the premium liquid cooling gear manufacturer based in Europe, is releasing pumpless versions of the Quantum Line pump-reservoir combo units - the EK-Quantum Kinetic TBE 160 DDC Body D-RGB. This means the customer can attach his already owned DDC pump allowing for a more affordable upgrade process from the previous generation of reservoirs. EK-Quantum products come with sophisticated 5V D-RGB addressable LEDs which can be controlled through your motherboard RGB control software.
EK-Quantum Kinetic TBE DDC Body D-RGB is the stand-alone pumpless version of the newly released tubular style Kinetic TBE combo units made for DDC pumps. This means the customer is able to upgrade his old DDC-based combo unit or to utilize any existing previously owned DDC pump. This combo unit is equipped with a total of six G1/4" ports so that users can choose the most optimal setup for their liquid cooling loops.
EK-Quantum Kinetic TBE DDC Body D-RGB is the stand-alone pumpless version of the newly released tubular style Kinetic TBE combo units made for DDC pumps. This means the customer is able to upgrade his old DDC-based combo unit or to utilize any existing previously owned DDC pump. This combo unit is equipped with a total of six G1/4" ports so that users can choose the most optimal setup for their liquid cooling loops.
Apple announces Mac transition to Apple silicon
In a historic day for the Mac, Apple today announced it will transition the Mac to its world-class custom silicon to deliver industry-leading performance and powerful new technologies. Developers can now get started updating their apps to take advantage of the advanced capabilities of Apple silicon in the Mac. This transition will also establish a common architecture across all Apple products, making it far easier for developers to write and optimize their apps for the entire ecosystem.
Apple today also introduced macOS Big Sur, the next major release of macOS, which delivers its biggest update in more than a decade and includes technologies that will ensure a smooth and seamless transition to Apple silicon. Developers can easily convert their existing apps to run on Apple silicon, taking advantage of its powerful technologies and performance. And for the first time, developers can make their iOS and iPadOS apps available on the Mac without any modifications.
Apple today also introduced macOS Big Sur, the next major release of macOS, which delivers its biggest update in more than a decade and includes technologies that will ensure a smooth and seamless transition to Apple silicon. Developers can easily convert their existing apps to run on Apple silicon, taking advantage of its powerful technologies and performance. And for the first time, developers can make their iOS and iPadOS apps available on the Mac without any modifications.
GIGABYTE Introduces a Broad Portfolio of G-series Servers Powered by NVIDIA A100 PCIe
GIGABYTE, an industry leader in high-performance servers and workstations, announced its G-series servers' validation plan. Following the NVIDIA A100 PCIe GPU announcement today, GIGABYTE has completed the compatibility validation of the G481-HA0 / G292-Z40 and added the NVIDIA A100 to the support list for these two servers. The remaining G-series servers will be divided into two waves to complete their respective compatibility tests soon. At the same time, GIGABYTE also launched a new G492 series server based on the AMD EPYC 7002 processor family, which provides PCIe Gen4 support for up to 10 NVIDIA A100 PCIe GPUs. The G492 is a server with the highest computing power for AI models training on the market today. GIGABYTE will offer two SKUs for the G492. The G492-Z50 will be at a more approachable price point, whereas the G492-Z51 will be geared towards higher performance.
The G492 is GIGABYTE's second-generation 4U G-series server. Based on the first generation G481 (Intel architecture) / G482 (AMD architecture) servers, the user-friendly design and scalability have been further optimized. In addition to supporting two 280 W 2nd Gen AMD EPYC 7002 processors, the 32 DDR4 memory slots support up to 8 TB of memory and maintain data transmission at 3200 MHz. The G492 has built-in PCIe Gen4 switches, which can provide more PCIe Gen4 lanes. PCIe Gen4 has twice the I/O performance of PCIe Gen3 and fully enables the computing power of the NVIDIA A100 Tensor Core GPU, or it can be applied to PCIe storage to help provide a storage upgrade path that is native to the G492.
The G492 is GIGABYTE's second-generation 4U G-series server. Based on the first generation G481 (Intel architecture) / G482 (AMD architecture) servers, the user-friendly design and scalability have been further optimized. In addition to supporting two 280 W 2nd Gen AMD EPYC 7002 processors, the 32 DDR4 memory slots support up to 8 TB of memory and maintain data transmission at 3200 MHz. The G492 has built-in PCIe Gen4 switches, which can provide more PCIe Gen4 lanes. PCIe Gen4 has twice the I/O performance of PCIe Gen3 and fully enables the computing power of the NVIDIA A100 Tensor Core GPU, or it can be applied to PCIe storage to help provide a storage upgrade path that is native to the G492.
Japan Captures TOP500 Crown with Arm-Powered Fugaku Supercomputer
The 55th edition of the TOP500 saw some significant additions to the list, spearheaded by a new number one system from Japan. The latest rankings also reflect a steady growth in aggregate performance and power efficiency.
The new top system, Fugaku, turned in a High Performance Linpack (HPL) result of 415.5 petaflops, besting the now second-place Summit system by a factor of 2.8x. Fugaku, is powered by Fujitsu's 48-core A64FX SoC, becoming the first number one system on the list to be powered by ARM processors. In single or further reduced precision, which are often used in machine learning and AI applications, Fugaku's peak performance is over 1,000 petaflops (1 exaflops). The new system is installed at RIKEN Center for Computational Science (R-CCS) in Kobe, Japan.
The new top system, Fugaku, turned in a High Performance Linpack (HPL) result of 415.5 petaflops, besting the now second-place Summit system by a factor of 2.8x. Fugaku, is powered by Fujitsu's 48-core A64FX SoC, becoming the first number one system on the list to be powered by ARM processors. In single or further reduced precision, which are often used in machine learning and AI applications, Fugaku's peak performance is over 1,000 petaflops (1 exaflops). The new system is installed at RIKEN Center for Computational Science (R-CCS) in Kobe, Japan.
TYAN Brings the Latest Server Advancements at its 2020 Server Solutions Online Exhibition
TYAN, an industry-leading server platform design manufacturer and a MiTAC Computing Technology Corporation subsidiary, is showcasing its latest lineup of HPC, storage, cloud and embedded platforms powered by 2nd Gen AMD EPYC 7002 series processors and 2nd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processors at TYAN server solutions online exhibition.
"With over 30 years of experience offering state-of-the-art server platforms and server motherboards, TYAN has been recognized by large scale data center customers and server channels," said Danny Hsu, Vice President of MiTAC Computing Technology Corporation's TYAN Business Unit. "Combining the latest innovation from our partners, like Intel and AMD, TYAN customers enable to win the market opportunities precisely with TYAN's server building block offerings."
"With over 30 years of experience offering state-of-the-art server platforms and server motherboards, TYAN has been recognized by large scale data center customers and server channels," said Danny Hsu, Vice President of MiTAC Computing Technology Corporation's TYAN Business Unit. "Combining the latest innovation from our partners, like Intel and AMD, TYAN customers enable to win the market opportunities precisely with TYAN's server building block offerings."
MSI Setting Up a Gaming Desktop Build-to-Order Production Line in the US
MSI is reportedly setting up a build-to-order desktop PC production line in the U.S. With an online storefront taking orders, this unit will assemble gaming desktops from MSI components imported from Taiwan and China. The decision to set up a pre-built unit in the US may have been influenced by U.S. import tariff regimes that favor importing components. MSI will label the finished products "MIA" (short for "Made in America,") a marketing name that isn't strictly intended to convey the "Made in the USA" tagline used by American manufacturers.
The first MIA gaming desktops will be four variants of Aegis, which combines 10th Gen Intel Core processors with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20-series GPUs. Options include the Core i9-10900K, i7-10700, and i5-10400F; along with GPU options spanning from RTX 2080 Super thru GTX 1660 Super, with prices ranging between USD $799 through $1,699. MSI's component portfolio spans motherboards, graphics cards, coolers, cases, coolers, and gaming peripherals.
The first MIA gaming desktops will be four variants of Aegis, which combines 10th Gen Intel Core processors with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20-series GPUs. Options include the Core i9-10900K, i7-10700, and i5-10400F; along with GPU options spanning from RTX 2080 Super thru GTX 1660 Super, with prices ranging between USD $799 through $1,699. MSI's component portfolio spans motherboards, graphics cards, coolers, cases, coolers, and gaming peripherals.
Raijintek Unveils MORPHEUS 8057 VGA Air Cooler
Raijintek today unveiled the MORPHEUS 8057, a large graphics card air-cooler. The cooler consists of a gargantuan aluminium fin-stack heatsink that's ventilated by a pair of 120 mm fans (not included). The heatsink features a large mirror-finish copper base, from which six 6 mm thick heat pipes emerge in either direction of the base (Raijintek for some reason counts this as 12 heat pipes), conveying heat to a large fin-stack with 112 aluminium fins that have ceramic coating.
The MORPHEUS 8057 heatsink measures 254 mm x 100 mm x 44 mm (WxDxH), weighing 515 g. Among the secondary heatsinks included are 12 heatsinks of various sizes for memory and VRM components; thermal pads, retention clips, and some thermal paste. Among the graphics cards supported are AMD "Navi 10" based graphics cards (RX 5700 series and RX 5600 series); and NVIDIA RTX 2080 Ti, RTX 2080/SUPER, RTX 2070/SUPER, and RTX 2060/SUPER. The company didn't reveal pricing.
The MORPHEUS 8057 heatsink measures 254 mm x 100 mm x 44 mm (WxDxH), weighing 515 g. Among the secondary heatsinks included are 12 heatsinks of various sizes for memory and VRM components; thermal pads, retention clips, and some thermal paste. Among the graphics cards supported are AMD "Navi 10" based graphics cards (RX 5700 series and RX 5600 series); and NVIDIA RTX 2080 Ti, RTX 2080/SUPER, RTX 2070/SUPER, and RTX 2060/SUPER. The company didn't reveal pricing.
Kingston Ships 7.68TB Capacity for DC1000 U.2 NVMe PCIe Data Center SSD
Kingston Digital Europe Co LLP, the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, today began shipping the 7.68 TB model of the Data Center 1000M (DC1000M) NVMe PCIe SSD. The drive provides additional storage and implements strict QoS ensuring predictable IO and low latency for data centers powered by NVMe SSDs. DC1000M joins the recently released DC1000B NVMe boot drive, the VMware Ready DC500 series SATA SSDs and DC450R to form the most complete range of superior enterprise-class data center storage solutions in the market.
DC1000M utilizes a hot-pluggable U.2 (2.5") form factor, allowing seamless integration with latest generation servers and storage arrays currently using PCIe and U.2 backplanes. The lightning-fast drive provides enterprise-grade features such as end-to-end data path protection, power-loss protection (PLP) and telemetry monitoring for increased data reliability.
DC1000M utilizes a hot-pluggable U.2 (2.5") form factor, allowing seamless integration with latest generation servers and storage arrays currently using PCIe and U.2 backplanes. The lightning-fast drive provides enterprise-grade features such as end-to-end data path protection, power-loss protection (PLP) and telemetry monitoring for increased data reliability.
DeepCool Intros White Variants of its DQ-M V2L Power Supplies
DeepCool today introduced white trim of its recently launched DQ-M V2L modular power supplies. The white trim currently only includes one model, the DQ-750M V2L WH, a 750-Watt PSU. The trim includes matte-white steel making up most of the body, a brushed aluminium accent around the fan intake, while fan impeller, and a contrasting black grille. Much like the original DQ-M V2L, the DQ-M V2L WH offers 80 Plus Gold efficiency, full bridge LLC resonant converter, DC-to-DC switching, and active PFC. Connectors include a 24-pin ATX, two 4+4 pin EPS, four 6+2 pin PCIe power, and seven SATA power connectors. The PSU offers fully-modular, flat ribbon-type cables matching the white color trim. The company didn't reveal pricing.
Honeywell Announces the World's Most Powerful Quantum Computer
Honeywell, a multinational conglomerate specializing in the quantum computing field, today announced they have created the world's most advanced quantum computer. Their new solution brings about a quantum computing volume set at 64 - twice the quantum volume of the world's previous most powerful quantum computer, the IBM Raleigh. You might be looking at that 64 quantum volume, wondering what that means - and where did the qubits metric go. Well, the thing with quantum computers is that the number of qubits can't really be looked at as a definite measure of performance - instead, it's just a part of the "quantum volume" calculation, which expresses the final performance of a quantum system.
When you make operations at the quantum level, a myriad of factors come into play that adversely impact performance besides the absolute number of qubits, such as the calculation error rate (ie, how often the system outputs an erroneous answer to a given problem) as well as the qubit connectivity level. Qubit connectivity expresses a relationship between the quantum hardware capabilities of a given machine and the ability of the system to distribute workloads across qubits - sometimes the workloads can only be distributed to two adjacent qubits, other times, it can be distributed to qubits that are more far apart within the system without losing data coherency and without affecting error rates - thus increasing performance and the systems' flexibility towards processing workloads. If you've seen Alex Garland's Devs series on Hulu (and you should; it's great), you can see a would-be-quantum computer and all its intricate connections. Quantum computers really are magnificent crossovers of science, materials engineering, and computing. Of course, the quantum computing arms race means that Honeywell's system will likely be dethroned by quantum volume rather soon.
When you make operations at the quantum level, a myriad of factors come into play that adversely impact performance besides the absolute number of qubits, such as the calculation error rate (ie, how often the system outputs an erroneous answer to a given problem) as well as the qubit connectivity level. Qubit connectivity expresses a relationship between the quantum hardware capabilities of a given machine and the ability of the system to distribute workloads across qubits - sometimes the workloads can only be distributed to two adjacent qubits, other times, it can be distributed to qubits that are more far apart within the system without losing data coherency and without affecting error rates - thus increasing performance and the systems' flexibility towards processing workloads. If you've seen Alex Garland's Devs series on Hulu (and you should; it's great), you can see a would-be-quantum computer and all its intricate connections. Quantum computers really are magnificent crossovers of science, materials engineering, and computing. Of course, the quantum computing arms race means that Honeywell's system will likely be dethroned by quantum volume rather soon.
CD Projekt Red to Offer Free Cyberpunk 2077 Upgrades to Next-Gen Console Versions
CD Projekt Red has announced that their upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 will be upgraded, free of charge, to a revised version in the wake of both next-gen console systems from Sony and Microsoft being released. This means that users who ordered (or will order) the game for current-gen systems will see their version be automatically upgraded to a next-gen one when they boot up their next-generation games console. This next-generation re-release of Cyberpunk 2077 will take advantage of the new consoles' much increased horsepower in both graphics and storage system terms.
The update, much like the game, will be ready "when it's ready". Only CD Projekt Red knows when it is hoping to release this update. We would think that a release next-year, after the entire planned DLC packages for the game are released, would be a great time to launch the updated version and re-release the game for next-gen systems as a "Game of the Year" version or a next--gen remaster. Of course, PC users don't have to fiddle with any of these upgrades - we'll be getting the games definitive version, including ray tracing support, on day one.
The update, much like the game, will be ready "when it's ready". Only CD Projekt Red knows when it is hoping to release this update. We would think that a release next-year, after the entire planned DLC packages for the game are released, would be a great time to launch the updated version and re-release the game for next-gen systems as a "Game of the Year" version or a next--gen remaster. Of course, PC users don't have to fiddle with any of these upgrades - we'll be getting the games definitive version, including ray tracing support, on day one.
AMD Radeon Adrenalin Now Lets Users Report Crashes In-Driver
AMD's latest Radeon Software Adrenalin release, version 20.5.1, has introduced a pretty nifty feature: user-based crash reports. The driver suite from AMD now has a "Bug Report Tool" under the "System" tab that's fully dedicated to users reporting on crashes and issues with their graphics rendition, as well as Ryzen Master, Chipset Drivers, and AMD Link. The users' system is automatically populated by the driver suite, and users need only select the specific applications through which their bugs appear before submitting the form.
Some would say this is a feature that has been long coming, and that AMD should have implemented this ages ago - especially when its most recent driver woes increased in severity post-Navi release. An integrated bug report tool is sure to bring AMD more timely reports on existing issues, with a relatively standardized information and debug set that allows the company to work much closer with users while in search for a solution. A worldwide net of QA assistants, if you will.
Some would say this is a feature that has been long coming, and that AMD should have implemented this ages ago - especially when its most recent driver woes increased in severity post-Navi release. An integrated bug report tool is sure to bring AMD more timely reports on existing issues, with a relatively standardized information and debug set that allows the company to work much closer with users while in search for a solution. A worldwide net of QA assistants, if you will.
NVIDIA Announces A100 PCIe Tensor Core Accelerator Based on Ampere Architecture
NVIDIA and partners today announced a new way for interested users to partake in the AI-training capabilities of their Ampere graphics architecture in the form of the A100 PCIe. Diving a little deeper, and as the name implies, this solution differs from the SXM form-factor in that it can be deployed through systems' existing PCIe slots. The change in interface comes with a reduction in TDP from 400 W down to 250 W in the PCIe version - and equivalent reduced performance.
NVIDIA says peak throughput is the same across the SXM and PCIe version of their A100 accelerator. The difference comes in sustained workloads, where NVIDIA quotes the A100 as delivering 10% less performance compared to its SXM brethren. The A100 PCIe comes with the same 2.4 Gbps, 40 GB HBM2 memory footprint as the SXM version, and all other chip resources are the same. We're thus looking at the same 862 mm² silicon chip and 6,192 CUDA cores across both models. The difference is that the PCIe accelerator can more easily be integrated in existing server infrastructure.
NVIDIA says peak throughput is the same across the SXM and PCIe version of their A100 accelerator. The difference comes in sustained workloads, where NVIDIA quotes the A100 as delivering 10% less performance compared to its SXM brethren. The A100 PCIe comes with the same 2.4 Gbps, 40 GB HBM2 memory footprint as the SXM version, and all other chip resources are the same. We're thus looking at the same 862 mm² silicon chip and 6,192 CUDA cores across both models. The difference is that the PCIe accelerator can more easily be integrated in existing server infrastructure.
Mozilla Starts Offering VPN Service called Firefox Private Network
Mozilla, the maker of popular web-browser Firefox, has announced that it is now offering virtual private network (VPN) services. Available for right now as a beta product, the company is promising that it will soon release the software as a fully-fledged application. Firefox Private Network's Mozilla VPN is designed to help users gain more control and safety over their internet traffic while offering protection for a whole device. if you wish to try it out, you would need to join a waitlist. There you can get the VPN app while it is still in beta for iOS, Android, Windows, and Chromebook devices. Support for macOS and Linux is coming soon. The service costs $4.99 a month, while if you own a Firefox browser, you can get it free of charge as an extension.
Microsoft Project xCloud Servers to be Powered by Xbox Series X SoC
Microsoft is preparing to launch a competitive product to Google's Stadia and Amazon's Project Tempo, which are both game streaming services. To Microsoft's advantage, the company has experience in building gaming systems and using cloud technology to integrate them. While both Google and Amazon are cloud providers and have the infrastructure to implement game streaming services, Microsoft has its Xbox division, which has been in the gaming industry for a long time. Despite already owning the infrastructure, Microsoft wants to use the hardware from its Xbox consoles as a base of the upcoming game streaming service called Project xCloud.
According to sources of Tom Warren, senior editor at Verge, Microsoft will be re-using the Xbox SoCs found in their consoles. According to the source, in the beginning, Microsoft is going to use Xbox One S blades to power its game streaming service. After that, the company will upgrade its servers with more powerful Xbox Series X SoC. As a reminder, the Xbox Series X SoC has 8 Ryzen CPU cores based on "Zen 2" µarch, RDNA 2 GPU capable of delivering 12 TFLOPs, 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and a mighty fast SSD. This will be enough to satisfy game streaming service demands and power all of the AAA titles users will be playing once it is available.
According to sources of Tom Warren, senior editor at Verge, Microsoft will be re-using the Xbox SoCs found in their consoles. According to the source, in the beginning, Microsoft is going to use Xbox One S blades to power its game streaming service. After that, the company will upgrade its servers with more powerful Xbox Series X SoC. As a reminder, the Xbox Series X SoC has 8 Ryzen CPU cores based on "Zen 2" µarch, RDNA 2 GPU capable of delivering 12 TFLOPs, 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and a mighty fast SSD. This will be enough to satisfy game streaming service demands and power all of the AAA titles users will be playing once it is available.
KeysWorlds Mid-Year Sale Rolls On: 50% Off on Discounted Genuine Software
KeysWorlds popular Mid-Year Sale on discounted genuine software continues into its third week, with jaw-dropping deals on genuine Windows 10 and Office 2019 software, besides combinations of their various editions. This enables you to allocate more of your PC building budget toward hardware components. Take advantage of a TechPowerUp-exclusive 50% off discount coupon on Office 2019 Professional Plus and its bundles with Windows 10 Pro or Windows 10 Home. Do also check out great deals such as standalone Windows 10 Pro for $9.95, Office 2019 Professional Plus for $28.44. KeysWorlds is an international genuine software mechant of high repute, giving you the flexibility and safety of using PayPal.
Apply the coupon code KWS50 on the following items at check-out to avail the price you see here.
Buy Office 2019 Professional Plus for $32.27 | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2019 Professional for $38.28 | Buy Windows 10 Home + Office 2019 Professional for $39.38 | Buy Office 2019 Home and Student for $39.62 | Buy Office 2019 Home and Business for Mac for $54.15 | Buy Office 2019 Professional Plus 5-PC for $82.04
Apply the code KWS35 on the following items to get the prices you see here.
Buy Windows 10 Pro for $9.95 | Buy Windows 10 Home for $10.66 | Buy Office 2016 Professional Plus for $28.44 | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2016 Professional Plus for $32.70 | Buy Windows 10 Home + Office 2016 Professional for $34.23 | Buy Office 365 1-year Account for $16.85 | Buy Office 365 1-year account + Windows 10 Pro lifetime-valid for $22.75 | Buy Office 365 1-year account + Windows 10 Home lifetime-valid for $23.46
Apply the coupon code KWS50 on the following items at check-out to avail the price you see here.
Buy Office 2019 Professional Plus for $32.27 | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2019 Professional for $38.28 | Buy Windows 10 Home + Office 2019 Professional for $39.38 | Buy Office 2019 Home and Student for $39.62 | Buy Office 2019 Home and Business for Mac for $54.15 | Buy Office 2019 Professional Plus 5-PC for $82.04
Apply the code KWS35 on the following items to get the prices you see here.
Buy Windows 10 Pro for $9.95 | Buy Windows 10 Home for $10.66 | Buy Office 2016 Professional Plus for $28.44 | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2016 Professional Plus for $32.70 | Buy Windows 10 Home + Office 2016 Professional for $34.23 | Buy Office 365 1-year Account for $16.85 | Buy Office 365 1-year account + Windows 10 Pro lifetime-valid for $22.75 | Buy Office 365 1-year account + Windows 10 Home lifetime-valid for $23.46
HTC Vive & Qualcomm Technologies Work Together to Help Accelerate XR and 5G Experiences
Here at HTC Vive, we have long partnered with Qualcomm Technologies to bring amazing immersive mobile experiences to consumers and businesses. Throughout our history of making smartphones at HTC to creating VR headsets like Focus Plus, we leverage the latest and greatest processing power from Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile platform. Today we're furthering our commitment through an agreement to pre-integrate and optimize Vive's WAVE development platform for devices powered by Snapdragon including the Snapdragon 855, Snapdragon 865, Snapdragon XR1, and Snapdragon XR2 Platforms.
Starting now, the Vive Wave runtime will be made available to all Snapdragon customers on these chipsets. In addition, HTC engineers will offer testing and support for new deployments of the Wave platform as part of the agreement.
Starting now, the Vive Wave runtime will be made available to all Snapdragon customers on these chipsets. In addition, HTC engineers will offer testing and support for new deployments of the Wave platform as part of the agreement.
ELSA Announces GeForce RTX 2070 Super ERAZOR X & Super S.A.C.
ELSA has announced two new GeForce RTX 2070 Super graphics cards the Super ERAZOR X and Super S.A.C. The two new cards both feature a dual-fan design with backplates. The ELSA GeForce RTX 2070 Super ERAZOR X features a boost clock of 1815 MHz, four 8 mm diameter heat pipes cooled by dual 90 mm "SAC 3" fans. The card comes with an ESLA logo backplate and measures 267 mm (length) x 114 mm (height) x 50 mm (thickness), 2.5 slot size limiting SLI options. The card will be available in Japan from June 26th with a price of 81,200 yen (760 USD).
ELSA GeForce RTX 2070 Super S.A.C is a cheaper option with a boost clock of 1,770 MHz, four 6 mm diameter heat pipes cooled by dual 90 mm "SAC 2" fans. The card comes with a plain backplate and measures 271 mm (length) x 115 mm (height) x 42 mm (thickness). The card will be available in Japan from June 26th with a price of 71,400 yen (670 USD).
ELSA GeForce RTX 2070 Super S.A.C is a cheaper option with a boost clock of 1,770 MHz, four 6 mm diameter heat pipes cooled by dual 90 mm "SAC 2" fans. The card comes with a plain backplate and measures 271 mm (length) x 115 mm (height) x 42 mm (thickness). The card will be available in Japan from June 26th with a price of 71,400 yen (670 USD).
World's Top System Makers Unveil NVIDIA A100-Powered Servers
NVIDIA and the world's leading server manufacturers today announced NVIDIA A100-powered systems in a variety of designs and configurations to tackle the most complex challenges in AI, data science and scientific computing. More than 50 A100-powered servers from leading vendors around the world — including ASUS, Atos, Cisco, Dell Technologies, Fujitsu, GIGABYTE, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Inspur, Lenovo, One Stop Systems, Quanta/QCT and Supermicro — are expected following last month's launch of the NVIDIA Ampere architecture and the NVIDIA A100 GPU.
Availability of the servers varies, with 30 systems expected this summer, and over 20 more by the end of the year. "Adoption of NVIDIA A100 GPUs into leading server manufacturers' offerings is outpacing anything we've previously seen," said Ian Buck, vice president and general manager of Accelerated Computing at NVIDIA. "The sheer breadth of NVIDIA A100 servers coming from our partners ensures that customers can choose the very best options to accelerate their data centers for high utilization and low total cost of ownership."
Availability of the servers varies, with 30 systems expected this summer, and over 20 more by the end of the year. "Adoption of NVIDIA A100 GPUs into leading server manufacturers' offerings is outpacing anything we've previously seen," said Ian Buck, vice president and general manager of Accelerated Computing at NVIDIA. "The sheer breadth of NVIDIA A100 servers coming from our partners ensures that customers can choose the very best options to accelerate their data centers for high utilization and low total cost of ownership."
NVIDIA Unveils AI Platform to Minimize Downtime in Supercomputing Data Centers
NVIDIA today unveiled the NVIDIA Mellanox UFM Cyber-AI platform, which minimizes downtime in InfiniBand data centers by harnessing AI-powered analytics to detect security threats and operational issues, as well as predict network failures.
This extension of the UFM platform product portfolio — which has managed InfiniBand systems for nearly a decade — applies AI to learn a data center's operational cadence and network workload patterns, drawing on both real-time and historic telemetry and workload data. Against this baseline, it tracks the system's health and network modifications, and detects performance degradations, usage and profile changes.
This extension of the UFM platform product portfolio — which has managed InfiniBand systems for nearly a decade — applies AI to learn a data center's operational cadence and network workload patterns, drawing on both real-time and historic telemetry and workload data. Against this baseline, it tracks the system's health and network modifications, and detects performance degradations, usage and profile changes.
Intel oneAPI Gets its First Academic Center of Excellence
The Swedish e-Science Research Center (SeRC) announced that it has extended its support of the oneAPI initiative as Intel's first oneAPI academic center of excellence (COE). Hosted at Stockholm University and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, the center will use oneAPI's unified and heterogeneous programming model to accelerate research conducted with GROMACS, a widely-used free and open-source application designed for molecular dynamics simulation.
As a oneAPI COE, SeRC will work closely with Intel engineers on oneAPI performance optimizations across CPUs and GPUs used to investigate scenarios that would be extremely difficult to replicate in a traditional lab. This work will allow researchers using GROMACS to take full advantage of upcoming exascale machines powered by oneAPI to deliver unprecedented visibility into the molecular mechanisms of life.
As a oneAPI COE, SeRC will work closely with Intel engineers on oneAPI performance optimizations across CPUs and GPUs used to investigate scenarios that would be extremely difficult to replicate in a traditional lab. This work will allow researchers using GROMACS to take full advantage of upcoming exascale machines powered by oneAPI to deliver unprecedented visibility into the molecular mechanisms of life.
QNAP Releases Boxafe - Comprehensive G-Suite and Office 365 NAS Backup Solution
QNAP Systems Inc. today officially released Boxafe, a comprehensive Google G Suite and Microsoft 365 backup solution for enterprises. Boxafe can centrally back up cloud data to a local NAS, which easily safeguards enterprise data.
Many enterprises have adopted Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and with constant data growth they not only face challenges with insufficient storage space but also the chance of data loss and data recovery limitations. QNAP Boxafe backs up files, emails, calendars and contacts from Google G Suite and Microsoft 365 to a QNAP NAS. IT staff can centrally backup and manage multiple G Suite and Microsoft 365 data and schedule multi-version backup to reduce the risk of data loss. Boxafe also allows users to preview all backup data before restoring.
Many enterprises have adopted Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and with constant data growth they not only face challenges with insufficient storage space but also the chance of data loss and data recovery limitations. QNAP Boxafe backs up files, emails, calendars and contacts from Google G Suite and Microsoft 365 to a QNAP NAS. IT staff can centrally backup and manage multiple G Suite and Microsoft 365 data and schedule multi-version backup to reduce the risk of data loss. Boxafe also allows users to preview all backup data before restoring.
NVIDIA GeForce "Ampere" Hits 3DMark Time Spy Charts, 30% Faster than RTX 2080 Ti
An unknown NVIDIA GeForce "Ampere" GPU model surfaced on 3DMark Time Spy online database. We don't know if this is the RTX 3080 (RTX 2080 successor), or the top-tier RTX 3090 (RTX 2080 Ti successor). Rumored specs of the two are covered in our older article. The 3DMark Time Spy score unearthed by _rogame (Hardware Leaks) is 18257 points, which is close to 31 percent faster than the RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition, 22 percent faster than the TITAN RTX, and just a tiny bit slower than KINGPIN's record-setting EVGA RTX 2080 Ti XC. Futuremark SystemInfo reads the GPU clock speeds of the "Ampere" card as 1935 MHz, and its memory clock at "6000 MHz." Normally, SystemInfo reads the memory actual clock (i.e. 1750 MHz for 14 Gbps GDDR6 effective). Perhaps SystemInfo isn't yet optimized for reading memory clocks on "Ampere."
Sunday, June 21st 2020
ASUS Announces SC4000A-E10 GPGPU Server with NVIDIA A100 Tensor Core GPUs
ASUSTek, the leading IT Company in server systems, server motherboards and workstations today announced the new NVIDIA A100-powered server - ESC4000A E10 to accelerate and optimize data centers for high utilization and low total cost of ownership with the PCIe Gen 4 expansions, OCP 3.0 networking, faster compute and better GPU performance. ASUS continues building a strong partnership with NVIDIA to deliver unprecedented acceleration and flexibility to power the world's highest-performing elastic data centers for AI, data analytics, and HPC applications.
ASUS ESC4000A-E10 is a 2U server powered by the AMD EPYC 7002 series processors that deliver up to 2x the performance and 4x the floating point capability in a single socket versus the previous 7001 generation. Targeted for AI, HPC and VDI applications in data center or enterprise environments which require powerful CPU cores, more GPUs support, and faster transmission speed, ESC4000A E10 focuses on delivering GPU-optimized performance with support for up to four double-deck high performance or eight single-deck GPUs including the latest NVIDIA Ampere-architecture V100, Tesla, and Quadro. This also benefits on virtualization to consolidate GPU resources in to shared pool for users to utilize resources in more efficient ways.
ASUS ESC4000A-E10 is a 2U server powered by the AMD EPYC 7002 series processors that deliver up to 2x the performance and 4x the floating point capability in a single socket versus the previous 7001 generation. Targeted for AI, HPC and VDI applications in data center or enterprise environments which require powerful CPU cores, more GPUs support, and faster transmission speed, ESC4000A E10 focuses on delivering GPU-optimized performance with support for up to four double-deck high performance or eight single-deck GPUs including the latest NVIDIA Ampere-architecture V100, Tesla, and Quadro. This also benefits on virtualization to consolidate GPU resources in to shared pool for users to utilize resources in more efficient ways.
ASUS Unveils ProArt Display PA32UCX-PK: 32-inch UHD with Off-Axis Contrast Optimization
ASUS today unveiled the ProArt Display PA32UCX-PK professional monitor. This 32-inch 4K UHD monitor features Off-Axis Contrast Optimization, and is targeted specifically at professionals working on HDR content. It offers an IPS panel with 1,152-zone dimming Mini LED illumination, 1,200 nits maximum brightness, DisplayHDR 1000 certification, 1,000,000:1 native contrast ratio (not dynamic contrast ratio), and certification for Dolby Vision, HDR-10, and HLG. Among its color reproduction chops include ΔE < 1, 99% DCI-P3, 99.5% Adobe RGB, and 100% sRGB/Rec. 709. Inputs include Thunderbolt 3, DisplayPort 1.2, and HDMI 2.0. The company didn't reveal pricing.
Saturday, June 20th 2020
TechPowerUp ThrottleStop 9 Released - Override OEM Power Throttling
TechPowerUp today released ThrottleStop 9 by Kevin Glynn, a groundbreaking update to the popular app that lets you take greater control over the power management in your Intel-powered notebook or desktop system, unleashing more performance by overriding OEM-preset processor throttling. Version 9.0 of ThrottleStop comes with system-level improvements that ensure the app isn't blocked Valorant anti-cheat, or false-positives by similar mechanisms.
The app also adds awareness and optimization for Windows 10 May 2020 Update (version 2004). Support for Intel 10th Gen Intel Core processors has been added, including Limit Reasons access. PROCHOT Offset adjustment feature has been added. The C-states window has been redesigned to make it easier to work with 6-core and 8-core processors. The throttle on the main screen has been improved to now display the type of throttling. Consistency of temperature monitoring between the notification window and main window has been improved. Grab the app from the link below.
DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp ThrottleStop 9.0
The change-log follows.
The app also adds awareness and optimization for Windows 10 May 2020 Update (version 2004). Support for Intel 10th Gen Intel Core processors has been added, including Limit Reasons access. PROCHOT Offset adjustment feature has been added. The C-states window has been redesigned to make it easier to work with 6-core and 8-core processors. The throttle on the main screen has been improved to now display the type of throttling. Consistency of temperature monitoring between the notification window and main window has been improved. Grab the app from the link below.
DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp ThrottleStop 9.0
Friday, June 19th 2020
Today's Reviews
Desktop PC
Graphics Cards
Keyboards
Motherboards
Multimedia
- Elgato Wave3 Microphone Basic Tutorials (de)
- Elgato WAVE:3 Guru3D
- Elgato Wave3 Microphone Hardware Journal (de)
- Elgato WAVE:3 Microphone HardwareInside.de (de)
- Elgato Wave1 Microphone Hexus.net
- Elgato Wave:3 USB Microphone KitGuru
- Elgato WAVE:3 Microphone Madshrimps
- Elgato Wave3 Microphone NikkTech
- Elgato Wave3 Microphone Think Computers
- Elgato WAVE: 3 Microphone Tweaktown
- Elgato WAVE: 1 Microphone Tweaktown
Notebooks
ROCCAT Vulcan 120 AIMO Review
ROCCAT joins the still-exclusive club of keyboard manufacturers with their own branded switches in the Titan Linear and Titan Tactile. Their Vulcan keyboards are the first to adopt them, and today we take a look at the Vulcan 120 AIMO that aims to wow you with the feature set.
Elgato Wave:3 Review - Microphone Redefined
Elgato released their first audio department products: the Wave:1 and Wave:3, USB microphones for content creators. We tested the more advanced Wave:3, which comes equipped with a high-quality condenser capsule, a digital mixer, and many other useful features.
EK Expands Professional Portfolio with New Water Blocks
EK Water Blocks, the premium computer liquid cooling gear manufacturer, is releasing a whole series of workstation/server grade water blocks for some of the most powerful Workstation GPUs on the market today based on both NVIDIA and AMD graphic chips. That includes several of the Quadro, Tesla, as well as the Radeon Pro WX. These Pro water blocks span across the entire length of the cards cooling all critical components.
This large launch is merely one of the first big steps toward the enterprise market. In the following months, you can expect many more workstation and enterprise cooling solutions from EK.
This large launch is merely one of the first big steps toward the enterprise market. In the following months, you can expect many more workstation and enterprise cooling solutions from EK.
CDKeySales Helps You Stretch You Dollar on New PC Builds with Discounted Genuine Software
CDKeySales is an international merchant specializing in discounted genuine software essential for new PC builds, or upgrading existing ones. As part of a new seasonal sale that lets you breathe life into your shiny new 10th Gen or XT builds, CDKeySales offers genuine, globally-valid Windows 10 Pro for USD $14 to TechPowerUp readers. Also grab Windows 10 Home for $12, twin-packs of Windows 10 Pro for $22; and Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC for $13.9. Office is another component of a great home PC build. On offer are heavily discounted, lifetime valid Office 2019 and Office 2016 editions, and their combinations with Windows 10 Pro that help you stretch your Dollar even more. CDKeySales uses PayPal payments gateway, so both your payment instrument and purchase are safe.
Please use the coupon code TECHP at check-out to avail the prices you see here.
Buy Windows 10 Pro from CDKeySales for $14 | Buy Windows 10 Home for $12 | Buy Windows 10 Home Scan for $16.7 | Buy Windows 10 Pro 2-PC for $22 | Buy Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC for $13.9 | Buy Office 365 Account 1 PC 1 year for $18 | Buy Office 365 Account 5 devices 1 year for $27 | Buy Office 2019 Home and Student for $32 | Buy Office 2016 Professional Plus for $45 | Buy Office 2019 Professional Plus for $34 | Buy Windows 10 + Office 2016 Pro for $47 | Buy Windows 10 Home + Office 2019 Pro for $40 | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2019 Pro for $40
Please use the coupon code TECHP at check-out to avail the prices you see here.
Buy Windows 10 Pro from CDKeySales for $14 | Buy Windows 10 Home for $12 | Buy Windows 10 Home Scan for $16.7 | Buy Windows 10 Pro 2-PC for $22 | Buy Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC for $13.9 | Buy Office 365 Account 1 PC 1 year for $18 | Buy Office 365 Account 5 devices 1 year for $27 | Buy Office 2019 Home and Student for $32 | Buy Office 2016 Professional Plus for $45 | Buy Office 2019 Professional Plus for $34 | Buy Windows 10 + Office 2016 Pro for $47 | Buy Windows 10 Home + Office 2019 Pro for $40 | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2019 Pro for $40
AMD "Renoir" Die Annotation Raises Hopes of Desktop Chips Featuring x16 PEG
VLSI engineer Fritzchens Fritz, famous for high-detail EM photography of silicon dies and annotations of them, recently published his work on AMD's 7 nm "Renoir" APU silicon. His die-shots were annotated by Nemez aka GPUsAreMagic. The floor-plan of the silicon shows that the CPU component finally dwarfs the iGPU component, thanks to double the CPU cores over the previous-gen "Picasso" silicon, spread over two CCXs (compute complexes). The CCX on "Renoir" is visibly smaller than the one on the "Zen 2" CCDs found in "Matisse" and "Rome" MCMs, as the L3 cache is smaller, at 4 MB compared to 16 MB. Being MCMs with disintegrated memory controllers, it makes more sense for CCDs to have more last-level cache per CCX.
We also see that the iGPU features no more than 8 "Vega" NGCUs, so there's no scope for "Renoir" based desktop APUs to feature >512 stream processors. AMD attempted to compensate for the NGCU deficit by dialing up engine clocks of the iGPU by over 40% compared to those on "Picasso." What caught our eye in the annotation is the PCI-Express physical layer. Apparently the die indeed has 20 PCI-Express lanes besides an additional 4 lanes that can be configured as two SATA 6 Gbps ports thanks to SerDes flexibility.
We also see that the iGPU features no more than 8 "Vega" NGCUs, so there's no scope for "Renoir" based desktop APUs to feature >512 stream processors. AMD attempted to compensate for the NGCU deficit by dialing up engine clocks of the iGPU by over 40% compared to those on "Picasso." What caught our eye in the annotation is the PCI-Express physical layer. Apparently the die indeed has 20 PCI-Express lanes besides an additional 4 lanes that can be configured as two SATA 6 Gbps ports thanks to SerDes flexibility.
Microsoft Extends its ATP Defender Protection to UEFI BIOS With UEFI Scanner
Microsoft has announced an extension to the Windows Defender System Guard which will allow it to also verify and guarantee integryity of systems at a UEFI BIOS level. Citing an increase in hardware and firmware-level attacks over the years, the extended protection functionality aims to guarantee protection across the entire hierarchy of a device, from firmware up through to cloud processing.
The UEFI scanner is a new component of the built-in antivirus solution on Windows 10 and gives Microsoft Defender ATP the unique ability to scan inside of the firmware filesystem and perform security assessment. Working in conjunction with your systems' chipset, the UEFI scanner features a three-pronged solution to firmware security: UEFI anti-rootkit, which reaches the firmware through Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI); Full filesystem scanner, which analyzes content inside the firmware; and a Detection engine, which identifies exploits and malicious behaviors.
The UEFI scanner is a new component of the built-in antivirus solution on Windows 10 and gives Microsoft Defender ATP the unique ability to scan inside of the firmware filesystem and perform security assessment. Working in conjunction with your systems' chipset, the UEFI scanner features a three-pronged solution to firmware security: UEFI anti-rootkit, which reaches the firmware through Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI); Full filesystem scanner, which analyzes content inside the firmware; and a Detection engine, which identifies exploits and malicious behaviors.
EA Teases Next-Gen Videogames from Criterion, Bioware, DICE and Motive
EA via its EA play event has teased next-gen graphics and gameplay from upcoming titles on its publishing label. The games showcase work in progress for next-generation games that seem to be set in three well-known franchises, with Motive, who has just recently developed Star Wars Squadron in conjunction with Lucasfilm, seemingly presenting the only new IP.
From Criterion, a new Need for Speed game is teased, with particular emphasis being put on both detail level on cars and reflections, as well as the absence of any loading times granted by next-gen hardware. Bioware's showcase seems like a tease for Dragon Age 4 - there is a distinct fantasy look to the video, and I believe I've seen those red colors in previous entries' red lyrium crystals. DICE, of course, showcased a new Battlefield game, which exceptional fidelity on character models, and what seems like truly epic battles with hundreds of soldiers on-screen at the same time. Lastly, Motive seems to be developing a physics-based game where environment interactivity is key. Models used seem like a mash-up between fantasy, sci-fi and modern-day, so it's difficult to pen exactly what we're looking at. Catch the video teaser after the break.
From Criterion, a new Need for Speed game is teased, with particular emphasis being put on both detail level on cars and reflections, as well as the absence of any loading times granted by next-gen hardware. Bioware's showcase seems like a tease for Dragon Age 4 - there is a distinct fantasy look to the video, and I believe I've seen those red colors in previous entries' red lyrium crystals. DICE, of course, showcased a new Battlefield game, which exceptional fidelity on character models, and what seems like truly epic battles with hundreds of soldiers on-screen at the same time. Lastly, Motive seems to be developing a physics-based game where environment interactivity is key. Models used seem like a mash-up between fantasy, sci-fi and modern-day, so it's difficult to pen exactly what we're looking at. Catch the video teaser after the break.
Possible NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, RTX 3080, and "TITAN Ampere" Specs Surface
Alleged specifications of NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce RTX 3090, RTX 3080, and next-generation TITAN graphics cards, based on the "Ampere" graphics architecture, surfaced in tweets by KatCorgi, mirroring an early-June kopite7kimi tweet, sources with a high hit-rate on NVIDIA rumors. All three SKUs will be based on the 7 nm "GA102" silicon, but with varying memory and core configurations, targeting three vastly different price-points. The RTX 3080 succeeds the current RTX 2080/Super, and allegedly features 4,352 CUDA cores. It features a 320-bit GDDR6X memory interface, with its memory ticking at 19 Gbps.
The RTX 3090 is heir-apparent to the RTX 2080 Ti, and is endowed with 5,248 CUDA cores, 12 GB of GDDR6X memory across a 384-bit wide memory bus clocked at 21 Gbps. The king of the hill is the TITAN Ampere, succeeding the TITAN RTX. It probably maxes out the GA102 ASIC with 5,326 CUDA cores, offers double the memory amount of the RTX 3090, at 24 GB, but at lower memory clock speeds of 17 Gbps. NVIDIA is expected to announce these cards in September, 2020.
The RTX 3090 is heir-apparent to the RTX 2080 Ti, and is endowed with 5,248 CUDA cores, 12 GB of GDDR6X memory across a 384-bit wide memory bus clocked at 21 Gbps. The king of the hill is the TITAN Ampere, succeeding the TITAN RTX. It probably maxes out the GA102 ASIC with 5,326 CUDA cores, offers double the memory amount of the RTX 3090, at 24 GB, but at lower memory clock speeds of 17 Gbps. NVIDIA is expected to announce these cards in September, 2020.
Apex Legends Coming to Steam and Nintendo Switch with Cross-Play
During Electronic Arts Play 2020 event, Respawn, the maker of popular battle royale Apex legends, has announced that Apex Legends is getting cross-play support. Not only that, but Respawn is now launching Apex Legends on Steam and Nintendo Switch platforms so the cross-play can be bigger than ever. Now, players that use either PC (Steam or EA Origin), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, can be brought together and play against each other. However, Respawn didn't just announce the cross-play support. Along with it, they have announced a new seasonal event called the "Lost Treasures Collection". In this event, players get a new game mode called "Armed and Dangerous Evolved". This game mode allows for new player abilities and resurrection of knocked out players. You can find more about it in the video below.
Synology Announces DS220+, DS420+, DS720+, and DS920+ NAS
Synology Inc. today launched a new generation of two and four bay Plus Series NAS, designed as a centralized data management solution for both home and business environments. "Plus series is one of our most popular and versatile product lines," said Hewitt Lee, Director of Synology Product Management Group."The series offers an ideal mix of processing power and advanced capabilities such as containers and virtualization support, in compact and quiet desktop form factors. It is also the starting point for our advanced data protection solutions, enabling small businesses to cost-effectively deploy solutions that can protect their entire IT infrastructure."
Up to 133% faster in website responsiveness and over 15% improvement in compute-tasks, the new Plus series enables you to get things done faster and more efficiently. Two M.2 NVMe slots2 enable accelerated I/O performance, especially in multi-user environments. Synology storage solutions are not only designed to fulfill data management requirements, but centralize backups for Microsoft Windows PCs and Servers, VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V VMs, and Microsoft 365 and G Suite accounts using our Active Backup suite.
Up to 133% faster in website responsiveness and over 15% improvement in compute-tasks, the new Plus series enables you to get things done faster and more efficiently. Two M.2 NVMe slots2 enable accelerated I/O performance, especially in multi-user environments. Synology storage solutions are not only designed to fulfill data management requirements, but centralize backups for Microsoft Windows PCs and Servers, VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V VMs, and Microsoft 365 and G Suite accounts using our Active Backup suite.
Thursday, June 18th 2020
Today's Reviews
Cases
CPU Coolers
Monitors
Motherboards
Mousepads
Notebooks
ADATA Swordfish 1 TB M.2 NVMe SSD Review - No Excuse not to NVMe
At just $115 for the 1 TB version, it'll be hard to find a more affordable M.2 NVMe drive than the ADATA Swordfish. Despite the low price, performance is still very decent; there's now very little reason to buy a SATA drive instead of an NVMe SSD.
XPG Prime ARGB Extension Cables 24-pin & 8-pin Review - Clean RGBs for your Power Cables
The ADATA XPG Prime ARGB extension cables aim to offer yet another way to illuminate your system with RGB lights. Available as 24 and 8-pin variants and using a unique optical fiber sleeving approach, the XPG Prime cables are the cleanest-looking option out there.
Supermicro Launches 4-Socket Server for 3rd Gen Xeon Scalable
Super Micro Computer, Inc., a global leader in enterprise computing, storage, networking solutions and green computing technology, today launched a new high-performance X12 generation 4-socket SuperServer optimized for the new 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processors (codenamed Cooper Lake) and Intel Optane Persistent Memory 200 series (codenamed Barlow Pass), which were both officially launched by Intel today. The tremendous growth in applications and use cases that require real-time analysis and manipulation of big data has helped Supermicro's 4-socket server family to be one of the fastest-growing product lines in recent times.
"As Supermicro's first X12 generation system, this new 4-socket server is our most robust enterprise-class platform featuring the most powerful Intel Xeon Scalable Processors, Intel Optane Persistent Memory, and a new silicon based Root-of-Trust implementation for enhanced security," said Charles Liang, CEO and president of Supermicro. "This new SuperServer provides a powerful and trusted foundation for your most secure and mission critical workloads in enterprise, cloud-scale, or hybrid environments."
"As Supermicro's first X12 generation system, this new 4-socket server is our most robust enterprise-class platform featuring the most powerful Intel Xeon Scalable Processors, Intel Optane Persistent Memory, and a new silicon based Root-of-Trust implementation for enhanced security," said Charles Liang, CEO and president of Supermicro. "This new SuperServer provides a powerful and trusted foundation for your most secure and mission critical workloads in enterprise, cloud-scale, or hybrid environments."
Lenovo Delivers Business Intelligence with Solutions Purpose-Built for Analytics and AI Workloads
Today, Lenovo Data Center Group (DCG) announced new flexible solutions to empower customers to simplify common data management challenges. DCG is announcing the launch of the ThinkSystem SR860 V2 and SR850 V2 servers, which now features 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors with enhanced support for SAP HANA based on Intel Optane persistent memory 200 series. In addition, Lenovo is announcing new remote deployment service offerings for the ThinkSystem DM7100 storage systems. This announcement is further supported by Lenovo being awarded #1 in server reliability for seven years running.
With these new offerings, customers can more easily navigate complex data management needs to deliver actionable business intelligence through artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics, while getting maximum results when combined with business applications like SAP HANA.
With these new offerings, customers can more easily navigate complex data management needs to deliver actionable business intelligence through artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics, while getting maximum results when combined with business applications like SAP HANA.
GIGABYTE Launches R292 Servers Supporting 4-way 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processors
GIGABYTE, an industry leader in high-performance servers and workstations, today announced the launch of the GIGABYTE R292 servers featuring four 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors, supporting four double-slot accelerators in the R292-4S0, and eight full-height half-length expansion cards in the R292-4S1.
The R292 series server supports four 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors. Each processor can perform data transfer or share workload at 20.8GT/s with the other three processors on the motherboard. Its breakthrough computing power can be used to power mission-critical application at scale and analyze growing data at extraordinary speeds.
The R292 series server supports four 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors. Each processor can perform data transfer or share workload at 20.8GT/s with the other three processors on the motherboard. Its breakthrough computing power can be used to power mission-critical application at scale and analyze growing data at extraordinary speeds.
Thrustmaster Launches its Thrustmaster Civil Aviation Product Range, Officially Licensed by Airbus
Now cleared for takeoff with its brand-new range of civil aviation flight sim accessories, Thrustmaster is thrilled to be getting its new partnership with Airbus off to a flying start by launching four exciting new officially-licensed products compatible with PC (Windows 10, 8), in addition to its eagerly-awaited TM Flying Clamp, to mark the occasion. It's also the perfect way to celebrate Thrustmaster's milestone of thirty years in the business: the manufacturer has honed its skills and developed a unique level of know-how in the world of flight simulation, cementing its reputation as one of the global leaders in this high-tech sector.
Cyberpunk 2077 Delayed Again: Now coming November 19th; Previews Coming After June 25th
CD Projekt Red has announced another delay for what most certainly is the most anticipated game of this year. Cyberpunk 2077, which had a release date set for September, had already been delayed from its original release date in April. Now, the developers have announced they need some more time with the game before they let it loose on soon-to-be-empty shelves and digital storefronts.
Fret not: the game is apparently in great development shape. The announcement that was made today makes it clear that the game is already technically finished: all the quests, cutscenes, skills, items, and functionality are already in place. However, the game itself has become so complex that CD Projekt Red wants these extra months to get balance and bugs just right for the games' release. This makes sense, as it seems that CD Projekt Red's systems will be intertwined in a much more organic way than they ever did in The Witcher 3, which could result in some emergent gameplay and consequences for the games' systems. CD Projekt has already started distributing the game to specific outlets and gaming media who will be releasing their previews after the Night City Wire event, set for June 25th (itself delayed from June 11th as a show of respect for the Black Lives Matter movement). To their credit, the team at CD Projekt keeps their promises once again: the game will ship. When it's ready.
Fret not: the game is apparently in great development shape. The announcement that was made today makes it clear that the game is already technically finished: all the quests, cutscenes, skills, items, and functionality are already in place. However, the game itself has become so complex that CD Projekt Red wants these extra months to get balance and bugs just right for the games' release. This makes sense, as it seems that CD Projekt Red's systems will be intertwined in a much more organic way than they ever did in The Witcher 3, which could result in some emergent gameplay and consequences for the games' systems. CD Projekt has already started distributing the game to specific outlets and gaming media who will be releasing their previews after the Night City Wire event, set for June 25th (itself delayed from June 11th as a show of respect for the Black Lives Matter movement). To their credit, the team at CD Projekt keeps their promises once again: the game will ship. When it's ready.
Elgato Makes Waves with the Launch of New Wave:1 and Wave:3 Premium Microphones
Elgato, the leading provider of hardware and software for content creators, today announced the launch of its first-ever microphones, Elgato Wave:1 and Wave:3. In addition to being premium microphones, Elgato Wave:1 and Wave:3 combine with the Wave Link app for Windows and MacOS to become complete digital mixing solutions that give content creators the professional audio control they need. Developed in partnership with world-renowned microphone manufacturer LEWITT, Wave:1 and Wave:3 are born from rigorous calibration in both ultra-modern acoustic testing chambers and real-world streaming scenarios.
Elgato Wave:1 and Wave:3 boast broadcast-quality audio capture powered by a cardioid condenser capsule and 24-bit Analog-to-Digital converter. Proprietary Clipguard anti-distortion technology - developed with LEWITT specifically for Elgato Wave microphones - analyzes input in real-time. When sudden peaking occurs, sound is rerouted through a secondary signal path that runs at a lower volume. The entire process is autonomous, allowing content creators to produce clear audio that never clips, without having to constantly watch and adjust input levels.
Elgato Wave:1 and Wave:3 boast broadcast-quality audio capture powered by a cardioid condenser capsule and 24-bit Analog-to-Digital converter. Proprietary Clipguard anti-distortion technology - developed with LEWITT specifically for Elgato Wave microphones - analyzes input in real-time. When sudden peaking occurs, sound is rerouted through a secondary signal path that runs at a lower volume. The entire process is autonomous, allowing content creators to produce clear audio that never clips, without having to constantly watch and adjust input levels.
Alphacool Unveils Five New NexXxoS Series Large-format Copper Radiators
Alphacool today unveiled five new NexXxoS series DIY liquid cooling radiators. These include the XT45 Full Copper 1260 mm SuperNova, XT45 Full Copper 1080 mm Nova, XT45 Full Copper 200 mm, XT45 Full Copper 400 mm, and ST30 Full Copper 560 mm radiator V.2 The XT45 Full Copper 1260 mm SuperNova Radiator has 400 x 400 x 45 mm of pure cooling surface for nine 140 mm or four 200 mm fans. No other Alphacool radiator offers as much surface area in a single product. Priced at 139.96€. Alphacool NexXxoS XT45 1080 mm Nova offers 350 x 350 x 45 mm of pure cooling surface for nine 140 mm or four 200 mm fans. Only one other Alphacool Radiator offers more cooling surface in one unit. The Alphacool NexXxoS XT45 1260 SuperNova Radiator. Priced 99.95€.
As usual, Alphacool also uses pure copper for the NexXxoS 200 mm XT45 Radiator. The end chambers, water channels and cooling fins are all made of copper and are a unique selling point worldwide. As a result, Alphacool radiators have been among the most popular and best on the market for many years, providing the perfect foundation for every water cooling system. Priced at 59.95€.
As usual, Alphacool also uses pure copper for the NexXxoS 200 mm XT45 Radiator. The end chambers, water channels and cooling fins are all made of copper and are a unique selling point worldwide. As a result, Alphacool radiators have been among the most popular and best on the market for many years, providing the perfect foundation for every water cooling system. Priced at 59.95€.
ViewSonic Introduces Line of Portable Monitors for Productivity On-the-Go
ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of display solution products, introduces portable monitors into its family of award-winning displays. Designed to boost productivity for those on-the-go, the TD1655 and VG1655 can be paired with laptops and tablets, so users can be more efficient with the additional screen space. Whether a remote worker needing to share content or business travelers needing a supplemental display, the ViewSonic portable monitors allow users to see more and do more for better output.
The ViewSonic TD1655 is a 10-point projective capacitive touchscreen display. It delivers a smooth and natural writing experience and streamlined navigation. The VG1655 features an anti-glare screen to deliver a vivid viewing experience. Both portable monitors come with two USB Type-C ports, so users can quickly enable transmission of video, audio, and data, while also delivering up to 60 W of two-way power.
The ViewSonic TD1655 is a 10-point projective capacitive touchscreen display. It delivers a smooth and natural writing experience and streamlined navigation. The VG1655 features an anti-glare screen to deliver a vivid viewing experience. Both portable monitors come with two USB Type-C ports, so users can quickly enable transmission of video, audio, and data, while also delivering up to 60 W of two-way power.
Intel Announces "Cooper Lake" 4P-8P Xeons, New Optane Memory, PCIe 4.0 SSDs, and FPGAs for AI
Intel today introduced its 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors and additions to its hardware and software AI portfolio, enabling customers to accelerate the development and use of AI and analytics workloads running in data center, network and intelligent-edge environments. As the industry's first mainstream server processor with built-in bfloat16 support, Intel's new 3rd Gen Xeon Scalable processors makes artificial intelligence (AI) inference and training more widely deployable on general-purpose CPUs for applications that include image classification, recommendation engines, speech recognition and language modeling.
"The ability to rapidly deploy AI and data analytics is essential for today's businesses. We remain committed to enhancing built-in AI acceleration and software optimizations within the processor that powers the world's data center and edge solutions, as well as delivering an unmatched silicon foundation to unleash insight from data," said Lisa Spelman, Intel corporate vice president and general manager, Xeon and Memory Group.
"The ability to rapidly deploy AI and data analytics is essential for today's businesses. We remain committed to enhancing built-in AI acceleration and software optimizations within the processor that powers the world's data center and edge solutions, as well as delivering an unmatched silicon foundation to unleash insight from data," said Lisa Spelman, Intel corporate vice president and general manager, Xeon and Memory Group.
IBASE Announces NVIDIA Jetson TX2 AI Computing Platform for AIoT Applications
IBASE Technology Inc. (TPEx: 8050), a world-leading manufacturer of industrial motherboard boards and embedded computing solutions, has revealed its latest EC-3200 AI computing platform that is based on the cutting-edge power-efficient and high-performance NVIDIA Jetson Tegra X2 (TX2) processor. The NVIDIA Jetson TX2 pairs a dual-core Denver 2 alongside a quad-core ARM Cortex -A57 processor and provides 256 CUDA cores on the NVIDIA's advanced Pascal GPU architecture with up to 1.33 TFLOPS, delivering exceptional AI performance.
Designed to operate under an extended temperature range from -20°C to +60°C, the EC-3200 leverages the integrated GPU-computing power of the Jetson TX2 platform in building edge inference servers to analyze and better manage real time traffic flow in smart cities or to optimize the efficiency of operational processes in intelligent factories. "Current edge and cloud-based AI products require better computational and video analytics capability to perform demanding real-time data processing and overcome latency issues," said Wilson Lin, Director of IBASE Product Planning Department. "The EC-3200 is no doubt a durable solution, especially built with a fanless design for non-stop operation and takes advantage of the GPU-accelerated parallel processing of NVIDIA Jetson TX2 to handle data intensive and mission-critical workloads with power efficiency and unmatched reliability."
Designed to operate under an extended temperature range from -20°C to +60°C, the EC-3200 leverages the integrated GPU-computing power of the Jetson TX2 platform in building edge inference servers to analyze and better manage real time traffic flow in smart cities or to optimize the efficiency of operational processes in intelligent factories. "Current edge and cloud-based AI products require better computational and video analytics capability to perform demanding real-time data processing and overcome latency issues," said Wilson Lin, Director of IBASE Product Planning Department. "The EC-3200 is no doubt a durable solution, especially built with a fanless design for non-stop operation and takes advantage of the GPU-accelerated parallel processing of NVIDIA Jetson TX2 to handle data intensive and mission-critical workloads with power efficiency and unmatched reliability."
Chenbro Announces RB14604 - Affordable Level 6 1U Rackmount Server Barebone for Xeon E
Chenbro has launched the RB14604, a 1U server barebone with integrated Intel Server Board M10JNP2SB for Intel Xeon E processors. The RB14604 is an easy-to-use barebones server solution, pre-integrating a server-grade microATX motherboard to ensure a reliable, cost-effective, ready-to-go solution for applications such as web hosting, content delivery, storage applications, and entry-level Cloud services.
The Level 6 server barebone system is pre-tested to ensure compatibility and long-term reliability with the pre-installed Intel M10JNP2SB Server Board. The barebones design includes a high-quality 400 W 80 Plus Gold level PSU with MTBF 100K+ Hours, optimized cable routing, 4X dedicated cooling fans, and air ducts to ensure reliable cooling up to 95 W Intel Xeon E processors.
The Level 6 server barebone system is pre-tested to ensure compatibility and long-term reliability with the pre-installed Intel M10JNP2SB Server Board. The barebones design includes a high-quality 400 W 80 Plus Gold level PSU with MTBF 100K+ Hours, optimized cable routing, 4X dedicated cooling fans, and air ducts to ensure reliable cooling up to 95 W Intel Xeon E processors.
AMD Radeon Pro 5600M with HBM2 Benchmarked
Benchmarks of the new Apple-exclusive AMD Radeon Pro 5600M graphics solution by Max Tech reveals that the new GPU is about 50% faster than the Radeon Pro 5500M, and within striking distance of the Radeon Pro Vega 48 found in Apple's 5K iMacs. The Pro 5600M is an Apple-exclusive solution by AMD, based on the "Navi 12" silicon that features a 7 nm GPU die based on the RDNA graphics architecture, flanked by two 4 GB HBM2 memory stacks over a 2048-bit interface. The GPU die features 2,560 stream processors, but clocked differently from Radeon Pro discrete graphics cards based on the "Navi 10" ASIC that uses conventional GDDR6.
The Radeon Pro 5600M solution was found to be 50.1 percent faster than the Radeon Pro 5500M in Geekbench 5 Metal (another Apple-exclusive SKU found in 16-inch MacBook Pros), and just 12.9 percent behind the Radeon Vega 48. The Vega 56 found in iMac Pro is still ahead. Unigine Heaven sees the Pro 5600M being 48.1% faster than the Pro 5500M, and interestingly, faster than Vega 48 by 11.3%. With 2,560 RDNA stream processors, you'd expect more performance, but this card was designed to meet stringent power limits of 50 W, and has significantly lower clock-speeds than "Navi 10" based Radeon Pro graphics cards (1035 MHz max boost engine clock vs. 1930 MHz and 205 W TDP of the Pro W5700). Find more interesting commentary in the Max Tech video presentation.
The Radeon Pro 5600M solution was found to be 50.1 percent faster than the Radeon Pro 5500M in Geekbench 5 Metal (another Apple-exclusive SKU found in 16-inch MacBook Pros), and just 12.9 percent behind the Radeon Vega 48. The Vega 56 found in iMac Pro is still ahead. Unigine Heaven sees the Pro 5600M being 48.1% faster than the Pro 5500M, and interestingly, faster than Vega 48 by 11.3%. With 2,560 RDNA stream processors, you'd expect more performance, but this card was designed to meet stringent power limits of 50 W, and has significantly lower clock-speeds than "Navi 10" based Radeon Pro graphics cards (1035 MHz max boost engine clock vs. 1930 MHz and 205 W TDP of the Pro W5700). Find more interesting commentary in the Max Tech video presentation.
ADATA XPG Becomes Official Sponsor of CS_SUMMIT 6
XPG, a provider of high-performance products for gamers, e-sports pros, and tech enthusiasts, is pleased to announce that it has become the Official Gaming Notebook sponsor of the official Valve RMR CS:GO Online tournament series CS_SUMMIT 6.Organized by Beyond the Summit (BTS), the tournament will take place from June 22 to July 5. As a part of the sponsorship, the XPG XENIA will be the Official Gaming Notebook of the tournament.
CS_SUMMIT 6 will be broadcast internationally and is organized regionally with qualifying games in Europe and North America. XPG will be the major sponsor of the event in the Gaming Notebook category.This is the second time XPG has participated in a BTS-organized tournament as a sponsor. During CS_SUMMIT 5, XPG was the Official Keyboard sponsor.
CS_SUMMIT 6 will be broadcast internationally and is organized regionally with qualifying games in Europe and North America. XPG will be the major sponsor of the event in the Gaming Notebook category.This is the second time XPG has participated in a BTS-organized tournament as a sponsor. During CS_SUMMIT 5, XPG was the Official Keyboard sponsor.
New SMM Callout Privilege Escalation Vulnerability Affects AMD Platforms
AMD on Wednesday disclosed a new security vulnerability affecting certain client- and APU processors launched between 2016 and 2019. Called the SMM Callout Privilege Escalation Vulnerability, discovered by Danny Odler, and chronicled under CVE-2020-12890, the vulnerability involves an attacker with elevated system privileges to manipulate the AGESA microcode encapsulated in the platform's UEFI firmware to execute arbitrary code undetected by the operating system. AMD plans to release AGESA updates that mitigate the vulnerability (at no apparent performance impact), to motherboard vendors and OEMs by the end of June 2020. Some of the latest platforms are already immune to the vulnerability.
A statement by AMD follows.
EA, Motive and Lucasfilm Announce Star Wars: Squadrons
Calling all pilots! Electronic Arts Inc., Motive Studios and Lucasfilm today announced Star Wars : Squadrons, an immersive, first-person space dogfighting experience set in the beloved Star Wars galaxy. Star Wars: Squadrons will feature thrilling 5v5 multiplayer dogfights, monumental fleet battles, and an original story set during the final days of the Galactic Empire and the rise of the New Republic after the events of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. The game will launch October 2, 2020 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC via Origin, Steam and the Epic Games Store, and will be playable via Virtual Reality (VR) on PlayStation 4 and PC with cross-play support. Tune into EA Play Live on June 18 at 4:00pm PT for the gameplay reveal of Star Wars:Squadrons.
Update Jun 18th: EA has confirmed that the game will fully support joysticks and HOTAS joysticks. They have also published the minimum and recommended system requirements which can be viewed down below.
Update Jun 18th: EA has confirmed that the game will fully support joysticks and HOTAS joysticks. They have also published the minimum and recommended system requirements which can be viewed down below.
NEC and D-Wave Begin Joint Quantum Product Development
NEC Corporation, a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies, and D-Wave Systems Inc., the leader in quantum computing systems, software and services, today announced that they have begun joint activities to combine the compute power of NEC's systems with the quantum computing power of D-Wave's systems, software and cloud service to bring those combined capabilities to customers in Japan. NEC has made a US$10 million investment in D-Wave in connection with this initiative.
The two companies will work together on the development of hybrid quantum/classical technologies and services that combine the best features of classical computers and quantum computers; the development of new hybrid applications that make use of those services; and joint marketing and sales go-to-market activities to promote quantum computing.
The two companies will work together on the development of hybrid quantum/classical technologies and services that combine the best features of classical computers and quantum computers; the development of new hybrid applications that make use of those services; and joint marketing and sales go-to-market activities to promote quantum computing.
Parallels Brings Fully Featured Windows Applications to Google Enterprise Chromebooks
Parallels and Google have partnered to bring enterprises and cloud workers full-featured Windows applications to Chrome Enterprise this fall. Remote work is a new reality, making efficiency, connectivity, speed, reliability, security and undisrupted access essential elements of a successful organization. At this key moment, our two organizations have formed a landmark partnership to equip enterprises with solutions that optimize their businesses and teams to meet the evolving challenges of modern work environments.
Parallels brings more than a decade of cross-platform solutions experience, seamlessly integrating operating systems and features, to its partnership with Google. Parallels' award-winning software solutions make it simple for enterprises, businesses, organizations and individuals to access and use the applications and files they need on any device or operating system.
Parallels brings more than a decade of cross-platform solutions experience, seamlessly integrating operating systems and features, to its partnership with Google. Parallels' award-winning software solutions make it simple for enterprises, businesses, organizations and individuals to access and use the applications and files they need on any device or operating system.
Phillips Releases Energy Efficient 272B1G Monitor: 27" IPS, 1080P, 75Hz
The recently announced Phillips 272B1G monitor features a 27 inch IPS 1080P screen, with a 4 ms (Grey to Grey) response time, 250 nits brightness, 1000:1 contrast ratio, and 76% NTSC/98% sRGB coverage. The IPS panel allows for wide viewing angles of 178º (H)/178º (V) and comes with an anti-glare, 3H, Haze 25% coating.
The monitor includes several energy-saving features such as PowerSensor and LightSensor along with a "Super-energy-efficient" design. PowerSensor uses an infrared sensor to detect the presence of a user and can automatically reduce screen brightness in the case of absence reducing power draw up to 70% while increasing monitor lifespan. The LightSensor feature uses a smart sensor to adjust the screen brightness depending on the light conditions in the room.
The monitor includes several energy-saving features such as PowerSensor and LightSensor along with a "Super-energy-efficient" design. PowerSensor uses an infrared sensor to detect the presence of a user and can automatically reduce screen brightness in the case of absence reducing power draw up to 70% while increasing monitor lifespan. The LightSensor feature uses a smart sensor to adjust the screen brightness depending on the light conditions in the room.
SilverStone Also Rolls Out PI02 Aluminium Case for SBCs
SilverStone, in addition to its Milo ML02B variable-height case, unveiled the PI02. This super-compact case made of premium brushed aluminium is designed for Raspberry Pi 4 model B SBCs, and is a 4-piece design consisting of the two halves of the case, and two tiny aluminium heatsinks that convey heat from the SoC and USB 3.0 controller to the body of the case, which doubles up as a heatsink. Thermal pads are included with these aluminium bits. The case also offers holes aligning with USB-C, micro-HDMI, AV output, WLAN antenna, and a cutout for a GPIO ribbon cable to come out. The tiny case measures 94.2 mm x 33.7 mm x 65 mm (WxHxD), dry weighing 116 g. The company didn't reveal pricing.
Qualcomm Launches World's First 5G and AI-Enabled Robotics Platform
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., today announced the Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform - the Company's most advanced, integrated, comprehensive offering designed specifically for robotics. Building on the successful Qualcomm Robotics RB3 platform and its broad adoption in a wide array of robotics and drone products available today, the Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform is comprised of an extensive set of hardware, software and development tools.
The Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform is the first of its kind to bring together the Company's deep expertise in 5G and AI to empower developers and manufacturers to create the next generation of high-compute, low-power robots and drones for the consumer, enterprise, defense, industrial and professional service sectors - and the comprehensive Qualcomm Robotics RB5 Development Kit helps ensure developers have the customization and flexibility they need to make their visions a commercial reality. To date, Qualcomm Technologies has engaged many leading companies that have endorsed the Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform, including 20+ early adopters in the process of evaluating the platform.
The Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform is the first of its kind to bring together the Company's deep expertise in 5G and AI to empower developers and manufacturers to create the next generation of high-compute, low-power robots and drones for the consumer, enterprise, defense, industrial and professional service sectors - and the comprehensive Qualcomm Robotics RB5 Development Kit helps ensure developers have the customization and flexibility they need to make their visions a commercial reality. To date, Qualcomm Technologies has engaged many leading companies that have endorsed the Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform, including 20+ early adopters in the process of evaluating the platform.
SilverStone Unveils Milo 10 Variable Height Mini PC Case
SilverStone today unveiled the Milo 10 (model: SST-ML10B), a unique Mini-ITX case that offers you the freedom to change its height as you see fit. The case includes two sets of front- and top panels, letting you adjust its height from 63 mm to 84 mm (2.8 L to 3.7 L volume). In its standard height configuration, the case offers room for a two 2.5-inch drives and CPU coolers up to 31 mm in height. In the next configuration (used with the elevated front- and top panels), you get room for a 3.5-inch drive and 29 mm CPU cooler headroom. This kit also allows you room for two 2.5-inch drive bays in addition to a slimline optical drive, leaving 31 mm CPU cooler headroom. Other configurations include keeping the standard layout, but utilizing the additional headroom of the 84 mm kit for additional fans, or room for a taller 63 mm cooler. The case's other dimensions include 196 mm x 227 mm (WxD). The company didn't reveal pricing.
Lenovo Launches New ThinkPad P Series Mobile Workstations, Premiering Ultra Performance Mode
Lenovo is building on the reliability and performance of its mobile workstations, launching the next generation of the ThinkPad P Series: the ThinkPad P15, ThinkPad P17, ThinkPad P1 Gen 3 and the all new ThinkPad P15v. In addition, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 3 will also make its debut, as the most powerful X Series commercial laptop. All equipped with high-performance 10th Gen Intel H series mobile processors and wrapped in an enhanced design, these new ThinkPads are available in versatile configurations, giving users more autonomy over their experience.
The ThinkPad P Series and the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 3 will feature the new Ultra Performance Mode, exclusive to these systems, allowing users to take full control of their performance settings. Understanding the need to complete a render as fast as possible or demo high-fidelity VR content while maintaining a stable framerate, users can now dial up the system, ensuring peak performance.
The ThinkPad P Series and the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 3 will feature the new Ultra Performance Mode, exclusive to these systems, allowing users to take full control of their performance settings. Understanding the need to complete a render as fast as possible or demo high-fidelity VR content while maintaining a stable framerate, users can now dial up the system, ensuring peak performance.
Logitech Pledges Carbon Impact Transparency
Logitech International, maker of cloud peripheral products, today pledged to communicate the carbon impact of all its products on packaging and the company website. It expects the first carbon impact labeling to appear on its gaming products later this year, followed by a rollout across the full portfolio. Logitech will be the first consumer electronics company to provide detailed carbon impact labeling on product packaging across the entire portfolio. In doing so, it intends to empower and collaborate with consumers, informing the purchasing choices they make. It also wishes to galvanize an industry-wide shift to dramatically lower the impact of carbon on the environment.
As an award-winning design company, Logitech designs for sustainability across all its brands, looking for ways to reduce the impact its products have on the environment throughout the design process. Until now, the carbon impact has not been visible to consumers looking to better understand their individual impact on the environment. Now, Logitech's carbon transparent labeling will quantify that impact, communicate it to consumers, and empower them to make more informed purchasing decisions.
As an award-winning design company, Logitech designs for sustainability across all its brands, looking for ways to reduce the impact its products have on the environment throughout the design process. Until now, the carbon impact has not been visible to consumers looking to better understand their individual impact on the environment. Now, Logitech's carbon transparent labeling will quantify that impact, communicate it to consumers, and empower them to make more informed purchasing decisions.
JBL Announces the Quantum Range of Headsets
When it comes to competitive gaming, sound is survival - and JBL knows great sound. Today, the company announced the launch of first-ever JBL headset range in India designed exclusively for gamers, featuring the JBL QuantumSOUND Signature. The JBL Quantum Range delivers immersive audio quality and pinpoint accuracy to provide a true competitive advantage. From the thrill of tracking enemies in FPS games, to engaging in epic MOBA battles, the JBL Quantum Range amplifies victories with a sound experience that transforms each headset into a crown for the everyday champion.
The launch follows an exciting announcement of the JBL's association with lifestyle power brand and gaming organization "100 Thieves" bringing on board some of the top competitive global gamers in the industry. The exciting new range will cater to a burgeoning gaming industry in the country. The online gaming segment was estimated to be a $1.1 billion opportunity by 2021, according to a Google-KPMG report in 2017, which is now expected to increase at much faster pace. With one of the world's largest youth population, India is poised to become one of the world's leading markets in the gaming sector.
The launch follows an exciting announcement of the JBL's association with lifestyle power brand and gaming organization "100 Thieves" bringing on board some of the top competitive global gamers in the industry. The exciting new range will cater to a burgeoning gaming industry in the country. The online gaming segment was estimated to be a $1.1 billion opportunity by 2021, according to a Google-KPMG report in 2017, which is now expected to increase at much faster pace. With one of the world's largest youth population, India is poised to become one of the world's leading markets in the gaming sector.
Razer Brings THX Spatial Audio to Every PC Gamer on the Planet
Razer, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers, today announced the release of the Razer THX Spatial Audio App for Windows 10. Featuring advanced 7.1 surround sound with adjustable virtual speakers for superior positional accuracy, the Razer THX Spatial Audio App enhances gameplay and is available for use with all headphones and earbuds. Now, every gamer can upgrade to the very best spatial audio experience, using their existing 3.5mm, Bluetooth or USB headphones.
"Together with THX, we have developed an immersive audio solution that addresses the core gamers' needs - dynamic and accurate positional audio," said Alvin Cheung, senior vice president of Razer's peripherals business unit. "We've achieved this by drawing on THX's cinematic audio expertise, then adding a wide range of customization tools, to fine tune and personalize the listener's soundscape."
"Together with THX, we have developed an immersive audio solution that addresses the core gamers' needs - dynamic and accurate positional audio," said Alvin Cheung, senior vice president of Razer's peripherals business unit. "We've achieved this by drawing on THX's cinematic audio expertise, then adding a wide range of customization tools, to fine tune and personalize the listener's soundscape."
Wednesday, June 17th 2020
Today's Reviews
Gaming PC
Motherboards
- ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming ITX/TB3 TechPowerUp
- Aorus B550 Master Guru3D
- Aorus B550 Master KitGuru
- ASUS ROG Strix B550-E Gaming GinjFo (fr)
- ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming Guru3D
- ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming HardwareInside.de (de)
- ASUS ROG Strix B550-I Gaming LAN OC
- Aorus B550 Pro Hexus.net
- Aorus B550I Pro AX GinjFo (fr)
- Aorus B550I Pro AX Guru3D
- ASUS ROG Strix B550-E Gaming and B550-F Gaming (WiFi) KitGuru
- MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk Vortez
ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming ITX/TB3 Review
ASRock is back once again with another successor to their Phantom Gaming line. The ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming ITX/TB3 features Thunderbolt 3, dual M.2 slots, 90 A power stages, and a finned heatsink design in a tiny ITX form factor package.
Antec P82 Flow Review - A Compact, Fan-Packed Mid-Tower Case
The Antec P82 Flow may be a compact chassis, but it packs quite the punch at an attractive price. With four 140 mm fans out of the box and a well-engineered exterior, it manages to turn heads, and ends up working well while looking clean despite its simple interior—all without breaking the bank.
Intel "Tiger Lake" Gen12 Xe iGPU Shown Playing "Battlefield V" By Itself
In what is possibly the first taste of Intel's Gen12 Xe iGPU running a AAA game, Ryan Shrout, chief performance strategist at Intel, showed off a prototype notebook running a "Tiger Lake" processor that is playing "Battlefield V" by itself (without discrete graphics). "Perks of the job! Took a prototype Tiger Lake system for a spin on Battlefield V to stretch its legs. Impressive thin and light gaming perf with Xe graphics! Early drivers/sw, but it's the first time I've seen this game run like this on integrated gfx. More later this year!," said Shrout.
The gameplay video (linked as source below), shows a playable experience for "Battlefield V" with Gen12 Xe, with 1080p at around 30 Hz. It only serves to appetize us for what would come next, when Intel scales up this IP to discrete GPUs. The Gen12 Xe iGPU appears capable of e-sports gaming with the right settings, and could spell serious trouble for cheap dGPU solutions such as the GeForce MX series or Radeon RX 530 series.
The gameplay video (linked as source below), shows a playable experience for "Battlefield V" with Gen12 Xe, with 1080p at around 30 Hz. It only serves to appetize us for what would come next, when Intel scales up this IP to discrete GPUs. The Gen12 Xe iGPU appears capable of e-sports gaming with the right settings, and could spell serious trouble for cheap dGPU solutions such as the GeForce MX series or Radeon RX 530 series.
Samsung Provides One-Stop Foundry Design Environment with the Launch of SAFE Cloud Design Platform
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today announced the launch of 'Samsung Advanced Foundry Ecosystem (SAFE ) Cloud Design Platform (CDP)' for fabless customers, in collaboration with Rescale, a leader in high performance computing (HPC) applications in the cloud. The key highlight feature of Samsung foundry's first SAFE Cloud Design Platform is that it provides a virtual environment to design chips in the cloud. By accessing this platform through the cloud, customers can immediately start designing at anytime and anywhere.
To maximize customers' design convenience, SAFE CDP supports a very secure design condition that has verified with cloud companies. In addition, customers can utilize various Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools offered by multiple vendors such as Ansys, Cadence, Mentor, a Siemens business and Synopsys. Gaonchips, one of Samsung Foundry's Design Solution Partners, has already tested the SAFE CDP on its 14 nm automotive project using Cadence's Innovus Implementation System and has successfully reduced its design run-time by 30 percent compared to current on-premise execution.
To maximize customers' design convenience, SAFE CDP supports a very secure design condition that has verified with cloud companies. In addition, customers can utilize various Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools offered by multiple vendors such as Ansys, Cadence, Mentor, a Siemens business and Synopsys. Gaonchips, one of Samsung Foundry's Design Solution Partners, has already tested the SAFE CDP on its 14 nm automotive project using Cadence's Innovus Implementation System and has successfully reduced its design run-time by 30 percent compared to current on-premise execution.
ViewSonic Launches New Line of Premium Wireless Presentation Displays with Native 4K UHD Resolution
ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of visual solutions, introduces the CDE20 series of premium wireless presentation displays. ViewSonic expands its line of high-impact digital displays with the CDE20 series, which features native 4K Ultra HD resolution, high brightness, and wide viewing angles. The CDE20 series of wireless presentation displays come with built-in screen sharing software, as well as remote configuration and content management system support, to ensure that the displays work in a variety of environments and with a wide range of applications.
The ViewSonic CDE20 displays come with integrated content sharing software, allowing users to share content from virtually any source and/or device with functions such as 4-in-1 split screen for up to four presenters, single content source to all displays and reverse content sharing from the displays to other Android /iOS devices. With the optional ViewBoard Cast USB dongle, no software installation is required, just plug one of these paired USB dongles into a laptop, click the button and users can share content. These displays work with Android cloud-based apps such as Zoom Rooms, Microsoft Teams and Office 365 products to provide a definitive conferencing solution.
The ViewSonic CDE20 displays come with integrated content sharing software, allowing users to share content from virtually any source and/or device with functions such as 4-in-1 split screen for up to four presenters, single content source to all displays and reverse content sharing from the displays to other Android /iOS devices. With the optional ViewBoard Cast USB dongle, no software installation is required, just plug one of these paired USB dongles into a laptop, click the button and users can share content. These displays work with Android cloud-based apps such as Zoom Rooms, Microsoft Teams and Office 365 products to provide a definitive conferencing solution.
Intel Elects Dion J. Weisler to Board of Directors
Intel Corporation today announced that Dion J. Weisler, former president and CEO of HP Inc., was elected to Intel's board of directors. Weisler will serve as an independent director and member of the compensation and finance committees. "We are excited to welcome Dion to the board," said Intel Chairman Omar Ishrak. "He brings a deep understanding of the Intel customer experience and a wealth of technical industry knowledge spanning client, cloud and network computing. Dion also shares Intel's strong commitment to corporate responsibility, having championed diversity and inclusion as well as sustainability while leading HP."
Weisler, 52, has extensive global executive experience, including serving as the president and chief executive officer of HP Inc. from 2015 to 2019. Prior to that, he held senior executive roles at HP Co. and Lenovo Group Inc., where he was responsible for various operations in Asia Pacific and globally. His experience also includes management positions with Telstra Corp. Ltd., a telecommunications company, and Acer Inc. Weisler also has significant public company board experience. This includes serving on the HP Inc. board from 2015 to May 2020. He currently serves as a director on the boards of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. and BHP.
Weisler, 52, has extensive global executive experience, including serving as the president and chief executive officer of HP Inc. from 2015 to 2019. Prior to that, he held senior executive roles at HP Co. and Lenovo Group Inc., where he was responsible for various operations in Asia Pacific and globally. His experience also includes management positions with Telstra Corp. Ltd., a telecommunications company, and Acer Inc. Weisler also has significant public company board experience. This includes serving on the HP Inc. board from 2015 to May 2020. He currently serves as a director on the boards of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. and BHP.
AMD Confirms CDNA-Based Radeon Instinct MI100 Coming to HPC Workloads in 2H2020
Mark Papermaster, chief technology officer and executive vice president of Technology and Engineering at AMD, today confirmed that CDNA is on-track for release in 2H2020 for HPC computing. The confirmation was (adequately) given during Dell's EMC High-Performance Computing Online event. This confirms that AMD is looking at a busy 2nd half of the year, with both Zen 3, RDNA 2 and CDNA product lines being pushed to market.
CDNA is AMD's next push into the highly-lucrative HPC market, and will see the company differentiating their GPU architectures through market-based product differentiation. CDNA will see raster graphics hardware, display and multimedia engines, and other associated components being removed from the chip design in a bid to recoup die area for both increased processing units as well as fixed-function tensor compute hardware. CNDA-based Radeon Instinct MI100 will be fabricated under TSMC's 7 nm node, and will be the first AMD architecture featuring shared memory pools between CPUs and GPUs via the 2nd gen Infinity Fabric, which should bring about both throughput and power consumption improvements to the platform.
CDNA is AMD's next push into the highly-lucrative HPC market, and will see the company differentiating their GPU architectures through market-based product differentiation. CDNA will see raster graphics hardware, display and multimedia engines, and other associated components being removed from the chip design in a bid to recoup die area for both increased processing units as well as fixed-function tensor compute hardware. CNDA-based Radeon Instinct MI100 will be fabricated under TSMC's 7 nm node, and will be the first AMD architecture featuring shared memory pools between CPUs and GPUs via the 2nd gen Infinity Fabric, which should bring about both throughput and power consumption improvements to the platform.
AMD Confirms "Vermeer" Zen 3 Not Delayed, to Launch in 2020
AMD in an official briefing call with us confirmed that the company's "Zen 3" client processors are on-track for launch within 2020. This refutes rumors that "Zen 3" based Ryzen processors had been delayed to 2021 in favor of giving the upcoming Ryzen 3000XT reign over the rest of the year. The call was chaired by AMD's client-segment product managers who were speaking purely in context of their product segment, which is how we deduce that they were referring to "Vermeer" and not [just] "Milan." They were responding to speculation that "Zen 3" has been delayed to 2021, forcing AMD to refresh its existing IP.
In the call, AMD told us that the information about "Zen 3" launching in 2020 is not under embargo, and so here we are. An AMD spokesperson told us that "the rumor on Zen 3 delay is inaccurate." AMD recently also refuted rumors of "Zen 3" being based on 5 nm, by putting out microarchitecture roadmap slides on the occasion of a recent investor relations event, which reaffirmed "Zen 3" as a 7 nm-class microarchitecture.
In the call, AMD told us that the information about "Zen 3" launching in 2020 is not under embargo, and so here we are. An AMD spokesperson told us that "the rumor on Zen 3 delay is inaccurate." AMD recently also refuted rumors of "Zen 3" being based on 5 nm, by putting out microarchitecture roadmap slides on the occasion of a recent investor relations event, which reaffirmed "Zen 3" as a 7 nm-class microarchitecture.
Lexar Announces Entry to DRAM Market with New Laptop and Desktop Memory Solutions
Lexar has spent the last year producing its robust portfolio of SSD products and is excited to announce its entrance into the DRAM market. The two new DRAM offerings provide high-level performance to boost the speed of your laptop or desktop, respectively.
The Lexar DDR4-2666 SODIMM Laptop Memory and Lexar DDR4-2666 UDIMM Desktop Memory both offer speeds of 2666 MT/s so you can wake up your PC. This performance upgrade gives you faster startups, increased responsiveness, quicker application load times, and is an overall upgrade to your operating experience so you can multitask with ease.
The Lexar DDR4-2666 SODIMM Laptop Memory and Lexar DDR4-2666 UDIMM Desktop Memory both offer speeds of 2666 MT/s so you can wake up your PC. This performance upgrade gives you faster startups, increased responsiveness, quicker application load times, and is an overall upgrade to your operating experience so you can multitask with ease.
MSI Releases Latest AGESA BIOS Updates Enabling Ryzen 3000XT Processor Support
MSI, the world leading gaming motherboard brand, releases optimized BIOS updates for the new Ryzen 9 3900XT, Ryzen 7 3800XT and Ryzen 5 3600XT Processors. Combo PI V1 1.0.0.6 BIOS and Combo PI V2 1.0.0.2 BIOS are released and able to download successively in coming days. More detail information about the Combo PI V2 1.0.0.2, Combo PI V1 1.0.0.6 or newer BIOS update, please check this blog.
Since AMD releases their new Ryzen 9 3900XT, Ryzen 7 3800XT and Ryzen 5 3600XT Processors today, MSI also made great efforts to offer optimized BIOS updates for 300-, 400-, and 500-series motherboards. The latest AMD Combo PI V1 version 1.0.0.6 BIOS for 300- and 400-series motherboards will be ready for users to download and update in the end of June. Regarding 500-series motherboards, Combo PI V2 version 1.0.0.2 BIOS will be released in the beginning of July. The updated BIOS updates are mainly optimized for the new Ryzen CPUs. Besides, there are several key points for the BIOS improvements.
Since AMD releases their new Ryzen 9 3900XT, Ryzen 7 3800XT and Ryzen 5 3600XT Processors today, MSI also made great efforts to offer optimized BIOS updates for 300-, 400-, and 500-series motherboards. The latest AMD Combo PI V1 version 1.0.0.6 BIOS for 300- and 400-series motherboards will be ready for users to download and update in the end of June. Regarding 500-series motherboards, Combo PI V2 version 1.0.0.2 BIOS will be released in the beginning of July. The updated BIOS updates are mainly optimized for the new Ryzen CPUs. Besides, there are several key points for the BIOS improvements.
ASUS Announces ROG Strix B550-A Gaming and TUF Gaming B550-Plus WiFi
ASUS today announced ROG Strix B550-A Gaming and TUF Gaming B550-Plus (Wi‑Fi), the latest additions to the ever-growing ASUS B550 motherboard lineup designed for 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen desktop processors. The new arrivals feature WiFi 6, 2.5 Gbps Ethernet, robust power delivery, high-frequency RAM compatibility, BIOS FlashBack and AI Noise‑Canceling Microphone (AI Mic) technology. The latter works by applying advanced filters to ensure background noise is cleanly filtered out.
ASUS also announced that ROG Strix B550‑I Gaming set a new DDR4 memory overclocking record, pushing the 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen 5 3600x processor to an astounding 6068 MHz. Details of the record can be found on https://valid.x86.fr/bqtrnr. Extreme overclocking aside, ASUS B550 motherboards support next generation AMD Ryzen PRO, pushing DDR4 memory frequencies to up to 5100 MHz (O.C).
ASUS also announced that ROG Strix B550‑I Gaming set a new DDR4 memory overclocking record, pushing the 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen 5 3600x processor to an astounding 6068 MHz. Details of the record can be found on https://valid.x86.fr/bqtrnr. Extreme overclocking aside, ASUS B550 motherboards support next generation AMD Ryzen PRO, pushing DDR4 memory frequencies to up to 5100 MHz (O.C).
Microsoft Fall 2020 Windows 10 Update will Make the New Edge Browser the Default Option
Microsoft has released its Chromium-based Edge browser some time ago and it is already capturing the market. Just in April of this year, it became the world's second most popular web-browser, just behind Google Chrome. Surpassing even Mozilla's Firefox web-browser, the new Edge is rising in popularity very quickly. So far, Microsoft gave an option for Windows 10 users to just download the new browser if they want to, or the only Edge browser you had would be the old version based on the EdgeHTML engine. Even though Microsoft has recently decided to start rolling out the new Chromium-based browser via OS updates, the old version could still find its way in the OS and there wouldn't be a new one present. Starting with update 20H2, Microsoft is bundling the new browser with OS update, making it a default option in the OS.
While the new browser is going to replace old Edge for default opening of links or some files like PDF, the old Edge will still be present. A lot of legacy applications are relying on opening some of their stuff in the old browser, and there sure would be problems if it would be gone. Additionally, gone are the year plus month names for Windows 10 updates, like 1803, 1903, and 1909. Now you get a year plus the first or second half of the year. For example, the next update is 20H2 (second half of 2020), and the one after it is 21H1 (first half of 2021). This is done to avoid confusion and with this Microsoft announced that updates will be faster in general.
While the new browser is going to replace old Edge for default opening of links or some files like PDF, the old Edge will still be present. A lot of legacy applications are relying on opening some of their stuff in the old browser, and there sure would be problems if it would be gone. Additionally, gone are the year plus month names for Windows 10 updates, like 1803, 1903, and 1909. Now you get a year plus the first or second half of the year. For example, the next update is 20H2 (second half of 2020), and the one after it is 21H1 (first half of 2021). This is done to avoid confusion and with this Microsoft announced that updates will be faster in general.
BIOSTAR Motherboards Receive Ryzen 3000XT Compatible BIOS
BIOSTAR, a leading brand of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices, today announces product support for the latest AMD RYZEN 3000 XT series processors.
AMD's latest refresh of their RYZEN 3000XT series desktop processors has taken the market in storm providing higher clock speeds designed on the highly stable Zen 2 architecture. Built on AMD's B550 and A520 chipsets, AMD has expanded the 3rd Gen Ryzen processor range with a wider selection for consumers with the addition of the new XT range which consists of 3 new processors, the Ryzen 9 3900XT, AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT and AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT processors.
AMD's latest refresh of their RYZEN 3000XT series desktop processors has taken the market in storm providing higher clock speeds designed on the highly stable Zen 2 architecture. Built on AMD's B550 and A520 chipsets, AMD has expanded the 3rd Gen Ryzen processor range with a wider selection for consumers with the addition of the new XT range which consists of 3 new processors, the Ryzen 9 3900XT, AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT and AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT processors.
Xilinx Announces Real-Time Server Appliances for High-Quality, Low-Cost Live Video Streaming
Xilinx, Inc., the leader in adaptive and intelligent computing, today introduced two real-time computing video appliances for easy-to-scale, ultra-high-density video transcoding applications. Based on the new Xilinx Real-Time (RT) Server reference architecture, these new appliances will enable service providers delivering applications such as eSports and game streaming platforms, social and video conferencing, live distance learning, telemedicine and live broadcast video to optimize video quality and bitrate at the lowest cost per channel for significant TCO savings over both software-based and fixed-architecture approaches.
Designed for edge and on-premise compute-intensive workloads where video channel density, throughput and latency are critical requirements, the new Xilinx Real-Time Video Appliances feature optimized hardware architectures and software to deliver the industry's highest channel density and lowest latency performance. The appliances are available in two pre-configured options integrating Xilinx Alveo data center accelerator cards - the High Channel Density Video Appliance and the Ultra-Low Bitrate Video Appliance.
Designed for edge and on-premise compute-intensive workloads where video channel density, throughput and latency are critical requirements, the new Xilinx Real-Time Video Appliances feature optimized hardware architectures and software to deliver the industry's highest channel density and lowest latency performance. The appliances are available in two pre-configured options integrating Xilinx Alveo data center accelerator cards - the High Channel Density Video Appliance and the Ultra-Low Bitrate Video Appliance.
GIGABYTE AMD Motherboards Adopt the Latest AGESA BIOS
GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions, today announce the latest BIOS update of AMD platform motherboards. To ensure users can embrace the performance boost, high compatibility, and high stability of 3rd Gen. AMD Ryzen XT Series desktop processors.
In order to furnish the best performance and user experience, AMD has been working closely with GIGABYTE and other motherboard vendors to provide BIOS code updates regularly for optimizing system performance or solving the issues verified by motherboard vendors. Adapted to the latest 3rd gen. are AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT,Ryzen 7 3800XT, Ryzen 5 3600XT processors. AMD provides AGESA ComboV2 1.0.0.2 BIOS for X570 and B550 chipset motherboards, and AGESA ComboV1 1.0.0.6 BIOS for X470, B450,X370, B350, and A320 chipsets products.
In order to furnish the best performance and user experience, AMD has been working closely with GIGABYTE and other motherboard vendors to provide BIOS code updates regularly for optimizing system performance or solving the issues verified by motherboard vendors. Adapted to the latest 3rd gen. are AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT,Ryzen 7 3800XT, Ryzen 5 3600XT processors. AMD provides AGESA ComboV2 1.0.0.2 BIOS for X570 and B550 chipset motherboards, and AGESA ComboV1 1.0.0.6 BIOS for X470, B450,X370, B350, and A320 chipsets products.
Corsair iCUE LT100 Lighting Towers + Headset Stand Add Ambient Lighting to Your Desk
Corsair is readying the iCUE LT100 Lighting Towers, accessories that add ARGB bling to your desktop. These devices are also capable of projecting ambient lighting on surroundings behind your monitor. These devices first came to light on the company's product page for the Corsair ONE a100 gaming desktop. A little digging across e-tailers for the latest Corsair products revealed an Amazon advance listing for these devices, called the iCUE LT100 Lighting Towers. The listing does not mention pricing or detailed specs, but lists out key features of the device. Its design involves a cuboidal base that has its own ARGB diffuser from which a 400+ mm stock emerges perpendicularly, which has its own row of 46 ARGB LEDs. An external power adapter keeps it powered. It probably takes input via USB. Behind the ARGB diffuser is what looks like a headset stand.
The list of features from the Amazon listing follows.
Tuesday, June 16th 2020
Today's Reviews
Cases
CPU Coolers
Gaming PC
Memory
Motherboards
PSUs
Sound Cards
Speakers
ASUS ROG STRIX B550-F Gaming (WiFi) Review
The ASUS ROG STRIX B550-F Gaming (WiFi) is the successor to the brand's best-selling B450 motherboard, featuring a powerful VRM, dual M.2 slots with full coverage heatsinks, and even 2.5 Gb/s LAN. Has B550 gone mainstream? Let's find out!
Gigabyte B550I AORUS Pro AX Review
The B550I AORUS Pro AX from Gigabyte comes with a lot of hardware packed into a small package. Among the features are 2.5 Gb/s Ethernet, WiFi 6, dual M.2 slots, and top-tier 90 A power stages. Let's see just how good this new SFF option from Gigabyte really is!
Gigabyte B550 AORUS Pro Review
At long last, B550 has arrived! The B550 AORUS Pro from Gigabyte features a 12+2 phase VRM, Gigabyte's famed finned VRM cooling solution, 2.5 Gb/s LAN from Realtek, and a full set of mainstream features.
Samsung Releases More Odyssey Gaming Monitors: G9 and G7 Now on Pre-Order
Samsung, the global leader in gaming monitors², pushes the boundaries of display technology to deliver a radically different gaming experience. Unveiled this year at CES, Odyssey gaming monitors combine the deepest, most immersive curved displays with next-generation performance gaming performance. The Odyssey G9 and G7 are available for pre-order today and on sale July 13, on Samsung.com and select online retailers.
"As the global leader in the gaming monitor market, Samsung understands that gamers want display innovations that reimagine the gaming experience with high-performance features for even the most demanding game titles," said Mark Quiroz, Vice President, Product Marketing, Samsung Electronics America Display Division. "With Odyssey, we're going beyond the expectations of what a gaming monitor should be and bringing a fully redesigned, deeply immersive experience built for the future of gaming."
"As the global leader in the gaming monitor market, Samsung understands that gamers want display innovations that reimagine the gaming experience with high-performance features for even the most demanding game titles," said Mark Quiroz, Vice President, Product Marketing, Samsung Electronics America Display Division. "With Odyssey, we're going beyond the expectations of what a gaming monitor should be and bringing a fully redesigned, deeply immersive experience built for the future of gaming."
MSI Announces Dota 2 Online Tournament: Stadium of Spoils
MSI, a world leader in gaming hardware and computing solutions, announces an online DOTA 2 tournament: MSI Stadium of Spoils. This is your chance to team up with talents like, Jake "SirActionSlacks" Kanner, Kevin "Purge" Godec, Jorien "Sheever" van der Heijden, and Owen "ODPixel" Davies. The first batch of matches will take place on 27 June 2020 Saturday 4PM PST, and the second will go live the following weekend on 4 July 2020 Saturday 8PM CEST.
In this difficult time, MSI and its partner SEAGATE would like to do their part to try and help lift spirits in the face of this global pandemic. To brighten up your day as much as we can, we offer a unique gaming experience to all DOTA 2 fans - by organizing a one-of-its-kind showmatch between two squads led by big names in the DOTA 2 scene. What's more, not only will there be a ton of fun, but there are also some awesome prizes to give away.
In this difficult time, MSI and its partner SEAGATE would like to do their part to try and help lift spirits in the face of this global pandemic. To brighten up your day as much as we can, we offer a unique gaming experience to all DOTA 2 fans - by organizing a one-of-its-kind showmatch between two squads led by big names in the DOTA 2 scene. What's more, not only will there be a ton of fun, but there are also some awesome prizes to give away.
Lenovo Delivers on 5G Computing with Leading Global Network Operators
Lenovo is blazing a path for mass adoption of ultra-fast, low-latency laptop connectivity through a series of mobile network operator partnerships committed to making 5G computing a reality for consumers around the world. On the heels of the earlier unveiling of the Lenovo Yoga 5G (known as Lenovo Flex 5G in the US)—the world's first 5G PC in market—Lenovo has formed strategic partnerships with leading 5G service providers around the world: Verizon, EE, Sunrise and CMCC. Powered by the Qualcomm ️ Snapdragon 8cx 5G compute platform, the Yoga 5G laptop delivers high-speed 5G network connectivity (through a 5G service provider) that's up to 10 times faster than 4G.
"Lenovo introduced the world's first 5G laptop in market to equip the mobile generation with smarter technology for always-on connectivity and computing. The hardware is just the first step," says Johnson Jia, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Consumer Business Segment in Lenovo's Intelligent Devices Group. "With our strategic partnerships with global 5G network carriers, consumers will now be able to access easier, faster and more secure connectivity seamlessly from virtually anywhere. As 5G computing holds the power to transform user experiences, we believe it can ultimately disrupt the PC industry for the better."
"Lenovo introduced the world's first 5G laptop in market to equip the mobile generation with smarter technology for always-on connectivity and computing. The hardware is just the first step," says Johnson Jia, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Consumer Business Segment in Lenovo's Intelligent Devices Group. "With our strategic partnerships with global 5G network carriers, consumers will now be able to access easier, faster and more secure connectivity seamlessly from virtually anywhere. As 5G computing holds the power to transform user experiences, we believe it can ultimately disrupt the PC industry for the better."
ABKONCORE B719 and CH713M Gaming Headsets on Sale for TechPowerUp Readers
ABKONCORE is an fast rising gaming PC hardware brand with gear for serious gaming and e-sports competitions. They bring TechPowerUp readers a chance to pick up two of their best purpose-built gaming headsets at heavily discounted prices. The ABKONCORE B719 is geared toward high-end PC gaming, Macs, smartphones, and consoles that include Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4. It combines a pair of 50 mm neodymium drivers with a virtual 7.1-channel USB sound card with a plethora of game genre optimized DSPs. The USB connection also powers the headset's RGB LED lighting. Its mic offers noise-cancellation for crystal-clear squad comms.
The other headset on sale is the CH713M, geared towards competitive e-sports gaming. Much like the B719, the CH713M features a virtual 7.1-channel USB sound card, but wired to 50 mm dual-chamber drivers, and an extremely durable cable. It is optimized not just for gaming PCs, but also Macs, smartphones, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Switch. The included USB DAC with both headsets ensures lifelike 7.1 virtual surround that other headsets with analog 3.5 mm stereo jacks can't offer. Both the B719 and CH713M offer base rumble effects. The B719 is normally listed at USD $69.99 on Amazon, but TechPowerUp readers can use the early-bird coupon code to get it for just $48.99 (a 30% discount)! Likewise, the CH713M is priced at $59.99, but TechPowerUp readers can have it for $38.99 (35% off)! Hurry, the offer is open thru June 26, or until stocks last!
Use the coupon code B719TPUP on the following item at check-out to avail the price you see here.
Buy ABKONCORE B719 Pro Gaming Headset for $48.99
Use the coupon code CH713MTPU at check-out to avail the price you see here.
Buy ABKONCORE CH713M E-Sports Gaming Headset for $38.99
The other headset on sale is the CH713M, geared towards competitive e-sports gaming. Much like the B719, the CH713M features a virtual 7.1-channel USB sound card, but wired to 50 mm dual-chamber drivers, and an extremely durable cable. It is optimized not just for gaming PCs, but also Macs, smartphones, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Switch. The included USB DAC with both headsets ensures lifelike 7.1 virtual surround that other headsets with analog 3.5 mm stereo jacks can't offer. Both the B719 and CH713M offer base rumble effects. The B719 is normally listed at USD $69.99 on Amazon, but TechPowerUp readers can use the early-bird coupon code to get it for just $48.99 (a 30% discount)! Likewise, the CH713M is priced at $59.99, but TechPowerUp readers can have it for $38.99 (35% off)! Hurry, the offer is open thru June 26, or until stocks last!
Use the coupon code B719TPUP on the following item at check-out to avail the price you see here.
Buy ABKONCORE B719 Pro Gaming Headset for $48.99
Use the coupon code CH713MTPU at check-out to avail the price you see here.
Buy ABKONCORE CH713M E-Sports Gaming Headset for $38.99
Disintegration is Now Available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One
Private Division and V1 Interactive are proud to announce that Disintegration, the first title from the independent studio founded by Marcus Lehto, the co-creator of Halo, is now available digitally for $49.99 on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, and across the Xbox One family of devices, including Xbox One X. Disintegration brings new depth to the FPS genre by adding real time strategy elements over a riveting single-player campaign. The game also features an array of options in multiplayer with the ability to select from nine unique "Crews" to pilot over three frenetic game modes.
Disintegration delivers an entirely new type of gameplay experience by blending real-time tactical elements in a first-person shooter. Set in a world on the brink of disaster, humanity turns to a process known as Integration, in which a human brain is transferred to a robotic armature to survive. A ruthless legion known as the Rayonne emerges and imposes the once optional process of Integration onto the rest of humanity to consolidate their power.
Disintegration delivers an entirely new type of gameplay experience by blending real-time tactical elements in a first-person shooter. Set in a world on the brink of disaster, humanity turns to a process known as Integration, in which a human brain is transferred to a robotic armature to survive. A ruthless legion known as the Rayonne emerges and imposes the once optional process of Integration onto the rest of humanity to consolidate their power.
Tachyum Reveals HPC/AI Prodigy Motherboard at ISC 2020 Digital
Dr. Radoslav Danilak, founder and CEO of semiconductor startup Tachyum Inc., will discuss the company's "Gamechanger" universal processor reference design solution for HPC and AI environments as part of ISC High Performance 2020 Digital event June 22-25.
ISC 2020 Digital is an inaugural online event that focuses on bringing the most critical developments and trends in high-performance computing, machine learning and data analytics for the benefit of the global HPC community. Danilak presents "4 Exaflops AI Training With a 32 Rack Tachyum System" to help virtual attendees learn about the Tachyum universal processor architecture, performance, reference design motherboard, chassis, rack, switches, management software and system software that make up the reference design. The pre-recorded presentation will be available for viewing June 24 from 4 p.m. CEST to registered participants of the event and remain online for 14 days after it debuts.
ISC 2020 Digital is an inaugural online event that focuses on bringing the most critical developments and trends in high-performance computing, machine learning and data analytics for the benefit of the global HPC community. Danilak presents "4 Exaflops AI Training With a 32 Rack Tachyum System" to help virtual attendees learn about the Tachyum universal processor architecture, performance, reference design motherboard, chassis, rack, switches, management software and system software that make up the reference design. The pre-recorded presentation will be available for viewing June 24 from 4 p.m. CEST to registered participants of the event and remain online for 14 days after it debuts.
CORSAIR Announces the Vengeance Range of Gaming Desktops
CORSAIR, a world leader in high-performance gaming peripherals and enthusiast components, today announced the launch of the new CORSAIR VENGEANCE a4100 and i4200 Series Gaming PCs, delivering outstanding gaming performance, eye-catching aesthetics, and easy upgradeability with either an AMD Ryzen 3000 Series processor or a 10th Gen Intel Core processor and GeForce RTX -powered graphics from NVIDIA. Equipped with renowned CORSAIR components and ready to game, stream, or both, the new VENGEANCE systems set a high bar for prebuilt gaming PCs.
The CORSAIR VENGEANCE a4100 Series is the latest system in the VENGEANCE line to boast the power of AMD Ryzen, achieving outstanding single-threaded and multi-threaded performance thanks to an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X CPU. An NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER graphics card outputs incredibly lifelike graphics with real-time ray-tracing technology. In a first for the CORSAIR VENGEANCE line of systems, the a4100 is available with a pre-installed Elgato 4K60 PRO capture card, perfect for content creators looking to record or stream their gameplay out-of-the-box. With reliable CORSAIR components such as 16 GB of 3,200 MHz VENGEANCE RGB PRO memory, a Hydro Series H60 Liquid CPU cooler, and an RM750 80 PLUS Gold-rated power supply, the VENGEANCE a4100 is ready to tackle today's most demanding games while you share the action with the world.
The CORSAIR VENGEANCE a4100 Series is the latest system in the VENGEANCE line to boast the power of AMD Ryzen, achieving outstanding single-threaded and multi-threaded performance thanks to an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X CPU. An NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER graphics card outputs incredibly lifelike graphics with real-time ray-tracing technology. In a first for the CORSAIR VENGEANCE line of systems, the a4100 is available with a pre-installed Elgato 4K60 PRO capture card, perfect for content creators looking to record or stream their gameplay out-of-the-box. With reliable CORSAIR components such as 16 GB of 3,200 MHz VENGEANCE RGB PRO memory, a Hydro Series H60 Liquid CPU cooler, and an RM750 80 PLUS Gold-rated power supply, the VENGEANCE a4100 is ready to tackle today's most demanding games while you share the action with the world.
The Steam Game Festival is On Now
The Steam Game Festival: Summer Edition- the largest yet- is on now, featuring hundreds of free demos from games set to be released in the coming year.
From now until June 22 at 10am PDT, the Steam Game Festival showcases the newest games across every genre from developers in 65 countries. Fans have a chance to try out new projects from first-time devs and veteran developers alike, including the opportunity to be among the first to demo some of the most highly anticipated games of the coming year.
This is the third Steam Game Festival, and the largest yet. What began as a collaboration with Geoff Keighley and the Game Awards featuring a dozen titles soon branched off as a Valve-run event, with over 40 demos featured this spring- and now over 900 titles in the summer edition.
From now until June 22 at 10am PDT, the Steam Game Festival showcases the newest games across every genre from developers in 65 countries. Fans have a chance to try out new projects from first-time devs and veteran developers alike, including the opportunity to be among the first to demo some of the most highly anticipated games of the coming year.
This is the third Steam Game Festival, and the largest yet. What began as a collaboration with Geoff Keighley and the Game Awards featuring a dozen titles soon branched off as a Valve-run event, with over 40 demos featured this spring- and now over 900 titles in the summer edition.
American FDA Approves Video Game as ADHD Treatment, Makes it Available as a Prescription
With debates around the nature of video games' influence on psyches and behavior usually being surrounded with violence-related claims, it is certainly refreshing to see something like this happening. The American FDA (Federal Drug Administration) has recently permitted marketing of the first specifically-developed video game designed with the intention of serving as a treatment for ADHD. Under the slogan "it's time to play your medicine", the game, EndeavorRx (AKL-T01), is being marketed for children between the ages of eight and 12. It was designed to "to directly target and activate neural systems through the presentation of sensory stimuli and motor challenges to improve cognitive functioning."
The FDA has issued this permit on the basis of five different studies involving more than 600 children diagnosed with ADHD, where they were encouraged to play this particular video game. Following the test results, a measurable decrease or even dissipation of attention deficit levels in a number of ADHD-related benchmarks were seen. However, not all is green on this side of the pasture: the FDA in its approval also mentioned some verifiable, but not serious, adverse effects after the children were exposed to the EndeavorRx-based therapy, such as frustration, headache, dizziness, emotional reaction, and aggression. The FDA themselves say that the clinical trial results do not suggest this videogame prescription could be an alternative to ADHD drug-specific prescriptions, however. But it could be a first step between an ADHD diagnosis and drug-based treatments. Check out a video of the game after the break.
The FDA has issued this permit on the basis of five different studies involving more than 600 children diagnosed with ADHD, where they were encouraged to play this particular video game. Following the test results, a measurable decrease or even dissipation of attention deficit levels in a number of ADHD-related benchmarks were seen. However, not all is green on this side of the pasture: the FDA in its approval also mentioned some verifiable, but not serious, adverse effects after the children were exposed to the EndeavorRx-based therapy, such as frustration, headache, dizziness, emotional reaction, and aggression. The FDA themselves say that the clinical trial results do not suggest this videogame prescription could be an alternative to ADHD drug-specific prescriptions, however. But it could be a first step between an ADHD diagnosis and drug-based treatments. Check out a video of the game after the break.
Next-generation Microsoft Surface Laptop Could be Packing AMD's 16-thread R7 4800U CPU
A 3D mark entry uncovered by database spelunker Tum_Apisak, since shared on Twitter, points towards Microsoft incorporating AMD's latest and greatest mobility-geared CPU in one of their upcoming product refreshes. The database entry register an unknown Microsoft device carrying ÃMD's Ryzen 7 4800U CPU. All specs are correct for this CPU - GPU cores, GPU clock, as well as CPU base and boost clocks.
While we can't know for sure this is Microsoft's next iteration of the Surface Laptop, assuming it is just an educated guess. Microsoft's current-gen Surface Laptop 3 shipped in a special, AMD-inside edition in the form of the "Microsoft Surface Edition" Ryzen 5 3580U - and if Microsoft included an AMD Zen+ CPU manufactured in a 12 nm fabrication process inside their Surface Laptop, we would find it very hard to justify not including the much-improved Ryzen 7 4800U - the chip is better in any conceivable way compared to its last-gen counterpart. This is a sure way of improving overall performance and battery life of their Surface Laptops compared to what the competition has currently available.
While we can't know for sure this is Microsoft's next iteration of the Surface Laptop, assuming it is just an educated guess. Microsoft's current-gen Surface Laptop 3 shipped in a special, AMD-inside edition in the form of the "Microsoft Surface Edition" Ryzen 5 3580U - and if Microsoft included an AMD Zen+ CPU manufactured in a 12 nm fabrication process inside their Surface Laptop, we would find it very hard to justify not including the much-improved Ryzen 7 4800U - the chip is better in any conceivable way compared to its last-gen counterpart. This is a sure way of improving overall performance and battery life of their Surface Laptops compared to what the competition has currently available.
Xiaomi Launches Mi Display 165 Hz Version Monitor: 27" IPS, 1440p, 165 Hz, VRR, Display HDR400
Xiaomi today soft-launched a new, high-refresh rate IPS gaming monitor on their Mi line. The Xiaomi Mi Display 165 Hz brings a 27", 8-bit IPS panel with a 2560 x 1440 resolution and a pretty impressive 95% DCI-P3 color space coverage. Response time is quoted at 4 ms (1 ms GtG, as most manufacturers insist on quoting their response time speeds). There is support for VRR technologies (AMD's FreeSync and NVIDIA's G-Sync Compatible), as well as Display HDR 400 certification (the lowest that can be had, but still, it's certified). Peak luminance in HDR is set at 400 nits, with typical brilliance standing at 320 nits.
I/O-wise, we're looking at 3x USB 3.0, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort and 1x 3.5 mm headset port. The reported specifications, including the DCI-P3 color space coverage, should make this monitor interesting for users ranging from gamers to amateur/semi-professional photo and video editors. pricing, however, is the icing in the cake: Xiaomi will be selling this monitor for 2,199 yuan (which amounts to roughly $299) - a bargain when one considers the overall specifications on this monitor. The monitor will be available from June 17 in China, with international availability following.
I/O-wise, we're looking at 3x USB 3.0, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort and 1x 3.5 mm headset port. The reported specifications, including the DCI-P3 color space coverage, should make this monitor interesting for users ranging from gamers to amateur/semi-professional photo and video editors. pricing, however, is the icing in the cake: Xiaomi will be selling this monitor for 2,199 yuan (which amounts to roughly $299) - a bargain when one considers the overall specifications on this monitor. The monitor will be available from June 17 in China, with international availability following.
Corsair Announces Corsair ONE a100 Desktop Powered by Ryzen 3000
CORSAIR, a world leader in high-performance gaming peripherals and enthusiast components, today announced the launch of the new CORSAIR ONE a100 Compact Gaming PC, the first system in the award-winning CORSAIR ONE family of small-form-factor desktop PCs to feature a powerful AMD Ryzen 3000 Series processor. With the incredible single-threaded and multi-threaded performance of a 3rd Gen Ryzen CPU, GeForce RTX graphics from NVIDIA, and a wealth of premium CORSAIR components, the CORSAIR ONE a100 delivers outstanding productivity for content creation and an extraordinary gaming experience in a refined chassis that takes up less desk space than a laptop.
The new CORSAIR ONE a100 is available in three configurations, each equipped with a Ryzen 3000 Series processor, ranging from the 12-core, 24-thread AMD Ryzen 9 3900X to the 16-core, 32-thread AMD Ryzen 9 3950X CPU, utilizing Zen 2 architecture to boost performance and efficiency while gaming and running multiple demanding applications. Incredibly lifelike graphics are made possible by the amazing performance and real-time ray-tracing technology of an NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics card, up to a GeForce RTX 2080 Ti. Each CORSAIR ONE a100 is completed with a host of celebrated CORSAIR components, including 32 GB of VENGEANCE LPX 3,200 MHz DDR4 memory optimized for AMD Ryzen 3000 and a Force MP600 NVMe M.2 SSD taking full advantage of PCIe 4.0 bandwidth. Like all CORSAIR ONE systems, the a100 is able to pack all of this immense power into a chassis that's less than ¼ the volume of a conventional desktop PC, while still keeping temperatures in check, thanks to a patented convection-assisted liquid cooling system.
The new CORSAIR ONE a100 is available in three configurations, each equipped with a Ryzen 3000 Series processor, ranging from the 12-core, 24-thread AMD Ryzen 9 3900X to the 16-core, 32-thread AMD Ryzen 9 3950X CPU, utilizing Zen 2 architecture to boost performance and efficiency while gaming and running multiple demanding applications. Incredibly lifelike graphics are made possible by the amazing performance and real-time ray-tracing technology of an NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics card, up to a GeForce RTX 2080 Ti. Each CORSAIR ONE a100 is completed with a host of celebrated CORSAIR components, including 32 GB of VENGEANCE LPX 3,200 MHz DDR4 memory optimized for AMD Ryzen 3000 and a Force MP600 NVMe M.2 SSD taking full advantage of PCIe 4.0 bandwidth. Like all CORSAIR ONE systems, the a100 is able to pack all of this immense power into a chassis that's less than ¼ the volume of a conventional desktop PC, while still keeping temperatures in check, thanks to a patented convection-assisted liquid cooling system.
NZXT Announces CRFT 06 H510 Siege
Today NZXT, a leading developer of software-powered hardware solutions for PC gaming, and Ubisoft, a leading creator, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and services, announce CRFT 06 H510 Siege, the perfect tactical deployment for fortifying your position in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege.
The sixth entrant in NZXT's limited-edition series of licensed gaming products, CRFT 06 H510 Siege brings the iconic in-game barricade to your gaming station. Featuring an illuminated 6 Logo on the front panel, this new limited-edition NZXT H510 case allows you to display both your PC components and your operational readiness. Weapons free.
The sixth entrant in NZXT's limited-edition series of licensed gaming products, CRFT 06 H510 Siege brings the iconic in-game barricade to your gaming station. Featuring an illuminated 6 Logo on the front panel, this new limited-edition NZXT H510 case allows you to display both your PC components and your operational readiness. Weapons free.
Newegg Takes the Guesswork out of Building a PC
Newegg, one of the leading tech-focused e-retailers in North America, has unveiled the Newegg PC Builder, the company's one-stop shop for designing and building custom PCs. For nearly two decades, Newegg has been the go-to destination for technology enthusiasts, offering best-in-class site navigation, millions of PC hardware reviews and some of the best prices available. The Newegg PC Builder leverages the company's deep tech heritage to deliver a PC configuration tool that eliminates the need to consider hardware compatibility, enabling novices and experts alike to easily compile and purchase all the necessary parts to build their own custom PC.
Building a custom PC is one of the most satisfying DIY experiences in the tech space, opening the door to personalization, upgraded components, custom cooling and hardware overclocking. The PC becomes an extension of its creator, who is no longer constrained to a limited assortment of pre-built systems. Customers can spec out a machine purpose-built for specific tasks such as gaming, rendering or video editing. With the Newegg PC Builder, what used to require hours of painstaking manual compatibility checks can now be accomplished in mere minutes.
Building a custom PC is one of the most satisfying DIY experiences in the tech space, opening the door to personalization, upgraded components, custom cooling and hardware overclocking. The PC becomes an extension of its creator, who is no longer constrained to a limited assortment of pre-built systems. Customers can spec out a machine purpose-built for specific tasks such as gaming, rendering or video editing. With the Newegg PC Builder, what used to require hours of painstaking manual compatibility checks can now be accomplished in mere minutes.
NETGEAR Armor Now Available on WiFi 6 Routers and Mesh Systems
NETGEAR, Inc., the leading provider of WiFi 6 products that drive connectivity for today's smart homes, is announcing that the advanced cyber protection, NETGEAR Armor powered by Bitdefender, is now available on Orbi WiFi 6 Mesh Systems and a number of NETGEAR WiFi 6 routers. NETGEAR Armor cybersecurity protects the connected home and unlimited devices from online threats both at home and on-the-go. The multi-layered cybersecurity solution, which includes Bitdefender's award-winning anti-virus, anti-malware and data protection software for end devices, is built into NETGEAR Orbi Mesh WiFi systems and Nighthawk WiFi routers to protect Internet of Things (IoT) products, connected TVs, thermostats, mobile phones, computers, tablets and other devices.
NETGEAR Armor actively safeguards networks against threats, including trojans, ransomware, zero-day exploits, rootkits, and spyware, helps block fraudulent websites trying to steal financial data such as passwords or credit card numbers, and looks out for malicious links in browsers, emails, or apps. "The world has come to learn how reliant we are on connectivity and along with this access comes potential online threats from bad actors. In 2018, NETGEAR made the strategic decision to help keep our customers secure by providing world-class network security through our partnership with Bitdefender," said David Henry, senior vice president for Connected Home Products at NETGEAR. "With NETGEAR Armor, you can sleep soundly knowing that your home network and all the connected devices are secure at home and on the go."
NETGEAR Armor actively safeguards networks against threats, including trojans, ransomware, zero-day exploits, rootkits, and spyware, helps block fraudulent websites trying to steal financial data such as passwords or credit card numbers, and looks out for malicious links in browsers, emails, or apps. "The world has come to learn how reliant we are on connectivity and along with this access comes potential online threats from bad actors. In 2018, NETGEAR made the strategic decision to help keep our customers secure by providing world-class network security through our partnership with Bitdefender," said David Henry, senior vice president for Connected Home Products at NETGEAR. "With NETGEAR Armor, you can sleep soundly knowing that your home network and all the connected devices are secure at home and on the go."
AMD Offers Enthusiasts More Choice Than Ever Before with New Ryzen 3000XT Processors
Today, AMD announced three new additions to the 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen desktop processor family - the AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT, AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT and AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT processors. Introducing XT branding for the first time to the Ryzen family of processors, the new AMD Ryzen 3000XT desktop processors are purpose-built to maximize performance under any workload. Expanding on the award-winning 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen processor family, 3000XT series desktop processors are optimized with higher boost frequencies to deliver elite-level performance that dominates gaming and content creation.
Today also marks worldwide availability of the AMD B550 chipset, the first mainstream chipset with support for PCIe 4.0. Available in a variety of motherboard form factors, the AMD B550 chipset is perfect for high-speed performance in both gaming and multitasking. Additionally, AMD announced the A520 chipset for socket AM4 and 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen desktop processors with more than 40 designs in development. Alongside these new chipset and processors, AMD also announced the redesigned StoreMI storage acceleration software with a new UI and enhanced acceleration algorithm.
Today also marks worldwide availability of the AMD B550 chipset, the first mainstream chipset with support for PCIe 4.0. Available in a variety of motherboard form factors, the AMD B550 chipset is perfect for high-speed performance in both gaming and multitasking. Additionally, AMD announced the A520 chipset for socket AM4 and 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen desktop processors with more than 40 designs in development. Alongside these new chipset and processors, AMD also announced the redesigned StoreMI storage acceleration software with a new UI and enhanced acceleration algorithm.
AMD B550 Chipset Motherboards Start Selling
AMD formally launched its B550 socket AM4 desktop chipset, with the promise of bring PCI-Express gen 4 connectivity to the masses. Motherboards based on the B550 support 3rd gen Ryzen desktop processors based on the "Matisse" silicon, and "Zen 2" microarchitecture. The chipset will, in the future, support Ryzen 4000G "Renoir" and "Zen 3" based "Vermeer" desktop processors. Based on an ASMedia-made design, the chipset lets you have PCI-Express gen 4.0 on the main x16 slot from the processor, and at least one M.2 NVMe slots (which is CPU-attached). The chipset itself puts out up to 8 general purpose PCI-Express gen 3.0 lanes, besides up to six SATA 6 Gbps ports, and USB 3.2 connectivity. Motherboards based on the B550 start at $99 MSRP (although $114 on Newegg), and some of the pricier models go all the way up to $300.
Do read the TechPowerUp reviews for GIGABYTE B550 AORUS Pro | GIGABYTE B550I AORUS Pro AX | ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming
MSI Confirms Ryzen XT "Matisse Refresh" Clock Speeds
MSI confirmed the clock speeds of the upcoming Ryzen 9 3900XT, Ryzen 7 3800XT, and Ryzen 5 3600XT processors on its website. The CPU support tab in the product page of the MAG B550 Tomahawk motherboard lists out clock speeds of the three processors. The nominal clock speeds of the 3900XT, 3800XT, and 3600XT are identical to those of the 3900X, 3800X, and 3600X, respectively, as are their TDP ratings. What the table doesn't list are boost clocks. AMD has reportedly increased the max boost frequencies of the three new chips by 100-200 MHz over those of the 3600X, 3800X, and 3900X. The 3900XT and 3800XT reportedly feature 4.70 GHz boost clocks, while the 3600XT ticks as fast as 4.50 GHz. As for prices, the 3900XT is expected to launch at $499 (launch MSRP of 3900X), the 3800XT at $399 (launch MSRP of 3800X), and the 3600XT at $249 (launch MSRP of the 3600X). The 3900XT and 3800XT ship without coolers, just like the 3950X.
Club3D Intros DisplayPort to HDMI 4K-120Hz Adapter
Club 3D is proud to open up a new chapter for adapters which convert DisplayPort to HDMI with our brandnew CAC-1085 DisplayPort 1.4 to HDMI 4K120Hz HDR Active Adapter M/F. This adapter uses DisplayPort 1.4 DSC video compression technology to reach the new resolutions/refresh rates. Highly requested by users all around the world and industry leading companies in IT and AV, this new adapter is the perfect solution to bring 4K with astonishing 120Hz to the latest big size TVs and Displays with HDMI 2.1 inputs.
CAC-1085 is following the tradition of Club 3D bringing new technologies to the market at an early stage and set new milestones, like we did with our CAC-1070 (DisplayPort 1.2 to HDMI 4K60Hz Active Adapter M/F) in 2016 and CAC-1080 (DP 1.4 to HDMI 2.0b, adding additional HDR functionality) in 2018.
The first delivery of CAC-1085 is planned to reach our warehouse by end of June. In the week to follow the adapter should be available worldwide.
CAC-1085 is following the tradition of Club 3D bringing new technologies to the market at an early stage and set new milestones, like we did with our CAC-1070 (DisplayPort 1.2 to HDMI 4K60Hz Active Adapter M/F) in 2016 and CAC-1080 (DP 1.4 to HDMI 2.0b, adding additional HDR functionality) in 2018.
The first delivery of CAC-1085 is planned to reach our warehouse by end of June. In the week to follow the adapter should be available worldwide.
AMD Readies PRO565 Desktop Chipset
AMD is readying the PRO565 desktop motherboard chipset. Mention of the chipset surfaced in screenshots of the latest AMD CBS (common BIOS settings) lists of an ASRock motherboard, unearthed by Komachi Ensaka. Not much else is known about the AMD PRO 565. We expect it to be the key component of a business platform rivaling the Intel Q470, enabling several large business-relevant management features. AMD is making efforts to rival Intel vPro, as seen with its Ryzen 4000 Pro series mobile processors targeted at commercial notebooks with quasi-enterprise features. AMD's current crop of Ryzen PRO processors features GuardMI. It's likely that AMD will crystallize its "PRO" feature-set further with the PRO565 possibly enabling new features with the Ryzen PRO 3000 series desktop processors, or their "Renoir" based successors.
AAEON Releases Body Temperature Monitoring IoT Board
AAEON, a leading manufacturer of AI and IoT platforms, has worked with partners and developers to create solutions designed to address COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. While the current pandemic is winding down in some areas, many companies are rethinking what it means to do business in a world where it is key to be aware of how disease spreads. One key sector is in banking, where many kinds of customers may visit on a daily basis. In Southeast Asia, AAEON is partnering with developers to deploy the BOXER-8170AI and SCA-M01 IoT Node Board in body temperature and meeting room monitoring.
AMD Preparing Additional Ryzen 4000G Renoir series SKUs, Ryzen 7 Pro 4750G Benchmarked
AMD Ryzen 4000 series of desktop APUs are set to be released next month as a quiet launch. What we expected to see is a launch covering only a few models ranging from Ryzen 3 to Ryzen 7 level, meaning that there would be configurations equipped with anything from 4C/8T to 8C/16T. In the beginning thanks to all the leaks we expected to see six models (listed in the table below), however thanks to discovery, we could be looking at even more SKUs of the Renoir family of APUs. Mentioned in the table are some new entries to both consumer and pro-grade users which means AMD will probably do a launch of both editions, possibly on the same day. We are not sure if that is the case, however, it is just a speculation.
Supply Chain Confused with Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA Launch Dates
According to the report from DigiTimes, which cites industry sources, the global supply chain of Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA has been rather confused recently by their launch dates and launch procedures. Due to worldwide pandemic, there are no electronics shows like Computex that are designed for companies to showcase their products there, and thus, there is no unified launch window where you can expect a product to be launched. What's even worse is the fact that the companies have now started to keep their launch dates as a secret in the latest edition of playing with the competition. Launch dates have started to change and now the launch is uncertain even if the launch day is provided.
This has a massive effect on the industry supply chain. By not giving concrete dates to them, companies have left them to wonder when the product will launch. This is hurting their ability to prepare themselves for an upcoming product and possibly cause some delays later on. If not given enough time, the supply chain could not adapt fast enough and the product could come later in the hands of consumers.
This has a massive effect on the industry supply chain. By not giving concrete dates to them, companies have left them to wonder when the product will launch. This is hurting their ability to prepare themselves for an upcoming product and possibly cause some delays later on. If not given enough time, the supply chain could not adapt fast enough and the product could come later in the hands of consumers.
AT&T Looking to Sell Warner Bros. Gaming Division
According to a recent report from CNBC AT&T is considering selling the Warner Bros. gaming division for about 4 billion dollars as it seeks to divest assets with total debts nearing 200 billion dollars. Interested parties include Take-Two Interactive, Electronic Arts, and Activision Blizzard according to Industry Insiders. Most Warner Bros. Interactive games are based on Warner-owned intellectual property, such as "Harry Potter," "Game of Thrones" and "The Lego Movie." in addition to several separate franchises such as "Mortal Kombat" and "Scribblenauts". Any deal will likely involve a commercial licensing agreement with AT&T where they can continue to receive revenue from its IP.
Manli Releases GeForce GTX 1650 Low Profile
The Manli GeForce GTX 1650 DDR6 Low Profile is powered by NVIDIA's new GDDR6 memory, hence the "DDR6" moniker. The key upgrades include 12 Gbps memory speed and 192 GB/sec memory bandwidth, both improvements over the former DDR5. Clock speed is at 1410 MHz and can be boosted to 1590 MHz. This results in a performance boost of 6.31% over the DDR5. The performance benchmarks of the DDR6 slots it comfortably between the previous DDR5 and the
GeForce GTX 1650 Super. The sleeker design makes it more suitable for certain applications.
GeForce GTX 1650 Super. The sleeker design makes it more suitable for certain applications.
Axiomtek Releases AIE100-903-FL AI System Powered by NVIDIA Jetson
Axiomtek - a world-renowned leader relentlessly devoted in the research, development and manufacture of series of innovative and reliable industrial computer products of high efficiency - is pleased to release the AIE100-903-FL, an ultra-compact edge AI system. The high-performance AIE100-903-FL is powered by the NVIDIA Jetson Nano module, which has a powerful quad-core ARM Cortex -A57 MPCore processor and NVIDIA Maxwell GPU architecture with 128 NVIDIA CUDA cores. In order to easily install and deploy an IP camera, this user-friendly AI-enabled system is equipped with a 15W GbE PoE port for both power and video transmission. The advanced AIE100-903-FL was designed for intelligent edge AI applications, such as AI computing, edge computing, smart retail, smart city, and more.
"The AIE100-903-FL offers support for NVIDIA JetPack 4.3.1 for ease of development for AI computing and deep learning applications such as people counting, behavior analysis and facial recognition. With its strong construction, this ultra-compact edge AI platform can operate under a wide range of temperatures from- 30°C to +60°C and withstand vibration up to 3 Grms. Moreover, it offers an optional waterproof IP42-rated cover kit to strengthen the protection of semi-outdoor environments. This AI-powered system is well-suited for use in moist places, for instance, besides the freezer, under the eave or at the arcade," said Annie Fu, a product manager of Product PM Division at Axiomtek.
"The AIE100-903-FL offers support for NVIDIA JetPack 4.3.1 for ease of development for AI computing and deep learning applications such as people counting, behavior analysis and facial recognition. With its strong construction, this ultra-compact edge AI platform can operate under a wide range of temperatures from- 30°C to +60°C and withstand vibration up to 3 Grms. Moreover, it offers an optional waterproof IP42-rated cover kit to strengthen the protection of semi-outdoor environments. This AI-powered system is well-suited for use in moist places, for instance, besides the freezer, under the eave or at the arcade," said Annie Fu, a product manager of Product PM Division at Axiomtek.
Google Stadia Support Expands To All Android Phones
Google Stadia has recently expanded its list of supported Android devices to include OnePlus smartphones, in addition to this they have now enabled experimental support for all Android phones. To access the feature on untested phones you must visit the Stadia app, navigate to the Experiments tab in your Settings menu, and choose "Play on this device."
To coincide with this launch, Google is introducing another experimental feature, mobile touch controls. With mobile touch controls, players can play any Stadia game with a virtual gamepad overlay, to enable the feature select "Try touch gamepad" after launching a game without a controller connected. Finally, Google is also bringing per device resolution options which can be accessed under Options > Performance.
Get the app here.
To coincide with this launch, Google is introducing another experimental feature, mobile touch controls. With mobile touch controls, players can play any Stadia game with a virtual gamepad overlay, to enable the feature select "Try touch gamepad" after launching a game without a controller connected. Finally, Google is also bringing per device resolution options which can be accessed under Options > Performance.
Get the app here.
Microsoft Replaces Windows Insider Rings with Channels
We are transitioning and converting our current ring model, based on the frequency of builds, to a new channel model that pivots on the quality of builds and better supports parallel coding efforts. In addition to this change, Insiders will also find similar offering names and expectations across Windows and Office programs and soon Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Teams. Our goal is to not only make it clearer for existing Insiders to choose the experience that's right for them, but also for new Insiders to pick the right channel as they join. The Insider community is very important to us all and we're working to align how all our Insider programs work better together across Microsoft.
EK Waterblocks Releases Stand-Alone D5 Pump With Quantum Top
EK Water Blocks, the world-renowned premium liquid cooling manufacturer, is releasing EK-Quantum Inertia D5 PWM D-RGB standalone pump units. These standalone pumps are an evolution of the very popular and successful EK-XTOP Revo D5 PWM pumps, now available with sophisticated D-RGB LED lighting and an updated design aligning with the EK Quantum Line. These units offer increased hydraulic performance (up to 15%) compared to the original factory top.
HTC Vive Launches VIVE XR Suite
HTC VIVE, a global leader in innovative technology, today officially announces it will enter the cloud software business with the VIVE XR Suite offering at its hybrid event, "Journey into the Next Normal", which took place physically in Shanghai and online through the Engage virtual events platform. Comprised of five separate applications covering remote collaboration, productivity, events, social and culture, the VIVE XR Suite gives users the tools they need to overcome the new challenges faced while working and living in a socially distant world. The VIVE XR Suite is targeted to launch in Q3 2020 in China, with additional regions to follow throughout the year.
The VIVE XR Suite is comprised of 5 major applications (VIVE Sync, VIVE Sessions, VIVE Campus, VIVE Social, and VIVE Museum) to meet the daily needs of the users to overcome the new challenges faced by users around the world who are working, learning and living remotely. Although it is called an XR Suite, it is important to note that this software is not dependent on VR/AR devices to function. All the applications will function on existing PCs/laptops and some apps will even support modern smartphones, but for a superior immersive experience, PC VR or standalone VR devices would be recommended. Users will be able to login to all apps in the suite using a single account and across various devices they own. This integrated application bundle which is created in partnership with the leading software companies in their respective areas will provide a seamless experience for the consumer and business user. The CEO's of all the software partners in the VIVE XR Suite (Immersive VR Education, VirBELA, VRChat, and Museum of Other Realities) attended the event live via video and within VR in avatar form.
The VIVE XR Suite is comprised of 5 major applications (VIVE Sync, VIVE Sessions, VIVE Campus, VIVE Social, and VIVE Museum) to meet the daily needs of the users to overcome the new challenges faced by users around the world who are working, learning and living remotely. Although it is called an XR Suite, it is important to note that this software is not dependent on VR/AR devices to function. All the applications will function on existing PCs/laptops and some apps will even support modern smartphones, but for a superior immersive experience, PC VR or standalone VR devices would be recommended. Users will be able to login to all apps in the suite using a single account and across various devices they own. This integrated application bundle which is created in partnership with the leading software companies in their respective areas will provide a seamless experience for the consumer and business user. The CEO's of all the software partners in the VIVE XR Suite (Immersive VR Education, VirBELA, VRChat, and Museum of Other Realities) attended the event live via video and within VR in avatar form.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 and RTX 3080 Production Timeline Revealed
NVIDIA's next-generation GeForce "Ampere" RTX 3000 series graphics cards are heading for a September reveal, along with availability shortly after. Much of the news cycle over the past couple of weeks revolved around alleged leaks of the card's cooling solution that provides insights into what the finished product could look like, with some even doubting the veracity of the picture leaks given the September launch. Igor's Lab did some digging into the production timeline of these cards. The leaks seem to perfectly align with the timeline.
The chip design, prototyping, taping-out, and testing of "Ampere" IP completed before the mass-production timeline kicks off. This begins in April/May, with NVIDIA's OEM partners and other suppliers finalizing a bill of materials (BOM). June is also when the products go through the EVT (engineering validation test) and DVT (design validation test). It is at these stages that NVIDIA has the opportunity to approve or summarily reject/change the design of the product and finalize it. By July, there are working samples of the finished products for NVIDIA and its industry partners to validate. This is also when regulators such as the FCC and CE conduct EMI tests. Production validation tests (PVT), or proofing of the production line, occurs in late-July/early-August. The final BIOS is released to the OEM by NVIDIA around this time. Mass-production finally commences in August, and the onward march to distributors rolls on. The media event announcing the product and press reviews follow in September, and market availability shortly thereafter.
The chip design, prototyping, taping-out, and testing of "Ampere" IP completed before the mass-production timeline kicks off. This begins in April/May, with NVIDIA's OEM partners and other suppliers finalizing a bill of materials (BOM). June is also when the products go through the EVT (engineering validation test) and DVT (design validation test). It is at these stages that NVIDIA has the opportunity to approve or summarily reject/change the design of the product and finalize it. By July, there are working samples of the finished products for NVIDIA and its industry partners to validate. This is also when regulators such as the FCC and CE conduct EMI tests. Production validation tests (PVT), or proofing of the production line, occurs in late-July/early-August. The final BIOS is released to the OEM by NVIDIA around this time. Mass-production finally commences in August, and the onward march to distributors rolls on. The media event announcing the product and press reviews follow in September, and market availability shortly thereafter.
QNAP Dual-port 16Gb/32Gb Fibre Channel Cards Support QuTS Hero NAS
QNAP Systems, Inc. today announced that its in-house developed dual-port 16Gb/32Gb Fibre Channel (FC) expansion cards support the latest QuTS hero NAS to provide reliable, secure, and high-performance FC connectivity. A QuTS hero NAS with a QNAP FC card can be easily added to existing FC SAN environments to provide high-performance storage and backup at a more affordable price than typical SAN devices.
"FC SAN are generally closed network environments that often require costly devices with limited deployment flexibility," said Sam Lin, Product Manager of QNAP, adding "By integrating QNAP NAS protocols with Fibre Channel, users can add a more affordable QuTS hero NAS to their existing FC SAN environment, and boost applications that require low latency, high reliability, and fast data transfer, such as post-production studios, financial services, and data centers."
QNAP's new QuTS hero operating system uses ZFS to provide users with powerful data reduction, enhanced data integrity, and optimal performance.
"FC SAN are generally closed network environments that often require costly devices with limited deployment flexibility," said Sam Lin, Product Manager of QNAP, adding "By integrating QNAP NAS protocols with Fibre Channel, users can add a more affordable QuTS hero NAS to their existing FC SAN environment, and boost applications that require low latency, high reliability, and fast data transfer, such as post-production studios, financial services, and data centers."
QNAP's new QuTS hero operating system uses ZFS to provide users with powerful data reduction, enhanced data integrity, and optimal performance.
KIOXIA Launches Industry's First 24G SAS SSDs for Servers, Storage
The next generation of SAS has arrived, bringing improved performance, reliability and data protection along with it. Today, KIOXIA America, Inc. (formerly Toshiba Memory America, Inc.) became the first 1 company to bring 24G SAS to server and storage applications with the introduction of its 6 th generation enterprise SAS SSD family. First demonstrated at Flash Memory Summit 2019, KIOXIA's new PM6 Series of enterprise SAS SSDs is built on 24G SAS technology.
Designed for modern IT infrastructures, 24G SAS doubles the data throughput of its predecessor, while implementing new features and enhancements to reach new application performance levels. An established leader in developing SAS SSDs, KIOXIA delivers never before seen SAS SSD performance and is the only SSD supplier to offer protection and recovery from two simultaneous die failure s in an SSD. The PM6 Series builds upon this history of best in cl ass performance and reliability over six generations of SAS drives.
Designed for modern IT infrastructures, 24G SAS doubles the data throughput of its predecessor, while implementing new features and enhancements to reach new application performance levels. An established leader in developing SAS SSDs, KIOXIA delivers never before seen SAS SSD performance and is the only SSD supplier to offer protection and recovery from two simultaneous die failure s in an SSD. The PM6 Series builds upon this history of best in cl ass performance and reliability over six generations of SAS drives.
Intel Showcases Intelligent Edge and Energy-efficient Performance Research
This week at the 2020 Symposia on VLSI Technology and Circuits, Intel will present a body of research and technical perspectives on the computing transformation driven by data that is increasingly distributed across the core, edge and endpoints. Chief Technology Officer Mike Mayberry will deliver a plenary keynote, "The Future of Compute: How Data Transformation is Reshaping VLSI," that highlights the importance of transitioning computing from a hardware/program-centric approach to a data/information-centric approach.
"The sheer volume of data flowing across distributed edge, network and cloud infrastructure demands energy-efficient, powerful processing to happen close to where the data is generated, but is often limited by bandwidth, memory and power resources. The research Intel Labs is showcasing at the VLSI Symposia highlights several novel approaches to more efficient computation that show promise for a range of applications - from robotics and augmented reality to machine vision and video analytics. This body of research is focused on addressing barriers to the movement and computation of data, which represent the biggest data challenges of the future," said Vivek K. De, Intel fellow and director of Circuit Technology Research, Intel Labs.
"The sheer volume of data flowing across distributed edge, network and cloud infrastructure demands energy-efficient, powerful processing to happen close to where the data is generated, but is often limited by bandwidth, memory and power resources. The research Intel Labs is showcasing at the VLSI Symposia highlights several novel approaches to more efficient computation that show promise for a range of applications - from robotics and augmented reality to machine vision and video analytics. This body of research is focused on addressing barriers to the movement and computation of data, which represent the biggest data challenges of the future," said Vivek K. De, Intel fellow and director of Circuit Technology Research, Intel Labs.
Monday, June 15th 2020
Today's Reviews
CPU Coolers
Headphones
Monitors
Notebooks
PSUs
Dream Machines DM2 Supreme Review
The DM2 Supreme is the new version of Dream Machines' DM2 series of right-handed ergonomic mice. While the shape remains unchanged, the internals have received an upgrade: Huano switches for the main buttons, an ultra-flexible cable, and PixArt's PMW3389 sensor.
XPG Core Reactor 850 W Review
The ADATA XPG Core Reactor 850 W is a fine power supply, offering high efficiency, good overall performance, and excellent build quality. The warranty is also long enough, and pricing is reasonable, but could be a bit lower.
ASUS Readies PN50 Mini PCs Powered by AMD "Renoir" APUs
ASUS is giving finishing touches to the PN50 line of mini PCs (desktops) powered by AMD Ryzen 4000 "Renoir-U" APUs. Under the hood, these 115 mm x 115 mm x 49 mm boxes feature processor options ranging from the Ryzen 3 4300U all the way up to the Ryzen 7 4800U, an 8-core/16-thread beast, along with storage options that include up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR4 memory, M.2 NVMe SSDs, 802.11ax networking, and 10 Gbps USB 3.2 ports. Swedish retailer Inet listed a few variants. The model powered by the 4300U is listed at the equivalent of $326, the one powered by the 4500U at $335, the one with the 4700U at $386, and the one with the 4800U at $506.
AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT and Ryzen 9 3900XT to Lack In-box Coolers
AMD's upcoming Ryzen 7 3800XT 8-core and Ryzen 9 3900XT 12-core processors will lack a stock cooler inside their retail PIB (processor-in-box) packages, much like the company's flagship 16-core 3950X. This, according to an alleged part ordering price-sheet leaked to the web by momomo_us. OPN codes for the two are marked as "100-100000277WOF" for the 3900XT and "100-100000279WOF" for the 3800XT, with "WOF" indicating "without fan" or a lack of an in-box cooler. The Ryzen 5 3600XT, on the other hand, will include a Wraith Spire cooling solution AMD rates for processors with TDP of up to 95 W. AMD is pricing the 3900XT at 588€, the 3800XT at 463€, and the 3600XT at 287€ (likely inclusive of taxes, as is usual for EUR list prices). The numbers more relevant to the retail channel are "500+," as that's the quantity at which retailers such as Mindfactory order the chips.
Anker Innovations Launches New Thunderbolt 3 Dock
Anker Innovations, a global leader in mobile charging and consumer electronics, today announced its new PowerExpand Elite 13-in-1 Thunderbolt 3 Dock, a best-in-class USB-C productivity solution. This new dock features dual-display connectivity via Thunderbolt and HDMI ports, allowing users to connect two external monitors at once. It also provides Power Delivery pass-through computer charging, delivering up to 85 W of power while in use.
"We are excited to work with the tech leaders at Intel to combine Anker's fast-charging technology with the highly-efficient connectivity of Thunderbolt 3," said Steven Yang, CEO of Anker Innovations. "We hope that artists, content creators, and other users who need a multitude of hardware tools available to them at once will find our PowerExpand Elite 13-in-1 Thunderbolt 3 Dock to be exactly what they need."
"We are excited to work with the tech leaders at Intel to combine Anker's fast-charging technology with the highly-efficient connectivity of Thunderbolt 3," said Steven Yang, CEO of Anker Innovations. "We hope that artists, content creators, and other users who need a multitude of hardware tools available to them at once will find our PowerExpand Elite 13-in-1 Thunderbolt 3 Dock to be exactly what they need."
GIGABYTE Launches Compact Size Power Supplies
GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and gaming gears, today announced the 3 latest compact design power supplies: P750GM - 750 W 80 PLUS Gold certified with fully modular design, P550B - 550 W 80 PLUS Bronze certified, and P450B - 450 W 80 PLUS Bronze certified. GIGABYTE has improved the old circuit design and adopted new high-quality materials, so that the 750-watt power supply with a length of 16 cm or even 18 cm can be greatly reduced to 14 cm. The performance and stability of the power supply can also be improved in the reduced condition. The reduced-size power supply is more suitable for installation in the increasingly popular small chassis, so that even small chassis can enjoy the high performance brought by the large wattage.
The P750GM provides 750 watts of power to meet the power requirements of the high-end graphics card and CPU, so that gamers can enjoy the graphics intensive games without worrying about the power shortage. The main capacitor of P750GM is made in Japan, and the P750GM is 80 PLUS Gold certified, providing a maximum conversion efficiency of more than 90%, allowing gamers to enjoy a high quality and stable power supply while saving a lot of money. The fully modular design only installs the cables that are needed, making the whole system cleaner and allowing better heat dissipation. The P750GM also offers an 8+8 or 8+4 motherboard CPU power supply that can fully support mid- to high-end motherboards. In addition, the P750GM introduces the fan stop function, which will stop the fan from spinning during standby mode or when the power consumption is less than 20%, thus increasing the life of the device.
The P750GM provides 750 watts of power to meet the power requirements of the high-end graphics card and CPU, so that gamers can enjoy the graphics intensive games without worrying about the power shortage. The main capacitor of P750GM is made in Japan, and the P750GM is 80 PLUS Gold certified, providing a maximum conversion efficiency of more than 90%, allowing gamers to enjoy a high quality and stable power supply while saving a lot of money. The fully modular design only installs the cables that are needed, making the whole system cleaner and allowing better heat dissipation. The P750GM also offers an 8+8 or 8+4 motherboard CPU power supply that can fully support mid- to high-end motherboards. In addition, the P750GM introduces the fan stop function, which will stop the fan from spinning during standby mode or when the power consumption is less than 20%, thus increasing the life of the device.
AMD "Navi 12" Silicon Powering the Radeon Pro 5600M Rendered
Out of the blue, AMD announced its Radeon Pro 5600M mobile discrete graphics solution exclusive for Apple's 16-inch MacBook Pro. It turns out that the Pro 5600M is based on an all new ASIC by AMD, codenamed "Navi 12." This is a multi-chip module, much like "Vega 20," featuring a 7 nm GPU die and two 16 Gbit (4 GB) HBM2 memory stacks sitting on an interposer. While the actual specs of the GPU die on the "Navi 14" aren't known, on the Pro 5600M, it is configured with 40 RDNA compute units amounting to 2,560 stream processors, 160 TMUs, and possibly 64 ROPs.
The engine clock of the Pro 5600M is set at up to 1035 MHz. The HBM2 memory is clocked at 1.54 Gbps, which at the 2048-bit bus width, translates to 394 GB/s of memory bandwidth. There are two big takeaways from this expensive-looking ASIC design: a significantly smaller PCB footprint compared to a "Navi 10" ASIC with its eight GDDR6 memory chips; and a significantly lower power envelope. AMD rates the typical power at just 50 W. In the render below, the new ASIC is shown next to a "Navi 14" ASIC that power RX/Pro 5500-series SKUs.
The engine clock of the Pro 5600M is set at up to 1035 MHz. The HBM2 memory is clocked at 1.54 Gbps, which at the 2048-bit bus width, translates to 394 GB/s of memory bandwidth. There are two big takeaways from this expensive-looking ASIC design: a significantly smaller PCB footprint compared to a "Navi 10" ASIC with its eight GDDR6 memory chips; and a significantly lower power envelope. AMD rates the typical power at just 50 W. In the render below, the new ASIC is shown next to a "Navi 14" ASIC that power RX/Pro 5500-series SKUs.
New AMD Radeon Pro 5600M Mobile GPU Brings Desktop-Class Graphics Performance and Enhanced Power Efficiency to 16-inch MacBook Pro
AMD today announced availability of the new AMD Radeon Pro 5600M mobile GPU for the 16-inch MacBook Pro. Designed to deliver desktop-class graphics performance in an efficient mobile form factor, this new GPU powers computationally heavy workloads, enabling pro users to maximize productivity while on-the-go.
The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M GPU is built upon industry-leading 7 nm process technology and advanced AMD RDNA architecture to power a diverse range of pro applications, including video editing, color grading, application development, game creation and more. With 40 compute units and 8 GB of ultra-fast, low-power High Bandwidth Memory (HBM2), the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M GPU delivers superfast performance and excellent power efficiency in a single GPU package.
The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M GPU is built upon industry-leading 7 nm process technology and advanced AMD RDNA architecture to power a diverse range of pro applications, including video editing, color grading, application development, game creation and more. With 40 compute units and 8 GB of ultra-fast, low-power High Bandwidth Memory (HBM2), the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M GPU delivers superfast performance and excellent power efficiency in a single GPU package.
NZXT Expands its Ecommerce Experience into Europe
NZXT today announces that their online store as well as NZXT BLD--the simplest way to get a customized gaming PC--is now available in Germany and Austria. With this initiative, NZXT is marking its first expansion of their direct-to-consumer experience into the European Union. NZXT BLD (pronounced "Build") provides gamers with the ability to receive a professionally built custom PC shipped to them within 2 business days. With NZXT BLD, users start by choosing the games they want to play from a selection of bestselling titles, then set their desired budget, and NZXT BLD instantly recommends a gaming PC with estimated FPS (frames per second) guaranteed for the games chosen. By leveraging over 10 million analyzed gaming hours, and counting, NZXT BLD's unique recommendation engine accurately predicts a system's gaming performance so you can spend less time researching and setting up, and more time on what really matters--gaming.
"We built NZXT BLD to make it easy for people to get a gaming PC that they love, tailored around the games they want to play," said Johnny Hou, Founder and CEO of NZXT. "Helping make extraordinary gaming experiences achievable and fun is at the very core of NZXT and one of the main driving factors for expanding our service to Europe. During these trying times, where gaming has been a vital tool to help people stay connected, we are excited to bring BLD and our online store to help more gamers and PC builders easily get a gaming computer and connect with this amazing community."
"We built NZXT BLD to make it easy for people to get a gaming PC that they love, tailored around the games they want to play," said Johnny Hou, Founder and CEO of NZXT. "Helping make extraordinary gaming experiences achievable and fun is at the very core of NZXT and one of the main driving factors for expanding our service to Europe. During these trying times, where gaming has been a vital tool to help people stay connected, we are excited to bring BLD and our online store to help more gamers and PC builders easily get a gaming computer and connect with this amazing community."
Intel CET Answers Call to Protect Against Common Malware Threats
The security of our customers' data is a top priority at Intel. As part of Intel's Security First Pledge, our engineers continue to deliver advancements to help safeguard our technology from evolving cyber-threats. It begins with designing and engineering security features into our products and continues in our work with the industry to move security innovation forward.
Today, we are announcing a new security capability. Intel Control-Flow Enforcement Technology (Intel CET) will be first available on Intel's upcoming mobile processor code-named "Tiger Lake." Intel CET delivers CPU-level security capabilities to help protect against common malware attack methods that have been a challenge to mitigate with software alone.
Today, we are announcing a new security capability. Intel Control-Flow Enforcement Technology (Intel CET) will be first available on Intel's upcoming mobile processor code-named "Tiger Lake." Intel CET delivers CPU-level security capabilities to help protect against common malware attack methods that have been a challenge to mitigate with software alone.
ASUS Announces Partnership with Light Illusion, Color Management Specialists
ASUS today announced a new partnership with Light Illusion, who specializes in critical color management for the film, post-production and broadcast industries. Through the partnership, ASUS ProArt displays now feature integration with ColourSpace CMS, a software calibration system that connects to a wide variety of display calibration probes to correctly assess display color rendition, providing advanced and precise SDR and HDR calibration for ultimate color accuracy.
The latest ASUS ProArt PA32UCX, PA32UCX-P and PA27UCX displays are the first to support Light Illusion ColourSpace CMS for SDR and HDR calibration, offering support for the Rec. 709, DCI-P3, DCI P3 D65 and Rec. 2020 color spaces, as well as ST2084 and HLG multiple-HDR-format for HDR hardware calibration. ColourSpace CMS is used in display calibration and color management in the professional media industry and is compatible with most major calibrators, including those from Colorimetry Research, X-Rite, Datacolor and Klein.
The latest ASUS ProArt PA32UCX, PA32UCX-P and PA27UCX displays are the first to support Light Illusion ColourSpace CMS for SDR and HDR calibration, offering support for the Rec. 709, DCI-P3, DCI P3 D65 and Rec. 2020 color spaces, as well as ST2084 and HLG multiple-HDR-format for HDR hardware calibration. ColourSpace CMS is used in display calibration and color management in the professional media industry and is compatible with most major calibrators, including those from Colorimetry Research, X-Rite, Datacolor and Klein.
Montech Air X ARGB Case Starts Selling
New PC components entrant Montech released its Air X ARGB PC case to market, with distribution tie-ups with Newegg and Amazon. The Air X launched in March 2020, and its availability was originally slated for April, but the availability date was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For a company that's just taking off on the scene, this is particularly hard. The case is finally available on Amazon and Newegg. The Air X ARGB features a full length Diamond Mesh front air intake, and full 6 port ARGB fan controller all for an attractive price of $79.99 (excluding taxes) for the white variant, and $75.99 (excluding taxes) for the black variant. The Montech Air X ARGB is a high value for money ATX mid-tower case featuring an airy front mesh-type intake with ARGB embellishments, horizontally partitioned interiors, fan vents at just the right places, and a number of drive mounts. Buy the variant you like from the store you prefer.
Buy Montech Air X ARGB (black) from Amazon | Buy Montech Air X ARGB (white) from Amazon | Buy Montech Air X ARGB (black) from Newegg | Buy Montech Air X ARGB (white) from Newegg
Buy Montech Air X ARGB (black) from Amazon | Buy Montech Air X ARGB (white) from Amazon | Buy Montech Air X ARGB (black) from Newegg | Buy Montech Air X ARGB (white) from Newegg
ASUS Announces RT-AX86U and RT-AX82U Gaming Routers
ASUS today announced RT-AX86U and RT-AX82U, two high-performance dual-band WiFi 6 (802.11ax) gaming routers. The new models give gamers - especially mobile gamers - even more choice for creating an ultrafast and stable gaming network. RT-AX86U is an upgraded version of the best-selling RT-AC86U, keeping the classic black chassis with gaming-inspired red accents. It features ultrapowerful WiFi 6 technology with combined overall speeds of up to 5700 Mbps, while the boldly styled RT-AX82U delivers WiFi 6 speeds up to 5400 Mbps and features a futuristic design with amazing Aura RGB dynamic lighting effects.
Both models are packed with powerful, easy-to-use game acceleration features that will appeal to any kind of gamer, especially mobile gamers. The ASUS Router app includes a one-click Mobile Game Mode, and wired devices can be easily prioritized via the online control panel or by connecting them to the dedicated Gaming Port. RT-AX86U also includes a 2.5 Gbps WAN/LAN port, giving it true 2 Gbps networking capabilities for WAN, LAN and WiFi.
Both models are packed with powerful, easy-to-use game acceleration features that will appeal to any kind of gamer, especially mobile gamers. The ASUS Router app includes a one-click Mobile Game Mode, and wired devices can be easily prioritized via the online control panel or by connecting them to the dedicated Gaming Port. RT-AX86U also includes a 2.5 Gbps WAN/LAN port, giving it true 2 Gbps networking capabilities for WAN, LAN and WiFi.
Flash Memory Summit Announces October 20-22 Virtual Event
Flash Memory Summit (FMS), the world's premiere flash memory conference and exposition, today announced it will hold its 15th annual conference as a virtual event on October 20-22. By going virtual, FMS offers an unprecedented opportunity to expand its audience and bring together storage designers, integrators, and IT storage professionals from around the world. Virtual FMS offers a global exchange of the newest ideas and technology advances to help attendees create the most competitive, high-performance storage solutions.
"Virtual FMS continues our 15-year commitment to empower attendees to make the best decisions for their storage projects," said Chuck Sobey, Virtual FMS Conference Chair. "By bringing together the leading storage experts to deliver best-of-breed content, FMS remains the best continuing education opportunity in the storage industry."
"Virtual FMS continues our 15-year commitment to empower attendees to make the best decisions for their storage projects," said Chuck Sobey, Virtual FMS Conference Chair. "By bringing together the leading storage experts to deliver best-of-breed content, FMS remains the best continuing education opportunity in the storage industry."
XPG and GIGABYTE Work Together to Push the Limits of Overclocking on Intel Z490 and AMD B550 Platforms
XPG, a provider of high-performance products for gamers, esports pros, and tech enthusiasts, is pleased to announce that it has expanded its DDR4 overclocking testing program with a new working relationship with leading motherboard maker, GIGABYTE. Following the heels of the launch of the Intel Z490 chipset, XPG began testing and overclocking its new DDR4 modules with the latest Z490 platforms, as well as AMD B550 platforms, to ensure they meet the highest standards of overclocking performance and stability. This latest cooperation with GIGABYTE is a furtherance of this endeavor.
In cooperation with GIGABYTE, the XPG Overclocking Lab (XOCL) was able to overclock the XPG SPECTRIX D50 DDR4 module to 4800 MHz on the GIGABYTE Z490 AORUS XTREME WATERFORCE motherboard. Following this impressive result, the XOCL proceeded to test other XPG DDR4 modules on an array of other GIGABYTE motherboards to similar results.
In cooperation with GIGABYTE, the XPG Overclocking Lab (XOCL) was able to overclock the XPG SPECTRIX D50 DDR4 module to 4800 MHz on the GIGABYTE Z490 AORUS XTREME WATERFORCE motherboard. Following this impressive result, the XOCL proceeded to test other XPG DDR4 modules on an array of other GIGABYTE motherboards to similar results.
Has The Epic Games Store Helped or Hindered the PC Gaming Market?
When Epic Games launched the Epic Games Store back in December 2018 most people wrote it off as a glorified Fortnite launcher which could never compete with Steam's reach and features. While the Epic Games Store is still lacking in features compared to Steam it has come a long way since it's launch slowly adding in new features.
The Epic Games Store surprised many when it offered Subnautica for completely free on the store and so began the tradition of the Epic Games Store's weekly game giveaways which have given away over 100 different games in the last 18 months. While pursuing this strategy of game giveaways to attract new users to the platform Epic Games also secured many exclusives for the launcher which wasn't nearly as well received.
The Epic Games Store surprised many when it offered Subnautica for completely free on the store and so began the tradition of the Epic Games Store's weekly game giveaways which have given away over 100 different games in the last 18 months. While pursuing this strategy of game giveaways to attract new users to the platform Epic Games also secured many exclusives for the launcher which wasn't nearly as well received.
Intel "Willow Cove" Backported to 14nm is "Cypress Cove"?
Intel's 11th generation Core "Rocket Lake-S" desktop processor is fascinating as it introduces Intel's first CPU core IPC uptick in about half a decade. Until now, it was rumored that "Rocket Lake-S" features a back-port of Intel's "Willow Cove" CPU cores to the 14 nm silicon fabrication process. It turns out that Intel doesn't want to call these cores "Willow Cove," which make their debut with the 10 nm+ "Tiger Lake" mobile processors later this Summer. Enter "Cypress Cove." A Moore's Law is Dead video presentation sheds light on this mysterious new codename.
Apparently, "Cypress Cove" is the codename Intel is using to refer to the CPU cores Intel is building with its latest CPU core IP on older 14 nm process. Owing to the process, the IPC of these cores may be different from the "Willow Cove" cores on "Tiger Lake," and to avoid confusion, Intel possibly choosing to give it a different internal codename. In other words, Moore's Law is Dead believes that "Cypress Cove" may not offer the alleged 25% IPC gains over "Skylake" that you could expect instead from "Willow Cove" cores in "Tiger Lake."
Apparently, "Cypress Cove" is the codename Intel is using to refer to the CPU cores Intel is building with its latest CPU core IP on older 14 nm process. Owing to the process, the IPC of these cores may be different from the "Willow Cove" cores on "Tiger Lake," and to avoid confusion, Intel possibly choosing to give it a different internal codename. In other words, Moore's Law is Dead believes that "Cypress Cove" may not offer the alleged 25% IPC gains over "Skylake" that you could expect instead from "Willow Cove" cores in "Tiger Lake."
Abkoncore Announces the B719M Virtual 7.1 Gaming Headset
ABKONCORE has recently announced the B719M Virtual 7.1 Gaming Headset, the headset features RGB lighting, large earcups, adjustable headband, and 50 mm drivers. The headset features cross-platform compatibility with support for PC, Phone, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, and Xbox One. The headset cable includes an inline audio controller with volume control and mic/vibration buttons, the headset also features a USB power connector for RGB lighting effects on PC. A 3.5 mm to USB adapter is also included for PC use.
The headset features dual 50 mm neodymium drivers with an impedance of 32Ω, sensitivity of 122dB, frequency of 20Hz-20KHz, and a maximum power of 30 mW. The adjustable microphone comes with an impedance of 2.2KΩ and a sensitivity of -42dB.
The headset features dual 50 mm neodymium drivers with an impedance of 32Ω, sensitivity of 122dB, frequency of 20Hz-20KHz, and a maximum power of 30 mW. The adjustable microphone comes with an impedance of 2.2KΩ and a sensitivity of -42dB.
MSI Announces B550 Motherboard + 3rd Gen Ryzen Bundles: Up to $60 Steam Wallet Credit
MSI announced Steam Wallet credit offers for bundles of its AMD B550 chipset motherboards when bought with select 3rd generation Ryzen desktop processors. Get anywhere between USD $50 - $60 credited to your Steam Wallet when you pair an MSI B550 motherboard with a 3rd gen Ryzen 7 or Ryzen 9 processor, $40-$50 when bundled with a Ryzen 5 3600X or 3600, and $30-40 when paired with a Ryzen 3 3300X or 3100. The offer is open for sales of motherboards made between June 16 and August 31, 2020, from select retailers, in select regions. Find details of the offer here.
Silicon Power Announces US70 PCIe Gen 4x4 SSD
Spring into the future with our new PCIe 4.0. Offering a standard data transfer rate that's double that of the previous 3.0 version, the US70 PCIe Gen 4x4 with 3D NAND flash memory and NVMe 1.3 support is exactly what combative gamers, competitive overclockers, professional designers/editors, and high-end business users crave. With incredible read and write speeds up to 5,000MB/s and 4,400MB/s, respectively, the US70 is nearly 10 times faster than traditional SATA III SSDs. It provides next-level specs that will be competitively relevant for the future, while also being backwards-compatible with PCIe 3.0 too.
KeysWorlds Unveils Mid-Year Sale with Up to 50% Off on Genuine Software
KeysWorlds is a global merchant of discounted genuine software, announcing today its Mid-Year Sale, letting you grab all the genuine software you need to fire up your new gaming PC build for the season. Get up to 50% off on our already discounted prices pushed down further for TechPowerUp readers, including genuine Windows 10 Pro at a single-figure price, lifetime-valid Office 2019 and Office 2016 at some of the lowest prices on the web; and annual licenses to popular security software from Kaspersky Labs, Eset, and McAfee. KeysWorlds uses the PayPal payment gateway, so you can shop with safety and confidence.
Apply the coupon code KWS50 on the following items at check-out to avail the price you see here.
Buy Office 2019 Professional Plus for $32.27 | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2019 Professional for $38.28 | Buy Windows 10 Home + Office 2019 Professional for $39.38 | Buy Office 2019 Home and Student for $39.62 | Buy Office 2019 Home and Business for Mac for $54.15 | Buy Office 2019 Professional Plus 5-PC for $82.04
Apply the code KWS35 on the following items to get the prices you see here.
Buy Windows 10 Pro for $9.95 | Buy Windows 10 Home for $10.66 | Buy Office 2016 Professional Plus for $28.44 | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2016 Professional Plus for $32.70 | Buy Windows 10 Home + Office 2016 Professional for $34.23 | Buy Office 365 1-year Account for $16.85 | Buy Office 365 1-year account + Windows 10 Pro lifetime-valid for $22.75 | Buy Office 365 1-year account + Windows 10 Home lifetime-valid for $23.46
Apply the code KWS20 on the following items.
Buy McAfee Antivirus 1 PC 1-year for $10.49 | Buy Avast Internet Security 1 PC 1-year for $16.62 | Buy Kaspersky Antivirus 2020 1 PC 1-year for $21 | Buy ESET NOD32 Internet Security 1 PC 1-year for $33.25
Apply the coupon code KWS50 on the following items at check-out to avail the price you see here.
Buy Office 2019 Professional Plus for $32.27 | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2019 Professional for $38.28 | Buy Windows 10 Home + Office 2019 Professional for $39.38 | Buy Office 2019 Home and Student for $39.62 | Buy Office 2019 Home and Business for Mac for $54.15 | Buy Office 2019 Professional Plus 5-PC for $82.04
Apply the code KWS35 on the following items to get the prices you see here.
Buy Windows 10 Pro for $9.95 | Buy Windows 10 Home for $10.66 | Buy Office 2016 Professional Plus for $28.44 | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2016 Professional Plus for $32.70 | Buy Windows 10 Home + Office 2016 Professional for $34.23 | Buy Office 365 1-year Account for $16.85 | Buy Office 365 1-year account + Windows 10 Pro lifetime-valid for $22.75 | Buy Office 365 1-year account + Windows 10 Home lifetime-valid for $23.46
Apply the code KWS20 on the following items.
Buy McAfee Antivirus 1 PC 1-year for $10.49 | Buy Avast Internet Security 1 PC 1-year for $16.62 | Buy Kaspersky Antivirus 2020 1 PC 1-year for $21 | Buy ESET NOD32 Internet Security 1 PC 1-year for $33.25
Viotek Unveils GFI27QXA Gaming Monitor: 27-inch, 4K IPS, 144 Hz
Viotek unveiled the GFI27QXA, a 27-inch gaming monitor with formidable specs. It offers an IPS panel with 4K UHD (3840 x 2160 pixels) resolution, 144 Hz refresh rate, 1 ms response time, and support for VESA Adaptive Sync, AMD FreeSync, NVIDIA G-SYNC, and HDR (limited to 60 Hz). Other specs include maximum brightness of 350 cd/m², 1,000:1 static contrast ratio (with DCR), and 16.7 million color capability. Inputs include two DisplayPort 1.4 and an HDMI 2.0. One of Viotek's claims to fame is its dead-pixel warranty, which offers a replacement for even 1 dead pixel (while other brands require clusters of dead pixels). The monitor is backed by a 3-year warranty and is priced at USD $749 (promotional price).
Advantech Introduces High-Performance 3.5-in SBC MIO-5393
Advantech, a leading global provider of IoT systems and embedded platforms, is pleased to announce the latest 3.5" SBC MIO-5393 powered by 9th Gen. Intelxeon /Core. Featuring a compact 146x 102 mm (5.78x 4.01 in) design, this single board computer offers impressive I/O functionality and domain-focused features like CAN bus. Advantech's small form-factor design functions in broad operating temperature ranges (-40 ~ 85 °C / -40 ~ 185 °F), making it an excellent choice for diverse applications that require high processing speeds—including military defense micro-servers, AOI machines, passenger information systems, and outdoor kiosks.
Advantech's platform is the first 3.5" SBC to feature the latest 9th Gen. Intelxeon /Core with six core computing power. This new generation SBC doubles USB speed by utilizing USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps). Using a built-in Gen9 LP graphics engine, MIO-5393 supports three simultaneous displays with 48bits LVDS (eDP optional), HDMI (up to 4k @ 30Hz), and DisplayPort (up to 4k @ 60Hz). MIO-5393 supports up to 32 GB/64 GB memory size dual-channel DDR4 2400 MHz. Advantech's platform features M.2 M-Key 2280 slot for supporting NVMe/PCIE Gen3x4 high-speed PCIe SSD storage. MIO-5393 capacitates a high data rate for computing and storage, making it an excellent solution for diverse applications demanding performance in a compact 3.5" form factor.
Advantech's platform is the first 3.5" SBC to feature the latest 9th Gen. Intelxeon /Core with six core computing power. This new generation SBC doubles USB speed by utilizing USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps). Using a built-in Gen9 LP graphics engine, MIO-5393 supports three simultaneous displays with 48bits LVDS (eDP optional), HDMI (up to 4k @ 30Hz), and DisplayPort (up to 4k @ 60Hz). MIO-5393 supports up to 32 GB/64 GB memory size dual-channel DDR4 2400 MHz. Advantech's platform features M.2 M-Key 2280 slot for supporting NVMe/PCIE Gen3x4 high-speed PCIe SSD storage. MIO-5393 capacitates a high data rate for computing and storage, making it an excellent solution for diverse applications demanding performance in a compact 3.5" form factor.
Intel Ice Lake CPUs Have a System Crashing Bug
Intel CPUs have been rather notorious for system bugs recently. Starting from 2018's Spectre and Meltdown which used speculative execution to exploit systems, the string of new vulnerabilities just continued to this day. Recently we had CrossTalk exploit which represents a threat to cloud providers, where one user could compromise another just by using the same CPU from which the virtual instances are powered. These types of exploits are even more dangerous than ones that require local access, as that is already dangerous by itself. A lot of these issues are said to be ironed out by Intel's new microarchitecture designs like Ice Lake, Tiger Lake, and future revisions.
However, it seems like Intel is encountering some problems with even the latest Ice Lake CPUs when it comes to system bugs. JetBrains, a Czech provider of software development tools has a Java programming language development environment called IntelliJ integrated development environment. It was recently reported that on MacBook Air 2020 and Microsoft Surface Pro models equipped with 10th generation Intel Ice Lake CPUs, IntelliJ IDE causes system restart or a complete OS crash. In the report, the CPU ran in a Linux VM that isolates itself from MacOS so the macOS XNU kernel is not to blame. In the report thread, another user running Windows on Microsoft Surface Pro experienced the crash as well.
However, it seems like Intel is encountering some problems with even the latest Ice Lake CPUs when it comes to system bugs. JetBrains, a Czech provider of software development tools has a Java programming language development environment called IntelliJ integrated development environment. It was recently reported that on MacBook Air 2020 and Microsoft Surface Pro models equipped with 10th generation Intel Ice Lake CPUs, IntelliJ IDE causes system restart or a complete OS crash. In the report, the CPU ran in a Linux VM that isolates itself from MacOS so the macOS XNU kernel is not to blame. In the report thread, another user running Windows on Microsoft Surface Pro experienced the crash as well.
You Can now Play Counter-Strike 1.6 in Your Web-Browser
Counter-Strike is one of the favorite game franchises for all gamers. It is an FPS shooter that probably got many of us into gaming. Version 1.6 which launched in 2000 is still played by many players around the world to this day. Including my self sometimes. It is just quick fun for when you have some spare time to kill and want to do a few multiplayer rounds. Its simplicity and fun were what made the game very popular among many gamers. So wouldn't it be fun to play it without installing if you want quick action? Now it is possible to play it in your web-browser requiring no installation of the game. There is a website which you can visit here and try it out for yourself. Surprisingly it runs very smooth and I didn't experience any issues myself. Please tell us your experience in the comments if you decide to try and run this.
AMD "Renoir" Processor Run Without Any Cooling
Fritzchens Fritz, known in the PC enthusiast community for his high-detail silicon die photography, attempted thermal imaging on an AMD "Renoir" mobile processor with great success. He discovered that the processor can survive without any cooling (not even passive cooling, but the bare processor exposed to the air). A 4-core Ryzen 3 4300U "Renoir" was used in the experiment. The thermal camera picked up that only one of the two CCXs was active during the tests. Not only was the processor found to start, but was also found to be bench-stable with Cinebench R15 and "Crysis" benchmark, during the experiment's 10-minute runtime. Cinebench R15 and 3DMark TimeSpy scores were also obtained. Find the video in the source link below.
Sunday, June 14th 2020
EA Battlefield Franchise, More Games Return to Steam
Players can experience modern day warfare in Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 or the WWI and WWII battles of the past in Battlefield 1 and Battlefield V respectively. Players can also fight for humanity as Commander Shepard in Mass Effect 3 or visit new worlds as Sara or Scott Ryder in Mass Effect Andromeda. In addition, players can play as iconic Star Wars characters and with the incredible Star Wars vehicles in Star Wars Battlefront I and Star Wars Battlefront II.
Last Friday, the Command & Conquer Remastered Collection was the second new EA game to launch on Steam to great success, reaching the top game globally on Steam best-selling charts during its launch weekend. Last weekend, EA games also had five games appear in the top 10 of the Steam best-selling charts with their first wave of titles released on Steam last Thursday, giving players the opportunity to explore the fantastical worlds of the BioWare award-winning Role-Playing Games - Dragon Age : Inquisition and Dragon Age II and experience high-speed, white-knuckle driving action in Need for Speed Heat, Need for Speed: Rivals and Need for Speed (2016). Players can also battle it out in the wacky, fun and over-the-top shooter, Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville, or play from a selection of the bold and innovative games from EA's indie development partners like Unravel, Unravel II, Fe and Sea of Solitude.
Last Friday, the Command & Conquer Remastered Collection was the second new EA game to launch on Steam to great success, reaching the top game globally on Steam best-selling charts during its launch weekend. Last weekend, EA games also had five games appear in the top 10 of the Steam best-selling charts with their first wave of titles released on Steam last Thursday, giving players the opportunity to explore the fantastical worlds of the BioWare award-winning Role-Playing Games - Dragon Age : Inquisition and Dragon Age II and experience high-speed, white-knuckle driving action in Need for Speed Heat, Need for Speed: Rivals and Need for Speed (2016). Players can also battle it out in the wacky, fun and over-the-top shooter, Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville, or play from a selection of the bold and innovative games from EA's indie development partners like Unravel, Unravel II, Fe and Sea of Solitude.
Taiwan Court Strikes UMC and Fomer Micron Employees for Stealing Micron Trade Secrets
The Taichung District Court in Taiwan ruled in favor of Micron Technology in a case dating back to 2017, against semiconductor foundry UMC and two of its former employees. Micron had alleged that UMC and three of Micron former employees stole Micron's trade secrets and conveyed them to Mainland Chinese DRAM maker Fujian Jinhua IC. One of the accused include Stephen Chen, former president for Micron Memory in Taiwan.
The Court ruled that the three former Micron employees serve 4.5-6.5 years in prison, in addition to paying NTD 4-6 million fines, each. As for UMC, it has been ordered to pay NTD 100 million (USD $3.4 million) in damages to Micron Technology, a parking ticket value compared to the commercial damage FJIC will inflict to Micron in the years to come.
The Court ruled that the three former Micron employees serve 4.5-6.5 years in prison, in addition to paying NTD 4-6 million fines, each. As for UMC, it has been ordered to pay NTD 100 million (USD $3.4 million) in damages to Micron Technology, a parking ticket value compared to the commercial damage FJIC will inflict to Micron in the years to come.
PNY Announces 512GB Elite-X Fit USB 3.1 Flash Drive
PNY Technologies Announces today the launch and availability of the newest member of its Elite-X Fit family of products. Boasting 512 GB of capacity the new Elite-X Fit USB 3.1 Flash Drive is small in size but big in capacity, performance and portability; meeting the requirements of speed and convenience that exist in our world today.
PNY's technology advancements made it possible to double the capacity size of the 256 GB Elite-X Fit without compromising form-factor, functionality or performance. The newly achieved capacity allows for the storage of over 90,000 photos at 20MP. Performance is also noteworthy as the drive delivers a read speed of up to 200 MB/s and a transfer speed that is thirty times faster than the typical USB 2.0 flash drive, allowing for the fast transfer and storage of large files.
PNY's technology advancements made it possible to double the capacity size of the 256 GB Elite-X Fit without compromising form-factor, functionality or performance. The newly achieved capacity allows for the storage of over 90,000 photos at 20MP. Performance is also noteworthy as the drive delivers a read speed of up to 200 MB/s and a transfer speed that is thirty times faster than the typical USB 2.0 flash drive, allowing for the fast transfer and storage of large files.
NVIDIA Silently Increases GeForce NVENC Concurrent Sessions Limit to 3
NVIDIA has reportedly increased the concurrent sessions limit of its NVENC hardware video encoder on GeForce graphics cards to 3, up from 2. This means up to three different apps could use NVENC simultaneously, or an app (such as Premiere Pro) could use up to three sessions of NVENC for faster live previews during video editing. NVIDIA's Quadro family graphics cards can have practically unlimited NVENC concurrent sessions. The company recently updated the NVENC support matrix page showing a "Max # of concurrent sessions" increase from 2 to 3. The first screenshot below shows the updated page, and the second one shows a Web Archive snapshot from 2 weeks ago. NVIDIA last updated its GeForce drivers late May with 446.14 WHQL, so you might want to update your drivers.
AMD to Update its Radeon Logo Yet Again, Possibly Debut with Big Navi
AMD is updating the Radeon logo yet again, as spotted by Casmoden on Twitter. The new logo was tucked away in the main branding screen of a "Godfall" trailer that revealed the game's Holiday 2020 release date. Tucked away besides developer- and console platform logos is the new AMD Radeon logo, indicating optimization for AMD GPUs. The new logo features a Ryzen logo typeset (resembling the ESPN logo, with floating tops of the letters E, R, and D). In a March 2020 tweet, AMD Radeon RX group head Scott Herkelman mentioned that the lack of logo alignment between Ryzen, EPYC, and Radeon had been "bugging them." For reference, there's the current AMD Radeon logo in a company slide. AMD could likely debut the new Radeon logo with its upcoming RDNA2-based "Big Navi" graphics card that is expected to be announced in September.
AMD B550 Chipset Motherboards Listed, Available from June 16
Socket AM4 motherboards based on AMD B550 chipset are listed on popular e-tailers such as Newegg. The boards will be available to order from tomorrow (June 16). Some of these models are open for pre-order on Newegg. Despite AMD's best efforts to have its manufacturers list a token few models under the $100-mark, the boards on Newegg only start at $115 for what were supposed to be $99 models, going all the way up to $300 for some of the flagship models. In essence, B550 succeeds both the B450 and X470 in pricing spread of motherboards. Highly anticipated models, such as the MSI MAG Tomahawk are priced at $180, and the ASUS Strix-F at $190. Top tier boards like the ASUS Strix-E and Aorus Master are listed for $280, while the ASRock Taichi scorches your wallet at $300.
AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT and Ryzen 9 3900XT Listed on Amazon Italy, Release Dates Revealed
Amazon Italy listed two of AMD's three upcoming 3rd generation Ryzen XT series desktop processors. The listings also reveal tentative product announcement and availability dates. According to the listings, the 6-core/12-thread Ryzen 5 3600XT, with its maximum boost frequency at 4.50 GHz, is priced at 285€ including VAT, while the 12-core/24-thread 3900XT with 4.70 GHz boost frequency, goes for 570€ (including VAT). The 3600XT includes a Wraith Spire cooler in the box, while the 3900XT lacks any cooler in the box (unlike the 3900X, which includes a Wraith Prism).
The listings also reveal key dates for the 3rd gen Ryzen XT series desktop processors. Apparently, AMD will announce these processors tomorrow (June 16), possibly opening them up for pre-orders worldwide. Availability of the processors is slated for July 7, which is when the pre-orders will begin shipping. AMD is refreshing its 3rd gen Ryzen processor series with the 3600XT, 3800XT, and 3900XT, in a bid to make its product stack more competitive against the Core i5-10600K, i7-10700K, and i9-10900K.
The listings also reveal key dates for the 3rd gen Ryzen XT series desktop processors. Apparently, AMD will announce these processors tomorrow (June 16), possibly opening them up for pre-orders worldwide. Availability of the processors is slated for July 7, which is when the pre-orders will begin shipping. AMD is refreshing its 3rd gen Ryzen processor series with the 3600XT, 3800XT, and 3900XT, in a bid to make its product stack more competitive against the Core i5-10600K, i7-10700K, and i9-10900K.
Friday, June 12th 2020
Today's Reviews
Accessories
CPU Coolers
Monitors
Motherboards
Kingston KC2000 1 TB M.2 NVMe SSD Review - Firmware Update Tested, now Fastest SSD
Last year, we found a bug in Kingston's SSD firmware, which inflicted a significant performance penalty. Now, a software fix is publicly available, and it makes a big difference. The Kingston KC2000 is now the fastest SSD we have ever tested; it even manages to beat the Samsung 970 Pro.
1MORE Dual Driver ANC Pro Review
The 1MORE Dual Driver ANC Pro wireless headphones are built around a neckband design. They offer excellent sound and microphone quality, and a host of nifty features, such as solid hybrid active noise canceling technology, high-bandwidth LDAC Bluetooth codec support, and IPX5 water/sweat resistance.
IO Interactive Announces HITMAN 3, Posts Announcement Trailer and Release Date
IO Interactive is proud and excited to announce HITMAN 3, the next game from IO Interactive. It makes us smile just reading that out loud. Here's the brand new Announcement Trailer for you to enjoy. HITMAN 3 is the dramatic conclusion to the World of Assassination trilogy and takes players around the world on a globetrotting adventure to sprawling sandbox locations. Agent 47 returns as a ruthless professional for the most important contracts of his entire career.
Supported by his Agency handler, Diana Burnwood, 47 joins forces with his long-lost friend Lucas Grey. Their ultimate mission is to eliminate the partners of Providence, but they are forced to adapt as their hunt intensifies. When the dust settles, 47 and the world he inhabits will never be the same again. HITMAN 3 will be available in January 2021 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One and PC. Death Awaits.
Supported by his Agency handler, Diana Burnwood, 47 joins forces with his long-lost friend Lucas Grey. Their ultimate mission is to eliminate the partners of Providence, but they are forced to adapt as their hunt intensifies. When the dust settles, 47 and the world he inhabits will never be the same again. HITMAN 3 will be available in January 2021 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One and PC. Death Awaits.
ASUS Announces AI Noise-canceling Microphone Technology
New technology eliminates background noise for clear voice communication with ASUS AI Noise-Canceling Mic Adapter, ROG Strix Go, ROG Theta 7.1 headsets and more. ASUS today announced new AI Noise-Canceling Microphone (AI Mic) technology that intelligently eliminates unwanted background noise for clear voice communication for work or play. The new technology uses chipset-based machine learning to filter out and remove other human voices and ambient sounds like wind or traffic noise. This new technology is now available on the ASUS AI Noise Canceling Mic Adapter and the latest ROG headsets.
ASUS AI Noise-Canceling Mic Adapter is the world's first USB-C to 3.5 mm adapter with integrated AI Mic technology. It connects to any headset via a 3.5 mm audio jack to provide users with crystal-clear voice communication. The built‑in chipset handles all of the sound processing, so the adapter does not affect the performance of the mobile device, PC or laptop it is connected to. Weighing just 8 grams, the AI Noise-Canceling Mic Adapter includes exclusive ASUS Hyper-Grounding technology to prevent electromagnetic interference for noise-free audio. In select markets, it is available with a USB Type-C-to-Type‑A adapter.
ASUS AI Noise-Canceling Mic Adapter is the world's first USB-C to 3.5 mm adapter with integrated AI Mic technology. It connects to any headset via a 3.5 mm audio jack to provide users with crystal-clear voice communication. The built‑in chipset handles all of the sound processing, so the adapter does not affect the performance of the mobile device, PC or laptop it is connected to. Weighing just 8 grams, the AI Noise-Canceling Mic Adapter includes exclusive ASUS Hyper-Grounding technology to prevent electromagnetic interference for noise-free audio. In select markets, it is available with a USB Type-C-to-Type‑A adapter.
Aqua Computer Releases Cuplex Kryos NEXT sTRX4 FC Water Blocks
Aqua Computer, the German specialist for water cooled systems, introduces a new CPU water block for the AMD socket sTRX4: the cuplex kryos NEXT sTRX4 FC. The new cooler is manufactured directly at Aqua Computer in Germany. A solid nickel-plated copper base offers an extremely large microstructure with a surface area of 51x45 mm - the largest ever manufactured for a CPU cooler at Aqua Computer. This microstructure is CNC machined in an extensive CNC production process to a structure size of less than 200 µm.
The cooler is offered by Aqua Computer in three versions, whereby the cooling performance is identical and only the housing of the cooler is different. The most economical variant is based on a housing made of black acetal. Additionally, Aqua Computer offers a model with integrated digital LED lighting. For this cooler, the housing is made of Plexiglas and is framed by a black anodized aluminium frame.
The cooler is offered by Aqua Computer in three versions, whereby the cooling performance is identical and only the housing of the cooler is different. The most economical variant is based on a housing made of black acetal. Additionally, Aqua Computer offers a model with integrated digital LED lighting. For this cooler, the housing is made of Plexiglas and is framed by a black anodized aluminium frame.
G.SKILL Releases DDR4-4400 CL17 Memory Kits with High-Capacity 16GB Modules
G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory and gaming peripherals, is releasing new extreme-speed DDR4 memory kits that push 16 GB and 8 GB modules up to DDR4-4400 with a low latency of CL17-18-18-38 across the board, under the Trident Z Royal family. Upgrading specifications across all three fronts of memory frequency speed, module capacity, and low memory latency, these specifications are engineered with Samsung B-die ICs and designed for the latest Intel Z490 platform to achieve higher performance for gaming and content creation.
As 32 GB memory total capacity becomes the standard for gaming PC and performance PC builds, G.SKILL recognizes the importance of extreme performance 16 GB x2 memory kit configurations. Rising to the challenge, G.SKILL has created the DDR4-4400 CL17-18-18-38 memory kit with 32 GB (16 GB x2) capacity under the Trident Z Royal family. See the memory kit stress testing on the MSI MPG Z490 GAMING PLUS motherboard with an Intel Core i5-10600K processor in the screenshot below.
As 32 GB memory total capacity becomes the standard for gaming PC and performance PC builds, G.SKILL recognizes the importance of extreme performance 16 GB x2 memory kit configurations. Rising to the challenge, G.SKILL has created the DDR4-4400 CL17-18-18-38 memory kit with 32 GB (16 GB x2) capacity under the Trident Z Royal family. See the memory kit stress testing on the MSI MPG Z490 GAMING PLUS motherboard with an Intel Core i5-10600K processor in the screenshot below.
Gear Up This Summer with Genuine Software from GoodOffer24
Summer is the season for hardware upgrades, with plenty of next-generation gear hitting the markets. Have more budget to spare for hardware by availing in discounted genuine software from GoodOffer24. As part of its Summer 2020 Sale, with store-wide discounts, GoodOffer24 is selling genuine, globally valid Windows 10 and Office editions at great prices. A new build always begins with a fresh installation of its OS. Get Windows 10 Pro for 10.39€. Upgrade the machines in your small business with Windows 10 Enterprise 2019 LTSC at 9.85€ per license. Get a twin-pack of Windows 10 Pro for 15.39€. No home desktop is complete without Office. Get Office 2016 Professional Plus for just 29.29€, and Office 2019 Professional Plus for 28.69€. Combine them with your favorite edition of Windows to save even more. GoodOffer24 uses PayPal, so your payment instrument and purchase are secure.
Please use the coupon code TP30 at checkout to avail the prices you see here.
Buy Windows 10 Pro from GoodOffer24 for 10.39€ | Buy Windows 10 Enterprise 2019 LTSC for 9.85€ | Buy Windows 10 Pro 2-PC for $15.39€ | Buy Windows 10 Home for 10.31€ | Buy Office 2016 Professional Plus for 29.29€ | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2016 Professional for 37.09€ | Buy Windows 10 Home + Office 2016 Professional for 39.69€ | Buy Office 2019 Professional for 28.69€ | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2019 Professional for 36.39€
Please use the coupon code TP30 at checkout to avail the prices you see here.
Buy Windows 10 Pro from GoodOffer24 for 10.39€ | Buy Windows 10 Enterprise 2019 LTSC for 9.85€ | Buy Windows 10 Pro 2-PC for $15.39€ | Buy Windows 10 Home for 10.31€ | Buy Office 2016 Professional Plus for 29.29€ | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2016 Professional for 37.09€ | Buy Windows 10 Home + Office 2016 Professional for 39.69€ | Buy Office 2019 Professional for 28.69€ | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2019 Professional for 36.39€
Samsung 980 Pro PCIe 4.0 SSD Rumored to Launch Within Two Months
The Samsung 980 Pro SSD was first revealed at CES 2020, making it Samsungs first consumer PCIe 4.0 SSD. Hardware leaker Ice Universe is claiming that Samsung will release the SSD within the next two months, which puts the latest date for a release in late August if the leak is to be believed. The Samsung 980 Pro should destroy the competition if Samsung's claims are true with advertised maximum sequential reads of 6.5GB/s, and sequential writes of 5GB/s. This is a large jump over Samsung's 970 Pro PCIe 3.0 SSD with advertised speeds of 3.5GB/s and 2.7GB/s, these numbers also offer a significant bump over its fellow PCIe 4.0 competitors such as the Corsair MP600 with advertised speeds 5GB/s and 4.3GB/s.
ASUS Releases Polaris 12 Phoenix Radeon 550 Card
The Polaris architecture was debuted by AMD in the RX 400 series almost 4 years ago, since then AMD has released two new generations of graphics processors, Vega and Navi. It seems that the Polaris architecture will be living on a bit longer with the release of the ASUS Phoenix Radeon 550 2GB GPU, based on the Polaris 12 GPU.
This product may seem familiar and that's because ASUS released the Phoenix Radeon RX 550 back in 2017, the new Phoenix Radeon 550 uses a different memory configuration of 2 GB GDDR5 / 64-bit / 6 Gbps which is a significant step down from the 2/4 GB GDDR5 / 128-bit / 7 Gbps of the Phoenix Radeon RX 550 especially considering that card was released 3 years ago. This new card seems to have been available to OEM's for some time and is only now making it's way to retail at a hopefully cheap price.
This product may seem familiar and that's because ASUS released the Phoenix Radeon RX 550 back in 2017, the new Phoenix Radeon 550 uses a different memory configuration of 2 GB GDDR5 / 64-bit / 6 Gbps which is a significant step down from the 2/4 GB GDDR5 / 128-bit / 7 Gbps of the Phoenix Radeon RX 550 especially considering that card was released 3 years ago. This new card seems to have been available to OEM's for some time and is only now making it's way to retail at a hopefully cheap price.
Thursday, June 11th 2020
Today's Reviews
Cooling
CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
Headphones
Motherboards
Processors
Zalman CNPS17X Review
The Zalman CNPS17X is an eye-catching single-tower CPU cooler that follows in the footsteps of the CNPS20X, its larger sibling. It makes use of the same 4D stereoscopic corrugated fins and is equipped with a dual-blade spider ARGB fan, both of which contribute to its unique look. However, considering its price tag of $69, it faces some seriously stiff competition.
Tesoro Alphaeon S1 Gaming Chair Review
The Tesoro Alphaeon S1 is modestly priced, and given its features, it is worth taking a look at if you are searching for a new chair. It comes in three color combinations with a solid metal frame covered in cold cure foam and has a weight limit of 120 kg.
Computex 2020 Officially Cancelled
TAITRA, organizers of Computex, the year's biggest PC industry-related tech expo that highlights Taiwan's vibrant computer hardware and consumer electronics industries, announced that they have formally cancelled the 2020 edition of Computex. Originally slated for June as almost every edition prior, Computex 2020 was hit hard by the COVID-19 global pandemic that caused exhibitors to pull out. TAITRA scrambled to postpone the 2020 edition to September, a move that apparently didn't do enough to bring back exhibitors. With the COVID-19 crisis showing no signs of waning by September, TAITRA did the only thing it could: can the 2020 edition. The company did put up a brave face and hoped that the 2021 edition will go ahead as planned, scheduled for June 1-5, 2021. One of our industry partners shared with us a copy of the email TAITRA sent to its exhibitors.
The TAITRA press-release follows.
Semiconductor Fabs to Log Record Spending of Nearly $68 Billion in 2021, SEMI Reports
2021 is poised to mark a banner year for global fab equipment spending with 24 percent growth to a record US$67.7 billion, 10 percent higher than the previously forecast US$65.7 billion, and all product segments promising solid growth rates, according to the second-quarter 2020 update of the SEMI World Fab Forecast report. Memory fabs will lead worldwide semiconductor segments with US$30 billion in equipment spending, while leading-edge logic and foundry is expected to rank second with US$29 billion in investments.
The 3D NAND memory subsegment will help power the spending spree with a 30 percent jump in investments this year before tacking on 17 percent growth in 2021. DRAM fab investments will surge 50 percent next year after declining 11 percent in 2020, and fab spending on logic and foundry, mainly leading edge, will trace a similar but more muted trajectory, rising 16 percent 2021 after an 11 percent drop this year.
The 3D NAND memory subsegment will help power the spending spree with a 30 percent jump in investments this year before tacking on 17 percent growth in 2021. DRAM fab investments will surge 50 percent next year after declining 11 percent in 2020, and fab spending on logic and foundry, mainly leading edge, will trace a similar but more muted trajectory, rising 16 percent 2021 after an 11 percent drop this year.
AMD Responds to Allegations of Ryzen Power Reporting Deviation Reducing CPU Life
AMD on Thursday posted its first official response to reports that the deviation in power reporting by the CPU VRM controller to a Ryzen processor against its actual power delivery may be shortening processor lifespan, sparked by HWInfo introducing the "Power Reporting Deviation" sensor. "We are aware of the reports claiming that select motherboards may be under-reporting certain power telemetry data that could alter the performance and/or behavior of AMD Ryzen processors under certain conditions. We are looking into the accuracy of these reports," the response begins.
AMD also clarified that Ryzen processors aren't dictated entirely by the power telemetry from VRM controllers. "We want to be clear with our customers: AMD Ryzen processors contain a diverse array of internal safeguards that operate independently of external data sources. These safeguards enforce the safety and reliability of the processor during stock operation. Based on our initial assessment, we do not believe that altering external telemetry in the manner described by those public reports would have a material impact on the longevity or safety of a user's processor." AMD's response also suggests that the company isn't aware of power reporting deviation or at least the extent to which motherboard manufacturers rely on tricking the external power telemetry setup to send more power to processors, in a bid to notch ahead in stock performance or overclocking headroom.
AMD also clarified that Ryzen processors aren't dictated entirely by the power telemetry from VRM controllers. "We want to be clear with our customers: AMD Ryzen processors contain a diverse array of internal safeguards that operate independently of external data sources. These safeguards enforce the safety and reliability of the processor during stock operation. Based on our initial assessment, we do not believe that altering external telemetry in the manner described by those public reports would have a material impact on the longevity or safety of a user's processor." AMD's response also suggests that the company isn't aware of power reporting deviation or at least the extent to which motherboard manufacturers rely on tricking the external power telemetry setup to send more power to processors, in a bid to notch ahead in stock performance or overclocking headroom.
Alphacool Announces a Trio of New Products
Alphacool announced three new products today. These include the Alphacool Eisbaer Aurora (Solo) - Digital RGB, new Quick Release Connector Kits; and Alphatube TPV. Build your own AIO water cooling system with the Eisbaer Aurora (Solo). Alongside the different pre-filled Eisbaer Aurora CPU AIO watercoolers that can be used "Out of the Box", the core of the Eisbaer Aurora is also available as a solo version. With it you can decide how you want to build your water cooling loop and which parts you want to use for it. By using the industry standard G1/4" ports, all fittings from the water cooling sector can be used. This gives you the ability to choose the hose thickness, colour, style, and liquid freely. The Eisbaer Aurora gives you full control.
Alphacool ES quick release connector kit TPV pushin Industry version: The Alphacool HF Quick Disconnect Fittings for TPV tubing are taken from the Alphacool Enterprise Solutions product range and has been developed especially for Alphacool TPV hoses. Special emphasis has been placed on high tensile strength and safety.
Alphacool ES quick release connector kit TPV pushin Industry version: The Alphacool HF Quick Disconnect Fittings for TPV tubing are taken from the Alphacool Enterprise Solutions product range and has been developed especially for Alphacool TPV hoses. Special emphasis has been placed on high tensile strength and safety.
EK Water Blocks EK-Quantum Power Kits Roll Out
EK Water Blocks, the premium liquid cooling gear manufacturer, is launching the new EK-Quantum Power Kits that are based on EK's successful RGB kits, but this time with complete D-RGB support and all-Quantum Line products, with various added accessories. The Kits are aimed at enthusiasts who have powerful PC hardware and want a very high-end solution for cooling that hardware without having to pick custom loop parts themselves. These Quantum kits will make the loop building experience easier thanks to the extra accessories. Additional benefits also come from D-RGB (addressable RGB), dye pack for creating own coolant color, two 90 degree fittings, reservoir tube clamps for alternative mounting, and more. These kits come in two sizes - 240 and 360 which designate the size of the radiator.
Jim Keller Resigns from Intel
Intel today announced that systems designer-extraordinaire Jim Keller has departed the company citing personal reasons. Whether or not this is a blow to Intel likely depends on how far Jim Keller brought their Technology, Systems Architecture and Client Group throughout his two-year tenure at the company whilst serving as its Vice President. The semiconductor and chip architecture world isn't being driven by Mr. Keller himself, obviously; there are a number of architects and designers that bring the industry forward through their concerted efforts. However, it's hard to look past Jim Keller's pedigree when it comes to doing his job - if anything, AMD's Zen architecture is a testament to that, and has put Intel in the place we now see it in the CPU world.
To fill in the void, Intel has announced a reshuffling inside their Technology, Systems Architecture and Client Group. Jim Keller will still be serving with Intel for the next six months as a consultant, thus easing the transition. Read the full press-release below.
To fill in the void, Intel has announced a reshuffling inside their Technology, Systems Architecture and Client Group. Jim Keller will still be serving with Intel for the next six months as a consultant, thus easing the transition. Read the full press-release below.
Sony Showcases Two PlayStation 5 Console Versions, Platform-Exclusive Next Generation Games
Sony today via a livestream finally showcased their hardware design for the next generation of consoles, and let's get one thing right out of the way: the company will be launching two console versions. This is a relatively unexpected twist - unexpected, because if anything, we were expecting two new consoles from Microsoft (remember the Lockhart rumors?), not from Sony. However, the PS5 will be eventually launching in two versions - a mainline console, and an all-digital spinoff.
For now, details are all but absent - the only thing we know for sure is that the digital version of the PS5 won't be carrying a 4K BluRay player. That will undoubtedly reduce the final pricing of the digital version compared to the mainline console. It's unclear whether this console has some sort of streaming integration with a service such as PS Now, offloading games processing to the cloud. If it doesn't, though, and if the only hardware difference between the two versions is the presence of the 4K BluRay player, we're likely talking about a $100/€100 difference - tops. Remember that the Xbox One S, which currently retails for around $250, too possesses a 4K Blu Ray player, so there's only so much that can be recouped from cutting that particular hardware piece. As you might've guessed by now, pricing is still being manifested as if it were a unicorn.
For now, details are all but absent - the only thing we know for sure is that the digital version of the PS5 won't be carrying a 4K BluRay player. That will undoubtedly reduce the final pricing of the digital version compared to the mainline console. It's unclear whether this console has some sort of streaming integration with a service such as PS Now, offloading games processing to the cloud. If it doesn't, though, and if the only hardware difference between the two versions is the presence of the 4K BluRay player, we're likely talking about a $100/€100 difference - tops. Remember that the Xbox One S, which currently retails for around $250, too possesses a 4K Blu Ray player, so there's only so much that can be recouped from cutting that particular hardware piece. As you might've guessed by now, pricing is still being manifested as if it were a unicorn.
Intel "Rocket Lake-S" a Multi-Chip Module of 14nm Core and 10nm Uncore Dies?
VLSI engineer and industry analyst, @chiakokhua, who goes by "Retired Engineer" on Twitter, was among the very first voices that spoke about 3rd gen Ryzen socket AM4 processors being multi-chip modules of core- and uncore dies built on different silicon fabrication processes, which was an unbelievable theory at the time. He now has a fantastic theory of what "Rocket Lake-S" could look like, dating back to November 2019, which is now re-surfacing on tech communities. Apparently, Intel is designing these socket LGA1200 processors to be multi-chip modules, similar to "Matisse" in some ways, but different in others.
Apparently, "Rocket Lake-S" is a multi-chip module of a 14 nm die that holds the CPU cores; and 10 nm die that holds the uncore components. AMD "Matisse" and "Vermeer" too have such a division of labor, but the CPU cores are located on dies with a more advanced silicon fabrication process (7 nm), than the die with the uncore components (12 nm).
Apparently, "Rocket Lake-S" is a multi-chip module of a 14 nm die that holds the CPU cores; and 10 nm die that holds the uncore components. AMD "Matisse" and "Vermeer" too have such a division of labor, but the CPU cores are located on dies with a more advanced silicon fabrication process (7 nm), than the die with the uncore components (12 nm).
HyperX Announces New Gaming Series - HyperX Showdown
HyperX, the gaming division of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., today announced the HyperX Showdown, a series of online gaming events that will feature celebrities from the worlds of entertainment, music, sports and gaming. Well-known streamers are also scheduled to participate and play during this series of gaming events. The eight weeks of unique entertainment will include music, sports and gaming stars playing games like Call of Duty: Warzone, NBA 2K, Fortnite, Madden, and others. The first gaming event is scheduled to air on Tuesday, June 16, at 3 p.m. ET featuring two influential global music stars, Afrojack vs. Nicky Romero, paired with two pro players from the London Royal Ravens playing Call of Duty: Warzone. The HyperX Showdown will be available to watch here.
HyperX is thrilled to bring together a diverse mix of athletes, entertainers, artists and gamers for the HyperX Showdown," said Dustin Illingworth, influencer marketing manager, HyperX. "Given the current situation of people staying home and not being able to visit sports or esports events live, we wanted to create a unique entertainment experience for our community - and the world at large - to enjoy and experience together."
HyperX is thrilled to bring together a diverse mix of athletes, entertainers, artists and gamers for the HyperX Showdown," said Dustin Illingworth, influencer marketing manager, HyperX. "Given the current situation of people staying home and not being able to visit sports or esports events live, we wanted to create a unique entertainment experience for our community - and the world at large - to enjoy and experience together."
AMD Bundles Horizon Zero Dawn with Select Ryzen CPUs
AMD has confirmed it's bundling free PC copies of Horizon: Zero Dawn Complete Edition with select Ryzen 3000 CPUs. Customers looking to purchase the Ryzen 5 3600, Ryzen 5 3600X, Ryzen 7 370X, Ryzen 7 3800X, Ryzen 9 3900X, and Ryzen 9 3950X processors will be eligible for the promotion. Horizon: Zero Dawn Complete Edition codes will likely be in the form of Steam keys and will include all DLC content from PlayStation 4. The promotion is now live at Chillblast and Overclockers UK with more information from other retailers likely to surface soon.
Samsung Optimizes New QLED TVs For Gaming
Samsung is introducing a slew of new features for its recent QLED TV sets to create "more immersive and responsive gaming sessions". Samsung is bringing adaptive sync and HDMI 2.1 to its latest QLED sets which will bring significant gaming improvements when paired with a high-end PC or next-generation console. HDMI 2.1 enables 4K 120Hz support with next-generation graphics cards and consoles, along with FreeSync Premium to benefit existing systems with stuttering and tearing reductions. Samsung is also advertising low input lag of 9.8 ms, automatic game mode with motion blur minimization, Dynamic Black EQ to improve object clarity in dark scenes, and Multi-View PiP capability.
COLORFUL Launches Intel B460 Series Mid-Tier Motherboards
Colorful Technology Company Limited, professional manufacturer of graphics cards, motherboards, all-in-one gaming and multimedia solutions and high-performance storage, introduces its line-up of Intel B460 mid-tier motherboards featuring an impressive a 10-phase power design to get the best performance out of the 10th generation Intel Core processors without the premium cost.
The COLORFUL Intel B460 Series motherboards feature the latest technologies including support for 32 GB memory modules for up to 128 GB memory supported, ultra-fast M.2 PCIe with Intel Optane Memory support. The motherboards are also equipped with high-performance multi-channel High Definition Audio, Gigabit LAN, and stunning RGB lighting powered by iGame Dynamik Light. The motherboards also offer a fully functional BIOS with Simple Mode that's suitable for novices and Advanced Mode for tweaking and overclocking.
The COLORFUL Intel B460 Series motherboards feature the latest technologies including support for 32 GB memory modules for up to 128 GB memory supported, ultra-fast M.2 PCIe with Intel Optane Memory support. The motherboards are also equipped with high-performance multi-channel High Definition Audio, Gigabit LAN, and stunning RGB lighting powered by iGame Dynamik Light. The motherboards also offer a fully functional BIOS with Simple Mode that's suitable for novices and Advanced Mode for tweaking and overclocking.
BIOSTAR Launches the FX9830M SoC Motherboard
BIOSTAR, a leading brand of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices, today introduces the FX9830M SoC motherboard with a built-in AMD Bristol Ridge, 7th generation Quad Core processor. Highly Popular for their SoC motherboard range, BIOSTAR has yet again delivered a highly versatile motherboard catering to a variety of user requirements such as small business owners who are looking for a reliable and affordable solution that has the capability of running daily business operations with ease.
The BIOSTAR FX9830M SoC motherboard is arguably one of the best choices amongst its rivals, designed with a built-in Quad Core AMD FX-9830P processor and support for AMD Radeon R7 Graphics. It is undoubtedly a great investment to make when considering your next business workstation that can take advantage of the powerful multi-core platform and all its additional features.
The BIOSTAR FX9830M SoC motherboard is arguably one of the best choices amongst its rivals, designed with a built-in Quad Core AMD FX-9830P processor and support for AMD Radeon R7 Graphics. It is undoubtedly a great investment to make when considering your next business workstation that can take advantage of the powerful multi-core platform and all its additional features.
AMD Ryzen 5 4400G Desktop "Renoir" 6-core APU Put Through 3DMark11
It looks like AMD's Ryzen 4000G line of socket AM4 desktop APUs based on the 8-core 7 nm "Renoir" silicon will be a lot wider than just a couple of SKUs. We've seen plenty of material on the top Ryzen 7 4700G part that maxes out everything on the silicon, along with increased power limits and clock speeds. It looks like the Ryzen 5 4000G series will consist of 6-core/12-thread parts. One such chip, the Ryzen 5 4400G surfaced on the 3DMark database, as dug up by TUM_APISAK. They earlier brought you a 3DMark score comparison between the 4400G, the top 4700G, and the entry-level 4200G.
The Ryzen 5 4400G (possible OPN: 100-000000143) appears to be a 6-core/12-thread part based on "Renoir," with the CPU clocked at 3.70 GHz base and possibly 4.30 GHz boost. The "Vega" NGCU count of the iGPU is unknown, but its engine clock is set at 1.90 GHz (max). With the "P" (performance) preset, the 4400G allegedly scores 4395 points in the 3DMark 11 graphics test suite (graphics score); with 10241 points physics score.
The Ryzen 5 4400G (possible OPN: 100-000000143) appears to be a 6-core/12-thread part based on "Renoir," with the CPU clocked at 3.70 GHz base and possibly 4.30 GHz boost. The "Vega" NGCU count of the iGPU is unknown, but its engine clock is set at 1.90 GHz (max). With the "P" (performance) preset, the 4400G allegedly scores 4395 points in the 3DMark 11 graphics test suite (graphics score); with 10241 points physics score.
New Logitech Design Collection Brings Fresh and Comfortable Clicks to Your Workspace
The Logitech Design Collection, available today, offers colorful designs that fit your personalized desk set-up and help express your individuality. Comfortable to use for hours anywhere you work and portable to be taken to different locations, this mouse gives you total creative freedom.
Available in four fresh patterns - Spring Meadow, Cosmic Play, Teal Maze and Blue Blush - the Design Collection mice are compact, super responsive and completely wireless to give you a wire-free desk setup. Enjoy a precise scrolling experience with smooth, accurate cursor control, as well as soft rubber side-grips for extra comfort. Work, create and browse worry-free for up to 12 months on a single battery, ensuring that you're always ready for the next project, while maintaining great style.
Available in four fresh patterns - Spring Meadow, Cosmic Play, Teal Maze and Blue Blush - the Design Collection mice are compact, super responsive and completely wireless to give you a wire-free desk setup. Enjoy a precise scrolling experience with smooth, accurate cursor control, as well as soft rubber side-grips for extra comfort. Work, create and browse worry-free for up to 12 months on a single battery, ensuring that you're always ready for the next project, while maintaining great style.
Wednesday, June 10th 2020
Today's Reviews
CPU Coolers
Gaming PC
Motherboards
Processors
Sound Cards
Intel Core i3-10320 Review
The Intel Core i3-10320 is just $10 more expensive than the Core i3-10300, and offers +200 MHz Boost and +100 MHz base clock. We'll check whether the extra cost is worth it, and also compare the Core i3-10320 to the AMD Ryzen 3 3300X and Core i5-10400F.
Razer Viper Mini Review - Lightweight, Precise and Affordable
The Razer Viper Mini is the little brother of 2019's Viper. While priced like a budget mouse, the Viper Mini makes no compromises when it comes to performance: a weight of just 58 g, improved optical main button switches, a highly flexible cable, pure PTFE mouse feet, and Razer's PAW3359 sensor make for an impressive feature list.
Samsung Receives Zero Waste to Landfill Validations for All of its Semiconductor Manufacturing Sites
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today announced that it has received UL's Zero Waste to Landfill validation of Gold level and above for all of its global semiconductor operation sites. This signifies that Samsung's semiconductor sites in South Korea, US and China meet the requirement of more than 95-percent waste diversion through methods that do not involve thermal processing. In particular, the Samsung DSR building in Hwaseong, Korea, home to most of its local semiconductor R&D staff, is validated for Zero Waste to Landfill at the Platinum level for reaching 100-percent waste diversion.
"The Zero Waste to Landfill Gold validation is testament to the care and effort by our employees around the world to protect the environment," said Chanhoon Park, executive vice president of global infrastructure technology at Samsung Electronics. "Eco-friendly operations are now a must for any business and we will continue to ensure sustainable growth that is mindful of the environment that we live and operate in."
"The Zero Waste to Landfill Gold validation is testament to the care and effort by our employees around the world to protect the environment," said Chanhoon Park, executive vice president of global infrastructure technology at Samsung Electronics. "Eco-friendly operations are now a must for any business and we will continue to ensure sustainable growth that is mindful of the environment that we live and operate in."
SilverStone Rolls Out Lucid LD03-AF Case, Improved VGA Airflow vs. Original LD03
SilverStone rolled out the Lucid series LD03-AF (Airflow version) tower-type case for Mini-ITX and Mini-DTX form-factor platforms, a new variant of the LD03 case from Q1-2019. The case was debuted at the 2020 International CES. What sets the LD03-AF apart from the original LD03 is additional vents on one of the front-facing side panels, designed to improve airflow for graphics cards that feature axial fans. The original LD03 had a slab of glass that smothered graphics cards. Although essentially a cuboid, the case is meant to be displayed with its right side pillars facing forward, as the main glasshouse spans the front and right side panel. Inside, the motherboard tray is aligned perpendicular to the plane of the base, but with its I/O shield pointing upward, such that your graphics card stands along the height of the case.
The LD03-AF serves up room for graphics cards up to 30.9 cm in length, and 16.7 cm in height; and CPU coolers up to 19 cm in height. The case's sole airflow channel is designed to draw air from a 120 mm intake fan at the base, with a 120 mm exhaust fan at the top, both with dust filters. Storage areas include one 3.5-inch and two 2.5-inch drive bays. The case supports SFX and SFX-L PSUs. The case has its own AC receptacle and M-to-F cable leading to your PSU. Measuring 265 mm (W) x 414 mm (H) x 230 mm (D), the case dry-weighs 5.22 kg. The case is expected to be available by June 25, with an expected price around $130.
The LD03-AF serves up room for graphics cards up to 30.9 cm in length, and 16.7 cm in height; and CPU coolers up to 19 cm in height. The case's sole airflow channel is designed to draw air from a 120 mm intake fan at the base, with a 120 mm exhaust fan at the top, both with dust filters. Storage areas include one 3.5-inch and two 2.5-inch drive bays. The case supports SFX and SFX-L PSUs. The case has its own AC receptacle and M-to-F cable leading to your PSU. Measuring 265 mm (W) x 414 mm (H) x 230 mm (D), the case dry-weighs 5.22 kg. The case is expected to be available by June 25, with an expected price around $130.
ASUS Announces ZenWiFi AX Mini (XD4) for Whole-Home Wi-Fi 6 Coverage
ASUS today announced the ZenWiFi AX Mini (XD4), an ultracompact dual-band Wi-Fi 6 mesh router system designed to provide whole-home Wi-Fi 6 coverage in a stylish, space-saving format.
Available in three-pack bundles containing one router and two extension nodes, the ZenWiFi AX Mini is a Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) device offering Wi-Fi speeds1 of up to 1800 Mbps. It's designed to deliver fast and reliable Wi-Fi with easy setup and management. The units are ultracompact — ZenWiFi AX Mini has a footprint of just nine square centimeters — with a premium elegant design that suits any décor and also matches existing ZenWiFi devices. Users can download the free ASUS Router app for easy three-step setup. Free lifetime network security is provided by ASUS AiProtection, which is powered by Trend Micro and includes parental controls.
Available in three-pack bundles containing one router and two extension nodes, the ZenWiFi AX Mini is a Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) device offering Wi-Fi speeds1 of up to 1800 Mbps. It's designed to deliver fast and reliable Wi-Fi with easy setup and management. The units are ultracompact — ZenWiFi AX Mini has a footprint of just nine square centimeters — with a premium elegant design that suits any décor and also matches existing ZenWiFi devices. Users can download the free ASUS Router app for easy three-step setup. Free lifetime network security is provided by ASUS AiProtection, which is powered by Trend Micro and includes parental controls.
PKT Technologies Unveils Ground-breaking Programmable QWERTY Keyboard
PKT Technologies Pty Ltd (PKT Tech), a leader in user interface technology, has unveiled an innovative QWERTY keyboard equipped with keys that dynamically change to match the activity of the user. The Picture Key Board (PKB 5000) leverages PKT Tech's patented Picture Key Technology (PKT) to deliver an interface that combines the advantages of a touch screen with the benefits of tactile "haptic" feedback.
Each of the keyboard's 110 keys can be programmed to display any required image and enact a predetermined action. This allows the keyboard to be customized for specific workflows and changed as often as required. Keys can be configured for different languages or linked to specific functions within software applications.
Each of the keyboard's 110 keys can be programmed to display any required image and enact a predetermined action. This allows the keyboard to be customized for specific workflows and changed as often as required. Keys can be configured for different languages or linked to specific functions within software applications.
GeIL Announces ORION Series DDR4 Memory
GeIL, Golden Emperor International Ltd. - one of the world's leading PC components & peripheral manufacturers announced ORION series memory for gamers and content creators providing high speed as well as massive memory capacity scalable up to 4000 MHz CL18 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) kit.
High speed and low latencies used to be gamers' favorite while massive memory capacity which greatly helps the multimedia creation is preferred for content creators. Scaling up to 2x 32 GB 4000 MHz CL18, GeIL ORION series memory is an exceptionally balanced choice designed to satisfy multiple needs, especially for users require both extraordinary performance for gaming and massive memory capacity for multimedia creation.
High speed and low latencies used to be gamers' favorite while massive memory capacity which greatly helps the multimedia creation is preferred for content creators. Scaling up to 2x 32 GB 4000 MHz CL18, GeIL ORION series memory is an exceptionally balanced choice designed to satisfy multiple needs, especially for users require both extraordinary performance for gaming and massive memory capacity for multimedia creation.
Intel Launches Lakefield Hybrid Processors: Uncompromised PC Experiences for Innovative Form-Factors
Today, Intel launched Intel Core processors with Intel Hybrid Technology, code-named "Lakefield." Leveraging Intel's Foveros 3D packaging technology and featuring a hybrid CPU architecture for power and performance scalability, Lakefield processors are the smallest to deliver Intel Core performance and full Windows compatibility across productivity and content creation experiences for ultra-light and innovative form factors.
"Intel Core processors with Intel Hybrid Technology are the touchstone of Intel's vision for advancing the PC industry by taking an experience-based approach to designing silicon with a unique combination of architectures and IPs. Combined with Intel's deepened co-engineering with our partners, these processors unlock the potential for innovative device categories of the future," said Chris Walker, Intel corporate vice president and general manager of Mobile Client Platforms.
"Intel Core processors with Intel Hybrid Technology are the touchstone of Intel's vision for advancing the PC industry by taking an experience-based approach to designing silicon with a unique combination of architectures and IPs. Combined with Intel's deepened co-engineering with our partners, these processors unlock the potential for innovative device categories of the future," said Chris Walker, Intel corporate vice president and general manager of Mobile Client Platforms.
Cypress Ships its One Billionth USB-C Device
Cypress, an Infineon Technologies Company, today announced that in less than five years, the company has achieved a landmark milestone by shipping its one billionth USB-C device. As the leading provider of USB-C technology, Cypress' leadership position spans a wide range of markets with its controllers used within mobile, computing, and power applications.
Cypress offers the industry's most complete portfolio of USB solutions, including device controllers, embedded hosts, hubs, application-specific bridges, and transceivers. Cypress' EZ-PD portfolio was the first in the industry to support the latest USB Power Delivery (USB PD) 3.0 specification, which enables more robust end-to-end power delivery and charging solutions for laptop and mobile devices. Cypress also offers AEC-Q100 certified versions of its controllers for automotive-grade performance.
Cypress offers the industry's most complete portfolio of USB solutions, including device controllers, embedded hosts, hubs, application-specific bridges, and transceivers. Cypress' EZ-PD portfolio was the first in the industry to support the latest USB Power Delivery (USB PD) 3.0 specification, which enables more robust end-to-end power delivery and charging solutions for laptop and mobile devices. Cypress also offers AEC-Q100 certified versions of its controllers for automotive-grade performance.
NVIDIA Ampere Cooling Solution Heatsink Pictured, Rumors of Airflow Magic Quashed
Although still a blurry-cam pic, this new picture of three GeForce RTX 3080 "Ampere" graphics card reference heatsinks on a factory-floor reveals exactly how the cooling solution works. The main heat-dissipation component appears to be a vapor chamber base, above which there are four flattened copper heat pipes, which hold the cooler's four aluminium fin arrays together. The first array is directly above the CPU/memory/VRM area, and consists of a dense stack of aluminium fins that make up a cavity for the fan on the obverse side of the graphics card. This fan vents air onto the first heatsink element, and some of its air is guided by the heatsink to two trapezium shaped aluminium fin-stacks that pull heat from the flattened heat pipes, and get airflow from the obverse fan.
The heat pipes make their way to the card's second dense aluminium fin-stack. This fin-stack is as thick as the card itself, as there's no PCB here. This fin-stack is ventilated by the card's second fan, located on the reverse side, which pulls air through this fin-stack and vents upward. We attempted to detail the cooling solution, the card, and other SKU details in an older article. We've also added a picture of a Sapphire Radeon RX Vega 56 Pulse graphics card. This NVIDIA heatsink is essentially like that, but with the second fan on the other side of the card to make it look more complicated than it actually is.
The heat pipes make their way to the card's second dense aluminium fin-stack. This fin-stack is as thick as the card itself, as there's no PCB here. This fin-stack is ventilated by the card's second fan, located on the reverse side, which pulls air through this fin-stack and vents upward. We attempted to detail the cooling solution, the card, and other SKU details in an older article. We've also added a picture of a Sapphire Radeon RX Vega 56 Pulse graphics card. This NVIDIA heatsink is essentially like that, but with the second fan on the other side of the card to make it look more complicated than it actually is.
Bang & Olufsen and Xbox Partner up to Deliver Highend Audio Proposition for Gaming
The purpose of this new collaboration is to create a new audio proposition to cater for the high-end segment within gaming by leveraging on Bang & Olufsen's core capabilities of sound, design and craft. This will include "Designed for Xbox" functionalities, which will ensure seamless connectivity and an enhanced user experience. Vice President and Head of Product Management at Bang & Olufsen, Christoffer Poulsen is excited about the new collaboration and the long-term commercial potential for Bang & Olufsen.
EK Waterblocks Unveils New Quantum Series Products
EK has unveiled several new products for its high-end Quantum series at their recent EK Cooling Expo event. The EK-Quantum series targets the premium market with luxurious designs and customizable 5V D-RGB lighting. The new products include water blocks and monoblocks for AMD's Zen 2 Threadripper sTRX4 platform, Distribution Plates for the LIAN LI 011D & O11D XL, Quantum Flow Indicators with GPU block mounting support, standalone Quantum Inertia Reservoirs, and Quantum Power Kits including all the parts to create a high-end custom loop.
OWC Announces 4TB Mercury Extreme Pro 6G SSD
OWC, a leading zero emissions Mac and PC technology company and one of the world's most respected providers of Memory, External Drives, SSDs, Mac & PC docking solutions and performance upgrade kits, announced the availability of the new Mercury Extreme Pro 6G SSD, in capacities from 240 GB up to 4 TB. OWC's newest 2.5-inch SATA SSD is among the most versatile and reliable on the planet, featuring state-of-the-art components and engineering that bring older Macs and PCs up to current model performance levels.
The Mercury Extreme Pro 6G SSD is ideal for audio, video, photography editing, and production, for users who require sustained performance. They are the standard for use in video capture with Black Magic cameras, AJA and more, in situations where sustained write performance is critical, and when a drop in performance can lead to lost frames and production time. Some drives drop to 50-60 MB/s after their cache is exhausted, but the Mercury Extreme Pro is up to 10x faster performance than what many drives deliver today after their peak speed is exhausted with as little as 2-3 percent of the drive written. When sustained performance is non-negotiable, the Mercury Extreme Pro 6G SSD has users covered end to end.
The Mercury Extreme Pro 6G SSD is ideal for audio, video, photography editing, and production, for users who require sustained performance. They are the standard for use in video capture with Black Magic cameras, AJA and more, in situations where sustained write performance is critical, and when a drop in performance can lead to lost frames and production time. Some drives drop to 50-60 MB/s after their cache is exhausted, but the Mercury Extreme Pro is up to 10x faster performance than what many drives deliver today after their peak speed is exhausted with as little as 2-3 percent of the drive written. When sustained performance is non-negotiable, the Mercury Extreme Pro 6G SSD has users covered end to end.
CrossTalk is Another Intel-exclusive Security Vulnerability
Intel has had quite a lot of work trying to patch all vulnerabilities discovered in the past two years. Starting from Spectre and Meltdown which exploited speculative execution of the processor to execute malicious code. The entire process of speculative execution relies on the microarchitectural technique for adding more performance called speculative branch prediction. This technique predicts branch paths and prepared them for execution, so the processor spends less time figuring out where and how will instructions flow through the CPU. So far, lots of these bugs have been ironed out with software, but a lot of older CPUs are vulnerable.
However, an attacker has always thought about doing malicious code execution on a CPU core shared with the victim, and never on multiple cores. This is where the new CrossTalk vulnerability comes in. Dubbed Special Register Buffer Data Sampling (SRBDS) by Intel, it is labeled as CVE-2020-0543 in the vulnerability identifier system. The CrossTalk is bypassing all intra-core patches against Spectre and Meltdown so it can attack any CPU core on the processor. It enables attacker-controlled code execution on one CPU core to leak sensitive data from victim software executing on a different core. This technique is quite dangerous for users of shared systems like in the cloud. Often, one instance is shared across multiple customers and until now they were safe from each other. The vulnerability uses Intel's SGX security enclave against the processor so it can be executed. To read about CrossTalk in detail, please visit the page here.
However, an attacker has always thought about doing malicious code execution on a CPU core shared with the victim, and never on multiple cores. This is where the new CrossTalk vulnerability comes in. Dubbed Special Register Buffer Data Sampling (SRBDS) by Intel, it is labeled as CVE-2020-0543 in the vulnerability identifier system. The CrossTalk is bypassing all intra-core patches against Spectre and Meltdown so it can attack any CPU core on the processor. It enables attacker-controlled code execution on one CPU core to leak sensitive data from victim software executing on a different core. This technique is quite dangerous for users of shared systems like in the cloud. Often, one instance is shared across multiple customers and until now they were safe from each other. The vulnerability uses Intel's SGX security enclave against the processor so it can be executed. To read about CrossTalk in detail, please visit the page here.
ADATA Unveils XPG PRIMER Gaming Mouse
XPG, a provider of high-performance products for Gamers, Esports Pros, and Tech Enthusiasts, is pleased to announce the launch of the XPG PRIMER gaming mouse. Sporting an optical sensor capable of 12000 DPI, eye-catching RGB lighting, and durable OMRON switches, the XPG PRIMER offers first-time gamers, as well as those who want a complete and hassle-free device, with a mouse with exceptional price-performance value.
Armed with a Pixart PMW3360 optical sensor, the XPG PRIMER offers the perfect balance of accuracy, quality and value. Beyond DPI, the XPG PRIMER also provides an ergonomic design with a sculpted body made of Double-Shot PBT, a smooth material that is robust and easy to clean, with in-mold textured side grips that don't give up to sweat as well as a tactile scroll wheel for comfort and greater control. To top the comfort list, the cable is lightweight and braided, so it's less likely to get tangled up during gameplay, and the overall weight of 98 g is perfectly balanced for effortless gliding yet offering the right amount of traction and comfort when tackling productivity.
Armed with a Pixart PMW3360 optical sensor, the XPG PRIMER offers the perfect balance of accuracy, quality and value. Beyond DPI, the XPG PRIMER also provides an ergonomic design with a sculpted body made of Double-Shot PBT, a smooth material that is robust and easy to clean, with in-mold textured side grips that don't give up to sweat as well as a tactile scroll wheel for comfort and greater control. To top the comfort list, the cable is lightweight and braided, so it's less likely to get tangled up during gameplay, and the overall weight of 98 g is perfectly balanced for effortless gliding yet offering the right amount of traction and comfort when tackling productivity.
Arm CPUs Impacted by Straight-Line Speculation (SLS) Vulnerability
When Spectre and Meltdown were discovered, the whole industry got on its legs and started to question CPU security more seriously. There are a plethora of attacks that exploit the CPU function called branch prediction, which predicts paths of code execution so it can ready them and execute them faster. This approach is one part of the microarchitectural techniques used to add performance to the CPU design. However, nothing comes without a cost. Despite adding more performance, the branch prediction had taken a toll on the security of CPUs, making them vulnerable to side-channel attacks. Spectre and Meltdown where both discovered in 2018 and they impact millions of CPUs around the world.
Today, a new side-channel vulnerability was discovered, and on Arm CPUs. Called the Straight-Line Speculation (SLS), the speculation bug is haunting all of Arm Armv-A based processors. This represents a wide range of devices being powered by these CPUs, so Arm is taking action to prevent it. The way SLS works is that whenever there is a change in instruction flow, the CPU just starts processing instructions found linearly in memory, instead of changing the path of flow. This action is resulting in a new SLS vulnerability marked as CVE-2020-13844. The vulnerability was discovered by Google SafeSide project last year and they have reported it to Arm. In the meantime, Arm was working on a fix and they already send them upstream to important operating systems and firmware suppliers so it can be resolved. Arm says that the chances of this attack are low, however, they can not be dismissed.
Today, a new side-channel vulnerability was discovered, and on Arm CPUs. Called the Straight-Line Speculation (SLS), the speculation bug is haunting all of Arm Armv-A based processors. This represents a wide range of devices being powered by these CPUs, so Arm is taking action to prevent it. The way SLS works is that whenever there is a change in instruction flow, the CPU just starts processing instructions found linearly in memory, instead of changing the path of flow. This action is resulting in a new SLS vulnerability marked as CVE-2020-13844. The vulnerability was discovered by Google SafeSide project last year and they have reported it to Arm. In the meantime, Arm was working on a fix and they already send them upstream to important operating systems and firmware suppliers so it can be resolved. Arm says that the chances of this attack are low, however, they can not be dismissed.
Unity Technologies Releases COVID-19 Consumer Gaming Report
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has forced immediate, profound lifestyle shifts for consumers around the world, many of whom have turned to gaming for much-needed distraction and social connections. According to a new report released today by Unity Technologies, the world's leading platform for creating and operating interactive, real-time 3D (RT3D) content, there has been an increase of nearly 50% in daily active users of HD games due to COVID-19. The report's findings stem from a cross-platform study focused on COVID-19's impact on consumer gaming for the period from January 1 to mid-May 2020 as compared to the same period in 2019, including an analysis of player behaviors in games, and how games have thus far proven to be stable revenue generators during a global economic crisis.
The data in the report was sourced globally from mobile games that deploy Unity's monetization platform as well as games made with Unity for PC and mac OS, Android, and iOS, and Unity's deltaDNA which provides sophisticated player engagement tools for game-makers powered by deep data analytics. Unity Ads are seen by more than 114 million end users every day.
The data in the report was sourced globally from mobile games that deploy Unity's monetization platform as well as games made with Unity for PC and mac OS, Android, and iOS, and Unity's deltaDNA which provides sophisticated player engagement tools for game-makers powered by deep data analytics. Unity Ads are seen by more than 114 million end users every day.
DeepCool GamerStorm DQ-M V2L Series Full-Modular PSUs Pictured
DeepCool is expanding its GamerStorm brand of power supplies with the new upper-mainstream DQ-M V2L line. These PSUs come in capacities of 650 W (DQ650-M-V2L), 750 W (DQ750-M-V2L), and 850 W (DQ-850M-V2L) models, offering 80 Plus Gold efficiency, and full-modular cabling. Under the hood, these feature APFC, DC-to-DC switching, 2-stage EM filter, 100% Japanese capacitors, and unified single +12 V rails, as opposed to the application-specific split rail design of the original DQ-M series. Most common electrical protections, against over/under voltage, overload, overheat, and short-circuit, are provided.
While the original DQ-M had +12 V rails dedicated to each of the connectors, the new DQ-M V2L series feature a more conventional single +12 V rail design. All three variants offer one 24-pin ATX, two 4+4 pin EPS, and four 6+2 pin PCIe power connectors. The 650 W and 750 W variants offer 7 SATA power, while the 850 W variant offers 10. A 120 mm fluid-dynamic bearing fan is used for cooling on all three models. DeepCool is backing these PSUs with 10-year warranties. All cables, including the 24-pin, are flat, ribbon-type. The company didn't reveal pricing information, but is expected to formally launch the three on July 14, Stateside.
While the original DQ-M had +12 V rails dedicated to each of the connectors, the new DQ-M V2L series feature a more conventional single +12 V rail design. All three variants offer one 24-pin ATX, two 4+4 pin EPS, and four 6+2 pin PCIe power connectors. The 650 W and 750 W variants offer 7 SATA power, while the 850 W variant offers 10. A 120 mm fluid-dynamic bearing fan is used for cooling on all three models. DeepCool is backing these PSUs with 10-year warranties. All cables, including the 24-pin, are flat, ribbon-type. The company didn't reveal pricing information, but is expected to formally launch the three on July 14, Stateside.
Tuesday, June 9th 2020
Today's Reviews
CPU Coolers
Monitors
Motherboards
Mouse
ASUS Maximus XII Hero (WiFi) Review
ASUS once again delivers with their Maximus line of high-end motherboards. The Maximus XII Hero (WiFi) has premium looks, premium features, a powerful VRM and broad overclocking support. It terms of connectivity, everything is there, too: WiFi 6, 5 Gb/s LAN, triple M.2 slots.
XPG Core Reactor 750 W Review
The XPG Core Reactor 750 W is compact at only 140 mm deep, achieves high performance in all areas, and is whisper quiet under normal operating conditions. XPG has a strong first entry for the PSU market in the XPG Core Reactor—we are anxious to see more from this brand.
Kingston Ships 2TB KC2500 NVMe PCIe SSD
Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, today began shipping the 2 TB KC2500 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD for desktop, workstations and high-performance computing (HPC) systems. The new, higher capacity gives customers the flexibility to keep up with increasing storage needs and improves workflow.
KC2500 combines outstanding performance with endurance using the latest Gen 3.0 x 4 controller and 96-layer 3D TLC NAND, with speeds up to 3,500 MB/s read and up to 2,900 MB/s write. The self-encrypting SSD supports a full-security suite for end-to-end data protection using AES-XTS 256-bit hardware-based encryption and allows the usage of independent software vendors with TCG Opal 2.0 security management solutions such as Symantec, McAfee, WinMagic and others. KC2500 also has built-in Microsoft eDrive support, a security storage specification for use with BitLocker.
KC2500 combines outstanding performance with endurance using the latest Gen 3.0 x 4 controller and 96-layer 3D TLC NAND, with speeds up to 3,500 MB/s read and up to 2,900 MB/s write. The self-encrypting SSD supports a full-security suite for end-to-end data protection using AES-XTS 256-bit hardware-based encryption and allows the usage of independent software vendors with TCG Opal 2.0 security management solutions such as Symantec, McAfee, WinMagic and others. KC2500 also has built-in Microsoft eDrive support, a security storage specification for use with BitLocker.
EK Water Blocks EK Classic Liquid Cooling Kits Transition to D-RGB
EK Water Blocks, the premium liquid cooling gear manufacturer, is updating the EK-Classic Kits by transitioning them all to the more customizable 5V D-RGB lighting and adding more tools in the package to help loop builders. That's not where the magic stops, as these new Classic kits are more affordable. This was done with various production optimizations that yielded a more affordable and better product for end-users.
EK-Classic CPU Water Block 115x/20xx/AM4 D-RGB - a high-end, nickel-plated copper CPU water block for modern Intel and AMD processors. It uses addressable RGB LEDs to light up your CPU area. It features a classic, market-proven design that will perfectly fit the needs of core enthusiasts and demanding users as well. The tool-less mounting system makes the installation process a breeze even for beginners. This block comes with a pre-installed Intel mounting system while the AMD AM4 mounting system is in the packaging and needs to be installed if needed.
EK-Classic CPU Water Block 115x/20xx/AM4 D-RGB - a high-end, nickel-plated copper CPU water block for modern Intel and AMD processors. It uses addressable RGB LEDs to light up your CPU area. It features a classic, market-proven design that will perfectly fit the needs of core enthusiasts and demanding users as well. The tool-less mounting system makes the installation process a breeze even for beginners. This block comes with a pre-installed Intel mounting system while the AMD AM4 mounting system is in the packaging and needs to be installed if needed.
GIGABYTE Intros B550 VISION D Motherboard for Creators
GIGABYTE today introduced the B550 VISION D socket AM4 motherboard targeted at creators. Built in the ATX form-factor, the board supports socket AM4 Ryzen 3000 "Matisse" processors, and is based on the new AMD B550 chipset. Within GIGABYTE's product stack, the B550 VISION D is positioned above its B550 AORUS Master flagship board based on this chipset. The board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors (concealed under a plastic bit near the VRM heatsinks). A 14-phase VRM conditions power for the CPU. The socket is wired to four DDR4 DIMM slots supporting up to 128 GB of dual-channel DDR4 memory; and two PCI-Express 4.0 x16 slots (x8/x8 with both populated). This is something the AORUS Master lacks, on the other hand, the VISION D lacks SLI certification.
The third PCIe x16 slot is gen 3.0 x4, and wired to the B550 chipset. The board offers two M.2 NVMe slots, one of the two has PCIe 4.0 x4 wiring from the AM4 SoC, the other has PCIe 3.0 x4 wiring from the chipset. There are only four SATA 6 Gbps on offer with this board, as GIGABYTE is freeing up PCIe lanes on the chipset. Unless we're mistaken, GIGABYTE is offering "unofficial" Thunderbolt 3 support. The board features an Intel "Titan Ridge" Thunderbolt 3 controller that puts out two "USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 40 Gbps" ports with DisplayPort passthrough. GIGABYTE is careful not to call these Thunderbolt 3 ports. Networking connectivity includes 802.11ax + Bluetooth 5 WLAN, and two 1 GbE interfaces driven by Intel controllers. The onboard audio solution uses premium ALC1220-VB codec, WIMA capacitors, and AMPs on the front channels. The company didn't reveal pricing.
The third PCIe x16 slot is gen 3.0 x4, and wired to the B550 chipset. The board offers two M.2 NVMe slots, one of the two has PCIe 4.0 x4 wiring from the AM4 SoC, the other has PCIe 3.0 x4 wiring from the chipset. There are only four SATA 6 Gbps on offer with this board, as GIGABYTE is freeing up PCIe lanes on the chipset. Unless we're mistaken, GIGABYTE is offering "unofficial" Thunderbolt 3 support. The board features an Intel "Titan Ridge" Thunderbolt 3 controller that puts out two "USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 40 Gbps" ports with DisplayPort passthrough. GIGABYTE is careful not to call these Thunderbolt 3 ports. Networking connectivity includes 802.11ax + Bluetooth 5 WLAN, and two 1 GbE interfaces driven by Intel controllers. The onboard audio solution uses premium ALC1220-VB codec, WIMA capacitors, and AMPs on the front channels. The company didn't reveal pricing.
ProGrade Digital Announces Faster CFexpress Type B Memory Cards
ProGrade Digital, Inc., founded with a mission to provide the highest quality professional grade digital memory cards and workflow solutions, announces its new CFexpress Type B cards. First demonstrated by the company in April 2018 at the National Association of Broadcasters Show (NAB) Las Vegas, CFexpress Type B offers next generation memory card performance by leveraging PCIe, Gen 3 interconnect with NVMe 1.3 host controller interface. ProGrade Digital CFexpress cards provide read speeds up-to 1,700 MB/s, and burst write speeds up-to 1,500 MB/s. Two performance levels are available: Cobalt label: delivers minimum sustained write speed of 1400 MB/s for both 325 GB and 650 GB cards - specifically designed for high resolution video capture and long, sustained burst image capture applications; Gold label: delivers minimum sustained write speeds up to 400 MB/s depending on card capacity - ideally suited for a broad range of still and moving image capture applications.
ProGrade Digital CFexpress Gold label cards are available now at progradedigital.com, B&H Photo and Video, Adorama.com and Amazon in most countries around the world. Cobalt label cards will be shipping by late June.
ProGrade Digital CFexpress Gold label cards are available now at progradedigital.com, B&H Photo and Video, Adorama.com and Amazon in most countries around the world. Cobalt label cards will be shipping by late June.
Patriot Viper Gaming Announces 32GB VIPER STEEL SODIMMs and UDIMMs
VIPER GAMING by PATRIOT, a trademarked brand of PATRIOT and a global leader in performance memory, solid-state drives, and flash storage solutions, is excited to announce the launch of their new 32 GB memory modules into the VIPER STEEL SERIES DDR4 PERFORMANCE MEMORY. The new 32 GB modules are available in both UDIMM and SODIMM. The frequencies from 3000 MHz to 3600 MHz are available for UDIMM and the frequencies from 2400 MHz to 3000 MHz for SODIMM. The new modules are built from rigorously tested memory chips and components on a ten-layer PCB for optimum performance in gaming desktops and laptops.
The VIPER STEEL provides extra gaming performance and stability for the most demanding desktop and laptop environments across the latest Intel and AMD platforms. The VIPER STEEL modules bring Intel XMP 2.0 performance to the next level by offering hardcore gamers and enthusiasts the possibility to upgrade their gaming systems with more DRAM memory capacity and further extending their potential.
The VIPER STEEL provides extra gaming performance and stability for the most demanding desktop and laptop environments across the latest Intel and AMD platforms. The VIPER STEEL modules bring Intel XMP 2.0 performance to the next level by offering hardcore gamers and enthusiasts the possibility to upgrade their gaming systems with more DRAM memory capacity and further extending their potential.
Apple to Announce its own Mac Processor at WWDC (Late June)
Apple is planning to launch its own high-performance processors designed for Macs at the 2020 WWDC, held in the week of 22 June, 2020. This would be the the first step among many toward the replacement of Intel processors and the x86 machine architecture from the Apple Mac ecosystem, in the same fashion as the company replaced PowerPC with x86 last decade. Apple has codenamed the process of graduating to the new machine architecture "Kalamata," and besides detailing the new processor and its architecture, the company could announce a large-scale developer support initiative to help Mac software vendors to transition to the new architecture in time for the first Macs with the new processors to roll out in 2021.
A Bloomberg report on the new processors states that the chips will be based on the "same technology" as the company's A-series SoCs for iOS devices, meaning that Apple will leverage the Arm machine architecture, and has probably developed a high performance CPU core that can match Intel's x64 cores in IPC and efficiency. Macs based on the new processors, will however run MacOS and not iOS, which means much of the clean-break transition woes between PPC and x86 Macs are bound to return, but probably better managed by software vendors. It also remains to be seen how Apple handles graphics. The company could scale up the Metal-optimized iGPU found in its A-series SoCs on its new Mac processor, while also giving them the platform I/O capability to support discrete graphics from companies such as AMD.
A Bloomberg report on the new processors states that the chips will be based on the "same technology" as the company's A-series SoCs for iOS devices, meaning that Apple will leverage the Arm machine architecture, and has probably developed a high performance CPU core that can match Intel's x64 cores in IPC and efficiency. Macs based on the new processors, will however run MacOS and not iOS, which means much of the clean-break transition woes between PPC and x86 Macs are bound to return, but probably better managed by software vendors. It also remains to be seen how Apple handles graphics. The company could scale up the Metal-optimized iGPU found in its A-series SoCs on its new Mac processor, while also giving them the platform I/O capability to support discrete graphics from companies such as AMD.
ZADAK Unveils SPARK M.2 RGB SSD with Stunning Aluminum Heatsink
ZADAK, a leading provider of PC enthusiast components, unveils the SPARK PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 RGB SSD. As the company's first PCIe M.2 SSD, the SPARK PCIe M.2 captivates high-end PC users through its excellent compatibility with the latest Intel and AMD platforms and top-rate sequential read and write speeds of 3,200 / 3,000 MB/s, respectively. In addition, the SPARK PCIe M.2 SSD was engineered with a stunning aluminium heatsink and features eye-catching customizable RGB lighting.
The M.2 slot of the SPARK SSD is highly compatible, a perfect fit for those looking to upgrade their PC. It also delivers an impressively fast read speeds of up to 3,200 MB/s and write speeds of up to 3,000 MB/s. ZADAK's SPARK PCIe M.2 is available in 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB capacities. The SPARK PCIe M.2 RGB SSD is backed by a 5-year warranty.
The M.2 slot of the SPARK SSD is highly compatible, a perfect fit for those looking to upgrade their PC. It also delivers an impressively fast read speeds of up to 3,200 MB/s and write speeds of up to 3,000 MB/s. ZADAK's SPARK PCIe M.2 is available in 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB capacities. The SPARK PCIe M.2 RGB SSD is backed by a 5-year warranty.
King of Consumer Solid State Storage: Amazon Lists 8 TB Samsung 870 QVO-Series SATA III SSD
For users that want to fully migrate their HDD storage towards a speedier SSD-option, Samsung's QVO series has usually been one of the more interesting prospects. Built solely with the intention of offering some of the best performance/$ metrics in the SSD storage space, the QVO series keeps Samsung's quality track record when it comes to NAND production but aims to reduce pricing as much as possible.
Amazon has now listed an 8 TB, consumer-available Samsung 870 QVO SSD. This SSD won't win any speed contests: it's built on the 2.5" form-factor and features a SATA III interface, but then again, this isn't meant to be used as users' fastest storage solution - it's meant to replace high-capacity HDDs while offering a notable performance improvement. It's very likely the QVO 870 is using Samsung's QLC (quad level cell) 3D V-NAND tech - which is still fine for most use-cases where you'll be mostly reading from the disc (and honestly, it's likely that most users would never even see performance degradation over the lifetime of the SSD, should they have a typical usage scenario). The 8 TB Samsung 870 QVO is currently listed on Amazon for a relatively steep $899.99 - which still amounts to some 11 cents per GB, so not a bad deal at all. Remember that pricing is currently slightly on the high side following the COVID-19 pandemic, though.
Amazon has now listed an 8 TB, consumer-available Samsung 870 QVO SSD. This SSD won't win any speed contests: it's built on the 2.5" form-factor and features a SATA III interface, but then again, this isn't meant to be used as users' fastest storage solution - it's meant to replace high-capacity HDDs while offering a notable performance improvement. It's very likely the QVO 870 is using Samsung's QLC (quad level cell) 3D V-NAND tech - which is still fine for most use-cases where you'll be mostly reading from the disc (and honestly, it's likely that most users would never even see performance degradation over the lifetime of the SSD, should they have a typical usage scenario). The 8 TB Samsung 870 QVO is currently listed on Amazon for a relatively steep $899.99 - which still amounts to some 11 cents per GB, so not a bad deal at all. Remember that pricing is currently slightly on the high side following the COVID-19 pandemic, though.
TSMC Planning a 4nm Node that goes Live in 2023
TSMC is reportedly planning a stopgap between its 5 nm-class silicon fabrication nodes, and the 3 nm-class, called N4. According to the foundry's CEO, Liu Deyin, speaking at a shareholders meeting, N4 will be a 4 nm node, and an enhancement of N5P, the company's most advanced 5 nm-class node. N4 is slated for mass-production of contracted products in 2023, and could help TSMC's customers execute their product roadmaps of the time. From the looks of it, N4 is a repeat of the N6 story: a nodelet that's an enhancement of N7+, the company's most advanced 7 nm-class node that leverages EUV lithography.
AGESA ComboAM4 1.0.0.6 Surfaces in Beta BIOS Updates for ASUS Motherboards
ASUS released a beta BIOS updates for its top AMD 400-series chipset motherboard that includes the AGESA ComboAM4 1.0.0.6 microcode. A HardwareLuxx.de community member tracking AGESA updates posted screenshot of a Crosshair VII Hero (X470) motherboard with a AGESA ComboAM4 1.0.0.6 version (not to be confused with AGESA PinnaclePI 1.0.0.6). The beta BIOS version for the motherboard bears version number 3101. The BIOS file was originally released to web by Shamino on the OCN forums, earlier today.
While not much is known about ComboAM4 1.0.0.6, the Beta BIOS 3101 for Crosshair VII Hero enables per-CCX overclocking, meaning that you can set different manual OC multiplier values per CCX on your processor. We're not sure if both "Pinnacle Ridge" and "Matisse" support it, or just the latter. We also don't know at this point if per-CCX overclocking is an ASUS innovation or a feature of ComboAM4 1.0.0.6. Find the BIOS ROM file here.
While not much is known about ComboAM4 1.0.0.6, the Beta BIOS 3101 for Crosshair VII Hero enables per-CCX overclocking, meaning that you can set different manual OC multiplier values per CCX on your processor. We're not sure if both "Pinnacle Ridge" and "Matisse" support it, or just the latter. We also don't know at this point if per-CCX overclocking is an ASUS innovation or a feature of ComboAM4 1.0.0.6. Find the BIOS ROM file here.
Current be quiet! Cooler Line-up Fully Compatible with Intel LGA1200
be quiet!, market leader for PC power supplies in Germany since 2007, is ready for Intel's latest CPU socket, LGA 1200. All LGA 115x-compatible coolers can also be mounted on the new socket, ensuring that owners of a be quiet! cooler can easily switch to the LGA 1200-platform and ensure that 10th generation Intel processors (codename "Comet Lake") are optimally cooled.
In short, all CPU coolers currently available from be quiet! (with the exception of Dark Rock Pro TR4, which was specifically designed for AMD's Threadripper platform) are compatible with Intel's LGA 1200 without the need for additional mounting kits. The installation instructions are identical to those of sockets LGA 1150, 1151 and 1155.
In short, all CPU coolers currently available from be quiet! (with the exception of Dark Rock Pro TR4, which was specifically designed for AMD's Threadripper platform) are compatible with Intel's LGA 1200 without the need for additional mounting kits. The installation instructions are identical to those of sockets LGA 1150, 1151 and 1155.
EK Planning To Enter The Air Cooling Market
EK Waterblocks has unveiled a new air cooler design at their Computex 2020 replacement, EK Cooling Expo. The company released one image of a prototype cooler which appears to include 4 heat pipes and an EK branded fan. EK representatives confirmed to Overclock 3D that the EK heatsink has not been finalized and is still undergoing product design. EK didn't say if they are planning other models or announce pricing/availability of the heatsink. Will EK become a serious competitor in the air cooling market against established players such as Noctua?
Update 09:34 UTC: EK has confirmed that they will be introducing both single and dual-tower models in the EK-AIR series of products, which will feature modern D-RGB lighting, premium build quality, modern aesthetics, and great cooling.
Update 09:34 UTC: EK has confirmed that they will be introducing both single and dual-tower models in the EK-AIR series of products, which will feature modern D-RGB lighting, premium build quality, modern aesthetics, and great cooling.
NVIDIA's Next-Gen Reference Cooler Costs $150 By Itself, to Feature in Three SKUs
Pictures of alleged next-generation GeForce "Ampere" graphics cards emerged over the weekend, which many of our readers found hard to believe. It's features a dual-fan cooling solution, in which one of the two fans is on the reverse side of the card, blowing air outward from the cooling solution, while the PCB extends two-thirds the length of the card. Since then, there have been several fan-made 3D renders of the card. NVIDIA is not happy with the leak, and started an investigation into two of its contractors responsible for manufacturing Founders Edition (reference design) GeForce graphics cards, Foxconn and BYD (Build Your Dreams), according to a report by Igor's Lab.
According to the report, the cooling solution, which looks a lot more overengineered than the company's RTX 20-series Founders Edition cooler, costs a hefty USD $150, or roughly the price of a 280 mm AIO CLC. It wouldn't surprise us if Asetek's RadCard costs less. The cooler consists of several interconnected heatsink elements with the PCB in the middle. Igor's Lab reports that the card is estimated to be 21.9 cm in length. Given its cost, NVIDIA is reserving this cooler for only the top three SKUs in the lineup, the TITAN RTX successor, the RTX 2080 Ti successor, and the RTX 2080/SUPER successor.
According to the report, the cooling solution, which looks a lot more overengineered than the company's RTX 20-series Founders Edition cooler, costs a hefty USD $150, or roughly the price of a 280 mm AIO CLC. It wouldn't surprise us if Asetek's RadCard costs less. The cooler consists of several interconnected heatsink elements with the PCB in the middle. Igor's Lab reports that the card is estimated to be 21.9 cm in length. Given its cost, NVIDIA is reserving this cooler for only the top three SKUs in the lineup, the TITAN RTX successor, the RTX 2080 Ti successor, and the RTX 2080/SUPER successor.
Notebook Computer Display Panel Shipment Grows by Nearly 18% YoY in 2Q20, with Demand Momentum Projected to Last Until 3Q20, Says TrendForce
According to the latest investigations from the WitsView research division of TrendForce, issues with the NB (notebook computer) panel supply chain, such as material shortage, labor shortage, and logistic disruptions, were gradually resolved starting in April. The resolution of these issues, combined with rising WFH and distance education demand brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulted in a strong wave of panel demand in 2Q20. TrendForce projects 2Q20 NB panel shipment to reach 53.3 million units, a 17.7% increase YoY and 33.6% increase QoQ.
Far Cry 6 Set in Exotic Environment, Launching July 12th
Far Cry 6, the sequel to Ubisoft's popular franchise of Far Cry games, is supposedly launching on July 12th. Thanks to the report from Gamereactor.dk, they have obtained information that Ubisoft will unveil the latest game sequel at the Ubisoft Forward event. In translation, the website said: "The last [Ubisoft] game scheduled to be released before April (unless Ubisoft decides it's this game that should be postponed due to COVID-19 or that there are too many AAA releases in a fairly short window) is set to be a Far Cry. I don't want to ruin Ubisoft's plans by giving you all the information, but I can say with certainty that those of you who didn't like Far Cry 5's North American setting are likely to find this game more interesting when it's officially unveiled during Ubisoft Forward on July 12."
The game is said to be available sometime in 2021, however, that information could very well be not true, as the game launch is happening much earlier than that. It could be that Ubisoft is preparing to launch this with the wave of next-generation consoles, so we have to wait and see how it plays out.
The game is said to be available sometime in 2021, however, that information could very well be not true, as the game launch is happening much earlier than that. It could be that Ubisoft is preparing to launch this with the wave of next-generation consoles, so we have to wait and see how it plays out.
Xbox Digital Direct Set To Replace Redemption Codes In Console Game Bundles
Xbox Digital Direct is a new program that allows you to instantly redeem any games, subscriptions, and exclusive content bundled with your Xbox during the setup process. When setting up a new console the content and offers attached to the console will appear, ready to be added to your Microsoft account. The content can also be redeemed after the fact via the the accounts setting page under 'Included with this Xbox' along with 'My games & apps' under 'Full Library'. This will be a welcome change to new Xbox users who can avoid the hassle of code entering, but was likely implemented to stop code reselling.
Chieftec Launches New External Storage Accessories
CHIEFTEC, a world-wide renowned brand for reliable PC chassis and power supplies, today announced the launch of three new accessories products: One M.2 NVMe External SSD Enclosure and two USB-C Docking Stations. Firstly, the CEB-M2C joins the external enclosure product category, supporting the installation of M.2 SSD's with NVMe interface and connecting to the host device via USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C connector, enabling up to 10 Gbit/s transfer speeds.
Additionally, Chieftec is expanding the product range by introducing two USB-C Docking stations to provide Notebook-PC users additional functionality and flexibility. Both docking stations come with Power Delivery 3.0 transferring up to 60 W and a host connection via USB-C 3.1 Gen1. We would highly appreciate if you would be happy to share this news with your readers and viewers. The press kit includes datasheets, images and press release announcement for you to download.
Additionally, Chieftec is expanding the product range by introducing two USB-C Docking stations to provide Notebook-PC users additional functionality and flexibility. Both docking stations come with Power Delivery 3.0 transferring up to 60 W and a host connection via USB-C 3.1 Gen1. We would highly appreciate if you would be happy to share this news with your readers and viewers. The press kit includes datasheets, images and press release announcement for you to download.
AMD EPYC Processors Ecosystem Continues to Grow with Integration into New NVIDIA DGX A100
AMD today announced the NVIDIA DGX A100, the third generation of the world's most advanced AI system, is the latest high-performance computing system featuring 2nd Gen AMD EPYC processors. Delivering 5 petaflops of AI performance, the elastic architecture of the NVIDIA DGX A100 enables enterprises to accelerate diverse AI workloads such as data analytics, training, and inference.
NVIDIA DGX A100 leverages the high-performance capabilities, 128 cores, DDR4-3200 MHz and PCIe 4 support from two AMD EPYC 7742 processors running at speeds up to 3.4 GHz¹. The 2nd Gen AMD EPYC processor is the first and only current x86-architecture server processor that supports PCIe 4, providing leadership high-bandwidth I/O that's critical for high performance computing and connections between the CPU and other devices like GPUs.
NVIDIA DGX A100 leverages the high-performance capabilities, 128 cores, DDR4-3200 MHz and PCIe 4 support from two AMD EPYC 7742 processors running at speeds up to 3.4 GHz¹. The 2nd Gen AMD EPYC processor is the first and only current x86-architecture server processor that supports PCIe 4, providing leadership high-bandwidth I/O that's critical for high performance computing and connections between the CPU and other devices like GPUs.
Axiomtek Releases Intel SDM-based 15.6-inch Modular Panel PCs
Axiomtek - a world-renowned leader relentlessly devoted in the research, development and manufacture of series of innovative and reliable industrial computer products of high efficiency - is pleased to launch the ITC150WM-300S and ITC150WM-500L, two 15.6-inch modular panel PCs with a swappable signage computer module which is based on the newest Intel Smart Display Module (Intel SDM) architecture. The swappable design makes the system maintenance easier in field replacement and upgrade. The ITC150WM-300S and ITC150WM-500L have a 15.6-inch full HD LCD display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, a 10-point projected capacity touchscreen, 300 nits of high brightness and LED backlights. The thickness of both interactive panel PCs is less than 40 mm, which is suitable for use in a space-constrained environment.
Sony PlayStation 5 Reveal Event Rescheduled to June 11
Sony was supposed to reveal its PlayStation 5 next-generation game collection at an online event held on June 4, which never happened. Sony called off the June 4th event in the wake of political unrest in the U.S. The company has now put out a new schedule for its PlayStation 5 Reveal event: June 11, 2020, at 13:00 PT. At the event, Sony is widely expected to showcase the console's capabilities some more; announce a few debut exclusive game titles, and more.
ASRock DeskMini SFF PC with AMD "Renoir" Desktop APU Surfaces
ASRock is working on a variant of its DeskMini SFF desktop PC powered by an AMD Ryzen 4000G series "Renoir" desktop APU. We know this is a desktop "Renoir" since ASRock uses socket AM4 SFF boards based on the A300 or X300 platform, that the clock speeds are higher than mobile "Renoir" chips launched so far, and since the performance numbers for both the CPU- and graphics put out by HardwareLeaks (_rogame) are higher than those of the mobile Ryzen 7 4800HS. The X300 is a barebones platform, as all the connectivity on the platform is handled by the AM4 SoC. AMD is expected to debut desktop Ryzen 4000G "Renoir" APUs within 2020.
Intel "Tiger Lake" Gen12 Xe iGPU Compared with AMD "Renoir" Vega 8 in 3DMark "Night Raid"
Last week, reports of Intel's Gen12 Xe integrated graphics solution catching up with AMD's Radeon Vega 8 iGPU found in its latest Ryzen 4000U processors in higher-tier 3DMark tests sparked quite some intrigue. AMD's higher CPU core-count bailed the processor out in overall 3DMark 11 scores. Thanks to Thai PC enthusiast TUM_APISAK, we now have a face-off between the Core i7-1165G7 "Tiger Lake-U" processor (15 W), against AMD Ryzen 7 4800U (15 W), and the mainstream-segment Ryzen 7 4800HS (35 W), in 3DMark "Night Raid."
The "Night Raid" test is designed to evaluate iGPU performance, and takes advantage of DirectX 12. The Core i7-1165G7 falls behind both the Ryzen 7 4800U and the 4800HS in CPU score, owing to its lower CPU core count, despite higher IPC. The i7-1165G7 is a 4-core/8-thread chip featuring "Willow Cove" CPU cores, facing off against 8-core/16-thread "Zen 2" CPU setups on the two Ryzens. Things get interesting with graphics tests, where the Radeon Vega 8 solution aboard the 4800U scores 64.63 FPS in GT1, and 89.41 FPS in GT2; compared to just 27.79 FPS in GT1 and 32.05 FPS in GT2, by the Gen12 Xe iGPU in the i7-1165G7.
The "Night Raid" test is designed to evaluate iGPU performance, and takes advantage of DirectX 12. The Core i7-1165G7 falls behind both the Ryzen 7 4800U and the 4800HS in CPU score, owing to its lower CPU core count, despite higher IPC. The i7-1165G7 is a 4-core/8-thread chip featuring "Willow Cove" CPU cores, facing off against 8-core/16-thread "Zen 2" CPU setups on the two Ryzens. Things get interesting with graphics tests, where the Radeon Vega 8 solution aboard the 4800U scores 64.63 FPS in GT1, and 89.41 FPS in GT2; compared to just 27.79 FPS in GT1 and 32.05 FPS in GT2, by the Gen12 Xe iGPU in the i7-1165G7.
Monday, June 8th 2020
Today's Reviews
Cases
CPU Coolers
Gaming PC
Headphones
Memory
Monitors
Motherboards
Processors
G.SKILL Trident Z Neo DDR4-3600 MHz CL16 4x16 GB Review
The Trident Z Neo is back again! This time in a pair of 32 GB kits. With a striking new take on the award winning Trident Z design and specifications that are as good as it gets for Ryzen, the Trident Z Neo just might be the ultimate Ryzen memory kit.
ADATA Falcon 1 TB M.2 NVMe SSD Review - Impressive Value
The ADATA Falcon SSD is priced at just $130 for the 1 TB version, or 13 cents per gigabyte, which makes it one of the most affordable SSDs on the market. In our review, we found decent performance that beats QLC, and ADATA is even including a small heatsink that helps with thermal throttling.
HWInfo's Power Reporting Deviation Sensor Reveals How Motherboard Makers are Cheating Ryzen CPUs
HWInfo with its latest version, introduced a new sensor that reveals whether your motherboard is tricking your 3rd Gen Ryzen processor into thinking its power consumption is within normal parameters, while in fact sending more power to it, to sustain boost clocks better, or support overclocking. These enhancements take advantage of the fact that an AMD Ryzen processor relies on the motherboard's CPU VRM controller for power-consumption telemetry, so the processor's power-management co-processor can accordingly adjust boost frequencies to stay within AMD's power-consumption limits.
Motherboard vendors have allegedly figured out a way to trick the processor into thinking its power consumption is within normal parameters (when it's not), and HWInfo's developer has determined a way to calculate the deviation between power consumption value reported to the CPU, against that measured by the VRM controller. This sensor is called "Power Reporting Deviation," and is an integer percentage value. 95-105% deviation can be interpreted as normal behavior, where the motherboard is respecting AMD specs. Anything outside this range could indicate a motherboard-level power enhancement designed to maximize performance of even processors that users prefer to run at stock speeds, reducing their lifespan. Overclocking legend "The Stilt" wrote a detailed essay on Power Reporting Deviation, which can be read here.
DOWNLOAD: HWInfo v6.27-4185 Beta
Motherboard vendors have allegedly figured out a way to trick the processor into thinking its power consumption is within normal parameters (when it's not), and HWInfo's developer has determined a way to calculate the deviation between power consumption value reported to the CPU, against that measured by the VRM controller. This sensor is called "Power Reporting Deviation," and is an integer percentage value. 95-105% deviation can be interpreted as normal behavior, where the motherboard is respecting AMD specs. Anything outside this range could indicate a motherboard-level power enhancement designed to maximize performance of even processors that users prefer to run at stock speeds, reducing their lifespan. Overclocking legend "The Stilt" wrote a detailed essay on Power Reporting Deviation, which can be read here.
DOWNLOAD: HWInfo v6.27-4185 Beta
ID-COOLING Releases IS-47K 47mm Low Profile CPU Cooler
ID-COOLING today announced IS-47K low profile CPU air cooler, featuring only 47 mm total height, 6 copper heatpipes, copper base and a 92x92x15mm PWM fan. IS-47K is specially designed for high performance small form factor builds with a TDP up to 130 W. It is compatible with the mainstream CPU sockets on ITX systems, including Intel LGA1200/1150/1151/1155/1156 and AMD AM4.
The thermal solution is achieved by utilizing a few key structural designs: pure copper base and pure copper heatpipes, high quality aluminium fins which soldered to the heatpipes, PWM 92x922x15mm fans and on top of that, a tube of high cooling performance thermal grease ID-TG25 which has a 10.5 W/m-K thermal conductivity.
The thermal solution is achieved by utilizing a few key structural designs: pure copper base and pure copper heatpipes, high quality aluminium fins which soldered to the heatpipes, PWM 92x922x15mm fans and on top of that, a tube of high cooling performance thermal grease ID-TG25 which has a 10.5 W/m-K thermal conductivity.
QNAP Unveils Qsirch 5.0, Enabling Image Search, Text Search in Images and Auto-Archiving Files
QNAP Systems, Inc., a leading computing, networking and storage solution innovator, announce the release of Qsirch 5.0 - a fast, full-text search engine with the following new features: search by image, text search in images and auto-archiving files. Qsirch enables users to find files based on their filename, content, and metadata. Qsirch 5.0 adds integration with the QuMagie Core AI engine to identify objects and people in photos, allowing users to find images using keywords or by finding other images of the same person by clicking on their face.
OCR technology is now included in Qsirch 5.0, allowing the detection of text within image files and for these files to be found using keywords. The new auto-archiving feature leverages Qfiling to perform one-time or automatic archiving tasks based on search criteria. "Integration with the QuMagie Core AI engine and Qfiling provides QNAP NAS users with easy and convenient file searching." said Josh Chen, Product Manager of QNAP.
OCR technology is now included in Qsirch 5.0, allowing the detection of text within image files and for these files to be found using keywords. The new auto-archiving feature leverages Qfiling to perform one-time or automatic archiving tasks based on search criteria. "Integration with the QuMagie Core AI engine and Qfiling provides QNAP NAS users with easy and convenient file searching." said Josh Chen, Product Manager of QNAP.
Intel "Tiger Lake" Beats AMD "Renoir" in Graphics Tests under 3D Mark
Now, take that title with the customary grain of salt, and remember: most mobile configurations aren't directly comparable due to different components, speed of the memory subsystem, and so on. Putting that salt aside, though, one thing remains: Intel beats AMD in the latest purported 3DMark benchmarks - and on the red team's home-field, so to speak: graphics performance. A benchmark posted by renowned leaker and benchmark scavenger rogame on twitter has turned up an Intel Tiger Lake-U (i7-1165G7) scoring 11879 (99.68%) in the Physics and 6912 (112.92%) in the Graphics score compared to AMD's R7 4800U 11917 Physics score and 6121 Graphics score.
For context, this pits a 4-core, 8-thread Intel Willow Cove design paired with Gen12 Xe graphics tech (2.8 GHz base, 4.4 GHz boost) against 8 of AMD's Zen 2 cores and Vega graphics. Also for context, it's expected that Intel's i7-1165G7 runs with a 28 W TDP, compared to AMD's R7 4800U 15 W envelope. Also of note is that 3D Mark isn't exactly the poster-child for CPU parallelization performance, as the benchmark scales up rather poorly as more cores are added. Perhaps more interesting as a comparison, these scores from Intel's Tiger Lake are comparable to the company's current i5-10300H (4C/8T 2.5 GHz base 4.5 GHz boost), which scores 10817 on the Physics side (making the i7-1165G7 9.8% faster with a 200 MHz slower base clock, 100 MHz higher boost & 17 W less TDP (28 W for the Tier Lake and 45 W for the i5-10300H).
For context, this pits a 4-core, 8-thread Intel Willow Cove design paired with Gen12 Xe graphics tech (2.8 GHz base, 4.4 GHz boost) against 8 of AMD's Zen 2 cores and Vega graphics. Also for context, it's expected that Intel's i7-1165G7 runs with a 28 W TDP, compared to AMD's R7 4800U 15 W envelope. Also of note is that 3D Mark isn't exactly the poster-child for CPU parallelization performance, as the benchmark scales up rather poorly as more cores are added. Perhaps more interesting as a comparison, these scores from Intel's Tiger Lake are comparable to the company's current i5-10300H (4C/8T 2.5 GHz base 4.5 GHz boost), which scores 10817 on the Physics side (making the i7-1165G7 9.8% faster with a 200 MHz slower base clock, 100 MHz higher boost & 17 W less TDP (28 W for the Tier Lake and 45 W for the i5-10300H).
Another Nail on Intel Kaby Lake-G Coffin as AMD Pulls Graphics Driver Support
Kaby Lake-G was the result of one of the strangest collaborations in the industry - though that may not be a just way of looking at it. It made total sense at the time - a product that combined the world's best CPU design with one of the foremost graphics architectures seems a recipe for success. However, the Intel-AMD collaboration was an unexpected one, as these two rivals were never expected to look eye to eye in any sort of meaningful way. Kaby Lake-G was revolutionary in how it combined both AMD and Intel IP in an EMIB-capable design, but it wasn't one built to last.
Now, after Intel has announced a stop to product manufacturing and order capacity, it's come the time for AMD to pull driver support. The company's latest Windows 10 version 2004 update-compatible drivers don't install on Kaby Lake-G powered systems, citing an unsupported hardware configuration. Tom's Hardware contacted Intel, who said they're working with AMD to bring back "Radeon graphics driver support to Intel NUC 8 Extreme Mini PCs (previously codenamed "Hades Canyon")." AMD, however, still hasn't commented on the story.
Now, after Intel has announced a stop to product manufacturing and order capacity, it's come the time for AMD to pull driver support. The company's latest Windows 10 version 2004 update-compatible drivers don't install on Kaby Lake-G powered systems, citing an unsupported hardware configuration. Tom's Hardware contacted Intel, who said they're working with AMD to bring back "Radeon graphics driver support to Intel NUC 8 Extreme Mini PCs (previously codenamed "Hades Canyon")." AMD, however, still hasn't commented on the story.
Itch.io Announces $5 Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality, Featuring 300+ Games
Itch.io is an indie game distributor that offers full game downloads absent of any client distribution - they give you links where you can download games and their full executables from their website. Now, the company has announced a new $5 bundle under the Racial Justice and Equality movement. The $5 is the minimum contribution amount users can give, and offers access to 300+ games out of a grand 742 asset total (includes both games' tilesets, assets, tabletop RPGs, comics, tools, as well as books, valued at $3400. The entirety of your contribution will be evenly split between the "NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund" and the "Community Bail Fund".
There are some known quantities among this bundle - including Oxenfree, Overland, and A Short Hike - but there are sure to be some more hidden, unknown gems out there (at least for some of us). Feel free to follow the source link for the full Itch.io page. The bundle has already raised $2,328,972.22 (46% of its $5,000,000 target), with the average contribution sitting at $11,50 and the top contribution offering $5,000 to the selected institutions.
There are some known quantities among this bundle - including Oxenfree, Overland, and A Short Hike - but there are sure to be some more hidden, unknown gems out there (at least for some of us). Feel free to follow the source link for the full Itch.io page. The bundle has already raised $2,328,972.22 (46% of its $5,000,000 target), with the average contribution sitting at $11,50 and the top contribution offering $5,000 to the selected institutions.
YMTC to Launch its Own SSD Brand Soon
YMTC (Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp) could launch its own SSD brand soon, according to a DigiTimes report. The Mainland Chinese NAND flash maker, which is taking giant strides with the development of NAND flash memory, could join Micron, SK Hynix, Kioxia, and Samsung, in being NAND flash vendors with their own finished SSD product lines on the side.
The SSD brand could be announced in Q3-2020, and could implement the company's 64-layer 3D TLC NAND flash memory in some of its first drives, moving on to 128-layer NAND flash chips next, as the company has pole-vaulted 96-layer. With Phison coming out with support for YMTC chips, it's likely that the company could get a break with these drives. YMTC is one of the rising stars of China's domestic high-technology industry, and a beneficiary of state investment as part of the Chinese Government's plan to eliminate dependency on foreign computer hardware as part of its "3-5-2 plan."
The SSD brand could be announced in Q3-2020, and could implement the company's 64-layer 3D TLC NAND flash memory in some of its first drives, moving on to 128-layer NAND flash chips next, as the company has pole-vaulted 96-layer. With Phison coming out with support for YMTC chips, it's likely that the company could get a break with these drives. YMTC is one of the rising stars of China's domestic high-technology industry, and a beneficiary of state investment as part of the Chinese Government's plan to eliminate dependency on foreign computer hardware as part of its "3-5-2 plan."
PNY Announces CS2130 M.2 NVMe SSD
PNY today rolled out the CS2130 line of M.2 NVMe SSDs. Available in 500 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB capacities, the drives are built in the M.2-2280 form-factor, take advantage of PCI-Express 3.0 x4 host interface, and NVMe 1.3 protocol. The drives feature 3D NAND flash, although the company won't specify if it's TLC or QLC. All three capacity variants offer sequential read speeds of up to 3,500 MB/s, differing in write speeds. The 500 GB variant writes at up to 925 MB/s, the 1 TB variant up to 1,800 MB/s, and the 2 TB variant up to 3,000 MB/s. PNY is backing these drives with 5-year warranties. The company didn't reveal pricing.
TerraMaster Announces Availability of qBittorrent and Transmission BT Apps
TerraMaster, a professional brand that specializes in providing innovative storage products, including network attached storage (NAS)devices, announces the availability of qBittorrent and Transmission applications to select TerraMaster devices. Both qBittorrent and Tranmission are popular and easy to use free BitTorrent clients. qBittorrent is a free and reliable P2P BitTorrent and an open-source software alternative to major BT clients. On the other hand, Transmission BT is also an open-source, volunteer-based BT client and doesn't play games with its users to make money. Both HD BT download apps are now added to the TerraMaster TOS system application for TNAS users. The apps allow your TNAS to become a remote offline download tool.
qBittorrent is a cross-platform, lightweight, feature-rich, open-sourcetorrent client. It runs and provides similar features across all major platforms which include Windows, macOS, OS/2, Linux, and FreeBSD. qBittorrent is based on the Qt toolkit and libtorrent-rasterbar library.
qBittorrent is a cross-platform, lightweight, feature-rich, open-sourcetorrent client. It runs and provides similar features across all major platforms which include Windows, macOS, OS/2, Linux, and FreeBSD. qBittorrent is based on the Qt toolkit and libtorrent-rasterbar library.
AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT Put Through AotS Benchmark
AMD's upcoming Ryzen 7 3800XT 8-core/16-thread processor was put through "Ashes of the Singularity" (AotS) benchmark, as uncovered by HardwareLeaks (_rogame). Paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 graphics card, the processor is able to put out CPU frame-rates of 113.2 FPS (averaging all batches); 135.9 FPS in the normal batch, 115.31 FPS in the medium batch, and 95.49 FPS in the heavy batch, with preset level set to "Crazy_1080p." An older article points to the 3800XT ticking at 4.20 GHz base with 4.70 GHz maximum boost (compared to 3.90 GHz base and 4.50 GHz boost of the 3800X), which means AMD aims to shore up gaming performance of its 3rd gen Ryzen processors with the XT series.
Only one Laptop in 2020 will have AMD's SmartShift Technology
At CES 2020, AMD detailed a new technology called SmartShift. With the launch of the Ryzen 4000 Series "Renoir" processors, AMD has brought this technology to the processors powering the next generation of laptops. Designed to bring better performance to the overall system, the technology uses TDP balancing to boost the performance of processors. What that means is that the technology dynamically relocates the TDP budget to where it is most needed. For example, if the application is CPU intensive, the CPU will get a bigger TDP budget and will get better performance. And it goes the same way for GPU. Of course, the technology works only on AMD CPU and GPU combinations.
To use the SmartShift technology, the platform designer needs to implement it. For example, if a notebook manufacturer decides not to do it in its system, then it will not work. So far, we have only seen one model with SmartShift technology launching this year. The model in question is Dell's G5 15 SE. And it is going to stay like that. Frank Azore of AMD, has come out on Twitter and said that the reason for the lack of other laptops using this technology is because it is brand new and Dell jumped on it first. "No more SmartShift laptops are coming this year but the team is working hard on having more options ASAP for 2021." - he added. Hopefully, we will see more models being powered by this technology as the 2021 starts.
To use the SmartShift technology, the platform designer needs to implement it. For example, if a notebook manufacturer decides not to do it in its system, then it will not work. So far, we have only seen one model with SmartShift technology launching this year. The model in question is Dell's G5 15 SE. And it is going to stay like that. Frank Azore of AMD, has come out on Twitter and said that the reason for the lack of other laptops using this technology is because it is brand new and Dell jumped on it first. "No more SmartShift laptops are coming this year but the team is working hard on having more options ASAP for 2021." - he added. Hopefully, we will see more models being powered by this technology as the 2021 starts.
TSMC Accelerates 2 nm Semiconductor Node R&D
TSMC, the world's leading semiconductor manufacturing company, has reportedly started to accelerate research and development (R&D) of its next-generation 2 nm node. Having just recently announced that they will be starting production of a 5 nm process in Q4 of 2020, TSMC is pumping out nodes very fast and much faster compared to competition like Intel and Samsung. Having an R&D budget of almost 16 billion USD, TSMC seems to be spending the funds very wisely. The 5 nm node is going into volume production this year, and smaller nodes are already being prepared.
The 3 nm node is going into trial production in the first half of 2021, while the mass production is supposed to commence in 2022. As far as the 2 nm node, TSMC has recently purchased more expensive Extreme Ultra-Violet (EUV) lithography machines for the 2 nm node. Due to the high costs of these EUV machines, TSMC's capital spending will not be revisited this year and it should remain in the $16 billion range. As far as a timeline for 2 nm is concerned, we don't know when will TSMC start trial production as the node is still in development phases.
The 3 nm node is going into trial production in the first half of 2021, while the mass production is supposed to commence in 2022. As far as the 2 nm node, TSMC has recently purchased more expensive Extreme Ultra-Violet (EUV) lithography machines for the 2 nm node. Due to the high costs of these EUV machines, TSMC's capital spending will not be revisited this year and it should remain in the $16 billion range. As far as a timeline for 2 nm is concerned, we don't know when will TSMC start trial production as the node is still in development phases.
Sunday, June 7th 2020
ASRock Rack Intros TRX40D8-2N2T ATX Motherboard for Threadripper-powered Servers
The AMD Ryzen Threadripper HEDT processors support up to 2 TB of quad-channel ECC memory, which means some companies can choose to cut costs by opting for 3rd gen Ryzen Threadrippers over EPYC "Rome" processors, if they're okay with a narrower memory bus. There weren't any server-grade AMD TRX40 chipset motherboards, until ASRock Rack picked up the challenge, with the new TRX40D8-2N2T. This motherboard is designed for high-uptime use, featuring server-grade VRM, networking interfaces, and an ASPEED IPMI+display+iKVM chip.
Built in the ATX form-factor, the TRX40D8-2N2T features one sTRX4 socket supporting 3rd gen Ryzen Threadripper processors (including the 3990X), eight DDR4 DIMM slots supporting up to 256 GB (32 GB per DIMM) of quad-channel DDR4 memory, with or without ECC. Memory speeds of up to DDR4-3200 are supported. The sTRX4 socket is wired to three PCI-Express 4.0 x16 slots and one open-ended PCI-Express 4.0 x8. Storage connectivity includes six SATA 6 Gbps ports, and two M.2-22110 slots with PCI-Express 4.0 x4 wiring. Networking includes two 10 GbE ports driven by an Intel X710-AT2 controller, and two 2.5 GbE ports put out by a pair of Intel i225-LM controllers. The ASPEED AST2500 chip puts out a GbE port and D-Sub (basic display) connector of its own. There's no onboard audio. The company didn't reveal pricing.
Built in the ATX form-factor, the TRX40D8-2N2T features one sTRX4 socket supporting 3rd gen Ryzen Threadripper processors (including the 3990X), eight DDR4 DIMM slots supporting up to 256 GB (32 GB per DIMM) of quad-channel DDR4 memory, with or without ECC. Memory speeds of up to DDR4-3200 are supported. The sTRX4 socket is wired to three PCI-Express 4.0 x16 slots and one open-ended PCI-Express 4.0 x8. Storage connectivity includes six SATA 6 Gbps ports, and two M.2-22110 slots with PCI-Express 4.0 x4 wiring. Networking includes two 10 GbE ports driven by an Intel X710-AT2 controller, and two 2.5 GbE ports put out by a pair of Intel i225-LM controllers. The ASPEED AST2500 chip puts out a GbE port and D-Sub (basic display) connector of its own. There's no onboard audio. The company didn't reveal pricing.
SilverStone Intros CS330 Case for Video Editing Rigs and Home Servers
SilverStone today announced the CS330, a Micro-ATX mini-tower that looks geared toward video editors or home/small-business server builds, thanks to its eight 3.5-inch drive bays that let you cram dozens of terabytes of storage. The case offers three 3.5-inch hot-swap caddies with SATA and SAS 12 Gbps backplanes; four internal 3.5-inch bays, and an additional single 3.5-inch/2.5-inch bay, totaling up to eight storage devices, not counting the M.2 drives you may have installed on your motherboard.
A 180 mm air-penetrator fan conveys heat between the storage area and the motherboard tray. The Micro-ATX motherboard tray is oriented BTX-style (upside down), offering room for graphics cards up to 36 cm in length (even with all drive cages in place), and CPU coolers up to 16.5 cm in height. Front panel connectivity includes a pair of USB 3.x type-A ports, and HDA jacks. The case measures 210 mm (W) x 374 mm (H) x 385 mm (D), weighing a little over 6 kg.
A 180 mm air-penetrator fan conveys heat between the storage area and the motherboard tray. The Micro-ATX motherboard tray is oriented BTX-style (upside down), offering room for graphics cards up to 36 cm in length (even with all drive cages in place), and CPU coolers up to 16.5 cm in height. Front panel connectivity includes a pair of USB 3.x type-A ports, and HDA jacks. The case measures 210 mm (W) x 374 mm (H) x 385 mm (D), weighing a little over 6 kg.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Rendered By Fan
Last week we reported on the leaked NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 reference card images which showed a large departure from the designs of previous NVIDIA reference cards with a dual-fan aluminium fin-stack cooler. Reddit user u/JDSP_ has created some high quality renders of the card which were shared online, the renders are missing power connectors, NVLink, and PCB material but other than that may be a good look at what's coming from NVIDIA.
AMD Declares That The Era of 4GB Graphics Cards is Over
AMD has declared that the era of 4 GB graphics cards is over and that users should "Game Beyond 4 GB". AMD has conducted testing of its 4 GB RX 5500XT & 8 GB RX 5500XT to see how much of a difference VRAM can make on gaming performance. AMD tested the cards on a variety of games at 1080p high/ultra settings with a 3600X & 16 GB 3200 MHz ram, on average the 8 GB model performed ~19% better than its 4 GB counterpart. With next-gen consoles featuring 16 GB of combined memory and developers showing no sign of slowing down, it will be interesting to see what happens.
DeepCool Also Intros GAMMAXX 400 Pro CPU Cooler
DeepCool today also rolled out the GAMMAXX 400 Pro tower-type CPU cooler. This cooler is nearly identical to the GAMMAXX 400 EX that the company announced in May, with the exception of the included pair of 120 mm fans. Besides the obvious distinguishing feature being the blue LED illumination, the fans included with the new GAMMAXX 400 Pro spin up to 1,650 RPM (compared to 1,500 RPM of the GAMMAXX Pro EX), pushing up to 64.5 CFM of air (up to 52 CFM on the older cooler). The underlying heatsink is identical between the two coolers: a tower-type fin-stack featuring 52 aluminium fins, to which heat drawn from the direct-touch base is conveyed by four 6 mm thick copper heat pipes. The company didn't reveal pricing.
Aetina Launches New Edge AI Computer Powered by the NVIDIA Jetson
Aetina Corp., a provider of high-performance GPGPU solutions, announced the new AN110-XNX edge AI computer leveraging the powerful capabilities of the NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX, expanding its range of edge AI systems built on the Jetson platform for applications in smart transportation, factories, retail, healthcare, AIoT, robotics, and more.
The AN110-XNX combines the NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX and Aetina AN110 carrier board in a compact form factor of 87.4 x 68.2 x 52 mm (with fan). AN110-XNX supports the MIPI CSI-2 interface for 1x4k or 2xFHD cameras to handle intensive AI workloads from ultra-high-resolution cameras to more accurate image analysis. It is as small as Aetina's AN110-NAO based on the NVIDIA Jetson Nano platform, but delivers more powerful AI computing via the new Jetson Xavier NX. With 384 CUDA cores, 48 Tensor Cores, and cloud-native capability the Jetson Xavier NX delivers up to 21 TOPS and is the ideal platform to accelerate AI applications. Bundled with the latest NVIDIA Jetpack 4.4 SDK, the energy-efficient module significantly expands the choices now available for developers and customers looking for embedded edge-computing options that demand increased performance to support AI workloads but are constrained by size, weight, power budget, or cost.
The AN110-XNX combines the NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX and Aetina AN110 carrier board in a compact form factor of 87.4 x 68.2 x 52 mm (with fan). AN110-XNX supports the MIPI CSI-2 interface for 1x4k or 2xFHD cameras to handle intensive AI workloads from ultra-high-resolution cameras to more accurate image analysis. It is as small as Aetina's AN110-NAO based on the NVIDIA Jetson Nano platform, but delivers more powerful AI computing via the new Jetson Xavier NX. With 384 CUDA cores, 48 Tensor Cores, and cloud-native capability the Jetson Xavier NX delivers up to 21 TOPS and is the ideal platform to accelerate AI applications. Bundled with the latest NVIDIA Jetpack 4.4 SDK, the energy-efficient module significantly expands the choices now available for developers and customers looking for embedded edge-computing options that demand increased performance to support AI workloads but are constrained by size, weight, power budget, or cost.
Command & Conquer Remastered Collection Available Now on Steam and Origin
In celebration of the 25th Anniversary of Command & Conquer, Electronic Arts Inc. today announced that the Command & Conquer Remastered Collection is now available worldwide on PC via Origin and Steam, and as part of an Origin Access Premier subscription. Developed as a labor of love between EA and some of the original Westwood Studios team members at Petroglyph, the Remastered Collection is comprised of Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn, Command & Conquer: Red Alert and their three expansion packs - Covert Ops, Counterstrike and The Aftermath. Veteran fans and those new to the franchise can now experience one of the most beloved real-time strategy games in history with native 4K support, rebuilt multiplayer, enhanced UI, a seven hour remastered soundtrack by Frank Klepacki, modding support and much more.
Built with the community in mind from day-one, an active Community Council has been involved since early pre-production with 24/7 access to the teams at EA and Petroglyph to provide feedback during development. This feedback has helped shape features such as a revamped UI, updated controls, a Map Editor, and a modernized online multiplayer experience, featuring custom games, 1v1 quick match, Elo-based matchmaking, leaderboards, replays and much more.
Built with the community in mind from day-one, an active Community Council has been involved since early pre-production with 24/7 access to the teams at EA and Petroglyph to provide feedback during development. This feedback has helped shape features such as a revamped UI, updated controls, a Map Editor, and a modernized online multiplayer experience, featuring custom games, 1v1 quick match, Elo-based matchmaking, leaderboards, replays and much more.
Saturday, June 6th 2020
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Pictured?
Here are what could be the very first pictures of a reference NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 "Ampere" graphics card revealing an unusual board design, which is the biggest departure in NVIDIA's design schemes since the original GeForce TITAN. It features a dual-fan aluminium fin-stack cooler, except that one of its fans is located on the obverse side, and the other on the reverse side of the card. The PCB of the card appears to extend only two-thirds the length of the card, ending in an inward cutout, beyond which there's only an extension of the cooling solution. The cooler shroud, rather than being a solid covering of the heatsink, is made of aluminium heatsink ridges. All in all, a very unusual design, which NVIDIA could implement on its top-tier SKUs, such as the RTX 3080, RTX 3080 Ti, and in a cosmetic form on lower SKUs. We get the feeling that "Cyberpunk 2077" has influenced this design.
Friday, June 5th 2020
Today's Reviews
Cases
CPU Coolers
Motherboards
Processors
Intel Core i7-10700K Review - Unlocked and Loaded
The Core i7-10700K is Intel's second strongest overclockable Comet Lake CPU, with a powerful 8c/16t configuration. We saw pretty amazing tweaking potential from the 10700 non-K, so we'll definitely compare against that in the Core i7-10700K review, and of course against AMD's Ryzen 9 3900X.
ASUS ROG Chakram Review - What an Impressive Feature Set
The right-handed ergonomic ROG Chakram unites all the features one could think of: two wireless modes (2.4 GHz and Bluetooth), a programmable and removeable joystick, magnetic buttons, and swappable main button switches, along with PixArt's top-tier PAW3335 sensor, wireless charging, full RGB, and more.
Intel Posts 10th Gen Core Power Limit and Tau Values
Intel today updated the public data-sheet of its 10th Gen Core "Comet Lake-S" desktop processor to reveal precise power limit and tau values of each specific SKU. PL 1 or power level 1 is interchangeable with the processor's TDP as a power value. PL 1 is sufficient for a processor to sustain its base frequency (nominal clocks). For example, a processor with 65 W TDP has PL 1 at 65 W. PL 2 is what affords the processor the power to seek out boost frequencies. This value varies with between model to model, with the unlocked K/KF SKUs getting higher PL 2 values than the locked ones. The company also disclosed Tau. This is a timing variable that tells the processor how long (in seconds) can it stay within PL 2, before having to retreat to PL 1.
LG's 48-inch OLED Gaming TV with G-SYNC Goes on Sale This Month
LG is preparing to launch its latest addition to the gaming lineup of panels and this time it goes big. Preparing to launch this month is LG's 48-inch OLED Gaming TV with 120 HZ refreshing and G-SYNC support. To round up the impressive feature set, LG has priced this panel at $1499, which is a pricey but a tempting buy. Featuring 1 ms response time and low input lag, the 48CX TV is designed for gaming and fits into NVIDIA's Big Format Gaming Display (BFGD) philosophy. Interestingly, the TV uses LG's a9 Gen3 AI processor which does content upscaling so everything can look nice and crisp. Ai is used to "authentically upscale lower resolution content, translating the source to 4K's 8.3+ million pixels. The technology is so good, you might mistake non-4K for true 4K".
Thermaltake Also Announces ToughDesk 500L RGB Battlestation Gaming Desk
Thermaltake, the leading PC DIY premium brand for Cooling, Gaming Gear, and Enthusiast Memory solutions, introduces the ToughDesk 500L RGB Battlestation Gaming Desk, which is an L-shaped table with three stands, a main desk along with a side table attached to it. The new technology and extensive functions of the desk include electric height adjustment control, ample cable management space, and built with a full surface RGB mouse pad that is balanced for speed and control. Dimensions of the main desk are 62.99" (160 cm) in length and 31.49" (80 cm) in width, and for the side table, dimensions are 31.49" (80 cm) in length and 23.62" in width (60 cm) covered by one full surface RGB mouse pad and one non-RGB mouse pad for the side table.
The illuminating full surface mouse pad comes with 16.8M RGB color combinations and seven dynamic lighting effects; brightness, speed, and direction of the lighting effects are customizable via the iTAKE engine software. The mouse pad's lighting effects can be synced with TT RGB PLUS compatible Thermaltake products to complete the ecosystem in uniformity. The mouse pad also works with Razer Chroma, enabling gaming and RGB lighting effect synchronizations. Moreover, the ToughDesk 500L RGB Battlestation Gaming Desk is designed for multi-monitor gaming setups, which allows users to work and game with space, style, and comfort.
The illuminating full surface mouse pad comes with 16.8M RGB color combinations and seven dynamic lighting effects; brightness, speed, and direction of the lighting effects are customizable via the iTAKE engine software. The mouse pad's lighting effects can be synced with TT RGB PLUS compatible Thermaltake products to complete the ecosystem in uniformity. The mouse pad also works with Razer Chroma, enabling gaming and RGB lighting effect synchronizations. Moreover, the ToughDesk 500L RGB Battlestation Gaming Desk is designed for multi-monitor gaming setups, which allows users to work and game with space, style, and comfort.
Thermaltake Announces Argent Series Gaming Gear
Thermaltake, the leading PC DIY premium brand for Cooling, Gaming Gear, and Enthusiast Memory solutions, gladly introduces a new set of gaming gear, the Argent K5 RGB mechanical keyboard, Argent M5 RGB / M5 RGB wireless mouse, Argent MP1 RGB mouse pad, Argent MB1 RGB mouse bungee, Argent HS1 RGB headset stand, and the Argent H5 headsets.
With a new design concept, Argent K5 RGB Cherry MX Blue / MX Speed Silver Switch Keyboard is crafted with an integral aluminium faceplate and a streamlined space gray design. Along with the aluminium plating is the 360-degree RGB underglow that can switch among fourteen lighting effects creating a halo effect surrounding the keyboard itself. Cutting through the edge of the faceplate on the top right is the well-designed metal scroll wheel that allows users to control the volume by scrolling it forward or backwards or even mute the volume by slightly pressing the metal scroll wheel into the keyboard. Beneath the floating keycaps are the Cherry MX Blue or MX Speed Silver switches, which provides the most durable, precise, and responsive tactile feedback that would also run thirteen dynamic lighting effects. It also includes audio and USB pass-through ports, and a detachable magnetic wrist rest made out of synthetic leather for both functionality and comfort.
With a new design concept, Argent K5 RGB Cherry MX Blue / MX Speed Silver Switch Keyboard is crafted with an integral aluminium faceplate and a streamlined space gray design. Along with the aluminium plating is the 360-degree RGB underglow that can switch among fourteen lighting effects creating a halo effect surrounding the keyboard itself. Cutting through the edge of the faceplate on the top right is the well-designed metal scroll wheel that allows users to control the volume by scrolling it forward or backwards or even mute the volume by slightly pressing the metal scroll wheel into the keyboard. Beneath the floating keycaps are the Cherry MX Blue or MX Speed Silver switches, which provides the most durable, precise, and responsive tactile feedback that would also run thirteen dynamic lighting effects. It also includes audio and USB pass-through ports, and a detachable magnetic wrist rest made out of synthetic leather for both functionality and comfort.
KeysWorlds Unveils Summer Crazy Deals on Genuine Software
KeysWorlds presents Summer Crazy Deals on software you need the most. It's time to fire up new builds and get gaming this Summer, and why not minimize your genuine software costs freeing up more budget for your new generation PC hardware or raking up loads of games in sales? Get genuine, globally-valid Windows 10 Pro operating system for just USD $9.49 with a TechPowerUp-exclusive coupon code. A twin-pack can be had for as little as $15.59. Also get some of the lowest prices on the web for your preferred flavor of Office, including Office 2019 Professional Plus for just $32.27, and Office 2016 Professional Plus for $24.22. Combine your favorite version of Windows and Office to save even more.
Apply the coupon code KWS38 on the following items at check-out to avail the prices you see here.
Buy Windows 10 Pro from KeysWorlds for $9.49 | Buy Windows 10 Pro 2-PC for $15.59 | Buy Windows 10 Home for $10.17
Apply the code KWS50 on the following items to get the prices you see here.
Buy Office 2016 Professional Plus for $24.22 | Buy Office 2019 Professional Plus for $32.27 | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2016 Professional for $28.98 | Buy Windows 10 Home + Office 2016 Professional for $28.71 | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2019 Professional for $38.28 | Buy Windows 10 Home + Office 2019 Professional for $39.38 | Buy Office 2016 Home and Student for $29.42 | Buy Office 2019 Home and Student for $39.62 | Buy Office 2016 Home and Business for Mac at $36.10 | Buy Office 2019 Home and Business for Mac at $54.15
Apply the coupon code KWS38 on the following items at check-out to avail the prices you see here.
Buy Windows 10 Pro from KeysWorlds for $9.49 | Buy Windows 10 Pro 2-PC for $15.59 | Buy Windows 10 Home for $10.17
Apply the code KWS50 on the following items to get the prices you see here.
Buy Office 2016 Professional Plus for $24.22 | Buy Office 2019 Professional Plus for $32.27 | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2016 Professional for $28.98 | Buy Windows 10 Home + Office 2016 Professional for $28.71 | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2019 Professional for $38.28 | Buy Windows 10 Home + Office 2019 Professional for $39.38 | Buy Office 2016 Home and Student for $29.42 | Buy Office 2019 Home and Student for $39.62 | Buy Office 2016 Home and Business for Mac at $36.10 | Buy Office 2019 Home and Business for Mac at $54.15
2nd Gen AMD EPYC Processors Now Delivering More Computing Power to Amazon Web Services Customers
AMD today announced that 2nd Gen AMD EPYC processor powered Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) C5a instances are now generally available in the AWS U.S. East, AWS U.S. West, AWS Europe and AWS Asia Pacific regions.
Powered by a 2nd Gen AMD EPYC processor running at frequencies up to 3.3Ghz, the Amazon EC2 C5a instances are the sixth instance family at AWS powered by AMD EPYC processors. By using the 2nd Gen AMD EPYC processor, the C5a instance delivers leadership x86 price-performance for a broad set of compute-intensive workloads including batch processing, distributed analytics, data transformations, log analytics and web applications.
Powered by a 2nd Gen AMD EPYC processor running at frequencies up to 3.3Ghz, the Amazon EC2 C5a instances are the sixth instance family at AWS powered by AMD EPYC processors. By using the 2nd Gen AMD EPYC processor, the C5a instance delivers leadership x86 price-performance for a broad set of compute-intensive workloads including batch processing, distributed analytics, data transformations, log analytics and web applications.
Thermaltake Announces RIING Pro RGB 7.1, Shock XT Series & Isurus Pro V2 In-ear Gaming Headsets
The RIING Pro RGB 7.1 Gaming Headset features not only 7.1 premium virtual surround, but also oversized 50 mm drivers that minimize distortion while producing clear and precise sounds at both low and high frequencies. Enjoy a new level of audio quality with the built-in ESS ES9018 DAC and SABRE9601K amplifier that delivers 24-bit/ 96 kHz lossless playback with extraordinary dynamic range and ultralow distortion. The headset comes with an in-line control box that provides 7.1 virtual surround sound, preset EQ, and volume controls on-the-fly.
The comfortable padding of the ear cups are memory foam based, and it offers auto headband adjustments for hassle free and perfect fitment. After downloading the iTake software, the Thermaltake exclusive gaming gear controlling software, users can experience 7.1 virtual surround sound and customize RGB lighting effects across two separate zones. Besides RGB synchronizations among the gaming gear, users can also SyncALL lighting effects with TT RGB PLUS compatible Thermaltake products. The headset also works with Razer Chroma and Amazon Alexa Voice Service, enabling gaming and RGB lighting effect synchronizations or lighting control by talking to an Alexa enabled device.
The comfortable padding of the ear cups are memory foam based, and it offers auto headband adjustments for hassle free and perfect fitment. After downloading the iTake software, the Thermaltake exclusive gaming gear controlling software, users can experience 7.1 virtual surround sound and customize RGB lighting effects across two separate zones. Besides RGB synchronizations among the gaming gear, users can also SyncALL lighting effects with TT RGB PLUS compatible Thermaltake products. The headset also works with Razer Chroma and Amazon Alexa Voice Service, enabling gaming and RGB lighting effect synchronizations or lighting control by talking to an Alexa enabled device.
ASRock Registers 10 New AMD A520 Chipset Motherboards with the EEC
ASRock sought regulatory approval for as many as ten new motherboard models based on the upcoming entry-level AMD A520 desktop chipset. The A520 has a slightly cut down feature-set from the B550, such as the lack of CPU overclocking, fewer downstream PCIe lanes, etc. Among the new motherboards registered are the A520M Pro4, A520M Pro4 R2.0, A520M Pro4 R3.0, A520M-HDVP, A520M-HDV, A520M-HDV R2.0, A520M-HDV R3.0, A520M-HVS, A520M-HVS R2.0, and A520M-HVS R3.0, which cover a wide range of SKUs differentiated by board size, display connectivity layout, legacy connectivity, etc. AMD is expected to launch its entry-level A520 desktop chipset in Q3-2020, replacing the aging A320 chipset. The regulatory filing also points out some yet-unannounced B550-based models, such as the B550M DASH, B550M DASH R2.0, which could be released in the future.
Xbox Project xCloud & Game Pass May Be Coming To Samsung TVs
RosetEra user 12Danny123 has discovered a new Samsung page dedicated to Samsung Access for TV, a subscription rental service that includes reference to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Microsoft and Samsung have existing partnerships in the game streaming arena so its not much of a stretch to see them bring Xbox Project xCloud and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to Samsung's TVs sometime in the future.
The page includes a snippet stating "with Samsung Access, you get your choice of a streaming or gaming service (up to a $120 value), included at no additional cost. Choose from Showtime, Sling TV, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, YouTube Music Premium, YouTube Premium, or YouTube TV." This isn't the first time a company has included game streaming directly from their TV, Sony previously enabled Playstation Now support on select Bravia televisions however this was later discontinued. Take all this information with a grain of salt as this may be just a code for use on Xbox or PC and not an indication of future support.
The page includes a snippet stating "with Samsung Access, you get your choice of a streaming or gaming service (up to a $120 value), included at no additional cost. Choose from Showtime, Sling TV, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, YouTube Music Premium, YouTube Premium, or YouTube TV." This isn't the first time a company has included game streaming directly from their TV, Sony previously enabled Playstation Now support on select Bravia televisions however this was later discontinued. Take all this information with a grain of salt as this may be just a code for use on Xbox or PC and not an indication of future support.
Doom & Doom II Currently Free For Some Chromebook Owners
Chromebook owners may be eligible to receive free copies of Doom, Doom II, and The Elder Scrolls: Legends Fall of the Dark Brotherhood expansion. These are android ports of the original Doom and Doom II, not the updated 2016 game however they are still great games and will run on anything including your old Chromebook given it has Android support. The games normally cost 4.99 USD and 19.99 USD for The Elder Scrolls: Legends Fall of the Dark Brotherhood expansion, so you're getting some good value. These perks are only available for a limited time and may not be available for all Chromebooks or regions.
You can check if your Chromebook is eligible: here
You can check if your Chromebook is eligible: here
ECS Releases Budget microATX AMD B450 Motherboard
Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) has recently unveiled the budget B450AM4-M motherboard. The B450AM4-M is a microATX board using the AMD B450 chipset with a low end 4+2 phase power system fed with a single 4 pin power connector. This limited power system will constrict the board to CPUs with a TDP of 95 W or lower and according to the board specifications, the 2600X is the highest-end chip supported. The motherboard comes with 4 DDR4 2666 MHz DIMM slots which support a maximum of 64 GB of memory, x1 PCIe 3.0 x16 slot, x1 PCIe 2.0 x16 slot wired at x4, x1 PCIe 2.0 x1 slot, and x1 PCI slot.
The motherboard includes a Realtek RTL8111GN controller for gigabit Ethernet, along with a Realtek ALC662 for audio. Storage options include four SATA connectors which support software RAID and an M.2 connector. I/O on the board is extensive given its market positioning including x2 USB 3.2 Gen 2, x4 USB 3.2 Gen1, x2 USB 2.0, HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI-D, D-Sub, and audio. ECS hasn't announced the pricing or availability for the B450AM4-M motherboard.
The motherboard includes a Realtek RTL8111GN controller for gigabit Ethernet, along with a Realtek ALC662 for audio. Storage options include four SATA connectors which support software RAID and an M.2 connector. I/O on the board is extensive given its market positioning including x2 USB 3.2 Gen 2, x4 USB 3.2 Gen1, x2 USB 2.0, HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI-D, D-Sub, and audio. ECS hasn't announced the pricing or availability for the B450AM4-M motherboard.
Overcooked Currently Free To Keep on Epic Games Store
Overcooked the chaotic couch co-op cooking game will replace Borderlands: The Handsome Collection as the weekly free game on the Epic Games Store. Overcooked launched in 2016 and was generally positively reviewed and considered to be one of the better co-op games released in recent years, the game has received a sequel Overcooked 2 in 2018 which offered a more polished and complete experience. This may come as a surprise to some as it was previously rumored that ARK: Survival Evolved would be this week's free game however, Epic seems unlikely to stop anytime soon so it will be interesting to see if ARK: Survival Evolved is offered some other time.
Get the game: here
Get the game: here
Thursday, June 4th 2020
Today's Reviews
Cases
CPU Coolers
Desktop PC
Headphones
Motherboards
Networking
Notebooks
Processors
Sound Cards
Intel Core i3-10300 Review
The Intel Core i3-10300 rewards you with 2 MB of additional L3 cache and higher clocks for $20 over the Core i3-10100. Is the upgrade worth it? In our Core i3-10300 review we'll also check if the more affordable AMD Ryzen 3 3300X is the better choice.
be quiet! Pure Rock 2 Review - Silent with Good Performance
be quiet! has updated their Pure Rock line of CPU coolers with the Pure Rock 2. Coming in two distinct versions, one silver and the other black, this single-tower design is whisper quiet without sacrificing overall performance, which makes it ideal for the silence-focused crowd.
Intel "Sapphire Rapids," "Alder Lake" and "Tremont" Feature CLDEMOTE Instruction
Intel's three upcoming processor microarchitectures, namely the next-generation Xeon "Sapphire Rapids," Core "Alder Lake," and low-power "Tremont" cores found in Atom, Pentium Silver, Celeron, and even Core Hybrid processors, will feature a new instruction set that aims to speed up processor cache performance, called CLDEMOTE "cache line demote." This is a means for the operating system to tell a processor core that a specific content of a cache (a cache line), isn't needed to loiter around in a lower cache level (closer to the core), and can be demoted to a higher cache level (away from the core); though not flushed back to the main memory.
There are a handful benefits to what CLDEMOTE does. Firstly, it frees up lower cache levels such as L1 and L2, which are smaller in size and dedicated to a CPU core, by pushing cache lines to the last-level cache (usually L3). Secondly, it enables rapid load movements between cores by pushing cache lines to L3, which is shared between multiple cores; so it could be picked up by a neighboring core. Dr. John McCalpin from UT Austin wrote a detailed article on CLDEMOTE.
There are a handful benefits to what CLDEMOTE does. Firstly, it frees up lower cache levels such as L1 and L2, which are smaller in size and dedicated to a CPU core, by pushing cache lines to the last-level cache (usually L3). Secondly, it enables rapid load movements between cores by pushing cache lines to L3, which is shared between multiple cores; so it could be picked up by a neighboring core. Dr. John McCalpin from UT Austin wrote a detailed article on CLDEMOTE.
MSI Announces Immerse GH30 V2 Gaming Headset
MSI rolled out the Immerse GH30 V2 gaming headset, a new variant of the original Immerse GH30 the company debuted in 2019 (and which we reviewed here). The headset has a nearly-identical mechanical design to the original, with some visual changes such as the bright red Lucky motif being replaced by a piano black one in a matte black background; and unless MSI has changed the make of its components, the V2 has identical specs to the original. The headphones component uses 40 mm neodymium drivers with 96 dB sensitivity, 32 Ω impedance, 20 Hz to 20 kHz and frequency response. The mic component has a unidirectional pickup, -36 dB sensitivity, 2.2 k Ω impedance, and 100 Hz to 10 kHz frequency response. Its main cable is 1.5 m long with a 4-pole 3.5 mm headset jack, and a Y-splitter for desktops. It weighs 222 g. We expect this headset to go for the same $50 price as the original.
China's SMIC Looking for $2.8 billion Funding Round via Shanghai
As the US stranglehold on Huawei keeps on tightening its grip, China's government is keen on both investing more heavily into in-country semiconductor manufacturing that can become a viable alternative to Huawei as a source a silicon, as well as decrease the country's dependence on Western or Western-tied companies. The country has already developed promising alternatives to foreign DRAM solutions via Xi'an UniIC Semiconductors and Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC). Now, following a previously-successful funding round held in Hong Kong (worth some $2.2 billion injected last month), China's largest contract chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) is looking for an additional $2.8 billion funding round via Shanghai.
SMIC is currently years behind TSMC, the current benchmark when it comes to semiconductor manufacturing. For now, SMIC is only able to provide 14 nm product designs - and even in that node, silicon is being quoted as having as much as a 70% defect-rate on any given wafer produced by the company (they've already started 14 nm production of Huawei's low-cost Kirin 710 chipset). At any rate, sources point towards a 6,000 monthly wafer production capacity within SMIC, a very, very low number that fails to meet any current demand (TSMC, for scale, are quoted as producing as many as 110,000 7 nm wafers per month). It's definitely an uphill battle, but SMIC counts with the might of the Chinese government through its sails - so while the waters might not be smooth, investment rounds such as these two (which amount to some $5 billion capital injection in two months) will be sure to help grease the engines for china's semiconductor expansion as much as possible.
SMIC is currently years behind TSMC, the current benchmark when it comes to semiconductor manufacturing. For now, SMIC is only able to provide 14 nm product designs - and even in that node, silicon is being quoted as having as much as a 70% defect-rate on any given wafer produced by the company (they've already started 14 nm production of Huawei's low-cost Kirin 710 chipset). At any rate, sources point towards a 6,000 monthly wafer production capacity within SMIC, a very, very low number that fails to meet any current demand (TSMC, for scale, are quoted as producing as many as 110,000 7 nm wafers per month). It's definitely an uphill battle, but SMIC counts with the might of the Chinese government through its sails - so while the waters might not be smooth, investment rounds such as these two (which amount to some $5 billion capital injection in two months) will be sure to help grease the engines for china's semiconductor expansion as much as possible.
LG Launches 38WN95C-W Monitor: 38" Nano IPS, QHD+, 144 Hz - 170 Hz, 1 ms, Adaptive-Sync, 2300R, VESA DisplayHDR 600
LG today launched their new 38WN95C-W monitor, right alongside a more barebones offering (38WN95C-G) and a gaming-oriented cousin, the 38WN95C-B. Differences are small between the three, so we'll get into the nitty-gritty with the 38WN95C-W. This monitor features a 38" Nano IPS panel with a quoted 1 ms response time, which offers what LG calls QHD+ (3840 x 1600) resolution and an up to 170 Hz refresh rate (via overclocking through the monitor's own OSD; the original, non-overclocked refresh rate stands at a still very respectable 144 Hz). The monitor supports Active-Sync technologies in the form of AMD's FreeSync and NVIDIA's G-Sync via the now ubiquitous "G-Sync Compatible" program, albeit with a VRR range set between 48 Hz and 144 Hz) with LFC (Low Framerate Compensation). There's a 1000:1 contrast ratio, a VESA DisplayHDR 600 certification (activated in lieu of the typical 450 cd/m² brightness) and 98% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage.
The monitor offers tilt and height adjustment, a 100mm VESA mount, and I/O is taken care of by 1x Thunderbolt 3 (high speed USB-C with DP Alt mode and PD), 1x DP 1.4, 2x HDMI 2.0 ports, 2x USB 3.0 ports (plus upstream), and 1x 3.5 mm headphone jack (besides the usual 2x 2 W speakers). The 'G' model lacks the Thunderbolt 3 port and additional HDMI 2.0 port of this model. The 38WN95C-G's only difference to this monitor is the lack of the ThunderBolt port and only 1x HDMI 2.0. The gaming-centric version, the 38WN95C-B, further cuts the built-in speakers - but offers an RGB ring for added bling. The LG 38WN95C-W is already available for pre-order with prices starting at $1,599.
The monitor offers tilt and height adjustment, a 100mm VESA mount, and I/O is taken care of by 1x Thunderbolt 3 (high speed USB-C with DP Alt mode and PD), 1x DP 1.4, 2x HDMI 2.0 ports, 2x USB 3.0 ports (plus upstream), and 1x 3.5 mm headphone jack (besides the usual 2x 2 W speakers). The 'G' model lacks the Thunderbolt 3 port and additional HDMI 2.0 port of this model. The 38WN95C-G's only difference to this monitor is the lack of the ThunderBolt port and only 1x HDMI 2.0. The gaming-centric version, the 38WN95C-B, further cuts the built-in speakers - but offers an RGB ring for added bling. The LG 38WN95C-W is already available for pre-order with prices starting at $1,599.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning Confirmed
The original Kingdoms of Amalur was an expansive voyage through well-known fantasy tropes, one that was received with relative acclaim, even if its overall storyline left something to be desired. A strange fact indeed, considering the game's story and lore were penned by none other than acclaimed fantasy author R. A. Salvatore, with input from Spawn creator Todd McFarlane and The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston. Developer 38 Studios shut down the doors relatively close to the gamers' release on account of sales not being enough for the company to pay for a loan granted towards the games' development by the state of Rhode Island. And thus story could have been left written, with thoughts of a eventual sequels and even a franchise being put to rest.
Cue THQ Nordic (who have been on a roll when it comes to both IP and studio acquisitions in the last few years) and the story might have a different ending. In fact, it will, as the company has just confirmed a soon-to-be-released remaster of the original Kingdoms of Amalur. Cheekily named "Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning", the remaster makes way to a gaming platform (currently PC and PS4 confirmed) near you as soon as August 18th. THQ Nordic is claiming "improved visuals and refined gameplay." It initially offered a release date of Aug. 11, but it has now been adjusted to Aug. 18. The games' announcement was originally leaked via Microsoft's Store (with accompanying screenshots), and has since been confirmed by THQ Nordic via Twitter.
Cue THQ Nordic (who have been on a roll when it comes to both IP and studio acquisitions in the last few years) and the story might have a different ending. In fact, it will, as the company has just confirmed a soon-to-be-released remaster of the original Kingdoms of Amalur. Cheekily named "Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning", the remaster makes way to a gaming platform (currently PC and PS4 confirmed) near you as soon as August 18th. THQ Nordic is claiming "improved visuals and refined gameplay." It initially offered a release date of Aug. 11, but it has now been adjusted to Aug. 18. The games' announcement was originally leaked via Microsoft's Store (with accompanying screenshots), and has since been confirmed by THQ Nordic via Twitter.
ASUS AIoT Builds New Smart Manufacturing Solutions to Promote Industrial Upgrades
New manufacturing processes powered by AI and big data reduce defects that can go unnoticed by human inspection, resulting in improved product quality and efficiency. With the advent of the AIoT era, ASUS has embraced new technologies and methods to develop advanced manufacturing capabilities. At the end of 2019, ASUS expanded the company's AIoT business unit to be able to develop more solutions for industries and, in the process, renamed it the AIoT Business Group (AIoT BG). After consideration and planning around the three major aspects of successful manufacturing - design power, technical ability and continuous profitability - ASUS transformed operations to achieve the flexibility, speed, productivity and quality required for supply-side Industry 4.0 upgrades.
Detecting defects by hand is a major pain point and cause of inefficiencies in manufacturing processes. By investing in smart manufacturing solutions that utilize AI for producing metal peripherals, fans, printed circuit boards and other computer components as well as for system assembly, ASUS was able to remove efficiency bottlenecks and reduce losses resulting from misjudgment of manufacturing defects by factory employees. Moving forward, ASUS will continue to use artificial intelligence and big data to statistically classify different types of quality defects, determine their causes and improve processes at the source of defects to further improve and push the boundaries of manufacturing quality.
Detecting defects by hand is a major pain point and cause of inefficiencies in manufacturing processes. By investing in smart manufacturing solutions that utilize AI for producing metal peripherals, fans, printed circuit boards and other computer components as well as for system assembly, ASUS was able to remove efficiency bottlenecks and reduce losses resulting from misjudgment of manufacturing defects by factory employees. Moving forward, ASUS will continue to use artificial intelligence and big data to statistically classify different types of quality defects, determine their causes and improve processes at the source of defects to further improve and push the boundaries of manufacturing quality.
Electronic Arts Launches 25+ Games on Steam Starting Today
Today, Electronic Arts Inc. launched the first wave of 25+ EA games on Steam, with more on the way. Starting today, players can explore BioWare 's award-winning Role-Playing Games - Dragon Age : Inquisition and Dragon Age II, experience high-speed, white-knuckle driving action in Need for Speed Heat, Need for Speed: Rivals and Need for Speed (2016) and battle it out in the wacky, fun and over-the-top shooter, Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville. A selection of the bold and innovative games from EA's indie development partners like Unravel, Unravel II, Fe and Sea of Solitude will also become available. Additionally, these games and many others will be available as part of an EA Access subscription on Steam that will launch to players later this summer.
"We want to make it easy to play the games you love, wherever you want to play. Delivering games to the Steam community is an important step in achieving this goal," said Mike Blank, SVP, Strategic Growth. "Not only are we excited to have our games on Steam, but we look forward to bringing them even more value when our subscription becomes available in the Summer."
"We want to make it easy to play the games you love, wherever you want to play. Delivering games to the Steam community is an important step in achieving this goal," said Mike Blank, SVP, Strategic Growth. "Not only are we excited to have our games on Steam, but we look forward to bringing them even more value when our subscription becomes available in the Summer."
ASUS Unveils ThunderboltEX 3-TR Card for Intel Z490 and H470 Chipset Motherboards
ASUS today unveiled the ThunderboltEX 3-TR its latest 2-port Thunderbolt 3 (40 Gbps) add-on card for ASUS Intel 400-series chipset motherboards that feature the TB3 header. The full height add-on card features a PCI-Express 3.0 x4 host interface, and puts out two Thunderbolt 3 ports in the type-C format. There are two mini-DisplayPort inputs so you can add DisplayPort passthrough from your graphics card for each of the two Thunderbolt ports. ASUS even includes a pair of short-length miniDP to standard DP cables. It also includes a USB 2.0 cable, and a cable for the TB3 header on your compatible ASUS motherboard. Under the hood is an Intel "Titan Ridge" JHL7540 2-port Thunderbolt 3 controller. The card requires a 6-pin PCIe power input. For now its compatibility list includes all Intel Z490 and H470 chipset motherboards by ASUS that feature the TB3 header.
Thermaltake Introduces the New ARGB TH-series AIO Liquid Coolers
Thermaltake, the leading PC DIY premium brand for Cooling, Gaming Gear, and Enthusiast Memory solutions, is excited to introduce a new All-in-one liquid cooler, the Thermaltake ARGB TH120/240/360 AIO. Besides the fancy ARGB fans that would draw people's attention, the quality of the product would also surprise the users with its affordable pricing. The glossy surface of the copper base plate guarantees high performance and impressive heat extraction. The top-quality pump, hidden in the glowing ARGB water block, ensures excellent coolant circulation that would keep the copper plate always cool.
The large surface radiator combined with the radiator fans dispatches heat in a highly efficient way. On the high-static pressure designed radiator fans are the 16.8 million color LEDs that are ready to sync with 5 V RGB capable motherboards from ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, and ASRock, allowing users to show off their creativity. Users can also control the lighting effects of the fans through the Smart Fan Controllers that are attached to the ARGB TH120/240/360 AIO. Looking for an easy and cost-effective all-in-one solution to cool down the CPU? ARGB TH120/240/360 AIO.
The large surface radiator combined with the radiator fans dispatches heat in a highly efficient way. On the high-static pressure designed radiator fans are the 16.8 million color LEDs that are ready to sync with 5 V RGB capable motherboards from ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, and ASRock, allowing users to show off their creativity. Users can also control the lighting effects of the fans through the Smart Fan Controllers that are attached to the ARGB TH120/240/360 AIO. Looking for an easy and cost-effective all-in-one solution to cool down the CPU? ARGB TH120/240/360 AIO.
ASRock Intros W480 Creator Motherboard
ASRock introduced the W480 Creator premium motherboard for creators, which supports 10th Gen Core and Xeon W-1200 series processors in the LGA1200 package, based on the "Comet Lake" microarchitecture. Built in the ATX form-factor, the board draws power from a 24-pin ATX and two 8-pin EPS power connectors, conditioning it for the CPU with a 16-phase VRM cooled by large aluminium fan-heatsinks. The LGA1200 socket is wired to four reinforced DDR4 DIMM slots supporting up to 128 GB of dual-channel DDR4-4800 (OC) memory, including ECC unbuffered DIMM support when paired with Xeon W-1200 processors; and two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (x8/x8 with both populated, else x16). These slots are gen 4.0 capable with future processors that offer PCIe gen 4.0 support. Storage connectivity includes three M.2 NVMe slots with PCIe gen 3.0 x4 wiring, each; and six SATA 6 Gbps ports.
Much of this board's serious "creator" USP begins with its connectivity. It offers two Thunderbolt 40 Gbps ports via type-C connectors, each with its own mini-DisplayPort 1.4 passthrough input that you connect to your graphics card. Networking connectivity includes a 10 GbE wired network connection powered by an AQuantia AQC107 controller; a second 2.5 GbE connection driven by Intel i225-LM controller, and an 802.11ax WLAN connection by an Intel AX201 adapter that also provides Bluetooth 5. The onboard audio solution packs some serious hardware, with an ESS Sabre 9218 DAC handling the front-panel headphones out (130 dBA SNR), a Realtek ALC1220 HDA codec handling the other channels (120 dBA SNR), WIMA capacitors for the front outputs, and the right and left audio channel wiring being routed through distant PCB layers to minimize crosstalk. The company didn't reveal pricing.
Much of this board's serious "creator" USP begins with its connectivity. It offers two Thunderbolt 40 Gbps ports via type-C connectors, each with its own mini-DisplayPort 1.4 passthrough input that you connect to your graphics card. Networking connectivity includes a 10 GbE wired network connection powered by an AQuantia AQC107 controller; a second 2.5 GbE connection driven by Intel i225-LM controller, and an 802.11ax WLAN connection by an Intel AX201 adapter that also provides Bluetooth 5. The onboard audio solution packs some serious hardware, with an ESS Sabre 9218 DAC handling the front-panel headphones out (130 dBA SNR), a Realtek ALC1220 HDA codec handling the other channels (120 dBA SNR), WIMA capacitors for the front outputs, and the right and left audio channel wiring being routed through distant PCB layers to minimize crosstalk. The company didn't reveal pricing.
Thermaltake Announces TOUGHFAN TOUGHFAN 12 High Static Pressure Fan and Pure Series Duo Fans
Thermaltake, the leading PC DIY premium brand for Cooling, Gaming Gear, and Enthusiast Memory solutions, announces the TOUGHFAN 12 High Static Pressure Fan for ultimate precision and increases stability for users' high-end cooling needs. The TOUGHFAN incorporated a 2nd generation hydraulic bearing, ultra-tight tip clearance, and equipped with a reinforced-metal motor hub. The TOUGHFAN fan is a PWM controlled fan designed to perform at a maximum operating speed of up to 2000 RPM and is optimized for high static pressure while maintaining minimal noise.
Pure Duo 12/14 ARGB Radiator Fan comes in black and white color versions, is also a PWM controlled fan with two independent rings and nine addressable LEDs on each ring that allows users to switch among seven lighting modes. Moreover, Pure Duo can synchronize with 5 V RGB capable motherboards from ASUS, GIGABYTE, MSI, and ASRock, to display 16.8 Million color combinations by editing lighting software supported by those motherboards.
Pure Duo 12/14 ARGB Radiator Fan comes in black and white color versions, is also a PWM controlled fan with two independent rings and nine addressable LEDs on each ring that allows users to switch among seven lighting modes. Moreover, Pure Duo can synchronize with 5 V RGB capable motherboards from ASUS, GIGABYTE, MSI, and ASRock, to display 16.8 Million color combinations by editing lighting software supported by those motherboards.
HP Unveils Portable SSD P500 1TB
HP today unveiled the Portable SSD P500. These drives come in capacities of 1 TB, and feature a USB 3.2 gen 1 interface, with a single connection handling both power and host connectivity. A USB type-C to type-A male-to-male capable, and a type-C to type-A adapter are included. The drive measures 79.1 mm x 53.9 mm x 10 mm (WxDxH), weighing 45.4 g, and features a solid aluminium body that comes in four color options - aquamarine, cherry red, gray, and silver; all with diamond-cut edges. As for performance, its OEM Biwin claims sequential read speeds of up to 420 MB/s sequential reads, and up to 255 MB/s sequential writes. The company didn't mention pricing.
Update 08:32 UTC: The HP P500 is currently retailing for 699 RMB - 899 RMB in China, which converts to $98 - $126, so 10-12 cents per GB.
Microsoft's New Chromium Based Edge Browser Now Rolling Out Via Windows Update
Microsoft released the first preview of its overhauled chromium-based edge browser back in January, but users had to navigate to Microsoft's site to install the browser. The new browser will now automatically roll out to versions of Windows 10 from version 1803 onwards, this will mean up to a billion installs of the updated browser. The New Edge browser when installed via windows update completely replaces the previous Edge browser whereas the website install coexists with the existing Edge browser.
Doom Gets Ported To The Hand Cranked Playdate Handheld
The Playdate is being developed by Panic Inc., an American company developed web and mobile applications alongside publishing Untitled Goose Game and Firewatch. The 2.7" Playdate comes with a 400x200 monochromatic LCD, hand crank, 16 MB ram, 2 GB Storage, ESP32, USB Type-C, WiFi, Bluetooth, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. The device is currently in a developer preview before going on sale later this year for 149 USD, one developer to receive the device is Nic Manger a UI/UX Designer at Keen Games.
Nic Manger has ported Doom to the device, even taking advantage of the hand crank to fire the chaingun. The game appears to run smoothly in monochrome on the device. This is just one of the many devices Doom has been ported to which include cash registers, cars, printers, ATMs, fridges, and even crypto-wallets.
Nic Manger has ported Doom to the device, even taking advantage of the hand crank to fire the chaingun. The game appears to run smoothly in monochrome on the device. This is just one of the many devices Doom has been ported to which include cash registers, cars, printers, ATMs, fridges, and even crypto-wallets.
Winbond Introduces new Sequential Read Function in High-Speed QspiNAND Flash
Winbond Electronics Corporation, a leading global supplier of semiconductor memory solutions, today extended its record of leading the industry's innovation in specialty Flash memory with the introduction of a more flexible, high-speed read capability in its latest QspiNAND Flash products. Automotive and IoT device manufacturers are increasingly adopting high-performance Single-Level Cell (SLC) NAND Flash as a low-cost alternative at densities of 512 Mbits and higher to the NOR Flash traditionally used for code storage. Previous Winbond innovations in high-performance NAND Flash include the Quad SPI-NAND interface, which shares the same 6-pin signals and QSPI command set as Quad SPI-NOR, and the Continuous Read function, which achieves up to a 52 MB/s continuous data transfer rate at a 104 MHz clock frequency.
Corsair Recalls SF Series of PSUs due to Failure Concerns
Corsair's SF series of PSUs has been long present as part of the company's offerings, designed to the satisfy small form factor crowd with its SFX size. Today, Corsair has announced that they will be recalling some units and replace them free of charge, including free shipping. Corsair says that "We have recently identified higher-than-normal RMA rates among our SF family of small-form-factor PSUs. Following a thorough investigation, we have found a potential issue that can manifest when the PSU is exposed to a combination of both high temperatures, and high humidity. This regrettably can cause the PSU to fail. This issue potentially affects units in lot codes 194448xx to 201148xx, manufactured between October 2019 and March 2020."
The problem is located in the AC conversion part of the PSU, not the DC one which interacts with PC components, so Corsairs points out that all of the components are safe even if PSU fails. To get a replacement PSU, Corsair offers affected customers to submit their tickets here, with the title "SF Series voluntary product replacement", so they can easily identify customers and give them quicker replacement units.
The problem is located in the AC conversion part of the PSU, not the DC one which interacts with PC components, so Corsairs points out that all of the components are safe even if PSU fails. To get a replacement PSU, Corsair offers affected customers to submit their tickets here, with the title "SF Series voluntary product replacement", so they can easily identify customers and give them quicker replacement units.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney Claims Free Game Giveaways Increase Sales On Other Platforms
In a recent interview with GameSpot, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney claimed that the free game giveaways run on the Epic Games Store such as Sid Meier's Civilization VI and Grand Theft Auto V can lead to increased sales of the games on other platforms. Tim Sweeney believes that because many of the games given away may not have been considered by most players leading to increased sales on alternate platforms according to some developers.
Tim Sweeney said, "You're not going to go out and buy—If you're not into games like Satisfactory, you're not going to go out and spend money to buy Satisfactory. But if you get it for free you realize it's an awesome game. People have discovered a lot of great games that way."
Tim Sweeney said, "You're not going to go out and buy—If you're not into games like Satisfactory, you're not going to go out and spend money to buy Satisfactory. But if you get it for free you realize it's an awesome game. People have discovered a lot of great games that way."
ASUS Rolls Out Prime TRX40-PRO S Motherboard
ASUS today rolled out the Prime TRX40-PRO S socket sTRX4 motherboard for 3rd gen Ryzen Threadripper HEDT processors. This board is part of a mini-refresh of the company's sTRX4 product-stack, beginning with the ROG Zenith II Extreme Alpha, the more recent ROG Strix TRX40-XE Gaming, and now the Prime TRX40-PRO S. Launch of the three boards is triggered by the niche of enthusiasts that likes to overclock their Ryzen Threadripper 3990X 64-core/128-thread processors.
While the older Prime TRX40-PRO is perfectly capable of running- or even overclocking the 3990X, the new PRO S is better suited for the task, and comes with bolstered 16-phase CPU VRM with 70 A power stages, same ones found on the original ROG Zenith II Extreme, while the Extreme Alpha has been amped up with 90 A power stages. ASUS upgraded the ROG Strix TRX40-XE Gaming the same way. The board's feature-set is otherwise identical to that of the original Prime TRX40-PRO. The Prime TRX40-PRO S is expected to be priced around the $430-mark.
While the older Prime TRX40-PRO is perfectly capable of running- or even overclocking the 3990X, the new PRO S is better suited for the task, and comes with bolstered 16-phase CPU VRM with 70 A power stages, same ones found on the original ROG Zenith II Extreme, while the Extreme Alpha has been amped up with 90 A power stages. ASUS upgraded the ROG Strix TRX40-XE Gaming the same way. The board's feature-set is otherwise identical to that of the original Prime TRX40-PRO. The Prime TRX40-PRO S is expected to be priced around the $430-mark.
LG Debuts New QHD "Ergo" IPS Monitor
LG Electronics USA announced that the 27-inch QHD "Ergo" IPS monitor (model 27QN880-B) is now available as an online exclusive with an SRP of $449.99 through the end of June, and then at LG-authorized retailers nationwide beginning July 1. The new 27-inch QHD monitor joins LG's industry-leading lineup of IPS displays that are designed to deliver precise detail and color at a wide viewing angle that is ideal for creative designers, photographers and videographers working from home or those about to return to an office setting.
The unique Ergo concept harmonizes three key elements - image fidelity, ergonomic design and a USB-C One Cable solution—to bring users high performance, comfort and a cleaner desk setup for a more clutter-free work environment. The Ergo also elevates productivity with a flexible ergonomic stand complete with C-Clamp for full movement of display, allowing users to raise, lower, swivel, tilt and pivot to adapt to their environment.
The unique Ergo concept harmonizes three key elements - image fidelity, ergonomic design and a USB-C One Cable solution—to bring users high performance, comfort and a cleaner desk setup for a more clutter-free work environment. The Ergo also elevates productivity with a flexible ergonomic stand complete with C-Clamp for full movement of display, allowing users to raise, lower, swivel, tilt and pivot to adapt to their environment.
Sony Launches Generation 3 PetaSite Optical Disc Archive Library with 66% Greater Capacity
Sony Electronics Inc. announces the launch of Generation 3 ("Gen 3") PetaSite Optical Disc Archive technology, which is now shipping. The high-capacity archival storage solution scales from 165 TB to 2.9 PB of immutable optical storage in a standard 42U Rack. This launch follows Sony's recently announced Gen 3 high-capacity USB desktop drive units (ODS-D380U), fibre-channel library drive units (ODS-D380F) and 5.5 TB media cartridges (ODC5500R).
Sony's enterprise optical disc archive solution provides secure, immutable data preservation for a wide variety of applications and industries, including: corporate IT, state and local governments, surveillance, banking, education and healthcare, among others. In keeping with Sony's commitment to its customers and focus on long-term archive solutions, The Gen 3 enterprise class eight-channel, dual-sided optical drive is write compatible to Generation 2 and backward read compatible to all Optical Disc Archive cartridges.
Sony's enterprise optical disc archive solution provides secure, immutable data preservation for a wide variety of applications and industries, including: corporate IT, state and local governments, surveillance, banking, education and healthcare, among others. In keeping with Sony's commitment to its customers and focus on long-term archive solutions, The Gen 3 enterprise class eight-channel, dual-sided optical drive is write compatible to Generation 2 and backward read compatible to all Optical Disc Archive cartridges.
BIOSTAR Announces Racing B450GT Motherboard
BIOSTAR, a leading brand of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices, today introduces the new RACING B450GT motherboard, designed to run the latest and the future AMD Ryzen processors. Built-in the Micro ATX form factor, the BIOSTAR RACING B450GT motherboard is engineered to be sleek and efficient. Focused to deliver reliable and stable performance under heavy workloads, it is ideal for gaming, HTPC rigs with a smaller footprint but still, maintains the beefy performance of a 16-core AMD Ryzen 3000 series processor.
Designed in the signature RACING style from BIOSTAR, the RACING B450GT motherboard shares premium build quality and features that the racing family motherboards are famous for like the LED ROCK ZONE RGB lighting system, which supports both 5 V ARGB LED and 12 V RGB LED headers, easily controlled by the VIVID LED DJ software.
Designed in the signature RACING style from BIOSTAR, the RACING B450GT motherboard shares premium build quality and features that the racing family motherboards are famous for like the LED ROCK ZONE RGB lighting system, which supports both 5 V ARGB LED and 12 V RGB LED headers, easily controlled by the VIVID LED DJ software.
Intel "Tiger Lake" vs. AMD "Renoir" a Pitched Battle on 3DMark Database
Intel's 11th generation Core i7-1165G7 "Tiger Lake-U" processor armed with 4 "Willow Cove" cores and Gen12 Xe graphics fights a pitched battle against AMD Ryzen 7 4800U "Renoir" (8 "Zen 2" cores and Radeon Vega 8 graphics), courtesy of some digging by Thai PC enthusiast TUM_APISAK. The 4800U beats the i7-1165G7 by a wafer-thin margin of 1.9% despite double the CPU core-count and a supposedly advanced iGPU, with 6331 points as against 6211 points of the Intel chip, in 3DMark 11. A breakdown of the score reveals fascinating details of the battle.
The Core i7-1165G7 beats the Ryzen 7 4800U in graphics tests, with a graphics score of 6218 points, against 6104 points of the 4800U, resulting in a 1.9% lead. In graphics tests 1, 2, and 3, the Gen12 Xe iGPU is 7.3-8.9% faster than the Radeon Vega 8, through translating to 2-4 FPS. The Intel iGPU crosses the 30 FPS mark in these three tests. With graphics test 4, the AMD iGPU ends up 8.8% faster. Much of AMD's performance gains come from its massive 55.6% physics score lead thanks to its 8-core/16-thread CPU, which ends up beating the 4-core/8-thread "Willow Cove," with the 4800U scoring 12494 points compared to 8028 points for the i7-1165G7. This CPU muscle also plays a big role in graphics test 4. This battle provides sufficient basis to speculate that "Tiger Lake-U" will have a very uphill task matching "Renoir-U" chips such as the Ryzen 7 4800U, and the upcoming Ryzen 9 4900U (designed to compete with the i7-1185G7).
The Core i7-1165G7 beats the Ryzen 7 4800U in graphics tests, with a graphics score of 6218 points, against 6104 points of the 4800U, resulting in a 1.9% lead. In graphics tests 1, 2, and 3, the Gen12 Xe iGPU is 7.3-8.9% faster than the Radeon Vega 8, through translating to 2-4 FPS. The Intel iGPU crosses the 30 FPS mark in these three tests. With graphics test 4, the AMD iGPU ends up 8.8% faster. Much of AMD's performance gains come from its massive 55.6% physics score lead thanks to its 8-core/16-thread CPU, which ends up beating the 4-core/8-thread "Willow Cove," with the 4800U scoring 12494 points compared to 8028 points for the i7-1165G7. This CPU muscle also plays a big role in graphics test 4. This battle provides sufficient basis to speculate that "Tiger Lake-U" will have a very uphill task matching "Renoir-U" chips such as the Ryzen 7 4800U, and the upcoming Ryzen 9 4900U (designed to compete with the i7-1185G7).
No Intel "Rocket Lake-S" or "Ice Lake-X" This Year?
A roadmap slide from an Intel Partner Connect presentation suggests that the company's client-segment processor lineup will be unchanged for the rest of 2020, with the company briskly launching its 10th generation "Comet Lake-S" desktop processor lineup through May-June, and "Comet Lake-H" a month prior. The Core X "Cascade Lake-X" processor lineup will continue to lead the company in the high core-count HEDT segment, with no indications of new models, at least none higher than 18 cores.
More importantly, this slide dulls expectations of the company refreshing its desktop process segment just before Holiday 2020 with the 11th generation "Rocket Lake-S" silicon that has next-gen "Willow Cove" CPU cores, Gen12 Xe integrated graphics, and PCIe gen 4.0 connectivity, especially with engineering samples of the chips already hitting the radar. Intel is expected to launch 10 nm "Ice Lake-SP" Xeon enterprise processors in 2020, and there was hope for some of this IP to power Intel's next HEDT platform, the fabled "Ice Lake-X," especially with AMD's "Castle Peak" 3rd gen Threadrippers dominating this segment. While there's little doubt that the slide may have originated from Intel, its context must be studied. Partner Connect is a platform for Intel to interact with its channel partners (distributors, retailers, system integrators, etc), and information about future products is far more restricted on these slides, than presentations intended for large OEMs, motherboard manufacturers, etc. Then again, with the COVID-19 pandemic throwing supply chains off rails, it wouldn't surprise us if this slide spells Gospel.
More importantly, this slide dulls expectations of the company refreshing its desktop process segment just before Holiday 2020 with the 11th generation "Rocket Lake-S" silicon that has next-gen "Willow Cove" CPU cores, Gen12 Xe integrated graphics, and PCIe gen 4.0 connectivity, especially with engineering samples of the chips already hitting the radar. Intel is expected to launch 10 nm "Ice Lake-SP" Xeon enterprise processors in 2020, and there was hope for some of this IP to power Intel's next HEDT platform, the fabled "Ice Lake-X," especially with AMD's "Castle Peak" 3rd gen Threadrippers dominating this segment. While there's little doubt that the slide may have originated from Intel, its context must be studied. Partner Connect is a platform for Intel to interact with its channel partners (distributors, retailers, system integrators, etc), and information about future products is far more restricted on these slides, than presentations intended for large OEMs, motherboard manufacturers, etc. Then again, with the COVID-19 pandemic throwing supply chains off rails, it wouldn't surprise us if this slide spells Gospel.
Intel 8-core/16-thread "Rocket Lake-S" Processor Engineering Sample 3DMarked
The "Rocket Lake-S" microarchitecture by Intel sees the company back-port its next-generation "Willow Cove" CPU core to the existing 14 nm++ silicon fabrication process in the form of an 8-core die with a Gen12 Xe iGPU. An engineering sample of one such processor made it to the Futuremark database. Clocked at 3.20 GHz with 4.30 GHz boost frequency, the "Rocket Lake-S" ES was put through 3DMark "Fire Strike" and "Time Spy," with its iGPU in play, instead of a discrete graphics card.
In "Fire Strike," the "Rocket Lake-S" ES scores 18898 points in the physics test, 1895 points in the graphics tests, and an overall score of 1746 points. With "Time Spy," the overall score is 605, with a CPU score of 4963 points, and graphics score of 524. The 11th generation Core "Rocket Lake-S" processor is expected to be compatible with existing Intel 400-series chipset motherboards, and feature a PCI-Express gen 4.0 root complex. Several 400-series chipset motherboards have PCIe gen 4.0 preparation for exactly this. The increased IPC from the "Willow Cove" cores is expected to make the 8-core "Rocket Lake-S" a powerful option for gaming and productivity tasks that don't scale across too many cores.
In "Fire Strike," the "Rocket Lake-S" ES scores 18898 points in the physics test, 1895 points in the graphics tests, and an overall score of 1746 points. With "Time Spy," the overall score is 605, with a CPU score of 4963 points, and graphics score of 524. The 11th generation Core "Rocket Lake-S" processor is expected to be compatible with existing Intel 400-series chipset motherboards, and feature a PCI-Express gen 4.0 root complex. Several 400-series chipset motherboards have PCIe gen 4.0 preparation for exactly this. The increased IPC from the "Willow Cove" cores is expected to make the 8-core "Rocket Lake-S" a powerful option for gaming and productivity tasks that don't scale across too many cores.
Wednesday, June 3rd 2020
Today's Reviews
Cooling
CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
Headphones
Motherboards
Mousepads
Notebooks
Processors
Intel Core i5-10500 Review
The Core i5-10500 is Intel's $200 response to the Ryzen 5 3600 and 3600X. It boosts up to 4.5 GHz more reliably than other Comet Lake CPUs, and gaming performance is excellent, too. Our Core i5-10500 review will also answer whether the Core i5-10500 is worth it over the i5-10400F.
Fractal Design Define 7 Compact Review
The Fractal Design Define 7 Compact takes all the great things about the Define 7 and aims to shrink it down to align more with what a user would expect from a classic mid-tower enclosure in terms of size. By doing so the Define 7 Compact enters the mass-market segment, which is further underlined by its interesting price point.
MSI Announces MPG Z490 Carbon EK X Motherboard
MSI, the world-leading gaming components manufacturer, proudly announces its partnership with premium liquid cooling system company EK. Together, they will co-operate the new selection for the latest Intel Z490 motherboard for socket 1200 - MSI MPG Z490 CARBON EK X. "MSI and EK have worked closely for four years now. Always trying to push the limits, to set the bar higher… Our first collaboration was a liquid-cooled GPU, Sea Hawk EK X. This time around, we have partnered up to bring a liquid-cooled gaming motherboard to the mainstream market and truly change the game,"" said Edvard König, Founder of EK.
"It's a great and exciting moment for gamers seeking for the extreme performance with elegant and exquisite design," said Ted Hung, Vice President of MSI's CND Department. "We couldn't ask for a better opportunity than to partner with EK to co-launch the great combo product for gamers.
Update Jun 4th: The MPG Z490 Carbon EK X is priced at 449€ including VAT, a 170€ premium over the original MPG Z490 Gaming Carbon.
"It's a great and exciting moment for gamers seeking for the extreme performance with elegant and exquisite design," said Ted Hung, Vice President of MSI's CND Department. "We couldn't ask for a better opportunity than to partner with EK to co-launch the great combo product for gamers.
Thermaltake Releases Several New Pacific DIY Liquid Cooling Products
Thermaltake, the leading PC DIY premium brand for Cooling, Gaming Gear, and Enthusiast Memory solutions, happily presents the new Pacific PR32-D5 Plus Reservoir & Pump Combo, Pacific W7 Plus CPU Water Block, and Pacific MX1 Plus CPU Water Block.
The Pacific PR32-D5 Plus Reservoir & Pump Combo features a rotary inlet and outlet design that is easy for users to install. The 220 mm long reservoir with a 300ml capacity has twelve high lumen addressable LEDs that can display 16.8 million color RGB spectrum, enabled by the TT RGB Plus software. The high-performance D5 pump can create a high flow system that allows coolant to travel at a faster pace. The new mounting features also enables the Pacific PR32-D5 to be installed to a fan or a radiator so that the users can save more space.
The Pacific PR32-D5 Plus Reservoir & Pump Combo features a rotary inlet and outlet design that is easy for users to install. The 220 mm long reservoir with a 300ml capacity has twelve high lumen addressable LEDs that can display 16.8 million color RGB spectrum, enabled by the TT RGB Plus software. The high-performance D5 pump can create a high flow system that allows coolant to travel at a faster pace. The new mounting features also enables the Pacific PR32-D5 to be installed to a fan or a radiator so that the users can save more space.
September Unveil Makes Big Navi, Not Next-Gen Consoles, AMD's RDNA2 Debutante
AMD has a lot riding on RDNA2, its first graphics architecture that meets the DirectX 12 Ultimate logo requirements, introducing real-time ray-tracing to the lineup. RDNA2 is confirmed to be part of the SoC that powers next-gen consoles PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. The company is simultaneously readying its own Radeon RX discrete graphics cards based on the Navi 2# silicon, based on RDNA2, with a leading part unofficially called the "Big Navi" given its alleged lofty specs increase over the "Navi 10." Turns out, that this GPU, and not next-gen consoles, will debut RDNA2.
AMD is planning a big gamer-specific event in late-Q3/early-Q4, likely September, where it plans to announce its 4th generation Ryzen desktop processors based on the "Zen 3" microarchitecture, and Radeon RX graphics cards based on RDNA2, including the "Big Navi." Speaking at the Bank of America Securities Global Technology Conference, AMD CFO Devinder Kumar confirmed that "Big Navi" will be a halo product and not merely a lofty performance increase over the RX 5700 XT to make AMD competitive against GeForce "Ampere." He states "there's a lot of excitement for Navi 2, or what our fans have dubbed as the Big Navi," adding "Big Navi is a halo product." He goes on to state that "enthusiasts love to buy the best, and we are certainly working on giving them the best." AMD's product stack so far is application-specific, rather than competition-specific. The RX 5700 XT was designed for 1440p gaming, and ended up competitive to the RTX 2070. "Big Navi" could hence have a lofty design goal: 4K gaming with ray-tracing.
AMD is planning a big gamer-specific event in late-Q3/early-Q4, likely September, where it plans to announce its 4th generation Ryzen desktop processors based on the "Zen 3" microarchitecture, and Radeon RX graphics cards based on RDNA2, including the "Big Navi." Speaking at the Bank of America Securities Global Technology Conference, AMD CFO Devinder Kumar confirmed that "Big Navi" will be a halo product and not merely a lofty performance increase over the RX 5700 XT to make AMD competitive against GeForce "Ampere." He states "there's a lot of excitement for Navi 2, or what our fans have dubbed as the Big Navi," adding "Big Navi is a halo product." He goes on to state that "enthusiasts love to buy the best, and we are certainly working on giving them the best." AMD's product stack so far is application-specific, rather than competition-specific. The RX 5700 XT was designed for 1440p gaming, and ended up competitive to the RTX 2070. "Big Navi" could hence have a lofty design goal: 4K gaming with ray-tracing.
Matrox Expands HDCP Support to Further Simplify Video Wall Designs
Matrox today announces enhanced High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) support to simplify the integration of copy-protected sources in video wall designs. Available via the Matrox Mura 3.04 driver, this new development enables OEMs and system integrators to pair Matrox Mura IPX capture cards and Matrox D-Series multi-display boards to seamlessly capture and display multiple 4K HDCP sources across multi-4K video walls. HDCP-compliant platforms offer unique deployment opportunities to showcase premium, high-value AV content for a wide range of display wall applications in control rooms, government facilities, digital signage environments, broadcast studios, and more.
HDCP is a security feature designed to protect digital entertainment content by transmitting HDCP-encrypted signals between authorized transmitters and receivers. Matrox-based video wall controllers ensure reliable, secure, and uninterrupted signal delivery between multiple sources—including set-top boxes, Blu-ray Disc and media players, video game consoles, and more—and multiple displays. Video wall designers are also now equipped to meet any multi-channel requirement by combining multiple Mura IPX and D-Series cards with QuadHead2Go multi-monitor controllers to support a myriad of 4K HDCP sources across an ultra-large video wall of up to 64 Full HD screens.
HDCP is a security feature designed to protect digital entertainment content by transmitting HDCP-encrypted signals between authorized transmitters and receivers. Matrox-based video wall controllers ensure reliable, secure, and uninterrupted signal delivery between multiple sources—including set-top boxes, Blu-ray Disc and media players, video game consoles, and more—and multiple displays. Video wall designers are also now equipped to meet any multi-channel requirement by combining multiple Mura IPX and D-Series cards with QuadHead2Go multi-monitor controllers to support a myriad of 4K HDCP sources across an ultra-large video wall of up to 64 Full HD screens.
EVGA Introduces SuperNOVA GT Series PSUs
Upgrade both aesthethics and electronic components with a unique radial design fan grill, compact 150 mm length and width, and 1000 Japanese capacitors, with the new EVGA SuperNOVA GT Series power supplies. 80 PLUS Gold Certified. Ensures that your power supply is 90% efficient or higher.The EVGA SuperNOVA GT uses a long-life 135 mm fan with a Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB) for silence, reliability, and a longer life expectancy.
QNAP Releases QuWAN SD-WAN Solution - Deploy Resilient Multi-site IT Infrastructure
QNAP Systems, Inc. (QNAP), a leading computing, networking and storage solution innovator, today released QuWAN, a Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) solution. Featuring Auto Mesh IPsec VPN and centralized management cloud platform, QuWAN helps SMBs build an agile and reliable IT infrastructure facilitating digital transformation, multi-site expansion and remote working on a cost-effective basis. Compatible with a wide range of QNAP solutions, QuWAN not only provides steady and optimized network transmission for Big Data, but also improves IT deployment and management efficiency for multi-national, multi-site expansion.
QuWAN's SD-WAN technology automatically establishes a mesh VPN through software-defined networking and supports IPsec encryption and cloud management. IT staff can easily deploy a highly-secure and high-availability micro-segmented VPN infrastructure that saves transmission time and bandwidth between headquarters and branch offices while offloading the transmission burdens of VPN equipment at headquarters. QuWAN adopts load balancing, WAN aggregation and WAN High Availability technologies to achieve highly-optimized bandwidth and transmission. Supporting QoS and Deep Packet Inspection (DPI), QuWAN prioritizes bandwidth utilization for business-critical applications and blacklists specific applications using L7 firewall functions to secure enterprise network.
QuWAN's SD-WAN technology automatically establishes a mesh VPN through software-defined networking and supports IPsec encryption and cloud management. IT staff can easily deploy a highly-secure and high-availability micro-segmented VPN infrastructure that saves transmission time and bandwidth between headquarters and branch offices while offloading the transmission burdens of VPN equipment at headquarters. QuWAN adopts load balancing, WAN aggregation and WAN High Availability technologies to achieve highly-optimized bandwidth and transmission. Supporting QoS and Deep Packet Inspection (DPI), QuWAN prioritizes bandwidth utilization for business-critical applications and blacklists specific applications using L7 firewall functions to secure enterprise network.
Intel NUC Roadmap Peeking Into 2021: Tiger Lake NUC by 2020 End
Intel is planning to introduce its first NUC (next unit of computing) device based on the 11th generation Core "Tiger Lake" processor by the end of 2020, according to leaked company roadmaps covering NUCs. These point to Intel refreshing its "Hades Canyon" performance-segment NUC mini-PC with a "Tiger Lake-U" processor, a 3rd party discrete GPU, and slightly bigger device size (1.35 L vs. 1.2 L of the original "Hades Canyon"). At the very top, the "Ghost Canyon" NUC 9 Extreme with "Coffee Lake-HR" processors will continue to hold the fort into 2021.
The mainstream NUC mini-PC lineup will continue to be "Frost Canyon," powered by "Comet Lake-U" 10th generation Core processors. Q2-Q3 2020 will see Intel launch significant updates to its NUC Compute Element lineup, with "West Cove," "Ghost Canyon," and "Quartz Canyon" holding the mainstream, performance-segment, and professional segment, respectively; while are likely based on "Comet Lake-H" processors; and "Austin Beach" low-power compute element based on "Comet Lake-U."
The mainstream NUC mini-PC lineup will continue to be "Frost Canyon," powered by "Comet Lake-U" 10th generation Core processors. Q2-Q3 2020 will see Intel launch significant updates to its NUC Compute Element lineup, with "West Cove," "Ghost Canyon," and "Quartz Canyon" holding the mainstream, performance-segment, and professional segment, respectively; while are likely based on "Comet Lake-H" processors; and "Austin Beach" low-power compute element based on "Comet Lake-U."
Fractal Design Introduces Define 7 Compact Case
The new Define 7 Compact takes the strongest features of the contemporary 7 Series design and places them in a conveniently compact frame. The versatile open layout of the Define 7 Compact allows you to maximize the potential of the small footprint with full-size ATX hardware to meet your exact needs.
Interchangeable top covers allow you to switch between solid steel for full noise suppression or a ventilated cover for extra cooling. The top framework is fully removable for unprecedented ease of access to interior components, and five front ports (including one USB Type-C) means you don't sacrifice expandability for the small footprint.
Interchangeable top covers allow you to switch between solid steel for full noise suppression or a ventilated cover for extra cooling. The top framework is fully removable for unprecedented ease of access to interior components, and five front ports (including one USB Type-C) means you don't sacrifice expandability for the small footprint.
Getac Announces the B360: Lightest, Brightest, Fastest, Toughest 5G-Compatible Notebook
Getac Technology Corporation, a leading producer of rugged technology, today debuted the new B360 fully rugged notebook as a direct answer to those who contend that full ruggedization and ultra-power portable computing cannot co-exist in the same form factor. Featuring 10th Generation Intel Core Processor with maximum turbo frequencies up to 4.90 GHz and 12 MB Intel Smart Caches, the B360 is also the first fully rugged laptop to be engineered for 5G in today's marketplace, enabling enterprise mobility buyers to meet all levels of performance without sacrificing MIL-STD-810H compliance.
"Compromises between raw computing power and rough handling resistance may have been true in the past," says Getac USA President Mike McMahon. "We can all remember when unsophisticated anti-glare screens used on rugged laptops rendered the screens unacceptably dark for use indoors. Then there were the compromises in CPU power, RAM quantity, and mechanical hard drives required by the use of cooling fan-free cases capable of resisting incursions by water, spills and dirt."
"Compromises between raw computing power and rough handling resistance may have been true in the past," says Getac USA President Mike McMahon. "We can all remember when unsophisticated anti-glare screens used on rugged laptops rendered the screens unacceptably dark for use indoors. Then there were the compromises in CPU power, RAM quantity, and mechanical hard drives required by the use of cooling fan-free cases capable of resisting incursions by water, spills and dirt."
ASUSTOR Announces Lockerstor 10 Pro NAS with ECC Memory and Xeon Processor
ASUSTOR today has officially announced the release of the ten bay Lockerstor 10 Pro sporting a 9th generation Intel Xeon Quad-Core processor. The Xeon E-2224 runs at 3.40 GHz and turbos to 4.60 GHz, making everything faster than ever, especially transfer speeds, virtual machines and Docker apps. The Lockerstor 10 Pro comes with eight Gigabytes of DDR4-2666 ECC memory and supports up to thirty-two Gigabytes of RAM. The ECC RAM included with the NAS corrects memory errors in real-time and helps avoid data loss caused by memory corruption, keeping critical data safe.
In terms of transmission speed, the Lockerstor 10 Pro provides a single 10-Gigabit Ethernet connection as well as triple 2.5-Gigabit Ethernet ports. With the all-new Intel Xeon processor, Link Aggregation on the 2.5-Gigabit ports, up to 7.5 Gbps of bandwidth can be achieved while the 10-Gigabit port brings the full 1.25 GB/s speeds. The Lockerstor 10 Pro also features dual M.2 SSD slots, which support a variety of m.2 form factors and thumbscrews for easy installation. With NVMe SSD caching, the performance of traditional HDD hard drives is quickly upgraded to SSD levels, bringing the best of both storage and speed. The Lockerstor 10 Pro also features USB 3.2 Gen2 which provides up to 10 Gbps of speed and supports up to 192 TB of extra capacity using the AS6004U for a total of 160+192 TB.
In terms of transmission speed, the Lockerstor 10 Pro provides a single 10-Gigabit Ethernet connection as well as triple 2.5-Gigabit Ethernet ports. With the all-new Intel Xeon processor, Link Aggregation on the 2.5-Gigabit ports, up to 7.5 Gbps of bandwidth can be achieved while the 10-Gigabit port brings the full 1.25 GB/s speeds. The Lockerstor 10 Pro also features dual M.2 SSD slots, which support a variety of m.2 form factors and thumbscrews for easy installation. With NVMe SSD caching, the performance of traditional HDD hard drives is quickly upgraded to SSD levels, bringing the best of both storage and speed. The Lockerstor 10 Pro also features USB 3.2 Gen2 which provides up to 10 Gbps of speed and supports up to 192 TB of extra capacity using the AS6004U for a total of 160+192 TB.
Lamptron Unveils CU135 ARGB Fan and Lighting Controller
Lamptron today unveiled its flagship fan- and lighting controller for gaming PCs, the CU135. The set consists the main control unit that you can tuck behind your case's motherboard tray; a display module that you install right under your graphics card (along the plane of the motherboard); and an RF remote control. The main control unit takes in either one 4-pin Molex or one SATA power connection for power, and puts out six each of high-power 4-pin PWM fan headers (36 W per channel), and 3-pin addressable-RGB lighting headers. It also takes in six 2-pin thermal diodes (included in the package), along with a proprietary connection for the display module.
The multi-color 7.84-inch LCD touchscreen display lets you view fan-speeds and temperatures across all six zones on the home screen. Using this touchscreen, you can also draw up fan-curves for each of the six zones, set color and lighting patterns for each of the six lighting zones, read temperatures from the six external sensors. The included RF remote control lets you do all this, without having to reach up to your case. The CU135 can also take in 3-pin ARGB connection from your motherboard, so you can copy lighting profiles over from your control software. The control module measures 121.5 mm × 72.5 mm × 21 mm (WxHxD), while the display module measures 360 mm × 70 mm × 12.5 mm, taking up 3 expansion slots inside the case. You can find other places for the module (such as your desk top). The company didn't reveal pricing.
The multi-color 7.84-inch LCD touchscreen display lets you view fan-speeds and temperatures across all six zones on the home screen. Using this touchscreen, you can also draw up fan-curves for each of the six zones, set color and lighting patterns for each of the six lighting zones, read temperatures from the six external sensors. The included RF remote control lets you do all this, without having to reach up to your case. The CU135 can also take in 3-pin ARGB connection from your motherboard, so you can copy lighting profiles over from your control software. The control module measures 121.5 mm × 72.5 mm × 21 mm (WxHxD), while the display module measures 360 mm × 70 mm × 12.5 mm, taking up 3 expansion slots inside the case. You can find other places for the module (such as your desk top). The company didn't reveal pricing.
AMD CEO Lisa Su Tops Earnings as Highest Paid CEO in The S&P 500
Lisa Su of Advanced Micro Devices has become the world's highest-paid CEO, according to a recent survey from The Associated Press on CEO compensation. Lisa Su's pay package was valued at $58.5 million after some extremely impressive company performance over her last five years as CEO on the back of the wild success of EPYC, Ryzen, and Radeon. This pay package comprised a base salary of $1 million, a performance bonus of $1.2 million, $56 million in stocks. This makes Lisa Su the first woman to become the highest-paid CEO and one of only 20 women on the list, versus 309 men.
Thermaltake Launches the World's First CPU & Memory AIO Liquid Cooler
Thermaltake, the leading PC DIY premium brand for Cooling, Gaming Gear, and Enthusiast Memory solutions, proudly presents the first-ever product that combines memory and an AIO liquid cooler, the Floe RC360 / RC240 CPU & Memory Liquid Cooler. Thermaltake never stops to seek out possibilities to impress our users with a more efficient cooling solution for our memory modules. With the new Floe RC360 / RC240 CPU & Memory Liquid Cooler, users can acquire an unparalleled gaming experience.
Floe RC360 / RC240 CPU & Memory Liquid Cooler is compatible with TOUGHRAM RC memory modules (Sold separately) and grants further expandability which allows users to equip a high-quality all-in-one cooling system, including a water block, radiator, an ARGB controller, and three high airflow 120 mm fans on the RC360 version and two high airflow 120 mm fans on the RC240 version. Other than that, Floe RC360/RC240 CPU & Memory Liquid Cooler can be synchronized with motherboards equipped with 5 V addressable RGB headers such as ASUS Aura Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light Sync, Biostar VIVID LED DJ and ASRock Polychrome, allowing users to control the lights directly from the motherboards RGB lighting software.
Floe RC360 / RC240 CPU & Memory Liquid Cooler is compatible with TOUGHRAM RC memory modules (Sold separately) and grants further expandability which allows users to equip a high-quality all-in-one cooling system, including a water block, radiator, an ARGB controller, and three high airflow 120 mm fans on the RC360 version and two high airflow 120 mm fans on the RC240 version. Other than that, Floe RC360/RC240 CPU & Memory Liquid Cooler can be synchronized with motherboards equipped with 5 V addressable RGB headers such as ASUS Aura Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light Sync, Biostar VIVID LED DJ and ASRock Polychrome, allowing users to control the lights directly from the motherboards RGB lighting software.
Take-Two CEO Calls Google Stadia a "Dissapointment"
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick sounded very positive about Google Stadia just one year ago, saying he was "pretty optimistic" about the service. Zelnick said "being able to play our games on any device whatsoever around the world, and to do it with low latency, well that's very compelling if that can be delivered," about the service in May 2019.
In a recent interview last week Zelnick has acknowledged the lackluster success of the platform saying "the launch of Stadia has been slow," and "I think there was some overpromising on what the technology could deliver and some consumer disappointment as a result." Zelnick questioned the point of such a service when the games are selling for 60 USD+ and a console of similar performance without any of the drawbacks of an online service can be had for just 300 USD. It will be interesting to see the fate of the collection of game streaming services that have popped up over the last few years.
In a recent interview last week Zelnick has acknowledged the lackluster success of the platform saying "the launch of Stadia has been slow," and "I think there was some overpromising on what the technology could deliver and some consumer disappointment as a result." Zelnick questioned the point of such a service when the games are selling for 60 USD+ and a console of similar performance without any of the drawbacks of an online service can be had for just 300 USD. It will be interesting to see the fate of the collection of game streaming services that have popped up over the last few years.
Thermaltake Unleashes High Capacity TOUGHRAM RGB 32GB and 64GB Memory
Thermaltake, the leading PC DIY premium brand for Cooling, Gaming Gear, and Enthusiast Memory solutions, proudly announces our high capacity, high clock rate memory, the TOUGHRAM RGB 32 GB (2x16GB) and 64 GB (2x 32 GB), coming in both black and white versions. The TOUGHRAM RGB 32 GB comes in three clock rates, 3200 MHz, 3600 MHz, and 4000 MHz, and the TOUGHRAM RGB 64 GB comes in 3200 MHz and 3,600 MHz. For the best video editing qualities, Thermaltake now launches our high capacity memories to ensure that we meet the users' needs. To provide high stability PC performance, all ICs are tightly-screened and coated with a ten-layer PCB.
Uniquely designed TT premium heat spreader with ten high lumens individual addressable LEDs not only dispatches heat faster but lets users show off 16.8 million colors with countless lighting combinations. TOUGHRAM RGB 32 GB (2x 16 GB) and 64 GB (2x32GB) memories are compatible with Intel Z490 and AMD X570 chipsets and is now Intel XMP 2.0. ready. Furthermore, users can use NeonMaker or TT RGB Plus software to control the lighting effects. The TT RGB Plus software can also support other software such as TT AI Voice Control, Amazon Alexa, and Razer Chroma, to adjust the lighting. Upgrade to the TOUGHRAM RGB 32 GB (2x 16 GB) and 64 GB (2x 32 GB) for high-quality and high functioning stable memory.
Uniquely designed TT premium heat spreader with ten high lumens individual addressable LEDs not only dispatches heat faster but lets users show off 16.8 million colors with countless lighting combinations. TOUGHRAM RGB 32 GB (2x 16 GB) and 64 GB (2x32GB) memories are compatible with Intel Z490 and AMD X570 chipsets and is now Intel XMP 2.0. ready. Furthermore, users can use NeonMaker or TT RGB Plus software to control the lighting effects. The TT RGB Plus software can also support other software such as TT AI Voice Control, Amazon Alexa, and Razer Chroma, to adjust the lighting. Upgrade to the TOUGHRAM RGB 32 GB (2x 16 GB) and 64 GB (2x 32 GB) for high-quality and high functioning stable memory.
MMD Releases Philips 242B1V Monitor with Privacy Mode
MMD, the leading display specialist and brand licence partner for Philips monitors, announces the new 24" (23.8" / 60.5 cm) Philips 242B1V LCD monitor. Designed to help professionals to improve productivity while protecting sensitive data and contents from onlookers, this new model features Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080) and SmartImage to display images and video as brilliant/crisp as possible.
Lexar Announces New Professional CFexpress USB 3.1 Reader
Lexar, a leading global brand of flash memory solutions, announced the Lexar Professional CFexpress USB 3.1 Reader. Geared towards making the workflow of professional photographers and videographers faster, this reader allows you to take advantage of the high-speed performance from the CFexpress Type B Card and offload your work, faster.
With read speeds of up to 1050 MB/s it's easy to quickly transfer files on the go with the Lexar Professional CFexpress USB 3.1 Reader. This professional-level reader easily offloads a large number of high-quality images and RAW 4K video from your CFexpress Type B card to your computer at USB 3.1 Gen 2 speeds, accelerating workflow and getting you back behind the camera faster. Sporting a compact and portable design capable of sliding into your pocket, it stands up in the field just as well as it does in the office. This reader is a perfect companion with the now available Lexar Professional CFexpress Type B card* that has large capacities from 64 GB to 512 GB.
With read speeds of up to 1050 MB/s it's easy to quickly transfer files on the go with the Lexar Professional CFexpress USB 3.1 Reader. This professional-level reader easily offloads a large number of high-quality images and RAW 4K video from your CFexpress Type B card to your computer at USB 3.1 Gen 2 speeds, accelerating workflow and getting you back behind the camera faster. Sporting a compact and portable design capable of sliding into your pocket, it stands up in the field just as well as it does in the office. This reader is a perfect companion with the now available Lexar Professional CFexpress Type B card* that has large capacities from 64 GB to 512 GB.
Former General Manager of GlobalFoundries China joins SMIC
SMIC is currently a leading Chinese semiconductor manufacturing plant with some of the major nodes being manufactured at its facilities. Currently, SMIC is in charge of manufacturing 14 nm and 7 nm nodes. While the 7 nm node is going live in Q4 of this year, it is certain that China will have competitive domestic semiconductor manufacturing facilities. And to get better sales of the new FinFET designs, SMIC has decided to hire former General Manager of GlobalFoundries China, Mr. Bai Nong, according to Wenxin Voice. Serving at a co-CEO with Dr. Liang Mong Song, Bai Long is in-charge to boost sales of SMIC's FinFET designs by bringing in more customers. This is without a doubt a good decision, as a person that was a general manager for Glo-Fo China certainly has plenty of connections and customers that will follow him.
Microsoft is Replacing MSN Journalists with Artificial Intelligence
Microsoft is working on bringing the latest artificial intelligence technology everywhere it can, and everywhere when it works. According to a few reports from Business Insider and Seattle Times, Microsoft is working on terminating its contracts with journalists and replacing them with artificial intelligence software. In the period between Wednesday and Thursday of last week, around 50 employees have received the information that their contracts will not be renewed after June 30th. The journalists in question were responsible for Microsoft's MSN Web portal which will now use machine learning (ML) models that will generate news stream. To use ML for an application like this, Microsoft is surely utilizing its Azure infrastructure to process everything in the cloud.
One of the ex-employees has said that the MSN platform has been semi-automated for some time now and that this is a completion of the automation. "Like all companies, we evaluate our business on a regular basis. This can result in increased investment in some places and, from time to time, re-deployment in others. These decisions are not the result of the current pandemic." - said Microsoft spokesman to Seattle Times.
One of the ex-employees has said that the MSN platform has been semi-automated for some time now and that this is a completion of the automation. "Like all companies, we evaluate our business on a regular basis. This can result in increased investment in some places and, from time to time, re-deployment in others. These decisions are not the result of the current pandemic." - said Microsoft spokesman to Seattle Times.
Bitspower Intros Touchaqua Sedna O11D Lite-F for Lian Li O11 Dynamic
Bitspower today introduced the Touchaqua Sedna O11D Lite-F, a device that combines the functionality of a pump, reservoir, and distribution plate; designed specially for the Lian Li O11 Dynamic case. This thin, cuboidal contraption measures 385 mm x 210.5 mm x 43.8 mm (HxWxD), aligning with the front panel window of the O11 Dynamic. Made of acrylic, the reservoir component is studded with addressable RGB LED lighting that takes in 3-pin ARGB connection. Coolant ports are provided that align with the graphics card, the CPU, and a radiator along the case's top vents, as shown in the picture below. Available now, it is priced at USD $170.
UniIC Delivers China's First 100% Homebrew DDR4 Memory Modules
Xi'an UniIC Semiconductors, which goes by the trade name UniIC (probably pronounced "unique"), has delivered the first DDR4 memory module made 100% in China (which includes all its DRAM chips, PCB, drivers, and other components). The module may be nothing much to look at, with just a bare green PCB and DRAM chips, lacking in any heatspreaders; but this product can be considered a baby step toward a large and diverse product lineup. The debutante memory modules are unbuffered DDR4-2400 and DDR4-2667 memory modules that come in 8 GB densities.
The DDR4-2400 module is timed at CL17 17-17-39, and the DDR4-2667 at CL18, with both pulling 1.2 V - again nothing to write home about, but given the breakneck speeds at which Chinese companies flush with state investment are developing and diversifying their PC hardware lines, UniIC's product portfolio could look very different in the coming two years. UniIC is a cog in China's 3-5-2 policy of localizing PC hardware manufacturing, and eliminating dependence of foreign hardware.
The DDR4-2400 module is timed at CL17 17-17-39, and the DDR4-2667 at CL18, with both pulling 1.2 V - again nothing to write home about, but given the breakneck speeds at which Chinese companies flush with state investment are developing and diversifying their PC hardware lines, UniIC's product portfolio could look very different in the coming two years. UniIC is a cog in China's 3-5-2 policy of localizing PC hardware manufacturing, and eliminating dependence of foreign hardware.
Tuesday, June 2nd 2020
Today's Reviews
Keyboards
Memory
Motherboards
Intel Core i7-10700 Review - Way to Overclock without the K
In our Intel Core i7-10700 review, we're taking a look at one of Intel's most affordable 8-core/16-thread processors. Its low TDP of 65 W makes it power-efficient, but also limits performance. We unlocked that limit and gained up to 30% real-life performance without ever risking an unstable system.
Corsair Dominator Platinum White RGB DDR4-4000 MHz CL19 4x8 GB Review
Today Corsair is launching a new stunning white and gold edition of their Dominator Platinum RGB memory, which has previously only been available in black. Specced at 4000 MHz, this high-end DDR4 memory kit should be a top performer on Intel. How will it fair with AMD? Lets find out!
Intel Plays the Pre-Zen AMD Tune: Advocates Focus Shift from "Benchmarks to Benefits"
Intel CEO Bob Swan, in his Virtual Computex YouTube stream, advocated that the industry should focus less on benchmarks, and more on the benefits of technology, a line of thought strongly advocated by rival AMD in its pre-Ryzen era, before the company began getting competitive with Intel again. "We should see this moment as an opportunity to shift our focus as an industry from benchmarks to the benefits and impacts of the technology we create," he said, referring to technology keeping civilization and economies afloat during the COVID-19 global pandemic, which has thrown Computex among practically every other public gathering out of order.
"The pandemic has underscored the need for technology to be purpose-built so it can meet these evolving business and consumer needs. And this requires a customer-obsessed mindset to stay close, anticipate those needs, and develop solutions. In this mindset, the goal is to ensure we are optimizing for a stronger impact that will support and accelerate positive business and societal benefits around the globe," he added. An example of what Swan is trying to say is visible with Intel's 10th generation Core "Cascade Lake XE" and "Ice Lake" processors, which feature AVX-512 and DL-Boost, accelerating deep learning neural nets; but lose to AMD's flagship offerings on the vast majority of benchmarks. Swan also confirmed that the company's "Tiger Lake" processors will launch this Summer.
The Computex video address by CEO Bob Swan can be watched below.
"The pandemic has underscored the need for technology to be purpose-built so it can meet these evolving business and consumer needs. And this requires a customer-obsessed mindset to stay close, anticipate those needs, and develop solutions. In this mindset, the goal is to ensure we are optimizing for a stronger impact that will support and accelerate positive business and societal benefits around the globe," he added. An example of what Swan is trying to say is visible with Intel's 10th generation Core "Cascade Lake XE" and "Ice Lake" processors, which feature AVX-512 and DL-Boost, accelerating deep learning neural nets; but lose to AMD's flagship offerings on the vast majority of benchmarks. Swan also confirmed that the company's "Tiger Lake" processors will launch this Summer.
Corsair Unveils 4TB Variant of MP510 M.2 NVMe SSD
Corsair unveiled a new high-capacity 4 TB variant of its MP510 M.2 SSDs that take advantage of the PCI-Express 3.0 x4 host interface, and NVMe protocol (model: CSSD-F4000GBMP510). The drive retains its Phison PS5012-E12 controller, but paired with 96-layer 3D TLC NAND flash. The drive retains the manufacturer-rated performance numbers for the 2 TB variant: up to 3,480 MB/s sequential reads, up to 3,000 MB/s sequential writes, up to 580,000 IOPS 4K random reads, and up to 680,000 IOPS 4K random writes. Thanks to its high capacity, the drive enjoys a stellar endurance rating of 6,820 TBW. When it goes on sale, on June 4, the drive is expected to be priced close to the USD $800-mark.
HighPoint Launches Low-Profile, Bootable NVMe RAID Controller for Windows & Linux
HighPoint launches the third generation SSD7202 NVMe RAID controller - the industry's first ultra-compact, low-profile, bootable NVMe RAID solution for Windows and Linux platforms. The SSD7202 is ideal for PC's that require NVMe boot performance or an ultra-compact storage solution. The low-profile SSD7202 smaller than your average video card, yet can host up to 8 TB of storage and can be easily installed into any industry standard PCIe 3.0/4.0 x8 or x16 slot.
Our third-generation NVMe architecture utilizes our Smart-Switching PCIe 3.0 x8 host interface to ensure broad compatibility with a wide range of hardware platforms without compromising performance; the dedicated x8 bandwidth enables the SSD7202 to deliver up to 7000 MB/s using just two M.2 SSD's. The SSD7202 is the first NVMe RAID controller to feature our ultra-efficient two-stage cooling solution, which removed the need for a bulky, external case. The card-length heat sink features an integrated low-noise fan to ensure the NVMe SSDs and critical chipset components remain cool even under sustained load.
Our third-generation NVMe architecture utilizes our Smart-Switching PCIe 3.0 x8 host interface to ensure broad compatibility with a wide range of hardware platforms without compromising performance; the dedicated x8 bandwidth enables the SSD7202 to deliver up to 7000 MB/s using just two M.2 SSD's. The SSD7202 is the first NVMe RAID controller to feature our ultra-efficient two-stage cooling solution, which removed the need for a bulky, external case. The card-length heat sink features an integrated low-noise fan to ensure the NVMe SSDs and critical chipset components remain cool even under sustained load.
Lenovo Brings Linux Certification to ThinkPad and ThinkStation Workstation Portfolio
More than 250 million computers are sold each year and NetMarketShare reports that 2.87 percent - roughly 7.2 million users - are using those computers to run Linux. Once thought of as a niche IT crowd, this user base of data scientists, developers, application engineers, scientists and more is growing - stepping into sought-after roles across multiple industries and becoming essential within their companies. Now, I'm excited to share Lenovo is moving to certify the full workstation portfolio for top Linux distributions from Ubuntu and Red Hat - every model, every configuration.
While many users prefer to customize their own machines - either on hardware without an OS or by wiping an existing client OS, then configuring and installing Linux - this can raise uncertainty with system stability, restricted performance, compatibility, end-user productivity and even IT support for devices. Now that these users are making their way out of the proverbial shadows and onto the enterprise floor, the demand is high for an out-of-the-box solution that removes the barrier for deployment of enterprise-grade hardware within a Linux software ecosystem.
While many users prefer to customize their own machines - either on hardware without an OS or by wiping an existing client OS, then configuring and installing Linux - this can raise uncertainty with system stability, restricted performance, compatibility, end-user productivity and even IT support for devices. Now that these users are making their way out of the proverbial shadows and onto the enterprise floor, the demand is high for an out-of-the-box solution that removes the barrier for deployment of enterprise-grade hardware within a Linux software ecosystem.
HP Engineers Powerhouse Portfolio Designed for the Next Generation
Today HP unveiled new OMEN hardware and accessories, updates to OMEN Command Center, and introduced the first 16" Pavilion Gaming laptop - all designed for today's gamer to play their best while pushing the limits of what their devices can do.
Gaming benefits are being unlocked as people are spending more time at home, uncovering new avenues for both entertainment and general well-being. 80% of people in the United States agree that playing video games provides an escape during these unprecedented times and 73% cite "relaxation" as one reason they game. According to tests with the Adult Hope Scale, Americans who started playing games during the COVID-19 quarantine feel 64% more hopeful and 39% state a reduction in stress.
Gaming benefits are being unlocked as people are spending more time at home, uncovering new avenues for both entertainment and general well-being. 80% of people in the United States agree that playing video games provides an escape during these unprecedented times and 73% cite "relaxation" as one reason they game. According to tests with the Adult Hope Scale, Americans who started playing games during the COVID-19 quarantine feel 64% more hopeful and 39% state a reduction in stress.
AMD Shipped 553 Million GPUs Since 2013: Jon Peddie Research
When AMD scored a double hit by winning the Xbox and the PlayStation console projects the number of GPUs the company shipped from 2013 on took a jump. As their APU sales increased (partially due to the console wins) their overall sales increased even more. Likewise, as AMD introduced the Zen CPU, associated GPU sales also increased. The net result is since 2013 AMD has shipped over a half-billion GPUs either integrated or discrete.
When compared to Intel (integrated only) or NVIDIA (discrete only) both companies beat AMD in their respective classes, but overall AMD beats them both. Fun with numbers. The cumulative distribution of GPUs by platform is shown in the following chart. Next year AMD will be able to add Samsung smartphones to its list of platforms, and those numbers are going to huge.
When compared to Intel (integrated only) or NVIDIA (discrete only) both companies beat AMD in their respective classes, but overall AMD beats them both. Fun with numbers. The cumulative distribution of GPUs by platform is shown in the following chart. Next year AMD will be able to add Samsung smartphones to its list of platforms, and those numbers are going to huge.
Razer Unveils Ornata V2 Mecha-Membrane Gaming Keyboard
Razer today unveiled the Ornata V2 gaming keyboard that the company promotes as a hybrid between mechanical and membrane-type keyboards, using the company's "mecha-mebrane" switches that offer the "cushioned" feel of membrane keyboards for extended typing sessions, with the clicky tactile feedback of mechanical switches. This is the second generation of the Ornata, which was released in 2016, and hence comes with a few modern features such as a faux leatherette palm rest, zonal RGB LED illumination that uses Razer Chroma, and a mechanical media rocker. The electronics underneath offer N-key rollover and 1000 Hz polling rate. The Ornata V2 is shipping now in the U.S. for USD $99.
Corsair Launches Dominator Platinum White RGB Memory
Corsair today unveiled the Dominator Platinum White RGB DDR4-Memory, an exclusive trim of its flagship PC memory offering. The White edition sees chunky matte white heatspreaders, gold colored faux heatsink fins, and a silicone addressable RGB diffuser at the very top. Gold rivets hold the two halves of the heatsink together. All the heavy lifting is done by the 10-layer black PCB underneath with Samsung B-die DDR4 DRAM chips, unchanged from the original Dominator Platinum RGB series. The series is available in 16 GB (2x 8 GB), 32 GB (4x 8 GB), 32 GB (2x 16 GB), 64 GB (4x 16 GB), and 128 GB (8x 16 GB), and in memory speeds of DDR4-3200 CL16, DDR4-3600 CL18, and DDR4-4000 CL19. Corsair is backing these with lifetime warranty.
Read the TechPowerUp review of the 32 GB (4x 8 GB) DDR4-4000 kit.
Read the TechPowerUp review of the 32 GB (4x 8 GB) DDR4-4000 kit.
Intel Discontinues 8th Gen Core "Coffee Lake" Desktop Processor Family
Intel today issued a product change notice announcing the discontinuation of its 8th generation Core desktop processor family, and models of Pentium Gold and Celeron processors based on the 14 nm "Coffee Lake" silicon. The PCN covers every 8th gen SKU in the retail- and OEM channels. The company set key dates for the discontinuation. The lineup is discontinued as of June 1, 2020. Suppliers and OEM customers can last order their products on December 18, 2020. The last product shipment is slated for June 4, 2021. It's likely that the 9th generation Core desktop processor family will be follow next year. The 8th generation Core "Coffee Lake" saw the first increase in core counts for Intel's mainstream desktop processor family in close to a decade.
Thermaltake Announces the Tower 100 Mini Chassis
Thermaltake, the leading PC DIY premium brand for Cooling, Gaming Gear, and Enthusiast Memory solutions, is proud to announce The Tower 100, the mini version of the iconic Tower 900 Full Tower Chassis. The Tower 100 is a much smaller chassis that still supports all the essentials for basic water cooling and hardware fitment options. The compact chassis supports Mini-ITX motherboards, and allows users limited in space to enjoy the iconic design in a smaller size.
The chassis comes in both black and white colors and has one type-c cable connection, two USB 3.0 ports, and one HD audio port. It is constructed with three tempered glass windows, including its front and two side panels; users may remove the top panel easily and slide the three tempered glass panels upwards to dismantle, allowing full access to your PC. The chassis can fit a standard ATX PSU and can hold a 120 mm radiator or one 120 mm fan on the top and one 140 mm fan above the power cover. The Tower 100 can also fit a 320 mm GPU, which allows users to downsize the chassis without downgrading the performance. Loving the classic Thermaltake vibe? Embrace the new The Tower 100 Mini Chassis while you game.
The chassis comes in both black and white colors and has one type-c cable connection, two USB 3.0 ports, and one HD audio port. It is constructed with three tempered glass windows, including its front and two side panels; users may remove the top panel easily and slide the three tempered glass panels upwards to dismantle, allowing full access to your PC. The chassis can fit a standard ATX PSU and can hold a 120 mm radiator or one 120 mm fan on the top and one 140 mm fan above the power cover. The Tower 100 can also fit a 320 mm GPU, which allows users to downsize the chassis without downgrading the performance. Loving the classic Thermaltake vibe? Embrace the new The Tower 100 Mini Chassis while you game.
Thermaltake Toughpower PF1 80 PLUS Platinum Power Supply
Thermaltake, the leading PC DIY premium brand for Cooling, Gaming Gear, and Enthusiast Memory solutions, proudly introduces the brand new Toughpower PF1 80 PLUS Platinum 650 W/750 W/850 W Power Supply Units. The Toughpower PF1 Platinum Series has a fully modular cable design with a compact size of 150 mm (W) x 86 mm (H) x 140 mm (D). Thermaltake also strikes to provide the trendiest technology that would aid and improve the users' experience; by doing so, we have incorporated the newest technology by manufacturing single-sided SMD on the PCB, which can reduce heat accumulation and increase the overall performance of the power supply unit.
The fully modular series is equipped with Smart Zero Fan to minimize undesired noise, under 30 mV low ripple noise design to reduce electricity waste, and 100% Japanese made capacitors to ensure reliability. The PSU voltage regulation is set to no more than plus or minus 2 percent for major rails to deliver higher standards than Intel's Specification. Thermaltake also makes sure the PSU will provide at least 16 ms hold up time to prevent the system from rebooting or resetting. If users are looking for a compact and steady, high-quality power supply unit, take a look at the Toughpower PF1 80 PLUS Platinum Series power supply units.
The fully modular series is equipped with Smart Zero Fan to minimize undesired noise, under 30 mV low ripple noise design to reduce electricity waste, and 100% Japanese made capacitors to ensure reliability. The PSU voltage regulation is set to no more than plus or minus 2 percent for major rails to deliver higher standards than Intel's Specification. Thermaltake also makes sure the PSU will provide at least 16 ms hold up time to prevent the system from rebooting or resetting. If users are looking for a compact and steady, high-quality power supply unit, take a look at the Toughpower PF1 80 PLUS Platinum Series power supply units.
Thermaltake Launches AH T200 Micro Chassis
Thermaltake, the leading PC DIY premium brand for Cooling, Gaming Gear, and Enthusiast Memory solutions, just launched the AH T200 Micro Chassis, which come in both black and white versions. Not long ago, we presented our first-ever military-inspired design, the AH T600 Full-Tower Open Frame Chassis. It is a compacted version of the AH T600; for those who were looking for a smaller sized, non-conventional chassis, now is the ideal time to take a look into this chassis. The chassis comes with one type-c connection, two USB 3.0 ports, and one HD audio port.
The entire model is forged with a sturdy, air-force style architecture, with the three 3 mm tempered glass windows at the front-top panel and solid side vents on each end. Constructed with one 4 mm tempered glass hinged door side panel on each side, the AH T200 Micro Chassis not only gets extra airflow and interior accessibility but is also more visually appealing. The chassis can hold up to four 140 mm fans at the front and top, or users can install a 280 mm radiator at the front. With its dismantlable modular design, it allows users to create their own style and to mod as they please. If you're looking for a non-standard, compact chassis, then AH T200 Micro Chassis will be the one to pick.
The entire model is forged with a sturdy, air-force style architecture, with the three 3 mm tempered glass windows at the front-top panel and solid side vents on each end. Constructed with one 4 mm tempered glass hinged door side panel on each side, the AH T200 Micro Chassis not only gets extra airflow and interior accessibility but is also more visually appealing. The chassis can hold up to four 140 mm fans at the front and top, or users can install a 280 mm radiator at the front. With its dismantlable modular design, it allows users to create their own style and to mod as they please. If you're looking for a non-standard, compact chassis, then AH T200 Micro Chassis will be the one to pick.
Thermaltake Presents the New Core P8 Tempered Glass Full-Tower Chassis
Thermaltake, the leading PC DIY premium brand for Cooling, Gaming Gear, and Enthusiast Memory solutions, is delighted to present our users a newly designed Core Series Chassis, the Core P8 Tempered Glass Full Tower Chassis. Constructed with three 4 mm tempered glass panels on the front, side, and top, the chassis allows users to showcase it as a regular transparent designed full tower chassis or an open frame chassis by simply removing the top and front panels. The Core P8 TG is also designed to display in two different ways, wall-mounted or vertical standing; users can have the option to present their chassis the way they like.
The Core P8 TG can hold up to eighteen 120 mm fans on the entire frame, or upgrade to twelve 140 mm fans if needed. The magnetic filters on the top, right, and bottom panels ensure excellent airflow while keeping the chassis clean in its closed frame structure. It also supports Pacific Core P5 DP-D5 Plus Distro-Plate with Pump Combo, which allows endless water-cooling possibilities. Specially designed, rotational PCI-E slots and the standard riser cable enable users to choose how they want to display their graphic cards. With its fully modular design and large interior spacing, the Core P8 TG Full Tower Chassis will be a great fit for users who are looking for a unique PC chassis.
The Core P8 TG can hold up to eighteen 120 mm fans on the entire frame, or upgrade to twelve 140 mm fans if needed. The magnetic filters on the top, right, and bottom panels ensure excellent airflow while keeping the chassis clean in its closed frame structure. It also supports Pacific Core P5 DP-D5 Plus Distro-Plate with Pump Combo, which allows endless water-cooling possibilities. Specially designed, rotational PCI-E slots and the standard riser cable enable users to choose how they want to display their graphic cards. With its fully modular design and large interior spacing, the Core P8 TG Full Tower Chassis will be a great fit for users who are looking for a unique PC chassis.
Thermaltake Announces the DistroCase 350P Mid-Tower Chassis
Thermaltake, the leading PC DIY premium brand for Cooling, Gaming Gear, and Enthusiast Memory solutions, is thrilled to announce an advanced PC case- the DistroCase 350P Mid-Tower Chassis. It is a fully modular designed chassis with a distro plate as the chassis' main body. The multi-functional PC enclosure is incorporated with its own water channels, reservoir, and multiple inlets and outlets, which provides users, gamers, and enthusiasts an easier way to design their water loops. The 48 LEDs on the DistroCase 350P Mid-Tower Chassis are TT RGB PLUS Ecosystem, ARGB motherboard software, and NeonMaker software compatible. PC builders can control the lights by synchronizing the case with motherboard brands including ASUS Aura Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light Sync, and ASRock Polychrome. They can also enjoy TT AI Voice Control, Amazon Alexa Voice Service, and Razer Chroma by using Thermaltake patented TT RGB PLUS Ecosystem software for the ultimate user experience.
ABKONCORE Releases The C710S Middle Tower Case
ABKONCORE has recently unveiled the premium C710S Middle Tower Case. The case features a luxurious Steel/ABS/Tempered Glass design with side air vents and an RGB LED strip on the bottom. The case features a left tempered glass side panel, one included 120 mm Auto Ring Spectrum RGB fan, removable top magnetic dust filter, and removable bottom dust filter.
Case front I/O consists of 2x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0, HD Audio, Mic, Power, and Reset. The case can accommodate up to 7 2.5" SSDs and 2 3.5" HDDs and comes with shock-absorbing rubber pads for reduced noise and vibration. Cooling support includes space for up to 7 additional 120 mm fans, 360 mm radiator and can support 390 mm GPUs.
Case front I/O consists of 2x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0, HD Audio, Mic, Power, and Reset. The case can accommodate up to 7 2.5" SSDs and 2 3.5" HDDs and comes with shock-absorbing rubber pads for reduced noise and vibration. Cooling support includes space for up to 7 additional 120 mm fans, 360 mm radiator and can support 390 mm GPUs.
Intel Quietly Refreshes Atom C3000 Lineup
Intel has recently released 4 new Atom C3000 chips now sporting "R" and "L" suffixes, these chips join the lineup as it enters its third year of service. The dual-core C3338R chip comes in at 38 USD and gains a 300 MHz base clock boost along with QAT support for just a $1 premium over the C3338. The quad-core C3436 comes in at 64 USD and features the lowest per-core pricing of the entire lineup at just 16 USD per core and with a 10.75 W TDP. The 96 USD quad-core C3558R gains a 200 MHz base clock boost and DDR4-2400 support for a 10 USD and 1 W TDP premium over the C3558. Finally, the 209 USD octa-core C3758R gains a 200 MHz base clock boost for a 16 USD and 1 W TDP increase over the Intel Atom C3758.
Huntkey Releases the N2001WA Compact Desktop Monitor
Huntkey, a leading provider of power solutions, announces the availability of its new monitor - the N2001WA, a 19.5-inch monitor featuring a resolution of 1600 x 900. The N2001WA is designed intended for traditional office use. It is equipped with a TN screen featuring an aspect ratio of 16:9 and a static contrast ratio of 600:1. Its brightness is 200cd/㎡ and it supports a high color gamut of 16.7M, which will allow the users to comfortably see in the darkest or brightest scenes and avoid color distortions.
It's black and integrated with a VGA input. It measures 465 mm long, 210 mm wide and 363 mm high, and weighs around 2.1 kilos. It is not a high-end monitor considering its configurations, however, it is cost-effective and a considerable choice for those price sensitive users.
It's black and integrated with a VGA input. It measures 465 mm long, 210 mm wide and 363 mm high, and weighs around 2.1 kilos. It is not a high-end monitor considering its configurations, however, it is cost-effective and a considerable choice for those price sensitive users.
HighPoint Unveils Zero-NoiseNVMe RAID Storage Controller for Mac, Linux & Windows
HighPoint launches the SSD7204 - the industry's best cost/performance 4-slot NVMe RAID storage. The SSD7204 is ideal for media applications that require high-speed NVMe silent working environments and up to 16 TB high-performance storage that can be easily installed into any industry standard PCIe 3.0/4.0 x8 or x16 slot.
The dedicated PCIe 3.0 bandwidth can assign up to 4 lanes per NVMe SSD, and delivers over 7000 MB/s of transfer performance, and can support RAID 0, 1, 1/0 and single disk configurations. Comprehensive device driver support and installation guides are available for all major operating system platforms including Windows 10 and Server 2019, macOS 10.15 Catalina, and leading Linux distributions.
The dedicated PCIe 3.0 bandwidth can assign up to 4 lanes per NVMe SSD, and delivers over 7000 MB/s of transfer performance, and can support RAID 0, 1, 1/0 and single disk configurations. Comprehensive device driver support and installation guides are available for all major operating system platforms including Windows 10 and Server 2019, macOS 10.15 Catalina, and leading Linux distributions.
AMD COVID-19 HPC Fund Donates 7 Petaflops of Compute Power to Researchers
AMD and technology partner Penguin Computing Inc., a division of SMART Global Holdings, Inc, today announced that New York University (NYU), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Rice University are the first universities named to receive complete AMD-powered, high-performance computing systems from the AMD HPC Fund for COVID-19 research. AMD also announced it will contribute a cloud-based system powered by AMD EPYC and AMD Radeon Instinct processors located on-site at Penguin Computing, providing remote supercomputing capabilities for selected researchers around the world. Combined, the donated systems will collectively provide researchers with more than seven petaflops of compute power that can be applied to fight COVID-19.
"High performance computing technology plays a critical role in modern viral research, deepening our understanding of how specific viruses work and ultimately accelerating the development of potential therapeutics and vaccines," said Lisa Su, president and CEO, AMD. "AMD and our technology partners are proud to provide researchers around the world with these new systems that will increase the computing capability available to fight COVID-19 and support future medical research."
"High performance computing technology plays a critical role in modern viral research, deepening our understanding of how specific viruses work and ultimately accelerating the development of potential therapeutics and vaccines," said Lisa Su, president and CEO, AMD. "AMD and our technology partners are proud to provide researchers around the world with these new systems that will increase the computing capability available to fight COVID-19 and support future medical research."
ASUS Launches New ExpertBook P5440FA Laptop with BIOS-SHIELD Technology
ASUS and Janus Technologies Inc. today announced the launch of the new ASUS ExpertBook P5440FA laptop with BIOS-SHIELD technology. The two companies have teamed up to deliver a feature rich security solution and cloud service for small to mid-size businesses and their remote workers. Using BIOS-SHIELD technology embedded within the ASUS ExpertBook P5440FA, businesses will be able to manage PCs remotely while adding extensive security capabilities to each endpoint. The ASUS ExpertBook P5440FA-54-SHD is the first model within the ExpertBook P-Series family to include BIOS-SHIELD technology.
Fujitsu Launches 7 New Enterprise Notebooks Optimized for Remote Work
Fujitsu announced the launch of seven models of Notebook LIFEBOOK with Windows 10 and the latest 10th generation Intel Core Processor. Sales of the new models will be rolled out in Asia starting from today1. By expanding its lineup of superior mobile products, Fujitsu will continue to support initiatives on remote work, as part of the customers' workstyle transformation.
The new LIFEBOOK U7310 (13.3"), LIFEBOOK U7410 (14") and LIFEBOOK U7510 (15.6") models are enterprise-ready with common port replicators that provide the best-in-class connectivity. Webcams are equipped with a new privacy camera shutter to prevent unauthorized hacking and access. LIFEBOOK U7310 also comes with an optional ePrivacy Filter that users can protect screen from prying eyes with just one press.
The new LIFEBOOK U7310 (13.3"), LIFEBOOK U7410 (14") and LIFEBOOK U7510 (15.6") models are enterprise-ready with common port replicators that provide the best-in-class connectivity. Webcams are equipped with a new privacy camera shutter to prevent unauthorized hacking and access. LIFEBOOK U7310 also comes with an optional ePrivacy Filter that users can protect screen from prying eyes with just one press.
Possible Intel "Ice Lake-SP" 24-core Xeon Processor Surfaces on Geekbench Database
Intel plans to update its Xeon Scalable server processor family this year with the new "Ice Lake-SP" microarchitecture. Built on the 10 nm+ silicon fabrication process, "Ice Lake-SP" is a high- thru extreme core-count monolithic silicon that features "Sunny Cove" CPU cores that introduce the first real IPC increases over "Skylake." A 24-core/48-thread processor likely based on this silicon surfaced on the Geekbench database, where it posted some impressive numbers given its low clock speeds.
The processor comes with an identification string "GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 106 Stepping 4," with a nominal clock speed of 2.20 GHz, and boost frequency of 2.90 GHz, which points to the possibility of this being an engineering sample. Besides clock speeds and core counts, some basic hardware specs were detected by Geekbench 4. For starters, the processor has an L1D cache size of 48 KB and L1I cache size of 32 KB, which is similar to the client-segment "Ice Lake-U" silicon based Core i7-1065G7, and confirms that this processor uses "Sunny Cove" cores. "Cascade Lake" and "Skylake" cores use 32 KB L1D caches. Also, the dedicated L2 cache per core is 1.25 MB, up from the 1 MB L2 caches on "Cascade Lake." Client-segment "Ice Lake" chips use 512 KB L2 caches. The shared L3 cache is 36 MB (or 1.5 MB slice per core), which loosely aligns with the cache balance of Intel's server and HEDT processors. In this bench run, the processor is backed by 256 GB of memory, of an unknown type or configuration. In the three bench runs, the setup scores roughly 4100 points single-core, and roughly 42000 points multi-core.
The processor comes with an identification string "GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 106 Stepping 4," with a nominal clock speed of 2.20 GHz, and boost frequency of 2.90 GHz, which points to the possibility of this being an engineering sample. Besides clock speeds and core counts, some basic hardware specs were detected by Geekbench 4. For starters, the processor has an L1D cache size of 48 KB and L1I cache size of 32 KB, which is similar to the client-segment "Ice Lake-U" silicon based Core i7-1065G7, and confirms that this processor uses "Sunny Cove" cores. "Cascade Lake" and "Skylake" cores use 32 KB L1D caches. Also, the dedicated L2 cache per core is 1.25 MB, up from the 1 MB L2 caches on "Cascade Lake." Client-segment "Ice Lake" chips use 512 KB L2 caches. The shared L3 cache is 36 MB (or 1.5 MB slice per core), which loosely aligns with the cache balance of Intel's server and HEDT processors. In this bench run, the processor is backed by 256 GB of memory, of an unknown type or configuration. In the three bench runs, the setup scores roughly 4100 points single-core, and roughly 42000 points multi-core.
Apple Invests $330 Million into Micro-LED Factory
The information has been circulating the industry about Apple and its plans to integrate Micro-LED technology into its products for some time now. Micro-LED is a new display technology that allows for much better characteristics of panels like higher brightness, fuller color gamut, and higher dynamic range. The technology also offers a higher refreshing rate, wider viewing angles, and lower power consumption. Being that Micro-LED display is physically thinner, it will allow for more portable devices and it will leave more room for other components.
According to the report from CENS, a Taiwanese media, Apple is investing $330 million into a new Micro-LED factory for Apple devices. A future factory located in Taiwan is seeing major investments from the company. Being that Apple plans to use Micro-LED displays in its future products like iPad Pro and MacBook Pro, it is expected to see this move from them. However, Apple isn't doing it alone. They have partnered with Epistar, Taiwan's biggest LED producer and Taiwanese LCD panel maker, AU Optronics. These two are experienced makers of panels so they should help Apple successfully launch and operate manufacturing facilities.
According to the report from CENS, a Taiwanese media, Apple is investing $330 million into a new Micro-LED factory for Apple devices. A future factory located in Taiwan is seeing major investments from the company. Being that Apple plans to use Micro-LED displays in its future products like iPad Pro and MacBook Pro, it is expected to see this move from them. However, Apple isn't doing it alone. They have partnered with Epistar, Taiwan's biggest LED producer and Taiwanese LCD panel maker, AU Optronics. These two are experienced makers of panels so they should help Apple successfully launch and operate manufacturing facilities.
ASML Ships Multi-Beam Inspection Tool for 5 nm
ASML Holding NV (ASML) today announced that it has completed system integration and testing of its first-generation HMI multibeam inspection (MBI) system for 5 nm nodes and beyond. The HMI eScan1000 demonstrated successful multibeam operation, simultaneously scanning nine beams on a number of test wafers. With nine beams, the eScan1000 will increase throughput up to 600% compared to single e-beam inspection tools for targeted in-line defect inspection applications.
The new MBI system includes an electron optics system capable of creating and controlling multiple primary electron beamlets and then collecting and processing the resulting secondary electron beams, limiting beam-to-beam crosstalk to less than 2% and delivering consistent imaging quality. It also features a high-speed stage to increase the system's overall throughput and a high-speed computational architecture to process the streams of data from the multiple beamlets in real time.
The new MBI system includes an electron optics system capable of creating and controlling multiple primary electron beamlets and then collecting and processing the resulting secondary electron beams, limiting beam-to-beam crosstalk to less than 2% and delivering consistent imaging quality. It also features a high-speed stage to increase the system's overall throughput and a high-speed computational architecture to process the streams of data from the multiple beamlets in real time.
Monday, June 1st 2020
Today's Reviews
CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
Headphones
Motherboards
Mouse
Processors
Sound Cards
Storage
Best Power Supply Buying Guide (Jun 2020)
This guide will help you find the best power supply for your gaming system, productivity PC, or workstation. We look at eight categories in total for PSU recommendations. As expected, Corsair and Seasonic are at the top of our list. We'll update this post regularly.
Intel Core i3-10100 Review - Affordable 4c/8t
Intel's Core i3-10100 is the most affordable Comet Lake "Core" processor. Unlike its predecessor, it finally has HyperThreading, which brings the core configuration to 4c/8t. Our Core i3-10100 review takes a close look at how Intel's new budget offering performs against AMD Ryzen 3 3100 and 3300X.
AMD "Sienna Cichlid" Could be "Big Navi"
Linux kernel patches reference an AMD "Sienna Cichlid" GPU, which Phoronix believes could be the fabled "Big Navi" GPU. We know this is a GPU and not a headless CDNA scalar processor as the patches include code for VCN 3.0 video encoding capabilities (RDNA2's media engine), and DCN3 (RDNA2's display engine), which constitute bulk that AMD could get rid of on CDNA chips. The unusual internal codename could reference AMD's next generation RDNA2 architecture based flagship GPU, armed with 80 compute units (5,120 stream processors), Radeon Intersection Engines (accelerate real-time ray-tracing). The codename comes across as unusual, but AMD does tend to use wacky internal codenames to detect sources of leaks.
Lenovo Announces Mirage VR S3 Standalone Headset with ThinkReality
Today, during the VR/AR Global Summit Online Conference, Lenovo announced the latest addition to its portfolio of commercial virtual reality (VR) solutions - the Lenovo Mirage VR S3 headset with ThinkReality. The new VR solution for enterprise was unveiled during the keynote speech by Nathan Pettyjohn, Commercial AR/VR Lead, Intelligent Devices Group, Lenovo.
The Lenovo Mirage VR S3 is an all-in-one headset developed in conjunction with Pico Interactive, a global technology company that develops innovative VR and enterprise solutions. Specifically designed for enterprise, the Lenovo Mirage VR S3 features a 4K display for clearer visuals, hands-free control for utilization with or without the provided controller, and an easy to clean, hygienic face plate suitable for mass use. Built with integrated audio and up to three hours of battery life, the new VR headset is rugged, light weight and ready to scale within the enterprise.
The Lenovo Mirage VR S3 is an all-in-one headset developed in conjunction with Pico Interactive, a global technology company that develops innovative VR and enterprise solutions. Specifically designed for enterprise, the Lenovo Mirage VR S3 features a 4K display for clearer visuals, hands-free control for utilization with or without the provided controller, and an easy to clean, hygienic face plate suitable for mass use. Built with integrated audio and up to three hours of battery life, the new VR headset is rugged, light weight and ready to scale within the enterprise.
AMD "Ryzen C7" Smartphone SoC Specifications Listed
Last year Samsung and AMD announced their collaboration which promises to deliver smartphone chips with AMD RDNA 2 graphics at its heart. This collaboration is set to deliver first products sometime at the beginning of 2021 when Samsung will likely utilize new SoCs in their smartphones. In previous leaks, we have found that the GPU inside this processor is reportedly beating the competition form Qualcomm, where the AMD GPU was compared to Adreno 650. However, today we have obtained more information about the new SoC which is reportedly called "Ryzen C7" smartphone SoC. A new submission to a mobile phone leaks website called Slash Leaks has revealed a lot of new details to us.
The SoC looks like a beast. Manufactured on TSMC 5 nm process, it features two Gaugin Pro cores based on recently announced Arm Cortex-X1, two Gaugin cores based on Arm Cortex-A78, and four cores based on Arm Cortex-A55. This configuration represents a standard big.LITTLE CPU typical for smartphones. Two of the Cortex-X1 cores run at 3 GHz, two of Cortex-A78 run at 2.6 GHz, while four little cores are clocked at 2 GHz frequency. The GPU inside this piece of silicon is what is amazing. It features four cores of custom RDNA 2 based designs that are clocked at 700 MHz. These are reported to beat the Adreno 650 by 45% in performance measurements.
The SoC looks like a beast. Manufactured on TSMC 5 nm process, it features two Gaugin Pro cores based on recently announced Arm Cortex-X1, two Gaugin cores based on Arm Cortex-A78, and four cores based on Arm Cortex-A55. This configuration represents a standard big.LITTLE CPU typical for smartphones. Two of the Cortex-X1 cores run at 3 GHz, two of Cortex-A78 run at 2.6 GHz, while four little cores are clocked at 2 GHz frequency. The GPU inside this piece of silicon is what is amazing. It features four cores of custom RDNA 2 based designs that are clocked at 700 MHz. These are reported to beat the Adreno 650 by 45% in performance measurements.
ASUS Intros ROG Strix B460-H Gaming Motherboard
ASUS introduced the ROG Strix B460-H Gaming motherboard, expanding its ROG Strix family of motherboards based on Intel's mid-range B460 chipset for 10th generation Core "Comet Lake" processors in the LGA1200 package. The board joins Strix-F and Micro-ATX Strix-G SKUs based on this chipset. The Strix-H covers all platform essentials, but tops them with Intel Ethernet and a premium SupremeFX onboard audio solution. The Strix-H uses a simple 8-phase CPU VRM that pulls power from a single 8-pin EPS connector. The board offers a rear I/O shroud that has the latest generation ROG Strix design language, and a single-color (red) ROG illuminated logo. It also comes with an integrated rear I/O shield.
The LGA1200 socket is wired to four DDR4 DIMM slots supporting up to 128 GB of dual-channel DDR4-2933 memory (the maximum memory clock for the B460 platform is 2933 MHz); and a metal-reinforced PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot. The board offers two M.2 NVMe slots, both with PCIe gen 3.0 x4 wiring; and an M.2 E-key slot for WLAN cards. Other storage connectivity includes six SATA 6 Gbps ports. The board's sole networking interface is a 1 GbE connection driven by an Intel i219-V controller. The company didn't reveal pricing.
The LGA1200 socket is wired to four DDR4 DIMM slots supporting up to 128 GB of dual-channel DDR4-2933 memory (the maximum memory clock for the B460 platform is 2933 MHz); and a metal-reinforced PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot. The board offers two M.2 NVMe slots, both with PCIe gen 3.0 x4 wiring; and an M.2 E-key slot for WLAN cards. Other storage connectivity includes six SATA 6 Gbps ports. The board's sole networking interface is a 1 GbE connection driven by an Intel i219-V controller. The company didn't reveal pricing.
Sony Plans to Create PS5 Exclusive Games With No PS4 Backwards Compatibility
Microsoft has been praised for its continued support of previous console generations with the latest Xbox Series X maintaining compatibility with some games going back to the original Xbox along with controller and accessory inter compatibility. It seems that for the first few years most games will be released for both the Xbox One and Xbox Series X families of consoles. Sony seems to be taking a much conservative approach and hoping to take full advantage of the new PS5 features and updated DualSense controller to create iconic exclusives for the console.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Sony's Interactive Entertainment's CEO, Jim Ryan confirmed that the company plans to create games "that can really only be enjoyed on PS5." This approach will likely irritate PS4 users who have invested heavily in the console with controllers and other accessories, Sony believes that this approach will help the company to make the most out of their new console hardware.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Sony's Interactive Entertainment's CEO, Jim Ryan confirmed that the company plans to create games "that can really only be enjoyed on PS5." This approach will likely irritate PS4 users who have invested heavily in the console with controllers and other accessories, Sony believes that this approach will help the company to make the most out of their new console hardware.
Scorn Xbox Series X Trailer Was Actually Running On RTX 2080 Ti GPU
In a recent interview with wccftech, Ebb Software's Game Director Ljubomir Peklar explained why the Scorn trailer for Xbox Series X was labeled as 'in-engine footage representative of expected Xbox Series X visual quality'. Ljubomir Peklar revealed that the trailer was actually run on a high-end system featuring an RTX 2080 Ti paired with a Ryzen processor. The game is set to target 4K 60 FPS with high graphical fidelity on Xbox Series X but a 2070 Super with a mixture of settings is adequate to run the game at 4K 60 FPS on PC.
Mojang Announces Jungle Awakens DLC for Minecraft Dungeons
Mojang has recently announced that the first of two planned DLC's for Minecraft Dungeons will launch in July. The Jungle Awakens DLC is set to bring three new missions based in a distant, dangerous jungle along with introducing an assortment of new weapons, armor, and artifacts. The Minecraft Dungeon Hero Pass can be purchased with the game or as an upgrade and includes both the Jungle Awakens DLC along with the second planned Creeping Winter DLC pack.
Microsoft has committed to continued free content upgrades for all owners of the game regardless of what edition they purchased, however, the contrast to the years of free updates for the original game is clear. Microsoft has also committed to bringing cross-platform support to the game which is available on all major consoles and PC.
Microsoft has committed to continued free content upgrades for all owners of the game regardless of what edition they purchased, however, the contrast to the years of free updates for the original game is clear. Microsoft has also committed to bringing cross-platform support to the game which is available on all major consoles and PC.
Cisco Announces Intent to Acquire ThousandEyes
Cisco today announced its intent to acquire privately held ThousandEyes, Inc. headquartered in San Francisco, CA. ThousandEyes' Internet and Cloud intelligence platform delivers deep visibility and insights into the digital delivery of applications and services over the Internet.
The last few years have seen a rapid acceleration of Cloud adoption, widespread use of SaaS applications, and a reliance on the Internet and networks outside of enterprise control. This increased dependence on the Internet and other third-party infrastructures, compounded over the past several months during the COVID-19 pandemic, substantially reduces the ability for enterprise IT teams to predict, visualize and control operational behavior. The result is often a chaotic and unmanageable IT environment that makes issue resolution a time-consuming ordeal that can potentially have a massive impact on customer experience, brand reputation and revenue.
The last few years have seen a rapid acceleration of Cloud adoption, widespread use of SaaS applications, and a reliance on the Internet and networks outside of enterprise control. This increased dependence on the Internet and other third-party infrastructures, compounded over the past several months during the COVID-19 pandemic, substantially reduces the ability for enterprise IT teams to predict, visualize and control operational behavior. The result is often a chaotic and unmanageable IT environment that makes issue resolution a time-consuming ordeal that can potentially have a massive impact on customer experience, brand reputation and revenue.
Samsung Globally Launches Odyssey G7 Curved Gaming Monitor
Samsung Electronics, the leader in the gaming monitor market, today announced the global launch of its groundbreaking Odyssey G7 gaming monitor. Unveiled at CES 2020 in Las Vegas, the Odyssey lineup reimagines the gaming experience by combining the deepest, most immersive curved displays with best-in-class performance features.
The G7 monitor is the world's first 1000R gaming monitor, meaning it boasts a curvature radius of 1,000 millimeters. It also features a powerful combination of various features under the hood, including rapid 1 ms response time with 240 Hz refresh rate and crystal clear QLED picture quality to satisfy gamers' need for smooth and captivating gameplay. The Odyssey portfolio's premium performance has been certified by TÜV Rheinland, a leading international certification organization, which recognized the monitors with the industry's best high performance 1000R curved display and 'Eye Comfort' certificate.
The G7 monitor is the world's first 1000R gaming monitor, meaning it boasts a curvature radius of 1,000 millimeters. It also features a powerful combination of various features under the hood, including rapid 1 ms response time with 240 Hz refresh rate and crystal clear QLED picture quality to satisfy gamers' need for smooth and captivating gameplay. The Odyssey portfolio's premium performance has been certified by TÜV Rheinland, a leading international certification organization, which recognized the monitors with the industry's best high performance 1000R curved display and 'Eye Comfort' certificate.
Samsung Announces New V-NAND Flash Facility
Samsung Electronics, the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced plans to expand its NAND flash production capacity in Pyeongtaek, Korea, reinforcing the company's ability to meet demands from emerging technologies. Construction, which began this May, will pave the way for mass production of Samsung's cutting-edge V-NAND memory in the second half of 2021.
"The new investment reaffirms our commitment to sustain undisputed leadership in memory technologies, even in uncertain times," said Cheol Choi, executive vice president of Memory Global Sales & Marketing at Samsung Electronics. "We will continue to serve the market with the most optimized solutions available, while contributing to growth of the overall IT industry and the economy in general."
"The new investment reaffirms our commitment to sustain undisputed leadership in memory technologies, even in uncertain times," said Cheol Choi, executive vice president of Memory Global Sales & Marketing at Samsung Electronics. "We will continue to serve the market with the most optimized solutions available, while contributing to growth of the overall IT industry and the economy in general."
May 7th, 2024 22:21 EDT
change timezone
Latest GPU Drivers
New Forum Posts
- POLL: Can you see the difference past 60fps (gaming/other) (8)
- Arc OC'ing, anyone? (3)
- Best SSD for system drive (124)
- Only some humans can see refresh rates faster than others, I am one of those humans. (221)
- The Official Thermal Interface Material thread (1178)
- not impressed - nvme vs ssd (39)
- 1GHZ less than I should be getting (7)
- I think my PC is underperforming (3)
- Urgent: PC wont turn on with PSU connected to MOBO (10)
- Apparently Valve is giving refunds on Helldivers 2 regardless of hour count. Details inside. (107)
Popular Reviews
- Corsair iCUE Link RX120 RGB 120 mm Fan Review
- CHERRY XTRFY M64 Pro Review
- Finalmouse UltralightX Review
- Cougar Hotrod Royal Gaming Chair Review
- Upcoming Hardware Launches 2023 (Updated Feb 2024)
- Meze Audio LIRIC 2nd Generation Closed-Back Headphones Review
- AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Review - The Best Gaming CPU
- ASRock NUC BOX-155H (Intel Core Ultra 7 155H) Review
- ASUS Radeon RX 7900 GRE TUF OC Review
- Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 GRE Pulse Review
Controversial News Posts
- Intel Statement on Stability Issues: "Motherboard Makers to Blame" (257)
- AMD to Redesign Ray Tracing Hardware on RDNA 4 (201)
- Windows 11 Now Officially Adware as Microsoft Embeds Ads in the Start Menu (167)
- NVIDIA to Only Launch the Flagship GeForce RTX 5090 in 2024, Rest of the Series in 2025 (132)
- Sony PlayStation 5 Pro Specifications Confirmed, Console Arrives Before Holidays (119)
- AMD's RDNA 4 GPUs Could Stick with 18 Gbps GDDR6 Memory (114)
- NVIDIA Points Intel Raptor Lake CPU Users to Get Help from Intel Amid System Instability Issues (106)
- AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D Now at a Mouth-watering $329 (104)