Topics

The new RTX A6000 card. (Source: NVIDIA)

NVIDIA unveils the RTX A6000 and A40: new Ampere-based cards for creative or data professionals

The RTX A6000 and A40 have been introduced as state-of-the-art GPUs for content creation, data-centers or engineering. They are based on the latest Ampere architecture, and have been equipped with next-gen tensor, RT and CUDA core...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 05 Oct 2020 22:38

The new OWC Thunderbolt dock. (Source: OWC)

OWC unveils its first Thunderbolt 4 dock

OWC has launched its first dock specifically aimed at PCs equipped with Thunderbolt 4 ports. It offers a further 3 USB type Cs with the same standard, as well as a 3.2 type A port. It is rated to support dual 4K displays or one 5 ...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 03 Oct 2020 18:18

Folding@home's software on a Covid-19 benchmark.

The Folding@home project gains CUDA support, potentially speeding it up on NVIDIA GPUs by about 30%

Folding@home has developed software that makes the complex process of protein structure analysis crowd-sourced. Accordingly, it benefits from the "spare" GPU power of its contributors' PCs. Furthermore, its software now has CUDA s...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 29 Sep 2020 19:56

The RTX 3090 will be in very short supply at launch according to Nvidia. (Image: Nvidia)

Nvidia warns to expect low stock of impending RTX 3090 launch GPUs, more customer blowback inbound

With the Nvidia RTX 3090 launch a mere few hours away, Nvidia has advised potential buyers to expect a shortage of cards much as was experienced with the recent launch of the RTX 3080 cards. The company has issued a statement alre...

Sanjiv Sathiah, 24 Sep 2020 11:56

Samsung launches the 980 PRO SSD globally

The 980 PRO NVMe M.2 is a new Samsung SSD designed for high-performance PCs - and, according to all its leaks, the PlayStation 5. Its maker has finally formally unleashed it on the world. Its ultra-high read and write speeds have ...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 22 Sep 2020 21:24

The new ViewSonic All-in-One Direct View LED Display. (Source: ViewSonic)

ViewSonic announces a new all-in-one LED display that goes up to 216 inches in size

Large-scale 'video wall'-style displays (or those that are about 100 inches diagonally or more) are often impressive and effective, particularly in a professional environment. However, they can pose several disadvantages, especial...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 19 Sep 2020 17:49

Lenovo may have some good prices on X1 Carbons this weekend. (Source: Lenovo)

Deal | Save about US$1000 on a new-ish ThinkPad X1 Carbon

Lenovo US has announced a major sales event running for this weekend only, with up to 70% off some PCs of various types. Among these are the 7th- and 8th-gen ThinkPad X1 Carbon ultrabooks, which are down to under US$1000 in some c...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 19 Sep 2020 16:56

SiFive's RISC-V processors are coming to a PC near you this October. (Image Souerce: SiFive)

SiFive announces new RISC-V processor architecture plus its first-ever desktop PC processor in response to Nvidia's plans to dominate the server market

In the event that Nvidia compromises most processor-related ARM IPs, SiFive's RISC-V scalable CPUs could see increased adoption even from mobile and smartphone OEMs. SiFive is already prepared to meet the increased demand with its...

Bogdan Solca, 15 Sep 2020 14:03

The Ampere RTX Quadro's alleged specs. (Source: Twitter)

A next-gen RTX Quadro has more CUDA cores and memory than the 3090: new leak

The leaker Moore's Law is Dead has posted details of a card described as an NVIDIA Quadro based on Ampere. This would make it a successor to the current RTX generation of this high-powered content-focused series of GPUs. It beats ...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 13 Sep 2020 16:08

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3995WX has a TDP of 280 W. (Image source: AMD)

AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3995WX scores 130% more than its nearest Intel rival on PassMark and can be picked up inside a Lenovo ThinkStation P620 - if you have the money

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3995WX super processor has been flexing its muscles on PassMark’s CPU Mark benchmark, and unsurprisingly the 64-core, 128-thread part has soared straight to the top of the high-end CPU chart. However...

Daniel R Deakin, 10 Sep 2020 10:39

HP and Lenovo have yet to offer a 17-inch workstation as compact as the Dell Precision 5750

The Precision 5750 is a unique 17-inch laptop that juggles between being an Ultrabook and a full-fledged mobile workstation. It doesn't particularly excel at one or the other, but it still appeals to a small segment of professiona...

Allen Ngo, 10 Sep 2020 01:54

Asus' latest cards are announced. (Source: Asus)

Asus intros its new RTX 30-based cards: ROG Strix and TUF Gaming flavors with new shrouds, fans and RGB accents

Asus has launched its new Ampere-based cards. They are based on the RTX 3090, 3080 and 3070 GPUs, which are distributed across new additions to the ROG Strix and TUF Gaming lines. Both are described as composed of "top-shelf" comp...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 02 Sep 2020 23:35

The new Alienware 38 Gaming Monitor. (Source: Dell)

Dell's latest Alienware monitors include a 38-inch curved display with G-SYNC ULTIMATE

Dell has announced its new Alienware gaming monitors. This series has 25- and 27-inch flat variants, although its flagship is a 38-inch curved option. Dell asserts that this "best-in-class gaming monitor" will enhance immersion an...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 01 Sep 2020 20:00

HP's new workstations now feature the more powerful 10th gen Comet Lake-H and Xeon CPUs. (Image Source: HP)

HP updates ZBook mobile workstation lineup with new Fury and Power G7 models equipped with Intel's 10th gen Comet Lake-H and Xeon CPUs

The new ZBook G7 workstations now include Intel's 10th gen Comet Lake-H and Xeon CPUs, which are 30 to 70% faster than the Coffee Lake models on the previous G6 models. The more affordable Power 15 laptops can be equipped with up ...

Bogdan Solca, 01 Sep 2020 14:00

The HP ZCentral 4R is a 1U workstation that can be stacked in server cabinets to serve work-from-home staff. (Source: HP)

HP brings power into working from home with ZCentral and the ZCentral 4R 1U rack workstation

Today HP announced the “world’s most powerful 1U rack workstation” in the form of the HP ZCentral 4R. Backing up these claims is the comprehensive range of configuration options. Additionally, HP’s ZCentral Remote Boost and ZCentr...

Craig Ward, 01 Sep 2020 14:00

Dell Precision 7550 comes with almost everything you'd expect from a mobile workstation except for full-power Quadro RTX 5000 graphics

For a full-size mobile workstation with all the bells and whistles, it's odd to see a Quadro Max-Q GPU instead of the full-power non-Max-Q variant.

Allen Ngo, 31 Aug 2020 06:57

The new skyBOX portable SSD. (Source: Indiegogo)

The skyBOX is a "credit-card-sized" wireless portable SSD that is now available on Indiegogo

HyperAccessory is a start-up that purports to pack the advantages of on-the-go storage with top-end data transfers into a form-factor with the footprint of the average bank-card. This skyBOX also features Wi-Fi 6, alongside capaci...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 29 Aug 2020 19:46

The professional headset market may take off into the next decade. (Source: Frost & Sullivan)

Global professional headset shipments may grow to 65.7 million units by 2026: new research

The number of "workplace-style" headsets shipped worldwide might exceed 65 million over the next 6 years, compared to a figure of 22.9 million from 2019. This may correspond to a market value of US$2.94 billion in 2026. This growt...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 28 Aug 2020 18:34

Dell claims it had a very good 2FQ2021. (Source: Dell)

Dell Technologies reports that it beat market-analysis estimates for the sixth quarter running with its latest earning results

Dell Technologies has posted its performance for its second fiscal quarter of 2021 (2FQ2021), which ended on July 31, 2020. The company has announced total revenues of US$22.7 billion for this period, with a net income of $1.1 bil...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 28 Aug 2020 17:34

The Eve Spectrum in prototype form. (Source: Eve Devices)

Eve Devices displays its Spectrum monitor prototypes

Eve Devices started taking reservations for its Spectrum monitor in January 2020. Now, it has a new post to share with its community in which the first prototypes for its inaugural display product are shown off. It includes video ...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 20 Aug 2020 16:00

Is work-life balance worth a pay cut? (Source: Max Pixel)

36% of professionals polled would happily trade 35% of their current salaries for an improved work life balance

A recent poll conducted on the professional's forum site Blind found that 36% of workers at companies such as Microsoft, Google and Oracle would accept 65% of their current pay-checks in exchange for more parity between their work...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 18 Aug 2020 18:41

IBM's new Power10 server-class chips are fabricated on Samsung's 7 nm EUV process. (Image: IBM)

IBM rolls out first 7nm processor as if to rub salt in Intel's wounds

It seems everyone and their dog is launching silicon on a 7 nm process -- except Intel that is. IBM has just announced that it has launched its latest server processor, the Power10, which will be manufactured using Samsung’s 7 nm ...

Sanjiv Sathiah, 18 Aug 2020 13:30

Dell Precision 5550 is the full-on refresh of the Precision 5540 in the same vein as the XPS 15 9500, but performance hasn't really changed

If it's important for your mobile workstation to be as portable and sexy as possible, then go ahead and get the Precision 5550. Otherwise, the older Precision 5540 will be cheaper and perform almost exactly the same.

Allen Ngo, 10 Aug 2020 07:58

An artistic impression of a QuTSCloud use-case. (Source: QNAP)

QNAP announces the discontinuation of vQTS

QNAP has announced that it will no longer officially support vQTS-built virtual machines (VMs) on its servers. This means that, while users can still operate the VMs they have previously constructed on this platform, they will no ...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 08 Aug 2020 01:14

The future of ARM's ownership is in doubt. (Source: ARM)

A TSMC/Foxconn consortium may be just one alternative to NVIDIA's ARM acquisition

NVIDIA is reportedly in advanced talks with SoftBank to buy ARM for about US$32 billion. However, this is not set in stone, as the seller may have other options. One, according to Nikkei Asian Review, is other firms in this busine...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 07 Aug 2020 14:23

Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition (2020) laptop review: Small changes, better overall package.

Deep blacks thanks to an OLED screen - The Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 review

Razer’s workstation features a lot of performance, a 4K OLED touchscreen, a Thunderbolt 3 port, 32 GB of RAM (running in dual-channel mode), 16 of VRAM and a 1 TB NVMe SSD.

Sascha Mölck, 06 Aug 2020 19:17

New Lenovo ThinkPad T15p features GTX 1050 & better upgradability in a thicker chassis

Lenovo is expanding its ThinkPad T series portfolio with a new 15 inch model. The new Lenovo ThinkPad T15p comes in a thicker chassis than the regular ThinkPad T15. It features faster Comet-Lake-H processors, an additional RAM slo...

Benjamin Herzig, 04 Aug 2020 11:03

The Apricorn Aegis Secure Key 3NXC starts at US$69 (Image source: Apricorn)

256-bit Hardware AES encryption on a USB Type-C pen drive for US$59? Meet the Apricorn Aegis Secure Key 3NXC for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android

Apricorn’s Aegis Secure Key 3NXC is reportedly the world’s first USB Type-C pen drive featuring hardware encryption. With a number of laptops and Android smartphones now leveraging USB Type-C, the 3NXC is increasingly relevant. Th...

Arjun Krishna Lal, 03 Aug 2020 09:13

The Matrox D1450 supports up to four 4K monitors at a time via HDMI (Image source: Matrox)

Matrox rises from the dead again with a new 4K card called the D1450, but it’s definitely not a GeForce RTX 2080 Ti competitor

Erstwhile GPU maker Matrox released a new 4K-capable graphics card for enterprise users called the Matrox D1450. The new Matrox card will be built by NVIDIA and is designed to power multiple high-resolution displays, supporting up...

Arjun Krishna Lal, 31 Jul 2020 13:30

Asus has launched four new laptops in India

Asus ZenBook 13, ZenBook 14, VivoBook S14 and VivoBook Ultra K14 launched in India; prices start at INR 39,990 (US$534)

Asus has released refreshed versions of the ZenBook 13, ZenBook 14, VivoBook S14, and VivoBook Ultra K14 in India. Both ZenBooks come with Ice Lake CPUs, while the VivoBooks feature Comet Lake processors. The ZenBooks will retail ...

Anil Satyanarayana, 30 Jul 2020 15:07

Lenovo launches the first Threadripper PRO 3000 workstation. (Source: Lenovo)

The Lenovo ThinkStation P620 is the first device of its kind to run on the Ryzen Threadripper PRO platform

AMD has finally made the most enterprise-friendly variants of its Ryzen 3000 series official. It consists of up-to-64-core processors, as is the case with its flagship, the 3995WX. Lenovo has announced its P620 ThinkStation alongs...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 15 Jul 2020 01:34

HP is now #1 in the US PC market. (Source: HP)

PC shipments show positive growth for the second quarter of 2020

The latest report from Gartner on the PC market shows that it had grown by 2.8% in the second quarter of 2020 (2Q2020). This may not sound like a lot, but is more encouraging in light of 1Q2020's -12.3% performance. This change su...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 12 Jul 2020 17:38

The CEO of MSI dies aged 56

Shengchang Chiang - also often known as Charles Chiang - has been reported dead. He had taken over as the chief executive officer (CEO) of MSI in January 2019, having served as the company's head of its desktop division prior to t...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 08 Jul 2020 19:37

HiSilicon Kunpeng 920-based PCs are now available in China. (Image Source: 二斤自制 on YouTube)

8C/8T Huawei Kunpeng 920-powered ARM PC offers a disappointing performance for its US$1,000 price tag

Initial benchmarks of the Huawei Kunpeng 920 ARM processor in a desktop PC do not seem to paint a rosy picture. This particular PC was powered by an 8C/8T Kunpeng 920 soldered onto a Huawei motherboard and running custom Chinese L...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 07 Jul 2020 12:51

Covid-19 workplace restrictions might be about to ease for many workers. (Source: Flickr)

66% of professionals surveyed still don't know when going to the office will be a thing again: new study

A new study conducted in June 2020 by the company TeamBlind indicates that 33% of the workers who participated in it have been given a date on which they can resume office work. This figure varied when corrected for location or co...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 06 Jul 2020 22:39

The EPYC Milan ES ran at up to 2.2 GHz (Image source: AMD)

AMD EPYC Milan engineering sample spotted in the wild: 7nm+ Zen 3 ES runs at up to 2.2 GHz, matching EPYC Rome ES speeds

Tipster @Execufix spotted a reference to AMD’s upcoming EPYC Milan server lineup. An unspecified EPYC Milan server chip was found to operate with a base frequency of 1.5 GHz and a boost clock of 2.2 GHz, in line with ES clocks for...

Arjun Krishna Lal, 06 Jul 2020 17:32

MSI's latest workstations. (Source: MSI)

MSI releases its 2020 line of workstations

MSI presents its new notebooks that, while being powerful enough for many enthusiasts and creators, retain decently portable dimensions. The series consists of 15.6- and 17.3-inch machines that feature up to Intel Xeon processors ...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 03 Jul 2020 23:36

The Mac Pro just got a new graphics card configuration. (Image source: Apple)

Apple brings the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X to the Mac Pro

Apple has quietly released a new graphics card option for the Mac Pro, effectively bringing down the cost of equipping the workstation with GDDR6 VRAM. Called the Radeon Pro W5500X, the half-height MPX module is based on AMD's RDN...

Alex Alderson, 03 Jul 2020 14:06

The new OWC Envoy Express. (Source: OWC)

OWC launches the Envoy Express, the "world's first Thunderbolt 3-certified" SSD enclosure

There are many products on the market that claim to convert M.2 NVMe SSDs into fast portable external storage. However, OWC claims that its own such housing is the first to come certified for Thunderbolt 3 speeds. Accordingly, it ...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 29 Jun 2020 17:05

Vive X is its company's investment arm. (Source: Vive)

Vive X announces that it has nearly doubled its VR/AR investments

Vive X is a group set up by HTC's Vive in order to invest in augmented (AR) or virtual (VR) reality-based products and services. It has announced that it has achieved a return of nearly twice the funding it has awarded since its i...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 27 Jun 2020 18:25

Intel's Raja Koduri showing off the purported 4-tile Arctic Sound Xe dGPU. (Image Source: Raja Koduri on Twitter)

Intel's Raja Koduri teases the "Big Fabulous Package" — a 4-tile Arctic Sound Intel Xe dGPU aimed at HPC applications

Intel's graphics head Raja Koduri teased new Xe dGPUs being currently tested at the company's Folsom labs. Raja's tweets showed off three GPUs — one of which was referred to as a Big Fabulous Package (BFP) — a prototype cooling sy...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 25 Jun 2020 15:34

The new QNAP TS-x53D series. (Source: QNAP)

QNAP claims its new PCIe-expandable TS-x53D NAS series is ideal for both professionals and gamers

QNAP's latest TS-x53D series of network-attached storage (NAS) products have 2, 4 or 6 bays and 4 to 8GB of RAM. They are also equipped with a PCIe Gen 2 expansion slot and 2 2.5 gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports. The user can also play...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 23 Jun 2020 16:29

Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel offers flexible usage modes for content creators. (Image Source: Acer)

Acer offers the new ConceptD 3 in Ezel and Notebook form factors with Intel 10th gen Comet Lake-H and NVIDIA Quadro T1000 options alongside the ConceptD 100 desktop

Acer is introducing the ConceptD 3 in the Ezel convertible mobile workstation form factor featuring 10th gen Comet Lake-H and Quadro T1000 (Ezel Pro) and GTX 1650 Ti GPU options alongside a refreshed ConceptD 3 Notebook with a si...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 23 Jun 2020 16:28

The CastMaster system simply plugs into a presenter's notebook. (Source: Acer)

The Acer CastMaster may prove a minimalist solution to many traditional presentation issues

Acer is showcasing its CastMaster system as part of its 2020 General Presentation Conference (GPC). This product consists of a receiver and a transmitter in the form of a large globular button. The OEM asserts that this "Plug-and-...

Deirdre O'Donnell, 23 Jun 2020 15:30