Desktop

The gaming component and peripherals company GALAX has launched a new product called the GTX 1650 Ultra. However, its GPU is not that of the original non-ray-tracing Turing variant, but of underpowered chips left out of other cards such as the RTX 2070. Then again, its TDP is higher than some others of its name.

The a7S II is a member of Sony's Alpha series of full-frame cameras lauded for its low-light and 4K video performance, even though it has been several years since its release. Now, an executive from this OEM has confirmed that a successor for the unit is on the way. According to this source, every aspect of the 7S has been completely re-designed.

The first Geekbench 5 results of the Apple Mac Mini Developer Transition Kit (DTK) powered by the A12Z Bionic running macOS 11 Big Sur Developer Beta 1 have surfaced despite Apple's developer NDA being in force. The benchmark is running under a Rosetta 2 emulation and the performance deficit, though significant compared to the Core i5 MacBook Air 2020 and the iPad Pro, is understandable and in many ways, encouraging.

Modder sw3dg1n recently released True Fires, a graphics mod that overhauls fire light sources in The Witcher 3. With Cyberpunk 2077 just months away, True Fires might give CD Projekt fans a way to appreciate next-gen graphics in 2015’s RPG classic. You will need a meaty graphics card, though, as double-digit performance drops are to be expected.

The first indications of an RDNA3-based Navi 31 GPU have surfaced in the macOS 11 Big Sur Developer Beta 1 driver code. The driver also contains references to upcoming AMD APUs such as Van Gogh and Cezanne along with HPC accelerators such as the MI100 and M200. With the MI200, AMD could be looking at a multi-chip module (MCM) approach and that could trickle down to Navi 31 as well.

The latest Mindfactory CPU retail sales report has been shared online, and although it’s business as usual for AMD in terms of share dominance, there has been some positive movement for the Intel Core i7-10700K. The 8-core Comet Lake processor is a good choice for gamers and offers a potential maximum boost clock of 5.10 GHz.

Apple could be working on an iPhone prototype running a full-fledged macOS, according to insider information cited by Mauri QHD. While there is no way to confirm this, such a possibility is not a distant dream given that Apple has begun transitioning its entire lineup to ARM. If this news is indeed true, it remains to be seen how effective would be its implementation considering that previous such attempts by competitors haven't been too successful.

The European Hardware Association (EHA) has announced the devices or components that have won its organization's awards for 2020. This list contains some potentially easy predictions, such as the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 for the Best Gaming Notebook. However, it is the Ryzen 3000 platform that has really cleaned up.

AMD Ryzen 4000 Zen 3 processors remain on track for a Q3 2020 release, a company spokesperson has confirmed. The confirmation quashes a rumour to the contrary, which stated that AMD might have delayed the release of its Vermeer processors until Intel announces its Comet Lake-S architecture.

The latest Diablo IV quarterly update reveals that the development process was not really affected by the pandemic and also details key game aspects like storytelling, open world, multiplayer and itemization. No ETA for the Alpha and Beta tests as of yet, but there will be another update around BlizzCon.

AMD has shown strong monthly growth in the Steam hardware and software survey for May. Team Red managed to snag another 0.74% of the processor usage share from Intel, and this is likely to repeat over the next months thanks to the upcoming Matisse Refresh. But Tiger Lake might still make an impression for Team Blue.

TCL has confirmed that its upcoming display panels have attained an Eyesafe display certification for blue-light reduction and color performance. This standard has been developed to protect user eye health. They are applied to various screen types, those for PCs or monitors included, and may become a preferred spec in the new devices of the near future.

Apple made waves at its 2020 WWDC when it confirmed that Macs were to be powered by non-Intel SoCs going forward. This transition may have many advantages for the company, not to mention the PCs involved. However, self-professed Intel expert François Piednoël claims that there were other reasons for this move.

Even though it comes in a palm-size case, the DeskMini DMAF5 still packs some serious Ryzen power. It ships with a Ryzen 5 3550H APU that integrates a Vega 8 GPU, but users can further upgrade the processor to models with 45+ W TDP. It also supports up to 32 GB of DDR4-2400, plus NVMe / SATA storage combos, and it comes with a pre-installed Wi-Fi 6 card.

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 system, and the test platform. The BFP is a 4-tile Xe dGPU aimed at HPC workloads.

An AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT desktop processor sample has been put through its paces on UserBenchmark, where it managed some decent scores and a respectable average bench result. However, the score of 91.8% would put the 12-core Matisse Refresh Ryzen 9 3900XT in 28th place in the UserBenchmark table, which is even behind the quad-core Intel Core i3-10320!

A Matisse Refresh AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT desktop processor has been spotted on Geekbench 5.1 along with a Gigabyte X570 Aorus Master motherboard. The 12-core chip recorded results that put it in the same ballpark as the Ryzen 9 3900X and Intel Core i9-10900K, but it is likely better scores can be squeezed out of it yet.
Update: Much better results for the 3900XT have been unearthed.

The latest Windows 10 Game Ready driver for NVIDIA GeForce cards unlock DirectX 12 Ultimate features on RTX GPUs. This may bring attributes such as hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading to certain games. The new driver also supports 9 more G-SYNC-enabled monitors from AOC, Dell, LG and other OEMs.

The ZBOX Cl622 nano mini PC barebones come with CPU options such as the Core i3-10110U and i7-10510U models from the laptop-grade Comet Lake-U family and also offer a fanless design, making these systems ideal for HTPC setups.

Samsung unveiled its colossal 49-inch Odyssey G9 gaming monitor at CES 2020 this year. It has a resolution of 5120×1440 and comes with a QLED panel clocked at 240Hz. The monitor is now available for purchase globally at $1,699.

Undervolting is dead. Worse still, OEMs are killing the functionality on older machines too. Undervolting is no longer possible on recent Dell XPS laptops, for example, nor on the Surface Laptop 3 or Surface Pro 7.

Early bird backers can get the super-small HTPC for $149 instead. The LarkBox is notable for its lemon-sized dimensions, Celeron J4115 CPU, and wide array of ports.

Dell has announced two new gaming monitors that promise a smooth, stutter-free gaming experience. The Dell 27 Curved Gaming S2721HGF is a 1500R curved VA FHD panel with a 144 Hz refresh rate while the Dell 27 Gaming Monitor S2721DGF is a flat panel QHD IPS display with a 165 Hz refresh rate and true 1 ms GTG response time. The S2721DGF also features DisplayHDR 400 support and a plethora of connectivity options.

Dell has refreshed the G5 Desktop 5000 to feature Intel Comet Lake-S CPUs and a range of NVIDIA GPUs till the RTX 2070 Super while also offering an AMD Radeon RX 5600 option. The rest of the chassis and RGB lighting are similar to the previous generation. Dell will also be introducing a redesigned XPS Desktop later in July, which will be part of the NVIDIA RTX Studio Program.

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 videos at up to 4K thanks to its HDMI port.

The refreshed Acer Predator Orion 9000 gaming desktop comes with 10th-generation Intel Core i9 chips that can be paired with up to two NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, RTX 2080 Super, or RTX 2070 Super GPUs. One can add up to 128GB of RAM and up to four hard disks and three NVMe SSDs. It will be available in select regions in October and will retail at €2,799 ($3,155).

Acer has released a new version of its Predator Orion 3000 gaming desktop powered by 10th-generation Intel Core i5 and Core i7 chips. One can choose from a wide range of NVIDIA GeForce GTX and RTX GPUs, starting with GTX 1650 and maxing out at the RTX 2070 Super. Prices start at $999 for the base variant, and the desktop will be available for purchase this August.

Acer has unveiled a new version of its Nitro 50 gaming desktop featuring 10th-generation Intel Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 CPUs. It can be configured with up to 64GB of RAM and a variety of storage options. The desktop will be available for purchase in Europe this August and in North America in September.

Acer has announced three ConceptD monitors, the CP3, CP5, and CM3, tailored at professional content creators. These monitors are PANTONE-validated, support 99% Adobe RGB, 98% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage, and are DisplayHDR-certified. The ConceptD CP3 supports 4K resolution with a 165 Hz refresh rate.

Acer has launched the Cestus 350 as part of its new Predator-series gaming line-up today (June 23, 2020). It has a Pixart 3335 sensor, which, as the OEM asserts, will confer accuracy on the new device with minimal latency. It also has 8 programmable buttons and can be used in wired or wireless mode.

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-Play" arrangement will render the set-up and control of a presentation constant across any environment.

Tipster @CyberCatPunk leaked what appears to be a spec sheet for NVDIA’s upcoming flagship RTX 3080 Ti. If true, the 23 TFLOPs monster might be enough to take on AMD’s soon-to-be-launched Big Navi lineup.

Apple has finally called time on macOS X with the unveiling of macOS Big Sur. The new operating system features a redesigned UI, and is of course, the first public release of macOS that runs on Apple’s custom silicon.

The flash memory company wants to start out small in the RAM market before moving up to 3200 MHz options for gamers and enthusiasts.

Apple has announced that it will transition its entire Mac lineup to ARM-based custom silicon over the next two years. Support for Apple silicon is now available in macOS Big Sur and developers can get started right away on a Developer Transition Kit (DTK) that includes a Mac Mini powered by the A12Z Bionic. Despite the transition Apple will continue to support Intel processors for many years to come.

The Xiaomi Mi Smart Mouse, which has also been called the Xiaomi XiaoAI Mouse, has been posted on the company’s crowdfunding platform. The computer peripheral can be controlled via voice commands and can also be connected to two devices at a time. The Mi Smart Mouse is priced at 149 yuan (US$21) but is currently on offer for 129 yuan (US$18).

An early example of the RTX 3080 Ti may have been spotted on 3DMark Time Spy. The Ampere GPU, thought to be based on a GA102, posted over a 30% higher graphics score than the RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition and even managed to outperform the NVIDIA TITAN RTX.

Apple's WWDC 2020 event may not showcase all the new hardware launches we've been expecting so far. Instead, Apple is expected to focus on new software updates and announce the existence of ARM-based Macs so as to get developers up to speed. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects Apple to fully transition to ARM in 2021 starting from the ARM-powered 13-inch MacBook Pro and redesigned iMac.

The Intel NUC alternative was made for business environments, but it works just as well for home offices, too. Its M.2 2280 storage is easy to upgrade and its super-slim form factor has a lot of charm.

It is now becoming increasingly clear that the purported NVIDIA Ampere GA102 flagship GPU will come in three variants with memory capacities between 10 GB and 24 GB. NVIDIA may launch the flagship GA102-400 variant as an RTX 3090 or a new second gen Titan variant. Also, whether Ampere would actually use GDDR6X VRAM is still anybody's guess at this point.

Xiaomi may be about to launch a new mouse that is capable of responding to voice commands. This is apparent thanks to new Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) documentation. It approves the Mi Smart Mouse as a device with up-to-date wireless connectivity and a 4000 DPI.

A report by Awake Security indicates that 70 Google Chrome extensions, downloaded by over 32 million people, have been stealing user data and browsing history on a massive scale. The large-scale operation was enabled by a malicious domain registrar, GalComm.

In a consumer-friendly move, CD Projekt Red recently announced that Cyberpunk 2077 would be playable on both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X from launch and that game would be free for owners of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions.

PUBG Corp. has released the Update 7.3 to all PC users after having evaluated it in the Test Server. Update 7.3 brings a host of new additions including a C4 throwable, a new train line in Vikendi, changes to vehicle explosion dynamics, parachute follow, and more apart from the usual bug fixes and performance improvements.

There was a time when Flash was the go-to standard for online content building and support. However, other standards such as HTML5 have outstripped it considerably in the ability to deliver AV and interactive apps of all kinds. Therefore, Adobe has announced a definitive EOL date for this once-ubiquitous relic of the internet.

The AMD Ryzen PRO 4750G has been spotted hitting 4.5 GHz in 3DMark. The eight-core APU also appears to have a GPU capable of reaching 2.4 GHz. Rumour has it that AMD may be planning to silently launch its Ryzen 4000G processors next month, too.

Need a supercharged AMD-based small form factor PC? Corsair has got you covered with the new One a100 mini tower system that resembles an Xbox Series X console. The One a100 systems feature high-end AMD Ryzen 9 3900X/3950X CPUs, RTX 2080 Ti / Super GPUs, plus Asus ROG Strix X570-I Gaming motherboards with 32 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM and 1 TB Corsair Force MP600 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD + 2 TB Seagate Barracuda HDD storage combos.

Asus has unleashed its panel of motherboards that support AMD's B550 chipset on the US market. They enable up to 20 PCIe 4.0 lanes when equipped with a Ryzen 3000-series APU. These cost-effective new components are of the OEM's popular ROG Strix, TUF Gaming and Prime brands.