Hardware News and Reviews

Dell UltraSharp U2718Q

Hexus check out the Dell UltraSharp U2718Q monitor, a high end display featuring HDR (high dynamic range):

Choosing a quality monitor can be hard work if you haven't done your research. There are numerous acronyms and buzzwords to get to grips with, including 4K, 5K, UHD, FreeSync and G-Sync, to name but a few, and you can now add HDR to the list.

What is HDR? It stands for High Dynamic Range, and in a nutshell it signals a greater range of luminance, improved colour depth and a wider gamut. Said advantages aren't as easy to absorb as, say, a higher resolution or faster response time, so think of it this way: an HDR image is intended to provide brighter whites, deeper blacks and more detail at both ends of the spectrum, with colours that are more life-like than ever before.
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Read the review here:
http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/monitors/109724-dell-ultrasharp-u2718q/
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by Ian, Sep 12, 2017

ASUS ROG Zenith Extreme

TweakTown take a look at the ASUS ROG Zenith Extreme motherboard, based on the X399 chipset for the new Ryzen Threadripper processors:

The ROG X399 Zenith Extreme is truly a very high-end motherboard, and ASUS has put a lot of effort into making it best in class. From the rear PCB shield with integrated RGBs to the integrated IO shield, everything we have come to expect from ASUS on a high-end X299 motherboard can be found on this X399 motherboard. Even tiny details, like the addition of a header for a custom water block or the fact that the audio jacks light up internally, make this a very premium motherboard.
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Read the rest here:
https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/8...xtreme-amd-x399-motherboard-review/index.html
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by Ian, Sep 5, 2017

Apple and Google show off AR Technology

The BBC have an interesting look at the latest AR (augmented reality) technology from Apple and Google, which is growing in popularity on mobile devices.

Have you tried any of these AR demos on your phone? You've probably seen the AR face filters on many chat applications.

Google has switched tack in its effort to popularise augmented reality (AR) on Android by moving away from a requirement for devices to be fitted with special depth sensors.

Instead, it is building software for developers to help them mix graphics with real-world views using common camera and motion-tracking hardware.

The rethink brings it in line with rival Apple's mixed-reality strategy. By coincidence, Apple has just unveiled several in-development AR apps for iOS.
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Read the rest here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41098622
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by Ian, Aug 31, 2017

Netgear Nighthawk X6S EX8000

AnandTech take a look at the Netgear Nighthawk X6S EX8000, a tri-band WiFi extender that promises to boost your network range substantially:

On the specifications front, the EX8000 is an AC3000-class tri-band Wi-Fi range extender, using a 4x4 dedicated backhaul link to the consumer's primary router. Like the Orbi router, the EX8000 also uses the IPQ4019 SoC in the dual-band dual-concurrent configuration - 2x2 2.4 GHz + 2x2 5 GHz, along with a 4x4 5 GHz QCA9984 PCIe radio. It has MU-MIMO support and all other features that consumers have come to expect from a high-end router. While the default configuration is that of a range extender, the product can also be configured as an access point in the case of a wired backhaul (the EX8000 has four gigabit LAN ports). Obviously, in the access point mode, we have two 5 GHz and one 2.4 GHz SSID available. In the range extender mode, the EX8000 can be configured to present the same SSID as the primary router for both bands. The 802.11k fast roaming protocol is also supported. This allows supported client devices to move from the router to the range extender without dropping the connection.
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Read the review here:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/11776...0-brings-orbi-triband-wifi-to-range-extenders
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by Ian, Aug 29, 2017

Intel 8th Gen Mobile Processors Announced

Intel have finally shown their hand by announcing the next generation of mobile processors (8th gen). Expect to see more cores, following in the steps of AMD:

There’s a bit of mixed messaging over how much performance these new cores will offer. According to Intel, it expects a 40% overall improvement, with 25% coming from the addition of two more cores. ‘Design’ and ‘Manufacturing’ also add to the total, albeit in smaller amounts. But that’s actually less performance than we’d expect to see, given that doubling core counts from a dual CPU to a quad CPU can drive more than 25% improvement on its own in desktops. Most modern applications scale fairly well, up to four cores / eight threads, and while that’s not an absolute, the 25% figure is still lower than expected.
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ExtremeTech have some great details on the launch:
https://www.extremetech.com/computi...ocessors-built-kaby-lake-add-additional-cores
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by Ian, Aug 22, 2017

Cryptocurrency coming under increasing scrutiny

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are coming under increasing scrutiny from financial regulators in the US, thanks to their increasing popularity as an investment (rather than a currency):

Cryptocurrencies are under the microscope as never before. Financial regulators in the US are concerned about the emergence of bitcoin and its digital cousins as speculative investments and have hinted that much tougher regulation is in the pipeline.

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which regulates the New York financial markets, issued an alert, saying it was “cautioning market participants that offers and sales of digital assets by ‘virtual’ organisations are subject to the requirements of the federal securities laws”.

The message was that selling coins issued by a digital currency provider and selling shares on the stock exchange amount to pretty much the same level of risk. This sent tremors through the digital currency industry.
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Read the rest at the Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/technol...es-more-investment-way-pay-bitcoin-regulation
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by Ian, Aug 17, 2017

Radeon RX Vega 64 and RX Vega 56

The Tech Report check out the Radeon RX Vega 64 and RX Vega 56 graphics cards, bringing some serious competition to the high-end market:

The Vega 10 GPU that's riding in on those cards is a massive and massively complex piece of silicon. It packs 12.5 billion transistors into a 486 mm² die fabricated on GlobalFoundries' 14nm LPP FinFET process. (For comparison, the Nvidia GP102 chip aboard the GTX 1080 Ti and friends is a similarly massive 12 billion transistors on a 471 mm² die.) The card's compute resources are organized into 64 "Next-gen Compute Units." Each of these hosts 64 stream processors for a total of 4096. The full Vega 10 chip has 256 texture units and 64 ROPs, too.
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Read the rest here:
http://techreport.com/review/32391/amd-radeon-rx-vega-64-and-rx-vega-56-graphics-cards-reviewed
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by Ian, Aug 14, 2017

Microsoft to Enable Eye Control in Windows 10

Windows 10 will have eye tracking support in an upcoming release, according to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. This is a great accessibility feature, but also has many other uses:

According to an MSDN blog post, the Eye Control feature has been in development for quite some time — the initial idea to integrate something like that was proposed in 2014. At present, the capability is in beta and interested people can participate in early testing and provide feedback using the Windows Insider program. Microsoft positions the Eye Control primarily as a way to make PCs more accessible to people with disabilities, such as ALS.

Microsoft does not disclose many technical details about its Eye Control feature, but only says that the Tobii Eye Tracker 4C will be one of the compatible eye-tracking devices. Meanwhile, the Tobii 4C is a rather sophisticated piece of hardware that can only be purchased separately (€159 in Europe) for now. By contract, Tobii's previous-gen sensor called EyeX is integrated into various displays and laptops from Acer, Alienware and MSI.
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Read the rest at Anandtech:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/11693/microsoft-to-enable-eye-control-in-windows-10
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by Ian, Aug 8, 2017

Ryzen 7 1700 vs. Core i7-7820X

TechSpot have an 8-core CPU showdown, comparing the Ryzen 7 1700 vs. Core i7-7820X - similar spec processors at very different prices:

Buying an 8-core processor was a wallet ripping affair prior to the arrival of Ryzen. In absence of competition, the Intel Broadwell-E Core i7-6900K was ridiculously overpriced at $1,050. Intel has had to make changes to its HEDT platform by releasing the Core i7-7820X in response to the 8-core/16-thread Ryzen 7 1700.

However, I'm not quite sure Intel understands how competition works. Whereas AMD's solution launched with an MSRP of $330 and can be readily purchased online for as little as $290 today, Intel is still asking $600 for the i7-7820X. Worse still, the cheaper Ryzen 7 1700 can be happily paired with a $100 motherboard, while the pricier Core i7-7820X requires one that costs $220+.
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Read the rest here:
https://www.techspot.com/review/1457-ryzen-7-vs-core-i7-octa-core/
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by Ian, Aug 3, 2017

AMD Radeon RX Vega GPU Specs and Pricing Revealed

HardOCP have an article covering the long awaited RX Vega GPU, due to be released on August 14th 2017:

AMD Radeon RX Vega is the sequel to AMD Radeon RX Polaris architecture GPUs. It exceeds Polaris in features, architecture and performance. However, RX Vega is a continuation and evolution of the GCN (Graphics Core Next) architecture introduced back in 2012 with the AMD Radeon HD 7900 Tahiti GPU that all subsequent GPUs from AMD have been based on. A brand new complete re-architecture or "generational" change in the classic term, this is not.

The product lineup, and pricing, starting at the top will be:

AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Liquid Cooled - $699

AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Limited Edition - $599 (bundle)

AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 - $499

AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 - $399
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Read more here:
https://www.hardocp.com/article/2017/07/31/amd_radeon_rx_vega_gpu_specs_pricing_revealed
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Views: 368 / Likes: 0 / Replies: 0

by Ian, Jul 31, 2017

Latest Threads

Dell UltraSharp U2718Q
Ian posted Sep 12, 2017
ASUS ROG Zenith Extreme
Ian posted Sep 5, 2017
Apple and Google show off AR Technology
Ian posted Aug 31, 2017
Netgear Nighthawk X6S EX8000
Ian posted Aug 29, 2017
Intel 8th Gen Mobile Processors Announced
Ian posted Aug 22, 2017
Cryptocurrency coming under increasing scrutiny
Ian posted Aug 17, 2017
Radeon RX Vega 64 and RX Vega 56
Ian posted Aug 14, 2017
Nikon p50
Manimalaivignesh posted Aug 9, 2017
Microsoft to Enable Eye Control in Windows 10
Ian posted Aug 8, 2017
Ryzen 7 1700 vs. Core i7-7820X
Ian posted Aug 3, 2017

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