Kang Gosol

With AMD's latest Ryzen Threadripper 3990X 64-core behemoth to be releases on the 7th of February, ASUS has unveiled an updated version of its flagship ROG Zenith II Extreme motherboard. The new ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme Alpha model is designed to make the most of the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X processor with a newly updated power delivery while keeping the same ROG aesthetic and feature set of the previous model. At the launch of AMD's TRX40 chipset for the third generation of Ryzen Threadripper 3000 processors, we reviewed the ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme motherboard  which supports the Threadripper 3990X out of the box, and delivers a high-quality feature set and competitive performance, for an $850 price tag. The ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme Alpha retains the same aesthetics, the same feature set, and one would struggle to see the differences on the surface between both models. The major difference comes on the power delivery, with a solid 16-phase configuration

For consumer storage, CES 2020 brought a new wave of competition for PCIe 4.0 SSDs and promise of faster portable SSDs, but the most intriguing product demo was from Enmotus. They are planning a profound change to how consumer SSDs work, ditching drive-managed SLC caching in favor of host-managed tiered storage. Enmotus is a well-established provider of storage management software. Their most familiar product to consumers is probably FuzeDrive, a limited edition of which is bundled with recent generations of AMD motherboards as AMD StoreMI . This serves as AMD's answer to Intel's Smart Response Technology (SRT) and Optane Memory storage caching systems. Enmotus also has enterprise-oriented products in the same vein. Their new MiDrive technology builds on their existing tiering software to manage a combination of SLC and QLC NAND on a single consumer SSD. Caching and Tiering Challenges All software-driven caching or tiering solutions tend to have limited consumer a

Acer has introduced a new Chromebook computer designed specifically for the education environment. The upcoming Chromebook 871/Chromebook 712 machines are rugged enough to handle bumps of life at school and are based on Intel’s Comet Lake processors. Acer’s Chromebook 871/Chromebook 712 comes in a Shale Black plastic chassis that is sufficiently tough to survive drops, shocks, high/low temperatures, and humid or dusty environments. To make the laptop as rugged as possible, Acer had to increase its z-height to 21.5 cm, which is rather thick, but a good news is that the notebook has a spill-resistant keyboard. As for weight, the machine weighs 1.4 kilograms. The laptop is equipped with a 12-inch IPS display panel featuring a 1366x912 resolution as well as a 3:2 aspect ratio. In fact, the manufacturer plans to offer two versions of its Chromebooks 871: the model C871 with a regular screen as well as the model C871T with a touch-enabled screen. The Acer Chromebook 871 – whi

The consumer memory industry has been teasing DDR4-5000 for a few months now.  We saw one company show some DDR4-5000 modules at Computex back in July 2019, running on an MSI MPG Z390I GAMING EDGE AC with an Intel Core i7-8086K processor, but the company said at the time that it didn’t make sense to release them because (at the time) only 2% of top-end CPUs could actually keep up with such a high memory speed. Fast forward to November a few key things have changed. Micron’s new 8 Gbit Revision-E DDR4 chips (Rev.E or “Micron E-die”) first gained attention in April, and now they’ve matured through rigorous testing and qualification for the high-end memory kits. Enter the Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-5000 memory kits, which have been QVL'ed for use with MSI's high-end X570 models to give users blazing-fast memory for Ryzen 3000 processors.

Being one of the leading suppliers of small form-factor gaming PCs, ZOTAC recently started to offer SFF workstations powered by Intel’s Xeon CPUs as well as NVIDIA’s Quadro graphics cards. Meanwhile, there are a lot of creators that do not necessarily need professional-grade hardware for their work (or just cannot afford it), so for that market ZOTAC is putting together its Inspire Studio desktops. ZOTAC’s Inspire Studio machines are based on Intel’s Core i7-9700 CPU with eight cores (and a 65 W TDP) and a full-fledged GeForce RTX 2060 Super graphics card. The system can be equipped with 32 GB of DDR4 memory, a 512 GB NVMe/PCIe SSD (or an Intel Optane Memory caching SSD), and a 2 TB hard drive. As for connectivity, the Inspire Studio has a Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth 5 adapter (the Killer AX1650), two GbE ports (controlled by a Killer controller), USB Type-A and Type-C connectors, four display outputs (three DisplayPort 1.4, one HDMI 2.0b), an SD card reader, and a 3.5-mm audio jack fo

Qualcomm this week has announced three new chipsets complementing their low-mid-range and low-range processor offerings: the Snapdragon 720G, 662, and 460 SoCs. The new chipsets are said to focus on emerging markets such as India and are also amongst the first to offer platform connectivity features such as the new Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC). Qualcomm Snapdragon 700-Range SoCs SoC Snapdragon 710 Snapdragon 720G Snapdragon 730 CPU 2x Kryo 360 (CA75) @ 2.2GHz  6x Kryo 360 (CA55) @ 1.7GHz 2x Kryo 465 (CA76) @ 2.3GHz   6x Kryo 465 (CA55) @ 1.8GHz 2x Kryo 470 (CA76) @ 2.2GHz   6x Kryo 470 (CA55) @ 1.8GHz GPU Adreno 616 Adreno 618 DSP Hexagon 685  Hexagon 692 Hexagon 688 ISP/ Camera Spectra 250 32MP single / 20MP dual Spectra 350L

Today Intel announced their earnings for the fourth quarter of their 2019 fiscal year. In terms of revenue, Intel had their highest ever Q4 revenue, coming in at $20.2 billion, and the full 2019 fiscal year, which was $72 billion. On a year-over-year basis, the results were up 8% and 2% respectively. Intel’s margins did slip a bit though, falling 1.4% to 58.8% of revenue. Operating income for the quarter was $6.8 billion, up 9% from last year, and net income was up 33% to $6.9 billion. This resulted in earnings-per-share of $1.58, up 40% from a year ago. Intel Q4 2019 Financial Results (GAAP)   Q4'2019 Q3'2019 Q4'2018 Revenue $20.2B $19.2B $18.7B Operating Income $6.8B $6.4B $6.2B Net Income $6.9B $6.0B $5.2B Gross Margin 58.8% 58.9% 60.2% Client Computing Group Revenue

External bus-powered storage devices have grown in storage capacity as well as speeds over the last decade. Palm-sized flash-based storage devices with a Thunderbolt 3 interface are capable of delivering 2GBps+ speeds, while the USB-based mainstream market has moved on to to 1GBps+ offerings in the last year. In today's review, we take a look at a number of different bus-powered USB 3.2 Gen 2 storage devices featuring NVMe SSDs, including the Samsung Portable SSD T7 Touch and the SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD.

Having entered the market for gaming displays not so long ago, MSI is certainly not afraid of experimenting with various technologies in a bid to address niches that are not yet crowded with competitors. At CES, the company demonstrated its aggressively curved Optix MAG342CQR monitor that also boasts a 144 Hz variable refresh rate as well as quantum dot backlighting enhancements for accurate colors and a wider color gamut. The MSI Optix MAG342CQR display uses a 34.5-inch Super PVA panel featuring a 3440x1440 resolution, a 21:9 aspect ratio, a 1 ms response time, and maximum refresh rate of 144 Hz. The key characteristic of this panel is its aggressive curvature of a 1000R radius, which MSI promotes as being the most optimal curvature, matching the curvature of the human eye. The Optix MAG342CQR comes with a LED backlighting enhanced with quantum dots that improve color accuracy and ensures that the monitor can accurately display 1.07 billion colors. At the moment, MSI does

Notebook makers put a lot of efforts into making their 13.3 and 14-inch notebooks as sleek and light as possible, which is why road warriors can enjoy more compact systems every year. Meanwhile, technologies designed for the aforementioned PC are eventually used on other types of laptops too. This is the case with HP’s 2020 Spectre x360 15, which inherits many design elements of its 13.3-inch convertible sibling to make the 15.6-inch machine more compact. Gallery: CES 2020: HP’s Spectre x360 15 Gets Comet Lake, Goes on Diet, Gains 17 Hrs Battery Life The key improvement of the 2020 HP Spectre x360 15 over its predecessor are narrow display bezels that enabled the company to install a 15.6-inch Full-HD or Ultra-HD display panel into a chassis that resemble those of a 14-inch laptop. The notebook now boasts a 90% screen-to-body ratio (STBR), up from a 79.78% STBR in case of the 2019 model, and is 24 mm shorter than the predecessor. Meanwhile, the PC did not become any thinner

Modern smart televisions do much more than just display broadcasted programs, so these days TV makers need to equip them with powerful applications processors to decode HD and Ultra-HD content, as well as handle other complex tasks. To that end, LG has revealed that it plans to use its new α9 Gen 3 SoC for its latest Signature OLED and NanoCell 8K televisions set to be available this year. LG’s latest α9 Gen 3 processor supports playback of 8Kp60 content encoded using HEVC, VP9, and particularly important going forward, the recently released AV1 codec. But since 8K videos are not common just yet, the SoC supports LG’s AI 8K Upscaling algorithm that relies on its machine learning capabilities to analyze videos it upscales and properly apply Quad Step Noise Reduction and frequency-based Sharpness Enhancer. In addition to intelligent upscaling, LG’s new 8K TVs also support AI Picture Pro technology to correctly enhance sharpening and skin tones as well as Auto Genre Selection

Adding to its extensive selection of CPU air coolers, be quiet! has announced its latest entry-level model, the Pure Rock 2. Building on the success of the original Pure Rock cooler, the be quiet! Pure Rock 2 keeps it simple with support for up to 150 W TDP processors, and comes with an included Pure Wings 2 120 mm PWM fan. The be quiet! Pure Rock 2 has four 6 mm heat pipes with a direct contact baseplate design for better cooling performance. Targetted entry-level users, the Pure Rock 2 boasts the same 150 W TDP cooling performance as the previous Pure Rock model. To aid memory compatibility, the Pure Rock 2 cooler uses an asymmetrical design. It comes in two versions including a standard silver, or in black which looks good with its anodised coating. Supplied with the be quiet! Pure Rock 2 is a single Pure Wings 2 120mm PWM cooling fan, with fan retention clips for two fans included in the accessories. The be quiet! Pure Rock 2 is set to launch in April with an MSRP o