Month: November 2019

It’s only a matter of time before AMD rolls out a GPU architecture with hardware-based real-time ray tracing support (though not in time for any Black Friday deals), to take on Nvidia’s growing army of GeForce RTX graphics cards. But might we see something in that regard at CES in January, 2020? According to the latest rumor mill chatter, the answer is yes.

Take this with a dose of skepticism, but according to Chiphell forum member Wjm47196, AMD will be previewing a second-generation Radeon DNA (RDNA) Navi GPU architecture at the annual convention in Las Vegas, as spotted by WCCFTech.

I can see your eyes rolling in the back of the head, but there are couple of things that make this rumor at least plausible. One is Wjm47196’s track record. The same user had posted accurate information about AMD’s first generation Navi architecture before it launched. Same goes for some other GPU launches.

Secondly, we know AMD will implement ray tracing support into a future Navi GPU architecture, because both Sony’s PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s next Xbox (Project Scarlett) will feature one, based on custom silicon.

A CES announcement also doesn’t mean the GPU would launch soon after. The past several years, AMD has announced products and disclosed roadmaps in December in January for products that eventually launched in June or July. So an initial preview even in January, six months before availability, would be perfectly in line with AMD’s previous GPUs.

Assuming nothing in AMD’s roadmap has changed, the next high-end version of Navi (Navi 20) will be built on an enhanced 7nm manufacturing process (7nm+). As these things go, we can assume it will have faster clocks and better power efficiency, probably more GPU cores, and of course ray tracing.

Beyond that, there is not much in the way of official information. There are also plenty of questions to go around, though. For example, will Navi 20 be competitive with Nvidia’s top cards, or slot in a peg or two below whatever Nvidia’s fastest cards will be at the time? How much will they cost? And will Intel have a discrete GPU for gaming when Navi 20 actually launches?

Strap in, 2020 could be a wild ride.

Recently, Lenovo announced its own 5G smartphone and said all upcoming phones of the company will support 5G. Today, on November 18, the Lenovo Z6 Pro 5G version opened an appointment on the official website. It costs 3,299 yuan (8GB + 256GB), which is equivalent to $470. However, the handset will go on sale only on December 12. As you can see, this is by far the most cost-effective 5G smartphone. So there is every reason to think it will be quite competitive.

As it is released in China first, many may wonder which networks this phone support. The Lenovo Z6 Pro 5G version supports 5G/4G dual card dual standby. As the company claims, for the realization of a stable 5G network connection, they are innovatively using a distributed antenna layout. In other words, the phone will have stable connectivity even if holding it horizontally when playing games. Plus, you can freely switch between 5G and 4G.

Apart from the 5G connectivity, the Lenovo Z6 Pro 5G version uses a 6.39-inch waterdrop screen. Under the hood, there is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 flagship platform. It is also quite good for photography purposes. On the front, the device carries a 32MP selfie shooter. And on the back, there is a quad-camera, which uses a 48MP + 16MP super wide-angle + 8MP telephoto + 2MP sensors combination. The battery capacity is 4000mAh.

At last, the Lenovo Z6 Pro 5G uses a 4×3 Coldfront 2.0 liquid cooling system. The latter significantly increases the heat dissipation area by 20%. In the heat dissipation structure, it mainly uses various materials such as silicon sheet, copper tube, gel, graphite, etc.

Not to be outdone by the Razer Blade Studio series, Asus will be launching its own lineup of thin and sleek laptops aimed at professionals. The ProArt StudioBook Pro X sits at the top of the family with its Xeon E-2276M CPU, Nvidia Quadro 5000 GPU, 64 GB of RAM, and 17-inch 1200p display with a chassis design that borrows unabashedly from both the consumer ZenBook and gaming Zephyrus S series.

The most noteworthy characteristics of the ProArt StudioBook Pro X are its ScreenPad, Xeon CPU, and 16:10 17-inch display. The ScreenPad can be convenient if used correctly, the Xeon processor can allow for ECC RAM, and the 16:10 aspect ratio is uncommon on most laptops. These small touches show that Asus has tuned the ProArt StudoBook Pro X specifically for professional users instead of rebranding existing consumer laptops as workstations. The Razer Blade Studio and most MSI W series laptops, for example, are simply reskinned consumer laptops but with Quadro GPUs.

As with most mobile workstations, the ProArt StudioBook Pro X is going to cost an arm and a leg. Asus is offering just one major SKU at the moment as detailed in the specifications sheet below for $4999 USD. Online retailers like Amazon, Newegg, and Xotic PC have all started taking pre-orders for the laptop.

Apple is releasing iOS and iPadOS 13.2.3 today to address a variety of odd bugs that have been introduced with the release of iOS 13. The latest update includes a fix for the Spotlight system search feature that had been failing for some users recently. Search should now work consistently at the system level and in the Mail, Files, and Notes apps.

If you use an app that downloads content in the background and you’ve noticed weird issues in iOS 13.2.2 or before, Apple is now addressing this in the new update. Mail is also getting updated to fix problems fetching new messages or quoting messages from Exchange accounts. The only other fix that’s listed on Apple’s release notes for iOS 13.2.3 is concerning an issue where photos, links, and other attachments haven’t been displaying properly in the iMessage details view.

Apple continues to patch up its buggy iOS 13 release, and hopefully we’re closer to a more stable OS now. Apple is also testing betas of iOS 13.3, which is expected to include some fairly minor additions like better support for FIDO2-compliant security keys that use USB, Lightning, or NFC. Today’s iOS 13.2.3 update will also include any security updates for iOS and iPadOS, and you can download it immediately from your settings menu.

MSI has introduced one of the industry’s first ultra-compact desktops powered by Intel’s 10th Generation ‘Comet Lake-U’ processors, the Cubi 5 10M. With Comet Lake-U available in up to 6 core configurations and supporting up to 64 GB of memory, the Cubi 5 10M is powerful enough that it can be used for a wide variety of applications, including productivity, photo editing, design, and multimedia playback.

Measuring 124×124×53.7 mm and weighing 550 grams, MSI’s Cubi 5 10M compact PCs are quite literally palm-sized. Under the hood, they pack one of Intel’s 10th Generation Core i3/i5/i7 processors with two, four, or six cores as well as Intel’s UHD 630 Graphics. The CPU is cooled down using an active cooling system, so the processors should be able to turbo fairly often. The SoC is accompanied by two SO-DIMM memory slots supporting up to 64 GB of DDR4-2666 memory, an M.2 slot for an SSD, and a 2.5-inch bay for additional storage.

On the wireless connectivity side of matters, MSI’s Cubi 5 10M UCFF systems come with either Intel’s Wireless AC 9462 or Wireless AX201 adapters with Bluetooth 5. As for wired connectivity, the mini-PC offers GbE (Intel WGI219V), three USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A connectors, one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port, two USB 2.0 headers, two display outputs (DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 1.4), a headphone output, a microphone in, and a power connector. The Cubi comes with a 65 W external power brick, and it can be further equipped with an external power switch to turn it on or off when it is located in a hard to reach area.

Overall, the Cubi 5 10M SFF PC is fairly typical for a small form factor PC design, incorporating Intel’s latop-focused hardware to instead build a small and low power desktop. With Comet Lake-U reaching 6 cores, the system should be able up to the task for most office-grade, non-graphics-heavy workloads, as well as making for a modest HTPC.

MSI is already listing its Cubi 5 10M ultra-compact desktop on its website, so expect it to hit the market shortly. They’ve yet to disclose the pricing, however, so we’ll have to see where that ends up.