Month: December 2019

Silicon Lottery’s binning stats show 56% of its samples were able to of hit 4.1 GHz on all 16 cores.

According to statistics shared by binning company Silicon Lottery, the majority of AMD Ryzen 9 3950X CPUs it’s tested have been able to hit a clock speed of 4.1 GHz. The vendor’s data on the CPU was compiled by a user on Reddit.

Silicon Lottery overclocks its samples to the same speed on all of their CPU cores. The company puts the overclocked chips through stringent tests to guarantee their stability. It’s unknown how big of a sample size Silicon Lottery worked with, but the initial information looks interesting nonetheless.

So far, the statistics show that 56% of Silicon Lottery’s Ryzen 9 3950X samples were capable of hitting 4.1 GHz on all 16 cores with a core voltage (Vcore, the amount of voltage supplied to the CPU) of 1.312V. Only 19% made it to the 4.15 GHz mark.

Ryzen 9 3900X binning statistics from August showed that 68% and 35% of the 12-core samples reached 4.1 GHz and 4.15 GHz, respectively. Therefore, it’s reasonable to assume that your chances of achieving a higher overclock decrease significantly as you climb the core ladder. That’s not to mention that AMD doesn’t leave much manual overclocking headroom on its Ryzen 3000-series processors.

What’s even more fascinating is the gloomy results for the Infinity Fabric (FCLK) clock. In Silicon Lottery’s efforts to bin the FCLK on Ryzen 9 3950X, it concluded that only 12% of the samples can run the FCLK at 1,900 MHz stably.

If you’re not committed to running all your cores at identical speeds, it appears that AM4 motherboard manufacturers will add the ability to overclock AMD CCXes (AMD CPU’s core complexes). This will allow users to overclock the processor’s cores to different speeds, instead of imposing a single clock speed on every core.

There may never be a “Year of the Linux desktop” per se, but Linux on Windows, via the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), is certainly gaining popularity. Canonical, Ubuntu Linux’s parent company, has just announced it will help sponsor WSLConf, the first WSL-specific conference.

Hayden Barnes, the founder of Whitewater Foundry, a startup focusing on Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and sponsor of Pengwin, Whitewater’s Linux for Windows, started the conference. WSLconf will be held from March 10 to March 11, 2020, at Building 20 on the Microsoft HQ campus in Redmond, Wash.

Canonical, which recently revealed it’s making WSL a priority for Ubuntu, stated it would be a featured sponsor of WSLConf. Besides Canonical, Microsoft, and Whitewater Foundry, speakers from Docker, Kali Linux, Rancher Labs, and wslutilities will also appear at the conference.

WSL is meant primarily for developers and system administrators, not ordinary end-users. For example, at the conference, there will be talks on building Kubernetes on WSL; demos of WSL integration with the Visual Studio and JetBrains IDEs; and WSL for long-time Unix/Linux system administrators.

At the same time, Microsoft is also extending its office programs to the traditional Linux desktop. For the first time, an MS-Office program, Microsoft Teams, will be available to run natively on Linux.

At one time, the idea that the Windows and Linux desktops would cross-pollinate with each other would be dismissed as downright silly. That was then. This is now. The two rival desktops are integrating. Who would have guessed?

Fujifilm’s X100 series of premium compact cameras have become cult classics among street photographers, but there hasn’t been a new model in the range since early 2017. Well, the long wait for a successor to the X100F could soon be over if recent leaks are to be believed, with the Fujifilm X100V rumored to be launching in early 2020.

The usually reliable Fuji Rumors claims to have been told by sources that the Fujifilm X100V, the fifth model in the series, will arrive in February 2020. The site also claims that the price will be around US$1,500; there are no leaked prices for the UK or Australia yet, but that converts to around £1,140 or AU$2,200, and if those are close to the actual prices it would be a fairly significant increase over its predecessor in the US and Australia.

The current model in the series, the Fujifilm X100F, launched back in January 2017 for US$1,299 / £1,249 / AU$1,900, which was already a sizable bump from the X100T. Still, fans of these premium compacts, which mix stunning retro looks with a unique hybrid viewfinder, will likely still stump up the extra cash if their wishlist of improvements is realized in the new model.

Retro looks, upgraded performance?

So far, there haven’t been any major specs leaks for the Fujifilm X100V, but previous rumors have suggested the camera might be getting a new lens.

The series has retained the same lens since the 12MP Fujifilm X100, and will need an updated one if, as expected, the X100V adopts the same 26.1MP CMOS sensor found inside the Fujifilm X-Pro3 and X-T3. This new lens would likely retain the classic 23mm focal length that makes it so popular for street snapping, while potentially bringing new features like improved autofocus motors.

Other much-requested upgrades are weather sealing, USB-C charging, and the excellent autofocus system seen on the Fujifilm X-T3. More radical improvements, such as a flip-screen, appear to be less likely, as Fujifilm has preferred to only make iterative improvements to its X100 series since it arrived in 2011. We’ll bring you any official news as soon as we get it.

Google is rolling out the latest version of Chrome for Mac, Windows, and Linux. Chrome 79 readies tab freezing to make the browser less resource-intensive, and a slew of security features related to phishing protections.

A new “tab freezing” feature introduced with Chrome 79 works to save memory, CPU, and battery resources on desktops. Tabs that have been in the background for over 5 minutes will be frozen and not able to perform tasks. There is an exception for playing audio and video, as well as recording, while site developers can experimentally opt-out.

This release also expands Google’s password and phishing protections in Chrome. The Password Checkup extension is now integrated as part of “Sync and Google Services,” while two phishing protections work to make Safe Browsing better and alert you to change passwords entered on malicious sites. More details are available here.

A related change sees the browser better emphasize what profile you’re using by adding a name next to the avatar. Intended for shared devices with multiple users, Google wants to make sure you are storing credentials in the right Google Account.

Originally planned for the previous release, Chrome 79 features an experiment for 1% of users that enables secure DNS connections through DNS-over-HTTPS. This prevents user tracking and malicious redirects. A new flag allows you to opt-out of the DoH test: chrome://flags/#dns-over-https.

Chrome will check if the user’s DNS provider is among a list of participating DoH-compatible providers and if so, it will enable DoH. If the DNS provider is not on the list, Chrome won’t enable DoH and will continue to operate as it does today.

Chrome will begin marking sites that use TLS 1.0 or 1.1 “Not Secure” and remove the lock symbol. This measure starts in January 2020 as Google encourages sites to move away from legacy TLS.

Google is working on a shared clipboard between computers and Android that’s available from the right-click menu. Copied text can be shared on devices that are logged in to the same Google Account and have Chrome Sync enabled. Text is end-to-end encrypted and Google notes how it can’t see the contents. It began rolling out in October for a “limited number of users” and will be “released to all users in a future version of Chrome.”

Chrome 79 for desktops is available now, with Android and Chrome OS following in the coming weeks.

HP’s newest Spectre x360 13 brings forward its predecessor’s iconic design but in a much smaller package. As important, it appears that HP has fixed a major issue I experienced with the previous generation Spectre x360 13.

Before getting to that, let’s take a look at the most startling change: This 5th-generation Spectre x360 is 13 percent smaller than its predecessor. That doesn’t sound like much, but when you place the new unit on top of the old, you’ll find that the older 4th-generation Spectre x360 13 is almost one inch deeper than the new unit.

Obviously, something had to give. And sure enough, the new Spectre x360 13 sacrifices the stylized speaker grill that sat above the keyboard previously, and the wrist rest is a bit less deep as well. More impressively, HP has finally taken meaningful steps to reduce its previously-ludicrously large bezels on the display lid: The gigantic 25.82 mm bottom bezel on the previous version has been replaced by a much smaller 11.09 mm bottom bezel on the new version, a 57 percent reduction. And the top bezel has shrunk even more impressively, from 17.35 mm to just 5.85 mm, a 66 percent reduction.

Put another way, the previous-generation Spectre x360 13 had an unimpressive 78 percent screen-to-body ratio, but the new version has a 90 percent screen-to-body ratio. It looks great, and it still works as before: The tiny top bezel contains a smaller web camera and IR camera (for Windows Hello) components. HP wasn’t forced to “pull a Dell” and put the cameras below the display.

Beyond this most welcome change, the Spectre x360 13 carries forward with the gem-cut, hard-edged, angular aluminum CNC design of its predecessor. The look is polarizing—you either love it or you don’t, I guess—but it’s also practical. Because of the unusual 45-degree rear corners, HP has found a new and easily discoverable (and memorable) place for the power button, on the left rear corner. And it has placed a USB-C port on the right rear corner; thanks to its angle, an attached power cord won’t get in your way if you wish to use a mouse on the right side of the device. Smart.

For those who are not fans of the angular design, HP has somewhat softened the blow by bringing back a classic silver color option. This is ideal for those who don’t want the flashier color schemes—Nightfall Black with Copper Luxe accents, and Poseidon Blue with Pale Brass accents—that HP also offers. This is a PC that even the most conservative user can embrace.

Like previous HP x360 designs, the new Spectre converts between four usage modes: Traditional laptop, tent, presentation, and tablet. If you’re familiar with my notion of optimizing for the everyday, I feel like this is the right design for most users. Its optimized for the most common usage mode, a laptop, but can easily transform when needed. For example, you can use the included HP Pen to take notes on the display in tablet mode, and its smaller overall size makes it a better fit for that role than previous x360s.

Inside, the new Spectre is powered by 10th-generation Intel Core i5 and i7 quad-core processors with Intel Iris Plus Graphics, 8 to 16 GB of RAM, and 256 to 2 TB of SSD storage, with some models offering an Intel Optane option. The smaller new form factor necessitated a new thermal design, which consists of larger air inlets and outlets, more internal graphite sheeting to disperse heat, and new air inlet holes under the top middle of the keyboard.

Connectivity is likewise impressive: The HP features Wi-Fi 6 and gigabit 4G LTE, with 4×4 antennas and a unique ability to use both simultaneously if desired. It includes Bluetooth 5.0 capabilities as well.

External expansion is acceptable given the PC’s small dimensions. There’s a single full-sized USB 3.1 port on the left, complete with a flip-down half cover, and a combo audio jack.

On the right, you’ll find two USB-C ports—one of which, again, is on the angled back right corner—and a microSD card reader.

The keyboards on HP’s premium PCs are typically excellent, and the Spectre x360 13 appears to continue this trend, with ideal key travel and a comfortable typing experience. One possible concern, of course, is the smaller wrist rest area. I have very large hands, and I’m curious if this will remain comfortable over time. But I suspect that those with more normally-sized mitts will do just fine.

I mentioned upfront that I experienced one serious issue with the Spectre’s predecessor. That was with its trackpad, which proved so unreliable that I scuttled my review of the PC. HP heard the complaints—I wasn’t the only one, obviously—and it provides a precision touchpad in the new version. I assume that will fix the problems.

To compensate for the lack of space on the keyboard deck, HP moved the new Spectre x360’s speakers to the bottom, and in my early tests they sound pretty punchy, especially when the PC is on a hard surface. I’ll compare the sound to that of the previous version and to the new HP Elite Dragonfly, which has particularly good audio.

There are three display options, each of which is glossy: A Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS panel, that same Full HD panel with an integrated privacy screen, and a 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS BrightView panel. The review unit—which includes a Core i7 processor, 8 GB of RAM, and 256 GB of NVMe M.2 SSD storage—is the first of the three, and my personal preference.

On that note, HP rates the battery life at 22 hours, which it says is the longest battery life of any quad-core 13.3-inch consumer convertible PC; web browsing is rated at almost 12 hours, and that’s likely closer to accurate. It can also charge to 50 percent in just 30 minutes.

There are some additional unique touches. Like its predecessor, the new Spectre includes a hardware switch—located on the right side of the device between the microSD card slot and the USB-C port—for toggling the webcam on and off for privacy. But new to the 5th-generation unit is a microphone mute toggle key on the function row of the keyboard.

HP also bundles a few security-oriented software apps on the Spectre—ExpressVPN and LastPass—but I find these additions to be largely superfluous. ExpressVPN is free for one month only, and LastPass is the free version.

Speaking of software, the crapware-laden load-out that HP supplies is not ideal. The taskbar comes with icons for ExpressVPN, a Dropbox promotion, and HP JumpStarts, and the Start menu is cluttered with even more, including two McAfee apps, and a surprisingly long list of HP and Intel applications and utilities. And that’s on top of the nonsense that Microsoft dumps on us all in Windows 10. I thought we had moved past this phase, but I guess not.

Pricing is reasonable for a premium PC of this type: The HP Spectre x360 13 starts at $1099 for a model with a Core i5 processor, 8 GB of RAM, and 256 GB of SSD storage. The review unit retails for $1299, and it includes a Core i7 processor, 8 GB of RAM, and 512 GB of storage. Upgrade to the 4K UHD AMOLED display, 16 GB of RAM, and 1 TB SSD + 32 GB of Intel Optane, and you’re looking at $1699.