Month: October 2020

Intel has quietly rolled out the 10th generation Intel Core i3-10100F processor. HEXUS regulars will already be well aware, from the nomenclature, that this is one of Intel’s processors with a disabled on-board GPU (‘F’ suffix). However, the best feature of the new Intel Core i3-10100F can’t be decoded from the name – it boasts Hyperthreading – as well as a slightly faster boost clock, and double the RAM capacity support, compared to its processor (the Core i3-9100F), at the same price.

The Intel Core i3-10100F processor is part of the Comet Lake-S line of desktop processors built by Intel on a 14nm process. It packs 4C/8T with a base/turbo boost clock of 3.6/4.3GHz, with 6MB of Intel Smart Cache and a 65W TDP. The Core i3-10100F supports up to 128GB of DDR4-2666 RAM in dual channel mode, for a max bandwidth of 41.6GB/s. It isn’t a straight upgrade from the Intel Core i3-9100F as the socket is of course LGA1200 now, rather than LGA1151.

If you want to do an A/B comparison with the Intel Core i3-10100(F) vs the Core i3-9100F processor, you can head on over to this Intel Ark link, which lists specs side by side. However, I think I’ve covered all the key differences above and a truncated version of the table can be seen below.

Such an entry level processor, which lacks on board graphics, is obviously meant to be paired with an appropriate dGPU. You save between US$25 and $45 by choosing this iGPU-less part, so you can put that towards an add-in card. Most are likely to want to spend under $200 on a partner GPU for PC gaming so may have the likes of the GTX 1650 or RX 5500 on their shortlists. Next year one might be able to find a suitable Ampere/Navi2 graphics card to pair with this Comet Lake-S processor to create a balanced system.

Walmart is currently offering up the most affordable 4K monitor (that doubles as TV) on the market – even cheaper than bargain basement Amazon Prime Day displays.

At just $158, the Spectre U425CV-U even undercuts most refurbished displays we’ve seen to date, and this one comes with a full one year warranty. It costs around $14 a year to run and uses a 42.5-inch LED panel, supported by two feet and surrounded by an extremely thin bezel.

Uniquely among ultra cheap televisions and monitors, it sports four (yes four) HDMI inputs, meaning you could connect up to four computers at once, should you fancy such an elaborate setup.

An absurdly cheap deal

There’s also a USB port to connect an external storage device and power smart devices such as an Amazon Fire Stick or Chromecast, plus there’s a VESA mount should you wish to mount it to your wall. 

Its rated contrast ratio of 3000:1, 250cd/m^2 brightness and 60Hz refresh rate won’t set any world records, but should be good enough for most use cases. And it’s also worth noting there are two 10W speakers with ARC support and an SPDIF port.

It doesn’t do split screen – which is unsurprising at this price point – but if you use Windows 10, Snap Assist will achieve almost the same thing.

Spreadsheet users, professionals and multitaskers will love the massive real estate, which is equivalent to four 21.5-inch full HD monitors.

Samsung hopes to change everyone’s mind with the Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G, the successor to its seminal foldable. This time, Samsung’s ditched much of what made the first Fold meh, like the dinky front display and the dodgy side-notches, and smartened up the design.

Good start, yes. But this is a £1,799 phone, so saying it has to be good is an understatement. To get a recommendation for anyone without a huge amount of disposable income, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 has to be near-perfect. So, is it?

DESIGN AND SCREEN: FOLD EVERYTHING

Combining a 6.23-inch cover display with an 816 x 2260 resolution, the Fold 2 is an instant improvement. The front screen is tall with a 25:9 aspect ratio, so almost as novel as the inner screen. While it doesn’t have a nippy refresh rate, it is punchy, packing Super AMOLED tech.

Clasp the top half of the Fold 2 5G with one hand, the bottom half with another, ease the phone open, and as you engage the smooth hinge mechanism, the magic happens – a big, bright, bold, notch-free tab gloriously presents itself.

The updated inner screen is slightly recessed for protection, and clocks in at a high-impact 7.6 inches with an almost square shape. Packing a resolution of 1768 x 2208 (373 pixels in every inch), it’s sharp too, and with HDR10+ support and a 120Hz refresh rate, every swipe and tap is seriously special.

Yes – there’s a crease. Unlike the Motorola RAZR 5G, Samsung’s flexible display doesn’t curl inwards when folded, so you see a visible line down the middle when viewed off-angle. You get used to it, but it’s definitely worth noting. Another point: the inner screen is plastic, flexible, and susceptible to damage when knocked – a given with all foldables. As a package, though, it feels more secure than its predecessor, the Huawei Mate Xs and the Motorola RAZR 5G.

Unfolded, the Z Fold 2 is a svelte 6.9 mm thin. Folded, that number more than doubles, making it one of the chunkiest phones around at 16.8 mm. Skinny jeans are out of the question, but that doesn’t mean the Fold 2 doesn’t look stunning – clever distraction technique Samsung.

With a similar matte glass finish to that of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G, it keeps fingerprints at bay, catches the light in a demure, diffuse way, and proudly shows off the buffed hinge, which sports a subtle Samsung insignia etched in its metal spine. The fingerprint scanner is in the power button, there’s a USB-port at the base, and the top and bottom of the phone are bookended by stereo speakers.

The design highlight has got to be just how well the hinge mechanism locks in place throughout its range of motion. Set it half-open, Nokia Communicator style (remember those?), and it balances itself up like a mini laptop – oh so satisfying.

CAMERAS: FOLD FAITHFUL

You won’t find the 108MP resolution the S20 Ultra packs here. Instead, you get three traditional 12MP cameras. The primary camera has an f/1.8 aperture and the biggest sensor of the bunch. Alongside it, there’s an ultrawide camera and a 2x zoom equivalent telephoto camera. The primary and telephoto cameras sport OIS and phase detection autofocus.

Samsung’s shooting modes are comprehensive, with AI photography detecting the scene you’re in and optimising snaps accordingly. There’s a handy Pro mode too, as well as the Single Take mode introduced on the S20 series, which makes a suite of almost perfect content to distribute across your TikGrams and InstaToks.

Photos taken on the Fold 2 5G have Samsung’s trademark punch to them, clearly sharpened with contrast boosted, but they don’t look bad. Across lighting conditions, your camera time will be helped along by a decent night mode that helps zap grain, but it falls way behind that of the Huawei P40 Pro and Google Pixel 4.

The Fold 2 5G shoots up to 4K resolution video at 60fps, and supports Pro Video capture, so you can get manual with your moving images too. The most exciting thing about the camera experience is using the gorgeous tablet screen as a viewfinder – maximum novelty-factor. Using the Z Fold 2 half-folded as its own ‘tripod’ is also fun and handy.

Not content with one selfie camera, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G packs in two, one on the front and another inside. They both shoot 4K resolution video at 60fps, making them exceptional on-paper, and very good in the flesh.

SOFTWARE: NOT QUITE FLEXIBLE ENOUGH

Samsung’s had to get heavy-handed with its customisations to make Android 10 play nicely with a folding form-factor, and there are both wins and woes here.

Many apps seamlessly transition from the external screen to a tablet view when the Fold 2 5G is opened up, but not all. To access them in a different view, they need to be force closed and reopened.

You can multitask across up to four apps simultaneously on the tablet – a bit much, but still cool. That said, when you close the Fold 2 and open it again, you’ve lost your carefully orchestrated layout. Again, annoying.

Then there’s the core UI. When in the camera app, if you half-open the Fold, the interface reorients to beautifully occupy the two halves of the screen optimally. Go back to the home screen, however, and you’re forced into portrait mode.

The orientation can be changed in the settings, however, even when corrected for, it doesn’t beautifully divide the display as per the camera app, so you lose elements in the crease. This lack of TLC given to using the Fold in its ‘laptop’ orientation is a massively missed trick from an ‘ooooh’ and ‘ahhhh’ point of view.

Thankfully, Google Play Store access means lots of apps, Samsung’s UI optimisation coupled with the 120Hz screen means smooth interaction, and the fact the Galaxy Z Fold 2 doesn’t sport an Exynos processor means decent heat management.

PERFORMANCE AND BATTERY LIFE: 22-CARAT FOLD

What you do get from the Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G, however, is beautifully nippy performance. Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ paired with 12GB RAM, it’s one of the most powerful Android phones money can buy right now. You’re paying for it with that £1,799 price tag, but the internals make the Fold 2 5G much easier to stomach than the midrange-powered Motorola RAZR 5G (£1,399).

Gaming is a treat on the Fold, with the stereo speakers booming, both displays shining brightly and the power under the hood able to keep framerates up and lag down. After an hour of playing Genshin Impact, the phone warmed up, though not uncomfortably so. Unlike most Samsung phones, there’s no microSD card slot here, though the 256GB starting capacity should suffice for most.

Finally, the 4500mAh battery lasts a full day very easily. You’ll get great mileage from it if you mainly use the front screen, which is entirely doable now it isn’t awful. Sorry original Fold. Open it up a bit more often and by 8pm 10-15 per cent should be left in the tank if you’re anything like us; whatsapping, watching, and gaming a bit too.

Another highlight – the Fold sports 25W fast charging and 11W fast wireless charging (plus 4.5W reverse wireless charging).

SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FOLD 2 5G VERDICT

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G is a glimmer of hope that foldable phones can be excellent. It isn’t the best camera phone around, nor does it charge the fastest – but who cares? It folds and doesn’t do anything badly.

Everything the Z Fold 2 does, it does at least well. It’s reassuring (glorious-looking) design delights every time you look at it, and the masterful hinge makes the two-in-one functionality we’ve been craving a reality. A handsome front-display only adds to the utility and enjoyment the phone delivers.

At £1,799 for the 256GB storage version, it doesn’t matter how good it is; the Galaxy Z Fold 2 won’t appeal to most people. Nevertheless, the annals of technology history will remember the Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 as the first foldable that was great – all-fold, no caveats.

The final frontier for Razer in the PC space is to offer actual components, having already tackled keyboards, mice, headsets, controllers, and a range of other products (even toasters). Taking a step in that direction, Razer intends to sell a line of AM4 motherboards for AMD’s Ryzen processors.

This was one of the many announcements at its inaugural RazerCon event over the weekend. It is also part of a bigger play to RGB all the things, as it has been doing. And it ties in with its Chroma Connect program consisting of over 50 third-party hardware partners, including new additions WD Black, Seagate Gaming, Yeelight, and Twinkly.

Razer’s goal is to expand its Chroma RGB lighting ecosystem far beyond its own peripherals. And so “to help natively control the growing list of connectable devices,” Razer announced it is partnering with ASRock to bring the first Razer Edition motherboards to market.

These will basically be custom versions of ASRock’s Taichi boards. Razer plans to launch multiple models, all based on AMD’s X570 and B550 chipsets, at least initially. The company did not say if it intends to offer Intel compatible motherboards at some point.

“The boards are the first of their kind, offering native Razer Chroma RGB support and universal compatibility with thousands of addressable RGB (ARGB) components. DIY PC builders with multiple ARGB components can now easily sync every component with their Razer peripherals with just the Razer Synapse 3 app,” Razer says.

Razer’s timing comes on the heels of AMD announcing its Ryzen 5000 series CPUs (Zen 3), which are set to debut to retail next month. In anticipation, motherboard makers have already started pushing out BIOS updates to ensure compatibility with their 500-series boards.

In any event, if you’re a die hard Razer fan, you could stick this into a Razer case, kick back on your Razer Iskur gaming chair, and tell everyone about your setup by speaking into your Razer Seiren Mini microphone that is plopped next to your Razer Sneki Snek plushie.

Twitter user @itsExtreme_ (Aaron) reported that a Microsoft Surface Book saved his life by taking a stray bullet a tenant shot from the floor below. Aaron tweeted an image of his Surface Book after the incident. The convertible laptop was definitely worse for wear, with the bullet having penetrated the display and the mousepad. 

Unsurprisingly, the device no longer works. However, @itsExtreme_ has reached out to Microsoft support about the possibility of getting his laptop serviced or replaced. Considering the attention the original tweet received on Twitter, it will be interesting to see how Microsoft responds. 

The Microsoft Surface Book (and indeed, the rest of the Surface lineup) has received considerable praise for its high build quality, with a tight hinge mechanism and a magnesium alloy chassis. While the convertible laptop was certainly not designed to stop bullets, Microsoft’s impeccable build quality is clearly on display. We’re not sure if bullet resistance will be enough to sway MacBook Pro fans, though.