Month: November 2020

Gigabyte is making a splash with the new water-cooled GeForce RTX 3080 design, now entering the maelstrom of custom Ampere graphics cards being swiftly swept away by the tide. The new Aorus Xtreme Waterforce WBs (noted by Computerbase) is overclocked by 8 percent, meaning it’ll be throwing up boosts clocks of 1,845MHz, and it’ll do so in a full-cover, water-cooled wet suit with impeccable cyberpunk style.

Gigabyte also claims more efficient heat dissipation thanks to the “shortened distance between the water channel and the GPU”, and the broad copper base plate covers the whole surface of the water channels. So it should (in theory) be pretty darn effective. As for connectivity, we’re looking at three DisplayPort 1.4a, two HDMI 2.1, and a single HDMI 2.0, so you can run your 4K displays at 120Hz or 8K at 60Hz.

There are a host of alternative water-cooling solutions available as separate units for the RTX 3080 and 3090 already, such as the EK-Quantum Vector, but there are some real benefits of investing in a GPU with a pre-installed water block. You could save a bunch of time and effort, and pre-installed water cooling means relief from the stress of self-assembly and the possibility of voiding your GPU warranty by jamming a water block into it. Just ask our Jacob who bled for his custom water-cooled PC build.

Black Friday 2020 deals: the place to go for the all the best Black Friday bargains.

Really, though, from a value for money perspective, pre-installed water blocks may not be the most cost effective solutions available.

That said, the Aorus Xtreme Waterforce WB 10G looks the absolute bomb with its subtle RGB LEDs and cyberpunk look, and it should integrate easily into existing water cooling systems by way of two G1/4-inch thread connections. It also features all important leak detection, complete with flashing warning lights, in case you somehow manage to get the install wrong.

If you’re worried about such cockups, according to the product page, the GPU comes with a four year warranty, but there’s not a wisp of info about pricing. With the Aorus Waterforce cooled versions of the previous gen RTX 2080 Ti GPUs coming in at $150 above the MSRP, we’re expecting the Aorus Xtreme Waterforce RTX 3080 WB cards to be something in the region of $850. 

But that remains to be seen, and good luck getting your hands on one!

G.Skill has announced two brand new kits of extreme low-latency DDR4-3600 memory—a 32GB kit smack bang in the sweet spot for gaming and a 64GB kit for memory-heavy applications, such as content creation.

The new low-latency memory kits will be rated to CL14-15-15-35, which matches the Team Extreem ARGB C14 kits currently sitting atop of our best RAM for gaming guide. G.Skill will be offering its extreme low-latency kits under its Trident X Neo, Trident Z Royal, Trident Z RGB, and Ripjaws V series—plenty of options from bling to bare. 

All kits are built using Samsung B-Die chips, a fan favourite for overclocking.

Fitting the criteria for AMD Ryzen Zen 2 perfectly, the new kits from G.Skill will be a dab hand for AMD Ryzen builds. As you can see in Chris Szewczyk’s performance testing across multiple RAM speeds, a heady mix of both frequency and low latency offers the most consistently high performance in a range of games.

The new AMD Ryzen 5000 processors are reportedly going to run at their best at 4,000MHz (effective) but there’s unlikely to be much in it between that and a low-latency 3,600MHz kit. Similarly, Intel systems don’t care quite as much for memory speed and latency, but even so low-latency kits often outperform those with 1GHz+ higher frequencies.

A 16GB kit is currently the go-to choice for gaming PCs, but if you want to keep your PC a little ahead of the game, it’s a good time to pick up a 32GB kit as they’re often going for as little as 16GB kits were just a year back. The higher capacity will ensure you’re more than equipped for future games and memory hogs, and it’s really satisfying to fill all four motherboard memory slots.

Apple Inc.’s 15-year relationship with Intel Corp. will officially begin to unwind next week when new Mac computers are revealed.

The Cupertino, California-based technology giant said on Monday that it will hold an online event dubbed “One more thing” on Nov. 10. That “thing” will be Macs with main processors designed by Apple for the first time, replacing Intel chips that have been a mainstay since 2006. An Apple spokesman declined to comment.

Apple and overseas suppliers are ramping up production of three Mac laptops with Apple processors: new 13-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros and a new 13-inch MacBook Air, according to people familiar with the matter. Foxconn, known also as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., is assembling the two smaller laptops, while Quanta Computer Inc. is building the larger MacBook Pro. The smaller models are further ahead in production and at least those two laptops will be shown at next week’s event. Beyond the processor switch, the devices won’t have significant design changes.

Apple has less than 10% of the market for personal computers, so the direct impact on Intel sales may be limited. However, the change highlights a crisis engulfing the world’s largest chipmaker. It has delayed a new manufacturing process, giving rivals a chance to catch up. These problems are at least partly behind Apple’s decision to move to in-house chips, although the company has been steadily shifting to this approach for years.

The partnership between Apple and Intel started in 2005, when Steve Jobs outlined a move away from PowerPC processors. Intel helped Apple catch up to Windows computers, some of which were more powerful at the time. In tandem, though, Apple was working on more energy-efficient chips for mobile devices based on Arm Ltd. designs and continues to use those to power the iPhone and iPad.

On Apple’s recent earnings call, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook hinted at the Mac launch by saying, “without giving away too much, I can tell you that this year has a few more exciting things in store.” The company generated a record $9 billion in revenue from the Mac in its fiscal fourth quarter.

The first Mac processors from Apple will be based on the A14 chip found in the latest iPhones and iPad Air, and tests inside Apple indicate improved power efficiency over the Intel parts they are replacing. The new machines will also have Apple-designed graphics and machine-learning processors.

Apple said in June that the transition away from Intel chips will take two years. After updating its laptop line, Apple will still have until 2022 to update desktop computers — the iMac, iMac Pro, Mac Pro and Mac mini — with its own processors.

The company is already at work on a redesigned iMac, the company’s all-in-one desktop, and a new Mac Pro model, Apple’s highest-end desktop, other people familiar with the company’s plans said.

Apple engineers are currently developing a new Mac Pro that looks like the current design at about half the size. It’s unclear if that Mac will replace the current Mac Pro or if it’s an additional model. Apple’s chip designs could help the company reduce the size of its computers due to increased power efficiency, but the current Mac Pro is large, in part, to fit components like additional storage drives and graphics chips.

Apple’s test Mac for developers to write apps for the new processors is a Mac mini with an iPad Pro processor, but the company will still need to roll out a proper update to that model with a Mac-specific chip. The new Macs require macOS Big Sur, a redesigned Mac operating system that makes the software more like iPhones and iPads.

When announcing the transition in June, Apple said the move would provide a common architecture across all of its devices. That means future iPhones, Macs, iPads and Apple Watches will run a variation of the same chip. That will allow devices to work together better and let iPhone apps run natively on Macs for the first time.

Bloomberg first reported on the transition away from Intel in 2018 and again in April. The new Macs will mark Apple’s third major product release this fall. In September, the company announced new Apple Watches and iPads. The iPhone 12 and HomePod mini lines debuted in October.

The world of smartphone design is starting to get pretty wild, with manufacturers looking to deviate from the the candy bar form factor thanks to new tech like flexible panels and under screen cameras.

LG, however, is setting itself apart from the foldable devices that are becoming the new standard with its Project B handset, set to sport a rollable display and following in the footsteps of its uniquely designed swivel smartphone, the LG Wing. 

LG has been working on a rollable display for a while, and we initially heard about its Project B smartphone last November, with its extendable screen, as opposed to flexible, foldable display like the Galaxy Z Fold 2, or Galaxy Z Flip.

Now, LetsGoDigital reports, the company has been awarded a patent for a device with the retractable display.

At first glance, the handset looks like a standard smartphone, but the frame can be pulled out to both the left and the right to double the screen real estate. This is achieved thanks to an inner, flexible frame that slides out of the device’s metal housing. 

The design has some advantage over foldable phones on the market now, with the biggest one being the absence of a hinge or crease; a panel with a fold in it will see the crease put under strain, potentially affecting the structural integrity of the display. 

What’s more, the rollable can adapt to how the smartphone is being used – in much the same way as the LG Wing. In landscape mode, for example, expanding the screen while playing a video or streaming music could reveal the controls so that your viewing remains uninterrupted. There’s also the option of multitasking with a split-screen mode.

LG is reportedly skipping straight over the foldable trend, and is looking to launch its rollable smartphone in March, 2021 according to Neowin. It’s possible that the handset will only be extendable on one side, as opposed to both as depicted in the patent, but it’s a radical concept and we’re intrigued to see a company bucking the foldable trend to try something new.