Month: November 2020

EVGA is not letting a little thing like a shortfall of GPUs (compared to demand) stop it from launching more cards around those very GPUs that are proving so elusive. Just the opposite, EVGA has launched a combined eight new liquid cooled GeForce RTX 3090 and 3080 graphics cards, plus a couple of do-it-yourself kits for those who already managed to score certain EVGA models.

Like every other 3090 and 3080 on the planet, these new models are out of stock. So they have launched in the sense that EVGA has unveiled them and erected products pages, with pricing information.

The eight new models are split evenly between Hydro Copper variants that slot into custom liquid cooling loops, and Hybrid series cards that have an all-in-one liquid cooler attached.

Here’s how the pricing shakes out:

GeForce RTX 3090 FTW3 Ultra Hydro Copper—$1,850

GeForce RTX 3090 FTW3 Ultra Hybrid Gaming—$1,800

GeForce RTX 3090 XC3 Ultra Hydro Copper—$1,650

GeForce RTX 3090 XC3 Ultra Hybrid Gaming—$1,620

GeForce RTX 3080 FTW3 Ultra Hydro Copper—$850

GeForce RTX 3080 FTW3 Ultra Hybrid Gaming—$820

GeForce RTX 3080 XC3 Ultra Hydro Copper—$810

GeForce RTX 3080 XC3 Ultra Hybrid Gaming—$780

For reference, the 3090 Founders Edition runs $1,500 and the 3080 Founders Edition costs $700. So for the 3090, you’re looking at a $120+ premium for the Hybrid models and $150+ for the Hydro Copper versions, and $80+ and $110+ for the 3080 in Hybrid and Hydro Copper form, respectively.

That’s not too bad, if you’re interested in liquid cooling. EVGA is also offering a couple of DIY Hybrid kits. One is compatible with both 3090 and 3080 FTW3 cards and costs $120, and the other fits EVGA’s 3090 and 3080 XC3 models, and costs $110.

The Hydro Copper models sport full-coverage water blocks. A nickel-plated copper block makes contact with all the important parts, those being the GPU, memory, and VRM. According to EVGA, the 3090 versions sees a 27 percent reduction in GPU temps compared to a standard air cooler, and a 33 percent reduction in memory temps. And for the Hybrid model, EVGA claims GPU temps improve by 21.6 percent and memory temps drop by 11 percent.

Not that any of this really matters, since Nvidia’s RTX 30 series flies off store shelves just as fast as vendors can stock them. That said, EVGA has adopted a queue-based ordering system. All you have to do is sign up to be notified when a specific card is in stock, which essentially puts you in line. When it’s your turn, you’ll have eight hours to place your order. It’s as fair of a system as I can think of.

iPhone users have discovered a ‘mind-blowing’ trick to save time when taking a screenshot.

The little-known hack involves changing the settings to allow screen grabs to be taken quickly by simply double tapping the back of the phone. 

But the setting is only available on iPhone X and above with iOS 14.

The feature was revealed on both Facebook and TikTok where thousands raved about the new find. 

To activate the feature, click on ‘accessibility’ in settings followed by ‘touch’ before turning on the ‘back tap’ button.

Once the double or triple tap has been selected, click on the ‘screenshot’ option to complete the activation.

While the setting may seem beneficial, some iPhone users weren’t convinced. 

‘It’s all fun and games until you accidentally take 50 screenshots in one day,’ one person said on Facebook. 

‘I had it on and it’s that sensitive that it took a screenshot randomly,’ another said. 

iPhone users have also discovered other distinctive features to make the most out of the device, including how to sign documents on the go, how to swipe and delete the last digit in the calculator as well as a built-in tape measure.

iPhone tricks that will enable you to get the most out of your device

Spotlight math: Instead of using the Calculator app, simply swipe down on your screen to open Spotlight and type in the math problem right there

Reachability: If you double touch, (not tap), the home button twice, it brings the entire screen down. By bringing the screen down, it allows your fingers can touch manoeuvre the phone without reaching

Say goodbye to pop-ups: The iPhone allows you to disable in-app pop-ups for ratings and reviews and frustrating feedback requests. It’s as easy as one two three: Settings, iTunes and App Store, turn off In-App Ratings and Reviews – that’s all

Windows 10 users may soon be targeted by a barrage of full-screen adverts unless they ditch Google Chrome and switch to Microsoft’s Edge browser instead. It’s no secret that Microsoft wants more Windows users to move over to its internet-browsing software but this latest drive could be its most aggressive to date.

According to the team at Windows Latest, it appears that Microsoft could be planning to target Chrome users with adverts. That may not sound like anything new except this time, in a bid to make sure you don’t miss it, the message could take over the whole screen.

These adverts are aimed at tempting Chrome fans into changing their default browser to the Redmond firm’s latest version of Edge. Windows Latest says these annoying alerts will pop up when setting up a PC for the first time or after installing major Windows 10 updates.

Once you switch to Edge it seems the adverts then stop filling up your screen.

It’s unclear how successful this new campaign will be but Microsoft’s previous attempts at getting users to switch certainly appears to be working.

The very latest stats from NetMarketShare show that Edge is now being used by 10 percent of all web users across the globe.

That puts Edge firmly in second place with it now beating Mozilla’s Firefox and Apple’s Safari.

Of course, Edge is still far behind Chrome’s 69.25 percent share of the worldwide browser market but storming into second place is a sizeable achievement for a web browser that is less than a year old.

This software has almost doubled its user base since last year and this new campaign could boost those numbers even further.

Edge is now the default option in Windows 10 which will certainly be helping to increase those numbers but another reason people are choosing this software could be due to Microsoft’s decision to switch Edge to a Chromium-based application earlier this year.

For those who haven’t been following the changes to Edge, Microsoft made a huge gamble by transitioning the app onto the same open-source Chromium codebase used by Google for its Chrome browser.

It was clearly a good decision with users liking the clean interface and ease of use and improved battery life.

Samsung’s battery-centric Galaxy M12 phone might just exist as more than rumors and an empty case. OnLeaks and Voice have posted what they say are accurate design renders for the M12, indicating just what will house that claimed 7,000mAh battery.

The leak appears to corroborate reports that it’s a no-frills design with a plastic unibody back, a flat 6.5-inch screen, a fingerprint sensor in the power button and a teardrop notch for the selfie camera. A two-tone finish helps distinguish the M12 from the Galaxy A42 5G. The standout is a quad rear camera array, although we wouldn’t expect it to rival better camera phones.

In other words, Samsung would pitch the Galaxy M12 based on its longevity rather than its style. Not that buyers are likely to complain, if reports are accurate. A 7,000mAh battery would let Samsung’s phone run for days on a charge. That could be crucial in countries with unreliable power, not to mention anyone camping or otherwise expecting to unplug for long periods.

It’s not certain what kind of performance the device would offer. The Galaxy M series is aimed squarely at budget users, though, and the M11 was a modest phone with a Snapdragon 450, three cameras and a 5,000mAh battery.

Samsung is reportedly on track to launch the Galaxy M12 sometime in early 2021. It wouldn’t be your only option for a phone with a giant battery pack, including from Samsung — the Galaxy F41 already has a 6,000mAh battery. The added capacity could give the M12 an edge in a crowded field, though, and it may undercut the prices of some competitors in the process.

We all know the glory of an extravagant gaming rig – the lights, the tubing, the sheer unadulterated power. And you probably already know that building a PC yourself is cheaper than buying a pre-built gaming PC. But that’s not all that makes a hand-crafted rig so special. Those of you with an affinity for all things that buzz and whirr, from ginormous Nvidia RTX 3080 cards to dinky NVMe SSDs, should know there’s nothing quite like putting all the pieces together with your own hands.

But let’s go back in time for a moment. During the 1980s the world experienced the home computer boom. No longer were computers the sole property of gaudy science labs on TV – now you could get your very own VIC-20 or Commodore 64 and do your own clickety-clacking into a terminal screen from home. And at the same time, Hollywood gave us a glimpse of the technical wizardry that could now be cast from anyone’s fingertips. 

Hacker movies presented stunning multi-monitor setups with scrolling green code and more beeps and boops than could have possibly been necessary, the product of some lone genius’ hardware tinkering. The eyes of every young techie lit up as they realised this magic could be performed in their own homes, by their own hands. All it took was a little know-how and a willingness to get down and dirty with their hardware and software, and they could brave unknown virtual territories to the awe of all who had the honour of witnessing it.

Fast-forward to today, and there’s more technology crammed into a coin-sized CPU than there was in thousands of those chunky C64s put together. Throw in some RGB lighting, sleek hardware design, and a streamlined building process, and you have the makings of what your non-techy friends will probably think of as downright wizardry.

But it really isn’t as hard as it might seem to build your own PC. Over the years, PC parts have become so incredibly modular, and PC building so systematic, that the old saying, ‘LEGO for adults’, while a bit of an exaggeration, isn’t actually too far from the truth. So here we have one serious advantage of building a gaming PC yourself: you get to feel like an ’80s Hollywood hacker while actually engaging in glorified LEGO building—win-win.

On the other hand, it’s not really LEGO, is it? And, in fact, maybe by building a gaming PC you’re more of a tech wizard than you give yourself credit for. 

First of all, you’re not just building a computer. You’re also figuring out which parts to buy that will fit together and fulfil your own specific gaming needs. Do you need PCIe 4.0, or is PCIe 3.0 just fine? An NVMe SSD, or SATA drive? And how much wattage do you really need from your power supply? The list goes on.

It’s not that figuring this stuff out is difficult, it’s just that it takes a bit of diligence. And once you give the process some diligence you come out the other end with a rather substantial body of knowledge.

But it’s not just about being able to impress your friends with the million-and-one hardware acronyms you’ve learnt, it’s also about the hard skills developed during the process. Installing a CPU is easy on paper, but a skilled hand makes the whole process much less risky. The seasoned PC builder’s hand is far less likely to bend processor pins or spill thermal paste.

Developing these seasoned hands is incredibly useful throughout your gaming PC’s lifetime. It’s quite likely that, at some point, you’ll want to reapply some thermal paste, or upgrade your RAM or graphics card. If you’ve built your PC yourself, this won’t feel so much like stepping into uncharted territories as it will revisiting familiar ones.

So, at the end of this building process, not only will you be able to show off to your friends and family, you’ll also feel secure in the knowledge that you have a solid understanding of how your PC works, and can fix it or upgrade it at the drop of a hat. 

But perhaps more importantly, you’ll get to press that power button for the first time and watch your own little Frankenstein’s monster come to life, and feel the satisfaction of knowing that all those components you spent so much time with are now doing the work you set for them. 

Anyone who has built a gaming PC themselves knows there’s nothing quite like this feeling. Forget how much cheaper building a PC yourself is, this feeling is priceless.