Category: Article

This is a continuation of our GeForce RTX 30 series ‘stability issues’ coverage.

ASUS quietly changes RTX 3080 photos as well

We have just reported that MSI has updated the photos on their website for RTX 3080 series (GAMING X TRIO and VENTUS) featuring a new PCB design. It seems that ASUS has done the exact same thing. There is however a small difference between both manufacturers.

Unlike MSI, ASUS delayed the launch of its ROG STRIX models, likely to deliver updated designs to the reviewers. Unfortunately for ASUS and fortunately for you guys, we have a very large database of graphics cards, which is usually updated as soon as new cards are released.

Now this story is based on something that we didn’t even notice ourselves. We received this information as a tip. As it turns out ASUS also had a different PCB design before the cards were seeded to reviewers and to distributors. The manufacturer first uploaded photographs showing full SP-CAP configuration, the full MLCC design was released later. That said, ASUS must have been one of the first manufacturers to change the design before the news first broke at ComputerBase (that was the first report on a possible problem).

This article is not about the reported issue itself, but about design modifications by the AIBs. Please remember, our job is to provide news and keep consumers updated with all developments on this topic. Whether the design change was dictated by the stability issues, we don’t know yet. Neither ASUS nor NVIDIA have made public statements, although multiple vendors have already issued theirs.

Below we attached old photographs uploaded by ASUS (which we had archived in our database) compared with the new ones.

ChromeOS users are reporting that a new series of updates which cause a Google Play Store service to utilize 100 percent of their CPUs is making their devices hot and leading to performance issues.

As reported by BleepingComputer, after upgrading their devices to ChromeOS version 85.0.4183.108 and later users have faced a number of issues including apps that are running erratically, devices getting hot, fans running at high speed and batteries draining much too quickly.

Upon investigating these issues further, users discovered that they were caused by the Google Play ‘com.android.vending:download_service’ utilizing 95 to 100 percent of their devices CPU for an extended period. 

This service is used to download new updates from the Google Play Store when they become available. However, a bug in the service causes the CPU to run at 100 percent power all of the time even when a new update is not available.

ChromeOS update issues

The bug found in the Google Play store service does not affect all Chromebooks though users of Acer Chromebooks, the ASUS Chromebook Flip and Galaxy Chromebooks have reported experiencing problems after updating their devices.

Users have come up with their own ways to resolve this issue from killing the com.android.vending:download_service process in the Chrome Task Manager to rolling back to an older Google Play Store version.

Google is now aware of this issue and one of the company’s engineer explained in a bug report that it is being caused by missing files in ChromeOS.

The issue will likely be patched in an upcoming update but for now, users can try disabling the service process in the Chrome Task Manager though this hasn’t worked for all users or rolling back to an older version of the Play Store.

We’re just a few weeks away from AMD’s RDNA 2 launch event, but full specifications for its first Radeon RX 6000-series cards may have already surfaced online. 

As part of its latest buying guide, Newegg Insider – a company blog listed on the US retailer’s front page – has listed the alleged specifications for AMD’s Radeon RX 6000 Series graphics cards. 

While these specs should be taken with a pinch of salt, they suggest that AMD is prepping three GPUs for its October 28 launch event – the RX 6700 XT, Radeon RX 6800 XT, and Radeon RX 6900 XT.

The latter, Newegg Insider claims, will be the highest-spec of the three GPUs with 5,120 Streaming Processors (SPs), 16GB of GDDR6 memory across a 256-bit memory bus, and memory bandwidth of 512Gbps. 

The Radeon RX 6800 XT will allegedly feature 3,840 SPs, 12GB of GDDR6 memory and 385Gbps of max memory bandwidth, according to the blog, while the Radeon RX 6700 XT will reportedly back 2,560SPs, 6GB of GDDR6 memory – 2GB less than the Radeon RX 5700 XT. 

This isn’t the only thing that casts doubt over the Newegg Insider report. It also suggests that all three of AMD’s RDNA 2-based graphics cards will come with a base clock of 1,500MHz, which seems unlikely. For example, a recent macOS firmware leak, covered by Videocardz, suggested that RDNA 2 GPUs will feature clock speeds between 2050 to 2500 MHz

The Newegg report also suggests that the Radeon RX 6900 XT, RX 6800 XT and RX 6700 XT will sport TDP ratings of 300W, 200W, and 150W, respectively.

While the accuracy of this latest leak remains unclear, it won’t be long until we find out what AMD’s Radeon RX 6000 graphics cards have in store. The firm is expected to officially launch the cards at an event on October 28. 

And with A520, these should not be expensive. Meet the A520I AC and A520M S2H. Two motherboard models that use the AMD A520 chipset have been released. Sales will start on October 2nd (Friday).

The “A520I AC” is a Mini-ITX motherboard equipped with a direct 4 + 2 phase digital power supply circuit that uses 55A DrMOS and an 8-layer PCB. In addition to Realtek 8118 Gigabit LAN, the network is equipped with IEEE 802.11ac / a / b / g / n wireless LAN + Bluetooth 4.2 as standard equipment. The main specifications are DDR4-5300 x 2 memory (maximum 64GB), storage SATA3.0 (6Gbsp) x4, M.2 2280 x 1. The expansion slot is PCI-Express3.0 (x16) x1, and the display output is equipped with DisplayPort x1 and HDMI x2.

The “A520M S2H” is a MicroATX motherboard equipped with a 4 + 3 phase digital power supply circuit. The network is equipped with Realtek 8118 Gigabit LAN as standard equipment. The main specifications are DDR4-5100 x 2 memory (maximum 64GB), storage SATA3.0 (6Gbsp) x4, M.2 2280 x 1. The expansion slot is PCI-Express3.0 (x16) x1, PCI-Express3.0 (x1) x2, and the display output is equipped with HDMIx1, DVIx1, and D-Subx1.

For those hunting the best gaming monitor, the feature list is obviously a top priority. You’ll need a fast refresh rate and Adaptive-Sync for sure. HDR and extended color would be nice too, and how about some zooty styling and cool RGB? An ultra-wide curved screen can sound cool too. But when you actually have to open your wallet, suddenly value rises to the top of the must-haves list. What does a monitor need to have to be adequate for gaming? Is there an inexpensive monitor that is more than merely competent?

Today, we’ll be trying to answer that question with a review of the Pixio PX247. It wasn’t too long ago that any IPS panel carried a price premium. Now , their prices range widely. The PX247 is a 24-inch IPS display with a 144 Hz refresh rate, AMD FreeSync and nothing more. But as I write this, it’s selling for a mere $170.

Specifications

There are plenty of things missing from the PX247 that other gaming monitors offer, such as HDR, extended color, aiming points and fancy RGB. But these features are part of the Would Be Nice List. Does one really need HDR and extended color? The PX247 delivers just what’s needed for gaming with a native 144 Hz refresh rate and FreeSync for fighting screen tearing.

Since FreeSync bottoms at 48 Hz, low framerate compensation can take over to keep frame tears at bay. And since the PX247 has 1080p resolution, you won’t often see speeds below 60 frames per second (fps), even without the best graphics card. A card costing about the same at this Pixio ($170 currently) can keep the action moving smoothly. And although it hasn’t been certified by Nvidia, we got G-Sync to run on it (to see how, check out our How to Run G-Sync on a FreeSync Monitor article).

The PX247 certainly seems to have the goods on paper. It’s a no-frills monitor that has just what’s needed and nothing more.

Assembly and Accessories 

The PX247 arrives in a carton barely larger than a briefcase. Its contents are well-protected by flexible non-crumbly foam, so there seems little chance of shipping damage. 

You’ll need a Phillips-head screwdriver on hand to bolt the panel, upright and base together using the included hardware. A small trim piece in the back covers up the screws once installed. If you prefer a different mounting solution, there’s a 75mm VESA lug pattern, though you’ll need to source your own bolts. 

The only bundled cable is DisplayPort, while the power supply is a small wall-wart.

Product 360 

The PX247 has a simple design that makes no attempt at game-oriented styling. It could be called a sleeper because one would never know that it houses a 144 Hz refresh rate or Adaptive-Sync. 

The front has an almost-flush bezel that’s around 11mm wide on the top and sides and 17mm wide at the bottom. At right are small icons indicating the four control keys and the power toggle. The stand offers only a 5/25-degree tilt adjustment. Though the parts look thin, the base and upright are solid metal and fairly solid. Our only complaint is that the panel sits quite low on the desktop. A pedestal would be a simple solution to this issue.

The side profile shows a thin/thick design where the upper two-thirds are just 8mm deep. The bottom bulge houses all internal components and is 32mm thick. If you use a monitor arm or bracket, it attaches at the bottom point. The panel’s back is metal in the thin section and acts as a natural heatsink.

Video inputs are at the bottom and face rearward. You get one each of HDMI 1.4 (limited to 120 Hz) and DisplayPort 1.2 (144 Hz with FreeSync or unofficial G-Sync). The PX247 also has a 3.5mm headphone jack, which you’ll want to use because the built-in speakers are extremely quiet and tinny.

OSD Features 

The OSD is simple but includes everything needed for gaming and for calibration. It’s divided into six sub-menus and navigated with the tiny buttons below the front bezel. 

The Display Setup menu has luminance controls and four available picture modes. Standard is the default and the only one that allows full adjustment. There’s an aggressive dynamic contrast option that causes some clipping of highlight and shadow detail. A well-implemented overdrive works best on its middle setting and eliminates motion blur almost entirely with no visible ghosting. It works seamlessly with Adaptive-Sync. 

The Color Setup menu has three preset color temps, plus a user option with RGB sliders. If you want the easiest road to accurate color, choose the Warm option. The default, Normal, is much too cool in tone. There are no gamma presets, which is unfortunate since gamma, while reasonably linear, is a little light in tone. A Low Blue Light slider adjusts the white point for easier reading, and Black Equalizer can help gamers see into deep shadows better by raising the black level. 

The Misc menu has a FreeSync toggle and an option called MPRT, a blur-reducing backlight strobe that doesn’t work very well. Turning it MPRT takes out Adaptive-Sync and several other image controls, including brightness. It also creates an odd phasing effect that we could plainly see in the Blur Busters moving photo test. There is absolutely no reason to use it. Adaptive-Sync with overdrive on medium is the best possible setting for smooth motion and blur reduction. 

Setup and Calibration 

The PX247 comes set to its Standard picture mode, which has all image controls available. Sticking with that preset, we measured the default Normal color temp and found it very cool in tone. The Warm preset is far better for both grayscale and color accuracy. Further adjustments to the RGB sliders gave us an excellent result. This monitor is capable of very accurate imaging that’s far better than its price suggests. 

Gaming and Hands-on 

One of the nice things about a simple monitor like the PX247 is ease of setup. There are only a few options to deal with before you can forget about the details and just enjoy gaming. Gaming PCs with an AMD or Nvidia graphics card both recognized the Pixio’s 144 Hz and Adaptive-Sync capabilities and configured themselves accordingly. G-Sync, which the monitor isn’t officially certified for, requires the extra step of checking the enable box in the appropriate dialog, but we were ready to play within moments. There is no overclock required to run at 144 Hz if you connect via DisplayPort. HDMI is limited to 120 Hz.

Though resolution is FHD, the PX247 is only a 24-inch screen, so pixel density is a decent 92 pixels per inch (ppi). If you look closely, you can see the pixel gaps, but at a 2-3 foot distance, they are not visible. This is typical for a 1080p screen this size. Detail was sharp and clear on the PX247, thanks to a tight anti-glare layer. There was no grain or other physical image artifacts.

Color looked bright and saturated within the confines of sRGB, which is all you need for a Windows app. Photos, meanwhile, looked natural and vibrant, while the video showed accurately and cleanly. Contrast is at the same level as any IPS or TN screen running in SDR mode. Blacks were reasonably true but not at the depth of a VA panel, or one with a full-array local dimming backlight. There was no improvement when using the PX247’s dynamic contrast feature. It clips too much detail and should be left off.

We also saw no benefit to the MPRT backlight strobe. It didn’t reduce blur. In fact, an odd phasing effect took place that made moving objects and backgrounds a little fuzzy. It’s better to leave things set to 144 Hz with Adaptive-Sync in play.

Turning to games, we moved to the interior of an abandoned building in Tomb Raider. There is a nice water effect here that shimmered and glowed with a realistic texture. Highlights popped, and movement was perfectly smooth. The frame rate stayed locked at 144 fps, no matter how detailed the environment. The PX247 is a performance-oriented monitor for sure. We saw no color issues worth noting and enjoyed vibrant hues and drab tones where appropriate. Contrast was, again, equal to most IPS or TN screens we’ve reviewed. The PX247 carries no advantage or disadvantage when it comes to dynamic range.

Call of Duty WWII is HDR-capable but also looks quite good when played on an accurate SDR monitor, like the PX247. This game would look significantly better on a premium screen, like the 4K resolution Acer Predator X27, but at the Pixio’s price, there is nothing to complain about. Textures looked super realistic with enough contrast to create a tactile feel to the image. Grit and grime played a strong supporting role in making this game look good.

We played these games on the PX247 for several hours, and at no time was there a perception that this is a cheap monitor. The PX247 looks every bit as good as many more-expensive screens. 

Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level

We rounded up a somewhat diverse group of screens to compare against the PX247. We’ve already reviewed two other Pixio panels, the Pixio PXC273 and Pixio PX278. Also here is the Cooler Master GM27-CF, BenQ Zowie XL2411P and Acer Predator XN253Q. Panel technology includes IPS, VA and TN. 

Pixio claims 350 nits max brightness for the PX247, but our sample couldn’t quite get there. The monitor’s 310.2358 nits though is more than adequate and on par with other SDR-only gaming monitors. The PX247 also goes down to an ideal minimum of 53 nits when brightness is zeroed, perfect for playing long hours in a darkened room.

With a reasonable black level of 0.3193 nit, the PX247 comes just a tad shy of the average 1.000:1 contrast figure we see from most IPS and TN screens. If you want a more dynamic range, Pixio’s PXC273 offers an excellent 27-inch VA panel. But among the other TN panels in this group, the PX247 holds its own.

After Calibration to 200 nits

Our calibration (see the Calibration Settings on page 1) improved the PX247’s contrast to 1,055.7:1, showing a nice gain. RGB sliders that start center range are the reason. We were able to make balanced adjustments that improved dynamic range. You can get close to these results by changing the color temp preset from Normal to Warm. That raised the gamma value slightly too, which is a good thing.

ANSI contrast suffers a bit because our sample had a few slight hotspots — more on that later. Image depth is still equal to any good IPS panel we’ve reviewed though. For its $170 selling price, we can’t complain. Only a VA panel will have a wider dynamic range. And the PX247 is certainly superior in quality to most TN displays in this regard.

The PX247 needs some adjustment from its default settings, which are Standard picture mode and Normal color temp. The image looks blue in tone and lacks pop. Luckily, the fix is pretty easy. 

Grayscale and Gamma Tracking

The first chart shows the PX247’s default state. The white point is visibly blue from 20% brightness and higher. The tint grows along with brightness until the error at 100% is around a Delta E (dE) of 9. Gamma is reasonably linear but runs a little light (lower values are brighter). Unfortunately, there are no gamma presets to help with that issue, but there are more color temp options.

Simply changing to the Warm color temp made a visible improvement. There are still slight blue errors at 90-100% brightness, but other steps have no visible problems. One could make this change and be satisfied.

Tweaking the precise RGB sliders revealed the PX247’s full potential. After we did this (see our recommended settings on page 1), there were no visible errors, and gamma became ever so slightly better. If you don’t have the means to calibrate, our settings will get you close to these results. At the PX247’s price point, this is excellent performance.

Comparisons

Set to its Normal color temp, the PX247 isn’t impressive, but after a few adjustments, it improves to the top tier. A 1.01dE average is about as good as it gets for any monitor, especially when it costs under $200.

The PX247’s range of gamma values is very tight, which helps offset the light blacks and mid-tones we observed. Though we’d prefer the average to be 2.2, the PX247 isn’t too far off the mark.

Color Gamut Accuracy

The PX247’s gamut tests ran similarly to the grayscale benchmarks. In Standard mode with color temp set to Normal, the entire gamut is pulled in the direction of the white point, which is too blue. That error de-saturates red and pulls the secondaries off their hue targets.

Changing the color temp to warm helped somewhat. This reduced the secondary (magenta, cyan, yellow) hue errors, and red became a little more saturated. Dialing in the RGB sliders made the most impact. Red was much better with all other colors near-perfect. We’re impressed to see a 1.49dE average from a $170 monitor.

Comparisons

Though the PX247 doesn’t offer great out-of-box accuracy, it has a lot of potential for the money. At minimum, we recommend changing the color temp to Warm. It improves the color error to a very low 2.43dE. Calibration takes it even further to just 1.49dE, which good enough for second place in our competitive comparison group. 

Three of the monitors here, including the other two Pixios, offer extended color gamuts. The Acer and BenQ have a tiny bit more color volume, but it’s an amount that’s invisib;e to the naked eye. The PX247 is an sRGB screen and fills that gamut. The gamut chart shows a slight under-saturation in red, but a little bonus blue makes up for that. We wouldn’t expect to see this screen performing color-critical tasks, but for most work, and certainly for gaming, it is well qualified.

The G27QC automatically switches over when an HDR10 signal is detected. It applies the proper luminance curve and locks out all image controls except for brightness. Adaptive sync and 165Hz remain in play. There is no dynamic contrast option available, but Gigabyte’s high-contrast VA screen does a reasonable job with HDR content.

HDR Brightness and Contrast

Maximum output in HDR mode is a tad higher than SDR, just over 333 nits. In our comparison group, that puts the G27QC at the bottom. The Cooler Master is blank because it doesn’t have HDR. The top four screens exceed the VESA DisplayHDR 400 standard. The G27QC is saved by its very-low black levels. It’s the best of the screens that lack dynamic contrast. The Asus and ViewSonic panels manipulate their backlights on a frame-by-frame basis to provide the widest possible dynamic range. That is apparent in the third chart with the contrast results. Though the G27QC is respectable among value-oriented monitors, it pales in comparison with the top two screens. Overall though, HDR looks OK with a little more impact than SDR due to accurate rendering of the EOTF luminance curve.

Grayscale, EOTF and Color

Our HDR grayscale test shows a visible green tint in the G27QC’s result. It’s unfortunate that the RGB sliders aren’t available. You can adjust brightness if you wish though we recommend maxing it for the best possible HDR image. The EOTF chart looks good with a slightly-too dark rendering in the lowest steps. The tone-mapping transition point is above 60% which is solid performance.

Considering the gamut chart, we can see a little over-saturation in red and blue, but most targets are fairly close to the mark. Green tracks well until it runs out at around 90%. Hue values are accurate which makes overall HDR color quality quite good.

Viewing Angles

Viewing angles are a common reason for users to favor IPS panels, and the PX247 is a good example. It maintains solid luminance at 45 degrees to the sides with only a slight 10% reduction. Detail is still well-rendered with all steps clearly visible. A green tint is visible from this view, but this is typical of all the IPS panels we’ve photographed. 

When viewing the monitor from the top you can see a blue shift, 20% light reduction and a moderate loss of detail.

Screen Uniformity

Our PX247 sample showed a little glow in the upper left corner when viewing a black field pattern. This issue was not visible at higher brightness levels, nor could we see it when gaming. The tight front screen layer fit is likely to blame for this. Though the PX247 takes last place here, the flaw did not detract from our gaming or work experience. There are neither visible uniformity issues nor variation in brightness in anything but a totally black (zero signal level) screen. 

Pixel Response and Input Lag

Here’s where the PX247’s value really shines. Its response and lag scores helps it compete among the quickest monitors we’ve tested. 7ms is a typical response time for a 144Hz screen. At that speed, motion blur is a non-issue and eliminates any need for a backlight strobe. With just 26ms of total control lag, the PX247 equals the Cooler Master with a higher refresh rate.

We often talk about the ‘last 1%’ rule. There are many displays that provide 99% of the performance of the premium products but for more reasonable prices. Squeezing out that extra percent of performance requires more than a little additional investment. But there are some monitors that attempt to defy established pricing norms. Though IPS panels have come down in price over the past several years, they still represent the top of the cost spectrum in every category. The Pixio PX247, however, is an outlier.

For $170 at this writing, the PX247 delivers a reliable 144 Hz refresh rate and FreeSync, and we even got G-Sync to work equally well. In addition to an effective overdrive, video processing cuts no corners and delivers the same smooth tear-free motion we’ve seen on dozens of more expensive displays.

There are three things we’d like to see added to this monitor. The color temp should be set to Warm by default, as it would put the PX247 on our Calibration Not Required list. That simple change lowered the average error from 6.12dE to 2.39dE. The second thing would be gamma presets, or a tweak to the default gamma to make it a little darker. Our calibration improved the average value a little, but at 2.12, it’s still a tad low, meaning you won’t get the best possible image depth and color saturation. (Speaking of that, we managed an impressive 1.49dE score in the color gamut test. That’s professional monitor territory) Finally, the PX247’s stand, while solid enough, is too low for most desktops. A taller upright could fix that easily.

The Pixio PX247 is more than merely competent. It provided hours of fun and we never felt like we were missing out due to the lack of extra features, like HDR or extended color. Plus, frame rates will always be at or near 144 fps with most video cards.

For budget systems, it’s hard to imagine a better value than the PX247. Of course, there are larger screens out there, and today’s standard is more in the 27-inch realm. But if you are looking for maximum bang for the buck, definitely check out the Pixio PX247.

The latest entry in Newegg’s official blog lists Radeon RX 6000 series specs.

Radeon RX 6900XT

The Newegg Insider is a company blog advertised on the retailer’s front page, ran by contributing journalists, who may or may not have access to confidential information that the retailers possess. The Insider blog is used to provide product overviews and buying guides for customers. The retailer also has a YouTube channel with over 0.5 million subscribers.

Newegg one of the largest PC hardware retailers in the United States. It is to be expected that the company will have access to inventory information ahead of the next-generation product launch. This information is likely to be embargoed and not made public.

The specifications listed in a blog do seem to follow the latest rumors, but not appear to be fully correct. The Radeon RX 6000 series is expected to feature higher clock speeds compared to the first-generation RDNA series. Just yesterday we covered a leak from macOS 11 firmware indicating that Radeon PRO series based on RDNA2 architecture will feature clock speeds between 2050 to 2500 MHz. Higher clock speeds are also present in next-generation gaming consoles featuring RDNA2 technology. Thus, the RX 6000 series is expected to feature at least 2.0 GHz boost clocks, this is likely not reflected in the table posted by Newegg Insider where the data points towards 1500 MHz base clock for all three SKUs listed.

The specifications of the RX 6900XT and RX 6700XT appear to assume that both cards would offer the full Navi 21 and Navi 22 GPU configurations respectively. The same leak, which I linked earlier to, also confirmed that Navi 21 features up to 80 CUs (5120 Stream Processors), while Navi 22 will top at 40 CUs (2560 SPs).

Interestingly the table touches on a ‘sensitive’ and much-discussed topic, which is memory configuration. Rumors point towards a maximum of 16 GB capacity for the high-end gaming Navi 21 with a possibility of scaling it down to 12 GB across a 192-bit bus. None of this data has yet been confirmed.

Therefore we believe that the specifications listed by Newegg are pure speculation from a contributing writer.

Dell’s XPS lineup has been among the best for years, and the company has gradually refined whatever pain points it did have, such as when it used to put the webcam below the screen. But this year, the lineup underwent a major redesign, with Dell chopping down the bezels even more, something that I wouldn’t have guessed was possible.

The firm has long touted how small the footprint is on its laptops, always saying that the XPS 15 fits in the footprint of a 13-inch laptop, and that the XPS 13 fits into the footprint of an 11-inch laptop. With the XPS 15 fitting into an even smaller footprint this year, there was room for something bigger.

Dell announced the new XPS 17 in May, and it’s the first new XPS 17 in around a decade. If you read my review of the latest XPS 15, then there are pretty much two things to know. The screen is bigger, and it’s more powerful with Nvidia RTX graphics. In fact, it’s the first XPS laptop ever with RTX graphics.

Obviously, these specs are for the unit that Dell sent me. The base model starts at $1,399.99, although that one has integrated graphics, a Core i5-10300H, an FHD screen, and 8GB RAM.

Design

While the XPS 17 was introduced alongside the XPS 15 redesign in May, this design was actually first shown in January at CES with the XPS 13. This design consists of a 16:10 display, narrow bezels on all four sides, and no USB Type-C ports. Indeed, if you put the XPS 13, 15, and 17 next to each other, they look nearly identical except for being different sizes.

The Dell XPS 17 is indeed the 17-inch laptop that can fit into the footprint of a 15-inch laptop. The most important thing that that means to me is that it can fit into a regular-sized bag. That’s not always the case with 17-inch laptops; in fact, it’s pretty rare. It’s a bit heavy at five and a half pounds, but that’s the kind of laptop that this is. It’s got a lot of power under the hood, and it also fits into a small footprint. That combination makes the XPS 17 unique.

The top-down view is the one thing that looks the same. The chassis is made out of aluminum, and the laptop comes in a silver color with a chrome-colored Dell logo stamped in the lid.

The sides are silver-colored as well. This was a big change with the redesign since the sides have more traditionally been black. I think this gives it a much cleaner look. But as I mentioned, there are no USB Type-C ports, even on the 17-incher.

Instead, there are four Thunderbolt 3 ports, two of which are on each side. The bad news is that they’re not full Thunderbolt 3 ports, so if you’re like me and you work from a Thunderbolt 3 dock that has two 4K monitors attached to it, you won’t be able to use the full resolution. My workaround was to disconnect one of the monitors from the dock and connect it directly to the laptop. Still, it’s disappointing, considering how premium and powerful this PC is.

The cool thing about having two Thunderbolt 3 ports on each side is that you can charge the PC from either side. I know that this sounds like a small thing, but it’s really nice, and it’s a rarity in laptops.

Also on the right side, you’ll find an SD card reader and a 3.5mm audio jack. I’m kind of surprised that the SD card reader is there with everything else being cut, but I guess it’s nice that it’s there.

Display and audio

The screen on the Dell XPS 17 is a flat 17 inches, compared to 17.3 inches on a traditional 17-inch laptop. The reason for that is because this has a 16:10 display, and to be clear, being that it’s measured diagonally, this display is larger than a 17.3-inch 16:9 screen. It comes in your choice of 3840×2400 or 1920×1200 resolutions. Dell sent me the former, and it is absolutely beautiful.

It comes in at 500-nit brightness, so it works great in bright sunlight, and indoors, I only found myself using it at about 25% brightness. It also has 100% Adobe RGB, 94% DCI-P3, and a 1600:1 contrast ratio.

The colors are also nearly perfect, and that actually goes for whatever angle you’re viewing the display from. Dell promises a 178-degree viewing angle, and it delivers. You can look at this thing from any angle and not see any visible distortions.

Plus, it’s big. I’m not always a fan when companies make taller screens like this because it means that it’s also narrower. But at 17 inches, there’s plenty of screen real estate for everything.

The company also has something called Dell Cinema, which includes CinemaColor, CinemaSound, and CinemaStream. CinemaColor includes HDR technologies and more, and there’s actually an included app that lets you apply different display settings such as movie, evening, sports, and animation.

The bezels are small, but that doesn’t mean Dell removed the webcam, or moved it. It’s shrunken down to fit into that tiny top bezel, and there’s an IR camera for facial recognition as well. You’re not making any sacrifices in that department like you would have been in the old days.

CinemaSound has to do with the Waves MaxxAudio Pro speakers. There’s an app for that too, but this one is called MaxxAudio Pro instead of CinemaSound. The XPS 17 has large speakers on either side of the keyboard, and they sound fantastic. The dead giveaway is that it has both woofers and tweeters, a rarity on laptops.

Indeed, this has four speakers, two of which are 2.5W and two of which are 1.5W. Obviously, they’re used for different frequencies. If you’re looking for sound quality and volume in a laptop, you definitely came to the right place.

Keyboard and trackpad

The keyboard found in the XPS 17 is the same as can be found in its other clamshell laptops. Dell does have a technology called MagLev that it uses in the XPS 13 2-in-1 and XPS 15 2-in-1, but perhaps surprisingly, the technology didn’t make it into the smaller, redesigned clamshells.

Dell didn’t add a numpad, which is a decision that I’m happy with. I’m not a fan of the numpad, and it’s not even easy to ignore because it moves the regular keyboard to the left, leaving it off-centered. I’ll take the quad-speaker setup instead.

Key depth is 1.3mm, which is pretty standard for a consumer laptop these days. It’s quite comfortable to type on, and it’s definitely one of the better keyboards in a consumer laptop. If we were talking about commercial laptops, that might be another story, but we’re not talking about commercial laptops. I find that I make very few mistakes with this keyboard, something that I do appreciate after using some keyboards that I’ve had some issues with.

There’s a power button in the keyboard, which doubles as a fingerprint sensor. Unfortunately, you do have to scan your fingerprint after the PC boots up, as opposed to how everyone else with a fingerprint sensor in the power button does it, scanning your finger before it boots up.

Dell considers this to be a security issue, assuming that you might walk away from your PC between when you press the button and when it boots up and someone might sit in front of it. I have a bit more faith in the user than Dell does, and I think you’d get to know your PC and whether or not you’re safe to grab a cup of coffee while it’s booting up.

My favorite feature of the XPS 15 is on the XPS 17, which is that the Precision trackpad is massive. Huge trackpads are something that Apple introduced on its MacBook Pro PCs a while back, and I’ve been waiting for a Windows OEM to follow suit. If the real estate on the keyboard deck is there, I say use it. The large, clickable trackpad feels great, and it makes drag-and-drop operations a breeze.

Performance and battery life

Both performance and battery life are excellent on the XPS 17. This thing is great for anything. I used it for things from gaming with Forza Horizon 4 and Halo: Reach to 4K video editing to general work. Sure, there was the occasional bump in the road, particularly when it came to gaming, but it absolutely handled anything that I threw at it.

After all, this thing has top-end hardware for its class. It has an Intel Core i7-10875H processor, which has eight cores, 16 threads, and a 45W TDP. It’s the better Core i7 from the H-series, the other one being the hexa-core Core i7-10750H. It’s only bested by the Core i9-10885H, which is available in the XPS 17.

For graphics, it comes with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q with 6GB GDDR6. With RTX graphics, it supports things like real-time ray tracing and deep learning super sampling (DLSS). RTX graphics was how I knew it would support some solid gaming. You can get it with integrated graphics if you don’t want the power at all, or you can get it with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti.

Keep in mind that this is a creator laptop, not a gaming laptop. It uses a 130W charger, while most gaming laptops are closer to the 230W range, and it doesn’t have the thermals for it. This is primarily a work machine, but I’m here to let you know that it does have the power to play as well.

Even more impressive is battery life. I often say that you have to choose between power and battery life, and with the UHD+ display, you can bet that this uses a lot of power. I used it with the power slider one notch above the battery saver, and with the screen at around 25% brightness. I can tell you that you can easily get six hours out of this, and in many cases, you can take it further than that. With general work, I was able to get up to eight hours.

Of course, the touchscreen model comes with a 97Whr battery. In other words, this has one of the biggest batteries that you’ll find in any laptop (much larger and you can’t take it on a plane). The non-touch model comes with a 56Whr battery.

For benchmarks, I used PCMark 8, PCMark 10, 3DMark, VRMark, Geekbench, and Cinebench.

If you’re not the type to go through benchmark scores, all you need to know is that this is a powerful machine.

Conclusion

My biggest complaint about the Dell XPS 17 is that it doesn’t have full Thunderbolt 3 ports, which would have been able to handle two 4K displays on a single port. If that bothers you too, just wait for the next one. Intel’s next generation of CPUs is going to support Thunderbolt 4, which is really just the full Thunderbolt 3 that I’m describing. My other gripe is that there’s no cellular model. I realize that it’s something of a rare feature on more powerful laptops, probably because it uses battery, but I don’t care. It’s 2020 and I should be able to work from anywhere.

Let’s be clear that this is an absolutely incredible laptop that’s nearly perfect. It’s an absolute pleasure to use, no matter what you’re using it for. If you’re playing games, it can do that. If you’re streaming movies, it’s got a killer HDR display and stunning speakers. If you want to edit video, it’s got the power for that as well.

All of it comes in a beautiful chassis and yes, a small footprint. The fact that this thing has a 17-inch display and can fit in a regular bag is a feat of engineering. Honestly, the Dell XPS 17 is in a class all its own, and I can’t think of anything like it. If you’re looking for a laptop that can do everything, this is it.

Genesis is a smaller name in the gaming peripheral world, but the brand is steadily gaining popularity, particularly in the e-Sports community. The Polish-based company makes and sells all sorts of peripherals, including keyboards, mice, headphones, microphones, PC cases, and more, which are specifically targeted at value-oriented customers.

Genesis sent me the Thor 420 RGB low-profile mechanical keyboard, and I’ve been using it almost exclusively for the better part of three months. As a primer, I have experience with both membrane and full-sized mechanical keyboards; my daily driver is a standard Logitech K120 membrane keyboard, but I’ve also spent substantial time using a Razer Blackwidow (w/ Razer’s Green switches, equivalent to Cherry MX Blue switches) and Corsair K70 (Cherry MX Red switches).

Depending on the retailer and region, the Genesis Thor 420 RGB ranges in price from €60-80 (US$70-95) at the time of publication.

Design

The Thor 420 RGB is a beautiful piece of kit. The aluminum keyboard deck sits atop a low-profile black plastic base. The keyboard is 418 mm long, making it a hair shorter than most other standard keyboards. It still takes up a fair amount of desk space. 

As a low-profile keyboard, the Thor 420 RGB is fairly short at 24 mm. The keys sit flush with each other rather than in tiered rows (more on this in a bit), giving the keyboard a sleek aesthetic. The keys themselves are elevated above the keyboard deck and the transparent casings of the switches are exposed, allowing the RGB lighting to shine around each key rather than just through. The overall effect is rather pleasing.

The keys use a chiclet design like many laptops rather than the traditional beveled design used in most mechanical keyboards. Because of this, the keys sit flush in a plane. While this helps keep the height down, it can make key recognition difficult, especially for touch typists. There is little tactile indication as to where one key ends and another begins, and it can be difficult to know over which row fingers lie.

Another issue is the size of the individual keys. The letter keys on the Thor 420 RGB measure 15 mm2; most beveled keyboard keys (like those on the Logitech K120) measure 18-20 mm2. Some mechanical keyboards have slightly larger keys. While a difference of 3 mm on each dimension doesn’t look large on paper, it alters the typing experience substantially. Coupled with the lack of a tactile boundary between keys, the small size requires major readjustment. 

During my first month with the Thor 420 RGB, I found myself constantly mistyping keys. I commonly hit multiple keys simultaneously or typed in the wrong row. After sticking with the keyboard and adjusting my typing style to the Thor 420 RGB, I’ve come to like it, primarily because of the tactile bump of the switches and the speed with which I can type. It takes some adjustment, but I’ve found myself typing faster on the Thor 420 RGB and quite enjoying the experience.

Overall, the design is beautiful but different from most other mechanical keyboards. The keys and their flat aesthetic will take some time getting used to. Even experienced typists will need time to readjust to the Thor 420 RGB. After adjustment, the keyboard feels great and can improve both the typing and gaming experience. 

Specifications

The Thor 420 RGB uses low-profile mechanical blue switches. Genesis says the travel distance is 1.2 mm and that actuation force is a mere 45 grams. Response time is rated at 1 ms.

When using the keyboard, I noticed that the switches trigger very easily and have a light tactile bump that is perceptible but not distracting. The Content Slim Blue switches are very loud and sound like a machine gun during writing sessions. As such, office workers may want to look for something with quieter keys (MX Brown equivalents). 

While gaming, the keyboard feels very responsive. The bump is more noticeable, as keys are not pressed in such rapid succession. It’s miles better than my membrane keyboard; I don’t second guess whether or not I’ve pressed a key.

The Thor 420 RGB, as its name implies, uses RGB backlighting. Each key has its own backlight, rather than the zone lighting used in cheap RGB keyboards. As such, every key can light up in one of several colors. I noticed it lacks the color variety of top-end RGB keyboards, but there are at least nine distinct colors. Using the software, users can set key backlights to any of the 16.7 million colors in the sRGB spectrum, though the keyboard admittedly makes it a bit hard to discern between these.

Additionally, the Thor 420 RGB comes with 19 backlight modes programmed into the keyboard itself. These can be toggled in software, but a nice feature is that there are hotkeys for cycling both RGB modes and colors on the keyboard. Because of this, the Thor 420 RGB is essentially plug-and-play, which is nice. The software is available if you want it, but the keyboard does not rely on it. The Thor 420 RGB also doesn’t automatically install a software suite, which gives the users the choice as to whether or not they want to use Genesis’ software (more on that below).

Most of the backlight modes will be familiar to users of RGB keyboards. It has the typical static color, color sweeps, and waterfall modes. There is quite a bit of variety, including a “raceway” mode (which lights up a trail of keys in a spiral pattern around the board) and two “explosion” modes (which launch colors in an outward circular pattern when a key is pressed). Most of the RGB modes are fun to explore, and there’s enough variety here to match most people’s preferences. There are also some preset modes for games like Call of Duty and League of Legends that only light up specific hotkeys.

The Thor 420 RGB also features n-key rollover, which allows the keyboard to register all keys pressed simultaneously without limit. In my testing, this is indeed the case; the Thor 420 RGB registered every single key when I mashed the entire keyboard in testing software. There is also no ghosting. The switches are rated for 50 million clicks, so the keyboard should last a while under heavy use.

Performance

As mentioned, the Thor 420 RGB has a fairly low actuation force of 45 grams and a shallow travel distance of 1.2 mm. For a mechanical keyboard, these numbers are on the low side of things. The result is that the Thor 420 RGB feels snappy but can be a bit “trigger-happy.” The keys don’t take much to fire off, which is a godsend when fast reflexes are needed and a nuisance when they aren’t. 

Typing and gaming on the Thor 420 RGB is a dream compared to my old Logitech K120 membrane keyboard. The K120 feels muddy and sluggish in comparison. Even other mechanical keyboards, like the Razer Blackwidow, don’t feel quite as balanced; the Razer, for instance, feels cumbersome and heavy compared to the lighter switches and lower travel distance of the Thor 420 RGB.

That said, the Thor 420 RGB takes some getting used to, especially for typing. I found myself having to readjust my style to use a lighter touch. Otherwise, keys would press down too easily. I tend to rest my fingers on my keyboard during breaks in typing. That works fine on the other keyboards I’ve used that require more force to push a key down, but I found myself triggering keys by mistake.

After about a month of use, though, I found that I like the lower force needed for the Thor 420 RGB. I also found that my typing speed increased slightly from roughly 95 WPM to a solid 98 (100 on a good day). However, I tended to make a few more mistakes, mostly due to the smaller key size (see the section above for details).

Software

Genesis provides a software app for each of its peripherals. These can be downloaded at Genesis’ website (genesis-zone.com) and appear to be customized in certain ways for each device.

Unfortunately for the Thor 420 RGB, the dedicated app is barebones. The only features available during our testing period (in version 1.2) are creating, importing, and exporting profiles and changing the backlight modes. Considering the illumination animations can be changed on the keyboard itself, there is very little use for the backlight mode. However, this setting does allow users to customize the backlight for each key and save this lighting to a particular profile. One of the five profiles can be automatically set when a related program is launched. This can be used to light up specific keys with preset colors when specific games are launched, which may be a nice quality-of-life feature for some.

The software does little else. As mentioned, it is a courtesy that Genesis doesn’t automatically install this app when the keyboard is plugged in (unlike some other manufacturers). If users want to fully customize the coloration of their keyboard and switch to specific patterns when an app or game is launched, the app is a great tool. For all others who are happy with the presets installed to the keyboard itself, the app is unnecessary.

I would like to see the ability to set macros or rebind the keyboard via software in a future update. There are other keyboards around this price point that have this feature, and lots of gamers would surely appreciate the ability to tie macro setups to profiles. Hopefully, Genesis will enable this at a later date.

Verdict

Genesis hits a lot of high notes with the Thor 420 RGB low-profile mechanical keyboard. The peripheral is solidly built and looks gorgeous. Its RGB backlight is bright and reasonably colorful, and the per-key lighting is a nice bonus. Also, the fact that its backlight animations and presets can be controlled directly from the keyboard rather than through software is a major plus in my book.

However, I have some minor quibbles. For one, the key size is small. I understand that one of the main selling points of the Thor 420 RGB is its low profile and relatively compact design, but the small keys took a long time to adjust to. While my typing speed increased during my time with the keyboard, the number of mistakes I made (and still make) while typing also increased. I make fewer mistakes now than I did during the first two weeks of my review, but it is still a bit frustrating.

Lastly, the minimalist software feels incomplete. Genesis advertises the keyboard with a macro assignment feature, but the software doesn’t provide one. If Genesis has some other version of the app hiding somewhere and I find it, I will update this review. As it stands in September 2020, the software is only good for setting up a customized backlight pattern. That’s nice, but this keyboard should be able to do much more.

For the price (~€80/$93), there’s a lot to like with the Genesis Thor 420 RGB. There are plenty of cheaper RGB mechanical keyboards out there, but those don’t have the clean aesthetic and solid durability that the Thor 420 RGB has. This is a keyboard that easily hangs with the big players in the RGB mechanical keyboard world (and even outpaces a few in some areas).

The Galaxy Tab S7+ is Samsung’s unreserved attempt to beat Apple’s iPad Pro with an Android tablet designed just as much for work as it is for play.

The new tablet comes in two sizes: the 11in Tab S7 costing £619 and the 12.4in Tab S7+ costing £799, as reviewed here.

Intended to compete with Apple’s top iPad Pro, it looks very similar in design. The 12.4in OLED screen is simply fantastic, rivalling the very best OLED TVs let alone smartphones and tablets. It has iPad Pro-like thin bezels around the edge of the display, flat metal sides, rounded corners and even antenna lines crisscrossing the metal back.

The screen has a 16:10 ratio, making it much wider than an iPad with its 4:3 ratio and more like a Microsoft Surface Pro.

The Tab S7+ has four Dolby Atmos-enabled speakers in the sides, which give stereo sound in either portrait or landscape orientation. Movies sound full and loud, while video calls come across clearly and naturally. The front-facing camera is good, too, but the microphones aren’t great at picking up voices from a distance, meaning Google Meet calls were better done from the desk than the sofa.

A larger version of Samsung’s excellent S Pen stylus, as seen in the Note series of smartphones, is included in the box and magnetically attaches to the back of the tablet for storage and charging. The stylus is excellent with pressure sensitivity, tilt support and low latency but having it attached to the back is a bit awkward.

Specifications

Screen: 12.4in WQXGA+ Super AMOLED

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+

RAM: 6GB of RAM

Storage: 128GB + microSD card slot

Operating system: One UI 2.5 based on Android 10

Camera: Dual rear camera: 13MP+5MP; 8MP selfie camera

Connectivity: USB-C, S Pen, wifi 6 (5G optional), Bluetooth 5 and location

Water resistance: none

Dimensions: 185 x 285 x 5.7mm

Weight: 575g

Good performance and battery

The Tab S7+ has Qualcomm’s latest top Snapdragon 865+ processor and 6GB of RAM, meaning it is the highest performing Android tablet available. Models with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage are available in some regions.

It handles any app or game with ease, plus multiple apps on screen at once. It lasts for more than 10 hours of productive work between charges when used like a laptop in Dex mode. That included having multiple tabs open in Chrome, Evernote, AI Writer, various messaging apps and lots of email, and various other bits used intermittently. That beats the 12.9in iPad Pro by two hours, when used in a similar manner. I expect you will get longer out of the tablet if just used for watching films or similar.

The Tab S7+ came with a disappointingly low-power 10W charger, which took about three hours to fully charge the tablet, but can charge at rates of up to 45W with higher-powered adapters that can be purchased separately.

Sustainability

Samsung declined to provide an estimate for the expected lifespan of the battery in the Tab S7+, which is typically 500 full charge cycles while maintaining at least 80% capacity for other rechargeable batteries. The device is generally repairable and the battery is replaceable by authorised service centres. Battery replacements will cost no more than £59.

Samsung declined to comment on the use of recycled materials in the Tab S7+ but does offer trade-in and recycling schemes for old devices.

One UI 2.5 + Dex

The Tab S7+ runs Samsung’s version of Android called One UI 2.5, which is based on Android 10 and also features on the company’s recently released smartphones but not the latest Android 11. An update to Android 11 is expected in the next six months. Samsung has pledged three years of major Android updates and quarterly security patches, which is still some way behind Apple’s five-plus years of software support for its tablets.

You can run up to three apps in a split-screen configuration and more as floating windows, much like the recent Galaxy Z Fold 2. Mostly it works fine but some apps refuse to run in landscape mode, forcing the tablet into portrait mode when launched.

But to make the most out of the tablet as a work device Samsung also includes an upgraded version of its Dex system, which essentially turns Android into a desktop-like computer complete with apps in windows, full mouse and keyboard support, a task bar at the bottom of the screen and other elements similar to Windows or macOS.

Dex works very well within the confines of Android. Most apps can be used in windows and resized just fine. Samsung’s own apps all run fine but even those third-party apps that work in Dex have quirks that you have to adapt to. Some don’t like being resized and effectively quit and relaunch when you expand or shrink their windows, which can get annoying if the app is protected by a pin or similar. Other apps, including password manager LastPass, simply won’t run in Dex mode, which made it a hard sell for my particular usage.

Chrome on Android is also not good enough to be a desktop browser. It struggles with heavy web apps and doesn’t support drag and drop, which means some of the systems I use for work do not operate correctly. Right click is also hit-and-miss and it’s hard to select text with a mouse.

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To make the most of Dex you need a keyboard and mouse. Third-party devices work well enough but really it is designed to be used with Samsung’s Keyboard Cover, which is an additional £219. The Keyboard Cover is a two-part case. A back cover attaches to the tablet via magnets and includes a good kickstand, while the keyboard attaches to the ports on the bottom of the tablet.

The keyboard and trackpad are pretty good but the keyboard attachment to the tablet is not rigid enough to be comfortably used on a lap. It is simply nowhere near as good as the Surface Pro’s type cover keyboards, which are £100 cheaper.

Observations

The cameras are fairly good for a tablet but won’t beat a good smartphone camera.

The S Pen has a soft-touch finish and excellent balance making it easy and comfortable to write and draw with.

Price

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ costs £799 with just wifi or £999 with 5G connectivity.

The S Pen is included in the box but the Keyboard Cover costs an additional £219.

The smaller 11in Galaxy Tab S7 costs £619.

For comparison, Apple’s iPad has an RRP of £329, the iPad Air costs £579, the 11in iPad Pro costs £769, the 12.9in iPad Pro costs £969 and Microsoft’s Surface Pro 7 costs £719.

Verdict

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There’s no doubt the Galaxy Tab S7+ is the best tablet Samsung has ever made. It is leagues ahead of the company’s previous efforts and most definitely the best Android tablet you can buy, too.

But despite all the software additions Samsung has made to Android to make it a more powerful work machine, it falls short of being a good laptop or Windows tablet replacement. Apps can be unpredictable, unstable or simply don’t work when in Dex mode. That’s fine for casual things but if an app quits and loses work, that’s simply not acceptable.

The iPad Pro has its own problems as a PC-replacement but app instability isn’t one of them. Chrome on Android also isn’t up to the task of being a proper desktop browser, not in the same way the iPad’s Safari.

That’s not to say the Tab S7+ isn’t a fantastic gaming, video-watching, casual browsing and entertainment device – it really is the best tablet you can buy for media consumption. The screen, the battery life, the performance, the design and build are all top-notch, and the S Pen is excellent.

But £799 is an awful lot of money for a media consumption tablet and if you add the £219 Keyboard Case, £1,018 puts it next to tablets and computers it can’t match for getting work done.

The Galaxy Tab S7+ is the best Android tablet available. It just can’t beat Apple’s iPad Pro or Microsoft’s Surface Pro 7 for work.

Pros: fantastic screen, great performance and battery, good speakers, good webcam, USB-C, microSD card slot, Dex, split-screen, good fingerprint scanner, S Pen.

Cons: expensive, keyboard case expensive accessory, not all apps support Dex mode, some apps quit or crash when resizing, mouse support is inconsistent, no headphone socket.

Continuing with AMD’s tendency for fishy codenames, the chipmaker (via @Komachi Ensaka) has added support for a Dimgrey Cavefish graphics card to Mesa 20.3-devel. Much like Sienna Cichlid and Navy Flounder, Dimgrey Cavefish is presumed to be a RDNA 2 graphics cards that’ll surely unsettle the gaming graphics card hierachy as we know it.

AMD has already committed to lift the curtains for the Radeon RX 6000 series, which have been popularly baptized as Big Navi, on October 28. Therefore, it’s not too surprising that the chipmaker’s trio of next-generation graphics cards are doing their rounds in the wild. We don’t have any factual information on AMD’s RDNA 2 product stack so it’s wise to treat the specifications that are going around the hardware world with a truckload of salt.

Assuming that each Compute Unit (CU) in AMD’s RDNA 2 architecture still equates to 64 Stream Processors (SPs), we can piece together some of the rumored specifications for AMD’s Radeon RX 6000-series graphics cards.

At the current time, Sienna Cichlid is associated with the Navi 21 silicon. If the current prediction is accurate, Sienna Cichlid could end up with 80 CUs or 5,120 SPs. This would mean that Sienna Cichlid is likely to be the flagship, in which event, would be the Radeon RX 6900.

If Sienna Cichlid corresponds to Navi 21, then Navy Flounder should be Navi 22. Thus far, the silicon is rumored to bring 40 CUs, which amounts to 2,560 SPs. There is a good possibility that Navy Flounder could be the direct replacement for the current Radeon RX 5700 (XT). If that’s the case, Navy Flounder must be the Radeon RX 6700 although we can’t discard the probability of it being a Radeon RX 6800.

The Dimgrey Cavefish is the latest RDNA 2 codename to pop up. Common wisdom tells us that Dimgrey Cavefish must be Navi 23, the last piece to the puzzle. The only logical assumption is that Navi 23 will be featured in either the Radeon RX 6600 or RX 6500, depending on AMD’s intentions.

It’s uncertain which graphics card AMD will announce on October 28. The chipmaker vaguely used the Radeon RX 6000 moniker. If we look back at RDNA 1, AMD started with the Radeon RX 5700 (XT) and eventually went down the pile. Being optimistic, we would love for AMD to reveal Big Navi because the current graphics card market needs some competition in the higher tiers. Nvidia’s recent GeForce RTX 3080 has proven to be a tough cookie, and Big Navi will likely be the most worthy competitor.