Category Archives: Gaming

ROG Unveils Two New Gaming Laptops – The Strix SCAR 17 SE and the Flow X16

May 17, 2022 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

It’s that time of year again when we see the latest and greatest from companies like ASUS being announced for the upcoming year. After the extensive display of their newly extended Vivobook and Zenbook lineup, ASUS is now extending their Republic of Gamers (ROG) portfolio with two new, power packed laptops.

ROG Strix SCAR 17 Special Edition

ASUS is reinvigorating their Strix SCAR lineup with a new, special edition of the ROG Strix 17. The new, cyberpunk inspired Strix SCAR 17 Special Edition has an elevated design language and higher graphics performance thanks to its 175W max TGP (Total Graphics Power) with Dynamic Boost.

The new SCAR 17 Special edition will be coming equipped with Intel’s 12th Generation Core i9-12950HX processor which is paired with up to 64GB of DDR5 4800MHz RAM. It also supports up to 4TB of internal storage in RAID 0 with PCIe 4.0 support. The top of the line processor, high-speed RAM and PCIe 4.0 support make it one of the fastest laptops revealed yet. It also means that your laptop will be loading quicker than ever before. It’s also got ROG’s exclusive Conductonaut Extreme liquid metal cooling which allows it to perform at higher speeds at lower temperatures.

Like its sibling models, the ROG Strix SCAR 17 SE will come in display configurations supporting either FHD resolution and 360Hz refresh rate or QHD resolution with 240Hz refresh rate. Both configurations have IPS level panels with Adaptive Sync and Dolby Vision support and 3ms GtG response times. This paired with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU is bound to give you an unbeatable visual experience.

In addition to its cutting edge specifications, the ROG Strix SCAR 17 SE features a new, metal chassis which has all the signature ROG swagger. However, ASUS has etched the chassis with a unique, cyberpunk design that holds a secret for its SCAR Runner game. The etchings are applied with a first of its kind invisible ink. Under regular lighting, you’d be none the wiser as it appears as a matte metallic shade. However, shining a UV light on the design makes the etchings glow an iridescent green and blue hue.

The SCAR 17 SE comes with all the connectivity that you would expect from a ROG laptop including USB Type A, USB Type C with DisplayPort 1.4 and Power Delivery, Thunderbolt 4, ethernet, HDMI and a combo audio jack.

ROG Flow X16

ROG’s convertible laptop lineup is also being extended with a wholly new, large entry. The new ROG Flow X16 is upping the ante when it comes to gaming convertibles. ROG is supersizing their 13-inch laptop and giving it a larger, 16-inch display. Still remaining as thin and light as the larger form factor will allow it, the Flow X16 brings a whole new Frost Force Technology and Pulsar Heatsink for a whole new level of cooling. It features three fans and a high-density heatsink to help cool and dissipate heat more efficiently.

In addition to the new form factor and cooling technology, the ROG Flow X16 is also coming with ROG’s flagship Nebula HDR Display. The new display is a QHD, Mini LED panel with a 165Hz refresh rate with 1100 nits peak brightness. It also covers 100% of the DCI-P3 gamut.

The Flow X16 continues to be powered by AMD’s Ryzen processors like the X13 before it. The X16 comes with configurations supporting up to a Ryzen 9 6900HS processor and up to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU. If that isn’t powerful enough, the X16 also supports the XG mobile family of external GPUs. It supports up to 64GB of DDR5 RAM with 4800MHZ speeds and up to 2TB of PCIe Gen 4.0 SSD storage. It comes with a 4 speaker audio setup with support for Dolby Atmos.

As with all ROG laptops, the Flow X16 comes with a complete array of ports including the XG mobile interface which includes a USB Type-C port with DisplayPort 1.4 support and power delivery. Aside from this, it comes with USB Type A, HDMI 2.0b, a 3.5mm combo audio jack and a microSD card reader.

Pricing & Availability

ASUS has yet to unveil pricing and availability at the time of the announcement.

Accessories, Computers, Gaming, News

AMD Announces the New Radeon RX 6950 XT – Same-Same, But Better in Every Way

May 11, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

The GPU market today looks like a completely different one compared to the one we saw in the past two years. Stocks are normalising and gone are the ridiculous prices. To be fair, prices are still quite high for existing stocks, and the entire market is still in its recovery mode. We may have also suggested that it is a good time to build a new gaming PC, since prices are steadily on the fall and items are readily available.

It is a good time for chip makers to launch new products too, to recapture the market and to start normalising the prices of their items that are floating in the market now, albeit a little odd. It is a good time then for AMD to launch additions to their Radeon RX 6000 series. They launched the new Radeon RX 6650 XT, RX 6750 XT, and RX 6950 XT. Guess which one we are interested in.

The Radeon RX 6650 XT and RX 6750 XT

They are still RDNA 2 GPUs, hence the RX 6000 series naming scheme. On paper, they are also just slight improvements to the RX 6600 XT and RX 6700 XT cards. As AMD puts it, they are more “enhancements” than anything else. You are supposed to get better Full HD 1080p (RX 6650 XT) and QHD 1440p (RX 6750 XT) performances out of both cards. Like their biggest brother, the RX 6950 XT, the new GPUS are also enhanced with the same sized but faster memory module than before. The speed boost could be quite significant in gaming performance though.

The Radeon RX 6950 XT

You guessed right; we are more interested in AMD’s most premium offering in the GPU market. The Radeon RX 6950 XT will set you back US$ 1,099, which is about the retail price of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, so you can sort of see where this is going now. The Radeon RX 6950 XT is a curious GPU though.

Despite its naming, AMD did not bother adding more compute cores to the Radeon RX 6950 XT GPU. It remains at 80 compute units, the same as the outgoing RX 6900 XT. There is no additional VRAM on the GPU either at 16GB. Despite those, the GPU demands a little bit more power at a typical 335W. In some early tests, the GPU can pull more than 400W at any given time. That could be result of a higher clock speed of 2,100 MHz (boost up to 2,310 MHz) on the compute units and a higher RAM speed at 18GBps.

You still get RDNA 2, AMD’s Infinity Cache technology, and Smart Access Memory from the GPU. Those has not changed much. You also get AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 support with the new GPU too. In supporting games, upscaling should look even better than before. DirectX 12 Ultimate is also supported, but unfortunately ray tracing performance will still pale in comparison to the NVIDIA GPUs with their dedicated ray tracing cores.

All of these should mean that you get quite a bit in boost in gaming performance. In some earlyu tests, performance numbers shows that the Radeon RX 6750 XT blew away its competition. Of course, you want to take those results with a pinch of salt. At the same time, you are also getting a boost in overall productivity performance if you are working with Adobe Creative Suite and other 3D software.

Price and Availability

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT, RX 6750 XT, and RX 6950 XT is now available globally. Board partners are also expected to announce the availability of their cards soon. The GPUs are priced at US$ 399 (MYR 1,749)*, US$ 549 (MYR 2,407*), and US$ 1,099 (MYR 4,818*) respectively. MSI Malaysia has announced their AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT, RX 6750 XT, and RX 6950 XT cards in Malaysia with no specific mentions of date and pricing as of now. More information on AMD’s new Radeon RX 6000 series cards can be found on their website.

*Approximately based on exchange rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.38 as of 11/05/2022 on xe.com

Android, Gaming, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

POCO Launches Their Latest Flagship, the F4 GT at MYR 2,299

April 27, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

These days, when you talk flagship, you think about devices that cost at least MYR 3,000 and above. Anything below that price range is usually categorised as mid-range smartphones. They are usually specced as such too, with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 700 series, 6-8GB of RAM, and up to 256GB of storage. Not this one though. It is priced as a mid-range smartphone, but on paper, it is a flagship.

First, the POCO F4 GT packs a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, the most powerful system on a chip (SoC) you can find in an Android smartphone currently. Sure, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is rumoured to come some time soon. Until then, the Gen 1 is still the most powerful SoC you can find on an Android. The powerful SoC is supported by up to 12GB of speedy LPDDR5 RAM with up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage for snappy operations.

They say that it is made for mobile gaming. To ensure that the SoC stays cool for extended gaming sessions then, they have something they call LiquidCool Technology 3.0. The technology large dual vapor chambers to ensure that heat from the SoC can be quickly and efficiently transferred and dissipated elsewhere on the device.

Out the front is an expansive and immersive 6.67-inch AMOLED display with 10-bit colours. With up to 120Hz, your interface should feel smoother than running a hot knife through butter. At up to 480Hz of touch sampling rate, every touch should feel more instant and more responsive than ever before. Of course, with DisplayMate’s A+ rating, this display should be great with movies too.

Out the back is a 64-Megapixel main shooter which should be enough in most cases. Of course, most of the time, you are really taking 12-Megapixel photos unless you tell your camera that you want to shoot in 64-Megapixel mode. The powerful camera is supported by an 8-Megapixel ultra-wide shooter and a 2-Megapixel macro camera. Out the front is a 20-Megapixel selfie shooter for when you need to stream or when you just want to capture a clear selfie.

To keep everything running nicely an entire day and more is a 4,700mAh battery inside the device. It is also the first battery in POCO’s device range to offer 120W HyperCharge charging speed. The device can be fully charged in just 27 minutes. Charging your device at 120W at all times can destroy the battery pretty quickly though, so POCO’s AdaptiveCharge feature cleverly keeps your battery from overcharging to prolong its shelf life.

Alongside the POCO F4 GT, POCO also launched their new Buds Pro Genshin Impact Edition with a rather special design throwing homage to the ever so popular mobile game. They also launched the POCO Watch, their first ever smartwatch cum fitness tracker. It does not run on the Wear OS.

The POCO F4 GT is available in three colour options from 28^th of April 2022 onward. You can choose between Stealth Black, Knight Silver, and Cyber Yellow colour options. You can also choose between an 8GB + 128GB variant and a 12GB + 256GB variant for MYR 2,299 and MYR 2,499 respectively. If you purchase your device on the 28^th of April 2022 on either Shopee or Lazada, you can get your device for MYR 1,999 and MYR 2,199 respectively. The POCO Buds Pro Genshin Impact Edition and POCO Watch will be available for MYR 299 and MYR 249 respectively on the same date. More information on the new POCO devices can be found on their website.

Accessories, Computers, Gaming, Lifestyle, News

Razer’s Leviathan V2 PC Soundbar Takes Immersive Gaming to a Whole New Level for MYR 1,399

April 22, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Yesterday we said it is a good time to build a gaming PC. Specifically, we pointed out that building a budget gaming PC at this time is quite perfect. Thing is, it is not just budget PC parts that are being launched left and right, there are some high-end ones too like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, making it also the perfect time to build a high-end PC.

If you are looking to build a high-performance entertainment powerhouse though, you do not want to forget to kit it out with the best possible audio gear. While it is plenty overlooked, audio is an important component in not just gaming, but for general entertainment. It can enhance and even break your experience. Even in video calls, you tend to want to prioritise a clear and stable voice communication over video, because that is where a large portion of the communications happen.

Most of the time, when you build a high-end PC and decides on the audio solution, you do not want to stay with the built-in speakers your display comes with. Most users tend to buy a pair of headphones to work with in this case. But headphones tend to be a little restrictive, and uncomfortable in extended periods of gaming. What if you also want your audio gear to be your main listening tool for movies and music without being too restrictive?

You get a sound bar of course. Yes, just like the one you see for televisions (TV). Not just any sound bar though, you get a Razer gaming soundbar made specifically to fit your crowded gaming desk set up, look good on it, and sound stellar in gaming conditions.

Welcome to the Razer Leviathan V2, the follow-up to the highly acclaimed Razer Leviathan launched about seven years ago now. Like it predecessor, it also comes with a subwoofer box in the box. You might be fine without the subwoofer box though.

Compact, Powerful, Immersive

It packs two full range drivers to drive everything from the mid-range frequencies to the higher end ones. To give better clarity and detail on the higher-end frequencies though, Razer has also fitted two tweeters to accompany the full range drivers. To ensure that audio sounds full, especially in gaming, you must have big booms. For that, you get two down-firing subwoofers that brings some rumble to your desk when you need it.

You might think that having the speaker in front of you might take out some of its immersive feel. True, you do not have rear firing speakers to feed some spatial awareness into your ears. This soundbar comes with THX Spatial Audio technology though and is activated when you connect it to a PC. That also means that you get a virtual surround sound experience like no other on your gaming PC.

Visually Stunning and Versatile

To add to the visual drama, Razer fitted this soundbar with 18 lighting zones powered by Razer Chroma RGB. You can match the light works with your other Razer gear via Synapse, or even make your games for immersive by matching the lights to whatever you see on your screen.

It is also a rather versatile piece of kit to have on your desk. Like the older Leviathan, the V2 is also a wireless speaker when you want it to be. It is Bluetooth 5.2 enabled so that you can connect your smartphone to it for when you just want to listen to music without your PC. Bluetooth 5.2 also ensures that the connection between your smartphone and speakers stay stellar. Just to fine tune the speakers to your liking, Razer also made the feet on the speakers detachable and replaceable for differing angles.

Availability and Price

The Razer Leviathan V2 is now available on Razer.com and its authorised retailers across the nation. It will set you back MYR 1,399, which is about the same price as most decent all-in-one soundbar these days. More information on the Razer Leviathan V2 can be found on their website.

Computers, Gaming, Lifestyle, News

ASUS AMD Radeon RX 6400 GPUs are the Next Best Thing for 1080p Gaming

April 21, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Last year, if our friends asked us about building a PC or a gaming rig for themselves, we would have said that it is not a good time. We would have also told them to maybe get a gaming laptop instead, especially with prices of parts soaring out of control,

Fast forward to 2022 though and the PC component market has shown signs of recovery. Prices of GPUs and CPUs have dropped by 20-25%. While components are still sold above recommended retail prices, situations are not as bad as before and stocks are slowly becoming more available.

In terms of current component prices, it is a better time now to build your own PC. In the current market climate, there has never been a better time to build a PC because new components are launching left and right. It is an especially good time to build budget gaming rigs thanks to ASUS releasing the latest AMD Radeon GPU.

It is called the AMD Radeon RX 6400, and just as its numbers suggest, it is an entry-level GPU. It is still a modern AMD GPU though, and they say that it will do 1080p gaming rather well. We trust them on this and recommend that you stick to a 1080p gaming build on this.

It is meant for a budget rig, so you cannot expect miracles out of it. Still, you get 4GB of GDDR6 memory out of the card. You also get HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, which should allow you to have two monitors working simultaneously. It is also a PCIe 4.0 card, which also means that it should perform better than some of the AMD Radeon RX 5000 series GPUs.

Of course, the GPU comes with AMD’s latest RDNA 2 architecture on the 2039 MHz clocked chip. The GPU can be boosted up to 2321 MHz when you need maximum power for your games. When the GPU consumes little to no power, its fans turn off for silent operation. The Radeon RX 6400 also comes with support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, AMD Fidelity FX technology, AMD Radeon Super Resolution, and AMD’s Smart Access Memory technology for even better gaming experiences.

ASUS’ AMD Radeon RX 6400 comes in two flavours – ASUS Dual Radeon RX 6400 and ASUS Phoenix Radeon RX 6400. The Dual variant comes with two fans for maximum cooling performance while the Phoenix comes with a single fan design. Currently only the ASUS Dual Radeon RX 6400 will be available in Malaysia for MYR 960. There are no confirmations on when the more affordable single-fan Phoenix Radeon RX 6400 will be available in Malaysia. More information on the AMD Radeon RX 6400 can be found on AMD’s website.

Accessories, Computers, eSports, Gaming, Lifestyle, News

Acer Brings New Monitors into Malaysia for Work and Play

April 8, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

When you start with a PC build, there are a few essential things you need. You usually think of the spec of your build first, what hardware you want in your PC. How much CPU and GPU power you need also determines the kind of power supply you get for your PC.

Building a PC though is not just about getting the best CPU and GPU in your build. You need to think about your entire set-up from the ground up. Sometimes its better to start at what you can afford or the sort of performance you aim for. That usually starts from the things that you put on your table, your monitor and speakers.

People tend to forget that the display is a big part of their set up. Your display can sometimes dictate an entire build. If you are working with a budget, it realistically determines how much you have left to spend on your desktop tower PC and other peripherals. If you are going for a high-end build, your display determines how much you want to spend for your desktop PC.

How do you choose the right displays for yourself? That is a tough question. That question is made even tougher with Acer’s new offerings to the market.

The No Compromise 4K Gaming Build – Predator X28

Acer’s no compromise gaming set-up always has one name attached to their device – Predator. You know it gets serious when you see the Predator branding on any device. In this case, you cannot get any more serious than the Predator X28.

As its name suggests, it is a 28-inch display. What its name did not suggest was the power contained within the 28-inch IPS panel. It packs 4K UHD resolution to take full advantage of NVIDIA’s new GeForce RTX 3090 Ti GPU. If you already have the RTX 3090, you can still benefit from it.

It even refreshes at up to 152Hz (overclocked) with ultra-low response times at 0.2ms (G-to-G), important for esports titles and even racing simulators. With NVIDIA’s G-Sync compatibility, screen tearing is a thing that you have only heard of. For the most realistic and immersive experience, the display offers up to 90% of DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage with Delta E <2. While DisplayHDR 400 does not sound like much, it should still mean that gamers still get a stellar graphics experience from the display.

The “Do Everything” QHD Build – Acer Nitro EI322QURP

It is a 31.5-inch curved display, larger than the Predator X28. The curved VA panel offers QHD 1440p in resolution with up to 165Hz in refresh rate, for fast gaming response. This will be perfect for builds with NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3070 or anything equivalent.

It is not a compromised gaming build still though with 1ms of response time on offer. With AMD’s Radeon FreeSync 2 technology on offer, you still can game tear-free too. There is also one thing that it does better compared to the high-end Predator display: its colour accuracy. At 93% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut and DisplayHDR 400 rating, games are more immersive than ever on this large-format display.

The Budget Gamer Full HD Build – Acer Nitro XZ306CX

What if you only have the money to work with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 or equivalent builds? To take full advantage of it, you might want to prioritise higher frame rates than resolution. In that case, Full HD will be more than enough to work with.

The Acer Nitro XZ306CX offers up to 200Hz in refresh rate for ultra-smooth gaming experience, 1ms response time for ultra-quick reaction times; important in esports titles like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). At 29.5-inch as well, you get to immerse yourself into the world that is the game in front of you. It is an Ultrawide display too, so you get to see a little more than your usual display.

Like its higher resolution Nitro brother, it also offers up to 93% in DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage. DisplayHDR 400 ensures that you get all the details from dark to light. It also offers AMD Radeon FreeSync 2 for a tear-free gaming experience you can expect from any good gaming monitors.

The All-Purpose-Productivity Build – Acer CB292CU

Gaming might not be your thing. You might not even be considering getting a gaming PC for your build. You just want a versatile laptop that you can rely on and bring anywhere you need it to work. You just want a simple PC that you can use for all sorts of things other than gaming. In that case, you just want a bigger display at a reasonable price you can plug into at home.

For that, the Acer CB292CU is perfect. It is an ultra-wide Full HD display that offers up to 2,560 by 1,080 in resolution. The extra display real estate allows you to have more windows on display as well without making the display feel cramped and small. At 29-inch, you will not feel as if you have a small display too.

The 21:9 aspect ratio is quite perfect for most films eliminating the top and bottom black bars in most cinematic formats. Sure, YouTube videos might suffer a little with 16:9 aspect ratio, but it just means you can have a little bit of a multitasking set up with a wider display. You can be sure to also enjoy your films or just lightly edit videos on the display with up to 99% sRGB colour gamut coverage, if you need to. Accurate colours is always an enjoyable feature on any display.

Price and Availability

All the products mentioned are now available for purchase from all authorized Acer stores and retailers. Of course, you can get them from Acer’s official online stores as well, including their own online store, Shopee, and Lazada. The Predator X28 will set you back MYR 3,699. The Acer Nitro EI322QURP and Nitro XZ306CX with set you back MYR 1,299 each. The more budget option Acer CB292CU will set you back MYR 899.

Accessories, Computers, Gaming, News

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti is Here! What Does This Mean for GPUs?

April 4, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

First, yes, we realise that the newly announced NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti is not in any way an affordable piece of kit. In fact, it is NVIDIA’s most expensive RTX 30 series GPU to date at US$ 1,999 which is nearly MYR 8,500 by today’s estimation. But this also is not a regular GPU made for the regular consumer.

To be fair, yes, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti broke cover a few days ago. It is still a brand-new piece of kit that hardly comes by though. While conditions in the market is not getting worse, it is not getting that much better either. Prices of GPUs are still quite inflated and item availability is still not great. So, does this mean that NVIDIA’s move in launching a new card going to screw us, customers over even more with an even more pricey GPU?

As it turns out, not really. Let us go into that a little bit later. For now, the GPU; the star of the show.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti is not really a new GPU. Like its siblings, the RTX 3090 Ti is more like a small improvement over the mighty RTX 3090. In some partner board cases, it is even bigger than the RTX 3090 which just makes them ridiculous to look at and to have.

As mentioned earlier, it is no ordinary consumer class GPU. The regular RTX 3090 was not a regular consumer class GPU either, so you should not expect this one to be at its asking price. NVIDIA targets not only the most demanding gamers with this card, they want the prosumers to also notice. It is made to chew applications like Maya, Blender, Cinema4D, and other 3D rendering software then spitting out masterpieces as quickly as you can conceptualize them. Of course, I am exaggerating a little bit here, but you get the idea.

It packs 10,752 CUDA cores with 24GB of onboard memory that is capable of 78 RT-TFLOPs, 40-Shader-TFLOPs, and 320 Tensor-TFLOPs. That basically means it can do a lot of calculations. The regular RTX 3090 only houses 10,496 CUDA cores in comparison. The result is a GPU that is overall 9% faster than the one that it evolves from. It is also about 50% faster than the most expensive GPU NVIDIA had before, the TITAN RTX.

All these not just enables gamers to game with up to 8K resolutions in smooth fashion. It also enables content creators to work even more seamlessly with 8K resolution contents. The demand for contents today has brought 8K resolution videos as standard. This would be the perfect GPU to work with for 8K contents.

ROG Strix LC and TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3090 Ti Graphics Cards — Source: ASUS

The first of the board partners that have come out and announced their RTX 3090 (at least in Malaysia) is ASUS with their ROG Strix and TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3090 Ti GPUs. The Strix is quite unique, a water-cooled GPU with its own AiO cooler that you need to find space for in your case, if you want one. The TUF Gaming GPU is a more regular GPU, but you still do need some clearance for it with a 3.2 slot heatsink. You can get the ROG GPU at MYR 11,000 and the TUF Gaming GPU from MYR 9,700, which is around the ballpark price of a high-end GPU these days.

So, What Does This Mean?

A quick Shopee search for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 GPU will bring you some clue to the answers. You would see prices of the previous halo product going anywhere between MYR 10,000 to about MYR 12,000. This would be considered a reasonable price before the RTX 3090 Ti showed up. Considering stocks are low, with demands that stocks could not meet, it is understandable these prices.

A few months ago, a quick search of the NVIDIA GeForece RTX 3090 yields result that hover anywhere between MYR 12,000 to even MYR 20,000 for a single GPU. This also means that GPUs have gone down in prices for the past few months and that is a good thing. But it is not necessarily good enough because GPUs are still sold way above their retail prices, just because they can.

Here is the thing though, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti marks an end of stock shortages in the GPU market, it is basically NVIDIA producing a new halo product because they can finally do it with ease. It is why the RTX 3080 Ti was released and the RTX 3090 Ti had to wait a few more months before it comes to light.

If you look closely, even with ASUS’ inflated pricing, the RTX 3090 Ti is priced lower than plenty of the current RTX 3090 GPUs you can find in the market. This should, in turn, drive down prices of GPUs that are currently out in the market even lower. At this point as well, retailers might not even be able to use the “stocks are still scarce” excuse to price their GPUs. There is enough GPUs to go around now, and prices should have come down to earth.

Sure, a halo product like this will still come in limited quantities. It is, after all, the most expensive GPU you can buy in 2022. But it does mean that you can go out and buy a GPU. It signals to us that you can start haggling down prices of the GPUs that you want from the retailers, at least a little bit. It also means that you have enough GPUs to go around now. It is now almost a reasonable time to go out and buy a GPU.

Computers, Gaming, Lifestyle, News

Intel’s Core i9-12900KS is The World’s Fastest CPU at 5.5 GHz

March 29, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Intel, on a recent note, has been making quite a comeback. Their competitor, AMD really wiped the floor when they introduced the 5000 series Ryzen processors that made Intel’s 10^th and 11^th Generation processors look like old processors. When Intel introduced their 12^th generation Core processors, people paid attention again, we paid attention.

The 12^th generation Core processors codenamed Alder Lake has already shown some of its power since the series’ launch. The higher-end processors have proven that Intel has not forgotten how to make powerful processors for gamers and content creators alike. They are also unique in the space of PC processors with a Big Small architecture that we are more used to seeing on smartphone chips. The 12^th Generation Core i9, for example, packs eight performance and eight efficiency cores. They are also known to be very power-hungry chips, so if you are considering an Intel Alder Lake build, you do want to really think about beefing up your PSU (Power Supply Unit).

Just having the lead on performance never seems enough though. Intel wants to keep the lead and destroy its competition. On a side note, it is good to see the two protagonists in the CPU industry outdoing each other every step of the way. We are the winners here. We are also looking forward to AMD announcing their Ryzen 7000 series CPUs in this case,

Back to the topic, Intel wants to also wipe the floor with 12^th generation Core CPUs, just before AMD makes their move with the 7000 series. They released their most powerful CPU yet, the Core i9-12900KS. While the naming scheme is a little confusing, it is a new Core i9 that we are seeing here.

To be fair, when we say new, it is not an entirely new CPU. It is still an Alder Lake architecture. Structurally, it is the same as any Inte Core i9-12900 series chips. What differs though is how much power it commands.

intel core i9 12900ks 2 16x9 1 — Source: Intel

The eight performance cores can now be clocked to up to 5.5 GHz with turbo boost. The previeous Intel Core i9-12900K could only boost up to 5.2 GHz at best. You could overclock it, obviously, since it is an unlocked processor. Why would you attempt to overclock an Intel Core i9-12900K when you can get the already overclocked stock Core i9-12900KS. The newly announced processor is also unlocked, by the way.

There is a small catch though. While the Core i9-12900K draws a minimum of 125W, the new 12900KS needs at least 150W from your PSU. Turbo boost will draw up to 241W for both processors, no increases there, which is sort of good news for your PSU. Other than a slight increase in the clock speeds for the efficiency cores, everything else remains the same as the older 12900K.

As with the current 12^th generation chips, you want to work with the Z690 chipset motherboards to get the most out of it. It also supposed DDR5 4800 MT/s RAM and PCIe gen 5.0 technology. Of course, the older DDR4 and PCIe Gen 4.0 (no, this is not that old) technologies are still supported.

You might be wondering; “who needs all this power?” We will say that no one really needs all this power unless they are working in the creative industry and needs some extra horsepower to render videos and 3D animations. Then again, there are specifically built workhorses for that. This is made for “gamers and overclocking enthusiasts”, according to Intel. We will go with that, but these are people with money and time.

It will be available April 5^th onward in select regions. We do not know if that includes Malaysia or not. As it is, supply situations in Malaysia are still quite dire. It will also set you back at least US$ 739 (MYR 3,120*). We say at least because that also depends on stock availability and demand. For more information on the Intel Core i9-12900KS, you can head over to their website.

*Approximately based on exchange rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.22 on xe.com as of 29/03/2022

Computers, Editor's Choice, Gaming, Lifestyle, Reviews, Video

[Video] The Predator Triton 500 SE In-Depth Review – The Thin Beast Thing

Video March 28, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Acer’s Predator gaming laptop line-up in 2020 was one that was filled with products that sort of look like each other. One gaming laptop stood out though. That one gaming laptop that stood out above the rest is the Predator Triton 500 gaming laptop. It was thin, thinner than any Predator gaming laptop you can find. It is not unreasonably thin that temperature becomes a concern too. At the same time it looks completely ordinary.

We love the form factor the Predator Triton 500 presented. But is a product with 10th Generation Intel Core processor and NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 20 series GPU. There is a new one, and it packs Intel’s and NVIDIA’s latest. Not just the latest though, the most powerful in the mobile line-up; the Core i9 and the GeForce RTX 3080.

It also comes with a new age design that is even more minimalist than before. It gained a little bit of heft and weight too. But essentially, the philosophy of the product is the same. Make it thin, as thin as possible. But make it powerful also, immensely powerful.

That means that the price is also bumped up to MYR 12,999. Does it still live up to the Triton 500 name? Is the Triton 500 SE even worth that kind of money? We find out.

Get your Predator Triton 500 SE here: https://acer.co/36NWtkm!
More information on the Predator Triton 500 SE here: https://www.acer.com/ac/en/MY/content/predator-series/predatortriton500se!

Computers, Gaming, Lifestyle, News

Neotez AQUILA Gaming Monitors Now Available in Malaysia

March 25, 2022 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

Blink and you’ll miss it. That’s how it feels right now with the mushrooming amount of gaming monitor brands appearing. There’s a new challenger in Malaysia too – Neotez. Neotez is a company just spreading its wings; founded in 2021 in Australia, it’s looking to bring a new wave of affordable, premium gaming experiences to the masses. No, you didn’t read that wrong. “Affordable” and “premium” are in the same sentence side by side.

The company is bringing their first wave of offerings to Malaysia after a successful year in Australia. Neotez is bringing their nascent AQUILA brand which has three monitors which cater to three different niches. The AQUILA 24, 27 and 34 offer different resolutions and sizes that cater to different budgets and gaming needs.

The Neotez AQUILA lineup offers high resolution, IPS displays with 165Hz refresh rates with quick response times. AQUILA monitors also offer anti-glare, low blue light panels with HDR400 and Adaptive-Sync support. There are slight differences across the lineup but they generally offer more bang for your buck across the board.

The AQUILA 24 and 27 both offer flat IPS displays with 165Hz and a 16:9 aspect ratio. They both cover 100% of the sRGB gamut. However, the AQUILA 24 only covers 78% of the DCI-P3 gamut while the 27 covers 90%. So, not the best for colour sensitive work, but they still offer commendable specs for their price points. Additionally, the 24 only offers FHD resolution while the 27 offers higher, QHD resolution. The AQUILA 27 offers additional HDR400 support and RGB Lighting. Both come with two HDMI 2.0 ports and a single DisplayPort 1.4 port.

The larger AQUILA 34 offers 2K resolution and is the only curved display in Neotez arsenal. It’s also an ultra-wide monitor with a 1500R curve. That said, the higher resolution brings along a lower 144Hz refresh rate. It’s also got a higher 4000:1 contrast ratio compared to the 1000:1 of the 24 and 27. The 34 has HDR400 support but covers only 93% of the DCI-P3 gamut and 99% sRGB gamut. The Neotez AQUILA 34 comes with two HDMI 2.0 ports and two DisplayPort 1.4 ports and red LED backlighting.

All the monitors come with built-in speakers. The AQUILA 24 and 27 come with dual 3W speakers while the 27 come with dual 2W speakers. You also get a single audio port on all the monitors.

Pricing & Availability

The monitors are currently available from the official Neotez stores on Shopee and LAZADA. The Neotez AQUILA 24 will be priced at MYR899 while the AQUILA 27 will cost MYR1,549. The larger, ultrawide AQUILA 34 is priced at MYR2,099.

Neotez is having a special launch promotion where the monitors will be available at a discounted price for a limited time. During the promo, you’ll be able to get the Neotez AQUILA 24 for MYR899, the AQUILA 27 for MYR1,399 and the AQUILA 34 for MYR1,899.

Official Specifications

Model	AQUILA 24	AQUILA 27	AQUILA 34
Display Size	24-inch	27-inch	34-inch
Display Shape	Flat	Flat	Curved
Display Resolution	Full HD (1920 x 1080px)	Quad HD (2560 x 1440px)	2K UWQHD (3400 x 1440px)
Bezel Type	3-sided borderless	ZeroBezel	3-sided borderless
Panel Type	IPS	Fast IPS	VA
Aspect Ratio	16:9	16:9	21:9
Curved Ratio	N/A	N/A	1500R
Refresh Rate	165Hz	165Hz	144Hz
Adaptive Sync	Yes	Yes	Yes
Brightness	350 nit	400 nit	350 nit
Response Time	3 ms	1 ms	1 ms
Contrast Ratio	1000:1	1000:1	4000:1
DisplayHDR	N/A	HDR400	HDR400
Colour Gamut	100% sRGB72% NTSC78% DCI-P316.7M Colour (8-bit)	100% sRGB90% DCI-P316.7M Colour (8-bit)	99% sRGB95% NTSC93% DCI-P316.7M Colour (8-bit)
Display Screen Features	Low Blue LightAnti-Glare PanelFlicker FreeDynamic Contrast Ratio	Low Blue LightAnti-Glare PanelFlicker FreeHigh Dynamic Range	Low Blue LightAnti-Glare PanelFlicker FreePIP/PBP (Screen Split)Dynamic Contrast Ratio
Aesthetics	N/A	RGB Lighting	LED Backlighting (Red)
Ports	2 x HDMI 2.0 1 x DP 1.4 1 x Audio 1 x AC In	2 x HDMI 2.02 x DP 1.41 x Audio1 x AC In	2 x HDMI 2.02 x DP 1.41 x Audio1 x AC In
Audio	2 x 3W Built-In Speakers	2 x 3W Built-In Speakers	2 x 2W Built-In Speakers
Viewing Angle	178 (Horizontal)178 (Vertical)	178 (Horizontal)178 (Vertical)	178 (Horizontal)178 (Vertical)
Ergonomics	Height, Swivel & Pivot	Height, Swivel & Pivot	Height & Swivel
Mount	VESA(100 x 100mm)	VESA(100 x 100mm)	VESA(75 x 75mm)
Price	RM899	RM1,549	RM2,099

techENT

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