Malaysia has always had a complicated history with science and technology. While the country itself has never been seen at the forefront of the industries, its citizens are deeply entrenched in milestone achievements in the industries. One such milestone is the creation and mass production of USB flash drives. Dato’ Pua Khein-Seng, a Malaysian and one of the pioneers of solid state drives (SSDs) used in USBs is looking to change that in the near future.
[Source: Server On & PHISON] Robert Wu, ServerOn Co-founder; Chan Wone-Hoe, ServerOn Co-founder; Dato Pua Khein-Seng, CEO of Phison Electronics Corp; Albert Kang, Phison Head of Business Developmentofficiating the launch of NEUBE.
Dato’ Pua Khein Seng is looking to bring back some of the success he’s had overseas, particularly in Taiwan, to Malaysia. How? He’s embarking on creating Malaysia’s first enterprise SSD and we’re not talking just the fabrication and assembly. He envisions an SSD that is designed, engineered and fabricated in Malaysia. To achieve this, Dato’ Pua is partnering with ServerOn Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian distributor of enterprise and data center-grade hardware.
The partnership will see ServerOn partner with PHISON Electronics Corporation, a Taiwan-based company specialising in storage technologies. As CEO of PHISON, Dato’ Pua is looking to train Malaysian talent to eventually design and create SSDs. The new startup which will be incorporated as part of this partnership will recruit and create job opportunities for Malaysians to be involved in the design and creation of cutting-edge storage technologies.
[Source: Server On & PHISON] Neube SSDs will be available in Q2 2023.
As a first step, ServerOn and PHISON are introducing the first-ever truly Malaysian SSD with NEUBE. Designed and engineered in Malaysia, NEUBE SSDs cater to high-demand workloads and data centres. NEUBE SSDs will be available in popular form factors including 2.5-inch, U.2, M.2 and E1.S. ServerOn will be using these SSDs as an option in their offerings when they come to market later in Q2 2023. Other retailers can also be part of this developing story by getting in touch with Server On.
“NEUBE’s SSDs are built with high-quality materials and advanced error correction technology, which can help prevent data loss and system crashes. This can lead to improved system stability and reduce downtime for the client’s business,” said Dato’ Pua Khein-Seng, CEO of Phison.
[Source: Server On & PHISON] Dato Pua Khein-Seng addressing the media at the MoU signing and launch of NEUBE
That said, Dato’ Pua sees this as only the first step in creating a truly Malaysian product. While Server On and PHISON will collaborate further, he sees government policies and market demand as the biggest hurdles for NEUBE to be successful globally. He stressed, “The only way forward for Malaysia to become a leader in the technology space is for the government to empower the local startups and industry with the right policies. They should also be the pioneers in implementing these policies and adopting Malaysian products such as the newly launched NEUBE SSDs.”
Dell’s Latitude laptops have long been one of the go-to devices when it comes to corporate and commercial customers. Latitudes are known for their durability and reliability when it comes to performance. This year, Dell is bringing even more power to the Dell Latitude lineup with more features and upgrades for work on the go. The lineup has been updated with Intel’s 13th Generation Core processors for added power and efficiency.
Introducing the Small but Powerful Latitude 9440
The new Dell Latitude 9440 infuses the Latitude lineup with portability, power and design from Dell’s flagship XPS series. The 9440 combines form with function with its unique 2-in-1 design that allows it to transform from a laptop into a tablet and even a presentation surface seamlessly. Perfect for the entrepreneur, salesperson or C-suite executive.
Together with the new design and aluminium chassis, the new Latitude 9440 comes with a zero lattice keyboard with miniLED backlights. The keycaps are larger with no gaps. They also have increased angles between keys and ergonomic curves on each key giving them easy tactile separation. The miniLED backlights bring power efficiency with up to 75% less power usage providing up to 3 hours of increased battery life.
The Lattitude 9440 is also the smallest commercial 14-inch laptop. The small, compact chassis incorporates a 14-inch display in what has conventionally housed a smaller 13-inch display. It also keeps things crisp with a high-resolution InfinityEdge QHD+ panel in a functional 16:10 aspect ratio.
The 9440 also builds on its predecessor, the 9330. Where the 9330 made conferencing and video calls easier, the 9440 brings a customizable haptic touchpad for better collaboration. Users will be able to adjust and personalise the haptics of the touchpad to suit their work style. Together with this, the touchpad comes with quick toggles that allow users to toggle their mic and camera as well as quick toggles for screen sharing and chat which integrate with Zoom out of the box. Compatibility with Microsoft Teams will come later this year.
Ultralight Portability with the new Dell Latitude 7000 series
While the 9440 shines with its premium build and features, the Latitude 7000 series brings many of those features to a more accessible price point. It also brings a new focus on being Ultralight and portable – perfect for those who need to work on the go and in the field.
The Lattitude 7340 and 7440 ultralight bring the same miniLED backlit keyboard technology as the 9440. It also shares the 14-inch display of 9440 but comes weighing under 1kg for its 13-inch version and slightly more than 1kg for the 14-inch version. The magnesium chassis makes it one of the lightest in Dell’s portfolio but preserves the durability that the Latitude lineup is known for. The 7000 series is also available with aluminium chassis and a larger 16-inch option.
Together with these features, the Latitude 7000 series is also getting better connectivity on the go thanks to 5G. This combined with a 5-megapixel IR camera makes it perfect for working remotely.
Completing the Lineup with Latitude 5000 Series
Rounding up Dell’s Latitude lineup is the 5000 series which brings all the essentials when it comes to working remotely. It comes complete with options for 2-in-1 laptops and a Chromebook in the Latitude 5430.
The Latitude 5000 series focuses on enabling remote work with a complete array of ports, a long-lasting battery and cutting-edge connectivity. This year, the series comes with 14- and 15-inch options with a smaller footprint than before. It also focuses on key experiences which include privacy-centric features like Look-away detect and Onlooker detection.
The Dell Latitude Chromebook 5430 completes the lineup with a cloud-native option which runs Google’s ChromeOS. It brings the whole suite of experiences that make the Latitude line up in a highly scalable package with options for every need.
Pricing & Availability
The refreshed Dell Latitude laptops will be available starting in March 2023. Details are as below:
Model
Availability
Pricing (USD$)
Pricing (MYR)*
Latitude 9440
TBA
TBA
–
Latitude 7340, 7440, 7640
Starting March 23, 2023
from USD$1,676.99
from MYR7,385.86
Latitude 5340, 5440, 5540
Starting March 23, 2023
from USD$1,620.73
from MYR7,138.08
Latitude 5430 Chromebook
Starting March 28, 2023
TBA
–
*Pricing in MYR is converted using XE.com with the rate of 1 USD = 4.40449 MYR
You should be familiar with ASUS’ ROG if you are a gamer. In the recent years, the brand has been paving the way in introducing rather absurd concepts for gamers. They revolutionized gaming laptops with ultra-thin offerings like the Zephyrus line-up. They managed to normalize the use of GPU docks with their thin-and-light ROG Flow series for laptops. Within the ROG Flow product booklet is now also a very curious, and very powerful gaming tablet, the ROG Flow Z13.
The ROG Flow Z13 is really that, a gaming tablet without the restriction of a keyboard. Sure, it comes with a keyboard case that can be connected to the tablet, but it really is just an all in one screen that runs Windows and is capable of slaying in DOTA 2 without much of a fuss if you want it to.
Within the rather restricted and thin body of this tablet, you get Intel’s latest and very powerful Core i9-13900H processor alongside NVIDIA’s modest GeForce RTX 4050 GPU. You have 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM too inside the tablet. To make things trundle along faster and make it more powerful, you can opt to get an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 XG mobile dock to pair along with your GPU at home for the ultimate gaming experience (for mobile PC gaming set-ups anyway).
ASUS ROG is also known to have collaborations with brands from other industries to further innovate their products or to offer matching accessories for their products. They have an IKEA collaboration to produce ROG themed furniture for your all ROG gaming set-up at home. They have collaborated with Alan Walker to produce an Alan Walker special gaming laptop that also doubles as your music mixing station when you go to parties. Of course, the Alan Walker special collaboration also entails some Alan Walker x ROG special apparels.
Their latest collaboration with ACRONYM produces something a little unexpected though. ASUS ROG and ACRONYM have introduced a new gaming tablet based on the ROG Flow Z13. No, it does not only get a fresh coat of paint and design, they have added some high-end power to make this even more ‘ultimate’ than the already extreme gaming table that the regular ROG Flow Z13 is.
ASUS ROG X ACRONYM – ROG Flow Z13-ACRNM RMT02
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
They call it the ROG Flow Z13-ACRNM RMT02, and it is not just a mouthful, it is a handful too. ACRONYM, to those who are not familiar, is an apparel design studio that produces their own brand of apparels and accessories. They are based in Munich, Germany and specialize in outrageous looking, functional outfits that are made with the highest and innovative materials. You might have seen some Nike shoes and apparels that bears the ACRONYM name brand. You might also have seen a BE@RBRICK custom design by ACRONYM. More prominently, if you are a Kojima Hideo fan, the game Death Stranding is full of ACRONYM’s designed clothing. This is not ACRONYM’s first time collaborating with ASUS ROG too.
Same-Same, but Different
The ACRONYM designed Flow Z13-ACRNM RMT02 does not look like the gaming tablet that it was based on. There is a good reason for that. The entire backplate has been redesigned and fitted with milled aluminium. It is not just striking looks that ACRONYM and ROG wants to show, the milled aluminium backplate is functional too. There are visible shock pads on all four corners of the tablets and also strategically placed all of the backplate for a maximized grip on any kind of surface you might have it on. They are also there to ensure that there is still a good gap to the surface for maximized airflow with the array of air intake ports milled to the backplate. Of course, to ensure you have the best viewing angle on your tablet, there is the built-in kickstand made with the same milled aluminium material for added rigidity and some shock pads to keep it from moving around the table too much.
The design is not just optimized for protection and cooling though. It is designed with mobility and portable application in mind. Included with the ROG X ACRONYM ROG Flow Z13-ACRNM RMT02 is a carrying strap that is designed to attach to the attachment points on the tablet’s aluminium shell for and optimized carrying posture for the tablet. The strap mechanism also allows you to work with the tablet while tethered to your body, so that you can work off it at any given time without the delay and hassle of finding a seat, useful in the trains. They quoted a better grip for the ROG Flow Z13-ACRNM RMT02, though we do not recommend you holding on to it for too long even with the original ROG Flow Z13. The original ROG Flow Z13 weighs as much as a thin-and-light laptop at 1.18kg, the ACRONYM designed one with all-aluminium chassis weighs even more at 1.32kg.
The Beast Inside
Source: ASUS
It is not just an upgrade you get with the exterior. Thanks to the extra ventilation and more efficient cooling, ROG can fit even more powerful hardware into the chassis. While the original ROG Flow Z13 only gets NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4050, the ACRONYM designed beast of a tablet gets NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4070 treatment. Everything else about the tablet sort of remains the same.
The Windows 11 tablet comes with Intel’s 13th Generation Core i9-13900H 14-core processor that clocks at 2.6GHz and can boost up to 5.4GHz. Alongside the upgraded GPU, you also get more RAM at 32GB over the 16GB of the original ROG Flow Z13. You also get 1TB in SSD storage at that.
Source: ASUS
The powerful internals power an ROG Nebula certified display. It is a 13.4-inch IPS panel offering QHD+ 16:10 aspect ratio in resolution. To get the best in colour reproduction it is a glossy glass panel that protects the IPS panel behind it. The 13.4-inch QHD+ display also offers 165Hz in refresh rate for the best gaming experience you can get on a tablet today. On top of that, you can be sure to enjoy movies with the Dolby Vision HDR support.
For total immersive experience, ASUS fitted a powerful 2 speaker system with Smart Amp technology into the tablet. The speakers are even Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res certified to offer the best-in-class audio experience. In case you need to communicate with your teammates, you have an AI noise-cancelling 3-mic array for a decent make-do team-comms experience with it.
To ensure that your mobile gaming experience is not disrupted, the WiFi 6E dual-band WiFi will ensure the most stable connection with a WiFi 6 capable network. Of course, since it is a tablet, you might be using more wireless accessories with it. Bluetooth 5.2 is sure to reduce latency and offer some stable connection for your accessories.
The battery is the only cause for concern though. There is a 56Wh battery, which is large for a tablet. With the kind of power this beast is packing though, the 56Wh battery might not last you too long. The kind of power you pack also is the reason why you have a 130W USB Type-C charger to g with the ROG Flow Z13-ACRNM RMT02. It also comes with a keyboard cover, that adds another 400g to the total set-up on-the-go.
Price and Availability
The ASUS ROG X ACRONYM ROG Flow Z13-ACRNM RMT02 is now available in Malaysia. It is a limited-edition item though, just 14 units will make it into the country. As of this writing, it seems that ASUS ROG has sold out all 14 units. If you are interested to get your hands on one, you want to prepare MYR 12,999 for one. More on the ROG Flow Z13-ACRNM RMT02 can be found on their website.
AI (Artificial Intelligence) generated graphics is not a new thing. You have things like OpenArt and Hotpot these days where you can just type in the keywords to the image you want, and let the engine generate art for your use. Even before AI generated graphics though, the implementation of AI within the creative industry is nothing new. NVIDIA has used their own AI engine to write an entire symphony, and even to create 3D environments using their Ray Tracing engines. Adobe too have something they call the Sensei. They the AI tool is implemented across their creative suite to understand and recognise objects better, fill details where needed more naturally, and even edit videos, images, or even texts quickly and efficiently. Now, they have Firefly.
Firefly is not a new separate AI system from Adobe’s Sensei. Firefly is a part of a larger Adobe Sensei generative AI together with technologies like Neural Filters, Content Aware Fill, Attribution AI, and Liquid mode implemented across several Adobe platforms. Unlike those platform specific implementations though, Adobe is looking to put Firefly to work on a number of various platforms across their Creative Cloud, Document Cloud, Experience Cloud, and even their Adobe Express platforms.
So, what is Adobe Firefly? We hear you ask. It is technically Adobe’s take on what a creative generative AI should be. They are not limiting Firefly to just image generation, modification, and correction. It is designed to allow any sort of content creators create even more without needing to spend hundreds of hours to learn a new skill. All they need to do is to adapt Firefly in their workflow and they will get contents that they have never been able to create before, be it images, audio, vectors, texts, videos, and even 3D materials. You can have different contents every time too with Adobe Firefly; the possibilities, according to Adobe, are endless.
What makes Adobe’s Firefly so powerful is the power of the entirety of Adobe’s experience and database behind it. Obviously Adobe’s Stock images and assets is a huge enough library for the AI implementation to dive into. The implementation can also look into using openly licensed assets and public domain contents in generating its contents. The tool, in this case, will prevent any IP infringements and help you avoid plenty of future litigations.
Source: Adobe
As Firefly is launched in its beta state, it will only be available as an image and text generator tool for Adobe Express, Adobe Experience Manager, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator. Adobe plans to bring Firefly into the rest of their platforms where relevant in the coming future. They are also pushing for more open standards in asset verification which will eventually include proper categorization and tagging of AI generated contents. Adobe is also planning to make the Firefly ecosystem a more open one with APIs for its users and customers to integrate the tool with their existing workflows. For more information on Adobe’s latest generative AI, you can visit their website.
You know Alienware as one of the first brands to cater its brand and hardware. Unlike Razer, Alienware delved into the PC gaming market by creating the most powerful PCs in its early days specifically for gaming purposes. This was back when games did not even look half as good as it is today. This was back when 3D graphics was still a blocky mess.
Back then as well, gaming peripherals were not really gaming peripherals at all. They were redressed regular mice, keyboards, and speakers for ‘gaming’ that has no real advantage or difference over regular peripherals. It is a very different story today.
Gaming peripherals are not just a more expensive version and RGB dressed regular peripherals. In 2023, they are purpose built gear to enhance both a gamer’s experience and performance in their chosen games. To think about it, while other manufacturers like ASUS ROG has been pushing their peripherals for a bit, Alienware has been silent about new gaming peripherals, until now that is.
Alienware Wireless Gaming Mouse (AW620M)
Source: Dell
Source: Dell
Source: Dell
Source: Dell
Source: Dell
Source: Dell
To start with, you want a reliable gaming mouse. Something that is ergonomic that fits perfectly in the palm of your hands. You want it to be an extension of your arms and you want it to feel like it is a part of your limb, for it to be as light as possible.
The new AW620M gaming mouse is Alienware’s latest wireless symmetrical gaming mouse. This is not made for the left-handers, unfortunately. It is made specifically to be wielded by right-handers. It is oddly shaped to ensure that your right palm gets the best grip possible with the mouse without feeling as much as a strain. The right mouse button is also slightly longer than the left mouse button to accommodate the naturally longer middle finger. The mouse also features a thumb rest below the two extra buttons on the side.
The new gaming mouse packs Alienware’s sensor technology below their magnetic-force keyplates. What that means is you get Alienware precision and speeds with every click of the buttons. It is highly accurate and flexible to work with too at 26,000 DPI, 650 IPS, and 50G max acceleration capabilities. While the best way to work the mouse is with a wired connection with your PC, the 2.4GHz wireless dongle offers 1000Hz polling rate for a near lag-free experience for up to 140 hours on a single charge.
Alienware Wireless Gaming Keyboard (AW920K)
Source: Dell
Source: Dell
Source: Dell
Source: Dell
Source: Dell
Source: Dell
Source: Dell
Source: Dell
Source: Dell
Source: Dell
Source: Dell
Source: Dell
Source: Dell
Source: Dell
Source: Dell
Source: Dell
Source: Dell
Once you settle in on a gaming mouse, you want your keyboard to also match your set up and speed. You want a gaming keyboard that can also work wirelessly to keep that clean look on your desk. You also want your keyboard all-in-one keyboard for not just gaming. You want a single keyboard to be the control center of your entire desk set-up. This one does just that.
Alienware’s first wireless gaming keyboard is a mechanical keyboard with CHERRY MX Red switches for fast and fluid strokes and near instant presses. Working the switches are Alienware’s PBT double-shot keycaps that are beautiful and durable. Of course, underneath the switches are per-key AlienFX RGB lighting that shines through the keycaps’ letters. There is also a new Programmable Rocker Switch right beside a programmable dial as well to control media. You can program them via Alienware’s new Command Center.
You can use it with a USB paracord cable included in the box. You can also turn it wireless with a 2.4GHz dongle and work with it for 42 hours in that mode. You can also make it your Bluetooth 5.2 keyboard for up to three devices with a simple switch at the back of the keyboard. There is also a Tenkeyless (TKL) variant (AW420K) of the wireless keyboard if that is what you prefer to work with.
Once you deal with your controls, you now want something that will sharpen and hone your senses. You need absolute focus and immersion when it comes to getting your senses tuned. You want a gaming headset that pulls you into the game world. You want an Alienware AW720H wireless gaming headset.
The AW720H Wireless Gaming Headset packs a powerful 40mm driver with hi-res certification and Dolby Atmos tuning for the most immersive experience you can get in a headphone. It offers 3D virtual surround sound for that all-important environmental awareness in your games. Attached to the headphone is an AI equipped noise-cancelling boom microphone for your communication needs. The mic reduces ambient sound in your physical environment to ensure that your speeches are extra crisp and clear even during an intense battle. If your teammates cannot hear you, you might want to get them to buy this pair of headphones too.
It comes with a 2.4GHz USB Type-C dongle to be plugged into your PC or your smartphone if you want. It will last up to 30 hours in wireless mode. If you prefer a wired connection, there is still the 3.5mm AUX jack. Or, you can go for the wired variant (AW520H) of the headset. There is no gesture control nonsense here either. There is a quick-access button array on either side of the ear cups to quickly control your headphones without exiting your games.
Price and Availability
Alienware’s latest Tenkeyless Gaming Keyboard AW420K is now available on their website at MYR 719. The new wireless gaming headset AW720H and wireless gaming mouse AW620M will be available by the end of March 2023 for MYR 679 and 369 respectively. You can choose between Alienware’s signature White or black colour option for the headset. The wired variant of the headset (AW520H) and the full-sized wireless gaming keyboard AW920K will be available in Q2 2023 onward with no price revealed. For more information on Alienware’s latest gaming peripherals, you can head to their website.
At the heart of any scalable business in the modern world is a computer. It is not necessarily the most powerful PC you can find in the market. It does not need to be. The PC you look at, when you need to run a business, is a PC small enough to fit into any space and powerful enough to run either your accounting programs, your Point of Sale (POS) program, or even for inventory tracking. In those use cases, you do not need a processing chip with a million cores and clocks at a hundred GHz. You need something that is power efficient, takes up little space, and reliable. You need a mini PC, most of the time.
ASUS announces their latest mini PC that should be right up your alley in commercial applications. The ExpertCentre PN64-E1 mini PC, as they call it, is a tiny little box of a PC that is no larger than your regular TV box today. While it is not the first PC in the world to feature Intel’s 13th generation Core processor, it is one of the smallest you can find in the world at this time. It is also powerful enough to power up to four 4K displays at any given time.
ASUS’ ExpertCentre PN64-E1 mini PC is not going to be something you want to get for gaming. It packs up to Intel’s Core i7-13700H. It is an H-series processor, which should be a good indication to its performance. It is not a full-fledged desktop processor though. The H-series processor is a mobile processor. That also means that you will not be able to upgrade the processor in the future. Still, this PC should be able to work for you in the next 3 years at least. You can also opt for Intel’s Core i5-13500H if budget is a concern. Both processors has a typical power draw of up to 35W, which means that they are highly efficient to work with.
Alongside the processor is up to 32GB of DDR5-4800 RAM. You cannot upgrade this in the future too though, since they are SO-DIMM units soldered to the board. Still, if you opt for the 32GB variant, you can rest easy knowing that it will run all kinds of things without too much of a hiccup in the coming years. You can also opt for up to 1TB in HDD storage and up to 2TB in SSD storage just to ensure that your programs run smoothly and you have ample of storage to store your data.
As mentioned, the ExperCenter PN64-E1 can support up to four 4K displays at the same time, or a single 8K 60fps output. There are two HDMI outputs out the back of the mini PC and two additional Thunderbolt 4 capable USB Type-C ports to work with. If you should ever need multiple displays on your storefront, a single unit should be able to handle most of the workload. All of this is also made possible by Intel’s latest Iris Xe graphics integrated to the Core processors. You can also use one of the Thunderbolt 4 ports as a power input port if you prefer to run multiple machines with a single GaN charger.
There are no mentions on the ASUS ExpertCenter PN64-E1 mini PC’s availability in the region just yet. With that, there are also no mentions on its final pricing either. If you wish to obtain the mini PC for commercial purposes, you can directly reach out to ASUS for inquiries. Otherwise, we have to wait for ASUS to officially announce its local availability and final price. For that and more, watch this space. If you want to know more about ASUS’ latest mini PC, you can find out more on their website.
Gaming is not cheap, that is a known fact. To own a decent smartphone that games well will cost you at least MYR 1,500 onward and up to MYR 7,000. Modern gaming consoles will set you back around MYR 2,500 these days too. Then you have gaming PCs; a decent gaming PC that can run games nicely at Full HD resolution will still set you back MYR 2,500 onward if you do not mind working with older hardware. You have not even factored in the price of games today.
You want to spend the bulk of your money on the hardware. You can save money on the games you play if you are patient. You can save up on peripherals too. Still, you want to make sure you get a decent gaming display, because they might make or break your gaming experience.
For gaming, you need a low response time, preferably anything below 5ms. You also want a fast refresh rate so that you can take advantage of the processing power of newer gaming set ups; you want at least 75Hz. But you also want excellent colours for that immersive quality; you want an IPS panel on the display at least. The reality is that displays that fit all the bill will usually set you back North of MYR 1,000.
What if we tell you that you do not need to spend that much for a gaming display that offers you everything we listed above? For MYR 549, you can get an Acer Nitro VG270 E gaming display.
It fits the bill for a basic gaming monitor. You get 1ms response time and it offers 100Hz refresh rate, fast enough. You also get an IPS panel pushing more than 16 million colours to you.
At that price though, what are you giving up? What is the caveat? Is this worth your hard-earned money? We dive in and find out.
Design
The Acer Nitro VG270 E looks like those generic displays you can find in the stores. It is slightly thicker than most displays of its size but not unreasonably thick. The thickness is necessary for some cooling solutions, we think.
It also features ultra-thin bezels. There is also a 75 x 75 VESA mounting out the back. That means you can ditch the small monitor stand that comes with the display. Oh yes, the tiny monitor stand that it comes with can be assembled and disassembled without tools. The small stand has some red and gloss black highlights that indicates “gaming”.
There are no RGB modules or attachments here. It does not come with an RGB outlet too. It is a basic gaming monitor after all, a cost-efficient one at that. Even the stand it comes with is a standard monitor stand without height adjustments, and limited tilt adjustment. There is a hole that we think could be used for some cable management on the stand, but only if you do not mind sticking the base out the back of your desk.
There is a large Acer logo on the top left right of the monitor’s backplate just above the cooling vents. There is another Acer logo on the bottom lip of the display up front to let you know that it is not a Predator product. Out the back, in the middle of the backplate framed by the VESA mounting points is a kind of logo in the shape of a ‘V’. We presume that it is a sort of ‘V’ for VG0 series or something like that. That logo gets covered if you use a VESA mounting, yes.
Hardware
As mentioned, you get an IPS panel for this display. The IPS panel only offers Full HD resolution. Full HD is quite enough for most games and means you do not need top-of-the-line hardware to get it running.
TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light Acer Eyecare (blue light filter)
Miscellaneous
1x HDMI 1.4 1x DP 1.2 AMD Freesync VESA compatible
Features
At MYR 549, you may want to also adjust your expectations with the monitor. If you read through the spec sheet too, the monitor is pretty bare. Still, that does not mean that there are no good qualities to the Acer VG270 E.
AUX Out? Nope. Speakers then? Nope. No Problem
One of the sacrifices comes in the form of your audio. The monitor does not feature built-in speakers. There is no audio passthrough as well to get your audio out from the monitor. That means that you do not get an AUX output port on the monitor.
That is not such a bad thing though. You might as well spend the extra money you saved on the monitor on better quality headphones or Bluetooth speakers. An external speaker or headphones will always produce better sound than most built-in speakers even on modern displays.
HDMI in, DP in
HDMI input should always be expected on modern displays. It is not an HDMI 2.1 port, but it does not matter. HDMI 2.1 ports are usualy required for resolutions above 4K or even to drive higher framerates on 4K displays. In this case, you are only getting Full HD resolution at 100Hz. An HDMI 1.4 port is way more than enough to handle the demands of the display panel.
What could be more significant is the fact that the Nitro VG270 E packs a DisplayPort 1.2 (DP1.2) inlet. Most modern GPUs come with one HDMI port and multiple DP out ports. That is because DP chords allow for a higher data transmission between two hardware. On this display, it is really made just so that newer GPUs with less HDMI ports can take advantage of the Nitro monitor.
AMD FreeSync
AMD’s FreeSync is like NVIDIA’s G-SYNC technology in preventing screen tearing in high fps situations. While NVIDIA’s G-SYNC technology has some exclusive technologies behind it, you may not notice too much difference in its final implementation. You are still getting a sort of tear-free gaming experience with AMD’s FreeSync.
For us, we tested the display with F1 2022 to really push the frame rates of the display. We hardly notice any tearing on the display with V-Sync off. At the same time, screen-tearing on Full HD is mostly an issue of the past. Most hardware made in the last five years or so can easily handle gaming at Full HD resolution at 144Hz without too much of a tearing issue.
Look at Those Colours on This IPS Panel
A 27-inch IPS panel at this price point is quite unheard of. In fact, we thought it would be impossible to fit an IPS display on displays at less than MYR 800 price point. Acer has proved us wrong this time with the VG270 E.
This means that the VG270 E offers a much better experience compared to any displays in its price range. IPS panel also means that you get a fast, smooth display with excellent contrasts and colour depth. It is not the most premium IPS display, since you can only push about 300nits out of it. When you game though, the 300 nits brightness should not matter much. The sRGB colour calibrated display offers vivid and rich colours on your images.
This feature alone makes the display feel more expensive than it is. At the same time, when you look at the display, you know that your money is spent in all the right places. You really are better off spending the money you saved on much better audio gear.
Performance
Like we said, your MYR 549 is spent on features that matter. The bulk of it goes to the panel itself. Better panel means you get better gaming and display experience.
100Hz + 1ms – Fast Enough
To be fair, the sweet spot for refresh rates on gaming displays these days is in the region of 144Hz. You see high-end eSports displays too going at up to 360Hz. 240Hz displays are also becoming more popular these days.
In most cases, 100Hz is more than enough for casual gamers. You still get a smooth gaming experience if your hardware can drive it. If you are playing AAA titles you might not even be getting anything beyond 90fps unless you push the graphics settings down.
There are faster responding displays too. You can get a Predator gaming monitor that responds at 0.1ms (grey-to-grey), if you really want. 1ms is still plenty fast enough for even competitive titles like Counterstrike: Global Offensive (CS: GO), F1 2022, and even Assetto Corsa. There is a small caveat here, you only get 1ms response time if you activate the display’s Visual Response Boost. For that, you want to access the monitor’s OSD settings and put the display in extreme overdrive. It makes the display dimmer, but the display is not that bright in the first place at 300nits.
Gaming with IPS at Full HD
Gaming in Full HD at 27-inch is not as bad as it sounds. We tested the monitor with games like F1 2022, Hot Wheels Unleashed, and Red Dead Redemption. Only Hot Wheels Unleashed hit 100 fps in our test with a 2022 Predator Helios 300 packing an Intel Core i7-12700H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060. F1 2022 averages about 35-40fps while Red Dead Redemption was nicely running at 60fps. All in all, all the titles play well with the monitor and are within the monitor’s capabilities. All the games look excellent on the display, the images look sharp and immersive enough to work with. Most of them are also running High to Ultra graphics settings, which is good news to those who has budget set-ups with entry-level GPUs.
The colours reproduction from the Nitro monitor is better than we expected. F1 2022 looks vibrant and alive with the IPS panel. Hot Wheels Unleached looks colourful and rich even when you get racy. Red Dead Redemption, at 60fps, Red Dead Redemption feels immersive and beautiful.
We chose these games instead of the usual CS:GO and DOTA 2 because we also wanted to show that even budget set-ups can run AAA games at Ultra or High graphics smoothly. It is one of the biggest benefits of choosing Full HD resolution over 2K. Of course, Full HD resolution only works up to a certain size, anything bigger than 27-inch might warrant 2K resolution to fully enjoy.
If you prefer console gaming owning a PlayStation 4 or the PlayStation 4 Pro is more than enough with the Nitro monitor. You will be able to enjoy all your games at Full HD at up to 60fps in this case without a fuss.
For the Movie Buffs
Thanks to the richness and accuracy of the IPS panel, videos look great too. Netflix and Amazon Prime app will natively support the Full HD resolution and stream at Full HD. Full HD videos require less data to stream. That also means that you get a smoother stream even at lower internet speeds. Drive to Survive on Netflix still looks detailed, immersive, and rich on the Nitro display.
There is a small trade off with the price tag though. The Nitro VG270 E does not with speakers. While your PC might recognize the HDMI device and try to push audio through the monitor, you might want to get into your audio settings and push the audio back through your laptop’s speakers, your external speakers, or even headphones.
For Your Work
We must stress that the display is not meant for colour grading. Even with the IPS panel, the Nitro is not calibrated enough for colour grading work. You can spend your own money and time to get it closer to sRGB standards though. Still, 27-inch is great for video workflows. While you may not be able to get colour grading works done, there is still plenty of real estate to scrub through your videos and work with other tools on your video editing app.
We work with a lot of Microsoft Word documents since we do a lot of write ups. In that sense, the monitor can offer some good eye protection, since you might be staring at the display a lot. The display itself offers a hardware coded blue-light filter that you can access from the OSD settings. In some sense, it is a better blue-light filter than what Windows can offer you natively, but that also means that your display turns more yellow. It works though, we feel like we can effectively look at the display for hours without feeling strained.
The Nitro VG270 E – That All-in-One, All-You-Want Monitor at a Budget
It does not have 144Hz refresh rate. It does not even come in the ideal 2K QHD resolution at that. It does not even have built-in speakers. There is no audio processor or passthrough as well on the monitor, you only get three old format ports on the monitor – a power inlet, HDMI 1.4 inlet, and a DisplayPort 1.2 inlet.
100Hz is better than 60Hz and 75Hz and is enough for competitive gaming. At Full HD, you require less power from your hardware. That also means you can save even more money on your gaming set-up. The money you saved buying this monitor can also be better spent for a better audio solution for more immersive gaming or even entertainment purposes. You do not need DP 1.4 or HDMI 2.0 as well, you are only projecting at Full HD and up to 100Hz. A DP cable is also included with the purchase, so your modern GPUs still can work with the monitor.
At its price point of MYR 549, you get everything you need. You get an IPS panel too at that. In that sense, there is almost no competition to the gaming monitor that is the Nitro VG270 E at this price point.
It is not a perfect gaming monitor. For that, you want to look at Acer’s own Predator gaming monitor line-up. If you have even more money to spend, you also might look at what other brands like ASUS ROG, Samsung, and even LG is offering in that space. At the same time, if budget is not an issue and you have a set-up with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 at the very least, this should not even land in your radar. It will still make a rather nifty and cheap secondary monitor for your chats and other windows.
For a budget set-up, with a mid-range gaming PC set-up with something like an older NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970, and Intel’s 8th Generation Processors, this is a perfect set-up. Even for more modern set-up with at least the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20 series GPU and Intel’s 19th Generation processor, this is right up your field in terms of modern gaming. Like we said, the money you saved on your monitor can be spent on a decent headphones. You can buy something like a Sony WH-CH720N headphones that we are reviewing for your set-up, for example. Trust us, you are going to be more than happy with this kind of set-up.
The ASUS Zenbook line-up must be one of the most innovative, if not the most innovative thin-and-light notebook names in the industry. The namesake is also the first in the industry to pioneer what Intel and ASUS called the Ultrabook segment in modern computing. Before the Zenbook, Windows laptops with Intel processors were clunky, heavy, and lasts no longer than 3 hours away from the sockets. They were not very fast too back then. If you wanted a notebook that could be a working PC away from home without too much fuss, you needed a MacBook.
Fast forward to 2023 and we have their latest Zenbook thin-and-light to boot. Welcome to the latest Zenbook 14X OLED and Zenbook 14 Flip OLED laptops. While they look similar, they are built different and for slightly different things.
ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED
The ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED is the next evolution of the Zenbook line-up for 2023. It is the most powerful 14-inch thin-and-light from ASUS so far, which should not come as a surprise. As with any new laptop announced in 2023, it carries the latest and greatest from Intel and NVIDIA.
To start with, the new thin-and-light “ultrabook” packs Intel’s most extreme processor to date for mobile computing. It comes with Intel’s 13th generation Core i9-13900H (up to) CPU alongside up to 32GB of LPDDR5-4800 RAM, which is sort of a CPU reserved for only the most powerful and extremes of laptops. As with any laptop with this kind of CPU fire power, you want a discreet GPU to run along with it. The Zenbook 14X OLED packs NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3050 entry-level GPU. That is not a bad thing; it is still a powerful GPU, but its power requirements means you do not need a chunky heat management solution to work with.
The result is a thin chassis that only measures 16.9-inch at the thickest. It is an all-metal chassis that ensures rigidity and durability like no other, it feels premium too. It does not weigh all that much too at just 1.5kg. At this point, you start to also wonder how it still packs so many features.
The Zenbook 14X OLED comes with a Full HD webcam. Alongside the webcam, there is an IR (infrared) blaster and an ambient light sensor for facial recognition and eye protection purposes. It has two Thunderbolt 4 ports (USB Type-C) with a full-sized USB type-A 3.2 Gen2 port alongside a full-sized HDMI 2.1 port. They have learned from their mistakes a little bit; it has an AUX jack on the side. It even comes with 1TB of SSD storage, if you need it to. Within the svelte chassis also is a 70Wh battery that should last you all day.
As with its namesake, the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED comes with a large 14.5-inch OLED display. That OLED display is not a plain Full HD display you get out of so many laptops its size. It is a 2.8K high-resolution display you can show off to all your graphic designer and content creator friends. It offers DisplayHDR 600 with TrueBlack certification colours and Delta E<2. That means you get an almost lifelike colour reproduction and representation on your display that could be useful not just for your enjoyment, but for your work as well. The panel even boasts 120Hz, which might be good for gaming (which you totally can do).
Other than just colour grading on the nice display, you would want to watch movies on it. You can Netflix at high-resolution with little issue with the built-in WiFi 6E connectivity. The speakers in this are powerful too with ASUS’ latest Smart Amplifier technology, harman kardon tuning, and Dolby Atmos certification. If you are using it for video conferences, there is also a dual-mic array that comes with AI noise-cancelling technology.
ASUS Zenbook 14 Flip OLED
If you need something more flexible there is the convertible laptop that is the Zenbook 14 Flip OLED. It comes with the same 2.8K resolution as the Zenbook 14X OLED. But it is not an expansive 14.5-inch. Instead, it is a slightly smaller 14-inch. It still offers up to 90Hz in refresh rate and offers DisplayHDR500 with TrueBlack certification. You also get up to 100% in DCI-P3 colour gamut, which is plenty accurate. The best part is that it swivels up to 360-degree to make it a 1.5kg tablet you can carry around and work with in any form you like.
Inside, you will find an Intel Core i5-1340p mid-range processor alongside 16GB of LPDDR5 memory and Intel’s own Iris Xe integrated graphics. It may not sound like much, but this is enough for you to not just enjoy movies with. You can get plenty of browsing and even other work done with it. You can edit photos with it as well, if you want. To ensure that you have enough storage for all your photo work, you have 512GB in SSD storage too.
Alongside all that, you get a nice Full HD webcam with IR blaster for Windows Hello security. You have speakers with Smart Amp technology, tuned by harman kardon, and Dolby Atmos certification. Underneath all that you still get WiFi 6E connectivity and a large 75Wh battery pack that should keep your convertible running all day.
Price and Availability
The ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED is now available in its Intel Core i7-13700H + 16GB LPDDR5 guise at MYR 5,999. It comes in two attractive colours – Inkwell Gray or Sandstone Beige. It will also be available in an Intel Core i5-13500H flavour and an extreme Intel Core i9-13900H + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 combo for MYR 4,999 and MYR 6,999 respectively in April 2023. If you prefer the convertible form factor, the ZenBook 14 Flip will be available later in the month in Foggy Silver colour option for MYR 5,499. For more information on ASUS’ latest laptops, you can head over to their website.
How will we connect with colleagues in five to ten years’ time? Will we all be interacting with holograms? Fully immersed in virtual worlds? Or will the reality be much closer to how most of us work from our laptops today?
Virtual worlds and immersive experiences could offer exciting new ways to connect with others – and our content. And with people more dispersed and working patterns more personalised than before, how we collaborate and get things done has never been more important.
It’s my team’s role to dig into future trends and technologies, experiment with solutions and reimagine experiences. Though immersive environments will play a role in the future of work, face-to-face meetings, instant messages, collaboration tools, and video calls aren’t going anywhere. That’s why we’re focusing on the user experience and honing in on everyday micro-moments that could be disruptive as we potentially bounce between physical, digital and virtual worlds in the future.
We’re asking questions like: How will people interact at the intersections of these worlds? What tools will people need to move between these locations seamlessly? What if people don’t want to wear a headset and dive into a virtual world for 8 hours a day – would they be excluded from future projects or collaboration opportunities?
Intelligent, familiar tools for future interactions
Using Concept Nyx’s ability to deliver compute all around, powered at the edge, we have been exploring how familiar devices and peripherals could be paired with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to work together as an ecosystem to deliver easily accessible and immersive experiences beyond gaming.
Our labs are packed with curated immersive demonstrations and concepts to help us test and explore how Dell could help people move between various spaces and tasks intuitively in the future. From fully immersive Virtual Reality (VR) builds to Mixed Reality (XR) experiences featuring displays and other tools that remove the need for a VR headset, these environments have helped us evolve concepts like the Concept Nyx Companion. As a lightweight tablet-style device that could be viewed and accessed in VR and XR environments, the concept could be a consistent tool throughout all these spaces and could ensure a user’s content is in one place as they move between spaces and tasks. No more taking photos of whiteboards or copying notes to be uploaded to a different space – users could just screenshot their project space and/or easily copy content for sharing across screens.
Together with the Concept Nyx Stylus, you could input notes by voice or via pen, and drag + drop them into digital and virtual collaboration spaces, and even use the voice activation for AI image creation – perfect for non-aspiring artists! All these tools could also seamlessly be used alongside the Concept Nyx Spatial Input in a future desktop environment with a keyboard and mouse, and possibly 3D displays too. We’ve been looking at creative ways to connect these traditional tools for a clutter-free space, and we’ve also been thinking about intuitive gestures for interacting with content – for example, using the tip of the Stylus for writing and the top of the Stylus for interacting with onscreen content or using the Spatial Input as a dial for a 360 view or for zooming in on details.
We’ve even been thinking through how people might show up in future digital and virtual spaces. We’ve all been on video calls where we need to step away for a moment to answer the door or tend to a pet or child off-camera. Instead of leaving a blank screen, empty seat, or static 2015 headshot, imagine with a wave of your hand, you could stay present as an intelligent avatar while you step away or stay off camera completely. To explore this, we’ve been experimenting with gestures and movement tracking and building on our imaging technology and video conferencing expertise to create the Concept Nyx Spatial camera, which when paired with AI software, could learn a user’s expressions and mannerisms to deliver a more authentic representation of them for future interactions.
Advancing the Concept Nyx Ecosystem
From infrastructure to devices, Dell is at the centre of present and future workplaces and is focused on developing the tools that will be needed to navigate these spaces. Right now, this means bringing tools to market like a new generation of UltraSharp conferencing monitors and intelligent webcams with motion-activated controls and presence detection, and building on technologies like storage, 5G, multi-cloud and edge that provide the advanced connectivity and infrastructure to allow organisations to shape how they work. In the future, productivity tools will be connected and intelligent enough to seamlessly move from experience to experience and task to task, helping to break down barriers and redefine how colleagues connect with one another.
My team continues to explore the future of compelling, immersive experiences in both work and play. Concepts play a huge role in allowing our designers, engineers, and strategists to test and tweak devices and solutions to inform future experience roadmaps. We’re excited to keep you updated on our journey!
Buying a gaming PC set-up is an exciting thing. You tend to get excited though. You tend to spend the bulk of your money on the tower for your gaming PC, which is not wrong. You do want to spend most of your budget getting a PC set-up that will last you the next few years and fit within your budget. The problem is when you spend nearly all your money there, you do not have much left to spend on other things that will make your gaming set-up work.
In those cases, your budget only allows you to buy a cheap monitor that is not designed for gaming, a regular mouse, and a regular keyboard. Here is the thing though, if you have MYR 400 set aside for your monitor, you still can get a gaming monitor. For MYR 379, you can get an Acer Nitro QG0 series gaming monitor.
The Acer Nitro QG0 series is not just any regular poor quality gaming monitor for the masses. It is designed with budget in mind, yes; it is also built with enjoyment and gamers in mind. Of course, you want to tamper your expectations a little bit.
You have two sizes to choose from – 27-inch and 24-inch. You do not get an IPS panel at this price, you instead get VA panels on the monitors. Still, that is not exactly a bad thing.
Across the three monitors they just introduced for 2023, the QG0 series monitors all offer 95% in sRGB colour gamut. While you do not get the vivid colour quality from IPS or OLED panels, you still get rather saturated and somewhat accurate colours from the monitor. In that case, games and movies will still look acceptably good on whichever Ntiro QG0 monitors you choose.
They are all fast panels too. The 27-inchQG270S3 and 24-inch QG240YS3 offer 1ms in response time. The QG240YH3 is a little slower at 4ms, but it is no slouch either at that speed. They also offer 180Hz and 100Hz refresh rates respectively, faster than the more premium Nitro VG270 E monitor. All the Nitro QG0 monitors comes with HDR10 certification too. All of them also comes with AMD’s FreeSync feature allowing for tear-free gaming.
While all of them only offer an old-school Full HD resolution, they include a DisplayPort on top of an HDMI port to fit more modern gaming set-ups. They also have an audio pass through feature via an Audio-Out 3.5mm jack. If you need something to fit your old system, the QG240YH3 comes with a VGA port rather than a DisplayPort.
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
The Acer Nitro QG0 series is now available in Malaysia. You can get your hands on one from Acer stores, authorised partners, their online store, and even their online retaile partners like Shopee and Lazada. The VG240YH3 24-inch 100Hz monitor starts at MYR 379. If you prefer higher refresh rates, the 24-inch QG240YS3 will retail fro MYR 499, and the 27-inch QG270S3 will be priced at MYR 589. For more information on the new Acer Nitro monitors, you can head over to their website.
