Category Archives: Computers

Windows 11 Announced! What is New?

June 29, 2021 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Windows 11 was just announced by Microsoft last week. Before the launch though, the new biggest update to the most popular computing Operating System in the world was endlessly teased and leaked. From what we saw too, Microsoft’s Windows 11 is a huge departure from Windows 10 in terms of looks and design.

Centered Task Bar and Redesigned Start Menu

But Windows 11 is more than just a cosmetic change over Windows 10. Then again, when we say it is a major visual change over Windows 10, it was more of a rearrangement on how Windows look and work. For one, Windows 11’s task bar is now centered rather than being aligned to the left of the desktop.

Thing is, the changes on Windows 11 is more than skin deep. The Windows Start menu is still lodged at the leftmost side of the taskbar. It is redesigned though to open up to a bigger window. Gone are the live tiles too which also means less clutter in the start menu.

The focus on the Start menu is more productivity and convenience for users than ever. That is also why you can pin apps on the menu with recommended apps. Of course, you still can access all apps from the start menu, but it is an extra process this time. Less clutter and items on the start menu also means that it is easier and quicker to find things you usually work with from the start menu. Of course, you can still pin all your shortcuts on the Desktop home page.

The centered taskbar though is a clever way to make Windows 11 more touch friendly. The Microsoft Windows interface is notorious for not being the most touch friendly interface in the world. Even Windows 10, the most touch friendly interface of all the Windows versions before it fell a little short even when a stylus is involved.

Multitasking Redefined

WIN SnapAssist Light 16x9 en US 1 1024x576 1 — Source: Microsoft

Windows 10 did something right though; Microsoft’s Windows 10 got multitasking done right. When you bring a window to different ends of your screen, the window snaps to smaller windows to allow you to fit two to four windows on a single display. Windows laptops can push up to three displays including its own, which also means you can fit up to 12 windows for even more multitasking.

Windows 11 expands on the multitasking capabilities of Windows 10. It is now easier ever to arrange your windows to parts of your display. Instead of the traditional 50:50 ratio you get when you put two windows on your display. You can now adjust so that one of the windows occupy 2 thirds of your display. You can also put three evenly sized windows side by side on one display. That, or have one of the displays occupy half the display in the middle of the display. All you have to do is click on the traditional minimise/maximise window button and choose where you want to put the window.

At the same time, you can create separate desktop home screens for different purposes and for different times. You can create a desktop designed completely for work, for example. Once work is done, you can switch to a desktop for gaming, or a specific desktop for other forms of entertainment like music, or movies. What you want to do with your desktop is by your design.

More Gaming

1920 Panel10 Picture Playtime V2 alt — Source: Microsoft

The gaming industry boomed in the past two years alone thanks exclusively to the current phenomena that is the pandemic. The pandemic situation means that most of us are stuck at home with nowhere to go. That also means that you do not get to hang out with your friends other than in an online space. That online space could a video call watching movies together, or it can also be online gaming. More time at home can also mean more time for games – something we have been complaining we have not got enough time for.

It also makes sense for Windows to be more gamer friendly than ever. The Windows 11 comes with DirectX 12 Ultimate for super high frame rate and super detailed graphics for your favourite games. DirectStorage ensures that your games loads faster and near instantly. Windows 11 also comes with Auto HDR, finally, for more vivid colours and an immersive visual experience.

Then there is Xbox Game Pass, a dedicated gaming store for Windows 11. Xbox Game Pass also means that games that are available on Xbox and Xbox exclusives will be available on Windows. Games like the upcoming Halo: Inifnite will comes to Microsoft’s Windows 11. EA Play also comes at no additional cost on Game Pass.

Widgets Make a Comeback

Widgets were scraped in Windows 10. The idea was that Widgets on the home screen might clutter the desktop too much that your PC looks like a trash can that could not make any sense. The direction for Windows 10 was to make your PC super clean looking.

Windows 11 thinks of widgets differently though. Windows 11 thinks of widgets as a quick way to sort and consume information. Windows 11 also ensures that the widgets you want to work with does not interfere and clutter your desktop or start menu though. That also means that your widgets are all stored in their own separate space. You get your weather updates, calendar, and news from your chosen source all in one glass sheet on top of the desktop.

Apps For and From Everyone

MicrosoftTeams image 1 1024x683 1 — Source: Microsoft

The Microsoft Store has been gaining traction since Windows 10. In Windows 11, Microsoft aims to make the Microsoft Store the only app store you only need. Obviously the Microsoft Store houses all the most popular Windows compatible apps in one place including Adobe’s Creative Cloud, and popular streaming apps like Netflix, Prime video, and Disney+.

But it is not just a store for apps. The Store is also a place where users can rent and buy movies and music. Microsoft Store is now the central place for entertainment in Windows 11.

These are nothing new though, we knew that the Microsoft Store will eventually be the place for all things you want in Windows 11. What is big is Windows embracing mobile operating systems. You can now find Android apps in Microsoft Store and run Android apps natively on Windows 11 itself via Amazon Appstore.

Even Better Security

Of course, with every iteration of Windows, security becomes more of a priority than ever. The current Windows 10 with all its major updates and security updates is more secure than ever. Microsoft is also still updating the system to ensure that it is more secure than ever before. Windows 11 builds on the foundations of Windows 10, which is currently Microsoft’s most secure operating system.

In that sense, upgrading to Windows 11 from Windows 10 is basically like a regular system update that you are used to from Window update. Because the basic infrastructure and architecture of the Operating System is the same one as Windows 10, apps that you have on Windows 10 will automatically work on Windows 11.

Windows 11 is also built as a Zero Trust-ready concept to allow users to protect their data and access across all their devices. Of course, there is the requirement that Windows 11 can only work on devices with Trusted Platform Module 2.0. You can easily check if your PC is ready to take on Windows 11 in a few simple steps. You just have to click on your start menu, type and open ‘Run’, and type tpm.msc to find out if you have TPM 2.0 installed on PC.

Windows 11 is Coming Soon

Windows 11 will be rolling out as an update from Windows 10 later in 2021 onward. If you are a part of the Windows Insider Program, you should be able to access an early version of Windows 11 this week onward. For more information on Windows 11, you can check out Microsoft’s website. You can also check if your PC is eligible for the Windows 11 update or not within the same link.

Accessories, Computers, Editor's Choice, Editorial, Gaming, Lifestyle, Reviews

Razer Seiren Mini In-Depth Review – Little Pill, Big Volume

June 24, 2021 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

We were planning to review this item on video. The problem was our studio had to close because of the Pandemic. It is now a written review instead.

There is a reason why we wanted to review the Razer Seiren Mini on video though. We technically can use it as our audio input for the video, completely using the audio recorded from the Razer Seiren Mini as our voice over for the video. Why? Because it made sense.

The Razer Seiren Mini is not necessarily a new product segment for Razer though. They had the Razer Seiren X before this, a big mic thing that Razer made for streamers. That USB mic received plenty of praises for being one really good mic especially for streamers.

It was a little big though. Then again, having a big mic is not really an issue when you have a streaming set up at home. Having a big mic is never really touted as an issue at all for streamers.

So, what is the Razer Seiren Mini? Why would anyone buy this little mic if they could just get the adult sized Razer Seiren? Is it even something you should consider?

Design

It comes in three colour shades; it comes in plain black, solid white, and even pink. There are no green mics though; quite odd considering this is Razer we are talking about. But at least the black is universal enough that it does not look like it is out of place on the video. If you want a little bit of a flavour, the pink should fit your style nicely. Keep in mind that it does not taste like cotton candy though, it tastes metallic.

Literal taste aside though, the whole package of the Razer Seiren Mini is rather unassuming. The capsule looking body with mic does not look like it is made to impress anyone. The whole package comes with its own mini legs too, which is nice, because that means you do not need to get a separate mic stand for it. It is easy to set up too because the mic uses a proper, regular mic stand ¾-inch thread. There are two standard mic holder thread though, so do check properly.

In some ways, it looks cute because it is just so tiny, and light. It looks and feels durable too, and that is the best part because we think that users might use this mic as a portable mic set-up as well. At least, that is also what Razer is selling this product as, a “portable mini microphone”. The only missing thing from the whole package, in that case, is a carrying case for the mic.

Hardware

Inside this tiny capsule is a 14mm super cardioid condenser. Which also means it is not a passive type of dynamic mic that words by just plugging it into an amp or mixer; you need power. At the same time, you cannot plug this into any XLR, or ¼” jack though. It is a USB Type-C mic that also draws its power from the PC it is connected to.

Specifications

Sample Rate	44.1 KHz – 48 KHz
Microphone	14mm Super Cardioid Condenser Built-in Shock Mounting
Frequency Response	20 Hz – 20 KHz
Power	5V 500mA Via Micro USB
Sensitivity	17.8 mV/Pa (1 KHz)
Max SPL	110 dB

Features

While the mic does not look like much, there is quite a lot of things packed into the small capsule mic though. It is a USB Type-C mic, which also means it is a simple plug and play now. The USB port is designed to sort of hide the cable connection and make the whole capsule look whole. There is some clever surprise inside the capsule body as well.

Flush USB Plug and Play

Micro USB is not necessarily new in electronics. The difference between this one mic with other mics of its type is how they hide the cable. Well, they did not really hide the cable, just the fact that they made it seem like the cable is a part of the mic capsule itself. Of course, they colour match the cables too.

Razer does not just give you a regular looking USB cable for you to connect to your Razer Serine mini and calls it a day. They made an effort to properly design a USB cable head that matches and sits flush with the body of your Razer Seiren Mini.

While it is a plug and play mic solution, it is not Razer Synapse compatible unfortunately. That can be a good thing too though; it just works. To control the volume, you just go to Windows audio settings and sort it out. All you have to do is figure out the best place to put your mic and you can get streaming, podcasting, and even use it in your video conference.

Super Cardioid Condenser

What you get inside the capsule mic, as mentioned before, is a 14mm super cardioid condenser. A condenser cannot work without a power source, unlike dynamic mics. There are advantages to dynamic mics compared to condensers. For example, on a dynamic mic, you get cleaner audio and it is simple to work with. Dynamic mics are known to be durable as well, just find a studio and ask them for their oldest Shure SM58 mic, ask them how old it is, and you will understand why.

Condensers have their own advantages as well though. Condensers tend to be a lot more sensitive than dynamic mics. Heightened sensitivity allows you to place the mic further away from you or have more control over sensitivity depending on where you place the mic. But that also means that you have more freedom to place your mic in different locations and positions to pick up different sounds like ambient noise and such. On top of that, condensers can be a lot more compact than dynamic mics.

Super cardioid refers to its pickup pattern which centers mostly at its front and a little bit at the back. It is a tighter pattern compared to a general cardioid mic though which also means that it will be a lot less sensitive to noise and sounds from the sides of the mic. Which also means you really want to point the front of the mic toward the source of the sound you want being picked up, you. At least that is straight forward enough to do; the front of the mic is where the power indication LED and RAZER branding is.

Built-in Shock Mount

Because condensers are also more sensitive, every little bump and shake can be picked up by the mic. That is why shock mounting is important when you get a condenser. That was our concern as well when we picked up this little Seiren Mini. Fortunately, Razer thought of that and figured out a way to fit a shock mount into the capsule, and it works. You still hear knocks on the mic, obviously, but when you place it on the table, knocks and bumps on the table is hardly heard through the mic, unless it is a hard knock. If you are using a boom arm and accidentally brushed or knocked your hands against the boom arm, the shock is also hardly heard through the mic. You only head knocks and bumps very clearly if you are bumping or knocking against the mic directly.

Tilting Stand

We will not call this the best quality tilting stand that you can find in the market. We are going to say that this is a good mic stand for your Razer Seiren Mini though. The best part about it is that you can use it with other mics or mic holders with standard mic stand threads. That also means that you can technically use different mic with a standard mic holder, and it works too. Although, you do want to make sure that you either balance the weight properly or that the mic is not too heavy to work with; dynamic mics like the Shure SM58 should be fine.

It is made with plastic mostly, even the base is covered with plastic material. Excluding the mic, there are two parts to the stand that comes standard with your Razer Seiren Mini. You get a base with a tilting thread, and a plastic stem that adapts the base to the mic because the thread on the base is a smaller standard thread. The base also comes with an anti-slip foam at the bottom to grip ensure that it does not get to move too much on your desk. The foam bottom also helps eliminate micro vibrations from your desk, which is a bonus in getting cleaner sound from you.

Performance

When you talk about the performance of a mic though, its sound quality and reproduction is everything. The thing is, specific mics serves different purposes in its design though. Mics like the Seiren Mini is really built for streamers and podcasting. That also means that it should deliver that ‘radio voice’ quality over voice chats and when you are recording a podcast, or in video calls.

Audio Quality and Reproduction

First of all, before you start thinking about downloading software solutions from Razer to control the mic, forget it. Even Razer’s synapse does not recognise the device. That also means that Razer’s own apps will not control the mic’s pickup. There are no physical buttons to the mic either, which also means you have to go into Windows 10’s or MacOS’s sound settings and control the mic sensitivity there.

No complains on that though, because it is simple enough to get to Windows audio settings and set the mic to default to the Razer Seiren Mini, set the volumes correctly in different use cases and just leave it from there. In most cases, we leave our mics to 100% sensitivity in Windows settings, especially when we tuck the mic further away from us (about 0.5m away from the mouth).

When we do our podcast though, we stuck the mic closer to our mouths and lowered the sensitivity on Window itself because the mic is now that much closer to our mouths to the point that we are almost kissing the mic. Here we find a problem with the Razer Seiren Mini. It does not have a pop-filter and Razer does not sell a Seiren Mini specific pop-filter too. That results in pops when we say things like “pick”, or “ping”, or “pack”. It is easily corrected by buying a generic pop-filter though. You only have to worry about mounting the stuff.

The audio you get from the mic is quite remarkable though. You get the same sort of sound signature with the bigger Seiren X from this little capsule. That also means a crisp voice with very clear mid-frequencies and low frequencies for great and clear voice. That also means your teammates or audience can hear you very clearly. Just be sure that nothing else is making noise behind you though, since it is a condenser.

Of course, you need to be the judge of the sound quality that the Razer Seiren Mini reproduces for you too. So, we have included a few voice clips for you to listen to. We used Adobe Audition to record all sample sound tracks.

https://techent.tv/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Track-1_001.wav

Sample Speech Windows Volume 100% approximately 50cm away

https://techent.tv/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Track-2_002.wav

Sample Speech Windows Volume at 60% approximately 50cm away

https://techent.tv/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Track-3_003.wav

Sample Speech Windows volume at 30% approximately 50cm away

https://techent.tv/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Track-4_004.wav

Sample instrument Windows volume at 100% approximately 50cm away

https://techent.tv/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Track-5_005.wav

Sample instrument Windows volume at 60% approximately 50cm away

https://techent.tv/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Track-6_006.wav

Sample instrument Windows volume at 30% approximately 50cm away

The Razer Seiren Mini – Portable Goodness in Value for Money Package

You can get your hands on the Razer Seiren Mini at MYR 249 from Razer’s official store on Shopee, or their own online store. If you really look through Shopee, you can get a Seiren Mini for even lower prices. There are three colours to choose from as well with the Razer Seiren Mini – Quartz, Mercury, and Black. We do suggest the Black for a more professional and cleaner look.

Still, if you do want to spice up your set up a little bit, the white coloured mercury colour scheme looks great too. While we are not fans of the pink Quarts colour scheme, we do think that there are plenty who would like that colour option too. Whatever it is, the colour options do give a little more freedom for expression, we think.

While we would like to see USB Type-C replacing Micro USB on the Razer Seiren Mini, there is nothing much wrong with Micro USB. A lot of older USB devices still work nicely. Plenty of audio interfaces in the market are still relying on USB Type-B ports too. With the provided cable anyway, the connection is secure and reliable.

At the same price with the Razer Seiren Mini, there are other solutions like HyperX’s Solocast USB microphone. The Solocast does come with a nice built-in stand that looks extremely sturdy. The mic is also taller and a little bigger than the Razer Seiren Mini. Because of that though, it is a little more cumbersome, less portable. When connected to your PC, the USB cable sticks out like a sore thumb too, which could be less appealing in terms of cable management. The HyperX Solocast does have a touch sensitive ‘mute’ button though, while the Razer Seiren Mini does not.

Thing is, recommending the Razer Seiren Mini is really easy for us. At its price, it is hard to find a compelling enough mic that boasts the same quality and features. It is also a relatively economical and simple way to increase the audio quality of your conference calls and even streams. Because it is so small, you can easily throw it in your bag and set up anywhere and anytime.

Business, Computers, Gaming, Lifestyle, News

[MWC2021] Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 is the Stealth Powerhouse for You!

June 24, 2021 Darwin Sucipto 1 Comment

Working on-the-go comes with a lot of compromises. When you are on the move, you want a companion that is fuss-free, easy to work with, reliable, and most importantly light and compact. The trade-off to that is always power.

You see this in modern laptops made for the working professionals. When you get super lightweight, super compact laptops, they usually do not come with a discrete GPU. That also means that if you need your PC to do more than just word processing, or browsing the web, or even create presentations, you are going to have to compromise a little bit.

It is 2021 though. In that sense, we should not have to compromise that much when it comes to portability and power, especially if your work relies on that kind of power. Of course, you want something industrial, durable and reliable too in your work notebook PC. The one name you can associate with all the things mentioned above in a professional notebook is Lenovo’s ThinkPad.

Specifically, we are looking at the most powerful ThinkPad in their line-up; we are looking at Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Extreme. In its Gen 4 clad, it is the most powerful Lenovo ThinkPad ever; or at least it can be.

Within the very familiar all-metal body of the ThinkPad lives an Intel Core i9-H series 11^th Generation processor (up to). The most powerful mobile processor that Intel has to offer is accompanied by a very powerful NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (up to) for good measure. With up to 64GB of DDR4 RAM at 3200MHz, the new ThinkPad X1 Extreme is an extremely powerful machine that can chew up 3D rendering work, eat video workflow for lunch, and drink photo editing work for tea-time without breaking a sweat, especially with Lenovo’s reworked and patented cooling technology.

You can pair the powerful internals to a 4K+ (up to) 16-inch display to ensure that you get every detail exactly right. You see more too with a unique 16:10 display ratio. With 10-bit colours, HDR 400 and up to 600nit in brightness, you will get every colour for your projects right too. If you are working with a lot of Audio, the Dolby Atmos certified speakers should do that job for you.

While a lot laptops stop at 720p video webcam, the Lenovo ThinkPad goes beyond that to make this your ultimate work laptop anywhere you may be working from. It packs a Full HD 1080p webcam as standard with a physical shutter. For added security with Windows Hello, you can spec it with a Full HD 1080p Infrared Hybrid webcam. Of course, the ThinkPad also comes with the a fingerprint reader as standard.

The familiar all-metal chassis is even more durable than ever too. It is MIL-STD 810H certified, which also means that it can withstand more than just the regular bumps and nicks. You can be sure that it will survive a drop from your desks too, just in case you are that clumsy that day. The build standard is not really to allow you to be clumsy and rough with the laptop though, it is just to ensure that you do not lose your important work data in case the inevitable happens.

Everything above might make the laptop sound like a chunky block of aluminium slab that you would dread to carry in your backpack. That is not the case though. It only weighs 1.82kg; and at 17.7mm, it is not exactly thick either. It might come with a chunky power brick though to ensure that the powerful processors get enough power.

Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 is expected to be available in select markets from August 2021 onward. Prices for the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 starts at EUR€ 2,099 (MYR10,431*). There is no word on availability and official pricing of the device in Malaysia just yet. They did say that the availability and pricing for Malaysia will be announced soon though, so watch this space.

*Approximately based on exchange rate of EUR€ 1 = MYR 4.97

Computers, Lifestyle, News

Acer’s Enduro Urban N3 is the Notebook You Can Take Anywhere

June 22, 2021 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Being productive on the go has become more important than ever in a rampant work-from-home culture. When you consider it, the work-form-home culture could be loosely translated to work-from-anywhere culture too at this time. It is about being productive and getting your work done at any time, and anywhere you can find an internet connection. That is why notebook PCs have become increasingly popular in the current climate.

The problem with the current breed of notebook PCs is that they are a little fragile. Not to say that they do not come with stellar build quality. They do come with premium materials with build quality that you can hardly complain about. When we say fragile, we are saying that most of them will not be able to stand drops, they get scratched easily, they cannot handle water or spills, they do not work when they are out of your office or home.

That is why you need something tougher; you need something more robust; you need an Acer Enduro Urban N3. First of all, you cannot expect a notebook that can withstand the wrath of nature to be anywhere as light as the svelte, petite, and super-thin ultrabooks in the market. It weighs 1.85kg, and for good reason. Then again, 1.85kg is not exactly what you would call heavy either.

You get up to Intel’s latest 11^th generation Core i7-1165G7 CPU to tackle whatever work you may need to complete quickly anywhere, anytime. With Intel’s Iris X^e Graphics, the Enduro Urban N3 should also be able to tackle simple video editing via Adobe Premiere Pro, or even Da Vinci Resolve. Both the processors are backed by up to 8GB in RAM and 512GB of SSD storage to keep everything running smoothly and quickly at the same time.

You also get a 14-inch Full HD IPS display for great looking images with highly accurate colours. While Acer does not mention its DCI-P3 or sRGB coverage rating, IPS displays are known for bright and vibrant colours on the display for great looking images and videos. At least Acer made sure that it displays at up to 450nits which should be bright enough to work with under the bright sunlight.

The notebook PC might sound like a plain laptop with nothing special going for it. If you look at it on paper, it does look quite regular. The internals are encased in a sort of a tank of a chassis. The chassis is a U.S. MIL-810H military standards. That also means that Enduro Urban N3 can withstand the regular drops and bumps from your desk. With IP53, it can also withstand more than a spill of a glass of coffee.

With that kind of build standards, the Acer Enduro Urban N3 sounds like it can withstand even nature itself. The rugged design of the notebook puts it at home even when you work with it at your favourite waterfall trail. Acer also claims that the battery in the Enduro Urban N3 can keep it alive for 13 hours on a single charge. That also means that you never have to worry about getting things done outdoors, as long as you can keep it charged before you get out of home or the office.

Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer

The Acer Enduro Urban N3 is available at all Acer’s official stores, authorised dealers, and official online stores including Shopee and Lazada nationwide. The device will be available in Denim Blue colour option only though. The device will set you back MYR 2,799 (Intel Core i3) onward all the way to MYR 3,699 (Intel Core i7). For more information on Acer’s Enduro Urban N3, you can head to Acer’s website.

Accessories, Computers, Gaming, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

Razer Launches the Opus X – The More Affordable and Colourful Opus

June 16, 2021 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Razer’s Opus that was launched last year drew some resemblance with a certain wireless over-ear headphones from a different brand. Nothing wrong with that, there are not many ways to design a sleek and stealth looking headphone set without falling back into similar design structures. At the same time, we would like to see more colours from Razer’s stables. It is Razer after all.

They did come up with an answer a year later in 2021 with a new range of Opus lifestyle-centric headphones. Except, they are not the high-end type of headphones the Opus is. They are called the Opus X.

Source: Razer
Source: Razer
Source: Razer
Source: Razer
Source: Razer
Source: Razer

The Razer Opus X has very similar design cues with the higher end THX certified Opus. They share the same general shapes and curves in all the right places to make it look less gamer, more general use. The only difference you might find on the outlook is probably the colour choices you get with the Razer Opus X, which incidentally gave away the “gamer” look.

The Opus X comes in three colour choices. You get to choose between the white ‘Mercury’, pink ‘Quartz’, and Green (Razer.com exclusive). The more expensive Opus only gets the Black colour option. While the Green and Quartz might stand out in the crowd, we think the Mercury colour option could be more subtle.

Source: Razer
Source: Razer
Source: Razer
Source: Razer
Source: Razer
Source: Razer

Inside the headphones are still two beefy 40mm dynamic drivers to deliver super low frequencies from 20Hz to super high frequencies at 20kHz. Obviously, there is no microphone stems here because Razer understands that you have a life outside of your house and a microphone stem outside your home looks odd. It does have the same noise cancelling microphones built into the sleek chassis for both voice chat and phone calls.

It is wireless like the Opus, obviously. You connect your PC or smartphone to it via Bluetooth 5.0 for stable connection and high-quality audio transmissions. You also get 30 hours of battery life with it, which matches the best the market has to offer in terms of wireless headphones. When the battery runs out though, there is always a trusty 3.5mm jack with included cables when you buy the product.

Source: Razer
Source: Razer
Source: Razer
Source: Razer
Source: Razer
Source: Razer

While this Razer Opus X does not feature THX’s touch like its more premium brother, it does offer Active Noise Cancelling (ANC). In that sense, this is one of the more affordable products that feature ANC in the market currently. With 60ms low latency connection, this should also be one of the more affordable Bluetooth enabled gaming headphones with ANC capabilities. We prefer over-ear solutions for gaming too, we think this would be perfect if you are trying to lose the cables on your desk.

Price and Availability

We kept saying that it is a more affordable product, but we have not actually mentioned its price. The Opus X is already available in Malaysia and you can buy it from Razer.com online store, or Razer’s dealers and official stores across the nation. It is also about half the price of the THX Certified Opus at MYR 549 (US$ 99.99*). If we are honest, you can hardly find decent ANC enabled headphones at that price currently.

*Official Razer pricing

Computers, iOS, Mobile, Podcast

Tech & Tonic S02E15 – Everything We Know From WWDC 2021!

Video June 16, 2021 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

WWDC 2021 happened last week and it was huge. Taking the stage was not just one thing. The hour-plus long keynote turned out to highlight the many improvements Apple is bringing to all their devices. They started with the Apple iPhone’s iOS 15, iPad’s iPadOS 15, and the WatchOS 8. They also announced macOS Monterey in the keynote.

These are not small updates to your Apple devices though, mind you. They come with a whole bunch of feature updates and security updates to make their platforms the most user friendly ever in terms of privacy control. There was plenty to be excited about too with the new updates.

What are our highlights? Listen through to the podcast!

Computers, Gaming

[E3 2021] Razer Announces the First THX Certified Monitor – The Razer Raptor 27

June 15, 2021 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

Monitors are becoming increasingly more in demand lately with more and more people working from their homes. Back in 2019, Razer announced their first monitor with the Raptor 27. This year, the company is refreshing the monitor with higher specifications and better refresh rates.

The new Razer Raptor 27 comes with a wide angle IPS display. As its name suggests, the display is an impressive 27-inches. It comes with a QHD resolution of 2560×1440 pixels and supports both AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA G-SYNC technology. The Raptor is equipped with a higher 165Hz refresh rate compared to the 144Hz of the 2019 version. The panel covers 95% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut promising pretty impressive colour accuracy and is also HDR400 capable.

More impressively, the Razer Raptor is the first monitor in the world to come with THX certification. The certification guarantees that the Raptor 27’s display is able to represent and recreate visuals as the creators envisioned it. To get this certification, the Raptor 27 was put through 4000 individual tests to ensure colour accuracy, panel performance, sharpness and upscaling. According to the certification, the Raptor 27 meets the standards. This certification is one of the first in the industry.

Design wise, the monitor retains the iconic, near bezel-less design of the 2019 iteration. It comes with a matte-black finish with a forged aluminium base. The back of the Raptor is emblazoned with high-end textured fabric. It also comes with built0in cable management channels which run along the back of the monitor. It comes with Razer’s Chroma RGB lighting allowing users to customise their experience with their Synapse 3 software.

Razer also announced their Raptor VESA adapter which allows users to use standard VESA mounts to mount their monitors on multimonitor stands and even their wall with ease.

Pricing & Availability

The Razer Raptor 27 will be available starting early Q3 2021 for USD$799.99 (MYR3,293.61) or €999.99 (MYR4,992.68). It will be available from select retailers and Razer.com.

The Razer VESA Mount Adapter will be available at the same time for USD $99.99 (MYR411.64) or €99.99 (MYR499.22) and will be available exclusively on Razer.com.

Computers, Gaming, News

[E3 2021] Razer Blade 14 Launches with AMD’s Ryzen 9 5900HX CPU – The Most Powerful 14-inch Laptop in the World is Here

June 15, 2021 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Razer’s Blade series should be familiar with gamers around the world. After all, Razer has become one of the most valuable and best-known brands in the world of PC gaming. The Blade series kickstarted and revolutionised the whole ultra-thin, ultra-portable gaming laptop industry on its own technically.

The first Razer Blade had an all blacked out Apple MacBook-esque aesthatics but with internals that you could never find on any MacBook Pro. It packed all the right hardware for the ultimate modern gaming laptop at that time basically, but it was packed in a package quite unheard of in a gaming laptop. Of course, that got the whole world excited.

Imagine the hype then when there is a new Razer Blade laptop that is set to launch. Welcome to the Razer Blade 14. Razer claims that it is the world’s most powerful 14-inch gaming laptop and incidentally the thinnest of its type at just below 17mm thickness, or quite a little bit less than an inch at 0.66-inch. They have kept the clean slate design that is pretty much the signature of the Razer Blade series too.

Razer Blade 14 | The Ultimate AMD Gaming Laptop

It is not all looks with no push though. Inside the super thin laptop package is a display with up to 165Hz and up to Quad HD in resolution. This is technically a first in 14-inch notebooks. The 14-inch panel also features up to 100% sRGB and DCI-P3 coverage for the best-in-class colour reproduction on the display. With AMD’s FreeSync Premium technology, screen tearing is a thing of the past. Paired to THX Spatial Audio technology built into the device, gaming and movies are more immersive than before.

To power the super-fast display is an arrangement of equally impressive set of hardware. You get AMD’s most powerful Ryzen 5900HX processor. In this arrangement with AMD, the Ryzen 5900HX is also an unlocked high-performance 8-core CPU built to be the most powerful processor in a 14-inch notebook that is the Razer Blade 14. It is clocked at a maximum of 4.6GHz, which is not just great for games, but for content production as well. Because of the way AMD’s Ryzen Zen 3 processors consumer power too, Razer says that this can get up to 12 hours in battery life.

A powerful CPU needs to be paired to a powerful GPU too though. That powerful GPU comes in the line of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (up to). NVIDIA’s top-of-the-line mobile GPU will keep the 165Hz display running happy at a max resolution of QHD. IT also comes with Resizable BAR to allow memory sharing between the processor and the GPU for better power efficiency and more effective use of the systems depending on what is required in different conditions.

This much power in such a tight package produces another problem on a thin-and-light gaming laptop though. That problem to combat is heat, and with the hardware, a large amount of them. Razer pioneered the vapor chamber technology in the mobile computing space in their first Razer Blade and they are not about the be fazed by the new challenge of heat. They developed a new ultra-low-profile fans with 88 fan blades that are as thin as 0.1mm each, that is as thin as a human hair. The combination of the new ultra-low-profile fans with the proven vapor chamber technology, the Razer Blade 14 keeps itself cool and performing at the highest level.

Source: Razer
Source: Razer
Source: Razer
Source: Razer
Source: Razer
Source: Razer
Source: Razer
Source: Razer

Unlike plenty of modern ultra-thin notebooks today though, the Razer Blade 14 comes packing in I/O ports. You have one HDMI 2.1 port that supports 4K @120Hz output, no Mini DisplayPort though at our disappointment. You get two Gen 2 USB 3.2 Type-C ports too that supports display output and power delivery. There are two additional USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports for super-fast data transfers, or expansion. There is still even a 3.5mm audio jack that support THX Spatial Audio, so that you do not need to get an adapter, or buy a wireless solution to still enjoy your existing headphones.

On top of all of that, the Razer Blade 14 is made with immersive gaming, and productivity in mind at the same time. The anti-ghosting keyboard is back on the Razer Blade 14. It is a per-key Razer Chroma RGB keyboard too for you to really customise the PC to your own flavour. Like plenty of 14-inch notebook of its class, you get a 720p webcam. But it also comes with an IR blaster for Windows Hello facial recognition login on Microsoft Windows 10 that comes with the notebook.

The Razer USB-C GaN Charger – The New Standard

Source: Razer
Source: Razer
Source: Razer
Source: Razer
Source: Razer

Alongside the Razer Blade 14, Razer also launched their own revolution in charging technology. They released their Razer USB-C Ga Nitrate (GaN) Charger to the world. It is also Razer’s first and it pushes out a collective 130W in charging power. It can power up to four devices simultaneously (2x USB Type-C, 2x USB Type-A). It is also technically smaller than traditional chargers and even GaN chargers of its type. While it may be a third-party charger to use against your other smartphone, or tablet devices, it also packs all kinds of safety features to ensure that your devices are charged safely and cleverly.

Price and Availability

The all-new Razer Blade 14 will be available immediately from official RazerStores, selected retail partners worldwide, and Razer.com. There is no colour options here, just the regular black with the green LED backlit Razer logo. You can get your hands on one with prices starting at MYR 9,999 (US$ 1,799.99*).

The Razer USB-C GaN charger is available for pre-order now too for about US$ 179.99 (MYR 741**) in select regions via Razer.com and RazerStore locations. They say that the charger will ship out within 30 days. Again, there is no colour options here other than the standard Matte Black that pretty much a signature of Razer. There are no mentions on its availability in Malaysia at this time.

For more information on the Razer Blade 14 and the USB-C GaN charger, you can check out their website.

* Official Razer Pricing

** Approximately based on exchange rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.11 on xe.com as of 15/06/2021

Computers, Gaming, News

[COMPUTEX 2021] ASUS Announces All AMD ROG Strix G15 & G17 Advantage Edition Laptops

June 4, 2021 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

AMD announced a slew of items at their COMPUTEX 2021 keynote. One of the many things that they announced was the AMD Advantage Design framework. In this framework, AMD has outlined certain criteria which they believe will provide gamers with the best experience. One of the hallmark criteria is the utilisation of AMD’s Ryzen Mobile processors together with their newly announced Radeon RX6000M graphics processors. The new combination allows the new laptops to take advantage of smart access memory and smart shift among other optimisations that come with using a complete AMD setup.

ASUS is one of the first partners that are jumping on the AMD Advantage bandwagon with two new editions of its popular ROG Strix G line up. The new ROG Strix G15 and G17 come with AMD’s most powerful Ryzen 9 5900HX processor paired with the newly announced Radeon RX 6800M. The new GPU brings along with it AMD’s new RDNA 2 architecture which has been packing performance. It also brings AMD’s newly announced FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) which allows light to be simulated more realistically allowing for more immersive gaming.

The laptops come with up to 32GB of high performance DDR4-3200 RAM and up to 1TB NVMe SSD memory. The Strix G Advantage edition also comes with an additional M.2 slot that allows users to add more memory should the need arise. Their performance is matched with ASUS’s implementation of Liquid Metal thermal compound and the new Intelligent Cooling. The cooling system allows for better airflow without the increased noise.

Like other Strix G laptops, the ROG Strix G Advantage Edition laptops come display options for any gamer. Users can choose from options with 300Hz refresh rate, WQHD resolution with high colour accuracy. To complete the package, it comes with twin Smart Amp speakers that fire sound directly from behind the keyboard. These speakers are Dolby Atmos certified and can produce 5.1.2 channel surround sound.

Pricing & Availability

The ASUS ROG Strix G Advantage edition will be making its way to the market in the third quarter of 2021. No pricing has been announced just yet.

ASUS has no plans at this time to bring the ROG Strix G Advantage edition to Malaysia.

Computers, Gaming, News

Alienware X Series Announced with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 & Intel Core i9

June 4, 2021 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

Alienware’s lineup of laptops has always been streamlined. When it comes to their offerings, it’s always been the Alienware M series or the Area 51m for desktop replacements. That’s changing with the introduction of a new generation of flagship laptops – the Alienware X series. Alienware is upping the ante and infusing its new lineup of laptops with that je ne sais quoi or X factor of being both powerful and portable.

The new Alienware x17 and x15 are the thinnest laptops to come from Alienware ever coming in at just 20.9 mm and 15.9. They bring the performance and optimisations that Alienware is known for in a sleek, new silhouette. The X series houses some of Alienware’s biggest engineering achievements to date with the new laptop series housing a series of innovations including five of which are patent pending.

Cutting Edge Technology Built for Gamers

Naturally, many of these innovations focus on cooling and thermals. One of them is a new thermal interface material called Element 31 which is touted to have a 25% improvement in thermal resistance. The Alienware X series also brings better heat dissipation with Alienware’s Quad fan design which maximises airflow. It also employs a new Smart Fan control technology which regulates each fan independently according to temperatures detected by the AI-enabled sensors.

Aside from that the Alienware x17 and x15 are customisable with options for the latest, cutting edge specifications that all gamers crave. They are equipped with the latest Intel Core H series mobile processors and NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 30 series laptop GPUs. The laptops support up to 110W and 165W graphics power on the Alienware x15 and Alienware x17 respectively. Paired with the specifications are screen options supporting up to a 4K UHD HDR400 display with ComfortView Plus and low blue light technology. They also have options for up to 360Hz refresh rate.

Of course, it’s only natural that the new gaming laptops come with support for the latest Killer WiFi technology for wireless, on-the-go gaming. The X series also has Thermal Control Circuit offset (TCC offset) technology which allows the laptop to maintain a constant CPU temperature range for both work and play. This is complemented by the controls in Alienware’s Command Center application where you can define your own settings and even overclock. They also come with the recently announced CHERRY MX keyboard.

Pricing & Availability

The Alienware X series goes on sale starting June 1, 2021, in limited configurations with full configurations making their debut on June 15, 2021, in the U.S. The Alienware x15 will be priced starting at USD$1,999.99 (MYR8,256.86) while the x17 starts at USD$2,099.99 (MYR8,699.70).

In Malaysia, the laptops will be available sometime in June 2021. No official pricing has been announced just yet.

Together with the Alienware X series, Alienware also announced the new Dell G15 (TGL) which comes with updated specifications with prices starting at USD$949.99 (MYR3,921.85) and the updated Alienware m15 R6 which starts at USD$1299.99 (MYR5,367.02). These laptops will retail in Malaysia with prices starting at MYR4,199 and MYR8,199 respectively.

techENT

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