Category Archives: Computers

Computers, Mobile, News

Samsung Unpacked Event Launches the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360

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Samsung just had an unpacked event last night and we found it quite odd. We did not expect a major unpacked event to happen at this time of the year. Still, it happened, and they launched something we did not really expect them to launch since a few years ago.

Welcome to Samsung’s first notebook PC product in many years. Welcome to the Samsung Galaxy Book ecosystem. First on the menu, are the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro and the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360.

We are going to assume that the Samsung Galaxy Book and Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 is the premium thin and light in their expanding stables of notebook products. The Galaxy Book Pro is light though at less than a kg. Specifically, it weighs just a little under 870g (13.3-inch). The 15.6-inch variant is not that much heavier too at a maximum of 1.15kg.

Source: Samsung

The Samsung Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 are Intel EVO certified platforms with some new tricks up their sleeves to make it even more seamless for users than ever; we will talk about this later. Intel EVO also means that it packs Intel’s latest 11th Generation Core i7 (up to) to boot. Alongside Intel’s Core processors also is a very capable Intel Iris Xe Graphics. You can opt for an NVIDIA GeForce MX450 discrete GPU (Galaxy Book Pro 15.6-inch) too if you want to and it is available in your region. The powerful Intel processor can be matched to an ample 32GB (up to) of RAM to make quick work of your tasks on the Galaxy Book Pro. It even packs up to 1TB of SSD space to store all the important documents and even your videos.

There is more inside the Galaxy Book Pro and the Galaxy Book Pro 360 though. All Samsung Galaxy Book Pro models, including the 360, packs WiFi 6E capabilities for smooth, stable network experience anywhere they can find WiFi signals. The Galaxy Book Pro 360 (13.3-inch) even has a SIM tray with 5G capabilities. The Galaxy Book Pro (13.3-inch) only has LTE capable SIM tray at this point, but LTE is plenty useful too when you are constantly on the go.

Both the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 comes with AMOLED (Super AMOLED for Galaxy Book Pro 360) display pushing images at Full HD 1080p resolution. What that means is that you get crisp, saturated, vivid, and very pretty images and videos on your Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 notebooks. Thanks to the added colour accuracy, editing photos and videos on the notebook should be an experience. You can even edit your photos via Samsung’s own Gallery app now ported to Windows on the Samsung Galaxy Book series.

Source: Samsung

They have redesigned the keyboard as well for a better typing experience. The new Pro Keyboard, as they know it, supposedly features an optimum key travel of up to 1mm and is designed to be quieter and softer than ever before. All that allows for a smooth and comfortable typing experience especially when you are working on long emails. The Pro Keyboard is also a repositioning of the keyboard to maximise your typing position and therefore maximizing the trackpad for a more intuitive navigation through Windows 10.

Both notebooks in the series receive AKG’s treatment for audio with Dolby Atmos certification. That also means immersive sound on both ultrabooks. You even get to immerse yourself in movies even longer with up to 20 hours of video playback time and 16 hours in work/play time from the battery. Of course, that is what is being quoted by Samsung anyway, we have not had our chances to put it through our paces, so we can only take Samsung’s word for it at this time. Both notebooks also come with 65W Fast Charging via USB Type-C ports. The chargers are included of course. You can use the same charger to fast charge your Samsung Galaxy S21 device too.

What’s more impressive is that they managed to fit both the Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 with a full-sized HDMI, and a full-sized USB Type-A port into the slim bodies of both notebooks. But that is really not the most impressive part of the notebook. The most impressive part of the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 is how well they seem to integrate Samsung’s own ecosystem into Windows, and how Samsung integrates their Android experience into Windows.

  • Source: Samsung
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If you are already a Samsung device user, you get to benefit plenty from the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360. For one, you get a very familiar S-Pen on the Galaxy Book Pro 360. It is about as big as the one you get from the Samsung Galaxy Tab S, and it is as brilliant, supposedly. But if you own a Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 for example, you get to treat that tablet as a secondary display. It is a secondary touch sensitive display too, so you can naturally draw on the tablet and transfer it to the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro series instantly and seamlessly.

Easy Bluetooth Connection automatically detects other Samsung devices like the Samsung’s Buds earphones line-up for example, or even the Galaxy Watch devices. That also means you do not have to dig through Window’s annoying Bluetooth settings to pair up your earphones and synchronize your Samsung Bluetooth devices. But Samsung’s collaboration with Windows also means that it is now easier than ever to link your Android smartphone to windows with Link to Windows and Your Phone app. You need not download DeX anymore to get your device to seamlessly work on Windows.

You even get access to Smart Things within the Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 to control all your smart home products from your notebook instead of your smartphone. Quick Share is now a part of the Windows ecosystem so you can start sharing any files instantly to Android devices in your vicinity quickly and seamlessly. These are truly the next step to integrate your devices into a single ecosystem, a way to access everything anytime, anywhere, every time, everywhere.  

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The Samsung Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 will be available May 14th onward in selected markets. The Galaxy Book Pro starts at US$ 999 (MYR 4,098*) and is available in Mystic Silver, Mystic Blue, and Mystic Pink Gold colour options. The Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 starts at US$ 1,099 (MYR 4,509*) and is available in Mystic Navy, Mystic Silver, and Mystic Bronze colour options. There are no confirmation or information currently on its availability or official pricing in the local (Malaysia) Market. For more information on the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360, you can head over to Samsung’s website.

* Based on approximate exchange rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.10 as of 29/04/2021

Computers, News

Work From Anywhere with the new Dell Latitude 7320 Detachable

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Work from home has become an undeniable fact given the current realities of the world we live in. Dell has been one of the companies that have been active innovating when it comes to creating solutions that they believe cater to the new niche that has been emerging. The latest device to make it into the Dell line up: the Dell Latitude 7320 Detachable.

The new Dell Latitude Detachable brings the tablet with detachable keyboard design to Dell’s professional line up. The new form factor brings more processing power with Intel’s latest generation vPro processors in a body that weighs less than 1kg.

The slim and light laptop packs a punch when it comes to features as well. The Dell Latitude Detachable comes with options such as a 5-megapixel, 1080p web cam with support for 30fps video and dual array microphones which should help with video calls. It also has options for mobile connectivity with support for the Qualcomm Snapdragon X20 LTE modem. If you need a more tactile experience, the Latitude comes with support for styli as well.

Of course, a Dell PC wouldn’t be complete without support for the many innovations that Dell has created to make their laptops one of the most stable and reliable. This includes Dell’s SafeBIOS and Dell’s remote support solutions. Companies looking to deploy the Latitude Detachable can deploy the laptop complete with their necessary software direct from the manufacturer.

When it comes to connectivity and graphics, the Latitude Detachable comes with the Intel IRIS Xe integrated graphics. On the connectivity side of things, it supports WiFi 6 (802.11ax) in addition to the standard WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac. Bluetooth 5.1 and Thunderbolt 4 are also supported.

Pricing & Availability

The Dell Latitude Detachable will be available starting April 27, 2021 in the U.S. with prices starting at USD$1,549 (MYR6,354.54).

In Malaysia, the Dell Latitude Detachable will be available starting on April 27, 2021. The Latitude will be available with specifications starting with the Intel Core i5-1130G7 with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD memory. Prices will start from MYR8,362.43.

Computers, Lifestyle, News

Apple’s New 2021 iMac is the Thinnest, Most Colourful, and Most Advanced Ever

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Apple’s Spring Loaded event for 2021 has just ended this morning (Malaysia time), and it is packed. We expected a new iMac all-in-one Mac for your desk. We did not expect the iMac to look quite so good though.

To start with, Apple opens the new iMac launch with seven different colours. Technically, there are six new different colours and one good ol’ silver colour. What really stuck us though was how thin the iMac looks.

They say that the iMac is now only 11.5mm thick. This is achievable thanks to the redesigned motherboard and cooling hardware for the Apple iMac. The redesign is also mostly thanks to the integrated chip that is the Apple M1 silicon. That is the same M1 chip you will find on the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac, and now the new iPad Pro too.

Source: Apple

The new powerful integrated chip allows the motherboard to be one-third its previous design. It also allows much smaller cooling fans. Both of those combined, not only allows the iMac to be thinner than ever. It also allows the iMac to be more efficient and even quieter than before in terms of actual noise and space.

Of course, you can opt to make it loud with its colour seven colour options. But it can also be loud by playing music or watching movies and other types of video contents. The iMac now has six speakers instead of four for an even more powerful audio experience. Apple says that the six speakers should really enhance the Dolby Atmos experience from the 24-incher all-in-one desktop.

The six speakers is placed below the 24-inch display that blasts 4.5K Retina resolution with P3 wide colour gamut at up to 500 nits in brightness. That also means that you can really enjoy movies on the display at 4K HDR even, so this can really be your all-in-one entertainment machine too. Of course, 4.5K can also benefit your workflow, especially when you work with a lot of video and photographs. But it also helps you look at your friends or colleagues clearly when you make video calls.

Source: Apple

In terms of video calls, Apple has also included the best-in-class Full HD video camera. To be fair, you hardly get a Full HD webcam on any modern PC still, so having a higher resolution with better image quality does really help especially in the majority of work-from-home situations currently. That is not all though. Apple has tuned its mic to focus on the voices that are directly in front of it instead of picking up sounds from other parts of the room so that your video conference can go on nicely without the interference of the other things happening at your environment.

Of course, minimalist designs have to come with minimalist accessories. That is also why the Apple iMac comes with an innovative single power connector that is attached magnetically to the back of the device. That also means you do not have to feel around of the pins and hope to be lucky when you slot in your cable. To ensure that it lasts and looks as good as the iMac, it is a woven cable that runs down the back of the iMac to a square power adapter you can put on the floor or hide behind your desk. The power adapter also has an ethernet port for you to connect the iMac to the internet via LAN cable instead of via WiFi for a more stable networking.

Other updated accessories include two new Magic Keyboard that comes in colour matching aluminium shells, colour matching Magic Mouse, and colour matching Magic Trackpad. While the Magic Trackpad and Magic Mouse has not changed much, the new keyboards are a little different though; at least for one of the variants you can get.

You can now opt for a Magic Keyboard with Touch ID. This is the first time we see a fingerprint sensor implemented on a desktop PC, and wirelessly for that matter. You can choose between a Touch ID Magic Keyboard with or without the numeric keypad.

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The new 2021 24-inch iMac will be available 30th April onward in selected markets. It comes in two GPU options with multiple storage options starting from a 7-core GPU + 256GB combination at a starting price of US$ 1,299 (MYR 5,599*). The other one is an 8-core GPU + 256GB combination at US$ 1,499 (MYR 6,499*). For Malaysia, the spec tops out at 8-core GPU + 512GB combination at MYR 7,249*. For more information, you can head over to Apple’s website.

*Official Malaysia pricing as per Apple Malaysia

Camera, Computers, Mobile, News

More is Better – Canon Launches Printers with 6 Ink Tanks

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If you go out to buy a modern printer off the shelf today, you would not be surprised to find printers that comes with four tanks to be filled with four different colours of ink. You get the usual Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black combination (CMYK). That has been the way printers been since the early days of colour printing. Before the age of refillable tanks in modern printers, it was the age of printer ink cartridges that comes in two variants, the Black, and the Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow variant for both black and white and colour printing. You see at most two cartridges for that.

Canon has been one of the leaders in consumer printing solutions. They also have been championing refillable ink tanks solutions in modern consumer printer solutions. Refillable tanks are much cheaper to run compared to specifically built ink cartridges and can be more reliable. Our own office printer runs on refillable tanks too, in fact. We also think that the 4-tank solution is one of the best things that has come to modern consumer printers.

Source: Canon

But what if you can have more tanks in your printer. What if your printer has six tanks? It seems like you can try to figure that out on your own with Canon’s PIXMA G570 and PIXMA G670 printers.

There is an additional Grey ink and Red ink tanks for both the new Canon PIXMA printers. One of the added benefits to that the printer is now able to produce more prints than before, especially coloured prints thanks to the added overall storage volume of the tanks. Of course, you would have to spend a little bit more than before when you refill, because two extra tanks. You get up to 3,800 sheets of 4 x 6 photo prints from one set of included ink.

The other benefit to printing with two extra colours on the printer is better colour reproduction never seen before in this type of printers. If you compare the modern 4-tank ink printers to the likes of laser printers, or even cartridge-based printers, the colour prints from 4-tank ink printers tend to be a little washed out and less vivid, especially where you see red. The additional Red and Grey ink sets are supposed to add some extra colour details where it was not possible before with the CMYK arrangement. The effects will be more apparent if you use photo paper obviously.

Source: Canon

Of course, the Canon PIXMA G570 and PIXMA G670 retains all the smart features of a modern printer. You can use the Canon PRINT Inkjet or SELPHY smartphone app to print directly from your smartphones as usual. You can also connect PIXMA G570 and G670 to your office network and cloud storages for remote printing and even scanning purposes via PIXMA Cloud Link.

If you download the Canon Easy-PhotoPrint Editor app on iOS, Android, Windows and even Mac OS, you can edit your photos and add all sorts of filters first before you send it to the printer for a quick print. You can use the app as well to create calendars, postcards, business cards, and more. The Canon PosterArtist Lite app on Windows can also help you quickly create posters from over 1,300 templates, photos, and clipart.

Source: Canon

The Canon PIXMA G570 and G670 will be available today onward from all Canon’s authorised retailers, official stores, and partnering online stores today onward. The Canon PIXMA G570 will set you back MYR 1,229 while the PIXMA G670 will retail at MYR 1,529. For more information on the new Canon PIXMA printers with six ink tanks, you can visit Canon’s website.

Computers, News

Breathe Easy with the New Dell Inspiron Line Up & Its Smaller Carbon Footprint

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Why would you breathe easier with a new laptop? Well, in the case of the new line up of Dell Inspirons, it’s cause the line up comes with a smaller carbon footprint than ever. The new line up uses more recycled materials than before and is one of the culminations of Dell’s commitment to creating a circular economy when it comes to their products. Every Inspiron is painted using paints with low volatile organic compound content. Also, the packaging of the Inspirons is comprised of 90% recycled materials with the packaging tray being completely made of recycled materials.

With their carbon footprint in check, Dell took the next step to completely redesign the new line up of Inspiron laptops. The new laptops come with a near-borderless display and a new design language that builds on Dell’s prowess in creating compact, slim, stylish laptops. The new line up comes with larger keycaps which allow you to type faster and more accurately and a larger touchpad. The new line up also comes with an HD webcam equipped with Temporal Noise Reduction (TNR) which reduces pixelation and reduces visual artefacting in low lit conditions.

Dell Inspiron 14 & 15

The Dell Inspiron line up is being spearheaded by the Dell Inspiron 14 & 15. As the name suggests, these Inspirons have pretty much the outlook but come in two form factors – 14-inch and 15-inch. Keeping the ethos of previous Inspirons, the new 14 and 15 keep things minimalistic, simple and functional.

That said, the new design also comes with improved thermals for better cool. The new adaptive thermals also help manage power consumption to ensure your PC is running at maximum performance. The laptops also come with a sensor that detects when the lid is opened and immediately boots the PC. Paired with the optional Windows Hello enabled fingerprint sensor, you’ll be logging into your PC faster than ever. Working on the go shouldn’t be an issue with the Inspiron 14 and 15 with ExpressCharge which gives you 80% of battery life in just 60 minutes of charge.

If adaptability and flexibility is more for you, the Inspiron 14 also comes in a 2-in-1 configuration which brings added versatility. You’ll be able to flip into tablet mode, present in tent mode or even work on the touch enabled screen exclusively in stand mode.

Dell Inspiron 16 Plus

This year, the Inspiron line up gets a creator-focused entry with the Inspiron 16 Plus. The larger, more power-packed edition of the Inspiron brings a larger, 16-inch display for added workspace and visual real estate. It also comes in a cinematic 16:10 aspect ratio. That said, it’s not much larger than its smaller siblings; coming in at only 5% larger. However, it has an active screen area that’s 11% larger.

The Inspiron 16 Plus comes with the latest Intel Core H-series processors for better performance and can be paired with NVIDIA GTX or RTX discreet graphics processors for added umph. It also comes equipped with a more robust thermal solution for better cooling of the power packed specifications. The display on the Inspiron 16 Plus is a 3K display with true to life colours and low blue light emissions.

The latest line up of Inspiron laptops come with the latest, 11th Generation Intel Core processors or AMD’s Ryzen 5000 U series processors. These can be paired with a variety of graphics options to suit any need.

Pricing & Availability

The Inspiron line will be available starting mid-April 2021. The Inspiron 14 and 15 models will be available first. However, the H-series equipped Inspiron 15 and the Inspiron 16 Plus will only be available in early June.

ProductsStarting specsAvailability in Malaysia
Inspiron 14 (w/ AMD)AMD R5 8GB 512GB AMD Lucienne Integrated Graphic UMA 14.0 FHDMid April 2021
Inspiron 14 (w/ TGL-U)Intel Ci5 8GB 512GB UMA 14.0 FHDMid April 2021
Inspiron 14 2-in-1Intel Ci3 8GB 256GB UMA 14.0 FHD TouchMid April 2021
Inspiron 15 (w/ TGL-U)Intel Ci5 8GB 256GB UMA 15.6 FHDMid April 2021
Inspiron 15 (w/ H processor)Intel Ci5 8GB 512GB RTX3050 15.6 FHDEarly June 2021
Inspiron 16 PlusIntel Ci5 16GB 512GB RTX3050 16.0 3KEarly June 2021

Official Specifications

Computers, News

HUAWEI MateBook 2021 Series Comes to Malaysia!

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The HUAWEI MateBook Series, if we are being honest, is some of the best ways to spend your money if you are looking for a reasonably priced notebook PCs with premium build and functions. If you own a HUAWEI device, the MateBook series are the devices that you want to work with, especially when it comes to transferring and sharing files across your devices. Sadly, that OneHop feature only works across HUAWEI devices for now.

2021 has rolled in full and of course, it is that time to start updating your devices. HUAWEI releases their 2021 line-up of MateBook devices so that you have options to upgrade your devices to. They released the new MateBook D 14, MateBook D 15 (two variants), MateBook 14, and MateBook X Pro.

Source: HUAWEI

11th Generation Intel Power

The HUAWEI MateBook D 14, MateBook D 15, MateBook 14, and MoateBook X Pro will be powered by Intel’s 11th Generation Core processor for maximum power. The 11th Generation Intel processors are an improvement over the older generation chip with Intel’s latest and most advanced 10nm SuperFin process to make it even more powerful and efficient than before. Of course, you can opt up to an Intel Core i7 for the flagship level HUAWEI MateBook X Pro. You also can opt for up to 16GB of RAM to support the powerful processor.

FullView Display

While the design will remain mostly the same from previous generation MateBooks, all the MateBook series for 2021 will retain the immersive and iconinc FullView display with a unique screen ratio ranging from 13-inch (MateBook X Pro) to 15-inch (MateBook D 15). The FullView displays are meant to be immersive and displays with narrow bezels at the top and sides of the notebook. Of course, they are TÜV Rheinland certified in reducing blue light exposure to protect your eyes.

WiFi 6 Capabilities

Source: HUAWEI

What is a 2021 notebook when it cannot support WiFi 6? A Notebook stuck in the 2019s of course. WiFi 6, while not technically a new technology has changed the way we work outside and with our notebooks today. The HUAWEI MateBook series for 2021 will come with WiFi 6 as standard. That also means you get faster networking speeds with more stability to get more things done outside of your office. Of course, your router has to support WiFi 6 as well.

HUAWEI Share

Of course, one of the biggest appeals when it comes to HUAWEI Notebooks is the HUAWEI Share ability. HUAWEI Share allows you to place your smartphone display and even tablet display on top of Windows on the HUAWEI MateBook series. That also means that you do not have to reach out to your smartphones to make a call, text a friend, or even read through messages and notifications. You can do that from the comfort of your desktop display on the HUAWEI MateBook series for 2021.

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Price and Availability

The HUAWEI MateBook 2021 series will be available 24th April 2021 onward. The notebooks are available for pre-order from the 20th to 23rd April 2021 on HUAWEI’s very own Online Store. If you happen to be one of the first 1,500 customers to pre-order  any HUAWEI MateBook 2021 series products, you can enjoy some exclusive free gifts worth up to MYR 800.

The HUAWEI MateBook D 14 will be available in Mystic Silver at MYR 3,499 onward. The HUAWEI MateBook D 15 comes in either an 11th Generation Intel Core processor trim or a 10th Generation Intel Core processor trim at MYR 3,299 and MYR MYR 3,899 onward respectively in Mystic Silver. The HUAWEI MateBook 14 will come in Space Grey colour option at MYR 4,899 onward. Lastly, the HUAWEI MateBook X Pro will come in a unique Emerald Green colour option for MYR 6,899 onward. For more information on the 2021 series of HUAWEI MateBook notebooks, you can visit HUAWEI’s website.

Computers, Gaming, News

Acer Launches the Nitro 5 with AMD Ryzen 9 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080

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PC gaming is not cheap. That is pretty much know though. Consider this, the latest gaming console like the Sony PlayStation 5 and the Microsoft Xbox Series X will set you back between MYR 2,500 to MYR 3,000. The latest entry level gaming PC with the latest hardware will set you back about the same amount of money to be fair if you get a desktop. The caveat is that you will not get the same 4K 120fps experience on the desktop compared to the console. If you want to talk about portable gaming, the prices are even higher.

Of course, there is more to a PC than just gaming though. When you get a gaming PC, your PC doubles as your productivity machine. It will be something that accompanies you into your work and your life. It browses the internet, it edits word documents, and it checks your emails. In the case of notebook PCs, there is more than productivity. Notebook PCs are about productivity on-the-go. Of course, gaming notebooks are about gaming and productivity on-the-go.

While gaming is not cheap, it does not have to be bank breaking though. You can get an entry level gaming notebook now from as low as MYR 3,699. Yes, we are talking about the AMD powered Acer Nitro 5 gaming notebook. Well, it is in the title.

The Nitro 5 for 2021 was technically announced in CES 2021 and is just making its way to Malaysia. The new gaming notebook comes with its own sets of cosmetic updates, as usual, and a few internal upgrades too from its previous iteration, as expected. Most of the upgrades are not really what we expected from an “entry-level” perspective though.

The base model is still pretty “entry-level” at MYR 3,699 (AN515-4S-R9RJ). You get an AMD Ryzen 5 5600H 7nm processor with Zen 3 architecture which should unlock a lot more performance from its previous generation. You also get a respectable NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 GPU for all kinds of gaming needs. If you have a 4K display, this could work too. Just do not expect Ultra graphic settings with super high refresh rates at that kind of resolution.

Still, if you just work with the 15.6-inch display on the notebook, you still get a nice Full HD resolution with 144Hz of refresh rate. With the kind of internals you get, you should hit 144fps easily. You also get 8GB of dual channel RAM too. If you want, you can up that to up to 32GB (16GB x 2). You are not trading off too much storage space either with 512GB of SSD storage. Of course, that is expandable as well.

Thing is, the Acer Nitro 5 is not just an “entry-level” gaming notebook anymore. While you do get the entry-level spec with entry-level pricing, you can spec it up to turn it into a beast too.

You can spec your Acer Nitro 5 (AN515-4S-R49W) with an all-powerful AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX processor. With that processor, you can also get a high-end NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GPU with 8GB of DDR6 memory on board to run games at QHD (2K) resolution at a native 165Hz in refresh rate on the 15.6-inch display. With 16GB of DDR 4 RAM included, the Acer Nitro 5 turns into a beast of a gaming PC. You also get 1TB of storage to ensure that you can keep all your favourite games and still have space to spare for other things as well. All of that for MYR 8,999.

Alongside the Acer Nitro 5 gaming notebook, Acer also launches the Nitro QG1241Y P gaming monitor. The Nitro QG1 is a 24-inch display boasting Full HD resolution at 165Hz refresh rate. The VA panel support up to 1ms of response time as well alongside HDR10 support. Of course, like any modern display, there is a BlueLightShield blue light filter and flicker reduction technology to ensure the display does not strain your eyes.

The Acer Nitro 5 (AN515-4S-R9RJ) is now available for pre-order to 16th April 2021 at Acer’s Official Store on Shopee at MYR 3,699. The other variants of the Acer Nitro 5 will be available for pre-order on a later date from 27th to the 29th April 2021 (AN515-4S-R7QR) and 10th-12th May 2021 (AN515-4S-R4KB, AN515-4S-R5C7, AN515-4SR8XM, AN515-4S-R49W). The Acer Nitro QG1 (QG141Y P) 24-inch Full HD display is now available on pre-order until 16th of April 2021 on Acer’s official store on Shopee and Lazada for MYR 699. It will retail at MYR 749 after the pre-order date. For more information on the Acer Nitro 5 and Nitro QG1 gaming notebook and peripheral, do visit Acer’s website.

Business, Computers, News

NVIDIA Grace CPU for Datacentres for Next Generation Super Computers

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NVIDIA’s GTC 2021 just happened last night. If you remembered 2020, you would remember that GTC 2020 was also the time where NVIDIA introduced their new A100 GPU chips for super computers. 2020 was also the yea NVIDIA launched their highly anticipated, and highly capable RTX 3000 series consumer grade GPUs.

GTC’s keynote is always a highly anticipated event. Not because the conference always brings a new GPU. Recent years of GTC has always been exciting because somehow GPU is able to push the limits of what is possible with computing and cloud. NVIDIA has made itself relevant not just in the graphics world, but also in the super computing world, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and even cybersecurity. NVIDIA’s own AI even composed its own song, and it is a good song mind you.

With GTC 2021, NVIDIA shows that they are not done innovating just yet. Now, they also want to give the likes of Intel a new sort of headache. NVIDIA has introduced Project Grace.

Source: NVIDIA

NVIDIA’s CEO, Jensen Huang mentions that the name Grace refers to a particular pioneer in the computer science field, Grace Hopper. The project is NVIDIA’s first dip into the datacentre CPU industry. Fitting to the Grace Hopper namesake, project Grace is supposed to be 10x more powerful than the current NVIDIA GDX x86 supercomputer platform.

Why is this a problem for Intel? The world’s fastest supercomputer today is all powered by Intel’s x86 CPU platform. The x86 platform has also existed for about a decade now and the platform has approached its technological limits in 2021. Of course, NVIDIA took matters into their own hands and the Grace CPU is an ARM based chip for the fastest ever datacentre and servers in the world.

Just saying that the CPU will be the fastest ever server-based CPU though means nothing. What you want to know is numbers, and these are big numbers. The new Grace architecture allows the CPU and GPU to communicate at up to 900GB/s speed thanks to NVLink technology. According to NVIDIA, that is 30x faster than most servers today. Of course, paired to LPDDR5x memory modules, you get up to 10x the speed of today’s machines.

Before anyone can say that NVIDIA’s Grace dreams is just that; dreams, NVIDIA also announced that they will be installing their Grace based datacentre in the United States Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Labrotory and the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS). The two clients will feature their very own NVIDIA powered supercomputer soon.

Source: NVIDIA

In those two places though, the servers and supercomputers are not built just to push cloud storage to corporations. They are purpose built for AI training and implementations. They are built for neural and language programming and training. They are built to progress humanity and probably cure cancer one day.

Of course, because Grace is a giant processor made for datacentres and supercomputers, we will not be expecting to see NVIDIA dive into consumer level ARM-based processors for PCs anytime soon. NVIDIA is working with MediaTek to bring their GPU technology into the mobile space and even ARM based PCs though. In that case, us regular consumers can expect a Qualcomm Snapdragon notebook PC with NVIDIA GeForce graphics power soon, probably. Catch NVIDIA’s GTC 2021 keynote on their website.

Computers, Gaming

Dell & Alienware Ryzen to the Occasion with All-new AMD Powered Line up

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It’s been over a decade since Alienware has released an AMD powered gaming laptop. Over a decade since the original Alienware Aurora mALX. In that time, gaming has taken a quantum leap with new experiences being more immersive than ever. That changes today with both Dell and Alienware announcing new AMD powered laptops.

The new laptops marry AMD’s revolutionary, performance and efficiency centered Zen 3 microarchitecture with NVIDIA’s graphics prowess to bring their best gaming experience yet. The Dell G15 Ryzen Edition and the redesigned Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition bring together some of Dell and Alienware’s best design with top of the line performance for gaming.

Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition

Alienware super charges their m15 line up with their signature technological features such as voltage gated cooling with the performance combo of AMD’s Ryzen 5000-H processors and NVIDIA’s RTX30 series graphics. All this power is packed into a slim 15-inch body with options to fit any gamers’ needs. On the display front, users get to choose from options including a QHD with 240Hz refresh rate and an FHD display wiht 360Hz refresh rate.

Smooth visuals and power packed performance is just the tip of the iceberg. The new Alienware m15 is also the first to come with Alienware’s new Legend 2.0 design language which features a sleeker silhouette and a new design feature called Dark Core. This darkens the interior shade of the laptop helping you focus on the game; while the new Silky-smooth High-Endurance paint formula will keep things clean and sleek. It is also the first 15-inch Alienware laptop to come with user upgradable 3200MHz DDR4 RAM. Of course, it will also feature the option for the new mechanical keyboard co-developed with Cherry MX with per key RGB lighting.

Dell G15 Ryzen Edition

Dell’s foray into AMD powered gaming laptops comes in the form of the Dell G15 Ryzen Edition. The new gaming laptop comes with Alienware inspired thermals which maximise airflow and improve cooling. Of course, the laptop comes with Dell Gaming’s signature “Game Shift” button which kicks the laptop into high gear. Similar to the Alienware m15, the Dell G15 Ryzen Edition comes with performance centric combination of AMD Ryzen 5000 series processors, NVIDIA’s RTX 30 Series graphics and user upgradable 3200MHz RAM. On the display front it will be coming with low blue light emitting displays with options for 120Hz or 165Hz refresh rates. Additional options for 360Hz displays will be coming later this spring according to Dell.

Pricing & Availability

Dell and Alienware haven’t announced the pricing for the laptops just yet. However, the Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition will be available in early May 2021. The Dell G15 Ryzen edition is expected to be available at the same time.

Business, Computers, Lifestyle, News

Google I/O 2021 is Happening Online and Completely Free in May 2021!

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Last year, plenty of conferences and keynotes did not happen. One of the most anticipated conferences that did not happen last year was Google’s I/O conference. We expected Google to launch a new line-up of Pixel smartphones as well in the 2020 edition of Google I/O. Of course, that did not happen.

This year is a year where all these big conferences are making a comeback though. Apple and E3 have made a commitment for an all-virtual WWDC 2021 and E3 2021 this year. They are also making the event available to attend completely for free. Google has just done the same.

Source: Google

As with any other year, Google is a little cryptic with their Google I/O conference and its event date. This year you have to solve some puzzles over in Google’s event page. They call it the punch card, and it is exactly that. With some guidance from 9To5Google, you should be able to breeze through the Punch Card puzzle and reveal the Google I/O dates.

Google’s I/O event for 2021 is also confirmed by Google’s own CEO, Sundar Pichai to be happening from the 18th May 2021 to the 20th May 2021. As with any other virtual conferences happening in 2021, Google I/O 2021 can be attended online completely free. You should be able to sign up right after you complete the puzzle for Google I/O.

We are still expecting a Google Pixel announcement out of Google I/O 2021’s keynote. Other than that, the three-day conference is filled with workshops and learning experiences. The best part of all of that, of course, is that they are all completely free. All-virtual also means that you can take your learning all from the comfort of your homes.

There are also some rumours of Google working on their own new-generation TWS earphones in the Google Pixel Buds A. Not much is known yet about the new TWS earphones from Google though. Of course, the TWS earphones will be compatible with Google Assistant and probably come with more functions than your average TWS earbuds.

As mentioned, Google I/O 2021 is happening May 18th, 2021 to May 20th, 2021 onward. The event will be held completely online, and attendance is free. The only catch is completing their puzzle.