ASUS’s Republic of Gamers (ROG) has always been about being a gamer and with gaming and gamer culture going mainstream, the brand has been branching out over the years to include ROG branded apparel in their line up. This year, ASUS Malaysia is partnering with Stoned & Co. to hit the streets with it’s apparel.
The new collaboration is drawing its inspiration from the AniMe Matrix dot matrix that emblazons the top of the recently released ROG Zephyrus G14. The dot matrix on the laptop allows users to customise their laptop with retro, cyberpunk style dot matrix designs that light up when enabled. The monochromatic accent to the Zephyrus G line up is a touch of personalisation which made waves at CES 2020.
Hence, it comes as no surprise that ROG would want to bank on the head turning feature to inspire it’s streetwear line with Stoned & Co. The line up will be consisting of four pieces: two t-shirts, a bomber jacket and a hoodie. The designed emblazoned on the apparel will share the monochromatic AniMe Matrix feel.
The new apparel line up will be available first to ROG fans who purchase the new Zephyrus G14 laptop. Purchases of the new Ryzen 9 touting G14 will be entitled to a free Stoned X ROG bomber jacket while those purchasing the Ryzen 7 or Ryzen 5 models can stand a chance to win the same. The promotion comes as part of ROG’s ROG My Style campaign. However, if you’re not eager to get a brand new laptop, you’ll be able to get the apparel in Stoned & Co. outlets starting in August.
ASUS announced their AMD Ryzen 4000 powered offerings which have already begun hitting the market a while back. Their most interesting offering yet, is making its Malaysian debut today, with the new Republic of Gamers (ROG) Zephyrus G14! The new power house spearheads a new segment which has been uniquely carved out by the ROG engineers.
The new ROG Zephyrus G14 combines portability and power in a form factor that is bound to become a go to for gamers. The compact 14-inch display is complemented by a body which is only 17.9mm thick and weighs 1.6kg. The compact size skirts the lines of being classified as a thin and light device. However, don’t underestimate it’s gaming prowess. As the saying goes, good things come in small packages; and that can’t be truer with the Zephyrus G14.
A 1-2 Punch for Top of the Line Performance
ASUS has opted to pack a punch with the ROG Zephyrus G14 with power packed processors with a proven track record. Running on the latest Ryzen 4000 processors with AMD’s cutting edge Zen 2 architecture, the G14 promises top of the line performance. It comes in variants with the Ryzen 5, Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 9 processors. Powered by up to 8 cores capable of processing 16 threads, the G14 is gearing itself to take the title of most powerful gaming laptop.
The processor’s prowess is complemented by NVIDIA’s RTX graphics which brings cutting edge ray tracing capabilities to the forefront. Maxing out at the NVIDIA RTX 2060 Max-Q, the Zephyrus G14 is packing quite the graphical punch. With 6GB of dedicated RAM for the GPU, you’ll be playing a majority of AAA titles on maxed out settings thanks to the 1-2 punch the Ryzen-RTX combination provides. However, if your budget doesn’t allow, the G14 also comes with options with NVIDIA’s GTX1650, GTX 1650 Ti and GTX1660 Ti.
Quick as a Zephyr with all the Flash of Lightning
The display, while smaller than your average gaming laptop, comes with options for a 120Hz refresh rate and even Quad HD resolution. The compact powerhouse comes with a 14-inch, Pantone Validated display. There are options for a 1080p, Full HD IPS display with 120Hz refresh rate or a WQHD IPS display with 60Hz refresh rate. Both options cover 100% of the sRGB gamut and come with adaptive sync and are non-glare panels for a better viewing experience even under harsh lighting.
The display isn’t the only thing that’s quick, the Zephyrus G14 comes with either 512GB or 1TB of storage. Both are PCIe m.2 NVMe SSDs which promise quick read and write speeds for better performance. They support up to 24GB of RAM with 8GB soldered in the laptop and an additional RAM slot for user expandability.
Charging on the Zephyrus G14 is gonna be a breeze with options for performance and portability. ASUS has enabled both proprietary charging and USB C power delivery (PD) charging on the laptop. The little power house supports up to 180W via charging pin and up to 65W by USB C PD. Best part, ASUS is including 2 charged in the box: a compact USB-C charger for portability and the quick charging power brick for performance. It even comes with a fingerprint sensor so you can login quick and easy with Windows Hello.
Of course, the Zephyrus G14 made waves at its initial announcement at CES2020 thanks to the AniMe matrix which comes on the lid of the laptop. Users are able to customise and personalise the laptop further with self made animations.
Pricing and Availability
The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 will be available starting 29 June, 2020 with prices starting from RM4,499. Ryzen 9 powered G14s will be coming with an ROG Sleeve, the ROG Impact Mouse in addition to the 65W USB-C PD Adapter. Those powered by the Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 5 will be coming with the sleeve and adapter.
Official Specifications & Pricing
Series
ROG Zephyrus G14
Model Name
GA401I-VHA231T
GA401I-VHA232T
GA401I-VHE340T
GA401I-VHE341T
GA401I-UHE099T
GA401I-IHE102T
GA401I-IHE103T
GA401I-HHE027T
Design
Eclipse Gray with AniMe Matrix
Moonlight White with AniMe Matrix
Eclipse Gray with AniMe Matrix
Moonlight White with AniMe Matrix
Eclipse Gray with AniMe Matrix
Eclipse Gray with AniMe Matrix
Moonlight White with AniMe Matrix
Eclipse Gray (No AniMe Matrix)
Processor
AMD Ryzen™ 9 4900HS Processor 3.0 GHz (8M Cache, up to 4.4 GHz)
AMD Ryzen™ 7 4800HS Processor 2.9 GHz (8M Cache, up to 4.2 GHz)
AMD Ryzen™ 5 4600HS Processor 3.0 GHz (8M Cache, up to 4.0 GHz)
14-inch Non-glare Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS-level panel, 120Hz, 100% sRGB, Pantone® Validated, adaptive sync
RAM/Slots
DDR4 3200 8G*1 + 8G (on-board) 1x RAM Slot (used)
DDR4 3200 8G (on-board) 1x RAM Slot (empty)
Storage
PCIE NVME 1TB M.2 SSD
PCIE NVME 512GB M.2 SSD
Wi-Fi/Bluetooth
Intel Wi-Fi 6(Gig+)(802.11ax) 2*2 Bluetooth 5.0
I/O ports
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C with DisplayPort™ 1.4 and Power Delivery 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A 1 x HDMI 2.0b 1 x 3.5mm headphone and microphone combo jack 1 x Kensington lock
Power
180W power adaptor Support Type-C PD 3.0 up to 65W
150W power adaptor Support Type-C PD 3.0 up to 65W
Battery
76Wh lithium-polymer battery
Keyboard type
White backlit chiclet keyboard, N-Key rollover, Power key with Fingerprint, 1.7mm travel distance
Dimension (WxHxD)
32.4cm x 22.2cm x 2cm
32.4cm x 22.2cm x 1.8cm
Weight
1.70 kg
1.60 kg
Included in the Box
ROG Sleeve + ROG Impact Mouse + 65W PD Adapter
ROG Sleeve + 65W PD adapter
Warranty
2 Years Global Warranty (1st year with Perfect Warranty)
Paradigms are shifting when it comes to how companies are managing their data. It shifted from having their own, on-premise servers to having cloud based infrastructure to support their data storage and compute needs. Now, the paradigm is shifting to a complementary approach which focuses on what the industry is calling – the hybrid cloud. Amazon Web Services (AWS) addressed the growing demand for a hybrid solution for their customers with their announcement of AWS Outposts at their annual Re:Invent conference last year.
The new AWS Outposts offering brings the power and flexibility of AWS’s cloud platform on premises for businesses that require it. The service provides customers with an customizable server stack that is able to provide any of AWS’s numerous modules. These workloads can then function exactly like their cloud counterparts but at a drastically reduced latency; allowing for local processing for workloads that require low latency. The new service also allows users to store and access their data locally. This negates the need for businesses to sacrifice large chunks of time uploading their data to cloud servers and data lakes. It also helps businesses that handle sensitive data maintain their integrity while bringing them into the future.
AWS Outposts are a fully managed service allowing companies to rest at ease when it comes to maintenance and troubleshooting. In fact, AWS Outposts are designed to give the exact same user experience as AWS’s regular services. Users won’t need to learn a totally new interface or jump between the interfaces when it comes to handling these hybrid workloads. Outposts are also able to interact with AWS Cloud seamlessly.
AWS Outposts have now made it’s way to Malaysia. The infrastructure is ready for Malaysia’s homegrown businesses to take advantage of. The introduction of AWS Outposts in Malaysia allows businesses to process compute workloads on premises. In fact, two major companies have already adopted the technology in their everyday business.
Starting on the 25th of June 2020, AWS customers in Malaysia are able to bring AWS’s compute, storage and graphics optimised instances on premises. This includes the recently announced AMD powered instance in addition to AWS’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Elastic Kubernetes Services (EKS), Relational Database Service (RDS) and more.
Next@Acer brought us the new Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel notebook PC for the creative professionals constantly on the move. This thing packs a punch with up to an Intel Core i7-10750H 10th generation Intel processor and up to an NVIDIA Quadro T1000 (ConceptD 3 Pro Ezel).
At weight starting from 1.68kg, the super flexible platform comes with either a 14-inch or 15.6-inch display that tilts around and moves as you move. With an integrated stylus, you can draw on the Pantone validated display and get accurate colours. Who says creative professionals just sit on their desks all day?
Alienware has become a really well known brand for their many offerings in the gaming space; ranging from laptops to desktops and even monitors and headphones, the brand has all their bases covered when it comes to the gamer’s experience. Well, all except one: gaming keyboards. That changes with the announcement of their new gaming keyboard: the Alienware RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard.
The new keyboard comes equipped with Cherry MX Brown switches which provide the optimal amount of travel for both productivity and gaming. It also strikes a unique balance between providing enough tactile feedback and keeping things quiet while players game or type.
The Alienware keyboard comes with fully programmable keys which allow gamers to program their own, customized macros and personalised key assignments via their Alienware Command Centre. Need a little more customisation? The keyboard comes with AlienFX per key lighting which allows you to customise your key backlight colour from a choice of 16.8 million colours for a bespoke keyboard which is uniquely you. It also has 3 height adjustments to allow for greater comfort when typing and gaming.
It’s a fully metal keyboard with floating keys atop. This allows users to better clean and maintain their keyboards to optimal usability and comfort. It comes equipped with a USB passthrough which allows easy access to USB connectivity without needing to navigate through the nooks and crannies of your desk. Also along for the ride are dedicated media keys for easy control during gaming and convenience for a better overall experience.
Pricing & Availability
The Alienware Keyboard (AWK410K) will be available starting on August 4, 2020 with prices starting at USD$129.99 (MYR555.38). No official pricing has been announced for the Malaysian market just yet.
Acer has been hard at work looking into the needs of designers since it first announced its ConceptD line up last year. This year, the line up is being expanded with more options that make sense for the artistically inclined and design heavy consumer with their new ConceptD 3 Ezel and even their new line up of monitors and the new ConceptD 100 desktop.
ConceptD 100 Desktop
The ConceptD 100 desktop takes the design cues of the ConceptD line up and puts them into a rather unique, sleek and eye catching design. The pristine white finish is accented by a deep black panel which houses most of the functional buttons.
That said, the package isn’t just pretty. It has some substance with Acer gearing the ConceptD 100 Desktop for 2D rendering and entry level 3D CAD workloads. It comes equipped with 9th generation Intel Core i5 processor and is equipped with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 2TB of storage. To help with the graphical workloads, the ConceptD 100 comes equipped with the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 or NVIDIA Quadro P620 graphics cards. When it comes to connectivity, it supports 802.11ac/a/b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 5.0.
Official Specifications
ConceptD Monitors
Keeping in line with catering for the needs of the prosumer, the ConceptD monitors are built to cater to the needs of graphics intensive workloads which require an increased colour accuracy and higher refresh rates.
ConceptD CP5 & CP3
The ConceptD CP5 and CP3 monitors are catered specifically to computer graphics creators, video editors and animators.
The CP5 is equipped with a WQHD resolution of 2560×1440 pixels and is HDR compatible with the VESA DisplayHDR 600 standard. It comes with Adaptive Sync technology and can be overclocked to 170Hz refresh rate. The high-performance monitor comes with a high degree of colour accuracy with ΔE values well below 1 and PANTONE validaton. The monitors come with a colour depth of 1.07 million colours covering 99% of the Adobe sRGB gamut.
The CP3 carries similar specifications with support for 98% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut and a refresh rate of up to 165Hz. It comes with a WQHD resolution of 3840×2160 pixels and is certified with HDR support according to the VESA DisplayHDR 400 standard.
ConceptD CM3 Monitor
The ConceptD CM3 monitor zooms in on professional creators looking for a more capable monitor to handle the precision based workloads they are used to. The monitor comes with support for 99% of the Adobe RGB colour space and is Pantone Validated with a ΔE of less than 2. It also has VESA DisplayHDR 400 support and is compatible with AMD FreeSync.
Pricing & Availability
The ConceptD 100 Desktop will be available in Europe, Middle East and Asia (EMEA) in June with prices starting at EUR799 (MYR4,834.10).
The ConceptD CP3 monitor will be available in China starting in June with prices starting at RMB3,999 (MYR); in North America (NA) and EMEA starting in August with prices starting at USD$619.99 (MYR2,649.86) and EUR629 (MYR3,043.90) respectively.
The CP5 monitor will be available in China starting in July with prices kicking off at RMB4,999 (MYR3,022.49); in NA and EMEA starting August with prices starting at USD$749.99 (MYR3,205.52) and EUR759 (MYR3,673.34) respectively.
The CM3 will be available in China starting July with prices kicking off at RMB4,999 (MYR3,022.49); in NA and EMEA starting August with prices starting at USD$709.99 (MYR3,034.54) and EUR719 (MYR3,480.01) respectively.
Lenovo’s laptops have long powered the productivity of small and medium businesses. In fact, their ThinkPad brand has been in the business for more than two decades now! The series has become synonymous with sturdy, well built, purpose built laptops which Lenovo has taken to the next level with models such as the ThinkPad X1 Carbon. However, the company didn’t announce another top of the link ThinkPad this time. Instead, they’ve shifted their focus to their affordable, durable, and purpose built line up: the ThinkPad E series.
They’ve partnered with AMD this round to bring even more efficient but powerful performance with AMD’s Ryzen 4000 series. The Ryzen 4000 series has been touted to bring better power efficiency and double digit performance gains over the previous generation of Ryzen processors. In fact, it’s boasting more than 30% increases in performance.
The two new entries: the ThinkPad E14 and ThinkPad E15 come equipped with the AMD Ryzen processors ranging from the Ryzen 3 to the Ryzen 7. These processors come with an integrated AMD Radeon graphics processor which provides enough power for regular day to day graphics and data processing. The processors are complemented with support for up to 24GB of RAM. 8GB of the RAM is soldered with an extra slot for users to add up to 16GB of RAM. On the memory side of things, the ThinkPad E14 and E15 both are able to support a dual SSD setup with up to 1.5TB of combined space. By default, the laptops come with up to 512GB of memory. The second SSD is an optional add on with support for up to 1TB of memory.
When it comes to display, the ThinkPad E14 comes with a 14-inch, Full HD screen; users have the option of a higher contrast IPS display or a TN display. Similarly, the ThinkPad E15 comes with a 15.6-inch display with the same options. Both laptops come with dual 2W Harman speakers with Dolby Atmos certification and a dual array microphone for conference calls. In fact, the laptops are optimised for conference calls with quick shortcut functions for answering and hanging up on con-calls directly on the keyboard. To complement this, the laptops come equipped with a 720p webcam with an optional Infrared function.
If privacy is a concern with the 720p webcam, Lenovo has got you covered with Lenovo’s built-in ThinkShutter allows you to cover the webcam when it’s not in use. However, the webcam is also used to keep your data secure by locking your laptop when you walk away and unlocking when you return. This, of course, works with Windows Hello and will require the IR sensor to work.
Other than that, the laptop comes with a few Lenovo staples including the spill-resistant keyboard and also the slim form factor that has now become ubiquitous with the ThinkPad brand. Both also support WiFi 6 connectivity.
Pricing and Availability
The ThinkPad E14 and ThinkPad E15 are already available in Malaysia with prices starting at MYR3,499 and MYR3,449 respectively.
The laptops are available via their official partner, SNS Network (M) Sdn Bhd. Customers can make their order in one of three ways:
Head to their head office in Petaling Jaya at C-11-2, Block C, 3 Two Square, Jalan 19/1, 46300 Petaling Jaya.
Acer’s ConceptD series created waves when it was first announced a little over a year ago. It was the first offering from the computer manufacturer to take aim at the creative industry and cater to their needs. Specifically, providing a powerful, portable machine capable of rendering and processing large workloads on the go. This year, the company is looking to bring even more flexibility with the new ConceptD 3 Ezel.
The ConceptD 3 Ezel brings along a new hinge design that brings even more flexibility to the already powerful line up of ConceptD laptops. The unique, innovative hinge by Acer allows the laptop to function in multiple modes. It also allows artists to illustrate and draw without the hassle of working around the keyboard.
The unique hinge is not the only design cue that stands out. The ConceptD 3 Ezel is pristine white with the hinge running through the top of the laptop providing a symmetrical accent that highlights the hidden functionality. The keys are also back lit a glowing amber which glows and resonates against the white of the laptop.
Elegance isn’t the only thing the ConceptD 3 Ezel is. It’s also power packed and ready to take on anyone’s creative process. The laptop comes with either a 14-inch or 15.6-inch Full HD PANTONE Validated touchscreen display which covers 100% of the sRGB gamut with an accuracy rated at delta ΔE<2. It is also supports Acer’s Active Stylus for easy writing and drawing with 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity.
The ConceptD 3 Ezel comes packing a punch with high performance, 10th Generation Intel Core i7 and Core i5 processors and NVIDIA’s Quadro T1000 graphics processor (ConceptD 3 Ezel Pro) or the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti. It comes with 1TB of PCIe SSD storage as well.
Together with the ConceptD3 Ezel, Acer also announced the available of a regular ConceptD 3 which comes with similar specifications and sports 20 hours of battery life.
Pricing & Availability
The ConceptD 3 Ezel will be available in September in North America and China with pricing starting at USD$1,499.99 (MYR6,412.64) and RMB9,999 (MYR6,056.21) respectively. While the EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Asia) region will be getting the Ezel starting September with prices starting at EUR1,699 (MYR8,224.28).
The regular ConceptD 3 will be retailing in North America and EMEA starting in October for USD$999.99 (MYR4,275.08) and EUR1,299 (MYR6,289.14) respectively. While, in China, it will be available starting in September with prices starting at RMB8,999 (MYR5,450.53).
HONOR should not be an unfamiliar name to smartphone users today. They made some of the best valued devices and they have been doing so for some years now. Most of their devices have been built around that philosophy anyway.
That is mostly since they have a vastly different target market in the industry. They mostly target the younger demographics. Their target demographics generally put more emphasis on delivered value than perceived value and branding.
Today is all about that as well with the HONOR 9A. In a way, the HONOR 9A is a little bit like an answer to Xiaomi’s Redmi devices and realme’s range of offerings. It may also be an answer to their bigger sister brand’s HUAWEI Nova and Y series really.
It does not pack the famous Kirin platform. Instead it is packing a MediaTek Helio P22 System on a Chip (SoC) to make it as affordable as possible. It is part of the reason that the HONOR could let you have one for just MYR 549. It does not come with one of those gimmicky, expensive AMOLED displays with no edges or notches as well.
It comes with a plain ol’ 6.3-inch dew-drop display with a small notch in its forehead and a lip that might look like a large tape compared to the svelte lines of flagship devices. That is okay though, it is still a Full HD display. They have done something to the speakers too to make it louder, a lot louder and better.
Of course, you cannot have everything with a lower price point. So at that price point you are looking at only up to 3GB of RAM and 64GB in storage. Still, it is not like you are being limited to just using your internal storage though. You can fit up to 512GB in MicroSD form.
You are not being compromised in terms of camera though. You still get a triple camera set up out the back with 13-Megapixel main shooter backed with a 5-Megapixel ultra-wide camera and a 2-Megapixel depth sensor. That is not all you are getting back in value though.
The biggest thing that you are getting within this device is a large battery. At 5,000 mAh, it is large enough to be your power bank for other smartphones. That is also why you can use it to reverse charge other devices. 5,000 mAh is still quite a big deal these days.
The HONOR 9A runs on Android 10 OS still, which means you are still getting a good Android experience from HONOR’s MagicUI 3.1. There is a small caveat of not having Google Apps on it or even Google Play Store. You do get AppGallery on it though, a good alternative if you do not mind some of the missing apps.
Source: HONOR
The HONOR 9A will be available in stores starting 6th July 2020. It will be up for pre-order online on the 26th June 2020 onward to 5th June 2020 though. If you do pre-order your HONOR 9A, you get up to MYR 218 worth of free gifts including an HONOR backpack and 15GB of HUAWEI Cloud subscription. As stated, price for the HONOR 9A is MYR 549. For more information on HONOR 9A you can visit their website.
