Category Archives: News

[Next@Acer] New Predator Gaming Laptops & Monitors Bring Even More Immersive Experiences

January 5, 2023 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

Acer’s Predator Gaming has become one of the industry’s mainstays when it comes to the gaming scene. It comes as no surprise that Acer has opted to expand and streamline their lineup this year at their biannual Next@Acer event. Together with new naming schemes, the lineup is also updating the specifications and power in their gaming arsenal.

A Streamlined Predator Helios Lineup

The all-new Predator Helios lineup is not only coming with updated specifications. Acer has streamlined its naming dropping the 300, 500 and 700 series monikers. Instead, they’ve opted to use the screen sizes to denote each model of the laptop in the Helios lineup.

This year’s Predator Helios lineup consists of the Predator Helios 16 and Predator Helios 18 – for now. The two laptops bring the latest and greatest processors and GPUs from Intel and NVIDIA respectively. Together with configurations supporting up to the Core i9 or i7 HX processors and the RTX4080 Laptop GPU, the laptops are built for gaming. They also support up to up to 32 GB DDR5-4800 MHz RAM and up to 2 TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD storage.

Mini LED Makes its Helios Debut

Both laptops are also the first in the Predator Gaming lineup to sport Mini LED panels. These panels bring deeper blacks and higher contrast than previous Helios laptops. The 1,000,000:1 contrast and the 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut promise better colour reproduction and more immersive gaming. This paired with NVIDIA’s Ada Lovelace architecture, DLSS and NVIDIA’s Reflex create one of the best systems to experience cutting-edge AAA games. Both versions come with a 16:10 aspect ratio. However, the Helios 16 comes with options for a WQXGA (2560×1600) display with 165Hz or 240Hz refresh rates or a Mini LED panel with a 250Hz refresh rate. The Helios 18 on the other hand comes with an additional WUXGA (1920×1200) with a 165Hz refresh rate.

The cutting-edge specifications also come with an enhanced cooling system. The new laptops come with dual custom-engineered 5th Generation AeroBlade 3D metal fans and rectangular vector heat pipes for better heat absorption and dissipation. This is paired with liquid metal thermal grease for even better cooling.

The new Helios 16 and Helios 18 also come with a newly redesigned chassis. The redesign brings together clean edges and a slimmer silhouette. The displays are also surrounded by thinner bezels for a more immersive experience. Of course, it’s completed with a mini LED backlit keyboard with 1.8mm key travel and anti-ghosting N-key rollover. The laptops also come with a complete set of ports on the back and the latest wireless connectivity including WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. They also have support for Thunderbolt and Intel Killer Ethernet.

New Predator Gaming Monitors

Together with the new laptops, Acer also announced two new Predator Gaming Monitors. The new Predator X45 and Predator X27U feature OLED displays with 98.5% coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut and support for HDR10. Both also have support for AMD FreeSync Premium technology and sport 240Hz refresh rates and 0.01ms pixel response times.

The Predator X45 comes with a 45-inch UWQHD display with a resolution of 3440×1440 pixels. The curved monitor sports an 800R curvature giving a more immersive gaming experience. It also has a metal stand with a sleek, sturdy metal base. The Predator X27U on the other hand is a 27-inch flat panel with a WQHD resolution of 2560×1440 pixels.

Both of the monitors come with come outfitted with DisplayPort 1.4 and two HDMI 2.0 ports. They also sport KVM switches which allow you to switch between desktop and laptop while maintaining the same keyboard and mouse setup. They also sport a USB Hub with USB Type-C for all the gadgets.

Pricing & Availability

Item	North America	EMEA	China
Predator Helios 16	USD$1,649.99 (MYR7,236.42) starting in March 2023	EUR2,399 (MYR11,082.19) starting in February 2023	RMB17,999 (MYR11,475.34) starting in February 2023
Predator Helios 18	USD$1,699 (MYR7,455.84) starting in April 2023	EUR2,499 (MYR11,544.15) starting in March 2023	RMB20,999 (MYR13,388.00) starting in February 2023
Predator Helios X45	USD$1,699 (MYR7,455.84) starting in Q2 2023	EUR1,799 (MYR8,311.27) starting in Q2 2023	RMB12,999 (MYR8,287.57) starting in Q1 2023
Predator Helios X27U	USD$1,099 (MYR4,822.67) starting in Q2 2023	EUR1,099 (MYR5,077.31) starting in Q2 2023	RMB7,999 (MYR5,101.30) starting in Q1 2023

Computers, Mobile, News

[CES 2023] AMD Brings the Ryzen 7000 Series Mobile!

January 5, 2023 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

AMD’s CES keynote was quite a big one. No, they did not make p15 product announcements. More like they launched just one line-up of small chips to go into small and portable products, and one huge chip meant to go into huge servers you never want to see the inside of the next 10 years. They launched the AMD Ryzen 7000 series for mobile computing devices. Yes, they did launch new Epyc server class processors, but we think that it is worth a story of its own.

Welcome to the latest AMD mobile processor experience. This time AMD launched a few series of Ryzen 7000 processors. You have the AMD Ryzen 7045HX, Ryzen 7040HS, Ryzen 7035, and Ryzen 7030 series processors. There are also AMD Ryzen PRO 7030 series processors designed for the corporate world too.

The AMD Ryzen 7030 Series

Meant to find their way to the budget options, the AMD Ryzen 7030 series processors are really meant to be entry-level powerhouses. You get to opt for up to the AMD Ryzen 7 7730U with up to eight cores and 16 threads. All eight cores are finished with AMD’s 7nm Zen 3 architecture. The Zen 3 architecture may be a previous generation technology, but it is still a highly popular architecture that has proven itself over time.

With constrained budget, most entry-level laptops will not feature their own discrete GPU. That is why the AMD Ryzen 7030 packs its own Radeon graphics that will prove to be useful in both gaming and productivity situations. Then there are the AMD Ryzen PRO 7030 series.

The PRO processors have always been made for corporate laptops. They are more like the older Ryzen PRO 5000 series processor than the newer generation Zen 4 processors. Like the regular AMD Ryzen 7030, they pack 7nm Zen 3 architecture instead of the new Zen 4. While they will perform the same as the regular Ryzen 7030, their added security layer buikt into the chip itself should set itself apart from other AMD Ryzen 7000 series mobile processors.

The AMD Ryzen 7035 Series

Coming up the ladder is AMD’s 6nm processors with up to eight cores and 16 threads on the Ryzen 7035HS. It is the Zen 3+ technology that took the Zen 3 architecture and improved its power efficiency and general processing speed despite similar general architectures. It is designed for productivity machines that are meant to go everywhere. The first of many will be HP’s Dragonfly PRO coming soon. While not at the lowest end of AMD’s latest processors for the mobile computer, the AMD Ryzen 7035 series still aims to impress at a great value.

The AMD Ryzen 7040HS Series

Coming to the more performance focused space is the AMD Ryzen 7040HS processors starting from the Ryzen 5 7640HS processor with six cores and 12 threads. You can opt for a higher end Ryzen 9 7940HS processor with eight cores and 16 threads too.

The Ryzen 7040HS series comes with AMD’s latest Zen 4 architecture for best-in-class performance in modern thin-and-light laptops. The Zen 4 processor also comes built-in with RDNA 3 Radeon graphics too so that you can game even without a discrete GPU.

The AMD Ryzen 7045HX Series

If you want the best of the best, you want AMD’s latest Ryzen 7045HX series processors. Of course, it comes with AMD’s latest 5nm Zen 4 technology. The range-topping AMD Ryzen 9 7945Hz also comes with up 16 cores alongside 32 threads. They clock up to to 5.4GHz on boost and this class of mobile processors will be the closest thing to desktop computing experience you can get on laptops. That said, this could also be the most powerful laptop processors you can find when you get your hands on one.

Because you are going to want to carry your powerhouse of a laptop, the processor must be power efficient too. The most powerful processors in the range consumes up to 75W. In that case, you might see some laptops with AMD’s Ryzen 7045HX processors that can be charged with 100W USB type-C chargers. Of course, you will not be able to use the laptop with its discrete GPU, if it comes with one.

Availability

AMD’s latest Ryzen 7000 series processors for mobile devices will be coming through 2023 from AMD’s manufacturing partners like Lenovo, HP, ASUS, and maybe even Razer. Alongside the new mobile processors, AMD also launched the new AMD Ryzen 9 7800X3D, Ryzen 9 7900X3D, and AMD Ryzen 7950X3D processors as a sort of 3D V-Cache technology upgrade to AMD’s existing line up of desktop processors. You can find more information on AMD’s latest Ryzen processors on their website.

Computers, Gaming, News

[CES 2023] Dell’s Concept Nyx Gains the “One Controller to Rule Them All”

January 5, 2023 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

Dell took the stage last year with their eye-catching Concept Nyx. The concept device took a jab at gaming on the edge. With Concept Nyx, Dell was looking at creating a new gaming and living room experience with edge connectivity. Edge connectivity or connectivity at the edge of the network is something we’ll be hearing more and more about with 5G becoming more mainstream.

Dell Concept Nyx 028 — Source: Dell Technologies

With Concept Nyx, Dell Technologies is looking to enable remote gaming with WiFi and 5G connectivity. They’re looking to accomplish this with a device or box that provides remote access to gaming libraries like Steam and more. This device can be placed in spaces like the living room and can support more than one instance. So, you’ll be able to play HALO while your sister plays Valorant at the same time on the same screen. It can even support multiple instances of the same game allowing you to play together.

The One Controller To Rule Them All

This year, Dell Technologies is taking Concept Nyx a little further. They’ve introduced the Concept Nyx Game Controller – the “One Controller to Rule Them All”. So, what makes this controller so different? The first thing that sets it apart is an integrated fingerprint sensor which will allow a myriad of personalization. The integrated fingerprint sensor could unlock personal settings or launch the last game that you played with a single touch.

Dell is also experimenting with haptics in the controller. The controller is looking to incorporate variable resistance into their thumb sticks. The variable resistance can be set to either player preference or adapt to game specific settings. Imagine playing God of War and feeling the tug when you pull down barriers or slam enemies into the ground. The X-triggers could also incorporate the same.

In addition, the Concept Nyx Controller comes with shift buttons for additional options on front buttons and innovative scroll wheels which could be used to quickly scroll through your game weapons. There’s also an intelligent touchpad for instant access to customisable controls. It also comes with a fully customisable intelligent on-screen controls and overlays which will make sure you don’t get them buttons mixed up.

Taking Concept Nyx to the Next Level

While the big advancement this year is the Concept Nyx Controller, Dell isn’t just pushing hardware. Devs working on Concept Nyx have expanded what was shown last year with a better, more simplified dashboard. In addition to this, Concept Nyx is also being expanded to multitask more efficiently like connecting to multiple headsets; each with a unique audio stream. This also includes better splitscreen experiences. AI is also looking to make its mark on Concept Nyx with Dell experimenting with AI for things like dynamic listening to allow players to know when they’re being called.

Dell Concept Nyx 011 — Source: Dell Technologies

While there’s no commercially available product just yet, Concept Nyx is quickly being moulded by gaming. That said, you may see some of Nyx’s features make its way to products in Dell’s portfolio.

Computers, Gaming, News

[CES 2023] ASUS ROG Brings Even More Power to its Desktop Lineup

January 5, 2023 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

ASUS has made a name for itself when it comes to desktop components. It should come as no surprise that the company also has a lineup of pre-built desktops. This year, the desktop lineup is more focused and streamlined. There are three new entries into their offerings this year with each one taking laser focus on a feature to champion.

ROG G22CH – Redefining “Small but Mighty”

When it comes to desktops, it’s generally been a battle between space and performance. However, with the ROG G22CH, ASUS is proving that both aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. The small 10L chassis small form factor PC packs a punch with the latest generation 13th Generation Intel Core processors with configuration supporting the Core i9-13900K. Together with this, the G22CH comes with NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 40 Series GPUS with up to 32GB of DDR5 4800MHz RAM and up to 2TB of PCIe 4.0 SSD storage.

Together with the power-packed internals, the G22CH is designed with a focus on airflow. The new pre-built desktop system supports both AIO liquid coolers and traditional air cooling for the CPU. It even features an internal power supply in its minute chassis. It’s also easy to upgrade and access with its toolless design.

ROG Strix G16CH – Made to Game

The ROG Strix G16CH is a mid-tower gaming desktop built for multitaskers. The system supports configurations that cap out with the Intel Core i7-13700KF and the NVIDIA RTX 4080 GPU. On the memory side of things, the setup supports up to 3TB of storage and a whopping 128GB of DDR4 RAM.

However, it’s not just about the insides, the Strix G16CH comes with some of the best ventilation-focused designs. The front panel and top exhaust allow for plenty of airflow. It’s also built to accommodate a high-performance 240mm liquid cooler for the CPU. It’s also built with all the signature ROG design cues including the ROG Slash aesthetic, an integrated headset holder and a reinforced double D ring strap.

ROG Strix G13CH – Air Flow for Maximum Cooling and Performance

The Strix G13CH follows suit with ASUS’s focus on better cooling and airflow with a redesign which marries both ROG’s signature style and improved airflow. It comes with configurations which support up to the Intel Core i&-13700 and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 series GPU. Complementing this is up to 64GB of RAM and up to 2TB of storage.

Pricing and Availability

No pricing or availability has been announced just yet.

Consumer Electronics, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

[CES 2023] Samsung’s SmartThings Station is the Smart Home Hub for Everything and Everyone

January 5, 2023 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Samsung’s CES 2023 keynote and unveiling is nothing extraordinary or surprising. They have been teasing a bunch of IoT smart home integration and hardware all month long from the end of 2022. Of could there are the new TVs they launched with Micro LED technology for even better images on your Samsung TVs than ever before. Where LG tries to expand on their OLED line-up, Samsung is pushing on the display panel technology itself. Still, all of this is sitting in the product line-up within the Smart Things ecosystem. In the middle of all that new connected technology is Samsung’s brand-new Smart Things Station.

Samsung’s CEO teased IoT focus for CES 2023 before the convention even begun. If we are being honest, we expected new TVs, new home appliances, and even a new SmartThings interface for your TV and your smartphones. We also expected Samsung to announce updates for all their connected appliances and devices with Matter support alongside newly launched products. What we were not prepared to see was the new SmartThings Station.

It is not the sheer size of it that shocked us. It is not even a technological marvel or breakthrough. It looks just like any other wireless switch you can find in your home. In fact, if you mount it to the wall, you can easily mistake it as one of your light switches. It is not meant to be mounted on your wall though. Rather, it is meant to sit on your end tables, coffee tables, or even your home office table.

An All-in-One Wireless Charger

SmartThingsStation PR dl2 — Source: Samsung

It is technically meant to double as a wireless charger, and it looks the part. It is a tad thicker than the run of the mill wireless chargers you might find today, but it is does more than charge your smartphone, at least if you have a compatible device (Galaxy devices only for now). It is meant to turn your smartphone into your SmartThings hub.

The SmartThings Station is not just meant to be a one-stop-shop control and connected hub for all your smart home things. Apart from seamlessly integrating all of your smart home in a single interface, it is also meant to seamlessly fit into your home and your lifestyle. In that case, as soon as your Samsung Galaxy device gets in touch with the puck, the connection prompt and process gets started automatically. That promises simple few minutes to set up as soon as you bring your new wireless charging puck home.

While Samsung did not mention Matter support in their own new release, the SmartThings Station supports Matter. That means that the Samsung SmartThings Station is not just meant for SmartThings enabled items. You can technically connect any sort of smart thermostat, lighting, power outlets, and even appliances as long as they are Matter enabled. In that case, you can buy that new ‘made for Apple Home’ or ‘supports Google Assistant’ appliances with little to no concerns of spending more money for compatibility and interoperability purposes.

SmartThingsStation PR dl1 — Source: Samsung

You can also trigger your ‘routines’ via the SmartThings Station too. Of course, you want to edit your Routines on your SmartThings app before the hub can activate any of your routines. The Station can store up to three routines with three separate interactions with the puck.

If you misplaced your smartphone in your home, for example, a double press of the button on the puck can trigger SmartThings Find. Your smartphone will start ringing, even if it is in silent mode, so that you do not have to spend hours turning your house upside down to find your smartphone. At the same time, all registered Galaxy devices can be kept track via SmartThings so that you know where your things are within your home at all times, or even when a member of your household gets in and out of your home.

Availability

For now Samsung only mentions a U.S. availability in February 2023. Smart home adoption in Malaysia is admittedly at its infancy, which also means that your might not see Samsung’s SmartThings Station in Malaysia anytime soon. There are no mentions on its official pricing just yet too. You can choose between Black and White when it is available. We also expect Samsung Bespoke to get their hands on it and then you can have your Station in any colour you can imagine.

Computers, Gaming, Mobile, News

[CES 2023] NVIDIA Brings RTX 40 Mobile – RTX 40 Series Studio Laptops, Here We Go!

January 4, 2023 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

NVIDIA’s RTX 40 series GPUs are finally making their way to the mobile computing space, just as Intel’s 13^th generation CPUs are also making their way to the mobile computing space. Alongside the new hardware, Ada Lovelace on mobile also comes with a slew of updates that was also brought along from the RTX 40 series for the desktop market. Alongside NVIDIA introducing the laptop market to Ada Lovelace, they also launched their new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti.

Unsurprisingly, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 series for laptops focus more on the content creation aspect more than anything. To be fair, while gaming performance on a laptop has never been better with the RTX 40 series, content creators are the ones who will get the biggest bump in benefits with Ada Lovelace this time around. That said, there are still some interesting developments from NVIDIA for games with the new Max-Q Ada Lovelace architecture.

Thanks to some clever implementation for the Studio platform, NVIDIA brings RTX Remix made mostly for gamers. The technology allows more creative gamers to quickly create mods for older titles with full ray tracing technology to modernize those games. You even get enhanced details ad materials with DLSS3 and NVIDIA Reflex. All of these and you never needed to learn to code or knowledge to work in the 3D design space in the first place. NVIDIA is also bringing official RTX support to Portal Prelude, a Portal mod.

Back to the more content creator aspect of things. NVIDIA is introducing a new Studio driver to update their new and existing GPUs too. With The new Studio platform comes an improved NVIDIA Omniverse, a connected world where 3D artists can collaborate in real-time with the power of NVIDIA’s RTX engines. The have expanded the Omniverse with better support for Blender, a rather popular 3D rendering tool. Users can also experiment with regenerative 3D tools alongside Universal Scene Description assets added into Omniverse to create even more life like 3D scenes than ever before.

If you are more of a videographer, or a streamer, the new NVIDIA Studio suite offers improved NVIDIA Broadcast and Canvas apps. Broadcast new features a new eye-tracking and replacement tool that cleverly and naturally makes it look like you are actually looking into your webcam instead of your screen in both video conferences and game streams. Canvas allows you to work with 360-degree images that can be used as environment maps in 3D apps like Blender. On top of all of these, Ada Lovelace also comes with AV1 support which should allow for a more efficient video workflow in compatible apps.

If you are not into any of that, there are still some benefits to using NVIDIA’s RTX 40 and RTX 30 series GPUs. They are bringing their upscaling technology to the masses with RTX Video Super Resolution. The feature uses AI to improve videos from any sources, including your browser. The algorithm removes compression artifacts and upscales video resolutions to improve its sharpness and even overall detail so that you watch online contents at your display’s native resolution even if the YouTube video only offers up to 480p in resolution. The feature will only be available for Chrome and Edge browsers in February 2023, for now.

The other added benefit of Ada Lovelace is its power efficiency. That also means that gaming and studio class laptops can be made thinner with smaller and more power efficient fans. On top of enhanced battery life as well, the power bricks can be made smaller than ever.

Availability

NVIDIA has teased the first few laptops that will get their RTX 40 series treatment. They named the Razer Blade, MSI’s Stealth series, and ASUS’s Zenbook Pro series laptops for now. For now, NVIDIA has teased the availability of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 and GeForce RTX 4090 series for mobile computing, but we are convinced you will see the likes of the GeForce RTX 4080, and GeForce RTX 4060 series Max-Q GPUs when laptop manufacturers release more details about their next-generation content creator and gaming laptops soon. More about Ada Lovelace architecture can be found on their website.

Computers, Gaming, News

[CES 2023] NVIDIA Launches the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, Unlaunching the RTX 4080 12GB

January 4, 2023 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

At NVIDIA’s next-generation GPU launch the last round, Jensen Huang unveiled two new flagship class GPUs; the GeForce RTX 4090 and GeForce RTX 4080. The range-topping GeForce RTX 4090 packs more Ada Lovelace architecture CUDA cores than the GPU it replaces and 24GB of GDDR6X RAM for performance like no other. The slightly lower end GPU, which is still a powerful flagship class GPU, the GeForce RTX 4080 packs just over half the CUDA cores of the flagship and about 16GB GDDR6X RAM.

Alongside these two GPUs, the team in green teased another GPU that is meant to be a more budget friendly version of the GeForce RTX 4080 with less CUDA cores and less RAM. For the longest time, the GPU is known as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 12GB. With a smaller potential asking price for it, the rumoured GPU is a highly anticipated one.

For CES 2023, they launched the GPU for US$ 799. Except, they did not launch the GeForce RTX 4080 12GB. They launched the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti ahead of the regular GeForce RTX 4070.

NVIDIA’s latest GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is the exact same GPU that is the unlaunched GeForce RTX 4080 12GB. It packs 7680 CUDA cores, less than half of the GeForce RTX 4090 GPU. Its 12GB RAM RAM is also exactly half the top-of-the-line RTX 4090 flagship GPU. It is still a fast GDDR6X RAM that you get from the RTX 3090 and RTX 4090. In the grander scheme of things, the new GPU is targeted squarely as a mid-range GPU that should prove to be one of the more popular GPU choices for the more value conscious gamers.

In terms of features, the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti packs the latest DLSS 3 algorithm for upscaling that is better than before. They also say that the RTX 4070 Ti is supposed to be a more powerful GeForce RTX 3090 Ti that was replaced by the GeForce RTX 4090. In NVIDIA’s benchmarks though, the newly launched GPU looks like it performs about the same as the RTX 3090 Ti in non DLSS titles. The benchmark has not accounted for the improved ray tracing performance from the Ada Lovelace architecture though. According to NVIDIA as well, the GPU is supposed to be more efficient than before too with 226W TDP.

The new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti will be available in the market worldwide 5^th of January 2023 onward. NVIDIA suggests a starting retail price of US$ 799 (MYR 3520*). The pricing is really just a guideline though since they also mentioned that there will not be a Founders Edition GPU from NVIDIA for this one. In that case you can expect GPUs from board partners like ASUS, Colorful, Gainward, GALAX, GIGABYTE, INNO3D, KFA2, MSI, Palit, PNY, and ZOTAC. More information on their new GPU can be found on their website.

*Approximately based on exchange rate of US$ 1=MYR 4.41 as of 04/01/2023 on xe.com

Computers, News

[CES 2023] ROG Strix SCAR & Strix G Lineups Updated with More Power and Vibrant Nebula HDR Displays

January 4, 2023 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

ASUS’s Republic of Gamers has been creating astonishing offerings over the past few years with a more streamlined, power-packed line up of gaming laptops for every gamer. This year at CES, the company is putting their best foot forward with new form factors and a refreshed design for their most popular Strix SCAR and Strix G line ups.

The new Strix SCAR line up features an updated design which features a new armour cap which looks to be replacing the keystone we’ve seen in previous versions. The armour cap also comes in multiple designs at launch. ASUS has updated the Strix SCAR design with a more subtle design language with the ports on either side. They’ve also increased the number of vents on the SCAR for better cooling.

The new Strix G Line up comes with same subtlety in design but also comes with more apparent Aura Sync lighting. It also shares the same design cues with the Strix SCAR including the new armour cap. Both laptop lineups come with ASUS NumberPad which turns the TouchPad into a fully functional NumPad when needed.

When it comes to specifications, the ROG Strix G and Strix SCAR laptops come with configurations supporting Intel’s latest 13th Generation Core processors capping out at the Core i9-13980HX. Both also come with configurations supporting the latest from NVIDIA – the RTX 40 series laptop GPUs. The ROG Strix SCAR line up has configurations supporting up to the NVIDIA RTX 4090 Laptop GPU while the ROG Strix G supports up to the RTX 4080 Laptop GPU.

When it comes to displays the ROG Strix series is gunning for firsts with both of the lineups supporting ASUS’s Nebula HDR displays. Both the Strix SCAR and Strix G series comes in two flavours – 16-inch (Strix SCAR 16; Strix G16) and 18-inch (Strix SCAR16; Strix G18). The SCAR 16 comes with options for QHD IPS panels with up to 240Hz refresh rate. The only difference between the two QHD IPS panels are colour accuracy and Pantone Validation. The larger SCAR 18 comes with an additional option for a 165Hz FHD panel which covers 100% of the sRGB gamut. The Strix G16 and G18 come with options for a 240Hz, Pantone Validated Colour accurate QHD IPS panel or an FHD panel with 165Hz refresh rate.

When it comes to memory, the Strix G comes with options with up to 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD memory with up to 32GB DDR5 RAM while the STRIX SCAR lineup comes with up to a max of 4TB (2 x 2TB) memory with up to 64GB DDR5 RAM.

Both lineups also come with option which support AMD’s latest Ryzen processors. The Strix SCAR 17 and the Strix G17 both support up to the Ryzen 9 Zen 4 processor. Together with this, the laptops also sport a smaller 17-inch display. The SCAR 17 comes with a QHD IPS panel with support for Dolby Vision HDR and 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut. The Strix G17 comes with an additional option for a FHD display with 144Hz Value IPS display.

Pricing & Availability

Computers, News

[Next@Acer] Acer Marries Premium Build and Performance in their New Swift Lineup

January 4, 2023 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

Acer’s s Swift lineup has been the cornerstone of the company’s thin and light laptops. This year, they’re taking their proven approach to thin and light laptops and supercharging it with more power and an even more premium build. It also looks like they’re streamlining the naming for the Swift family of laptops.

Acer Swift Go – The new Entry to Thin and Light

Acer’s new entry-level thin and light laptop – the Swift Go series – is looking to redefine its approach to thin and light machines. The new series makes its debut with two entries: the Swift Go 16 and the Swift Go 14. The new laptops bring the latest 13th-generation Intel Core processors with Intel’s Movidius VPU. The dedicated AI engine that comes with Intel Core and Movidius VPU gears the laptop for video collaboration and seamless integration.

The Swift Go 16 comes with a 16-inch, 3.2K OLED display with a 3000×2000 pixel resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate while the Swift Go 14 comes with a 2.8K OLED display with a 2880×1800 pixel resolution with a 90Hz refresh rate. Both come with 500-nit peak brightness with 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification. They also have TUV Rheinland Eyesafe display certification.

Acer Swift 14 – Portable Premium Style with Productivity Front and Center

The Acer Swift 14 continues the legacy of the Swift series with its premium build and lightweight portability. The Swift 14 comes with a fresh new design which highlights the double anodized CNC-machined aluminium body of the laptop accented by diamond cut edges. The new materials don’t add much heft to the laptop with the Swift 14 coming in at only 1.2kg in weight and a slender 14.95mm thin.

Keeping things sustainable, the Acer Swift 14 comes with an OceanGlass trackpad made of reclaimed abandoned ocean-bound plastics. The OceanGlass trackpad looks and feels premium fitting the overall design of the new Swift 14.

It’s not just about the aesthetics with the Swift 14, Acer is packing the latest 13th Generation Intel Core H processors. The Swift 14 comes with configurations topping out with the Intel Core i7. This is paired with up to 2TB of internal memory and 32GB of RAM. Intel’s Unison also comes integrated with the laptop. This allows users to collaborate across operating systems. T

The Swift 14 comes with a touch-enabled, 14-inch display. Users will be able to choose from two options: a WQXGA display with a 2560×1600 pixel resolution or a WUXGA display with a resolution of 1920×1200 pixels. Both options come with Corning Gorilla Glass for added durability and even come with antimicrobial properties.

To top things off, the Swift 14 comes with a 1440p, QHD webcam with temporal noise reduction (TNR) and is complemented with dual speakers with DTS Audio and Acer’s PurifiedVoice.

Acer Swift X 14 – The Compact Powerhouse

Acer is keeping its Swift X lineup in the new, streamlined Swift family. This year’s addition – the Swift X 14 – is continuing the lineups power packed ethos. The Swift X 14 comes with the latest 13th Generation Intel Core H processors with configurations topping out with support for the Intel Core i7. It comes with 2 PCIe 4.0 slots which support a combined maximum of up to 4TB of memory with up to 64GB of RAM.

Of course, like its predecessors, the Acer Swift X 14 comes with a discreet GPU. This year it’s the NVIDIA RTX 40 series GPUs. The X 14 will have configurations supporting up to the NVIDIA RTX 4050 Laptop GPU at launch. The laptops come with NVIDIA Studio validation giving them access to stable Studio drivers. These drivers are also optimised to support the latest programs for content creation.

Of course, having such a powerful GPU necessitates good cooling. The new Swift X 14 comes with updated thermals that have better cooling than before. A larger fan draws in more air to keep the system cool. This works in tandem with the dual D6 copper heat pipes and the air-inlet keyboard to cool the system more efficiently.

The chassis has also been redesigned. The new, updated design allows for a larger battery for better, all-day battery life. It’s also sleeker and thinner than before. It’s designed to be more subtle and classy while being fully prepared for any workload.

It comes with a 14-inch 2.8K OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The display is VESA DisplayHDR TrueBlack 500 certified and covers 100% of the DCI-P3 gamut. It also has a 500-nit peak brightness for added clarity. The laptop is also equipped with a 1080p FHD webcam which supports Acer’s PurifiedView, PurifiedVoice and AI noise reduction.

Pricing & Availability

Model	North America	EMEA	China
Acer Swift Go 16	USD$799.99 (MYR3,523.89) starting June 2023	EUR1099 (MYR5,111.20) starting February 2023	RMB6,599 (MYR4204.39) starting March 2023
Acer Swift Go 14	USD$849.99 (MYR3,744.13) starting May 2023	EUR999 (MYR4,646.53) starting February 2023	RMB5,499 (MYR3,503.41) starting February 2023
Acer Swift X 14	USD$1099.99 (MYR4,845.47) starting April 2023	EUR1499 (MYR6,969.82) starting April 2023	RMB7,099 (MYR4,522.77) starting April 2023
Acer Swift 14	USD$1399.99 (MYR6,166.98) starting March 2023	EUR1699 (MYR7,898.34) starting January 2023	RMB7,999 (MYR5,096.16) starting March 2023

Consumer Electronics, Lifestyle, News

[CES 2023] LG Launches New OLED TVs, Including the G3 and C3

January 3, 2023 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

While Samsung is the largest display manufacturer in the world, they are ironically not the most popular brand for TVs in the world. That title can go to LG Electronics, the other South Korean giant. They make some of the best or most recommended TVs if you are into gaming too, like the LG C2. There is a follow up to one of the best gaming TVs you can find in 2022; the new LG C3.

To be fair, LG did not only launch the C3 OLED evo. They also launched the G3 OLED evo, and Z3 OLED evo. All of them come with LG’s brand new α9 Processor Gen6.

Before we go into detail to what each letter and number mean, we have to talk about the new processor they fit into their latest TVs. The new α9 Processor Gen6 is LG’s most powerful TV processor you can get from LG at this point. They have improved the AI-assisted Deep Learning tech that enhances picture and sound at the same time better than before. The new AI Picture Pro is supposed to offer better upscaling better than before with better tone mapping that brings out details and depth in upscaled images better than before. HDR is finer tuned too with the processor understanding faces and objects better allowing for more realistic reproduction of people’s faces. In terms of audio, LG’s new TVs delivers a virtual 9.1.2 surround sound experience even without a soundbar.

On the G3 OLED evo TVs, LG fitted their Brightness Booster Max technology that offers a new light control technology and light-boosting algorithms that makes the display 70% brighter than ever before. It is OLED technology, so the processor can also control brightness pixel by pixel to ensure that there are no colour bleeding even against completely black backgrounds. In that sense, you get an even better contrast with the G3 over the older G2. All of that in a thinner and more compact package that becomes rather seamless when you mount it on the wall.

LG’s new TVs are also more sustainable than ever. Thanks to modern OLED technology, the new Z3, G3, and C3 does not feature backlighting unit which means the TV requires less materials in their production. The TVs are also made with more recycled plastics and will be shipped with more eco-friendly packaging made with recyclable materials.

Source: LG
Source: LG
Source: LG
Source: LG

With the new TVs, there is also a new WebOS to come along. The new WebOS will come to some of LG’s existing TVs later in 2023. The new WebOS version features a new All New Home user interface (UI) with more personalization options and more intuitive designs. With the new UI, there is the new ‘Quick Cards’ feature that offers users an even more direct access to their favourite contents and services sorted automatically into different segments. There is also an AI Concierge feature that offers a curated list of contents based on the contents that users have consumed in the past and search enquiries.

Of course, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support comes with the new TVs. The Dolby Atmos support also integrates seamlessly to LG’s latest Soundbars with IMAX and DTS:X tuning. LG’s latest TVs comes with HDMI 2.1a standard ports that offers high-resolution and high refresh rate compatibility from the latest GPUs and gaming consoles. They are all G-SYNC and FreeSync Premium compatible. At the same time, the new TVs offer variable refresh rate that can be enabled from Game Optimiser interface.

Availability

LG’s new TV line-up is not yet available in the market. They are on showcase for CES 2023 though, so if you are in Las Vegas, you can drop by and got LG’s booth to see them. There are no availability dates specified yet on the new TVs. There are also no official pricing specified yet too.

techENT

Category Archives: News

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