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Computers, Editorial, Reviews

Acer Swift 3 (AMD) Review – Productivity & Portability Made Unremarkably Affordable

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Thin and light and affordability don’t usually go hand in hand. However, Acer’s Swift 3 has always been one of the best value for money options when you’re looking at getting something affordable, thin and light. However, unlike previous years, the Swift 3 comes with an AMD Ryzen option which promises top notch performance while maintaining a lot of the features of the popular laptop.

We’re going to be asking the hard questions when it comes to the Swift 3 in this review – should you buy it? Is it worth your money? And does the Ryzen variant hold up to the hype AMD has built around their silicon offerings?

Design

Let’s start by taking a look at the overall design of the Swift 3. Overall, the design approach that Acer took to this laptop is more utilitarian compared to the rest of the Swift line up (barring the Swift 1). In fact, you’d be hard-pressed in finding any of the design finesse of the 5 or 7; which is, to be honest, expected at the price point that the Swift 3 sits at.

The laptop is a rectangular slab which tapers gradually from the hinge to the tip. That said, the larger, thicker back of the hinge area allows it a better, more stable footing when it is open. There were rarely times when the display ended up rocking back and forth on a rocky, uneven surface during the review period. The thickness also allows ample space for Acer to equip the Swift 3 with a full array of ports from HDMI to USB Type-C.

While this also means that the laptop lacks in design flair, it makes more utilitarian sense. Its ports are readily accessible while minimising its footprint. However, unlike its siblings, the Swift 3 is a whole lot heftier; coming in at 1.2kg. Yes, I did call 1.2kg hefty. Keep in mind, the rest of the Swift series come in at below 1kg. That said, Acer’s decision to have the Swift 3 in purple a touch of pizzaz that keeps the Swift 3 fresh. It’s also one of those colours that seems to grow on you.

Hardware

The Acer Swift 3 may be a little lacking on the design flair but it’s utilitarian approach to the thin and light has spurred the company to pack a formidable punch when it comes to the hardware. Coming with the Ryzen 5, the laptop is no slouch when it comes to performance. It clocks in a respectable 2.3Ghz with 6 cores for better multicore processing; enabling it to undertake more demanding tasks.

Specifications

Acer Swift 3 | SF314-42-R43GAs tested
Processor (clock)AMD Ryzen 5-4500U
Hexa-core
2.3 GHz
GPUAMD Radeon Vega 6 Graphics
Display14-inch Full HD
TFT LCD
1920×1080 pixels
Memory8GB LPDDR4 SDRAM
512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
Networking and ConnectionsWiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax
Bluetooth 5.0
HDMI
1 USB 2.0 Type-A
1 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A
1 USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C
3.5mm headphone jack
Battery3-cell Lithium Ion
11 Hours battery life (claimed)
Operating SystemWindows 10 Home 64-bit
MiscellaneousFingerprint Reader
Backlit Keyboard
Stereo Speakers
Microphone
DisplayPort over USB-C
USB-C charging 5 V; 3 A
DC-in port 19 V; 65 W

Features

While the Swift 3 may not be as feature packed as it’s siblings, the laptop comes with features that make sense and fit the utilitarian and functional approach that Acer has taken for it. The laptop comes with a full array of ports including a USB-C, a USB-A with support for USB2.0, a USB-A with support for USB3.1, an HDMI port and even a 3.5mm headphone jack which its competition seems to be missing. The full array of ports should ensure that users are well equipped to handle any connectivity hurdles that may come their way. However, like most laptops nowadays, the Swift 3 is powerless when it comes face to face with a dreaded VGA port; you will be resigned to the dongle life for VGA. In addition, the laptop also doesn’t come with an SD card reader.

Ports aside, the Swift 3 does have many other features. However, it does come with WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity.  The former allows the laptop to take advantage of the faster 802.11ax WiFi bandwidth which gives it an edge over other laptops in a similar price range. That said, not many networks use WiFi 6 just yet – but getting ready for the future is always a plus now, isn’t it. Bluetooth 5.0 allows you take advantage of wireless earbuds and other peripherals without sacrificing too much battery life.

However, the biggest advantage that the laptop over its competitors is the fact that it’s lightweight. The Swift 3 is definitely a contender for one of the lightest laptops in its price range. Coming in at slightly over 1kg, it will definitely be one of the go-to laptops for people looking for one which they can easily take on the go without worrying about overloading the bag or breaking your back from carrying it around.

Performance

Since the Swift 3 is so utilitarian and focused on keeping you productive, it comes as no surprise that Acer has chosen to offer an Ryzen 5-4500U processor option in the Swift 3. AMD’s new processors have outperformed its competition in benchmarks consistently over the past few years since the release of AMD’s Zen architecture. The same holds true for AMD’s mobile processors which is being used here in the Swift 3. However, benchmarks are only part of the story, we’re focusing on the overall user experience when it comes to using the laptop.

The Swift 3 is definitely a capable power house when it comes to everyday tasks. Word processing, working with PowerPoint and even large excel files are definitely not a problem for the laptop. What did stand out was the laptop’s ability to edit 1080p video in Adobe Premiere with ease. In fact, it could even handle 4K video editing with limited overlays and additions. However, if you’re going to be doing massive video editing this isn’t the laptop for you. The Ryzen 5 is good, but it is let down by the limited RAM and lack of graphics processor in the laptop.

This was made pretty clear when we tried to game on the Swift 3. On older games, it was able to handle settings at medium. It ploughed through Diablo 3 without much noise but when it came to games like Overwatch or even No Straight Roads, the laptop ran a little hot and had quite a lot of stuttering and screen tearing to keep up. It could hardly keep 30fps even with low settings. This isn’t really surprising for us as the gaming capabilities of the laptop are severely limited even though there is the built in Radeon Vega 6 graphics. The laptop also performs well with multimedia. However, the audio experience on the laptop could use some polish as the speakers sound tinny and distorted when the volume is pushed. However, at lower volumes, the audio lacks body and is, to be frank, incredibly soft. You only start hearing it audibly after the indicator passes the 40% mark in Windows.

That said, the laptop isn’t really built for gaming. In fact, it’s built for productivity on the go and the Swift 3 comes with ample battery life. Acer claims 11 hours of battery life on the Swift 3. During our time with the laptop, we easily got about 13 hours of active use time. On standby, the laptop was able to last well over a day. In fact, when we opened it about 8 hours later, the laptop had slightly more than 40% battery remaining. Even editing 1080p video on battery, the Swift 3 lasted about 3-4 hours before it needed to be plugged in.

Display

When it comes to the display of the Swift 3, it has a pretty good one for it’s price point. It comes with a 13.5-inch, 1080p Full HD display which is more than enough for a laptop of its size. The screen is crisp and the colour is relatively accurate. While it doesn’t have a touch display like the Swift 5, the screen fulfils its purpose. It allows you enough display real estate to get things done without straining your eyes too much.

The display is also near bezel-less. There is about 1-3mm of bezel on either side of the display with about 5mm on the top and bottom. The slim bezels allowed for a pretty immersive visual experience. You don’t have much pulling you out of your work or multimedia.

An unremarkably affordable laptop that does only slightly more than the basics

Overall, the Swift 3 is an unremarkable device. It’s not a jack of all trades, but it’s a thin and light laptop for those on a budget. It packs as much performance it for the price point it’s at. That said, it is a device geared for productivity and it does deliver on its promise of keeping you productive on the go. In fact, I would say it excels in it given the extra feats it accomplished. Editing 1080p video on the Swift 5 was also a feat, to see the Swift 3 able to do it without much problem is a definite plus. However, we also have to keep in mind that the Swift 3 is playing in an arena which is quickly getting crowded with similarly spec’d devices. It needs to find a way to stand out from the crowd; and, in all honesty, if it boils down to the brand, Acer is looking at an uphill battle with the Swift 3. That said, the AMD powered Swift 3 holds a peg above the competition with its performance right now – whether this holds true in the near future; we’ll have to see. All-in-all, the Swift 3 delivers on all its promises and excels further than its competition on certain fronts. However, when considering this device, it would be prudent to see if other, more powerful devices with a dedicated graphics card could serve you better. That said, if you’re looking for a slim and light productivity machine for everyday tasks, you don’t have to look further for a package that’s both affordable and give you some really good value for the money you invest in it.

Computers, Contributed

5 Reasons to Put Your Old PCs Out to Pasture

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In today’s uncertain times, a PC modernization strategy can both turbo charge employee productivity and deliver a competitive edge.

It’s tempting with the rapid rise of remote work due to COVID-19 to think that out of sight is out of mind when it comes to your PCs. If your employees can still hop on a video call, they must be working at maximum productivity. The truth is much more complicated.

If your organization, like so many others, has a four-year PC refresh cycle, the new wave of remote work should, if anything, accelerate that cycle. Even before the current global health crisis, users were becoming more mobile than ever before, raising risks around security, flexibility, efficiency and efficacy.

blank business composition computer
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

While the precautionary and voluntary remote work continues, IT staff is also facing unprecedented challenges. Onboarding employees, supporting current ones, and maintaining systems for maximum productivity are challenges they are struggling to solve, all while trying to stay afloat with their higher-level duties.

Managing aging systems at scale is difficult when everyone is in one place, and with that becoming rare, the issues multiply exponentially. No business can afford unplanned down time on a regular basis, and employees can grow increasingly frustrated as their productivity drops.

“Aged systems are costing businesses in terms of lost productivity and security risk, and with much of the workforce remote now, IT managers are faced with even bigger maintenance and support challenges.” says  Peter Chambers, Managing Director, APAC at AMD.

Speaking of aging systems, TechAisle found way back in 2016 that it can cost as much as $1,700 per year to maintain PCs older than 4 years. Those kinds of hidden costs can creep up on a business, raising TCO.

If your organization still sees PC refreshes as a luxury, try seeing it instead as an opportunity to unlock immense improvements in productivity, performance and collaboration. The AMD Ryzen™ PRO 4000 family of processors and partner platforms, for example, cover all the bases for any organization’s modern computing needs, delivering a straight line to productivity and PC modernization.

Still need convincing? Here are five great reasons to perform a PC refresh now.

Turbocharge performance. Here is the new reality of work in 2020: increased complexity, juggling workloads, mega multi-tasking, and operating remotely. Offering the most cores and threads in a mobile business processor for ultra-thin notebooks with the Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U processor, AMD Ryzen PRO processors deliver top-of-line performance and responsiveness across a wide variety of workloads, from crunching data to rendering videoconference calls to compiling code.

For example, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U platform delivers up to 37% faster performance running Microsoft Office in PCMark 10 Applications benchmark compared to the previous generation Ryzen 5 PRO 3700U processor.  In addition, the same AMD platform offers up to 19% faster performance in Microsoft Word, up to 77% faster performance in Excel, and up to 27% faster performance in PowerPoint versus the previous generation.

This leadership performance comes without compromise to battery life. AMD Ryzen PRO processors help to maximize workforce productivity by offering up to 20 hours of battery life on a premium platform.

Improve security features. Protecting sensitive corporate data has never been more important. Modern notebooks and PCs are often never fully turned off, raising the threat for stolen data. AMD Ryzen PRO processors, featuring AMD PRO security, deliver a multi-layered approach to security features, helping protect data from sophisticated attacks and avoiding downtime. In addition to a set of silicon and firmware-level security features, AMD Ryzen Pro processors employ AMD Memory Guard system memory encryption to help reduce the threat of physical memory attacks even if the laptop is left in standby mode.

working macbook computer keyboard
Photo by Negative Space on Pexels.com

Make IT management a breeze. IT departments, already spread thin, need all the help they can get with supporting remote workers. AMD PRO Manageability is a full cross-platform feature set enabled on all PRO processors that simplifies remote device management. With AMD PRO manageability, IT can manage a mixed environment of PCs in their fleet with ease, from simplified deployment with Windows® Autopilot, to efficient patch management to address security vulnerabilities, to ongoing management for a wide range of system issues.  AMD Ryzen PRO processors also fully enable support for Microsoft Endpoint Manager – a cloud-powered set of management tools to provision, deploy, manage, and secure endpoints and applications across an organization.  

Boost efficiency. Simply put, organizations need the latest hardware to drive today’s modern software experiences. There are also significant stealth costs associated with legacy systems, including on-going maintenance and repair services, that chip away at the bottom line and exceed the cost of upgrading PCs or laptops. New PCs powered by Ryzen PRO processors help boost efficiency by delivering leadership performance and up to 20hours of battery life on a premium platform – driving up productivity by eliminating downtime that comes with aged hardware issues such as long start up time, frequent crashes, and shortened battery life, and all things being equal, by helping to lower TCO with reduced power consumption vis a vis a high efficiency processor. 

With enterprise-grade quality, long-term reliability, and planned software stability, new PCs with Ryzen PRO processors can bring peace of mind to organizations and are a logical choice for today’s remote and highly mobile workforce.

Choose wisely and benefit. Whether it’s a notebook or desktop, AMD Ryzen PRO processors are available in a wide range of commercial OEM products across varying price points, giving enterprises an array of options to accommodate different budgets and user needs.

Even during a pandemic, business keeps moving faster than ever. Your organization cannot afford to slow down when there are so many options to keep your competitive edge and employee productivity high.

To learn more, visit the following links:

https://www.amd.com/en/where-to-buy/commercial-systems

https://www.amd.com/en/processors/laptop-processors-for-business

https://www.amd.com/en/ryzen-pro

https://www.amd.com/en/technologies/pro-technologies

https://community.amd.com/community/amd-business/blog/2020/05/07/the-new-standard-for-modern-business-notebooks-amd-ryzen-pro-mobile-processors

A properly configured HP EliteBook 835 G7 with AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U Processor, gets up to 24 hours of MM14 battery life: https://press.hp.com/us/en/press-releases/2020/hp-provides-ultimate-office-experience-at-home.html  Actual battery life will vary based on several factors, including, but not limited to: system configuration and software, settings, product use and age, and operating conditions. AMD has not independently tested or verified the battery life claim. See www.bapco.com for additional details. RNP-28

As of February 2020. “Most Cores and Threads” in a mobile business processor for ultrathin notebooks.  RNP-19

*Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) – the cost to purchase + cost of operation. Electricity is a cost of operation; therefore, higher efficiency processors can enable a lower TCO than low efficiency processors that use more power.

[1]Small Business PC Study, TechAisle, 2016

Business, Computers, Gaming, News

AMD Ryzen 4000 Desktop Series is Here! No Zen 3 Yet Though.

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AMD finally released their highly anticipated latest Ryzen processor platform for desktops. We mentioned ‘desktop’ specifically because AMD has launched their Ryzen 4000 series for mobile computing earlier this year. So, here it is, the new AMD Ryzen 4000 series for desktop alongside AMD’s latest Athlon 3000 series offering.

MODELCORES / THREADSTDP (Watts)BOOST9/BASE FREQ. (GHz)GPU CORESCACHE (MB)
AMD Ryzen™ 7 4700G8C/16T65WUp to 4.4 / 3.6 GHz812 MB
AMD Ryzen™ 7 4700GE8C/16T35WUp to 4.3 / 3.1 GHz812 MB
AMD Ryzen™ 5 4600G6C/12T65WUp to 4.2 / 3.7 GHz711 MB
AMD Ryzen™ 5 4600GE6C/12T35WUp to 4.2 / 3.3 GHz711 MB
AMD Ryzen™ 3 4300G4C/8T65WUp to 4.0 / 3.8 GHz66 MB
AMD Ryzen™ 3 4300GE4C/8T35WUp to 4.0 / 3.5 GHz66 MB
Athlon™ Gold 3150G4C / 4T65W​3.9 GHz36 MB
Athlon™ Gold 3150GE4C / 4T35W3.8 GHz36 MB
Athlon™ Silver 3050GE2C / 4T35W3.4 GHz35 MB
Source: AMD

This is not the end of the story though. Keen eyed readers will note that we did say that Zen 3 is not here yet (do not look at us, we are as surprised as you are). That is because the AMD Ryzen 4000 series we see here only packs AMD’s Zen2 architecture.

At least you are still getting AMD’s Radeon graphics integrated in the CPU. The previous AMD Ryzen 3000 series came with AMD’s highly acclaimed Radeon Vega graphics. We can safely expect the AMD Ryzen 4000 series for desktop systems that was just announced to come with AMD’s Radeon Vega graphics too in that case. Until they reveal it though, we do not know.

Source: AMD

They also touted that the new AMD Ryzen 4000 series for desktop performs 2.5x better in multi-threaded applications. There are some improvements on single-thread performance too, which is nice. With the integrated GPU, there are some expected added performance there too. All this means that this should perform better in video editing and rendering works and in games. With the integrated GPU, you can even properly game without having a dedicated GPU.

Alongside the regular consumer range of Ryzen 4000, AMD also announced the AMD Ryzen 4000 series with PRO technologies. Like the notebook range of AMD Ryzen 4000 Pro series, this one is made for AMD’s business customers. Like the mobile version as well, the desktop variant gets all AMD’s security features with the PRO series CPUs.

MODELCORES/ THREADSTDP (Watts)BOOST9/ BASE FREQ. (GHz)Graphics CoresL2/L3 CACHE (MB)
AMD Ryzen™ 7 PRO 4750G8C/16T65WUp to 4.4/3.6 GHz812MB
AMD Ryzen™ 7 PRO 4750GE8C/16T35WUp to 4.3/3.1 GHz812MB
AMD Ryzen™ 5 PRO 4650G6C/12T65WUp to 4.2/3.7 GHz711MB
AMD Ryzen™ 5 PRO 4650GE6C/12T35WUp to 4.2/3.3 GHz711MB
AMD Ryzen™ 3 PRO 4350G4C/8T65WUp to 4.0/3.8 GHz66MB
AMD Ryzen™ 3 PRO 4350GE4C/8T35WUp to 4.0/3.5 GHz66MB
AMD Athlon™ Gold PRO 3150G4C/4T65WUp to 3.9/3.5 GHz36MB
AMD Athlon™ Gold PRO 3150GE4C/4T35WUp to 3.8/3.3 GHz36MB
AMD Athlon™ Silver PRO 3125GE2C/4T35WUp to 3.4/3.4 GHz35MB
Source: AMD

What Do You Mean No Zen3?

The AMD Ryzen 4000 CPU has been touted and teased with a certain upcoming Zen3 architecture that is supposed to be way more powerful than what we see on the older generation AMD Ryzen 3000 series with Zen2. With the new AMD Ryzen 4000 desktop that just launched, it seems that AMD is not including the Zen3 architecture within the CPU just yet. They did not mention also if the architecture within the Ryzen 4000 series is Zen2+, which leaves us assuming that it is still the same Zen2 application that was on the Ryzen 3000 series.

Still, there are some performance gains on all the platforms they announced, including the Athlon offerings. While they may not be as big of a performance leap we expect from the Ryzen 4000 series, any improvements is welcome. The integrated graphics may also help with budget gaming and editing rigs.

Hope for Zen3 Still Alive with Big Navi

Source: AMD

Here is the kicker for the AMD Ryzen 4000 series for desktop PCs that was just announced though; you cannot buy them. To be specific, you cannot buy them on their own. You can only get these processors from OEMs in their desktop system offerings. AMD is teasing Lenovo and HP to be the first to produce a desktop system with the newly launched AMD Ryzen 4000 series somewhere after 21st July 2020.

That also creates a room and a gap for the enthusiasts’ market where Zen3 is yet to be available. Big Navi is also expected to be launched and announced later in 2020. With that also we expect AMD to announced another variant of the AMD Ryzen 4000 series that is available to consumers as an individual part and devoid of any integrated graphics. In that, we hope that the AMD Ryzen 4000 that we expect to launch with Radeon’s Big Navi to come with Zen3 or at least a Zen2+.

Computers, Gaming, News

ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 Takes on Malaysia with Compact Size & Powerful Specs

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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

SeriesROG Zephyrus G14
Model NameGA401I-VHA231TGA401I-VHA232TGA401I-VHE340TGA401I-VHE341TGA401I-UHE099TGA401I-IHE102TGA401I-IHE103TGA401I-HHE027T
DesignEclipse Gray with AniMe MatrixMoonlight White with AniMe MatrixEclipse Gray with AniMe MatrixMoonlight White with AniMe MatrixEclipse Gray with AniMe MatrixEclipse Gray with AniMe MatrixMoonlight White with AniMe MatrixEclipse Gray (No AniMe Matrix)
ProcessorAMD 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)
Operating SystemWindows 10 Home
Graphic CardNVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2060 Max-Q GDDR6 6GBNVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1660Ti Max-Q GDDR6 6GBNVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1650Ti GDDR6 4GBNVIDIA® GeForce® GTX1650 GDDR6 4GB
Display14-inch Non-glare WQHD (2560 x 1440) IPS-level panel, 60Hz, 100% sRGB, Pantone® Validated, adaptive sync14-inch Non-glare Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS-level panel, 120Hz, 100% sRGB, Pantone® Validated, adaptive sync
RAM/SlotsDDR4 3200 8G*1 + 8G (on-board)
1x RAM Slot (used)		DDR4 3200 8G (on-board)
1x RAM Slot (empty)
StoragePCIE NVME 1TB M.2 SSDPCIE NVME 512GB M.2 SSD
Wi-Fi/BluetoothIntel Wi-Fi 6(Gig+)(802.11ax) 2*2
Bluetooth 5.0
I/O ports1 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
Power180W power adaptor
Support Type-C PD 3.0 up to 65W		150W power adaptor
Support Type-C PD 3.0 up to 65W
Battery76Wh lithium-polymer battery
Keyboard typeWhite backlit chiclet keyboard, N-Key rollover, Power key with Fingerprint, 1.7mm travel distance
Dimension (WxHxD)32.4cm x 22.2cm x 2cm32.4cm x 22.2cm x 1.8cm
Weight1.70 kg1.60 kg
Included in the BoxROG Sleeve + ROG Impact Mouse + 65W PD AdapterROG Sleeve + 65W PD adapter
Warranty2 Years Global Warranty (1st year with Perfect Warranty)
PriceRM7,699RM7,699RM7,699RM7,699RM6,199RM5,299RM5,299RM4,499
Availability DateAugust_2020Available nowSeptember_2020September_2020August_2020August_2020Available nowAugust_2020
Business, Computers, News

Lenovo ThinkPad E Series Empowering the New Work From Home Culture with AMD’s Ryzen in Malaysia

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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.
  • Email sales@sns.com.my
  • or call 018-2028616
Computers, News

AMD Ryzen PRO 4000 Mobile Series Comes Out to Work

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AMD announced their 4000 series mobile CPUs last month. The updated 4000 series mobile CPUs are supposed to be a huge upgrade over the older 3000 series mobile CPUs. They are supposed to be faster and more powerful with more cores as well.

The new 4000 series of mobile CPUs are also supposed to be much better for gaming. In reported benchmarks, it showed a huge improvement over the older 3000 series that it replaced. It also showed overall advantage over older Intel 9th generation processors. We do not have the numbers against the newer 10th Generation Core mobile processors for now, we can assume that they are somewhat on par.

There is a small niche of users who require a bit more than just processing power though. They require reliability, and efficiency in their work. They jump from one workspace to another very quickly too. In that case, they need something more secure. Security in terms of PC is mostly seen as a software implementation rather than hardware. Not anymore with the AMD Ryzen PRO 4000 series.

Source: AMD

The AMD Ryzen PRO 4000 series is offered in three flavours. It comes in a budget friendly form: an AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 4450U. It comes with the value pack: an AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4650U. It also comes with the top-of-the-line no compromise package: the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U.

This is not to be mistaken for the regular AMD Ryzen 4000 series CPUs, however. This is a class of its own. There is a difference between the AMD Ryzen 7 4700U and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U. But, the U moniker at the back still stands. They are both made for ultra-thin notebook PCs.

There are several key differences between a regular premium ultrabook and a made for business ultrabook. Business grade notebooks usually are more robust for example. They also place more emphasis on data security more than everything else. Those are the key differences between the regular Ryzen 4000 series and the Ryzen PRO 4000 series. 

Source: AMD

The clock speeds are not actually that different from the regular AMD Ryzen 4000 series mobile CPUs. Which also means that they are supposed to have all the same power ratings, there or there abouts. Being an ultrabook type CPU, they should be similarly power efficient too.

What is different though is the PRO suite that comes with the AMD Ryzen PRO 4000 mobile CPU series. The suite built within the CPU itself is meant for make your work more secure and easily manageable by your IT team. They promised around 20+ hours of battery life with more premium platforms too. They did not mention the exact battery size used for this claim though, so take it with a pinch of salt.

Source: AMD

Still, the business grade processors are designed to fit any sort of businesses. There are businesses that refuses to upgrade their software until it is too late. There are some businesses that are always eager to update their software. AMD Ryzen PRO is designed to be stable and prepared for any eventuality in that regards. Of course, the AMD Ryzen PRO is also designed to last forever. Then again, that would also depend on manufacturer otpimisation in cooling solutions, or maintenance efforts.

We should see some work class notebook PCs to feature the AMD Ryzen PRO 4000 CPUs. We have seen some consumer grade AMD Ryzen 4000 series launched in the new ASUS notebook PCs. It is only a matter of time before we start seeing more notebook PCs come packing a Ryzen processor.

Computers, News

AMD Announces New Ryzen 3 with Zen 2 Architecture

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AMD has been bringing the gauntlet when it comes to pushing processor technology. The company has shown, in recent years, that it is able to compete and innovate in an industry which hasn’t seen much development. The company’s continuous development of new technologies and also investing bringing these technologies to consumers at an affordable price point.

The company has announced the availability of their new 3rd generation Ryzen 3 processors. The new processors will be running on AMD’s Zen 2 architecture which debuted last year with their announcement of brand new Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 processors. The Zen 2 architecture brought increased performance efficiencies that allowed it to outperform the competition. The new Ryzen 3 processors have been a long time coming. The Ryzen 3 processors are the entry range of processors from AMD and are some of the most affordable in their lineup.

The new Ryzen 3 3300X and Ryzen 3 3100 introduce Simultaneous Multithreading, a feature reserved for higher performance processors, to their line up. The new processors come with 4 cores and are capable of processing 8 threads. This means that they will be able to process more information and also handle larger workloads.

AMD is touting increases in gaming and creator performances with their new Ryzen 3 line up. AMD claims that the processors show up to 20% increase in gaming performance and up to 75% increase in creator performance compared to its competition.

Here’s a little bit more technical details for the processors for all you data bugs out there.

MODELCORES/ THREADSTDP5
(Watts)		BOOST6/BASE FREQ7. (GHz)TOTAL CACHE (MB)PLATFORM
AMD Ryzen™ 3 3300X4C/8T654.3/3.818AM4
AMD Ryzen™ 3 31004C/8T653.9/3.618AM4

Together with their announcement of the Ryzen 3 processors, AMD also announced the availability of their new B550 chipset. The new chipset still runs on the AM4 socket and will be able to support all Ryzen 3000 processors.

Pricing and Availability

The new AMD Ryzen 3 processors will be available starting in May 2020. The Ryzen 3 3100 will be retailing at USD$99 while the Ryzen 3 3300X will be USD$120. In Malaysia, they will be retailing at MYR449 and MYR549 respectively.

Computers, News

HUAWEI MateBook D Series Launched With Better Value For Power

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The 2020 HUAWEI MateBook D Series was launched back in November 2019 and in the UK earlier this month. However, the series made its global debut last night.

Let’s not waste time and get down to business then, shall we? The D Series laptop is made for the mass market giving you optimal performance and excellent battery life for a daily all rounder. There is the smaller 14 inch, MateBook D14 and a bigger 15.6 inch MateBook D15. Both laptops have thin bezels that are only 4.8mm and 5.3mm respectively. This would give the laptops a screen to body ratio of 84% and 87% respectively.

The displays are not touch displays unlike the MateBook X Pro which was also launched at the same time.  Both D series screens have a 16:9 IPS display and both laptops comes with a hinge angle of up to 178° where you can lay the laptop almost flat. 

Now to the workhorse that makes it all happen. The MateBook D will be running on either AMD or Intel’s chipsets. Giving you the your preferred option for the best value for money. For Intel’s chipset both D14 and D15 will only come with the 10th Generation Intel Core i5 processor. This processor will be paired with NVIDIA GeForce MX250 graphics card that has 2GB of GDDR5 VRAM to give you all the power to process what you need. 

If you are on the red team instead, there are more goodies for you to choose from. Powered by AMD Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7 processor for you to choose from. Coming with AMD Radeon Vega Graphics you will be able to game and work on heavy tasks with ease. 

To power this baby up, the D Series uses a multi-purpose 62W Type C charger for the D14 and a 65W Type C charger for the D15. All of the D series laptops feature an overheat protection that will automatically stop charging the laptop once the temperature crosses a threshold to avoid any damages to the laptop. 

Last but not least the pricing and the specifications. For Intel’s line up on the D14, we have an Intel Core i5, paired with 8GB of RAM, 512GB SSD of storage and NVIDIA MX250 graphics card which cost €949 (MYR4,357). On AMD’s line up we have either a Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7 to choose from with 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD for storage. The AMD variations will be going to go for €699 (MYR3,209) for the Ryzen 5 and €799 (MYR3,668) for the Ryzen 7. 

As for the bigger D15, it also runs on the same Intel Core i5, 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD and 1TB HDD storage and a NVIDIA MX250 graphics card. Weirdly enough the D15 will be priced the same as the D14 at €949 (MYR4,357). The D15 for AMD on the other hand will cost €649 (MYR2,980) which will be coming with Ryzen 5, with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. The higher Ryzen 7 will come with also 8GB of RAM but a bigger 512GB SSD going for €799 (MYR3,668).