Gigarefurb Refurbished Laptops News

During its exhaustive CES 2019 press conference, Nvidia finally pulled the curtain back on RTX graphics for laptops. Nvidia already has several options in terms of performance available, and every gaming laptop maker is on board.

A whopping 40 gaming laptop models are launching with the new graphics inside starting January 29. “RTX notebooks are available from every OEM in the world,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on stage.

This new line of graphics processors for laptops includes Nvidia’s storied Max-Q design for thin-and-light frames as well as chips that aren’t far from their desktop counterparts in terms of power. Of those 40 total new RTX laptops, 17 – nearly half – are Max-Q designs.

Which RTX graphics can you get in a laptop?

Nvidia is issuing several versions of RTX graphics for laptops. For the entry-level, RTX 2060 laptops are available, as well as 2070 and 2080 iterations for the mid-level and high-end, respectively.

And, ‘high-end’ is the right word to describe it: the RTX 2080 for laptops outperforms the desktop-grade GTX 1080, according to Nvidia.

For fans of Ultrabook-like gaming laptops, Nvidia will have thinner and slightly lower-power Max-Q designs for the RTX 2070 and 2080, too.

This announcement brings the power of ray tracing and machine learning in computer graphics rendering to laptops. Of course, what that ultimately means is even more realistic and visually engrossing games.

Huang ended his keynote in simply saying, “The next-gen is on” – tough to argue with that.

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While we can’t say we didn’t see this coming, we’re still glad Nvidia has finally introduced its mid-range Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 graphics card.

First up we’re happy to say this Turing GPU won’t cost you an arm and leg, the RTX 2060 will only cost $349 (about £270, AU$490). There isn’t any funny price distinction between Nvidia’s own Founders Edition or third-party cards this year, either. While this all still makes the RTX 2060 more expensive than the $299 (£249, AU$499) Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060, but it’s not as exponentially expensive as the RTX 2070 or RTX 2080.

Nvidia didn’t announce any specific specifications for its new mid-range GPU, but it promised that it would be more powerful than even an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Ti. Additionally, Team Green showed off how the RTX 2060 was capable of playing Battlefield V at Ultra settings and RTX On at well above 60 fps thanks to DLSS also being enabled.

Stay tuned for more, as we’ll soon have a full review on this most anticipated mid-range graphics card.

But wait there’s more

Nvidia also announced a new pair of game bundles with its latest graphics cards. Users interested in buying an RTX 2060 or RTX 2070 will be able to redeem a code to receive a digital copy of either Anthem or Battlefield V. Meanwhile, those who purchase a Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 will get digital codes for both titles with their purchase.

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Netflix, Stan, Amazon Prime and Foxtel Now offer an ever-growing selection of movies which can be streamed to TV, computer or other compatible devices at a
moment’s notice — so long as you’ve got an active subscription and coughing up money for the privilege. 

Of course, if you’re happy to pay for the latest streaming films, there are dozens of great movie night options on Netflix and Stan, which you can find below.

Bearing in mind that multiple monthly subscriptions can cost you quite a bit of money in the long run, we’ve put together a list of great movies that you can watch online without paying a cent, meaning you won’t have to enter your credit card details to receive hours and hours worth of entertainment. Best of all, you won’t have to do anything shady or illegal to stream then!

Hosted on a number of quality catch-up and streaming services, these entertaining films have been sorted into genres so you can more easily find a film for whichever mood you happen to be in. We’ll be adding more movies over time, so remember to check back often for more free movies.

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CES 2019 is packed wall to wall with laptops, but it’s not every day that we see a workstation-class laptop like the Asus StudioBook S. 

Packed with Intel Xeon processors and Nvidia Quadro P3200 graphics – along with up to 64GB of RAM and 4TB of SSD storage, the StudioBook S packs enough raw horsepower to please content creators and other professionals alike. 

Asus was able to cram this serious horsepower behind a 17-inch display, in a 15-inch chassis. Measuring just 0.72 inches (18.29 mm) thick and weighing just 5.27 pounds (2.39 kg), it’s a powerful workstation that you can take on the go.

And, the chassis isn’t just small – it’s attractive too. The powerful hardware is wrapped in a Turquoise Grey aluminum finish, so you can get some work done on a laptop you won’t be ashamed to carry around with you.

If you need a portable workstation, you can pick the Asus StudioBook up soon, but Asus hasn’t shared the specific release date or pricing. 

Who is it for?

While Asus hasn’t shared specific pricing information, it’s safe to assume that StudioBook S won’t be cheap. The Intel Xeon E-2176M hexa-core processor and Nvidia Quadro P3200 graphics with 6GB of GDDR5 VRAM are aimed squarely at the enterprise market. 

This is a portable workstation for professional content creators, people that need to efficiently edit 4K video, or do intense CAD work on the move. For those users, the 97% DCI-P3 color gamut on the 17-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,200) NanoEdge display is going to be a godsend.

This display will help content creators get their work done quickly and accurately, without needing to rely on a separate display – though a 4K UHD resolution may come in handy. 

Luckily, the Asus StudioBook S is packed to the brim with connectivity. You get a Thunderbolt 3 port, three USB Type-A ports, HDMI 2.0 and an SD card reader. If you noticed the lack of Ethernet, Asus has you covered, including a USB-to-LAN dongle in the box. 

Asus has also included a number pad that’s built into the touchpad, much like what’s offered on the Asus ZenBook Pro from last year, which gives the keyboard much more room to breath. 

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Asus announced its 2019 lineup of thin and light Ultrabooks at CES 2019, including the ZenBook 14 and the new Zenbook S13.

The Asus ZenBook 14 manages to pack the latest Whiskey Lake Ultrabook processors, along with Nvidia GeForce MX150 graphics and up to 16GB of RAM into a svelte, blue chassis that’s as thin as it is light. This Ultrabook weighs just under 1.45kg (3.2 pounds), while managing to cram a 14-inch display into a 13-inch chassis.

That thin and light Chassis features Asus’s Utopia Blue color and the spun metal finish that the manufacturer is known for. And, when the lid is opened, the back will lift up the chassis to give a more comfortable typing experience. 

There’s an extra twist here. The touchpad on the Asus ZenBook 14 manages to double as a number pad, so you can do calculations and spreadsheets, without having to somehow fit a full keyboard on a 14-inch laptop.  This is similar to Asus’s ZenBook Pro 15, though it’s not quite as fully featured – or as expensive.

The Asus ZenBook 14 will be available sometime in Q1 2019 starting at $749 (£590, AU$1,060).

Even smaller

Asus also announced the ZenBook S13 at CES, with similar specs, but a much more attractive chassis – Asus claims its the world’s thinnest laptop with discrete graphics.

The Asus ZenBook S13 keeps the same 12.9mm (0.51 inches) thickness of the original ZenBook S, but this time around, it managed to shove an Nvidia MX150 GPU in the mix.  

This isn’t the most powerful GPU on the market, not by a long shot, but it is perfectly capable of light video editing or casual gaming. And, you could easily carry that power along with you, as the laptop only weighs 1.1kg (2.3 pounds). 

The Asus ZenBook S13 will be available sometime in Q1 2019, though Asus hasn’t shared pricing information at the time of this writing. 

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Samsung might have begun its AI experiments with last year’s Samsung Q900 8K QLED TV but, in 2019, the South Korean electronics maker plans to take machine learning to the next level.

Specifically, Samsung will expand its AI’s capabilities to improve Bixby, the sound quality of its TV’s built-in speakers, and Tizen, its smart TV platform. 

In 2019, users will be able to ask Bixby questions, and it will use context awareness to automatically adjust answers based on a specific question. Bixby will also be able to integrate with an intelligent home, allowing it to control Samsung devices, other Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, and life-on-demand services.

AI Sound, on the other hand, uses spatial awareness technology to analyze and adapt the audio to create the best experience based on the settings and location of the TV. It also applies scenic intelligence technology to analyze each scene (news, sports, game etc.) in real time and adjust the audio accordingly.

Samsung had previously used metadata to apply sonic processing in its TVs, but the addition of AI technology gives its 2019 models the ability to enhance and optimize audio based on analyzing sounds in real time.

Finally, TV Plus will now use the AI built into Samsung’s smart platform to enable the TV to discover new content based on a person’s viewing habits, then make recommendations for its users. 

Samsung’s obsession with AI

Originally, when Samsung started talking about TV AI at last year’s CES, it was focused almost solely on its intention to improve image processing – especially on 8K TVs where significantly more picture processing is required in the upscaling process.

How it did that was by analyzing images constantly and building a comprehensive database that uses learning algorithms to incrementally improve the image processing. The company then regularly updates the database on the TV itself with the latest formula bank, thus allowing the upscaling to deliver the best possible images. The processing not only upscales the image, but also applies texture creation, noise reduction, and edge restoration to take full advantage of the 8K panel.

This year, however, AI isn’t just being used to improve the quality of the upscaling on Samsung TVs – the manufacturer is committed to applying the same machine learning techniques to other aspects of its TV’s performance. 

If the idea of a smarter TV sounds scary, don’t get too worked up – there’s little danger of your Samsung TV becoming self-aware. According to Samsung, the purpose of these AI improvements are to allow Samsung TVs to get smarter by the day, with AI helping to improve the picture and sound quality, while making the smart experience as rewarding as possible.

That’s a robot revolution we can really get behind.

• Want more CES 2019 highlights? TechRadar is hands-on with 8K TVs and foldable, rollable displays, along with new laptops and Alexa-enabled smart gadgets. Check out everything we’ve seen, live from Las Vegas! 

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Matrix Industries has revealed the PowerWatch 2, a successor to their original PowerWatch and PowerWatch X smartwatches that remain fully charged by using body heat. 

The new model has several improvements on its predecessor, which, despite its miraculous charging tech, didn’t have much worth bragging about. Matrix added always-on GPS, a heartbeat sensor and other bells and whistles to bring the PowerWatch 2 nearly to parity with leading smartwatches.

Its black, rugged exterior looks much like the PowerWatch X, but has a sharper 1.2-inch screen – and it’s in color this time. There’s also a solar panel ring around the inner rim of the watch’s faceplate, which is mostly there to reassure users who don’t quite believe the smartwatch’s thermoelectric generator can power the wearable by itself.

It runs on a custom OS specially designed by Matrix to sip (not drain) power; likewise, the thermoelectric tech and processor are all proprietary.

Advantages make disadvantages

Of course, that custom tech could make it onerous for third parties to design apps for the PowerWatch 2. As it stands, the watch supports Google Fitness, Apple Healthkit and Strava out the gate, but time will tell if lack of access to watchOS or Wear OS keeps developers from creating for the wearable.

In the meantime, the PowerWatch 2 has its own set of apps, mostly to track health (steps, sleep, even the power a user generates). If nothing else, it’s a robust fitness tracker.

That all comes at a (literal) cost: the PowerWatch 2 retails for $499. Or will, assuming the IndieGogo campaign Matrix launched is funded through to production. If you want a cheaper PowerWatch 2, get one for a $200 early bird cost. 

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