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With Mass Effect: Andromeda just a few weeks away from release, Bioware decided to show off some gameplay at PAX East. You would assume the content would include a small slice of what to expect in the campaign, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, we looked at the game’s multiplayer content.

Similar (almost identical, in fact) to Mass Effect 3’s version, the gameplay consists of you and your teammates working together to take out multiple waves of enemies. With each wave, your foes become harder to kill, not to mention that some waves require you to complete objectives such as standing in a specific spot to send out a signal or defuse bombs in different parts of the map. The final wave pits you against the hardest enemies, and you’ll have to survive long enough for your small ship to arrive and take the whole team to safety.

For the demo, I played as an adept, whose biotic powers came in handy when I had to severely weaken a foe or stop them in their tracks. From the moment the round started, the muscle memory associated with playing the previous games kicked in, and it felt as if I just finished Mass Effect 3 the day before the demo.

Despite the obvious similarities to the previous game’s multiplayer mode, there were a couple of notable differences. Speed is your best friend throughout the round. The small jetpack fitted behind each character allows you to quickly move a few feet in any direction. It also works as an extra booster to let you reach roofs that would otherwise be inaccessible. Cover also works differently, in that your character will automatically press against the wall or a lower piece of cover, which is supposed to save you time as you move throughout the map. However, it felt strange to not press a button (as you did in previous games) to properly place your character in a covered position.

At first, the game started with basic soldiers and some alien creatures, which were easy to take down. The next few waves then added different soldier variants–some wore armor, and others showed up with stronger weapons. These tougher enemies forced me to utilize my biotic powers instead of exclusively using my main weapon. Otherwise, I would have to waste a full clip (and then some) to take them down.

Eventually, larger mechanized units appeared. Some of my allies and I died a few times throughout these tougher encounters, but fortunately fellow teammates revived us (or we used our own revive abilities). Eventually, we managed to get through seven waves, and then our ship arrived and extracted the team out of the area. The demo was short, shy of 30 minutes, but it was more than enough time to get an idea of what to expect in the final version.

Some might find comfort in the fact that there aren’t too many changes in the multiplayer experience, but I find it a bit disturbing, even though I enjoyed the demo. It doesn’t seem like an evolution of the game’s multiplayer portion, but rather the same gameplay with a new coat of paint. Even Gears of War 4 made significant changes to its wave-based Horde mode by allowing you to build anywhere on the map, but Mass Effect: Andromeda’s multiplayer gameplay isn’t indicative of any major changes from its predecessor, apart from the visual upgrades (which looked impressive on a 4K screen). We’ll find out more about the game’s multiplayer come launch day, but for now it seems that I’ll stick to the campaign unless Bioware adds a new feature that lures me back to fighting alien foes with my friends.

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Tigo is part of China’s largest memory supplier. With that designation, the company can build unique controller and memory combinations before many of the global brands that frequent the pages of Tom’s Hardware. Last year, we tested the Tigo T-One with a unique tandem of SM2256 and Sk Hynix TLC planar memory. For early 2017, Tigo set us up with the first SM2260 NVMe controller paired with IMFT’s rare 3D MLC flash, but that’s just where we start with the Tigo G5.

The G5 is the first SSD we’ve tested with a user-selectable power mode. Similar technology has been a staple in motherboards and video cards for decades. Tigo didn’t design the feature to overclock the Silicon Motion, Inc SM2260 controller, instead it decreases performance for less demanding workloads. During a media briefing in Asia, Tigo described the feature as an option that provides different modes for gaming, work, or a very low power state for surfing the web and other low bandwidth activities. We see the feature as more of a distraction from our objective today.

The Tigo G5 is the first product to market with the SMI SM2260 NVMe SSD controller and IMFT (Intel Micron Flash Technology) 3D MLC flash. This is the same configuration that Ballistix (By Micron) planned to release as the TX3, but canceled at the last minute. Adata announced the M.2 SX8000, which is similar to the TX3, but we’ve yet to find one in the wild.

Today we’ll finally get to see this elusive combination in action and take in the sights of the best Asia has to offer in this well-built, great looking SSD.

Technical Specifications

Product	Tigo G5
Available Capacities	256GB / 512GB / 1TB
Controller	Silicon Motion, Inc. SM2260
DRAM	256MB / 512MB / 1024MB
NAND	Micron 3D MLC
Sequential Read	2,500 MB/s
Sequential Write	1,100 MB/s
Random Read	Unpublished
Random Write	Unpublished
Warranty	3-Year

Tigo launched the G5 with three capacities of 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. We have the 512GB and 1TB in-house for testing, but are await final firmware for the largest model. The G5 256GB and 512GB both have mass production firmware, which is industry-speak for the retail-ready code.

As we mentioned, this is the first product we’ve tested with the SM2260 NVMe flash processor and IMFT’s 3D MLC NAND flash. The SMI controller uses an advanced design with low-density party check code for next generation flash to enable high endurance and reliability. This is the same controller Intel adopted for the 600p entry-level SSD with 384Gbit 3-bit per cell (TLC) flash. The G5 uses the 256Gbit 2-bit per cell (MLC) flash that we rarely see in consumer SSDs. To date, Intel has only used its 3D MLC flash on a single enterprise product. Adata’s Ultimate SU900 and XPG SX8000 are the only third-party SSDs on the market with IMFT 3D MLC.

The Intel M.2 600p and the Tigo G5 use a different number of channels on the controller. Due to IMFT’s odd 384Gbit die and the limited space of the M.2 2280 form factor, Intel could only run the SMI SM2260 controller in 6-channel mode. The Tigo G5 with 256Gbit MLC and a larger PCB uses all eight channels.

The Tigo G5 has several unique features. The first and most obvious is the three-way power selection. We’ll show later in this review that the feature is more of a gimmick than something most will actually use. It comes down to the power involved, though. The PCIe G5 uses less than 10W at full speed. In a world of 400W video cards and 60-225W host processors, a switch to shave off a few watts doesn’t make a lot of sense. None of these parts use all of that power 100% of the time. Host- and software-initiated low-power states already reduce total power consumption at idle, or while surfing the internet or composing a Word document.

The second feature is just as unique for consumer SSDs, but a little more well known. The Tigo G5 also features host power-fail protection. Tigo doesn’t limit power loss protection to simply protecting data at rest like some other consumer SSDs. The G5 actually intervenes when a power-loss event occurs and provides 100 milliseconds of protection for data in flight. The feature protects against firmware corruption and flushes the data down to the flash.

Pricing And Warranty

We don’t have pricing information on the Tigo G5 yet. Tigo doesn’t list the drive on its website either, but both will change over time. The last Tigo SSD we tested made it to North America, but not through Newegg or Amazon. We may see a limited number of these drives sold in the US and Europe as the company expands its distribution channels outside of Asia.

Product Packaging

The Tigo G5 ships in a premium package that must really stand out in its target markets. We haven’t seen a premium package like the G5’s come to market in several years–even in North America and Europe. The last SSD I’ve tested with a package this nice was the first Kingston HyperX SSD with the blue on gray color scheme.

Normally I don’t care too much about packaging; it’s all sort of pomp. For the most part, I just want the package to relay accurate information that makes shopping easier in a retail store. We could say the same about a car key. You just want to use it to start the car, but you have to admire an Aston Martin crystal key when you come across one. The G5 package isn’t that exotic, but we can make a case for a similar package with other SSDs.

A Closer Look

The Tigo G5 is really unlike any of the SSDs we’ve seen over the last couple of years. The Intel SSD 750 Series has more of an industrial feel, and the Plextor M8Pe is gamer-oriented, but the G5 aims for luxury. It’s kind of like a supermodel from a faraway land.

A blue plasma glow comes from the triangle diffusers on the side of the Tigo G5 when you power on the system. At first, it detracted from the luxury of the drive, but after I looked closely and noticed the plasma-like glow, I started to appreciate it.

There is one other feature that we can’t overlook; the three-way giant toggle switch sticking out of the back. Let’s take the cover off and see what it does.

Inside The Tigo G5

The power mode switch is a three-way toggle with the designations S, D and P.

S is full power mode, D is the mid-mode for some power savings, and P is the low-power mode. We’re not sure what the letters stand for. The only issue we found was reaching behind the computer to toggle the switch. It would have been better to have a software actuated switch or remote fob, even if Tigo attached it to a wire.

The rest of the G5 add-in card is really nice. There is a large heatsink on one side that cools the controller and NAND flash. A second, much smaller, heatsink rests on the other side to cool the DRAM packages. The second heatsink would also cool the additional NAND on a 1TB G5.

We also notice the copper cover over the SMI SM2260 controller. The cover first appeared on the Intel 600p. At the time, we thought it was an Intel-only feature because we’ve only seen the controller displayed without the copper liner. It seems this is now a fixture for the SM2260 controller. We reached out to SMI for clarification, and it responded:

The IC industry has used this method of heat dispersion for several years. The material spreads the heat away from the central part of the package to aid cooling.

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Nvidia’s mighty Titan has fallen, as it always does.

Jaws dropped when the second-gen Titan X stomped onto the scene in August, and for more reasons than one. The monster graphics card was the first to ever flirt with consistently hitting the hallowed 60-frames-per-second mark at 4K resolution with everything cranked to 11—but that privilege cost a cool $1,200. Fast-forward five months: Nvidia’s teasing the GTX 1080 Ti as the “ultimate GeForce” card, with more performance than the Titan X for just—“just”—$700. That’s what the GTX 1080 Founders Edition cost at launch, and Nvidia says the Ti stomps the base GTX 1080.

Brad Chacos

Graphics-card lust truly is the cruelest obsession.

But does the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti live up to Nvidia’s hype? Is this the 4K-capable graphics card that gamers flush with tax-return money have been waiting for?

Yes. Oh my, yes. Let’s dig in.

Meet the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti

Nvidia’s Pascal GPU architecture launched almost 10 months ago, so you won’t find many surprises lurking underneath the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti’s aluminum Founders Edition shroud. Here’s a look at its technical specifications:

Nvidia

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti’s tech specs.

The most eye-opening revelation may be simply how little Nvidia’s nerfed the GTX 1080 Ti in comparison to the Titan X. Both are built around on the same GP102 graphics processor; the GTX 1080 Ti drops the render output unit (ROP) count from 96 to 88, as well as a single 32-bit memory controller that results in the card packing 11GB of cutting-edge GDDR5X memory with a 352-bit bus, compared to the Titan X’s 12GB and 384-bits, respectively. But that’s compensated for by higher GPU and memory clock speeds on the GTX 1080 Ti, which actually result in greater overall memory bandwidth for the $700 board. The two cards are otherwise identical.

Most gamers could never afford the Titan X, however, and the $700 GTX 1080 Ti’s firepower vastly outstrips the now-$500 GTX 1080. Nvidia’s new card offers over a thousand more CUDA cores than its cousin—3,584 versus 2,560—as well as 24 additional ROPs and 40 percent more texture units. The vanilla GTX 1080 was the most badass graphics card ever created when it launched less than a year ago and the GTX 1080 Ti blows it away on paper.

A smart button controlled by your fingerprints was one of the gadgets on display at the recent Wearable Technology Show.

The device can be programmed for each part of each finger to activate a different function.

BBC Click’s Lara Lewington reports.

See more at Click’s website and @BBCClick.

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This weekend, thousands of gaming enthusiasts (fanatics, even) will descend upon the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC) for PAX East, and Tom’s Hardware will be there to check out the latest games, hardware, and other emerging technologies.

In addition to our normal game coverage, we reached out to several component and system vendors, because hardware is steadily becoming a major part of these gamer-centric events. EVGA was one of the companies that answered the call, but instead of scheduling us for a normal meet-and-greet, the company invited us to participate in its Pax East Livestream.

EVGA will be at booth 20031, live streaming every day of the event (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) between 10pm and 6pm ET. Our own Derek Forrest (hey, that’s me!) will be joining the livestream on Saturday, March 11 at 5pm ET to discuss EVGA’s new ICX cooling, modular water-cooling system, and much more. We’ll embed the stream here, or you can also watch from EVGA’s Facebook, YouTube, or Twitch.

Do you have a question for EVGA? Leave it in the comments or tweet @TheDerekForrest during the livestream, and we’ll see if we can get some answers for you.

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Zotac revealed a trio of top-tier GTX 1080 Ti graphics cards. The GeForce GTX 1080 Ti AMP and AMP Extreme come with Zotac’s own premium coolers installed, whereas the standard GTX 1080 Ti from Zotac without any extra nomenclature comes with a simple blower style cooler.

The GTX 1080 Ti AMP Extreme comes with a large triple-slot cooler that uses three 90mm fans to dissipate the heat drawn to the fin stack through the direct-contact copper heatpipes. The back end of the card comes with a neat backplate, and it’s topped off with Spectra lighting, which is Zotac’s take on RGB lighting.  At a more sensible tier, the GTX 1080 Ti AMP comes with a dual-slot cooler with two 100mm fans, also packing direct contact heatpipes. It also comes with the Spectra lighting feature. Zotac hasn’t decided on clock speeds for the cards yet. All we know is that the GTX 1080 Ti AMP will have its GDDR5X memory run at the stock 11GHz frequency, although that does suggest a (slight) memory overclock on the AMP Extreme card. Both should overclock well with a 16+2 phase VRM power design.The Zotac GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is the most affordable of the bunch, featuring an Nvidia reference PCB and a simple blower-style cooler. You could argue that Zotac should’ve sold a Founder’s Edition card with the updated Nvidia cooler, but that’s actually quite costly to implement despite its blower-style design, so Zotac’s own design should make this one of the more affordable GTX 1080 Ti variants on the market. With a standard Nvidia PCB design, it’ll also be a good option for those who intend on throwing water blocks onto the card. Why pay for an expensive cooler you’re not going to use?

So far, that’s all we know about Zotac’s line of 1080 Ti cards. You can learn more about the GTX 1080 Ti in our review of the Nvidia Founder’s Edition card.

Product	GTX 1080 Ti AMP Extreme	GTX 1080 Ti AMP	GTX 1080 Ti
GPU	GTX 1080 Ti	GTX 1080 Ti	GTX 1080 Ti
CUDA Cores	3,584	3,584	3,584
Video Memory	11GB GDDRX5	11GB GDDRX5	11GB GDDRX5
Memory Clock	TBD	11GHz	11GHz
GPU Boost Clock	TBD	TBD	1,582MHz
PCI Express	3.0	3.0	3.0

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Oculus released some changes to its mobile VR platform this week. The company launched Rooms 1.2, which introduces more things to do with your friends in VR, and Oculus Events, which helps you keep track of public events and schedule multiuser experiences with your friends. Facebook also extended its livestreaming service to Gear VR users.

Oculus introduced Oculus Rooms at Oculus Connect 3 in October and subsequently launched the multi-user feature near the end of last year. Rooms lets you share video and audio content or play a variety of mini-games with a group of friends inside a virtual environment. With Room 1.2, you can watch 360-degree content with a group, too.

The new update introduces the “collective viewing dome,” which is essentially a spheroid monitor that sits in the middle of a shared environment. With the viewing dome, you can watch 360-degree video from Facebook, or you can watch one of the animated VR short films that Oculus offers on its service, such as Invasion! or Henry. The spherical display inverts the video so that you can view it from the outside instead of from within the clip’s scenery. The new version also lets you watch free content on Vimeo.

The search function for Oculus Rooms also received an update. Now, you can use your voice to search for Facebook content to watch with your friends. The voice search feature is an extension of a new voice command feature that Oculus just rolled out today for Oculus Home on Rift and Gear VR. Oculus Speech Recognition lets you navigate menus and search for content in Oculus Home. Eventually, you’ll be able to check your friends’ online status and invite them to join you with a simple voice command.

Oculus also introduced Oculus Events with the latest Gear VR update. Events make it easy for you to schedule things that you wish to do in VR and set up reminders for those events. You can schedule multiplayer sessions with your friends or join public events with anyone. Oculus said it would highlight special events in Oculus Home, and it created an Events tab where you can search for other events. Oculus said that there, you’ll find game tournaments, trivia events, and tech talks, among other things.

Facebook owns Oculus, and the parent company had an announcement today, too. Facebook is preparing to roll out VR Facebook Livestreaming via the Gear VR headset. In the coming weeks, the Gear VR software will receive an update that adds a “Livestream to Facebook” button in the universal menu, which will enable you to share your VR games with your friends over the social media platform.

Facebook said the Gear VR livestreaming option is already available to Gear VR users outside of the U.S. Stateside users must wait for the next Android OS update.

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