Gigarefurb Refurbished Laptops News - Page 14792 of 15181 -

Oppo UDP-203 4K UHD Blu-ray player review: A class act with awesome audio capabilities

There’s no question about it: The Oppo Digital UDP-203 is the best 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player you can buy. It’s not just a high-end video device, it can also play high-resolution audio from SACD and DVD-Audio discs or audio files encoded with nearly any codec you can think of, and it’s MSRP is $150 less than our previous high-end top pick, the Panasonic DMP-UB900. It’s the most feature-blessed player we’ve tested, and as of June 6, 2017, it supports Dolby Vision, too.

The UDP-203 features a handsome, black brushed-aluminum faceplate with an LCD status display right below the disc tray. A front USB 2.0 port provides easy access for files stored on mass storage devices, including 60 frame-per-second 2160p video. You’ll also find a complete set of transport controls here (play, pause, stop, track forward, and track back) that can also be used to navigate menus.

There are two USB 3.0 ports on the rear panel, along with eight RCA jacks so you can deliver analog stereo or surround sound to an older A/V receiver or amplifier that doesn’t support HDMI (or if you think the Oppo’s DAC sounds better than what’s on your current gear). Oppo also provides optical and coaxial S/PDIF outputs. If you’ll be making more modern connection, there’s HDMI Out (audio and video), audio-only HDMI Out (for audio equipment that supports HDMI, but not HDCP 2.2), and even an HDMI in (for reasons we’ll get into later). There’s really nothing out there that the UHD-203 won’t send an audio signal to.

Oppo Digital

The UDP-203 isn’t lacking for ports, though component and composite video aren’t among them. But if you need those, you might want to ask yourself why you’re buying an Ultra HD Blu-ray player.

If you have an advanced connected-home system (or you’re a custom installer), you’ll appreciate the presence of an RS232C serial port and 12V trigger input and output for tying similarly equipped high-end gear together. There’s an infrared sensor back there, too, to eliminate having an IR blaster spoiling the view from the front.

Audio for miles

The recently reviewed Panasonic DMP-UB900 does audio very well, but the UDP-203 does it even better. Like Panasonic’s player, the Oppo can play DSD files, but it will also play SACD and DVD-Audio discs that Panasonic’s device can’t handle. The Oppo will also play multi-channel DSD files and many, many other audio file formats, including APE, Apple lossless, and FLAC. The more common WAV, MP3, OGG, and WMA are also supported of course; in fact, the only test files the UDP-203 couldn’t handle were the less common Opus, Windows Lossless, and any type of 32-bit 96kHz files. It handled the more common 24-bit/96kHz files just fine.

Learn more about Dolby Atmos and DTS:X

The UDP-203 can put out up to eight channels of analog surround sound (that’s seven loudspeakers plus a subwoofer), and it will pass Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, and DTS bitstreams—as well as high-resolution Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio bitstreams—over HDMI to a compatible sound bar or A/V receiver. There’s also support for the object-oriented audio codecs Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, but there’s no support for Auro 3D. Less-expensive Ultra HD Blu-ray players, such as Samsung’s UBD-K8500, don’t provide analog surround output. Microsoft’s Blu-ray-equipped Xbox One doesn’t either; in fact, it doesn’t even pass high-resolution audio bitstreams over HDMI, but that’s supposed to change sometime in 2017.

The remote control and user interface

The UHD-203’s remote control was our least favorite feature. It has very good response, even from very steep angles, but it’s very large and has a daunting array of buttons. The remote is laid out logically enough, and the backlit buttons are easy to see in a darkened room, we just wish there were fewer of them.

Oppo Digital

Though not a difficult remote, we’d prefer fewer buttons and more on-screen functionality. It’s just easier to see in the dark, though the Oppo remote is backlit and so large it’s hard to lose.

The onscreen user interface, on the other hand is clean, simple, and easy to navigate. It did enumerate a couple of directories on our test USB media that should have been hidden, but it found files quickly and accurately, it was generally intuitive, and it never lagged.

One of the reasons the UHD-203’s user interface is so clean, however, is that there are no apps to clutter it up. You can add this UHD Blu-ray player to your wired or wireless home network, of course, but you can’t log into your Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, YouTube, or any other video-streaming service from its UI. We won’t describe that as a shortcoming, but it is something you can do on pretty much every other Blu-ray player.

Oppo plays up the presence of the UDP-203’s HDMI 2.0 input, suggesting that you can connect a dedicated streaming box—a Roku or an Amazon Fire TV—to that if your TV or A/V receiver doesn’t have enough HDMI inputs. Having an extra HDMI input is a plus, and most modern TV have their own app offerings anyway, so we’ll buy into that reasoning. But if you don’t already have a smart TV or a streaming box, and you want access to those online services, you’ll need to buy another box to supplement the Oppo.

Performance

Oppo says it’s optimized the UDP-203’s disc loading, and our experience bears that out. This player does indeed get you into the movie (or the tunes) faster than other players we’ve tested.

The UDP-203 handled all the Ultra-BD, BD, DVD, and CD discs we threw at it, with the one exception being a burned BD disc. Actually, it mounted and played most of that disc’s contents, it just consistently locked up when we tried to drill down into a particular submenu. That still puts it one up on the Panasonic DMP-UB900, which didn’t display any of the menu. Samsung’s UBD-K8500 and the Xbox One S both handled said burned disc fine.

Oppo Digital

The UDP-203 is undeniably handsome, and sports navigation controls on the front panel so you don’t have to go back to the couch to hunt for the remote.

Video output quality was excellent, although HDR piped into a 65-inch LeEco Super4 4K UHD TV was darker than with the combination of a Samsung UBD-K8500 and Xbox One S. As the Super4 is weak on peak brightness to begin with, this made things a bit muddy. Increasing the brightness and contrast just a skosh evened things out. The UDP-203 is the only player we’ve tried that lets you tweak HDR settings. There’s even an HDR on/off button on the remote.

Here’s everything you need to know about HDR-10 and Dolby Vision

Speaking of which, if you love twiddling settings, you’ll be happy that there’s essentially nothing you can’t adjust on the UHD-203. To be honest, after mucking around for about 30 minutes, we came to the conclusion that the defaults and automatic settings are just fine. But if tweaking is your thing, you’ll find joy aplenty in the UDP-203

The Oppo played nearly all our video test files, including most 60-frames-per-second 10-bit HDR types. Legacy MPEG and h.264 were no issue. The only video files that failed to play used the h.265 (HEVC) main 6.1 profile, the main 5 profile played fine. As Oppo seems rather obsessive about its product, we’re guessing this will be fixed in short order. Supported Image formats, on the other hand, are limited to JPEG, PNG, BMP, and some 3D types.

Audio reproduction was excellent. Oppo touts the unit’s 32-bit AKM AK4458VN DAC, which sounded great and had no issues rendering SACDs, the DSD rips made from them, or any of the audio files we previously mentioned.

Oppo Digital

Here’s a gut shot of the Oppo UDP-203. The AKM AK4458VN DAC is mounted on the circuit board directly behind the disc drive.

Now available: Dolby Vision

You can now add support for Dolby Vision via a firmware update (you can find the details on Opp’s website). Dolby Vision differs from HDR-10 in that rather than one adjustment at the beginning of a video, it can adjust TV settings on the fly for each scene. This allows much greater refinement in the handling of light and dark scenes within the same movie.

Dolby Vision also supports 12-bit color depth while HDR-10 is limited to 10-bit color. The bit-depth difference is noticeable, if barely; you’ll mostly see it in the accuracy of colors on those few TVs that are capable of handling 12-bit color.

Is this the UHD Blu-ray player to buy?

Most users will have app environments on their TVs for connecting to streaming services; those who don’t probably already have a streaming box they like. So the absence of app support in the UHD-203 is a minor concern. Purists might even consider it a plus. We didn’t dig Oppo’s remote, but we love this player’s features, as well as the quality of both its audio and video, which are as good or better than anything we’ve heard or seen.

The UHD-203 supporting Dolby Vision also puts it one up on its competitors, none of which can be upgraded to support it. Scuttlebutt is that Dolby Vision will start showing up on UHD Blu-ray discs in the near future. HDR-10 is great, but Dolby Vision is better, especially over the course of a movie thanks to its scene-by-scene optimization.

$549 is a lot of money for a Blu-ray player, especially with the Xbox One S out there for nearly half the price. Then again, Panasonic’s DMP-UB900 has fewer features and it’s going for $599.99 at Panasonic’s web store. The Oppo UDP-203 is the cream of the crop for now; perhaps until Oppo ships its “audiophile” UDP-205 (price TBD) in early 2017. If you want the best, cut the check.

This story, “Oppo UDP-203 4K UHD Blu-ray player review: A class act with awesome audio capabilities” was originally published by TechHive.

To comment on this article and other PCWorld content, visit our Facebook page or our Twitter feed.

Go to Source

Microsoft Surface Pro (2017): Everything you need to know

Credit: Microsoft

By Mark Hachman

Senior Editor, PCWorld | Jun 8, 2017 1:36 PM PT

Table of Contents

With the the Surface Pro, Microsoft reboots its flagship Surface product, arguably the leading 2-in-1 even if Microsoft’s now trying to call it a laptop (more on that later). It’s also shedding the numerical designations of prior products. If you’ve owned a Surface Pro 3 or Surface Pro 4, however, you already have a good idea of what Microsoft has in store for you with the Surface Pro.

We’ve assembled everything we know about the new Surface Pro: the price and release date, the specs, and (soon) what we think of it in our official review. We’ve also answered some of the questions we think you’ll have about Microsoft’s new device.

Microsoft

Microsoft wants you to call the Surface Pro a laptop, though the ‘lapability’ of the tablet’s kickstand has always been an issue. Plus, the keyboard isn’t included.

Pricing and release date

You can preorder the Surface Pro now. Though Microsoft hasn’t officially posted the release date, Microsoft says most SKUs will begin to ship on June 15, the same day as the Surface Laptop. (As of June 8, the two exceptions are the two most expensive Core i7 versions—the 16GB RAM/512GB SSD and the the 16GB RAM/1 TB SSD—which will ship on June 30.) The Surface Pro will launch in 26 markets—including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, India, Taiwan, and more. Our news story from the Surface Pro launch has many more details.

Microsoft’s Surface products have never been cheap, and the Surface Pro’s base model is $100 more expensive than the base model for the Surface Pro 4. Keep in mind that the prices below include the Surface Pro tablet only. Microsoft doesn’t bundle it with any accessories at all, not even a keyboard, unless there’s a special promotion.

Intel Core m3, Intel HD Graphics 615, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD: $799
Intel Core i5, Intel HD Graphics 620, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD: $999
Intel Core i5, Intel HD Graphics 620, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD: $1,299
Intel Core i7, Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD: $1,599
Intel Core i7, Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD: $2,199
Intel Core i7, Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD: $2,699

Mark Hachman / IDG

Microsoft’s Surface Pro Signature Type Cover ships in three colors.

Accessory pricing

Though you can use a Surface Pro as a simple tablet, you’ll almost certainly want to buy some of the accessories, all of which cost extra.

Keyboard: We’ll start with the one everyone will want—a Type Cover keyboard. Microsoft offers two: the Surface Pro Signature Type Cover ($159), clad in fancy Alcantara fabric, and the primarily plastic Microsoft Surface Pro Type Cover ($129).

Pen: Unlike the Surface Pros 3 and 4, Microsoft doesn’t include a new Surface Pen, which costs $100 extra.

Both the Pen and Signature Type Covers ship in three colors: platinum, burgundy, and cobalt blue. The generic Surface Pro Type Cover is available only in black.

Mouse: Though both Type Covers include a trackpad, an optional Surface Arc Mouse will be available at launch for $80.

Surface Dock: The Surface Dock, a port expander which adds four additional USB ports and two miniDP connections, is $200.

While it’s not available now, Microsoft says it will ship a version of the Surface Pro with integrated LTE later this year. A version with the new Windows 10 S operating system, rather than the usual Windows 10 Pro, is also planned.

Mark Hachman / IDG

Two of the optional Surface Arc Mice.

Performance and battery life

All of the Core i5 and Core i7 chips used in the new Surface Pro (2017) are from Intel’s most recent, seventh-generation (Kaby Lake) family of CPUs. Microsoft says the processors offer 20 percent more performance than the Surface Pro 4, 2.5 times more computing performance than the Surface Pro 3, and 1.7 times the compute power of Apple’s iPad Pro. Once we get a unit in for review, we’ll confirm those claims.

Microsoft also says the Surface Pro will last for 13.5 hours of continuous video looping, up from 9 hours with the Surface Pro 4. Again, this needs to be tested, but it’s an impressive figure and just short of the 14.5 hours of battery life promised for the Surface Laptop.

Frequently asked questions

Microsoft’s reboot of the Surface Pro name follows Hollywood’s trend of “rebooting” movies, from Godzilla to Spider-Man to Ghostbusters. It’s all a bit confusing, so we’ll try to clear up some of the mysteries.

Why isn’t it called the Surface Pro 5?

Our understanding is that Microsoft wanted to refocus itself on the Surface Pro lineup, making a clean break from prior models. It forces us (and you) to use the awkward Surface Pro (2017) terminology, though.

Microsoft

The Surface Pro’s kickstand can drop to 165 degrees, to what Microsoft calls “Studio mode.”

Who should buy the Surface Pro (2017)?

Two years ago, the Surface Pro would have been the tablet for the masses. Now, perhaps in an attempt to distance the Surface Pro (2017) from a struggling Windows tablet market, Microsoft’s calling this a “laptop,” even though the keyboard is an optional accessory. We wish Microsoft would let go of this baffling conceit. In any case, if you’re a mobile professional, the new Surface Pro may be for you.

What are PCWorld’s first impressions?

After using it a scant few minutes at a briefing, I can say it seems to be a beefed-up Surface Pro 4. Slightly more rounded edges and more recessed cameras are barely noteworthy. I like the kickstand, which reclines a full 165 degrees. Microsoft calls this “Studio Mode” because it mimics the Surface Studio, the Surface Pro’s all-in-one cousin.

Basically, if you’ve used a Surface Pro 4, this will be familiar territory. But if you want a more traditional notebook, consider the Surface Book or Surface Laptop instead.

How does the Surface Pro differ from the Surface Pro 4, the Surface Book, and the Surface Laptop?

Surface Pro 4: The Surface Pro improves upon its predecessor in a few key ways. The updated Kaby Lake CPU boosts performance and battery life. The wider range of the kickstand adds functionality, including the ability to use the Surface Dial.

Surface Laptop: If you’re looking for something comparable to the Surface Pro in a true notebook form factor, you should check out the Surface Laptop. Note that its operating system is the classroom-focused Windows 10 S, but it’s upgradable to the same Windows 10 Pro that the Surface Pro uses.

Surface Book: Like the Surface Pro, the Surface Book is a two-in-one with a detachable keyboard. The Surface Book offers a lot more oomph, however, especially with the associated Performance Base. It’s the only Microsoft notebook or 2-in-1 with discrete graphics, too.

How much does the Surface Pro (2017) cost?

Prices range from $799 to $2,699, and that’s just for the tablet. You’ll probably want to buy either a Surface Pro Signature Type Cover ($159) or the Microsoft Surface Pro Type Cover ($129) as a keyboard, and then the optional $100 Surface Pen. A Surface Dock ($200) is another possibility if you want additional ports.

First impressions

The Surface Pro (2017) is a Surface Pro, plain and simple: tablet, magnetically-attached Type Cover keyboard, kickstand. If you were to put a Surface Pro next to a Surface Pro 4, about the only way to tell the difference would be to look at the attached Surface Pen, which lacks the clip of its predecessor.

Mark Hachman / IDG

The new Surface Pen (below) features 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity, about double that of its predecessor (above).

Even though I only had it in my hands for a few minutes, I was impressed by the greater range of the kickstand. I’m not sure potential buyers will care as much as I do about the fact that you can now use the Surface Dial peripheral onscreen, though it’s a nice touch. We’ll want to give it all a thorough examination once we get a review unit.

Specs and features

While the Surface Book offers a bit more physical space to pack in battery and discrete GPUs, the Surface Pro maintains an emphasis on portability. The key upgrade for the Surface Pro (2017) refresh are the Intel Kaby Lake CPUs, which bring several fundamental improvements in speed and battery life. If you want something a bit slower and a lot cheaper, try the Core m model: The performance should be satisfactory for basic office tasks.

CPU

1GHz Core m3-7Y30

2.6GHz Core i5-7300U (Kaby Lake)

2.5GHz Core i7-7660U (Kaby Lake)

Memory

Memory options will vary, depending on your choice of Surface Pro (2017). Note that there is no 8GB option for the Core i7 at this time.

4GB: Core m3

8 GB: Core m3 or Core i5

16 GB: Core i5 or Core i7

Storage

Your SSD size will vary:

128GB (Core m, Core i5)

256 GB (Core i5, Core i7)

512 GB (Core i7)

1TB (Core i7)

Graphics

The Surface Pro offers only integrated graphics. Graphics performance will increase along with processor power:

Core m: Intel HD Graphics 615

Core i5: Intel HD Graphics 620

Core i7: Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640

Display

Corning Gorilla Glass

12.3-inch (diagonal) PixelSense Display

Resolution: 2736×1824 pixels, 267 PPI

3:2 aspect ratio

Surface Pen-enabled (sold separately)

10-point multi-touch

Keyboard

The new Surface Pro’s keyboard features 1.3mm of key travel, slightly less than the 1.5mm of travel used by the Surface Laptop. If you buy the Surface Pro Signature Type Cover, you’ll get an Alcantara-clad deck that’s laser-cut to fit snugly around the keyboard keys, in either platinum, burgundy, or cobalt blue. Otherwise, you can buy a standard Type Cover, in black.

Software

Though the Surface Pro (2017) uses Windows 10 Pro, Microsoft says a version of the Surface Pro (2017) will ship later on with Windows 10 S installed.

Ports and connectivity

Somewhat surprisingly, Microsoft has chosen to stick with its established Surface Connector for charging, rather than use USB-C. Supposedly, that’s for reasons of backward compatibility with existing Surface chargers, as well as in response to people who complained that the micro-USB-powered Surface 3 took forever to charge.

USB 3.0 Type A

mini DisplayPort

3.5mm headphone jack

Surface Connector for charging

Wi-Fi: 802.11ac, IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n compatible

Bluetooth 4.1

microSD card reader

Mark Hachman / IDG

The right side of the tablet houses the three main ports: the Surface connector, USB-A, and the microDP port. Like other Surface devices, a microSD slot hides behind the kickstand.

Audio/visual

(Unchanged since the Surface Pro 4)

5MP (front), Windows Hello-compatible

8MP (rear)

Stereo microphones

Stereo speakers

Battery life

At 13.5 hours, the battery life of the Surface Pro (2017) is just an hour shorter than the 14.5 hours claimed for the Surface Laptop. Microsoft bases its claims on video rundown tests, the same metric PCWorld uses.

Exterior dimensions

11.50 x 7.9 x 0.33 inches

Weight

2.37 pounds to 2.41 pounds, with Type Cover. The exact weight will vary by model. The Core m model is the lightest.

Chassis

Aluminum

Colors

The Surface Pro (2017) ships in just one color. Accessories, including the Type Cover and Surface Pen, can be purchased in these colors to personalize the tablet:

Burgundy

Platinum

Cobalt Blue

Black

Warranty

One-year limited hardware warranty

Included in the box

Surface Pro

Power supply

Quick Start Guide

Safety and warranty documents

To comment on this article and other PCWorld content, visit our Facebook page or our Twitter feed.

As PCWorld’s senior editor, Mark focuses on Microsoft news and chip technology, among other beats.

Latest Reviews

Go to Source

Seagate Launches New Game Drive For Xbox Game Pass Special Edition

Seagate has been partnering with Microsoft to supply official accessories for the Xbox console for a couple of generations now, starting with the original Game Drive for Xbox. Now, Seagate has announced a successor called the Game Drive for Xbox Game Pass Special Edition, which sports an all-new design and offers one or two months of free access to the Xbox Game Pass streaming service that debuted on June 1.

Xbox Game Pass lets you access over 100 Xbox games for a monthly subscription fee of $10. It’s similar in concept to PlayStation Now, with the notable differences being that it’s meant to let you play Xbox 360 and Xbox One games and that you download games from it instead of streaming them. If you’re going to be downloading all of these new games, you may find yourself running out of internal storage, so Seagate is offering both a 2TB and 4TB version of the Game Drive for Xbox, and it now matches the color and styling of the latest Xbox One S.

Seagate is offering a one-month subscription to Xbox Game Pass with the 2TB model and a two-month subscription with the 4TB model. The MSRP is $90 for the 2TB version and $130 for the 4TB version, so the price premium to get a branded drive for your Xbox is not excessive, although these do cost a bit more than non-branded models. The pricing is right in-line with the previous green models, which had also been bumped to the same capacities. Seagate also offers a Game Drive for Xbox SSD with a 512GB capacity, if you’d prefer to forgo more storage for something a bit faster.

The new white models look great, and the bundled access to Xbox Game Pass helps offset the price increase from Seagate’s normal lineup. It’s not for everyone, but if you’re the kind of person who likes to take your game library with you, having an Xbox-branded model could be a nice perk.

This post was written by Brett Howse.

Go to Source

X5 MD Is Aorus’ Slimmest Gaming Laptop Yet

Gigabyte’s Aorus is known for its super-thin gaming notebooks, but with Nvidia’s Max-Q design approach, it’s managed to streamline its newest notebook, the X5 MD, even further. The company announced the laptop at Computex in Taipei.

It’s just 0.9 inches thick but still uses an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 (8GB) GPU, an overclockable Intel Core i7-7820HK CPU, and up to 64GB of DDR4-2400 RAM. For storage, there’s an M.2 PCIe Gen3 x4 SSD (2,000 MBps), and it has a Thunderbolt 3 port. It’s scheduled for release in Q4 of this year.

The screen looked like a stunner when we saw it in person. That’s because Aorus partnered with X-Rite Pantone to calibrate the 15.6-inch, 4K IPS display. On top of that, it supports G-Sync to prevent screen tearing during gameplay.

Not to be outdone by the display, the keyboard is also super colorful. The RGB backlit keyboard can be customized on a key-by-key basis with Aorus’ Fusion software.

Nvidia’s Max-Q design standard prioritizes a thin chassis and is designed for cooling and power efficiency ensure that it stays quiet while gaming. Although we didn’t get to play any games on it, it did have noticeably large vents on the back. In fact, Aorus is promising 10 stages of fan control.

The company hasn’t announced a price for the laptop, but we expect it to be quite expensive. Another Max-Q laptop, the Asus ROG Zephyrus, will start at $2,300.

Seth Colaner contributed to this report.

Go to Source

Cooler Master Shows Concept Coolers: Closed-Loop Heat Pipe and Flying Saucer

Hardware manufacturers use trade shows not only to display upcoming commercial products, but also to demonstrate and collect feedback on concept devices that may or may not become full commercial products. Cooler Master used Computex to demo two of its concept coolers, one of which featured a closed-loop heat pipe along with three fans, the other of which used a large heat column and a rather unorthodox design.

Although many performance enthusiasts nowadays choose all-in-one liquid cooling solutions over air coolers because of dimensions and efficiency, oversized CPU tower coolers still have their own advantages: there is no risk of leaking, they are large and therefore they can cool down chips even if their fans fail, and they are rather affordable.

The MasterAir Maker 3DLV is one of Cooler Master’s concept coolers. It has two large radiators connected using four closed-loop heat pipes and featuring three 120mm fans. The main idea of heat pipes is to quickly transfer heat from the bottom of the cooler to fins located along the path of the pipes, away from the heat source. Closed-loop heat pipes have been explored by multiple companies, and Zalman’s CNPS 9000-series coolers actually take advantage of them. The CNPS 9000s are round and the closed-loop heat pipes actually transferred heat to all fins.

Cooler Master’s 3DLV concept cooler is rectangular and does not have any fins on its top, just bare pipes, and we have no idea how efficient such a configuration is. Still, three fans should ensure rather high efficiency anyway, and the manufacturer promises that the cooler can remove up to 200W of heat.

In the meantime, it is unclear whether Cooler Master will actually commercialize this model, as due to its large dimensions it is not compatible with high-end memory modules that have large heatspreaders.

The Heat Column Concept is another cooler that CM demonstrated at Computex. This cooler resembled a flying saucer and featured a huge heat column on its base. The flying saucer cooler is made of copper and therefore quickly absorbs heat. The producer rates the device at 100W TDP, which means that it can cool down all mainstream CPUs in the AM4 and LGA1151 form-factors.

Cooler Master has not decided the final specs of the cooling solution or how to position it yet. One of the things the company’s engineers are thinking about are dimensions: they could make the “saucer” smaller and position it for, say, Mini-ITX systems, or make it larger and then appeal to overclockers and the modding community.

One of the things that the triple fan and the saucer coolers integrate is user-configurable RGB LED lighting, which is becoming an important feature. Because enthusiasts appreciate customizable lighting, it makes sense for Cooler Master to offer it not only with new cases, but also with CPU coolers.

This post was written by Anton Shilov.

Go to Source

Apple Offers $600 External Graphics Development Kit

Apple developers in select territories can now order an External Graphics Development Kit to experiment with the external GPU support coming in the next version of macOS (High Sierra) this Fall.

The company billed this $600 kit as a way for devs to “develop and test demanding graphics-intensive apps, including VR content creation, on any Mac with Thunderbolt 3 connectivity.” It includes Sonnet’s eGFX Breakaway Box enclosure, what appears to be a Sapphire Radeon Pulse RX 580 graphics card, a Belkin USB-C to four-port USB-A hub, and a promo code that can be used to take $100 off the cost of an HTC Vive VR HMD.

Apple developers appear to be getting early access to Sonnet’s eGFX Breakaway Box; the company said on its website that the enclosure isn’t currently available to purchase. Sonnet offers a variety of peripherals, ranging from Blu-ray players and storage systems to Thunderbolt accessories and enclosures, and this statement on Apple’s website suggests that Sonnet will be responsible for these development kits:

For support inquiries related to any hardware components of the development kit, contact Sonnet Technologies.

That comes as a bit of a surprise, considering the development kits are being sold by Apple and include a Sapphire graphics card and Belkin hub. Not only did the company get early access to the eGFX Breakaway Box, but it’s also passed off all responsibility for the development kits to Sonnet. It seems like a win-win-win for Apple–especially because the whole point of these kits is to help devs make software for its platform.

The exclusive window on the eGFX Breakaway Box makes it hard to tell if developers are saving any money by purchasing this kit from Apple. Sapphire’s graphics card is currently $250 on Newegg (though it’s sold out right now; perhaps because Apple bought a bunch for these kits?), and Belkin’s hubs cost around $50. That leaves $300 for the enclosure, assuming the $100 promo code isn’t built into the kit’s cost and Apple isn’t trying to make a profit on it. A similar box from PowerColor currently costs $450 on Newegg, though, so Sonnet’s enclosure could be $300.

It’s telling that Apple specifically calls out VR as one of the appeals of external GPUs. The company made a big push into VR and AR during WWDC, with the announcement of much-improved graphics cards heading to various Mac products, the Vega-equipped iMac Pro, and iOS 11’s ARKit. Those more powerful graphics cards aren’t just in there for gamers; chances are good that Apple simply wants to catch up to Microsoft.

These kits appear to be reaching developers now. Apple said on the kit’s web page that the $100 promo codes for the Vive have “limited availability” and that “distribution is on a first-come, first-served basis.” You’ll need the developer beta of macOS High Sierra to use the External Graphics Development Kit right away. A public beta is expected to debut later this month, with the full release happening sometime this Fall.

The kit is available to registered Apple developers in these regions:

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United States, and the United Kingdom.

Go to Source

The Tom's Hardware Patriot Peripheral Giveaway

To celebrate the launch of the brand new Viper V770 keyboard, we’ve teamed up with Patriot to give Tom’s Hardware members a very special giveaway.

Up for grabs are two Patriot peripheral prize bundles featuring the Viper series of RGB computer peripherals. Head to Tom’s Hardware Peripheral forum and enter the raffle widget for your chance to win the V770 Keyboard, V370 headset, and V570 mouse.

The Viper V770 is Patriot’s new top of the line gaming keyboard featuring Kalih Red RGB switches, a bank of macro keys, and eight programmable buttons above the F keys.

To learn more about the Patriot keyboard lineup, check out the Tom’s Hardware preview article. The Tom’s Hardware Patriot Peripheral Giveaway begins today, June 8, and ends at 12pm ET (noon) on June 22. This sweepstakes is open only to legal residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older. Good luck, and may the best gamer win!

Go to Source

Audio for miles

The remote control and user interface

Thank you

Sorry

Pricing and release date

Accessory pricing

Latest Reviews