ASUS Showcases Concept 420mm AIO For TRX40

It’s no secret that ASUS has its fingers in multiple areas of computer components including motherboard, VGA, desktop, mobile, and peripherals. Taking into consideration the cooling requirement for AMD’s HEDT Ryzen Threadripper 3000 series of processors, it’s showcased its latest conceptual AIO CPU cooler design which features a large 420 mm radiator, supplied with three premium Noctua black fans. 

With AMD set to release its 64 core 128 thread Threadripper 3990X in the coming months, ASUS has unveiled a concept design 420 mm AIO CPU with a couple of notable features. The TR4 socket cooler which currently has no name includes an all-black design with no RGB LEDs to speak of, although the CPU block does include ASUS’s 1.77″ LiveDash OLED customizable screen. Other features include a full cover cold plate specially designed to cool the 3rd generation Threadripper processors, with an all-black design that fits well with its ROG Zenith II Extreme TRX40 motherboard.

The unnamed concept cooler as displayed at ASUS’s suite at CES 2020 includes three Noctua NF-A14 2000 PWM fans which spin up to 2000 rpm and omits RGB LEDs for an all-black look which is more subtle. ASUS hasn’t released any more information about when it may hit production, or if it will, but upon speaking to ASUS they were very keen to have it ready for the launch of AMD’s Threadripper 3990X processor which features a TDP of 280 W.

Samsung 980 PRO PCIe 4.0 SSD Makes An Appearance

Samsung’s booth at CES 2020 includes our first look at their next flagship consumer SSD, the 980 PRO M.2 NVMe SSD. This would appear to be Samsung’s first client/consumer SSD to support PCIe 4.0, which has until now only been rolled out to their high-end enterprise drives.

Since this just a low-key preview instead of a formal announcement with a press release, information is limited. The exhibit shows only sequential performance numbers: 6500 MB/s reads, 5000 MB/s writes. That’s a bit better than what we currently see with PCIe 4.0 drives using the Phison E16 controller, but by the end of this year we should start seeing the Phison E18 and other controllers offering sequential speeds around 7GB/s, so the 980 PRO may have little or no time to set throughput records for the consumer SSD market.

The available capacities will range from 250GB to 1TB, which strongly indicates that Samsung us still using 2-bit MLC for the PRO line rather than switching to 3-bit TLC NAND flash as the rest of the industry has done for their flagships. The fate of Samsung’s flagship SSD product line was a bit unclear when Samsung updated the 970 EVO with new NAND as the 970 EVO Plus but did not introduce an accompanying 970 PRO Plus.

Samsung was unable to locate any employees at their sprawling “booth” who could answer our technical questions, so we don’t have confirmation of which generation of V-NAND this uses (probably the 5th gen. 92L), nor do we have any details on the controller. We also don’t have a timeline for retail availability.

TCL foldable phone could be BIG trouble for Motorola Razr

CES 2020 is taking place this week and TCL has got a working prototype of its foldable phone in residence at the show. And, after seeing the reaction it has caused, it is easy to see why if it does come to market this year, as it could very well do, it could be a very big deal indeed.

That’s because TCL has garnered a reputation of bringing premium-level technology to the mass-market at much cheaper price points than its competitors. For example, the TCL 10 5G phone, which is also on display at CES 2020, rings in for less than $500. That is far cheaper than 5G phones from many of its top-tier competitors.

As such, a very much working foldable phone at CES 2020 from TCL, along with comments that it will be cheaper than the delayed, $1,500, rebooted Motorola Razr folding phone, and it is easy to see why this is a big deal for phone lovers.

It’s a big deal as, even though the working TCL folding phone prototype is not ready for mass production, and if it is launched then it will be done so later this year, just by existing it will put plenty of pressure on big players like Samsung and Huawei, as well as new folding competitors like Motorola and others, to produce folding phones that don’t cost incredible amounts of money.

The specs, for example, on the delayed Motorola Razr are firmly mid-range, so the fact that the phone costs $1,500 is obviously a big barrier that needs to be overcome by any potential buyer. Do you pay massive bucks for the foldable form factor, or do you get a non-folding phone with much, much better specs for less?

A TCL foldable phone that costs even two-thirds what the Motorola Razr does would make that decision a lot easier for many, thereby speeding up the adoption of folding phones.

The working prototype itself currently delivers a square 7.2-inch display, a quad-camera system, a mid-tier Snapdragon 660 processor and it runs Android 9.0 Pie. So it certainly isn’t a technical powerhouse, but it does deliver a folding phone experience and, with some refinements, would no doubt be attractive to many users who want folding tech but at a reasonable price.

No official pricing or release date has been announced for the phone naturally, although right now a late 2020 time frame is being slated.

If you want the best folding phone on the market today, though, then you need the Samsung Galaxy Fold. Why not read T3’s official Samsung Galaxy Fold review to see what it delivers.

Lenovo Launches Yoga Slim 7 14-Inch w/ Ice Lake & Discrete GPU

One of the key advantages brought by Intel’s Ice Lake processors in addition to higher IPC is its improved integrated Iris Plus Graphics that is meant to offer a much-improved level of graphics performance for ultra-thin laptops. But even so, Lenovo has introduced its new Yoga Slim 7 14-inch notebooks that are powered by Intel’s latest 10nm CPU and offer an optional discrete GPU from NVIDIA.

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 14-inch is based on Intel’s 10th Generation Core ‘Ice Lake’ processor and may be configured with the company’s top-of-the-line Core i7-1065G7 with four cores clocked at 1.3 – 3.9 GHz as well as well as the Iris Plus Graphics ‘G7’ with 64 EUs and up to 1.1 TFLOPS compute performance. The CPU will share the motherboard with up to 16 GB of LPDDR4X memory as well as an up to 1 TB PCIe SSD.

Meanwhile, for those who want a discrete GPU, Lenovo plans to offer NVIDIA’s GeForce MX option, which in case of the model MX250 features compute performance of around 1.2 TFLOPS, depending on exact clocks. While the standalone GPU in this case is barely better than Intel’s G7, configurations with processors that feature G1 or G4 graphics will clearly be able to take advantage of NVIDIA’s chip.

In fact, Lenovo intends to offer two versions of the Yoga Slim 7 14-inch: in a pure aluminum body and in an aluminum body with Slate Grey fabric cover. The SKUs in aluminum body will come with a Full-HD IPS display featuring 300 nits brightness. The Slate Grey fabric models will offer a choice between a Full-HD touch-enabled LCD IPS screen with 300 nits brightness as well as an Ultra-HD IPS display featuring 500 nits brightness along with 90% of the P3 color space coverage. Depending on exact model, the machines are 14.9 mm – 15.4 mm thick and weigh between 1.4 kg and 1.5 kg.

I/O capabilities of all Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 14-inch will be similar and will include a 720p webcam with IR sensors for Windows Hello, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5, a Thunderbolt 3 connector, USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A ports, an HDMI output, an SD card reader, and a 3.5-mm audio jack.

Lenovo says that the Yoga Slim 7 14-inch can last for up to 14 hours on its massive 60.7 Wh battery, though this only concerns a Full-HD version in an entry-level configuration.

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 14-inch will cost starting at $1,209.99 when it hits the market this April.

Canon EOS 1DX Mark III revealed – it’s the world’s most powerful DSLR yet

DSLRs might be seen by many as the dinosaurs of the camera world, but Canon’s new EOS 1DX Mark III is here to prove that they can still be a source of innovation from camera makers.

The new powerhouse of sports photography, which was teased in a ‘development announcement’ last year, was fully revealed at CES 2020 – and there are some exciting features with Canon’s first camera for the Tokyo Olympic Games in summer 2020.

Canon has managed to outdo the 2016’s 1DX Mark II through a combination of pushing DSLR tech to the limit and topping it with some of the latest mirrorless tech. The 1DX Mark III still has a 20.1MP full-frame sensor, but this is now joined by a powerful new Digic X processor, a new AF sensor for improved viewfinder shooting, and the promise of 20fps burst shooting speeds with both the mechanical and electronic shutter.

Because the 1DX Mark III takes the new, pricey CFExpress cards – which can manage read speeds of 1.8GB per second – it also boasts an amazing buffer that can manage unlimited JPEGs and up to 1,000 Raw files. Combine that with those 20fps burst shooting speeds, and you have a potentially incredible tool for sports or wildlife shooting. 

Of course, speed is only one part of the photographic equation, so Canon has also boosted the 1DX Mark III’s autofocus skills through a combination of current AF tech (191 AF points for viewfinder shooting, Dual Pixel AF in Live View) and something it’s calling ‘deep learning’ autofocus. 

The start of next-gen Canon autofocus

In an attempt to close the autofocus gap on Sony, which has leaped ahead with its ‘A.I-based’ Real-time tracking, Canon has introduced ‘deep learning’ autofocus on the 1DX Mark III.

This next-gen AF system, which goes beyond the limitations of today’s Face Detection, draws on a vast database of images to automatically create an algorithm that apparently allows the 1DX Mark III to quickly lock focus on human subjects in action sequences. Current Face Detection needs the subjects’s face to be visible to work. But like Sony’s subject tracking, Canon’s ‘deep learning’ can recognize that a person is in the shot and keep them centered in the frame.

This doesn’t mean the 1DX Mark III is ‘learning’ from its user – the program is run externally by Canon and then loaded onto the camera, though its database can be expanded over time to cover other subjects like animals. Currently, the feature requires a Digic X processor too, so it won’t be coming to existing Canon cameras via a firmware update, but Canon has hinted that it could eventually appear on more affordable cameras in the future.

Enter the Smart Controller

So what other new features does the Canon 1DX Mark III bring? One of the most interesting is the new Smart Controller, which is a touch-sensitive AF-ON button for quickly choosing your autofocus point. It sounds relatively minor, but we found it to be one of the 1DX Mark III’s best features during our Hands-on: Canon 1DX Mark III review.

The sports DSLR also promises to be a performance step up from the 1DX Mark II in most other areas, including high ISO performance (the extended range is now between ISO 50-819,200) and dynamic range, thanks to what Canon is calling a revolutionary High Detail Low-Pass Filter.

One of the most interesting boosts to the 1DX Mark III, though, is its video shooting powers. While it’s mainly aimed at stills photographers, the camera can now shoot 4K at 60fps and Raw video using the full width of the sensor. Video editors and colorists will also appreciate its ability to shoot 10-bit 4:2:2 footage with internal Canon Log recording.

That said, 4K video recording is still limited to 30 minutes at a time, and despite early rumors to the contrary, there’s still no in-body image stabilization on the 1DX Mark III – which means cameras like the Panasonic S1H retain an advantage there.

So how much will all these new features set you back? The Canon 1DX Mark III will be available to buy from the end of February for £6,499.99 (about $8,507 / AU$12,241). That’s a little beyond most non-professionals, but we look forward to testing it fully and ultimately comparing it to the incoming Nikon D6 and Sony A9 II, to find out which camera deserves to top the photographic podium as this summer’s Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Corsair K95 RGB Platinum XT Review: Upgrading a Classic

Corsair’s flagship K95 is a classic of the gaming keyboard realm, first arriving in 2013 with the RGB model arriving a year later. The company updated the K95’s Platinum RGB model in 2017 to include an RGB light bar up top and Cherry MX Speed switches alongside MX Blue and Brown options. In its latest iteration, the K95 RGB Platinum XT adds premium Double Shot keycaps, integrated Elgato Stream Deck software support for the six macro keys on the left side and an appreciated padded wrist rest. 

Design

If you’ve used one of Corsair’s high-end mechanical keyboards in the last few years, you pretty much know what to expect in terms of physical design here. The deck is made of a single bent piece of brushed aluminum. Dedicated media controls and a nice metal volume wheel sit above the number pad, with lighting controls and a Windows key lock on the above right. Six dedicated macro keys, (which can now be used with the popular Elgato Stream Deck software), run down the left side.

There are two major physical changes as compared with the 2017 (non-XT) model. More durable, premium-feeling Double Shot keycaps are now standard. They’re made with two separate layers of plastic –translucent white underneath to let the RGB lighting shine through and black over the top– which aside from making them feel more premium and durable, should help them resist staining and wear.

Corsair also includes S-key caps to replace the pre-installed G-key caps, should you feel the need to more directly state that your extra buttons are there to do Stream Deck duty. Textured keys for WASD and QWERDF caps are also included, to help your fingers find their place in FPS or MOBA titles.

Secondly, the reversible rubber wrist rest of the previous iteration has now been replaced with a padded leatherette palm rest. The feel isn’t quite as cushy as the standalone HyperX wrist rest, but it’s a big upgrade from the rubber or rigid soft-touch plastic of most bundled wrist rests. My main complaint is that, rather than strong magnets,it attaches via long plastic clips under the keyboard, which feel like they could snap off after years of use if you aren’t careful. Given the high price of this keyboard, that’s not a great feeling.

As has been the case for years, Corsair uses a thick, permanently attached braided cable, which makes the K95 Platinum XT a little clunky and a lot less travel-friendly than models with removable USB-C cables, like the HyperX Alloy Origins. You do, though, get a USB 2.0 pass-through port on the back, near the center-mounted main cable, as well as cable routing wells on the underside. This makes the K95 a better option for those who do all of their gaming and typing at a single battlestation. 

Switch Options amd Gaming and Typing Experience 

While other keyboard companies have partnered with switch makers to design their own mechanical switches or experiment with optical and / or analogue actuation tech, Corsair has stuck with tried-and-true Cherry MX switches. Two of the three options –MX Speed and MX Brown– have been upgraded for even greater reliability, with the promise to stand up to 100 million keystrokes. But Corsair sent us the keyboard with clicky MX Blue switches, which are “only” rated to 50 million presses. The difference probably isn’t something you have to worry about unless you’re a young, prolific gamer who plans to hold onto their keyboard for decades.

I prefer Blue switches for typing, which made the K95 RGB Platinum XT excellent for my daily writing and editing tasks. And with a classic design, the K95 felt familiar while gaming. But clicky Blue switches aren’t the best for gaming, and I found myself missing the linear feel of Red switches or the shorter-actuating MX Speed switches while shooting and looting my way through Borderlands 3. If gaming is your main priority, I would definitely steer away from the MX Blue switches, as much as I like them for typing tasks. Those who are interested in switches other than the three Cherry options offered here will have to look elsewhere. 

Software

There are two software programs that you’ll want to install to take full advantage of the Corsair RGB. The company’s iCue software is a robust (if a bit clunky) program that lets you do everything from control the lighting (manually, or via pre-installed or downloadable presets), coordinate your lighting with other compatible Corsair devices, creating macros and manage onboard storage. 

While iCue isn’t the most intuitive piece of software, it lets you do a lot and the company has an active forum where users post hundreds of downloadable lighting profiles. As fun as they are to play with, the most-used feature for me in iCUE is the Instant Lighting setting, which lets you easily choose a single lighting color for all your devices. Handily, black is one of the colors you can choose, which turns off all lighting so you can watch a movie or just get a respite from the blinking RGB rainbow. 

The other software that the keyboard works with is Elgato Stream Deck. Corsair bought Elgato back in mid-2018 and its hardware and software popular among game streamers and YouTubers. So it makes sense that Corsair would integrate support for Stream Deck into its gaming hardware. 

Using Stream Deck software, you can easily program the six dedicated macro keys on the left side of the K95 Platinum XT to perform any number of tasks, from launching common programs and recording clips to performing various chat tasks, changing your in-game voice and so much more. Once again, Elgato’s hardware and software are very popular among gamers, with a robust community busy creating plugins that will let you do just about anything with the press of a button.

In short, while there’s room for improvement, the software that the K95 RGB Platinum XT is designed to work with is second to none. Though you may have to fiddle with things a bit to figure out how to accomplish some specific tasks (particularly with iCUE), there’s a ton of functionality here that lets you do a whole lot with your keyboard. My only real complaint is that it’s a bit clunky to have two separate pieces of software for your keyboard controls. Hopefully in the future Corsair will combine the features of both into one software suite for simplicity’s sake.

Bottom Line

I’ve tested dozens of mechanical keyboards over the years, and tend to keep going back to Corsair’s models when I’m not reviewing something else. I like their look and love the media controls and that luxurious volume wheel. The addition of Double Shot keycaps and a padded wrist rest easily make the K95 RGB Platinum XT the best version yet. And that’s before you consider that Elgato software support could potentially keep you from spending over $100 on a dedicated Stream Deck.

But unless this keyboard will actually save you from making that purchase, $200 is an awful lot to ask for a mechanical keyboard these days, even though this is one of the best there is. If you don’t need all these features, consider one of Corsair’s many more-affordable models. 

And if your keyboard doesn’t spend nearly all its time at the same battlestation, consider HyperX’s excellent Alloy Origins. It’s smaller, lighter, has a removable cable and feels just as premium as this Corsair model at less than half the price (currently around $110). You won’t get the nice dedicated media keys and volume rocker (which, again, I very much like). But you can at least pick up HyperX’s wrist rest for about $15 and still wind up saving about $75 over this model from Corsair. Then again, the K95 RGB Platinum XT is true keyboard luxury, and luxury and affordability rarely arrive in the same box. 

This Beautiful Smartphone Is Like an Affordable Samsung Galaxy S10

Here in the U.S., despite owning smartphone brands including Palm, Blackberry, and Alcatel, TCL is mostly known for making quality TVs with affordable price tags, just like the 6-Series set we recently crowned as one of the best values on the market. But now, with the debut of its 10-series phones, TCL is hoping to bring that same value-minded approach to the smartphone scene.

Back in the fall, TCL hinted that major changes were coming when it announced the Plex, the first phone to feature TCL branding instead of a logo from one of its subsidiaries. But with the 10-Series, TCL is taking things even further, sort of following in Samsung’s footsteps—both strategically and with the designs of its phone—by combining the company’s expertise in making TV displays and then putting them in more pocket-friendly devices.

As for the 10-series line itself, it’s comprised of three phones: the TCL 10L, the TCL 10 Pro, and the TCL 10 5G. And while TCL is refraining from providing a full list of specs for its new phones (TCL is planning to wait until Mobile World Congress in February for a full reveal), there are a number of interesting details we are learning now at CES, with the most notable being that all three phones—including the TCL 10 5G—will start at under $500.

Starting with what will be the most affordable of the three—the TCL 10L—you’re looking at a device with around a 6.2-inch LCD screen, rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, and quadruple rear cameras. At least one of the 10L’s rear cameras is a macro lens, which suggests the other three will probably have some combination of a primary wide-angle lens, one telephoto lens, and one ultra-wide lens. And while that’s about it in the way of concrete info for the 10L for now, that’s not a bad start.

But to me, the most interesting handset of the bunch is the TCL 10 Pro, which looks and feels like an affordable clone of the Galaxy S10, and I mean that in the best way possible. Like the S10, it features a rounded glass body with tapered sides, while the absence of a rear fingerprint sensor suggests it will have an in-display fingerprint built into its screen instead. Also, like the S10, the TCL 10 Pro will come with a high-res AMOLED display instead of an LCD screen, with the main difference being that the TCL 10 Pro will come with a centrally-located notch for its front-facing cam instead of a punch-hole selfie cam like you get on the Galaxy S10. I also have to say, that out of the 10 Pro’s two colors, I find the frosted glass on the dark green model especially fetching.

Finally, there’s the TCL 10 5G, which shares a lot of traits in common with the 10L including its LCD screen, rear cameras, rear fingerprint sensor, and even it’s overall design. Side-by-side, they are actually quite difficult to tell apart until you notice that the 10 5G sports a faint crystal pattern on its back that the 10L doesn’t have. The one confirmed spec we do have for the 10 5G is that it will feature a Snapdragon 7-series 5G chip from Qualcomm.

Aside from the new 10-series, TCL also showed of an updated version of its foldable phone, which has made some serious leaps in the 10 months or so since TCL announced it was working on flexible screen tech. This time, instead of showing off non-functional design mockups, TCL had a working prototype that was honestly quite impressive.

Sporting a dark green paint job with large crystal-like facets, TCL’s foldable concept features a clear familial resemblance with both the TCL 10 Pro and 10 5G. And while its plastic case did creak a bit when opening (hey, its a prototype), inside, its foldable screen looked sharp, colorful, and without really any sort of a crease. It’s a hugely encouraging demo considering TCL says it’s not really in a rush to compete with devices like the Samsung Galaxy Fold or Huawei Mate X, opting instead to let Samsung, Huawei, and others waste money figuring out the best form factor for foldable devices before TCL releases its own.

Meanwhile, when you look outside the 10-series, TCL big-picture strategy is beginning to get a lot more clear, with Alcatel now firmly focused on making budget devices and phones priced at $200 and under, while TCL-branded phones will focus on delivering “premium mid-tier phones in the $200 to $500 range.” This leaves brands like Palm and Blackberry the freedom to continue offering unique, more offbeat devices.

So now, with a new, more defined strategy for its growing portfolio of phones, it feels like TCL is finally combining all of its various resources into a more targeted and cohesive plan, while also trying preserving the same level of quality and value TCL is known for. In theory, the plan makes a lot of sense, now it’s just on TCL to execute.

Nikon’s Coolpix P950 has an improved EVF, 4K and 83x zoom power

Nikon has unveiled the Coolpix P950, a refresh of its popular P900 superzoom. While it doesn’t quite have the incredible 3,000mm equivalent reach of the P1000, it nevertheless delivers 83x zoom power equal to 2,000mm on 35mm cameras. That’s enough to capture a jet plane crossing the moon or the gleam in a bird’s eye for a long distance away.

While it packs the same 16-megapixel 1/2.3-inch sensor as before, the P950 has a much better 2.4-million dot EVF, over double the resolution of the last model. It can also now capture 4K, which will allow you to take much better video from a long ways away. That’ll be ideal for sports or wildlife videography, for example.

You can take photos at up to 7 fps and shoot RAW/JPEG photos in low light up to ISO 6400, as before. It also supports an optional DF-M1 gun-like Dot Sight to help you locate subjects and compose shots from far away. The Coolpix P950 will arrive in February for $800.

Windows 11 is the Microsoft operating system we need!

Windows 10 is a decent operating system now, but it’s had its issues over the years. Early releases spied on users, then in a bid to increase market share, Microsoft began forcing Windows 10 onto people, often against their will.

The twice yearly feature update process has meant we’ve seen rushed, buggy releases screwing up systems too, undermining people’s faith in the OS. Is it time to move away from Windows 10, and start afresh with Windows 11?

Serial concept creator Avdan has given us his vision of Windows 11 in the past, but now there’s a new design from the Hacker 34.

This imagining of Windows 11 gives us a brand new Start menu that Windows 7 users are likely to appreciate. It’s clean, and does away with Windows 10’s tiled design, but not everyone will like the Recommended panel, which suggests other apps people might like to install.

The smaller Action Center meets my approval though, and looks much more modern, as does the updated File Explorer which delivers that most wished for feature — tabs!

Borrowing an idea from smartphones, a new Screen Usage page shows how much time you spend on your PC, fluent design runs across the entire operating system in this concept, and dark mode also darkens your wallpaper.

For the nostalgic, the Hacker 34 also includes an XP mode in his creation, which is a fun addition.