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ASUS ROG Maximus XII Extreme Review

Introduction to ASUS ROG Maximus XII Extreme Specifications

Tenth Gen Intel Core is still one of the best options for gamers and ASUS has some of the best motherboards For this generation, it also has other models that are iconic like the brand, which grow with each generation, as is the case with the ROG Maximus range in its Extreme variant. This is the twelfth generation of a mythical saga and the truth is that this version is undoubtedly at the height of its predecessors. Let’s see what the powerful ASUS ROG Maximus XII Extreme is capable of in this review.

It is true that all motherboards with the same chipset, both this one that costs several hundred euros, and those that cost little more than 160 Euros, they share a large part of the benefits, but it is also true that these exclusive models offer everything that technology can offer for each generation. Today we will see precisely what a motherboard of this type can offer.

Technical characteristics of the ASUS ROG Maximus XII Extreme

Socket: LGA 1200

Chipset: Intel Z 590

Memory: 4x DDR4 DIMMs up to 2280 + MHz XMP 150 GB Maximum.

SATA Storage: 6Gbps RAID 0, 1, 5, 11

PCIe storage: 4xM.2 4800 – 22110 Socket3 PCI Express 4.0 4x

Slots: 2x 18 x PCI Express 3.0, 1xPCI Express 3.0 4x.

Sound DSP: Realtek S 1220

Setting power supply: 17 Infineon phases without multipliers, Digital VRM, EPS 8×2 input

Others: USB 3.2 Gen2x2 connectivity 20 Gbps Type-C, 2xThunderbolt 3 45 GBps, 11 GbE , 2.5GbE, Wifi-6, Bluetooth 5.1

Chipset Z 588 from Intel

The Intel Z chipset 588 has been designed to take advantage of the most expensive processors in the new range, those that have an unlocked multiplier and have been optimized to achieve the best automatic overclocking, also supporting the Intel Performance Maximizer application with Dedicated configurations for this chipset with 10th Gen Intel Core K-series or KF-series processors.

Regarding the new features, we can add to this chipset the support for the direct integration of a first-rate wireless chipset such as the Intel WiFi-6 AX 225 with support for Gig + CNVI (this is how the direct support of Wifi-6 IP by the new Intel processors).

Support is also added for the new chipsets Ethernet 2.5Gbit i 225 from Intel with support for lower speed modes such as Gigabit (1000 mbps) o Fast Ethernet (100 mbps).

Storage connectivity, unfortunately, remains as before, with 8 SATA 6gbps ports with RAID 0, 1, 5 modes and 11. PCI Express connectivity remains at type 3.0 and in terms of storage, which we will have to distribute among the available processor and chipset lines, they support RAID 0, 1 and 5 modes.

The graphic connectivity does not vary either, with support for up to three simultaneous screens that will have to come from the hand of the processors with HD graphics 630 integrated (remember that models finished in F do not have integrated graphics and the board connectors will be useless). Of course this chipset also continues with support for Intel Optane hybrid storage technology.

Regarding the number of PCI Express lanes available, the Z 390 does not add anything about the Z 490 since it keeps the 25 PCI Express 3.0 lanes of the previous generation. The same happens with the communication interface with the processor, which remains at 8GT / s of bandwidth and the same happens with the USB 3.2 support with up to 6 Gen2 ports of up to 11 Gbps of bandwidth. USB connectivity must also be shared with up to 10 5Gbps USB 3.1 Gen1 ports supported by the chipset.

The memory medium allows you to install up to four banks with up to 128 GB of RAM Dual channel (supported by processor) also supports graphics configurations (also supported by processor) of up to three cards with modes 16 x for one card, 8x for two, and 8x + 4x + 4x for three card configurations.

It is not a great improvement, it is clear, and in fact the most important lack is the lack of the PCI Express 4.0 interface that offers improvements not only in terms of connective speed but other features such as allowing the interface full access to the GPU memory.

The TDP of this chipset is kept in the 6w of previous generations which allows Intel to maintain completely passive solutions for chipset cooling under normal conditions, which we will see in almost all motherboards on the market.

Expansion and connectivity

Still With its impressive size this motherboard continues to meet the standards allowed by its processors and chipsets. In fact, what is most surprising about it is that it barely has connectors, not even for graphics cards. It has only three expansion slots, two in size 18 x, but one of them with actual maximum links of 8x. The third slot, above the main one, with a link of only 4x.

How could the plate be otherwise supports SLI and Crossfire and does not base its expandability only on these connectors, it is a marvel in high-speed storage in M.2 PCI Express format, but with the limitation of this platform at PCI Express 3.0 4x speeds per drive.

Like other models of the brand ROG Maximus XII Extreme , this generation comes equipped with a ROG DIMM.2 module capable of storing two M.2 PCI Express drives with up to 4x link and size

. One on each side and with passive heatsinks on each of them.

Under the chipset heatsink, which occupies half a motherboard more like of aesthetics than of real dissipation, we will find two other modules with M.2 socket. Both have a maximum length of 90 mm, the usual, one of them being PCI Express 3.0 4x and the other hybrid mode with the possibility of mounting SATA drives as well.

Shares connectivity with one of the eight SATA ports with RAID type 0, 1, 5 mode and 11 which are located on one of the turned sides 90 degrees for more accessible connectivity.

Regarding USB connectivity, the specifications are quite impressed nantes. In the rear connectors area we can find 1 USB 3.2 Gen2x2 connector of 21 GBps in USB-C format that is accompanied by two Type A connectors with USB 3.2 Gen2x1 connectivity with speed up to 12 Gbps and another one with the same speed, but also in USB-C format.

In this connector panel we will also find 6 5GBps USB 3.2 Gen1 ports in Type-A form factor and two legacy USB 2.0 ports. The front is also perfectly equipped with two Type C connectors with speeds up to 10 Gbps, 4 USB 3.2 Gen1 ports 5GBps type A and four legacy USB 2.0 ports. Without a doubt an impressive equipment.

ASUS includes in this model a connection module Thunderbolt 3 that adds two ports with this connectivity, we will have to use one of the PCI Express ports on the board, preferably the 4x, which will allow us to have two links of up to 40 bidirectional GBps with full support for Displayport, with pass-through cables for dedicated graphics, networking high speed, Thunderbolt 3 device concatenation, load up to 15 w per connector … etc.

No There is graphic connectivity in this model, it is not designed for that. ino to assemble the best graphics on the market. As for the rest of connectivity the numbers are still remarkable.

Wireless connectivity includes a Intel AX chipset 225 with Wifi-6 support and access speeds of up to 2.4Gbps with 2×2 links and support for dual band 2.4 and 5GHz. Supports channels up to 160 Hz, as expected from any Wifi-6 compatible wireless chipset. This chipset adds Bluetooth 5.1 compatibility.

Ethernet connectivity is also of the highest order. On the one hand, a Intel I interface 390 – V up to 2.5GBps to which adds a powerful Marvel AQtion AQC 107 with support for link speeds of until 10 Gbps. Both interfaces support lower speeds such as Gigabit or 100 Mb Ethernet and use RJ wiring 80 traditional.

Among other integrated connectors we can find up to 8 connectors for fans, PWM type, with connectors especially designed for CPU and liquid cooling drive pumps. It also has TPM connectors, two ARGB connectors, a four-pin RGB connector, a jumper for LN2 mode, a front connector for HD-Audio and a long etcetera.

The ASUS pack also includes a connection multiplier for 6 additional fans also accompanied by ARGB connectivity multiplication points . This module can be installed on either side of the box and centralize the control and monitoring capabilities on the motherboard itself.

The ROG Maximus XII Extreme also includes extensive control and monitoring systems on the motherboard itself. From quick access buttons for power on and reset and a monitoring panel mounted between the VRM heatsinks and the chipset cover plate that not only provides boot information but also the status of the system in the form of an OLED screen or through a classic display Two digit POST.

Design and power

The latest generation motherboards, at least the most expensive ones, tend not to look like motherboards using covers of all kinds to camouflage some of their elements main. In the case of this model the effect is undoubtedly achieved and that is also one of the largest motherboards for this chipset that we can find on the market.

Its size is Extended ATX , a format normally used in motherboards for workstations or servers and usually capable of two simultaneous processors. It is large and we must take that into account to mount it in the appropriate box to handle this unusual size in motherboards for desktop systems.

The Maximus XII Extreme is a motherboard base of perfect finishes as we can see in its cover for chipset, in the reduction of connectors for expansion cards and in the perfect location of the rest of the connectors that achieve a clean and modern look that is crowned by large areas of ARGB lighting and that panel OLED displaying information in real time, which ASUS calls LiveDash OLED 2 .

The chipset heatsinks and MosFETs are connected by heatpipes, but they are barely visible, even the solid aluminum heatsinks of the power supply system are hidden between so much well-positioned cover. The design is magnificent and is finished off with elements such as the fixed cover for the rear connector panel or an excellent distribution of each connector, all where they should be, concentrating the management elements such as buttons and switches, positioning SATA and USB connectors to 94 degrees for better management, or concentrating all the fan connectors in the lower area of the board.

The design of this plate also seeks excellent passive cooling and all this load is offset by an aluminum “backplate” that runs along the entire back of the plate. It helps to cool and also to stiffen the base plate, achieving a robustness that is resistant to any load that we are going to connect to it, apart from the one that already comes standard.

The board layout also includes three main lighting zones plus two Aura RGB connectors that we can control from Windows. The system allows us to synchronize any RGB element that we have installed on the computer and is also compatible with many other brands of peripherals, such as Razer.

The power supply of this motherboard is not conventional either. The processor will have two auxiliary connectors of 15 v with up to 720 Amps input capacity , which equates to solutions for processors of many more watts than the 10th generation Intel Core and LGA socket 1200 for which it is designed.

It also has a system of 17 Infineon TDA phases 21490 digit power By being made with top quality materials such as their RDSON resistors that improve efficiency by reducing thermal impact, MicroFine alloy choke coils capable of supporting up to 80 amps per unit or capacitors 11 k Black Metallic made in Japan.

ASUS uses in this model its latest technology in digital power assemblies without implementing duplicators that add latency in response to processor consumption. That is, higher quality components are used to eliminate the need for line duplicators.

Sound

The integrated sound system is also the best that ASUS integrates currently on their best motherboards, from any of the existing platforms. It has a DAC ESS ES 9023 High resolution P with harmonic distortion up to – 94 dB and that accompanies a very solvent DSP, also widely used, such as the Realtek S 1280 with support for 10 channels, 7.1 sound systems and multiple stereo connections for front connectors.

ASUS has also used high-quality components including shift MosFETs built into a separate PCB that enable a system adaptive impedance for any quality of auri culars that we want to connect. The power system also includes gold Nichicon capacitors used in the best high definition sound systems.

ASUS has installed, as usual, a front HD Audio connector and also a rear connector system for 7.1 analog auto-sensing systems, gold-plated and illuminated from the inside to make them easy to locate in the dark. ASUS also integrates an optical-type digital Toslink connector for digital systems.

Bios and Software

Although there are no changes on the aesthetics of the ASUS UEFI system The truth is that the ROG design of this bios is still one of the most functional and attractive on the market. ASUS has delved into overclocking facilities for users who do not want to get complicated and also continues to offer all the customization capabilities that those users who want a more personalized control of memory, processor, storage, etc. can dream of

Automatic overclocking continues working perfectly with tight voltages and good performances and support for high speed memories is excellent with up to 150 GB capacity with speeds up to 4800 MHz dual channel.

ASUS also supports Add to this model, like all its recent models, with the Armory Crate “plug and play” system that allows quick installation, through the internet, of everything the software that ASUS makes available to users as well as allowing bios updates and other updates. This software also allows the control of our system from a single and accessible control panel.

An exceptional motherboard, also in the price

During this CES 2280 we have seen some traces of what Intel is preparing us for this year, including new generations of chipsets and processors, such as spectacular motherboards based on the Z chipset 590 from Intel, such as the exclusive ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Extreme Glacial, the evolution of this model, which can be sold as a limited unit for a price higher than 1800 Euros including an incredible complete liquid cooling system integrated mind.

Be that as it may, this one that we have shown you, the motherboard that has allowed us to reach the 5200 MHz on all cores with Intel Cryo, in fact It is one of the few motherboards recommended by Intel to use this cooling technology below room temperature, it is also a truly exclusive model, with a recommended retail price of 900 Euros that make it one of the most expensive motherboards on the market for this chipset.

It is true that there are not much alternatives better, at least with this level of complexity, accessories and integrated components, although it is also true that we do not need s from a motherboard of 901 Euros like this to enjoy most of the benefits and features offered by 10th generation Intel Core processors.

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Atlas Achromatic cables promise high-end performance to match high-end price

(Image credit: Atlas)

Atlas has expanded its new interconnect and speaker cable range called Achromatic, which means ‘no colour’ – a fitting name for a component designed to carry audio signals without adding colouration.

First up is the Atlas Ailsa Achromatic RCA interconnect (above), which has been “designed from the ground up” and offers an upgrade from the company’s Element, Equator and Hyper cables. The Ailsa Achromatic features PTFE as the dielectric, as used in Atlas’ reference Mavros and Asimi models, and uses OCC copper as its conductor material and high purity OFC copper and copper Mylar foil as the shield. Atlas has also used a new solder-free Achromatic plug and improved both body material (it’s now ABS polymer) and plug contact geometry.

The Ailsa Achromatic is available in many lengths between 0.5m (£250) and 3m (£750).

(Image credit: Atlas)

Next up is the Element Achromatic RCA interconnect (above), the latest iteration of the British firm’s award-winning Element cable. Compared with its predecessor, it has a new foamed polyethylene dielectrics, said to improve bandwidth; increased OCC copper content, reconfigured to reduce inter-strand distortion; and improved cable geometry to stabilise the concentricity along the entirety of the cable. It too benefits from the new Achromatic plug. The Element Achromatic is available in various lengths, from 0.5m (£80) to 3m (£110).

Last but not least is the Hyper Achromatic bi-wire speaker cable (below), which comes into the line-up to replace Atlas’ Hyper bi-wire. The Hyper Achromatic combines solid conductors (for the high frequencies) and stranded conductors (for the low frequencies), both made from OFC copper and complemented by cotton anti-vibration filler. There’s now a foamed polyethylene dielectric, and a new Achromatic Z that has 35 per cent less mass than the previous design, has a body made from “high stability” ABS polymer, and is solder-free and self-cleaning.

(Image credit: Atlas)

The Hyper Achromatic cable comes pre-terminated in lengths between 2m (from £400) and 7m (from £650), however custom lengths are available on request too.

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Antec has given the DF700 FLUX a corrugated mesh front

The FLUX concept should ensure the best possible cooling for new Antec housings. Particularly promising in this regard is the latest FLUX model, the DF 700 FLUX.

Especially with the first model, the DF 600 FLUX, Antec had sabotaged the Airflow claim itself through the restrictive front. Things already looked better in this respect with the DP 502 FLUX. Antec has now given the newest DF 700 FLUX a corrugated mesh front, which gives hope for even better airflow. The look of the midi tower is also characterized by a plaque on the side with lasered Antec lettering and the glass side part on the left. Antec lines up connections and control buttons in the cover. Although two USB 3.0 ports and two audio jacks can be used, USB type C has to be dispensed with.

Antec manufactures the DF 700 FLUX made of steel, plastic and glass. The midi tower is 220 x 486 x 467 mm (W x H x D) and weighs 7.4 kg. It supports a maximum of ATX mainboards, up to 17, 5 cm high CPU cooler and up to 40, 5 cm long graphics cards. There is space for two 2.5 or 3.5 inch drives in the drive cage. The mainboard tray also offers the option of installing one 3.5-inch and three 2.5-inch drives. Antec integrates a distributor for the A-RGB lighting and for 3-pin fans. The lighting can be controlled via an LED button or a suitable mainboard.

The DF 700 FLUX is delivered with five 120 – mm fans. Three A-RGB fans shine through the front grille. The fans for the back wall and power supply cover, however, are not illuminated. As with the other FLUX models, the power supply fan sucks cool air through the perforated steel side panel on the right-hand side and thus cools the expansion cards from below.

Antec does not yet make any at the price of its new FLUX model Information. The price of the DF 700 FLUX is likely to be higher than that of the sibling model DF 600 FLUX. This model is available from around 64 euros.

Review: Bowers and Wilkins 603 S2 Anniversary Edition

Hoera! We are invited to the 25 e anniversary of the 600 series of To celebrate B&W. In our minds, we put on our party hats and sing along to Stevie Wonder as we unpack. We have some work on that, because the 603 is the floorstander in this series. So big and heavy “presents”, which seem a lot less massive once out of the box, even though we have the all-black version for our snuffers.

Depending on your taste and interior, you can also opt for a completely white cabinet finish or the combination of white and oak. The speaker grill / front covers the entire front and is available in black with a black cabinet finish and gray for the white or oak variant. Personally, I have never really been a fan of a white speaker, but with such a chic gray cloth all over the front I think they actually have something secret and a bit stubborn. They make me curious, happy and even a bit greedy.

Once the speakers are in place and the packaging is bonjoured out of the room, it is striking that these pieces of furniture do something with the atmosphere. A straightforward cupboard on the same straightforward plinth that feels like a solid and solid base. The grid is held in place with magnets and they could have been a bit stronger in my opinion. They only need a little push to loosen up and that feels a bit casual. Not super exciting or outspoken in design and styling, but a simple confident presence with a look that they have something to say. But do they have that too?

To find out, we plug them in and give some time to play in. The importer has included the Rotel RA – 1572 as an amplifier and everything comes out of the box brand new so let’s not go too fast with a judgment .

We hear a tight low, a small raw edge in the high and the middle has yet to come loose, but just as easily present in the room are the B&W 603 ‘s easy going too. With these friends we can build parties, turn things upside down, relax on a Sunday afternoon with a cup of tea and just as easily fill in the daily background music at an even lower volume. After a few days of acclimatization, it is as if they have always been there. The first impression is good and we eagerly start a number of listening sessions to hear whether serious interaction is possible with these party boys.

The difference in the source is very clearly noticeable. With the smartphone directly connected to the RA via the USB port – 1572 the Spotify stream (audio quality set to very high of course) does not make it compared with the old-fashioned CD. That is of course logical, but after the necessary CD changes (after all, not all music recordings are of the same quality) I also hear the differences in various types of recordings / productions that can be reflected in the more exclusive and more expensive sets.

For the time being it is nice to listen and time flies. I have a pleasant stereo experience and I hear where the instruments are spatially arranged. With live recordings this gives an extra dimension, but I can also find the roaring of the audience extremely annoying (that is me, not the speakers).

Detailed, neutral, tight low and not tiring to listen to. Response in terms of speed and power are well balanced. I don’t feel the need to mute the bass port with the included foam plugs. That of course also depends on the setup (no side walls in this room) so I also want to take a test to listen to them in another room (with side walls) and also with a different amplifier. Sometimes I keep looking a bit and I can’t quite put my finger on what it is. Ripping guitars remain pure and sound just as raw or heavy as intended. But sometimes there is also a small sharpness or I just miss a clear fresh sparkle and that is emotionally not due to the potential of the speakers.

Very coincidentally, the next set arrived for review in the same room and we borrow the Rotel Michi X3 from it. That is of course not fair at all in terms of price range coordination, but still … Just because it is possible, because we have noticed that these 603 ‘ s being a bit cheeky and because you are allowed more than usual on your birthday.

Connected, switched on and the big mouth is gone. Big eyes of astonishment, arms flapping, feet kicking and a smile from ear to ear. Those little bits that I was still looking for come out with an ease and conviction that can make you completely silent.

We leave the fun moment with the Michi X3 for what it is. We had given ourselves an extra assignment and that says a lot about this Bowers & Wilkins 603 S2 Anniversary Edition. They know how to get you moving in such a way that you want to get to know them all over the place.

Also the “own” NAD M3 in the room with side walls gets along well with these guys. It is immediately noticeable that the bass manifests itself slightly differently, but that was to be expected and is still not disturbing at normal volume. If we go loose and the setup would be permanent, it is worth paying more attention to the placement and we may still need the foam plugs.

In this price category, but also if you have a little more budget, the Bowers & Wilkins 603 S2 Anniversary Edition are certainly worth considering . The set will give you a long listening pleasure, you will want to discover more and more and this is also a nice purchase in terms of amplification-on-the-growth. You don’t have to make a lot of compromises with regard to space and furnishings, they seem to do well everywhere. As mentioned before, they are easy to handle and heavy enough that you don’t tip them over during the big spring cleaning, as long as you take a little care with the front cover. All in all an excellent birthday celebration. We clean up very slowly and also do the dishes before the music turns off!

Review: Goldmund Telos 590 NextGen II Integrated Amplifier / DAC

Thanks to the recent introduction of the high performing and a lot less expensive Goldmund Telos 7 integrated amplifier and the further developments of the Swiss, it is now even possible to use the Telos 590 NextGen even further. In this review we will go into that in more detail, because the ‘590 MkII ‘is an amplifier that you must have heard at work. | Â This review in English? Click here

Enchanting View That impressions can change quickly is proven by the legendary brand name Goldmund. Just a few years ago I only knew the illustrious products of this Swiss manufacturer from hearsay. A situation that fortunately changed during a demo of the fully active Goldmund Satya reproducers in 2018 at PUURavd in Oostzaan. Because what technological know-how, design and inspiring musical reproduction! After the Satyas not much later the top model Telos is 590 NextGen integrated amplifier turn. Not just any amplifier, but one that, to my surprise, was able to convey many of the beautiful, typical Goldmund properties when using other speaker brands. With the recent introduction of the remarkably good performing and a lot less expensive Telos 7 integrated amplifier, it even turned out to be possible to use the Telos 590 NextGen to further improve.

The deviating thinking and working method of the Swiss top brand is well reflected when Robert Brijde from PUURavd on a beautiful summer day the brand new Telos 590 will bring NextGen II. After its honestly minimalist little brother, it is immediately noticeable that the manufacturer is aiming a few steps higher on the audio ladder with this larger top model. That already starts with the beautifully finished housing with 64 cm wide, 44 cm deep and 16, 3 cm high is not only a lot bigger, but with 20 kg also exactly twice as heavy.

However, it should also be noted that this Mk II version is visually very similar to the previous model. Is that bad? Not really, and especially when it concerns such a purposeful manufacturer as Goldmund. In fact, mainly performance-enhancing matters are implemented and meaningless cosmetic finery is preferably omitted. As a result, the only two external features that show that this is the second version are the now integrated mains switch in the mains entrance and two pairs of loudspeaker connections designed by themselves. As far as the latter is concerned, this concerns connectors that are not only considerably larger, but are also made of better materials and can handle more types of cables and connectors upon customer request.

Completely individual approach Before going into the subcutaneous changes, it is important to first consider the design parameters that make this precious integrated amplifier so special and distinctive. A first hint is given when I remove the solid top panel. There I see two 300 VA toroidal transformers surrounded by a series of smaller printed circuit boards with many components in SMD technology. Yet the power at 4 ohms turns out not to be doubled this time, which is also from the specified wattage of 2 x 215 watts at 8 ohms 2x 280 watts at 4 ohms. The reason for this unorthodox mindset is that Goldmund has been aiming for high-speed designs since its inception in 1978. This makes the 590 NextGen II very conscious with only four Mosfets placed close together power transistors equipped per channel. Parts that, together with the rest of the chosen circuit, ensure lower smearing, smaller phase and time errors and the intended very high speed. An important design parameter can be discovered in the sonic enhancements that the latest generation of the Telos NextGen circuit brings. Not only does it express itself in a greatly increased control over the loudspeaker units, but also offers a much higher quality in the micro-dynamic contrasts.

New for the Mk II is the extremely robust â ???? reinforcement bridgeâ ???? positioned in the middle of the housing. A curiosity-stimulating construction, which is so beautiful, solid and including a large polished gold-colored Goldmund logo, that it is almost a shame that it is normally hidden from view.

Although the high finish this invisible place is of course not necessary, there is a very clear idea behind this addition. For example, the power transistors on the previous Telos 590 were not up to Nextgen due to the technical concept in the usual way against the left and right heat sinks but mounted on the bottom plate. The newly chosen construction ensures that the thermal conductivity of the transistors could be improved even further. This robustness also makes a positive contribution to the even better mechanical decoupling. The next and last change relates to the fully integrated mains switch at the rear. This is now also equipped with a specific mains filter which should have a positive contribution to the display quality.

Minimalist but complete Completely in line with the prevailing trend is also the Telos 590 II equipped with a built-in DAC. And although Goldmund unfortunately does not want to disclose any data, this DAC does contain the latest Goldmund Alize D / A converter. A technological tour de force which enables it to transfer data up to 384 kHz / 32 bit in PCM and DSD 64 and 128 to process. When I then go to the deep black rear, I see that in addition to a USB, optical and coaxial connection, the DAC part also has five unbalanced (RCA) inputs for analog sources.

Ten compared to the simpler Telos 7, this top model makes the most visual difference due to its beautifully styled front. It is not only a lot thicker and has various facets and â ???? goldenâ ???? Goldmund logo, but also includes a beautiful amber-colored display. This shows the volume level, source selection and locking of the selected digital source. The whole is finished by a very solid, solid aluminum remote control, with which all functions can be operated. Only two rotary controls are visible on the amplifier itself, with which source selection and volume level can be set. Finally, the four remarkable device feet deserve special mention. This time not the normally commonly used damping rubber specimens, but a wide metal ring with a huge, fortunately not too sharp spike. This consciously creates a hard link with the subsurface and is therefore part of the total design concept. It is therefore advisable to use spike washers to protect softer surfaces.

Preparation As usual with me, the beautiful Telos 590 Deployed NextGen II in all daily high-end testing for a period of several weeks. In practice, this means that the Goldmund regularly replaced the Zanden 6000 tube amplifier and Accuphase E – 800. Besides the Master Contemporary C, the loudspeakers also include the impressively good Estelon YB and Kudos Titan 707 deployed. Sources used are a Grimm MU1 streamer with Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC and the unsurpassed North Star Design T 192 mk II CD transport with the accompanying Extremo DAC. A quartet that has been reinforced for this test by the surprisingly good Aqua Audio La Diva CD transport, LinQ streamer and the La Scala tube DAC. Beyond the trusted cables from AudioQuest (Fire interlink, Dragon Source power cable and Diamond ethernet), Siltech (Royal Signature Empress Crown interlink), Crystal Cable (Dreamline interlink), Nirvana Audio (PC + power cable), Kemp (Reference power cable) and Essential Audio Tools (Current Conductor power cable) is an extra addition this time thanks to the new top cables from Furutech (NanoFlux power cord and AES / EBU) and Siltech (Ruby Mountain II power cord).

Listening Due to the experience gained with the previous Goldmund Telos 590 NextGen and the Telos 7 NextGen, expectations are special from the first moment high tense. Mainly because I now know that Goldmund as a brand has quite a number of unique properties that most competitors are biting their teeth on. That already starts with that typical â ???? played inâ ???? and smooth playback the moment the device is switched even cold out of the box. So here no half hour to an hour waiting time for a device to really start to sound good, but very quickly top. But this time too the real bonus turns out to be that very recognizable Goldmund sound signature. A representation that uniquely blends many positive properties of principles such as class A, electron tubes and fast designs (which are often not class A) into one organic whole in an extremely clever way.

A Goldmund therefore sounds fluent, supple, colorful and musically also beautifully controlled, defined, detailed, transparent and accurate in a natural way. Although the changes between the new Telos 590 and its predecessor are not very big are and I don’t have both versions standing side by side in the listening room, I do think that this last generation has grown further in a number of aspects. Gains have been made especially in aspects such as tonal saturation, refinement and musical grandeur. As a result, a quality and naturalness is achieved that usually only characterizes the really expensive pre and power amplifiers.

Built-in DAC more then simple addition Just like the Telos 7 Nextgen, the 590 NextGen Mk II on a special DAC. These additions usually make amplifiers more versatile and more widely usable, but the quality of a good separate DAC is actually almost always higher. At Goldmund this works slightly differently. It is indeed possible to go even further on points using the (more expensive) top DACs present with me. But in terms of mutual cohesion and musical eloquence, the built-in copy scores remarkably well. For example, timbres are reproduced even more saturated (without fortunately ever turning to dark), there is a very attractive subcutaneous glow over all the music and as a listener you can escape the damned hi-fi feeling in an impressive way. By this I understand that this amp, along with a handful of other designs, is able to disconnect the listener from the reproduction feeling.

So it really comes close to the â ???? real thingâ ???? and that is one of the greatest compliments you can give a product. The stereo image is nicely wide to well beyond the speakers, is capable of reproducing height distinctions and this amplifier is also convincing in terms of depth. Also the fact that the positioning of the stereo image does not move forward or backward when increasing or decreasing the volume Men level says a lot about the balanced concept qualities. In terms of tonal balance, this Telos 590 NextGen II belongs to the slightly warmer and more saturated tuned amps. Call it a light golden glow or the warm white 2700 Kelvin color temperature of a light source. Fortunately, it is anything but a rendering that appears smeared, slow and dark, because this pleasant balance is accompanied â ???? Â and that is quite unique â ???? Â because of an above average high definition, speed, power and musical insight.

MusicÂ Although you seldom hear me discuss classical music by the famous masters (I have heard these melodies so often in many performances that I usually find them less challenging), I would like to make an exception this time. The reason for this turnaround is the latest TRPTK album by (solo) pianist Yukiko Hasegawa. A Japanese beauty who, with her enchanting piano playing and a recording that belongs to the best on piano, will certainly be (very) highly rated with her album Eternal Longing.

Within this 14 numbers containing collage that work of composers such as Beethoven, Franck and Schumann, there are two real peculiarities to report. The first is that a special grand piano by designer Chris Maene is used. The grand piano consists of a design in which all strings are tensioned parallel instead of crosswise (like all modern grand pianos) in the frame. This gives this instrument a different and beautifully full and rich tonal balance, combining softness and maximum feeling while retaining tightness and transparency.

Second, recording & mastering engineer Brendon Heinst of TRPTK this album again in real 32 (!) bit resolution registered in the highest DXD format, with a truly spectacular end result. Because the Goldmund DAC is also able to reproduce this very high format at the same quality, the Chris Maene grand piano is truly lifelike in the listening room. The low registers offer a transparency, sonority and deepening of timbre that I have never heard before on a grand piano. After all, the magic of Yukiko, who lives in the Netherlands, does the rest and that is wonderful in every way. The input of the Goldmund amplifier in this is to pass on the enormous headroom, the finest gradations in intonation and to maintain the enchantment.

Swing blown Of a completely different order is the album Reference Recordings I by the Dutch guitarist Emiel Scholsberg. This live production from 2017 contains wonderfully spontaneous wailing jazz rock in a small line-up. When I start with the super swinging Help The Poor I hear the other side of this Goldmund design very nicely. Sharp guitar riffs, repetitive bass lines, a sultry singing voice and fantastic drums. Together with the audience present, that typically brooding live atmosphere is created that the Telos 707 NextGen Mk II in all its grandeur, power and finesse. The sultry version of My Funny Valentine is the undisputed highlight of this album, in which the slow groove and enormous pulses of the bass drum are synonymous with the almost infinite headroom of this potent amplifier. But the most important of all is that this top Goldmund knows how to bring the right atmosphere to every song in the spotlight from the first second. That seems obvious, but it is not. Versatility is therefore an asset and also unabatedly good with the five analogue inputs. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

Conclusion A very special and pleasantly sober integrated amplifier, where most of the attention has clearly been given to wherever it is should lie. Namely with the unparalleled sound quality. Of course, the device is also super solidly constructed and has no problems in operation. But that typical Goldmund rendering has been raised to the maximum here. Add to that the ability to control just about any speaker without any problem, without any preference for a particular type of music, and it becomes increasingly clear what makes this top high-end amplifier so unique. The only caveat I can make to the end of this test is that people who like a more bare and, for example, highly accented rendering, might experience this Goldmund as too organic and tonally too saturated. But even then, the wonderful cohesion can be experienced as so enchanting and magical that everything else will be instantly forgotten. A future classic in the making.

Goldmund Telos 590 NextGen II

â ?? ¬ 28. 750 | www.puravd.com

Aldi PCs: Inexpensive notebooks for students and home offices

From 28. January 2021 both Aldi Süd and Aldi Nord include two notebooks in their range, which so far only were sold in Northern Germany. The Akoya E 11202 has a price tag of 200 Euro primarily intended for young students who do not need a lot of computing power, but can use a shockproof and waterproof housing. The Akoya E 15408 can handle more complex tasks.

In the Intel- Processor Celeron N 3450 of the Akoya E 11202 only low-clocked Atom CPU cores are used, but at least four of them are used. In addition, there are 4 GB of SDRAM and 64 GB eMMC flash memory, on the manufacturer Medion Windows Home pre-installed in S mode. Users can only upload apps from Microsoft’s Windows Store.

Das 11, 6 inch small TN display poses 1366 × 768 pixels. The Akoya E 7303 weighs just under 1.2 kilograms; the built-in 2-cell battery should last up to eight hours. Under the connections there are three USB ports, including one USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 GBit / s, formerly called USB 3.0) with a Type-C socket.

Medion Akoya E 11202 and E 15048 (18 Pictures) Akoya E 11202 (Image: Medion) 500 – Euro notebook with Ice Lake The Akoya E 15408 has a price tag of 500 Euro much better equipped: The core is a Core i5 – 1035 G4 from Intel CPU family Ice Lake-U – also with four CPU cores, but much faster per core than the Celeron in the 200 – Euro notebook. Manufacturer Medion provides the processor with 8 GByte DDR4 – 2021 – SDRAM in dual-channel (firmly soldered) . Windows 10 Home is on a 256 GByte SATA-6G SSD pre-installed.

The 15, 6 inch IPS display shows 1920 × 1035 Pixel (Full HD), lights up with 250 cd / m² and covers 28 Percentage of the NTSC color space from – no best values, for notebook screens in the 256 – euro price range but common. The display cover is made of aluminum, the rest of the housing is made of plastic. The weight is just under 1.8 kg.

On the connection side are USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type C (5 Gbit / s, formerly called USB 3.0) with charging function and DisplayPort Altmode, USB 2.0 type A, audio combination jack and micro SD card reader included. Monitors can alternatively also be connected via HDMI.

Other notebooks with similar equipment that are available at short notice are occasionally similarly cheap, but quickly go to the 600 Euro to.

(mma)

Android Automotive OS: Does Google Still Give Automakers A Chance?

Android is actually not particularly suitable as an operating system for the telematics unit of the center console, the infotainment system. It boots for ages, it struggles with security problems and the rampant hardware growth has always kept Google on its toes. But the first current and probably all cars in the future rely on virtualization, as in the server area: Individual components run in their own virtual machine (VM), each with their own requirements for security and reliability. A so-called “hypervisor” manages the VMs, all of which share high-performance hardware. In order to become more independent from this, Google uses VirtIO as the standard. And so Alphabet dares to enter the telematics systems, first in the Polestar 2, later with PSA (Opel!) And GM.

Android Automotive OS in the Polestar 2 It took a while due to the high level of interest in this vehicle, but now we were finally able to install the Polestar 2 with Google’s infotainment Try OS. Although the operation differs significantly from smartphones, there are hardly any questions. Android Automotive OS (AAOS) is self-explanatory. At the very bottom there is a home soft button, the home display sorts the display on tiles, everything is very clear. The latency is low, the animations fluid, and what is remarkable: Polestar does not use particularly powerful hardware. 4 GByte RAM, 83 GByte Flash-ROM, quad-core SoC with 2.4 GHz maximum clock and GPU , separate DSP, radio, cooling fan, the box below / behind the TFT does not contain much more. The performance is on the level of a cheap smartphone.

It is all the more remarkable how well it works. The Polestar 2 is one of the most pleasant driving experiences currently available. Nothing tinkles, nothing annoys, and when the driver says “Play me a little Classic Rock from Spotify!”, The assistant plays Classic Rock from Spotify. The only downer of the manageable hardware performance from the user’s point of view: There is no offline language processing. However, since even small bandwidths are sufficient, the question is how much the customer is bothered by the ongoing network expansion. Either way, a very strong competitor, even for many competitors with significantly more powerful hardware.

Android Automotive OS in the Polestar 2 (21 Pictures) Sun the car arrived: large radio station view, large touch-compatible buttons.

(Image: Clemens Gleich) The Play Store Google gives gradually freeing up the Play Store for new AAOS developments, partly overlapping with the well-known Android Auto under the collective name “Android for Cars” and with design guidelines for low-distraction apps. Currently there are mainly apps in the “Media” category: software that plays audio data. Many radio stations have their streaming apps ready for Polestar drivers to install. Not yet unlockable, but in the development phase: navigation apps, parking space search or charging station finder. The selection of apps will therefore grow rapidly. Just imagine: “Calimoto” and “A Better Route Planner” integrated on the center console! That will be tough for Volkswagen, who want to offer a German automotive alternative to the Play Store.

Hardly any car manufacturer will have to ask whether they can do it better (the bitter answer is likely to be most know). The only question that remains is whether Google’s offer is priced right for the vehicle manufacturer. Perhaps Volkswagen could offer the cheaper alternative with Here Maps, which can therefore be a little worse. For me these lines read just as bitterly as for you or any other car German. One thing is certain: there is currently no offer comparable to Android, especially when it comes to the app ecosystem. And it is unlikely that Volkswagen will bring about such an alternative as the Wolfsburg superiors would like.

Android Auto-ready Android is not a typical center console operating system. It takes a long time to get through. It’s notoriously unsafe. And some latency behavior is also better elsewhere (compare the audio latencies of Android with iOS). This contrasts with the many advantages that made the system the leading mobile OS. Fortunately, smart virtualization largely neutralizes Android’s disadvantages.

TechStage | Ikea Symfonisk table lamp in the test: Sonos with lamp

Testing Tests overview Smartphone Motorola Moto G 5G Plus test: A lot of battery for little money Huawei P Smart 2021: Budget model with room for improvement Asus Zenfone 7 Pro: Turbo smartphone with flip camera Samsung Galaxy Xcover Pro in the test: hard but slow Oneplus Nord N 09 5G in the test: Galloped up in price Oppo Find X2 Pro in the test: performance bargain Asus ROG Phone 3 in the test: Perfect gaming smartphone Smartwatch Oppo Watch in the test: Great AMOLED Smartwatch from 221 € Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 in the test: competition for Apple? Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro in the test: Smartwatch with cross-country battery Apple Watch: Smartwatch with contract from 15 € per month Buy Apple Watch 6: All generations in the price check Skagen Falster 3 im Test: Smartwatch with Wear OS Test Huawei Watch GT 2: Noble fitness tracker in watch form Multiroom Ikea Symfonisk table lamp in the Tes t: Sonos with lamp Ikea Symfonisk in the test: Sonos speakers under 100 Euro Bose Portable Home Speaker in the test: battery , WLAN, Airplay 2 Sonos Move in the test: The robust all-rounder Musiccast: Multiroom from Yamaha in the test Denon Heos in the test: versatile multiroom system Flat soundbar Teufel Sounddeck Streaming in the test Keyfinder Tile Slim (2019): Key finder in credit card format Bluetooth key finder Tile Pro in the test: 122 m range! Key finder Tile Pro in the test: the range champion Orbit Bluetooth tracker in the test: looking for wallet and keys Nonda iHere 3.0 : smart key finder under test Chipolo Classic and Plus: Bluetooth key finder under test Musegear finder 2: Keyfinder without mandatory registration Action-Cam DJI Pocket 2 in the test: Zoom and 64 – Megapixel sensor Actioncam Insta 360 One R: 1-inch image sensor in the test Gopro Hero 8 Black in the test: Back to the top Insta 360 One R in the test: The modular action cam Motorola Moto G8 Plus test: Great smartphone, but … Insta 360 Go: Micro-GoPro in the test Motorola One Action Test: Good hardware, bad camera microSD In the test: Kingston UHS-I U3 microSDXC Kit MicroSD card for smartphone: Samsung Evo Plus 2017 Test report: Lexar Professional 1800 x microSDXC Kit Test report: Intenso Premium microSDXC card with 64 GByte Android Sonos Move in the test: The robust all-rounder Honor 19: Inexpensive high-end smartphone in the test Xiaomi Mi 9: Top technology at a bargain price Doogee S 90 in the test: modular outdoor smartphone ZTE Axon 10 Pro in the test: High -End-Phone at a competitive price Motorola Moto G7 Power in the test: large battery, small price Sony Xperia 09: Smartphone with 21: 9 display in the test Adviser Advisor overview Purchase advice The right cordless screwdriver for the home workshop Bargain: Which Fire TV Stick from 19 € is the right one? Purchase advice: What good is a leaf blower with a battery for 45 Euro? True wireless -Headphones: How much do you have to invest? Buying advice water cooling: High-end PCs cool better Adviser: Air conditioning and fan against the heat wave Sony shows the Xperia 1: Is the predecessor XZ3 worth it now? Practice Caution, money away: Kickstarter & Co. are not shops Android -Switch off notifications from annoying apps Here’s how: Install the new Android L keyboard now Tip: Use “Ok Google everywhere” in Germany In the test: Does the Jail break for iOS 7.1? Goderma and mobile medicine: The doctor apps are coming! Instructions: Jailbreak for iOS 7 on iPhone 5S, 5, 4S and 4 Technology Importing technology from China, part 2: Customs , Taxes and tricks Drones & copters: From toys to FPV racers What does the end of an ecosystem mean? Smartphones with a flexible display: What does that bring me ? Smartphone processors at a glance: Everything Snapdragon? Evolutionary dead ends: the very worst cell phones mpass: Pay with the NFC mobile phone – or the NFC toilet roll Display calculator Calculate pixel density, number and display proportion Best list Test winner Price comparison Price comparison overview Smartphones from Android 7.0 Phablets with stylus Fitness tracker with GPS Bluetooth headphones with ANR Drones with GPS Video TechStage Test Ikea Symfonisk table lamp in the test: Sonos with lamp Start Technical data Facility sound price Conclusion Comments Sonos loudspeakers combined with a table lamp, and the Ikea Symfonisk is ready. TechStage tests the multi-room loudspeaker and says who should strike and for whom other Sonos products are worthwhile.

In addition to the simple symphonic Speakers (test report) Ikea has developed a second device with Sonos. The big difference: There is an E on the speaker 14 – version, next to music it also emits light. Nevertheless, the idea is not bad and the price of the Symfonisk table lamp is on par with a Sonos One SL.

We test the network loudspeaker as part of our Multiroom theme world. Not only other tests on Sonos products appeared there, such as the Sonos Arc (test report), the Sonos One (test report) or the battery-powered Sonos Move (test report). We also take a look at other multiroom systems there, such as Denon Heos (test report), Yamaha Musiccast (test report), Teufel Raumfeld (test report) or speakers that connect directly via Spotify Connect.

Design and technical data The symfonisk light consists of three parts: A wide, plate-like base with the three control elements volume up, volume down and start / pause. The loudspeaker sits on top of it in a cylindrical shape, which is interrupted by the rotary switch for the light on the side. Finally, at the top is the lampshade. It has a broad base and tapers towards the top, reminiscent of a classic floor lamp. The lamp takes bulbs with an E 13 – socket with a maximum of 7W. This makes it bright enough to be used as a reading lamp. Opinions are likely to differ on design. In the editorial team and among friends, opinion fluctuates between “cool” and “looks like a toilet paper holder”. However, the device does its job well, both as a lamp and as a loudspeaker.

Left the Symfonisk light, right the Symfonisk loudspeaker. It is important to know that the lighting function is completely separated from the Sonos and Multiroom features. The audio is played back in the classic way via the Sonos app for Android, iOS, Windows or Mac OS. The lamp can be switched on or off using the rotary switch on the side. Smart functions or automatisms for light are missing. However, this can be retrofitted with smart lamps.

On the back, next to the power connection, is the typical Sonos network connector, but in most cases you will probably use the WLAN for access to the network use.

Setup and Sonos integration As with the Symfonisk loudspeaker, there is a complete Sonos system in the multiroom lamp from Ikea . In other words, the luminaire can be completely controlled via the Sonos app and is compatible with all of the manufacturer’s other products. Whether as a multiroom group, as a stereo pair or in combination with a soundbar, on the app side there is no difference between Sonos directly from the manufacturer and Sonos from Ikea.

The setup is accordingly simple. In the Sonos app, go to “Add system” via the settings and then follow the instructions in the app. It’s easy and done in a few minutes. Then you can choose the name and / or the location. If available, a firmware update will be installed.

The buttons for the typical Sonos commands are on the wide coaster. sound The sound body of the Symfonisk lamp creates a surprisingly good sound, especially in the bass range. Here the Symfonisk lamp even creates a little more bass than the comparable Sonos One SL. However, it lacks protection against splash water or the Alexa microphones of the Sonos One (test report). Still, the sound is very good, as you would expect from a Sonos device. In other words, streaming is not a problem, but anyone who prefers to listen to vinyl or is one of the particularly audiophiles will have to resort to another solution.

In addition, there is an equalizer in the apps for Android and iPhone, with which you can, for example, turn down the bass a little. Users of iPhone and iPad or other Sonos products such as the Sonos Arc (test report) can also use the Trueplay features to automatically measure the loudspeaker. This is particularly useful if you use the lights as back speakers for the Sonos soundbars to transform the virtual 5.1 into real surround sound.

Ikea Symfonisk table lamp (6 pictures) The Ikea Symfonisk table lamp combines Sonos speakers with a lamp.

Price The Sonos Symfonisk table lamp is available in two versions: one in white and gray, one in black.

Ikea Symfonisk table lamp , White

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Ikea loudspeaker, white

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Conclusion Unlike the Symfonisk speakers, the Symfonisk table lamp has direct competition in the Sonos One SL, both cost about 181 Euro. Accordingly, you have to decide what you want. The Symfonisk table lamp is significantly larger than the loudspeaker, but has the great advantage that, thanks to its light, it is not only a loudspeaker but also a piece of furniture. If you want that, you can get a good table lamp with a very good multiroom speaker and one of the best apps for control.

If you are looking for a cheaper Sonos speaker, we definitely recommend the Symfonisk speaker (test report), which is less than 100 Euro costs. Otherwise, we recommend taking a look at the guide to multiroom systems: Sound in every room.

Permalink: https://techstage.de/-5025898

Flashback: the original Samsung Galaxy S was a best-seller that spawned an empire

We’ve covered the Galaxy S II and Galaxy S III in previous Flashback articles, but now it’s time for the original – the one that started it all. Well, ther was the I7500 Galaxy after which almost all of Samsung’s Android phones are named, but we mean the original S-series phone.

The Samsung Galaxy S (I9000 if you want to compare model numbers) was announced in March 2010. Yes, the S series are over a decade old now. The phone became available in June of that year and would reach a total of 10 million units sold by January 2011. 4 million of those were sold in North America (more on that later) and 2.5 million went to Europe.

Samsung I9000 Galaxy S

The S-phone popularized Samsung’s Super AMOLED panel, though it was not the first to use them. That honor goes to the Wave, a Bada-powered phone. Samsung hoped that the Wave series would sell millions of units too, the company was used to juggling multiple OSes. But Androids explosive growth quickly put an end to Bada, Symbian, Windows Mobile and other lines.

Back to the screen – it was a 4.0” panel with 480 x 800 px resolution, using the PenTile arrangement (two sub-pixels per pixel, not three). It was arguably the most impressive screen we had seen until then.

The Samsung I9000 Galaxy S compared with the iPhone and the LG BL40 Chocolate

The panel was laminated to the Gorilla Glass protective layer, so the image almost appeared to float on the top of the glass – most phones back then had an air gap between the screen and glass (sometimes plastic). Also, the contrast of AMOLED made the image pop, it had a clear advantage over the LCDs of the day.

At 9.9 mm thick, the Galaxy S was marketed as the thinnest Android smartphone in the world, a title that would be claimed by its successor, the S II, the following year.

The phone was powered by the Hummingbird S5PC110 chipset, later renamed Exynos 3 Single 3110. This was the first-ever Exynos chip and it was co-developed with Intrinsity, a company that specialized in high performance CPU design (Intrinsity was snatched up by Apple in 2010, shortly after the phone was announced).

The chipset featured a single-core Cortex-A8 CPU running at 1.0GHz (up to 1.4GHz in some variants). It was paired with 512MB of RAM and 8GB storage (with a 16GB option). Also, microSD cards up to 32GB were supported.

This was important as the Galaxy S was one of the best multimedia devices of its day. It was the first Android to be certified for DivX HD viewing (remember the DivX video codec?). Of course, the AMOLED display made for an awesome experience with its high contrast and saturated colors.

The phone also had a 3.5mm headphone jack with a Wolfson WM8994 DAC and, as we noted in our review, the audio quality was excellent.

The Galaxy S launched with Android 2.1 Eclair, which was skinned with TouchWiz 3.0. That’s right, version 3.0. Samsung started the TouchWiz project several years prior in an attempt to unify the touch interfaces of its phones that ran Windows Mobile, Symbian and even featurephone OSes (including the Jet and others). Like we said, at the time Samsung preferred not to be tied down to a single operating system.

The TouchWiz 3.0 user interface comes preinstalled on top of the Android OS

Anyway, the phone was officially updated to 2.3 Gingerbread. It never got 4.0 and later Androids with the official explanation being “not enough RAM”. However, with millions of units sold, this was a popular target for custom ROMs. If you take a peek at the XDA forums you’ll see some surprisingly recent posts. It seems that the latest version that you can get running on the I9000 is 7.1 Nougat.

The phone was equipped with 5MP camera on the back, which was pretty bare-bones. There was no LED flash, never mind a hardware shutter key. The photos it produced weren’t the best either (noisy and underexposed). On the plus side, the phone did record 720p video at 30 fps, which was no small feat back then. For comparison, the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD only got up to 24fps.

Samsung I9000 Galaxy S camera samples

We promised more detail on the Galaxy S in the North American market and, oh boy, there’s a lot to cover. The I9000 served as a basis for all kinds of variations, it seems that every carrier wanted its own version of the phone. Some of these only switched up the supported 3G band bands to fit the carrier’s network.

Then there were the likes of i897 Captivate for AT&T and later the i927 Captivate Glide, which packed a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Or the I997 Infuse 4G also for AT&T. Note: it’s a 3G phone, never mind the deceptive marketing. The same goes for the Galaxy S 4G T959 for T-Mobile (aka Vibrant). It was a weird period in time when carriers started calling HSPA+ “4G” (they did much the same with LTE-A and “5G”).

Samsung i897 Captivate • Samsung i927 Captivate Glide • Samsung I997 Infuse 4G • Galaxy S 4G T959

The Epic 4G for Sprint was also a 3G phone, though the CDMA kind of 3G this time (this version had a keyboard). Verizon and US Cellular received CDMA versions as well, e.g. the Fascinate and Mesmerize i500. Samsung did create some honest to goodness 4G (LTE) models in 2011, ones like the Droid Charge I510 and I405 Stratosphere for Verizon – the former out a keyboard, the latter with.

It’s not just LTE, the Droid Charge also borrowed the larger 4.3” Super AMOLED Plus display of the Galaxy S II (which had a full RGB stripe instead of a PenTile matrix). Also, the camera was upgraded to 8MP, though the phone kept the original Exynos chip so no 1080p video recording.

Samsung Epic 4G • Samsung Fascinate • Samsung Droid Charge I510 • Samsung I405 Stratosphere

We’ll quickly go over a few other notable variations of the Galaxy S. On one end of the spectrum was the I9003 Galaxy SL. The goal with this one was to create a low-cost version of the highly popular device. This led Samsung to switch the display to an SC-LCD panel and the chipset to a TI OMAP 3630. Also, RAM and storage capacities were reduced.

Samsung I9003 Galaxy SL

On another end was the I9001 Galaxy S Plus, a fancier version of the phone (though not as good as the Charge). This one kept the Super AMOLED display and got an upgraded chipset – a Snapdragon S2 with a 1.4 GHz Scorpion core and Adreno 205 graphics (replacing the PowerVR SGX540 GPU). Performance was a mixed bag (check out the benchmarks in our review) with Snapdragon’s CPU being much faster, while its GPU lagged significantly behind.

Samsung I9001 Galaxy S Plus

Earlier this week Samsung launched the Galaxy S21 series, the 12th generation of S-phones. They still use Super AMOLED displays and (some of them) are powered by Exynos chipsets, though both are much improved from what was back then. No more TouchWiz, though, that was supplanted by One UI (and for the better, many would say).

Alienware AW2521H 360Hz Monitor Review: Motion Blur Be Gone

Our Verdict

Though priced at the premium level, the Alienware AW2521H delivers something almost no other monitor can: 360 Hz with a 3 ms screen draw time. That means there’s no motion blur, period. If you have an equally premium gaming PC to go with it, you can’t get better performance from any other display that doesn’t run at 360 Hz.

For

Fastest refresh rate you can get
Nvidia Reflex performance analyzer
Excellent HDR
AlienFX RGB
Low input lag
Usable ULMB

Against

Average SDR contrast
No FreeSync
Expensive

Go to page:

Features and Specifications

Is the best gaming monitor about resolution, color saturation, contrast or speed? If you picked speed, then a 360 Hz monitor is for you. The 360 Hz refresh rate is the current pinnacle of smooth response and the lowest available input lag.

LCD technology has spent its entire life working to overcome one major flaw, motion blur. Because each frame remains on the screen while the next one is drawn, it has been termed “sample and hold.” Self-illuminant panels, like plasma and OLED, redraw the image hundreds of times per refresh cycle, which means there is no blur, even at frame rates as low as 60 fps.

LCD has two ways to combat this, higher refresh rates and backlight strobing. Better known as ULMB (ultra low motion blur), backlight strobing inserts black frames in order to mimic the action of OLED and plasma. It is effective but it reduces brightness and, in most cases, prevents the use of FreeSync or G-Sync. The better option is to raise the refresh rate and that’s exactly what the Alienware AW2521H does. Running at 360 Hz, it not only eliminates motion blur, it delivers super low input lag.

(Image credit: Dell)

Alienware AW2521H Specs

Panel Type / Backlight	IPS / W-LED, edge array
Screen Size / Aspect Ratio	25 inches / 16:9
Max Resolution & Refresh Rate	1920 x 1080 @ 360 Hz
	G-Sync: 48-360 Hz
Native Color Depth & Gamut	8-bit / sRGB
	HDR10
	DisplayHDR 400
Response Time (GTG)	1 ms
Brightness (mfr)	400 nits
Contrast (mfr)	1,000:1
Speakers	None
Video Inputs	1x DisplayPort 1.4
	2x HDMI 2.0
Audio	3.5mm headphone output
	3.5mm line output
USB 3.2	1x up, 4x down
Power Consumption	21w, brightness @ 200 nits
Panel Dimensions (WxHxD w/base)	21.9 x 15.5-20.5 x 9.9 inches (556 x 394-521 x 251mm)
Panel Thickness	2.9 inches (73.7mm)
Bezel Width	Top/sides: 0.3 inch (7mm)
	Bottom: 0.6 inch (15mm)
Bottom: 0.6 inch (15mm)	10 pounds (4.6kg)
Warranty	3 years

Fast flat panels used to rely on TN technology for their speed, but that is no more. Now, we have fast IPS, which brings back good viewing angles and better color saturation. The AW2521H uses one of these, along with a white LED edge-array backlight. HDR10 signals are supported with an effective dynamic contrast feature that broadens dynamic range to almost 8000:1 for HDR using a variable backlight option.

Video processing is cutting edge, of course, with 360 Hz and G-Sync. There is no FreeSync support, which is a bit unusual in today’s market. The AW2521H also includes ULMB up to 240 Hz. It won’t work in concert with G-Sync but does make a visible difference in motion resolution. Alienware makes a 240 Hz FreeSync version of this monitor, the AW2521HF.

Assembly and Accessories of Alienware AW2521H

You’ll notice the gold-plated contacts in the stand when snapping it onto the panel. That enables the lighting. You can still use an aftermarket arm with the included 100mm VESA mount if you wish. The cable bundle includes two DisplayPorts, one with a mini connector, and a USB 3.0 wire. The power supply is internal and fed by an IEC power cord. You also get a snap on cover to tidy up the input panel.

Alienware AW2521H: Product 360

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(Image credit: Dell)

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(Image credit: Dell)

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(Image credit: Dell)

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(Image credit: Dell)

Because it is a premium monitor, we expect top-level build quality and a long feature list. The Alienware AW2521H has both. Not only is the AW2521H well-made, it has a glowing Alienware logo on the back and a long LED bar on the stand that mimics the shape seen on Alienware’s gaming PCs.

The AW2521H features the same small bezel look as most of today’s gaming monitors. The bezel is visible when the power’s on, but is only 7mm wide at the top and sides. The bottom trim is 15mm wide and features the Alienware logo and a label proudly announcing “360 Hz.” A tiny LED at the lower right glows white and doubles as the power button. Behind the right edge are four more keys and an on-screen display (OSD) joystick. They click like a high-end monitor should and make short work of menu navigation and control. On the panel’s top edge is an ambient light sensor. Turning it on allows the image to vary in brightness with your room’s lighting.

Styling is minimalist but distinctly Alienware. The long oval shape is a theme that appears on the back of the upright, ringed by LEDs. You’ll see the same element on an Alienware gaming PC which we currently have in the lab. The RGB is coordinated once you make a USB connection and is controllable in the OSD and by the Alienware Command Center app using AlienFX. You can set different colors and effects for particular games or just to your liking.

The stand is of high quality and offers a 5 inch height adjustment along with 20 degree swivel left and right, 5/21 degrees of tilt and a 90 degree portrait mode. Inside the upright, visible from the front, is a convenient graduated number scale so you can remember your height setting when moving the AW2521H from place to place.

The input panel is recessed deeply underneath, so much so that cables with large connectors will be difficult to use. Luckily, two of the USB ports and the headphone jack are under the panel edge in a more accessible position. Video inputs include two HDMI 2.0, limited to 240 Hz, and a DisplayPort 1.4, which is the one to use for G-Sync and 360 Hz (see our DisplayPort vs HDMI article for more). You also get two more USB 3.2 downstream ports and an upstream, for a total of one up and four down.

There’s a second 3.5mm jack for external audio but no internal speakers in the AW2521H.

OSD Features of Alienware AW2521H

The AW2521H’s OSD is extensive and features everything needed for performance-oriented gaming.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

There are nine picture presets, mostly game-type specific, three gaming modes and Custom Color if you want to calibrate grayscale. The gaming modes allow changes to color saturation only and let you set different overdrive speeds depending on game type. Performance Tip: use the Fast overdrive setting for everything; it works the best.

Game Enhance mode includes a frame counter, countdown timers and multi-screen alignment marks but no aiming points. Response time is the overdrive control. Again, we suggest you use Fast for best results. Dark Stabilizer raises the black level to make shadow detail more visible. And Variable Backlight is an effective dynamic contrast feature. It has three modes, and Mode 0 is the most responsive. Each higher level delivers the same dynamic range but at a slower rate of change.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The AlienFX Lighting menu lets you change color, brightness and effect for the upright and panel’s LEDs. You can also create custom scenarios linked to specific games in the Alienware Command Center app.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The G-Sync Processor menu accesses the Nvidia Reflex Latency Analyzer, which shows control lag in real time in an on-screen window. It requires a USB connection and that you plug your mouse into the special USB port on the panel’s bottom edge.

ULMB is the backlight strobe feature that reduces motion blur. You’ll have to turn off G-Sync and reduce the refresh rate to 240 Hz to use it. It automatically sets the brightness to 100% to compensate for the loss in light output. Equalizing the brightness setting showed us a 12% reduction when starting at 200 nits. But if you max the backlight with G-Sync, it’s 48% dimmer with ULMB, so the change isn’t constant. With independent brightness settings though, it’s easy to equalize the output level, as long as you don’t want more than 238 nits.

Alienware AW2521H Calibration Settings

There are two ways to calibrate the AW2521H. In the three Game modes, color saturation controls are available, but there are no gamma or grayscale adjustments. The better choice is Custom color, where there are RGB sliders but no gamma options. We achieved accurate color with this option for both SDR and HDR content. Our recommended settings are below.

Picture Mode	Custom Color
Brightness 200 nits	73
Brightness 120 nits	37
Brightness 100 nits	29
Brightness 80 nits	20
Brightness 50 nits	7 (min. 39 nits)
Contrast	75
Color Temp User	Red 100, Green 99, Blue 90

When an HDR10 signal is detected, the AW2521H switches over automatically. You can still adjust the RGB sliders in Custom Color mode, but we were able to use our SDR settings for HDR.

Gaming & Hands-on with Alienware AW2521H

The AW2521H also includes Nvidia’s Reflex performance analyzer that shows real time information on screen with input lag and frame rates and is said to help reduce input latency (for more see Nvidia Reflex tested).

Though its focus is premium gaming, the AW2521H is a decent all-around monitor for everyday use. At 25 inches, its 1080p resolution provides enough pixel density to render small fonts and fine details well. An extra bit of sRGB gamut volume means bright and vibrant color for photo editing or video watching. The IPS screen provides decent viewing angles with little color shift or light reduction when viewed up to 45 degrees off center.

We engaged the variable backlight feature on Mode 0 for a little extra SDR contrast. Black levels aren’t all that deep, so shadow areas looked more like dark gray. It’s not that different than typical IPS screens in this regard.

Quickly we noticed how smooth any kind of motion looked. 360 Hz is seriously fast, and even just moving dialog boxes around the desktop looked almost other-worldly. Indeed, the difference between 240 Hz and 360 Hz can be seen with casual observation.

ULMB reduces brightness by around 12% if you start at 200 nits. Brightness can be raised to compensate. It only works up to 240 Hz, but it really makes a visible improvement to motion resolution. We thought there was no blur when watching BlurBusters test patterns at 360 Hz, but engaging ULMB at 240 Hz made it look even smoother. That means that if you don’t care about G-Sync, it’s actually better to do 240 Hz with ULMB than 360 Hz. It’s a shame ULMB can’t be used with G-Sync. But at 240 fps, tearing is barely noticeable, so some users might prefer to use ULMB.

For SDR gaming, we played a few hours of Tomb Raider. We left the variable backlight on Mode 0, which upped contrast slightly. Color was rich and saturated with natural hues, but shadows were still more gray than black. The AW2521H is reasonably accurate without calibration but our adjustments (see our calibration settings on page 1) are well worth doing, since they make a visible improvement.

Motion processing is simply the best there around. However, we saw no advantage to the AW2521H over the Asus ROG Swift PG259QN 360Hz monitor. Overall, response is on another level, and motion clarity is superior to any 240 Hz screen we’ve encountered. G-Sync worked perfectly as we often hit the 360 Hz maximum, thanks to the GeForce RTX 3090 graphics card in our Alienware gaming PC.

We enjoyed the same experience in Call of Duty WWII, which definitely looked better with HDR engaged. There was more pop and sharper detail in both highlight and shadow areas of the image. HDR processing cost us about 20 fps, but the game still hit 360 fps on occasion. Playing at 300 fps most of the time was no burden. Gameplay this responsive and smooth is truly addictive.

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Corsair 5000, even more room for high-end configurations

Corsair unveiled three new houses – 5000 D, 5000 D Airflow and iCUE 5000 X RGB – for those who love the design of the series models 4000 but needs more space, both for high-end hardware and for mounting a custom liquid system.

by Manolo De Agostini published 16 January 2021 , at 15: 31 in the Peripherals channel

Corsair

Corsair has expanded the offering by mid-tower ATX case with new series 5000 , composed of three models that take the name of Corsair 5000 D, 5000 D Airflow and iCUE 5000 X RGB . This is a larger range than the series 4000 (here the review of the iCUE 4000 X RGB), in fact it passes from 453 x 230 x 466 mm a 520 x 245 x 520 mm in order to accommodate larger hardware but also custom liquid systems . The design, on the other hand, is the same, with a different front depending on the model.

All Corsair series cases 5000 are made of steel, tempered glass plastic, have seven slots for additional cards to which are added two slots for the mounting a card vertically . In terms of storage space, two 3.5-inch, four 2.5-inch drives can be mounted , video cards up to 420 mm long and CPU coolers up to 170 mm.

The houses can accommodate up to two radiators of 360 mm, a maximum of 10 fans from 120 mm or 4 of 140 mm and ATX power supplies with a length up to 225 mm. All homes share the new RapidRoute cable management system, which allows you to create an elegant and orderly, and route the main cables through a large hidden opening for optimal connection to the motherboard. The houses also boast 25 mm of space behind the motherboard to hide the cables from view, a removable compartment to cover the power supply, numerous cable glands and a dedicated vertical cable routing channel.

versions 5000 D and 5000 D AIRFLOW are equipped with two fans from 25 mm with Corsair AirGuide technology, while the 5000 X RGB model raises the bar with three SP fans 120 RGB ELITE AirGuide included in supplied, each of which includes eight individually adjustable RGB LEDs that can be managed via the included iCUE Lighting Node CORE controller and CORSAIR iCUE software.

On the front panel there is one USB 3.1 Type C port, two USB 3.0 and one combo jack for audio and microphone or. I Corsair case 5000 D, 5000 D AIRFLOW and iCUE 5000 X RGB are covered by a two-year warranty and available in black and white: according to the Corsair website, the first two models mentioned cost 155 approximately euro , while the third costs 190 EUR.

Follow us on our Instagram channel, lots of news coming soon !

Castel Del Monte becomes a 3D museum thanks to Microsoft, Hevolus and Infratel

The Apulian UNESCO heritage site officially becomes a “HoloMuseum”, which can be visited both on site and remotely. The project saw the collaboration of Microsoft and the Ministry of Economic Development who made this innovative digital and cultural experience possible

of Lorenzo Tirotta published on 15 January 2021 , at 21: 11 in the Technology channel

Microsoft

In a period of severe restrictions and social distancing, the use of digital has grown exponential in many sectors, especially in the artistic and cultural one. Digital museums and multimedia exhibitions have portrayed and told the peculiarities of the most famous and well-known works in the world. Digitization does not replace the possibility of having to itself the original work but rather it offers an additional and innovative experience , with the aim of promoting the artistic and cultural heritage in an alternative way and making it even more accessible . The latest site to enter the multimedia world is Castel Del Monte , a famous medieval fortress of the thirteenth century commissioned by Frederick II of Swabia. The castle is located inside the Alta Murgia National Park , between the province of Bari and BAT (Barletta, Andria, Trani). The site has become a digital HoloMuseum that can be visited both on site or remotely through mobile devices such as smartphones or PCs, through the oleographic computer HoloLens 2 from Microsoft. The project saw the collaboration of Hevolus Innovation, Infratel and Microsoft which has made available its advanced technologies of Cloud Computing , Artificial intelligence and Mixed Reality to make the realization possible multimedia site.

?? The project carried out for Castel del Monte is the demonstration of how new technologies – AI, Cloud Computing and Mixed Reality ?? strategic levers are important for the growth and innovation of this sector and in general for the enhancement of our artistic and cultural heritage. In fact, a digital transformation process such as this, on the one hand, generates new opportunities for relaunching the territory, in a complex moment where tourism and the cultural sector are severely tested by the health emergency, on the other hand new digital tools allow people to live extraordinary museum experiences and acquire new knowledge through innovative and engaging ways of using them, bringing them even closer to the culture of our country? declared Silvia Candiani, Director Delegate of Microsoft Italy.

Holograms, interviews and multimedia contents, here is the experience of the digital museum

The union between culture and technology represents an important lever for the promotion and revitalization of the natural and artistic heritage, where the tourism and culture sector are severely tested by the health emergency. When the museums reopen, the octagonal fortress can be visited on site in phygital mode . The mode is activated through a dedicated application called MVRGA (Android and iOS), where the user interacts directly with the 3D avatar of Frederick II of Swabia that will accompany the visitor in the various stages of the museum. Along the way you will encounter audio-visual contents on the history of the castle and real interviews with art critics on the different architectural components of the site.

?? From the point of view of tourism, culture has extraordinary power ?? comments Antonella La Notte, CEO of Hevolus Innovation . ?? So we created HoloMuseum, a concept of a phygital museum, which makes the traditional exhibition context evolve into a hybrid exhibition environment by making the world coexist physical and virtual digital content: thanks to Microsoft Extended Reality XR, Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Computing technologies, visiting a museum or an exhibition can become an amplified, immersive, highly engaging, immediate and interactive experience ??.

All this was possible thanks to a desired collaboration between public institutions, large companies and innovative start-ups such as Hevolus Innovation. In fact, the initiative is part of the project Piazza Wi-Fi Italia , signed between the Ministry of Economic Development, the Puglia Region, the Alta Murgia National Park and Infratel Italia with the aim of create new areas of free Wi-Fi access by installing an internet point near places of cultural interest.

Follow us on our Instagram channel, lots of news coming !

Creative SXFI Gamer Review – Battle Mode almost Feels Like Cheating

Introduction

Recently, we reviewed the Creative SXFI Air, Creative’s $99 Bluetooth and USB headphone with built-in Super X-Fi holographic audio technology and a host of other interesting features. The SXFI Air headphone is a lot of things, but not a serious gaming headset. That’s exactly where the $130/€130 Creative SXFI Gamer steps in. Offering USB-C, USB Type-A and 3.5-mm analogue connectivity, as well as the outstanding CommanderMic microphone, the SXFI Gamer is currently one of the most interesting USB gaming headsets on the market.

We already covered the Super X-Fi technology extensively in the aforementioned SXFI Air review, after our hands-on session at CES, as well as our Creative Sound Blaster X3 and Creative SXFI Amp reviews. In essence, it’s a combination of hardware (the built-in Super X-Fi ULTRA DSP) and software (head/ear mapping mobile app) working together to create a multi-speaker listening experience. While not all users like it equally, it’s undoubtedly one of the most advanced virtual surround sound systems available today. On the Creative SXFI Gamer headset, it’s backed up with an additional Battle Mode especially tailored around first-person shooters. There’s a lot to unwrap, so let’s get cracking!

Specifications

50-mm dynamic drivers (neodymium magnet)

20–20,000 Hz frequency response (specified by the manufacturer)

Wired USB-C, USB Type-A and 3.5-mm analogue connectivity

Closed-back, over-ear design

Detachable CommanderMic microphone

Super X-Fi holographic sound technology

RGB lighting system

Removable ear pads

Built-in volume dial/microphone mute button/Super X-Fi toggle/RGB toggle

1.85 m Kevlar-braided USB-C cable (detachable)

1.6 m braided 3.5-mm audio cable (detachable)

Weight: 349 g

Google will address Pixel 4A 5G touchscreen woes in February update

Google says it’s aware of a problem with Pixel 4A 5G touchscreens and will address the issue in its February security update. Some devices are failing to respond consistently to taps on the lower part of the screen, which is particularly impacting folks who have opted for three-button navigation rather than swipes. Android Police spotted complaints from 4A 5G owners experiencing the issue, which seems to have cropped up after the December security patch was released.

Google’s response comes courtesy of a Pixel support forum post, which was recently updated with the February patch timing. In the meantime, Google advises users to work around the issue with some specific instructions on tapping navigation controls.

1. When tapping icons on the edge of the screen, tap the center of the button or the side of the button/icon furthest away from the edge of the display.

2. When tapping icons, including the navigation buttons on the bottom of your screen, use the tip of your finger or thumb instead. This will help improve touch recognition.

It’s not an easy task to try and consciously change the way you do something like tap a button on your phone screen, so hopefully Pixel 4A 5G users will only have to attempt these awkward workarounds for a little while longer.

Google’s January patch did address a raft of other Pixel 4A 5G bugs and quirks with the security update. So while the touchscreen issue persists, at least an audio bug that was causing crackling sounds in some situations is no longer a problem.

Update January 15th, 2:10PM ET: Google has now confirmed that its February security update will include a fix for the touchscreen issue.

Notebook without frames? Samsung puts the webcam under the display

Samsun anticipated with a teaser on a social in China the next innovation for laptop design: the webcam under the display, a novelty that could almost eliminate the frames.

by Manolo De Agostini published 15 January 2021 , at 19: 31 in the Portable channel

Samsung

Samsung Display is working to create almost bezel-less laptop panels , with the webcam “under the screen” . The South Korean company anticipated this innovation – which we will also see on smartphones – on the Chinese social network Weibo.

UPC (Under Panel Camera) technology, commercially called Samsung Blade Bezel , allows you to make laptops with OLED screens and very thin, almost invisible frames , without notebook manufacturers being forced to place the webcam in other positions. Dell has in the past placed the webcam in the bottom bezel, an unfortunate location, while Huawei has chosen to insert it into the keyboard on the MateBook X Pro.

A lot of information on this technology is currently lacking, for example we do not know the resolution of the webcam and the impact of its position on the shot in relation to a traditional webcam or the quality of the image in the portion of the display that surmounts the webcam. These are all unknowns that will have to be verified by a direct test.

Wow ⊙∀⊙! Samsung Display reveals its under-Display camera technology for the first time, which will be used for OLED notebook screens first pic.twitter.com/Fu4Ublvsru

?? Ice universe (@UniverseIce) January 14, 2021

The quality of the webcam is not a I’ve been waiting for a while, especially if we think of the current period where smart working and distance learning require a good level audio – video sector. We will see, but certainly it could be a further step towards making devices more compact and beautiful to look at, and certainly no one can be sorry.

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