The second day of E3 2021 has been busy with Xbox and Bethesda’s joint conference followed by Square Enix’s showcase, but plenty more game announcements came from the PC Gaming Show. If you don’t have time to catch up on the whole 90 minutes, we’ve rounded up a few of our highlights of intriguing and upcoming games that you’ll want to wishlist on Steam.
Rawmen
Basically Splatoon but with food, Rawmen is a third-person arena shooter where instead of guns, you fight with food against up to two to eight players. Sling soup at your opponents, become a human meatball by jumping into meat juice and rolling your way back home, or launch yourself in the air with doughnut bombs.
They Always Run
This space Western 2D action game sees you playing a three-armed mutant hunting dangerous bounties across the galaxy. From the visuals, the animation, the music, it’s just dripping with style, and plenty of ultra-violence as you hack and slash your way through each level.
Far: Changing Tides
Far: Lone Sails was a minimal, lonely, but powerfully meditative experience as you charted journey across a post-apocalyptic environment with nothing but yourself and a unique hunk of a junk of a vehicle. So a sequel, Far: Changing Tides comes as a lovely surprise. It looks even more beautiful, and this time you’re piloting a ship across a flooded world, while still trying to keep your machine moving forward by salvaging ship parts during your travels.
Next Space Rebels
A space rocket-building sim with a narrative, Next Space Rebels has the feel of a DIY amateur’s Kerbal Space Program, as you try to put together a rocket engine that can actually launch. Tied to this simulation however is a story conveyed through FMV cutscenes, as fictitious hacker group Next Space Rebels urge the global community to build and launch rockets themselves, and “democratize the universe.”
Soulstice
The name may imply a shameless Souls clone, but Italian developer Reply Game Studios is also taking inspiration from Japanese character-action games like Devil May Cry, as well as early ‘80s anime. Another influence may be PlatinumGames’ Astral Chain, as you’re controlling two characters simultaneously; two sisters called Briar and Lute, one possessing superhuman strength, the other a ghost with mystical powers.
Lemnis Gate
This turn-based time-looping first-person shooter tasks you to take control of each of your team members one at a time playing a round that lasts just 25 seconds. It was first announced last year but its release is just around the corner as the latest trailer has confirmed Lemnis Gate is coming on August 3rd to PC, as well as PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One. An open beta is also coming in July, so players can get their heads around just how this time-bending gameplay works.
(Pocket-lint) – Audeze is a big name in high-end audio – it specialises in planar magnetic headphones that get up to eye-watering prices. However, it’s also recently been making strides in gaming, with more and more headsets coming to its line-up.
Best PS5 and PS4 headset: Superb Playstation gaming headphones
The company’s first wireless console headset comes in the form of the Penrose, available in two versions for PlayStation or Xbox users, and we’ve been using it day in, day out for a number of weeks to see if it lives up to Audeze’s lofty reputation.
Design
Removable microphone
Memory foam pads
320g weight
The Penrose might come from a premium heritage, but it’s actually fairly unremarkable to look at – calling it generic would be far too harsh, but there’s not much here to catch your eye. That could also be spun as subtlety, of course.
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We’ve been using the PlayStation version, which features blue accents around each earcup – the the only splash of colour on an otherwise grey and black design. If you pick the Xbox model then these are bright green instead. It’s all very on brand.
Still, there’s nothing wrong with a headset that doesn’t look over-the-top. The Penrose also has plenty of neat touches up its sleeve. For one, the all-important microphone can be removed when you’re not using it. That’s not quite as helpful as a retractable or stowable microphone that you can’t therefore lose, but it’s still appreciated.
Best Xbox headsets: Superb headphones for Xbox Series X, Series S and Xbox One
There’s also a manual mute switch on one earcup, positioned just above the main power button, in case you want to remove your voice from a chat that way. Holding this button turns the Penrose on, and it’ll quickly connect to the included dongle if its plugged into your console or PC. This connection is solid and reliable even if you wander off to grab a drink in a next-door room – although its range isn’t endless.
One the same earcup you also find two dials: one for the master volume; another to adjust your microphone’s pickup – which is a good pairing for on-the-fly adjustments if you’re in party chat while you game. It’s a little hard to be sure which one you’re touching at first, but you’ll get used to it.
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A huge part of any headset’s success is in the wearing, though, and here the Penrose doesn’t quite excel. It’s not the lightest headset we’ve used, and has a noticeably tight fit that can feel a little clamp-like on your head. After a few dozen hours of wearing it, though, this has abated somewhat, and we’re now finding it comfortable to wear for hours at a time. That’s most likely helped by the memory foam in its cushioning.
While it might not look particularly astonishing, then, the Penrose is obviously built to a high standard, and feels really sturdy, too. Fragile headsets are a menace on your wallet, so it’s good to know that you’re paying for quality. We just wish it was a little more comfortable from the off.
Sound quality
100mm planar magnetic drivers
Dual 2.4GHz and Bluetooth connectivity
Wired connection also available
If its design is straightforward, Audeze is extremely proud of its headset’s raw sound quality. It’s here the Penrose does a solid job of matching the hype once you drop into a game.
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The drivers Audeze use are planar magnetic ones – which makes for lightning-fast reponse times and little to no distortion. That means whether you’re caught in a huge bassy explosion or if a soundtrack is full of intricate high-end notes you’ll find it easy to pick it all out accurately.
In more mundane terms, it means that the Penrose is in the top grade of headsets we’ve tried when it comes to competitive environments – for example, being able to pick out the famously inconsistent footstep sounds in Call of Duty: Warzone. Its sound is clear and doesn’t rely on too much bass, making for a really enjoyable experience.
When you use it in a native PS5 game, this is all the more impressive. Resident Evil Village, for example, was frankly a bit too terrifying, with the Penrose reproducing the game’s 3D audio absolutely brilliantly.
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Another key facet in this performance is the closed-back design, which is one of the most isolating we’ve tried on a gaming headset – even with no sound playing, you’re kind-of ‘closed in’ nicely. There’s no active noise cancellation (ANC) to be found, but we nonetheless felt entirely immersed.
You have the option to connect via Bluetooth to other devices, too, if you prefer, and there’s also a 3.5mm jack in case you run out of battery and need to go old-school, which is again a useful fall-back.
Battery life is stated at 15 hours, but we found that we struggled to make it that far before running into the need to charge via USB-C. That’s not a terrible standard, but it’s equally outclassed by plenty of more affordable options.
Finally, we turn to the microphone – a key feature for anyone looking to play online with friends. The good news is that it’s an impressive one, with clear and accurate pickup.
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The included wind-muffler is an extra that helps with ensuring your breathing isn’t picked up, but even without it you should be fine. That said, you might find that you hear your own breath, even if the headset isn’t transmitting that through to your chat, which can occasionally be distracting – but is also fixable by tweaking your pickup level manually.
Verdict
If your core concern is sound quality, at the expense of anything else, the Audeze Penrose is mightily persuasive and will make a great investment.
However, on factors like comfort and battery life it’s outclassed by a lot of other headsets that we’ve tried, including many that are around half of its price – and these options don’t exactly sound terrible either.
So while the Penrose has offered some of the best sound we’ve experience from a console – especially over a wireless connection and with 3D audio truly immersing us – that makes it one to think hard about before you take the pluge.
Also consider
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Steelseries Arctis 7P
If you want a PlayStation headset that’s extremely comfortable to wear and still sounds extremely solid (though it can’t compete with the Penrose), this option from Steelseries is a winner. It’s nearly half the price of Audeze’s effort, but we prefer its design and it’s like a cloud to wear over multiple hours.
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EPOS GSP 370
Alternatively, if you want to bring the budget down even further but your main concern is having enormous battery life, this option from EPOS is almost baffling on the battery front. It offers a mind-boggling 80 hours between charges, which is perfect for forgetful types who don’t want to charge after every session.
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Writing by Max Freeman-Mills. Editing by Mike Lowe.
It’s hard to believe that Bop It, the popular handheld game from the ’90s, is over 20 years old. Many new features have been added to the device over the years, but this Raspberry Pi project adds a few more that we haven’t quite seen before.
The best Raspberry Pi projects are ones you can play with, and this Bop It hack was definitely made for gaming. The project was created by maker Seth Altobelli who programmed a Raspberry Pi Pico to interpret input from the Bop It as output for a video game controller.
The Pico registers as a USB device when it’s connected to a computer, and then the computer can recognize any twist and pull from the Bop It as a regular button press. Altobelli even managed to use the Bop It controller in Minecraft—the target game for this project.
(Image credit: Seth Altobelli)
Altobelli had to add a component to control player movement. First, he installed an accelerometer, making it possible to move around in the game by tilting the Bop It. Then he programmed the input, which was arguably the most challenging part of the design process.
Visit Altobelli’s official YouTube channel for a demo of this controller in action and more details about the math behind the accelerometer code.
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After taking a year off, E3 2021 is here, bringing days of major gaming news and announcements through a series of remote events. The big reveals kicked off with Summer Game Fest’s Kickoff Live event on June 10th, and E3 proper takes place from June 12th to June 15th, featuring events from Microsoft, Nintendo, Ubisoft, and more.
We’ll be covering all of the news from the show, and you can keep up with everything right here.
Developer Miroslav Nemecek has created a Raspberry Pi Pico Library capable of outputting high-res video via VGA. The new project is called PicoVGA, and it’s already available for you to download and tinker with.
The developer released the library just this week, and it comes pre-loaded with a series of demos. According to Nemecek, the project was designed to be user-friendly and easy to integrate with gaming. As such, there are multiple game examples on Nemecek’s official YouTube channel.
PicoVGA offers four separate graphic overlay layers, each supporting transparency. It can output formats between 256×192 and 1280×960 depending on the configuration of your project. It also offers built-in image compression as well as optional PWM output for audio.
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(Image credit: Miroslav Nemecek)
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(Image credit: Miroslav Nemecek)
You will need eight resistors to use this library—Nemecek offers a precise wiring diagram on his website for interested parties. Demos are loaded via USB and can be controlled with a keyboard using a console program (Nemecek suggests something like begPutty).
Visit the PicoVGA GitHub page for more details and a closer look at the code behind this project, and be sure to check out Nemecek at YouTube for amazing demos and games for PicoVGA.
Thermaltake’s Argent H5 Stereo boasts solid build quality, clear sound and a no-nonsense approach that will either meet your needs or leave you wanting more.
For
+ Very comfortable, snug fit
+ Affordable
+ Excellent sound out of the box
+ Attractive, minimalist design
Against
– 3.5mm only
– Mic doesn’t filter out background noise well
– No way to adjust mic volume levels on the fly
– Hi-res performance could be better
The Thermaltake Argent H5 Stereo is a no-frills headset aimed squarely at gamers on a budget who want to just plug in and play instead of spending time tweaking settings. It looks to compete with the best gaming headsets with a detachable 3.5mm cabling and a detachable mic for easy portability. With an MSRP of $65, the Argent H5 is also an affordable way to experience hi-res audio with great speakers and an impressively wide frequency response.
The Argent H5 Stereo’s sleek, minimalist, stealthy aesthetic does a great job of communicating a commitment to simplicity, and these cans are also very comfortable for long gaming sessions. The question, then, is whether or not this alone is enough to satisfy your needs.
Thermaltake Argent H5 Stereo Specs
Driver Type
50mm neodymium
Impedance
32 Ohms
Frequency Response
Speakers: 20 Hz – 40 KHz
Mic: 100 Hz – 10 KHz
Microphone Type
Bidirectional, detachable
Connectivity Options
3.5mm (single TRRS and split TRS)
Cables
6 feet (2m) 3.5mm cable
Weight (with mic)
0.8 pounds (370g)
Lighting
None
Software
none
Design and Comfort
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Thermaltake Argent H5 Stereo is fairly large in size and decked out in sleek, matte black. It’s a stealthy pair of cans, save for the Thermaltake logo in white on the outside of each earcup. The metal frame is stained a matching black, and the leatherette headband shows off the stitching, where it meets the memory foam padding underneath. The detachable mic matches the stark black finish of the rest of the unit, completing a minimalist overall look that will be at home in a wide variety of gaming setups and won’t look out of place in a professional setting.
The cabling is, likewise, very simple. A single cable that houses the headset controls and ends in a single 3.5mm TRRS plug attaches to the headset via a mini USB connector. Thermaltake also includes an adapter that splits into two 3.5mm TRS connectors for devices that don’t support audio input and output through a single TRRS jack. The controls consist of a single volume wheel and a switch that turns the microphone on and off.
Despite its imposing appearance, the Argent H5 may weigh less than you think at just 0.8 pound. There are lighter wired cans in this price range, and I have a couple of them on hand. The HyperX Cloud Core + 7.1 is 0.7 pound, and SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless is 0.6 pound, but the Argent H5’s weight still allows it to be comfortable to wear for long periods of time. The earcups swivel, letting you rest the headset on your neck when not actively in use. Adjustments to the headband are easy to make too, as the Argent H5 employs the industry standard push/pull mechanism.
The headband and the earcups both feature soft memory foam padding, with the latter offering just the right amount of depth to ensure that your ears are cradled but not crushed against the drivers. Ultimately, the Argent H5 has a tight, comfortable fit. It took minimal adjustment to get it to sit just right on my head, and its grip is firm but not suffocating. The Argent H5’s mic also features a flexible boom arm that’s easy to bend into the optimal position.
I came away from my time with the Argent H5 impressed by how comfortable it was for long gaming sessions. Simplicity seems to be the word used most often during the Argent H5’s design process, and this yielded good results from a comfort and useability standpoint.
It’s unfortunate, however, that Thermaltake opted for 3.5mm connectivity alone. While this does cut down on the amount of cables and adapters that have to be used with the headset, it also limits the overall utility of the device. It would be nice to also have USB connectivity, considering most phones have dropped the 3.5mm headphone jack entirely and gamers with a full sound system hooked up to their PCs will need to unplug some cables to be able to use the headset with the mic if their PC doesn’t support audio input and output via a single 3.5mm cable.
Audio Performance
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Argent H5 boasts oversized 50mm drivers that support hi-res audio with an impressively wide frequency response of 20 – 40,000 Hz. For comparison, HyperX’s Cloud Core is specced for 15 – 25,000 Hz, and SteelSeries’ Arctis 1 Wireless for 20 – 20,000 Hz.
For testing purposes, I loaded up 24bit .WAV (I also tested with some of my own mixdowns that were exported as 32bit .WAV files at 96K) and .FLAC files with sample rates of 96K and 192K and listened side by side using both the Argent H5 Stereo and the Steelseries Arctis 1 Wireless, which doesn’t support hi-res audio. I also did side-by-side comparisons with in-game audio and movies. I immediately noticed a much clearer, brighter frequency response. The Argent H5 definitely makes the jump to hi-res audio noticeable, especially if you’ve never experienced that type of audio before.
But when it came to other, pricier hi-res headsets, the Argent H5 Stereo couldn’t quite compete. Hi-res performance wasn’t in the same league as the HyperX Cloud Mix ($197 as of writing) or Asus ROG Theta 7.1 ($290 as of writing) in terms of richness and fullness of tone. And it can’t compete with the Asus ROG Delta S, our favorite hi-res gaming headset, which is more beefed out with a Quad DAC and MQA renderer. That said, the Argent H5 Stereo still sounds markedly cleaner than many headsets in its price range.
Compared to many gaming headsets, the Argent H5’s audio is very well-balanced, lacking the overwhelming bass that is de rigueur in the field. There’s a tightness to the bass response that enhances clarity, alongside a well-defined midrange and clean treble frequencies. The overall frequency response is natural and flat, with good separation between lows, mids and highs that allows audio mixes to sound as they were intended. The drivers do a great job of retaining clarity when they are pushed. Maxing out the volume didn’t produce any notable distortion, and these cans get quite loud.
Gaming audio gets high marks. The flat default EQ curve of the Argent H5 Stereo made sure that details weren’t lost in frantic firefights in FPS titles, like Doom Eternal and CS:GO, while more claustrophobic aural experiences, like Outlast, dripped with menacing atmosphere. True to its namesake, this headset does not offer virtual surround sound natively.
If you insist on surround sound, you’d have to enable Windows Sonic or some other third-party software. While the Argent H5 Stereo does play nice with Windows Sonic, thanks to it being outfitted with speakers that are up to the task, gamers who focus on competitive play may balk at not having native positional audio out of the box.
Music, meanwhile, pops through these speakers with excellent clarity, even at high volumes. The Argent H5 stereo rendered dense material, like Opeth’s Blackwater Park album, and more sparse, punchy mixes, like Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle, equally well . At no point during my testing did low end overwhelm the mix, which can be a problem with gaming-grade headphones.
Movies likewise played well over the Argent H5 Stereo. The Battle of Helm’s Deep in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Helm’s sounded thunderous without sacrificing clarity, and the sparse, subtle and eerie mix of The Witch shined.
The overall audio performance of the Argent H5 Stereo is impressive and with no way to tweak it natively, that’s a good thing. Gamers who like to adjust audio settings, however, may be turned off by the lack of options.
Microphone
The Argent H5 Stereo’s bi-directional mic is serviceable but not great. The frequency response is a respectable 100 – 10,000 Hz, cutting out boomy lows and shrill highs. But the mic doesn’t do a very good job of filtering out ambient noise. During gameplay and test recordings using OBS, the sound of my air conditioner was clearly audible, despite it being on the far opposite side of my room. Keyboard chatter was much louder than it should be too.
Additionally, the mic level by default is on the quiet side — about 3-5dB short of where I want it to be, based on my measurements of other headset mics I have on-hand in OBS software. Because of this, my teammates in competitive titles had trouble hearing me. Unfortunately, there’s no way to adjust the mic level on the headset itself. The inline controls only function as a means to adjust the headphone volume and turn the mic on and off. Adjusting the mic volume would require you to play with settings in Windows or the audio software supplied by your laptop or motherboard vendor.
Features and Software
Unlike many gaming headsets today, there’s no software for the Argent H5 Stereo. This is great for gamers who just want to plug in a headset without installing software to adjust settings. Most importantly, by default, the headset’s audio is mostly good enough to not require any further tweaking. This does cut both ways, however.
The mic volume is not adjustable via the inline controls and will require third-party software to manipulate. The mic itself is also unremarkable – clear enough to prevent complaints but not good at filtering out room noise.
Bottom Line
(Image credit: Thermaltake)
Thermaltake’s Argent H5 Stereo is a solidly built, attractive and great sounding headset that hits the mark when it comes to simplicity and ease of use. It also scores highly when it comes to comfort. These cans provide ample padding and have a snug fit that is free of wobble without feeling constrictive. The Argent H5 Stereo retails for only $65, so it’s also a great value.
Unfortunately, the minimalist approach the Argent H5 Stereo exemplifies also means sacrifices. Connectivity is limited to either a single 3.5mm TRRS or dual, split 3.5mm TRS plugs. Of course, many smartphones have ditched 3.5mm, and it’ll be an annoyance if your system’s 3.5mm jacks are already taken by your 5.1 setup. Without an adapter, you’d have to unplug your external audio system to use the headset.
And tweakers will want to look elsewhere, as there’s no native software for the headset. If you want more control over EQ and mic levels in the same price range, consider the SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless or the HyperX Cloud Core instead, which also offer more connectivity options. But you’ll have to forego hi-res audio.
The Argent H5 Stereo’s hi-res abilities make it a nice introduction for those new to the format, but for those serious about hi-res, it’s worth investing in something like the Asus ROG Delta S or the more affordable HyperX Cloud Mix.
But if you’re looking for a gaming headset that looks and sounds great out of the box for a very fair price, the Argent H5 Stereo is easy to recommend.
The time has finally come. Nvidia announced earlier today that it would stop supporting its Kepler-based graphics cards on older Windows operating systems with its next GeForce R470 driver. You won’t find Kepler on the list of best graphics cards, but plenty of gamers still own one. As a result of the change, they’ll no longer have access to new day-zero drivers.
The GeForce R470 driver, scheduled for August 31, is the last driver to support Kepler graphics cards that debuted back in 2012. Owners of Kepler graphics cards will continue to receive critical security updates until September 2024. However, they will lose out on Game Ready driver upgrades, including performance uplifts, new features and/or bug fixes.
Additionally, the GeForce R470 driver also marks the end of support for Microsoft’s Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 operating systems. The same conditions apply to users of the aforementioned operating systems. They are eligible to receive critical security updates through September 2024 but do not qualify for Game Ready driver updates.
Therefore, the future GeForce R495 driver, which goes public on October 4, will be the first GeForce driver to arrive without support for Kepler-powered products and pre-Windows 10 operating systems.
We’ve attached a list of Kepler GeForce gaming graphics cards that are affected by Nvidia’s latest move.
(Pocket-lint) – Xiaomi really, really wants you to pay attention to the Mi 11 series. That’s clear because there’s a Mi 11, a higher-end Mi 11 Ultra, a lower-spec Mi 11 Lite 5G, plus a bunch of regional specifics – including this model on review, the Mi 11i, which is also known as the Mi 11X Pro in India.
Whew. Lost count yet? Us too. But that’s not even every Mi 11 model available – there’s actually eight in total at last count. We shant bother you with the additional options right here, but it does make us wonder if Xiaomi has taken its eye off the ball somewhat. There’s delivering something for everyone, then there’s delivering something excessively.
The Mi 11i, however, is a powerful handset that sits just below the original Mi 11, making for an ought-to-be-more-affordable option (its price is, at the time of writing, to be confirmed). It doesn’t sacrifice much in the pursuit of that saving, though, so is the ‘i’ the more favourable Mi model to go for or just a Mi too far?
Design & Display
Display: 6.67-inch AMOLED panel, 1080 x 2400 resolution, 120Hz refresh
Finishes: Celestial Silver, Frosty White, Cosmic Black
Dimensions: 164.7 x 74.6 x 7.8mm / Weight: 196g
Side-positioned fingerprint scanner
At a brief glance and the Mi 11i doesn’t look especially different to the Mi 11. But there are tell-tale signs: the ‘i’ doesn’t feature a curved screen; instead its 6.67-inch panel is not only a mite smaller than the Mi 11’s, but it’s flat too, which some will prefer – but we don’t think looks quite as flashy from a visual perspective.
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The screen is quality, though, delivering a Full HD+ resolution – note that’s lower than the Mi 11’s WQHD+ offering – and capable of up to 120Hz refresh rate for smooth visuals. We’ve already seen the likes of this panel in the Redmi Note 10 Pro, so its performance is one and the same – i.e. decent quality.
As it’s an AMOLED panel that means the Mi 11i can have an always-on display activated – which illuminates the edges in a subtle fashion when there’s a notification, as one example – for visuals to be shown on the lock screen without actively needing to turn the display on. The screen tech also means deep blacks and rich colours as standard (and you can further tweak to your preference within the settings).
There’s little to criticise about the screen – although its brightness isn’t as searing as some. Still, it’s a sensible panel selection for this level, even better paired with this device than the Redmi, really, as the Mi 11i has more power to support that 120Hz fast refresh – ensuring support across more demanding situations.
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Also similar to the Redmi, the Mi 11i drops the under-display fingerprint scanner for a side-positioned one in the power button. Although setting this up suggested it wasn’t going to be especially responsive – for some reason it was being fussy while registering – ongoing use has proven it to be highly responsive. We might even prefer it to an under-display option, as it happens.
Flip the Mi 11i over and, again, it looks largely similar to the original Mi 11. That means there’s a glass panel that’s curved at the edges, which picks up light nicely, but fingerprints show in abundance sadly. We much prefer the fingerprint-resistant and colourful finish of the Mi 11 Lite 5G.
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Where things do differ is in the camera arrangement. The triple unit, which has two particularly large lenses, does protrude rather incessantly, but that’s all part and parcel of a flagship phone these days – the 11i’s isn’t as disruptive as the giant lump on the Mi 11 Ultra anyway. The really peculiar thing about the Mi 11i is the integrated microphone sandwiched between the two main lenses. Like, seriously, what is that all about? We’re weirded out every time we have to look at it.
Performance & Battery
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, 8GB RAM
Storage: 128GB UFS 3.1 (no microSD)
Battery: 4,520mAh; 33W charging
Software: MIUI 12 (on Android 11)
Dual SIM, 5G connectivity
Unlike the aforementioned Redmi device, the Mi 11i steps things up in the power department, utilising the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 platform as found in the original Mi 11. That’s the top-grade processor that you’ll find in any phone during 2021, which translates into really great performance.
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As we said, it gives the Mi 11i an upper hand in ensuring that higher frame-rates are achievable for making the most of that fast-refresh panel. So whether you’re admiring the smooth scrolling around the MIUI software, or playing your very best PUBG: Mobile, it’s an impressive outlay.
Even when gaming we’ve not found heat dissipating from the body to be a problem – likely the result of a plastic rather than metal shell? – while the 4,520mAh battery has been holding up really well under our mixed use. We’ve been getting about 14 hours use, which has seen us arrive at just under half battery by bed time on most days. It also sports 33W fast-charging to get topped-up again nice and quick.
Part of the reason for this long battery innings is the fairly high impact of Xiaomi’s MIUI software. There are lots of options to pick through, a number of alerts to suggest limiting certain functions to retain battery, and a lot of per-app permissions that you’ll need to tinker with to ensure everything runs as you please. They’re not all in the one place, either, so you’ll really need to dig deep to find everything.
As we said of the original Mi 11: that’s kind-of good, but kind-of bad all at the same time, because there’s so much footwork to get everything functioning as you expect – and sometimes you won’t know there’s a ‘problem’ with a specific app until, say, it doesn’t send you a notification. And we’ve found Gmail slow to update and Outlook largely ill-responsive when it comes to notifications on this software platform.
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All that said, however, we’ve not run into as many considerable hurdles while using the Mi 11i as with some other Xiaomi handsets. It’s quirks rather than total experience killers. And this is running MIUI 12.0.4 – so it’s still not on the expected 12.5 update. How much difference that will genuinely make is yet to be seen though.
On the cameras front the Mi 11i is largely similar to the Mi 11. Both have triple rear systems, both of which feature a 108-megapixel main camera, a wide-angle, and a macro. However, the ‘i’ model downgrades the wide-angle’s resolution (from 13MP to 8MP) and drops the optical stabilisation of the main camera too.
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: Wide angle camera (full size image)Wide angle camera (full size image)
Still, we’re glad that there aren’t other throwaway cameras like with so many other phones at the moment. Each lens has its own distinct task. Sure, that built-in microphone looks like its been installed by a 1970s Bond-esque spy team, but otherwise there’s not excesses to be seen. And, no, there’s no zoom lens here – but that wouldn’t be expected at this level.
The main lens uses nine-in-one pixel processing to produce 12-megapixel images as standard – smaller than the four-in-one 27-megapixel output offering from the standard Mi 11 device. There’s still heaps of detail crammed in, though, so it’s a decent enough optic to deliver good results – just don’t expect too much in lower-light when you can’t hold the phone steady. The Night Mode isn’t that great, really, but it can get you out of a tricky low-light situation.
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: Main camera (full size image)Main camera (full size image)
The telemacro, which also doesn’t feature any stabilisation either, can be a bit tricky to use. But its results are fun. You’ll get some great close-ups, but there’s not the same degree of accomplishment with sharpness or detail as the main lens – partly because it’s 5-megapixels only, partly because the autofocus is limited. But at least it’s a step better than the no-good 2-megapixel macro lenses that so many makers are mindlessly putting on their phones.
All in all, despite the absence of proper optical zoom lenses, the Mi 11i’s take on cameras is decent for this level. There are limitations, though, and the wide-angle isn’t very good here, but in terms of an accomplished main optic without too many distractions it works.
Verdict
The Mi 11i is, on the one hand, a confusing entry to Xiaomi’s series because it adds yet another handset to the Mi 11 line-up. And that muddies the waters between the standard Mi 11 and the Mi 11 Lite 5G – the latter which we’d buy beyond both others given its preferable design.
On the other hand, the Mi 11i doesn’t get anything truly wrong, per se, it functions smoothly as there’s heaps of power – which is a reason you’d consider it above and beyond more budget contenders, such as the Redmi Note 10 Pro.
Using the Mi 11i feels largely effortless, but as it’s an exercise in market flooding there’s also no distinctive reason to opt for one.
Also consider
Pocket-lint
Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
Of all the Mi 11 handsets this would be our choice. It’s the best looking, the slimmest, and while not the most powerful just feels best balanced as the handset to own. Especially in the minty colour finish, as pictured, which we think looks super.
Read our review
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Pocket-lint
Redmi Note 10 Pro
It’s less powerful, but then it’s cheaper. With the same screen as the Mi 11i, but lesser protruding rear cameras, and software that – for whatever reason – we found more consistent, this money-saving option would be our budget alternative pick.
In a partnership with Nvidia, Colorful has opened the world’s first graphics card museum. The museum, which is located in Shenzhen, China, is expecting to open its doors to visitors soon.
Colorful recently relocated its headquarters to Shenzhen’s New Generation Industrial Park. The brand might not as well-known on this side of the globe, but Colorful is one of the oldest players in the Chinese market.
There are many rare graphics cards on display at Colorful’s museum hailing from the ’80s that you won’t find on anyone’s Best Graphics Cards list today. The company has each one categorized chronologically. The list of graphics cards includes old-school Voodoo graphics cards and Nvidia’s GeForce 256, dubbed the world’s first graphics card. Some of the chipmaker’s first GeForce gaming graphics cards are also part of the exhibition.
Not everything is about Nvidia though. Colorful also has a priceless collection of ATI graphics cards, such as the legendary Rage Fury MAXX. It was the company’s first dual-chip graphics card and binded two Rage 128 Pro chips together on the same PCB with Nvidia’s SLI technology serving as the main highway for communication. The museum also houses other rare artifacts from IBM, 3Dlabs, Intel, S3, Trident, 3Dfx and many others.
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(Image credit: Colorful)
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(Image credit: Colorful)
Since it’s Colorful’s museum, after all, the company also has diverse sections to pay homage to the evolution of eSports in China, as well as the brand’s own iGame and Kudan bloodline.
Colorful also endowed its museum with some of the latest toys on the market. The company has setup a racing simulator with three 8K displays and a VR station.
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GPU Museum (Image credit: Colorful)
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GPU Museum (Image credit: Colorful)
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GPU Museum (Image credit: Colorful)
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GPU Museum (Image credit: Colorful)
Colorful stated that the museum will be open for visitor registration “soon,” but didn’t commit to a specific date.
A typo on Dell’s page helping shoppers choose specs for its G15 gaming laptop caused a controversy yesterday, marking the second issue in the company’s CUDA core counts in a week. The typo has been fixed.
“We can verify that all CUDA cores in Dell G Series systems have been validated and accounted for,” Dell told Tom’s Hardware in a statement. “This error was simply a typo on the Dell.com product page, which has been corrected.”
The issue stemmed from a chart claiming its Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 offered 3,584 CUDA cores rather than the 3,850 that Nvidia claims. It was first brought up by Jarrod’s Tech on Twitter, who was tipped off by a viewer. Notebookcheck also ran with the story, suggesting that it may be a deliberate adjustment. Both, however, later backtracked (Notebookcheck via an update to the story today) and suggested that 3,584 could just be a typo. Neither had the laptop on-hand to check (nor did Tom’s Hardware).
Dell updated the page late on Thursday to reflect 3,840 CUDA cores.
This particular incident likely wouldn’t have blown up the way it did if not for the fact that last week, owners of RTX 3070-equipped models of the
Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition
found the laptop reporting the wrong number of CUDA cores in software like HWinfo and GPU-Z. Dell is working on a fix for that issue and advising people against using other products’ vBIOSes in an attempt to fix it.
It’s not a good look for Dell to have so many issues around one spec, but the RTX 3060s in the company’s G Series laptops should have the specifications that users expect. A stressed out spokesperson for the company suggested it is going over a number of materials to ensure they are correct.
Soon the Xbox experience will come baked right into your TV. That’s thanks to an Xbox TV app that Microsoft is launching that will bring games directly to your big screen with no console required.
Don’t have a smart TV? No problem. Microsoft has streaming devices in the works, too, which will bring Xbox gaming to any set with an HDMI port.
Microsoft made the announcement ahead of the E3 games conference, which kicks off tomorrow.
“We’re working with global TV manufacturers to embed the Game Pass experience directly into internet-connected TVs so all you’ll need to play is a controller,” the blog post reads.
There’s no word on when the app will launch, nor which TV makers will offer it. There’s also no mention of which games will be available, although the suggestion appears to be that it will tied into Microsoft’s Game Pass Ultimate service, which gives subscribers unlimited access to over 100 top-tier games (including all first-party Microsoft titles) for £10.99 ($14.99, AU$15.95) a month.
The spec of your TV will likely matter a bit, too, but the speed of your internet connection will likely be a bigger factor. Both the Xbox Series X and S are powerhouse consoles, so with no dedicated games machine in the equation, all that processing grunt will have to be handled somewhere.
“We’re also developing standalone streaming devices that you can plug into a TV or monitor, so if you have a strong internet connection, you can stream your Xbox experience,” the post goes on. These could be a streaming stick or dongle along the lines of the Google Chromecast with Google TV and Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, or it could be a bigger, Apple TV 4K-sized device.
The Vergedescribes it specifically as an xCloud streaming stick, but this appears to be an assumption on their part as Microsoft hasn’t confirmed this in the announcement.
Microsoft is also opening up cloud gaming to more devices by enabling it through the Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome and Apple Safari web browsers. According to Microsoft, “players will be a click away from gaming on almost any device.” Again, there’s no word on hardware or internet requirements.
Xbox’s Phil Spencer has previously hinted at these developments, saying in November that he would expect the TV app to land within a year. So it could be a Christmas treat for anyone still unable to lay their hands on a new Xbox.
MORE:
Find your next console: Xbox Series X stock update
Prefer a PS5? PS5 stock and where to buy
Or are you unsure which to buy? PS5 vs Xbox Series X: which is better?
Razer announced the Opus X, a new set of over-ear wireless headphones that offer active noise cancellation for just $100. Based on the small amount of differences and seemingly no major compromises compared to the pricier Opus headphones it launched last year, these could be a solid option if you have a little less money to spend on wireless headphones. It’s available to purchase now on Razer’s site.
Overall, the design appears to be similar to the Opus. It’s tough to tell from images how build quality or materials might have changed given the price reduction. This model comes in one of three new colors — green, pink, and white — which are a bit louder and more divisive than the black or midnight blue colors of the standard Opus. The button layout has been crammed onto the rim of the right ear cup instead of splitting functions across both the left and right sides. The Opus X’s power button now handles cycling through active noise cancellation and the “Quick Attention” mode that lets you hear more of your surroundings.
The polar opposite of going stealth.Image: Razer
The Opus X have rotating ear cups so you can rest them comfortably around your neck if you need to take them off. Though, this more affordable model lacks the feature that automatically pauses or plays your content upon removing or putting them back on. That’s one of the biggest omissions. As for what else hit the cutting room floor, there’s no 3.5mm jack — just a USB-C port — so you’ll need to connect these solely over Bluetooth.
There’s actually one feature that’s exclusive to the Opus X: Razer’s low-latency “Gaming Mode” that reduces the latency over Bluetooth to 60 milliseconds. We’ve seen this feature in other wireless headphones from Razer, like its Hammerhead True Wireless Pro.
I reviewed the Opus last year and they exceeded my expectations considering their original $200 price. They had surprisingly good sound quality, and the active noise cancellation is a perk you don’t often find at this price point (even better, they’ve fallen in price considerably since launch). They also impressed me in terms of battery life, and I was able to use them for an entire work week without recharging. The new Razer Opus X claim to have even better longevity with up to 40 hours of battery with noise cancellation off, or up to 30 hours with it on. If the Opus X sound nearly as good as the Opus, they could be a real winner.
Elon Musk teased that Tesla’s new Model S Plaid would be capable of running Cyberpunk 2077 earlier this year, and he’s now demonstrated the car’s “PS5-level performance.” The refreshed Model S includes a new Tesla infotainment system, powered by AMD’s Ryzen processor and a discrete AMD RDNA 2 GPU.
“There’s never been a car that has state of the art computing technology, state of the art infotainment where this is literally at the level of a PlayStation 5,” said Tesla CEO Elon Musk during a demo event last night. “This is actual PlayStation 5-level performance… yes it can run Cyberpunk. It’s high frame rate, it will do 60fps with state of the art games.”
AMD revealed last week that it’s powering this new infotainment system in both the new Model S and Model X, with 10 teraflops of compute power. That in itself is nearly identical to the 10.28 teraflops found on Sony’s PlayStation 5, although Tesla’s total compute includes both the integrated and discrete GPUs so it won’t be a full 10 teraflops for gaming alone.
We only saw a brief demo of Cyberpunk 2077 running at high frame rates on the $130,000 Model S Plaid during Tesla’s event, alongside a closer look at the updated UI on the infotainment system.
A Tesla-branded controller.Paul Spivak (Reddit)
In separate demonstrations after the event, some Tesla fans were able to get pictures of what appears to be a Tesla-branded game controller. It’s not clear if the controller, which mimics the shape of the car’s steering wheel, is a dummy unit or not. It appears alongside an Xbox controller in a photo published by Reddit users (above), and videos seem to show the Xbox controller being used to play Cyberpunk 2077.
You might be wondering why you’d need PS5-level gaming performance in your car, which the Technoking is happy to answer. “If you think about the future of where the car is often in autopilot or full self-driving mode, then entertainment is going to become increasing important,” said Musk. Until that’s a reality, we’re hoping to see the folks at Digital Foundry benchmark a car running the latest AAA games against powerful PCs, the PS5, and the Xbox Series X.
Microsoft develops under-screen camera with 4 color filters for Surface devices. When the camera is turned off, an adjustable logo or avatar will be displayed.
Many technology companies are currently working on under-display camera technology for smartphones and other portable electronic devices, including Microsoft. However, the US software manufacturer seems to take a slightly different approach. The company filed a patent application for an under-display camera with 4 colors filters and 4 image sensors. The technology is meant for smartphones and Microsoft Surface devices.
The Surface line-up offers different types of laptops, mainly 2-in-1 tablet PCs with touchscreen functionality. Like, for example, the Surface Go and the Surface Pro. One of the newest additions is the Surface Duo, a dual-screen Android tablet smartphone. A new patent that was discovered by LetsGoDigital suggests Microsoft could integrate a ‘logo camera’ in one of its future Microsoft Surface devices.
Microsoft under-screen logo camera
In October 2020, Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC filed a patent with the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) for a ‘Logo camera’. The 40-page documentation was published on May 14, 2021.
It is a unique invention, which we have not encountered before. The documentation mentions four under-display cameras, each with their own color filter. The 4 cameras together are called a ‘logo camera’ by Microsoft. Thanks to the use of color filters, which can display a color icon, a true-to-color logo can be displayed when the camera is turned off.
By default, the Microsoft logo will be displayed. As soon as the camera is activated, the logo will disappear and the shutter will be activated. In addition, an icon menu will be available, enabling users to set a logo or avatar as desired. Like a company logo or a club logo.
In order to visualize the patented technology, in-house designer Giuseppe Spinelli has made a number of product renders of this unique camera system. These images are for illustrative purposes only and based on the patent of Microsoft Technology.
The quad front-camera is placed in a 2×2 array. By choosing multiple camera sensors, thinner camera modules can be used, allowing the device to retain its slim form factor. To achieve a high camera resolution, the pixel density of the screen will be increased. Each sensor and lens is configured to be optimized for particular colors.
The documentation makes mention of 4 sensors, one optimized for the color Blue, the other for Green, Red and Yellow. By adding a fourth color, yellow (RGBY), in addition to the standard RGB (red, green, blue) colors, a much larger color range can be displayed.
The color filters can also improve camera performance in low light. In addition, they can be used to give the user feedback, for example a color signal can be emitted when the camera is activated.
However, there are also disadvantages, as color conversion can be sensitive to noise, especially when the colors are less saturated. Microsoft wants to counter this phenomenon through software. In addition, AI technology is used to learn the difference between obscured and non-obscured light in images, in order to correct light loss and diffraction.
To implement a logo camera on the front, several small holes (1mm) have to be made in the screen, which provide a light path for the camera. The patented technology could also be used for a rear camera, according to the documentation.
Microsoft Surface devices
Whether Microsoft actually sees a chance to integrate an under-display logo camera in one of its upcoming Surface products remains unknown. In any case, it is a totally new and different solution than we have seen so far.
It is clear that Microsoft is also involved in the development of under-screen cameras. Last month, the company published several detailed publications on its website about ‘Camera In Display technology’ and the use of machine learning to achieve better image quality.
In addition, Microsoft also posted a vacancy online for a ‘Principal Android Camera System Architect / Engineer for Surface Development’ in October last year. The software giant seems to intend to take the camera performance of its next-gen Microsoft Surface devices to a whole new level.
Here you can take a look at the documentation of the Microsoft logo camera.
Note to editors :The high-resolution 8K 3D renders in this publication are created by in-house graphic designer Giuseppe Spinelli (aka Snoreyn). The copyrighted images are based on the patent of Microsoft Technology. Feel free to use the images on your own website, please be so respectful to include a source link into your publication.
Ilse is a Dutch journalist and joined LetsGoDigital more than 15 years ago. She is highly educated and speaks four languages. Ilse is a true tech-girl and loves to write about the future of consumer electronics. She has a special interest for smartphones, digital cameras, gaming and VR.
AMD’s announcement of its new 3D V-Cache chip stacking technology for Ryzen processors was easily the most surprising announcement for PC enthusiasts at Computex 2021, and today the company has shared a few more details via its YouTube program The Bring Up, which you can see embedded below.
The high-level 3D V-Cache overview is that AMD has 3D-stacked chiplets for the Zen 3 architecture that will go into production this year. These innovative new chiplets feature an additional 64MB of 7nm SRAM cache (called 3D V-Cache) stacked vertically atop the core complex die (CCD) to triple the L3 cache for the CPU cores.
At Computex, AMD CEO Lisa Su shared a broad overview of the tech — it enables up to a whopping 192MB of L3 cache on a single Ryzen chip, which delivers up to a 15% improvement in gaming. Su also showed a prototype Ryzen 9 5900X chip that the company already has up and running and provided a pretty impressive demo of accelerated gameplay due to the new architecture.
We followed up with AMD, and the company confirmed that Zen 3 Ryzen processors with 3D V-Cache would enter production later this year. The technology currently consists of a single layer of stacked L3 cache, but the underlying tech supports stacking multiple dies. The technology also doesn’t require any specific software optimizations and should be transparent in terms of latency and thermals (no significant overhead in either).
AMD’s 3D chip stacking tech is based on TSMC’s SoIC technology. The video above shares a few interesting details. AMD flips the die then shaves the standard compute die down by 95%, leaving only 20 micrometers of active silicon for compute purposes, which is thinner than a strand of human hair. AMD then places a standard L3 chip on top to complete the stack.
As we already know, TSMC’s SoIC is a bumpless chip stacking tech, meaning that it doesn’t use microbumps or solder to connect the two die. Instead, the two die are milled to such a perfectly flat surface that the TSV channels can mate without any type of bonding material, reducing the distance between the cache and core by 1000X. That reduces heat and power consumption while boosting bandwidth.
The video has many more details and goes into an explainer about chip interconnect technology, which is quite interesting and informative, along with a few more details about AMD’s new stacking technique. Give it a watch.
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