After almost a decade of total market dominance, Intel has spent the past few years on the defensive. AMD’s Ryzen processors continue to show improvement year over year, with the most recent Ryzen 5000 series taking the crown of best gaming processor: Intel’s last bastion of superiority.
Now, with a booming hardware market, Intel is preparing to make up some of that lost ground with the new 11th Gen Intel Core Processors. Intel is claiming these new 11th Gen CPUs offer double-digit IPC improvements despite remaining on a 14 nm process. The top-end 8-core Intel Core i9-11900K may not be able to compete against its Ryzen 9 5900X AMD rival in heavily multi-threaded scenarios, but the higher clock speeds and alleged IPC improvements could be enough to take back the gaming crown. Along with the new CPUs, there is a new chipset to match, the Intel Z590. Last year’s Z490 chipset motherboards are also compatible with the new 11th Gen Intel Core Processors, but Z590 introduces some key advantages.
First, Z590 offers native PCIe 4.0 support from the CPU, which means the PCIe and M.2 slots powered off the CPU will offer PCIe 4.0 connectivity when an 11th Gen CPU is installed. The PCIe and M.2 slots controlled by the Z590 chipset are still PCI 3.0. While many high-end Z490 motherboards advertised this capability, it was not a standard feature for the platform. In addition to PCIe 4.0 support, Z590 offers USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 from the chipset. The USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 standard offers speeds of up to 20 Gb/s. Finally, Z590 boasts native support for 3200 MHz DDR4 memory. With these upgrades, Intel’s Z series platform has feature parity with AMD’s B550. On paper, Intel is catching up to AMD, but only testing will tell if these new Z590 motherboards are up to the challenge.
The ASRock Z590 Steel Legend WiFi 6E aims to be a durable, dependable platform for the mainstream market. The ASRock Z590 Steel Legend WiFi 6E features a respectable 14-phase VRM that takes advantage of 50 A power stages from Vishay. Additionally, ASRock has included a 2.5 Gb/s LAN controller from Realtek as well as the latest WiFi 6 connectivity. The ASRock Z590 Steel Legend WiFi 6E has all the mainstream features most users need packaged in at a reasonable price. All that is left is to see how the ASRock Z590 Steel Legend WiFi 6E stacks up against the competition!
2x Antenna Ports 1x PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard Port 1x HDMI Port 1x DisplayPort 1.4 1x Optical SPDIF Out Port 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A Port 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C Port 2x USB 3.2 Gen1 Ports 2x USB 2.0 Ports 1x RJ-45 LAN Port 5x HD Audio Jacks
Audio:
1x Realtek ALC897 Codec
Fan Headers:
7x 4-pin
Form Factor:
ATX Form Factor: 12.0 x 9.6 in.; 30.5 x 24.4 cm
Exclusive Features:
ASRock Super Alloy
XXL Aluminium Alloy Heatsink
Premium Power Choke
50A Dr.MOS
Nichicon 12K Black Caps
I/O Armor
Shaped PCB Design
Matte Black PCB
High Density Glass Fabric PCB
2oz copper PCB
2.5G LAN
Intel® 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6E
ASRock steel Slot
ASRock Full Coverage M.2 Heatsink
ASRock Hyper M.2 (PCIe Gen4x4)
ASRock Ultra USB Power
ASRock Full Spike Protection
ASRock Live Update & APP Shop
Testing for this review was conducted using a 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10900K. Stay tuned for an 11th Gen update when the new processors launch!
TechPowerUp is one of the most highly cited graphics card review sources on the web, and we strive to keep our testing methods, game selection, and, most importantly, test bench up to date. Today, I am pleased to announce our newest March 2021 VGA test system, which has one of many firsts for TechPowerUp. This is our first graphics card test bed powered by an AMD CPU. We are using the Ryzen 7 5800X 8-core processor based on the “Zen 3” architecture. The new test setup fully supports the PCI-Express 4.0 x16 bus interface to maximize performance of the latest generation of graphics cards by both NVIDIA and AMD. The platform also enables the Resizable BAR feature by PCI-SIG, allowing the processor to see the whole video memory as a single addressable block, which could potentially improve performance.
A new test system heralds completely re-testing every single graphics card used in our performance graphs. It allows us to kick out some of the older graphics cards and game tests to make room for newer cards and games. It also allows us to refresh our OS, testing tools, update games to the latest version, and explore new game settings, such as real-time raytracing, and newer APIs.
A VGA rebench is a monumental task for TechPowerUp. This time, I’m testing 26 graphics cards in 22 games at 3 resolutions, or 66 game tests per card, which works out to 1,716 benchmark runs in total. In addition, we have doubled our raytracing testing from two to four titles. We also made some changes to our power consumption testing, which is now more detailed and more in-depth than ever.
In this article, I’ll share some thoughts on what was changed and why, while giving you a first look at the performance numbers obtained on the new test system.
Hardware
Below are the hardware specifications of the new March 2021 VGA test system.
Windows 10 Professional 64-bit Version 20H2 (October 2020 Update)
Drivers:
AMD: 21.2.3 Beta NVIDIA: 461.72 WHQL
The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X has emerged as the fastest processor we can recommend to gamers for play at any resolution. We could have gone with the 12-core Ryzen 9 5900X or even maxed out this platform with the 16-core 5950X, but neither would be faster at gaming, and both would be significantly more expensive. AMD certainly wants to sell you the more expensive (overpriced?) CPU, but the Ryzen 7 5800X is actually the fastest option because of its single CCD architecture. Our goal with GPU test systems over the past decade has consistently been to use the fastest mainstream-desktop processor. Over the years, this meant a $300-something Core i7 K-series LGA115x chip making room for the $500 i9-9900K. The 5900X doesn’t sell for anywhere close to this mark, and we’d rather not use an overpriced processor just because we can. You’ll also notice that we skipped upgrading to the 10-core “Comet Lake” Core i9-10900K processor from the older i9-9900K because we saw no significant increases and negligible gaming performance gains, especially considering the large overclock on the i9-9900K. The additional two cores do squat for nearly all gaming situations, which is the second reason besides pricing that had us decide against the Ryzen 9 5900X.
We continue using our trusted Thermaltake TOUGHRAM 16 GB dual-channel memory kit that served us well for many years. 32 GB isn’t anywhere close to needed for gaming, so I didn’t want to hint at that, especially to less experienced readers checking out the test system. We’re running at the most desirable memory configuration for Zen 3 to reduce latencies inside the processor: Infinity Fabric at 2000 MHz, memory clocked at DDR4-4000, in 1:1 sync with the Infinity Fabric clock. Timings are at a standard CL19 configuration that’s easily found on affordable memory modules—spending extra for super-tight timings usually is overkill and not worth it for the added performance.
The MSI B550-A PRO was an easy choice for a motherboard. We wanted a cost-effective motherboard for the Ryzen 9 5800X and don’t care at all about RGB or other bling. The board can handle the CPU and memory settings we wanted for this test bed, the VRM barely gets warm. It also doesn’t come with any PCIe gymnastics—a simple PCI-Express 4.0 x16 slot wired to the CPU without any lane switches along the way. The slot is metal-reinforced and looks like it can take quite some abuse over time. Even though I admittedly swap cards hundreds of times each year, probably even 1000+ times, it has never been any issue—insertion force just gets a bit softer, which I actually find nice.
Software and Games
Windows 10 was updated to 20H2
The AMD graphics driver used for all testing is now 21.2.3 Beta
All NVIDIA cards use 461.72 WHQL
All existing games have been updated to their latest available version
The following titles were removed:
Anno 1800: old, not that popular, CPU limited
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: old, DX11, replaced by Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Hitman 2: old, replaced by Hitman 3
Project Cars 3: not very popular, DX11
Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order: horrible EA Denuvo makes hardware changes a major pain, DX11 only, Unreal Engine 4, of which we have several other titles
Strange Brigade: old, not popular at all
The following titles were added:
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Cyberpunk 2077
Hitman 3
Star Wars Squadrons
Watch Dogs: Legion
I considered Horizon Zero Dawn, but rejected it because it uses the same game engine as Death Stranding. World of Warcraft or Call of Duty won’t be tested because of their always-online nature, which enforces game patches that mess with performance—at any time. Godfall is a bad game, Epic exclusive, and commercial flop.
The full list of games now consists of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Battlefield V, Borderlands 3, Civilization VI, Control, Cyberpunk 2077, Death Stranding, Detroit Become Human, Devil May Cry 5, Divinity Original Sin 2, DOOM Eternal, F1 2020, Far Cry 5, Gears 5, Hitman 3, Metro Exodus, Red Dead Redemption 2, Sekiro, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Star Wars Squadrons, The Witcher 3, and Watch Dogs: Legion.
Raytracing
We previously tested raytracing using Metro Exodus and Control. For this round of retesting, I added Cyberpunk 2077 and Watch Dogs Legion. While Cyberpunk 2077 does not support raytracing on AMD, I still felt it’s one of the most important titles to test raytracing with.
While Godfall and DIRT 5 support raytracing, too, neither has had sufficient commercial success to warrant inclusion in the test suite.
Power Consumption Testing
The power consumption testing changes have been live for a couple of reviews already, but I still wanted to detail them a bit more in this article.
After our first Big Navi reviews I realized that something was odd about the power consumption testing method I’ve been using for years without issue. It seemed the Radeon RX 6800 XT was just SO much more energy efficient than NVIDIA’s RTX 3080. It definitely is more efficient because of the 7 nm process and AMD’s monumental improvements in the architecture, but the lead just didn’t look right. After further investigation, I realized that the RX 6800 XT was getting CPU bottlenecked in Metro: Last Light at even the higher resolutions, whereas the NVIDIA card ran without a bottleneck. This of course meant NVIDIA’s card consumed more power in this test because it could run faster.
The problem here is that I used the power consumption numbers from Metro for the “Performance per Watt” results under the assumption that the test loaded the card to the max. The underlying reason for the discrepancy is AMD’s higher DirectX 11 overhead, which only manifested itself enough to make a difference once AMD actually had cards able to compete in the high-end segment.
While our previous physical measurement setup was better than what most other reviewers use, I always wanted something with a higher sampling rate, better data recording, and a more flexible analysis pipeline. Previously, we recorded at 12 samples per second, but could only store minimum, maximum, and average. Starting and stopping the measurement process was a manual operation, too.
The new data acquisition system also uses professional lab equipment and collects data at 40 samples per second, which is four times faster than even NVIDIA’s PCAT. Every single data point is recorded digitally and stashed away for analysis. Just like before, all our graphics card power measurement is “card only”, not the “whole system” or “GPU chip only” (the number displayed in the AMD Radeon Settings control panel).
Having all data recorded means we can finally chart power consumption over time, which makes for a nice overview. Below is an example data set for the RTX 3080.
The “Performance per Watt” chart has been simplified to “Energy Efficiency” and is now based on the actual power and FPS achieved during our “Gaming” power consumption testing run (Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p, see below).
The individual power tests have also been refined:
“Idle” testing is now measuring at 1440p, whereas it used 1080p previously. This is to follow the increasing adoption rates of high-res monitors.
“Multi-monitor” is now 2560×1440 over DP + 1920×1080 over HDMI—to test how well power management works with mixed resolutions over mixed outputs.
“Video Playback” records power usage of a 4K30 FPS video that’s encoded with H.264 AVC at 64 Mbps bitrate—similar enough to most streaming services. I considered using something like madVR to further improve video quality, but rejected it because I felt it to be too niche.
“Gaming” power consumption is now using Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p with Ultra settings—this definitely won’t be CPU bottlenecked. Raytracing is off, and we made sure to heat up the card properly before taking data. This is very important for all GPU benchmarking—in the first seconds, you will get unrealistic boost rates, and the lower temperature has the silicon operating at higher efficiency, which screws with the power consumption numbers.
“Maximum” uses Furmark at 1080p, which pushes all cards into its power limiter—another important data point.
Somewhat as a bonus, and I really wasn’t sure if it’s as useful, I added another run of Cyberpunk at 1080p, capped to 60 FPS, to simulate a “V-Sync” usage scenario. Running at V-Sync not only removes tearing, but also reduces the power consumption of the graphics card, which is perfect for slower single-player titles where you don’t need the highest FPS and would rather conserve some energy and have less heat dumped into your room. Just to clarify, we’re technically running a 60 FPS soft cap so that weaker cards that can’t hit 60 FPS (GTX 1650S and GTX 1660) won’t run 60/30/20 FPS V-Sync, but go as high as able.
Last but not least, a “Spikes” measurement was added, which reports the highest 20 ms spike recorded in this whole test sequence. This spike usually appears at the start of Furmark, before the card’s power limiting circuitry can react to the new conditions. On RX 6900 XT, I measured well above 600 W, which can trigger the protections of certain power supplies, resulting in the machine suddenly turning off. This happened to me several times with a different PSU than the Seasonic, so it’s not a theoretical test.
Radeon VII Fail
Since we’re running with Resizable BAR enabled, we also have to boot with UEFI instead of CSM. When it was time to retest the Radeon VII, I got no POST, and it seemed the card was dead. Since there’s plenty of drama around Radeon VII cards suddenly dying, I already started looking for a replacement, but wanted to give it another chance in another machine, which had it working perfectly fine. WTF?
After some googling, I found our article detailing the lack of UEFI support on the Radeon VII. So that was the problem, the card simply didn’t have the BIOS update AMD released after our article. Well, FML, the page with the BIOS update no longer exists on AMD’s website.
Really? Someone on their web team made the decision to just delete the pages that contain an important fix to get the product working, a product that’s not even two years old? (launched Feb 7 2019, page was removed no later than Nov 8 2020).
Luckily, I found the updated BIOS in our VGA BIOS collection, and the card is working perfectly now.
Performance results are on the next page. If you have more questions, please do let us know in the comments section of this article.
Twitter has devised a potential solution to its problematic image cropping issue: no more cropping. The company said on Wednesday it’s now testing a “what you see is what you get” image preview within the tweet compose box and experimenting with displaying full-frame images. That way, images will show up in the Twitter timeline looking just as they did when the user was composing the tweet.
“Now testing on Android and iOS: when you Tweet a single image, how the image appears in the Tweet composer is how it will look on the timeline –– bigger and better,” the company wrote in its announcement tweet on the new feature test. Twitter also says its testing new 4K image uploading on Android and iOS as part of a broader push “to improve how you can share and view media on Twitter.”
Now testing on Android and iOS: when you Tweet a single image, how the image appears in the Tweet composer is how it will look on the timeline –– bigger and better. pic.twitter.com/izI5S9VRdX
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) March 10, 2021
With the new image preview change, there should be less algorithmic surprises — like the ones several users brought attention to last fall that showed how the company’s automated cropping tool quite often favored white faces over Black ones. In many of those cases, irregularly sized images shared on Twitter were automatically cropped behind the scenes using an AI-powered algorithm, but in ways that raised some troubling questions about how the software prioritized skin color and other factors.
Twitter at the time said the neural network it uses for automated image cropping was tested for racial bias, and the company claims it found none. But it also admitted it needed to perform more analysis and refine its approach to avoid situations like this where even the appearance of bias was a possibility.
“It’s clear that we’ve got more analysis to do. We’ll open source our work so others can review and replicate,” wrote Twitter communications lead Liz Kelley in the aftermath of the controversy going viral. “Just because a system shows no statistical bias, doesn’t mean it won’t cause harm.” Kelley said Twitter would rely “less on auto-cropping so more often the photo you see in the Tweet composer is what it will look like in the Tweet.”
we are going to rely less on auto-cropping so more often the photo you see in the Tweet composer is what it will look like in the Tweet =
— liz kelley (@lizkelley) October 1, 2020
Twitter’s Parag Agrawal, the company’s chief technology officer, later wrote a blog post delving into the issue at length, saying at the time that Twitter would be conducting “additional analysis to add further rigor to our testing” and that it was “committed to sharing our findings and… exploring ways to open-source our analysis so that others can help keep us accountable.”
Now, it looks like Twitter’s proposed solution is here, at least in a test phase. While tweets in standard aspect ratios will be identical when previewed in the compose window and displayed in the timeline, Twitter’s design chief Dantley Davis says extra-wide or tall images will be center cropped for those included in the test. Twitter has not shared a concrete timeline for when this change may be pushed live for all users.
With this test, we hope to learn if this new approach is better and what changes we need to make to provide a “what you see is what you get” experience for Tweets with images.
The Raspberry Pi Pico wouldn’t be the first board that comes to mind for machine learning, but it seems that the $4 may be a viable platform for machine learning projects. The Pico4ML from Arducam is an RP2040 based board with an onboard camera, screen, and microphone that looks to be the same size as the Raspberry Pi Pico.
Arducam is probably better known for its range of cameras for the Raspberry Pi and Nvidia Jetson boards, but since the release of the Raspberry Pi Pico, they have been tinkering with machine learning projects powered by the Pico. The Arducam Pico4ML is their first RP2040-based board and the first board to feature an onboard camera, a microphone that you can use for “wake word” detection, a screen, and an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) that can detect gestures.
The Pico4ML is intended for machine learning and artificial intelligence projects based around Tiny Machine Learning (TinyML). The TensorFlow Lite Micro library has been ported to the RP2040, opening up a whole new world of projects for the $4 microcontroller. The Arducam Pico4ML is at its heart still a Raspberry Pi Pico, and so it should be compatible with accessories designed for the Pico.
The Pico4ML can detect two persons in real-time, and in the latest demo video, we see it in action with a real person and a Mario action figure. Pico4ML reacts with a percentage value to show how certain it is that an image is a person while providing a live camera feed of the subject in the frame.
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(Image credit: Arducam)
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(Image credit: Arducam)
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(Image credit: Arducam)
At this time we don’t know how much and when this board will be available, but we do know that Tom’s Hardware will receive one for review in the next few weeks.
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Hasselblad’s latest digital camera, the 907X 50C, is a 740-gram metal box that can serve as a standalone medium format digital camera or as a digital back for Hasselblad V System cameras made from 1957 onward. At $6,400, it is the smallest digital medium format body Hasselblad has ever made, and it is filled with premium Hasselblad touches. But its responsive touchscreen, all-metal body, and satisfying leaf shutter don’t make up for its slow auto-focus or lack of a viewfinder.
Using the 907X takes patience and practice, but if you are willing to put in the time, the 907X’s 50mp CMOS medium format sensor paired with Hasselblad’s gorgeous color science can create stunning results.
I have gotten so used to the DSLR and mirrorless camera layouts: using my right thumb for most controls and having a firm grip around the battery compartment. Using the 907X is done mostly with the pointer finger, and the lack of a battery grip makes holding the metal box feel awkward and foreign at first. There is a grip you can buy for an additional $729 that provides two additional dials and four buttons along with a small joystick, but I really challenged myself to use the camera without this expensive mod.
There is a battery compartment that houses dual SD card slots on the right side of the camera, a USB-C port with a small door on the left, and the shutter button is under the lens mount around front. On the back, below the 3.2-inch articulating touchscreen, are the flash, headphone, and mic ports, all cleverly hidden under a rubber door. Although all of the ports are covered, Hasselblad makes no claims about the camera being weather-sealed. If you plan on taking this out in any sort of precipitation, you do it at your own risk.
There is a rubber door that covers the flash, headphone, and mic ports on the base of the camera.
Anyone who has spent time with Hasselblad’s traditional medium format film cameras will likely feel comfortable with the 907X’s layout. Otherwise, using this camera feels like stepping into a whole new world. To start, the lack of a handgrip leads me to support the weight of the camera on my right palm with my left hand gripping the lens.
Next, there is only one dial on the whole system. It runs around the shutter button, which is on the front of the camera. Spin this dial to adjust f-stop or hold down the small button on the right side of the camera while spinning the dial to adjust shutter speed. All other controls are on the touchscreen around the back, which is, fortunately, very responsive and smooth, quite a departure from the first touchscreen experience Hasselblad shipped on the X1D.
Lastly, there is no viewfinder on the base model. As an ode to the waist-level cameras of medium format past, the 907X’s back screen can articulate 90 degrees up so that you are looking down and into the camera instead of through the camera at your subject.
A 90-degree articulating screen allows you to look down and into the camera at your subject.
The 907X forces you to use it in a particular way. From the button placement to the lack of a handle to the articulating screen, there is very little about this camera that I was accustomed to. When attempting to take photos walking down the street, for example, I couldn’t just whip the camera up and nab a shot of a passing cyclist or the cool shoes of someone walking toward me. I would have to pull the screen out first, then dial in the ISO on a touchscreen, then adjust my hand to reach the shutter and f-stop dial on the front all before I could snap the shot.
Another speed bump in using the 907X is the focus system. It’s contrast based, and it is slow. When pointing the camera at a subject, the pre-production Hasselblad XCD 80mm lens I was shooting with would hunt for at least a few seconds and often not be able to grab focus at all. If I had a limited window for capturing the scene I wanted, I simply wouldn’t even try because I knew I was likely to miss it. For me, missing the shot is more frustrating than just not trying in the first place.
This was incredibly difficult to adapt to at first. I spent the first few days with the 907X constantly feeling like I missed the shot, that I wasn’t moving quick enough. And then I put the camera on a tripod, and I realized why it didn’t need a handle and why it isn’t in the hands of street photographers. This camera is not for the quick take; it’s for the thought-out, the particularly placed, the well-crafted shot. This camera does not chase the moment; it invites the moment to come to it.
It is worth noting the 907X has one of the simplest menus, especially compared to the byzantine and terrible menu systems of Sony. There are five physical rubber buttons under the 3.2-inch touchscreen, but otherwise, navigating the camera’s menu system is done completely by touch. The main menu consists of 11 vectored icons that lead to deeper settings. It’s all very intuitive and responsive.
The Hasselblad 907X has a 50-megapixel CMOS medium format sensor that can be used as a digital back on most Hasselblad V system cameras.
The magic of the 907X is in its 50-megapixel CMOS medium format sensor, which is capable of capturing 8272 x 6200 pixels. It’s larger than a full-frame camera’s sensor, but not quite as big as if you compared it to a medium format film camera. It’s also getting up there in age: it’s effectively the same image sensor Hasselblad has been using since at least 2018’s X1D.
The 907X with the 80mm f/1.9 lens produced the sharpest images at around f/5.6 to f/11, but the amount of depth you can isolate at f/1.9 is truly stunning. Although you can capture both Hasselblad 3FR RAW files and JPEGs, I like the colors from the JPEGs more than the flat profiles of the RAWs, even when I was editing them later on my computer. Hasselblad’s color science is truly remarkable. In particular, the red hues this camera captures are incredibly vibrant yet not over the top. I ended up seeking out red objects to take photos of, simply so that I could be amazed by how true to life the 907X could reproduce them.
The 907X can shoot from ISO 100 to ISO 25,600. The image gets grainy once you cross ISO 6,400, but it’s a smooth grain that has a nice texture to it like film. I also took it out one night on a tripod and let that shutter sit open on still objects. The level of detail this sensor can capture never gets old, which led me to constantly zooming into the photos I had taken once I brought them over to my computer.
Unedited JPEGs from the Hasselblad 907X 50C.
Video can only be captured in 2.7K, 29.97fps or Full HD, 29.97fps on the 907X. The camera also crops the image to 16:9. As a huge 4:3 ratio fan, this makes me very sad, especially considering how many pixels are not being used with the 16:9 crop. However, the video is crisp and holds on to that great color science. But for many reasons, this is not a video camera. It’s almost weird that Hasselblad even included the ability to shoot video at all.
First, there is absolutely no in-body stabilization, so when shooting handheld, you can see every shake, breath, and focus pull. Next, there is no continuous autofocus in video mode and certainly no face detection in either the photo or video modes. But more importantly, that lack of video frame rate and resolution options leads me to believe this camera’s video capabilities are for making GIFs or grabbing a quick video reference. Tune into our video review of the 907X for a sample video shot.
I also don’t think the battery life could support consistent use of the 907X in video mode. While casually taking photos all day, I was only getting through about half a day of shooting before needing to swap in another battery. And while you can recharge the battery via the USB-C port on the camera, I can’t imagine owning this camera and not also owning at least two additional batteries, which cost $99 each.
A battery compartment houses the battery and two SD card slots.
This premium sensor, sleek design, and brand name don’t come cheap: the Hasselblad 907X 50C starts at $6,400. For $3,000 less, the Fujifilm GFX 50R has effectively the same sensor in a more traditional-style mirrorless body. You really have to be in love with the Hasselblad brand or the desire to use this as a digital back for a Hasselblad V system camera in order to justify the 907X’s price tag.
It’s that expensive price, the lack of any real handgrips, and the complete lack of weatherproofing that made me fear using this camera out in the world. I wholeheartedly believe it belongs in a studio that it will rarely leave, on product shoots where the goal is to make a viewer feel as though they can reach into the frame and grab an object, or in the hands of a much more cautious photographer.
The Hasselblad 907X 50C couldn’t be my daily driver, but it would be a sick camera to keep in the garage for those slower or gorgeous drives.
Asus is going big with its latest gaming phones. The ROG Phone 5 lineup will start shipping this month across the globe, costing 799 euros (around $950) for the base configuration with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of fast UFS 3.1 storage. Every configuration has a 6.78-inch FHD+ OLED screen with a 144Hz refresh rate and a 300Hz touch sampling rate. Also, the headphone jack has made a comeback after being absent from the ROG Phone 3, this time with a quad DAC in tow for hi-res audio. (In case you’re wondering where the ROG Phone 4 went, Asus skipped over the number four, like OnePlus did, due to its similarities with the word “death” in some Asian languages.)
The most notable changes from the last generation are exclusive to some even more expensive configurations, the ROG Phone 5 Pro and Ultimate (which I published a review of) that release in April for 1,199 euros (approximately $1,420) and in May for 1,299 euros (about $1,583), respectively. Both of these models have double the storage and more RAM (starting at 16GB in the Pro and going all the way up to 18GB in the Ultimate); come in limited edition colors; and have two additional ultrasonic touch sensors than the standard model, located near where your ring fingers might rest while holding the phone in landscape mode. You’ll also get a case and a clip-on AeroActive Cooler 5 fan attachment with purchase with either the Pro or Ultimate phone (which adds two more buttons attached to the fan.)
The new Asus gaming phones aren’t huge departures from their predecessors, though the hardware and software are more refined. I reviewed the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate, and while it delivers on its promises to be a spec and feature juggernaut in some clever ways, paying $1,580 for it seems steep. Even the $950 base configuration isn’t what I’d consider affordable.
The Ultimate and Pro include “ROG Vision,” a feature that pushes premade or custom text or graphics to its rear-facing OLED screen. It’s a spin on Asus’ “Anime Matrix” effect used in the Zephyrus G14 gaming laptop, allowing you to personalize your phone if you want. The standard ROG Phone 5 simply has a backlit ROG logo, which some might find to be just enough pizazz.
I go into all of the features in the review. But if you’re just passing by and want to know all about the specs, I’ve attached a handy table just for you.
Asus ROG Phone 5 lineup specs
Comparison
ROG Phone 5 Ultimate
ROG Phone 5 Pro
ROG Phone 5
Comparison
ROG Phone 5 Ultimate
ROG Phone 5 Pro
ROG Phone 5
Colors
Matte white
Glossy black
Phantom black or Storm white
Price
1,299 Euros (approx. $1,583)
1,199 Euros (approx. $1,420)
Starts at 799 Euros (approx. $950)
Processor
Snapdragon 888
*
*
OS
Android 11 with ROG UI
*
*
Display
6.78-inch 2448 x 1080 OLED with 144Hz refresh rate
*
*
RAM
18GB LPDDR5
16GB LPDDR5
8GB,12GB or 16GB LPDDR5
Storage
512GB UFS 3.1
*
256GB UFS 3.1
Extra touch sensors
Yes
*
No
Rear-facing cameras
64-megapixel with F/1.8 aperture, 13-megapixel 125-degree ultra-wide with F/2.4 aperture, and a 5-megapixel macro lens with F/2.0
*
*
Front-facing camera
24-megapixel with F/2.45 aperture
*
*
ROG Vision support
Yes, monochromatic
Yes, color
No
Battery
6,000mAh
*
*
Included charger
65W
*
*
Dimensions
172.8 x 77.2 x 10.29 mm
*
*
Weight
238 grams
*
*
Connectivity
LTE and sub-6GHz 5G on AT&T and T-Mobile, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
Disney Plus has revealed it now has over 100 million global paid subscribers, surpassing its own ambitious targets.
The announcement was made by Bob Chapek, Disney CEO, at a shareholder meeting on Tuesday. Chapek said: “The enormous success of Disney+ –which has now surpassed 100 million subscribers – has inspired us to be even more ambitious and to significantly increase our investment in the development of high-quality content.
“In fact, we set a target of 100+ new titles per year, and this includes Disney Animation, Disney Live-Action, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic. Our direct-to-consumer business is the Company’s top priority, and our robust pipeline of content will continue to fuel its growth.”
The last time Disney gave an update on viewing numbers was in February during its first-quarter earnings, where shareholders were notified that, as of January 2nd 2021, there were just over 94 million subscribers. That figure, however, didn’t take into account the success of recent big hits, WandaVision and Raya and the Last Dragon.
When the streaming service launched 16 months ago, Disney modestly put forth a subscriber target of 90 million within 4 years. It has now revised its expectations and plans to reach between 230 million and 260 million users by 2024, squaring up to market leader Netflix, which currently has more than 203 million global paying customers.
MORE
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Sonos has just announced a new Bluetooth portable speaker. The Roam is only the firm’s second-ever, following the 2019-launched Sonos Move and marking another break away from its traditional at-home Sonos system. It’s smaller and consequently more portable than Move – cheaper, too. And it’s shaping up to be a real challenger to the best Bluetooth speakers around.
But what does it bring to the already crowded Bluetooth speaker market? And how does it compare to its larger, pricier sibling?
Sonos Roam is official – and the cheapest, smartest Sonos speaker yet
Sonos Roam vs Sonos Move: price
The Sonos Roam is essentially a smaller, more portable Move and so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it’s more affordable. The Roam costs £159 ($169, AU$279, €179), making it the cheapest Sonos speaker ever (apart from those made in collaboration with IKEA), sitting below the slightly pricier Sonos One SL. That’s also in the ballpark of many of the best Bluetooth speakers around, although for its size (albeit not feature set) there are plenty around asking half that price.
The six-times-the-size Move costs more than twice that at £399 ($399, AU$649), so yes, there’s quite a difference in cost. This might rule the Move out for people’s some budgets, but it’s still worth knowing what you’re getting (or not getting) if you choose either one.
Sonos: everything you need to know
Sonos Roam vs Sonos Move: design
(Image credit: Sonos)
As soon as you clap eyes on it, you’ll see the Roam is a very different beast to the Move. It’s triangular, for a start, like a Toblerone. And it’s a lot smaller – six times smaller in fact, measuring just 16.8 x 6.2 x 6cm. That’s smaller than a water bottle. Naturally, it’s lighter, too, tipping the scales at 430g.
The comparative specs for the Move are dimensions of 24 x 16 x 12.6cm and a weight of 3kg.
One of the biggest criticisms of the Move is that its bulk and heft pushes the definitions of portability. Whereas the majority of Bluetooth speakers are designed to be tossed in a bag and taken to the park, picnic, pool or beach (just as the Roam is), the Move is more of a home speaker that can be moved from room to room or into the garden.
In light of its ultra-portable, outdoor-friendly design, the Roam also more resistant to the elements than the Move. It’s IP67-rated, meaning it can be completely submerged in three feet of water for up to 30 minutes. It’s completely impervious to dust, too. The Move is only IP56-rated, which means it’s only protected from ‘harmful dust’ and ‘strong water jets from all directions’.
The names of both devices are quite apt, then: the Move is intended to be moved from room to room, and the Roam to be taken with you on your wider travels.
Which Sonos speaker should you buy?
Sonos Roam vs Sonos Move: features
While the Roam is a very different proposition to the Move, it does share some of the same traits. For example, it also has both Bluetooth and wi-fi connectivity, so you can stream tunes to it offline from a phone or tablet, or over the internet using a service like Spotify or Tidal, like the rest of the Sonos speaker range. Wi-fi also means it can work as part of a Sonos multi-room system (as the Move can too); it’s as much a member of the family as every other speaker, also controlled by the Sonos S2 app.
Like the Move, the Roam has a rechargeable battery, and despite its much smaller size, it manages to match the Move’s 10-hour run time. In that context it’s impressive, although note that (not-so-fruitfully-featured) Bluetooth speakers do often offer longer battery lives.
To juice it up, the Roam comes with a USB-C cable (but not a power adaptor). Sonos has also launched a $49 dedicated wireless charging base that the Roam clips onto using magnets, although Roam is compatible with any Qi wireless charger.
The Move also has a USB-C cable, with a charging base that comes in the box. Its battery is also swappable, should you need to replace it (it will be a lot cheaper than buying a whole new speaker). Sonos hasn’t yet mentioned such functionality with the Roam, but as the consumer tech world is moving towards more sustainability, we wouldn’t be surprised if it was an option for Roam – if its design even allows for it.
Also like the Move, the Roam has voice control via Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, as well as Apple’s AirPlay 2. Neither the Move nor Roam can work as a home cinema surround with the Sonos Arc, Playbar, Playbase, Beam or Sub – that remains the job of the One SL and IKEA speakers.
Right, so that’s enough similarities; let us tell you how the two devices differ.
The first new feature the Roam offers is the automatic switching between wi-fi and Bluetooth connectivity and connected devices. That means when you leave the house it can connect to a Bluetooth device without you having to initiate pairing. You don’t have to do anything, in fact. Just grab it and go.
‘Sonos Swap’ is also new and exclusive to the Roam. This lets you ‘hand off’ whatever music the Roam is playing to another Sonos speaker (the nearest to it) by long-pressing its play/pause button. So if you come home from a long afternoon’s picnicking you can seamlessly swap what’s playing to your home system. Neat. (It’s also a feature we’re expecting to work with the highly anticipated Sonos wireless headphones, due later this year.)
Auto TruePlay is on board, too – and introduces improvements over the version that launched with the Move. For the uninitiated, this is automatic calibration technology that uses the speaker’s microphones to measure the frequency response of its surroundings and adjust sound accordingly, whenever it detects being placed in a new location. Move the speaker from a bookshelf to a coffee table, say, and it’ll recalibrate its sound to its new surroundings to give you the best audio possible. This tech was first seen in the Move, but the Roam moves it along by letting it work in a Bluetooth domain as well as a network one. This feature is coming to the Move via a firmware update.
Ultimately, while there’s plenty familiar about the Roam, there’s plenty new too. And it could be the smartest Bluetooth speaker of its size ever made.
Sonos Roam vs Sonos Move: sound
(Image credit: Future)
Of course, for all the bells and whistles, a speaker sinks or swims by its sound quality. The Sonos Move managed to impress us in this area, with a sonic profile similar to the excellent Sonos One: think weighty, full-bodied audio, with a tonality that’s nicely even-handed and not bereft of solid, deep bass.
The Move’s ample size gives it plenty of scale and space – put it at the centre of your garden party, and you won’t be disappointed. But volume never comes at the expense of quality – the audio stays composed even when pushed to the limit of what’s socially acceptable. You can expect similar sonic satisfaction from Bluetooth playback too.
But while we’ve pored over the features and design of the Sonos Roam, we haven’t given it a through going over in our test rooms yet – watch. this. space – so we can’t comment on its sound quality. Sonos speakers are renowned for their sonic competitiveness – the company’s reputation is not only built on seamless integration and user experience but also performance – so we’re expecting big things, even from a relatively small package.
While we don’t expect the Roam to match the much bigger Move’s scale of sound, our expectations regarding pound-per-performance value are high. If we get the same Sonos sonic character but just smaller in scale and lighter on bass, the Roam shouldn’t have anything to worry about.
Not that the Roam will have an easy time of it; competition is fierce where the Roam is positioned. To make its mark, it’ll have to compare to the likes of the JBL Flip 5 (currently number one in our list of best Bluetooth speakers), Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 (2nd Gen), Audio Pro Addon C3, and UE Megablast. No mean feat, although the Roam’s extra and Sonos-centric features will have to be accounted for.
All of these best-in-class portable Bluetooth speakers are superb options from established players in the market, and each of these manufacturers has a lot of experience of making such devices. Sonos is a big name in multi-room audio, but portable products are a different kettle of fish.
We’ll have a full review for you as soon as we can.
Sonos Roam vs Sonos Move: early verdict
On paper, the Roam looks like a great device, addressing the criticisms of the Move by being more portable and cheaper. It shouldn’t exactly undermine the Move, though, as the two are quite different propositions: the Roam is a proper portable for taking out with you and by design will have its sonic limitations, while the Move is a Sonos speaker you can take to the garden or another room and get a decent scale of excellent sound from.
The great thing about the Sonos ecosystem is that consumers, and especially Sonos loyals, may well have valid reason to choose both.
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Kingston Digital is the flash memory business unit of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., and has been the source for several retail products we have covered in the past, including internal NVME SSDs and encrypted USB drives. What we do not necessarily recognize is that a lot of flash memory sales are in the form of eMMC and memory cards, with the latter having become invaluable for content creators, as well as portable storage to carry around or use in mobile devices. Today, we take a look at a brand-new device from Kingston Digital that aims to streamline the workflow of content creators, and it is quite aptly named. Thanks again to the company for sending a review sample to TechPowerUp!
The Kingston Workflow Station is a hub that is part of a new family of products from the company. It includes a base station with four receptacles that can be occupied by different reader hubs, including USB (Type-A and Type-C), full-size SD cards, and microSD cards. The station comes with the USB reader hub—the others are optional extras. Kingston sent along the whole package, so we will take a look at everything, but begin with the specifications for these products in the tables below.
Specifications
Kingston Workflow Station Dock and USB miniHub
Interface:
Dock: USB 3.2 Gen 2; USB miniHub: USB 3.2 Gen 1
Connector:
USB Type-C for both
Supported USB Inputs:
USB miniHub: USB Type-A, USB Type-C
Dimensions:
Dock: 160.27×70.27×55.77 mm; USB miniHub: 62.87 x 16.87 x 50 mm
Weight:
Dock: 292 g; USB miniHub: 30 g
Operating Temperature:
0–60 °C
Storage Temperature :
-25–85 °C
Compatible OS:
Windows 10, 8.1, 8, Mac OS (v.10.10.x +)
Warranty:
Two years with free technical support
Kingston Workflow SD Reader
Interface:
USB 3.2 Gen 1
Connector:
USB Type-C
Supported Cards:
Supports UHS-II SD cards, backwards compatible with UHS-I SD cards
Dimensions:
62.87 x 16.87 x 50 mm
Weight:
31 g
Operating Temperature:
0–60 °C
Storage Temperature :
-25–85 °C
Compatible OS:
Windows 10, 8.1, 8, Mac OS (v.10.10.x +)
Warranty:
Two years with free technical support
Kingston Workflow microSD Reader
Interface:
USB 3.2 Gen 1
Connector:
USB Type-C
Supported Cards:
Supports UHS-II microSD cards, backwards compatible with UHS-I microSD cards
I would like to thank Antec for supplying the review sample.
Antec seems heavily invested in the Flux platform because it is a unique selling point that stands out in this otherwise crowded sub-$100 market. With the original DF600 Flux, we saw some thermal benefits, but it was not worth the increased operating noise due to the fact that it only included the fans but not a fan controller. Then there was the P10 Flux, which actually made good use of that thermal platform, and its approach to silence provided a better use case for the Flux setup. Today, we get to review the Antec DF700 Flux, which is also part of the Dark Fleet series and seems to improve usability for that unique fan setup.
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 is the gaming laptop to beat.
When I tested Asus ROG’s Zephyrus G14 a year ago, I was blown away. Not only was it just over 3.5 pounds — a weight unheard of for a system with both a powerful processor and a discrete GPU — but it ran even the most demanding games at much better frame rates than any gaming laptop we’d ever seen at that size. And then everything else about it — the keyboard, the touchpad, the audio, the battery life — was also great. The G14 wasn’t just better than other gaming laptops in those areas: it was better than most other laptops at its price point, period.
Given the G14’s resounding success, it was only a matter of time before Asus put it in a 15-inch chassis. The formula wasn’t broken, and Asus didn’t fix it — Asus just made it bigger. While I had some questions when I heard the G15 was on the way (could it deliver the same combination of portability, battery life, and performance as a 14-inch product? Could it do that without costing over $2,000?), what’s become clear throughout my testing period is that the device isn’t just as good as its 14-inch counterpart; it’s somehow even better. Asus and AMD have done it again.
Gaming on Cloud 9.
The G15’s secret weapon is its processor. All models have AMD’s monstrous eight-core Ryzen 9 5900HS. My test model, priced at $1,799.99, pairs that chip with Nvidia’s new GeForce RTX 3070 (an 80W version, with dynamic boost up to 100W), as well as 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. This configuration is a step above the base model, which includes an RTX 3060 and 512GB of storage. There are also two RTX 3080 models — pair it with 16GB of RAM for $1,999.99 or 32GB of RAM for $2,499.99. (I think my test model hits a sweet spot: 512GB of storage isn’t a lot for a gaming laptop, and it seems like the RTX 3080 models are fairly low-clocked and don’t perform hugely better than the lower-tier options.)
Asus says the G15 has a “desktop-inspired layout” with separate keys to control the volume, toggle the microphone, and pull up Armoury Crate.
Another highlight, consistent across all models, is the G15’s 165Hz QHD display. We’re finally starting to see 15-inch laptops with QHD screens en masse this year, indicating that this is the first year that manufacturers think mobile hardware is powerful enough to take advantage of them. Traditionally, mobile gamers have had the option of a 1080p display or a 4K display. (Not only is the latter quite expensive, but very few laptops can run demanding games at playable frame rates in 4K.)
You get over 3.5 million pixels from this QHD display.
So, the big question: Can the Zephyrus G15 run games at QHD resolution? The answer is an emphatic yes.
Some raw numbers to start. The G15 averaged 178fps on CS:GO at maximum settings — dust particles, fires, and other graphically intensive effects looked just fine. Red Dead Redemption II, also at maximum settings, averaged 58fps. (Come on, that’s basically 60). Ray tracing was no problem for this machine: the system averaged 61fps on Shadow of the Tomb Raider with ray tracing on ultra, and a whopping 81fps with ray tracing off. Remember, the G15 is running these at QHD resolution, which is already a bigger haul than traditional 1080p.
Those frame rates mean you should be able to run whatever game you want in QHD without bumping down any settings. They put the G15 about on par with MSI’s GS66 Stealth with an Intel Core i7-10870H and a GeForce RTX 3080 Max-Q — the two laptops tied on Red Dead and were just one frame apart on Tomb Raider. MSI told us that the QHD GS66 model costs $2,599 — so the G15 with an RTX 3070 is getting the same frame rates for literally $800 less. The G15 also did better than the QHD / RTX 3070 Intel configuration of the Razer Blade 15 Base (53fps on Red Dead, 46fps on Tomb Raider), which costs $400 more. Those differentials should speak for themselves. Yes, the GS66 has a 240Hz screen, but that’s going to be excessive for most people at QHD resolution. If I didn’t already know where the G14 was priced last year, I would be emailing Asus to check if $1,799.99 was a typo. It’s an unbelievable value.
The games all looked great on this screen, which covers 100 percent of the sRGB gamut and 89 percent of AdobeRGB, and maxes out at 334 nits of brightness. It isn’t the highest refresh-rate screen you can get at 165Hz — Razer’s Blade 15 Advanced has a 240Hz QHD model, as does MSI’s GS66 Stealth — but it’s still a significant step above the Zephyrus G14’s 120Hz display. While the G15 doesn’t deliver the best picture I’ve ever seen, it still looks great and certainly improves upon the G14’s 1080p panel. Movement was all smooth, without a stutter in sight, and colors looked great. I saw a small amount of glare when using the device outdoors, but it was still quite usable at maximum brightness.
Cooling, while sometimes iffy on the G14, is stellar on this device. The G15’s “intelligent cooling” system includes two 84-blade fans and six heat pipes. It had no problem with any of the games I threw at it, spending the vast majority of its time between the mid-60s and mid-70s (Celsius) and never jumping above 80 degrees. That’s some of the best cooling performance I’ve ever seen from a gaming laptop, especially considering that this one was running heavy AAA titles, maxed out, at QHD resolution.
More impressively, the fans managed to do this without being deafeningly loud. I could certainly hear them while the machine was under load, but it was standard gaming-laptop noise, and I had no problem hearing game audio. You can also swap to the “Silent” profile in Asus’ Armoury Crate software. That toggle lived up to its name and completely silenced the fans, without causing any heat or performance problems that I observed.
Speaking of audio, the G15’s speakers also sound great. That’s to be expected — there are literally six of them, including two front-facing tweeters and force-canceling woofers under the palm rests. They deliver clear audio with very strong bass and powerful percussion. I don’t often get to say that about laptop audio, especially on gaming laptops. The G15 comes preloaded with Dolby Access, which you can use to jump between equalizer presets for gaming, movies, and music, and it makes a huge difference.
There are three microphones, which had no trouble picking up my voice. They also have presets for game streaming, music recording, and conference calls. Those are handy, but they’re not enough to make the G15 a good choice for remote work because it doesn’t include a webcam. The G14 also didn’t have a camera — Asus seems to have decided that webcams aren’t necessary on Zephyrus products. It’s the one significant knock against a device that is basically perfect otherwise. It’s also very odd to have such an advanced microphone setup and not have a webcam to go with it.
There are a couple other things to note about the G15’s chassis. Like many other Asus laptops, the G15 has an ErgoLift hinge, which folds under the deck when the laptop is open and lifts the keyboard above the ground. This is supposed to create a more ergonomic typing position, though I can’t say I ever noticed the difference. It does dig into your legs a bit if you’re using the laptop on your lap, though. The G15’s hinge isn’t as sharp as some other hinges, but as a frequent couch user, it’s still not my favorite feeling.
The keyboard and touchpad are both great as well. The G14 had one of my favorite keyboards of 2020, and the G15’s is quite similar. The click is comfortable, with 1.7mm of travel, and the dedicated volume keys (a Zephyrus staple) are quite convenient. There’s a fingerprint sensor built into the power button, which is on the top right of the keyboard deck.
The touchpad is massive, at 5.1 x 3.4 inches — 20 percent larger than that of the prior G15 generation. It’s so big that large portions of both my hands were resting on it when they weren’t typing, rather than on the palm rests. This was a bit annoying, but to the G15’s credit, it didn’t cause any palm-rejection issues. It’s also a bit loud and not the easiest or deepest click, but those are nitpicks — it’s a fine touchpad.
But what impressed me the most about the G15 is its battery life. This thing never dies. Using it as my daily driver with an office workload on Asus’ Silent profile around 200 nits of brightness, I averaged eight hours and 32 minutes. That’s just under what I got from the G14, and the G15 has a larger and higher-resolution screen to fuel. The result puts the G15 right up there with its smaller sibling as one of the longest-lasting gaming laptops we’ve ever seen. It has a large 90Wh battery inside, but plenty of gaming rigs with comparable bricks can only make it a few hours on a charge.
Gaming significantly shortens the G15’s life span, of course. I got an hour and 21 minutes of Red Dead out of one charge. Impressively, though, the game was quite playable for much of that time, avoiding stutters and performance issues. The game didn’t drop below playable rates until the G15 was down to 10 percent with six minutes remaining. The 200-watt charger also juices the G15 decently fast — during very light Chrome use, it got the device up to 60 percent in 37 minutes. If you don’t want to carry that heavy brick around and aren’t doing GPU-intensive tasks, the G15 also supports 100W Type-C charging.
G15s are available in eclipse gray (like this model) and moonlight white.
At the end of the day, there are things I can nitpick about this device. In particular, the lack of a webcam is egregious. And there are reasons it won’t be for everyone. Folks who are looking for a higher refresh-rate screen may prefer to spend more on a Blade 15 Advanced or a GS66. Those who want a jazzier design may find Asus’ Strix Scar 15 a better fit. And while $1,799 is a great value for these specs, anyone on a tighter budget has options like Lenovo’s Legion 5 on the table.
But almost everything about this laptop is fantastic. And not only is it fantastic, but it’s fantastic for several hundreds of dollars less than its QHD competitors. If you are willing to use an external webcam and you don’t need a 240Hz screen, there’s really no reason you should be buying any other QHD laptop in the thin 15-inch class. The G15 is superior on battery life, superior on power, superior on weight, and superior on price. It’s just the best.
If you aren’t looking for the best of the best like Samsung’s 980 Pro but still want solid performance for large files or graphics-heavy games at a more affordable price point, Samsung’s 980 is worth your consideration.
For
Competitive performance
Attractive design
AES 256-bit hardware encryption
Software package
980 Pro-like endurance and 5-year warranty
Against
Slow write speeds after the SLC cache fills
Features and Specifications
Samsung’s SSDs are widely regarded as among the most reliable and best-performing in the market, and today the company hopes to extend that reputation with the introduction of the 980 NVMe SSD. Samsung’s 980 is designed for everyday PC users and gamers, although with performance ratings six times that of a standard SATA SSD, it possibly appeals to lower-budget content creators, too.
Samsung’s 980 also stands out with much more affordable pricing than the 980 Pro and 970 Evo Plus, a benefit borne of its DRAMless design that the company claims makes it the highest-performing DRAMless SSD on the market. Powered by the company’s V6 V-NAND and an efficient DRAMless controller that first debuted in the Portable SSD T7 Touch, this mix of hardware promises fast PCIe Gen3 performance and respectable endurance ratings.
Specifications
Product
980 250GB
980 500GB
980 1TB
Pricing
$49.99
$69.99
$129.99
Capacity (User / Raw)
250GB / 256GB
500GB / 512GB
1000GB / 1024GB
Form Factor
M.2 2280
M.2 2280
M.2 2280
Interface / Protocol
PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4
PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4
PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4
Controller
Samsung Pablo
Samsung Pablo
Samsung Pablo
DRAM
DRAMless / HMB
DRAMless / HMB
DRAMless / HMB
Memory
Samsung 128L V-NAND TLC
Samsung 128L V-NAND TLC
Samsung 128L V-NAND TLC
Sequential Read
2,900 MBps
3,100 MBps
3,500 MBps
Sequential Write
1,300 MBps
2,600 MBps
3,000 MBps
Random Read (QD1)
17,000 IOPS
17,000 IOPS
17,000 IOPS
Random Write (QD1)
53,000 IOPS
54,000 IOPS
54,000 IOPS
Random Read
230,000 IOPS
400,000 IOPS
500,000 IOPS
Random Write
320,000 IOPS
470,000 IOPS
480,000 IOPS
Security
AES 256-bit encryption
AES 256-bit encryption
AES 256-bit encryption
Endurance (TBW)
150 TB
300 TB
600 TB
Part Number
MZ-V8V250BW
MZ-V8V500BW
MZ-V8V1T0BW
Warranty
5-Years
5-Years
5-Years
Samsung targets the 980 at lower price points with capacities that include 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB models. With prices of $50, $70, and $130, the 980 hits the market with affordable price points at each capacity. That stands in contrast to the rest of the company’s SSD families, many of which span from 2TB to 8TB and cost hundreds of dollars.
Samsung’s 980 comes with TurboWrite 2.0, meaning it features a massive SLC buffer that’s larger than the cache on the 970 Evo and 970 Evo Plus. This speedy buffer absorbs data at a faster rate before write speeds degrade as the workload spills into the native TLC flash. However, the 980’s TurboWrite 2.0 implementation is a bit different than the 980 Pro’s; instead of a hybrid arrangement with both static and dynamic TLC caches, the 980 comes with just a dynamic SLC. This enables more cache capacity for the 500GB and 1TB models than the 980 Pro, but due to the 980’s lower-end SSD controller, the SSD isn’t quite as fast when the cache is full.
970 Evo Plus – Intelligent TurboWrite 1.0
980 – Intelligent TurboWrite 2.0
Capacity
Default
Intelligent
Total
Intelligent / Total
250GB
4GB
9GB
13GB
45GB
500GB
4GB
18GB
22GB
122GB
1TB
6GB
36GB
42GB
160GB
Interfacing with the host over a PCIe 3.0 x4 link, the 980 NVMe SSD can up to 3.5/3 GBps of sequential read/write throughput and even sustain up to 500,000/480,000 random read/write IOPS at its highest capacity. But, while peak figures are eye-catchers, the real key to application performance lies in the QD1 random performance rating. Samsung rates the drive with up to 17,000/54,000 read/write IOPS at QD1, which promises responsive performance in everyday desktop PC workloads.
Like the 980 Pro and 970 Evo Plus, the new 980 comes factory over-provisioned by roughly 9% and is backed by a five-year warranty or up to the respective TBW rating, which varies based on the capacity of the drive (150 TB per 250GB). The 980 also boasts the same AES 256-bit Full Disk Encryption feature set that’s compliant with TCG/Opal v2.0 and Encrypted Drive (IEEE1667) standards.
Software and Accessories
Samsung’s Magician application is one of the best pieces of storage management software available, and it’s getting better with its next iteration. Magician 6.3 comes with the same capabilities as prior versions but also brings the debut of Full Power Mode support. Like the WD Black’s SSD Dashboard Game Mode, this feature allows the 980 to operate at peak performance by disabling the lower power states, thus reducing the latency associated with transitioning between power states. Unforunately Magician 6.3 isn’t available for today’s review, but Samsung says it will be available within the next few weeks. The company also provides additional software to quickly clone your old data to your new Samsung SSD.
A Closer Look
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Samsung’s 980 comes in an M.2 2280 single-sided form factor with a black PCB. To keep the SSD cool, Samsung incorporated a few thermal solutions into the design. The heat spreader label on the back of the drive improves thermal dissipation to help combat excess heat, and the Dynamic Thermal Guard technology invokes thermal throttling if needed. The 980 also supports Active State Power Management (ASPM), Autonomous Power State Transition (APST), and the L1.2 ultra-low power mode to regulate overall power consumption. The controller also comes with a nickel-coating that the company claims reduces its operating temperatures by five degrees Celsius.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Speaking of which, Samsung’s Pablo, an NVMe 1.4 compliant SSD controller, powers the 980. The company wasn’t too forthcoming with deeper details on the controller. We believe it to be a multi-core Arm architecture that may be manufactured using its 14nm process, especially since the 980 Pro was so proudly touted for being manufactured on the company’s 8nm process node.
The controller features half the NAND channels of the controllers that power the company’s 970 Evo Plus and 980 Pro, which, along with the lack of a memory controller, helps save on cost due to less complex logic. Naturally, that comes at the expense of performance. However, to mitigate these performance bottlenecks, the DRAMless architecture uses host memory buffer (HMB) tech that leverages the host system’s DRAM instead of an onboard DRAM chip to host the FTL mapping table.
This technology allows the controller to leverage a small portion of the host system’s DRAM memory by using the Direct Memory Access functionality that’s baked into the PCI-Express interface. The company programmed the SSD to use 64MB of system memory for the 980’s needs, which is similar to other HMB drives on the market.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Each capacity of Samsung’s 980 NVMe SSD comes with a single NAND package containing up to sixteen 512Gb dies. Samsung’s V6 V-NAND TLC has a 2-plane architecture. While this is only half the number of planes compared to competing types of flash, Samsung says it has engineered the silicon to still provide speedy programming and read times. For further detailed reading, we covered this flash more extensively in our review of the Samsung 980 Pro.
RHA’s latest premium true wireless buds are well-built and comfortable but ultimately play it too safe sonically
For
Pleasantly full-bodied
Well-built, comfortable design
Decent noise-cancelling
Against
Lacks punch and rhythmic talent
Treble not refined
Charging case is fiddly
RHA is one of many headphone manufacturers offering a focused true wireless earbuds proposition that consists of one premium pair with active noise-cancelling and a more affordable pair without it.
The company’s naming choices leave visitors to its website in no doubt as to which is which in its arsenal. The RHA TrueControl ANC we have on test here sit above the RHA TrueConnect 2, justifying their flagship status with not only noise-cancellation but also Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX connectivity, dedicated app support and an IPX4-rated level of water and sweat resistance that means they should survive water splashes.
Build
(Image credit: RHA)
The TrueControl ANC’s battery life of 20 hours – five hours from the buds, plus 15 hours from the charging case – isn’t superior to its sibling, though. That isn’t perhaps wholly surprising considering noise cancellation is rather battery-draining, but it is still somewhat disappointing in light of the competition. Noise-cancelling rivals, such as the Apple AirPods Pro, Sony WF-1000XM3 and Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2, all claim 24 hours or more.
We’re pleased to see fast charging support (14 minutes provides an hour of playback) as well as broad wireless charging compatibility on the menu. As is typical, a wireless charger isn’t provided, but out of the box the earbuds’ charging case can be replenished via the supplied USB-C cable.
The charging case reminds us of our time with the original RHA TrueConnect earbuds, which featured a similar case that we called “neat, but somewhat fiddly”. The aluminium case twists open to reveal the earbuds securely embedded into deep magnetic divots, but the slot only opens by a couple of finger-widths, and so it isn’t always easy to pluck them out.
That said, there are a swathe of rival designs on the market that vary vastly in quality, and this makes us appreciate the rare premium quality of the TrueControl ANC case’s solid build. It feels made to last and hardy enough to survive a tumble out of a hand, bag or pocket.
The earbuds have a matching air of quality about them too. They look and feel nicely finished, and we’ve no complaints with the responsive circular touchpad, which in the dedicated RHA Connect app can be set to skip tracks, adjust volume and cycle through noise-cancelling modes (on, off or ‘ambient’) with swipe forward/backward or tapping motions.
The app is also where you can adjust EQ, see battery levels and activate wear detection features – ‘auto-pause’ pauses music when an earbud is removed from your ear, while ‘auto-play’ resumes play when it is reinserted. Both work as promised during our test.
Comfort
(Image credit: RHA)
The buds join the likes of the Sony WF-1000XM3 as some of the bulkiest earbud designs out there, but that isn’t a reason to avoid them – in fact, they’re one of the most comfortable and secure-fitting we’ve come across.
They’re easy to lock in place without much force or twisting, in part thanks to a notch that easily nestles into your ears. And multiple sizes of silicone and memory foam tips ensure there’s something for everyone.
When in place, the TrueControl ANC make your ears feel a little full – you won’t end up forgetting they are in – but despite the size of the earbud housings they feel relatively lightweight. Not even a mild attempt at headbanging during Judas Priest’s Hell Patrol manages to dislodge them.
Sound
(Image credit: RHA)
The RHA’s sonic character plays into the hands of such a track: it’s big and full, warm and smooth, with an abundant low-end and rich mids that are able to get stuck into the meaty electric riffs and double-kick drumming. There’s a fair amount of detail in the mix, too.
Switch the noise-cancelling on and it doesn’t affect the sonics as much as we’ve heard with some other earbuds – all in all, it’s pretty satisfying. Their best efforts to reduce background TV noise and everyday road traffic are laudable, although as is to be expected from this kind of design they won’t cloak you in isolation to the extent that heavy traffic or engine noise is completely muted. You’re still likely to be disturbed when playing at low volume or mellow instrumental tracks, too.
The TrueControl ANC’s ‘ambient’ mode works adequately, amplifying your surroundings so you can conveniently hear conversations or announcements without having to remove the buds from your ears.
Our main issue with these RHAs is their inability to deliver the more mature aspects of sound as well as the best-in-class competition can. Compared with the slightly more affordable Sony WF-1000XM3, the TrueControl ANC lack the dynamic punch and rhythmic prowess to truly engage you in anything particularly musical. Dynamically, they’re fairly restrained, and the fact their rich balance doesn’t hugely favour treble doesn’t help them sound any less subdued either.
What treble there is lacks refinement, too, and this is highlighted when we play Soul Push’s Good Man. Whereas the grooves underpinning the track sound upbeat, crisp and open through the Sonys, the RHA’s rendition isn’t as spirited and musically cohesive and is less interesting to listen to.
Verdict
The RHA TrueControl ANC offer a comfortable listen – one that can be easily endured for hours without it grating. However, it’s not all that compelling, especially at lower volumes where they all too easily settle for offering background listening.
Despite their neat, comfortable earbud design and decent noise-cancelling, they need to offer more in the sound department at this premium price to merit a place on people’s shortlists.
SCORES
Sound 3
Comfort 5
Build 4
MORE:
Read our guide to the best true wireless earbuds and best AirPods alternatives
Following the TicWatch Pro 3, Mobvoi has announced the TicWatch Pro S, a smartwatch that carries over some of the hallmark TicWatch features like a “Dual Display” that layers an always-on LCD over an AMOLED screen for longer battery life, and some custom health apps, for a slightly more affordable $259.99 price. But the older internals of the device might not make it so appetizing.
The TicWatch Pro S costs $40 less than the Pro 3, but that price comes with pretty big tradeoffs. First and foremost, an old processor. As we highlighted in our review, the more expensive TicWatch Pro 3 has a new Snapdragon 4100 that brings more processing power and battery efficiency to address some long-standing Wear OS issues. But the TicWatch Pro S makes do with an old Snapdragon 2100 instead, a processor that’s been kicking around Wear OS devices since at least 2016.
The TicWatch Pro S is thicker than the Pro 3 and only 2mm narrower.Image: Mobvoi
And while the TicWatch Pro S is actually very slightly thicker than the Pro 3 (12.6mm vs 12.2mm) and only slightly narrower (45mm wide vs 47mm), it’s also saddled with a smaller battery. In comparison to the Pro 3’s 577mAh battery, the Pro S only has 415mAh to spare. In another circumstance it might be a negligible difference, but when battery life was an area in need of improvement for most Wear OS watches, it shouldn’t be ignored.
The TicWatch Pro 3 is large for most wrists and not much larger than the TicWatch Pro S.Photo by Dieter Bohn / The Verge
The slight change in size also doesn’t seem like it would make a big difference for anyone who would find the TicWatch Pro 3 too big.
The TicWatch Pro S’s always-on display option is neat and might provide more battery life than your average Wear OS device, but if the insides of a Wear OS watch from five years prior are powering it, it might be worth it to pause and reconsider how much that extra $40 is worth to you.
The TicWatch Pro S is available today in the US, UK, and Europe for $259.99 from Mobvoi’s site and Amazon.
(Pocket-lint) – It seems kinda mad that we’ve arrived here, but the Moto G is now up to number 10. It’s no surprise though: as the G series is Motorola’s most successful range and it has consistently delivered great value, simple and reliable phones.
But for 2021, the numbering and naming system has changed – the lower the number, the lower down it sits in the ranks. Therefore the G10 is the entry-level affordable phone in a series that’s long looked a bit crowded.
That causes a bit of a self-administered issue for the Moto G10, however, as it’s no longer the default choice in the range. Why? Because for a little extra money the Moto G30 also exists.
Design
Dimensions: 165.2 x 75.7 x 9.2mm / Weight: 200g
Finishes: Aurora Gray, Iridescent Pearl
Rear positioned fingerprint scanner
Glass front, ribbed plastic back
3.5mm headphone port
Single loudspeaker
microSD expansion
Moto G design has never been all that fancy or premium, which makes sense for a budget phone. Some corners need cutting to get it down to the right price. This generation Motorola has taken on something of an unusual finish with its ribbed back panel (it’s still better-looking than the G30’s odd colour choices though).
That wave pattern you see isn’t just a visual thing, it has texture too. It’s a little weird to begin with, but the texture has its merits. It definitely makes it feel less likely to slip out of your hand, and you’ll never find it randomly slipping off a surface like a completely glossy glass back might.
That’s not the only practical decision made here either. Unlike some more expensive phones, the Moto G10 is equipped with everything you could need. That means you get a 3.5mm headphone port at the top for plugging in your hands-free buds, or wired headphones.
There’s also a microSD card slot for expanding the storage. You might find that useful if you like to keep a physical copy of all your own media offline. And if you have have the 64GB phone, you may just find you fill up the internal storage quite quickly.
So what else is there? Well, you’ll find three buttons up the right side. One is the usual power button, and there’s the volume rocker switch, but then curiously there’s also an additional button which – when pressed – will launch Google Assistant. Which is fine, but we can’t imagine it’s used by most people all that much.
As for that fingerprint sensor on the back, usually we laud the appearance of physical scanners because they’re fast and reliable, but that’s not the case with this one. Most times it would take two or three goes before a successful scan, meaning it was often quicker just to type in the multi-digit PIN instead.
The G10’s front is pretty standard too, with its relatively skinny bezel up the sides and the dewdrop-style notch at the top of the display, barely cutting into the available screen real-estate. And while there’s only one loud speaker, placed on the bottom edge, the speaker grille is long enough that we didn’t find it was all that easy to completely block, meaning you can hear it whether you hold the phone in portrait or landscape.
Display
6.5-inch IPS LCD display
720 x 1600 resolution
269 pixels per inch
60Hz refresh rate
Android 11
On to that display and – as with most affordable phones – this one uses a long aspect ratio HD+ resolution panel. That means, specifically, it’s IPS LCD and has 720 x 1600 pixels spread across that 6.5-inch diagonal.
Pocket-lint
Obviously that means it’s not super sharp, but it’s adequate for daily use and won’t leave you squinting. In fact, it’s pleasant enough when inside and watching movies, gaming and browsing the web. It’s not the most vivid panel around though – its dynamic range does suffer, but that’s almost to be expected from an LCD screen on a cheap smartphone such as this.
The one place we did notice it struggle the most was outside in daylight. Trying to frame shots with the camera to shoot in sunlight was difficult. We could barely see what was on the screen, even with the brightness cranked right up.
Performance and battery
Snapdragon 460 processor, 4GB RAM
64GB or 128GB storage
5000mAh battery
If what you’re after in a phone is really solid battery life, we’re happy to report the G10 delivers that – by the bucket load. Even in a phone with a high-end flagship processor and a top-of-the-line display, a 5,000mah capacity battery would be generous. So stick it in a phone with a low power chip and only a HD resolution panel, and you get one of the longest-lasting phones on the market.
Pocket-lint
In testing we’d often get to the end of a second day and still have some juice left over, even after using it for testing the camera and playing a couple of hours of games each day. For most people we think this is a genuine two-day phone. You’ll never have to worry about it dying during the day if you’ve taken it off charge in the morning. It’s pretty epic.
Moto also takes care of battery life long-term too. It has a couple of different tools in the battery settings designed to get the most out of the battery for as long as you own the phone.
Optimised charging learns your usual charging pattern and then using that can predict when you need the battery to be fully charged. So if that is at 7am when your alarm goes off, it’ll charge all the way up to 80 percent, and hang there until it needs to charge the final 20 per cent, in time for you to wake up.
There’s also overcharge protection. So if you’re a really light user and have a habit of just leaving your phone plugged in costantly for days at a time, it will limit the charge to 80 per cent if your phone has been plugged in continuously for three days.
Pocket-lint
Being 5,000mAh does mean charging times are a little slow, especially with the charging speeds maxing out at 10W. So it’s definitely one to plug in at night while you sleep. Thankfully, you’ll probably only have to do it once every other night.
As for general performance, this is where the G10 slips up against its slightly more expensive sibling, the G30. The Snapdragon 400 series processor inside isn’t unusable by any means, but it does feel quite slow and laggy a lot of the time. Loading web pages, or backing up photos to Google Photos, seems to take longer than it should, while animations in the general interface appear quite stuttery.
In fact, Google Photos did – on a couple of occasions – just hang and crash, and then failed to upload our photos to the cloud. On a similar note, there were a couple of occasions where a chosen game would just freeze and crash too. It wasn’t just Google Photos getting up to these shenanigans.
The G30 just seems more reliable day-to-day in that regard, which is why we’d recommend that over this phone. It’s not that the G30 is super smooth and fast all the time, it just didn’t leave us hanging as much. Still, for most tasks, the G10 is fine, if unremarkable.
Best smartphones 2021 rated: The top mobile phones available to buy today
By Chris Hall
·
Pocket-lint
As for software, that’s the usual Moto style of having an almost Google Android stock experience with a couple of added extras from Moto. That means all your default apps are Google’s, and you get fun gestures like swiping down on the fingerprint sensor to get your notifications, or a chopping motion to switch on the flashlight.
As for camera quality, the quad system is lead by a 48-megapixel primary camera, which is joined by an 8MP ultra-wide, and pair of low-resolution depth and macro sensors.
Stick to the main sensor and you’ll be mostly fine. In good daylight pictures will be sharp, colourful and feature decent depth. It’s not flagship level, naturally, but it’s good enough for social media use.
The ultra-wide is just ok. It often struggles to focus though, and often leaves colours looking unnatural, completely different to the main sensor.
The macro lens can be useful for close-ups at times, but results are not consistent, and being a low resolution sensor means details aren’t that great either.
So the G10 is yet another case of a budget phone having more cameras than it knows what to do with. Ignore the depth, macro and wide-angle and you’ve got a solid main camera – but that’s hardly selling itself to the “quad camera” standard, is it?
Verdict
The G10 might be the first entry-level Moto G we don’t unequivocally recommend as an easy purchase. There’s nothing wrong with it, per se – indeed, the battery life, software and practical design make it more than good enough for most people – but there’s the Moto G30 to consider.
Our experience with the G30 was just better, especially when it comes down to daily performance, so if you can afford the little extra then we’d recommend opting for that one.
With all that said, the Moto G10 offers great battery life, so if you don’t need anything too taxing then it’s still a decent option considering its asking price.
Also consider
Pocket-lint
Moto G30
squirrel_widget_4167552
If you have the ability to stump up a little more cash, the G30 is the more sensible choice in Moto’s new G-series range. It has a smoother overall experience and is still great value for money.
Read the review
Pocket-lint
Redmi Note 10 Pro
squirrel_widget_4261498
Few phones at this price point are as accomplished as the Redmi Note 10 Pro. It’s more expensive than the G10, but it’s more than worth it, if you can cope with inferior software.
Read the review
Writing by Cam Bunton. Editing by Mike Lowe.
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