If you’re looking for a versatile DAC and headphone amplifier to handle your assorted hi-res music library, Cambridge Audio may have just what you need. The British audio brand has just launched its latest flagship model, the DacMagic 200M.
Successor to the previous generation DacMagic Plus, the DacMagic 200M is the first product from the company to natively support MQA technology, meaning it can decode and play downloaded MQA files, in addition to Tidal Masters (which are based on the tech). That’s alongside native support for 32-bit/768kHz PCM and DSD512 files too.
(Image credit: Cambridge Audio)
Twin coaxial (up to 24-bit/192kHz) and optical (up to 24-bit/96kHz) inputs allow you to feed a number of digital sources through the DacMagic 200M, including CD players, games consoles and Blu-ray players. There’s also a USB type-B socket (32-bit/768kHz, DSD512) for hooking up a laptop, plus balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA analogue connections.
Last but not least for those who’d like to easily and conveniently stream files from their device over wireless means, the DacMagic 200M now has built-in aptX Bluetooth.
As for its DAC architecture, the new top-of-the-line DacMagic utilises dual ESS Sabre DACs in a mono configuration, meaning one chip handles the right channel while the other handles the left. Three pre-set filters (Fast, Slow and Short Delay) offer a level of sonic personalisation and help to reduce noise generated by the digital-to- analogue conversion process, too.
As you can see below, filter and source selection as well as file type and size are indicated by the series of LEDs on the front panel.
(Image credit: Cambridge Audio)
The headphone Class A/B amplification, meanwhile, drives a front-panel 6.3mm socket that, thanks to a reduction in impedance output, promises more power and less distortion than the one in the previous design.
The versatile Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M is available now, priced £449 ($499).
MORE:
Best DACs 2021: USB, portable and desktop DACs
Focal Arche review: French speaker/headphone brand has a crack at DACs
Gigabyte’s Aorus RGB Memory DDR4-3600 C18 is a very nice memory kit that’s thwarted by a high price tag and limited availability.
For
Excellent performance
Faster than the similarly-specced competition
Against
Too expensive
Little room for overclocking
Lighting requires proprietary software
In today’s world, computer hardware vendors have to venture into new markets to stay relevant. Some brands remain faithful to their roots, but the majority of hardware brands have branched out from their comfort zones to take up new adventures. Gigabyte, for instance, is mostly known for its motherboards, graphics cards, and gaming laptops, but the company has also tried its hand in the memory market. Gigabyte’s memory collection isn’t quite there yet, but its Aorus gaming memory aims to steal a piece of the pie.
Gigabyte builds the Aorus RGB memory modules on a black PCB that’s accompanied by a stylish aluminum heat spreader with an asymmetric design. The heat spreader, which is 2mm thick to help improve heat dissipation, can either arrive in silver or grey (or, as Gigabyte calls it, Aorus Grey) depending on the memory kit’s frequency. In our case, the heat spreader came in Aorus Grey.
The memory modules are equipped with a discrete LED diffuser, which helps keep their height down to 39mm (1.54 inches). Gigabyte touts up to 12 different lighting modes for its Aorus RGB memory, but the actual number varies from kit to kit.
As expected, the memory is part of the Gigabyte’s proprietary RGB Fusion 2.0 ecosystem; therefore, it’s possible to synchronize its lighting with other Aorus-branded hardware and peripherals. The brand provides the RGB Fusion 2.0 software, which is the only way to control the memory lighting if you don’t have a Gigabyte motherboard.
Gigabyte doesn’t include any dummy sticks for this particular DDR4-3600 16GB (2x8GB) memory kit; you only receive two 8GB DDR4 memory modules out of the box. Despite what Thaiphoon Burner says, Gigabyte claims that the Aorus RGB memory is made from a 10-layer PCB. They conform to a single-rank design with Hynix H5AN8G8NCJR-VKC (C-die) integrated circuits (ICs).
The memory modules will run at DDR4-2666 with the typical 19-19-19-43 timings without any adjustments. With XMP activated, you’ll find the memory modules at DDR4-3600 with slightly better 18-19-19-39 timings while pulling 1.35V. For more on timings and frequency considerations, see our PC Memory 101 feature, as well as our How to Shop for RAM story.
Comparison Hardware
Memory Kit
Part Number
Capacity
Data Rate
Primary Timings
Voltage
Warranty
G.Skill Trident Z Neo
F4-3600C14D-16GTZNB
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
14-15-15-35 (2T)
1.45 Volts
Lifetime
Adata XPG Spectrix D60G
AX4U360038G14C-DT60
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
14-15-15-35 (2T)
1.45 Volts
Lifetime
Team Group T-Force Xtreem ARGB
TF10D416G3600HC14CDC01
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
14-15-15-35 (2T)
1.45 Volts
Lifetime
Adata XPG Spectrix D50
AX4U360038G18A-DT50
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
18-20-20-42 (2T)
1.35 Volts
Lifetime
HP V8
7EH92AA#ABM x 2
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
18-20-20-40 (2T)
1.35 Volts
5 Years
GeIL Orion AMD Edition
GAOR416GB3600C18BDC
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
18-22-22-42 (2T)
1.35 Volts
Lifetime
Gigabyte Aorus RGB Memory
GP-AR36C18S8K2HU416R
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
18-19-19-39 (2T)
1.35 Volts
Lifetime
Our Intel test system consists of an Intel Core i9-10900K and Asus ROG Maximus XII Apex on the 0901 firmware. On the opposite side, the AMD testbed leverages an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and ASRock B550 Taichi with the 1.30 firmware. The MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Gaming Trio handles the graphical duties on both platforms.
Intel Performance
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Gigabyte’s kit provides powerful performance on the Intel platform. The Aorus RGB outpaced other C18 memory kits and even some of the lower latency C14 rivals in application performance. Gaming, on the contrary, is another story. The Aorus RGB memory dropped to the penultimate position on the gaming charts.
AMD Performance
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Unfortunately, the Aorus RGB memory couldn’t maintain its dominance on the AMD platform. We see the DDR4-3600 C14 memory kits back up top in our application tests. Nonetheless, it’s important to mention that the Aorus RGB memory was the fastest of the DDR4-3600 C18 memory kits.
The Aorus RGB memory was the second-worst overclocker out of our DDR4-3600 memory kits. With the help of a 1.45V DRAM voltage, the memory got to DDR4-3900 with 20-20-20-40 timings.
Lowest Stable Timings
Memory Kit
DDR4-3600 (1.45V)
DDR4-3733 (1.45V)
DDR4-3900 (1.45V)
DDR4-4000 (1.45V)
DDR4-4133 (1.45V)
DDR4-4200 (1.45V)
G.Skill Trident Z Neo
13-16-16-36 (2T)
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
19-19-19-39 (2T)
Adata XPG Spectrix D60G
13-15-15-35 (2T)
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
20-19-19-39 (2T)
Team Group T-Force Xtreem ARGB
13-14-14-35 (2T)
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
19-19-19-39 (2T)
Adata XPG Spectrix D50
14-19-19-39 (2T)
N/A
N/A
18-22-22-42 (2T)
N/A
N/A
HP V8
14-19-19-39 (2T)
N/A
N/A
N/A
18-22-22-42 (2T)
N/A
GeIL Orion AMD Edition
16-20-20-40 (2T)
19-22-22-42 (2T)
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Gigabyte Aorus RGB Memory
16-19-19-39 (2T)
N/A
20-20-20-40 (2T)
N/A
N/A
N/A
Similarly, there wasn’t much headroom for manual tweaking. The Aorus RGB memory was stable with a CAS Latency of 16, but the rest of the timings had to remain at 19-19-39. We had to boost the DRAM voltage to 1.45V to achieve complete system stability.
Bottom Line
Gigabyte did a good job on the Aorus RGB Memory DDR4-3600 C18 as it looks and performs great. However, the brand kept the memory inside its own RGB ecosystem, meaning that you will need to use Gigabyte’s software to control the memory’s lighting effects properly. On the performance end, the memory is a strong performer, but just don’t expect to squeeze many extra megahertz out of it. Overclocking headroom isn’t great on the Aorus RGB memory.
Unfortunately, the Aorus RGB Memory DDR4-3600 C18 is also a very elusive memory kit. Like us, you will have a hard time finding it in a retailer other than Amazon. When in stock, the Aorus RGB Memory DDR4-3600 C18 retails for $149.99, making it one of the most expensive DDR4-3600 memory kits, even by C18 standards.
The GeForce RTX 3060 (codename Ampere) will launch next month at $329. However, early retailer pricing suggests that third-party GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card will likely cost a lot more than Nvidia’s MSRP – maybe even as much as the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti.
CCL Computers (via VideoCardz) has already listed a ton of GeForce RTX 3060 models from the different graphics cards manufacturers. The U.K. retailer didn’t reveal the price tags for the graphics cards, but VideoCardz discovered a bug in the vendor’s system that accidentally exposes the pricing. Since we can’t be certain if CCL Computers’ prices are accurate, we recommend you approach the pricing with a good bit of caution.
After analyzing all 15 custom GeForce RTX 3060 graphics cards, we’ve determined that only the Asus models are properly priced. The SKUs from Gigabyte, Palit and Zotac all cost £499.99, which is highly unlikely. We suspect the pricing for those three vendors is a placeholder.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Pricing
Graphics Card
U.S. Pricing excl VAT
U.K. Pricing inc VAT
Asus Dual GeForce RTX 3060 Ti OC Edition
$627.06
£549.99
Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3060 OC Edition
$585.86
£513.86
Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3060
$573.9
£503.36
Asus Dual GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Mini OC Edition
$564.71
£495.30
Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 OC Edition
$533.15
£467.62
Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060
$512.18
£457.12
Since it’s such a small sample size, it’s difficult to reach a general conclusion. If we focus primarily on the Asus models and CCL Computers’ pricing, there’s a small price difference between the GeForce RTX 3060 and RTX 3060 Ti in some cases. For example, the Dual GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Mini OC Edition is only 5.9% more expensive than the TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 OC Edition. If we look at it from another angle, the ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3060 and OC Editions cost more than the Dual GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Mini OC Edition itself.
GeForce RTX 3060 reviews aren’t out yet so we don’t know how it compares to the best graphics cards and have no clue about the margin between it and the RTX 3060 Ti. Specification-wise, the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is equipped with 35.7% more CUDA cores than the non-Ti, while also offering a 24.4% higher memory bandwidth. In the GeForce RTX 3060’s defense, it does come with an extra 4GB of GDDR6. But again, it’s difficult to estimate how much faster the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is in comparison to the non-Ti without a proper review.
The GeForce RTX 3060’s pricing will determine the graphics card’s success, and as we already know, every dollar counts in the mid-range market. Assuming that the price gap between a GeForce RTX 3060 and a RTX 3060 Ti is less than 10%, it would make sense to grab the latter, especially if it ends up offering considerably more performance. The problem is that with the ongoing graphics card shortage and the resurgence of cryptocurrency mining, the odds of finding a GeForce RTX 3060 at $329 are going to be very slim, if not impossible.
Adafruit are not resting on their laurels and they are pressing on with their range of RP2040 ‘Pi Silicon’ based boards which use the same chip as the recently released Raspberry Pi Pico. In a recent tweet Adafruit have announced their latest prototype, the QT Py RP2040 a version of their QT Py CircuitPython and it looks to be an incredibly small board.
Coming soon – Petite Pico Prototypes – QT Py RP2040Can we squooosh an RP2040 into a QT Py shape? With double sided assembly and some 0402 resistors…yes! We stuck to 0805 and 0603 for the supply bypass caps, but went smol for the resistors and 20pF’s. pic.twitter.com/i79SCq3ZXwJanuary 22, 2021
QT Py RP2040 packs a lot of features into a small 22 x 18mm footprint, the same footprint as their older model. The QT Py RP2040 could be the smallest RP2040 board yet, much smaller than the Raspberry Pi Pico’s 51 x 21mm board. QT Py shares something in common with the Raspberry Pi Pico, castellated edges which can be used to embed the board into a carrier board.
Using USB-C for data and power, QT Py RP2040 has a limited amount of GPIO pins, a mere 14 pins. But what we lack in quantity, we gain in choice, we have four analog pins connected to the 12-bit ADC of the RP2040, these can also double as digital pins. There is a single I2C and SPI connection, along with UART. A single STEMMA QT port enables the use of compatible components.
Two buttons, one user programmable, the other to reset the board’s bootloader, and a Neopixel RGB LED complete the top half of the board. On the underside lies the RP2040 powering the board.
In our Raspberry Pi Pico review, we praised the value and versatility of the new microcontroller board. However, Adafruit’s version could be even more compelling, thanks to its small size, larger number of analog connections and USB-C / STEMMA QT connectivity.
There is no word on price or release date as yet, as Adafruit is apparently still experimenting with the board.
Q Acoustics bravely enters uncharted waters, but out-of-character sonic shortfalls let down an otherwise decent first effort
For
Thoughtfully designed
Vast hub connectivity
Punchy, room-filling sound
Against
Lacks dynamic and rhythmic expression
No dedicated control app
Stands are expensive extras
It’s a simple fact of life that the more there is to do, the more there is to prioritise. For Q Acoustics’ first all-in-one streaming speaker system, the Q Active 200, the British speaker specialist could have focused most of its attention on the streaming side of things – that is the unchartered territory here, after all. While the brand has some degree of experience in powered speaker design, this is its first proper active streaming proposition.
But the Q Acoustics Q Active 200 appear to be a speaker-first design, given the ambitious acoustic engineering on show here. Get the speaker part right, as you’d hope a firm with such plaudits in the field would, and you’re halfway there.
Build
(Image credit: Q Acoustics)
If you were expecting an active set of speakers resembling Q Acoustics’ current range of standmounters, then the Q Active 200’s design may raise a few eyebrows.
The boxes are narrow, deep and in a beautifully finished matte white – so far, so Q Acoustics. But instead of the usual tweeter and mid/bass woofer decorating each façade, there is a rectangular grille in the top corner that hides two round, 58mm BMR (balanced mode radiator) drive units.
Q Acoustics Q Active 200 tech specs
(Image credit: Q Acoustics)
Transmission 24-bit/96kHz
Spotify Connect Yes
AirPlay 2 Yes
UPnP Yes
Bluetooth Yes
Inputs Line-level/phono, optical, HDMI
Drivers 114mm woofer, 2x 58mm BMR
Voice control Google Chromecast, Amazon Alexa
Power 100W per channel
It gives the classy cabinets a unique, neatly minimalist look that might sit well in contemporary designed living spaces – but the design is likely to divide opinion.
Q Acoustics has chosen to use a pair of BMR drivers in each cabinet in preference to conventional cone units. BMRs have two big advantages: they deliver both midrange and treble (and a bit of bass) from their modestly sized forms, so avoiding the need for a separate tweeter and mid/bass combination and the distortion generating crossover that goes along with it. And they also radiate sound uniformly across a 180-degree plane, reducing the usual tendency for speakers to create a listening ‘sweet spot’.
The drivers’ diminutive size, extended frequency response and wide-dispersion talents make it a practical choice for a product such as the Q Active 200.
Their positioning on the speaker – the dual BMR configuration can sit either on the inside top corner or outside top corner, depending on which way round the speakers are placed – brings some benefits too. According to Q Acoustics, the asymmetry in the acoustic path lengths from the BMRs to the baffle edges improves diffraction characteristics. It also offers flexibility in positioning: for far-field listening (further away or to the sides) they should be positioned to the inside, or for near-field listening, on the outside.
Of course, there’s only so much quantity and depth of bass a 58mm driver can dig up, which is why Q Acoustics has integrated a ported 11.4cm woofer into the rear of each cabinet. This brings driver cooperation and crossovers back into the mix, but Q Acoustics has carefully considered that.
The upper BMR (each BMR has its own DSP and amplification channel) operates the full frequency band from the crossover point with the woofer to 20kHz, whereas the lower BMR is designed to only work up to 5kHz. The woofer fires onto a rear baffle, its output guided through vents at the side of the cabinet, with sophisticated DSP keeping the sound from all the drive units time aligned.
Whereas the floorstanders in the Q Active range, the Q Active 400, use the P2P bracing as primarily engineered for the company’s Concept 300, these standmounts adopt a ‘dart bracing’ technique, which fixes the rear-firing woofer directly to the front of the cabinet to provide it with mechanical stability.
Q Acoustics has designed a pair of dedicated stands for the Q Active 200, the Q FS75, more modest evolutions of the innovative stands designed for the Concept 300. For an extra £350 ($499) per pair, they feature a skeletal, highly rigid ‘space’ frame made up of rods in compression, stabilised by cables in tension, and have fixings that enable them to be bolted to the standmounters.
Features
(Image credit: Q Acoustics)
Q Acoustics has taken the decision not to house the streaming architecture and connectivity inside the speakers, but instead in a separate connectivity hub. There are two hub options to choose from, depending on where your voice control loyalties lie. The Google Home box (which we have on test) offers Google Assistant voice control, plus built-in Google Chromecast, while the Amazon Alexa box variant works with Alexa.
It’s a shame one box doesn’t cover both bases – there must be plenty of people who use Alexa, for example, but also stream music via Chromecast. And what if your allegiance changes down the line? Q Acoustics says it’s looking into making each hub individually available, though hasn’t yet confirmed its plans.
Whichever hub you choose, you get the same physical inputs – HDMI (ARC), optical, and an analogue input that is switchable between line level and moving magnet. Essentially, that means everything from a CD player to a TV to a turntable can be connected to the hub and streamed to the speakers. Digital signals from the HDMI and optical inputs are all converted to 24-bit/96kHz, as are analogue signals through the 24-bit analogue to digital converter (ADC).
Rather than the hub streaming these converted signals to a master speaker that passes the other audio channel to the slave speaker, it sends the two channels of audio directly to the speakers over a 5GHz wireless connection, helping ensure accurate syncing between them.
The hub is also a streaming gateway to AirPlay 2 for iOS users, Spotify Connect for Spotify Premium and Family subscribers, and Bluetooth. Support for the Roon music platform is on the way via a future firmware update, too.
If you own a NAS drive with music, UPnP support is onboard for playing networked music files up to 32-bit/192kHz (which subsequently gets down-sampled to 24-bit/96kHz for the transmission to the speakers). Q Acoustics will soon release its dedicated Q Active app for helping owners with registration and set-up, control hub customisation, software updates and basic controls, however it won’t be an all-encompassing music control app from which to browse networked or local music libraries and access streaming services.
That’s a shame, but third-party UPnP control apps aren’t hard to come by, and those using Tidal (via Chromecast) or Spotify (via Connect) may well choose to use the native apps anyway. For accessing our NAS device, we use the free MConnect and BubbleUPnP apps on an Apple iPad and Samsung Galaxy S20 phone during our testing and both work fine.
Alternatively, there’s the compact RF remote control for adjusting volume, pause/play, skipping tracks and changing inputs. A strip of touch buttons across the rear of each speaker’s top panel more or less mirrors remote control, too. They’re nicely responsive – sometimes more so than the UPnP apps we use – although as there’s a short delay in the call and action, we would have liked visual confirmation of the communication from, say, a visible LED. There is an LED by the controls on the top panel that flashes to signify this, but unless you’re standing you won’t be able to see it.
Sound
(Image credit: Q Acoustics)
Q Acoustics has successfully built a reputation for excellent passive speakers in its 15-year history – especially in the budget market. Its products have consistently included class-leading clarity and entertaining punch, and those talents have predictably found their way into the Q Active 200 too.
We play Radical Face’s The Missing Road from Tidal via Chromecast, and the melodic acoustic strums, cello and vocal humming come through with an eager lucidity, the presentation startlingly clear and direct, not to mention room-filling. You shouldn’t necessarily expect Q Acoustics’ typical richness and warmth here, but the active speakers’ leaner, more forward tonal stance gives them a likeable sense of snappiness.
We stream over Bluetooth and, though we expect the usual drop in quality, the Q Active 200 keep things surprisingly tight, losing a bit of solidity and space compared with UPnP and Google Chromecast playback, but largely proving a worthwhile method of playback.
The BMR drivers keep their end up, spreading sound generously and evenly around our test room and ensuring the speakers produce an impressively big presence for their compact footprint. They have the volume and punch to make easy work of John Williams’s climactic compositions, and while that rear-firing woofer is limited in terms of absolute bass depth, it proves taut and terse as the bassline in SBTRKT’s Wildfire (played over UPnP) comes into play. Bass blends in nicely with the rest of the frequencies, too, proving Q Acoustics has done a good job with the crossover between the BMRs and low-frequency driver.
To help optimise positioning, each Q Active 200 has three settings selected by a manual switch at its rear. There is ‘Positioned close to a corner’, ‘Positioned close to a wall’, and our preferred ‘Free-space’, which we find works best not only when the speakers were out in the room, but also near the back wall – possibly because the speakers’ bass output isn’t overbearing and the midrange is a little forward. As always, we’d recommend experimenting to see which setting works best in your listening room.
We switch from Q Acoustics’ dedicated stands to a pair of Custom Design FS104 Signatures and the presentation sheds some clarity – from both a sonic and aesthetic point of view, we’d recommend the custom-built accessory. But, while the Q FS75 extracts more from the speakers, the overall differences aren’t huge. Just note that due to the rubber strips beneath the speaker, secure placement on a third-party pair of stands may be a little fiddly.
(Image credit: Q Acoustics)
There’s a bit of harshness in the upper mids, which remains audible even after a week of use. It’s not the end of the world, but it does mean higher-pitched voices can start to grate after a while. It does nothing for a dense, cymbal-heavy track like Touché Amore’s I’ll Be Your Host either.
But our biggest issue with the Q Active 200 is their combined lack of dynamic and rhythmic expression. With Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds’ Galleon Ship, the piano and vocal pairing comes through clear and solid, yet is bereft of real feel.
Everything seems to ride along one audio plane, lacking forward momentum and dynamic tiers. It doesn’t help that the sound staging isn’t particularly well layered either. Together, these things mean the track isn’t all that interesting or emotionally grabbing.
Whether trying to grasp the grooves that underpin Thundercat’s Them Changes, or nail the rhythmic logistics integral to the SBTRKT track, the Q Active 200 don’t quite tie the musical strands together with the coordination necessary for them to thoroughly entertain. They conduct themselves in a startlingly clear and upfront manner, but beyond that they fail to captivate.
Offering an entire audio system inside such a compact and convenient concept is no easy task, but those such as the KEF LSX and KEF LS50 Wireless II, which sandwich the Q Acoustics in price, show it can be done. The Q Active 200 ultimately fall well below those standards, delivering a cruder listen than we’d expect at this not-insignificant price.
Verdict
It’s rare, if ever, that we publish sentences featuring both ‘Q Acoustics’ and ‘disappointing’, but here the Q Active 200 cannot hide behind their thoughtfully considered spec sheet and speaker engineering. It’s a shame because the brand has done a lot right – there’s vast connectivity on offer, a whole lot of speaker engineering, and dedicated stands for those who want them. But performance-wise, they simply aren’t entertaining enough to recommend.
It’s often the case that first efforts are followed by better second ones, and we very much hope that turns out to be the case here.
SCORES
Sound 3
Features 4
Build 5
MORE:
Read our guide to the best all-in-one streaming systems
So here I am, having moved out of the US after spending what seems like an eternity in Taiwan before finally moving to my new home in Europe for the time being. As it turns out, things are different here! Broadband internet connectivity can vary from country to country, but generally is far superior to the USA in terms of options, pricing, and bandwidth caps. Yet there remain issues in fiber connectivity to a lot of places; options are still limited in speed and stability even for a wired connection. The other improvement is with mobile networks, and when I started looking at this further, I realized that I was for once in a situation where mobile broadband for the home was a viable consideration. NETGEAR clearly thought the same with a portfolio of such products available for the consumer. Today, we take a look at another of their Orbi WiFi routers, but this time it is not a WiFi system and allows for 4G LTE connectivity as well.
An Orbi router by itself rather than a system of router and satellite units seems almost blasphemous, but there is good reason for it. The NETGEAR Orbi LBR20 is their current flagship performance router for mobile broadband connectivity, with no 5G option at this time. The other options from the company are mobile hot spots, of which we will look at one separately in detail soon, and a standalone WiFi 6 LTE Nighthawk router that has lower throughput compared to this. The LBR20 does retain the option to pair with satellite units (purchased separately) for further coverage expansion as needed, but this review covers the individual unit, beginning with a look at the specifications in the table below.
Specifications
NETGEAR Orbi LBR20 4G LTE WiFi Router
Combined Wi-Fi Speed:
2,200 Mbps (866 + 866 + 400Mbps)
Coverage:
1,500 sq ft
Dedicated Backhaul (Wireless):
2×2 (866 Mbps)
WiFi Technology:
Tri-band IEEE® 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
LTE Support (North America):
4G band (LTE-FDD): B2,4,5,7,12,13,14,17,25,26,29,30,66,71; 4G band (LTE-TDD): B41; 3G band: B1,4,5;
LTE Support (EU/AU):
4G band (LTE-FDD): B1,3,5,7,8,20,28; 4G band (LTE-TDD): B38,40,41; 3G band: B1,3,5,8;
Upcycling: Building Micro-NAS with Banana Pi M1, FreeBSD and ZFS Write FreeBSD to SD card and prepare speed exhaust localize external hard drive Start FreeBSD Conclusion When we switched to FreeBSD out of curiosity tested various ARM-based single board computers (Single Board Computer / SBC), two older Banana Pi M1s stood out from the crowd: The SBCs, which at the time were intended to compete with the first Raspberry Pi, shone on their market debut with their 1 GHz “fast” Dual core processor Allwinner A 20, 1 GByte memory, GBit Ethernet and a SATA port. BSD operating systems ran somewhat surprisingly on the microcomputers.
Micro-NAS based on Banana-Pi-M1 Required parts Banana Pi M1, power supply, UART converter, jumper cable, discarded hard drive, Banana-Pi-S-ATA cable, PC Time budget Experienced hobbyists get the micro NAS up and running within a few hours, beginners should Schedule 1-2 afternoons. With FreeBSD a server system is available that is already in the 32 – Bit versions provides a usable ZFS implementation. This gave birth to the idea of building a FreeBSD / ZFS team from two Banana Pi M1s and testing and exploring the lower limit of what is feasible in terms of NAS. Spoiler: It didn’t go smoothly. But all the hurdles could be overcome with little manual work. From there on, this project teaches valuable NAS and FreeBSD basics.
In the In contrast to most single-board computers, the Banana Pi M1 offers a SATA connection with power supply for 2.5 “hard drives and SSDs.
(Image: Michael Plura)
FreeBSD on SD Write and prepare the card Since FreeBSD is a Unix under the free BSD license, it is available free of charge from the FreeBSD website. We have the FreeBSD version 12. 2. (Download) that was current at the time the article was written. You should only use an older version use if parts of hardware or software do not work with a current version of FreeBSD, which in our experience is extremely rare.
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The Oppo Reno5 Pro 5G announced in India earlier this week is now available for purchase in the country through Flipkart and offline retail stores. It comes in a single 8GB/128GB variant priced at INR35,990 ($495/€405) and has two color options – Starry Black and Astral Blue.
The Reno5 Pro 5G is powered by the Dimensity 1000+ SoC and runs Android 11-based ColorOS 11.1. It’s built around a 6.55″ 90Hz FullHD+ Super AMOLED screen having a fingerprint reader underneath and a punch hole in the upper-left corner for the 32MP selfie camera.
The back of the smartphone houses a quad camera setup which is a combination of a 64MP primary, 8MP ultrawide, 2MP macro, and 2MP depth units. Fueling the entire package is a 4,350 mAh battery with 65W charging, which went from flat to 100% in under 30 minutes in our tests.
You can read our Oppo Reno5 Pro 5G hands-on review to learn more about it.
Alongside the Reno5 Pro 5G, Oppo also launched the Enco X TWS earphones in India. These are priced at INR9,990 ($135/€110) and are sold in White and Black colors.
Oppo Enco X
The Enco X come with hybrid active noise cancellation, pack an 11mm dynamic driver in each bud, and are co-created with Dynaudio. The TWS earphones are also IP54 rated, feature touch controls, and support wireless charging.
Each bud packs a 44 mAh battery claimed to offer 5.5 hours of endurance on a single charge, with the 535 mAh cell in the charging case adding another 19.5 hours of playback.
Netflix reports record numbers, SpaceX buys oil construction platforms and VW invests in the future of electric cars. Test your knowledge of news in the news quiz!
Good news for Netflix, heavy fines for Valve and other game companies – and a new model of the Raspberry Pi that costs just 4 euros. If you have read our reports carefully, then you can surely get the full number of points in our weekly review quiz. As usual, the quiz is timed. The faster you answer the individual questions, the more points you will earn.
Please keep the forum free of spoilers in order not to spoil the joy of the quizzes for other participants. You are of course welcome to share your results with one another. To keep up to date with the latest from the IT world, follow us on Twitter, on Facebook or on Instagram. Do you have any other quiz suggestions? Just write an email to the quiz master!
(Pocket-lint) – Ask any cyclist what the first thing you should update on a bike is and they will invariably say the wheels. While that’s likely to give you the biggest performance upgrades, it’s hard to quantify that without the humblest of bicycle accessories, the bike computer.
Being of techy mind and body, we’d say that a bike computer is probably one of the first places you want to look to boost your riding experience, and Garmin has long been the leader of the pack. So how does the upper-level Garmin Edge 830 perform?
Design, build and mounting
2.6-inch colour touchscreen, 246 x 322 pixels
Dimensions: 50 x 82 x 20mm / Weight: 79.1g
Varied mounting options in the box
IPX7 water protection
In terms of functionality, the Edge 830 is Garmin’s second-tier device, sitting under the Edge 1030 Plus and above the 530. The 530 is closely related – the biggest difference being the addition of touchscreen controls that you get on the 830 – but the design is essentially the same.
The Edge 830 isn’t the most compact thing around, but the bodywork is all there to support the 2.6-inch display as your visual gateway into a world of data and mapping.
Pocket-lint
The design is robust enough, with IPX7 protection, which means it won’t be bothered by rain showers or a soaking when you hit a big puddle. The waterproofing should mean it can withstand complete submersion in water, but that might dampen your ride a little. Having been caught in downpours and some winter floods, the odd soaking certainly doesn’t hamper this device’s performance – you don’t even need to think about it, as you might with an adapted smartphone in a holder.
The 830’s bodywork is a substantial polycarbonate with the front dominated by the display, but still carrying what a smartphone fan would class as bezel. We don’t think the Edge 830 necessarily needs to be smaller, but we do think that in future versions Garmin might aim to either fill more of the surface with display, or reduce that slightly for a more modern look.
The display is colour and while the resolution isn’t high by smartphone standards, it’s good enough to show the details you need. It’s an LCD, illuminated so you can see it easily, dimming in lower light conditions and powering off to save battery life if you use the power saving feature.
Pocket-lint
The body carries a power button on the left side, start/pause recording and lap buttons on the bottom, with a central cover opening up to reveal the Micro-USB connection that’s used for charging (USB-C and wireless charging next time please, let’s bring this kit up to date). The buttons mean you can use the device whatever gloves you’re wearing, although much of the interaction relies on the touchscreen.
There’s a twist mount on the rear of the Edge 830 with a number of mounts provided in the box, from handlebar or step mounts secured with the supplied bands, through to the out-front mount, which means you can move the computer out from your handlebars, which we find a better position for glancing when on the go – plus it means it’s not fighting against other handlebar-mounted devices.
The out-front mount has the advantage of allowing easy installation of the Charge Power Pack, which can clip onto the underside to extend the computer’s life by an additional 24 hours. As it is, the battery offers a realistic 15-20 hours of life, extending if you opt for the power saving mode that turns the display off (you can get it to communicate with a compatible smartwatch for at-a-glance views if you wish).
Pocket-lint
Installation is quick and easy, while removing the Edge is simply a case of twisting to release it. It can’t be locked in any way, but the Edge 830 supports Garmin’s alarm function, whereby you will get a notification if your bike is moved while you’re away from it – perhaps in a café, for example.
Connectivity, setup and Garmin Connect
ANT+
BLE/Bluetooth
Wi-Fi
The biggest part of setup for the Edge 830 is connecting it to the wider world. The first aspect of this is smartphone connectivity and pairing with Garmin Connect is relatively straightforward. If you’re already a Garmin user – perhaps with a Forerunner for example – you have the advantage of being able to use the Physio TrueUp function to sync across devices so your efforts on one device are reflected in your stats on the other.
Garmin Connect plays a central part here, of course, and once connected to your phone, your details from Garmin Connect will sync to your Edge. If you’re new to Garmin, it’s highly recommended that you setup Garmin Connect in advance of linking to your devices, just to make everything smoother.
Pocket-lint
It would be nice to have more customisation through Garmin Connect. As it is, if you want to change the content on the display, you have to set that on the Edge device itself – it would be far slicker if that could be organised in Garmin Connect and synced to the bike computer instead.
The connection with your phone gives the advantage of not only syncing rides and data once you’re done, but allowing smart functions on your ride – like Livetrack via your phone’s data connection (so others can follow your live route, if you permit), notifications and, in some cases, quick replies to those incoming messages so you can keep in touch with people without reaching for your phone (note: this is only available to Android users).
The connection is generally solid, although we’ve had a few occasions where we’ve set out, seen Livetrack fail and had to stop to ensure that the phone and Edge 830 are properly connected before setting off again.
Garmin does get a little confused if you change your phone, in which case the fastest way to connect with the device is remove it from Garmin Connect and then treat it like a new device and re-pair it. As long as you don’t reset your Edge it will then just connect to your device, sync and carry on as normal.
Pocket-lint
On top of the Bluetooth connection that the Edge would use with your phone, there’s also Wi-Fi. This means that the Edge 830 can connect to your home Wi-Fi network to update without your phone doing everything. This will again let you sync data, as well as downloading routes.
More significant to its actual function, however, is the ability to sync with additional sensors. While the Edge 830 offers GPS, an altimeter and accelerometer which will provide most of the essential data, there’s support for Bluetooth and ANT+ sensors. This will mean you can use compatible sensors to provide more data, like heart rate, cadence or power – all of which are easily accommodated on the display of the device, and in the subsequent data analysis.
Mapping and routing
GPS
Cycling-specific basemaps
Route syncing, rerouting
While much of the data you might want from a bike computer would be available from something like the Garmin Edge 130 Plus – which is a lot less cash – the advantage that something like the Edge 830 offers is in the route guidance and mapping. The device contains cycling-specific route maps, allowing on-device navigation and browsing.
You can, for example, open up the map on the device, find a place you want to go to and have it plot a route to get you there. It’s a little slow and you don’t get to preview or customise that route, but at least it’s there.
Pocket-lint
Navigation of the map when browsing is pretty good – you can drag it around and use the familiar pinch-to-zoom to adjust, but you lose the pinch zooming when you are actually following a navigation route. This makes it much harder to look around the map if you take a wrong turn or hit, for example, a closed gate on a private estate that the Garmin is trying to take you through.
Routes can be created or imported to Garmin Connect to sync to the Edge 830 too, as well as syncing from other apps, like Strava (although only the browser version of Strava currently makes this easy to do). Creating a route in Garmin Connect is easy, either creating an automated route in a particular direction for a given distance, or to somewhere specific you want to go.
Generally speaking it all works well, but we’ve found some anomalies – diverting you to an impractical cycle route over the main road that you’re on, routes through gates that are closed, some unpaved forest routes which don’t suit a road bike, and so on. Essentially, you need to be prepared to take a diversion, which is, again, why the lack of pinch-to-zoom during navigation is irritating.
Pocket-lint
Diversions and rerouting isn’t the fastest either. Often you’ll be asked to turn around repeatedly before you’ll eventually be given a new route – but it will find that route.
Overall mapping and directions is good, as is GPS, all on that glanceable big display so you can easily head out and explore. A top tip is to search for and save your home location, so you can easily sort out a return route if you decide you just need to get back home again.
Advanced features and functions
Training and workouts
Strava Segment support
Outside of routing and all that data collection there’s a lot more that the Edge 830 will offer. Part of the Garmin family, it will offer the sort of performance tracking and training guidance that Garmin’s running watches offer. That means you’ll get recommendations for your recovery time after a ride, the opportunity to log food or water consumption during a ride, and a report on what sort of training aims your ride achieved.
One element that’s slightly under-represented is Garmin’s Training Status. While those using Garmin’s running devices get a training status update from just a couple of runs, for cyclists you only get that if you have a power meter – and to calculate FTP (functional threshold power) you also have to ride with a power meter and heart rate sensor), so this is definitely a device that offers more as you add accessories.
Best fitness trackers 2021: Top activity bands to buy today
Pocket-lint
You can structure workouts via your Edge, to ride indoors or outdoors, the former meaning you don’t have to worry about traffic on your intervals. The Edge 830 is compatible with smart trainers so you can pair your Wahoo Kickr with your Edge, for example.
There’s support for mountain biking, with integrated Trailforks routes so you can find something offroad to ride in your local area. There’s Strava integration too. Not only can you sync routes to the Edge, but you can setup Segments too.
This will let you compete against yourself or friends on Segments. That might spur you on to get a PB on a Segment, or be totally disheartened when you realise just how far off the pace you might be when you head out with a friend.
Pocket-lint
While Segments will give you a report of how far you have remaining and how far ahead or behind your target pace you are for a favourite stretch, Garmin will also give you guidance on climbs. This is automated, giving you the ClimbPro display when you hit a decent uphill stretch. It might help you balance your effort, showing how much further there is to climb.
What all this accounts to is a comprehensive offering for those who want to just ride, those who want data, as well as those who want to take things a little further.
Verdict
The Garmin Edge 830 is one of the most appealing in the Garmin cycling computer line-up. A slightly more affordable price than the leading Edge 1030 Plus, plus the touch functionality over the Edge 530, sees it sit in a sweet spot.
The performance is generally very good, too, but there’s clearly room for improvement in order to draw this bike computer closer to the excellent performance that people are used to from smartphones. Faster rerouting, better map navigation, an increase in display quality, and wireless charging, are all easy targets for Garmin’s product development team.
AMD’s new drivers bring official support for the Quake II RTX and Hitman 3, the latter of which promises to improve performance at its best 10%.
AMD has released new drivers for its graphics cards and APUs. Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 21 1.1 drivers are available for Windows 7 and 10 operating systems and support graphics cards and APUs based on the company’s GCN and RDNA architectures.
The most significant updates to Radeon Software 21 1.1 drivers are official support for Hitman 3 and Quake II RTX games. According to the release bulletin, drivers will improve performance in Hitman 3 at its best 10% 4K resolution with Ultra settings when using a Radeon RX 6800 XT and the previous . 12 .1 drivers.
As usual, the drivers have also fixed issues with previous releases. This time, bugged bugs include possible crashes of Doom Eternal when Steam Overlay is enabled, possible problems with the Samsung Odyssey G9 display 5120 × 1440 resolution, and 240 at the Hertz refresh rate, and in GTA V, in some cases, lost reflections when the Reflection MSAA setting is enabled. Known issues include occasional Metro Exodus crashes when beam tracking is enabled, possible screen flicker when MSI’s Afterburner is enabled, and flickering in some applications and games when Radeon FreeSync is enabled if the program is set to borderless full screen mode. You can review all driver changes in their release notes.
Software in embedded devices offers many points of attack. A systematic approach to securing and automated scanning of security gaps helps.
IoT hacking: Improve firmware and network security Secure update mechanisms Do not underestimate web applications Reduce the attack surface Silence services Article in iX 2 / 2021 read How can IoT software be implemented securely? Embedded firmware often contains sensitive data. This also applies to images that are downloaded to update the firmware. If you extract their data, you can use exposed web services, databases, file or terminal services to steal or manipulate further information.
The methods for securing memory modules represent a hurdle, but not a complete safeguard against access to the memory content. This can only be achieved almost completely by encrypting all content. However, the correct implementation must be ensured here. Experience has shown that important key material such as private keys are often unsecured, i.e. stored in plain text. If an attacker steals the key, he can decrypt the firmware without great difficulty.
The firmware used must be signed so that an attacker cannot manipulate the memory content or the firmware. This is the only way to verify the source as trustworthy. Particular attention should be paid to the boot loader. An attacker often succeeds in manipulating the boot process in such a way that it does not take into account downstream signatures of the kernel or the file system or starts an alternative operating system. Therefore the authenticity of the bootloader has to be checked in order to secure the following processes.
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Pat Gelsinger, new CEO of Intel since 15 February, he said he was satisfied with the development stage of the 7 nanometer production process and assured that most of the 2023 products will be produced in-house.
by Manolo De Agostini published 22 January 2021 , at 09: 01 in the Processors channel Intel
The future Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger , who will officially join the company on 15 February succeeding Bob Swan, has begun to outline the strategy of the microchip giant, in particular the important and crucial production sector , as anticipated in recent weeks. On the sidelines of the quarterly report, the new CEO explained that he will illustrate in detail his vision after taking up the position, but nevertheless he anticipated important steps forward in the development of the production process. 7 nanometers , after the problems highlighted last year.
“I had the opportunity to personally review the progress of Intel’s 7-nanometer technology over the previous week. Based on the initial review, I am satisfied with the progress made in terms of health and recovery on the 7 nanometer program. confident that most of our products planned for 2023 will be produced in-house . At the same time, given the breadth of our portfolio, it is likely that we will expand our use of external factories for certain technologies and products. We will provide more details on this aspect and on the roadmap 2023 once I have fully evaluated the analysis that has been done and the best path to follow “.
We will probably have to wait some time for Gelsinger to offer us an overview and on Intel’s production future, updating us not only on 7 nanometers but also on the most advanced processes on which the company is working with the lights off. The new CEO, however, reveals the intention of wanting to make the most of existing capabilities , both in technological terms that of men: he does not therefore seem, at least at the moment, ready for drastic changes in the modus operandi. Much will depend on the circumstances and if Intel really managed to get the 7-nanometer process back on track, it will all become easier for Gelsinger.
“Looking ahead, the world is becoming more digitally connected, expanding the market ahead of us. Intel is the only semiconductor company in the world that can offer intelligent silicon, platform vision and manufacturing capacity, along with the reach our customers need to power their next innovations, “commented the future CEO.
” There are huge opportunities for Intel , but to be able to grasp them we need to provide the best products and keep up with our customers’ needs. We need to become more agile in a very competitive market. We must work flawlessly and carry out our commitments. We must innovate with passion , audacity and speed. Intel’s culture and values must be healthy and vibrant, making sure we attract and retain the best engineering talent in the world “, Gelsinger added. In the past few hours, in this regard, we have learned how the lead architect of the Nehalem architecture is back in the ranks of Intel. Gelsinger said he was happy with this development and anticipated that there will be changes in leadership roles thanks to the return in the company of leading figures in industry.
Speaking after Gelsinger, Bob Swan explained that in the definition of the 7 nanometers, “the flow contained a particular sequence of steps that contributed to the defect we talked about last June”. The review of the process led to the resolution of defects, but also to the “rationalization and simplification” of the technology to “make sure we can comply with our product roadmap for 2023 “, said the outgoing CEO saying he was confident that Intel will respect the commitments.
“In parallel, as stated by Pat, we will continue to leverage our relationships developed over the years with our partners external production and we believe they can play a greater role in our roadmap given our disaggregated projects “, added Swan, recalling how in the future the US company will increasingly switch to chiplet-based projects (such as AMD) and to new packaging solutions, all elements that can be created individually and subsequently assembled for create a finished product.
Going back to upcoming products, Swan said Intel has an “exciting” range of CPUs for the 2021 and 2022. “Just two weeks ago at CES we introduced beyond 50 processors for a total of more than 500 projects between laptops and desktops coming to market in the 2021 “. And while Tiger Lake and the notebook sector are doing very well, as learned from the quarterly report, as far as datacenters are concerned, Intel is delivering the first Intel Xeon Scalable CPU to 10 nanometers, codenamed Ice Lake , with an increase in volumes expected for the course of this quarter.
Intel then reiterated what it said at CES 2021: the arrival of Alder Lake this year on notebooks and desktop PCs, as well as the new project Sapphire Rapids for the world of data centers. Both products are made with the process “Enhanced SuperFin” nanometers and are already in the hands of some partners: Alder Lake production will go live in the second half of the year , while Sapphire Rapids will have to wait until the last quarter.
Introduction to the EKWB AIO Elite D-RGB specifications by 360 mm
This is not the first time that we tested an all-in-one kit from EKWB , on the other hand, one of the most famous brands of custom systems and with a more varied catalog of exchange blocks, but It is also true that our previous experience was with a less massive system than this, although among our results lists it is still one of the most compensated that we have tested in recent months.
The EKWB AIO D-RGB of 243 mm we tested is very similar to this new kit, uses the same exchange block and has the same lighting capacity, but it is nowhere near as massive as mo the Elite model we tested today. This new model not only uses a larger radiator, of 395 mm, but also mounts six high-quality fans designed for liquid cooling systems to maximize low performance any circumstance.
Technical characteristics of the EKWB AIO Elite 395 D-RGB
Dynamic pressure: 2. 89 mmH 22 (at maximum frequency)
Fan Power Connector: 4-Pin PWM
Fan voltage: 12 v
Fan current: 0. 64 To
Set TPD: 350 w
Warranty: 5 years.
Radiator
This kit that we analyze today has an approximate cost of 240 Euros, is relatively inexpensive considering its characteristics, so perhaps some of the elements are not all “excellent” that we can see in customized solutions of this same brand. I am talking in this case of the radiator that opts for a more economical but efficient solution made of aluminum, but with the same design that EKWB uses in its more expensive and advanced copper models.
In this In case our test sample uses an aluminum radiator made of 360 mm, but the Elite range can also be found in a variant with a radiator of 350 mm which is also a great option since it mounts 4 fans of 1400 mm that will move more air with less noise. Even so, the version that increases the cooling capacity the most is still this thanks to the greater exchange surface of its radiator of 360 mm and its six 200 mm.
The radiator has the usual flat pipe design through which the coolant circulates connected with zigzag aluminum sheets to maximize the exchange surface. It is the same design that we see in any refrigeration system. One of the peculiarities of this radiator is that the support is completely flat and the connections used by EK, the connection fittings are made of aluminum with a turning capacity of 395 degrees .
In the model that we have analyzed, from 360 mm, we can mount up to six fans of 200 mm (which this kit includes) and the thickness of the radiator is 27 mm. It is very standard and should be able to be installed in almost any box that has been intended for cooling systems. With this configuration, with six fans, with this radiator, we could dissipate more than 350 w heat with very low noise levels.
Exchanger and pump
In this Elite kit from EKWB we see the same design as the normal models use the same pump set plus exchange block, except that this diffuser is dark in color and does not really have any type of integrated lighting, except for the EKWB logo that crowns the cover. The rest is identical to the model we already tested and that is good because EKWB has an excellent set that includes something that we love in this type of system, such as a variable speed PWM control pump.
The heat exchanger is completely made of copper to maximize heat exchange, on the one hand it has a micro-channeling design that increases turbulence and adds exchange surface and on the other, in the area of contact with the processor, a medium polish with the thermal paste already applied. EKWB adds extra thermal paste so that we can maintain our block at least a couple more times. It is a block, and a fixing system, designed for any processor on the market except AMD Threadripper processors.
The pump is a PWM-adjusted impeller, with 4-pin connector, mounted on a steel chassis within the exchange block. It has the possibility of adjusting the turning speed between the 1000 and the 3300 rpm with adjustment between 25 and the 100% of frequency. It is a tad faster and more powerful than in the normal models of the brand that mount a pump with the same possibilities, but with a minimum frequency of 450 rpm and a maximum of 3600 rpm. The increase in frequency does not add much sound load and if a performance plus.
The entire block is made of low permeability ABS, except for the aluminum reinforcement for the inlet of the tubes, and includes an anchoring system for any modern or old AMD and Intel processor. The only exception is the AMD Threadripper for which this model does not have mounting capacity, the pity is that this model has ample capacity to handle these processors and would be an economical option for users of these powerful processors.
Tubes
EKWB has used reinforced tubes in this kit, tubes of which they do not give more details about the specific material of their manufacture, although without a doubt we are talking ndo of synthetic polyamide tubes. The tubes have internal reinforcement to avoid pinching and are low permeability to avoid the maintenance of the system during all the years of its life, offering the manufacturer a five-year guarantee on this model.
The tubes also have a braided nylon cover to increase their resistance. This will prevent friction from damaging the tube inside the cover. The tubes, which we have not seen for a long time in an AIO (All in One) refrigeration system, end in aluminum fittings with 360 degrees. This material is rare to see in this type of assembly, usually they are nylon or ABS fittings to match the pump block cover.
The tube has almost 450 mm long, so it is perfect for mounting in modern Mid-tower boxes, both for side mounting, top mounting or on the same support plate plate. We should not have a problem mounting in any modern box of the right size and designed for liquid cooling systems.
Fans
EK adds some of its best fans, the Vardar S, to its Elite series of cooling kits A- RGB. The Vardar S is a fan of 120 mm specially designed for use in radiators. It has a static pressure achieved by the design of its seven blades. This model, to be A-RGB, uses the entire surface of the blades and rotor as a lighting diffuser.
Supports A-RGB connectivity, with built-in bridge and independent wiring, and PWM connection for the rotor. The working frequencies are between 600 and the 2200 rpm, so we must have a good control over them if we don’t want high noise levels. Produces up to 38 noise dBA at maximum rotation frequency.
Its only defect is that the fans do not have some kind of silentblocks integrated, although the flat surface of the radiator mounting system It seems to make a good connection and we have not noticed any vibration during our tests and in this case it is harder than in the model we tested previously that only mounted two fans.
Noise and temperature
Testing machine:
Processor: AMD Ryzen 3800 X
Memory: GoodRA M 19 GB DDR4 3600
Source: Seasonic Connect 751 w
Hard Drive: Corsair MP 600
Box: Seasonic SYNCRO Q 742
As usual we have tested this kit with our fully integrated liquid cooling system test bench. It consists mainly of an AMD Ryzen 7 3800 X with a TDP consumption of 100 W to which we let its turbo frequencies self-manage during stress tests.
Idle noise (dBA)
Load noise (dBA )
CPU Temp (Idle)
Idle (rpm)
Radiator Temp (charge)
CPU Temp (load)
Load (rpm)
Assembly
Another advantage of this Elite series, over the more standard models, is that they have a lighting concentrator and fans that we can easily hide behind the motherboard. It supports up to six fans and six ARGB connections and also has its own built-in ARGB LED for an extra pop of color. The anchor of this hub is that of a 2.5 ”unit, so we can mount it in any anchor for this type of units in our chassis.
Of this mode we will have a single connection for the A-RGB with our motherboard, and it supports all the first brands, and a connection for the CPU fan and that the motherboard manages all in the same unified way.
If I recommend using the dedicated connectivity of the most modern motherboards for the management of the variable pump, thus we will have the best performance and the lowest possible noise with a centralized management that the motherboard manufacturers have also worked very well to optimize our cooling.
The assembly of the block is really simple, both for AMD and Intel and it is just as accessible if we do it with the plate removed from the box or with it already mounted when we have to do maintenance. It has its own backplate anchoring system, which in AMD takes advantage of the standard one, and its four-point anchor is very easy to adjust and makes perfect contact thanks to its integrated spring system at each pressure point. Someone with experience can take time to assemble this kit in a box around the 31 minutes, most of that time locating fans and wiring.
Superb cooling, good price
The larger a radiator and the more fans we place, the better the cooling it produces, care must be taken in the vibration and noise that all this large number of fans can produce , we can also use several of them in the box and leave the block with three, for example, we will always have that option.
Be that as it may, and being a bit louder than other kits in our comparison, the performance of this unit in load is perfectly acceptable, not to mention that it is quite silent and above all it gives us an important extra cooling. It is quite a powerhouse when it comes to AIO systems and has everything we expect from a modern, high-quality system. All this with a very attractive price of just over 200 Euros.
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With smart adapter plugs and simple rules, the washing machine reports when it is finished. We show which systems it works with.
(Image: Berti Kolbow-Lehradt)
Retrofit Smart Home: Washing machine reports finished laundry Standby consumption as an alarm trigger Laundrify: Ready-to-use solution for the washing machine AVM FritzDECT: Connect the washing machine to the Fritzbox Telekom Magenta SmartHome: false alarms unavoidable Homematic IP: additional service required Conclusion If your washing machine is doing its rounds in the basement or a room further away, you will not know whether it has already done its job. Modern washing machines counter this with integrated WLAN interfaces and manufacturer apps that keep you up to date. However, if you are using an older model, you do not need to consider buying a new one. You can retrofit the function yourself with the help of smart home components.
For this you need a smart adapter that determines the energy consumption of the washing machine and makes the measurement data available to automation software. We wanted to know how well it works. We therefore looked at what the ready-to-use Laundrify solution and the smart home systems AVM FritzDECT, Telekom Magenta SmartHome and Homematic IP make possible.
Standby consumption as an alarm trigger The hurdle is to find a suitable variable that clearly signals that the machine is now closed. The most obvious is the power consumption in standby mode. Because it can be measured reasonably reliably. This means the amount of watts that the machine draws from the network when it is switched on and supplies the controls with power – but does nothing else.
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Sign in and read Register now and read the article immediately More information about heise + Retrofit Smart Home: Washing machine reports finished laundry Standby consumption as an alarm trigger Laundrify: Ready-to-use solution for the washing machine AVM FritzDECT: Connect the washing machine to the Fritzbox Telekom Magenta SmartHome: false alarms unavoidable Homematic IP: additional service required Conclusion
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