Ethereum mining is coming to perhaps an unexpected place: Norton 360, the antivirus software that many readers will know from setting up new computers for their parents (via BleepingComputer). In its press release, Norton claims its brand is a perfect fit: people looking to mine crypto won’t have to dig through the dark, scary parts of the web, where they could possibly find “unvetted code.”
The company also says that it’ll store users’ crypto wallets in the cloud, with its own Norton Wallet. As far as actually using their gains, a Norton spokesperson tells The Verge there will be a button that allows users to “pull money into Coinbase.”
Until now, Norton claims, people who wanted to mine had to disable their security software to do it, which made things harder for them. While that somewhat seems like a problem that could at least in part be caused by Norton 360 itself, Norton does have a point that using software that comes pre-installed on your computer is easier than having to figure out mining for yourself.
But is that really what we want? Putting aside the environmental concerns of thousands of new miners, and the potential unexpected tax implications that BleepingComputer brings up (not that those are things that should be ignored), the idea of having mining software included in a program that comes with people’s computers seems like a slippery slope.
It’s easy to imagine a company, not necessarily Norton, offering cheaper or even free computers, if you just turn your unused computing cycles into a recurring source of profit for the bloatware makers subsidizing your purchase. Think Kindle with Special Offers, except instead of ads you’re taxing your computer’s GPU and sucking back electricity when you’re not using it (or, in the case of really shady manufacturers, when you are). Norton may be opening a door here that’s hard to close.
While Norton specifically calls out Ethereum in its blog post, it told CNN it was considering letting people mine other “reputable crypto currencies” later on. The company’s letting in early adopters on Thursday, and hopes to roll it out to everyone “in the coming weeks.”
AMD’s FidelityFX SuperResolution technology works not only on the company’s Radeon graphics processors, but also on Nvidia’s GeForce GPUs so developers can support it across all the best graphics cards. For Nvidia’s, which has its own deep learning super sampling (DLSS) technology, ensuring compatibility with AMD’s FSR is not a priority, but Intel, which is quarters away from launching its gaming GPUs, is looking at AMD’s FidelityFX SuperResolution.
AMD’s FidelityFX SuperResolution is a typical upscaling technology that generates the final image, based on multiple frames as a point of reference using linear and nonlinear processing techniques, according to an AMD patent. Unlike Nvidia’s DLSS, AMD’s FSR does not really use deep learning, something that has its advantages and disadvantages. Meanwhile, the technology promises tangible performance improvements without quality degradation, so game developers should be interested in supporting it.
Since AMD’s FidelityFX SuperResolution is hardware agnostic, it also makes sense for Intel to support it and optimize drivers for it. As a result, Intel’s graphics chief Raja Koduri said in a Twitter post that Intel could support the technology developed by AMD.
“Definitely looking at it — the deep learning capabilities of Xe-HPG architecture do lend to approaches that achieve better quality and performance,” said Raja Koduri. “We will definitely try to align with open approaches to make ISVs job easier.”
At present AMD’s FidelityFX SuperResolution is supported by Gearbox Software’s Godfall title, which supports a number of other AMD-designed technologies too. But making AMD’s FSR technology an industry-standard is not impossible. AMD’s FidelityFX technologies are available not only on PCs, but also will be available on the latest game consoles that use AMD’s GPUs. Therefore, over time these technologies will be adopted pretty widely and AMD’s rivals Intel and Nvidia will have to optimize their drivers for games that use AMD’s technologies.
We’ve been hearing information about the “Sun Valley” UX redesign for Windows since last year, and now it seems like we might finally be getting a look at it. Microsoft today announced that it will be holding a livestream on June 24th detailing “what’s next for Windows,” and although information on what that actually means is sparse, we have a few guesses.
At Microsoft Build, CEO Satya Nadella teased we’d soon see the future of Windows 10. We’ve already seen some very slight changes to system icons,
We reported five months ago that Microsoft was hiring for a Windows UX overhaul, probably Sun Valley, so it’s possible we might finally be seeing the fruits of that labor. A job listing originally said that the retooling would involve “a sweeping visual rejuvenation of Windows experiences to signal to our customers that Windows is BACK,” so this is likely to be a pretty big update.
The original Sun Valley reports also said that the focus would be on bringing “modern designs, better animations, and new features,” to Windows staples like the start menu, action center and file explorer.
It’s also possible that any UX overhaul might include elements from Windows 10X, a version of the OS meant for dual-screen devices that got mothballed just last month so that the team could focus on the desktop version.
Additionally, there have been reports that Microsoft is retooling the Microsoft Store to accept more software, games and provide freedom to developers.
It isn’t clear if this is part of 21H2, the next big scheduled update, or something that will come sooner. Whatever it is, we’ll be covering it on June 24.
Microsoft is planning to detail its “next generation of Windows” at an event later this month. The software giant has started sending invites to media for a Windows event on June 24th. Both Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and chief product officer Panos Panay will be presenting at the Windows event. Microsoft’s Windows event will start at 11AM ET / 8AM PT on June 24th.
The invite comes just a week after Nadella teased a “next generation of Windows” announcement. Microsoft is expected to detail its next significant changes to Windows, and they will likely include a number of visual enhancements. We’re expecting to see some significant UI changes to Windows under something codenamed “Sun Valley.”
Microsoft’s Windows invite.
Microsoft confirmed last month that Windows 10X, its OS originally built for dual-screen devices, will no longer ship. The company is now rolling the visual elements of Windows 10X into the main version of Windows 10 instead.
A lot of the visual work has already started, with new system icons, File Explorer improvements, and the end of Windows 95-era icons. Microsoft is also focusing on improving the basic foundations of Windows, with fixes for a rearranging apps issue on multiple monitors, the addition of the Xbox Auto HDR feature, and improvements to Bluetooth audio support.
Nadella has also promised to unlock a better economy for developers and creators within Windows itself, so we’ll likely get a closer look at the store changes coming to Windows. Microsoft has been working on a new app store for Windows in recent months, and rumors have suggested Microsoft will open its store up to all apps and rival payment platforms.
The Verge will be covering Microsoft’s Windows event on June 24th, so stay tuned for all the latest news.
Eufy, the Anker-owned smart home brand, is announcing a new SoloCam line of battery-powered security cameras that have local storage and are designed to operate without connecting to a separate hub. The new lineup will include two “Essential” (standard) cameras, two spotlight cameras, and one solar-powered camera.
The standard and spotlight SoloCams will be offered in 1080p or 2K resolution models, and Eufy says that you can get four months of battery on a single charge. All of the cameras also offer 8GB of local storage, which Eufy estimates should hold at least two months of video.
You’ll be able to preorder all of the models of the SoloCam on Wednesday, but they’ll be shipping out at different times over the next couple months. Here are the availability dates and pricing for each of the cameras, as shared by Eufy.
SoloCam 1080p Essential (the E20): out in mid-June for $99.99
SoloCam 2K Essential (the E40): out in late June for $129.99
SoloCam 1080p Spotlight (the L20): available via “online channels” in mid-July for $149.99
SoloCam 2K Spotlight (the L40): available via “retailer partners” in late July for $169.99
SoloCam Solar (the S40): available in mid-August for $199.99
Eufy is launching the cameras following a security incident in May that let some users of the company’s home security cameras see video from other users’ homes. In an apology, Eufy said that the issue happened during a software update and that 712 people were affected.
(Pocket-lint) – Huawei’s latest watch has been announced, and is the first to launch officially running HarmonyOS, the new cross-category operating system designed to make multiple devices seamlessly connect with each other.
The manufacturer has built some great fitness tracking watches of late, including the previous flagship watch: the Watch GT 2 Pro. So, what’s changed between the last watch and the Watch 3? Let’s dive in.
Design
GT 2 Pro: 46.7 x 46.7 x 11.4mm – 52g
Watch 3: 46.2 x 46.2 x 12.15mm – 54g
Watch 3 Pro: 48 mm x 49.6 x 14mm – 63g
GT 2 Pro: Titanium, Sapphire glass and ceramic
Watch 3: Stainless steel, hardened glass and ceramic
Watch 3 Pro: Titanium, Sapphire glass and ceramic
All: Waterproof to 50m
All of Huawei’s watches are fully round and in basic terms they do look similar. They share similarities like having the same ceramic underside, with the same design for the optical sensors for reading your heart rate and blood oxygen saturation.
Where they differ is in the glass, metal and shape of the lens. For instance, both the GT 2 Pro and Watch 3 Pro have completely flat Sapphire crystal glass screens and titanium cases. The standard Watch 3 has curved hardened glass on top of stainless steel.
While all three have two buttons on the side, only the new Watch 3 and Watch 3 Pro feature a rotating crown which functions similarly to the Apple Watch’s Digital Crown. You can turn it or press it to control various functions and interface elements.
All of them are waterproof to a high level (up to 50m) and all three charge wirelessly using the same magnetic plastic cradle.
The one other thing worth noting is that the Watch 3 is the more compact of the three, but not by a huge amount. With a 46mm case, it’s hardly tiny. At 14mm, the Watch 3 Pro is clearly the thickest as well as being the largest.
Display
GT 2 Pro: 1.39-inch AMOLED screen
Watch 3 and 3 Pro: 1.43-inch AMOLED screen
GT 2 Pro: 454 x 454 resolution – 326ppi
Watch 3 and 3 Pro: 466 x 466 resolution – 326ppi
As mentioned, all three watches have completely round screens and they’re all AMOLED and have the same pixel density. There’s a difference in size though, with both the new Watch 3 models featuring a 1.43-inch panel versus 1.39-inches on the older one. That means skinnier bezels, not a bigger watch.
More importantly, however, they have refresh rates up to 60Hz, which means you’ll get smoother and more graphic rich images and animations on it compared to the GT 2 Pro. That – of course – also means it eats more battery (more on that later).
With a peak brightness of 1000nits, that means the watches will be easier to see in daylight too. From a hardware perspective, this is the biggest – or at least most noticeable – upgrade over the Watch GT 2 Pro.
Software and Fitness tracking
GT 2 Pro: LiteOS
Watch 3/3 Pro: HarmonyOS
All: GPS, Heart Rate, spO2, steps, sleep and stress tracking
Watch 3/3 Pro: Temperature sensor
Watch 3 Pro: Precise dual-GPS location
All: Compatible with iOS and Android through Huawei health
The Watch 3 and 3 Pro are the first watches to run HarmonyOS, that means a few things have changed when it comes to the interface and software, but key elements have remained the same.
Controls are similar, although you can now view apps in a grid and even use AppGallery to install them directly from your wrist. The other addition is a fall detection feature which can be set up to call an emergency contact when you fall and don’t respond within a certain time frame.
From a fitness and health perspective, the three watches are largely similar and capable of all-day tracking for things like heart-rate, spO2, stress, sleep and steps. The new sensor on the Watch 3 series also allows skin temperature sensing.
As for the Pro, that one has a dual-GPS mode which allows for much more precise tracking during runs and outdoor sessions to give you a more accurate distance reading and mapped route.
All three are compatible with Android, iOS and HarmonyOS devices using the Huawei Health app.
Performance and battery
GT 2 Pro: 14 days battery life
Watch 3: 3 days in smart mode, 14 days in ‘Ultra-long’
Watch 3 Pro: 5 days in smart mode, 21 days in ‘Ultra-long’
GT 2 Pro: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Watch 3/3 Pro: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and eSIM/4G
What’s interesting about the Watch 3 series’ is that it has – essentially – two modes of running. You can use it as a regular smartwatch and get either three or five days of battery, or kick it into ‘ultra-long’ mode and get either two or three weeks of battery life.
What this does, sort-of, is switch the software and capabilities so that it’s very much like the Lite OS software running on the Watch GT 2 Pro. Due to its lightweight software, Watch GT 2 Pro can get up to two weeks on a full battery.
Watch 3 – as well as having Wi-Fi and Bluetooth like the GT 2 Pro – has eSIM support. This enables 4G connection on networks that support it, allowing you to stream music, answer calls and see notifications. The only downside to this is that it’s only supported by a couple of Chinese networks currently with no news on planned expansion worldwide.
Price
GT 2 Pro: £249
Watch 3: £349
Watch 3 Pro: £499
With its higher-end internal hardware, revamped software, higher refresh screen and eSIM support it’s no surprise that the Watch 3 starts at a higher price than its predecessor.
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In the UK, the standard Watch 3 starts at £100 more than the GT 2 Pro’s original price at £349. Because it’s no longer new, you can now find the GT 2 Pro even cheaper without too much trouble. The Watch 3 Pro is a pound short of £500.
Conclusion
When it comes to fitness and health tracking, there’s little reason to go for the Watch 3 over the Watch GT 2 Pro. It does mostly the same stuff which is then display in the same way on the watch and in your smartphone app.
Where the Watch 3 comes into its own is when it comes to the display and the richer graphics and interactions on that screen. It’s starting to feel much more like a proper smartwatch and less like a rebadged fitness tracker. With a built-in eSIM and potential to stream music and answer calls away from your phone, that’s freedom you don’t get from the Watch GT 2 Pro. Sadly though, that’s not yet available outside China.
Huawei has announced that its HarmonyOS operating system is coming to its smartphones via a forthcoming update. Huawei’s consumer business CEO Richard Yu says the company is updating around 100 of its devices globally to the new operating system, which also includes tablets like the MatePad Pro. In theory, it’s a big change from its previous phones, which have run the open-source version of Android with Huawei’s own services replacing the Google software it’s been unable to include on new devices as a result of US sanctions.
HarmonyOS will initially come to recent flagships like the Mate 40, P40, and Mate 30 series, before releasing on more devices later in the year. Older phones like the Mate 9, Mate 10, P20, and P10 will receive the update in the first half of next year, the company says.
The company advertises that HarmonyOS allows its phones to offer more seamless connectivity across different devices, including easier pairing with compatible headphones and speakers via a drag-and-drop interface. There’s also improved support for homescreen widgets, Huawei says, which have a similar look to what we saw with Apple’s iOS 14 last year. The operating system is also said to be better at returning to previously opened apps without losing your place.
The Chinese tech giant first announced HarmonyOS in 2019, and the first device announced with the operating system was the Vision TV from its then-sub brand Honor (it later sold off the brand due to the pressures created by ongoing US sanctions). However, at last year’s Huawei developer conference, its consumer business CEO Richard Yu hinted that the operating system could appear on smartphones in 2021.
Despite being marketed as a brand-new operating system, reports have suggested that HarmonyOS shares a lot of code with the open-source version of Android that it’s replacing. Earlier this year, Ars Technica did a deep dive into HarmonyOS, and reported that it “is essentially an Android fork.” Huawei did not respond to our requests for comment on the report.
As well as phones, Huawei has also announced new MatePad tablets running HarmonyOS, as well as the new HarmonyOS-powered Huawei Watch 3 smartwatch.
With photogrammetry, hundreds of still photos can be transformed into an incredibly realistic 3D model of a real place on Earth — assuming you capture them all.
This Memorial Day weekend, a self-flying robot cameraman did that entire job for me. I simply designated where to fly and where not to fly, kicked back in a chair, and a Skydio 2 drone nabbed those photos all by itself.
Today, Skydio is launching Skydio 3D Scan, an optional software suite for its self-flying drones that lets them build incredibly detailed models for far more important tasks than my holiday backyard BBQ. We’re talking about scanning bridges that might be in need of structural repair, accident reporting at crash sites, and allowing clients to inspect construction sites from most any angle, anywhere in the world, during and after structures are built.
Those aren’t theoretical, by the way: Skydio says the North Carolina Department of Transportation is using it for bridges; the Boston Police Department for crime and accident scene reconstruction; and, below, you can see an real-life interactive 3D example of a water treatment plant for an upcoming semiconductor facility being built in Chandler, Arizona by Sundt Construction, presumably for Intel. (Skydio says it doesn’t know for sure.)
As you can imagine with that kind of clientele, the feature doesn’t come cheap: $2,999 per year, per drone, for the ability to autonomously grab all those photos given a designated volume that you’d like to capture. That also doesn’t include the drone, a controller, or the software you’ll need to actually stitch the images together: $99+ a month for DroneDeploy, or several thousand dollars per year for Bentley Systems’ ContextCapture, as a couple examples — the embedded Sketchfab models in this post use Bentley’s solution. 3D Scan will come to the company’s $10,999-and-up Skydio X2 drone later this summer as well.
Though it’s aimed at professionals with money to spend, a few short sessions showed me you don’t need to be a pro to use 3D Scan, or necessarily even know how to fly a drone. Assuming you’re following all local drone laws, it’s simply a matter of powering up a standard Skydio 2 drone (with two high-capacity microSD cards) and a Skydio controller, then following a series of prompts on a phone. You fly the drone to the top, bottom, and corners of the area you’d like to capture, pick how much detail you want, and then it does the rest on its own — taking pictures with its 12-megapixel front camera while the drone’s other six eyes and navigation system keep it from crashing.
The larger and more detailed your scan, the longer it’ll take, but you can resume after a battery swap — Skydio recommends you don’t stay out longer than four batteries.
Like I wrote in our Skydio 2 review, you can trust this drone not to crash, and the 3D Scan mode adds a geofencing feature that can help you keep it from flying into unwanted areas, too. Frankly, I didn’t feel a pressing need to hang onto the controller during my backyard patio scan, so I left it on a table while I watched. The only thing that confused me was knowing when the scan was done: it turns out you have to land the drone, then leave it powered on to finish processing. Then, it was a matter of uploading a couple gigabytes of photos to DroneDeploy or Bentley and waiting for them to process.
There’s an AR mode where you can keep track of a virtual Skydio drone as it makes its rounds.
As you’ll no doubt see in the 3D models (or failing that, YouTube), they’re not quite seamless yet — not something you’d want to explore in virtual reality, for instance. (I tried.) Even though I can make out the exact texture of the cement slab and tiles in my backyard, and the metal carnage in this Swiss cheese of a busted helicopter, here are loads of holes and smudges that photogrammetry is just failing to provide.
Skydio CEO and co-founder Adam Bry admits that 3D isn’t everything, and that some clients will simply use 3D as a guide to all of the individual high-res photos that Skydio also provides. “If you set the closest resolution, you’re talking about something like .5mm per pixel … it’s enough to see fine cracks in concrete, it’s enough to see rust on a bolt, it’s enough to see details of a skid mark on the ground.” And while he says the system works in indoor environments, it’s currently optimized for flying around an object you’d like to capture instead of capturing the world around the drone, like you might for an indoor tour. (Skydio is “fairly active” in pursuing inside-out capture as well.)
Long term, Bry thinks the automated aerial scanning might come in handy for digitizing the world for other reasons, like augmented and virtual reality, but for now it seemed like simple, detailed 3D structure modeling was a problem Skydio could solve. “There are countless examples of the world’s best drone pilots keeping this mental model of the path they’ve flown,” says Bry. Now, scanning may not need to be about flying, or even programming a path on a map. It’s just another app on your phone.
Skydio’s holding a special live webinar at the US Space and Rocket Center today at 9AM PT / 12PM ET to show a bit more of what 3D Scan can do. They’ll be scanning some exhibits inside the center, Bry tells me.
Intel’s graphics chief Raja Koduri published the first ‘official’ image of Intel’s upcoming gaming graphics processor based on the Xe-HPG architecture. Koduri also confirmed that at least one of the company’s DG2 GPUs will feature 512 EUs.
“Xe-HPG (DG2) real candy – very productive time at the Folsom lab couple of weeks ago,” Raja Koduri wrote in a Twitter post.”[…] Lots of game and driver optimization work ahead for Lisa Pierce’s software team. They are all very excited and a little scared.”
Intel’s Xe-HPG architecture employs energy-efficient processing blocks from the Xe-LP architecture, high frequency optimizations developed for Xe-HP/Xe-HPC GPUs for data centers and supercomputers, high-bandwidth internal interconnections, hardware-accelerated ray-tracing support, and a GDDR6-powered memory subsystem. The DG2 family GPUs are set to be manufactured at TSMC and are projected to hit the market in late 2021 or early 2022.
(Image credit: Raja Koduri/Twitter)
At present, Intel’s highest-performance discrete GPU is based on the Xe-LP architecture and features 96 EUs. Therefore, an Xe-HPG-powered graphics processor with 512 EUs will offer significantly higher performance than Intel’s existing standalone GPU. Rumor has it that the performance of Intel’s graphics processor with 512 EUs will be close to that of Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3080.
The Spectrix D50 Xtreme DDR4-5000 is one of those luxury memory kits that you don’t necessarily need inside your system. However, you’d purchase it in a heartbeat if you had the funds.
For
+ Good performance
+ Gorgeous aesthetics
Against
– Costs an arm and a leg
– XMP requires 1.6V
When a product has the word “Xtreme” in its name, you can tell that it’s not tailored towards the average consumer. Adata’s XPG Spectrix D50 Xtreme memory is that kind of product. A simple glance at the memory’s specifications is more than enough to tell you that Adata isn’t marketing the Spectrix D50 Xtreme towards average joes. Unlike the vanilla Spectrix D50, the Xtreme version only comes in DDR4-4800 and DDR4-5000 flavors with a limited 16GB (2x8GB) capacity. The memory will likely not be on many radars unless you’re a very hardcore enthusiast.
Adata borrowed the design from Spectrix D50 and took it to another level for the Spectrix D50 Xtreme. The heat spreader retains the elegant look with geometric lines. The difference is that the Xtreme variant features a polished, mirror-like heat spreader. The reflective finish looks stunning, but it’s also a fingerprint and dust magnet, which is why Adata includes a microfiber cloth to tidy up.
The memory module measures 43.9mm (1.73 inches) so compatibility with big CPU air coolers is good. The Spectrix D50 Xtreme still has that RGB diffuser on the top of the memory module. Adata provides its own XPG RGB Sync application to control the lighting or if you prefer, you can use your motherboard’s software. The Spectrix D50 Xtreme’s RGB illumination is compatible with the ecosystems from Asus, Gigabyte, MSI and ASRock.
Each Spectrix D50 Xtreme memory module is 8GB big and sticks to a conventional single-rank design. It features a black, eight-layer PCB and Hynix H5AN8G8NDJR-VKC (D-die) integrated circuits (ICs).
The default data rate and timings for the Spectrix D50 Xtreme are DDR4-2666 and 19-19-19-43, respectively. Adata equipped the memory with two XMP profiles with identical 19-28-28-46 timings. The primary profile corresponds to DDR4-5000, while the secondary profile sets the memory to DDR4-4800. Both data rates require a 1.6V DRAM voltage to function properly. 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
Crucial Ballistix Max
BLM2K8G51C19U4B
2 x 8GB
DDR4-5100 (XMP)
19-26-26-48 (2T)
1.50
Lifetime
Adata XPG Spectrix D50 Xtreme
AX4U500038G19M-DGM50X
2 x 8GB
DDR4-5000 (XMP)
19-28-28-46 (2T)
1.60
Lifetime
Thermaltake ToughRAM RGB
R009D408GX2-4600C19A
2 x 8GB
DDR4-4600 (XMP)
19-26-26-45 (2T)
1.50
Lifetime
Predator Apollo RGB
BL.9BWWR.255
2 x 8GB
DDR4-4500 (XMP)
19-19-19-39 (2T)
1.45
Lifetime
Patriot Viper 4 Blackout
PVB416G440C8K
2 x 8GB
DDR4-4400 (XMP)
18-26-26-46 (2T)
1.45
Lifetime
TeamGroup T-Force Dark Z FPS
TDZFD416G4000HC16CDC01
2 x 8GB
DDR4-4000 (XMP)
16-18-18-38 (2T)
1.45
Lifetime
TeamGroup T-Force Xtreem ARGB
TF10D416G3600HC14CDC01
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
14-15-15-35 (2T)
1.45
Lifetime
Our Intel platform simply can’t handle the Spectrix D50 Xtreme DDR4-5000 memory kit. Neither our Core i7-10700K or Core i9-10900K sample has a strong IMC (integrated memory controller) for a memory kit.
The Ryzen 9 5900X, on the other hand, had no problems with the memory. The AMD test system leverages a Gigabyte B550 Aorus Master with the F13j firmware and aMSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Gaming Trio to run our RAM benchmarks.
Unfortunately, we ran into a small problem that prevented us from testing the Spectrix D50 Xtreme at its advertised frequency. One of the limitations with B550 motherboards is the inability to set memory timings above 27. The Spectrix D50 Xtreme requires 19-28-28-46 to run at DDR4-5000 properly. Despite brute-forcing the DRAM voltage, we simply couldn’t get the Spectrix D50 Xtreme to run at 19-27-27-46. The only stable data rate with the aforementioned timings was DDR4-4866, which is what we used for testing.
AMD Performance
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There’s always a performance penalty when you break that 1:1 ratio with the Infinity Fabric Clock (FCLK) and memory clock on Ryzen processors. The Spectrix D50 Xtreme was just a hairline from surpassing the Xtreem ARGB memory kit where DDR4-3600 is basically the sweet spot for Ryzen.
It’s important to bear in mind that the Spectrix D50 Xtreme was running at DDR4-4866. As small as it may seem, that 134 MHz difference should put Adata’s offering really close to Crucial’s Ballistix Max DDR4-5100, which is the highest-specced memory kit that has passed through our labs so far.
Overclocking and Latency Tuning
Memory Review (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Due to the motherboard limitation, we couldn’t pursue overclocking on the Spectrix D50 Xtreme. However, in our experience, high-speed memory kits typically don’t have much gas left in the tank. Furthermore, the Spectrix D50 Xtreme already requires 1.6V to hit DDR4-5000 so it’s unlikely that we would have gotten anywhere without pushing insame amounts of volts into the memory
Lowest Stable Timings
Memory Kit
DDR4-4400 (1.45V)
DDR4-4500 (1.50V)
DDR4-4600 (1.55V)
DDR4-4666 (1.56V)
DDR4-4866 (1.60V)
DDR4-5100 (1.60V)
Crucial Ballistix Max DDR4-5100 C19
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
17-25-25-48 (2T)
Adata XPG Spectrix D50 Xtreme DDR4-5000 CL19
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
19-27-27-46 (2T)
N/A
Thermaltake ToughRAM RGB DDR4-4600 C19
N/A
N/A
18-24-24-44 (2T)
20-26-26-45 (2T)
N/A
N/A
Patriot Viper 4 Blackout DDR4-4400 C18
17-25-25-45 (2T)
21-26-26-46 (2T)
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
At DDR4-4866, the Spectrix D50 Xtreme was cool operating with 19-27-27-46 timings. However, it wouldn’t go lower regardless of the voltage that we crank into it. We’ll revisit the overclocking portion of the review once we source a more capable processor and motherboard for the job.
Bottom Line
The Spectrix D50 Xtreme DDR4-5000 C19 won’t offer you the best bang for your buck by any means. However, the memory will make your system look good and give you some bragging rights along the way. Just make sure you have a processor and motherboard that can tame the memory before pulling the trigger on a memory kit of this caliber.
With that said, the Spectrix D50 Xtreme DDR4-5000 C19 doesn’t come cheap. The memory retails for $849.99 on Amazon. Not like there are tons of DDR4-5000 memory kits out there, but the Spectrix D50 Xtreme is actually the cheapest one out of the lot. For the more budget-conscious consumers, however, you should probably stick to a DDR4-3600 or even DDR4-3800 memory kit with the lowest timings possible. The Spectrix D50 Xtreme is more luxury than necessity.
Huawei has announced a trio of new MatePad tablets; a new 12.6-inch MatePad Pro, a smaller 10.8-inch MatePad Pro, and a new MatePad 11. Not only are they the company’s first tablets running its own HarmonyOS operating system, but the smaller MatePad Pro and MatePad 11 use Snapdragon chips produced by Qualcomm rather than the Huawei-designed Kirin processors found in its previous devices.
Between these hardware and software changes, the tablets highlight the challenges that the Chinese technology giant is going through. It’s simultaneously trying to break free of Android, which outside of China is dominated by the Google apps and services that Huawei is unable to preinstall on its phones. But they also speak to the problems US sanctions are causing for Huawei’s Kirin processor production, forcing it to source chips from competitor Qualcomm.
The 10.8-inch MatePad Pro is equipped with a Snapdragon 870, while the 10.95-inch MatePad 11 is powered by a Snapdragon 865. The flagship 12.6-inch MatePad Pro, meanwhile, is still running Huawei’s own Kirin 9000E processor, and it’s the device Huawei has shared the most information about.
But more interesting than the chips inside is the software these new tablets are running.
From an end user point of view, the “switch” to HarmonyOS fundamentally doesn’t bring back the missing Google apps and services that have made Huawei’s recent devices so difficult to recommend outside of China. Huawei’s AppGallery store offers an increasing array of native apps, and workarounds for some others, but it’s still a far cry from having Google’s suite of apps and services pre-installed on a device.
There have been big questions surrounding HarmonyOS ever since an Ars Technica investigation alleged that it’s a glorified open-source Android fork. I can’t speak to its underlying code, but I was able to download WhatsApp’s official Android APK and install it on the new MatePad Pro as though I was using an Android device, which suggests Ars is correct. Huawei did not respond to my questions about shared code between HarmonyOS and Android.
The 12.6-inch MatePad Pro’s webcam is in the bezel on the tablet’s long side, the right place for video calls.
With its keyboard cover and M-Pencil stylus, last year’s MatePad Pro invited obvious comparisons to Apple’s iPad Pro, and this year’s HarmonyOS model packs in a few more features that are eerily reminiscent of Apple’s tablets. There’s a new FreeNote feature that lets you use the M-Pencil to write into dialog boxes and see your handwriting automatically turned into typed text (a feature which Apple introduced last year) and the tablet’s homescreen now includes a dock with your most used apps (ahem).
But with the 12.6-inch MatePad Pro, Huawei deserves some credit for not imitating some of Apple’s less popular design decisions. Its webcam, for example, is built into the bezel on the long edge of the screen, so it’s in the right place for conference calls made in landscape mode, unlike the iPad Pro’s. It’s also got a vibrant 1600 x 2560 OLED screen with excellent black levels, while Apple’s lineup is still using variations of LCD panels.
Also announced today is a new M-Pencil stylus.
Huawei’s screen-mirroring technology also returns with the new MatePad Pro. While this previously let you mirror a smartphone’s screen onto the tablet, now you can mirror and interact with the tablet’s screen on compatible Huawei laptops.
The 12.6-inch MatePad Pro has a 10,050mAh battery which Huawei claims can playback video for 14 hours on a single charge. It can be fast-charged at up to 40W with a cable, 27W wirelessly, and also offers reverse wireless charging at 10W. Rounding out the specs, there are three rear cameras on the tablet, four mics, eight speakers, and Wi-Fi 6 compatibility. Huawei is yet to detail any 4G or 5G support for its new tablets.
Alongside the new tablets, Huawei is also announcing a second-generation of its M-Pencil stylus. The company says the new stylus is more precise, has lower 9ms latency, and also has a platinum-coated transparent nib.
Huawei is yet to confirm pricing or release details for its new tablets, but said it would be releasing more information soon.
Huawei has announced its first smartwatches running its own HarmonyOS operating system, the Huawei Watch 3 and Huawei Watch 3 Pro. In theory it’s the third separate operating system Huawei has used for its smartwatches, which originally ran Google’s Android Wear (now Wear OS) before introducing its own LiteOS software with more recent devices.
Despite the new OS, the Watch 3 offers a similar set of features to Huawei’s previous wearables. New additions includes a redesigned home screen that now consists of a watchOS-style grid of apps rather than a list, and there’s also support for video calling through Huawei’s own MeeTime service.
Although it’s branded as a HarmonyOS device, the Watch 3’s long battery life suggests its operating system is significantly different from the version of HarmonyOS Huawei is using on its new tablets, and may have more in common with LiteOS on its previous watches. Huawei did not respond to questions about any similarities between HarmonyOS and its existing operating systems.
The Watch 3’s design doesn’t deviate much from Huawei’s previous smart watches. It’s got a circular 1.43-inch OLED display with a 60Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 1000 nits. The display is edge-to-edge, so there’s no rotating bezel on this smartwatch. Instead you control it via a rotating crown, similar to an Apple Watch. The watch is available in a couple of different styles including an “active” model with a rubber strap, a “classic” model with leather, and an “elite” version with a metal bracelet.
For activity tracking, the watch features many of the same sensors as previous models, including heart rate tracking, an Sp02 sensor, and sleep tracking. But new for this version is a temperature sensor, similar to Fitbit’s Sense smartwatch from last year. Huawei says this sensor can continuously track the temperature of your skin throughout the course of the day. Huawei says the watch supports a hundred different workout modes, ranging from running to climbing, cycling, and swimming.
eSIM support returns from the Watch 2 Pro, which means the Watch 3 can also be operated independently from a phone with its own 4G LTE connection. The watch supports making voice calls directly, and there’s also support for video calls via Huawei’s MeeTime service (though there wasn’t any confirmation about whether the watch will work with other video calling services like WhatsApp).
With 4G turned on, Huawei says you should get around three days of battery life from the Watch 3, but that extends to 14 days if you’re willing to turn off 4G and use the phone in “ultra long lasting mode.” Even in this low-power mode, Huawei says you should still be able to track your activity and workouts, and its watch faces will still be animated.
As well as the Watch 3, Huawei is also announcing the Watch 3 Pro today, which offers up to 5 days of battery life with 4G turned on, and up to 21 days in its long battery life mode. Other improvements include a more premium titanium construction, and more accurate GPS tracking.
Third-party app support is still a big question mark hanging over Huawei’s first HarmonyOS watches. As always, Huawei promises it’s working with developers on bringing their apps to its devices, and showed off a range of app logos including one for the Emirates airline. But beyond that, there weren’t any app logos for services I recognized, and Huawei hasn’t confirmed support from any of the major music streaming services.
Huawei is yet to confirm pricing or release details for the Huawei Watch 3 and Watch 3 Pro, but said an announcement should be made soon.
High performance memory kits have evolved over the last few years, both in styling and technology. Styling has shifted to heavier heat sinks, LED light bars, and fancy RGB control software. The technology has done what it inevitably will by producing greater speeds and densities at generally lower cost as DDR4 has matured. The latest processors and graphics cards have been nearly impossible to get over the last six months, but memory pricing and availability has remained steady. With no end to the global shortages in sight, let’s dig into a product you can actually buy at MSRP!
Neo Forza started out as an I/C design house that then became an OEM for a variety of international brands over the past 15 years. Neo Forza possesses strong resources focusing on core technologies. From research and design to specific production to exceed the testing benchmark, Neo Forza keeps pushing over technical boundaries, providing top-notch performance and quality.
Neo Forza has leveraged that extensive experience to streamline their wafer screening process. Each Neo Forza design focuses on a single timing bin for each frequency step across the entire product stack. A Neo Forza 3200 MHz kit will offer the same timings and performance regardless of the naming convention or external appearance of the kit.
The Neo Forza Mars kit I have for testing today is one of their middle spec kits: 16 GB (2x 8 GB) at 3600 MHz, 18-19-19-39 timings, and 1.35 V. 3600 MHz has become the new gold standard for Ryzen builds, driving new focus into memory kits targeting a previously obscure specification. Let’s see how the Neo Forza Mars holds up in this ultra-competitive segment!
The latest EV from Bavaria is a $55,400 luxury sedan with 300 miles of range
Months after revealing its first new electric vehicle in nearly a decade, the iX SUV, BMW is ready to pull back the curtain on its next EV. The i4 electric sedan is the automaker’s electrified 4 Series, with up to 300 miles of range and starting at $55,400 for the low-spec model.
The i4 is built on the fifth generation of BMW’s eDrive EV platform, which combines the electric motors, power electronics, charging system, and high-voltage battery. The scalable architecture can be adjusted to accommodate vehicles of different sizes and utility — meaning it’s built on the same platform as the iX.
Together, the two EVs represent the tip of the spear in BMW’s belated effort to recapture its early sales momentum. BMW fans were disappointed that the automaker never made successors for the i3 or the i8 in the years since those cars were released. But the company is iterating on the underlying electric technology. Now, that next-gen tech will not only power the iX and the i4 sedan but also the China-made iX3 (which is now officially not destined for the US).
Fabian Kirchbauer Photography
Fabian Kirchbauer Photography
Fabian Kirchbauer Photography
Fabian Kirchbauer Photography
Fabian Kirchbauer Photography
Fabian Kirchbauer Photography
Fabian Kirchbauer Photography
Fabian Kirchbauer Photography
Fabian Kirchbauer Photography
Fabian Kirchbauer Photography
Fabian Kirchbauer Photography
Fabian Kirchbauer Photography
The i4, which will arrive stateside in the first quarter of 2022, should be enough to make up for those lost years. BMW is making two variants: the i4 eDrive40 with 335 horsepower, 0–60mph in 5.7 seconds, rear-wheel drive, and an estimated range up to 300 miles; and the i4 M50 with 536 horsepower, 0–60mph in 3.9 seconds, all-wheel drive, and an estimated range up to 240 miles. BMW says both range estimates are based on the EPA’s standard of testing, not the European WLTP.
The battery in the i4 is made up of four modules with 72 cells each and three 12-cell modules. BMW says that together they provide a net energy content of 83.9kWh gross and 81.5kWh net. That’s more than the iX’s 74kWh power pack, which provides up to 273 miles of range. The i4’s battery has 40 percent more energy density than the latest version of the i3. The 398-volt battery pack is capable of 200kW charging capacity for high-power DC charging, which BMW says should take 31 minutes to get from 10 percent to 80 percent charged.
The i4 will likely compete with the Tesla Model S, Mercedes-Benz EQS, Porsche Taycan, and Audi A6. And starting at $55,400 for the low-spec model and $65,900 for the performance model, BMW’s electric sedan will likely make a strong case for itself. It may not travel as far as the relaunched Model S or long-range Lucid Air, nor will it have the massive infotainment screen of the EQS, but the i4 is also more affordably priced than most luxury EVs. And BMW is still eligible for the $7,500 federal tax credit, further bolstering its case.
BMW is hoping its claims on sustainability and transparency will also help sell the i4. The automaker aims to reduce its carbon footprint for the i4 to the “lowest levels possible” through sustainable sourcing of the raw materials that go in the battery and the ethical recycling of the battery at the end of its life span.
Driving the i4 is likely to be really, really fun, especially the M50 variant, which BMW notes will be the first purely electric performance model from its M GmbH motorsport subsidiary. Of course, the sedan will have the near-instant torque and the low center of gravity that is typical of electric vehicles. A launch control feature that optimizes acceleration will enable the i4 M50 to easily sprint from zero to 60 mph in a little less than four seconds.
BMW also claims an ultra-low drag coefficient of 0.24 for the i4 eDrive40 and 0.25 for the i4 M50 — which is only slightly more than the Mercedes EQS with its record low aerodynamics.
The i4 will get the same curved display as the iX SUV: a 12.3-inch information display and 14.9-inch control display are embedded in a frameless, single-piece glass surface angled toward the driver. Naturally it will run on iDrive, the software and infotainment platform that has served as the centerpiece of the automaker’s in-car experience for the last 20 years.
Image: Fabian Kirchbauer Photography
The brain of this car will also be a significant improvement over past models. The i4’s onboard computer will be able to process 20 to 30 times the data volume of previous models, or around double the amount of data that was previously possible. This will enable a greater fusion of the vehicle’s sensors, which will help enable higher levels of driver assist.
BMW has said that the eighth version of iDrive that will be in the i4 and iX represents a “major step” toward fully autonomous vehicles, able to support both Level 2 and Level 3 autonomous driving systems.
Advanced driver assistance systems, defined as Level 2 by the Society of Automotive Engineers, include lane keeping, blind-spot detection, automatic emergency braking, and adaptive cruise control. Most major automakers include some version of advanced driver assistance in their vehicles today. Level 3 refers to highly automated driving, also called conditional automation, where the driver still needs to be able to take over the vehicle upon request.
In 2019, when it unveiled the iNEXT concept, BMW hinted that the vehicle would be outfitted with Level 3 autonomous driving, which means the car would perform 100 percent of the driving tasks under certain conditions, but that drivers would need to standby to take control when needed. That feature is absent from the i4 and iX, which is probably a wise move, considering the legal and regulatory morass surrounding Level 3 driving. BMW has said it expects both electric vehicles to support Level 2 “hands-free” highway driving, similar to GM’s Super Cruise and Ford’s BlueCruise features.
The front end of the vehicle features a unique take on BMW’s traditional kidney grille, which is just ornamental as it is completely blocked off. An active air flap control at the bottom of the grille can be adjusted in ten stages, allowing cooling air to be supplied to the drive system, battery, brakes, and air conditioning system in precise quantities.
BMW has a raft of new EVs coming out in the next few years, with the goal of achieving 50 percent of sales by 2030. The company is developing an all-electric version of its 5 Series and 7 Series sedans as well as its entry-level X1 SUV. Earlier this year, the company revealed the production iX3, the all-electric version of its top-selling X3 SUV. But the iX3 won’t be available in the US, only in Europe and China. When it comes out next year, the iX3 will pack a 74kWh battery pack, which should power the vehicle for up to 273 miles.
That means almost all of the German luxury automaker’s most popular cars will soon have all-electric variants. A fully electric version of the 3 Series, BMW’s most popular car in the US, has already been spotted in testing camouflage.
Still, one has to wonder what took BMW so long to enter its challenger in the luxury EV space. The answer may be in the i4’s complete design. Other European automakers like Jaguar, Audi and Mercedes-Benz have tested the waters with more tentative EVs. The i4, on the other hand, is BMW going all-in.
The Rimac C_Two concept has evolved into a production-ready electric hypercar called the Nevera, and it’s still just as absurd as it was three years when it first broke cover at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show.
Powered by a 120kWh battery pack, the Nevera uses four electric motors — one for each wheel — to put down an almost unbelievable 1.4MW of power, which Rimac says is roughly equivalent to 1,914 horsepower. The quad-motor setup can push the car to 60 miles per hour from a standstill in just 1.85 seconds. It has a top speed of 258 miles per hour.
What’s more, Rimac says one of the things it worked on over the last three years was improving the battery pack’s liquid cooling system, meaning drivers can use that peak power for longer before the batteries start to complain.
To make sure drivers have a fighting chance at controlling that amount of power, Rimac developed a new all-wheel torque vectoring system that basically acts as both an electronic stability and traction control system. The software can make “over 100 calculations per second to tailor the level of torque to achieve the desired driving style,” Rimac says in the press release for the Nevera. Braking in a car like this is also important, and Rimac has designed the Nevera to be able to dynamically adjust the balance of the braking force between the friction brakes in the wheels and the regenerative braking made possible by the electric motors.
Image: Rimac
Image: Rimac
Image: Rimac
Image: Rimac
Image: Rimac
Image: Rimac
Image: Rimac
Image: Rimac
Image: Rimac
Image: Rimac
Image: Rimac
Image: Rimac
Image: Rimac
Image: Rimac
Image: Rimac
Image: Rimac
If that’s not enough, Rimac has developed an “AI driving coach” feature that leverages the Nevera’s 12 ultrasonic and six radar sensors, as well as 13 cameras to help “optimize and enhance the driver’s on-track performance.” It does this by providing track-specific audio and visual cues for when to brake for, where to turn into, and when to accelerate out of a corner.
Of course, very few people will have to worry about whether they can properly pilot a Nevera. Rimac is only making 150 of them, and they’ll each start around $2.4 million.
A big part of that price tag is Nevera’s lavish tech. The monocoque is the largest single carbon fiber piece in the automotive industry, according to the company, dramatically cutting weight and improving safety. The H-shaped battery pack is structurally integrated into that monocoque, too, keeping the center of gravity low and adding to the overall structural stiffness. To keep the ride smooth, the Nevera has a double wishbone suspension that uses electronically controlled dampers, which also makes for easy ride height adjustments.
Inside the cockpit, there are three screens: a driver display, a horizontal touchscreen in the center console, and a passenger display. There’s also an accompanying mobile app, which offers live track data, and the ability to download telemetry so drivers can analyze their performance.
The other part of the price tag is that Rimac will customize basically every other aspect of the Nevera hypercar for buyers:
No two Neveras will leave the Rimac factory looking the same or bearing the same specification, thanks to customers’ ability to choose from a comprehensive range of bespoke trims and material options. In addition to the company’s premium individual personalization program, Rimac will offer its flagship in various editions: GT, Signature, Timeless or the customers can choose to go Bespoke.
Each buyer will even be “invited to Croatia to design his or her car to their exacting requirements,” Rimac says.
As if that isn’t enough to convince someone to pony up $2 million and change, the company says founder Mate Rimac will personally test each Nevera that gets built.
The funny thing about a car like the Nevera is that it’s not alone. There is a growing stable of absurdly priced electric hypercars that can make nearly 2,000 horsepower. Lotus has the Evija, while Pininfarina has the Battista. (There are a few hybrid options in this class, too.) What’s made Rimac unique is that it really was a sort of go-it-alone effort, one that Mate Rimac built from the ground up.
That said, Mate Rimac says in the press release for the Nevera that it “is the car I had in mind when I embarked on the ‘impossible’ journey ten years ago.” His company now has backing from Porsche, which is reportedly working with Rimac to make electric hypercars for the German automaker’s sibling brand, Bugatti. Hyundai has also tossed Rimac some coin. While the Nevera looks like a truly thrilling electric hypercar, the most exciting thing about what Rimac’s been doing for the last decade might be whatever comes next.
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