Akasa has released an external SSD enclosure called the Vegas SSD Mate that, as spotted by Hermitage Akihabara, features a cooling fan adorned with RGB lighting.
The Vegas SSD Mate is a tool-free aluminum enclosure said to fit both PCIe and SATA SSDs with the M.2 2280, 2260, 2242, and 2230 form factors. Equipping the enclosure with an M.2 SSD should be as easy as lining up the drive and snapping it into place.
Akasa said the enclosure connects to a system using USB 3.2 Gen 2, which means the Vegas SSD Mate’s maximum data transfer rate should be 10 Gb/s. It’s also backwards compatible with connections based on USB 2.0 and USB 3.2 Gen 1.
The same can be said of most recent external SSD enclosures. The Vegas SSD Mate stands out thanks to its fan, which Akasa said “improves and maximises natural air convection to keep the SSD cool and running optimally.” (Emphasis theirs.)
Should that be necessary? Not really. Most external SSD enclosures manage their drive’s temperatures via heatsinks and thermal pads. A fan might actually prove detrimental to people who don’t want their drives to be exposed to debris.
On the other hand, the fan is surrounded by RGB lighting, and there’s no denying that people love making their accessories shine with the brilliance of, well, several LEDs. (Akasa didn’t say how many LEDs the enclosure features, but it can’t be very many.)
More information about the Vegas SSD Mate is available via Akasa’s website. The enclosure is currently available via Amazon for $74.99, but at time of writing there are only two left in stock, so either Akasa didn’t make many or the demand for an RGB-lit external SSD enclosure is higher than many of us would have expected.
Samsung is announcing its new Galaxy Book Odyssey gaming laptop today, complete with Nvidia’s unannounced GeForce RTX 3050 Ti and 3050 graphics cards. The 15.6-inch (1080p) gaming laptop starts at $1,399 and will ship with Intel’s 11th Gen Core H i5 or i7 processors, up to 32GB of RAM, and up to 2TB of SSD storage. The big new addition is a choice between Nvidia’s RTX 3050 or RTX 3050 Ti GPU.
Samsung hasn’t provided many details on the RTX 3050 or RTX 3050 Ti, and Nvidia hasn’t even announced the GPU yet, so details are slim. The RTX 3050 Ti name appeared in March on an Asus website that mentioned it would have 4GB of memory. Combined with the numbering scheme and 135-watt charger, this suggests this is more of an entry-level gaming laptop.
This Galaxy Book Odyssey also includes a 720p webcam, a fingerprint reader on the power key, and microSD expandable storage. There are two USB-C ports, three USB 3.2 ports, an HDMI port, and a network port. Samsung says this new gaming laptop also ships with a mysterious “enhanced cooling system,” which will presumably help keep things cool when you’re gaming.
Samsung’s Galaxy Book Odyssey will be available in “mystic black” in August, starting at $1,399. Samsung also announced new Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 lightweight laptops today, complete with OLED screens.
(Pocket-lint) – Samsung has announced a new family of Galaxy Books for 2021. But with three different models in the line-up, how are you to choose one from the other?
We’re diving through the details to help you figure out which is the best laptop for you.
Price and availability
Galaxy Book: From £699
Galaxy Book Pro: From £1099 (13.3in), £1199 (15.6in)
Galaxy Book Pro 360: From £1199 (13.3in), £1249 (15.6in)
The Galaxy Book is the most accessible with the 8/256GB Core i5 model starting at £699 in the UK – internationally with the Core i3 model you’ll likely find a cheaper starting price.
There’s a jump to the Galaxy Book Pro starting at £1099 for the Core i5 8/512GB or Core i5 8/256GB LTE model 13.3-inch.
The Galaxy Book Pro 360 is the most expensive, starting at £1199 for the Core i5 8/512GB 13.3-inch.
All models will be available to pre-order from 28 April, with general availability from 14 May.
Design and build
Galaxy Book (15.6in): 356.6 x 229.1 x 15.4mm, 1.55kg
Galaxy Book Pro:
13.3in: 304.4 x 199.8 x 11.2mm, 0.87kg
15.6in: 355.4 x 225.8 x 11.7mm, 1.05kg
Galaxy Book Pro 360:
13.3in: 302.5 x 202.0 x 11.5mm, 1.04kg
15.6in: 354.85 x 227.97 x 11.9mm, 1.39kg
All of the new Galaxy Book models sport a similar design: they are thin and light, finished with matte colours spanning Mystic Blue/Navy and Mystic Silver, with other colours available in other regions.
They all use premium materials for a solid finish, with the Galaxy Book and the Galaxy Book Pro 360 both finished in aluminium bodywork, while the lightest of the lot – the Galaxy Book Pro – also uses magnesium alloy to keep the weight down.
The Galaxy Book Pro 360 has a slight twist on the format, with a display that’s a lot more flexible, able to laid flat or folded into tablet mode for more versatile working.
The Galaxy Book is the cheapest model, but is noticeably thicker than the others, and heavier too.
There’s reasonable physical connectivity across these notebooks, each having at least two USB-C connections with the Pro models also offering Thunderbolt 4 through one of these ports.
The Galaxy Book Pro 360 misses out on USB-A, while both other models offer this older port for convenience – as well as HDMI for external displays.
All models also support microSD, some offering SIM slots for LTE versions.
Display
Galaxy Book: 15.6in, LED, FHD
Galaxy Book Pro: 13.3 or 15.6in, AMOLED, FHD
Galaxy Book Pro 360: 13.3 in 15.6in, Super AMOLED, FHD
There Pro models take a step ahead of the regular Galaxy Book in offering AMOLED displays, while the entry-level device is an LED display.
That means the two Pro models will offer the better quality display with richer visuals, also offering better calibrated displays for more accurate colour representation.
All offer the same full HD resolution – 1920 x 1080 pixels – but it’s the Galaxy Book Pro 360 that then goes a little further.
We’ve already mentioned that the Pro 360 has a more flexible display, but it’s also the only touchscreen in the range – and it supports the S Pen, meaning you can do a lot more with it.
Unfortunately, there’s no where to store the S Pen in the chassis of the Pro 360, so you’ll just have to tuck that into your pocket.
Galaxy Book Pro 360: 11-gen Intel Core i5/i7, Iris Xe, 8-16GB RAM, 256-512GB storage, 63/68Wh battery
All the new Galaxy Book models are based around 11-gen Intel Core hardware, offering i3, i5 or i7 models depending on the region. In the UK, only i5 and i7 models will be offered, so check local availability.
RAM starts at 8GB with 16GB an option, while SSD storage starts at 256GB with 512GB the step-up.
All have onboard Intel Iris Xe graphics.
The Galaxy Book has the smallest battery at 54Wh, while the Pro models move to 63Wh for the 13.3-inch model, or 68Wh for the 15.6-inch models.
All models will charge through USB-C, with a 65W charger meaning you can charge all your Samsung devices with just the one charger.
Summing up
Samsung is offering good-looking laptops in the Galaxy Book range, all with a quality finish and reasonable power on offer.
The real differences lie in the display, with the Galaxy Book Pro 360 offering functions that the others don’t – while the Galaxy Book is likely to be the premium workhorse of the trio, offering a lighter body for those on the move and a great looking display.
All run Windows 10 Home, all offer 720p front camera and dual array mics and all offer Dolby Atmos sound – with the Pro models getting AKG tuned speakers. Samsung is keen for these notebooks to work within the Samsung ecosystem efficiently, with easy switching for products like your Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro and syncing with your phone.
Galax is now warning users on its Chinese website that mining cryptocurrency with the companies SSDs will void your warranty with that product. This comes as no surprise with miners getting ready to start mining the new Chia cryptocurrency which focuses on storage to mine coins rather than requiring the best mining GPUs.
(Image credit: Galax)
Chia is a very new cryptocurrency that isn’t even on the blockchain network just yet but is gaining in popularity. The main attraction for this new crypto is the way you can mine the cryptocurrency. Chia relies on a ‘proof of time and space’ algorithm to mine the currency on hard drives and SSDs so there’s no need to optimize your GPU for mining.
The developers of Chia designed Chia to be mined this way so mining the cryptocurrency is more accessible to the end-user and won’t penalize you with big-electricity bills or the purchasing of single-use hardware (i.e. ASICs).
But, on the negative side of things, this mining technique could severely affect storage supply and demand. If Chia gets popular at all, we will probably see the same shortages we’re seeing on GPUs applied to hard drives and SSDs as well.
So it’s no surprise that Galax is already preventing users from using their warranty on its SSDs when it comes to mining workloads. If Chia is demanding enough on write performance, we could see all other SSD manufacturers following suit.
Samsung will be among the first with a laptop featuring Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3050 and RTX 3050 Ti, as announced during its Galaxy Unpacked event today. This further confirms additional graphics cards that Nvidia has yet to formally announce.
The two are listed as Max-Q variants of the graphics cards in an infographic Samsung has put up on its website. It also lists 11th Gen Intel Core processors (it’s unclear if it’s existing 35W parts or upcoming 45W parts), as well as up to 32GB of RAM, up to 1TB of NVMe SSD storage and an 83 Wh battery. It charges over a 135W USB Type-C charger, so this may not be the most powerful gaming laptop out there.
(Image credit: Samsung)
The 15.6-inch laptop is set to release in August starting at $1,399, though Samsung wasn’t specific on which markets it will release in.
Just a few days ago, Lenovo briefly listed laptops with the RTX 3050 and 3050 Ti, so it was clear these were coming soon.
Samsung also announced the Galaxy Book Pro lineup today, with OLED displays, Intel Tiger Lake-U processors and extremely thin designs.
Intel is finally releasing its full lineup of Tiger Lake CPUs beyond the H35 quad-core parts (via ComputerBase) soon, meaning we’ll finally have Tiger Lake CPUs on mobile with an eight-core configuration instead of four cores.
Intel’s H45 series chips will represent all Intel’s Tiger Lake SKUs with eight cores — there’s no word on six core parts just yet. We still don’t know the exact details of any specific SKUs, like core frequencies, cache sizes, and integrated graphics, but a recent tweet from ASUS’s ROG Global Twitter account leaves little doubt that an announcement will arrive on May 11, so stay tuned for more details in the upcoming weeks.
Get ready!May 11, 2 PM (CEST)#ROG #IntelGaming #UnleashTheTigerApril 27, 2021
See more
It’s rational to think that Intel’s H45 should take on all the features of the H35 quad-core parts while packing on much more performance; features like Resizable Bar, four PCIe lanes dedicated towards an NVME SSD, the latest connectivity like WiFi 6E, and Intel’s large 96 and 80 EU Xe graphics chips will be a nice addition to Intel’s new high core count parts.
As for performance, current H35 chips are already very close to AMD’s latest Ryzen 5000 mobile processors in single-core work. So we have no reason to doubt that Intel’s H45 chips will reach the same level of performance since previous Comet-Lake H parts like the 10980HK and the current 11375H can already hit 5.0GHz boost frequencies on a single core.
It remains to be seen how well Intel’s H45 parts will perform in multi-core workloads that utilize more than four cores, though. We will know very soon, though. We expect that an announcement for Intel’s H45 chips will drop on May 11th, just a few weeks from now.
with two new Windows laptops: the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro and Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360. Both the clamshell and the convertible options were announced at today’s Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event. They are available for pre-order now and will hit retail stores on May 14.
Both the Book Pro and Book Pro 360 will come in 13.3-inch and 15.6-inch versions, all of which will rely on intel’s Core i5 or Core i7 “Tiger Lake” processors and Iris Xe integrated graphics, and they will carry
Intel Evo
branding.
Samsung Galaxy Book Pro
Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360
CPU
Up to 11th Gen Intel Core i7
Up to 11th Gen Intel Core i7
Graphics
Intel Iris Xe (Integrated)
Intel Iris Xe (Integrated)
RAM
Up to 16GB LPDDR4x
Up to 16GB LPDDR4x
Storage
Up to 512GB NVMe SSD
Up to 1TB NVMe SSD on 15.6-inch inch, Up to 512GB on 13.3-inch
Display
13.3 or 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080, AMOLED
13.3 or 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080, Super AMOLED touch
Networking
LTE (only in some countries, not the US, 13-inch), Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1
5G (optional, 13-inch), Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1
Battery
63 Wh (13-inch) / 68 Wh (15-inch)
63 Wh (13-inch) / 68 Wh (15-inch)
Starting Price
13.3-inch: $999, 15.6-inch: $1,099
13.3-inch: $1,199, 15.6-inch: $1,299
There are a number of other similarities between both laptops across the sizes. The whole line is using 1920 x 1080 AMOLED displays (though the Galaxy Book Pro 360’s Super AMOLED also incorporates touch), and they’re made of what Samsung calls 6000-series aluminum. Samsung is also bringing a “secret screen” technology to the laptops, which hampers viewing angles from sides when you are working on private documents. HP has included similar functionality in many of its business laptops for a few years under the name SureView.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Samsung)
Image 2 of 2
(Image credit: Samsung)
The biggest differences between the two models are the networking options and ports. The Galaxy Book Pro will offer Wi-Fi 6E and, in the 13.3-inch option, LTE in some territories. But the Galaxy Book Pro 360’s 13.3-inch configuration will have optional 5G. The Book Pro has Thunderbolt 4, USB Type-C, USB Type-A 3.2, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microSD card slot and a SIM card slot, while the Book PRo 360 ditches the USB 3.2 in favor of another Type-C port. Both use 65W gallium nitride (GaN) chargers for fast charging. The 15.6-inch Galaxy Book Pro 360 has the largest storage option at 1TB.
There are also differences in color. The Book Pro uses matte colors called mystic blue and mystic silver while the Book Pro 360 opts for a more metallic mystic navy and mystic bronze.
(Image credit: Samsung)
Samsung is touting how thin the laptops are. The Book Pro is 11.2 mm thin on the 13-incher and 11.7 mm on the 15.6-incher, while the Galaxy Book Pro 360 is slightly thicker at 11.5 mm and 11.9 mm, respectively. The smallest of the line, the Galaxy Book Pro 13, will weigh just 1.92 pounds.
The hardware also includes a redesigned keyboard, with scissor switches and rubber domes with 1 millimeter of travel which Samsung says is nearly silent.
Samsung is also emphasizing the two laptops for their spot in the Galaxy-branded ecosystem. That includes using Samsung Notes and PENUP to sync notes across devices, using Smart Switch to transfer files (a first on Samsung’s PCs) and Quick Share. A Galaxy Tab S7 can be used as a second monitor, and a Link to Windows feature will let you use up to five mobile apps on your laptop.
For those of us working from home, there’s a Studio Mode for improved video calling and intelligent noise cancelling to get rid of ambient sounds. Some of this is already built into other apps, but for those not familiar, these may be a nice touch.
The company is also bringing Samsung Care+ to PCs for the first time, allowing for up to two years of customer service and what it says are discounted repairs.
The Samsung Galaxy Book Pro will start at $999 for the 13-inch version and $1,099 for the 15.6 option. The Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 will start at $1,199 and $1,299 in the same screen sizes, but with touch support and an S Pen.
Microsoft posted the third quarter of its 2021 financial results today, reporting revenue of $41.7 billion and a net income of $15.5 billion. Revenue is up 19 percent, and net income has increased by 44 percent. Once again, Microsoft has seen strong growth for Surface, Xbox, and cloud-related services.
The PC market isn’t slowing down, despite a global chip shortage, and Microsoft is benefiting from this once again. Windows OEM revenue has grown by 10 percent, reflecting the strong consumer PC demand. Windows non-pro OEM revenue also grew 44 percent, and only Windows OEM Pro revenue declined by 2 percent.
Surface Laptop 4.Photo by Monica Chin / The Verge
Surface hit a $2 billion business milestone in the previous quarter, and Microsoft has recorded $1.5 billion of revenue in Q3. That may look like a dip, but it’s actually up 12 percent year over year during what’s usually a more quiet quarter for Surface sales.
While Microsoft just unveiled its new Surface Laptop 4 and accessories earlier this month, the Surface Pro 7 Plus also debuted for businesses and schools during this recent quarter. The Surface Pro is Microsoft’s most popular Surface device, and this latest model includes a bigger battery, Intel’s 11th Gen processors, a removable SSD, and LTE.
Xbox Series X.
Microsoft is also home to Xbox hardware and games, and once again revenue has grown across gaming. This is the second quarter of sales of Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and Series S consoles, and hardware revenue has grown by a massive 232 percent thanks to these next-gen consoles.
Xbox content and services revenue has also increased by 34 percent compared to the same quarter last year. Gaming became a key hobby for many during 2020, and that trend has remained throughout 2021. Microsoft’s overall gaming revenue is up 50 percent, after reaching $5 billion for the first quarter ever last quarter.
Acer announced in a blog post that it’s getting into the flash storage and memory business with help from a Chinese manufacturer called Biwin. Acer’s brand will be slapped onto each of these SSDs, but it’ll be another company that’s responsible for building them. Even though you’ll see an Acer logo on this storage, it’s Biwin that’ll handle the warranty for these products.
Acer isn’t the only major company utilizing Biwin’s hardware. This storage and memory manufacturer also puts out HP-branded products, including portable SSDs, NVMe SSDs, 2.5-inch SATA SSDs, and RAM.
The latest partnership aims to release Acer-branded products first in the US, China, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and in the UK. Release dates and prices weren’t shared, but The Verge contacted Biwin for more information.
Acer and Biwin are kicking things off with a 2.5-inch SATA SSD called the SA100 with up to a 1.92TB version available, which has up to a 560MB/s read speed. Its RE100 comes in a 2.5-inch form factor, or as an M.2 SATA SSD, and either will have configurations of up to 4TB, and its read and write speeds top out at 560MB/s and 520MB/s, respectively. Lastly, a much faster M.2 PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD called the FA100 will come in capacities up to 2TB, with read and write speeds of up to 3,300MB/s and 2,700MB/s, respectively.
The partnership will also yield an assortment of laptop and desktop RAM, ranging in capacities from 4GB to 32GB per stick, with up to 3,600MHz in speed. All of these RAM products are listed as “coming soon” on Acer’s storage site.
Matthew Wilson 1 day ago Featured Tech News, General Tech
MSI has been dabbling in the world of all-in-one PCs for a while now and this week, we’re getting some brand new models. Today, MSI announced the Modern AM241 and Modern AM271 series of all-in-one PCs, featuring Intel 11th Gen processors.
The new Modern 24 and 27 series PCs are designed with efficiency and productivity in mind, while also looking rather elegant. Each system comes with an OPS display for wide viewing angles and better colours. Under the hood, you’ll find an Intel 11th Gen Core series processor, with MSI offering up to an Intel Core i7-1165G7, but Core i3 and Core i5 configurations are also available.
In the table below, you can see the full specification list for the MSI Modern AM241 and AM271 PCs:
Specification
Modern AM241
Modern AM241T
Modern AM241P
Modern AM241TP
Modern AM271
Modern AM271P
CPU
Up to Intel® Core™ i7-1165G7
OS
Windows 10 Home – MSI recommends Windows 10 Pro for business
23.8″ IPS Grade Panel LED Backlight (1920*1080 FHD) with MSI Anti-Flicker technology
23.8″ IPS Grade Panel LED Backlight (1920*1080 FHD) with MSI Anti-Flicker technology
27″ IPS Grade Panel LED Backlight (1920*1080 FHD) with MSI Anti-Flicker technology
27″ IPS Grade Panel LED Backlight (1920*1080 FHD) with MSI Anti-Flicker technology
TOUCH PANEL
Non-Touch for Modern AM241 /
In-cell 10-Point Touch for ModernAM241T
Non-Touch for Modern AM241P /
In-cell 10-Point Touch for ModernAM241TP
Non-Touch
Non-Touch
ADJUSTABLE STAND
-5° ~ 15° (Tilt)
-4° ~ 20° (Tilt) ;
0 ~ 130mm (Height)
-5° ~ 15° (Tilt)
-4° ~ 20° (Tilt) ;
0 ~ 130mm (Height)
OPTICAL DRIVE
N/A
AUDIO
2 x 2.5W Speakers
LAN
1 x RJ45 (10/100/1000)
WIRELESS LAN
Intel 9462 AC / AX201 AX (either one)
BLUETOOTH
5.1
USB 3.2 PORT
4 (2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A)
USB 2.0 PORT
3
HDMI IN
1
HDMI OUT
1
AUDIO
1x Mic-in/Headphone-out Combo
5-WAY NAVIGATOR
1
KEYBOARD / MOUSE
Optional
AC ADAPTER
90W / 120W (Core i3 above)
AIO WALL MOUNT KIT III
Support Standard VESA Mount (75x75mm)
DIMENSION (WXDXH)
541.40 x 175.09 x 406.86 mm (21.31 x 6.89 x 16.02 inch)
541.40 x 194.68 x 534.92 mm (21.31 x 7.66 x 21.06 inch)
611.75 x 169.96 x 436.06 mm (24.08 x 6.69 x 17.17 inch)
611.75 x 169.96 x 553.52 mm (24.08 x 6.69 x 21.79 inch)
NET WEIGHT
4.65 kg (10.25 lbs)
6.16 kg (13.58 lbs)
5.82 kg (12.83 lbs)
7.42 kg (16.36 lbs)
GROSS WEIGHT
7.35 kg (16.20 lbs)
8.45 kg (18.63 lbs)
8.60 kg (18.96 lbs)
10.00 kg (22.05 lbs)
With more people working from home and relying on virtual meetings, MSI has bumped up the specs of the webcam, delivering 1080p quality. The option to remove the webcam is also there for those concerned about privacy.
Using MSI Instant Display Technology, the Modern AM series can also be used as a standalone monitor for a second system, meaning you don’t have to boot up the PC hidden behind the display. These all-in-one systems also support using a second monitor through an additional HDMI output. Standard VESA mounts are supported for those who prefer having a monitor arm – MSI even has a ready to go solution for that with the VESA Arm MT81.
We’re still waiting on pricing and availability information, but we’ll update if/when we hear more. Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.
KitGuru Says: Do any of you use an all-in-one PC for work at all? What do you think of the new MSI Modern series systems?
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AMD’s Threadripper consumer HEDT processors continue to be praised strongly for their excellent compute performance and connectivity options. But what if you want more than 256GB of memory? What if you want your RAM to run in 8-channel mode? What if you want more than 64 PCIe Gen 4 lanes? Well… that’s where Threadripper Pro comes in.
Watch via our Vimeo Channel (Below) or over on YouTube at 2160p HERE
Video Timestamps:
00:00 Start
00:15 Some details/pricing
01:15 Star of the show – Threadripper Pro 3975WX
03:20 The CPU cooler
03:46 Memory setup / weird plastic shrouds with fans
05:27 AMD Radeon Pro W5700 GPU
07:00 Motherboard
08:55 Storage options
09:41 1000W PSU (Platinum) and custom setup
10:32 Luke’s thoughts and I/O panels
11:22 The Chassis
11:40 Cooling and tool less design
12:35 Summary so far
14:02 Performance tests
16:49 System temperatures, power and noise testing
19:05 System under idle conditions – ‘rumbling’ noise we experienced
19:22 Pros and Cons / Closing thoughts
Primary Specifications:
32-core AMD Threadripper Pro 3975WX processor
128GB of 3200MHz ECC DDR4 memory in 8-channel mode
AMD Radeon Pro W5700 graphics card with 8GB GDDR6 VRAM
WD SN730 256GB NVMe SSD
1kW 80Plus Platinum PSU
We are examining the Lenovo ThinkStation P620 workstation that is built around Threadripper Pro and its 8-channel memory support. There are a few options for the base processor on Lenovo’s website including 12, 16, 32, and 64 core options. Specifically, we are looking at the 32-core Threadripper Pro 3975WX chip and we are hoping that Lenovo can keep it running at the rated 3.5-4.2GHz speeds beneath that modestly sized CPU cooler.
Partnering this 280W TDP monster with its 128 PCIe Gen 4 lanes is 128GB of 8-channel DDR4 3200MHz ECC memory. While a 128GB installation is merely small-fry for Threadripper Pro, the 3200MHz modules running in 8-channel mode should allow for some excellent results in bandwidth-intensive tasks. Plus, you get a 1600MHz Infinity Fabric link for the Zen 2 cores.
I will, however, emphasise my dislike for Lenovo decision to deploy a 40mm fan and shroud to cool each DIMM bank. This seems unnecessary for a 128GB installation and merely adds additional noise and points of failure. Metal heatspreaders on the DIMMs would have been better, if enhanced cooling is deemed necessary.
Graphics comes in the form of an 8GB Radeon Pro W5700 blower-style card which we have already reviewed on KitGuru. That makes this an all-AMD system as far as the key components go. Another key benefit is ISV certification for the Lenovo P620. That point will be music to the ears of system buyers in a business environment with users who run software on the guaranteed support list.
Another point that will garner particular attention from prospective buyers is the display output connectivity. On its ‘pro-grade’ card, AMD deploys five Mini-DisplayPort 1.4 connections and one USB-C port. That gives you convenient access to six total display outputs which is super. As highlighted in our review of the Radeon Pro W5700, you can power five 4K monitors or three 5K alternatives, making this an excellent workstation proposition.
Lenovo uses its own WRX80 motherboard to house the sWRX8 Threadripper Pro CPU. The power delivery solution looks competent and Lenovo’s use of proper finned VRM heatsinks with passive cooling is to be commended. Six total PCIe Gen 4 slots are provided by the motherboard – four x16 bandwidth and two x8. However, only two x16 slots remain usable due to the slot spacing, and the top one will likely interfere with the RAM fan’s header.
It is actually disappointing to see Lenovo offering up sub-par expansion slot capability. There is no clear way to use the 128 lane capability from Threadripper Pro. That is especially disappointing to users who will want multiple graphics card alongside high-bandwidth networking and storage devices. However, the limited expandability is a clear compromise from Lenovo’s use of a compact chassis with just a couple of 80mm fans for intake and exhaust airflow.
At least you do get dual, cooled M.2 slots on the motherboard. One of those is occupied by a 256GB WD SN730 SSD in our install. Clearly, most users will want to adjust the storage configuration. But this is clearly a very subjective requirement, so I respect Lenovo for offering a basic, cheap drive for the baseline configuration.
Power is delivered by a 1kW 80Plus Platinum unit. Lenovo highlights 92% efficiency on the configurator page, but this is likely a mistake for 230/240V UK customers given the more stringent 80Plus Platinum requirements for those operating voltages. The PSU’s tool-less design is absolutely superb and works very well; a single connector port feeds power from the unit through the motherboard where it is then distributed accordingly, including via break-out cables for PCIe and SATA connectors.
Connectivity for the system is just ‘OK‘. You get 10GbE Aquantia AQC107 networking onboard, but a secondary network adapter is disappointingly omitted. I would have liked to see a few more USB ports on the rear IO, including some in Type-C form and preferably 20Gbps high-speed rated. However, the front IO is excellent with four 10Gbps USB connections, two of which are Type-C. I also appreciated the system’s included audio speaker when using the unit without a proper set of speakers.
The chassis build quality is good and feels very well-built given its compact form. Man-handling the hefty system is easy thanks to the front handle. And the internal tool-less design is excellent. Lenovo’s configurator gives an option to upgrade to a side panel with key locking to prevent unauthorised access, which is good to see.
With that said, cooling certainly looks to be limited with just two 80mm intake fans on the chassis. The graphics card, CPU, PSU, and (annoyingly) RAM also have fans to take care of their own cooling. If you are thinking of adding a second high power GPU, though, the internals are likely to get very toasty.
Priced at around £5.5-6K inc. VAT in the UK (depending on the graphics card situation given current shortages), we are keen to see how Threadripper Pro performs in this reasonably compact workstation.
Detailed Specifications
Processor: AMD Threadripper Pro 3975WX (32 cores/64 threads, 3.5/4.2GHz, 280W TDP, 144MB L2+L3 cache, 128 PCIe Gen 4 lanes, up to 2TB 8-channel DDR4-3200 ECC memory support)
Motherboard: Lenovo WRX80 Threadripper Pro Motherboard
Memory: 128GB (8x16GB) SK Hynix 3200MHz C24 ECC DDR4, Octa-channel
Graphics Card: 8GB AMD Radeon Pro W5700 (RDNA/Navi GPU, 36 compute units, 2304 stream processors, 205W TDP, 1183MHz base clock, 1750MHz GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus for 448GBps bandwidth)
System Drive: 256GB WD SN730 PCIe NVMe SSD
CPU Cooler: Lenovo dual-tower heatsink with 2x 80mm fans
Acer is making new inroads in the components market, with both Acer- and Predator-branded SSD storage and RAM modules. The brand has been licensed by Biwin Technologies, which will release the products in the United States, United Kingdom, China, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. Pricing and release dates weren’t announced, though the products have shown up on two dedicated websites.
The Acer SSDs include a 2.5-inch SATA SA100 SSD, an m.2 RE100 SATA drive, and an M.2 PCIe Gen 3 FA100 NVMe SSD. The RAM products include both laptop SODIMM and desktop UDIMM modules ranging from 4GB to 32GB per module, with speeds from 2,666 MHz to 3,200 MHz.
(Image credit: Acer, Biwin)
For “high-performance computing enthusiasts,” there will also be an HT100 RAM module with a heat spreader.
On the Predator side, there’s just one SSD: the GM3500, a PCIe Gen 3×4 NVMe SSD with 3,400 MBps promised read speeds and 3,000 MBps write speeds.
(Image credit: Acer, Biwin)
There are two Predator RAM modules: The Predator Apollo, a “cyberpunk inspired” module with RGB lighting that works with Asus, Aorus, ASRock and MSI’s lighting platforms. It has an aluminum heatsink, can utilize Intel XMP 2.0 and supports speeds between 3,200 MHz and 5,000 MHz.
(Image credit: Acer, Biwin)
The other RAM is the Predator Talos, which focus on lower RAM timings and a zinc-alloy heatsink for faster performance, Biwin claims. Its speeds range from 2,666 MHZ to 4,400 MHz and its black and white shell doesn’t have any RGB, making it fit more more subtle builds.
Biwin is licensing Acer’s names, but it isn’t a new player in the market. The company also makes RAM and SSDs for HP, and occasionally you can find its own branded products on sites like Amazon.
This is Acer’s biggest step into components to date. In October, it started selling its own FrostBlade PC fans, but has largely stuck to its own laptops, desktops and peripherals.
If you haven’t gotten your hands on an Xbox Series X, you may be able to pick up one very soon, but without the RDNA 2 graphics, of course. The recently uncovered AMD 4700S Desktop Kit (via momomo_us) has found its way into a mini-ITX gaming PC at Tmall in China.
When the AMD 4700S emerged last week, the obscure processor raised a lot of questions. For one, the chip doesn’t carry the Ryzen branding, suggesting that it might be a custom processor that AMD developed for one of its clients. Stranger still, the processor is available for purchase as part of the AMD 4700S Desktop Kit.
Starting with what we know so far, the AMD 4700S is an octa-core Zen 2 processor with simultaneous multithreading (SMT). The Tmall merchant listed the AMD 4700S with 12MB of L3 cache, although we saw the chip with 8MB in a previous Geekbench 5 submission. The processor runs with a 3.6 GHz base clock and a 4 GHz boost clock. While we saw the AMD 4700S with 16GB of memory, we were uncertain of its nature. However, we suspected that the AMD 4700S is a variant of the processor that powers Microsoft’s latest Xbox Series X gaming console. The new mini-ITX listing appears to confirm our suspicions.
Apparently, the AMD 4700S is outfitted with 16GB of GDDR6 memory, which is the same amount of memory in the Xbox Series X. It appears that AMD is salvaging defective dies that don’t meet the requirements for the Xbox Series X and reselling them as the AMD 4700S.
Logically, AMD can’t just sell the same processor that it produces for Microsoft (for obvious reasons). Therefore, the AMD 4700S could be a result of a defective die with a faulty iGPU, similar to Intel’s graphics-less F-series chips. On the other hand, AMD could simply have disabled the iGPU inside the AMD 4700S, which is a shame given how generous GDDR6 memory is with bandwidth.
The only image of the mini-ITX system’s interior revealed a motherboard that looks like the same size as the Xbox Series X. There are no memory slots, and we can see some of the GDDR6 chips that surround the processor. Naturally, AMD reworked the motherboard for PC usage, as we can see by the addition of capacitors, passive heatsink, power connectors, and connectivity ports. Since the AMD 4700S lacks an iGPU, AMD added a PCIe 3.0 x16 expansion slot for a discrete graphics card.
AMD 4700S Benchmarks
Processor
Cinebench R20 Single-Core
Cinebench R20 Multi-Core
Cinebench R15 Single-Core
Cinebench R15 Multi-Core
Ryzen 7 4750G
411
4,785
199
2,085
AMD 4700S
486
3,965
160
1,612
Core i7-9700
508
3,643
200
1,469
Thanks to the listing, we can also get an idea of just how the processor inside the Xbox Series X performs compared to today’s desktop processors. However, it’s important to highlight that the AMD 4700S may not be the exact processor used in Microsoft’s latest console. The Series X uses a chip that runs at 3.8 GHz and 3.6 GHz when simultaneous multithreading is active. The AMD 4700S, on the other hand, clocks in a 3.6 GHz with a 4 GHz boost clock. On paper, the AMD 4700S should have faster compute cores since it doesn’t have an iGPU that eats into its power budget, so the heightened clock speeds make sense.
In general, the AMD 4700S lags behind the Ryzen 7 4750G (Renoir) and Core i7-9700 (Coffee Lake) in single-core workloads. The AMD 4700S did outperform the Core i7-9700 in multi-core workloads. However, it still placed behind the Ryzen 7 4750G.
It’s remains to be seen whether AMD is selling the AMD 4700S to retail customers or just OEMs. Thus far, we’ve seen the AMD 4700S Desktop Kit retailing for €263.71 (~$317.38) in at Tulostintavaratalo, a retailer in Finland. The Chinese mini-ITX gaming system is listed for 4,599 yuan or $709.12, but the price factors in the Radeon RX 550, 5TB SSD, CPU cooler, power supply and case.
Sometimes a tiny little thing can drastically improve performance and the user experience. Atlast! has developed just this kind of thing for one of its latest designs — it now uses a heat-pipe cooling system to passively cool both an SSD and the motherboard chipset.
The performance of modern high-end SSDs depends heavily on their cooling as high-end controllers tend to throttle when they overheat under high loads. Normally, SSD makers equip their products with heat spreaders that can do the job well, assuming the drives are not installed adjacent to a high-performance graphics card, and there’s sufficient airflow inside the case.
Fanless systems by definition do not have airflow from an active cooling solution (like a fan), instead relying on the air brought in naturally from the outside. As such, higher-end SSDs can easily overheat in passive PCs, which causes performance loss and frustration.
Atlast!, a fanless PC specialist, this week has announced (via FanlessTech) that it now equips its Sigao Model B desktop with a special cooling solution that uses a heat pipe to cool the motherboard chipset and an M.2 2280 SSD. The solution is basically a specially-machined aluminum plate that covers the chipset and the SSD.
Also, the Sigao Model B now uses an Asus B560 Mini-ITX motherboard and can be powered by Intel’s 10-core Core i9-10900T ‘Comet Lake’ or 8-core Core i9-11900T ‘Rocket Lake’ processor.
(Image credit: Atlast Solutions)
According to a test conducted by the manufacturer, the tiny device works quite well. At a room temperature of 21C, the Samsung’s 980 Pro SSD idled at 36C. After a few minutes of running an ‘intense read/write test at 1GB/s,’ the temperature rose by 3C. Meanwhile, after using the drive for two hours under ‘a constant heavy load’, its temperature only rose to 45C, which is well below levels when an SSD starts to throttle. Unfortunately, Atlast! didn’t disclose the temperature of Samsung’s 980 Pro SSD in its Sigao Model B system when it uses only its graphene-based heatspreader.
It is necessary to note that since the Asus B560I motherboard used by Atlast! supports two M.2-2280 SSDs, the new Sigao Model B can be equipped with two drives. Meanwhile, the second SSD located on the underside of the motherboard is also thermally connected to the case for cooling.
The SSD cooling plate is now installed into Atlast!’s Sigao Model B desktops by default without an upcharge.
The Xbox Series S isn’t perfect and won’t be for everyone, but it delivers a near next-gen gaming experience for a reasonable price
For
Attractively priced
Solid AV and gaming performance
Responsive controls
Against
Over-complicated AV set-up
Doesn’t support native 4K gaming
Small hard drive
The Xbox Series S is a tough console to nail down. It’s next-gen, but with one rather large drawback; it isn’t a 4K games console, which will undoubtedly rule out some potential buyers from the off.
But it is about more than just resolution. The Xbox Series S brings features and performance benefits to a price point we’ve never seen a high-tech console hit at launch before. And, after resolution, the price of the Series S is arguably the big talking point.
Price
The Xbox Series S is a remarkably cheap console, costing just £250 ($300, AU$500) – no wonder there was a collective gasp from members of the media when pricing was finally revealed. This compares to £450 ($500, AU$749) for the Xbox Series X.
Using Xbox All Access, where you can pay for the console in instalments, you can get a new Series S on a 12-month contract for £21 ($25, AU$33) per month, compared with £29 ($34, AU$46) per month for the Series X.
Its main rival, the PS5 Digital Edition, comes in at £359 ($399, AU$599). It is also missing a disc drive, but the difference is that it gets all the same 4K gaming performance and specs of the standard PS5 console, whereas the Series S has various performance downgrades on the Series X.
Build
(Image credit: Future)
It’s not just the price tag of the Xbox Series S that catches your attention. Open up the box and you’ll be taken aback by the size of the console. It’s tiny compared with its big brother, the Xbox Series X, but also the PS5 and PS5 Digital Editions too.
Positioned horizontally, the Series S measures 28cm wide and 15cm deep. This is in stark contrast to Sony’s disc-less rival, the PS5 Digital Edition, which is 39cm wide and 26cm deep. This makes the Series S ultra-portable, and you’ll be more than happy to sling it into a rucksack and take it to a friend’s house. The ‘S’ and its relatively small frame will also take up less space on your AV rack.
Xbox Series S tech specs
(Image credit: Future)
Resolution 1440p at 60Hz, 120Hz
Storage 512GB
Outputs HDMI, 3.5mm headphone jack, USB (Type-A) x3
The chassis is essentially an off-white plastic. It doesn’t feel particularly expensive, but that’s hardly a surprise, given the bulk of Xbox’s budget has been spent on what’s inside.
Compared with the striking PS5, the Xbox Series S looks anything but flamboyant. Its only distinctive feature is a circular black grill for the fan, which makes it look more like a wireless speaker than a cutting-edge games console.
In terms of connections, the Xbox Series S doesn’t throw up any real surprises. On the front, there’s a USB (Type-A) socket, a 3.5mm headphone jack and the power button. On the rear, there are power, ethernet, HDMI and a pair of USB (Type-A) inputs.
The only socket we haven’t really encountered before is a slot for expanding the amount of storage on the Xbox Series S. And, depending on the number of enhanced games you intend to buy, there’s a chance you might have to use it sooner than expected.
In fact, storage is one of the biggest drawbacks for the Xbox Series S. On the box, it says it has 512GB of storage, but when you boot up the console and go into the system’s menu, that figure is nowhere to be seen. Before installing a single game, we are down to 364GB. Download a few enhanced games at 60GB+ and you’ll soon be reaching for an expansion card.
Be warned – the official Seagate Storage Expansion Card costs a whopping £220 ($220, AU$359). The good news is that if you already own an external hard drive with backwards compatible games on it for an Xbox One S, you should be able to plug it into the Xbox Series S and use it straight away.
Home screen
(Image credit: Future)
Power up the console and you’re greeted with the traditional Xbox GUI. On the one hand, it’s nice and familiar but we can’t help but think it’s a missed opportunity. Couldn’t Xbox have created a more exciting and inviting interface to wow its customers and usher in its next-gen consoles?
The tile system is still in play and so is the horizontal navigation. You can reach all the relevant areas, such as games and system settings, with minimal button presses. It’s quick to respond to your commands too. This could be down to a combination of more powerful CPU processing, the super-fast solid-state hard drive and even the new low-latency controller.
What’s even more noticeable is the speed at which games load. Compared with the previous generation of Xbox consoles, the Series S is much quicker. Not only does it get you through loading screens with a greater sense of urgency, with Quick Resume, you can now pick up games from where you left off in a matter of seconds. Xbox claims you can have three or four games on the go at any one time.
Controller
(Image credit: Future)
Like the X, the new Xbox Series S gets a new control pad. It’s supposed to be slightly smaller, although the difference is hard to spot. Irrespective of whether it’s shrunk, the controller still feels good in hand. The bumpers are more rounded, while the triggers have been given more sculpted grips and a new texture that also spreads to the rear of the controller.
Your hands and fingertips get better purchase when pressing down hard, and it feels like the texture pattern from the back of an Xbox Elite Wireless Controller (Series 2) has been placed onto the Xbox Series S controller. Which is no bad thing.
The controller also features what Xbox calls Dynamic Latency Input (DLI), which immediately synchronises each controller input with what you see on screen. Of course, your TV’s own lag is also part of the equation here, but at least the console is doing its bit to reduce lag. It feels as though the console is quick to respond to commands, whether navigating the console’s home screen and in-game too.
Another addition to the controller comes in the shape of a new dedicated ‘Share’ button, which means you can capture screenshots and clips and share your gameplay on social media. Those with older legacy controllers from an Xbox One S (or One X) will be pleased to know you can pair them with the Series S.
Features
(Image credit: Future)
According to Liz Hamren, Head of Platform Engineering and Hardware for Xbox, the Series S delivers “four times the processing power of an Xbox One console”. On paper, the figures are 4 TFLOPS of power for the Xbox Series S, compared with 12.15 TFLOPS for the Series X.
The Series S is “similar in CPU” to the Series X, but not identical. The Xbox Series X uses an 8-Core AMD Zen 2 CPU running at 3.8GHz (3.6GHz with SMT enabled) while the Series S uses the same CPU working at 3.6GHz (3.4GHz with SMT enabled).
The ‘X’ is powered by a 52CU (compute unit) RDNA GPU running at 1.825GHz, while its cheaper sibling has a 20CU, 1.565GHz GPU.
The Series S doesn’t have the graphics grunt of its sibling, meaning that resolution is a big difference between the consoles. The Xbox Series S has been geared towards outputting 1440p at 60Hz, up to a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. It can upscale the picture to 4K to match your 4K TV, but you won’t be able to see next-gen games in native 4K. You can only play games in native 4K resolution (at up to 120Hz) on the Xbox Series X.
But we wouldn’t write off the Xbox Series S just yet. While it does lose out on graphical power and resolution, it still has a range of features that will appeal to anyone looking to make the jump from, say, an Xbox One S.
You can still enjoy refresh rates to up to 120Hz. The console also supports VRR, variable rate shading and ray-tracing just like the Series X. You get the same Quick Resume feature, so you can pick up where you left off at the touch of a button, a faster SSD hard drive and a speedier user experience. All of these mean the Series S is a big step up from the previous generation Xbox One S.
All the streaming apps you need are there too, including Netflix, Spotify, Sky Go, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and Disney+.
Picture
(Image credit: Future)
When it comes to playing games on the Xbox Series S, it’s difficult to find a lot to grumble about for the money. While it’s not native 4K, what it does dish out is easy on the eye. Play Madden 21 and the intro video bursts into life with a colourful and vibrant display of NFL uniforms and impressive-looking stadia shots.
Detail on jerseys and boots is good. The reflections on player helmets are glossy and add polish to the presentation. The motion of the players, whether they’re walking slowly into formation or blitzing the opposing team, is stable and we don’t notice anything in the way of tearing, judder or artefacts.
Gears 5 looks good too, even though it isn’t being rendered in true 4K. Compared with the Xbox Series X, the more powerful console delivers a picture with more ‘wow’ factor, but the Series S is by no means embarrassed. The on-screen detail is good enough, with decent texture on chiselled faces and war-torn body armour. Motion is stable, and there’s good insight in the shadows.
As a streaming device, the Xbox Series S presents a solid case too. Playing Altered Carbon via Netflix, the Series S produces a watchable picture, with none of the artificial appearance that can sometimes be served up by poorer streaming devices.
There’s a good sense of clarity and motion, with detail and definition both excellent too. As Quellcrist Falconer makes Angelfire rain down on her pursuers, the screen lights up with bolts of blue neon. As each soldier is struck down, the flames turn to embers, small pin pricks burning briefly, but ever so brightly, in Dolby Vision HDR. The detail in the shadows as she hides behind a fallen tree is nicely judged and not overly dark.
We’d say the Xbox Series S is comparable to an Apple TV 4K for picture quality, which is a great video streamer in its own right. That’s quite impressive for a games console.
Sound
(Image credit: Future)
Despite being a next-gen console, we’re still left scratching our heads at the way some audio settings have been implemented.
Instead of being able to pass unadulterated audio from your streaming service of choice through to your AV amp, the Xbox needs to decode and re-encode it. You need to navigate the console’s audio settings and pick one format which the console will then apply to everything. You can select from DTS Digital Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby Atmos for Home Theatre or DTS:X for home theatre. It’s not a particularly next-gen way of going about things.
Click on DTS:X and you’re told you need to download the DTS Sound Unbound app. This unlocks DTS:X for home theatre, but you still need to pay a further £17 to unlock DTS Headphones:X. Similarly, you need the Dolby Access app to get free Atmos support for your home theatre, but if you want Dolby Atmos for Headphones, that will cost you extra too. Seriously?
However, the Dolby Access app is handy for setting up a Dolby Atmos soundbar, AV receiver or TV. You can customise your audio settings and even switch on a built-in audio upmixer if you want some of the Atmos experience, but don’t happen to own a Dolby Atmos speaker package.
Oddly, during set-up we are greeted by a pop-up from the console asking if we want to pass Blu-ray audio directly to our AV receiver – someone clearly forgot that the Xbox Series S is a disc-less console.
Once set up, you get is a perfectly acceptable sonic performance. The console sounds punchy and lively with a decent sense of clarity, and an even tonal balance. It’s not as subtle or refined as a dedicated budget 4K Blu-ray player, such as the Sony UBP-X700, nor does it have the same sense of timing and natural flair with music. But it sounds lively enough when firing out the 80s soundtrack to Cobra Kai and the dialogue sounds clear and relatively weighty.
Switch to the opening chapter of Gears 5, and as Kait, Marcus et al arrive at the opening to the cave, the detail and definition in the whirring rotor blades is impressive. Combine this with the strings of the soundtrack, and the sound of the birds circling around the huge opening and the console creates a fine sense of immersion and atmosphere as you head underground.
Verdict
Xbox has been pretty smart with the Xbox Series S – the price tag alone will be enough for some to give it serious consideration. However, if true 4K resolution gaming or playing 4K Blu-rays matters to you, it won’t even be on your radar.
If you aren’t fussed about those and just want to play Xbox exclusives with some of the other game enhancements, such as VRR and the high frame rates, then the Series S isn’t a bad shout.
It could also be an affordable console for a second room or to keep the kids happy. After all, you still get a huge chunk of future-proofing and day-to-day performance upgrades that make it a decent jump up from the Xbox One S.
The Xbox Series S isn’t perfect. The user interface feels a little dated for a next-gen console and there are still too many quirks when you want to use it as part of a proper home theatre system. While it won’t necessarily appeal to everyone, if you’re happy with what the Series S can offer, you won’t be disappointed.
MORE:
Read our Xbox Series X review
PS5: everything you need to know
Best gaming TVs
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