What to expect at Computex 2017

We're pretty much half way through the year, which means it's Computex time. As usual, you'll find a handful of us running around the Taipei show floors next week, where we'll be getting our hands dirty with the latest PC products and components. Las...

Apple’s Sapphire Plant in Arizona to Churn out ‘Critical’ New Component in February


A while back Apple announced its Arizona plant where sapphire crystals would be manufactured. The sapphire glass is used in the iPhone screen as well as in the Touch ID panel of the iPhone 5S. ...

AMD FX-8350 review roundup: enthusiasts still won’t be totally enthused

DNP AMD's refreshed FX 'Vishera' processor benchmarked, enthusiasts not enthused

Now that AMD's fresh new FX processors based on the Piledriver architecture are out in the wild, the specialist hardware sites have seen fit to benchmark the top-lining FX-8350. Overall, the group feels that AMD has at least closed the gap a bit on Intel's Core juggernaut with a much better FX offering this time around, but overall the desktop CPU landscape remains unchanged -- with Intel still firmly at the top of the heap. Compared to its last-gen Bulldozer chips, "in every way, today's FX-8350 is better," according to Tom's Hardware: cheaper, up to 15 percent faster and more energy efficient. Still, while the new CPUs represent AMD's desktop high-end, they only stack up against Intel's mid-range Core i5 family, and even against that line-up they only edge ahead in heavily threaded testing. But if you "look beyond those specific (multithreaded) applications, Intel can pull away with a significant lead" due to its superior design, says Anantech. As for power consumption, unfortunately "the FX-8350 isn't even the same class of product as the Ivy Bridge Core i5 processors on this front," claims The Tech Report.

Despite all that, Hot Hardware still sees several niches that AMD could fill with the new chips, as they'll provide "an easy upgrade path for existing AMD owners and more flexibility for overclocking, due to its unlocked multipliers." That means if you already have a Socket-AM3+ motherboard, you'll be able to do a cheap upgrade by swapping in the new CPU, and punching up the clock cycles might close the performance gap enjoyed by the Core i5. Finally, AMD also saw fit to bring the new chip in at a "very attractive" $195 by Hexus' reckoning, a much lower price than an earlier leak suggested. Despite that, however, the site says that AMD's flagship FX processor still "cannot tick as many desirable checkboxes as the competing Intel Core i5 chips." Feel free to scope all the sources below to make your own conclusions.


Read - Tom's Hardware
Read - Hot Hardware
Read - AnandTech
Read - Hexus
Read - The Tech Report

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AMD FX-8350 review roundup: enthusiasts still won't be totally enthused originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 17:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD updates its FX processors: 8-core chip has 4GHz base clock, ’15 percent’ more oomph, $195 price tag

AMD announces FX refresh eightcore chip now clocks in at 42GHz, offers up to '15 percent' speed increase

If you get the impression that AMD is diverting its energy away from traditional CPUs and towards APUs and fresher PC form factors such as all-in-ones, then you're certainly right -- but you're also slightly ahead of the game. The company promises there's a still a good few years of life left in its CPU-only chips and the AM3+ socket, and it's putting today's announcement forward as evidence. As of now, last year's eight-core FX-8150 has been superseded on retailers' shelves by the FX-8350, which notches the stock clock speed up to 4GHz, or 4.2GHz on turbo (alas with no obvious sign of that resonant mesh we once heard about). The full stack (codenamed 'Vishera') includes eight-, six- and four-core options, all based on the new Piledriver architecture which -- when combined with these higher clock speeds -- promises an overall performance uplift of around 15 percent versus the old Bulldozer cores. To be fair though, those Bulldozers weren't so snappy to begin with, and besides, the most significant performance claims with this upgrade relate to multi-threaded applications and a few gaming titles like Skyrim and Civ 5. Judging from the slide deck below, gains in other areas of performance may be lower -- perhaps in the region of seven percent -- so as usual we're going to roundup a bunch of reviews later today before we jump to any conclusions.

If it turns out that stock performance alone isn't enough to sell these chips, then potential buyers still ought to check out FX's pricing relative to Intel -- not least because, as is typical, AMD sells overclockable chips at no extra charge. The top-end FX-8350 will hit the market at $195, which is not only cheaper than some earlier leaks suggested, but also $40 cheaper than an unlocked Core i5-3570K that has a lower clock speed and a smaller L3 cache -- although the relative performance of these two chips remains to be independently tested. Meanwhile, the entry-level quad-core FX-4300 will virtually match the price of a locked i3-2120 at $122, but can be readily overclocked to 5GHz with water-cooling. AMD is also making a few claims based on the cost of multiple components in a rig: for example, that you can spend $372 on an FX-8350 and Radeon HD 7850 combo that delivers a 25 to 70 percent gaming advantage over a similarly priced Core i5 3570K with a GeForce GTX 650 Ti. Again, stay tuned for our roundup and we'll figure out just how compelling this really is.

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AMD updates its FX processors: 8-core chip has 4GHz base clock, '15 percent' more oomph, $195 price tag originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Slingbox 350 and 500 show up unannounced in Best Buy, flaunt 1080p and built-in WiFi

Slingbox 350 and 500 show unannounced in Best Buy, flaunt 1080p and builtin WiFi

You might say Dave Zatz just had a happy accident. While he was hunting for the as yet unofficial Logitech Harmony Touch in Best Buy, he discovered the Slingbox 350 and 500 -- two more living room gadgets that have yet to receive an official introduction. The placeshifting hubs both look to be major improvements over the aging Slingbox Pro HD and Solo, making 1080p streaming available as long as the connection is up to snuff. Those who spring for the 500 should also get long overdue support for WiFi without having to use a wireless bridge, although they may miss the Pro HD's ATSC tuner. Outside of the networking, Sling Media is making expansion its upsell angle: the 500 supports USB media sharing and HDMI, while the 350 has to make do with whatever can pipe through its component and composite jacks. Zatz was unfortunately foiled in an attempt to buy one of the new Slingboxes and couldn't get final pricing, but Best Buy's suggestion to try again around mid-October hints that we won't have long to wait for a much-needed upgrade to our remote TV viewing.

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Slingbox 350 and 500 show up unannounced in Best Buy, flaunt 1080p and built-in WiFi originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 Sep 2012 18:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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JEDEC announces final DDR4 RAM specification

JEDEC announces final DDR4 RAM specification

A couple of companies have been jumping the gun on DDR4 production, but the JEDEC Solid State Technology Association is finally bringing order to the industry by releasing its official standard for the next-gen DRAM. It calls for "higher performance, with improved reliability and reduced power" -- which we roughly take to mean: less gigs for better rigs. The DDR4 per-pin data rate standard is 1.6 gigatransfers per second (GT/s) at the minimum and 3.2 GT/s at the top-end, although this cap is expected to increase in future updates (given that DDR3 also surpassed its initial target). Speeds will begin at 2133MHz, a significant jump from your average DDR3 stick, and will also operate at lower power thanks to the Pseudo Open Drain Interface. Check out the PR below if you want to delve deeper into the specs, and if even that's not enough to sate you, head to the source link below to tackle the full documentation. Godspeed!

Continue reading JEDEC announces final DDR4 RAM specification

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JEDEC announces final DDR4 RAM specification originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 10:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Slickdeals’ best in tech for September 17th: 30-inch HP monitor, motherboard combo and SSDs

Looking to save some coin on your tech purchases? Of course you are! In this round-up, we'll run down a list of the freshest frugal buys, hand-picked with the help of the folks at Slickdeals. You'll want to act fast, though, as many of these offerings won't stick around long.

Slickdeals' best in tech for September 17th: 30-inch monitor, motherboard combo and SSDs

Still need to make some improvements to a machine you've got lying around after last week's group of component offerings? If so, here's another handful of discounted tech ready to meet your eager mouse clicks. For those not looking to alter their current setup, a 30-inch HP display gets quite the handsome price reduction as well. Don't get too comfortable, because these bad boys will be gone before you know it. Head on past the break to get started but just remember to include the requisite rebate forms should you need 'em.

Continue reading Slickdeals' best in tech for September 17th: 30-inch HP monitor, motherboard combo and SSDs

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Slickdeals' best in tech for September 17th: 30-inch HP monitor, motherboard combo and SSDs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 13:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Next iPhone’s motherboard possibly spotted with a dash of extra wireless

Next iPhone's motherboard hits the leak scene with a hint of extra wireless

We may well have seen the next iPhone's back shell, front panel, SIM tray and even its cabling. Why not round it out with what might be the motherboard? A WeiPhone forum goer who slipped out the iPhone 4S' board last year is back with the 2012 update's potential new heart. While the tipster hasn't been courteous enough to do a side-by-side with the older component, repair shop iDeviceGuys notes to 9to5 Mac that the newer part isn't just a carbon copy; that smaller SIM slot (what you see in the middle) is one of the bigger giveaways. The real treat may be the extra wireless antenna connections. They aren't any surefire signs of 4G, but the antenna links suggest Apple isn't content with what the iPhone 4S has to offer. We're mostly left wondering about what's under that shielding -- it's a mystery as to whether or not the next iPhone's processor speed bump is a mountain or a molehill. Barring one more peek, we could get the full scoop next month.

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Next iPhone's motherboard possibly spotted with a dash of extra wireless originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Aug 2012 23:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SIGGRAPH 2012 wrap-up

SIGGRAPH 2012 wrapup

Considering that SIGGRAPH focuses on visual content creation and display, there was no shortage of interesting elements to gawk at on the show floor. From motion capture demos to 3D objects printed for Hollywood productions, there was plenty of entertainment at the Los Angeles Convention Center this year. Major product introductions included ARM's Mali-T604 GPU and a handful of high-end graphics cards from AMD, but the highlight of the show was the Emerging Technologies wing, which played host to a variety of concept demonstrations, gathering top researchers from institutions like the University of Electro-Communications in Toyko and MIT. The exhibition has come to a close for the year, but you can catch up with the show floor action in the gallery below, then click on past the break for links to all of our hands-on coverage, direct from LA.

Continue reading SIGGRAPH 2012 wrap-up

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SIGGRAPH 2012 wrap-up originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Aug 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re live from SIGGRAPH 2012 in Los Angeles!

We're live from SIGGRAPH 2012 in Los Angeles!

Most of us experience the Los Angeles Convention Center during one of its most chaotic weeks of the year, when tens of thousands of gaming industry manufacturers, video game designers and consumers descend upon downtown LA for the annual E3 expo, booth-babe radar tweaked to 11. There's a hint of graphics prowess amid the halls this week, too, albeit on a vastly smaller scale, and with a heavy heap of civility. SIGGRAPH is a trade event through and through, with attendees demonstrating their latest tech, taking in a handful of seminars or hunting for networking opportunities, in search of employment and partnerships. It's often also a venue for product launches, which is what's brought us out, along with the usual bounty of kooky creations that serve to entertain and lighten the mood. As always, we'll be bringing you a little bit of everything over the next few days, letting you sample the best of SIGGRAPH from the comfort of your own device -- head over to our SIGGRAPH 2012 tag to follow along.

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We're live from SIGGRAPH 2012 in Los Angeles! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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