Kingdom Hearts 3 Review – Not The End We Expected

What is Kingdom Hearts 3 About?

Kingdom Hearts 3 is the third mainline entry and is the twelfth overall entry in the series. The game takes place after the events of Kingdom Hearts 3 and Dream Drop Distance where Master Yen Sid is preparing seven Keyblade wielders to combat Xehanort’s thirteen hearts of darkness. Due to his previous possession by Xehanort, Sora has lost most of his powers and sets out on a journey to recover his “power of waking.”

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Meanwhile, Riku and King Mickey sets out to find and save Aqua, one of the original Keyblade masters. During their initial trip in the Dark World, the Heartless were much stronger than expected, which led to Riku’s keyblade broken in half. They then retreated back to Master Yen Sid’s tower to find more clues on Aqua’s whereabouts. It is a race against time for both parties as Xehanort grows ever closer to bringing the Keyblade War back into reality once more.
More Disney and Less Final Fantasy

At its core, Kingdom Hearts 3 is still a role-playing game which means you will be fulfilling objectives in order to further the main storyline. This is generally straightforward except for when you are at the Toy Box world, as one of the instructions given can be confusing enough that you’ll keep going to the wrong place. However, it is the only instance of such a thing happening in the game.
Aside from the main quests, there are a few side quests that you can take care of for additional rewards and obtain the secret ending sequence. For most parts, these side quests aren’t too hard to do but it may require spending a lot more time to do as some portions of them can be tricky to find.

For example, Lucky Emblems may not necessarily be a complete Mickey logo on its own but something that can only be seen through a specific perspective. It adds a fair bit of challenge while also giving gamers more time to enjoy the game in its entirety.

For the first time in the mainline entry of the series, there are generic non-playable characters (NPC) that you can interact with. While their dialogues don’t provide much information, it does help fill out the large space and make the game feel more wholesome over all. There is also the occasional NPC being attacked by enemies, in which saving them will yield a variety of rewards.
Exploring the world in itself is essentially the same as before as you have free reign to explore. The only difference here being that there are glowing walls in various parts of the game. This signifies that you can run up the walls, giving you more freedom to explore than ever before.

As for traveling to and from different worlds, you will be relying on the Gummi Ships. It’s essentially a third-person combat plane sequence where you avoid obstacles and shoot down enemies in outer space. Like previous games, you can customize your Gummi Ships to include all sorts of equipment and weapons. The customizations are surprisingly extensive as you can gain all sorts of parts for your ship. Don’t be surprised to find yourself spending a lot of time on this portion of the game.

One problem I had with the game is that the loading times can be lengthy at times. Especially when you’re shifting from Little Chef’s Kitchen back to any game world, the loading is significantly long. However, I’d like to point out that I am on the base PS4 model, so the loading speed may be better on the PS4 Pro.
Combat Is Still As Fun As Ever

The core of every Kingdom Hearts game is its freeflow action-based combat system where you are free to pummel on the enemies without the need of taking turns. There are four actions that you can take based on the command menu; Attack, Magic, Item, and Link. Attack is the default command, where you physically attack and unleash combos on enemies using the Keyblade.

The Magic command is where you can execute elemental attacks at the expense of Magic Points. The Items command simply allows you to use items but you will need to equip them first. Lastly, the Link command will allow you to summon a variety of Disney characters or the Dream Eaters from Dream Drop Distance to unleash a devastating attack at the expense of all your Magic Points.

Outside of the command menu, there is one additional attack that can be utilized. It’s called Shotlock and it works just like in Birth By Sleep. The type of Shotlock attack depends on the Keyblade being used, with each one having their own unique attack. This one will aid players in crowd control, which can be badly needed in many parts of the game.

There are additional commands which can be accessed if certain requirements are met. These consists of Keyblade Formchanges and Team-Up Attacks. The former will allow your Keyblade to transform which will yield parameter boosts and more abilities. Each Keyblade will have their own unique Formchange so it’s worth experimenting with different equipment.
Team-Up Attacks are straightforward as it’s a combination attack consisting of you and your allies. With regards to allies, you can now have up to four other characters fighting alongside you, so you don’t have to swap out Donald or Goofy like in previous entries.

To further strengthen your team, you can equip items that will yield bonuses to strength, magic, and ability points. While the former two is straightforward, the latter parameter are points used to equip abilities that will make combat easier. Learning abilities is as simple as levelling up your characters. Overall, the combat system is simple but still as fun as always. Anyone who has played any of the previous entries will have no trouble adapting to this combat system as its fundamentally the same.
Kingdom Hearts 3 Verdict

Kingdom Hearts 3 is a very fun game and great end to the series-long Dark Seeker saga. It does have some quirks but ultimately, it’s still entertaining for all ages. Given its lengthy development period, one would expect more content in the game. The main story itself can be completed within 30 hours while completing all of the optional quests will most likely yield another 30 hours. Speaking of the main story, I am just okay with it but there are major plot points that I feel were rather questionable towards the end.
Not only that, I do wish that certain Final Fantasy characters would show up as some of them, most notably Sephiroth and Cloud from Final Fantasy VII, had an abrupt end to their story. There may be more coming in the future in the form of DLC but for now, it’s best to temper your expectations. With that, I award Kingdom Hearts 3 with our Silver Pokdeward.

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ASUS announces AMD B450 motherboards — priced from just RM429!

ASUS has just announced local availability of the latest AMD B450 motherboards. With prices ranging from RM429 to RM599, ASUS’ line-up featuring the AMD B450 chipset are designed for gamers who want the latest features ASUS motherboards are renowned for, while not blowing their entire budget on just the motherboard.

The AMD B450 shares most of the features of the AMD X470 platform, except for NVIDIA SLI support. ASUS will be bringing three models to the Malaysian market, the ROG Strix B450-F Gaming, TUF B450M PLUS Gaming and the Prime B450M-K.

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The highest end of the bunch, the ROG Strix B450-F Gaming comes with two M.2 slots, while the other two motherboards only come with one. The ROG Strix B450-F Gaming is also more customizable than the other two motherboards, with two ASUS Aura Sync headers, versus one on the TUF B450M PLUS Gaming and none on the Prime B450M-K.

All three motherboards are equipped with all of ASUS’ core features like Fan Expert, DIGI+ VRM circuitry and 5X Protection III. Since all Ryzen CPUs are overclockable, you will want to take advantage of it with ASUS’ renowned UEFI BIOS too.
The ROG Strix B450-F Gaming is priced at RM599, while the TUF B450M Plus Gaming is priced at RM519. The ASUS Prime B450M-K is the most affordable here, priced at just RM429.
Pokdepinion: The ROG Strix B450-F looks like a really cool looking motherboard, especially at that price.
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Mi Mix 2S and Redmi S2 Officially Arrives In Malaysia – Weaving together art and technology

Art meets technology

Get excited Xiaomi fans because Xiaomi is bringing one of their top and most sought after devices, the Mi Mix 2S. The perfect blend of elegant aesthetics and cutting edge tech, the Mi Mix 2S was first unveiled a few months ago in Shanghai, the Mi Mix 2S is an update to last year’s Mi Mix 2 with an upgraded camera as well as the latest Snapdragon 845 processor powering the device.
The unique design elements in the Mi MIX series have won “gold” awards at the four major awards: IDEA, IF, Red dot and Good Design, and have been recognized by some of the world’s most prestigious design awards and museums.
In terms of specifications, the Mi Mix 2S features a near bezel-less 5.99 inch FHD+ LCD display with an 18:9 aspect ratio with a beautiful ceramic back that features a four-sided curved design and an aluminium frame. As mentioned above, the device is powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 845 processor paired with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage or 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Keeping the lights on is a decently sized 3,400 mAh battery. The device also features Quick Charge 3.0 and Qi wireless charging.

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The camera on the Mi Mix 2S is a dual camera setup with a combination of a 12MP f/1.8 wide angle lens and 12MP f/2.4 telephoto lens. The main camera utilises a Sony IMX363 sensor with 1.4μm pixels which is capable of letting in more light,resulting in significantly improved photos in low light and backlit scenarios. The quality of photos taken by the Mi Mix 2S are further enhanced by the integration of A.I. Which isn’t really a surprise as to how DxOMark gave the Mi Mix 2S a cool 101 score – the highest for any Xiaomi device on the market right now.
The Mi Mix 2S forgoes the popular notch design and instead places the 5MP f/2.0 front camera down at the chin of the device. This in turn allows for a full screen with near invisible bezels to be placed up top.
The Mi Mix 2S will be available this coming June 1st for a retail price of RM 1,999 for the 6GB RAM + 64GB internal storage model and RM 2,199 for the 8GB RAM + 128GB internal storage model. The device can be purchased either through Xiaomi’s official Lazada store, authorised Mi stores and Mi zones across the country. It will be available in two colours, black and white with the black colour being available at launch.
The fun doesn’t stop there folks as Xiaomi will also release the selfie centric Redmi S2 mid-range device in Malaysia. The Redmi S2 boasts a 16MP front camera with f/2.0 aperture that should cater to all your selfie needs. At the back, the device packs a dual camera setup with a 12MP f/2.2 lens and 5MP wide-angle lens that are enhanced by A.I.

The Redmi S2 also features a 5.99 HD+ LCD screen with an 18:9 aspect ratio, a Snapdragon 625 processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB internal storage. Powering the Redmi S2 is a 3,000 mAh battery.

The Redmi S2’s availability is yet to be announced by Xiaomi however we do know that the retail price of the device will be RM 679. There will also be a 4GB RAM + 64GB internal storage version that will retail for RM 849. Both versions of the Redmi S2 can be purchased through Xiaomi’s official Lazada store, authorised Mi stores and Mi zones across the country when Xiaomi officially announces the release date. Available colours of the device will be Grey, Gold and Rose Gold.
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Sony HT-G700 Soundbar is Coming to Malaysia – Dolby Atmos and DTS:X

Sony Malaysia has officially unveiled the new Sony HT-G700 soundbar, a simple audio solution for those who want a more immersive, cinematic surround sound experience at home.
What Makes the Sony HT-G700 Soundbar Special?

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The Sony HT-G700 soundbar is a 3.1ch Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundbar that includes Immersive Audio Enhancement. The feature gives you upgraded / upscaled surround sound experience up to 7.1.2 channel surround sound. The soundbar itself has three front speakers combined with their own proprietary signal processing for a more immersive audio experience.
Moreover, the S-Force Pro is capable of uplifting sound to fit a wider TV screen, even past 55-inches, which makes it easily fit with any TV. You can also choose from a variety of audio modes for a more tailored listening experience such as Cinema Mode for movies and Music Mode for songs. In case you want more emphasis on voices, there is a Voice Mode which accentuates speech as well.

Interestingly, the Sony HT-G700 has a standalone, wireless subwoofer with a larger cabinet size which is said to deliver deeper, richer bass sound. The soundbar itself is easy to setup as you can use either Bluetooth for wireless connection, and HDMI for a single wired connection via ARC / eARC.
The Sony HT-G700 will be launching in Malaysia sometime in September 2020. It will then be available at Sony Stores in KLCC and The Curve, Sony Store Online, and Sony authorized dealers nationwide. The retail price will be announced at a later date so stay tuned.
Pokdepinion: Would like to see if this is a noticeable improvement over the HT-X8500 as I feel like that one would have been better with a standalone subwoofer. Can’t wait to try it out myself.
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Alcatel Is Back In Town – Releases Three New Smartphones

Well hello hello, it seems that Alcatel is making a comeback to the smartphone market with the launch of three new smartphones; Alcatel 5V, Alcatel 3L, and Alcatel 1.
Alcatel 5V, Alcatel 3L, Alcatel 1 Released In Malaysia

First up is the Alcatel 5V. It offers a FullView 19:9 display with a 6.2-inch screen size. Coming in with a notch on top, it sports a 2.5D Dragontrail glass and curved unibody. With its Optical Vacuum Plating (OPVM) coating, it makes the case shine.

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In addition to that, the phone utilizes AI in its camera, where it can detect 11 different scenes and subjects, providing the optimum settings for the best shots.
There’s also a facial unlock system in the phone. If that’s not your style, there’s still the traditional fingerprint sensor on the device
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Other specifications include a MT6762 chipset, 3GB RAM that’s paired with 32GB internal storage (expandable up to 128GB), and a 4000mAh battery. Camera wise, it offers a 8MP selfie shooter as well as a dual 12MP+2MP main camera setup. Not to forget, it runs on Android 8.0 Oreo.
The Alcatel 5V is available in two colors Spectrum Black and Spectrum Blue at a price of RM898 (before SST).

On to the Alcatel 3L, it uses a MT6739 chipset. Coming in at 5.5-inch with an 18:9 ratio display, it packs 2GB RAM that comes with 16GB of internal memory (expandable up to 128GB). To power it up, it offers a 3000mAh battery  and it also runs on Android 8.0 Oreo.

For cameras, it offers a 13MP shooter with PDAF at the rear and it sports a front 5MP shooter. It is now available in Metallic Black and Metallic Blue at a price of RM498 (before SST).

Last but not least is the Alcatel 1. Running on Android Oreo (Go Edition), it offers a 5-inch FullView Display. Memory wise, it has 1GB RAM and 8GB of internal storage (expandable up to 32GB). For its SoC, it uses a Mediatek MT676739.

It uses a 5MP camera on the rear and a 2MP on the front. For its battery, it comes with a 2000mAh battery.
The Alcatel 1 can be found in the Soft Suede Collection in Malaysia for a price of RM298 (before SST).
Pokdepinion: Wow, I was surprised when I heard that Alcatel is back in town. I wonder how they would fare in the smartphone market now where the competition is really intense nowadays.

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Shopee 2.2 CNY Sale Running With RM8,888 Up For Grabs

With Chinese New Year soon to arrive, Shopee Malaysia has announced of their Shopee 2.2 CNY Sale where you can expect to enjoy a host of offers including 88% off discount vouchers.
Shopee 2.2 CNY Sale
In the sale period, Shopee will be offering an array of products from the comforts (and safety) of your homes with 88% off discount vouchers, free shipping with a minimum spend of RM10 as well as bargains priced at just 8 sen.
Aside from that, the Shopee 2.2 CNY Sale also brings daily RM8,888 Shopee Fortune Box with cash prizes ranging from RM0.88, RM8.88, RM88.88, RM888.88, all the way to the grand prize of RM8,888 to be won. You can tune it to Shopee Live everyday at 10pm and you can increase the chances of winning the Shopee Fortune Box by tuning in to additional livestream sessions happening on the 25th of January and 2nd February at 1pm.

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If you’re looking for the best sales, you probably should be prepare the Pay Day Sale and their first-ever flagship 2.2 CNY Sale where users will receive additional 88,888 free shipping vouchers applicable for purchases from as low as RM8, 50% Shopee Coins Cashback vouchers and even more discounts.
There’s also up to 80% off on Limited Time Huat Huat Deals happening at 12am, 12pm, and 8pm on 2nd February. Not to forget, there’s also the usual Shopee Games such as Shopee Farm, Shopee Bubble, Shopee Candy, Spin & Win and more where you can win from a pool of 18,888,888 Shopee Coins.
Pokdepinion: Seeing how we can’t go out, I guess it’s time to shop online again. Have you got anything that you’d like to get during this Shopee 2.2 CNY Sale?

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When a game gets ported to mobile, it may play somewhat similarly to the original game but usually in a stripped-down version. Epic Games however is looking to bring the full experience to mobile as they are currently working on Rocket League Mobile for both Android and iOS.
Epic Games Working on Full-fledged Rocket League Mobile Game

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One of the most innovative and popular games around, especially within the Esports circle, is Rocket League. Now, it appears that Epic Games is working on Rocket League Mobile, and it won’t just be a simple mobile version of the popular game. In fact, Epic Games is looking to bring the full-fledged experience over to both Android and iOS.
Details of the mobile game came from the Epic Games VS Apple trial, where a documentation revealed that they’re working on the game. The Verge even managed to get their hands on a top secret slide which reveals their plan for the game, inclusive of Rocket League Mobile. Interestingly, they are looking to launch two new products for mobile devices.
The first as we know already is Rocket League: Sideswipe, which is currently in its beta testing phase at the moment. The other game is the full-fledged Rocket League Mobile. There is no exact name for it yet, but there is a good chance it will be referred to as Rocket League Next, which would include a next generation client with the complete experience for all platforms, including mobile.
Another possibility with this is that a completely new version of the game is currently in development, which will allow it to be played on all platforms and let Epic Games properly optimize it for both Android and iOS. After all, mobile gaming lacks the firepower that you get from PC and console gaming.
At the moment, there is no word yet on exactly when this will be launched. In fact, it may still be a long time away from seeing the light of day. Speculations are pointing towards Rocket League Mobile launching sometime in Q2 or Q3 of 2021 based on the leaked slide, at least for the beta. We will report more on this as soon as information becomes available so stay tuned.
Source
Pokdepinion: If there was ever a game that would benefit the most from having a gamepad for mobile gaming, it has to be Rocket League Mobile. I shudder to think how it would play like with touchscreen controls, especially when there’s cross play.
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Get The HUAWEI Watch Fit, FreeLace Pro and HUAWEI nova 7 SE From RM6.57/day

Both the HUAWEI Watch Fit and HUAWEI FreeLace Pro will be going on sale starting from tomorrow, 9th of September 2020. HUAWEI has revealed of a special bundle package that lets you own them plus a smartphone at an attractive price.
HUAWEI Together 2020 0% instalment plan

The HUAWEI Watch Fit is available in Graphite Black or Sakura Pink and it is priced at RM499. For the HUAWEI FreeLace Pro, it will be available in Graphite Black for the price of RM399. Should you want to purchase both of them, you might want to to consider on getting the HUAWEI Together 2020 0% instalment plan.
With the plan, you will get the HUAWEI nova 7 SE alongside the two mentioned devices at RM6.57 per day for 12 months. There’s also the offer of a RM100 instant rebate when you purchase two units of HUAWEI Watch Fit, which the offer runs until 9th of October 2020.

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You might recall our previous coverage on the HUAWEI Watch Fit Badminton Championship. If you haven’t, you can read more on it right here.
Pokdepinion: Well the bundle does look like a decent choice should you be looking to get both devices plus a new phone to boot.
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Razer Kiyo Pro Webcam Officially Launched – CCTV Camera Technology?

When it comes to Razer webcams, I’m sure many of you have heard of the Razer Kiyo with its ring light. Now, they finally have a successor that is expected to work far better, and it’s called the Razer Kiyo Pro.
Razer Kiyo Pro Webcam Officially Launched

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The Razer Kiyo Pro is a USB 3.0 webcam and successor the original Kiyo. Unlike its predecessor however, it doesn’t come with a ring light. What it does have however is a new 1/2.8-inch CMOS sensor with STARVIS technology, the same back-illuminated pixel technology used by security cameras for improved face detection. This is said to result in a consistently bright, clear images without the need for professional lighting.
It is capable of recording up to Full HD 60FPS, with HDR is available in recordings up to 30FPS. You also have the option of three different field of views; 103°, 90°, and 80°, making it more versatile for video conference calls.
For added versatility, you can mount the webcam on your monitor, on a tabletop stand, and a tripod stand given its flexible mounting options. It also has a built-in directional stereo microphone array for convenience. Inside the box, there is a separate privacy cover in case you’re worried about someone possibly spying on you.
Razer Kiyo Pro Specifications

Connection type: USB3.0
Image resolution: 2.1 Megapixels
Video Resolution: 1080p @ 60/30/24FPS / 720p @ 60FPS / 480p @ 30FPS / 360p @  30FPS
Video encoding: H.264 codec
Still Image Resolution: 1920×1080
Image Quality Settings Customization: Yes
Diagonal Field of View (FOV): 103°, 90°, 80°
Focus Type: Auto
Mounting Options: L-shape joint and Tripod (Not included)
Cable Length: 1.5 meters braided cable

Microphone Specifications

Channels: Stereo
Audio Codec: 16bit 48KHz
Polar patterns: Omni-directional
Sensitivity: -38dB

The Razer Kiyo Pro will be available on the Razer Store starting 23rd February 2021 but for retail stores, you can get them starting Q1 2021. It will be retailing for USD $199.99 / RM1,149.
Pokdepinion: I’m quite interested to see how well this webcam will perform. Hopefully it turns out better than expected.
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No More Physical Copies of PS Vita Games? It Seems Like Sony is Heading That Way

It appears that we may not see new physical copies of games for Sony’s handheld PS Vita soon, according to a report that was found on the internet.
No More Physical Copies of PS Vita Games?

Sony’s latest handheld, the PS Vita, has had quite the history over the past few years. While the system continues to enjoy support from audiences seeking Japanese titles and indie games, the stream of new, physical releases for the title seem to be coming to an end.

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According to a report from Kotaku, Sony appears to be ramping down the production of physical game cards for the PS Vita by next year, putting a beginning to the end of new releases at retail for the handheld, as confirmed to the outlet through a Sony spokesperson.
This news comes from a reported message to developers from the American and European divisions of Sony that plans to “end all Vita GameCard production by close of fiscal year 2018.” As Sony’s fiscal year will end on 31st March 2019, Kotaku indicates that “final purchase orders” for physical games for the Vita will be taken through February 2019. At that point, the production of new physical game cards for the PS Vita will end.

While this means that physical games for the PS Vita will be rare to find, Kotaku noted that Sony will continue to support the digital distribution of PS Vita games through PlayStation Network. This should at least give PS Vita owners some peace of mind that games will still come for the system for the time being, such as the recent news of Stardew Valley‘s upcoming release for the system.
Though Sony has not officially (or publicly) announced details on the future of physical game cards for the PS Vita, this indication isn’t exactly a surprise given how the handheld gaming machine has performed in the market in its 6 year lifespan.
Since its launch in 2012, Sony has largely relegated the handheld to a secondary device compared to its more popular home consoles. Despite Sony withdrawing official support from the handheld over the years, it did find a small but passionate audience through its diverse array of Japanese games and RPGs, niche titles, and indie games.
Source: Kotaku
Pokdepinion: Well, it makes sense that for something that’s meant to be easy to use and bring around for it to solely rely on digital downloads. Memory cards aren’t expensive anymore anyway. However, I don’t think the handheld will last long at this point and perhaps, we can look forward to a new one by Sony sometime in the future.
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[E3 2018] Jump Force Set For 2019 Release — Pit Goku, Naruto, Luffy And More In A Battle Of Supremacy!

Bandai Namco has just announced at E3 2018 of their latest game, Jump Force. The game is set to feature famous Shonen Jump series such as Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, One Piece, and more.
Jump Force

Ever imagined a fight between Naruto against Goku? Well those dreams are about to come true, well not exactly right now but you get the point. Bandai Namco’s newest fighting game is set to mash up the Naruto Shippuden, One Piece, Death Note, and Dragon Ball universes that should please most anime fans out there.

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In the game, players are able to make three-man squads from a large list of iconic characters from Weekly Shonen Jump manga titles. All with the common goal, to beat a variety of villains from each of their own series.

While in the trailer it can be seen that background scenes feature scenes inspired by the different series such as the ruined Hokage statues from Naruto and the Thousand Sunny from One Piece, Bandai Namco has confirmed that there are stages in the game that will take place in real world locations such as New York City’s Time Square or even the Matterhorn in the Alps.

Despite the game features mash up characters from different series, this is not the first time that it has been done. Back in 2014, J-Stars Victory VS was released.
Jump Force is set for an early 2019 release and will be available to play on Playstation 4, Xbox One, and also on Steam.
Pokdepinion: Man, I can’t wait for this game to come out. I just hope that the gameplay of Jump Force will last long. Wouldn’t want to get bored too fast now would we? Despite that, I just love the idea of being able to use Ryuk and Light Yagami (from Death Note) along with Goku in the same squad or team.
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Denuvo Wants To Convince Gamers That DRM Won’t Impact Game Performance
Image: Irdeto (YouTube)

Gamers knows the name “Denuvo” better than anyone else: the anti-piracy DRM (Digital rights management) that gained notoriety among players due to many alleged, and even verified cases of performance losses due to DRM interfering with gameplay. This often manifests itself as frame stuttering, which crack groups – who specializes in cracking DRMs – use to justify their causes in providing cracked copies of the game.
Denuvo’s current owner since 2018, Irdeto, has decided to clear things up courtesy of an interview by Ars Technica. Irdeto COO of Video Games, Steeve Huin, has came up and defend the company claiming that the DRM technology helps preserving the gaming industry. “Anti-piracy technologies is to the benefit of the game publishers, [but also] is of benefit to the players in that it protects the [publisher’s] investment and it means the publishers can then invest in the next game,” he said.
The company is aiming to publish a benchmark to prove that DRM won’t hurt performance. He says Irdeto is currently working on a program that sets to provide two versions of the same game – one with DRM and one without, to trusted media outlets. He hopes that tech press can “see for yourself that the performance is comparable, identical… and that would provide something that would hopefully be trusted by the community.”

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However, depending on who you ask, the impact of Denuvo on DRM-protected games differ. Ars’s own test proved no difference; whereas YouTube channels such as Overlord Gaming has found significant difference in performance when comparing the DRM and DRM-less version of the game. Cracked copies of Resident Evil Village also claimed to solve stuttering issues caused by Denuvo’s DRM protection (which the developers has later removed in an update).
GOG.com (a subsidiary of CD Projekt RED) sells only the games without DRM attached.
Matter of fact, some publishers even distance themselves from Denuvo due to its notoriety – and that includes CD Projekt RED, who prided themselves with games that come DRM-free, and argued that those who pirate games “were never going to purchase a legitimate copy”, meaning no sale is lost effectively. He further added that the best way forward is to simply deliver a good game, and players will be incentivized to purchase official copies of the game to support the developers.
Denuvo is also looking beyond anti-piracy tools. They’re also developing anti-cheat which works on “some of the same principles” as their DRM, but promises minimal performance impact. “Less than one percent is the metric we use for validating,” he said. In any case, if Denuvo is looking to change their perception by proving it won’t hurt gaming performance, they have got a long way to go.
Pokdepinion: We’ll see how it turns out, they’ve got plenty to prove in order for the public to regain trust.
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KLEVV CRAS C920 unveiled as KLEVV’s first PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD!

KLEVV, which is probably pretty well known for their performant yet affordable memory products, has just released the CRAS C920, the company’s first PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD. Along with the new cutting edge drive, KLEVV also unveiled the CRAS C720 SSD, a more affordable PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD for the more budget conscious enthusiasts out there.
KLEVV C920 PCIe 4.0 SSD

The KLEVV C920 SSD takes full advantage of the PCIe 4.0 x4 technology, with up to 7000MB/s read and 6850MB/s write. The controller is the latest Phison E18, which powers most of the recent high-performance PCIe 4.0 SSDs in the market today. It is only available in two capacities, 1TB and 2TB. Endurance is rated at a whopping 700TBW for the 1TB capacity, and 1400TBW for the 2TB capacity.

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KLEVV C720 PCIe 3.0 SSD

Meanwhile the KLEVV C720 SSD is also similarly fast in its category, pushing up to 3400MB/s read and 3100MB/s write with a Phison E12S controller. Unlike most recent affordable SSDs which come with QLC NAND, the KLEVV C720 SSD uses TLC 3D NAND, and as a result boasts really impressive endurance figures of up to 1550TBW with its 2TB capacity. The KLEVV C720 is available in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities.
Both drives are similar in the way that they employ a DRAM buffer, which should not only improve performance, but also the endurance of the KLEVV C920 and C720 SSDs over the DRAM-less options available in the market. They also feature an intelligent SLC caching algorithm and hardware LDPC ECC engine to further improve endurance and performance.
          KLEVV CRAS C720            KLEVV CRAS C920
KLEVV will be covering the drives with 5-year limited warranties, and you even get a free copy of Acronis True Image HD 2018 for easy migration and backup.
Pokdepinion: I like KLEVV’s strategy. Rather than being one of the first PCIe 4.0 SSDs to market, they decided to wait for the controllers to mature to fully take advantage of the bandwidth available before releasing their PCIe 4.0 SSD.
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Razer Announces New Hello Kitty And Friends Collection

Razer has just announced that they are partnering up with Sanrio, the company behind the popular Hello Kitty character to release the new Hello Kitty and Friends collection. Through this partnership, Razer will be releasing exclusive variants of their gaming chairs, headsets, mice and many more decked in the character’s signature pink and rainbows deco.
Razer’s Hello Kitty and Friends collection announced

The Razer products released in the Hello Kitty and Friends collection include the Razer Kraken BT Kitty, Razer DeathAdder Essential + Goliathus Bundle, Razer Iskur X and Razer Lumbar Cushion. As mentioned above, these products will feature signature colours and decorations as well as Sanrio characters including Hello Kitty herself, Kuromi, Keroppi, My Melody and more.

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Below are the prices for the Hello Kitty-themed Razer products:

Razer Kraken BT Kitty – Hello Kitty and Friends Edition – USD199.99 (RM837.25)
Razer DeathAdder Essential + Goliathus Medium Bundle – Hello Kitty and Friends Edition – USD64.99 (RM272.08)
Razer Iskur X – Hello Kitty and Friends Edition – USD499 (RM2,089.05)
Razer Lumbar Cushion – Hello Kitty and Friends Edition – USD59.99 (RM251.15)

Razer’s Hello Kitty and Friends collection will be available from Jan 26th onwards through Razer’s official Lazada and Shopee stores as well as retail stores.

Pokdepinion: Now this is a collab I didn’t really think would happen. I’m not really a fan of Hello Kitty but that Razer DeathAdder bundle looks pretty cute ngl.
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OPPO Offers Free Gifts Worth Up to RM233 For OPPO Reno7 Z Sale Next Week

The OPPO Reno7 Z was released earlier this week, with news of tantalising pre-order freebies. Users who missed out on the pre-order period should not be concerned, as the OPPO Reno7 Z will be on sale on Saturday, 2nd April, alongside a plethora of great discounts and activities on Shopee.
Get RM233 worth of free gifts when you purchase an OPPO Reno7 Z

Customers may purchase the new OPPO Reno7 Z from the OPPO Official Online Store, OPPO Brand Stores, My OPPO Space, OPPO’s Official Shopee Store, and other chosen partners from 2nd April to 17th April. Customers will receive a PWP coupon for 50% off the recently introduced OPPO Enco Air2 with every purchase.

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The first 100 customers who buy the Reno7 from the brand’s official Shopee shop between now and April 10th, 2022 will additionally receive an RM50 ShopeePay refund and a stainless-steel suction cup. Customers who purchase a new OPPO Reno7 Z will also receive 10 entries to win a brand new Enco Air2, OPPO Band, or even a new Reno7 Z.
From the 2nd to the 4th of April, you may enter to win RM40 in-store vouchers by following a few simple steps. Simply follow the OPPO Official Store on Shopee, search for the contest post on OPPO’s Shopee feed, tag two friends in the comments area, and guess the concealed words.
For the first time, Dual Orbit Lights are discretely incorporated behind the two primary cameras on the Reno7 Z. It is equipped with ColorOS 12 and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G SoC. The Reno7 Z retails for RM1,699. More information on the OPPO Reno7 Z can be found here.
Pokdepinion: I really like how those Dual Orbit Lights look on the Reno7 Z. Definitely lends a very unique look to the device.
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ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce GTX 1080 8GB OC Review — When It’s More Than Just Muscles

Owning one of the strongest graphics cards on the market would certainly be the desire of all people. Especially if it’s from ASUS, which is considered a premium brand among PC enthusiasts. I got a chance to play with the ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce GTX 1080 8GB OC for several weeks and it’s really fun when playing games at the highest settings.
Unboxing the ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce GTX 1080 8GB OC

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Similar to the ASUS’ ROG STRIX graphics card series, the packaging for all cards is about the same. The ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce GTX 1080 8GB OC we have today is the OC version, which has higher clock speed. The OC version also allows you to overclock the cards to even further heights. At the front of the box we have the picture of the graphics card and feature highlights such as ASUS AURA RGB and GeForce GTX VR Ready.

Every detail about the product is printed at the back. The ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce GTX 1080 8GB OC features the latest ASUS DirectCU III cooling system with triple patented wind-blade fans. It also features the Auto-Extreme Technology to ensure a consistent experience as well as improved performance and longevity. The ASUS AURA RGB has over 16M colors and multiple effects for customization. Last but not least, the ASUS FanConnect allows you to connect PWM fans for targeted cooling in your system.

Inside the box, we have the ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce GTX 1080 8GB OC card, two sets of ROG cable ties, driver installer via DVD, user manual and a World of Warships premium pass. Just in case, the ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1080 8GB OC also includes an extra PCIe power cable.
Appearance

Every one of the latest ASUS’ ROG STRIX graphics cards share the same DNA in terms of design and cooling technology. The ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce GTX 1080 8GB OC dark grey cooling shroud is made of plastic with a matte finish which complements the RGB lighting effect. At the front, we have three patented Wind-Blade fans for cool operating temperatures, and it operates 3X quieter than reference designs.

The ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce GTX 1080 8GB OC comes with a metal backplate to improve the card’s sturdiness. ASUS also threw in RGB lighting for the ROG logo.

Unlike the Founder’s Edition card, the ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce GTX 1080 8GB OC needs an 8-pin PCIe and an additional 6-pin PCIe for more juice when overclocking. With the power configuration, this card consumes about 300 W under load, theoretically speaking.

At the rear of the card, we have two ASUS FanConnect headers. You can connect two 4-pin fans to the header, and the fans can be controlled manually via the ASUS GPU Tweak II software. This feature is rarely explained in most ROG STRIX reviews so I will show a quick demo on how it works.

ASUS has made most ROG STRIX graphics card VR friendly. The ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce GTX 1080 8GB OC has two HDMI 2.0 ports, two DisplayPort 1.4 connectors and a single active DVI connector.
Test Machine
The ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce GTX 1080 8GB OC is tested on Pokde’s new and official bench rig for this review. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to our sponsors who have been supporting us since the early days of Pokde.net.
Hardware

Processor
Intel Core i7-5820K

Motherboard
ASUS X99-Deluxe

Memory
Avexir Blitz 16GB DDR4

Storage
Sandisk Ultra II 256GB

Power Supply
Cooler Master V850

Software

Game Tested
Witcher 3, Battlefield 4, DOTA 2 Reborn, CS: GO, Overwatch

OS
Windows 10 64bit Annivesary

GPU Driver
GeForce Game Ready Driver 375.57

Antivirus
Windows Defender

Utilities
Furmak, Fraps, MSI Afterburner 4.3 Beta 14, GPU-Z, OBS, Steam, Uniplay, Origin, GOG Galaxy

Card Specification

GPU Architecture
Pascal

GPU
GeForce GTX 1080

Memory
8GB GDDR5X @ 10Gbps

Memory Interfarce
256-bit

Base/Boost Clock
1784 MHz / 1936 MHz

Card Dimension
298 x 134 x 40 mm

Card Weight
n/a

Almost all the software used in this test have been updated to the latest version. That includes the operating system, system drivers, BIOS and graphics driver.
ASUS GPU Tweak II

The latest iteration of the original ASUS GPU Tweak II brings a better UI and I hope ASUS keeps improving it. ASUS GPU Tweak & MSI Afterburner are always my go-to tools for GPU overclocking.
ASUS AURA RGB Software

ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1080 8GB OC comes with RGB lighting customization through the provided tool in the ASUS GPU TWEAK II.
ASUS FanConnect

This features let you connect two fans for targeted cooling. The fan will only start spinning when the GPU’s temperature hits 60 degrees Celsius and above. You can manually set the speed curve via the ASUS GPU TweakII software.

You might be wondering why we need extra fan headers on a graphics card since there are plenty on the motherboard. For me, you can mount the fan that connected to the FanConnect header as intake in the front. Thus when you are not gaming the fans mirror the Strix 0db fan technology and turns off completely, giving you a true zero-noise environment.

A quick demo on how ASUS FanConnect works. Check our latest review on #ASUS #ROG STRIX #GTX 1080 #OC soon. ? #pc #pcmasterrace #gaming #gamer
A video posted by Pokde.net (@pokdedotnet) on Dec 18, 2016 at 2:32pm PST

Performance
The highest power consumption recorded during the test is 340 watts. By subtracting the 120 W (± 10 W) that the rest of the hardware consumes, this card only sips approximately 220 watts (± 10 W).

DOTA2 and CS: GO was never a problem for a high-end cards like the ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1080 8GB OC. The game has smooth gameplay with a framerate of over 150 on both 1080p and 1440p resolutions. Meanwhile at 4K resolution, it’s still standing ahead at above 140 fps.
p/s: The DOTA2 is tested on version 6.98.

Excellent frame rates on Battlefield 4. The ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1080 8GB OC is capable of running the game at 4K resolution with an average of 66 fps.

When it’s capable of running Battlefield 4 with smooth framerates, the ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1080 8GB OC will definitely have no problem when playing Overwatch. On 4K resolution, the ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1080 8GB OC managed to get an average of 86 fps.

You will enjoy a great gaming experience on the Witcher 3 when you play at 1080p and 1440p. The ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1080 8GB OC only struggles when it comes to 4K resolution. Despite low framerates on 4K, the game is still playable since the minimum fps never goes below 30 fps.
Overclocking

I’ve managed to overclock the card with 37 MHz added on the GPU Clock and 490 MHz added on the Memory Clock. This gave me a performance boost of around 2% from the default ROG STRIX GTX 1080 8GB OC clock. A little reminder, I didn’t increase the voltage at all when overclocking the card. I played Overwatch for several rounds and the real-world benefits are as below.

Conclusion
The ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce GTX 1080 8GB OC is priced at around RM 3600 and is a very powerful graphics card that you can get in the market. Capable of running most games at 1440p resolution, I believe it could be better if paired with a 144Hz G-sync ready monitor. Unlike the competitor brand, the ASUS FanConnect is likely an exclusive feature that is only found in ROG STRIX graphics cards.
Based on the performances and features offered, the ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1080 8GB OC deserves to be awarded our prestigious Gold Pokdeward.

The PokdeRig
We would like to thank our sponsors for our very own benchmarking rig – The PokdeRig. These companies believe in us and put their trust into what we do. They deserve all the love in the world!
Asus X99-Deluxe
Intel Core i7-5820K
CM MasterAir Pro 4
CM V850 PSU
Sandisk Ultra II
Avexir Blitz 16GB DDR4
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Free Version of iflix Coming Called iflix Free – No Subscriptions Needed

It appears that a brand new, subscription-less tier has popped up, known as iflix Free. It’s a good day for watching some videos.
Free Version of iflix Coming Called iflix Free

Get ready for awesomeness. The greatest is coming to you free! #iflixFree pic.twitter.com/Sa6WzbqdSZ
— iflix Malaysia (@iflixMY) July 3, 2018

Over at their official Twitter account, iflix Malaysia has announced a brand new free version of their existing on-demand and live video streaming service called iflix Free, with the words “iflix Breaks Free” to really drive the point home.

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As it was announced over a tweet, details on what exactly is included in iflix Free is currently not available but more information is expected to pop up sooner rather than later. Their FAQ section on their official website has now reflected to confirm the existence of the free version.
It also appears that certain content will now have some form of advertisement included, which is part of their plan to support the free service via advertisements. After all, any business requires funding to continue operations.
The paid version of iflix will now be known as iflix VIP but it should not be any different what we have now. It will still offer the same unlimited access on an of their available content for RM10 per month or RM96 per year.
We will be reporting on this as soon as information becomes available so stay tuned to Pokde.net.
Pokdepinion: Ooh, a free version. I hope the advertisements aren’t too lengthy or unbearable though. That was a real killjoy when it happened to NTV7 years ago.
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Samsung, TSMC pressured by US government to submit sensitive internal data to tackle chip shortage issue

The US government is taking a pretty drastic step in their attempt to manage the current chip shortage that’s affecting various industries around the world. They are now moving to pressure global chipmakers like Samsung and TSMC to share sensitive internal information to improve the transparency of the crisis and identify the bottlenecks.
Source: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd
The US government wants to know information regarding their chip inventory, orders and sales data. Foundries are given 45 days to respond to the voluntary request. Samsung and TSMC usually does not disclose such data, as it will reveal their client lists, among other things. Usually it is up to the client to disclose which foundry they are working with for a certain product.
According to industry insiders, revealing all that data to the US government might put the companies in an unfavorable position when negotiating prices with buyers. Information such as yields and overall chip inventory may impact the prices that foundries like Samsung and TSMC can negotiate for, as higher yields and chip inventory may mean that buyers will push for lower prices on their products.

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There  are also concerns that the information provided to the US government may be shared with Intel, as Intel is aggressively entering the foundry business with their Intel Foundry Services offering. It is a known fact that the US government is keen on bringing more control over the global chip supply chain back on US soil. I am pretty sure that TSMC and Samsung aren’t going to be happy with their internal data being shared with a competitor.
With that said, they might be forced to provide the data after all. The US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo has mentioned that they “have other tools in our tool box that require them to give us data. I hope we don’t get there. But if we have to we will,” indicating that the US government may use legal means to squeeze the data out of them if TSMC and Samsung decides to not comply with the request. Oh well.
Source
Pokdepinion: On the bright side, we might finally see a clearer picture as to why are we suffering from a global chip shortage.
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Digital Game Sales At an All-Time High During COVID-19

According to the latest data by market tracker SuperData on 23rd April 2020, digital game sales are at an all-time high during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has reached USD $10 billion (RM43.56 billion) in March 2020.
Digital games sales for consoles have increased from USD $883 million (RM3.84 billion) in February 2020 to USD $1.5 billion (RM6.53 billion) in March 2020. For PC games on the other hand, there was a 56% increase to USD $567 million (RM2.46 billion).

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Interestingly, Nintendo sold 5 million copies of Animal Crossing: New Horizons in the same month, making it the highest digital console game sold in a single month. There was also a 15% increase in mobile games expenditure, reaching USD $5.7 billion (RM24.82 billion). Overall revenue from digital game sales for the month increased by 11% year-on-year.
Individuals are turning to games as a reliable entertainment option during the Covid-19 crisis and are using online multiplayer to keep in touch with others.
SuperData

One common reason for the increase is physical store closures due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. With the next generation of game consoles just around the corner, there were definitely eyes on gaming overall than before.
Google Stadia is currently offering free access for two months. If you have a good internet connection, you could try checking them out and see how it works for yourself.
Source
Pokdepinion: Well, everyone needs a source of entertainment, especially if they’re stuck at home for a while. Gaming is the easiest thing anyone can enjoy now.
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WhatsApp to Let You Restore Deleted Messages But There’s A Catch

WhatsApp is adding a new feature that will let you restore deleted messages, either done accidentally or intentionally, but there is a catch.
Restore Deleted Messages on WhatsApp

WhatsApp previously added the ability to rescind messages back in 2017, a highly-requested feature that took a while to release. Since then, people have ran into issues where they accidentally deleted a message and can’t find a way to recover it back, but that will soon change.

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The Accidental Delete feature that has been in development lets the users undo a message you’ve deleted yourself. The catch here is that you can only do so within 5 seconds of the deletion, otherwise it will be gone forever. To be precise, users will get a floating notification with the Undo button that will only be shown for 5 seconds.
This may seem a little odd as the timer is a little short but there is a good chance that the time limit could be tweaked in the near future. We’re only saying this because when it comes to deleting messages, they only allowed 7 minutes but then it was extended to 60 hours.
The Accidental Delete feature is making its way to the public versions of Android, iPhone, and the desktop version. If you still don’t have it, be sure to keep an eye out for the update.
Source
Pokdepinion: A much needed update but one that requires a bit more refinement. Oh well, still better than nothing at least.
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You Can Now Backup Your WhatsApp Chat Logs Via HUAWEI Mobile Cloud

WhatsApp is one of the most used messaging apps around and the folks at HUAWEI has just revealed that you can now backup chat logs of the app through the HUAWEI Mobile Cloud.
Backup WhatsApp chat logs through HUAWEI Mobile Cloud
If you didn’t know, the HUAWEI Mobile Cloud can also be a platform that you can store and backup other apps such as WeChat, Telegram, Facebook, Facebook Messenger and more. Your chat history will automatically restore when you login to your HUAWEI ID account.
With the backup, you can preserve your other media files including photos, videos, and documents. Data can also be automatically synchronize across all HUAWEI devices.

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So if you are interested in using the service, you can follow these steps:
Go to Setting > tap on your HUAWEI ID (register if you haven’t already)Select Cloud > Enable Cloud BackupSelect Back-up Options and go to App DataEnable WhatsApp and you have successfully restored your chat logs and files
HUAWEI Mobile Cloud now provides even more storage exclusively for the HUAWEI P40 series, where users can get up to 50GB by redeeming their 12 months free 50GB storage.
Recently HUAWEI Malaysia has unveiled that the new HUAWEI nova 7 SE is bound to land in our shores on the 19th of June, where it is set to be Malaysia’s most affordable 5G smartphone.
Pokdepinion: Well it’s definitely welcomed! It’ll make transitioning even easier.
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ASUS showcases their latest gaming monitor lineup — including the GOD of Monitors, ROG Swift PG27UQ

ASUS invited us over to their office to check out their latest monitor lineup. They showcased their gaming as well as professional monitors to us. The displays were mindblowingly good. Unfortunately we didn’t have the mindblowingly deep pockets to afford them.
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We aren’t gonna lie, ASUS’ gaming monitors are far from affordable. But today they highlighted their considerations to make the stands look pretty yet functional. Most of their gaming monitors feature rotate, swivel and tilt adjustments for a more ergonomic viewing experience. The stands are also designed to keep the massive ROG Swift monitors stable even when the surface they are on are bashed. Gamers with unbridled rage, please do check out these monitors.

Aside from the higher end ROG Swift monitors, they also offer the more affordable ASUS VG series of monitors for FreeSync gamers on a budget. The budget gaming ASUS VG245H, VG255H and VG275Q monitors,are 24″, 24.5″ and 27″ panels, respectively. These monitors range from RM659 to RM1209, very reasonable prices for 75 Hz FreeSync panels. ASUS also offer a variety of FreeSync-ready monitors along its pricier ROG Swift monitors.
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Aside from gaming monitors, there were the professional/consumer lineup too. ASUS showcased their RM5279 ProArt PA329Q, a Quantum Dot professional monitor with 100% Rec.709, 100% sRGB, 99.5% Adobe RGB, 90% DCI-P3 and Rec. 2020 color spaces for professionals who work with color-sensitive work. For gamers, there is a similar panel, but souped up for gamers.

It’s the individually calibrated ROG Swift PG27UQ. Yep, each unit comes with its own color calibration test report. But that’s not all. It is VESA-certified DisplayHDR 1000 compliant, which means the monitor has a peak brightness of 1000-nits to display a wider range of colors. This is enabled by the Quantum Dot backlighting which is divided into 384 zones to deliver deeper blacks and truer whites. With full support for 4K visuals and 144 Hz refresh rate, the ROG Swift PG27UQ will give even the highest-end graphics card of today a real workout. Couple that with G-SYNC HDR and you get the best fluid visuals you can buy.The price? Even we don’t know yet. But we do have a unit with us, so stay tuned for the review!
Pokdepinion: The blacks on the ROG Swift PG27UQ is just godly. No wonder SuperDaddy has been droning about it since he came back from Computex 2018!
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ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom (ZE553KL) is now available in Malaysia!

ASUS today announced ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom (ZE553KL), the world’s slimmest and lightest 5.5-inch smartphone with a high-capacity 5000mAh battery and a dual-camera system that delivers photographic perfection.
NOTE: Only Navy Black colour option is available currently, while the Glacier Silver and Rose Gold colour will be available later.
ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom’s innovative dual-camera system consists of two cameras: A main camera with an f/1.7-aperture, 25mm wide-angle main lens paired to a 12MP SONY IMX362 sensor with large 1.4µm pixels (1/2.55in sensor size); and a dedicated 59mm, 12MP zoom camera with an instant 2.3X optical zoom and a 12X total zoom.

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This setup ensures sharp focus for subjects at any distance. ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom also has the first ASUS SuperPixel Camera that enables it to shoot photos quickly and clearly in night-time or low-light environments. The SuperPixel Camera combines advanced hardware and software enhancement by ASUS SuperPixel technology to achieve light sensitivity that is 2.5 times (2.5X) greater than that of the Apple iPhone 7 Plus (Compared to iPhone 7 Plus’ main camera (f/1.8 with 1.22µm pixel size)), and 10 times that of an average smartphone (Compared to average smartphone cameras (f/2.0 with 1.0µm pixel size)).

ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom houses an incredible 5000mAh battery that has a much higher capacity than that of an average smartphone. This is paired to a powerful yet energy-efficient Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 14nm processor, enabling the new smartphone to achieve an amazing 6.4 hours of continuous 4K UHD video recording and an outstanding 42 days of standby time. The high-capacity battery also gives ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom the ability to double up as a power bank to charge other devices. Remarkably, the high power density of the battery allows it to be fitted into a super-slim, 7.9mm full-metal chassis that weighs a mere 170 grams, making it the world’s thinnest and lightest 5.5-inch smartphone with a 5000mAh battery.
ASUS Zenfone 3 Zoom – Malaysian Retail Specifications

Construction
Premium-crafted aluminum-alloy design with 2.5D contoured Corning Gorilla Glass 5

Display
5.5in Full HD 1920 x 1080 AMOLED display
500 nits brightness
2.5D contoured Corning Gorilla Glass 5

CPU
Qualcomm Snapdragon 625

GPU
Adreno 506

RAM
4GB RAM

Storage
64GB Storage

Rear Camera
Main Camera
12MP SuperPixel™ camera, 25mm, f/1.7 aperture, 6p lens, 81.8-degree field of view, 1/2.55” type sensor size, 1.4um pixel pitch Sony IMX362 sensor, OIS, 4K UHD video recording with EIS, RAW shooting support with Android 7.0 (N)

Zoom Camera
12MP, 59mm (2.3x optical zoom), f/2.6 aperture, 1/3.42” type sensor size

Front Camera
13MP PixelMaster camera, f/2.0 aperture, SONY IMX214 sensor, five-element Largan lens

Wireless
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot CAT. 4

Connectivity
Bluetooth® 4.2, Integrated 802.11 b/g/n, Rear fingerprint security sensor

SIM card and SD slot
Slot 1:Nano SIM (3G/4G)
Slot 2:Nano SIM (3G/4G) / Micro SD up to 2TB

GPS
GPS, AGPS, GLONASS, BDSS

OS
Android 6.0 with ZenUI 3.0 – expected upgrade to 7.0 soon

Battery
5000mAh, Supports Reverse Charging

Audio
5-magnet speaker with NXP Smart Amp for up to 4 times better performance
Dual microphone with noise cancellation, VoLTE support
Audio Wizard for enhanced audio experience
DTS Headphone:X virtual surround sound technology for headphones
192kHz/24-bit HiRes Audio support (4x CD quality)

Dimensions
154.3 x 77 x 7.99mm

Weight
170 grams

Color
Navy Black, Glacier Silver & Rose Gold

Built for photographic perfection
ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom is the most accomplished camera smartphone to date from ASUS, with a list of new features designed to make it unrivalled in mobile photography. These include:
Dual-camera system — ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom features an all-new ASUS SuperPixel Camera for unbeatable low-light photography, plus a dedicated 12MP, 59mm camera for instant 2.3X optical zoom and 12X total zoom, making the best camera mode for different subject types and focal lengths instantly available to photographers. The main SuperPixel Camera is ideal for shooting general subjects and macro shots as close as 10cm, while the optical-zoom camera is excellent for distant subjects. The biggest advantage of having two cameras with lenses of different focal lengths is the ability to let users switch lenses and compose in different perspectives.
ASUS SuperPixel Camera — ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom features a new main ASUS SuperPixel Camera that can shoot photos quickly and clearly in night-time or low-light environments. The SuperPixel Camera consists of three main components:

Large 1.4-micron pixel size — Larger pixels increase the camera’s sensitivity to light, and decrease the graininess of resulting photos, especially those shot in low-light environments. ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom uses the Sony IMX362 sensor with pixels measuring 1.4 microns (µm) wide pixels and a 1/2.55-inch sensor size, which is one of the largest of any smartphone camera sensors, making the camera excellent for low-light photography.
Large f/1.7 lens aperture — the large aperture allows for more light to enter the sensor compared to other smartphone cameras.
ASUS SuperPixel technology — A combination of the new ASUS SuperPixel engine hardware and image digital-signal-processing software that that boosts light sensitivity up to four times (4X) by intelligently controlling ISO levels while shooting, and removing noise in post-shot processing.

High-resolution SuperPixel selfies — ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom features one of the highest-resolution front-facing cameras of any smartphone. It has a 13MP SONY IMX 214 sensor with an f/2.0 aperture lens that shoots high-resolution selfies and also benefits from ASUS SuperPixel technology to achieve twice the light sensitivity. It also features a new ‘screen flash’ mode that uses the display as a flash in low-light environments.
ASUS 0.03s TriTech+ autofocus — ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom has an improved ASUS TriTech+™ autofocus system with new Dual Pixel PDAF technology as one of its three focusing technologies along with the second-generation laser autofocus and subject tracking autofocus. ASUS TriTech+ automatically chooses the best technology to use depending on the subject, and achieves focus in an amazingly fast 0.03 seconds — the world’s fastest autofocus.

Dual Pixel PDAF — Each pixel on the sensor is now divided into two phase-detection sections that can detect the movement of subjects by analyzing the variations between the light rays hitting the two sensors. Working together with all the other 12-million pixels on the sensor, ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom is able to achieve rapid phase-detection autofocus even in low-light conditions.
Second-generation laser autofocus — Which has three times (3X) the range of standard laser focusing systems which can benefit shooting close-up subjects within 1.5 meters.
Subject-tracking autofocus — The system cleverly tracks moving subjects while the user is shooting, so they will never be out of focus. Subject tracking is enabled by default for both still images and videos.

RAW file support — ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom offers photographers the freedom to shoot and store compositions in RAW format. RAW files save the full data of the photo captured by the camera’s sensor and are ideal for enhancement with editing software, where users are able to uncover fine details in areas of shadow, or recover overexposed areas in the highlights, with much less degradation of of image quality when compared to editing JPEG image files. RAW support will be available with Android 7.0 ‘Nougat’.
Full Manual mode — This mode enables full control over ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom’s extensive camera settings. These includes white balance, exposure value (EV), focus, and ISO settings, and an impressive shutter-speed selection of between 1/16000 sec and 32 seconds. In ZenFone 3 Zoom, this mode also allows users to override the automatic camera selection and choose to use either the 25mm, f/1.7 lens of the main camera or the 59mm lens of the zoom camera.
Continuous autofocus 4K UHD video recording — For video recording, ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom’s subject tracking autofocus system allows the smartphone to continuously focus on subjects while recording video at stunning 4K UHD resolution.
ASUS ZenFone 3 series camera features — ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom also comes with all the powerful photographic features of the ASUS ZenFone 3 series including:

Four-axis optical image stabilization (OIS) and three-axis electronic image stabilization (EIS) to prevent hand movements from blurring photos or making videos appear shaky.
Ultra-sharp 4K UHD video recording at 3840 x 2160 resolution.
RGB Color-correction sensor that automatically adjusts the colors in a photo to look natural and accurate.
48MP Super Resolution mode that combines four native 12MP photos to create a single image with exceptional 4X clarity, greater detail and less noise.
19 different unique and versatile modes that optimize the camera to shoot scenes or add special effects to photos.

Ultra-large 5000mAh battery and reverse-charging ability
With a charge rating of 5000mAh, ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom’s battery has one of the highest capacities of any smartphone — and the world’s highest capacity in its class. Paired with the powerful yet battery-efficient 14nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, this high-capacity battery enables ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom to achieve an amazing 6.4 hours of continuous 4K UHD video recording time, or 42 days of standby time, without worrying about running out of charge. ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom is the world’s slimmest and lightest 5.5-inch 5000mAh smartphone, and is a mere 7.9mm thin and weighs just 170 grams.
ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom’s high battery capacity also lets it double up as a high-speed power bank for charging other devices via an automatic reverse-charging capability.
Strong-yet-beautiful display
ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom’s display is a 5.5-inch Full HD AMOLED panel with high 500cd/m2 brightness for outdoor-readable images with extreme clarity and contrast, and a color gamut that is more than 100% of the NTSC color space. It also features a blue-light filter that prevents eye strain over long periods of viewing.
ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom is also one of the first smartphones to have a Corning Gorilla Glass 5 display cover panel that is 70%-more resistant to drop damage compared to the previous Gorilla Glass generation. This panel has been crafted and shaped to fit within the phone’s beautifully small, sandblasted aluminum-alloy body. A fingerprint sensor is conveniently placed at the back of the smartphone for easy accessibility.
Pokdepinion: Gosh, that was a long one! I mean, the ASUS Zenfone 3 Hype is definitely going strong lately and it surely packs a whole load of punch there. However, we shall only find out about that when we get our device and take it out for a review. Just watch this space as we are definitely going to be doing that soon!

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Samsung Galaxy A50 brings the in-display fingerprint scanner to the mid-range

Samsung’s Galaxy S10 series may be where the limelight is, but the Galaxy A series is probably where we will find devices we can actually afford. With that said, there are now two new members of the Samsung Galaxy A family, the Galaxy A30 and Galaxy A50.

Both devices feature a large 6.4″ FHD+ Super AMOLED display, which should put some pressure on other mid-range smartphones as Samsung’s AMOLED displays are widely regarded as the best in the industry. There’s an Infinity-U notch where Samsung houses the selfie camera. Under the 3D Glasstic back is where you will find a 4000 mAh battery in both the Samsung Galaxy A30 and Galaxy A50. All three devices also support Samsung Pay mini, Bixby Home and Samsung’s not-so-fast Fast Charging.

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That’s pretty much where all the similarities end, with the Samsung Galaxy A50 offering higher-end hardware than the Galaxy A30. Samsung even packed the Galaxy A50 with an in-display fingerprint scanner, making it the fourth device in Samsung’s lineup to feature one. If you count the Galaxy S10 5G, then it would be the fifth.
Here are the known specifications of the Samsung Galaxy A30 and Galaxy A50:
Samsung Galaxy A30

Exynos 7904, octa-core up to 1.8 GHz, 14nm FinFET
Up to 4GB RAM
Up to 64GB storage (expandable via microSD up to 512GB)
6.4″ FHD+ Super AMOLED display, Infinity-U notch
16MP f/1.7 + 5MP f/2.2 depth sensor
16MP f/2.0 selfie camera
4000 mAh battery

Samsung Galaxy A50

Exynos 9610, octa core up to 2.3 GHz, 10nm FinFET
Up to 6GB RAM
Up to 128GB storage (expandable via microSD up to 512GB)
6.4″ FHD+ Super AMOLED display, Infinity-U notch
25MP f/1.7 + 8MP f/2.2 wide-angle + 5MP f/2.2 depth sensor
25MP f/2.0 selfie camera
4000 mAh battery

Samsung is expected to announce the pricing for these Galaxy A smartphones in an event that’s happening this 28th February in India. What do you think of the specifications?
Pokdepinion: The specifications are actually pretty good, but knowing Samsung, the new Galaxy A30 and Galaxy A50 aren’t going to be cheap with all those features.
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Kingdom Hearts 3 Leak Shows New World; Based on a Disney Pixar Movie

There’s an alleged leak of Square Enix’s highly anticipated J-RPG game, Kingdom Hearts 3, and it’s based off of a popular Disney Pixar movie.
Kingdom Hearts 3 Leak Shows New World

RUMOR: More screenshots of a supposed Monsters Inc world in KINGDOM HEARTS 3 have leaked, showing off Boo and new locations like the Door Vault https://t.co/GLUpavC6v9 pic.twitter.com/HvSFOKwCH2
— Kingdom Hearts Insider 🎄 (@khinsider) December 23, 2017

Apparently, there’s an alleged leak of Kingdom Hearts 3 which showed off one of the many worlds that will be in the game. This particular one is based on the Disney Pixar animated movie, Monsters Inc.

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According to the alleged leak, it is said to be from an older version of Kingdom Hearts 3’s developer build. You can see Boo, Sully, and Mike, with the latter 2 characters fighting as part of Sora’s party in the game. Interestingly, you can see everyone in the party in the playable area at the same time. In the past, you’re usually limited to having 3 people in an active party at any one time. It’s no surprise to see Sora donned in a custom outfit befitting of the world rather than his standard outfit.

The only problem here is that this leak is unverified so it might not be real, no matter how legit it looks. For now, this should be taken purely as a rumour until there’s some form of confirmation is given, if there is ever any.

Kingdom Hearts 3 is expected to be coming some time in 2018 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. There’s no specific release date available yet but on the plus side, the English version will be released at the same time as the Japanese version. There’s something to rejoice about.
Source: KH Insider

Pokdepinion: I am superbly excited for Kingdom Hearts 3 for quite some time now. I even bought the PlayStation 3 thinking that it would be released on that platform. Well, I hope the game doesn’t get a sudden huge delay or something.
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ASUS Malaysia Officially Launching ROG Ally In July 1st, Priced At RM3299

The wait is nearly over – ASUS Malaysia has finally announced the details on the company’s first handheld console, the ROG Ally.

For Malaysians, the ROG Ally will come with a single model, powered by AMD’s handheld-focused Ryzen Z1 Extreme APU with 8 Zen 4 cores and 12 RDNA3 Compute Units. The sole configuration also comes with 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, as well as 512GB of onboard SSD storage (with UHS-II microSD expansion); meanwhile, the 7-inch FHD IPS panel delivers 120Hz and 500 nits of brightness, which is also AMD Freesync Premium certified.

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As for the release date, it will be launched at July 1, 2023 at the price of RM3,299. The handheld will be available for sale at ROG Roadshow @ Concourse, Plaza Lowyat as well as various authorized dealers nationwide. ROG is also offering optional accessories including the ROG Ally Travel Case at RM199, as well as ROG Gaming Charger Dock that includes HDMI 2.0 port, available for RM299.

If you can’t wait until then – ASUS is also hosting first online sales with limited quantities (100 units), starting today (19/6) 8:30pm. All purchases made under this category will include bundles worth RM1299, including ROG Cetra Wireless, ROG Ally Travel Case, Screen Protector, ROG Gaming Charger Dock and free additional 9 months of PC Game Pass (totaling 1 year). Buyers will also be eligible with PWP offers, with RM2,000 discounts for XG Mobile GC31S (NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU) and GC32L (AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT).

For the ROG Ally Roadshow set on Plaza Lowyat (starting at July 1st, 10am onwards), the first 100 buyers may redeem the same bundle as aforementioned (RM1,299 total), and also be eligible in lucky draw session with prizes totaling RM6,999. Finally, standard purchases on all ROG Ally authorized retailers will also be granted additional 9 months of PC Game Pass with purchase, worth RM135.
Pokdepinion: If you want to be the very first people to own this handheld, better be fast!
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Previously, we learned that the Android 11 One UI 3.0 update is starting to roll out for a number of Samsung Galaxy devices, with the Galaxy S20 series being the first to receive. Now, it appears that the update is available for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Finally Gets One UI 3.0 Update

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Previously, the Android 11 One UI 3.0 update was made available for the Galaxy S20 series and Galaxy Note20 series of smartphones. Now, it had made its way to the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 series, including for users in Malaysia. From what we understand, the update is expected to be about 2GB in size, so best to use a Wi-Fi connection if you’re going to download it.
For those of you who aren’t aware, One UI 3.0 based on Android 11 comes with a number of interesting features and changes. For starters, the Quick Panel interface lets you easily switch between music and videos. The notification panel has been improved as it show more information now, even when your device is currently locked.
Apart from that, you can enjoy full-screen video calls, AR emoji masks, new Dynamic Lock screen, Good Lock, and more. If you’re using the Galaxy Fold, Galaxy Z Fold 2, Galaxy Z Flip, and Galaxy Tab S7 series, the Multi-Active Window feature lets you split your display into halves or three parts so you can use multiple apps at the same time for better multitasking.
The next smartphone that will most likely be getting the update will be the Samsung Galaxy S10 series of smartphones. It’s expected to appear anytime from now until March 2021 latest unless they discovered a major issue with the update that requires some fixing.
Source
Pokdepinion: Hopefully the other devices get the update sooner rather than later, since I saw the update schedule stretching out as far as August or September of this year.
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PowerColor Devil HDX PCIe sound card review — a worthy upgrade

I built my first gaming PC featuring a PowerColor graphics card sometime back in 2011, and I admit that at that time, a PowerColor card is the last resort when building with a tight budget. Back then all I could afford was an AMD HD 5750 with the horrifying red PCB. That was a last time I heard about PowerColor before they seemingly disappeared from our markets.

The game is changing now that PowerColor is making a comeback with new products, with the red PCB nowhere to be found and surprisingly they have made a bold move to introduce new product line-ups. I have the PowerColor Devil HDX PCIe sound card locked and loaded in my rig for the past several weeks; and this is my review of the sound card.

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Unboxing
To be honest I never knew that PowerColor actually produced audio products until they approached me. It seems that its coverage during Computex 2015 is not that widespread. My first impression of a product usually depends on the packaging and I appreciate that PowerColor has improved their packaging design and quality since the first member of the Devil series, which is the PowerColor Devil 13 HD 6970.

The PowerColor Devil HDX’s packaging is very clean with no unnecessary graphics on the box, and I found that the box is pretty premium looking.

At the back we have more information about the features of this sound card. Crystal clear Hi-Fi audio for better audio vocal, a built-in headphone amplifier up to 600 ohms and swappable OP-AMP which are definitely some of the best features for upgradability.

The box has an additional panel that lifts up to reveal more information about the sound card itself. I love this part, as it is filled with technical specifications and it also details every component used to build the PowerColor Devil HDX. This is a commendable move as it allows the consumer to easily do some research on what they just bought without having to take off the EMI shield.

Besides the sound card itself in the box, there is also a daughter board for a larger selection of outputs, two ribbon connectors, a quick installation guide and a CD for driver installation, but I recommend you to get the latest driver from PowerColor’s official site.

Appearance
The PowerColor Devil HDX comes with a very nice design and build quality is excellent. I really like the black PCB and the EMI shield which is also finished in a fingerprint-resistant matte black coat. The “Devil” branding right in the middle of the EMI shield is embossed, which makes it feel more premium. The EMI shield isn’t there just for looks only though, as it is also supposed to ensure the purity of the signal by blocking unwanted interference from the surrounding.

PowerColor Devil HDX Sound Card
PowerColor Devil HDX Sound Card
The PowerColor Devil HDX is fed data through a PCIe x1 connector, and a MOLEX connector provides juice for the card. I know that some might find the implementation of a MOLEX connector an instead of a SATA power connector an issue, but I personally think that it isn’t really a problem.

On the rear of the card there are gold plated output ports but no standard 3.5 mm jacks to be found or even a microphone in-line. Remember the daughter board PowerColor has included in the package? It comes with standard 3.5 mm outputs for 7.1 audio and the microphone in-line connector is also there.
PowerColor Devil HDX Sound CardPowerColor Devil HDX Sound CardPowerColor Devil HDX Sound Card
Overall I’m really satisfied with the design and build quality of both the PowerColor Devil HDX and its daughter board, but if I were to nitpick, I wish PowerColor provided black ribbon cables for the daughter board instead of white. Black ribbon cables would be a much better match for the all-black design of the HDX.

Specification
When buying a sound card, components used is the most important and second the appearance, but for some consumers, appearance is their priority. I’m not an expert when it comes to audio but I did some homework and researched each component in the Devil HDX and I found that has equipped it with some very reputable components.
On the rear of the card it features a digital coaxial and optical SPDIF outputs while for analog outputs you get a 6.33 mm output port, as well as RCA speakers jacks. All the outputs are gold-plated.

The PowerColor Devil HDX requires a MOLEX connector for power.

Removing the EMI shield unveils all the PowerColor Devil HDX components on the PCB, once again I praise PowerColor for a job well done choosing a black PCB which improves the overall aesthetics of the card.

The PowerColor Devil HDX is using the Cmedia Oxygen Express HD CM8888 audio processor which is linked to the Wolfson WM8741 Digital-to-Analog converters.

For the amplifier it uses the NJM 4580D. One more thing, note the OP-AMPs are swappable.

On the bottom right a set of jumpers and two connectors are used to connect the included daughter board.

Nothing special about the daughter as it just an extension board to support richer outputs options.
Full specifications:

Bus Standard
PCIe X1

SNR
124dB (RCA out), 120dB (6.1 Phone out)

THD+N
0.00039% (-108dB)

Frequency Response
20Hz-20KHz

Sample Rate & Resolution
44.1K/48K/88.2K/96K/192KHz @ 16bit/24bit

Connectivity
Main Board:
1 x 6.3mm Phone Out  with Amplifier
2 x RCA (L/R)  Jack Out
1 x Coaxial Out
1x  Optical Out
1x  Multi-Channel connector  to Daughter Board
1x  HDA (HD Audio) connector to Daughter Board or Front  panel audio headerDaughter Board:
1x 3.5mm Mic-in
4x 3.5mm analog out (front/rear/center-subwoofer/side)

Output Channel
Stereo & up-to 7.1 Channel

Headphone Amplifier
up to 600 omhs

Chipset
Audio Processor: High performance Cmedia CM8888 audio processor
Digital to Analog Converter : Wolfson WM8741

Dimensions (WxL)
Main board: 106 x 157 mm
Daughter board: 100 x 50 mm

Feature Support
Swappable OP-AMPs
Xear™ Surround
Xear™ 3D (EX)
Xear™ SingFX for karaoke application.
FlexBass II
ASIO™ 2.2 with ultra low latency

System Requirements
Available PCI Express 1.0 (or higher) slot (1x, 4x, 8x or 16x)
Intel ® Core™ 2 Duo or AMD equivalent processor, 2.2 GHz or faster CPU
Intel ®, AMD or 100% compatible motherboard
2GB System Memory
100MB Hard Disk space
Compatible with Microsoft ® Windows ® 10/8.1/7/ XP 32bit or 64bit
Available CD-ROM or DVD-ROM Drive (for installation)
4-pin peripheral power cable connector from power supply

Software
I downloaded the latest driver from PowerColor’s official site and it seems that the only driver for Windows 10 is still in the beta stage. As it is still in beta phase it may affect performance but since it is compliant with UAA (Universal Audio Architecture), you can actually use this card without installing any drivers in Windows 7 or newer.

The Xear Audio Centre is a feature-packed suite, with tons of options available to configure and tweak. Huge kudos to CMedia for maintaining a very clean looking interface even with so many features. I really like the UI design and it starts very fast. In terms of RAM usage, it only takes up around 11-13MB which is very good.

Testing methodology
Since this is my first time reviewing a sound card, it is quite hard for me to judge it. After several hours of brainstorming, I came up with the method that I will use to evaluate the PowerColor Devil HDX’s quality and performance.
I ran several music, movies and gaming test. By comparing it with my on-board Realtek ALC887 audio chip, I believe it will provide a good representative of what consumers can expect if they upgrade from their on-board audio solution to the Devil HDX. Just in case, I avoided listening to any music for a week from any other device other than the PC with the PowerColor Devil HDX. In addition, I also did a blind test with several of my family members who have never cared about audio quality.
Headsets used are the Audio Technica ATH-T500 and Superlux HD668-B with custom hand-made audio cables.
As for the PowerColor Devil HDX’s configuration, I didn’t use the daughter board but just connected my earphones to the phone out jack with my 6.3mm adapter.

Performance
I found it unnecessary to enable any additional features in Xear Audio Centre, not even the equalizer because I found that the default configuration alone is already very good. When it comes to keyboards, mice, audio equipment or any other peripheral, its review may be very personal and subjective. I have my own tastes and preferences that may or may not be the same as yours so please take that into consideration when going through the results.

Music
For music listening I’m using Foobar2000 player, with several extension and customization installed, I’m using WASAPI output as I want to avoid any sound interruption from any Windows application during the test. Song that used is uncompressed file which is either in .flac or .m4a file extensions.

The song list:

Stonebank – Step Up (ft. Whizzkid)
Selena Gomez – Good For You
Adele – Skyfall
Varien & 7 Minutes Dead – Aeon Metropolis (Extended Mix)
Daughter – Medicine
Daughter – Home
Rich Edwards – Sweetest Addiction (ft. We Ghosts)

Actually there are more songs that I listened to with the Devil HDX, but I do not listen to them as frequently as the ones in the list above. Improvements in audio quality when moving from the built-in Realtek audio chip to the the PowerColor Devil HDX is very apparent, the vocals became crystal clear when compared to the on-board audio chip which sounded a little muddy. Tighter and better bass presence is something amazing since I’m not bass head, but this kind of bass is addictive. Instruments sound richer, and I can feel the sounds are well spread and the increase in detail is definitely there. The amplifier also works very well, with 100% volume in Foobar2000 and around 10-14% system volume, it was already plenty loud.
In my blind tests, I also received all positive feedback; I never told them about the audio configuration and I simply asked them to tell me “which sounds the best”. Most said that the sound from the PowerColor Devil HDX has produced much better vocals, it became clearer and it was much appreciated.

Movies
I watched anime series way more than movies, but recently I watched the Battle for Sevastopol, a movie based on true story about a female Russian sniper and it is a good movie. I decided to watch it again with the PowerColor Devil HDX pushing the audio and I was really impressed with the audio as bomb explosions, tanks firing and gun shots sounded way better and more realistic, as if I was right there as an onlooker of the war.

Then I ran several scenes from some animes which are packed with action or instrumental music. The audio is also observably better, a blast from Nobunagun feels weighted, fighting scenes in Parasite feels way more intense and exciting and the piano and violin music in Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso is absolutely crystal.

Gaming
I tested the PowerColor Devil HDX with a wide variety of genres and the overall result was improved in-game experience. First test is with Battlefield 4, C4 explosion is pure awesomeness, and the rifle and shotgun sound is much better and realistic. I really fell in love with the auditory realism brought by the Devil HDX that resulted in me playing BF4 over and over again.
Symphony is a shooting arcade-like game which is based on song selection. In this game I can evaluate the audio when the selected song is mix with the in-game sound effects, yeah it sounded lovely as I never had this level of enjoyment before.
The Crew is a racing game which is currently updated to with the Wild Run DLC beta, and lots of improvements have been made to the game. I’m driving my Koenigsegg Agera R in a cockpit point of view, and the sound was nothing to write home about, so I switched over to the circuit spec Nissan 350Z and this is where it performed, I actually felt like I was driving a real race car but still I couldn’t avoid my car from crashing. Oh and crashes sound amazing too, so I have that going for me, which is great.
DOTA2, well most people know what kind of game it is, and it took me several hours to notice the difference between the sound card and on-board audio and I almost gave up with a conclusion that DOTA2 audio is not good to make use of the Devil HDX’s capabilities, but I was wrong. The answer lies within certain heroes. The first moment that I noticed was when Queen of Pain screams her Sonic Wave, I noticed that further echo is there at the end of it and I was a little bit shocked as I have never heard it before. Right after the game finished I ran hero demo and tested more heroes that have more impressive sound effects like Zeus, Spectre, Earthshaker, Sand King, Gyrocopter, Phantom Lancer and Enigma and those heroes really took advantage from the PowerColor Devil HDX.

Conclusion
Okay, confession time. I wasn’t expecting much from the card at first and I was also a little skeptical before reviewing the PowerColor Devil HDX sound card. As we all know PowerColor has been dedicated to making AMD graphics cards for a long time. The PowerColor Devil HDX has changed my perspective toward them as they have succeeded even when outside their comfort zone of producing great custom AMD cards.
Is it the PowerColor Devil HDX a worthwhile upgrade? My answer is maybe; depending on a few things. The PowerColor Devil HDX for me is the best and worthwhile upgrade if compared with the average on-board audio chip, and might even beat some sound cards in the market, but to get a good audio listening experience, the sound card alone is not enough. Firstly, you also have to get decent pair of headset. I love the sound produced from the Audio Technica ATH-T500 and Superlux 668B, both cost around MYR 150 and both headphones tout quality not the brand, if you are too ignorant to do some research before buying audio equipment, then you might end up paying for branding not quality.
In my case, the PowerColor Devil HDX has totally ruined my life, it’s not because it’s bad but it has suddenly made Selena Gomez songs sound ridiculously good, and I was never a fan of her song. Overall the PowerColor Devil HDX improved my listening experience in music as well as immersion in games and it is something that I really appreciated.
The PowerColor Devil HDX is price around MYR 480 to MYR 500 and you can find it on lelong.com.my. Looking from the price, you might find it quite expensive for just a sound card, but for me the PowerColor Devil HDX can be considered one of the cheaper sound cards out there with this level of audio performance. It packs high quality components yet still manages to stay relatively affordable, which is a commendable effort by PowerColor.
Judging from its audio performance, upgradability and price, I have decided that the PowerColor Devil HDX deserves the Pokde Gold Award.

I would like to thanks again to PowerColor for sending me the PowerColor Devil HDX, my experience on audio listening is much better and appreciated during the test.

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PC Health Check app for Windows 11 compatibility is no longer available

Well, I guess it was fun while it lasted. The PC Health Check that was available on the Windows 11 landing page has been removed. In place of the download link is a “Coming Soon” notice, which is quite odd since it was already available, but oh well. In any case, Microsoft acknowledged the shortcomings of the PC Health Check app in the following blog post:
With these minimum system requirements in mind, the PC Health Check app was intended to help people check if their current Windows 10 PC could upgrade to Windows 11. Based on the feedback so far, we acknowledge that it was not fully prepared to share the level of detail or accuracy you expected from us on why a Windows 10 PC doesn’t meet upgrade requirements. We are temporarily removing the app so that our teams can address the feedback. We will get it back online in preparation for general availability this fall.
It is definitely quite disconcerting for many users to see that their latest systems were incompatible with Windows 11. Most systems are indeed compatible though, but the app does not tell you what’s exactly actually stopping your system from being compatible. In our case, we found that enabling fTPM or Intel PTT did the trick.

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If you still want to check whether your system is compatible with Windows 11, and do it with more clarity, there’s the WhyNotWin11 tool developed by rcmaehl. It will list out in detail what’s stopping your system from fully meeting the Windows 11 requirements.
Pokdepinion: I guess Microsoft just didn’t need to see all the rants from users who didn’t do their research…
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