380,000 E-Pay Malaysia Accounts’ Customer Data Are Sold Online

E-Pay Malaysia, a local e-payment provided has just seen a large number of their customer data being sold online. Discovered by @Bank_Security on Twitter, customer data of 380,000 E-Pay accounts dated from January 2020 are being sold on a well-known hacker marketplace forum.
E-Pay Malaysia customer database leaked

A Threat Actor is selling 380,000 customers PII Data and credentials related to the online payment system e-pay (https://t.co/2G2LJl9LZZ) located in Malaysia 🇲🇾. pic.twitter.com/bLKTnM8rxm
— Bank Security (@Bank_Security) February 2, 2021

@Bank_Security is a Twitter account who regularly provides updates on bank security breaches and cybersecurity issues from every part of the world. According to the seller, the database contains private customer details which include usernames, email addresses, customer date of birth, contact addresses as well as customers’ mobile phone numbers.

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Image credit: Lowyat.NET
Our friends over at Lowyat.NET uncovered via a cache search that the seller was selling the E-Pay Malaysia customer data for a mere USD300 (RM1217.55). The listing of the database has since been removed from the database marketplace forum.
We strongly suggest that existing users of E-Pay Malaysia change their usernames and passwords as soon as possible following this unfortunate event.
Source
Pokdepinion: Security breaches like this are always scary to me. I hope that E-Pay gets this sorted out and gets their security strengthened ASAP.
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New Windows 10 Start Menu Has Huge Changes For You to Enjoy

Created by the @Windows design team, this animated clip illustrates a sliver of the #UX evolution and modernization of the Windows experience. Let us know what you think in the comments below! pic.twitter.com/s4SVXncLEo
— Microsoft Design (@MicrosoftDesign) April 6, 2020

It’s no secret that Microsoft has been working a redesign of the Windows 10 Start Menu for a while now. If you have been curious as to what we can expect from it, then good news for you as Microsoft has given a clearer look of the redesign.
There is a new video tweeted out by the Microsoft Design account which lets you see the new Windows 10 Start Menu, as well as how it has improved over the years since Windows 95. At the same time, they have asked the public for feedback and it has been received rather positively.

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New Windows 10 Start menu features
For starters, the new Windows 10 Start Menu has a more compact appearance from the existing one. The icons now follow the new “fluent design” concept, and the use of space here will make it less confusing for those who have installed plenty of applications on their computer.
Furthermore, the texts below the application icons are no longer visible which leads to a cleaner appearance. However, the reception to this change is mixed as some may prefer the cleaner look while others may have a hard time figuring out which icons belong to which software.
There is a chance that Microsoft may remove the Live Tiles-style icon in the future, but there’s no official word just yet. For now, the release date of the new Windows 10 Start Menu is still unknown. The next major OS update is coming on 10th May 2020, so we might just see it then. Otherwise, we’ll just have to wait for another update.
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Pokdepinion: I’m personally a fan of the new look. I think the lack of text is something anyone can get used to rather easily.
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Forcepoint shares cybersecurity predictions for 2019 — consumers are losing their trust in cloud-based services?

Forcepoint has shared their predictions for cybersecurity in 2019, which they will use to try and get ahead of the whole cat-and-mouse game which is cybersecurity. In their predictions, they warn of a consumers already beginning to be suspicious security in cloud-based solutions.
Consumers have already begun to shift towards keeping their personal data on their own devices, instead of entrusting the cloud with it. With large scale security breaches like iCloud’s infamous leak of private celebrities images, and the more recent Facebook-Cambridge Analytica fiasco definitely opened up the eyes of consumers privy to privacy. Winning back the trust of consumers with security is of priority to all online services.
94% of Forcepoint’s customers agree that security when moving to the cloud as an important issue, and 31% are currently limiting the amount of data placed in the cloud due to security concerns. To low the security risks, Forcepoint looks towards behavioral biometrics, as facial recognition has revealed several newfound vulnerabilities.

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Aside from that, Forcepoint also touches on AI in cybersecurity, IoT disruption and several other topics in the 2019 Forcepoint Cybersecurity Predictions Report which can be accessed here.
Pokdepinion: Cloud services are always a trade off of privacy for convenience…
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Get the Alcatel One Touch Flash Mini for MYR 189 (or less)

Are you a Lazada sc”Avenger”? If you are then you must remember the moment when Microsoft Lumia 430 was on sale for only MYR99. But hey, here is another deal is here.

I looked up on Lazada and found the Alcatel One Touch Flash Mini 4031D on sale for only MYR 189 and it seems that even with the discount, it is still eligible for coupons!

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The Alcatel One Touch Flash Mini 4031D is a 4 inch smartphone with a dual-core 1.0 GHz processor, mated to 512MB of RAM running Android 4.4 KitKat. A 1500mAh battery provides the juice.

The Alcatel One Touch Flash Mini 4031D touts a 5MP rear shooter and 4GB of internal storage which are expandable up to 32GB with microSD slot. This smartphone is surely a great option for social apps like WhatsApp and Telegram.
It is currently on sale at MYR 189 but since it is still eligible for coupon discounts you can get it for even cheaper with a promotion code.

We aren’t done yet. You can bring the price even lower if you buy it through the ShopBack program. Get up to 4% cash back for your first purchase with the program. Click here to use ShopBack. Now get it while the stock last!
Alcatel One Flash Mini 4031D Lazada product page

Pokdepinion: You can save a lot of money if you spend wisely with promotional coupons on Lazada. Trust me, I have saved a lot of money with the promotional coupons in combination with the ShopBack program. Or you can also overspend due to impulsive buying…
p/s: Please comment on the Facebook post for the coupon code.
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Apple iPhone 15 Ultra Rumoured to Have Exclusive Camera Hardware

It’s a little bit early but it appears that we have some rumours on next year’s iPhone, the top-of-the-line Apple iPhone 15 Ultra to be precise.
Apple iPhone 15 Ultra Rumours

As many of you may have heard by now, the Apple iPhone 15 series is expected to undergo a major change as they are expected to shift from Lightning to USB-C. This is especially the case since the latter is mandatory in the EU starting 2024, just months after its expected launch.

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Then, we have the Apple iPhone 15 Ultra, which is expected to replace the Pro Max as the top-of-the-line model. This will allow the company to align it with existing brandings such as with the M1 Ultra chip and the recently unveiled Apple Watch Ultra.
Apart from that, the iPhone 15 Ultra is said to come with 8K video recording, though that may also be shared with the 15 Pro as well. What is likely to be exclusive to the Ultra however is the inclusion of a periscopic telephoto camera, likely either 5x or 6x zoom. Battery life will also be longer by roughly 3 to 4 hours.

If this is true, we do expect the iPhone 15 Ultra to see a price increase at launch over the 14 Pro Max, likely starting at USD $1,200 (RM5,460) but no guarantees on that yet.
As for the rest of the lineup, all of them are expected to come with the Dynamic Island design, but there will yet again be two different chips being used. The Apple A16 will likely be powering the non-Pro models while the Pro and the Ultra will be getting the newer Apple A17 chip. FaceID may also be positioned below the display, which will leave the camera as the only “notch” on the display.
It’s still far too early to tell, and some of these might require lengthy testing to prove its efficiency and usefulness. For now, we will report more on this as soon as information becomes available so stay tuned.
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Pokdepinion: I would prefer this over the Max Ultra naming scheme out of convenience. It’s much easier to say and spell it out while also signifying both strength and confidence.
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PS Plus Asia October 2017 Free Games Lineup; MGS V Leads the Fray

The official free games lineup for PS Plus Asia October 2017 is here. It looks we’re quite lucky too as we are also getting MGS V: The Phantom Pain.
PS Plus Asia October 2017 Free Games Lineup

First up, we have the blockbuster hit Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain. The epic Metal Gear series picks up 9 years after the events of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and the fall of Mother Base. A surprisingly attractive headliner for the PS Plus Asia October 2017 free games lineup.
The next highlight for PS Plus Asia October 2017 free games lineup is Strike Vector EX. The game is a competitive 1st-person aerial-combat game that satisfies every gamer’s fantasy of waging dizzying dogfights with super-powered aircraft. Bursting with customizable mech-inspired ships, Strike Vector EX disrupts the air combat genre through a combination of impressive mechanics, imaginative aircraft, and stunning, first-person, fast-paced multiplayer fights.

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Of course, these aren’t the only games available for the lineup. For the full list, check it out just below here:
Full Lineup:

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Strike Vector EX
Hue
In Space We Brawl

But that’s not all. From 5th October to 8th November, PS Plus member can get Dead Rising 2 for 10% of its retail price. That’s right, that is a 90% discount from the game’s retail price.
Also a friendly reminder from what we’ve reported on last month’s PS Plus Asia offerings, RIGS Mechanized Combat League is available for free to celebrate the 1-year anniversary of the PlayStation VR. The game will be up for grabs until 8th of November so if you haven’t added it to your library, go for it.
Hope you enjoy the PS Plus Asia October 2017 free games lineup. Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Source: PS Asia

Pokdepinion: Well, with Metal Gear Sold V: The Phantom Pain included, I have no reason to be envious of our US & EU counterparts. Not as much games as usual this time around though.
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New ASUS ZenBook OLED laptops have arrived from just RM4299

ASUS Malaysia has just taken the wraps off their latest ASUS ZenBook OLED laptops, further expanding their lineup of creator laptops featuring stunning OLED panels. The new ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 OLED and ZenBook 13 OLED will be joining the previously announced ASUS ZenBook Flip 13 OLED and ASUS ZenBook Flip S.
ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 OLED (UX582) – from RM12 999

Building upon the success of last year’s ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo (UX581), we now have the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 OLED. While the UX581 already came with an OLED panel, the one here is an even better display. To better suit content creators, the new 4K OLED HDR NanoEdge display supports the VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 standard as well as 100% DCI-P3 gamut coverage.

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The ZenBook Pro Duo 15 OLED also offers an upgraded ScreenPad+ that now raises to an angle for a more ergonomic viewing experience, while also allowing more cool air into the cooling system. This is what ASUS dubbed the Active Aerodynamic System Plus (AAS Plus), and it has worked wonders.
ASUS took advantage of the improved cooling solution in the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 OLED to pack more powerful hardware under the hood as well. We now have the latest 10th Gen Intel Core processors along with the GeForce RTX 3070. It’s unfortunate that ASUS didn’t manage to cram an 11th Gen Intel Core processor into the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 OLED in time (UX582) in time though for a massive upgrade.

On top of the improved displays and performance, ASUS seems to have managed to make it slightly thinner and lighter at 21.5mm thin and 2.4kg light. And yet, the 92WHr battery inside is larger too. Quite a nice upgrade, all things considered. You do lose one USB-A port in exchange for a USB-C Thunderbolt 3 port, but I guess that’s more than fair.
ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 OLED Specs and Price in Malaysia

Processor
Intel Core i7-10870H, 8C/16T @ up to 5.0GHz, 45W TDP, 14nm
or
Intel Core i9-10980HK, 8C/16T @ up to 5.3GHz, 45W TDP, 14nm

RAM
32GB DDR4-2933

GPU
Intel UHD Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU 8GB GDDR6, max. 110W TDP

Storage
1TB M.2 PCIe 3.0 NVMe Performance SSD

Connectivity
Intel WiFi 6 + Bluetooth 5.0
2 x Thunderbolt 3 USB-C (40Gbps)
1 x USB 3.1 Type-A (10Gbps)

Display
Primary Display
15.6″ 4K OLED display
PANTONE Validated, 100% DCI-P3 gamut, 93% screen-to-body ratio, touch support, stylus support
ScreenPad Plus
14.09″ UHD (3840 x 1100) IPS-level panel, touch support, stylus support
1 x HDMI 2.1

Power
240W power adapter
92WHr 8-cell Li-Po battery

Dimensions
359 x 249 x 21.5 mm

Weight
2.4kg

Price
Core i7-10870H: RM12 999
Core i9-10980HK: RM15 999

The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 OLED will be available starting 7th June 2021 from ASUS Official Stores and Authorized Dealers.
ASUS ZenBook 13 OLED (UX325) – from RM4299

The ASUS ZenBook 13 OLED is essentially the previously launched ASUS ZenBook 13 with an OLED display panel. The ASUS ZenBook 13 OLED is apparently the world’s lightest OLED laptop, despite being slightly heavier than its non-OLED brethren. It’s also very compact for its screen size, with its FHD OLED HDR NanoEdge panel that touts an 88% screen-to-body ratio.

In terms of hardware, it is identical to the ASUS ZenBook 13. For the same specifications, ASUS Malaysia will be asking for an additional RM300 if you decide to go with the ASUS ZenBook 13 OLED over the non-OLED variant. You can check out the specifications of the ASUS ZenBook 13 OLED (UX325) below.
ASUS ZenBook 13 OLED Specs and Price in Malaysia

Processor
Intel Core i5-1135G7, 4C/8T up to 4.2GHz, 10nm SuperFin
or
Intel Core i7-1165G7, 4C/8T up to 4.7GHz, 10nm SuperFin

RAM
8GB LPDDR4X-4266

GPU
Intel Iris Xe Graphics

Storage
512GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 x2 NVMe SSD

Connectivity
Intel WiFi 6 + Bluetooth 5.0
2 x Thunderbolt 4 (40Gbps)
1 x USB 3.0 Type-A (5Gbps)

Display
13.3″ FHD OLED display
400 nits, 100% DCI-P3, 88% screen-to-body ratio

Power
65W USB-C power adapter
67WHr 4-cell Li-Po battery

Dimensions
304 x 203 x 13.9 mm

Weight
1.14kg

Price
Core i5-1135G7: RM4299
Core i7-1165G7: RM4999

ASUS will also start offering the ASUS ZenBook 13 OLED (UX325) from 7th June onwards at ASUS Official Stores and Authorized Dealers.
One more thing…

On top of announcing the new ASUS ZenBook OLED models, ASUS Malaysia will also be adding a new SKU to the ASUS ZenBook Duo 14 family. This new model drops the NVIDIA GeForce MX450 graphics found in the previously announced options to allow it to come at a more affordable price of RM5199.
ASUS ZenBook Duo 14 (UX482) Specs and Price in Malaysia

Processor
Intel Core i7-1165G7, 4C/8T up to 4.7GHz, 10nm SuperFin
or
Intel Core i5-1135G7, 4C/8T up to 4.2GHz, 10nm SuperFin

RAM
Up to 16GB LPDDR4X-4266 (on-board, dual-channel)

Graphics
Intel Iris Xe Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce MX450 2GB GDDR6

Storage
512GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD

Display
Primary
14″ FHD IPS display, 60Hz, 100% sRGB, touch-sensitive
Pantone Validated
ScreenPad Plus
12.6″ FHD IPS touch display

Connectivity
1 x USB 3.2 Gen1 (5Gbps) Type-A
2 x Thunderbolt 4 Type-C
1 x 3.5mm combo jack
1 x HDMI 2.0
1 x microSD card reader

Battery
70WHr battery
65W power adapter

Dimensions
324 x 222 x 16.9 mm

Weight
1.6kg

Price
i5-1135G7+8GB RAM: RM5199
i5-1135G7+8GB RAM+MX450: RM5499
i7-1165G7+16GB RAM+MX450: RM6499

Pokdepinion: I think OLED laptops will quickly become mainstream in the content creator segment… Not sure when it will arrive gaming laptops though.
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During a recent media event for Season 12: Defiance, the next gen Apex Legends for PS5 and Xbox Series X was teased. Here’s what you need to know.
Next Gen Apex Legends for PS5 and Xbox Series X Teased

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Recently, Respawn Entertainment and EA held a media event for Apex Legends Season 12: Defiance. While we already practically know everything that’s coming in the update, there’s still no word on when the proper next gen versions of the game on the PS5 and Xbox Series X will be coming. At the event however, those versions were briefly teased.
From what we understand thus far, those who attended the event were told that next gen Apex Legends for the PS5 and Xbox Series X will be revealed very soon, but no exact release date or window has been mentioned. Furthermore, no details were shared as to what sort of upgrades it would have compared to the version that is out on the PS4 and Xbox One.
Based on what we know, we can expect some form of visual upgrade, likely in the form of higher resolution gameplays, and possibly high refresh rate support up to 120Hz. There’s also a chance it may come with special bundle packs that aren’t free but contain premium in-game cosmetics. We may also get free in-game items anyway for those who play the next gen versions but not confirmations on that yet.
Apex Legends Season 12: Defiance, has launched for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on 8th February 2022.
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Pokdepinion: Personally, I’m very excited to see how they plan on taking advantage of the DualSense controller to enhance the gaming experience. I might actually consider switching over from PC if they managed to execute it well.
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HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 Review — The Key Component To Smart Life?

Curious about HUAWEI’s latest TWS earbuds? Is it worth your money? Well let’s take a look at the HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 in this review without wasting any more time.
Unboxing the HUAWEI FreeBuds 3

So there’s a black box that opens when you pull the side strap. Lift the lid up, you’ll be greeted with the FreeBuds 3 itself. Or rather, its charging case.

Pulling out all of the items the packaging, here’s what you’ll find:

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The charging case Buds (inside the case)Type-C cableDocumentation
Appearance

The charging case is round, with flat sides to allow it to rest on your table without rolling off.

On the bottom end, you’ll find the USB Type-C port. There’s actually a side button on the right, which is quite easy to miss with the sleek design of the HUAWEI FreeBuds 3.

Similar to the case, the earbuds themselves sports a glossy finish. As for the design, HUAWEI calls it the “Dolphin Bionic Design” which allegedly referred to the shape of dolphin heads to better deliver the sound to your ears.
Specifications
Drivers14.2mmFrequency ResponseN/ASensitivityN/AImpedanceN/AHeadphone TypeTrue wireless, ear budsConnectionBluetooth 5.1Pop-up & PairWear DetectionWireless RangeN/ANoise-cancellingActive noise cancellationBatteryEarphonesUp to 4 hoursCharging Case 5x Full Charge (total 20 hours)WeightEarphones4.5 gram (each)Charging Case48 gramColourCeramic White and Carbon Black
User Experience
Pairing

To pair the FreeBuds 3 to your smartphone, you simply need to take them out of the charging case and pair them with your Bluetooth device. Once that’s done, the next time that you take them out, they will instantly connect.

In order to fully utilize the features of the buds, you will need to install the HUAWEI AI Life app. The app is also available for non-HUAWEI smartphones, where you can find it on the Google Play Store. There, you can tweak the ANC settings as well as adjust the shortcut taps for both side of the buds. Other than that, you can observe the battery life of the buds themselves as well as the charging case.
Sound

Overall, the HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 sounds crisp with decent mids. Bass isn’t overpowering, but still punchy to make music sound fun. I would say it’s balanced, and its sound profile is definitely to my liking.
With the HUAWEI FreeBuds 3, it features ANC (Active Noise Cancelling), which is a nice thing to have. Despite that, the design of the buds itself offers low noise isolation. This means that the ANC feature doesn’t entirely block out everything. The feature is there.. but you can still hear some of the sounds around you. Just for reference, it cancels out enough noise to make it comparable to the noise isolation of a standard IEM. Doing this while featuring an open design is quite an achievement, although not exactly what one would expect when you see the letters “ANC”.
We took the liberty to test out the gaming latency of the FreeBuds 3 in Call of Duty: Mobile and noticed it actually does a very good job when used with the HUAWEI Mate 30. Gunshots are delivered with barely (if any at all) latency, making them great for gaming too.
The same couldn’t be said when used with other smartphones though. I’ve tested it out with my Mi 8 and the audio delay is very noticeable in my experience.
Comfort

When it comes to product finishes, a glossy finish is not one of my favorites. The reason? Well they simply are easy to get all smudged and slippery, and it’s worse when you have sweaty hands like me. If you don’t have sweaty palms, well you would have a better time with the HUAWEI FreeBuds 3.
As for the shape itself, I had no problems with it in my ears. They fit perfectly and rests securely on my pinna, without intruding into my ear canals. The charging case is small and can easily be stored in your pockets, making them a really portable pair of earphones to carry around with you.
In terms of controls, by default the HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 offers:
Skip song: 2x tap (right bud)On/off ANC: 2x tap (left bud)

It’s nice to see that you can even customize the shortcuts for the FreeBuds 3 on the HUAWEI AI Life app. However, I would’ve preferred them to offer support for more gesture shortcuts, instead of just two (one for each buds).
Battery Life

HUAWEI has said that the HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 can last up to 4 hours of playback, and based on my usage, it’s not that far off. I managed to squeeze 3 hours and 30 minutes from the buds, setting the volume at 50% with ANC active.
Should your phone comes with reverse-charging capability, well you can simply charge the FreeBuds 3 with it in the event your battery’s running low and you simply want your music. Not to forget, there’s also the option to charge it with a wireless charger, which is accommodated by its flat design.
Conclusion

At the price of RM679, it’s a bit higher than I would’ve liked but you are getting a TWS device that offers decent audio quality plus ANC. Not to forget the pretty decent battery life and support for wireless charging, which are pretty cool features.
In general, you can still take full advantage of the HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 on a non-HUAWEI/HONOR smartphone, with the exception of the low latency feature. If you’re using a HUAWEI Mate 30, the HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 is one of the best options out there that you can get for your listening pleasure. For that, I award the HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 our Bronze Pokdeward.

We thank HUAWEI Malaysia for providing the HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 that was used in this review!
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Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro landing in India soon, Malaysia next?

The Samsung Galaxy C-series made its way from being a China-exclusive device, to targeting developing countries like India and our homeland, starting with the Galaxy C9 Pro. Well it seems like the lower-end Galaxy C7 Pro is also looking to expand its market in India, after a certain SM-C701F/DS receiving WiFi certification.

Samsung India has also launched a support page for the device. This points to it arriving in India really soon. We do know the device has lower specifications than the Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro, sporting a Snapdragon 626, 4GB of RAM and a more manageable screen size of just 5.7″, with a smaller battery rated at 3300 mAh. 16MP f/1.9 cameras are set to be on both the front and rear, to ensure high quality photos and selfies. The Galaxy C7 Pro will also run on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow at launch, with Samsung’s GraceUX, of course.

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In terms of pricing, it costs 2799 Yuan in China where it was first announced, or around RM1798. We will update when we find out more about the Galaxy C7 Pro’s availability here in Malaysia.
Pokdepinion: Samsung’s expanding the Galaxy C-series to a global model is actually quite confusing. How does the Galaxy C7 Pro slot in with the Galaxy A7 (2017) featuring very similar specifications? Also, why are they releasing devices running on Android Marshmallow when they have updated their previous flagships to Nougat?
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TEAMGROUP T-Force Dark Z FPS DDR4-4000 CL16 Review — just look at the performance!

With the latest AMD Ryzen 5000 series and the 11th Gen Intel Core processors, ever faster memory speeds are supported. As such, we have been seeing memory vendors pushing out faster memory kits over the recent months, including this kit we have here. The T-Force Dark Z FPS DDR4-4000 CL16 from TEAMGROUP is an example of them, and just by the name itself, you can understand that it is targeted towards the gamers who want to squeeze just that few extra FPS out of their gaming machines. Now let’s see how much higher can we go.
Unboxing

The packaging of the T-Force Dark Z FPS really highlights the whole “FPS” theme, with a crosshair over the RAM itself, and an active warzone as the backdrop. The speed and capacity is also clearly indicated via a sticker, although I am not sure why it wasn’t just printed onto the box, considering that the T-Force Dark Z FPS only comes in a single capacity and speed option.

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Over on the back we see some key features including “no lag in game is the key to victory” which is insanely superfluous. I would have expected to see at least some mention of the timings, which is actually quite interesting.

The memory sticks are well-protected by a sturdy clear plastic tray, with the label clearly indicating the key specifications of the T-Force Dark Z FPS.

The T-Force Dark Z FPS comes with a small T-Force sticker and a warranty guide in the box. And that’s about it. And note the little sticker covering the chromed T-Force emblem on the RAM sticks. I find it kinda cute that TEAMGROUP decided that it had to be protected, while the rest of the metal heatspreaders were fine without anything covering them.
Apearance

In terms of aesthetics, the T-Force Dark Z FPS is very similar to the Dark Za we reviewed previously, except that there are now “sci-fi style outline” running across the heatspreaders. I am quite neutral about it, as it doesn’t look particularly good, but it doesn’t really detract from the overall aesthetic anyway. One thing that I find worth noting is that TEAMGROUP sticks their labels on the CPU-facing side of the sticks, which makes it much look much cleaner in open builds like our bench rig.

The top of the T-Force Dark Z FPS has this serrated edge that probably aims to improve the cooling while adding some interesting elements to the stamped aluminum. Speaking of which, the heatspreader here is very thin, which might be good to more quickly dissipate the heat from the memory ICs underneath, rather than soaking up all that heat.
Specifications
T-Force Dark Z FPS

Memory dies
8Gb Samsung B-die

Frequency
4000MHz (XMP)

Primary Timings
CL16-18-18-38 (XMP)

Voltage
1.45V (XMP)

Capacity
8GB x 2

Dimensions
43.5(H) x 141(L) x 8.3(W) mm

Test System

CPU
Intel Core i9-11900K @ 5.1GHz

Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero

Memory
2 x 8GB T-FORCE Dark Z FPS DDR4-4000 CL16

Storage
250GB Samsung 850 EVO SATA SSD
960GB Kingston UV500 SATA SSD
1TB Kingston KC2500 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe SSD

Graphics
ROG Strix LC Radeon RX 6800 XT OC Edition

Power Supply
Cooler Master V1200 Platinum

Monitor
BenQ EL2870U

GPU Driver
AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 21.6.1

Performance

Right out of the box, the T-Force Dark Z FPS is already one of the fastest memory kits we have played with. The low timing also help with the latency and speeds, although it seems that TEAMGROUP did bin the memory very well, as we tried to push up the frequency at the same timings, without any success.

At DDR4-4266, we weren’t stable enough for even 100% HCI MemTest with the 16-18-18-38 timings. Throwing more voltage didn’t improve things either, however we managed to DDR4-4266 to work at CL17.

We spent some time optimizing it at DDR4-4266, because it was the fastest we could get 1T command rate. We managed to get down to 17-22-22-41, and tightening the tRFC to 373 here gave us a nice performance boost in AIDA64, with higher bandwidth and no latency penalty from the DDR4-4000 CL16 XMP profile. The RAM is set to 1.55V, which is on the high side of things, but the T-Force Dark Z FPS’s heatspreaders were sufficient to keep the memory ICs cool. Targeting a higher frequency required 2T, and that came at a significant reduction in performance, as you will see.

I only managed to squeeze out DDR4-4400, as DDR4-4533 was a no boot. Here we got it to run at a respectable 19-23-23-42, but the 2T command rate really impacted the overall bandwidth and latency.
Conclusion

For a kit of DDR4-4000 CL16 memory that are based on the increasingly elusive B-die, the T-Force Dark Z FPS is quite reasonably priced with an MSRP set at $140 (~RM569). The aesthetics might not be everyone’s cup of tea, with a rather classic design evoking memories of older, pre-RGB performance RAM kits. But hey, if you are into it, the T-Force Dark Z FPS is definitely as fast as you would need, and there’s a nice bit of overclocking here as well.
Whether you would need to get them for maximum FPS in games is probably a bit more debatable, as when I compared the T-Force Dark Z FPS against our DDR4-3600 CL14 kit, we didn’t see much of an improvement at all. But then again, the DDR4-3600 CL14 kits are either insanely overpriced or extinct from the market at this point, so there’s that too. This is a good kit of RAM, but you will need to have a chip with a capable IMC to be able to take full advantage of the speed on offer.
Our thanks to TEAMGROUP for sending us the T-Force Dark Z FPS for review.
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Overwatch May Be Coming to the Nintendo Switch

Overwatch-themed Nintendo Switch case (PowerA) listed on Amazon https://t.co/5pceXbSUrZ
“Officially Licensed by Nintendo and blizzard entertainment” pic.twitter.com/yfK0YzmLuN
— Wario64 (@Wario64) August 26, 2019

The Nintendo Switch is a video game system that has rapidly grown in popularity since its launch. It’s no surprise that the platform is getting some major ports, such as Diablo III and The Witcher 3. It looks like another major port may be coming its way and it’s Blizzard’s own Overwatch.

Accessory and peripherals-maker PowerA have listed a brand new, licensed Nintendo Switch case that is clearly themed after Overwatch. As noted by Wario64 on Twitter, the product was officially licensed by Nintendo and Blizzard Entertainment. This, along with the fact that PowerA is a popular Nintendo Switch peripheral seller and that there were several high quality images seems to suggest that this port is real. The Overwatch Nintendo Switch case was delisted soon after it was spotted as well, adding even more fuel to the fire.

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With a Nintendo Switch port now seeming more likely than ever, it is just a matter of waiting to learn when it was coming out. Nothing has been confirmed as of now, but it is worth noting that Nintendo typically holds Directs in September and October and that the Diablo 3 port was announced in August 2018, so hopefully we hear about it soon. If neither of those possible announcement windows come to fruition, we could always learn something at Blizzcon 2019.
For now, be sure to stay tuned to Pokde.net as we will be reporting more on this as soon as information becomes available.
Pokdepinion: Given the game’s fast-paced nature, not sure how it will be like to play with Joy-Cons. Having cross-play will certainly make it much harder for Switch owners to play, that’s for sure.
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HUAWEI may be able to make phones again as US relaxes restrictions on chipmakers

The US government might be relaxing their grip on HUAWEI, by allowing chipmakers to resume business with the beleaguered Chinese smartphone giant. The US Department of Commerce has reportedly been informing chipmakers that if their technology doesn’t support 5G, they will be allowed to sell them to HUAWEI.

Licenses to supply HUAWEI are reportedly handled with a “view to denial”, but it can be overcome by “demonstrating that their technology doesn’t support 5G”. We aren’t sure if this extends to HUAWEI’s 5G-capable mobile chipsets as well, or it only applies to HUAWEI’s 5G networking infrastructure business. Regardless, it is good news as it means that HUAWEI may finally be able to produce their Kirin chipsets for their smartphones once again.

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Earlier this week, Samsung received a license to resume supplying OLED displays to HUAWEI. Sony and OmniVision have also reportedly received licenses to continue providing the camera sensors HUAWEI needs for their premium photography smartphones.

HUAWEI has been under siege by US trade restrictions since mid-2019, and while they were hard at work adapting to the loss of Google with HMS and the growing AppGallery, the last straw was US cutting off HUAWEI’s supply of chips from TSMC.
Even Qualcomm and MediaTek could not supply HUAWEI to keep their smartphone business afloat. Without chips, HUAWEI could not make phones, and the HUAWEI Mate 40 was slated to be HUAWEI’s last flagship. Well, I guess we will be seeing more from HUAWEI.
Source
Pokdepinion: Maybe we will get to see a HUAWEI P50 then?
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Latest Fortnite Leak Reveals Naruto Boss Fight and Mythic Weapon

We have seen quite a number of interesting collaborations so far but nothing quite like this yet. A leaker has revealed that a Fortnite X Naruto collaboration is in the works, and it might be ready to launch relatively soon.
Fortnite X Naruto Collaboration Leaked

UPCOMING MYTHIC EXPLOSIVE KUNAI STATS!
– Recharge Cooldown: 4s
– Maximum Range: 300 meters
– Delay Between Shots: 1.5s
– Hold Duration: 0.15s pic.twitter.com/OxRt0Dey9p
— HYPEX 🐐 (@HYPEX) October 26, 2021

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According to renowned Fortnite leaker HYPEX, there is a Fortnite X Naruto collaboration in the works. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of it as it was the subject of rumors previously. Based on files found in update v18.30, a few interesting game files were found. Those are two new ID Tags, Creative Coins, and an explosive Kunai mythic weapon, and they are related to Naruto.
The aforementioned ID tags are “Headband K” and “Headband S”, which is being speculated to refer to Kakashi and Sasuke respectively. As for the Creative Coins, those are Ramen and Ninja Scroll, which makes HYPEX confident that the Naruto collaboration will indeed be happening.
Apart from that, there’s an expectation that Naruto will be appearing in the game as a boss, and he will be making use of the Mythic Kunais. As for how the kunais work, we’ve listed it right below here:

Recharge Cooldown: 4s
Maximum Range: 300 meters
Delay Between Shots: 1.5s
Hold Duration: 0.15s

While there’s no word yet on when the Fortnite X Naruto collaboration will be happening, the fact that it’s been included in the game files mean it’s coming very soon. We will report more on this as soon as information becomes available so stay tuned.
Fortnite is currently available for free on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, and PC.
Source
Pokdepinion: Not gonna lie, when I first spotted this, I thought it would be a lie because it sounds like something made up by kids from some online forum. Now, there’s some credibility and I can’t wait to see it become a reality.
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GIGABYTE Laptops Wins 2020 Red Dot Design Award

GIGABYTE has just revealed that they have been announced as the winner of the coveted Red Dot Design Award for their new line of laptops. These laptops include the AORUS 15G gaming laptop, the AORUS 17 gaming laptop, the AERO 15 OLED laptop and 17 creator laptops. This is definitely a testament as to how far and how well they have come in terms of their laptops.
AORUS 17

The AORUS 17 gaming laptop was recently features during this year’s CES 2020 and is touted as the world’s first gaming laptop to feature OMRON’s B3KL mechanical switches. The specifications of the AORUS 17 are no slouch either as it features a 9th Gen Intel processor, a 17.3 inch 240Hz FHD LCD screen with thin bezels, up to 64GB DDR4 RAM, up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 graphics and support for three storage types with two M.2 SSD slots and one 2.5” HDD/2.5“ SSD.

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AORUS 15G

The newest laptop on the list. The AORUS 15G is notable for it’s beautifully aggressive full aluminium design that is inspired by sportscar aesthetics. It also features the same OMRON mechanical switches and is possibly the thinnest laptop to house a mechanical keyboard. Other features included with the AORUS 15G is a 10th Gen Intel processor, a 15.6″ FHD 240 Hz display, up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER Max-Q graphics, up to 64GB DDR4 RAM and 2 x M.2 SSD slots.
Check out our unboxing and first impressions of the AORUS 15G right here and here.
AERO 17

The AERO 17 laptop is a creator specific laptop that is perfect content creators but is versatile enough that you can even play your AAA games without fuss. The AERO 17 features a 10th Gen Intel processor, a 17.3 inch 144Hz FHD LCD display, up to 64GB DDR4 RAM, up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER Max-Q graphics and support for two M.2 SSD slots.
Check out our review of the Aero 17 XA right here.
AERO 15 OLED

The AERO 15 OLED laptop is another creator focused laptop from GIGABYTE that’s powerful enough to game on. Featuring a beautiful 15.6″ Thin Bezel Samsung UHD 3840×2160 AMOLED display, a 10th Gen Intel processor, up to 64GB DDR4 RAM, up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER Max-Q graphics and support for two M.2 SSD slots.
Check out our review for the AERO 15 XA OLED right here.
The Red Dot Design Award is an annual international design prize awarded by Red Dot GmbH & Co. KG since 1955 to those with the best product design, brand and communication design as well as design concepts.
Pokdepinion: Kudos to GIGABYTE for winning such a prestigious award!
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Lenovo Malaysia Launched ThinkPad E14 and E15 for SMB

At a special online-only event held today, the folks over at Lenovo revealed a new smart choice for SMB decision makers in the form the Lenovo ThinkPad E14 and E15 laptops, powered by the AMD Ryzen CPU and integrated graphics.
Both the Lenovo ThinkPad E14 and E15 were designed to improved productivity in mind. It has a larger touchpad, with the legendary Trackpoint with integrated scrolling buttons, which now uses the Microsoft Precision Touchpad standard. It has thinner bezels effectively resulting in a 85% screen-to-body ratio, touch fingerprint reader (integrated into the power button), and an optional IR camera with Glance by Mirametrix technology.

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Like other Lenovo business laptops, it has the ThinkShutter webcam privacy shutter for added security. What’s interesting here is that the two laptops are quite sturdy as they have undergone twelve military specification tests for long-term reliability.
They’ve also taken the liberty of improving the multimedia experience with Harman branded speakers, Dolby Audio software, dual-array far-field microphones, and integrated hotkeys that can be used with Microsoft Teams and Skype. The 8th Gen Owl Wing fan is said to have a 38% increased airflow, resulting in 15% better thermal performance over its predecessor. Moreover, its dustless design makes it more reliable in the long run. For better network connectivity, Wi-Fi 6 is an optional upgrade.
For the full specifications of both laptops, check it out right below here:

Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Specs
Webcam720p + IP with ThinkShutter
720p with ThinkShutter

CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 4700U (8C / 8T @ up to 4.1 GHz), 8M cache, 15W TDP, 7nm FinFET
AMD Ryzen 5 4500U (6C / 6T @ up to 4.0 GHz), 8M cache, 15W TDP, 7nm FinFET
AMD Ryzen 3 4300U (4C / 4T @ up to 3.7 GHz), 4M cache, 15W TDP, 7nm FinFET

RAM
4GB / 8GB 3200 MHz DDR4, up to 24GB
1 soldered + 1 DIMM slot

GPU
Integrated graphics

Storage
Up to 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD-1
up to 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD-2 (optional)

Display
14″ FHD (1920 X 1080) TN panel Anti-glare display, 220 nits brightness
14″ FHD (1920 X 1080) IPS panel Anti-glare display, 250 nits brightness

Keyboard
Spill-resistant, backlit (optional) keyboard

Connectivity
Wireless:
Intel AX200 11ax, 2×2 / RTL8822CE 11ac, 2×2
Bluetooth 5.0
I/O:
1 x USB 2.0
1 x USB 3.1 Gen1 (Always-on)
1 x USB-C 3.1 Gen1 (Power Delivery and DisplayPort)
1 x HDMI
1 x RJ45
1 x Kensington Lock

Audio
2 x 2W Harman speakers
1 x Combo Audio Jack
Dual array microphones
Dolby Audio

Power
45 Whr battery, 65W USB-C power adapter

Dimensions
324 x 220 x 17.9 mm

Weight
1.59kg

OS
Windows 10 Pro

The Lenovo ThinkPad E14 will be available from today onwards with retail prices starting from RM3,499. It can be purchased at SNS Network.

Lenovo ThinkPad E15 Specs

CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 4700U (8C / 8T @ up to 4.1 GHz), 8M cache, 15W TDP, 7nm FinFET
AMD Ryzen 5 4500U (6C / 6T @ up to 4.0 GHz), 8M cache, 15W TDP, 7nm FinFET
AMD Ryzen 3 4300U (4C / 4T @ up to 3.7 GHz), 4M cache, 15W TDP, 7nm FinFET

RAM
4GB / 8GB 3200 MHz DDR4, up to 24GB
1 soldered + 1 DIMM slot

GPU
Integrated graphics

Storage
Up to 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD-1
up to 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD-2 (optional)

Display
15.6″ FHD (1920 X 1080) TN panel Anti-glare display, 220 nits brightness
15.6″ FHD (1920 X 1080) IPS panel Anti-glare display, 250 nits brightness

Keyboard
Spill-resistant, backlit (optional) keyboard

Webcam
720p + IP with ThinkShutter
720p with ThinkShutter

Connectivity
Wireless:
Intel AX200 11ax, 2×2 / RTL8822CE 11ac, 2×2
Bluetooth 5.0
I/O:
1 x USB 2.0
1 x USB 3.1 Gen1 (Always-on)
1 x USB-C 3.1 Gen1 (Power Delivery and DisplayPort)
1 x HDMI
1 x RJ45
1 x Kensington Lock

Audio
2 x 2W Harman speakers
1 x Combo Audio Jack
Dual array microphones
Dolby Audio

Power
45 Whr battery, 65W USB-C power adapter

Dimensions
365 x 240 x 18.9 mm

Weight
1.7kg

OS
Windows 10 Pro

The Lenovo ThinkPad E15 will be available from today onwards with retail prices starting from RM3,449. It can be purchased at SNS Network.
Pokdepinion: I’m quite surprised by the price. Given what they’re packing inside, I expected it to be priced higher. Well, this means that there’s a good chance it’s going to sell well, especially the ThinkPad E14.
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Razer Takes Part In The Fight Against COVID-19 And You Can Join In Too

Razer is calling gamers from all around the world to join the fight against COVID-19. How exactly? Well you just need to Stay Home and Game On.
Razer Stay Home and Game On
You can give a hand in the fight by playing games, earn Razer Silver free and by pledging your Razer Silver for surgical masks to be donated to frontline health workers around the globe.
In case you need to check if your games qualify in earning Razer Silver points, you can simply check on the Paid to Play games list from the free Razer Cortex game optimization software, both for PC and Android devices.

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Launching games through Razer Cortex allows you to collect Razer Silver points which you can exchange to redeem rewards such as Razer hardware, digital gift cards and more games. That list has then been updated by the option of donating masks for the COVID-19 effort.
Here’s what they had to say about the initiative:
We are calling on the gaming community to do what we do best, stay home and game on, and now for a good cause, too. Min-Liang Tan,, CEO of Razer
Aside from that, you can also contribute mask donation through Razer Gold. Upon signing up for Razer Gold, users will receive a welcome gift of 1000 Razer Silver. To earn more Razer Silver, you can simply spend on your favorite games or game credits using Razer Gold.
As of now, they’ve donated more than 30,000 masks with the help of gamers all around.
Pokdepinion: Well it can’t get any simpler than that. Let’s all do our part.
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YouTube Shorts, YouTube’s TikTok Competitor Is Rolling Out Now

It looks like YouTube has started rolling out YouTube Shorts, the company’s answer to the popular social media app TikTok. Shorts works very similar to TikTok, users can post short and vertically shot videos and post them online. Shorts is currently in Beta and it is understood that not everyone has received the update yet.
Move over TikTok, YouTube Shorts is coming

Shorts was first announced back in September last year via a blog post by Chris Jaffe, YouTube’s Vice President of Product Management. India is the first country to receive a beta version of YouTube Shorts (as TikTok is banned in India) and has seen great success there. Shorts has reportedly received up to 3.5 billion views per day in India alone. In comparison, TikTok is expected to reach a whopping 1 billion active users by 2021.

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This is not the first time other companies have tried releasing their own version of TikTok. Social media giant Facebook also got in the act by developing their own TikTok clone called Instagram Reels.

The YouTube Shorts rollout is supposed to start this month in the United States with a global rollout to follow soon after.
Source
Pokdepinion: Don’t think I’ll be joining this. Not a huge fan of TikTok and its ilk anyway.
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TM Reports First Loss In 10 Years

After facing a real set back recently, it seems that Telekom Malaysia Bhd or easily known as TM has faced their first quarterly loss in 10 years, thanks to their breakage on wireless and fixed network assets.
The company took more than RM1bil in impairments that resulted in a loss of RM175.6mil for the third quarter that ended on September 30.

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Starting from the 31st of December 2018, they are planning to cut their dividend payout ratio to support their long-term growth visions. With it, they intend to distribute yearly dividends of 40% to 60% from their net profit.
Recently, TM’s shares fell down by one cent at RM2.32. Additionally, TM has posted a loss per share of 4.67 sen for the third quarter of 2018, which is quite a downfall when compared with the 5.64 sen that they’ve earned the previous year.
According to TM’s acting group CEO Imri Mokhtar, TM currently has 2.29 million broadband users and 1.26 million unifi customers as of September 2018. At the same month of the year before, they had 1.06 million unifi users.
TM has said that the group would anticipate the challenging environment to persist, where they’ve mentioned that they would focus on strengthening the performance of their business and operations.
It’s been reported that Astro Malaysia Holding Bhd CEO Datuk Rohana Rozhan will take over as the head of the company next year, where she is scheduled to leave her former company at the end of January 2019.
Pokdepinion: Oh my, I wonder how will they respond to this. I mean a first loss since 10 years ago, it definitely could mean something.
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[IFA 2019] Nokia embraces the memes with the Nokia 800 Tough — also announces two other feature phones

Nokia had just about enough with your Nokia 3310 memes, guys. They have decided to give in and make a phone that will put the Nokia 3310 to shame. They announced the Nokia 800 Tough, a military-grade feature phone that might really break your floor before it breaks.
The Nokia 800 Tough is built with durability in mind. It’s IP68 waterproof and dustproof, and can withstand drops from up to 1.8m on concrete floors. It’s MIL-STD 810G-certified too, which means it can withstand extreme weather conditions better than you. For any adventurous souls out there looking for a phone to stay connected with on their next extreme outdoor #wanderlust adventure, this is the phone for you.

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It also comes with 4G connectivity, Whatsapp, Facebook, Google Assistant and also the ability to hotspot. But did I tell you the Nokia 800 Tough might very well be tougher than the Nokia 3310? Yeah.

For those of you who want a less imposing device, there’s the sleek Nokia 2720 Flip. Anyone who has ever used a flip phone would almost immediately fall in love with it. It’s no smartphone, but it comes complete with Whatsapp, Facebook and Google Assistant and 4G connectivity, just like the Nokia 800 Tough. Nokia intends it to help in your social media detox, although we know you will want one just for the kick of flipping your phone open on a whim.

The last feature phone to be announced at IFA 2019 today is the Nokia 110. It looks pretty basic, because it is. It comes with the capability to deliver up to 14 hours of talk time, and also comes with the ability to play music off a microSD card or tune in to FM radio for entertainment. Ther’s a qVGA camera for the necessities, and of course, there are a number of games. Snake, is free.
The Nokia 800 Tough will be launched at 109 Euros (~RM505), while the Nokia 2720 Flip comes in at 89 Euros (~RM412). The Nokia 110 will be ridiculously affordable at $20 (~RM84), making it perfect for anyone looking for a phone to play snake on. Don’t worry though, EU pricing is usually much too high with their taxes and stuff. Expect to see a more reasonable price tag when it arrives here in Malaysia!
Pokdepinion: Get me the Nokia 2720 Flip, stat!
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NVIDIA GeForce Driver 531.18 Now Comes With RTX VSR Video Upscaling Tech

First previewed in CES – this feature uses Tensor Cores found in RTX cards to upscale videos from YouTube or other main streaming platforms.
NVIDIA RTX VSR comparison – Native (left) / RTX VSR (right). Image: NVIDIA
NVIDIA today introduced the GeForce Game Ready Driver version 531.18 – aside from usual day-zero optimizations and bugfixes, this time there’s a new feature to go with it: RTX Video Super Resolution (VSR). Much like DLSS – the same Tensor Cores that drives this feature now can be used to upscale videos on web browsers such as Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
The RTX VSR will require Chrome or Edge version 110 to work (the update is available early Feb, prior to driver launch). Once that is ready, all is needed is head to NVIDIA Control Panel – you can access it by right clicking Desktop, or just right click on the NVIDIA icon under system tray located on lower-right of your screen. Select ‘Adjust video image settings’ on the left pane then check the box labeled ‘Super Resolution’ under RTX Video enhancement section – and you’re good to go.

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Image: NVIDIA
What VSR does is two-fold: first, it reduces compression artifacts such as blocky pixels and color banding; and second, it sharpens edges and enhances details with the reduction of jagged, pixelated edges. The work is done by using Tensor Cores, which the AI has been trained to identify various types of compression artifacts and reduce them on-the-fly, which traditional bicubic upscalers can’t do.
RTX VSR AI upscaling flowchart. Image: NVIDIA
 So far RTX 40 and 30 series GPUs can enable this feature – as for RTX 20 series GPUs which also contains Tensor Cores, NVIDIA has clarified that due to different Tensor Core architectures between Turing and Ampere/Ada, the algorithms needs to be ‘re-factored’ for these models (but they will be released in due course). Those using NVIDIA Studio drivers will get the RTX VSR feature update within this March, says the company. (NVIDIA has posted a full Q&A article here.)
Aside from this feature, the driver also includes DLSS 3 update for Atomic Heart; THE FINALS closed beta set to get Reflex, DLSS and RTXGI; and GeForce Experience auto-optimization for the following games:

Atomic Heart
Company of Heroes 3
Hogwarts Legacy
PERISH
Sons Of The Forest
The Settlers: New Allies
Warlander

You can read the full blog post on the driver here, and RTX VSR’s blog here.
Pokdepinion: Time to give this feature a try.
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Disconnect your WD My Book Live or risk a full disk wipe

Backups are important, but what if your backup goes up in smoke inexplicably? Well that’s apparently an issue that several WD My Book Live users were facing. Customers of WD My Book Live devices were reporting that they found their disks wiped all of a sudden. Western Digital has not sent any updates to the drives since 2015, so it isn’t a wonky firmware update either.
The mysterious disk wipes were allegedly due to the drives being compromised by malicious software. The WD My Book Live were NAS devices that were connected via LAN, and thus most of them are also connected to the Internet via their routers, which allowed users to access their files from the web. However without any updates, there may have been some vulnerabilities that didn’t get patched, thus resulting in compromised WD My Book Live devices out there.
Western Digital has shared this update on their community:

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Western Digital has determined that some WD My Book Live devices are being compromised by malicious software. In some cases, this compromise has led to a factory reset that appears to erase all data on the device. The WD My Book Live device received its final firmware update in 2015. We understand that our customers’ data is very important. At this time, we recommend you disconnect your WD My Book Live from the Internet to protect your data on the device. We are actively investigating and we will provide updates to this thread when they are available.
Basically all you can do now is to disconnect your WD My Book Live from the Internet to avoid getting compromised. It isn’t clear if Western Digital will be releasing an update to patch the vulnerability. Some further sleuthing by users apparently discovered that WD may have been aware of the vulnerability, and it could be triggered by something as simple as knowing the IP address of the affected device.

On top of losing their data, users are also finding that they are unable to login to their WD WD My Book Live from the web dashboard. One thing worth noting is that this isn’t a ransom attack, as there has been no ransom demand yet. Instead it seems that someone just wanted to wreak havoc. Attackers apparently sent out a trojan file named “.nttpd,1-ppc-be-t1-z” that works on the My Book Live and Live Duo.
Currently it appears that affected users could recover most of their data with stuff like PhotoRec file recovery tool, which means that you should be able to see success with tools like EaseUS Recovery Wizard.
Source
Pokdepinion: Now I have to do backups of backups?
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Acer Swift Edge Revealed As World’s Lightest 16-inch OLED Laptop

Acer has introduced its latest model in the form of Swift Edge, which claimed to be the lightest 16-inch OLED laptop in the world.

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The Acer Swift Edge is powered by Ryzen 6000 series processors coupled with Microsoft Pluton security processor for enhanced security; the magnesium-aluminum chassis weighs at just 1.17kg and measures 12.95mm at its thickest point. Display is a 16-inch 4K OLED (3840 x 2400, 16:10 aspect ratio) with 100% DCI-P3 color space, with 500 nits peak brightness and certification for VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500.
Connectivity wise, the Swift Edge supports Wi-Fi 6E; Full-HD webcam utilizes Acer’s Temporal Noise Reduction technology to maintain image quality in various lighting conditions. Other I/O ports include: HDMI 2.1, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C with fast charging support, 2x USB-A and a headphone jack.

For local markets, the Acer Swift Edge will be offered with two configurations: the upper model features AMD Ryzen 7 6800U, 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD and 16GB onboard LPDDR5 RAM; while the lower model runs on AMD Ryzen 5 6600U, 512GB PCIe Gen4 SSD and 8GB onboard LPDDR5 RAM. Both models will include Microsoft Office Home & Student 2021 as standard with two-year warranty (including first year International Travelers Warranty). Both models are now available on Acer eStore, Shopee and Lazada priced at RM6,299 and RM5,299 respectively. First 25 units sold will also ship with Logitech MX Anywhere 3 mouse, worth RM431.
Pokdepinion: If you move around a lot, this sounds like an enticing option.
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T-FORCE Gaming A2 Card announced with 4000 IOPS random read speeds

TEAMGROUP has just announced the T-FORCE Gaming A2 Card, their first memory card intended for mobile gamers on Android and the Nintendo Switch. The T-FORCE Gaming A2 Card supports speeds of up to 100MB/s read and 90MB/s write, which easily exceeds the UHS-III and V30 ratings.
These memory cards easily handle video recording at 4K, with excellent sustained performance. On top of sequential performance, the T-FORCE Gaming A2 Card is also capable of random read speeds of over 4000 IOPS and write speeds of over 2000 IOPS, which explains the A2 part of its name.

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Good random performance is vital for use as a boot drive or to run mobile applications on. The T-FORCE Gaming A2 Card comes in 256GB and 512GB capacities, so you have plenty of space for everything you need to store on your mobile device. Prices start from $48.99 (~RM204) and $78.99 (~RM328).

Aside from the new memory card, TEAMGROUP also released the T-FORCE SSD Adapter, a magnetic adapter to allow you to mount a 2.5″ SSD anywhere in your case, as long as there’s room for a magnet to attach to. The T-FORCE SSD Adapter is priced at just $9.99 (~RM42).
Pokdepinion: Too bad not that many phones support microSD cards now…
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THUNDEROBOT Unveils New 911 Air Gaming Laptop

THUNDEROBOT Malaysia has announced their new gaming laptop, the 911 Air which comes in a slim and light body.
THUNDEROBOT 911 Air Available In Malaysia
The new THUNDEROBOT 911 Air comes with an 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8750H processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050Ti graphics. It comes in a light form factor, weighing in at 2KG.
In addition, it comes with NVMe PCIe SSD and also up to 32GB of RAM. For visuals, it offers 1920 x 1080 FHD IPS display, letting you enjoy your games and videos with viewing angles of up to 170-degrees. It’s bezels is 6mm and it offers a 82% screen-to-body ratio.

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With the laptop’s scissor keys with an x-structure mechanism, it is quiet. This is possible to the low actuation point for the key switches.
The THUNDEROBOT 911 Air gaming laptop is now available in Malaysia starting from a RM4,799 price tag. You can find it from THUNDEROBOT authorized dealers or on Lazada. To learn more, you can head to their official Facebook page for more details.
Pokdepinion: Hmm, I’m not too sure about the laptop.. I mean for what you’ll be getting and the price that they’ve set up. Do you think that the THUNDEROBOT 911 Air is worth it? Let us know down below.
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Intel Retakes Cinebench R23 World Record With Xeon W9-3495X

The new Sapphire Rapids workstation CPU reclaims the record back to Team Blue from AMD’s 64-core Threadripper.

Intel’s newly-released Xeon W9-3495X flagship workstation CPU (codenamed Sapphire Rapids) has reclaimed the top spot on the Cinebench R23 CPU benchmark throne, ending AMD Threadripper Pro 5995WX’s reign. Team OGS broke the Cinebench record using the ASUS Pro WS W790E-SAGE SE motherboard with the Xeon W9-3495X cooled under liquid nitrogen (LN2) to push the CPU up to 5.4 GHz across all cores, which is +184% more than its default clockspeed; paired with the CPU is 128GB of G.Skill’s Zeta R5 DDR5 RDIMMs.

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The Xeon W9-3495X offers 56 cores, 112 threads, 112 PCIe Gen 5.0 lanes, 105 MB of cache, and all of that in a 420W MTP package – and it can easily exceed 1000 watts of power when overclocked. The Cinebench R23 test saw the Xeon W9-3495X break the previous record held by the Threadripper Pro 5995WX by achieving 132,484 points, representing almost a 10% increase over 121,215 points by the Threadripper. That’s despite 8 less cores from the Xeon chip and both clockspeeds equal – which should indicate a big IPC advantage for Team Blue.

In addition to breaking the Cinebench R23 benchmark record, the Intel Xeon W9-3495X also took the top spot in 3DMark’s CPU Profile benchmark with a score of 41,140. This record is courtesy of ASUS’s in-house overclocker, Elm0r, which pushed the Xeon to 5.35GHz with LN2 cooling, beating the previous record of 39,676 held by the Threadripper Pro 5995WX. That said, AMD is preparing its own next-gen Threadripper – so expect the leaderboard to change hands at some point in the future.
Source: Wccftech
Pokdepinion: Imagine AMD unleashes the 96-core CPU into this leaderboard – the scores would be nuts.
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iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max Expected to Go On Sale This Month in Malaysia

Apple has recently launched their new iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max recently, and as usual, we have people excited to get their hands on it. Normally, we would see new iPhones pop up officially in Malaysia very close to the end of the year but now, it appears that it might just go on sale as early as 26th October 2018.
Because of this, we are expecting to hear its official retail price here in Malaysia, as well as all the telcos rushing to get their iPhone XS bundle plans out in the market as soon as possible.

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For those of you who aren’t aware, the new iPhone XS and XS Max took the formula from last year’s iPhone X and made it a bigger and better smartphone. From upgrades in its processing power to improved camera performance, many people are excited to call the new devices their own.
However, do take the information with a grain of salt first. There is a chance it might not actually be true but you can be sure that we will be keeping our ears and eyes out on the new devices, especially in terms of pricing and availability. So stay tuned to Pokde.net for further updates.
Source: Amanz
Pokdepinion: I would love to buy it but that means I’ll be eating dirt not just for the remainder of the year, but also the entirety of next year.
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ASUS Republic of Gamers Launches Epic Gaming Equipment at Computex 2014

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Computex, Taipei, Taiwan (3rd June, 2014) – ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) showcased at Computex 2014 its new line-up of gaming gear. Awesome products on display include the G20 desktop designed to dominate small-form-factor gaming, the market-redefining GR8 that delivers PC gaming power in console form, the ultra-thin GX500 gaming notebook, the Gladius gaming mouse and the GK2000 keyboard with mechanical switches for high tactility and superb responsiveness. Exhibited motherboards include the flagship ATX Z97 Maximus VII Formula, Maximus VII Impact mini-ITX and Crossblade Ranger — ROG’s first AMD FM2+ gaming motherboard. The world’s fastest single-slot water-cooled graphics card, Ares III, was also put on show

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ROG G20 gaming desktopROG GR8 console gaming PCROG GX500 gaming notebookROG Gladius gaming mouseROG GK2000 gaming keyboardROG Maximus VII Formula gaming motherboardROG Maximus VII Impact gaming motherboardROG Crossblade Ranger gaming motherboardROG Ares III water-cooled gaming graphics cardROG Swift PG278Q gaming monitor

ROG G20 is designed to dominate the field of small-form-factor gaming desktops, and has already received the exclusive Best Choice of the Year Award and Best Choice Golden Award at Computex. The G20 features a compact 12.5-liter case that houses an Intel Core™ i7 processor and an NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX™ 780 graphics card for unstoppable HD-gaming performance and entertainment. G20 has no visible exhaust vents, but takes advantage of natural convection with a thermal design featuring a hidden airflow tunnel that ensures efficient heat management and near-silent operation, measuring just 25dB at idle. G20’s case has a sophisticated design, with aggressive lines, Mayan stenciling, matt-black finish and customizable lighting effects that showcase up to eight-million colors across three different zones. G20 is as energy-efficient as it is powerful. In Eco Energy Mode, it requires only 20W — delivering energy savings 50% better than the industry average. It also features the ASUS-exclusive Aegis application for monitoring system performance through a gamer-friendly user interface.

ROG GR8 is full-on PC gaming with high style and fantastic convenience. With an Intel Core i7 processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750Ti graphics, GR8 packs immense PC power into sleek console dimensions for gaming experiences that push far beyond your expectations. From the outstanding SupremeFX audio output to 4K/UHD graphics and no-lag Gigabit Ethernet networking, along with a design allowing easy upgrades of storage devices and memory, GR8 is hardcoded for gaming. The slimline design is as at home in the living room as it is in a bedroom, and occupies hardly any space. It also has a built-in Miracast™ receiver, allowing HD content from supported Android smartphones and tablets, Windows 8.1 PCs and WiDi 3.5+ devices to be streamed straight to the big screen. The first GR8 runs Windows 8.1 and is fully compatible with SteamOS and the Steam Controller. A SteamOS-powered ROG GR8 will be launched at a later date, in alignment with Valve’s Steam Machine schedule.

GX500 is ROG’s new ultra-thin, ultra-cool notebook that offers gaming power to go. Just 19mm thick — the thinnest in the 15.6-inch gaming notebook class — and 2.2kg in weight, GX500 packs specifications far beyond its size, with the latest Intel Core i7 processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M graphics. It also boasts a 4K/UHD (ultra-high-definition) 3840 x 2160-pixel display with exclusive VisualMaster technology that provides an incredibly wide color gamut of 100% NTSC, a world-first on a notebook. Gaming on the go has never looked this sharp. GX500 is also equipped with intelligent dual-fan cooling system for exceptionally-efficient and effective cooling.

ROG Gladius is an optical wired mouse that’s engineered for first-person-shooter games and shaped by the needs of the world’s finest gamers, who demand advanced ergonomics, precision control and fast, flexible customization. Gladius is designed to fit the right hand perfectly and is manufactured with smooth-touch materials that stay cool in the hand, while high-quality, Mayan-patterned rubber ensures a secure grip. A fingertip DPI switch, all-programmable buttons, including two side-mounted switches, complete the epic ergonomics and impressive functionality. Gladius has a 6400dpi optical sensor capable of tracking at up to 200 inches per second and 50G acceleration. It is even customizable, with an exclusive socket design that lets users slot in new or favorite switches to set their ideal click resistance, plus the unique detachable cable design allows gamers to remove the connecting cable for tidier transport.

ROG’s new GK2000 gaming keyboard exhibits mechanical mastery to ensure gamers dominate the battlefield. With mechanical Cherry MX Red switches, gamers using GK2000 are treated to input that’s both tactile and superbly responsive. GK2000 allows users to customize almost all keys, and multiple actions can be applied to each one, meaning even complex sequences can be enacted with one touch. Built-in anti-ghosting technology ensures that every key press counts. GK2000 also looks as great as it commands, with premium metal accents and ROG-red backlighting with five eye-catching effects.

Maximus VII Formula is ROG’s flagship Z97-based ATX gaming motherboard. All-new CrossChill Copper is engineered with a copper cooling channel that’s incredibly effective at removing heat. It’s great on air, and with liquid-cooling critical MOSFET temperatures are lowered by up to 23°C. The G1/4-inch threaded fittings mean CrossChill Copper is ready for existing cooling setups. Maximus VII Formula includes ROG’s celebrated SupremeFX Formula 2014 technology for audio that’s as great as a dedicated sound card. With cutting-edge electromagnetic interference (EMI) isolation and exceptionally-premium components, SupremeFX Formula 2014 delivers best-in-class 120dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) audio output for gaming punch and Hi-Fi excellence. Exclusive Sonic SenseAmp technology automatically detects headphone impedance and adjusts accordingly, and SupremeFX Formula 2014 is able to drive up to 600ohm headphones. Moreover, hardware-level Sonic SoundStage applies the best audio settings for popular game genres. ROG’s best motherboard is pre-fitted with mPCIe Combo III + 802.11ac / Bluetooth 4.0, a compact connectivity module that delivers the latest wireless technologies along with mini PCI Express (mPCIe) and M.2 (10Gbit/s PCIe x2 and 6Gb/s SATA) slots.

Maximus VII Impact is the most powerful and highly-specified Z97-based mini-ITX gaming motherboard, with a layout that delivers maximum compatibility with CPU coolers and expansion cards. It includes Impact Power II, a specially-engineered full-scale power card for exceptional performance, the SupremeFX Impact II dedicated audio card and the mPCIe Combo IV + 802.11ac/ Bluetooth 4.0 module, which features PCIe x4 bandwidth. It also benefits from Impact CoolHub, an optional card with two additional 4-pin fan headers along with an LN2 header for ultra-low-temperature overclocking adventures.

Our loyal users have long demanded that we produce an AMD-based powerhouse and the result is Crossblade Ranger — ROG’s first FM2+ gaming motherboard. Crossblade Ranger is equipped with ROG’s core game-boosting features, available on the latest Maximus VII (Z97) motherboards, including expertly optimized SupremeFX 2014 audio with SenseAmp and Sonic Studio technology, ultra-fast Intel Gigabit Ethernet and GameFirst III network-optimization software for no-delay gameplay, as well as the KeyBot, an instant keyboard-upgrade utility.

ROG exhibited the limited-edition Ares III, the world’s fastest gaming graphics card powered by hand-chosen dual Radeon™ Hawaii XT GPUs, water-cooled to deliver 25%-cooler performance than reference R9 295X, and supported by 8GB of super-fast GDDR5 memory. The Ares III showcases exquisite craftsmanship and this can be seen in its sleek custom-designed EK water block and hand-carved details. Just 500 Ares III units will be manufactured, and each will be numbered individually, reflecting its collectible status

ROG Swift PG278Q is a stunning premium 27-inch gaming monitor that is the first and fastest in the world to support NVIDIA G-SYNC™ technology for stunning smoothness, and crisp 2560 × 1440-pixel (WQHD) resolution visuals. ROG Swift PG278Q is able to synchronize with the GPU’s render rate to provide stunning smoothness and ultra-fast response — for incredible images today and ready for the next generation of gaming. Tearing, graphics stutter and latency are a thing of the past, and a smooth visual experience is ensured by a rapid refresh rate of 144Hz and a fast 1ms response time. An exclusive dedicated Turbo key allows the user to select refresh rates of 60Hz, 120Hz or 144Hz with just one click, removing the need to faff with on-screen display (OSD) settings. ROG Swift PG278Q will be available worldwide from July, 2014.
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ASUS ProArt StudioBook One Review — the pinnacle of mobile workstations?

Let’s start off the review by mentioning the price. The ASUS ProArt StudioBook One costs RM49 999. Yes, I didn’t accidentally add another digit. And for those of you who are still reading, you will understand why it costs as much as it does. In this beastly laptop, you get a Quadro RTX 6000 with a whopping 24GB of GDDR6 VRAM, along with an Intel Core i9-9980HK and 64GB of DDR4-2666 soldered onto the motherboard.
In case you are wondering what is a 9th Gen Intel processor doing here, well, that’s because this laptop was designed last year, but it only arrived in our markets this year. Still, the main highlight here is the GPU, as the Quadro RTX 6000 is the professional equivalent of the Titan RTX, with Quadro drivers and all that. Without further ado, let’s get into it.
Unboxing

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The packaging of the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One is suitably premium, with the outer protective carton also sporting some opulent gold trim. The gold-on-black color scheme looks great, but unfortunately that design isn’t continued on the inner packaging. You get a sleeve-like box around the laptop that you will have to slide the laptop out of, while the charger and ASUS Professional Dock are in separate boxes.

The ASUS ProArt StudioBook One comes with a rather unique power, owing to its capability to push 300W while still being relatively compact, even when compared to some of ASUS’ 180W power bricks. The connector looks pretty similar to a USB-C one, although it is really quite different.

As the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One is actually developed based on NVIDIA’s ACE reference design, the power brick is also designed by NVIDIA. Thus the logo we see here. Aside from the power adapter, NVIDIA also contributed to the overall design, the cooling system and also the Advanced Optimus Technology, which we will all check out in a bit.
Not something you get to see everyday…

Right off the bat I think you would realize something quite different about the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One. The lid is way too thick for a recent laptop. That’s because all of the components are crammed behind the display panel, instead of the usual designs which sees all the hardware under the keyboard.

As all the components are behind the screen, the cooling has to be there too. This results in a rather weird layout which sees the keyboard half of the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One being very thin, while the top half is chonky. To ensure that there’s adequate airflow to the cooling system, the lid sports a cover that lifts up by 4.57° when you open the laptop.

Air is then pulled in from the space created and then pushed out from the gap above the display. NVIDIA designed a titanium alloy vapor chamber to quickly wick heat away while also being lighter than your average copper-based cooling systems.

NVIDIA mentioned that this design was to ensure that your hands will not be seared by hot surface temps, which can be a real issue considering that this machine packs a Quadro RTX 6000 and an Intel Core i9-9980HK, and it is meant for rendering serious workloads which will see the hardware taxed to the max. It also meant that you won’t have to worry about looking for a hard surface to use your laptop on, as this design will be unfettered even if you decide to use it on your lap.

As everything is moved to the top half, the bottom of this laptop is relatively bare. The 90WHr battery is crammed into this area, as are the speakers, which are visible as the tiny slits along the sides of the laptop. Overall, I don’t think that this is a laptop that I can call pretty, as there are few concessions for aesthetics aside from the stepped curves and angled edges. Even the color is relatively bland, despite it featuring a fancy name like Star Grey.
ASUS ProArt StudioBook One (W590G6T) Specifications

CPU
Intel Core i9-9980HK @ 2.4GHz (up to 5.0GHz Boost), 8C/16T, 45W TDP, 14nm

RAM
64GB DDR4-2666
Dual-channel (on-board)

GPU
Intel UHD Graphics 630 (24 EU @ up to 1.25GHz)
NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 24GB GDDR6
NVIDIA Advanced Optimus Technology

Storage
1TB Samsung PM981 3.0 x4 NVMe SSD

Software
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
Office Home & Student 2019
Intel Graphics Command Center
Quadro Experience
MyASUS
AudioWizard
McAfee Personal Security

Connectivity
Intel Wireless-AC 9560 (2×2 WiFi 5 up to 1.73Gbps)
Bluetooth 5.0
3 x USB-C (Thunderbolt 3, DisplayPort Alt Mode)

Display
15.6″ 4K (2160p), 120Hz G-SYNC, AUO B156ZAN05.0 IPS panel, 350-nit brightness, PANTONE Validated, 100% Adobe RGB, Delta-E <1
Thunderbolt 3 / DisplayPort Alt Mode (USB-C)

Audio
Stereo speakers
Array microphone

Power
300W power adapter
90WHr 12-cell Li-Po battery

Dimensions
364.5 x 245 x 24.2 mm

Weight
2.9kg

Performance
Disclaimer: Our review sample arrived with the DDR4-2666 running at DDR4-2400. ASUS Malaysia has assured us that the performance will not be severely impacted, and that the final retail units will have the memory running at the correct speeds.
As this laptop was designed last year, some of the hardware may be outdated by today’s standards. Regardless, we will be giving it a fair judgement by today’s standards, as you can only buy it now here in Malaysia, and not last year.

The storage is slower than we would expect from a laptop of this caliber, with the Samsung PM981 used instead of the Samsung PM981a which is available in the market now. While it is not the fastest PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD you can buy, it is still faster than your average SSD, and definitely much faster than the Intel 660p that ASUS likes to use in their more affordable offerings.

Cinebench R20 sees the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One post some rather abysmal multi-core scores. It is however faster than the other Intel Core i9-9980HK-powered laptop we tested. If ASUS plans on refreshing the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One for 2020 or 2021, the first thing that needs to be swapped out is the CPU.

As you might expect from a Titan RTX equivalent, the Quadro RTX 6000 absolutely destroys the rest of the machines we have tested, even those with a desktop GeForce RTX 2080. As Time Spy considers the CPU score as well, we see the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One post slightly lower scores.

In 3DMark Port Royal which only looks at the raytracing performance of the GPU in the system, the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One absolutely blows everything else out of the water. Raytracing performance is probably going to be the main draw of this machine, as it is going to be very useful for designers to get realistic lighting for their projects in real time.

The ASUS ProArt StudioBook One’s GPU is really unmatched at this point. Which is expected since the fastest GPU you can get in a laptop is the GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER, which is still significantly smaller than the full TU102 GPU here used for the Quadro RTX 6000.

This is also probably the only laptop that can really handle 4K gaming, although no one in their right mind would spend this much money for gaming. In any case, if you plan on gaming in your free time, the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One is more than up for the task.

In our usual PCMark benchmark, the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One doesn’t perform that well in Digital Content Creation, simply because it does not place as much on an importance on the GPU. The ASUS ProArt StudioBook One has an overpowered GPU with a relatively mediocre CPU at this point.

For those who want to know how well the GPU renders, well we did a test with Blender. With NVIDIA Optix which makes use of the RT cores, the performance is significantly better than even when only CUDA cores are used. And there are a lot of CUDA cores here. Of course, the CPU alone is really slow for this sort of workload.

Viewset
Composite Score

3DS Max 05 (1080p)
232.5

Medical
144.29

Maya
350.56

SolidWorks
178.76

Performance gauged by SPECviewperf 13 reveals that the GPU is a true beast, which should surprise no one. The scores are representative of the performance in the listed software.

In Superposition, we can see that ASUS and NVIDIA allows the GPU to pull up to 200W when the CPU is lightly loaded. Clocks average at around 1547MHz, which is pretty impressive for such a large GPU. Despite the relatively high 200W power limit, the GPU still runs cool, with it peaking at 83°C.

With both the CPU and GPU loaded, we can see that the CPU is given about 35W to play with, while the GPU is given up to 200W of power. As such, thermals are maintained very well, with the CPU running at below 90°C at all times, while the GPU reaches up to 86°C. Overall, it indicates that the cooling hardware in the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One is pretty capable of handling the thermal output of the hardware in it.

Battery life is relatively lackluster, but that’s pretty much what you would expect from a 4K display and such high-performance hardware under the hood. Still, 5 hours away from the plug is pretty decent, and it definitely beats out most of the other machines that feature a similar hardware configuration.
User Experience
First thing to note is that this is meant to give the people who need workstation-class performance even when on the go an option. The ASUS ProArt StudioBook One is not your regular “workstation” as it weighs a rather heavy 2.9kg and measures 24.2mm thick. These figures don’t look great, but for someone who is accustomed to lugging around desktop replacement laptops, or even compact desktop builds, those numbers are looking mighty sweet.

And of course adding to that sweetness is the built in display in the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One. It supports 100% of the Adobe RGB gamut, which is much wider than what many other laptop displays can claim.
          sRGB: 98.7% coverage, 140.4% volume            Adobe RGB: 96.1% coverage, 96.7% volume            DCI-P3: 82.6% coverage, 99.5% volume
Color accuracy is also excellent, with a Delta E figure of 0.75. It also boasts of a 120Hz refresh rate, but there’s a rather significant problem with that… The Intel UHD Graphics 630 cannot support the higher refresh rate.

On the plus side, you can easily switch between the GPUs with a simple toggle, thanks to NVIDIA’s Advanced Optimus technology. All you need to do is to select the GPU you want to use, and the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One will swap between the GPUs. No reboots needed! It’s a pretty cool feature, especially when you consider that the display supports both G-SYNC and 4K120, both of which would be wasted in a standard Optimus implementation. But then, there’s another flaw, switching to the NVIDIA GPU actually results in less accurate colors. The Delta E figures I obtained are as follows:

Optimus
NVIDIA GPU Only (60Hz)
NVIDIA GPU Only (120Hz)

Average Delta E
0.75
2.53
1.83

I do presume that if you can afford the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One, you can afford a tool to calibrate your display and create the different color profiles necessary to get accurate colors with every mode. We will get into that in a bit.
The audio on this machine is passable, but it is far from the best. The speakers are front facing, and there’s barely any bass, but then again this is no multimedia laptop. It’s for work, not for play. At maximum volume some rattling can be heard too, which is very peculiar for such an expensive machine. But there’s a bright side, as the fancy cooling system in the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One shuts down when idle, so you can watch YouTube without having to turn your speakers up to contend against the fan noise.

The keyboard in the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One is very unlike anything else ASUS has ever put into a laptop. The keys are clicky with little travel, not unlike the ones in recent MacBooks. It doesn’t feel good to type on, with a very jarring impact when I bottomed out the keys.

Absolutely not what I expected from a laptop that doesn’t have to worry about having too much travel as it doesn’t share space with anything other than the batteries. There’s also no PrtScr button, which I do use quite frequently. Instead we have a shortcut to Snip & Sketch. Unfortunately while the PrtScr can be reassigned as shortcut to the app, pressing Win+PrtScr immediately save a shortcut, unlike the shortcut here.
The fingerprint scanner is very conveniently integrated into the power key. An issue that some might have is its position. Having a power button that’s not at the very end of the keyboard is usually a recipe for disaster, but I didn’t accidentally press it during my use, so I guess it’s forgiveable? Overall, you can quite comfortably type on your lap with the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One, but the top-heavy design does mean that it doesn’t feel that safe doing so. I wouldn’t recommend it anyway, due to the overall weight of this machine.
          One Thunderbolt 3 here and one DC input            Two Thunderbolt 3 ports here          Plenty more on the Professional Dock
Now let’s get into the I/O. With three Thunderbolt 3 ports, you have more than enough bandwidth to connect the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One to multiple high resolution displays, or even external GPUs if you want. But, as we all know, our mice and keyboards, the latter which might be very necessary, don’t come with USB-C connectors. ASUS solves this by throwing in an ASUS Professional Dock with the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One, which gives you an additional two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, one USB 3.0 Type-C port, a HDMI port and a RJ45 LAN port. Not too shabby… But where’s my 3.5mm jack?
Considering that this is a machine meant for serious design work or video editing, it does seem somewhat weird that it doesn’t have a headphone jack. Perhaps the designers think that you should use a USB DAC to get better audio quality than what they can ever possibly cram into the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One?

Software wise we get a nice array of preinstalled apps, and one of them is ProArt Creator Hub. Here you get an UI not unlike Armoury Crate in ROG and TUF Gaming laptops, but with gold trim instead of the more gaming-oriented layouts. Another major distinction is its color calibration tool, which lets you use an X-Rite i1Display Pro or i1Display Pro Plus to calibrate the display. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to want to recognize our much more affordable Spyder5, but then again, affordability is far from one of the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One’s concerns.

The rest of the software suite are pretty standard for an ASUS laptop. You will find MyASUS and its slew of settings and options, the Link to MyASUS feature as well as AudioWizard.
Conclusion
Well, even by looking at the price, I guess most of us would understand that this isn’t a machine meant for us. Heck, I didn’t even know how to fully test out such a system. With what I have, I can see that the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One is truly quite an interesting machine. But overall I think that this machine is probably more of a concept design than a laptop that ASUS and NVIDIA expects to fly off shelves.
Packing the equivalent of a TITAN RTX (well not exactly equivalent with its 200W TDP limit) into a laptop is no small feat, and the entire layout of the system is indeed quite interesting, with all the hardware crammed behind the monitor and all. For someone who wants a machine with this kind of GPU performance in a relatively portable machine, RM49 999 is a pretty small price to pay, when a Quadro RTX 6000 itself will set you back at least RM20 000. The 4K120 G-SYNC display with 100% Adobe RGB coverage should also be pretty pricey, which led to the final price of the machine.

However I do think that the CPU is a bit too slow to keep up with that beast of a GPU. If you are mainly running GPU workloads, and your software can take advantage of the RT cores or Tensor cores, then this might be the perfect portable workstation for you. But as an overall machine, it is not exactly balanced. We are looking at an overclockable CPU, but since there isn’t too much thermal headroom left, I wouldn’t recommend trying out that route. Perhaps we will have to wait until ASUS and NVIDIA can figure out how to cram in an AMD Ryzen 9 3950X or Intel Core i9-10900, or maybe even a Ryzen PRO or Intel Xeon processor into a laptop along with a Quadro RTX 6000 for a real hardcore workstation on-the-go.
Our thanks to ASUS Malaysia for lending us the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One for review purposes.
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