ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe (ZS570KL) review — Too much compromise

If it is the best you want from ASUS, well, we have the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe. We have here the very first smartphone to pack a Snapdragon 821, mated to 6GB of LPDDR4 RAM, 256GB of UFS 2.0 memory and a 23MP Sony IMX318 rear camera, all in a near-seamless metal body. Needless to say, the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe is a device that takes the fight up to the top dogs. Well, on the specifications list, at least. Let’s take a closer look.
Unboxing

The ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe comes in a royal blue package, with the wording engraved in Gold. Pretty similar to what we found the ASUS Zenpad 3S 10 LTE in.

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The box flips open, revealing the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe laid in a plastic tray which features ASUS’ signature concentric circle “Zen” pattern. Pretty standard affair up till now, but there’s more.

Instead of the common practice of cramming the accessories into compartments under the device, the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe’s packaging features a drawer which can be pulled out. I must say this is one of the best packaging design I have seen to date.

These are all that came with the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe. Your standard documentation, USB Type-C cable, 10W charger, ASUS ZenEar IEMs, the SIM tray ejector pin. I was truly disappointed to find that a flagship like the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe came only with a 10W charger, when cheaper devices have packed fast chargers. The included earphones look very good though, but we will get to that later on in the review.
Appearance

The front of the device appears bezel-less at first, but actually features black bands that run around the actual display. The bezels on our Gold variant here are well, gold in color, with a fine concentric circle pattern to keep things interesting. The lower bezel is home to the capacitive navigation keys, a configuration which ASUS has used consistently throughout most of its product line-up, with the top being home to the front facing camera, earpiece, proximity and ambient light sensors. The notification sensor is hidden somewhere near the sensors, but sadly it only illuminates in two colors instead of RGB which is yet another feature available in many lower end devices.

The back is clean, with a subtle curve to help with grip. All aluminium is used here, without any antenna lines to mar the look and feel of pure metal. The camera is flanked by the dual LED flash and RGB sensor on the right, and the laser autofocus system over on the left. The glass protecting the camera is claimed to be sapphire, which should mean better resistance to scratches. Below the camera is the fingerprint sensor. Once again, if you have seen the ASUS ZenFone 3. ZenFone 3 Laser or the ZenFone 3 Max ZC553KL, you would realize that they share the same arrangement on their backs.

On the right you get the volume rocker and the power button, both also featuring the Zen concentric circle finishing. ASUS found a need to actually put the power icon beside the power button, just in case you had to look at the buttons to know which was which. Over on the left we have the SIM tray. Also, rather uniquely, the secondary microphone hole is placed on the left edge, close to the top end.

The microUSB port shares the bottom edge of the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe with the mono loudspeaker and the primary microphone hole. ASUS has seen it fit to drill just four elongated perforations to keep a cleaner look here, but I would have preferred if they put more holes but kept them round. Polished chamfered edges run around the entire device’s edges to break up the monotony of the sandblasted metal surfaces.

The top is home to the lonely 3.5mm jack, as ASUS decided to move the secondary microphone hole to the left edge. I note a missing IR blaster here, which while may be rarely used, is a feature I prefer to have, especially on a device of this caliber. Perhaps by now, you would have noted the antenna lines which are really nowhere to be found?
A little nub at the top and two nubs along the bottom chamfered edge are all you will see in regards to antenna. I have no idea where ASUS hid their antennae, but they definitely did a good job with it. The invisible antenna design isn’t just marketing speak, as you will indeed be hard pressed to find them.
Specifications

CPU:
Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 (2 x Kryo @ 2.34 GHz, 2 x Kryo at 2.19 GHz), Adreno 530 @ 652 MHz

RAM
6GB LPDDR4

Display:
5.7″, FHD (1080p) super AMOLED display

Storage:
256GB internal (expandable with microSD up to 2TB)

Camera:
23MP f/2.0, 1/2.6″ Sony IMX318, TriTech AF, dual LED flash, RGB sensor, OIS, Sapphire glass protection,
8MP f/2.0, 84° wide angle

OS:
Android 6.0 Marshmallow with ASUS ZenUI 3.0

Connectivity:
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5 GHz), 5GHz 2×2 MIMO support
Bluetooth 4.2

SIM:
microSIM (dual SIM support, one nanoSIM slot doubles as microSD slot)

Battery:
3000 mAh (non-removable), supports QuickCharge 3.0

Performance
The ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe packs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821, which currently sits at the top of the benchmark charts, until the Samsung Galaxy S8 comes out with the Snapdragon 835, that is. Launched with a Snapdragon 820 and later updated with a Snapdragon 821 at its heart, the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe has plenty of performance, and then some. In fact, it can be way overkill, as plenty of lower end chipsets offer a very satisfactory user experience. But since you are reading this review, you are not looking for a satisfactory user experience and decent performance, but you are in fact in search of nothing but the best. So let’s put the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe through its paces.
*Note: ASUS recommends using the Performance mode for benchmarks, but we stayed on the Balanced power plan for all the benchmarks.

The Snapdragon 821 in the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe is a monster, beating the HTC 10 which stayed at the top of our benchmark charts for quite some time already. Of course, this is expected as the Snapdragon 821 is simply a faster Snapdragon 820.

In Geekbench, the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe fails to perform to our expectations. Despite switching over to Performance mode to see if it makes a difference — it does not — the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe makes an average showing here, slotting in between the Snapdragon 650/652 which have decent single core performance due to their big A72 cores. Checking the comparison chart in Geekbench, it seems that the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe is performing on par with a Snapdragon 820 only, which leads me to believe that Geekbench is not making full use of the faster clocks available in the Snapdragon 821. Multi-core shows that the Snapdragon 821 is still quite powerful despite featuring only four cores compared to the eight (six in the case of the Snapdragon 650) which every other device in this list has. Interestingly, the HTC 10 has a higher single-core score of 1749 but loses out with only 3394 in the multi-core test.

As I have previously mentioned before, PCMark prefers devices with lots of cores, and the Snapdragon 821 has everything but cores. 4431 is a respectable score. Once again, the benchmark doesn’t really seem to make full use of the cores as it ekes out a very minor lead over the HTC 10 with the slower Snapdragon 820 chipset.

The Snapdragon 821’s Adreno 530 GPU is a true beast, topping the already insanely powerful HTC 10 in graphics performance. However as we are moving further into 2017, newer SoCs will appear, hopefully dethroning the Adreno 530’s spot on our 3DMark benchmark chart. With these numbers, you can be assured that the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe will offer more than enough performance for any Android games that will come out in the next few years.

Battery life is the sore point of the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe. Despite Qualcomm’s claiming improved efficiency, the powerful cores are indeed a lot hungrier. An expected trade off for the performance you get, though. The fact that it doesn’t come with smaller, more efficient cores may have resulted in less than stellar results here. The ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe gets little more than 3 hours of screen on time (SOT) with over 14 hours away from the plug, with me using Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and Whatsapp on a mix of WiFi and mobile data, as usual. The ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe also supports Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0, but sadly the included charger offers no support for said technology.
User Experience
The ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe goes for a hybrid dual-SIM configuration, which is pretty common nowadays. However, instead of the newer nanoSIM standard, the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe accepts a microSIM in the SIM1 slot. This will mean that anyone who has been using a recent device would need a SIM adapter just to use the SIM1 slot. I did not have my adapter with me when I was reviewing the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe, so I had to make do without a microSD card. But then, who needs a microSD card when I have 256GB of UFS 2.0 memory built-in? ;)

A slight curve on the back of the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe gives it a very good feel in hand. Chamfered edges along both the front and back further improve the grip. Slim bezels on the sides also make it that much easier to handle. However, the slim bezels may actually be too slim here, as I often accidentally touched the screen with my palm as I stretched my thumb to tap on something on the other end of the display. The weight is also pretty decent, with it being on the lighter side of 5.7″ phones at 170g. It still feels weighted enough to feel secure in your palm and lend it a sense of sturdiness, but won’t fatigue you with it’s heft.

The rear-mounted fingerprint sensor is placed very ergonomically for me, with my finger automatically finding its recessed spot as soon as I hold the phone. That’s good, but the not so good about the fingerprint sensor is that it is dismally slow. Despite the monster of a processor, there is a very noticeable delay after the fingerprint sensor recognizes your fingerprint before it wakes up. I have used a lot of lesser (not to mention more affordable) smartphones which were faster than this. However I remember a similar delay on the HTC 10, so it could be related to the chipset they are using too.

The capacitive navigation keys are backlit on the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe, unlike the many ASUS devices that literally leaves them in the dark. While it is not really needed after using the device for a while, it is nice to see that ASUS didn’t cut costs here on the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe. The arrangement is as per Google’s standard, and while the icons are not the standard Google ones, they look quite good.

Moving on, ASUS ZenUI 3.0 is ASUS’ skin on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. While not the latest Android version, ASUS has pledged to release updates for the ZenFone 3 series, so all you will have to do is wait for the updates to roll out. Meanwhile, ZenUI 3.0 looks fresh with colorful icons everywhere, and offers support for themes which can entirely change the overall UI’s look. You can even make your own theme right in the Theme app! ZenUI 3.0 also offers you the option of whether you want an app drawer or not. It’s not often to see smartphones offering you this choice without having to resort to third party launchers. As expected, the overall user experience is really fluid and apps also launch quickly thanks to the UFS 2.0 storage. If you want apps to load even faster, you can pick up to 10 apps that you want to speed up with OptiFlex, which promises to enhance the apps’ launch performance. With that said, I find that ASUS has not fully capitalized on its massive 6GB RAM and large 5.7″ display by not offering a proper way of multitasking via multiwindow support. Yes, you can have loads of apps running in the background thanks to the huge amount of RAM available, but there is no way to truly make use of (at least) two apps at the same time without switching between them with the multitasking button.

ASUS has preloaded a slew of built-in apps on the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe, but relies on Google’s own apps for some of them, i.e Messenger (for SMS, not Facebook’s), Calendar, Chrome and Gmail, saving them the time and effort needed to develop and update their own apps which will most probably not be used anyway. There are still some bloatware here and there, but they can be uninstalled if you decide to do away with them. There is even an attempt at a social media of sorts named ZenCircle, and that one cannot be uninstalled. No idea why it’s there, but if you are bored of Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and Google+, it’s there for you. I really like the Splendid and AudioWizard apps though, as they allow me to tune the display and audio without diving into Settings.

Next, we will be looking at the rear camera. This is a 22.5MP 1/2.6″ Sony Exmor RS IMX318 sensor, which features PDAF, Deep Trench Isolation (DTI) and both optical and electronic image stabilization promising up to 4 stops of stabilization. This is coupled with the laser autofocusing system and continuous autofocus which are all part of the TriTech AF technology which ASUS claims to offer focus acquisition in 0.03 seconds. A dual LED real-tone flash sits beside the camera, and above the two LEDs lies the color correction sensor, to offer truer colors in your shots.

The camera interface of the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe is shared with most of the other ASUS smartphones, and it is quite packed with toggles and shortcuts to allow you to quickly tweak your settings before taking a shot. A quick shortcut will take you to the feature packed manual mode, with another one allowing you to toggle instantly whether you want to have real-time HDR on or off, or auto to let the phone decide for you. There are quite a few modes to play around with, but the best modes should be HDR Pro, Super Resolution and Low Light. Despite featuring a real-time HDR feature, HDR Pro takes some time to process the HDR shot, but you do get an image with much more dynamic range than you would get out of the real-time HDR mode. Super Resolution gives you insane 92MP shots for you to zoom in and crop to your heart’s content, and the Low Light mode which uses super-sampling to give  for better low light performance.

The real-time HDR mode is really great, as it gives most of the benefits of HDR on other smartphones, but are much faster than your usual HDR mode, with little delay between each shot. I really like the balance and colors it lends to images, and keeping it in auto is sufficient for great images most of the time. The camera gives really nice colors as you can see from the images, but it can at times be confused by too much green in a scenery and default to a cooler white balance. Overall, I really like the camera, as it performs well even in low light conditions, and performs really well in well lit situations with lots of resolved detail thanks to the high resolution sensor it packs.

The 5.7″ 1080p Super AMOLED panel that dominates the front of the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe is a very decent display. While 1080p doesn’t seem like a flagship-class display when there are smartphones with 4K displays already, but I believe it still offers more than enough pixel density for all but the pickiest of users. Sure, 1440p will look even better, but the downside is higher GPU load, which in turn translate to higher power consumption. Not something you want, especially when the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe doesn’t have that good a battery life to start with. Colors look vivid in the Super Color screen color mode, but does look rather muted when using the Standard color mode. Brightness may be a little lower than some of the competition including its own younger brother, the ASUS ZenFone 3 but I faced no issues seeing the display even in direct sunlight. ASUS also threw in Tru2Life technology for better contrast and sunlight visibility, but it lacks the motion-estimation and motion-compensation (MEMC) technology that comes with the better ASUS Tru2Life+ as found on the ZenFone 3 Ultra and ZenPad 3S 10 LTE.

A benefit of using AMOLED display panels is the fact that you can switch certain pixels on and keep the rest off to save power. Aside from giving perfect blacks, this feature also allows you to use the Always-on Panel which shows you a clock, some basic notifications and also some background patterns if you want. There are 5 styles to pick from, which is cool, but it is really aggravating that the always on display here lacks support for notifications other than missed calls and messages. Yep, no Whatsapp, no Facebook Messenger, no Gmail. I mean, who still uses SMS nowadays?

Audio from the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe is pretty great. It even packs a pair of ZenEars IEMs in its package, which is all the more awesome. The earphones sound a little too bassy by default, but the sound can be tuned via the aforementioned AudioWizard app, so you can get the sound signature you prefer by fiddling with the settings. You can tune the loudspeaker output as well. The loudspeaker is plenty loud enough for notifications and actually sounds good enough to watch some videos with. The Outdoor Mode toggle boosts the higher frequencies for better clarity in noisy environments but will make media consumption less enjoyable. The location of the toggle is also very convenient in the volume control shade.
Conclusion
For RM3299 (SRP), the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe is really quite pricey. Looking at the entire device, there is the excellent performance thanks to the Snapdragon 821 and 6GB of RAM, PureMetal technology with invisible antenna design which looks really great, great camera and the excellent ergonomic design which was really nice to hold. But then, the rather sluggish fingerprint scanner, 1080p display when most of its competitors are moving towards 1440p displays, mediocre battery life and the equally bad 10W basic charger are really things that shouldn’t be on of a RM3000+ smartphone. ASUS also missed the opportunity to showcase their unique MEMC algorithms available in their Tru2Life+ technology as well as DTS Headphone:X audio in their first proper flagship device, both of which are on the ASUS ZenFone 3 Ultra, but not here. I really can’t help feeling that ASUS was holding their punches when designing the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe, causing the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe to not be the flagship it could have been, and at this price, it cannot afford to be less than the very best. I award it our Bronze Pokdeward, as it is a very strong first attempt at a proper flagship from ASUS, but falls short in quite a few ways.

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OnePlus 7 Pro’s 90 Hz OLED display awarded A+ by DisplayMate

The OnePlus 7 Pro is expected to feature one of the best displays in the smartphone industry yet. Previous leaks have hinted at a 6.7″ QHD+ (1440p) display with a 90 Hz refresh rate, and the latest tweet from DisplayMate reveals that it got an A+ rating, which is DisplayMate’s highest rating.

DisplayMate’s in-depth Lab Tests of the OnePlus 7 Pro OLED Display have just been completed, earning our Highest A+ Display Rating. Our in-depth Display Shoot-Out will be published here on May 14.
— DisplayMate Tech (@DisplayMate) April 29, 2019

This rating is shared with the Samsung Galaxy S10 series, and we can attest to the glory of the new Dynamic AMOLED panels. However while they offer HDR10+ support, they are capped at 60 Hz. The OnePlus 7 Pro might offer a bit less dynamic range but with the 50% higher refresh rate, it should be a lot better for gaming.
World’s first 90 Hz AMOLED display.
It’s worth noting that it won’t be the first to offer a 90 Hz refresh rate — that honor belongs to the ROG Phone — but it will be the first to offer a 1440p 90 Hz panel. Interestingly, few popular titles actually support a higher refresh rate than 60 Hz. But whenever developers decide to add 90 Hz support, we know for sure that the Snapdragon 855 is plenty capable of handling it, even at 1440p.

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The OnePlus 7 Pro is slated to be OnePlus’ most expensive smartphone yet. And also probably OnePlus’ most feature-packed device. Here are the rumored specifications of the OnePlus 7 Pro:
OnePlus 7 Pro Specifications *rumored*

Snapdragon 855, octa-core up to 2.84 GHz, 7nm FinFET
Up to 12GB RAM
Up to 256GB storage
6.7″ WQHD+ (1440p) AMOLED, 90 Hz refresh rate
40MP + 8MP + 16MP rear camera
4000 mAh battery, 30W Warp Charge
Up to €819 (~RM3777)

It should be quite interesting to see how OnePlus will pull off their most expensive smartphone yet, given that the whole brand was based around the idea of being flagship killers, and telling consumers to #NeverSettle. Nonetheless, stay tuned as the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro will be launching this 14th May!
Pokdepinion: The OnePlus 7 Pro is shaping up to be a real flagship. But that price tag…
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Transcend StoreJet 600 external SSD for Mac; sleek, fast and HFS+ format out of the box

What’s fast and Space Gray in color? No, it’s not an iDevice or a Mac, but its the Transcend StoreJet 600 for Mac. It is like the Transcend TS-CM80S we have previously reviewed, only it’s now in space grey and actually comes with an SSD inside while also supporting the faster USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) interface. Also, the drive is pre-formatted to HFS+ for easy use with Mac systems.

The compact StoreJet 600 is going to be fast with the aforementioned USB 3.1 Gen 2 interface, with it also supporting UASP standards for transfer rates of up to 470 MB/s. Notably this barely takes advantage of the 10 Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 speeds. It will come with a USB Type-C to Type-C cable as well as a USB Type-C to Type-A cable to accommodate all recent Macs.

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Transcend Elite will be bundled with the StoreJet 600 to handle backup and restoration duties, data encryption and cloud backup. The Transcend StoreJet 600 for Mac will be available in 240GB capacity, backed by Transcend’s three-year limited warranty.
Pokdepinion: I am digging that Space Gray color!
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Intel Arc A750 Review – Redemption Arc?

Intel has been known for decades by now as the CPU chipmaker. You think of CPU – you think of Intel, that kind of deal. However that doesn’t mean the Chipzilla never got into graphics business in the past: in fact, 25 years ago they had the i740, which didn’t live for long for a design error that tanked its real-life performance. In the early 2010s they tried again with the Larabee project, and once again failed (though it lived on as Xeon Phi server processors).
To really get the discrete GPU business going, Team Blue poached one of the biggest names in the GPU industry, Raja Koduri – former chief architect of AMD Radeon Technologies Group. (His work includes Radeon “Polaris” architecture and Vega.) And thus started a journey of a new player in the GPU space, would Intel be challenging the status quo as we know it? Here we have the Arc A750, and it may tell us if Intel’s got the chops.
Unboxing
Box front
The entire box is as minimalist as it gets: only the wordmark is seen on the front and the opening side of the box, nothing else. There’s no images of the GPU seen on the box either so this is the “you have to see it for yourself” kind of packaging we’re talking about.

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Box interior
Just like NVIDIA and AMD first-party cards’ packaging, Intel went with the clamshell box and you get the GPU presented right in front as you open it. Aside from that, the “Let’s Play” card is doubled up as a thank you card with the quick start guide hidden behind it on the top side of the interior. It’s held pretty snug in the foam so you’ll need some force to pull it out.
Box contents
Three things: you get the Quick Start guide, a thank you card and the Arc A750 itself. On the thank you card there’s a sticker placed inside – it’s up to you to stick it on the front panel of your case to tell everyone you’re the proud owner the GPU that marks Intel’s return to the GPU game.
Appearance
GPU front
The A750 while sitting quite high up in the Arc Alchemist’s product stack, it’s still a mid-range product. Power figures are pretty standard affair, as a “225W” card (we’ll talk about the TDP later) it’s very small in size, at 280mm long and occupies just two slots. Perhaps Raja Koduri brought more than just his GPU know-how – much like the Radeon Vega of old, the Arc features an incredibly clean design overall.
GPU fan blade profile
The fan blades features a rather interesting shape with “ripples” following along the blade edges. The fan features 16 blades in total – and underneath it there’s visible color-coded cables that Intel didn’t paint it black to keep it hidden, but you won’t be seeing that part of the GPU anyway as long as you’re placing it inside a standard PC case.
GPU top
Top side is basically void of anything other than heatsinks, sandwiched by the shroud and backplate. The PCIe connector features a 8+6 pin design which supplies 150+75W in total – so 225 watts without counting the 75W socket power (which totals in 300W combined). The GPU can be tuned to exceed 225W TDP, so having an extra 6-pin PCIe connector is warranted.
GPU bottom
Bottom side doesn’t reveal much, it’s once again full of heatsink fins. Though from this view you can see the fans are slightly protruded from the shroud but it’s difficult to tell when viewed from the front. Total thickness are exactly 2-slots tall accounting for the fan bulges – fitting this card into small cases won’t be an issue.
GPU rear (backplate)
The backplate is, at least in my opinion, one of the best looking designs in recent years. I know some people thinks Radeon Vega looked bland – which, fair point – but with how many GPUs these days featuring all kinds of muscular lines and edges, it’s like a breath of fresh air seeing simple yet immediately recognizable designs like this. For this Arc A750 though, there’s no RGB on the right side like the A770 does – it’s replaced by a strip of chrome plastic instead.
I/O ports
The I/O are pretty respectable: you get three DisplayPort 2.0 ports which supports up to 8K60 – which is plenty for displays of today even though AMD has DP 2.1 which in theory can drive a staggering 8K165 resolutions. HDMI 2.1 is the fourth port and it’s just about ubiquitous in latest displays and TVs by now, so you can run 4K144 displays just fine (and strictly that, you won’t game at that resolution realistically).
GPU lighting
As mentioned earlier – the only place for lighting is the Intel ARC logo on the top side of the card. Unlike the A770 which features in-fan lighting and a strip across the shroud, here it’s all replaced by a chrome strip and there’s no RGB controls available on this card.
Software
Installing Intel Graphics Driver
Intel wants to remind you a very important thing before using this GPU: turn on Resizable BAR. During the process of installing you can pretty much see this word mentioned in the entire installation process, so you won’t forget to enable that feature (Intel’s GPUs are heavily reliant on ReBAR support to perform optimally, turning ReBAR off may cause significant performance drops).
Intel Arc Control
Performance Monitoring
Once the installation is complete you are greeted with Intel’s control software of choice called Arc Control. It’s not the most robust control app, though it’s miles ahead than what NVIDIA GeForce Experience can provide (while AMD’s software is what I consider the most comprehensive right now). Still, it’s fairly simple to navigate through the menus – though I did encounter app crashes just about once or twice, but it’s not too big of an issue compared to very first software release from last year. Overall, the software experience is pretty smooth as Intel took time to polish the edges.
Performance tuning
Tuning the GPU is pretty straightforward – in fact the it’s the easiest to understand among all three vendors. NVIDIA users pretty much have to rely on third-party software for tuning, while AMD Software does have tuning options available, it’s slightly less intuitive in presenting the numbers (e.g. the TDP slider is represented in percentages instead of actual TDP). Here on Arc Control you get to tune four major parameters of the GPU, and you can tune the TDP to exactly where you want it to be. (Note: despite the ‘225W’ official TDP rating, this GPU runs on 190W by default.)
In-game telemetry
You can fire up the in-game telemetry through Alt+R shortcut, which shows plenty of data here. However, Intel seems to forgot to include FPS counters so this might not be entirely useful for some users. If you do need to monitor frames but the game doesn’t have built-in counters, you’ll have to use third-party software such as MSI Afterburner/RTSS.
Specifications
Intel Arc A750

GPU Core & VRAM:

GPU Core Variant
ACM-G10

Microarchitecture
Xe-HPG “Alchemist”

Process Node
TSMC N6

Transistors
21.7 billion

Die size
406mm²

Execution Units (EUs)
448

Stream Processors
3584

Ray Tracing Units
28

Cache
16MB L2

VRAM Configuration
8GB GDDR6 256-bit

Memory Bandwidth
16Gbps, 512GB/s peak

Add-in board:

Base/Boost Clock
2050 / 2400 MHz

TDP (TBP)
225W

Recommended PSU
N/A

Dual BIOS Mode
No

Display Outputs
3x DisplayPort 2.0 (UHBR 10)
1x HDMI 2.1
*Max output resolution: 7680×[email protected]

Power Connector
1x 8-pin + 1x 6-pin PCIe connector

Bus Interface
PCIe 4.0 x16

Dimensions
2-slot, 279.9 x 111.2 x 42.0 mm

Test System

CPU
Intel Core i9-13900K

Cooling
ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO
Cooler Master MasterGel Maker

Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 HERO

GPU
Intel Arc A750

Memory
Kingston FURY RENEGADE RGB DDR5-6400 CL32 (2x16GB)

Storage
Samsung SSD 980 PRO 256GB (Boot)
Kingston NV1 1TB

Power Supply
Cooler Master MWE Gold 1250 V2 Full Modular 1250W

Case
VECTOR Bench Case (Open-air chassis)

Operating System
Windows 11 Pro 22H2

Performance
All benchmarks are done in out-of-the-box settings, unless otherwise specified. Games are tested under these settings (upscaling features such as AMD FSR, Intel XeSS are turned off):

Forza Horizon 5 (RT ON)
Maximum settings (all settings maxed out to EXTREME preset when available, Ray Tracing set to EXTREME).
Forza Horizon 5 (RT OFF)
Ultra High preset – Ray Tracing turned off.
Red Dead Redemption 2
All settings set to ULTRA – slightly higher quality over ‘Favor Quality’ from the in-game settings slider.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (RT ON)
HIGHEST preset. RT Shadows set to ULTRA (which overrides default Shadow settings).
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (RT OFF)
Same as the previous run – with the exception of RT Shadows turned OFF, with Shadow settings set to ULTRA instead.
F1 2022 (RT ON)
ULTRA HIGH preset. Ray Tracing is set to HIGH under this preset.

Synthetic Benchmarks

In theory – the Intel Arc A750 looks like a fast card. While on synthetic benchmarks the Arc has beaten the RTX 3060 outright, it won’t be the case when actual gaming is involved (optimizations, drivers and even the GPU architecture itself plays a significant role in GPU performance). How does the Arc A750 stack up against the most popular RTX 30 series GPU? Keep reading.
Gaming – 4K (3840×2160)

Strictly speaking, the Intel Arc A750 is not designed for 4K – it’s simply not powerful enough for that (XeSS is another subject). Still, for science – we pitted it against NVIDIA’s RTX 3060 (in PNY’s form) to see how it stacks up. With the way both cards trade blows, it’s somewhat behaving similar to AMD’s equivalents in terms of performance.
Intel’s RTUs (ray tracing units) aren’t as matured as NVIDIA’s just yet, but the gap isn’t too far back to the RTX 3060; and the only win it got is courtesy of Red Dead Redemption 2, which AMD cards has been more advantageous against the Team Green cards as well.
F1 2022 in this case is merely a scientific test, but here we can see what happens when VRAM runs out. The Arc A750 lost nearly half the performance against the RTX 3060 which is out of line from the usual figures; the 12GB VRAM offered by NVIDIA has proved to be useful in a VRAM-heavy scenario like this. Though this is 4K Ultra quality we’re talking about – so realistically this isn’t much of a concern anyway.
Gaming – 1440p (2560×1440)

Down to 1440p – Intel managed to largely kept pace with NVIDIA despite minor losses across the board. Still, RDR2 once again has given the A750 the only win in this suite of benchmarks. Most games should run fine at this resolution if you keep your graphics quality reasonable, and F1 2022 represents the worst-case scenario as far as GPU workloads go (with ray tracing and native rendering).
Interestingly, Forza Horizon 5 sees the Arc A750 achieved dead heat against the RTX 3060 despite maximum ray tracing settings. Our assumption is the optimization at work – remember, in synthetic benchmarks Intel are much more “powerful” on paper, but optimizations (or lack thereof) has seemingly held back the card’s true potential.
Gaming – 1080p (1920×1080)

Finally, 1080p gaming. This is likely where most owners of Arc A750 will play on, so here’s some numbers for reference for any future A750 owners. Generally, if you prefer quality over framerates, the Arc A750 can pretty much universally achieve 60FPS across the board if the game itself isn’t too demanding on GPU performance.
The performance scaling down to this resolution has disadvantaged the Intel card ever so slightly more, but it depends on the games you play. RDR2 again favors the Intel card, but for other games it’s pretty much Team Green’s ground.
Thermals

Since Intel doesn’t have too much experience in discrete graphics yet (their iGPU experience doesn’t really transfer to the dGPU that much), there’s still some work to do in terms of telemetry and monitoring aspects. The Arc A750 doesn’t have hotspot sensors like AMD and NVIDIA does – so the temperature we have here is likely the ‘overall’ figure.
Few things: despite Intel officially classify the Arc A750 as the 225W card, in practice it does not pull that amount of power. By default (seen in Arc Control), the target TDP/TBP is 190 watts – for which this card’s cooler handled perfectly fine at just 74°C by the end of the 10th minute in this Furmark stress test. Remember the power slider? We tried to pull 228W – the maximum allowed by software – and unsurprisingly it thermal throttled halfway through the test.
Still, given the fan speeds, which is slightly on the high side but remains subtle on noise, you may be able to push it to 200-210W depending on your room conditions and even the silicon lottery itself. Perhaps a custom fan curve may sort this out, but we haven’t seen Arc Control providing such controls just yet.

Next is Time Spy Extreme stress test. The VRAM temperatures actually runs slightly lower than Furmark’s results (82°C vs 84°C), and with it we’ve seen the fans picking up slower to the stable state of around 1,950RPM or so. Oddly enough, the fan speeds seems to fluctuate more than most other cards do (same happens to Furmark); but in practice this is not noticeable in any way.
Conclusion
Intel’s GPU efforts doesn’t come easy – from the very first DG1 GPU to laptop’s Iris Xe Max graphics, there’s a lot of bugs to squash and plenty of games to optimize on (which they have to do practically from scratch, something that both AMD and NVIDIA has built for over 20 years). For its first attempt at entering the gaming GPU market, it’s had it fair share of issues during launch too, riddled with major bugs and errors on software and in-game.

The company has been hard at work in optimizing and fixing the driver, and we’ve seen good progress. At this writing, the Intel Arc is more than half a year old since the release of its very first Arc GPU, and based on our current testing we didn’t find too many issues that was first experiences by those who got the cards way before us. They’ve got a solid foundation to work on – so it’s time to see where Intel will go next.
As for the Arc A750 itself, it’s pretty respectable. While the performance isn’t quite there compared to the very popular RTX 3060, one thing it does have is the price advantage. At RM1,399 (some listings go as low as RM1,200+), it’s significantly cheaper than various AIB versions of RTX 3060 which generally spans across the mid-to-high RM1K range. In turn you get performance that is almost on par with the Team Green card – and the unlocked TDP can provide even more if your cooler can handle it.

Now, it’s not perfect – just like Rome isn’t built in a day, GPU drivers aren’t either. DX11 games will most certainly took a heavier performance hit as Intel’s priorities is to optimize new (DX12) games and popular DX9 games, so if your game library contains some of the more obscure titles, make sure you know what you’re dealing with.
So, is this a good start for Intel? In retrospect, while the early release bugs really shouldn’t make it out into retail units in the first place, at least the improvements made so far has make this card much more livable and may start offering some pretty enticing propositions to attract Team Green and Team Red owners in the wake of ever increasing GPU prices. If you want the Player Three to give both AMD and NVIDIA a good run for their money – perhaps this card may be your next one.

Special thanks to Intel Malaysia for providing us the Arc A750 for the purpose of this review.
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AMD quietly refreshed the first generation AMD Ryzen processors?

It seems like not only Intel is good at bringing chips back from the dead. AMD also revived an older chip, although they did add a much more interesting twist to the story. The “refreshed” AMD Ryzen 5 1600 actually has more in common with the Ryzen 5 2600 that succeeded it than its namesake.
For some reason, some AMD Ryzen 5 1600s have popped up with a 12nm manufacturing process, which was instead used for the 2nd Gen AMD Ryzen processors, with the first generation based on the 14nm process. It’s in fact such an oddity that older versions of the AMD Ryzen Master suite didn’t recognize it, when it would recognize a standard AMD Ryzen 5 1600.

The 12nm AMD Ryzen 5 1600 were also tested to deliver better performance than their standard 14nm counterparts, with better sustained boost clocks and higher Cinebench scores thanks to the higher clocks. Even memory latency appears to be improved according to one redditor who got himself one of the 12nm Ryzen 5 1600s.

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Overclocking is still silicon lottery though, with the user finding himself unable to achieve the clocks that a regular Ryzen 5 1600 would. The memory overclocking on his unit also seemed limited.
To snag yourself one of them, you would have to look at the box identifier. On the regular Ryzen 5 1600 manufactured on the 14nm process, you would find YD1600BBAEBOX, while the 12nm ones will state YD1600BBAFBOX as their part number.
The best part is that these 12nm Ryzen 5 1600s are priced at the same $85 price as the regular Ryzen 5 1600. That means you get to enjoy the benefits of the 2nd Gen AMD Ryzen at the price of 1st Gen processors. Talk about bang for buck…
Pokdepinion: Well, it’s literally free real estate…
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You Can Steal PC Data By Using Fan Vibrations and a Smartphone

We know hackers have gone through all sorts of measures to breach security and collect data in the process. What we have for you today is by far the most unorthodox method yet as it can be achieved with fan vibrations and a smartphone.
Researchers at Ben Gurion University have been using all sorts of methods to find peculiar yet feasible techniques for stealing PC data. They conduct tests on their “air-gapped PCs”, which are systems that are physically isolated with no internet access, without being detected.
Encoding and Transmitting PC Data Using Fan Vibrations with AiR-ViBeR

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Their most recent technique is called AiR-ViBeR, which uses vibrations produced by electromechanical components such as CPU, GPU, or case fans together with a special malware to encode data and transmit them using direct manipulation of fan speed.
The researchers used a smartphone to record the changes in vibration using the accelerometer with a sensor resolution of 0.0023956299 meters per second squared. Typically, this type of accelerometer can be found in high end smartphones today.
A major advantage of using this method is that Android OS and iOS will not require user permission to read the accelerometer output. This means that there are no visual indication that something is going on in the background. Moreover, the attacker will not need to compromise the smartphone in any way as it can be achieved simply by using JavaScript on a mobile web browser.

It’s worth noting that while the technique results in reliable transmission of small data packets to a smartphone up to 1.5 meters away from the PC, the speed is very slow. The CPU fan is said to be the slowest while the case fan is said to be most effective source of vibrations.
There are plenty of other unorthodox methods out there that are faster than AiR-ViBeR, such as siphoning data using magnetic fields. However, using fan vibrations is definitely something not many thought would be possible. It may not be something you’d have to worry about for your personal security, but it’s still worth knowing just in case.
Source
Pokdepinion: People will find the weirdest ways to breach security, and this is by far the weirdest way I’ve heard yet.
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Realme Sets New Record On Lazada x Realme Super Brand Day

Realme Malaysia continues to break records in the country with recently achieving 800% uplift orders sold for their Realme 2, Realme 2 Pro, and Realme C1 devices, where 700% of it was achieved during the Lazada x Realme Super Brand Day which took place on the 27th of February 2019.

Additionally, the special event also saw the Realme Malaysia Flagship store on the ecommerce platform win well over 8000 new followers and generated more than 16 million impressions and over 233,000 interactions on social media.

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Super Brand Day is Lazada’s leading campagin that supports their partners by offering the best products that brands have, including exclusive themed gifts, limited edition products, premium packaging and even offline experiences. It celebrates Lazada’s premium alliances with some of the biggest global brands.
Previously, Ralme fans enjoyed an exclusive Lazada x Realme Super Brand Day movie screening of “A Dog’s Way Home” and had the chance to mingle with local celebrities and influencers such as Amber Chia, Henley Hii, Mark O’Dea, Fiqrie Dahari, Juwei Teoh, Dennis Yin, Nana Bwincess, Kyopropraganda, Crystal Swung, and Yuyu Zulaikha.
Pokdepinion: It’s great to see that they are doing great in the country, seeing that they offer a good variety of phones with affordable price tags too!
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PICO 4 Review – VR WIthout The Hassles

Unboxing the PICO 4
PICO 4 Review – Box

Starting off our PICO 4 review with the unboxing, the all-in-one VR headset comes in a shiny, medium-sized box akin to a shoebox or a smaller game console, like the Nintendo Switch. You have all the necessary product details and features listed on the box itself. Inside it, you can find the following items:
PICO 4 Review – Box content

Glasses Spacer
Nose Pad
2 x Controller lanyards
USB-C power adapter
USB-C to USB-A adapter
Quick guide
User guide
Safety and warranty guide
2 x Controllers
The PICO 4 VR headset itself

Specifications

CPU
Qualcomm XR2
8 x 2.84GHz, 64-bit, 7nm

RAM
8GB

Storage
128 / 256GB

Connectivity
Dual-band Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth 5.1
USB-C (supports ethernet to USB-C natively)

Display
4320 x 2160 (2160 x 2160 per eye)
72Hz / 90Hz refresh rate

Optics
Pancake lens, 105° FOV, 20.6 PPD,
62-72 mm inter-pupillary distance adjustment

Sensor
6DoF Positioning System

Audio
Integrated high fidelity speaker
Dual microphone

Power
5,300mAh with 20W fast charging

OS
PICO OS 5.0
Works with PC via SteamVR, Streaming Assistant, and Virtual Desktop

The Good
PICO 4 Review – Setting boundaries
There are a good number of reasons to consider getting the PICO 4. For starters, it’s very easy to setup as you simply need to wear it, turn it on, and set the boundaries for movement tracking. You can have it set up to be played standing or while sitting, and it accommodate small spaces as well. I had it work just fine playing on a queen bed while sitting up. It’s worth noting that you will need a bigger space for SteamVR unless you plan on having it be used while stationary, but this setup process is also straightforward.
PICO 4 Review – You can connect via USB or Wi-Fi
Furthermore, the ease of setup also brings wireless freedom as it works as a standalone VR unit and a PC VR headset. The former has you playing games and running apps through its native PICO OS, which you can download more of via their own digital store. As for the latter, you get the option of connecting by USB or wirelessly via Wi-Fi on Streaming Assistant, as long as your router supports the 5GHz band. You can also opt for Ethernet to USB-C for wired connection if you’re using Virtual Desktop, which gives you a solid 1,200Mbps connection via a 2.5Gbps ethernet port.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Streaming Assistant is free whereas Virtual Desktop is a paid app.
PICO 4 Review – Wearing the PICO 4 headset
While those not familiar with VR may think that a standalone VR headset would be heavy and bulky, the PICO 4 is clearly not. At just 295g, it’s very comfortable to wear for a long time, especially thanks to the adequate cushioning, and it’s easy to tighten / loosen it as you simply need to spin the wheel on the rear band for it. To give you an idea, it only weighs slightly more than an iPhone 14 Pro Max. Keep in mind that it does come with a Glasses Space and Nose Pad inside the box should you need it.
PICO 4 Review – Refresh rate is set at 72Hz, but it can go up to 90Hz
The PICO 4 doesn’t skimp out on its display either as you get a high resolution display of 4320 x 2160, or 2160 x 2160 per eye, which essentially means you’re viewing things in 4K resolution. However, do temper your expectations as things will not look as sharp as viewing from a 4K TV or monitor as it needs to accommodate for the 360° view. As for refresh rate, you have the option of using 72Hz or 90Hz but from what I can see, it’s hard to tell a difference so I suggest going 72Hz for that added bit of battery life.
PICO 4 Review – Finger movements
Whether you’re using it on its own or as a PC VR headset, it works smoothly and with good movement accuracy. Playing All-in-One Sports directly on the PICO 4 and playing Beat Saber via SteamVR doesn’t feel different in terms of responsiveness and accuracy, which is great. It can simulate finger movement to some degree but not to a fine degree of accuracy as it’s reliant on the buttons, and that’s okay as it would be overkill and unnecessary to be able to do so at this point in time.

https://pokde.net/assets/uploads/2023/05/Recording-51.mp3
And lastly, I’m impressed with is the audio capabilities of the PICO 4. The built-in speaker gives a fair amount of directional accuracy while sounding clear and whole. It’s a little lacking in bass but the overall sound is certainly enough to get you immersed in the virtual world. Furthermore, the built-in microphone is surprisingly very clear with a good amount of depth, easily putting it a big step up from your standard gaming headsets which ends up making your voice sounding hollow, tinny, and overprocessed at times. In case you’re wondering, the speaker doesn’t bleed into the microphone, which is great.
Be careful whenever you’re online, especially if you see this guy around in VR or any online platforms.
The Bad
                                     PICO 4 Review
As good as the PICO 4 is, it does have its fair share of drawbacks. For starters, its standalone use is somewhat limited as the PICO OS doesn’t have that many games worth playing. Sure, it does have good games like All-in-One Sports and After The Fall but it lacks killer titles like Beat Saber and Resident Evil 4 VR. This shouldn’t be a dealbreaker for you if you plan on using it with your PC via SteamVR as that will give you access to a whole lot more games, just that its novelty as a standalone will wear off pretty quickly.
The next drawback is that there is no headphone jack here, which means you will have to rely on the built-in speaker for audio. On the plus side, the built-in speakers are pretty good but if you ever wanted to have a private or a more immersive audio experience, you will need to rely on Bluetooth, which can bring latency issues. The only workaround is if you’re using it as a PC VR headset, where you can have the audio playing from your PC through any audio gear you have connected to it, be it a wired headphone or surround sound speaker system.
PICO 4 Review – You have to disable this, otherwise you’ll sound like the recording below
https://pokde.net/assets/uploads/2023/05/Recording-47.mp3
Speaking of connected audio, one issue that I had when using it with Streaming Assistant and SteamVR is audio. There have been times where the audio is just quiet and the microphone sounds awful, like the recording above. We have discovered a fix, as the input and output drivers are apparently conflicting with each other. In simpler terms, you can’t use the built-in speakers and microphone at the same time when using it on PC. We might just write a guide on the fix in the near future as it can be confusing for beginners.
PICO 4 Review – 4 x AA batteries, 2 per side
Moving on to energy efficiency, the controllers require two AA batteries each, bring the total to four. Unless you plan on buying rechargeable AA batteries and a separate 4-slot charger for it, be prepared to spend extra to buy those batteries. On the plus side, the batteries typically last long as mine lasted 2-3 weeks of daily use, but your mileage will vary depending on what AA batteries you purchased. Personally, I would prefer if it came with a charging station instead for that added bit of convenience.
Lastly, the PICO 4 VR headset itself takes a bit long to charge. While I’m personally fine with its near-3 hour battery life given what it is, having it charge for nearly as long isn’t good. The culprit here is the 20W charging speed, which is slow in this day and age as it takes almost 2 hours to fully charge its 5,300mAh battery. Hopefully, we’ll see a significant boost in its successor model, perhaps around a 55W to 60W charging speed, along with a little bit more battery life.
PICO 4 Verdict
PICO 4 Review
In essence, PICO 4 isn’t exactly revolutionary as it does something that its rivals can do pretty much the same. The key point here is making VR more accessible than ever in a package that’s versatile and easy to use. Whether you’re looking for a more futuristic exercise tool or to immerse yourself in VR content, you can’t go wrong with this, especially with its retail price of RM1,899. The deal gets even sweeter when you consider the fact that they often throw some freebies along, like free games, to go with it.
At the end of our PICO 4 review, we award this all-in-one VR headset with our Silver Pokdeward.

Big thanks to PICO Malaysia for sending us this VR headset for the purpose of this review.
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Take your education experience to the next level with JOI

With the wealth of data at our fingertips nowadays, we can learn from a lot more from the internet than books. JOI caters to a wide variety of demographics, from gamers to the mobile warrior. Today, let’s take a look at some of their more niche products powered by Intel® processors.
JOI Smartboard

What better way to convey an idea than to show it on a screen that’s 85″ big? The JOI Smartboard is available in sizes ranging from 65″ to 85″. Develop, present and share content in real-time with 20-points touch sensitivity, opening up new ways to collaborate and interact. Powered by an Intel® Core™ i7 7700, there is more than enough grunt for you to unleash your imagination. Speaking of imagination, the 4K UHD LED display will ensure that the JOI Smartboard is as vibrant as your ideas.

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The JOI Smartboard is priced from RM8899.
JOI Desktop
When it comes to getting work done, a regular desktop is still the preferred setup. Featuring an Intel® Core™ i5 8400 processor and GeForce GTX™ 1050 Ti graphics card, the JOI BOX is ready for work and play. Content creation, gaming or just browsing the web, the JOI BOXes will handle it all with aplomb.

The JOI BOX is available in two variants, the JOI BOX 300 and the JOI BOX 500. Prices start from RM1599.
Intel NUC

Intel® Next Unit of Computing (NUC) can truly live up to their name. Fitting right into your palm, the Intel® NUCs offer the 8th Generation Intel® Core™ processors with up to eight processing threads for great performance without the associated footprint. In addition to being compact, the Intel® NUCs powered by the latest Intel® Core™-U processors are also much more efficient, lowering your electricity bill without affecting your user experience.

The Intel® NUCs are priced from RM1230.
JOI is currently running a promotion, where every purchase of the systems mentioned here will net you a free gift. For any Core™ i3-powered systems, you will be getting a diary book and a pen, while Core™ i5 systems will be eligible for a complimentary umbrella. The promotion is valid from now until 30th June 2019. For more information about this promotion, do check out this link.
Pokdepinion: I think our #PokdeLIVE can be upgraded with a JOI Smartboard…
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Cheaper iPhone may be better than the iPhone X — LCD technology allows for an even more attractive design

The iPhone X used an OLED display from Samsung, which allowed them to create the slim bezels on every edge. Not slim enough though. The upcoming iPhone 9 which will come with a more affordable LCD display may actually have an advantage over the iPhone X. Slimmer bezels.
The iPhone X features a glorious OLED display
According to 9to5Mac, the upcoming iPhone 9 is expected to come with a notch still, but the bezels will be down to 0.5mm, half that of the iPhone X’s. This is thanks to a technology called “Full Active LCD” with Japan Pixels’ “Japan Pixel Eyes” touch sensor. However production issues may push the larger 6.1″ iPhone’s launch date to around November.
Being the more affordable model, smaller bezels are really nice to have. Especially when it is also going to feature the largest display ever in an iPhone. Will you be getting one when it arrives?

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Pokdepinion: I did notice the rather substantial bezels of the iPhone X. Maybe the new iPhone might tickle my fancy? Especially since it will be more affordable…
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Guide to Faster internet for SOHO units by using Extenders; Cheaper and Faster!

If you’re living in a Small Office/Home Office (SOHO), apartment, condominium or any high-rise building, there’s actually a huge advantage that you have up your sleeves that gives you access to faster internet without paying the extra. This can be achieved by sharing the internet between two units and opting for a higher package. Today we will teach you how to do this and the difference that you could get by doing so. There are two methods to achieve this; either using an additional Access Point in which you would need to extend a LAN cable or using Wireless Extender to extend Wi-Fi to Wi-Fi connectivity. The former is of course much preferred but we will run through BOTH methods.
I’m keeping most of the settings as default to keep this guide as layman as possible to serve the non-technical followers. I will also try to refrain from using too much technical terms and explain them where necessary. If you need technical assistance, please discuss it in the comments section so we can elaborate accordingly and not confuse the non-technical readers – for whom this guide is tailored.
What You Need
A good internet setup requires excellent hardware and while you are free to choose your hardware, we are going to use some top-notch networking devices for this:

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ASUS RT-AC5400 as our base router
ASUS RP-AC68U as our Access Point / Repeater

If you are expert in buying, you should be able to get BOTH of these under RM3,300. These hardware will be able to serve you even when our local internet reaches 1Gbps so it’s future ready. Apart from that, I chose the RP-AC68U extender because it will work for BOTH setups that we are achieving and honestly, it looks sexy!
ROG Rapture GT-AC5300 (left) vs RT-AC5300 (right) – in case you have extra budget for the ROG one :P
ASUS RP-AC68U Dual-band Wireless-AC1900 with no-antenna design
Next, you need an upgraded internet package. In my case, my unit uses Time Fibre and I’ll be simulating a huge difference between 10Mbps and 100Mbps on the same network. For your case, if you’re using Time Fibre Home, you have options for 100Mbps that costs you RM149/mo, 300Mbps that costs you RM189/mo and whopping 500Mbps that costs you RM299/mo.
Assuming you are using 100Mbps package, upgrading to 500Mbps and splitting the bill between both units, you will literally still be paying the same amount, but multiplying your speeds up to 5 times! If you want to try 300Mbps first and settle with even lesser monthly bill, that’s entirely your choice.
100Mbps (left) vs 500Mbps (right). Both of these are FTTH packages, dedicated for your home.
Now, you can choose which method you would like to go with and select the tab accordingly. If you use the Access point method, you will need to extend a LAN cable to your neighbour’s unit which can be tedious, but since we’re talking about SOHO, it should cause less mess. If you use the Wireless Extender method, you will not need any wires, but the unit that will be housing the extender will have a very minimal ping difference – which can also be omitted still.
Regardless of the setup you choose, your base router will still have be configured normally (PPPoE in our network type) and you will need DHCP capabilities which your router should already have by default. In any case, I will guide you quickly in setting up your base router. You would need to access your router’s admin panel. For the ASUS RT-AC5300, you can access this via http://router.asus.com
Head over to the “WAN” page and set the network type to PPPoE and insert your username and password that was provided to you.
Click to view full size image

If you’re using the RT-AC5300, you have an option to enable 5GHz Smart Connect feature that will combine BOTH 5GHz using the same SSID and function as a load balanced band. This means, without you realizing, devices connected to the 5GHz band could be either connected to the first band or second band depending on the load on either one. You can also define the Smart Connect rules accordingly based on the bandwidth utilization, Physical Rate (PHY), Steering Trigger Policies (STA selection), and Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) strength. This is a very interesting option that the RT-AC5300 has, but it’s entirely up to you if you want to enable it as it might slightly affect the connectivity of the extender if you’re using Wireless Extender method. If you’re using the Access Point method, go ahead, enable it and play around with the tweaks. You can enable this from “Wireless” page and selecting the 5GHz band, then enable the Smart Connect option.

Then head to “Network Tools” -> “Smart Connect Rule” to access the plethora of settings available to you to tweak this.

If this looks to technical to you, just disable the Smart Connect feature and setup two separate SSIDs for both 5GHz bands so you can identify which band you would want to connect to. However, the load balancing will not be managed and you will have to manually switch between different SSIDs.
Another important thing you need to consider is the physical port that you will be connecting to. Depending on your ISP, specific ports will be reserved for IPTV and connecting to these ports will result in no internet connection. You may want to identify this and avoid connecting your extender to this port. To do this, go to the “LAN” page -> “IPTV” tab.

For example, if you’re using Maxis-Fiber, the LAN3 will be dedicated to IPTV and when you plug your extender to it, your extended internet will just not work (because the dedicated port will be assigned respective VID and have a totally different IP outside the DHCP table). With that, you’re pretty much good to go.
It’s best that you reset the extender before beginning with this guide. Turn on the RP-AC68U and hit the reset button for 10 seconds. It will revert to default altogether. If you can’t find the reset button, that’s because it’s located at the bottom of the device ;)
Now…

Access PointWireless Extender
Access Point Method
So you pick the Access Point (AP) method. In all honesty, this method is tedious in which you need to lay out an RJ45 cable. Chances are, you might have to head down to the IT store to get a long cable. If you are, get a proper one. Tell the shop that you need a CAT.6 LAN cable with 60°C 30V rating and has a 26awg composition. You can opt for a CAT.5E but since you might be hacking this cable through walls, you might want to consider future fool proof as the CAT.6 can handle higher throughput than the CAT.5E. What is important is to get 26awg at least or lower (23awg will be better if you could find it). 32awg would be too fragile to be used as a patch cable and I highly don't recommend it.
Setup Acess Point
Step 1: Connect the Extender to the Notebook
No, really, only the extender and the notebook. Don't connect the extender to the router or anything else just yet, only the notebook. There's an explanation to this too. While the RP-AC68U is configured to retain the IP Address 192.168.1.120 which is also the forwarded by the URL extender.asus.com that is provided to you. But to actually access the router's admin panel, you would want to use the IP Address at 192.168.1.1 which will be the same as your base router and instead of accessing the extender, you would be accessing the router - which is not what we want to do here.

Step 2: Setup the IPv4 static address
We will need to setup a strict route to the extender by setting up a static IPv4 communication with the extender. Here's how it's done. Go to Control Panel -> Network and Sharing Centre, then select the "Change Adapter Settings" on the sidebar.

Now select your "LAN" connection, right click it and select "Properties"

Now you can either double click the "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)" or select it once and hit the "Properties" button below. You will be presented with another pop-up. Set the radio button to "Use the following IP address" and you will be able to fill in the details accordingly.

Just follow the numbers above. This is temporary and we will need to set it back to automatic later on. Remember how you got here ;) So, what are we actually doing here? We are setting the intranet IP of our laptop as 192.168.1.69 using the standard subnet and telling it that our gateway will be accessible at 192.168.1.1. Because we want our DNS to be also directed to the extender, we will use the same address as the gateway for the DNS. You don't really need a secondary DNS address for this.
Step 3: Accessing the extender's admin panel
You should be able to access the extender's admin panel using http://192.168.1.1 on the laptop that you are using to configure the extender. Type that in browser and you will be presented with the following screen, to which you would want to hit "Start"

Step 4: Setup extender as AP mode
This step is important. By default, the RP-68U is configured to run as a wireless extender, but we want to utilize its Access Point capabilities. Hit the menu button at the top left and select "Access Point".

Step 5: Setup SSID for Extender
Now, you will need to setup the SSID fo the extender. You don't have to use the same SSID as the base router, in fact, since the goal is to setup extender in a different apartment unit, it's recommended to use your own preferred SSID. Here's an example of how I setup ours.

Once you hit Apply, you're pretty much done here with the setup. You may need to wait for a minute or two for the Access Point to reinitialize, before your new SSIDs become visible on your device.

Step 6: Unplug your notebook and plug the extender to the router
Now you may unplug the extender from your laptop and hook the LAN cable between the extender and the router. Because we have DHCP enabled already, there is no further configuration required on the router or extender anymore.

Now remember to set back your IPv4 settings in Step 2 to "Automatic" and your Access Point is all set to run.
You can also plug in 5 computers to the LAN port of the Extender to use have cable connectivity in your house. Just hook up the cable and you will be all good to go.

Speed Test
See, I'm not here to make up empty promises for you. Surely, if I let my network idle and run a speed test on a 100Mbps speed, I would get eye popping results even on extender. It's fibre internet and we don't need that. So, to spice things up, I left our users use the network as it is and let them hog the bandwidth with their usual routine. That said, on the base router, I have 17 clients connected, and our extender is highlighted in the screenshot below.

This is quite a loaded router as you can see. So to get as accurate results as possible, I ran the speed test at least 5 times each and took the lowest results of them all. Not the highest, not middle, the lowest speed captured. We had a couple of torrents running, browsing, gaming, and various activities happening simultaneously while the test was conducted. Check out the results.
Base Router Speedtest

With all the network hogging, I still managed to get half of the speed from the 100Mbps Time Fibre internet. So if you had upgraded to 500Mbps, you know what that means.
Access Point Speedtest

While the main router is being hogged, the Access Point still got very similar speeds to the base router. A couple of mbps is totally negligible when you have so much speed up your sleeves.

Wireless Extender
So, you decided to go with the Wireless Extender method because you don't want to have an ugly wire lying around? Fret not! This guide is definitely for you. Even better news? Setting up the Wireless Extender is way much easier too! Now, I hope you have reset the extender like I asked you to do earlier before beginning this guide. Let's begin.
Setup Wireless Extender
Step 1: Power up the Wireless Extender and Connect to the temporary Wi-Fi SSID
I'm pretty sure you have already fired up the wireless extender. Give it a few minutes to stabilise, then use your laptop to connect to its temporary Wi-Fi SSID.

It's quite obvious which network you need to connect to. If you have a 5GHz capable device, you will see two network SSID, in which, it's recommended to connect to the 5GHz one. You will be given a warning that there is no internet, in which you should not panic because that's kinda obvious, we have not yet setup the internet.
Step 2: Visit the Wireless Extender's admin portal
For the RP-68U, you can access this by visiting http://repeater.asus.com on your laptop that is now connected to the temporary SSID. This will show you the login page and redirect you to connect to your preferred SSID.

Select the SSID of your base router. Of course, it's recommended that you connect to the 5GHz network, but if you feel like the signal to your unit it not too strong, feelf ree to connect to the 2.4GHz. Once you do this, the router will prompt if you want to connect to another network, to which you should just click skip.

Step 3: Setup the SSID of the extender and connect to it
You will be prompted to enter the SSID of the extender. Feel free to setup something that is different from the base router and is unique to you.

Once you hit Apply, you're pretty much done here with the setup. You may need to wait for a minute or two for the Access Point to reinitialize, before your new SSIDs become visible on your device.

That's it! Your wireless extender is all setup and ready to deliver you high speed internet shared with your neighbour!
Speed Test
See, I'm not here to make up empty promises for you. Surely, if I let my network idle and run a speed test on a 100Mbps speed, I would get eye popping results even on extender. It's fibre internet and we don't need that. So, to spice things up, I left our users use the network as it is and let them hog the bandwidth with their usual routine. That said, on the base router, I have 17 clients connected, and our extender is highlighted in the screenshot below.

This is quite a loaded router as you can see. So to get as accurate results as possible, I ran the speed test at least 5 times each and took the lowest results of them all. Not the highest, not middle, the lowest speed captured. We had a couple of torrents running, browsing, gaming, and various activities happening simultaneously while the test was conducted. Check out the results.
Base Router Speedtest

With all the network hogging, I still managed to get half of the speed from the 100Mbps Time Fibre internet. So if you had upgraded to 500Mbps, you know what that means.
Access Point Speedtest

While the main router is being hogged, the Wireless Extender still got very similar speeds to the base router. A couple of mbps is totally negligible when you have so much speed up your sleeves.

So it seems like the speed on Access Point mode and the Wireless Extender is very similar. Then why did I recommend the Access Point method? That’s because, using the wireless extender will result in an inconsistent ping which is not something you would like if you need ping intensive tasks done on the extender, for example gaming. More often than not, the ping will spike for a while before returning back to it’s normal speed which is a matter of life and death in a game.
Conclusion
There we go. Today we have learnt how to extend our internet between two SOHO units and using a much faster internet, get higher speeds without burning our pockets. The experience is definitely remarkable. Additionally, you can always use this guide to extend the internet on the top floor of your house if you do not get good network coverage on the first (or second) floor. Just follow the steps for either methods and you will be good to go.
If you have any questions, please feel free to drop them in the comments below and I’ll be more than happy to answer them accordingly :)
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[TGS 2018] Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Confirmed

We have official confirmation that Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered is happening for real, and a trailer for the game has surfaced at TGS 2018.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Confirmed at TGS 2018

At TGS 2018, the folks over at Square Enix has confirmed that Final Fantasy Chronicles Remastered is happening for real and will be coming to the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. They’ve even dropped a brand new trailer at TGS 2018.
For those of you who didn’t know, the original game was a critically-acclaimed Nintendo Gamecube-exclusive action RPG that can be played with up to 4 players (as the Gamecube has 4 controller ports). It is one of the best games you can get for the Gamecube and anyone who didn’t own one missed the chance to play this classic…until now.

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Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered will include 4-player online multiplayer, new areas in dungeons to explore, and a few more additional content. There may be more to be revealed as the release date draws near. Be sure to check out the trailer at the top of this post.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered will be coming to the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch sometime in 2019. We will be reporting on the release date, and if it gets announced for other platforms, as soon as information becomes available.
Pokdepinion: I had fond memories of playing this when I went over to my friend’s place after school. I hope it pops up on Steam one day, because multiplayer is really fun and PC would be easier for me to find friends to play with.
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SOCAR encourages you to go YOLO — take one-way trips to the airport and win free YOLO trips!

SOCAR’s just kicked off their latest campaign, the YOLO Pass, and introduced the One-way Airport Drive to enable travelers to get to the airport easily. The YOLO Pass is somewhat like a lucky draw, with SOCAR sponsoring an YOLO trip for the lucky winner.

For those interested in the One-way Airport Drive, all you need to do is to select your car and drive it to either KLIA or KLIA2. With choices ranging from compact vehicles such as the Mini Cooper, all the way up to MPVs like the Perodua Alza, SOCAR aims to satisfy solo commuters or families on their trips to the airport.

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All you have to pay is RM50 in addition to the rental fee of your vehicle of choice, and you can make your way to the airport. Using SOCAR even facilitates stopping halfway to get emergency supplies, because you are the driver.

The YOLO Pass comes with a twist: you do not know where you will be going. You will be notified one week before the trip, but the destination is a surprise. All you have to do to participate is to have made a single reservation with SOCAR. Winners will receive the notification on the first Friday of the month, so do check your email or SOCAR app for the notification, just in case you are the chosen one to embark on a YOLO trip!
Pokdepinion: Another option to get to the airport more comfortably without paying through your nose!
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Here’s a chance to win a super limited edition GeForce RTX 2080 Ti

Want a GeForce RTX 2080 Ti? Well, NVIDIA is giving you the chance to win one. They have partnered up with CD PROJEKT RED to release the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Cyberpunk 2077 Edition, complete with Cyberpunk’s signature yellow styling and graphics.

To win one, all you need to do is this:

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Head to GeForce’s Twitter, Instagram or Facebook pages, and retweet, like or comment on our #RTXOn sweepstakes posts
Reply to the post you chose by following the prompt and saying something positive about a fellow gamer, tag them, and include #RTXOn in your reply
Be on the lookout for additional similar posts.  Enter the same way, and as often as you like.

There will be only 200 GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Cyberpunk 2077 Edition cards made, and 77 will be up for giveaways. Good luck!
Pokdepinion: The color scheme has me drooling!
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PS4 Console Shipment Reaches New High; A Drop in Income but Increase in Revenue

The PS4 console sales have been going solid in the past, and it looks like the momentum is continuing for the first quarter of Sony’s fiscal year 2017.

PS4 Console Sales Reaches New High

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In a press release, Sony Corporation disclosed their financial results for the 1st quarter of fiscal year 2017, which is the period between April 1st and June 30th, 2017. Sony has also given an update on PS4 shipments.
You can check the figures out in the table below, with income firmly in the black. Notably, all revenue and income figures for the whole company show a very substantial increase year-on-year.
The accompanying press release included detailed information on the whole company’s performance during the quarter.
“Sales and operating revenue (“Sales”) increased by 15.2% compared to the same quarter of the previous fiscal year (“year-on-year”) to 1,858.1 billion yen. This significant increase was primarily due to increases in Financial Services and Semiconductors segment sales. On a constant currency basis, sales increased 14%. For further details about the impact of foreign exchange rate fluctuations on sales and operating income (loss).
Operating income increased 101.4 billion yen year-on-year to 157.6 billion yen. This significant increase was mainly due to the improvements of operating results in the Semiconductors and Imaging Products & Solutions (“IP&S”) segments, partially offset by a decrease in operating income in the Game & Network Services (“G&NS”) segment.
Operating income in the current quarter included a 27.5 billion yen gain recorded in the Semiconductors segment resulting from the sale of the entire equity interest in Sony Electronics Huanan Co., Ltd. (“SEH”), a manufacturingsubsidiary in the camera module business. Additionally, 6.7 billion yen and 2.6 billion yen in insurance recoveries, mainly for opportunity losses related to the earthquakes in the Kumamoto region in 2016 (“the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes”), were recorded in the Semiconductors and the IP&S segments, respectively.
Operating income in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year included a 20.3 billion yen impairment charge against long-lived assets resulting from the termination of development and manufacturing of certain high-functionality camera modules for external sale, as well as net charges of 13.6 billion yen in expenses resulting from the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes, both in the Semiconductors segment. During the current quarter, restructuring charges, net, increased 0.7 billion yen year-on-year to 2.4 billion yen. This amount is recorded as an operating expense and is included in operating income.”
More importantly, we get an update on the PS4 console shipments. Sony Interactive Entertainment shipped 3.3 million units during the latest quarter (which is a slight drop year-on-year, from 3.5 million in the same quarter of the past fiscal year). This means that the total of shipped PS4 console by June 30th, 2017 is 63.3 million.
It’s worth mentioning that these are sell-in numbers to retailers. According to Dualshockers, the latest sell-through numbers were at 60.4 million units sold to consumers before E3 2017.

Revenue increased due to higher PS4 software sales, including digital ones, added to contribution from PlayStation VR (which had sold 1 million units by the beginning of June), partly offset by the semi-recent price cut for the console. Income decreased significantly due to the lack of any highly profitable first party game launched during the quarter.
To be more specific, during the same fiscal quarter in 2016, Sony released Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, and the absence of a killer game this time around determined the drop in revenue.

“Sales increased 5.4% year-on-year (a 4% increase on a constant currency basis) to 348.1 billion yen. This increase was primarily due to an increase in PlayStation 4 (“PS4”) software sales including sales through the network, as well as the contribution of PlayStation VR, partially offset by the impact of a price reduction for PS4 hardware which took place in September 2016.
Operating income decreased 26.3 billion yen year-on-year to 17.7 billion yen. This significant decrease was primarily due to the absence of the significant contribution of a highly profitable first-party software title released in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year, as well as the above-mentioned impact of a price reduction for PS4 hardware. During the current quarter, there was a 2.4 billion yen negative impact from foreign exchange rate fluctuations.”
Last, but not least, the press release includes the forecast for the current fiscal year, ending on March 31st, 2018, for Sony Corporation as a whole and split by segment. Sony Interactive Entertainment predicts to ship 18 million units, which means that the company expects lifetime PS4 shipments to reach 78 million by the end of March.

While this remains unchanged from the previous forecast, Sony revised its prediction for the Game & Network segment for the full fiscal year upwards by 4.8% in sales and 10 billion yen in income, but this is mostly due to positive impact of foreign exchange rates.

Pokdepinion: While 78 million units isn’t far from where Sony is at right now, it’s a bit tough to see PS4 consoles being sold/shipped to that amount by March of next year. Only time will tell.
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HUAWEI Developer Day Malaysia 2021 Brings New Intelligent Capabilities To Its System

In collaboration with Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU), CyberSecurity Malaysia, TusStar, SYOK, and Doc2Us, more than 300 local app developers gathered digitally for the HUAWEI Developer Day Malaysia 2021.
HUAWEI Developer Day Malaysia 2021

HUAWEI unveiled comprehensive updates to its existing capabilities, development tools, and developer incentives, as well as best practices from chosen content providers, during the two-day virtual livestream HUAWEI Developer Day Malaysia 2021 event. The HMS (HUAWEI Mobile Services) Ecosystem upgrade was also presented, which includes brand-new open capabilities in HMS Core 6.0, which is supported by HarmonyOS2, as well as a feature of the HUAWEI Certified Developer Program.

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According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), 98.6% of Malaysians now have access to and are active users of mobile phones. HUAWEI wants to empower and equip app developers so they can take advantage of the country’s growing pool of opportunities. This can’t be done alone, thus HUAWEI cultivates strong relationships with local partners, such as getting certification from CyberSecurity Malaysia for the HUAWEI AppGallery is a secure application distribution platform.

HUAWEI revealed its brand-new HMS Core 6.0 during the HUAWEI Developer Day Malaysia 2021 event, which includes capabilities in seven (7) domains: App Services, Graphics, AI, Media, System, Security, and Smart Device. The HMS Core 6.0 fully open kits and development tools now contain the following enhancements:

3D Modelling Kit to perform high-precision object modelling, equipped with one-click material generation. All it takes is an RGB camera to capture various angles of an object, resulting in an automatic generation of a 3D model with the object’s texture.
AV Pipeline Kit to simplify audio and video development for improved development efficiency. The kit provides a lightweight development framework and high-performance processing plug-ins such as video super-resolution and sound event detection.
Audio Editor Kit to provide convenient audio processing capabilities paired with enhanced music effects. Developers are furnished with multi-track audio processing experience, AI-based audio capabilities and live-stream processing improvements.
Video Editor Kit to quicken video editing capabilities by introducing features such as multiple format HD video importing and exporting, smooth multiple track video editing along with a wide range of media resources.
5G Modem Kit to bolster apps with cutting-edge 5G communications ability through exclusive 5G cell information services for versatile parameters and accurate measurements.

HarmonyOS2 was also introduced during the HUAWEI Developer Day Malaysia 2021 event, bringing a comprehensive upgrade to its existing distributed capabilities, including software bus, data management, and security.
HarmonyOS2 will become open-source with the latest upgrade, and developers will have access to emulators, SDK packages, and IDE tools. The new and improved HarmonyOS2 will provide users with the ultimate experience through increased personalization, refined displays, seamless connectivity, enhanced security, and much more.

HUAWEI introduced the HUAWEI Certified Developer Program, a platform where developers can cooperate and tap into HUAWEI’s “1+8+N” ecosystem, in keeping with the company’s ambition of creating a fully connected, intelligent world.
This year, as part of the Certified Developer Program, HUAWEI stated during the HUAWEI Developer Day Malaysia 2021 event that developers will be eligible to win attractive prizes based on a range of criteria including app downloads, app ratings via the HUAWEI AppGallery, and more.
Winners will receive an HMS Promotion Fund of up to RM400,000, HUAWEI Cloud Coupons worth up to RM400,000, and cash awards of up to RM40,000 each if they meet key programme goals. For more information on how to participate, programme requirements and award levels, please visit here.
Pokdepinion: HUAWEI Developer Day Malaysia 2021 sounds pretty eventful with many interesting technologies and initiatives introduced by HUAWEI.
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Batman Arkham Collection For Nintendo Seemingly Leaked By Retailer

Looks like Batman Arkham Collection might be making its way to the Nintendo Switch, at least according to French retailer WTT. The Batman Arkham Collection consists of three Batman Arkham games; Arkham Asylum, Arkham Knight and Arkham Knight and were originally developed by Rocksteady Studios.
Batman Arkham Collection coming to Nintendo Switch?

The listing states that the collection has a placeholder date of 31st August 2022 and will retail for €59.99 (RM287.44). The original listing has since been removed from the retailer’s website. It is important to note that WTT has previously listed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt before its official announcement for the Nintendo Switch which might mean that a Switch port of Batman Arkham Collection might indeed be on the horizon. Despite this, this should be taken with a pinch of salt.

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Original WTT listing. Image credit: VGC
If this listing is true, this would only be the second time an Arkham game would make an appearance on a Nintendo system as Arkham City was the last and only game in the series to do so. The game was released back in 2011 on the Wii U.
Source
Pokdepinion: Time for me to replay the Arkham games (yes, even Arkham Origins cos that game is tight).
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Meet HP Spectre 13 – The World’s Thinnest Touch Laptop!

HP Malaysia has unveil their newest laptop to our shores, the HP Spectre 13, which is the world’s smallest touch laptop.
HP Spectre 13
Despite its size, the HP Spectre 13 comes with a FHD display and is powered by 8th Generation Intel Core processor, assuring performance isn’t abandoned. Featuring more angular designs, it is built from CNC aluminum and carbon fiber and comes in two color variants, Ceramic White with Pale Gold polished accents and Dark Ash Silver with Copper polished accents. Complimenting it thin size built, it features a micro-edge bezels with Corning Gorilla Glass NBT displays.

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Productivity wise, expect fast performance with the latest 8th Generation Intel Core i5 and i7 processors. With up to 512GB PCIe SSD, you can store content with ease. Additionally, it features 8GB LPDDR3 for your multi-tasking workload. Featuring HP Fast Charge technology, you can get from 0% battery to 50% in just 30 minutes. A fully charge battery can last you 11.5 hours.
To give consumers a ‘Sensory’ experience, the speakers of the laptop are placed above the full-size-edge-to-edge backlit keyboard for a clearer and crisp sound as well as a comfortable typing experience.
The HP Spectre 13 is now available for purchase in Malaysia and comes at a price of RM5899. For more information on HP products, you can checkout their official website right by clicking here.
Pokdepinion: For me, the HP Spectre 13 really does look sleek, especially for the Dark Ash Silver color variant. I mean seriously, it looks cool.
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ROG Strix GL12CX announced — get the latest gaming hardware in a sexy Aura Sync-capable chassis!

There are people who love to build their own rigs, and there are those who aren’t interested in the hassle to build a rig themselves. The newly announced ROG Strix GL12CX probably targets the latter demographic, cramming all the latest gaming hardware into a chassis that features Aura Sync lighting inside out.
The ROG Strix GL12CX is offered in configurations with the latest Core i9 9900K and GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, to support the latest AAA titles. If you really want to go all out, you can also pair it with the ROG Swift PG27UQ which the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti will have no problem handling.

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Of course, being a member of the ROG family means that the Core i9 9900K won’t go to waste. ASUS offers factory overclocking for a sustained 4.9 GHz on all cores, enabled by the impressive custom liquid cooling setup from Cooler Master. For configurations with the Core i9 9700K, ASUS has clocked the processor to an even higher 5.0 GHz out of the factory.
The ROG Strix GL12CX’s sharp aesthetics are enhanced by the Aura Sync lighting which works with ASUS’ Aura Sync ecosystem consisting of peripherals and even monitors. With official support for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, the ROG Strix GL12CX will shine with its impressive lighting.

It is upgradeable like any desktop, with an innovative ASUS DIMM.2 slot which supports two M.2 PCIe connections for fast storage. The DIMM.2 slots feature heatsinks too, to allow you to extract maximum performance from your PCIe storage. Of course, they can also be used with Intel Optane memory to accelerate HDD storage.
The ROG Strix GL12CX also comes with your standard array of ports. There are a total of six USB ports, five audio jacks and a 802.11ac Wave 2 WiFi and Bluetooth 5.0. That’s just the back. Over at the front you will find a hot-swap SSD bay, 2-in-1 card reader, two USB 3.0 ports and two USB 2.0 ports.
Availability is expected to start sometime in December, but you can pre-order your ROG Strix GL12CX at selected ROG stores now. Pricing depends on the configuration you pick.
Pokdepinion: The ROG Strix GL12CX is an impressive rig, with integrated Aura Sync lighting. However I find it hard to justify paying premiums for pre-built rigs. But then again, I am using a 4-year old PC. Who am I to judge?
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Razer acquires Nextbit, gaming smartphones incoming?

Razer has already teased us with the Razer Naga phone update back in 2013 on the 1st of April, is this their actual move towards a call-capable peripheral? Jokes aside, this opens up the path for some cool gaming smartphones or tablets, a niche several manufacturers have shown interest in, chiefly being Acer who entered the market with their edgy Acer Predator 8 tablet.
With that said, Nextbit claims that it will operate as an independent division inside Razer, focused on unique mobile design and experiences. With that said, smartphones and tablets designed for gaming are definitely going to be quite unique…but let’s not hold our breaths, yes?
While they have stopped sales of their Nextbit Robin which placed a new focus on cloud storage as well as its accessories, Nextbit will also honor warranties for 6 more months, with software updates and security patches offered through February 2018, some solace for current Robin users.

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What do you think of this acquisition? Are you looking forward to more from Nextbit and their cloud storage concept, or do you want some Razer gaming smartphones and tablets?

Pokdepinion: This looks like a good step for Razer. Razer has already expanded into the gaming laptop market with some success, and expanding into the growing mobile gaming market is a no-brainer at the moment. Perhaps Razer might even merge Razer Synapse with Nextbit’s cloud service for some kind cross-platform syncing of gaming?
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Get the OPPO R9s at only RM189 with Digi Postpaid; Now, It’s Affordable

The OPPO R9s is a commendable smartphone, and with the latest Digi Postpaid plan, you can get it for just RM189, instead of the standard price of RM1828! The offer is available for existing and new Digi customers, and is available on Digi’s official website and also Digi Stores nationwide.
All you have to do is to be a Digi subscriber for a year or more and you can purchase the OPPO R9s at just RM189 with the Digi Postpaid 138 plan. New Digi users who have been with Digi less than a year will be charged RM1290 as an upfront payment fee, which will be refunded over 24 months.
Act quick too, as the first 200 online subscribers will be getting a free selfie stick (worth RM48). The Digi Postpaid 138  plan comes with unlimited calls and a total of 24GB of data, with half of it for weekdays and the other half for weekends.

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If you are still hesitating on getting the OPPO R9s, check out its speed and camera features and last but not least, its really nifty fingerprint sensor that is not only fast, but also feature-rich.
Pokdepinion: This looks like a great deal, especially if you need the data and free calls that come with the Digi Postpaid 138 plan. For just RM189, you get a smartphone which has an impressive camera, efficient chipset and also a pretty design. Now, that’s hard to beat.
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