Common Gamer Excuses (For Playing Badly); You Know a Friend Like This?

We’ve seen plenty of gamers giving weird, and sometimes downright silly excuses for playing badly. But we noticed a trend to them. Do these gamer excuses seem familiar to you?
Common Gamer Excuses (For Playing Badly)
Gamers are a proud species of highly functional beings. They highly value achievements and trophies, so much so that they have a caste system based on how many they acquired.  Those with more platinums, more achievements are looked upon as gods among men while others are lesser beings. One peculiar characteristic that most of them share is that they have a ‘carry’ mentality (look up DotA 2).  Phrases such as, “Cover me noob!!” or “Let me handle mid” is always in their vocabulary.
Okay, slight exaggeration but let’s be honest, at some point in our lives whether we’re playing against friends on a sofa or against people online, there will be that inner gamer in you that thinks highly of your own ability dominate the rest, no matter whether you play MOBA games, play PvP in role playing games or first person shooters.  Gamers, If they win, losing was never an option.  If (A BIG IF) they lose, it is totally never their fault, ever. There are always some inventive and creative explanations.

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So let’s take a look at our top gamer excuses for playing badly.
1) The team is not good enough

The first in the top gamer excuses is what psychologists would refer this symptom to be ‘blame-deflection’. It is when one’s inner conscious inability to grasp the fact that it might actually be they themselves that are the problem. This can be seen in most online multiplayer games such as Dota 2, Overwatch, Call of Duty, Counter-Strike and co.
It certainly looks foolish when teammates gets blamed when you venture into enemy territory alone and not knowing your surroundings. One death later, the cursing and excuse starts. This is even worse when your team doesn’t even know what you planned on doing. So don’t be a reckless player, be a team player. Let them know what you have in mind and ask them nicely. Unless it’s a Free for All match, always prioritize the team ahead of individuality.
They might perform badly for the team, but hey, everyone has their bad days. The blaming certainly doesn’t help either. None of your teammates would want to hear about they held you back throughout the whole match. Remember, there is no ‘I’ in team. Plus it’s not the best way to make friends online, unsurprisingly.
2) It was the lag

Probably one of the more common gamer excuses in this list. This excuse has been around for as long as online gaming had come to existence. Assuming that you have played online games for some time, you would know that lag does take effect even on the most stable of internet connections.
Sometimes it happens at the most critical of moments. It is just something that we have to deal with, like it or not. Therefore, the excuse is credible, as gamers have probably experienced lag at some point in their lives.
Instead of taking the blame in a team game when you mess up, you can blame the lag for causing you to miss the easiest of shots and no one would be the wiser.
As fun-ruining phenomena go, lag is a real killer, and unlike many of the entries on this list, it definitely does exist. Still, it’s probably best not to wheel this one out after every minor defeat. We wouldn’t want you to lose all credibility, now would we?
If your internet speed is under the kbps category, rest in peace, rest in peace.
3) You have no life

One of the gamer excuses that takes a shot at the opponent. I’m sure you’ve all heard the fabled “I have a life” excuse after you crush an adversary. The excuse generally comes from someone who brags about how they would own you before the game starts.
When they fail, they will drop the “I have a life” excuse on you, to try and not only redirect blame from themselves but also to minimize your sense of achievement that victory produces.
What could be worse than that? Making their opponents sound bad while escaping for playing badly.
The excuse can lead to some nasty conversations, where terms such as “no-life losers” is thrown at the player who won the match.
The funny thing with the people who use this excuse is that most of them are hypocrites. It’s important to remember, in the bizarre world of online gaming, that anybody more skilful than you should at all times be referred to as a “loser with no life” and anyone worse than you is a “noob”. See how it works there?
This excuse boils down to simply moving the goal posts – if you can’t beat someone playing competitively, at least you can feel good about your social life compared to theirs. It’s a normal and perfectly natural way to deal with the frustration of losing, but that doesn’t make it a valid excuse.
4) Not used to the control scheme

In PC first-person shooters (FPS) there are two groups of players. Those who use the “invert mouse” setting and those who don’t. Everyone has their preference, but when you invite a friend to play on your PC and laugh as they horribly fail in a FPS, they might retaliate with the excuse that they are not used to the mouse settings or speed.
Head on over to console to a game of football, followers of the game of the sport are divided to Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) or FIFA. If a person who plays the latter game was invited to play PES at a friend’s house, this excuse would normally show up.
While these two games are different in their own ways, the controls should not be an issue. In the current gen console PS4, you can customize the layout of your control scheme. So what’s wrong with taking a little time to change it? Your friend surely wouldn’t care at all in waiting as long as they can beat you with no excuses being brought up.
If you do use the excuse, be prepared to perform when your friend offers you the option to remap the controls to your liking.
5) ‘Hackers’, ‘Bugs’, ‘Glitches’

There’s no denying that they exist but most often than not gamers exaggerate that their opponents are hacking the game and it is unfair to them.  Every movement, every kills are deemed questionable.  Scrutinizing every kill cam, checking every replay, worst of all reporting any detail that highlights these “hackers”.  Their mantra is that “it is totally abnormal that others are better so they must be cheating.”
Bugs and glitches are also in the mix.  So not only they are saying that other people are screwing with them, the game itself is also taking part in this screw-fest.  Raging because the game is not responding when they press a button or even the inability to do something simple quickly such as reloading can lead to an “unfair” death.  Remember it is never their fault.
So, yup that’s it.  Not to say that these are the only gamer excuses, for gamers are a creative bunch with ideas that could dumbfound everyone but these are (sometimes) the things that makes gaming fun.  Which if you think about it properly, gave birth to trolls and the act of trolling.  Now that’s another list that we could write all day about.
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3 New Trailers for Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age; Showcasing Gameplay and Remastered OST

There are 3 brand new trailers for Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, and it looks promising.
After Final Fantasy XV, the next big game from Square Enix is a remastered version of Final Fantasy XII called Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age. Admittedly, it’s nowhere close to being my favourite among the Final Fantasy games.
It might be exciting news for all of you and I am personally open to give it another shot. We have a bunch of new trailers for the game here, and it’s something you might want to check out.

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3 New Trailers for Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age
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Today Square Enix released three new trailers of its upcoming Final Fantasy XII remaster Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age. The trailers showcase gameplay, and serve as music samples for three different tracks: Ashe’s Theme, Flash of Steel and The Archadian Empire.
You can check out the other 2 trailers just below here. You can also find a large batch of 1080p screenshots here, courtesy of DualShockers. The images, which are all in shiny 1080p, give a broad-spectrum view on all the major characters of the game. On top of that, we also get a look at the title’s iconic gameplay elements like license boards and gambit.
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Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age will be coming exclusively to the PlayStation 4 on July 11th in the United States and Europe, and on July 13th in Japan and Asia region.

Pokdepinion: As I’ve mentioned before, Final Fantasy XII is nowhere close to being my favourite Final Fantasy game. In fact, I didn’t like it at all. My main concern was on the combat system, which I felt was too slow. However, I wanna see if Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age has changed enough for me to want play the game until the end.
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Razer Huntsman Elite Opto-Mechanical Gaming Keyboard review — Razer’s fastest keyboard yet

Introduction

Gamers always desire more speed. Whether its a more responsive monitor, or a beefier graphics card, it’s always about speed. It goes without saying though that fractions of a second mean a lot more to a gamer as it could be the difference between a win or a loss. To that end, we have switches with earlier actuation points and less travel, and also optical switches. Razer combines both methods to get the Razer Opto-Mechanical switches, found in the Razer Huntsman keyboards. We have here the Razer Huntsman Elite, the higher end of the two Razer keyboards with the new switches.
Unboxing

The keyboard comes in a rather large box, which houses quite a few contents aside from the Razer Huntsman Elite itself. For starters, there are more stickers, including Razer Chroma labels that we haven’t gotten with any previous review samples from Razer. Cool stuff. Then there are the mandatory love letter from Min Liang Tan himself as well as a quick user guide.
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The Razer Huntsman Elite’s main difference from the standard Razer Huntsman is the included leatherette palm rest and the dedicated media controls up in the right corner of the keyboard. I really dig the control dial as it definitely makes controlling the volume more convenient. And the center of the dial is a mute button, just in case ;) The palm rest is plush, but it might take some getting used to coming from keyboards without palm rests.

The palm rest, which also features Razer Chroma illumination, connects to the keyboard via pogo pins in the center of the bottom edge of the keyboard. In a nice move, Razer also decided to add LEDs along the bottom edge of the keyboard. While those who use the palm rest may never see the LEDs here, it is a nice touch for those who decide to do away with the palm rest. In fact the side of the palm rest that meets the keyboard also features LEDs, which is somewhat of a surprise, since that edge will never ever be seen.

The LEDs run all around the keyboard, but here we can see the Razer Huntsman Elite doesn’t have an ergonomic tilt by default. Those who prefer a tilt will need to flip out the feet under the keyboard.

For some reason, the sticker seems to be stuck on the wrong way. However the sticker actually has a guiding notch, and apparently it is supposed to be oriented like this. Weird. The huge rubber feet aren’t nearly as weird, and you know what they say about keyboards with huge feet. They stay put on the table, that’s what.
Specifications

Body material
Aluminium top plate, plastic case

Keycap
Laser-etched ABS keycaps

USB report rate
1000 Hz

Switch type
Razer Opto-mechanical Switches

KRO
10KRO

Anti-ghosting
Yes

Microprocessor
N/A

Cable
Braided cable, non-detachable, requires two USB ports

Included accessories
User guide, love letter from Min-Liang Tan, Razer stickers

Razer’s latest opto-mechanical switches are rather cool. They feature a little stabilizer bar running across every switch, when most keyboards just have a stabilizer assembly for the long keys. Also, they come with purple sliders. Can’t say no to that.
User Experience

To fully power all the LEDs in this keyboard, you need TWO USB ports. Yep, this baby comes with two USB connectors, and one of it is dedicated to powering up the palm rest. With the more powerful USB 3.0 ports, I would expect a keyboard like this to be able to be powered off one, but nope, it definitely requires two, or your palm rest just won’t light up.

Now of course it goes without saying that Razer is at the top of their game with it comes to RGB illumination. The keyboard dazzles in all the all 16.8 million colors, and it’s not all just for show. It can even be used to notify you about in-game status like HP or mana levels via Razer Chroma’s extensive API. But for simpler users like yours truly, turning the volume dial up makes the LED ring there brighter, while lowering the volume dims it. Tapping on the mute key turns the ring red. That’s already plenty nifty to me.
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You can individually customize the lighting for each and every key on the keyboard. The RGB accents around the sides of the keyboards are also customizable. The keyboard itself houses 38 customization zones, while the palm rest is home to another 24. Ridiculous, I know. Not only are the RGB illumination options offered on the Razer Huntsman Elite ridiculous, the key remapping feature is pretty insane too. You can even remap the volume dial, changing the function it triggers when it scrolls up or scrolls down. If it tickles your fancy, you can even turn it into a mouse scroll.

Now onto the typing experience. If you like clicky switches, and you found the conventional Blue switches to be just a bit too stiff, this might be right up your alley. These keys are light, requiring just 45g of actuation force. By comparison, the standard Razer Green switches require 50g of actuation force. Not a whole lot less, but just enough for you to feel that these keys are lighter. Then there is the earlier actuation point and key travel. It doesn’t actually feel all that different in use though. The switches are pleasant to game and type on, but the keyboard could be better dampened for the asking price.
Conclusion

The new switches aren’t actually all that new if you ask the veterans in the keyboard industry. But judging it from my typing and gaming on it, this is definitely the smoothest clicky switch I have tried. If you are a fan of clicky switches, by all means, this is a good keyboard for you. Despite not enjoying the noise of it all, the keyboard is really enjoyable to use. I loved the Razer Chroma lighting, and the customizability of everything on this keyboard. Razer is asking for RM949 for this keyboard, which isn’t an amount I would be willing to part with. If you are a fan of clicky switches, and also a die-hard fan of RGBae, then there probably isn’t a better keyboard out there for you though.
Our thanks to Razer for providing the Razer Huntsman Elite for our review purposes!
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Physical Gran Turismo 7 Pre-Order for PS5 and PS4 Now Open

The physical Gran Turismo 7 pre-orders for both the PS5 and PS4 in Malaysia is now up. Here’s what you’ll be getting if you participate.
Gran Turismo 7 Pre-Order

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As many of you may know by now, Gran Turismo 7 will be launching on 4th March 2022 for both the PS5 and PS4. Physical pre-order for the game is now available in Malaysia, with some extras to go along with it.
If you pre-order Gran Turismo 7 for either PS5 and PS4, whether it’s the standard edition or the 25th Anniversary edition, you will be getting a special keychain themed after the game. Keep in mind that stocks for it are limited so it will be given on a first come, first serve basis.

Apart from that, you will also be getting:

100,000 CR (in-game credit)
Three-car pack, including:

MAZDA RX-VISION GT3 CONCEPT Stealth Model

Porsche 917 LIVING LEGEND ’14

Toyota Supra GT500 ’97 (Castrol TOM’S)

If you’re uncertain about the prices, we’ve listed it right here:

Gran Turismo 7 Standard Edition (PS5 / PS4) = RM299 / RM249
Gran Turismo 7 25th Anniversary Edition (PS5 / PS4) = RM379

Unsurprisingly, the 25th Anniversary Edition will come with some extras. This includes:

“Gran Turismo 7” PS5 Disc with PS4 Game Voucher
Exclusive SteelBook case
1,000,000 CR (in-game credit)
FIA Gran Turismo Championships World Series Model – Toyota GR Yaris with country-specific livery
30 manufacturer & partner PSN Avatars
The Music of Gran Turismo Official Soundtrack

If you’re interested to pre-order the game, you can do so by visiting Sony Centers and PlayStation Authorized Dealers nationwide. The game will be coming out on 7th March 2022, so you still have plenty of time.
If you’re not sure where is the nearest store you can pre-order the game, click right here.
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Pokdepinion: If you’re a big fan of the franchise, it will definitely be worth getting it early. I definitely want that keychain, so the temptation is very strong.
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MEDAC is Creating a New Ecommerce Platform to Compete Against Shopee, Lazada, and Alibaba

Kementerian Pembangunan Usahawan dan Koperasi akan bangunkan satu aplikasi penjualan dalam talian untuk kemudahan semua rakyat negara ini, yang akan menyaingi platform sedia ada seperti Lazada, Shopee dan Alibaba – Menterinya, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar pic.twitter.com/a6z81H8j8P
— BERNAMA Radio🇲🇾 (@bernamaradio) August 29, 2020

Online shopping has made a huge impact on people’s lives. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, ecommerce platforms have grown to a significant part of everyone’s lives. It looks like a new challenger is coming as MEDAC has announced that they are creating a new ecommerce platform to compete against the likes of Shopee, Lazada, and Alibaba.
MEDAC New Ecommerce Platform in Development for Malaysians
Picture credits: MEDAC
The name of the new ecommerce platform announced in development by MEDAC is “Online Market”. It is said to provide Malaysians with a more convenient shopping experience online. According to Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, he approached the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Corporation, the Cooperative Institute of Malaysia, as well as the Cooperative Commision of Malaysia for the best way to implement the new ecommerce platform.

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Interestingly, the Minister claims that once Online Market has been launched, Malaysians will be doing their online shopping there instead of on competing platforms. It was claimed that in Online Market, “consumers will no longer need to shop at Lazada, Shopee, or Alibaba due to their higher chargers.”
As for what benefits the Online Market ecommerce platform by MEDAC will have, it is still unknown at this point in time. In fact, no release date or window has been announced just yet. However, they are confident that it will one of the biggest online sales movements in Malaysia. We will be reporting more on this as soon as information becomes available so stay tuned.
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Pokdepinion: Having another ecommerce platform isn’t a bad thing but I do hope it can provide enough value for Malaysians to use. Otherwise, it’s just gonna be doomed from the start since we already have a few dead platforms by now.
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Digi Contributes RM620,000 To Nationwide COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts

Digi has donated RM620,000 to MERCY Malaysia to help with the ongoing COVID-19 Response and Recovery efforts around the country. It is part of a total RM1 million pledged to MERCY Malaysia as part of a two-year agreement formed since the outbreak began.
Digi donates RM620,000

This second tranche contribution will be used to acquire medical equipment and supplies for public hospitals, such as personal protective equipment (PPE) sets, respiratory and Intensive Care Unit-related equipment. It will also be used to facilitate door-to-door immunizations for people with disabilities, those living in rural and distant locations, and even the homeless.

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Philip Ling, Digi’s Head of Sustainability said the collaboration with MERCY Malaysia is part of an industry effort led by the Government-Linked Companies (GLC) and Government-Linked Investment Companies (GLIC) Disaster Response Network (GDRN) alliance to assist the Ministry of Health in combating COVID-19. The first tranche of RM250,000 was previously directed towards COVID-19 relief efforts in Sabah, with the goal of providing PPE and medical supplies for frontliners, as well as test kits to conduct swab testing on susceptible areas.
“Understanding the importance of connectivity during these times, Digi has also supported our health workers to stay connected by providing devices and mobile plans for contact tracing, virtual assessment and remote counselling with patients. Apart from this, we have continued to ensure the high availability of our network at essential sites like hospitals, quarantine centres, vaccination centres and residential areas,” said Mr Ling.
Visit the website here for more information on Digi’s Yellow Heart pledge.
Pokdepinion: Thank you for such an awesome contribution Digi!
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1 Million Prizes Up For Grabs for Celcom Xpax Prepaid Users

The folks over at Celcom is have announced that they are offering a total of 1 million prizes to their Xpax prepaid customers. This prize pool consists of gadgets like the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, digital currency, 11Street vouchers, free unlimited data, GSC movie tickets, and more.
From 14th February to 30th April 2019, both new and existing Xpax prepaid customers can try their luck with the Spin to Win contest via the Celcom Life App. The catch here is that you have to purchase a minimum of RM10 Xpax weekly or monthly internet plans. Customers who purchase the Xpax weekly internet plans at RM10 and RM19 will earn one chance to spin, whereas customers who purchase the Xpax Monthly internet plans at RM30, RM50 and RM79 will enjoy four spins.

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You will receive an SMS that will confirm your purchase of the respective Xpax internet plans as well as the number of spins you get. All the prizes from the Spin To Win contest will be credited and can be claimed via your account on the Celcom Life App.
This move was designed to help enrich the lives and experiences of Celcom Xpax customers. The Chief Product and Innovation Officer, Roy Ong, has mentioned that providing the best product innovation and experience are their top priorities. They want to complement their customers’ unique lifestyle by rewarding them with many types of digital inclusions.
For more details on the prizes or how to participate, click right here.
Pokdepinion: Well, I’m going to take the opportunity and see if I can get myself a new smartphone.
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PSVR2 Confirmed Not Compatible with Original PSVR Games

A recent official podcast has basically confirmed that the PSVR2 headset will not be compatible with original PSVR games, but there’s an explanation for it.
PSVR2 Will Not Work With PS4 / PSVR Games

Confirmed on Sony’s Official PlayStation Podcast: PSVR games are not compatible with PSVR2
(Around 29:10)https://t.co/4BBjwlwitR pic.twitter.com/Dx4AWj3QYg
— Nibel (@Nibellion) September 16, 2022

According to the details found on the Official PlayStation Podcast, VP of Platform Experience at Sony, Hideaki Nishino shared that PSVR games will not work with the PSVR2 headset.

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The reason is said to be that the PSVR2 is designed to deliver a “truly next-gen VR experience.” He also added on about the new headset coming with more advanced features such as all-new controllers with haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, eye tracking, and 3D audio.
With all of this, developing games for the PSVR2 would require a whole new approach compared to its predecessor, and it will allow developers to create world that feel more vivid and alive, making it more immersive than ever.

While there would always be a way to make it work with older games, porting over games isn’t exactly a simple process, especially considering that it’s a VR game. Some games are focused on the PlayStation Move wands, which are nothing like the controllers on the new headset. It would certainly be a time and cost-consume endeavour for sure.
For now, we can look forward to a bunch of new games for a whole new VR experience, including the likes of Horizon Call of the Mountain, Resident Evil 8 VR, Resident Evil 4 VR, No Man’s Sky VR, and more. We’re also expecting to see VR games of Star Wars and The Walking Dead as well. We will report more on this as soon as information becomes available so stay tuned.

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Pokdepinion: I foresee some games making their way to the new headset as an enhanced edition of sorts, but definitely not happening anytime soon.
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[IFA 2019] Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab Easily Turns Your Home Into a Smart Home

[IFA 2019] Lenovo Smart Tab Easily Turns Your Home Into a Smart Home

Aside from the consumer laptops, Lenovo has unveiled a line of new Android tablets with an emphasis on smart home innovation. The two new tablets are the Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab and the Lenovo Smart Tab M8.

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Both tablets are a portable entertainment and media machine but they also double as an immersive, hands-free smart home hubs. This is made possible via the Google Assistant Ambient Mode, making them a convenient device for smart home solutions. With the Ambient Mode, you can even turn the Yoga Smart Tab into a digital photo frame and more.

Along with the two new tablets, there is also the Lenovo Smart Display 7 with Google Assistant. It has been redesigned for a smaller footprint and can fit virtually anywhere in your home.
For a deeper look into all three devices, check it out right below here:
Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab

CPU/Chipset:
Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 (4 x Cortex-A53 @ 2 GHz, 4 x Cortex-A53 @ 1.45 GHz, 12nm FinFET)

GPU:
Adreno 505

RAM:
3GB / 4GB RAM

Display:
10.1″ FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS Display, TDDI Technology, 10-point Multitouch, 70% Colour Gamut, 320 nits

Storage:
32GB / 64GB (expandable via MicroSD)

Camera:
Main Camera(s)
8MP, AF
Front Camera
5MP Fixed-focus with 86° wide-angle

OS:
Android 9.0 Pie

Connectivity:
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz and 5GHz), Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
Bluetooth 4.2, A2DP, LE
USB-C 2.0

Audio:
2 x 2W Dual Powerful JBL Speakers
3 x Digital Microphones
3.5mm jack

SIM:
Micro-SIM

Battery:
7000 mAh

Dimensions:
242 x 166 x 8.5-24 mm, < 580g

Lenovo Smart Tab M8

CPU/Chipset:
MediaTek A22 Tab, Quad-core @ 2 GHz

GPU:
IMG PowerVR

RAM:
2GB RAM

Display:
8″ HD (1280 x 800) IPS Display, TDDI Direct Bonding, 10-point Multitouch, 60% Colour Gamut, 350 nits

Storage:
16GB / 32GB (expandable via MicroSD)

Camera:
Main Camera(s)
5MP, AF
Front Camera
2MP, AF

OS:
Android 9.0 Pie

Connectivity:
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz and 5GHz), Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
Bluetooth 4.2, A2DP, LE
MicroUSB

Audio:
2 x Side Speakers Tuned with Dolby Atmos
3 x Mic Arrays, Far-field Voice Recognition
3.5mm jack

SIM:
Micro-SIM

Battery:
5000 mAh

Dimensions:
199.1 x 121.8 x 8.15 mm, 305g

Lenovo Smart Display 7

CPU/Chipset:
MediaTek 8167S @ 1.5 GHz

GPU:
PowerVR GE8300

Display:
7″ SD (1024 x 600) IPS Display, Touch Compatible

Camera:
Front Camera
2MP, Wide-Angle

OS:
The Google Assistant

Connectivity:
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz and 5GHz), MIMO
Bluetooth 5.0

Audio:
2 x 1.5″ 5W Stereo Speakers
1 x Passive Radiator
1 x Dual Mic Array

Dimensions:
176 x 155 x 83 mm, 675g

The list that we have shows that the Yoga Smart Tab will be available for Europe, Middle East, and Africa in September, with the other two devices coming in October. As for availability and pricing in Malaysia / Asia Pacific, that will be announced later on.
Pokdepinion: Always up for a new tablet to play around with. Sometimes I get lazy to bring my laptop around. Can’t wait to really take it out for a spin.
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Our full, in-depth review of the Lenovo Yoga 920 Galactic Empire Star Wars Special Edition laptop. Is this worth shelling out your hard-earned cash?
Lenovo Yoga 920 Galactic Empire Star Wars Special Edition Laptop Review

We have seen quiite a number of laptops over the years here on Pokde.net, but we have never quite seen anything like what we have here today. It’s not about it being a 2-in-1 device, it’s not about its touchscreen capabilities, it’s not about lengthy battery life, nor is it about the ultrathin and light body. It’s the fact that it’s a Star Wars Special Edition laptop.

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Without further ado, let’s dive into the Lenovo Yoga 920 Galactic Empire Star Wars Special Edition laptop.
Unboxing

We actually made an unboxing post earlier on the Lenovo Yoga 920 Galactic Empire Star Wars Special Edition laptop. In case you missed it, you can check out the video right above here or click right here to get up to speed.
Appearance

The first thing you’re obviously going to notice here is the Galactic Empire special design on the Lenovo Yoga 920 Star Wars Special Edition laptop. What makes it so sexy is that it’s a glossy, black theme with some white dots and the Galactic Empire logo in the center, representing the Empire in the vast darkness of outer space. Under the Corning Gorilla Glass hood, it’s expected to be scratch-resistant, but remember it’s not scratch-proof or crack-proof.

There’s not much ports on this laptop. On the left side, you have a couple of USB-C ports (Thunderbolt 3), which is also the same port used for charging, as well as a combo audio jack. Keep in mind that if your headset has separate plugs for mic and audio, you will need an adapter to use it on this. On the right side, it’s just a single USB 3.0 port and a power button.

Open it up and you’ll see the Lenovo-style chiclet keyboard and a trackpad right below it. There’s really nothing much to gawk at here to be honest but what looks quite interesting here is the watchband-style hinge. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing, it also functions pretty great as I was able to smoothly fold the laptop without issues and provide a stable foundation for it to stand over and again. It is said that the design helps protect the CPU from long-term dust damage but we have no proof of that.

As to be expected, the UHD IPS display on the Lenovo Yoga 920 Galactic Empire Star Wars Special Edition laptop is absolutely beautiful. Most people will not be able to tell much difference between Full HD and UHD on a 13.9-inch screen but you can be sure that visuals are reproduced wonderfully and with very vibrant colours too.
Overall, the Lenovo Yoga 920 Galactic Empire Star Wars Special Edition laptop is an eye-catching laptop but there should’ve been more work done on the keyboard / trackpad area, as it looks the most bland there. At this point, it just feels like you’re paying extra just to have a cool-looking back design on the Yoga 920.
Lenovo Yoga 920 Galactic Empire Specifications

CPU
Intel Core i7-8550U (4C / 8T @ up to 4 GHz), 8M Cache, 15W TDP, 14nm

RAM
16GB DDR4 2400 MHz

GPU
Intel UHD Graphics 620

Storage
512GB NVMe SSD

Display
13.9″ UHD (3840 X 2160) IPS Touchscreen Display

Keyboard
Chiclet Keyboard

Connectivity
Wireless:
802.11ac(2×2) Wi-Fi
Bluetooth 4.1
I/O:
1 x USB 3.0 with always-on charging
2 x USB-C (Thunderbolt 3, PD, DP, USB 3.0 full-function)

Audio
2 x JBL Speakers (Left & Right)
1 x Combo Audio Jack (Mic + Headphone)
Dolby Atmos

Power
4 Cells Li-Polymer Battery, 65W Adapter

Dimensions
323 x 223.5 x 13.95 mm (W x D x H)

Weight
1.4kg

Performance

If you were wondering why the Lenovo Yoga 920 Galactic Empire Star Wars Special Edition laptop has such insane speeds on CrystalDiskMark, just keep in mind that it’s NVMe SSD and not just a regular one. To translate this to usage, expect some really fast boot up times not only with Windows but also any programs you install. Though it might be slightly hindered by RAM, the 16GB DDR4 2400MHz RAM should easily be able to handle things with little to no issues.

Now, don’t worry too much about the OpenGL test there being less than 60FPS as it is using the Intel UHD 620 chip for display, and to be honest, I expected much worse. It seems that some light gaming with this would still be okay. The CPU shows that it can handle quite a bit of tasks, despite it being one of the more energy-efficient ones out there, without much problems.

And lastly in our benchmark suite, Unigine Heaven Benchmark indicates that the Lenovo Yoga 920 Galactic Empire Star Wars Special Edition laptop is…kinda bad. To be fair, the setitngs for the benchmark, which is the same for every single laptop review we do here, is quite painful for the Intel UHD 620. Essentially, expect it to be able to do stuff, but not much.
As for the battery life on this machine, it has never come close to the estimated 11 hours but it is still pretty good. This would heavily depend on what internet browser you use as well as what exactly you’re doing. Watching videos will eat through the battery faster than anything else but it’s still not bad.
I generally see 6 to 8 hours of use per full charge. What I do on this laptop is writing, browsing the internet, watch YouTube videos, and listen to some music usually. Editing pictures here like using Photoshop may affect it some more but I doubt it will be too much. On standby. or just closing the laptop without shutting down basically, will barely cost battery even after leaving it that way for a day. While this varies from time to time, it’s usually less than 10% if I leave it on standby for a whole day.
User Experience

The Lenovo Yoga 920 Galactic Empire Star Wars Special Edition laptop is a joy to use but this is depending on your priorities. It’s slim, light, and obviously eye-catching. it also packs quite a bit of power but not in the sense of gaming. It has some really fast boot times thanks to the NVMe SSD, and the CPU is no slouch either. If you’re thinking of using this for browsing the internet, do office work, and essentially nothing too complicated, you will have a superbly smooth experience.
Anything more than that would be tough because keep in mind, this is using an Intel UHD graphics which means gaming or some extensive like video editing would be a big no-no. Not to say that it can’t play games at all, just that you’ll either have to pick something more simple, or take some older games and perhaps tune down the graphics settings…by a lot.

When i first started using this, I was actually confused as to why the keyboard has no backlighting. The specifications indicated that it should be, but I don’t see any button from F1 all the way to F12 indicating any form of activation for it. Turns out, you have to press Fn + space bar to do that. It will toggle between 3 different lighting modes; off, dim, and bright.
The keyboard itself is pretty okay but needs a bit of getting used to. Keys feel rather shallow and require little travel so you can type rather quickly. What I’m not really a fan of is the shape of the keys, with it being shaped like a square for the top half, and curved / semi circle for the bottom half. I don’t feel like it affects my typing or comfort, but it’s just not really aesthetically-pleasing for me.

One notable downside here for the Lenovo Yoga 920 Galactic Empire Star Wars Special Edition laptop is especially important for those constantly at work. There is a lack of ports, so much so that an external USB hub of some kind may be needed for a number of people. You only have 2 USB-C ports and a headphone / mic combo jack on the left, and a single USB 3.0 Type A on the right.
While a DVI port may be too much for a laptop this thin, I feel like adding a HDMI port of some kind would help make this extra useful. Perhaps a mini or micro HDMI port if size is an issue. Sure, you can use one of two USB-C Thunderbolt ports to connect to an external display but I feel like we have not come to a point where the majority of consumers are aware / comfortable with using it for that purpose. Not to mention that many consumers are very familiar with HDMI over the years, which may eliminate the need to purchase extra cables.

With that being said, there is one thing that I really love about this laptop, and that is the use of the USB-C port as a primary charging port. Simply put, you use USB-C to charge this machine. However, keep in mind that you can’t simply use any powerbank / charger for this as it need to have a certain amount of power to successfully do so.
While this may not sound as convenient as you might initially think, it’s a matter of perspective as well as what gadgets you own. For example, I can use my official Nintendo Switch charger to charge this laptop, thus eliminating the need to bring two different chargers if I’m taking both of these out for a walk. You can still charge the laptop with a powerbank, just that you need to find one with PD (Power Delivery) charging capabilities. That added versatility in keeping the laptop powered makes the Lenovo Yoga 920 even more attractive.

The display on the Lenovo Yoga 920 Galactic Empire Star Wars Special Edition laptop is beautiful. After all, it’s a 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS display, which means everything looks superbly detailed and the colours are vibrant and lively. What I love most about the display however is its touchscreen capabilities.
Especially when it comes to doing work or pretty much anything outdoors, having a touchscreen-capable display makes it easier for me to do practically anything without the need to bring a mouse around. I don’t mind not having the folding mechanism as I rarely use it in tablet mode anyway but touchscreen makes it worth using. On that note, the trackpad is just okay with nothing to shout about.

As for the JBL speakers, I am uncertain if this is simply branding or if JBL actually had a hand with the speakers on this laptop. Either way, it’s actually not bad if you place it on a flat surface. Assuming you are facing the laptop, you can feel the audio being directed to you and it has a surprising amount of depth. It’s a bit lacking in volume but even if you can somehow force more out of it, I’m about to pretty sure the audio will start cracking anyway. For best audio experience, get a decent pair of earphones / headphones.
Overall, I actually really enjoyed using the Lenovo Yoga 920 Galactic Empire Star Wars Special Edition laptop. It’s easy to bring around, has above average battery life even on standby, and packs more than enough power for your everyday use. Just keep in mind that isn’t meant for gaming, though I kinda wished it at least had an NVIDIA MX150 GPU so it can aid just a bit more on that end.
Conclusion

The Lenovo Yoga 920 Galactic Empire Star Wars Special Edition laptop is a great machine. It’s fast, fuss-free, and easy to bring around which makes it perfect for work. The Galactic Empire design is a plus as it makes it look absolutely gorgeous. As long as you don’t purchase this with the sole intention of gaming, I highly doubt you will have any complaints with this laptop…aside from getting used to the keyboard at first.
But herein lies a problem. Because it is the special edition version of the Lenovo Yoga 920, it’s actually pretty expensive. If you ask me, I would not be willing to part with RM8,888 for a laptop like this. Don’t get me wrong, the laptop itself is great but I don’t feel like the price is justifiable. That being said, the special edition design means that it’s not catered to the masses but rather, fans that can afford it. Unless you’re a real diehard fan of Star Wars, I’d suggest looking elsewhere, or look for the regular Lenovo Yoga 920 with similar specifications.
If we’re judging solely on performance on the grounds of its intended purpose, I would have given this laptop our most coveted Gold Pokdeward. However, taking the price itself into account and knowing you can get something better at that price point, I will have to award the Lenovo Yoga 920 Galactic Empire Star Wars Special Edition laptop with our Silver Pokdeward.

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Get First Look at New Apex Legends Tropical Island Map

Apex Legends Season 11 is expected to introduce a new Tropical Island map, which many gamers are also referring to it as “Tropics”. If you’re wondering what it might look like, here’s an alleged leak that gives you a sneak peek at it.
First Look at New Apex Legends Tropical Island Map

Recently, Respawn Entertainment published a new Stories From The Outlands trailer, which includes the announcement for the next season along with a confirmation that Ash will be the new Legend coming in the next update. Naturally, this led people to be curious about what else will be coming in the next game, especially since there was no mention of the new Tropical Island map.

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Now, we have an alleged leak by renowned leaker, Thordan Smash, which gives us an early look at the Tropical Island map. Some gamers refer to it as the Tropics map, in case there is some confusion on the name. Interestingly, it appears that you can ride Tridents on the map, and it’s said to feature Goliaths and Prowlers.
With that being said however, there is no confirmation yet on these details since neither EA nor Respawn Entertainment has commented on the matter. We will report more on this as soon as information becomes available so stay tuned.
Apex Legends Season 11: Escape is expected to launch on 2nd November 2021 on all available platforms, provided there are no sudden delays.
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Pokdepinion: I’m getting a little bored in Apex mostly because I hate King’s Canyon as a competitive map. Hopefully, this new one will help breathe new life into the game, as it’s certainly much needed.
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CD Projekt Red Says Cyberpunk 2077’s Multiplayer Is More Than Merely A Mode

With Cyberpunk 2077 soon to hit the market, Adam Kicinski, CD Projekt Red’s executive has revealed in their latest company earning briefing that the multiplayer of the game is simply more than just a mode.
Cyberpunk 2077 multiplayer

Adam went to the extent of calling it a “standalone product”. He has said “So, first, we don’t call it modes. It’s a separate dedicated production, a big production. We think about it as a standalone product”.
While there has been a number of videos that showcase the game’s single-player gameplay, there’s not much to go around with its online mode. Adam has said that we should hear more news on it (multiplayer) in Q1 2021.

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The multiplayer section of the game will feature a microtransaction system where they claim to “provide users with content to purchase that feels like a fair transaction for their money”. It is said that we can expect the multiplayer feature for the game to be available as early as 2022.
Cyberpunk 2077 will release this 10th of December for PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, and Xbox One.
If you’re wondering on what’s the PC system requirements for the game, do head to our previous article right here.
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Pokdepinion: At this point, I simply want the game to be out already. I really hope that it’s good since there’s been a major hype around it since it was announced. Let’s just hope that it’ll be able to match up to the gamer’s expectation.
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Crysis 3 gets installed on a GeForce RTX 3090’s 24GB VRAM

It seems that we now have a good way to the absolutely humongous 24GB GDDR6X memory on the GeForce RTX 3090 graphics card: install Crysis 3 on it. Well we didn’t do it, but @Strife212 did it and yet she didn’t even completely use up the massive VRAM available on NVIDIA’s BFGPU.
According to her Twitter post, Strife212 used a software called GPU Ram Drive to make a 15GB NTFS partition on the GPU, and then installed Crysis 3 on it. That leaves about 9GB as regular VRAM. She reports that the game runs smoothly despite the rather weird configuration, although Crysis 3 is probably the best optimized of the original Crysis trilogy anyways.

I installed Crysis 3 on my graphics card!
I used some VRAMdrive software called GPU Ram Drive, made a 15GB NTFS partition on the GPU, then installed Crysis 3 on it
At 4K very high settings get good fps and the game loads very fast – GPU-Z reports total VRAM use 20434MB pic.twitter.com/lLcQsD5JYM
— Strife, la fillette révolutionnaire (@Strife212) October 4, 2020

Essentially, Strife212 turned her GeForce RTX 3090 into a 15GB PCIe SSD + GPU combo, which is a great way of using up to 24GB VRAM. This post should probably have come up when I was thinking of ways to fully utilize the 24GB VRAM available with the GeForce RTX 6000 in the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One.

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In the future when Microsoft DirectStorage and NVIDIA RTX I/O takes off, or games with increasingly large textures get released, we might probably see a better use of all that sweet GDDR6X memory, but until then, Strife212’s usage scenario is probably the closest we are to making full use of the GeForce RTX 3090’s 24GB VRAM.
Source
Pokdepinion: Maybe Among Us will run faster when installed on my GPU?
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GIGABYTE AORUS RTX 3080 GAMING BOX to arrive in mid-December priced at RM6199

GIGABYTE has just announced the new AORUS RTX 3080 GAMING BOX. It is designed to allow ultraportable laptop users to get a big boost in graphics performance. As the name implies, there is a GeForce RTX 3080 packed inside this external graphics card enclosure.
To ensure that the card is capable of delivering great performance at all times, GIGABYTE equipped the card inside with the AORUS WATERFORCE Cooling System. It is an liquid AIO cooling system for the graphics card, with a large copper plate to take the heat away from the GPU, VRM and VRAM and a 240mm radiator to effectively dissipate the heat.
The AORUS RTX 3080 GAMING BOX is the world’s first external graphics enclosure to feature an all-in-one watercooling system. It is this impressive cooling performance allowed GIGABYTE to clock the GIGABYTE WATERFORCE GeForce RTX 3080 within to 1710MHz, with more headroom for overclocking if you want to go down that route. You can connect up to four monitors to the AORUS RTX 3080 GAMING BOX, which will greatly enhance your multitasking experience.

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On top of boosting your graphics performance with the NVIDIA Ampere GPU within, it also serves up an Ethernet port for a more stable connection, and three USB 3.0 ports for your peripherals. Considering how many laptops today do not feature full-sized USB ports, the AORUS RTX 3080 GAMING BOX is perfect as a desktop companion to expand your connectivity and also performance. Last but not least, to reduce the clutter on your desk, the AORUS RTX 3080 GAMING BOX can also charge your laptop over the single USB-C Thunderbolt 3 connection with support for 100W USB-PD.

If you are interested, the GIGABYTE AORUS RTX 3080 GAMING BOX will be available in mid-December, priced at RM6199. There’s also a GeForce RTX 3090-based version dubbed the AORUS RTX 3090 GAMING BOX, but we don’t have pricing and availability information for the higher end option.
Pokdepinion: It’s quite interesting that GIGABYTE seems to be the only brand actively making external GPU enclosures, but they don’t actually make ultraportable laptops themselves.
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Samsung Galaxy S23 FE Launching in 2023, Skipping Galaxy A74

After skipping out on it last year, the FE lineup is expected to return this year with the impending arrival of the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE.
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE Coming Soon

Samsung is set to bring back its Fan Edition (FE) series with the launch of the Galaxy S23 FE, according to a report by South Korean news outlet, The Elec. The Galaxy S22 FE was not launched last year due to the global chip shortage and increased demand for the flagship Galaxy S22 Ultra. The Fan Edition series gained popularity in 2020 with the release of the Galaxy S20 FE, which had over 10 million shipments that year. However, the Galaxy S21 FE did not do so well, prompting Samsung to reconsider its FE lineup releases going forward.

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The Elec report suggests that the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE will launch around August or September 2023, and Samsung will skip the launch of the Galaxy A74 to focus on the S23 FE in more markets. Samsung is also said to be reshaping its Galaxy A-series portfolio, with the A7-series likely to be cut.

The upcoming FE phone will launch with either the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy or 2022’s top-performing Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. Samsung is hoping that the new device will replicate the success of the Galaxy S20 FE and redeem the Fan Edition series after the lackluster performance of the Galaxy S21 FE.
The return of the FE series could be a smart move by Samsung as it looks to expand its portfolio and win over more customers. By launching the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE in more markets, Samsung could tap into the popularity of the Fan Edition series and generate more sales. Additionally, the company’s decision to skip the launch of the Galaxy A74 could be an indication of its commitment to the FE lineup going forward.
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Pokdepinion: It would be a smart move to bring the FE series back, especially since the sub-flagship status of the device with the more affordable price. People will likely lean more towards this than their A-series if the price is right.
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unifi announces #khabarbaik movement to keep improving themselves

unifi has not exactly enjoyed that nice an image ever since the new government took over. Well, they weren’t exactly hallowed back then either, but the recent developments definitely shone unifi in a rather negative light. They definitely aim to change that, and hence the birth of the #khabarbaik movement.
The #khabarbaik movement is meant in a way that when unifi is mentioned, the comments will be on the positive side of things. No, this is not a totalitarian regime in the making. But rather unifi plans to improve themselves to a point where consumers are beyond satisfied with their services.

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To achieve this, they are working hard on upgrading the unifi packages to offer unifi turbo speeds. More than 91% of unifi subscribers are already enjoying the upgraded speeds, while more than 66% of Streamyx subscribers are enjoying unifi now, all without paying a single sen more. The upgrades are stipulated to be completed by March 2019.
At the same time, they have also added more choices to their unifi Mobile plans to satisfy everyone from “adik” to “nenek”. These packages were previously announced, but unifi believes it is in line with their #khabarbaik movement, as it gives virtually everyone a suitable plan for their usage patterns.

In addition to that, there will be some goodies for everyone this Chinese New Year, such as complimentary data for unifi Mobile subscribers and also free channels on Dimsum. Last but not least, they treated everyone in attendance to a performance by Hujan!
unifi seems to have worked out how to improve their public image, and we look forward to seeing it in motion. What about you?
Pokdepinion: It’s always nice to see brands who are willing to reflect on their past transgressions and improve themselves. All the best unifi!
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Google Assistant is still the best smartphone digital assistant — trounces Siri, Cortana and Alexa

Artificial intelligence is now the new buzzword in tech, and like all buzzwords, it is often misappropriated. But one true application of AI are the voice assistants we are using. There are currently four major voice assistants out there right now, Google Asssistant, Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana and Amazon’s Alexa. And apparently Google’s digital assistant works best.

Loup asked the digital assistants 800 questions, scoring them based on whether the digital assistants understood the questions and also if the responses were correct. The questions were divided into five categories as follows:

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Local – Where is the nearest coffee shop?
Commerce – Can you order me more paper towels?
Navigation – How do I get to uptown on the bus?
Information – Who do the Twins play tonight?
Command – Remind me to call Steve at 2pm today.

Google Assistant, the leader of the pack, understood all 800 questions and answered 86% of them correctly. Cortana which is currently the worse, misunderstood 19 questions and only answered 52% of the questions correctly. Loup highlighted the fact that misunderstood questions usually involved names.
A major caveat of this study is that Cortana and Alexa were run as iOS apps, while Siri and Google Assistant were run natively on their respective OSes. That would probably skew the results in favor of Google Assistant and Siri, especially in the Command category.
Which voice assistant do you use?
Pokdepinion: I do use Google Assistant on a daily basis, from simple tasks like setting my alarm to navigating to my saved locations. I wonder how will the brand-specific voice assistants popping up on Android fare though
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Noctua NH-U14S single tower cooler review — more memory clearance

We have tested Noctua’s top dog, the Noctua NH-D15. With its dual-tower fin array and Noctua’s premium NF-A15 PWM fans, it did an amazing job keeping our Intel Core i7 5820K cool even when under load. But it did make me think how will a single tower heatsink perform. With that said, it was as if Noctua read our minds, as they offered us the Noctua NH-U14S cooler for us to review soon after we published our review of the low profile Noctua NH-C14S. We accepted the offer, and put the cooler to work on our Pokde benchrig.
Unboxing

Noctua’s packaging for its cooler is kept pretty similar across the lineup. The only differences I can easily spot are the weight and size of the package. On the front, we have the key features of the Noctua NH-U14S listed, such as full RAM compatibility for LGA 2011 systems and Noctua’s 6-year warranty.

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At the back, we have Noctua’s company introduction in multiples languages.

While on both side we have detailed information about the Noctua NH-U14S and specifications tables for the cooler and the included fan. The Noctua NH-U14S is a U-style cooler from Noctua, which is about as close as you can get to a single tower version of the Noctua NH-D15.

The innards of the box is neat and its really easy to take stuff out. We have two separate boxes here, one for the cooler’s accessories and the other for the cooler itself.

Inside the accessories box, we have the necessary mounting kit, screws, Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste, Noctua badge, low noise fan adapter, fan mounting wires and user guide.

Inside the other box, we have the Noctua NH-U14S itself, sitting securely in the box with the pre-installed Noctua NF-A15 PWM fan.
Appearance

As I mentioned earlier, the Noctua NH-U14S is a U-style tower air cooling that supports up to 140mm cooling fans. It only measures 52mm thin, which guarantees full clearance for most RAM modules, even on Intel LGA 2011 motherboards where you will find RAM sticks on both sides of the CPU socket to make use of the quad-channel memory support.

The Noctua NH-U14S is as tall as the Noctua NH-D15, but the much slimmer body makes it compatible with a lot more hardware options than the hefty D-style coolers.

The baseplate finishing on Noctua air coolers never fail to leave me in awe. The Noctua NH-U14S comes with a total of six copper heat pipes, just like the previous coolers we have seem from Noctua.  All of the Noctua NH-U14S heatpipes and CPU contact plate is coated with nickel for corrosion resistance.

The Noctua NH-U14S comes with single Noctua’s premium fan which is the Noctua NF-A15 PWN fan.

I will test the Noctua NH-U14S in two fan configurations. We get ourselves an extra Noctua NF-A15 PWM fan so we can test it in single and also dual fan (push-pull) configuration.

Here’s a quick look at what you are getting with the fan’s retail packaging. You get the Noctua NF-A15 fan along with a Y-splitter, extender cable, low fan noise adapter, vibration-compensators, screws and some documentation for the fan.

With its slim body design, Noctua NH-U14S have no problem with any RAM clearance even when it’s in sandwiched between two fans on most motherboards, including the latest AM4 platform. Talking about the AMD AM4 socket, Noctua offers a separate mounting kit for them.
Installation
The Noctua NH-U14S is going to be tasked with cooling the Intel Core i7 5820K in our bench rig. The installation with Noctua’s SecureFirm 2 kit is very easy, even easier than installing the NH-D15 due to the much more compact dimensions.
The mount bracket installation is wrong here, it should be inverted. XD
As the ASUS X99 Deluxe uses a square Independent Loading Mechanism (ILM), mounting the cooler would be even easier with Noctua’s SecureFirm 2 mounting system. All I needed to do was install the bolts onto the frame of the LGA 2011 socket.

Above is the shot of Noctua NH-U14S in two different fan configurations.

The clearance between the Noctua NH-U14S and PCIe slot is sufficient for high-end cards with metal back plates.
Specification
Cooler Specification

Fan Specification

Test Machine
Hardware

Processor
Intel Core i7-5820K

Motherboard
ASUS X99-Deluxe

Memory
Avexir Blitz 16GB DDR4

Storage
Sandisk Ultra II 256GB

Power Supply
Cooler Master V850

Software

OS
Windows 10 64bit Annivesary

Utilities
LinX, OCCT, Intel XTU, RealTemp, CPU-Z, HWMonitor

We are testing the Noctua NH-U14S on our official Pokde’s rig. With an Intel Core i7 5820K with a 140W TDP, it can pose a challenge for any cooler to tame the heat output when all the cores are under load. The CPU will be running [email protected] and also overclocked to 4.1 [email protected] Turbo Boost is disabled and SpeedStep enabled in both BIOS and operating system. For the testing phase, I will also be using three different tools to stress the CPU cores to the max: LinX, Intel XTU and OCCT. The tests are run for an hour each.
Our target is to monitor how high the temperatures can rise during the test. We also monitor closely during the test to check if any thermal throttling happens when the temperature hit the CPU’s Tjmax of 105°C. If it is just a spike there will be no thermal throttling unless it stays at the temperature for a certain period of time. This is just to see the maximum potential of the cooling performance of any CPU cooler. The fan speed settings are left at default. The system runs in an open test bench, with ambient temperatures of 25°C.
Noctua said that the NT-H1 doesn’t need any cure time, but I believe that it can get better after some thermal cycling. So, after applying new thermal paste, I ran a stress test for 1 hour before letting it sit for more than 12 hours. After the idle period, I stressed it again for 1 hour before shutting down the computer completely for more than 6 hours before I start recording the temperatures.
Special case for the cooler review, I will test on two different fan configurations which is with single fan and dual fan configuration.
Performance
On the RealTemp software I manually set the Tjmax at 105°C, and for the results, I pick the maximum reading from HwMonitor. The highest temperature I got with the Noctua NH-U14S on single fan configuration is 99°C, and 94°C on dual fan configuration when running LinX. There is no thermal throttle detected during the test.
Stock Clock

Overclock

From the result, we can see that the Noctua NH-U14S cooling performance in its dual fan configuration is on par with the Noctua NH-D15. Adding the second fan shaves 5ºC off the load temperatures, and lets the CPU be 3ºC cooler at idle.
You might be thinking that it’s not necessary to get the Noctua NH-D15 since the Noctua NH-U14S performs is pretty similarly. However I did notice that the heatsink itself gets warmer than the Noctua NH-D15 when under load. This points the the Noctua NH-U14S being just sufficient to cool the CPU on our benchrig, while the Noctua NH-D15 still has plenty of cooling headroom.
Recommended CPU:
Intel : LGA 1150, 1151, 1155, 1156, 2011 processors
AMD: AM3+, AM4, FM2+ processor
Recommended form factor:
Mini-ATX, ATX, E-ATX
Conclusion
The Noctua NH-U14S’ cooling performance is great, especially in its dual fan configuration. Despite being so slim, it managed to cool our Intel Core i7 5820K processor. When compared with Noctua’s top air cooler, the only weakness is that it is really approaching its limits here. Considering the better memory compatibility, I believe those with cooler chips might find this a very viable alternative.

The Noctua NH-U14S is backed by a 6-year warranty and priced at RM 339 on Lazada. Base on its overall performance and factor, include the warranty policy, I award Noctua NH-U14S with Silver Pokdeward.
The Noctua NF-A15 PWM fan is priced at RM105 on Lazada, as we know the fan is one of the best cooling fans in the market with extremely quiet operation, even at full tilt. Adding the second fan’s price into the equation, the Noctua NH-U14S will actually cost more than the Noctua NH-D15, while delivering less performance. Of course, there is the RAM clearance issue when considering the NH-D15, where the Noctua NH-U14S has none to speak of.
Our thanks to Noctua for providing us with the Noctua NH-C14S to review!
We would like to thank our sponsors for our very own benchmarking rig – The PokdeRig. These companies believe in us and put their trust into what we do. They deserve all the love in the world!
Asus X99-Deluxe
Intel Core i7-5820K
CM MasterAir Pro 4
CM V850 PSU
Sandisk Ultra II
Avexir Blitz 16GB DDR4
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Run Windows apps on a Chromebook in 3 simple steps

For those of us who have tried the mobile counterparts of desktop applications, I believe most of us will agree that the mobile apps just don’t cut it with some essential features taken out to accommodate the web environment.
So being able to use Windows apps greatly expands the functionality of a Chromebook, and of course the possibility of playing PC games on Chromebook is absolutely tempting. To scratch those itches, all you need to do are these three simple steps.
1. Download and install CrossOver
Just go to the Play Store and install the app “CrossOver on Chrome OS Beta”.

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The CrossOver on Chrome OS Beta allows user to run Windows software on Intel-based Chromebooks. So far this app is nothing short of impressive, as it not only lets Windows app run on Chromebooks, but the list of compatible software is impressive too!
2. Download your favorite Windows app

With CrossOver installed, go find your favorite Windows app and download it. For the purpose of this guide, we downloaded the Winamp installer. It’s a perfect app to illustrate a good ol’ classic Windows app.

3. Install the Windows app in CrossOver
Once you have the installer, launch CrossOver on Chrome OS Beta, navigate to the exe file, and install it as you would on a Windows PC. Once you’re done installing it, you can launch it as you normally would and viola, full blown Classic Winamp!

There you have it, you should be able to run Window’s app on your Chromebook now. This would also amusingly have made your Chromebook capable of running Windows, Android, and Linux’s apps if you have followed our guide on how to set up Linux on a Chromebook!

We hope you enjoy the newfound feature on your Chromebook! If you have any questions about your Chromebook or would like to request any guides, feel free to drop a comment below!
Find out more about Acer’s Chromebook’s here:
Check out Acer ChromeBooks!
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Samsung Galaxy Watch with Wear OS is on the way?

Samsung is reportedly working on a Samsung Galaxy Watch that runs Wear OS. Despite having a pretty successful ecosystem with their own Tizen OS, a smartwatch that’s expected running on Google’s Wear OS has been spotted in the latest kernel source code for the Samsung Galaxy S20.
The smartwatch in question is denoted as “Merlot WearOS”, which touts the Broadcom BCM43013. Aside from the rather obvious name and the Broadcom chip mentioned, there isn’t much else to go off on. Still, it should be presumably named the Samsung Galaxy Watch4, going by Samsung’s naming convention.

Samsung is rumored to use Wear OS in a future smartwatch, according to @UniverseIce. While I can’t confirm it, we did find *one* piece of evidence for it in the updated kernel source for the One UI 3.1 update for the Exynos S20 series.
Context: https://t.co/SClEFaELJ7
1/3
— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) March 2, 2021

While I don’t think Samsung will be throwing away years of progress with their Tizen-based smartwatches for Wear OS, Samsung might be pandering to Android enthusiasts and maybe Google too. Perhaps Google thinks that Samsung’s brand power behind a Wear OS wearable might propel it to prominence again, despite them acquiring Fossil’s smartwatch tech.

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Google themselves have been paying Wear OS limited attention in recent times, probably due to the limited adoption among OEMs, so it will be interesting to see what comes out of this. The next Samsung Galaxy Watch might arrive with both Tizen and Wear OS-powered versions, providing wearable enthusiasts an option.

Wear OS still has the upper hand when it comes to the library of apps available, but the user experience of Tizen is far better, with  Samsung’s smartwatches proving themselves by offering much better battery life than Wear OS while doing just about as much. Well, we will see what Samsung plans on doing with Wear OS soon enough.
Source
Pokdepinion: I am not sure if Wear OS is the way forward for Samsung. I mean, if other OEMs choose Wear OS for their wearables, it’s fine, because they do not have a robust ecosystem like Samsung does with Tizen…
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HUAWEI Mate 10 Gets Face Unlock Update – Set For 25th May Release

HUAWEI Malaysia has announced that there will be a new software update, basically for a new facial recognition that enables users to unlock their Mate 10 smartphones by using their faces.
HUAWEI Mate 10 Face Unlock Update
The new update is set to arrive our shores here in Malaysia on 25th of May 2018. Users will be notified of the updates in batches begin upon the arrival date.
For the face unlock, HUAWEI Mate 10 users can opt to use direct unlock or slide to unlock. With the former, it allows users to unlock the device using minimum effort, while the latter takes it a step further by synching with the “Smart Lock Screen Notifications“.

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To enable the face unlock feature, here’s how:

Go to Settings > Security & privacy > Face unlock
First time users will be given a brief introduction to Face Unlock, as well as tips to speed up face enrollment
Users must read and accept the disclaimer before proceeding
Users may now enroll their face following on-screen prompts.
After creating a facial profile, users may choose between two modes: Direct unlock and Slide to Unlock
You are set to go and the face unlock setup is now complete.

HUAWEI Mate 10 was released last year. To learn more on the Mate 10, you can read on our full hands-on review right here.
Pokdepinion: Until today, I don’t feel secured in using facial recognition as my security measure. Maybe that’s just me. If you are a HUAWEI Mate 10 users, lookout for the update tomorrow onwards and try it.
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Xiaomi is now third in terms of global smartphone shipments

Xiaomi has finally managed to climb to third place in terms of global smartphone monthly shipments in February 2020, leapfrogging over HUAWEI for the first time ever. HUAWEI shipped 5.5 million devices to Xiaomi’s 6 million, although it is worth noting that it is still a decline from January 2020’s numbers, with Xiaomi shipping 10 million smartphones and HUAWEI shipping 12.2 million devices in that period.

Xiaomi is still some ways away from second-ranking Apple, and its February 2020 shipments are less than a third of Samsung’s. Every major smartphone maker observed a softer market in the same period, which resulted in lower shipments across the board.

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The HUAWEI P40‘s launch this Thursday may bolster the sales figures for a bit, as it is expected to come with some impressive specifications, especially in the camera department. Of course, it won’t be uncontested with Xiaomi finally set to release the Xiaomi Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro globally this week, while also launching their Redmi K30 Pro in China tomorrow.

However it goes without saying that March 2020’s shipment figures will definitely have taken a beating due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The soft market is expected to continue until we can finally overcome the COVID-19 virus.
Pokdepinion: I am truly excited to see how much will the Redmi K30 Pro boost Xiaomi’s numbers.
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Sony’s Teaser Claims New Xperia Smartphone To Be “A Camera Attached To A Phone”

Sony is looking to unveil a brand new Xperia smartphone soon, specifically on the 26th of October 2021. There’s been no details about the phone so far but the company has released a teaser that’s made us curious now.
New Sony Xperia smartphone

The teaser showcased several professional photographers who have used previous Xperia smartphones and what’s fascinating is that some claimed that the new phone has impressed them.
One of the photographers even said that the phone is like a “camera with a phone attached” and that’s saying a lot. Another even says that it has a dedicated shutter button, which is a game changer for him.

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Though we aren’t sure of what it brings to the table, it’s safe to say that it’s catered for mobile photography. We should learn more about the device as we head nearer to the launch date. Till then, stay tuned to Pokde.net for the latest tech and gaming news plus reviews.
Source
Pokdepinion: I would say their recent devices has been excellent for videos. Let’s just hope that all the hype that they’ve made through the teaser to live up to expectations.
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Alibaba Cloud Launches Malaysia City Brain With MDEC – Urban Planning with AI

Innovating Malaysia for the future

Traffic in and around KL is always a nightmare to navigate through, especially for those who often travel there for work. Now there is a much needed solution on the horizon and the solution is Artificial Intelligence.
Just recently Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group announced a collaboration with Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) together with DBKL to introduce the Malaysia City Brain, an AI programme that will propel Malaysia’s Artificial Intelligence ecosystem. The announcement was in line with Malaysia’s commitment to develop the National AI Framework, as announced by the Prime Minister, Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, in 2017.
YBhg Datuk Yasmin Mahmood, CEO of MDEC; YBhg Tan Sri Sidek Hassan, Chairman of MDEC; YB Datuk Seri Utama Tengku Adnan Bin Tengku Mansor, Minister of Federal Territories; Mr. Simon Hu, President of Alibaba Cloud; Dr. Wanli Min, Vice President and Chief Scientist of Machine Intelligence of Alibaba Cloud
This is how the Malaysia City Brain works. The programme will collect and analyse all types of data gathered from multiple sources in urban spaces through video and image recognition, data mining as well as machine learning technology. With this, city council and urban planners should have a better idea to properly execute decisions for the community which also include potentially better traffic management among others.

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Simon Hu, President of Alibaba Cloud had this to say regarding KL’s implementation of the Malaysia City Brain.

We are happy to see Malaysia become the first country outside of China to adopt the City Brain. Through the program, we aim to empower all Malaysian stakeholders in both the public and private sectors, with the tools to enhance efficiency, advance in innovation and to succeed in the digital age.

The implementation of the Malaysia City Brain will be done in phases with the first phase being to better traffic management around Kuala Lumpur. The AI can optimise vehicle flow and traffic signals by calculating the time vehicles reach intersections. The AI can also generate structured summaries of data such as traffic volume and speed according to lanes, which can be used to facilitate other tasks including incident detection.
Malaysia CIty Brain will begin with a base of 382 camera feeds and input from 281 traffic light junctions, concentrated within central Kuala Lumpur.
YBhg Datuk Yasmin Mahmood, CEO of MDEC
MDEC CEO, Datuk Yasmin Mahmood said that Malaysia should embrace the AI revolution and that the Malaysia Cyber Brain is just the beginning towards digitising the country. She further added that MDEC will continue to work on selected high-profile AI initiatives and simultaneously develop the National AI Framework.
Pokdepinion: I see this as a future lifesaver for those who have to painfully travel in and out of KL on a regular. It might not be the most instant solution but it will certainly help in the long run.
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Digi 4G LTE Coverage In The Northern Region Strengthened

The folks at Digi has today announced that they have strengthened their 4G LTE coverage in the northern parts of the country which includes Perak, Penang, Kedah, and Perlis for their subscribers to enjoy reliable mobile internet.
Digi strengthens 4G coverage in northern Malaysia
The telco company has said that the network coverage enhancement is an effort in commitment to support the Government in achieving the aims of the National Digital Network Plan or Jalinan Digital Negara (JENDELA).
Kesavan Sivablan, Digi’s Chief Technology Officer has said that the company has completed roughly 85% of their targeted deployment and upgrades for the northern region planned for the year. They hope in completing the remaining improvements by year-end.

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They’ve carried out re-farming of 2,100Mhz spectrum in enhancing 4G network performance. Aside from that, they’ve said the LTE advanced technology coupled with the use of 4T4R MIMO equipment has improved the quality for deep indoor as well as fringe coverage areas.
Aside from that, newly deployed and newly upgraded sites are also using the latest radio equipment with 5G-ready baseband units and 5G-ready platform, enabling 5G services to be available with a simple upgrade, when the time comes.
Pokdepinion: Well I can’t speak out for the folks from the northern region but hopefully the improvements will see users have a better connectivity experience.
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Signify Introduces Latest WiZ Models, SpaceSence Tech & Matter Integration

In the launch event at AVANTE Hotel this Thursday, Signify (formerly Philips Lighting) has unveiled the new WiZ range which includes the extension of Philips Smart LED and WiZ connected portfolio.

Both model lines, WiZ Smart Connected Lighting and Philips Smart LED light with WiZ Connected products are supported through WiZ smartphone app – which features voice controls, presets and scenes. Alternatively, a physical remote is available for direct control over devices.

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The new feature available on WiZ App V2, dubbed SpaceSense, is supported on all existing devices. It uses Wi-Fi signals to detect person’s presence by calculating signal blockage/disturbances as the person goes through it. This does away with additional motion sensors or line-of-sight systems – all the users need is to have at least two lights operating in a room to enable this feature. Users can also adjust the sensitivity to account for pets moving around inside the room to prevent accidental detections.

The new industry-unifying, open IoT standard – Matter – will be integrated into WiZ products, the company stated. Matter is an open standard which enable supported devices to communicate with other IoT devices securely and is supported by mainstream technologies such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, which allows users to have multiple IoT devices to work seamlessly with each other.
For more information with Philips Smart LED powered by WiZ and WiZ Connected Lighting, click here.
Pokdepinion: I like that SpaceSense feature, should make presence detection a lot cheaper to integrate into smart homes.
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Samsung’s 240Hz G-SYNC Curved Gaming Monitor Now Available At RM1,699

Samsung has recently introduced their latest addition of curved gaming monitors, the new 27-inch CRG5 (C27RG5). It comes with a lightning-fast 240Hz refresh rate as well as NVIDIA G-SYNC compatibility.

The new CRG5 offers 1500R display curvature that combines with RapidCurve technology, which helps in eliminating scren lag time while displaying ultra-smooth scenes. You can enjoy smooth, tear-free, low-latency gameplay, all in full HD resolution (1920×1080).

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Other than that, it comes with a 3000:1 contrast ratio, ensuring fine detail even in the darkest and brightest parts of a game. It’s VA panel comes with a minimal bezel design, offering near edge-to-edge screen.
If you are interested in the new Samsung CRG5 curved gaming monitor, you can now purchase it for the price of RM1,699 at Samsung Online Stores and also authorized dealers in the country.
Pokdepinion: Can’t really say much on the monitor since I’ve yet to test it for myself but hopefully it justifies the price. For me personally, I’d be fine with 120Hz-144Hz.
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ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review – Value-Focused Ultraportable

Unboxing the ASUS VivoBook 15 K513
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review – Box

Let’s kick off the ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 review with the unboxing. Inside the laptop box, you are expected to find the following items:
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review – Box content
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review – ASUS backpack
Quick start guideUser guideMyASUS leafletVivoBook stickersHDD Kit65W power adapterPower cableASUS backpackThe ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 laptop itself
Appearance
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review – Lid
For our review unit, we got the Indie Black colour variant of the ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 laptop. Unlike the Cobalt Blue on VivoBook 14 that we reviewed prior, this one looks rather bland. You do have other colour options, which are Transparent Silver and Hearty Gold.
Looking at the lid, you can see the ASUS VivoBook wording towards the right. It feels rather plasticky and is a bit of a fingerprint magnet but it isn’t as bad given the colour scheme. According to ASUS, it has a mixture of aluminum alloy and plastic for a lightweight yet durable design. It does look simple with a clean, elegant finish.

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ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review
Open up the lid, which requires two hands, and you get a clear view of its 15.6-inch Full HD NanoEdge display, a chiclet keyboard complete with Numpad and white backlighting, a trackpad with a fingerprint sensor, and product stickers. It’s not a bezel-less display, with the sides being thinner than the top and bottom, but it’s definitely practical as the webcam sits on the top bezel. The top and bottom bezels are still rather thin.
You can also see the ASUS VivoBook wording on the bottom bezel. It’s worth pointing out that the arrow keys are rather small, and the Enter key has a yellowish-green outline as if it’s being highlighted, just like in the other VivoBook laptops. The power button is located right above the Num Lock key.
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review – Ports
On the left side, you will only see two USB Type-A ports and an LED indicator. As for the right side, you can find a MicroSD card reader, a 3.5mm combo audio jack, a USB Type-C port, another USB-Type A port, an HDMI port, and the proprietary charging port . There’s nothing on the rear except for a clear view of the hinge.
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review – Bottom
Moving to the bottom, you have four rounded feet, product stickers, two speaker grilles, and some air vents. It’s worth noting that the two feet at the top are more spherical compared to the two feet on the bottom, which is more flat. This is to aid the laptop by giving it a bit of a lift for better airflow. There are about 10 screws exposed here, and doesn’t seem to have any hidden screws.
Overall, the ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 seems to reuse the same design from recent VivoBook laptops. The Indie Black colour looks rather dull so you might want to opt for the other options instead. However, this is subjective. While the build quality is a little bit cheap, it does seem to be a little better than the VivoBook 14 A413 that we reviewed earlier, but not by much.
Specifications
CPUIntel Core i5-1135G7 @ 2.4 GHz (up to 4.2 GHz Boost), 4C/8T, 8M cache, 28W TDP, 10nm SuperFinRAM8GB 3200MHz DDR4, single channelGPUIntel Iris Xe GraphicsNVIDIA GeForce MX350 2GB GDDR5Storage512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD (Intel 660p)SoftwareMicrosoft Windows 10 HomeMicrosoft Office Home and Student 2019MyASUSMcAfee Personal SecurityASUS Tru2LifeASUS SplendidLink to MyASUSConnectivityWirelessIntel WiFi 6 (Gig+) 802.11ax (2.4GHz and 5GHz) Bluetooth 5.0 Wired1 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A1 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-C (DT Only)2 x USB 2.01 x HDMI1 x MicroSD card readerInputBacklit chiclet keyboardTouchpad with built-in fingerprint sensorDisplay15.6″ Full HD (1920 x 1080) 16:9 IPS with wide 178°, Anti-glare NanoEdge (5.7mm bezel) Display, 84% screen-to-body ratio, 45% NTSCTÜV Rheinland Eye Care certificationAudio1 x 3.5mm Combo audio jackHarman Kardon-certified audioBuilt-in speakerArray microphone with Cortana voice recognitionPower42 Whr 3-cell li-ion battery65W power adapterColoursIndie Black / Transparent Silver / Hearty GoldDimensions359 x 235 x 17.9 mmWeight1.7 kg
Performance
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review – CrystalDiskMark
Starting off with CrystalDiskMark, you can see that it’s pretty decent speeds as it’s noticeably faster than your typical SATA III SSD. Given the 512GB capacity, I honestly don’t think anyone would have any complaints with this, especially given the price point, as you can still expect fast loading speeds / bootup times. In case you’re wondering, it’s the Intel 660p.
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review – Cinebench R15
In Cinebench R15, the Intel Core i5-1135G7 performed surprisingly strong in single core, but is lagging behind in terms of multi core. This is especially apparent when you compare it to other CPUs, like the Intel Core i7-9750H and i9-10980HK.
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review – Cinebench R20
Its single core prowess is more apparent in Cinebench R20, where it can match up with stronger CPUs like the Intel Core i9-10980HK, i7-10875H, and AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS. The multi core score isn’t much to behold but given that the ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 is geared towards productivity, it’s perfectly fine.
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review – Unigine SuperPosition
In Unigine SuperPosition’s 4K Optimized benchmark, we didn’t expect it to do well. While it does have a discrete GPU, it’s only a GeForce MX350 so it would be tough to run anything in 4K with that. It would need a stronger GPU as this benchmark is graphically intensive. This is evident as the highest score in the graph above, a laptop that uses a RX5500M which is far stronger than any MX-based GPU.
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review – 3DMark Time Spy
A similar pattern can be seen in 3DMark’s Time Spy benchmark. You can see that laptops running similar GPU will have a similar score and the lowest three laptops do not have a discrete GPU. The addition of at least a GTX 1650 would make for a whole world’s difference.
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review – PCMark
In PCMark, the ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 performs decently overall. While it does have an MX350 dGPU, the overall specifications isn’t strong enough for digital content creation. One thing’s for sure, an upgrade in RAM would definitely see a huge boost in overall performance as this only has a single stick 8GB DDR4 RAM.
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review – Gaming
As it does have an MX350 dGPU, it would be interesting to see how the ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 performs in light gaming. In DotA 2, it had an average 54FPS while in CS:GO, it’s an average of 78FPS. Yes, in CS:GO, you can actually enjoy buttery-smooth gaming without issues but in DotA 2, you may need to tweak the settings a little bit. The frames start to drop when there’s a huge team fight. An upgrade in RAM might be able to solve this but if it doesn’t just dial down the graphics settings just a little bit.
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review – Battery life
The battery life is one area that we have high expectations and the ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 laptop, and it performed decently. It managed to last 372 minutes (6 hours and 12 minutes) in PCMark’s Modern Office endurance test. I personally expected better from a laptop like this but it should be okay for a lot of people out there, especially given the price point.
If you’re looking for options and want a similar laptop, check out our review of the ASUS VivoBook S15 S533F by clicking right here.
User Experience
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review
The ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 is an ultraportable productivity laptop, with the moniker of “world’s smallest 15-inch colourful ultraportable”. It’s designed for those looking at lightweight laptops within reasonable prices. It’s powered by the Intel Core i5-1135G7 CPU, which has Intel Iris Xe iGPU, with NVIDIA GeForce MX350 dGPU.
As for memory, it has a single stick 8GB DDR4 RAM clocking in at 3200MHz and a 512GB Intel 660p NVMe SSD. 8GB RAM is still an okay amount but the configuration will hold the laptop’s true potential back. The CPU and GPU is actually pretty great for a productivity machine so if you want the best possible experience, add another 8GB stick of RAM to the fray for that dual-channel goodness.
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review – Webcam
It uses a 15.6-inch Full HD NanoEdge display with 60Hz refresh rate. The viewing angles and colours are decent. If you do a lot of creative work that require colour accuracy, this is not the one for you, especially since it’s a little dim. It’s worth noting that you can open up the lid up to about 145°. I just wished it had touchscreen support for better productivity potential.
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review – Ports
The ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 laptop has a decent array of ports. You get 3 USB-A ports, a USB-C port, an HDMI port, a combo audio jack, and a MicroSD card reader. I feel like they should have went for a full-sized SD card reader instead. The lack of an RJ45 LAN port might steer some folks away but you can always get a USB-C hub if you really need it. That way, you get access to more ports but it does mean you will have to spend a bit more.
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review – Highlighted Enter key
As for the keyboard, I personally like it. It’s well-built, has short travel distance, you get a Numpad, and a it’s little bit soft but generally comfortable to use. You may need a bit of time to get used to the small arrow keys but it shouldn’t be a huge problem for most people.
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review – Touchpad with fingerprint sensor
The touchpad itself works fine but what I do like is the embedded fingerprint scanner. This way, you can keep the laptop secure while also letting you login conveniently. So far from my own experience, it works fast and reliably, successfully logging me in within 9 out of 10 tries.
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review – MyASUS
On the software side of things, you have MyASUS, which you can consider as a command centre of sorts. Here, you can check driver updates, change fan settings, pick your preferred charging mode, system diagnosis, and more.
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review – Display
You can even adjust your display settings such as colour mode and blue light intensity here via ASUS Splendid. The Wi-Fi SmartConnect feature here will automatically connect to router with the best signal in the area when enabled. It’s a very useful software suite that you should take the time to familiarize with.
It’s also worth noting the Link to MyASUS feature, which wirelessly connects the laptop to your smartphone. This is very convenient to have as you can easily transfer files, mirror the screen, take phone calls and more using the laptop instead. It’s easy to setup and use, and I’m sure many people will benefit from this greatly for work.
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review
As for the speakers themselves, it’s surprisingly good. It can produce pretty good sound directed towards you for a more wholesome experience. Audio is generally geared towards clarity with a clear lack of bass. Unlike the VivoBook 14 I reviewed recently, the volume is adequately loud.
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Verdict
ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 Review
The ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 is a good ultraportable laptop for those looking reliable performance and lightweight body within a reasonable price. You get a 11th Gen Intel Core CPU with MX350 discrete GPU, 512GB NVMe SSD, and Wi-Fi 6 support.
However, the single stick 8GB RAM is holding back the laptop’s true potential, the lack of an RJ45 LAN port may be a turn off for some, still has USB 2.0 ports, battery life could be better, and could have gone for a full-sized SD card reader instead. With a retail price of RM3,299, I would recommend upgrading the RAM immediately if you plan on buying this.
With that, I award the ASUS VivoBook 15 K513 laptop with our Bronze Pokdeward.

Big thanks to ASUS Malaysia for providing us this laptop for the purposes of this review.
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