HONOR Malaysia Launches HONOR 9X Lite, HONOR Magic Earbuds And HONOR Scale 2

The folks at HONOR Malaysia has officially launched their latest products from their 1+8+N ecosystem which includes the HONOR 9X Lite, HONOR Magic Earbuds, and HONOR Scale 2.
HONOR 9X Lite, HONOR Magic Earbuds, and HONOR Scale 2

We’ve previously reported on the products where it includes the HONOR 9X Lite, which is powered by a Kirin 710F chipset and features a 48MP camera. There’s 128GB of internal storage, with the option to expand up to 512GB.

The HONOR 9X Lite is priced at RM699. Purchases through hihonor will get you free gifts worth RM219 in the form of a HONOR 10000mAh powerbank and a RM70 hihonor voucher. You can find out more on the device from our full review of it right here.

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Then there’s the HONOR Magic Earbuds where it is equipped with Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Technology designed to block out unwanted ambient sounds of over 32 decibels.
It adopts a 10mm diameter dynamic drive with a composite diaphragm which they claim offer a balance of deep bass and clean sound across all frequency.
Available in Pearl White, the HONOR Magic Earbuds will be available at an introductory price of RM399 (retails at RM499). For those who purchase on hihonor will receive free gifts worth RM149, which includes the new HONOR Scale 2 and RM50 hihonor voucher. As for those who purchase on HONOR’s official store on Shopee, SenQ, and Senheng will receive only the HONOR Scale 2 instead.
Last but not least is the HONOR Scale 2 itself. It offers a more accurate reading to measure 11 key body health various body indicators using the HUAWEI TruFit technology. It comes in a compact design to make it easier to store at your home.
It features a built-in LED display and uses Bluetooth connectivity to record date in providing detailed analysis to up to 50 users.
Interested in getting the HONOR Scale 2? It’s priced at RM99 and those who get it through hihonor will get a free HONOR mug and hihonor RM10 voucher. Those who purchase it through Lazada and Shopee will receive a free HONOR mug.
Pokdepinion: To be honest, I was expecting the price of HONOR 9X Lite to be slightly lower. Be sure to check out our review to see if it’s worth it or not.

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Sudio Vasa Blå review — premium Bluetooth headset that sounds as good as it looks

With 3.5mm audio jacks going the way of the dodo, one definitely has to look forward to the options available. We have all kinds of technologies to achieve that but the most popular wireless audio technology by far is Bluetooth, since almost every recent device will feature a Bluetooth radio. Today we have the Sudio Vasa Bla here, a premium Bluetooth wireless headset that I have used daily for almost two weeks by now.

Unboxing

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We got the Sudio Vasa Bla in a gift package. Real Christmassy look and all. If you are getting it for someone, make sure to tick the checkbox to get it in a premium gift box. If you are getting it for yourself, just skip to the next image.

Aside from the standard packaging in the gift box, you get a little note so the recipient knows who sent them such a nice gift.

And this is the standard packaging. On the front, you get a product image of the Sudio Vasa Bla and the branding on a clean white background. As you can see here, we have the Rose Gold Black variant with us.

Over on the back you can find out all the packaging contents as well as most of the necessary specifications like battery life and charging time.

The front lid is held by magnets along the right edge of the packaging. Undo them and the lid flips open, revealing two little boxes. A UV printed glossy logo is on the inner side of the lid. Sudio paid a lot of attention here in the packaging, and we definitely hope to find the same level of attention to detail in the product itself.

Along with the Sudio Vasa Bla, you get a leather pouch, four different sized eartips, cable clip, the usual quick start guide and multi-lingual user manual, and a super classy guarantee certificate that is an actual plastic card with the serial number of your unit embossed into it. You know that you are really getting something premium.

Appearance

The Sudio Vasa Bla features a cable connecting the two earpiece to each other, with the battery and remote on opposing ends. Everything other than the aluminium earpieces are finished in a very nice soft-touch coating.

Let’s take a closer look at the earpieces. Made of rather thick aluminium finished in polished rose gold, they feel really premium to the touch while not adding to the weight. Silicon tips are on one end while the outer end is plastic with the soft touch coating. The black cable connecting the two earpieces is flat, with the product branding on the outer surface and the R and L labels on the inner surface.

Actually, the indicators are not that necessary since we have the battery and remote on each of the sides to easily differentiate which side is which. The battery will be on the left side. The rectangular block feels nice to touch, with a small rubber flip door which reveals the microUSB port to charge the Sudio Vasa Bla. The door lies flush when closed despite its soft material, which is nice to see.

Over on the right we have the three button remote. It looks decidedly plasticky, and seems slightly out of place on such a premium piece of earphone. I wish Sudio had gone with a remote similar to the one the standard Vasa has. A discreet indicator LED is hidden above the + button, but is definitely a lot less discreet when in use. It flashes blue when active, switching to red on certain occasions, i.e. when pairing with a new device.

Specifications

User Experience
Connecting the Sudio Vasa Bla to your smartphone or computer is very easy. Just hold down the middle button for 7 seconds until the indicator LED blinks red and it is ready to pair with your device. Audio should be pumped out of the Sudio Vasa Bla automatically after pairing.
As usual for in-ear headsets, comfort is a matter of finding the right tip. With Sudio including 4 sizes for you to choose from, it isn’t a problem at all to find the one that suits you best. As I have differently sized ear canals, I switched around until I found a pair that allowed the earpieces to sit in my ear properly. I wear it with the cable hanging behind my neck, which allows the weight of the battery and earpiece to rest on the back of my neck. The weight is really insignificant, making it very comfortable to wear for extended periods while out and about.
One of the benefits of having a cable is that it will be more secured, and less weight will rest in your ears. As AirPod users may know, there are actually third-party accessories to link the two earpieces just so that you will not run the risk of having one side drop out and you having to buy a whole new pair as they aren’t sold separately. Even with the cable, I am glad to find no microphonics even when I use it during brisk walks, as the cable sits very stably on the back of my neck. If you are annoyed by the microphonics of your IEMs, you should look into getting one of these Sudio Vasa Blas, or any wireless headset for that matter.
Now that I have gotten comfy with the Sudio Vasa Bla in my ears, let’s turn on the music. Sudio does claim to offer a true studio experience with the Sudio Vasa Bla, and I am truly impressed. I use them with my daily driver, a Honor 8, and the sound quality was just one of the best I have ever experienced out of an IEM. Bass is punchy, yet doesn’t overpower the crystal clear highs. It also avoids the cliched cold sound signature that some headphones tend to have when they aspire for studio-like sound, going instead for a warmer and wholesome sound that definitely sounds way more appealing to my ears.
The microphone, which is located on the remote as well, will be located somewhere beside your neck when you wear it with the cable passing behind your neck, but my friend didn’t complain of any difficulty hearing me in a phone call despite the rather weird location of the microphone.
The battery life of the Sudio Vasa Bla is great, and Sudio claims 8 hours of music before needing a recharge. I managed to use it for 3 days of infrequent music listening sessions, which is more than good enough for me. It will also turn off automatically after 10 minutes of inactivity to conserve battery. Heavier usage may see it having to be charged daily, but it will definitely last a few days if you only use it for the hour-long listening sessions at the gym or while taking the train home from work. Recharging it is not too bad either, and since it recharges via microUSB, you can use just about any smartphone charger for juice.

Conclusion

After using the Sudio Vasa Bla, I realized that I now have the freedom to leave my phone in one place and walk around my small apartment while enjoying music. I never realized the convenience of having such a privilege until I got the Sudio Vasa Bla. Once you experience using wireless headsets, you will also find wires to be cumbersome, so be warned. For RM398, it is quite a lot of money to pay, but if you want a premium, hand-crafted, wireless headset that sounds as good as it looks, the Sudio Vasa Bla makes for a very compelling buy. The Sudio Vasa Bla definitely deserves our Gold Pokdeward.

And oh, you don’t have to pay the full RM398. As a token of appreciation for our readers, you can get 15% off your purchase with our exclusive POKDE discount code. Thank you Sudio!
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11street Join Arms With Wiko – You Can Get The Wiko View2 Pro Exclusively There

Wiko, the French mobile company which was founded back in 2011, has announced of their partnership with 11street. With the joint effort, you can now get the newly launched Wiko View2 Pro exclusively on the 11street platform.
Wiko View2 Pro On 11street

Already started, 11street will be the only marketplace to offer their customers the opportunity to pre-order the Wiko View2 Pro until the 11th of June 2018.

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Customers who pre-order through the platfrom will be receiving a gift box that is worth RM318 of value.
11street has said that in conjunction with the company’s Syioknya Raya campaign, this collaboration is one of many partnerships that they will be embarking on this year.
As for the device, the Wiko View2 Pro features a 6-inch, 19:9 ratio display and runs on Android 8.0 Oreo. Powering it up is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 chipset and a 3000mAh battery located under the hood.
Camera wise, it features a dual 16MP rear camera as well as a 16MP front shooter. This time around, you can use its face unlock feature for instant access to your phone.
Wiko View2 Specification

CPU/Chipset:
Snapdragon 450 Octa-core 1.8 GHz Cortex-A53

GPU:
Adreno 506

RAM:
4GB

Display:
6.0″, IPS LCD (1528 x 720)

Storage:
64GB (expandable with microSD up to 256GB)

Camera:
Main Camera(s)
Dual 16 MP, f/1.8, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED dual-tone flash
Front Camera
16 MP, f/2.0

OS:
Android 8.0 Oreo

Connectivity:
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.2

SIM:
nanoSIM (dual SIM in certain regions)

Battery:
Li-Po 3000 mAh (non-removable)

The Wiko View2 Pro is already available for pre-order now until the 11th of June 2018 and is set at a price tag of RM999. For those who pre-order on 11street, they will get a giftbox worth RM318, which includes a WiShake (Wiko headphone), a 15000mAh power bank as well as an OTG pendrive. To check out the full list of Wiko devices, you can check that out here.
Pokdepinion: Hmm for that specifications at a price tag of RM999, I think you can get better options elsewhere. The recently launched Redmi Note 5 and Zenfone Max Plus M1 anyone?
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Samsung 600MP sensor is reportedly on the way

If you think that today’s ultra high resolution camera sensors are getting out of hand, you aren’t alone. However it seems that Samsung thinks otherwise, and are reportedly working on a 600MP sensor that they are going to put into a smartphone. The sensor is going to be quite difficult to create and implement, as there are quite a few challenges along the way.
For starters, it is going to be huge. Despite tiny 0.8µm pixels, the sensor is going to be a 1/0.57″ in size. For the sake of comparison, the current crop of 64MP sensors like the Sony IMX686 and Samsung GW1 are 1/1.72″, so the Samsung 600MP sensor is going to more than 3X larger than the 64MP sensors we have today. That will not only require more space in your device for the sensor itself, but also a significantly more complex lens structure.

Samsung is really doing 600MP sensors! pic.twitter.com/vGgsfxsGGh
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) December 5, 2020

According to Samsung’s calculations, it will take up around 12% of a smartphone’s back, and the lens assembly will extend out of the body by around 13.2mm. The overall thickness of the device will be increased to 22mm, which would be unacceptable by today’s standards. Aside from the fact that it would be nigh impossible to cram a 600MP sensor into a smartphone with today’s technology, there probably isn’t a chipset out there capable of handling 600MP images.

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It is probably worth noting that given Samsung’s current trend with their high-res ISOCELL sensors, we would probably see a Quad Bayer filter which means that we will be getting 150MP images by default. If Samsung decides to go with a Nonacell arrangement like the ISOCELL Bright HM1 sensor in the Galaxy S20 Ultra, we will be seeing an effective resolution of around 67MP. The Snapdragon 888 is capable of handling 84MP images with zero shutter lag, so if Samsung decides to go with the latter, we already have the hardware to handle it. However if they decide to make it output 150MP images, we will need to wait for some time before the chipsets are ready to properly handle them.
As we start having higher and higher resolution sensors, smartphone vendors should really start exploring “lossless” zooming, like what Nokia introduced with the Lumia 1020. With such high resolution, you can probably extract really sharp images even as you crop in on the sensor. This will come really handy for those who plan on shooting videos with their smartphones, and it might also spell the end for “telephoto” lenses on smartphones.

But in the end, the Samsung 600MP sensor will most probably end up as a marketing bullet point for smartphone vendors, rather than being implemented in a useful way.
Pokdepinion: I think 48MP sensors are already plenty for smartphones… Throw bigger pixels in and you can probably get much better results than a 600MP sensor with dinky 0.8µm pixels.
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[CES 2022] Razer Has A New Smartwatch Made Together with Fossil

At CES 2022, we have a new gaming smartwatch to look forward to, and it’s the Razer X Fossil Gen 6, powered by Wear OS. Here’s everything that you need to know about it.
Razer X Fossil Gen 6

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Razer has partnered up with Fossil to introduce a new smartwatch, the Razer X Fossil Gen 6. To be precise, this is a Razer limited edition smartwatch based on the Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch that has already been in the market. This is part of their strategy to tackle more lifestyle products, as they previously announced a partnership with Italian luxury watchmaker, Panerai.
The Razer X Fossil Gen 6 will come with a boatload of health-focused features, 44mm black case, 3 exclusive watch faces, and the signature Razer UI elements. Unlike the original, this one will come with custom-designed, interchangeable silicone straps made with the company’s iconic black and green colour scheme.
Razer X Fossil Gen 6 Specifications

Display
1.28″ 416 x 416 Color AMOLED display, Always-on display

Water resistance
No (3 ATM)

CPU
Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100+

Memory
1GB RAM, 8GB storage

Features

Wear OS
Loudspeaker, Microphone, Vibration
Compatible with standard 22mm straps
Customizable Chroma Dial (4 lighting effects)
Natural language commands and dictation
Bluetooth 5.0 LE
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n dual-band
NFC
GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
4 pin USB fast charging with a magnetic puck

Sensors
Accelerometer, Altimeter, Ambient Light, Compass, Gyroscope, Off-body IR, PPG Heart Rate, SPO2

Battery
300 mAh

Dimensions
44mm with 22mm straps

The Razer X Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch will be retailing for $329 later in January 2022. It will be available at the official Fossil website, Razer website, and selected retailers. If you want one, you will have to be quick as there will only be 1,337 units available worldwide.
Pokdepinion: I personally wished that the battery capacity would be bigger so it can last longer. Other than that, it looks like a pretty decent smartwatch for the price.
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Sony Xperia 5 III Review – When Small Doesn’t Mean Less

Unboxing the Sony Xperia 5 III
Sony Xperia 5 III Review – Box

Let’s kick off the Sony Xperia 5 III review with the unboxing. With every purchase of the Sony Xperia 5 III smartphone, you are expected to get the following items:
Sony Xperia 5 III Review – Box content

USB-C cable
Charger
Handsfree kit
User guide
Warranty card
The Sony Xperia 5 III smartphone itself

Appearance
Sony Xperia 5 III Review – Front
Just like its predecessors, the Sony Xperia 5 III is basically a flagship smartphone complete with appropriate hardware but built within a compact body. In simpler terms, it’s basically a smaller version of the Sony Xperia 1 III. On the front, you have a CinemaWide 6.1-inch Full HD+ display with an aspect ratio of 21:9, thin side bezels but thicker bezels for the top and bottom, with the former housing its selfie camera and loudspeaker.
Sony Xperia 5 III Review -Sides
Moving to the top, you have a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microphone hole. As for the bottom, you have a USB-C port and another microphone hole. On the left side, you have the SIM tray which doesn’t require an ejector as you can open it with just a finger. Then on the right side, you have the volume rocker, 2-in-1 power button / fingerprint scanner combination, a dedicated Google Assistant button, and a dedicate camera shutter button.

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Sony Xperia 5 III Review -Rear
Lastly on the back, you have a glossy surface which looks great but once again, it is a fingerprint magnet. If you’re worried about scratches, the back utilizes Gorilla Glass 6 as well, so you don’t have to worry about that. Still, there’s no harm in getting a protective case if it gives you peace of mind or lets you hold on to it more easily.
Overall, the Sony Xperia 5 III is pretty much one of the last few compact smartphones around to contain proper flagship hardware. It’s largely unchanged from its predecessor, being very slightly thicker to accommodate a bigger battery but if you held both together side-by-side, you’d have a hard time telling the difference. In case you’re wondering, this one weighs a mere 5g heavier than its previous iteration, but the additional 500mAh capacity is certainly worth it.
Specifications

Processor
Snapdragon 888 (1 x Kryo 680 @ 2.84GHz, 3 x Kryo 680 @ 2.42GHz, and 4 x Kryo 680 @ 1.8GHz), 5nm

GPU
Adreno 660

RAM
8GB

Storage
128GB, expandable up to 1TB microSDXC

Display
6.1″ FHD+ (2520 x 1080) HDR 120Hz OLED, 21:9
240Hz motion blur reduction
Creator mode
DCI-P3 100%
Illuminant D65 white point
10-bit

Rear Camera
12MP f/1.7 wide angle, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS
12MP f/2.3 3x / 4.4x telephoto, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS
12MP f/2.2 124° ultra-wide, Dual Pixel PDAF
ZEISS T* Lens Coating
Zeiss Optics
Eye Tracking
4K HDR 24/25/30/60/120 video

Selfie Camera
8MP f/2.0 wide angle
5-axis gyro EIS

Battery
4500mAh
30W USB-PD fast charging

Dimensions
157 x 88 x 8.2 mm, 168g

Performance
Sony Xperia 5 III Review – Antutu v9
Starting off our benchmark suite with Antutu v9, the Sony Xperia 5 III shows that it’s still a powerful device as it outperformed a good number of flagship devices. Sure, something with a newer Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip would be stronger, but it’s still a solid performer nonetheless.
Sony Xperia 5 III Review – Geekbench 5
In Geekbench 5, the Sony Xperia 5 III once again has an excellent showing, this time in both single core and multi-core performance. This time however, it seems to be neck in neck with other Snapdragon 888 devices, which is what we would expect since they’re all using the same chip.
Sony Xperia 5 III Review – 3DMark
Moving on the 3DMark, it performed admirably in Sling Shot and Sling Shot Extreme, and the Wild Life score is about what you’d expect from the SoC. The only wait it would get higher is if the chip had a stronger GPU that can take advantage of newer technology, which is why the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 here had a noticeably higher score.
Sony Xperia 5 III Review – PCMark
On PCMark’s Work 3.0 benchmark which tests out for real world use, the Sony Xperia 5 III performed well enough. It easily passed the 10,000 mark, though its a surprise that some other device running the same chip managed a noticeably higher score. Regardless, it’s still a good performer.
Sony Xperia 5 III Review – Battery endurance test
As for battery life, the Sony Xperia 5 III had a healthy 500mAh boost in capacity but is it any good? It’s certainly good given that the display is on most of the time as it lasted 12 hours and 47 minutes (767 minutes) in PCMark’s Work 3.0 endurance test in 60Hz, and a shorter 9 hours 18 minutes (558 minutes) in 120Hz. With my own light-to-medium usage of mostly social media apps, short calls, and texting, I only need to charge this once every two days.
In case you’re wondering about charging speed, it goes from 1% to 49% in 30 minutes, but a full charge will take slightly less than 2 hours, roughly 105 to 110 minutes. This is with the included 30W PD charger that’s included inside the box. It’s far from the fastest around but Sony claims that they’re doing this to preserve the battery’s health, which is said to be good even after three years of use.
User Experience
Sony Xperia 5 III Review – Display on
The Sony Xperia 5 III uses a 6.1-inch OLED display at Full HD+ resolution and refresh rate options of either 60Hz or 120Hz. Colours are punchy with good contrast thanks to the OLED’s ability to display the truest blacks. With Creator Mode, you get more colour-accurate visuals, which may appear more dull so for the most part, I would suggest using it in Standard Mode unless you have a specific use for it.
It’s standard to have 120Hz refresh rate option nowadays, and it’s great to have to enjoy much smoother animations. I do hope this will be the last one of its kind and Sony will move towards adaptive refresh rate instead. That way, you can have both buttery smooth visuals and not sacrifice battery efficiency. The 21:9 aspect ratio can make viewing videos or playing games a little awkward to see.
In case you were wondering, the Sony Xperia 5 III has stereo speakers; one being the earpiece and the other is a bottom-firing speaker. It doesn’t seem to be much different from its predecessor as the sound produced is a little tinny but with adequate volume. For most people, you wouldn’t have any issues with it but if you want a better listening experience, you can connect your audio gear to it either via USB-C or the 3.5mm audio jack.
Sony Xperia 5 III Review – Glossy rear
While it is certainly an attractive smartphone in terms of looks, it’s a fingerprint magnet and is also slippery to hold. If you don’t plan on using a case and are worried about scratches on its glass back, don’t worry about it since Gorilla Glass 6 is present on both the front and back of the device.
Sony Xperia 5 III Review – UI
As far as using the Sony Xperia 5 III goes, it came with Android 11 and Xperia Home launcher out of the box. It’s pretty clean with minimal bloatware inside and runs smoothly. I personally feel that some parts of the UI, such as the Settings menu, feel a bit cramped but that may just be due to the nature of the CinemaWide display. If this isn’t up to your liking, you can always opt to use a different launcher.
Just like its predecessor, I really had a good time with its fingerprint scanner. I liked the fact that it’s situated on the side, right below the volume rocker, as it’s a space-saving placement. Moreover, it works fast and reliably. It’s great that Sony isn’t following the trend of having an under-display reader instead given how well this works, and it also helps solidify their identity.
Looking for a good pair of headphones to use with this smartphone? Check out our Sony WH-1000XM4 review by clicking right here.
Camera
Sony Xperia 5 III Review – Camera UI
The Photo Pro app is pretty much the same as before. You will have DSLR-like controls such as shutter speed, ISO, and more so you can get your pictures exactly the way you want them. You can also rely on Basic Mode for a more traditional smartphone shooting experience. Video Pro also works similarly, just that it’s for video recording. It’s great as it lets beginners use the camera as they see fit while the more experienced shooters can tailor their captures exactly how they want it to be.

Camera performance on the Sony Xperia 5 III is great across the board. What makes this particularly noteworthy is that it’s the closest thing to the iPhone in terms of overall camera performance as every single camera is a capable shooter so you can enjoy a more consistent experience.
You get excellent dynamic range in practically every shot, low-light performance is great, and the Manual options bring a whole world of possibilities at your fingertips. Sure, you don’t get some of the fancier features that certain competitors have like 100x zoom but realistically, are you actually going to use that often? It’s a novelty, and this is practical.
Sony Xperia 5 III Verdict
Sony Xperia 5 III Review
The Sony Xperia 5 III is an excellent smartphone in today’s world if you’d prefer smaller devices that are easier to hold. Granted, the display’s aspect ratio is uncommon compared to its competitors but what you get here is a solid performer with good battery life, great cameras, and excellent display while still being able to retain the 3.5mm audio jack.
It’s not perfect but even though options for a compact flagship smartphone is few and far in between, going for this doesn’t mean you’re settling for less as this can serve you well. Just keep in mind that it’s rather pricey, at RM4,599. At the end of our Sony Xperia 5 III review, I award this with our Gold Pokdeward.

Big thanks to Sony Malaysia for sending us this smartphone for the purposes of this review.
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AMD Radeon Pro 490 — Vega makes an appearance?

We have seen our fair share of leaks regarding the upcoming AMD Radeon RX 490, but we have not seen much in terms of actual performance numbers. We now have benchmark scores of the AMD Radeon Pro 490, not the RX 490, but we expect performance figures to be similar.

Well based on the 3DMark benchmarks, the Radeon Pro 490 beats the GeForce GTX 1070 from the green camp, which is quite nice to see. What makes this even better is that if you have been following the progress of AMD cards, two RX 480s should actually outperforms a GeForce GTX 1080, and this new Radeon Pro 490 only outperforms a GTX 1070, which gives me the impression that the Radeon Pro 490 may be the first card to be based on the new Vega architecture.

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Based on AMD’s official naming convention, the 49X series will be targeted at 4K gameplay, which also means that AMD will be packing a lot of horsepower in the upcoming Radeon RX 490. Will this be the first card packing a Vega 10 GPU remains to be seen. While rumors of a dual Polaris 10 card has been around for some time, it seems quite unlikely that the Radeon Pro 490 is a dual Polaris 10 card, as performance would have to be nipping at the GTX 1080’s heels, especially after all that talk from AMD about how the RX 480 in CrossFire would beat a GTX 1080 in terms of performance and value for money.

Pokdepinion: I can’t wait to see a card from AMD matching the GTX 1070. However if it was really a dual GPU that only beats the GTX 1070, I would be quite disappointed.
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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 Allegedly Won’t Have IP58 Rating, Crease Similar to Z Fold4

As we approach the highly anticipated launch of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 and Z Flip5 later this month, the rumour mill is in full swing. Renowned tipster Ice Universe, known for accurate Samsung leaks, has recently shared some clarifications regarding the upcoming foldable devices. Contrary to previous reports, it seems that the Galaxy Z Fold5 will not feature an IP58 dust and water resistance rating.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 Allegedly Won’t Have IP58 Rating

Ice Universe’s tweet debunks recent claims suggesting that the Galaxy Z Fold5 and Z Flip5 would introduce an IP58 rating, marking a significant milestone for foldable phones. However, according to the tipster, it appears that Samsung will likely stick with the IPX8 rating for water resistance, similar to its previous foldable devices. While this may come as a disappointment for some users hoping for enhanced durability, it’s important to remember that Samsung’s IPX8 rating already provides commendable protection against water damage.

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Ice Universe further addresses the crease on the Z Fold5’s inside panel, stating that it will remain consistent with the crease found on its predecessor, the Z Fold4. According to the tipster, the crease will be virtually indistinguishable between the two devices. While some may have hoped for improvements in this aspect, it seems that Samsung has maintained a similar design approach, prioritizing durability and functionality over a completely seamless folding experience.

As we approach the official unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 and Z Flip5, it’s essential to separate fact from fiction amidst the flurry of rumours. Ice Universe’s comments regarding the consistency of the crease design between the Z Fold5 and Z Fold4 suggest that users can expect a similar folding experience. While we await official confirmation from Samsung, these spec leaks offer valuable insights into what to expect from the highly anticipated Galaxy Z Fold5 and Z Flip5 devices. Stay tuned for further updates as we approach the launch date.
Source
Pokdepinion: If this is true, I’m not entirely surprised. It really does feel like all eyes are on the Flip this time around, and I believe it’s a good thing for me.
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NVIDIA’s Upcoming Mid-range RTX 40 GPU Launch Date Leaked

The full RTX 40 desktop family should be complete before June 2023.
GALAX RTX 4050 shown at press event last year. Image: GALAX
Rumors are flying around when it comes to NVIDIA’s GPU launch dates – and leaker @MEGAsizeGPU has revealed at least two upcoming launches for the mid-range RTX 40 models. Currently, only three desktop RTX 40 series GPUs has been released, which is RTX 4090, RTX 4080 and RTX 4070 Ti. The next product in line, RTX 4070 is said to launch at April 13th and followed by RTX 4060 Ti, 4060 then 4050.
The leaker claims that RTX 4060 Ti will launch by the ‘end of May’, while RTX 4050 follows shortly after in June. As for the regular RTX 4060, apparently the launch date is “not decided yet”. It’d be slightly unusual if the RTX 4060 is launched later than RTX 4050, but perhaps the AD107 production may have affected such decisions (RTX 4060 is said to be using a full AD107 die instead of cut-down AD106).

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As for the specs, the RTX 4060 Ti uses a cut-down GA106 die with 4352 CUDAs, while RTX 4060 will step down to a full GA107 die with 3072 CUDAs at disposal. Both models will come equipped with 8GB GDDR6, whereas the RTX 4050 will be using a cut-down GA107 die with 2560 CUDAs active and uses 6GB GDDR6 VRAM instead, 2GB less than its predecessor.
Source: Videocardz
Pokdepinion: That seems like too tight of a gap to launch RTX 4060 in between other two models. Unless they launch it concurrently?
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NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV annihilates the new Apple TV (2015 Edition)

The Apple TV (2015 Edition) was recently announced and NVIDIA has already prepped up a table comparing it to its own NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV as well as several other popular media players. You can have a look at the table below and see just how far NVIDIA is ahead of the competition. Apple released the Apple TV with improved specifications, preparing it for high-quality video streaming. To be fair, the new Apple TV has seen a huge jump in terms of performance compared to its older counterpart, but the NVIDIA SHIELD TV is really not in the same league.
For a clearer view click on the image
As you can see, the Shield features a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra X1 64-bit CPU, 3GB RAM and is capable of outputting 4K Ultra HD video. In contrast to this, the latest Apple TV only features a dual-core CPU, 2GB RAM, and maximum resolution of 1920×1080. Additionally, the Shield allows you to stream games from your NVIDIA-powered PC, and access expansive worlds in games like Skyrim. According to the specification sheet, the majority of apps are already supported with Twitch, VUDU and others coming very soon.
RAW specifications only mean so much, but of course the user experience is also an important factor when choosing a media player. I have no personal experience of using either device, I personally believe that Apple will have the upper hand in terms of an intuitive user interface.

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SOURCE: eTeknix

Pokdepinion: The SHIELD features some very impressive specifications which will definitely push some equally impressive performance numbers, but of course it will be meaningless if you don’t use the SHIELD to the max by gaming on it. If you only use it purely as a media player for 1080p, the user interface, power consumption and overall user experience may actually swing the scales in favor of the Apple TV.

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PS Plus July 2021 FREE Games Lineup

The PS Plus July 2021 free games lineup has been revealed which includes some pretty good games. Here’s everything that you can download for free for this month.
PS Plus July 2021 FREE Games Lineup

Survive hordes of 🐀 and 🧟 July’s PlayStation Plus games are available now, including Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (PS4) and A Plague Tale: Innocence (PS5): https://t.co/Ge3l6Z73d3 pic.twitter.com/jIsPizZkW5
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) July 6, 2021

First on the list PS Plus July 2021 free games is A Plague Tale: Innocence for the PS5. A Plague Tale: Innocence is a survival horror game with action-adventure elements. Follow the grim tale of young Amicia and her little brother Hugo, in a heartrending journey through the darkest hours of history in a plague-infested medieval France. Outsmart the enemy and try to survive against overwhelming odds in a brutal, unforgiving world.

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Next on the PS Plus July 2021 free games lineup is Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 for the PS4, which is one of the latest instalments in the popular Call of Duty: Black Ops series. Enjoy a deep, tactical Call of Duty multiplayer experience featuring Blackout, a competitive mode that brings together characters, locations, weapons and gear from across the series in all-out survival combat.
After that, we have WWE 2K Battlegrounds, an over the top, in-your-face arcade-style game featuring your favourite WWE superstars and legends battling it out in outlandish interactive environments around the world.
The final game on the PS Plus July 2021 free games lineup is Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown and is the latest instalment in the long-running Virtua Fighter fighting game series. Master your fighting style to defeat all challengers in the Fifth World Fighting Tournament and become a Virtua Fighter legend! The game was actually available with last month’s free game lineup but has been made available until August.
That’s it for the PS Plus July 2021 free games list. The games are available to download now until August 3 when next month’s free games become available to download.
Source
Pokdepinion: Gotta say, this month’s PS Plus free games list is pretty good. Very solid games on offer. Hopefully, we get more solid games like this in the future.
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Official Xbox Games with Gold November 2017; There’s A Telltale Game?!

The official Xbox Games with Gold November 2017 lineup is out. It looks pretty promising, as it also includes a Telltale Game in the lineup.
Xbox Games with Gold November 2017

Microsoft has officially announced the Xbox Games with Gold November 2017 lineup of games that will be distributed to Xbox Live Gold members. It’s a rather interesting lineup that will surely pique the interest of many Xbox One gamers.
The first on the menu is Trackmania Turbo for the Xbox One, which is a racing game by Ubisoft that boasts over 200 tracks to race in. Next we have Tales from the Borderlands for the Xbox One by Telltale Games, where you follow protagonists Rhys and Fiona in an adventure to recover money that they both believe belongs to them.

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Next up, we have Sega’s NiGHTS Into Dreams. for the Xbox 360, a Sega Saturn remake which follows Elliot and Claris save Nightopia from Wizeman the Wicked. Lastly, we have The Farm 51’s Deadfall Adventure for the Xbox 360, an action-driver 1st person shooter where you, an adventurer, hunt for treasures, explore unknown regions, and save some damsels in distress.
As usual, the game will be granted with no additional purchase to all Xbox One and Xbox 360 owners who have an Xbox Live Gold subscription, but you have to keep in mind that you need to manually “purchase them” before they’re discontinued, or you’ll miss on them.
In fact, you still have a few days to grab the games from October if you didn’t yet, while The Turing Test will remain available until November 15th.
Full Lineup

Trackmania Turbo
Tales from the Borderlands
NiGHTS into Dreams
Deadfall Adventure

If you aren’t familiar with any one of the games mentioned above, Microsoft released a handy trailer to give you an idea of what you’ll be getting into. That trailer is listed at the top of this post.

Pokdepinion: Honestly, just Tales from the Borderlands alone makes the Xbox Games with Gold November 2017 lineup seem worth it.
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Epson Showcase Latest Projection Products – Smart Glasses With AR!

Epson did an unveiling of their latest projection products in Sunway today, which featured the EB-1470Ui, EB700U, as well as the Moverio BT-350 AR glasses.
Epson New Projection Products
Epson EB-1470Ui projector
Epson has introduced the first 3LCD laser ultra-short throw projector, the EB-147Ui projector. At the showcase, they have demonstrated on how their new projectors can be a solution on areas such as education, corporate, home, retail, as well as public spaces for businesses and consumers.
It features inorganic 3LCD panels along with an inorganic phosphor wheel, which helps it last longer than your conventional projectors. The projector’s laser light source provides up to 20,000 hours of operation with no maintanence needed. It can deliver 4,000 lumens of white and color brightness and WUXGA beyond Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels for a better viewing experience.

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The projector can work on nearly any flat surface, making it into an interactive touch enabled digital whiteboard. It can support up to 100-inch screen size, giving users better readability.
With its ultra-short throw, it also can help retailers to project a large screen within the narrow space of retail windows.
Projector display (projector is behind the wall)
In addition, they have introduced their Moverio BT-350 Smart Glasses, which features augmented reality (AR).
Epson Moverio BT-350

Your trips to the museum wont ever be the same again with the new BT-350. It is designed for a commercial environment where the glasses are made for multiple-user deployment. With the emergance of interactive digital storytelling, combining story narration and audio, augmented with digital content, makes it the perfect equipment to make those trips to the museum even more interesting.
Epson Moverio Pro BT-2200 Smart Headset
The Moverio Pro BT-2200 is designed for industrial needs. It built specifically for helmet-mandatory environments. Through AR, it allows workers in different locations to see exactly what their counterparts are seeing to provide informed support and training. It comes with a hinge specifically designed to fit over front brim helmets, making it perfect for use in dangerous worksites that requite workers to put on helmets such as in construction environments.
Pokdepinion: The projector definitely showed quite a few uses and the quality was impressive. As for the AR glasses, I don’t really see them as needed by the public, reason why is not everyone is going to utilize AR to its full potential. What do you think? Leave your comments below.
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People In China Will Have To Scan Their Faces Now To Access The Internet

Internet has become a necessity for people nowadays, with it being a platform for various forms of communication. Now it seems like the folks in China will have an inconvenient way of getting access to it; having to scan their faces.
It appears that China will be introducing a new law where local citizens who are interested in using the internet will have to pass a facial recognition test before they can have their internet installed or even when buying a new smartphone.
This law seems the be effective starting this 1st of December , where they will need to get their faces scanned by the local authorities to prove their identity.

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The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has said that with the introduction of the new rule, it will improve the country’s internet security and combat terrorism.
Once a user has been registered, it will then prohibit them from selling their SIM cards, preventing any other users from making calls with the phone.
Pokdepinion: I understand the security point for the government’s (China) end but wow, talk about privacy. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
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NVIDIA releases resizable BAR update for GeForce RTX 30 Series graphics

NVIDIA has announced that they were working on resizable BAR since November last year, and they did release the GeForce RTX 3060 and Ampere laptop GPUs with the feature in tow. Now they are finally releasing the VBIOS updates to bring resizable BAR to previously launched GeForce RTX 30 series cards as well.
On top of the updated VBIOSes to support the feature, NVIDIA will be enabling resizable BAR on a per-game basis with the GeForce Game Ready Drivers.
Resizable BAR does not improve performance in every game, so NVIDIA’s approach ensures that you will not see performance regressions with resizable BAR enabled. As of now, there are 17 games supported including Cyberpunk 2077, Watch Dogs Legion and Godfall.

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NVIDIA claims performance improvements of up to 11.9% with resizable BAR enabled, but of course it varies with each game.
You will have to download the VBIOSes from your card’s manufacturer, so go on ahead and check out the support pages for your specific GeForce RTX 30 series card.
A CPU that supports the feature is also required, and that would be the AMD Ryzen 3000 and 5000 series as well as the 10th Gen Intel Core and 11th Gen Intel Core processors. Most recent motherboards have already been updated to support it, but do check for a BIOS update if you haven’t updated in a while.
Pokdepinion: It is great that AMD’s implementation of the feature spurred industry-wide implementation.
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Asus Zen Aio Pro Full-HD (Z240IC) Review

ARVE Error: need id and provider

I really am not going to go into the parts where you start comparing this piece of hardware with the Apple’s iMac because at first glance, you already had it in your mind that Asus is participating in that segment with this hardware. However, I would note here that if you think that the 21.5″ iMac is a tad too small, while the 27″ iMac will not fit your desk, here is the Asus’ 23.8″ Zen Aio Pro alternative for you to consider – especially, if, at the end of the day you are still going to be running bootcamp on your iMac and you NEED Windows still.
Appearance
The box is appealing already!
When I got my hands on the Asus Zen Aio Pro unit, I was actually immediately awed by it’s looks. The perfect balance between metal and glass here is beautifully done. The unit not only looks exquisite, it’s robust! And because Asus has badged this with the “Zen” line-up, Asus’ signature brushed silver finishing is present at the back. The hinge mounted to this back case is pretty elegantly designed too, providing it’s tilting motion to satisfy your viewing angle. You really don’t need much space on the desk itself to place the Asus Zen Aio Pro if the 23.8″ display will not be hindered by anything around it.
This is sooo satisfying…
There is a large ASUS emblem beautifully donning the back of the body and the power socket is perfectly center-aligned with the hole on the hinge. If this is the first time you will be using an AiO, you would find some early awkwardness as you struggle to look for the power button without RTFM-ing. It’s located at the bottom left (from the rear view) as you fiddle your fingers searching for it.

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Right across the power button is where you will find the ports for your extensions. From the end, we have the new standard USB Type-C port, followed by one USB 2.0 port, four USB 3.0 ports and two HDMI-out ports. Behind the hinge, you will see the power socket, Gigabit Ethernet port above it and Kensington lock socket below the power socket. On the other side of the hinge, after the power socket, you will find the headphone socket, microphone socket and an SD card reader. This completes the list of basic requirements for your desktop computing given that you can attach TWO external monitors to this hardware. But there’s a catch here. I was hoping to at least have ONE unit of HDMI-in port here so you could enjoy the beautiful display with an external system unit. At least, this gives Asus some room to come out with a display-only version to complement this then.
These would have been awesomer if they were in the front instead!
While I got the FHD version of the hardware, there is also a 4K version which at this time I am not sure if it will be available in our country. The display is a 16:9 Widescreen, LED-Backlit IPS with 178° viewing angle. I would settle with the FHD really because I have mentioned countless times on how 4K is just a different ballgame. Nope, this one is not a touchscreen and honestly, do you really touch your displays considering it leaves the ugly fingerprints when you do?
The unit comes with a wireless mouse and a compact chiclet keyboard which is controlled by one single unit adapter and it bugs me that the mouse only wakes up on click but not on movement. It does “sips” on power though but if you are a sucker for mechanical keyboards like me, then you wouldn’t really be bothered much with this.
Specifications

CPU
Intel Core i7-6700T Quad-Core Processor

RAM
16GB DDR4 at 2133MHz

GPU
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M 2GB GDDR5

Storage
1 x 1TB 5400rpm 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 2.5″ HDD

Software
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro

Connectivity
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 4.0
10/100/1000/Gigabit LAN
1 x USB 3.1 (Type-C)
4 x USB 3.0
1 x USB 2.0
SD card reader

Display
23.8″ 16:9 Widescreen, FHD (1920×1080), LED-backlit, IPS
2 x HDMI-Out

Audio
SonicMaster Premium built-in Speakers (4 x 2W + 2 x 4W Internal Woofer)
1 x 3.5mm microphone input
1 x 3.5mm audio output

Power
180W AC Power Adapter

Dimensions
585 x 434 x 52 ~ 190 cm (W x H x D)

Weight
7.3 kg

Performance
I’d like to begin with the bad news first. The unit that I am possessing does NOT come with an SSD drive. It has a Toshiba 1TB 5400rpm 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s which really shows the bottleneck in the performance. If you are the patient type, then you could just settle with the existing HDD but 8MB cache will really haunt you with it’s dreadfulness – at least in this era. Now the next problem is the upgrade-ability for this. I think that at least the HDD and the RAMs should have their removable compartments for upgradability – just like laptops have them. At this stage, I’m not going to rip open this beautiful machine just yet.
Don’t judge that name. It’s carrying a monster underneath!
But that’s really about it – the HDD. Things get rather exciting when move to the other components. Our powerplant on this one is a 6th-Gen Intel Core i7 6700T Quad-core processor that clocks 2.8GHz with a Turbo Boost of 3.6GHz. This is pretty breathtaking and just when you thought that was sweet, it’s coupled standard to a 16GB DDR4 RAM at 2133MHz frequency. And this is why I was saying, the HDD is going to be a pretty bad bottleneck. With these specs, you would really want to give a hand to it’s gaming capabilities.
Which leads us to the related component. Enter nVidia GeForce GTX960M with 2GB GDDR5 VRAM aided with Intel HD Graphics 530 1GB. Basically, you are buying a decent laptop with a desktop enclosure. Most people don’t really study the benefits of having an integrated graphics but if you have followed along, this generation of Integrated graphics has support for CMAA (Conservative Morphological Anti-Aliasing) which is an alternative to using the MSAA (Multi Sample Anti-Aliasing). This is a not-so-new technology actually but it has it’s benefit. It’s not available in every application, but if you have one that supports it, you should offload the task to the integrated graphics rather than the additional GPU. Why? CMAA was introduced for mid-range and lower-range devices like laptops to conserve processing power but still maintaining good enough graphics. MSAA is an expensive option that, if you can spend on very good hardware, you can appreciate to what extend high-end graphics can really look like. Feel like reading, by all means.
Icicle Gold..That’s the color name..

User Experience
I think the best appreciation that you will get by having this hardware is going to be the looks. I couldn’t get tired at the sight of this machine just on our testing ground table. There are no unnecessary cables and everything looks just so neat and organized. I know this is not really an innovation as the Apple iMac has it for years now. However, I take the Asus Zen Aio Pro as a piece of hardware that doubles as the interior designing component. It makes a perfect piece of hardware for front-desk as it leaves an immediate impression.
Yep, this unit is all plugged and ready to run. Neat?
The mouse and keyboards are really not something that I am much interested in. It’s fine as a companion, but I would hook this baby to something that complements it’s personality – something more than the flimsy bundled keyboard and mouse. Although its really a plus to have them if you are not going to spend on peripherals just any time soon.
Not a big fan of these..
The sound is pretty magnificent! It’s loud, crisp and it’s powered by SonicMaster. I’m wondering the absence of Bang & Olufsen really considering this is a “Zen” series, but the SonicMaster isn’t bad at all, so I have no complaints here. There are 4 units of 2W speakers positioned at the bottom of the display and 2 units of 4W internal Woofers for the bass booms. And if you prefer much clarity, just hook up your preferred headphone at the back of the Asus Zen Aio Pro and enjoy the music to your ears.
The ports at the back can really get some love. I mean, we all know, Asus is all about innovation, and I was really hoping for that bit of innovation at least really. If the ports could be shifted to the sides or bottom of the unit, that would provide a pretty depth to convenience because if you are going to put this unit facing the wall, it could get pretty annoying to mount the peripherals or even a USB drive. I mean, at least the USB Type-C was something to show off as it’s still new in the market. A small little slot in the front would perhaps give a touch of it’s own – it’s symmetrical anyway.
It’s so glossy, it attracts dust too..
Let’s get on to the display. While this is only the FHD version and I have not yet seen the 4K edition (and I’m not really looking forward to it if it’s only going to be mounted to a GTX960M), the colors are stunning. It’s an IPS too, so designers are going to love this very much. It’s not a touchscreen and I have mixed answers as to whether there will be a touchscreen option. I’m not in favor of having my fingerprints all over the device, but the Asus Zen Aio Pro would make a very beautiful looking POS system if it had touchscreen. This really depends on which demographics is Asus really targetting at and this will be dependant on how successful this model will be first. I guess for the Asus Zen Aio Pro, it’s the software that can be a plus point for re-marketing but before adding the bloat, Asus, please change that HDD to an SSD at least first :P

Conclusion
I’ve used this unit for a week as a replacement of my office desktop which is a pretty monstrous machine. I like the aesthetics, but there are imbalances in performances that Asus needs to look into. If the upgrade-ability becomes possible, then I think the Asus Zen Aio Pro will unleash it’s true potential and a lot more people would favour this. For me, I always don’t mind cluttering my office space with Asus hardware – let alone one that can actually add to it’s looks :)

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Lenovo is Offering Free 75 Days Global Warranty Extension for Consumer Products

The folks over at Lenovo have officially announced a global warranty extension for their consumer products up to 75 days through to 31st May 2020. This will be applicable to those whose products’ warranty is expiring from 15th March 2020 to 30th April 2020.
This free Lenovo global warranty extension will be applicable to all Lenovo / Motorola smartphones, consumer PCs, tablets, smart home devices, consumer augmented / virtual reality (AR / VR) devices, monitors, and accessories.

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List of Applicable Sub-Brands and Products Lines for Lenovo Global Warranty Extension:

Yoga PCs and accessories
Lenovo Legion PCs, accessories and monitors
IdeaPad laptops
IdeaCentre desktops
Lenovo Tab tablets
Lenovo Smart Display, Lenovo Smart Clock, Lenovo Smart Frame, Lenovo and Yoga Smart Tab series
Lenovo consumer monitors and accessories
Lenovo Chromebook

This is especially helpful in countries facing movement restrictions due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, especially since service centres are forced to close down. If you want a more comprehensive customer support, you can purchase the Lenovo Premium Care for up to 60% off from now until 30th April 2020.
Purchasing it will extend the warranty up to 36 months and it covers accidental damage protection, sealed battery warranty, and the “Keep Your Drive” service. Simply use the promo code PAYDAY60 at Lenovo Exclusive Stores or by clicking right here.
Pokdepinion: Especially for us in Malaysia with the MCO extending yet again, this is very helpful. It shows that the company isn’t shying away from their promise of a good customer experience and they’re confident with their products.
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Samsung Galaxy S10+ Specifications and Price for Malaysian Market

Samsung Galaxy S10+ Specifications for Malaysian Market

CPU/Chipset:
Exynos 9820 Octa (2 x Custom CPU, 2 x Cortex-A75, 4 x Cortex-A55), 8nm

GPU:
Mali-G76 MP12

RAM:
8GB LPDDR4X

Display:
6.3″ QHD+ (1440 x 3040) Curved Dynamic AMOLED display, 19:9 550ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 6, HDR10, Always-On Display

Storage:
128GB / 512GB

Camera:
Main Camera(s)
12 MP, f/1.5-2.4, 26mm, 1/2.55″, 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS
12 MP, f/2.4, 52mm 1/3.6″, 1.0µm, AF, OIS, 2x Optical Zoom
16 MP, f/2.2, 12mm ultrawide lens, 0.5x / 2x Optical Zoom
LED flash, HDR, panorama, dual-video recording, [email protected] fps videos
Front Camera
10MP f/1.9, Super Speed Dual Pixel PDAF
Dual video call, auto-HDR, [email protected] fps videos

OS:
Android 9.0 Pie, One UI

Connectivity:
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax dual band (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz)
Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX
USB-C

Audio:
Stereo speakers
3.5mm jack (32-bit/384kHz audio) with active noise cancelling

SIM:
Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano)

Battery:
4100 mAh with 15W Fast Charging (Wired and Wireless)
Reverse charging @ 9W

Weight:
175 g (198g for Ceramic models)

Samsung Galaxy S10+ Price in Malaysia

The Samsung Galaxy S10+ (128GB) will be retailing for RM3,699 in Malaysia. The 512GB variant will be retailing for RM4,599. Every pre-order of the device will eligible to get the following items for free worth RM1,479 (while stocks last):

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Galaxy Watch 42mm
Screen Protection

If you want to pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S10+, click right here.
For more details on the Samsung Galaxy S10+ launch in Malaysia, click right here.
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Logitech Announces New G502 HERO Gaming Mouse

Logitech G has today announced of their new Logitech G502 HERO Gaming Mouse, which is an upgraded version of the iconic G502.
Logitech G502 HERO Gaming Mouse

The new mouse retains the same shape as its predecessor but comes updated with the latest technology which includes Logitech G’s next-gen HERO (High Efficiency Rated Optical) 16K sensor, the highest performance and most accurate sensor available today, according to them.

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The G502 HERO features an all-new lens and updated tracking algorithm to deliver ultra-precise tracking with no acceleration, smoothing or filtering over the entire DPI range, capable of exceeding 400 IPS and delivering 16,000 DPI tracking with pixel-precise accuracy.

In terms of usage, it has 11 buttons which are programmable through Logitech Gaming Software so that you can customize commands and macros. Its light can also be customized by using Logitech G’s LIGHTSYNC RGB
Logitech G502 HERO comes in with the same design as the original with textured rubber side button grips and an updated braided cable for optimal feel and performance. Another upgraded feature is the mechanical switch, which they’ve put in an Omron switch, capable of delivering 50M clicks.
Available in black, the Logitech G502 HERO Gaming Mouse is expected to arrive here in Malaysia at all Logitech Authorized Resellers by mid-October 2018 for a suggested price of RM349.
Pokdepinion: The mouse looks interesting. Unfortunately, I’ve never got my hands on the original version. Wouldn’t mind testing it out though.
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State of Decay 2 System Requirements Revealed – Hope Your PC is Strong Enough

The PC system requirements for the upcoming zombie game, State of Decay 2, has been officially revealed. Can your rig handle this game?
State of Decay 2 System Requirements Revealed

We are roughly 2 weeks away until Undead Labs’ highly anticipated game, State of Decay 2 ,launches. As the official release date draws near, those intending on picking up the title on PC may now view the system requirements needed to run that particular version of the upcoming zombie game.
A closer look at the PC configuration requirements shows that the game will not require a mega machine to run the game on the recommended settings, which is ideal for those who do not have the money to spend on upgrading PC parts. Of course, those who have well-above the recommended specs will have a better performance and graphics (obviously).

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According to the list, the minimum requirements to run State of Decay 2 include 8GB of memory, 2GB of video memory, an AMD FX-6300 or an Intel i5-2500 @ 2.7GHz as your processor, while the minimum graphics card requirements include either NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 or an AMD Radeon HD 7870.
The recommended settings are 16GB of memory, 4GB of video memory, an AMD FX-8350 or an Intel i5 4570 @ 3.2 GHz processor, and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 or AMD Radeon R9 380 GPU contained inside your PC. Regardless of what is inside your gaming rig, all PC players will require over 20GB of free storage space on their hard drive as well as Windows 10 as your operating system.
For a full rundown of the PC system requirements, you can view right below here:
Minimum System Requirements

OS: Windows 10 (x64)
DirectX: Version 11
Memory: 8 GB
CPU: AMD FX-6300 | Intel i5-2500 @ 2.7GHz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 | AMD Radeon HD 7870
Video Memory: 2 GB

Recommended System Requirements

OS: Windows 10 (x64)
DirectX: Version 11
Memory: 16 GB
CPU: AMD FX-8350 | Intel i5 4570 @ 3.2 GHz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 | AMD Radeon R9 380
Video Memory: 4 GB

State of Decay 2 will becoming to PC and Xbox One on May 22nd 2018.
Source: Microsoft Malaysia
Pokdepinion: Well, good thing I recently upgraded my rig. Is your PC strong enough? #PCMasterRace
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Redmi Note 8 Pro Review — The Mid-range King Returns?

Introduction

In this review, we take a look at the new Redmi Note 8 Pro. The main highlight of the device would be its quad camera setup with a 64MP main camera. Furthermore, it is one of the first smartphones to be equipped with MediaTek’s gaming-focused Helio G90T chipset. Let’s see how the Redmi Note 8 Pro performs, shall we?
Unboxing

We got our hands on the Mineral Grey colour option for the Redmi Note 8 Pro. Right off the bat, you’ll find the phone itself, a SIM ejector, a Type-C cable, TPU case, as well as the user manual. Thankfully, they’ve included an 18W charger instead of the standard 10W ones you usually get with their other devices (non-flagship).
Appearance

The Redmi Note 8 Pro comes with a near bezel-less display with a dewdrop notch on it, which is where the front camera is located.

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On the right side of the smartphone, you have the volume rockers and the power button.

On the opposite side, you have the hybrid SIM tray and a pinhole to eject it.

On top, there’s a microphone hole and the phone’s IR blaster.

Down below, you can find the 3.5mm headphone jack, USB Type-C port, another microphone hole and the speaker grille.

Turn over to the back and you’ll find the quad camera setup on the upper middle portion. It kind of reminds me of the POCOPHONE F1 with the layout in the middle, with the exception that this has more cameras.
Redmi Note 8 Pro Specifications
CPU:MediaTek Helio G90T (2 x 2.05 GHz Cortex-A76 + 6 x 2.0 GHz Cortex-A55) 12nm FinFETGPU:Mali-G76 MC4RAM:6GB LPDDR4xDisplay:6.53″ 19:5:9 Dot Drop FHD+ (2340 x 1080), IPS LCD, 500-nit max brightness, 84.9% screen-to-body ratioStorage:64GB/128GB UFS 2.1Camera:Main Camera(s)64MP Samsung ISOCELL GW1 f/1.89 + 8MP f/2.2 ultra wide, 2MP f/2.4 macro + 2MP f/2.4 depth sensorPDAF, Panorama, HDR, AI, 64MP, Slow Mo, MacroFront Camera20MP f/2.0AI Beauty, 1080p 30fpsOS:MIUI 10 based on Android 9 PieConnectivity:LTE Band 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/20/28/38/40Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz) NFCBluetooth 5.0SIM:Hybrid Dual SIMBattery:Li-Po 4500 (non-removable)18W fast chargeDimensions:161.4 x 76.4 x 8.8 mmWeight:200gIngress Protection:Splash proof coating, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 (front and back), No IP rating
Performance
The Helio G90T is a new gaming-focused chipset from MediaTek and the Redmi Note 8 Pro is actually one of the first to have it packed inside. This is actually the first time that the chipset is being tested here at Pokde.net, and here are the results.
It’s worth noting that we weren’t able to test the phone in Geekbench for some odd reason. We will update the review once it’s capable of doing so.

As you can see from the Antutu benchmark results right above here, it ranks highly for a mid-range device. We even put the fan-favorite POCOPHONE F1 in there, just so you know the difference between the two. We can see that the G90T performed noticeably better compared to devices that utilize a Snapdragon 700-series chipset.

Over at 3DMark, we can see that it scores slightly lower than the Xiaomi Mi 9T (Snapdragon 730) in two out of the three tests. In case you’re wondering how it compares with Snapdragon 800-series chipsets, this will give you a solid idea.

The Redmi Note 8 Pro shines the most on PCMark’s Work 2.0 benchmark, where it sits right on top. This makes it a viable device for productivity purposes.

Despite packing the hefty 4,500 mAh battery, the Redmi Note 8 Pro didn’t perform as well as we’d like to hope. It’s not bad, but it could’ve been better.

In real life usage, the battery life isn’t impressive either. While I was using the Redmi Note 8 Pro, I’d usually would have to charge the phone once I get back home at night. My usage includes social media browsing, several rounds of Call of Duty Mobile and messaging apps.
Using the provided charger, I manage to get 30% from a 30 minute charge, just in case you are wondering how fast the 18W charger really is.
User Experience

The Redmi Note 8 Pro feels like a solidly built device, thanks to the front and back glass design. I personally feel that the fingerprint sensor at the rear is too close to the camera. I foresee people accidentally touching the camera lens rather often, so you may need to wipe that down from time to time.
As for the display, it feels decent enough for the price considering that it’s a 6.54″ IPS display with Full HD+ resolution. I feel like it’s kind of bulky but that’s just my personal opinion, seeing how I’m coming from a Mi 8 as my daily driver.
As for gaming, I pretty much enjoyed it. Since a lot of people have the assumption that a MediaTek-powered smartphone overheats easily, we decided to test it out ourselves. After playing for around 4 hours and 30 minutes, there’s no issues of overheating. There’s warmth (standard for smartphones) but it doesn’t get unbearably hot.
I can definitely vouch for the liquid cooling system in the phone as it does indeed work pretty well. Moreover, the phone is also able to play both Call of Duty Mobile and PUBG Mobile on max settings with no issues. Yes, you read that right, the phone can handle it with no issues.

In terms of the UI, there isn’t much difference from other MIUI 10 devices. At the moment, it’s still one of my favorite UIs around given how easy it is to use. Let’s hope that the upcoming MIUI 11 will be as good, if not better.

The camera UI on the hand is also similar. There’s a whole bunch of modes that sits above the shutter. I guess the only thing that I didn’t enjoy is the fact that you’d need to swipe a couple of times to get to the mode of your choice. I would prefer it if it they put in an option where you can choose your modes directly instead.

Here are the photo samples taken with the Redmi Note 8 Pro. Some of the shots are taken by a professional (you can probably tell which). Based on the results, you can take a look how detailed the shots you can get from the device. Even in low light situations, it can still get you clear shots.
If you wish to see full resolution of the photos, you can check them out right here. One thing that you make sure is that you have enough storage, especially if you take a lot of photos with the 64MP mode as the photos will take up quite a bit of space.
Should You Get The Redmi Note 8 Pro?

Overall the Redmi Note 8 Pro feels like a solid offering in the mid-range segment. Pit it against the likes of the Mi 9T Pro and there are still good reasons as to why you’d opt for this still, especially if photography is your focus. It works great for mobile gaming as well.
If you were to choose from the two variants that’s available, I’d suggest for you to pick the bigger storage version, just to ensure that you won’t be lacking space for those 64MP shots.
Aside from the battery performance, I’m quite satisfied with the smartphone. If it manages to do better in that department, I would gladly give it our coveted Gold Pokdeaward. Instead, it’ll be receiving our 2nd best thing, our Silver Pokdeaward.

We would like to thank Xiaomi Malaysia for providing the Redmi Note 8 Pro that was used in this review.
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PS Plus July 2022 FREE Games Lineup

PS Plus July 2022 FREE Games Lineup

As usual, there will be free games for those who subscribed to the service, and in the case of PS Plus July 2022, the free games lineup is certainly an interesting one, and it appears that the leaks were true after all.
For the usual free games addition, you will be getting Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan, and Arcadegeddon. All of these games will be available for every PS Plus member.

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If you have subscribed to the Extra tier at the very least, there are even more additions for you to enjoy. The most notable additions are pretty much the entirety of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, and the highly anticipated cat exploration game, Stray.
For the full list PS Plus Extra games available from today onwards, check it out right below here:

Assassin’s Creed Unity – PS4
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade – PS5
Ice Age: Scrat’s Nutty Adventure – PS4
Jumanji: The Video Game – PS4
LocoRoco: Midnight Carnival – PSP (PS Plus Premium Only)
Marvel’s Avengers – PS4 / PS5
No Heroes Allowed – PSP (PS Plus Premium Only)
Paw Patrol on a Roll – PS4
ReadySet Heroes – PS4
Saints Row 4: Re-Elected – PS4
Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell – PS4
Spirit of the North: Enhanced Edition – PS4
Stray – PS4 / PS5

Source
Pokdepinion: Those are some pretty solid additions and I hope the PlayStation team continues at the pace that they are going. They will need to bolster their PS Plus offering as soon as they can if they want to fight against the competition.
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PlayStation Awards 2018 Full List of Winners – Discounts Coming Soon?

PlayStation Awards 2018 Full List of Winners

The folks over at Sony Interactive Entertainment recently held the PlayStation Awards 2018. It is an awards ceremony held annually to celebrate some of the best games on the PlayStation system.
In case you missed it, we have the full list of winners and awards at the PlayStation Awards 2018 right here:

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Quadruple Platinum Prize (4 Million Units Shipped)

Monster Hunter World (PS4)

Platinum Prize (1 Million Units Shipped)

The Last of Us Remastered (PS4)
Persona 5 (PS4)

Gold Prize (500,000 Units Shipped)

Super Robot Wars V (PS4 / PS VITA)
PES 2018 (PS4)
Gran Turismo Sports (PS4)
Call of Duty: WWII (PS4)
God of War (PS4)
Jikkyo Pawafuru Proyakyu 2018 (PS4 / PS VITA)
Marvel’s Spider-Man (PS4)

PlayStation Network Award (Highest Sales on PSN)

FIFA 18 (PS4)
Monster Hunter World (PS4)
Fortnite (PS4)

Users’ Choice Award

Assassin’s Creed Origins (PS4)
Dragon Quest XI (PS4)
Ryu Ga Gotoku Kiwami 2 (PS4)
Monster Hunter World (PS4)
Fortnite (PS4)
God of War (PS4)
Dark Souls Remastered (PS4)
Detroit Become Human (PS4)
Marvel’s Spider-Man (PS4)
The Legend of Heroes: Sen No Kiseki IV – The End of Saga (PS4)

PlayStation VR Award

No Heroes Allowed! VR (PS4)
Gran Turismo Sport (PS4)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR (PS4)

Indies & Developer Award

Ultimate Chicken Horse (PS4)
ABZU (PS4)
Dead Cells (PS4)

They’ve also said that they’ll be running a special campaign on the PS Store from 4th December 2018 to 12th December 2018, where gamers can enjoy special offers on these award-winning games and more. Be sure to take the time and check it out if you’re looking to sink your teeth in some new games.
Pokdepinion: Honestly, I expected Spider-Man to be higher in the list but I’m genuinely surprised Super Robot Wars V made it. I mean, I love that game but didn’t expect it to have such a huge following still. I’m sure Legend of Heroes will see more sales when they localize the final two entries in the series here.
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The Live Action Trailer for The Division 2 is Absolutely Stunning

The folks over at Ubisoft has released a brand new trailer for their upcoming game, Tom Clancy’s The Division 2. Unlike the usual game trailers however, this one is special as it is a live action trailer instead.
Titled “Drawings”, the trailer focuses on the idea of being the hero in a collapsing nation and combines a unique visual design with dramatic silences escalating tension. With this live action film, Nicolas Winding Refn wants the audience to feel the desperate plight of a Division agent. Facing constant fear and chaos, the agent has hope for the future, motivated by memories of life before the collapse.
This live action trailer was directed by Danish film director Nicolas Winding Refn who is best known for his work in Pusher, Drive, and Only God Forgives. In collaboration with the DDB Agency, this live action trailer is the first of a two-part short film on Tom Clancy’s The Division 2.

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Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 Synopsis
Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 is the next evolution in the open-world online shooter RPG genre that the first game helped establish. Set seven months after a deadly virus was released in New York City, Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 will bring players into a fractured and collapsing Washington D.C.
The world is on the brink, its people living through the biggest crisis ever faced in human history. As veteran Division agents, players are the last hope against the complete fall of society as enemy factions vie for control of the city. If Washington D.C. is lost, the entire nation falls.
Just as shown towards the end of the live action trailer, the open beta phase for Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 will be running from 1st March to 4th March 2019. The game will be released on 15th March 2019 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Pokdepinion: Honestly, can’t wait for part two of this short film. It got me intrigued pretty fast. What do you guys think?
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ASUS R9 290X DirectCU II OC REVIEWS

It has been awhile since our last post , our team has been struck by work and 2 of them currently continuing on their studies right now . Despite all of work and tons of assignment given by my lectures , i manage to do a review of ASUS R9 290X DirectCU II OC ,
ASUS R9 290X DirectCU II OC is the second most high-end card on the AMD R9 series cards and offering 4.7% faster game performance compare to the reference card .
fore more information about the card specification click here ASUS R9 290 DirectCU II OC .

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UNBOXING

Standard ASUS retail packaging displaying some sort of beast claw scratch giving the idea of this card is a beast card .

Inside the box you will find another black box that have a golden ASUS logo and its tag line .

Inside the black box you will find the card itself and of course before that there is an accessories box which is i skip because nothing fancy in there .

Take a closer look on the left side fan , its a CoolTech fan consists of a hybrid blade and bearing design, with inner radial blower and outer flower-type blades. These provide multi-directional airflow to accelerate heat removal and enable highly stable graphics performance .

Yeah on the right side its just a normal fan .

ASUS R9 290 DirectCU II come with a black metal backplate so the card wont bend in time
TEST RIG

Intel I5 2500K was overclocked to 4.2GHz and ASUS R9 290 DirectCU II running at stock settings
BENCHMARK RESULT

All the games benchmark options are at their highest settings
TEMPERATURE

Well looking at the temperature you can see the load is quite high , my room ambient temp is around 32’c . to be honest after more than 2 hour of non stop gaming i can feel my room temperature increase , and i did try to touch the heatpipe on ASUS R9 290 DirectCU II just 1 sec your finger touch the pipes it will burn your whole hand , just kidding :-) , i cannot hold my finger on the heatpipes more than 1 sec .
CONCLUSION
ASUS R9 290 DirectCU II perform well in gaming and can handle most of current games smoothly but my test only cover up for 1080p . About Mantle for now not many benchmark tools and games support mantle , for BF4 i cant monitor the FPS because of FRAPS did not support Mantle yet , so the only Mantle benchmark i was able to do is Alien Swarm from Steam , as you can see in the Benchmark section Alien Swarm on Mantle achieve higher average FPS compare to DX11 and the test more stable on Mantle .
Temperature is also important , you do not want your CPU or GPU temperature going up over 90’c and making your room feel hot , a hot system may decrease your rigs life expectancy , so you might want to consider water cooled this card if you live in a warmer country like Malaysia .
Price of this card is around RM2299
Performance: 5/5
Materials: 4/5
Specifications: 5/5
Appearance: 5/5
Price Value: 3/5
Pros:
+ factory overclocked GPU
+ good overclocking potential
+ Solid build and high quality
+ Beautiful outlook can be change to red or gold theme with sticker provide
+ CoolTech Fan
Cons:
– Quite expensive
– Temperature is quite hot on load

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Computex 2021: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3070 Ti officially introduced

NVIDIA has finally taken the wraps off the much rumored NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and GeForce RTX 3070 Ti in their Computex 2021 keynote. The new graphics cards add to the list of Ampere-based desktop GPUs that NVIDIA has unveiled.

NVIDIA announced the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti as the new gaming flagship. While one can say that the GeForce RTX 3090 is an even faster GPU, NVIDIA doesn’t actually target gamers with the GeForce RTX 3090, and has instead referred to the GeForce RTX 3080 as the flagship in the past. Instead, the biggest Ampere GPU in NVIDIA’s arsenal was given the BFGPU moniker.

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Meanwhile GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is targeted towards giving the upper mid-range segment an additional choice of the most popular GeForce RTX 30 series cards in the market. Based on the same GA104 GPU, it now offers more CUDA cores and GDDR6X memory to boost performance. The cooler has also been switched to what looks like a hybrid between the GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 3070, which is pretty interesting to note.
New NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti & RTX 3070 Ti Specs

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090

CUDA Cores
5888
6144
8704
10240
10496

Clocks (GHz)
1.73
1.77
1.71
1.67
1.70

Performance
20 Shader TFLOPS
40 RT TFLOPS
163 Tensor TFLOPS
22 Shader TFLOPS
42 RT TFLOPS
174 Tensor TFLOPS
30 Shader TFLOPS
58 RT TFLOPS
238 Tensor TFLOPS
34 Shader TFLOPS
67 RT TFLOPS
273 Tensor TFLOPS
36 Shader TFLOPS
69 RT TFLOPS
285 Tensor TFLOPS

Memory
8GB GDDR6
8GB GDDR6X
10GB GDDR6X
12GB GDDR6X
24GB GDDR6X

Memory bus width
256-bit
256-bit
320-bit
384-bit
384-bit

TGP rating
220W
290W
320W
350W
350W

NVLink
No
No
No
No
Yes

MSRP
$499 (~RM2057)
$599 (~RM2471)
$699 (~RM2881)
$1199 (~RM4945)
$1499 (~RM6179)

Availability
October 2020
10th June 2021
17th September 2020
3rd June 2021
24th September 2020

Availability will start rather soon, with the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti cards slated to hit the market as soon as 3rd June 2021.
Pokdepinion: Stay tuned for our review of the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti.
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China’s homegrown Loongson 3A5000 CPU is competitive with first gen Ryzen?

While we are still grappling with Arm vs x86, China’s Loongson have developed a new processor, the Loongson 3A5000, which uses a novel ISA named LoongArch. The ISA is reportedly developed from the ground up to avoid using foreign licenses. This is probably a part of China’s push to reduce its dependence on foreign technology in light of tightening sanctions.
The specifications are pretty mediocre, with the Loongson 3A5000 packing four CPU cores based on their GS464V microarchitecture clocked at up to 2.5GHz. However setting it apart from standard desktop processors is the four HyperTransport 3.0 controllers that allow multiple Loongson 3A5000s to work together. It also supports dual-channel DDR4-3200 ECC memory.
While features like multi-CPU support might make you think that the Loongson 3A5000 is a server processor, it seems that it will be featured in laptops as well. Loongson has claimed a SPEC CPU2006 quad-core score of 80+, which is pretty much in the same ballpark as the first-gen Ryzen and 6th Gen Intel Core processors. It might not be an apples-to-apples comparison though as while the Loongson 3A5000 works with a different ISA, even though it apparently is MIPS64 compatible and also incorporated x86 and Arm instruction sets.

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Compared to the last-gen Loongson 3A4000, the new chip allegedly consumes 30% less power while delivering 50% higher performance, all while maintaining pin compatibility. We will most probably not see the Loongson 3A5000 appear outside of China, nor will it be competitive against current-gen options, but it is interesting to see how far China’s homegrown CPU industry has come.
Source
Pokdepinion: But can it run Crysis? I guess not.
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Nokia Join Arms With ZEISS – Promises Complete Imaging Experience

Back together again

HMD Global, the home of the legendary phone brand Nokia, and ZEISS has jointly announced an exclusive partnership between the two. The long-term agreement is based on their past relationship and expertise between ZEISS and Nokia smartphones.

Collaborating with ZEISS is an important part of our commitment to always deliver the very best experience for our customers. Our fans want more than a great smartphone camera, they want a complete imaging experience that doesn’t just set the standard but redefines it. Our fans expect it and, together with ZEISS, we’re delivering it – co-developed imaging excellence for all Arto Nummela, CEO, HMD Global
Besides durability (who could forget about the Nokia 3310) and inventive design, Nokia was also well known for their camera in their N series and Lumia phones. Intent on bringing back the glory days, it is why they look back at their old pal Zeiss. They both aim on advancing the quality of imaging experience for customers of their smartphones. The partnership will see ZEISS and HMD Global co-develop standard-defining imaging capabilities and will bring back the ZEISS brand back to Nokia smartphones.

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The collaboration of HMD Global with ZEISS for Nokia smartphones will again enhance consumers’ holistic imaging experience based on excellence and innovation. Our partnership is built on a solid foundation. Together, we look forward to an exciting journey into the future of sophisticated smartphone imaging Dr. Matthias Metz, Member of the Executive Board of ZEISS Group
With history together for more than a decade ago, it saw innovations such as the world’s first multi-megapixel and many more standard-setting devices.
Pokdepinion: Seeing the brand ‘Nokia’ really brings old images back to me. Happy ones too. Hopefully, the two firms will be able to innovate strongly in this field as they did back in the days. Would be surprised for a flagship smartphone coming from them anytime soon though.
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OPPO Reno6 Series First Sale Starts This Weekend

As you might’ve known, we’ve reported on the new OPPO Reno6 Series. If you’re on the lookout for getting one of them, the first sale is coming this weekend on the 14th of August 2021.
OPPO Reno6 Series first sale

The first sale will happen this Saturday, the 14th of August 2021 where you can get your hands on the OPPO Reno6 and OPPO Reno6 Z. During that time, you can expect a host of free gifts including a 1 Year HeyTap Cloud Service with 1TB Storage space that’s worth RM343, Powerbank, Smart Tag, and Bluetooth speaker.

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In addition to that, the first 100 customers who make the purchase via OPPO’s official channel on Shopee will also get an additional Mighty Mug and culinary set worth RM159.
Not to forget, OPPO will also extend more festivities at selected sale outlets too, as customers who purchase the smartphone series from OPPO Brand Stores will be entitled to additional free gifts such as a 1-year screen damage protection and a limited-edition shopping bag. A RM30 off Shopee voucher is also redeemable through the My OPPO App after purchasing any Reno6 Series smartphone.
For more details on the freebies that the company is handing out, you can head to the link right here. Wish to learn more on the OPPO Reno6 Z? Check out our full hands-on review right here. Do stay tuned to Pokde.net for the latest tech and gaming news plus reviews.
Pokdepinion: The Series is definitely better picked up with all these freebies that they’re offering. So if you plan on getting one of them, you might want to act quickly to grab the offer!
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Beware, Coronavirus Maps Using Malware to Steal Your Password and Sensitive Data

The current COVID-19 outbreak continues to grow and naturally, people would want to stay up to date as a measure to protect themselves. Whenever something is in the limelight, there will always be an opportunist lurking however, as hackers have planted malware in Coronavirus maps and other applications.
There is a PC software secretly spreading malware labeled “Corona-virus-Map.com.exe” under the guise of a Coronavirus map. The malware has the ability to steal user data such as usernames, passwords, credit card details, and others that are stored in web browsers.

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What Malware is Plaguing the Coronavirus Maps?

The malware in question has been identified as AZORult, which has been around since 2016. An infected PC would allow a hacker to steal passwords, cookies, browser history, cryptocurrency keys, and other important data. Moreover, it is also capable of downloading more malware, thus making the situation even worse. Interestingly, it’s said to be capable of stealthily creating an account with admin access on the infected PC, which will then allow for remote access by cybercriminals.
This false app looks legit at first, especially since it looks similar to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre map. The file, which is roughly 3MB in size, will create duplicates of the aforementioned app name, Corona.exe. Bin.exe, Build.exe, and Windows.Globalization.Fontgroups.exe.
According to Reason Labs’ cybersecurity researcher, Shai Alfasi, there are APIs that decrypt saved password from infected web browsers, which are then moved to a temporary folder. It is also capable of stealing login data of online accounts like Steam. The process will happy automatically as soon as users execute the file. It is recommended to use Antivirus software to get rid of the malware, although no specific ones were mentioned.
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Pokdepinion: Whenever there is something to fear, there will always be an opportunist. Stay safe, everyone.
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