Instagram to release a ‘Live Producer’ tool that allows users to go live from their desktops

Meta-owned social media platform Instagram is currently working on a new ‘Live Producer’ tool that allows users to hold Instagram Live sessions from their desktops. Furthermore, the tool also allows users to use third-party streaming softwares for a higher quality production.

Instagram posted on the new tool on its blog recently but it has since been taken down. However, the good folks at TechCrunch was able to grab a screenshot from the blogpost here:

The social media platform asserted that the new tool opens up production features outside the traditional phone camera. These include additional cameras, external microphones, graphics and so on; basically any other production features that are available on the user’s desktop.

In order to use Live Producer, users have to first specify what streaming software that’ll be using for the Instagram Live. Then, users have to open the streaming software, locate where to input the URL and stream key.

The URL and stream key will then allow users to broadcast their streaming software setup directly to Instagram Live. This can be done by opening the desktop version of Instagram, clicking ‘Add post’ and select ‘Live’ from the dropdown menu.

Afterwards, users can enter the title of their live broadcast within the ‘Go Live’ screen and select their audience. ‘Practice’ won’t broadcast the live video to anyone as it is only meant to test out the setup, while ‘Public’ will broadcast to your followers as normal. There will then be a a screen that contains your unique URL and stream key, with instructions on how to use them.

Currently, Live Producer is not fully rolled out yet as it is still within the testing phase. Hence, the aforementioned blogpost is likely someone in the company that jumped the gun a bit too early.

So, what do you guys think of this new tool by Instagram? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave for more trending tech news such as this!


Instagram to remove the ‘Shop’ tab from its home screen beginning February 2023

Meta-owned social media platform Instagram has announced that it will be making a few changes to the app’s navigation to make it easier for people to share and connect with their friends and interests. Interestingly, the refresh also meant the complete removal of the Shop tab which is currently part of Instagram’s main menu tabs.

On the platform’s official Help Centre page, Instagram clarified that while the Shop tab will be removed, users can still be able to set up and run their shops on the platform. The social media platform further reiterate that it will continue to invest in shopping experiences that provide the most value for people and businesses across feed, stories, reels, ads and more.

Besides that, Instagram also announced that as part of the refresh, the navigation bar at the bottom of the app will now have the shortcut for creating content in the centre and Reels to the right. All of this changes wil take place in February 2023.

So, what do you guys think of Instagram’s removal of the Shop tab? Share your thoughts wth us in the comments below and make sure to stay tuned to TechNave for more tech news.


Instagram to roll out automatic captions for Insta-Stories?

Based on a tweet by Twitter user @MattNavarra, it seems that Instagram plans on rolling out a feature that allow users to insert automated captions on their Insta-stories. In order to enable it, simply take an Insta-story, then apply the new sticker called CC caption which will automatically transcribe the audio and display it onto your story.

However, the feature seems a little wonky at the moment, as it incorrectly transcribed the word “finally” for “find, which I assume can be easily corrected. Unfortunately, there’s no information in regards to when the aforementioned feature will be available in the Malaysian region.

NEW! @Instagram has added a ‘Captions’ sticker for StoriesYou can now auto-caption videos in stories with a range of different styles… pic.twitter.com/cijk7nWGC3

With all that said, what are your thoughts on Instagram working on a new CC caption feature? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Instagram unveils Professional Dashboard for creators

Last year, we've seen Instagram continuously roll out features that designed for businesses and creators. For example, there's the Shop tab that was added in November 2020. Earlier today, the company also revealed its new Professional Dashboard too.

According to the official post, the Professional Dashboard is a system for creators and businesses to better manage their Instagram accounts. Its biggest key feature is that it allows you to track your performance with statistical data. This can help you derive valuable insights for your business. Think of it as the equivalent of Facebook's Creator Studio.

Besides that, it can also help users grow their Instagram account and business. That can be done with tools like Badges, Branded Content, Checkout, and Instagram Shop. Moreover, the dashboard can help you find various curated resources - such as tips and tricks - that can be useful for gaining new ideas and inspiration.

Many of these resources are already on Instagram, so it's just that everything is now centralised. Have any of you gotten the Professional Dashboard on your account yet? Let us know what you think of it in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave for more news.


Instagram users can now add up to 5 links to their account’s bio

Instagram has finally added a feature that many users have been requesting for ages: The ability to put more links in the bio. Announced by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram users can now add up to 5 links to their profile bio.

As reported by The Verge, Zuckerberg said that the ability to post multiple links in bio is “probably one of the most requested features” the platform ever had. With the change, you can add links by editing your profile in the mobile app.

Moreover, you can also give them titles and reorder them however you want them to be. One caveat is that visitors need to click through a “[Your first link] and 1 other” message if you have put multiple links in the bio.

Previously, many users had to use a 'link in bio' service such as Linktree if they want to share multiple links with other users. While such a service is still pretty nifty for businesses and influencers, regular folks could make do with just the 5 links limit Instagram has bestowed upon us.

So, what do you guys think of this change by Instagram? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave for more trending tech news.


Instagram wasn't working but it's all fine now

Apparently, Instagram servers were down when we were asleep last night. According to sources, it happened for a few hours on Sunday evening (US time) when the feed was frozen still and couldn't refresh. Even the website version was blank.

It was unknown what caused the issue but a Meta spokesperson told the media that there was a general technical issue. It caused Instagram users unable to access the app, and the Instagram team quickly resolved the issue as soon as possible. So in other words, it was a brief outage as usual like before.

Instagram is back! Sorry for the trouble - we had a brief outage earlier and resolved the issue that caused it. #instagramdown

That being said, it was interesting to note that Meta's other platforms - Facebook and WhatsApp were not affected by the technical issue. During the lockdown, it was quite common to see all three platforms by Meta down at the same time, causing a lot of panic and tweets, and it happened a couple of times throughout the period.


Instagram will deactivate NFTs soon in a week

During the mid of March, Meta announced that it will be shifting away from NFTs on both Facebook and Instagram. At the time, we didn't know when it would be removed but we have an official date. As shared by Ahmeh Ghanem, NFTs on Instagram will be deactivated on 11 April 2023.

But what will happen to the current NFTs on Instagram? Well, the information in the image also said that "any collectables you've shared will remain on Instagram as posts". However, any blockchain info won't be displayed but information about collectables can still be downloaded until 11 April.

#Instagram “Digital Collectibles” will be taken down on April 11@MattNavarra pic.twitter.com/JbwvF4qL1M

As a brief history, Instagram only began testing out NFT support with a small group of creators back in May 2022. It's bizarre to see how a project falls short so quickly in less than a year but to be fair, NFTs were never popular among the netizens. Even last year, there was already tension between corporate companies and blockchain technologies (such as Web3) due to distributing trust and power.

NFT support on Instagram was aimed at helping creators to do business and introduce it to the masses. But let's be honest, it still doesn't make sense to own a digital image when you can just make one, copy and save it for free. Oh well, at least they tried.


Instagram will detect and warns you from posting offensive captions now!

Instagram has been fighting against online bullying since last year by introducing the AI system.Today, the company has rolled out a new feature on the AI system which will be warning the users to change the caption whenever the AI detects it as a “potentially offensive” caption.

The new feature was similar to the comments filtration tool that was introduced back in July which requested people to reconsider while posting hurtful comments, then came along the “Restrict” feature that allows users to shadow ban their bullies. These features gave promising results on the company’s goal of fighting against online bullying.

Instagram detects "Potentially Offensive" caption with the AI system

However, the new feature does not ban users from posting what was initially detected as a “potentially offensive” caption but rather encourage them to change it as it will still give them options of posting it unchanged. Instagram mentioned it is starting on selected countries for now, but it will soon be rolling out globally in the coming months.

So do take note of these new changes that are coming soon. But do you think this will stop online bullying on Instagram? Let us know at our Facebook page and stay tuned for more news updates on TechNave.com!


ASUS TUF Gaming A15 review - A powerful laptop for 1080p gaming that is wallet-friendly

Manufacturers tend to think of AMD as a secondary option for laptops, so when ASUS announced a whole series of AMD-powered gaming laptops, I was personally quite excited. First unveiled at this year's CES, the new ASUS PCs were showcased during our visit to AMD's HQ in Austin. It was also recently confirmed that these ASUS laptops powered by the AMD Ryzen 4000 Mobile Series CPUs will be available in Malaysia.

Depending on when you read this, the laptops may not be officially available in Malaysia yet. But our friends at ASUS Malaysia were nice enough to send us a TUF Gaming A15 to play around with. The unit we received comes packed with an AMD Ryzen 7 4800H CPU, but you can buy one with the more powerful AMD Ryzen 9 4900H CPU. But before I digress further, here's our review of the ASUS TUF Gaming A15 laptop.

Unlike the slim and compact ROG Zephyrus G14, the TUF Gaming A15 is more in-line with what people normally expect from a gaming laptop. It's a 15-inch with a body that's not too bulky nor too heavy at 2.3kg. While it's not ultraportable, carrying it around shouldn't be too much of an issue. Plus, ASUS even included a free backpack to go with the machine.

In terms of its overall look and feel, the TUF Gaming A15 comes in a mix of black and dark-grey colours that's suitable for all occasions. At the least, you won't be sticking out like a sore thumb if you feel like gaming at your local Starbucks. Personally, I really like the lid of the machine, as ASUS went with a sheet of brushed aluminium that gives the laptop a more premium feel. Its overall build is also very solid, though the lid had flex to it around the centre.

Lift up the lid and the first thing you see is a full-sized keyboard that's fully backlit, though the illumination isn't very bright. There's also the speaker unit above the keyboard and the power button on the top-right, though there's no integrated fingerprint sensor this time. Take a look at the images below to find out what else is available on this laptop.

Top - You can see that the lid has a very distinct metallic look and feel to it

Left - DC power, Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI, 2x USB Type-A, 1x USB Type-C, audio jack

Right - 1 USB Type-A and the Kensington lock

Back - You can see parts of the cooling system through the vents

One of the great things about this laptop is its upgradability. Specifically, you can upgrade the RAM and storage by popping off the bottom cover. However, it's a little tricky to get it off. First, you'd have to remove the screws, then use either a plastic card, flat screwdriver or pry tool to gently ease open the clips. Once you're done, you'll see the upgradable components: Two RAM slots, two M.2 slots, and an extra 2.5-inch HDD slot next to the battery. Speaking of the battery, ASUS went with a smaller 48Wh battery instead of the 90Wh battery available on the international variant for the extra space to put the HDD.

The upgrade process is quite straight forward here. Since the RAMs are not soldered, you just need to remove the existing ones and install compatible SODIMMs. The same goes for the M.2 slots and HDD slot. After upgrades, just clip the back cover into place and secure it with the screws.

The bottom lid can be opened, giving you access to RAM and storage upgrades

The photos above should give you an idea of how the laptop looks like. Overall, I'd say that while it's not as good looking as the Zephyrus G14 (see our review for that!), it ticks a lot of boxes. Not only is the design much better than before, but it's got decent build quality and features. The software side is not quite as impressive, however, with Armoury Crate being the only software worth noting. The Armoury Crate here comes with a Resource Monitor that tracks your components' frequencies and temperature, which can be useful if you prefer not to download another third-party tool.

But other than that, it doesn't do much other than let you adjust the keyboard's backlighting. There's no per key or zone RGB here, so all you can do is change the colour or effect. Speaking of the keyboard, the keys for the A15 are pretty good. Other than the arrow keys, they're mostly spaced out quite well. The keys can feel a bit mushy when you bottom out, but they have good travel distance.

The keys for this full-sized keyboard are spaced out quite well

What about its performance? Other than the standard PCMark 10 and 3DMark Time Spy benchmarks we always do, I decided to pick three games to test on this gaming PC: Shadow of the Tomb Raider, The Witcher 3, and CS: GO. While The Witcher 3 has some age on it by now, it uses a lot of Nvidia-based techniques like Nvidia Hairworks and works as a good way to test how good the GPU on the machine is. Ditto for Shadow of the Tomb Raider. As for the third choice, CS: GO is there so we can get those high frame rates and see how the screen performs.

As you can see, we ran Shadow of the Tomb Raider on the highest settings with DirectX 12 enabled. Everything was turned on for our benchmark run, except for ray-traced shadows, and it got an average FPS of 75. Although there are some scenes where the FPS does drop below 60, we didn't experience slowdowns often.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider gets an average of 75 fps, that's good

The Witcher 3 is slightly dated by now but is still a benchmark for gaming PCs

Next was The Witcher 3, which achieved frame rates of up to 81. The game doesn't have a built-in benchmark program, so we used FRAPS to help us log the frame rates. It also has most settings at the highest here and still managed above 60 fps on average. With the two results, it's clear that you'll have no problems with most AAA games. At most, you might need to dial down the settings in more demanding games like Metro Exodus.

In CS: GO, frame rates consistently pushed frame rates above 144. As you can expect, this meant that we didn't see any visible tearing when playing the game and the visuals are very fluid, owing to the high frame rate. Overall, it's pretty much what you'd expect from a laptop running an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060. Speaking of the visuals, one thing we noticed on the A15’s display is that it’s not very colour accurate. It’s rated at 45% NTSC so you probably shouldn’t use it for tasks like photo editing.

With over 160 fps on CS: Go constantly, you don't have to worry about visual stutters

But what's gaming without audio? The A15 is no slouch in that area too, surprisingly. Its speakers aren't very loud, but the audio comes out crisp and clear, with no distortion even if you crank up the volume to max. When it comes to bass, the A15 doesn't do too bad. It's not the thumping kind of bass that bass heads love, but there's enough for sound effects like explosions in games to sound genuine.

However, it's not all rainbows and butterflies with the TUF A15. Switching to the Turbo profile drastically increases the fan speed, but it also becomes much louder. Also, the system doesn't try to push the performance by too much despite the increased fan speed, so the gains may not really be worth the added noise. It does get quite hot on the top-right if you keep it in the Performance profile, but that's not an issue as long as you keep your mouse away from the vents.

Another thing that was more on the average side would be the battery life. Since ASUS decided to go with the 48Wh for the TUF A15 in Malaysia (instead of the 90Wh battery on the international variants), it's generally not a good idea to go on long gaming sessions. We mostly found the battery ready to clock out in around 1 hour or slightly more when gaming. If you're doing other tasks like web browsing or writing documents, it'll last much longer (up to 5 hours or more) if you adjust the screen brightness and enable the Silent profile. Of course, this depends on how you use the machine.

As a whole, I would say that the TUF Gaming A15 is a great laptop for gaming. It's got the hardware to handle 1080p in most games with the settings maxed out, has an excellent display, and the fact that you can upgrade the RAM and SSD is fantastic. This is probably one of the best 1080p gaming laptops you could currently go for.

We would have loved if the Turbo mode could consistently pump out more performance and for the build quality to be improved a bit more. But considering that the unit we reviewed retails for just RM5699, it's hard to complain as you're getting a lot of value.

Well, that's it for our review on the ASUS TUF Gaming A15. If you'd like to find out more, you could check out the product page for more details or visit your nearest ASUS store to try it out for yourself. With that said, do you think this is a gaming laptop you'd be interested in? Let us know on our Facebook page and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more reviews like this!

Pros: Its design isn't too flashy, has some upgradability, and the performance is great

Cons: Fans are loud in Turbo mode, keys are a bit mushy, and the battery isn't the greatest

Summary: A gaming laptop that offers great bang-for-buck for those looking to game at maxed-out 1080p settings


Instagram will now alert you if copyrighted music is used

As you are well aware, the COVID-19 pandemic means that people can't gather any more. This means that we can't attend events and performances. As a result, people are turning to live streams to conduct their events. However, sometimes your live streams or uploaded content can be taken down if rules aren't followed, so Instagram is making sure that you'll be properly alerted.

Instagram has announced that it will now begin to send in-app notifications if you're violating copyright rules. When the app detects that you're streaming or uploading content with music that you can't use, an alert will pop-up on screen to notify you. Being alerted early should help prevent your videos from being taken down.

Besides that, Instagram has also updated its guidelines on the use of music in videos. For Stories, there are no limits if it's a recording of a live performance. However, videos with full-length music tracks are more likely to limited. Instagram also mentioned that your recorded video must have a visual component to it.

If you're a content creator that operate mostly on Facebook and Instagram, then these new guidelines will be relevant for you. With that said, have you run afoul of copyright strikes before? Let us know on our Facebook page and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more news.


Instagram will show suggested posts at the end of your feed

Based on a statement by TheVerge.com, it seems that Instagram has recently announced that they will show suggested posts from accounts you don’t follow as well as ads at the end of your feed. Before this, if you were to scroll to the end of your feed, Instagram will show older posts that you’ve been before.

With that said, this could encourage users to stay hooked onto the platform for longer. Also, it seems that the suggested posts feature works functions in a completely different way compared to the Explore section, which means that posts from the Explore section will not show up in the suggested post.

With all that said, what are your thoughts on Instagram implementing Suggested Posts feature? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Instead of making a value for money phone, Redmi reveals ~RM28716 phone

If you thought the only devices Redmi makes are easy on the pockets smartphones, you’re about to be proven wrong. Redmi India announced on Twitter a brand new addition to their Redmi K20 series, the Redmi K20 Pro Signature Edition which is priced at Rs.480000 (~RM28716).

The tweet is captioned with “Not gold plated, it’s made of real gold and embellished with diamonds.” Only 20 of these luxurious and over the top devices will be sold in India. If you aren’t up to speed, the Redmi K20 Pro features tech specs that include the Snapdragon 855 chipset, 8GB RAM + 256 GB internal storage (other variants are available), a 6.39 inch AMOLED display, an in-display fingerprint reader, 4000mAh battery capacity with 27W fast charging and more. As for its camera, it comes with a 20MP selfie camera nestled in the pop up mechanism and as for its rear camera, it comes with 3 sensors that include 48MP + 13MP (ultrawide) + 8MP telephoto sensor.

Introducing the signature edition #RedmiK20Pro, made of gold. Not gold plated, it's made of real gold and embellished with diamonds. We will be making 20 limited units of this phone worth ₹4,80,000 each.#BelieveTheHype #FlagshipKiller pic.twitter.com/STJsNcub0W

The standard device sells for about USD$400 (~RM1645). Of course, the Signature edition of the Redmi K20 Pro is definitely justifiable for its price. I mean, it's made of real gold and diamonds! Will this phone sell out? Probably. If you didn’t know, gold is a symbol of wealth and status in India which is why the phone is made specifically for that country. Would you want to own a pure gold smartphone? Keep up with the latest Xiaomi news on TechNave.com!


Instragram introduces new Zoom feature

Today, Instagram has announced a new feature called Zoom. As the name suggest, Zoom allows you to pinch the image and zoom right in, it also works on videos in feed, profiles and explore too.

Starting today, you can pinch to zoom on photos and videos in feed, on profiles and on Explore. Dive into an adorable puppy’s smile or into every detail of your friend’s new shirt. Over the past six months, you’ve seen many exciting changes come to Instagram, from a new icon to longer videos and even a new way to share everyday moments with Instagram Stories. And as things change, we’re still focused on improving the core parts of Instagram. Zoom is available today for Instagram on iOS. Zoom will be available on Android in the coming weeks.

A video posted by Instagram (@instagram) on Aug 31, 2016 at 8:00am PDT

For now, Zoom is only available on the iOS, but it will soon be on Android in the next few weeks. We can expect more features from the company as they have been making exciting changes over the past few months, such as the new icon, longer videos and sharing moments with Instagram Stories.

p/s - We also have an official Instragram account, subscribe to get fast updates from events!


Intel 5G coming to power the next generation of the Internet of Things

In a recent MWC 2016 briefing, Aicha Evans, the Corporate Vice President of Platform Engineering Group and General Manager of the Intel Communication and Devices Group revealed Intel's plans regarding 5G devices, networks and technologies with the major highlight being that we should see such devices and networks in the next 6 to 12 months. According to her, Intel are working on clients, networks and the cloud to support these new 5G technologies particularly due to the Internet of Things or IoT. These always connected IoT devices may include wearables, vehicles, video security, smart buildings and energy management. Sumner Lemon, Country Manager, Malaysia and Singapore subsequently followed up with info relating to this regarding Malaysia's involvement in Intel's 5G plans.

Here are the full list of new Intel devices designed to support IoT and 5G technologies:

As such, Intel are working closely with numerous International partners:

As Malaysia strives towards being a smart and connected nation, we believe wireless networks must transform to become smarter, faster and more efficient, and 5G networks and devices will have a crucial role to play to enable the smart and connected experience. Sumner Lemon, Country Manager, Malaysia and Singapore


Intel Arc A770 & A750 release: New Intel GPUs launching on 12 Oct, prices from ~RM1340

For years, Nvidia and AMD have been the only two graphics card manufacturers for PC gamers. But Intel has been working on its GPU platform for some time and is finally ready to launch its Intel Arc series GPUs soon. Let's take a look at some details.

Intel has announced plans to launch the Intel Arc A750, Arc A770, and a limited variant of the Arc A770 on 12 October 2022. In the video, Intel spokespersons claim that the company is 'rebalancing' prices of GPUs on the market. With that in mind, the Arc A750 will launch at an affordable USD289 (~RM1340), while the Arc A770 will cost USD329 (~RM1526).

These mid-range cards are allegedly comparable to an overclocked Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060. The company claimed that the Arc A750 delivers 53% more performance/dollar, while the Arc A770 is at 42% more (compared to the RTX 3060). Keep in mind that this is due to the Nvidia GPU's current market pricing, which is quite high due to low supply. Regardless, Intel's benchmark charts show that its new GPUs are on par with its Nvidia counterpart.

If Intel can guarantee these launch prices, the new Arc GPUs could become the new budget options for future gaming rigs. Of course, they'd also have to ensure the drivers are good. So, what are your thoughts on Intel's new GPU? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned to TechNave for further updates.


Intel Charging into Mobile with Silvermont

Most of the smartphones and tablets in the market are running on ARM-based processors such as those from Qualcomm and Samsung, especially the Android systems, Intel is making big steps to try and break into the mobile market. One of the most major of which is their new Atom microarcitecture called Silvermont. While there are already a number of Intel powered smartphones and tablets (Lenovo K900, Asus FonePad, etc.), they hardly compare to the hordes of ARM based smartphones and tablets already in and coming to the market. ARM is already coming out with a number of new processors targeting both the midrange and the high performance markets so there is a lot riding on the success of Intel's Silvermont.

According to Intel, Silvermont uses a 22nm process, in line with Intel's new Haswell chips. As typical of Atom chips it offers even better energy efficiency, about 5x more than current Atom processors. What makes it different is that it has been rebuilt from scratch to provide a 3x performance increase. Intel's Atom processors have long been known as slow and laggy performers despite multiple cores, but the new Silvermont microarchitecture improves single threaded performance and may go up to 8 cores. The first batches will of course be quad-core and come with GPUs that can support 4K video decoding. Another great feature is that it will have built-in Intel-based LTE, hardcoded into the chip, saving both energy and space.

Intel say that a whole batch of new tablets will be launching soon for $399 (and we've probably seen quite a few already this Computex 2013). These new tablets will be able to provide 8+ hours worth of battery life on a 20Wh battery and a 10.1" screen. Recent demoes of the Silvermont Atom at Computex have shown it completely outperforming previous Clover Trail based Atoms. This also means if you're thinking of buying an Intel based smartphone or tablet soon, it may be a good idea to wait for the Silvermont Atom chips to arrive. Will it be enough to outshine ARM-based chips? Intel seems to think so, but we think perhaps not, after all ARM have been designing for mobile a lot longer than Intel. However, it may be enough to break into the mobile market.


Intel Confirm $200 Android Laptops and $400 Core Hybrids Coming Soon

While Intel have already dominated the Non-Android based laptop and hybrid computer market, it has yet to do much in Android-based markets. This is mostly because of the rather high-price most of its laptops and tablets have compared to the normal ARM-powered Android-based tablet or notebook. In a move to solve this, Intel VP Paul Otellini was quoted as saying that $200 touchscreen laptops would be coming soon in the next couple of months. Intel Executive VP Dadi Perlmutter was also quoted as saying that these devices would most likely be Android based laptops using Intel Atom processors. For the more resource needy, Perlmutter said that there would also be Android laptops and hybrids using Intel Core processors but range from $399 to $499. No details on when or if these laptops or hybrids would arrive in Malaysia but an RM600 ($200) laptop would certainly shake things up here considerably.


Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition officially announced for 4K gaming and 4K video or VR content creation

Intel announced their most powerful desktop processor yet with the Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition processors. Taking the top spot from Intel's current unlocked 'K' processors, these new "X" processors include the Intel 6950X / 6900K / 6850K / 6800K with up to 10 processors (8-core and 6-core options are also available) running off of an LGA 2011-v3 socket and 14nm fabrication processes.

Priced up to RM7110, the new processors are designed for extreme overclocking, 4K gaming, 4K video content creation and VR content creation. Focusing on Mega-tasking, the processors are based on Broadwell-E and utilize Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0, the LGA 2011-v3 socket, 14nm Tri-gate 3D transistors and the Intel X99 Chipset. No Malaysia release dates yet, but they should be available in Malaysia soon if not already.


Intel #GoFaster shows off what is coming for Intel-powered tablets and smartphones

George Chacko, Regional Director of Tablet Product Marketing at Intel APAC explaining a point

Intel Malaysia recently held a #GoFaster event to showcase their plans and outlook for tablet and smartphone processors in 2014 to 2015. George Chacko, Regional Director of Tablet Product Marketing at Intel APAC was on hand to provide this information in detail. While nothing new was really revealed, it did show everything Intel has planned for the rest of the year and next year. These Intel technologies and systems include 64-bit processors, Intel 4G LTE Cat6 connectivity, the upcoming 14nm Cherry Trail processors and the SoFIA integrated processors. Both the Cherry Trail and SoFIA processors are set for 2015 but it should bring about, faster, more connected and more affordable devices in the new year. Other notable technologies on the way to Intel powered tablets and smartphones include wireless charging, eye scanning biometrics and RealSense cameras. While there aren't any specific Malaysia release dates or pricing for upcoming Intel powered tablets and smartphones, Intel are working closely with all the big names including ASUS, Lenovo, Acer and much more. For those not in the know:

A roadmap of when we can expect new Intel tablet and smartphone processors

George with some of the latest Intel powered tablets in the market

In the spirit of going faster, Intel had tech journalists go go-karting with Intel products and prizes on the line.


ASUS TUF Gaming FX504G Review - Well designed, well thought out laptop for its price but there's a catch

The ASUS TUF Gaming FX504G priced at RM3149 for the cheapest variant by ASUS is part of the ASUS TUF series laptops which is marketed towards mobile gaming enthusiasts who are keen on getting their hands on an immersive and durable (TUF for Tough, get it?) gaming laptop. Check out our TUF Gaming FX504G review below to see if it fits the description.

The laptop has an all plastic exterior on all sides of the laptop along with red accent around the sides as well as the ASUS branding at the top of the laptop. Along the left side of the laptop you’ll be pleased to find a charging socket, RJ45 LAN cable connector, HDMI port, a Type-A USB2.0 slot, 2x Type-A USB 3.1 slots, and a single TRRRS 3.5mm audio connector.

Top of the laptop showcasing the ASUS logo

QWERTY Keyboard with visible (red) backlight

If you look at the full QWERTY chiclet keyboard, you’ll be able to spot red highlighted WASD keys to give emphasis on the gaming factor the laptop is focused on. Due to the fact that it is using chiclet keys, keystrokes are usually very short, mushy, and also silent. That's not all for the keyboard though as the individual keys are also self illuminated which helps increase the visibility of the keys while in the dark.

Weighing at 2.3kg, it is considerably light compared to most gaming laptops out there. It is light enough for me to travel between location without straining my bad from carrying the laptop around. Based on first impressions, I thought the shell of the laptop was made of aluminum due to the brushed metal-like finishing at the top and around the chassis which felt satisfying to touch due to the texture but it is actually plastic.

Despite being plastic, the chassis felt solid with only a little wobble on the screen. The hinge on the screen felt rather stiff at first, which required me to unfold the laptop with two hands. Lastly, the touchpad felt smooth and clicky when pressed down, however it tends to attract smudges from my fingers which looks unappealing but this can easily be fixed by wiping it with a slightly damp cloth.

Graphics Processor Information showcasing the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

RAM information showing a single channel 4GB RAM

The variant that we're reviewing is fitted with an 8th Generation Intel Core i7 processor, 4GB of RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics processor. There are also other variant options such as an FX504 fitted with either an Intel Core i5 processor or even a higher powered Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 graphics processor. The 3 USB Type A ports which the laptop offers is just enough to have a mouse, keyboard as well as audio interface plugged in for a desktop-like experience while gaming on the go.

Fresh out of the box, the ASUS TUF Gaming FX504G came with a few ASUS utilities such as ASUS Battery Health Charging, ASUS Keyboard Hotkeys and ASUS Product Registration just to name a few as well as the complete WPS Office software suite. Other than that, it did not come with any form of control center to tweak settings to overclock the CPU, GPU or even the RAM. Speaking of tweaks, you can easily tweak the brightness of the backlight on the keyboard with 4 different brightness level to choose from through the function keys.

After using the ASUS TUF Gaming FX504G for an extended period of time, the laptop definitely fares well in day to day usage such as browsing the internet and watching as well as for productivity tasks such as editing pictures, spreadsheets and word processing. Not only that, the illuminated chiclet keyboard makes it easier use the laptop in a dark room and the keys were silent and satisfying to type on. With the included SSD, it took less than 10 seconds to start up windows and all applications that were installed offered improved loading times.

The 15.6-inch display makes watching movies a pleasure especially with the anti-glare coating that the model is shipped with. However, the sound quality of the speakers which is located at the underside of the laptop is not as great as the audio sounds noticeably thin and distorted when playing any sort of audio at the loudest setting.

The processor definitely held its own when light multitasking through various applications such as Spotify, multiple tabs in Google Chrome, VLC Player, GIMP image editor and more. However, due to the 4GB RAM, heavy multitasking such as having too many tabs opened on Google Chrome will tend to cause the laptop to lag and stutter every once in a while. As for the battery, the laptop has managed to last me roughly about 2 hours and a half before needing to recharge, which takes about 1 hour to fully fill up the battery.

Gaming performance wise, the laptop is able to hold its own thanks to the Nvidia GeForce GTX1050 Ti graphics processor, averaging around 47FPS on the latest release AAA title Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4, which is not too shabby considering how demanding AAA titles can be. Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds on the other hand averaged around 42FPS and lastly, Monster Hunter World, which is another AAA title averaged about 36FPS. Do take note that all of the games were running on medium settings and could easily hit around 60FPS if the quality is turned down to the minimum.

However, do take note that it is recommended to turn off all background processes when gaming as the background processes already take up the rather limited 4GB of RAM. This could cause significant stutters or even render the laptop unresponsive until the application is closed.

As for the temperature while gaming, the laptop heats up considerably but not to the point where it feels uncomfortable. Connnection wise, the laptop has an LAN cable port on the side which allows me to connect to the router directly which ensures I constantly have a stable connection. Gaming on WiFi is feasible too however, expect the connection to not be as stable as a direct cable connection to the router.

Running the ASUS TUF FX504G through some synthetic benchmarks such as the 3DMark Skydiver as PCMark 10, the laptop performed above average scoring 17389 points compared to conventional laptops that are out in the market right now. As for the webcam, it is usable but not perfect as the camera seems to struggle in low light conditions with a bit too much noise in the image.

The ASUS TUF FX504G got almost everything right such as the design, a 15.6-inch FHD screen, 2.3kg weight, 8th Generation Intel Core i7 processor and price. However, the main drawback is the measly 4GB RAM which makes it not as good for multitasking. This can easily be remedied by adding another 4GB RAM stick but you will have to pay a bit more than the normal price.

For the price of RM3149, I’d say the laptop would be a great companion for those who want to get work done, watch movies or even play esports oriented games such as Dota 2, League of Legends, Counter-strike: Global Offensive, or even Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds while on the move without needing to break the bank. For more information about the ASUS TUF Gaming FX504G you can visit ASUS’ official website, stay tuned to TechNave.com for more content like these.


Intel IT predictions for 2015

Sumner Lemon, Country Manager for Intel Malaysia and Singapore outlining predictions for 2015

Intel Malaysia recently held a media briefing with Sumner Lemon, Country Manager for Intel Malaysia and Singapore where he outlined key Intel IT highlights from 2014 and IT predictions for 2015. During 2014 Intel made a big push for Intel powered mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones resulting in many affordable devices like the ASUS ZenFone smartphones and various other Intel-powered tablets. In doing so Intel revealed their new 14nm fabricated processors like the 5th generation Intel Core series and Intel Atom Z3000 series, many of which have already been released in 64-bit powered tablets like the ASUS Fonepad 8 and ASUS Fonepad 7. Last year also saw the introduction of Intel's foray in wearables with Galileo, Edison and Curie all of which are teeny tiny Systems-on-Chips (SoC) much like Raspberry Pi which will enable intelligent devices even on your shirt buttons. New technologies like the RealSense 3D cameras can enable gesture driven computers and notebooks while wireless charging may soon be implemented in airports around the world.

The prototype version of the Intel ComputeStick

In 2015 we will likely see the fruits of these new Intel technologies such as the Intel ComputeStick, which is basically a full-fledged Intel Atom system in a thumbdrive with a HDMI port, allowing you to turn your HDTV into a computer. While we may not see wireless charging in KLIA very soon, the aforementioned gesture driven notebook computers should be coming in the next few months or so. Sumner Lemon also said that we should be able to expect a full range of smaller devices like the Intel ComputeStick in Malaysia as soon as Q1 of 2015. This is in-line with Intel's vision of 2015 as the era of Integration where more and more smart and connected devices will become commonplace in our daily lives. While he didn't confirm any Malaysia release dates or pricing details on the Intel Galileo, Edison or Curie modules there were some of those devices on hand at Intel Malaysia. Other Intel technologies expected to arrive in 2015 include SoFIA which is an Intel mobile processor with built-in 3G or 4G LTE modem, allowing for more affordable yet connected smartphones and devices for 2015. While these advances may not be enough for us to see a workable Internet of Things (IoT) home of the future as predicted by Intel, it should be a good start getting there.

On the enterprise side, Intel did note that 2015 could well be the time for companies to embrace IoT as open source clouds, big data and other technologies could result in cost savings of millions. Intel has proven this with it's own facilities by gaining cost savings up to $9 million (RM32378400) through the usage of such technologies. Companies that move fast should be able to get the same or better benefits but those who don't could fall even further than previously. More biometric scanners may appear as well as passwords gradually get replaced with fingerprints and iris or retina scanning technologies. We could also soon see foldable display devices that are both powerful and affordable.

The Intel Edison starter pack, Galileo kit and ComputeStick prototype on display

Intel's IT predictions for 2015 in an infographic


Intel InsideOut Experience (IOE) Tour arrives in Malaysia to showcase technology and innovations

Intel Malaysia leaders and employees ushering in the Lunar New Year at the InsideOut Experience (IOE) tour

A global tour by Intel are currently in Malaysia for two weeks until 1st March before they continue their journey elsewhere of showcasing Intel's technology and innovations. Known as the Intel InsideOut Experience (IOE), the tour covers 28 sites in 11 countries celebrating the people behind amazing inventions.

Ooi Kim Huat, Vice President of the Technology and Manufacturing Group, General Manager of Penang Assembly and Test Operations at Intel Malaysia delivering the opening remarks at the Intel InsideOut Experience (IOE) tour.

Tan Lin Im, Director of HR Shared Services Center at Intel Malaysia together with Ooi Kim Huat, Vice President of the Technology and Manufacturing Group, General Manager of Penang Assembly and Test Operations at Intel Malaysia launching the Intel InsideOut Experience (IOE) tour.

“At Intel, we believe that our people are our greatest asset. The Intel InsideOut Experience (IOE) demonstrates the phenomenal technology that our employees create everyday, making a difference in the world. This year, we are also very excited to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Design and Development in Intel Malaysia,” said Robin Martin, Corporate Vice President, General Manager of Assembly Test and Manufacturing, and Managing Director of Intel Malaysia.

Many of Intel's technology and innovations include a line up of laptops, tablets, wearables, 2-in-1s, All-in-Ones (AIO) as well as mobile phones, many of which are designed, developed or manufactured at Intel Malaysia. Animated totems, 3D printers, the RealSense experience and the Oculus Rift were also present. With an event like this, it's a rare opportunity for all Intel employees, along with their family and friends as well as university partners to view Intel’s technology and innovation in person.

A showcase of Intel technology, the Intel IOE tour includes a line up of laptops, tablets, wearables, 2-in-1s, All-in-Ones (AIO) as well as mobile phones that are made possible by Intel employees

The Intel IOE tour welcomes all Intel employees, their family and friends as well as university partners to experience Intel’s technology

Children amused by the spider-like machine at the event


Intel Intelligent Generations interview reveals affordable Intel Atom X3 tablets coming soon?

(from left to right) Intel Singapore and Intel Malaysia Rockstars showing the Intel Atom X3, Intel Compute Stick and 5th gen Intel Core processor devices they helped develop

TechNave.com recently had the opportunity to interview Intel Rockstars at the recent Intel Intelligent Generations showcase in Penang. These Rockstars included the design team from Intel Malaysia responsible for the Intel Compute Stick and 5th Generation Intel Core processors along with the Intel Singapore team in charge of the Intel Atom X3. According to these Intel Rockstars, the Intel Compute Stick was initially created on the theme of miniturization, trying to see how small they could make an effective x86 based machine. Powered by an Intel Atom processor, the Compute Stick plugs into any HDMI-ready display or HDTV and turns it into a desktop PC. While there are still no plans for an Intel Core M powered Compute Stick or one with a discrete graphic card (we asked, they said not yet) they are open to suggestions, with coming Compute Stick devices perhaps offering other options instead.

Intel Atom X3 processors are expected to make devices more affordable while providing exceptional performance

Regarding the Intel Atom X3 processor formerly known as SoFIA, the Intel Singapore team revealed that they have already been provided to manufacturers. This jives with rumours about the upcoming Intel Atom X3 powered ASUS ZenPad. However, they did admit that these processors have been provided earlier to China-brand manufacturers partly because of China's larger tech ecosystem and market and also as a testing ground for other markets. As such, we should see other Intel Atom X3 powered devices within 2015. What does this mean for normal consumers? Well, considering that the Intel Atom X3 packs in built-in 3G/4G LTE connectivity at lower price points it could mean more affordable tablets and smartphones in the near future. So if you're looking to buy an Intel powered tablet we'd recommend waiting for a while first. We shouldn't have to wait too long though as this next wave of Intel Atom X3 powered devices are expected in the next couple of months.


Intel Intelligent Generations sees launch of Compute Stick for RM599 (Windows) / RM499 (Ubuntu)

(from left to right) Yannick LeClercq, Intel Mobile Communications SEA MD, Christopher Kelly, Intel Malaysia Design Centre GM, Prakash Mallya Intel Sales and Marketing SEA MD and Sumner Lemon, Malaysia and Singapore Country Manager introducing the Compute Stick, 5th Gen Intel Core Processor and Intel Atom X3

Intel recently held their Intelligent Generations showcase in Penang displaying the recent achievements and products from Intel including the newly launched Intel Compute Stick, Intel Atom X3 processors and 5th Generation Intel Core processors and their relevant devices. TechNave were thankfully on hand to cover all of this with the main event being the launch for the Intel Compute Stick which was designed fully by the Intel Malaysia team. Designed to be a portable x86 Windows 8.1 desktop you can bring in your pocket, the lightweight Compute Stick plugs into any HDMI port for display or HDTV and turns it into a fully fledged desktop PC. A demo of the device showed that it could load large Microsoft PowerPoint files with as fast a performance as standard desktops and play games like Minecraft.

Clifford Tan, Channel Platform Manager, Intel Microelectronics (M) explaining the features of the new Intel Compute Stick

Granted, you may have to use Bluetooth enabled keyboards and mice to control it, but the Compute Stick brings a new device form factor to the current computing environment. Priced at RM599 for the Windows 8.1 version it will be made available sometime in June 2015 or afterwards. An Ubuntu (a Linux based operating system) powered version is also expected for RM499. At this price point we can see this being used as the family or living room PC especially for those who already have a HDTV or HDMI ready display. Intel envisions even more use-case scenarios including digital signage, education and more. Check out the full tech specs and features below:


Intel Launches "Haswell" 4th Generation Intel Core Processors in Malaysia

While Intel already made the big launch for their Haswell or 4th Generation Intel Core Processors back during Computex Taipei 2013, they recently launched the new processor range officially in Malaysia. For those who don't follow Intel that closely, the new 4th Generation Intel Core Processors codenamed Haswell, bring a number of new features to the table which include:

At the Malaysia launch event held upon a cruise ship, Intel showed off a number of new notebooks, tablets and other devices utilizing the Haswell processors. This included devices from Asus, HP, Dell and other major computer manufacturers. Thanks to the new design and features the Haswell chips are more suited for mobile devices or smartphones. This includes a number of 2-in-1 or hybrid devices, tablets and others. Noteworthy demoes during the event included a working model of 4 normal LCD monitors together with an Intel Haswell based system to form a 4K display and a number of prototypes including a 3D camera from Creative Labs and a hologram projector.

"4th gen Intel Core processors offer the most significant gain in battery life enabling ever achieved by Intel, up to double the graphics and significant CPU performance improvements that are delivering exciting new consumer experiences," said Prakash Mallya, Country Manager of Intel Malaysia and Singapore."Today's announcement accelerates a new category of 2-in-1 computing devices delivering the best of a notebook and a tablet in amazing new form factors. This year is the perfect time for consumers to refresh their old tablet or PC with these new 2-in-1 devices," added Leighton Philips, Director of Product Marketing and Pricing, Intel Asia-Pacific.

Check out a preview of Intel's 4th Generation Core Processors better built-in graphics (codenamed HD, Iris and Iris Pro), their various touch and voice commands and other features below:

Overview of 4th Generation Intel Core Processors or Haswell

New Interesting ways to interact through Intel Haswell Processors

The differences between 3rd Generation and 4th Generation Intel Core Processors


Intel Malaysia Intel Architecture Makers' Open Day showcases invention and technology

Intel Malaysia recently held their Intel Malaysia Intel Architecture Makers' Open Day in Penang, showcasing the growing community of inventors or Makers in Malaysia using Intel technology like the Intel Galileo board to make inventions of their own. The exhibition saw various projects and inventions including a home-made 3D Printer, an Intel Edison based traffic light system, home automation and more with makers ranging from the young to the mature, proving that age is not an issue when it comes to making something awesome. The Intel Malaysia Intel Architecture Makers' Open Day is just one of the various projects that Intel Malaysia are running to spur on growth and interest in technology. Other initiatives that include Intel Galileo K-12 workshops for primary and secondary school students along with Intel Galileo boards and curriculum for universities. Check out the projects and what Intel Malaysia had to say about it below:

“Since the invention of the wheel, inventors all over the world have constantly strived to create new and better ways to solve the world’s problems. Today, at Intel Malaysia, we celebrate the work of our local inventors. I’m proud to say that we have very talented people in our midst, and from what they’ve shown us today, I have bright hopes about what our future is going to be like!” Christopher Kelly, General Manager Malaysia Design Centre, Intel Malaysia

Two inspiring makers presented their project to Chris Kelly, the General Manager Malaysia Design Centre of Intel Malaysia.

Mr. Loh Wei Keat (on the left) sits next to his ALLSPARK 3D printer that uses an Intel® Galileo board.

An Intel® Edison board used for an project by one of the makers at the IMIMOD 2015.

New discoveries and plenty of fun for both the young and old at the IMIMOD 2015.

A young future-maker spotted with ‘A One Million Dollar Hand’!

A participant flying a self-made drone during the drones workshop at the IMIMOD 2015.


Intel Malaysia 'Level Up Your Business' winners get RM30000 worth Tech Boosts

Edu 360 is a home-grown robotics and animation enrichment centre that helps kids develop their creativity and problem-solving skills

Intel Malaysia recently provided the two winners of their 'Level Up Your Business' competition RM30000 worth of devices and support for a significant Tech Boost for each startup. The two winning tech startups include Edu 360 and Tableapp while the 'Level Up Your Business' contest was designed to increase ICT adoption while making life a bit easier for Malaysian SMEs. Edu 360 provides robotics and animation enrichment activities to help develop more creative and problem-solving kids. Tableapp on the other hand is a real-time online reservation service for Malaysian restaurants. Hopefully the Tech Boosts will help accelerate and improve overall growth of the two startups and open up interest from other Malaysian startups and SMEs. Here's what the Intel, Edu 360 and Tableapp had to say about it:

"My team and I established EDU360 Academy in 2009 to provide hands on experiential learning for schools as part of childrens extra-curricular activities. We aim to inspire young people to be creative science and technology leaders through our courses by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build arts, science, engineering and technology skills. We have successfully introduced our courses not only to several schools in the Klang Valley but also an orphanage in Kota Damansara earlier this year. In addition to that, we also coached students for the National Robotics Competition (NRC) 2014 who emerged as National Champions for the Open Category! While we’ve achieved a fair bit since Edu360 started out, we’ve ironically always felt rather limited in the ICT department. The devices we relied upon to conduct our day to day operations definitely held us back in more ways than one – we weren’t as efficient as we wanted to be, we had to shelve ideas that needed more than our computers can handle and we didn’t look particularly impressive with our outdated laptops. The brand new devices we won in ‘Level Up Your Business’ definitely came to us at a great time. Now we can run our courses all the more effectively and spend more of our time on interacting with our kids instead of having to deal with the hassle of waiting for our machines to render or execute work done by our students.” Chaman Singh, one of the two founders of Edu 360.

Conducting interactive robotics classes at Edu 360 with children is more efficient with the new laptops powered by Intel processors.

“As a business built on the backs of a roving team playing multiple roles, we needed devices that could keep up with - if not stay ahead of - all of us. Responsiveness, mobility and efficiency is definitely the name of the game for us here at Tableapp and I am very happy to have found all of these and more in the 2 in 1 devices we won from the contest. Compiling data used to take 1 minute but now it takes only 10 seconds. Considering we do it over 100 times a day, that’s a lot of time saved for us. My team and I also constantly have to work on the go and these great devices allow us to collaborate and communicate with each other no matter where we are. It also helps that these 2 in 1 devices are so great to look at. Its stylish design has definitely helped to create a strong impression on the stakeholders we meet with on a daily basis. We will never get tired of the reactions we get every time we switch usage modes on the 2 in 1 from a PC into a tablet when demonstrating the effectiveness of our app on a mobile device.” Benson Chang, founder of Tableapp.

Tableapp is a real-time online reservation service for restaurants in Malaysia

“We offer our heartiest congratulations to the winners of Level Up Your Business and wish these entrepreneurs all the very best for their businesses in the near future. Intel believes that ICT is one of the key enablers for enterprises to achieve success and strongly urge Malaysian SMEs to take firm steps in improving the agility and productivity of their business by refreshing existing systems with the latest ICT technology available. Above and beyond equipping local SMEs with best in class equipment including those powered by our Intel Core processor family, Intel is also committed to helping local SMEs obtain the skills and resources they need to take their business to the next level. Our recent efforts include the continuous rollout of two training programs - Intel® Learn Easy Steps and Intel® Entrepreneurship Basics (E-Basics) – with organizations including the Ministry of Youth and Sports, SME Bank and various owner-operators of community broadband centers throughout Malaysia. These initiatives underscore our full commitment and Intel will continue to provide opportunities for budding entrepreneurs and mature SMEs owners to acquire ICT skills and tools relevant for day-to-day business operations.” Sumner Lemon, Country Manager Intel Malaysia and Singapore.


Intel Malaysia gets new Country Manager with Sumner Lemon

Intel Malaysia recently announced that it has appointed Sumner Lemon as the new Country Manager for both Intel Malaysia and Singapore. He will take on Intel’s sales and marketing activities in Malaysia and Singapore and drive strategic partnerships with the government and ecosystem partners in order to accelerate technology adoption in both countries. Lemon's background includes an MBA with honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business along with a BA in East Asian Studies from Colby College. He is an experienced tech journalist, covering the technology industry in China, Southeast Asia and Taiwan and is fluent in Mandarin with prior experience at Intel Hongkong. Here's what he had to say about his appointment:

“2014 has been a very exciting year for Intel in terms of innovation and product offerings and I am very excited at the prospect of working with the Malaysian and Singaporean teams to bring these solutions to market. It is a privilege to have been appointed to this position and I am ready to build on the firm foundations laid by my predecessor," Sumner Lemon, Country Manager for Intel Malaysia and Singapore.


Intel Malaysia launches 6th Generation Intel Core processors and more

Sumner Lemon, Country Manager, Intel Malaysia and Singapore and Bruce Howe, Director, Consumer Channels Group, Microsoft Malaysia and other channel partners at the Intel Channel Symposium 2015

Intel Malaysia have announced the release of their 6th Generation Intel Core processors built on the new Skylake microarchitecture and 14nm fabrication process at their Intel Channel Symposium 2015 for Malaysia. The new 6th generation Intel Core processors promise 2.5x better performance, 3x battery life, 30x better graphics than the average 5-year old system. These new processors are also thinner and lighter with faster wake-up time so much so that former server grade processors like Intel Xeon may soon end up in a mobile workstation.

Featuring a diverse range of processors for desktops, notebook computers and even mobile workstations, new Intel Core m3, m5 and m7 processors may soon be in the next premium tablets to emerge while an Intel Core M processors may also be headed for Intel's Compute Stick mini PC. While we hope that this won't be just for Microsoft Surface tablets it is also great news that Intel has released a mobile "K" SKU which means mobile Intel processors that can be overclocked. Various Intel partners were also on hand to show off their Intel based products and devices. This included Acer, ASUS, HP, Microsoft, MSI, SNS Networks and more.

Intel says more exciting things are coming with Intel 500 series graphics including Iris and Iris Pro graphics along for better IoT (Internet of Things) hardware. While Intel say that they are already available there were no details yet on Malaysia pricing. The NUC and Compute Stick are already available though and while they didn't mention any specific dates Intel have said that we should expect more Intel powered tablets, smartphones and mobile devices for Malaysia in the near future. The new 6th Generation Intel Core processors have also been optimized for use with Microsoft's Windows 10 with a promotion called Make Magic Everyday but more details on that soon.


Intel Malaysia now has the largest solar farm outside of the US, generating 6000MWh of electricity annually

Yup, you read that right - our own Intel Malaysia now possesses the largest solar farm outside of the US. As you can see from the cover image above, the 3.2 megawatts (MW) solar installation was completed in January this year. The installation achieved 4.1MW in total installed capacity which was provided by NEFIN, a renewable energy developer.

Just in time for the World Earth Day theme, "Restore Our Earth". The use of renewable power generated on-site at Intel Malaysia is a critical part of the company's effort for their RISE 2030 goals of achieving 100% renewable power. With the new solar installation, it is estimated that carbon dioxide emissions got reduced by 3800 tons.

To put the numbers into perspective, the new solar farm panels are roughly the equivalent of 900 car park spaces alongside the additional 50,208 square feet on the buildings' rooftops. This allows the building to generate approximately 6000MWh of electricity annually which will be used to power its operations at its Kulim and Penang factories. This new energy supply also helps to diversify and introduce renewable energy mix into the campus energy supply mix (natural gas and coal).

Intel has already deployed several solar thermal systems for the supply of domestic hot water to all its campuses in Malaysia. This is so that they can eliminate its dependence on conventional fuel sources and will continue the expansion of clean and green energy sources to reduce emissions. Stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


ASUS Transformer AiO Launch in Malaysia World's First Windows 8 + Android Tablet PC

Model father and mother presenting the ASUS Transformer AiO

ASUS Malaysia launched the ASUS Transformer AiO today (27-3-2013) at Full House, Kuala Lumpur with full media coverage. Featuring a demo by Elly Yeoh Country Product Manager of ASUS and a product briefing by Vanessa Ng, Market Development Manager, Intel Malaysia, the ASUS Transformer AiO combines the ARM based hardware of the 18.4-inch touchscreen tablet with the power of the Intel 3rd generation processor based PC Station stand.

Elly Yeoh, Country Product Manager of ASUS Malaysia presenting the ASUS Transformer AiO

"We are fully confident this latest product will be greatly received by the local market as the ASUS Transformer AiO is truly a compact and stylish package that will set a new standard for popular productivity and entertainment software around the home," she said.

Elly Yeoh Country Product Manager ASUS Malaysia with Vanessa Ng Market Development Manager Intel Malaysia presenting the ASUS Transformer AiO

The launch also saw live roleplay demo of the ASUS Transformer AiO in the home with a not-so-typical looking family as the ASUS Transformer AiO is targeted at the 30+ something market with or without children. For more tech specs and other details regarding the ASUS Transformer AiO please click here to read our tech news regarding it. While the ASUS Transformer AiO can come in various configurations, the top-of-the-line ASUS Transformer AIO P1801 with the Intel Core i7 processor is expected to be priced in Malaysia at RM4999.


Intel Malaysia pushes for Gender Diversity in the workplace by launching Women's Week

Intel site leaders pledge to retain, progress and advance women in the workforce.

Recognising the need and benefits of a gender diversity in the workplace, Intel Malaysia recently launched Women's Week to increase the hiring, retention, progression and advancement of women in today's workforce. Despite having a presence of more than 70% in today's Malaysian workforce, many managerial and professional positions are taken by men. Here's what Intel Malaysia had to say about it all:

“At Intel Malaysia, we are stepping up our efforts on diversity and inclusion, with a special focus on retaining, progressing and advancing women in our workforce. Intel recognizes that women play a significant role in an organization’s future, and that it is important to take a bold stand in creating the right inclusive environment for them. We respect, value and celebrate the unique points of view and opportunities that comes with diversity and are committed to further develop and retain our diverse workforce.” Robin Martin, Corporate Vice President and Intel Malaysia Managing Director.

(from left to right) Johan Merican, CEO, TalentCorp Malaysia, Rosalind Hudnell, Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President of HR, Intel Corporation, Juwita Suwito, Founding Director, Forty Four Records, and moderator Abdul Rahman, Director, Public Affairs, Intel Malaysia having a lighthearted moment during the launch


Intel Malaysia says ASUS ZenFones coming on 10 May 2014

It isn't a big secret that the new range of ASUS ZenFone smartphones are powered by Intel processors, but what most users in Malaysia are asking is "when will the ASUS ZenFone 4, ZenFone 5 and ZenFone 6 arrive in Malaysia?". After the regional launch in Jakarta about a month back, the entry-level to midrange smartphone market in Malaysia has erupted into what appears to be the beginnings of a price war, while the ASUS ZenFone's appear to have been delayed. Intel Malaysia has since teased the ASUS ZenFone's low-light capabilities on their Facebook page, hinting as well that they should arrive on 10 May 2014. We think that such features are certainly worth waiting for, so stay tuned for more developments.[Source]


Intel, Microsoft, and Samsung partner up to work on laptops with foldable display

At the end of September 2020, Lenovo announced that its fancy new ThinkPad X1 Fold would be coming to Malaysia. But that probably won't be the only laptop with a foldable display we'll be seeing. In fact, a new report claims that Intel, Microsoft, and Samsung will be working together to make more laptops like that.

According to ETNews, the three companies have already started a joint project in that direction. It's rumoured that both Samsung and BOE are already starting to develop 17-inch foldable OLED displays that can be used for these laptops. When folded, it will become a 13-inch display with being where a virtual keyboard can be placed. This type of panel should go into mass-production at the end of 2021, with new laptops featuring it debuting in 2022.

Intel is expected to supply the technology called the Horseshoe Bend for this. As mentioned, what it does is that when the screen is folded, a section of the display can turn into a virtual keyboard or becoming a drawing surface. Microsoft will work on the software side to facilitate this, ensuring that such a display will work seamlessly with Windows 10.

Personally, the tactile feel of typing on a physical keyboard is hard to let go for many. But having said that, would you be interested in buying this type of laptop? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more news on fancy tech and gadgets.


Intel SoFIA and Broxton cancellation sign of no new Intel-powered smartphones and tablets?

Intel was recently reported as cancelling their SoFIA and Broxton lines of processors for both smartphones and tablets. While we expect to still see Intel processors for 2-in-1 devices and larger enterprise tablets, smartphones like the upcoming ASUS ZenFone 3 may well have non-Intel processors. While this spells an end to Intel-powered smartphones and smaller tablets, we expect Intel Curie, Edison, Galileo and other maker-related products to remain as Intel are focusing on 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT) for the future.

While this could mean 5G modem integrated Intel processors for mobile devices, there are still no official Malaysia release dates for said devices. We'll probably know more as 5G infrastructure begins implementation. Here's the official Intel Statement:

Intel is accelerating its transformation from a PC company to one that powers the cloud and billions of smart, connected computing devices. We will intensify our investments to fuel the virtuous cycle of growth in the data center, IoT, memory and FPGA businesses, and to drive more profitable mobile and PC businesses. Intel delivers a broad range of computing and connectivity technologies that are foundational to this strategy and that position us well to lead the end-to-end transition to 5G. Our connectivity strategy includes increased investment in wired and wireless communications technology for connecting all things, devices and people to the cloud, and to power the communications infrastructure behind it. We re-evaluated projects to better align to this strategy.

I can confirm that the changes included canceling the Broxton platform as well as SoFIA 3GX, SoFIA LTE and SoFIA LTE2 commercial platforms to enable us to move resources to products that deliver higher returns and advance our strategy. These changes are effective immediately.


Intel Speeding Up Mobile Development, But Will It Be Enough?

Intel seems to finally understand that releasing a new chip or two every year isn't going to let it break into the mobile market. There are many ARM-based competitors already offering much better alternatives such as Qualcomm, Samsung, Huawei, Apple, TSMC, NVIDIA and many more. New players emerging from China such as MediaTek are also offering equal if not better performance processors at much cheaper price points. New Intel CEO Brian Krzanich has had this to say about it:

We see that Atom is now at the same importance, it's launching on the same leading edge technology, sometimes even coming before Core," says Krzanich.I think you'll start to see stuff with our silicon toward the end of the year and the beginning of next year," We're trying to get our silicon into some of them, create some ourselves, understand the usage and create an ecosystem."-Brian Krzanich, CEO, Intel

Intel's Atom processor have traditionally been put as the last priority in terms of Intel development whereas the Core series (for desktops and notebooks) have been at the forefront. This perhaps explains why Intel Atom powered netbooks never really took off. That seems to be changing with the introduction of the new Silvermont processors. While adoption seems to be slow, Intel had better speed it up a bit faster, especially since the next generation of ARM processors are already waiting in the wings. Whether or not Intel can move their gigantic mass fast enough remains to be seen though as it still feels like the end of 2013 won't be fast enough.


Intel Tiger Lake powered Dell XPS 13 and XPS 13 2-in-1 laptops coming to Malaysia from RM5999

Dell Malaysia recently revealed that their Dell XPS 13 and XPS 13 2-in-1 laptops will be powered using the new Intel Tiger Lake or 11th Generation Intel Core processors. The Dell XPS 13 will start from RM6399 while the XPS 13 2-in-1 will go from RM5999. Both will be available in Malaysia from October 2020.

The two laptops will feature Intel Iris Xe graphics and premium machined aluminum chassis, along with up to 4K displays with super slim bezels on the sides. The laptops also support Thunderbolt 4 ports that can in turn support two 4K displays or a single 8K display.

Check out the full tech specs of the refreshed Dell XPS 13 and XPS 13 2-in-1 below:


Intel Xeon E7-8800/4800 v3 officially announced

Intel Corporation recently announced their new Intel Xeon E7-8800/4800 v3 range for server side super computer clusters and private clouds. Designed to deliver accelerated business insight through real-time analytics (being able to process big data in an instant) the new Intel Xeon E7-8800/4800 v3 range delivers up to 6x better business processing application performance for in-memory transactional workloads. It is further optimized with new Intel Transactional Synchronization Extensions. In terms of tech specs alone the Intel Xeon E7-8800/4800 v3 feature up to 18 cores which is a 20 percent increase from it's predecessor for up to 70 percent more decision support analytic sessions per hour. The new processor range offer new options in terms of scalability with support for up to 32 sockets, 12TB of DDR3 or DDR4 memory and 12 processor models so you can choose the right Intel Xeon E7 v3 for your computational needs at will. Pricing begins from $1224 (RM4368) to $7175 (RM25610) per 1000 units with Intel Xeon E7 v3 powered products coming soon. Here's what Intel had to say about the new range, but you can also check out more at the Intel site:

“In the digital services economy, success or failure can depend on how quickly businesses act on insight from vast stores of data. The Intel Xeon processor E7 v3 family is the engine for accelerating business intelligence through real-time analytics, enabling businesses to improve customer satisfaction through more personalized products and services, generate new revenue streams and enhance operational efficiency.” Diane Bryant, senior vice president and general manager of the Data Center Group at Intel

Check out why China Telecom chose the Intel Xeon E7


Intel and AMD CPUs reportedly to rise in price due to inflation and more

Over the past two years, the pandemic has affected the workforce and raised prices consequentially. One great example was the hiked price of GPU cards. We have also seen 2022 laptop model prices being a bit overpriced more than they used to and may even rise higher in the second half of 2022.

According to the sources, both Intel and AMD CPUs will cost more than before. Some stores are trying to use the inventory to cover the cost but once the deadline has been set, the stores will have to adjust the price accordingly. A Taobao shop owner and digital bloggers @中正EVA think that customers may come to get the CPUs first before the price increases.

Just for your information, both Intel and AMD will be preparing to introduce the next-gen processors which are the 13th Gen Intel Core and Ryzen 7000 series respectively. Price fluctuation is one of the main factors affecting the price, and Intel confirmed that most microprocessor and peripheral chipset product prices will rise in response to the rising production and material cost.

Aside from that, global inflation also plays a huge role and sources believe that it may exceed 10-20%. This depends on the types of chips but still, we should be on our toes and brace ourselves for the price hike. Stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


Intel and MediaTek are ready to launch their 5G solution for laptops

5G technology is becoming a must for the latest smartphones to have these days. Although the communication technology has not been widely implemented yet, it is still a good idea to future proof the devices. Other than smartphones, Intel and MediaTek are also reported to be launching their 5G solution for laptops too.

MediaTek's new T700 5G modem has completed standalone calls in real-world test environments and is ready for use within Intel-based laptops. The T700 5G modem is based on the company's Helio M70 modem. It will also support sub-6GHz 5G that is more reliable but slower compared to mmWave.

Intel and MediaTek announced the partnership late last year and we're finally hearing some good news from the collaboration. They are also expecting that the 5G solution will make its debut with the first laptops from OEMs in early 2021. Other than Intel and MediaTek, Qualcomm is another chip manufacturer that is working on 5G-enabled silicon for ultraportable laptops with the Snapdragon 8c platforms.

Let us know what you think about this news on our Facebook page. Stay tuned to TechNave.com for more latest tech news.


Intel and Mediatek collaborating to bring 5G to laptops

In a news release from Intel, the company announced that it will be partnering with mobile chipmaker MediaTek to bring 5G capabilities to laptops. Intel will be in charge of defining the solution specifications, while MediaTek will be developing the 5G modem.

Intel laptops featuring a 5G modem are estimated to be available in early 2021, with Dell and HP as the two brands expected to be the earliest in delivering on that end. With this partnership, Intel-based PCs will be able to deliver faster speeds in terms of web-browsing, streaming and online gaming.

In addition, the two companies will enlist the help of Fibocom to develop M.2-based 5G modules. Such modules will allow for easier integration of 5G modems in devices with thin form factors.

Sounds like 2021 would be a good time to upgrade your laptop, assuming 5G becomes more available in Malaysia by then. What do you think? Let us know on our Facebook page. For more updates, stay tuned on TechNave.com.


ASUS Transformer Book Duet TD300 combines best of both tablet and laptops

What do you do when you have an awesome 3-in-1 transforming tablet, laptop and mobile desktop device like the ASUS Transformer Book Trio? Diversify and make a 2-in-1 tablet and laptop hybrid device as well, which is what ASUS have done with the announcement of the ASUS Transformer Book Duet TD300. Offering two modes with a detachable 13.3-inch touchscreen tablet, tech specs and features for the Duet include an Intel Core i7 processor, 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution display, 4GB of DDR3 RAM and a 128GB SSD. Docking in the tablet with the keyboard will offer an extra 1TB hard disk drive worth of storage. Users can switch between both Android and Windows in just 4 seconds. So far there isn't any pricing information or Malaysia release dates but we expect to see the ASUS Transformer Book Duet TD300 reach Malaysia by the end of Q1 2014. For now, check out the video below:


Intel announced 11th Gen H-series processors for ultraportable gaming, next-gen "Alder Lake" processors and more

At this year's CES, Intel has gone all out by announcing four new processor families that aim to cater to users' different needs. The processors announced are the 11th Gen Intel Core H-series mobile processors, 11th Gen Intel Core vPro processors, N-series 10-nanometer Intel Pentium Silver and Intel Celeron processors, and 11th Gen Intel Core S-series desktop processors. Besides that, the tech giant has also given a sneak peek at the next-gen processor "Alder Lake" which could compete with Apple's M1.

Starting with the 11th Gen Intel Core H-series mobile processors, the processors are developed for enthusiast-level gaming in laptops. They are as thin as 16 millimeters and feature new Gen 4 PCIE architecture for connecting to the latest discrete graphics. At CES, Acer, ASUS, MSI, and Vaio have all announced new systems powered by the 11th Gen Intel Core H35-series processor, with more than 40 designs from top manufacturing partners launching in the first half of 2021.

Moving to 11th Gen Intel Core vPro, the processors are made for the business platform by delivering the industry’s highest performance and the world’s most comprehensive hardware-based security. With Intel Hardware Shield, the processors are able to help stop ransomware and crypto-mining attacks with the use of artificial intelligence (AI) threat detection. It is also built with Intel 10-nanometer (nm) SuperFin technology, delivering industry-leading performance.

Furthermore, the N-series Intel Pentium Silver and Celeron processors have also been presented at the event for the education platform. The processors are designed on Intel’s 10nm architecture, delivering up to 35% better overall application performance and up to 78% better graphics performance gen on gen. The company has also demonstrated the performance of the 11th Gen Intel Core S-series desktop processors. By featuring 19% gen-over gen instructions per cycle (IPC) improvement, these processors will bring even more performance to gamers and PC enthusiasts at launch in the first quarter of 2021.

Lastly, Intel has also demonstrated the next-gen processor "Alder Lake" that could be seen as an enemy to Apple's latest invention M1. It is stated that the upcoming processor represents a significant breakthrough in x86 architecture and Intel’s most power-scalable system-on-chip. The processor is due somewhere around the second half of 2021.

Let us know what you think about these new processors from Intel on our Facebook page. Stay tuned to TechNave.com for more latest tech updates.


Intel announces 12th Gen Intel Core mobile processors

For CES 2022, Intel have announced their 12th Gen Intel Core mobile processors that includes 8 new H-series mobile processors based on their Intel 7 process featuring their flagship Intel® Core™ i9-12900HK. Stand out features for the new 12th Gen Intel Core H-series processors include up to 5GHz frequencies, 14 cores and 20 threads along with support for DDR5/LPDDR5 and DDR4/LPDDR4 modules up to 4800 MT/s and Wi-Fi 6E connectivity. They will also support Thunderbolt 4.

Laptops and systems using these new 12th Gen Intel Core processors are expected to arrive for Windows and Chrome devices (still desktops, laptops and tablets) from brands such as Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, MSI and Razer as early as February 2022. In addition, Intel have also announced new products in their Intel vPro Essentials and Intel vPro Enterprise series, new P-Series processors and more. No Malaysia release dates or pricing details yet, but we expect them to arrive in the coming months of 2022.


Intel announces 5th Generation Intel Core processor family, Cherry Trail and Curie Module

At CES 2015 Intel made quite a few announcements, but one of the most important was for the 5th Generation Intel Core processor family. Utilizing a 14nm fabrication process, the new Intel Core processors include Intel HD graphics and Intel Iris graphics based on the Intel Broadwell microarchitecture. While these new 5th Generation Intel Core processors will be making their way to notebooks, 2-in-1 devices, ultrabooks, chromebooks, mini PCs, desktops and other devices, Intel is also readying their new Cherry Trail range of processors for mobile devices. These Cherry Trail processors are also made using a 14nm fabrication process, offer 64-bit computing, Intel Generation 8-LP graphics and LTE-Advanced connectivity via the Intel XMM 726x platform for Cat6 speeds. We expect Cherry Trail tablets to arrive sometime in Q1 or Q2 of 2015 despite there being no Malaysia release dates or pricing details just yet. Here's what Intel had to say about Cherry Trail:

"Intel’s 14nm, next-generation Intel Atom processor for tablets, “Cherry Trail”, will offer new user experiences such as Intel RealSense technology, no wires, no passwords and Intel® Context Aware™ technology capabilities, bringing new innovation and excitement to tablets. Intel RealSense Snapshot provides depth-sensing photo capabilities, giving people the power to change focus, take measurements, and add dynamic effects and motion to pictures with a touch of a finger. With its no wires capabilities, Cherry Trail enables tablets to wirelessly display content to a big screen or projector. Cherry Trail will also enable users to login with their face, fingerprint or a trusted device they assigned. Using an accelerometer, sound and light sensors, and information from the cloud, Intel Context Aware technology can determine the context or environment someone is in and provide information based on those surroundings."

Brian Krzanich, Intel CEO holding up the button-sized Intel Curie Module

Also announced at CES 2015 was the Intel Curie Module. This button-sized System-on-Chip (SoC) is a low power solution for wearable designers. It offers amongst other things a motion sensor, Bluetooth Low Energy and battery charging capabilities along with support for open source RTOS. The Intel Curie module itslef is based on the 32-bit Intel Quark microcontroller and was designed for "always-on" applications. Check out the full tech specs of the Intel Curie Module below:

“The rise of new personal computing experiences, intelligent and connected devices, and the wearable revolution are redefining the relationship between consumers and technology. Our goal with Intel technology is to help solve real problems and enable experiences that are truly desired by people and businesses. In order to do this, we must also do more to lead the growth of diversity and inclusion within the technology industry. Women and under-represented minorities will continue to play a greater role as consumers, influencers, creators and leaders.” Brian Krzanich, Intel CEO

“Last year, we partnered with leading technology, fashion and lifestyle brands to help build a robust wearable ecosystem. With the Intel Curie module, Intel will continue to push the envelope of what’s possible and enable companies to quickly and effectively build low-power wearables in various form factors.” Mike Bell, vice president and general manager of Intel’s New Devices Group


Intel announces Marvel's Avengers Collector's Edition Packaging for 10th-gen processors

Collaboration is always a good idea to boost sales by working with brands that are already popular. With that said, it has been announced that Intel will release special editions of Intel Core Desktop processors by featuring Marvel's Avengers Collector's Edition Packaging.

Today, Intel announced the collaboration on Twitter with a post saying that they have worked with muralist Tristan Eaton on the artwork. Other than that, it is also inspired by Square Enix's upcoming Marvel's Avengers game that is going to be released on 4 September.

Avengers Assemble. Introducing the Intel Core Desktop Processor featuring Marvel's Avengers Collector's Edition Packaging, created by painter/muralist @TristanEaton. @playavengers #Reassemble © 2020 MARVEL pic.twitter.com/FKKAeZzqy3

Besides the design, the 10th-generation desktop processors have also been rebranded as Core i5-10600KA, i7-10700KA, i9-10850KA, and i9-10900KA. Compare to the current ones, each of them has one extra 'A' added and it stands for 'Avengers'. For the price, Intel hasn't given any official information about it yet nor when we can start buying it.

Let us know what you think about this collaboration on our Facebook page. Stay tuned to TechNave.com for more interesting tech news.


Intel announces their 7th Generation Intel Core processors: Thinner, lighter and readier for 4K

As we head on into 4K content creation, Intel have announced their processors that will power this new generation of AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) creators with their 7th Generation Intel Core processors based on the Kaby Lake architecture. Utilizing the previous 6th Generation 14nm fabrication process it improves and delivers 15x better 4K content creation and 3x better battery life with 4K content usage.

Headed for thinner and lighter laptops and hybrid tablet computers, manufacturers are expected to get access to these processors by the beginning of September so you can expect such devices latest by January 2017. Going into the technical details, the new 7th Gen Intel Core processor utilize a new HEVC 10-bit decode for smoother 4K playback, a more power efficient VP9 decode and features that include support for Thunderbold 3 USB Type-C single-wire connectivity.

These processors will include the following:


Intel demonstrates gaming at 5GHz with the upcoming 8-core Tiger Lake CPU

At the GDC Showcase, the VP and general manager of Client XPU Products and Solutions at Intel, Roger Chandler, has shown off something that AMD should worry about. In a session, Chandler has demoed the performance of the upcoming 8-core Tiger Lake laptop CPU with it running a game at 5GHz across multiple cores.

The game that was used for the demonstration is Total War and it ran smoothly throughout the gameplay. It looks like the processor is powerful enough to handle all the CPU-taxing on-screen actions with its integrated graphics.

Besides that, the presentation also highlighted that the Tiger Lake-H will deliver 20 PCIe Gen4 lanes, to support PCIe 4 SSDs and discrete GPUs for better performance overall. Chandler also confirmed that the Tiger Lake-H range is aiming for a Q2 launch.

Let us know what you think about the processor on our Facebook page. Stay tuned to TechNave.com for more tech news.


Intel has officially unveiled their new 11th Gen Intel Core Processors equipped with Iris X Graphics

Intel has recently unveiled their new 11th Generation Intel Core Processors which consists of 9 processors spread across the Intel Core i3, Core i5, as well as the i7 series. But that’s not all, all the processors mentioned comes equipped with Iris X Graphics, which provides an additional boost when it comes to graphically intensive workloads.

Based on a statement by Intel, it seems that these processors are geared more towards laptops due to the fact that they’re power-efficient as they’re built using the 10nm process with SuperFin. To those who are not familiar with SuperFin, it basically allows the transistors to deliver more performance compared to processors that do not have it.

In terms of the clock speed, Intel hinted that the 11th Gen Intel Core Processors are able to run up to 4.8GHz, which is not too shabby considering the fact that these processors are housed in laptops that usually have limited airflow. Last but not least, there were mentions that any laptop that comes with the new processors would usually come equipped with integrated Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 6, as well as better AI performance.

With that said, we can expect to see laptops from Acer, Dell, Lenovo, Samsung, and Asus, release a laptop that comes equipped with the new processor very soon. Would you be interested in getting a laptop that’s equipped with the new 11th Gen Intel Core Processor? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Intel is launching the "world's fastest desktop CPU" on 5 April

Intel sets to launch the probably "world's fastest desktop CPU" on 5 April 2022. The Intel Core i9-12900KS will be a better version of the company's current flagship by being capable of boosting up to higher clock speeds at 5.5GHz. Now, let's continue reading for the other information we have regarding the upcoming CPU.

Going up to 5.5Ghz is impressive. However, the source mentions that it can only be hit on a single core over a limited period of time. Meanwhile, the all-core boost will be 5.2GHz, which is still something that is good enough considering it has eight performance cores. Of course, the CPU hasn't gone through the tests for its performance in real-world apps and games, so we still have to wait around before making a quick judgement.

We all know that Intel isn't the only company making desktop CPUs. AMD claimed that the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, launching on 20 April, beats out the vanilla 12900K. Therefore, it should come close to the KS version as well. AMD's offering is said to perform exceptionally for gaming, but outside of that, it won't be so competitive with the Alder Lake flagships.

Are you excited about seeing what Intel will offer? Leave a comment to let us know your thoughts, and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more tech reports.


Intel launch Iris Xe MAX GPU to deliver gaming performance to ultraportable laptops

When it comes to graphics for laptops, most compact ones just use integrated graphics processing unit (iGPU) that are included with the CPU. Intel has been doing that for years, but the company has just officially launched its Intel Iris Xe MAX GPU, which is a discrete GPU (dGPU) instead.

According to Intel, Iris Xe MAX is based on the same Iris Xe architecture used in the iGPU for the 11th-Gen Intel Core CPUs. This dGPU runs at a clock speed of 1.65GHz and features 96 Execution Units (EU). It comes with the Deep Link feature, which combines the power of both the CPU and GPU using a common software framework to dynamically share power and boost performance when needed.

It's said that this new dGPU from Intel can allow ultraportable laptops play 1080p games. For reference, it allegedly has better overall performance in gaming compared to Nvidia's MX350 GPU. A total of three models that will have this dGPU have already been revealed: the Acer Swift 3, ASUS VivoBook Flip TP470, and Dell Inspiron 15 7000 2-in-1.

We can probably expect more laptops featuring Intel's new graphics processor in the coming months. But for now, what do you think? Would you be interested in a laptop featuring Intel's latest chips? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more news.


Intel launches 12th Gen Intel Core family, including Intel Core i9-12900K as the "world's best gaming" processor

A few hours ago, Intel unveiled its latest 12th Gen Intel Core processor at the Intel Innovation event. There are also six new unlocked desktop processors, including a new gaming 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900K processor with a max turbo boost of up to 5.2GHz and as many as 16 cores and 24 threads.

The six unlocked desktop processors launched today are the first based on Intel’s performance hybrid architecture. This features a combination of Performance-cores (P-cores), the highest performing CPU core Intel has built, and Efficient-cores (E-cores), designed for scalable multi-threaded workload performance. Moreover, Intel Thread Director enables the two new core microarchitectures to work seamlessly together by guiding the operating system (OS) to place the right thread on the right core at the right time.

Intel provided some excerpts of its new performance hybrid architecture and new Intel 7 process technology. From a single-threaded and multi-threaded performance, it enables:

Available with up to 16 cores and 24 threads, the Core i9-12900K provides up to 25% more FPS on Troy: A Total War Saga, up to 28% more FPS on Hitman 3, and up to 23% more FPS on Far Cry 63. It is enhanced by Intel Killer Wi-Fi 6E for up to 75% less latency while gaming when multitasking, high-frequency P-cores paired with E-cores for offloading parallel tasks enable up to 84% more frames per second for simultaneous gaming, streaming, and recording

With the advancements in multi-threaded performance, it's able to move data at much faster speeds with DDR5 across all types of content creation experience including

Enthusiasts and gamers can try these new platform overclocking features as part of the latest Intel Extreme Tuning Utility (XTU) 7.5. Starting with the Core i9-12900K, XTU will also support one-click overclocking with Intel Speed Optimizer for unlocked 12th Gen processors. Intel also introduced the latest Intel Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) 3.0 with support for DDR5, offering additional profiles, including new rewriteable custom profiles and flexible tuning for memory overclocking

For 12th Gen Intel Core desktop processors, key platform advancements include:

Alongside the 12th Gen Intel Core desktop processors, Intel also launched the new Intel 600 Series Chipset with advanced features for increased reliability and performance. New PCIe Gen 4.0 lanes make for 28 total lanes off the chipset, integrated USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 provides up to double the bandwidth, DMI Gen 4.0 increases the chipset to CPU throughput for fast access to peripheral devices and networking.

On top of that, the company is bringing Intel Volume Management Device (VMD) to PC chipsets for the first time. This simplifies storage control by allowing direct control and management of NVMe-based SSDs from the PCIe bus without additional RAID controllers or other hardware adaptors.

Unlocked 12th Gen Intel Core desktop processors are available now for pre-order from participating OEMs, channel partners, and retailers. Broad availability will start on 4 November 2021 with more than 140 customers in more than 30 countries expected to add the new processors to their lineups by the end of the year. Pricing starts at $264 (~RM1097) to $589 (~RM2447) for the unlocked desktop processors.

We should be seeing more of these new 12th Gen Intel Core processors in many laptops and desktops in 2022. Until then, stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.