Thread: Anandtech News

One of the purposes of Intel’s Avoton CPUs is cold storage. ASRock produced the C2750D4I for that need – a mini-ITX motherboard with a 25W eight core CPU, support for 64GB of DRAM, external server management and twelve SATA ports. In order to achieve twelve SATA ports, ASRock has equipped the motherboard with additional Marvell controllers. SilverstoneTek has built the DS380 case with this motherboard in mind. Despite the high price tag for the motherboard ($398), there seems to be a buzz around this setup, so ASRock provided one of its C2750D4I 1U servers for review. SilverstoneTek is also in on the action, asking for our opinion of its DS380 case which we will include in this review.

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This morning Apple announced its 2014 MacBook Air refresh. With Intel's 14nm Broadwell SoC delayed, this mid-cycle update still uses Haswell ULT parts. The chassis and internal specs haven't changed, however the base CPU gets a slight speed bump. The 1.3GHz Core i5-4250U is replaced by a 1.4GHz Core i5-4260U. The extra 100MHz won't change much, you can expect a 0 - 3% increase in performance compared to last year's entry level model. The upgraded CPU option hasn't changed, and Apple continues to accept nothing less than Intel's HD 5000 (Haswell GT3) on any of its MBAs.

Apple 2014 MacBook Air CPU Comparison
	1.4GHz dual-core	1.7GHz dual-core
Standard On	11 & 13-inch MBA	Optional on Both
Intel Model	Core i5-4260U	Core i7-4650U
Base Clock Speed	1.4GHz	1.7GHz
Max SC Turbo	2.7GHz	3.3GHz
Max DC Turbo	2.4GHz	2.9GHz
L3 Cache	3MB	4MB
TSX-NI	No	Yes
TXT	No	Yes
AES-NI	Yes	Yes
VT-x/VT-x EPT	Yes	Yes
VT-d	Yes	Yes
TDP	15W	15W
Processor Graphics	Intel HD 5000	Intel HD 5000
GPU Clock (Base/Max)	200/1000MHz	200/1100MHz

The bigger news is that, hot on the heels of a solid financial quarter, Apple is dropping all MBA prices by $100. The entry level 11.6-inch system now starts at $899. I suspect Apple is making room for an eventual MacBook Air with Retina Display. That design is expected to be a launch vehicle for Intel's Broadwell, but it's unclear how Intel's 14nm delays will impact the schedule for that product.

2014 MacBook Air Refresh
	11.6-inch	11.6-inch (high-end)	13.3-inch	13.3-inch (high-end)
Dimensions	H: 0.11-0.68" (0.3-1.7cm) W: 11.8" (30cm) D: 7.56" (19.2cm)		H: 0.11-0.68" (0.3-1.7cm) W: 12.8" (32.5cm) D: 8.94" (22.7cm)
Weight	2.38 lbs (1.08kg)		2.96 lbs (1.35kg)
CPU	1.4GHz dual-core Core i5		1.4GHz dual-core Core i5
GPU	Intel HD 5000
RAM	4GB LPDDR3-1600
SSD	128GB PCIe SSD	256GB PCIe SSD	128GB PCIe SSD	256GB PCIe SSD
Display Resolution	1366 x 768		1440 x 900
Ports	Thunderbolt, 2x USB 3.0, headphone jack		Thunderbolt, 2x USB 3.0, SD card slot, headphone jack
Networking	2x2:2 802.11ac		2x2:2 802.11ac
Battery	38 Wh		54 Wh
Price	$899	$1099	$999	$1199

I was a fan of the 2013 MBA, and this price drop only makes the system more accessible. Unless you're holding out for a model with a Retina Display, the refresh is still a great buy.

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In a surprise move today, NVIDIA has announced that they are updating their spring GeForce game bundle mid-cycle with a new game.
Effective immediately, Ubisoft’s upcoming open world techno thriller Watch Dogs is being bundled with the GTX 660 and above. This replaces NVIDIA’s previous Daylight bundle for these cards, which started last month and we had previously been expecting to run through May.
Ubisoft is of course one of NVIDIA’s closest partners, and while NVIDIA hasn’t bundled all of Ubisoft’s high profile games they have bundled a number of them over the years, including games from the Batman and Assassin’s Creed series. Watch Dogs in turn is not an unexpected bundle choice (if a bit early) and for video card buyers it represents a step up in value, replacing the budget priced Daylight with a AAA priced game. Meanwhile as NVIDIA’s new flagship game under The Way It’s Meant To Be Played program, Watch Dogs will be packing a few enhancements from NVIDIA’s GameWorks libraries, including TXAA anti-aliasing and HBAO+.

NVIDIA Spring 2014 Game Bundles
Video Card	Bundle
GeForce GTX 760/770/780/780Ti/Titan 660/660Ti/670/680/690	Watch Dogs
GeForce GTX 650/650Ti/750/750Ti	$150 Free-To-Play (Warface, Heroes of Newerth, Path of Exile)
Select GTX 700M/800M-based Notebooks	$150 Free-To-Play (Warface, Heroes of Newerth, Path of Exile)
GeForce GT 640 (& Below)	None

As this bundle is a straight-up replacement of the previous Daylight bundle, the cards it does (and doesn’t) apply to are the same as before. The GeForce GTX 660 and up qualify for Watch Dogs, while the GTX 650 series, GTX 750 series, and GeForce Mobile series remain a part of NVIDIA’s lesser Free-To-Play bundle. Meanwhile for video card buyers this comes hot on the heels of last week’s game bundle refresh from AMD, which saw AMD launch their Never Settle Forever bundle for the Radeon 200 series.
Finally, as always, these bundles are being distributed in voucher from, with retailers and etailers providing vouchers with qualifying purchases. So buyers will want to double check whether their purchase includes a voucher for either of the above deals. Checking NVIDIA’s terms and conditions, the codes from this bundle are only good through June 30^th, so it looks like this bundle is only scheduled to run for a couple of months.

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Acer took the wraps off of a new product today – the Acer Aspire Switch 10. This is a new take on the two in one for Acer, offering a Bay Trail-T equipped 10.1” tablet with a magnetic detachable keyboard design. The keyboard offers two hooks to connect the tablet to the keyboard without requiring a latching mechanism, but more secure than a comparable Surface keyboard
Acer claims four modes for the tablet. First, there is Notebook mode, where the keyboard is attached the normal way, and Pad mode, which is just the tablet. That’s all fairly standard in a two in one Windows tablet. The other two modes are based on the fact that the magnetic latching system on the keyboard is actually reversible – there is a Display mode where the display is simply turned around, and a tent mode where the display is turned around and the keyboard slightly folded up to give the same effect as a Surface with kickstand.
Gallery: Acer Announces Aspire Switch 10


None of this is new to the Windows tablet scene of course– the Asus Transformer Book T100 offers a detachable keyboard, and Lenovo has several devices such as the Yoga and Flex lines which offer the four device modes, but Acer has done a unique take on it with the combination of reversible and detachable keyboard.
Specification wise, it’s a pretty standard tablet. The device has a T quad core processor (actual model number not disclosed), 2 GB of RAM, up to 64 GB of storage, and a 1366x768 10.1” IPS touch display. Where Acer seems to have focused their efforts was in dimensions and mass, where they are claiming a 8.9 mm thick chassis (20.2 mm with keyboard) and 0.59 kg (1.29 lb) weight for the tablet alone, and 1.17 kg (2.58 lb) for the combination.

Two in One Computers
	Acer Aspire Switch 10	Asus Transformer Book T100	Microsoft Surface 2
Dimensions	H: 0.35" (8.9mm) W: N/A D: N/A	H: 0.41" (10.5mm) W: 10.35" (263mm) D: 6.73" (171mm)	H: 0.35" (8.9mm) W: 10.81" (274mm) D: 6.79" (172mm)
Weight	1.29lbs (590g)	1.21lbs (550g)	1.49lbs (676g)
CPU	Intel Bay Trail-T	Intel Bay Trail-T Z7340	NVIDIA Tegra 4 T40
GPU	Intel HD Graphics	Intel HD Graphics	NVIDIA Tegra 4 T40
RAM	2 GB LPDDR3	2 GB LPDDR3	2 GB LPDDR3
Storage	32-64 GB	32-64 GB	32-64 GB
Display Size and Resolution	10.1" 1366x768	10.1" 1366x768	10.6" 1920x1080
Battery	N/A	31 Wh	31.5 Wh
Price	$379 with keyboard	$349 with keyboard	$449 without keyboard

Other notable features are a zero air gap (direct bonded) display, which should help dealing with external light sources, and an auto brightness feature they are calling LumiFlex which they claim will help with colors when using the device under varying lighting sources. As to what this will actually do, we’ll have to wait for a review sample to see. Acer is also supporting Windows 8.1 InstantGo which is the new term for Connected Standby and Bitlocker enabled storage.
Also, there's an optional keyboard dock with 500 GB of internal storage - no other specs of this accessory were announced.
Overall, the Aspire Switch 10 looks like a nice two in one, with an aluminum rear cover with a cross brush pattern. Prices start at US $379 with availability in late May.

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As April comes to a close we’re back once again with our monthly guide to video cards.
Compared to the February/March time period and the flurry of activity coinciding with the launch of NVIDIA’s Maxwell architecture, April has been a much quieter month. We have still seen some big events this month, but for the most part the makeup of the video card market for April looks very similar to March.
The big product launch for April was of course AMD’s new flagship dual GPU card, the Radeon R9 295X2. Packing a pair of Hawaii GPUs, AMD went above and beyond the norm for their latest dual GPU card. By utilizing a closed loop liquid cooler – a novel enhancement to video card cooling – AMD was able to use their powerful (and power hungry) Hawaii GPUs without any compromises, shipping the card at a blistering 1019MHz with both GPUs fully enabled. From a performance perspective the R9 295X2 is for all intents and purposes equivalent to a set of R9 290X Ubers in CrossFire, but taking up less space and more importantly achieving that level of performance with greatly reduced noise levels. However R9 295X2 is also a hungry card, and will set back buyers $1500 and 500W in load power consumption, so it goes without saying that it’s decidedly in the luxury category and will only be affordable to a small number of buyers.

Meanwhile NVIDIA did not announce any new products in April. In fact they launched one less product than we expected. The company’s dual-GPU GeForce GTX Titan Z, which was previously announced in March at GTC 2014, was scheduled to launch this month. However it is as of this morning a no-show with no word from NVIDIA on a delay, so we can only assume is has been delayed in to May.
NVIDIA did however update their desktop GeForce video game bundle this week; in fact over the last two weeks both NVIDIA and AMD refreshed their bundles ahead of the next couple of months. For the GTX 660/760 and higher NVIDIA has replaced their Daylight bundle with Ubisoft’s forthcoming open world techno thriller Watch Dogs, which is scheduled to launch at the end of May. Meanwhile AMD instituted a massive overhaul of their Never Settle Forever program, which had otherwise been winding down this year. Never Settle Forever now covers virtually all of AMD’s Radeon 200 cards, and while most of the games in the collection are essentially budget/classic titles, at the silver and gold tiers AMD is anchoring the collection around the recent and forthcoming AAA titles Thief and Murdered: Soul Suspect.

In AMD’s case the ramp up of Never Settle Forever coincides with the final breath of Cryptocoin Mania, which after tapering off in March has finally fully subsided. Video card prices are now very healthy for AMD and NVIDIA buyers, with almost every card available at (or even below) MSRP. Which is all the more reason both companies are ramping up bundles to help their competitive positioning.
Anyhow, market summaries behind us, let’s look at individual recommendations. As always, we’ve laid out our ideas of price/performance bands and recommendations in our table below, with our full explanations and alternative options to follow. As always, in the case of the sub-$200 market it’s worth pointing out that there’s a video card for roughly every $10, so picking a good video card is as much about budgets as it is finding an especially strong card.

April 2014 GPU Performance Guide
Performance Band	Price Range	Recommendation
1080p (Low)	$99-$149	AMD Radeon R7 250X
1080p (Med)	$149-$199	AMD Radeon R7 265
1080p (High)	$199-$299	AMD Radeon R9 270X
1440p (Med)	$299-$399	AMD Radeon R9 280X
1440p (High)	$399-$679	AMD Radeon R9 290 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780
1440p (Max)	$679+	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti
4K/Multi-Monitor (High)	$1200+	2x AMD Radeon R9 290X AMD Radeon R9 295X2

As a general recommendation for gaming, we suggest starting at $99. There are cards below this price, but the amount of performance you have to give up below $99 far outweighs the cost. Even then, performance gains will generally exceed the price increases up to $150 or so.
Meanwhile for gamers looking for high quality 1080p gaming or better, that will start at $199. Going above that will find cards that are good for 1440p, 4K, and multi-monitor, while going below that will find cards that will require some quality sacrifices to stay at 1080p.
[h=3]Budget (

Computers with completely passive cooling systems are advantageous in many respects. These aspects turn out to be very important for many industrial applications. The low power nature of the popular Intel NUC platforms make them perfect candidates for passive industrial PCs. We have reviewed an Atom-based passive industrial PCs from Logic Supply before. Today, we present results from the evaluation of their fanless version of the Haswell i5-based NUC.

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Today Google released two new applications on Google Play and the iOS App Store. The new apps are called Google Sheets and Google Docs and they are essentially standalone versions of the editing tools built into the Google Drive application.

Immediately it can be seen that they greatly resemble the Google Drive app but each with their own color theme. Docs is blue, Sheets is green, and Slides will be yellow when it launches in the future. The apps have the ability to view documents in a grid with previews or as a list of names. Google has stated that the Google Drive app will eventually notify users to download these separate applications when they edit documents on their mobile devices. While users may be upset at Google’s decision to break what could be accomplished in a single app into separate apps, there will be benefits to this decision down the road.

For instance, when Google wants to add functionality that is specific to a certain document type they can add it to the application designed for editing those documents. The separate apps also recognize which documents in your Google Drive storage they are meant for editing which adds a layer of automated organization. Google is really just moving toward what every office suite does which is having separate applications for different tasks which share common functionality and design but have specific features tailored for the documents they work with.

After spending some time with the apps I’m happily surprised by their performance. There wasn’t a stutter to be found even when opening large spreadsheets. In the past I have felt that on iOS Google’s applications have had areas of middling performance but it is clear that those days are long past. In fact, had the apps launched two weeks ago before Apple’s iWork 2.2 update I would have stated that they were substantially smoother than Apple’s own apps on their own platform. The applications are equally as performant on any modern Android device. Even on an aging Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.3 they’re a joy to use.

The iOS app is missing some features of the Android version

The biggest improvement I hope to see in both the applications is the ability to insert pictures into documents from the photos application. Improvements I hope to see in the iOS apps mainly relate to feature parity with their Android counterparts. Many of the text formatting options like strikethrough and font color are not available on iOS. The iOS app is also unable to create and edit charts like the Android app; you are only able to view them in the preview mode.

In addition to the new mobile apps, after returning home I noticed that the Google Drive for Desktop tool had placed icons on my desktop for Sheets, Docs, and Slides. Putting aside my feeling of discontent about icons being placed without asking, this shows that the push for separate branding of Google’s document editing tools is going to go beyond Google’s apps in the mobile space. It’s exciting to see a market that was once heavily dominated by a single office suite evolve with free and functional tools from companies like Google. Along with future updates to these new apps it will be interesting to see what this move means for Google’s other office suite, Quickoffice.

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SteelSeries is a manufacturer of gaming-related peripherals and hardware with a very large selection of products. Today, we have their most advanced (and expensive) mouse, the Sensei Wireless. Can a $160 mouse possibly offer enough to justify that price? Read on for our review.

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Word comes from AMD this morning that the private beta for the Mantle developer program has begun. Up until now the Mantle SDK (not to be confused with the drivers) has been in alpha development, with AMD granting access to only a handful of very close developers (EA/DICE, Nixxes, etc). The commencement of the private beta in turn marks the first time that the Mantle SDK has been made widely available to developers since it was announced at AMD’s 2013 Developer Summit back in November.
At this point AMD tells us that they have 40 developers pre-registered – AMD has been taking registrations for the past six months since the summit – and that they’re still taking additional developers. The beta, though much wider than the earlier alpha, is still a private beta, so developers still need to register with AMD for access. AMD tells us that “There are no objective criteria for being selected, as we are interested in talking to developers of all shapes and sizes. Past development experience is encouraged, however.”
Meanwhile AMD’s Mantle developer portal is up and running. Instructions for joining the developer beta can be found on the page, however all further access is password restricted.

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Despite being nowhere near the official release date, it would seem that retailers have jumped the gun. We reported earlier that a retailer in China has started to list Intel’s next generation of chipset-based motherboards, but now this has spread to EMEA, APAC and North America. The lists include detailed un-doctored images of each motherboard, with pricing. Each retailer seems to be doing it differently, for example Newegg state that they have models ‘in stock’, whereas Aria.co.uk are listing their models for pre-order.
Currently at Newegg, we have the following available:

• USD $260: MSI Z97 MPower Max AC
• USD $250: ASUS Sabertooth Z97
• USD $200: MSI MPower
• USD $190: MSI Z97-Gaming 7
• USD $160: MSI Z97-Gaming 5
• USD $150: GIGABYTE Z97X-UD3H
• USD $150: ASUS Z97-A

Fellow overclocker Coldest from JagatReview posted this image from a CoolPC, a Taiwanese outlet:

• NTD $8990 (~ USD $300): ASUS Sabertooth Z97 Mark1
• NTD $6990 (~ USD $231): ASUS Maximus VII Ranger
• NTD $5990 (~ USD $198): GIGABYTE Z97X-UD5H
• NTD $4990 (~ USD $165): GIGABYTE Z97X-UD3H
• NTD $4790 (~ USD $160): GIGABYTE G1.Sniper Z97

And in Europe both Aria and Geizhals list the following from GIGABYTE:

• £350.23: Gigabyte Z97-Gaming G1 Wifi BK
• £265.09: Gigabyte Z97-Gaming G1
• £228.19: Gigabyte Z97-Gaming GT
• £201.25: Gigabyte Z97X-UD7-TH
• £175.42: Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H-BK
• £157.99: Gigabyte Z97X-SOC
• £149.28: Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H
• £140.05: Gigabyte Z97X-UD3H-BK
• £139.96: Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 7
• £127.73: Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z97
• £122.44: Gigabyte Z97N-Gaming 5
• £119.03: Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 5
• £118.91: Gigabyte Z97MX-Gaming 5
• £113.64: Gigabyte Z97X-UD3H
• £110.11: Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 3
• £105.92: Gigabyte Z97X-SLI
• £104.81: Gigabyte Z97N-WIFI
• £96.01: Gigabyte Z97-D3H
• £83.68: Gigabyte Z97M-D3H
• £74.87: Gigabyte Z97M-DS3H
• £70.31: Gigabyte Z97P-D3

Interesting enough, these are all GIGABYTE models, and the naming of these coincides with what we believe to be MSI’s product range as well, perhaps confusing the matter. Notice that ASRock seem missing from these lists.
It would be interesting to see if the retailers will actually ship today if you ordered. Those specifically with ‘pre-order’ mentioned might wait until the launch date, but some seem to be freely listing ‘in-stock’. I have a feeling that other retailers in each of these regions might start listing their stock in response.
Source: hwbot.org
Additional: It would seem that motherboard manufacturers are also starting to list all their specifications on their websites. Users can see the whole range for ASUS today, and no doubt GIGABYTE, ASRock and MSI will follow suit.

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