Thread: Anandtech News

Intel caught the modern SSD wave early with the X25-M back in 2008. It was the X25-M that brought me into covering SSDs and made me a convert. Since then however the SSD space has been engaged in a full blown race to the bottom. Storage is viewed by most OEMs to be a commodity, and Intel as a whole likes playing in higher margin areas of the PC business.
We're heading towards the next phase in SSD evolution however with the transition away from SATA to PCIe. This year is when we'll see NVMe start to gain traction, and with that comes a new playing field for SSD competitors.
Intel let us know that there will be a big announcement from its Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group (NSG) next Wednesday (June 4th) at 2AM ET. The timing coincides with Intel's Computex keynote, so I think it's pretty safe to say that we'll see the next big SSD from Intel announced at that point. Intel already announced that it would be bringing NVMe based drives to market this year, Computex would make for a great event to launch at.

With NVMe, storage gets treated like a first class citizen. No longer hanging off of a host bus adaptor, NVMe based SSDs interface directly via PCIe to the host system. Combined with a new interface spec, the result is much lower latency access to NAND (as well as an increase in bandwidth from ditching SATA). There are other benefits like lower CPU utilization as well. NVMe support is baked into Windows 8.1 as well as Windows Server 2012 R2.
Ian, Kristian and myself will all be at Computex next week, so expect coverage on this announcement and more.

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While there is a lot of focus on the mainstream desktop market, we hastily reviewed the new entrant to the low-end socketed desktop from AMD, the AM1 Kabini platform back in April. Since then we have acquired all four members of the family, the two quad core Athlon APUs and the two Sempron APUs, for testing. AMD’s movement into the upgradable tablet/desktop crossover arena is an interesting one for sure.


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It’s Thursday again, so you know what that means: a new Humble Weekly Bundle. This week the core package is RPG Maker VX Ace, a tool which can be used to make [Drumroll…] your own RPGs. Surprise! I always had dreams of being a game designer as a youth, and while I never did much with the idea I do know there are plenty of budding designers still out there. Hopefully some of you can make use of this package to get your start. The collection of games have all been created with RPG Maker (some with VX Ace, some with earlier versions), and while you can buy some of the games, others are available free so there’s nothing special here other than providing you with a different means to download the games. There are three tiers for this bundle: “pay what you want” ($1 minimum for Steam codes), $6 or more, and $12 or more. Here’s the list of games/tools, grouped by pricing tiers:
Pay What You Want ($1)

• RPG Maker VX Ace (~75%, 03/2012): not a game as such but a tool that can be used to create games. The graphics created won’t be cutting edge, but you can still have a lot of fun regardless.
• RPM Maker DLC Bundle #1 (N/A, 2012): more assets – tiles, music, sound effects – to use in the games you create. Includes Royal Tiles Resource Pack, Adventurer's Journey (music), Tyler Warren's First 50 Battler Pack (50 monsters), and Modern Day Music Mini Pack.
• Skyborn (N/A, 03/2012): only two reviews have been submitted, but both liked this JRPG-style game.
• Sweet Lily Dreams (N/A, 12/2011): created with an earlier version of RPG Maker (I think?)
• RPG Maker Free Games Bundle #1 (N/A): includes four games – In Search of Immortality, Legionwood: The Tale of Two Swords, Star Stealing Prince, and The Reconstruction. These games are all free downloads so basically this is a collection of “best of” games built with RPG Maker.

$6 or Higher Donation

• RPG Maker XP (N/A, 09/2005): an earlier version of the RPG Maker software. Why do you need this if you have VX Ace? Don't ask me!
• RPG Maker - Exclusive Resource Pack (N/A, 05/2014): exclusive content just for the Humble Bundle – 21 new songs as well as reworked RTP town tilesets.
• RPG Maker DLC Bundle #2 (N/A, 2013): more DLC packs for content creators – includes High Fantasy Resource Pack 1, High Fantasy Main Party Pack 1, Futuristic Tiles Resource Pack, Inspirational Music Pack Volume 1, Tyler Warren's Second 50 Battler Pack, and the Humble-exclusive Steampunk/Western Preview (for an upcoming DLC).
• To The Moon (81%, 09/2012): fulfill a dying man’s last wish as you travel through his memories.
• Deadly Sin 2 (N/A, 05/2014): from the same team that created Skyborn (Dancing Dragon Games), this 20-30 hour epic has you trying to save the Empire. Note that this is not a direct sequel to Deadly Sin and can be played on its own.
• RPG Maker Free Games Bundle #2 (N/A): as above, there are four games here that are available elsewhere for free, specifically Homework Salesman, I Miss the Sunrise, Aetherion, and Visions and Voices.

$12 or Higher Donation

• Game Character Hub (N/A, 05/2014): a software package to help you manage and edit 2D art assets.
• RPG Maker DLC Bundle #3 (N/A, 2014): four more DLC packs with two Humble exclusives – Zombie Survival Graphic Pack, Rural Farm Tiles Resource Pack, Joel Steudler's All Music Sampler (mix of tracks from his RPG Maker releases), and Best of Member+ Resource Sampler (a Humble exclusive providing a collection of resources normally only available through the Member+ program).
• Legionwood 2: Rise of the Eternal's Realm (N/A, 05/2014): a brand new release and the sequel to the earlier free game.

This is clearly a bundle targeting wannabe game developers/designers more than RPG fans. Not even counting the games, the cost of purchasing all of the software and DLC packs in this bundle normally comes to around $300 (note that Steam currently has a sale on most of the RPG Maker assets), though I’m not sure if there's much point to owning and using RPG Maker XP when you have the newer VX Acer version. However, it’s not the tools so much as what you can do with them that matters, and I suspect despite claims to the contrary, you’ll need to spend a decent amount of time with the tools before you can create anything really noteworthy.
You can even create commercial games using the various tools, though I’m not sure how viable it is to sell such games unless you invest a lot of time and effort into creating your own assets – otherwise, it’s just new stories with the same graphics and music that numerous other RPG Maker games have used. Another complaint I have with the created games is that the support for different resolutions appears limited (or perhaps non-existent), so many of the games look like they're 1024x768 affairs.
If I were 25 years younger I’d probably be a lot more interested in trying my hand at RPG Maker, but as a grumpy old man I’m more content to see what others have created. To that end, if you’re just looking for free RPGs, you could skip this bundle and instead check out all of the free content on RPGMaker.net. The quality of user-created content will vary greatly, naturally, and the best games will likely end up turning into commercial products I suspect. Even if you just want games, though, at $12 for the entire bundle you still pick up more than $50 worth of games (i.e. not counting the free games), so that’s not bad. Now if I just had about 500 hours to spend playing nothing but classic-style RPGs, I’d be set!
On a similar note, if you’re looking for tools to create your own games, Bundle Stars has a similar deal running for Axis Game Factory Premium for $9.99 with ~13 days remaining.
Gallery: Humble Bundle Weekly: RPG Maker

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Diversification is an important strategy for any company that wants to continue to grow, especially if their initial market segments become saturated. We've seen motherboard, memory, and now graphics cards manufacturers all look to diversify into other markets, and while some results have been less impressive than others, it's critical for companies to look for additional revenue streams. Today we're reviewing EVGA's effort to deliver a high performance power supply, the Supernova 850 G2. This isn't EVGA's first PSU, as they first started shipping PSUs over a year ago, but they're still a relative newcomer to the PSU scene. They have a competitive product on paper, so read on to find out more about the quality, performance, and features of the Supernova 850 G2.

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Our first meeting this week at Computex is with Be Quiet! and we were shown a new case aimed at low noise output, due for the market in September. The Case With No Name (they are still deciding) will be around $130 and in orange, silver and black. Both of the side panels and the front fan grill is lined with a sound absorbent foam, and the case comes with four fans preinstalled.

The side panels use a latch mechanism so users who want more air flow can open them up by about 1cm, and the case also provides room for cable management. The extra space at the bottom is to aid airflow through the power supply which is also fitted with a rubberized shim to reduce vibrations. Interestingly enough one of the hard drive combination bays can also migrate to the set of ODD bays depending on the user. There is space for a dual radiator cooler at the top, with space in the top segment to also equip the fans. The power button and USB ports are on the top, along with special vents to minimize the fan noise out of the top of the case.

On the power supply front Be Quiet! has two new models, the Straight Power 10 and the Straight Power 10 CM (cable management), featuring their new 135mm Silent Wings 3 fan. The fan has an upgraded motor to reduce the noise, and Be Quiet are working on a consumer model aside from their power supply designs. For the PSUs, they will be rated at 80 PLUS Gold and offered in 400W-700W for the Straight Power 10 and 500-800W for the Straight Power 10 CM. The later should be coming to North America, whereas the former has focus in other markets.

Gallery: Computex 2014: Be Quiet!’s New Case and Power Supplies

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As part of Computex 2014, ARM has announced their first CPU Design Center in Taiwan, focusing on the next generation of Cortex-M class cores for IoT and wearables. Initially this will mean 40-50 individuals within the talent pool in 2014 before scaling based on demand. A large part of the press event has been geared towards demand for ARM processors and the segmentation therein, focusing on the uses of Cortex-M within an ecosystem that counts sixteen billion processors shipped into embedded to date.

ARM will be working with research institutes to grow and scale, with the aim to produce important engineers with experience in the field. ARM sees Taiwan as a focal point of the industry with respect to the large number of ARM’s semiconductor partners in the region, hence the choice of the region for their fourth CPU design center. One of the outputs of the new design center, due to the increase of interest in wearables, ARM sees the segment as two main parts – the low end sensor based wearables, and the high power models requiring sensor calculation relating to features such as HUDs, particularly in the professional and medical markets.
ARM also mentioned it is developing MBED, a platform for embedded developers incorporating an OS and a system of tools to help bring ideas to fruition. THe platform will be open source, with libraries and web based tools allowing developers to mix and match microcontrollers, radios, sensors and software stacks.

Gallery: ARM Announces CPU Design Center in Taiwan

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I am here at the ASUS press event at Computex, waiting for the event to start. Just me on text and photos today, stay tuned!

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One of the interesting dynamics in the mobile device industry is the integration of several form-factors in the same device. ASUS has been a major proponent in this, with their FonePad, PadFone and Transformer Book. Coupled on top of this is the use of Windows and Android in various forms across the systems, so naturally there should be one device to cover all usage models, right? This is the Transformer Book V, a five-mode capable, three-in-one converged laptop, smartphone and tablet.

To be clear, the five modes are:

• Windows Laptop
• Windows Tablet
• Smartphone
• Android Tablet
• Android Laptop

The three parts are a 12.5-inch tablet, a 5-inch smartphone that docks into the tablet, and keyboard that also docks into the tablet. The tablet component uses a next-generation Intel Core processor (suggestions are pointing to low-powered Broadwell) with up to 1TB of storage. There was no indication of resolution, but the panel is IPS.
The smartphone is a 5-inch LTE device with an Intel Atom quad-core device, powered by Kitkat 4.4 and a 2500mAh battery. The tablet segment has 128GB storage, which suggests that the tablet dock contains the 1TB as a secondary drive. A small button on the tablet helps switch between Android and Windows.
Given the suggestion that the device is aimed at Broadwell and the lack of specifications for the resolution, DRAM storage and so on, release would presumably occur based on Intel’s timeframe.

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In the myriad of eight announcements from ASUS in the space of 45 minutes at their press conference, one of the new products is the Transformer Book T300 Chi. ASUS launched their TaiChi at a previous Computex – a laptop with a dual screen such that one is facing the user and the other is facing out. The T300 Chi combines this with the Transformer Book concept, essentially giving a dual screen tablet a laptop and boosting the specifications to a proper laptop.

The design is completely fanless, with LTE support and a 2560x1440 IPS display in a 12.5-inch panel. At this current point in time ASUS is only stating Intel next generation CPUs and low power Core micro-architecture, which like the Transformer Book V might but the T300 Chi in the Broadwell timeframe.

ASUS is stating a 7.3mm thickness, although it was not confirmed if this was including the keyboard dock or not. Given that depth, we might suggest that the CPU selection is in the lower half of what is available, but as long as it can drive interactive content on both of the screens, all that matters is the price. I expect we will see more of the T300 Chi around CES time.

Gallery: Computex 2014: Transformer Book T300 Chi from ASUS

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Last year at Computex we were excited by all the news revolving around 4K/UHD monitors coming to market. At that time I believe we were discussing 32” panels and waiting for something smaller to come along. Fast forward a year and that 32” is reduced to 15.6” in the form of an Ultrabook, in the NX500 from ASUS. For specifications, models up to Core i7 and GTX850M graphics were discussed, which marks a shift to discrete GPUs over the Zenbook UX301 we saw last year, which has (only) a 1440p display in a 13” form factor.

The NX500 will also be equipped with a Broadcom 3-stream 802.11ac solution, as well as PCIe x4 or RAID-0 SATA 6 Gbps storage options. The display is reported with a wide color gamut (100% NTSC, 108% Adobe RGB) with a factory calibrated color temperature. Audio gets the Bang&Olufson treatment, with ICEpower and SonicMaster technology over titanium-film speakers. The internal battery is listed as 96 Wh, compared to the 50.6 Wh in the UX301.
Again, no official word on actual processor numbers, release date or pricing yet.

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