Anandtech News

**FEED** · 11-28-18, 01:53 PM

NEC has released a new 27-inch performance mainstream monitor aimed at business and enterprise customers that are after a 4K display with modern USB Type-C connectivity. The MultiSync EA271U monitor offers rather typical specs for an LCD of this class, but adds some additional features to cut down power consumption of the device, which may appeal to certain companies.
The NEC MultiSync EA271U is a 27-inch IPS monitor that offers a 3840×2160 resolution, 350 nits brightness, a 1000:1 contrast ratio, 178° viewing angles, a 60 Hz refresh rate, and a 5 ms response time. While the LCD is aimed at typical business and enterprise workloads, it's still a 10-bit panel and can reproduce 1.07. billion colors, a rare feature for products of this class. As for color gamut, it covers 100% of the sRGB color space, 78.1% of the AdobeRGB gamut, and 75.1% of NTSC.

One of the prime features of the MultiSync EA271U are its thin 1-mm bezels that enable users to build near-seamless dual or multi-display configurations. Meanwhile the monitor is supported by NEC’s ControlSync software that enables easy setup of up to six displays.
Two other interesting features that the NEC MultiSync EA271U monitor offers are ambient light and human presence sensors, which can adjust brightness depending on ambient lighting or switch to power saving mode if the user leaves. Since many companies are trying to cut down their power consumption and “go green”, the said capabilities may actually sell the product to the target audience.

When it comes to connectivity, NEC’s monitor for business and enterprise clients features a DisplayPort 1.2 input, two HDMI ports, and a USB Type-C input with DP alt mode support. The latter can deliver up to 60 W of power to connected laptop, which is enough for typical 13.3-inch machines. In addition, the display has a triple-port USB 3.0 Type-A hub, built-in speakers, audio jacks, and an adjustable stand.
NEC’s MultiSync EA271U-BK display is now available directly from the company for $699. For those who need color accuracy, NEC also offers display calibration tools and even a display hood.

Specifications of the NEC MultiSync EA271U
		EA271U-BK
Panel		27" IPS
Native Resolution		3840 × 2160
Maximum Refresh Rate		60 Hz
Response Time		5 ms
Brightness		350 cd/m² (typical)
Contrast		1000:1
Viewing Angles		178°/178° horizontal/vertical
Pixel Pitch		0.16 mm²
Pixel Density		163 ppi
Display Colors		1.07 billion
Color Gamut Support		sRGB: 100% AdobeRGB: 78.1% NTSC: 75.1%
Stand		Tilt, height and pivot adjustable
Inputs		1 × DisplayPort 1.2 2 × HDMI 2.0a 1x USB-C (DP 1.2 Alt Mode) HDCP 2.2
USB Hub		3-port USB 3.0
Audio		2 W × 2 audio out port
Power	Idle	0.29 W
Typical	38 W
Peak	150 W
Delivery	60 W
Launch Price		$699

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Source: NEC

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**FEED** · 11-29-18, 09:47 AM

Japan Display (JDI) has developed its own tethered VR headset, which features 3-degree-of-freedom (3DoF) positional tracking and is aimed primarily at businesses interested in providing VR entertainment. The VRM-100 device will initially be available to software developers, but it remains to be seen whether other parties will get interested in JDI’s hardware platform.
JDI’s VRM-100 relies on a 5.35-inch LCD display featuring a 2880×1600 resolution, 615 PPI, and an 80 Hz refresh rate (with a 60 Hz auto cutover). The device is equipped with a gyroscope and a geomagnetic sensor for 3DoF, stereo speakers, and has HDMI as well as USB 3.0 interfaces to connect to PCs. The device has detachable VR goggles (which looks like a page from Google’s ‘Cardboard VR’ book), which is important for usage of VR gear in public places as wearables need to be cleaned often.

Right now, JDI’s VR head-mounted display (VRHMD) can be used to watch 360-degree videos and consume similar content. Over time, Japan Display plans to provide a driver for Unity Open VR, enabling developers of software and other content to design titles for the platform.
Since there are no programs that specifically support the VRM-100 and the HMD will ship without any controllers, JDI has no plans to offer it to the end-user. In fact, since the company lacks any expertise in controllers, the most logical way for Japan Display is to make its platform compatible with controllers designed by others. Furthermore, since JDI’s business is all about selling displays, it may be more interested in offering its design to third parties and enable them to market it with certain value-adding features.
JDI will start selling its VRM-100 HMD on December 3. The device will be available to select Japanese developers only.
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Source: Japan Display Inc.

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**FEED** · 11-29-18, 09:47 AM

There is a lot of discussion about processor power recently. A lot of the issues stem around what exactly that TDP rating means on the box, and if it relates to anything in the real world. A summary of Intel’s official declaration boils down to TDP as the sustained processor power at long periods, however almost zero motherboards follow that guideline. As a result users will usually see much higher sustained power, although with much higher performance. Some small form factor systems rely on setting these limits, so we tested a Core i9-9900K with a 95W limit to see what would happen.

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**FEED** · 11-29-18, 11:05 AM

As the first HDMI 2.1-enabled TVs are approaching release, we're finally seeing the market for HDMI 2.1 accessories fall into place to support those products. To that end, Club3D has announced the company’s first Ultra-High Speed HDMI 2.1 cables, which as per the UHS designation, are capable of supporting 48Gbps data rates. The new cables are aimed at next-generation UHDTVs featuring resolutions of up to 10240×4320 at 120 Hz with DSC 2.1 compression. Club3D’s new products fully support all of the features that the HDMI 2.1 spec calls for, so they should be future-proof and will handle everything that the consumer electronics industry will have to offer for years to come.
Club3D will offer two versions of its Ultra-High Speed 48G HDMI 2.1-supporting cables: the one-meter long CAC-1371 and the two-meter long CAC-1372. Both cables feature four data lanes operating at 12 Gbps each for an aggregate bandwidth of 48 Gbps, and as per the HDMI spec, retain backwards compatibility with existing equipment.

The ample of bandwidth HDMI 2.1 provides enables it to support new UHD resolutions an refresh rates including, including 4Kp120, 8Kp100/120, 10Kp100/120, and upcoming color spaces, such as BT.2020 (Rec. 2020) with 10, 12, or even more advanced with 16 bits per color component. In fact, high resolutions and bit depths eat up 48 Gbps of bandwidth quickly, so for anything higher than 8Kp60 with 4:2:0 chroma sub sampling and 10-bit color, VESA’s DSC 1.2a link compression technology is used.
Besides new resolutions, refresh rates, and HDR bit depths, HDMI 2.1 support a number of new capabilities, including Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), Quick Media Switching (QMS), Quick Frame Transport (QFT), and eARC. The new features do not require UHS HDMI 2.1 cables for today’s content with up to 4Kp60 resolution with 4:4:4 chroma subsampling. Meanwhile, a combination of 4Kp120/4:4:4 and VRR will entail 48G cables.

Club3D has not announced pricing of its 48G HDMI 2.1 cables, but keeping in mind that the new cables are more complex to assemble than their predecessors, expect them to be more expensive than regular 18Gbps HDMI 1.4/2.0 cables.
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Source: Club3D (via TechPowerUp)

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**FEED** · 11-29-18, 03:01 PM

QNAP has introduced a new fanless NAS aimed primarily at home users. The HS-453DX Silent NAS can house two hard drives and it is powered by a quad-core Gemini Lake SoC. Featuring both 10 GbE connectivity as well as an HDMI 2.0 port, the box can be used to store data or to serve as an ultimate media player with massive storage capabilities.
The QNAP HS-453DX Silent NAS is based on Intel's Celeron J4105 (4C/4T, 1.5 – 2.5 GHz, 4 MB, UHD Graphics 600) SoC paired with dual-channel 4 or 8 GB DDR4 memory. The device can accommodate two 3.5-inch hard drives and two M.2 SATA SSDs for caching. The NAS fully supports the latest HDDs, so it can work with two Seagate’s 14TB IronWolf drives, allowing it to hit 28 TB of storage space in total.

Courtesy to Gemini Lake media decoding/encoding engine, the NAS supports direct 4Kp60 playback over HDMI 2.0 and transcoding videos for other devices (Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast, DLNA devices, etc.). To ensure that the NAS could be used as a media player, it is compatible with QNAP’s RM-IR004 remote control.

As for connectivity, the HS-453DX has a 10GBASE-T five-speed port supporting 10G, 5G, 2.5G, 1G, and 100M speeds. Other ports include an additional GbE, another HDMI 1.4 output, one USB 3.0 Type-C port, two USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 Type-A connectors, as well as three 3.5-mm audio jacks.

When it comes to performance, SSD caching enables the QNAP HS-453DX Silent NAS to offer up to 677 MB/s read/write speeds when SSDs operate in RAID mode. To ensure that solid-state drives have a long lifespan, QNAP’s software allows to manually set software-defined SSD RAID over-provisioning. Speaking of software, it is necessary to note that QNAP’s new NAS uses QTS operating system and therefore supports all the applications developed for this software platform.
QNAP’s HS-453DX Silent NAS is now available to the company’s partners, so expect it in retail in the coming weeks and months depending on the region.

QNAP HS-453DX Silent NAS Specifications
		HS-453DX-4G	HS-453DX-8G
CPU	Model	Intel Celeron J4105
GP Cores, Cache	4C/4T, 1.5 – 2.5 GHz, 4 MB
Graphics	UHD Graphics 600
Encryption Accel.		?
Memory	Speed	DDR4-2400, dual-channel
Capacity	4 GB	8 GB
Bays		2 × 2.5/3.5 bays
M.2 Slots		2 × M.2-2280
Storage interface		SATA 6 Gbps
Ethernet		1 × GbE 1 × 10GbE
Display Output		1 × HDMI 1.4b 1 × HDMI 2.0
Audio		1 × audio out 2 × audio in
USB		2 × USB 3.0 Type-A 2 × USB 2.0 Type-A 1 × USB 3.0 Type-C
Other I/O		LEDs, speaker, etc.
Dimensions	Height	42.8 mm \| 1.68"
Width	404 mm \| 15.9"
Depth	220 mm \| 8.66"
PSU		90 W external
OS		QNAP QTS 4.3.5
MSRP		?	?

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QNAP Announces TS-332X Three-Bay NAS with 10 GbE
Synology 2018 NAS and Wi-Fi Lineup Sneak Peek
QNAP Launches 16-Bay AMD Ryzen-Based TS-1677X NAS with 10 GbE
QNAP Launches TS-963X NAS: x86 NAS With 9 Bays & 10 GbE/Multi-Gig Ethernet
Commercial NAS Operating Systems - A Comprehensive Overview of Core Features
Source: QNAP

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**FEED** · 11-29-18, 03:42 PM

NVIDIA has announced details regarding its GeForce GTX and GeForce RTX bundle campaigns that it is going to run this holiday season. From now on and till early January, NVIDIA will offer free copies of either Battlefield V or Monster Hunter: World with the purchase of eligible graphics cards. In addition, it will offer a set of items for Fortnite game to its buyers.
Customers who buy NVIDIA’s latest GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, GeForce RTX 2080 or a GeForce RTX 2070-based graphics adapters or desktop PC from participating partners will get a copy of Battlefield V ($59.99) for free. The title is the first game to use DXR ray tracing, so it is natural for NVIDIA to bundle the game with its Turing-powered video cards. Besides, supplying an AAA title with a range-topping GPU naturally makes the latter more attractive to enthusiasts. This bundle is already running and is set to go until January 7, 2019.
For those who plan to get NVIDIA’s previous-generation GeForce GTX 1070 Ti, 1070, or 1060-based graphics cards, the company has extended its Monster Hunter: World ($59.99) promotion announced in October until January 7, 2019. In addition, those who purchase one of the aforementioned GeForce GTX adapters will also get a special Fortnite Counterattack Set (which includes a “Reflex” outfit, the “Response Unit” back bling, and the “Pivot” Glider and “Angular Axe” pickaxe gear) as well as 2000 V-Bucks. This Fortnite promo will run until January 29, 2019.
Buy NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Founders Edition on Amazon.com

NVIDIA Current Game Bundles (Q4 2018)
Video Card (incl. systems and laptops)	Bundle
GeForce RTX 20 Series	Battlefield V (till 1/7/2019)
GeForce GTX 1080 Ti & 1080	None
GeForce GTX 1070 Ti & 1070	Monster Hunter: World (till 1/7/2019) Fortnite Counterattack Set + 2000 V-Bucks (till 1/29/2018)
GeForce GTX 1060 6GB (1280 cores)
GeForce GTX 1060 3GB (1152 cores) and GTX 1050 (Ti)	None

Buy EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti FTW2 on Amazon.com
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Source: NVIDIA

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**FEED** · 11-29-18, 06:08 PM

Iiyama is a brand that is tightly associated with monitors for creative professionals and prosumers looking primarily for accurate colors, factory calibration and other features necessary for their work. Three years ago, Iiyama finally introduced its G-Master trademark for gaming LCDs, and since then the company has been gradually expanding this lineup. leading to their current family of diverse devices. This week the company added another monitor to the family, launching its first 27-inch gaming LCD featuring a WQHD panel and a 144 Hz refresh rate.
The Iiyama G-Master GB2760QSU display relies on a 27-inch 6-bit+FRC TN panel featuring a 2560×1440 resolution, 350 nits brightness (typical), a 1000:1 contrast ratio (typical), 170°/160° viewing angles, a 1 ms GtG response time, as well as a 50 – 140 Hz refresh enabled by AMD’s FreeSync technology. The monitor can display 16.7 million colors and reproduce 99% of the sRGB color space as well as 72% of the NTSC space.

Since the LCD is aimed at gamers, it naturally supports Iiyama-developed modes for FPS, simulators, sports and other genres. The device also supports automatic black level adjustment function.

When it comes to connectivity, the G-Master GB2760QSU monitor has an essential set of connectors, including DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI ports for contemporary computers as well as a DVI-D port for legacy systems. The display is also outfitted with a dual-port USB 3.0 hub, 2W stereo speakers, and a headphone connector.
Like in case of higher-end professional monitors, the G-Master GB2760QSU has an adjustable stand that can regulate the display’s height, tilt, swivel, and pivot. Besides, the LCD can be attached to a 100×100 mm VESA wall mounting that supports various adjustments.

Iiyama’s G-Master GB2760QSU display is available in select countries right now with broader availability expected in the coming weeks and months. Pricing without taxes should be around $450.
Buy Iiyama G-Master GB2760QSU on Amazon.com

Iiama G-Master 27" WQHD 144 Hz Gaming Monitor
		G-Master GB2760QSU
Panel		27" TN
Native Resolution		2560 × 1440
Refresh Rate Range		144 Hz
Dynamic Refresh Rate		AMD FreeSync
FreeSync Range		50 - 144 Hz (not confirmed)
Response Time		3 ms (gray-to-gray?)
Brightness		350 cd/m²
Contrast		1000:1
Pixel Pitch		0.2335 mm²
Pixel Density		109 PPI
Viewing Angles		170°/160°
USB Hub		Dual-port USB 3.0 hub
Inputs		HDMI DisplayPort 1.2 DVI-D
Audio		3.5 mm audio out jack Stereo speakers
Stand		Pivot: 90° Swivel: 90°, +/-3° left/right Tilt angle: 22° up, 5° down
Detailed Information		Link

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Source: Iiyama (via PC Watch)

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**FEED** · 11-30-18, 10:27 AM

Deutsche Messe this week said it would axe CeBIT, once the world’s largest IT expos/evebts, and would integrate what is left it into the Hannover Messe show going forward. The trade show organizer said that as demand for horizontal high-tech exhibitions is diminishing. From our perspective, the number of attendees in recent years has been comically low, too. As a result, the expo space bookings for CeBIT 2019 got too low for the show to be economically viable, forcing the company to restructure its event portfolio.
I Thought CeBIT Was Already Dead?

Originally the IT part of the Hannover Messe, the first CeBIT trade show took place in 1986, around the dawn of the PC era. Being held on the Hanover Fairground, one of the world’s largest venues for trade shows, CeBIT was never constrained by show floor’s space. With an exhibition area of approximately 450,000 square meters, it could attract a peak of 850,000 attendees in the late 1990s or early 2000s. Back then, CeBIT (which is an acronym for Centrum für Büroautomation, Informationstechnologie und Telekommunikation) was larger than CES/COMDEX and Computex both in terms of space and the number of visitors.

As the high-tech industry develops, it grows larger both in terms of horizontals and verticals. On the one hand, IT now spans from ‘smart’ diapers to complex medical equipment, from a smartphone to a gigawatt datacenter that serves it, from smart white goods to data-gathering waste receptacles, and from a PC to a self-driving car. On the other hand, all of the industries have their own product cycles, requirements, and targets. As a result, it becomes increasingly hard for different companies to present something all-new at an all-encompassing high-tech exhibition, which means that many end up showing either already well-known devices or very early barely working prototypes at such trade shows. Being the largest high-tech expo, CeBIT had to preserve its large scope, but that made it less attractive to professionals who naturally want to see next-gen products nearing their release.
When it comes to PC market, CeBIT’s timing in March was not favorable at all. PC companies tend to release products in three cycles every year: in March , in August (ahead of back-to-school season), and in November (ahead of the Christmas shopping season). Typically, PC hardware makers show off their key upcoming products at CES in January, then start their sales in one of the timeframes. Products bound specifically for the back-to-school and Holiday seasons are usually demonstrated at Computex in June. And devices set to hit the market by end of the year are announced at IFA in September. Given a relatively short amount of time between CES and Computex, PC companies do not have many new items to show in March. Furthermore, with MWC Barcelona held in February and MWC Shanghai held in June, companies from the mobile space also do not have anything new to show at CeBIT. Meanwhile other industries have their own cycles that are not aligned.
All facts considered, CeBIT’s relevance for IT professionals dropped in the recent years, whereas consumers did not really bite the show. With only about 200,000 attendees in the recent years, the number of exhibitors dropped from around 6,000 in 2008 to approximately 3,300 in 2016. As a consequence, CeBIT as a standalone event lost its value to Deutsche Messe too. Going forward, the organizer plans to fold CeBIT into Hannover Messe, an expo that covers a variety of industries, where it once belonged. It of course remains to be seen whether Hannover Messe will gain any substantial significance in the IT world outside of Germany/Europe because of this merge, but at least CeBIT will not decease completely.

Having covered multiple CeBITs throughout my career, I must say that it is hard to overestimate the significance this trade show was for me back in the day. It naturally had a great impact on me professionally and I will always remember the fun of Münchener Halle drinking beer with my ATI/AMD and NVIDIA friends at the same time. In the meantime, I have to admit that with fewer basic announcements being made at CeBIT in recent years, and with trade show directly competing against Computex in June 2018, this glass is empty and will not be refilled.
Some CeBIT Photos from 2008

Anand and Alex Mai, testing a brainwave controller

A VIA C7M 1.2 GHz UMPC

ASUS Lamborghini Phone

Bamboo Laptops

SSDs! 64GB only

Long Foxconn Motherboards for Core 2 Duo systems

Related Reading

Source: Deutsche Messe (via DW)

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**FEED** · 11-30-18, 02:30 PM

ASUS has quietly added its first AMD FreeSync 2-supporting monitor to its lineup. The ROG Strix XG32VQR is a large curved display boasting with a 144 Hz maximum refresh rate, the DisplayHDR 400 badge, and is capable of covering 94% of the the DCI-P3 color gamut. The LCD will be the sixth FreeSync 2 monitor on the market, so it will have only a limited number of competitors. Meanwhile, one of its ways to attract attention of gamers will be its Aura Sync RGB lighting.
Specifications of the ASUS ROG Strix XG32VQR are generally similar to specs of other FreeSync 2 displays introduced by competing manufacturers this year, but there are a number of important improvements that the ASUS product offers. The monitor uses a 31.5-inch curved VA panel featuring a 2560×1440 resolution, 450 nits brightness (by contrast, competing displays only offer 400 nits brightness), a 3000:1 contrast ratio, 178°/178° viewing angles, a 4 ms response time, and a 144 Hz maximum refresh rate. The LCD can reproduce 94% of the DCI-P3 color gamut as well as 125% of the sRGB color space (keep in mind that everything higher than 100% in case of color spaces is a rather uncertain advantage).

Meanwhile, the main features of the ROG Strix XG32VQR are AMD’s FreeSync 2 dynamic refresh rate technology with Low Framerate Compensation tech as well as the DisplayHDR 400 badge. The FreeSync 2 range that ASUS offers is between 48 Hz and 144 Hz, which is broader than that offered by competing displays supporting the tech (from 72 Hz to 144 Hz).

Speaking of competitors, it is necessary to note that apart from higher luminance and broader FS2 range, the ROG Strix XG32VQR features ASUS Aura RGB lighting on the back as well as an LED-based ROG signature on the bottom. RGB and lighting effects are quite trendy among gaming community these days, so these features will clearly attract attention of the target audience.

Other capabilities that will be appreciated by gamers include firmware-based GamePlus and GameVisual technologies that add elements like crosshair or FPS counter as well as adjust brightness and contrast settings for particular game genres.

Moving on to connectivity, the display is equipped with DisplayPort 1.2, Mini DisplayPort 1.2, and HDMI 2.0 inputs. The monitor also sporots a dual-port USB 3.0 hub and a headphone jack. In addition, the monitor has an adjustable stand that can regulate height, tilt, and swivel.
ASUS has not announced pricing of the monitor or its availability timeframe. Considering the fact that a number of companies already offer similar devices, it is highly likely that the ROG Strix XG32VQR will hit the market sooner rather than later.

The ASUS ROG Strix XG32VQR
	General Specifications
Panel	31.5" VA
Native Resolution	2560 × 1440
Maximum Refresh Rate	144 Hz
Response Time	4 ms GtG
Brightness	450 cd/m² (peak)
Contrast	3000:1
Backlighting	LED
Viewing Angles	178°/178° horizontal/vertical
Curvature	1800R
Aspect Ratio	16:9
Color Gamut	125% sRGB/BT.709 94% DCI-P3
DisplayHDR Tier	400
Dynamic Refresh Rate Tech	AMD FreeSync 2 (48 - 144 Hz)
Pixel Pitch	0.2767 mm²
Pixel Density	91.79 PPI
Inputs	1 × DisplayPort 1.2 2 × HDMI 2.0
Audio	3.5 mm output
USB Hub	2 × USB 3.0 Type-A connectors 1 × USB 3.0 Type-C input
Stand Adjustments	Height: ±100 mm Tilt: -5? - 20? Swivel: -50? - 50?
MSRP	unknown