Anandtech News

**FEED** · 02-01-19, 09:49 AM

First introduced back at IFA 2018, Philips has started to sell their latest 49-inch ultra-wide display, the Philips Brilliance 499P9H. Utilizing a 32:9 aspect ratio panel with a 5120 x 1440 resolution and a curve to match, Philips' latest monitor is aimed primarily at business users, looking to overwhelm with both its sheer size and the inclusion of buisness-friendly features such as a pop-up webcam, USB Type-C docking, a KVM switch, and a GbE controller.

More...

**FEED** · 02-01-19, 12:31 PM

GlobalFoundries announced on Thursday that it had agreed to sell its Fab 3E in Singapore to Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) as part of a broader plan to exit the MEMS business by the end of the year. The deal will be a wholesale handoff to Vanguard, and both the customers that use the fab and the personnel that work there will be transferred to the new owner. For their part, selling the fab and exiting the MEMS business will allow GlobalFoundries to raise the capital it needs upgrade its other fabs, as well as further invest in technologies that are used to make chips using the company’s other specialized manufacturing processes.
Under the terms of the agreement, GlobalFoundries will sell its Fab 3E located in Tampines, Singapore, to Vanguard for $236 million with transfer of the ownership set to be completed on December 31, 2019. The fab is used to make microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) as well as analog/mixed signal chips, with a production capacity of around 35,000 200-mm wafer starts per month. In addition to the building and equipment, Vanguard will also get GlobalFoundries’ MEMS-related IP. Vanguard in turn will offer employment to the staff of Fab 3E, essentially continuing with the current team. Furthermore, VIS will inherit customers currently served by the production facility.
Vanguard’s existing manufacturing have been running at full capacity since 2018, so by getting GlobalFoundries’ Fab 3E VIS will not only get new customers, but it will also expand its production capabilities. Because MEMS is a growing market, the deal is a clear win for the company.
Meanwhile GlobalFoundries will get $236 million for the sale, which it will invest in other 200-mm fabs and technologies where the company is more clearly differentiated from its competitors. This includes RF, embedded memory, advanced analog, and so on. Since specialized manufacturing processes are a lucrative business, shifting from MEMS is a logical move for the company. Plus it will also help GlobalFoundries to lower its operating costs.
“This transaction is part of our strategy to streamline our global manufacturing footprint and increase our focus in Singapore on technologies where we have clear differentiation such as RF, embedded memory and advanced analog features,” said GF CEO Tom Caulfield. “Consolidating our 200mm operations in Singapore into one campus will also help reduce our operating costs by leveraging the scale of our gigafab facility in Woodlands. VIS is the right partner to leverage the Fab 3E asset going forward.”
Related Reading:

Source: GlobalFoundries

More...

**FEED** · 02-01-19, 03:40 PM

Samsung Vietnam has accidentally published (and subsequently removed) a brand advertisement video that shows a glimpse at the company’s existing, conceptual, and presumably upcoming products. Among other things, the footage depicts the company’s rumored foldable Galaxy smartphone (often quoted as 'Galaxy F', or 'Galaxy X') as well as bezel-less Galaxy tablet. Obviously, there is no word about release dates, but the video shows the direction that Samsung wants to take.

More...

**FEED** · 02-02-19, 10:51 AM

One of the comments we got from Intel about the new unlocked 28-core Xeon W-3175X processor was that it would only be available through boutique system integrators or OEMs, like Dell or HP. It now transpires that Intel is intending to sell these processors with full retail packaging. As spotted on Twitter, the parts have already been showing up in the Tokyo Tech Plaza in Japan, for an eye-watering $3880 (plus 8% JPY sales tax).

More...

**FEED** · 02-04-19, 09:24 AM

OWC this week introduced its second-generation ThunderBlade external SSDs, which are aimed squarely at the high-end, max performance external storage market. Offering up to 2800 MB/s sequential read speeds, the new drives offer the same performance as the first-generation ThunderBlade SSDs, but are priced significantly lower.
OWC’s ThunderBlade (Gen 2) DAS devices are available in 1 TB, 2 TB, 4 TB and 8 TB configurations, just like their predecessors. While the first-generation ThunderBlade drives were based on four Mercury M.2 SSDs (Silicon Motion SM2260, LDPC, 3D MLC NAND) working in concert, the ThunderBlade (Gen 2) devices use cheaper SSDs, almost certainly featuring modern 3D TLC NAND. Since 3D TLC is cheaper than 3D MLC, the ThunderBlade Gen 2 drives start at $799, down from $1,199 in case of the first-gen.

Performance-wise, the new and "old" ThunderBlades offer the same official specs: both generations are rated for up to 2800 MB/s sequential read speed as well as up to 2450 MB/s sequential write speed (keeping in mind performance levels offered by four PCIe 3.0 x4 SSDs, these must be sustained speeds). Meanwhile, when two ThunderBlade (Gen 2) drives are used and SoftRAID technology is enabled, performance levels go all the way up to 3800 MB/s, which is the maximum performance level offered by one PCIe 3.0 x4-based ThunderBolt 3 controller. Speaking of TB3, it should be noted that the latest ThunderBlade is still based on Intel's DSL6540 "Alpine Ridge" controller, so there's no USB fallback here.

OWC’s ThunderBlade devices feature two Thunderbolt 3 ports and support daisy chaining to enable portable high-performance storage systems with up to 48 TB capacity.

The OWC ThunderBlade DAS
		1 TB	2 TB	4 TB	8 TB
Number of Drives		4
Internal RAID		?
Sustained Read Speed		2800 MB/s 3800 MB/s with SoftRAID (two DAS are needed)
Sustained Write Speed		2450 MB/s
Ports		2 × Thunderbolt 3
PSU		external
Dimensions	Width	12.3 cm \| 4.9 inch
Length	19.2 cm \| 7.5 inch
Height	3 cm \| 1.2 inch
Weight		0.7 kg \| 1.8 lb
Cables Included		Thunderbolt 40Gb/s cable power adapter + cord
Compatibility		macOS 10.13 or later Windows 10 or later
Price (MSRP)	Gen 1	$1,199.99	$1,749.99	$2,799.99	$4,999.99
Gen 2	$799	$1,199	$1,899	$3,499

Given the fact that the ThunderBlade (Gen 2) is meant to be a quick and efficient replacement for the first-gen ThunderBlade, the latest version of the DAS comes in the same rugged metal enclosure, which also acts like a cooling system for the NVMe SSDs.
OWC has already started sales of its ThunderBlade (Gen 2) external SSDs. As noted above, the 1 TB flavor is priced at $799, whereas the top-of-the-range 8 TB model costs $3,499.

Related Reading:

Source: OWC

More...

**FEED** · 02-04-19, 10:34 AM

In the recent years LG has introduced a number of high-end Ultra-HD 31.5-inch displays, many of which have received a lot of publicity due of their features and innovative technologies. As of late, the company has also expanded into midrange and entry-level segments with its 31.5-inch monitors. And to that end, this week LG has begun selling its 32UL750-W Ultra-HD LCD, a midrange 4K display for customers who want something better than the company's mainstream offerings, but are not ready to invest in a high-end model.
The LG 32UL750-W is based on a 31.5-inch VA panel that offers a 3840×2160 resolution, 400 nits typical brightness, a 3000:1 contrast ratio, 178° viewing angles, a 60 Hz refresh rate (with FreeSync), and a 4 ms response time. The DisplayHDR 600 badge that the monitor carries obviously points to 600 nits peak brightness along with HDR10 processing capabilities, but LG is not publishing any information about local dimming and LUTs (look-up-tables) for HDR. Meanwhile the panel can reproduce 1.07 billion colors and covers 95% of the DCI-P3 color space (and should be able to hit 100% of the sRGB color gamut).

To make the monitor more attractive for the target audience, the 32UL750-W display comes factory calibrated and supports a number of features designed for gamers, including LG’s Black Stabilizer (makes dark scenes brighter) and Dynamic Action Sync (minimizes input lag), as well as AMD's FreeSync already mentioned before.

Connectivity is another strong selling point of the 32UL750-W. The monitor has a DisplayPort 1.2 input, two HDMI 2.0b ports, as well as one USB Type-C connector. The latter supports up to 60 W power delivery, so it can help to power many modern laptops. As for audio, the display has two 5 W speakers and a headphone output. As an added bonus, it also features a dual-port USB 3.0 hub.

Specifications of the LG 32UL750-W Display
	32UL750-W
Panel	31.5" VA
Native Resolution	3840 × 2160
Maximum Refresh Rate	60 Hz
Response Time	4 ms
Brightness	400 cd/m² (typical) 600 cd/m² (peak)
Contrast	3000:1
Viewing Angles	178°/178° horizontal/vertical
HDR	HDR10
Dynamic Refresh Rate	AMD FreeSync/VESA Adaptive-Sync (at 40 ~ 60 Hz)
Pixel Pitch	0.1816 mm²
Pixel Density	140 ppi
Display Colors	1.07 billion
Color Gamut Support	DCI-P3: 95% sRGB: 100%
Stand	Tilt and height adjustable
Inputs	1 × DisplayPort 1.2 2 × HDMI 2.0a 1 × USB-C with 60 W PD HDCP 2.2
USB Hub	Dual-port USB 3.0 hub
Audio	5 W × 2 audio out port
Launch Price	$700 ~ $750

Looking at LG's broader lineup, the LG 32UL750-W sits right between the company’s range-topping 32UK950/32UL950 Ultra-HD monitors, which use panels with LG’s Nano IPS technology, as well as its more reasonably-priced 32UK550 Ultra-HD display. The high-end 31.5-inch LCDs from LG retail for $1000 ~ $1300, whereas the cheaper 31.5-inch monitor costs around $500. The new 32UL750 will, in turn, cost approximately $749 (SRP) in the US, placing it between the other models in both features and pricing.

LG started to sell its 32UL750-W LCD in Japan this week at a price of ¥76,800 ($705) without tax. That said, expect the display to show up in other countries shortly. Which, keeping in mind that electronics prices in Japan tend to run a bit high by global standards, I wouldn't be surprised to see street prices for the monitor in the US come in below its official $749 MSRP.
Related Reading:

Source: LG (via PC Watch)

More...

**FEED** · 02-04-19, 08:07 PM

EGlobal, a PC maker from China, has started sales of its ultra-compact form-factor (UCFF) S200 PC. Uncommon for UCFF PCs, EGlobal's latest machines are based around Intel’s 45W laptop parts rather than their 65W+ desktop parts, somewhat limiting the vendor's chip options, but giving them more flexibility in terms of design. Case in point, the EGlobal S200s are only slightly larger than Intel’s own NUCs, but with the high-end Core i7-8750HK or Intel Xeon E-2176M inside they can offer considerably higher levels of performance.
When Intel introduced its first NUC UCFF computers in 2013, it not only entered the market of PCs with own-brand products, but it demonstrated its partners among makers of desktops that UCFF PCs were not only feasible from technology point of view, but also popular among end users. Since then, Intel has been releasing new versions of its NUCs, whereas its partners have been trying to refine their own UCFF PC products in an attempt to offer something unique. EGlobal is among companies that have managed to develop something unique: the S200 system measures 5.6 × 5.3 × 2.5 inches, yet it packs a rather powerful processor.

The EGlobal S200 is based on Intel’s Coffee Lake-H mobile CPUs, with the manufacturer offering the Core i5-8300H, Core i7-8750HK, or Xeon E-2176M as options. The system also has two SO-DIMM slots for DDR4 memory (thus supporting up to 32 GB), an M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 slot for an SSD, as well as a 2.5-inch bay for a SATA storage device. The CPU is cooled using a rather simplistic air cooling system featuring an aluminum radiator, which should be plenty for stock performance, but it remains to be seen whether it would be enough for overclocking of the unlocked Core i7-8750HK.

When it comes to connectivity, the S200 has an 802.11ac + Bluetooth Wi-Fi controller, a GbE port, four USB 3.0 Type-A ports, a USB Type-C port, and two display outputs (a mini DisplayPort and an HDMI port). Notably, there isn't any Thunderbolt support here, so expandability options are limited to USB, and this would rule out using an eGFX chassis with the PC.

Various versions of EGlobal’s S200 are available at AliExpress, with prices ranging from $327 to $1058 depending on configuration.