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VESA announced that it released the updated DisplayPort 2.1 specification, which continues to be backward compatible and supersedes the previous version. While the maximum supported speeds remain the same, the new standard introduces under-the-hood improvements and more stringent cable requirements. The association claims it has been working with companies to make sure that all DP 2.0-certified products will support the newer, more demanding spec. This includes cables, docking station chips, monitor scalar chips, PHY repeater chips, and GPUs, such as Intel Arc and integrated ones from AMD’s 6000 series mobile CPUs....

After weeks of teasers and leaks, Vivo’s first foldable phone is now official. The Vivo X Fold is the latest device to break away from the standard smartphone design we’ve seen for well over a decade. Instead of a rigid sandwich of plastic, metal, and glass that can only get so big before it no longer fits in a pocket, the X Fold gives users a foldable display protected by a layer of “ultra-thin glass” designed and manufactured by Schott....

In all fairness to Cooler Master, it isn’t trying to sell the CryoFuze Violet based on its color alone. The company says the paste uses nanoparticles to deliver enhanced thermal conductivity. It adds that the balanced viscosity and electrically insulated composition allow for excellent bonding as well as easy application and clean-up. The paste is also non-corrosive and oxidation resistant, which means it won’t solidify or dry out over the years....

As Tom’s Hardware explains, it all comes down to 3D NAND selection. To saturate a PCIe 5.0 x4 drive (15.754 GBps in both directions), you need 3D NAND with a 2400 MTps interface. Micron was the first to announce this type of memory back in July. SK Hynix and YMTC followed in early August. The problem is that yields of such chips are very low, thus making them a bit of a rare bird right now....

Depending on the application jump lists can be used to get 1-click functionality without recalling a minimized window, easily access common tasks or to quickly open pinned and recent documents, saving you time not having to go through a number of dialogs. In a nutshell, if you are willing to make the most of them, jump lists are a productivity godsend. Now, imagine my despair when a few weeks ago all my established jump list items disappeared for no apparent reason....

The Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 utilizes the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 mobile platform alongside 12GB of LPDDR5 (6,400Mbps) RAM and your choice of 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of UFS 3.1 local storage. The outer display measures 6.56 inches diagonally with a resolution of 2,520 x 1,080 and boasts a 120Hz refresh rate with P3 color gamut coverage. It is coated in Corning Gorilla Glass Victus for enhanced durability....

For those of you unaware, Fortnite is a co-op sandbox survival game released as an early access title for Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One last July and it received a standalone ‘Battle Royale’ mode late last year. The title is due for a full free-to-play release this year after Epic Games finishes ironing out its kinks, though in my experience there appear to be few if any issues, especially compared to PUBG....

Gigabyte has dropped their blue PCB and baby blue/white components in favor of a matte black design, at least for the majority of their P67 boards anyway. The P67A-UD7 is rather evil looking and perhaps the coolest looking board we have ever seen. Aesthetics aside, the P67A-UD7 touts plenty of great features including dual Gigabit LAN, 8-channel audio, SATA 6Gb/s RAID, eSATA, USB 3.0 and a number of other innovative technologies....

We did see a little bit of a variance in our custom 700MB compression test, as the MSI X79A-GD65(8D) was quite slow. The majority of the X79 boards took just 92-93 seconds opposed to the 96 seconds it took the MSI board. The Photoshop CS5 test was completed within 16 seconds on all X79 boards, though it was the ECS X79R-AX that posted the best result. The Gigabyte G1.Assasin 2 and Asrock X79 Extreme 9 were the slowest boards in this test, while the MSI X79A-GD65(8D) wasn’t much faster....

The Intel DX79SI and MSI X79A-GD65(8D) both consumed ~220 watts under load and just 86 watts at idle. However those look tame in comparison to the Asus and ECS boards, both of which consumed over 290 watts under load. There could be various explanations for this, the few different hardware components completing the boards’ entire feature set, as well as different power phase configurations. But rest assured, for the purpose of testing each product was installed with the same hardware using similar BIOS settings....

While taking these sample photos and videos, I can give some feedback on using the screens under direct sunlight. With both tablets set to maximum brightness and auto-dimming disabled, the iPad 2 was much easier to view under these conditions. At times the Iconia Tab was nearly unreadable. Furthermore the grid system that I mentioned earlier was extremely visible under direct sunlight and quite distracting. I’m happy to report that under normal indoor use, the grid lines on the Iconia Tab’s screen aren’t visible....

Its latest mechanical gaming keyboard, the ‘Strafe’, is a perfect example of why. The Strafe is certainly more of a budget-oriented mechanical gaming keyboard when compared to what Corsair has been working on over the past year or so, but it isn’t exactly cheap at $110. The Strafe features a similar design to Corsair’s Vengeance series (which has become “Corsair Gaming”) keyboards, but it takes a small step back to basics....

When we reviewed the 600K it was noted that for not much more the 700K could be had… “It’s also worth noting that for only $20 more than the $130 600K you could have the 700K, which touts considerably more features and customizations, so that’s worth checking out if the 600K is too bland for you.” Today the 700K can be found for around $140 online while the 600K still costs $130, and for that difference we see no reason why gamers wouldn’t opt for the more feature rich 700K....

Released two years ago now the Strike Pro includes many of the features we look for in a quality mechanical gaming keyboard. Complete with fully backlit keys with Cherry MX switches the Strike Pro also includes a USB hub, audio inputs, macro support, onboard memory and a braided USB cable. Some early reviews reported that the audio ports weren’t labeled and that the retractable feet collapse under pressure. Our sample did feature audio port labels and if anything the retractable feet were too stiff, making them difficult to retract....

The reason is that the Alpha’s GPU is very similar to the GTX 750 Ti with slightly reduced memory bandwidth. Even though the CPU is weaker than our test bench, the performance results we recorded in the 750 Ti review are pretty much what you’ll get from the Alienware Alpha (especially the higher-end models) in games. And just so you’re absolutely confident of this, I ran a few benchmarks on the Alpha with exactly the same settings as we used in the 750 Ti review....

Alienware has just announced a cheaper variant of its QD-OLED monitor launched earlier this year. The new AW3423DWF will likely confuse customers with its near-identical name but costs $200 less due to omitting the dedicated G-Sync module and G-Sync Ultimate certification. Alienware’s AW3423DWF uses the same 34-inch ultrawide QD-OLED panel with a 3,440 x 1,440 resolution and a 1800R curve. It has a peak SDR brightness of 250 nits, with HDR content pushing that up to 1,000 nits....

The split, which has already been approved by the Board of Directors, will impact the company’s class A, class B and class C stock, and is subject to shareholder approval. Should it come to fruition, it would be only the second time that Google has conducted a stock split. The company executed a two-for-one split in 2014 that created the class C stock with no voting power. Google restructured under the Alphabet corporate umbrella in 2015 and its share value has continued to swell....

The proposal is subject to shareholder approval at the company’s upcoming annual shareholder meeting slated for May 25, 2022. Should everything go according to plan, the split will occur in early June with trading on a split-adjusted basis expected to begin on June 6, 2022. Image credit energepic

The Cloud Cam’s replacement – The Blink Mini

A quick check of the promo page reveals several newer AAA releases including Elden Ring, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Sifu: Vengeance Edition, Triangle Strategy and Far Cry 6, among others. Older games like GTA: The Trilogy, Forza Horizon 5, Hades and Sonic Colors Ultimate are additionally on offer. As mentioned, you can also mix and match products. Some categories like movies, music and toys have plenty of items to choose from while others are sparsely populated....