[Most Recent Entries] [Calendar View]
Thursday, February 2nd, 2017
- Qualcomm Announces New X50 5G Modem, First Gigabit Class LTE Network and Router
- Netgear Launches 802.11ad-Enabled Nighthawk X10 (R9000) Wi-Fi Router
- Netgear Launches CM1000 DOCSIS 3.1 Cable Modem, New Switches at CES 2017
| Time | Event | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8:00a | GALAX Launches Low Profile GeForce GTX 1050 OC and 1050 Ti OC
GALAX has joined the list of manufacturers to offer low-profile video cards based on NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1050-series GPUs. The boards resemble similar products from other makers and are designed to upgrade low z-height PCs or build affordable small form-factor HTPCs. As with the other 1050-series parts, these are <75W, meaning no PCIe connector is needed. The GALAX GeForce GTX 1050 OC LP and the GALAX GeForce GTX 1050 Ti OC LP graphics cards are powered by NVIDIA’s GP107 GPU in different configurations and are equipped with 2 GB and 4 GB of 7Gbps GDDR5 memory respectively. Both add-in-boards use the same PCB design, which the manufacturer is proud of because it uses solid-state coils and has an additional heatsink on the VRM MOSFETs. For the main GPU cooling, the cards also use the same dual-slot dual-fan cooling system featuring an aluminum heatsink with a copper base. As for connectivity, both AIBs have the same set of outputs: one DL-DVI-D, one HDMI 2.0b and one DisplayPort 1.4 with HDCP 2.2 support.
The new low-profile graphics cards from GALAX run ~12 MHz faster than reference designs. The 1% frequency increase does not have any effect on the official power consumption of the cards, so their TDP remains at around 75 W level. They do not need any additional power connectors and can be installed in any modern PC with an open-ended PCIe slot.
GALAX is the third supplier after GIGABYTE and MSI to officially launch low-profile GeForce GTX 1050-series video cards. While demanding gamers hardly pay attention to low-profile cards, these come handy when upgrading low-cost PCs or building miniature HTPCs. The GP107 chip supports DirectX 12, Vulkan, and has an advanced media playback engine that features hardware-accelerated decoding and encoding of H.265 (HEVC) video.
As reported previously, considering the positioning of the GeForce GTX 1050-series products, it unlikely that the new cards from GALAX will cost significantly more than NVIDIA’s MSRPs for similar video cards: $139 for the GTX 1050 Ti and $109 for the GTX 1050. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen when are we going to see the low-profile GALAX cards in the US. Right now the company’s online store as well as Amazon.com do not have them for sale. Since the GALAX brand belongs to Palit Microsystems, low-profile GeForce GTX 1050-series graphics cards from this manufacturer may emerge under different trademarks in different parts of the world (e.g., Gainward or KFA2 in Europe). Gallery: GALAX GeForce GTX 1050 Ti OC LP
      Related Reading: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12:01p | Netgear Nighthawk M1: LTE Cat 16 Router up to 1 Gbps
Netgear this week announced the Nighthawk M1 mobile router, which is the industry’s first 4G LTE device with download speed up to 1 Gbps. The Nighthawk M1 is powered by Qualcomm’s X16 LTE modem with 4x4 MIMO announced a year ago and will be available only on Telstra’s 4GX LTE network in Australia. As soon as similar networks are launched in different parts of the world, the same router or its derivatives may hit the market elsewhere as well. The Netgear Nighthawk M1 mobile router is aimed at those who need to set up ultra-fast mobile broadband connection for multiple people and up to 20 devices in areas where cable broadband is unavailable (there are a lot of rural areas in Australia where there is no broadband). The Nighthawk M1 can be used like a normal portable router (it has a GbE port as well as two USB headers) or as a NAS/media streamer (it has a microSD slot). The router also has an inbuilt battery (5040 mAh) which is rated for up to 24 hours of standard use. The Nighthawk M1 does not require any special setup, but it is equipped with a 2.4” display to monitor its performance/data usage and there is also a special app for Android and iOS that allows a user to manage the router (network settings, parental controls, etc.).
At the heart of the Netgear Nighthawk M1 there is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X16 LTE modem (paired with Qualcomm’s WTR5975 RF transceiver). The modem supports 4x4 MIMO, four carrier aggregation (4xCA) and higher order modulation (256QAM) to download data at up to 1 Gbps (in select areas) as well as 64QAM and 2CA to upload data at up to 150 Mbps over Telstra’s 4GX LTE network (Telstra's network is only 3CA it is worth noting). We already know that the X16 modem will be integrated into Snapdragon 835 SoCs for smartphones, but right now it is available only as a standalone chip. The Nighthawk M1 router is also equipped with Qualcomm’s 2×2 802.11 b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi solution that can connect up to 20 devices simultaneously using 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands concurrently.
The Netgear Nighthawk M1 (MR1100) mobile router will be available from Telstra in Australia later this month for $360 AUD ($276 USD) standalone. Telstra also plans to offer the router with a range of broadband plans. Gallery: Netgear Nighthawk M1
   Related Reading:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| << Previous Day |
2017/02/02 [Calendar] |
Next Day >> |