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Tuesday, June 13th, 2017
- 4, 6, 8 and 10-core parts available for pre-order from June 19th
- 4, 6, 8 and 10-core parts shipping to consumers from June 26th
- 12-core parts expected to ship in August
- 14, 16 and 18 core parts expected to ship in October
- SD Association Announces UHS-III (up to 624 MB/s), A2 Class, LV Signaling
- ADATA Launches Premier ONE UHS-II SD Cards: 3D MLC, Up to 290 MB/s, V90 Labels
- ADATA Demonstrates 256 GB microSDXC Card
- Patriot Introduces LX 256 GB microSDXC Card with Class 10, U3 Certifications
- The SD Card Association to Classify IOPS Performance of Memory Cards via Logo
- SD Association Announces SD 5.0 Specification: SD Cards For UHD and 360° Video Capture
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| 2:30a | Alienware Area-51 Threadripper Edition Announced at E3, Available for Order July 27
Alienware this evening has announced their new Area-51 Threadripper Edition desktop at E3. The high-end gaming desktop offers up to a heady 16-core/32-thread AMD Ryzen Threadripper processor – marking AMD's first OEM win for the HEDT processor – paired with a customized CPU liquid cooling system. In addition, Alienware has revealed that they will be “the exclusive OEM launch partner to deliver AMD Ryzen Threadripper pre-built systems to market”, which can be a bit confusing, but as later confirmed by PCWorld, is solely about a temporary exclusive among the OEMs. Alienware's exclusive deal won't impact stand-alone CPUs for enthusiasts. The custom Triad Chassis fits three graphics cards, nicely complementing Ryzen ThreadRipper’s 60+4 PCIe 3.0 lanes and X399 chipset, and the GPU options top out at dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti’s or triple AMD Radeon RX 580s. To run this gamut of cards, PSU options range from 850W 80+ Bronze to 1500W 80+ Platinum. And not one to be ever out-done on bling, Alienware has made sure the chassis has AlienFX Lighting for any and all LED needs.
The TR4 socket Ryzen ThreadRippers will come with an all-core factory overclock and will be available as a 12-core/24-thread variant. Memory options top out at 64GB of 2933 MHz quad-channel DDR4 RAM, while storage offerings go up to 1TB M.2 SSDs and 2TB HDDs. Connectivity-wise, two USB 3.1 Gen-1 Type-A ports, media card reader, headphone jack, and microphone jack is included in the front, while the rear includes ports for dual Killer Networks E2500 Gigabit Ethernet as well as “10 USB ports of different form factors, including a Type-C port”.
Positioning the Area-51 Threadripper Edition and its 6/8/10/12-core Intel Skylake-X counterpart for “4K, 8K, or VR applications" as well as "megatasking”, Alienware is offering demo rigs to visitors at E3 to experience the system first-hand. They will probably be as heavy as they look: the starting weight for these pre-builts is roughly 62 pounds. Wrapping things up, Alienware's Area-51 Threadripper Edition will be available for pre-order on July 27. However pricing has not been announced at this time, and more importantly, neither has a shipping date. AMD has not yet unveiled ThreadRipper's release date, so all we know for sure by now is that it won't be any sooner than July 27th, and may very well be later. Meanwhile Area-51 models with Intel's Skylake-X family of CPUs will be available on August 22. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5:40a | Intel Announces X299, Skylake-X, and Kaby Lake-X Release Schedule: Pre-Orders June 19th, Availability June 26th
At Computex a couple of weeks ago, Intel announced its new Basin Falls platform, consisting of the X299 chipset with motherboards based on it, a pair of Kaby Lake-X processors, and a set of Skylake-X processors going all the way up to eighteen cores, denoting the first use of Intel’s enterprise level high core-count silicon in a consumer product. For the most part, we had assumed that the news was just that, and following traditional Intel strategy they would not officially give a launch date until the reviews go live sometime later. So imagine our surprise when Intel starts announcing dates at the E3 show this week. As part of Intel’s E3 press release, as well as their presentations at the show, the new Core i9 processors were discussed, along with Intel’s continued commitment towards eSports. Intel gave the dates for the new platform as the following: This means that the following five processors will be available from June 26th:
The two quad-core parts are part of the Kaby Lake-X family, essentially using the mainstream Kaby Lake-S silicon but disabling the integrated graphics and expanding the voltage/frequency window and TDP limit to give extra frequency. As already demonstrated, extreme overclockers have hit over 7.5 GHz on these chips at a special Computex Intel event using Liquid Helium, with positive words coming out about 24/7 overclocking capabilities on air and water. The other three parts are the Skylake-X family, with the 6, 8 and 10-core variants all coming from the same harvested low-core-count die. The big upswing for these processors is the rearranged cache arrangement, with Intel moving from 256KB of L2 cache on the previous generation to 1MB of L2 cache on Skylake-X (and changing the L3 cache from being a fully inclusive cache to being a non-inclusive cache). This significantly enhances software which is L2 cache size sensitive, although it remains to be seen how much of an effect it will have for consumers. For the other parts, 12 core and up, Intel is staggering their launch to the extent that we do not even know many of the details. Intel's own documents list them all as TBD for frequency, power and DRAM support – the only certainties are core counts, pricing, and the fact that they will use the same socket as the above five processors. The August shipping date for the 12-core will be interesting, given that Dell has announced that pre-orders for its ThreadRipper Alienware desktops start on July 27th. The same announcement from Dell states 'and the Area 51 featuring Intel Core X-Series will arrive on August 22nd, and the product page states that this includes the 12-core option, as well as 6-10 cores. Whether the wording 'arrive' means pre-order or release we do not know, although the TR version explicitly states 'pre-order'. Ryan points out that this could just mean the 6-10 core options, as it doesn't explicitly state the 12 core and Intel hasn't made a firm date themselves yet.
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| 9:00a | Razer Launches The Thresher Ultimate: An Xbox, PS4, And PC 7.1 Headset
This morning at E3, Razer is announcing a new product in their lineup, targeting the console market, with the Thresher Ultimate wireless headset. This is a 7.1 Dolby surround gaming headset, offering several features to help it in the console market, but still working with PC gaming.
They will be offering versions for both the PS4 and the Xbox gaming systems, with a color scheme to match those consoles trademark colors. The PS4 version will offer blue accents, and the Xbox version will be Xbox green, and both can also be hooked to a PC through standard audio cables.
One of the main differences between the Thresher Ultimate and other Razer headsets focused on the PC is the charging stand, which also provides a more powerful 2.4 wireless signal to provide a connection range of up to 40 feet, which should help with the typical console gamer sitting further away. Razer’s PC based wireless headsets charge over a USB cable, and only offer a small wireless USB adapter and would not be able to get this kind of range.
The headphones have 50 mm drivers, and are available with cooling-gel infused ear cushions to help with comfort on longer gaming sessions. Razer rates the drivers for 12 Hz to 28 kHz, and combined with the Dolby Headphone technology, these should deliver good sound quality for a wireless headset. The headset weighs in at 408 grams / 0.89 lbs, and the unidirectional boom mic is fully retractable into the ear cup when its not needed. Razer estimates the battery life to be up to 16 hours, with a 4 hour charging time.
Although these are targeted to console gamers, the charging stand is something that any PC gamer would appreciate as well, since it makes the process of storing the headphones and keeping them charged much easier than Razer’s other headsets that use micro USB connectors for charging, although these do offer that connection for charging as well. The Thresher Ultimate is available for pre-order now for $249.99 USD, and will be available worldwide in July. Source: Razer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11:00a | ADATA Demos A2 microSD Card with 4K/2K IOPS Minimum, Mulls Late 2017 Launch
ADATA displayed its first microSD card that is compliant with the App Performance 2 (A2) specification introduced earlier this year at Computex. The company is mulling to release the card later this year, but this depends on availability of hosts that support features mandated by the A2. ADATA’s lineup of A2-compliant Premier microSD cards will include 32 GB, 64 GB, and 128 GB models. The new cards will use the UHS-I bus with up to 104 MB/s sequential read/write speed, so do not expect extreme performance numbers from such devices. In accordance with the A2 requirements, the cards provide a random performance of at least 2000 write IOPS, at least 4000 read IOPS as well as sustained sequential read/write speed at 10 MB/s (which is why the cards also carry the V10 badge).
However, guaranteed minimum performance figures are not the only requirements of the A2. All cards carrying the A2 label are mandated to support such functions as command queuing (with a minimum depth que of 2 and a maximum depth que of 32) to optimize random read performance, caching to hit write performance targets, as well as 'self-maintenance' features and low-voltage signaling (LVS). To support all the additional A2 functionality, the new SD cards need appropriate controllers and support from hosts. As you can likely guess, ADATA does not disclose supplier of its controllers, but the fact that the company is showing the card indicates that at least some suppliers are already sampling appropriate ICs.
For example, Silicon Motion is sampling its SD 6.0-compliant SM2705EN and SM2707EN controllers that support command queuing, caching, self-maintenance and low-voltage signaling (LVS). The aforementioned controllers are compatible with 3D MLC/3D TLC memory and feature Silicon Motion's DuoECC engine with improved data correct ability (given the application, it is logical to assume that we are dealing with a BCH-based ECC, but we have not confirmed that).
Besides controllers, A2-compliant SD cards have to be supported by hosts and this is concern for hardware makers (including ADATA and SMI). In particular, command queuing and caching features have to be supported by hosts and currently there are no hosts that support CQ and caching for SD cards. ADATA is currently planning to release the Premier microSDHC/SDXC UHS-I CL10 V10 A2 LV cards either late in 2017 or in early 2018, depending on various factors, including support by hosts. Pricing is something that the company will determine closer to the launch. Related Reading: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1:00p | Acer Predator 21 X Laptop with Curved Display Now Available, Only 300 to Be Made
Acer amazed the world last September when it announced a laptop with a 21” curved display, a quad-core Intel Core i7 “Kaby Lake” CPU with an unlocked multiplier, two graphics processors, a mechanical keyboard, and other features of a desktop PC. Then the company surprised once again, when it disclosed pricing of the Predator 21X in early January: at $8999, the machine is one of the most expensive gaming notebooks ever. By now, the PC is available, but this Predator will be a rare beast because only 300 will be made. The final version of the Predator 21 X notebook got Intel’s quad-core Core i7-7820HK CPU with an unlocked multiplier and overclocking capabilities, two GeForce GTX 1080 GPUs with 16 GB of GDDR5 memor, as well as 64 GB of DDR4 RAM — specifications that even few gaming desktops can match. The storage sub-system of the Predator 21 X also resembles that of an SFF or AIO desktop: the machine can fit in four M.2 SSDs (NVMe or SATA) and one 2.5” hard drive. Acer ships the system with two 512 GB PCIe NVMe SSDs working in RAID 0 as well as one 1 TB 7200 RPM HGST HDD, but the system is upgradeable and owners can install almost whatever they want eventually.
They key selling point of the Predator 21 X is its curved 21” IPS display panel with a 2560×1080 resolution, a 120 Hz refresh rate, and NVIDIA’s G-Sync dynamic refresh rate technology. After trying out the Predator 21 X at Computex, I cannot say that curvature on a monitor of this size is any more immersive to me, but it may work in a very dark room. In addition to curvature, the notebook also has Tobii infrared eye-tracking sensors, which opens up different user experiences in games that support the appropriate tech. Meanwhile the audio sub-system is also worth mentioning as it has four integrated speakers and two built-in subwoofers.
As one would expect from a laptop that is 2.71” – 3.3” (68.8 mm – 83.82 mm) thick and weighs 18.74 lbs (8.5 kilograms), the Predator 21 X has all the connectivity that one might ever need (just like high-end desktops), including 2×2 802.11ac + Bluetooth Wi-Fi module, a Gigabit Ethernet port, one Thunderbolt 3 (USB Type-C) port, four USB 3.0 Type-A connectors, an HDMI 2.0 output, two DisplayPort 1.4 headers, and an SD card reader. For input, the Acer Predator 21 X uses a mechanical keyboard with Cherry MX switches with five programmable buttons. The numeric keypad does not have mechanical switches, but it can be flipped and turned into a touchpad.
From performance point of view, the Predator 21 X has rivals from ASUS and MSI, but when it comes to its curved 21”/120 Hz display panel, it does not really have direct competitors (except desktops, of course). Meanwhile, the panel itself is custom, which adds to the cost of an already expensive machine. After considering performance, dimensions and price, Acer figured out that demand for a laptop that is priced at $8999 will be limited, and instead of trying to reduce the price tag, decided to make an ultra-exclusive product out of its Predator 21 X. The company will only produce 300 of such machines (referring to 300 Spartans?), each of which will have an individual number. The Acer Predator 21 X will ship in a Pelican-style case that can be “repurposed” and actually be used as a luggage.
Despite the price and dimensions, the Predator 21 X is sold out at Amazon.com in the U.S., but is still available from Micro Center and Newegg. Related Reading: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7:00p | NVIDIA Announces Destiny 2 Bundle for GeForce GTX 1080 & 1080 Ti Cards
NVIDIA has announced yet another game bundle, this time pairing Bungie’s much-anticipated Destiny 2 with NVIDIA’s highly performant GeForce GTX 1080 and 1080 Ti. Systems (including NVIDIA’s own GeForce GTX Battlebox) and laptops containing these cards will also qualify for the bundle. The bundle includes both Destiny 2 and early PC beta access, which is tentatively scheduled for late August. Unlike its predecessor, Destiny 2 will be available for PCs, and will launch on October 24th for PCs and September 6th for consoles. NVIDIA has already released Destiny 2 PC gameplay video at 4K and 60 FPS, hinting at how higher-end graphics cards can take advantage of what Destiny 2 graphically has to offer. In more concrete terms, Destiny 2 on PC will offer up to 4K resolution and uncapped framerate, as well as adjustable field-of-view and support for ultra-wide/special monitor configurations. As a massively multiplayer online sci-fi first-person shooter, which Bungie previously described as a “shared world shooter”, the PC version of the game will only be available via Blizzard App/Battle.net. With the Rocket League bundle still in play until July 31st, NVIDIA nicely covers the GeForce GTX 10-series line-up from the humble GTX 1050 up to the GTX 1080 Ti, with the sole exception of the GTX 1070.
Overall this will be a very short lived bundle. NVIDIA is only running it for the next two weeks – from today through June 27th – presumbly as an E3 tie-in. Once redeemed, Destiny 2 Early Beta Access codes can only be used through the life of the beta, whereas “Destiny 2 game codes may only be redeemed until 30 days after PC launch date.” Codes must be redeemed through GeForce Experience. Be sure to verify the participation of any vendors purchased from as NVIDIA likely will not give codes for purchases made from sellers that are not participating. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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