As April comes to a close we’re back once again with our monthly guide to video cards.
Compared to the February/March time period and the flurry of activity coinciding with the launch of NVIDIA’s Maxwell architecture, April has been…
Acer took the wraps off of a new product today – the Acer Aspire Switch 10. This is a new take on the two in one for Acer, offering a Bay Trail-T equipped 10.1” tablet with a magnetic detachable keyboard design. The keyboard offers two hooks to connect the tablet to the keyboard without requiring a latching mechanism, but more secure than a comparable Surface keyboard.
Acer claims four modes for the tablet. First, there is Notebook mode, where the keyboard is attached the normal way, and Pad mode, which is just the tablet. That’s all fairly standard in a two in one Windows tablet. The other two modes are based on the fact that the magnetic latching system on the keyboard is actually reversible – there is a Display mode where the display is simply turned around, and a tent mode where the display is turned around and the keyboard slightly folded up to give the same effect as a Surface with kickstand.
None of this is new to the Windows tablet scene of course– the Asus Transformer Book T100 offers a detachable keyboard, and Lenovo has several devices such as the Yoga and Flex lines which offer the four device modes, but Acer has done a unique take on it with the combination of reversible and detachable keyboard.
Specification wise, it’s a pretty standard tablet. The device has a Bay Trail-T quad core processor (actual model number not disclosed), 2 GB of RAM, up to 64 GB of storage, and a 1366×768 10.1” IPS touch display. Where Acer seems to have focused their efforts was in dimensions and mass, where they are claiming a 8.9 mm thick chassis (20.2 mm with keyboard) and 0.59 kg (1.29 lb) weight for the tablet alone, and 1.17 kg (2.58 lb) for the combination.
| Two in One Computers | ||||||
| Acer Aspire Switch 10 | Asus Transformer Book T100 | Microsoft Surface 2 | ||||
| Dimensions |
H: 0.35″ (8.9mm) W: N/A D: N/A |
H: 0.41″ (10.5mm) W: 10.35″ (263mm) D: 6.73″ (171mm) |
H: 0.35″ (8.9mm) W: 10.81″ (274mm) D: 6.79″ (172mm) |
|||
| Weight | 1.29lbs (590g) | 1.21lbs (550g) | 1.49lbs (676g) | |||
| CPU | Intel Bay Trail-T | Intel Bay Trail-T Z3740 | NVIDIA Tegra 4 T40 | |||
| GPU | Intel HD Graphics | Intel HD Graphics | NVIDIA Tegra 4 T40 | |||
| RAM | 2 GB LPDDR3 | 2 GB LPDDR3 | 2 GB LPDDR3 | |||
| Storage | 32-64 GB | 32-64 GB | 32-64 GB | |||
| Display Size and Resolution | 10.1″ 1366×768 | 10.1″ 1366×768 | 10.6″ 1920×1080 | |||
| Battery | N/A | 31 Wh | 31.5 Wh | |||
| Price | $379 with keyboard | $349 with keyboard | $449 without keyboard | |||
Other notable features are a zero air gap (direct bonded) display, which should help dealing with external light sources, and an auto brightness feature they are calling LumiFlex which they claim will help with colors when using the device under varying lighting sources. As to what this will actually do, we’ll have to wait for a review sample to see. Acer is also supporting Windows 8.1 InstantGo which is the new term for Connected Standby and Bitlocker enabled storage.
Also, there’s an optional keyboard dock with 500 GB of internal storage – no other specs of this accessory were announced.
Overall, the Aspire Switch 10 looks like a nice two in one, with an aluminum rear cover with a cross brush pattern. Prices start at US $379 with availability in late May.
In a surprise move today, NVIDIA has announced that they are updating their spring GeForce game bundle mid-cycle with a new game.
Effective immediately, Ubisoft’s upcoming open world techno thriller Watch Dogs is being bundled with the GT…
This morning Apple announced its 2014 MacBook Air refresh. With Intel’s 14nm Broadwell SoC delayed, this mid-cycle update still uses Haswell ULT parts. The chassis and internal specs haven’t changed, however the base CPU gets a slight speed bump. The 1.3GHz Core i5-4250U is replaced by a 1.4GHz Core i5-4260U. The extra 100MHz won’t change much, you can expect a 0 – 3% increase in performance compared to last year’s entry level model. The upgraded CPU option hasn’t changed, and Apple continues to accept nothing less than Intel’s HD 5000 (Haswell GT3) on any of its MBAs.
| Apple 2014 MacBook Air CPU Comparison | |||||
| 1.4GHz dual-core | 1.7GHz dual-core | ||||
| Standard On | 11 & 13-inch MBA | Optional on Both | |||
| Intel Model | Core i5-4260U | Core i7-4650U | |||
| Base Clock Speed | 1.4GHz | 1.7GHz | |||
| Max SC Turbo | 2.7GHz | 3.3GHz | |||
| Max DC Turbo | 2.4GHz | 2.9GHz | |||
| L3 Cache | 3MB | 4MB | |||
| TSX-NI | No | Yes | |||
| TXT | No | Yes | |||
| AES-NI | Yes | Yes | |||
| VT-x/VT-x EPT | Yes | Yes | |||
| VT-d | Yes | Yes | |||
| TDP | 15W | 15W | |||
| Processor Graphics | Intel HD 5000 | Intel HD 5000 | |||
| GPU Clock (Base/Max) | 200/1000MHz | 200/1100MHz | |||
The bigger news is that, hot on the heels of a solid financial quarter, Apple is dropping all MBA prices by $100. The entry level 11.6-inch system now starts at $899. I suspect Apple is making room for an eventual MacBook Air with Retina Display. That design is expected to be a launch vehicle for Intel’s Broadwell, but it’s unclear how Intel’s 14nm delays will impact the schedule for that product.
| 2014 MacBook Air Refresh | ||||||
| 11.6-inch | 11.6-inch (high-end) | 13.3-inch | 13.3-inch (high-end) | |||
| Dimensions |
H: 0.11-0.68″ (0.3-1.7cm)
W: 11.8″ (30cm) D: 7.56″ (19.2cm) |
H: 0.11-0.68″ (0.3-1.7cm)
W: 12.8″ (32.5cm) D: 8.94″ (22.7cm) |
||||
| Weight | 2.38 lbs (1.08kg) | 2.96 lbs (1.35kg) | ||||
| CPU | 1.4GHz dual-core Core i5 | 1.4GHz dual-core Core i5 | ||||
| GPU | Intel HD 5000 | |||||
| RAM | 4GB LPDDR3-1600 | |||||
| SSD | 128GB PCIe SSD | 256GB PCIe SSD | 128GB PCIe SSD | 256GB PCIe SSD | ||
| Display Resolution | 1366 x 768 | 1440 x 900 | ||||
| Ports | Thunderbolt, 2x USB 3.0, headphone jack | Thunderbolt, 2x USB 3.0, SD card slot, headphone jack | ||||
| Networking | 2×2:2 802.11ac | 2×2:2 802.11ac | ||||
| Battery | 38 Wh | 54 Wh | ||||
| Price | $899 | $1099 | $999 | $1199 | ||
I was a fan of the 2013 MBA, and this price drop only makes the system more accessible. Unless you’re holding out for a model with a Retina Display, the refresh is still a great buy.
One of the purposes of Intel’s Avoton CPUs is cold storage. ASRock produced the C2750D4I for that need – a mini-ITX motherboard with a 25W eight core CPU, support for 64GB of DRAM, external server management and twelve SATA ports. In or…