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ASUS Launches VivoBook W202NA: 11.6”, Apollo Lake, Windows 10 S, $279
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ASUS Launches VivoBook W202NA: 11.6”, Apollo Lake, Windows 10 S, $279

In time for back-to-school season, ASUS has announced its new ultra-low-cost PC (ULCPC aka netbook) aimed at students and consumers with a tight budget. The VivoBook W202NA rugged laptop is powered by Intel’s Apollo Lake platform, has an 11.6” display, weighs around 1.2 kilograms (2.65 lb) and has a 38 Wh battery that is quoted for up to 11 hours. The machine will be available with Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 S operating systems, both will cost less than $300.

The ASUS VivoBook W202-series laptop will exist in three different versions based on Microsoft’s Windows 10 S, Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro operating systems, featuring different hardware and aimed at slightly different end-users. The Windows 10 S/10 Home notebooks are based on Intel’s dual-core Celeron N3350 SoC, are equipped with 4 GB of DRAM and are targeted at children, students and consumers. By contrast, the Windows 10 Pro-based ASUS W202 uses Intel’s quad-core Pentium N4200, has up to 8 GB of memory, up to 128 GB of eMMC storage and is designed for more demanding consumers (do not expect this SKU to be available in all regions).

Other specifications of the ASUS VivoBook W202 notebook seem to be comparable to other entry-level contemporary PCs: it features an 11.6” display with a 1366×768 resolution, an anti-glare coating and a 180-degree hinge. As for connectivity, the laptop has a 802.11ac Wi-Fi with Bluetooth 4.1 module, two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, an HDMI output, a VGA webcam, a microSDXC card reader, a TRRS audio connector, a microphone array, two 2W speakers and so on.

ASUS W202NA ULCPC Specifications
  Windows 10 S
W202NA-YS02		 Windows 10 Home
W202NA-DH02		 Windows 10 Pro
–
Display 11.6″ panel with 1366×768 resolution and anti-glare coating
CPU Celeron N3350
2C/2T
1.1 – 2.4 GHz
2 MB cache
6 W TDP		 Intel Pentium N4200
4C/4T
1.1 – 2.5 GHz
2MB
6 W TDP
Graphics Intel HD Graphics 500 with 12 EUs Intel HD Graphics  505 with 12 EUs
RAM 4 GB 4 or 8 GB
Storage 64 GB eMMC 64 or 128 GB eMMC
Wi-Fi Intel Wireless-AC 2×2 802.11ac Wi-Fi
Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.1
Ethernet –
USB 2 × USB 3.0 Type-A
Display Outputs 1 × HDMI
Keyboard Chiclet spill-resistant keyboard
Other I/O Microphone, stereo speakers, TRRS audio jack, 0.3 MP webcam, microSDXC card reader
Dimensions Width: 294 mm/11.57″
Depth: 200 mm/7.87″
Thickness: 22.6 mm/0.89″
Weight 1.2 kilograms / 2. 65 pounds
Battery 2-cell 38 Wh battery, 11 hours battery life
Price $279.99 $299.99 unknown

One of the key selling features of the ASUS VivoBook W202 is its ruggedized design. The laptop has rubber-lined edges and corners to protect internals against bumps and knocks. In addition, the notebook features an anti-spill keyboard. According to ASUS, the VivoBook W202 has survived a drop test from a height of 119 cm (3.9 feet) as well as passed extreme twist force and high-pressure test.

The ASUS VivoBook W202NA-YS02 convertible laptop featuring Windows 10 S is available immediately in North America for $279. The ASUS VivoBook W202NA-DH02 powered by Windows 10 Home will ship next month for $299. The Pentium- and Windows 10 Pro-based VivoBook W202 system will naturally cost slightly more, but such systems may not be available in all regions.

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AMD Releases Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.8.1
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AMD Releases Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.8.1

Today, AMD has released Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.8.1, a unified driver supporting older products as well as RX Vega cards. This update follows last Monday’s RX Vega64 launch and accompanying RX Vega specific beta driver. In addi…

NVIDIA Brings Back Destiny 2 Bundle for GeForce GTX 1080 & 1080 Ti Cards
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NVIDIA Brings Back Destiny 2 Bundle for GeForce GTX 1080 & 1080 Ti Cards

From today to September 5th (or while supplies last), NVIDIA is bringing back June’s Destiny 2 bundle for GTX 1080 and 1080 Ti cards, systems, and laptops, a week ahead of Destiny 2’s PC Beta launch on August 28th. As a reminder, eligible systems include NVIDIA’s own GeForce GTX Battlebox products. The bundle includes Destiny 2 at its October 24th launch date, as well as three in-game items: the Coldheart Exotic Rifle, Kill Tracker Ghost, and Salute emote. These items may also be redeemed by people who purchased the bundle in June.

The upcoming massively multiplayer online sci-fi first-person shooter, a concept Bungie previously described as a “shared world shooter”, will be preceded by an August 24th NVIDIA Game Ready driver. Additionally, Destiny 2 will support High Dynamic Range (HDR) and SLI, a result of NVIDIA’s collaboration with Activision and Bungie. HDR itself will available to test during the PC Beta.

This latest iteration of the bundle does not mention Early Access codes for the PC Beta, although Bungie does state that Destiny 2 preorders through the Blizzard store come with Early Access. In context, Destiny 2 has an exclusive Early Access PC Beta on August 28th, with the general Open Beta running from the 29th to 31st. In any case, NVIDIA is also giving away Early Access codes in celebration of Gamescom, and will announce winners through GeForce Experience on August 25th.

As of August 2017, this is the only active NVIDIA promotional bundle. As before, Destiny 2 game codes may only be redeemed until 30 days after PC launch date.

Codes must be redeemed through GeForce Experience (3.2.2 or higher). After redeeming through GeForce Experience, Destiny 2 must be subsequently redeemed with a Blizzard account. 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.

Silverstone Launches TOB03 ODD: 9.5-mm CD/DVD/BD/BDXL Burner
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Silverstone Launches TOB03 ODD: 9.5-mm CD/DVD/BD/BDXL Burner

SilverStone has introduced its first ultra-slim ODD that can read and record CD, DVD, Blu-ray and BDXL media. The drive is not a technological breakthrough, but it is going to be one of a few 9.5-mm BD/BDXL-supporting ODDs on the market. Of course, SilverStone is primarily known for its cases, PSUs and coolers, so the launch of the TOB03 ODD demonstrates that the company sees demand for such products from those who buy its SFF chassis.

Optical discs have been losing popularity for years. Nowadays the vast majority of audio-visual content (games, music, movies, etc.) is distributed digitally via services like iTunes, Netflix, Origin and Steam. Due to the shrinking market of drives and discs, a number of ODD makers and optical media manufacturers ceased production and focused on other markets. However, a lot of people still own large collections of CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs which need something to access the media. Moreover, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray formats still offer the highest quality 1080p and 4K movies due to massive bitrates that streaming or digital download services do not offer, due to network restrictions for most. As a result, while demand for ODDs in general is not high, it exists and there are people willing to pay for such drives.

From SilverStone’s point of view, these are people who buy its SFF PC cases, SFX PSUs and coolers for home theater PCs and then go to other suppliers for optical drives. From a business perspective, it makes a lot of sense for SilverStone to offer its customers premium ODDs in addition to what it already sells them. However, there is a problem. While SilverStone makes various products in-house, producing optical drives is not what it does and sourcing lasers, motors and other ODD components is sometimes tricky in a world where only a few companies produce them. Therefore, SilverStone had to find an OEM to manufacture the hardware. Apparently, there are only two companies on the planet that make 9.5-mm Blu-ray/BDXL burners: one is LG and another is Panasonic. The latter is the maker of the TOB03 and this is something that SilverStone does not seem to hide: the official photos of the drive clearly reflect that this is indeed the Panasonic/Matshita UJ272. The drive has been around for a while, but given the relatively slow evolution of ODDs in general, this is hardly a problem. Moreover, when it comes to availability of ultra-slim BD/BDXL burners, the more the merrier as right now their choice and supply are very limited. SilverStone’s offering does not expand the former, but it clearly boosts the supply by making the drive available from the company’s usual channels.

The SilverStone TOB03 (aka Panasonic UJ272) uses the SATA 3.0 interface (with a Slimline SATA connector) and can read and record CD (CD, CD-R, CD-RW, HS-RW, US-RW), DVD (DVD, DVD±R, DVD±R DL, DVD±RW, DVD-RAM) and Blu-ray (BD, BD-R SL/DL/TL/QL, BD-RE SL/DL/TL) discs. The drive has a 2 MB buffer underrun protection (which is lower compared to other high-end ODDs) and supports 6x CAV burning speed for popular BD-R SL/DL (25 GB/50 GB) media as well as 4x PCAV burning speed for BR-R TL/QL (100 GB/128 GB) discs. As for supported Blu-ray formats, both SilverStone and Panasonic declare Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D, but not UHD Blu-ray (at least for now). Since SilverStone’s TOB03 comes in retail packaging only, the ODD always comes with a 12.7 mm bezel to be compatible with cases that support slim drives as well as a slimline SATA adapter featuring a flexible braided cable for easier installation (which contrasts to OEM drives from renowned makers that come without any cables in some regions).

SilverStone’s TOB03 ODD burner will be available from the company’s partners in the coming weeks. The company does not disclose anything about pricing, but since Panasonic’s UJ272 is available for $70 to $90 depending on the retailer, expect the TOB03 to be priced in the same ballpark.

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