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BenQ Unveils EX3203R 32-inch Curved LCD with FreeSync 2, DCI-P3, & USB-C
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BenQ Unveils EX3203R 32-inch Curved LCD with FreeSync 2, DCI-P3, & USB-C

AMD’s FreeSync 2 platform this week gained yet another supporter. BenQ on Thursday introduced its EX3203R gaming display that supports AMD’s latest dynamic refresh rate technology along with the DCI-P3 color gamut. BenQ’s new monitor will be the fifth FreeSync 2-supporting LCD announced so far and thus will have only a few competitors. It is also noteworthy that the EX3203R will have a USB Type-C input, a feature not available on other displays with FreeSync 2.

BenQ’s EX3203R is based on a 32-inch curved VA panel featuring a 2560×1440 resolution, 400 nits brightness, a 3000:1 contrast ratio, 178°/178° viewing angles, a 4 ms response time, and a 144 Hz maximum refresh rate. The key feature of the monitor is AMD’s FreeSync 2 dynamic refresh rate technology that mandates support of at least 90% of the DCI-P3 color space along with HDR and LFC (low framerate compensation). BenQ does not specify the range of the FreeSync 2 on the EX3203R monitor, but from our previous encounters with 32-inch FreeSync 2-supporting displays, it is reasonable to expect the new model to feature a relatively wide range from at least 72 Hz to 144 Hz.

Speaking of FreeSync 2-supporting displays in general, it is noteworthy that all 32-inch FreeSync 2 LCDs announced to date use a VA panel with a 2560×1440 resolution, a 400 nits brightness, and a 1800R curvature. While no official comments have been made on this matter, it is highly likely that AOC’s AGON AG322QC4, BenQ’s EX3203R, and Samsung’s C32HG70 are based on the same 32-inch VA panel from the Korean company. Meanwhile, Samsung itself uses a QLED backlighting (with quantum dots) to guarantee coverage of up to 95% of the DCI-P3 color space, whereas other suppliers use P3-graded LED backlighting that enables coverage of “only” 90% of this color gamut.

Back to the BenQ EX3203R. The display comes in a plastic chassis and has a stand that can adjust height, and tilt. As for connectivity, the monitor is outfitted with two HDMI 1.4 inputs, one DisplayPort 1.2 header, a USB Type-C port that can be used to connect laptops, and a mini-jack for headphones. The EX3203R is also equipped with a dual-port USB 3.0 Type-A hub that uses the USB Type-C as an upstream port.

The BenQ EX3203R
  General Specifications
Panel 31.5″ VA
Native Resolution 2560 × 1440
Maximum Refresh Rate 144 Hz
Response Time 4 ms GtG
Brightness 400 cd/m² (peak)
Contrast 3000:1
Backlighting LED
Viewing Angles 178°/178° horizontal/vertical
Curvature 1800R
Aspect Ratio 16:9
Color Gamut >95% sRGB/BT.709
90% DCI-P3
DisplayHDR Tier 400 (unconfirmed)
Dynamic Refresh Rate Tech AMD FreeSync 2
Pixel Pitch 0.2767 mm²
Pixel Density 91.79 PPI
Inputs 1 × DisplayPort 1.2
2 × HDMI 1.4
1 × USB Type-C

HDCP 2.2 supported
Audio 3.5 mm output
USB Hub 2 × USB 3.0 Type-A connectors
1 × USB 3.0 Type-C input
Adjustments Height: ±60 mm
Tilt: -5˚ – 20˚
MSRP unknown

In addition to its key selling points like FreeSync 2 support, a very high refresh rate, a USB-C input, and a curvature, the BenQ EX3203R also has very thin bezels and supports various enhancements from the manufacturer, such as the Brightness Intelligence Plus and the Low Blue Light. The BI+ detects surrounding light levels and automatically adjusts brightness and color temperature to fit the environment (professionals would hate this feature). In addition, the same tech can adjust brightness based on usage time to protect user’s eyes (this one will hardly be appreciated by both professionals and gamers). As for the LBL, it can filter blue light to reduce eye fatigue.

BenQ has not announced ETA or MSRP for the EX3203R, but it makes sense to expect the display on store shelves in the coming weeks or months.

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Intel Shuts Down New Devices Group: No More Intel-Made Wearables
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Intel Shuts Down New Devices Group: No More Intel-Made Wearables

Intel this week confirmed that it had decided to close down its New Devices Group, which developed various wearable electronics, such as smartwatches, health/fitness monitors, smart/AR glasses and so on. The group was created five years ago by then-incoming CEO Bryan Krzanich, who wanted to ensure that Intel’s chips would be inside millions of emerging devices. While wearables have become relatively popular, their propagation is far below that of smartphones. Meanwhile, wearables made by Intel have never been among the market’s bestsellers. Thus, the chip giant is pulling the plug.

Over the five-year history of NDG, Intel made two significant acquisitions to bring necessary expertise to the group: the company took over Basis (a maker of fitness watches) in 2014 and Recon (a maker of wearable heads-up displays) in 2015. Most recently, Intel’s NDG showcased their Vaunt (aka Superlight) smart glasses that looked like “normal” glasses, yet used laser beams to project information to retina justifying their “smart” moniker. While NDG had cutting edge technologies, the group has never managed to produce a truly popular product. Moreover, when problems with one of their Basis smart watches showed up on a limited number of devices, Intel preferred to stop their sales and refund their costs to the customers rather than fix the problems and replace faulty units.

In the second half of 2015, Intel folded the New Devices Group into the New Technology Group, which was a signal that the company was hardly satisfied with NGD’s performance. Since then, we have seen multiple reports about layoffs in Intel’s NGD and have hear multiple rumors to axe the unit. Because making actual devices is generally unnatural for Intel, it was a matter of time brefore the chip giant was to pull the plug, so apparently it decided to do so this month.

Since Intel’s New Technology Group remains in place, all of Intel’s ongoing research projects for smart devices remain intact. More importantly, other Intel’s divisions continue to work on their products for wearables and ultra-low-power devices that will become widespread in the looming 5G era. The only products that are not going to see the light of day are those designed by Intel’s New Devices Group (e.g., the Vaunt glasses). Considering the fact that neither of NDG’s products has become popular, it is unclear whether those products are going to be missed.

It is noteworthy that Intel canned their Galileo, Joule, and Edison product lines aimed at the Internet-of-Things last Summer.

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Improving The Exynos 9810 Galaxy S9: Part 2 – Catching Up With The Snapdragon

Following our review of the Galaxy S9 there’s been a lot of discussion about both the performance and battery life of Exynos 9810 variants of the Galaxy S9. In the original review I had identified a few key issues with the platform for which I had deemed to be the most negatively attributing to the bad characteristics of the phone. In a first piece following the review I did a few minor changes to the kernel which already seemed to have benefited battery life in our web browsing test, and slightly changing the performance characteristics of the phone for the positive. In this piece we’re going further and investigate the performance and battery life impacts.

 

Motorola Announces Moto g6 and e5
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Motorola Announces Moto g6 and e5

Today Motorola announced six new mid-range and low-end phones in the g6 and e5 series. The G series has been particularly popular in regions such as North America due to its excellent value proposition and being overall solid phones. The g6 promises to continue this trend while bringing to market some of the more popular features of today’s high-end flagships, such as 18:9 displays and dual-camera functionality.

The new g6 and e5 series each come in three variants: A regular variant in a “smaller” form-factor, a “plus” variant with a larger screen which will be available only in select markets, and a cost-reduced and “play” variant which could be counted as a completely different phone model with low-end specifications.

Motorola Moto g6 variants
  Moto g6 Moto g6 plus Moto g6 play
SoC Snapdragon 450
8x A53 @ 1.8GHz 
Adreno 506		 Snapdragon 630
8x A53 @ 2.2GHz 
Adreno 508		 Snapdragon 430
4x A53 @ 1.4GHz
Adreno 505
Display 5.7″ 2160×1080 (18:9)
IPS LCD		 5.9″ 2160×1080 (18:9)
IPS LCD		 5.7″ 1440×720 (18:9)
IPS LCD
Dimensions 153.8 x 72.3 x 8.3 mm
167 grams		 160 x 75.5 x 8.0 mm
167 grams		 155.4 x 72.2 x 9.1 mm
180 grams
RAM 3/4GB 4/6GB 2/3GB
NAND 32/64GB 
+ microSD		 64GB 
+ microSD		 16/32GB 
+ microSD
Battery 3000 mAh (11.55Wh)
non-replaceable		 3200 mAh (12.32Wh)
non-replaceable		 4000 mAh (15.4Wh)
non-replaceable
Front
Camera		 8MP 5MP
Primary
Rear Camera		 12MP, dual-pixel PDAF sensor
F/1.7 lens		 13MP
PDAF sensor
Secondary
Rear Camera		 5MP –
SIM Size NanoSIM
(Dual-SIM in some markets)		 NanoSIM
Wireless 802.11a/b/g/n/ac 2×2 MU-MIMO, BT 5.0 LE,
NFC, GPS/Glonass/Galileo/BDS		 802.11a/b/g/n,
BT 4.2, GPS/Glonass
Connectivity USB Type-C
3.5mm headset		 microUSB
3.5mm headset
Features Fingerprint reader, face unlock, Moto Key Fingerprint reader,
Moto Key
Launch OS Android 8.0
Launch Price USD $249 EUR 299€ USD $199

The g6 and g6 plus are powered by respectively a Snapdragon 450 and Snapdragon 630 which uses 8x Cortex A53 at up to 1.8 and 2.2GHz, so this is a mid-end device in terms of specifications and performance. The g6 and g6 plus come with respectively 3/4 or 4/6GB or RAM depending on the SKU. The g6 play comes with an even lower end Snapdragon 427 which contains 4x A53’s at 1.4GHz.


Moto g6

The defining factor for the phones are the 18:9 screens. The g6 and g6 plus use a 2160x1080p screen, with the smaller variant coming in at 5.7” and the larger plus coming in at 5.9”. Obviously there’s a bit of disconnect between screen diameter and actual device size with these new elongated aspect ratios, so the widths of 72.3 and 75.5mm should be more representative of the in-hand size of the devices. The g6 play also comes with a 5.7” screen, however it uses a lower 1440×720 resolution screen.


Moto g6 plus

On the battery side the g6 and g6 plus come with 3000 and 3200mAh batteries. The g6 play uses a larger 4000mAh battery, however this comes at a cost of device thickness as well as increased weight.

The g6 and g6 plus use a dual-camera system with the main shooter coming in at 12MP. On the g6 this is accompanied by an F/1.8 lens while the plus gets a F/1.7 lens. The secondary 5MP sensor serves for depth information and bokeh effects.

The g6 launches in all major western markets, while the plus variant won’t be launched in the US and will remain exclusive to European, Asian and other select markets. The prices here for the G6 comes at USD $249. The g6 plus comes at EUR 299€ (including taxes). The g6 play comes at a lower price point of USD $199 and also launches in all major markets.

Alongside the g6 series, the e5 series represent a lower price point with more conservative specifications.

Motorola Moto e5 variants
  Moto e5 Moto e5 plus Moto e5 play
SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 425
4x Cortex A53 @ 1.4GHz		 Qualcomm Snapdragon 425/427
4x Cortex A53 @ 1.4GHz
Display 5.7″ 1440×720 (18:9)
IPS LCD		 6.0″ 1440×720 (18:9)
IPS LCD		 5.2″ 1280×720
LCD
Dimensions 154.4 × 72.2 × 8.95 mm
174 grams		 161.9 x 75.3 x 9.35 mm
200 grams		 151 x 74 x 8.85 mm
150 grams
RAM 2GB 3GB 2GB
NAND 16GB 
+ microSD		 32GB 
+ microSD		 16GB 
+ microSD
Battery 4000 mAh (15.4Wh)
non-replaceable		 5000 mAh (19.25Wh)
non-replaceable		 2800 mAh (10.78Wh)
non-replaceable
Front
Camera		 8MP 5MP
Primary
Rear Camera		 13MP, 1.12µm pixels PDAF sensor
F/2.0 lens		 12MP, 1.25µm pixels PDAF sensor
F/2.0 lens

Laser AF

 8MP 1.12µm pixels
F/2.0 lens
Secondary
Rear Camera		 5MP 5MP
SIM Size NanoSIM
(Dual-SIM in some markets)		 NanoSIM
Wireless 802.11a/b/g/n/ac 2×2 MU-MIMO, BT 5.0 LE,
NFC, GPS/Glonass/Galileo/BDS		 802.11a/b/g/n,
BT 4.2, GPS/Glonass
Connectivity microUSB
3.5mm headset
Features Fingerprint reader –
Launch OS Android 8.0
Launch Price USD $199 EUR 169€ TBD

All variants of the e5 are powered by the very low-end Snapdragon 425 which comes with 4x Cortex A53 cores at 1.4GHz. The regular and play variants sport 2GB of RAM, while the plus variant comes with 3GB. Storage is limited to 16GB as well for the smaller variants while the plus gets 32GB.

The e5 and e5 plus both also use 18:9 aspect ratio screens at 1440×720 resolution, while the play variant remains a more traditional 16:9 ratio, also at 720p.

The e5 and e5 plus sport some extremely large batteries coming in at a hefty 4000 and 5000mAh. The large battery sizes mean that both phones are relatively heavy, with the e5 plus coming in at a total of 200g.

On the camera side, we’re just expecting the bare minimum as Motorola opted for 13 respectively 12MP sensors on the e5 and e5 plus. The e5 play comes with a smaller 8MP camera. All variants sport F/2.0 lenses.

The market availability of the e5’s follows that of the g6 – meaning the e5 plus variant doesn’t see a launch in North America. This variant comes in at EUR 169€, while the globally launched e5 comes at USD $199. There hasn’t been price announcements for the e5 play yet.

Overall Motorola’s new phones offer solid value at their respective price points. In the past what Motorola was able to distinguish itself with was very up to date and streamlined software experience. The new g6 and e5 series all launch with Android 8.0 out of the box so it seems that Motorola’s strategy in terms of software hasn’t changed.

Update: There was confusion regarding the SoC specifications – the article was updated accordingly based on listed specifications from Motorola

Cray Adds AMD EPYC Processors to CS500 Cluster Supercomputers
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Cray Adds AMD EPYC Processors to CS500 Cluster Supercomputers

Cray this week announced plans to offer AMD’s EPYC-based CS500 cluster supercomputers later this year. The Cray CS500 clusters will be based on ultra-dense 2-way servers each featuring up to 64 cores, various storage options, and high-speed network connectivity. In addition, Cray will offer 2U 2-way AMD EPYC-powered systems supporting up to 4 TB of memory.

The Cray CS-series supercomputers are built using ultra-dense dual-socket nodes packed into 2U chassis. The CS-series can scale up to 11,000 nodes to provide the right performance and memory capacity for target applications. The AMD-based CS500 systems come with Cray’s software programming environment and libraries that can take advantage of the EPYC processors and their features to maximize performance. An optimized programming environment is a big deal because AMD’s server CPUs have historically suffered from the lack of optimized software.

The Cray CS500 nodes based on AMD EPYC 7000-series processors are dual-socket machines supporting two PCIe 3.0 Gen 3 x16 slots, eight DDR4 memory channels/slots per socket, and a choice of SSD/HDD storage solutions. Four of such machines can fit into a 2U chassis which is then placed into a cabinet. Two aforementioned PCIe slots per machine can be used to plug in two 100 GbE network cards and provide up to 200 Gb/s network connectivity.

For workloads that demand a huge amount of memory, Cray will offer dual-socket 2U CS500 nodes powered by two AMD EPYC 7000 CPUs and featuring 16 DDR4 DIMM slots per socket, thus supporting up to 4 TB of memory per box.

Cray plans to make its AMD EPYC-based CS500 supercomputers available in summer 2018. Prices will depend on actual configurations, which will be disclosed when the systems become available later this year.

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