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 cont…
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.
| Acer Predator 21 X | ||
| GX21-71-76ZF | ||
| Display | Size | 21″ |
| Type | 21″ curved IPS | |
| Resolution | 2560×1080 | |
| Refresh Rate | 120 Hz | |
| CPU | Core i7-7820HK (4C/8T, 8 MB, 2.9/3.9GHz) | |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 in SLI with G-Sync support | |
| RAM | 64 GB DDR4 | |
| Storage | M.2 | 4 slots, two 512 GB SSDs with PCIe 3.0 x4 interface in RAID 0 installed |
| 2.5″ | 1 bay, 1 TB HDD installed | |
| Wi-Fi | 2×2 802.11ac Wi-Fi | |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.x | |
| Ethernet | GbE | |
| USB | 4 × USB 3.0 Type-A (one supports charging) | |
| Thunderbolt | 1 × USB Type-C Thunderbolt 3 connector | |
| Display Outputs | 2 × DisplayPort 1.4 1 × HDMI 2.0b |
|
| Keyboard | Mechanical backlit keyboard with programmable keys | |
| Other I/O | Microphone, stereo speakers, audio jacks, webcam, Tobii eye tracking | |
| Dimensions | Width | 22.4″ | 56.9 cm |
| Depth | 12.4″ | 31.5 cm | |
| Thickness | 2.71” – 3.3” | 68.8 mm – 83.82 mm | |
| Battery | Li-ion, 6000 mAh | |
| Weight | 18.74 lbs (8.5 kilograms) | |
| Price | $8999 in the U.S. | |
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.
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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.
| Preliminary Specs of ADATA Premier A2-Compliant microSD Cards | |||||
| 32 GB | 64 GB | 128 GB | |||
| Form-Factor | MicroSDHC/SDXC | ||||
| NAND Type | unknown | ||||
| Read Speed | Up to 104 MB/s | ||||
| Write Speed | Up to 104 MB/s | ||||
| Random Read IOPS (Minimum) | 4000 | ||||
| Random Write IOPS (Minimum) | 2000 | ||||
| Sustained Sequential Read/Write Speed (Minimum) | 10 MB/s | ||||
| Interface | UHS-I | ||||
| Availability | Late 2017 – Early 2018 | ||||
| SDA Labels | UHS-I, A2, LV, Class 10, U1, V10 | ||||
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.
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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, …
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:
| Intel Basin Falls X299 Processors, June 26th | |||||
| i5-7640X | i7-7740X | i7-7800X | i7-7820X | i9-7900X | |
| Cores | 4C/4T | 4C/8T | 6C/12T | 8C/16T | 10C/20T |
| Base Clock | 4.0 GHz | 4.3 GHz | 3.5 GHz | 3.6 GHz | 3.3 GHz |
| Turbo Clock | 4.2 GHz | 4.5 GHz | 4.0 GHz | 4.3 GHz | 4.3 GHz |
| TurboMax Clock | N/A | N/A | N/A | 4.5 GHz | 4.5 GHz |
| L2 Cache | 256 KB per core | 1 MB per core | |||
| L3 Cache | 6 MB | 8 MB | 8.25 MB | 11 MB | 13.75 MB |
| PCIe Lanes | 16 | 28 | 44 | ||
| Memory Channels | 2 | 4 | |||
| Memory Freq | DDR4-2666 | DDR4-2400 | DDR4-2666 | ||
| TDP | 112 W | 140 W | |||
| Price (1k tray) | $242 | $339 | $389 | $599 | $999 |
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.
