Best $1000 Laptops: Holiday 2014
Mainstream Laptop Recommendations
So far we've covered the budget laptop sector as well as Chromebooks in our Holiday 2014 Guides, but if you want a good quality laptop that can handle just about any task you might throw at it, you need to plan on spending more money. With a price target of $1000 (and I'm going to be more flexible this time, so really we're talking about $750~$1250), there are tons of options, and while there's still a need to compromise it's no longer the sort of compromise that might make a laptop undesirable in most areas.
Let me start by reiterating that there are plenty of users and applications that simply don't need tons of compute power. A moderate laptop with sufficient memory and a solid state drive will often equal or beat a laptop with a fast processor saddled with a hard drive for storage. If you're mostly surfing the web, writing emails, and doing typical office tasks, the system requirements for such uses have been pretty flat for a while now. However, there are still plenty of reasons to consider spending more money instead of getting a budget laptop.
Case in point: finding anything with a good quality display can be very difficult if you limit yourself to $500 or less. The OEMs have decided market segmentation is the way things should be, which means in general they refuse to put quality displays in budget offerings. There are a few exceptions now and then, e.g. the Toshiba Chromebook 2 has an option for a 1080p IPS display, but Chrome OS may not be sufficient for all use cases.
Along with the display, build quality including the touchpad and keyboard, and the storage subsystem all contribute to the overall feel of a laptop in ways that don't often show up on a spec sheet. It's really easy for an OEM (or Walmart, Best Buy, Office Depot, etc.) to push a laptop with more MHz/GHz, more memory, or more storage – 8GB is twice as much as 4GB, 1TB is twice as much as 500GB, and so on. But there's a point where you simply have enough RAM, performance, and storage and what will really make a laptop more pleasurable to use over a long period of time will be the less glamorous aspects like the keyboard, touchpad, speakers, and display.
With that said, once we hit $750 and above, I'm at the point where I basically refuse to consider laptops without SSDs and with low resolution 1366x768 TN displays. I might make an exception for specific use cases, but if you can get a better display and an SSD for your boot drive, that would be a highly recommended upgrade.
All-Around Laptops/Ultrabooks
Starting at the top, for general use and a "go anywhere, do everything" laptop, my recommendations are to get something with at least 8GB RAM and at least a 240GB SSD. I'd also lean towards at least a 13.3" display size, but if you prefer smaller devices that's fine; on a similar note, I'm ambivalent towards touchscreens as I've never found them to be a "must have" feature. I want a backlit keyboard, ideally a good (Synaptics preferably) touchpad, and an IPS (or similar technology, e.g. AHVA) display; HiDPI displays are available but still have occasional quirks, so they're fine but by no means required. Wrapping up my wish list, for general use I want something relatively lightweight and portable, and battery life of at least six hours is definitely desirable.
I didn't see any AMD-based laptops that I really found compelling in this price range; most manufacturers view AMD as a budget option, so things like SSDs and decent displays are rarely paired with AMD APUs. HP does have their EliteBook 725/745/755 G2 offerings, but pricing and features will limit those mostly to businesses with a specific need for AMD's APUs. When you add all of these factors up, the vast majority of laptops get eliminated and what we're left with is a list of various Ultrabooks (though I admit I may have missed some other viable options), so we'll start with a discussion of Ultrabooks.
ASUS UX303LN ($1297)
Taking all of the above factors into consideration, the available options can be rather limiting, and what we end up with is a lot of Ultrabooks. My top pick for this bracket is the ASUS UX303LN, which has a nice build quality, good keyboard, decent speakers, and as an added bonus you get a touchscreen QHD+ display. However, many users have noticed problems with the colors on the display (the colors are extremely oversaturated), which seems to be an issue with many of the 13.3" and 14" QHD+ laptop panels. You should be able to at least partially correct the colors with the ASUS Splendid application, and calibration tools can do wonders if you have access to them, but I'd rather have a 1080p display with more accurate colors than a QHD+ panel that has issues with certain hues. Pricing is also a bit higher than I'd like for a mainstream offering (though I've seen it on sale for $1250 or less within the past few days).
Outside of the display, about the only other potential concern is going to be temperatures under heavier loads. That's because the UX303LN actually packs a fairly potent combination of hardware, combining a Core i7-4510U processor with NVIDIA's GeForce 840M graphics. You also get 12GB RAM and a 256GB SSD, 802.11ac wireless, and the laptop is rated at eight hours of battery life. This is at the top of our price range for a mainstream notebook, and it's not without a few slight blemishes, but it's going to be hard to beat ASUS without making some other compromises.
Ultrabook Alternatives
If you're looking for alternatives, Ultrabooks are still some of the better options, as there are many with decent LCDs and they generally come with SSDs once the price gets close to $1000. The HP Envy TouchSmart 14 has a lot going for it on paper, but there are again reports of poor colors on the QHD+ display and the default configuration omits any form of SSD. (You could upgrade it on your own of course.) It's a 14" laptop with a Core i5-4200U and 8GB RAM, but no dedicated graphics and battery life is rated at six hours (which generally means less than six if you're doing much more than light office work). The Dell XPS 13 is another decent alternative, with a 1080p touchscreen and nice overall build quality, but again without any real graphics horsepower to back it up. $1200 (on sale at Amazon.com right now from $1500) gets you the 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM model with a Core i7-4510U, so pretty much similar to the ASUS but with a different LCD and no dedicated graphics for about $50 less.
And since these are mostly Ultrabooks, we might as well cover some of the remaining options. The Acer S7-392 is now available for $1000 (on sale) with a 1080p IPS panel, or $1250 with a 2560x1440 panel. Both models come with 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD, along with a touchscreen display, but I wasn't a fan of the shallow keyboard or lack of dedicated function keys. The Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus is a nice looking laptop with a QHD+ display, but the 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD are pretty skimpy, even at $1039 (and models with more RAM/storage cost significantly more). And finally, Toshiba's KIRAbook is still worth a look, with a QHD display, 8GB RAM, and 256GB SSD for $1250 (on sale from $1500).
We should also mention a few of the hybrid devices out there. Lenovo's Yoga 2 Pro with a QHD+ panel gives you a 360 degree hinge that allows you to work as a laptop, tablet, or anything in between. It comes with an i7-4500U, 8GB RAM, and 256GB SSD for $1187 (currently on sale from $1700). Don't be fooled by the "previous generation" hardware, either – while there's a new Yoga 3 Pro with a Broadwell-Y processor (Core M 5Y70), it is quite a bit slower than the Haswell-U part in the Yoga 2 Pro. If you're looking for a more budget friendly device, the Lenovo Flex 2 14" can be had for around $800, but only with a 128GB SSD. The ASUS T300LA is another a hybrid device that might be interesting for some users; it's a detachable 13.3" tablet/laptop, and $1000 gets you an i5-4200U with 4GB RAM and a 128GB SSD (the Core i7/8GB/256GB SSD model is unfortunately $1400).
Ultraportable Aspirations (Sub-13")
Lenovo Yoga 11s ($750 on sale)
Not everyone likes to carry around a 13.3" or larger laptop, and you can find some decently equipped 11.6" and 12.5" models for under $1000. Going smaller does tend to limit performance a bit, however, as cooling becomes more of a concern. Of the sub-compact options, many of the best devices are hybrid offerings as well, giving you both laptop and tablet-like functionality. The best of these in my opinion is the Lenovo Yoga 11s, which is currently on sale for a rather impressive $750 (normally $1100). The CPU is a Y-series i5-4210Y, so it's not going to be as fast as the U-series parts or standard voltage offerings, but for office and internet use it's still sufficient. The 8GB RAM is better than most other sub-compacts, and while the 128GB SSD it's still livable – provided you keep your movies and images stored elsewhere. The display is a low resolution 1366x768 panel, but at least it's an IPS display and at 11.6" I don't feel the resolution is too bad either; going higher resolution would almost require using scaling for anyone with less than perfect eyesight. Finally, usable battery life is decent at 6.5 hours (give or take), and the weight of just three pounds definitely makes this a potent portable.
For alternatives that don't skimp too much, Dell seems to be the best option. Both the Dell XPS 12 ($830 on sale from $1100) and Dell XPS 11 ($850) are viable options, with the latter boasting a rather impressive QHD (2560x1440) IPS display. The XPS 11 is basically Dell's version of the Lenovo Yoga, with a 360 degree hinge providing 2-in-1 functionality. As far as other components go, the XPS 11 uses the same i5-4210Y CPU as the Yoga 11s, but it comes with just 4GB RAM; storage is a 128GB SSD as well. On paper the XPS 11 seems like a great device, but it has one major flaw: the keyboard is terrible. Hence, the 11s gets the primary recommendation and you'd really have to love some other feature of the XPS 11 to go that route.
The XPS 12 meanwhile is a bit heavier and bulkier, but it's far more at home in laptop mode than the XPS 11. With a Core i5-4200U it also offers a decent bump in performance relative to the Yoga 11s and XPS 11, and battery life is very good at roughly eight hours. It comes with a 12.5" 1080p IPS display as well, which looks quite nice. The 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD are still a bit limiting, and while the upgraded 8GB/256GB SSD model fixes those shortcomings it also bumps the price up quite a bit (currently $1250 on sale from $1600). If you don't like the Yoga 11s but still want something relatively small, I'd go for the XPS 12 over the XPS 11 personally, but then at 12.5" the XPS 12 isn't really much smaller than many of the 13.3" options.
I can also toss out a mention for the Surface Pro 3 (which we already mentioned in our Tablets Guide, which is why I initially didn't include it here). There are a lot of passionate Surface Pro 3 users, and it's a good device in a lot of ways, but like most things it's not "perfect". While the base model starts at $799, you really need to go with at least the $999 model as that will get you 128GB storage and a Core i5 processor (though the CPU isn't strictly required). You can even make a case for the $1299 model (currently on sale), as it doubles storage to 256GB and comes with 8GB RAM. I still wish Microsoft would include the Type Cover as part of the package, and while the kickstand works I feel strongly that the Surface Pro 3 is still more at home as a tablet than as a laptop. Considering the alternatives, however, it's definitely worth considering in this price bracket as one of the better hybrid options.
Fastest Gaming Laptops
If you're looking for a decent laptop that can also handle gaming, let's cut straight to the chase: you're going to want as much GPU performance as possible. As we've basically capped the price at $1250 (give or take), that will limit the options quite a bit. Normally, the fastest possible GPU you'd find at this price would be the GeForce GTX 860M, but there's at least one option with the GTX 870M currently on sale. (Note that notebooks with faster GPUs like the 880M, 970M, and 980M are well above the $1250 range we're looking at, which is why they're not considered). For pure gaming performance, the GTX 870M ends up being about 25-30% faster than the GTX 860M, making it a fairly significant boost to performance.
MSI GT70 Dominator ($1199)
As the only notebook to currently ship with a GTX 870M for under $1250, the MSI GT70 Dominator gets our highest performance "mainstream" gaming notebook recommendation. There are certainly areas of compromise – the pure HDD storage, cooling system, styling, and TN panel are all less than I'd like – but if you want to game on a notebook it's best to start with the fastest GPU you can afford. The other items like storage can be upgraded later, but there's not a significant market for notebook GPU upgrades. For $1200, you get a rather potent Core i7-4800MQ processor, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD, and a decent 1920x1080 anti-glare TN panel. It's not perfect, but it's the best we can do at this price.
If you're willing to spend $50 more there are two alternatives that also pack a GTX 870M. One is the MSI GT60 Dominator, which is the 15.6" version of the GT70 with mostly the same components (but with 12GB RAM). The other is the Clevo P157SM, another 15.6" notebook with a 1080p matte TN panel. The Clevo looks better in some areas and generally offers superior cooling in my experience, but the touchpad is pretty awful and the tramp stamp doesn't help matters. The CPU is also a slightly slower i7-4710MQ and it comes with a 750GB HDD. Basically, we're giving up SSD storage to keep the price under $1300 while getting the fastest GPU possible.
Inexpensive Gaming Alternatives
The GTX 870M will win the benchmark competition without a doubt, but laptops with GTX 860M can come out ahead in other areas. One of the major benefits is that pricing is often substantially lower, and there are also several laptops that have decent IPS displays in this category. Dropping from the GTX 870M also means we can still get some form of solid state storage while keeping the price in check. Let's look at some of the choices, and there are quite a few decent "mainstream gaming laptops" with GTX 860M so I'm likely to miss a few.
CyberPowerPC Fangbook EVO HX6 ($800)
If you want the absolute lowest price possible on a legitimate gaming notebook, the Fangbook EVO HX6 (a branded version of the MSI GT60) wins that distinction. Coming in at $800 in the least expensive configuration, you get a 1080p matte TN display, Core i5-4210M CPU, GTX 860M, 8GB RAM, and a 1TB HDD. The use of a dual-core CPU isn't really going to be a problem for gaming either, so other than the lack of SSD storage this is a pretty potent gaming notebook – but it you want a quad-core version, that's only $100 more with an i7-4710MQ. Battery life isn't the greatest, and it's a bit bulky compared to some notebooks, but again the price is hard to beat. You could upgrade the storage with a 256GB or even 512GB class SSD and still come in well under the $1250 mark.
Runner up for the least expensive GTX 860M notebook is the Lenovo Y50, which starts at $949 in the base configuration that includes an i7-4710HQ, 1080p matte display (TN), 8GB RAM, and a 500GB 5400RPM (yuck) hard drive. The storage does have the benefit of a hybrid caching solution with 8GB SSD storage, but my experience with such small caching SSDs is that they don't help all that much in normal use – though they do tend to boost benchmark results. The display unfortunately isn't that great, as it appears to be a low contrast 1080p panel; the good news is that it's possible to upgrade the display for under $100 if you're so inclined, but that would likely void the warranty and it does require some technical skill and some time and effort.
Good Displays and Gaming Capable
Continuing with the GTX 860M options, let's move on to some laptops with good displays. I've said it before, but the LCD is what you're going to see the most on your laptop, so getting something more than a TN panel is a great long-term investment. It's difficult to find good displays on budget laptops, but once we're in the $1000 range there are plenty of options. The great thing about a decent gaming laptop is that it can usually handle any other task with ease, as games tend to be some of the most punishing applications for a laptop these days – short of workstation class applications, these gaming alternatives should be equally adept at office and multimedia use. If you want something faster than an Ultrabook and are willing to deal with a heavier/larger device and most likely lower battery life, these are reasonable options.
Acer NX.MQLAA.001 ($1200)
If you're willing to pay a bit more and you want a laptop that comes with a decent display from the factory, there are really only a few options. The best in my book right now would be the new $1200 Aspire V Nitro VN7-591G-75NJ Black Edition (NX.MQLAA.001), which will get you a 1080p IPS display, i7-4710HQ, 12GB RAM, and 1TB 5400RPM HDD + 128GB SSD. You need to be very careful about which model you purchase, however, as that particular model (the NX.MQLAA.001) is the only 15.6" IPS display – the others use TN panels. The design is sleek and quite attractive, measuring less than an inch thick and with a soft-touch coating on the chassis. Acer isn't always the best choice for quality laptops, but this is one of their better offerings and the price of $1200 is quite competitive. Battery life is around five hours of light use (four hours of moderate use), which is generally satisfactory for this level of performance.
If you don't mind a larger chassis, the Acer Aspire V Nitro Black Edition VN7-791G-73AW (NX.MQRAA.007) is $60 more but includes a 256GB SSD and 16GB RAM with a 17.3" IPS display, which is about as good as you'll find for this category. Note that these Acer VN7 laptops do not have touchscreens, if that's important to you. One of the interesting things is that the entire 17.3" line of the V Nitro Black Edition appears to have IPS displays, so that's at least one other point in their favor.
One of the other gaming laptops in this price range with an IPS panel is the MSI GE60 Apache Pro, and while I liked the laptop in most respects when we reviewed it, battery life was a sore point. In retrospect, maybe I was a bit too hard on MSI for the mediocre battery life, as it's basically right in the same ballpark as the Acer for most workloads. $1195 will get you an i7-4700HQ, 8GB RAM, 1080p IPS (technically AHVA) 15.6" LCD, and a 1TB hard drive. It's thicker and heavier than the Acer V Nitro Black, but it does include an optical drive if you value such things. The real issue is that at this price, I think the Acer looks nicer and is built better, and more importantly it gives you an SSD for the OS and applications.
Alienware 13 ($1249 on sale)
One final option is the new Alienware 13. Alienware has a storied history of providing gaming notebooks and desktops, but the new AW13 is about as thin and light as we've ever seen from the company. The model to get is the $1500 version that's currently on sale for $1200, as that will give you a 1080p IPS display; $50 extra will let you ditch the 1TB HDD and go with a 256GB M.2 SSD instead – highly recommended, and you can always add your own HDD later if needed (or buy a 512GB class SSD for less than $200 for a good balance of performance plus capacity). Battery life is quite good at around six hours for typical use. There's an optional QHD IPS display as well if you're interested, but that's a $150 upgrade from the 1080p IPS option (or $300 more than the 1366x768 TN panel), putting it out of reach for this price bracket.
Other gaming notebooks worth a look include the ASUS ROG GL551JM, which will give you a pretty beefy notebook with an i7-4710HQ, 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD, 16GB RAM, GTX 860M, and a 1080p (TN) display for $1199. The MSI GE70 is another possibility, but it lacks the IPS display of the GE60 and has a dual-core i5 CPU, so for the price the ASUS is a better buy. There are some companies with Clevo based notebooks as well, but none that I would recommend over the above options – Clevo's chassis really needs a refresh in my mind. If you want to save a bit more money, you could also drop from the GTX 860M to the GTX 850M, but you'll lose around 15-20% gaming performance and most of the lower priced models also have lower quality 1366x768 displays it seems. If you drop even further to the GeForce 840M, you're giving up about half of the performance of the GTX 860M; it's still a GPU that can run most games at medium quality, but pricing isn't all that much better than many of the options we've already discussed so for gaming I pretty much recommend going for the GTX class as a bare minimum.
As for notebooks with AMD Radeon graphics, there's really not much to say. Their top chip is the R9 M290X, which is essentially the same chip as the HD 8970M, which was nearly the same (just slightly higher clock speeds) as the previous HD 7970M. These are all based on the mobile version of AMD's Pitcairn architecture, which launched in early 2012 so it's now over 18 months without a substantial update. You can find the R9 M290X it in the MSI GX60 for under $1000 right now, but the A10-5750M was a bottleneck in quite a few games back when I tested it a couple years ago paired with the 7970M and things haven't really improved since then. That $1000 will also get you a 1TB HDD so you would probably want to upgrade the storage with an SSD at some point (unless you have more patience than I do).
Other Options and Closing Thoughts
Wrapping things up, there's one elephant in the corner that I haven't mentioned yet: Intel's Broadwell processors. While Core M is already available in at least one product, it's important not to judge Broadwell performance by Core M, as that's the 4.5W variant also known as Broadwell-Y. Specifications for Core M parts actually look pretty good, but the problem is the 4.5W TDP is going to be a major factor for many workloads, and throttling is apparently quite common. But where Core M/Broadwell-Y are available now, what I'm really waiting to see are the "real" successors to Haswell, the higher wattage Core i3/i5/i7 parts; we should see plenty of laptops ship with those parts in the first half of 2015, and if you haven't taken the plunge and purchased a Haswell laptop right now, it's probably worth waiting a bit longer to see exactly what Broadwell will bring to the party in its unfettered higher performance options.
There are many other categories of laptop that I didn't get into here, for example business class laptops. The main contenders come from Dell, HP, and Lenovo, and all have their pros and cons. For overall quality, I'd probably lean towards Lenovo's ThinkPad line, but getting a decently equipped model ends up being out of our price range – and the same generally goes for the Dell Latitude and HP offerings. It's almost like they refuse to put an SSD and sufficient RAM into any business notebook that doesn't cost $1500+. Of course there's always an exception, and if you want a business laptop that looks like a business laptop, the ThinkPad T440p at $849 looks like a solid offering (though it's not clear what LCD panel is used in that unit, which means probably 1366x768 TN).
I also neglected to discuss non-Windows options, but the only laptops really worth considering are the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro Retina 13 for this price range. Of those, I'd lean more towards the MacBook Pro Retina 13 as it has 8GB RAM and faster CPU and graphics performance, though ideally I'd really want at least 256GB of storage (which would cost closer to $1500). Again, considering the upcoming launch of Broadwell for higher performance laptops, unless you need something right now it's a good time to wait and see.
As I mentioned at the start, once prices start getting above $750, I become far pickier about what I'm willing to accept. If you don't mind lower resolution displays and/or lower quality LCD panels, there are tons of other options out there. Opening the door for non-SSD laptops adds even more options, but if you're willing to live without an SSD you probably don't need a $1000 laptop either. Okay, that's perhaps a bit too strong, but that's the standard I used for the options listed above. With those filters in place, the vast majority of "acceptable" laptops in this price range end up being Ultrabooks or gaming laptops, as reflected in the above discussion. This is by no means intended to be a comprehensive list of all good $750-$1300 laptops, but it's a collection that I'm willing to recommend. If you have a favorite that I neglected, let us – and other readers – know in the comments.
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The State of SanDisk
Back at Flash Memory Summit I had the opportunity to meet with all the key people at SanDisk. There is a lot going on at SanDisk at the moment with the Fusion-io acquisition, TLC NAND and all other things, so I figured I would write a piece that outlines SanDisk's current situation and their plans for the future.
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Holiday Guides 2014: AMD Motherboards
Due to this segmentation, while motherboard manufacturers have products in each market, the range ends up either quite old (AM3+) or lower cost (Kabini and Kaveri), leaving manufactures little room to differentiate. But ultimately, this is AMD's strategy: providing the lower cost systems and focusing on integrated graphics. While there is something to be said in transferring over GPU knowledge into integrated graphics, one might wonder why in terms of cannibalizing low end discrete card sales.
Nevertheless, we have reviewed each of the main chipsets on offer and can provide some recommendations. Many if these recommendations hold over from our last AMD guide.
FM2+ with A88X using Kaveri
GIGABYTE F2A88X-UP4 (Our Review, $100 - $15 Mail-In Rebate)
Starting with the Kaveri space, GIGABYTE's high-end offering is certainly notable. The A88X based UP4 gives the user PowIRStage ICs designed to be more efficient and handle higher current. This allows users to overclock their processors with potentially less power loss from the power delivery, and by overclocking you can improve the responsiveness and performance.
Aside from the power delivery and heatsinks, GIGABYTE includes the potential for three way Crossfire-X solutions, six SATA 6 Gbps ports, eight USB 3.0 ports, Realtek ALC892 audio and a Realtek NIC. For integrated graphics users, all four of the main video outputs are present, along with a power button and a two-digit debug readout. Legacy PCI users also get a slot as well.
We reviewed the GIGABYTE F2A88X-UP4 earlier this year with our other FM2+ coverage, and one of the big plus points was the 20W lower power consumption compared to some other A88X motherboards on the market. The power delivery subsystem also negated any potential for slowdowns with the early Kaveri ES SKUs. The BIOS and software at the time we reviewed it were still a bit behind, but the product overall comes in at a nice price.
ASUS A88X-Pro (Our Review, $129 - $25 MIR)
The only motherboard to receive an award from our limited FM2+ testing was the A88X-Pro from ASUS. The design was well received, the hardware was good, and the software/BIOS combination was updated to take into account AMD's APU line with this chipset combination.
One of the biggest criticisms with the board is the price, arguing that it costs +80% more than some other A88X motherboards but offers no relative increase in performance. The A88X-Pro still gave a larger overclock, more memory space, more USB 3.0 and SATA ports, a better audio codec, and a better BIOS/software platform for that extra cost, negating that argument that focuses solely on one part of the puzzle. The A88X-Pro is still a high end FM2+ model, so it's perhaps not ideal for a cheap Kaveri build, but it is one of the best FM2+ motherboards out there.
Mini-ITX
ASRock FM2A88X-ITX+ (at ASRock, $89)
Where integrated graphics are concerned, smaller form factors come into play. This is despite AMDs socket being rather large and leaving little space for the chipset/FCH and other IO. ASRock's ITX offering did things a little differently by rotating the memory slots to be inline with the rear panel, potentially benefiting airflow similar similar to a server like environment.
Due to the platform, this also afforded six SATA 6 Gbps ports ripe for RAID 5, ideal for a home storage machine without having to buy a RAID card or rely on software RAID.
FM2+ Gaming to Consider
Perhaps surprisingly, most of the FM2+ gaming motherboards were pretty late to market. Due to the low cost nature of the platform and many of the manufacturers wanting to retain their gaming ranges for the more premium crowd, it became difficult for the vendors to decide what should and should not be available. As a result we have only reviewed one of the gaming models, but currently there are several options from each of the vendors:
ASUS ROG Crossblade Ranger (at ASUS, $153)
GIGABYTE G1.Sniper A88X (at GIGABYTE, $97 - $20 MIR)
MSI A88X-G45 Gaming (Our Review, at MSI, $119 - $10 MIR)
ASRock FM2A88X Killer (at ASRock, $95)
AM3+
With the recent release of AMD's lower power 95W Vishera parts, such as the FX-8370E and the FX-8320E, along with the full consumer release of the 220W FX-9590 and FX-9370, there is another semi-resurgence of AMD focused systems of late. AMD aims for price/performance over Intel, and for a get-up-and-go system there can be something said for picking up a cheap AM3+. However, the motherboards fit into two main categories - those that can support the 220W CPUs, and those that cannot.
In general, the higher end the motherboard, the more likely 220W CPUs are supported. The best way to check would be with the motherboard manufacturer's website. Another factor to consider with AM3+ is the lack of PCIe 3.0 support. Some motherboards have additional PLX chips to enable GPU-to-GPU bandwidth in PCIe 3.0 mode, but the communication back to the CPU is still limited to PCIe 2.0.
Our big main AM3+ / 990FX review was back in April 2012, to put some perspective on how old this platform is. AM3+ motherboards cost from $25 to over $200, making any killer product completely price dependent. Since our 2012 review, we have reviewed one other 990FX board that ends up earning our recommendation:
ASRock 990FX Extreme9 for 220W CPUs (Our Review, $170)
The Extreme9 was the bedrock for all our recent re-testing of AMD's Vishera CPUs. It performed the job without issue, and as of late ASRock's BIOS and Software have been plus marks in my book.
In terms of hardware the 990FX Extreme9 has eight SATA 6 Gbps ports, eight USB 3.0 ports (via Etron controllers), support for 3-way graphics setups, and substantial enough power delivery to even overclock the 220W CPUs. Networking is provided by an Intel NIC, with audio via a Realtek ALC898.
MSI 970 Gaming for non-220W CPUs (at MSI, $99)
While we haven't reviewed this motherboard, it is being mentioned here for being a crowd favorite. MSI migrated its gaming moniker and style back to the 970 chipset and it provides an avenue for AMD based gaming builds at a much cheaper price point.
With it being based on the AMD 970+SB950 platform, we still get a full range of SATA ports however we are reduced back to one full PCIe 2.0 x16 slot and a PCIe 2.0 x4 slot, rather than an x8/x8 split. For single GPU usage with a focus on gaming, this motherboard offers an interesting data point.
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Bluetooth 4.2 Core Specifications Finalized
Bluetooth is already in many devices and is favored in mobile and wearables due to its low power profile. Battery life in wearables is critical for user experience, and as we have seen the technology for wearables is in its infancy right now. Power use will be critical, due to the limited amount of space available, so Bluetooth 4.2 will extend the features of Bluetooth Low Energy to allow low-power IP connectivity over Bluetooth with a new profile which supports IPv6 and 6LoWPAN, which is low power wireless personal area network over IPv6. Bluetooth devices will then be able to directly access the internet through an edge device, rather than have to be tethered to a smartphone or other device with IP connectivity first.
The group is also adding some privacy features to the new spec. Currently, Bluetooth Beacons can be utilized as a way to track people. For example, a department store may implement beacons to track customer movements throughout the store. While it may be well meaning, these sorts of technologies may give the feeling of an invasion of privacy, so the new 4.2 spec will allow the MAC address of Bluetooth devices to be masked unless connecting to a trusted device. At the same time, the new devices will have additional refinements to reduce power consumption as part of the Low Energy Privacy 1.2 specifications.
Microsoft Band - a Bluetooth tethered wearable
Finally, Bluetooth LE will see a speed increase, with packet capacity increasing by 10 times, and overall speed increasing by 2.5 times over previous implementations. Standard Bluetooth packets offer a payload maximum of 1021 bytes. With the new specification, there are some additional header fields and a trailer added to the packet to allow for additional payload per packet. The maximum data transfer of Bluetooth Basic Rate (the original 4.0 spec) is about 2.1 Mpbs, and Bluetooth LE can only achieve 260 kbps. The increase is targetted towards the LE spec only, which should increase the maximum theoretical speed to 650 kbps. Real world use will not achieve the full speed increase, but the Low Energy Data Length Extension will be a welcome addition to the specification as more and more devices gain connectivity. Astute readers who follow Bluetooth may realize that Bluetooth 3.0 added capability for up to 24 Mbps, but that involves using Bluetooth to negotiate a connection over Wi-Fi. For devices with a Wi-Fi radio and the power capacity, this may be a better method if high speed data is required, but if the transfer is done over Bluetooth exclusively then it should use less power.
| Bluetooth Maximum Transfer Rates (kbps) | ||||||
| Type | Symmetric Transfer | Asymmetric Forward Transfer | Asymmetric Reverse Transfer | |||
| DM1 | 108.8 | 108.8 | 108.8 | |||
| DH1 | 172.8 | 172.8 | 172.8 | |||
| DM3 | 258.1 | 387.2 | 54.4 | |||
| DH3 | 390.4 | 585.6 | 86.4 | |||
| DM5 | 286.7 | 477.8 | 36.3 | |||
| DH5 | 433.9 | 723.2 | 57.6 | |||
| AUX1 | 185.6 | 185.6 | 185.6 | |||
| 2-DH1 | 345.6 | 345.6 | 345.6 | |||
| 2-DH3 | 782.9 | 1174.4 | 172.8 | |||
| 2-DH5 | 869.1 | 1448.5 | 115.2 | |||
| 3-DH1 | 531.2 | 531.2 | 531.2 | |||
| 3-DH3 | 1177.6 | 1766.4 | 235.6 | |||
| 3-DH5 | 1306.9 | 2178.1 | 177.1 | |||
| Bluetooth LE | 260 | |||||
| Data Packet Length Extension(4.2 spec) | 650 | |||||
The Bluetooth SIG has a good reason to want to get in on the IoT movement. An estimate by the Harvard Business Review, which draws on Goldman Sachs research, estimates that by 2020 there will be 28 billion connected devices on the internet. That is a big pie, and with the existing number of devices with Bluetooth already, as well as the robust encryption Bluetooth uses, the new specifications should help drive devices to using Bluetooth as their connectivity of choice.
There are of course other competing technologies for connecting IoT devices, with the obvious one being Wi-Fi with backers such as the Thread Group. There are advantages to some of these competing technologies as well such as Mesh networking, which is not part of the new Bluetooth spec. CSR has added their own extensions to Bluetooth which do allow mesh networking, but as it is not part of the official spec it will make it harder to be relied upon.
The Bluetooth specifications have an advantage though in that they will not necessarily require new hardware. Many of these features can be added via software updates because the existing radio technology is not changing. The group has a list of “Bluetooth Smart” devices that it keeps on its website.
Source: Bluetooth SIG
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Western Digital My Passport Wireless Review
Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets have taken off in a big way. However, internal storage has remained at a premium. Over the last few years, many companies have tried to address this opportunity by marketing wireless storage peripherals coupled with mobile apps. Western Digital has entered into the market relatively late with the My Passport Wireless product line. Read on for our review of the 2 TB variant to see how Western Digital has managed to differentiate its offering.
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PSU Buyer's Guide: Holiday 2014
Before we get to the power supplies, we want to dispell a common misconception among users – that a high wattage PSU will be better. That is not necessarily the case, because all switching PSUs are designed so as to deliver their maximum efficiency at about half-load (50% of their rated maximum capacity). Their performance will reduce not only at higher but at lower loads as well. As a matter of fact, the efficiency of any switching PSU typically plummets if the load is too low (usually below 15% of the unit's rated capacity). You should remember that the advertised performance of a PSU is within the nominal load range (20% to 100% of its rated capacity) and the manufacturer is not obliged to include information on how much the performance degrades at sub-20% load conditions. Therefore, the selection of a severely oversized PSU is both economically and practically senseless.
Users also tend to overrate the power requirements of their systems greatly. It is not uncommon for people, including sales persons and experienced builders, to recommend a 1kW unit to a user with just two (or even one) high performance GPUs. Many also seek the advice of "wattage calculators", which are usually simple tools based on the thermal design power (TDP) specifications of components. The TDP does not represent the actual power requirements of a component and it is next to impossible to place every single component of a system under maximum stress simultaneously. For example, the recommendation for a system with an overclocked Intel G3258 at 4.5GHz, a single nVidia Geforce GTX 770, one SSD, and four HDDs is over 460 Watts, while this system hardly gets close to 300 Watts with everything at maximum stress.
If you are able to measure the actual power requirements of your system, keep in mind that you should not buy a unit that will frequently operate near its maximum capacity. Just as you would not run your car constantly near the red line, a PSU should not be under maximum stress for prolonged periods. A high quality PSU can withstand it, but just because it can does not mean it should. Again, all switching PSUs deliver their maximum efficiency at roughly 50% of their rated capacity. Running a PSU at over 90% capacity for prolonged periods of time will not only reduce its performance but it will also make it hotter, louder, and decrease its expected lifespan.
With that in mind, while the recommendations of the online tools and calculators may be overestimated, they're not overly so. Selecting a unit of the wattage they recommend is not usually a bad idea, as the recommendation usually is twice the actual power requirements of the system. The common mistake is that users usually seek to buy a significantly more powerful unit, thinking that having extra power helps, and end up with a severely oversized PSU for their system that will be both more expensive to purchase and unable to perform as it should.
For easier reading, we will split our recommendations into five main wattage categories with at least two units for each. One selection will be based on the maximum possible value (e.g. bang for the buck) and one will focus on the best overall performance. The five groups and our recommendations are:
Holiday 2014 PSU Selection Guide |
||
| Output range | Value Band | Performance Band |
| 300-400 Watts | Antec EarthWatts EA-380D ($40) | Seasonic SS-400FL2 ($115) |
| 400-600 Watts | Corsair CS450M ($60) | Silverstone NightJar NJ520 ($145) |
| 600-800 Watts | Rosewill Photon 650 ($80) | Corsair AX760i ($185) |
| 800-1100 Watts | EVGA 850 B2 ($95) | Corsair HX1000i ($230) |
| Over 1100 Watts | Seasonic SS-1200XP3 ($250) | Corsair AX1500i ($388) |
300 to 400 Watts
For a very large percentage of PC users, a 300 to 400 Watts PSU will be more than sufficient. It is more than capable of powering a PC with a good processor, a single middle to high end GPU, and a few drives. For those who aim for the lowest possible price for a product of acceptable quality, we recommend a relatively old but proven PSU, the Antec EarthWatts EA-380D. Antec's design is nearly four years old but it remains a solid performer and retails for just $40 including shipping. On the other hand, Seasonic's SSR-360GP 80 Plus Gold certified offering retails for $60 including shipping and comes with a 5-year warranty, making it a good choice for those willing to spend a little bit extra for better performance and a longer warranty.
For those seeking the most features and best performance possible, there actually are not too many choices within this power band, as very few companies care to design very high performance products with such a low output. Out of the few high performance sub-400W units available, Seasonic's SS-440FL2 stands out. It is 80 Plus Platinum certified, passively cooled, and modular with a 5-year warranty, but it will cost you $115 including shipping, nearly twice the price of the SSR-360GP.
400 to 600 Watts
There is a very large selection of products within this power range but there is a definite winner when value is the major factor: the Corsair CS450M. It is impossible to beat the value of this unit; it is 80 Plus Gold certified, modular and retails for just $60 including shipping, with a $30 rebate card. Strangely, the 550W model retails for the exact same price, but comes with a $20 rebate card instead. For their retail price and the features they offer, the value of Corsair's CSM series is next to impossible to match.
For users where cost is not a real issue, the Silverstone NightJar NJ520 offers the best all-around performance of the category. It is 80 Plus Platinum certified, fanless, and modular. Not only does it completely remove the noise element but it also has fantastic electrical performance. The only problem is that it retails for $145, a very steep price for a 520W PSU, but not much higher than any other 80 Plus Platinum certified unit within this power range. If that price is too steep, there is a very large selection of 80 Plus Gold certified units within this power range, but none offer anything significantly better than the Corsair CSM series – and you can buy five of them for the price of one NJ520.
600 to 800 Watts
This power band is mostly appealing to advanced users and gamers as well as overclockers. These units are powerful enough for dual GPUs and, depending on the consumption of each card, even triple-GPU systems with overclocked processors. For users that seek to combine good performance and features with a reasonable retail price, Rosewill's new Photon 650 is a very good deal. You will be hard pressed to find an alternative 80 Plus Gold certified, modular 650W power supply for just $80 including shipping. If you feel like sacrificing the modular design for higher performance and 80 Plus Platinum efficiency, Antec's EarthWatts EA-650 can be bought for $100 including shipping.
For those willing to spend the money for top quality, features, and performance, Corsair's AX760i can be bought for $185 including shipping. The price is steep but it is a fully modular design with unparalleled overall performance, plus it offers the unique ability to monitor its outputs and partially control aspects of the PSU via the Corsair Link software. If the price is too steep or if you find the Corsair Link compatibility uninteresting, the vanilla AX760 retail for $150 with a $30 rebate card.
800 to 1100 Watts
If you have a triple-GPU setup or two dual-GPU cards, then you ought to be looking for a PSU with an output of 800 to 1100 Watts. For those with three mainstream cards (e.g. nVidia Geforce GTX770 / AMD Radeon R9 270X) or two high end cards (e.g. nVidia Geforce GTX 780 / AMD Radeon R9 290X), EVGA's 850 B2 offers great value for the money and a modular design for just $95 with a $10 main-in rebate. If you want better performance without breaking the bank, Corsair's HX850 80 Plus Gold certified unit is currently retailing for the very reasonable price of $130 and also includes a $30 rebate card.
Even though the above options are capable of powering a very potent gaming system, we suspect that most users who need such a powerful unit will lean towards the more expensive offerings. Within that wattage range, we feel that Corsair's HX1000i will be an ideal choice for enthusiasts that do not seek to compromise on quality and performance. The retail price of $230 is steep, but it is 80 Plus Platinum certified, has exceptional overall performance, and includes a 7-year warranty along with support for Corsair's Link software. Besides, its cost will most likely be a fraction of the value of the system it powers.
Over 1100 Watts
Very few users actually require a PSU with such a high output rating. Such units are meant to power only the most advanced gaming systems, which have at least four GPUs installed, or are reserved for specific applications (e.g. advanced servers or cryptocurrency mining systems). For those who require such a massive power output, our first recommendation would be the Seasonic SS-1200XP3. It is an 80 Plus Platinum, modular power supply with great electrical performance that can be bought for $250 shipped (though prices have been lower during the past week). There are cheaper alternatives boasting a similar power output, but at this level we strongly recommend basing your purchase decision primarily on quality, not on the lowest possible price. After all, it does not make much sense to assemble a system with a value of several thousand dollars and then try to save $50-100 from the PSU, a device that is directly responsible for the longevity of all the components it powers.
If what you want is the most powerful and advanced power supply currently available, the Corsair AX1500i is the definite answer. The current retail price of $388 certainly is very steep but it is one of the very few 80 Plus Titanium certified PSUs on the planet and there is no other product that can directly compete with the performance of Corsair's fully digital design. Not only can it easily power a quad-GPU setup but, in most cases, it should be able to do so quietly as well. For those that find the AX1500i too pricey, there also is the more reasonable choice of its less powerful sibling, the AX1200i, which retails for $280 including shipping ($240 after rebate).
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GIGABYTE Server MD60-SC0 Motherboard Review: Haswell-EP with QSFP
Ever since GIGABYTE’s Server team and I first started discussing reviews, it was interesting to see what a purely B2B (business to business) unit could do. Since then, GIGABYTE Server has expanded, catering to both the B2B and B2C (customer) markets and selling direct to end users. With the release of Haswell-EP we reported on their large launch at the time and they sent us the MD60-SC0 for review.
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Best Windows Phones: Holiday 2014
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HP z27x Review
The HP z27x is loaded with features. Beyond the usual features like a USB hub and multiple inputs it offers multiple color space support for AdobeRGB, DCI P3, and even Rec. 2020. It goes well beyond this by offering the ability to self-calibrate any of the presets to your own requirements and an Ethernet jack for network management. Read on for our review of one of the most advanced displays around.
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The Huawei Ascend Mate 7 Review
It's been a while since I got the Mate 7 at IFA in Berlin and I have been using it on an off since then. As a new member of the AnandTech crew I still had to get the proper equipment to be able to go through our test bench on my own. After lots of delays for which I apologize, we finally take a thorough look at the Huawei's new flagship.
Huawei's been launching new devices at great speed this year. The Ascend Mate 2, which is the Mate 7's literal predecessor was only released earlier in the year, but came only as a more mid-range specced device with corresponding price-tag. Huawei has been gearing up and is now targeting the high-end to try to gain marketshare from other established manufacturers such as Samsung, HTC and Apple. To see how the Mate 7 performs against the competition, read on for the full review.
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Seagate Enterprise NAS HDD: WD Red Pro Gets a Competitor
Similar to the WD Red Pro, the Enterprise NAS HDD is targeted at prosumers / SMB / SME tower and rackmount form factor systems with 8-16 bays (though nothing prevents them from being used in systems with a lower bay count). They are standard 7200 RPM drives with the right balance of features imported from both the NAS HDD as well as Enterprise Capacity lineups.
The key points of differentiation over the WD Red Pro are listed below:
- Higher maximum capacity (6 TB for the Enterprise NAS HDD vs. 4 TB for the Red Pro)
- Larger cache size (128 MB in the Enterprise NAS HDD vs. 64 MB in the WD Red Pro)
- Slightly better MTBF ratings (1.2M for the Enterprise NAS HDD vs. 1M for the Red Pro)
- Bundled data recovery service (not available for WD Red Pro)
Other aspects (such as warranty and URE ratings) are mostly similar. Out of the four points above, the bundled data recovery service is the most interesting. Seagate introduced their data rescue and hardware replacement services last year. In pursuit of differentiation and better integration of this offering with the rest of the company products, the Enterprise NAS HDDs come with this service bundled in the cost. In case of any failure (environmental, accidental or even human error), Seagate handles data recovery as well as replacement of faulty drives (within the warranty limitations). Failed RAID arrays are no exception. With the Enterprise NAS HDDs, this DRS is valid for 3 years starting with the date of purchase. Since the risk of data loss and recovery is borne by Seagate for a reasonable premium, both end-users and resellers are bound to be happy.
Coming back to the rest of the HDD products from Seagate, the table below compares their specifications and differentiating aspects.
Even though it is not specifically mentioned, Seagate indicated that the Enterprise NAS HDDs are designed for workloads up to 180 TB/yr.
For the launch of the Enterprise NAS HDDs, Seagate has teamed up with QNAP. They are also running two webinars to cover any questions that SMB / SME IT decision makers may have regarding the new products.
Pricing information is not available yet, but Seagate indicated that they would be competitive with the WD Red Pro at similar capacity points (with a reasonable premium for the additional data recovery service).
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Holiday Guides 2014: CPUs
That being said, for a lot of everyday tasks, one might consider today's level of CPU compute power 'enough' for the office environment. Web browsing, email, watching videos and basic photo editing tools are all well catered for. Buying a faster more expensive processor means when the workload hits peak usage, the system can process quicker and responsiveness is still present. No-one wants to tell the boss that the work is not complete because the system is running slow, or that the family can't watch a particular Blu-ray that evening because it isn't encoded for the home NAS.
Therefore when it comes to a holiday guide for purchasing CPUs, we have to split into several separate use cases, which might also have their own niche subcategories. A number of these use cases are particularly obvious, so we will address these first. This year at AnandTech we have specifically reviewed 24 different CPUs and tested many more, and the benchmark details can all be found in our comparison results database Bench.
Gaming CPU, No Discrete GPU: A10-7850K ($160)
AMD and Intel have been battling it out at the top of the integrated graphics charts, with GCN based AMD against Crystal Well’s extra cache in some Intel models. Intel’s downfall is that Crystal Well is only available in a socketed platform, which means the Crystal Well based BRIX Pro (read our review) from GIGABYTE or a laptop. To that end AMD wins by default having the socketed CPU, but one would also point out that the R7 graphics inside the A10-7850K or the A10-7700K often surpass Intel solutions, especially when we bring Mantle into the mix or users take advantage of dual graphics. Then there is also overclocking to consider.
Gaming CPU, Single GPU at 1080p60: i3-4360 ($130), i5-4690K ($210) or FX-8370E ($190)
For a single GPU at 1080p, even with everything at max settings, there becomes a limit where more CPU power reaps no benefit. The limiting factor becomes GPU power in the end, but there is still a crossover point. At 1080p60 single core frequency still matters as well, which means some builds can be hampered by a CPU with low frequency or low IPC, especially if max resolution, settings and 60fps minimum is required.
Based on our CPU testing results this year, a Haswell i3 should be sufficient for 92-98% performance across our benchmarks, although moving to an i5 would end up a little more future proof. In a single GPU environment, an i7 is not needed.
For AMD users, the new FX-8370E CPU launched this year provides an AM3+ alternative. It rides on par with the FX-8150 but reduces the power consumption down to 95W. The A10-7700K on FM2+ might also be an option, with both these CPUs preferring titles that take advantage of Bulldozer-like multicore processing for AI or audio.
Gaming CPU, Multi-GPU at 1080p120: i5-4690K ($210)
Getting 120 FPS is fairly difficult at 1080p with one GPU without dialing down the settings, and as such the suggested 120 Hz aim I put squarely on multi-GPU configurations. As a result, we get into discussions regarding PCIe lane bandwidth, whether PCIe 3.0 x8 per GPU or PCIe 3.0 x16 is needed. Based on our own testing, for 1080p resolutions with max settings, two GTX 770 GPUs can hit 120 FPS on average in our tests without needing to go down the i7 route. What makes a bigger difference here is perhaps the ability to push the base frequency and overclocking, which opens up the i5-4690K as a key data point. Aiming for 120 FPS minimum however requires substantial GPU power.
Gaming CPU, Multi-GPU at 4K/Multi-Monitor: i7-4790K ($300) or i7-5820K ($390)
In a similar vein to 1080p120, large resolution sizes are going to be primarily GPU bound with larger frame buffers being very important. With all the data moving around, there is perhaps a better precedent for more powerful cores, or the ability to tie in more memory with better bandwidth. As a result, given that a user is likely to spend $800-$1600 on GPUs, it makes sense to look at some of the more extreme parts. The Haswell refresh based i7-4790K boasts the top single core turbo speed as well as the top multi-core speed of any retail CPU, but moving up to three or four GPUs requires talking X99. A tri SLI setup with the right motherboard can use the 6-core i7-5820K in x8/x8/x8 mode, but users who want the best of go for four way will enjoy the i7-5930K ($580) or i7-5960X ($1050) depending on the size of your wallet.
Office CPU, Basic Workload: Athlon 5350 ($60), Celeron J1900 ($various)
Systems for the office can be a difficult issue to solve. Everyone wants performance when it matters, but the financial side of the equation calls for something cheap enough to spread over 100s of systems. This is especially true when the majority of work consists of email, typing and browsing through the intranet. Thus in order to get the best of both worlds, the low powered SKUs from AMD and Intel should be considered.
As noted in our reviews of AMD’s Kabini and Intel's Bay Trail-D, each side trades blows depending on what the focus is. Intel has better single core performance, while AMD wins for graphics and OpenCL. Both platforms support 8 GB of DRAM, but where AMD supports single channel memory at a higher 1600 MHz, Intel goes for dual channel at the slower 1333 MHz. The J1900 has only a 10W TDP where the Athlon 5350 goes for 25W, but the Athlon CPU is removable and replaceable, allowing different motherboards for different functions or potential upgrades if AMD updates the line.
Intel's Bay-Trail has been successful for system applications, such as digital signage and kiosks, while Kabini offers the graphical capabilities to do a lot more. Personally I'm torn between the two.
Office CPU, Medium Workload: i3-4130T ($128), i7-4765T ($OEM)
Classifying a medium workload user comes under the heading of basic photo editing, perhaps some form of LibreOffice and stock predictions, or users who write code and need something for basic testing before shipping it off to the main server farm. Again, the office would like something cool, quiet and preferably cheap. As a result I am going along with the T line of Intel processors for this one. We have the i3-4130T in for testing but the principle extends to the other T CPUs for 35W processing while still being in the $150 ballpark. For something a bit meatier, the i7-4765T is perhaps the best CPU to aim for giving i7 performance in 35W, but this CPU is OEM only. The other suggestion for more grunt would be the i7-4790S ($305) or i5-4590S ($205) which are available for purchase but raise the TDP to 65W.
Office CPU, Prosumer Workload: Xeon E3, i7-5820K ($390) or i7-5960X ($1050)
If you have a mission critical workload, and the office demands the best, chances are that means going down the Xeon route with ECC memory and everything that entails. The top of the line E3 Xeons under Haswell have v3 at the end of the name, such as the E3-1276 v3 in the Lenovo ThinkStation P300 workstation we reviewed a few weeks ago, which was paired up with a Quadro GPU for professional graphics and simulation work flow.
For those that are not mission critical but still require an amount of performance, there are two obvious options, both from Haswell-E. The i7-5820K is a six core CPU with high base frequencies but quad channel memory to call on. Similarly the i7-5960X also has quad channel memory, but this has 8 cores as well as another 12 PCIe lanes, albeit for 3x the price and a lower base frequency. Users wanting more cores will have to look to our 10, 12 and 14 core Xeon reviews, with the 14 core E5-1691 v3 sitting at the top of the stack for single socket platforms.
HTPC, Basic with IGP: A6-7400K ($70), i3-4360 ($130)
Decoding video, low noise and low power are the mainstays of the HTPC market, so anything to help nurture these two facets helps greatly. We have two options here - the A6-7400K has a better built in IGP but the single core performance is middling, whereas the i3-4360 surpasses in single core performance but the IGP is not in the top grade so much. The A6-7400K has a low power 45W mode for those willing to change a couple of BIOS settings. Both of these CPUs should handle linear H.265 playback, although start jumping around and you might experience pausing while the system re-analyses the new position. But H.264 and other modern codecs (VP8 etc.) shouldn't miss a beat.
HTPC, Throughput: i7-4790S ($305), i5-4590S ($205) or i7-4765T ($OEM)
Sometimes a NAS doubles as a movie ripper or converter, and some extra power in the box can help a fair bit. As it is still a HTPC, similar principles as before apply: low power and as silent as possible. Here we have the 65W ‘S’ CPUs from Intel, although if you can find it the 35W 4765T offers a great alternative. If you want to be extra silent, put one of these in a closed loop liquid cooler system, and it should carve through most ripping and converting at a reasonable pace without disrupting playback or tie up the main PC.
NAS: Avoton ($various)
Most off the shelf NAS units in 2014 were based on Silvermont cores, either in the form of Rangeley or Bay Trail. The Celeron J1900 (Bay Trail-D), with four Silvermont cores at 2.4 GHz, is a suitable choice for a similar DIY build. However, most Bay Trail-D motherboards need to be augmented with SATA controller cards to get any substantial level of storage. We reviewed the Intel Atom C2750 (an Avoton part) earlier this year in ASRock’s storage-focused C2750D4I system. It features eight Silvermont Atom cores at 2.4 GHz and comes with 12 onboard SATA ports. There is support for up to 32 GB of ECC DRAM. Aside from the lack of hardware RAID 5/6, this system is somewhat prohibitively expensive due to the high CPU cost, however since that review it has been humming away as a personal RAID-1 NAS box without issue. If you really wanted to have lots of motherboard based storage, then something like the Z87 Extreme11 with 22 SATA ports paired with an i3 CPU would suffice. We should have a holiday guide for COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) NAS units from Ganesh coming soon!
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The Android 5.0 Lollipop Review
Google has been very busy with their expansion of Android as a platform this year. At Google IO we saw the announcement of endeavors like Android TV and Android Auto. But the stars of the show were a preview of the next version of Android, code named Android L, and Google's new Material Design principles for interface design across all of their products. In the years since Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich released, we've seen the launch of Jellybean and KitKat, but both of these versions were very iterative improvements upon 4.0 and had equally iterative version numbers with Jellybean being major versions 4.1 through 4.3 and KitKat being 4.4. Lollipop is given the major version number of 5.0, and it's quite fitting as it's arguably the biggest advancement to Android in a long time. To find out why, read on for the full review.
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Best $500 Laptops: Holiday 2014
More and more people are switching over to laptops as their primary computing device these days, and it's no surprise: the amount of compute power that most people really need has been pretty flat for a while now. Intel and AMD have been pushing out faster and more power efficient processors for decades, but unless you're doing something truly demanding you don't need anything close to the latest and greatest CPU and GPU for most tasks.
Of course part of the reason for the plateau can also be attributed to smartphones and tablets: the fastest SoCs of today are still substantially slower than modern desktop and laptop processors. Their advantage is that they use far less power and are far more portable, and with so many people using such devices we've seen more companies creating apps and websites that target lower performance devices.
While many might also be tempted to "just get a tablet and be done with it", there are still plenty of tasks that are far easier to accomplish on a laptop than on a tablet. Yes, you can add a keyboard case/dock to a tablet and make up some of the difference, but particularly for people that aren't tiny, there's a real benefit to keyboards on larger (13.3" displays or more) laptops. So if you're looking for a decent laptop and you don't want to spend more than $500, that's what we're going to cover in this guide. (Note that we've covered Chromebooks in a separate piece, so we won't discuss those here.)
Fundamentally, there's always compromise involved with any purchase. Either you're giving up more money to get a "better" product, or you're giving up features or performance in order to save money. Some users demand high quality displays – I tend to be one of them – but finding a budget laptop with a good display can be extremely difficult if not outright impossible. There are also many reasons to own a laptop, including school, office work, travel, and even gaming, and you need to balance the intended use with these other elements. For ultra budget laptops, the simple facts of life are that you will have to compromise quite a bit on certain aspects, and generally speaking the brand of a laptop often ends up being a secondary consideration to the price; so let's see just how low we can go with laptop pricing....
Budget Gaming Laptops
If you're looking for an inexpensive laptop that can still play most games, the options are extremely limited at the sub-$500 price point. There's also a lot of overlap between "budget gaming laptops" and "budget general use laptops", which is why I'm starting here. Basically, if you buy a laptop that can play games reasonably well, chances are good that it will handle most other tasks fine.
Not surprisingly, the best (least expensive) way to get a laptop that can run games is to buy something with an AMD APU. Last time I looked at budget gaming notebooks I was unhappy with the price difference between AMD APU equipped laptops and Intel CPUs with NVIDIA GPUs, but these days the AMD APU offerings have become much more affordable.
The absolute best price I can find on a (new) notebook that can legitimately run most games comes courtesy of Acer, the $310 Aspire E5-551-86R8. [Ed: Prices have gone up since initially researching laptop options, but even at $410 it's still a decent option.] There's still plenty of compromise involved here – 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, and a 15.6" 1366x768 display for example – but the E5-551-86R8 manages to pack in AMD's latest Kaveri APU, the A8-7100. This is the second tier of Kaveri, so it's not going to provide the same level of performance as the A10 options, but you generally save $150-$200 over models with the A10-7300.
Of course, the A10 laptops tend to be better equipped in other aspects, making them viable alternatives. Sticking with the sub-$500 price, the Lenovo Z50 can be had for $470 right now (on sale) and comes with an A10-7300, 8GB RAM, and a DVDRW (if you use one of those). You're still saddled with a 1366x768 display and a 500GB hard drive unfortunately, but unless you're willing to buy a refurbished laptop or something with a much slower processor – or a Chromebook – you're going to have a hard time finding a higher resolution (or higher quality) display for under $500.
If you'd prefer an Intel CPU and NVIDIA GPU, the closest I can find with current generation parts is the Acer E5-571G-38VF. That has a Core i3-4030U and GeForce 820M, neither of which will top performance charts, though they should prove roughly comparable to the A10 options. The GeForce 840M is a far more capable chip, but the lowest price on laptops with that GPU are currently around $600.
Budget General Use Laptops
There are various elements to consider when looking for a good general use laptop, but I'd argue the best overall experience is something you can't actually buy at a store – you need to get your hands dirty. I'm talking about replacing the archaic and slow hard drive with an SSD. These days you can buy a 256GB class SSD for around $100, or you can even buy a 512GB class SSD for close to $200 – and the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales can bring SSD prices even lower (if you act fast).
I'd suggest that if you take the Acer E5-551-86R8 or one of the other laptops mentioned in this guide and spend $110 on a Crucial MX100 256GB SSD (or $105 on the SanDisk Ultra II 240GB), you would have a budget (or near-budget) laptop that will be much more responsive and feel faster than a $1000 laptop that doesn't have an SSD. You might also upgrade the RAM to 8GB for another $75 or so (depending on the starting laptop), so if you use the E5-551 you'd end up with a final price of $550 (give or take). The display and build quality remain unchanged, and upgrading a laptop drive and memory requires some technical skills (e.g. you need to clone the hard drive to the SSD or reinstall the OS on the SSD), but you're not going to find an off-the-shelf laptop with better performance for the price. But can we come close?
In a word: no; in slightly more words: not unless you can find something with a big discount/sale (and even then it's unlikely). We don't usually spend a lot of time on short-term deals, as we like our articles to be more useful for future readers, but at this time of year there are so many sales that it's hard to avoid them. For a general purpose laptop that can be useful for several years, I'd recommend getting at least 8GB RAM; that and a $500 price cap dramatically cuts down on the number of results for Windows laptops – I can only find three at BestBuy and six at Newegg that meet those criteria, as an example. That means we have to compromise even more and say that 4GB RAM is hopefully "enough for now".
With those options there are a few potentially interesting laptops but none that I can recommend without some qualifications. The ASUS F555LA-AH51 has a Core i5-4200U processor, which is probably as fast as you're likely to find at this price point, but it also has a 15.6" 1366x768 display and only 4GB RAM with a 1TB 5400RPM hard drive. HP's 15-r018dx is similar in size but drops to a Core i3-4030U and 750GB hard drive while saving $50.
If you want a higher resolution than 1366x768, you basically have to spend more than $500 or else go even larger and buy a 17.3" notebook, but finding a 17.3" offering for under $500 often requires going with previous generation processors (e.g. 3rd Generation Intel Core i3 or AMD A8-4500M/A8-5550M). HP's Pavilion line has a few options, including the A8-5550M for $497 and the 17-e019dx with i3-4000M for just over our price target, tipping the scales at $523 and 6.4 pounds.
Finally, ASUS has a couple hybrid devices that might be worth a look. The ASUS Flip 2-in-1 has a 360 degree hinge similar to Lenovo's Yoga line, only it has a bulky 15.6" 1366x768 display. Still, it's only $440 for the base model with Core i3-4030U, 6GB RAM, and a 500GB HDD. If you want a portable 2-in-1, the Transformer Book T200TA is $459 and features an 11.6" IPS display with 4GB RAM and a 64GB SSD and has a detachable tablet. Those are some good features but the Atom Z3795 processor isn't going to be particularly fast (more like half-fast).
Budget Laptops with Good Displays
As usual, finding a budget laptop that has a good quality LCD is difficult to do. The Toshiba Chromebook 2 has an IPS display on the $329 model, but if you're looking for a Windows laptop that obviously doesn't work. Other than picking up a used laptop (which is always a gamble in my opinion, unless you know the previous owner and/or can test out the laptop in person), one of the few IPS Windows laptops I can find for under $500 is one that I already mentioned: the ASUS T200TA. It's still only a 1366x768 resolution, but on an 11.6" display that's generally forgivable and the 2-in-1 tablet functionality can be handy as well.
Other options with better displays include Acer's V5-122P line, which has IPS panels in at least some models (e.g. the V5-122P-0646 at the Microsoft Store). It's otherwise a relatively low-end device, as you can guess by the price, and it's about a year old so it may be due for replacement. The 6GB RAM and 500GB HDD aren't too bad, but the AMD A6-1450 Kabini APU is pretty much on par with Atom processors – meaning, it can feel quite slow when running a full copy of Windows.
I'm sure I've missed some other options, but after hours of searching and sifting through budget laptops (and excluding used laptops as well as older models) I'm not finding any other budget options with decent non-TN displays. Hybrid devices are more likely to include IPS displays, as the tablet functionality is practically useless without a wide viewing angle technology, but even buying a hybrid is no guarantee you'll get an IPS or similar technology.
Lowest Price Possible
In the Chromebook selection, we also mentioned Windows alternatives like the HP Stream laptops. Brett has a Stream 11 coming in for review, and if you're looking for the lowest possible price on a Windows laptop then these are certainly worth considering. They're essentially a modern take on netbooks, except this time you're getting a full copy of Windows instead of a cutdown "Starter" version.
The cheapest Stream laptop is the 11-inch model, which has a Celeron N2840 (dual-core Bay Trail 2.16-2.58GHz), 2GB RAM, and a 32GB eMMC SSD. The limited RAM and storage might be a problem, but battery life is still good at 8+ hours. $30 more gets you the 13.3-inch model, which has the same specs other than the display and slightly lower battery life. There's a 14-inch variant as well, which drops the Celeron N2840 and replaces it with an AMD A4-6000T, a quad-core 1.0-1.6GHz Kabini APU; it costs just under $300 with 6.5 hours of battery life. Quad-core Kabini should prove faster in many cases than dual-core Bay Trail, though single-threaded performance is still going to struggle.
HP's Stream isn't alone either; Acer has the ES1-111M (11.6", N2840, 2GB and 32GB eMMC) for $190, though battery life is only rated at 5 hours compared to HP's 8+. There are also 15.6" variants of the ES1 with 4GB RAM and 500GB HDD storage starting at $240, and the ASUS X551MAV at $230 is another option. There are frankly too many options to cover, but if you want a laptop for $300 or less it's certainly possible to find one.
Closing Thoughts
I mentioned at the start that shopping for a budget laptop is invariably an exercise in compromise. Having used SSDs on my desktops and laptops for the better part of two years now, I'm at the point where I can't stand using systems that rely on conventional hard drives. Short of doing some upgrades on your own, however, it's very difficult to find a reasonable capacity SSD in any budget laptop – if an OEM decides to build a budget device, one of the first things to get axed always seems to be storage.
The display, RAM, build quality, and processor are all areas that get downgraded as well. This is the race to the bottom we often talk about, and the end result can be rather underwhelming. It makes sifting through laptops trying to find the best budget options a difficult task, made even more difficult by the fact that many of these budget devices don't see proper reviews as those are saved for premium laptops. Regardless, even when you do your best it's easy to overlook a few "diamonds in the rough".
I've picked out some of the decent options here, and if you're open to Chromebooks we have a separate article on that subject. I'd like to open this up for additional recommendations from the readers, or if you have a laptop you're thinking of buying and want my quick opinion just leave a comment and I'll monitor things for the next couple of weeks (not to mention our readers have plenty of good input as well.) In the meantime, what's your favorite budget laptop, and what did I miss? Sound off in the comments, and if there are any good suggestions I'll update the above text with some reader recommendations.
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Asustor AS7008T 8-bay Intel Haswell SMB NAS Review
Asustor is one of the recent entrants in the NAS market. Over the last couple of years, they have tried to play in the same space as QNAP and Synology (with units based on the Atom D2700 as well as Evansport). However, they have recently opted to put more emphasis on the mid- to upper-range of the market with Haswell-based products in the 70-series. We have the AS7008T, the 8-bay variant, in-house for review. Read on to see how the unit stacks up against the competitors in this space.
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Best Tablets: Holiday 2014
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PlayStation Plus Free Games December 2014 Preview And Black Friday Specials
PlayStation 4
Injustice: Gods Among Us – Ultimate Edition
First up for the PS4 is the fighting game Injustice: Gods among us developed by NetherRealm Studios and set in the DC Comics universe. This game based on the Unreal 3 engine was released in April 2013 and then released as the Ultimate Edition for the PS4 in November of last year. The Ultimate edition got an 80 Metascore and 7.6 User score, so clearly people enjoy getting to kick some butt as Batman. Injustice: Gods Among Us normally retails for $29.99.
“Injustice: Gods Among Us – Ultimate Edition enhances the bold new franchise to the fighting game genre from NetherRealm Studios. Featuring six new playable characters, over 30 new skins, and 60 new S.T.A.R. Labs missions, this edition packs a punch. In addition to DC Comics icons such as Batman, The Joker, Green Lantern, The Flash, Superman and Wonder Woman, the latest title from the award-winning studio presents a deep original story. Heroes and villains will engage in epic battles on a massive scale in a world where the line between good and evil has been blurred.”
Secret Ponchos
The second game for the PS4 is a brand new game to the store. Secret Ponchos is a Wild West online game with “quick twitch action gaming” and is from Switchblade Monkeys. It is always great to see new games offered with these programs, and if you love the wild west, and you love online games where you can shoot your friends, this might be the perfect game for you! Though it is not yet priced on the PlayStation Store, it is selling on Steam for $14.99 so it should be around that price when it debuts next week.
“Set in a stylized and iconic Wild West, Secret Ponchos pits players against one another in this fast paced and innovative new form of online combat. Experience a completely unique combat style that thrives in a wide range of modes from intense 1vs1 stand-offs to chaotic 4vs4 all-out team battles. Master dynamic outlaw archetypes, each possessing a variety of deadly attacks and unique weapons. Compete against others using skill and precision timing: dive in and out of range, string together devastating combos and take cover to break line-of-site in order to regroup or plan an ambush.”
PlayStation 3
Hitman HD Trilogy
Hitman is a well-known series from IO Interactive, with the first game in the series launched in 2000. Hitman HD Trilogy is a compilation of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Hitman: Contracts, and Hitman: Blood Money remastered for the PlayStation 3 and released in January 2013. As you can guess from the name, players play as a Hitman named “Agent 47” and the game is somewhat of a stealth based action game rather than a full on fps like Call of Duty. The Trilogy scored a 71 Metascore and 7.6 User Score on metacritic, and normally retails for $39.99.
“Experience Agent 47’s classic hits, now in HD. Enter the mind of Agent 47, the world’s most deadly assassin. Staying anonymous, being smart and totally ruthless is the key to a perfect execution. Includes Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Hitman: Contracts and Hitman: Blood Money.”
Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut
The second game for the PS3 is a psychological horror video game from Access Games called Deadly Premonition. The PlayStation Plus free version for December is the director’s cut, which normally sells for $19.99. Originally released in February 2010, players lead FBI agent Francis York Morgan through the game as he investigates the “Raincoat Killer”. Although it only got a 70 Metascore, it received a fairly high 7.9 User Score on metacritic, so if you are into scary games, you may want to check this out.
“Revisit the mysterious town of Greenvale with Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut and discover more secrets, bask in the beauty with redefined graphics and move with greater freedom with a complete control overhaul.”
PlayStation Vita
Final Horizon
From Indie developer Eiconic Games comes Final Horizon – a tower defense game with strategic and puzzle undertones. The game is also coming to the PS4, but that version is not going to be available as part of this deal. Once again, it’s great to see new games available through this subscription and it makes it a real value-add.
“Final Horizon takes you on an epic story across far reaching planets and solar systems as you fight the mysterious and deadly Swarm. Described as “2 minute tower defense”, Final Horizon is a new take on the popular strategy genre. Combining fast paced action and deep strategy, you’ll need to keep your wits about you if you want to survive.”
Titan Attacks!
From Puppy Games comes Titan Attacks! Fans of video games will likely remember the classic “Space Invaders” and Titan Attacks has been dubbed “The best space invaders tribute ever”. Players get to be the last surviving tank commander on Earth, and the goal is to turn back the invading alien army. The Vita version was launched May 6th of this year. There is no official Metascore yet, but the average Critic review is 73, and it got a 6.7 User Score. Titan Attacks! normally sells for $11.99. It is also available on the PS4 and PS3.
“Single-handedly turn back the evil invading Titan army! Drive back the aliens across the Solar System, and finally defeat them on their homeworld in this modern remix of classic arcade shoot ‘em ups. Titan Attacks! has the same easy-to-learn but hard-to-master gameplay of classic arcade shooters, but is packed full of new features, new strategies, and stylish neo-retro visuals.”
In addition, as part of the Black Friday deals from Sony, a large selection of new and older games are available on sale.
| PlayStation Store Black Friday Deals | Platform | Sale Price | Regular Price |
| Borderlands Pre-Sequel (PS3) | PS3 | $39.99 | 59.99 |
| Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare – Digital Pro Ed… | PS3 | $89.99 | 99.99 |
| Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare – Digital Pro Ed… | PS4 | $89.99 | 99.99 |
| Destiny Digital Guardian Edition (PS3) | PS3 | $79.99 | 89.99 |
| Destiny Digital Guardian Edition (PS4) | PS4 | $79.99 | 89.99 |
| Diablo III: Reaper of Souls – Ultimate Evil Edition | PS3 | $19.99 | 39.99 |
| Diablo III: Reaper of Souls – Ultimate Evil Edition | PS4 | $34.99 | 59.99 |
| FIFA 15 (PS3) | PS3 | $23.99 | 59.99 |
| FIFA 15 (PS4) | PS4 | $34.99 | 59.99 |
| inFAMOUS Second Son (PS4) | PS4 | $19.99 | 39.99 |
| Madden 15 (PS3) | PS3 | $23.99 | 59.99 |
| Madden 15 (PS4) | PS4 | $35.99 | 59.99 |
| Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor (PS3) | PS3 | $29.99 | 59.99 |
| Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor (PS4) | PS4 | $29.99 | 59.99 |
| MLB 14 The Show | PS3 | $19.99 | 59.99 |
| MLB 14 The Show | PS4 | $19.99 | 59.99 |
| NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM Revolution | PS3 | $24.99 | 49.99 |
| NHL15 (PS3) | PS3 | $23.99 | 59.99 |
| NHL15 (PS4) | PS4 | $35.99 | 59.99 |
| Sniper Elite 3 | PS3 | $19.99 | 39.99 |
| Sniper Elite 3 | PS4 | $24.99 | 49.99 |
| The Evil Within (PS3) | PS3 | $29.99 | 59.99 |
| The Evil Within (PS4) | PS4 | $29.99 | 59.99 |
| Transistor (PS4) | PS4 | $7.99 | 19.99 |
| WWE 2K15 (PS3) | PS3 | $39.99 | 59.99 |
There are some heavy hitters there from Sony, including infamous Second Son for the PS4 for 50% off.
If you are looking for some free games to get you through the holidays, there is a decent lineup from Sony for this month. If you want to spend a bit of your hard earned money, some fantastic games are on sale as well.
Source: PlayStation Blog
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Xbox Games With Gold December Preview and Black Friday Deals
Xbox One
Worms Battlegrounds
This month’s Xbox One game is Worms Battlegrounds which was developed by Team17. This game came out on May 30 of this year for both the PS4 and Xbox One, and is a turn based strategy game based on the Worms series which debuted in 1995. Worms Battlegrounds has gotten mixed reviews, with a 70 Metascore and 6.6 User Score on metacritic. Worms Battlegrounds will be available starting December 1st, and normally retails for $24.99.
“Worms™ Battlegrounds brings friends and families together in the noble pursuit of self‐improvement, world domination and exploding sheep. Worms™ Battlegrounds is the biggest and best Worms™ game to date - more worms, larger landscapes, more dynamic water, more weapons and more customization items than ever before. It features beautiful high definition 3D visuals (but still retains the classic 2D gameplay) with new lighting effects, new features to help users interact socially, exciting additions to improve the single player experience, and more of everything a Worms fan could want.”
Xbox 360
The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief
The first Xbox 360 game, available December 1st to December 15th, is The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief from The Adventure Company. This is a three episode point and click adventure game set Europe in the 1960’s. Only the first episode, which normally retails for $9.99, is available this month as part of Games with Gold. Episode 1 received a 74 Metascore and 6.9 User Score on Metacritic. If you like a good mystery, this may be a game you will enjoy.
“The Raven – Legacy of a master thief is a thrilling crime adventure in three episodes from the creators of “The Book of Unwritten Tales“. Full of twists and turns, it immerses you in both sides of the story, combining thrill-of-the-chase whodunit with the risk and reward of a heist story.”
SSX
The second game for the Xbox 360 is the snowboarding game from EA Canada, SSX. This version of the SSX franchise was released in February 2012 to generally positive reviews. As you can guess, players control a snowboarder and can take part in the World Tour mode, or Tricky mode. There is a substantial soundtrack included with this game as well to keep you entertained. SSX received a 82 Metascore and 6.5 User Score on metacritic, and normally retails for $19.99. SSX will be available from December 16th to December 31st.
| Xbox One Black Friday Deals with Gold | Content Type | Discount |
| NHL 15 | Xbox One Game | 45% |
| Madden 15 | Xbox One Game | 45% |
| FIFA 15 Holiday Edition | Xbox One Game | 45% |
| Watchdogs | Xbox One Game | 33% |
| Titanfall | Xbox One Game | 75% |
| Titanfall (Bundle) | Xbox One Game | 75% |
| Titanfall Season Pass | Add-on | 75% |
| Battlefield 4 | Xbox One Game | 50% |
| Battlefield 4 Premium | Add-on | 50% |
| Wolfenstein | Xbox One Game | 50% |
| Ryse (Legendary Edition) | Xbox One Game | 50% |
| The Evil Within | Xbox One Game | 50% |
| The Walking Dead Season 1 | Xbox One Game | 40% |
| The Walking Dead Season 2 | Xbox One Game | 40% |
| The Walking Dead Season 1 + 2 bundle | Xbox One Game | 50% |
| Call of Duty Advanced Warfare Digital Pro | Xbox One Game | 10% |
| Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor | Xbox One Game | 50% |
| Destiny Digital Guardian Edition | Xbox One Game | 10% |
Personally, the Games with Gold for December are not very exciting for me, although I will pick up Worms Battleground as something to mess around with. Hopefully for 2015, Microsoft steps up their game to have better content available through Games with Gold. However they have been doing a lot of Deals with Gold promotions as well, and for Black Friday they are offering a huge choice of games on a discount for Gold members.
Unlike the Games with Gold promotion, Deals with Gold does have a lot of the higher end content, and some of it for some pretty good discounts. Titanfall, for an example is 75% off. Yes, it was the game they hoped would help pull sales up, and no, it did not, but it is a fun shooter that got great reviews. Some of the other deals are on games which only recently came out, such as Middle Earth, Shadow of Morder.
| Xbox 360 Black Friday Deals with Gold | Content Type | Discount |
| NHL 15 | Games on Demand | 50% |
| Madden 15 | Games on Demand | 50% |
| FIFA 15 | Games on Demand | 50% |
| Need for Speed Rivals Complete Edition | Games on Demand | 50% |
| Battlefield 4 Premium | Add-on | 50% |
| Borderlands: The Pre-sequel | Add-on | 33% |
| Grand Theft Auto San Andreas | Games on Demand | 75% |
| Watchdogs | Games on Demand | 42% |
| The Evil Within | Games on Demand | 50% |
| Payday 2 | Games on Demand | 75% |
| Terraria | Arcade | 75% |
| Destiny | Games on Demand | 17% |
| Dark Souls II | Games on Demand | 40% |
The Xbox 360 Black Friday Deals with Gold has some new content as well, such as Madden 15, NHL 15, and Destiny.
If you’ve got an Xbox 360 or an Xbox One, hopefully some of these deals will pique your interest.
Source: Major Nelson Blog
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SanDisk Extreme PRO USB 3.0 Flash Drive Capsule Review
The last few years have seen rapid advancements in flash technology and the rise of USB 3.0 as an ubiquitous high-speed interface on computers. These have led to the appearance of small and affordable direct attached storage units with very high performance for day-to-day data transfer applications. We have already looked at some SSDs with a USB 3.0 - SATA bridge over the last couple of months. Today, we will be looking at what SanDisk brings to the market with the Extreme and Extreme PRO lineups.
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Best X99 Motherboards: Holiday 2014
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Zotac ZBOX CA320 nano PLUS Review: A Fanless AMD mini-PC
Over the last couple of years, mini-PCs in the ultra-compact form factor (UCFF) have emerged as one of the bright spots in the troubled PC market. Zotac is no stranger to this segment. In fact, their nano xs units came to the market before the Intel NUC, even though the NUC is credited with kickstarting the UCFF trend. Almost all the mini-PCs that we have evaluated before have been based on Intel CPUs. However, Zotac's recently launched 'ZBOX C Passive Cooling Series' of mini-PCs includes an AMD Temash-based SKU, which we promptly requested for review. Read on to identify what AMD brings to the table for the passively cooled mini-PC market.
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Chromebook Buyer's Guide: Holiday 2014
A Short Overview of Current Chromebooks
Alphabetically, there are current Chromebooks for sale from Acer (C720, C720P, and the new 11/13), ASUS (C200, C300), Dell (11), HP (11/14 and 11/14 G3), Lenovo (N20P), Samsung (Chromebook and Chromebook 2), and Toshiba (Chromebook and Chromebook 2). There's also the Chromebook Pixel, but that's nothing like a budget laptop so we won't discuss that here. The names however don't tell you much about the internal hardware.
Starting at the top, Acer's C720 is basically the incumbent other companies have to beat, as the combination of a Haswell Celeron processor (2955U) and the sub-$200 price point gives potential buyers just about everything they might want. Amazon currently has it on sale for $179, and it's still easy to recommend even more than a year after launch. The 32GB model isn't really worth the $50 ($70 right now) price premium in my book, as a 32GB SDHC Card costs a lot less and offers basically the same functionality. Similarly, there's a model with a Core i3-4005U for $350 (again, not worth it in my opinion). The newer C720P also adds a touchscreen and comes stock with 32GB storage, with 2GB and 4GB RAM options, but the $100 premium for the 2GB model is too much (and nearly $400 for the 32GB + 4GB RAM option is out of the question).
Acer has two newer Chromebooks as well, the Chromebook 11 (11.6" 2GB Bay Trail N2830 with 802.11ac) is a $199 Best Buy exclusive, while the Chromebook 13 (13.3" 2GB Tegra K1 with 802.11ac) is on sale for $233 at Amazon.com. There's another variant of the 13 that includes a 1080p display, 4GB RAM, and 32GB of eMMC that retails for $380. While the TK1 and N2830 CPUs are both generally slower than the Celeron 2955U, at least the graphics in the TK1 is faster than Intel's GPU; unfortunately, finding places where having the faster GPU is truly useful can be difficult. I personally like the 13.3" screen and form factor, as it gives my fingers a bit more room. Finally, the CB13 is also fanless and being able to get 13 hours of battery life (11 on the 1080p model) makes the CB13 the top Chromebook in terms of battery life.
ASUS uses the Intel Celeron N2830 with 2GB RAM and an 802.11ac WiFi solution, with the Chromebook C200 using an 11.6" display while the Chromebook C300 has a 13.3" display (both are 1366x768). Both ASUS offerings come in two variants, the less expensive is currently on sale for $199 and has 2GB RAM and 16GB internal eMMC storage, while the upgraded model has 4GB RAM and 32GB eMMC storage and is currently on sale for $249. (Both are $50 off during Black Friday week, it seems.) They're also available in a variety of color options, which can be an added bonus if you want something a bit less staid.
Dell's Chromebook 11 continues the trend of offering 11.6" displays, and it ends up being very similar to the Acer C720 (Celeron 2955U with 2GB RAM and 16GB eMMC). It costs $279 on sale, with an option for an upgraded Core i3-4005U and 4GB RAM for $379 (on sale). The added cost probably isn't worth it for what is otherwise a standard Chromebook configuration; build quality on the Dell Chromebook 11 however is a bit nicer than some of the other options.
HP has been doing Chromebooks for a while, as reflected in the naming of their Chromebook 11 G3 and Chromebook 14 G3. The previous generation of HP Chromebooks is also available, but I'd give them a pass at this stage. The new models feature the Celeron N2830 in the CB11 and the Tegra K1 in the CB14, with the ubiquitous 2GB/16GB RAM/storage configuration and prices of $246 and $270, respectively.
The Lenovo N20p has something unique to offer, in that it borrows a bit from the Yoga line and features a 300 degree hinge that allows the device to function as either a standard laptop or in "stand" mode. The N20p also features a 10-point touchscreen, though the remaining specs are similar to other Chromebooks: Celeron N2830 CPU, 2GB RAM, 16GB eMMC storage. Pricing is also a bit higher than the competition, with the N20p currently on sale at Amazon for $310, but this is the least expensive touchscreen Chromebook right now.
Samsung has two Chromebook options right now, the 2012 model Chromebook with an Exynos 5250 is well past its prime and the price of $209 doesn't really help, while the newer Chromebook 2 is $230 and comes with a Celeron N2830 processor. Both models feature 11.6" displays, 2GB RAM, and 16GB eMMC storage. (And yes, I feel like a broken record.)
Last but not least is Toshiba, with two models as well – old and new. The earlier model Chromebook has a Celeron 2955U processor while the Chromebook 2 has a Celeron N2840 (which is the same as the N2830 except the maximum Turbo is 2.58GHz instead of 2.41GHz). Both models have 13.3" displays with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage (again), though there's an upgraded version of the newer model with 4GB RAM and a 1080p display. Prices are $260 for the original and $249 for the new revision, or $329 for the 4GB version that has a 1080p IPS display.
Picking the Winners
I don't think I'd go so far as to call any of the Chromebooks "bad", though a few are certainly priced higher than I'd be willing to pay. It's also a bit difficult to say any are "great", with poor quality LCDs and generally low-end components, but they are certainly inexpensive. There are many similarities among the various Chromebook models, with a few that stand out as better options mostly thanks to a combination of pricing and/or features.
I've spent a fair amount of time with both the Acer Chromebook C720 and the new Acer Chromebook 13, and both deserve recommendations for different reasons. With the current sale price of $180, if you're not sure if a Chromebook is right for you, the base model C720 is a great starting point. It's the least expensive option and it actually works quite well. In many tasks the Celeron 2955U in the C720 is still faster than newer Chromebooks with Bay Trail or Tegra K1, thanks to its Haswell architecture, and I can pretty much guarantee that if you're not happy with the Chrome OS experience on the C720 a different Chromebook isn't likely to change things.
The Acer Chromebook 13 on the other hand delivers the most battery life and thanks to the Tegra K1 it's fanless; the overall design is also quite attractive with the eggshell white chassis. The price is also lower than the competiting HP Chromebook 14 that also has TK1, giving Acer the win. The TK1 also packs more graphics processing power than other options, though this mostly ends up being a minor benefit as there aren't a lot of games for Chromebooks right now. I believe the TK1 is also the only Chromebook processor certified for HD Hangouts, if that's a draw for you.
The ASUS C200 and C300 warrant a mention as they offer 4GB RAM and 32GB storage for just $249. The added storage isn't extremely important but it can be useful, while the doubling of RAM helps keep Chrome from swapping tabs out of memory as often. Then you can decide between a larger or smaller Chromebook, with no price penalty for going either direction. And if you want a touchscreen, Lenovo's N20p has a 300 degree hinge at a reasonable price.
The one Chromebook in the list that has a decent display is the upgraded Toshiba Chromebook 2, which sports an IPS panel. That's great to see, but there's still that question of price. On a high quality laptop I'd be more than willing to spend over $100 extra to get a quality display, but on a Chromebook? We're basically looking at a 50% increase in the total cost just for the improved display, and that's a tough pill to swallow on what is otherwise a clearly budget-oriented platform. It's obviously not in the same league of wrongness as the Chromebook Pixel, and I'd love to see all TN panels just go away, but it ends up as one of the more expensive Chromebook options. If you're happy with Chrome OS and want one of the best designed Chromebooks, this is the one to get; just be preparted to pony up.
Of course the others are all close enough that if you can get any of them at a competitive price, they're going to be about as good as any other Chromebook. It's the old adage: "there are no bad products, just wrong prices". We're also looking at a relatively narrow price range of $200 to $300, and if you're willing to pay more for a Chromebook where you like the looks more, you can certainly do so.
Chromebook Considerations
Wrapping things up, the question has to be asked: can you live with a Chromebook as your primary laptop, or would something like an HP Stream be a better option? It's important to understand precisely what it is you're getting with a Chromebook. There are limitations inherent to Chrome OS, and while you can work around some of them, others are basically just the way things are.
As an example, I recently spent a few hours trying to do some mundane spreadsheet tasks using Google Spreadsheets on a Chromebook instead of using my usual Windows laptop, and let me tell you: it was an exercise in frustration. Something I could have done in 15 minutes using Excel ended up taking me over an hour. Reading the web, this is hardly an isolated incident; things have improved since Chrome OS first launched, but there are still a lot of rough edges to the experience.
There are counter examples as well. I have a daughter in middle school that uses a Chromebook for her classes on a regular basis, and she hasn't ever complained about missing features – it's what she's been taught to use, and it fits the requirements of the school district. And sometimes, that's all you really need from a laptop. There's also the benefit of not dealing with virus infections and malware, though that tends to be more for others than for tech savvy folks in my experience; still, not having to help your dad/mom/grandparents/etc. fix a virus problem again is a nice perk.
Of course you can always use Chrome Remote Desktop with another PC to basically get a lightweight and inexpensive way to work with your home PC while on the road. And it can surf the web natively and handle light office and email duties as well. Google has also demonstrated Android apps running natively on Chrome OS, and there will apparently be an increasing number of supported apps in the future.
As is often the case, what it really boils down to is a question of compromise. Chromebooks are not the fastest or best built laptops, but they can boot up the OS and get you on the web far faster than any other $200 class laptop. You also have access to all your tabs and shortcuts if you move between computers, though using the Chrome browser on any PC or tablet basically gives you that same functionality.
What you're really getting with a Chromebook is an alternative to a moderate tablet that has the benefit of providing full keyboard functionality while being quite a bit bulkier than any tablet. But if you're typing anything more than a few sentences that's a tradeoff I'd personally be more than happy to make. Then again, I'd much rather have full Windows laptop functionality.
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MSI B85M ECO Review: Aiming Green at $73
Whenever we talk about processors and silicon, one of the key major points is efficiency and performance per watt. One issue to consider is that while that new CPU uses 10W less, it makes little difference if the motherboard or other components eats up the difference. To that end, MSI previewed their ECO range at Computex, promising a power reduction over the normal but primarily aimed at various business customers with a green and white color scheme. We got the B85M ECO and a few low powered Haswell CPUs in to test the claims.
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Nokia Lumia 830 Review
The Lumia 830 was launched by Microsoft at the IFA trade show in September. As seems to be the norm for most Nokia phones, it has taken a short while for announced phones to be generally available, but the Lumia 830 can now be found in many markets. When it was announced in September, it was marketed as an “affordable flagship” and we will take a look and see how it lives up to that kind of marketing. But marketing phrases aside, what we are left with is one of the best Nokia phones launched this year.
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Intel's 3D NAND to Ship in H2'15: 256Gbit Die & 32 Layers
Intel claims that its 3D NAND is the most cost effective on the market and bases this on the fact that its die is 256Gbit whereas Samsung's is only up to 128Gbit at the moment. I'm not sure if I buy Intel's claim because while it's true that a higher capacity die results in higher array efficiency (i.e. peripheral circuitry takes less area), Samsung consciously went from a 24-layer 128Gbit MLC die to a 32-layer 86Gbit MLC die. In other words, Samsung could have upped the die capacity to ~170Gbit by just adding the extra layers, but the company chose to go with a smaller die instead. Smaller capacity dies have advantages in performance (higher parallelism) and applicability because eMMC/microSD devices have very strict die size constraints, so that might be a part of the reason why Samsung's strategy is so different from Intel's and Micron's.
As the graph above shows, Intel's/Micron's NAND dies have historically been larger than the competitors', so the die capacity alone isn't enough to dictate whether Intel's 3D NAND is more cost efficient than Samsung, especially because both have 32 layers. Unlike Samsung, Intel didn't reveal the lithography that is used to manufacture the 3D NAND, but I would say it's safe to assume that the lithography is in the order of 30nm or 40nm because the whole idea of 3D NAND is to move away from multi-patterning to cut costs and with today's technology the smallest pitch of single-patterning is somewhere between 30nm and 40nm. Either way, it will be very interesting to see how Intel's 3D NAND stacks up against Samsung's because there are also some structural differences that affect the production cost as well as performance and endurance, but I'll save the structural analysis for a future article.
Intel said that 3D NAND technology will enable +10TB SSDs in the 'next couple of years', but it wasn't clear whether that is with first generation 3D NAND or some later generation with more layers and higher die capacity. Currently Intel's lineup tops out at 2TB (P3700 & P3600) with a 128Gbit die, so the 256Gbit die alone isn't enough to bring the capacities above 10TB. With effective controller development it should certainly be possible to build a 10TB SSD with a 256Gbit die, although I'm still inclined to believe that Mr. Crooke was referring to second or third generation 3D NAND with his statement.
Similar to Intel's previous NAND efforts, 3D NAND has been jointly developed with Micron and will most likely be manufactured in the co-owned Utah plant as Intel sold its share in other fabs a couple of years ago. Interestingly enough, Mr. Crooke said that they also have the ability to bring 3D NAND production to an Intel fab, although to me that sounded more like a statement of technological possibility rather than a hint of future strategy. I wouldn't rule it out, though, but like Mr. Crooke said in the Q&A, Intel needs to have significant competitive advantage for it to make sense. In the past Intel's NAND technologies have generally been slightly ahead of the rest of the industry, but at least as of now Intel doesn't seem to have any substantial advantage in 3D NAND technology as Samsung is already shipping a 32-layer die and will likely ship a 48-layer die before Intel ships its 32-layer product.
All in all, we'll likely get more crumbs of information as the second half of 2015 gets closer. Given Intel's recent SSD strategy, I expect 3D NAND to first find its way to enterprise-class SSDs, but we'll see soon enough.
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Zalman's Future May Not Be That Bleak After All
The Korean courthouse decided that Zalman should be severed from Moneaul and continue to operate under their oversight and jurisdiction. As a result Zalman has been allowed to restructure the company, doing so under the supervision of the Korean justice system.
What does that mean for Zalman's customers? Zalman will not need to file for bankruptcy nor liquefy any of their assets. The company will continue to operate normally and all post-purchase support and warranties remain valid. In some ways the company hasn't even skipped a beat, recently announcing the release of a new product, the Z11 Neo case.
With that said, Zalman may not be out of the woods just yet. The company was hit very hard by this scandal, causing their stock to essentially be destroyed and pulled from trading. We are unaware of the company's current capital, but rumors indicate that Moneaul might have spent a very large portion of it already, and Zalman will certainly consume some more until they get back on their own two feet. Finally, the company now operates under courthouse supervision for the time being.
Nevertheless, there is a light at the end of the tunnel for Zalman after all, and we are hopeful that the experience and hard work of the honest employees will help them reach it.
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ASRock Announces X99 WS-E/10G: Dual 10GBase-T and Quad x16
The concept of the X99 WS-E/10G is simple. This is a workstation class motherboard aimed at prosumers. This is where 10GBase-T makes most sense after all, at the users that have sufficient funds to purchase a minimum $800 Netgear 10GBase-T switch and measure their internal networking upgrades in terms of hundreds of dollars per port, rather than cents per port. The workstation motherboard is also designed to support server operating systems, and is low profile in the rear for fitting into 1U chassis, similar to other ASRock WS motherboards.
In order to deal with the heat from the Intel X540-BT2 chip being used, the extended XXL heatsink is connected to the top heatsink on board, with the final chipset heatsink using an active fan. This is because this chipset heatsink arrangement also has to cool two PLX 8747 chips which enable the x16/x16/x16/x16 functionality. If a prosumer has enough single slot cards, this can extend into x16/x8/x8/x8/x8/x8/x8 if needed. Extra PCIe power is provided via two molex ports above and below the PCIe connectors.
Aside from the X540-BT2 chip supplying dual 10GBase-T ports, ASRock has dual Intel I210-AT Ethernet ports also for a total of four. All four can be teamed with a suitable switch in play. The key point to note here despite ASRock’s video explaining the technology, and which sounds perfectly simple to anyone in networking, is that this does not increase your internet speed, only the internal home/office network speed.
The rest of the motherboard is filled with ten SATA 6 Gbps ports plus another two from a controller, with also SATA Express support and M.2 support. ASRock’s video suggests this is PCIe 2.0 x4, although their image lacks the Turbo M.2 x4 designation and the chipset would not have enough lanes, and as such it is probably M.2 x2 shared with the SATAe. Audio is provided by an improved Realtek ALC1150 codec solution, and in the middle of the board is a USB 2.0 Type-A slot sticking out of the motherboard, for dongles or easy OS installation out of the case. There are eight USB 3.0 ports on the board as well.
Like the X99 Extreme11, this motherboard is going to come in very expensive. Dual PLX 8747 chips and an Intel X540-BT2 chip on their own would put it past most X99 motherboards on the market. To a certain extent we could consider the Extreme11 design, remove the LSI chip from it and add the X540-BT2, which still means it will probably be $200-$300 more than the Extreme11. Mark this one down at around $800-$900 as a rough guess, with an estimated release date in December.
Thinking out loud for a moment: 10GBase-T is being used here because it is a prosumer feature, and prosumers already want a lot of other features, hence the combination and high price overall. The moment 10G is added to a basic motherboard for example, using a H97/Z97 (and reduces the PCIe 3.0 x16 down to x8), a $100 board becomes $400+ and beyond the cost of any other Z97 motherboard. Ultimately if 10GBase-T were to become a mainstream feature, the chip needs to come down in price.
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HGST Deskstar NAS 4 TB Review
The increasing affordability of SSDs has put a strain on the traditional market for hard drive vendors. However, new opportunities have opened up, thanks to the rapid growth in the SMB / SOHO / consumer NAS market. Every hard drive vendor now has a lineup to target this market. Today, we will be looking at HGST's offering in the desktop NAS space, the HGST Deskstar NAS
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Cooler Master V1200 Platinum Power Supply Review
Cooler Master is one of the oldest and most reputable companies that offer advanced cooling and power solutions. If you are a PC techie, chances are you've owned at least one of their products in the past. Today we are going to look at their current flagship PSU, the V1200 Platinum, and see how it fares in today's demanding market.
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AMD Announces Carrizo and Carrizo-L, Next Gen APUs for H1 2015
The Excavator cores are an architectural improvement over Steamroller, but are fundamentally based on the original Bulldozer concept. Excavator will be AMD’s fourth iteration of the concept, following Bulldozer, Piledriver and Steamroller. This new generation of APUs are still set to be built on the 28nm Super High Performance process at Global Foundries, delaying AMD’s shift to 20nm, but AMD are still claiming that the new GPU in Carrizo is their best yet, giving better performance and efficiency than before.
Given AMD's discrete GPU lineup, the GPU for Carrizo could be based on AMD's latest GCN 1.2 architecture, which was first introduced in the desktop Tonga part earlier this year. GCN 1.2's lossless delta color compression algorithms help improve the performance in memory bandwidth limited scenarios, such as in APUs. This could result in a bigger-than-expected jump in performance, although we will wait until we can test to find out how much it helps.
The Carrizo platform will be fully HSA 1.0 compliant, compared to Kaveri which only had ‘HSA Features’, as AMD puts it in their latest mobility roadmap update:
The push from AMD into HSA compliant APUs was well documented back at the launch of Kaveri earlier this year. This enabled the CPU and GPU components of the silicon, while under OpenCL 2.0 mode, to have access to the main block of system DRAM with zero-time copy functions, offering the potential for large classes of applications especially those in the prosumer and industry space to be accelerated by having instant access to the parallelization afforded by the GCN GPU. One of the big drawbacks of being an earlier adopter to HSA, as we noted at the time, was that software developers required time to bring their code to market, as well as AMD having to go out and teach the developers how to cater for HSA topology.
Both Carrizo and Carrizo-L on the mobile side will be targeted at the same power bands as Kaveri and Beema, although the socket will be new. The use of FP4 BGA also indicates that a single socket will cater for both the Excavator and Puma+ based APUs and would be interchangeable. A video by AMD’s VP/GM for Computing and Graphics, John Byrne, states that Carrizo and Carrizo-L are currently being tested internally ready for a 1H 2015 release, along with support for DirectX 12, OpenCL 2.0, Mantle and Freesync.
One of the big features that AMD is pushing with Carrizo is energy efficiency, with it being a keystone of the message. Because AMD have been on the same process node for a short while, they have to essentially follow the Maxwell example, by providing more performance for less power without the advantage of shrinking resistors. We were provided with an energy efficiency roadmap as well, showing the different methods AMD is using to achieve this:
One example of the efficiency improvement was provided by AMD’s Voltage Adaptive Operation. Rather than compensate for voltage variations which wastes energy, this technology takes the average operating voltage and detects when the voltage increases beyond a smaller margin. To compensate for this increase, the CPU speed is reduced until the voltage drops below the threshold and then the CPU speed is moved back up.
The changes in speed are designed to be so minute that it does not affect overall performance, however it might only take an errant voltage delivery component to consistently make the voltage go above that threshold, causing erratic slowdown that might be statistically significant. It will be interesting to see how AMD implements the latest version of this feature.
The 2015 desktop roadmap remains unpublished so far. AMD’s perception of a mobile-focused strategy would tend to suggest that the mobile comes first, with desktop following behind, although at this point it is unclear. A number of AMD’s marketing materials with this launch gave examples of the use of Carrizo and HSA for the prosumer, indicating that a desktop version should be announced in due course.
As of yet there was no discussion on the APUs to be launched, the speeds or the capabilities. All the roadmap tells us is 'up to four cores' (Excavator for Carrizo, Puma+ for Carrizo-L), some GCN compute units and 10-45W overall. There is no mention of DDR4 support, although the timeframe might be relevant for AMD to make the jump. Given the launch is still at least two quarters away, I would expect better details in due course. That timeframe fits in nicely around or just after Computex, perhaps indicating more details then.
Source: AMD
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New Report: Sony PS4, Microsoft Xbox One, BOTH Had Record Black Friday Weeks
Even the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U saw modest sales; all three console makers moved over 500,000 units
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Quick Note: Creepy Wink Ad Robot is Creepy
Smart home company offers up a unique and disturbing vision of artificial intelligence
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MIT DNA Wizard Predicts How to Make Pyramids, Cubes, and More Out of DNA
Technology doesn't exist yet to make his predicted 3D DNA wireframes, but he's validated his model on exotic 2D structures
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Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 is Reportedly Delayed by Serious Overheating Woes
The RAM controller is faulty, the GPU driver is buggy, and the CPU overheats and shuts off when voltage demands rise, sources say
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Mark Zuckerberg Blasts Apple CEO's Anti-Ad Campaign as Hypocritical, "Ridiculous"
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Fossil Spinoff Meta Watch is Behind HP's Smartwatch
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Bluetooth 4.2 Promises Faster Connections, Better Security to Stop Snooping
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Yahoo's CIO Still Found Time for Fraud While Working for 10 Other Employers
But four of those employers just fired him publicly, others may fired him privately, but refused comment
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Apple Agrees to Stop Crippling Third Party Browsers, Firefox to Finally Hit the iPhone
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Comcast Ads "Reeducate" Public on TWC Merger's Net Neutrality "Benefits"
Comcast hopes to reeducate the public and rewrite history to its benefit, winning public support for its hegemony ambitions
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RIP, Microsoft Clip Art (1993 to 2014), You'll be Missed (Sort of)
Iconic licensed art collection will be replaced with Bing search
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After Losing Its Minds and Losing Hope, University of Texas Finally Finds Its Brains
Over 100 cerebrum of mentally ill had vanished seemingly without a trace, but the decades old mystery has been solved at last
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Android 5.0.1 Airs, Looks to Squash Numerous Lollipop Bugs
Google tweaks its core services in an attempt to remedy some of the problems associated with Lollipop
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iPhone 6 Helps Apple Regain Market Share, But iPhone 6+ Sales are Weak
Windows Phone sells strong in Europe, Argentina, and Australia, but remains weak in U.S. and China
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Scientists Use XNA ("Synthetic Genomes") to Brew Brand New Breed of Enzyme
XNAzymes resemble naturally occurring enzymes, but are produced via a manmade biology
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Quick Note: Stelle Audio Launches $130 Go-Go Portable Speaker
Stelle Audio releases a portable speaker, the $130 Go-Go, designed for mobile users always on the go.
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IDC: Windows Will Gobble Android and iOS Market Share; Smartphone Prices Will Drop
Smartphone makers will need to get more creative, with prices dropping and markets maturing, IDC research group says.
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Detroit Pulls Together Amidst Massive Blackout
No major fires or crimes were reported, as city pulled together to deal with massive power loss
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Android Lollipop Adoption Abysmal Thus Far, Under 0.1% a Month After Launch
After more than a year KitKat has finally reached roughly 1 in 3 Android devices
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U.S. Piracy Police Can't Keep Kim Dotcom From Spending Time With His Kids
U.S.-backed prosecution fumbles, is accused of lies; Judge rules Dotcom is a free man while he awaits extradition hearing in Feb.
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Girl Scouts Organization Finally Embraces Cookies on the Web (The Edible Kind)
The Girl Scouts organization has changed its mind, will embrace Internet as girls sell cookies
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Xbox One Reportedly "Pwned" PS4 on Black Friday, Outselling it Nearly 2-to-1
Nintendo Wii U sales were relatively absysmal amid lack of discounts; Wii U was outsold by Xbox 360
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Samsung's First Tizen Smartphone is Rumored to Launch in India on Dec. 10
Previous launch in Moscow, Russia embarrassingly fell through
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Survey: Most Women Don't Worry About Identity Theft, Data Breaches, or Phishing
Men are more concerned about identity theft and fraud-related problems while shopping this holiday season, Protect Your Bubble survey finds.
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Microsoft Pays Over $200M for a 8-Month Old Email Client w/ Under a Million Users
Deal sounds crazy given the small user base, but it actually makes sense given Outlook's weak mobile presence
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Report: Google Glass Will Switch to Intel Processors Next Year
Google is still struggling to carve a market niche for its wearable, despite public awareness
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Finland's Android Modular Puzzlephone Could Beat Google's Ara to the Market
Puzzlephone launched in Sept. 2014, but hopes to have its first devices out by mid-2015
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Microsoft Prototype, Lumia 1020 Look-Alike, Leaks in Pictures From China
Sources suggest this could either be the long-awaited Lumia 1030 or the cancelled McLaren device
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Quick Note: Monday is Last Day for Half Off (or More) Square Enix Games
Final Fantasy, Drakengard, Soul Reaver, Thief, and many other franchises are found at deep discounts
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EXCLUSIVE: Yahoo's New CIO Poorly Covered Up Digital Traces of Fraud at Netflix
Archived webpages, state LLC filings reveal Kail's poorly disguised ties to HiTech Mercs and Unix Mercenary LLC companies
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