Apple Introduces New MacBook Pro and iMac
Apple has announced upgrades to its 15" MacBook Pro and 27" iMac systems. The MacBook now offers flash storage on a PCIe connection that offers "up to 2.5 times the performance of its predecessor," as well as a new Force Touch trackpad offering "opportunities for unique input via a secondary, deeper click." The base system includes a 2.2GHz quad-core Intel i7, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage with the option for an AMD Radeon discrete GPU. The iMac retains the 5K Retina display while swapping the CPU for a 3.3GHz quad-core i5 and AMD Radeon M290 in the base model. The base model also includes 8GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. The base model for both systems starts at a price of $1,999.
Source: Tech Crunch
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Noctua Announces Two CPU Coolers
Noctua has announced a pair of new CPU coolers featuring an asymmetrical layout and compatibility with 140mm fans. The NH-D15S utilizes a dual tower, single fan design, leaving enough room to prevent blocking slots on your motherboard. An additional fan can be installed in the front of the tower to enhance the cooling ability. The NH-C14S is a top-flow cooler measuring just 115mm tall with an included NF-A14 PWM fan. Both coolers are compatible with a wide range of Intel and AMD systems. The NH-C14S has an MSRP of $74.90 and the NH-D15S has a price of $79.90.
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Improving Supercapacitors by Adding Boron
For energy storage, most people think of batteries, but we may soon see some serious competition from supercapacitors. These energy storages systems are able to charge and discharge very quickly, can be flexible and cheap to make, and can even be safer to work with. Now researchers at Rice University have found a way to significantly increase the energy density of flexible microsupercapacitors made of graphene by adding boron to the mix.
Capacitors work by storing electrical charges on separated conductors, which allows them to charge up and release energy very rapidly. Supercapacitors bring with them higher energy capacities, similar to that of batteries, so one day they could see use in many applications where batteries now dominate. To create the microsupercapacitors they used, the Rice researchers used a laser to burn patterns into common polymers, resulting in the formation of a matrix of graphene flakes. From previous work they knew a commercial polyimide was the best choice, but this new study revealed that dissolving boric acid into polyamic acid, so that the polyimide sheet was boron infused, quadrupled the supercapacitor's storage capability.
With just a two-step process, the researchers are able to create microsupercapacitors with four times the storage ability and five to ten times the energy density of boron-free microsupercapacitors. Beyond that, the supercapacitors survived over 12,000 cycles while retaining 90% capacitance and after 8000 bending cycles, there was no performance loss. That flexibility could be an especially important aspect of this technique, by enabling industrial-scale roll-to-roll production.
Source: Rice University
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Hardware Roundup: Tuesday, May 19, 2015, Edition
A new day is here loaded with items for you to check over, so let's get right to it. We have a look at the Gigabyte X99-UD4P motherboard, which offers plenty of features for the Intel Haswell-E processors without breaking the bank for one of those builds. A couple different G.SKILL Ripjaws 4 DDR4 kits get tested, with one being a 16GB 2666MHz kit and the other a 16GB 3000MHz kit. For cooling needs, we certainly have you covered today, as air coolers from CRYORIG get put to the test, as does a liquid cooler from Fractal Design. There are also some storage options, too, with the Silicon Power S80 480GB SSD and the Silicon Power Armor A60 portable hard drive up for review. The Sentey Lumenata Pro SP gaming mouse is reviewed to see what all it offers. We also have a look at AMD's HBM plans for its next generation of GPUs, plus a PC buying guide to help you put together a new rig.
Motherboards
Gigabyte X99-UD4P @ Bjorn3D
Memory
G.SKILL Ripjaws 4 16GB 2666MHz @ Bjorn3D
G.SKILL Ripjaws 4 3000MHz @ Bjorn3D
CPU Cooling
CRYORIG R1 Ultimate @ Benchmark Reviews
Fractal Design Kelvin S36 360mm Liquid Cooler @ Madshrimps
CRYORIG H5 Universal @ ThinkComputers
Storage/Hard Drives
Silicon Power S80 480GB SSD @ Bjorn3D
Silicon Power Armor A60 @ Bjorn3D
Mice/Keyboards
Sentey Lumenata Pro SP @ Bjorn3D
Miscellany
TechSpot PC Buying Guide: Mid-2015 Update @ TechSpot
High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) Architecture - AMD Plans for the Future of GPUs @ PC Perspective
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New Record Set for Black Silicon Solar Cells
Black silicon is a special form of silicon that has surface features that cause it to absorb much of the light that hits it, hence the name. Naturally there is interest in using it for solar cells and now researchers at Aalto University and Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya have set a new efficiency record of 22.1%.
To achieve this record the researchers used atomic vapor deposition to add a thin passivating film onto the black surface structures and by moving the metal contacts to the back of the cell. The film had the effect of limiting surface recombination, instead of it limiting the energized electrons that can be pulled away by the contacts for work. This is the first time the recombination issue of black silicon has been removed from such a system. Additional work may actually push the efficiency higher as the type of silicon used, p-type, is known to suffer from impurity-related degradation, so n-type silicon or more advanced cell structures could go even higher.
While the improved efficiency is definitely important and noteworthy, there is more to the operation of black solar cells than that. When tested against traditional solar cells of similar efficiency, the researchers found the black silicon cells generated more electricity because they are better at capturing light at low angles. This is important in northern areas, where the Sun shines at lower angles for a good portion of the year.
Source: Aalto University
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Channel Partner Program Benefits Improved by TRENDnet
TRENDnet, a best-in-class networking and surveillance hardware brand, has publically revealed that it has boosted the benefits of its channel partner program known as upTREND. While the program already provides IT and security channel partners in the United States and Canada with additional rebates, the company is now offering even more front end discounts and back end rebates to its partners. Registered upTREND Value Partners will receive an additional two percent front end discount on all TRENDnet product purchases through approved channels, while upTREND Silver Partners will receive an additional two percent back end rebate on all approved channel purchases.
The news comes after Rodney Finney, the North America Sales Director for TRENDnet, announced that the company has “raced passed the 2,000 active partner threshold for our North America upTREND Partner Program.” Finney went on to say that “Upgraded program discounts and rebates immediately reward our Value Added Resellers, System Integrators, and Security Solution Providers by increasing their margins and competitive advantage."
Source: Press Release
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