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September 2019 |
Monday Morning Reviews
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Monday, 30-September-2019 11:40:44 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Video Cards:
MSI GeForce RTX 2070 Gaming Z Review: Quietest RTX 2070?! on Tweaktown.
KFA2 GeForce RTX 2070 Super EX Gamer Black on Guru3D.
ASRock Radeon RX 5700 XT Taichi OC+ on TechPowerUp.
PowerColor Red Dragon Radeon RX 5700 on MadShrimps.
PowerColor Radeon RX 5700 Red Dragon on TechPowerUp.
Audio Visual:
Philips UpBeat SHB2505 Wireless Earbuds on LanOC.
Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless on Vortez.
CORSAIR Virtuoso RGB Wireless High-Fidelity Gaming Headset on NikKTech.
Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE headset on Guru3D.
Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE Gaming Headset on Tweaktown.
Storage:
Synology DiskStation DS1019+ 5-Bay NAS Server on BigBruin.
Kingston KC2000 NVMe SSD on HotHardware.
SK hynix Gold S31 1TB 3D NAND 2.5 Inch SSD on BigBruin.
Misc:
DeepCool DeepCool Assassin III CPU cooler on Guru3D.
Cooler Master V Series 750 W Gold PSU on TechPowerUp.
Fractal Design Vector RS case on Vortez.
1STPLAYER Bullet Hunter MK6 Mechanical Keyboard on APHNetworks.
ASUS Prime X570-Pro motherboard on Vortez.
Crucial Ballistix Sport AT DDR4 32GB 3000MHZ CL17 Quad-Channel Kit memory on NikKTech.
Retro Misc Pics
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Friday, 27-September-2019 14:39:50 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Once again I am wending my way westward to represent NSW in the Inline Hockey National Championships. 14 hours of driving across two days doesn't leave much time for Misc Picsing, so here's the Misc Pics from November 2008. Ahh, the past..
10 Nov 2008:
     
     
14 Nov 2008:
     
     
21 Nov 2008:
     
     
28 Nov 2008:
     
     
Thursday Night Reviews
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Thursday, 26-September-2019 22:53:37 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Input Etc:
Cooler Master MM710 Gaming Mouse on ThinkComputers.
Cooler Master MM710 mouse on LanOC.
Ducky One 2 SF Keyboard on TechPowerUp.
Cooling:
SilentiumPC Navis EVO ARGB 280 on TechPowerUp.
EK Waterblocks Classic RGB P360 Watercooling Kit on HWAsylum.
Storage:
SK Hynix Gold S31 1TB SSD on OCClub.
Corsair MP600 2TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 SSD on Tweaktown.
Mushkin Pilot-E 500GB SSD on NikKTech.
Memory:
Silicon Power XPOWER Turbine DDR4 32GB 3200MHZ CL16 Quad-Channel Kit on NikKTech.
G.Skill TridentZ NEO DDR4 3600 MHz on Guru3D.
Cases:
Cougar Panzer EVO RGB on TechPowerUp.
Phanteks Eclipse P360X Mid-Tower on Tweaktown.
Tuesday Night Reviews
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Tuesday, 24-September-2019 22:16:02 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Audio Visual:
Arctic Z2-3D Gen3 monitor arm on OCInside.
Philips Bass+ Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds on FunkyKit.
SteelSeries Arctis 3 Bluetooth 2019 Gaming Headset on NikKTech.
1MORE Portable BT Speaker on TechPowerUp.
Input Etc:
Cooler Master MM710 Optical Mouse on APHNetworks.
Cooler Master MasterMouse MM710 Gaming Mouse on Tweaktown.
1STPLAYER Black Sir Lite K7 Wireless Keyboard on TechPowerUp.
Storage:
ADATA XPG Spectrix S40G 1TB NVMe PCIe Gen3.0x 4 M.2 SSD on Tweaktown.
PCIe 4.0 vs. PCIe 3.0 SSDs Benchmarked on TechSpot.
Patriot P200 1TB SSD on NikKTech.
Synology DS620slim Gigabit NAS on Guru3D.
WD Black P10 Game Drive on LanOC.
Patriot Viper VP4100 1TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 SSD on FunkyKit.
Cases:
Fractal Design Vector RS on Vortez.
Corsair iCUE 465X RGB on Vortez.
be quiet! Pure Base 500 on Vortez.
Motherboard & CPU:
ASUS STRIX X570-E Gaming on Guru3D.
MSI MEG X570 ACE on Vortez.
Running The AMD "ABBA" Ryzen 3000 Boost Fix Under Linux With 140 Tests on Phoronix.
Networking:
TP-Link Archer C5400X Wireless Router on APHNetworks.
Nokia Beacon 3 Trio Wi-Fi System on Tweaktown.
NETGEAR Nighthawk RS400 AC2300 Cyber-Security Wireless Router on Tweaktown.
Misc:
Kolink Enclave Series 700 W PSU on TechPowerUp.
HP Zbook 14u G6 Review: A Thin, Powerful Mobile Workstation on HotHardware.
Silicon Power 2x16GB DDR4-2666 SODIMM Memory Kit on MadShrimps.
GIGABYTE Radeon RX 5700 XT Gaming OC 8G video card on FunkyKit.
Enermax T.B.RGB AD fans on OCInside.
Monday Evening
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Monday, 23-September-2019 18:54:33 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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I've been on the NASA press-release mailing list since I was in high-school in the late 80's, but it's rare I get an email from them that makes me do a double-take. This time it was the news that the Australian Government is going to partner with NASA for voyages to the Moon and beyond. The statement foresees potential Australian contributions in areas of mutual interest such as robotics, automation, and remote asset management – similar to that currently used by Australia in mining operations – and builds on a unique history of space cooperation between the U.S. and Australia that dates back to the Apollo era. As part of Australia’s commitment to partner with NASA, Morrison pledged to more than triple the Australian Space Agency budget to support Artemis and Moon to Mars.
Samsung has some new big fast SSDs that will never die. Hrm, I dunno about that, but they have some in-build redundancy. "Samsung’s FIP technology marks a new milestone in the 60-year history of storage by ensuring that SSDs maintain normal operation even when errors occur at the chip level, enabling a never-dying SSD for the first time in the industry. In the past, failure in just one out of several hundred NAND chips meant having to replace an entire SSD, causing system downtime and additional drive replacement cost. SSDs integrated with Samsung’s FIP software can detect a faulty chip, scan for any damage in data, then relocate the data into working chips," Samsung explains.
Meanwhile WD have signalled their intention to exit the storage market. After closing out its storage systems business, Western Digital will continue to offer its storage servers (including JBOX, JBOD, hybrid, and specialized machines) for customers with their own software and infrastructure. Furthermore, the company will keep developing its scalable and flexible OpenFlex NVMe-over-Fabric composable architecture. Essentially, Western Digital will refocus from storage systems to storage platforms, which is a more hardware-centric business. Does this mean they're not making consumer HDDs anymore?
If you're an F1 fan, you might enjoy this Williams tour and interview from Singapore this weekend, on TechARP. As part of the Acronis CyberFit Week, we were invited to an exclusive ROKiT Williams tour of the Singapore Grand Prix 2019! We also had the opportunity to sit down and talk to ROKiT Williams CIO Graeme Hackland, who has over 20 years of F1 experience under his belt!
Borderlands 3 was recently benchmarked on TechGage, and also over on eTeknix and Tweaktown. Borderlands is back, and that means one thing: Borderlands benchmarking is also back! We’re taking a look at graphics card performance with the help of fifteen GPUs and four resolutions. Since the performance picture between AMD and NVIDIA varies quite a bit between DX12 and DX11, we’re including results for both.
Fernando Corbato, a computing pioneer, passed away aged 93 recently. Decades before the existence of concepts like cybersecurity and the cloud, Corbató led the development of one of the world’s first operating systems. His “Compatible Time-Sharing System” (CTSS) allowed multiple people to use a computer at the same time, greatly increasing the speed at which programmers could work. It’s also widely credited as the first computer system to use passwords.
Sunday Night Reviews
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Sunday, 22-September-2019 23:34:34 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Motherboard & CPU:
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X & Ryzen 5 3400G CPU Performance on TechGage.
AMD EPYC 7642 Benchmarks: The Rome 48 Core CPU That Easily Takes On Intel's Xeon Platinum 8280 on Phoronix.
ASRock X570M Pro4 on Vortez.
GIGABYTE X570 AORUS PRO on Vortez.
ASRock X570 Extreme4 AMD AM4 Motherboard on OCInside.
AMD EPYC 7302 / 7402 / 7502 / 7742 Linux Performance Benchmarks on Phoronix.
Cases:
be quiet! Pure Base 500 Window Mid-Tower on NikKTech.
Fractal Design Vector RS Blackout (Light TG) Mid-Tower on Tweaktown.
NZXT H510 Elite on APHNetworks.
Fractal Design Vector RS on Guru3D.
Fractal Design Vector RS on TechPowerUp.
Fractal Design Vector RS BLACKOUT TG on Modders-Inc.
Fractal Design Vector RS on ThinkComputers.
CORSAIR iCUE 465X RGB Mid-Tower Smart Case on NikKTech.
Corsair iCUE 465X on Guru3D.
Corsair iCUE 465X Mid-Tower on Tweaktown.
NZXT H710 BR Mid-Tower on eTeknix.
Video Cards:
ASUS GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER ROG STRIX OC on Tweaktown.
ASUS GeForce RTX 2080 Super STRIX OC on TechPowerUp.
XFX Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB GDDR6 RAW II Ultra on MadShrimps.
Input Etc:
Logitech G604 mouse on LanOC.
Thermaltake Level 20 RGB Extended Mouse Pad on TechPowerUp.
Thermaltake Premium Level 20 RGB Extended Gaming Mouse Pad on FunkyKit.
Thermaltake Level 20 RGB Hard Mouse Pad on TechPowerUp.
Cooling:
EK Classic RGB P240 Liquid cooling on Guru3D.
Scythe Big Shuriken 3 CPU Cooler on FunkyKit.
Friday again!
     
     
     
     
     
     
Wednesday Night
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Wednesday, 18-September-2019 23:12:02 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Oracle have a new supercomputer, powered by 1060 Raspberry Pis. One Raspberry Pi can make a nice web server, but what happens if you put more than 1,000 of them together? At Oracle's OpenWorld convention on Monday, the company showed off a Raspberry Pi Supercomputer that combines 1,060 Raspberry Pis into one powerful cluster. According to ServeTheHome, which first reported the story, the supercomputer features scores of racks with 21 Raspberry Pi 3 B+ boards each. To make everything run well together, the system runs on Oracle Autonomous Linux.
Techspot have listed their Top 5 AMD X570 Motherboards. You're ready to go AMD on your next build, and we can't blame you. Third-gen Ryzen offers great options with core-rich CPUs at compelling price points. Right now for new builds we're essentially recommending the Ryzen 3600 as the best all-round value CPU and the Ryzen 9 3900X for those of you that require full-on productivity and workstation levels of performance. In-between those two, the Ryzen 3700X is the most sensible choice for getting 16 threads.
Tweaktown checked out Microsoft Azure AI, which apparently uses artificial intelligence to balance performance and battery power. The issue with gaming notebooks is their size and weight constraints, and while people want to be able to play their beloved games on the go, battery life and cooling capacity can greatly impact performance. People want lightweight notebooks with long battery life, so you can actually play games on your plane ride or during class, but those notebooks that might last over a few hours and also play those games are heavy, thick, and often very loud. To take a swing at this dilemma, Microsoft teamed up with notebook vendors like GIGABYTE to take tackle this problem using artificial intelligence to maximize resources for certain things while reducing resources to parts of the system not in use.
If you're a vintage Intel fan (well, not THAT vintage really) and you're near Hervey Bay, there's a pretty fancy motherboard that Ken is willing to donate to a collector - details here. I have an old Gigabyte GA-EP45T-EXTREME Motherboard that I am no longer using. It was removed from a working system. I am happy to donate it to a collector rather than bin it.
Deftone2k let me know that the winners of the July Iron Photographer contest have been chosen. The theme was "Revival", and the winners were herzeg with this image:
click for the post!
and Aratama_Bashi with this sequence:
 
click for the post!
Voting is open for the August entries and there's still time to enter the September contest, which has an open theme.
PLE Computers WD_Black Special Edition Contest
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Tuesday, 17-September-2019 23:31:19 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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OCAU Sponsors PLE Computers have a contest where you can win a gaming PC worth over $4k! You do need to purchase an eligible WD storage product, but here's the details:
click for the thread!
Tuesday Night
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Tuesday, 17-September-2019 23:27:56 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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WiFi 6 is officially here. Promising a "new Wi-Fi era," the nonprofit Wi-Fi Alliance industry group launched the Wi-Fi Certified 6 program Monday. The program aims to hold devices that use next-gen 802.11ax Wi-Fi radios to an established set of standards. Manufacturers that participate get to put a little certification badge on their packaging.
NSW will be getting digital driver's licenses soon, but not as soon as expected. Stability issues with the NSW government’s prized digital driver’s licence platform forced Service NSW to push back the planned state-wide rollout last month. Fronting budget estimates on Thursday, Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello revealed the concerns had ultimately lead to the decision to delay the full launch.
IBM have a new mainframe. I didn't realise mainframes were still a thing. At the system level, IBM continues to use central processor complex (CPC) drawers which incorporate the processors, memory, and I/O interconnects. A drawer on the z15 comprises two logical CP clusters and one SC. The split cluster design is intended to improve memory traffic. This is the same design as the z14. However, the similarities stop here. On the z14, a single drawer comprises six central processors and a single system controller chip. Within a drawer, everything is fully connected via the X-Bus.
Here's another article telling us how much the NBN sucks. Accessing Telstra’s copper network for ADSL services cost around $15 a month, compared to an average wholesale cost of $44 on the NBN. “That’s around a 300-per-cent increase in wholesale costs from ADSL to NBN,” the Vocus CEO said. “And consumers don’t have an option. If they want fixed-line broadband, they have to be on the NBN.”
ArsTechnica report on a widespread mobile phone vulnerability. The attacks were “developed by a specific private company that works with governments to monitor individuals,” Thursday’s report said. The researchers didn’t identify the exploit developer but said it had “extensive access” to core networks using both the SS7 and Diameter traffic-routing protocols. In some cases, the attacker exploits widely known weaknesses in SS7 as a fall-back mechanism when Simjacker attacks don’t work. Turns out the tinfoil hat brigade were right, the Government IS tracking us all with our phones.
On a lighter note, a NZ man who was about to be fired brought an emotional support clown to the meeting. The clown mimed crying as Jack’s employers slid the redundancy paperwork across the table and created a balloon unicorn and poodle to lighten the mood. “They were getting a free service and also getting the entertainment from Joe the clown,” Jack said, but conceded the clown was a little distracting. “It was sort of noisy, him making balloon animals, so we did have to tell him to be quiet from time to time.”
This is kind've a cute story, the world's oldest PM being taught to code by two 10yo girls. The world’s oldest Prime Minister – Dr. Mahathir Mohamad – at 94 years and counting, recently sat down for a coding session with two 10 year old girls. These girls, who are Microsoft Malaysia Ambassadors, are part of the new generation of children who are as comfortable coding, as they are playing with Legos.
Tuesday Night Reviews
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Tuesday, 17-September-2019 22:58:18 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Motherboard & CPU:
ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming X Motherboard on ThinkComputers.
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X & Ryzen 5 3400G Performance In Linux on Techgage.
Cases:
be quiet! Pure Base 500 on Guru3D.
be quiet! Pure Base 500 on TechPowerUp.
Phanteks Eclipse P360X on TechPowerUp.
SilverStone Lucid LD03 on APHNetworks.
Corsair iCUE 465X RGB on ThinkComputers.
Corsair iCUE 465X RGB on TechPowerUp.
Networking:
Ubiquiti AmpliFi Gamers Edition Mesh Wi-Fi System on Tweaktown.
EnGenius ESR530 AC1300 Smart Mesh Router Set on NikKTech.
TRENDnet TUC-ET2G USB-C 3.1 to 2.5GBASE-T Ethernet Adapter on NikKTech.
Borderlands 3: PC graphics performance benchmark analysis on Guru3D.
Software:
Borderlands 3 Benchmark Test & Performance Analysis on TechPowerUp.
Borderlands 3 Graphics Benchmark: 60 Nvidia and AMD GPUs Tested on TechSpot.
Siege of Centauri game on OCClub.
Video Cards:
SAPPHIRE Radeon RX 5700 XT NITRO+ OC on Tweaktown.
Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT Nitro+ on TechPowerUp.
MSI RX 5700 XT GAMING X on Vortez.
PowerColor Red Dragon Radeon RX 5700 on eTeknix.
Misc:
Ballistix Elite 16GB RAM 2x 8GB DDR4-4000 RAM on OCInside.
SilentiumPC Navis EVO ARGB 280 AIO CPU Cooler on FunkyKit.
Acer Predator X35 vs Asus PG35VQ: Battle of the Ultimate HDR Monitor on TechSpot.
MSI GK30 Keyboard with GM11 Mouse Combo on OCClub.
SABRENT 1TB Rocket NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSD on FunkyKit.
Sunday Afternoon Reviews
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Sunday, 15-September-2019 17:18:05 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Motherboard & CPU:
ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Formula (AMD X570) Motherboard on Tweaktown.
AMD Agesa ABBA with Boost Clock Fix Tested on Ryzen 3900X on TechPowerUp.
ASUS Z390 ROG Maximus XI Apex on Modders-Inc.
AMD EPYC 7402P Review 24 Cores of Performance and Value on ServeTheHome.
Cooling:
Deepcool Gamer Storm Castle 240EX CPU cooler on Vortez.
Swiftech H240 X3 AIO processor cooler on Guru3D.
Input Etc:
MSI VIGOR GK30 & CLUTCH GM11 Combo mouse and keyboard on Vortez.
Cooler Master MM710 mouse on LanOC.
SteelSeries Apex Pro Gaming Keyboard on FunkyKit.
Corsair IRONCLAW RGB WIRELESS Gaming Mouse on Tweaktown.
Corsair M55 RGB Pro gaming mouse on TechPowerUp.
MSI GK60 Vigor Mechanical Gaming Keyboard on OCClub.
Cooler Master SK650 White Limited Edition Mechanical Keyboard on APHNetworks.
Memory:
Patriot Viper 4 Blackout Edition 3600MHz on Vortez.
Crucial Ballistix Elite 4000MHz on Vortez.
Patriot Viper 4 Blackout 16GB DDR4-3600 Memory kit on FunkyKit.
Video Cards:
XFX RX 5700 XT THICC II Ultra on Vortez.
MSI GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER GAMING X on Tweaktown.
XFX RX 5700 XT THICC II Ultra on OCClub.
MSI Radeon RX 5700 XT GAMING X on Tweaktown.
MSI Radeon RX 5700 XT Gaming X on Guru3D.
Gigabyte Radeon RX 5700 XT GAMING OC on HotHardware.
Software:
Gears of War 5: PC graphics performance benchmarks on Guru3D.
Gears 5 Review: UE4 Performance, Guts And Glory Explored on HotHardware.
GreedFall Benchmark Test & Performance Analysis on TechPowerUp.
Audio Visual:
Cooler Master MH710 Gaming Earbuds on OCInside.
Corsair HS35 Stereo Gaming Headset on Guru3D.
LG 27GL850 Review: Fast IPS for Gaming on TechSpot.
Storage:
Corsair Force Series MP600 1TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 SSD on Tweaktown.
Toshiba N300 10TB NAS Hard Drive on MadShrimps.
QSAN XCubeNAS XN7008RE NAS Server on NikKTech.
Viper Gaming VPN100 512GB on LanOC.
SK Hynix Gold S31 1TB SSD on Tweaktown.
Cases:
Xigmatek Zest on TechPowerUp.
InWin 905 on ThinkComputers.
Asteroid 2000 QW7 Flyby
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Saturday, 14-September-2019 17:57:55 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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I know whenever I post about space launches etc on the news page they get postponed, but surely even I can't stop this one from happening. Asteroid 2000 QW7 is going to pass close to Earth tonight, at about 9:54pm Sydney time. More info here: An asteroid as wide as a skyscraper is tall will glide harmlessly past Earth tomorrow night (Sept. 14). Asteroid 2000 QW7 is between 1,000 and 2,000 feet wide (300 to 600 meters) and will fly by at a distance of 3 million miles (5 million kilometers) from our planet at 7:54 p.m. EDT, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The asteroid, moving 14,361 mph (23,100 km/h), poses no danger to Earth on this pass.
Discussion in this thread.
Friday again!
     
     
     
     
     
Thursday Evening
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Thursday, 12-September-2019 18:19:31 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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There's a cool new 50c coin which lets you crack a Cold War style code. The 50 cent coin features a unique ‘one-time pad’ key – similar to those used by operatives during the Cold War – to encrypt and decode secret messages. And you have the chance to solve it. As part of the 70th anniversary celebrations, The Mint also launched a ‘coincryption’ competition for those who crack the code on their coins.
There's some new iPhones - 3 of them. Apple on September 10 unveiled the iPhone 11, its new flagship $699 smartphone that offers a range of powerful features at an affordable price tag. Sold alongside the more expensive iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max, the iPhone 11 is going to be the iPhone perfect for most people. The iPhone 11 succeeds the iPhone XR, and it features a 6.1-inch LCD display that Apple calls a "Liquid Retina HD Display." It features a 1792 x 828 resolution at 326ppi, a 1400:1 contrast ratio, 625 nits max brightness, True Tone support for adjusting the white balance to the ambient lighting, and wide color support for true-to-life colors. Discussion in this thread.
I missed this last week, but thieves in Perth have made off with $300k worth of Apple gadgets. Nearly 45 minutes later, the group arrived at Garden City in Booragoon and smashed the glass window of the complex's Apple store, threatening security staff before stealing $300,000 worth of tech, mostly mobile phones. The men are believed to have been wearing dark-coloured clothing. Two cars linked to the break-ins were found torched in Perth's southern suburbs on Tuesday morning. Discussion here.
The Australian Electoral Commission are grumpy with Google for lack of transparency over political ads. Dr Michael Jensen, a political communications researcher at the University of Canberra, noted Google took five days to officially respond to the agency's query. He said this is an unnecessarily long time, compared with the lifespan of advertisements online. "For example, the duration of ads that the Russian internet agency used in the US context in 2016 ... typically ads would appear during especially the last phase of the election for just two days," he said. "When you're waiting at least five days for a response from Google, you're not able to interrupt an influence operation."
Meanwhile the ACCC's decision to block a Vodafone / TPG merger has ended up in court. TPG’s counsel Ruth Higgins, SC, told the court on the opening day of the three-week trial the ACCC position was built on the "fallacy" that TPG will have the ability to become Australia’s fourth mobile operator by building a network it says it doesn't want and can't afford to build. In outlining her argument, Dr Higgins invoked the hit Kevin Costner 1989 film Field of Dreams, where the Costner’s character builds a baseball diamond in his corn field to reunite the ghosts of his favourite players in a final game to describe the ACCC’s legal stance.
Babeltech have a VR shootout between the Vive Pro and the Oculus Rift. We present a five-game cross-platform VR performance showdown between the Oculus Rift CV1 and the Vive Pro. We benchmark using the RX 5700 XT Anniversary Edition versus the RX 2060 SUPER and RTX 2070 SUPER Founders Editions. That follows on from this earlier comparison of the three video cards in twelve VR games.
The ACT is looking to build a huge battery system to stabilise power in the area. The proposed battery would be able to store about one-third as much power as the Hornsdale reserve in South Australia, which is the world's biggest lithium-ion battery. Mr Rattenbury said the ACT facility, which would take about two years to build, would help stabilise the electricity network and allow Canberra to operate solely on renewable power.
Tuesday Evening Reviews
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Tuesday, 10-September-2019 20:18:36 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Motherboard & CPU:
ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Formula on Guru3D.
ASUS PRIME X570-PRO Motherboard on ThinkComputers.
Cases:
Antec Dark Avenger DA601 Mid-Tower Chassis on Tweaktown.
Corsair Carbide Series 678C on ThinkComputers.
Cooler Master MasterCase H100 on APHNetworks.
Video Cards:
XFX Radeon RX 5700 XT Ultra THICC II on TechPowerUp.
XFX Radeon RX 5700 XT THICC II Ultra on Guru3D.
How Does the GTX 1080 Ti Stack Up in 2019? on TechSpot.
MSI RTX 2070 SUPER Gaming X on LanOC.
MSI RTX 2080 SUPER GAMING X TRIO on Modders-Inc.
MSI Geforce RTX 2070 Super Gaming X on OCClub.
MSI GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER Gaming X on Guru3D.
MSI GeForce RTX 2070 Super Gaming X on TechPowerUp.
Storage:
Kingston A2000 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD on NikKTech.
Silicon Power BOLT B75 Pro 1TB Portable SSD on FunkyKit.
Toshiba Performance X300 10TB SATA III HDD on NikKTech.
Western Digital My Passport 5TB (2019) on Tweaktown.
Asura Genesis Xtreme Review: Speedy NVMe SSD, With RBG Bling on HotHardware.
WD_Black Game Drive P10 5TB Portable HDD on Tweaktown.
Power Supply:
Corsair RM750 750 W on TechPowerUp.
FSP Dagger Pro 650W Power Supply on APHNetworks.
Enerpad Universal Powerbank AC-42K EU on NikKTech.
Audio Visual:
1MORE Piston Fit Bluetooth In-Ear Headphones on MadShrimps.
Asus ROG Strix XG438Q 4k gaming monitor on TechSpot.
Misc:
Ubiquiti UniFi Protect Video Security on Tweaktown.
Silverstone UC03-PRO / UC04-PRO Data Transfer and Charging Station on Bjorn3D.
Nitro Concepts S300 EX Gaming Chair on TechPowerUp.
NZXT HUE 2 Ambient V2 RGB Lighting Kit on Tweaktown.
Gears 5 Benchmark Test & Performance Analysis on TechPowerUp.
CompuLab Airtop 3 - Most Powerful Fan-Less Computer We've Tested on Phoronix.
Thermalright Macho 120 Rev.B CPU Cooler on NiKKTech.
Zadak Spark RGB DDR4-4133 Memory Kit on FunkyKit.
Monday Evening
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Monday, 9-September-2019 19:28:23 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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The Govt has blocked 8 websites that still host footage of the Christchurch attacks. The eSafety Commissioner has been given responsibility for directing which sites need to be blocked by the telcos, after giving them the chance to take down the offending content. These powers have now been implemented for the first time, with the eSafety Commissioner ordering Australian telcos to block eight websites still hosting video of the Christchurch attack or the attacker’s manifesto.
WD has announced some more huge HDDs for datacentres. Numerous reports claimed these drives are the first to feature WD's Microwave Assisted Magnetic Recording (MAMR) technology, but a spokesperson told us they "can not disclose specific details about which energy assist technologies are used in each drive." WD said the drives are part of its Capacity Enterprise HDDs portfolio that ranges from a six-disk 10TB drive with an air-based HDD to a nine-disk 20TB drive with a helium-based HDD. The Ultrastar DC HC550 CMR HDD will be available in 16TB and 18TB capacities, and the Ultrastar DC HC650 SMR HDD will be available in a 20TB capacity, sometime in the first half of 2020.
Maybe you could get one delivered by drone, if you live in Brisbane. Indeed, that is it’s business model, with the company – owned by a subsidiary of internet giant Google – aiming to deliver small items on demand to residents without them having to leave their homes. The company has already announced it will begin its Queensland rollout in the Logan suburbs of Crestmead and Marsden, however they’ve now confirmed it will happen by the end of the month.
Intel have been taking aim at Ryzen's heat and reliability, but TomsHardware investigated for themselves. Having reached a dead-end in our attempts to get an official explanation from AMD about the matter, the only thing left to do was to test to see if we can spot a change to the temperature thresholds in the various firmware revisions. We can't verify the impact on reliability, as CPUs don't have a wearout indicator like we see with SSDs. However, the most logical starting point is to determine if there were intentional changes to boost behavior.
Meanwhile there's a statement on Medium about the issue from Ryan Shrout. I assumed this was under his PC Perspective hat but reading the article I realise he is now the Chief Performance Strategist at Intel. I obviously haven't been refreshing LinkedIn enough. :)
Thanks to Axe and RA this week!
     
     
     
     
     
Thursday Night
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Thursday, 5-September-2019 22:36:35 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Android 10 is out now, on certain devices. Quality time. It’s different for everyone. For some, it’s unplugging on the weekends. For others, it’s spending hours video-chatting with your best friend. Android 10 gives you the tools to find that balance.
Melbourne is getting a huge eSports venue. It’ll be called Fortress Melbourne and will span 2,700+ square metres across two floors. It’ll open its doors in early 2020 and will house gaming PCs, console gaming suits, dedicated streamer pods, RPG and tabletop game play area, function rooms, a restaurant, two bars and a 200 seat purpose built esports arena with production facilities.
OCInside have a guide to overclocking Apollo Lake and Gemini Lake CPUs. Overclocking an inexpensive Intel N3450 Apollo Lake or Intel N4100 Gemini Lake CPU is officially not possible due to the locked multiplier, but we have looked into this issue in order to provide a little bit more performance for users of slower PC systems and have even written a small OC Tool. So from now on you can not only overclock a common Intel CPU, but also get some more out of a low budget Intel Apollo Lake system.
TechSpot meanwhile looked at Mesh WiFi systems. Mesh Wi-Fi routers are a recent trend in the networking market and aim to bring some of the advanced features of enterprise networking systems to the consumer. How well do they work, and what performance benefit do you get by switching to one? We'll take a deep dive today into the top players on the market to find out.
Ryzen 3000 owners will enjoy the news of fixed boost performance from AMD - but it's probably not a huge difference. At any rate, AMD has admitted there’s some kind of problem with boost speed here, although the statement still takes the time to clarify that the boosts users achieve will depend on all sorts of variables (which is a fair point to make, particularly regarding the cooling solution used with the CPU, and related issues like case airflow).
Repairability has been something of a bugbear for Apple devices for a while, but they have now announced broader independent repair shop availability of parts and instructions. Repair businesses with a technician certified through Apple can apply to join the Independent Repair Provider program for free. Once approved, they can, according to Apple, buy genuine Apple parts at the same cost as the more than 5,000 repair stores in Apple’s Authorized Service Providers program. Independent shops also gain access to “tools, training, repair manuals and diagnostics,” which presumably would allow them to overcome issues like unverified batteries, Touch ID authorization (a.k.a. Error 53), missing True Tone displays, and other issues that have dogged third-party Apple repair.
Here's a trailer for an upcoming Bill Gates documentary on Netflix. This three-part documentary tells Bill Gates’ life story, in-depth and unfiltered, as he pursues unique solutions to some of the world’s most complex problems. From Academy Award-winning director Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, He Named Me Malala).
Wednesday Night Reviews
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Wednesday, 4-September-2019 21:22:58 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Motherboard & CPU:
ASRock X570 Creator Motherboard on FunkyKit.
ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming X on TechPowerUp.
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X CPU on ModdersInc.
Cooling:
Scythe Fuma 2 Twin-Tower CPU Cooler on FunkyKit.
SilentiumPC Fera 3 HE1224 V2 CPU Cooler on FunkyKit.
Lian Li Bora Digital RGB fans on Vortez.
Thermaltake Riing Duo 12 Radiator Fan TT Premium Edition on Vortez.
Storage:
Patriot P200 2TB SATA III SSD on Tweaktown.
TeamGroup T-Force Liquid Cooled NVMe SSD on Guru3D.
Mushkin Helix-L 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD on NikKTech.
Mushkin Helix-L 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD on NikKTech.
Silicon Power P34A80 PCIe 3x4 M.2 2280 1TB SSD on MadShrimps.
Audio Visual:
Razer Ripsaw HD Capture Card on eTeknix.
1MORE Dual Driver BT ANC In-Ear Headphones on TechPowerUp.
MXL APS Podcasting Bundle on ThinkComputers.
Thermaltake Premium E1 RGB Headset Stand on FunkyKit.
Networking:
Netgear Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR300 router on Guru3D.
ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 Router Review: A WiFi 6 Monster on HotHardware.
Video Cards:
VR Wars: the RTX 2060 vs. the RX 5700 on BabeltechReviews.
Control Tested at 8K: NVIDIA TITAN RTX vs AMD Radeon VII Showdown on Tweaktown.
GeForce RTX 2070 Super vs. Radeon RX 5700 XT: 37 Game Benchmark on TechSpot.
ASUS ROG STRIX RX 5700 XT OC on Vortez.
ASUS Radeon RX 5700 ROG STRIX on Guru3D.
Software:
Control Benchmark Test & RTX Performance Analysis on TechPowerUp.
Input Etc:
CORSAIR K57 RGB WIRELESS Gaming Keyboard on MadShrimps.
Thermaltake Premium Level 20 RGB Gaming Mouse Pad on FunkyKit.
ASUS ROG Strix Carry gaming mouse on TechPowerUp.
Corsair NIGHTSWORD RGB & M55 RGB PRO Gaming Mice on TechGage.
Gigabyte AORUS AMP500 Mousing Surface on APHNetworks.
Cases:
ABKONCORE CRONOS 710S Mid-Tower on NikKTech.
Lian Li O11 Dynamic XL on TechPowerUp.
be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 Rev. 2 on TechPowerUp.
Corsair iCUE 220T RGB on Guru3D.
Lian Li PC011 Dynamic XL Full-Tower Chassis on Tweaktown.
Portable & Prebuilt:
Dell XPS 15 (2019) Review: OLED Display Beauty, 8-Core Beast on HotHardware.
Martrea Acute Angle AA-B4 Mini PC on OCInside.
Azulle Byte3 Fanless Mini Desktop PC on ThinkComputers.
Stormforce Onyx GTX 1660Ti Ryzen 5 3600 prebuilt PC on Vortez.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus Review: Power Of The Pen And Much More on HotHardware.
Memory:
ZADAK SPARK RGB DDR4-4133 16GB Memory Kit on Tweaktown.
Kingmax Zeus Dragon DDR4 RGB 32GB 3000MHZ CL16 Quad-Channel Kit on NikKTech.
Apple iPhone users have been exposed to a widespready spyware campaign. "This is definitely the most serious iPhone hacking incident that's ever been brought to public attention, both because of the indiscriminate targeting and the amount of data compromised by the implant," said former US government hacker Jake Williams, the president of Rendition Security. Announced late on Thursday by Google researchers, the last of the vulnerabilities were quietly fixed by Apple by February, but only after thousands of iPhone users were believed to have been exposed over more than two years. More info here, thanks IntelInside.
CASA are investigating video of a man fishing from a drone. Not fishing WITH a drone, but FROM a drone! In the vision, taken at Upper Coliban Reservoir in central Victoria, the man, with beer at hand, is carried for several metres above the water, catches a fish and eventually returns to shore.CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said there were serious safety risks involved with what appeared in the footage.
Meanwhile, this from Skymaster: Here's one to follow up on the MacBook recall posted in June. Qantas and Virgin have banned MacBooks from Checked-In luggage and now only to be carry on. The FAA has banned all affected models from all fights in the US. So the suggestion is - if you have a MacBook - consider your flying options and make sure you know the rules.
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