Patrickanthonyolson

If you're looking to get in shape in the new year, your existing pair of wireless earbuds may not cut it when it comes to a secure fit and sweat resistance. But now you can pick up the Beats Fit Pro, which we consider to be the best earbuds for workouts, at the lowest price we've seen. The Fit Pros have dropped to $160 again, returning to their Black Friday price, while other options like the Beats Studio Buds have also been discounted as part of a wider Beats sale. You can even pick up the Beats Studio Buds plus a $25 Amazon gift card for only $185, or $40 off the bundle's usual price.

The Fit Pros actually look quite similar to the Beats Studio Buds, albeit for the extra fit wing that the former have. These make the Pros even more comfortable and secure than other buds, and they'll certainly help keep them in place during high-intensity workouts. We found them to have a better fit than Apple's AirPods Pro, and you're still getting things like onboard controls and a wear-detection sensor that enables automatic pausing when you remove the buds from your ears. We also appreciate their IPX4 rating, which will protect them even during your sweatiest sessions.

On top of their solid design, the Beats Fit Pros also have balanced sound with punchy bass, along with good ANC that blocks out most surrounding noises. Since they're part of the Apple ecosystem, you're also getting the conveniences most typically associate with AirPods: things like quick pairing and switching between Apple devices, hands-free Siri and Find My capabilities. But unlike Apple's own buds, the Fit Pros carry some of those perks, including fast pairing and control customization, to Android as well thanks to a dedicated app.

All of those features combined make the Fit Pros hard to beat at the moment if you're looking for a pair of buds to be reliable workout companions. And since they're designed to seamlessly work with Apple devices, it makes them a solid alternative for iPhone users who maybe haven't warmed up to AirPods' stick design. But if you're looking for something even more budget-friendly, the Beats Studio Buds may fit the bill — they also have all of the AirPods-like perks that the Fit Pros have, plus a comfortable design, an IPX4 rating and good ANC. What you won't find on those more affordable buds are onboard volume controls, sound customizations and wireless charging.

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It has been eight years since EA released The Sims 4. While it seems there's still plenty of life left yet in the game as it goes free-to-play, many fans have been wondering about the future of the series. During a showcase on Tuesday, the publisher and developer Maxis announced the next entry in the franchise, and offered a sneak peek into what's ahead.

The next-gen Sims game is currently dubbed Project Rene. Maxis opted for that working title "to be reminiscent of words like renewal, renaissance and rebirth to represent the developer’s renewed commitment for The Sims’ bright future," EA said in a press release.

Maxis is in the very early stages of building Project Rene, which probably won't arrive for another few years. However, it did offer some details during the Behind the Sims Summit, including a look at more in-depth customization. You'll be able to change the patterns, colors and shapes of objects, including various elements of each item. For instance, you could adjust the shape and size of a bed's footboard or tweak the cushion layout and pattern on a couch. It seems that you'll have more freedom over how to place objects without having to rely on the grid system that The Sims has long employed.

You'll be able to play Project Rene by yourself or with your friends (there's the option to share furniture sets, for instance). What's more, it will be a cross-platform game with cross-progression, so you'll be able to continue playing when you move to a different device. That's also a possible hint that Project Rene is being eyed as a free-to-play-title.

EA/Maxis

EA said it was providing its earliest-ever look at a Sims game. As such, some of these planned features may change in the coming years, and there's still a lot more to come. Maxis wants input from players as it develops Project Rene. As such, it's taking a similar approach to sibling studio Full Circle, which has invited fans to try very early versions of the new Skate and offer feedback to help guide its work.

Elsewhere, the stream offered some details on updates for the current games. Maxis is working with Overwolf, which is behind mod repository CurseForge, to build a destination that The Sims 4 fans can visit to find trusted mods and player-created content for the game. More details on that will be revealed later this year.

Meanwhile, the next wave of expansion packs is coming in 2023. The showcase included a teaser related to infants, who may no longer be confined to cribs. One was shown crawling around before an adult picked them up.

Starting Tuesday, The Sims FreePlay will allow players to use all hairstyles, earrings and glasses on Sims of any gender. Maxis is upgrading characters' faces as well as part of a drive to make the franchise more inclusive. The Sims FreePlay will also gain a superyacht that your Sims can live in early next year. As for The Sims Mobile, balconies will be available in the build and buy catalog sometime this holiday season.

EA/Maxis

During yesterday's Intel Innovation event, two major graphics card companies — ASRock and GUNNIR — revealed four custom-designed Arc A770 & Arc A750 cards. The revelation of custom designs from other manufacturers is great to see since all we have seen so far have been the Arc Limited Edition (IBC) designs.

Custom Intel Arc A770 & A750 Graphics Cards From ASRock & GUNNIR Shown Off At Innovation 2022

Between ASRock and GUNNIR, the latter company was the first to hint at their custom Arc A7 series GPU several months ago. Now, we see that the company designed a graphics card for the new Intel Arc A7 series that offers three cooling fans with a 2.2-slot cooler. The new graphics card will house two eight-pin power connectors to feed up to 300W of power to the board which hints at a factory overclocked design. The graphics card is encased in a metal shroud with a complete backplate.

Another graphics card from GUNNIR also offers a triple-fan aesthetic, but not much is known about the card. It could very likely be the Arc A750 custom design and it was pictured by Engadget during the event, which we have provided below.

ASRock displayed two new Intel Arc A7 GPUs from the company, the Arc A770 Phantom Gaming, and the Arc A750 Challenger. Between the two cards, one does carry the label of "OC," giving overclocking enthusiasts an option from an Intel graphics card partner for insane speeds and performance above the standard offerings from Intel.

ASRock keeps a similar power connector design, choosing to sport an eight-pin configuration, which will showcase non-reference choices with the Intel Arc GPU-based designs. Intel has implied that they allow a little room for flexibility with their partner's designs, especially when talking about clock speeds and TGP.

2 of 9

While we do not know the current availability or drop date for the partner GPU designs, we do know that Intel confirmed the release date for the Intel Arc A770 on October 12, 2022. With most partners releasing designs based on the leading company, those cards will be expected to launch simultaneously with Intel. However, every date is subject to change, so we will need to wait until we get closer to release if the dates change.

The post Intel Arc A770 & Arc A750 Custom Graphics Cards From ASRock & GUNNIR Displayed by Jason R. Wilson appeared first on Wccftech.

After years of providing off-the-grid camping, cooking and pocketable charger tech, BioLite has moved further into the genre with its newest and more robust power-backup solutions. The company just announced the BaseCharge 600 and BaseCharge 1500 portable power stations, along with an accompanying SolarPanel 100. As with most products of this type, they’re great for powering entertainment tech, appliances and workspaces when you’re far from an outlet. They’re also helpful in the home when the electricity goes out.

Both power stations provide an LCD dashboard with power metrics, system notifications, temperature alerts, port activations and battery life status. You can also view cumulative usage over time and reset the counter as needed. They should hold a charge for quite a while, but its recommended to top these up every six months, so they're ready when you need them.

Each device is encased in a hard plastic shell with small rubber feet on the bottom. There are inset areas on each side to help carry these relatively heavy devices. As for ruggedness, they’re not exactly built for big drops considering the weight. And while they’re great for bringing along as off-the-grid power backups, there’s no IP rating or weather protection to speak of, so you’ll want to keep them out of rain.

BaseCharge 600

BioLite

The more affordable of the power station pair is the BaseCharge 600 ($699). This has a Li-ion battery capacity of 622 Wh, with three types of inputs: a combo wall and solar charger input, plus a port for USB-C PD input. Charge times range from seven hours via wall charger, three and a half hours with both wall and USB-C PD charging and six hours using a SolarPanel 100 at peak sunlight. It weighs 13 pounds and measures 12.2 x 7.9 x 7.9 inches.

There are ten outputs:

• 2 - 110V AC (600W up to 1,000W surge)

• 1 - Wireless charging for Qi and related devices on the top platform (10W)

• 2 - 12V DC barrel ports (120W)

• 1 - 12V car port (aka cigarette lighter port - 120W)

• 2 - USB-A (5V)

• 1 - USB-C (5V)

• 1 - USB-C PD (5V / 100W)

BaseCharge 1500

BioLite

The larger, heavier and more powerful model is the BaseCharge 1500 ($1,699). It has a Li-ion battery capacity of 1521 Wh and the same three inputs as the 600 model. Charge times range from 13.5 hours using the wall charger, eight hours with wall charger and USB-C PD, and four hours at peak sunlight if you have four SolarPanel 100 units. This larger device weighs 26.5 pounds and measures 14.4 x 12.2 x 8.2 inches.

There’s a total of 12 outputs on this device:

• 3 - 110V AC (1,200W up to 2,400W surge)

• 1 - Wireless charging for Qi and related devices on the top platform (10W)

• 2 - 12V DC barrel ports (120W)

• 1 - 12V car port (aka cigarette lighter port - 120W)

• 2 - USB-A (5V)

• 2 - USB-C (5V)

• 1 - USB-C PD (5V / 100W)

SolarPanel 100

BioLite

If you want to turn your portable power station into a solar generator, there’s the new SolarPanel 100 ($400). This is a single foldable unit, with four panels that offers a power output of 100 watts in peak sunshine. You can also pretend you’re Astronaut Mark Watney and daisy chain up to four SolarPanel 100s to quadruple the wattage.

These panels are rated IPX4 making them relatively durable and resistant to water, such as a continuous light rain. There’s no onboard battery, but you can charge two devices directly from the panel as it soaks up the sun via two USB-A ports and one USB-C PD.

All the panels fold into one 20.1 x 14.3 x 1.5-inch rectangle, with a built-in carrying handle so you can lug around all 9.5 pounds of panel. The backside of the unit, which is the only exposed side when folded, is a gray fabric-like material. There’s also a zippered pouch for storing cables.

When expanded, there’s a surface spanning 20.1 x 57.5 inches and a shallow depth of about one inch, plus two relatively low-slung legs when fully extended. The “optimal sun system” is the same as you’d find on BioLite’s previous solar panels, consisting of a small target and a recessed white area so you can track the angle of the sun by its shadow.

Customers can sign up on a waiting list starting today on the company’s website, with pre-orders opening up on September 7th for all three new products. They’re scheduled to hit retail outlets including Amazon and REI in October 2022.

AMD has benchmarked their flagship 3rd Gen EPYC Milan CPU in Cinebench R23 and broken all previous records set by last-generation Ryzen Threadripper CPUs based on the Zen 2 architecture. The world record benchmark not only puts AMD in the leading position when it comes to multi-threaded performance but also shows just how fast the upcoming generation of HEDT AMD Ryzen Threadripper CPUs is going to be.

AMD Breaks Cinebench World Record With Its 3rd Gen EPYC Milan CPUs Proving That Next-Gen Ryzen Threadripper HEDT CPUs Would Offer A Monstrous Performance Uplift

The AMD 3rd Gen EPYC Milan lineup is based on the 7nm Zen 3 core architecture with a brand new cache design and all-new cores. The Zen 3 architecture brought a 19% IPC uplift over Zen 2 which is major considering that Zen 2 already delivered an impressive IPC gain over the first generation Zen core architecture.

In a video posted by the official AMD YouTube channel, AMD's Server Performance Demo Engineer, Apostolos Kotsiolis, demonstrated the performance of the AMD EPYC 7763 flagship CPU. The EPYC 7763 is a beast of a chip with 64 cores, 128 threads, a base TDP of 2.45 GHz, & a boost clock of up to 3.50 GHz. The CPU comes with an insane 256 MB of L3 cache, 32 MB of L2 cache & a 280W TDP. The CPU retails at around $8000 US and is literally the best of the best when it comes to industry-leading server performance.

AMD demoed the dual chips in the CInebench R23 benchmark and scored an impressive 113,631 points in the multi-thread test. The performance was demonstrated within a Dell EMC server that was relying solely on air cooling. This is currently the highest Cinebench R23 score ever achieved by any processor.

The previous world record was held by AMD's Ryzen Threadripper 3990X under the LN2 cooling at clock speeds of 5.22 GHz. That chip scored 105,170 points. Even against a massively over-clocked Threadripper on LN2, the EPYC Milan CPU scores an 8% performance lead. Compared to dual EPYC 7H12 64 Core CPUs at stock, the dual EPYC 7763 net a 23% performance uplift. You can see the world-record entry over at HWBot here.

If we talk standard numbers, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X scores around 75,000 points and that puts the EPYC Milan chip in a mind-blowing 52% lead. This is simply put just insane amounts of performance and just goes off to show how fast the next-generation AMD Ryzen Threadripper CPU lineup is going to be. The AMD EPYC Milan CPUs rely on conservative clock speeds due to 24/7 use so we can expect greater than 25% performance improvement for Zen 3 based Threadripper CPUs given that they will boast much higher clock speeds.

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 5000 Desktop CPUs will also retain support on the TRX40 platform and will be the last generation of Threadripper CPUs for the SP3 socket before AMD moves to its brand new platform offering DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 support. The HEDT lineup is expected to debut in August 2021 so we can expect an unveil by mid of 2021.

AMD CPU Roadmap (2017-2022)

Year	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2021-2022	2023
Architecture	Zen (1)	Zen (1) / Zen+	Zen (2) / Zen+	Zen (3) / Zen 2	Zen (3) / Zen 3 (+)	Zen (4) / Zen 3 (+)	Zen (4)
Process Node	14nm	14nm / 12nm	7nm	7nm	7nm	5nm / 6nm	5nm
Server	EPYC 'Naples'	EPYC 'Naples'	EPYC 'Rome'	EPYC 'Rome'	EPYC 'Milan'	EPYC 'Genoa'	TBD
Max Server Cores / Threads	32/64	32/64	64/128	64/128	64/128	TBD	TBD
High End Desktop	Ryzen Threadripper 1000 Series (White Haven)	Ryzen Threadripper 2000 Series (Coflax)	Ryzen Threadripper 3000 Series (Castle Peak)	Ryzen Threadripper 3000 Series (Castle Peak)	Ryzen Threadripper 5000 Series (Chagall)	Ryzen Threadripper 6000 Series	Ryzen Threadripper 7000 Series
Ryzen Family	Ryzen 1000 Series	Ryzen 2000 Series	Ryzen 3000 Series	Ryzen 4000/5000 Series	Ryzen 5000 Series	Ryzen 6000 Series	Ryzen 7000 Series
Max HEDT Cores / Threads	16/32	32/64	64/128	64/128	64/128	TBD	TBD
Mainstream Desktop	Ryzen 1000 Series (Summit Ridge)	Ryzen 2000 Series (Pinnacle Ridge)	Ryzen 3000 Series (Matisse)	Ryzen 5000 Series (Vermeer)	Ryzen 5000/6000 Series (Warhol)	Ryzen 6000/7000 Series (Raphael)	TBD
Max Mainstream Cores / Threads	8/16	8/16	16/32	16/32	16/32	16/32	TBD
Budget APU	N/A	Ryzen 2000 Series (Raven Ridge)	Ryzen 3000 Series (Picasso Zen+)	Ryzen 4000 Series (Renoir Zen 2)	Ryzen 5000 Series (Cezanne Zen 3)	Ryzen 6000 Series (Rembrandt Zen 3+)	Ryzen 7000 Series (Phoenix Zen 4)

The post AMD Benchmarks 3rd Gen EPYC Milan CPU in Cinebench, Shows That Next-Gen Ryzen Threadripper Is Going To Be A Beast by Hassan Mujtaba appeared first on Wccftech.

Halo 3 PC will be joining Halo: The Master Chief Collection next week on July 14, Microsoft and 343 Industries have announced.

The news was announced via the official Halo Twitter account just now. Aside from becoming available through the Microsoft Store and Steam, the game will also be a playable through Xbox Game Pass as part of The Master Chief Collection.

We’ve included a freshly-released teaser for Halo 3 on PC down below:

Halo 3 is coming to Halo: The Master Chief Collection for PC on July 14, 2020! Now optimized for PC, prepare to finish the fight in this epic conclusion to the original trilogy on Xbox Game Pass for PC (Beta), Microsoft Store, and Steam.

Flighting for Halo 3 on PC kicked off back in May of this year. Be sure to read up on the Halo MCC development update on the official Halo Waypoint.

Halo 3 is part of the entire Master Chief Collection coming to PC. Many consider Halo 3 the best game to date in the Halo series. The title received numerous awards, including awards for best-multiplayer game of 2007.

The legendary saga continues with Halo 3 as the Master Chief returns to uncover an ancient secret, and bring the conflict between the Covenant, the Flood, and the entire Human race to a dramatic, pulse-pounding climax.

Developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft, Halo 3 is the concluding chapter in the Halo trilogy—an international award-winning action series that grew into a global entertainment phenomenon, selling more than 14.5 million games worldwide, logging more than 650 million hours of multiplayer action on Xbox Live.

The Master Chief Collection was released for Xbox One back in 2014 and includes Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, and Halo 4.

The post Halo 3 PC Joins The Master Chief Collection Next Week on July 14th by Aernout van de Velde appeared first on Wccftech.

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As expected, Intel has launched its 2nd Generation Xeon Scalable 'Cascade Lake' Refresh family with several new SKUs offering higher core, thread, cache counts at better perf/dollar ratios to compete against AMD's 2nd Gen EPYC Rome CPUs. The new processors retain the 14nm process node which is now in its more advanced form to date, offering Intel to boost up the clock speeds even further.

Intel Refreshes Xeon Scalable 'Cascade Lake' Server CPU Family - Now With More Cores, Threads, Cache & Competitive Prices

The launch comes as no surprise as we had already got to know about Intel's 2nd Generation Xeon Scalable Refresh family of processors earlier this month. Today, Intel is officially unveiling the new lineup which is composed of 18 SKUs, ranging all the way from 8 to 24 cores. It's not a complete top-to-bottom refresh as Intel has primarily focused on its Gold, Silver and Bronze series while the Platinum line of Xeon Scalable processors remains unchanged.

“Intel’s data-centric platforms offer the broadest market coverage of any server processor platform -– from the cloud, through the network, to the intelligent edge,” said Lisa Spelman, corporate vice president and general manager of the Xeon and Memory Group within Intel’s Data Platform Group. “Working closely with our customers, we are delivering these new server processors to address their performance and pricing needs across a broad range of markets and workloads.” - Intel

The Xeon Platinum line did receive price cuts last month so that has to be taken into account but the 2nd Gen family offers completely new specifications. Intel has reported up to 36% performance improvement and up to 42% more performance per dollar compared to its initial Xeon Cascade Lake lineup. According to Intel themselves, the new Xeon family brings:

• Industry-leading frequencies for high-performance usages: New Intel Xeon Gold 6200 processors deliver up to 4.5 GHz processor frequency with Intel Turbo Boost Technology and up to 33% more processor cache, offering customers breakthrough performance for frequency-fueled workloads.
• Enhanced performance for mainstream usages: New Intel Xeon Gold 6200R and 5200R processors deliver built-in value through a combination of higher base and Intel Turbo Boost Technology frequencies, in addition to increased processor cache.
• Increased value and capability for entry-level, edge, networking and IoT usages: New Intel Xeon Gold 6200U, Silver 4200R, Silver 4210T and Bronze 3200R processors deliver increased value for single-socket entry-level servers, as well as edge, networking, and internet of things (IoT) usages.

Coming to the SKUs, all 18 SKUs are labeled with the 'R' suffix at the very end of their codename which indicates the Refresh part. As mentioned, most of these SKUs are part of the Xeon Gold and Xeon Silver segment while the Xeon Platinum CPUs would stick to their existing specifications. Intel has already announced some significant price cuts to its Xeon Platinum lineup recently without changing the specifications. However, recent benchmarks have shown that top-tier EPYC parts are still doing very well compared to whatever Intel has to respond with despite price cuts of several thousand dollars. An example would be the Xeon Platinum 8280 itself which has been cut from its original price of $18,000 US to $13,000 US.

There wasn't a 28 core part in the Xeon Gold segment so that's new. The Xeon Gold segment now also offers a faster 16 core variant while the Bronze line is upgraded to 8 cores versus 6 cores of the previous SKU. Following is the list of all the chips with their respective specifications. All across the board, we can see a boost in clocks, cores, threads, and cache which is a nice initiative by Intel to retain their server dominance with a market share of around 95%. Following is the specifications list for the complete lineup.

Intel Cascade Lake Refresh Xeon Scalable Family Specs:

Cascade Lake Refresh SKU Name	Cores / Threads	Base/Boost Clock	Cache / TDP	Cascade Lake SKU Name	Cores / Threads	Base/Boost Clock	Cache / TDP	Price
Intel Xeon Gold 6258R	28/56	2.7/4.0 GHz	38.50 MB / 205W	Intel Xeon Gold 6252	24/48	2.1/3.7 GHz	35.75 MB/ 150W	$3950 US
Intel Xeon Gold 6256	12/24	3.6/4.5 GHz	33.00 MB / 205W	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	$3900 US
Intel Xeon Gold 6250	8/16	3.9/4.5 GHz	35.75 MB / 185W	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	$3400 US
Intel Xeon Gold 6248R	24/48	3.0/4.0 GHz	35.75 MB / 205W	Intel Xeon Gold 6248	20/40	2.5/3.9 GHz	27.50 MB/ 150W	$2700 US
Intel Xeon Gold 6246R	16/32	3.4/4.1 GHz	35.75 MB / 205W	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	$3286 US
Intel Xeon Gold 6242R	20/40	3.1/4.1 GHz	35.75 MB / 205W	Intel Xeon Gold 6242	16/32	2.8/3.9 GHz	22.00 MB / 150W	$2529 US
Intel Xeon Gold 6240R	24/48	2.4/4.0 GHz	35.75 MB / 165W	Intel Xeon Gold 6240	18/36	2.6/3.9 GHz	24.75 MB / 150W	$2445 US
Intel Xeon Gold 6238R	28/56	2.2/4.0 GHz	38.50 MB / 165W	Intel Xeon Gold 6238	22/48	2.1/3.7 GHz	30.25 MB / 140W	$2612 US
Intel Xeon Gold 6230R	26/52	2.1/4.0 GHz	35.75 MB / 150W	Intel Xeon Gold 6230	20/40	2.1/3.9 GHz	27.50 MB / 125W	$1894 US
Intel Xeon Gold 6226R	16/32	2.9/3.9 GHz	22.00 MB / 150W	Intel Xeon Gold 6226	12/24	2.8/3.7 GHz	19.25 MB / 125W	$1300 US
Intel Xeon Gold 6208U	16/32	2.9/3.9 GHz	22.00 MB / 150W	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	$989 US
Intel Xeon Gold 5220R	24/48	2.2/4.0 GHz	35.75 MB / 150W	Intel Xeon Gold 5220	18/36	2.2/3.9 GHz	24.75 MB / 125W	$1555 US
Intel Xeon Gold 5218R	20/40	2.1/4.0 GHz	27.50 MB / 125W	Intel Xeon Gold 5218	16/32	2.3/3.9 GHz	22.00 MB / 125W	$1273 US
Intel Xeon Silver 4215R	8/16	3.2/4.0 GHz	11.00 MB / 130W	Intel Xeon Silver 4215	8/16	2.5/3.5 GHz	16.50 MB / 85W	$749 US
Intel Xeon Silver 4214R	12/24	2.4/3.5 GHz	16.50 MB / 100W	Intel Xeon Silver 4214	12/24	2.2/3.2 GHz	16.50 MB / 85W	$694 US
Intel Xeon Silver 4210R	10/20	2.4/3.2 GHz	13.75 MB / 100W	Intel Xeon Silver 4210	10/20	2.2/3.2 GHz	13.75 MB / 85W	$501 US
Intel Xeon Silver 4210T	10/20	2.3/3.2 GHz	13.75 MB / 95W	Intel Xeon Silver 4209 T	8/16	2.2/3.2 GHz	11.00 MB / 70W	$554 US
Intel Xeon Bronze 3206R	8/16	1.9 GHz	11.00 MB / 85W	Intel Xeon Bronze 3204	6/12	1.9 GHz	8.250 MB / 85W	$306 US

The only advantage that the Xeon Platinum lineup has on its own now is 8S support since the Gold series only support 2S configurations. Aside from that, the Gold series offers more competitive prices that may in fact put more pressure on sales figures for the Platinum lineup. All of the said chips are available starting today so they will show up on retail stores rather soon.

This refresh further confirms the reports of delays we are hearing regarding Intel's Cooper Lake and Ice Lake Xeon processors which have been pushed back by up to 3 months due to various instability issues. This would further increase the pressure on Intel as their 10nm and 14nm Xeon processors would be directly competing against AMD's 7nm+ EUV based EPYC Milan lineup which is going to feature the brand new Zen 3 core architecture which is confirmed to be one of AMD's biggest architectural upgrade since the original Zen core. But recent benchmarks have shown that the next-generation Xeon Scalable family is pushing some serious performance figures which if true might totally be worth the wait.

The post Intel’s 2nd Gen Xeon Scalable ‘Cascade Lake’ Refresh CPUs Announced – More Cores, More Threads, More Cache With Higher Perf/$ by Hassan Mujtaba appeared first on Wccftech.

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Hulu is becoming more affordable... so long as you're not a big fan of live TV. The service will cut the price of its basic tier from $8 to $6 per month as of February 26th for new subscribers, and with new billing cycles for existing customers after...

When we reviewed Toshiba's XG5 NVMe SSD, it was one of the fastest drives we'd tested. Although that was the first drive we fondled that came equipped with Toshiba's 64-layer BiCS 3D flash memory, at the time Toshiba had already announced that it had 96-layer chips in development. That's been a year ago now, and the XG5's successor is here. Meet the Toshiba XG6 NVMe SSD. As you've no doubt already assumed, this drive uses fourth-generation TLC BiCS flash, stacking 96 layers of NAND cells in each chip.

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NVIDIA Jetson Xavier was announced back at CES 2018 and was revealed to be the biggest SOC to date. We got a handful of details about the Xavier SOC when it was announced but it seems like a ton of more information have been published on the Jetson Xavier DevKit page (via JetsonHacks).

NVIDIA Jetson Xavier Officially Supports PCIe 4.0 – Multiple Operating Models at 10W, 15W and 30W, Details Published

While NVIDIA revealed some key details of the Jetson Xavier (NVIDIA Issac) platform at Computex 2018, more details have now been published and revealed. The introductory video, published by the NVIDIA Developer YouTube channel has revealed the entire devkit details, specifications, and the underlying technology.

NVIDIA Jetson Xavier Devkit Design, Dimensions, Connectivity, I/O and More

Starting off with the details, the first thing is the design of the devkit itself. The devkit comes in two modules, one is the Jetson Xavier carrier board which includes all the connectivity options and the other is the Jetson Xavier module itself. You get everything which includes the two modules, cables and power adapter inside the package. The module measures 100mm x 87mm and 16mm height. With the carrier board, the complete package measures 105 mm x 105 mm.

To connect it to the carrier board, NVIDIA is using a 699 pin mirror mezzanine connector which is able to support all types of high-speed I/O of the Xavier SOC, including PCIe 4.0. This is NVIDIA’s first platform to officially support PCIe Gen4 and is allowing for up to 56 Gb/s transfer rates, twice as much needed by the Jetson Xavier SOC. NVIDIA has also mentioned that the connector is not only designed to support PCIe 4.0 but also future I/O standards through mezzanine technology and allowing support for future Jetson modules.

The carrier board comes in a small form factor design for robotics development and carries a range of different connectivity options. The board also comes with its own heatsink solution, underneath which lies the connectors. The Jetson Xavier module has a thermal plate attached to it which allows users to use their own thermal solutions to cool the board.

Following is the complete list of I/O that is available on the Jetson Xavier devkit:

Developer Kit I/Os	Jetson Xavier Module Interface
PCIe X16	x8 PCIe Gen4/x8 SLVS-EC
RJ45	Gigabit Ethernet
USB-C	2x USB 3.1, DP (Optional), PD (Optional) Close-System Debug and Flashing Support on 1 Port
Camera Connector	(16x) CSI-2 Lanes
M.2 Key M	NVMe
M.2 Key E	PCIe x1 + USB 2.0 + UART (for Wi-Fi/LTE) / I2S / PCM
40-Pin Header	UART + SPI + CAN + I2C + I2S + DMIC + GPIOs
HD Audio Header	High-Definition Audio
eSATAp + USB3.0 Type A	SATA Through PCIe x1 Bridge (PD + Data for 2.5-inch SATA) + USB 3.0
HDMI Type A/eDP/DP	HDMI 2.0, eDP 1.2a, DP 1.4
usD/UFS Card Socket	SD/UFS

 

NVIDIA Jetson Xavier SOC – Technical Specifications, 10W, 15W and 30W Configurable TDPs

NVIDIA mentioned that the Xavier SOC is built on a TSMC 12nm process node and houses 9 billion transistors crammed underneath a 350 mm2 die area. This is a big change from the 16nmFF based 7 billion transistor design we were last showcased. My belief is that most of these changes came when NVIDIA announced and launched Volta on the 12nm process earlier in 2017. Moving the same design enhancements to a SOC saw big changes as Volta is a key part of the Xavier chip.

 

In terms of specifications, the Xavier SOC packs the NVIDIA custom built Carmel AMR64 CPU which houses 8 cores in a 10-wide superscalar architecture. There are features such as functional safety, dual execution, parity & ECC available on the CPU itself. Within the die is also a Volta GPU which packs 512 CUDA cores.

The Volta GPU is able to perform FP32, FP16 and INT8 calculations as per need are in a multi-precision environment. The chip delivers 1.3 TFLOPs of peak FP32 performance and 20 Tensor core TOPs. The chip delivers all of this compute at just 20W, NVIDIA states that they can even reach a theoretical output of 30 TOPs with a 30W TDP so they are obviously referring to higher clocks out of the increased power envelope.

Based on the tensor core compute output, it seems like NVIDIA has the same Tensor cores on board the SOC as their flagship Tesla V100 Volta GPU which blazes through deep learning algorithms.

The Jetson Xavier SOC and the accompanying Issac platform will be available in August of 2018, so next month. The devkit will be priced at $1299 US for the complete package.

The post NVIDIA Xavier SOC Officially Supports PCIe 4.0, Jetson Xavier Full Detailed – A Powerful, Small Form Factor Devkit For AI by Hassan Mujtaba appeared first on Wccftech.

BlackBerry put an end to its long-simmering hardware misery and stopped designing new phones in 2016, opting to move entirely into the software sector. Yet the actual BlackBerry brand continues to shuffle along in the form of a partnership with Chinese company TCL, which earlier this year released the BlackBerry KeyOne

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Last month, Republicans put your internet privacy on the chopping block and on Monday, Trump dropped the axe on it. That seems like not a small thing to do, but then the U.S. bombed Syria and now that everyone is muttering “nuclear war” between panic attacks at work and contacting stress ulcers the size Trump’s head.…

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Philips’ indoor grill isn’t the Foreman grill you’re probably picturing. Rather than heating the grill plate directly, the Philips uses two infrared burners on the bottom to direct heat upwards at a constant 446 degrees, which is far hotter than most electric grills, and perfect for searing meat.

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No, this isn't another VR headset. These are video goggles from DJI. Why would you want a headset from DJI? Because it connects wirelessly to the company's new foldable Mavic Pro drone, giving you a live, bird's eye view from the camera (in 1080p no...

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With Oculus Rift out in the wild , Facebook is giving us our first look at its design for a 360-degree video camera.

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CES 2016 - Lenovo displayed their latest push into mobile gaming at CES 2016 with a new gaming notebook, the Ideapad Y900. The Ideapad Y00 is a 17-inch Full HD gaming notebook with some impressive specifications.

Inside, we have an Intel Core i7 K-series processor meaning it can be...
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Matthew Tollis, a 22 year-old from Wethersfield, Connecticut, is facing a year in jail for his role in a series of Swatting calls made last year.

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Photographer and art director Tatsuya Tanaka has a fascination with all things tiny and has an uncanny ability to repurpose everyday objects as set pieces or tools for the inhabitants of his miniature world. For his project Miniature Calendar, Tanaka has been stretching his imagination to its limits nearly every day for the last four years. A tape dispenser becomes the bar for a restaurant, a circuit board is suddenly a rice paddy field, and the notes of a musical score become the hurdles for a track race. Individually, the photos might invoke a smile or chuckle as you get the joke, but when viewed collectively they morph into a fascinating study on Tanaka’s breadth of creativity.

New photos from Miniature Calendar are published every day on Instagram and Facebook. Tanaka also published a book of earlier miniature photos in a book titled Miniature Life. (via Spoon & Tamago)

Artist James Chapman depicted Game of Thrones characters as the autocorrected versions of their fantastical names, and the results are funny and delightful.

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Last time we checked in with the Nordstrom Tower , a superskinny supertall going up in Midtown Manhattan, a sneaky spire had been added to make it a hair taller than the US’s tallest spire at the World Trade Center . Now, new documents show another stealth move: The actual roof height will be taller than previously planned—taller than the current tallest US building, the Willis Tower.

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The second earthquake to hit Nepal in less than a month caught local disaster relief agencies unaware and, despite being six times weaker than the massive quake on April 25, it is still thought to have caused hundreds of casualties.

The magnitude 7.3 that struck around 80km (50 miles) east of Kathmandu resulted from the same tectonic forces as the larger earthquake just over a fortnight before, caused by the Indian plate thrusting beneath the Eurasian tectonic plate along the front of the Himalayas.

While the earthquake could not have been predicted, geophysicists had noted that the fault that slipped on April 25 was weaker than might have been expected. It was not the “great Himalayan earthquake” that had been anticipated by some.

The latest large quake has been linked to stress after the first, which passed eastward along the fault system, running in front of the Tibetan plateau. In a domino effect, stress transferred along to a separate section of the rupture that has now been triggered as an earthquake.

Weaker but still fatal

Although weaker than the previous quake, it was, nevertheless, of a similar magnitude to the Haiti earthquake of 2010, which killed more than 100,000 people.

Many buildings of un-reinforced brick and mud, were already weakened by the recent shakes. The earlier quake also generated secondary hazards such as landslides and liquefaction, the weakening and softening of soil following an earthquake, that might well have increased the damage in this second quake.

The United States Geological Survey has issued an impact assessment, rating the event as “severe” in the worst-affected area. It states that the quake will have caused significant casualties, with estimated fatalities sadly likely to reach a total of hundreds or more.

Moving east

Andy Hooper, professor of geophysics and geodesy (the science that enables global positioning) at Leeds University said that the earthquake started at the eastern edge of where the fault slip reached during the 7.8 magnitude event of two and a half weeks ago. “The fault appears to have ruptured mainly eastwards and can be considered as a further unzipping of the locked fault” he said. “We do not have measurements yet, but because the fault slip in this earthquake occurred farther east, it may well have caused a significant drop in the height of Mount Everest.”

Yani Najman, Himalayan geologist at the Lancaster Environment Centre at Lancaster University, said there was little or nothing that could be done to stop earthquakes occurring in this region. “However, loss of life in future events can be reduced with stronger buildings, less likely to collapse,” he said. Najman added that when Nepal embarks on a major phase of rebuilding, it should also be a time for education in the country, “promoting simple measures to ensure that housing is as well-built as it can be, taking into account also the limited resources available to people.”

Disclosure

Simon Redfern receives funding from NERC

Apple's quarterly financials are out, and once again, the company set records on multiple fronts. During the three-month period ended March 28, the iGiant made $13.6 billion in profit on revenue of $58 billion. Both of those figures are up substantially from the same quarter last year, buoyed largely by strong iPhone and international sales.

Macs and iPhones both set Q2 sales records, with Mac units rising 10% year-over-year and iPhones ...

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Last year's "Illumiroom" concept turned a lot of heads when Microsoft showed it off at CES. Now Microsoft's research division is back with something even more complicated: "RoomAlive," which turns a living room into an interactive augmented reality space.

Illumiroom was eye catching, but all it did was extend the field of view for a traditional video game beyond a television screen, projecting a larger image surrounding it onto the walls and floor. RoomAlive, though also in the research stages only, is even more complex, and brings the user off the couch to interact with the environment it renders on the furniture and other surfaces.

This video gives a much clearer idea of how that works than words alone. There are game concepts...

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