Posts

All Blades also come with 16GB of DDR4-2666 as standard, user-upgradeable to 32GB, and you’ll get either 256GB or 512GB of NCMe PCIe SSD storage. Because the Blade uses hardware we’ve tested before, I’m going to summarize its performance relative to the system we used for my original i7-8750H + GTX 1070 Max-Q review. If you’re after a more in-depth look, check out that review to see how these components perform, and then you can use the percentage differences on show here to see where the Razer Blade sits....

Storing content in close geographical proximity to viewers helps to ensure speedy delivery but with so many subscribers and so much content, it’s requires loads of storage. Netflix supplies plenty of documentation about Open Connect but doesn’t provide a ton of information about the hardware powering the servers. That’s where Reddit comes in. A user that works for a large ISP recently had the opportunity to acquire a decommissioned Netflix Open Connect server from circa 2013 and couldn’t say no....

The New York Times reports that Matthias Marx, head of a group of European researchers called the Chaos Computer Club, bought six biometric capture devices on eBay, most of them for under $200. The group intended to analyze the machines to search for vulnerabilities following a 2021 report from The Intercept on the Taliban seizing similar equipment. One of the items, a hand-held machine designed to capture fingerprints and perform iris scans, Marx managed to secure for just $68, much less than the listed $149....

Device security firm Armis discovered the APC vulnerabilities. The attack vectors, collectively named TLStorm, provide hackers with the means to execute remote manipulation of the UPS. These devices supply backup power for critical devices and services in data centers, hospitals, and other organizations requiring uninterrupted backup power. Malicious actors exploiting the vulnerability can perform remote code execution (RCE) attacks against any vulnerable APC Smart-UPS device. Such attacks enable unauthorized users to alter the UPS’s operation, potentially damaging the power supply itself or any assets connected to it....

Researchers from Beijing’s Tsinghua University recently unveiled plans to build an almost 600ft-tall dam using 3D printing methods. It could be the biggest 3D-printed, AI-built structure ever made, but that may also depend on the definition of “3D printing.” Builders have already saved time and money by constructing homes using large 3D printers to make concrete layers. Last year, a fabrication company used robotic wire-and-arc additive manufacturing to 3D print a metal bridge in the Netherlands....

Capcom last month revealed that Resident Evil Village would get a new story and a third-person mode in the upcoming DLC, The Winters’ Expansion. The expansion also offers new Mercenaries missions featuring three of the game’s characters: the hammer-wielding Karl Heisenberg, franchise regular Chris Redfield, and Lady Dimitrescu herself. The inclusion of Lady D. is especially welcome as she deserved more than her relatively brief appearance in the base game....

Pre-orders for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series versions of GTA V and GTA Online, which launch March 15, are now open. While not free like many other cross-generation upgrades, there is a steep discount that lasts until June. The PS5 upgrade is cheaper, owing to Sony’s deal with Rockstar. While we already knew GTA Online by itself would be free on PS5 until June, this week Rockstar revealed GTA V for PS5 will be $10 until then....

The electrification of the auto industry may be facing more challenges than expected in the near future. Automakers have already had to deal with a shortage of chips as well as increased prices for various materials, and now the dream of more affordable electric cars is starting to fade even more. According to an analysis done by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence on the state of the supply chain, prices for materials like nickel, lithium, and other essential materials for making electric vehicles have surged in recent years and is already having an impact on the adoption rate....

This week, Russia-based developer Four Quarters gave Russian fans asking how to buy its game Loop Hero permission to pirate it if they could not figure out a way to purchase it because of sanctions. The response came via the Russian social media platform VK. Currently, there is a loophole through Russian payment provider Qiwi that might work on Steam, but there is no way for Russians to buy the Nintendo Switch version....

The Qualcomm-powered model uses the tried-and-true Snapdragon 800 MSM8974, which features a 2.26 GHz quad-core Krait 400 CPU, Adreno 330 GPU at 450 MHz, a 600 MHz Hexagon QDSP6V5A DSP, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0, and IZAT Gen8B GPS+GLONASS. There’s also a dual-channel LPDDR3 memory controller that connects to 3 GB of RAM, providing bandwidth of around 12.8 GB/s. I’ve spoken about the Snapdragon 800 in a few of my previous device reviews - for the LG G2, Sony Xperia Z Ultra, Sony Xperia Z1 and Google Nexus 5 - so it’s best to go back and check those for more details on the SoC....

When copying data on disk the Samsung T1 can duplicate large files at 166MB/s or almost 80% faster than some of the snappiest thumb drives we have seen. The Samsung T1 was impressive when copying our game data with a throughput of 150MB/s – twice as fast as anything tested previously. The T1 continued to perform well in our copy tests, being 124% faster than the fastest thumb drives we have tested with our program data....

The Intel X25-M drops quite a bit of read performance in CrystalDiskMark once full. The Samsung and Indilinx based SSDs do not appear to be affected yet. Looking at write performance we see that the Corsair P struggles quite a bit, dropping over 20% of its original performance. There was again little to no impact seen when using the Indilinx SSDs. The random 4KB read test had the Intel X25-M see the greatest drop in performance, while the Samsung and Indilinx SSDs only dropped a few MB/s....

Buying a PlayStation 5 following its launch in November 2020 usually meant giving a scalper 2 to 4 times more than its MSRP, a result of the global chip shortage that impacted so many industries. The situation has improved in recent times; Sony earlier this month said that buying a PS5 should become a lot easier going forward. In a new post, Isabelle Tomatis, VP of brand, hardware, and peripherals at Sony Interactive Entertainment, thanked fans for their patience in the face of unprecedented demand, reiterating that those looking to buy a PS5 should now find it a less arduous task....

I’ll start with the standout feature of this handset: its battery life. There’s nothing more frustrating than a high-end, powerful device that doesn’t manage to last through to the end of the day. Sony has recognized this, packing a monster battery into a relatively slim smartphone body. The fact that I can use this handset normally for nearly two days without running for a wall charger is something that every smartphone company should strive for....

In some ways Sony has done the right thing by resisting the urge to include a 1440p display with the Xperia Z5, instead offering a higher-end phone (the Xperia Z5 Premium) for those that want a larger, 4K display on their device. 1080p is just fine in the vast majority of circumstances, especially when it uses standard LCD subpixel arrangements. In general, the Xperia Z5 is a sharp, crisp, bright display with decent viewing angles for an LCD....

Both devices have dual-Gigabit LAN controllers for Link Aggregation, offering a read speed of over 190MB/s. They also tout hot-swappable SATA bays, as well as the ability to significantly boost storage using the DX510 and DX1211 expansion units, which can allow the DS1511+ to support up to 15 drives for a maximum capacity of 45TB, while the expanded DS2411+ supports up to 15 drives for 72TB. Again, if you’re shopping for a dedicated network-attached storage box, you can’t really go wrong with either unit....

CNN reports that in 2016, Lorna Goldstrand Klefsaas challenged her 12-year-old son Sivert to stay off social media until he reached 18, with the promise of a cash prize on his birthday if he managed the feat. Lorna says the idea came from a challenge she heard on the radio called “16 for 16” that involved a mother giving her 12-year-old daughter $1,600 on her sixteenth birthday if she stayed off social media until that time....

Additional revisions, including changes to the sedan’s exterior and powertrain, could also accompany the refresh according to source familiar with the matter as reported by Reuters. Tesla is known to use casting machines to create single, larger components to reduce costs and expedite assembly. Limiting the number of individual components used in a build would also presumably put less stress on the supply chain. “Over and over, we found parts that are not needed....

YouTuber GingerOfOz, whom you may remember as the hobbyist who crafted a PlayStation 2 handheld, a WiiBoy Color, and a GameCube Classic Mini, just finished work on the Nintendo GameCube Advance. His inspiration for the project comes from a mockup from 2005 (below) created by an unknown artist as a gag to see how people would react. Come to find out, the creator of the image was a student at the time who went on to work for Ubisoft, Epic Games, and Squanch Games....

Usually in our best monitor recommendation guides we provide multiple options based on different criteria like screen resolution, refresh rate, monitor size, and pricing, but that won’t be the case today. If you want all the decision making taken out of your hands and just want to know what monitor to get, this is for you. What has not changed is that all these recommendations come after testing a large variety of gaming monitors, with few exceptions we’ve tested all of these and you can find full reviews of each one of them here at TechSpot or at the Hardware Unboxed channel....