Computers

Intel announces 11th-Gen chips with new company branding

Directly competes with AMD Ryzen series

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Intel 11th Gen

Intel has finally announced their newest 11th-gen chipsets that directly rival AMD’s powerful yet inexpensive Ryzen series. Though these aren’t the new 7nm processors that are rumored to come as late as 2022, these are still new chips based on their 10nm SuperFin process technology.

Other than the annual chipset announcement, Intel also announces a major rebrand after almost a decade — all before Apple ditches Intel with their first in-house ARM-based Apple Silicon chipset that will run on the new MacBook by the end of 2020.

New branding

Image by GadgetMatch

For half a century, Intel has undergone three major logo overhauls. The oldest logo was used for 38 years while the post-millennium logo was utilized for just 14 years. In this new decade, they decided to re-do their logo. Just like any other manufacturer, the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t stopping them from doing a major rebrand.

Image by GadgetMatch

Alongside the company logo, they also did several iterations of the “Intel Inside” campaign that was launched in 1991. The new logo leans more into a flat, minimalist style — a trend you can see among company logos nowadays.

Image by GadgetMatch

While the new branding may not be totally flat because of the gradient styling, it’s still a major rebrand that changes the overall look of their chipset lineup in contrast to the older generation that heavily relied on images of system internals and silver gradient combinations that imitate the metallic texture of processors.

New chipset lineup

As expected, Intel has revealed their latest Intel chipset lineup. It uses Willow Cove cores with a maximum speed of up to 4.8GHz (faster than last year’s 3.8GHz) but still at 4-cores and 8-threads. Future motherboards can support up to two 64GB of DDR4 RAM on PC rigs, while four 32GB LPDDR4x RAM on portable machines.

The new Tiger Lake architecture equips the 11th-gen chipsets with the next-gen Wi-Fi 6 standard for faster internet/wireless transfer speeds. The PCI Express 4.0 support will also be able to handle the latest SSDs and discrete graphics cards with low latency and higher bandwidth.

For video editors and content creators, the new chipset has a Thunderbolt 4 support that can plug one 8K/60Hz display or up to four 4K/60Hz displays altogether. It will also be able to read 4K/90p videos and up to 42-megapixels of still image. The new Thunderbolt standard can also reach 32GB/s of transfers and faster charging in higher voltages through Power Delivery.

There’s also an integrated AI-based engine that reads tasks faster such as image and text processing or video playback.

New (real) integrated graphics

As said earlier, Intel is directly hitting AMD with their new line of chips. A diagram shows that everything’s faster with the latest 11th-gen Core i7 chipset — that’s in comparison with AMD’s latest Ryzen 7 4th Gen. A significant boost can be seen when running Office apps and Adobe apps. It also shows that there are improvements while browsing and downloading files.

With Intel’s Iris Xe graphics integrated into the new-gen Core chipsets, 1080p Full HD gaming will be more accessible. Mainstream games such as Valorant, League of Legends (LoL), Dota2, CS:GO can be played over 100 frames per second (fps) .

Moreover, graphics-intensive games such as Grand Theft Auto (GTA) V, Overwatch, Fortnite, PUBG, and other titles can run around 40-60fps depending on game settings and processor power. Playing these titles usually require dedicated graphics card such as NVIDIA’s GeForce and AMD’s Radeon series.

The new integrated graphics will also be able to read 4K HDR10 and Dolby Vision-certified videos with minimal power consumption.

New platform

Evo is Intel’s new platform that can fit in upcoming thin and light ultrabooks without compromising their overall performance. With the new chips’ improved power-efficiency, you can expect no less than nine hours of use with Full HD displays. 40% responsiveness will also be present via Instant Wake.

Cuts in cords doesn’t mean you will be less connected. The platform will also support Thunderbolt 4 through USB-C ports and Wi-Fi 6 for consistent internet and data transmission.

Machines that will run this platform will feature either an 11th-Gen Core i5 or i7 chipset coupled with Iris Xe graphics. That’s a better alternative for bulky gaming laptops that are equipped with thick dedicated graphics cards.

New machines

Intel’s 11th-generation chipsets are expected to be shipped by the end of 2020 alongside brands like Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Razer, Samsung, and many more in the list. Sourced from a tweet, there will be 50 new machines that will run Intel’s latest chipset family — including 20 devices that run the Evo platform.

It is expected to run most (if not all) Windows 10 laptops in the coming months and years plus several ChromeOS-based Chromebooks as well.

Accessories

Acer PA100 portable SSD brings fast, flexible storage on the go

Up to 2TB

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Acer is expanding its storage lineup with the PA100 Portable SSD. It’s a compact external drive designed for users who need faster storage across multiple devices.

The PA100 uses USB 3.2 Gen 1 connectivity. It reaches sequential read speeds of up to 560MB/s and write speeds of up to 430MB/s. This makes it suited for everyday tasks such as transferring large files, backing up content, managing documents, and moving media between devices.

Up to 2TB of portable storage

The PA100 comes in three capacities: 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB. This gives users options depending on whether they need extra space for documents and schoolwork or larger collections of photos, videos, and project files.

Acer also designed the drive with mobility in mind. The PA100 has a slim 9mm profile and a lightweight build, while its reinforced construction is designed to withstand everyday travel and handling.

The drive comes with a 2-in-1 USB-C to USB-C and USB-A cable. This allows it to connect to compatible PCs, tablets, smartphones, and other devices without requiring a separate adapter. It also supports major operating systems and USB-C mobile platforms.

Designed for everyday use

Power efficiency is another focus. Acer says the PA100 uses less than 3W during operation, while idle power consumption can drop to as low as 0.62W.

The drive also features an optimized thermal design to help maintain stable performance during extended transfers and daily workloads.

The Acer PA100 Portable SSD is backed by a three-year limited warranty. Pricing and availability may vary by market.

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Computers

New Mac mini starts at a whopping $899, only 256GB of storage

It comes with the M6 or the M5 Pro.

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Almost two decades ago, Apple was infamous for being an anti-gamer brand. Though the company’s devices touted superior protection against viruses, they couldn’t play video games, alienating a significant chunk of the population and forcing them onto PCs. For a while now, the Mac has changed the status quo, bringing in more powerful hardware that can play games. Today, Apple is championing that cause further through the newly launched Mac mini.

Compared to the chunkier Macs, the Mac mini has a lithe 5” x 5” profile, emphasizing the “mini” in its name. Despite the size, the new mini will tout two flavors of Apple silicon: the M6 and the M5 Pro.

The M6 variant delivers with up to two times faster gaming performance with ray tracing when running Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, compared to the previous M4 version. Meanwhile, the M5 Pro version touts up to 4.5 times faster rendering performance with ray tracing in Blender, compared to the M2 Pro. It will come with macOS 27 Golden Gate out of the box.

You won’t have to worry about connectivity, either. The Mac mini comes with compatibility for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and 2.5Gb Ethernet (going up to 10Gb in upgraded versions). It will also have two USB-C ports, three Thunderbolt 5 ports (but only Thunderbolt 4 for the M6 version), and HDMI port, an Ethernet port, and a headphone jack.

Unfortunately, price seems to be another thing that it’s getting from PCs. The new Mac mini has an increased starting price. Specifically, the M6 version starts at US$ 899 (with only 256GB of storage), and the M5 Pro version starts at US$ 1,699 (for 512GB of storage). Preorders are open now, but they ship out on September 22.

SEE ALSO: Apple raises the prices of iPad and MacBook lineups

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Computers

ASUS unveils TUF Gaming T700, T700 Mini

Built for extreme operational demands

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ASUS has announced the arrival of its latest TUF Gaming desktop lineup models: the TUF Gaming T700 and TUF Gaming T700 Mini.

These new offerings bring heavy-duty performance and military-grade durability to gamers, engineered to endure extreme operational demands while delivering rock-solid stability.

The new ASUS TUF Gaming T700, in particular, is engineered to take on modern AAA titles with its uncompromising performance.

It has an aggressive mecha-inspired MIL-STD chassis, including a transparent side panel to put powerful components on display. Vibrant orange ambient lighting also adds a bold finishing touch.

Inside is an AMD Ryzen 7 8700F processor and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti GPU for high-frame rate gaming.

The T700 also features a robust thermal solution equipped with quad 65 CFM fans and a 240mm liquid cooler.

Meanwhile, the TUF Gaming T700 Mini is tailored for competitive gamers while maintaining a compact, battle-tested chassis.

It has an Intel Core Ultra 5 225F desktop processor, paired with with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics.

This combination provides seamless multitasking, crisp visuals, and reliable frame rates across today’s popular titles.

The internal hardware is cooled by a custom thermal matrix featuring dedicated copper heat pipes and a heavy-duty 90mm cooling fan.

True to the TUF Gaming legacy, the T700 Mini is likewise MIL-STD tested to endure extreme operational demands.

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