Friday, 29 January 2021

ET Weekend Deals: Vizio 65-Inch 4K HDR Quantum Dot Smart TV for $648, Apple iPad 8th Gen Tablet for $299

Another weekend is here, and we are just one week away from the biggest football game of the year. Get ready for the big game this year by purchasing a new high-quality 65-inch TV and enjoy the game in both 4K HD and with exceptional color.

Vizio M-Series M65Q8-H1 65-Inch 4K HDR Quantum Smart TV ($648.00)

Vizio’s M65Q8-H1 TV is a offers a strong feature set relative to its price. The TV comes with built-in support for localized dimming zones. There are 90 of these zones in total, which enables the TV to darken or brighten different portions of the screen to produce deeper blacks and brighter colors in separate parts of the screen at the same time. This along with Quantum Dot color makes this an excellent option for watching TV and movies. For a limited time, you can get this TV marked down from $778.00 to just $648.00 from Walmart.

Apple iPad 8th Gen 32GB 10.2-Inch WiFi Tablet ($299.99)

Apple’s newest iPad is significantly faster than the older 7th Gen model. The new 8th Gen model comes equipped with the company’s A12 Bionic SoC that first appeared inside of the iPhone XS, and this chip far outstrips the A10 SoC in the older 7th Gen tablets. The 8th Gen tablet also has a slightly higher resolution screen and is in general an all-around enhanced version of its predecessor. Amazon is currently selling these new tablets marked down from $329.99 to just $299.99.

Dell G7 15 Intel Core i7-10750H 4K OLED 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop w/ Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q GPU, 32GB DDR4 RAM and 1TB NVMe SSD ($1,493.99)

Dell’s G7 15 gaming laptop has an Intel Core i7-10750H processor paired with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q graphics card that together allow it to run modern games with ease. Dell designed the system with a dual-fan thermal solution that uses four heatpipes to keep the CPU and GPU cool. The system comes with a fast 1TB NVMe SSD pre-installed, and Dell also equipped this system with a 4K OLED display. You can get this system as configured from Dell marked down from $2,084.99 to just $1,493.99.

Crucial P5 500GB NVMe SSD ($59.99)

This affordable SSD from Crucial can hold up to 500GB of data. It can also transfer data at a fast rate of up to 3,400MB/s, which helps to boot Windows and get your files loaded with exceptional speed. These drives typically retail for $79.99 but you can get one now from Amazon for just $59.99.

Featured Deals

Note: Terms and conditions apply. See the relevant retail sites for more information. For more great deals, go to our partners at TechBargains.com.

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Phosphine Detected in Venus’s Atmosphere May Have Just Been Sulfur

The potential discovery of phosphine in Venus’s atmosphere last year made headlines around the world. On Earth, phosphine is produced by living things. Any detection of it inside another planet’s atmosphere would be a strong potential indicator of life. One reason folks got excited about the possibility is that Venus’s upper atmosphere is a much friendlier place for life to exist than its lower cloud layers or the lead-melting temperatures on the ground. The conditions approximately 50km above the planet’s surface are reportedly the most Earthlike in the solar system, with a pressure of approximately 1 atm and temperatures ranging from 0 to 50C. Could life have evolved within those cloud layers, or even migrated from the surface to the atmosphere as Venus’s climate changed? The detection of phosphine suggested that it might have.

A new analysis of the initial data, however, finds that the Cardiff researchers who first reported the detection of phosphine may have mistakenly been picking up sulfur dioxide instead. The authors of this new paper, to be published in Nature, note that the original paper claimed 20ppb (parts per billion) of PH3 were detected in the Martian atmosphere. After some reassessment of their initial findings, the original Cardiff team asserted that the phosphine signal still remained, but at a much lower concentration of 1ppb, not 20pbb. Even one part per billion would still be interesting because phosphine is not thought to persist for any length of time in Venus’ atmosphere under any conditions, but it’s obviously a much weaker signal than initially thought.

The surface of Venus captured by a Soviet Venera probe.

Now, however, a further examination of the data argues that even that 1ppb is a measurement error.

“Instead of phosphine in the clouds of Venus, the data are consistent with an alternative hypothesis: They were detecting sulfur dioxide,” said co-author Victoria Meadows, a UW professor of astronomy. “Sulfur dioxide is the third-most-common chemical compound in Venus’s atmosphere, and it is not considered a sign of life.”

Meadows, lead author Andrew Lincowski, and the other researchers affiliated with this project created a radiative transfer model of the planet’s atmosphere and re-examined the data. Their paper suggests that the initial report erred by attempting to use ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter Array) to estimate the amount of SO2 in Venus’s atmosphere. The telescope may have missed as much as 90-95 percent of the sulfur dioxide actually present, greatly increasing the chance that the specific signal attributed to phosphine at 266.94GHz is actually being caused by sulfur dioxide instead. The initial findings were attributed to phosphine because the amount of sulfur dioxide in the atmospheric layer where the phosphine was detected was thought to be low.

This new research also claims that the signal was detected far higher in the Martian atmosphere than previously thought. Venus has a thick, dense atmosphere, dense enough to prevent smaller meteors from reaching the ground. If the phosphine signal was coming from the troposphere, there was a chance the upper layers of the atmosphere were shielding whatever life forms might be present. According to this team, however, the signal was actually being picked up in the mesosphere. Venus is much closer to the sun than Earth is, and the increased solar radiation at the top of its clouds would tear phosphine molecules apart almost as quickly as they could form. The chance of detecting phosphine in the upper levels of the atmosphere is very small, even if it’s produced by living things below.

The authors do not claim to have disproven the initial phosphine report and they call for other research teams to continue investigating Venus for any hint of phosphine. Even if the signal turns out to be a false positive, this process of claims and counter-claims is almost certainly how scientists will eventually prove we have discovered life on a different planet. Any fossil or purported living creature found within the sands of Mars or beneath the ice sheets of Europe will undergo extensive analysis to prove that it’s extraterrestrial in origin and not evidence of sample contamination from an Earth-based source.

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Check Out These PS5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch Accessories On Sale For Up To 60 Percent Off

Need to escape the real world for a bit? Gaming is a great way to have fun while staying safer at home, and whether you’re a big fan of the PS5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, there are plenty of awesome accessories you can snag in order to improve your gaming experience.

Nintendo Switch Battery Charger Case

Want more time playing your Nintendo Switch without being plugged in? The Nintendo Switch Battery Charger Case gives you double the playtime thanks to its battery pack, which allows for uninterrupted charging while you play thanks to 10,000mAh of power via an integrated USB-C PD port. As a case it has a high-density shell that makes it a slip-proof grip and shock resistance protection, and a built-in kickstand that allows for cooling airflow to prevent overheating.

Get the Nintendo Switch Battery Charger Case for $40.95 (reg. $60).

2-in-1 Protective Case with Stand for Nintendo Switch Lite

The 2-in-1 Protective Case with Stand for Nintendo Switch Lite provides comfort while also protecting your switch from bumps, drops, scratches, and more. That means you can really get intense during those Switch battles, and rest assured your Switch Lite will stay safe. It’s super easy to install or take off, and even comes with game card slots so you can store up to 2 game cards.

Get the 2-in-1 Protective Case with Stand for Nintendo Switch Lite for $14.99 (reg. $19).

Crystal Case for Nintendo Switch Lite

Another awesome case option? The Crystal Case for Nintendo Switch Lite is a clear case that protects your Switch from scratches, smudges, marks, and drops thanks to its front cover and bottom protection while staying clear and looking extra clean and shiny. It’s easily assembled and doesn’t mess with any gaming functionality, allowing you to continue to play with ease.

Get the Crystal Case for Nintendo Switch Lite for $8.99 (reg. $11).

Silicone Case for Nintendo Switch Lite

Silicone cases are shatter-proof, and this full-body Silicone Case for Nintendo Switch Lite is anti-fall and protects your system from damage, sweat, dust and scratches. While it protects, it doesn’t detract anything from your gaming experience, allowing for smooth gaming and delicate operation thanks to the small grip design. You’ll still have access to all buttons, ports and function system, while resting assured your Switch is safe.

Get the Silicone Case for Nintendo Switch Lite for $9.99 (reg. $14).

Nintendo Switch Lite 8000mAh Portable Charging Case with Stand

Dying controllers spoil all the fun. Don’t let that happen to you with the Nintendo Switch Lite 8000mAh Portable Charging Case, which provides high-speed charging and protection from damage simultaneously. You’ll enjoy 10 hours of additional battery life for gaming, and the case itself is easy to use, lightweight and durable for use anywhere and everywhere.

Get the Nintendo Switch Lite 8000mAh Portable Charging Case with Stand for $29.99 (reg. $39).

4-in-1 Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Charging Dock

Need a charging dock for your Joy-Con controllers? This 4-in-1 is perfect, as it efficiently charges up to 4 controllers and also includes an LED light that indicates the charge status. It comes with a 1.2m TTOC-C USB cable for fast charging and also serves as the perfect place to store your 4 controllers while they’re not in use.

Get the 4-in-1 Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Charging Dock for $17.99 (reg. $24).

Protective TPU Case for Nintendo Switch Console

Protect your Switch from even the most extreme battles with the Protective TPU Case for Nintendo Switch Console. Made of high-quality, shock-absorbent flexible TPU, your Switch will be protected from bumps, scratches, dust, and annoying fingerprints, while allowing you to play to the fullest with strategically placed cut-outs that give you comfort and control.

Get the Protective TPU Case for Nintendo Switch Console for $11.99 ($14). 

HomeSpot Bluetooth Audio Adapter Pro for Nintendo Switch

With 4.7 out of 5 stars on Amazon, you know the HomeSpot Bluetooth Audio Adapter Pro for Nintendo Switch is going to be good. It’s the world’s first Bluetooth adapter for the Nintendo Switch that connects a Bluetooth headphone and a smartphone simultaneously. It’s super easy to use and lets you combine audio from the Switch and smartphone, streaming mixed audio wirelessly to a Bluetooth headphone or speaker.

Get the HomeSpot Bluetooth Audio Adapter Pro for Nintendo Switch (Gray) for $42.99 (reg. $49).

Xbox Series X Dual Station Charging Dock

Equipped with built-in connectors and the ability to store and charge two PS5 controllers simultaneously and securely, the Xbox Series X Dual Station Charging Dock is a must for any Xbox lovers. An LED indicator lets you know when your controllers are charging or charged up, and after that, you’ll have 20 hours of gameplay. And the wireless charging means you can say goodbye to pesky cords once and for all.

Get the Xbox Series X Dual Station Charging Dock for $26.99 (reg. $59).

Xbox Series X Silicone Controller Cover

The Xbox Series X Silicone Controller Cover helps you improve your gaming experience while making sure they stay the controller stays in your hands during even the wildest games. It’s made of high-grade silicone material and can even help improve your gaming accuracy, while the ergonomic design and stylish color selections can even improve your gaming look.

Get the Xbox Series X Silicone Controller Cover for $14.99 (reg. $24).

PS5 Silicone Controller Cover

Enhance your PS5 gaming with the PS5 Silicone Controller Cover. Easy to use and made of high-grade silicone material, it improves gameplay by providing a non-slip and comfy grip that lets you keep up your gaming instincts.  The ergonomic design and color options make it super customizable and makes gaming stylish.

Get the PS5 Silicone Controller Cover for $14.99 (reg. $24).

PS5 Clear Controller Case

Hoping to protect your PS5 controllers, but want to do it subtly? The PS5 Clear Controller Case might be the right protective case for you. It’s made of a PC hard shell that protects it from scratches and damage, while maintaining your controller’s unique style with its clear form. It’s easy to use, lightweight and portable as well.

Get the PS5 Clear Controller Case for $18.99 (reg. $39).

PS5 Car Steering Wheel

Got a car racing game? Then you’ve got to get the PS5 Car Steering Wheel, which imitates a real racing car steering wheel with accurate hole position, awesome quality, and easy installation. With 4 suction cups at the bottom, your game experience will be enhanced and you’ll have even more fun playing.

Get the PS5 Car Steering Wheel for $31.95 (reg. $69).

PS5 Charging Dock

This 2-in-1 vertical stand for your PS5 pulls double duty, cooling, and charging them. It comes with 2 cooler fans to keep your PS5 cool and calm while it charges, a dual charging station that lets you keep your controllers simultaneously without connecting the PS5 system. It also has 2 USB hubs and one USB port with powerful data output for data transferring and charging.

Get the PS5 Charging Dock for $40.95 (reg. $89).

PS5 DualSense Controller USB-C Charging Dock

Give your PS5 charges the fastest charging speed so you can get back to gaming. The PS5 DualSense Controller USB-C Charging Dock charges them in 1.8 hours and comes equipped with LED status indicators that tell you when they’re charging or fully charged. The built-in protection chip ensures they don’t overcharge, and it stores them without connecting to the PS5 system.

Get the PS5 DualSense Controller USB-C Charging Dock for $19.95 (reg. $49).

PS5 DeUHD Cooling Dock + CD Storage

The PS5 DeUHD Cooling Dock + CD Storage is a 2-in-1 vertical stand and cooling fan with a dual wireless controller charging station and 3 port USB hub. It comes equipped with a built-in cooling fan that cools down your PS5 series console and LED indicator lights that let you know when the controllers are charging or fully charged.

Get the PS5 DeUHD Cooling Dock + CD Storage for $43.95 (reg. $59).

Note: Terms and conditions apply. See the relevant retail sites for more information. For more great deals, go to our partners at TechBargains.com.

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Xiaomi Says Its New Product Can Charge a Phone From Across the Room

Smartphone charging technology has improved dramatically in the last few years with some phones sucking down 65W of power or more. Xiaomi has been one of the companies to push both wired and wireless charging speeds, and now it says you don’t need wires at all. The company’s Mi Air Charge technology can allegedly charge your phone from a distance even while it’s in your pocket. Or so Xiaomi claims — we don’t know for sure because Mi Air Charge is just a tech demo right now.  

Many of the devices we use on a daily basis are limited because of battery capacity. So, the ability to remotely power things without wires could be a transformative technology. Various research teams have experimented with wireless power, but it’s never been practical due to low efficiency and potential hazards for nearby people. Xiaomi developed Mi Air Charge internally, and it claims to have addressed these issues. 

As you can see in the video below, the Mi Air Charge base station is enormous, roughly the size of a large desktop PC tower. There are 144 antennas inside that operate on millimeter wave technology (mmWave), which is the same part of the spectrum where some 5G networks operate. However, Xiaomi is transmitting power instead of data. 

Phones will need a special mmWave module to work with Mi Air Charge, featuring a beacon antenna and an array to collect all those mmWave signals. The beacon helps the base station locate your phone in space, and the 14 antennas in the receiver array convert mmWave signals into power by running them through a rectifier circuit. 

Xiaomi says the end result is a 5W charging rate, which is much slower than all of today’s wired methods. Still, it’s supposed to work at a range of several meters, and obstacles allegedly don’t interfere with the process. 

There’s plenty of reason to be skeptical about Mi Air Charge, though. For one, mmWave signals are extremely finicky — they don’t usually pass through obstacles very well, which is why Verizon’s mmWave 5G doesn’t work indoors. The transmitter is probably also using much, much more than 5W of power to charge your phone at that meager rate. Plus, the Mi Air Charge unit is sure to be extremely expensive with an array of 144 mmWave antennas. 

Even though there are numerous reasons this probably isn’t as cool as it seems at first, it’s something we should all want to exist. Imagine if you never had to think about recharging your phone. You could even have devices that didn’t need batteries — they would just connect to your wireless power grid. For now, it’s all science fiction.

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AMD Warns Xbox, PS5, PC Component Shortages Could Persist Into Summer 2021

AMD reported its Q4 2020 earnings earlier this week, as well as full-year revenue results. One of the topics the company covered during the call was the ongoing hardware shortage in CPUs, GPUs, and gaming consoles.

We want to say upfront that AMD had an excellent 2020, with full-year sales of $9.76B, up 45 percent from $6.73B the year before. AMD delivered record earnings in both client and server, with data center now comprising a “high teens percentage” of AMD’s total revenue. Assume 18 percent, and that’s $1.76B in data center revenue for the year. We’re going to talk about the shortage issue in this story, but it’s in the context of a very strong year for AMD.

AMD’s Lisa Su made it clear on the call that AMD sold a lot of processors over the past three months. Ryzen 5000 more than doubled the launch quarter volume of any previous Ryzen CPU. AMD’s mobile shipments broke both quarterly and yearly records, thanks to the strength of Ryzen 4000. AMD claimed launch shipments “3x larger than any AMD GPU priced above $549.” As comparisons go, that’s a weak one, but it’s really the only weak link in AMD’s otherwise impressive chain of records and wins.

A Long-Tailed Shortage

AMD expects demand to be greater than seasonal through the first half of the year. Typically, in computing, Q1 is the weakest quarter while Q3 and Q4 are the strongest. When asked about the ongoing shortages, Su said: “The industry does need to increase the overall capacity levels. And so we do see some tightness through the first half of the year, but there’s added capacity in the second half.”

Additional conversations we’ve had with AMD added a little color to this point. AMD expects the ongoing CPU and GPU shortage to persist through March, but it doesn’t expect the problem to persist at the same intensity.

There are a number of reasons to believe this is true. TSMC continues to add 7nm capacity and yields on recently launched hardware tend to improve over time. By early summer, countries around the world may be relaxing their coronavirus restrictions. Demand for PCs could dip if people pivot more towards in-person social activities and head back to school/work.

In the short term, component prices are likely to remain high and supply scarce. AMD has pledged to continue selling its own graphics cards, but there’s a limited amount that any single company can do to resolve systemic stress on an entire supply chain. And AMD doesn’t manufacture any of its own hardware directly.

We’re not going to claim that end-users should just give up on snagging new hardware, but it probably isn’t a good idea to bet on doing so. Hopefully, the situation will begin to ease by April or May, even if it takes a few more months to sort itself out completely.

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Samsung Believes the Automotive Chip Shortage Could Impact Phones

The ongoing automotive chip shortage is reportedly having ripple effects throughout the industry. Samsung is reportedly concerned that problems in one area of the semiconductor market could spill over into others.

The problem is that there’s not enough chip capacity to go around, according to the Financial Times. Automakers have lobbied governments and chip manufacturers for help worldwide. TSMC has pledged to expedite orders for auto manufacturers, and other foundries across the world are likely making similar vows. That company’s statement on the topic is relevant to Samsung’s concerns: “While our capacity is fully utilized with demand from every sector, TSMC is reallocating our wafer capacity to support the worldwide automotive industry.”

TSMC has previously indicated it was converting some manufacturing to respond to additional demand in the automotive sector. But the fact that its capacity is fully utilized means the foundry is playing a game of musical chairs as far as who gets allocation priority on which product lines. Automotive chips aren’t typically built on leading-edge process nodes, but the nature of the semiconductor shortage has caused shortages across the entire industry.

TSMC’s Q2 2020 revenue, with additional data on revenue by node.

Samsung is specifically concerned that it won’t be able to deliver new phones on time because foundries will be too busy building chips for other companies, including the automotive industry. Foundry shortages could squeeze the smartphone industry by limiting the number of devices available in-market. Samsung is particularly exposed in this scenario: It’s both the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, the largest DRAM manufacturer, and the largest NAND manufacturer. If smartphone supplies are limited, Samsung will eat the hit in three separate ways.

The fear of an automotive slowdown has led governments to put an unusual amount of pressure on TSMC, according to the report. Companies in the US, Japan, and Europe have reportedly engaged in direct talks with the foundry, as well as raising the issue with Taiwan’s government.

“We believe that as economies are struggling due to the pandemic, governments, especially in the countries hit worst by the virus, see car demand as a rare growth impulse important for their overall economies,” an unnamed Taiwanese official told the Financial Times. “We would not normally see this kind of approach if it were only about a few individual companies.”

The reason we’re in this mess in the first place, ironically, is that the market for cars bounced back faster than expected. During the pandemic, TSMC reduced the capacity it allocated for vehicle production after auto sales cratered. Now that vehicle sales are ticking up again, auto manufacturers need that capacity back. Problem is, it’s still in use producing everything else.

ExtremeTech suspects that companies will soon start talking about semiconductor shortages easing in June or July rather than the March-April timeframe that’s been floated recently. AMD has already indicated it expects supply to remain tight through this time frame, and it’s not the only TSMC customer that’s going to be supply-limited.

Pre-built gaming systems remain the best way to get your hands on a new AMD Ryzen 5000, Radeon, or Ampere GPU. It’ll be interesting to see if Rocket Lake picks up any customers on the basis of being easier to find in-stock. Auto manufacturers haven’t made any dramatic business moves in response to the ongoing supply problem, at least not yet. Hopefully, the demands of various markets can be met without destabilizing any specific market.

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NASA Begins Building Orion Spacecraft that Will Return Humans to Moon

Welding of panels on Artemis III Orion module in Lockheed Martin section of NASA Michoud Assembly Facility on Tuesday, January 19, 2021.

NASA is going back to the moon; at least that’s the plan. To get there, the agency has to develop a new generation of crewed spacecraft, including the Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket and the Orion crew module. While the SLS is still in development, Orion has already passed its initial flight tests. NASA’s primary Orion contractor, Lockheed Martin has just started work on one very important project: the first welds of the Orion capsule that will return humans to the moon. 

NASA began work on the Artemis program in 2017 with the aim of launching a crewed mission to the lunar surface in 2024. That will be the Artemis III mission — prior to that, Artemis I will be an uncrewed test flight around the moon and back. Artemis II will be the same mission but with a crew inside Orion. Artemis III will add a landing that will include the first woman to ever set foot on the moon. 

Unlike the SpaceX Dragon capsule, Orion is not designed to be reusable. That means the hardware for each mission has to be purpose-built for the mission. While Artemis III is still years away from launch, Lockheed Martin has started building its Orion module. Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans completed the first welds on this vessel to bring the three cone panels together into the distinctive funnel shape you see above. 

The Orion spacecraft has just seven structural welds. There are three that hold the cone together, plus four more at bulkheads that hold the vessel’s five sections together. The welding process is designed specifically to keep these machined pieces stable and airtight even under the harshest of conditions. 

Once the structural welds are done, NASA will ship the Artemis III Orion to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From there, NASA will be able to integrate all the systems that make Orion a spacecraft and not just a giant aluminum pressure vessel. 

The SLS that will carry Orion capsules into space is still in development. A recent static fire test ended early due to a system error, but NASA says the issue is minor. It’s still undecided on re-running the test, but the Artemis I launch is still on the books for late 2021. Although, the SLS has already been delayed several times, and it’s possible the Artemis Program could suffer if things don’t turn around for NASA’s troubled rocket.

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Thursday, 28 January 2021

ET Deals: $520 Off Alienware Aurora AMD Ryzen 7 and Nvidia RTX 2080 Super Gaming Desktop, Samsung C27F398 27-Inch Curved Monitor for $169

Step up your game with a high-end Dell Alienware desktop. Today you can save $520 on one of these edgy looking systems; it comes equipped with a top-tier Ryzen 7 3800X processor and an Nvidia RTX 2080 Super graphics card.

  • Alienware Aurora R10 Ryzen Edition AMD Ryzen 7 3800X 8-Core Gaming Desktop with RTX 2080 SUPER, 16GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD for $1,799.99 from Dell (List price $2,319.98)
  • Samsung LC27F398FWNXZA Curved 27-Inch 1080p FreeSync Monitor for $169.99 from Amazon (List price $219.99)
  • Apple MacBook Pro Intel Core i7 16-Inch Laptop w/ AMD Radeon Pro 5300M GPU, 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD for $2,099.00 from Amazon (List price $2,399.00)
  • Eufy RoboVac 15C Max Robot Vacuum for $209.99 from Amazon w/ clickable coupon (List price $279.99)
  • Hisense 55H8G 55-Inch Quantum 4K Android ULED Smart TV $479.99 from Amazon (List price $599.99)
  • Acer Nitro XV272U Pbmiipzrx 27-Inch 2K 144Hz IPS G-Sync Monitor for $299.99 from Amazon (List price $449.99)

Dell Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition AMD Ryzen 7 3800X Gaming Desktop w/ Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super GPU, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD ($1,799.99)

This Alienware desktop features an edgy, rounded design and powerful gaming hardware capable of running most current AAA titles with maxed out graphics settings. In addition to looking cool, this system was also designed to provide improved airflow over the older Aurora desktops, which means the hardware inside will also run cooler as well. For a limited time you can get this system from Dell marked down from $2,319.98 to $1,799.99.

Samsung LC27F398FWNXZA Curved 27-Inch 1080p FreeSync Monitor ($169.99)

This Samsung 27-inch monitor has an 1800R curvature and features AMD FreeSync to reduce image tearing and stuttering while you game. It has a 60Hz refresh rate and a 4ms response time. Also, its Eye Saver Mode reduces blue light emissions and flickers so you have less eye strain or fatigue. This makes for a great budget monitor at its current price, which is reduced from $219.99 to $169.99 from Amazon.

Apple MacBook Pro Intel Core i7 16-Inch Laptop w/ AMD Radeon Pro 5300M GPU, 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD ($2,099.00)

Apple designed its high-end Macbook Pro with both a high-performance Intel Core i7 processor and a fast AMD GPU. This gives the system the power it needs to accelerate image processing and to run modern games. The system also has a 16-inch Retina display and an aluminum shell, giving it a premium look and feel. Right now you can get this system from Amazon marked down from $2,399.00 to $2,099.00.

Eufy RoboVac 15C Max Robot Vacuum ($209.99)

The Robovac 15C Max was designed with powerful suction that’s rated at 2,000Pa, giving it enough power to clean medium-pile carpets as well as hard floors. This vacuum is also able to clean for up to 100 minutes on a single charge, and Eufy said it is relatively quiet and emits noise no louder than a microwave when working. For a limited time you can get one of these vacuums from Amazon marked down from $279.99 to just $209.99 with a clickable coupon.

Note: Terms and conditions apply. See the relevant retail sites for more information. For more great deals, go to our partners at TechBargains.com.

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Learn How To Code With Python For Less Than $40

2020 threw us all for some loops thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you’re among the many who lost their job during the tumultuous year, it might be time to consider learning coding. Coding is the first step to a potentially lucrative career in a field that’s consistently booming and expanding by the day.

Learning coding doesn’t have to be an expensive process that requires years of your life and going back to school. Nope, thankfully you can now learn from home for less than $40! Yep, even total beginners can purchase The Ultimate Python Programmer’s Bootcamp Bundle and start on the path to becoming a professional Python programmer. And though these courses would typically cost $814, they’re available within this bundle at a whopping 95 percent off for just $39.

This bundle is packed with six super informative courses, geared toward getting novice coders up to speed. Go from total newbie to expert as you navigate Python, one of the best first programming languages to learn. Python is used commonly in professional settings and at companies like Facebook, Dropbox and IBM, and mastering it is the first step toward getting a new gig.

Learn the ins and outs of Python over 45 hours of courses taught by experienced professors. You’ll learn from Ardit Sulce, who worked in Python development on Upwork and founded PythonHow, where he writers tutorials about Python programming language. Arkadiusz Wlodarczyk comes with 14 years of website building experience and 10 years of programming.

You’ll learn from Loonycorn, two individuals who have worked at Google and Flipkart, Janani Ravi and Vitthal Srinivasan. Mashrur Hossain lends his teaching skills as a technology professional with over a decade of experience, and Nick Walter instructs with 3 years of mobile app design experience. Finally, Jose Salvatierra also serves as an instructor, coming with an impressive computer science teacher background.

Learn how to code with no prior knowledge needed thanks to The Ultimate Python Programmer’s Bootcamp Bundle. It’s available now for just $39.

Note: Terms and conditions apply. See the relevant retail sites for more information. For more great deals, go to our partners at TechBargains.com.

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Tesla Revamps Model S Sedan Inside and Out, Adds 520-Mile Version

Tesla has unveiled its biggest update to its Model S sedan since its unveiling in 2009 and launch in 2012. That’s normally an eternity for production cars, although a few have gone longer recently (see: Dodge Challenger and Charger, Nissan Frontier) and Tesla has been able to update the Model S with software tweaks more than other automakers.

This time, though, the refresh is significant outside and a full revamp inside. The exterior gets revised front and rear ends and a more pronounced stance, thanks to some subtle flaring in the door panels ahead of the rear wheels that give the illusion of a rake and more width. It’s a relatively safe update, but the car’s styling was always pretty timeless to begin with. Tesla says the new model has a .208 coefficient of drag (Cd), which the company claims makes the Model S the “lowest-drag car on Earth.”

Inside, the most dramatic change comes via the yoke-style steering wheel, which is either a nod to Formula-style race cars or a throwback to the Knight Industries Two Thousand, depending on your viewpoint. There are no longer stalks or shifters to either side of the wheel. The center stack now has a horizontally aligned 17-inch display with 2,200 by 1,300 resolution and a slight leftward tilt. Tri-zone air conditioning, ventilated front seats, and HEPA filtration deliver more luxurious cooling, and you get wireless and USB-C fast charging with enough juice to power a laptop. The audio system now has 22 speakers and 960 watts of power with active noise cancellation.

Second-row seating also gets a redesign, with additional legroom and headroom, a new LCD for rear passengers, and integrated wireless charging in the center armrest. The company says the car now has up to 10 teraflops of power and can support in-car gaming with today’s latest consoles, including wireless controller compatibility and the ability to play “from any seat.”

The new Model S starts at $79,990 for the dual-motor Long Range, which snaps off 0-60 runs in 3.1 seconds and yet runs for 412 miles on a full charge, with 670 peak horsepower (“peak” being a nod to the fact that depleted batteries affect power, unlike with fossil-fuel-powered vehicles). The $119,990 Plaid edition gets three motors and all-wheel-drive, and Tesla is claiming an insane under-2-second 0-60 time, 1,020 peak horsepower, a 200 mph top speed, and a 390-mile range. You’re not getting all of those at once, though you’re also not getting 25mpg in a V-8-powered 2021 Mustang GT at 150 mph with the accelerator pedal pushed into the floorboards, even if it can achieve that kind of fuel economy at normal highway speeds. Finally, an 1,100-hp Plaid+ option will cost $139,990 and have a reported range of 520 miles, which would be ludicrous if true–in pure Tesla fashion, of course.

The Long Range and Plaid arrive in February, according to Elon Musk; look for the Plaid+ before the end of the year. The Model X crossover SUV will also get the new interior and dashboard screen, plus new Long Range and Plaid versions, although its exterior remains unchanged.

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AMD Launches New Ryzen 5000 Mobile Processors

AMD teased its Ryzen Mobile 5000 series during CES and systems equipped with these APUs are now hitting the market. As a quick refresher: The Ryzen Mobile 5000 series brings AMD’s new Zen 3 architecture to the mobile gaming and ultraportable segments. Most of the CPUs AMD announced at CES were gaming or mobile workstation-oriented chips, with 35W – 45W+ TDPs, and the system reviews now available focus on the top-end Ryzen Mobile 5900HS:

AMD has pledged that Zen 3 delivers the same 1.19x IPC uplift in mobile as it does on the desktop, and the CPU upgrades are the big story here. One of the major changes introduced with Zen 3 on mobile is a substantial upgrade to the CPU’s L3 cache size. Instead of 8MB of L3 divided into two blocks of 4MB each, Ryzen Mobile CPUs now sport 16MB of unified L3 in total. AMD picked up a lot of performance from unifying its CCX design with Zen 3 desktop, and it’ll enjoy similar gains in Zen 3 mobile.

AMD’s Zen 3 at a glance.

One of Zen 3’s most important features is the way it unifies AMD’s CCX structure into a monolithic eight core rather than a 2×4 solution. Splitting the CPU into two quad cores hampered access latencies and split the L3 cache in two. The image below shows the evolution from Zen 2 to Zen 3.

The topology revolution.

Here’s how the whole core fits together, topologically speaking. You can see how AMD’s Infinity Fabric connects the entire chip together. RAM support is flexible, with both DDR4-3200 and LPDDR4X-4266 available. Ryzen chips have always loved bandwidth and it’d be interesting to see how a hypothetical LPDDR4X-4266 machine compared against DDR4-3200 in graphics tests.

Not all of AMD’s new Ryzen Mobile 5000 CPUs are actually built on the Zen 3 microarchitecture. There are several 15W CPUs that still use the Zen 2 core. These rebadged parts are not entirely identical to the Ryzen 4000 series, however. According to AMD, some of its power-saving improvements are common to both the Zen 3 and Zen 2-based APUs in the Ryzen Mobile 5000 family, including a redesigned and more power-efficient memory controller. Most of the features we’re about to discuss are common to both Cezanne (Zen 3) and Lucienne (Zen 2). We’ll note when a feature is specific to the newer Zen 3 core. Cezanne APUs support 32GB of DDR4, for example, while Lucienne support tops out at 16GB.

Ryzen Mobile 5000 has several power-saving optimizations related to thread scheduling and frequency selection. The chip can burst to high clocks or reduce frequency even more quickly. In some cases, the CPU can boost to high clock, complete a task, and then return to idle within the original 30ms latency window. This should further reduce power consumption.

AMD will now run single-threaded workloads on the CPU core that boosts to the highest frequencies the most efficiently. Additionally, it will keep the thread scheduled on that CPU core rather than allowing it to bounce around. Typically, threads bounce around to ensure a more equal thermal distribution across the CPU.

AMD predicts significant battery life improvements, though some areas benefit more than others. This is common with CPUs these days — the more specialized improvements AMD and Intel rely on to wring more battery power out of systems are often workload-specific. Voltages can now be tuned independently between the CPU and GPU core to allow for maximum performance efficiency.

AMD, unfortunately, didn’t provide any data on the power consumption improvements in non-Zen 3 CPUs in the Ryzen Mobile 5000 series, though it did specify that the power consumption improvements we’ve been discussing are baked into those products as well. I would not expect the same degree of improvement, but new Ryzen Mobile 5000 CPUs based on Zen 2 should offer at least some modest power consumption improvements even without the new architecture.

How’s it Perform?

Anandtech and PCMag both got their hands on an Asus ROG Flow X13. The Flow X13 is a 2-in-1 convertible gaming laptop that only weighs 2.9 lbs, but it designed to take full advantage of an external GPU for gamers who need more horsepower than the built-in Nvidia GTX 1650 GPU. It features a top-end AMD Ryzen Mobile 5980HS APU.

I’m highlighting PCMag’s Photoshop test because it’s a good example of a place where the 5000 series really benefits from the new unified architecture. The ROG Flow X13 completes this benchmark 18 percent more quickly than the 4900 HS inside the ROG Zephyrus G14 above. Photoshop is an application that has always preferred a few high-performance cores, and AMD’s microarchitectural improvements pay big dividends here. Some applications, like Cinebench R15, only showed a six percent gap between the 5980HS and the 4900HS inside the Zephyrus. While that’s considerably below the 1.19x IPC improvement AMD promised, the ROG Flow X13 is also a 2.9-pound thin-and-light laptop. A larger system with better cooling would have more room to stretch its metaphorical legs.

Anandtech released a comprehensive suite of test results focused more on the CPU than on the laptop itself. Their results show uplifts between 6 percent at the low end to as much as 18 percent at the high end. Given the thin-and-light nature of the machine Asus built, I wouldn’t be surprised to see desktop replacement-class systems open more of a gap between the 4900HS and the 5980HS.

What Anandtech and PCMag both wind up concluding is that these CPUs are a formidable uplift and a real shot for AMD to take mobile market share that’s only recently become available to it in the first place. The Ryzen Mobile 4000 series wasn’t stymied by some evil alliance between Intel and Nvidia — it’s just taken the mobile market some time to evaluate what AMD’s platform could do and to build systems around it. AMD believes its partners will roll out a far more aggressive set of SKUs this year, and we expect to see that happen.

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Intel Launches Iris Xe, Its First Desktop GPUs in More Than 20 Years

Intel is finally back in the desktop graphics business, at least if you squint. The company has announced a partnership with certain PC OEMs to bring DG1 silicon to specific pre-built systems.

This isn’t exactly a full-on desktop graphics launch — that’ll come later in 2021 with the launch of DB2 — but Intel is still indisputably shipping at least a handful of discrete GPUs in the low end of the desktop market, for the first time in more than 20 years. The company announced it had partnered with “two ecosystem partners, including Asus” in its initial PR, but LegitReviews thinks the GPU featured in the image above is manufactured by Colorful. The other DG1 card identifies itself, ships without a fan, and is clearly an Asus-branded product.

Unfortunately for anyone hoping to play around with Intel’s latest desktop card and/or hoping to find a low-end GPU at a reasonable price, this GPU is OEM-only. Sometimes, OEM-only products will surface on secondary markets like eBay, but that’s not going to happen in this case. According to Intel, these GPUs will only work on very specific systems. LegitReviews inquired on this point and was told:

The Iris Xe discrete add-in card will be paired with 9th gen (Coffee Lake-S) and 10th gen (Comet Lake-S) Intel® Core™ desktop processors and Intel(R) B460, H410, B365, and H310C chipset-based motherboards and sold as part of pre-built systems. These motherboards require a special BIOS that supports Intel Iris Xe, so the cards won’t be compatible with other systems.

So, that’s that, then. It’s not clear why a motherboard would require a special UEFI to use a new GPU. Presumably DG2, when it arrives, will not have this problem.

It’s interesting to see Intel back in the graphics market because it’s been so long since we had an actual three-way fight. Once 3dfx died, the only company to offer any kind of competition to the ATI/Nvidia duopoly was PowerVR with the Kyro and Kyro II. While these GPUs were an interesting alternative to the Radeon and GeForce product lines, they did not find mainstream success and faded from the market.

Intel has not previously covered itself in glory where GPUs are concerned. The company’s first attempt at a discrete GPU, the Intel i740, was custom-designed to showcase the capabilities of Intel’s new AGP bus. It didn’t compare well against GPUs with onboard RAM, and Intel didn’t stay in the market very long. Intel’s Larrabee was based on a modified Pentium architecture with 512-bit vector processing units. Overall interest in Larrabee was high, but Intel canceled the product and used Larrabee as the basis for the first generation of Xeon Phi processors.

It’s not unfair to be skeptical of Intel’s ability to launch a competitive GPU. We don’t even necessarily expect Intel’s first-generation cards to be all that great, objectively speaking. So long as they’re good enough to get a little traction somewhere in the market, Intel has an opportunity to iterate and improve the design. With a third player on the field, both AMD and Nvidia are presented with new challenges — but also, potentially, with new opportunities depending on how Intel’s presence impacts user GPU purchases.

All of this hinges on Intel building competitive products and being willing to stay the course over the long term. Incoming CEO Pat Gelsinger may have his own ideas about where to take the company. These DG1-equipped systems aren’t going to make a huge splash in the wider market, but we should know how effectively DG2 will compare against AMD and Nvidia before the end of the year. Given how hard AMD and Nvidia cards have both been to source, Intel could spin a modest GPU into a smash hit just by shipping it on-time, at MSRP.

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