Intel unleashes its new 44-threaded Xeon CPU, supports 385GB of DDR4

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Intel has just unleashed its new Broadwell-EP family of processors, starting with the huge Xeon E5-2600 V4 which features a huge 22 CPU cores.

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1UGJ93T
via IFTTT

Intel Releases Its New Xeon Processor E5-2600 v4 Product Family

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

These new processors also support faster memory and includes integrated technologies that Intel claims will increase performance across a broad ...

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1ZOVvpF
via IFTTT

Xeon E5-2600 v4 CPUs pave the way for the clouds of tomorrow

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

In modern VM environments, administrators have extensive control over most system resources, including processor frequency and core count, ...

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1M4vAbf
via IFTTT

Lenovo brings new servers on Intel Xeon processors

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Lenovo today announced 1U single-processor System x3250 M6 rack server — featuring the latest Intel Xeon series processors — and refreshed ...

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1ZOVt11
via IFTTT

HPE, Dell, Lenovo Refresh Servers with Intel's New Xeon E5 Chips

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is refreshing its ProLiant servers with the new processors. At the same time, HPE officials are introducing the ...

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1X0Tdlr
via IFTTT

Dell Sets Specs for VR-Ready Desktop Workstations

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Dell's definition of VR-ready takes into account criteria including computer ... That means an Intel Xeon E5-16xx or E5-26xx processor, four core ...

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1q76ajz
via IFTTT

Asus C300SA Chromebook with Braswell CPU, 4GB RAM leaked

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

But under the hood the new Asus C300SA has a shiny new Intel Celeron N3060 Braswell processor instead of a Celeron N2840 Bay Trail chip.

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1UFXBJp
via IFTTT

Intel's new Broadwell Xeon server CPUs offer up to 22 cores per socket

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Intel's mainstream consumer processors are mostly of the dual- and quad-core varieties, but the server CPUs go much higher than that. Case in point: ...

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/235S9R5
via IFTTT

Eat your heart out, quad-cores, Intel just dropped a 22-core CPU on us. Boom

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

“More processor cores are valuable in the data center as long as they have enough memory bandwidth and are big enough to get a lot of work done.

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1UFXE85
via IFTTT

EVGA Rolls Out SC17: High-End Gaming Laptop Designed for Overclocking

http://ift.tt/1RNRziL

EVGA this week officially introduced its SC17 laptop designed for demanding gamers, which combines rather high performance with UHD display. The system features an Intel Core i7 microprocessor with unlocked multiplier, a high-end NVIDIA GeForce GTX graphics adapter, a combination of fast and capacious storage devices as well as a 4K display Two key features of the system are its ability to fine-tune microprocessor’s voltages in a bid to maximize overclocking potential as well as GPU overclocking support.

The EVGA SC17 laptop was designed by the company’s engineers completely in-house in a bid to offer functionality not available on other high-end notebooks. While EVGA is primarily known for its video cards and motherboards, keep in mind that that the company hired engineering team from Epox, a legendary maker of mainboards for enthusiasts, sometimes in mid-2000s (in fact, Andrew Han, a co-founder of EVGA, was also a co-founder of Epox), and thus has a lot of experienced talent when it comes to platform development. As a result, the EVGA SC17 sports a fully-fledged UEFI BIOS, which gives users control over many aspects of system’s performance, including CPU voltages, memory timings and so on. In fact, even the GPU can be overclocked from the BIOS, which is not a feature that you can typically find on notebooks. For those, who want to get maximum out of their systems, there is even a “clear CMOS” button on the chassis in order to reset settings in case of a malfunction. For users, who do not want to hevaily tweak their PC, the SC17 supports EVGA Express OC (EOC) technology that lets to easily overclock the system to gain performance, or downclock it to prolong battery life, with a press of two button.

EVGA’s new gaming laptop is based on the Intel Core i7-6820HK processor (four cores with Hyper-Threading, 2.70 GHz/3.60 GHz frequency, 8 MB L3 cache, HD Graphics 530, 45 W TDP) with unlocked multiplier, which was designed with overclocking in mind. The SC17 notebook is also equipped with NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 980M graphics processing unit with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory, 32 GB of G.Skill’s DDR4-2666 memory, a 256 GB M.2 SSD with NVMe protocol (PCIe 3.0 x4 interface) as well as a 1 TB hard drive with 7200 RPM spindle speed. Just like other high-end laptops, the EVGA SC17 sports a full-HD webcam, built-in speakers with subwoofer, a Gigabit Ethernet controller, a IEEE 802.11ac Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 4.2  module, one USB 3.1 type-C port, two USB 3.0 ports, mDP as well as HDMI display outputs and so on.

EVGA’s engineers remained loyal to their overclocking origin and incorporated a rather advanced cooling system with two fans and eight vents into the SC17. The cooling system is designed to ensure that the Core i7-6820K and the GeForce GTX 980M receive enough cool air even when they are overclocked. It should be noted that NVIDIA is not particularly enthusiastic about mobile GPU overclocking these days, meaning EVGA would have had to do some extra work to offer this for customers.

Another important aspect of the EVGA SC17 is its 17.3” display. The 4K (3840×2160) screen is based on an IPS panel by Sharp. It is unknown whether Sharp has applied its IGZO backplane technology to the panel to make it better when it comes to color accuracy, but this is generally possible.

EVGA’s SC17 should offer performance levels comparable to good gaming PCs featuring Intel’s Core i7 “Skylake” CPU as well as NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 970 GPU. This should be enough not only for mainstream gaming, but also for VR gaming, something that may be interesting to many people these days. Despite of rather high performance, the SC17 is not too bulky or heavy: it is 1.05” (26.9 mm) thick and weighs 3.69 kilograms (8.14 pounds), which is low compared to many other 17” notebooks.

While EVGA this week officially introduced the laptop, it did not reveal when exactly it plans to start selling it, but expect the mobile PCs to arrive in the coming weeks. The price of the notebook in the default configuration is $2699.99, which is not very high given the unlocked Core i7 processor as well as the GeForce GTX 980M inside.

Gallery: EVGA Rolls Out SC17: High-End Gaming Laptop Designed for Overclocking

from AnandTech http://ift.tt/1VbEa9x
via IFTTT

Examining Potential HPC Benefits of New Intel Xeons

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The new Intel Xeon processors E5 v4 product family, based upon the “Broadwell” microarchitecture, is reported to deliver up to 47%* more ...

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1pOdT5g
via IFTTT

Dell Updates 13th Gen Servers With Broadwell CPU, Improved Software-Defined Storage

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Dell Thursday updated its 13th generation family of PowerEdge servers with support for Intel's latest Broadwell processor along with several new ...

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1q6o06h
via IFTTT

Dell PowerEdge 13G R730 Server with Intel Broadwell Review

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Intel has released more of its “tick” Broadwell 14nm processors. As with all Intel processor releases these new Broadwell CPUs aim to bring better ...

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1pOdRdI
via IFTTT

AMAX Cloud, OCP, Storage, Deep Learning and Appliance Platforms Upgraded With Powerful ...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

CloudMax™ Cloud Server — a 2U Dual-CPU High-Efficiency server ... with Dual Intel® Xeon® E5-2600 v4 series processor, and 24 DDR4 DIMM slots ...

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1q6o0Dh
via IFTTT

How the New Intel® Xeon® Processors Benefit HPC Applications

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

These new Intel® Xeon® processors have significantly improved per-core performance[1] that can then be multiplied by parallel programs that utilize ...

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1pOdSOL
via IFTTT

Lenovo Announces New Servers & Solutions Featuring New Intel Xeon CPUs

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

These new products will feature the newly released Intel Xeon series processors. Using the new processors Lenovo was able to achieve 6 ...

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1MElY74
via IFTTT

AMAX Cloud, OCP, Storage, Deep Learning and Appliance Platforms Upgraded With Powerful ...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

CloudMax™ Cloud Server—a 2U Dual-CPU High-Efficiency server ... Dual Intel® Xeon® E5-2600 v4 series processor, and 24 DDR4 DIMM slots up to ...

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1X0cKT3
via IFTTT

Intel's Broadwell-based Xeon processors pack a whopping 22 CPU cores

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Intel continues to jack up the number of CPU cores in its chips, on Thursday releasing Xeon E5-2600 processors that have up to 22 cores. Intel packed ...

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1MElYnE
via IFTTT

Intel Xeon E5 2600 v4 Broadwell-EP unmasked

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Technology giant Intel has multiple processors for the mobile, client and server segments. Each is home to various chips based on recent architectures ...

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1X0cN1r
via IFTTT

Heterogeneous System Architecture: A New Computing Platform Infrastructure

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Before 2000, personal computers typically had just one user-programmable processor: the CPU. There were many attempts over the years to add ...

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1MElXQH
via IFTTT

The Intel Xeon E5 v4 Review: Testing Broadwell-EP With Demanding Server Workloads

http://ift.tt/25yGeNS

Fifteen months after first reaching consumers, Broadwell has finally arrived in the server space with Broadwell-EP. Premiering with the Xeon E5 v4 family, Intel is now offering server processors with up to a staggering 22 cores. Of course, there is much more to discuss than just a higher core count in the Xeon world. Join us as we introduce you to the a new killer enterprise application, brand new real world benchmarks on top of the latter, and our usual benchmarks on no less than five different generations of Xeons!

 

from AnandTech http://ift.tt/1UWLrLE
via IFTTT

Intel Xeon E5-2600 v4 Broadwell-EP Review

http://ift.tt/1Y2cNOC

Intel rolls out is new Xeon E5-2600 v4 CPUs that offer more cores, cache and a bump in IPC performance.

from Articles Tom's Hardware http://ift.tt/22SbuIM
via IFTTT

QNAP Announces TBS-453A NASbook – World's First M.2 SSD-Based NAS

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

... processor and dual-channel 4GB or 8GB DDR3L RAM, with the processor able to burst automatically up to 2.08 GHz for CPU-intensive applications.

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1RNlPKC
via IFTTT

Here's what you need to be VR Ready

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The virtual reality revolution is here. Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR are all tantalisingly close. Sure we have to wait until October to ...

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1V9RStL
via IFTTT

Noctua NH-C14S Low Profile CPU cooler review

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

These CPU coolers offer massive cooling performance albeit being low ... In fact at default processor clock frequencies, this cooler is even the most ...

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1RMpwmQ
via IFTTT

LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Type-C External HDD Capsule Review

http://ift.tt/1M2NjQu

Seagate launched a host of direct-attached storage products under the LaCie brand name at CES earlier this year. Though the LaCie Chrome USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C external SSD was easily the most impressive announcement of the lot, it is the LaCie Porsche Design Mobile which is making it to the market first. The unit started shipping last week. Once the review unit reached our hands, it was easy to see why. It turns out that the internal drive is the Seagate / Samsung Momentus ST4000LM016, the same as the one we saw in the Seagate Backup Plus Portable last year. This 2.5" drive has a 15mm thickness, making it suitable for use in bus-powered external drive enclosures.

Important aspects of the drive include:

• 16 MB buffer
• 5400 RPM spindle speed
• SATA III 6 Gbps interface

It appears that the ST4000LM0016 uses five platters with a 800GB/platter design to achieve the capacity point. The USB 3.0 bridge chip also supports UASP and S.M.A.R.T passthrough. The LaCie Porsche Design Mobile 4TB version has dimensions of 128 mm x 84 mm x 21 mm and weighs 315 grams. It comes with a quick start guide, as well as a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C to Type-C cable (rated for SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbps) and a Type-C to Type-A cable.

Compared to the Seagate Backup Plus Portable, the Porsche Design Mobile P9227 external hard drive brings the following updates:

• Stylish industrial design for the aluminum enclosure gives it a premium look and feel (tying in closely with the LaCie branding message)
• Redesigned setup process for the average consumer base to be able to use the drive with both Mac and Windows systems.
• Changes in bundled features and software
• Replacement of the micro-B USB 3.0 port with a Type-C USB 3.1 Gen 1 port capable to delivering up to 5 Gbps of throughput

The industrial design of the unit is in line with what we have come to expect from LaCie's product lines designed by Porsche Design. The enclosure is fully aluminum and the contours are quite pleasing. The product presents a premium look and targets LaCie's traditional consumer market quite nicely. Thanks to the bundled Type-C to Type-A cable, the product is compatible with both traditional USB Type-A and the new Type-C ports.

Setup Impressions

The product's setup process is optimized for consumers who are not particularly tech-savvy, and don't want to be bothered with partition tables and other such things. Upon connecting to a computer, a 260MB FAT32 partition with the LaCie setup program gets mounted.

The Windows setup program allows the end-user to configure multiple partitions, if necessary, for use with multiple operating systems (FAT32 for Windows, Mac and Linux, and NTFS for Windows). The bundled software suite includes Genie Timeline Free (a backup software for Windows) and LaCie's Desktop Manager (a configuration / management software for LaCie devices in the local network). The gallery below presents some of the other options in the setup process.

Gallery: LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Type-C External HDD Setup Process

DAS Benchmarks

The LaCie Porsche Design Mobile P9227 4TB drive was formatted in NTFS for our benchmarking process. In order to evaluate the DAS aspect of the unit, we utilized the testbed outlined in the table below to test the performance. One of the USB 3.1 ports enabled by the Intel Alpine Ridge controller was used to connect the unit to the system.

AnandTech DAS Testbed Configuration
Motherboard	GIGABYTE Z170X-UD5 TH ATX
CPU	Intel Core i5-6600K
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws 4 F4-2133C15-8GRR 32 GB ( 4x 8GB) DDR4-2133 @ 15-15-15-35
OS Drive	Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 NVMe 256 GB
SATA Devices	Corsair Neutron XT SSD 480 GB Intel SSD 730 Series 480 GB
Add-on Card	None
Chassis	Cooler Master HAF XB EVO
PSU	Cooler Master V750 750 W
OS	Windows 10 Pro x64
Thanks to Cooler Master, GIGABYTE, G.Skill and Intel for the build components

Our testing methodology for DAS units takes into consideration the usual use-case for such devices. The most common usage scenario is transfer of large amounts of photos and videos to and from the unit. The minor usage scenario is importing files directly off the DAS into a multimedia editing program such as Adobe Photoshop. Prior to taking a look at the real-life benchmarks, we first check what ATTO and CrystalDiskMark have to report for the LaCie Porsche Design Mobile P9227.

In order to tackle the first real-life use-case, we created three test folders with the following characteristics:

• Photos: 15.6 GB collection of 4320 photos (RAW as well as JPEGs) in 61 sub-folders
• Videos: 16.1 GB collection of 244 videos (MP4 as well as MOVs) in 6 sub-folders
• BR: 10.7 GB Blu-ray folder structure of the IDT Benchmark Blu-ray (the same that we use in our robocopy tests for NAS systems)

LaCie Porsche Design Mobile P9227 4TB robocopy Benchmarks (MBps)
	Write Bandwidth	Read Bandwidth
Photos	99.12	78.38
Videos	92.65	93.93
Blu-ray Folder	98.29	90.79

The above benchmark run was also instrumented to record the drive temperature as well as instantaneous transfer rates during the process. The internal disk temperature was only slightly more than 40 C even after more than 127 GB of writes and 127 GB of reads continuously.

For the second use-case, we take advantage of PC Mark 8's storage bench. The storage workload involves games as well as multimedia editing applications. The command line version allows us to cherry-pick storage traces to run on a target drive. We chose the following traces.

• Adobe Photoshop (Light)
• Adobe Photoshop (Heavy)
• Adobe After Effects
• Adobe Illustrator

Usually, PC Mark 8 reports time to complete the trace, but the detailed log report has the read and write bandwidth figures which we present in our performance graphs. Note that the bandwidth number reported in the results don't involve idle time compression. Results might appear low, but that is part of the workload characteristic. This is not the intended use-case for portable hard drives, but the results are just presented here for the sake of completeness.

LaCie Porsche Design Mobile P9227 4TB PCMark8 Storage Benchmarks (MBps)
	Write Bandwidth	Read Bandwidth
Adobe Photoshop (Light)	90.81	4.06
Adobe Photoshop (Heavy)	104.15	5.24
Adobe After Effects	70.82	4.14
Adobe Illustrator	86.57	4.10

Power Consumption

Evaluation of the power consumption of the drive was done using Plugable's USBC-TKEY. Our test procedure and setup are outlined here.

The drive idled at around 2.12 W, while the peak power consumption was 4.05 W. So, it might be a prudent idea to not operate the drive off a bus-powered hub in case there are other USB peripherals sharing power from the same port.

Concluding Remarks

The LaCie Porsche Design Mobile P9227 external hard drive continues LaCie's tradition of bringing a premium look and feel to top-of-the-line PC and Mac accessories. The industrial design of the unit is definitely praiseworthy. Consumers who value aesthetics and a premium look/feel for their computing accessories might want to give the LaCie Porsche Design Mobile drive a try. In addition, the Type-C interface ensures that the drive can be easily used with Type-C-only devices such as the MacBook. Power delivery is not applicable to the Porsche Design Mobile, since the unit is bus-powered. The externally powered desktop version supports USB-PD, though. The bundled Type-C to Type-A cable ensures that the drive can work equally well with any legacy USB port also.

The LaCie Porsche Design Mobile P9227 4TB is currently available on Apple.com for $230. The other option for consumers looking for a 4TB bus-powered portable drive is the Seagate Backup Plus Portable 4TB version which is currently on sale for $120. In addition to having the same performance for real-life workloads (the drive inside both the units are the same, after all), the Backup Plus Portable also comes with some add-on software features such as Lyve and 200GB of online cloud storage for 2 years. Without doubt, the Backup Plus Portable provides the best value for money. However, LaCie's target market for the Porsche Design Mobile drive is unlikely to give much weight to the value proposition aspect.

Buy Seagate Backup Plus Portable 4TB on Amazon.com

from AnandTech http://ift.tt/1MVDoai
via IFTTT

CPU E5-2660 v2 SR1AB Intel Xeon Processor

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

SR1AB Intel Xeon Processor E5-2660 version 2 25M 2.20 GHz It's used, but in great working condition. It comes from a clean & smoke free home.

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1SyDp8l
via IFTTT

Best NASes: Q1 2016

http://ift.tt/1NvrnNW

Network-attached storage vendors do not usually follow a regular yearly cadence in updating their offerings. Releases for different market segments are spread throughout the year. That said, thanks to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in January, the first quarter of the calendar year provides glimpses into what vendors have in store for the foreseeable future. Some of the announced products are either available for shipment right away or get into the market later in the quarter. Today, we will take a look at the various options currently available in the commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) network-attached storage (NAS) market space.

The COTS NAS market can't be simply delineated based on price and performance. As a rule of thumb, one can say that the price of a NAS increases with the number of bays in it. However, even within the same number of bays, we get NAS units spanning a wide price range. Any consumer in the market for a NAS needs to consider the following aspects before deciding upon the budget:

• Amount of storage needed (number of bays)
• Intended use-case
  • Business-oriented or home / multimedia-focused
  • Expected number of simultaneous clients
  • Downtime tolerance
  • Required processing power (both file-serving and apps)
• Value of invested time (in the case where there is a toss-up between the COTS and DIY routes)
• Mobile and native NAS applications ecosystem

We have evaluated a large number of NAS units (with different bay-counts) over the last several years. The lineups mentioned below (in alphabetical order) are the ones that we are comfortable recommending for purchase after putting a few of their members through long-term testing. Compared to previous years, we have removed the LenovoEMC i- and p- series, as well as the Seagate NAS and NAS Pro units, as they no longer seem to be available for purchase and no new products have been announced in the last year (even though their support forums are still active with official replies).

1. Asustor Storage Units
2. Buffalo LinkStation and TeraStation Series
3. Netgear ReadyNAS Series
4. QNAP Turbo NAS Units
5. Synology DiskStation and RackStation Series
6. Western Digital Consumer Series
7. ZyXEL Network Storage Units

In this guide, we present suitable options for 2-,4- and 8-bay NAS units targeting the home consumer / SOHO market. One important aspect here is that we are not going to talk about the high-end SMB market or the multitude of offerings that come with Windows Storage Server or some similar flavor. Only products based on custom OSes are being considered in this guide.

Option 1 (2-bay): Western Digital My Cloud EX 2 Ultra [ Diskless: $160, 2x2TB: $350 ]

Most units sold in the 2-bay market are purchased by the average consumer who wants to back up photos and videos taken with mobile devices. A performance powerhouse is rarely needed in this market segment. While the user experience with the mobile app(s) is vital, the presence of apps on the NAS itself is just an icing on the cake.

Western Digital revamped their 2-bay product line last month with the My Cloud EX2 Ultra. Compared to the previously recommended My Cloud Mirror Gen 2, this is a slightly more powerful offering with double the RAM (1GB DDR3). Models start at $160 for the diskless version and go up to $900 when bundled with two WD Red 8TB helium drives.

Western Digital has also been enhancing various core features such as backup and sync capabilities in the My Cloud OS. Integrated Docker capabilities in the My Cloud OS point to the possibility of multiple easily-integrated third-party apps in the future. Western Digital is obviously a big vendor with end-user support appropriate even for non-tech savvy folks. Coupled with the plug-and-play experience, this makes it an ideal purchase for anyone who is looking to get started with network attached storage and needs basic data protection.

Buy WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra NAS (8TB) on Amazon.com

Option 2 (2-bay): Synology DS216+ [ Diskless: $300 ]

Power users wanting to experiment with btrfs and needing a more full-featured COTS NAS OS need to look no further than Synology's DSM 6.0. btrfs is available only on x86-based NAS models. The most economical Synology NAS for users wanting to evaluate btrfs for their needs is the Synology DS216+, based on the Intel Braswell platform.

The DS216+ is not going to break any benchmark records, as it is held back by the single GbE LAN port. However, the capabilities of DSM 6.0 and the powerful x86 platform, as well as the pricing make the Synology DS216+ an interesting product to consider.

Option 3 (4-bay): ZyXEL NAS540 [ Diskless: $220 ]

The ZyXEL NAS540 came in for review last year, and is still under evaluation. But, we like the unit enough to be able to recommend it as an alternative to the popular LenovoEMC ix4-300d (now that LenovoEMC is no longer selling that model). The main attraction here is the price - $220 for four bays is approximately the same as what the ix4-300d used to cost when it was in the market. However, the NAS540 has double the RAM (1GB DDR3) of the ix4-300d. It also supports hot-swapping of the drives, unlike the ix4-300d.

The NAS540 is a PowerPC-based unit (Freescale/NXP FS1024 (M86203G12) C2K dual-core @ 1.2 GHz). It comes with dual GbE LAN ports, a USB 3.0 port as well as a SD card slot. ZyXEL has equipped the NAS with enough features (mobile apps, remote access etc.) to make it deliver very good value for money. Obviously, one shouldn't expect the finesse and capabilities of OSes from the likes of Synology and QNAP, but, again, the price more than makes up for the missing features and sporadic firmware updates.

A couple of days back, Synology announced the Marvell ARMADA 385-based DS416slim (with support exclusively for 2.5" drives). While it is definitely an interesting product (particularly for power users requiring a small, power-efficient storage box for home-based virtualization labs), the average storage-hungry consumer is better off with a traditional 4-bay unit.

Buy ZyXEL 4 Bay NAS on Amazon.com

Option 4 (4-bay): QNAP TS-453A [ Diskless / 4GB RAM: $599 ]

The first quarter of the year hasn't seen too many updates on the 4-bay front (particularly talking about x86-based models). QNAP did launch their Braswell-based units at CES. In our previous guide, we had recommended the QNAP TS-453 Pro. The Braswell version is a worthy update that we will continue to recommend for the same reasons. The TS-453A comes with four GbE LAN ports - ideal for dedicating to virtual machines running on the NAS.

We wouldn't suggest running intensive VMs on the Intel Celeron N3150-based TS-453 Pro, but the platform is powerful enough to run Ubuntu VMs and the like for, say, acting as a home automation controller. QNAP's QTS is very rich in features (both mobile apps and the NAS apps ecosystem), and is perfect for power users.

Option 5 (8-bay): QNAP TVS-871-i7-16G [ Diskless / 16GB RAM: $2199 ]

Our 8-bay recommendation is retained from our previous guide. The TVS-871-i7-16G is a no-holds barred NAS sporting a Core i7-4790S Haswell processor. With 16 GB of RAM and a minimum of 4x 1GbE ports (additional 2x 10G also possible with the spare PCIe expansion slot), this NAS is ideal for running multiple intensive VMs. The 4C/8T Core i7 CPU ensures that there is enough processing power for the VMs and plenty to spare for the NAS functionality as well as apps running on the NAS itself.

The TVS-x71 units are meant for the high-end SMB market, but, in our evaluation of a TVS-871T-i7-16G unit over the last several months (review is coming out soon), we can say that it is positively drool-worthy for the high-end power users with cash to burn. The Pentium-based model comes in at $1350, while the Core i3-based one is at $1377.

For a more moderately priced 8-bay system on the COTS side, one could opt for models such as the Synology DS1815+ [ $961 , Review ] or the QNAP TS-853A [ $999 ]. Obviously, going the DIY route with, say, an ASRock Rack C2750D4I board and a U-NAS NSC-800 chassis [ Review ] might make for an interesting build, but the price difference is not that big (approx. $845 vs. approx. $1000) when build time and software management aspects are considered.

Buy QNAP TVS-871-i7-16G NAS on Amazon.com

Honorable Mentions:

Option 6 (4-bay): Netgear ReadyNAS RN214 [ Diskless: $500 ]

On the 4-bay side, Netgear's ReadyNAS RN214 with an updated quad-core Annapurna Labs SoC and btrfs support is an interesting option. Coupled with the newly introduced Netgear Nighthawk X8 R8500 tri-band 4x4 802.11ac router and the promise of plug-and-play link aggregation support, it presents a compelling solution for consumers in the market for a router as well as a NAS.

from AnandTech http://ift.tt/1NvrnNU
via IFTTT

Acer Unveils New Chromebook 14 with Up to 14-Hour Battery Life

http://ift.tt/1V66aLU

Acer this week introduced its new family of Chromebooks that wed performance with portability. The new laptops feature multi-core x86 microprocessors, 14” displays as well as aluminum chassis. Even in its most advanced configuration, the Chromebook 14 costs only $299. Acer traditionally positions its Chromebooks as solutions for students as well as customers on a budget, who need basic computing and do not want to invest a lot.

Several years ago, personal computers running Google’s Chrome operating system were considered as cheap alternatives to Windows-based PCs, which is why they used affordable components and could not boast solid performance, despite the lightweight OS. Eventually, such PCs became relatively popular and manufacturers started to use more advanced ingredients, such as IPS displays or microprocessors with higher performance. Google itself introduced its Chromebook Pixel laptop in 2013 (and updated it in 2015), targeting premium buyers. The Chromebook Pixel is one the most advanced and powerful Chromebooks ever made thanks to its Core i7 “Broadwell” processor, a display with 3:2 aspect ratio as well as an aluminum body. Google’s Pixel demonstrated to other PC makers that it is possible to build premium Chrome OS-based notebooks and they followed with more advanced Chromebooks. The new Acer Chromebook 14 is not as powerful as the Pixel, but it is clearly a step into its direction with a high-resolution display as well as an all-aluminum chassis.

The Acer Chromebook 14 (CB3-431) features, as the name suggests, a 14” IPS display with 1920×1080 or 1366×768 resolution as well as 170-degree viewing angles and an anti-glare coating. Unlike the Chromebook Pixel, Acer’s new laptops have 16:9 aspect ratio with all of its advantages for video viewing and disadvantages for Internet surfing. The model with higher resolution can work on one battery charge for 12 hours, whereas the Chromebook 14 with 1366×768 resolution boasts with up to 14-hour battery life on a single charge.

The Chromebook 14 laptops are based on Intel Celeron “Braswell” processors with two (Celeron N3060) or four (Celeron N3160/N3150) cores featuring the Airmont micro-architecture and up to 1.60 GHz clock-rate, Intel’s Intel Gen 9 graphics core with 12 execution units as well as up to 6 W TDP. Unlike Google’s Chromebook Pixel as well as Acer’s Chromebook 15, the Chromebook 14 cannot integrate a high-performance CPU featuring Broadwell micro-architecture, but that was certainly a trade-off between the price and portability.

Acer Chromebook 14 Specifications
	Acer Chromebook 14 full HD	Acer Chromebook 14 HD
Screen Resolution	1366×768	1920×1080
CPU	Dual-core Intel Celeron N3060 or Quad-core Intel Celeron N3150/3160
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 400/405 (Gen 8, 12 execution units)
RAM	2 GB or 4 GB LPDDR3
Storage	16 GB or 32 GB of eMMC storage
Wi-Fi	2x2 MIMO 802.11ac Wi-Fi module
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 4.2
USB	2 USB 3.0 ports
HDMI	One HDMI output
Other I/O	Microphone, stereo speakers, audio jack
Thickness	17 mm / 0.66"
Weight	1.55 kilograms / 3.42 pounds
Price	$299 for the launch model

Acer equips its Chromebook 14 laptops with 2 GB or 4 GB of LPDDR3 RAM (which is a good news for battery life), 16 GB or 32 GB of eMMC solid-state storage as well as a dual-band 2x2 MIMO 802.11ac Wi-Fi module with Bluetooth 4.2. The systems also feature a 720p webcam, a 3.5-mm mini jack, a microphone, stereo speakers, two USB 3.0 ports as well as an HDMI output.

The Chromebook 14 from Acer is 17 mm thick and weighs 1.55 kilograms, which is in line with many portable laptops. Acer claims that its fanless cooling system is enough to cool-down Intel’s Celeron CPU with a 6 W TDP, which is why the Chromebook 14 has no fans at all.

Acer did not say much about the price of its Chromebook 14. The launch model will be available next month with a Full HD display, 32 GB storage and 4 GB RAM starting at $299.99 in the U.S. and $399.99 (CAD) in Canada. Other Chromebook 14 models will sport lower amount of storage and RAM as well as a lower-resolution screen, but also a longer battery life. Their prices are unknown, but will clearly be different in different countries.

Gallery: Acer Unveils New Chromebook 14 with Up to 14-Hour Battery Life

from AnandTech http://ift.tt/1MTp567
via IFTTT

Kangaroo Mobile Desktop Review: Better Than Any Stick PC

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

New models of stick PCs are priced from $159 and up to the more robust Core M processors for $499. The Kangaroo Mobile Desktop from InFocus ...

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1Tj32wj
via IFTTT

Micromax Canvas Spark 3: Quad-Core Processor, 3G Connectivity & Android Lollipop For Rs. 4999

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Underneath we find a Spreadtrum SC7731G SoC that houses a 1.3GHz ARM Cortex-A7 CPU, ARM mali-400 MP2 GPU and 1GB of LPDDR3 RAM ...

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1MTqJo1
via IFTTT

Meizu M3 Note With Helio P10 CPU, 3GB RAM Spotted In Benchmarks

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

According to GizChina, Meizu M3 Note has been spotted on Antutu Benchmarks revealing a powerful octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 processor, ...

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1M0CkXz
via IFTTT

The Wii U CEMU Emulator version 1.4.0c is now available

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The Wii U CEMU emulator version 1.4.0c is now available, with a new PowerPC JIT recompiler that provides 5-6 times faster CPU emulation.

from Overclock3D.Net http://ift.tt/1qiGmkc
via IFTTT

OnePlus 3 Specs Leak, Release Date Rumors: Device Powered By Snapdragon 820 Processor?

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

OnePlus 2 boasts of a Qualcomm MSM8994 Snapdragon 810 with a Qad-core 1.56 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 1.82 GHz Cortex-A57 CPU and ...

from Google Alert - CPU processor http://ift.tt/1pKhxNx
via IFTTT

Razer Ripsaw aims to cut the hassle out of game streaming

http://ift.tt/22O3gBw

Razer has announced a new box of tricks for those who want a simple hardware solution for streaming their gaming sessions on the likes of Twitch or YouTube via their PC or games console.

The Razer Ripsaw promises smooth streaming and will literally rip uncompressed gaming footage from your PC or console in full HD (1080p) at 60 frames per second.

It plugs into your PC via USB 3.0 and comes with the necessary cables and ports (HDMI and component) to hook it up to contemporary consoles, including the PS4, Xbox One and Wii U, or indeed older models like the Xbox 360 and PS3.

There are also audio and mic inputs so you can add your own soundtrack or commentary in the background as you broadcast.

Hassle-free streaming

The Ripsaw is fully compatible with streaming software including Open Broadcaster Software and XSplit, and it works with these out-of-the-box, so Razer is aiming for a minimum of hassle in terms of setting this solution up. You just plug it into your PC, hook up the video input and go.

What sort of spec will you need to run the Ripsaw? A PC running at least Windows 7 (though Windows 10 is recommended) with a minimum of one USB 3.0 port is required, and the processor will need to be a Core i5-4440 or better in a desktop PC, or a Core i7-4810MQ when it comes to Intel's mobile CPUs.

You'll also need 4GB of RAM – although 8GB is recommended – and as for the graphics card, a minimum of a GeForce GTX 660 is required for a desktop PC, and a GeForce GTX 870M GPU for a laptop.

If your PC is up to the task, you can bag yourself a Razer Ripsaw for £150 (or $180 over in the US, which is around AU$235).

The Ripsaw is part of the Razer Broadcaster range of products designed to appeal to those serious about their streaming, and it includes the Razer Seiren digital microphone.

Razer has been pretty busy with new products this year, and last week we witnessed the revelation of the BlackWidow X, the company's newest mechanical gaming keyboard.

• Also check out: Razer launches its own live-streaming service for gamers

from TechRadar: computing components news http://ift.tt/1MAVROl
via IFTTT