Computer Systems - Page 21

With all of the stories of companies, personal computers, and everything in between being hacked by the uber-brains in North Korea and Russia (using tools US taxpayers' paid for by the alphabet government agencies that made the tools in the first place) - securing your PC has become a very real thing you should be doing.

This is where Orwl PC steps up to the plate, which has some of the best security you can buy. It's protected even from physical hacking, as the PC has an awesome self destructing feature that will wipe the PC completely clean of your data, if someone physically tries to break into it. It comes with either Windows, Ubuntu, or Qubes OS pre-installed - on top of a bunch of seriously powerful security specs.

We're talking about protection about UEFI and DMA hacks, as well as USB-based exploits, reports BGR. There's even a special key fob that is based on NFC that verifies the user that wants to use the Orwl PC, and if you walk away from your PC with the key fob in your pocket, the Orwl PC will lock its USB ports down from any potential hacking.

This is big news: Dell has confirmed they are the OEM exclusive partner for AMD's upcoming 12C/24T and 16C/32T parts in their upcoming Ryzen ThreadRipper CPU range.

Dell will be pumping out systems with Alienware and their upcoming Area-51 ThreadRipper Edition gaming PC that will rock up to 64GB of DDR4 RAM (2667/2933MHz), a bunch of GPU configurations including the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, Radeon RX 570/580, and GTX 1080 Ti cards in SLI. I'm sure there'll also be some Radeon RX Vega graphics card configurations once the Vega-based GPUs launch in August.

All systems will include fully unlocked, factory overclocked on all CPU cores and liquid cooled Ryzen ThreadRipper CPUs, with options for dual- and triple-GPU configurations and super-fast M.2 storage. Dell will also be selling Alienware Area-51 gaming PCs with Intel's new Core i7 and Core i9 processors, but Intel is locked out at anything more than 10C/20T. Intel will be offering their Core i7-7800X (6C/12T @ 4GHz), Core i7-7820X (8C/16T @ 4.5GHz), and Core i9-7900X (10C/20T @ 4.5GHz).

Apple has just announced their new all-in-one desktop, the iMac Pro, and boy does it have some hefty specs. We're looking at Apple's new iMac Pro starting at $4999... and scaling much higher than that if you pack it with all of the tech goodies you can imagine.

Apple's new iMac Pro will begin shipping in December, starting with an 8-core Intel Xeon CPU - but you can choose options right up to the insanely powerful 18-core Xeon processor. Not only that, but you can option it with a 27-inch 5K display and AMD's new Radeon Vega GPU. There's also 10GbE network connectivity, and 4 x Thunderbolt 3 ports.

You can option the Radeon Pro Vega with up to 16GB of HBM2 memory, while Apple will offer up to an insane 128GB of 2666MHz DDR4 ECC RAM, and up to 4TB of SSD storage. Apple intends for people to buy their new iMac Pro for high-end editing and graphics work, and even gaming and VR since the new iMac Pro is VR-ready as well.

Microsoft is launching a new Surface Pro today, with the introduction of the Surface Pro. Yeah, Microsoft has dropped the numbering scheme from its line up, with the Surface Pro 4 being the last of the numbered Surface Pro products, from now on they'll just be 'Surface Pro'.

The next-gen hybrid laptop/tablet has some pretty significant internal changes, with "about 800 new custom parts in the new Pro" says Microsoft Surface boss Panos Panay. Microsoft taps Intel's latest Kaby Lake family of processors for the new Surface Pro units, with fanless versions of the Core m3 and Core i5 processors.

Because Microsoft makes not just the Surface Pro, but the operating system in Windows 10, it can do hardware and software level tweaks for Surface Pro. This gives Microsoft a very Apple-like future as they continue evolving Surface into something that has not only caught up, but far exceeded what Apple has in the laptop/tablet markets. Because of these tweaks, Microsoft is claiming the new Surface Pro has up to 50% longer battery life than the Surface Pro 4.

Apple only made 200 of its Apple-1 computers back in 1976, something that was built in Steve Jobs' garage, and was just auctioned in Germany for a huge $130,000. Late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak designed, and marketed the Apple-1 in 1976.

John Dryden, the original Californian software engineer who owned the Apple-1, admitted it was hard to sell. He said: "(The Apple 1) was one of the first opportunities for someone to possess a real computer. I'd been working with computers for a while but they were huge".

Dryden sold the Apple-1 computer with the original receipt for the motherboard and cassette recorder, an operating manual, and something that would be amazing to see in person: notes of telephone conversations between Dryden and Wozniak from 1977. Apple never made an external housing for the Apple-1 computer, with the company selling the power supply, keyboard, monitor, and cassette recorder separately.

It looks like Apple is pushing into its next-gen iMac in a big way, with Apple's Phil Schiller teasing the new improvements Apple are making to the iMac.

Schiller said: "With regards to the Mac Pro we are in the process of what we call 'completely rethinking the Mac Pro'. We're working on it. We have a team working hard on it right now, and we want to architect it so that we can keep it fresh with regular improvements, and we're committed to making it our highest-end, high-throughput desktop system, designed for our demanding pro customers".

The new iMac Pro will reportedly feature an Intel Xeon E3-1285 V6 processor, with 16GB (upgradeable to 32GB or 64GB of ECC memory), the latest NVMe-based SSD (up to 2TB) and AMD's latest GPU technology (most likely Vega, or the fastest Polaris at least). Thunderbolt 3 will be included, USB Type-C connectivity, and drum roll... a new keyboard.

Apple is planning new iMac models for later this year, with the 2018 refresh reportedly including a high-end 5K model, with the new iMac powered by Intel's latest Kaby Lake family of processors.

Apple marketing boss Phil Schiller along with engineering head Craig Federighi have confirmed new iMacs are indeed coming out this year, but they didn't tease any of the internals or the displays Apple would be using. Apple could release a new iMac with a native 5K resolution, while Intel's latest Kaby Lake family of CPUs will surely be on offer - with up to the Core i7-7700K available.

USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 will most likely be the default connectivity, and since Apple has already debuted the TouchBar - something they unveiled on their enthusiast MacBook Pro. The new iMac could feature a TouchBar of some sorts, but I'm sure we'll be filled in with all of the nitty gritty details in the coming months.

MSI today announces a "frosty" variant of its award-winning Trident 3 gaming PC, which melds a small form factor with high-end power.

MSI's limited edition Trident 3 Arctic gaming PC isn't just a white paintjob: the Mini-ITX build rocks a customized ITX NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 with 8GB of GDDR5 VRAM for performance gaming and VR, complimented by Intel's latest powerful Core i7-7700 3.6GHz CPU "to get performance levels far above its similarly-sized console counterparts." The SFF PC also sports 16GB of DDR4-2400 RAM, and a single 256GB M.2 SSD and a 1 TB 7200RPM hard drive for storage.

The Trident 3 Arctic stays cool as its icy paintjob thanks to MSI's new Silent Storm Cooling 2 system, which "individually cools the most important heat-generating hardware in the system using separated chambers." And what modern rig would be complete without RGB lighting? MSI adds some scintillating flair with its RGB Mystic Light LED array.

Corsair has just officially launched its Corsair One gaming PC range, with four different variants: Corsair One, Corsair One Pro, Corsair One Pro (webstore only), and the Corsair One Ti (webstore exclusive).

Corsair is pushing its new gaming PC line up as super quiet, with teh company leveraging its awesome Hydro series of cooling products on the CPU and GPU - keeping them as cool, and quiet as possible. It looks absolutely awesome, with the graphics card sitting vertically, with the chassis itself smaller than most traditional PCs.

Now, let's talk some specs. First up, we have the Corsair One Pro - the new mid-range PC in the new Corsair One range.

CyberPowerPC has come out swinging with some new gaming PCs powered by AMD's next-gen Ryzen processors, with systems starting at $983 and ranging up to $2399. All of the PCs feature AMD's new Ryzen processors, the same X340 Killer SLI motherboard, and can be configured to your hearts content.

The company is hosting its own CyberPowerPC Ryzen pre-sale event, with all of the systems including a free upgrade to the Corsair Hydro Series H60 liquid cooler. As for the specs:

AMD Ryzen 7 Configurator - Starting $983

CES 2017 - CES is all about pushing the forefront of technology to new heights with interesting prototypes and amazing builds; first we saw Razer's Project Valerie, which packs three 4K G-Sync displays into a laptop. Now E-BLUE has created the Scion-32, the world's first hybrid-tower monitor.

The Scion-32 Hybrid Tower essentially melds a Mini-ATX build with a QHD display, with a mini tower on its backside that houses the components. The Scion-32 is touted as a flexible and modular custom-built "revolutionary all-in-one masterpiece unifies the mainframe computer with HD monitor, unleashing limitless gaming experience."

E-BLUE's hybrid-tower supports Micro-ATX and Mini-ATX motherboards, but we're not sure if it's compatible will full-sized desktop video cards or not. E-BLUE affirms the Scion-32 rocks enough space and ports for "multiple devices and USB connection," and features two storage slots--one each for a HDD and SSD.

CES 2017 - We've seen some amazing things at CES so far, including NVIDIA's amazing new 4K 144Hz HDR G-Sync monitors, Zotac's tiny-yet-mighty NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Mini video card, AvaDirect's beastly custom desktop rig, and Razer's new Project Valerie laptop with triple 4K G-Sync monitors, but now it's Intel's turn: introducing the Compute Card, a fully-fledged computer system that fits in your wallet.

As the name suggests, the Compute Card is the size of a credit card, and is mainly aimed at powering new Internet of Things (IoT) systems and solutions--not consumers. The Compute Card features everything you'd find on a full computer: an onboard Intel SoC that rocks CPUs up to its latest seventh-gen Kaby Lake processors, onboard flash storage, and flexible wireless connectivity to ensure the device can meet a number of different solutions and form factors--from refrigerators and smart kiosks to security cameras.

"Device makers simply design a standard Intel Compute Card slot into their device and then utilize the best Intel Compute Card for their performance and price needs. This reduces the time and resources needed to design and validate the compute block and helps speed up innovation to bring the power of intelligence into an ever wider range of devices."

CES 2017 - Supermicro is mostly known for enterprise grade storage solutions, but the company has been expanding its gaming hardware footprint, and took to CES 2017 in Las Vegas to showcase its latest Supero PC gaming hardware. One of Supermicro's most interesting builds showcased at the event is its new fanless mini-ITX desktop PC.

The Supero SYS-5130DB-IL is a mini-ITX concept build that uses passive cooling for near-silent operation, but also rocks dedicated hardware to ensure decent desktop-grade performance. This fanless desktop PC features Supermicro's own proprietary C7ZB250-CG-ML Mini-ITX motherboard from its Core Gaming lineup alongside a seventh-gen Intel Core i7-7500 CPU and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 video card, technically making it VR-ready.

"Enabling customers to have a budget friendly system that features a mix of all the latest technologies, SYS-5130DB-IL is equipped with C7ZB250-CG-ML motherboard, a feature-rich CSE-DS3A-261B mini-tower chassis, and a 260W power supply."

CES 2017 - AVADirect is aiming at the gaming PC market in a big way this year, continuing their efforts from 2016 - where they pushed into VR gaming PCs and so much more - but now they're teaming with GIGABYTE on a new gaming PC that they're calling the "most advanced" custom gaming PC.

Inside of the new AVA Z270 Scorpio is GIGABYTE's feature-packed Aorus GA-Z270X-GAMING 7 motherboard, which takes the new Kaby Lake family of CPUs - with the Z270 Scorpio system powered by the Core i7-7700K processor. We also have GIGABYTE's on-board TURBO B-Clock Tuning IC that lets you tune clock rates for performance, stability, and more.

AVADirect will let you customize the AVA Z270 Scorpio with NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1080, up to 64GB of DDR4 RAM, and a slew of storage options. The components are placed into the system with a "showroom quality appearance", which is clearly visible from the images you can see here.

CES 2017 - MSI's latest Trident 3 small form factor PC blurs the lines between desktop and console gaming with a fully-fledged PC powerhouse at a console's smaller footprint.

Using NVIDIA's flexible and efficient 16nm Pascal GPU architecture and Intel's latest seventh-gen Kaby Lake CPUs, manufacturers are now able to make VR-ready desktops that are basically the size of PS4 and Xbox consoles. MSI's new Trident 3 compact small form factor (SFF) PC fits this bill nicely, but instead of woefully outdated, scaled back, and consolidated hardware, it rocks a dedicated a desktop-grade video card, processor, and onboard DDR4 RAM.

The MSI Trident 3 sports an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 ITX video card in both 3GB and 6GB GDDR5 VRAM configurations for VR and traditional gaming, an Intel Kaby Lake H110 Core i7-7700 or Core i5-7400 CPU, up to 32GB of DDR4 2400MHz RAM, and options for HDD, SSD or M.2 storage. All in all the Trident 3 is very much akin to ASUS' new VivoPC X small form factor PC.

CES 2017 - ASUS's new VivoPC X melds VR gaming horsepower with the minute footprint of a small form factor PC.

The VivoPC X is lightweight and clocks in at just below five pounds, but although its small, it has some pretty decent specs: the $799 SFF PC houses a dedicated NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 video card (VRAM unknown at this time) alongside a seventh generation Intel i5 Kaby Lake CPU, 8GB of system RAM, and a 512GB SSD for storage. Two HDMI ports, four USB 3.1 ports and two USB 2.0 ports ensure plenty of space for VR peripherals and input.

The ASUS VivoPC X SFF PC can also be used for traditional gaming, of course; the small chassis features two HDMI ports and a single DisplayPort for NVIDIA G-Sync supported displays. Although the VivoPC X uses an GeForce GTX 1060 built on NVIDIA's new 16nm Pascal graphics architecture, there's still some worries about heat, especially with performance-driven VR games.

Zotac is set to unveil a new wave of hardware at CES 2017, complete with its high-end ZBOX mini PC powered by Intel's newest seventh generation processors.

The ZBOX CI549 mini PC will merge ultra portability with impressive performance thanks to its onboard new Kaby Lake CPU from Intel. The processor will be passively cooled, and the ZBOX will feature multiple Thunderbolt 3 ports for blistering fast USB 3.1 10Gbps transfers, fast-charging and DisplayPort over Type-C capabilities for improved video performance.

"We believe the future of computing should be flexible," says Tony Wong, CEO, ZOTAC International. "Our next generation of computing products enables users to get the best of mobile and stationary experience."

GIGABYTE is going on the offensive with its Gaming GT PC, a new SFF gaming PC that rocks some ridiculously delicious specifications - normally found in a high-end desktop gaming PC.

We're looking at Intel's Core i7-6700K processor, a GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1080 G1 Gaming graphics card, 32GB of DDR RAM, a 240GB PCIe-based SSD, 1TB mechanical HDD (2.5-inch 7200RPM), plenty of connectivity (Thunderbolt 3, USB 3.1 Type-C, 5 x USB 3.0, and 1 x USB 3.1 Type-A).

All of this fits into a chassis that is barely bigger than the PS3 console, with an automated exhaust system that AnandTech reports "opens up exhaust flippers at the top of the computer when it needs to cool down the components". The site continues: "The chassis can accommodate any double wide graphics card with a maximum size of 280 mm in length and 41 mm in depth, but nothing too custom with regards heat pipes and backplates because the space is constrained".

There's 7 hours left on an absolutely stellar deal that's taking place on Amazon, with a CYBERPOWERPC Oculus Ready GXiVR8020A Gaming Desktop & Oculus Rift Virtual Reality Headset Bundle that costs $999.

Not bad, right? Except it's bundled with an Oculus Rift - which costs $599 on its own. Inside, we have:

But, the star of the show here is the Oculus Rift, bundled for $999 is an incredible price. I personally recommend the HTC Vive, but at this price... you just can't complain. If you've got the money, pull the trigger on this PC now!

HP has just unveiled its new mini PC that features workstation-class hardware, with the new Z2 Mini packing an Intel Xeon CPU, NVIDIA Quadro mobile M620 graphics, and M.2 SSD - which all fits into a 2.3-inch-high case, that HP says is "90 percent smaller than a traditional business-class tower".

With the maxed out configuration, HP's new Z2 Mini is twice as powerful as any competing mini PC on the market, and will work with six displays in its stock form. HP is aiming for CAD, design, graphics and 3D users - but gamers shouldn't be swayed away from it, either.

HP's new Z2 Mini is 63% quieter than their own business-class mini PCs, thanks to the company deploying a custom cooling system. HP explains that the engineering of the Z2 Mini as "the octagon form of the Z2 Mini is the most uniquely designed workstation in HP's 35 years of workstation history".