Computer Systems - Page 22

Microsoft is really innovating in a big way lately, surpassing Apple's hype-o-meter which seems to have been watered down over the years, but the new Surface Studio from Microsoft is ready to blow people away.

Even with its high price, the Surface Studio is selling out all over the place, even up to the high-end $4000 model. For $2999, you get a quad-core CPU, dedicated GPU and decent storage - but for those who want speed, the $4000 model rocks a faster processor, better GPU, and more RAM. If you've forgotten the specs, here's what Surface Studio features:

Surface Studio specs:

Microsoft today revealed the Surface Studio, an ultra-thin transforming all-in-one aimed at transforming your desk into a fully-fledged workstation studio.

As we reported, Microsoft's new transforming all-in-one is called the Surface Studio, and is aimed at 3D artists and businesspeople who need a sleek, versatile and powerful PC.

The Surface Studio is incredibly thin and flexible, and sports a forge aluminum body. Apart from its power, the all-in-one's selling point is its unique transforming display, which can mold into a number of different form factors including a traditional PC setup to a slanted artist's canvas or even completely flat like a tablet. The Surface Studio is stationary, however, unlike the Surface Book.

ZOTAC held its 10-year anniversary event in Hong Kong over the last 24 hours, where it unveiled a new graphics card that it collaborated with Thermaltake on: the new ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1080 ArcticStorm Thermaltake 10 Year Anniversary Edition graphics card. It comes watercooled with Thermaltake powering the cooling side, and ZOTAC's custom PCB and high overclock goodness we've come to love about their cards.

Well, the exciting new 10-year anniversary celebration included the new ZOTAC Magnus EN1080 10 Year Anniversary Edition mini-PC, which features NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1080 inside - not bad for something the size of a BRIX or NUC, huh? The rest of the specifications are just as good, delivering desktop gaming PC power inside of something much smaller. The entire system will draw up to 180W, which means this is a portable gaming and productivity powerhouse.

The entire Magnus EN1080 10 Year Anniversary Edition is completely liquid cooled, with ZOTAC's engineers pulling off some magic on the Magnus EN1080 with a "specially designed liquid cooling thermal system" that cools both the CPU and the GPU.

Microsoft is set to reveal its new all-in-one Surface desktop PC tomorrow, and now there's evidence it could be called "Surface Studio."

Microsoft is holding a major Windows 10 press event tomorrow, and the major consensus from the tech press believes Microsoft will unveil a unique Surface-branded "iMac-killer" desktop PC at the event. Official details are slim, but its believed the Surface all-in-one is powered by Windows 10 and can be used as a detachable tablet or docked as a desktop PC. ZDNet says the Surface is codenamed "Cardinal," and can "turn your desk into a studio."

Speaking of a "studio," that might actually be the name of the device: Surface Studio, to be more exact. Trademark attorney Brian Conroy dug up some compelling evidence of a Slovenian trademark filing which also listed the Surface Laptop, Surface Dial, and Paint 3D--the latter of which could be for 3D artists, with the Dial being similar to Wacom's Express Remote, as per Microsoft's agreement with Wacom to release "dual protocol pens."

Apple has sent out media events to the press for an upcoming event on October 27 at Apple's campus in Cupertino, where it teases "Hello Again" for its upcoming Mac-focused event.

What should we expect? Apple should tease its new MacBook products, including the purported MacBook Pro with its fancy new OLED touchbar, and more. Apple will most likely push for its removal of ports on its devices, with a new MacBook Pro featuring just USB-C, and no traditional USB ports on it, which really would change everything - but will it be for the better?

Apple will also most likely unveil a new MacBook Air, which should see it sans USB-A ports and shift into the arms of USB-C, while inside we're sure to see improved hardware. Lastly, the desktop side of things should see a new Mac Pro unveiling that could be a surprise, and with Microsoft rumored to be preparing an all-in-one desktop PC with a new Surface, Apple could trump them with a new AIO Mac desktop next week.

Samsung might be going through tumultuous times with the halting of sales on its explosive Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, but their PC division has just teased the new ArtPC Pulse, a new "cylindrical desktop PC" available on Amazon for pre-order, reports PCWorld.

The new ArtPC Pulse is 10.7 inches tall, with Samsung designing it with a full metal body and circular lighting - and it looks beyond slick. Amazon's listing teases removable expandable modules, with an optional 1TB HDD available separately.

Samsung will reportedly have the starting price on the ArtPC Pulse at $1199, rocking a 6th-gen Intel Core i5 processor, 256GB SSD, 8GB of RAM, an AMD Radeon RX 460 graphics card, and USB Type-C and HDMI connectivity. The full specs:

We've been hearing rumbles about an all-in-one desktop PC under the Surface brand from Microsoft, and now it looks like it's set in stone for a New York City media event on October 26.

Microsoft's new Surface all-in-one would be an iMac-like desktop PC that will reportedly launch the AIO product with a Surface keyboard and mouse, too. The media event teases "the next chapter in the Windows story", which will also include announcements of two major Windows 10 software updates, as well as some Xbox announcements.

The Verge has jumped onto the story, saying that "the company isn't planning to refresh its Surface Pro 4 or Surface Book devices at the event, and will showcase laptops and devices from OEMs instead".

Microsoft has been making big inroads into the laptop and tablet markets with its Surface brand of products, but now it looks like the company is making a move for your desktop with an all-in-one Surface desktop PC.

It makes sense, since Microsoft is the creator of Windows - so a Windows 10-powered Surface-branded desktop PC would be an eventuality. According to The Verge, Microsoft is going to announce its Surface AIO PC imminently, as soon as late October at a launch event in New York City.

Microsoft will announce its all-in-one Surface PC alongside various Surface-branded accessories, like the purported Surface Ergonomic Keyboard that turned up on a listing for the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). The Surface Ergonomic Keyboard makes more sense with an AIO PC, versus a new keyboard for the current Surface.

For those old enough to remember the Commodore 64, can you believe that one is still being used to run a small auto repair shop?

Commodore USA's official Facebook page reads: "This C64C used by a small auto repair shop for balancing drive shafts has been working non-stop for over 25 years. And despite surviving a flood it is still going...". That's a great achievement, because most PCs wouldn't last 25 more years and still be operational like that (for the most part, anyway).

The Commodore 64 was released all the way back in 1982, featuring a whopping 64KB of memory at the time, with its CPU running at a blistering 1MHz, with a 16-color graphics chip. It was the highest-selling single computer model of all time according to the Guinness World Records.

There might not be many that remember the Apple 1 computer, but it was one of Apple's first machines and now one has appeared for auction on Charitybuzz with bids of $270,000.

Apple expert Corey Cohen told Recode: "It's the rookie card, for lack of a better word". The rare Apple 1 computer on auction includes the original manuals, a cassette tape with BASIC programming language, and other accessories and docs. Cohen added that the early machines were hand finished by Dan Kottke or the late Steve Jobs and that there is a great chance that this particular Apple 1 had been assembled by Jobs.

Cohen says he talked with Kottke, adding that "Dan doesn't remember assembling this one". Kottke did make the BASIC cassette and has the words "Good Luck" written in his handwriting, on it. Cohen said that the original Apple 1 owner isn't known, but the current owner purchased it for $18,000 back in 2000. Other Apple 1 computers have been purchased for as much as $900,000 - so there's no guessing where the ceiling is on this one, especially if Steve Jobs really did assemble it by hand.

HP has just unveiled its new Omen X Desktop, which will include a Intel's new Core i7 processor that's unlocked and ready to be cranked to 4GHz. The cube-shaped gaming PC can be configured with up to two NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 cards in SLI, or two AMD Radeon R9 Fury X cards in CrossFire, and our friends at Tech Radar have snapped some beautiful shots of the Omen X Desktop in the flesh.

On the outside, HP has used an absolutely beautiful custom cube-shaped design, but inside there is some great engineering and design work going on. The cube shape not only looks great, but the design was made to make the Omen X Desktop cooling more efficient. HP uses a microATX motherboard inside of the Omen X Desktop, which will take Intel's new Skylake-based Core i5 and Core i5 processors.

HP has used some premium features inside, with four hot-swappable disk drives that support 3.5-inch HDDs, 2.5-inch SSDs and the new U.2-based SSDs. The cube-shaped gaming PC has customizable lights on the front panel, where you can configure the lights into varying levels of brightness, patterns, and other effects.

If you haven't already heard, the Intel Extreme Rig Challenge is here, which pits 12 custom PC manufacturers against each other on who can build the highest-end PC for $10,000. It's quite the task, and there are some big players involved.

AVADirect, ORIGIN, Maingear and others are in the mix, with our friends at AVADirect sitting in #4 position right now. The top 7 builders with the most Twitter votes will have their $10,000 gaming rigs on show at PAX West, and get this - they'll be raffled off to lucky winners on Twitter!

If you want to get into the draw, you can win AVADirect's gaming PC by hitting Twitter and tweeting "I vote @AVADirect in the #IntelRigChallenge" and bam, you're in the running to win one of the best gaming PCs you can build, period. Voting daily is even better, as it increases your odds of winning.

E3 2016 - The Alienware Alpha is one of the company's coolest achievements and something my wife and I use in my living room daily. It's half the size of a console but still keeps up with the majority of new PC games, and it boasts a completely unique and optional OS layer that runs on top of Windows but shoves traditional Windows annoyances out of the way. It can also double as a kick-ass little media PC. Today at E3, Alienware announced its Alpha is getting a few upgrades.

While I was personally hoping for it to rock an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070M, that card hasn't officially been announced yet -- even though we know mobile Pascal is coming soon. Instead, it's getting an upgraded NVIDIA GTX 960, now with 4GB of VRAM. AMD fans will be thrilled to hear that rocking a Radeon R9 M470X is also an option with the 2nd generation Alpha system.

Alienware tells us that by popular demand, the Alpha is also newly compatible with the Alienware Graphics Amplifier, opening it up to the world of high-end desktop-class gaming and VR. The Graphics Amp is now compatible with newer Alienware laptops, the Alpha, and all Alienware desktops.

E3 2016 -- We can't visit Alienware's E3 booth just yet, but the PC maker is unveiling a slew of upgraded systems this year including the Area 51. Alienware's full-tower desktop, which supports up to three full length video cards in SLI, is now getting a performance from Intel's Broadwell-E CPU and NVIDIA's Pascal GPUs.

If you want to run NVIDIA's VR Funhouse (which boasts an absurd amount of physics and particles), you can load it up with three NVIDIA GTX 1080 cards, or you can boost it with the insane (albeit a touch overpriced) 10-core Intel Core-i7 6950x. The Area 51 also supports AMD Radeon graphics, and we're sure that the upcoming RX 480 will get integrated once it's released.

Alienware Area-51 configuration options include:

It's day 0 at E3 2016, and Alienware has unleashed a slew of announcements, including the fact that Aurora, their mid-sized enthusiast PC offering, is getting a Pascal upgrade and a smaller footprint.

The Alienware Aurora is a dual-graphics capable PC with optional liquid CPU cooling, and has the distinction of being Alienware's first tool-less chassis, allowing easy access to your GPU and other peripherals.

Probably the most notable update to Aurora is the availability of NVIDIA's Pascal-based GTX 1080 and GTX 1070, available in single card or SLI configurations. AMD Radeon options are also available, and I have to imagine that once the RX 480 launches, it will be included in their configurations shortly thereafter.

E3 2016 - Origin's new Omni all-in-one gaming PC is now shipping, with it being an awesome 34-inch AIO gaming PC with a 21:9 UltraWide display packing some seriously fast hardware.

The Origin PC Omni features a 34-inch 3440x1440 curved panel, and inside you can configure it with Intel's latest Core i7-6950X processor, up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM, and even NVIDIA's new GeForce GTX 1080 video card. The Omni AIO gaming PC makes use of Origin's Frostbyte CPU liquid cooling system, and Origin's professional overclocking expertise. Origin boss Kevin Wasielewski and founder says: "All-in-one PC users no longer have to make comprises, the ORIGIN PC OMNI offers the full performance and upgradeability that games and enthusiasts crave. With it's gorgeous 34" Ultra-Wide 3440x1440 curved display, support for up to an Intel Core i7 6950X processor, 32GB of DDR4 Memory, and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080, the ORIGIN PC OMNI delivers the best of every world".

Just how powerful is the Omni? Check out the all-in-one features, and what the best CPU and GPU can be packed inside of the 34-inch AIO gaming PC.

Computex 2016 - MSI has launched its new AEGIS and AEGIS X barebones PC systems, providing a stylish and performance-driven DIY solution for high-end gaming and VR.

With MSI's new AEGIS and AEGIS X barebones PCs, gamers can pack in potent, enthusiast-grade desktop PC hardware in a compact design that's perfect for LAN parties. The AEGIS duo can house full-sized powerhouse video cards like NVIDIA's new GeForce GTX 1080, with support for Intel's 6th Gen Skylake CPUs and an onboard 600W 80 Plus Silver PSU. Up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM can be slotted into the onboard motherboards, with room for two NVMe PCIE-E SSD's in Super RAID 4 configuration to enable blistering-fast data speeds of up to 3300MB/s. MSI's new Silent Storm Cooling 2 thermal system ensures "exceptional cooling and silence even under the most stressful battles" with two separate intake chambers that cool individual components.

The AEGIS X is fully optimized for hardcore VR and gaming performance, sporting one-touch overclocking with the Dragon OC button. The AEGIS X also rocks a liquid cooling solution to keep thermals at bay, with a full Z170 motherboard that fits Intel K-series CPUs (up to a Core i7-6700K) along with 32GB DDR4 RAM support. A front-facing HDMI-out pass through port enables easy VR headset hookups.

Computex 2016 - EVGA didn't just show off their custom GeForce GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 cards at Computex 2016, they also had their DG-87 gaming PC on show and what a beast it is.

EVGA's DG-87 PC is powered by the EVGA X99 Classified, 4 x EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti QRG video cards which are all watercooled, the CPU is watercooled by the EVGA QRC CPU cooler, while the entire system is powered by the EVGA 1600W T2 PSU. To get the 4-way GTX 980 Ti cards working, EVGA used their 4-way Pro SLI Bridge V2, with the entire system looking absolutely beautiful.

On the side of the system is an awesome reflective panel, where we have an LED read out and I/O. It looks ridiculous in person, and really catches you eye.

Computex 2016 - Digital Storm has just unveiled its amazing new Aura, a 34-inch all-in-one gaming PC that somehow manages to cram inside the next-gen Intel Core i7-6950X and NVIDIA's new GeForce GTX 1080 video card.

Digital Storm COO, Harjit Chana explains: "We're excited to announce the Aura, it's unlike anything we've offered. You can now truly have an immersive gaming experience in a slim AIO form factor".

With an innovative internal design, Digital Storm says that the Aura is easy to access and upgrade, with the video card, RAM, storage, process and motherboard all based from off-the-shelf components that can be "replaced or upgraded by users".

Computex 2016 - GIGABYTE has unveiled its new BRIX Gaming UHD mini-PC that's designed for 1080p gaming and running applications in 4K UHD.

GIGABYTE's new BRIX Gaming UHD ultra-compact mini-PC sports a discrete NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 video card along with an Intel Core i7 Skylake-U processor to enable easy 1080p gaming across four displays, as well as applications in 4K UHD.

Users can slot in two DDR4 2133MHz SO-DIMM RAM sticks for high-performance speeds, and there's room for two 2.5" HDD/SSD's at 7 and 9.5 mm thickness via two 6Gbs SATA 3 slots. Ontop of those storage options, two M.2 SSD's can be equipped for high-speed storage.