Seagate has been partnering with Microsoft to supply official accessories for the Xbox console for a couple of generations now, and we took a look at one back in 2015 with the original Game Drive for Xbox. Although just a USB hard drive, the Game Driv…
Seagate has been partnering with Microsoft to supply official accessories for the Xbox console for a couple of generations now, and we took a look at one back in 2015 with the original Game Drive for Xbox. Although just a USB hard drive, the Game Driv…
At CES 2017, both Acer and ASUS simultaneously announced two 4K G-SYNC HDR displays. Featuring ultra-fast 144Hz refresh rates, peak brightness of 1000 nits, full-array backlight, wide color gamut, and minimal input latency, these were the first HDR gaming monitors to be revealed. Although those two monitors aren’t even available yet – they are slated for release later this summer – both Acer and ASUS have just announced two new 35-inch curved G-SYNC HDR monitors at Computex 2017.
The new Acer Predator X35 and ASUS ROG Swift PG35VQ are twins in many respects, since they both feature a custom AU Optronics G-SYNC HDR panel that was co-developed with NVIDIA. This 35-inch panel not only has a 3440×1440 resolution with an ultrawide 21:9 aspect ratio, but its refresh rate runs at a blistering 200Hz. The WQHD panel sports a peak brightness of 1000 nits, and a full-array backlight with 512 individually-controllable LED zones. The HDR format in question is HDR10, since that is the standard being adopted for PC gaming. The monitors apparently support the cinema-standard DCI-P3 color gamut – to what percentage is unknown – made possible by improving the backlighting with a Quantum Dot Enhancement Film (QDEF). There is no information on response times, but there are claims of “almost zero input latency”.
The two monitors will feature DisplayPort 1.4 inputs, which is an absolutely necessity to handle the up to 29.7Gbps bandwidth that this panel will require. By comparison, HDMI 2.0 is limited to a mere 18Gbps, and thus would be limited to 120Hz.
While we have no unique information about the Acer model, the ASUS display will have integrated RGB LED lighting in the form of an ROG logo that shines down onto the desk and a rear ROG logo that features RGB LEDs and that can be synchonized with other Aura Sync-enabled PC components and peripherals.
The Acer Predator X35 and ASUS ROG Swift PG35VQ are scheduled to be released sometime in Q4 2017.
Acer Predator X35 G-Sync HDR Monitor
ASUS ROG Swift PG35VQ G-Sync HDR Monitor
At CES 2017, both Acer and ASUS simultaneously announced two 4K G-SYNC HDR displays. Featuring ultra-fast 144Hz refresh rates, peak brightness of 1000 nits, full-array backlight, wide color gamut, and minimal input latency, these were the first HDR gaming monitors to be revealed. Although those two monitors aren’t even available yet – they are slated for release later this summer – both Acer and ASUS have just announced two new 35-inch curved G-SYNC HDR monitors at Computex 2017.
The new Acer Predator X35 and ASUS ROG Swift PG35VQ are twins in many respects, since they both feature a custom AU Optronics G-SYNC HDR panel that was co-developed with NVIDIA. This 35-inch panel not only has a 3440×1440 resolution with an ultrawide 21:9 aspect ratio, but its refresh rate runs at a blistering 200Hz. The WQHD panel sports a peak brightness of 1000 nits, and a full-array backlight with 512 individually-controllable LED zones. The HDR format in question is HDR10, since that is the standard being adopted for PC gaming. The monitors apparently support the cinema-standard DCI-P3 color gamut – to what percentage is unknown – made possible by improving the backlighting with a Quantum Dot Enhancement Film (QDEF). There is no information on response times, but there are claims of “almost zero input latency”.
The two monitors will feature DisplayPort 1.4 inputs, which is an absolutely necessity to handle the up to 29.7Gbps bandwidth that this panel will require. By comparison, HDMI 2.0 is limited to a mere 18Gbps, and thus would be limited to 120Hz.
While we have no unique information about the Acer model, the ASUS display will have integrated RGB LED lighting in the form of an ROG logo that shines down onto the desk and a rear ROG logo that features RGB LEDs and that can be synchonized with other Aura Sync-enabled PC components and peripherals.
The Acer Predator X35 and ASUS ROG Swift PG35VQ are scheduled to be released sometime in Q4 2017.
Acer Predator X35 G-Sync HDR Monitor
ASUS ROG Swift PG35VQ G-Sync HDR Monitor
ASRock has introduced a miniature motherboard for AMD Ryzen microprocessors, one of a few such motherboards in the industry. Despite being very small, the X370 Gaming ITX/ac offers everything that a fairly powerful gaming system might require and its price is not too high.
The ASRock X370 Gaming ITX/ac is based on the AMD X370 chipset and supports all currently available processors in the AM4 form-factor, including A-series APUs as well as all Ryzen CPUs. The motherboard has a digital eight-phase VRM for the CPU designed to guarantee clean power supply (stability, overclocking potential, etc.). According to ASRock, the mainboard can handle DDR4-3200+ memory (assuming that particular modules work well with AMD Ryzen processors). The new platform has two DIMM slots in total.
Like many other motherboards in the Mini-ITX form-factor, the X370 Gaming ITX/ac has one PCIe 3.0 x16 slot, one M.2 slot for PCIe 3.0 x4 or SATA SSDs, as well as four SATA ports. Meanwhile in a light bit of irony, the mainboard uses GbE and 802.11ac Wi-Fi controllers from Intel. As for other I/O, everything seems to be pretty standard here: the motherboard has two HDMI outputs, five USB 2.0 ports, six USB 3.0 headers (including one Type-C) as well as a 7.1-channel audio powered by Realtek ALC1220 codec with Creative’s Sound Blaster Cinema 3 enhancing software.
| ASRock’s Mini-ITX Motherboard for AMD Ryzen | ||
| X370 Gaming ITX/ac | ||
| CPU Support | CPUs in AM4 form-factor AMD Ryzen and AMD A-series APUs |
|
| Graphics | PCIe 3.0 x16, or integrated in case of APUs | |
| Chipset | AMD X370 | |
| Memory | Two DDR4 DIMM slots | |
| Ethernet | 2 × Intel GbE controllers | |
| Display Outputs | 2 × HDMI for APUs | |
| Storage | 4 × SATA 6 Gbps 1 × M.2 (PCIe 3.0 x4 or SATA) |
|
| Audio | Realtek ALC1220 7.1 channel audio Creative’s Sound Blaster Cinema 3 enhancing software |
|
| USB | 5 × USB 3.0 Type-A 1 × USB 3.0 Type-C 5 × USB 2.0 |
|
| Other I/O | 802.11ac Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 4.2 | |
| Form-Factor | Mini-ITX | |
| MSRP | $150 ~ $160 | |
At present, the ASRock X370 Gaming ITX/ac has only one direct rival, the Biostar Racing X370GTN introduced earlier this year. The Racing X370GTN does not have Wi-Fi support, but it has two USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) headers, including one Type-C. Meanwhile, the X370 Gaming ITX/ac seems to have a more advanced VRM for those looking forward overclocking capabilities.
The ASRock X370 Gaming ITX/ac will be available in the coming weeks for $150 – $160, according to the manufacturer. Keep in mind that since there are only two AMD X370-based Mini-ITX motherboards announced so far and small form-factor systems are gaining traction, demand for the X370 Gaming ITX/ac will be very high. That said, don’t be surprised if there’s some overpricing from select retailers.
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