ASUS is looking to have two distinct monitor product lines catering to either AMD or NVIDIA enthusiasts. Adding to their Swift line-up of NVIDIA G-Sync monitors, ASUS seems to be building up a Strix line as well, which features AMD's FreeSync technology to deliver the same fundamental variable refresh rate technology at a lower price-point (or so we hope.)

Starting with the flagship Strix monitor, the ASUS Strix XG32V has a 31.5" IPS panel with a WQHD resolution of 2560 x 1440. It's curved, so it envelops your FOV better, with the usual 1800R curve. This model can handle refresh rates of up to 144Hz, though readers looking to jump at this panel as we speak should wait for both Freesync range and pricing announcements. Connectivity-wise, we're looking at 2x DisplayPort 1.2, 1x HDMI 2.0, and an os yet unknown amount of USB 3.0 ports. ASUS has also added the inevitable Aura Sync lighting to the XG32V, materialized on both a ROG logo that shines down onto the desk, as well as an RGB LED suite on the back of the unit that can be synchronized with other Aura Sync-enabled PC components and peripherals.

In a bid to increase options for budget-minded gamers, Acer has introduced the Nitro 5 gaming laptop, whose wealth of configurations start at a respectable $800. Choosing any kind of gaming-focused laptop over building your own desktop will always look like bad business, but how much one values mobility mays edge the decision towards one side or the other.

Specs-wise, it's a mix of respectable with the bare minimum: it features a 15.6-inch FHD IPS display, up to 32 GB of DDR4 2400 MHz memory, and is available in configurations featuring Intel's Core i5 or Core i7 processors paired with an NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti graphics card, or your choice of an AMD 7th-gen A-series FX, A12 or A10 APUs, paired a Radeon RX550 GPU. Some models will include PCIe SSDs (up to 512GB) with up to 2TB of optional HDD storage. Ports include 1x Gigabit Ethernet, 1x USB 3.1 Type-C, 1x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0 ports, and 1x HDMI output. The Nitro 5 also supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi with a 2x2 MIMO antenna. The Nitro 5 will be available in North America starting July 1. Acer did not release detailed pricing, so there's no idea of what the $800 configuration will net you spec-wise (though an AMD and RX 550 are pretty much guaranteed). The Nitro 5 will also be available in the EMEA in August, starting at a much less interesting €1,139.Source: Tom's Hardware

Update: It would seem reservations regarding the monitor's conservative resolution were right in the money. New details have come to light in that this monitor from AOC apparently supports two display modes: a 1440p, 144 Hz presentation, favoring resolution and graphics quality, or the aforementioned 1080p 240 Hz. This is interesting, offering a solution for gamers who play both competitive shooters and eye-candy-filled games, opting for blazing fast refresh rates or a higher resolution. It remains to be seen whether graphics quality takes a bigger hit than is solely limited to the decreased resolution: using a monitor ona non-native resolution decreases graphical quality, sometimes noticeably so. Still, this is a flexible solution, and I wouldn't be surprised to see users choosing this solution exactly because of the two different modes of operation.

AOC has added a new monitor to its line-up, which seems to be especially geared towards competitive gamers in twitch-shooters. Its astonishing 240 Hz refresh rate, 1 ms response time, and G-SYNC support are its greatest selling points, I would wager, though I bid you good luck in running most modern games at such frame-rates. To achieve this kind of screen refresh rates, AOC had to compromise in other areas, though: the AG251FG's 1080p resolution seems somewhat limited, as does the usage of a TN panel.

Acer has added another entry to their Predator line of gaming monitors. The Z35P comes in to replace the company's now aging Z35, which boasted of a 2560x1080 resolution (which while relatively low for today's standards, I have to say I really enjoy.) The Z35P brings the specs up to speed with today's standards, with a higher resolution and a better contrast ratio than its predecessor. Its design reminds me of a running Flood infection form, honestly, but that may be just me.

The Z35P is based on a 35" AMVA panel with a 3440x1440 resolution (2.39:1 aspect ratio and 106 PPI), has a relatively low maximum brightness of 300 nits (no HDR support here I'm afraid), a 2500:1 contrast ratio, a 100 Hz refresh rate, 178°/178° viewing angles, a 4 ms response time, and a 1800R curvature. Reports indicate the refresh rate can be overclocked from 100 Hz to 120 Hz (with G-SYNC to boot), which isn't all that shabby. Connectivity-wise, the Predator Z25P features 1x HDMI 1.4 port, 1x DisplayPort 1.2, 4x USB Type-A headers (with 1x USB-B input) and 1x 3.5-mm audio jack which drives the two 9 W integrated speakers. While in operation, the panel consumes up to 65 W of power. The Acer Predator Z35P is expected to be available in the U.S. in the coming weeks for $1099.99.

Taking a blanketing approach to the GT 1030 market, MSI has announced a further five SKUs based on NVIDIA's GT 1030 silicon, which will join the company's already announced full height, passive-cooled GT 1030 2GH OC offering. MSI is catering to one and every need their users could possibly have with this line-up: from a half-height, passive-cooled solution, passing through a full-height, still passively-cooled solution, and a full-height, actively-cooled one. The only thing missing seems to be a water-cooled version.

MSI's line of GT 1030 graphics cards are available now from various retailers at around the $75 price-bracket.

ASUS has announced its take on the RX 550, the graphics card that is meant to bridge the gap between IGPs and the power reserved to discrete GPUs. Not much differs from other AIB offerings, since this is the same GPU paired with either 2 or 4 GB of GDDR5 memory ticking at 7,000 MHz over a 128-bit memory bus, but ASUS dis manage to add an IP5X-certified dust-proof fan. According to ASUS, this fan design extends the lifespan of the graphics card by 25% through increased dust and particle resistance, as well as efficient heat dissipation. The cards will come clocked at 1,100 MHz stock, and 1,183MHz boost clocks, with no auxiliary power connectors.

The ASUS Radeon RX 550 is a dual-slot design measuring 182 (length) x 112 (height) x 43mm (width), which delivers 1x Dual-Link DVI-D, 1x HDMI, and 1x DisplayPort connectors. These cards are produced using ASUS' Auto-Extreme manufacturing technology, which fully automates every step of PCB manufacturing and dispenses with human intervention. ASUS also bundles its GPU Tweak II and Xsplit Gamecaster software suites with the Radeon RX 550. These include the new "Gaming Booster"for automated overclocking, while XSplit Gamecaster lets gamers stream or record gameplay right from the in-game overlay. The ASUS Radeon RX 550 2GB / 4GB are available now from a variety of retailers for $90 / $100, respectively.Source: Tom's Hardware

AOC has been one of the most aggressive companies when it comes to launching new displays, with its gaming "AGON" series seeing the addition of multiple monitors in the past few months. The new C4008VU8 doesn't quite tick the gaming aesthetics box, however, which isn't all that bad. Personally, I much prefer its clean, no-frills design, absent of some over-design features.

The panel seems to be an interesting one, nonetheless, with its 40" size, 16:9, 4K (3840 x 2160) resolution on a 10-bit MVA panel, with a 60 Hz refresh rate. Its 5 ms response time is relatively good, though the absence of any VRR (variable refresh-rate) technology such as AMD's FreeSync or NVIDIA's G-SYNC is puzzling. The lack of HDR support, however, is kind of a downer, but a necessity when one considers the display's maximum 300 cd/m² brightness. The panel boasts an 85% NTSC wide color gamut with 1.07 billion colors, with 178º horizontal and vertical viewing angle on a 1800R curved display. As for adjustments, the monitor can only be tilted: 5 degrees down, and 13.5 degrees up. Connection-wise, the AOC C4008VU8 boasts 1x HDMI 2.0, 1x HDMI 1.4, 2x DisplayPort 1.2, and 1x VGA connector (only 8 months ago I would be using such a connection myself, so I really shouldn't judge. There are legacy use cases, after all, and more options are always better.) There are also 4x USB 3.0 ports available, one of which can be used for fast charging devices. The AOC is available with a MSRP of $899, though you may find some retailers selling these for less already.Source: ETeknix

GALAX is marketing the KATANA as the world's first single-slot GTX 1070 single-slot graphics card with a maximum thickness at just 16 mm, which is an engineering feat in itself. The card leverages a "legendary turbo radiator" (it's funny how the renders show a white warning sign next to the cooling fan with a "CAUTION Hot Surface" warning, though that's probably needed there to avoid any lawsuits from burns resulting from touching the card while gaming.)

The card features a RazorX cooling technique, with copper fins and a vapor chamber that "maintain cooling performance even in thermally challenging scenario(s)". The GALAX GTX 1070 KATANA uses a single 8-pin connector, and video output is taken care of by 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and a single DL-DVI-D connector. Clocks on the card are reported at 1518 MHz base, and 1708 MHz boost clocks. I wince at the noise and heat this baby must put out, and wonder how much it's going to be thermally throttled, but I guess those are necessary drawbacks for what is otherwise an interesting single-slot design.

In what could spell very interesting things for the uptake of the Freesync 2 open-standard, Digital Foundry has confirmed that Microsoft's upcoming "Project Scorpio" console will leverage AMD's FreeSync 2 standard so as to improve fluidity of frames. The objective is, as usual, to eliminate tearing and reduce stutter, allowing the GPU to trigger the display refresh rate at exactly the same frequency as it can churn out frames. The FreeSync 2 revision of the open standard is HDR-compatible, which means it supports what is being touted as The Next Big Thing™ in image quality. Like always, the available FreeSync-supported band will still depend on the panel's actual specifications. Additionally, the Scorpio is going to offer support for the upcoming VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) implemented within the HDMI 2.1 specifications.

Though TV panels don't support either of those standards currently, AMD has teased that FreeSync support on TVs would be possible - and upcoming. If true, and if this FreeSync support were to take off, this might spell an increased uptake on AMD's open standard implementation of VRR over NVIDIA's G-SYNC. The adoption of these VRR technologies would also allow developers to perhaps change their performance targets (say, from 60 FPS to 45 FPS), while also increasing fluidity of games that struggle to maintain their target frame rate. The Scorpio could be the first mainstream piece of tech to offer widespread support for VRR standards, thus increasing the user base and industry adoption rate of this technologies, which can only be good. To say that this adoption spells the death of NVIDIA's proprietary G-SYNC is nothing more than wild, boastful speculation; saying it could drive FreeSync and HDMI's VRR implementation towards mainstream usage is not. And that could mean a slow push of G-SYNC towards a niche PC-monitor solution with reduced uptake from monitor manufacturers.Source: EuroGamer

NVIDIA today released GeForce 381.65 WHQL "Game Ready" drivers. The drivers come with optimization for "Quake Champions" closed beta. This isn't, however, the biggest change with these drivers. These are the first WHQL-signed drivers from NVIDIA to support WDDM 2.2, and with it, the upcoming Windows 10 Creators Update, due for April 11th. The drivers also add DTS X and Dolby Atmos support for 5.1.2 speaker configuration through the GPU's in-built audio controller (which outputs from the HDMI and DP connectors). Also added is support for Dolby Vision. Games "Snake Pass" and "Kona" get support for NVIDIA Ansel. There's also the curious case of the driver's release-notes mentioning "Added support for the NVIDIA TITAN Xp." Could this indicate a new TITAN SKU being on the horizon?DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 385.65 WHQL

Gigabyte has just revealed the specs for their custom, AORUS-branded GTX 1080 Ti graphics card. This keeps the tradition of the AORUS line of products, where the AORUS GTX 1080 Ti features Gigabyte's Windforce (triple-slot, 3x 100 mm fans) cooler with RGB lighting (16.8 million colors). Aiding its triple-fan cooling prowess is a direct copper contact through a 6-heatpipe design, as well as a built-in backplate. Gigabyte is marketing this card as "Built for Extreme Overclocking", through its usage of 12+2 Power Phases. These help deliver substantial clock speed, in the form of two modes: an OC Mode, with boost clocks of 1708 MHz and base clocks at 1594 MHz; and a Gaming Mode, with 1683 MHz boost and 1569 MHz base.

The 1080 Ti AORUS only has a single VR-link HDMI port on its front corner (while the GTX 1080 had two). On the rear IO however, you'll find 2x HDMI ports (ideal for VR-link), 3x DisplayPort, and 1x DVI. The card is expected to hit shelves mid-April. And on another note and slight update, its more powerful sibling, the AORUS GTX 1080 Ti Xtreme Edition, has had its clock revealed as well: its OC Mode shows boost speeds of 1746 MHz and 1632 MHz base; and its Gaming Mode lowers those to 1721 MHz boost, and 1607 MHz base clocks.Source: Gigabyte

It was only a matter of time before Gigabyte applied its custom works to the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. The company has released some pictures of its upcoming AORUS Xtreme Edition - the company's take on what is the world's most powerful gaming graphics card ever released. As an AORUS branded card, the AORUS Xtreme will feature Gigabyte's Windforce (triple-slot, 3x 100mm fans) cooler with RGB lighting (16.8 million colors). Aiding its triple-fan cooling prowess is a direct copper contact with a 6-heatpipe design, as well as a built-in backplate.

The 1080 Ti AORUS Xtreme Edition only has a single VR-link HDMI port on its front corner (while the GTX 1080 had two). On the rear IO however, you'll find 2x HDMI ports (ideal for VR-link), 3x DisplayPort, and 1x DVI. No information on pricing or clock speed is available at the moment, though the card is expected to hit shelves mid-April.

Update: Clock speeds have been revealed by Gygabyte itself, and the card's OC Mode shows boost speeds of 1746 MHz and 1632 MHz base; while its Gaming Mode lowers those to 1721 MHz boost, and 1607 MHz base clocks.

Adding to its staple of monitor offerings, NEC has just announced the EX341R Curved Ultrawide QHD Display 34" display, which boasts a 3440 x 1440 resolution, an 1800R curvature, and an SVA panel. The panel makes do with a 5ms response time, which while not being great also isn't the worst we've seen on this kind of panels. It also boasts of 16.7 million colors, a 3,000:1 contrast ratio, and brightness is rated at 290 cd/m².

The EX341R is certified for Low Blue Light Content and Flicker-Free operation, which should help reduce eye strain and other health issues. It also features NEC's ControlSync technology, which works with DisplayPort's daisy-chain functionality to simplify multiple monitor configurations; the monitor also features a picture by picture mode. As to connections, the EX341R has 2xHDMI ports, 4xUSB 3.0 ports, and 1xDisplayPort 1.2 I/O.

CORSAIR, one of the most renowned manufacturers of PC hardware, has recently announced the first in what is expected to be a new line of products: a fully-assembled, ready-to-run PC.

CORSAIR developed a new case for their ONE system, taking in cues from their previously-launched Carbide 330R and Obsidian 550D cases, though there is some increased attention to detail and blue accents in this ONE case. The top and bottom have a finned structure reminiscent of a large heatsink, while the side panels are perforated with triangular ventilation holes. Apparently, no windowed side-panel was used, which is slightly at odds with the industry-approved "gamer" aesthetic, which CORSAIR seems to have nevertheless strived to achieve. The tower seems unable to accommodate full-sized ATX boards, though that isn't necessarily a requirement for a high-end system. The Corsair ONE features an HDMI port on the front in addition to the usual USB, which is probably there to service VR headsets.

Pricing and availability for the Corsair ONE have not been announced, which isn't that strange, considering no specifications were announced either. Expect to hear more from this one in the coming months.

AOC has just introduced two new monitors to their line-up, offering some respectable, if ordinary, specs. The Q2781PS and the Q2781PQ are both 27" screens featuring AH-IPS panels running at a 2560×1440 resolution, with up to 350 nits brightness, a 1000:1 contrast ratio, 178°/178° viewing angles, a 5 ms response time and a 60 Hz refresh rate. AOC claims that the Q2718PQ and the Q2718PS displays can reproduce 16.77 million colors at full sRGB coverage.

These monitors break some ground on the aesthetics part of the equation, though, with extremely thin bezels and an asymmetrical L-shaped stand that must be one of the most tastefully designed I've ever seen. One thing differentiates both panels, though, and this is where we cautiously ravage the "acquired tastes" label: while the AOC Q2781PQ has a silver stand and a regular black back panel, the AOC Q2781PS comes with a rose gold base, and a back panel decorated with Swarovski crystals.

Joining the already considerable plethora of gaming-oriented monitor offers from the company, AOC has recently announced the launch of the Agon AG352UCG. As it happens with AOC's line of monitors, this one also has quite respectable - and dare I say near-perfect specifications.

It is a 35" behemoth of a monitor, though its ultrawide aspect ratio will undoubtedly make it look smaller due to the lower verticality of the display than in other screen formats; packs a 21:9, 3440*1440 AU Optronics VA panel with 100Hz refresh rate (and 4ms response time), as well as G-Sync support to boot. The panel boasts 100% sRGB coverage, and a 2000R curvature ratio.

At CES 2017, ECS showcased a number of ultra-compact form-factor PCs. basically building upon their previous LIVA family releases, the new LIVA feature either Intel's Apollo Lake SoCs (with Celeron Processors N3350 / N3450 / N4200 and 6 W TDP) on the Z and ZE, or Intel's Kaby Lake-U processors (Intel Core i3-7100U / i5-7200U / i7-7500U and 15W TDP) on the Z Plus.

The Z Plus is obviously the most powerful of the lot, supporting DDR4 memory (the Z and ZE support only DDR3), having better integrated graphics (Intel's HD 620 versus the Intel HD 500/500 on the Z and ZE models), and having an expected extra energy consumption (an external 65 W adapter on the Z Plus versus a 40 W external adapter on the other two models).

The third Prime B250 series motherboard by ASUS is the B250M-Plus. This micro-ATX motherboard offers most of the features its bigger siblings ship with. The board features the same 7-phase VRM as the other boards. Expansion slots include one each of PCI-Express 3.0 x16, PCIe x1, and legacy PCI. Storage connectivity includes one 32 Gb/s M.2 slot, and six SATA 6 Gb/s ports. The board offers 8-channel HD audio (compared to 6-channel on the larger boards), gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0 ports, and display outputs that include HDMI, DVI, and D-Sub. Expect a sub-$100 price.Source: VideoCardz

ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of visual solution products, launches the VP2771, a 27-inch WQHD monitor that offers superior color accuracy and uniformity for color-critical applications. The VP2771 is built with an edge-to-edge SuperClear IPS panel, and features professional-level color precision. With one of the world's thinnest bezels for a frameless viewing experience, the VP2771 monitor is ideal for multi-monitor configurations for graphic designers, video editors and other professional content creators.

For consistent color, each VP2771 monitor is factory calibrated to deliver a precise Delta E≤2 value for outstanding color precision of all the included color spaces, including sRGB, EBU, SMPTE-C, REC709 and DICOM-SIM. Uniformity of color across the screen is a critical feature in achieving the most accurate viewing experience in color-critical applications. The integrated color uniformity function ensures consistent chromaticity across the screen, while a 14-bit 3D look-up table generates a palette of 4.39 trillion colors. With a 6-axis color adjustment feature, users can individually adjust six primary colors: red, green, blue, cyan, magenta and yellow, providing the ultimate in color processing.

Satechi, a brand known for its functional and sleek workspace accessories, has engineered a solution to organizing the ever-growing amount of ports needed to connect devices and peripherals. The new Aluminum Mini Docking Station is a compact hub that connects to a user's computer via USB and expands its functionality by offering four USB 3.0 ports, a gigabit Ethernet port, HDMI and DVI video connections, and a 3.5mm port for all connection needs.

ASUS, the No.1 gaming monitor brand, today announced MG248Q, MG28UQ and MG24UQ, the latest gaming monitors in the ASUS MG Series. MG248Q is a 24-inch Full HD monitor featuring an ultra-fast 1 ms response time and an incredible 144 Hz refresh rate. MG28UQ and MG24UQ are 28- inch and 24-inch displays respectively, both featuring a 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) resolution.

All MG Series monitors include Adaptive-Sync technology for smooth gaming visuals, while the new ASUS-exclusive DisplayWidget utility gives users easy access to various display settings.

BenQ unveiled a new 24-inch business monitor for people who spend long hours looking at mostly bright screens. The new BL2420Z features a low blue-light mode, which works to reduce eye strain by reducing harmful blue-light by up to 70 percent. The monitor also uses a non-PWM method of reducing brightness of its LED back-lighting, making it flicker-free.

The rest of its specifications are pretty mainstream - Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) resolution, 250 cd/m² maximum brightness, 3000:1 static contrast ratio, 178°/178° maximum viewing angles, and inputs that include DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI, and D-Sub. a 2-port USB hub and 2W stereo speakers make up the rest of it. The monitor's most striking feature is its stand which appears to be carried over from some of the company's gaming-grade monitors, and features a headset stand. BenQ didn't reveal pricing.Source:

As the 2016 Game Developer Conference kicks off, virtual and augmented reality continues to be top of mind for today's developers and consumers. And it should be. It represents the future of communication and computing, and the promise virtual reality has held for so long finally seems within grasp of today's technologies. Today, Sulon Technologies gets one step closer to that promise, unveiling a neak peek of the Sulon Q, the world's first and only all-in-one, tether-free, "wear and play" headset for virtual reality, augmented reality, and spatial computing.

On stage in front of more than 650 press and developers at the inaugural AMD Radeon "Capsaicin" event, I took the stage to give the world a glimpse of what we've been working on, showing off the forthcoming Sulon Q headset, and the intuitive experiences you can expect, including seamlessly transitioning from the real world to virtual worlds.

At Embedded World today, AMD announced its 3rd Generation AMD Embedded G-Series SoCs and the Embedded G-Series LX SoC, providing customers a broadened portfolio of performance options. The latest offerings expand developers' ability to scale x86 platforms, starting with the entry-level AMD Embedded G-Series LX SoC, which is pin compatible to the previous generation G-Series SoC devices. Also announced today are two new, higher performing 3rd Generation AMD Embedded G-Series SoCs, codenamed "Prairie Falcon" and "Brown Falcon," which introduce for the first time pin compatibility for G-Series processors with the higher performance AMD Embedded R-Series SoC.

The new products expand upon the low power capabilities of the award-winning AMD Embedded G-Series SoC platform, bringing scalable performance, power, and price across the CPU, GPU, multimedia, and I/O controller hardware, helping to lower development costs for AMD customers. Together, the new G-Series processors deliver immersive, graphically rich experiences across a broad range of platforms, from entry-level to mainstream gaming, digital signage, imaging, and industrial control.

Dell introduced the UltraSharp U2717D monitor, featuring a super-thin bezel design, which the company refers to as InfinityEdge, that lets you build multi-display setups, with minimal bezel loss. The 27-incher features an IPS display panel, with WQHD (2560 x 1440 pixels) resolution, 6 ms (GTG) response time, 350 cd/m² maximum brightness, and 1000:1 static- with dynamic mega-contrast ratio. The panel surface features 3H anti-glare coating. Inputs include DisplayPort 1.2, mDP 1.2, and HDMI 1.4a (with MHL support). A USB 3.0 hub comes included. Dell didn't reveal pricing or availability.