Items tagged with thunderbolt 3
We're always on the lookout for hot new SSDs here at Hot Hardware, and the folks at TeamGroup just announced two new product families that might be interesting to two types of users: those looking for value-priced PCIe 4.0 SSDs, and those that want a speedy external SSD solution. Starting things off is the T-Force Cardea Z44L, a PCIe 4.0 SSD aimed at gaming enthusiasts. Like many of the T-Force SSDs launched over the past few months, the Z44L uses a super-thin graphene heatsink which can improve heat dissipation by up to 9 percent compared to the same SSD without a heatsink. Although the Cardea Z44L uses the PCIe 4.0 interface, its maximum sequential read and write speeds are more in line with...
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Water-cooled graphics cards aren't exactly new. For years, enthusiasts who build their own custom liquid cooling loops have incorporated blocks onto their GPUs to keep the heat at bay without producing a ton of noise. In recent years, some manufacturers have released cards with their own closed-loop AIO coolers. Gigabyte has gone a totally different route, though: its AORUS gaming brand has announced the RTX 3080 Ti GAMING BOX. This all-in-one Thunderbolt enclosure holds inside it a water-cooled GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. NVIDIA has supported external graphics cards on the Thunderbolt 3 bus for quite a while, and eGPUs are nothing new. They can give some serious gaming chops to a lightweight...
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When it comes to storage, the industry has, for the most part, shifted to SSDs for desktop and laptop PCs. Given falling NAND prices and far superior performance, SSDs are the obvious choice for the consumer market. However, when it comes to external storage, HDDs still command the lion's share of the market by offering vast amounts of storage at relatively affordable prices. Sabrent is now giving external SSDs the upper hand on the storage front, but don't expect to get any relief regarding pricing. Witness the new Rocket XTRM-Q, which is a 16TB external SSD that connects to your PC using a Thunderbolt 3 cable. The Rocket XTRM-Q doesn't actually use a single 16TB SSD, however. Instead, it features...
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Notebooks often have limited storage capacity, despite significant advancements over the last few years. An M.2 drive is only the size of a stick of gum, but not every laptop can fit more than one or two drives at a time, and some users aren't comfortable opening up their machine to upgrade them, which ultimately limits their storage capabilities. This is particularly painful in gaming notebooks, when many games can take up dozens of gigabytes a piece. Western Digital thinks it has a solution, though. The WD Black D50 Game Dock is an all-in-one Thunderbolt 3 dock and PCI Express NVMe storage controller rolled up into one. The idea is that we can plug in a single cable and feed all of our power,...
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There's a new hardware exploit that's being brought to light courtesy of security researcher Björn Ruytenberg from the Eindhoven University of Technology. The security vulnerability affects devices equipped with Thunderbolt ports, and it's appropriately named Thunderspy. Before we get started, we should first let you know that while this security exploit is serious, it requires actual physical access to a device to execute. However, with that access comes unprecedented control over a device, once connected to a free Thunderbolt port. In fact, a hacker could theoretically access all data on a computer in under 5 minutes. On top of that, this data can be accessed even if the PC is locked,...
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A video has surfaced claimed to be from Microsoft talking about why the Surface line of computers lack some of the features that many customers simply expect these days. Specifically, the video talks about why the Surface line lacks upgradeable RAM and Thunderbolt 3 ports. The video claims that the Surface line lacks removable RAM because if removed from the device, it would pose a security risk. According to the person on the video, removable RAM could be frozen in liquid nitrogen, placed into a cheap reader, and data inside the memory could be read, including BitLocker recovery keys. The person on the video says that Microsoft has seen that done before. However, having our RAM frozen in liquid...
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For those that need fast, on-the-go storage external storage, the folks at Plugable have launched a new 512GB SKU of its Thunderbolt 3 NVMe External SSD. Plugable is aiming the device at content creators, and explains that the external SSD is capable of holding up to 85 minutes of ProRes 422 HQ 4K video or 75 minutes of DnXHR HQ 4K video. With that 512GB capacity comes some pretty speedy transfer speeds as well, as afforded by the PCIe NVMe SSD inside connecting to the outside world through a Thunderbolt 3 interface. Plugable is quoting sequential read speeds of 2400MB/sec and sequential writes of 1800MB/sec. Even better, the external SSD has no need for an external power brick, with data and...
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Dell is already a known quantity in the professional market with its lineup of well-received UltraSharp monitors. In fact, last year we took the time to review the UltraSharp 27 4K PremierColor Monitor (UP2718Q) and gave it high marks for color reproduction and excellent HDR performance. This year at Adobe Max 2019, Dell unveiled the 2020 version of the UltraSharp 27 4K PremierColor Monitor (UP2720Q). Dell includes all of the features that made us give its predecessor high marks including 100% Adobe RGB, 98% DCI-P3 and 80% BT2020 coverage. The key upgrades this year come with the addition of two new features: Thunderbolt 3 integration and a built-in colorimeter. The UP2720Q includes...
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The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) has announced the USB4 specifications have been published. USB4 is hailed as a significant update that will deliver next-generation USB architecture that complements and builds upon the existing USB 3.2 and USB 2.0 architectures. USB4 is based on the Thunderbolt protocol specification that was contributed recently by Intel and the USB Promoter Group. USB4 promises to double the maximum aggregate bandwidth of USB and enables simultaneous data and display protocols. Development of USB4 specifications started in Q1 2019 and is now officially available for download here [ZIP]. USB4 offers two-lane operation using existing USB Type-C cables and supports...
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The USB Promotors Group has just officially announced the arrival of the USB4 specification, which will supersede the newly formed (and highly confusing) USB 3.2 protocol. USB4 promises to double the transfer speeds of USB 3.2 thanks in part to a critical move made by Intel. Intel has made its Thunderbolt 3 protocol royalty-free, which will allow competing chipmakers to offer implement the standard at lower costs. It also means that USB4 is based on the underlying Thunderbolt 3 protocol. As a result, maximum speeds for USB4 double to 40 Gbps using existing certified cables, matching the speeds offered by Thunderbolt 3. “By collaborating with the USB Promoter Group, we’re opening the...
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Samsung has been rolling out several curved computer monitors recently with the C32JG5 and C27JG5 displays being unveiled at Gamescom 2018 last week. Samsung has now announced that it will be delivering another curved monitor that is the first of its kind to have Thunderbolt 3 connectivity and it is called the CJ79 (C34J791). This monitor was seen at CES 2018 earlier this year and Samsung is aiming the display at business and creative users wanting a comfortable and efficient work experience. Samsung's CJ79 display will work with both Mac and PCs and has a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports that can transmit display, data, and power at speeds up to 40 Gbps or about eight times faster than USB 3.0. Thunderbolt...
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When Lenovo launched the Yoga 910, it was beautifully styled, powerful enough for most mobile users, and it offered reasonably good battery life. However, the public reception of the 2-in-1 convertible was a bit mixed and perhaps not quite what the company had hoped for. Some critics took issue with the Yoga 910's thermal characteristics, fan noise, and its awkwardly-placed upward-facing web cam. However, Lenovo took this feedback into consideration and developed the new Yoga 920 we'll be showing you here. From the outside, the Yoga 910 and 920 look similar at first glance, but there are a multitude of significant updates that improve the machine in a number of ways. Nestled inside an all-aluminum...
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LG has announced that it will be bringing new computer displays to CES 2018, and they are both quite impressive. The first is the LG 32UK950, which is a 32-inch UHD 4K monitor with support for HDR600 and LG's Nano IPS technology integrated. That Nano IPS technology uses nanometer-sized particles within the screen's LEDs to absorb excess light wavelengths. That application enhances intensity and purity of colors according to LG allowing for a more life-like viewing experience. The monitor is able to show 98% of the DCI-P3 color spectrum, which LG says is comparable to the monitors used when mastering Hollywood films. The 32UK950 monitor has peak brightness of 600 candela. LG also says that this...
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Just about every electronic device on the planet supports USB connectivity, and that is especially true when it comes to PCs. If we could time travel into the not-too-distant future, there is a good chance that USB Type-C ports will be just as ubiquitous as USB Type-A ports are now. It is almost inevitable now that Intel has announced plans to integrate Thunderbolt 3 into its future processors. Not only will future Intel chips support USB-C, Intel is going the extra mile by releasing the Thunderbolt protocol specification to the industry free of charge. That is a very big deal—with no royalties in play, industry partners are free to fully embrace USB-C. Furthermore, it will no longer be a proprietary...
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Razer is back at it again, updating another member of its popular gaming laptop family. Today, we present to you the new Razer Blade 14-inch gaming laptop which is powered by Intel’s new seventh generation Kaby Lake processors. More specifically, the laptop features Intel’s Core i7-7700HQ quad-core processor that has a base frequency of 2.8GHz and can crank it all the way up to 3.8GHz. 16GB of 2400MHz DDR4 memory is included, while the 14-inch display is available in 1920x1080 or 4K UHD (3840x2160) resolutions. No matter which display option you choose, it will be backed by NVIDIA’s Pascal graphics architecture courtesy of a GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB). On the storage front, PCIe M.2 SSDs are available...
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So you went and bought yourself a laptop with a fancy pants USB-C port, now what? Unfortunately accessory and peripheral makers seem to be dragging their collective feet releasing compatible devices, though understandably so with USB Type-A ports by far the dominant standard. However, do not lose hope, USB-C devices are coming. Need proof? Check out LaCie's newest Rugged portable drive solution. Wrapped in a tough orange shell, the new "LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt USB-C" (not the sexiest product name in the world) trades a micro USB port for a USB-C port so that users can connect the drive to USB 3.0-compatible computers as well as to USB-C Thunderbolt 3 models. It also features an integrated Thunderbolt...
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When it comes to storage excess, there are few companies that regularly come out with outrageous “museum ready” external hard drives like the folks from LaCie. Look no further than the company’s Sphre, Mirror and Chromé. The company does, however, also have plenty of professional-level storage solutions, which is the topic of discussion today. The company today announced its 12big Thunderbolt 3, which is a 12-bay RAID enclosure the supports up to 96TB of data. While most business and enterprise customers are moving to SSDs for the best balance of performance and power savings, the 12big makes use of twelve, enterprise-class 7200rpm Seagate hard drives with 256MB of cache each. In a RAID 5 configuration,...
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Shopping for a laptop often entails a series of compromises. For example, do you want blazing fast graphics and a burly CPU, or would you prefer a system that's thin and light with exceptional battery life? Rather than choose between those options, Razer says you can have it all by pairing its external graphics enclosure called Core with its newly refreshed Blade laptop. If that sounds enticing, you can place a pre-order for the Razer Core today, which will ship out in April. The $499 accessory is the world's first plug-and-play Thunderbolt 3 external graphics box. Razer first teased the Core earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, where it immediately captured...
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We first learned about Intel's Skull Canyon NUC at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, but Intel is now ready to give this bodacious mini-PC its official debut. The Skull Canyon NUC manages to cram plenty of high-end Intel silicon within an enclosure that measures just 8.5” x 4.6” x 0.9” and has a volume of just 0.69 liters. Inside, you’ll find a sixth-generation Intel Core i7-6770HQ processor with a 45W TDP and integrated Iris Pro Graphics 580. On the memory front, up to 32GB of 2133MHz DDR4 is supported, while storage duties are covered by two M.2 slots that support all of the latest NVMe SSDs. Networking duties are handled by Intel-supplied (of course) 802.11ac...
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They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so Microsoft should be “elated” that the competition is coming to market with tablet design that look surprisingly similar to its Surface Pro 3. The iPad Pro was introduced earlier this week with a 12.9-inch display, a fold-out Smart Keyboard cover and a much ballyhooed Apple Pencil (which is just Apple speak for an expensive stylus). Steven Sinofsky, the former Microsoft exec that had a hand in developing the original line of Surface tablets, took to Twitter to lay on the sarcasm following the Apple keynote: iPad Pro has a magnetic keyboard fold-out keyboard (with seamless key covers). What an awesome idea!! pic.twitter.com/ldspeuAysv— Steven...
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Last week, Dell surprised us all with the introduction of its pimptastic Alienware 18 notebook, which features — as its name implies — an 18-inch display (unfortunately, it’s only 1080p resolution). And earlier today, Dell whipped out an updated Alienware X51, which has been decked out with overclocked Intel Skylake processors, liquid cooling, and some extremely powerful graphics options from NVIDIA and AMD. But that’s not all, there are also a few more updates to Alienware’s product portfolio. Dell has refreshed its Alienware 13, 15 and 17 with “over 20 updates and upgrades” to keep the gaming notebooks at the forefront of quickly advancing changes in PC tech. For starters, Dell has added Dynamic...
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Thunderbolt (and its Thunderbolt 2 successor) is a technically impressive high-speed data standard. Thunderbolt offers maximum bandwidth of 10Gbps while, Thunderbolt 2 doubled that to 20Gbps. However, the standard, which is used for everything from hyper-fast external storage solutions to external graphics cards, has been slow to take off. You can blame the high-priced Thunderbolt peripherals and the uber-expensive cables (at last when compared to your garden variety USB cables). For most people, USB 3.0 is “good enough” and making a huge investment into the Thunderbolt ecosystem has been reserved for those in the professional video editing arena. However, Intel is looking to change all of that...
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