What to Look For While Shopping For a Hard Drive

Even for the casual computer user shopping for a hard drive is not such a difficult task. Often there seems to be a greater emphasis put on storage capacity, less emphasis on performance and features. The overall mindset is if a hard drive has enough space to accommodate all of my applications and family photos, no worries needed. Plop down the cash, purchase made. 

Easy right? But before you go on purchase a new drive, there are some things you should consider, such as warranty, speed capability, and much more. Like any piece of hardware, if you're shopping for a new drive it I recommend that you carefully do your research before you make that eventual purchase. Whether you're considering buying an SSD or the traditional 3.5-inch drive, there are limitless brands to choose from, Seagate, Western Digital, Samsung,  to name a few. 

As best I can I drew up a precise guideline you should follow if you plan on buying a new drive, read on. 

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Begin the process of choosing a hard drive

So many hard drives to choose from

As I stated in a couple a paragraphs above, there are several brands to choose from, for the SSD (solid state drive) my choice has always been SanDisk SSD-Plus, for the 3.5-drive my top pick is the Seagate Barracuda. Both these drives are reliable, perform well and thus far either have not failed me during operation. But those are my choices, the market is heavily saturated; there is a bevy of drives to choose from, pick the brand you think best fit your system. 

So many SSD's to choose from

Whether or not you judge branded hard drives based entirely on speed, performance, and storage capacity,  the difference between each brand is very slim. Often manufacturers may offer one or two features that may affect the price point. 

Make the correct Interface choice

Observe the back of this hard drive, this is an actual SATA interface                           

Hard drives are available in two types of storage interfaces, PATA (parallel AT- attachment) and SATA ( Serial Advanced Technology Attachment),  with the latter having a much faster data transfer and reduced size cables. PATA is a much older storage interface, there's a good chance that you won't find such technology exist in even a ten-year-old computer, so my suggestion is to go with the SATA interface because its the only choice you should make. But for the interested curious minds, PATA interfaced hard drives are a bit different in appearance, the actual data and power connectors are much longer. On the other hand, SATA power and data connectors are much smaller. Regarding performance, SATA interfaces have a faster seek time, a larger buffer, and support a SATA-only feature known as NCQ, which is an acronym for Native Command Queuing. This SATA protocol allows hard drives to optimize the order in which read and write commands can be executed. 

The unimportance of storage capacity

Lots of Gigs of space means  endless amount of porn stored? Really?

When it comes to storage capacities, it makes sense to advise readers to buy hard drives according to need, how much storage space you think you might use, but that would be bad advice on my part, as you can never have enough storage space. Especially when you have operating systems, video and audio files, various applications, photos, and even useless junk files consume a great deal of hard drive space. Ultimately, you have to decide the amount of storage needed and what you are willing to pay. The best advice I can give is to choose a model based on cost per gigabyte; this will determine the best return on your investment.

Purchase a drive with plenty of cache

Cache is primarily embedded memory within your hard drive; it acts as a buffer between the rest of your computer and physical storage drive. Most modern hard drives, the 3.5 desktop variant on average will come with 64MB cache, while solid-state drives have 4GB memory cache. Hard drives that have storage capacities exceeding well past 1TB  will usually have a large memory cache, this, of course, will affect price point. Memory cache along with storage capacity is one of the main features listed on your hard drives spec sheet. With that said,  drives with a larger cache does enhance system performance and speed.

Pay close attention to power consumption

Take a wild guess, which one consumes more power?

The 3.5-inch desktop hard drives that's on the market vary when it comes to power consumption and noise level due to internal integral moving parts inside that consist of the actuator stepper motor, the central spindle, the spinning disk, all give off some form of heat signature. SSD's, on the other hand, have no moving parts at all, thus producing low levels of heat and power consumption. It's probably the reason why solid state drives have primarily replaced the 3.5-inch hard drive as the primary boot drive. Aside from being much faster, they also run quietly

It won't hurt to check the shock rating

Not sure this is what happens when you drop a hard drive but I needed to use a scary example, so here you go

 The hard drive shock rating more than likely won't impact your decision making, but it's certainly good to know what you're getting in value. In case you're curious, hard drives are measured accordingly to gravity (G), this is the level of shock drives can withstand while in operation and non-operation. Rarely do desktop computers go through a series of sudden shocks or drops, that is, of course, you continually move it from one location to the next.  The preferred location is the desktop or the floor. Now if you're holding a hard drive in your hands, you stand the chance of accidentally dropping it if you're not careful. With that said, most drives today are structurally sound and incredibly resistant to any damages or drops.

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Using PC Partpicker Let's Build a PC Without Going Over $1,200

The positive aspects of building a PC today is you don't have to sacrifice a large sum of currency to purchase hardware. In fact, it's entirely possible to construct a system that's priced well under $1,000 and still handle resource taxing tasks such as gaming and video editing. Go on YouTube, and you'll see system builders create stable systems out of reasonably priced hardware.

So while brainstorming what content I want  post on this  website, an idea struck my brain, use PC Partpicker to put together a stable system for just under $1,200. PC Partpicker is a comparison shopping website that enables users to compare prices of various PC components from multiple online vendors. This post is for those first time PC builders who may find hardware shopping difficult.

Without further ado, let's begin this build; hopefully, this should ease your decision making a bit.

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The Processor

Purchasing a processor can be an expensive acquisition, luckily, we're using an AMD Ryzen processor which have a good rep for being high performing and price friendly. We kick this build off by going with AMD Ryzen 5 2600X. This bang for the buck CPU has an atsounding six working cores and 12-threads.

Listed Partpicker price: $225  Where to buy? B&H

The CPU Cooler

We're going to need to keep the processor cool and stable, my pick here is the Deepcool-GAMMAXX 400 White 74.3 CPU cooler. It has a decent peak RPM speed at 1500.

Listed Partpicker price: $37.99.......Where to buy? Amazon

The Motherboard

 I present you the Gigabyte-GA-AB350-GAMING 3 ATX AM4 motherboard. I pick this particular system board, not because it's priced reasonably low,  but it actually stands up to riggers of computing workload, that includes gaming and overclocking. I actually have this motherboard in one of my builds so I can attest to its great performance. 

Listed Partpicker price: $76.99  Where to buy? Newegg

The Memory

For our memory let's play it safe and go with the Corsair-Vengeance LPX DDR-2400 ( 2x 8GB). This particular memory module has gotten a very high approval rating from many and yours truly. 

Listed Partpicker price: $149.99....  Where to buy? Amazon

The Storage

For storage, I like to always use the SSD for boot and HDD ( spinning internal hard drive) to store all my applications and various other files. Solid state drives are dirt cheap now, on the market you can find plenty 500GB SSD's for just $135. Since we're trying to keep this build under $1200, the cheapest SSD I can find this build is a 240GB SanDisk.  We're going to dump most of our applications on this ever so reliable 2TB 7200 RPM  Seagate Barracuda.

Listed Partpicker price: SSD $53.99.... Where to buy? Amazon Internal hard drive: $58.89 Where to buy? OutletPC

The Graphics card

The most expensive piece of hardware in this build is the graphics card. You never want to shortchange yourself when it comes to quality and performance, so you may have to make the necessary sacrifice and spend the money.  Good news, graphics cards are starting to come down in price as the supply is on the verge of rebounding. With that said, my graphic card of choice here is EVGA-GeForce  6GB GTX 1060.   I consider this to be a 2nd tier graphic card which will still  allow  users  to game in ultra high settings at 60 frames per second. You will undoubtedly get high performance for the buck at just $299.

Listed Partpicker price: $299.99.... Where to buy? Amazon

The Power Supply

Reasonable priced power supply units with a high power efficiency rating are plentiful on the market. But for this build, the EVGA SuperNOVA 650 watt unit is definitely the obvious choice. Aside from all the impressive features, it has a 80-Plus Gold rating and is a fully modular unit. 

Listed Partpicker price: $69.99..... Where to buy? Amazon

The PC case

Finally, we have the PC case, the last thing needed to complete this build. For me, Thermaltake View 21 has everything you need in a near-perfect chassis, a beautiful compact design, spacious interior, and cable management capabilities. Oh and that tempered glass adds sleek flavor to the overall design.  Whats standout to me is you can mount your hard drives vertically on the motherboard tray or horizontally on the PSU tunnel.

Listed Partpicker price: $59.99.... Where to buy? Newegg

The grand total for this Pc Partpicker build................................... $1001.92

                                                                                           Saving: +$200 ( give or take  a $1 and change)

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Potentially we have here a well-constructed system that's capable of handling any high intense workload and importantly I kept cost well below $1200. PC Partpicker is a useful tool that makes PC building fun and simple. It cuts down on the brain wrecking researching for sure. If you're looking to build your very first computer head right over to PcPartpicker.com so you can pick and choose your hardware.

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AMD Ryzen 5 2500X and Ryzen 3 2300X CPU Cinebench Numbers Found On The Internet

The next Gen Ryzen 5 2500X and Ryzen 3 2300X processors still have no launch date, but we're already seeing overclock benchmark numbers leaked online. XFastest, which is Chinese base website somehow managed to gain access to some engineering samples, pushing frequencies well past its default numbers using liquid nitrogen to cool one of these processors.

First up we have the Ryzen 5 2500X,  with this particular processor they used a 240mm water cooling setup, which allowed an additional 300MHz of boost clock, upping the frequency ceiling to 4.2GHz.  Once done, the website ran the test through Cinbench R15, posting 1,006 scores in the multi-threaded test.

Image Source: XFastest.com

With the Ryzen 3 2300X, overclock numbers are much higher, frequencies pushed past 5.6GHz (that's 563MHz) thanks in part to liquid nitrogen cooling, but overclocking was achieved under unstable conditions.  The clock frequency had to be lowered a tad below 5.6GHz, once the test was complete,  it scored 895 points.  

Though the score seems low in comparison to the other processor, keep in mind the 2500X is considered to be a high-end processor that has eight working threads.

The benchmark scores is a clear indication of what we should expect regarding specs and performance. As with most products leaked on the web prior market release,  AMD likely will launch these new processors real soon. Stay tuned.

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WhatsApp New Option Feature Makes Group Cat More Organize

The most significant appeal with WhatsApp is group chat, I mean the idea of chatting with multiple contacts via text is a technological feat if you ask me. But that same feature, group chat that can be a bit chaotic. This is why WhatsApp just introduced a new feature whereas an option group chats that allows approved administrators to send messages.

This feature change will make group chat more functional and more attractive to the user. This change comes at a time when not too long ago WhatsApp added a bevy of features that includes group descriptions, anti-Spam tools, and catch-up feature that shows users replies and mentions. Some of these mentioned features are indeed nothing innovative, being that Facebook owns WhatsApp so some of these features may seem familiar.

Before I close this important post, here's what officials from WhatsApp had to say in their recent blog post: "One way people use groups is to receive important announcements and information, including parents and teachers at schools, community centers, and non-profit organizations. We've introduced this new setting so admins can have better tools for these use cases."   To access and enable the setting, all you need to do is open "Group info" in group chat, then go right over to Group Settings> Send Messages and select "Only Admins."

For those frequent users of WhatsApp drop a comment on the box and let me know whether or not you like this new group chat feature.

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Explanation Needed: What Exactly is NVMe? Better Known as Non-Volatile Memory

It's been quite some time since I last posted an Explanation Needed, where every month I break down tech and make it simple for the everyday gadget and computer user. This month we take a look at NVMe technology, a term you may have seen written in text or thrown around in conversation when the topic entails memory and storage. 

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Not to be mistaken for Envy-Me, NVMe is an acronym for Non-Volatile-Memory express. The technology has been around since 2009 and its still relatively new, but its just now starting to impact computer technology in present day.

You might be asking what exactly is an NVMe and how does it operate? Well, the technology may seem complicated to many, but here's what have. NVMe is a super fast way to access non-volatile memory. Flash and SSD's (solid state drives) are a type of non-volatile memory, which means power is not required to hold data in place. Hence, NVMe is a quick way to access Flash memory.

When SSD's first burst on to the tech scene, they used SATA and or SAS protocol to access data, this is more in line with existing hard drives we're all used to seeing. To keep up with the SSD speeds, high performance and be closer to CPU, PCIe ( PCI Express) was the next logical interface for Flash memory. But there was a big problem, past SSD's lacked any added features nor was it industry standard. In comes NVMe, which is constructed for non-volatile memory and packed with features. NVMe is nothing more than a transfer protocol, not a form factor, like SATA, PCIe interface or the newest and latest M.2.

Now the benefits of using with using NVMe SSD's is speed. It's 7x faster than SATA SSDs. Traditional hard drives use SCSI protocol that has one queue per command. With NVMe it is designed to have up to an astounding 64,000 queues, each capable of 64,000 commands at the same time. Accessing this type of speed used to be very expensive but the technology is getting cheaper by the year.  Today you can purchase a 500GB SSD NVMe for just $200.

Up until 2017 NVMe widely didn't have component support. But that seemingly has all changed; as more laptops and motherboards are now offering support for this technology. Currently, it has operating system support from Windows, Mac OS, Linux and even Chrome OS. 

Its safe to say NVMe has caused a massive paradigm shift with storage technology. 

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ADATA XPG SX8200 SSD NVMe Base Storage Technology; Lets Talk About it

As the trend goes when new storage technology burst upon the scene, a few years in existence you will start to see a decline in price. Prime examples are SSD's, remember when they first graced the market? Retail prices were astronomically high. Fast forward to present day  2018, it's not surprising to find them in abundance under a  $200 price range.

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Now we have NVMe storage technology, which by the way is an acronym for Non-Volatile Memory Express. It's a new communications interface/protocol constructed mainly for the SSD by several manufacturers including Samsung, Seagate, Sandisk, and Intel. There is one particular NVMe base drive that deserves to be brought up in conversation that entails storage technology, let us talk about the  ADATA XPG SX8200 SSD.

Put the ADATA XPG SX8200 main feature and specification aside, which we will get to in the next paragraphs, this storage drive has a bit of uniqueness going on here, the storage drive according to its listed benchmark numbers is speedy, yet affordable. It offers at peak read and writes speeds of 3200/1700MB, with a decent warranty and an excellent solid endurance. You get all of this at just $159.00, with a fair amount of storage, 480GB. Not bad, considering higher performing NVMe's were significantly expensive.

So let's talk about the features and hardware specification outlined on the ADATA XPG SX8200. For starters, you have a NAND Flash 2nd generation 64-layer 3D TLC, a PCIe Gen3x4 interface, an M.2 2280 Form Factor; you get 2,000,000 hours MTBF ( Mean Time Before Failure). The drive is the size of a stick of gum, weighing just 8g, dimensions measuring in at 22 x 80 x 3.5mm, the consumption power is only 0.33W.

Interesting enough, the ADATA XPG SX8200  comes packaged with SSD Toolbox utility software, for monitoring, maintaining, and drive updates  The tool interface itself is pretty snazzy with vibrate and dated looking features. ADATA also includes an XPG-branded aluminum heat spreader for added cooling to the drive.

For those who may not be familiar with NVMe, it can be used as your primary storage drive since this is technology a solid state drive. Currently, the ADATA XPG SX8200 is for sell on Amazon. 

Key tech terminology:  NAND flash memory is a type of nonvolitale storage technology that dopes not require power to store data.
 

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Why Not Get The Huawei MateBook X Pro? A Sleek Ultraportable at a Valued Price

Huawei is known for making some impressive top-end smartphones, and even the not so knowledgeable gadget user might have heard of Huawei. The Chinese manufacturer heads into the summer of 2018 by market launching a pretty impressive laptop, the MateBook X Pro.

So in this new installment of Why not? I'm a make a good case for MateBook X Pro, why it should be your next purchase, assuming that anyone reading this post is shopping for a new laptop.

Why I love the MateBook X Pro so much? It's what you get for the value, a sleek ultraportable laptop that brings about some impressive bells and whistles, along with impeccable hardware rivaling Apple's current-gen MacBook Pro and Microsoft's Surface Book 2,  both costing in upwards of about $2000.

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Now not I'm  knocking the Surface Book 2 or the MacBook Pro as they're both high performing laptops ( or Notebooks for the technically correct). With Huawei MateBook X Pro, you're getting an impressive premium design that's super thin and compact. And hardware is equally impressive, to start, with the $1,199.99 variant you get an Intel 8th generation Core i5-8250U with 8GB of RAM and 256GB M.2 NVMe solid state drive, for the higher configuration which cost $1,499.99 ($300 extra), you get a Core i7-8550U processor, 16GB RAM, 512GB M.2 NVMe solid-state  storage, NVIDIA GeForce MX150 discrete graphics processor. Both devices are  13.9-inch touchscreen display with a super high resolution measuring 3000x2000.

Other noted features include a Dolby Atmos sound system for that surround sound feel, 2-USB Type-C and 1-Thunderbolt 3 ports, on the left side of the laptop you have your USB 3.0 Type-A port. In the box include a USB-C cable, 65W power adapter, and Huawei's own MateDock 2, which basically is a USB-C adapter with USB-A, HDMI, VGA and USB-C connectivity, accessory that will normally cost you an extra $50.

 The Huawei MateBook X Pro laptop is no Surface Pro knock off as it has a unique quality that separates from its competitor. I would say though the device regarding design is Apple inspired.

So why not get the  Mate X Pro? I certainly made a case to purchase this device, that's if you happen to be in the hunt for a quality laptop.

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Hardware Breakdown Presents: The Amazon Fire TV Cube

The success of Amazons Firestick and other set-top devices have somewhat changed how we view content on TV. I don't know any household this present day that doesn't have a have Firestick plugged into their TV, everyone has a Firestick, and they're still in high demand. So what does Amazon do for an encore? Launch the Fire TV Cube.

In this new installment of hardware breakdown,  we'll take a close examination at the Fire TV Cube hardware encased inside this cubical shell. Let's get out the virtual tools and crack this device open this open, shall we?

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The External Ports

Before we venture into the device, the external ports have caught my attention, there's one Micro USB port, one HDMI port, an infrared port which I'm assuming is for the voice control remote, and finally, we have the power port, all nicely aligned. Though this device is WiFi capable, you can also connect to the Internet via Ethernet connection made possible with the Amazon Ethernet Adapter.

The Internal Hardware

Cracking open the Fire TV Cube we find a Quad-core ARM 4xCA53 processor that has a 1.5GHz clock speed. There is 16GB of internal storage and 2GB of memory. The Fire TV Cube is capable of outputting video up to  2160p, up 60 fps; this means you can stream 4K content, the high definition streaming is all made possible with a Mali450 MP3 GPU.

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How To Setup Your PC Fans For Proper Airflow and Cooling

I always tell associates of mines that building a PC is as simple as stacking together a mess of blocks. Desktop computers have modular parts that include the hard-drive, memory, processor, and motherboard. Put those parts together you have, well, a PC of course. But I can't stress the importance of a properly cooled system. Improper airflow and cooling are enough to impede the overall performance of your computer, big time, resulting in overheated components.

If you're a first time PC builder, but you're a bit confused as to how to manage system cooling. Fret not; it's not hard at all, apply few basic principles so you can achieve optimal airflow and cooling. 

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 Know The Airflow Layout in Case

The airflow blueprint 

AirFlow within your PC case should go as follows; cool air should be drawn in through the front of your PC while  hot air is pushed out the back.  In looking at it in depth, air that's pulled through the front causes the hot air to rise from bottom to top. Always follow this blueprint the ideal airflow within a PC case is front-to-back, bottom-to-top. Air comes in, and hot air goes out.

 Welcome To The Hot Zone

  The processor gives off more heat than any other hardware within your PC case, that's why it needs separate cooling that consists of a heat sink and fan. Now, most if not all graphics card also have a heat sink and fan attached and can also overheat of not adequately cooled, but when your processor overheats your entire system can shut down. The core responsibility of the processors heat-sink and fan is to expel heat directly away from your processor and right into the main airflow lane. In most cooling setups, you'll more than likely find the exhaust fan near the CPU which rapidly expels hot air through the vents grill.

  What Type of Fan are Needed?

120mm fan made by Corsair

Most PC desktop cases come with a fan mount that is compatible with 80mm, 120mm, 140mm, and 200mm fans, and it shouldn't matter which one you purchase, they all operate the same. It's essential that you decide which cooling approach best fits your PC case and hardware. Before you go and hit up the vendors, careful research is the best approach

There are various cooling fans to choose from, as a system builder it's crucial that you make sure you size these fans in accordance to screw mounts within your PC case.

These are 120mm fans, with RGB LIGHTS!!!! 

So stick to the question, what type of a fan is needed? Well, case fans are rated at maximum revolutions per minute, or better known as RPM. Faster fans move a great abundance of air, but the slower fan is much quieter. For me, I much rather have a system that has a high level of acoustics. Therefore I'll usually go with the slower but quiet fan. 

The Mounting Process

See The Fan placement? This exhaust hot air through the back of the PC

How you control airflow depends on how you mount your fans. The open side of the fan exhaust hot air out of your PC case, if you want to intake air, the fan should face grill side. Where you mount these fans goes as follow, the open side fan should be placed in the rear, while the grilled side fan should be in the front of the PC case.

Image Source: HowToGeek

   So Where do I Purchase These Cooling Fans?

 You can purchase cooling fans from any vendor that sells PC related hardware, from Walmart to Amazon, they all sell it, they are plentiful on the market. As cooling fans vary so does the price, if you want the 120mm fan decked out with RGB lighting and PWN controls, we're talking a much higher price point in the $80 range. For the most part, you can still enjoy a 120mm fan with lights and all for a fraction of the price retailing at just $17.

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..... Then there's the dust  

I want to add before concluding this post dust build up within your PC is a hindrance to overall system performance. It's vital that you take the proactive approach and blow the dust off of any component that may be forming.

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The Best Budget Gaming Mouse? The Razer Deathadder Elite

I feel obligated to my readers to recommend any device, gadget, hardware that falls into the budget category. I lay claim to being more of a consumer advocate than a technology enthusiast. That's why I have no problem giving full mentions to what I consider to be the one of the best gaming mouse on the market, the Razer Deathadder Elite, and importantly, it falls within any reasonable budget, priced at just $49.99. Perfect for gamers not looking to expend an excessive amount of cash on PC peripherals.

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On paper, the specs are impressive, how it performs will be determined by the consumer. I know for me, in my brief time with the mouse, the performance was very smooth and ultra-responsive. But about those specs, it has a 16,000 CPI optical sensor. On a quick important note: the Elite Razer chose to use a sensor based on the PMW-3366 which is developed by the sensor company Pixart in collaboration with Logitech. It has a 50 G maximum acceleration, polling rate the measures 1000 Hz,  in total there are seven buttons on the mouse. The Deathadder Elite uses wired USB connectivity, with a 4-pin USB Type A connector type. Honestly, you'll be hard-pressed to find a quality gaming mouse nowadays that uses Bluetooth connectivity.

When it comes to the design, the ergonomic mouse is made strictly for right-handed gamers ( sorry lefties), the shape of the Deathadder Elite almost resembles a sizeable oval pebble with both sides concaving inward. My design description alone should give some confidence on how comfortable the mouse should feel in the hands. The mouse has a matte plastic texture which aids in an excellent firm grip while playing intense first-person shooting games.

All in all, the Deathadder Elite gaming mouse is proof that you can demand quality without sacrificing large sums of cash. The mouse has garnished some raved reviews from many web publications giving it the editors choice stamp of appeal.  You can purchase this gaming mouse from Razer, of course,  Amazon, Walmart, and Newegg. 

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Weekending Deal Presents: AMD Ryzen 7 1700 Processor

It's been quite some time since I've posted an End Of Week Deals article on this site. Find good deals for all you would be tech enthusiasts I would say a good deed on my part. In the future, I will be more consistent with this feature which will appear every weekend.

This week, we kick things off with the AMD Ryzen 7 1700 processor for those looking to put together a computer. 

The featured specs on this processor are impressive, starting with a 3.7Ghz core clock speed with precision boost technology, eight cores, and 16 threads unlocked, 4MB L1 and 16MB L3 cache. To sum it all up, what you have here is a damn good processor. Oh, and the price? It retails on Amazon for just $224. The processor does come stock with the Wraith Spire Cooler. 

The Ryzen 7 1700 is the perfect processor for those looking to construct an excellent budget gaming system.  Also, a bundle, Amazon along with the processor is offering the ASUS Prime X370-Pro motherboard; the retail price will go for just $398.
 

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HP Unveils a Much Smaller, Powerful Omen 15 Laptop

At the HP Summit in Beijing, China, the company launched their new Omen 15 laptop along with other related accessories that include a gaming keyboard and mouse.

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What caught my attention is the laptop, the Omen 15 its much smaller than last years model, but HP claims its more powerful, judging by the listed specs, I would have to concur with their boasted claim. It features up to an 8th gen Intel Core i7 processor, having a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q, as an option consumer can include Intel Optane memory which should boost overall performance,  the 15.6-inch display will offer consumers between 144Hz 1080p or 60hZ 4k, the display according to HP will be embedded with Nvidia famed G-Sync technology.

Other revealed hardware specs by HP are up to 32GB DDR4-2666 RAM, storage options that will include SSD, HDD, SSD+HDD+ Optane memory.  Cooling the Omen 15 laptop, because let's face it, all that nice powerful hardware needs to be cooled will include a  large fan that features a 3-phase motor, and fluid dynamic bearings. Hot air from the components will be exhausted through vents situated on both the front and bottom of the laptop.

Though more compact, to me this is merely a hardware upgrade from last year's model. The Omen 15, the 2017 top spec model features a 7th gen Intel quad-core processor, a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 which also had a Max-Q design. The only difference between this years model from last years is design, as mentioned earlier in this post the new Omen 15 is more compact and lighter at 2.5kg ( 5.5 pounds). Aside from the hardware, the compactness of the gaming laptop is probably the focal selling point.

As I stated earlier in the post, HP along with launching the new Omen 15 gaming laptop, also unveiled a few gaming accessories. Starting with the HP Sequencer Keyboard that features an optical-mechanical Blue switching technology that has a 0.2ms response time, as claimed by HP its supposedly 10 x times faster than traditional switches found on most keyboards. As a convenience, the keyboard grants an actual roller bar and a dedicated media keys. What's a gaming keyboard without the RGB LED lighting, which this particular keyboard does have, each individual keys are back-lit and can be controlled via the Omen Command Center. The price point for the gaming keyboard is rather heavy at $179.99.

Then we have the HP Omen Reactor Mouse featuring according to HP: "robust industry-first aluminum metal USB cable that helps reduce kinking and commands attention". The overall design of the mouse includes an optical mechanical switch technology with light beam detection that enables a 0.2ms click response time on both the left and right buttons. When it comes to any gaming rep the Omen Reactor have according to HP a sensor that is an advanced eSport-grade at 16,000 DPI which should deliver precision and speed during gaming. The features an adjustable palm rest and rubber grips which ergonomically give users a good feel and much like the keyboard the mouse does have programmable RGB LEDs. The price of this gaming mouse will retail for $79.99.

The actual release date  for the Omen 15 July 29th, with a $979.99 . The gaming peripherals on the other hand will also be released to market in July, HP have no given a actual date. Via social media, I will update you readers as soon as these HP products hit the vendors websites and stores.

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Why Not Get The One Plus 6 ?

For those who just happen to be in a hunt for a new smartphone, the alternatives don't always have to be what's coming out of Apple or Samsung. Yes also have companies like LG, HTC, Huawei and host other  manufacturers make smartphones. But there's one company who make near premium smartphones without the premium expensive price tag, that company I'm referring to is One Plus.  A fairly young company who's been in the business of manufacturing smartphones and other electronic gadgets since 2013. Their business model is simple,  make premium smartphones that doesn't lean heavy on the wallet.

Now that I gave a brief profile on the company, let's talk about their latest creation which is the OnePlus 6 and why you may want to consider buying this smartphone. 

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 One Plus 6 was unveiled to the market two weeks back and I must say it is definitely an alternative to the more pricier brands such as the  Galaxy S9 and iPhone X. The OnePlus 6 base model starts out at just $579, with the top spec variant being priced at $679. Not bad considering most handsets on the market have a average price around $750, some coming in at $1,000 ( yes you iPhone X ).

 The Impeccable Hardware 

The  price should not have anyone take the OnePlus 6 as being sub  par to any of the top flagship devices you have on the market, in terms of hardware, it definitely rivals Samung's Galaxy S9. Its rocking the newest and latest Snapdragon 845 processor, up to 8GB of RAM which is probably overkill, but no matter if its a mobile device or PC desktop, one can never have enough RAM capacity which usually bold well in performance.  As far as the storage goes, to start you have the standard  64GB capacity and up to a whopping 256GB of storage. 

Not rivaling the competition is the display, its not packing a massive amount pixels as seen on some high end flagships. Instead, the 6.28 inch AMOLED display is 1080p featuring a nice size 19.9 aspect ratio. Again, not packing a great deal of pixels as the resolution comes in at 1,080 x 2,280. Still, the display from the eyes of many looks vibrate and sharp. Sometimes less is beneficial as a lower resolution count will definitely result in extended battery life.

Nice Clean Design

From a design perspective, the OnePlus 6 is very impressive, having a symmetrical body with nicely curved edges. From front to back, the entire smartphone is covered in the famed Corning Gorilla Glass 5.  But what's trending with smartphones nowadays is  added notch on the  top of the display, the OnePlus 6 is no exception. Unlike most smartphones though, the OnePlus 6  notch is not as elongated, but for those who may find the notch rather annoying, there are settings in the software that will allow users hide the notch. 

Great Software Experience 

Unlike Samsung, LG, Huawei and host of other smartphone manufacturers, OnePlus doesn't heavily layer their software on top of Android. OnePlus 6 Oxygen OS is probably the closets thing to a near stock Android experience. What's so impressive about the OnePlus 6, right out of the box you can now start using  Android P beta.

There are a few features within the OS that standout for me such as, the reading mode, gaming mode, a more darker theme and there is support of icon packs,  giving users the option to use the navigation button that includes the new gesture navigation,  gestures are also on the lock screen. Present is a actual audio tuner, and there's even a way to disable the entire status bar icon altogether.

Oh and That Camera Is Not Bad At All

 With premium flagship smartphones you can almost always expect an excellent camera. The iPhone X, Galaxy S9, the Huawei  P20, Google Pixel XL, all have excellent cameras. On paper the camera configuration on the OnePlus 6 is not shabby at all, the dual cameras sports a 16 and 20MP sensor respectfully along with a f/17 aperture. Optical image stabilization is present in the main camera, which will definitely aid in capturing stable images and have a more fluid smooth video. The camera have a slow-motion video mode feature enabling users to capture video in 720p at 480fps and 1080p at 240fps. With the camera being 4K capable,  users can shoot video at 60fps. 

The Plus and Minuses

Beautiful design, superior hardware, and a nice decent camera, the OnePlus 6 have all the attributes of being a top tier flagship without the expensive premium price tag,  yet the smartphone does minus some key features. There is no wireless charging despite the OnePlus 6 having a glass build, it minuses a SD expansion slot which may turn you off a bit being that most including myself  take a tons of picture and store a lot of video. With the OnePlus 6, I would definitely say the positives outweigh the negatives, though there is no wireless charging, the smartphone does have a decent battery at 3300 mAh and probably the best dash charger around. Then we have Oxygen OS, its probably the cleanest and fastest mobile Android OS variant on any smartphone that's not name Google Pixel. And the display which could be a little bit bright, its sharp and vibrant to those who has a chance to test out the smartphone.

As the title of the post goes, Why not get the OnePlus 6? Its definitely one of the best smartphones on the market garnishing positive reviews from reputable web publications.  Sure it missing some key features that's found  on most smartphones by default, but adding those feature would mean an increase in price. The OnePlus 6 definitely meets the budget consumer standard in terms of price and quality.

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Patch Update: Google's Pixel Buds Can Now Track Skip and Improves Bluetooth Device Switching

The Pixel Bud was released I want to say last Fall of 2017, though the audio device is a practical, it did received some mixed reviews. Those who purchased the Pixel Buds all uttered similar complaints, like the charging case that is somewhat abstract,a very confusing Google Assistant experience, and a  single Bluetooth connection. Now at $160, you would think praises for Pixel Buds should outweigh the negatives. Changes are indeed coming, Google will begin rolling out an update that should address some glaring issues.

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The first change you should notice once you install the update is an adjustment to tapping actions. You can now manually turn on or off your Pixel Buds by simply triple-tapping right directly on the right side of your earbud. If you just happen to be listening to music, the double-tap motion will allow users to skip tracks instead of always viewing notifications on your smartphone.

Finally,  the update from Google will make it simpler to switch between Bluetooth devices. You can now go from your smartphone to computer,  just go directly to the Bluetooth menu on the device you want to connect to and then choose the Pixel Buds. From there you can switch to a new device.

If you're a current owner of the Pixel Buds you should now start to see these updates readily available. 

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My Top Three PC Cases I Would Buy and You Should Buy Also

Topic: recommended listing

What makes a good PC build aside from hardware of course, it's a good case that houses that hardware. The case is what stands out the most when you want to show off your latest creation. An aesthetically pleasing PC case is certainly appealing to the visuals and usually a good indicator that there's top notch hardware within. But design should have minimal impact in your decision making. Three main selling points I look for in a good case are proper cooling, cable management capabilities and spacious interior. 

 Assuming that some of my readers are in the process of building a brand new PC, whatever your set standards are, let me strongly recommend three PC cases you should include in your next system build.

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PC Case Number #1: Meshify-C

A while back I did a profile on the Fractal Design Meshify C and underlined their most impressive features that's in the front of the case, it's entirely constructed out of mesh ( hence the name Mesh-ify).  The mesh vent is sectioned off into a unique diamond shape pattern. With the front portion of the case  being so mesh dominant, you should have an increase amount of airflow. Overall, the Meshify-C case have nice compact build, but that shouldn't deceive your eyes from thinking that the interior is constraint, far from it. There's plenty of room to spare, giving users the option to install a full blown water cooling setup that includes a pump and  radiator.

Key Selling Point:   Abstractly mesh front.

Retail Price: $89.99

Vendor: NewEgg.com

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PC Case Number #2: Fractal Design Define R5

 Add another Fractal Design case to this list, better known as the Define R5. If you have in mind to construct a ATX system that doesn't require an over abundance of cooling or graphics cards, then this particular case is definitely ideal. 

I just love how the metal on this case is kept to minimum yet its intelligently used. The side panels are coated with sound dampening material that will decrease any levels of noise. Even the cases fans is acoustically  designed to minimize noise, speaking of which, the fan speed can be adjusted with a three-stage controller. 

Key Selling Point: Sound dampening material,  minimalist compact design

Retail Price: $148.45

Vendor: Amazon.com

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PC Case Number #3: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M

I actually own the Enthoo Pro M PC case and it definitely meets the three selling points I talked about in the intro. Its spacious enough to accommodate any type of water cooling setup. In fact, there are specialize brackets and mounts that make it easy for builders to install any type of radiator and water pump. The power supply units and hard drives are nicely hidden, making it very easy for builders to properly manage cables.  Like with the Meshify C, this particular case have an abundant amount air that flows through the front, top and rear.

For me, the biggest selling point got to be the left side panel which is completely covered in Acrylic  glass.

Key Selling Point: The Acrylic glass side panel, spacious interior

Retail Price: $69.99

Vendor: NewEgg.com

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Rumors and Leaks: The Sansung Note 9 Will More Than Likely Feature a Virtual Fingerprint Scanner

Topic: Rumored devices

OK, you know how it goes, flagship smartphones  that's within sights of a launch you should almost always expect rumors and leaks to follow. I for one think these rumors are a concerted effort from manufacturer to heighten anticipation, but digress. If Samsung sticks to the usual script, we should see a Galaxy Note 9 launch in four months, Sept to be exact, and right on Que there are already the rumors and leaked features.

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The latest rumor that's buzz worthy is Samsung's upcoming flagship device is expected to sport a virtual fingerprint recognition which will be placed directly underneath the display.  Now I've read rumors in the past that major manufacturers was going to introduce such feature onto their flagship devices,  but we have yet seen it materialize.

 But then there is Vivo, a few months back the company debuted an actual under-the-display finger print reader,  the fist in the industry to achieve such feat. Will Samsung actually be second to Vivo to introduce such feature, that remains to be seen

Other features that is rumored to be on the Galaxy Note 9 is a new S-Pen, Crown UX, Bixby 2.0, a 3850mAh battery with 18W fast charge, and upgrades to the camera. Samsung adds a new color option, dubbed "Teddy Brown", interesting color scheme to say the least.

The virtual finger print recognition for me would definitely be the devices main selling point, as with the added battery power. I'm also hoping that maybe, just maybe we'll get something out of Bixby version 2.0, because lets face it,  up until now the digital assistant serves me no useful purpose. 

 Just a reminder, these are just rumors, half the mentioned features may never appear on the Galaxy Note 9. Still I'm rather stoked with excitement what Samsung have coming down the pipes. Let me know what you think, drop a comment in the box below.

More rumors to come, stay tune....  

Credit Source: Ice Universe, Wcctech, Frobes

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Hardware Breakdown Presents: AMD Ryzen 2700X Processor

AMD's newest 2nd gen Ryzen processors (Codename Pinnacle Ridge) has now come to fruition and is ready to be installed into your trustee systems as it recently made its market launch two weeks ago to be exact. AMD has released a slew of processors to consumer market, but in this new installment of Hardware Breakdown, lets direct our focus on AMD's top end flagship, the Ryzen 2700X.

 Lets use our imagination a bit and get out our virtual tools and crack up open the Ryzen 2700X and examine the entire make up of the processor.

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The Processors Overall Architecture

As with all of AMD's 2nd gen processors, the 2700X constructed on the Zen architecture, dubbed Zen+, I'm assuming the plus represents incremental improvements to the processor. It offers up higher clock speed, lower latency, more intelligent Precision Boost 2 algorithm which improves performance , system responsiveness, and power efficiency. Though the processor is using a more advanced technology from its last gen variant, still present is the AM4 infrastructure which is still compatible with the same socket, chipset and motherboards, users of course will have to update their BIOS/UEFI if you so desire to upgrade. Alongside the new processor comes an entirely new chipset, the X470.

The Frequencies

The base clock frequency on the Ryzen 7 2700X have increased by about 100MHz coming in at 3.7GHz with a boost clock at 4.3GHz . Much faster than the previous gen processor which should definitely enhance overall performance.

The Cache

Splitting the Cache each have a significant bump up in numbers, L1 cache have 768KB, L2 cache 4MB and L3 cache 6MB. Higher cache numbers means there should be a reduced amount of energy output and rapid access to data from the computers main memory.

Smaller Nanometer FinFet

Smaller nm (nanometers) means components within the chip are made smaller, in the  case of the Ryzen 2700X it have a 12nm process, minus 2 from last years model which was 14nm.

Much Higher TDP by Default

Probably the one drawback with the Ryzen 2700X is the thermal design power wattage by default exceeds up to 105, thus causing the temperature within the processor to max out at 85' C ( 185' F) .

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Google's New Gmail: Lets Talk About The Key Features I Like

I had no inclination that Google was about to give Gmail a totally new look, nor did I know that Gmail, the new and improved Gmail that is would launch the app soon, but here it is. Sure there were the whispered rumors, yet as I pen this post I'm actually engaging in some of Gmails many new features.

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Now I don't want to describe every single feature Gmail now have, instead outline some of its most impressive features. 

 For instance...

You have the email self destruct, this basically is Confidential mode with added features. If users are sending sensitive information or wonder into a state of paranoia and worried about any scathing written emails that might come back to haunt you years down the line, you have the option to choose a day on when you want the emails to disappear. The actual recipient will no longer have access to those emails---unless they just so happen to take a screen shot. Access Unseen message will simply take back any access emails and will be sent to confidential mode at anytime right before it is set to expire. Simply go directly to sent folder, find the message, and then click "renew access" The recipient on the other end will see that you sent them an email, including the actual subject line, but if they try to click the email, you'll be met with a "You don't have access to this email" message. Pretty slick to say the least. 

You don't have to open your emails , instead just hover directly over the  message in your inbox, a series icons ( four to be exact) will appear. User have the option to select snooze, read,unread, all without even opening that particular email you're viewing. If you just so happen select choose, you can pick a certain day or time to be reminded of its existence or you can select the "someday" as a option.

Just when you thought you're impressed with some of Gmail new features, even more impressive is users will now have the ability to Make Room for your inbox . Google adds a collapsing left navigation bar which makes room for your list of unread emails. Just simply tap the menu icon on the very top left corner, a whole stack of lines will will disappear right next to the Google logo.

The sidebar on the right side of Gmail allows you to Access your task, displayed is the min version of Google Calendar, Task and Keep, you also have the option to add-on  which you can acquire from Google's Suite Marketplace. Speaking of which, Task is now a standalone mobile app which was launched right after Google unveiled the new Gmail.

Those are just some of the more impressive features within the new Gmail. If you're still stuck on the old interface and want to give the new Gmail a shot. Open up your Gmail, go directly over to settings, click, drop down window will follow, on the very top you should see Try the new Gmail. This will instantly enable the new Gmail.

If you so desire have have the urge to go back to the old Gmail, because lets face it, change is always not the best for everyone, go back to your settings and on the very top ans click on go back to the classic Gmail.

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AMD's New Ryzen 7 2700X and Ryzen 2600X Whats Improved and Whats Still The Same

AMD last year put the entire tech industry on notice, that notice being we're here to stay and we're aren't going anywhere. That was more evident when they launched their new Zen CPU architecture better known as the Ryzen 1000 series. The multi-colored CPU gained positive reviews by the masses, so much, Intel in an unconventional manner altered their release schedule and even made changes to their pricing. As you well know for a long time Intel were the dominant players in the chip industry, AMD being viewed as "Oh yeah, they make processors also" a hint of sarcasm from me because AMD past gen processors weren't well received from mainstream system builders.   

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The Ryzen 1000 series processors was what consumers like myself was waiting for from AMD, produce a processor ( or processors plural) that rivals Intel in terms of performance and reliability. Giving consumers optional choices.  

So what does AMD do for an encore this year? Breakout the Ryzen 7 2700X and 2700, and Ryzen 5 2600X and 2600 processors, code name Pinnacle Ridge.

So instead of breaking down the entire spec sheet on each processor, lets outline some of the changes and improvements made,  and have some features remain the same. 

Image Source: AMD

The Improvements and Changes

Seemingly with Pinnacle Ridge AMD is following Intel's tick-tock processor development model by slightly tweaking the new Ryzen 2000 series, the entire chip itself is produced on a 12nm process instead of the 14nm process.

The implemented changes from the Ryzen 7 1800X to Ryzen 2700X include a 100MHz increase in both base and boost clocks, and now supporting DDR4-2933 memory. The TDP on the Ryzen 2700X also is increased by 10W, with the core clock frequency increased, a slightly higher TDP wattage is expected.

With the  Ryzen 5 2600X, its boost clock frequency is up about 200MHz with DDR-2933 memory support all while maintaining the same 65W TDP . 

There's also a big improvements in Latency, the L1 cache is much improved by about 13%, as with the L2 cache which have the biggest latency boost at 34%, and finally with the L3 cache the latency improves by about 16%. The system DRAM is also improved at 11% . Pricing on the new Ryzen processors are up by about $30 dollars, retailing for $329 is the Ryzen 7 2700X  from $299 with the Ryzen 7 $299, the Ryzen 5 2600X $299 from $199 with the 2600.

So Whats Remained The Same?

Though there are improvements to AMD's newest gen processors, remaining the same is the AM4 CPU socket, the Cores and Threads numbers also stays the same ( Ryzen 7 2700X 8/16 and Ryzen 5 2600X 6/12). And what about the  PCIe lanes ? Yes that too remains the same at 16 lanes.

All and all....

Once again it looks like we have a another processor from the Ryzen that will seemingly garnish some positive reviews from many hardware reviewers and consumers. The features are more refined and sticks to the competitive pricing script. I definitely will include the Ryzen 7 2700X or 2600X in a future build. Update to follow.

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Whats On My Android ( The Galaxy Note 8)

It seems as though every web publication and YouTuber wants to let everyone know what's on their smartphone. This of course is a cool way to recommend those in mobile tech community the most impressive applications used on the daily basis. Applications on both iOS and Android are indeed plentiful, literally by the millions. Admittedly, I'm guilty of having the itchy swipe finger where I unnecessarily install apps I end up not using, valuable storage space wasted.  Since acquiring my Note 8 six months back, I have matured  ans stayed away from installing a bevy of apps just because I can, instead I only install apps I know will get full usage.

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First off how do I have my apps arranged on my smartphone

I try not to clutter my home screen with every single app I've installed. Taking the minimal approach, I only place apps on my home screen that serves a valuable purpose. In using this method I'm able to easily access my most used apps. As you can see in the screenshot below this paragraph, this is my actual home screen setup. I have all of my streaming apps listed in the first row, then there's my social media and messenger apps in the second row.  In the last row I call this my default apps which includes Gmail, camera,  the Chrome web browser, and the phone icon. Then there's the app drawer icon situated in the middle, we'll discuss what that is later on in this post.

So with that said, what's on my Android? (Note 8) Read on.

Music Stream

Spotify is probably everyone's music stream service by default,  its definitely my first choice amongst the other service I have installed on my smartphone. I'm a go out on a limb and say the Sweden base music service has definitely impacted the way we all access and listen to music on the go. There is the honorable mentioned services such as Tidal and Apple Music, but for me, Spotify have features that make it much easier to create playlist and sync music offline. 

The other streaming music I constantly use on the go is SoundCloud. What Google is to search, SoundCloud is to music search. You find just about any song on the planet on this stream service, no matter the genre or artist. You'll also find a whole catalog of podcast on SoundCloud.  

Social Media

 Instagram and FaceBook have become ingrained into our daily lives despite its underlying use of your personal data (cough!  cough! can you say Cambridge Analytical? ), to say that they're my favorite social media apps is an under statement, for the most part I use both apps to conduct business and post random goofball foolery. But there is no third party solution for both the gram and FB, at least none that I know of that leaves me impressed. There is though a bevy of third party Twitter apps on both iOS and Android platforms. By far the best Twitter app for Android is Fenix and Flamingo. Often times I don't know which app to engage in during my round of tweets. Importantly, both Fenix and Flamingo have a fluid clean interface.   

Note Taking

Evernote takes the lead here and needs no warranted praise, its by far the best and only note taking app I use daily. Here's an admission, without Evernote the feeling of emptiness subsides in my mind, seriously it does. Bit over dramatic I know, but I think you get the point on how important this app is to me. Not only do I use it for note jotting, you can also clip articles from websites, uploaded images, record audio and video and much more. Evernote multifaceted capabilities are limitless. Here's another admission, I pen this entire article on Evernote.

Photo Editing

All Samsung Galaxy series smartphones have a built-in photo editing app created by default made by Samsung. But the features are minimal and at best lackluster. For me the photo editing app I almost always resort to using is Adobe's Lightroom CC. Its loaded with features I like and it gets the job done.

Cloud Storage

Everyone cloud base storage of choice is DropBox, the go to app I myself use on the constant. I store just about everything on Dropbox, from music and video files to pictures and documents. The beauty of Dropbox is you can seamlessly share files with other Dropbox users. My other cloud base storage app I use as a backup because you can never have enough sources of storage backup, that would be Google Drive. Both these apps can also be used on a PC or Mac. 

Weather

 The best weather app for both Android and iOS platform hands down its Dark Sky.  The app accurately gives hyperlocal weather data with down to the minute forecast. Loves how it blasts rain notification and alerts, keeping you abreast to any changes in current weather conditions in your local area.

ere's anoter

Other noted apps that gets daily usage are stored in the app drawer, for those who aren't  familiar with that Android terminology, the app drawer is a icon present on your home screen that opens up a list of every single you have installed on your smartphone. The beauty of this feature is it thwarts clutter on your home screen, any app you install onto your smartphone goes directly into the app drawer by default.  

The most used app have in the app drawer is the Amazon app, I mean who doesn't shop at Amazon nowadays, then there's  ClearFocus which is a time management app that keeps you productive within a 25 min time frame, allowing users to alternate work sessions with minimal breaks. For movie tickets,  Fandingo has me covered when I want to reserve seats at a movie theater of my choice. I rely on the Bleacher Report for the latest scores and overall sports coverage and so on and on. That's just the gist on what apps I use from the app drawer.

Tell me what's on your smartphone, what is your go to app you use on the daily? Drop a comment in the box below or via social media.

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