Author: batteryforpc

Next gen consoles aren’t just kickstarting a new interest in solid state storage, they’re also responsible for a new wave of affordable, high-spec gaming monitors. That’s great news if you want high-refresh 4K action, but don’t fancy paying an absolute fortune. 

Monitors from Viewsonic, Acer, and Philips are among a new generation of displays to bring 4K high refresh to the 32-inch form factor. The really exciting bit is that the new models, including the Philips Momentum 328M1R, Acer Predator XB323QK, and Viewsonic Elite XG320U, are expected to be very competitively priced compared to existing 27-inch 4K high refresh monitors.

Until recently, the high-refresh 4K monitor market was populated largely by 27-inch models, such as the LG UltraGear 27GN950. So far, prices have tended to be pretty painful, especially given the relatively modest overall proportions of a 27-inch monitor. £1,000 / $1,000 for a 27-inch monitor, even a really nice one, is hard to stomach. However, the arrival of the Xbox Series X and Sony PS5, complete with support for 4K and 120Hz refresh, is driving the introduction of a new wave of 32-inch 4K monitors with high refresh support.

What’s more, because the console gaming market is generally less lofty when it comes to pricing than gaming PCs, we’re expecting these screens to be relatively affordable. That said, it’s the console connection that has slowed the arrival of these screens and indeed pushed their retail availability out to early next year. That’s because 4K@120Hz support for consoles requires the very latest HDMI 2.1 interface. For PC, you also have the option of DisplayPort 1.4.

With none of these screens available to buy quite yet, some of the details remain sketchy. But here’s what we know so far. We’ll kick off with the Philips Momentum 328M1R because that’s the screen with the clearest indication of pricing. It’s due out early next year with an anticipated price of €599, likely to translate into similar figures in $ and £. It’s a 32-inch 4K model aimed squarely at the new consoles. It runs a native 4K resolution and tops out at 120Hz. 

The better to hook up to those new consoles, the 328M1R comes complete with three HDMI 2.1 ports. But a DisplayPort 1.4 socket is also included, which widens the range of compatible GPUs for running at 4K and 120Hz. Currently, only Nvidia’s new RTX 30 series and AMD’s RX 6000 series graphics cards support HDMI 2.1. However, DisplayPort 1.4 is supported by older generation GPUs, including the Nvidia GTX 10 series.

Other highlights for the Philips Momentum 328M1R include VESA DisplayHDR 600 certification, so colour fidelity should be good and at least an element of local dimming will be included, plus a claimed latency of just 4ms. The one possible snag? It runs a VA panel, which can be problematical when it comes to pixel response. That’s not always the case, as the Samsung G7 proves. It’s VA but very quick indeed.

As for the Acer Predator XB323QK and Viewsonic Elite XG320U, they take the 4K 32-inch formula and bump it up slightly to 144Hz while using an IPS panel. That’s a very exciting combination. Currently, we don’t have pricing for those models, which are slightly more PC centric and so may well be more expensive than the impressively affordable Philips.

But both are expected to support HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4, so offer full flexibility when it comes to PC or console connectivity. The Viewsonic is DisplayHDR 600 certified, while the Acer is limited to DisplayHDR 400 certification. That more limited HDR support should translate into lower pricing, however, so the Acer may turn out to be the pick of this trio.

Again, we’re expecting to see both of these screens early next year and indeed a number of similar models from other brands, the arrival of which should make for a competitive market place and hopefully lower pricing. Whatever, larger and more affordable 4K displays with high refresh support have been a long time coming. But as is often the case, the PC looks likely to benefit from the arrival of a new generation of consoles.

With the consoles themselves coming in around the $500 / £500, spending double that on a 4K monitor won’t be a goer for most gamers. So we’re expecting the consoles to drive lower prices generally, starting with these 32-inch beasts. Granted, these aren’t going to be properly cheap monitors, but they should push pricing below what we’ve seen for similar 27-inch screens. Here’s hoping!

Microsoft is working on a Windows 10 update that will introduce a range of new font management facilities and further expand customization options.

Windows 10 users can already select a default font from a long list of pre-sets and install new ones via a simple drag-and-drop mechanism, but the upgrade is set to introduce further granularity.

The new features, which include the ability to fiddle with the way fonts render on-screen, are expected to arrive via open source application PowerToys, built by a small group of Microsoft developers.

According to the product roadmap, an upcoming build of the freeware – designed to give Windows 10 “power users” a greater pool of settings to play with – will allow users to optimize text rendering and force symmetric smoothing, which could be especially useful for owners of high resolution monitors.

Windows 10 customization

With previous builds, PowerToys has allowed Windows 10 users to make tweaks that further personalize their operating system, including building new layouts for multi-monitor rigs, modifying keyboard shortcuts and remapping keys.

Now, the tool’s designers have turned their attention to addressing choppy text rendering – a problem that arises as a result of the way the OS translates font design into pixels. With the upcoming font rendering feature, text should appear smooth in all sizes and on monitors of varying resolutions.

On top of the new font rendering options, PowerToys is also set to introduce the second generation of its Color Picker tool, which allows users to identify the hexadecimal value of any color that appears on screen.

The second iteration will let users refine their color selection more easily, and will also align with Windows 10 theme selection.

Although no definitive release date has been set for the arrival of the new font rendering system and Color Picker, the features are expected to land as part of a sizable PowerToys update next year. 

AMD’s Big Navi Big Boi, the 6800XT, will eventually hail from third-party manufacturers, but that’s a little way away yet. That hasn’t stopped Sapphire from revealing its plans for such boards, and they’re looking good, with the GPU manufacturer getting to flex its high-end muscles for the first time in an age.

There are actually two in fact: Sapphire’s RX 6800-series line is split into PULSE (why the caps?) and Nitro+. Those PULSE boards (honestly, it makes it sound like a backwater nightclub) fill 2.7 slots and are a classy black and red, with a heartbeat motif on the back. Its three fans have nine blades each, and there’s a dual eight-pin power connector. Output is handled by three HDMIs and a DisplayPort, all capable of 8K.

The Nitro+ version, however, gets the full treatment, with 12-blade fans, possibly an extra heatpipe or two, and a walled-in 2.5-slot design that looks much neater than its PULSATING brother.

Again, there are two eight-pin power sockets, and the same HDMI/DP arrangement. You get a little RGB too, but not nearly as much as the Nitro+ SE variant, which slaps swirling yellow and green all over its fans, and shakes things up at the back with one HDMI, two DisplayPort, and a USB-C—AMD clearly having not received the memo about VirtualLink’s death—all rocking 8K output.

You’ll need a 750-watt power supply to handle these cards, says Sapphire, and they’re both PCIe 4.0, with 16GB GDDR6 on board. Final clock and memory speeds haven’t been released yet.

Sapphire is the world’s largest supplier of AMD video cards, and it’s been at it since 2001. It’s produced some fine-looking cards in its time—as well as some boxart horrors—but with AMD GPUs being slightly off the boil recently it hasn’t been able to shine in the way it deserves. 

AMD has touted Big Navi performance besting Nvidia’s already impressive RTX 3080, so perhaps the RX 6800-series launch will be its chance for glory.

Windows 10 now has a strange specification named “Experience.” Standard desktop versions of Windows 10 say you have the “Windows Feature Experience Pack” installed. What does that mean? Microsoft is being secretive as always, but here’s what we know.

Another Windows 10 Mystery

If you head to Settings > System > About and scroll down to “Windows specifications,” you’ll see a line named “Experience.” It likely says you have the “Windows Feature Experience Pack” installed.

This section also tells you what edition of Windows 10 you have installed, which update version you have installed, when it was installed, and your OS build number.

We know what all those mean—but what is a “Windows Feature Experience Pack?”

Unfortunately, Microsoft won’t explain it! Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley asked Microsoft about it and got a “no comment” from Microsoft. We think we can explain a lot of this anyway.

Some Windows 10 Features Are Part of the Pack

As Foley points out, the Windows Feature Experience Pack is listed as one of many “Features on Demand” in Windows 10. For example, Microsoft Paint is now a “feature on demand.”

This particular feature comes preinstalled with Windows. Microsoft says it “Includes features critical to Windows functionality” and says you should “not remove this package.”

The same documentation says the Windows Feature Experience Pack was first introduced in Windows 10 version 2004—that’s the May 2020 Update.

According to Foley, the pack currently includes features like a snipping tool for taking screenshots and a text input panel. Rather than being part of the base version of Windows 10 itself, these features are part of this “pack” that is preinstalled. Microsoft may move more features from Windows 10 itself to this “features on demand” pack.

Most of these “features on demand” are listed under Settings > Apps > Apps & features > Optional features, but the installed “Experience Pack” doesn’t appear here.

Tracking Down Clues in the Windows Store

So, why does this Feature Experience Pack even exist? Why not just leave these features in Windows 10 proper?

Well, Microsoft won’t say, but we definitely have some ideas. Take a look at this: The Microsoft Store has a listing for a “Windows Feature Experience Pack” and a separate “Windows 10X Feature Experience Pack.” This suggests two things.

Faster Updates for Windows Components?

As of the October 2020 Update, there’s no indication this feature experience pack is being updated through the Store yet. However, it could be!

If Microsoft were updating the feature experience pack through the Store, the company could update the software inside the pack more often than once every six months.

Anything moved from Windows to the pack—perhaps a built-in application like File Explorer or a component like the Windows taskbar or Start menu—could be updated much more quickly.

A Single OS For All Microsoft’s Devices?

Microsoft is working hard on Windows 10X, which was going to be designed for dual-screen devices, but now looks like it will initially just be a more “modern” version of Windows that confines traditional desktop applications to containers.

These different versions of Windows could have the same underlying operating system and differ only in their “Feature Experience Pack.”

In other words, this could help advance Microsoft’s Windows Core OS goals: Having a single Windows core operating system that powers all devices, with different experiences installed on top of them. Imagine if a future Xbox could run Windows 10 with the “Xbox Feature Experience Pack,” or a future Windows Phone could run Windows 10 with the “Windows Phone Experience Pack.”

Hints About a Future, But No Use in the Present

As of Windows 10’s October 2020 Update at the end of 2020, you should ignore the “Experience” line in the Settings screen and forget about the “Windows Feature Experience” for now. It doesn’t really mean anything.

Its presence is an artifact of Microsoft’s development process: The company is always experimenting internally, and signs of that experimentation are appearing in the released versions of Windows 10. This information may be important for Microsoft engineers who are experimenting and troubleshooting, but it doesn’t mean anything to Windows users outside Microsoft.

When we reviewed the new Surface Go 2 tablet from Microsoft, we found it to be “an excellent affordable Windows 10 tablet that features a premium design found in the company’s more expensive devices”. 

However, if you want something even more affordable, you should check out the Pipo W11, which retails for about half the price of Microsoft’s diminutive tablet.

Pipo is not a household name, but we’ve known about the company since 2014 when it unveiled the Pipo W2 tablet. The W11 follows in the footsteps of its 6-year old predecessor, which back then ran on a little-known OS called Windows 8.1.

The W11 also comes with a keyboard cover and stylus, all for the princely sum of $274.99 (about £208, AU$377). Use the code BGpipo2 at checkout to get this price. For comparison, the equivalent Surface Go 2 configuration with pen and keyboard cover retails for $695.97 – more than twice the price.

The W11 wins out when it comes to performance, with its Celeron N4100 CPU trouncing the Surface Go 2’s Pentium 4425Y, according to CPUBenchmark. It’s also superior when it comes to storage (Pipo’s candidate has 64GB eMMC plus a dedicated 180GB SSD) and connectivity (the W11 has three more ports than its rival).

On the other hand, the Surface Go 2 has a smaller screen with a higher resolution, which produces sharper pictures, plus a bigger battery capacity, higher resolution cameras, and faster Wi-Fi/Bluetooth. 

Businesses looking for a cheap business tablet are also likely to side with Microsoft’s device because of the return policy, the free technical support and in-store assistance.

Bear in mind

If this product is shipped from mainland China, it will take a month to arrive in the UK or US (and potentially more). You may be levied an additional tax, either directly or through the courier.

If you’ve managed to get hold of a cheaper product with an equivalent specification, in stock and brand new, let us know and we’ll tip our hat to you.