Author: batteryforpc

A listing on JD.com lists specifications for the unreleased Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super graphics card, as spotted by longtime hardware leaker @momomo_us.

There have many leaks about the GTX 1660 Super already, so expected specs have been out for a while. However, this is the first official listing of a custom model, and it helps corroborate early reports.

Let’s start with what hasn’t changed. The GTX 1660 Super is expected to retain the same number of CUDA cores, 1,408, as the original GTX 1660. The clock speeds are reportedly the same too, which means we’re looking at a 1,530 MHz base clock and 1,785 MHz boost clock. Like the GTX 1660, the GTX 1660 Super’s TDP (thermal design power) is rated for 120W, and both use a single 8-pin PCIe power connector, according to the JD listing.

The most obvious difference between the two graphics cards is the memory type. The GTX 1660 debuted with GDDR5 memory clocked at 2,000 MHz (8,000 MHz effective). The Super version will have seemingly have speedier GDDR6 memory at 1,750 MHz (14,000 MHz effective). Although both graphics cards are still restricted to a 192-bit memory interface, the memory swap should let the GTX 1660 Super deliver 75% more memory bandwidth than its sibling.

JD lists the Maxsun GeForce GTX 1660 Super Terminator for 1,899 yuan (~$268.36). The non-Super Terminator version sells for 1,499 yuan (~$211.83). That’s about a 26.7% premium over the GTX 1660.

With October 29 being the rumored launch date for the GTX 1660 Super, hopefully we’ll soon find out if the upgrade to GDDR6 memory is enough deserve our consideration.

Gigabyte South Africa has revealed an image of a new Threadripper motherboard, which is likely part of the Threadripper 3 launch in November. Threadripper 3 boards are rumored to use the TRX40 chipset and even a new socket (which is expected to be physically identical to the TR4 socket, but different nonetheless). This board from Gigabyte is almost certainly one of the high end offerings, likely an AORUS or a motherboard more in line with a workstation-focused brand.

From the image, we can see four full-sized PCIe brackets (all of which are reinforced), three M.2 ports all equipped with heat shields, a debug display, robust passive cooling for some of the VRMs, and everyone’s favorite X570 feature, the chipset fan. Just by looking at this board, it’s pretty obvious it’s going to be one of the most expensive ones available.

The chipset fan is interesting because that would imply that TRX40 is using the same chipset as X570, which is also the same silicon that AMD uses for the I/O die inside Ryzen 3000 chips. One of Twitter’s best known leakers, @KOMACHI_ENSAKA, commented on the fan saying, “Well, basically it’s the same “AMD Premium (2019) Chipset” as the X570, so it will need a chipset fan.” According to him, the rumored TRX40 chipset and the X570 are likely one in the same.

While this is hardly confirmation, it would explain the chipset fan. It’s also interesting to note that Threadripper 3 should get the Epyc I/O die (which is over 400 mm2); Threadripper 3 and its TRX40 chipset should be an interesting combination if these assumptions are correct. But when it comes to PCIe lanes, the CPU itself will be doing most of the heavy lifting; the chipset will probably only provide more USB connectivity, some SATA ports, and a few more PCIe lanes.

VideoCardz previously reported Threadripper 3 and its motherboards would be revealed on November 5 and would launch on November 19, save for one CPU which the publication believes to be a 64 core processor. That one will apparently launch in January of 2020. AMD says Threadripper 3 is slated for November; let’s hope it hasn’t been delayed.

A Chinese user from the KoolShare forums has reviewed and dismantled an engineering sample of Intel’s upcoming NUC 9 Extreme, codenamed Ghost Canyon. It appears that the NUC (Next Unit of Computing) actually uses Intel’s ‘The Element’ module that was revealed earlier this month.

The Intel NUC 9 Extreme measures 238 x 216 x 96mm (L x W x H) and is the chipmaker’s largest NUC yet. Intel will reportedly offer three 45W processor options that span from four cores up to eight cores. You can pick between the Core i9-9980HK, Core i7-9750H and Core i5-9300H.

The NUC’s front panel houses the power button, SD card reader, two USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A ports, and a single 3.5mm audio jack. The device features honeycomb side panels that allow fresh air to enter from both sides to cool off the internal components. Furthermore, Intel has placed a pair of 80mm cooling fans up top to expel the hot air from the NUC.

Once inside, you’ll notice that the Intel NUC 9 Extreme flaunts with a new layout. The 500W power supply from FSP is located at the bottom of the NUC. A small backplane sits on top of the power supply. This backplane has two PCIe 3.0 x16 slots, one PCIe 3.0 x4 slot and a M.2 22110 slot, which has its own heatsink.

The top PCIe 3.0 x16 slot is evidently reserved for The Element module while the second PCIe 3.0 x16 slot is there for you to install a discrete graphics card. In terms of clearance, the Intel NUC 9 Extreme can accommodate dual-slot graphics cards with a maximum length of 20.32cm.

Apparently, Intel has baptized the The Element module as the “NUC Compute Element” board. For the sake of simplicity, we’ll stick to the original name.

As we previously covered, The Element takes the form of a dual-slot PCIe card. It houses the processor, memory and storage devices. Besides the PCIe slot, The Element also draws power from a conventional 8-pin PCIe connector. Intel’s goal with The Element is to offer a swappable and inexpensive solution for NUC owners to upgrade their systems without buying a completely new device.

The processor is cooled with a passive, copper heatsink. A small cooling fan, like the kind you would typically find inside your laptop, helps with heat dissipation.

The Element comes with two SO-DIMM DDR4 slots. You can use up to 64GB of DDR4-2400 memory or 32GB of DDR4-2666 memory. It also has one M.2 2280 port and M.2 22110 port. In total, you install up to three M.2 PCIe or SATA III SSDs on the Intel NUC 9 Extreme, two inside The Element and one on the backplane. RAID 0 and 1 arrays are supported.

Connectivity on The Element includes four USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A ports and two Thunderbolt 3 ports. There’s one HDMI 2.0a port, which is powered by the 9th-generation Core processor’s integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630 solution.

The Element provides you with different options to connect to the Internet. There are two Gigabit Ethernet ports, one based of the i219-LM controller and the other from the i210-AT controller. It also has WiFi 802.11ax and Bluetooth 5 connectivity thanks to the presence of Intel’s Wi-Fi 6 AX200 module.

The Intel NUC 9 Extreme seemingly comes with a limited three-year warranty. There is no word on the official pricing yet. If this leaked NUC roadmap is accurate, the NUC 9 Extreme should land next year.

The 2020 Android update is set to be Android 11 – that’s not speculation, but fact, since Google has confirmed the name itself. This follows, because with Android 10 Google pledged to follow a numerical system of operating system organisation.

That means while Android 9 was Android Pie, Android 10 wasn’t Android Quiche, and Android 11 won’t be Android Rhubarb and Custard (sadly) – but it will be packed with updates and, likely, a few long-awaited features.

Android 11, Google’s next operating system, is set to be revealed in mid-2020, before being released for Pixel devices around September, and then rolled out for other Android devices from late 2020 through well into 2021.

Mid-2021 is a way off, but we’ve already started hearing rumors and news surrounding the upcoming Android operating system. Here we’ll collect everything we know about Android 11.

Cut to the chase

What is it? The newest Android operating system

When is it out? Likely September 2020, at least on Pixel phones

How much will it cost? Android 11 will be available for free

Android 11 release date

Google tends to unveil some of the features of its newest operating system at Google IO in May, before releasing the OS for Pixel phones in September – this year, for example, it debuted on the Pixel 4.

After that, different smartphone brands will have their devices eligible for the update slowly over time. The OnePlus 7T and 7T Pro were the first non-Google smartphones which came with Android 10 in the box, but it could be a different company for Android 11.

Not all smartphone manufacturers upgrade immediately, however, and it’ll likely be some time in 2021 that all smartphones that can upgrade, have had the upgrade made available.

Android 11 features

There’s only one Android 11 feature we know of so far – it’s confirmed for the operating system though, so it’s not just speculation.

This feature is ‘Scoped Storage’, which was initially meant to be available in Android 10, but Google pushed it back due to complaints from Android developers.

Scoped Storage is a new way of organizing what information and files your apps can read – in short, it makes memory read speeds much quicker, improves your security, and stops you needing to give every new app permissions.

That’s the only Android 11 feature we know of, but since Android 10 isn’t available on most devices yet, it’ll be a while before we get to hear about more.

What we want to see in Android 11

These are the improvements we’d like to see in Android 11, that we still don’t have in the latest build of Google’s operating system.

1. A new NFC file-sharing alternative

With Android 10 came the removal of Android Beam, which let phones share files over NFC. All you had to do was tap phones together to share files, but it’s gone now.

It’d be useful to have some easy-to-use alternative that lets you share photos, videos, music, or other files just by pressing the phones against each other – at the moment it can be quite a hassle to use a specific app to do so, and Apple’s Airdrop is a useful feature that has no equivalent in Android.

2. Improved dark mode

Dark mode isn’t for everyone, but those who use it love it – or they want to, at least, but in Android 10 it has a lot of problems.

Firstly, not that many apps have their own dark modes, not even all Google apps, so using your smartphone with dark mode on can often see you jumping straight from dark apps to light ones, and back again.

Secondly, on apps that do have dark mode some text isn’t color-swapped, and can remain invisible – this actually happens on Google search, so you can’t see suggested results.

For dark mode to be useful on Android smartphones, it needs to actually be usable for most apps, instead of just an optional toggle here and there.

3. Extended chat ‘bubbles’

One of the new features of Android 10 was the introduction of chat ‘bubbles’, similar to Facebook Messenger, laid over the top of other apps, that let you see all your conversations over several apps all in one easy-to-access format.

Not all apps are compatible though, and while some of those that you use to message people, there are many that aren’t, with only the main text app Messages, and Google Hangouts, compatible. That means if you want to have conversations over various apps, for the most part you’re still going to be using those apps.

It’d be really useful if more apps became compatible – WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Twitter, and perhaps even dating apps! Then, it’d be incredibly easy to keep on top of your various conversations across all the different apps that fill up your phone. 

Adobe Premiere Rush is the dangling carrot that has been just out of reach for Chromebook users everywhere for well over a year at this point. To be fair, Adobe only previewed the cross-platform application when it debuted in June of 2018, but the path from that debut took nearly a year for Premeire Rush to actually land on devices. When it did arrive in May of 2019, again Chromebook users were told it was “coming soon” only to sit around and wait for months on end for Adobe to actually deliver on its promises.

Nearly six months since that actual product debut, we’ve heard next to nothing from Adobe on the Chromebook front, but if a thumbnail image in the Google Store is any indicator, we could be seeing Premiere Rush on Chromebooks in the very near future. Take a look at the listing for the Core i7 variant of the new Pixelbook Go below:

There is no doubt that the app being displayed on the Pixelbook Go on the right is Adobe Premiere Rush. Clearly, Google decided what image they wanted to accompany each different model in the Pixelbook Go lineup. All the other versions have screens displaying apps that already exist on Chromebooks and each one increases in complexity as the models go up in price. The entry level Core m3 model displays a generic website, the upgraded Core i5 model has YouTube TV, the Core i5 with 16GB of RAM displays G Suite apps, and the final i7 model is shown with Adobe Premiere Rush.

This choice in screens would make sense as Google is likely trying to convey the higher end models having more processing power for more intense tasks. The question is, why would they use Premiere Rush if they didn’t think this app was going to be a part of the Chromebook experience very soon?

In short, I don’t think they would. There are literally millions of apps and billions of websites they could have chosen for this photo, yet they chose to go with Adobe Premiere Rush. If I were betting on it, I’d say we’ll hear something about Rush landing on Chrome OS around October 28th when the Pixelbook Go is expected to start shipping out. I could see this being a Pixelbook Go exclusive for a month or so, but I hope that isn’t the case. There are countless Chromebooks up to the task of running this app, and I really think it has the ability to fundamentally change the audience Chromebooks can be geared towards.

Will Premiere Rush make Chromebooks the ultimate video editing machines? No way. But the addition of this capability on the type of scale promised by Adobe Premiere Rush is basically unheard of right now on Chromebooks. With a video editor that already has a massive user base and desktop versions in play, legit video editing on a Chromebook never looked so close.