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ASUS Zenbook 3 Deluxe UX490UA-XS74-BL 14-Inch laptop Review

Although the laptop market has been greatly affected by convertible and 2-in-1 devices, current technology provides smaller components and more efficient processors that make laptops the talk of the town, and models such as those in ASUS’ ZenBook lineup are the centerpiece when talking about outstanding devices sporting thin and light designs.

We already reviewed the ZenBook 3 UX390UA, which is a model that won our best ultrabook on the market prize thanks to its good finish and performance, when it was launched. This year, the company announced that model’s successor: the ZenBook 3 Deluxe UX490UA currently sitting on our hands, with which the brand takes advantage of the new bezel-less displays and of additional connectivity options, updating their flagship ultrabook.

ASUS Zenbook 3 Deluxe UX490UA

Specifications

  • 14 “FullHD Display
  • Processor Intel Core i7-7500U 2.7GHz @ 3.5GHz (7th Gen Kaby Lake)
  • 16 GB of RAM 2.133 MHz LPDDR3
  • 512 GB PCIe 3.0 X4 SSD
  • 2x USB 3.1-C with Thunderbolt 3.0 at 40 Gbps
  • 1x USB 3.0-C
  • Backlight keyboard
  • Fingerprint Sensor
  • 4 Asus SonicMaster Harman Kardon speakers
  • WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.1
  • 8.4 x 13 x 0.5 inches
  • Weight: 2.4 pounds

Design

The ZenBook 3 Deluxe UX490UA’s general design barely changes, because, as some say, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.

ASUS Zenbook 3 Deluxe UX490UA

It still has a premium feel thanks to its polished aerospace-grade aluminum unibody chassis, its golden diamond-cut edges and its concentric finish, giving it a unique touch when we compare it to other average ultrabooks on the market. In this case, we have the blue variant, which undoubtedly gives it a very original touch.

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The evolution that AMD’s Ryzen has had since its launching

Introduction

The new AMD’s Ryzen processors’ performance took everybody by surprise by taking us back to those times when the competition between AMD and Intel was much harder and when users were always introduced to better products at more attractive prices.

I do not know if it is already too late for AMD to go back to the position it had almost a decade ago, but Ryzen has undoubtedly given us back the hope for a less monopolized and more open PC world. Right now, no one doubts that Ryzen processors are a technical success, but it is too early to tell if they are also a commercial success since AMD does not provide sales figures. Today we will go over the progress that the product has made in the past few months, although it could not escape some controversy.

AMD’s Ryzen

Software and programs optimization

Although x86 is a well-known architecture that has been around for some time, there is always room for resource optimization and performance improvement. All of this is usually done on several software levels where every one is equally, or even more important than the others.

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Here they come: Intel Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X with 18 cores for home PCs

Today is the day that Intel officially launched its new high-performance HEDT platform for enthusiasts. Two architectures join forces for the first time during the launching, Kaby Lake-X and Skylake-X, besides unveiling the Core i9 lineup, a new Intel X299 chipset and the new LGA-2066 socket with a 55 pin increase in contrast to the the previous LGA 2011.

Intel Skylake-X

Not every Skylake-X processor announced will arrive right away. Actually, the company has postponed the most interesting models’ arrival to the domestic market: Core i9 chips with 12, 14, 16 and even 18 cores and prices from $1,200 to $2,000.

Intel Skylake-X

In fact, the models that Intel launched today are an improvement on the models already existing in its Broadwell-X lineup, with models ranging from 4 to 10 cores. The first i9 to hit the market will have precisely 10 cores, the 10-core Core i9-7900X with 20 threads and a speed of up to 4.5 GHz.

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Corsair T1 RACE Gaming Chair Reivew

Introduction and specifications

The PC Gaming world has grown to become one of the most important hardware sectors. It is not only formed by RGB components, aggressive esthetics or special variants with more speed and performance. Currently the products in the market that engulf the PC world not only focuses on the PC but there is a series of peripheral devices as well as furniture with that esthetic focused on creating a space for those who use the computer for a gaming platform.

There is no need to present Corsair. Everyone knows this company for their RAM memory, their liquid refrigeration systems, mice, keyboards, boxes, SSD, PCs, and much more. With this Corsair T1 RACE a new gamma of products is inaugurated as the gaming chairs for players.

Corsair T1 RACE

It´s not the first chair of this type that we analyze on Geeknetic. We had previously talked about trying the Bultaco´s option. Let´s see what new is offered with this Corsair T1 RACE and what it´s capable of.

Specifications

  • Adjustable height
  • Adjustable tilt with lock
  • Armrests with 4-way adjustment
  • Maximum seat height: 42 cm
  • Minimum seat height: 32 cm
  • Maximum arm height: 38 cm
  • Minimum arm height: 28 cm
  • Back height: 95 cm
  • Back Shoulder Width: 56 cm
  • Anti-scratch Nylon Wheels
  • Lumbar cushion
  • Cushion for cervicals

Design and detailing

One of the problems that we can come upon at the time we purchase a gaming chair of this type is that the great majority use a common structure fabricated by a third party to which personalized external materials by each company are applied. For example, the Bultaco GT301 that we analyzed, in its day, had one of those common structure designs and in the case of the Corsair, it isn´t an exception either although it isn’t the same design as that of the Bultaco. It is common to other models of other fabricants but with materials and detailing created by Corsair themselves.

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The guide to improve your gaming performance on Windows 10

We are now in full E3, one of the most important gaming events, and to celebrate it, we wanted to dedicate this Sunday’s guide to pick and explain a series of key points that will help you to improve your gaming PC’s performance.

To make the guide as useful as possible, we will make a complete list with simple and affordable tips that will help you to improve your PC’s performance without having to spend money, but we will also give you a series of recommendations at the end where we will review the most important graphics adjustments.

gaming performance

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How to choose a Computer and Monitor for Photo / Video editing

Some of the most common questions I receive are about photography. I have already spoken in some detail about the choice of cameras and lenses, but I have not yet spoken about how to choose a computer to be used for the purposes of photography.

In fact, in this age of digital photography, the computer has become an indispensable extension of the photographic process. First of all for storing your photos as well as for displaying them, but especially for developing them. I have already said on numerous occasions that: the post-processing of images is a natural extension of the photo taking process. It is indispensable for finalizing your photos. I will not expand any further on the reasons why I say this, suffice it to say that there are some important things that just CANNOT be done while shooting and which must be managed during post-processing, namely contrast and color levels as well as the intensity of bright zones and shadows, etc.

Computer for Photo Editing

Long story short, to heighten the quality of your photos, you will need to go through post-processing, which raises the question of choosing a computer that will allow you to do so comfortably.

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The best antiviruses of 2017 for Windows 10 according to AV-TEST

Even though Windows Defender keeps improving its preinstalled antivirus protection on Windows 10 PCs, other ‘complementary’ software are certainly key to keep your PC’s security at a maximum. Therefore, freeing us from malware threats, evidently, although in some cases it would mean sacrificing our PC’s performance ever so slightly. AV-TEST has analyzed several antivirus software for Windows 10 and they have come up with a ranking showing the best ones of 2017.

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Is it technically possible to keep scaling down manufacturing processes?

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You already know that Moore’s law is practically dying: reducing lithography and increasing the number of transistors on chips keeps getting more complicated. Manufacturers, especially TSMC, Samsung and Intel, are working incessantly to keep reducing lithography by using new techniques on manufacturing processes, but it is clear that we are very close to the possible limit.

Currently, the main manufacturers are already producing 14 nm manufacturing processes (Intel’s Kaby Lake and AMD’s Ryzen, to name a few), although Intel has already planned its next generation (Cannon Lake) scaled to 10 nm while hinting at having something ready for next year at 7 nm. Meanwhile, TSMC already has its 10 nm process read and it has plans for a 5, and even a 3 nm, lithography, going as far as to anticipate a 2 nm lithography. Do not bother asking for AMD because it currently is the most realistic manufacturer: they have just started with the 14 nm process and it hopes for 7 nm by 2020.

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Certainly, we are talking long-term. Getting an actual 7 nm manufacturing process by next year or by 2019 would be quite an achievement, and the plans for 5 nm by 2020 seem pretty far away from what was originally expected. Let’s not talk about 3 and 2 nm: let’s face it, they will not be here any time soon.

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The comparison of Firefox vs. Chrome 2017 – Which is better

We looked under the hood of the popular browsers Firefox and Chrome and now it’s time to find out which one comes out first in a duel.

Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox are among the most popular web browsers used on the PC and are thus also the most widespread ones. Both apps also have phone and mobile (tablet) versions making it easy to keep your data and bookmarks synched across multiple devices. This way you can synchronize settings, favorites, etc. among your devices without using additional software.

Firefox vs. Chrome

Since Microsoft have said goodbye to Internet Explorer and, in Windows 10, released a new browser called Microsoft Edge, more users are looking for an alternative. The popular choice are Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.

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Guide: AMD´S RYZEN Processors Questions and Answers

AMD´S RYZEN processors have been with us for a while now and thanks to the tests and analyses that we have been able to do, their possibilities, the value that they offer and practically all their technical issues are very clear to us.

We know many of you have hesitations about this new generation of processors, and that they are due above all to the differing results that have been recorded by different kinds of analyses, although there are also other secondary causes equally important, such as the habitual misinformation produced by some sources blinded by a certain favoritism and which affects even some well-known media.

To illustrate this last point, a simple example will do, and it is that in their analyses some sources began to negatively assess the fact that RYZEN does not include an integrated GPU. Yes, and they stayed that way to their liking.

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