Gigabyte Launches Aorus Z270 Motherboards for Gamers in India

Gigabyte, one of the world’s top PC component manufacturer, held a grand event in Gurugram on Friday to launch its new Aorus line of premium gaming motherboards in India. The launch comes after Intel's announcement of 7th-generation 'Kaby Lake' CPUs and complementary 200-series chipsets. With the new Aorus name, Gigabyte is eliminating previous sub-brands including the former top-end G1 Gaming and Overclocking lines, and streamlining its offerings.

The Aorus brand name has previously been used for Gigabyte's gaming laptops, which are currently not available in India, and will soon be used for other product categories including graphics cards, peripherals and accessories. The new motherboard lineup comprises of six models based on the Intel Z270 platform controller.

A major highlight of the series is the new RGB Fusion lighting scheme, which uses LEDs embedded throughout the surface of the motherboards, including around the PCIe and RAM slots. LEDs also glow through a patterned acrylic strip on the front of each motherboard. The design of the strip can also be customised for orders of as few as 100 units, which will allow system integrators to show off their branding in striking ways. A design contest will also be held, and winning entries could be put into production.

Gigabyte is also debuting a whole new software suite with this release, including a control applet for the RGB Fusion lighting which allows patterns and zones to be defined. Patterns can be synchronised across Aorus motherboards, graphics cards and case LED strips plugged into two headers. There is also a redesigned overclocking utility which includes an automatic tuning feature, a new fan control tool which lets users define curves on a graph, and various other utilities.

Several models include Thunderbolt ports, while all offer USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10Gbps) Type-A and Type-C ports. Most models also have high-end Creative Sound Blaster ZxRi or Sound Core3D audio with premium capacitors and swappable op-amps and enough power to drive high-impedance headphones. Gigabyte is also promoting its metal-reinforced PCIe and RAM slots, high-power fan headers which can all handle water cooling apparatus, Killer Ethernet and Wi-Fi controllers, and overclocking capabilities.

All models have two M.2 slots and one U.1 port, allowing for multiple NVME SSDs in RAID. All are also ready for Intel’s upcoming Optane memory products. Finally, all Aorus motherboards will be covered by a five-year warranty.

At the top end, the new GA-Z270X-Gaming 9’s defining feature is its integrated hybrid water block designed by EKWB, which allows liquid coolant to be pumped across the voltage regulators, which Gigabyte says will allow for higher and more stable overclocks. It has an official MRP of Rs. 61,800 but its street price is closer to Rs. 52,000 according to market sources.

Lower down the line, the Z270X-Gaming 7 and Z270X-Gaming 5 shed some features in order to achieve lower price points. They have MRPs of Rs. 28,500 and Rs. 21,600 respectively, but should retail for around Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 20,000 respectively.

Gigabyte has no plans on launching the Z270X-Gaming 8, Z270X-Gaming K7 and Z270X-Gaming K5 models yet. However, there are also several new models outside the Aorus line in Gigabyte’s 2017 portfolio, all based on the Z270, H270 and B250 platform controllers.

Source: Gigabyte India

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Lenovo Legion Gaming Laptops, Lenovo VR Headset Unveiled Ahead of CES 2017

At CES 2017, Lenovo introduced a sub-brand called Lenovo Legion dedicated only to gaming PCs and launched two new laptops made with the feedback received from the gaming community. To further its gaming efforts, Lenovo also unveiled its first ever VR headset that intends to work with the Windows Holographic program as well.

The Lenovo Legion laptops are targeted mainly at gamers, and they look to offer good graphics performance, powerful processors, and efficient cooling systems. The first two laptops to flag off the series include the Lenovo Legion Y720 and Legion Y520.

Let's talk about the Lenovo Legion Y720 laptop first! The Legion Y720 can be powered with up to seventh generation Intel Core i7 processors and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 with 6GB of GDDR5 video RAM, making it VR compatible as well.

The laptop sports a 15.6-inch UHD (3840x2160 pixels) or full-HD (1920x1080 pixels) IPS display with anti-glare. It is said to be the world's first laptop to come with Dolby Atmos technology for superior audio quality. The laptop offers support for the Xbox One wireless controller and comes with an optimized thermal cooling system for keeping the laptop in cool even during intense game fights.

The Lenovo Legion Y720 laptop offers up to 16GB of DDR4 RAM, and you can customize the storage with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB of SSD, or 1TB, 2TB of HDD storage. Lenovo claims that the laptop offers five hours of battery life and weighs 3.2kgs. Connectivity options include the fast Thunderbolt 3 port.

Then comes the Lenovo Legion Y520 laptop. This laptop features a 15.6-inch full-HD (1920x1080 pixels) IPS display along with Anti-glare. It is also powered by up to seventh generation Intel Core i7 processors and up to a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics card. It offers the same storage and memory configurations as the Y720. The laptop comes with Harman speakers for good audio output and weighs only 2.4kg. Both the Legion Y720 and the Legion Y520 come with backlit keyboards for ease in gaming at night. While the Lenovo Legion Y520 laptop starts at $899.99 (roughly Rs. 61,500) and will be available sometime in February, the Lenovo Legion Y720 laptop starts at $1,399.99 (roughly Rs. 95,700) and will be available sometime in April.

Along with the Legion lineup, Lenovo also ventured into the VR segment with a demo of its first ever VR headset. The company has not announced any details of the headset, but it is reported to be priced below $400 (roughly Rs. 27,400) whenever it arrives. The design of the headset is such that the lens rests on your forehead instead of the nose. It uses two 1440x1440 pixels OLED panels for display and is said to be pretty lightweight in comparison to the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. What's interesting is that the Lenovo VR headset will work with Microsoft's Windows Holographic Program.

Lenovo ahead of CES 2017 also launched the Thinkpad X1 Carbon, Thinkpad X1 Yoga, and the Thinkpad X1 Tablet as well. It also refreshed the Miix series with 12-inch Miix 720 tablet running on Windows 10. The Miix 720 comes with a detachable keyboard and a fold out kickstand for multi-purpose usage. All of these products will hit the market before April.

Source: Lenovo Newsroom

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Samsung Announces CH711 Curved Quantum Dot Monitor for Gamers Ahead of CES 2017

Samsung today unveiled a new curved monitor said to be designed for gamers with quantum dot technology. Named the Samsung CH711, the monitor will be officially launched at CES 2017, along with its price and exact availability details.

The Samsung CH711 curved quantum dot monitor will be available in 27-inch and 31.5-inch variants and will be released in early 2017. It features an 1800R radius curvature and a 178-degree viewing angle. Both variants will sport a QHD (2560x1440 pixel) quantum dot panels that are rated to deliver nearly 125 percent sRGB colour gamut coverage.

The monitor can be adjusted both vertically and horizontally, while it can be flipped completely vertical as well - though this might be quite pointless! It sports a three-sided 'Boundless' design, with small bezels on the top and either side. Power and HDMI cables from the monitor are hidden within its neck, giving the configuration a clean look.

At CES 2017, Samsung will also showcase the CFG70 and CF791 curved quantum dot monitors, which were first announced at IFA 2016 in September and released in the US in December. The company will additionally unveil new high-resolution quantum dot monitors at CES 2017, also due to be released in early 2017. These are the 28-inch UH750, as well as the 23.8-inch and 27-inch SH850.

"Today's multimedia consumers, quite rightly, have high expectations and demand a truly cutting edge, totally immersive experience that realizes the full potential of whatever they are playing or watching. This year's lineup of curved Quantum Dot monitors offers brilliant design, richer colour and deeper contrast than ever before. We can't wait to share them with the world at CES 2017 in Las Vegas," said Seoggi Kim, Senior Vice President of Samsung Electronics' Visual Display Business, announcing the new Samsung CH711 monitor.

Source: Samsung Newsroom

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PAX West: Alienware Launches VR-Ready Laptops With Nvidia GeForce GTX 10-Series Graphics

Gamers around the world wait eagerly for Alienware laptops for a reason. Dell's Alienware brand has developed a name for itself for great gaming performance on the go. The latest entrants to this series unveiled by the company are all VR-ready - the refreshed Alienware 13, Alienware 15, and Alienware 17. The company launched the laptops alongside celebrating its 20-year anniversary,

Unveiled at PAX West on Thursday, the new Alienware 13 will be launched on November 16 in the US alongside the GeForce GTX 1080 variant of the Alienware 17. The Alienware 15 and Alienware 17 are due on September 30 in the US. All three laptops pack Nvidia's GeForce GTX 10-series graphic cards for notebooks. Alienware 13 comes with an option for the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060, Alienware 15 will come with an option for the GTX 1060 alongside the GeForce GTX 1070, while Alienware 17 will come with options for both the GTX 1070 and GTX 1080.

Interestingly, Dell seems to have made the laptops much slimmer than their previous versions - however, they are now deeper thanks to the placement of the cooling systems. Notably, the company has also revamped its logo alongside. The laptops have also been provided with Windows Hello support as now you can log in to the Windows with the help of face-detection feature.

Another interesting feature is Tobii's eye-tracking, and is supported by an external Tobi camera. The Alienware 17 however comes with the option for a built in Tobii's eye tracking camera. Apart from controlling the camera in games that support it, this feature allows you to switch on the laptop by merely looking at the Alienware logo. The laptop even switches off the keyboard's backlight as soon as you look away from the screen with the help of this technology.

"Gaming is in a time of renaissance right now; awesome games and development, amazing resolutions and technology, plus the pure excitement around VR experiences - it's an incredible driving force and it feels similar to the energy that started Alienware 20 years ago," Frank Azor, general manager of Alienware and XPS, was quoted as saying in the release.

Alienware 15 and 17 will be available with up to Intel's Core i7 6820HK (Skylake) processor overclocked to 4.1GHz. Both models can be upgraded up to up to 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. No other specifications have been provided at the moment. The company says seventh-generation Kaby Lake processors will be offered once they become available OEMs.

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