NVIDIA Ampere GPUs to have PCIe 40 support

NVIDIA Ampere, the next gen graphics architecture from NVIDIA will supposedly have PCIe 4.0 support. While the Ampere GPUs are yet to be announced, NVIDIA did recently tease the HGX A100 platform on their YouTube channel. The news about the PCIe 4.0 support stems from a leaked FudZilla post regarding Supermicro’s upcoming server platform that went up ahead of embargo (autoscheduler error). The post has since then been taken down, which in the world of rumours is practically equivalent of a confirmation.

NVIDIA HGX A100

The NVIDIA HGX A100 is the latest iteration of the NVIDIA HGX platform that will be announced by Jensen Huang at the NVIDIA GTX 2020 keynote later today. The “A100” at the end signified that the platform is based on NVIDIA Ampere GPUs, in particular the A100 GPUs. The HGX A100 is a data centre platform that’s geared for HPC and AI applications. The Supermicro press release quotes two new AI machines based on the NVIDIA HGX platform – a 2U system (formerly codenamed Redstone) with 4 NVIDIA A100 GPUs and a 4U system (formerly codenamed Delta) with 8 NVIDIA A100 GPUs. The latter is supposedly capable of 5 Peta FLOPS of AI performance.

Supermicro’s NVIDIA HGX A100 Specifications

As per the screengrab of the now deleted post, the “Supermicro 2U system uses the NVIDIA HGX A100 4 GPU board with four direct-attached NVIDIA A100 Tensor Core GPUs using PCI-E 4.0 for maximum performance and NVIDIA NVLink for high-speed GPU-to-GPU interconnects.” The system has one PCI-E 4.0 x8 slot and up to four PCI-E 4.0 x16 expansion slots for more interconnects. So the NVIDIA Ampere architecture is capable of supporting PCIe 4.0. However, this does not mean that the NVIDIA Ampere consumer gaming graphics cards will ship with PCIe 4.0 interface.

NVIDIA Ampere Graphics cards with PCIe 4.0?

This could go both ways. The Supermicro platform is built for AI and HPC applications. These are bandwidth heavy tasks that require very fast interconnects between the system memory and the GPUs to move large AI datasets around. This very much necessitates a faster interface such as PCIe 4.0. Gaming graphics cards, however, do not have the same bandwidth requirement.

Whatever is the successor to the Turing based NVIDIA RTX 2000 series GPUs, be it the RTX 3000 series of GPUs or something entirely different, gaming graphics cards are hardly capable of making the most of the existing PCIe 3.0 interface even when it comes to 4K gaming with all the graphics settings cranked up to the maximum. So providing a faster interface such as PCIe 4.0 is purely a gimmick. The only reason that the RTX 3000 graphics cards would have PCIe 4.0 support is if the entire PC industry decides that now’s the time to shift to PCIe 4.0. AMD did it to gain an advantage since their InfinityFabric architecture is PCIe based but Intel and NVIDIA don’t need to make the same move. So we’ll leave it to Jensen to confirm whenever he hits the stage to make the announcement for the Ampere based gaming graphics cards.

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LG Wing smartphone with rotating display could launch in second half of 2020

It looks like LG is working on a new phone with a very interesting form-factor, to say the least. According to a report by ETNews, The South Korean company is working on a new device, codenamed Wing. This device is said to features a ‘T-shaped’ form-factor with a small display hiding under the main screen. When activated, the main display would turn horizontal, revealing the small square-shaped secondary display.

The report notes that existing dual-screen designs focus on multi-tasking support, the LG Wing’s design is focused more on increasing content immersion. For example, when the user is run the photos app on the main screen, the secondary screen could show editing options. Similarly, when the main screen is showing a YouTube video, the secondary screen could display comments. 

As per the report, the phone’s main screen is said to be 6.8-inches in size and is said to packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7-series processor. It is also expected to feature a 64MP primary camera. The report claims that the LG Wing is set to be unveiled sometime in the second half of 2020. 

LG recently launched a new smartphone called the LG Velvet in South Korea. This phone sports a 6.8-inch Cinema FullVision display with an aspect ratio of 20.5:9. The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 SoC. The phone features a triple rear camera setup with a 48MP primary sensor, an 8MP sensor with an ultra-wide lens and a 5MP depth sensor. The phone also packs a 4300mAh battery. LG has said that the new Velvet smartphone will be the first to implement the company’s new branding strategy for its mobile devices. The company said that it will be ditching the alpha-numeric naming convention in favour of familiar, expressive names. 

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Over 4 lakh Coronavirus related cyber attacks reported in 2 weeks

Over 4 lakh Coronavirus-related cyber attacks have been recorded across the world, with hackers impersonating officials from WHO, UN and using popular apps like Microsoft Teams and Google Meet to attack victims, according to a report by TOI.

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security also reported that organisations conducting research on COVID-19 are facing the ire of hackers linked to the Chinese government.

Malicious Coronavirus related domains registered in India

According to research by Check Point Research, a global cyber threat intelligence bureau based out of Israel, around 20,000 coronavirus-related domains have been registered globally in the past three weeks, including in India. Out of them, around 2% (354) are deemed malicious while another 15% (2,961) are considered suspicious.

The theme “Corona Cure” has the largest number of domain registrations as compared to other relevant phrases like “post corona, corona crisis and corona relief payments.” The cyber threat intelligence firm is yet to segregate the domains by country, but they reported that has been a 30 per cent increase in cyber attacks related to coronavirus in the past week.

For instance, one such attack is an email sent from a domain “who.int” posing as WHO, with the email subject, “Urgent letter from WHO: First human Covid-19 vaccine test/result update.”

Organisations researching on COVID-19 treatment being targeted by Chinese hackers

The US Department of Justice said institutions that have received media attention for their work on COVID-19 should be prepared for cyber attacks and take the necessary precautions.

However, US did not cite any examples of the attacks but warned companies and organisations working on vaccines, treatments and testing to detect and fight the novel coronavirus to take additional measures to protect data and be aware of the potential threat.

The warning comes after a long-standing accusation by the US of China meddling in US companies and theft of technology and trade secrets.

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Reliance JioFiber subscriber count dipped in January 2020, says TRAI

Reliance JioFiber subscribers dipped for the very first time since its launch back in September 2019. JioFiber has been raking in subscribers since it’s Preview rollout, but for the first time, it’s witnessing a drop of almost 20,000 subscribers, from 860,000 subscribers in December 2019 to 840,000 subscribers in January 2020. Though, overall, JioFiber still remains the undisputed broadband provider followed by Airtel and Vodafone Idea.

The Coronavirus outbreak has forced many people to stay home and has initiated a culture of working from home. That is why it becomes imperative for people to get a home broadband connection for working without any network hassle. While the latest TRAI report only reveals subscriber count for the month of January 2020, it’s likely that the broadband providers see a surge in their user base owing to the COVID-19 crisis.

According to the latest report published by TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India), the number of wired broadband subscribers stood at 19.14 million at the end of 2019 but witnessed a decline of 0.27% by the end of January 2020. The report states that the top five broadband providers were Reliance Jio with 377.41 million users, Bharti Airtel with 144.77 million subscribers, Vodafone Idea with 117.95 million subscribers, BSNL with 24.91 million users and Atria Convergence Technologies (ACT) garnering 1.54 million subscribers.

Combining the total number of wired and wireless broadband subscribers, Reliance Jio stood at the top with over 56 per cent market share while Airtel was able to garner 21.5 per cent of the market. Reliance Jio currently provides wired broadband services to more than 0.84 million homes with over 376.57 million wireless broadband users. 

The report also indicates that the total number of wireless subscribers increased from 1,151 million to 1,156 million at the end of January 2020, registering an increase of 0.43 per cent. The data released by TRAI also reveals that the total number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,172 million in December 2019 to 1,177 million by January 31, 2020.

 

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Vodafone Idea brings voice-based contactless recharge at its retail outlets

Vodafone Idea has started an initiative to facilitate contactless recharging at retail outlets. This initiative should allow the customer as well as the retailer to maintain social distancing norms. The company says that will be made possible through the Vodafone Idea Smart Connet retailer app which allows retailers to recharge without the need for them to hand over their phone to the customer. Instead, the customer or retailer can speak out the 10-digit mobile number and the Google Voice-enabled feature should be able to capture the command. 

Ambrish Jain, Chief Operating Officer, Vodafone Idea stated, “As a customer-oriented telecom operator, it is our constant endeavour to come up with products and services relevant to the times and keep our customers connected at all times. In line with our Digital-first approach, we are digitizing our processes to offer convenient and efficient services to our nearly 300 million customers. The industry-first, voice-based  contactless recharge enables recharges without touch and is extremely relevant in these times when maintaining social distancing is the need of the hour to stay safe.” 

Vodafone Idea notes that the feature currently only supports Hindi and English languages. However, the company notes that support for more languages will be rolled out in a phased manner.

Back in mid-April, Vodafone India had discontinued its Double Data plans in eight cities. However, a few weeks later, the company reintroduced the plans, this time across India. The company offered five tariff plans in some circles and three plans in other cities. These plans start at Rs 299 and all plans come with a Vodafone Play subscription worth Rs 499 and a Zee5 subscription worth Rs 999.

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Alienware announces Area 51m, m15 refresh and more

Dell’s Gaming arm has been incredibly active today, having made a bucketload of new announcements. In a blog post authored by Vivien Lien, Vice President, Alienware and Dell Gaming, we got news of an almost portfolio-wide refresh. This would be Lien’s first product announcement since she took over the reins from Frank Azure who left the company to join AMD. Today’s announcement is mostly to announce refreshes across various product lines, along with some new interesting gaming peripherals.

Alienware Area 51m

The Alienware Area 51m was an ambitious device from the company, whose main USP was not just desktop-grade performance, but also upgradability. Today, Dell has announced the refreshed Alienware Area 51m that will pack Intel’s 10th generation desktop processors. Lien’s post also notes that this year, Alienware will also be offering Radeon graphics options. What is interesting is how quickly Alienware’s promise of upgradability crumpled, all with Intel changing the socket on their new 10th generation processors. The new processors are not compatible with the older motherboards, meaning that in order to upgrade from a 9th gen to a 10th gen processor, the user would have to upgrade the motherboard as well. In the case of a laptop, even if the RAM, CPU, storage, and the GPU are upgradeable, swapping out the motherboard was never a part of the offering with the Area 51m. What this means is that anyone who bought an Area 51m with a 9th generation Intel processor is essentially stuck with that chip and cannot upgrade the CPU any further. The new Alienware m15 gets the R2 moniker attached to its name.

Alienware m15 and m17

The Alienware m15 (Review) and Alienware m17 are now on the R3 moniker. The R3 version of these laptops will pack the newest 10th generation Intel processors, going as high as the Intel Core i9-10980HK with 8 cores, 20 threads and a base clock speed of 2.4GHz that can ramp up all the way to 5.3GHz. The GPU options are also being expanded to include Nvidia’s recently announced 2070 Super and 2080 Super and also options from the AMD Radeon lineup. Additionally, Dell has addressed a huge criticism of the Alienware m15 R2, by increasing the maximum configurable RAM to 32GB, double of the maximum available on the R2. In terms of display, consumers will be able to choose between FHD and 4K resolutions, with IPS and OLED being the panel types respectively. There are also various refresh rate choices to be made, ranging between 60Hz (OLED) and 300 Hz (IPS). Dell’s insistence on sticking to a 4K OLED screen which limits refresh rates to 60Hz is commendable, seeing how all other components on the laptop are designed for far higher refresh rates.

Alienware Aurora R11

Alienware has announced an all-new gaming desktop, the Alienware Aurora R11. Currently, the Aurora R11 can only be configured with an Intel processor, although if you must have an AMD Ryzen based Alienware, then the Aurora R10 Ryzen edition would be your best bet. The Aurora R11, however, does offer some features that are currently not offered on any other Aurora Desktop. First and foremost is the addition of liquid-cooled GPU, as long as the GPU chosen is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super. This, according to Lien’s post, will help reduce the temperatures by up to 19.5 per cent and also offer a 69.2 per cent reduction in noise. The Aurora R11 is also getting an additional Ambient Light ring on the front fascia, making it the 4th zone of lighting that can be fully customised.

Dell G3 and Dell G5

Dell’s gaming laptops for the budget-conscious consumers have also been refreshed this year. Now the Dell G3 (Review) and the Dell G5 will all come with Intel’s 10th generation processors. There’s no mention of whether Nvidia’s 2070 Super and 2080 Super Plus will be offered, but we do know that a 144Hz panel will now be standard on both the laptops, with the G5 offering a 300Hz panel as well.

Alienware 25 360Hz Monitor

Earlier this year at CES, Dell had showcased the new 25-inch Alienware 25 Gaming Monitor (AW2521HF) with 1440p resolution 240Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time. While Dell is yet to bring this monitor to India, the company has gone ahead and announced that a 360Hz version is now in development. The new monitor will support G-Sync, Nvidia’s tearing prevention technology and the at the heart of the monitor will be an IPS panel, for anyone wondering.

Price and Availability

The Alienware Area 51m will available on June 9 starting at a price of $3049.99. The Alienware m15 R3 and m17 R3 will be made available May 21 at a starting price of $1499.99 and $1549.99 respectively. The Alienware Aurora R11 desktop is already up for sale on Dell’s website with a starting price of $1129.99, however, cheaper configurations starting as low as $879.99 will be coming on May 28th. The G3 15 and G5 15 will be available on May 21st with prices starting at $779.99 and $829.99. All prices are in USD and dates are for the U.S. markets. India pricing and availability have not yet been announced.

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Nokia 31 Plus receiving Android 10 update with April security patch

Nokia 3.1 Plus users will soon be getting the Android 10 update for their phones. In a post on Nokia’s official forums, it was revealed that HMD Global will be releasing the update in waves and a number of countries, including India, will be a part of that first wave. However, the company notes that in the first wave, the update will be rolled out in a staggered fashion. 10 per cent of the approved markets will receive the update today, while 50 per cent of markets will be updated by May 16. By May 18, the company hopes that all of the markets mentioned in Wave 1 will receive the update. 

Twitter user, @samilfreakzz has received the update and has posted a screenshot of the changelog. As per his tweet, the update will carry the firmware version V3.15H. Besides Android 10, it also brings with it the April 2020 Andriod security patch. Other notable additions include Dark Mode, Smart Reply, new gesture navigation as well as new controls for location and privacy. 

Hey guys I got android 10 update on my nokia 3.1 plus pic.twitter.com/DijGjfxC7V

— Samil (@samilfreakzz) May 13, 2020 Nokia 3.1 Plus specifications

The Nokia 3.1 Plus was launched back in October 2018 and packs a 6-inch HD+ display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. It is powered by a MediaTek Helio P22 SoC with 3GB RAM. It also offers 32GB of onboard storage, with the option to expand it up to 400GB, At the back is a dual-camera setup with a 13MP+5MP configuration. On the front is a single 8MP unit. The phone packs a 3500mAh battery as well. 

You can check out our review of the Nokia 3.1 Plus here.

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