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Using Atto Disk Benchmark we measure the sequential read performance when working with data as small as 1K and as large as 128K. As you can see the Vector starts of at around 24MB/s, which actually makes it one of the slower drives tested, and the 2K test sees this performance increase to just 49MB/s. Once we reach the 8K sample data the Vector picks up speed dramatically hitting 323MB/s, which is comparable to the Samsung SSD 830 and Crucial m4, though the Samsung SSD 840 Pro remains notably faster....

The sequential write results tell a very different story. Although the new Vertex 2 is still slower than the original Vertex drive, the Intel X25-M is seen crashing and burning, as it is slower than the Samsung hard drive. The Intel X25-M again does well when measuring 4K threaded performance, delivering by far our best result. However the Vertex 2 is the best performing SandForce SSD in this test delivering 89% more performance than the original Vertex....

The Vertex 4 256GB performed exceptionally well in our large compressed single file transfer test with a throughput of 205.4MB/s, making it 25% faster than the recently reviewed Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB, a SandForce SF-2281 SSD. Interestingly, the Vertex 4 delivered the same performance as the Octane 512GB in this test, while it was a fraction slower than the Samsung 830 Series 512GB. The program copy test is comprised of many small non-compressed files (6104 files totaling 2....

About half a year after revealing its flagship smartphone, OnePlus is finally introducing a more affordable non-Pro version, the 10T 5G. While still a premium handset, it cuts $250 off the launch price of its Pro sibling while improving some specs (and downgrading many others). The handset features a 6.7-inch, 1,080 x 2,412 AMOLED display with a dynamic refresh rate that switches between 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz based on content....

But being the ‘best at’ this or ‘most at’ that still gives you bragging rights and that’s what Chinese phone maker Oppo appears to be after with the R5. Granted, it’s not their main flagship smartphone, but it’s what the company claims is the slimmest handset going around, at just 4.85mm thick. It is a pretty impressive form factor, coming in at more than 2mm thinner than the already svelte iPhone 6, but it’s not without drawbacks and trade-offs....

According to a new report from Reuters, Panasonic is working on improved battery chemistries that could increase energy density by 20 percent by the next decade. Considering that the best batteries on the market today stand at about 750 Wh/l, the company’s future cells could increase that figure to an impressive 900 Wh/l. Panasonic will reportedly achieve this by using a new mix of additives in the battery’s electrolyte, which would, in turn, boost the maximum voltage of each individual battery cell from 4....

The QNAP TS-809 Pro Turbo NAS was able to upload the file within a minute and took roughly the same amount of time to download it. This outstanding performance made it 27% or 21 seconds faster than our desktop test system, and as much as 55% or around a minute faster than the Synology Disk Station 409+. The results above directly relate to those in the first graph. While the first one showed the transfer time in seconds, this next graph displays the average transfer speed....

GPU & Gaming Performance On the gaming front the Blade Pro handle itself well when running at medium settings and its native 1080p resolution, but it will leave hardcore gamers wanting for more. Bioshock Infinite ran smoothly for the most part when maxed out, but in other more demanding games you’ll need to keep it down a notch since the GeForce GTX 960M GPU is fast but not overly so....

The Core i7-7500U is not new, and it’s the same Kaby Lake dual-core found in the previous Blade Stealth I reviewed back in February. So we’re still seeing two cores, four threads clocked at 2.7 GHz with a boost frequency up to 3.5 GHz. The Blade Stealth has integrated graphics only, namely Intel’s HD 620 clocked up to 1050 MHz. Some people seem to get surprised when I mention this Razer product doesn’t include dedicated graphics, considering Razer’s roots in PC gaming, but the Blade Stealth isn’t designed for gaming: it’s an ultraportable, just like other slim 13-inch machines....

For Stealth owners looking to maximize their battery life, Razer has a few recommendations. First, dimming the keyboard backlight reduces power consumption. You can do this on the fly by pressing the Fn+F10 keys. If you love those funky keyboard lights though, choosing a solid red, green or blue color can still make a slight difference. Dimming the screen, of course, will have the biggest impact and possibly add an hour or more to your session depending on your activities....

As we saw in CrystalDiskMark, Samsung’s SSD 850 Evo drivers are able to max out the SATA 6Gb/s interface when measuring sequential read performance. Like many modern SSDs, the 850 Evo can hit the maximum throughput of the SATA III bus when writing sequential data. The 4K-64 thread test shows massive performance gains been offered by the Samsung SSD 850 Evo over its predecessor. The 90% increase in read performance is welcomed here as it means the 850 Evo is on par with the 850 Pro....

The EVO+ 256GB has been rated for read and write speeds of up to 90MB/s. With 256GB at your disposal, users can now record up to 12 hours of 4K UHD video or 33 hours of Full HD video or store up to 55,200 photos without needing to change or replace the memory card. Worth noting is that while the previous 128GB EVO+ card was a U1 classified storage device, the new 256GB EVO+ is rated U3....

Samsung recently entered the preparation phase to begin working towards mass production of their 8th generation V-NAND memory modules. These modules are expected to have 236 layers, which will allow Samsung to squeeze more power and data into the already tiny V-NAND modules. Samsung’s 7th generation V-NAND modules, which were released last year, featured 176 layers and supported speeds of up to 2.0 GT/s, and it is fair to expect these speeds to increase with the introduction of 8th generation V-NAND....

Samsung unveiled today the 990 Pro PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, positioning the new drive for gaming, 3D rendering, data analysis, and 4K video editing. The 990 Pro advertises sequential read speeds of up to 7.450 MB/s and write speeds of up to 6,900 MB/s, pushing beyond the 980 Pro’s already impressive 7,000/5,000 MB/s read/write speeds. The 990 Pro should also improve upon the 980’s random read/write performance by 55 percent, hitting 1,400/1,550K IOPS....

With it, users can unfold the display to reveal a 10.5-inch screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio. Sliding out the right side expands it to a 12.4-inch panel with a 16:10 aspect ratio. The flexibility could be a boon for those who work and play on the go, assuming of course that durability is up to snuff and pricing isn’t astronomically prohibitive. Back in September during Intel’s Innovation 2022 conference, Samsung Display CEO JS Choi teased a 17-inch sliding display for future laptops....

Rosedale’s social virtual reality company High Fidelity has acquired an interest in Linden Lab, which is said to include a cash investment and distributed computing patents. Some of High Fidelity’s employees will be joining Linden Lab as well, and Rosedale is also rejoining Second Life as a strategic advisor. Second Life launched in 2003 as an online virtual world where players, depicted as avatars, create a “second life” for themselves....

Sega announced it has another retro gaming mini console almost ready for release. The Mega Drive Mini 2 is Sega’s second miniaturized retro console since the Mega Drive Mini from a few years ago. Well, technically, it’s the third if you want to include the almost too tiny to play Game Gear Micros released in 2020. Currently, Sega only has plans to launch the Mega Drive Mini 2 in Japan....

The results were taken with an ambient room temperature of 21 degrees. For the stress test we left 3DMark’s ‘Sky Diver’ test on loop for 20 minutes. We then waited another 5 minutes and recoreded the lowest temperature as the idle temp. The mesh front panel produced some impressive results. With the Kraken X31 and GTX 960 WF2 installed the system was almost silent under load yet we never saw CPU temps exceed 60 degrees while the GPU remained under 70 degrees....

Games can provide us with many things: entertainment, escapism, an arena for learning and problem solving, emotional confrontations, an alternative take on the world. One of the most interesting and powerful concepts that most games offer is submission: the idea that without your input and thought, they fail to have any worth. If you don’t move and jump in a Mario game, nothing happens. If you don’t select a conversation option in Mass Effect, the stage and its actors become frozen in time, the entire experience hibernating until you engage with it again....

Dish Network recently announced that Sling TV subscribers can now use cryptocurrency to pay for their monthly subscription thanks to a new partnership with BitPay. The blockchain payment provider supports more than 90 different crypto wallet applications, although Sling TV will only accept Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Wrapped Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Shiba Inu and five USD-pegged stablecoins for payment - at least, initially. Sling TV said BitPay is only available to users with an existing monthly subscription....