Back in January, Gigabyte announced a wide range of new displays at CES and one of the new models that the company didn't have on display at the show was the AORUS FO27Q3. The company has now shared more details on its website of the new display and it gives us a lot more details than what had previously been released. As the model name suggests, the AORUS FO27Q3 is a 27-inch display and the resolution is 2560 x 1440 pixels and the refresh rate will top out at 360 Hz and has a response time of 0.03 ms. The FO27Q3 is built around a QD-OLED panel with an anti-reflective coating. The panel is said to be a 10-bit panel capable of 10.7 billion colours and it's certified for DisplayHDR True Black 400, has a typical brightness of 250 cd/m² and a contrast ratio of 15 million to one.

Other features include support for AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and VESA ClearMR 13000, but there's no mention of G-Sync support. Other features include a range of gaming related features such as crosshairs, night vision, black equalizer etc. as well as picture by picture and picture in picture support. Inputs consist of two HDMI 2.1 ports, one DP 1.4, one USB Type-C with DP Alt mode support as well as a very disappointing 18 W of USB Power Delivery. Furthermore there's a USB 3.0 upstreams port and two downstreams ports, a headphone and a microphone jack. Gigabyte has also added KVM support and a stand that offers tilt, swivels, pivot and height adjustment. The display is said to have a peak power draw of 53 Watts and relies on an external power brick. No word on pricing or availability.

erial leaker @yuuki_ans on X/Twitter has released details on Intel's upcoming Barlow Rridge Thunderbolt 5 controller which will be known as the JHL9580 or JHL9540 depending on the SKU. The good news is that Intel has finally moved to PCIe 4.0 for the bus interface, which was expected due to the increased bandwidth on offer by Thunderbolt 5 over Thunderbolt 3 and 4. Barlow Ridge will use a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface to connect to the host and it appears that the earlier leak that suggested native Thunderbolt support in Arrow Lake-S might be incorrect, as there are diagrams showing Barlow Ridge connected to Arrow Lake-S CPUs.

Besides the faster bus, Thunderbolt 5 brings asymmetrical data transmission support which means that for display applications there will be a 120/40 Gbps mode, whereas for data only applications Thunderbolt 5 will deliver a symmetrical 80 Gbps mode. We should point out that this only appears to apply to the JHL9580 SKU, which also supports 40 Gbps USB4 speeds, whereas the JHL9540 for some reason remains a Thunderbolt 4 controller. That said, both of the Barlow Ridge SKUs get support for 20 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, something that was lacking in previous Thunderbolt implementations. There will also be support for DisplayPort 2.1 via DP Alt Mode with full UHBR20 support when used with a DP80 certified cable. Actual data transfers are limited to the 64 Gbps PCIe 4.0 interface to the host system, just like USB4, but this does at least give Thunderbolt 5 extra head room for display data even in symmetrical mode. The Barlow Ridge controllers appear to be connected directly to the Arrow Lake-S CPUs via the PCIe 4.0 x4 interface, much in the same way USB4 host controllers connect to AMD's Ryzen 7000-series CPUS.

ASUS has added a new addition to its TUF Gaming series of monitors, which goes under the model name VG34VQL3A. The new monitor is a 34-inch ultra-wide model with a WQHD or 3440 x 1440 resolution. It features a 180 Hz refresh rate panel that has a 1500R curvature and a peak brightness in both SDR and HDR mode of 400 cd/m². The panel itself is of VA type and features a common LED backlight and delivers a 1 ms GtG response time, a 4000:1 contrast ratio and finally covers 125 percent of the sRGB colour gamut.

When it comes to gaming features, ASUS has added support for Freesync Premium Pro as well as Adaptive Sync and the VG34VQL3A also sports support for ELMB (Extreme Low Motion Blur) and variable overdrive, which are two features you normally only find on higher-end gaming monitors. Included are of course ASUS typical gaming features like shadow boost, FPS counter, crosshairs etc. as well as various presets for different modes. When it comes to connectivity, ASUS has somewhat unusually equipped the VG34VQL3A with two DP 1.4 inputs, as well as two HDMI 2.0 inputs. There's also a three port USB Type-A hub that supports speed of up to 10 Gbps. The supplied stand supports tilt, swivel and height adjustment and also has an integrated quarter inch tripod mount for mounting webcams or lights. ASUS claims a mere 27 Watt power usage for the VG34VQL3A, which almost sounds too good to be true. The VG34VQL3A is expected to launch sometime later this quarter.

ASRock Industrial is introducing new choices in industrial motherboards powered by 13th Gen Intel Core Processors (Raptor Lake-S) with up to 24 cores and 32 threads that boost computer-intensive edge performance. They come equipped with Intel W680, Q670, and H610 chipsets, and offer support for up to DDR5-5600 memory modules and PCIe Gen 5, allowing expanded possibilities and seamless integration within industry-specific applications.

By harnessing the power of the 13th Gen Intel Core Processors, they leap up to 1.04x/1.34x/1.25x faster in single-thread, multi-thread, and CPU image classification inference performance, respectively, compared to the preceding 12th Gen Intel Core processors. The new 13th Gen Intel CPU motherboards with DDR5 support, available in Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, and ATX form factors, have been specifically designed to cater to the unique requirements of the Edge AIoT applications in commerce, automation, robot, entertainment, and security industries.

Kensington, a worldwide leader of desktop computing and mobility solutions for IT, business, and home office professionals, today announced the expansion of its portfolio of innovative docking solutions for Microsoft Surface devices, with the launch of the SD5765T Thunderbolt 4 Dual 4K Docking Station. Kensington's portfolio of Designed for Surface (DfS) Thunderbolt 4, USB4 and USB-C docking stations enhance the usability of Surface devices to optimize the productivity of professionals and creatives.

Thunderbolt 4 Dock Adds Speed, Power, Video Options to Surface Devices
Designed to enhance the productivity of professionals using Thunderbolt based Surface devices running Windows, Kensington's new Plug-and-Play SD5765T Thunderbolt 4 Dual 4K Docking Station is an affordable, high-speed dock that enables users to connect multiple 4K monitors and accessories without using adapters.

Regular readers of TPU might remember our in-depth USB4 article that we posted almost a year ago, but since then, very little has happened and ASMedia has as yet to make its ASM4242 USB4 host controller available to its partners and then ASM2464 USB4 to PCIe 4.0 bridge was suffering the same fate until May this year, when it was released to ASMedia's customers. It turns out most of it is related to USB-IF certification and the USB4 design documentation, as the certification wasn't quite ready for a third party host controller and the design documents were—shall we say—less than complete and relied too heavily on the Thunderbolt 3 spec. This meant that ASMedia had to retest and redo a lot of work they had done, due to a certain spec donator having assumed that other companies knew how it had designed its Thunderbolt products.

The good news is that we should see the ASM4242 in the market before the end of this year and ASMedia is busy testing it and its ASM2464 with a wide range of products to make sure compatibility is as good as possible. In the company suite at Computex, ASMedia was showing the ASM2464 connected to Apple's M2 silicon, as well as Intel's latest CPUs with integrated Thunderbolt 4 support. There had been some performance related issues from Apple's side, but this has apparently been resolved in a recent update from Apple. As far as Intel is concerned, there are no compatibility issues with the 13th and possibly 12th gen mobile chips, but older Thunderbolt hardware might require a firmware update, which may or may not exist. Older Intel hardware also doesn't perform as well as its most recent solutions, but it doesn't mean there will be compatibility issues outright. As for AMD, ASMedia informed TPU that there were no issues, since AMD has a USB4 implementation in its mobile products that follow the USB-IF spec.

MSI, a world leader in high-performance and innovative computing solutions, has announced PRO MP161, a 15.6-inch FHD portable monitor with an anti-glare IPS panel and an ultra-slim body. This sleek portable monitor only weighs 0.75 kg (1.65 lbs) and has an ultra-slim 1.08 cm (0.4 inches) profile. It offers a minimalistic look that looks great anywhere. Despite its smaller footprint, it still comes with two built-in speakers. Moreover, with an included protective sleeve, you can easily bring it anywhere.

Work Anytime, Anywhere
MSI's PRO MP161 helps you to extend your screen from a laptop or duplicate the screen from a smartphone. As a result, you can communicate better or effectively share information with others anywhere. Whether checking business data while on the move, working or watching videos on a train, making an important decision on a flight, previewing recorded content, or playing games with friends during downtime, the PRO MP161 makes your life easier.

DPVR, a leading provider of virtual reality (VR) devices, has today announced the launch of its newest PC VR gaming headset with the introduction of the 'DPVR E4,' which is aimed at dominating the consumer market for tethered PC VR headsets. In a different category altogether from standalone VR headsets such as the Meta Quest 2 and Pico 4 devices, the DPVR E4 provides PC VR gamers with a tethered alternative that offers a wider field of view (FoV), in a more compact and lighter form factor, as well as offering a more affordable solution compared to high-price tag devices such as the VIVE Pro 2.

DPVR has been making VR headsets for seven years. Prior to E4's launch, the company's efforts were primarily directed towards the B2B market, with a specialized focus on the education and medical industries. Over the last decade, DPVR has completed three successful funding rounds, which the company has used for its research and development efforts into furthering its VR hardware and software offerings. This latest announcement from DPVR marks the company's first step into the consumer VR headset market.

A while back, some ASRock motherboards showed up with an eDP connector, which seemed odd, as outside of the embedded market or notebooks, eDP isn't commonly found. ASRock has now revealed what it's for, namely a 13.3-inch display, or side panel kit as the company calls it. In other words, this is a 13.3-inch display that mounts inside your case, assuming you have a tempered glass side panel. It's meant to be used as a secondary display, rather than just being some kind of diagnostics tool, which similar products on the market today end up being. The display uses an IPS panel and has a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, with a refresh rate of 60 Hz and a brightness of 300 cd/m², so nothing out of the ordinary there.

However, ASRock provides a custom eDP cable with a 40-pin connector, as well as four mounting brackets, some cable clips and even extra adhesive strips, in case you'd want to move the display to a new case in the future. The panel measures 300.26 x 193.01 mm (W x H), so it might not fit all cases. ASRock also points out that you need to have a clear, transparent tempered glass side panel for optimal usage of the display, as a tinted panel would for obvious reasons reduce the light that could be transmitted through the glass. The panel is compatible with the ASRock Z790 LiveMixer, Z790 Pro RS/D4, Z790M-ITX WiFi, Z790 Steel Legend WiFi, Z790 PG Lightning, Z790 Pro RS, Z790 PG Lightning/D4, H610M-ITX/eDP and B650E PG-ITX WiFi motherboards.

The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) announced today that it has released DisplayPort 2.1, the latest version of the DisplayPort specification, which is backward compatible with and supersedes the previous version of DisplayPort (DisplayPort 2.0). VESA has been working closely with member companies to ensure that products supporting DisplayPort 2.0 would actually meet the newer, more demanding DisplayPort 2.1 spec. Due to this effort, all previously certified DisplayPort 2.0 products including UHBR (Ultra-high Bit Rate) capable products - whether GPUs, docking station chips, monitor scalar chips, PHY repeater chips such as re-timers, or DP40/DP80 cables (including both passive and active, and using full-size DisplayPort, Mini DisplayPort or USB Type-C connectors) - have already been certified to the stricter DisplayPort 2.1 spec.

Achieving a robust, end-to-end user visual experience remains the utmost priority for VESA's DisplayPort specification, whether across a native DisplayPort cable, via DisplayPort Alt Mode (DisplayPort over the USB Type-C connector), or tunneled through the USB4 link. As such, DisplayPort 2.1 has tightened its alignment with the USB Type-C specification as well as the USB4 PHY specification to facilitate a common PHY servicing both DisplayPort and USB4. In addition, DisplayPort 2.1 has added a new DisplayPort bandwidth management feature to enable DisplayPort tunneling to coexist with other I/O data traffic more efficiently over the USB4 link. This increased efficiency is on top of mandated support for VESA's visually lossless Display Stream Compression (DSC) codec and VESA's Panel Replay capability. DSC bitstream support can reduce DisplayPort transport bandwidth in excess of 67 percent without visual artifacts, while VESA's Panel Replay capability can reduce DisplayPort tunneling packet transport bandwidth in excess of 99 percent when Panel Replay operation is taking place.