In a continued effort to support the PC platform, BANDAI NAMCO previously announced they would be releasing Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown on PC. At the time, there was no mention of what the game's system requirements would be. However, thanks to an NVIDIA blog post, we now know not only the game's system requirements but an estimate on system performance as well- at least with their own graphics solutions.

Overall, the minimum and recommended requirements appear to be quite reasonable. BANDAI NAMCO even went so far as to make note that the recommended requirements are representative of what is needed to run the game at the 1920x1080 resolution with max settings. NVIDIA's own testing backs up those claims with the GeForce GTX 1060 offering a comfortable 100 FPS at 1920x1080, and 60 FPS at 2560x1440 resolutions. Meanwhile, those wanting to push the game at 4K will need a GeForce GTX 1080 Ti or better which should offer a steady 60+ FPS.

VIA Technologies, Inc., today announced the launch of the VIA ALTA DS 3 Edge AI system. Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820E Embedded Platform, the system enables the rapid development and deployment of intelligent signage, kiosk, and access control devices that require real-time image and video capture, processing, and display capabilities.

The VIA ALTA DS 3 harnesses the cutting-edge compute, graphics, and AI processing capabilities of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820E Embedded Platform to facilitate the creation of vibrant new user experiences by allowing customers to combine their own AI applications with immersive multimedia signage display content in a compact, low-power system.

ADATA today announces the launch of the HD830, its most rugged external hard disk drive (HDD) to date. It features an ultra-sturdy aluminum exterior, triple-layer construction, and IP68 rating for the ultimate protection of data. What's more, the HD830 is MIL-STD-810G 516.6 compliant and can withstand up to 3000kg of downward pressure. The HDD is also equipped with shock sensors that prevent errors and bad sectors due to accidental impact and shaking.

Virtually Indestructible
The HD830's tough aluminum exterior is not just capable of surviving nasty drops and blunt force, but can also handle 3000 kg of downward pressure, roughly equivalent to the combined weight of fifty average-sized people. The HD830 also meets the U.S. Military's MIL-STD-810G 516.6 standard and can survive falls from up to 1.22 meters. A three-layer construction provides complete protection inside and outside, including a tough outer silicone casing that comes in red or blue, shock-absorbing buffer, and cushioned mounting that firmly holds the drive in place.

LG unveiled their new UltraGear lineup of desktop, gaming-oriented monitors, which bring top of the line features for gamers. The monitors both feature a 34" diagonal and a 3440x1440 resolution. They both feature a 21:9 aspect ratio; brightness is left at a relatively sparse 400 nits (with VESA's DisplayHDR standard compliance) and static contrast only reaches 1000:1. The G-Sync panel (UltraGear 34GK950G-B) offers up to 120 Hz refresh rates with 4 ms GtG response times (via overclocking, only 100 Hz out-of-the-box), while the FreeSync 2 monitor (34GK950F-B) brings that up a notch to 144 Hz with 5 ms GtG response times.

The usage of nanoparticles applied to the screen's LED backlighting serves to absorb excess light wavelengths and improve intensity, purity, and accuracy of the on-screen colors - LG claims that both LCDs can display 1.07 billion colors while covering 98% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. There's ULMB support for the NVIDIA monitor and a similar technology for the FreeSync 2 display; LG's proprietary DAS (Dynamic Action Sync) which follows TV's Game Mode to cut post-processing of images to reduce lag; and there are brightness presets according to game types (FPS, RTS) for the G-Sync panel, while the FreeSync 2 features a black stabilizer tech.

NVIDIA's BFGD solutions (Big Format Gaming Display) are meant to become the ultimate gaming graphics display solution for gamers. their 4K resolution and 120 Hz refresh rates with G-Sync support are meant to become the baseline for smoothness in gaming scenarios, and the 1000 NITS peak brightness is meant to make HDR images that are relevant - differing from other, less "refined", shall we say, implementations. However, the hardware specs for these systems are high, parts are expensive and difficult to procure, and the process of integrating so much technology (including Quantum Dot tech and NVIDIA Shield) seems to be giving integrators a hard time.

NVIDIA today released their first official performance numbers for their new generation of GeForce products - particularly, the RTX 2080. The RTX 20 series of graphics cards, according to the company, offers some 50% performance improvements (on average) on architectural improvements alone, in a per-core basis. This number is then built upon with the added RTX performance of the new RT cores, which allows the RTX 2080 to increase its performance advantage over the last generation 1080 by up to 2x more - while using the new DLSS technology. PUBG, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Final Fantasy XV are seeing around 75 percent or more improved performance when using this tech.

NVIDIA is also touting the newfound ability to run games at 4K resolutions at over 60 FPS performance, making the RTX 2080 the card to get if that's your preferred resolution (especially if paired with one of those dazzling OLED TVs...) Of course, IQ settings aren't revealed in the slides, so there's an important piece of the puzzle still missing. But considering performance claims of NVIDIA, and comparing the achievable performance on last generation hardware, it's fair to say that these FPS scores refer to the high or highest IQ settings for each game.

Here are some of the first pictures of the bare printed circuit board (PCB) of NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce GTX 1180 graphics card (dubbed PG180), referred to by the person who originally posted them as "GTX 2080" (it seems the jury is still out on the nomenclature). The PCB looks hot from the press, with its SMT points and vias still exposed. The GT104 GPU traces hint at a package that's about the size of a GP104 or its precessors. It's wired to eight memory chips on three sides, confirming a 256-bit wide memory bus. Display outputs appear flexible, for either 2x DisplayPort + 2x HDMI, or 3x DisplayPort + 1x HDMI configurations.

The VRM setup is surprisingly powerful for a card that's supposed to succeed the ~180W GeForce GTX 1080, which can make do with a single 8-pin PCIe power input. The card draws power from a combination of 6-pin and 8-pin PCIe power connectors. There is a purportedly 10-phase VCore side, which in all likelihood is a 5-phase setup with "dumb" phase-doubling; and similarly, a 2-phase memory power (which could again be doubled single-phase). The SLI-HB fingers also make way. There's a new connector that looks like a single SLI finger and an NVLink finger arranged side-by-side. NVIDIA still hasn't given up on multi-GPU. NVLink is a very broad interconnect, in terms of bandwidth. NVIDIA probably needs that for multi-GPU setups to work with not just high resolutions (4K, 5K, or even 8K), but also higher bit-depth, higher refresh-rates, HDR, and other exotic data. The reverse side doesn't have much action other than traces for the VRM controllers, phase doublers, and an unusually large bank of SMT capacitors (the kind seen on AMD PCBs with MCM GPUs).

The folks over at Computerbase.de have took it into their hands to study exactly how much of an impact >(if any) would activating HDR on a 4K panel affect performance cross different hardware configurations. Supposedly, HDR shouldn't impose any performance penalty on GPUs that were designed to already consider that output on a hardware level; however, as we know, expectations can sometimes be wrong.

Lo and Behold: SLI working properly. This was my first reaction whilst reading up on this potential news piece (which, somewhat breaking the fourth wall, actually did end up as one). My thought likely isn't alone; it's been a while since we heard of any relevant dual graphics card configuration and performance improvement now, as developers seem to be throwing dreams of any "Explicit Multi-GPU" tech out of the water. This slight deviation from the news story aside, though: Anthem needed two of the world's fastest GPUs running in tandem to deliver a 4K, 60 FPS experience.

Acer America today announced the U.S. availability of the Acer ProDesigner BM270, a 27-inch monitor producing brilliant 4K UHD (3840x2160@60Hz) visuals with first-rate color reproduction featuring Delta E<1 color accuracy. It also features an adjustable shading hood and Acer Display Widget for easily creating and saving individual profiles and settings via mouse clicks.

"Our latest HDR monitor for content creators boasts outstanding color tuning and uniformity compensation to provide sharp images with stunningly rich color," said Ronald Lau, director - stationary computing. "Its new Acer Display Widget makes adjusting settings simpler than ever, while the adjustable shading hood is ideal for color critical projects."

HDR10+ Technologies, LLC announced the start of the new licensing and logo certification program for HDR10+ technology. HDR10+ is the royalty-free, open standard dynamic metadata platform for High Dynamic Range (HDR), which optimizes picture quality for 4K Ultra HD displays and improves the viewing experience for all audiences.

The new HDR10+ technology optimizes picture quality for 4K Ultra HD displays by using dynamic tone mapping to reflect frame to frame or scene to scene variations in brightness, color saturation, and contrast. The resulting enhanced viewing experience can now be easily provided on a wide range of displays bringing the viewing experience much closer to the original creative intent for the content.

German site Prad.de reports that sources close to monitor panel manufacturers told them that the production cost of a 27" 4K 3840x2160 panel is lower or at least equal to that of a 27" 2560x1440 QHD panel. This drives monitor manufacturers to use 4K panels in monitors that are specified as QHD - when panel supply is low, or monitor demand is high.

The sources did not mention any specific monitor manufacturer or model, but it's highly probable that some 1440p monitors in the hands of customers today use a 4K panel. Obviously you're not gonna get 4K resolution when paying for a QHD monitor. Rather the panel firmware is configured to report its maximum capability as 1440p, and internally scale the input signal accordingly, which may result in reduced image quality.

Acer today at its japan-specific news page revealed the launch of two new desktop monitors that really do defy convention on the real-estate that you can have plopped right in front of your eyes. The new 49" EB490QKbmiiipfx and 55" EB550Kbmiiipx displays (ehrm... a little more attention to the naming convention, Acer?) deliver what's expected to be a sub-par HDR experience (due to their maximum 300 cd/m² brightness), even though they do tout HDR 10 certification. Response times are being set at 4 ms for both models, with a 1,200:1 contrast ratio.

The monitors feature blue-light reduction technology, and 2x 5 W speakers are par of the course. "Flickerless" technology points our proverbial ears to some sort of variable refresh rate technology, but nothing else from the translation seems to suggest this. Input listing points to 1x HDMI 2.0 (HDCP 2.2 compatible), 2x HDMI 1.4, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2 ports. Apparently, these will be launched in Asia first, for 70,000 yen (550 EUR/USD) and 100,000 yen (799 EUR/USD) for the 49" and 55" panels, respectively, starting on June 21st.

iiyama's new 38-series (ProLite TFxx38UHSC) has followed-up iiyama's very popular 37-series (TFxx37MSC) displays which have been used extensively in museums, kiosks, shops and interactive signage set-ups around the world. All five models come with a 24/7 operating time, landscape, portrait and face-up orientation and Open Frame mounting holes to facilitate easy installation and trouble-free operation in kiosks, tables, on walls for businesses, education and retail. The 38-series interactive displays are available in the sizes: 32", 43", 49", 55" and 65". They are designed for intensive use; featuring a 3 to 5 mm, 7H ball-drop-proof hardened glass, a metal bezel and PCAP touch technology.

"In our pursuit to continually evolve and improve our range offering to customers, iiyama's new 38-series sets the standard for high-performance PCAP touchscreens. The focus on design, with sleek edge-to-edge glass provides ultimate appeal for many market sectors like retail, museums, automotive and healthcare - but the key improvements are around practical deployment for multiple estates. The control and command suite of functions make this range perfect for serious integrators working with the biggest brands." - Lewis Clifford, iiyama Sales Manager Professional Displays.

Pengo, a new power-player on the video capture market is proud to announce the availability of the Pengo 4K HDMI Grabber. The Pengo 4K HDMI Grabber works with all latest 4K enabled gaming consoles such as the Xbox One, Xbox One S, Xbox One X, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 4 Pro. It gives you the freedom to use any UVC enabled application to capture and stream with software you like, such as OBS, XSplit, and Bandicam. With lag-free passthrough of the HDMI signal and instant display of the captured video, you can game and stream with any performance impact. Unlike other options the lightning-fast video processor can grab your video stream without needing a powerful PC. Setting up the 4K HDMI Grabber is quick and easy with only HDMI and USB cables required, while you can additionally connect a headset and/or microphone to record your voice and team chat to the stream.

LAG-FREE 4K HDMI PASS-THROUGH: YUV12 4:4:4 OUTPUT
The Pengo 4K HDMI Grabber is powerful for its compact size, with incomparable pass-through capability at 4096x2160 @ 60 Hz and UYV12 4:4:4. Being lag-free is essential for gamers that want the highest visual fidelity. The Pengo 4K HDMI Grabber performs at its best no matter your PC's hardware. It delivers lag-free, uncompressed 1080p 60Hz over USB 3.0. Older PCs with only USB 2.0 available will receive 1080p content with light color space compression.

EIZO Corporation today announced the release of the FlexScan EV3285, the new flagship model in the FlexScan series, and successor to the EV3237. The monitor features a 31.5-inch 4K LCD display with a new frameless design and USB Type-C connectivity, making it ideal for control rooms and offices. The FlexScan EV3285 is a large 31.5-inch monitor with a 4K Ultra-High-Definition (UHD) resolution (3840 x 2160 pixels), providing a large working space in which to run multiple applications. Furthermore it has 140 DPI, so that it can display images and text with excellent sharpness and clarity.

FlexScan EV3285It is the successor to the FlexScan EV3237, and offers many new and improved features. The monitor has a new frameless design that makes it perfect for multi-monitor environments and distraction-free viewing. The cabinet is available in either black or white with matching cables to ensure that the monitor fits the aesthetic of any office. It comes with a unique space saving and ergonomic stand with 195 mm height adjustment and 344 degrees swivel. An attachable cable cover and cable holder also come with the monitor, for storing cables neatly behind the monitor. An optional stand bracket (PCSK-03) is also available for attaching a thin client or mini PC to the back of the monitor without affecting stability or movement.

AVerMedia Technologies, Inc., a leader in digital video and audio, today introduced its brand-new line of low latency Live Gamer 4K UHD game capture cards at Computex 2018, headlined by the upcoming Live Gamer 4K internal PCIe card that can capture every nuance of stunning 4K HDR console gaming. The card can also record Full HD at up to an amazing 240 fps to seamlessly capture every single frame output from today's high-performance game systems.

AVerMedia offers capture cards for all gamer types, as the company additionally confirmed today the upcoming Live Gamer ULTRA, a driverless, laptop-friendly external card supporting both PCs and Macs that can capture up to 4Kp30 with full 4K HDR passthrough and onboard video processing, and the Live Gamer EXTREME 2, a smaller external card with customizable graphic cover, 4K passthrough, onboard downscaling and 1080p60 recording.

No Man's Sky was one of the most promising games in recent times, with its exquisite concept and graphics technology, which looked to allow for a seamless, truly universal, space-exploration experience. However, No Man's Sky was its own worst enemy, as promised features never made it to the retail version of the game, and its universe, while absolutely expansive, didn't offer much more to do than the joy of being what was sometimes called a "screenshot simulator". These concepts will always be divisive, but one thing stands: No Man's Sky didn't quite fulfill its potential, and that left most players disappointed.

Queue multiple updates (the Foundation, Pathfinder and Atlas Rises updates), which have always brought the game a number of steps closer to the original vision that was presented to audiences, and now, the announced NEXT update, coming to all platforms (including the new Xbox One release, with specific 4K and HDR improvements for the Xbox One X) this summer. This update will introduce a true multiplayer implementation to No Man's Sky, which should bring interactivity levels in the game up. A number of other improvements are being kept under wraps. If Sean Murray's words are anything to go by (and he has been making an effort of not getting too excited about what he has to share), this might be the update - the game - to enroll users again through the long, and hopefully lazy, days of summer. Snippets of Sean Murray's post on Xbox follow, after the break.

Microsoft has listed a second-generation approach to their original Surface Hub, the innovative conference room computer built for collaborative work scenarios that was met with considerable success. That success, of course, stems from the integration of a whiteboard/computing solution, that brings interactivity and computing to usually less... techy collaborations.

According to Microsoft, the idea behind the Surface Hub 2 is simple: "A new culture of work is emerging. One where unlocking the power of the team has never been more important. I see it with our team daily. People coming together, creating together. Making products stronger through collaboration, whether they're in the same room or separated by thousands of miles." And Microsoft may have put in some of the improvements to do just that.

Sparton Corporation under the brand Aydin Displays, a leader in the ruggedized displays market introduces a 24" Rack/Console Mount Rugged 4k Military LCD Display. The model 4k24N boasts an unmatched picture clarity with an ultra high definition native resolution of 3840 x 2160, which is twice that of most ruggedized displays.

This 4k Military Flat Panel Display is designed for Rack/Console mounting and features PCAP multi-touch screen. It is designed and built to weather the extremes of temperature, moisture, vibration and shock during crucial military missions. This allows the user ultimate interactivity within a multitude of operations, whether it be shipboard, airborne or ground mobile applications.

Well, that wasn't so easy to see coming: that the world's first commercially available 120 Hz, 4K monitor would come to consumers' options via not one of the tech giants such as LG or Samsung, but a relatively low-key company out here in the west. Korea-based Wasabi Mango has started distributing their 43" UHD430 monitor, which brings with it (almost all) the amenities of a high-performance gaming monitor.

The UHD430 is additionally being marketed with HDR support, though it's the entry-level 400 nits brightness achieved here - a far cry from the generally accepted 1000 nits sweet spot. The panel is an IPS affair with 1200:1 static contrast ratio, 4:4:4 chroma support, a pretty respectable 5 ms response time, and a smattering of display connections: 3x HDMI 2.0 ports, 2x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x Toslink optical audio output, and 1x USB port. Sadly, FreeSync doesn't seem to be active for this panel. For users to achieve the 120 Hz 4K frequency and resolution, the dual DisplayPort outputs must be used. Otherwise, there's just not enough bandwidth for the awesome images being thrown to the display's pipeline. The 43" Wasabi Mango is available with free shipping for a surprising $1,399.

It's true, it seems: as time passes, technology becomes cheaper, the entry point becomes lower, more people can acquire more products, demand balloons, and supply tries to keep up. The fundamentals sine right through AU Optronics' choice to increase output on panels that are apparently flying from their inventory: high-end LTPS notebook panels, for one, are selling like hot cakes. The reason is simple: LTPS (low-temperature polycrystalline silicon) can better sustain higher resolution panels with higher vibrancy and accurate color reproduction, but deteriorates faster than IPS LCD panels. So, it serves two purposes (though they'll never tell you about the second): better specs and increased, built-in obsolescence: a traditional feature in the world of capitalism.

Besides LTPS, 4K panels have increased their momentum (planned adoption rates for 2018 are being set at 40%, 10% over 2017's 30% attachment rate), 75-85" panel sales have more than tripled since the beginning of 2018, and 8K panels will start being shipped (in relatively small volumes) in the first quarter of this year. AU Optronics has also increased fabrication of 240 Hz screens for manufacturers that then use their panels on premium products, such as Acer, Asustek Computer, BenQ, ViewSonic, AOC and Philips.

Philips have been on a roll not only with their OLED TVs, which have become some of the highest-esteemed in the market, but want to bring that premium quality to their PC monitors as well. Enter the Momentum 436M6VBPAB monitor, a 43" MVA panel affair that supports 4K resolution, features true Display HDR with 1000 maximum nits brightness, and Active Sync tech to bring it up to speed to users' interests and the latest tech (tough sadly, it's being listed as a 60 Hz panel). Have we mentioned integration of Philips' excellently mesmerizing Ambiglow technology?

Philips is promising 97.6% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour space, a peak brightness of over 1000 nits (needed fot that HDR 1000 certification), local dimming for deeper blacks, and support for 10-bit colour (8-bit + FRC). The display will support HDMI 2.0, Displayport 1.2, mini DisplayPort and USB Type-C (DP alt mode) inputs. This monitor may well release in the near future, but expect its pricing to be adequate to the technology it offers.

BenQ announced availability of their EW3270U desktop PC monitor, which features some well-known quantity in terms of features. The panel itself is a 31.5" affair built upon VA technology, and features 4K resolution (3840 x 2160). There's a 3000:1 contrast ratio, a measly 300 cd/m² brightness (so no, this monitor can't really display HDR content, it can only receive HDR input), a 9 ms response time (with 4 ms gray-to-gray).

There's a somewhat interesting technology at play here though, which BenQ calls Brightness Intelligence Plus Technology (B.I.+ Tech). This tech should somewhat have the unintended effect of wreaking havoc with content: it automatically darkens bright areas so as to reduce contrast with the dark ones. FreeSync was thrown into the display as well, though that should do little to improve its gaming monitor chops. Connectivity-wise, we're looking at a pretty standard 1xDisplayPort 1.2 x, 2x HDMI 2.0, 1x USB-C, and a 3.5 mm audio jack.

Reports have started doing the rounds that users might finally see NVIDIA's dream for 4K, 144 Hz gaming come to fruition as early as next month. NVIDIA's approach towards establishing a platform of a premium 4K gaming experience meant that manufacturers - of which ASUS and Acer are two of the foremost examples for this story - were forced to opt for a single panel solution, based on AU Optronics' M270QAN02.2 AHVA panel. This is because NVIDIA wanted gamers to be treated to a fully integrated solution, that boasted of features such as 3840×2160 resolution, a 144 Hz refresh rate, a 1000-nits brightness, a direct LED backlighting system with 384 zones, and feature a quantum dot film to enable HDR10 and coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut.

However, with such stringent requirements, NVIDIA monitor partners would have to accept what constraints might arise from the panel manufacturer's side of the equation, which ultimately, resulted in a delay for the manufacturer's models - Acer Predator X27 and ASUS ROG Swift PG27UQ - from a 2017 release date to what is now expected to be a firm, April 2018 one. Gamers might thus be in for the impending release of some of the best monitors in the industry when it comes to a premium, high refresh-rate gaming experience. Now, where are those mainstream OLED panels with at least 900 nits brightness I wanted to get my hands on?