MAINGEAR—an award-winning PC system integrator of custom gaming desktops, notebooks, and workstations—today launched the MAINGEAR ELEMENT Lite, a 15" ultra-premium notebook designed in collaboration with Intel. Featuring Intel Iris Xe Graphics and up to an 11th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, the MAINGEAR ELEMENT Lite pairs next-generation hardware with a sleek and minimal machined aluminium alloy chassis for maximum power, speed, and portability. The new MAINGEAR ELEMENT Lite is the perfect Windows laptop for work and play on the go.

Custom designed and engineered in collaboration with Intel, this uncompromising notebook PC comes equipped with up to an Intel Core i7-1165G7 Processor running at 2.8 GHz with a Max Turbo Frequency of 4.7 GHz on 4 cores / 8 threads. Integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics make multimedia viewing, content creation, and even light gaming a breeze. ELEMENT Lite systems can be equipped with 16 GB of DDR4 memory and up to 2 TB of user-replaceable PCI-E Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD storage. MAINGEAR optimized the ELEMENT Lite to pack exceptional performance and cooling into its frame without sacrificing on battery life or upgradeability. It weighs in at just 3.64 lbs (1.65 kg) and is 14.9 mm thin—making it the thinnest notebook that MAINGEAR has ever offered.

Intel has today quietly launched its newest generation of Next Unit of Computing (NUC) devices with some nice upgrades over the prior generation. Codenamed the "Phantom Canyon", the latest NUC generation brings a major improvement for the "enthusiast" crowd, meant mostly at gamers who would like to use a small form-factor machine and have decent framerates. This is where the Enthusiast NUC 11 comes in. With its 28 Watt Intel Core i7-1165G7 Tiger Lake CPU, which features four cores and eight threads clocked at the maximum of 4.70 GHz, this Enthusiast NUC 11 mini-PC is rocking the latest technologies inside it.

To pair with the CPU, Intel has decided to put a discrete GPU, besides the Integrated Xe model, to power the frames needed. The dGPU in question is NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 2060 model with 6 GB of GDDR6 VRAM, based on the last generation "Turing" architecture. For I/O, Intel has equipped these machines with quite a lot of ports. There is Intel AX201 Wi-Fi 6 plus Bluetooth 5 module, a quad-mic array with beam-forming, far-field capabilities, and support for Alexa. There is a 2.5 Gb Ethernet port, along with two Thunderbolt 4.0 ports for internet connectivity and other purposes (TB ports support fast charging). When it comes to display output, the Enthusiast NUC 11 has HDMI 2.0b and a mini DisplayPort 1.4 port. You can run four monitors in total when using the Thunderbolt ports. On the front side, there is also an SD card reader, and the PC has six USB 3.1 Gen2 ports in total. You can find out more about the Enthusiast NUC 11 mini-PCs here.

The GPD Win 3 is the next handheld gaming computer from GPD, featuring a slide-out 5.5" touchscreen display. The device consists of left and right game controllers along with a keyboard under the screen. The device is equipped with either an Intel Core i5-1135G7 or Intel Core i7-1165G7 along with 16 GB LPDDR4x 4266 MHz memory, and a 1 TB NVMe SSD. The computer also includes impressive connectivity with WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-A, 3.5 mm audio, and Thunderbolt 4 along with docking station compatibility.

The Gorilla Glass 5 IPS screen only has a resolution of 1280 x 720 which will help battery life and gaming performance. The device is powered with a 44 Wh battery and can be fully recharged in just 1.5 hours using a 65 W power adapter, this should provide 14 hours of light use, 7 hours of moderate use, and 3 hours of heavy use. The GPD Win 3 weighs 560 grams and will be available in black with a limited edition silver version. The Core i5-1135G7 version will be available for 799 USD while the Core i7-1165G7 will sell for 899 USD during crowdfunding with pricing for the dock not yet announced. The GPD Win 3 is expected to ship sometime in 2021 and the Indiegogo campaign will be live soon.

With the introduction of the XMG CORE 14, for the first time the CORE series can count a compact 14 inch model in its lineup: Alongside Intel's Tiger Lake processors, the German-based company integrates an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-P, both of which are designed to operate at the upper limit of the respective manufacturer's specifications. In addition, the CORE 14 features a 120 Hz IPS panel and modern connectivity options including Thunderbolt 4. Weighing just 1.5 kg, it is the most compact and lightweight gaming and all-round laptop in XMG's history to date, offering excellent portability and great all-round performance. With the SCHENKER MEDIA 14, Schenker Technologies is also introducing a laptop based on the same technology as the XMG CORE 14, including a brand-exclusive configuration.

GIGABYTE unveiled the BRIX Pro line of mini PC barebones powered by 11th Gen Intel Core "Tiger Lake-U" processors. These include the BSi3-1115G4, which packs a Core i3-1115G4 (2-core/4-thread, up to 4.10 GHz, 48 Gen12 EUs), the BSi5-1135G7, with a Core i5-1135G7 (4-core/8-thread, up to 4.20 GHz, 80 Gen12 EUs), and the top BSi7-1165G7, powered by a Core i7-1165G7 (4-core/8-thread, up to 4.70 GHz, 96 Gen12 EUs). Since these are desktop platforms, the TDP of these "Tiger Lake" chips in all three models is configured at 28 W. All three models are based on a common chassis design measuring 196.2 mm x 44.4 mm x 140 mm (WxHxD).

Under the hood, you get two DDR4 SO-DIMM slots that support up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR4-3200 memory; and two M.2-2280 slots. One of these has PCI-Express 4.0 x4 wiring from the CPU die, while the other has PCI-Express 3.0 x4 and SATA 6 Gbps wiring, from the PCH die. There's also a vacant SATA 6 Gbps port (possibly for devices such as DOMs). The BRIX Pro offers the full I/O feature-set of "Tiger Lake," including one Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 port, six USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, display I/O that includes four HDMI 2.0a ports, and networking options that include a 2.5 GbE port (Intel i225-V controller), a 1 GbE port (i219-V controller), and 802.11ax WiFi 6 + Bluetooth 5.0 from an Intel AX201 WLAN card. The BSi7-1165G7 includes an Infineon TPM. A 135-Watt power brick is included. The company didn't reveal pricing.

Intel's upcoming Core i7-1165G7 4-core/8-thread processor based on the 10 nm "Tiger Lake-U" silicon packs a mean punch in comparison to the AMD Ryzen 7 4700U processor, despite half the number of CPU cores. A Geekbench comparison between two Lenovo laptops, one powered by an i7-1165G7, and the other by a 4700U, shows a staggering 36.8% performance lead for the Intel chip in single-threaded performance, while also being 0.5% faster in multi-threaded performance. The i7-1165G7 features a 4-core/8-thread CPU with "Willow Cove" cores, while the 4700U lacks SMT, and is an 8-core/8-thread chip with "Zen 2" CPU cores. The game changes with the Ryzen 7 4800U, where the 8-core/16-thread chip ends up 22.3% faster than the Core i7-1165G7 in the multi-threaded test owing to SMT, while Intel's single-threaded performance lead is lowered to 29.3%.

Last week, reports of Intel's Gen12 Xe integrated graphics solution catching up with AMD's Radeon Vega 8 iGPU found in its latest Ryzen 4000U processors in higher-tier 3DMark tests sparked quite some intrigue. AMD's higher CPU core-count bailed the processor out in overall 3DMark 11 scores. Thanks to Thai PC enthusiast TUM_APISAK, we now have a face-off between the Core i7-1165G7 "Tiger Lake-U" processor (15 W), against AMD Ryzen 7 4800U (15 W), and the mainstream-segment Ryzen 7 4800HS (35 W), in 3DMark "Night Raid."

The "Night Raid" test is designed to evaluate iGPU performance, and takes advantage of DirectX 12. The Core i7-1165G7 falls behind both the Ryzen 7 4800U and the 4800HS in CPU score, owing to its lower CPU core count, despite higher IPC. The i7-1165G7 is a 4-core/8-thread chip featuring "Willow Cove" CPU cores, facing off against 8-core/16-thread "Zen 2" CPU setups on the two Ryzens. Things get interesting with graphics tests, where the Radeon Vega 8 solution aboard the 4800U scores 64.63 FPS in GT1, and 89.41 FPS in GT2; compared to just 27.79 FPS in GT1 and 32.05 FPS in GT2, by the Gen12 Xe iGPU in the i7-1165G7.