Over the past few months, we've seen an explosion of magnetic NVMe SSD enclosures on the market and now Akasa has joined the fray with its own take on the topic and the accessory maker has of course added its own twists to the storage enclosure. The AK-ENU3M2-08 as it's known as, houses a standard M.2 2230 NVMe SSD and it's compatible with Apple's range of iPhones for direct video capture to the drive in ProRes 4K resolution and it does of course attach to the MagSafe connector on recent iPhones.

However, what makes the Akasa product stand out is the inclusion of a supercapacitor, which the company says takes 5-6 minutes to charge and it's included as a data loss safeguard in case of a sudden power loss. That said, it's a bit hard to figure how useful this would be in real world scenarios, since if the drive lost power, it most likely also lost its data connection to the host device. Another neat feature is that Akasa allows for 100 W USB PD passthrough, something we haven't seen on similar devices. The downside is the 10 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 data interface, which is slower than some competing devices, but the other features might make up for the slower speed, depending on your use case. No pricing was announced.

ASUS today announced ZenScreen Smart MS27UC, the brand's first Google TV smart monitor. Google TV brings together movies, shows, and more from a variety of streaming services and offers users a personalized entertainment experience. ZenScreen Smart MS27UC boasts a 27-inch 4K (3840 x 2160) IPS panel with wide 178° viewing angles, a 99% sRGB gamut, VESA DisplayHDR 400 certification, and dual front-facing 5 W Harman Kardon-certified speakers. Plus, a source control feature enables viewers to easily switch between Productivity or Play modes.

With ZenScreen Smart MS27UC, there's no need for a dedicated PC. Users can conduct online meetings and browse content via the web browser, and logging in to a Google Account allows them to create and sync work and documents on Google Workspace. The monitor also offers seamless connections to multiple devices, including PCs and smartphones through Miracast or Google Cast, with the multi-control feature enabling seamless navigation via a single Bluetooth mouse and keyboard.

Hot on the heels of Gigabyte, ASUS has also put its Thunderbolt 5 card up on its website, although there are some differences between the two. Obviously the physical appearance differs somewhat, but that's largely cosmetic. However, the one key difference is that the ASUS ThunderboltEX 5 only sports a single 6-pin PCIe power connector. ASUS still claims USB PD support of up to 130 W—a feature the company calls Flexible FastCharge—however, a single USB Type-C port is limited to a maximum of 96 W, which means you can charge your MacBook Pro at full tilt, but not some other laptops. Admittedly the 4 W discrepancy compared to the Gigabyte card is fairly minor, but the second port gets left with only 34 W, although that's still enough for charging most phones. Oddly enough, ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 card, allowed for up to 100 W on a single port.

ASUS has also implemented a single Thunderbolt 5 pin-header for the GPIO, SPI I2C and UART interfaces, plus a standard USB 2.0 header, for adding USB 2.0 support to the Thunderbolt 5 ports. Just as with the Gigabyte card, we find Intel's JHL9580 Thunderbolt 5 controller at the heart of the card and once again it uses a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface and supports up to three DP 2.1 8K displays at 60 Hz, although ASUS mentions that this requires DSC. The card features three mini DP inputs and comes with three DP to mini DP adapters, as well as the two aforementioned USB Type-C ports. Note that if you use tree displays, you can only use two Thunderbolt devices with the card. ASUS only mentions Windows 11 64-bit support, so it looks like Windows 10 won't be getting a driver and so far it would seem neither is Linux.

Gigabyte has quietly added the first Thunderbolt 5 add-in card to its website under the rather unimaginative name of Thunderbolts 5. The card itself is nothing remarkable when compared to Thunderbolt 4 add-in cards, although it sports a third mini DisplayPort input for unclear reasons, as well as two USB Type-C outputs. This time around Gigabyte has added support for more power though, as the card features a pair of what appears to be 6-pin PCIe power connectors and the card supports up to 100 W USB PD charging. Courtesy of the new JHL9580, or Barlow Ridge controller, the card offers support for DP 2.1 with resolutions of up to 8K at 60 Hz, as well as data speeds of up to 80 Gbps, or 120/40 Gbps in asymmetric mode.

Intel's JHL9580 controller has a PCIe 4.0 x4 host interface, the same as ASMedia's ASM4242 USB4 host controller and it's a big step up from Intel's previous Thunderbolt 4 controllers that were stuck with PCIe 3.0. Note that the JHL9580 is also offered in a Thunderbolt 4 version known as the JHL9540 which also uses a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface and offers DP 2.1 support, but slower speeds. Both of the new Barlow Ridge controllers also support USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps), something previous Thunderbolt controllers didn't. Intel has a list price for the JHL9580 of US$19, which is just over US$8 more than the JHL8540 Maple Ridge controller which launched in 2020, as such, expect Thunderbolt 5 add-in cards to come at an even higher price point than previous Thunderbolt 4 add-in cards. Gigabyte might be first out of the gate, but we expect most motherboard makers to follow suit with products of their own before the end of the year.

Detailed specifications and a somewhat blurry slide showing off all the details of MSI's upcoming high-end MEG Z890 Unify-X motherboard have leaked courtesy of @ChamberTech_ on X/Twitter. The motherboard is likely to appeal to those looking to squeeze every extra bit of performance out of their new Ultra 200K series CPU when they launch next month. You get support for memory speeds of up to 10,000 MT/s and with only two DIMM slots, it might be able to go even higher with the latest DDR5 CUDIMMs. The board also sports a 110 Ampere 20+1+1+1 VRM design on an eight layer PCB, and it also ships with what MSI calls an OC Tuning Controller, suggesting the board is targeting overclockers.

MSI has included a pair of PCIe 5.0 x16 slots for GPUs that presumably operate in dual x8 mode when both slots are in use, and a third PCIe 4.0 x16 slot that operates in x4 mode, as well as a single PCIe 4.0 x1 slot. There's also no less than six M.2 slots, of which two are PCIe 5.0 and one PCIe 4.0, as well as six SATA ports. Where things get a bit interesting is in the network connectivity, as the slide claims that the board features a 5 Gbps Intel Killer Ethernet interface, which is the first we've heard of such a thing, as well as an Intel Killer Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 module for wireless connectivity.

Silkland, a tech brand specializing in cables and accessories, has once again raised the bar with its new 4ft USB-IF Certified USB4 Cable. This latest cable delivers unmatched speed and convenience, and works seamlessly with all Thunderbolt 4 / 3 / Type C devices, making it an essential tool for professionals and everyday users alike.

Silkland's latest offering stands out as the longest USB-IF certified USB4 cable, measuring at 4ft. This means users can now enjoy a longer reach without compromising speed and efficiency compared to the standard 3.3ft cables. Fully supports the latest features to future-proof your setup. Backward compatible with USB 3.2 Gen 2, USB 3.2 Gen 2 x2.

There appear to be an ever increasing amount of gaming monitors on the market these days and the latest addition from Gigabyte is using a 4K SuperSpeed IPS panel. The Gigabyte M27UA sports a 27-inch display as the name suggests and it should be a typical 8-bit + FRC panel with a 95 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 colour space, a 400 cd/m² typical brightness and a 5 ms grey to grey response time. The M27UA also offers a 160 Hz refresh rate which is in line with the best IPS gaming monitors out there and it's AMD FreeSync Premium certified. On the software side of things we find typical Gigabyte inclusions like Aim Stabilizer Sync, Black Equalizer 2.0, built in cross hairs, night vision and an FPS counter, as well as Gigabyte's OSD Sidekick which allows you to adjust the monitor settings from an app in Windows.

Gigabyte has equipped the M27UA with two HDMI 2.1 ports, one DisplayPort 1.4, a USB Type-C with DP Alt mode support and USB PD at 18 W (no, that's not a typo). The Type-C port together with one USB 3.2 Type-B port and three USB 3.2 Type-A ports enable KVM functionality—there's even a dedicated KVM button at the back of the monitor. A headphone jack rounds off the connectivity options and there's also a pair of built in 3 Watt speakers. In addition to KVM, there's also support for Picture in Picture and Picture by Picture. The supplied stand offers height and tilt adjustment, but not swivel or pivot. One upside of this monitor is the relatively low power consumption of 34 Watts. There's no word on availability or pricing from the company.

ViewSonic has launched a new OLED gaming monitor in the Chinese market that not only is a dual-mode 4K 240 Hz / 1080p 480 Hz display, but it also brings DisplayPort 2.1 connectivity as part of the package. The XG323-4K-OLED2 is said to sport a 31.5-inch LG OLED panel with an anti glare coating, that delivers up to 450 nits brightness, but it can reach as high as 1300 nits in HDR mode. The 10-bit OLED panel delivers 0.03 ms Grey to Grey response time, 98.5 percent of the DCI-P3 colour gamut and it's also VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 certified. There's also support for VRR via some form of AMD FreeSync version.

However, what stands out here is the paired back design, especially considering that the XG323-4K-OLED2 is being sold as a gaming monitor. We get a more traditional square stand and a much thicker display back compared to most other gaming OLED displays. That said, we're not quite sure what ViewSonic was thinking when the base of the stand was designed, as it's not flat. Connectivity, besides two DisplayPort 2.1 port with full 80 Gbps UHBR20 support, also consists of a USB Type-C port with DP Alt-mode and 140 W USB PD support—a first as far as we're aware—as well as more mundane options like two HDMI 2.1 inputs, one USB 3.2 Type-B input, three USB 2.0 outputs and an audio jack. The stand supports the standard tilt, swivel and height adjustments, as well as rotation. Finally the XG323-4K-OLED2 sports a pair of 5 W speakers and a remote control. JD.com is listing the display of RMB 10,999 which is just north of US$1,500. It's unclear which, if any other markets ViewSonic will offer the XG323-4K-OLED2 in.

MSI has become something of a major player in the gaming monitor market and the company had a range of new OLED and QD-OLED models on display at Computex 2024. Let's start with the biggest buzzword model, the MEG 321URX QD-OLED which MSI claims is the world's first true AI gaming monitor. The so-called AI engine is supposed to help gamers lose less with features like AI Skysight which scans the game's mini map in real time for threats and then points them out to the player. There's also the ability to display certain stats on the monitor's "SpectrumBar" which is an RGB light strip below the monitor. Looking at the actual specs we find a next-gen 31.5-inch, 4K QD-OLED display panel with 240 Hz refresh rate and a 0.03 ms grey to grey response time. There was no mention of any HDR certification for this model.

Connectivity wise many of you will not be happy to see DisplayPort 1.4 as the main input, although it also has two HDMI 2.1 ports, a USB Type-C with DP Alt-mode support that also offers 98 Watts of USB PD charging, one USB 2.0 Type-B input, two USB 2.0 Type-A outputs and a headphone jack. KVM support is part of the package and MSI states it has improved the cooling by using a graphene film and a custom heatsink so the QD-OLED panel should run cooler than competing products. The MEG 321URX finally comes with OLED Care 2.0 which MSI claims will "significantly reduce the chances of OLED screen burn-in" according to the information provided at the show. According to TFTCentral, it will cost US$1700, but there's no availability date as yet.

This might be the gaming monitor some of you have been waiting for, as Cooler Master has pulled out all the stops with its GP57ZS monitor that the company was showing at Computex. Apart from being a massive 57-inches, the monitor offers dual 4K resolution, or 7680 x 2160 pixels, which are lit up by a 2304-zone Mini LED backlight. We've seen similar displays from both Samsung and Acer. Cooler Master is clearly using the same VA panel as the previously mentioned companies and you also get the same 1000R curvature here, which means the GP57ZS isn't going to be for everyone. Cooler Master didn't provide any refresh rate details, nor the types of inputs that will be on offer.

In addition to this, Cooler Master also showed off a pair of new 27-inch models, both sporting a 2560 x 1440 resolution. The cheaper GM27QP gets a 1500R curved 160 Hz VA panel and HDR400 support, as well as a DP 1.4 and two HDMI 2.0 inputs. It also gets to make do with basic Adaptive Sync VRR, but it does have gaming features like crosshair, an FPS counter and black stabilisation. The more premium GP27QP on the other hand gets a flat display panel of unknown type with a 240 Hz refresh rate, which is illuminated by an 1152 zone Mini LED backlight. Typical brightness is 350 nits and the contrast ratio is 2500:1, but the display is also HDR1000 certified. Connectivity is seriously upgraded here with two DP 1.4 and two HDMI 2.1 inputs, as well as a USB Type-C input that also delivers 96 Watts of USB PD power. In addition to this, there's also a USB Type-B input and three USB Type-A outputs. For some reason it seems like Cooler Master has stuck with Adaptive Sync on this model too, but this model does at least gain support for Picture-in-Picture and Picture-by-Picture support.

For those looking for something a bit out of the ordinary when it comes to monitors, HP might have your next productivity monitor in the shape of the Series 7 Pro Monitor 738pu. It sports a 3840 x 1600 resolution which gives the 37.5-inch panel a rather unusual aspect ratio of 24:10 or 12:5 if you prefer. The monitor is built around an 8-bit + FRC IPS Black panel with a contrast ratio of 2000:1 and a 400 nits peak brightness. The panel supports a colour gamut of 98 percent of the DCI-P3 colour space and sports a 5 ms grey to grey response time. However, it also has a max refresh rate of 60 Hz and is edge lit, which means it'll be terrible for HDR, although it's only certified for DisplayHDR 400, which means pretty poor HDR support to start with.

On the connectivity side, HP has loaded out the 738pu with a wide range of ports, starting with a HDMI 2.0 ports, one DisplayPort input, as well as daisy chain output, one Thunderbolt 4 port that also supports 100 W USB PD and DP 1.4, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C port that also supports 65 W USB PD and DP 1.4 Alt Mode, one Thunderbolt 4 output for daisy changing (limited to 15 W), one USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C port (no video, also limited to 15 W) and five USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, of which one is a 7.5 W capable charging port. It also has a Gigabit Ethernet port, four integrated speakers with DTS Virtual:X and KVM support, but no headset jack, microphone or built-in camera. It also supports Picture-by-Picture or Picture-in-Picture when multiple sources are connected. The stand supports height, tilt and swivel adjustments. The power supply is integrated and the 738pu has a maximum power draw of 318 W fully loaded. HP is asking for US$1,249 for the Series 7 Pro Monitor 738pu.

Edifier International, the award-winning audio electronics designer, reveal the QR65 Desktop Active Monitor speakers - a new all-in-one unit that combines the brand's renowned acoustic technology with immersive Lumia light effects and TurboGaN fast-charging capabilities.

One of 4 Edifier products to win a prestigious Visual Grand Prix 2024 award and also highly recommended with a much sought after VGP 2024 Gold Medal Award, the QR65 is remarkably versatile, placing an emphasis on both compatibility and multi-use functionality. As the brand name develops, audio quality remains paramount with the QR65 featuring an advanced Acoustic Architecture. Equipped with 2.75" mid-low drivers, an aluminium alloy diaphragm and a long-throw design, the QR65 can produce consistently punchy bass frequencies whilst bolstering rich and full-bodied mids. Thanks to 1.25" silk diaphragm dome tweeters, finely tuned by Edifier's world-leading audio engineers, the speakers boast precision-tooled high frequency reproduction, creating crisp and bright trebles that stand out above even the most bass-laden of mixes.

MeLE, designers of mini PCs, and industrial PCs, unveiled the Fanless Stick PC PCG02 Pro. Measuring 146 mm x 61 mm x 20 mm (LxWxH), this thing is about the size of two smartphones duct-taped together, but weighing as much as one (since there's no battery inside). Under the hood is an Intel N100 "Alder Lake-N" processor, which features one "Gracemont" E-core cluster for a 4-core/4-thread CPU, and an Intel Xe LP-based iGPU with 24 execution units. The N100 in the MeLE PCG02 Pro is wired to 8 GB or 16 GB of LPDDR4X-4266 memory. Storage is in the form of 128 GB or 256 GB of eMMC. The device comes with Windows 11 Home single language pre-installed.

The Fanless Stick PC PCG02 Pro comes with an impressive set of connectivity for its size. Networking options include Wi-Fi 5 ac + Bluetooth 5.1, and a 1 GbE wired Ethernet. Display outputs include two HDMI 2.1, which can power a pair of 4K Ultra HD displays at 60 Hz, each. USB connectivity includes two USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) type-A ports; and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) type-C. There is a second type-C port used for power input through any USB PD 3.0 source that can deliver 25 W. A power adapter is included. Depending on the memory- and storage size opted for, the Fanless Stick PC PCG02 Pro is priced between USD $270 to $290. It can power a range of applications between home-entertainment (it's completely fanless), through digital signage, or even most office applications.

For those of you that have been waiting patiently for the first DisplayPort 2.1 monitors to start arriving, we have good news as Gigabyte has revealed details of its first display equipped with DP 2.1. The monitor in question is the AORUS FO32U2P which also sports a 4K QD-OLED panel with a 240 Hz refresh rate. The 31.5-inch QD-OLED panel does follow the standard feature set with a 10-bit panel, 250 cd/m² brightness, 1.5 million to one contrast ratio, 0.03 ms GTG response time and a DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification. Gigabyte has gone for an anti-reflective coating as well, which might not appeal to everyone.

As for the inputs, the DP2.1 ports support the full UHBR20 spec, which is 80 Gbps of total bandwidth over four 20 Gbps DisplayPort lanes, which means Gigabyte hasn't skimped on anything here. Yes, you read that correctly as well, the monitor has two DP 2.1 inputs, one full size and one mini DP input and there's also a USB Type-C input that supports DP-Alt mode, in addition to 65 W USB Power Delivery and USB data, although it's not clear if this port also supports DP 2.1. Furthermore, there are two HDMI 2.1 ports, one upstreams and two downstreams USB 3.2 ports, as well as a headphone and microphone jack. Gigabyte has also equipped the AORUS FO32U2P with a pair of 5 W speakers and a stand that offers tilt, swivel, pivot and height adjustments. The maximum power usage is said to be 78 W, but this shouldn't include the USB PD part. Other features include KVM support, daisy-chaining via a DP output, picture in picture and picture by picture support and various gaming features such as crosshairs, night vision, black equalizer etc. Gigabyte has as yet to announce official pricing on a release date.

Update Mar 5th: We've received additional details on the DisplayPorts of the AORUS FO32U2P from Gigabyte and only the DP inputs supports DP 2.1, whereas the USB Type-C input and the DP daisy-chain ports are limited to DP 1.4. The MSRP of the AORUS FO32U2P will be US$1399.99 with the AORUS FO32U2 which is a DP 1.4 version will have an MSRP of US$1199.99.

Lenovo has released a pair of new ThinkVision displays, namely the P27pz-30 and the P32pz-30. These office monitors not only have 1,152 local dimming zones and a peak brightness of 1,200 nits, but they also incorporate a USB4 input. Somewhat unusually for Mini LED monitors, Lenovo has gone for IPS panels and both models sport a 3840 x 2160 resolution, a typical brightness of 650 nits, DisplayHDR 1000 certification, a contrast ratio of 1000:1 and a 4 or 6 ms response time depending on mode. There's also support for 99 percent Adobe RGB and 98 percent DCI-P3 colour gamut, although the panel is still an 8-bit+FRC panel and not a true 10-bit panel. The downside you ask? A 60 Hz refresh rate, which almost feels like a crime, despite the fact that these are productivity focused displays.

As for connectivity there's little lacking as besides the USB4 input which also supports DP Alt mode and 140 W USB PD, both displays also sport two HDMI 2.1 and one DP 1.4 input and one DP 1.4 output. Furthermore there is one USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 input, one USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 output with 15 W USB PD support, four USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, one Gigabit Ethernet port and a 3.5 mm audio output. The USB4 solution appears to be based on VLI's VL830 or VL832 endpoint devices due to lack of any kind of USB4 output. Both models also feature built-in KVM functionality, a smart sensor and an internal power supply, as well as a height adjustable stand that also tilts and pivots. The kicker is the asking price, as Lenovo wants no less than €1,699 for the 27-inch P27pz-30 and €1,999 for the 32-inch P32pz-30.

VIA Labs, Inc. (VLI), a leading supplier of USB4, USB 3.2, and USB Power Delivery Controllers, today announced that the VL832 USB4 Endpoint Device Controller achieved USB4 certification from the USB Implementor's Forum (USB-IF). VIA Lab's VL832 supports USB 40 Gbps operation and is now listed on the USB-IF Integrator's List under TID: 10033.

VIA Lab VL832's USB-IF Certification represents a key milestone in the USB4 ecosystem. The certified USB4 device controller with an integrated USB 3.2 USB 10 Gbps Hub, USB 2.0 Hub, and DisplayPort output, provides essential connectivity for peripheral devices such as multi-function adapters and docking stations. In USB4 40 Gbps mode, VL832 supports full DisplayPort HBR3 bandwidth (32.4 Gbps), and the USB 20 Gbps hub can enable multiple USB 10 Gbps devices to operate at full performance on supported host platforms. Both metrics are double what was previously possible using DisplayPort Alternate Mode, which is limited to 2-lanes of DisplayPort when supporting USB 3.2 functionality.

With Intel about to launch its 14th generation of Core processors, the motherboard makers are refreshing their LGA-1700 motherboards, as Intel won't be releasing a new chipset for the 14th gen CPUs. ASUS has now revealed three new boards that will come ready out of the box for Intel's 14th gen Core CPUs. This kind of meagre lineup is likely what we'll be seeing from all of the major board makers, since it doesn't make sense to overhaul all of their boards for the new CPUs, since only a BIOS/UEFI update is needed for the new CPUs to function in just about any 600- or 700-series motherboard. ASUS' lineup of new boards consist of the ROG Maximus Z790 Dark Hero, the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II, and the TUF Gaming Z790-Pro WiFi.

Apart from a design overhaul of all three models with some minor changes to slot placements, which includes new, improved M.2 heatsinks with a much more refined look, ASUS has added WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 support to two of the three new models. On the ROG Hero board, ASUS has dropped the Hyper M.2 Card in favour of an onboard M.2 slot with a taller heatsink, looking much like what we've seen on some AMD X670E boards. ASUS has also added support for USB PD 3.0 and Quick Charge 4+ to the front USB Type-C ports and even made an app that shows how much power is being delivered by the port in question. Furthermore, ASUS has added support for AEMP II which the company claims makes it easier to optimise memory performance on the boards. ASUS did not reveal when the new boards will be available or what they'll cost. Specs of all three boards after the break.

World-renowned mobile accessory brand Spigen announced its newest series to their charging power accessory lineup: Spigen ArcDock Pro Multi Hub 6-in-1 and Spigen ArcDock Multi Hub 8-in-1.

Spigen ArcDock Pro Multi Hub 6-in-1 has 2 USB-C ports, 2 USB-A ports, 1 HDMI and 1 ethernet port. Compatible with USB4 and Thunderbolt 4, each USB-C and USB-A port is faster than USB 3.0, with a 10 Gbps data transfer speed. Also, the HDMI port of the Spigen ArcDock Pro Multi Hub 6-in-1 supports up to 8K@60 Hz. Lastly, with pass-through charging, it provides USB PD 85 W charging power.

Dell has added a new display to its UltraSharp range and this time around we're looking at a 38-inch ultra-wide display with a resolution of 3840 x 1600 pixels. The display uses an IPS Black panel with a 2000:1 contrast ratio and it covers 100 percent of the sRGB and REC.709 colour gamuts, as well as 98 percent of the DCI-P3 and Display P3 colour gamuts. Sadly it only has a brightness of 300 cd/m² and it's unclear if this is an 8-bit + FRC or a true 10-bit panel, as Dell only mentions support for 1.07 billion colours. It uses a standard WLED backlight, so no fancy miniLED backlight here and as this display is intended for work use, it also only appears to support 60 Hz refresh rate with a response time of 8 ms in normal mode.

Other features include a built-in KVM switch courtesy of a pair of USB-C ports, with the primary supporting USB PD up to 90 W, as well as DP Alt mode, with the second port only supporting USB 3.2 Gen 2 data at up to 10 Gbps. Other inputs include two HDMI 2.1 ports and one DP 1.4, while the outputs consist of five USB 3.2 Gen 2 10 Gbps Type-A ports, two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 10 Gbps ports, a 2.5 Gbps Ethernet jack and a 3.5 mm audio line out jack. One interesting feature is that the built in Ethernet supports network boot, something that isn't a common feature on monitors and it also has the ability to lock the wired port to one of the two connected computers in KVM mode. The stand supports height,swivel and tilt adjustment. The asking price for the U3824DW is US$1,529.99 and it's available from Dell now.

KVM switches are either one of those things you need or you don't have much use for, however Sabrent has launched a new Thunderbolt 4 based KVM switch that differs from your average KVM switch in a few ways. As any KVM switch, it allows two computers to share peripherals and displays, but it also supports up to 60 Watt USB PD charging of laptops. The latter is something Sabrent has offered on its USB-C KVM switches, but this time around the power adapter for the KVM switch handles both devices, unlike its USB-C KVM switches which required a USB-C PD charger per device, with the power being passed through the KVM switch.

The Thunderbolt 4 KVM switch lacks any traditional display outputs, relying entirely on Thunderbolt 4 for display connectivity, although DP Alt mode over USB-C is supported and each output supports up to 8K 60 Hz output with DSC 1.2 or 5K 60 Hz without DSC. The KVM switch supports three Thunderbolt 4 devices, four USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A devices and two inputs via Thunderbolt 4, with all USB ports supporting data speeds of up to 10 Gbps. It also comes with a switch button, which means you can hide the KVM switch out of sight and still have easy access to switch between devices. Sabrent is asking for US$299 for its Thunderbolt KVM switch, which is a steep premium over its USB-C KVM switch which is currently selling for US$119.99.

At Computex 2023, MSI was showing off its USB4 100 W Expansion Card—also known as the MS-4489—which is the first officially announced USB4 add-in card in the market. MSI didn't specify the actual chip being used, but we've verified that the card is based on ASMedia's ASM4242 USB4 host controller. Just as with Thunderbolt cards, the MS-4489 needs to be connected internally to the motherboard with a cable that handles some of the communication with interfaces that can be routed over PCIe and this is the reason for the lower pin-header on the card. We're not sure what the USB 2.0 pin-header is for, as on Thunderbolt cards, this would be an input, but the ASM4242 supports native support for USB 2.0, unlike Thunderbolt, but it could be a USB 2.0 output.

What makes this card stand out compared to MSI's Thunderbolt 4 card is that it offers 100 Watt USB PD support on the primary USB-C port, with the secondary port delivering up to 27 Watts of power. As with Thunderbolt add-in cards, the MS-4489 relies on a pair of full-size DP inputs if you want to use DP Alt mode over USB-C to connect displays to the card. To be able to deliver this much power, MSI has added a 6-pin graphics cards style power connector to the card to be able to deliver enough power to the USB-C ports. Another oddity with the card is that it has a physical PCIe x8 slot, but it's only wired up for PCIe x4. This could limit compatibility on motherboards that lack either an open ended PCIe x4 slot or a x16 slot that's wired up for four lanes of PCIe. We're expecting to see more products like this later in the year from all the other motherboard manufacturers and maybe even some third parties.

So far it has been very quiet on the market when it comes to USB4 hubs, with most products being based on Intel Thunderbolt hardware costing Thunderbolt money. Realtek was demoing its RTS5490 "hub router controller" at Computex and it's as far as we're aware, the first USB4 hub IC that has been announced. The RTS5490 supports speeds of up to 40 Gbps and it has one upstreams and four downstreams ports. It's also backwards compatible with Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps), as well as slower USB standards. It also supports the USB PD 3.1 standard and should as such be suitable for docking stations that can deliver up to 240 W to a connected laptop.

It also has native support for DisplayPort 2.1 Alt mode and UHBR20 up to 80 Gbps for DisplayPort signals. The demo board only had an older MST controller, so it would be limited to DP 1.4, but hopefully some company is working on a DP 2.1 MST controller, as this is required to split off the DP signal to the physical ports from USB-C. We were not given any details on when the RTS5490 will be available in the market and pricing will obviously depend on what kind of extra features are being added by the device makers, as it's unlikely that the first products based on it will be simple hubs.

Baseus, a leading consumer electronics brand, recently launched an important product: the Baseus PowerCombo Tower series of smart 65 W desktop power strips. Anyone familiar with surge protectors has more or less heard about joules (J), the unit of energy. Baseus PowerCombo Tower series smart version stands out by featuring 1200J surge protection, while the industry standard is between 800 to 1000J, ensuring utmost safety for both individuals and devices.

The second great wall is the BDIP Baseus Digital Intelligent Power, a technology that monitors circuit status to detect malfunctions like overload, overvoltage, undervoltage, overcurrent, short-circuit, and more, then actively cuts off the power in 0.1 seconds, solidifying the barrier. Yet, Baseus has gone further. The case is made of fire-retardant material, ensuring that the product is safe-to-use inside out, and is also superpowered by GaN technology which increases power conversion, resulting in less power loss translating to less heat generation, thereby cutting off the odds of causing damage. In short, this charging station features 8 safety protections, keeping its user and their devices safe 24/7 without requiring supervision.

We've seen all kinds of devices integrate E Ink technology over the years, ranging from USB flash drives to keyboards and of course eReaders. However, Philips decided it was a good idea to stick one next to a 1440p display in its forgetably named 24B1D5600 monitor. The 23.8-inch 2560 x 1440 monitor has the E Ink display attached to its right side and the E Ink display is attached on hinges and can be angled up to 45 degrees towards the main display. The E Ink display measures 13.3-inches and has a resolution of 1200 x 1600 pixels.

Although originally revealed at CES 2022, it seems to have taken Philips quite a while to bring it to market, although it appears to have been on sale in Asia for at least a couple of months by now. The main display features an IPS panel with a 75 Hz refresh rate and a brightness that tops up at a mere 250 cd/m². It has a typical IPS contrast ratio of 1000:1 and a grey to grey response time of 4 ms. However, it also doubles as a docking station for a notebook, as it has a USB-C input that supports USB PD 3.0 up to 90 W and it has a built-in Gigabit Ethernet port. It also sports a DP 1.2 input and a four port USB Type-A hub, plus an audio output. One quirky thing is that the E Ink display requires its own input which is via a USB-C port that supports DP Alt mode and that is capable of outputting 15 W of power to an attached device. The 24B1D5600 retails for around US$620 in Asia.

ADLINK Technology Inc., a global leader in edge computing, today launched Pocket AI - the first ever ultra-portable GPU accelerator to offer exceptional power at a cost-effective price point. With hardware and software compatibility, Pocket AI is the perfect tool to boost performance and productivity. It provides plug-and-play scalability from development to deployment for AI developers, professional graphics users and embedded industrial applications.

Pocket AI is a simple, reliable route to impressive GPU acceleration at a fraction of the cost of a laptop with equivalent GPU power. Its many benefits include a perfect power/performance balance from the NVIDIA RTX A500 GPU; high functionality driven by NVIDIA CUDA X and accelerated libraries; quick, easy delivery/power via Thunderbolt 3 interface and USB PD; and compatibility supported by NVIDIA developer tools. For the ultimate portability, the Pocket AI is compact and lightweight - est. 106 x 72 x 25 mm and 250 grams.