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Dell's XPS 13 is its first laptop with Dolby Vision
As it does nearly every CES, Dell has unveiled its latest, revamped XPS 13 laptops. Last year's models were already solid, but there are a few welcome changes. The webcam has been redesigned and is now on the top again, so you'll no longer look like Boris Karloff on Skype calls. Dell managed to shrink the bezels to 4mm and fit it into the size of an 11-inch laptop, despite the 13.3-inch display. And one of the screen options is a full HDR 4K Ultra HD version (3,840 x 2,160) that supports Dolby Vision -- the first for a Dell laptop -- which pumps out 400 nits of brightness.
NVIDIA rebrands G-SYNC HDR as 'G-SYNC Ultimate'
At its CES 2019 keynote, NVIDIA revealed that it's essentially rebranding G-SYNC HDR displays as G-SYNC Ultimate. It launched the HDR program last year at CES, promising very high standards like G-SYNC variable frame-rate refresh rates at 144 Hz and higher, 1000 nits of brightness and a 95 percent DCI-P3 color gamut. Only a couple of monitors have been certified, including the ASUS ROG Swift PG27UQ and Acer Predator X27.
NVIDIA certifies a dozen FreeSync monitors as 'G-SYNC compatible'
Monitor manufacturers must usually decide whether to use NVIDIA's G-SYNC and AMD's FreeSync, a crucial choice that can divide consumers into camps and drastically affect sales. Now, NVIDIA has brought G-SYNC compatibility certification to a number of monitors from Acer, Agon, Asus and Benq that were previously only FreeSync certified. The goal is evidently to expand its display ecosystem, but it will be a big benefit to the owners of those monitors, too.
How to buy an HDR monitor
High dynamic range (HDR) TVs and projectors have been around for years now, but PC displays have been the neglected stepchild. It was only just last year that HDR monitors like Dell's UltraSharp 27 4K started to appear. Luckily, things changed for the better when VESA unveiled a new standard, DisplayHDR, which set a baseline for PC HDR displays. While a number of models conform to the standard, many others still don't but are nonetheless worthy of your consideration.
AMD calls out NVIDIA's partner program, G-Sync 'gamer taxes'
A promotional push by NVIDIA has apparently tied up PC builders, and raised the ire of its competitor AMD. The current leader in the graphics card market, NVIDIA has apparently developed a GeForce Partner Program (GPP) that it claims exists to "ensure that gamers have full transparency into the GPU platform and software they're being sold, and can confidently select products that carry the NVIDIA GeForce promise." But according to AMD, that vague explanation hides an attempt to elbow competition out of high-profile system lines. A recent report by HardOCP suggests that for PC builders to be a part of the program (with access to combined marketing efforts, bundles and rebate offers) they have to exclusively align their gaming brand with NVIDIA's GeForce hardware (and not AMD's Radeon). Things came to a head yesterday when ASUS suddenly announced a new gaming line, AREZ, that apparently exists only to keep AMD Radeon-powered PCs out of its well-known ROG gaming equipment. With AMD out of the way, the ROG line can join NVIDIA's GPP.
Acer's latest PCs include the first curved screen laptop
You no longer have to stick to your desk to enjoy a flashy curved display. Acer is unveiling flood of new laptops at Germany's IFA show, and the highlight by far is the Predator 21 X -- according to Acer, the world's first curved screen laptop. As the name suggests, opening up this gigantic gaming portable reveals a 21-inch curved, ultra-wide display that promises more immersion than you're used to with portable gaming. It 'only' touts a 2,560 x 1,080 resolution, but NVIDIA G-Sync support should give you smoother, game-friendly output.
NVIDIA's G-Sync brings smoother graphics to gaming laptops
NVIDIA's G-Sync promised to kill a lot of gaming issues like lag and stutter on desktop PCs, but you need both a supported graphics card and monitor to make it work. However, that's obviously not an issue for laptops, and NVIDIA has just announced G-Sync support for several high-end gaming notebooks. It certified models using the latest 960M, 965M, 970M and 980M discreet mobile graphics chips, including the 17.3-inch ASUS G751, the Aorus X5, the MSI GT72 G and two 4K laptops from Clevo.
NVIDIA launches two entry-level graphics cards based on its 'most efficient' GPU so far
AMD has enjoyed plenty of room on our pages recently, what with all the talk of Mantle-this and HSA-that. We imagine the folks at NVIDIA have found it all quite bemusing, because for them the graphics card business hasn't changed: it's still primarily about offering higher frame rates for fewer watts in common DirectX-based PC games. Indeed, that's exactly what the green corner's all-new Maxwell architecture is claimed to deliver, starting with the GTX 750 Ti card that should be hitting stores today priced at $150 (or £115 in the UK). At the transistor level, Maxwell is no more efficient than Kepler -- we're still looking at a 28nm fabrication process, which is pretty standard by now. However, NVIDIA says it has figured out much smarter ways of distributing power across its graphics cores, resulting in a doubling of performance-per-watt. What does this mean in practice? Read on and ye shall discover.
Philips' 27-inch monitor with NVIDIA's G-Sync tempts gamers with silky-smooth visuals
When NVIDIA unveiled its G-Sync tech that alleviates lag, screen tearing, and stuttering, it counted Philips among the companies that would make monitors with its secret sauce. Now that CES has rolled around, Philips has finally revealed a panel that uses the graphic titan's technology. The panel (catchily dubbed 272G5DYEB) measures up at 27 inches and carries a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080, a 144Hz refresh rate, 1,000:1 contrast ratio and displays up to 16.7 million colors. If you're fixing to connect the screen to your PC via HDMI, you're out of luck as it only sports a DisplayPort. Enjoying the buttery visuals will drain your pockets of $649 when the monitor arrives this spring. Of course, if you can't wait till then, a modified ASUS VG248QE is already available with G-Sync from a handful of boutique PC outfits.
