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      AMD stops certifying monitors, TVs under 144 Hz for FreeSync

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Friday, 8 March - 20:35

    AMD's depiction of a game playing without FreeSync (left) and with FreeSync (right).

    Enlarge / AMD's depiction of a game playing without FreeSync (left) and with FreeSync (right). (credit: AMD )

    AMD announced this week that it has ceased FreeSync certification for monitors or TVs whose maximum refresh rates are under 144 Hz. Previously, FreeSync monitors and TVs could have refresh rates as low as 60 Hz, allowing for screens with lower price tags and ones not targeted at serious gaming to carry the variable refresh-rate technology.

    AMD also boosted the refresh-rate requirements for its higher AdaptiveSync tiers, FreeSync Premium and FreeSync Premium Pro, from 120 Hz to 200 Hz.

    Here are the new minimum refresh-rate requirements for FreeSync, which haven't changed for laptops.

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      Un bureau mieux organisé grâce au nouveau DisplayPort

      news.movim.eu / JournalDuGeek · Monday, 15 January - 08:00

    Vesa

    Le DisplayPort passe en version 2.1a, une évolution certes mineure mais qui implique une amélioration importante pour les câbles qui serpentent entre l'ordinateur et l'écran : ils pourront être plus longs !
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      Découverte du AK1PLUS – Le Mini PC Intel Alder Lake-N95 de NiPoGi

      news.movim.eu / Korben · Sunday, 8 October, 2023 - 14:35 · 5 minutes

    Si vous me lisez depuis longtemps, vous savez que je parle très peu matos sur ce site, car je suis du genre à garder mon matériel longtemps. Mais là, j’avais besoin d’un petit PC récent pour faire mes tests sous Windows et Linux.

    Pas besoin d’une grosse machine de gamer, ni d’un truc cher, donc je suis parti lurker un peu du côté des Mini PC. Et je suis tombé ce MiniPC AK1PLUS de la marque NiPoGi équipé d’un processeur Alder Lake-N95 (jusqu’à 3,4 GHz), de 16 Go de DDR4 ainsi que d’un SSD M.2 NVMe de 1 TB. Il peut également accueillir 2 écrans 4K et intègre tout le confort moderne en matière de connectivité USB, Ethernet, Wifi et Bluetooth.

    Alors oui, je sais que le Alder Lake-N95 c’est vu comme le fond du panier de chez Intel, mais vu que ça ne consomme pas grand-chose et que j’ai pas prévu de faire du gaming dessus (mis à part du Xbox Cloud), je n’en ai rien à faire. Moi j’ai juste besoin d’un truc qui ne prend pas de place, et sur lequel je pourrais faire un dual boot Windows / Linux pour bidouiller.

    De base, je trouve que ce AK1PLUS est plutôt cher vu le peu de matos qu’il y a dedans (439 euros au catalogue).

    Mais j’avais déjà pris un PC de chez eux et j’en suis content.

    Mais hors de question de l’acheter à ce prix là… Toutefois, ce qui m’a vraiment décidé c’est le bon de réduction de 210 € proposé sur Amazon qui fait qu’au final, je l’ai payé 229 euros. Je trouve que c’est son juste prix, surtout qu’à config équivalente, c’est le moins cher rapport à ses concurrents.

    Bref, pour une fois, je me suis dit que ce serait sympa de vous le présenter en détail sachant que ça fait bien longtemps que je n’avais pas testé un PC ici.

    Dans la toute petite boite, vous trouverez un manuel d’utilisation qui ne sert à rien, un support VESA pour le fixer au mur, derrière un écran ou encore sous un bureau ainsi qu’une alimentation et un câble HDMI.

    Au niveau du look de la bête, rien de spécial… C’est une petite boite noire d’environ 13 cm de côté sur 5 cm de haut avec un peu de LEDs bleues qui s’allument quand il fonctionne (ça peut se débrancher facilement si vous ne voulez pas que ça éclaire chez vous). Bref, c’est tout petit, parfait pour les amateurs de minimalisme, car ça peut même se planquer derrière un écran ou dans un tiroir.

    Niveau connectivité, y’a un port USB et le bouton d’allumage sur le côté droit afin que ce soit accessible et le reste de la connectique se trouve à l’arrière. Soit au total 4 ports USB, 2 HDMI, 1 Ethernet et une prise casque.

    Un truc que j’avais pas capté en achetant ce truc, c’est qu’il dispose d’un socle amovible dans lequel on peut rajouter un SSD. Donc ça fait une bonne extension en matière d’espace disque pour ceux qui ont besoin de place, par exemple si vous voulez vous en faire un média center. Pour ma part, je l’ai retiré pour le moment.

    Ensuite au niveau de l’install de l’OS, rien à dire de spécial si ce n’est que c’est livré avec un Windows 11 Pro.

    Je m’interrogeais quand même sur la possibilité de mettre un Linux là-dessus, et c’est passé comme une lettre à la poste en dual boot (c’est de l’UEFI). J’ai juste dû passer sur un noyau Linux 6.5.6 pour avoir un bon support du processeur graphique d’Intel qui est quand même récent et donc avoir ainsi une résolution d’écran correcte.

    Par contre, attention, si vous vous lancez là-dedans, sachez que le seul port USB réellement bootable est celui qui se trouve à l’arrière. J’ai perdu pas mal de temps à essayer de comprendre pourquoi ma clé USB ne voulait pas booter alors que je l’avais branché dans les ports USB situés à droite de la machine.

    Comme j’ai 1 TB sur le Nvme, j’ai divisé le disque en 2 partitions de 500 GB chacune, ce qui sera largement suffisant pour ce que je vais en faire.

    Évidemment comme je suis curieux, je l’ai démonté pou voir à quoi ça ressemblait dedans. C’est assez facile, il suffit d’enlever les patins du dessous, qui cachent les vis. Puis de l’ouvrir délicatement par le haut, en prenant garde de ne pas arracher les fils pour les LEDs bleues.

    Voici l’intérieur de la bête.

    Comme vous le voyez, l’alimentation des LEDs peut être facilement déconnectée. Et ensuite, c’est assez basique, y’a pas grand chose. Un gros radiateur / ventilo vraiment très silencieux. Et un NVme de marque BiWIN… Aucune idée de ce que vaut ce dernier, mais comme on peut le remplacement facilement, je ne suis pas inquiet.

    J’ai enlevé le radiateur quand même pour voir le processeur avec sa bonne dose de pâte thermique.

    Voilà pour le petit retour côté matos. C’est donc un mini PC silencieux et discret, avec un CPU récent et performant pour peu que vous vous contentiez de faire de la bureautique / internet / mater des films avec.

    Ça conviendra bien à ceux qui ont un petit budget, qui veulent un minimum d’encombrement et surtout du silence 🙂 et comme ça supporte très bien Linux, y’a de quoi faire aussi d’autres trucs cool.

    Par contre, encore une fois, oubliez les usages qui demandent du GPU. C’est loin d’être un PC avec lequel on peut jouer à des jeux récents ou faire de la 3D.

    Notez que d’autres modèles sont également dispo chez NiPoGi avec moins d’espace disque, moins de RAM, donc moins chers (et également de chouettes bons de réduction).

    À voir maintenant ce que ça donnera sur le long terme.

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      All DisplayPort 2.0 products are now DisplayPort 2.1, VESA says

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Monday, 17 October, 2022 - 19:00

    Cable Displayport on isolated white background

    Enlarge / VESA released the DisplayPort 2.1 specification today. (credit: Getty )

    VESA released the DisplayPort 2.1 specification today. Typically when an industry group announces a new standard, it takes months or even years for products supporting the spec to be available to consumers. But DisplayPort 2.1 products are already available today; in fact, you may already own some. With a flick of its magic specs wand, VESA also declared today that any product that was already DisplayPort 2.0-certified before today's announcement is now DisplayPort 2.1-certified, too.

    "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," the announcement from VESA, which also makes DisplayHDR, AdaptiveSync/MediaSync , Clear MR , and monitor-mounting specs, said.

    "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."

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      Alienware QD-OLED monitor picks open standards over G-Sync, is $200 cheaper

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Tuesday, 27 September, 2022 - 16:20

    Alienware's latest QD-OLED monitor, the AW3423DWF.

    Enlarge / Alienware's latest QD-OLED monitor, the AW3423DWF. (credit: Alienware)

    Alienware announced today a new QD-OLED monitor SKU that looks awfully similar to the Alienware AW3423DW released for $1,300 this spring. The AW3423DWF has many of the same specs but skips Nvidia G-Sync certification and hardware in favor of AMD's and VESA's open standards for fighting screen tears, while costing $200 less than its predecessor.

    Like the AW3423DW, the AW3423DWF uses QD-OLED technology from Samsung. This is a form of OLED that uses a blue self-emitting layer as its light source, which goes through a layer of quantum dots. The primary goal is better color coverage, including more consistent colors across brightness levels, combined with the deep blacks and incredible contrast for which OLED displays are known.

    The 34.18-inch AW3423DWF and AW3423DW's specs sheets match closely, including 3440×1440 resolution, an 1800R curve, 99.3 percent DCI-P3 and 149 percent sRGB color coverage, up to a 165 Hz refresh rate via DisplayPort and 100 Hz via HDMI 2.0, and 0.1ms gray-to-gray (GtG) response time .

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      VESA wants to replace monitor response time specs with ‘ClearMR’ stamps

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Monday, 22 August, 2022 - 16:00 · 1 minute

    computer monitor displaying blurry motorcycle rider

    Enlarge (credit: Scharon Harding/Getty Images )

    Let's say you're buying a new PC monitor, TV, or laptop and want an idea of how clear fast movement would appear on it. What information would you consider? Specs like response time and refresh rate provide an idea of display speed. But if you think about it, a measurement of time isn't a particularly straightforward answer to the question of, "How much motion blur will I see?" In response, the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA), which makes other display standards, including DisplayPort and Adaptive-Sync , today announced a new specification program that puts a label on displays quantifying their expected motion blur performance.

    The Clear Motion Ratio Compliance Test Specification ( ClearMR ) is a standard and logo program for consumer displays, including PC monitors, TVs, laptops, tablets, and all-in-ones (several products are already certified). It introduces a series of tiers with a numerical value that's supposed to indicate to consumers the display's ratio of clear pixels to blurry ones during fast-paced movement. For example, ClearMR 7000, which has a "Clear Motion Ratio" range of 6,500 to 7,500, means the display would have a clear-to-blurry ratio of 65–75:1 or 65–75 times more clear pixels than blurry ones.

    VESA ClearMR Tier Clear Motion Ratio (CMR) Range
    ClearMR 3000 2,500 ≤ CMR < 3,500
    ClearMR 4000 3,500 ≤ CMR < 4,500
    ClearMR 5000 4,500 ≤ CMR < 5,500
    ClearMR 6000 5,500 ≤ CMR < 6,500
    ClearMR 7000 6,500 ≤ CMR < 7,500
    ClearMR 8000 7,500 ≤ CMR < 8,500
    ClearMR 9000 8,500 ≤ CMR

    In an interview with Ars Technica, Dale Stolitzka, senior principal researcher at Samsung Display’s America R&D Lab and lead contributor to ClearMR, said that VESA settled on ClearMR 3000 as the lowest tier befitting laptops with screens in the 90–120 Hz range. Displays that are 60 Hz would typically not qualify for ClearMR certification.

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      AMD Ryzen 6000 gets DisplayPort 2.0-certified, product testing ramps up

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Wednesday, 11 May, 2022 - 20:52

    Cable Displayport on isolated white background

    Enlarge / DisplayPort cable. (credit: Getty )

    Pixel and speed enthusiasts have anticipated DisplayPort 2.0 products since the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA), which makes the spec, announced its incoming in 2019. While the pandemic inhibited the ability to test products for supporting the video protocol and slowed its release, we've inched closer to seeing monitors, PCs, and other devices earn DisplayPort 2.0 certification.

    VESA on Monday announced certification for AMD's Ryzen 6000 laptop CPUs to support DisplayPort 2.0 at up to one of its highest data link rates, Ultra-high Bit Rate 10 (UHBR10), which has a 10Gbps link rate and max throughput of 40 Gbps across four lanes.

    VESA introduced UHBR labels to DisplayPort 2.0 in February. Once DisplayPort 2.0 products are readily available, it'll be easier to determine which products support the higher bandwidth capabilities of the backward-compatible spec. The move came after the HDMI Licensing Administrator, which makes the HDMI spec, received backlash for not clarifying which HDMI 2.1-certified products support the max capabilities.

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      New Adaptive-Sync performance tiers tackle misleading response times, flicker

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Monday, 2 May, 2022 - 13:00

    New Adaptive-Sync performance tiers tackle misleading response times, flicker

    Enlarge (credit: Getty)

    So, you're looking at a monitor or laptop that says it has Adaptive-Sync or variable refresh rates. Maybe it's Nvidia G-Sync or AMD FreeSync. Maybe the vendor was detailed enough to include an Adaptive-Sync range, indicating the refresh rate range, as well as a response time figure and overdrive feature promising extra-smooth video playback. But then you see a bunch of other monitors and laptops claiming the same thing. How can you tell which display will offer a better media experience?

    To help, the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) launched a certification program Monday for PC monitors and laptop displays with Adaptive-Sync. The Adaptive-Sync Display Compliance Test Specification (Adaptive-Sync Display CTS) aims to provide more insight into the screen tear-fighting technology.

    The program, which has already certified some products, has more than 50 criteria for its two tiers: MediaSync Display, which is focused on video playback and requires an Adaptive-Sync range of at least 48 to 60 Hz, and Adaptive-Sync Display, which is focused on gaming and requires an Adaptive-Sync rage of at least 60 to 144 Hz.

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      How to Find The Right Wall Mount for Your TV

      pubsub.dcentralisedmedia.com / LifehackerAustralia · Wednesday, 10 February, 2021 - 03:15 · 4 minutes

    If you’re a fan of that clean, finished look you get from hoisting your television up onto a wall (or you’re redecorating and want to know where to start), it all begins with selecting and installing the right wall mount bracket for your TV.

    TVs all pretty much come with stands so you can prop them up on a cabinet, table or anywhere else you’d care to watch, but if you’re after a simple visual style, nothing beats wall-mounting your TV. You might find the wall mount is in the box with your TV, or offered as a sales incentive, in which case you’ve only got to concern yourself with safely mounting it to your wall of choice.

    But if your TV didn’t come with a wall mount – and most don’t – then you’ll need to purchase one separately before attempting to hoist your TV up onto a nearby vertical surface.

    While some manufacturers do make or endorse specific brands, there’s a general standard – VESA – used by most TVs to define the distance between the mounting bracket holes on the back of your TV.

    One quick check here, although it’s pretty unusual: if you can’t locate mounting holes on the back of your TV, then it’s not VESA-compliant and most wall brackets won’t easily work with it. However that’s fairly unusual except for some very cheap brands or smaller TV types. If that describes your TV, or you’re not able to wall mount because you’re renting your property, solutions like these Anti-Tip Furniture Straps may be of use .

    How do I find out my VESA size?

    VESA is an important standard because while flat panel TVs aren’t as heavy as the old CRT TVs they replaced, they’re still substantial, and there’s definite risk involved in improperly wall mounting a TV – not just to the panel but potentially anyone standing nearby if it happens to fall!

    There are a couple of simple ways to determine your VESA sizing. Your TV’s product manual will almost certainly list its VESA compatibility somewhere, and these days you can often just look those specifications up online if you did drop the printed manual down the back of the sofa ages ago. If it’s not clear because you’re not 100 per cent sure of your model or online specifications suggest differing VESA compatibility, then you can always sort it out yourself with a little simple measurement.

    Find the mounting holes on the back of your panel, and measure left to right and top to bottom in millimetres. You’ll probably end up with a measurement of 200×200, 400×400 or 600×400 depending on the size of your TV. That’s the VESA sizing you’re looking for, although many third-party VESA mounts will come with multiple hole sizings to suit a variety of TV sizes.

    What other features should I look for in a wall mount?

    It sounds obvious, but it’s quite important to check that the mount you’re going to use is built to take the weight of the TV you’re placing on it. For most new wall mounts this shouldn’t be a huge issue, but if you do try to put a monster 85″ TV onto a tiny wall mount, it could come crashing down on you in the worst possible way.

    Once you’ve sorted out your compatibility for a wall mount, the next step is to decide how you want to mount it. The answer to that question might just be “up against the wall, stupid”, and that’s fine, because it’s quite easy to get simple flat wall mounts. But in many cases that’s not actually going to give you the ideal viewing position, because depending on where your light sources are and where you sit, a straight flat TV might not present its best picture unless it’s at an angle relative to your eyes.

    That’s where wall mounts with tilt functionality come into play. The key idea here is that you’ll fix your mount to the wall, then affix your TV and find the best fixed angle for your TV relative to your viewing plans and the layout of your room.

    Some mounts may only offer vertical tilt options ( like this one on Amazon ), while others may talk of “full motion” tilting ( like this one on Amazon ), which is to say that you can also tilt them horizontally if required.

    As you can imagine, you don’t have to stop at fixed-to-the-wall motion either, with some mounts ( like this one ) providing extension capabilities so you can bring a mounted arm forwards, which can be useful if you watch your TV in a room that the sun passes through during the day, because you can more easily adjust to avoid unwanted screen glare.

    The post How to Find The Right Wall Mount for Your TV appeared first on Lifehacker Australia .