Intel Core i5-12600K and Core i9-12900K review: Alder Lake is a total game-changer
I think it’s fair to say that the Core i9-12900K is the best that there is right now. Obviously, it’s the latest and greatest from Intel, and it comes with significant architectural improvements. When I reviewed Intel’s 10th-gen CPUs (I never reviewed 11th-gen, except for some pre-built desktops that came across my desk), they were lacking some key features that AMD was offering, such as support for PCIe 4.0. Now, Intel is beating AMD to the punch with PCIe 5.0.
The Core i5-12600K, while still being pretty great, is meant to be more mainstream. Intel’s 12th-gen lineup pretty much consists of three chips (six total, since each one has a variant without integrated graphics). There’s the Core i5-12600K, the Core i7-12700K, and the Core i9-12900K. The Core i9-12900K is enthusiast level, and you’re paying enthusiast prices for it. On the other hand, the Core i5-12600K costs half the price of the Core i9.
These are gaming CPUs, or at least CPUs that are meant to deliver performance. The ‘K’ suffix means that these processors can be overclocked, and if you see an ‘F’, that means that there are no integrated graphics. You’re going to see a lot more 12th-gen SKUs moving forward, including mainstream ones that don’t have a ‘K’ at the end.
While those chips have historically been 65W (Intel says it’s not saying TDP anymore, since it’s not accurate with the way that its modern chips work), K-series processors have offered a higher wattage. With this generation, it starts at 125W, with the Core i9 being able to be boosted up to 241W. That’s a lot of power from one CPU.
From XDA
Instagram post previews work on Twitter again after almost a decade
Today Instagram proudly announced that you can now see previews of Instagram posts on Twitter. These will automatically be made into a card format once you enter any Instagram link into any tweet.
That sounds like a neat feature to have, of course, but you might wonder why it wasn’t there in the first place – and what’s with the “they said it would never happen” thing Instagram’s Twitter account went on about.
Well, it turns out that this functionality actually did exist, until Facebook bought Instagram almost a decade ago. Following that move, Twitter blocked Instagram from using its API to allow people to find Twitter friends on Instagram, and then Instagram retaliated by preventing Twitter from embedding Instagram posts into tweets when users shared an Instagram link.
From Gsmarena
Amazon’s latest gadget adds air quality monitoring to Alexa
Air quality is no joke, and with wildfires and other climate disasters becoming a regular occurrence, it’s something to keep an eye on. Plenty of companies — including Google — have made it easy to monitor the air outside your home and in your community. With Amazon’s latest gadget, it wants to bring the same level of knowledge and tracking inside.
The Smart Air Quality Monitor is a new gadget designed to sync with existing Alexa devices to detect all sorts of pollutants and other dangerous toxins in the air. Amazon says its tracker can measure dust, organic compounds, temperature and humidity, and even carbon monoxide — all to alert you when there’s something wrong in your home. Everything is charted in the Alexa app, showing stats over hours, days, and even weeks.
When your air quality does drop beyond a certain threshold, Amazon will notify you directly — either on your smartphone or through an Echo device. While you can take only so much action at a time (the company notes explicitly opening a window or turning on a fan as two steps worth tackling), the goal is to create a cleaner, healthier home over time.
From Android Police
Android 12 will restart apps and games if you change your wallpaper due to Dynamic Color
It’s finally rolled out to all Pixel phones, but even with that “stable” release, Android 12 feels relatively unfinished. One interesting problem that’s made it into Android 12’s final release sees apps and games force stopped, almost as if they’re crashing, when you change your wallpaper.
This issue, detailed by CommonsWare and noted on Google’s Issue Tracker, sees apps and games force stop and restart when your wallpaper is changed. This is due to Android 12’s new Dynamic Color feature that samples your wallpaper to change the system accent color, which apps can hook into.
However, seemingly to prevent issues with the accent color change, Google made the decision to have Android 12 force apps to restart, making them appear as if they have crashed in the background when the wallpaper is changed. It’s similar to the behavior we see when Android changes from dark theme to light theme and vice versa.
From 9to5Google
Samsung Galaxy S22 colors seem all but confirmed
While we don’t know anything for sure about the Samsung Galaxy S22 range yet, one thing that we’re almost certain of at this point is the colors that the range will land in, as they’ve leaked again, and this latest leak lines up with the previous ones.
According to Ross Young (a leaker who also works in the display industry), the Samsung Galaxy S22 and Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus will come in black, green, pink gold, and white shades, while the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra will land in black, dark red, green, and white.
As noted, we’ve heard all of these colors leaked before, with the only disagreement in the leaks seemingly being whether or not there will be a green option for the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. Though two sources now say there will be and the only color leak that doesn’t mention green doesn’t outright say it won’t be included, they just didn’t have that information.
From Techradar
Google lets you password protect your search history
The internet has made our lives a lot more connected than they used to be. Unfortunately, that connectivity comes at a price, and pretty much anything you do online can be tracked, stored, or shared.
In fact, one of the handiest ways that you can make use of your online connection is also one of the most dangerous. Anything that you search on Google can be stored and accessed by cybercriminals if they managed to get access to your Google account or your local machine. Luckily, Google has given you a way to protect those results by adding a password.
From BGR
Photo of a Snapdragon 898-powered phone confirms the clock speeds of the three CPU clusters
Somewhere out there is a working phone with Qualcomm’s upcoming SM8450 – what has come to be known as the Snapdragon 898, the successor to the 888 (note that some have labeled it the 895 instead). The Device Info HW app is showing on the screen and confirms the configuration of the new flagship chip.
The prime core – that should be based on the Cortex-X2 – is running at 3.0 GHz. Next up are three Cortex-A710 based mid-cores clocked at 2.5 GHz and finally four efficient Cortex-A510 derived cores at 1.79 GHz. This exactly matches recent leaks.
Okay, but what about the phone in photo? Well, a vivo phone with the Snapdragon 898 ran Geekbench, so that is one option. However, some think that this is the Xiaomi 12 instead. There are photos of the Xiaomi 12, but they don’t exactly make it easy to tell if it’s the same phone or not.
From Gsmarena
Why It’ll Be Hard to Find a Nintendo Switch This Christmas (and What to Do About It)
Despite approaching five years in the gaming marketplace, the Nintendo Switch remains in hot demand. The three models—the original design, the Switch Lite, and the OLED Switch—are selling off shelves, the latter of which appears sold out all the time. However, if you want any one of them for Christmas, you should really start cracking down on finding one. Today.
Your best bet is to start shopping now. Like, right now. Fire up your browser, and get to sleuthing.
The most in-demand version of the Switch is the new OLED model. This product runs $350, $50 more than the traditional Switch, and features a larger, OLED display. Because of its novelty, you’re more likely to run into “sold out” banners when researching this one. You might want to use a tracking site like Restockify, Stock Informer, or HotStock (or all three), which can send you alerts when a store has the OLED Switch in stock.
From Lifehacker
RTX 30-Series GPU shipment stolen en route to EVGA distribution center
It’s difficult to get your hands on an RTX 30-Series graphics card these days. Like all of the best GPUs, NVIDIA’s 30-Series lineup is in short supply and high demand. Recently, thieves stole a shipment of these GPUs from EVGA.
The stolen graphics cards range in value from $330 to $1,960, according to EVGA. Those figures refer to the MSRP of the pieces of hardware, not what they’d go for when sold by scalpers or second-hand retailers. EVGA notes that it is a criminal and civil offense to buy or receive stolen property.
From Windows Central
Qualcomm continues to dominate chip sales despite global shortage
ualcomm managed to exceed expectations when it announced its fiscal year Q4 earnings on Wednesday. The company reported over $9.3 billion in revenue, with total yearly revenue of more than $33 billion.
Quarterly revenue was projected to hit somewhere between $8.4 billion and $9.2 billion, with analysts expecting just under $8.9 for the quarter. It’s a notable growth over last quarter’s revenue and a 12% growth compared to the same period last year.
The company’s chip business, QTC, which provides chips for the best Android phones and other connected devices, contributed the most with $7.7 billion, more than the projected $7.5 billion. It’s a surprising feat, considering the effects the global chipset has had on smartphone production, and Qualcomm doesn’t see that growth stopping any time soon.
From Android Central
