ApoTheTech

Shuttle DH170 is a mini PC from popular German computer manufacture. Powered by the new Intel Skylake platform, it is only measures 43 mm in thickness, thus ideal to be placed in small spaces and even the VESA attachment of a monitor.

Has said Tom Seiffert, head of marketing and public relations Shuttle,  “This type of box is ideal for all situations, including those where environmental or space are not the best conditions for a PC, but still needed have a team that provides good computing power.”

Shuttle DH170 is barebones which means that the user must install the hard disk and RAM on your own. So you will not be able to use it straight out of the box. For processors, you get to choose between Intel Celeron, Pentium and Core i-series processor that go up to 65W TDP. It offers active cooling system with two built-in fans.

The system supports configurations up to 16GB of DDR3L RAM and M.2 SSDs with PCI-Express interface of any capacity so that users could integrate a fairly powerful and fast inside this little device system. Shuttle DH170 incorporates Intel Gigabit network card with two RJ-45 inputs, four USB 3.0, four USB 2.0 and two Display Port outputs and a HDMI video. It also has two RS-232 ports to integrate relatively old industrial devices or those who still use this interface.

The recommended retail price for these new DH170 Shuttle is 224 euros and remember that you have to buy SSD and RAM memory separately.

Zotac has released Zbox Nano BI323 and CI323. Powered by quad core Intel Celeron N3150 1.6 GHz processor that is manufactured using 14nm manufacturing process, these mini PCs are perfect for computing and as multimedia boxes.

Continue reading “Zotac BI323 CI323 Specifications, Zbox Nano with Intel Braswell and USB-C port”

Nettops are so 2008 but laptop and computer manufactures equipped them with latest processors from Cherry Trail and Bay trail family, effectively classifying them as mini PCs. Meet the Giana F210 mini PC that comes with Intel Cherry trail processor.

Continue reading “Giada F210 Review, a mini PC with Cherry Trail”

Gaming is excellent on android platform but is it as good as laptops? These days, tablets are one of the new devices to become popular. These are essentially smaller versions of computer measuring 7 inches or larger. They are much easier to transport which makes them ideal for use on the go. Many casual gamers prefer this type of device for gaming over smartphones and laptops.

By casual gamers, we mean the ones that would prefer playing angry birds, flappy bird or other simple games from miniclip. Real, hardcore gamers always prefer gaming on their desktops, laptops or gaming consoles like Xbox and Play station. Reason behind this is simple – any tablet or phone, including Samsung Galaxy Note devices is incapable of handling the load that a desktop game requires. While mobile processors have come a long way, they do not pack adequate power.

One the chief reason is heat dissipation. When one runs a game on their desktop, laptop or gaming console, a lot of heat is generated. Those devices come with advanced cooling systems that make use of liquid chemicals and powerful fans to keep the temperature as low as possible. The tablet and phone manufacture cannot even think of equipping their devices with fans or other technologies as they want to keep the device profile thin, something which is not a top priority in case of desktops and laptops – unless you have eyes set on those super-sleep ultrabooks, which are not meant for gaming.

Second reason is battery life. Heavy mobile gaming requires a lot of battery juice. Unless you’re a wall hugger who is charging his phone all day, it does not make sense to play heavy games on mobile device. Keep in mind that phone is a multi-function device and is good only for few minutes of simple, casual gaming. Otherwise, you will have a hard time squeezing a full day out of it.

One of the best gaming laptops are the ones from Acer and Asus. Alienware also used to be good, but their quality has gone downright spiral ever since the company was taken over by Dell. Any laptop or desktop in Acer Predator series and Asus ROG republic of gamer series is best gaming laptop under 50000 in India. Infact, it good enough to play modern games. If you are into consoles, then you can go with either Xbox One or PlayStation.

If you still prefer mobile gaming, then Samsung offers some amazing tablets. You can go for the latest Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 model or if you prefer iOS over Android, then iPad Air 2 is the obvious choice. Keep in mind that those two tablets pack 10 inch displays and if you prefer something compact, then it might be better to go for iPad Mini or Galaxy Tab S tablet. Both pack enough power to run the latest mobile games with ease. They both have brilliant battery life and you will easily be able to get more than a day of gaming.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo is yet to get Android 5 lollipop officially but you can get it via downloading custom ROMs from XDA developers. The only way at the time of this writing is by using Philz recovery for Note 3 Neo. This was developed as an alternative to CWM and TWRP custom recoveries for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo which you can download from here.

Here are the installation instructions.

– Download and setup ADB drivers for your Note 3 Neo from here.
– Download the recovery from —> Link
– Download odin 3 Link
– Turn of your device and go to odin mode [ Vol down + power + home button (all at the same time) ] release it when you see Note Neo logo.

– Now that you are in odin mode connect your device via USB cable.
– Now open Odin3 3.09 that you have downloaded.
– If there is a pop-up like Installing ADB drivers let it get finished it is usually updates. Make sure you untick the auto reboot button.
– Click Start.

Nameless ROM is now available for the Note 5, thanks to amazing fellas at XDA developers. Nameless ROMs for popular for being super light and battery friendly. This ROM is deodexed, zipaligned, knox free, debloated and pre rooted.

Here are its list of features

* Init.d Support
* Busybox
* KNOX Free
* Debloated
* 300 Fonts
* 5 Way Reboot
* init.d support
* languages enabled
* All toggles unlocked
* No call End delay
* Data/App Support
* CSC Feature Tweaks
* Build.Prop Tweaks
* Enabled call button in Call log
* Enabled Call and Message block in Settings
* Enabled Scheduled SMS
* Enabled Multi User
* Removed sms from call log
* Add Unlimited Favorites Contacts
* Performance And Battery Enhancements

How to install it

Download ROM from here and save it on your desktop. Go to setting-about and unlock developer option.
and from there enable OEM unlock option
Reboot to download mode
Now you need custom kernel + recovery that is recovery by philz and kernel by Arter97
Recovery is to be flashed via ODIN and make sure to un-tick Auto reboot option
Flash the recovery and then reboot manually into recovery by volume up + home + power button

1. Reboot to recovery
2. wipe system/ dalvik /cache or philz option to wipe to flash new rom
3. Select Rom zip file
4. Once rom finishes to install (Do not reboot)
5. Flash the custom kernel
6. Wipe Cache/dalvik (optional)
7. Reboot

Both Philz custom recovery and Arter97 custom kernel are now available for download. Supported models include SM-N920C, SM-N920I, SM-N920G, SM-N920S, SM-N920K, SM-N920L, SM-N920T and SM-N920W8.

It is highly recommended that you use Philz Note 5 recovery with this Arter97 kernel. Also do not use TWRP for Note 5 with this ROM as it might lead to myriad errors. Installation instructions are given below.

1. Download kernel from here and put the downloaded kernel on your internal storage. You will find Philz touch custom recovery for Note 5 as well in the same folder.
2. Enter CWM (or PhilZ) recovery by pressing and holding volume up and power button at the same time.
3. Flash kernel and reboot. That is it, you now have Philz custom recovery on your Samsung Galaxy Note 5.

The Arter97 kernel is required by plethora of custom ROMs that add some extra functionality. Interestingly SM-N920T and SM-N920W8 use the same kernel.