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Windows 11 AMD Performance fix is rolling out to users with KB5006746

Ashwin
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Windows 11 AMD Performance fix is rolling out to users with KB5006746

Soon after the first Windows 11 Update was released to the public, several users with AMD processors complained that they experienced a drop in the level of their PC’s performance by up to 15%. The chipset maker confirmed that the L3 caching issue impacted its SoCs, and that it was working with Microsoft for resolving the problem.

Windows 11 AMD Performance fix is rolling out to users with KB5006746

The much awaited Windows 11 AMD Performance fix has arrived, with the KB5006746 Update. The Redmond company began testing a patch for Ryzen processors last week, for the Beta and Release Preview channels. After positive feedback from users, the fix is now being seeded as an optional update to users in the Stable channel.

AMD’s support article PA-400 acknowledges that the KB5006746 Update fully resolves the performance related issue.

Head on to the Settings app, to check for updates. The new patch will appear as a Cumulative Update, click the Download and Install button to apply the fixes.  The AMD Performance fix is just one of many solutions that the patch brings, so the update is also available for Intel users. Microsoft terms it the October 2021 Windows non-security preview “C” release, but it is available for all users, even if you are not on the Insider Preview Program. The update also fixes an issue that prevented the Start Menu and Taskbar from working, after upgrading to Windows 11.

AMD has also addressed a second problem with the release of the AMD Ryzen Chipset Driver 3.10.08.506 package. It patches an issue related to the UEFI CPPC2 preferred core, which was negatively impacting the performance of CPU threads. AMD is suggesting users with Zen+ and Zen2 processors to activate the Ryzen Balanced power plan. That basically applies to Ryzen 1000 to 3000 series CPUs.  It is not available from Windows 11’s Settings, so you will need to select it from the Control Panel > Power Options. The AMD 3.10.08.506 driver is available for download on the support portal, along with a full list of supported AMD chipsets and processors. The Ryzen 5000 series is Zen 3 and does not need power plans.

If you experience an error that says “AMD Chipset Software installation failed.”, you can try the following fix suggested by reddit user TheSarrum. Download the AMD_Chipset_Software.exe from AMD’s website. Run the AMD_Chipset_Drivers.exe from your Program Files folder, install the driver, and reboot the system when prompted. Run the application again, but this time, uninstall the drivers, and execute the AMD_Chipset_Software.exe that you downloaded. It should proceed with the installation of the new drivers.

This is optional, but you can run a tool like AIDA64, to benchmark your computer’s performance, before and after installing the Windows Update and the drivers, to check if it makes a difference. But really, the only way to actually measure the impact is to use your computer as you would normally, play games, and run some heavy tasks.

Windows 11 AMD Performance Benchmark

Image courtesy: Reddit user OJDille

Many users are reporting that the KB5006746 and the new AMD drivers have fixed the issue on their computers, while a few claim that the Read/Write speeds are still bad.

Microsoft Chromium-based Edge browser leaks online [Download Link]

Avinash
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Microsoft Chromium-based Edge browser leaks online [Download Link]

You may be aware that Microsoft is working on Chromium based Edge browser which is set to officially launch sometime in 2019. We have already seen some leaks that reveal some of the key details about the upcoming Edge Browser (including screenshots) based on Chromium. Chromium powers the most popular browser on the web i.e. Google Chrome.

Even though Microsoft is yet to officially launch even the Beta version or alpha version of the Chromium-based edge browser and is still not available for the public. At the moment, it is still in closed beta, but it seems to have leaked online today and a full installer for Windows OS is available for download and you can install it straight away on your Windows PC by downloading the installer setup. The leaked installer is ~112MB in size and the download link is available publicly.

The leak is posted on the PCBeta forums which was spotted by Aggiornamenti Lumia and shared on Twitter.

Microsoft Edge Down Link [ Chromium based]

If you are too tempted to try and install this, just keep in mind that this setup or installer is not an official package from Microsoft and hence you should try it inside a Sandbox environment or on an isolated System if you are worried about any Malware/viruses etc.

You can download the full installer from PCbeta forums.

Image Credits: PCbeta Forums

Xiaomi Mi TV 4A, Mi TV 4C Pro, and Mi LED TV 4A Pro Prices slashed in India

Avinash
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Xiaomi Mi TV 4A, Mi TV 4C Pro, and Mi LED TV 4A Pro Prices slashed in India

Apart from the smartphones market in India, Xiaomi has managed to penetrate the LED TV markets too with TV models such as Xiaomi Mi TV 4A, Mi TV 4C Pro, and Mi LED TV 4A Pro. Giving the new year a happy start, Xiaomi has announced a price cut for MI TV prices which passes on the benefit of GST rate cut to consumers, of the recent decision by Government of India wherein GST on TVs is from 28% to 18% on TVs up to 32 inches. This GST Rate cut affects the models such as Mi LED Smart TV 4A 32-inch & Mi LED TV 4C PRO 32-inch. Similarly, the recent Dollar to Indian Rupee moderation, another model Mi LED TV 4A PRO 49-inch also receives a rate cut.

Xiaomi Mi TV Price drop

Xiaomi MI TV Prices

The new Mi TV prices are as follows:

  • Mi LED Smart TV 4A 32-inch: Previously priced at Rs 13,999. Xiaomi has reduced the price by Rs 1500 after which it now costs Rs 12,499.
  • Mi LED TV 4C PRO 32-inch: Previously priced at Rs 15,999. Xiaomi has reduced the price by Rs 1500 after which it now costs Rs 13,999.
  • Mi LED TV 4A PRO 49-inch: Previously priced at Rs 31,999. Xiaomi has reduced the price by Rs 1000 after which it now costs Rs 30,999.

Microsoft announces affordable Surface Go starting at $399

Avinash
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Microsoft announces affordable Surface Go starting at $399

Microsoft Surface till date used to an expensive device that was not affordable to many consumers including students. The company has just launched the all-new Surface Go with a price starting at $399 making it the most portable and affordable Surface device. Microsoft Surface Go weighs just 1.15 pounds and 8.3 mm thin, Surface Go packs portable performance into a 10” device.

Under the hood, Microsoft Surface Go features a 10-inch PixelSense (1800×1200) display powered by Intel’s 7th Generation Pentium Gold processor 4415Y along with 4GB / 8GB of RAM and 64GB / 128GB SSD storage. It offers a fanless design and comes with a battery life of up to 9 hours (claimed). Thanks to the 10″ size which is the same size as that of a tablet, it offers great portability on the go. You can use it as a tablet or snap the keyboard to make it a laptop and can even add the Bluetooth mouse if you do not want to use the trackpad. The Bluetooth mouse costs $34.95.

It includes Surface Connect for charging and docking; USB-C 3.1 for data, video, and charging; a headphone jack; and a MicroSD card reader for storage expansion.

Availability

Starting at $399, you can pre-order the Surface Go today in following countries:

  • U.S.,
  • Canada,
  • Australia,
  • New Zealand,
  • Hong Kong,
  • UK,
  • Ireland,
  • France,
  • Germany,
  • Austria,
  • Belgium,
  • Luxembourg,
  • Netherlands,
  • Switzerland,
  • Denmark,
  • Finland,
  • Norway,
  • Sweden,
  • Poland,
  • Taiwan,
  • Italy,
  • Portugal,
  • Spain,
  • Malaysia, and
  • Thailand.

It will be available in the United States and Canada on August 2. The company has not yet revealed when it will be available in other markets.

You can order it starting July 11 in Japan while in Singapore & Korea on August 2, and in China on August 8.

In September, the tablet will be available for pre-order in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain on September 12, and in India on October 2.

Pricing of Surface Go

Surface Go is priced at $399 for 4GB RAM + 64GB storage variant while the 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant is priced at $549 in United States. For commercial customers, it’s $50 more. Consumers will receive it with Windows 10 Home in S mode, while commercial customers have the option to get Windows 10 Pro.

Ricoh launches new PJ series of compact, advanced projectors

Avinash
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Ricoh India Ltd has launched a new series of compact and advanced projectors for the Indian market. The new projectors (3 Nos.) from Ricoh come with model numbers PJ S2440, PJ X2440 & PJ WX2440 which the company claims to be compact, lightweight and extremely versatile boasting advanced technology, functionality and reliability.

These new projectors are targeted towards conference rooms and classrooms with great connectivity options. Thanks to the compactness, they can be easily carried for any convenient location to project images, videos, and presentations. The projection size for these projectors ranges from 30 inches to 300 inches (wide diagonally). All these models offer great colour reproduction with crisp & clear images and text.

Out of these, RICOH PJ X2440 is the entry-level projector which can be used for big screens, still images, PowerPoint presentations and projections of desktop or computer screenproject with XGA resolution at up to 1024 x 768 dpi. It comes with the brightness of 3,000 lumens and a high contrast of 10000:1. With the PJ S2440, you can project images with SVGA resolution at up to 800 x 600 dpi with a 4:3 aspect ratio for easy viewing. This model is simple to set up and use, weighs 2.6kg and comes with HDMI connectivity option.

RICOH PJ WX2440 can project images with WXGA resolution at up to 1280 x 800 dpi whereas PJ X2440 offers 3,000 lumens, and PJ WX2440 offers 3,100 lumens, coupled with 10,000:1 high contrast ratio mode. Both models feature multiple input terminals including a built-in HDMI/MHL port to plug in devices such as desktop computers, laptops, tablets, DVD and Blu-ray players. Optional 3D projection tools can be added for an up-close-and-personal look at CAD drawings, blueprints, special videos and more. For wireless projection, a Wi-Fi dongle can be used.the internal speakers have brilliant sound quality, there is

Internal speakers come with decent sound quality, yet external speakers can be plugged using the port. The lamp life of the projectors can be extended from 5,000 hours to 6,000 hours.

All the three projectors are available for sale across Pan-India. In terms of pricing, RICOH PJ S2440 is priced at an MRP of Rs.32,450,  PJ X2440 at Rs. 37,760 and PJ WX2440 at Rs. 45,910.

Vodafone copies Jio, Offers Rs. 396 Plan with 84GB 4G Data for 84 Days

Avinash
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0

Vodafone India is now offering a new Rs. 396 plan to counter Reliance Jio latest Rs. 399 Dhan Dhana Dhan offer, which provides unlimited STD + Local voice calls across all networks along with 84 GB Data (1 GB / day) valid for a period of 84 days. The Vodafone India plan of Rs. 396 offers almost same benefits as Reliance Jio plan i.e. the consumers gets unlimited STD + Local voice calls across all networks along with 84 GB Data (1 GB / day) valid for a period of 84 days. This new plan is available to select users only at the moment and can be found in “My Vodafone” App after logging through Vodafone credentials under “Amazing offers” section.

This plan though comes with a daily limit of 300 Voice calls and a weekly limit of 1200 Voice calls, whereas Reliance Jio doesn’t put any daily or weekly limits on voice calls that can be made.

The bloodbath in Mobile Tariffs in India continues even after Reliance Jio switched to paid services, yet it continues to offer much better plans compared to existing rivals such as Airtel, Vodafone , Idea etc. and these companies are then forced to offer similar plans to their consumers to stop them from porting to Jio network. This Tariff war has lead to serious drop in revenues of telecom plays like AVOID (Airtel, Vodafone and Idea).

The competition is set to further intensify as Reliance Jio announced a new low-cost 4G feature phone named as “Jio Phone” which aims to capture a bigger pie of the 50 crore feature phone users’ market in India, which till date is still using the 2G network and may switch to JIo with the launch of Jio Phone which will be available in September.

Kaspersky Free Antivirus: Review

Avinash
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0
Kaspersky Free Antivirus: Review

One of the most popular Antivirus companies Kaspersky announced a new free version of Antivirus solutions for users worldwide as Kaspersky Free. By announcing a free version of their Antivirus product, Kaspersky is offering a good choice (in addition to existing free antivirus solution from other brands), to Windows PC users who cannot afford a paid Antivirus solution. At Avinashtech, we have never had good opinion about the free Antivirus solutions compared to the paid solutions in spite of being free and we do hope Kaspersky manages to change that our opinion. Here is our review of Kaspersky Free which we are using at the moment on our laptop. Keep in mind that our favorite Antivirus solution till date is Kaspersky Internet Security and we use that only on our Windows PCs.

Kaspersky Free Download and Installation

First of all, Kaspersky free can be installed via he global installer available here. It’s a web installer and need an internet connection to download the required files and install. Depending on your internet speed, the install finishes in few minutes. The license activation is automatic if you are connected to internet during the install. On activation, Kaspersky Free gets a license of one year which perhaps needs to be renewed each year.

 

The interface of Kaspersky Free is almost same as what we saw in the paid Kaspersky antivirus except that some of the additional features are grayed out. In terms of features, Kaspersky Free includes the essentials and basic security components for any antivirus solution i.e.

  • File antivirus,
  • e-mail antivirus, and
  • Web antivirus
  • IM Antivirus
  • URL advisor

It includes the features needed for a good antivirus solution i.e.

  • Automatic updates
  • Self-defense
  • Quarantine

Kaspersky Free uses the same security engine as the paid Kaspersky Internet security and hence offers same level of protection for the components such as File antivirus, e-mail antivirus, and Web antivirus. Real time protection offers you protection from:

  •  Viruses and Worms
  • Trojans and Malicious tools
  • Adware and Auto-dialers
  • packed objects whose packing may be used to protect malicious code

The automatic disinfection works well in case of detection of any of the above mentioned objects.

Kaspersky Free Features

The features which are not available with Kaspersky Free Antivirus solution and are grayed out include:

  • Safe Money (Online Payment Protection)
  • Privacy Protection
  • Parental control
  • Protection for all devices
  • Application Control
  • Firewall
  • Private Browsing
  • Technical support
  • System Watcher

If you need any of these features, then you will need to upgrade to a paid antivirus solution such as Kaspersky Internet Security. But for an average user, the basic features that are offered with Kaspersky Free will be sufficient and are good enough compared to no Antivirus Security solution on the PC at all.

It also comes with loads of settings that you can customize, yet the default options will work for most users without the need to change anything. You can pause the Antivirus if you need for some program installation or some other situation, while the security levels can be adjusted if needed to high or low instead of the Recommended option.

If you check the additional protection and management tool settings, you will find that it includes  settings, you can manage features such as Kaspersky Security Network which gives access to cloud based knowledge lab of Kaspersky.

Kaspersky Free Performance

We did a full scan of our Windows PC system (C drive only) and it managed to complete that within few minutes. We didn’t measure the exact time, but it was less than 10 minutes for a full scan. It offers options for scan such as full scan, Quick Scan, selective scan and external device scan. You can even schedule a scan if you need to run Antivirus scan at regular intervals.

Also, the memory footprint on system is low and we didn’t feel any sluggishness or slow performance of the system while Kaspersky Free was running on the system.

Two good things about Kaspersky Free Antivirus solution is:

  • it does not show any third-party advertisements, and
  • does not collect your personal data.

These two features (if you like to call it that) even though do not add anything to the Antivirus capabilities, yet gives you assurance that your data is not being sold in some way and you can have a decent antivirus solution without looking at advertisements.

Conclusion

We found Kaspersky Free as a great antivirus solution in free category and in fact we plan to keep using it on our Windows Laptop as our Kaspersky Internet security license expired few weeks back. You can call it our bias towards Kaspersky, but we found Kaspersky Free a better product than any of the existing Free Antivirus solutions.

Alleged iPhone 8 / iPhone 10 Geekbench listing leaks

Avinash
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0

Rumor mills have slowly started to churn for the upcoming Apple iPhone. Apple is yet to announce any official details about the upcoming iPhone, yet rumors are floating on the web suggesting that the next iPhone may be called iPhone 10 or iPhone X instead of iPhone 8. AT the moment, Apple latest smartphones are iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

iPhone X Geekbench

Today, an alleged listing of  iPhone 8 / iPhone 10 have appeared on the web, originating from China. The leak suggests that upcoming iPhone is named as iPhone 10  or iPhone X and it scores 4537 under single core, while it scores 8975 over multi-core benchmark. The image lists the phone model as “iPhone unknown” with a model ID of “iPhone 10,6” with a motherboard S58AP. The processor listed for the phone is Apple A11 Quad core processor clocked at 2.74 GHz and the L1 cache is 128 KB which is double of that of iPhone 7 with Apple A10, L1 cache of 64 KB. The phone runs on the upcoming iOs 11.0 operating system.

To be honest, the authenticity of this Geekbench listing image is far from credible as we are unable to find the URL of the Geekbench result as  indicated.

Take this rumor or leak with a pinch of Salt. We will keep tracking this story. Stay tuned at Avinashtech and we will keep you updated.

source

Surface Phone to come with 5.5 inch 2K display, Snapdragon 835 and 6 GB RAM [Rumor]

Avinash
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0

We haven’t seen any noticeable smartphone launches from Microsoft after they took over the Lumia brand, with the last one being the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL which failed to take off. After that, Microsoft almost fell silent on smartphone front and even we heard almost nothing about Windows 10 mobile operating system. Yet, we have kept hearing rumors of an upcoming Surface Phone from Microsoft which aims to change the existing scenario and bring Microsoft back into the smartphone game.

We have even seen alleged leaked renders of that tweeted by @evleaks, who posted a few pictures of a windows phone “concept” with a small description“Powered by a laptop-class Intel processor, would this have blown your mind?”, followed by another tweet which suggests that those images are far from a concept and may already be in testing phase with a prototype.

Just few days ago, we heard Microsoft CEO claiming that Surface phone will be an “ultimate mobile device” without going into more details. Today, we have heard a new rumor originating on Chinese social network which indicates that Microsoft Surface Phone may come with a 5.5 inch QHD 2K display with resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels, powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 instead of an Intel processor.

surface-phone-specs

It is rumored to come with a whopping 6 GB of RAM just like many Android flagship devices these days and the prototype runs on Windows 10 Mobile operating system. The device supports Qualcomm Quick Charging 4.0 technology.  The rumor also indicates that it can run x86 applications Continuum mode. Continuum is a new Windows 10 feature which enables the device to switch between desktop and tablet mode based on the connected hardware. Lumia 950 and 950 XL already support that feature.

At the moment, we are not sure how credible this new rumor is, as in our opinion @evleaks hold far more credibility than anyone else when it comes to leaks. So take this rumor with a pinch of salt. Stay tuned at Avinashtech and we will keep you updated.

Airtel drops 4G, 3G data rates, offer up to 67% more data

Avinash
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0

If you are an Airtel consumer in India using 4G/3G data packs on your prepaid connection, then here is some good news. Airtel has dropped the rates for 4G/3G data packs up to 67% and now offering much more data for the same price. This drop in data pack rates from Airtel indicates the direction or scenario in India in terms of a “Price War” in coming months thanks to the inevitable launch of Reliance Jio which as per latest rumors, is going to be launched on 15th of August.

As per the new rates, You can get a 3 GB data pack for Rs. 455 which earlier offered just 2 GB which is an increase of 50%. Similarly, for a price of Rs. 655 you can now get a data benefit of 5 GB instead of just 3 GB which is an increase of 67%. Similarly, you can now get much more data for the existing pack for the same price. The Rs 989 4G/3G pack now offers 10 GB data instead of 6.5 GB data earlier which is an increase of 54%.

The full detailed table of new and existing data pack benefits from Airtel is reproduced below.

Airtel 4G New Data packs rates

Similarly, the smaller Sachet packs also now offer more data e.g.  Rs. 23 sachet packs now gives you 90 MB 4G/3G data instead of just 70 MB data which is an increase of 29%.

This data pack price drop is in the backdrop of Reliance Jio gaining new customers in spite of not even available commercially for everyone, by offering 90 days unlimited data, voice & much more through LYF preview offers and extending the same for Apple iPhone & Samsung smartphone users. The “Price War” is bound to get more fierce when official Jio launch happens. Stay tuned and we will keep you updated.

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