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Virtual Reality Glasses: A Vision Becomes Reality

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Virtual Reality is no longer a dream of the future: Many manufacturers have released or at least announced VR glasses – except for Apple. COMPUTER BILD shows the most interesting VR glasses – and has already tested some!

Virtual Reality Glasses

Virtual Reality (VR for short) was on everyone’s lips two years ago and was considered a big trend in 2016. But apart from demonstrations at major trade fairs such as CES and E3 , VR has so far remained quite quiet, and some spoke of a trend reversal . Power the PlayStation VR the technology is now suitable for the masses? The potential is enormous: Whether authentic racing simulations, bloody shooter action or the latest Hollywood blockbusters – while the almost perfect illusions of foreign worlds or distant times ended in front of the TV frame up to now, games and films get gamers and film buffs right in the middle thanks to VR technology into the action. A powerful computer, smartphone or a powerful console are required to create the interactive environments. In the following, you will get to know the most important virtual reality glasses and find out which models are on the rise!

Usb Sticks In The Test: 24 Models With 128, 256 And 512 Gigabytes

PlayStation VR – the player

After a few postponed market launch dates, Sony’s PlayStation appeared in stores in October 2016 for around 400 euros – the price has now fallen by half. Because Sony’s cyber glasses didn’t live up to the great expectations! This is mainly due to the inadequate display resolution, which throws an overly blurred image onto the lenses. The price for an affordable VR solution was simply too high for that! PS4 owners who can overlook this and want to dare to venture out into virtual reality for the first time will not go wrong with the PlayStation VR: The simple structure, the functional processing and the range of games are a good argument, especially for VR newcomers.

Oculus Rift – the classic

In 2013, Oculus VR kicked off the VR trend with the first developer version of the Oculus Rift. Even then, it made a good impression with compatible games. In 2014, Facebook bought Oculus VR for around 2.3 billion US dollars and announced that it would continue to invest in the project. A lot has actually happened in the past few years: if the first development version had a resolution of 1280×720 pixels, the finished glasses had 2160×1200 pixels (1080×1200 pixels per eye). In the practical test, the Oculus Rift underlined its high-quality workmanship and ran without delay. It has been available in stores in Germany since September 2016. If you don’t have a high-performance PC under your desk, you should take a closer look at the mobile Oculus Go. You can find the practical test here.

HTC Vive – the competitor

With the Steam operator Valve, HTC has a financially strong and game-savvy partner for the development of the Vive on board. In terms of technology, the shared VR glasses draw on par with the Oculus Rift. Both use an OLED display with 2160×1200 pixels that works at 90 Hertz. The field of view is also 110 degrees. The scales reveal a “big” difference: the Vive weighs 555 grams, which is almost 100 grams more than the Oculus Rift. But in the practice check, the additional weight was well distributed, and the weight is only really noticeable after playing for a long time. A revised model, the HTC Vive Pro , has been available since mid-2018 .

Google Daydream View – secret favorite?

In 2014, the company distributed a cardboard craft kit to all participants at the Google I / O developer conference. Those who folded everything up correctly received the Google Cardboard, VR glasses for smartphones. The content was available via app. Google’s modest VR start then went into the second round in November 2016 – with the serious Daydream View. These VR glasses make no secret of the fact that they cost little at 69 euros. The workmanship is not particularly high-quality, but functional: In the practical test, the soft material made it comfortable to wear, the smartphone was firmly in the holder. There is a controller for the device. However, the lens distance cannot be adjusted afterwards. The disadvantage is even more serious

Play better: games for VR glasses

Virtual Reality was one of the hottest topics in the game industry, but the hype has now cooled. But the movement is far from being dead. COMPUTER BILD shows in the gallery which games the manufacturers have brought onto the market in the meantime.

Usb Sticks In The Test: 24 Models With 128, 256 And 512 Gigabytes

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A USB stick is perfect for taking photos, videos and other data with you wherever you go. The test clarifies which ones work really quickly. It fits easily in your trouser or jacket pocket, and some sticks can even be carried around as a key chain. And they are no longer lame storage gnomes. Modern USB 3 sticks are really fast, offer a lot of space and do not cost the earth. But which of the many models is the right one? The answer is the test of 24 USB sticks: nine with 128 gigabytes (GB), eleven with 256 GB and four extra-fast and extra-large ones with 512 GB.

Usb Sticks In The Test

With a classic plug

The structure of a USB stick is simple: the manufacturers usually mount a small sheet of metal behind the USB connector, on which they plant memory chips and some electronics. The whole thing then comes in an inexpensive housing – the stick is ready. Deviations from this blueprint are rare. Even with the connection, little is happening: 20 of the 24 test candidates come with the larger type A USB socket . While more and more USB-C sockets are gaining acceptance in notebooks and tablets, they are rare with USB sticks: only the Kingston Data Traveler comes with a USB-C connector . Three sticks (Lexar Jumpdrive Dual Drive D30c, Samsung USB Type-C Flash Drive Duo plus and Transcend JetFlash 930C) have a double plug and thus fit into USB-A and USB-C sockets. This saves on the new iMac , for example an annoying adapter.

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Everyone is quick at reading

All test candidates have a fast USB connection – there are differences in the technology used (see “USB standards explained” below), but none in terms of speed: the USB sticks all work at a maximum speed of 5 gigabits each Second. However, a fast connection is no guarantee for fast data transmission – this depends on the built-in memory chips and the control electronics. And so the test showed drastic differences in speed (see graphic below). When reading data, almost all USB sticks managed an average of more than 100 megabytes per second. Only the Kingston DataTraveler 80 did not get over 40 megabytes per second in the test and was the only stick in this category to receive a “poor” rating. The majority, on the other hand, was over 200 megabytes per second on average, four sticks even managed more than 300 megabytes per second (Patriot Supersonic Rage Pro 512 GB, Verbatim Store’n’Go V3 MAX 128 GB, Samsung Flash Drive Duo Plus 256 GB and PNY Pro Elite 512 GB).

Big differences in writing

When writing, the whole thing looked different, because that is more time-consuming than reading with USB sticks, since the sticks have to erase the memory cells before writing. It depends on the built-in control electronics. Some USB sticks almost reach the speed of an external SSD with a USB connection : Six test candidates (SanDisk Extreme Pro USB 3.2 256 GB and 512 GB, SanDisk Extreme Pro USB 3.2 256 GB, Patriot Supersonic Rage Pro 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB GB and Transcend JetFlash 930C 512 GB) delivered an average of over 200 megabytes per second. Four more USB sticks managed at least more than 100 megabytes per second. The rest of the USB sticks are significantly slower to write than to read – a disadvantage, for example when creating backups or when copying large files onto the USB stick.

With the SanDisk Ultra Flair 128 GB, for example, the data transfer kept getting stuck while writing (see screenshot below) – that reduced the writing speed to an average of just 27 megabytes per second. Three sticks in the test field are similarly slow (SanDisk Dual Drive Luxe 256 GB, Kingston DataTraveler 80 128 GB and Lexar Jumpdrive Dual Drive D30c 128 GB). These sticks are only suitable as a data store if users only rarely have to write to them. Incidentally, significantly faster does not mean significantly more expensive: For the smaller 128 GB sticks, the test winner’s surcharge was on average around 8 euros compared to the slower competitors, and around 15 euros for the medium sized 256 GB. Little extra charge for a lot of speed gain. Comparing prices, for example with the price comparison portal idealo, which COMPUTER BILD uses to determine market prices, is always worthwhile with USB sticks – the price differences between the retailers are large.

In addition, grocery chains such as Rewe and Kaufland also sell USB sticks – often cheaper in special offers than in electronics stores. It is always worthwhile with USB sticks – the price differences between the retailers are large. In addition, grocery chains such as Rewe and Kaufland also sell USB sticks – often cheaper in special offers than in electronics stores. It is always worthwhile with USB sticks – the price differences between the retailers are large. In addition, grocery chains such as Rewe and Kaufland also sell USB sticks – often cheaper in special offers than in electronics stores.

Protect the USB connector

The Achilles’ heel of a USB stick is the USB socket. If possible, no key should get caught in it, otherwise the contacts could be scratched. If the USB stick does not have its own pocket, protective caps or a sliding mechanism that can be used to pull the contacts of the stick back into the housing can help. This is what 18 sticks offer in the test, the rest of them shouldn’t end up in your pocket with the keychain.

USB standards explained

USB 3.0 was the first variant of USB that could transfer data quickly – there are now three other USB standards:

  • USB 3.0: The first USB standard with enough speed for fast USB sticks, a maximum of 5 gigabits per second (Gbps).
  • USB 3.1: Can double the speed to 10 Gbps, but this only applies to devices and sockets with the addition of Gen2 , Gen1 , like USB 3.0 , creates a maximum of 5 gigabits per second.
  • USB 3.2: Even more speed with Gen2x2 – up to 20 Gbps are possible, Gen1 and Gen2 are as fast as with USB 3.1.
  • USB 4: The new USB 4 standard aims to replace the various USB 3 standards and, with the integrated Thunderbolt technology, creates up to 40 Gbps.

Sparse equipment

USB sticks are mainly sold based on price – there is little room for extras. Most manufacturers only put the stick in the packaging. Lexar, SanDisk and Transcend also have some software for this purpose – mainly for data encryption, file management and backup. However, only the Lexar FingerTool is absolutely necessary for the programs suppliedfor the Lexar Jumpdrive Fingerprint F35. This allows the user to set up the built-in fingerprint sensor, with which the data on the stick can be conveniently protected from unauthorized access. However, the convenience is expensive: The sensor drives the price of the stick up to around 70 euros, making the Lexar twice as expensive as the test winner in the 128 GB models. And the technology is not necessary: ​​Encrypting data also works with the free tool Veracrypt – you can find the instructions here . If you want to use a large USB stick to back up your PC or notebook – no problem, it works with the emergency DVD from COMPUTER BILD. It can also make a copy of the operating system (image) or save data. The free emergency DVD 16 Free with instructions .

Test result USB sticks with 128, 256 and 512 gigabytes

Double victory for Patriot in the USB sticks with 128 and 256 gigabytes. Here the Patriot Supersonic Rage Pro USB 3.2 Gen1 prevailed with the highest speed. Only the SanDisk Extreme Pro USB 3.2 Flash Drive with 256 GB could keep up. Only the Transcend JetFlash 930C is even faster and won the test for USB sticks with 512 GB. If you have to look at the euro and are satisfied with typing less quickly, you can save some money with the Samsung Flash Drive Bar plus and Flash Drive Fit plus (256 GB) and the PNY Pro Elite (512 GB).

Nintendo Switch Pro: Rumors, Controllers, Price, Release, Display, Games, Hardware

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The Nintendo Switch Pro is confirmed, rumors are sprouting up like mushrooms in “Super Mario”. We have compiled the most important speculations about the controller, display and price.

Nintendo Switch Pro

Nintendo has written a success story with the Switch and has sold around 85 million consoles worldwide since its release in March 2017. Games also go like hotcakes – the Japanese were able to sell 587 million copies. In the past few months, rumors from various corners of the world have intensified, but now the so-called Nintendo Switch Pro finally seems to be confirmed: The display manufacturer Universal Display Corp revealed details about the console’s screen in a report .

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Nintendo Switch Pro: OLED display is considered safe

In the above-mentioned report from Universal Display Corp, it is stated that Nintendo has given the Switch Pro an OLED screen. Smart step, because games become smoother and the colors are displayed more brightly. OLED displays ensure extremely high contrasts and generally enable faster response times. In short: a handheld console with a 144 Hertz OLED display? Think of the sound Mario makes when he picks up a gold coin. Incidentally, this message fits rumors, which came up in March 2021: At that time, the US news portal Bloomberg reported, citing insider sources, that an OLED version of the Nintendo Switch was in the works. Now we at least know that it could be the Nintendo Switch Pro. But all of this is still uncertain. It remains to be seen when Nintendo will break its silence and officially announce or deny the Nintendo Switch Pro.

Dock with new features

Not only the handheld console is being repainted, but also the docking station – at least if you believe the rumors. After all, several sources agree on the following: Allegedly, the console is given a LAN socket, so that downloads in the future would be fast and largely trouble-free. Multiplayer also benefits from lower pings and more stable connections. Great: The USB sockets have also been upgraded and should be upgraded to USB 3.0.

No information on the E3

Nintendo officially announced on Twitter that there will be no information about the Nintendo Switch Pro as part of the virtual E3 (June 12-15, 2021). The planned forty-minute presentation should focus on upcoming games. Maybe the Japanese will surprise us and still officially announce the console. It remains exciting.

Switch Pro: Notes on 4K and Nvidia chip

Back to the display: Not much is known about the screen’s native resolution, but there is solid evidence that it will at least get sharp on the TV. Allegedly, programmers found 4K video output options in the code of the Switch operating system. The Nintendo Switch Pro could send a 4K signal to the TV via a special dock. Since the current switch cannot display 4K, this must be a kind of test procedure or preparation for the next generation. In addition, the console apparently has better cooling and longer battery life. This is probably due to the built-in chip, which is supposed to be based on the Tegra X1 + from Nvidia. Rumor has it that Nintendo has been working on the revamped new edition for two years and uses the code name “Aula” internally. The performance boost is comparable to that from the PlayStation 4 to the PlayStation 4 Pro. Officially, nothing of this has yet been confirmed: The information should therefore be treated with caution.

Nintendo Switch Pro: patent on new controller

Nintendo has secured a patent at the responsible US office. This is the controller that the Switch Pro may use. A drawing of the layout of the buttons can be seen on the website. Instead of four individual buttons, the controller has a control pad that is placed higher up on the stick. Another innovation: The menu button has been omitted, but two other buttons have appeared. An indication of new functions?

Nintendo Super Switch instead of Switch Pro?

The name of the upcoming Nintendo product is also unclear. Certain industry experts apparently call the Switch Pro Super Switch. Super Switch? The usually well-informed Brazilian journalist Pedro Henrique Lutti Lippe is not the first gaming insider to come up with this name. The leaker Tyler McVicker already spoke in October 2020 about a super switch in connection with “Breathe of the Wild 2”. Unfortunately, it remains an unconfirmed rumor for the time being.

Nintendo Switch Pro: release and prices

Nothing concrete can currently be said about the possible release of the console and the price of the device. The news agency Bloomberg claims that the console will go on sale in 2021, but that is currently rather unlikely. The mining boom, the release of the next-gen consoles and the pandemic are creating an extreme demand for chips. The most likely date is probably the spring of 2022. The price should be around 350 to 400 euros. Just recently, a French dealer listed the console for around 400 euros – is that really the final price? Remains to be seen.

Graphics Card Trends: What Nvidia, Amd And Intel Will Send Into The Race In 2021/2022

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Corona and mining have changed the graphics card market, because AMD and Nvidia could not meet the demand. The result: moon prices for graphics cards. You can find out when the GPUs will be cheaper and which models are in the pipeline here.

Graphics Card Trends What Nvidia, Amd And Intel Will Send Into The Race In 20212022

In September 2020, when the RTX 3080 was released, someone could have suspected that Corona and the associated difficulties in chip production (delivery bottlenecks and lack of raw materials) would scourge the gaming community worldwide so severely. But in the end it was the crypto boom and the at times highly profitable mining that made graphics cards an absolute scarce commodity. The consequence: a few customers are still waiting for their RTX 3080, which they ordered for the 2020 launch. But that should now be over: COMPUTER BILD reveals what the future of graphics cards has in store for you.

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Graphics card prices are normalizing

The crypto market collapsed significantly after strong fluctuations, and panic sales made the situation difficult for speculators and miners. But Ethereum mining with graphics cards has lost profitability. The result: graphics cards such as the RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 are available in stores again and prices are falling. A few weeks ago, various dealers were charging around 1,400 euros for an RTX 3070. That is three times more than the manufacturer’s recommended retail price. Today you can get models for less than 1,000 euros. We assume that prices will normalize over the course of the year. But what if the crypto market picks up again? That could happen, but the mining of Ethereumis regulated in an update, which means that profitability remains low even at a high rate. This should make graphics cards of no interest to prospectors.

Excellent! Nvidia will probably go one better at the end of 2021

In June 2022, Nvidia delivered an improved version of the current RTX 3000 series, namely the RTX 3070 Ti and the 3080 Ti . “Super” versions of these graphics cards are currently being developed, at least if you believe documents leaked on Videocardz . A Lenovo laptop with a 3080 super chip is listed there, which confirms the rumor. If you look at the product range of the RTX-2000 series, it only seems logical that Nvidia will bring super variants of the current series onto the market – it is basically only a matter of time. Since the leak relates to a notebook, the question arises whether desktop versions will also be available. If you consider the period between the launch of the RTX 2080 Tiand the RTX 2080 Super (desktop) takes as a guide, then a super version of the 3080 is no longer expected this year. We’re guessing the first quarter of 2022.

Ampere Next: RTX 4000 as early as 2022?

As part of the GTC 2021, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced a lot of new technology. Among other things, own CPUs for supercomputers and hardware components that help in the development of artificial intelligence. But the roadmap for the desktop graphics cards is more interesting for us. Two successor generations can be seen on it. Ampere Next (RTX 4000) should be released in the second half of 2022, Ampere Next Next (RTX 5000) should come onto the market in 2024. In between (2023) there will probably be Super or Ti variants of the RTX 4000 series. Not much is currently known about technical details, but experts assume that the chips are manufactured using a five-nanometer manufacturing process. The effect: less energy consumption, more performance.

And AMD? Big Navi faster than Ampere Next?

New workstation GPUs (W6800 and W6600), mid-range graphics cards (RX 6600, RX 6500) and a water-cooled RX 6900 XT, which should only be available in finished PCs – AMD currently has no more in the pipeline, at least not officially. But behind the scenes things are simmering. A leaker revealed that RDNA3 and Zen 4 (the Big Navi and Ryzen 5000 successors) will be unleashed on the gambling guild as early as the fourth quarter of 2022. The RX-7000 generation is rumored to have the code name Navi31 and is also manufactured using a five-nanometer manufacturing process. The only question that remains is who will bring the chips to market first. AMD, Nvidia or an old friend?

A new player in the game: Intel Xe

Not only AMD and Nvidia have a hardware battle, chip giant Intel also wants to assert itself in the graphics card segment. Intel has tried graphics cards several times, but failed every time. Now it’s time for another attack, as Intel has won over former AMD graphics boss Raja Koduri. First fruits: The Intel DG1 chip, which we know in laptops under the name Xe. The Iris Xe Max should have a larger memory interface. For desktop users, the Xe-HPG-DG2 chip (High-Performance Gaming Discrete Grapics 2) is much more exciting: Videocardz reports on different versions of the chip. Among other things via DG2-128, DG2-512 and DG2-960. The latter is supposed to poach in the high-end segment, the DG2-512 chip is allowed to compete with the RTX 3060 Ti and the smallest attacks the entry-level class.

A leak from the well-known hardware speaker APISAK confirms this assessment. This means that the information about the upcoming Intel graphics cards is condensing; we expect the products to be presented soon.

Facebook: Ar Glasses And Armbands Should Control Computers With The Power Of Thought

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The scene was unquestionably impressive: as early as 2002, the protagonist of the film Minority Report, portrayed by Tom Cruise, controlled the computer in his headquarters with the help of gestures and movements. What was a utopia back then is at least partially a reality today – even if the corresponding systems only work more or less well. Facebook now wants to venture into this direction too and has presented a bracelet that translates motor brain signals into control signals for the movement of digital objects. The company goes one step further than Steven Spielberg in Minority Report: The commands from the brain to the hand are already intercepted at the nerves. In the future, the bracelet will be used in combination with augmented reality glasses from Facebook to control computers.

Device interprets nerve signals

The Facebook bracelet doesn’t look like much. It’s a bit like a first-gen iPod on a strap. The device then uses modern sensors to detect movements – even before they are executed. To do this, the electrical activity of motor nerves is measured using electromyography (EMG) and then interpreted by the software. The system recognizes which motor commands are sent from the brain to the hand. So far the bracelet has no name. According to Facebook, it should be used to navigate through augmented reality menus. Without actually lifting a finger. It is enough just to think about the movement.

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Augmented Reality describes the digital overlay of the real world with information such as data, maps or images. Probably the most prominent example in this direction is Pokémon Go, an AR game in which players went looking for digital Pokémons in the real world. However, many companies have difficulty using augmented reality successfully. Projects like Google Glass or Snap Spectacles quickly disappeared again into oblivion. However, Facebook assumes that they have created a better user experience with the bracelet and thus have more chances of success.

At the moment the bracelet is still being developed in the Facebook Reality Labs. A test in the real world is still pending. Likewise, neither a date for the market launch nor a price is known so far.

Facebook invests in augmented reality

It can be assumed that the development of the device goes back to the purchase of the company CTRL-Labs by Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg’s company paid a proud price of between 500 million and one billion US dollars for CTRL-Labs in September 2019. The main activity of the acquired company was the development of a wrist-based EMG device. The former head of CTRL-Labs, Thomas Reardon, now runs Facebook Reality Labs.

The introduction of the armband fits in with Facebook’s other advances in the direction of augmented reality, which include AR glasses as well as AR gloves and other wearables.

As always with Facebook, the company’s AR program will also come with the collection of personal data. Since a lot of information is processed in the context of AR, this line of business could turn out to be extremely lucrative for Facebook.