HWM Singapore June 2022

For the past 13 years, we have run our own little “Academy Awards” for the tech industry of Singapore. The HWM+HWZ.com Tech Awards is designed to recognise not just the best products, but the best brands as well. This is the main reason why it is actually a huge undertaking, because we’re technically running two awards in parallel. The Editor’s Choice Awards are judged based on all the products we have reviewed in the past year; the best product of their respective categories are chosen. However, we feel that the Readers’ Choice Awards carry far more weight because the power to decide is not held by a select few. Regardless of what we think of a product, brand recognition cannot be denied. Every year, our Readers’ Choice polls reveal the top…

Let me explain. This might take a while, but we’ll get there, I promise. So I’ve been hearing about the all-new software-first, developer-centric mantra since Pat Gelsinger took over the reins as Intel CEO, but what exactly is it? How does software-first really benefit a hardware silicon company? What has software to do with Intel’s seeming inability to move on to a 7nm process technology while the competition has succeeded in shrinking down to 5nm? I’ve talked to Steve Long, Intel’s Asia Pacific VP in the past, but it turns out, I would have to take a trip down to Grapevine, Texas for Intel Vision 2022 (our first in-person overseas conference post-Covid for HardwareZone!) to finally connect those dots. Now, this isn't to say it was all software, with no hardware…

BEST OF COMPUTING BEST OF CONSUMER ELECTRONICS BEST OF COMMUNICATIONS & SERVICES BEST OF GAMING BEST OF COMPUTING Best CPU Brand AMD Winner Winner, Ryzen Dinner! AMD has edged out Intel in our Readers’ Choice poll for Best CPU Brand. The company has been gaining share on Intel since 2019 beginning with their Ryzen 3000 series chips, growing from 20% to 45% in the past three years, and then finally taking the crown in 2022 with 51% of total votes. This is a testament to the strengths of the current-gen Ryzen 5000 series CPUs. Even as you read this, AMD has just released the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, before the next-generation Ryzen 7000 series is slated for launch in the later part of 2022. Best Motherboard Brand ASUS Can anyone beat ASUS in the PC DIY scene? Last year,…

The story sees you starting out as Mayor (or Leader, Great Ruler, etc., the game lets you choose your title) of Floatio City. All is well until four kaiju appear and start attacking. Gameplay takes place on rectangular tile grids, and is turn-based, switching between you and the kaiju. During your turns, you can collect currency based on the existing infrastructure and buildings currently on the map, along with Science points, ten of which give you a Breakthrough. That’s the first half, the second half of your turn has you deploying and moving military units, constructing labs (for Science points) or new bases, and picking ‘Projects’, or cards that give you various buffs and weapons. You might be surprised to learn, however, that the objective isn’t to kill kaiju. It is…

Last year’s Outlier Air V3 was an excellent and affordable pair of true wireless earbuds. Without missing a beat, Creative followed up with a newer Outlier Pro that trounces the Outlier Air V3 in every aspect on paper. However, you can also expect generous discounts on the Outlier Air V3 now that its successor is out. What’s more, there’s a rare scenario that you might even prefer the Outlier Air V2 instead! The design of both Outlier models – Air V3 and Pro – offer a hint as to why they might be so affordable. From their hard plastic shells down to the sliding mechanism, both cases are virtually identical except in size. The differences between the Outlier Air V3 and the Outlier Pro become more obvious once you slide the earbuds…

With a hop, skip and a bunny full of explosives, it’s finally time for us to set foot into Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, hosted by none other than the Borderlands’ resident explosives expert. Aesthetically, the apple doesn’t fall far from the Borderlands tree. Wonderlands still features the same cell-shaded characters and environments that we’ve come to love, though, of course, the key difference lies in the medieval fantasy backdrop rather than sci-fi. In general, the developers have been very playful when it comes to world design and aesthetics, but they’ve also poured an impressive amount of detail into it. The world, and by extension the game is like Tina herself - it’s full of weird, crazy, and even random additions, such as erasers placed as makeshift bridges in the Overworld or having…