Necessity the mother of all makeovers
Consumer graphics cards repurposed for AI workloads
Just when you think the prices of consumer graphics cards (GPUs) are now stable after the crypto crash, tighter restrictions on exporting advanced GPUs to China appeared to have sparked a demand for Nvidia’s flagship GeForce RTX 4090 GPUs. Apparently, new Chinese factories have sprung up to acquire these high-end consumer GPUs, strip them of their graphics chips and memory modules, and repurpose them into AI accelerators for AI workloads.
If you’re wondering why repurpose the RTX 4090 when the card itself is already capable of AI workloads, it seems that these converted AI accelerators sport a compact blower-style cooler. The placement of the power connector is also different on these custom boards. Presumably, these tweaks will optimise these cards for use in data centres. And it’s not just the RTX 4090 cards. With limited stock of such high-end GPUs, the factories are also turning to older RTX 3090 cards.
The recent export controls are the latest effort by the US to contain China’s military and tech capabilities. In late August, Huawei had caught the US off guard with a 5G-capable smartphone powered by a 7nm chip that was more advanced than expected. While this 7m chip still lags behind the 3nm processor made by Taiwanese foundry TSMC (and used in the latest Apple iPhone), it represents a major breakthrough for the Chinese semiconductor industry.
While there are likely to be more twists and turns in this tech race between the West and China, one thing is for sure, prices for high-end graphics cards aren’t coming down anytime soon. Meanwhile, we had a Samsung cordless stick vacuum, a gaming phone from Redmagic, and Technics’ true wireless buds in for review. And they are all pretty good.
Samsung’s Bespoke Jet AI combines good looks with powerful suction, and a full set of features, including a docking station with auto-emptying bin. The touted AI cleaning feature works well at switching the power modes appropriately. You get a decent amount of cleaning time (about an hour) before you need to charge it.
If you’re serious about mobile gaming, check out the Redmagic 8S Pro. This gaming phone comes with touch-sensitive shoulder triggers that can be mapped to your game controls. These, together with the excellent speakers, make for an immersive gaming experience. The phone, too, excels in running games at full tilt with minimal throttling, thanks to its flagship processor and great cooling system.
These Technics true wireless earbuds offer great sound, with a controlled bass. They also feel really comfortable, and you can connect them to three different devices at the same time. Noise cancelling is also very good, similar to the Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds. The downside is the S$469 price tag, which is a bit more than the competition.