quickstart
12 MAXIMUMPC DEC 2019 maximumpc.com
TRIUMPHS TRAGEDIES
BRAIN-CONTROLLED SUIT
A quadriplegic man has walked
again using two brain implants
and a powered exoskeleton.BLACK IS BLACK
BMW has covered an SUV with
Vantablack, a carbon nanotube
material that absorbs 99 percent
of light; it’s like looking at a hole.XCLOUD GOES BETA
Microsoft has starting accepting
sign-ups to use its game
streaming service; slots are
severely limited, however.BRICKED MACS
Macs running Avid have
mysteriously started crashing,
and can brick if rebooted. Parts
of Hollywood have been hit hard.BE SMART
Tesla’s new Smart Summons
feature has lead to a number of
“incidents.” Tesla has warned
that it requires the use of
“common sense.”RIP GEAR VR
Samsung won’t support Gear VR
on its new phones; few used it.A monthly snapshot of what’s good and bad in techTech Triumphs and Tragedies
FACEBOOK’S LIBR A project plans to create a border-
free electronic currency. The original 28 backers
included some big names in finance, but one of
these, PayPal, has dropped out—it was concerned
about money laundering and the growing backlash. It doesn’t end here
either; Mastercard and Visa are said to be having second thoughts. As Visa’s
chief executive said, “No one has yet officially joined,” and its decision to
join will determined by Libra’s ability to “satisfy all the requisite regulatory
requirements.” This is the stumbling block. Despite doing nothing that isn’t
already possible, Libra has come under heavy fire from regulatory bodies
(it looks likely to be banned in the European Union, for example). Facebook
could push through alone, but that would only fuel its detractors. Among
these are such big names as Apple’s Tim Cook, who said, “I really think that a
currency should stay in the hands of countries. I’m not comfortable with the
idea of a private group setting up a competing currency.” –CLWheels start to come off
Facebook’s currency projectPAYPAL LEAVES LIBR A
MICROSOFT HIDES
ACCOUNT OPTIONS
IT IS NO SECRET that Microsoft wants you to have a Microsoft account. It has become
increasingly difficult to avoid one when setting up Win 10. Recent reports stated that
the option for an local account has disappeared altogether. It hasn’t, but Microsoft
has hidden it. The trick? To create an offline account on Win 10 Pro, you have to select
“Domain join instead.” Pretty sneaky, hiding the option behind something else. The
situation on Win 10 Home is worse. There is no offline account option since the May 2019
Update. Microsoft’s advice is to create a Microsoft account, complete the installation,
then go back into Settings, and delete it. If you are more determined, you can disconnect
from the Internet, skip through the “something went wrong” error message, then create
an offline account as before, but don’t connect again until you’ve finished.–CLWANT AN OFFLINE WIN 10
ACCOUNT? IT’S NOT EASYAMD’S IMPRESSIVE 7nm GPU has reached
the mainstream with the release of the
RX 5500 and the RX 5500M (M for mobile),
based around a new Navi 14 chip. These
are aimed squarely at 1080p gaming.
The RX 5500 has 22 compute units and
1,408 stream units—about two thirds of
an RX 5700. The desktop version has a
game frequency of 1,670MHz; the mobile
version is clocked at 1,448MHz. Both have
4GB of GDDR6 main memory, with 8GB as
an option for the desktop. The memory
interface has been dropped from 256-bit
to 128-bit; AMD says the RX 5500 has been
“tuned” for 1080p. To be fair, the effective
memory speed hasn’t suffered—it’s
14Gb/s, the same as the RX 5700. The RX
5500 has all the fancy features of its bigger
siblings, too, such as FidelityFX, Image
Sharpening, and Anti-Lag. The M version
has a TDP of 85W; desktop version 150W.
Initial performance figures show the RX
5500 can crank out frames between an
RX 580 or GeForce GTX 1650 and an RX 590
or GTX 1660. AMD quotes the RX 5500 as
being 12 percent faster than the RX 480. It
was particularly keen to show the RX 5500
against the GTX 1650, where it was “up to
37 percent faster.” The R X 550 0 will appear
first via OEMs, while standalone cards
should be ready for the holiday season. No
firm prices yet; we hope about $150.
Nvidia is preparing a GeForce GTX
1650 Super in response, expected to use
the same TU116 GPU, but coupled to
faster GDDR6. The RX 5500 isn’t ground-
breaking, but it’s a vital step for AMD
toward breaking into the mass-market
system builders arena. We can expect
more from Navi soon, too—there’s a high-
end Navi 12 due, and a closer look at this
Navi 14 shows it has 24 compute units on
the silicon, so there’s room here, too. –CLIt’ll power “world’s most
technologically advanced
1080p gaming desktops”NAVI GOES
MASS MARKET
©^AMD,^
MICROSOFT,^ PAY
PAL