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  • Sep 28, 2021
  • Sony WF-1000XM4 review: These noise-canceling earbuds have all-around appeal
  • Pre-pandemic, the number of true wireless earbuds with noise canceling was just a trickle. Now they are entering the market in a steady stream, and just in time. Even with reduced travel demand, in-ear headphones with active noise-canceling (ANC) still have their uses—blocking out background conversations in busy households, muffling the cacophony of loud streets, and the like.With the predecessor WF-1000XM3, Sony pit a strong contender against Bose’s well-regarded noise-canceling competition. Now Sony’s successor ANC buds have improved across the board, making the WF-1000XM4 one of the top contenders in this space. That said, if you care deeply about sound profiles and noise-canceling strength, you should first make sure these buds have what you’re after.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 28, 2021
  • Pick the perfect motherboard with these 5 tips
  • What should you look for when choosing a motherboard? The best CPUs might get all the attention, but motherboard choice can be just as crucial. We’ll show you how to buy based on the features that you need—without breaking the bank.Choose your CPU and chipset Your first decision also involves the CPU. Your choice here is either AMD or Intel. Motherboards only work with the specific families of processors they're designed for. Our guide to the best CPUs can help you pick the ideal processor for any budget; your needs there should drive most of your decision making.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 25, 2021
  • Should you buy a used mining GPU?
  • Should you buy a used mining GPU? Usually, you may want to avoid graphics cards that were used around the clock to mine cryptocurrency. But that's not necessarily the case during the Great GPU Shortage, when the best graphics cards are always out of stock even when they're going for exorbitant prices. Let's say you’ve done your research, stood in line for hours, and endlessly refreshed your browser at online retailers without any luck. When you’re finally about to give up, you find the perfect used GPU for sale—but the seller tells you it was used for mining cryptocurrency.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 25, 2021
  • The Full Nerd ep. 191: 3rd annual PC Hardware Hall of Fame
  • In this episode of The Full Nerd, Gordon Ung, Brad Chacos, Alaina Yee, Keith May, and Adam Patrick Murray open up the books and admit worthy hardware into our officially unofficial PC Hall of Fame.In past years, the Intel 8086/8088 processors, Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT graphics card, IBM Model M keyboard, 3DFX Voodoo graphics card, Raspberry Pi, and MLC NAND (as a stand-in for affordable SSDs) made the cut after a fierce debate. This year, each of us brought three more legendary picks to the table, prepared to plea and cajole as we whittled the original field of 15 nominees down. It starts out full of laughter and trips down memory lane, then the smiles gradually disappear as well-deserving components start getting the axe. Be sure to watch the entire process play out, but in the end, only three products manage to become our 2021 inductees in The Full Nerd’s PC Hardware Hall of Fame:To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 24, 2021
  • HP Pavilion Aero 13: Light on price and weight, heavy on style and power
  • The trusty Pavilion has come a long way. With a magnesium aluminum chassis that looks elegant and feels durable and impossibly light, the HP Pavilion Aero 13 looks and feels more like a model from the company’s higher-end Envy or Spectre line than a mainstream Pavilion. And yet the Pavilion Aero 13 line starts at a reasonable $750.Despite its light price and weight, the Pavilion Aero 13 is roomy and powerful. The laptop is based on a 13.3-inch display with a 16:10 aspect ratio that makes the display feel more spacious than a standard 16:9 display of the same size. The keyboard runs from edge to edge and feels spacious along with the generously proportioned touchpad. Powering this perfectly sized laptop is an 8-core AMD Ryzen 7 processor that’s no lightweight CPU. Our $999 test system is a great pick for students or anyone looking for tons of style and portability at a great price.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 24, 2021
  • See the Surface Laptop Studio in action: Full 8 minute walkthrough
  • As the name suggests, Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop Studio fuses together a number of different Surfaces, among them the Surface Laptop and Surface Studio. Inside the Surface Laptop Studio, however, new GeForce RTX hardware points to the power Microsoft has traditionally offered inside the Surface Book. Our full video above walks you through every inch of the laptop, which doubles as a physical avatar for Microsoft's Windows 11 ambitions.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 23, 2021
  • Microsoft's Surface Duo 2 phone tries to fix the original's problems
  • Microsoft’s original Surface Duo folding phone designed in some serious flaws. The Surface Duo 2, to its credit, appears to have at least addressed them.When Microsoft launched the Surface Duo folding phone a year ago, Microsoft executives preceded it with a gauzy veil of hype that concealed the many flaws reviewers noted: a poor camera, a lack of NFC and 5G, a subsequently poor track record of patches and updates, and an interface whose bugs made the dual-screen interface painful to use.Microsoft’s Surface Duo 2 arrives today, available for preorder for $1,499.99 on up, with shipments starting Octobr 21. That’s about the same price as Microsoft’s earlier Surface Duo. Can the new phone fix the flaws of the first? On paper, it takes a good first step.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 23, 2021
  • RockPals 300W Portable Power Station review: Second verse isn't the same as the first
  • Previously, I reviewed the RockPals 300W portable power station and rated it 4.5 stars. It had reliable performance, plenty of ports, and a large display that kept you up to speed on everything the power station was doing.Now I’m taking a look at a device that has the same exact name, but a completely different design. The updated power station lost the dual flashlights, has been shrunk down quite a bit, and the screen no longer details every aspect of the station’s performance.Note: This review is part of our roundup of portable power banks. Go there for details on competing products and our testing methods. Features There are a total of nine ports, all on the front panel of the 300W power station. There are two DC-out barrel ports capable of 12V/60W. There’s a DC input, which you use with the included power adapter to charge the unit itself. And next to the DC ports is a 12V car charger.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 23, 2021
  • Nexar Pro review: Solid video, cloud storage make this dash cam a good deal
  • In a field dominated by square or rectangular design, the egg-shaped $160 Nexar Pro dash cam (with its equally egg-shaped discrete interior camera) stands out—in a good way. The Nexar Pro is also one of the cheaper options in a dash cam offering cloud storage, bested only in affordability by the previously reviewed Nexar Beam. This review is part of our ongoing roundup of the best dash cams. Go there for more reviews and buying advice. To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 23, 2021
  • Whoa, NZXT finally put a front mesh panel on the H510
  • Glance at the NZXT H510 Flow, and it looks about as you’d expect given current sensibilities. Optimal airflow dominates the scene at the moment. Most new cases now feature mesh front panels, and the H510 Flow is no different.Yet the Flow represents a shift on NZXT’s part, as you’ll see in the video above. The standard H510 has long sported a solid front panel, as did the H500 and S340 before it. And despite its critics, the case has enjoyed wild popularity. PC builders love this compact ATX mid-tower’s smaller footprint, thoughtful and straightforward design, and minimalist vibe.But general trends have had their influence, with a result that should quiet most naysayers. NZXT put a steel mesh front panel on the body of the H510, complete with removable dust filter, and made minor additional tweaks. Namely, the two included 120mm fans come mounted at the front and rear, instead of the top and rear. (The standard H510’s smaller air intakes on the right side panel and the bottom front of the case are gone, too.) You’ll find no other changes to the chassis aside from airflow improvements; PC builders still get the same H510 otherwise. The removable hard drive cage, front fan/radiator bracket, and signature cable bar remain so for ease when building.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 23, 2021
  • Microsoft's redesigned Surface Pro 8 sets the new bar for Windows tablets
  • Microsoft announced three new Surface tablets on Wednesday, including a larger, more powerful Surface Pro 8, a new Surface Go 3 that boasts options for a faster Intel Core i3 processor, and an updated Surface Pro X. Microsoft’s Surface Pro 8 boasts Thunderbolt ports for the first time, integrated LTE, Slim Pen integrated storage and charging, as well as a new display that can run at up to 120Hz.The new updates to Microsoft’s tablet lineup are on par with what we expected from this Surface launch, with Windows 11 looming on October 5, though Microsoft’s quick pace of recent tablet introductions means that there’s not as much of a performance gap as with prior generations.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 23, 2021
  • Meet Surface Laptop Studio, the RTX-powered PC that makes Windows 11 shine
  • Microsoft’s latest premium notebook, the Surface Laptop Studio, borrows the best from Microsoft’s other products: the flexibility of the Surface Studio, the convenience of the Surface Laptop, and the power of the Surface Book. It might not be the Surface Book 4 we were expecting, but with a new pull-forward display, Nvidia GeForce RTX graphics, Thunderbolt, Windows Hello 2.0, and a high-refresh-rate screen, it’s both an interesting fusion of other Surfaces as well as a physical avatar for many of the new capabilities within Windows 11.The Surface Laptop Studio won’t come cheaply, though. Microsoft has priced the notebook at $1,599.99 and above, with prices climbing to $3,099.99 for the most premium model. The Surface Studio Laptop is available for preorder beginning today, and will ship on Oct. 5.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 22, 2021
  • HP welcomes Windows 11 with a new Spectre, an Arm laptop, and a tablet with a swiveling camera
  • HP will release three new Windows 11 devices to kick off the launch of Microsoft's next-gen operating system, including a fresh Spectre with a juicy OLED display and a webcam designed to blow your socks off, the first laptop with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 chip, and an 11-inch tablet with a nifty swiveling camera that lets you show off your homework.The HP 11 inch Tablet—yes, that's it's name—is among several new laptops, all-in-ones, and monitors that HP dropped on the world today, but it's really the 11 inch Tablet that catches your eye thanks to that unique camera.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 22, 2021
  • Amazon's upgraded Kindle Paperwhite lineup makes the best e-reader even better
  • Official news came much sooner than expected. On Tuesday, just a day after leaks surfaced on the company’s Canadian and Mexican sites about models with a bigger screen and dramatically more LEDs, Amazon confirmed the launch of three new Kindle Paperwhites. In addition to a successor for the existing Paperwhite—which was already the best Kindle you can buy—two fresh variants have gone up for pre-order: the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition and the Kindle Paperwhite Kids.A larger screen is the biggest and most notable upgrade on Amazon’s latest e-readers. While these keep the same flush-front design and 300ppi resolution as the current fourth-generation Paperwhite, the display has grown from 6-inches to a roomier 6.8-inches and sports a narrower bezel. It also comes with a new ability to shift the color temperature of the screen’s backlight from white to a warmer amber tone, with the swankier Signature Edition featuring an auto-adjusting light sensor.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 21, 2021
  • Hotspot Shield review: Still the undisputed speed champ in VPNs
  • Hotspot Shield in brief: P2P allowed: Yes Business location: United States Number of servers: 1,800+* Number of country locations: 85 Cost: $95.88 per yearVPN protocol: Standard TLS1.2 / DTLS1.2 tunnel using OpenSSL 1.1 libraryData encryption: AES-GCM (128- and 256-bit) and ChaCha-poly1305 supportedData authentication: All supported cipher suites perform authenticated encryption using an AEAD model.Handshake: Standard TLS1.2/DTLS1.2To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 21, 2021
  • What to expect from Microsoft's Surface event
  • With mere weeks left before Windows 11’s launch, Microsoft is deploying its vanguard. The company is expected to launch an arsenal of new Surface devices during its September 22 event, including a significantly redesigned Surface Book 4, the Surface Pro 8, and even a next-generation Surface Duo phone.Initial reports say we should expect to see: A new Surface tablet, the Surface Pro 8 An updated Surface Pro X, possibly referred to as just the Surface Pro X (2021) A slightly updated Surface Go 3 A drastically updated Surface Book 4 The new Surface Duo 2 There have been rumors of a new Surface Dock, as well. The Verge has reported early information about the new Surface hardware, and Windows Central published Surface details as well. Both sites have a great track record for Microsoft reporting. We’d expect all of these new devices to be powered by Windows 11, either at launch or immediately after. The timing of this event can’t be coincidental. Let’s dig in! To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 21, 2021
  • These 7 core apps will change in Windows 11
  • Windows 11 won’t just change the Windows operating system, it will change the way some Windows apps look and feel, too. Though Windows 11 will launch this fall, Microsoft has already been highlighting several Windows apps that are being updated for Windows 11.So far, Microsoft has shown off several Windows apps that it’s reworking for Windows 11, including what you might consider to be core Windows apps: Mail and Calendar, Paint, and even the lowly Clock app. Below, we’ll show you what to expect of these new apps within Windows 11. (Remember, Windows 11 is officially in beta. Things may change between now and the final release.)To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 20, 2021
  • Adata XPG Gammix S70 Blade SSD review: A worthy Samsung 980 Pro rival
  • Adata’s XPG Gammix S70 Blade is the second fastest NVMe SSD we’ve tested, bettering Samsung’s excellent 980 Pro by a smidge—the drive it replaces in the number two spot. It’s also PlayStation 5 compatible and offers a large improvement in real world performance over its predecessor, the previously reviewed and fast-in-its-own-right XPG Gammix S70. This review is part of our ongoing roundup of the best SSDs. Go there for information on competing products and how we tested them.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 20, 2021
  • Ultrawide vs. dual monitors: Which should you choose?
  • Want to maximize your desktop’s real estate? You have two options: an ultrawide monitor, or a dual-monitor setup. Either choice will massively expand the screen space at your command. But ultrawide and dual-monitor setups are not the same. Each has its strengths and weaknesses.  Here’s how to decide whether an ultrawide monitor or dual monitors is right for you.How wide is it? Everyone looking to buy an ultrawide monitor or dual monitors wants more usable display space. But how much do you gain with each scenario?A 34-inch ultrawide monitor, the most common size, is not as large you might think. This size of ultrawide is nearly identical to a 27-inch widescreen monitor in height and about 8 inches wider.  To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 20, 2021
  • RAVPower Portable Power Station 252.7Wh Power House review: Perfect for a weekend camping trip
  • I’ve been quiet for the last few months, but I can explain. I was tasked with testing several power stations, ranging from affordable to almost too expensive. The goal? Find a range of portable power stations for all budgets and use cases.Admittedly, testing took far longer than I expected. But, alas, here I am, ready with the first review born out of months of testing, frustration, and more testing.First up is the RAVPower Portable Power Station 252.7Wh Power House, a $179 powerhouse that looks more like a portable speaker than something you’d plug a 110v gadget into, or that could power a lamp for 37:26 minutes. But I’m getting ahead of myself.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 17, 2021
  • The chip shortage might ruin Christmas if you don't shop soon
  • For PC enthusiasts, the global chip shortages aren’t fresh news. Trying to get components for DIY builds or a even good pre-built PC at a decent price has been a wild ride since spring 2020, and laptops fly off store shelves as quickly as they arrive. But continuing to wait out all electronics purchases won’t pay off this holiday season—not with recent reports that even toys will be affected by the shortages when shoppers go on the hunt for gifts. Yes, children’s toys with electronic chips will be in short supply, according to Slickdeals.net. In its interview with the head of Sky Castle Toys, the crowdsourced-deals site explains the steeper difficulty faced by the toy industry in obtaining processors. Competition from other major industries like PC, automobile, smartphone, and home appliance makers means fewer available chips for toys that incorporate motion, light, or sound, or connect to a companion app.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 17, 2021
  • Why use virtual desktops? 5 practical reasons from real-world users
  • When Microsoft finally added virtual desktop support to Windows 10, my productivity instantly skyrocketed. Virtual desktops create secondary (and tertiary, and..) home screens for your PC, each running instances of its own software, that you can quickly hop between. They’re one of the best Windows 10 tools you may not even know about. But every time I profess my love for virtual desktops I inevitably get asked, “What do you use them for?”I can only speak to my own experiences, of course. I like segregating my work software from my play software, to resist the allure of Discord and GeForce Now when I’m on the clock. Virtual desktops also come in handy if I’m working on several complicated projects at once—each one gets its own desktop. But don’t just take my word for it! Buried deep in a LifeProTips Reddit thread revolving around using Win + Shift +  to shift windows between your monitors (keyboard shortcuts rock, y’all), I found an interesting chain of comments where real people were sharing how they use virtual desktops.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 17, 2021
  • Office 2021 will ship alongside Windows 11 on October 5
  • Microsoft said Thursday that it plans to launch Office 2021, a standalone version of Office 365, on Oct. 5—the same day as Windows 11 releases. It will include some, but not all of the features of Microsoft’s perpetually-updating cloud productivity serviceMicrosoft will release Office 2021 for personal and small business users “later this year,” Microsoft said in a blog post in February. On Thursday, Microsoft added the ship date of October 5. Microsoft also did not offer any other pricing guidance beyond what it had said in February, which was that it did not plan to change the prices for this new release. If true, that would price the cheapest version of Office 2021 at $150, the price Microsoft charges for Microsoft Office Home and Student 2019.Remove non-product link (That version doesn’t include Microsoft Outlook, just Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.) There will be Office 2021 versions for both the Mac and Windows, Microsoft said.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 16, 2021
  • Brace yourselves: Windows 11 may have more popups
  • Popups within Windows are one of the operating system’s more polarizing features. If you’re not a fan, you may want to brace yourself, because Microsoft is testing whether or not to add even more to Windows 11. It might not be bad news, though.As part of the review notes for the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22458, Microsoft says that it’s including an enhanced Tips app for Windows 11, with more hints about how to use the new upcoming operating system. But Microsoft also says that it’s going to be scattering more of these hints around the operating system itself.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 16, 2021
  • Razer just made gamer thimbles
  • Razer has never been afraid to take a shot on products that seem unusual at first glance. Witness its RGB-infused N95 mask, the now-defunct Razer Game Store with its own zVault currency, or the first-gen Firefly mousepad, which has evolved into something special but originally prompted us to review it against a ripped-up piece of cardboard. The company’s latest offering might just take the cake though. This week, Razer introduced gamer thimbles.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 16, 2021
  • Leaked Alder Lake prices strike at Ryzen's CPU dominance
  • Intel’s 12th-gen Alder Lake processors aren’t upon us yet, but another price leak indicates they might indeed compete with AMD’s best CPUs, unlike current top-end Core offerings.The latest oopsie comes from retail IT vendor Provantage, which puts the top-end Core i9-12900K at $605. The IT vendor also lists the Core i7-12700K at $420, as well as a Core i5-12600K for $283.After news reports of the part numbers and prices surfaced, Provantage removed the listings. The latest leak follows reports two weeks ago—supposedly from European retailers—that placed the Core i9-12900K at $705, the Core i7-12700K at $495, and the Core i5-12600 at $343.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 15, 2021
  • Acer Nitro 5 hands-on: This RTX 3080 laptop might be a screaming value
  • Can you get an 8-core gaming laptop with a GeForce RTX 3080 inside without completely breaking the bank? Yes.That's the pitch for Acer's latest Nitro 5 iteration, at least, which packs an 8-core Ryzen 7 5800H processor, a GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop 8GB GPU, and an ultra-fast 17.3-inch 360Hz panel for $2,099.99 on Amazon. Sure, there's no optical mechanical keyboard, per key RGB lighting, or fancy magnesium or carbon here (it's mostly plastic) but for gamers, having a fast CPU and a fast GPU might be all that matters, especially paired with such a speedy screen. Most RTX 3080 laptops cost hundreds more.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 15, 2021
  • Windows 11 won't support Apple's M1 Macs, but you might be able to run it
  • Windows 11 won’t be officially supported on Apple M1 Macs, dashing the hopes of those who hoped to pair Apple’s new M1 Arm hardware with the new operating system.Microsoft called running Windows 11 on an Apple Mac powered by an M1 chip “not a supported scenario” late last week in a statement to The Register. Microsoft issued that report after the publication found hardware compatibility errors while running the latest build of Windows 11 on Parallels, an app that lets you run third-party operating systems on Macs.As anyone who has followed the Windows 11 upgrade path understands, “supported” and “unsupported” are subtly complicated terms that refer to whether or not the Windows 11 operating system will run as expected. “Support” depends on whether the PC platform meets Microsoft’s Windows 11 hardware specifications, which the company has aggressively set in an effort to assure the PC is secure. Microsoft’s Windows on Arm program has ensured that Windows 11 will run on Arm PCs like the Surface Pro X, just not on Apple’s Arm-based M1 Macs.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 15, 2021
  • Xbox cloud gaming finally arrives in Windows
  • Windows 10 users can now stream games directly to their PC’s Xbox app. Today marks the culmination of Microsoft’s cloud-gaming efforts, as games can now be streamed from the cloud to phones, tablets, Chromebooks, browsers, and (finally) to a PC app. And as a bonus, the Xbox app will let you stream games from your Xbox Series X or Series S as well. Xbox cloud gaming will begin moving from the Xbox Cloud gaming (beta) app directly to the Xbox app. That app should allow you to two ways to stream games. The first, “true” cloud gaming, will stream games from the Microsoft cloud to your PC, much like Chromebooks or browser-based cloud gaming already does. Cloud gaming essentially taps an Xbox Series S console in Microsoft’s cloud, streaming the game down over tens or hundreds of miles of Internet infrastructure to your PC. That lets you play games your PC hardware might not be able to handle on its own, but it also introduces some latency, or lag, to your inputs.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 15, 2021
  • PCWorld's September Digital Magazine: This DIY laptop begs to be taken apart
  • Stay on top of the latest tech with PCWorld’s Digital Magazine. Available as single copies or as a monthly subscription, it highlights the best content from PCWorld.com—the most important news, the key product reviews, and the most useful features and how-to stories—in a curated Digital Magazine for Android and iOS, as well for the desktop and other tablet readers.In the September issue This month, meet the laptop that wants you to take it apart. We showcase the best prebuilt PCs with AMD’s Ryzen APUs. See our picks for the best online marketplaces for selling used devices. Learn how to check your laptop’s battery health.Other highlights include:To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 14, 2021
  • How to tell what kind of RAM you have
  • For a very long time, the most common path to improving your PC’s performance has been through upgrading the RAM. RAM stands for “random access memory” and it’s effectively the component of your PC that is keeping track of what your computer is currently working on. When RAM is limited, your PC has to keep that current information stored somewhere else, which can dramatically slow down your workflow and load times. This is particularly notable in computationally heavy projects, such as video encoding and high-quality art creation.Whether you’re looking to upgrade or you’re looking to harvest the RAM from one PC to use in another, it helps to know what kind of RAM your system is using. There are a handful of ways to figure that out!To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 14, 2021
  • AMD Radeon Software can overclock your Ryzen CPU now, too
  • The latest version of Radeon Software adds an unusual (and welcome) new twist: The ability to automatically overclock your Ryzen processor if you’re rocking an all-AMD gaming desktop. Yes, your GPU software can speed up your CPU now, too—and it can do it all with a single click.The addition might not come as a surprise if you’ve been paying close attention to AMD’s behavior over the past year. Now that Ryzen bests Intel processors and Radeon graphics cards go blow-for-blow with Nvidia’s top GPUs, gamers can get no-compromises performance from an all-AMD rig for the first time in many years—and AMD has been working hard to strengthen the ties between the two product lineups. Smart Access Memory grants your Ryzen CPU full access to your Radeon GPU’s memory, while Smart Shift technology lets laptops with a Ryzen/Radeon combo intelligently shift more power to either component when it’s needed for faster performance. And earlier this year, AMD worked Ryzen performance monitoring into Radeon Software.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 14, 2021
  • Forget video, Zoom wants to fuse Slack and Teams
  • Remember when Zoom was just our pandemic video-chat app? Now the service is adding collaboration features of all stripes, including translation, whiteboarding, and even voice mail, while challenging established players like Microsoft Teams and Slack.Zoom kicked off its Zoomtopia user conference by announcing a ton of new features, par for the course during the whirlwind days of the pandemic when Google, Microsoft, Zoom, and others competed for users. Now, as the world moves into a hybrid work environment, Zoom is trying to capture a greater percentage of both in-person and remote workers. (Zoom hedged its bets by saying that these are “future potential projects.”)To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 14, 2021
  • Mullvad VPN review: Our favorite ultra-private VPN gets even better
  • Mullvad in brief: P2P allowed: Yes Business location: Sweden Number of servers: 780 Number of country locations: 35 (38 for WireGuard) Cost: €5 ($5.86 at this writing) billed monthly VPN protocol: OpenVPN Data encryption: AES-256-GCM Data authentication: TLSv1.3 (TLS_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256) Handshake: 4096-bit RSA For a long time Mullvad has been a solid VPN service that didn’t change a whole lot other than adding an improved app. It continues to use its improved VPN app that we saw roll out several years ago, but the company is also adding new features and dramatically expanding its network compared to what we saw last time around. To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 14, 2021
  • The best PCIe 4.0 SSD: If you have this cutting-edge interface, this drive is ready for it
  • Most computers and storage drives still use the common SATA or PCIe 3.0 interfaces to sling your bits of data around, but if you’re lucky enough to own a relatively modern PC, you might be able to upgrade to a solid-state drive (SSD) built on the insanely fast PCIe 4.0 protocol. We’ve tested several PCIe 4.0 SSDs, and the best one to cross our labs thus far is the Samsung 980 Pro in a field of tough contenders.“The Samsung 980 Pro is a great NVMe SSD—the fastest we’ve ever tested using the PCIe 4.0 bus,” we said in our review (though it has since been unseated by the far pricier Seagate FireCuda 530). “If you’re lucky or smart enough to own a late-gen Ryzen system, it’s the one you want.”To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 11, 2021
  • Does your laptop feel sluggish? Try these 9 things before you give up
  • Does your laptop feel sluggish? Do you have to wait five minutes after rebooting the laptop before it responds? Does it struggle to switch between browser tabs even when you have less than half a dozen open?A slow, frustrating laptop may have you shopping for a new model, but you should try these tips before you give up. Improving the performance of your aging laptop can extend its life by several years and keep it out of the landfill. Restart your PC Have you tried turning it off and on again?It’s cliche for a reason. If anything, this trick is even more relevant today. A modern laptop is reliable and can be placed in an efficient sleep mode to save power. There’s no reason to turn it off unless you’re installing a Windows update or troubleshooting.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 11, 2021
  • Lian Li O11 Air Mini vs. O11D Mini: All the specs compared
  • Back in 2018, Lian Li launched the O11 Air, a dual-chamber ATX case with a strong focus on airflow. Now the company has introduced a Mini version of it—one with a very strong resemblance to the incredibly popular O11 Dynamic Mini that launched last fall.But the two cases belong to different lines of cases, each with subtle differences that add up. Given how modular these cases are, it can be hard to keep track of all those nuances. So to make it easier to decide which O11 is right for you, we’ve broken down the many specs and put them side by side. (For a full compilation of all the info, check out the chart at the bottom of this article.) Be sure to watch the video above too for a clearer visual idea of how components fit into each case.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 11, 2021
  • O11 Air Mini: Hands-on with Lian Li’s new airflow-focused case
  • You’ve probably already seen a Lian Li O11 case before. Visit any forum where people show off builds, and the O11 Dynamic comes up time and time again. But the Dynamic isn’t the only O11 line that Lian Li produces. It also has the O11 Air, which focuses more on airflow.The company is now launching a Mini version of the Air, one that sports some key differences from its O11D Mini cousin. And those features may be enough to lure away builders from the O11D Mini that launched late last year—after some hands-on time with the case, I think this may be the one I’d recommend of the two.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 11, 2021
  • 5 easy tasks that supercharge your security
  • Protecting your personal data isn’t just smart these days—it’s a necessity. As the world grows more and more connected, your private info becomes more and more valuable. Whether it’s using leaked info from website breaches to hack into your other accounts or holding your personal computer ransom for money, malicious evildoers won’t hesitate to ruin your day if it puts profits in their pockets. And a recent scary Microsoft Office hack reminds us that local files can secretly be malware in disguise as well.All is not lost though. Following some basic security principles can help protect you from most of the attacks you’ll find on the World Wild Web. Better yet, these five easy security tasks should take only a short while to get set up. Do them now and sleep easier at night.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 10, 2021
  • Office's future of work swipes ideas from 2010's Xbox
  • In 2010, Microsoft’s Kinect smart camera recognized you and logged you in to your Xbox. Now Microsoft is applying the same principles to meetings, announcing support for a future lineup of intelligent cameras that will zoom in and highlight you in hybrid meetings.Support for intelligent cameras in Microsoft Teams is just part of several announcements Microsoft made Thursday regarding the future of so-called hybrid work, where employees navigate between working at home and in the office. New features include the ability to tell coworkers whether you’ll be working from home or in the office via Outlook, be it your weekly schedule or an RSVP for a specific meeting, and to stream video of yourself as you present a PowerPoint presentation.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 10, 2021
  • Acer Swift X review: A rare ultraportable laptop with bite
  • The Acer Swift X packs impressive power inside an ultraportable case and is a great pick if you want a high-performance, highly portable laptop. Where most ultraportables prize efficiency and rely on integrated graphics, the Swift X serves up Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU for an added punch. With the RTX graphics and a powerful AMD CPU, the Swift X is able to handle content-creation tasks and some gaming in addition to the basic office chores for which most ultraportables are built.The Swift X doesn’t toss efficiency out the window and provides ample battery life despite its power-hungry parts. You’ll need to put up with a frequently loud fan and warm keyboard, however, and the system’s fit and finish is not on par with that of other premium ultraportables. Make sure you need the graphics prowess of the Swift X before committing because you are forced to sacrifice in other areas to get it. To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 10, 2021
  • Google, why do I have to hack my phone to keep it secure?
  • When Google announced it would guarantee Pixel phones three years of security updates, the news reports were largely positive. At the time, the reaction made sense. For years and years, Google left it up to smartphone makers to decide update releases—and they chose to do so very erratically. Setting a standard of three years seemed like a big step.Well, my Pixel 3 is coming up on its three year mark, and instead of feeling gratitude for that time, I’m extremely annoyed about the end of its security updates next month.The phone still runs perfectly well. Apps and websites load quickly, and the battery is holding up. I have no urge to upgrade it, much less spend $700+ on the newest Pixel (and definitely not as much as $1,200 for a competing Android phone). So if I want to keep my Pixel 3 and protection against current security threats, I’m going to have to “hack” it.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 10, 2021
  • How Windows 11 will speed up your slow PC
  • Windows 11 sure looks different, but under-the-hood performance improvements may make it feel different, too—specifically in how the operating system handles multiple apps, as well as how your PC resumes from sleep.Microsoft detailed the new changes in a company video, where Steve Dispensa, vice president of enterprise management at Microsoft, explained how Windows 11 will deliver more performance in three different scenarios.[ Further reading: Our best Windows 10 tricks, tips and tweaks ] Running multiple apps on an overloaded PC Take a PC with multiple applications running: email in the background, instant messaging, browsers with multiple tabs, and so on. A PC without much memory or CPU cycles available will run slowly, probably causing you to close an app or two to improve performance. In Windows 11, Microsoft promises that the way in which those apps are prioritized, called foreground prioritization, will make your PC feel faster even with a heavy load.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 10, 2021
  • How to protect yourself from the new Microsoft Office hack
  • There’s a scary new attack targeting Microsoft Office—and worse, it’s not patched yet. But you can keep your computer safe if you don’t click on risky files from untrusted sources. And even if you do by accident, Office’s Protected View feature can save your bacon.Unfortunately, we all still click on Office documents emailed from “trusted” contacts, so the next line of defense is to make sure Protected View—the prompt that warns you a file originated from someone potentially insecure, requiring you to click a button to start editing it—is switched on in Office 365. It’s normally on by default, but some users may errantly switch it off. If you’re wondering if you have Protected View on, here’s the easy 5-step process to check.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 08, 2021
  • Microsoft adds another Start to Windows
  • Microsoft now has a Start menu and a Start feed, within both Windows 10 and Windows 11.Microsoft’s ongoing new efforts took a new turn on Tuesday, as Microsoft rebranded its news feed to Microsoft Start. You’ll see the new name appear where Microsoft’s news appears: on Windows 10’s News & Interests popup, within Windows 11’s Widgets, and on a standalone website, MicrosoftStart.com. The “new tab” page within Microsoft Edge will also show headlines from the Microsoft Start news feed, if you have it set up to “informative” mode. A mobile Microsoft Start app is also available.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 08, 2021
  • Windows 11's dark mode has its own dark sounds
  • Windows 11 contains an unexpected new feature: a separate set of quieter, more mellow audio cues that accompany the operating system’s Dark Mode.Microsoft confirmed the new Windows 11 dark mode sounds to BleepingComputer, which also posted samples of the audio if you haven’t discovered them yourself. Essentially, they’re the aural equivalent of the “rounded corners” aesthetic that is part and parcel of Windows 11.“Windows 10 sounds were sharp, literally created with sharp wave lengths. In Windows 11, we have focused on making the technology calm. In order to do this, we needed to reevaluate our sound scape to also be calm,” Microsoft told BleepingComputer in a statement. “The new sounds have a much rounder wavelength, making them softer so that they can still alert/notify you, but without being overwhelming.”To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 08, 2021
  • Lenovo's first Windows 11 laptops run on Ryzen
  • Lenovo will ring in the arrival of Windows 11 with a pair of premium AMD Ryzen-based laptops.The IdeaPad Slim 7 Carbon will feature a carbon lid and aluminum body to go with its drop-dead gorgeous 14-inch OLED screen. Besides the infinite contrast an OLED provides, Lenovo will use a fast 90Hz, 2880x1800 panel with an aspect ratio of 16:10 on the Slim 7 Carbon. That’s just over 5 megapixels with a density of 243 pixels-per-inch. This is one smoking screen.But this beauty goes deeper than the skin. Inside the Slim 7 Carbon, you’ll find an 8-core Ryzen 7 5800U with an optional Nvidia GeForce MX450 GPU. Lenovo will offer up to 16GB of power efficient LPDDR4X RAM and up to a 1TB PCIe SSD.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 07, 2021
  • How many CPU cores do you have? How to check
  • At some point, everyone learns that a CPU has a variable number of cores inside, and that number influences its performance. The next natural impulse is to find out how many cores your CPU has.The good news is, figuring that out is extremely easy in Windows 10.Simply tap the Windows key (or click on the Start menu button), then begin typing the word “system.” The top match should be “System” or “System Information.” Either will work, so hit the Enter key or click on that result, and a window will appear that lists your PC’s hardware information—including the name of your processor and the number of cores that it has. PCWorld Looking at the System or System Information in Windows 10 will give you the basic info you’re looking for, but to get core and thread (“logical processor”) count, open the Task Manager instead.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 07, 2021
  • 12 popular Google Doodle games you can still play
  • A few times each year, the Google Doodle team cranks out some high-quality games to celebrate anniversaries and special events, or to raise awareness of ongoing issues. Usually these games are meant to last anywhere from 2 to 20 minutes, though some last even an hour or more. In no particular order, here are some of the best Google Doodle games you can still play.Pac-Man Google Pac-Man is a timeless classic, so it only makes sense to kick off our list with this world-famous 1980s’ arcade game. On May 21, 2010, Google released this fun Doodle to celebrate Pac-Man’s 30th anniversary. Experience the nostalgia by chomping down on some dots, assorted fruits, and maybe even a ghost or two.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 04, 2021
  • Buying a mechanical keyboard? Consider these 6 points of caution
  • When I bought my first mechanical keyboard in 2015, I had no idea what I was doing. Coveting the clackety sound and glorious key travel of mechanical switches, I sprung for a hefty Rosewill Apollo keyboard without doing much research. It ended up being a poor fit for me, and I sold it on eBay a few years later.Only later did I realize the depth of the mechanical keyboard rabbit hole, and how many granular options exist to get exactly the typing or PC gaming experience you want. After buying my first compact mechanical keyboard—then another, and another—I realized there was no going back to cheaper keyboards with mushy rubber membranes and blandly utilitarian aesthetics.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 04, 2021
  • Watch: Will Intel's Alder Lake CPUs topple AMD's Ryzen 5000?
  • Intel says its upcoming 12th-gen Alder Lake CPUs will be the company’s “most significant” change in more than a decade. Alder Lake will likely be Intel’s first attempt to wrest the ”best CPU” performance crown back from a surging AMD, too.Yes, we know, we’re months away from a real show down, but in the spirit of sports analysts and Las Vegas bookies calling odds on the Super Bowl winner before the first game has even been played, here’s where we think Intel’s 12th gen Alder Lake may stack up against AMD’s mighty Ryzen 5000—including AMD’s unexpectedly radical V-cache upgrade. Watch our predictions below, or visit the video directly on PCWorld’s Youtube channel. Be sure to subscribe while you’re there!To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 04, 2021
  • The best graphics cards for PC gaming: A third contender appears
  • Most people who are in the market for a new graphics card have one primary question in mind: Which card will give me the most bang for my buck? Obviously, the answer will vary depending on your budget. Beyond that, there are a number of factors to  consider: Raw performance is important, but so are things like noise, the driver experience, and supplemental software. And do you want to pay a premium to get in on the bleeding edge of real-time ray tracing? Gaming GPU cheat sheet Our quick-hit recommendations: Best budget GPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G APURemove non-product link [newegg.com] Best 1080p GPU: GeForce GTX 1660 Super [newegg.com] Best 1440p GPU: GeForce RTX 3060 Ti [bestbuy.com]  Best 4K GPU: GeForce RTX 3080Remove non-product link [bestbuy.com] or Radeon RX 6800 XT [bestbuy.com] Let us make it easy for you. We’ve tested nearly every major GPU that’s hit the streets over the past couple of years, from $100 budget cards to $1,200 luxury models. Our knowledge has been distilled into this article—a buying guide with recommendations on which graphics card to buy, no matter what sort of experience you’re looking for.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 03, 2021
  • Best Windows tablet 2021: Microsoft Surface Pro 7+ vs. tablets from Dell, HP, and Lenovo
  • The best Windows tablets squeeze as much performance, battery life, and features as they can inside their ultraportable form factors. Also sometimes referred to as 2-in-1s, thanks to their ability to function as a laptop with the aid of rotating or removable keyboards, these compact PCs can replace a traditional laptop or an iPad for on-the-go work and play. Of the four major tablets of the 2021 generation, two are particularly notable and stand out above the others.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 03, 2021
  • Nvidia Broadcast v1.3 smooths out pain points in an already-awesome tool
  • As incredible as Nvidia Broadcast’s AI-powered software is for RTX graphics card owners, its features haven’t been perfect. Take background noise removal. Get too excited, and on occasion, your voice gets muted as unwanted noise. With the release of version 1.3, Nvidia is eliminating that problem, plus adding more camera support for its virtual greenscreen effects and reducing Broadcast’s impact on system resources.Of Nvidia Broadcast’s four main features, the borderline magical RTX Voice may be its best known. Available to RTX and GTX card owners, its elimination of ambient sounds is the only feature also supported on older cards. Barking dogs, household chatter, roaring vacuum cleaners—RTX Voice keeps that unwanted audio from seeping into video calls and livestreams. But now and then, it would also mute the primary speaker when they spoke too loudly or at a higher pitch, usually during moments of high emotion on livestream. Now, Nvidia says new training sound profiles will eliminate that problem.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 03, 2021
  • No, wildfire smoke won’t kill your PC. But it might hurt it
  • You can live far away from the western United States and still be affected by the smoke from the wildfires raging there. In fact, you’re not even safe if you live completely across the country. Back in July, hazy skies settled over New York City, Boston, Washington DC, and other parts of the east coast thanks to wind and jetstream patterns.Living in the path of wildfire smoke isn’t the same high-risk scenario for a PC as actually surviving a fire in the home. But the danger of smoke remains the same, albeit in less concentrated form: acidity, discoloration, and speed of particulate build-up. All of these effects can possibly damage your PC.How to protect your PC from wildfire smoke Because smoke can have acidic properties, you don’t want to leave the ash, soot, and other particles lingering in your system for too long. Corrosive damage to your components and case aren’t a guarantee, but the more intense the smoke exposure, the more mindful you should be about its potential impact. Discoloration can be a concern, too—an issue for builders who care about their PC’s aesthetics. And particulate build-up can contribute a third problem by layering up thick and blocking air flow, leading to higher system temperatures. At best, having clogged dust filters and fans only drags down optimal performance, but at worse (when it’s extreme enough), it’ll affect the longevity of the PC in a quiet, indirect way.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 03, 2021
  • The Asus ProArt Studiobook reinvents the wheel for content creators
  • Asus’s new ProArt Studiobook and Studiobook Pro series just reinvented the wheel. These laptops literally feature an embedded wheel embedded for content creators who need to quickly scrub through media or make quick adjustments.You might not even look down at that wheel though, because it might be hard to rip your eyes away from the 16-inch, 4K+, 16:10 “third-generation” OLED screen Asus uses in the StudioBook series.OLEDs have long suffered from burn-in concerns, but Asus says the latest Samsung technology helps mitigate that risk. The OLED features pixel-level wear levelling that monitors each subpixel’s use, and it will occasionally shift pixels slightly as well.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 03, 2021
  • This USB-C Lightning cable should terrify you
  • Now even your USB-C and Lightning cables can spy on you.Hak5 has begun selling USB-C and USB-A cables that yes, work as cables—but they can also be used hack your laptop, tablet, or phone remotely.The cable, first demonstrated by security researcher MG in late 2019, is designed to look like a standard USB cable. Lurking inside, however, is embedded Wi-Fi, web server, and keylogger functionality, along with the ability to remotely control the mouse and keyboard of the computer its attached to.Called the O.MG Cable, it’s described by Hak5 as being “built for covert field-use, with features that enhance remote execution, stealth, forensics evasion, all while being able to quickly change your tooling on the fly.” MG built this as a penetration testing tool for security researchers.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 02, 2021
  • Meshlicious killer? iBuyPower enters the SFF case wars with the Hyte Revolt 3
  • You likely know iBuyPower as a system integrator—a company that offers customizable prebuilt PCs using off the shelf parts. But the company also has a history of producing interesting standalone computer cases, namely the Snowblind series, which had a transparent LCD screen in place of a standard tempered glass side panel.This time, the company has gone a different route. On Wednesday, it launched the Hyte Revolt 3, a mini-ITX case with a tower design similar to the popular SSUPD MeshliciousRemove non-product link and infamous NZXT H1, as part of its new Hyte lifestyle sub-brand.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 02, 2021
  • Watch us unbox MSI's Prestige 14 Evo laptop and benchmark its 5GHz CPU
  • Intel’s ultra-fast Core i7-1195G7 chip just reared its head in MSI’s Prestige 14 Evo, but that’s not the most exciting feature of the ultra-slim laptop—it’s the USB port.Really.Sure, Intel’s 5GHz Core i7-1195G7 is technically faster than the previous 4.8GHz Core i7-1185G7 by about 200MHz, which works out to about 4 percent higher clock speeds than Intel’s previous top-end CPU for ultra-light laptops. That’s not a lot to hoot about, but the feature that makes the latest MSI Prestige 14 Evo laptop about a million times better than the previous version is its USB port. The previous MSI Prestige 14 inexplicably has a USB A 2.0 port. That’s dirt slow in 2021. Sure, you can and probably should just plug into the two available USB C / Thunderbolt 4 ports on the other side of the laptop, but if you don’t, you’ll get a rude slow surprise when transferring data. (Though to be fair, MSI probably thought you’d only plug a mouse into that port.)To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 02, 2021
  • Microsoft boots older PCs out of Windows 11 preview testing
  • Well that didn’t take long. Mere hours after announcing Windows 11’s October 5 release date, the company is booting Windows Insider preview PCs with unsupported hardware out of Windows 11 testing.The move isn’t a surprise. Microsoft allowed Windows Insiders who have been testing Windows 11 to continue to do so even after revealing surprisingly strict hardware requirements for the operating system, with the caveat that access will be pulled eventually. But it caps off a tumultuous few days for the company.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 02, 2021
  • EVGA explains how Amazon's MMO bricked 24 GeForce RTX 3090s
  • An analysis of dead EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 cards that failed while playing Amazon’s New World game indicate a rare soldering issue limited to a small batch of cards is responsible, a company spokesman told PCWorld.EVGA said it received about two dozen dead GeForce RTX 3090 cards believed to have failed from playing the New World beta. All of the cards were earlier production run cards manufactured in 2020. Under an X-ray analysis, they appear to have “poor workmanship” on soldering around the card’s MOSFET circuits that powered the impacted cards.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 02, 2021
  • Google may be creating its own M1 CPU rival for Chromebooks
  • Just like Apple with its homegrown M1 chip, Google may be building its own Arm-based CPU to run Chromebooks, according a recent news reports.Citing three different unnamed sources, Nikkei Asia said Google is building its own processor for use in laptops and tablets running ChromeOS, with a targeted release date of 2023.[ Further reading: Our picks for best PC laptops ] Chromebooks have been tearing up sales charts and dominating in schools due to their low cost, easy maintenance, and close paring with Google services. In fact, laptops using ChromeOS have been slowly eating into Microsoft’s Windows share of the market pie, and now actually outsell MacBooks.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 01, 2021
  • Windows 11 won't support Android apps at launch
  • Microsoft snuck some key news into a corner of the Windows 11 release date announcement: Android app support, one of the most anticipated new Windows 11 features, won’t be available when the operating system launches on October 5.“We look forward to continuing our journey to bring Android apps to Windows 11 and the Microsoft Store through our collaboration with Amazon and Intel; this will start with a preview for Windows Insiders over the coming months,” wrote Aaron Woodman, Microsoft’s Windows marketing manager.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Sep 01, 2021
  • SK Hynix Gold P31 SSD review: The first 128-layer NAND drive is fast and affordable too
  • The SK Hynix Gold P31 NVMe SSD moves the needle on the industry seismometer just enough to makes this review far easier to write. Two points alter the needle’s path: The P31 is not only the first drive to sport 128-layer TLC NAND, it’s also the first in my experience to feature eco-friendly packaging. Huzzah! This review is part of our ongoing roundup of the best SSDs. Go there for information on competing products and how we tested them. Editor's note: On August 31st, 2021, SK Hynix sent us the newly released 2TB version of the Gold P31 ($280 on Amazon). In testing, the performance was within half a percent either way of the the 1TB version reviewed here, which was first published on August 19, 2020.  To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 31, 2021
  • Don’t be lazy: Always use a fresh Windows installation for a new PC
  • Migrating your data from an existing storage drive to a new one is a pain. It can take hours to complete the process, and you always run the risk of leaving something behind. It’s understandable that you’d be tempted to take your SSD or HDD and just connect it to your new system’s motherboard. But you shouldn’t give in to the desire.Yes, we’ve come a long way since the days when moving over a drive wasn’t even an option if you had any sense. Back then, Windows installations reacted poorly to the changeover, with problems ranging from the PC not booting to deactivated features to the risk of random Blue Screens of Death...and more. The best course was spinning up a new drive: You installed a fresh version of Windows, all the relevant drivers for your new build, and your previous set of applications anew. Computer users who did a good job of backing up files could then copy those onto the new drive with minimal downtime, while keeping the old drive on hand as a safety in case a file didn’t make it over.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 31, 2021
  • Dell XPS 17 review: The ultimate content creation laptop
  • Warning: Dell’s XPS 17 9710 is no gaming laptop. If you just wrinkled your nose up in disapproval, it’s fine—from Dell’s point of view anyway. That’s because the XPS 17 9710 is seemingly designed to appeal to content creators, not those focused only on gaming.You might have difficulty wrapping your head around the concept since gaming laptops with a higher-resolution screen typically pass as content creation laptops. We admit we thought that too, but over time, we’ve come to finally understand what Dell is doing here—very successfully too. Adobe users in particular will love this notebook. To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 31, 2021
  • Windows 11 FAQ: Answers to your most burning Windows 11 questions
  • Windows 11 is nearly here. Microsoft has formally announced Windows 11, and we’ve already seen it as a leaked build. Every new operating system brings many questions. We’re starting here with the answers we know, and we’ll update this list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) as we learn more. To find everything we know about Windows, check out our Windows 11 comprehensive guide, with news, tips, reviews, and more.What is Windows 11? Windows 11 is the name of the next major revision to Windows 10, different enough that it justified a new brand name and not just another feature update.  Microsoft launched Windows 11 on June 24. To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 27, 2021
  • How to set up your PC's fans for maximum system cooling
  • Hot hardware is unhappy hardware, so where you place your PC's fans plays a crucial part in how efficiently your precious components perform. This guide will explain how to set up your PC fans for the best cooling performance—because you didn't stand in line for days to get your expensive new graphics card just for it to thermal throttle, after all.There are a few important concepts that you should be aware of when it comes to setting up your various PC fans. Let's tackle them one by one. The knowledge should flow in quickly—just like the air in a well-configured system.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 27, 2021
  • These 6 core apps will change in Windows 11
  • Windows 11 won’t just change the Windows operating system, it will change the way some Windows apps look and feel, too. Though Windows 11 will launch this fall, Microsoft has already been highlighting several Windows apps that are being updated for Windows 11.So far, Microsoft has shown off several Windows apps that it’s reworking for Windows 11, including what you might consider to be core Windows apps: Mail and Calendar, Paint, and even the lowly Clock app. Below, we’ll show you what to expect of these new apps within Windows 11. (Remember, Windows 11 is officially in beta. Things may change between now and the final release.)To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 27, 2021
  • Report: Chip prices could go up 10 percent or more as TSMC imposes price hikes
  • Superfoundry TSMC plans to raise chip prices by 10 to 20 percent, according to a new report. If true, chip prices across the board could increase as a result, especially AMD CPUs and GPUs from AMD, Intel, and Nvidia. Laptops, Apple iPhones, and Android phones powered by Qualcomm could see price hikes, too.The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacuring Co., the world’s largest chip foundry, “plans” to raise the prices it charges customers as early as later this year or possibly next year, due to an unusually high demand for chips. The Journal reported that TSMC would charge automakers up to 20 percent more to manufacture key automotive components, but also charge up to 10 percent more for “more advanced chips.”To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 27, 2021
  • How to tell which way your fan is blowing
  • Spend enough time around PC builders and PC building forums, and you’ll learn pretty quickly that the direction of a case or CPU cooler fan matters. When a fan’s positioned for intake, the intent is to pull in cool air. But when a fan is set as an exhaust fan, the idea is to expel warm air away from the case or cooler. Both options are useful depending on where the fan resides in the build.So how do you tell at a glance which way the fan is blowing, especially when even seasoned PC builders sometimes have to take a moment to think about it? It’s pretty simple, even if your fan’s manufacturer doesn’t make it explicitly clear.Look for the arrow Alaina Yee / IDG Some case fans (but not all) have an arrow showing the direction of airflow.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 26, 2021
  • ExpressVPN review: Just as speedy now with its own open-source protocol
  • ExpressVPN in brief: P2P allowed: Yes Number of servers: 3,000+ Number of country locations: 95 Business location: British Virgin Islands Cost: $99.95 VPN protocol: Lightway Data encryption: AES256-GCM Data authentication: SHA384 Handshake: ECDHE-RSA Paying more than $60 for a VPN service is too much. Unless that company is offering a ton of extra features and device compatibility to justify the cost. One company making that gamble is ExpressVPN, which charges nearly $100 per year.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 26, 2021
  • Acer Nitro 5 review: Great gaming value with a great display
  • You're likely accustomed to seeing models of Acer’s venerable Nitro 5 budget gaming laptop line with prices comfortably in the triple digits. The company extends the line into midrange gaming laptop territory with this configuration ($1,700 at Acer), which packs a QHD display powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 graphics. Despite its many charms and strong performance, the Nitro 5 takes a close second to the Asus ROG Strix G15 Advantage Edition, which remains the best gaming laptop value we've seen lately. The Nitro 5 has an obvious advantage in screen resolution, however: Its 15.6-inch QHD display lends a versatility to the Nitro 5 that makes it an excellent productivity machine as well. If you’re looking for a do-it-all laptop for both work and play, there’s a good argument to be made for the Nitro 5.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 26, 2021
  • Fitbit's Charge 5 reveal hints at the future of Android Wear
  • Fitbit officially unveiled its latest fitness tracker on Wednesday, but for those following the rumors and leaks, the announcement of the Charge 5 comes as little surprise. Far more interesting are the new features of the Charge 4’s successor and the coming updates to Fitbit’s Premium service launching alongside it—plus the tantalizing hint dropped about the Google-owned company’s involvement with Wear OS (formerly Android Wear) devices.Design and features More streamlined, colorful, feature-rich, and expensive is the fastest summary of the Charge 5. Compared to its predecessor, it’s thinner by 10 percent, with a flatter shape and rounded edges similar to Fitbit’s smaller Luxe tracker. However, it still sports the same maximum battery life of up to seven days, despite that downsizing and a switch to a color AMOLED screen two times as bright as the monochrome Charge 4. Reading the Charge 5 in bright sunlight and indoors should be easier than with the Charge 4, as Fitbit has paired the brighter display with an ambient light sensor for automatic dimming as well. This tracker also now includes an Always-On Display option, eliminating the need to move your wrist to see the screen.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 26, 2021
  • The Full Nerd special edition: Intel's Tom Petersen dives deep into Arc GPUs and XeSS
  • In this episode of The Full Nerd, Gordon Ung, Brad Chacos and Adam Patrick Murray are joined by Intel Fellow Tom Petersen to talk about the company's highly anticipated Arc graphics cards for PC gamers.Although still months away, excitement is building for Intel's entry into the graphics game with its Arc GPUs. Petersen drops hints about why certain design decisions were made by the company in AI, and wades into whether Arc GPUs will support adaptive sync (and the state of adaptive sync monitors in general).To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 26, 2021
  • Best Buy will sell Nvidia RTX 30-series GPUs this Thursday (if you have a ticket)
  • If you’ve been searching in vain for a graphics card during the crippling GPU shortage, tomorrow might just be your best chance yet at snagging one. Best Buy announced that it will be selling GeForce RTX 30-series graphics card in select stores Thursday morning.“Nvidia GeForce RTX 30 Series graphics cards will have limited quantities available on Thursday, August 26, only in select stores,” the company said in an announcement on Monday. “Blue Shirts at participating stores will start handing out tickets at 7:30 a.m. local time that morning. We’ll hand out one ticket per customer in line. If you get a ticket, you will be guaranteed the opportunity to purchase a graphics card inside the store beginning at 8 a.m. local time.”To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 25, 2021
  • Nvidia LHR explained: What is a 'Lite Hash Rate' GPU?
  • It’s a tough time to be a PC gamer. A crippling GPU shortage has made buying the best graphics cards next to impossible, and when you can find a GPU, it’s usually at an exorbitant markup. Making matters worse, crypto currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have been absolutely booming throughout 2021, driving hordes of GPU miners to gobble up what graphics cards they can find to mine cryptocoins and turn a nice profit, sometimes in “farms” composed of rows of toiling GPUs.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 25, 2021
  • This massive AI chip has the compute power of a human brain
  • Cerebras Systems said today that the company has achieved the computational equivalent of the human brain, or the equivalent of 100 trillion synapses.Cerebras manufactures what it calls the Wafer Scale Engine-1 and -2, a massive 46,225 sq. mm chip more like the size of a computer keyboard than the CPU that goes inside of your PC. The company essentially mounts that chip inside of a standalone CS-2 system, about the size of a dorm refrigerator. Now, the company says that it’s been able to surround the CS-2 with several different technologies to enable the brain-scale computational power to reach 120 trillion synapse equivalents, also called parameters.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 24, 2021
  • How to keep your PC cool for best performance
  • The desktop PC has two major nemeses: dust and heat. Heat can be tough to diagnose since you can’t see it the way you can with dust. The key to avoiding any heat-related issues (besides regularly cleaning your PC) is sticking with some tried and true principles of cooling. If you follow the basics, then adapt them to your local environment and the demands of your PC, you should be just fine.How to measure temperatures The best way to easily measure if your PC is getting too hot is to monitor the temperatures reported by the CPU and GPU. If these two components are staying within their recommended temperature ranges, then everything else should be just fine.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 24, 2021
  • Intel Alder Lake explained: How it enables a new generation of PCs
  • Intel’s next PC microprocessor, Alder Lake, marks a radical change for Intel. Its first mainstream Core hybrid processor mixes “performance” and “efficiency” engines to deliver either performance or longer battery life when your PC needs it most.According to Intel, Alder Lake is due “later this fall,” most likely as a 12th-gen Core chip. Intel will manufacture three versions of Alder Lake—one for the desktop, and two more for laptops—with up to 16 cores and 24 threads. Alder Lake will also mark Intel’s introduction of PCI Express 5 and DDR5 memory, executives said at its Intel Architecture Day Thursday.Interestingly, Intel has co-designed with Microsoft a special thread scheduler, destined for Windows 11, that will optimize performance. Desktop and laptop PCs with Alder Lake inside them should mix and match higher performance where it’s needed and offer longer battery life, as Intel continues to get better at assigning the right processor core for the right task. The company says its performance core should deliver 19 percent more performance than today’s 11th-gen “Rocket Lake” desktop chip.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 24, 2021
  • Full Nerd: Watch Intel's Tom Petersen answer our Arc GPU and XeSS questions Tuesday!
  • We're in for a treat on this week's Full Nerd podcast. Join us live on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. Eastern/10:30 a.m. Pacific when we’re joined by Intel’s Tom Petersen to talk about the company's just-revealed Arc GPU and XeSS upsampling technology!Intel’s entrance into consumer graphics cards couldn’t come at a better time for gamers, who are suffering through one of the worst GPU droughts in recorded history. If you’re curious about Intel’s GPU and whether its XeSS image upscaling technology can compete with Nvidia’s DLSS 2.0 and AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution, come with your questions ready for graphics veteran Tom Petersen, who left Nvidia for Intel in 2019. Tom dropped some deep, insightful knowledge the last time he was on TFN all the way back in 2016.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 24, 2021
  • Razer's mouse hack highlights a problem: Hardware that pushes apps to your PC
  • A recent “hack” involving a Razer mouse shows what can happen if a new piece of hardware automatically downloads the required utility software: It can allow an attacker to take over a PC.Late last week, security researcher “j0nh4t” showed that the RazerInstaller utility could be used to elevate privileges on a PC, giving an attacker total control. Essentially, all a user would need to do is attach a Razer mouse, wait for Razer’s utility software to download, and then run PowerShell. Using the technique that jonh4t described in his tweet, a guest account on a PC could obtain administrator status and control the PC.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 21, 2021
  • Razer Blade 14 review: For gamers who want to lighten up
  • When we received the Razer Blade 14 for review, we were curious to see what Ryzen 5000 and Nvidia RTX 30 series hardware could do in such a thin and light laptop. To Razer’s credit, the Blade 14 is surprisingly capable—with a few compromises. But you’ll need to reach deep for this top-tier system, which costs $2,800 at Amazon. This review is part of our ongoing roundup of the best laptops. Go there for information on competing products and how we tested them. Razer Blade 14 Specifications Razer put some impressive hardware into the Blade 14, especially considering its size. Here are the main components:To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 21, 2021
  • The Full Nerd ep. 188: Intel's 12th-gen Alder Lake and Arc GPU
  • In this episode of The Full Nerd, Gordon Ung, Alaina Yee, Mark Hachman and Adam Patrick Murray discuss Intel's big news on Alder Lake and its Arc GPU.It's all-Intel this week, but that's to be expected with the company unwrapping its Alder Lake hybrid CPU, which combines a redesigned performance core the company calls its biggest change in a decade, and its efficiency cores. You can read more about Alder Lake in Mark Hachman's story.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 19, 2021
  • This free Windows text tool will change the way you type
  • When it works, a text shortcut tool can feel like magic. Create a few shortcuts for your most frequently typed phrases or sentences, and you can enter them instantly with just a few keystrokes. With a bit of practice, text shortcuts—also known as text expansion—can cut down on vast amounts of repetitive typing.For a while, I used a program called PhaseExpress for text shortcuts. It didn’t always work reliably, and I got tired of its periodic nags to pay for unnecessary extra features. Earlier this year, I started looking for text expander alternatives, which led me to a brilliant app—with an even more brilliant name—called Beeftext.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 19, 2021
  • Every Tiger Lake H laptop available
  • In May, Intel unveiled more Tiger Lake H processors—a set of beefy, powerful chips that complement the modest 4-core parts that launched back in January and can compete with AMD’s best. Naturally, a slew of laptop reveals from long-time partners like Dell, Asus, and Acer accompanied the announcement. You can read all the details on Tiger Lake H45 in our comprehensive overview, as well as our comparison of Tiger Lake H and Ryzen 5000.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 19, 2021
  • Why Amazon's oldest Kindles will be cut off from the internet
  • Amazon’s oldest Kindles are being cut off from the internet. But don’t blame Amazon—these e-readers are collateral damage in the phaseout of 2G and 3G cellular service.The first two generations of Kindle e-readers used a cellular antenna to connect to the internet for downloading content. Specifically, the original Kindle (1st Generation) from 2007; the Kindle (2nd Generation) from 2009; and the Kindle DX (2nd Generation), also from 2009, all had 2G or 3G cellular connectivity. Check out PCWorld’s ongoing coverage of Kindle reviews and news. That’s a problem, because the cellular networks of that era are shutting down. “Starting in December 2021,” Amazon explained in a statement, “mobile network operators in the U.S. are turning off their 2G and 3G networks, which means customers with Kindle 1st/2nd Generation and Kindle DX 2nd Generation (2G/3G-only devices released between 2007 and 2009) will be unable to download content wirelessly.”To read this article in full, please click here
  • Aug 19, 2021
  • How to remove ads and Special Offers from your Kindle or Kindle Fire
  • If your Kindle has ads or “Special Offers” showing onscreen, it’s because you made a deal. You chose to save money on your Kindle’s purchase price by accepting the "Ad-Supported discount (formerly known as the “With Special Offers” discount). It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now you’re sick of the ads.The good news: You can back out of this deal. The bad news: It’s going to cost you. Why is my Kindle Ad-Supported? You might not have given this much thought when you bought your Kindle, but Amazon offers a lower price for the E-reader if you accept Ad Support or Special Offers. As Amazon explains, “If your Fire tablet or Kindle e-reader includes Special Offers, you’ll receive Sponsored Screensavers and special offers, including personalized advertising, from Amazon directly on your device.”To read this article in full, please click here
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