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This top-rated learning software is at its best price ever
Fri, 29 Mar 2024 08:00:00 +0000
Source: PCWorld
Learning a new language isn’t just a cool thing to do to make your travels easier, it also has real benefits for your cognitive health. Although, yes, it is also really cool to be able to speak the language when you’re traveling. Whatever your reasons, now is a great time to start because Babbel Language Learning is on sale for one of its lowest prices ever. With more than ten million users worldwide, Babbel is the world’s top-grossing language learning app and has even been named the “most innovative company in education” by Fast Company. The app was developed by more than 100 expert linguists and is designed to help you become conversational in a new language in as little as 30 days. Through 15-minute bite-sized lessons, you’ll learn practical vocabulary that you’ll use, learning how to properly communicate in one of the 14 available languages. It’s time to learn a new language. Now through 11:59 pm PT on April 2nd, you can get a lifetime subscription to Babbel Language Learning for more than $400 off at just $139.97 (reg. $599).   Babbel Language Learning: Lifetime Subscription (All Languages) – $139.97 See Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Accessories
Best laptops for college students 2024: Top picks and expert advice
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 18:54:50 +0000
Source: PCWorld
Gone are the days of backpacks overloaded with binders and the chronic hand-cramps from trying to write as fast as possible. Nowadays, a good laptop elevates your productivity and allows you to keep all your important lesson materials in one place. Whether you’re new to campus or heading into your final year, having a laptop that’s capable, sturdy, and portable — with good battery life, natch — will help keep you on top of your studies, or gaming (no judgement). Why you should trust us: It’s in our name, PCWorld. We’ve been reviewing laptops for decades, with exacting standards applied to all facets of the user experience, from performance benchmarks to features to the rigors of daily use. Our experts know their stuff and have curated a comprehensive list of the best laptops for college students, with their particular needs in mind. After you finish looking over our recommendations, be sure to hit our daily updated roundup of the best laptop deals to try and score your favorite laptops on sale. Or check out our roundup of the best laptops for even more recommendations. We’ve also got a great article about the five laptop features that matter most. Updated March 28, 2024: We replaced our top pick choice with the Dell Inspiron Plus 14 because of its fantastic performance, reasonable price point, and exceptional battery life. We also updated the list of recent laptop reviews, so be sure to check that out near the bottom of the page. Dell Inspiron Plus 14 – Best overall for students Pros Fantastic performance Exceptional battery life Great typing experience Cons CPU throttles under heavy loads No user upgrades Price When Reviewed: $999 Best Prices Today: $999.99 at Dell Why we like the Dell Inspiron Plus 14 The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus is one of the most well-rounded laptops available right now. You’re getting reliable performance, phenomenal battery life, and a superb-looking display. It only costs $999.99 too, which is several hundred dollars cheaper than our former top pick. With a PCMark 10 score of 7,061, it beat both the similarly spec’d Acer Swift Go 14 and the more expensive Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon. (PCMark 10 gauges how well a laptop handles day-to-day tasks.) It also lasted a whopping 17 hours on a single charge, which is perfect for students looking for a long-lasting machine. You don’t have to go hunting for an outlet between classes, that’s for sure. Who should buy the Dell Inspiron Plus 14 Students looking for a well-rounded and long-lasting laptop. Performance and battery life are no doubt impressive, but the 14-inch 1400p display is also worth noting. According to our review, “the display is exceedingly well suited to office work and static imagery.” We measured a peak brightness level of 418 nits, which is plenty bright for writing papers and browsing the web. Plus, thanks to the anti-glare coating on the display, you can use this laptop in more natural lightning environments. The design is a bit boring, sure, but its hardware capabilities and long battery life make up for the uninspired aesthetics. You can’t really get much better than this–especially for $999.99. Read our full Dell Inspiron 14 Plus review Lenovo Flex 5i – Best Chromebook for students Pros Great build quality Vibrant touchscreen display Fast performance Nice typing experience Cons Stylus not included Average battery life for a Chromebook Heavier than expected Price When Reviewed: $499 Best Prices Today: $329 at Best Buy Why we like the Lenovo Flex The Lenovo Flex 5i is a great Chromebook because of its convertible design, fast performance, superb typing experience, and touchscreen display. The chassis has a luxurious aluminum finish on it, which makes it feel three or four times as expensive. The 360-degree hinge that connects the display to the rest of the laptops feels strong and like it won’t wear out anytime soon. The keyboard is also a dream to type on and easy to adjust to, and the 1200p display produces sharp, colorful visuals. Sure, it’s heavier than we expected right out of the box and the stylus isn’t included, but those are small trade-offs in the grand scheme of things. Overall, this is a really well-rounded machine. Who should buy the Lenovo Flex We feel as though the Lenovo Flex 5i is a good option for those who prefer using Google’s ecosystem. The beautiful touchscreen display and the convertible design really gives it the edge over other Chromebooks and even some Windows laptops, as you usually see those features in machines that cost much more. While the nine hour battery life is a little below average for a Chromebook, it’ll still last you a full school day and then some. At the end of the day, the Lenovo Flex 5i’s list of compromises is quite small. Read our full Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus review MacBook Air (M3) – Best MacBook for students Pros Excellent battery life Great combination of price, features, and performance 256GB SSD is now two NAND chips, maintaining performance Cons Expensive memory upgrades Dual external display support requires closed lid Price When Reviewed: $1,299 (base) Best Prices Today: $1,204 at Amazon$1299 at Adorama$1299 at Apple Why we like the MacBook Air From the outstanding battery life to the spacious Liquid Retina display, the MacBook Air (M3) received high marks across the board. It comes with an 8-core CPU (M3) and a 10-core GPU as well as two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a 66.5 watt-hour battery. Performance is similar to the MacBook Pro (M3), which means it can blitz through school work and casual use tasks. The only difference between the two is that the MacBook Air doesn’t have fans, resulting in quieter operation. This laptop also managed a whopping 19 hours on a single charge, which is great news for those with jam-packed schedules and have zero time to plug into the nearest outlet. Who should buy the MacBook Air Anyone who prefers MacOS over other operating systems! The battery life is incredible and the laptop itself weighs just a little over three pounds, which means you can easily take it anywhere with you. The 15-inch Liquid Retina (LED) screen is considered a step-down from the MacBook Pro’s Liquid Retina XDR (mini-LED) display, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t look great, especially for everyday use. The $1,299 price tag is also reasonable for the performance and features. However, the 8GB of RAM is a little light. Acer Aspire 3 – Best budget laptop for students Pros Spacious keyboard with number pad HD webcam Solid video playback performance Decent business app performance Workday-long battery life Cons Small 128GB storage drive A little heavy Price When Reviewed: $329.99 Best Prices Today: $299.99 at Amazon Why we like the Acer Aspire For under $500, the Acer Aspire 3 laptop provides reliable performance as well as a durable build. It’s zippy enough for day-to-day productivity like binging your favorite shows on Netflix, checking e-mail, and so on. There’s even a full-sized keyboard and a 1080p screen. It even smashed the competition with a Cinebench R15 score of 1,925, edging out the Acer Aspire Vero 14, which has comparable hardware. By the way, the Cinebench benchmark measures how well a laptop handles processor-intensive workloads. Who should buy the Acer Aspire Anyone who’s on a restricted budget! To get more specific, we feel as though the Acer Aspire 3 is a good option for students because it’s affordable and a good performer. The HD webcam also produces “clean, crisp video” according to our review, which means you’ll always look your best in remote learning sessions. The 40 watt-hour battery is quite good too, lasting a total of eight hours on a single charge, so you don’t have to stop and go outlet hunting as you’re traversing from class to class. Read our full Acer Aspire 3 review Acer Swift Edge 16 – Best ultraportable for students Pros Gorgeous OLED display Lightweight Strong CPU performance Cons Mediocre battery life Weak audio Average keyboard and touchpad Price When Reviewed: $1,299.99 Best Prices Today: $949.99 at Best Buy$1,299.99 at Amazon Why we like the Acer Swift Edge In addition to its lightweight form factor, the Acer Swift Edge 16 is also the perfect combination of affordable and powerful. This sub-$1,000 laptop weighs just 2.71 pounds and is capable of out-performing machines that cost hundreds of dollars more (like the Acer Swift Go 16) due to the AMD Ryzen 7 7840U CPU. The 2000p OLED machine is lovely, too. According to our review, it “delivers an infinite contrast ratio and deep, inky black levels that produce convincing shadows in dark scenes.” Whether you’re watching your favorite flicks or working on an important assignment, you can count on a gorgeous picture either way. Who should buy the Acer Swift Edge If you’re looking for a lightweight ultraportable with strong performance, the sub-$1,000 Acer Swift Edge 16 is the one to pick. It’s thin and light enough to toss in a bag, and the display is fantastic for school work or watching YouTube. The 54 watt-hour battery is rather small, but it still manages a respectable seven hours on a single charge. For under a grand, we believe the trade-offs are reasonable. Besides, you won’t find many large screen laptops at this price point. Read our full Acer Swift Edge 16 review Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition – Best gaming laptop for students Pros Impressive battery life Gorgeous 16:10 display Rugged chassis Cons Keys feel a bit soft 720p webcam is disappointing Price When Reviewed: $1,099.99 Best Prices Today: $949.99 at Best Buy Why we like the Asus TUF Gaming The Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition is something of a rare gem in the sand dune. This specific model exhibits strong graphics performance as well as long battery life, which is unusual for a gaming laptop. Most gaming laptops last only a couple of hours on a single charge. Well, the Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition and its 11 and a half hours of battery life is out here changing the script. That’s more than a full school day. Also, thanks to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU, it also managed 123 frames-per-second in the Rise of the Tomb Raider benchmark. That’s pretty darn good, especially for a sub-$1,000 gaming laptop. Who should buy the Asus TUF Gaming The Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition is a great option for those who like to game after class. The pricing is reasonable and you’re getting reliable graphics performance as well as a spacious keyboard and decent battery life. It’s also a good purpose machine, so you can use it for coursework and day-to-day productivity. With a solid Cinebench R20 score of 589, it should have “no trouble running lightweight apps and programs,” according to our review. The Lenovo LOQ 15 stands as another solid budget gaming laptop option. It’s more than capable of 1080p gaming thanks to its more powerful RTX 4060 and the design is very sci-fi inspired. That said, it didn’t nab the top pick because of the poor battery life (not unusual for a gaming laptop) and limited port selection. Read our full Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition review Recent laptop reviews Dell Inspiron 14 Plus (2024): The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus (2024) is one of the most well-rounded laptops available right now, with great performance and exceptional battery life. HP Spectre x360 14: The HP Spectre x360 14 is a light, versatile, and pleasant Windows 2-in-1 that’s great for touchscreen superfans. Razer Blade 14: The Razer Blade 14 is an excellent choice for those who want high framerates and stunning visuals in a gaming laptop they can take anywhere. Asus Zenbook Duo 2024: The Zenbook Duo (2024) is superbly flexible for everything from office work to creative projects. Alienware m16 R2: The Alienware m16 R2 is a “do it all” 16-inch laptop for gamers who also want a portable PC with good battery life.  How we tested The PCWorld team puts each and every Windows laptop through a series of benchmarks that test GPU and CPU performance, battery life, and so on. The idea is to push the laptop to its limits and then compare it against others we’ve tested. Chromebooks, on the other hand, go through a series of web-based tests. It wouldn’t be fair or possible to run the same kinds of tests on a Chromebook, as they’re Chrome OS-based machines. Below, you’ll find a breakdown of each test and the reasons why we run them. For a much deeper look at our review methodology, check out how PCWorld tests laptops. Windows laptops PCMark 10: PCMark 10 is how we determine how well the laptop handles lighter tasks like web browsing, word processing, spreadsheets, and so on. HandBrake: HandBrake is more intensive than PCMark 10. It basically measures how long a laptop’s CPU takes to encode a beefy 30GB file. Cinebench: Cinebench is a brief stress test of the CPU cores. It does this by rendering a 2D scene over a short period of time. 3DMark: 3DMark checks if 3D performance remains consistent over time by running graphic-intensive clips. Video rundown test: To gauge battery life, we loop a 4K video using Windows 10’s Movies & TV app until the laptop dies. Chromebooks CrXPRT 2: The CrXPRT 2 benchmark tests a Chromebook’s battery life. Speedometer 2.0: This test determines a Chromebook’s web browser performance. It simulates this by adding, completing, and removing a to-do list. Basemark Web 3.0: This benchmark gauges how well a Chromebook can handle web-based applications. Kraken 1.1: Kraken 1.1 is a JavaScript performance benchmark. Jetstream 2: Jetstream 2 is a combination of WebAssembly and JavaScript benchmarks. This is a way to gauge how well a Chromebook runs advanced workloads. What to look for in a laptop for college The first thing to consider is budget. How much are you willing to spend on a laptop? If you’re working with an inflexible budget, Chromebooks are a good option. They’re affordable and designed to handle everyday tasks like writing papers, working on spreadsheets, and so on. Chromebook prices can range anywhere from $200 up to $1,000. If you want to spend a bit more, laptops with convertible touchscreens (otherwise known as 2-in-1s) offer a great deal of functionality. You can flip the screen around and use it like a tablet or prop it up like an easel for watching movies. Things like navigating your e-mail or watching Netflix will require more RAM. We recommend springing for 8GB of RAM or more. 4GB of RAM is fine and good for web browsing and basic office work, but 8GB is better for having more tabs open and whatnot. Plus, applications like Google Chrome and Spotify tend to eat up a lot of memory. Most people can get by with 4GB in a pinch if you’re on a tight budget, but you won’t be able to multitask as much. The final thing is a decent keyboard. In college, you’re going to be spending a lot of time typing. Depending on your personal preference, you may want either a full or short travel keyboard. Mechanical keyboards, for example, normally have longer travel. This helps prevent accidental keystrokes. The keys also give a lot of tactile feedback, as they bounce back after they’re pressed down. FAQ 1. Which laptop size is best? This is mostly personal preference. Students who bring their laptops to class or intend to travel a lot should consider a smaller, more portable size. Anything in the neighborhood of 13- to 14-inches is recommended. However, if you want to use your laptop for gaming, then you should consider something in the 15- to 17-inch range. It’s also important to keep in mind the weight of the laptop before buying it. Ultra thin laptops can weigh a featherlight two pounds while hefty gaming rigs top the scales at three or four times that—not exactly something you want to carry in a backpack everyday. 2. How long should a laptop last on a single charge? If you’ve got a jam-packed schedule, you’ll probably be running from class to class with very little downtime in between. That’s why we recommend a laptop with a long-lasting battery. We recommend something that’ll last 7 to 10-plus hours on a single charge, unless you want a notebook that can play games on the side—gaming laptops are notorious for their shorter endurance, even during everyday tasks. That 7 to 10 hours is a good figure if you plan on taking your laptop with you everywhere. 3. What about processing power? Most students will be able to get by with an Intel Core i3 or i5 processor. You don’t need anything mega powerful for everyday tasks and school work. However, if you’re using more graphically demanding programs on the regular, then you may want to spring for an Intel Core i7 or i9. It all really depends on your workload. For more specifics regarding the hardware you want inside your laptop, be sure to check out our comprehensive guide on how to buy a budget laptop without getting screwed, as well as our broader cheatsheet on what to look for in a laptop CPU and GPU. Laptops
How much RAM do you need in a laptop? Here’s how to figure it out
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 18:36:49 +0000
Source: PCWorld
Determining the specs for a new laptop (or a laptop upgrade) can be a delicate balancing act. You want to spend enough so you won’t be miserable in the future, but not so much that you don’t make use of all the hardware you get. Memory (or RAM) is the perfect example of this. Your PC uses RAM to hold data temporarily: When you’re opening applications, working on large files in Photoshop, or even juggling dozens and dozens of browser tabs, that data is being stored in the system memory, not on your SSD or HDD. The more memory-intensive tasks you do, the more RAM you should have. It’ll keep your computer feeling fast and responsive. Many laptop shoppers know this, but not exactly how much to get. So we’ve broken down what to expect from common RAM configurations, plus some tips at the end for purchase strategies. Further reading: The best laptops we’ve tested Is 2GB of RAM good for a laptop? For modern Windows computers, 2GB of RAM will feel slow. You won’t be able to run many programs simultaneously, much less have more than a few browser tabs open at one time. These days, most Windows laptops come with 4GB as the baseline configuration, and for good reason. (As for Apple laptops, they’ve long left even 4GB RAM behind as a baseline.) If for some reason you encounter a laptop with only 2GB RAM—perhaps an older budget model being sold secondhand—it’s only worthwhile if you can immediately upgrade it to 4GB RAM or more. That means the laptop should have user-accessible SODIMM slots, ideally with one unpopulated so you can immediately drop in another module. For Chromebooks, 2GB of RAM will still limit the number of browser tabs you can have open, but that amount is liveable. We recommend you buy a model with expandable memory (user-accessible SODIMM slots) so you can upgrade down the road. Is 4GB RAM enough for a laptop? our favorite budget chromebook comes with 4GB of RAM Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook Price When Reviewed: $319 Best Prices Today: $239.99 at Adorama Budget shoppers can start with 4GB of RAM for a Windows laptop. Combined with an SSD for storage, you’ll get a responsive PC that handles the basics smoothly—e.g., having a few low-intensity programs plus a handful of browser tabs open all at the same. When possible, look for laptop models that have user-accessible RAM that can be upgraded. You can start with 4GB as your budget configuration then add more memory later as needed. Chromebooks with 4GB RAM should handle a decent number of browser tabs easily, so when faced with the choice of more memory or a faster storage drive (i.e., an SSD instead of eMMC storage), pick the faster storage drive. It’ll make the ChromeOS experience smoother overall. How much is 4GB of memory on a laptop? A laptop with just 4GB of memory should cost under $300 in today’s pricing. The Acer Aspire 3, our favorite laptop under $500, comes with 8GB of memory despite costing just $260. the best budget laptop we've tested Acer Aspire 3 Read our review Price When Reviewed: $329.99 Best Prices Today: $299.99 at Amazon Is 8GB RAM good in a laptop? Most people with a moderate budget ($400 or more) for a laptop should aim for at least 8GB RAM. We generally recommend this amount of memory for most people doing office work and other basic tasks, as well as gamers—especially if you’re looking at a model with soldered RAM and can’t upgrade it later. You should have enough capacity to comfortably see you through the machine’s lifetime. As for Chromebooks, you typically only see 8GB RAM on the more luxe models. It’s not strictly necessary, but it will contribute to a highly responsive experience overall, as the other components in such systems tend to be on par with similar Windows laptops. The same applies for models with 16GB RAM, too. Do I need 16GB RAM in a laptop? our favorite gaming laptop has 16gb ram Alienware m16 R2 Read our review Price When Reviewed: $1,849.99 Best Prices Today: $1849.99 at Dell For people doing office work or gaming, 16GB of memory can be a hedge against future needs. Maybe you create simple spreadsheets in Excel now, but later you’ll be working on complex documents overflowing with data. Or perhaps you strictly play games at the moment, putting most of the load on your discrete GPU’s VRAM, but later might also juggle other programs and lots of browser tabs in the background. In laptops where you can’t later upgrade the memory, you’ll be more future-proofed. However, for content creators (and people who keep dozens and dozens of tabs open in multiple browsers) 16GB is a starting place. Renders can gobble up memory, for example. If you anticipate that you could need more RAM down the road, look for laptop models that support user-serviced upgrades. Further reading: The best gaming laptops we’ve tested 32GB and up the fire-breathing msi titan 18 hx comes with 128gb ram for serious work MSI Titan 18 HX Read our review Price When Reviewed: $5,399.99 Best Prices Today: $5399 at Amazon | $5399 at B&H | $5399 at MSI People considering more than 16GB of RAM should be actively using programs known for gobbling up system memory or requiring it for optimal performance—for example, video editors working on time-sensitive projects. Many professionals would often rather pay more money if it cuts down on the time it takes to finish tasks. But what about high-end gamers, you ask? While some top-of-the-line gaming laptops come with 32GB of memory, that amount has little to do with gaming needs. The cynical might call it a way to justify expensive configurations; or you could see it as the laptop maker maximizing the specs across the board to create a bleeding-edge vibe. RAM configuration strategies New laptops Choosing a laptop that relies on SODIMMs rather than soldered RAM makes it possible to upgrade the amount of RAM you have later on. Choosing a laptop that relies on SODIMMs rather than soldered RAM makes it possible to upgrade the amount of RAM you have later on. Choosing a laptop that relies on SODIMMs rather than soldered RAM makes it possible to upgrade the amount of RAM you have later on. When figuring out how much RAM to purchase for a new laptop, find out if the model(s) you’re looking at allow user upgrades. Laptops can come with soldered memory, which means it’s fixed to the motherboard and can’t be upgraded, or they can rely on SODIMMs, which can be inserted and removed similar to desktop RAM. If a laptop’s memory is soldered on, choose an amount that you think will see you through the machine’s lifetime. For example, if you anticipate doing more RAM-intensive tasks in the future, pony up for 16GB now. It will be cheaper than replacing your laptop sooner than anticipated. If a laptop’s memory is user upgradable, you can hedge by choosing the lowest amount of RAM needed for your current workloads, and waiting to add more. For example, you can start off with 4GB RAM in a budget laptop then later upgrade to 8GB, saving you some money at the outset. One note for gamers: If you run games on a laptop that relies solely on integrated graphics for output (e.g., Intel’s UHD or Iris Xe graphics, or AMD Radeon Graphics), you may want to increase its amount of system memory. Integrated graphics use RAM for storing image data from games as you play, which will reduce the amount available to other programs like web browsers or capture software. Check out our roundups of the best laptops and best gaming laptops for expert recommendations across all price ranges. Laptop upgrades For older laptops capable of RAM upgrades, first determine how much RAM is already in your system. If the amount matches your use case (as described above), consider a different upgrade instead—for example, if your system has a hard disk drive instead of an SSD, change that out first before adding more RAM. If you think you can benefit from more RAM, verify first what SODIMMs are already installed. Is it a single stick? You can buy a second one with matching specs and pop it in for both a capacity bump and a faster dual-channel configuration. If both slots are already populated, you should then buy a larger capacity set to replace both sticks. Follow our guide on upgrading RAM to make this process plus installation a breeze. Computer Components, Laptops
Best VPN services 2024: Top picks for speed, price, privacy, and more
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 18:30:00 +0000
Source: PCWorld
A virtual private network service, aka a VPN, is one of the best tools you can use to boost your online privacy and security. It tunnels your traffic through a private encrypted server allowing you to keep your online activities anonymous and obscured from prying eyes. There are a few things you’ll want to consider when looking for a VPN: First, it should be able to keep your internet usage private and secure without leaks. Speed is another factor — privacy and security are crucial, but you don’t want the service to cripple your internet speed either. And if you’re concerned with anonymity, you should seek out a VPN with data collection policies that are clear and transparent. Finally, the number of available servers and country locations a VPN offers is worth bearing in mind if you’re trying to get around region locks in specific countries. Why you should trust us: Here at PCWorld we’ve been testing computer hardware, software, and services since the 1980s. We’re continually testing all of the major VPNs on the market and many lesser-known services in order to curate a list of the very best VPNs across a variety of categories. For a more in-depth guide, you can check out our article on how we test VPN services at PCWorld. Below you’ll find our favorite VPNs and additional information about how we test these services as well as helpful advice about what to look for when choosing a VPN on your own. PROMOTIONGrab the award-winning VPN with 85% off Don’t compromise. Get both stability & speed with Surfshark. Buy now for only $2.29 per month and enjoy 2 more months of VPN for free. Get Surfshark Granted, not everyone wants or needs a premium VPN service—although if online privacy is important to you, we think it should be a priority. You might just want a VPN for occasional use such as when you’re using public Wi-Fi, for instance. If that’s the case, head over to our roundup of the best free VPNs for more recommendations, and caveats about the limitations of using a free VPN. Updated March 26, 2024: Check out our latest review of AVG Secure VPN. This easy-to-use VPN from a trusted security brand does the basics right, but it missed out on this list because it lacks more advanced features for power users. ExpressVPN – Best VPN overall Pros Excellent speeds Easy-to-use interface Unblocks all streaming services Great security and privacy practices Cons More expensive than many competitors Light on some features for a top VPN Price When Reviewed: $6.67 per month Best Prices Today: $6.67 at ExpressVPN Why we like ExpressVPN It’s difficult to select the best overall VPN. Some services are weaker on privacy, but are significantly easier to use with tons of features, while others could use a serious interface redesign. For many years we chose the best VPN based purely on privacy, but that is no longer the sole concern of most people when choosing a VPN. Privacy is important, to be sure, but so are performance, extra features, a wide country selection, and ease of use. ExpressVPN has it all, making it our top choice for VPN. Not only is it one of the fastest VPNs we’ve ever tested, but it also has a very easy-to-use Windows app. Its servers are all diskless, running everything in RAM—a welcome practice that’s become fairly standard these days. ExpressVPN also has wide device support—recently adding AppleTV to it’s lineup of supported devices, as well as a smart DNS feature for set-top boxes, consoles, and more. It is even branching out from just being a VPN provider to taking a more holistic approach to security for users, adding ad- and tracker-blocking and, most recently, a password manager to the service, as well. It’s not the cheapest VPN out there, but you do get excellent value for the price, and the service is regularly bringing in third-party auditors to bolster its privacy credentials. Who should buy ExpressVPN Since ExpressVPN is our pick for best VPN overall, we think it’s a great option for everyone. VPN novices will find that they can just download the software, choose their server location and connect—it’s as simple as that. But more advanced users will be able to choose from features such as split-tunneling, protocol optimization, and a kill switch. Also, ExpressVPN in it’s attempt to provide an all-inclusive security suite now offers users ad- and tracker-blocking, parental controls, and most recently, a password manager. Plus, ExpressVPN has one of the most expansive device support networks I’ve ever seen. So users can user the VPN across practically any and all devices they own—up to eight simultaneous device connections. Read our full ExpressVPN review NordVPN – Best VPN for features Pros Great feature set Excellent speeds No-logs policy Attractive and intuitive interface Cons Expensive Price When Reviewed: $3.49 per month Best Prices Today: $3.49 at NordVPN Why we like NordVPN Just like our top pick, NordVPN is also an excellent choice. Nord is arguably more feature-filled than ExpressVPN even, and the service is just one part of a larger suite of privacy- and security-focused products. The desktop app is very easy to use and offers a ton of different features including access to the TOR network over VPN, multi-hop options, Meshnet, and a security suite complete with ad and malware blocking. NordVPN has also gone a long way to bolster user trust with a now thrice independently verified no-logs policy and increased company transparency in recent years. The service also carries out vendor assessments and uses diskless servers for increased security. Their speeds are also outstanding, reaching an average of 73 percent of the base internet speed in our test across all servers. The only reason we placed Nord second is due to the price of the service, which is more expensive than ExpressVPN for a similar feature-set. Still, you can’t go wrong if you decide to go with NordVPN as your VPN of choice. Who should buy NordVPN Similar to ExpressVPN, we think NordVPN is truly a solid option for everyone. It comes with an excellent feature set that will appeal to power users as well as an easy-to-use app that is intuitive and straightforward. Also, just like ExpressVPN, there will be no problems accessing any geo-restricted streaming service while using NordVPN. Additionally, for those who don’t want to bother subscribing to a lot of different security apps, NordVPN offers its own security features such as malware protection, ad- and tracker-blocking, and file-download protection. Read our full NordVPN review Mullvad – Best VPN for privacy Pros Good speeds Higher level of anonymity possible than with most VPN services Windows desktop is easy to use Cons Not guaranteed to work with Netflix Lacks the extra services that some VPNs offer No password protection for your account Price When Reviewed: $6.88 per month Best Prices Today: £5 at Amagicom AB Why we like Mullvad As Hotspot Shield is to speeds, so Mullvad is to privacy and anonymity. We’ve never seen another VPN that actively resists knowing who you are the way Mullvad does. Mullvad doesn’t ask for your email address, name, or anything else. Instead it assigns a random account number that acts as your identifier and login. Mullvad accepts payments using standard methods such as credit cards and PayPal, but you can also mail your payment in cash to remain as private as possible. Mullvad has a no-logging policy and doesn’t collect any identifying metadata from your usage. Mullvad is also fast, ranking among our top five for speeds. Who should buy Mullvad Mullvad is all about privacy. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a more than capable VPN for any user. But the ultra-privacy conscious will find the most to like in its anonymized payment system, commitment to not collecting metadata, and strong privacy promises. I did find some hiccups when trying to access streaming services, so users who want their VPN to bypass location-restricted content may want to look elsewhere. Read our full Mullvad review IVPN – Best VPN for privacy runner-up Pros Excellent speeds for its U.S., UK and European servers Interface is easy to understand Default WireGuard protocol connects quickly Cons It’s on the expensive side at $100 per year Server network is under 100 servers Price When Reviewed: $6.00 per month Best Prices Today: $6 at IVPN Why we like IVPN Coming in behind Mullvad is IVPN. This Gibraltar-based VPN recently moved to dumping email-based identifiers and going with randomly assigned account numbers instead. Similar to Mullvad, it accepts a variety of payment options for privacy including cash, as well as the standard credit cards, PayPal, and other options like Bitcoin and Monero. IVPN doesn’t rank as one of our fastest VPNs, but it does have acceptable speeds for most casual uses. Another option is OVPN. This VPN doesn’t go to the levels that Mullvad and IVPN do, but it does only require a username and password to create an account. OVPN doesn’t require an email address, though you can add one as a backstop for account recovery should you forget your password. OVPN doesn’t rank in our top 10 for speeds, but it’s just outside the top performers at number 12. Who should buy IVPN IVPN will mainly appeal to those concerned with privacy. Similar to Mullvad, it has an anonymized payment system and further obfuscates user IDs via randomly assigned number instead of emails. Not to mention that it has a strong privacy policy as well. Read our full IVPN review Hotspot Shield – Fastest VPN Pros Very fast Large country selection and plenty of servers Cons Domain visits are recorded, though not tied to you Expensive Price When Reviewed: $7.99 per month Best Prices Today: $7.99 at Aura Why we like Hotspot Shield While our pick for best overall VPN, ExpressVPN, boasts above-average speeds, Hotspot Shield is on another level. No other service comes close to hitting the speeds we’ve seen with this service. This isn’t just a one-off occurrence either; Hotspot Shield has consistently been at the top with speeds that are 12 to 15 percentage points above the competition. In our tests, Hotspot Shield maintained around 67 percent of the base speed. That’s substantially faster than you’ll see with most VPN services—though your experience may vary. On the downside, Hotspot Shield doesn’t allow for a way to pay anonymously and its privacy policy may not sit well with some. Still, Hotspot Shield has excellent speeds, it’s desktop application is very nice, and as a bonus it works with U.S. Netflix. Who should buy Hotspot Shield Hotspot Shield is for those looking to maintain the fastest connection possible with the minimum loss of base speed. In the past it was far and away the fastest VPN we had ever tested, but in recent years other services seem to be catching up. Regardless, it is still one of the best around if connection speed is your main concern. We also found that it can access location-restricted content on most major streaming services. This, combined with it’s excellent speeds makes it a good option if you mainly use a VPN to access streaming content. Read our full Hotspot Shield review Private Internet Access – Best VPN for split-tunneling Pros Independently verified no-logs policy Unlimited simultaneous device connections Incredible number of servers Great extra features such as multi-hop and split tunneling Cons App panel awkwardly located on the lower-right corner of screen by default Speeds are just okay Price When Reviewed: $11.95 per month Best Prices Today: $11.95 at Private Internet Access Why we like Private Internet Access Private Internet Access (PIA) has been around for awhile and has demonstrated that it can continue to innovate and improve with each passing year. The latest version of PIA is no different. By updating its service to include unlimited simultaneous device connections it has improved upon an already solid VPN. But the real feature that stands out with PIA is its split-tunneling feature. While this is a common feature in most of the services on this list, PIA goes above and beyond. Not only does it allow users to pick and choose which apps they wish to run through the VPN, but it also allows them to designate IP addresses and DNS requests as well. It even comes with the option for an app-based kill switch, which will block traffic only on specific apps should the VPN connection break. There are a few awkward interface issues and PIA isn’t the fastest service we’ve ever tested. But neither of these issues makes the service any less viable. Who should buy Private Internet Access PIA is continuing to establish itself, along with the likes of ExpressVPN and NordVPN, as one of the best VPNs around. I think it can be a great VPN for all users. However, where PIA really shines is in its extensive customizable feature set. Power users and those who like their apps to be customized to their individual needs will especially love all of the tweaking that this app allows you to do—even outside of just split-tunneling. Read our full Private Internet Access review AirVPN – Best VPN for torrents Pros Excellent speeds Detailed real-time information about the network Good pricing with many subscription options Cons Team is largely anonymous Price When Reviewed: $7.50 Best Prices Today: $7.50 at AirVPN Why we like AirVPN Torrents get a bad rap, and if we’re honest, that’s for good reason. Using torrents is the number one way to download pirated material including movies, TV shows, music, and games. But that’s not all there is to torrenting. It’s a very efficient way to download legitimate software such as Linux distributions and authorized content from sites such as BitTorrent Now. Whatever your reasons, when it comes to torrenting, a VPN makes it easier—especially if the network you’re on blocks torrenting. There are many VPNs among our top picks that could be used for downloading torrents, but our preferred choice is AirVPN. This no-frills VPN has a reasonable number of servers and country locations, really good speeds, excellent network transparency, and a focus on user protection. The price is also right at about $58 a year. Who should buy AirVPN As AirVPN allows for P2P connections on all of its servers, it’s a great option for those who want to use their VPN to remain anonymous while surfing the web or torrenting. It also uses diskless RAM servers so data is only kept for as long as you’re actively using the VPN itself. Plus, AirVPN’s small team of dedicated hacktivists and privacy advocates are committed to putting user privacy and security at the forefront. This means that it’s ideal for privacy-conscious users. Read our full AirVPN review CyberGhost VPN – Best VPN for server locations Pros Easy-to-use interface Independently verified no-log policy Seriously impressive server spread Cons Lacks some common features such as multi-hop and double VPN Server speeds are hit-or-miss, especially in Asia Price When Reviewed: $12.99 Best Prices Today: $12.99 at CyberGhost Why we like CyberGhost If you want variety and options in the server locations from your VPN, then there are none better than CyberGhost VPN. It offers a staggering 9,000+ servers for users to connect to, which is more than twice as many as top-pick ExpressVPN. Unlike some competitors, these servers aren’t all concentrated in the U.S. or Europe, either. The server spread totals 110 countries all across the world. The service even recommends optimized servers to users for various needs such as gaming, streaming, and torrenting. In our testing we found that some of the servers were faster than others, with servers located in Europe having excellent speeds and servers in Asia not fairing as well. But overall, the speeds are good enough to do most of what you want to do with a VPN—web browsing, streaming, etc. CyberGhost also has a well-designed Windows app that is intuitive and easy to use, even when tweaking your settings. It lacks some of the power-user features that other VPNs on this list provide, but that shouldn’t be a deal breaker for the average user. Ultimately, CyberGhost is a straightforward and easy-to-use VPN service with an incredible number of server locations. Who should buy CyberGhost Due to it’s plethora of servers and locations, CyberGhost is one of the best options to find a server no matter where you need it in the world. For those who travel a lot or just need access to a diverse and vast server spread, CyberGhost is definitely worth consideration. Read our full CyberGhost review Surfshark VPN – Best VPN for multi-hop Pros Unlimited simultaneous device connections Works well with Netflix Built-in extras such as ad tracker and malware blocking Low price on long-term plans Cons Indicators for ping or server load are not readily available Based in the Netherlands and subject to government data sharing requests Price When Reviewed: From $2.30 per month (charged at $59.76 upfront for 26 months) Best Prices Today: $2.30 at Surfshark Why we like Surfshark For those who might not be familiar with multi-hop, it allows you to route your traffic through more than one external server (i.e. connect to a server in Japan, but multi-hop through Singapore). This makes it more difficult to track your online activities and further obfuscates your actual location. While many VPNs now offer multi-hop as a feature, Surfshark stands out by allowing users to either choose a predetermined route or create their own multi-hop route. Furthermore, Surfshark is working to implement its Nexus VPN network which will use a Dynamic Multi-Hop feature to automatically connect you to the fastest available entry and exit servers at any desired location. This should further optimize connection speeds across the board. So not only does Surfshark already have one of the best multi-hop features, but it is also set to improve by leaps and bounds in the near future. Who should buy Surfshark Surfshark is a great all-around VPN option, as well, for most people. That being said, power users and those concerned with optimizing anonymity will get the most from Surfshark VPN’s unique multi-hop functionality and rich, customizable feature set. Read our full Surfshark review AVG Secure – Best VPN for novices Pros Good speeds Allows an excellent 10 simultaneous connections Cons Does log some data No real customizability for power users Price When Reviewed: $53.88 per year Best Prices Today: $4.55 at AVG$5.99 at PCWorld Software Store Why we like AVG Secure If you want something that’s all about ease of use then AVG Secure is a good choice. First, it comes from a known and trusted security company, so there are fewer worries about data security than with one of the independent services. The key thing with AVG Secure is that the interface is easy to understand and use. It has a big “Change location” button to help you select the country you’d like to appear to be in. The app also tells you what your current IP address is and how long you’ve been connected to the VPN. That’s pretty much it. This VPN also works with streaming services and it has P2P servers. One thing it doesn’t have is a lot of extra features, which is actually perfect for anyone looking for a no-frills VPN. Who should buy AVG Secure Those new to the VPN game will find a lot to like with AVG Secure. It’s dead-simple to use and the interface is designed in a way that is intuitive even for novices. Read our full AVG Secure review Windscribe Pro – Best budget VPN Pros Simple setup Good performance Great free plan Cons Tricky security track record with 2021 server incident Slow loading of browser extension Price When Reviewed: $9.00 per month Best Prices Today: $9 at Windscribe Why we like Windscribe Choosing the best VPN for you can often come down to price. Windscribe Pro is one of the cheapest premium services around at about $5 per month (when billed annually). It is also really easy to use and offers great security, with both a Windows client and browser extension that work in tandem to keep your browsing private and pop-up free. Windscribe also allows you to pick and choose the features that you want via a build-a-plan system allowing for great versatility to meet each user’s needs. Windscribe’s free option is itself fine to use, and is a good test run before deciding on a paid tier. Who should buy Windscribe Windscribe is great for people who are new to VPNs or just need a VPN service for a short period of time. Those who have never used a VPN can use Windscribe’s free option to play around and start getting used to using a VPN service. Alternatively, if you only need a VPN for a little bit then Windscribe Pro’s low monthly price means you don’t have to pay much to use it in the short-term. Read our full Windscribe Pro review PersonalVPN – Best U.S.-based VPN Pros Reasonably priced Fast servers in many locations around the world Good for power users and novices Cons Not a lot of extra or specialized features Tiered pricing has odd choices for premium features Price When Reviewed: $50 Best Prices Today: $50 at WiTopia Why we like PersonalVPN If you want a VPN based in the good ol’ USA, we recommend WiTopia’s PersonalVPN. The speeds are good, the price is right, and the app is very easy to use. It’s true that a lot of VPN review sites stress the importance of having a VPN that’s outside of the so-called Five Eyes countries, which includes the U.S.—some will even say to avoid the Fourteen Eyes. The idea being that if you use a U.S.-based VPN your activities may end up being secretly monitored by Western authorities. Edward Snowden revealed such truths back in 2013. But if you’re using a VPN to access your accounts for Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other U.S.-based service, then staying outside the Fourteen Eyes is more or less pointless. Sure, that VPN with an exotic locale may be able to easily ignore U.S. subpoenas for data, but the American online services you use are another story. Besides if an American VPN does you wrong, it’ll be a lot easier to hold it to account than one based in Singapore, or even Sweden. Who should buy Personal VPN Users concerned with entrusting their private online activity to a company in another country outside of the U.S. should consider PersonalVPN. You won’t be losing out on much by using this service rather than another VPN and you can rest assured that your data is being handled by a reliable company located domestically. Read our full PersonalVPN review What to look for in a VPN One of the first things you should look for when shopping around for a VPN is the number of servers and locations. It’s difficult to judge any VPN by just one feature, but a semi-reliable way to tell if a VPN is even worth your time is to look at the server network. Anything with 1,000 or more servers and 30 or more country locations will do. The next thing to consider is a VPN’s speed. This may be tricky to do since you aren’t likely to be able to test connection speeds without paying to use the service. Reading reviews online will give you a general estimate. Look for reviews, like ours, that give you a relative average of connection speeds rather than direct Mbps speed comparisons for a more accurate picture. You’ll also want to read up on a VPN’s privacy protections. Does it have a no-logs policy? Has it undergone any independent audits of its servers? Where is the VPN company located? All of these will give you an idea of whether or not a VPN is transparent with its data collection policies and if it’s subject to government data sharing requirements. Other factors you’ll want to take into consideration are the overall ease-of-use, user experience, and any additional features. Some of these features, such as split-tunneling and kill switches, can be extremely useful for certain purposes and might sway your subscription decision one way or the other. Finally, as with all subscription services, you’ll want to review the price of a VPN service. Do you want a monthly or yearly subscription? Some top VPNs might be pricey month-to-month, but actually become quite affordable with long-term plans. How we tested We judge VPNs on a variety of criteria including server network, connection speeds, privacy protections, ease-of-use, additional features, and cost. For a more detailed guide on how we test, check out our comprehensive guide on how we test VPN services. Speed tests are kept as simple as possible. We average the connections between different global locations for any given VPN and then compare them to our baseline internet speed to get a good picture of the overall connection speeds. We thoroughly research and analyze the privacy policies and histories of each VPN and note any outstanding discrepancies or data collection issues. Experience and ease-of-use are subjective, but we try our best to give an accurate representation of how it feels to work with the VPN. And finally, we compare the value of the service based upon its price and additional features to the industry average to help you gain an accurate picture of what you’ll get for your money. Other notable VPNs and security suites There are many more worthwhile VPNs than just our favorites listed above, including AVG Internet Security, CyberGhost, ESET Security Premium, FastestVPN, Hide.me, HMA Pro 4, OVPN, Trend Micro Maximum Security, Windscribe Pro, Perfect Privacy, PrivateVPN by TrunkSpace Hosting, PureVPN, Speedify 10, VPNCity, ClearVPN, Malwarebytes Privacy, TorGuard, VeePN, AceVPN.com, and SurfEasy. We’ll keep evaluating new ones and reevaluating services we’ve already tested on a regular basis, so be sure to come back to see what else we’ve put through their paces. FAQ 1. What is a VPN? VPNs create a secure tunnel between your PC and the internet. You connect to a VPN server, which can be located in the United States or a foreign country—say, France or Japan. Your web traffic then goes through that server to make it appear as though you’re browsing from that server’s location, and not from your actual location. When you’re using a VPN, it’s difficult for others to snoop on your web-browsing activity. Only you, the VPN service, and the website you’re visiting will know what you’re up to.  A VPN can be a great response to a variety of concerns, such as online privacy, anonymity, greater security on public Wi-Fi, and, of course, spoofing locations. 2. Is it legal to use a VPN? Yes! It is perfectly legal in most countries, including the United States, to use a VPN. While using a VPN, you might find some websites that try to block your connection, but this is an individual website’s use policy and has nothing to do with the legality of the VPN itself. One thing to note though, while it’s legal to use a VPN, some of the activities done while using a VPN might be illegal. Such things as downloading pirated copyrighted content or accessing dark web markets are illegal whether you use a VPN or not. 3. Do VPNs protect against malware and computer viruses? No, a VPN connection itself does not protect you from malware and computer viruses. It does however encrypt your internet traffic and keep prying eyes from accessing your browsing history. Some VPN services, such as Nord VPN, do however provide additional security features such as ad and malware blockers. Additionally, many antivirus suites now offer VPN services along with their security features. Although VPNs and antivirus software are used for different purposes, there is still a degree of overlap that makes using both tools together beneficial. 4. Will a VPN affect my internet speeds? Most likely you will see a moderate speed decrease to your internet while using a VPN. This is mainly due to the process of your internet traffic being rerouted and encrypted through a VPN server before heading on to its destination. The amount of latency you will experience through this process is down to what country’s server you choose to proxy your traffic through. If you choose a server located on the other side of the world, then you will notice a much greater hit than if you were to connect to a server nearby in your same country. Thankfully, most modern VPNs should have the infrastructure to maintain high-speed, secure data transfer rates. So it’s likely you can still browse and stream with no noticeable impact while using a reputable VPN like those listed above. 5. Will a VPN make me anonymous online? Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as just turning on your VPN and disappearing off grid. While VPNs certainly offer better privacy and security, they don’t make you completely anonymous. There are a mindbogglingly number of ways that companies track you across the internet and a VPN isn’t capable of blocking all of them. For example, when you sign into a website, your identity is revealed to that website. Or when you log into your Gmail account while using a VPN, Google can now collect cookies based on your browsing. 6. How many servers should my VPN have? There is no set number of servers that make one VPN better than another. However, most major VPN providers offer between 3,000 to 5,000 servers. Also, we recommend avoiding any paid services whose providers have under 1,000 servers as this may be an indication that the company is not yet well established, meaning that there is a higher chance for reliability issues. It is common for VPN providers to advertise the number of servers they have, but this is largely a marketing gimmick and doesn’t generally equate to the quality of the VPN provider itself. Things such as the spread of server locations and server quality are as important, if not more so, than the number of available servers. Editor’s note: Because online services are often iterative, gaining new features and performance improvements over time, our reviews are subject to change in order to accurately reflect the current state of the services. Personal Software, Security Software and Services, VPN
Will’s PC is crashing on Fortnite — let’s fix it!
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 16:51:02 +0000
Source: PCWorld
PCWorld contributor Will Smith loves him some Fortnite. (Don’t hate, it’s a solid online shooter!) But for the last few months, his gaming PC has been crashing soon after he departs for his mid-air bus stop. So Will took it in to the PCWorld labs to diagnose the issue and hopefully get it fixed. You can follow along with the process in our latest YouTube video. Will’s a veteran of PC gaming, so he’s tried all the usual easy fixes — reinstalling the game, reinstalling the drivers, turning off all his overclocking… no dice. So Will and Adam go through the scientific process of hardware diagnosis: replacing parts one by one until the problem goes away. After reproducing the crash, the guys start with the memory, swapping out Will’s previous RAM with some new Patriot Viper DDR5 kits. And, after replacing all of the sticks, the problem isn’t going anywhere. The next likely culprit (or at least the next-easiest part swap) is the power supply, since Will’s current one is at the lower end of the range for his high-power processor and GPU. Swapping in a near-identical Silverstone with a much more roomy 1200 watts didn’t solve the problem, either. Nuts. For a much more involved solution and the one Will suspected was the real core of the problem, it was time to swap out the processor. Will’s PC is using a Core i9-13900K, one of the most powerful CPUs around, but issues with Fortnite and other games using the same anti-cheat system have been pinned on faulty processors. After testing the original part with a fresh bit of thermal paste on the AIO cooler, the guys swap in a Core-i9 13900KS, which has the same core setup but a hair faster clock speed. (There was no identical processor sitting around to test.) Lo and behold, the processor swap worked and Will was able to play a full round without crashing. A week of home testing confirmed that the system was definitely fixed, pinning the blame on the original processor. For more in-depth dives on how to identify and solve your PC problems, be sure to subscribe to PCWorld on YouTube. Gaming Desktop PCs
Best monitor arms 2024: The ultimate in flexibility
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 16:00:00 +0000
Source: PCWorld
A quality monitor arm is one of the best upgrades you can make to your home office setup. Not only do monitor arms provide you with more options to move and position your displays around your desk, but they also free up space on your desk surface, leaving it open for other uses. Plus, they help your setup look cool, too. The only catch is the price. Most monitor arms worth buying will set you back close to $200, and heavy-duty arms are even pricier. However, if you buy a good monitor arm, you’ll likely never need to replace it. That’s why it’s important to buy the right monitor arm the first time so you’re left feeling like you got your money’s worth. To that end we’ve put several popular monitor arms through their paces to figure out which are truly worth your money. Below you’ll find a our curated list of the best, highlighting the winners and those that stood out the most. If you’re still on the fence about whether a monitor arm is worth the money and time it takes to set up, be sure to read our article that answers in detail why a monitor arm is most definitely worth it. From the flexibility to the increased desk space to the professional aesthetic, you’ll wonder why you’ve been putting up with the limitations of a standard-issue monitor stand for so long! Further reading: See our roundups of the best monitors and best home office monitors for display recommendations. Updated March 26, 2024: This month we reviewed two different monitor arms from Humanscale, purveyor of high-end office furniture. One of the models impressed us and made our list of recommendations, and one of the models ended up on our list of monitor arms to avoid. Scroll down to learn more. Ergotron LX – Best monitor arm Price When Reviewed: $172.33 Best Prices Today: $196.17 at Amazon$205 at Lenovo$275 at CDW The Ergotron LX is a sturdy, practical monitor arm that can handle most monitors. It’s easy to set up, easy to use, and (when purchased in its white or polished aluminum colorway) attractive. Ergotron positions the LX as an entry-level monitor arm, but the company’s definition of “entry level” exceeds most competitors. The arm is primarily constructed from metal, with some plastic cladding, and can support monitors that weigh up to 25 pounds. Ergotron recommends sticking to monitors 34 inches wide or smaller. The monitor arm is backed by a 10-year warranty. The arm has a healthy range of adjustment that includes 13 inches of lift, 75 degrees of tilt, 360 degrees of rotation, and 360 degrees of pan (or swivel). While not as smooth as the Herman Miller Flo, I was able to adjust the monitor arm left, right, forward, and back without standing. Setup is simple. The monitor has an included clamp and grommet mount. Installation is mostly handled with a bundled Allen wrench, though you’ll still need a Philips head screwdriver to attach your monitor to the VESA mount. Most owners will be able to install smaller monitors (24 to 27 inches) alone, but help is recommended for larger displays. Ergotron also avoids any serious flaws. I have a few nitpicks, sure. I think the clamp could be smaller. The white colorway doesn’t have a color coordinated VESA mount. And the arm’s overall design looks a bit industrial. Still, this is a bomb-proof mount, and it’s available under $200.   Workstream by Monoprice – Best budget monitor arm Price When Reviewed: $59.99 Best Prices Today: $59.99 at Amazon$59.99 at Monoprice The Workstream by Monoprice single monitor arm is a no-frills solution that delivers basic monitor arm features at an exceptionally low price. The monitor arm has an all-metal construction that in some ways feels sturdier than the Ergotron LX, as the Workstream doesn’t include as much plastic cladding. It’s not entirely a win, though, as the plastic that exists feels frail (and I even broke a small, though unnoticeable, bit while adjusting the monitor). It provides a good range of adjustment, with 13.2 inches of height and 90 degrees of tilt, swivel, and rotation. The arm’s height and tilt adjustment are comparable to others on this list, but it can’t swivel in a full circle, which may prove annoying if you frequently move a monitor arm to share your screen with colleagues. The Workstream’s slim budget is felt in its difficult setup and stiff operation. Users will need to install several screws for a clamp or gromet mount. More screws may need to be adjusted once the arm is in place, as its default tension proved inadequate for supporting a 32-inch monitor. Monoprice lists the monitor as capable of supporting 20 pounds, but I felt the 32-inch monitor (which weighed 15 pounds) was pushing the Workstream to its limits. Monoprice also skimps on the warranty, offering just one year of coverage. These flaws are easily excused by the Workstream’s $60 price tag. It’s clearly less capable, less attractive, and more difficult to use than Ergotron’s LX, but it offers a good range of adjustment and durable construction for less than half the price. It’s an ideal choice for shoppers on a tight budget, as well as those who plan to install a small, light 24-inch or 27-inch monitor. Herman Miller Flo – Best upscale monitor arm Price When Reviewed: $295.00 Best Prices Today: $295 at Herman Miller Want a monitor arm that gets the job done and looks good doing it? The Herman Miller Flo is for you. The Flo’s design sets it apart from the pack. Herman Miller ditches the angular, industrial design of many competitors for a smooth, natural look. While clearly designed for a corporate office, it also fits in with a home office setup, where its friendly, approachable look helps it blend in with its surroundings. The Flo is backed by a 12-year warranty and offers 24/7 customer service. It’s easy to set up and use. The monitor’s clamp works similarly to other monitor arms I tested, but it’s more refined and requires fewer screws (a grommet is also available). The VESA mount is also excellent, providing a simple clip design that’s secure and can be easily pre-mounted to a monitor for simple installation. The way this mount works accommodates monitors that have a slightly recessed mount position, which may cause problems for other monitor arms. The monitor’s range of adjustment isn’t much different from other high-end monitor arms. It offers 13.3 inches of vertical adjustment, 80 degrees of tilt, and 360 degrees of swivel and rotation. That’s essentially identical to the less expensive Ergotron LX. The Flo’s operation is smoother, however: I found I could adjust a monitor’s height with a mere nudge. Surprisingly, the Flo has a listed weight limit of 20 pounds and recommends use with monitors weighing at least 7 pounds. Most monitors fit within this range, but some heavier models won’t be compatible with the Flo. Herman Miller lists the Flo at $295, which is a lot to ask for a single-monitor arm. The Ergotron LX offers similar features at a much lower price. However, the Flo is a smoother, more appealing monitor arm, and worth the upgrade if you want form with your function. Ergotron HX – Best heavy-duty monitor arm Price When Reviewed: $345.00 Best Prices Today: $345 at Lenovo$349 at Amazon$349 at CDW It’s natural, given the only slight difference in name, to think the Ergotron HX is merely an uprated version of the Ergotron LX. That’s not the case. This is an entirely different monitor arm which pairs its increased capacity with improved build quality and a more professional look. First, let’s talk weight. The Ergotron HX is rated to hold monitors that weigh up to 42 pounds and screen sizes up to 49 inches. That’s an extraordinarily high weight limit—I haven’t reviewed a single monitor in 2023 that exceeds it. I attached both a 32-inch widescreen and 38-inch ultrawide monitor, which weighed roughly 15 and 20 pounds, respectively, and the HX easily handled both. The use of plastic is minimal and reserved for small portions of cladding that appear used only for cable routing. The arm’s moving parts include larger, sturdier mechanisms, and felt extremely smooth in my use. Ergotron backs the arm with a 10-year warranty. The monitors range of adjustment is a bit limited compared to the LX. It offers 11.5 inches of height, 75 degrees of tilt, 180 degrees of swivel, and 360 degrees of rotation. However, a somewhat more limited height adjustment is typical in this category due to the size of monitors these stands are expected to carry. The monitor arm’s impressive design also provides a more robust look. This could be a con for some, however, as the arm can seem a bit…much in a home office setup. It’s an expensive arm, as well. Expect to pay about $350. The Ergotron HX is an obvious choice if you want to mount an ultrawide, super-ultrawide, or large format widescreen monitor on your desk. Humanscale M2.1 with M/Connect – Best monitor arm w/ built-in dock Price When Reviewed: $356 (dock starts at an additional $214) Best Prices Today: $356 at Humanscale The Humanscale M2.1 with M/Connect laptop docking station is an attractive, robust, and modern monitor arm that can expand your laptop’s connectivity without taking up additional space on your desktop. Humanscale’s entry-level M2.1 doesn’t include a laptop dock, but it’s designed to accommodate the M/Connect 3, which nestles snuggly into the base of the arm. Most home office shoppers will likely choose the M/Connect 3 USB Data Hub, which currently retails for $253 (on top of the M2.1’s base price of $356). The hub adds three USB-C ports and two USB-A ports. If you want even more ports, the $600 M/Connect 3 Pro Dock adds two more USB-A ports, two more USB-C, Ethernet, and two DisplayPort ports. The M/Connect 3’s added connectivity is an excellent way to expand the ports on a laptop. Its central location makes the ports easy to access and keeps them firmly located in a set position on your desk (as opposed to freestanding hubs and adapters, which tend to get shoved around, or off, a desk). It’s also a good alternative to a USB-C monitor. We like USB-C monitors, but packing connectivity into the monitor can make it difficult to access some ports, as most are located on the rear of the display. Connectivity aside, the Humanscale M2.1 is a robust, if conventional, monitor arm. It can handle monitors between 5 and 15 pounds, which is enough to support the vast majority of widescreen monitors under 32 inches in size. It also has a “smart stop” feature, which lets users customize the amount of rotation the arm allows, and easy-to-use quick release joints that are handy when disassembling or moving the arm. The arm isn’t as smooth in operation as the Herman Miller Flo, but it remains easy enough to adjust. Ergotron LX Dual Monitor Arm – Best dual monitor arm Price When Reviewed: $356.41 Best Prices Today: $405 at Lenovo$415 at Amazon$415 at CDW Two monitors are always better than one, and the same goes for monitor arms. It’s no surprise, then, that Ergotron’s LX Side-by-Side ranks as our best dual monitor arm. The Ergotron LX Side-by-Side pairs two LX monitor arms together on one mount. The look, feel, and specifications of each arm are close to its standalone sibling. Monitor size is one exception: While the standard LX is rated for monitors up to 34 inches, the Side-by-Side’s arm is only rated for monitors up to 27 inches. The monitor arms aren’t long enough to fit two 32-inch or 34-inch monitors side-by-side. Vertical arrangements are also supported, though only if one of the two monitors is small (less than 23 inches diagonal). Look and feel is otherwise similar to the standard Ergotron LX, and that’s why the dual monitor arm also earns a recommendation. The dual-monitor arm provides the same winning balance of build quality, adjustability, and smooth operation, and it’s backed by the same 10-year warranty.  Pricing is a bit higher at $330, which is a slight savings compared to buying two LX arms individually. Workstream by Monoprice Dual Monitor Arm – Best budget dual monitor arm Price When Reviewed: $99.99 Best Prices Today: $95.75 at Amazon$99.99 at Monoprice The same logic that applies to our favorite dual monitor arm also to the budget model, giving Monoprice’s Workstream Dual Monitor Arm a clear path to victory. In fact, the dual arm’s pricing is even more impressive. The Workstream Dual Monitor is four times less expensive than the Ergotron LX Side-by-Side. I’m a bit shocked by the quality Monoprice can offer at a $100 price point. Ergotron’s alternative is more attractive and easier to use, but is it four times better? That’s a tough call. The Workstream’s downsides are identical to standard model. Build quality is impressive for the price, but the arm is difficult to set up and not as smooth in operation. I’m also doubtful the arm is capable of handling two 20-pound monitors, as its spec sheets claim. Fortunately, 27-inch monitors (the largest this arm can handle side-by-side) usually weigh less than 10 pounds, so weight capacity shouldn’t be an issue. Huanuo HNDS12 – Best mid-range dual monitor arm Price When Reviewed: $139.99 Best Prices Today: $139.99 at Amazon$139.99 at Huanuo The Huanuo HNDS12 represents a middle ground for shoppers who want an upgrade in quality but need to respect their budget. Each monitor arm is almost all metal with only a small piece of plastic to provide cable routing. The arm also has gas springs capable of lifting up to 26 pounds of weight, which is enough to handle 32-inch widescreen and 34-inch ultrawide monitors. There’s one unusual feature: a USB hub. This includes two USB ports that are placed at the front of the arm base. Each of these will need to plug in to your computer, which might be a problem if you have a laptop with just a few ports, but it’s a functional bonus. The Huanuo HNDS12, like the HNDS6 (below), is a bit fiddly to set up. It has two clamps that need to be adjusted and roughly a dozen screws that need to be installed. The gas springs also require a bit of adjustment to reduce the force provide, at least when used with a 24-inch or 27-inch monitor.  Still, the HNDS12 is a good pick at its regular retail price of $140, which often drops as low as $110 when on sale. It looks attractive and offers plenty of force for holding larger monitors. Monitor arms that we don’t recommend Humanscale M8.1 Price When Reviewed: $545 Best Prices Today: $545 at Humanscale Humanscale is synonymous with high-end office furniture: The Freedom chair is something of an icon in executive offices across the globe. But Humanscale’s high-end office hardware is at times an awkward fit for a home office, as the M8.1 demonstrates. The Humanscale M8.1 looks similar to the M2.1, but it’s upgraded to handle monitors between 6 and 28 pounds (almost double the M2.1 in our list above). That’s enough to handle nearly any monitor available today, including large ultrawides like the Dell Ultrasharp U4025QW. The arm can also handle two monitors of the appropriate combined weight and offers a “crossbar” to support them both on a single arm. That’s good, and useful, but pricing is an obstacle. The arm starts at $545, but the crossbar (required to use two monitors) ups the price to $686. The M/Connect 3 laptop dock is also available to the M8.1 but, of course, adds even more to the price. That’s a bit hard to accept when the Ergotron HX, which supports monitors up to 42 pounds, starts at $350, or $585 for the dual-monitor crossbar version. Ergotron’s alternative feels as sturdy, supports even larger and heavier displays, and is less expensive. The Humanscale M8.1 has features you won’t find on the Ergotron, such as an optional laptop dock and customizable arm rotation, and it’s a fine selection if price is no obstacle. In most cases, though, the M8.1’s price will be hard to justify. Huanuo HNDS6 Price When Reviewed: $67.99 Best Prices Today: $59.99 at Amazon$67.99 at Huanuo Huanuo’s HNDS6 is a budget dual-monitor arm that’s popular on Amazon (in fact, it’s listed as the best-seller in Computer Monitor Arms). It provides a reasonable level of quality at a low price but fails to unseat the Workspace by Monoprice Dual Monitor Arm on our list. We’ll begin with the positives, which, to be clear, outweigh the problems. The Huanuo HNDS6 carefully walks the value tightrope to deliver a decent dual-monitor arm at a typical price of $60 (which can dip below $50 on sale). The arm’s metal construction feels rigid and looks durable. Each arm is rated to hold between 4.4 and 14.3 pounds. That’s not a lot: The Workstream by Monoprice arm is rated up to 20 pounds. Still, it’s enough to handle a huge majority of 24- and 27-inch monitors, and the monitor arms provided plenty of lift in our testing. We’re not a fan of the arm’s installation. It has two clamps instead of one unified clamp, which is strange, because the base of the monitor arm is one solid piece. There are roughly a dozen screws to install. And the included cable routing can prove hard to tighten once several cables are held within the routing. The Huanuo HNDS6 is a decent dual-monitor arm for the price and worthwhile on a discount (it was once sold for just $38). In general, though, we think the Monoprice Workstream Dual Monitor Arm provides more for a similar price. What to look for in a monitor arm Purchasing a monitor arm is a bit different from purchasing most home office gear. A monitor arm, unlike a monitor, is a hefty, durable piece of equipment that never really goes obsolete. It must also support the specific functions you want out of the box, since upgrades and customization tend to be limited. Adjustability and range of motion The range of adjustability and motion a monitor arm can offer is a critical but often overlooked feature. A monitor arm should adjust for height, tilt, swivel, and pivot—and it should do so without tools. All the monitor arms we recommend meet this standard, but some differences remain. Only some monitor arms provide 360 degrees of swivel, meaning the neck of the monitor arm can be rotated to any position. That’s handy if your desk is in the middle of your room since you can use the monitor from various positions. Most inexpensive monitor arms ditch adjustability and stick with simple tension mechanisms that are secured by a screw. It’s inexpensive but fixes the monitor’s position in place once it’s adjusted. We recommend avoiding mounts that use this strategy. Ease of installation and adjustment None of the monitor arms tested were difficult to install, but the difference between budget and premium models was clear. Budget models require more screws to install, and the default tension of the arm’s adjustment mechanism is less likely to be suitable out-of-the-box. The ease of adjustment varies greatly, too. All the monitor arms we surveyed require an Allen wrench to adjust tension (which is necessary if the arm seems too stiff or loose), but some were much more difficult than others. The Herman Miller Flo felt smooth and effortless, while the Workstream by Monoprice required serious torque. Cable management Proper cable management is important if you value a clean, clutter-free desk. This is one aspect of design that didn’t improve with pricing. The Herman Miller Flo’s cable management was basic, while the Workstream by Monoprice hid cables well. This did come with a trade-off, though, as the Flo’s seemed least likely to cause cables to bind while moving the monitor. While cable management is useful, none of the monitor arms I tested can handle the full complement of cables that might be attached to a high-end USB-C monitor (like the Dell U3223QE). This is an aspect of monitor arm design that manufacturers could improve. Maximum supported size and weight It’s important to buy a monitor arm that can handle the monitor you own. This won’t be a major concern if you own a 24-inch or 27-inch monitor, as most such monitors weigh 10 pounds or less. With that said, it’s wise to double-check the monitor’s weight before buying a monitor arm. Remember the monitor’s weight can exclude its stand. Larger 32-inch, 34-inch, and 49-inch monitors are more difficult to handle and may require an upgrade to a “heavy duty” monitor arm. Monitor size limits should be respected as well. It might be possible to attach a 40-inch monitor to an arm meant for a 32-inch monitor. The 40-inch monitor may even come within the arm’s weight limit. A larger monitor will distribute weight differently, however, which could cause an arm’s tension mechanism to fail. How we test monitor arms Every monitor arm we recommend was personally tested first-hand at a PC World contributor’s home or the PC World office. We examine the quality, ease of installation, and range of adjustment of each arm to verify it meets the manufacturer’s claims. The monitors we use to test arms can vary over time, but generally include at least one 27-inch and one 32-inch widescreen monitor. Monitor arms rated for “heavy duty” use were tested with at least one monitor that weighs 20 pounds or more. FAQ 1. Is a monitor arm worth it? Whether a monitor arm is worth the price is subjective, but we believe our recommended monitor arms are worth making the investment. A monitor arm is easier to use than a stand, allows a wider range of adjustment, and keeps your desk clear of clutter. They’re also durable—there’s a good chance you’ll replace a monitor before the monitor arm. 2. Are monitor arms compatible with my monitor? Nearly all monitors, and nearly all monitor arms, use the VESA mounting standard. The 100x100mm bolt pattern is by far the most common, though 75x75mm is sometimes used as an alternative. All the monitor arms we recommend support both bolt patterns. Not sure that your monitor supports VESA? Check the rear of the monitor. The VESA mount can be found in the center of the monitor, and the bolt pattern can be verified with a ruler or tape measure. This is likely beneath the neck of your monitor’s stand if you have one attached. It’s possible to mount a monitor that lacks a VESA mount, but you’ll need to purchase a VESA adapter. It’s a large, X-shaped device that clamps to the rear of the monitor. 3. Are monitor arms compatible with my desk? Most monitor arms offer two mounting options: clamp and gromet. A clamp mount is the most common for home office use. A U-shaped clamp fits over an edge of your desk. A screw mechanism is used to secure it. Most clamps are adjusted by hand and fit a wide range of desks. It’s important to double-check a monitor arm’s specifications if your desk is more than an inch thick, as some clamp mounts are too small to work with a thick desk surface. The clamp also requires an edge that’s free of obstructions on both the top and bottom of the desk. Grommet mounts insert into the circular cut-outs found on many desks built and sold for corporate offices. A grommet mount is also a form of clamp, but size of the mechanism is different, and the mount attaches the monitor to the interior of the desk instead of an exterior edge. Nearly all monitor arms ship with a clamp and grommet mount, but grommet mounts are less common. It’s wise to double-check that a grommet mount is supported if that’s how you plan to mount the monitor arm. 4. Will a monitor arm damage my desk? It’s possible that a monitor arm’s clamp mount, if used, will cause minor damage to your desk. It may scratch the desk’s surface when mounted or removed, and over-torquing the clamp might cause a dent on some softer desks, such as those which use a veneer over particleboard. A glass desk can also prove troublesome—refer to the desk’s manufacturer to make sure it’s safe to use a monitor arm. 5. Do monitor arms wobble? A quality monitor arm will tame minimal monitor wobble, though some might come through if the arm is mounted to a thin, light desk. Make sure to mount the monitor arm to a secure surface and adjust the arm’s tension to a level suitable for the monitor you’ve mounted. 6. Should I buy a $25 monitor arm on Amazon? A monitor arm’s price tag can intimidate budget shoppers. Most budget monitors sell for $200 or less. Spending another $150 to $300 for a monitor arm can seem hard to justify. Still, we encourage shoppers to avoid cheap monitor arms found on Amazon and other retailers. The least expensive monitor arms lack a dynamic tension mechanism, like a gas piston or spring. A few arms in the $35 to $50 range use a gas piston, but it’s often a wimpy example barely sufficient for holding a 27-inch monitor. Inexpensive monitor arms also lean more heavily on plastic. That’s not necessarily a problem out-of-the-box, but plastic tends to become brittle over time, which may reduce the lifespan of a monitor arm. Accessories, Computer Accessories, Monitors
The Full Nerd: Nvidia shows off how AI NPCs can revolutionize gaming
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 15:15:19 +0000
Source: PCWorld
“AI” is the buzzword for just about everything this year. Nvidia is probably the biggest benefactor of the AI trend, but it’s not content to sit on its laurels and sell billions of dollars in silicon. The company’s newest developer tool, the Avatar Cloud Engine, could help game devs make non-player characters in a fraction of the time it takes today. On PCWorld’s The Full Nerd podcast, Nvidia Senior Product Manager Seth Schneider joins Adam and Will to show off this remarkable tech. The Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE) goes beyond standard text and voice simulation to allow developers to customize NPCs with a range of contextual actions, giving each one a custom-tailored personality that reacts to the in-game environment. The Covert Protocol playable demo showcases these completely AI-driven characters. And while you need to apply to get into the early access program for ACE from Nvidia and its partner Inworld, the company plans to release the source code for the demo in the near future. For more on the latest in gaming and PC hardware, be sure to subscribe to PCWorld on YouTube! Graphics Cards
Oregon passes Right to Repair bill outlawing parts pairing
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 15:07:13 +0000
Source: PCWorld
Enshrining the rights of consumers and third-party technicians to repair their own devices is a long slog of a legal process, but Oregon just took a big step forward. The state just signed its new Right to Repair bill into law, notably adding a measure that others were missing: It’ll soon be illegal to pair up hardware parts with software checks that block replacements. Governor Tina Kotek signed the law in yesterday, and it will take effect starting in 2025 and applying to some hardware as far back as 2015. It was a surprisingly bipartisan effort in an otherwise bitterly divided political climate, with the Oregon state House of Representatives passing it by 42-13 and the Senate going 25-5. “This is a win for consumers and will help bridge our digital divide and support small businesses across our state,” said Kotek. The seven-page law SB 1596 (PDF link) includes such Right to Repair staples as requiring manufacturers to make repair documentation and tools available, making replacement parts available directly for sale or through distributors, and not blocking third-party parts from functioning. But it’s the “parts pairing” portion of the law that has advocates like iFixit excited. Parts pairing is a process that uses a software check to identify specific parts on block those that aren’t on a whitelist. So for example, if an iPhone is using a Samsung OEM screen, the motherboard might run a software check for that part and that part alone. That part is sold only sold to Apple, and the software check will block otherwise identical screens (even those coming from Samsung itself, even those from the same model iPhone) from functioning when installed. This makes it impossible for anyone except Apple to perform the repair, naturally at a huge premium. The Oregon law makes it illegal to use parts pairing checks to block third-party parts that would otherwise function. Devices also can’t pop up “unnecessary or misleading alerts or warnings about unidentified parts, particularly if the alerts or warnings cannot be dismissed.” Such issues have indeed plagued iPhone owners in particular — it’s no wonder Apple testified against the bill and objected to the parts pairing portion. Oregon is now going further than any other state in pushing for Right to Repair principles, including California, Colorado, New York, Maine, Massachusetts, and Minnesota. Efforts to expand federal law to cover Right to Repair are currently proceeding through the national House of Representatives as the REPAIR Act, HR 906, though it only applies to cars and other motor vehicles. Consumer Electronics
How we test webcams at PCWorld
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 14:30:00 +0000
Source: PCWorld
Testing a webcam seems easy enough: Assemble a bunch of them, use them to take photos or video, and compare the results. But it’s worth it to go further. When recommending a webcam, I want it to do one simple thing: allow you to look your best on a Teams or Zoom or Google video call, and for as little as possible. Since you likely own a laptop, and most laptops have webcams, that means you’ll be happiest with a webcam that offers significant improvements over what you already own. All of PCWorld’s recommendations for the best webcams are evaluated by the same criteria, which include: The price of the webcam, versus the competition The webcam’s features, which includes resolution, refresh rate, and more The physical construction of the webcam and any utility software it includes How the webcam shoots images and captures video and records audio All of our recent webcam recommendations are backed by hands-on testing and separate reviews. Some of our older recommendations, which are still included, were begun before we wrote separate reviews. Our decisions are based on our own hands-on testing with some weight given to customer reviews, but are never influenced by vendors. To be awarded an Editor’s Choice award, the webcam must excel in the criteria listed above. If a webcam can make even me look pretty good, it’s deserving of high marks, If a webcam can make even me look pretty good, it’s deserving of high marks, If a webcam can make even me look pretty good, it’s deserving of high marks, How I evaluate webcams based upon price Right now, I consider a “budget” webcam to be between $20 and $50 or so, and I look for the best offering in that price range. I consider anything above that to be a candidate for an overall best pick, with “premium” webcams priced at over $100. In whatever category, I’m looking for the most bang for your buck. Ship me an average 1080p webcam for $30, and it will be in the running for the best budget webcam. But if a vendor offers a 4K webcam for the same price, that will raise my eyebrows. If the retail price is, say, $100, but the camera is consistently on sale for half that, I’ll recommend that camera at the “actual” price. I review our listings often enough that I can usually factor in significant price moves. How I evaluate webcams based upon features Naturally, price and features go hands in hand. But this is an area where I can assign value to things I think you’ll care about. Resolution is a key metric. Most traditional webcams offer 720p resolution, with 1080p becoming more common a couple of years ago. Today, I’m seeing some 1200p webcams built into laptops, with the “extra” resolution applied to a webcam that can do some digital zooming in on your face. My priorities go from 4K > 1440p > 1080p > 720p, with 4K webcams receiving my highest ranking. This CA webcam drops down to allow you to look your subject in the “eye.” That’s a novel feature worth some additional consideration. This CA webcam drops down to allow you to look your subject in the “eye.” That’s a novel feature worth some additional consideration.Mark Hachman / IDG This CA webcam drops down to allow you to look your subject in the “eye.” That’s a novel feature worth some additional consideration.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG Refresh rate is something I can’t show in still captures. Generally, a 60Hz refresh rate looks like “TV” — it’s the refresh rate you’re used to seeing on video, and I believe it gives your image a little cachet because of it. Again, this is something that’s worth a few dollars extra. What about digital panning and zooming? Face tracking? Does the camera do anything truly novel, like the CA Essential Webcam Flex and its telescoping rod and eyeline feature? I use all this to position the webcam in terms of value, and what recommended category the webcam will land in. How I evaluate the physical construction of the webcam When I unbox the webcam, I first mount it on my desktop monitor. I start making measurements and judgements: Is the cord long enough? Does it terminate in a legacy USB-A port or USB-C port? I also want to see how well the webcam sits on my monitor. Does it grab well? Wobble? Does it feel like the weight of the cord will pull it down or off? If I brush against it, will it tumble off? A bit later on I’ll also mount it on top of a laptop or two to look for the same things. This is where I’ll assign hypothetical bonus points for a webcam that performs other functions, such as pointing downward for a top-down perspective. I test to see how well the webcam attaches to a monitor and laptop. I test to see how well the webcam attaches to a monitor and laptop.Mark Hachman / IDG I test to see how well the webcam attaches to a monitor and laptop.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG Whether or not you believe your webcam will be hacked, most users prefer a physical webcam shutter, as well as some sort of a mic cutoff. Some budget webcams are plug-and-play, letting Windows handle any adjustments in color balance, resolution, and more. More and more, however, premium webcams include software packages that you’re required to download. Whether or not that pays off in terms of convenience or additional software controls is something that I evaluate, too. Some of the webcam software utilities I’ve tried have been excellent, setting a high bar for the competition. How I evaluate how a webcam captures images/video and audio From owning and testing several smartphones over the years, I believe that most cameras do a fine job of capturing you in good lighting. Webcams are no different. What I don’t want is a webcam that forces you to invest in or have a perfect lighting setup to make you look good. I so think that the only obvious way to properly test a webcam is to use it, and capture images using it. With that said, I typically use two setups: downstairs in my office, where I deliberately draw the curtains and put up a screen behind me (to hide my mess but also focus the lighting). A dim room allows my monitor and/or the webcam’s ring light to illuminate me, which isn’t atypical on a video call. Remember, I’m trying for more of a worse/worst case scenario. A typical webcam office shot. A typical webcam office shot.Mark Hachman / IDG A typical webcam office shot.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG I use the Windows Camera app and capture a screenshot of the camera recording me at the highest resolution the webcam offers. I do not make manual adjustments to the camera unless noted, preferring to let it do the work. I’m looking for detail, a good color balance, and accurate flesh tones. I take a second screenshot upstairs, either in my dining room or in our family room, under more natural light. This is subject to the weather. I’ve also occasionally tested webcams at our local library, under fluorescent light. I make no claims to being photogenic, as anyone who’s read my reviews understands. But I do have a good idea of what I look like, and evaluate the webcam based on the resulting image. A webcam shot, upstairs in my dining room. A webcam shot, upstairs in my dining room.Mark Hachman / IDG A webcam shot, upstairs in my dining room.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG I’ve recently started to add audio testing to my repertoire, to see how well any noise-cancelling mics actually perform. I play two audio tracks on my phone (one a rock/pop song, one a “white noise” track that uses rainfall) and place the phone nearby. I use the mic to record an audio file using Windows Sound Recorder. Video chat apps like Teams or Zoom will likely do additional audio filtering, but I don’t want them interfering. How to interpret our webcam rating system After factoring in all of my review criteria above, I arrive at a score. I give a lot of weight to the image itself; if it’s bad, then what’s the point? Everything else factors in to some extent, and any major deficiencies will be noted accordingly. I award an Editor’s Choice designation to those webcams I would be comfortable using or recommending to a friend or family. That doesn’t mean that you won’t be happy with a webcam that fails to win such an award, but there may be something that rankles a bit: Maybe you’ll pay a bit more, or the webcam’s audio won’t be up to snuff. I’ll generally award an Editor’s Choice award to a webcam that receives a 4.5 or 5-star rating, but not always. Any webcam with three stars or below is middling, and probably not worth your time. The bottom line? I want you to be happy with what I recommend. Webcams
This RTX 4060-loaded Asus gaming laptop is $600 off
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 13:46:58 +0000
Source: PCWorld
Attention, gamers! If you’re looking to pick up a good-looking laptop with powerful internals at a reasonable price point, you’ve come to the right spot. Best Buy’s currently selling the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 for $999.99, which is a massive $600 off of the original $1,599.99 price. This machine is rocking an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU and a chassis that’s made up of aluminum and magnesium alloy. The moonlight white color scheme is easy on the eyes as well. This particular system comes with an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS CPU, the aforementioned Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of SSD storage. Basically, it’s powerful enough to run most modern games on the Medium or High graphics settings. For connectivity options, you’re getting one HDMI 2.0, two USB-A 3.2, and two USB-C 3.2. The only downsides, which are few and far between, are the 720p webcam and the one USB-C charging port. If you can live with those nitpicks, then this is a great laptop for gamers, especially for $600 off. Get the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 for $999.99 at Best Buy Laptops
Best laptop deals today: Home use laptops, gaming laptops and more
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 13:02:31 +0000
Source: PCWorld
If you’re looking to score a fast laptop at a killer price, you’ve come to the right place. Whether you’re on the hunt for a blazing fast gaming rig, a lightweight 2-in-1, or an everyday Chromebook, we’ve assembled a list of the best laptop deals available right now, using our finely honed editorial judgement to only recommend truly compelling deals on worthwhile notebooks. For more notebook options, check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops available right now. We’ve got can’t-miss picks for every use case and budget, putting our thousands of hours of hands-on testing to work for you. The best laptop deals today Everyday laptops Sometimes all you need is an everyday, no-frills laptop for browsing the web and checking e-mail. If you’re in the market for such a machine, check out our picks below. Lenovo IdeaPad 1, AMD Ryzen 5 5500U CPU/AMD Radeon Vega 7 graphics/8GB RAM/256GB SSD/14-inch 1080p display, $249.99 ($170 off at Microcenter) Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3, Intel Core i3-1315U CPU/Intel UHD graphics/8GB RAM/256GB SSD/15.6-inch 1080p display, $299 ($230 off at B&H) HP 17-cp0007 (refurb), AMD Ryzen 3 5300U CPU/AMD Radeon graphics/12GB RAM/256GB SSD + 1TB HDD/17.3-inch 1080p display, $399.99 ($449.01 off at Adorama) HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook, Intel Core i3-1215U CPU/Intel Iris Xe graphics/8GB RAM/128GB SSD/13.5-inch 1504p touch display, $1,099 ($220 off at HP) HP Pavilion Plus 14, AMD Ryzen 5 7540U CPU/AMD Radeon graphics/16GB RAM/512GB SSD/14-inch 1200p display, $549.99 ($250 off at Best Buy) Dell XPS 13 Laptop, Intel Core i7-1250U CPU/Intel Iris Xe graphics/16GB RAM/512GB SSD/13.4-inch 1200p display, $799 ($300 off at Dell) Acer Aspire 3, AMD Ryzen 5 7520U CPU/AMD Radeon graphics/8GB RAM/512GB SSD/15.6-inch 1080p display, $329.99 ($270 off at Best Buy) Asus Zenbook 14X, Intel Core i5-13500H CPU/Intel Iris Xe graphics/8GB RAM/512GB SSD/14.5-inch 1800p touch display, $499.99 ($300 off at Best Buy) My top pick: Lenovo’s IdeaPad Slim 3 offers reliable performance, a lightweight form factor, and a spacious display–all at an affordable price point. When it comes to price and features, it checks off all the right boxes, making it a great everyday machine for most people. Gaming laptops Whether you’re looking to catch up on some gaming after work or between classes, we’ve got a pretty solid list of gaming laptop recommendations below. The refresh rates on these machines are absolutely bananas and I mean that in the best way possible. XPS Xenia 15G, Intel Core i7-13700H CPU/Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU/16GB RAM/1TB SSD/15.6-inch 1080p display, $999 ($700.99 off at Walmart) Lenovo Legion Pro 5i, Intel Core 7-13700HX CPU/Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU/32GB RAM/1TB SSD/16-inch 1600p display, $1,184.95 ($614.05 off at B&H) Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, Intel Core i9-13900HX CPU/Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 GPU/32GB RAM/1TB SSD/16-inch 1600p display, $2,129 ($620 off at B&H) Acer Predator Helios Neo, Intel Core i5-13500HX CPU/Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU/16GB RAM/512GB SSD/16-inch 1200p display, $899.99 ($300 off at Best Buy) MSI Crosshair 16, Intel Core i7-13620H CPU/Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU/16GB RAM/1TB SSD/16-inch 1200p display, $1,199.99 ($200 off at Best Buy) MSI Stealth, Intel Core i7-13620H CPU/Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU/32GB RAM/TB SSD/16-inch 1200p display, $1,599.99 ($250 off at Best Buy) Asus TUF Gaming F15, Intel Core i9-13900H CPU/Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU/32GB RAM/1TB SSD/15.6-inch 1080p display, $1,149 ($250 off at B&H) Lenovo LOQ 15IRH8, Intel Core i7-13700H CPU/Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU/16GB RAM/512GB SSD/15.6-inch 1080p display, $799 ($510 off at B&H) Asus ROG Zephyrus G14, AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS CPU/Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU/16GB RAM/512GB SSD/14-inch 1440p display, $999.99 ($600 off at Best Buy) My top pick: If you’re looking for the ultimate gaming experience, the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i will certainly deliver. The Intel Core 9-13900HX CPU and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 GPU is a powerful combination, so it should blitz right through most games on the High or Ultra graphics preset. Plus, the display is a roomy 16-inches with a ridiculously high refresh rate of 240Hz. 2-in-1 laptops 2-in-1 laptops (aka convertibles) are great because they’re so lightweight and versatile. All you have to do is swing the screen around 360 degrees and boom! You’ve got a tablet. If you’re on the hunt for a super portable laptop, then check out the carefully curated list below. Dell Inspiron 2-in-1, Intel Core i7-1260P CPU/Intel Iris Xe graphics/16GB RAM/512GB SSD/16-inch 1200p touch display, $899.99 ($350 off at Best Buy) Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5, Intel Core i7-1355U CPU/Intel Iris Xe graphics/16GB RAM/512GB SSD/16-inch 1200p touch display, $599 ($400 off at B&H) HP Envy x360, AMD Ryzen 7 5825U CPU/AMD Radeon graphics/16GB RAM/512GB SSD/15.6-inch touch 1080p display, $569.99 ($379.01 off at Adorama) Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga Gen 3, Intel Core i7-1265U CPU/Intel Iris Xe graphics/16GB RAM/512GB SSD/13.3-inch 1200p touch display, $1,154 ($865 off at Adorama) Lenovo Flex 7, Intel Core Evo i7-1355U CPU/Intel Iris Xe graphics/16GB RAM/1TB SSD/14-inch 1400p touch display, $1,039.99 ($220 off at Adorama) Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6, Intel Core i5-1135G7 CPU/Intel Iris Xe graphics/8GB RAM/256GB SSD/14-inch 1200p touch display, $704.99 ($724.01 off at Adorama) Lenovo Yoga 7i, Intel Core i5-1340P CPU/Intel Iris Xe graphics/16GB RAM/512GB SSD/16-inch 1600p touch display, $839.99 ($300 off at Lenovo) Lenovo Yoga 6, AMD Ryzen 5 7530U CPU/AMD Radeon graphics/8GB RAM/512GB SSD/13.3-inch 1200p touch display, $549.99 ($310 off at Lenovo) Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 Laptop, Intel Core i7-1250U CPU/Intel Iris Xe graphics/16GB RAM/1TB SSD/13-inch 1920p touch display, $1,249 ($510 off at Dell) My top pick: The Lenovo Flex 7 is a fantastic pick because it’s powerful enough for day-to-day productivity and the 1400p display is both vibrant and touch-enabled. Laptop deal buying tips If you’ve shopped online before for laptop deals you’re probably aware that there’s a vast range of laptop configurations available. A good place to start is with the processor. Buy laptops with Intel 12-series Core chips or higher, such as the Core i5-12510U, or the Core i7-13800H; or go with an AMD Ryzen processor (but not an AMD Athlon or A-series chip). Avoid laptops with Pentium or Celeron processors unless it’s a Chromebook (running Chrome OS). You’re going to need to pay attention with gaming laptops, too, as some GPUs, like the RTX 4050 Ti, don’t offer much boost over their RTX 3xxx-series cousins, and Nvidia has dropped the Max-Q designation on certain low-power options. Display resolution is a gotcha. If you see a laptop labeled as “HD” resolution that means 1366-by-768 and often isn’t worth your time for a laptop under 13 inches unless the deal is absolutely standout. What you want is “Full HD” or “FHD,” which means 1080p. Don’t buy laptops with under 4GB of RAM or 128GB of SSD storage—though on a Chromebook, this configuration is acceptable. We have more explanation in our laptops versus Chromebooks buying guide, as well as in our primer on how to buy a budget laptop without getting screwed. Also watch out for eMMC storage, which is something we don’t recommend for a Windows laptop but works fine for a Chromebook. Reviews can be helpful. Even if you can’t find a review of a specific configuration, try related models. They’ll often give you a good idea of the build quality and performance. Also buy from brands you trust. Amazon’s daily laptop deals right now are full of brands we’ve never tested or talked to (Broage, Teclast, DaySky, Jumper) and it’s just a good idea to be wary. Most older laptops will run Windows 10, and that’s fine—there’s no rush to upgrade. Windows 10 in S Mode, though annoying, can be switched out of easily if you find it on a budget laptop. If you want to buy a Windows 10 PC with the intent of upgrading it to Windows 11, we recommend you start here with a list of older laptops that are Windows 11-eligible. Read our round-up of the best laptop chargers. Laptops
How to fight the new Windows Outlook app and keep Mail…for now
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 13:00:00 +0000
Source: PCWorld
Microsoft has threatened to take away Windows Mail and replace it with a new Outlook app. Now it’s already doing so, trying to wrest it away from you before its end-of-the-year self-imposed deadline. I’ll never give up, Microsoft! get windows 11 pro for cheap Windows 11 Pro Price When Reviewed: 199.99 Best Prices Today: $59 at PCWorld Store – Win 11 Pro Upgrade Only | $79.99 at PCWorld Software Store I love Mail, and have so for years. It’s focused, functional, and information-dense. Virtually everything that I need it to do, it does. Yes, it lacks any Copilot integration, but Microsoft hasn’t convinced me that I need that to manage my schedule or author emails for me, yet. The problem is that Microsoft is trying to take Mail away from me. A couple of months ago Mail popped up this message, below. Then it did so again on Friday. All hope abandon, ye who enter here. All hope abandon, ye who enter here.Mark Hachman / IDG All hope abandon, ye who enter here.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG I took the same steps then as I did now: cursed, closed Mail, restarted Mail, cursed again as Outlook opened, and then found the button to get rid of it. The “new” Outlook is a web app. It’s slow to load, full of extraneous information, and simply doesn’t offer the very targeted, tailored experience that Mail offers. I may be living in the past, but I understand how Mail (and the related Calendar app) work, and I can simply get things done quickly and effectively. Fortunately, Microsoft offers a rip cord within the new Outlook app itself. To the upper right is a toggle To shut down the new Outlook and go back to Mail. Click it: Bon voyage, Outlook. Bon voyage, Outlook.Mark Hachman / IDG Bon voyage, Outlook.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG At this point you have an option to send feedback to Microsoft, explaining why you’ve given up on Outlook and gone back to the past. I’d recommend that you think about using this form to explain why Mail is the superior option and why you’d prefer that Microsoft give up on the new Outlook instead. Or at least maintain Mail as an option inside the Microsoft Store, as it has done with some other applications. Why? Because as you leave Outlook behind in the rear-view mirror, this ominous note appears. Outlook will be back, and it will return by the end of the year. Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG You see, like other horror villains of the past — Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, or Michael Myers — Outlook never really dies. It will return. You can try begging Microsoft for mercy. Otherwise, there’s nothing you can do about it but to just keep running and to pray that new Outlook doesn’t find you. Personal Software, Windows
How to record audio from a website on various devices
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 12:50:43 +0000
Source: PCWorld
Key Takeaways: To record audio on Windows 11 and Windows 10, you can use the built-in audio recorder on your PC. It records audio from YouTube and many other websites. Mac users may try Audacity. If you want to record website audio on mobile phones, try the built-in screen recording feature. If you want to record on Chrome or Firefox browsers, try an audio recording extension. However, to get more functions and features, we suggest you use a third-party audio recorder called EaseUS RecExperts. It helps recording and editing audio files from the website. When browsing on the internet, you may find some music fragments or video BGM intriguing and want to capture it. If you are using a computer, you will need a tool to record computer audio in order to capture music from websites. If it’s a phone you use, the built-in screen recorder may help. No worries, we’ll give you a complete guide to grab audio from websites on various devices. Record Audio from Website on Windows 11, 10 Compatibility: Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7 Best for: Users who want advanced recording features like automatic-recording, audio-extracting, and file-compressing, etc. EaseUS RecExperts record audio from a website on Windows PCs without a hassle. It records sound in original quality without time limits. It also offers a scheduled recording feature to record website audio automatically. After recording, users can trim, extract, and manage the audio file freely. Below are the steps to capture audio from websites with EaseUS RecExperts: Step 1. Run EaseUS RecExperts and choose “Audio” (looks like a speaker) from the left side. Select to record the system audio or the microphone sound. You can also select them both. EaseUS EaseUS EaseUS Step 2. When all is done, click “REC” tostart recording. Then, click on the red square icon to stop the recording whenever you want. Step 3. After that, it will automatically lead you to the recording list. You can listen to, edit, and manage the recordings here. Note: If you don’t want to use third-party tools, you can also record audio files on Windows 10 and 11 with the built-in Voice Recorder. Grab Audio from Website on Mac with Audacity Compatibility: macOS 12 & 13, with OS X versions since 10.9 Best for: Users who want an open-source audio recorder. Audacity is free and open-source digital recording software. It can be used to record internal audio on Mac. It reduces background static with noise reduction tools. After capturing, it exports the audio file in popular audio formats, including MP3, M4A, AIFF, FLAC, WAV and more. One thing to note is that to record the system audio from your Mac website, you will need a plug-in tool called Soundflower. Note: The Soundflower plug-in is not compatible with Apple silicon-based machines. Therefore, this method may not be suitable for those who use these machines. Step 1. Install and open SoundFlower on your Mac. Then, hit the apple icon and go to “System Preferences” > “Sound” > “Output” > select “Soundflower (2ch)” as the sound output. Step 2. Run Audacity and go to “Audio Setup” > “Recording Device” > choose “Soundflower (2ch)” as the recording source. EaseUS EaseUS EaseUS Step 3. Click on the “Record” button to start recording the website audio on your Mac. When you want to stop the recording, press the “Stop” button. Rip Audio from Website Online with Audio Recorder Extension Compatibility: Firefox browser Best for: Users who don’t want to download anything to their devices and need basic recording features. If you are using the Firefox browser and want to record website audio online, the Live Recorder Add-on may be your best choice. This browser extension is capable of recording audio, video, and canvas elements into a WEBM file. Since it captures audio in real-time, you can use it to record streaming audio on the Firefox website easily. Note: the Live Recorder Add-on exports recorded audio only in WEBM format. Also, you can’t edit it within the extension. In this case, we suggest you turn to EaseUS RecExperts. Step 1. Go to the Live Recorder Add-on official website and click “Add to Firefox” to add it to your browser. EaseUS EaseUS EaseUS Step 2. Play the audio you want to record from the Firefox website and click the add-on to start recording. Step 3. Once you want to stop the recording, hit the “Stop” button. That’s it! If you want to record audio from websites on other browsers, let’s say Chrome, you may try Chrome Audio Capture. You can save the captured audio to your local device after recording. There’s no need to download and install. Just click the “Add to Chrome” button to start! Capture Website Audio on iPhone with the Inbuilt Recorder Compatibility: iPhones running iOS 11 or later Best for: Users who want a basic audio recording function without a third-party tool. The iPhone comes with a screen and audio recorder. If your iPhone is running on iOS 11 or later, you can record the website audio through simple clicks on the screen. The best thing about it is that no apps need to be downloaded. However, the file captured by this recorder could take up the storage space on your phone. Check out the instructions for recording website audio on an iPhone below. Step 1. Add Screen Recording to your Control Center by clicking “Control Centre” > “Customize Controls” > enabling “Screen Recording”. EaseUS EaseUS EaseUS Step 2. Play the website audio you want to record. Then, swipe down to access “Control Center” and then tap the “Record” button. Step 3. Tap on the red “Recording” icon again to finish recording. Record Audio from Website on Android Compatibility: Samsung Galaxy S10, S20, S21, S22, S23, Note 10, Note 20, Z Fold, and Z Flip models. Best for: Samsung users who are reluctant to download third-party screen recording tools. Most Android phones offer a recording function. You may use a Samsung, One Plus, or Google Pixel phone. No matter the brand, you can find the recording feature in settings. This part mainly talks about how to record audio from websites on a Samsung phone. Check the steps below. Step 1. Open the “Quick Settings” window by swiping down twice from the top of your screen. Step 2. Tap the “Screen Recorder” tile and select the “Media Radio” button. Step 3. Tap on “Start Recording” to begin capturing, and tap again to finish recording. Tips to Record Lossless Audio Files from Websites Here are some useful tips for recording the website audio as a high-quality audio file. Follow them when taking the recording. #Turn the Volume Up The easiest way to improve the audio quality of your recording is to make it loud enough for recording. The most basic requirement for an audio recording is to be audible. In this case, you need to turn up the volume properly. #Consider Recording in WAV Format A high-quality audio recording has a higher bitrate than a low-quality recording. A higher bitrate means more data contained. We suggest you record the website audio in WAV format as it has a bitrate of 1,411 kbps. This should be enough for most people. #Use A Comprehensive Audio Recorder As mentioned above, you’d better record in WAV format. In this case, you will need a recorder that supports this format. EaseUS RecExperts and Audacity both export audio in WAV format. What to Consider When Choosing A Website Audio Recorder There are many things to consider when choosing an audio recorder. Let’s have a look at them together. #Device Compatibility The first thing you need to consider is whether the recorder is compatible with your device or not. For example, you can’t use an extension exclusive to Firefox on Chrome browser. And you can’t use an Android-only app on an iPhone. #Recording Function It’s not the best choice if the functions are not satisfying. For example, if you are a professional, the built-in recorder on your mobile phone will probably not meet your requirements. #Technical Support There are times when a recording tool goes wrong. If it’s not working properly and you can’t solve the problem on your own, you will need technical support. An open-source recorder may not help in this case. #Cost-effectiveness It’s normal that a high-quality audio recorder is not free, although we customers may want it the other way. Choose a tool with a high cost-effectiveness. Every penny doesn’t come easy. Desktop PCs
How to record screen Windows 10 with audio [4 free ways]
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 12:49:22 +0000
Source: PCWorld
Key Takeaways: The easiest way to record a Windows 10 screen with audio is by using a professional screen recorder – EaseUS RecExperts, which lets you capture your PC desktop with both internal and microphone sound. If you are seeking free screen and audio recorder software, you can look at Game Bar (for light users) and OBS Studio (for professionals). Online tools like EaseUS Online Screen Recorder are good options for those who want to record without any software. When you want to build walk-throughs, create step-by-step tutorials with your narration, or capture video conferences on your Windows 10 PC, it’s necessary to learn how to record screen Windows 10 with audio. In this guide, we will walk you through the steps of recording your Windows 10 desktop with audio using a range of professional programs, including free video recording software and online tools. Now, let’s get started! Quick glance at 4 free Windows 10 screen and audio recorders: SolutionsPriceEffectivenessTarget crowdEaseUS RecExpertsFree/PaidHigh – Supports every screen and audio recording; No time limit and watermark for any recording.AllXbox Game BarFreeMedium – Allows you to capture Windows 10 screens with audio, but the maximum time is 2 hours.Light users/beginnersOBS StudioFreeHigh – Supports almost all screen and audio recording tasks, but it is too difficult for novices to use.ProfessionalsEaseUS Online RecorderFree/PaidMedium – Lets you record screen and audio online directly without downloading any software, but it lacks some advanced features.Light users/
beginners Way 1. Screen Record Windows 10 with Internal/Microphone Audio Perfectly EaseUS RecExperts is one of the most popular Windows 10 screen and audio recorders worldwide. It provides a wide range of features designed to facilitate screen recording with audio. With its aid, you can freely capture any region of your desktop in 1080P/4K quality. Besides, it offers you options to record default system sound, microphone audio, or both while recording the screen. If needed, you can also choose to only record computer audio effortlessly. As for recording your desktop with microphone audio, it is worth mentioning that you can enable the noise reduction and Microphone Boost features to enhance your recordings with one click. You can try this fantastic screen recorder to explore more features. Here’s how to record your Windows 10 screen with audio via a free screen recorder: Step 1. Download and launch EaseUS RecExperts on your PC, then click the small monitor icon on the left to select your desired recording area. Step 2. Click the System sound, Microphone, or both buttons according to your needs. If necessary, click the down arrow icon to enable more advanced features. EaseUS EaseUS EaseUS Step 3. When you are ready, click REC to start recording the Windows screen with sound. Once done, you can preview and edit your recordings as you like. Way 2. Record Desktop Windows 10 With Audio Directly via Game Bar Windows 10 actually comes with a built-in screen and audio recorder called Xbox Game Bar. This freeware was originally designed to capture game clips but is now used for recording anything on your desktop. With this freeware, you can simultaneously record Windows 10 desktop and audio with shortcuts. However, it only lets you capture the entire screen, and 2 hours is the maximum time. If that’s enough for you, check how to capture Windows 10 screen with Game Bar below: Step 1. First, click Settings > Gaming to open Game Bar Settings, then enable the Xbox Game Bar recording feature by toggling on the switch. Step 2. Press Windows + G hotkeys to open the Game Bar. Next, click Settings > Capturing on the recording panel to choose your audio recording source: Game, All, or None. Step 3. Then, click Capture and enable the microphone option if needed. When everything goes well, hit Windows + Alt + R to start recording. EaseUS EaseUS EaseUS Step 4. Finally, you can click See my captures to view all your recordings. Warm Tips: If you upgrade to Windows 11, you can use the Xbox Game Bar and the Snipping Tool to record the screen in Windows 11 with audio. Way 3. Record Screen in Windows 10 with Audio Free Using OBS Studio For those who want to find a free yet multifunctional Windows 10 screen and audio recorder, look no further than OBS Studio. This freeware lets you flexibly capture one or more screens along with sound. Whether you want to record internal sound or microphone audio during your screen recording, OBS can always do it effortlessly. However, this software is a little difficult to use because of its complicated UI. If you are new to OBS, you might need a long learning curve, or you can try other solutions mentioned in this post. Here’s how to record screen and sound in Windows 10 for free via OBS Studio: Step 1. Download OBS Studio from its official website and install it on your Windows PC by following the on-screen instructions.Step 2. On the main interface, click the + button under the Source tab and find the Display capture button. Then, you will be led to your screen as the display capture. EaseUS EaseUS EaseUS Step 3. Next, click the + icon in the Source tab and add your Audio Input Capture. Step 4. Then, click Start Recording at the lower right corner to begin recording. Way 4. Record Your Screen and Sound in Windows 10 Online Without Any Software Is there any way to record a Windows 10 screen with audio without any software? Of course, yes. You can complete the task with an online Windows screen and audio recorder. EaseUS Online Screen Recorder is one of the representatives. This online tool works directly in your browser, making it easy to record both screen and sound from your computer. Apart from recording an entire screen, it also supports capturing a specific window, Chrome tab, and more. If you want to save some disk space or simply don’t want to install any software, this can be a great option for you. Here’s how to record screen in Windows 10 with sound online: Step 1. Go to EaseUS Online Screen Recorder’s official website, click Start Recording, and you will be led to the recording webpage. Step 2. Choose your recording sources, like Screen, Webcam, System Sound, and Microphone. Then, click Start Recording again. EaseUS EaseUS EaseUS Step 3. Next, Adjust your recording area according to your needs. Once done, click Share, and it will start recording after three-second countdowns. Final Thoughts As you can see, this post offers several effective ways to help you record a Windows 10 screen with audio, including microphone audio and system sound. Whether you are going to capture the Windows 10 PC screen with or without software, you can find your desired solution here. Among all the ways, EaseUS RecExperts is by far the most ideal, primarily because it also comes with a wide range of recording and editing features to help you get your video to be just as you want it to be. Whatever your choice is, we hope this post helps you! Screen Record Windows 10 with Audio FAQs 1. Does Windows 10 have a screen recorder with audio? Yes. There is a built-in screen recorder with audio in Windows 10 and later OS, and it is called Game Bar. This program is capable of recording screens, audio, and even taking screenshots on your Windows 10 desktop. However, it has some limitations you need to know: one is that it can only record full screen with audio, and the other one is that you can record screen for up to 2 hours. 2. How do I record internal audio on Windows 10? Windows 10 provides the Voice Recorder app by default, which can only capture sound from your microphone. So, you need to use third-party software to record internal audio on Windows 10. You can find some reliable Windows 10 internal audio recorders on Google, like EaseUS RecExperts, Audacity, Free Sound Recorder, OBS Studio, and more. 3. Can the Snipping Tool record video with audio? Yes, the Snipping Tool can record video with audio. But, the precondition is that your computer runs Windows 11 version 22000.0 or higher. For Windows 10 users, it is just a screenshot tool that helps you take screenshots on your desktop. 4. Why does my screen recording have no sound in Windows 10? Many factors might cause the problem that your screen recordings have no sound in Windows 10, and below are some common ones you can refer to: Your microphone is muted or broken You chose the wrong audio output device Your sound driver is outdated or corrupted Personal Software
How to Partition a hard drive – 2 efficient ways
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 12:47:43 +0000
Source: PCWorld
Partitioning your hard drive makes managing the operating system, files, and file formats of each partition easier. For example, you can install Windows 11/10 on one partition and store movies or music on another. When you don’t want these movies, you can directly format the current partition, which will not harm your system and relevant data on the other partition. However, how to partition a hard drive? This article provides two ways with step-by-step guides for you. How to Partition a Hard Drive? Partitioning a hard drive in Windows is not difficult. This section will show you two disk partition tools: Disk Management and EaseUS Partition Master. If you are a beginner, EaseUS Partition Master is an easier option. Way 1. Use EaseUS Partition Master EaseUS Partition Master is a professional disk partition tool. Its advanced partitioning features allow you to partition new and old disks for the best disk use. It is well compatible with Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP. Its clear interface and timely prompts make it easy to use, even for beginners. You can partition external and internal hard drives in just a few simple clicks. To make your partitioning process smoother, read the note before starting. Note: If your disk is new, it will display as unallocated in EaseUS Partition Master. In this case, you need to initialize your disk to MBR or GPT before partitioning it, as shown in Guide 1. If you want to partition an existing hard disk, skip to Guide 2. Guide 1. Partition a New Hard Disk Before partitioning the new disk, we need to initialize it. Here are the instructions: Step 1. Download and launch EaseUS Partition Master on Windows and navigate to the “Partition Manager” section. Step 2. Right-click the new hard disk (shown as Unallocated) and choose “Initialize to GPT” or “Initialize to MBR,” depending on your needs. Note: If your new hard drive is 2 TB or larger, select GPT. If it is less than 2 TB, choose MBR. Step 3. Click “Execute 1 Task(s)” and then “Apply.” Wait until the initialization completes. Step 4. EaseUS Partition Master will reload the interface, and a new window will appear. Click “Partition this disk” and click “Proceed” to continue. Step 5. Set the number of partitions that need to be created. You can accept the default settings provided by EaseUS Partition Master. When finished, click Continue. EaseUS EaseUS EaseUS Step 6. Click “Execute 1 Task(s)” and then apply to partition the new disk. This is how to perform a hard disk partitioning on a new disk. Compared with Windows built-in tools, EaseUS Partition Master can create several partitions at once. It can also partition old hard drives. Let’s continue. Guide 2. Perform Disk Partitioning on an Existing Disk In this guide, we will show you how to use EaseUS Partition Master to partition an existing disk and create new partitions from the existing partitions. Step 1. Launch EaseUS Partition Master and go to the Partition Manager section. Step 2. Right-click the partition with sufficient disk space and select “Resize and move.” Then, drag the dots to set the partition size. Step 3. Click “OK” to continue. You will see the unallocated space on your disk. Right-click on it and select “Create.” Step 4. Set the file system, drive letter, and partition size in this window. Click “OK” and select “Execute 1 Task(s).” EaseUS EaseUS EaseUS EaseUS Partition Master is not only a disk partitioning tool, it also splits hard drives into two partitions, such as dividing the C drive into D and E, extends C drive space from D drive, allocates more space to the C drive, and so on. It’s an ideal partition manager for Windows users. Way 2. Use Disk Management Disk Management is also a partition manager built in to Windows. It can partition hard drives and create or modify a partition. Here is how to partition hard disks using Disk Management. Guide 1. Partition New Hard Drive Using Disk Management The first guide applies to a new hard drive. If your hard drive is new, follow the steps below to initialize the new disk and create partitions, or skip to Guide 2. Step 1. To open Disk Management, right-click the Windows icon and select Disk Management. Or type “create and format disk partitions” in the search box and click “Open.” Step 2. If your disk is new, a window will pop up and ask you to initialize your disk to MBR or GPT. Typically, if your disk is larger than 2 TB, we suggest GPT; choose what you like if your disk is no more than 2 TB. EaseUS EaseUS EaseUS Step 3. After that, the disk will be unavailable until partitions are created. To do this, right-click the unallocated disk and select “New Simple Volume.” Follow the wizard to set the volume size, drive letter, and file system. Finally, click Finish. Note: However, Disk Management doesn’t allow you to set a partition to the ext 2/3/4 file system. If you need to, turn to EaseUS Partition Master. You can see a partition on your hard drive and store data now. However, what if your disk is not new? How to partition an old hard drive with existing partitions? Let’s continue. Guide 2. Shrink Existing Partition to Create New One When there is no unallocated space on the hard drive, shrinking the existing volume is a quick solution. Here is how to partition a hard drive from shrinking a volume: Step 1. Right-click the target partition in Disk Management and choose “Shrink Volume.” In this window, Set the amount of space to shrink and click “Shrink” to get unallocated space first. EaseUS EaseUS EaseUS Step 2. Right-click the unallocated space and select the “New Simple Volume” option. Follow the wizard to set the Simple Volume Size, assign a drive letter, and select the file system for the new volume. Step 3. Ensure the box beside the “Perform a quick format” is ticked. Click “Next” and “Finish” to continue. The guide above applies to partitioning a disk without unallocated space. If there is sufficient unallocated space, you can create a partition from unallocated or unpartitioned space with these steps: Right-click This PC and choose Manage. Click and open Disk Management. Select the disk from which you want to partition. Right-click the unpartitioned/unallocated space in the bottom pane and select New Simple Volume. Again, enter the size and click next, and you are done. This is how to use Disk Management to partition a hard drive. However, Windows can only perform basic partition management after creating the partition; for example, you may encounter the “extend volume gray out” error in Disk Management when the unallocated space and the target partition are non-adjacent. In this case, free disk partition management software, EaseUS Partition Master, can help. Conclusion A partition is a virtual portion of a hard drive; the computer operating system treats each partition as a separate storage area and assigns it a drive letter. We recommend users create multiple partitions on the disk. Partitioning an HDD or SSD enables optimal space utilization of the hard drive. Disk partitioning can bring the following benefits: Keep your data safe: Separate operating system data and personal data Use multiple systems at the same time: install Windows 10, Windows 11, or other on different partitions Convenient to back up data: you can create a partition specifically for backing up system/program data/personal files This article provides two disk partition tools with two ultimate guides to hard drive partitioning for Windows 10/11/8.1/8/7/XP. EaseUS Partition Master is reliable and makes disk partitioning and management easier. Personal Software
13 free tips to make your Windows PC run faster and better
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 10:30:00 +0000
Source: PCWorld
Spring is here and that means weeding, cleaning, packing away winter clothes… and tuning up your PC! Optimizing your PC’s performance isn’t as complicated as it sounds, however. Just a few tweaks here and there and you’ll have your computer running faster than ever. How to make a PC run faster get windows 11 pro for cheap Windows 11 Pro Price When Reviewed: 199.99 Best Prices Today: $59 at PCWorld Store – Win 11 Pro Upgrade Only | $79.99 at PCWorld Software Store Improving your PC’s efficiency can take a little effort, though some processes can be automated. Your PC is like a Roomba in that streamlining your laptop or desktop often happens when you’re not looking. Below, we’ve listed several ways to improve the responsiveness and overall speed of your PC and to preserve its longevity, too. Some may be familiar, others not. And if you’ve already taken care of these, good for you! After all, why buy a new PC if you don’t have to? 1.) Apply Windows updates Have you tried turning it off and on yet? The U.K.’s The IT Crowd made this a meme and it’s true. Rebooting can in fact make a wonky PC behave. From experience, though, PCs can also behave badly when an update is needed or downloaded but not yet installed. Applying the latest Windows update is a must, whether it be automatically or manually. Applying the latest Windows update is a must, whether it be automatically or manually.Mark Hachman / IDG Applying the latest Windows update is a must, whether it be automatically or manually.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG Make sure your PC is up to date via Windows Update (open the Settings menu, then Windows Update and click “check for updates”). Manage Windows updates to make them less of a pain. Apply updates to Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and other browsers by checking them. The Microsoft Store app is the front door for applying updates to Windows apps like Mail or Calendar, though those will happen in the background. Make sure Windows Defender or any anti-malware apps you use are also current, though that should happen automatically. One additional tip: go to Windows Update > Advanced options and toggle on the option for updating “other Microsoft products”. That can actually trigger updates for products connected to your PC, like a Brother printer. 2.) Update your router to secure your home You need to make sure all of your software drivers are updated. Most of this happens automatically, though, as part of your day-to-day use. A major exception is the software used by your router, which often requires specifically accessing the router or the accompanying app. If you’re having problems with your Wi-Fi, this can help. You don’t even need a PC to manage a router’s fimrware any more. You don’t even need a PC to manage a router’s fimrware any more.Thomas Newton / Foundry You don’t even need a PC to manage a router’s fimrware any more.Thomas Newton / Foundry Thomas Newton / Foundry Make this a habit. It’s unlikely that your suburban neighbors are trying to hack your PC. In an urban apartment, however, there are likely numerous people within Wi-Fi range that come and go. Botnets love to hack Wi-Fi routers, too. Just play it safe, open your router’s app, and update the firmware. It wouldn’t be a bad time to update your password, either—passwords get easier to crack all the time. Forgot your router’s password? It’s really not the worst thing to just write it on the bottom of the device, especially if you live alone. (If someone breaks in, this is the least of your worries). Otherwise, make sure you trust your roommates. 3.) Adjust your PC’s performance slider It’s an old trick, but a simple one. Yes, your laptop has a bona fide turbo button and you can adjust it however you’d like. Windows literally allows you to dial up your PC’s performance! Windows literally allows you to dial up your PC’s performance!Mark Hachman / IDG Windows literally allows you to dial up your PC’s performance!Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG Windows has a performance slider in Windows 10 and one in Windows 11, which you can use to literally tell your PC to run faster. It may lower your laptop’s battery life a bit, if you’re on the go. But using either the Windows controls or any associated utilities that shipped with your GPU or gaming laptop can also be used to accomplish the same thing: click a button, get a faster PC. 4.) Uninstall old or unnecessary programs One of the benefits to owning a PC is trying out various applications and services. Sometimes, however, you’ll discover that you might not need them any more, perhaps because they’ve become less useful. So, remove them! First, view your installed apps. The easiest way to uninstall an app in Windows 11 is to go to your Start menu and review the list of applications. To uninstall a program, right-click the app. Alternatively, you can use the Windows Settings menu (Settings > Apps > Installed apps, or Apps & Features in Windows 10) and review which applications you have installed. To uninstall an app, simply click the ellipsis (…) menu to the right of the app. Windows will tell you how much disk space it takes up and how much you’ll get back by uninstalling it. Apps can take up just a few megabytes, or gigabytes, too. Manage them in the Settings menu. Apps can take up just a few megabytes, or gigabytes, too. Manage them in the Settings menu.Mark Hachman / IDG Apps can take up just a few megabytes, or gigabytes, too. Manage them in the Settings menu.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG That’s not a perfect solution, though. In some cases, you may have Win32 apps installed—utilities or games, mainly. A game launcher like Steam will tell which games Steam installed on your PC, giving you the option to uninstall them. Alternatively, you can also use the old-school Control Panel for a list of installed apps. Go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features, click the game, and uninstall it. Which files should you uninstall? It’s probably safe to say that if you’re unsure about it, leave it. But if it’s an app that you simply don’t have any need for, get rid of it. Feel free to use a search engine to learn more about individual entries. And note the size of the program, too—eliminating the biggest ones make the most sense. 5.) Check and see if your hard drive/SSD is full This is a simple tip, but a useful one. Open up File Explorer and navigate to My PC. Check to see how full your primary boot disk is. If the file gauge is in the red, you have about 10 to 15 percent of the drive remaining to store files. Not only will this prevent you from installing large games or video files, a clogged drive can also slow down your PC if there’s not enough available space for use with background processes. This PC’s SSD is filling up, but there’s still room left for now. This PC’s SSD is filling up, but there’s still room left for now.Mark Hachman / IDG This PC’s SSD is filling up, but there’s still room left for now.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG What you don’t have to do is worry about defragging your hard drive or SSD. Windows handles all of that quietly and in the background. Further reading: The best SSDs we’ve tested 6.) Eliminate massive files by backing up, then deleting Generally speaking, the bulkiest files on your SSD or hard disk will be programs (generally games, which we hope we just cleaned up) as well as big files like video. You probably don’t need to harken back to the days of the extensive file management utilities we wrote about a decade ago, though apps like Space Sniffer remain to find large, hidden files. Your best bet is to simply identify the largest video and/or music files and move them off of your PC. Here, you’ll want to dig through File Explorer, specifically Your PC: Videos, Music, Documents, and Pictures. Windows 11’s File Explorer is your key to finding big files. You can also organize by size using the drop-down menu above. Windows 11’s File Explorer is your key to finding big files. You can also organize by size using the drop-down menu above.Mark Hachman / IDG Windows 11’s File Explorer is your key to finding big files. You can also organize by size using the drop-down menu above.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG If you’d like, you can back up files to a backup hard drive or the cloud via our Windows backup guide. (Or why not both? Here are our recommendations for the best Windows backup software, and the best external drives for doing so). Alternatively, OneDrive is a solid choice for cloud backup, offering up to 1TB of cloud file storage via Microsoft 365. Other alternatives are OneDrive, Box, Dropbox, or Google Drive, all of which will allow you to create a dedicated backup folder within File Explorer for file backup. OneDrive allows you to automatically back up files stored in Documents and the Pictures folder as well as your Desktop. Click the OneDrive icon on your taskbar, then the Settings gear in the flyout menu to manage this. It’s not quite as simple as it should be, though. If you use your desktop as a place to store random files, you might want to turn off OneDrive’s Desktop backup to save space. Apps like games or Adobe can also use your Documents folder to save games or backup files, which you might need backed up into the cloud. Windows has built-in backup capabilities that can be launched by clicking the OneDrive icon on the taskbar, but they must be managed. Windows has built-in backup capabilities that can be launched by clicking the OneDrive icon on the taskbar, but they must be managed.Mark Hachman / IDG Windows has built-in backup capabilities that can be launched by clicking the OneDrive icon on the taskbar, but they must be managed.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG In a case where OneDrive syncs a specific folder, cloud files (indicated by the small cloud icon next to it) are mixed in with local files. Personally, this makes me a little nervous—in a folder whose contents are backed up to the cloud, deleting the file erases it from your local drive as well as the cloud. (It then goes to the Recycle Bin, where it can be restored). To avoid this, you can use File Explorer’s “Free up space” command by making local files cloud-only, deleting the local copy and letting the file live online instead. The bottom line is this: Root out big files, back them up, double-check, then delete the originals from your PC. 7.) Turn on Storage Sense Some of those big, SSD-eating files can actually be temporary backups, data files, and the like, hidden deep within your PC. Don’t bother managing this yourself. Storage Sense does it for you. This feature eliminates temp backups, deletes old files in the Recycle Bin, and removes local files from your PC if they’ve been backed up online. Storage Sense can handle a lot of your PC’s cleanup tasks, automated and in the background. Storage Sense can handle a lot of your PC’s cleanup tasks, automated and in the background.Anyron Copeman / Foundry Storage Sense can handle a lot of your PC’s cleanup tasks, automated and in the background.Anyron Copeman / Foundry Anyron Copeman / Foundry I usually trust Storage Sense to make the smart decisions here, although I always turn off the option to delete files in my Downloads folder. 8.) Disable unwanted startup programs for improved performance These suggestions will clean up your hard disk. Blocking apps from loading themselves during the boot process, however, will speed boot times and help reduce the strain on your computer’s RAM or memory. Programs want to helpfully load themselves into memory to be available right away! But that’s really not necessary in all cases. Simply launching the program will do all that, costing you a spare second or two. (The exception are some security programs like antimalware, which should always run beginning at startup). You don’t need as many apps as you think when booting up your PC. You don’t need as many apps as you think when booting up your PC.Mark Hachman / IDG You don’t need as many apps as you think when booting up your PC.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG The Windows Settings menu (Apps > Startup) allow you to toggle apps on and off at startup, along with a broad generalization of what effect that will have on your PC. Again, the rule of thumb is if you don’t know, leave the app on. Feel free to research it, though. If it’s entertainment related, you can probably turn it off. 9.) Eliminate browser plug-ins you don’t use We all spend a lot of time on the Web, and your browser is like your PC. If you’re using plug-ins and add-ons that you don’t need, either disable them or remove them entirely. By doing so, you’ll reduce the amount of memory your browser consumes, which will then improve your PC’s overall performance. In Google Chrome, open the menu with three vertical dots in upper right-hand corner. Scroll down to More tools, then Extensions. Remove or disable anything you don’t need. In Microsoft Edge, click the ellipsis menu (three dots, horizontally) and navigate down to Extensions. That will open a small popup window where you can remove unwanted extensions. 10.) Secure your online life This won’t help your PC’s performance, just your peace of mind. Whether you use a password manager or you manage your passwords through your browser, check to see if any of your passwords have been exposed and change them if necessary. the best password manager Dashlane Read our review Price When Reviewed: Free I Advanced: $2.75/mo I Premium: $4.99/mo I Friends & Family: $7.49/mo Best Prices Today: $4.99 at Dashlane Take an additional step and review which sites also have access to your digital credentials. It can be quite handy to use your Microsoft ID or your Google identity to log on to a new site or service, but there’s no reason to let them have access to your personal information if you don’t need to. (To check which apps have access to your Google account, use Google’s instructions. Microsoft has similar information on its own site). 11.) Personalize your PC How does personalizing your PC make you more efficient? Well, you may hate Windows’ visual effects, like transparency and animations—you can turn these off via the Settings menu (Accessibility > Visual effects). But they may also involve configuring it to make it feel familiar and fun, too. In certain cases, you may also want to try playing around with third-party utilities like Start11 to tweak Windows. Explorer Patcher is another great option and it’s free, too. Hate the way the Taskbar or Start menu looks? Tweak them and make you more efficient when using Windows. Personalization is a real strength of Windows 10. Personalization is a real strength of Windows 10.Mark Hachman / IDG Personalization is a real strength of Windows 10.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG 12.) Reset your PC If you really want to clean your PC of all digital junk, resetting your PC is a viable option. A clean install (whether it be from the cloud or some other installation media) should really be considered as a last resort for novice users because it will eliminate all the apps from your PC—and possibly your user files, too. The process of how to reset your PC on Windows 11 is nearly the same as it is on Windows 10. Just be aware that you may have spend additional time installing and/or restoring apps and data. The process of resetting your PC is designed to restore your PC to a brand-new state, though. 13.) How to actually clean your PC After all that tapping, swiping and clicking, tapping, your PC may actually need, you know, cleaning. Why should you care about a clean PC? A desktop or laptop clogged with hair, lint, dust bunnies or more can prevent the fan from turning efficiently. An improperly cooled laptop will run slower than usual. A clean PC is a fast PC! Taking a few minutes to physically clean your laptop is a good idea. Taking a few minutes to physically clean your laptop is a good idea.IDG / Ashley Biancuzzo Taking a few minutes to physically clean your laptop is a good idea.IDG / Ashley Biancuzzo IDG / Ashley Biancuzzo We have you covered here, too. Take that dirty laptop and clean it the right way with our step-by-step guide. Just make sure to power it down beforehand! Yes, there are other ways to optimize your PC—installing an SSD into a desktop or into a laptop are excellent, relatively easy tune ups to boost your PC’s performance. But they cost money! These tips are fast, free ways of getting your PC in shape and running great. If you try all these and things still feel pokey, it might be time to buy a new laptop. Windows
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 review: Small, thin, and impossibly mighty
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 10:30:00 +0000
Source: PCWorld
At a glanceExpert's Rating ProsVery light and compact designExcellent performance for its size Robust build Visually stunning displayConsKeys feel soft and mushy The webcam isn’t the best qualityThe downward facing woofers sometimes sound muddyOur VerdictThe Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is a pint-sized powerhouse. Its lightweight and compact design offers the kind of portability you’d expect from an ultrabook, while its powerful hardware provides respectable grunt for gaming. Price When Reviewed1599.99 Best Prices Today: Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 Retailer Price Asus $1599.99 View Deal $1599.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket The 2024 ROG Zephyrus G14 shows off proportions and a weight profile surprisingly close to an ultrabook – upgrades I would expect to see alongside a corresponding drop in performance. But no! That might have been the case if it had last year’s chipset, but the G14 now packs a class above, an AI-infused Ryzen 9 CPU and an ultra powerful RTX 40 Series GPU. Hence then, the reason why it shows such defiance. Yes, it’s tiny, but wow this laptop packs a punch. Looking for more options? Check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best gaming laptops. Asus ROG Zephyrus G14: Specifications The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is a premium laptop and has a premium set of specifications to match. It equips an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS CPU with an RTX 4060 GPU and 16GB of RAM. A TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD provides quick access to stored files. CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS RAM: 16GB DDR5 / 6400MHz Graphics: Nvidia RTX 4060 Display: 14-inch 3K (2880 x 1800) OLED, 16:10 aspect ratio, 120Hz refresh rate, 100 % PCI-P3 color gamut, 0.2ms response time, G-Sync Storage: 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD Webcam: 1080P IR Windows Hello compatible Connectivity: 2 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, 1 x USB-C 4, HDMI 2.1 FRL, 3.5 mm combo audio jack, microSD card reader.  Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 Battery capacity: 73WHrs Dimensions: 12.24 x 8.66 x 0.63 inches Weight: 3.31 lbs (1.5kg) Cost: $1,599.99 (base price) A model featuring the above specs costs $1,599.99, or else a top-of-the-line model with RTX 4070 GPU costs $2,199.99. Asus’ US website was out of stock of all 2024 models at the time of writing this review, but the laptops were in-stock at several other retailers. Asus ROG Zephyrus G14: Design and build Measuring just 12.24 x 0.66 x 0.63 inches, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is an exceptionally sleek and compact laptop that brings new meaning to the word portable. I scarcely see gaming laptops as thin as ultrabooks, but that’s essentially what Asus has achieved here. The other half of the portability equation is its weight, which tips the scales at just 3.31 pounds. That makes it a cinch to hold and carry. In fact, I can pick it up with just my index finger and my thumb for leverage, which is saying a lot for my skinny fingers. “Tearing is kept at bay by a quick 0.2 millisecond response time, 120Hz refresh rate, and G-Sync support. Indeed, this display really is ideal for low-latency gameplay… Asus has an example of the precision machining process on its website. After reading that I could better imagine how the components were fitted around the laptop’s new 2nd Gen Arc Flow fans which Asus says provide an 11 percent increase to airflow. All that precision machining has made the G14 impeccably tough, too. Asus has used a premium CNC-milled aluminum alloy throughout, so the laptop feels built to withstand any kind of punishment. Gamers don’t hold back, hence why the lid is virtually inflexible, and the base is every ounce as immovable as I’d expect a larger gaming laptop’s to be. A light up strip of LEDs adorns the lid of the Zephyrus G14. A light up strip of LEDs adorns the lid of the Zephyrus G14. Dominic Bayley / IDG A light up strip of LEDs adorns the lid of the Zephyrus G14. Dominic Bayley / IDG Dominic Bayley / IDG Style and flair? Yes, this laptop has plenty of that too. My review unit was the Eclipse Grey colored variety, but this year you can also buy the laptop in a new Moonlight White color. The grey is a likeable charcoal hue that’s darker in the trackpad and keys to the surrounding metal base, which makes them easier to see. Other aesthetic touches include a mix of the modest and flashy: Indeed, I could barely see the ROG logos on the laptop’s lower bezel and upper portion of the lid but couldn’t for the life of me miss the programmable flashing light strip, which Asus has dubbed ‘the Slash Lighting Array.’ It’s just for show, of course, but it’s a nice touch that hints at the G14’s AI capabilities. Asus ROG Zephyrus 14: Keyboard and trackpad Asus has made great use of a tight space to squeeze in a large keyboard. The keys have a stone slate-like look, but surprisingly they feel anything but stony to hit; they feel soft and a little mushy. They are spot-on size-wise, though, bearing quite large keycaps – Asus says they are 12.24 percent larger than last year’s model. A generous 1.7mm of horizontal travel means it’s even harder to register a miss hit. Dominic Bayley / IDG Dominic Bayley / IDG Dominic Bayley / IDG The keyboard backlighting consists of a single zone of RGB lighting. It lights up the keys subtly without any annoying glary light bleed. It’s a shame the G14 doesn’t allow you to customize individual keys, though, which usually brings an added dimension to gameplay, but you can Sync the RGB color and effects to other Aura Sync devices using Asus’s Armory Crate app. The G14’s trackpad almost makes up a large 16:10 aspect ratio in the chassis. It feels a little smoother than in previous years – that is, it’s quite glassy rather than plastic to the touch. Clicking it showed the buttons had barely any resistance, which meant I could execute apps quickly without the awkwardness of not registering a second click. Asus ROG Zephyrus G14: Display and audio This year the G14 laptop boasts the very first OLED display in a ROG laptop and it’s leagues better than last year’s LED display. Of course, just being an OLED panel brings multiple benefits. – the obvious one being that the blacks and colors are much more pronounced and truer than last year. The panel has VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, which explains why everything just pops so well. It also covers 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut which means you’re getting the full spectrum of hues you need for visually stunning games. I’ve seen too many great looking displays ruined by screen tearing, but the G14 doesn’t have that issue – tearing is kept at bay by a quick 0.2 millisecond response time, 120Hz refresh rate and G-Sync support. Indeed, this display really is ideal for low-latency gameplay. The 3K resolution means there’s a very high pixel density for just 14-inches of diagonal space. Judging by the highly detailed images I saw, gamers are going to really lap up the incredible imagery this laptop can produce at 2880 x 1800 in highly textured games like Cyberpunk 2077. Pantone validation also bides well for designers working on color matching. The screen also does well for brightness. I’m talking about the laptop’s maximum peak brightness of 500 nits in HDR mode, which keeps it nicely illuminated near sunlit windows. For sound, the G14 relies on a staggering six speakers located above and beneath the laptop. These provide a detailed, rich soundscape through the highs and mids even at full volume, however the bass sometimes muddies since the woofers are located beneath the laptop and fire downwards. Asus ROG Zephyrus G14: Connectivity and webcam Small laptops are limited for space, so the connectivity options tend to be quite limited too. The G14 goes one better than most small laptops, however, adding a microSD card reader to its selection of USB-C and USB-A ports. Speaking of which you get, 2 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen and 1 x USB-C 4 port on the laptop’s flanks. A HDMI 2.1 port and a 3.5mm audio jack bring up the tail end of that offering. Altogether, there’s enough to cover your peripheral needs. Although pint-sized, the laptop’s network connectivity is quite decent, but it’s not as future facing as in the Razer Blade 14. I say that only because the G14 has Wi-Fi 6E instead of the newer Wi-Fi 7. Still, the former still provides very quick wireless bandwidth for gaming. The G14 also has Bluetooth 5.3. The Zephyrus G14’s 1080p camera is Windows Hello compatible, but it’s not the best quality. I noticed a distinct haziness in many of my video chats. In others, the webcam didn’t handle light well, washing out images with a little too much brightness. Asus ROG Zephyrus G14: Gaming performance The Zephyrus G14 sports an AMD Ryzen 9 8495 CPU, which features 8 Cores and 16 Threads and a maximum turbo frequency up to 5.2GHz. This chip incorporates AMD’s new Ryzen AI technology, featuring dedicated AI accelerators built into the silicon. The accelerators give the CPU and GPU a helping hand, freeing up resources for extra processing. They especially streamline creative apps and video calls, enabling and optimizing processes like automatic framing, super resolution upscaling and eye gaze correction in the latter. Of course, all that means the G14 has a little extra firepower up its sleeves than previous generation G14s for creators. But my main jam being gaming, the goal of my benchmarking was mainly to see how the laptop could handle the kind of punishment triple-A games are likely to dish out. The first benchmark I ran was Maxon’s Cinebench Multi-Threaded benchmark, which flexes every core of the laptop’s CPU. Most games won’t exactly do this, but this test still gives an indication of how the CPU is likely to perform when really tested. I graphed the G14’s impressive size-defying result below. Dominic Bayley / IDG Dominic Bayley / IDG Dominic Bayley / IDG In the HandBrake test, the laptop was tasked with encoding a 30GB MKV file to MP4 using the Android Tablet preset. Here, the laptop managed to keep thermal throttling at bay to finish the task in a quick time of 905 seconds. Dominic Bayley / IDG Dominic Bayley / IDG Dominic Bayley / IDG In the graphics-based benchmark, 3DMark TimeSpy 1.2, the G14’s RTX 4060 GPU combined efforts with the laptop’s CPU to clock a score of 9,631 in the Overall category. Dominic Bayley / IDG Dominic Bayley / IDG Dominic Bayley / IDG There were similarly impressive results recorded in the two gaming benchmarks. In the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark, the G14’s framerates hit an average 133 frames per second. This rate dropped down to 101 frames per second in the more graphically demanding Rise of the Tomb Raider benchmark. Dominic Bayley / IDG Dominic Bayley / IDG Dominic Bayley / IDG Dominic Bayley / IDG Dominic Bayley / IDG Dominic Bayley / IDG There’s really no need to over analyze this performance. As you can see above, it’s clear the G14 performs reliably for CPU-based and graphics-based tasks. You can expect impressive framerates in graphically demanding games, so if you feel like giving game texture packs a go, go right ahead! It’s also going to be quick and efficient if you want to flex your creativity and do a little editing in Adobe Photoshop or muck about in programs like DaVinci Resolve. In a nutshell, the G14 is small, but mighty! Asus ROG Zephyrus G14: Battery performance I had high hopes for the G14’s battery life given the large 73WHr capacity and the fact that the laptop’s Ryzen 9 CPU and 2nd Gen Arc fans provide year on year efficiency benefits. However, the G14 lasted just 322 minutes (five hours and 22 minutes) in our battery test. That’s considered an average result for a gaming laptop. Dominic Bayley / IDG Dominic Bayley / IDG Dominic Bayley / IDG Mind you, the test was run at night so adaptive brightness may have skewed the result somewhat and drained more power than it would have done during a daytime test. On face value, this result doesn’t seem that bad but our PCWorld battery test doesn’t drain a laptop’s battery as quick as running games would. For gaming you’re looking at just three to four hours of battery life, which isn’t great for a laptop this size. Still, as long as you carry the laptop’s charger and find an outlet for longer gaming stints, you won’t be troubled much by the shortfall. Asus ROG Zephyrus G14: Conclusion If having a gaming laptop that’s barely even noticeable in your backpack sounds enticing, then it’s hard to overlook the 2024 ROG Zephyrus G14. If offers both extreme portability and mighty performance. But, based on its middling battery performance, you’ll still want to carry a charger with you on your gaming journeys. Gaming Laptops, Laptops
Save $240 on this app that will help you learn something new every day
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 08:00:00 +0000
Source: PCWorld
You may recognize the importance of personal and professional development, but making time for it isn’t always easy. Fortunately, technology can help, and during our Digital Blowout, you can get a lifetime subscription to Headway Premium for just $59.99. Headway is a four-time Apple App of the Day and an Apple Editors’ Choice Award winner that makes it easier than ever to access the world’s brightest ideas. This intuitive app distills more than 1,200 nonfiction best-sellers into bite-sized summaries that you can read at your leisure. It gives you personalized learning paths based on your interests and gamifies the process, keeping you motivated to learn more every day. From business and finance to health, personal development, and more, Headway has topics to keep you fully engaged. Commit to your learning without overexerting yourself on a day-to-day basis. You can get a lifetime subscription to Headway Premium for just $59.99 (reg. $299).   Headway Premium: Lifetime Subscription – $59.99 See Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Accessories
Best PC computer deals: Top picks from desktops to all-in-ones
Wed, 27 Mar 2024 22:28:21 +0000
Source: PCWorld
Whether you’re looking for a productivity desktop, a gaming PC powerhouse, or a stylish all-in-one Windows machine, we’ve got you covered. The team at PCWorld sort through all of the daily computer sales and put together a curated list of the best deals available. But not all deals are really deals, so we only choose those offered by reputable companies and that include great hardware to ensure you get the best value for your money. We’ve also included some helpful answers to common questions about buying a computer at the bottom of this article. If you’re considering a laptop instead, be sure to check out our best laptop deals, updated daily. Note: Tech deals come and go quickly, so it’s possible some of these computer discounts will have expired before this article’s next update. Best gaming desktop computer deals Lenovo IdeaCentre 5, Ryzen 7/RTX 3060/16GB RAM/512GB SSD/1TB HDD, $699.99 (22% off on MicroCenter) Yeyian Tanto, Core i5/RTX 4070/16GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,299.99 (20% off on Newegg) Yeyian Yumi, Core i5/RTX 4060/16GB RAM/1TB SSD, $799.99 (33% off on Newegg) Acer Predator Orion 5000, Core i7/RTX 3080/16GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,499.99 (32% off on BestBuy) iBuyPower Y40 313A, Ryzen 9/RTX 4070 Ti/32GB RAM/1TB SSD/1TB HDD, $1,959.99 (22% off on BestBuy) Alienware Aurora R16, Core i9/RTX 4090/32GB RAM/2TB SSD, $3,199.99 (14% off on Dell) HP Omen 45L, Core i7/RTX 3070/16GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,249.99 (37% off on Adorama) My top picks: Desktops rocking the RTX 3060 GPU can still be good budget gaming rigs and the prices have dropped significantly over the last year. The Lenovo IdeaCentre 5 deal for $200 off on MicroCenter is a perfect example. The combo of a Ryzen 7 5700G CPU and Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU will still give you quality 1080p gaming power and there is a boatload of onboard storage to cover your entire game library. There are also a couple of great deals on Yeyian gaming desktop computers on sale this week. This California-based computer gaming company has quickly established itself as a go-to for affordable pre-built gaming PCs and these two desktops show why. The Yeyian Tanto for $300 off on Walmart sports strong mid-range chops due to its RTX 4070 and the Yeyian Yumi for $400 off on Newegg fits perfectly into beginner or budget-friendly range. Personally, I think the Yumi deal is a must buy for those on a budget as it gives you the latest-gen RTX 4060 GPU for an absolute bargain price. Best mainstream desktop computer deals IdeaCentre Mini, Core i5/8GB RAM/512GB SSD, $478.39 (26% off on Lenovo) Inspiron Small Desktop, Core i5/16GB RAM/1TB SSD, $599.99 (25% off on Dell) HP Desktop, Ryzen 5/12GB RAM/512GB SSD, $449.99 (31% off on BestBuy) HP Pavilion desktop, Core i5/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $699.99 (11% off on MicroCenter) My top picks: Those looking for a mini-PC are in luck as the excellent IdeaCentre Mini is on sale for $171 off on Lenovo. It is one of the best small form-factor PCs on the market and this version not only gives you a solid Core i5-13500H CPU, but also plenty of onboard storage—double what you usually get with a mini-PC. If a mini-PC isn’t your cup of tea, then the Inspiron Small Desktop for $200 off on Dell’s website is also a solid deal for a productivity machine. It comes with a strong Core i5 CPU and 16GB of RAM—more than enough to tackle all of your work related and browsing needs. Best all-in-one computer deals All-in-one desktop computers combine a PC’s hardware with a modern display to make a desktop computer that has both form and function. Since everything is built together, you can save precious desktop space with an all-in-one. They make capable work computers and they can also be excellent home computers with the wide range of features appealing to the whole family. Lenovo IdeaCentre AiO 5i, Core i7/8GB RAM/254GB SSD/27-inch 1440p touch display, $749.99 (12% off on Walmart) Lenovo IdeaCentre AiO 5i, Core i7/16GB RAM/512GB SSD/27-inch 1440p touch display, $1,035.49 (21% off on Lenovo) HP Envy AiO 34, Core i5/GTX 1650/16GB RAM/512GB SSD/34-inch 5K display, $1,579.99 (21% off on HP) Apple iMac, M1/8GB RAM/256GB SSD/27-inch 5K display, $849.99 (45% off on BestBuy) My top picks: Two deals on Lenovo’s IdeaCentre AiO 5i are topping the list of best all-in-one deals right now. The first is an entry-level model on sale for $100 off on Walmart and the second is on sale for $285 off on Lenovo with double the onboard storage and RAM. Which you choose will ultimately be dictated by your budget, but the extra RAM and SSD storage will bring significant and noticeable productivity upgrades if you can swing it. If you have the desktop space, the HP Envy AiO 34 is about as big and beautiful as an all-in-one gets with a 34-inch 5K ultra-widescreen display. It’s currently on sale for $400 off on HP. Oh, and it even comes with a discrete graphics card too — that’s practically unheard of with an all-in-one. Computer deals FAQ 1. What are good websites to find computer deals? There are a ton of sites that sell computers, and scouring through all of them would take you a lot of time—that’s why we do it for you here and highlight the best deals we find. However, to save you some time and frustration, you need to be smart about where you look at any given time of the year. If you’re looking for a new computer during the holidays or around popular sale periods such as Black Friday or back-to-school, then you are likely to find great deals directly through first party vendor websites. These include the retail storefronts of popular computer manufacturers such as HP, Dell, and Lenovo. However, if you are looking in between sales periods, it’s generally a good idea to search through large third-party retailers such as Amazon, Adorama, Walmart, BestBuy, and Newegg. Oftentimes these websites will offer limited Deals of the Day type sales in hopes of getting rid of excess stock. On the upside, you can score still-decent PCs at a steep discount. 2. When’s the best time to shop for a PC computer? Typically you’ll want to time your PC computer shopping around a prominent sales period. The biggest sales periods are Black Friday/Cyber Monday in late November and Amazon Prime Day in early-to-mid July. The best sales often occur leading up to and during these two events and they are great times to snag a new PC computer for cheap. Other holiday shopping periods such as the New Year sales in January, President’s Day sales in April, and the back-to-school sales event in August are also good times to find discounts on computers. 3. What type of desktop should I get? You’ll see a ton of options when searching for a desktop computer, but they all mainly fit into four main categories: productivity tower PCs, gaming PCs, mini PCS, and all-in-ones (AiO). Which you should end up buying is entirely dependent upon what your needs are and what you want to do with your computer. If you are looking for something that will work in a home office or family room, then a productivity PC or AiO with a solid CPU and lots of RAM and storage is probably the way to go. If gaming is your main concern, a gaming PC can offer a lot more bang for your buck than a laptop and you should focus on getting the best GPU possible. Or if you just want something that can fit anywhere and provide basic computing then a mini PC is a good bet. 4. What CPU and GPU should I get? When looking at your new computer’s CPU, get at least an Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5, both of which will provide plenty of processing power for everyday computing tasks. If you don’t intend to do any PC gaming, then feel free to save some money by going with integrated graphics. However, if you are looking to get your game on, we recommend at least an Nvidia GeForce 3060 or AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, as these are the least expensive discrete graphics cards that can handle ray tracing well. If you aren’t interested in those cutting-edge lighting effects, however, the RTX 3050 and Radeon RX 6600 also provide good 1080p gaming performance at even lower prices. 5. How much memory and storage does my PC need? As for RAM, we think its best to shoot for 16GB at the minimum for productivity and gaming, but for family computers and internet browsing, 8GB should suffice. Storage size is dependent upon your personal needs, but it is generally a good idea to opt for an SSD over an standard HDD as they are much faster and don’t significantly affect the price of a desktop. Before deciding, it’s best to consider what your intended use of the computer will be. Are you just doing work or web browsing? Then something like 512GB will be plenty. If you want to load up a lot of large files such as games or content creation projects, then you’ll need at least 1 or 2TB or storage. However, just remember that even if your computer doesn’t have enough storage built-in you can always upgrade your SSD or go with an external drive to increase your available storage options. 6. Is it a good idea to buy a refurbished computer? Refurbished computers are used machines that have been repaired, upgraded, and cleaned for the purpose of reselling. They’re usually open-box returns, overstock, or models with minor cosmetic damage (scratches, scuffs, etc). Refurbished computers can be a bargain hunter’s dream as they’re likely still in good (or great) condition and you can save a lot of money. That being said, refurbished computers can have their downsides as well. In addition to cosmetic blemishes, some of the internal components might be a little older or outdated and they might not be in peak condition due to previous usage. If you do consider buying a refurbished computer I recommend looking at eBay as they offer a one-year warranty. You can also check out manufacturer’s retail storefronts like Dell’s Outlet Store and Apple’s Refurbished Store—just be sure to look at the terms of warranty offered before purchasing. Desktop PCs, Gaming Desktop PCs
Best laptops 2024: Premium, budget, gaming, 2-in-1s, and more
Wed, 27 Mar 2024 20:53:46 +0000
Source: PCWorld
Picking up a brand new laptop can be a stressful experience. How much storage will I need? Which GPU is the best for my budget? The sight of the alphabet soup model numbers are enough to set your heart racing. If you’re not sure where to begin, don’t worry, you’ve come to the right place. Whether you’re looking for a lightning fast gaming laptop or a lightweight 2-in-1 for office work, we’ve got something for every type of consumer. Why you should trust us: Hey, it’s in our name. PCWorld prides itself on laptop experience and expertise. We’ve been covering PCs since 1983, and we now review more than 70 laptops every year. All of the picks below have been personally tested and vetted by our experts, who’ve applied not only performance benchmarks but rigorous usability standards. We’re also committed to reviewing PC laptops at every price point to help you find a machine that matches your budget. Looking for great laptop deals? Check out our regularly updated roundup of the best laptop deals available right now. Updated March 27th, 2024: We added the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus (2024) to our lineup, as it’s an incredibly well-rounded machine. It actually nabbed the top spot (Best Overall pick) because it offers fantastic performance and battery life at a reasonable price point. We’ve also updated our list of the most recent laptop reviews with several new notebooks. The best laptops we’ve tested Dell Inspiron 14 Plus (2024) – Best overall Pros Strong performance Exceptional battery life Wonderful typing experience Cons CPU throttles under heavy loads No user upgrades Price When Reviewed: $999 Best Prices Today: $999.99 at Dell Why we like the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus is one of the most well-rounded laptops money can buy. It offers strong performance, exceptional battery life, and a vibrant display. The best part is that it costs about $1,000, which is a reasonable price point considering the price to performance ratio. In fact, it performed exceptionally in PCMark 10’s benchmark, according to our review. With a PCMark 10 score of 7,061, it beat out the Acer Swift Go 14, which has similar specs to the Dell, and the more expensive Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon. The Inspiron 14 Plus also lasted an impressive 17 hours on a single charge, which is definitely more than a full workday or school day. You don’t have to worry about finding a wall outlet to charge up. Who should buy the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus Anyone looking for a really good, well-rounded laptop. In addition to the impressive performance and battery life, it also has a lovely 14-inch 1400p display. According to our review, “the display is exceedingly well suited to office work and static imagery.” It has a peak brightness level of a stunning 418 nits as well as an anti-glare coating, which means you can use this laptop in different lighting environments. It may not have the prettiest design we’ve ever seen, but its hardware capabilities and astoundingly long battery life make up for the blah aesthetics. Read our full Dell Inspiron 14 Plus review Acer Aspire 3 – Best budget laptop Pros Reliable performance 1080p display HD webcam Solid build Cons Speakers sound tinny when playing music A little heavy Price When Reviewed: $329.99 Best Prices Today: $299.99 at Amazon Why we like the Acer Aspire 3 The Acer Aspire 3 laptop offers both reliable performance and a rugged build at an imminently affordable price. It’s fast enough for everyday tasks like checking e-mail, watching Netflix, and browsing the web. You’re also getting a full-sized keyboard as well as a 1080p screen. The Aspire 3 also blew the competition out of the water with a Cinebench R15 score of 1,925, beating out the Acer Aspire Vero 14, which has similar hardware. Cinebench is designed to run all of the cores of a laptop’s CPU and determine how well a laptop handles processor-intensive multi-threaded workloads. Who should buy the Acer Aspire 3 Anyone who’s on a restricted budget! To get more specific, we feel as though the Acer Aspire 3 is a good option for students and remote workers. It’s inexpensive and the HD webcam produces “clean, crisp video” according to our review, which means you’ll always look your best in videoconferencing calls. It also delivers strong performance for the price. Note March 18th, 2024: Although it didn’t make the cut, the recently reviewed HP Laptop 14 deserves its own special call-out. This sub-$500 laptop offers strong everyday performance as well as a compact build. It also lasted over 15 hours on a single charge (light load), which beats the Acer Aspire 3’s eight hours. Read our full Acer Aspire 3 review MacBook Air (M3) – Best MacBook Pros Excellent battery life Great combination of price, features, and performance 256GB SSD is now two NAND chips, maintaining performance Cons Expensive memory upgrades Dual external display support requires closed lid Price When Reviewed: $1699 Best Prices Today: $1,574 at Amazon$1699 at Adorama$1699 at Apple Why we like the MacBook Air (M3) The MacBook Air (M3) has a lot to offer for the $1,299 price. In fact, it received high marks across the board thanks to the 8-core CPU (M3) and the 10-core GPU. It’s capable of chewing through office work as well as casual use tasks. While performance is comparable to the MacBook Pro (M3), there is one difference: the fans or lack thereof. The MacBook Air doesn’t have any fans, which results in quieter operation before heavy-duty tasks will likely put more pressure on the chip. That said, battery life is the real star of the show here. The MacBook Air (M3) lasted a whopping 19 hours on a single charge, which is perfect for those with busy schedules. Who should buy the MacBook Air (M3) Anyone who prefers MacOS over competing operating systems. Battery life is outstanding and the laptop itself is both slim and light, weighing in at just over three pounds. The 15-inch Liquid Retina (LED) screen might be considered a step-down from the MacBook Pro’s Liquid Retina XDR (mini-LED) display, but that doesn’t mean it’s a poor screen. It still looks fantastic for day-to-day use. The $1,299 price tag is also reasonable for the performance and features you’re getting. Read our full MacBook Air (M3) review Dell Inspiron Plus 16 7630 – Best midrange laptop Pros All-day battery life Good graphics performance Reasonable price Cons Light on ports Gets warm under heavy workloads Price When Reviewed: $1,249.99 Best Prices Today: $1249.99 at Dell Why we like this Dell Inspiron Plus 16 The Dell Inspiron 16 7630 packs a lot of power for the price thanks to the Intel Core i7-13700H CPU and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU. This machine can handle both day-to-day activity as well as some gaming. The RTX 4060 GPU actually turned in a respectable 3DMark Time Spy result of 8,754. It’s not the most cutting-edge graphics performance we’ve ever seen, but you should be able to play most games on the Medium or High graphics setting. The 1600p display also has a taller 16:10 aspect ratio screen, which is ideal for office work, and the battery lasted over 11 hours on a single charge. Who should buy the Dell Inspiron Plus 16 The Dell Inspiron Plus 16 7630 is great for young professionals, students, or anyone who’s looking for a powerful yet affordable machine. The battery will last you a full work day and then some, and it can pull double duty playing games. Dell laptops often go on sale, so you may be able to score this machine at a steep discount. Read our full Dell Inspiron Plus 16 7630 review Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus – Best Chromebook Pros Snappy day-to-day performance Versatile 2-in-1 design Good typing experience Cons Stylus not included Heavier than expected Price When Reviewed: $499 Best Prices Today: $329 at Best Buy Why we like the Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus From the convertible design to the beautiful touchscreen, the Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus has a lot to offer, especially for under $500. The 2-in-1 design allows you to swing the screen around and use the laptop like a tablet, upping the versatility factor. You can also expect snappy day-to-day performance as well as lightning fast boot-up times. Who should buy the Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus If you’re looking to pick up a premium Chromebook for work or personal use, then the Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus is a fine choice. While the $499 price tag is very much in the high end when it comes to Chromebooks, we feel the overall fit, finish, and firepower make it worth the extra cash. Read our full Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus review HP Dragonfly G4 – Best ultraportable Pros Fast performance Lightweight Sure View privacy filter Lots of connectivity options Cons High price Best Prices Today: $3086 at HP Why we like the HP Dragonfly G4 Weighing just 2.64 pounds, the HP Dragonfly G4 is so lightweight it may very well float up into the clouds. In addition to its featherlight form factor, it also boasts a whopping 17.5 hours of battery life, which means it’s equipped to handle long international flights and commutes. The Sure View privacy filter also prevents others from getting a clear view of your screen, which is especially important if you’re working with sensitive documents. Performance is good enough for office applications and multimedia programs, but it’s probably going to struggle a bit with video editing tasks. Who should buy the HP Dragonfly G4 The HP Dragonfly G4 is the perfect machine for frequent travelers due to its incredibly low weight and slim profile. It’s also a good option for office workers because of the Sure View privacy filter and the taller screen, as more vertical pixels means more room for scrolling through documents and working on spreadsheets. The fans are also spin quietly even when under a heavy workload. Note February, 27th 2024: Though we liked its compact form factor and 4G modem, the recently reviewed HP Elitebook 640 G10 couldn’t quite knock the HP Dragonfly G4 off of its pedestal. The display’s 16:9 aspect ratio isn’t the best size for office work and it doesn’t deliver strong contrast values. The HP Dragonfly G4, however, has a taller display and better contrast. Read our full HP Dragonfly G4 review Acer Swift Edge 16 – Best budget ultraportable Pros Gorgeous OLED display Lightweight Strong CPU performance Cons Mediocre battery life Weak speakers Keyboard and touchpad are just OK Price When Reviewed: $1,299.99 Best Prices Today: $949.99 at Best Buy$1,299.99 at Amazon Why we like the Acer Swift Edge 16 The Acer Swift Edge 16 is lightweight, affordable, and powerful. It weighs just 2.71 pounds, which is a little heavier than our top ultraportable pick. The 2000p OLED screen is super vibrant, too. According to the review, the display “delivers an infinite contrast ratio and deep, inky black levels that produce convincing shadows in dark scenes.” This machine even managed a strong PCMark 10 score of 6,494, pushing out the expensive Acer Swift Go 16. That means the Swift Edge 16 is capable of out-performing machines that cost hundreds of dollars more. Who should buy the Acer Swift Edge 16 If you’re looking for a lightweight ultraportable with strong performance, the sub-$1,000 Acer Swift Edge 16 is the one to pick. It’s light enough to take with you from class to class or meeting to meeting. The display is also fantastic for office work, school work, watching movies, and so on. Read our full Acer Swift Edge 16 review Alienware m16 R2 – Best gaming laptop Pros Solid gaming performance Rugged build quality Good battery life Cons Display is dimmer than we like Price When Reviewed: $1,849.99 Best Prices Today: $1849.99 at Dell Why we like the Alienware m16 R2 The Alienware m16 R2 delivers strong graphics performance and good battery life. This specific model comes loaded with an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, which is nothing to sneeze at. It lasted a respectable 11 hours and fifteen minutes on a single charge and it averaged 144 frames-per-second when running the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark. According to our review, it’s only “four frames-per-second slower than the Razer Blade 16,” which has an RTX 4090 GPU and a price tag of over $3,000. Who should buy the Alienware m16 R2 Anyone looking for a great gaming laptop. You’re getting strong graphics performance as well as long battery life, which is unusual for a gaming laptop, as most tend to die around the six hour mark. The 16-inch IPS display also has a resolution of 2560×1600 and a refresh rate of 240Hz, so gameplay should be nice and smooth. The picture quality is good, but it’s not an OLED panel. While it may not be the brightest or most color rich display we’ve ever seen, it’s perfectly fine for gaming. Besides, you can always plug into an external monitor if need be. Read our full Alienware m16 R2 review Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition – Best budget gaming laptop Pros Impressive all-day battery life Gorgeous 16:10 display Rugged chassis Cons Keys feel a bit soft 720p webcam leaves little to be desired Price When Reviewed: $1,099.99 Best Prices Today: $949.99 at Best Buy Why we like the Asus TUF Gaming A16 The Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition is something of a unicorn and I mean that in the best way possible. This specific machine exhibits strong graphics performance as well as long battery life. Long battery life? A gaming laptop? How preposterous. Well, not anymore! The Asus TUF managed an incredible 11 and a half hours on a single charge. Also, thanks to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU, the laptop achieved 123 frames-per-second in the Rise of the Tomb Raider benchmark. That’s impressive, especially for a sub-$1,000 gaming machine. Who should buy the Asus TUF Gaming A16 The Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition is a good option for those on a tight budget. For under a grand, you’re getting reliable graphics performance, a spacious keyboard, and long battery life. It also works as a good general purpose machine. With a Cinebench R20 score of 589, it should have “no trouble running lightweight apps and programs,” according to our review. Note March 3rd, 2024: The Lenovo LOQ 15, which we reviewed recently, stands as another solid budget option. It’s more than capable of 1080p gaming and the design is very sci-fi inspired. That said, it didn’t nab the top pick because of the poor battery life (not unusual for a gaming laptop) and limited ports. Read our full Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition review Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED – Best 2-in-1 Pros Long battery life Connectivity includes two Thunderbolt 4 ports Fast performance Cons Function keys are small The display is a little dim Price When Reviewed: 1199.99 Best Prices Today: $999.99 at Asus$1,199.99 at Amazon Why we like the Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED When it comes to 2-in-1 laptops, the Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED just gets it right at the start. It has a gorgeous OLED display, a zippy Intel Core i7-1360P CPU, and a versatile convertible design. You can flip the screen around 360 degrees and use it like a tablet or prop the device up like a tent if you so wish. Colors on the 1800p OLED display are also “remarkably bright and saturated,” according to our review. The battery even lasted a whopping 12 hours on a single charge, dominating laptops with similar hardware like the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i and the Acer Aspire Vero 14. Who should buy the Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED The Asus Zenbook 14 Flip is a good option for business professionals because of its convertible, lightweight design and stunning OLED display. You can take this machine with you anywhere and you don’t have to worry about finding an outlet to charge up. How can you go wrong with that? Read our full Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED review Dell XPS 17 (2023) – Best content creation laptop Pros Powerful internals Big 17-inch display Amazing battery life Cons 720p webcam Price When Reviewed: From $2,449 | Model reviewed $3,099 Best Prices Today: $2199 at Dell$2899.99 at Best Buy$2899.99 at Best Buy Why we like the Dell XPS 17 The Dell XPS 17 is one heck of a creation workhorse. It comes armed with an Intel Core i7-13700H CPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, which means it’s powerful enough to handle editing tasks as well as some gaming on the side. The 1TB of SSD storage is perfect for storing videos or pictures and Dell somehow managed to pack a 4K panel into this compact laptop. It even brought in a PCMark 10 score of over 7,000, which means general performance is lightning fast. Who should buy the Dell XPS 17 Content creators… duh! It’s a real powerhouse thanks to the internal components. Plus, 1TB is an ample amount of storage and the screen is a massive 17-inches. If you’re a video editor or photographer, you’ll need a lot of screen real estate as well as storage space. The one big downside is the price, as it will set you back about $2,000. Note February 27th, 2024: The recently reviewed Dell XPS 16 (2024) didn’t make the cut because of the annoying typing experience as well as the limited port selection for pro users. It’s also more expensive than our current top pick and the display is a bit smaller. Negatives aside, it still offers excellent CPU performance and the discrete GPU is a big help when it comes to heavier workloads. Read our full Dell XPS 17 9730 review HP Pavilion Plus 14 – Best OLED display under $1,000 Pros Fantastic CPU performance Gorgeous OLED display Long battery life Cons Audio quality isn't great The keys are too loud Price When Reviewed: 828.99 Best Prices Today: $1178.99 at HP Why we like the HP Pavilion Plus 14 The HP Pavilion Plus 14 gets a lot of things right. It delivers strong performance, a lightweight form factor, and the 1800p OLED display is stunning. According to our review, we were “impressed by the rich hues” and the fluid visuals as a result of the 48-120Hz variable refresh rate. The best part about this laptop is that it costs under a grand. It also earned a Cinebench R20 score of 3,416, meaning it can handle heavy workloads such as video editing and encoding. That’s impressive for a laptop that weighs just a little over three pounds. Who should buy the HP Pavilion Plus 14 Anyone who’s looking to pick up a fast, affordable laptop with an OLED display. Performance is zippy enough for day-to-day tasks as well as heavier workloads and the display provides smooth, colorful visuals. Sure, you could buy the more powerful Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED for $999, but it’s not as lightweight as the Pavilion Plus. Overall, it’s just a well-made machine. Read our full HP Pavilion Plus Laptop 14 review Recent laptop reviews Dell Inspiron 14 Plus (2024): The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus (2024) is one of the most well-rounded laptops available right now, with great performance and exceptional battery life. HP Spectre x360 14: The HP Spectre x360 14 is a light, versatile, and pleasant Windows 2-in-1 that’s great for touchscreen superfans. Razer Blade 14: The Razer Blade 14 is an excellent choice for those who want high framerates and stunning visuals in a gaming laptop they can take anywhere. Asus Zenbook Duo 2024: The Zenbook Duo (2024) is superbly flexible for everything from office work to creative projects. HP Omen Transcend 14: The HP Omen Transcend 14 has a beautiful screen, runs surprisingly quiet and cool, and it’s light enough to take with you everywhere. But gamers who want maximum performance over all else should look elsewhere. How we tested The PCWorld team puts each and every Windows laptop through a series of benchmarks that test GPU and CPU performance, battery life, and so on. The idea is to push the laptop to its limits and then compare it against others we’ve tested. Chromebooks, on the other hand, go through a series of web-based tests. It wouldn’t be fair or possible to run the same kinds of tests on a Chromebook, as they’re Chrome OS-based machines. Below, you’ll find a breakdown of each test and the reasons why we run them. For a much deeper look at our review methodology, check out how PCWorld tests laptops. Windows laptops PCMark 10: PCMark 10 is how we determine how well the laptop handles lighter tasks like web browsing, word processing, spreadsheets, and so on. HandBrake: HandBrake is more intensive than PCMark 10. It basically measures how long a laptop’s CPU takes to encode a beefy 30GB file. Cinebench: Cinebench is a brief stress test of the CPU cores. It does this by rendering a 2D scene over a short period of time. 3DMark: 3DMark checks if 3D performance remains consistent over time by running graphic-intensive clips. Video rundown test: To gauge battery life, we loop a 4K video using Windows 10’s Movies & TV app until the laptop dies. Chromebooks CrXPRT 2: The CrXPRT 2 benchmark tests a Chromebook’s battery life. Speedometer 2.0: This test determines a Chromebook’s web browser performance. It simulates this by adding, completing, and removing a to-do list. Basemark Web 3.0: This benchmark gauges how well a Chromebook can handle web-based applications. Kraken 1.1: Kraken 1.1 is a JavaScript performance benchmark. Jetstream 2: Jetstream 2 is a combination of WebAssembly and JavaScript benchmarks. This is a way to gauge how well a Chromebook runs advanced workloads. FAQ 1. What form factor is best for a laptop? The first question you should ask yourself is what kind of laptop you’re looking for. There’s traditional clamshells, 2-in-1’s, Chromebooks, and much more. The displays on convertible laptops (aka 2-in-1’s), for example, can swing around 360 degrees. This allows you to use the laptop like a tablet. They can also be propped up like a tent for viewing movies or participating in video calls. Chromebooks, on the other hand, exclusively run Google’s web-focused Chrome OS and are generally used for everyday tasks. All you need is a Gmail account and boom, you’re in. There are pros and cons to each of them. Chromebooks are affordable and generally have good battery life whereas convertibles are normally lightweight and portable. 2. How much processing power do I need in a laptop? If it’s CPU power you’re looking for, look for processors with higher numerical names. A Core i7 is more suited to gaming and more intense work than everyday tasks. Intel processors are available in Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, and Core i9. The higher the number, the more powerful the CPU. If you don’t need a ton of power, Intel Core i5 processors are your best bet, as they offer good performance at a decent price. Basic office and web work gets along just fine on a Core i3. As for AMD options, the Ryzen 3 is good for basic productivity and web browsing, while Ryzen 5 chips rival Intel’s Core i5 as solid all-arounders. If you need more power, the Ryzen 7 chip is well suited for content creation like video editing. Finally, if you’re dealing with 4K video, spring for a Ryzen 9. 3. Discrete graphics vs. integrated graphics? You’ll want a discrete graphics card for hardcore gaming or editing videos. It’s separate from the processor, so you can expect higher performance out of it. Integrated graphics, on the other hand, are attached to the CPU and uses less power as a result. This is perfectly fine for everyday tasks, especially if you’re not doing anything that’s graphics-intensive. 4. How much memory do I need in a laptop? 8GB of RAM is zippy enough for general use. If you’ve got a gaming laptop, 16GB of RAM is the way to go, and content creators will want even more. 5. Do I need a big display on a laptop? If you’re a video editor or someone who does a lot of multimedia work, you’ll want a display that’s anywhere from 15- to 17-inches. The sweet spot is really anywhere from 13- to 14-inches, though. The bigger the display, the heavier your laptop is going to be. A 13- or 14-inch display is the best in terms of portability and value. 6. How long should my laptop last on a single charge? If you plan on taking your laptop anywhere with you, aim for something that can last 10 to 12 hours on a single charge. That’s more than a full work day, so it should theoretically get you through long flights or a day of classes. Obviously, more is always better. Just know that the bigger the battery, the heavier the laptop. Read our round-up of the best laptop chargers. 7. How much does a good laptop cost? Many good laptops cost around $500 to $750, but the price really depends on your budget. If you’re strapped for cash (been there, trust me), go for a Chromebook or an entry-level business laptop. You can find solid options for under $500. Spending $750 to $1,000 can get you better displays, additional performance, more storage, and nicer designs. If you splurge for a laptop that costs over $1,000, you’re usually paying up for premium build quality, great extras, and top-shelf performance. Gaming laptops are different. You can sometimes find gaming laptops with entry-level discrete graphics on sale for around $850, but you’ll usually need to spend at least $1,000 for a system with decent 1080p gaming chops. You can pay more — often much more — for better graphics firepower and nicer displays, but the costs can rise rapidly depending on your hardware of choice. Some fully loaded gaming laptops can go for multiple thousands of dollars but you’re getting the equivalent of a desktop replacement in return. Spending $1,200 to $2,000 usually gets you a very good gaming laptop. 8. Are connectivity options important on a laptop? A wide array of ports is always a plus in my book, as it eliminates the need for an adapter. I’d recommend a laptop that has both USB-C and USB-A. An HDMI port is good, too. This is especially useful for when you want to hook up to an external monitor. Laptops
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