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Alienware Aurora R7 Review: The Best Gaming PC Gets Better

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There’s a reason the Alienware Aurora has long been our favorite gaming desktop — it’s powerful and attractive, and most importantly, it can be upgraded without the need for tools or much technical know-how. It makes sense, then, that not much has changed for this year’s Aurora R7 model ($799 starting, $2,524 as reviewed), which adds Intel’s powerful 8th Gen processors and a handy USB-C port to the desktop’s already excellent design. If you’re looking for a future-proof gaming PC that can be configured to handle 4K and VR, the Aurora is still at the top of its class.

Design and Lighting

Alienware’s futuristic-looking Aurora is still one of the most attractive desktops you can buy, sporting the sleek gray panels and three-way LED lights that have become a staple of just about every Alienware machine. With its vented middle panels and ergonomic angles, the Aurora looks like the result of someone cutting a smaller chunk out of Alienware’s beastly Area 51 tower.

The 18.6 x 14.2 x 8.35-inch, 32-pound Aurora is pretty hefty, though a convenient carry handle up top makes the computer easy to lug around. It’s not quite as compact as Dell’s XPS Tower (15.22 x 14 x 7 inches), but it’s a bit sleeker than other midsize competitors, such as the MSI Infinite (19.2 x 17.7 x 8.3 inches) and Digital Storm Vanquish (20 x 17 x 8 inches).

Of course, it wouldn’t be an Alienware product without customizable lighting. Using the PC’s Alienware Command Center app, you can have the desktop’s left panel, right panel and front-facing power button glow a myriad of different colors, either by choosing from one of several presets or by picking your own colors for each zone.

The Aurora’s lighting is pretty subtle by gaming-desktop standards, but I enjoyed being able to swap out the desktop’s default blue hues for some soothing purples and pinks. I also appreciated how the Command Center app instantly recognized my Alienware Gaming Keyboard, and made it easy for me to match up the peripheral’s lighting with that of my desktop.

Key Specs

Starting Configuration Our Configuration
Price $799 $2,524
CPU Intel Core i5-8400 Intel Core i7-8700K
GPU AMD Radeon RX 560 Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti
RAM 8GB 32GB
Storage 1TB hard drive 512GB SSD, 2TB hard drive
Size and Weight 18.6 x 14.2 x 8.35 inches, 32 pounds 18.6 x 14.2 x 8.35 inches, 32 pounds

Ports and Upgradability

The new Aurora’s port layout is largely unchanged, save for one important addition: a USB-C port right up front. This brings the Aurora up to par with machines such as the Dell XPS Tower and MSI Infinite, and makes it easy to quickly charge up or connect any of your USB-C gadgets. Other than that, you’ve got your usual array of three USB 3.1 ports and headphone and mic jacks in the front.

The back of the Aurora is loaded with more USB connections than you’ll probably ever need, including six USB 2.0 ports, four USB 3.1 ports and an additional USB-C port. You’ll also find a full suite of audio ports, an S/PDIF jack for optical audio gadgets and an Ethernet port. The system’s Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti graphics card sports its usual HDMI port and trio of DisplayPort connections, giving you plenty of options for connecting your monitors.

As with previous iterations, the Aurora’s key feature is upgradability. The desktop’s side panel pops off with a quick pull of a lever, and once you’re inside, you can slide out the power supply and remove the graphics card, storage drives and RAM, all without using a single tool. The panel release lever on our review unit was screwed in to keep the machine safe during shipping, but once that screw was removed, I could enjoy the same tool-free tinkering that makes the Aurora (as well as its XPS Tower cousin) such a painlessly upgradable system.

Gaming and VR Performance

Sporting an Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti graphics card alongside Intel’s new 8th-Gen Core i7-8700K processor, our Aurora handled every game we threw at it with aplomb.

When playing the Injustice 2 PC beta on Alienware’s machine with all settings turned up, I noticed every little detail, from the stitchings of Robin’s suit to the intricate purple patterns that adorn Brainiac’s ship. Better yet, the Aurora consistently ran the game’s benchmark at 59 frames per second, even at 4K with graphics maxed out.

The Aurora made an excellent showpiece for the graphically rich Rise of the Tomb Raider, rendering the game’s gorgeous environments at 85.8 frames per second at 1080p with all settings maxed out. That’s just behind our Origin Chronos (95.4 fps, GTX 1080 Ti), while topping our Corsair One (72 fps, GTX 1080) and our 54-fps desktop average. When we bumped the game to 4K with all settings cranked up, the Aurora turned in 28 fps, which is just barely below our 30-fps playability threshold.

When moving to the slightly less demanding action of Hitman (1080p, max settings), we got a silky 97.2 fps. The Aurora fell to the Chronos (127.6 fps) and Corsair One (129 fps) while once again topping our 86-fps category average.

Unsurprisingly, the Aurora’s powerful guts maxed out the SteamVR Performance Test with a score of 11, making the Alienware machine more than ready for high-fidelity virtual reality. That score ties results from the Chronos and One, and tops our 10.1 average.

The Aurora scored 6,763 on the 3DMark Fire Strike Ultra test, which gauges 4K performance. That’s on par with the Chronos’ mark (6,705) and better than the One’s result (5,032), as well as our 4,656 average.

Overall Performance

Thanks to its 8th-Gen Core i7-8700K and 32GB of RAM, our Aurora proved to be as beastly at everyday multitasking as it was at gaming. The system never slowed when I piled on activities, even as I bounced among six Twitch streams, opened over a dozen browser tabs, ran a full-system scan and downloaded a game on Steam.

The PC netted a 24,196 on the Geekbench 4 performance test, topping the Origin Chronos (21,585; AMD Ryzen 7-1800X), the Corsair One (17,755; Core i7-7700K) and our 18.641 gaming-PC average. To put the benefits of Intel’s 8th-Gen processors in perspective, our 6th-gen Aurora (Core i7-6700K) scored 16,398 on Geekbench 3 last year.

The Aurora’s 512GB SSD transferred roughly 5GB of data in a speedy 13 seconds, for a transfer rate of 382.3 MBps. That’s not quite as fast as our Chronos’ 500GB SSD (828.3 MBps) or our 428.6-MBps average, but it outpaces the Corsair One’s 480GB SSD (236.6 MBps).

Alienware Command Center

Aside from letting you light the Aurora up in all kinds of cool colors, the Alienware Command Center app offers a healthy number of tools for monitoring and customizing your system. The app’s AlienFusion tab gives you a detailed look at your machine’s power consumption, while the Thermal Controls section lets you monitor and adjust the desktop’s heat output. The app also lets you set up handy Game Modes, which allow you to program a set of actions to occur (such as firing up Fraps and Discord) every time you launch a game.

Configurations and Value

The Aurora starts at $799, which gets you an Intel Core i5-8400 processor, 8GB of RAM, a 1TB hard drive and an AMD Radeon RX 560. Stepping up to the $1,099 model gets you VR ready, with a GTX 1060 graphics card and 16GB of RAM, while the highest-end, $1,649 config features a Core i7-8700 processor, a 256GB SSD with a 2TB hard drive, and a GTX 1080 for maxing out the latest and greatest titles.

You can customize these models at the point of purchase, adding extras including up to two GTX 1080 Ti graphics cards ($950 extra), up to 64GB of RAM ($600 extra) and as many as two 1TB SSDs ($650). Our custom $2,524 configuration gives a good idea of what tricking out the Aurora looks like, as this model sports a Core i7-8700K CPU, a GTX 1080 Ti GPU, 32GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD with a 2TB hard drive.

Bottom Line

The Alienware Aurora is still the best overall blend of design, power and upgradability you can get for the money. Its slick chassis and customizable LED lighting will make it stand out in your command center, and its painlessly easy-to-upgrade internals make it future proof for even the most technically averse gamers. And with support for Intel’s 8th Gen Core processors and Nvidia’s GTX 1080 Ti graphics cards, it’s a legitimate 4K and VR beast.

If you want the same easy upgradability within a more subtle design, Dell’s XPS Tower Special Edition($1,149 starting) is an excellent alternative. If you want something more compact without sacrificing too much expandability, the Origin Chronos ($1,200 starting) is worth considering. But if you’re looking for an attractive, LED-backlit tower that you can expand over time, the Aurora hits that sweet spot like few machines can.

(tomsguide.com, https://goo.gl/sEufZy)


Logitech Craft Review

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Pros

  • Excellent for typing
  • Can greatly enhance workflow
  • Major applications supported

Cons

  • Very expensive
  • Patchy media key support
  • Limited functionality in unsupported apps
  • No height adjustment

Key Features

  • Review Price: £179/$236
  • Crown input dial
  • Unifying Receiver or Bluetooth connection
  • Backlit
  • One-week battery life

What is the Logitech Craft?

craft

The Logitech Craft is a wireless keyboard that’s aimed at photographers, video editors, and graphic artists. The concept lies around a small rotating wheel that Logitech has dubbed the ‘Crown’, which allows for an additional way to control software used on a daily basis.

The overall package is very expensive, and has limited advantage when placed in the wrong hands. But if you’re a creative professional, take note – Logitech has produced something that can enhance your workflow in a way that can not only reduce headaches, but save you time, too.

Logitech Craft – Design and features

The Craft is a full-size keyboard, and while it’s very pricey, it certainly shows. The whole thing screams quality, with a large aluminium piece sitting along the top of the board, and a smooth matte plastic covering the rest of the keyboard.

The chiclet-style keys rest elegantly, with an inverted circular dome on each key adding to that premium feeling. Each key is also backlit, with an automated system that only lights the keys when you place your hands nearby, and at a brightness that’s appropriate for your environment – very cool.

The top bar is where you’ll find the headline feature – the metallic scrolling wheel, or what Logitech call the ‘Crown’. It’s well-sized, with a smooth action that inspires confidence in its ability. The bar also houses the USB Type-C port for charging, and the battery itself. This makes the keyboard rather heavy, but gives the Craft an excellent weight balance. Unfortunately, there isn’t any way to adjust the height, so if you prefer something dead flat, or pitched, you’re out of luck.

Key selection is excellent. Aside from the usual array of typing keys and the number pad, there’s a row of function keys mixed in with the F-keys. Controlling media is therefore much easier, and those unfamiliar with Windows and Mac shortcuts will appreciate this. It’s not perfect, though, as I would have preferred to have single media keys rather that split functions.

Further to this, Logitech uses a strange system that stops lesser-known applications working with the media controls – Tidal desktop and Chrome extension Streamkeys both failed to work with the keyboard. As this is a software issue, I’ve reached out to Logitech for a fix, and will update this article when I know more.

Connectivity is handled in one of two ways – either use the included wireless receiver, or pair over Bluetooth. You can use both at the same time across multiple computers, and both systems work reliably when in good range. The keyboard did lose connection when the adapter was clearly obstructed, but after some tweaking there were no further issues.

Logitech Craft – Performance and software

Using the Craft in my day-to-day workflow has been a pleasure, and while it’s not completely perfect, I can really appreciate just how useful this keyboard could be in the right hands.

My typical office day consists of writing, video editing and graphic creation, and each activity makes great use of the Craft. To get started, you’ll need to download the free Logitech Options software. It’s here that you can reassign keys and customise the Crown’s functionality. It’s a little limiting, and there are only a small number of functions that you can assign to the Crown, however, you can set functions on a per-app basis. I was able to configure Davinci Resolve to scroll through the timeline for example, which made video editing that little bit easier and more natural.

To really unlock the potential of the Craft, you’ll want to use one of the officially supported applications. Apps with dedicated profiles really unleash the Craft’s potential, as its functionality adapts to the situation. For example, If you’re in Adobe Photoshop, the Crown will adapt to the tool that you’re currently using, saving you from massive amounts of time clicking about. There are also different functions per tool, and simply tapping the touch-sensitive crown will cycle through them. There are also two modes that control the smoothness of the dial, with the option for a natural linear scroll, or a click-stop mode for tactile control. It’s really great to use, and is fantastic in each of the supported apps.

Of course, the big issue is that your average application won’t be supported, and as a daily user of GIMP and Resolve, the advantages are reduced. I do have to praise Logitech for a great start, though, as native apps include Adobe Premiere and Photoshop, as well as the Microsoft Office suite (Windows only). The usefulness of this keyboard is massively governed by application use, so do bear this in mind.

Logitech-Craft-1-1220x686

Typing is a fairly usual affair on the Craft, with the chiclet-style keys performing as you’d expect. It’s a really comfortable keyboard to use for emails and long-form writing, and other than the squeaky spacebar on my review unit, there’s very little to complain about. For gamers, though, while the keyboard is perfectly responsive across all titles, a mechanical keyboard is a much better bet at this price.

Battery life is rated at one week, and from my testing that certainly seems accurate. It’s not as long as I’d perhaps like, but the USB-C connection is very easy to plug in and charge on a Friday as you leave the office.

Why buy the Logitech Craft?

Logitech has crafted  an excellent keyboard. If you’re an avid photographer or video editor, the Craft has the ability to save you time and hassle every day. It’s well made, looks great and ultimately performs where it counts.

It is a rather niche product, though. With that large price tag, you really do need to work with the supported applications for it to make sense. But if you’re in that camp, and are willing to invest the money, it’ll pay off in the long term.

Verdict

A step forward for productivity – but at great cost.

(trustedreviews.com, https://goo.gl/8WxoNV)

 

Panasonic Toughbook CF-XZ6 review

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OUR VERDICT

Despite a great processor and speedy storage, the Panasonic CF-XZ6 isn’t the usable device most business users need and expect at this price.

FOR

  • Kaby Lake power
  • Rugged and durable

AGAINST

  • Gets overly hot
  • Poorly designed
  • Expensive

Panasonic has been beavering away for the past few years, focused on the rugged niche for mobile computers, developing its ToughPad and ToughBookranges. The firm grades its products as ‘Fully Ruggedized’, ‘Semi Ruggedized’ and ‘Business Ruggedized’ based on what levels of abuse they are designed to withstand.

The new ToughBook CF-XZ6 is a hybrid design built to provide a Windows platform in a highly portable package that can handle a few knocks, being pitched as ‘Business Ruggedized’.

But is being able to survive the carelessness of employees a good selling point, and does it justify the extra expense over a conventional laptop design?

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The European pricing of this hybrid is around £1,850 when VAT has been added, making this one of the more expensive laptops built around the Intel Core i5-7300U processor.

In the US there are two other CF-XZ6 models available with a slightly different specification. There’s a slightly slower i5-7300U design for $1,863, and a Core i7-7600U model with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD which will set you back an eye-watering $3,912.

As that pricing hints, this is exclusively a business-targeted device which isn’t available through the usual retail channels.

Design

With hybrid PC design, there are two schools of thought. One, epitomized by the Microsoft Surface, is to have a very lightweight keyboard that performs only this single function.

The other, employed by Panasonic in the CF-XZ6, is to make the system more of a laptop, but with the ability to detach the keyboard and convert into a tablet when required.

Choosing this second path brings up the question of what else to include with the keyboard, as well as the issue of how the system will adapt when those features are removed (when the keyboard is detached).

P8Cbtp2VAicHqrHbCAvJ8o-650-80

In the CF-XZ6, the keyboard portion adds an extra 5200mAh battery, three Type-A USB ports, VGA and HDMI out, a 10/100/100 Ethernet port and an SD card slot.

With that port selection, the keyboard functions more as a docking station, and the system can happily detach and re-attach without needing a reboot.

A nice (unexpected) touch is that the battery inside the keyboard also detaches, allowing multiple batteries to be hot-swapped. This feature enables the longevity of the device to be substantially extended for those who might struggle to find a power socket on their travels.

The battery part of the keyboard is well considered, but a less endearing feature is how cramped the keyboard layout feels. Not to mention the unusably small touchpad that Panasonic placed below it.

The circular touchpad is just 42mm across on a system with a 3:2 ratio screen, making for awkward operation, and inducing the overwhelming urge to use the touchscreen or a mouse almost immediately.

Whereas the keyboard part is a mixed bag, the tablet side of the CF-XZ6 is certainly more elegant. Although the small bezel around the display makes swiping off-screen a real challenge.

Only the left-hand side has any controls on it, though it looks like in a previous (or future) iteration the right-hand side also had more ports than the single headphone jack which is present in the CF-XZ6.

The power input is on the bottom, so you can’t charge the tablet alone while it is attached to the keyboard. And the only USB port on the tablet is a single Type-C connector on the right, alongside the power button and volume rocker.

As Windows tablets go, this one is relatively light at 639g, and it’s reasonably comfortable to hold.

The magnesium frame is built to withstand the machine being dropped, should the owner be moderately careless with it.

Beyond the review model specification, there’s optional 4G LTE connectivity, and Panasonic should consider expanding the internal storage, and the system memory to 16GB.

There isn’t any user access for upgrades, except the batteries mentioned elsewhere.

Performance

While it doesn’t deliver all the power we’ve seen in Kaby Lake Core i5-7500U systems, the i5-7300U vPro is a decent CPU that offers a responsive platform.

In our battery tests using PCMark 8 in Work mode, it managed just over six hours of constant use before exhausting both internal and keyboard batteries.

Panasonic is a little coy about the size of the internal battery. But given that the company quotes 14 hours of use with it, and 6.5 hours without it, that would suggest the internal module is about 92% of the size of the external battery, or roughly 4800mAh.

So both power packs combined makes for 10,000mAh, a capacity that should give you a decent operating window depending on how wisely you use it. Lowering the screen brightness extended running time by at least an hour, in our experience.

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The Intel HD Graphics 620 GPU might be fine for PowerPoint and YouTube playback, but it isn’t suitable for gaming or demanding 3D applications.

With a limited amount of storage space, USB 3.0 external storage is a necessary purchase for this machine. Because the 256GB drive provided won’t go that far, not once you’ve installed some applications and their associated data.

Before any of our test tools were in place the amount of usable space left was already lowered to around 160GB, as the SSD comes preinstalled with an un-activated copy of Office 365 and a selection of Intel and Panasonic utilities.

Benchmarks

The benchmark scores this hybrid achieved are very much in line with what we’d expect from an i5-7300U vPro system, with no significant surprises. The drive tests also demonstrate that this machine uses a SATA SSD and not one connected via a wider pathway.

The thin nature of the tablet makes it difficult for the processor to boost to 3.5GHz for any prolonged period due to heat build-up, delivering numbers that are distinctly middle-of-the-road.

Mistakes were made

The number of obvious mistakes that Panasonic made with this system is a concern. Since many of them are the very same ones that other hybrid manufacturers made long ago.

One classic hybrid problem is that the weight of the tablet part is much heavier than the keyboard, resulting in a lack of stability when you try to use touch. The CF-XZ6 simply rocks backwards or falls over when prodded.

This scenario could have been easily avoided had Panasonic considered a reversible hinge, or the ability to dock the tablet in reverse. The company did neither.

That leaves one practical alternative – detaching the tablet to use it held with one hand, except in doing so you’ve just waved goodbye to the majority of your battery capacity.

Given that the tablet apps you are most likely to run are games or video playback – i.e. apps that use lots of power – that’s very inconvenient.

The charging model is also a mess, as the charger needs a cable adapter to connect to both the tablet and the keyboard parts. Misplace this one short cable, and the PSU won’t be charging anything.

Another question to ask here is: why does this cable even exist? Both parts use the same charging receptacle, so why doesn’t the PSU have the right connector on it by default?

The real kicker here is that the perfect solution was within Panasonic’s grasp – the USB Type-C port that it put on the tablet, yet foolishly omitted from the keyboard.

But the decision the company made with the biggest consequences for the CF-XZ6 is the screen it chose to use.

As tablet displays go, it’s reasonably sharp, and the color gamut is acceptable. There is obvious backlight leakage around the frame at the lower corners, but apart from that issue, it is serviceable.

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The bigger problem with this panel is the 2160 x 1440 resolution, which is overkill for what’s a 12-inch panel corner-to-corner. Having too many pixels isn’t typically an issue, but it can become one if you like fast-moving graphics.

When you first run the machine, a warning pop-up appears to alert the owner that they might burn themselves with both the hot air exhaust and also the IR-LED emitters for the Windows Hello sensor.

In respect of the hot air ventilation, this isn’t just a health and safety overreach; it’s a valid warning.

Play a typical tablet game like Bubble Ghost or Angry Birds for about 15 minutes, and the tablet gets very warm to the touch, and the vented air is noticeably hot.

The culprits are likely the limited capabilities of the integrated Intel GPU, and the very slim form factor of the tablet which doesn’t allow for sufficient air exchange. Forcing this GPU to drive a 2160 x 1440 display makes the situation worse, as this has 50% more pixels than a 1080p panel, exerting an equivalent extra strain on the graphics solution.

The power consumption is so high in these situations that Panasonic even put a switch on the keyboard to disable recharging the keyboard-side battery, presumably because there aren’t enough amps coming into the system to recharge both batteries and work hard (play games) simultaneously.

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Final verdict

Panasonic engineers dropped the ball with the ToughBook CF-XZ6, managing to create a hybrid design that isn’t good at being a laptop, and is also rather poor at being a tablet.

The best aspects of this design are the performance of the Kaby Lake processor, and the decent number of USB Type-A ports on the keyboard section.

For those capabilities – plus the ability to handle a 76cm freefall drop test and being sat on by a person weighing 220lbs – the price is also on the excessive side.

(techradar.com, https://goo.gl/tVStqT)

Eve V Review

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The Pros

Clean, aluminum design; Brilliant display; RGB backlit keyboard; Includes keyboard and stylus; Thunderbolt 3

The Cons

Less than stellar battery life; Performance weaker than competitors’

Verdict

The Eve V is a beautiful 2-in-1 with a vibrant display, but it doesn’t perform as well or last as long as competitors.

The Eve V (pronounced “vee” not “five,” selling for $799 to start, $1,599) is an unlikely story. This 12.3-inch, detachable 2-in-1started its life on Helsinki-based tech company Eve-Tech’s forums, where a community of users argued and collaborated over the specs they wanted. The concept found its way to Indiegogo, where it was funded, and now, it’s shipping. So how did it turn out? Too many cooks can spoil the broth, but the Eve V is a solid first attempt. The community’s decision to go with a weak Intel Y-series CPU is questionable, and the battery life isn’t great. But a stunning design and one of the best displays I’ve seen this year make this machine worthy of consideration, as long as you trust an unproven company.

Design

The Eve V is built like a champ, and if you told me any massive, established laptop vendors had produced it, I would believe you. There’s one exception: There’s very little branding, which I appreciate. The black, aluminum tablet has very little flourish on the back, except for a small, almost unnoticeable upside-down triangle (the Eve V logo) at the very bottom. The kickstand pulls out from the side like what happens on a Microsoft Surface Pro, and it’s the only part that feels a little flimsy. Though I had no issue with it standing on my desk, it felt cheap, and I found myself wishing it were a little thicker. Under the Kickstand, there’s a fun pattern of Eve V and Eve-Tech logos, which adds a bit of surprise whimsy that I appreciated.

Eve V

The keyboard cover is a great imitation of the Surface’s, made with Alcantara fabric and providing a connection to the tablet via pogo pins. The keyboard has some of its own whimsical surprises: The backspace button is labeled “oops!” which I think is kind of silly but gave several of my colleagues a good laugh. (One of them called it “a-dork-able.”) The V key is marked with the Eve-V logo, and pressing Function+V unearths what I think is the machine’s coolest secret: multicolored backlighting. You can switch among seven colors, including purple, red, blue, green and cyan.

A very thick bezel surrounds the 12.3-inch, 2880 x 1800 display, but there are no logos on the front like you would see on a 2-in-1from a major vendor. In fact, there’s not even an Intel sticker on this thing.

At 3 pounds with the keyboard cover (2 pounds on its own) and 11.6 x 8 x 0.3 inches, the Eve V is both a little larger and thicker than competitors, which Eve-Tech tells me is a trade-off for battery life. The Surface Pro is 2.4 pounds with its Type Cover (1.7 without) and 11.5 x 7.9 x 0.3 inches, while the Lenovo Miix 720 is 2.6 pounds with its keyboard (1.7 pounds on its own) and 11.6 x 8 x 0.6 inches.

Eve V

The Eve V’s set of ports is the best among the 2-in-1’s competitors. On the left side, you’ll find a headphone jack, USB Type-C port, Thunderbolt 3 portand USB 3.0 port. On the right, there’s another USB 3.0 port and a fingerprint reader. The microSD card slot is hidden behind the kickstand. Microsoft has only now introduced USB Type-C on its Surface Book 2, and you still can’t find it, not to mention Thunderbolt 3, on the Surface Pro. The Miix 720 has only one Type-C port.

Display

The 12.3-inch, 2880 x 1800 display on the Eve V was built to impress. The company said that every single unit is individually calibrated, and, honestly, I believe it. When I watched a 1080p trailer for I, Tonya, actress Margot Robbie’s blue leotard practically glowed against the background of an icy, white skating rink, and I could see every shaving against the edge of her skates’ blades.

The Eve V’s screen covers an excellent 129 percent of the sRGB color gamut, passing the average 102 percent and just shy of what you get from the Miix (130 percent) and Surface Pro (140 percent).

It’s the brightest of the field by far, at an average of 442 nits. The average is just 288 nits, and the Miix (361 nits) and Surface Pro (396 nits) were dimmer than the Eve V.

Keyboard, Touchpad and Stylus

The keyboard on the Eve V may look pretty with its multiple backlight color options, but typing on this keyboard takes a little bit of adjustment.

Eve V

It has 1.3 millimeters of travel, just like the Surface Pro. The keyboard cover doesn’t have a ton of flex, and the Alcantara fabric is comfortable on the wrists.

The 78 grams of actuation make the Eve V particularly punchy, and it took me a while to get comfortable with it. On the 10fastfingers.com typing test, I reached 107 words per minute, which is my usual result, but my initial typing tests had me at a 4 percent error rate, twice my average.

The 3.5 x 2.4-inch touchpad uses Windows Precision drivers, which means that it instantly responded to even the most complex gestures. That includes showing all of my open apps with a three-finger swipe up or tapping four fingers to see my notifications in the Action Center.

The stylus has 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity, which is good, but not as precise as some others on the market. It feels nice and smooth on the screen, but I wish it had an eraser like the Surface Pro’s stylus. It also sticks magnetically to the right side of the tablet for storage, but not the left, like the more ambidextrous Surface pen. Connecting the stylus covers up the USB 3.0 port on the right, and I didn’t find the magnets to be secure. I felt better carrying it around in my pocket.

Audio

The speakers on the top of the tablet produce balanced audio. I just wish it were a smidge louder. When I listened to Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line’s “Meant to Be,” the vocals, rhythmic handclaps and twangy guitar were all clear, but it only just filled a midsize conference room. I certainly wouldn’t mind something that boomed a little more.

Performance

Eve-Tech and its community opted for Intel’s Y-series CPUs, which it says allow for cooler systems and better battery life. The trade-off, though, is performance. The model we reviewed came with an Intel Core i7-7Y75 CPU, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. In our testing, Y-series CPUs have worse performance both on benchmarks and in real life, and it showed in the Eve V. With 30 tabs open in Google Chrome, including one streaming 1080p video from YouTube, there was occasional, split-second lag while switching between tabs. It didn’t affect usage a ton, but it was noticeable.

Eve V

On the Geekbench 4 overall performance test, the Eve V notched a score of 7,109, falling short of the ultraportable average (7,557), as well as scores from the Surface Pro (8,652, Core i7-7660U) and Miix 720 (8,434, Core i7-7500U).

The Eve V took 18 seconds to transfer 4.97GB of files, for a rate of 282.7MBps, which is faster than both the average (228.9MBps) and Miix’s showing (203.6MBps). Eve-Tech’s machine is not as speedy as the Surface Pro, though, with its score of 339MBps.

It took 4 minutes and 19 seconds for the Eve V to pair 20,000 names and numbers in our OpenOffice spreadsheet macro, and while that’s faster than average (5:43), the Miix 720 (3:34) and Surface Pro (3:13) were both swifter, the latter by more than a minute.

With Intel HD 615 integrated graphics, the device isn’t meant for graphics-intensive tasks, like photo editing or gaming (though you could attach an eGPU to the Thunderbolt 3 port for that). The Eve V scored 50,633 on 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited, less than the average (58,877) and the Surface Pro’s mark (109,678, Intel Iris Plus 640), but higher than the Miix’s showing (49,088, Intel HD Graphics 620).

Battery Life

Eve-Tech claims that the Eve V’s sacrifices, a Y-series CPU and a bit of extra heft, are all in service of long-lasting battery life. But in our testing, that wasn’t the case. The 2-in-1 lasted just 6 hours and 59 minutes on the Laptop Mag Battery Test, which continuously browses the web over Wi-Fi at a fixed brightness. That result is better than the Miix 720’s time of 5:40, but less than the ultraportable average of 8:22 and the Surface Pro’s 7:30, which was half an hour longer.

Webcams

The 1600 x 900, front-facing camera on the Eve V is squarely average. While it’s sharp and it caught every hair in my beard, it had trouble with colors. When I took a photo at my desk, my blue sweater appeared gray, and the lights behind me were entirely blown out.

The 2560 x 1440 rear shooter is better. I went up to our roof and took a picture of a water tower and surrounding buildings, and could make out all of the wood paneling on the tower and the bright blue late-morning sky above it. Some buildings in the back fell out of focus, but in a faux-bokeh effect that I kind of dig.

Heat

Don’t worry about hand sweat: The Eve V will stay nice and cool whether you use it as a laptop or a tablet. After the machine streamed 15 minutes of HD video from YouTube, the back of the slate measured just 86 degrees Fahrenheit, which is lower than our 95-degree comfort threshold.

Software and Warranty

The Eve V matches Microsoft’s offering in that it includes no extra bloatware. The only junk you’ll have to deal with is what comes preinstalled with every copy of Windows 10, including Keeper, Candy Crush Soda Saga, Drawboard PDF, Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition, Bubble Witch 3 Saga and March of Empires: War of Lords.

Those who already bought an Eve V through its initial Indiegogo campaign get a 2-year warranty. Eve-Tech will be offering a one-year warranty to those who buy directly. The company told Laptop Mag that it will replace units it can’t fix remotely, and then repair and refurbish broken units for later warranty exchanges.

Eve V

Configurations

The Eve V that I reviewed cost $1,599 and came with an Intel Core i7-7Y75 CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB PCIe SSD. To bump up to 1TB of storage with the same CPU and RAM will cost you $1,999.

The base model runs for $799 with an Intel Core m3-7Y30, 8GB of RAM and a 128GB PCIe SSD. And the $1,199 model comes with an Intel Core i5-7Y54 CPU, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, or you can increase it to 16GB and 512GB for $1,599.

These specs closely (but don’t exactly) mirror those of Microsoft’s Surface Pro, except that Microsoft’s lower-end models come with 4GB of RAM and the higher-end models come with better Iris Plus graphics. None of Microsoft’s offerings include a stylus ($99.99) or a keyboard cover ($129.99), while the Eve V comes with both.

Eve V

Bottom Line

The Eve V, is, largely, a success story. It’s a crowdsourced, crowdfunded machine that somehow made it off the internet and into my hands, and it works. The display is bright, vivid and gorgeous, and I’m a fan of the industrial design. It certainly doesn’t feel like a first go-around.

Of course, the Y-series CPU isn’t as powerful as others (there’s a reason you rarely see them in notebooks or tablets), and I’d trade a fanless design for more power. The battery life is also on the short side, so you’ll want to take an adapter with you.

Your best alternative to the Eve V is Microsoft’s own Surface Pro (also starting at $799, and hitting similar price points), and while you’ll get stronger performance and slightly better battery life with the Microsoft machine, you’ll have to pay another $230 for the stylus and keyboard. The Eve V comes with those things. But Microsoft is also established — you know they’ll be there in six months for support.

Do too many cooks spoil the broth? That’s the saying, but in the Eve V’s case, though the meal isn’t perfect, it’s entirely edible.

(laptopmag.com, https://goo.gl/UTPJzV)

A Month with the 2017 MacBook Pro: What I Loved, What I Didn’t

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At Laptop Mag, we produce the most-comprehensive laptop reviews, with analysis based on a mix of in-depth testing and hands-on experience, usually completed over a period of days. We test hundreds of systems a year, so after one review is published, we usually put the just-tested laptop away and move on to the next one. We posted our full review of the MacBook Pro 15-inch back in June and gave it 4.5 stars, but personally, I still had questions.

img 0080 edit

I’ve been thinking about upgrading from my five-year-old 15-inch MacBook Pro and wondering whether the new model is right for me. While the 2017 MacBook Pro’s clicky keyboard has more travel than its immediate predecessor’s, I didn’t know if I wanted to trade away the keys — which have far more movement and comfort — in my 2012 model. Was Apple’s Touch Bar the tappable gift that the company had promoted, or just a gimmick? I used the new 15-inch MacBook Pro for month to find out.

Design: Thinner and lighter, but not by enough, really

Weighing 4 pounds and measuring 0.61 inches thick, the 2017 15-inch MacBook Pro is lighter and thinner than my personal 2012 model (which is 4.46 pounds and 0.71 inches), but I noticed the thinness a lot more than I noticed the weight, as my bag would feel just as heavy no matter which machine I was lugging.

macbook pro 15 001

Ports: Is Thunderbolt 3 truly trouble?

And let’s just dive right into the MacBook Pro’s Thunderbolt 3/USB Type-C–only policy. Yes, it puts a hurdle in the way of anybody trying to attach a device they already own, because tons of accessories use the boxy Type-A connector. But a small, one-time purchase can solve this issue.

Fortunately, because I just wrote up the list of best Type-C hubs, I had my pick of the litter when choosing new a pair to work with. Yes, I needed two hubs, because I use two monitors at work and each of these hubs has only one HDMI-out port. So I had the HooToo Shuttle on one side and the OWC USB Type-C Travel Dock on the other side.

ports

At home, I just used Apple’s Type-C-to-USB 3.0 converter cable to connect my 10-port USB hub from Anker to the laptop. Both worked like a charm, and I’d forget I was using them.

Touch Bar: What is it good for? Absolutely one thing

The biggest innovation in the 2016 MacBook Pro (as well as this 2017 model) is Apple’s sliver of an OLED touch screen, which the company calls the Touch Bar. My reaction? I’m sorry, but I want (most of) my effin Fn keys back.

keyboard

In my whole month with this MacBook Pro, I found that the Touch Bar was mostly an accident waiting to happen. The majority of my interactions with it happened unintentionally; while typing, I would activate the digital Esc key while trying to hit the ` or 1 keys.

On the upside, the far right end of the Touch Bar contains a Touch ID sensor, which is my favorite part of the MacBook Pro’s outer body. The convenience it offers, allowing me to unlock my login IDs and passwords from the 1Password utility, is electric, especially when the alternative is typing out my complex, 23-character pass code.

Keyboard: A clicky controversy

Right under the Touch Bar is the most controversial aspect of the MacBook Pro: its clicky keyboard. I read news stories about these keys getting stuckdue to a small amount of dust, but I never encountered that issue myself. Neither did my colleague Michael Andronico when he tested this laptop for its official review.

That being said, my feelings about this keyboard are lukewarm at best. Its keys offer more travel than you get with recent iterations of Apple’s 12-inch MacBook or the MacBook Pros released in 2016. But the movement in these keys is still paltry compared to what I find in my 2012 model.

This wasn’t a constant problem for me during the month, as I typically write on an external keyboard, so I can view a raised display. Doctors say you should do this to prevent back and neck issues, which I’m already headed for due to a lifetime of sitting in front of screens.

But when I brought the MacBook Pro and its shallow keys with me to cover a press conference, I felt the pain of shallow keys. Or, more specifically, my fingertips did, as I repeatedly felt the keys bottom out (hit the bottom of the keyboard earlier than expected). My fingers want more than this keyboard’s mere 0.81 millimeters of depth.

And while I managed to file my report from the field, I wasted time correcting the mistakes I made while typing on those keys. Sure, one could argue that I could have gotten used to this keyboard over the span of the month had I forced myself to forgo my typical typing methods. But you shouldn’t have to get used to your keyboard. You’re not paying to adjust your own behavior.

One night at home, I ran into a particularly annoying issue with the keyboard. While the caps-lock key itself wasn’t stuck, clicking it wouldn’t stop the computer from spitting out all-caps text. A quick restart remedied the issue.

Performance: I’ll miss you the most, speed

Aside from the introduction of the Touch ID sensor, my favorite upside of this temporary upgrade was the much-needed speed boost. My old MacBook Pro felt like a reliable Honda Accord, but this new laptop was so fast that using it was like driving a high-end Acura with leather seats and a nitrous tank attached to the bottom.

Not only could I could open all of the tabs that I wanted (and keep them open, and forget about them until I needed them), but I could also run every single app I could think of, without seeing pauses or problems. That is the benefit, of course, of having a 7th Gen Kaby Lake CPU and a 4GB Radeon 560 GPU, with a strong 16GB of RAM.

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In particular, I saw massive gains in the speed of video-editing programs (Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Premiere Pro and iMovie). When I tried to run any of these programs or even Apple’s simple iMovie on my old MacBook Pro, I experienced pauses, waits and stutters, which wasted my time and gave me a headache.

The modestly demanding side-scroller Cuphead isn’t difficult to run, but to use it in a Parallels virtualization on my personal MacBook, I had to make sure that no other apps were open. But on the 2017 MacBook Pro, I could keep Safari, Tweetbot and the Bear text editor open without hitting slower frame rates.

Display and Audio: Still fantastic

There’s little that I need to say about the sound and picture quality, as Apple continues to hit it out of the park in both areas with the ferocity of slugger Aaron Judge.

Footage I shot of an In-N-Out Double-Double Animal Style burger looked incredibly realistic on the MacBook’s Retina display, with popping yellow in the cheese and the background’s blue skies looking serene. St. Vincent’s album “Masseduction” sounded fantastic, with strong bass, clear vocals and accurate synths.

Outlook

My time with the MacBook Pro left me excited … to see what Apple will do next with the line. With this machine’s upgraded performance and fingerprint sensors, as Biz Markie might say, it’s “got what I need.” And I could see the MacBook keeping biometric security and moving it out of the keyboard, now that Face ID is a thing and the company can build security into the webcams.

macbook pro 15 004

While I’ve learned that Thunderbolt 3/USB Type-C ports are nothing to be afraid of, my time with the clicky keyboard and Touch Bar has convinced me that I shouldn’t rush out to buy this machine immediately. I get why thinner keys and more-lithe laptops are desirable to some people, but I’d rather have a superior typing experience than a svelter system. So, for now, I’m holding onto my 2012 model, and hoping it can stay alive until Apple changes the MacBook’s keys.

(laptopmag.com, https://goo.gl/yJY4NK)

Eve V 2-in-1 computer is coming: 5 things to know about it

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It almost feels like there’s nothing that can be done for the 2-in-1 tablet form factor started by ASUS and then popularized by the Microsoft Surface Pro. After all, how much can you cram inside such a thin space without making it as unwieldy as a laptop? In two weeks, Finland-based Eve Tech will be proving the industry wrong by finally selling the Eve V computer to the public, challenging the status quo, not to mention the Surface Pro, not just in features but also in the way products can be made.

Eve V 2-in-1 computer is coming: 5 things to know about it

It was designed by the community

Many products born of crowdfunding will claim to have been created with the input of backers and customers. Few, however, can boast of doing that right from the get go.

Mirroring Razer’s slogan, the Eve V was, in a way, made by geeks for geeks. That may sound almost offensive to some, but think of it this way: who else would know about the best specs that users want than them? Although Eve Tech did put its foot down on the matter, much of the discussion and debates started with the input of the community. This has resulted in some of the best specs you’ll see in a 2-in-1 tablet, give or take, at almost half the price of the competition.

• CPU: Fanless 7th gen Core m3/i5/i7 “Y”
• RAM: 8 or 16 GB LPDDR3
• Storage: 128 to 1 TB GB PCIe SSD
• Display: 12.3-inch 2880×1920 IGZO LCD
• Features: N-Trig pen with 1,024 levels of pressure, two USB 3.0 ports, 1 USB-C port, 1 Thunderbolt 3 port, wired and wireless keyboard.
• Dimensions: 295.9 x 205.3 x 8.9 mm

It was designed with gaming in mind. Sort of

When it comes to 2-in-1 tablets that aim for portability and versatility, something usually has to give in terms of power. Usually, that means sacrificing the graphics capabilities of the device.

Fortunately, the Eve V has a workaround. It’s not exactly ideal, but still better than the status quo. It happens to be one of the extremely rare 2-in-1 tablets that supports an external GPU or graphics accelerator thanks to its use of a Thunderbolt 3 port. And while you won’t be carrying around that eGPU with you, at least you get all the power you need for gaming and graphics extensive work when and if you need it.

It uses an Intel Core “Y” processor

There is, however, one caveat. After all, nothing is really perfect. One of the most controversial spec of the Eve V is the CPU. While it’s understandable that it missed the 8th gen boat given its timeline, some might be disappointed by the fact that it uses a “Y” processor instead of the usual “U” processors found in most Windows 10 tablets.

Eve admits that there is a performance hit, if only slightly, with the choice of processors, but it was made based on a conscious decision to prioritize battery life over benchmark scores. Eve also argues that even “U” processors aren’t able to perform at top speeds because of throttling. In many such cases, the GPU is actually the bottle neck, and the Eve V works around that limitation by connecting to an external one.

Its keyboard works whether attached or not

One of the compromises with 2-in-1 computers is the keyboard. Either you have one or you don’t, and never at the same time. Convertibles like the Lenovo YOGA have a permanently attached keyboard that permanently adds to the heft and thickness. Detachables like the Surface Pro can remove theirs but, once gone, you’re at the mercy of the touch screen.

The Eve V has a rather ingenious solution. Its keyboard cover connects through pogo pins when connected physically to the Eve V but acts like a Bluetooth keyboard when detached. You can, then, have the best of both worlds, perfect for digital artists who need to have their keyboard shortcuts handy but don’t want the keyboard to be in the way of the screen.

Fun fact: the keyboard backlight comes in 7 color options, another nod to the Eve V’s gaming creds.

There’s a Flash Sale in two weeks!

Early believers and backers of the Eve V will soon experience first hand if the Eve V will indeed be able to deliver on its promise. The rest of the world will have to wait a bit longer. On December 4 at 2 PM GMT (9 AM ET/6 AM PT), the Eve V will go on a flash sale. The company hasn’t yet revealed just how long the sale will last or how many units are up for grabs, but those could soon be gone quickly, if you see their prices.

The Core m3 model with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of SSD starts at $799. The highest model you can get is the Core i7 with 16 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD for $1.999. Eve, however, likes to compare the Core i7, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD model, which costs $1,599, with the 2017 Surface Pro, which costs almost twice as much at $2,459. Then again, to be fair, the Eve V is using an older and slightly weaker CPU. But at that price, some might be willing to forgive that.

(slashgear.com, https://goo.gl/aGi8eY)

HP Omen 17 (AN009TX) review: Playing it safe

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Top Features
  • -Sturdy build and good-looking design
  • -Flawless performance
  • -Impressive audio and video

With the proliferation of gaming laptops by companies like Asus, Lenovo, MSI and more, HP too has had to raise its game in the last few months. The company brought its new range of Omen-branded gaming laptops in February this year and since then, has launched several iterations. It seems like the company will be ending 2017 with yet another beefy gaming laptop, the new Omen 17 (17-AN009TX).

Interested customers would have to fork Rs 1,79,990 for this particular piece of machinery. They can buy it from HP’s own online store or from Flipkart. The device comes with some of the beefiest set of specifications and looks like a typical gaming laptop.

We got our hands on the HP OMEN 17 (17-AN009TX) a week ago and since then have been testing some of the heaviest games on it, including Forza Motorsport 7, Call of Duty and more. Should you buy it? Read the review below.

It is worth pointing out that the unit we reviewed came with 32GB RAM, while the one available at the shelves come with up to 16GB RAM support. Rest of the specifications stay the same.

Design and display

If you are familiar with HP’s OMEN lineup then this shouldn’t be an eye-brow raiser for you. The Omen 17 builds on the same design that HP has been carrying ever since the introduction of its dedicated gaming series. Being a gaming laptop, it is bound to be heavy and bulky. The laptop weighs 3.7Kgs, which is on the heavier side when it comes to gaming laptops. However, bulk and brawn are attributes that are associated with most gaming laptops as some even come with dedicated suitcases.

As for the design, you get the Omen logo right at the centre of the lid along with dual-textured patterns with red accents. According to us, the well-conceived design is better looking than others that we find in the market.

On the other side of the logo you get a large 15.6-inch canvas to show all the content. The screen is secured with a good number of bezels from all the four sides. Screens in gaming laptops with visible bezels is nothing new. If you don’t want one, you can surf across HP’s Spectre series.

The backlit full-size island-style keyboard, like seen with other laptops in the Omen family, stays the same. The travelling time of the keys too are slightly more than what is found in the traditional laptops. This won’t take much time to get used to if you are coming from a regular laptop. Gamers, however, may love it given that they use it in a rougher manner than others.

Unless you have an external gaming mouse, you are heavily relying on the touch pad. And from what we have gathered by looking at the entire Omen laptop series, all the laptops in the lineup come with a considerably small touch pad with lesser room for your performing multiple gestures. Given the vast layout, HP could’ve increased the size of touch pad a little.

On both sides of the body you get a bunch of connectivity options, which pretty much fulfill the needs of a typical gamer. You get a USB 3.1 Type-C port, 3 USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports, 1 HDMI, headphone jack, multi-format SD card reader, mini DisplayPort alongside the usual Bluetooth v4.2 and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi combo.

The exhausts are placed strategically right at the screen hinge area, facing outwards. Exhaust grilles are also there on the underside. The two speakers can be found under the laptop alongside the rubber lids.

Being a gamer, one of the factors that is a deal maker or breaker is the display. While using the Omen 17 we found it to be at par with some of the others in the same price bracket. The gaming laptop unit we received had a 17.3-inch anti-glare WLED-backlit full HD (1080×1920 pixels) resolution, which was saturated enough and had that required punch while playing heavy games.

We found the screen bright enough at situations when required and low enough to go easy on the eyes. We do prefer full HD panel over 4K as most of the software don’t support the resolution natively, resulting in tiny appearing fonts and window sizes.

Performance

The performance section doesn’t need much detailing as it is top-notch. The beastly performance is apparent, given the brutish innards the Omen 17 carries. The new gaming laptop packs one of the most powerful processors under the hood, the Intel 7th generation ‘Kaby Lake’ Core i7 processor.

Although we were expecting the company to make the laptop, one of the first to sport Intel 8th generation Core processor, one level down won’t really make a massive difference in the gaming performance. For hardcore gamers, this might be slightly disappointing as HP already has laptops with the Intel 8th gen processor in the market.

Nonetheless, the laptop worked as smooth as silk in our tests. We ran some of the heaviest games on the device including Forza Motorsport 7, Counter Strike and more. This is in addition to working on some video and photo editing software. Shifting from one software to another was effortless and uninterrupted. Browsing on several tabs on Chrome and Firefox Quantum was nothing less than bliss.

For those interested in the GPU prowess of the Omen 17, the laptop boasts of Nvidia GTX 1070 GPU, which has 8GB DDR5 RAM of its own. In general, the device can support up to 16GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB hard drive (7200rpm) and 256GB SSD. For those who want to store data on cloud, they get Dropbox app pre-installed alongside the other web-based competing services.

We did find slight stuttering when playing a few games at 4K resolution with maximum settings. But that is something most users won’t mind, or might not even notice. Most part of stuttering is, however, taken care by Nvidia GPU.

As far as the operating system is concerned, Windows 10 performs just about fine. It comes with its own native features including Windows Hello security tech. Needless to say the UI is really familiar and shouldn’t be a hassle to operate.

You do get some HP’s native apps in the mix such as HP 3D DriveGuard, Audio Switch, Documentation, ePrint, JumpStart, Orbit, Recovery Manager and more to customise the gaming device further.

With the given set of specifications, the HP Omen 17 for now can run majority of the video games that require heavy configurations. We ran the machine through PCMark and 3Dmark tests and found it to score a rather high 24137 and P15 637.

When we reviewed the HP Omen gaming laptop earlier this year, we found it to sport well performing speakers. And nothing seems to have changed with the new laptop. The user-facing Bang & Olufsen powered speakers are louder than what we have come to witness in some of the competitors, making the gaming experience better. This, in addition to a good display, also makes it a competent device for multimedia consumption.

Video chatting is also good with the Omen 17. It has a TrueVision full HD webcam, which is coupled with microphones in case you don’t have headphones around you.

Gaming laptops are not known for their battery life. You don’t get much juice from a powerful machine such as the Omen 17. But you do get enough time to run it for a few hours. In our tests, the laptop ran for 7-8 hours on an average. This, however, is subjective given how you use the device and what or how many apps you run on it. Light users can run it for at least 10-12 hours, while heavy users will find themselves reaching for a plug point roughly after 4 hours. HP claims its new gaming machine can run for up to 12 hours.

Verdict

HP Omen 17 has one of the best gaming device with top-tier specifications you will find in any laptop. However, it is also not the only one in the given price segment. Even with those heavy specs, it is likely to witness a good amount of competition coming from rivals such as Dell, MSI, Acer and more.

The gaming laptop no doubt gives you the best of both worlds — in terms of design and performance. It won’t disappoint you no matter how you use it. It can run the heaviest games and software and has what it takes to deliver a stealthy look.

Competing with it are laptop such as Acer Predator G9-792 that has a similar specification setup but is slightly better looking. MSI also has it’s GE73VR positioned in the same price segment with similar specs and a multi-colour backlit keyboard.

(gadgetsnow.com, https://goo.gl/XSfNLq)

Razer Cynosa Keyboard Review: A Colorful Value

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THE GOOD
  • Gorgeous lighting
  • Programmable
  • Comfortable keycaps
THE BAD
  • Membrane keys
  • Software bugs
VERDICT

The Razer Cynosa offers decent membrane performance for the price, but you should spring for a mechanical keyboard if you can.

Kết quả hình ảnh cho Razer Cynosa Keyboard

We haven’t seen a membrane model of a gaming keyboard in a while, for better or for worse — but mostly better. However, since gaming has to come full circle every few years, we now have the Razer Cynosa ($60) and Cynosa Pro ($80): a pair of membrane keyboards with full RGB illumination, full compatibility with Razer’s Synapse software and not much else to set them apart from a reasonably responsive office keyboard.

Perhaps it would be wrong to damn the Cynosa — which is not that bad, in the grand scheme of things — for what it isn’t, rather than take aim at what it is. But the simple fact is that the Cynosa costs much, much more than the average membrane keyboard, and the benefits it offers in return are limited. If you prize aesthetics above all else and don’t have much money to spend on a gaming keyboard, it’s worth a look. Otherwise, save your pennies for a mechanical model.

Design

The Cynosa (named, like most Razer keyboards, for a venomous spider) looks, at the risk of being flippant, like a keyboard. It’s black all the way around, with a small Razer logo at the bottom. (Unlike some of Razer’s other recent keyboards, it doesn’t come with a magnetic wrist rest, which is disappointing.) The keyboard is full size, but doesn’t offer discrete media keys or extra macro buttons.

If you’ve gone for the standard Cynosa, each key features individual backlighting, which is a nice touch. I can’t think of any other membrane keyboards that offer the same level of lighting detail. However, the Pro takes it one step further by adding an “underglow.” This means that the entire panel underneath the keys features customizable RGB lighting, lending the whole keyboard a rich palette that contrasts perfectly against the black chassis. Whatever criticisms I have about the Cynosa, I sincerely hope that Razer brings the underglow technology to some of its other products.

Razer also points out that the Cynosa is “spill-resistant.” I contacted Razer to learn exactly what the term meant, and heard back that membrane keyboards, in general, are not as easy to damage with water as mechanical models. However, there doesn’t seem to be anything special about the Cynosa that makes it more durable than the average office keyboard. If you spill water on the Cynosa, it probably won’t break immediately — although you still shouldn’t try your luck, if you don’t have to.

Keys

Aside from the lighting, the most striking feature of the Cynosa is its membrane keys. My stance on membrane keys has softened over the years, especially since I’ve seen firsthand just how bad they can be. Razer has also done a lot to take the “meh” out of “membrane,” with comfortable keycaps and decently long key travel.

Kết quả hình ảnh cho Razer Cynosa Keyboard

Razer’s innovations are especially helpful when it comes to typing. Using TypingTest.com, I scored 126 words per minute with three errors on the Cynosa, versus 119 words per minute with five errors on my regular Logitech G810. The Cynosa’s keys tend to spring back a bit faster than the mechanical models I’m used to, so if you’re a truly prodigious typist, you might find that helpful.

Razer has done a lot to take the “meh” out of “membrane,” with comfortable keycaps and decently long key travel.

On the other hand, there’s no getting around the fact that having two electrically linked membranes just don’t feel as good as having an actual switch beneath each key. Something about the Cynosa’s interface feels artificial and, if not “cheap,” exactly, then at least not premium.

Features

The Cynosa runs on Razer’s new Synapse 3.0 software. The software itself still has a few design issues to work out. Everything works as advertised, sure, but the white-on-green color scheme is a bit of an eyesore, and it’s not clear how to find every option, like it was in Synapse 2.0.

As an example: After updating the Synapse software to its latest version, I plugged the Cynosa into it. The software did not recognize the keyboard. In order to make the peripheral work, I had to restart the machine, unplug the Cynosa, plug it in again, and then update the Synapse software a second time. Thankfully, I only had to undergo this process once, but it was a sloppy procedure that I could have done without.

Once that’s all dealt with, though, the Synapse software is pretty robust. You can reprogram any key, set up individual profiles, program custom Chroma lighting, create macros or even set keys to loop themselves after a fixed period. (This could be useful if you need to hit the same key over and over in a game.)

Performance

The Cynosa was solid when it came to gameplay, at least. I ran it through Overwatch, StarCraft: Remastered, The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine and Marvel Heroes Omega in order to see how it would handle a variety of different genres.

The Cynosa is probably not refined enough for the tournament scene, but anyone playing at home should find it suitable.

The results were good across the board — better than a regular office keyboard, certainly, but not up to the same level of responsiveness or comfort you’d get from, say, a Razer BlackWidow.

Still, whether you want to support your allies as Zenyatta in Overwatch, or explore the wilds of Toussaint in Blood and Wine, the Cynosa will help you get the job done. The keyboard parsed my commands accurately and quickly, and I had no problem using it for hours at a time. It’s probably not refined enough for the tournament scene, but anyone playing at home should find it suitable.

Bottom Line

Ultimately, the Cynosa isn’t so bad — it’s just that we’ve already seen much better, from both Razer and other companies. I’ve explained before why membrane keys aren’t worth the short-haul savings, and while the Cynosa is better than most membrane keyboards, it still has all the problems inherent to the style.

Yes, the Cynosa is relatively inexpensive — but if you’re willing to pay $80 for a gaming keyboard, you should at least consider dropping another $20 or $30 on a mechanical alternative such as the Logitech G610. (Especially since mechanical keyboards can last twice as long, or longer.)

In the end, I’ll begrudgingly admit that the $60 price point and better-than-average keycaps make the Cynosa a potentially attractive option for entry-level PC gamers who really, truly do not care about the distinction between membrane and mechanical keys. But if you can spend a little more to get something exceptional, you absolutely should.

(tomsguide.com, https://goo.gl/UDYdnW)


Best Laptops for Kids

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These days, many 3-year-olds have their own tablets. So by the time children start advancing in elementary school and doing serious homework, they may need to have laptops, too. We’ve rounded up the best affordable student laptops for your child in every age range, whether you’re looking for a Chromebook for your elementary school child or a gaming laptop for a high school senior. For post-secondary students, see our list of best college laptops.

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6 Quick Buying Tips

  • What’s the right age for a laptop? Forgot about age numbers. A good sign that your child needs their own laptop is that they’re already using computers — not tablets or phones — a lot at home or school.
  • What’s the school’s laptop policy? Some schools provide students with laptops to take home so you don’t need to buy one. Other districts give kids computers they can use in class only, which means you may want to get a similar software and OS for home.
  • Chrome OS, Windows or macOS? Chrome OS is popular with schools, because it’s easy to use and nearly impossible to infect with a virus. However, if your kid is learning how to program, needs to edit media files, requires access to Microsoft Office or wants to play PC games, Windows or macOS is a much better choice.
  • Size: For children under 12, get a laptop with an 11.6-inch screen that weighs under 3 pounds. For teens, a 13- or 14-inch laptop that weighs up to 4 pounds is acceptable. Buy larger laptops only if you plan to keep them at home.
  • Keep it cheap: Don’t spend over $500 on a laptop for a child under 12, because they may break it and will outgrow it. Even when shopping for a teenager, try to keep the cost under $800.
  • Make it durable: Kids are clumsy, so a laptop that can survive bumps, drops or spills is a big plus.

Best Windows Laptop for Young Kids: Acer Spin 1

For just $329, the Acer Spin 1 offers key features that you won’t find in many 2-in-1s that cost hundreds more. Kids will appreciate the 1080p, 11.6-inch touch screen which is one of the most vibrant displays on the market while parents gawk at the all-aluminum chassis. At just 2.65 pounds, the Spin 1 is more than light enough for young kids to carry to school. An included pressure-sensitive stylus allows children to draw or scribble notes on the screen, which bends back 360 degrees into tablet mode. A small, but highly-tactile keyboard is great for young typists.

Age Group: 7 to 12

Pros: Vibrant screen; Aluminum chassis; Stylus included
Cons: So-so battery life; Limited internal storage

Key Specs: 11.6-inch / 1920 x 1080 screen; Intel Celeron N3350 CPU; 4GB of RAM; 32GB eMMC storage; 2.65 pounds

Best Chromebook for Young Kids: Asus Chromebook Flip C213SA

With any notebook for young children, durability has to be a top concern and the Asus Chromebook Flip C213 is the sturdiest 2-in-1 we’ve ever tested. The C213 survived multiple 4-foot drops onto concrete, coming away with a few scratches.

The keyboard is one of the best we’ve seen on any notebook this size, providing plenty of travel and feedback, while the bendback design allows kids to use this laptop in tablet, tent or stand modes. With Google’s Chrome OS on-board and the ability to run Android apps, this convertible is simple, secure and loaded with possibilities. It also lasted a full 11 hours and 8 minutes on our battery test.

Age Group: 7 to 12

Pros: Long battery life; durable design; Great keyboard
Cons: Mediocre cameras

Key Specs: 11.6-inch / 1366 x 768 Screen; Intel Celeron N3060 CPU; 4GB RAM; 32GB eMMC Storage; 11:08 Battery Life

Best Sub-$200 Laptop for Kids: Dell Inspiron 11 3000

Available in vibrant colors such as glossy red and blue, the Inspiron 11 3000 looks great and sounds even better, with strong audio output. This 11.6-inch Windows clamshell lasts an epic 13 hours and 45 minutes on a charge, making it ideal for getting through a long school day or maybe even two.

With its Intel Celeron CPU and 2GB or 4GB of RAM, the Inspiron 11 3000 is particularly powerful, though and its 1366 x 768 screen isn’t particularly bright. However, this laptop will be adequate for younger users and, with its starting price of $179, you won’t feel terrible if your child breaks or outgrows it.

Age Group: 7 to 12

Pros: Colorful chassis; Long battery life; Low price
Cons: Dim display; Modest performance

Key Specs: 11.6-inches / 1366 x 768 Screen; Intel Celeron N3060 CPU; 2GB RAM; 32GB eMMC Storage; 2.4 Pounds; 13:39 Battery life

Best Budget Laptop for Any Age: Acer E 15 (E5-575-33BM)

The 15-inch Acer E 15 E5-575-33BM provides strong performance, a colorful 1080p display, a comfy keyboard and plenty of storage for under $350. However, this 5-pound Windows notebook is too heavy to bring to class and too large for all but the oldest kids to use on their laps, so it’s a good choice for kids who mainly need a computer at home.

If your child wants to kick the E 15’s performance up a notch after you buy, the bottom panel comes off so you can upgrade its 4GB of RAM and 1TB hard drive to 8GB and an SSD. The laptop also lasts over 8 hours on a charge so your kid can use it on the couch or the dining room table, without hunting for an outlet.

Age Groups: 7 – 12; 13+

Pros: Great value; Sharp colorful display; Solid performance; Long battery life
Cons: Too heavy to bring to school

Key Specs: 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080 Screen; Core i3-7100U; 4GB of RAM; 1TB Hard drive; 8:16 Battery life

Best Chromebook for Teens: Asus ChromeBook Flip C302CA

With its classy aluminum chassis, colorful 1080p screen and ability to bend back into tablet, tent or stand modes, the C302CA is the cream of the Chromebook crop. Its 12.5-inch screen is extremely bright and its 2.6-pound chassis is light enough not to weigh down a student’s backpack. The Asus Chromebook Flip C302CA also lasts nearly 9 hours on a charge.

However, because the C302CA costs around $500 and isn’t made to be particularly durable, we recommend it for older children.

Age Group: 13+

Pros: Bright, 1080p screen; Attractive design; Long battery life
Cons: Not built to be durable; Expensive for a Chromebook

Key Specs: 12.5-inch / 1920 x 1080 Screen; Core m3 CPU; 2.6 Pounds; 8:53 Battery Life

Best Windows Laptop for Teens: Asus ZenBook UX330UA

The $749 Asus ZenBook UX330UA isn’t dirt cheap, but it’s an incredible value for a laptop that’s powerful and portable enough for your teen to keep well into their college years.  The 13-inch features a vibrant 1080p screen, speedy 8th-Gen Core i5 processor and blazing-fast 256GB SSD.

At just 2.7 pounds, the UX330UA is lighter than many notebooks with 11-inch displays, and it can fit easily into a backpack full of books. Asus’ laptop comes with a wide selection of ports, including both USB 3.0 and USB Type-C connectors, HDMI for outputting to a monitor and an SD card slot for grabbing pictures off a camera. Best of all, this aluminum-clad clamshell lasts for 9 hours on a charge.

Age Group: 13+

Pros: Colorful full HD screen; Long battery life; Wide port selection
Cons: Stiff touchpad; Plenty of bloatware

Key Specs: 13.3-inch / 1920 x 1080 screen; Core i5-8250U processor; 8GB of RAM; 256GB SSD; 2.7 pounds

Best Gaming Laptop for Teens: Dell Inspiron 15 7000

Powerful enough to edit video projects for school and play the latest PC games (at decent settings), Dell’s Inspiron 15 7000 is a good choice for parents with $950-plus budgets and teens who don’t need to carry their laptops to school every day. This attractive 15-inch laptop features a powerful quad-core Intel processor, speedy Nvidia GTX 1050 or 1060 graphics and plenty of storage space. The laptop also lasts over 7 hours on a charge, which is good for a gaming system, but because it’s a bulky 5.99 pounds and an inch thick, your kid will probably use it around the house, rather than lugging it to class.

Though it’s marketed as a gaming machine, the Inspiron 15 7000 has a number of homework-friendly features, including a high-res display that helps you see a lot of text on screen at once and plenty of ports for connecting to peripherals. However, we’re not big fans of the keyboard so touch typists might want to consider attaching an external one.

Age Group: 13+

Pros: Powerful performance; Comfortable keyboard; Long battery life
Cons: Heavy; Dim display

Key Specs: 15.6-inch / 1920 x 1080 or 3840 x 2160 Screen; Intel Core-i5-7300HQ or Core i7-7700HQ; Nvidia GTX 1050 or 1050Ti GPU; 11:23 Battery life

(laptopmag.com, https://goo.gl/ejzc5C)

HP Spectre x360 (15-inch, 8th Gen) Review

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The Pros

Gorgeous, lightweight design; Speedy overall performance; Vibrant 4K display; Strong sound; Great battery life

The Cons

Heats up; No fingerprint reader

Verdict

The 15-inch Spectre x360 is a beautiful convertible with tons of speed and solid endurance.

Oftentimes, shoppers looking for a big-screen notebook need to settle for low-level battery life. But that’s not the case with the 15-inch HP Spectre x360, a sexy black-and-copper beast that will turn heads and have you readying your credit card. It’s got the speed of an 8th Gen Core i7 CPU, a battery that lasts 2 hours longer than the category average and a colorful 4K display. However, its heat and keyboard raise our thermometers and eyebrows, respectively. Still, there’s so much to like about this black-and-copper machine that you might be left green with envy if you see someone rocking it in public.

Design

From its minimalist logo to the curves on its rear edge, the 15-inch Spectre x360 is one seductive piece of heavy metal; I love its sleek black-and-copper colorway. However, I still scratch my head at HP’s decision to call this look “Dark Ash Silver with Copper Luxe.”

At 4.2 pounds and 14.0 x 9.9 x 0.7 inches, the Spectre x360 is lighter than the Dell XPS 15 (4.6 pounds, 14.1 x 9.3 x 0.7 inches) and the Lenovo Yoga 720 15-inch (4.6 pounds, 14.3 x 9.5 x 0.8 inches). Both of those computers, though, are drab and boring gray rectangles that can’t touch the Spectre x360’s elegance.

The Spectre x360’s Thunderbolt 3, USB Type-C and HDMI ports sit on its right side, and a fast-charging USB 3.1 port is on the left, next to the headphone jack and near the SD memory reader.

Annoyingly, the Spectre x360 is missing the fingerprint reader that its little brother, the 13-inch Spectre x360, offers. The XPS 15 and Yoga 720 also pack fingerprint sensors.

Display

The Spectre x360’s QHD (3840 x 2160) panel offers solid color and excellent detail. As I blasted my way through rounds of the side-scroller Cuphead, I noticed that red and green finger-gun blasts popped with accurate hues, and the game’s luscious hand-drawn backgrounds and characters looked crisp enough to have been painted on my screen.

Producing 130 percent of the sRGB color spectrum, the Spectre x360’s screen tops the 103-percent category average and the 114 percent from the Lenovo Yoga 720. The 188-percent panel in the Dell XPS 15 is even more colorful.

From its minimalist logo to the curves on its rear edge, the 15-inch Spectre x360 is one seductive piece of heavy metal; I love its sleek black-and-copper colorway.

Emitting up 247 nits, the Spectre x360’s panel isn’t the brightest. However, it didn’t feel like a huge problem during testing, with the maximum brightness looking good enough for video and gaming. Still it’s a small drop from the 256-nit category average, and well below the 282-nit rating from the XPS 15 and the 272-nit reading from the Yoga 720. And even though it’s quite reflective, it offers solid viewing angles, with colors retaining their pop at 45 degrees to the left and right.

The Spectre’s touch-screen display accurately tracked my touch input as I navigated the desktop and clicked through tabs in Chrome. It also correctly registered Windows 10 navigational swipe gestures for viewing all open apps and opening the action center.

HP’s included Active Stylus provides decent input, though I did see a moderate amount of delay and latency (the pause between drawing and the line appearing) while drawing in MS Paint. What I love about this pen, though, is that it’s charged from a USB Type-C port in its barrel, revealed by twisting and pulling on the butt barrel. It’s much more convenient than using hard-to-find AAAA batteries, which I’ve only ever found online.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The Spectre x360’s keyboard is decent, but it leaves room for improvement. When I tested it out on the 10FastFingers.com typing test, I hit a decent rate of 75 words per minute, which is close to my 80-wpm average. While I could write sections of this review with these keys, I still noticed that they felt a little shallow, even though their 1.6 millimeters of travel is well within the standard 1.5-to-2-mm range we see on most mainstream laptops. The keys require 80 grams of actuation force, which should provide plenty of feedback, but my fingers still felt like they were hitting the deck of the notebook too soon — a slightly painful occurrence called “bottoming out.” However, neither the Lenovo Yoga 720 nor the Dell XPS 13 packs a notably better keyboard.

The Spectre x360’s wide 5.5 x 2.5-inch touchpad makes the most of the generous deck space the big-screen notebook provides. It not only tracks input accurately and speedily but also offers smooth scrolling and Windows 10 gesture recognition.

Audio

The Spectre x360’s Bang & Olufsen speakers pumped up the volume, filling our medium-size conference room with solid sound. Kristofer Maddigan’s jazzy soundtrack for Cuphead sounded great on the notebook, with crisp hi-hat drums, strong horns and clear piano keys.

There’s so much to like about this black-and-copper machine that you might be left green with envy if you see someone rocking it in public.

The preloaded Bang & Olufsen audio utility can be ignored, as its default Music setting is optimal for every kind of content, and its Movie and Voice settings distort the sound and take away its evenness.

Performance

The 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8550U CPU and 16GB of RAM in our review configuration of the Spectre x360 enable speedy performance. Even with Cuphead and Slack running in the background, I saw no slowdown or stutter after splitting my screen between a 2160p YouTube video and a dozen Chrome tabs (including Gmail and TweetDeck).

The Spectre x360 notched an impressive 12,656 on the GeekBench 4 general performance benchmark, beating the 11,030 mainstream-notebook average and the 11,951 from the Lenovo Yoga 720 (Core i7-7700HQ, 8GB of RAM). We recorded a higher score of 13,911 from the Dell XPS 15 (Core i7-7700HQ CPU with 16GB of RAM).

Even with Cuphead and Slack running in the background, I saw no slowdown or stutter after splitting my screen between a 2160p YouTube video and a dozen Chrome tabs (including Gmail and TweetDeck).

The 512GB PCIe NVMe M.2 solid-state drive in the Spectre x360 duplicated 4.97GB of multimedia files in 10 seconds, for a speed of 508.9 MBps, which is nearly twice as fast as the 267.3-MBps category average. We saw slower rates from the 512GB PCIe SSD in the XPS 15 (339.3 MBps) and the 256GB SSD in the Yoga 720 (267.86 MBps).

Expect efficient execution of productivity tasks with the Spectre x360, which finished our OpenOffice macro test (matching 20,000 names to addresses) in 3 minutes and 25 seconds, which is much shorter than the 4:18 category average. The XPS 15 finished in a slightly shorter 3:23, while the Yoga 720 took a little more time, at 3:42.

Gaming and Graphics

As you might have figured out by my references to the side-scroller Cuphead, the Spectre x360 — with its 2GB Nvidia GeForce MX150 GPU — provides decent gaming chops. It not only ran Cuphead fast enough for hours of fun but also enabled a smooth frame rate of 165 frames per second on the Dirt 3 racing game. That beats the 95-fps mainstream-notebook average and the 110 fps from the Lenovo Yoga 720 (Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 GPU 2GB).

The Spectre x360 also did well on the 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited graphics test, vaulting over the 99,555 category average with a score of 134,129. The Dell XPS 15 (Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 GPU with 4GB of memory) put up a similar score of 134,459, and the Yoga 720 fell lower, with a mark of 119,006. The lower scores from the GTX 1050 GPU-powered notebooks may seem odd, but neither of those machines has the more powerful 8th Gen Core CPU that’s in the Spectre.

Battery Life

The Spectre x360 provides pretty great battery life for a big-screen notebook. The 2-in-1 made it 8 hours and 41 minutes on the Laptop Mag Battery Test, outlasting the 6:31 mainstream-laptop average and falling right between the times from the Dell XPS 15 (8:23) and the Lenovo Yoga 720 (8:59).

Webcam

In a world where most laptops have terrible webcams, the Spectre x360’s 2.0-megapixel shooter succeeds by being decent.

Sure, there’s a fuzzy grain to the image. But it captured a decently even set of colors, and more details were evident in my hair and skin c — blemishes and all — than we typically see in in photos from integrated webcams.

Heat

While the touchpad on the Spectre x360 measured a cool 88 degrees Fahrenheit, the reading from its keyboard tied our 95-degree comfort threshold, and the 102-degree reading from its underside exceeded it. In contrast, the Lenovo Yoga 720 and the Dell XPS 15 don’t make you feel like you’re working near a radiator.

Software

HP loaded a minimal amount of software into the Spectre x360. Its preloaded stuffs begin with JumpStart, to get you through setup (feel free to delete if you’re tech literate); Support Assistant, which combines driver download tools and support request links; and Recovery Manager, which provides options to create backups and recovery disks. There’s also an offer for 30GB of free storage on Dropbox for a year, but that’s just for new subscribers.

Of course, you’ll also find the same bloatware seen on nearly every PC shipped today, including Bubble Witch Saga 3 (meh) and the Keeper password manager (delete in favor of LastPass, which our sister site Tom’s Guide ranks as superior).

Configuration Options

We tested the Spectre x360 in its $1,399 configuration, which features 16GB of RAM and a 512GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD. Its Intel Core i7-8550U, Nvidia GeForce MX150 GPU with 2GB of RAM and 3840 x 2160-pixel display are defaults that cannot be changed.

While I’d personally spend the money for that model, the entry-level $1,149 Core i7 configuration is no slouch, either, with 8GB of memory and a 256GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD.

Bottom Line

The Spectre x360’s performance, sound and vibrant display define opulence in laptop computing. If only its heating issues didn’t take away from the experience.

For a brighter screen on a cool-to-the-touch laptop, you could save $200 with the $1,199 Lenovo Yoga 720 we tested, though you’ll be trading away some speed. But for a top-shelf laptop with first-class style and enough battery life for a long flight with multiple layovers, the Spectre x360 is an excellent option.

(laptopmag.com, https://goo.gl/Uh6KRH)

Pinebook 14-inch review

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OUR VERDICT

If you’re after an affordable Linux laptop, look no further. Yes, you’ll need to get used to the keyboard, and the touchpad is oversensitive – but for students, coding beginners and even children, the Pinebook is an excellent option that you should not overlook.

FOR

  • Lightweight and ultraportable
  • Remarkably affordable
  • Has some useful pre-installed apps
  • Battery charges quickly

AGAINST

  • Performance is held back by 2GB of RAM
  • Disappointing keyboard and touchpad

An Ultrabook with an ultra-low price ($99, which equates to around £75, so should set you back approximately £100 with shipping from the US), the Pinebook is the long-awaited laptop from Pine64. Like the Raspberry Pi rival Pine A64, the Pinebook is an ARM-based computer, and shares the same 64-bit CPU.

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Significantly, however, the Pinebook is currently the only ARM laptop on the market. Lightweight and narrow in a similar fashion to the MacBook Air, the Pinebook comes pre-installed with Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, complete with the MATE desktop environment. Other compatible operating systems include Debian Jessie, (the now defunct) Remix OS 2.0 and Android Nougat. If you prefer, your own choice of OS can be compiled from source.

Design

Weighing just 1.26kg and measuring 12mm at its widest point, the Pinebook can be comfortably slipped into most schoolbags and backpacks, and a few handbags and man-bags.

Few Ultrabooks are as portable as the Pinebook, but battery life is a bit of a problem. At best, the 10,000mAh LiPo battery gives a maximum of 6 hours’ general use. On the other hand, the Pinebook will be recharged within a couple of hours. It isn’t a perfect experience. Upon opening the lid, you’ll notice that the centre of gravity seems to be high, with the display occasionally threatening to tip the computer backwards. Alongside the display, the lid houses a 0.3MP webcam, which is adequate.

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What sours the Pinebook experience, however, is the keyboard and touchpad. There’s a sensation that the human interface devices used are not of the highest quality. For example, the keyboard takes a lot of getting used to. It’s uncomfortable, initially unreliable (the spacebar on our review device was particularly temperamental), and will take a while to adjust your typing to. Some ergonomic tweaking and a better surface to the keys would help here.

The touchpad is worse. Oversensitive to the point where it threatens the integrity of your work (for instance, selecting text when barely touched, or caught with a loose hair), it might be simpler to uninstall the device and use a wireless mouse.

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Pre-installed with the default operating system is a collection of useful (and somewhat expected) applications. LibreOffice is there, along with the Firefox browser… it’s Ubuntu MATE, and it feels like Ubuntu MATE. In fact, there’s enough here to make it feel as though you’re using a top-end computer. The shortcomings, however, come from the fact that you’re not.

Performance

The ARM processor isn’t necessarily the problem. The real issue is that 2GB of RAM isn’t enough for a smartphone these days, so it certainly won’t do for a laptop. The Pinebook is short of storage, too, but at least this can be expanded via the microSD card up to 256GB. RAM shortages are frequent, and lead to process bottlenecking. You don’t even have to be running processor-heavy apps for this to occur.

What results you get from the Pinebook really depend on your expectations. As a portable office device, it’s perfect, with a price tag that would attract most students. Ideal for programming, the Pinebook could make an excellent second computer for popping to a local coding session.

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Thanks to the work done by open source developers over the years, meanwhile, the Pinebook might also make a great retro gaming device. Or, with a price point in the same area as a low-cost tablet, the Pinebook could prove an ideal alternative computer for a young child, or any adult hoping to get online for the first time.

Thanks to the ARM processor and low RAM, though, the possibilities of the Pinebook when it comes to intensive multimedia editing are limited under Linux. The alternative is to either buy a more suitable laptop, or put your faith in Android Nougat as an alternative operating system and hope that an app from Google’s Play Store suits.

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Final verdict

Even given the aforementioned shortcomings, being able to buy an ultraportable computer for around £100/$132 is unprecedented, and there are so many uses for a spare laptop. While the build-to-order turnaround is slower than expected, it’s a small setback to get your hands on the most wallet-friendly laptop ever.

(techradar.com, https://goo.gl/PM57i5)

Acer Aspire E 15 (E5-576G-5762) Review

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The Pros

Long battery life; Comparably affordable price; Tons of ports plus DVD drive; Expandable storage and memory;

The Cons

Dim, dull display; Heavy, boring design;

Verdict

The Acer Aspire E 15 gives you Intel 8th Gen Core performance and discrete graphics at a great price.

Acer’s E 15 line is well-regarded for offering high-end specs at budget prices. Like the E 15 (E5-575G-57D4) that came before it, the 15.6-inch Acer Aspire E 15 (E5-576G-5762) offers an impressive set of components for a sub-$600 laptop. The new E 15 rocks an Intel 8th Gen Core i5 CPU, a full-HD screen, a 256GB SSD and discrete Nvidia graphics. It even throws in all-day battery life and a DVD optical drive (for those who still want one) for good measure. However, to get this level of performance for just $599, you have to live with a display that is very dull and has muted colors.

Design

The Aspire E 15 features a plastic lid printed with the woven-cotton pattern that’s synonymous with Acer’s more affordable notebooks. While a shiny, embossed Acer logo decorates its lid, a hunchback hump rises from the back of its underside.

Measuring 4.9 pounds and 15 x 10.2 x 1.2 inches, the Aspire E 15 is a brick, both heavier and thicker than the Acer Swift 3 (4.4 pounds, 14.6 x 10 x 0.7 inches) and the Asus VivoBook S510 (3.6 pounds, 14.2 x 9.5 x 0.7 inches).

The Aspire E 15’s DVD-RW drive and USB 2.0 port sit on its left side, while its SD memory reader is on the front-left corner. Its other ports — VGA, Ethernet, Kensington security lock slot, HDMI, dual USB 3.0 ports and single USB Type-C — are on its left.

While this chunky machine’s optical drive makes it feel like a throwback, its neatest retro feature is upgradable memory and storage. The process is pretty simple, too, since you just remove the three Phillips-head screws at the bottom of the machine to access its RAM and hard drive to replace them.

Display

The Aspire E 15 (E5-576G-5762)’s dim, muted screen is its Achilles’ heel. Watching a Black Panther trailer on the notebook, I noticed how much darker a scene between Chadwick Boseman and Martin Freeman looked than it normally should. While gold looked as bright as it normally should, the panel took the pop out of the green trees and made it harder to see the details of the Black Panther armor. No doubt the full-HD (1920 x 1080-pixel) display is sharp and makes it easy to see fine lines in scenes and images that are fairly luminous.

Producing 79 percent of the sRGB spectrum, the Aspire E 15 (E5-576G-5762)’s color output is similar to that of the 78-percent Swift 3, less than the 82-percent VivoBook S510 and well below the 102-percent category average. By contrast, the Acer E 15 (E5-575-57D4), which is pretty much the same laptop but costs $50 less and uses a 7th Gen Core CPU instead of an 8th Gen, has a screen that can reproduce an impressive 158 percent of the gamut.

Emitting up to 180 nits, the Aspire E 15 is about as dim as the Swift 3 and not as bright as the 238-nit VivoBook S510. That’s not enough brightness for decent viewing angles, as colors darken at 45 degrees to the left and right. The 255-nit mainstream notebook average is much higher. The E 15 (E5-575-57D4)’s screen is a below-average, but much brighter, 211 nits.

 

Keyboard, Touchpad

The Aspire E 15’s keyboard is acceptable, with room for improvement. I hit 77 words per minute on the 10FastFingers.com typing test on the Aspire E 15, which isn’t too far from my 80-wpm average. Its keys feel OK, but somehow their 1.6 millimeters of travel and 68 grams of required actuation force don’t feel as good as those measurements normally suggest (keys with at least 1.5 mm and 60 grams typically offer more comfort).

The 4.3 x 3.1-inch touchpad in the Aspire E 15’s keyboard deck offers a solid feel to each click and accurate input tracking. It also correctly recognized Windows 10’s navigational swipes and gestures.

Audio

You can kick out the jams with the Aspire E 15, which pumps a lot of decent-sounding audio that filled our large conference room. Michael Dapaah’s viral hit “Man’s Not Hot” sounded sweet on the notebook, with booming vocals, sturdy bass and clear drums.

Performance

The 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8250U CPU, 256GB SSD and 8GB of RAM in the Aspire E 15 (E5-576G-5762) provide enough kick for decent multitasking. I saw no stutter in the system after splitting my screen between a 1080p YouTube video and a dozen Chrome tabs (including TweetDeck, Giphy and Slack).

The Aspire E 15 (E5-576G-5762) scored an OK 11,005 on the GeekBench 4 general-performance benchmark, which is quite close to the 11,030 mainstream notebook average. We saw a higher 12,755 from the Swift 3 (Core i5-8250U with 8GB of RAM) and a lower 7,593 from the VivoBook S510 (Core i7-7500U with 8GB of RAM). The E 15 (E5-575-57D4) and its 7th Gen processor scored just 6,974.

The Aspire E 15 (E5-576G-5762)’s dim, muted screen is its Achilles’ heel.

The 256GB M.2 SATA SSD in the Aspire E 15 (E5-576G-5762) duplicated a DVD’s worth of multimedia files in 48 seconds for a rate of 106.02 MBps. That rate’s slightly higher than the 96 MBps from the VivoBook S510 (128GB M.2 SSD) and less than the 264.6 MBps category average and the 462.7 MBps from the Swift 3 (256GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 SSD). The SSD in the 7th Gen-powered E 15 was much faster than its sibling, operating at a rate of 195.7 MBps.

The 8th Gen-powered Aspire E 15 finished our OpenOffice test — matching 20,000 names to addresses — in a decent 3 minutes and 46 seconds. That’s under the 4:17 category average, and near the times from Swift 3 (3:41) and the VivoBook S510 (3:43). The 7th Gen-enabled E 15 (E5-575-57D4) completed the same task in 4 minutes and 6 seconds.

The Nvidia GeForce MX150 graphics card in the Aspire E 15 includes 2GB of dedicated memory and enables a modest amount of gaming. It ran the Dirt 3 racer (set to medium graphics at 1920 x 1080 resolution) at a smooth 112 frames per second, speeding past the 96-fps mainstream notebook average, the 60-fps Swift 3 (Intel HD Graphics 620) and the 46-fps VivoBook S510 (Intel HD Graphics 620).

The Aspire E 15 slowed down on the Budget Gamer test (Rise of the Tomb Raider at 1080p on high presets with SMAA anti-aliasing), which ran at 23 fps, falling under our 30-fps smoothness threshold and the 41-fps mainstream notebook average.

On the 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited test, the Aspire E 15 posted a decent 127,911, exceeding the 100,090 category average. Lower scores came from the Swift 3 (78,556) and VivoBook S510 (65,938). The older Nvidia 940MX graphics card in the E 15 (E5-575-57D4) scored a modest 96,504.

Battery Life

Large notebooks rarely offer this much longevity on a single charge. The Aspire E 15 (E5-576G-5762) lasted 8 hours and 44 minutes on the Laptop Mag Battery Test (web surfing at 100 nits), a time that handily dwarfs the 6:35 category average and the 5:04 from the VivoBook S510; it also beats the 7:15 from the Swift 3. However, the older Aspire E 15 (E5-575-57D4) blew away the field, enduring for 10 hours and 59 minutes.

Webcam

In a no-surprise-here moment, the Aspire E 15’s 0.9-megapixel webcam fails to provide much detail and creates fuzzy images.

In the selfie I shot on the laptop, my fave bears a pattern that looks like someone applied Photoshop’s gaussian blur effect, creating tons of digital artifacts all over. The background lights — which aren’t that bright — appear washed out to a hilarious degree.

Heat

The Aspire E 15 may look boring, but it’s cool to the touch. After streaming 15 minutes of HD video on the notebook, our heat gun picked up temperatures on its touchpad (85 degrees Fahrenheit), keyboard (86 degrees) and underside (87 degrees) that fell below our 95-degree comfort threshold.

Software

Acer loaded the Aspire E 15 with its own utilities (which are mixed in relevance) and more bloatware than we see on most PCs. Its Quick Access app links you to options for how USB ports charge while its power is off and to settings that adjust Bluelight Shield filtering mode for less eye strain. While Acer Care Center offers useful system info and tune-up utilities, the least essential is Power Button, which provides software buttons for turning the display off, setting the system to sleep, hibernating your laptop or shutting it down.

The Aspire E 15 may look boring, but it’s cool to the touch.

Hope you know how to uninstall programs and clean up the start menu, as this notebook also packs dedicated apps for Amazon, links to Booking.com, eBay and Facebook, the not-recommended Keeper password manager (use LastPass instead) and App Explorer, a not-at-all necessary app store from a company called SweetLabs. On the plus side, you do get CyberLink PowerDVD 14, a media management utility that opens DVDs.

Configuration options

We tested the entry-level model, which costs $599 and packs an Intel Core i5-8250U CPU, a GeForce MX150 GPU, 8GB of memory and a 256GB SSD. For more power, the $799 Core i7-8550U CPU model costs an extra $200.

As noted above, Acer also still sells versions of the E 15 that have the older, Intel 7th Gen Core CPUs. For $549, the Aspire E 15 (E5-575-57D4) has a Core i7-5200U CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, a 1080p screen and Nvidia 940MX graphics. For $349, you can still get the E 15 E5-575-33BM, which has a Core i3 CPU, 4GB of RAM, a 1080p screen and a 1TB hard drive.

Bottom Line

The Aspire E 15 (E5-576G-5762) is the rare laptop that offers a lot — long battery life, practically every port, a DVD drive, good speed and strong sound — for under $600. At the moment, it’s one of the least expensive 8th Gen Core-powered laptops on the market and seems like a steal when you consider its SSD and discrete graphics. However, the dim display might make you want to attach an external monitor.

For $50 less, the nearly identical Aspire E 15 (E5-575-57D4) has a screen that’s nearly twice as colorful and is about 20 percent brighter. It also provides over 3 hours of additional battery life. However, the performance isn’t quite as good, because you have an older, Intel 7th gen Core i5-7200U and Nvidia 940MX graphics. Overall, if you want a 15-inch laptop with the latest 8th gen Core CPU, the E 15 (E5-576G-5762) could be your best choice.

(laptopmag.com, https://goo.gl/X3F2Tb)

ASUS Vivobook X405UQ Hands on Review : First impressions

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Apart from their famous ROG gaming line and their premium Zenbook line, ASUS actually has a budget notebook line dubbed the VivoBook series. These notebooks were made specifically for those on a budget who still wants a well-built and respectable device. What we’re looking at here is one of the company’s topline Vivobooks, the Vivobook X405UQ. We took it for a little spin and here are our first impressions.

The VivoBook X405UQ has a 14-inch Full HD IPS Display with the company’s so-called NanoEdge display giving it a screen to body ratio of about 78%, which is quite good for a laptop. Another thing to take note is that the device’s panel is 13-inches. ASUS did quite a good job of cramming a display that’s an inch wider. This also gives users the illusion that they’re using a bigger device. In any case, the display is not just all about the thin bezels, it also has good color reproduction, accuracy, and viewing angles.

Audio is average at best, it can go loud at max volumes but clarity gets sacrificed. Mids and highs are present but lacks quality and lows are virtually non-existent. We recommend you get yourself some speakers or a headset to have a better audio experience.

The device dons the familiar design of its notebook line — a brushed aluminum look and finish inside and out, except for the keyboard section and bottom panel. The unit we have uses ASUS’ signature silver and blue color scheme. It has a simple overall design, perhaps too simple though as the notebook might look bland and unappealing to some. Nevertheless, it feels well-built as there is little screen flex and the hinges are solid. Another plus is that the notebook is lightweight and has a fairly small footprint thanks to its slim profile and small bezels.

The X405UQ’s keyboard uses a standard layout minus the numpad. The arrow keys are thinner than normal though, which may cause some users to accidentally press the wrong key at times. Either way, the keyboard has good travel distance and the keys feel tactile enough to provide a good typing experience. The trackpad feels good and the surface is quite smooth, making gestures and commands easy. It has two capacitive buttons at the bottom that are both clicky and responsive.

The trackpad also comes with a fingerprint scanner that is paired with Windows Hello. We encountered a few minor hiccups when using it but it gets the job done.

Moving on to I/O, on the right side we have a Kensington lock, a 2x USB 2.0 ports, a 3.5mm headphone and microphone combo port, a card reader, and some notification LEDs.

On the other side, you’ll find the power input, Ethernet port, HDMI port, USB 3.0 port, and the USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-C port. At the back of the device is a single exhaust vent. We have to give props to ASUS for equipping the notebook with a Type-C port even if it’s not Thunderbolt supported.

We were provided with a review unit X405UQ which is why it is powered by Intel’s 7th gen i7-7500U processor, Nvidia’s GTX 940mx GPU, a 512GB SSD, a 2TB HDD and 16GB of RAM. Although consumer variants would have either a 7th gen i5 or i7, Nvidia’s GTX 940mx GPU, up to 1TB HDD, up to 8GB RAM which would, theoretically, be slower than the unit we tested. As for performance, mundane operations like web browsing, video streaming, and light office work were fast and smooth and launching programs was quick and easy thanks to the included SSD. Load times would, of course, be slower for the consumer variants due to its HDD configuration but normal operations should be identical since the CPU and GPU would remain the same.

Moving forward, the notebook also handled our multiple Google Chrome browser tab operation quite well thanks to the 16GB RAM. Users are to expect some hiccups when using the lower 8GB RAM consumer variant. Then again, that would only happen if you stress the system with too many tabs or multiple programs as 8GB is still ample enough for heavy multi-tasking. We’ll put the device through heavier workloads like gaming and video and photo editing in the coming days to fully test its internals so stay tuned for our full review.

Overall we were quite pleased with our initial tango with the VivoBook X405UQ. Underneath that unassuming design and color scheme is a quite speedy and good performing laptop. If only ASUS would offer this choice of internals for consumer variants, then this would’ve been one hell of a steal for the price. Well, at least users would still be able to take advantage of that USB Type-C port. However, it is a hard sell for an asking price of Php 49,995/$971 for the top specced i7 variant, unless you are looking for an ultrabook with a bit of oomph then this unit might be worth considering.

Be warned, though, competitors at this price range have ultrabook offerings that are slimmer and more elegant, including ASUS’ very own ZenBook line. If you are a gamer or a photo and video editor, then this is not for you as there are other choices in this price range that provide better performance.

ASUS VivoBook X405UQ specs:
  • 14-inch Full HD IPS Display @ 1920 x 1080 resolution, NanoEdge bezels with a 78% screen to body ratio
  • Intel Core i7-7500U 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor/ Intel Core i5-7300U 2.6GHz Dual-Core Processor
  • Nvidia GTX 940mx with 2GB GDDR5 VRAM
  • 8GB DDR4 RAM, expandable up to 16GB
  • 1TB HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
  • VGA Web Camera
  • 2W Stereo speakers with ASUS SonicMaster technology
  • WiFi 802.11 AC (2×2)
  • Bluetooth 4.2
  • Fingerprint Scanner
  • Chiclet Keyboard
  • 2x USB 2.0 ports
  • 1x USB 3.0 port
  • 1x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-C port
  • 1x RJ45 LAN port
  • 1x HDMI port
  • 1x Kensington Lock
  • 1x Multi-card Reader
  • 1x 3.5mm Headphone and Microphone combo port
  • 3 cell 42Whrs Polymer Battery
  • Windows 10 Pro
  • 326.4mm x 225.5mm x 18.75mm
  • 1.3kg

(yugatech.com, https://goo.gl/yUGq5H)

How to Play Battlefront 2 on a Cheap (or Old) Graphics Card

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In one of today’s hottest new games, Star Wars Battlefront 2, you can participate in epic battles set in a galaxy far, far away. If you look at EA’s system requirements, you might think you can’t run the game on a laptop that has low-end graphics or one that’s a few years old. However, if you know what settings to tweak, you can play Battlefront 2 on just about any notebook, provided that you have some kind of discrete GPU, even a cheap one.

Unfortunately, in our tests, systems with integrated Intel HD/UHD graphics jumped up to 100 percent CPU utilization during play, causing them to overheat and become unstable. On the bright side, our experiments show that you can run Battlefront 2 on a modern notebook with low-end Nvidia MX150 graphics or one that has midrange graphics from six or seven years ago.

To make Battlefront 2 playable on a laptop that has low-end graphics, you’ll need to follow five basic steps:

  • Lower the in-game settings.
  • Make sure everything is on the lowest setting on the configuration file.
  • Use DirectX 12.
  • Disable indoor lights and experiment with other dev console variables.
  • Experiment with internal resolution.

Lower in-game settings

The game’s configuration screen is very self-explanatory, and disabling or reducing everything to the lowest setting is a fairly straightforward process.

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You can also simply select the Low preset, but you might want to make sure the settings are actually at their minimum.

Disable everything in the config file

Changes in the settings screen are stored in a configuration file located in your documents folder under the Star Wars Battlefront II\Settings subfolder. The file is called ProfileOptions_profile. You can open it using Notepad or Notepad++.

You can use the image below as reference to see how this file is supposed to look on the lowest settings.

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Pay special attention to GstRender variables, as those control graphical and visual quality. For example, in at least one of our test setups, the following variables were not set to 0 (the minimum): GstRender.SkyCelestialQuality, GstRender.DebrisQuality, GstRender.UndergrowthQuality and GstRender.MotionBlurEnabled.

Take note of the location of GstRender.ResolutionScale, because we will going more into depth on this one in a minute.

Use DirectX 11 instead of DirectX 12

Battlefront 2 is one of the new titles that includes support for Microsoft’s DirectX 12. This Windows render API is supposed to allow for better performance in game by reducing overhead and providing extra functionality like dynamic resolution scaling.

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This optimization, however, seems to be geared toward high-end users, because our tests in DirectX 12 were disappointing. The game would stutter and freeze constantly while we tried DirectX 12 on a compatible, low-end GPU. It is recommended that you stick to DirectX 11 if you are not closer to the recommended requirements.

Use the dev console, Luke!

The Frostbite Engine used by Battlefront 2 supports a dev console for experimenting and changing variables while the game is running.

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While in the game, you can access this by pressing the “~” button on your keyboard.

If you have followed the previous steps, most of the important stuff should be disabled, but there are some extra things you can experiment with in the dev console. For example, setting RenderDevice.Dx11Dot1Enable and RenderDevice.Dx11Dot1RuntimeEnable to false can disable some extra DirectX features. You try this by writing each one of these variables in the console, entering a space and then typing the number 0.

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Another useful command that will be familiar to Battlefield players is Thread.ProcessorCount, which you can set to the number of cores in your CPU.

If you want to test something more dramatic, try setting WorldRender.LightTileCsPathEnble to 0. This disables some of the lights used on indoor scenes, and doing so can have a very positive impact on performance.

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This will also disable the holograms on the main menu, so don’t be alarmed if all you can see there is an outline.

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You can do this very quickly by writing the first couple of letters and pressing Tab. The console will autocomplete to the closest command and show you a list of commands that could be completed from the existing test. You can then type some more characters in the variable and press Tab again to keep autocompleting. You can also use the up and down directional keys to navigate commands that you previously used during the same game session. Once you get the hang of this, you can get into most commands pretty quickly.

The bad news is that there does not seem to be a way to save these values. In previous Frostbite games, you could put a collection of console commands into a file to be applied to the game on boot, but this feature seems to have been removed.

I suggest you take note of which commands work for you and apply them yourself when you enter the game.

Change the internal resolution

Battlefront 2 joins the ranks of a growing number of games that provide an internal resolution scaler, marked on this game’s settings as Resolution Scale.

This setting controls the resolution of the game’s 3D elements without affecting text, menu or UI, which means you can use lower resolutions for greater performance without affecting menu readability or while using borderless window mode.

In the game menu, the minimum allowed value of this variable is 25 percent (which corresponds to an effective resolution of 480 x 270 if external resolution is set to 1080). But, in practice, any multiplier value can be set in the configuration file by changing the value of GstRender.ResolutionScale. A value of 1 corresponds to 100 percent of the external resolution, 0.5 percent corresponds to 50 percent external resolution and so on.

It can often be useful to change this value from the dev console using the Render.ResolutionScale command. This changes the resolution while the game is running, meaning that you have room to experiment and see how it affects performance and visibility. This value has no limits either, so using the command as Render.ResolutionScale 0.05 will render this pixelated mess:

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This value is reset back to whatever is on the configuration file as soon as a level is reloaded (when you change class, for example). So don’t forget to change the configuration file when you get to a value that works for you.

Test results: Very playable

For the first test, I used a Xiaomi Notebook Air with a 7th Gen Intel Core i5- 7200U CPU, an Nvidia MX150 GPU and 8GB of RAM.

This i5 model is common among laptops sold between late 2016 and late 2017. The Nvidia MX150 is the successor to the 940MX that started appearing on laptops around August 2017. The MX 150 is a mobile version of the GT 1030, the lowest-end GPU from Nvidia’s current generation. It’s not intended for heavy gaming, with Nvidia’s promotional material mentioning only games like League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

However, with the tweaks mentioned above and a resolution scale of 0.5 (960 x 540 effective resolution), the game managed to maintain close to 60 fps in Galactic Assault maps. It lost performance only due to a CPU bottleneck in moments of intense action, such as explosions very close to the player, or when the player was moving fast through the map, causing new areas to load.

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On the Starfighter Assault game mode, the performance was better, with barely any fps drops. Overall, the game is significantly more playable than you would expect from something that’s under the minimum requirements.

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Because the test went so well, I decided to try the game on something way less modern: an old Alienware M11x.

The Alienware M11x was Dell’s attempt at an ultraportable Gaming Laptop; it was introduced in 2010 and discontinued at 2012. The test laptop, in particular, comes equipped with a Core i7-2637M, a laptop CPU from 2011 and a GT 540M, which was a midrange GPU also from 2011.

This is hardly the kind of device you would think of for playing a heavy AAA 2017 release, but when I used the tweaks above and a resolution scale of 30 percent (576 x 324), the game managed to consistently perform over 30 fps on Starfighter Assault, even when the battle got intense.

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In the heavier Galactic Assault mode, a significant higher number of micro freezes were observed at the start of the match or while running through the map, mainly due to the old i7 struggling to keep up with the game. Surprisingly, once the map was done loading, the freezes were significantly reduced. Disabling indoor lighting was particularly useful in maps that required defending an objective indoors, as the laptop was able to keep the game over 30 fps.

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Bottom line

As long as you are using a dedicated GPU, Battlefront 2 is a highly optimized game that you can play at high frame rates. Just make sure that the game’s special effects are set to the lowest possible numbers in the config file, and use the dev console tool to explore and experiment with other variables to see if you can gain any performance. Once you understand how to navigate the console quickly, you can even apply some tweaks, like disabling indoor lights or dropping internal resolution, to get an extra boost midgame.

It’s a shame that modern laptops with integrated graphics cannot run the game in a stable fashion. However, as long as you have any dedicated Nvidia or AMD GPU from the last five or six years, you should be able to get started on this game.

(laptopmag.com, https://goo.gl/cnZPGN)

Lenovo Yoga 720 (12-inch) Review

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Pros /

Stylish design; Great display; Loud audio; Solid performance; Clear webcam

Cons /

Short on ports; Doesn’t charge via USB Type-C

Verdict /

The 12-inch Lenovo Yoga 720 is a useful convertible, thanks to its Intel HD Graphics 620 GPU, its 7th-generation Core i3 CPU and a battery that lasts longer than 7 hours.

Lenovo delivers an affordable and stylish ultraportable with its 12-inch Yoga 720. Starting at $629, the Yoga 720 offers a bright 1080p display and solid Core i3 performance. We would’ve liked to see Lenovo offer a few more ports, and the battery life could be better. However, with an aluminum chassis and a lightweight, flexible body, the Yoga 720 is a midrange 2-in-1 worth considering.

Specs

CPU Intel Core i3-7100U
Operating System Windows 10 Home
RAM 4GB
Hard Drive Size 128GB
Hard Drive Type PCIe SSD
Display Size 12.5
Highest Available Resolution 1920 x 1080
Native Resolution 1920×1080
Graphics Card Intel HD Graphics 620
Touchpad Size 3.5 x 2.3 inches
Ports (excluding USB) USB Type-C
Ports (excluding USB) USB 3.0
Ports (excluding USB) Thunderbolt 3
Ports (excluding USB) Headphone
USB Ports 2
Warranty/Support standard 1 year warranty
Size 11.5 x 8 x 0.6 inches
Weight 2.56 pounds
Company Website https://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/

Design: Fun-size

Lenovo’s Yoga 720 12 is a sleek and compact 2-in-1 laptop you’ll be proud to carry around. Sporting a matte iron-gray chassis made out of aluminum, the Yoga 720 is a well-built convertible with solid fit and finish. An engraved Yoga logo is located on the lid’s upper-left corner. When you lift the lid, you’ll find the Yoga 720’s island-style keyboard, which has charcoal keys and white lettering. On its deck, you’ll notice a matching gray touchpad, a fingerprint scanner and branded prints that say “Yoga” and “audio by Harman.”

The 12.5-inch screen on the Yoga 720 is surrounded by glossy black bezels. The top and side bezels are slim, but the bottom bezel appears chunky for a laptop this size. Because the Yoga 720 is a convertible, the hinges allow the lid to be flipped back 360 degrees for tablet use. During my use, the Yoga 720 was fluid and allowed me to switch between tent and stand modes with ease. My only complaint is that the rubber grips at the Yoga 720’s base were pretty ineffective, which isn’t helpful if you work on a smooth surface.

Measuring 11.5 x 8 x 0.6 inches and weighing 2.56 pounds, the Yoga 720 is a typical size for a laptop in the ultraportable category. The Yoga is thinner and lighter than the 13-inch Dell Inspiron 13 5000 (0.8 inches thick, 3.5 pounds). However, the 13-inch Asus ZenBook UX330UA (0.7 inches thick, 2.7 pounds) gives the Yoga a run for its money with its thin frame.

Ports: Minimal

For a laptop that costs more than $600, you’d expect to get an assortment of ports. However, this isn’t the case with the Yoga 720, which houses a proprietary charging port and a 3.5mm audio jack on its left side, and a USB 3.0 connector and a Thunderbolt 3 port on its right.

It might sound daunting to get so few ports, but this is typical for many 2-in-1s on the market now.

Display: Bright

The Yoga 720’s 12.5-inch 1080p touch screen outputs vibrant and sharp images. According to our colorimeter, the Yoga 720 reproduced 95.3 percent of the sRGB color gamut, which is a decent score for an ultraportable. This showing is more colorful than the screen on the Dell Inspiron 13 5000 (71 percent), but it was surpassed by the Asus ZenBook UX330UA (105 percent).

The viewing experience on the Yoga 720 was pleasant. When I watched the BTS “Mic Drop” remixed music video with Steve Aoki, colors looked accurate. Warm shades like red, orange and yellow popped, but darker hues were lacking in well-lit scenes compared with the colors on other screens I’ve seen.

In particular, the room filled with black-hooded figures was noticeably undersaturated, and the blue highlights were also washed out. Details were crisp on the Yoga; I could clearly make out the shifting fog in low-light scenes and the swirling fire in the explosion animation.

Decent laptop webcams are hard to come by nowadays, but Lenovo sets its Yoga 720 apart with a 720p front camera that captures sharp images.

The Yoga 720’s display performed very well on our brightness test, registering 274 nits on our light meter. That score is better than the showings we observed on the Dell Inspiron 13 5000 (188 nits), but the Asus ZenBook UX330UA greatly surpassed its luminosity (302 nits).

The IPS anti-glare panel on the Yoga 720 handled direct sunlight well. It also has wide viewing angles, which is important for a convertible. Image quality didn’t suffer when I flipped the Yoga between tablet, tent and stand modes. Viewing angles were also fairly wide when I looked at the screen from the right and left sides.

Audio: Great

The Yoga 720 has dual bottom-facing Harman speakers that provide fairly robust stereo sound that’s loud enough to fill a midsize conference room. When I listened to “For Life” by EXO through these speakers, the vocals, piano and strings were reproduced accurately.

The Yoga comes with Dolby Atmos software preinstalled, so you can customize your listening experience based on the media type (music, movies, games), but in my experience, the default setting worked perfectly fine.

Dual-array microphones are built into the top bezel of the Yoga. I recorded a few voice notes to test out how well the mics picked up audio, and I was pleased to hear the playback captured my voice perfectly.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The island-style keyboard on the Yoga 720 provides a fair amount of key travel for its size, measuring 1.4 millimeters (1.5 to 2 mm is typical). The keys require 72 grams of actuation force (65 to 70 grams is typical), which gives them a responsive feel. On the 10fastfingers.com typing test, my average speed of 58 words per minute decreased by 12 percent (51 wpm), but that’s not including typing errors. Overall, I’d say the Yoga provided a comfortable typing experience even for someone with long nails.

The Yoga’s buttonless, 3.5 x 2.3-inch touchpad is extremely smooth and has an almost slippery feel. This texture might be why it was tricky to get the touchpad to respond to standard gestures like pinch to zoom and three-finger-swipe. However, after a few tries, I was able to get them to work. Navigation on the touchpad was accurate.

Performance: Decent

Our review configuration of the Lenovo Yoga 720 came with a 7th-generation Intel Core i3-7100U Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB PCle storage drive, all of which provided solid performance for a laptop in this price range. When I had 10 tabs open in Google Chrome — including streams from YouTube, Pandora and Netflix — I didn’t experience lag. However, there was noticeable straggling when I exceeded 14 tabs.

The Yoga 720 scored 5,402 on Geekbench 4, a synthetic benchmark that measures overall performance. That showing is underwhelming compared with the scores we saw from the Dell Inspiron 13 5000 (12,041; Core i5-8250U CPU) and the Asus ZenBook UX330UA (12,871; Core i5-8250U CPU), but both of those laptops have 8th-generation Core i5 CPUs compared to the Yoga’s 7th-generation Core i3.

The Yoga 720 copied a 4.97GB batch of multimedia files in 56 seconds, for a rate of 90.9 megabytes per second. That hard-drive speed is much faster than the Dell Inspiron 13 5000’s 121 MBps (42 seconds). The Asus ZenBook UX330UA had a more impressive drive speed of 182 MBps (28 seconds).

The Yoga 720 has dual bottom-facing Harman speakers that provide fairly robust stereo sound.

It took this Lenovo laptop 5 minutes and 19 seconds to match 20,000 names and addresses on our OpenOffice Spreadsheet Macro test. That time is slower than those from the Dell Inspiron 13 5000 (3 minutes and 45 seconds) and the Asus ZenBook UX330UA (3 minutes and 40 seconds).

With an integrated Intel HD Graphics 620 processor, the Yoga 720 scored 52,617 on the 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited test, a synthetic benchmark that measures graphics performance. This mark is significantly lower than the scores from the Dell Inspiron 13 5000 (58,043) and the Asus ZenBook UX330UA (73,990).

The Yoga 720 performed well on our Dirt 3 racing game test, reaching 40 frames per second, which surpasses our 30-fps playability threshold. The Yoga’s score was better than what we saw from the Asus ZenBook UX330UA (27 fps), but the Dell Inspiron 13 5000 performed slightly better (47.3 fps).

Battery Life: Sufficient

Many 2-in-1s require you to keep your charger handy, but Lenovo packs an adequate amount of juice in the Yoga 720. In our Laptop Mag Battery Test (continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi), the Yoga 720 lasted 7 hours and 16 minutes.

That runtime beats the Dell Inspiron 13 5000 (4:50), but the Asus ZenBook UX330UA lasted 1 hour and 4 minutes longer (8:20), and the average ultraportable lasts a little over 8 hours (8:18).

Heat: Cool

Lenovo’s Yoga 720 stayed cool during our heat test. After we played a full-screen video for 15 minutes, the touchpad measured 80 degrees Fahrenheit, its keyboard (G and H keys) registered 85 degrees and the underside hit 88 degrees. These results passed our 95-degree comfort threshold with flying colors.

Webcam: Good quality

Decent laptop webcams are hard to come by nowadays, but Lenovo sets its Yoga 720 apart with a 720p front camera that captures sharp images. When I took a selfie under the fluorescent lighting in my office, my features were easy to make out. Fine details, like the curls in my hair and even a few flyaways, could be spotted. Colors were mostly accurate, like my black-and-maroon cardigan.

Lenovo’s Yoga 720 12 is a sleek and compact 2-in-1 laptop you’ll be proud to carry around.

However, my white turtleneck had a slight blue tinge that almost made it look like it was glowing. Other than that minor flaw, the Yoga 720’s webcam is one you won’t be embarrassed to make a Skype call on.

Software and Warranty

Running Windows 10 Home, the Yoga 720 comes with a standard amount of preloaded Microsoft software, first-party utilities and third-party bloatware. Lenovo Companion tests your hardware for errors and searches for driver updates, while Lenovo Settings lets you tweak the power, sound, camera, display and touchpad controls. The bloatware you’ll find on the Yoga 720 includes Facebook, Minecraft, Candy Crush Soda Saga and Bubble Witch 3 Saga.

The Yoga 720 includes a one-year limited hardware warranty on parts and labor.

Configurations

The Yoga 720 we reviewed cost $629 and came with an Intel Core i3-7100U CPU, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB PCle SSD. For $899, you can get your hands on Lenovo’s higher-capacity configurations, such as a model with a Core i5-7200U CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB PCle SSD, or one with a Core i7-7500U CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 512GB PCle SSD. We recommend stepping up to one of the $899 models if you want better performance.

Bottom Line

With its vivid 1080p display, comfortable keyboard and strong audio, the $629 Yoga 720 is one 12-incher that’s definitely worth a look. But if processing power is important to you, the $899 Core i5 and Core i7 configurations are better options. The $680 Dell Inspiron 13 5000 is a fairly good alternative that packs a bigger, 13-inch screen and more speed, but it suffers from shorter battery life and a dimmer screen.

If you’re willing to veer away from convertibles, another option is the $749 Asus ZenBook UX330UA, a great laptop with strong performance, long battery life and a stellar display. However, if you prefer a super lightweight 2-in-1 that’s easy to carry around and offers reasonable performance, the Yoga 720 is a reliable choice for work and play.

(laptopmag.com, https://goo.gl/kp5oo5)


MSI GT75VR Titan Pro Review

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The Pros

Excellent graphics performance; Solid overall performance; Extremely comfortable, colorful keyboard; Stays remarkably cool while gaming;

The Cons

Very heavy; Below-average battery life;

Verdict

The MSI GT75VR Titan Pro offers powerful graphics performance and the best keyboard available on a gaming laptop.

Just when I think I’m all aboard the thin-and-light gaming laptop wagon, here comes MSI with the GT75VR Titan Pro (starting and reviewed at $2,699). At 10.1 pounds, the 17-inch laptop is definitely a heavyweight, but with everything that MSI put into this epic beast, you can excuse the bulk.

For starters, you’ve got an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 GPU, which is capable of delivering excellent frame rates regardless of settings. There’s also a gorgeous wide-angle display, booming speakers and the best keyboard I’ve ever used on a gaming laptop. Sure, you lose out on portability, but with such a great system, I doubt you’ll be scrambling to go outside anytime soon.

Design

The gods of old were known for being both beguiling and fearsome, and the Titan Pro is the same way. At 10.1 pounds and 16.9 x 12.4 x 1.2~2.2 inches, the laptop retains the imposing bulk that MSI’s Titan line is known for. This machine is definitely a heavyweight, outweighing the likes of the Razer Blade Pro (7.7 pounds, 16.7 x 11 x 0.89 inches), Alienware 17 (9.6 pounds, 16.7 x 13.1 x 1.2 inches), Origin PC Eon17-X (9.8 pounds, 16.4 x 11.6 x 1.6 inches) and Acer Predator 17X (9.8 pounds, 16.7 x 12.7 x 1.8 inches).

Yet once you get past the Titan Pro’s relatively large size, you can admire the beast’s beauty. Similar to on other MSI gaming laptops, the Titan Pro’s lid is made from black brushed aluminum with a glowing dragon sigil in the center. MSI added a bit of extra flair with the pair of backlit red stripes running along the sides of the lid. Even the rear vent got a touch of the fancy stick, with red, chrome-lined vents and a small Titan label held in place with two metallic, crimson screws. The vents along the system’s black-plastic undercarriage have a red interior, like a funky take on a Louboutin.

But the fun really starts when you open the lid and get your first glimpse of the Technicolor wonderland that is the Titan Pro’s mechanical keyboard and touchpad. It took me a while to really appreciate the smooth, raised palm rest or the right-mounted buttons for Power, GPU Speed, Fan Speed, XSplit Gamecaster and SteelSeries Engine.

Ports

You want ports? You got ’em with the Titan Pro. The laptop has a pair of USB 3.0 ports on the right, along with a 3-in-1 card reader and a secure lock slot.

You’ll find another three USB 3.0 ports seated on the left, along with jacks for audio-in, headphones, microphone and S/PDIF. In the rear, you have a Thunderbolt 3 port, HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet and a mini DisplayPort.

Display

While it would have been nice to review the Titan Pro with the 4K panel, which costs an extra $300, I’m certainly not going to kick this 17.3-inch, Nvidia G-Sync wide-angle panel out of bed. No matter how far to the left or right of the screen I sat, I didn’t see any color inversion or degradation.

The hues during the trailer for A Wrinkle in Time were brilliant. Oprah’s brown skin simply glowed against her hunter-green and gold outfit in her role as Mrs. Which; a subtle magenta blush accentuated her cheekbones, while her bleached-blonde tufts of hair reached toward the blue heavens. The details were so sharp, I could see the individual filaments and scales in her otherworldly robe.

When I played Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, thick, gnarled scars marked protagonist B.J. Blazkowicz’s pale, white frame like bloody tree roots. A couple of Nazis foolish enough to follow me exploded into a bright red cloud of blood and guts in a blue-white crackle of electricity. The Nvidia G-Sync technology synchronizes the display’s refresh rate to the GPU for smoother graphics and less lag. In the case of the Titan Pro, the rate is set to an excellent 120 Hertz.

The gods of old were known for being both beguiling and fearsome, and the Titan Pro is the same way.

Colors seemed to burst through the matte display, thanks to the screen’s ability to reproduce an amazing 170 percent of the sRGB gamut. That result totally clobbers the 130-percent desktop-replacement average as well as the Alienware 17’s 114 percent. But the Blade Pro, Predator 17X and Eon17-X were even more vivid, at 178, 182 and 196 percent, respectively.

However, averaging 276 nits, the Titan Pro’s display could stand to be brighter, as it fell short of the 285-nit average. The Eon17-X (289 nits), Predator 17X (318 nits), Blade Pro (320 nits) and Alienware 17 (340 nits) were all much brighter.

Audio

As I streamed an episode of The Punisher on Netflix, my mom and nana swore the sounds of heavy gunfire and bloody blunt impact were coming from the television. But no, thanks to the Dynaudio speakers and subwoofer and the Nahimic 2 software, the Titan Pro had no problem filling my grandmother’s living room with boisterous, precise audio. SZA’s “Love Galore” yielded a warm, deep bass line and crisp snares against the vocalist’s mezzo-soprano.

It’s the little things that impress when you play Wolfenstein II on the Titan Pro. I heard the delicate tinkle of a grenade pin before I tossed the deadly munition into a group of approaching hostiles. The screams of horror and surprise before the inevitable weighty explosion were crisp and clear.

In addition to making regular audio sound great, the Nahimic 2 software also has a few tricks up its sleeve for both gaming and virtual reality. There are four gamer-centric settings (Shooter, Racing, Strategy and Role Play) for optimal audio no matter the game genre. Thanks to Sound Tracker, I got a visual overlay of the direction of enemy footsteps in Rise of the Tomb Raider, which cut down on sneak attacks and flanking attempts. Streaming fans can use the HD Audio Recorder 2 software to map their favorite sound effects to hot keys for easy access while broadcasting. Nahimic also added a VR mode for when you’re ready to dive into VR.

Keyboard and Touchpad

Matching the feel and sound of a great external keyboard, MSI’s island-style keys provide a feast for the eyes, ears and fingers. Typing on the company’s new, clicky, mechanical keyboard sounded like someone wearing exquisite high heels while walking across a marble floor.

And once I got into a typing rhythm, the crisp clickiness sounded almost like dancing. Pair that with the SteelSeries 3 Engine and the RGB backlighting under each individual key, and you have the makings of one of my favorite gaming-laptop keyboards.

You can configure the lighting with one of the 18 preloaded templates, or let your creative juices flow and create your own tactile masterpiece. I absolutely love that you can program the lighting on every key, as well as the lights on the touchpad. You can also program each key with its own specific macro.

MSI and SteelSeries are definitely looking to outdo Razer with the Engine Apps, which is a library of utilities designed to use the lighting on the keyboard and various SteelSeries accessories in fun and innovative ways. For instance, CloudSync synchronizes lighting across compatible devices, similar to what you’d find in Razer’s Synapse software. There’s also an app for Discord and Audio Visualizer that turns your keyboard into a big equalizer as you’re playing music.

But the Titan Pro’s keyboard doesn’t just look and sound pretty. It’s also incredibly comfortable, thanks to its 2.6 millimeters of key travel and 81 grams of actuation force (1.5mm and 60g are our minimum). In fact, I scored 79 words per minute on the 10fastfingers typing test, which is way above my usual 65-wpm average. When typing, I felt like my fingers were on a really firm mattress.

The 4.3 x 2.6-inch Synaptics touchpad is spacious, accurate and responsive. Performing pinch-zoom and two-finger scroll was a breeze, but I was disappointed at the absence of three-finger tap to cue up Action Center. Similar to the keyboard, the two discrete mouse buttons delivered firm, springy feedback.

Gaming, Graphics and VR

Armed with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 GPU with 8GB of VRAM, the Titan Pro is ready to throw a haymaker or two. During a mission to recruit a New Orleans resistance group in Wolfenstein II, I dove into a brackish pool of water, deftly dodging gunfire from Nazi forces. As the game ran at an average of 68 frames per second on high at 1920 x 1080, I could see the trajectory of the bullets as they hit the water. On medium settings, the frame rate rose to 77 fps and 82 on low.

The VR-ready system easily scored an 11 on the SteamVR performance test, surpassing the 9.6 average and matching the Blade Pro, Alienware 17, Eon17-X and Predator 17X, all of which are equipped with their own GTX 1080s.

When we switched to our gaming benchmarks, it was a real clash of the titans. The Titan Pro notched 64 fps on the Rise of the Tomb Raider test (1920 x 1080 at Very High), beating the 61-fps average and the Alienware 17’s 62 fps. The Predator 17X and Eon17X fended the Titan Pro off with matching scores of 66 fps, while the Blade Pro produced 73 fps.

The fun really starts when you open the lid and get your first glimpse of the Technicolor wonderland that is the Titan Pro's mechanical keyboard and touchpad.

On the Hitman test, the Titan Pro hit 83 fps, which is a sliver above the 82-fps category average. This result was enough to top the Predator 17’s 60 fps, but not marks from the Alienware 17, Blade Pro or Eon17-X, which turned in 110, 116 and 129 fps, respectively.

During the Grand Theft Auto V benchmark, the Titan Pro achieved 73 fps, surpassing the 66-fps desktop-replacement average and the Alienware 17’s 60 fps. Meanwhile the Blade Pro, Predator 17X and Eon17-X obtained 81, 83 and 84 fps.

Performance

MSI tends to be one of those kitchen sink companies that will throw the most powerful specs available under the chassis. So I was surprised to see that this model of the Titan Pro is equipped with a 2.8-GHz Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor instead of the overclockable 2.9-GHz Intel Core i7-7820HK CPU. Overclockable or not, the system can still multitask with the best of them, seamlessly running Wolfenstein II despite 25 open tabs in Google Chrome and Windows Defender running a full system scan.

On the Geekbench 4 synthetic overall performance test, the Titan Pro scored 12,492, which is just short of the 12,802 desktop-replacement average. Equipped with Core i7-7820HK CPUs, the Alienware 17, Predator 17X and Blade Pro delivered marks above 14,000. The Eon17-X and its Core i7-7700K desktop processor hit 14,491.

As I streamed an episode of The Punisher on Netflix, my mom and nana swore the sounds of heavy gunfire and bloody blunt impact were coming from the television.

During our productivity testing, the Titan Pro took 3 minutes and 27 seconds to pair up 20,000 names and addresses in OpenOffice. That’s slightly slower than the 3:25 average and the Blade Pro’s 3:16, but faster than Predator 17X (3:41) and Eon17-X (3:47). However, the Alienware 17 finished the task with an impressive time of 1:47.

The Titan Pro’s 256GB PCIe SSD (which comes with a 1TB 7,200-rpm hard drive) duplicated 4.97GB of RAM in 13 seconds for a transfer rate of 391.5 megabytes per second, which is better than the 339 MBps from the Blade Pro (256GB PCIe SSD in RAID 0 configuration) and the 282 MBps from the Alienware 17 (512GB SSD). However, the Titan Pro couldn’t match the 447.6-MBps average nor the blistering scores from the Eon17-X (512GB NVMe M.2 PCIe SSD) and Predator 17X (Dual 256GB SSD), which both surpassed 1,000 MBps.

Battery Life

No shocker here. The massive Titan Pro doesn’t last long on a charge. The notebook conked out after 2 hours and 24 minutes on our battery test, which consists of continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi. This run time is far short of the 4:35 desktop-replacement average, which to be fair, does have quite a few nongaming notebooks in the mix. Still, that time was long enough to top those from the Blade Pro (1:39) and Predator 17 X (1:58). The Alienware 17 did somewhat better, with a time of 2:46.

Heat

The Titan Pro might have a dragon on its lid, but it’s definitely not a fire breather. I spent 15 minutes gleefully killing Nazis in Wolfenstein II. When I was done, I measured the touchpad, center of the keyboard and undercarriage, and saw temperatures of 77, 86 and 89 degrees Fahrenheit — all of which are under our 95-degree comfort threshold.

After the laptop cooled down sufficiently, we spent another 15 minutes streaming an HD video and took the temperatures again, finding that they were slightly warmer in some cases. The touchpad, for instance, measured 81 degrees, while the middle and bottom hit 85 and 87 degrees.

Webcam

The 720p integrated webcam is capable of streaming; just don’t expect sharp detail. In my test shots, the camera faithfully reproduced my light brown sweater and purple hair, but I had trouble making out the detail of the rather large knit pattern. To make this system more streaming-friendly, you also get the TriDef software, which can strip out, blur or remove the background altogether.

Software and Warranty

MSI’s usual suite of gamer-centric apps and utilities is preloaded onto the Titan Pro. The System Control Manager is there to let you quickly toggle the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Webcam and Display on and off. The Dragon Center app aggregates several helpful utilities, including System Monitor, which checks your system’s status, and System Tuner, which lets you create profiles that control VR optimization, display color temperature and more. Finally, there’s Tools & Help, where you’ll find software for Burn Recovery and Battery Calibration.

You also get a few third-party apps geared toward gaming, such as Nvidia’s GeForce Experience, which offers a solid suite of apps to optimize settings or live-stream your gameplay. If you’re not a fan of Nvidia’s streaming capabilities, you can always check out the 12-month-free XSplit Gamecaster, which is also included. Killer Network Manager is also on board, to ensure any available bandwidth is going toward your games.

Other third-party apps include Bubble Witch 3 Saga, Candy Crush Soda Saga, Plex, Twitter, Music Maker Jam, Drawboard PDF, Asphalt 8, Sketchboard, Fallout Shelter and Keeper.

The MSI GT75VR ships with a one-year standard warranty.

Configurations

I spent the week gaming and watching movies and game shows on the $2,699 base model of the MSI GT75VR Titan Pro. It has a 2.8-GHz Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor with 16GB of RAM, a 256GB PCIe SSD with a 1TB 7,200-rpm hard drive, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 GPU with 8GB of VRAM and a 1920 x 1080 Nvidia G-Sync display. If you want a 4K panel, the price goes up to $2,999.

Once I got into a typing rhythm, the crisp clickiness sounded almost like dancing.

If you’re a kitchen sink type of gamer, then you want the $4,299 version of the Titan Pro. You’ll get a 4K G-Sync display, a 2.9-GHz Intel Core i7-7820HK CPU with 64GB of RAM, two 256GB PCIe SSD in Super RAID 4 configuration with a 1TB 7,200-rpm hard drive and a GTX 1080 GPU with 8GB VRAM. If you want two GPUs, you can get the Titan SLI for $3,699, which comes with dual GTX 1070 GPUs.

Bottom Line

I’m impressed with the MSI GT75VR Titan Pro on a number of levels, starting with the design. The company refined the prior model’s chassis, giving it a sleeker, more futuristic look that’s still functional. The mechanical keyboard is a joy to use for three out of five senses. And with the beautiful display, powerful audio system and beastly Nvidia GTX 1080 GPU, the system is practically begging you to boot up a game or binge-watch something. And while most Titans will run you upward of $3,000, the GT75VR keep things fairly reasonable, at $2,699.

However, if you’re looking for something with a bit more power, but with similar lighting options, you’ll want to check out the Alienware 17. For $2,599, you get an overclockable Intel Core i7 processor with a GTX 1080 GPU, a showstopping display and a customizable, comfortable keyboard of its own. But if you’re looking for a powerful desktop replacement with the best keyboard you’ll find on any gaming notebook, you’ll love the Titan Pro.

(laptopmag.com, https://goo.gl/EtHr1y)

AOC I1601FWUX USB Type-C Portable Monitor Review

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The Pros

Slim and light design; Simple USB Type-C connection; Handy auto-pivot feature

The Cons

Middling display; No backward compatibility with USB Type-A laptops; Poorly designed stand; Awkward interface

Verdict

The AOC I1601FWUX USB Type-C Portable Monitor sounds like a perfect monitor for doing work on the go, but it has a mediocre display and a disappointing magnetic stand.

Portable computing is great, but using a laptop or tablet on the go usually means giving up the best part of your desktop experience: multiple monitors. This is especially painful for multitaskers who are trying to get work done away from the office, as even the best laptop screen can’t compete with the extra real estate of a second screen. The AOC I1601FWUX is a portable monitor that aims to solve those problems. But although we appreciated the  convenient USB Type-C connection and attractive design, a few serious flaws left us feeling disappointed.

Display

Let’s get something out of the way right up front: The AOC I1601FWUX isn’t fantastic. The 15.6-inch display delivers 1080p resolution, but it does so with middling performance.

It’ll get the job done for on-the-road work with documents and content, but you won’t eagerly pull this out of your laptop bag unless you need the extra screen. When we viewed the trailer for Avengers: Infinity War, the colors of costumes and explosions were a bit muddied, and dark elements, like the details on Black Panther’s suit, were difficult to see.

The best thing the AOC I1601FWUX has going for it is its brightness, which measures 212.6 nits. That’s brighter than the similar Asus ZenScreen MB16AC (179.6 nits), the AOC e1659fwu USB Monitor (177 nits) and the USB 3.0-connected Asus MB168B+ (163 nits), but even most cheap desktop monitors offer better brightness. The display also boasts decent color accuracy: We measured a Delta-E score of 0.15; 0 is a perfect score, and anything lower than 1 looks pretty good.

There were real problems with posterization; color gradients separated into distinct blobs of color on-screen.

However, the color gamut was less impressive, as the AOC monitor reproduced just 62 percent of the sRGB color spectrum. The Asus ZenScreen MB16AC had a better score of 72.4 percent, but we consider 100 percent or better to be ideal.

The monitor showed similarly lackluster performance in real-world use. The display has an IPS panel that typically offer wide viewing angles, but unlike laptops that look sharp and clear at nearly 180 degrees, the AOC I1601FWUX suffered from serious color shifting at a mere 20 degrees off-center.

There were also real problems with posterization, with color gradients that should appear smooth instead separated into distinct blobs of color on-screen. Sometimes, it was easy to ignore. But in some scenes, it turned what should have been smooth transitions between shades into something more like a topographical map, with stripes of color instead of gradual changes. Blacks were crushed, making it difficult to distinguish between dark shades, and subtle details were often lost because of it.

Design

The design is simple to the point of being austere, with a plain display surrounded by a black bezel. The back and sides of the display chassis are aluminum, which looks quite nice.

The entire thing measures 14.9 x 9.25 x 0.3 inches and weighs 1.8 pounds (2.2 pounds with the included cover), which makes it slimmer and lighter than most tablets and significantly lighter than even most ultraportable laptops. Although it’s slightly larger than the Asus ZenScreen MB16AC (14.6 x 8.9 x 0.3 inches, 2.8 pounds with cover), it’s lighter and still small enough to easily slip into a laptop bag.

Setup and Use

Connecting the display is dead simple, thanks to the USB Type-C connection. Plug in the single cable, connecting the monitor to the laptop, and you’re pretty much done. Press the power button to turn it on, and the automatic driver installation takes care of the rest. During our testing, we used the display with a Dell Latitude 7389 2-in-1 laptop, the HP Chromebook 13 G1 and the Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (Touch Bar). In every instance, the display connected easily and worked without any additional driver installation or setup.

The quality of the folding stand is more than a little frustrating.

Using the display on the go is not quite as simple. The slim display comes with a folding magnetic cover that does double duty as a display cover for storage and a stand for portable use.

The folding cover attaches magnetically, aligning itself to magnets built into the body of the display. Unfortunately, the magnets are weak, so the hold isn’t particularly sturdy; the slightest bump or nudge will send it clattering onto the table. I had enough trouble using it in a controlled lab environment that the idea of using the stand at a trade show or in a coffee shop stressed me out. One of our photographers put it more bluntly, saying, “This lid sucks.”

The quality of the folding stand is more than a little frustrating, especially when there are so many better examples on the market as covers for iPads and other tablets. It’s hard to overlook the poor execution of such a vital element of the product.

Features

The display has a couple of interesting features, including the ability to rotate 90 degrees with automatic pivoting. There’s no need to adjust the screen orientation or tweak your display settings. Just set up the display on its side, and you get a portable screen with a vertical orientation.

The monitor also has what AOC calls LowBlue Mode, which adjusts color temperatures on the display to reduce blue light. Certain wavelengths of blue light that are commonly produced by monitors and other glowing displays have been linked to eyestrain, insomnia and even age-related macular degeneration. Automatic color tweaks seem like a simple way to avoid some of this potential damage.

Ports and Interface

The monitor’s port and interface selection is perfect in its minimalism, with just a single USB Type-C port and a single button for power. In normal operation, it gives you everything you need to get up and running, and not a single thing you don’t.

Unfortunately, the reality isn’t always so simple. First, there’s the issue of ports. While we were able to use the monitor successfully on several variations of USB-C, including Thunderbolt 3, the small port isn’t yet ubiquitous, and it won’t work with  USB-C-to-USB-3.0 adapters. If you don’t have USB-C on your laptop, you’re just plain out of luck.

There’s also the small issue of adjusting brightness and other settings. With only the power button available, all menu interaction is done by pressing the power button. One quick press brings up the Settings menu, while a long press powers off the display. Once in the menu, you navigate with a series of short presses to cycle through menu options and long presses to select items. However, because long presses initially register as short presses until held, you need to cycle all the way through a menu’s options, come back around to the item just prior to the one you want and then press and hold to select the desired option.

Software and Warranty

The AOC monitor doesn’t require any additional software. The company covers the portable monitor with its standard warranty, which offers three years of coverage but only one year for the LED panel.

Bottom Line

We love the idea of the AOC I1601FWUX. A portable monitor that simply connects and gives you dual-screen capability on the go sounds like a perfect product for business travelers, and should be easy to recommend. But while we can overlook plenty of flaws in the display itself — a dim backlight and crummy viewing angles don’t matter much when you’re typing documents and viewing spreadsheets — the awkward menu interface makes changing settings an enormous hassle, and the stand functions so poorly that it’s nearly unusable on the go.

For a better option, consider the Asus ZenScreen MB16AC, which is also a bit dim but offers better image quality overall, decent stand options and superior controls.

(laptopmag.com, https://goo.gl/BWtmES)

Dell Inspiron 15 5000 2-in-1 Review

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Pros /

Flexible 2-in-1 design; Newest Intel 8th-Gen CPU; Speedy 256GB SSD

Cons /

No USB-C port; Dull and dim display; Runs hot; Very short battery life

Verdict /

The Dell Inspiron 15 5000 2-in-1 has great performance thanks to a quad-core Intel Core i5 processor, but it suffers from disappointing battery life and a weak display.

The Dell Inspiron 15 5000 2-in-1 combines a basic convertible design with Intel’s latest 8th-Generation processors, making it an attractive option with its starting price of $649 ($699 as reviewed). The specifications look promising for a midrange laptop, with a new processor, 256GB SSD, 1080p touch screen, and an infrared camera for easy and secure face logins. Unfortunately, the laptop suffers from a disappointing display, limited port selection and miserably short battery life.

Specs

CPU 8th Generation Intel Core i5-8250U Processor
Operating System Windows 10 Home
RAM 8GB
RAM Upgradable to 16GB
Hard Drive Size 256GB SSD
Display Size 15.6
Highest Available Resolution 1920 x 1080
Wi-Fi 802.11ac
Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.2
Touchpad Size 4.2 x 3.2 inches
Ports (excluding USB) HDMI
Ports (excluding USB) Headphone/Mic
Ports (excluding USB) Noble Lock
Ports (excluding USB) SD card slot
Ports (excluding USB) USB 2.0
Ports (excluding USB) USB 3.1
Warranty/Support 1 year
Size 15.04 x 9.96 x 0.8 inches
Weight 4.58 lbs.
Company Website http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/new-inspiron-15-5000-2-in-1/spd/inspiron-15-5579-2-in-1-laptop

Design

The sleek-looking 2-in-1 is made of dark-gray plastic with a metallic sheen, and features a bendback convertible design. Thanks to the laptop’s 360-degree hinge, you can flip and fold the Inspiron into four different modes: laptop, stand, tent and tablet mode. The hinges offer a good balance of firmness and easy movement so that you can transition from mode to mode smoothly, but feel stable in each.

Dell touts the Inspiron 15 5000’s durability, citing extensive reliability testing. Dell boasts that the laptop can survive short periods of hot temperatures, up to 149 degrees Fahrenheit. The hinges are reportedly good for opening, closing and repositioning more than 20,000 times, while the keyboard keys are rated for more than 10 million keystrokes and the multimedia buttons for up to 40 thousand button presses. The battery can be removed and reinstalled 30+ times.

The Inspiron 15 5000 2-in-1 measures 15.04 x 9.96 x 0.8 inches, which makes it similar in thickness and weight to other 2-in-1 systems, like the Lenovo Flex 5 (0.8 inches thick and 4.7 pounds), HP Envy x360 m6 (0.9 inches thick and 4.6 pounds) and Lenovo Yoga 720 (0.8 inches and 4.6 pounds). While this is a common weight for this size, the combination of bulk and heft makes the Inspiron a bit too large to comfortably use it as a tablet for long periods.

On the left side of the laptop, you’ll find two USB 3.0 ports (one with PowerShare for charging phones and the like), an HDMI output and an audio jack. On the right is a USB 2.0 port, an SD card slot, and buttons for power and volume control. Conspicuously absent is a USB Type-C port, which can be found on both the Lenovo Flex 5 and the HP Envy x360 m6, while the Lenovo Yoga 720 steps up to a full Thunderbolt 3 port.

Display and Audio

The Inspiron 15 5000 comes with a crisp, 15.6-inch, 1080p display. When I watched the trailer for Rampage, Dwayne Johnson’s head had its familiar smooth sheen, and scenes of a 40-foot-tall gorilla destroying downtown Chicago looked gleefully chaotic. But explosions looked a bit dull, and the overall viewing experience was dim.

According to our colorimeter, the Inspiron has better-than-average color accuracy, with a Delta-E score of 0.06 (closer to 0 is better). The next-best display we compared it against was the Lenovo Yoga 720 (4.2).

Accuracy aside, the screen produces only 68 percent of the sRGB color gamut. While that’s similar to what we saw on the HP Envy x360 m6 (62), it’s mediocre compared to showings from the Lenovo Flex 5 (133) and Lenovo Yoga 720 (114).

The screen’s brightness also left something to be desired, averaging 203 nits, which was again similar to the result from the HP Envy x360 m6 (200) but easily exceeded by the Lenovo Flex 5 (270) and the Lenovo Yoga 720 (272 nits).

The touch screen tracked all of my tapping and gesturing without any issues. It supports 10-finger input and is compatible with Windows Ink and active-stylus devices.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The laptop’s 15-inch chassis provides room for both a full qwerty keyboard and a number pad. The keyboard’s island-style, backlit keys have 1.1 millimeters of travel, which is a bit too shallow for comfort (we prefer between 1.5 and 2.0 mm). The shallow keys bottom out with every keystroke, making longer typing sessions uncomfortable. While I was able to reach 75 words per minute on the 10fastfingers.com typing test, nearly matching my usual 80 wpm, I wouldn’t want to use this as my primary keyboard.

The touchpad is a generous 4.2 x 3.2 inches, with accurate tracking and good responsiveness to both individual taps and multitouch gestures. The right and left buttons are integrated into the touchpad surface, and the rounded edge of the keyboard deck makes it comfortable to use.

Performance

The laptop is one of the first we’ve reviewed with an 8th-Generation Intel Core i5-8250U, a quad-core, 3.4GHz processor, paired with 8GB of RAMand a 256GB SSD. While using the system, I had 20 tabs open in Google Chrome, and streamed 1080p video from Netflix with no lag or slowing.

The processor offers strong performance and scored 12,011 on the Geekbench 4 general-performance test. That surpasses even the performance seen on machines with the 7th-Generation Core i7 processors, like the Lenovo Flex 5 (7,177) and the HP Envy x360 m6 (8,322), which both utilize an Intel Core i7-7500U CPU and 16GB of RAM. The only score that came close was the 11,951 from the Lenovo Yoga 720 (Intel Core i7-7700HQ with 8GB RAM).

The Inspiron 15 5000 2-in-1 took a brisk 3 minutes 41 seconds to finish our OpenOffice macro test, matching 20,000 names to addresses in a spreadsheet. That’s very similar to the times we saw from the Lenovo Yoga 720 (3:42) and the HP Envy x360 m6 (3:35), but almost a full minute faster than the Lenovo Flex 5’s showing (4:40).

The Inspiron’s 256GB SSD took 27 seconds to copy a 4.97GB folder in our file-transfer test, for a rate of 188.5 MBps. That’s a lot quicker than you’ll see on a hard-drive-equipped system, like the HP Envy x360 m6 (50.89), but it lags behind results from the Lenovo Flex 5 (339 MBps) and Lenovo Yoga 720 (267.86).

The Inspiron is outfitted with Intel’s integrated UHD 620 graphics solution, which played Dirt 3 at 31 frames per second, just a hair above the 30-fps playability threshold. That rate is better than the 22 fps offered by the HP Envy x360 m6, but compared to competitors with dedicated graphics cards, the Inspiron’s score is far from impressive. The Lenovo Flex 5 (70 fps) more than doubled that frame rate with its Nvidia GeForce 940MX, a nongaming GPU, while the Lenovo Yoga 720 (110 fps) blazed past them all with its Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 gaming-class card.

The Intel UHD 620 graphics also led the Inspiron to score 71,400 on 3DMark’s Ice Storm Unlimited test, a synthetic benchmark that measures graphics performance. That’s a few thousand points behind the HP Envy x360 m6 (74,705), but is trounced by scores from the Lenovo Flex 5 (100,242) and the more-premium Lenovo Yoga 720 (119,006).

Battery Life

While I didn’t expect a midrange 15-inch laptop to wow me with all-day battery, the Dell Inspiron surprised me with just how brief the battery life was. The laptop lasted just 3 hours 44 minutes on the Laptop Battery Test, which involves continuous surfing over Wi-Fi. That’s nowhere close to times from competitors like the Lenovo Flex 5 (5:50) or HP Envy x360 m6 (6:15), and hours behind the all-day battery of the Lenovo Yoga 720 (8:59).

Webcam

The Dell’s built-in webcam isn’t that great, even for a 720p camera. While it captured details like the stripes on my sweater without any problem, the colors were just a bit off, and the whole image looked grainy.

The Inspiron also includes an infrared (IR) camera for logging onto the computer with Windows Hello facial recognition.

Heat

The Inspiron 15 5000 2-in-1 ran warm during our testing. After I streamed video for 15 minutes, the touchpad reached a reasonable 74 degrees, but the keyboard measured 97 degrees — higher than the 95-degree limit we consider to be within a comfortable range. The underside of the laptop stayed more reasonable, at 82 degrees, but we did see several hotspots edge up past the 100-degree mark. That’s enough of a problem on regular laptop, but on a 2-in-1 that doubles as a tablet, it’s too warm for comfortable handling.

Software and Warranty

Running Windows 10 Home, the 15-inch Inspiron comes with a standard collection of preloaded software. Dell includes its own extras, like Power Manager Lite for battery settings and Help & Support for troubleshooting. The system comes with the usual Windows inclusions, like Bubble Witch Saga, Keeper password manager and Autodesk SketchBook. The system also comes with 30-day trials of Microsoft Office Suite and McAfee LiveSafe security. The Inspiron also includes 20GB of cloud storage (free for 12 months) with Dropbox, which is a nice bonus.

Dell covers the Inspiron 15 5000 2-in-1 with a one-year warranty on parts and labor. See how Dell stacked up in our ranking of the Best and Worst Laptop Brands survey and Tech Support Showdown.

Configurations

The base model of the Inspiron 15 5000 2-in-1 sells for $649 and comes with the same Intel Core i5-8250U processor and 8GB of RAM seen in our review unit. The key difference is the 1TB hard drive for storage, which is more spacious, but will offer noticeably slower performance.

Our $699 review unit was similar to the base model, but is equipped with a faster, 256GB solid-state drive.

If you want to spend a fair amount more, you can upgrade to an Intel Core i7-8550U processor, with your choice of 1TB HDD or 512GB SSD ($749 and $899, respectively).

All of these configurations can also be bundled with an active stylus for an additional $50.

Bottom Line

There are some positive points about the Dell Inspiron 15 5000 2-in-1, like a potent 8th-Generation Intel processor, an IR-camera for Windows Hello and a flexible 2-in-1 design. Unfortunately, the machine’s battery life is painfully short, the display is decidedly mediocre, and the keyboard didn’t do much to impress.

If you’re attracted to the Dell’s affordable $699 price, consider the Lenovo Flex 5, which still offers decent performance but none of the drawbacks. If you have a bit more to spend, consider stepping up to a more-premium system like the Lenovo Yoga 720, which offers low-level gaming capability and a more refined design.

(laptopmag.com, https://goo.gl/UvGUeR)

GPD Pocket review

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OUR VERDICT

The GPD Pocket isn’t cheap, or indeed perfect, but it compromises in the right places to make a praiseworthy portable who which is compact enough to fit in your jacket pocket.

FOR

  • Surprisingly good performance
  • Excellent display
  • Great build quality
  • Impressive connectivity

AGAINST

  • Keyboard takes some acclimatisation
  • Cooling fan can be noisy
  • It’s quite expensive

Around 10 years ago, the computing world was obsessed with the idea of ultra-mobile PCs (UMPCs). Although there were some impressive devices for the time (the Sony Vaio and Toshiba Libretto, for example), the reality was that the technology wasn’t available to make the machines viable for most users.

The small screens were low resolution and low quality, processors were power hungry and ran hot and, most importantly, battery technology meant an hour or two of runtime at best. Now technology has moved on and it’s much more feasible to create tiny PCs, but we don’t tend to see them – smartphones and tablet PCs more commonly fulfil that need.

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A relatively unknown Chinese company is looking to change that, with the GPD Pocket mini PC – complete with Ubuntu support. The GPD Pocket was initially launched on crowdfunding site Indiegogo. The campaign not only hit 1,516% of its target with $3.5 million (around £2.6 million) raised, but the firm in question – GPD – was also able to build upon previous experience manufacturing these types of devices to bring the Pocket to fruition (its previous product, the GPD Win, was a popular 5.5-inch Windows-based gaming machine).

Before we dive into the details, it’s important to understand that devices of this type are about compromises. It’s not possible to cram a top-end desktop PC into a tiny chassis, but the key to making a successful product is compromising in the right places so as to provide a good overall experience. So has GPD made the right calls here?

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Performance

At the heart of the Pocket sits the Intel Atom x7-Z8750 processor with integrated HD 405 graphics. While your immediate reaction may be to balk at the mention of an Atom processor, it’s worth noting that the Z8750 is a quad-core, 64-bit CPU from the Cherry Trail family, built on the 14nm process with a base 1.6GHz clock speed and burstable 2.56GHz max. Backed by 2MB of on-board cache, the processor proves impressively capable, particularly for a 2W part.

Performance is also helped by 8GB of LPDDR3-1600 memory and 128GB of storage (albeit eMMC rather than SSD). The balance between capability and efficiency is spot on – although claimed battery life is 12 hours, this is more like seven hours in reality, which is still extremely impressive.

The GPD Pocket display is also a particular highlight. The 7-inch 1,920 x 1,200 (16:10 aspect ratio) screen packs 323 pixels per inch and is impressively sharp with responsive multi-touch. The top and bottom bezels are tiny, while the side bezels are larger to facilitate space for the keyboard. Unusually, the Pocket doesn’t include any sort of camera at all, so video calls are out of the question.

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Selecting the right hardware might be the simple part of the equation when compared to getting the keyboard right. There’s simply no avoiding the fact that there’s not a lot of space for a full keyboard and so input on the Pocket will take some getting used to. The layout is somewhat shifted to the left, some of the key sizes are a little unusual and of course things are more cramped than on a conventional QWERTY.

Crucially, though, the keys have plenty of travel and are responsive – after a few hours of typing, you’ll be surprised at how good the machine is to use. The keys are far superior in feel to devices such as Apple’s MacBook, for example.

A healthy array of ports provide excellent connectivity – charging is via the USB Type-C port and USB-A is still present. A good old-fashioned 3.5mm headphone jack is included, as is a micro-HDMI port allowing you to use the Pocket to power a larger screen.

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GPD initially shipped the Pocket with Windows 10 Home before making an Ubuntu 16.04 image available. The factory image works fine, but the best aspect of the machine is the excellent community-based support (primarily via /r/gpdpocket on Reddit) that has already sprung to life. Images to install multiple versions of Linux are available, with full hardware support and improved performance over stock.

A vibrant discussion around software and hardware tweaks serves to make the Pocket an even better enthusiast’s machine than it already is.

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Final verdict

The GPD Pocket is a compromise – this type of product always will be – but it’s done well. As a full PC experience you can fit in your jacket pocket, nothing else really comes close. Windows on ARM will drive new devices in this form factor, though, so the market is set to explode in the near future.

(techradar.com, https://goo.gl/9RuVFG)

Asus ROG Strix GL702ZC Review

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The Pros

Powerful desktop CPU; Specialized gaming software; Great speakers

The Cons

Slow storage speeds; Runs hot; Dismal battery life

Verdict

The Asus ROG Strix GL702ZC has a desktop-level CPU and plays most games well, but it gets hot fast and has slow storage speeds.

AMD diehards don’t have to wait until 2018 for Ryzen Mobile on their gaming laptops. Instead, they can get an AMD chip now with the Asus ROG Strix GL702ZC ($1,499), which has the full power of a desktop Ryzen 7 1700 CPU paired with a Radeon RX580 GPU. However, with that desktop chip comes a big desktop issue: heat. You’ll get some awesome speakers and a solid array of gaming hardware, but while the Strix’s desktop CPU is a strong talking point, you likely won’t notice its performance benefits in ordinary use.

Design

The Strix does a good job of simulating the look of a metal chassis, even though the body is plastic and feels like plastic when you touch it. I love the way the lid appears , with its faux brushed aluminum look and silver ROG logo (I’ll never like that logo, but it looks its best here) adorned by reflective accent lines on either side. In addition, there’s a bunch of flex in the lid; it’s incredibly easy to press down.

When you lift the lid, you’ll find the 17.3-inch, 1080p display surrounded by a thick bezel, a black plastic deck with orange accents and an orange ROG logo, as well as a full island-style keyboard with a number pad.

At 16.3 x 11 x 1.3 inches and 7.1 pounds, the Strix is slightly smaller than its competitors. The Origin Eon 17-X is a whopping 9.8 pounds and 16.4 x 11.6 x 1.5 inches, and the Acer Aspire V17 Nitro Black Edition is 7 pounds and 16.7 x 11.7 x 1.1 inches.

With size comes room for ports, and the Strix has room for almost every accessory or monitor you’ll need. Its left side boasts an Ethernet jack, a mini DisplayPort, an HDMI output, a USB Type-C port, a USB 3.0 port and a headphone jack. The right side has a lock slot, two more USB 3.0 ports and an SD card slot.

Display

The Strix’s display is bright, sharp and quite colorful. I watched the trailer for Avengers: Infinity War, and I could see the wrinkles in Vision’s skin covered by the yellow soul stone, and make out every little goosebump on Peter Parker’s arm when his spider sense goes off. When I played Middle-earth: Shadow of War, I could make out the leaves on green ivy growing on the ground and see the rust growing on a cage in an Orc compound.

The screen covers a great 119 percent of the sRGB color gamut, though desktop replacements have upped the ante on displays lately, and the average sits at 130 percent. The Strix is on a par with the Aspire (118 percent) but behind the Eon (192 percent).

Asus’ display is by far the brightest in its class, at 341 nits on our light meter. That’s brighter than the category average (286 nits), the Eon (289 nits) and the Aspire (264 nits).

Keyboard and Touchpad

With just 1.3 millimeters of travel, I constantly expected to bottom out on the Strix, but I didn’t. Paired with 76 grams of required force to press the keys down, it actually feels kind of bouncy, and I liked how quickly the keys popped up. There’s a little bit of give in the center of the keyboard, but I was able to ignore it, typing at 108 words per minute on the 10fastfingers.com typing test (within my usual range) with my regular 2 percent error rate. My biggest complaint is that the keys are only backlit in red, while most laptops in this price range get you RGB backlighting.

The 4.1 x 2.8-inch touchpad is smooth and responsive, even when you have to get your mouse across the mammoth 17-inch display. It was quick to react to gestures, like flicking three fingers to show all of my open windows as well as my usual two-finger scrolling.

Audio

It’s been a long time since I used a computer with speakers that sound this good on the low end. When I listened to Adele’s “Set Fire To The Rain,” the bass was clear as the sound filled our midsize conference room. With a few adjustments to vocal quality and reverb in the included Sonic Radar Studio app, I was truly satisfied with the sound. The guitars, keyboards, drums and bass were especially detailed as was Adele’s booming voice.

The speakers made games sound great, too. When I played Shadow of War, the orchestral music sounded amazing/. I could even make out the little detailed sounds like footsteps on a muddy path. But despite the loud speakers, it was sometimes hard to hear because the fans run so loud (see the heat section, below).

Gaming, Graphics and VR

The Strix packs AMD’s Radeon RX580 GPU with 4GB of VRAM, which can play most games reasonably well, but not always at the highest settings. I played Middle-earth: Shadow of War on very high settings, and the game ran between 44 and 60 frames per second (fps)with just a bit of screen tearing.

On the Hitman benchmark (1080p, ultra settings), the Strix rendered the game at 86 fps, surpassing the average (82 fps) and the Aspire (62 fps, GTX 1070), but fell behind the Origin and its powerful GTX 1080 GPU (129 fps).

On Rise of the Tomb Raider (1080p, very high), the laptop ran the game at 34 fps, below the average (51 fps), the Aspire (37 fps) and the Origin (66 fps).

It’s been a long time since I used a computer with speakers that sound this good on the low end.

The Strix hiccupped on Metro: Last Light (1080p, high), running at 27 fps, below our 30-fps playability threshold. The average is 54 fps, the Aspire ran at 30 fps on the dot, and the Eon played at a smooth 83 fps.

It earned a score of 6 on the Steam VR Performance test, falling below the average of 9.4 as well as the Eon (11) and the Aspire (7.2).

Performance

The Asus ROG Strix GL702ZC is a beast, because it’s running a desktop CPU: AMD’s 3.0 GHz, eight-core Ryzen 7 1700 CPU. It also packs 16GB of RAM, a 256GB M.2 SATA SSD and a 1TB, 5,400-rpm HDD.

On the Geekbench 4 overall performance test, it notched a score of 25,450, almost twice the desktop-replacement average (13,240) and higher than both the Eon (12,673, Intel Core i7-7700K) and the Aspire (14,165m, Intel Core i7-7700HQ)

The Strix took 48 seconds to copy 4.97GB of files, a rate of 106 megabytes per second. The average is much speedier (439.6MBps), and though the Aspire (231.3MBps) was slower than that, it was still faster than the Strix. The Eon blew past the field at an insane speed of 1,017.9Mbps.

It took Asus’ gaming laptop 4 minutes and 30 seconds to pair 20,000 names and addresses on the OpenOffice spreadsheet macro, falling behind the average (3:26), the Aspire (3:19) and the Eon (3:47).

Battery Life

You’re best off just leaving the Strix plugged in all the time. It lasted just 1 hour and 20 minutes on the Laptop Mag Battery Test, which browses the web continuously over Wi-Fi. The average is 4:30, which the Aspire outlasted (5:30). The Eon lasted only 19 minutes longer than the Strix (1:39).

Heat

Keep this on your desk. The Strix starts getting steamy before you even load a game. After 15 minutes of streaming HD video from YouTube, it measured 116 degrees Fahrenheit on the bottom, which is above our 95-degree comfort threshold. It reached 94 degrees at the center of the keyboard and 80 degrees on the touchpad.

When I played Shadow of War, the keyboard and touchpad didn’t heat up much more, but the bottom climbed to 123 degrees.

Webcam

The Strix comes equipped with a 720p webcam, but if you ever plan on streaming to Twitch or Mixer, you should get an external one. That’s because the shooter in the Strix is a hot mess that takes blurry images with inaccurate colors.

My mint-green shirt appeared white when I took a picture with the camera, and all of my hair looked globbed together.

Software and Warranty

The Strix comes with a slew of gaming software. You’ll get the Asus ROG Gaming Center, which provides device information, temperature and CPU and GPU status, and GameFirst IV to prioritize network status on a per-app basis. There’s also Sonic Radar II, a visual overlay to show where sounds are coming from in game, and Sonic Studio to adjust sound settings.

Asus also made the unfortunate decision to fill the Strix with bloatware. It includes Netflix, WPS office (Word, Presentation and Spreadsheets) and the Asus Gift Box, which links to a bunch of free trials from partners and other downloads.

There’s also the usual Windows junk, including Plex, Keeper, Candy Crush Soda Saga, March of Empires: War of Lords, Bubble Witch 3 Saga and Drawboard PDF.

Asus sells the Strix with a 1-year warranty.

Bottom Line

The Asus ROG Strix GL702ZC is a 17.3-inch gaming notebook with one type of customer in mind: AMD diehards. If you need the performance of an eight-core CPU for productivity tasks, you’ll get a boost here, but it won’t make much of a difference in games, which are still GPU-intensive. The Radeon RX580 is similar to what you’ll find with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 GPU.

You’ll get awesome speakers and a bright vibrant display, but the Strix heats up really fast and barely lasts on a charge. If you don’t mind an Intel/Nvidia combo, Acer’s Aspire V17 Nitro Black Edition runs for $1,259 with an Intel Core i7-7700HQ CPU, 16GB of RAM and the same storage as the Strix. Its display isn’t as bright, but you still excellent sound, 4 hours more battery life and a more comfortable keyboard. That CPU, however, isn’t as powerful when it comes to productivity.

If you’re looking for light gaming and serious productivity work, the Strix is for you. But if you want to save some money and get similar performance, grab the Aspire instead.

(laptopmag.com, https://goo.gl/LkXF11)

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