Laptop

Shown at CES 2023 with new AMD Zen 4 processors up to the Ryzen 9 and up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 graphics, the updated Asus TUF Gaming A15 is still not available for purchase. However, last year's model with AMD Ryzen 7 6800H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 is now 21% off, so its price tag currently reads US$1,099.

Compared to the combinations of Intel CPU and Nvidia graphics, gaming laptops with a CPU and a GPU both from AMD are in the minority. If all pure AMD machines have major driver problems similar to the current Alienware m17 R5, then this is unlikely to change. It's a shame really, because the potential remains untapped.

JEDEC is looking to replace the venerable SO-DIMM standard with a new form-factor called CAMM that allows better scalability of up to 128 GB per module and increased data transfer speeds beyond DDR5-6400. Furthermore, CAMM would allow for thinner and lighter laptop chassis, as well as user-replaceable LPDDR modules.

MSI's high-end Titan GT77HX packing the RTX 4090 and the Raider GE78HX with RTX 4090 or RTX 4080 are expected to ship on February 8. The Pulse and Katana models with RTX 4070 and RTX 4060 / RTX 4050, respectively will ship on February 22. Reports suggest that pre-orders should start February 1.

Samsung has announced pricing and availability for the Galaxy Book2 Go series. Offered as the Galaxy Book2 Go and the Galaxy Book2 Go 5G, the laptop series comes with a 14-inch IPS display, a Snapdragon 7c Plus Gen 3 chipset and a 42.3 Wh battery, among other features. The Galaxy Book2 Go series starts at £449 and will be available later this month.

The Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 specifications have been leaked, as have the screen sizes for the numerous laptops that will be joining the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 at the ironically packed Unpacked event. The Galaxy Book3, Galaxy Book3 Pro, Galaxy Book3 360, and Galaxy Book3 Ultra are all expected to make an appearance.

The EliteBook scores with a powerful, energy-efficient Rembrandt APU, USB 4, LTE modem and very good battery runtimes. HP uses a very bright 13.3-inch screen in a work-friendly 16:10 format (1,920 x 1,200) with an optional privacy filter.

System76 teased a new version of its Pangolin laptop. The new Pangolin will come with an AMD Ryzen 7 6800U, Radeon 680M graphics, a 144 Hz FHD screen, and quite a bit of connectivity.

The Pulse GL76 excels in the big three: CPU, GPU, and display all for a reasonable price. A lot of extras features are missing, but they're not deal breakers for most gamers on a budget.

The powerful RTX 3070 Ti configuration of the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro comes with a decent 165Hz QHD display and a quick AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX CPU, which arguably makes this 16-inch gaming laptop a good purchase at US$1,439.

Apple's M2 MacBook Air is a solid choice for a portable, all-around laptop. Currently, Best Buy is selling both the 256 GB and 512 GB models for $200 off, a savings of 17% and 13%, respectively.

Lunar Lake is being developed in close collaboration with OS makers and laptop OEMs to power thin and light devices featuring all-day battery life and uncompromised 15 W TDP performance.

Amazon has reduced a popular ASUS TUF Gaming F15 configuration, taking the machine below US$1,000. The TUF Gaming F15 combines a Core i7-11800H with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti, plus a 90 Wh battery and a 15.6-inch display.

Amazon has knocked almost a quarter off a recent VivoBook Pro 16X OLED model. Offered with the AMD Ryzen 7 5800H for US$1,099.99, the laptop also has an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti, a high-resolution OLED display and a 96 Wh battery, among other features.

Acer has started selling updated versions of the Aspire 3. Now available with Intel Alder Lake-N processors, the Aspire 3 comes in 14-inch and 15.6-inch variants, both with LPDDR5 RAM and 3-cell Li-Polymer batteries. The new Aspire 3 series starts at US$479.99, or US$499.99 for the 15.6-inch version.

Microsoft has confirmed the ultimate end of Windows 7 support by finally pulling the last vestige of updates available to the OS. The Redmond giant has also now announced that its 8.1 successor is also now at the end of its life, although it will not be extended the same prolonged security-update palliative care of the preceding version.

With an Amazon list price of US$2,599, the MSI Raider GE77 HX 12UGS-004 carries a lower US$2,199.99 price tag on MSI's website. Thankfully, this 17.3-inch gaming laptop with i7-12800H X and 3070 Ti inside can be acquired now from both locations for US$1,999.99, which translates to a generous 23% discount for Amazon users.

One-netbook is selling another mini laptop globally. Previously called the ONEMIX 4S, the One Netbook 4S offers Intel Alder Lake-U series processors with a 10.1-inch display, 16 GB of RAM and a compact keyboard. The One Netbook 4S has a 2.5K native resolution and a 38.5 Wh battery, among other features.

ASUS has presented the Chromebook CM14 series, which consists of the Chromebook CM14 and Chromebook CM14 Flip. Both powered by the MediaTek Kompanio 520 chipset, the pair also have a 14-inch displays and numerous ports, among other features.

Asus will be moving away from the awkward soldered and removable hybrid approach on some Zephyrus models moving forward. The new Zephyrus M16 models will instead have 2x SODIMM slots for more freedom in end-user upgradeability.

Prices for the XMG NEO 16 (E23) GPU upgrade options have been revealed, and those wanting an RTX 4080 or RTX 4090 laptop need to be prepared to pay a small fortune. The NEO 16, which is so powerful it comes with a liquid metal cooling system, starts at a price of €2,199 (US$2,362) for a system with an RTX 4060 GPU and Intel Core i9-13900HX CPU.

Bloomberg analyst Mark Gurman has detailed Apple's plans for 2023. 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros with M2 Pro/M2 Max SoCs are scheduled for an early 2023 launch, followed by the 15-inch MacBook Air. The Mac Pro will retain its predecessor's cheese grater design and use an M2 Ultra chip.

MSI's high-end gaming notebook impressed us with its neck-breaking CPU performance and one of the most beautiful OLED displays on the market, which makes it an easy recommendation for affluent gamers who don't like to wait for the upcoming release of RTX 4000-powered machines.

Acer tries to go sustainable with the Aspire Vero: the chassis of the 14-inch laptop is partly made of recycled plastic. In addition, the device offers great performance, Thunderbolt 4 support and outstanding battery life.

The powerful 14-inch business laptop from HP comes with a quick AMD Ryzen processor and a bright 400-nit IPS display, which arguably turn the EliteBook 845 into a decent bargain at a steeply discounted sale price of US$879.

Praised by many home users and reviewers as one of the best sub-US$100 WiFi 6 Gigabit routers, the TP-Link AX1800 (Archer AX21) features wireless speeds up to 1.8 Gbps, beamforming, as well as a USB 2.0 port for easy file sharing. The 30% discount takes its US$99.99 Amazon list price to US$69.99.

Intel's recently announced Core i5-13500HX processor scored 1,711 points on Geekbench's single-core test and 11,319 on the multi-core test. Both figures are remarkably higher than that of the last-gen flagship Zen 3 chip, the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, which, on average, scored 1,564 and 9,863 points on the benchmark.

The AMD Radeon RX 7700S scored 81,145 points on Geekbench's OpenCL benchmark, performing more or less on par with the Radeon RX 6700M and about 28% faster than the RDNA 2-based Radeon RX 6700S. Unfortunately, it cannot take on the better-specced GeForce RTX 4060.

The ASUS VivoBook 16X is going for US$100 off on Newegg, resulting in the lowest price for the laptop compared to other competing retailers. In addition to standard specs like a speedy processor, the VivoBook 16X offers other nifty features like a keyboard that reportedly stops bacterial growth and a webcam that has a privacy shutter.

Samsung has unveiled a new version of the Galaxy Book Go. Now called the Galaxy Book2 Go, the device is based around the more powerful Snapdragon 7c Plus Gen 3, which also provides Wi-Fi 6E connectivity and nearly a day's battery life, among other features.

Lenovo has refreshed the Legion Pro 5i and the Legion Pro 7i with the 13th gen Core i9 and Core i7 processors and Nvidia’s latest crop of GeForce GPUs. The Legion Pro 7i and the Pro 5i measure 363.4 x 262.15 x 21.95 – 25.9mm and 363.4 x 260.35 x 21.9-26.75mm respectively, while staying under 2.8 kg (6.1 lbs).

Razer has announced a new Blade 16 series at CES 2023 powered by Intel Core i9-13950HX and a range of Nvidia RTX 40 series Laptop GPUs from the RTX 4060 to the RTX 4090. The Razer Blade 16 offers a QHD+ 240 Hz display but select SKUs also come with a dual-native mode switching UHD+ 120 Hz and FHD+ 240 Hz mini-LED panel.

The Razer Blade 18 is now official with an Intel Core i9-13950HX/13980HX, up to a GeForce RTX 4090, 32 GB of RAM, an 18-inch IPS LCD screen and a 91 Wh battery. Its base variant starts at US$2,899 and will hit shelves in February 2023.

Lenovo has refreshed the Yoga 9i convertible at CES 2023. The new Yoga 9i (14", 8) now features an Intel Raptor Lake-U Core i7-1360P processor, but there's no dGPU option available. Lenovo continues to offer Dolby Vision HDR OLED panels with the Yoga 9i including 4K and 2.8K options.

Lenovo has introduced the Yoga 6 Gen 8, a 13-inch convertible powered by AMD Ryzen 7000 APUs. The Yoga 6 Gen 8 also has a 16:10 display, a 59 Wh battery and plenty of ports considering its form factor.

Lenovo has introduced a Wireless Dock to go with its ThinkBook line of laptops, starting with the 13x Gen 2. Both devices are the first to support the Power-by-Contact technology for the OEM's vision of the cable-free future. The new Dock also has space for a user to keep their 'standard' wireless accessories powered.

The ThinkBook 16p Gen 4 has debuted with a new lid-mounted POGO-pin interface for a new range of detachable and interchangeable accessories. Lenovo has announced that it is called the Magic Bay, and has unveiled the first 3 products to be compatible with it. The OEM claims to have developed them based on feedback concerning the biggest problems faced while working remotely.

The ThinkBook Plus Twist is a convertible with a difference. Not only can its 13.3-inch OLED display be used in multiple modes, but so can its secondary E-Ink display. The ThinkBook Plus Twist will be available this summer with a choice of Intel Raptor Lake U-series processors, plus up to 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 1 TB of PCIe 4.0 storage.