Laptop

MSI Prestige 14 Evo: Intel versus AMD

After AMD has been increasingly gaining ground in terms of performance, Intel is finally trying to catch up with the Tiger Lake generation. We took a look at the MSI Prestige 14 Evo to see how well this plan has worked out.

Florian Glaser, 17 Dec 2020 22:47

The JLabs Audio Epic Air earbuds. (Source: JLabs Audio)

JLab Audio announces a new Epic Air series of hybrid ANC TWS earbuds

JLab Audio has released its latest TWS earbuds rated for active noise cancellation (ANC). There are 2 varaints in this new Epic Air line: AirPod-clone and non-AirPod clone with earhooks for active use. They offer long battery life, a low-latency mode and a patented inbuilt USB cable for their charging cases.

Deirdre O'Donnell, 17 Dec 2020 21:48

The RedmiBook 14 is currently available with a Ryzen 7 4700U. (Image source: Xiaomi/GeekBuying)

AMD Ryzen 7 5700U in RedmiBook Pro 14S with enhanced iGPU and SMT advantage scores 28.16% higher in Geekbench multi-core test than Ryzen 7 4700U

A RedmiBook Pro 14S powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 5700U has been put through its paces on Geekbench, and it managed a 28.16% higher result in the Geekbench 5 multi-core benchmark than the Ryzen 7 4700U. The Lucienne Zen 2-based Ryzen 5000 APU can boast of enhancements such as an improved iGPU and SMT support.

Daniel R Deakin, 17 Dec 2020 20:56

Be careful when you buy a MacBook Air: Avoid the Intel SKUs of the 2020 Air

There are plenty of discounts for the Apple MacBook Air 2020 before Christmas. However, a closer look usually reveals that it is a discontinued model with an old Intel processor. We think you should avoid these SKUs, even though you can save some money.

Andreas Osthoff, 17 Dec 2020 18:52

The One Mix 4 will have a 10.1-inch display. (Image source: One-Netbook via Liliputing)

One-Netbook teases the One Mix 4 with a compact design, a 16:10 display and a Tiger Lake processor

One-Netbook has teased its next device, which it is calling the One Mix 4. The 10.1-inch machine will feature a Tiger Lake processor, an M.2 NVMe SSD and Wi-Fi 6 connectivity. The device appears to have minimal bezels, too.

Alex Alderson, 17 Dec 2020 18:30

Microsoft Flight Simulator now has over 2 million players (Source: Xbox Wire)

Microsoft Flight Simulator hits 2 million users

Released back in mid-August on Windows and expected to hit Xbox consoles next year, this year's Microsoft Flight Simulator was highly praised by both the press and the public for its graphical accuracy. Although it also has some issues, this title is the fastest-growing in the series so far, with more than 2 million players already.

Codrut Nistor, 17 Dec 2020 18:28

Expect to see even more MSI laptops relevealed at CES 2021. (Image Source: MSI)

MSI teases redesigned GS76 Stealth gaming laptop and a Summit E16 Flip business convertible launching at CES 2021

The GS76 Stealth could be one of the first gaming laptops to feature the Tiger Lake-H processors coupled with the mobile RTX 3000 GPUs. Apart from the redesigned chassis, the GS76 could also get a 360 Hz screen (still in validation process) and Thunderbolt 4 connectivity. MSI is also introducing a new E16 Flip convertible to the Summit lineup. This one comes with carbon fiber chassis and integrates Tiger Lake-U plus Nvidia GTX GPUs.

Bogdan Solca, 17 Dec 2020 16:13

Cheap MSI GF65 Thin is down to $699 with decent Core i5 CPU, 512 GB NVMe SSD, and GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics (Source: Walmart)

Deal | Cheap MSI GF65 Thin is down to $699 USD with decent Core i5 CPU, 512 GB NVMe SSD, and GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics

We recommend upgrading to 16 GB of RAM down the line to improve the gaming performance and multi-tasking capabilities of the laptop. The GTX 1660 Ti continues to be a respectable GPU especially in the mobile space.

Allen Ngo, 17 Dec 2020 05:22

The Acer Swift 3 SF314-42 with Ryzen 7 4700U performed well in our tests. (Image source: Acer/Notebookcheck)

AMD Ryzen 5 5500U to star in upcoming Acer Swift laptop with gaming-capable iGPU boost of 1.80 GHz

An Acer Swift SF314-43 laptop has been discovered on Geekbench being tested for its graphics prowess with the help of an AMD Ryzen 5 5500U, which is from the upcoming Zen 2-based Lucienne family. It seems the Radeon iGPU component is capable of hitting a maximum clock of 1.80 GHz, which will be handy for some casual gaming on the Ryzen 5000 laptop.

Daniel R Deakin, 16 Dec 2020 22:42

Fortnite has a new Performance Mode. (Source: Epic Games)

Epic Games announces a new Performance Mode that might benefit Fortnite gameplay on older PCs

Epic Games has released a new alpha for Fortnite on PCs. It may lower the flagshi title's demand on memory and hard-drive space in order to increase FPS on devices with less powerful CPUs. Then again, it may also reduce detail and visual effects in-game.

Deirdre O'Donnell, 16 Dec 2020 21:18

Intel Optane H20 is designed to work exclusively with Tiger Lake processors. (Image Source: Intel)

Intel announces new Optane drives: Optane P5800X targeted at datacenters and Optane H20 for Tiger Lake laptops

Intel has introduced new updates to its Optane family of storage solutions. The Optane SSD P5800X is being touted as the world's fastest datacenter SSD with class-leading IOPS performance. The Optane H20 is an upgrade to last year's H20 and will be available in capacities up to 1 TB exclusively for 11th gen Tiger Lake laptops.

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 16 Dec 2020 19:33

LG has announced three new Gram laptops for 2021. (Image source: LG)

LG Gram 2021 refresh launched with Tiger Lake processors, three colour options and a new 16-inch model

LG has unveiled three new Gram laptops featuring Intel Tiger Lake processors. The South Korean company has brought Thunderbolt 4 support to the Gram series and three colour options, among other changes. A 16-inch model will replace the existing LG Gram 15 too, bringing with it a much larger trackpad.

Alex Alderson, 16 Dec 2020 18:52

AMD could reach 50% market share by 2025 if Intel keeps stumbling like this. (Image Source: Intel)

Tough times ahead for Intel: industry insiders spill the beans on subpar 10 nm yields, server CPU plus 7 nm delays, production outsourcing and more

Industry insiders reveal that Intel's current 10 nm yields are nowhere near viable for “full production” and even with the SuperFin tech, 10 nm production may never match that of the 14 nm nodes. Plus we get more details about the performance issues with the upcoming server-grade CPUs, even more delays for the 7 nm nodes and new details about the product outsourcing plans.

Bogdan Solca, 16 Dec 2020 17:02

GTA Online "The Cayo Perico Heist" update now available (Source: Rockstar Games)

The Cayo Perico Heist, GTA Online's biggest update ever, now available

Described as "the largest and most ambitious Grand Theft Auto Online adventure to date," The Cayo Perico Heist is also the first of its kind that can be played without any companions from start to finish, although the player can also choose to team up with one or two companions.

Codrut Nistor, 16 Dec 2020 16:46

AMD Ryzen 7 5800H shows decent performance gains over the 4800H model in latest Geekbench tests

Just like on the Ryzen 7 5800U ultra-low voltage APUs, the performance improvements recorded by the Ryzen 7 5800H model over the Renoir processors are not at all bad. The new Zen 3 cores clocked at 3.2 GHz base and 4.45 GHz boost perform 30% faster in single-core tests and 15% faster in multi-core tests compared to the default results for the Ryzen 7 4800H.

Bogdan Solca, 16 Dec 2020 16:20

Google has acquired Neverware. (Image: Neverware)

Google acquires Neverware, a company that turns old laptops into Chromebook-like devices

Google has confirmed that it has acquired Neverware, a company that specializes in turning old laptops and desktop computers into Chromebook-like devices. The acquisition follows a previous investment by Google into the company’s operations and offers Google a strategic opportunity in both enterprise and education.

Sanjiv Sathiah, 16 Dec 2020 11:22

This $400 Gateway laptop sale comes with a 10th gen Intel Core i5 CPU, 16 GB of RAM, and a 1080p IPS display (Source: Walmart)

Deal | This $400 Gateway laptop sale comes with a 10th gen Intel Core i5 CPU, 16 GB of RAM, and a 1080p IPS display

Don't settle for Celeron or Atom laptops when you can get a "proper" Core i5 processor with both decent RAM and an FHD IPS display for the same price.

Allen Ngo, 16 Dec 2020 02:54

Team Group is working on DDR5 products. (Source: Team Group)

Team Group reports the development of its own DDR5 memory

Team Group, the OEM behind the gaming-oriented T-Force memory products, has announced it is working on consumer-grade DDR5 memory. They are to be 16GB in capacity per module and to have a high 4800MHz clock-speed. This project is at a stage at which it is working with companies such as Asus and Gigabyte to see if it can work with their motherboards.

Deirdre O'Donnell, 15 Dec 2020 23:00

OneGX1 Pro handheld gaming PC now available starting at US$1,360 (Source: Liliputing)

Intel Core i7-1160G7-powered OneGX1 Pro now available starting at US$1,360

Previously uncovered as the OneGX Pro, the Intel Core i7-1160G7-driven sibling of the Intel Core i5-10210Y-powered OneGX1 handheld gaming PC is now available for purchase as the OneGX1 Pro. Sadly, this 7-inch gaming machine does not come cheap as the starting price tag reads almost US$1,400.

Codrut Nistor, 15 Dec 2020 18:35

The LG Gram 2021 launch is nearly upon us. (Source: LG)

LG Gram 2021: specs for its rumored 16-inch variant leak out

LG is slated to launch its next-gen Gram laptop series in South Korea on December 16, 2020. A leak allegedly originating from the same country purports to spill details on the 16-inch SKU from this series. It points to an 11th-gen core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, 65W charging and a price that might come as a surprise considering these specs.

Deirdre O'Donnell, 15 Dec 2020 18:18

Razer Blade 15 with 10th gen Core i7, GeForce RTX 2060, 144 Hz display, and 512 GB NVMe SSD is now reasonably priced at $1350 USD (Source: Best Buy)

Deal | The Razer Blade 15 is now actually reasonably priced at $1350 USD with GeForce RTX 2060 graphics, 144 Hz display, and 512 GB NVMe SSD

The ongoing Holiday price drops may be indicating that gaming laptops with next generation GPUs might be just around the corner.

Allen Ngo, 15 Dec 2020 00:01

Does not have full control over its temperatures: Acer Predator Triton 300

Acer Predator Triton 300: Affordable 15-inch Gamer

The 15-inch Acer Predator Triton 300 is now also available with Comet Lake processor. The price remains low, which is reflected in some of its connectivity.

Mike Wobker, 14 Dec 2020 23:16

Intel's Gregory Bryant says only the paranoid survive, welcomes competition from AMD, Apple, and others

Gregory Bryant, Intel EVP and GM of the Client Computing Group, felt that Intel's growth in laptops and desktops will continue. In a talk, he said that Intel is paranoid about the competition from AMD, Qualcomm, Apple, and MediaTek and takes all of them very seriously.

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 14 Dec 2020 06:42

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 14 is the cheapest laptop with GeForce MX350 graphics and Thunderbolt 3 right now at just $599 USD (Source: Staples)

Deal | Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 14 is the cheapest laptop with GeForce MX350 graphics and Thunderbolt 3 right now at just $599 USD

This 1080p Ultrabook can run games faster than you might expect given its cheap asking price. Combine this with Thunderbolt 3 and you have a versatile 14-incher for school, office, or games. You'll have to live with just 8 GB of RAM, unfortunately.

Allen Ngo, 14 Dec 2020 00:50

The new Asus laptops all come with Ryzen 5000 U-series processors. (Image source: Expert.de/Asus - edited)

AMD Ryzen 7 5700U and Ryzen 5 5500U turn up as the Zen 2 Lucienne processors in upcoming Asus laptops

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700U and Ryzen 5 5500U APUs have been spotted in three new laptops coming from Asus. These two Ryzen 5000 processors are from the Lucienne family, meaning they are based on Zen 2 architecture rather than Zen 3. One of the upcoming Asus laptops appears to be a refreshed VivoBook Flip 14 convertible.

Daniel R Deakin, 14 Dec 2020 00:09

Asus TUF A17 with Cezanne/Ampere combination is incoming. (Image source: Asus/Expert.de)

Asus TUF Gaming laptop with tasty combo of AMD Ryzen 7 5800H APU and Nvidia RTX 3060 Mobile GPU appears on German retailer site

An Asus TUF Gaming laptop has been spotted on a German retail website sporting the enviable team of an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H APU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile GPU. The 17.3-inch device also comes with 8 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, and a Full HD resolution for the display. The Ryzen 7 5800H is an 8-core, 16-thread part that can boost to 4.3 GHz.

Daniel R Deakin, 13 Dec 2020 22:45

The 16:10 ThinkPad X1 Nano's European pricing is revealed

The ThinkPad X1 Nano is a recently-released Lenovo laptop with a 16:10 aspect-ratio display and a weight of under 1 kilogram (kg). It has just been spotted on a German e-tail website in various configurations. They start at prices approximately translating to US$2300 on their new platform.

Deirdre O'Donnell, 13 Dec 2020 20:25

The Nokia Purebook X14 will launch via Flipkart soon

Flipkart has officially revealed that the new Nokia ultrabook to debut soon is called the Purebook X14. It has an FHD IPS screen with Dolby Vision and a 10th-gen Core i5 processor. It has a single 8 GB RAM/512 GB SSD SKU, set to sell at a premium price on its eventual launch.

Deirdre O'Donnell, 13 Dec 2020 19:34

A Samsung Galaxy Book variant. (Source: Samsung)

The Samsung Galaxy Book Go is a new PC that might be launching soon

A new leak points to a new Samsung device called the "Book Go". This strongly suggests that it may be a new notebook or convertible from the OEM, to join other variants such as the S or the Flex. This possible PC might debut at CES 2021.

Deirdre O'Donnell, 13 Dec 2020 18:58

The AndaSeat Kaiser 2. (Source: AndaSeat)

The high-end racing-seat maker AndaSeat announces a new gaming chair

AndaSeat is a company that lays claim of a history of making racing seats for car-marques such as Mercedes and BMW. Now, it has applied this experience to a new gaming chair called the Kaiser 2. It is described as made using robust cold-cured foam and convincingly leather-like material. It is avaiilable in the US, UK and Australia.

Deirdre O'Donnell, 13 Dec 2020 17:52

Acer Predator Triton 300 with GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q graphics, 240 Hz IPS display, and 512 GB NVMe SSD is down to $1200 USD (Source: Newegg)

Deal | Acer Predator Triton 300 with GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q graphics, 240 Hz IPS display, and 512 GB NVMe SSD is down to $1200 USD

The entry-level ultrathin gaming laptop from Acer comes equipped with high-end specifications and a decent asking price.

Allen Ngo, 13 Dec 2020 02:41

"Marvel's Avengers" or "Troy - A Total War Saga" - Buyers of the Schenker Compact 17 will get one of the two games for free

The Schenker Compact 17 offers powerful hardware, 32 GB of memory (dual-channel mode), a 4K display, and a 1 TB NVMe SSD. In addition, there's an extensive range of connections and the possibility to install up to three storage devices.

Sascha Mölck, 13 Dec 2020 01:32

An example of a Samsung OLED TV. (Source: Samsung)

Samsung secures a new OLED-selling trademark for the European market

The phrase "OLED Provided by Samsung" has been submitted as a trademark by the OEM in question with the European Union's Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). It has led to speculation that this move is part of the company's run-up to CES 2021. It may also simply serve to underpin its position in the relevant market.

Deirdre O'Donnell, 12 Dec 2020 16:55

Newest HP Envy 17 with 11th gen Core i7 CPU, 1080p touchscreen, and Wi-Fi 6 is down to only $670 USD

Deal | MacBook Pro-like HP Envy 17 with 11th gen Core i7 CPU, 1080p touchscreen, and Wi-Fi 6 is down to only $670 USD

The latest Envy 17 mimics a lot of design features of the Apple MacBook without costing nearly as much. Upgrading from 8 GB to 12 GB of RAM costs just $40 USD more.

Allen Ngo, 11 Dec 2020 20:27

The RTX 3070 laptop GPU shows solid performance gains over the RTX 2000 series. (Image Source: Time 24 News)

Leaked V-Ray benchmark results reveal the RTX 3070 laptop GPU is almost as fast as a desktop-grade RTX 2080 Ti

Due to its limited TGP, the RTX 3070 laptop GPU appears to lag behind the desktop-grade RTX 3060 Ti and RTX 3070 models. However, the upcoming Ampere-based mobile GPU shows strong performance gains over the Turing models, as it is almost 100% faster than the RTX 2070 Max-Q and RTX 2080 Max-Q. It also almost matches the RTX 2080 Ti desktop-grade GPU.

Bogdan Solca, 11 Dec 2020 15:43

The cheap HP Pavilion isn't that bad of a deal anymore

Not only has the series become more visually appealing than previous generations, but they're also starting to include a lot of desirable design features of more expensive laptops for better overall impressions.

Allen Ngo, 11 Dec 2020 02:17

Outdated Comet Lake CPU in the Huawei MateBook 14 is only convincing when it comes to battery life

The Huawei MateBook 14 still relies on Intel Comet Lake. The outdated 14-nanometer chips can't convince in our test in terms of CPU performance; the MateBook 14 AMD is vastly better with its Ryzen 4000 processor. The Intel CPU only shows its strengths when it comes to battery life.

Benjamin Herzig, 10 Dec 2020 23:13

GeForce NOW is a Game Awards partner. (Source: NVIDIA)

GeForce NOW is streaming the 2020 Game Awards Festival as well as Cyberpunk 2077

Today (December 10, 2020) is a Thursday, which means GeForce NOW has new games to add to its library. NVIDIA has announced that Cyberpunk 2077 is one of them, which makes it a day-and-date release alongside other services such as the Epic Games Store. This streaming platform is also the official host of the Game Awards Festival.

Deirdre O'Donnell, 10 Dec 2020 22:40

Multiple RTX 30 mobile SKUs have been added to the PCI ID repository. (Image source: NVIDIA)

NVIDIA is developing the GeForce RTX 3070 Max-P and Max-Q with 8 GB and 16 GB of VRAM; GA106M for the RTX 3060 Max-P and Max-Q

NVIDIA has 8 GB and 16 GB editions of the GeForce RTX 3070 mobile in development, PCI IDs have confirmed. Expectedly, there will be Max-P and Max-Q versions of the GA104-M based GeForce RTX 3070, as there will be for the GeForce RTX 3060. The latter will be based on the GA106M GPU.

Alex Alderson, 10 Dec 2020 20:58

Nokia Booklet 3G - Representative image.

Nokia PureBook laptops with Core i3 and Core i5 processors, Tongfang chassis, and Dolby Vision displays to launch exclusively in India via Flipkart

Nokia will soon launch about nine laptop models under the PureBook brand in the Indian market exclusively on Flipkart. Tongfang looks to be the ODM for these laptops, according to recent BIS certification listings. Going by known model numbers, the Nokia PureBooks could come in Intel 10th gen Core i5 and Core i3 variants and sport Dolby Vision-powered 14-inch displays.

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 10 Dec 2020 09:43