Laptop

Responding to a question on Twitter, Frank Azor bluntly stated that the likelihood of a dedicated GPU making its way into Dell's XPS 13 2-in-1 is slim to none. "Don't hold your breath," said Azor, effectively squashing any hope of a variant of the convertible with a dGPU. However, is that such a bad thing?

An official Gigabyte UK representative confirmed that the mobility version of the Nvidia GeForce GTX 11xx series should arrive towards the end of the year. This pretty much confirms that the desktop versions are slated to be released this summer, as the mobility solutions usually get released a few months later.

Less than two days after two more powerful XPS 15 9570 configurations were listed on the official Dell website, two cheaper variants join the lineup. Starting at US$999.99, these models come with 8 GB of memory and 8th generation Intel Core processors (i5-8300H with a 5400 rpm 1 TB hybrid drive and i7-8750H with a 256 MB PCIe SSD).

Frank Azor has confirmed that the much anticipated Dell XPS 15 9570 notebook is likely to launch this week. This would be highly welcomed by those eager to lay their hands on the laptop as the ongoing Cashstar pre-order promo met with sharp criticism from prospective buyers.

By pulling the Inspiron Gaming notebooks away from the Inspiron series, Dell can now offer more options and sizes to better cater to budget-mainstream gamers who may not want to spend an arm and a leg on a hulking Alienware. The new Dell Gaming G series competes directly against the HP Pavilion Gaming series where the GTX 1050 and GTX 1060 Max-Q are common finds. No word yet on if future SKUs would also carry AMD options.

The Vostro 15 5000 gets a 40 percent price cut with a free Western Digital HDD thrown in for good measure on some deals. The promotion includes systems with 8th gen Intel Core ix CPUs as well. The timing of the price cuts are in line with the recent announcements of a refresh across the Precision and Wyse Thin Client families set to launch towards the end of the month.

When Chris Hook first announced he was leaving AMD, many analysts speculated that he could join Intel and his long-time partner Raja Koduri, who has been working for Intel since late 2017. Hook recently confirmed these rumors and explained he is starting a new marketing leadership role at Intel in Santa Clara. The two former AMD gurus will be working on the Arctic Sound and Jupiter Sound discrete GPUs with which Intel is planning to take on AMD and Nvidia.

Dell commissioned a study in collaboration with Researchscape to understand the PC gaming community. The study brings forth some new facts about gamers, their habits, and attitudes and breaks the typical stereotyping commonly associated with them.

It seems that the delay of the 10 nm Intel Cannon Lake processors and the current pricing of 32 GB memory modules compatible with Apple's requirements are both pushing the launch of the next-gen MacBook Pro to 2019. Two years ago, Apple was afraid that 32 GB of memory would require a different design with reduced battery space, but those fears are gone now.

There has been a growing wave of people in the community calling the Exklim eX Core a scam. Some feel that the eX Core fills a new niche, some think that it can't achieve the claimed performance, while others believe it doesn't exist at all. We haven't seen any working products and we don't endorse the eX Core, but we did feel it was important to give Edgar the chance to answer some of the communities questions.

Samsung recently divulged the name "Max-P" to describe the GTX 1060 GPU in its upcoming Odyssey Z gaming laptop before quietly removing the word. However, we can confirm that "Max-P" is simply a standard GPU without the Max-Q designation. The GTX 1050, 1050 Ti, 1060, 1070, and 1080 found on most gaming laptops are all technically "Max-P" graphics cards so long as they are not Max-Q GPUs.

Although the new XPS 15 2-in-1 (9575) was supposed to begin shipping more than a week ago, Frank Azor has just confirmed that many early adopters still have to receive their machines due to a delay that has been caused by "a small bad batch of the Mag lev keyboard." Even more, the i9 processor upgrade for the XPS 15 9570 is not available yet but will be added on May 10.

Dell has introduced a new SKU to its lineup that halves the storage capacity for a cheaper introductory price of $1300 USD. Core specifications are otherwise untouched from the Core i5-8305G CPU, FHD touchscreen, Radeon Vega M GL GPU, and 8 GB of DDR4 RAM. The new SKU is a smart move since the SSD in the XPS 15 9575 is easy to upgrade if necessary.

To enthusiasts, a primary SSD may seem like a no-brainer for new PCs. Unfortunately, everyday shoppers at most retailers are still drawn in by the higher capacities and lower price points that HDDs offer and not realize the immense performance benefits of SSDs. Two of the largest PC manufacturers in the world will purportedly push primary SSDs onto more budget and mainstream laptops in lieu of HDDs should NAND prices continue to decline.

After failing to turn a profit for the best part of the last decade, AMD has reported a net profit of US$81 million for the first quarter of 2018. The company can pin its turnaround on the success of its Ryzen chip family, which is putting pressure on Intel for the first time in years.

While it is still not clear if Samsung is going to release any foldable phones in 2018 or 2019, sleek 3D renders of a rumored Galaxy X model make an appearance in the wild, depicting a device with 1 external display and 2 other internal ones. The Smartphone can open up and act as a laptop powered by a light version of Windows 10, just like Microsoft's Surface Phone.

Samsung is refreshing its mid-range NVMe SSD lineup with the 970 Evo and Pro models that are using the latest version of the company's 64-layer 3D V-NAND memory chips. The Pro version is slightly faster but comes only in 512 GB and 1 TB capacities, while the Evo model has capacities ranging from 256 GB up to 2 TB.

According to Dell, Kaby Lake-G caters better to casual mainstream gamers while the Alienware brand will stick to hardcore gamers and enthusiasts with the familiar Intel H-series and Nvidia GTX GPUs. The Intel-AMD processors will instead be used for Dell's mainstream families like the XPS line to provide GTX 1050-level graphics.

It's been almost five months since the official reveal of Kaby Lake-G and there is only one manufacturer other than Intel currently shipping a Kaby Lake-G product. We put the pieces together to find out why there are so few of these systems in the market and why most manufacturers are staying silent on the matter.

A member survey of IT professionals done by Spiceworks has found Cortana to be the most widely implemented virtual assistant in North American and European businesses. Siri follows closely behind with Google Assistant and Alexa having significantly lower market shares. These results are an interesting contrast to consumer usage.

Today, Dell announced the newest generation of the Precision mobile workstation line. The core of that lineup are the two traditional workstation-models Precision 7530 and Precision 7730, which are being updated with the lastest GPUs, CPUs, more RAM and also a new chassis-design.

Dell has been number one in monitor sales for 17 straight quarters, and they are looking to continue this trend with the announcement of seven new and refreshed monitors. Three of the new models stand out because of their USB-C connections, giving us an indication of future trends as we move towards possible universal usage of USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 replacing various other non-compatible data and display standards.

Available in Platinum Silver and Brushed Onyx, the 15.6-inch Dell Precision 5530 is the brand's smallest mobile workstation. Its comprehensive list of hardware options includes 8th generation Intel Core i5, i7, and i9 processors, two IGZO 4 displays, NVIDIA Quadro P2000 graphics, as well as up to 32 GB of 2,666 MHz memory.

The new Dell Precision 5530 2-in-1 is a less powerful — but convertible — sibling of the 15.6-inch Precision 5530 mobile workstation. Its specs are similar to those of the Dell XPS 9575, but this mobile workstation features Radeon Pro WX Vega M GL graphics and is scheduled to hit the market in July/August.

Historically, when you think of Dell, you think conservative, “me too,” PC notebook designs. That changed with the debut of the stunning, but short-lived, Adamo range — and the arrival of Frank Azor among Dell’s ranks.

A new listing for the IdeaPad 530s has just appeared on Lenovo's European site. The mid-range device can be configured with up to an 8th gen Intel Core i7, 16 GB of RAM, and 512 GB of NVMe storage. The 530s can also pack up to an Nvidia MX150 GPU in a slightly smaller and lighter shell than the 520s.

Dell could be looking at offering new aspect ratios aside from the standard 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio in future notebooks. This was confirmed in a conference call by Frank Azor during the new XPS and Alienware reveal. Opting for non-standard aspect ratios can greatly enhance the tablet mode experience especially in 2-in-1 notebooks.

Gamers planning a trip to Panama City may just want to book a stay at the local Hilton hotel. Alienware has teamed up with the hotel’s management to create a gaming-themed room that is awesome enough to bring tears to the eyes of gamers who can’t bear the thought of a day away from their preferred battle royale title. The cost for such gaming-room luxury? US$349 a night.

The E485 model will feature a 14-inch 1366 x 768 IPS screen, while the E585 will come with a 15.6-inch FHD display. Hardware configurations for both variants are identical and include AMD Ryzen Mobile CPUs all the way up to Ryzen 7 2700U coupled with up to 32 GB of DDR4 RAM and up to 1 TB HDDs, plus up to 512 GB NVMe SSDs on select SKUs.

The Dell XPS 15 9570 could be available by the end of April according to Dell's Frank Azor. Pre-orders seem to be live at the moment but they require a purchase of a pre-order gift card via Cashstar, which has caused quite a flutter among prospective buyers.

Taiwanese computer manufacturer Asus has announced a rebranding for the AMD graphics cards that were previously part of the Republic of Gamers (ROG) line-up. The new name for the series is AREZ, which derives from Ares, the Greek god of war. The new AREZ-branded cards are expected to be available from May onwards.

The news comes just two weeks after the reveal of Coffee Lake-H. All models will utilize the same chassis as their respective G-Series equivalent with new fingerprint readers, vPro options, and SmartCard reader depending on the family. Expect the refreshed W series to begin shipping by the second half of this year.

The new Lenovo Air 2018 has a 15.6-inch display, an 82.7 percent screen-to-body ratio, and starts at US$923. The Lenovo 7000 has a 14-inch display, an 80.8 percent screen-to-body ratio, and the same starting price as its sibling. Both feature 8th generation Intel Core i5 and i7 processor choices, as well as the NVIDIA GeForce MX150 GPU.

Dell has launched the new Inspiron 13 7000 convertible and Inspiron 15 5000 notebooks powered by AMD Ryzen APUs without much fanfare. Both notebooks come with options of either the Ryzen 5 2500U or the Ryzen 7 2700U APU and are available in a range of price options. However, initial user reviews on Reddit have criticized Dell for reusing a 2016 Inspiron 13 7368 chassis.

The external NVMe SSDs from OWC are aimed at high-end users who create UHD content. Capacities range from 1 to 8 TB but prices are considerably higher than the mass produced NVMe solutions. Two ThunderBlade models can be connected in SoftRAID mode in order to provide increased read speeds of up to 3800 MB/s.