Laptop

Upgrade or downgrade? HP's new G2-version of their 17-inch business and multimedia hybrid features updated hardware components. The new model comes with an i5-4210U CPU instead of the i5-4200M and a Radeon R5 M255 replaces the Radeon HD 8750M graphics card. The display panel differs as well. How the changes impact performance, battery life, and picture quality is the subject of our review.

Ride Across the USA. After Assassin's Creed Unity and Far Cry 4, Ubisoft is now launching its third large project at the end of 2014. The Crew appeals to freedom junkies and multiplayer enthusiasts alike with its free world concept. Can the game engine meet the expectations of its fans?

Problem? No Problem! A laptop has to be robust, secure, and always ready in industrial environments. Dell now presents its Latitude 14 Rugged 5454 in the Dell-Latitude-Rugged-Extreme lineup. It lacks the "Extreme" in its name, which leads to a drastically reduced price.

Full HD Premium. Acer attracts a lot of office users with its conservative, yet solid and powerful notebooks. Usually, the price-performance ratio is just right, but for this to be true for our test model, which uses the Intel Core i3-4005U and a Full HD display, the price would have to drop quite a lot.

Yoga-like entertainer. Lenovo’s Edge 15 notebook is a Best Buy exclusive with a sleek and sturdy aluminum build and some transformative properties that almost resemble the Yoga line of machines. It’s an interesting combination of features, but is it a practical addition to the lineup?

Little companion. Netbooks still have a purpose. A small, light, and portable Windows device does not have to be expensive. But what can the buyer expect for a price below 250 Euros (~$310)?

Performance alternative. HP reworked its workstation series and now offers some new features. We decided to equip the HP ZBook 15 G2 with the AMD FirePro M5100 and the high-resolution QHD+ display. We tested how well the two components suit the established working device.

GTX 980M SLI. The highly configurable Eurocom X7 returns as the X8 and instantly comes out on top on our usual benchmarks yet again. We take a closer look at this ultimate gaming machine from the Canadian reseller of the most powerful barebones available.

Business style. The business laptops of Dell's Latitude lineup are actually made for entrepreneurs. However, the slim Dell Latitude E5550 and its plastic casing also fit medium budgets. Our report clarifies whether the E5550 is just another office machine, or if it might just add a touch of elegance to the desk.

Well-equipped. Pony up 500 Euros (~$613) for this 15.6-inch device and you'll get an all-rounder capable of running some current video games. Thanks to its 1 TB hard drive, the storage space won't run out anytime soon.

Netbook, redefined. Asus sells a handy subnotebook based on Windows 8.1 Bing priced at 219 Euros (~$269). Just how much netbook can customers expect at this low price? Asus speaks of elegance, premium-feel, performance, 12 hours of browsing, and vivid colors. A one-year license for Office 365 is also included.

Surprise from the second row. Asus wants to attack the established business competition with its new 12.5-inch subnotebook. The AsusPro BU201LA can not only impress with its great Full HD display, but also with an excellent keyboard and a solid build quality – and all that for a surprisingly low price. What is the catch?

Iris on-board. Long battery life, matte FHD screen, fast SSD and a decent keyboard make the Aspire V3-371-38ZG a good laptop. Does this model have any weaknesses?

Third Installment. The second game focused on action and provided gamers immense enjoyment. Now BioWare is making the move to reconsolidate its Dragon Age fans. Our article will focus on the performance of the Frostbite 3 Engine. Will every gamer be able to joy the world of Inquisition?

Netbook, redefined. Asus sells a handy subnotebook with Windows 8.1 Bing for 219 Euros (~$272). So how much netbook do customers get for so little money? Asus refers to elegance, premium experience, performance, 12 hours of web surfing, and vibrant colors. In addition, a one-year license for Office 365 is included. Is this all too good to be true?

Call to Freedom. The Ubisoft recipe has changed little for the long-awaited sequel, Far Cry 4, as the game is composed primarily of action, exploration and foraging. We tested the performance of the Kyrat special edition on various laptops and have summarized our findings in this review.

Decent computer, good price. HP demands 369 Euros (~$458) for its 355 G2. The buyer gets an office laptop with two operating systems (Windows 7 Pro (64-bit), Windows 8 Pro (64-bit)), a quad-core processor, and a dedicated Radeon graphics core for the money. Can buying a laptop for this price be a mistake?

Performance goes up, energy consumption goes down? After a several-month delay, Intel has finally released the fifth incarnation of their "Core" architecture, codenamed Broadwell. It's even coming on the market this year -- at least in a few machines. Initially, the new, extremely low-energy Core M series will only be used in the improved 14 nm manufacturing process. Is it a dream come true? Can we now expect to see high-performance, passively cooled Windows tablets?

Time is money. Dell's new Latitude E5450 that is designed to make work efficient and be performance-enhancing has now been introduced to the business world. Will the professional domain benefit from its mobility, security, and power?

Classy low-cost gadget. HP14’s exterior gives a premium-line impression. However, the price of just 350 Euros (~$435) suggests that the performance reserves will not be able to meet any special requirements. Is it a good compromise or are the looks deceiving?

Alluring. Asus aims at tech enthusiasts with its new 15-inch Zenbook generation. The flat aluminum unibody houses a standard-voltage i7 processor paired with an upper middle-class Nvidia graphics card. The highlight of this model seems to be the 4K panel. It offers high resolutions, great colors, high contrast and wide viewing angles. Is this the winner?

Cutting corners. A new day, a new notebook with Bing Windows. This low-price model has no fan and offers good battery life. On the inside, not surprisingly, the laptop has an Intel Bay Trail CPU.

You've got the power. We provide some more benchmarks and comparison numbers for our second look at the MSI GT72 with GTX 980M graphics. In short: This is performance that rivals a system with GTX 780M SLI graphics.

Agonizing. Lenovo will not win any awards with the abysmal performance of the new AMD E-6010 dual-core and the integrated R2 graphics. But then, its price is cheap. To what extent the office snail exhausted the tester's patience, and whether multimedia and gaming is even remotely possible is revealed in our report.

Fun or an imposition? Assassin's Creed Unity is yet another entry in the never-ending list of unfinished games. High demands on the hardware combined with technical bugs are a constant source of aggravation. We'll try to determine just how powerful a notebook has to be to handle this game.

Stable base. The Acer CB3-111 is one of the cheapest laptops available and it does a good job of being clean, stable and efficient within 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. It runs ChromeOS and might be suitable for you. Read on for more details, performance and comparison.

Slim and powerful. The current trend towards slim notebook cases also continues with MSI's current workstation lineup. A decent performance combined with a mobile and light case results in an interesting combination that should not be interesting for just professional users. We checked if and for whom the package works.

Work computer. A matte screen, good battery life, a comfortable keyboard, maintenance hatches and an unoccupied mSATA slot -- clearly, HP wants to stake their claim on the market for inexpensive office devices. With their 350-G1 line, they may very well have succeeded.

Beefed up. The L-series is the affordable entry into the world of ThinkPads. It offers typing comfort, many interfaces including a docking port, and a rigid, timeless chassis. Lenovo now ships the classic with an SSD and HD+ screen. Will that make the L440 the ultimate laptop among the budget-priced pro-books?

Cutting edge? The graphics and technology the previous game of the series was based on were no cause for celebration. Advanced Warfare aims to remedy that and supposedly offers a "next-gen" experience. In our review, we take a detailed look at the performance of the new Call of Duty offshoot.

Made to serve? Asus' F751LDV-TY178H wants to be an all-rounder and satisfy all natures to an equal extent. Will the 650-Euro (~$814) laptop accomplish this feat?

Portable gaming monster. While ultra-slim, high-end laptops were still rare in 2013, there are now quite a few slim gaming machines. Gigabyte introduces the P35X v3, an extremely high-performance model based on the GeForce 980M.

Facelift. Lenovo once again offers a device for private and business users with the latest model of the inexpensive ThinkPad E-series. There are some visual changes compared to the predecessors – but you still get a matte panel and a good keyboard.

Too thirsty. AMD's new FX-7500 APU wants to show what it is capable of. The combination of a dedicated Radeon GPU, a Full HD screen and 1 TB hard drive, turns the Aspire into a game-suitable all-rounder.

No endurance. Lenovo sees its B50-70 destined to be a workhorse. A matte Full HD screen, powerful Core i5 processor, and a high-capacity hard drive let buyers prick up their ears in this direction. However, the laptop exhibits shortcomings in keyboard and battery life.

Working class hero? HP advertises its new Envy as the epitome of efficiency. Is this because of the SSD-HDD combination? Because of the GTX GeForce? Or the good sound? We check if work and gaming harmonize well.

Hexes live on. Sid Meier's successful gaming series moves on to the next round with Beyond Earth. We don't just mean content-wise -- in terms of graphics, too, the game is on the move. Thanks to Mantle support, AMD-based computers should have a noticeable advantage over Nvidia systems. We ran the tests and have laid out the results for you here.

Desk culprit. Acer's affordable 17.3-inch laptop is designed for use on the desk at home. An AMD APU provides the needed computing power, it offers a high storage capacity, and the battery life does not come too short either.

Hello Broadwell! Intel introduces the next generation of CPU technology. Lenovo’s brand-new Yoga 3 Pro Convertible is one of the first devices with the new Core-M processors. How does the new chip perform compared to Intel’s Haswell ULV processors? What can you expect from the third generation of the Lenovo Yoga? Here are our initial impressions and measurements ahead of our upcoming test.

Performance at all costs. Aorus is one of the first manufacturers to fuse two GeForce GTX 970M cards to an SLI array. Both the performance and the waste heat are correspondingly high. Can the slim 17-inch chassis deal with this load?

Pixel machine. Outsider - trailblazer? While the competition is equipping their high-definition luxury-range with Nvidia GPUs, the Japanese manufacturer relies on AMD's Radeon R9. Will the combination of a 4K screen, fast computing cores, build, and ergonomics result in a round bundle that deserves our purchase recommendation?

Decent all around. The Inspiron 15 3542 is an inexpensive allrounder-notebook. Thanks to a powerful Core i5 processor and dedicated GeForce graphics card, even gaming is not out of the question. The battery life is very decent as well.