Laptop

Primarily aimed at the HPC sector, the new CopperLink internal and external cables for PCIe 5.0 / 6.0 devices are expected to launch sometime next year. PCI-SIG has not yet finished the specs, but the bandwidth provided by such cables is supposed to be similar to what Thunderbolt 5 offers.

An entry-level configuration of the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2023) has dropped to its lowest-ever price on Best Buy. The laptop features a Ryzen 7 7735HS CPU, an RTX 4050 GPU, 16 GB of expandable DDR5 RAM, and 512 GB of upgradable storage. The notebook is a solid option for folks searching for a manageable 14-inch gaming laptop with mid-range performance.

CheckMag Some people compare Windows on ARM with Windows RT, declaring its death. But such proclamations may be a tad early. Arguably, Windows on ARM is more alive now than it has ever been since the 2016 Qualcomm/Microsoft partnership announcement, as it is getting ready for a busy year 2024.

Asus intends to be the first to release AI-centric PC systems in 2024. At first, these will be targeted at content creators and enterprise clients, so the price points will be on the premium side. Most PC OEMs are expected to release similar systems next year, so prices should come down in a few years.

The first references for AMD's refreshed Phoenix architecture have been added to the PCI ID Repository. Phoenix3 is most likely a refresh for Phoenix1 and Phoenix4 may be a Phoenix2 refresh, both of which are expected to launch with the Hawk Point processor early next year.

CheckMag If you've upgraded to the new M3 MacBook Pro or a Lenovo X1 Carbon, take a look at some of the options for repurposing your old hardware instead of selling, recycling or sending to landfill. Repurposing old hardware can be a rewarding adventure that forms a core part of your home network.

CheckMag Of the 10 ARM-powered laptops we tested in 2022 and 2023, just 1 comes with Windows on ARM - all the rest are Apple MacBooks. Apparently, laptop makers do not see much point in using ARM chips; worse still, software developers do not appear to be very interested in creating/maintaining dedicated ARM versions of their products, either.

The MacBook Pro 14 M3 is Apple's new base model in the Pro lineup starting at $1599, but there are some areas where the new laptop is worse compared to the previous MBP 14 with the M2 Pro. If you upgrade the M3 to 16 GB RAM, it is actually more expensive right now, so go ahead and buy the old one as long as you can.

Early Black Friday deals have already started to roll in, and some are too good to be missed. For example, the Gigabyte G5 gaming laptop with Intel Core i7-12650H and NVIDIA RTX 4060 has dropped by US$300 on Best Buy.

Those looking to deck their schoolroom, home office or other workspace with a mini-PC capable of driving 2 or even 3 4K displays at a good price have new options thanks to Acemagic's latest sale. It offers machines based on 12th-gen Intel (or the odd Ryzen 5000) platforms at discounts of up to 42%, or even much with bulk buys.

The Intel Core i9-14900HX has shown up on Geekbench, scoring 2,998 and 17,937 in the single and multi-core tests. The laptop in question is from Acer, and it packs 32 GB of RAM and a GeForce RTX 4080.

Some people need more memory than everyone else - especially when virtualization comes into play. Often, laptops with a high amount of RAM are pretty big or heavy. The key selling point of the maximum configuration of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11: It is neither of those things while providing 64 GB of RAM.

Four members of the Apple M3 series have landed on the PassMark benchmark site and have immediately secured the top four positions in the single-thread performance chart for laptop CPUs. The Apple M3, 11-core M3 Pro, 12-core M3 Pro, and 16-core M3 Max have sailed past Intel’s Raptor Lake mobile parts and AMD’s Zen 4 Dragon Range APUs.

The only configuration currently available on Amazon comes with 32 GB of DDR5-4800 RAM, 1 TB Samsung 980 Pro SSD storage. Also included are a 16-inch IPS display with 2560 x 1600 resolution and 240 Hz refresh rate, plus Thunderbolt 4 connectivity and a full-size SD card reader.

The US$1,299.95 configuration includes 16 GB of DDR5-4800 RAM and 1 TB PCIe 4.0 SSD. There is also a 32 GB RAM version for US$1,399.95 and a 64 GB RAM + 2 TB SSD one for US$1,499.

The gaming laptop Predator Helios Neo 16 from Acer is supposedly a cheaper alternative to the regular Helios 16, while still offering a variety of mid-range features, such as an extremely robust and sleek case, lots of connectivity options, a desktop-class CPU, as well as a powerful cooling system which makes use of liquid metal. But how well does this concept work?

The latest ASUS TUF Gaming F15 is currently discounted by a sizeable US$400 at Best Buy. The laptop comes with an RTX 4070 mobile GPU, a 14-core Core i7-12700H CPU, a 15.6-inch IPS display alongside a backlit keyboard, and a 90 Wh battery.

Gamers will get a free copy of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora with select AMD hardware, which includes CPUs, GPUs and laptops running a combination of both. The promotion expires on December 30 and also applies to some pre-built PCs.

The Swift Go 14 boasts a low weight (1.3 kg), an aluminum case and an OLED screen (2,880 x 1,800 pixels, 90 Hz) with a work-friendly 16:10 aspect ratio. Furthermore, the laptop features two USB 4 ports and a QHD webcam.

Lenovo's new ThinkPad P1 G6 performs admirably as a mobile workstation with fast GPUs and a vivid IPS display. At the same time, it replaces the previous multimedia flagship ThinkPad X1 Extreme, which is a questionable marketing choice.

Xiaomi is launching a new notebook globally in the form of the Book 14, which features two different Intel processors and a high-resolution 2.8K display with 120 Hz.

The Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 convertible laptop is enjoying a handsome 33.33% discount at Best Buy. The configuration on sale features a 14-inch 1400p touch display, a Core i5-1335U, and 16 GB of RAM. Additionally, the laptop packs a varied port selection with a USB Type-A, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI 1.4 output, a microSD slot, and a 3.5 mm combo jack.

Lenovo's popular mid-range gaming laptop also features the AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS processor, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. Thanks to an 18% discount, the 15-inch Legion 5 can now be ordered for US$899 instead of the usual price of US$1,099.

This model also features a 16-inch 1920 X 1200 IPS display with 165 Hz refresh rate and 100% sRGB color gamut, 16 GB of DDR5-4800 RAM, 512 GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD and a microSD card reader. The RTX 4060 is limited to 75 W, however.

BenQ has presented an innovative light bar for notebooks in the LaptopBar, which can be magnetically attached to the display and whose brightness automatically adapts to the environment. The LED bar is designed to provide optimal workplace lighting, even when on the move.

The latest AMD version of Dell's popular gaming laptop has received a noteworthy discount as the Texas-based company has dropped the RTX 4060-equipped G15 5535 to a more affordable price point compared to its MSRP of US$1,299.

Lenovo's second-generation ThinkPad X1 Fold is now available to purchase, a year after its initial showcase. In the intervening period, Lenovo has made various changes to the device, which still carries a US$2,499 starting price.

Last year's Asus ROG Flow Z13 with model number GZ301ZA-PS53 is discounted once again on Amazon. This 13.4-inch gaming hybrid with Intel Core i5-12500H, 16 GB LPDDR5, 512 GB PCIe 4.0 SSD, and Intel Xe graphics currently goes for US$798, which is 39% down from the US$1,299.99 list price.

The Intel Core i7-14700HX made its Geekbench debut recently. Like its desktop counterpart, it comes with an increased number of efficiency cores and a slightly higher boost clock.

The fourth driver release of last month and the second in a week arrived yesterday from Nvidia. The GeForce Game Ready Driver 546.01 brings DLSS 3, DLAA, and Reflex support to CoD: MW III, as well as Jusant, Desynced, and RoboCop: Rogue City. Six new G-Sync Compatible displays also join the list.

Just a day after its announcement, Apple's latest M3 SoC has found its way to Geekbench. According to the entry, the M3 seems to be up to 10% faster in single-core compared to Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite 23 W reference design. However, multi-core performance takes a beating against both 23 W and 80 W X Elite reference scores. The M3 is also clocked 500 MHz faster than the M2 and is about 270 MHz faster than the A17 Pro.

Other specs for this configuration includes fast 16 GB DDR5-5600 RAM and 1 TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, both produced by Adata, a 15.6-inch 1080p 144 Hz display, and a robust port selection with three video outputs. The bundled Precog headset is currently worth US$100 alone.

Lenovo offers two very good 14-inch subnotebooks with the Yoga Slim 7 and Yoga Pro 7. We reviewed both models and compare them with each other.

The powerful RTX 3080 configuration of the MSI Creator 15 is now on sale for one of its lowest prices ever as the Taiwanese PC manufacturer slashes 41% off the already discounted list price of the 4K OLED laptop.

CheckMag The Schenker Vision 14 is a very good laptop that fully deserves more spotlight. With no PWM, no coil whine and no significant throttling to speak of, the product is in several ways ahead of many Dells and HPs tested by us this year.