Laptop

Razer's online store has revealed that all of its Black Friday deals are on its Blade-series models from 2022 - however, that does include the one with a 240Hz OLED displays, not to mention other options with up to RTX 3080 Ti graphics. These persistently powerful gaming machines now start at just under US$1,800, with the occasional added freebie and gift thrown in.

Xiaomi has revealed that it will also give next week's Redmi K70 series launch event over to at least three other Redmi-branded devices. So far, the company has previewed the Redmi Book 16 2024, Redmi Watch 4 and Redmi Buds 5 Pro as Xiaomi continues to expand the Redmi ecosystem.

Besides the subpar screen that is expected from budget-oriented models, this configuration packs 16 GB DDR5-5200 RAM and 1 TB PCIe 4.0 SSD storage. The RTX 4070 dGPU is limited to 105 W TGP, but that is close enough to the optimal 115 W.

Included with this configuration are 16 GB of DDR5-5600 RAM, 1 TB PCIe 4.0 SSD storage and a 16.1-inch 1080p 165 Hz IPS screen. The RTX 4070 dGPU option is also discounted to US$1,189.99.

The MSI Katana 17 has received a hefty US$200 discount on Amazon, bringing its price down to US$1,199- the cheapest it has been listed for until now. It features a 17-inch 144 Hz screen, an Intel Raptor Lake-H processor and 32 GB of RAM.

The ASUS ROG Zephyrus M16 (2023) has recorded a juicy 23% discount bringing the RTX 4070-powered machine back to a 120-day low price. The laptop which has a customer rating of 4.6/5 is a stellar gaming machine with high performance, decent inputs, and plenty of ports.

HP has accidentally listed its upcoming Spectre x360 laptop ahead of time. It comes in two flavours, Intel Core i7-155H and Intel Core i5-125H, and offers next-gen features such as Wi-Fi 7.

After the well-performing 2023 ROG Strix G17 just recently fell below the US$2,000 price mark for the very first time, Amazon is now granting a huge additional discount on the QHD gaming laptop, which features a superquick AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX Zen4 CPU as well as the RTX 4070 dGPU.

Early images of the Galaxy Book4 series have surfaced online before Samsung's next Galaxy Unpacked event. Reportedly due in early 2024, the Galaxy Book4 series is expected to consist of the Galaxy Book4, Galaxy Book4 360, Galaxy Book4 Pro, Galaxy Book4 Pro 360 and Galaxy Book4 Ultra.

The Acer Predator Helios 16, featuring a 16-inch WQXDA 165 Hz screen, Intel Raptor Lake-HX processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 series graphics card, has received its first major discount. It can be bought on Amazon for just US$1,299.

It appears that Xiaomi is about to release a new gaming laptop, possibly under its Redmi G sub-brand. Seemingly, the company has developed two 14th Gen Intel Intel Core-based models, with the Core i9-14900HX serving as a flagship variant.

Moore's Law is Dead presents quotes from a few major laptop OEMs and even provides a statement from an Intel employee regarding the grim situation with Meteor Lake. The performance lift over Raptor Lake seems minimal so laptop OEMs are refocusing their marketing strategies to include more AMD-powered models.

The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 8 price has dropped by a mouth-watering 27% at B&H Photo. The laptop is highly rated as it delivers on the lofty performance that its Core i9-13900HX and RTX 4080 combo promises. Combine the performance with a wide port selection, 100% sRGB 240 Hz display, and solid build quality, and the Legion Pro 7i 16IRX8H turns into a pretty sweet deal.

The Asus ROG Strix G16 (2023) comes with a 16-inch 165 Hz FHD panel, Wi-Fi 6, 16 GB of RAM, a 90 Wh battery and the latest hardware from Nvidia and Intel. Amazon's Black Friday deal has driven its price down to US$1,099.

The LG Gram 17 (2023) is a super lightweight notebook that boasts a massive 17-inch display. The SKU with a Core i7-1360P processor, 1 TB of storage, and 32 GB of RAM has now been priced down by a sizeable 38% at Best Buy. At the discounted rate, the LG Gram 17 is certainly worth a look, since it nails the basics and brings excellent battery life.

Early Black Friday deals have already slashed some gaming laptops to eye-catching prices. This time, it’s time for the Gigabyte G5 KF. The variant equipped with Intel Core i5-12500H and Nvidia RTX 4060 is currently enjoying a 32% discount, reducing its price from US$1099 to US$749.99.

The coveted 16-inch version of the 2023 Legion Slim 5 has now hit its lowest price point yet as a well-known electronics retailer grants a big 33% discount on the wallet-friendly RTX 4060 configuration of Lenovo's sleek gaming laptop.

OnePlus has announced that its next major stable software upgrade for Android smartphones will make them compatible with Microsoft Phone Link. Eligible devices will thus have a whole new way to move their calls, notifications and photos onto their users' Windows PCs, not to mention their whole UI if necessary.

CheckMag Notebookcheck has reported on numerous fantastic deals this past week. However, these three have stood out, and they are still available at discounted prices. The LG G3 Series OLED TV delivers 65-inch viewing delight, while gamers can check out the powerful Lenovo Legion Pro 5i laptop with RTX 4070 dGPU onboard and smartphone fans should look at Google’s Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro price cuts.

Asus has given the Zenbook Pro 16X a considerable upgrade with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080. The laptop, which is only 18 mm thick, almost fully exhausts the potential of the powerful graphics unit, as Asus sets a TGP of 140 watts. This puts the slim notebook on par with many gaming laptops.

The affordable eco laptop Acer Aspire Vero 15 impresses in almost every way — bar one major flaw. At first glance, the eco-friendly laptop fulfils every wish: long runtimes, high performance, quiet use, a robust and attractive design, good input devices, a bright display with 100 % sRGB coverage as well as a QHD webcam.

Four pictures have appeared on Reddit that allegedly show the next-gen version of the most prestigious Lenovo ThinkPad laptop, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12. The new model appears to feature a revamped design and a haptic trackpad without dedicated TrackPoint buttons.

This TUF A15 version also packs 16 GB of DDR5-4800 RAM and a 512 GB PCie 4.0 SSD, as well as a 15.6-inch display with 1080p resolution and 144 Hz refresh rate. At this price point, it is among the few models to include a USB4 connector.

CheckMag Most gaming laptops have extravagant and eye-catching designs, something that isn't necessarily welcome in the workplace. If you want one single laptop for gaming and taking to the office, the 16-inch Lenovo Legion Pro 5 might just fit the bill thanks to its discreet looks and powerful components.

TrendForce's research on the third-party SSD space has found that Kingston was its #1 brand in 2022. The company had weathered the supply storm of 2021 to remain a market leader. It attributes its success to the ability to offer both cost-effective and high-end drives for both gaming and non-gaming use-cases, and to the continuing demand for PCIe 4.0 NVMe.

Although the new driver package only comes with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III full support alongside optimizations for the beta update of Starfield's Steam, the latest GeForce Experience update brings support for GeForce RTX 40 series laptops as well no less than 50 optimal settings presets.

The Lenovo Legion Pro 5i Gen 8 (Intel) with an RTX 4070 GPU and a Core i9-13900HX CPU has been priced down by a massive 30% at B&H Photo. The laptop features an expansive 16-inch panel with a quick 240 Hz refresh rate which the notebook can take full advantage of thanks to the powerful CPU and GPU combo.

Nvidia has announced its latest holiday season giveaway. Eight lucky winners can walk away with top-of-the-line RTX 40 series graphics cards or an MSI Stealth 17 Studio.

A new leak has revealed that the Galaxy Book4 and Galaxy Book4 360 will be some of the first laptops to sport Intel Raptor Lake-U Refresh processors. Reportedly, both machines will utilise the Intel Core 5 120U, as well as 8 GB of RAM and two SSD slots. The pair will differ in various areas though, including an AMOLED display for the Galaxy Book4 360.

Samsung is preparing the Galaxy Book4 Pro and Galaxy Book4 Pro 360, specifications of which have already leaked online. Supposedly, Samsung will equip both machines with one of Intel's Meteor Lake processors, as well as high-resolution AMOLED displays. The pair will feature Thunderbolt 4 connectivity, plus LPDDR5X RAM and high-capacity batteries, among other features.

Various specifications for the Galaxy Book4 Ultra have surfaced online, courtesy of a typically reliable source. Reportedly, the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra will be one of the first laptops to combine an Intel Meteor Lake processor with a dedicated graphics card, among other upgrades from the Galaxy Book3 Ultra.

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.