Windows

Some default Windows apps may be essential tools, while others exist to annoy. The Windows 11 25H2 update, currently in testing, empowers users to remove bloatware more easily. However, the tweaks depend on the Group Policy Editor, which is not available in all versions of the OS.

Just a few years ago, 32 GB was a luxury, but no more. With memory-hungry AI applications, 32 GB is slowly but surely becoming the new acceptable minimum. And for AMD's Strix Halo platform, 32 GB may not even be the acceptable minimum anymore.

Windows 11 has officially surpassed Windows 10 to become the world’s most popular desktop OS, now running on 52% of all Windows PCs. The milestone comes just months before Windows 10’s end of support, marking a major shift as Microsoft accelerates efforts to move users to newer, more secure hardware.

The latest Samsung Odyssey G9 OLED monitor boasts some incremental but noteworthy upgrades. Its 3rd-gen QD-OLED panel amplifies already stellar picture quality with improved brightness. The immersive 49-inch monitor is available for $999.99 at Woot, which is significantly lower than previous Amazon sale prices.

Green Hell is on sale for just $6.24 during the Steam Summer Sale, thanks to a 75% discount. The challenging open-world survivalcraft staple drops you into the Amazon rainforest and tasks you with survival as you search for your missing wife in a 25+ hour story campaign. Encounter everything from hostile tribes, snakes, boars, and even adorable capybaras.

Lenovo's new Legion 5 15 is an impressive showcase that you do not have to spend a fortune for a good gaming laptop. But what features are missing compared to more expensive models like the Legion Pro 5?

StarRupture is a promising new co-op base builder survival game, from Green Hell developer Creepy Jar, pits players against a hostile environment on an alien planet constantly battered by calamities. It is up to you and your crew to explore the planet, find resources, fend off hordes of aggressive alien fauna, and turn this hellscape into a functional industrial outpost.

Xbox Game Pass can breathe new life into titles with dwindling support. Unfortunately, overlooked security concerns for Call of Duty: WW2 have resurfaced. The RCE exploit allows hackers to assume control of another player's PC.

The Epic Games Store has refreshed its free game program with two new titles for Windows. Also available on macOS, Backpack Hero is a roguelike game that can be picked up for free alongside the Windows-only release of action-adventure title Figment.

Lenovo really stepped up its OLED game and now offers multiple series with excellent OLED screens. This is also the case for the new mainstream gaming laptop Legion 5 15, where the 165 Hz OLED offers superb image quality while gaming, especially in HDR with brightness values of more than 1,000 nits.

Palworld's Terraria collaboration, along with a sizeable Steam Sale, has resulted in a massive spike in the game's concurrent player count, bringing it back up to a six-month player high. The new update added a wealth of content, including new weapons and armour, a new dungeon, fishing, and three new islands.

The control center of laptops is a central hub for users. These are developed by manufacturers themselves and increasingly abused in order to place ads or even collect user data. Lenovo is just one example.

Windows has just released the new Windows 11 25H2 update for insiders. The support timeframe will also be reset: Windows 11 will receive two more years of support and security updates for Home and Pro versions, and three years for Enterprise and Education versions. This will give Windows 11 users additional time before upgrading to a successor.

The big topic with Nvidia's new mainstream mobile GPUs is the amount of VRAM and many users complain about 8 GB. This is also the case for the Razer Blade 14, but is it really that big of a deal? And then there is also the topic of the price.

Razer's Blade 14 2024 was one of the fastest 14-inch gamers and the new 2025 model is an improvement, but the performance crown is left unchallenged for the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14, which can be equipped with the RTX 5080 Laptop.

CheckMag Avast and AVG run smoothly despite the lack of post-2020 patches as Avira and Panda struggle, a brief test shows. Several up-to-date alternative Web browsers are available for Windows users to choose from, too, enabling the 2009 OS to handle 2025 tasks.

Raycast is now in the public beta preview stage for Windows users. A well-known Spotlight alternative for macOS, Raycast carries forward most of its functionality to Windows 11 with additional features being planned down the lines. Windows 11 users can try out Raycast today by signing up for the beta or getting an invite from existing beta users.

CheckMag Avoid the rattly stabilisers, scratchy switches, and clunky bloatware that come with gaming keyboards from giants like Razer, Logitech, and Corsair with these five excellent wireless mechanical keyboards that pack everything from Hall-effect gaming prowess to excellent browser-based customisation and flawless Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz performance.

A new Microsoft blog post suggests a massive performance boost after a Windows 10 upgrade to Windows 11. Sadly, the Geekbench 6 test used to support the claim includes older and newer Intel CPUs. With other benchmarks yielding less impressive results, some gamers are hesitant to install Windows 11.

Revenge of the Savage Planet, a wacky co-op 3D platformer game with split-screen co-op and very positive Steam reviews has received its first ever Steam Sale discount a mere two months after launch, and the discount has slashed a whopping 50% off the game's original price.

Not all Steam games appear on the platform with the original author's permission. Gamepressure discovered that a developer had stolen numerous indie games from the itch.io website. Gamers have criticized Valve for accepting shovelware or low-quality imitations of established titles.

Ars Technica has compared the performance of the Lenovo Legion Go S handheld gaming console running Windows and SteamOS. The difference in performance between Windows and SteamOS in titles like Returnal is reportedly quite big.

The Epic Games Store revealed the contents of this week's giveaway last Thursday. While it will switch things up next week by adding a second title to a future giveaway, it will focus on a new game for this week. Available from today for a short time, Sable typically sells for almost $25 when off sale.

Lenovo has many, many laptops with AMD Ryzen AI CPUs. But there is only a single 14-inch Lenovo ThinkPad with the twelve core variant of Strix Point: The Lenovo ThinkPad P14s Gen 6 AMD offers the most CPU performance out of any 14-inch ThinkPad.

OnePlus has dropped its latest software feature, which might be one for fans of mobile devices that can integrate better with their Windows laptops or desktops. It also allows the user to access files on their PCs right from their hand-held screen. The brand's premium new Pad 3 tablet is now eligible for the upgrade, as is a number of OnePlus' current and former flagship smartphones.

Many Microsoft 10 will go out of software support on October 14, 2025 with three options available to extend your experience, but they do not come free of charge.

Losing or being unable to access important data is certainly frustrating, but it’s even more frustrating when it happens intentionally. This recently happened to a user who uploaded his most important files and photos to Microsoft OneDrive, and was subsequently locked out.

Star Wars Battlefront II has something for every Star Wars fan, from lightsabre battles and ground assaults to space skirmishes in X-Wing fighters and tactical multiplayer gameplay. Take command of the Sith lord Vader, fight as Luke Skywalker, or go with the ever-popular Mandalorian hero. For a limited time, Star Wars Battlefront II is 90% off, coming in at just $3.99 on Steam.

As the new Xbox handheld approaches, the Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme offers many of the same advantages. The handheld gaming PC is compact and handles most Windows-compatible titles. Its current discount makes competitors like the Steam Deck OLED less appealing.

Keychron has officially launched the M2 8K and the M3 Mini 8K, both featuring the venerable PixArt 3950 sensor, 8 kHz wireless polling, and lightweight designs. Both new gaming mice are available online for just $69.99.

While Winlator has captured quite an amount of attention with its ability to emulate Windows games on Android, it often requires some tinkering. GameNative promises to make things easier by offering an almost setup-free emulation process.

The Epic Games Store has started giving away a new free game on Windows. Also available on macOS, The Operator is a narrative-based puzzle game that takes various twists and turns on a 'mind-bending story' as you investigate and solve crimes with 90s visuals.

Keychron has officially announced twin affordable mechanical gaming keyboards, offering 8 kHz polling, Snap Tap, and a choice between a charming retro aesthetic and an RGB-laden gamer-fest. Both keyboards also support QMK and Keychron Launcher for extensive customisation.

Aska is a highly rated Viking colony sim that leans harder on its base-building, colony simulation, and automation mechanics than the ever-popular Valheim. Instead of building being an optional activity as in Valheim, Aska demands that it players lean on the tribe for success, making it a more tactical experience.

We've now reviewed both the ROG Zephyrus G16 and the smaller G14 with the new GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPU. Despite a slightly higher TGP, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285H lags behind the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 in gaming performance.

Nioh 2, an action RPG that won the "Best Game You Sucked At" Steam award in its launch year, has hit it's lowest-ever price on Steam. Fight through hordes of yokai by harnessing their power as your own. Nioh 2 gets a lot of high praise for its challenging, yet fair, combat, deep character customisation, and jam-packed player experience.

Microsoft has introduced Copilot Vision on Windows with Highlights, enabling the Copilot AI to see on-screen content while assisting with tasks like image editing, improving the appearance of documents, and using visual information to add text details. The AI can speak its suggestions like a helpful work assistant.

Huawei's alternative to iOS or Android has only been around for about four years, yet has now reportedly hit nine figures in terms of its device base. The number of smartphones and tablets sold with the software exceeded 100 million by the end of 2024 - and, considering it now has its own PCs, that number is set to keep growing in 2025.

Don't Starve Together is discounted to just $5.09 on Steam, after a sizeable discount slashed the price. The co-op survival game pits players against the wilderness, themselves, and each other and tasks them with exploring, crafting, farming, and fighting their way through a highly stylised world filled with spooky creatures and varied environments.

The Lofree Flow 2 packs a host of upgrades, from redesigned keycaps with a "more ergonomic profile," to improved customisation with VIA, and now a more compact 65% version for those who value desk space. It features the same all-aluminium build as the original Flow, but now packs flip-out feet, too.

The Epic Games Store has confirmed its game giveaway plans for next week. Returning again with a single free game, the popular storefront will focus in on a detective game called The Operator that has been popular with critics and fans alike since its release last summer.

Microsoft appears less interested in manufacturing hardware for a new Xbox console. The ROG Xbox Ally and similar Windows devices may fill the void left by a canceled handheld. The company hopes to optimize its OS for gaming and emulate classic Xbox games.

The Epic Games Store is now giving away a new free game as it winds up another Mega Sale period. Available on PC, Two Point Hospital builds on the casual business simulation genre with a return to the dynamics of the classic Theme Hospital but updated with modern visuals and game mechanics.

In the latest Lenovo laptop deal, the Yoga Slim 7x is seeing one of its lowest prices. The Snapdragon laptop has a 3K OLED screen that rivals more expensive alternatives. Despite barebones connectivity, the portability and long battery life of the Yoga Slim 7x have led to positive reviews.