notebook - Rondea

Lamptron HX070

I would like to thank Lamptron for supplying the review sample.

Lamptron has been around since the early 2000s and is well known for its slew of fan controllers. In recent years, with the disappearance of external 5.25″ slots, Lamptron has expanded the line-up to internal components for both fan and RGB control, as well as several LCD monitors and RGB accessories. In this article, we will take a quick look at the Lamptron HX070, which is a 7″ display that may be used internally or externally.

Packaging and Contents

The Lamptron HX070 display comes in a brown cardboard box with a sticker on top to let you know what is inside. While the HC070 variant ships with AIDA64, this HX070 includes Lamptron’s own Hardware Monitor Software.

Taking a look at the display out of the box, it feels really sturdy with its metal housing. On the back, you can see that the controller board for the HX070 is also encased in the same material. In comparison, the Lamptron also offers an HC070 that comes with an exposed board. There are three connectors in the top. The Micro-USB and HDMI ones are for power and video, but what the third one is for is not clear.

You will receive an HDMI cable and a Micro-USB to USB-A cable to plug everything in properly. On top of that, Lamptron ships the HX070 with a desktop stand as well as a bracket for internal mounting within your chassis. The software comes stored on a Kingston USB drive with Lamptron branding.

Software

There are two parts to the Lamptron software kit. On one hand, it gives you direct access to your system’s sensor data. Out of the box, this comes as a 30-day trial with a user code. You have to email Lamptron the code to receive a unique registration code for the software. I am assuming this is due to the fact that this hardware monitor utilizes a 3rd-party code base with a per-user cost to Lamptron, so this is their way of ensuring the software is not freely passed around.

The second element of the software focuses on the screen and utilizes a total of ten templates, eight for landscape use and two for portrait mode. Below are the landscape ones, which were easy to screenshot, while you are able to take a peek at portrait mode in action further down. While some of these are made by Lamptron, several templates came from fans of Lamptron products. One even has an anime character dancing away for you on screen. I am sure there are fairly easy ways to edit the template, as many visual elements are just part of a static background image, so you should be able to replace outdated product or brand icons with little effort.

Display in Use

The coolest way to use the screen is certainly inside your system. While it is not nearly as bright as your desktop or notebook screen, it should do just fine without nearly 1000 W of studio lights fighting it. The sturdy bracket holds the unit in place nicely, and there is still ample room for bulky GPUs behind it. The HDMI and USB cables need to be routed outward, so an expansion slot bracket with holes in it would have been nice. Once booted, you actually see a Windows screen, as the Lamptron HX070 is a traditional IPS display at its core.

Cycling through the above-mentioned templates can easily be done by clicking the left or right edges of the screen with your mouse. That said, I like the default screen seen in this picture the most.

You may also use the screen outside the case by employing the included stand. Unfortunately, it is not specifically made for the screen and pretty clunky. A small monitor foot instead would have been better, as it could have been screwed to the housing, for example. You may also utilize the screen in portrait mode, as Windows allows you to rotate your desktop accordingly as well.

Once it is set as such, the two remaining templates may be used properly as well. You may even conduct traditional tasks, like “surf” to TechPowerUp on the HX070. While its native resolution is 1024×600 pixels, scaling to 1080P works really well by the way.

Conclusion

The Lamptron HX070 is at its core a 7″ IPS panel with 1024×600 resolution running at 60 Hz. Lamptron has gone as far as figuring out an interface for it to utilize USB as power and HDMI for your video signal. Furthermore, Lamptron has built a steel enclosure for the screen and, in the case of the HX and HM series, the controller board as well.

To round out the total package and present a unique use case, Lamptron includes an internal mounting bracket, which is where the screen really seems to fit best. In terms of the software front, while simple, it is nice to have the templates which can be edited fairly easily by the user, and Lamptron’s simple yet functional Hardware Monitor Software.

Priced at $150, the HX070 is certainly not cheap for a screen, but could still be an interesting purchase for those looking to add something really unique and special to their build.

(Image credit: Razer)

Razer announced its first AMD-based gaming laptop, the Razer Blade 14, during its E3 keynote. Until now, Razer had been the last major laptop manufacturer that had stuck exclusively with Intel.

Razer is calling the new Blade “the most powerful 14-inch gaming laptop.” And with an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX processor and GPU options ranging from an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 up to an RTX 3080 with 8GB of VRAM and a 100W TGP, it could be a strong contender for our

best gaming laptops

list. But admittedly, 14-inches isn’t a very popular size for gaming laptops, which are often 15-inches or larger.

Razer Blade 14
Price	$1,799	$2,199	$2,799
CPU	AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX	AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX	AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX
GPU	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 (8GB)
Display	1920 x 1080, 144 Hz, AMD FreeSync Premium	2560 x 1440p, 165 Hz, AMD FreeSync Premium	2560 x 1440p, 165 Hz, AMD FreeSync Premium
Memory	16GB DDR4-3200 (soldered)	16GB DDR4-3200 (soldered)	16GB DDR4-3200 (soldered)
Storage	1TB PCIe SSD	1TB PCIe SSD	1TB PCIe SSD
Battery	61.6 WHr	61.6 WHr	61.6 WHr
Dimensions	12.59 x 8.66 x 0.66 inches / 319.7 x 220 x 16.8 mm	12.59 x 8.66 x 0.66 inches / 319.7 x 220 x 16.8 mm	12.59 x 8.66 x 0.66 inches / 319.7 x 220 x 16.8 mm

The company is claiming that, at 16.8 mm (0.66 inches) thin, it is the “thinnest 14-inch gaming laptop.” Like Razer’s other notebooks, the Blade 14 is milled from CNC aluminum with an anodized finish.

To cool those components, Razer is using vapor chamber cooling and what it calls “touchpoint thermal engineering” to keep commonly-touched surfaces, like the WASD keys, from getting too hot.

There are two display options: a

1920 x 1080

screen with a 144 Hz refresh rate, or a 2560 x 1550p panel with a 165 Hz refresh rate. Both use

AMD FreeSync

Premium to eliminate tearing.

For $1,799, you get an RTX 3060 and the FHD display. $2,199 nets you an RTX 3070 with the

QHD

screen, and for $2,799, Razer offers the RTX 3080 with the QHD panel. In every version, you get the same Ryzen 9 5900HX, 16GB of soldered RAM and a 1TB PCie SSD.

(Image credit: Razer)

Ports include two USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports, HDMI 2.1, a single USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Other features include Wi-Fi 6E support, Bluetooth 5.2, an IR camera to log in with Windows Hello, of course, per-key RGB lighting. The design also includes top-firing speakers tuned by THX, which Razer owns.

As of right now, the Blade 14 will be the only laptop in Razer’s lineup with an AMD processor. The Blade 15, which still exclusively uses Intel chips, remains the flagship notebook. It’s unclear if Razer intends to add the choice of either chip at any point in the future.

Razer is also using E3 to get into the laptop charger market. It announced the Razer USB-C 130W GaN Charger (GaN is short for Gallium Nitride) with two USB-C ports at 100W and two USB-A ports at 12W. It weighs just 349 grams (0.77 pounds) and measures 3,2 x 7.7 x 6.2 mm. It will compete with the best USB-C laptop chargers.

(Image credit: Razer)

The device can charge four devices at a time, including a laptop, though it wouldn’t be enough to power the Blade 14 while gaming. The charger also comes with adapters for global travel. It’s $179.99 and available for pre-order from Razer.com, Razer stores and other retailers. It’s scheduled to ship within 30 days.

(Image credit: AMD)

According to IDC, PC sales in the first quarter were up 55% year-over-year, and since the demand for personal computers is growing, component sales in Q1 2021 were high, too. Jon Peddie Research reports that shipments of integrated and standalone graphics processing units (GPUs) for PCs increased 38.74% year-over-year in the first quarter, but Nvidia was the only company that expanded its market share in the rapidly-growing market.

Discrete GPU Market Share
	Q1 2020	Q4 2020	Q1 2021
AMD	25%	18%	19%
Intel	0%	0%	0%
Nvidia	75%	82%	81%

Here’s the tale of the tape for discrete GPU sales. Nvidia increased its discrete GPU share from 75% in Q1 2020 to 81% in Q1 2021.

In contrast, AMD’s share decreased from 25% in Q1 2020 to 19% in Q1 2021. The good news for AMD is that its share actually increased by 1% from the prior quarter, so its discrete GPU shipments and earnings were up, too.

(Image credit: Jon Peddie Research)

Sales of standalone graphics processors (such as those used for higher-end laptops and discrete graphics cards) were quite high in the first quarter and totaled around 22 million units, as we know from last week’s report by Mercury Research. Jon Peddie Research clarifies that shipments of discrete graphics add-in-boards (AIBs) increased by 7% from the prior quarter, representing around 11.77 million units.

Although Intel started to ship its Iris Xe-branded standalone GPUs for low-end desktops and midrange notebooks in Q4, the company seems to report them as integrated graphics processors. As a result, it’s hard to say if the company has gained any standalone GPU market share over the recent months.

The Overall GPU Market

Three companies shipped a total of 119 million discrete and integrated GPUs in Q1. The vast majority of graphics processors come as integrated graphics units in CPUs, so CPU market-leader Intel sells the most graphics processors. In Q1, the blue giant commanded 68.18% of the total GPU market, a decrease of 0.5% quarter-over-quarter.

AMD came in second with a 16.65% share (a decrease of 0.12%), while Nvidia ranked third with a 15.17% share (an increase of 0.62%), according to JPR.

(Image credit: Jon Peddie Research)

Both AMD and Nvidia recently introduced their performance-mainstream and notebook GPUs based on their latest RDNA 2 and Ampere architectures, so the competition between the two companies is set to intensify in the coming months.

However, GPU shortages abound, restricting opportunities. If the GPU makers can get more chips from their suppliers, we can expect them to continue to focus on supplying premium GPUs to earn higher revenue.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Alienware is addressing an error affecting the

Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5

that limits CUDA cores on models with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 graphics card.

“We have been made aware that an incorrect setting in Alienware’s vBIOS is limiting CUDA Cores on RTX 3070 configurations,” the company told Tom’s Hardware. This is an error that we are working diligently to correct as soon as possible. We’re expediting a resolution through validation and expect to have this resolved as early as mid-June. In the interim, we do not recommend using a vBios from another Alienware platform to correct this issue. We apologize for any frustration this has caused.”

Forum threads on

and

Notebook Review

showed people noticing that software like CPU-Z and HWInfo are reporting the wrong number of CUDA cores for an RTX 3070. Rather than 5,120 cores, it showed 4,608. HWInfo also reportedly showed fewer ray tracing and tensor cores. Some also had issues with the number of render output units (ROPs).

Some people in those threads reported that switching to the BIOS for the Alienware m15 R4 with an RTX 3070 fixed these issues, but that could cause other problems, especially as the R4 is an Intel system and the R5 is AMD-based. Others speculated wildly about potential special-order cards or other potential software problems.

If the cores were indeed being limited, not just misreported, it’s possible that performance will be increased once the fix is released.

(Image credit: AMD)

As reported by Phoronix, AMD is focusing on expanding its SmartShift ecosystem to support operating systems beyond Windows 10. AMD has released two patches this week that continue adding support of SmartShift’s features to the Linux ecosystem. That’s excellent news for Linux buyers who want to use AMD’s shiny new PowerShift notebooks.

SmartShift was released last year by AMD (with only one laptop, the G5 SE) as a way to further improve notebook performance and efficiency when using AMD CPUs and discrete GPUs together. The technology aims to turn both the CPU and GPU into one cohesive system, allowing both chips to dynamically share power depending on the workload at hand.

At Computex this year AMD showed off its second wave of SmartShift laptops (like the new ROG Strix G15 Advantage) based on the all-new RX 6000M GPUs and Ryzen 5000 mobile CPUs, plus new enhancements for the Smartshift technology. This aggressive push for SmartShift adoption shows us that AMD is really focused on bringing this technology out in full force. And the push to expand adoption to Linux users seems to be part of that, despite the fact that those users make up a part of the notebook segment.

Just a few days ago on May 30th, AMD released a patch to Linux which allowed support for SmartShift when a discrete Radeon GPU was detected in a notebook with SmartShift Support.

Today, another patch was released, further adding support for Smartshift’s features. This patch exposes SmartShift’s power-share info to the user-space via sysfs, meaning Linux can now monitor SmartShift’s behavior and judge to see if the system is working as intended or not.

Another patch was released as well, adding controllability of SmartShift’s power-sharing parameters to Linux, meaning the OS or possibly a user can control how much power goes to the CPU or the discrete GPU.

With all this effort, it seems AMD is preparing to make SmartShift a mainstream technology, with not only Linux support, but also a wide variety of notebook support coming in the not-so-distant future. Some serious questions remain, though, like when we’ll see the tech in more than a handful of laptop models.

And for those AMD-based models to expand, the company will need to assure its partners that it can pump out a substantial and consistent amount of its current-gen CPUs and brand-new mobile GPUs. In the current climate of high demand for desktop graphics cards, chip shortages, and TSMC’s production pushed to its limits, the only thing certain seems to be uncertainty.

(Image credit: Dell)

PC sales in Q1 2021 tallied 83.981 million units, up 55.2% year-over-year, and all of the leading PC makers reported huge revenue gains for the first quarter. However, meeting the extraordinary demand was a big challenge for suppliers as pretty much every PC component suffers from ongoing shortages.

Both Dell and HP expect demand for PCs to remain strong (and even grow) in the coming months, but a resurgence of COVID-19 in Southeast Asia has complicated an already-dicey situation. In a bid to satisfy demand, large PC makers have begun stockpiling some components, making the shortages worse for other players.

Supply Constraints to Persist, But Stockpiling Helps

Strong demand is good for the PC business, but suppliers have to source enough components to meet that demand. That’s not an easy task amid ongoing global supply constraints.

The top 3 PC makers — three multi-billion dollar corporations — have strengths that their rivals just cannot match, like buying power and relationships with suppliers. Naturally, the companies will continue to use these advantages to support their business growth. In particular, HP admits it overbuys CPUs to make sure that it has them when it needs them.

“To improve assurance of supply, we are carrying higher levels of owned inventory, and as we said, we do this to navigate during this time,” said Marie Myers, the chief financial officer of HP. “So, HOI at this point is likely to stay elevated to support business growth. That includes strategic buys […] particularly in CPUs.”

Chinatimes reports that in addition to strategic CPU procurements, HP has also secured a large supply of power ICs, network controllers, display drivers, and other chips from companies like Realtek, Richtek, Spectrum, MPS, NXP, Renesas, and Silica. Furthermore, the chief exec of HP met with AU Optronics to secure panel supplies. To ensure that it can ship the maximum number of PCs possible, HP reportedly buys more chips than it needs and stockpiles them. Meanwhile, industry observers believe that Dell and Lenovo will follow suit to stay competitive.

“The component supply situation remains constrained, and we expect component cost to be inflationary in Q2 and probably are going to be inflationary in the second half as we think about it today,” said Thomas Sweet, the chief financial officer of Dell. “That is principally coming out of displays, DRAMs and NAND. […] I do think as it relates to pricing, it is our intent that we will price the input cost increases as appropriate, keeping a thoughtful eye on the market and making sure we are in a competitive position.”

Lenovo, which has its own manufacturing capacities, also procures components with long-term contracts and stockpiles them.

“Lenovo has a unique [business] model,” said Yang Yuanqing, chief executive of Lenovo. “We do 50% outsourcing and 50% in-house manufacturing. So this unique model gives us advantage to approach upstream vendors and the better relationship with that. So, in a shortage like this, we can leverage this relationship to get better supply situation. So, I am confident that, that we will continue to outperform the market and the key competitors and enjoy sustainable growth.”

Overall, stockpiling may not be a bad idea for large PC makers as it stabilizes pricing and reduces their risks. However, stockpiling makes it harder for smaller vendors to procure parts.

In addition to component costs, other factors impact the PC vendors’ business. Logistics are becoming more expensive, so they have to book containers and air freight well in advance (hence, the companies actually have to secure the supply chain).

“We are seeing [increasing] component costs and logistics costs in both [PCs] and print, and they will be an incremental headwind both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, and those overall baskets of commodities, particularly in panel, ICs and PS and then ICs and resins in print,” said Myers.

Supply is actually improving as the industry ramps up the production of various components, but demand is also ramping. Therefore, Lenovo expects shortages to persist for another 1 – 1.5 years, but the company doesn’t expect them to worsen.

“Moving forward, I do not expect the further [shortages] deterioration, but for sure we continue to face the shortage for the next 12 to 18 months and coming, not only from PC demand but also from other products, automotive and so on,” said Lanci.

“Currently there is not enough supply to keep up with the robust demand and the resurgence of COVID in Southeast Asia is creating additional pressures on our supply chain,” said Enrique Lores, chief executive of HP, during the company’s conference call with analysts and investors, according to SeekingAlpha. “We expect supply constraints to continue at least through the end of 2021. […] We are seeing an increase in backlog across both PCs and printers.”

PC Demand Set to Remain High for Years to Come

“In 2019, the serviceable TAM for the broader client ecosystem was approximately $600 billion and looking out to calendar year 2025, it jumps to a projected $750 billion,” said Jeff Clarke, chief operating officer of Dell, during the company’s conference call with analysts and investors. “This expansion in TAM is driven by increased systems per household, faster refresh rates with higher notebook mix, and investments in a hybrid and remote workforce.”

Today, consumer PC sales are particularly strong as many people continue to work and learn from home. As offices reopen later this year, demand for business PCs will increase to regular levels (as businesses replace their systems from time to time). Meanwhile, demand for consumer-grade computers is not expected to go down significantly (although it will likely be somewhat lower than today), as many people have realized the importance of home PCs and can now work from home. As a result, overall PC demand will remain strong for quarters to come, meaning shortages will continue because the industry has yet to build the production capacity necessary to serve the existing demand.

“Talking about PC demand, […] there are a lot of companies in the world [that] are finally opening up,” Gianfranco Lanci, chief operating officer of Lenovo, told analysts and investors at the company’s recent conference call, according to a SeekingAlpha transcript. […] I see [strong] PC demand […] moving forward [in] the next following quarters. I think the real difference is not because people working from home, learning from home, playing from home, everything from home, but I think the major difference is [that] people start to realize [that] they need the one PC [per person] and not one or two PCs per household.”

The existing fleet of outdated PCs is another driver for the PC market. Lenovo expects customers to not only buy additional machines but also to buy newer PCs in a bid to be more productive and/or play the latest video games.

“We have a very old install base — four, five or six years old at huge numbers,” said Lanci. “Because if you want to get a good experience, you need a brand-new PC, not a four- or five-year-old PC. So, I am quite optimistic [about demand going forward].”

All of the PC makers agree that PC sales are set to grow in the short term. Meanwhile, Dell appears to be extremely optimistic about the longer-term future. Dell is confident that the client PC ecosystem will expand to a whopping $750 billion by 2025, which means that the market will consume more chips, more panels, and more materials.

(Image credit: Photoshop)

Respected Linux patch detective Coelacanth’s Dream has penned a new blog post decoding the latest Intel patches, giving us some insight into unreleased information about the upcoming Alder Lake-P laptop processors. The information indicates some of Intel’s Alder Lake CPUs could have a configurable TDP as high as 115W, making Alder Lake the most power-hungry Intel chips ever produced for the laptop market.

The post reveals three core configurations for Alder Lake-P, consisting of a 2+8+2, 4+8+2, and a 6+8+2 configuration. This is a result of Alder Lake using bigger and smaller cores in its architecture, meaning ‘big’ high-performance cores, and ‘small’ Atom cores for better efficiency. The first number belongs to the bigger (performance) cores, while the second number is the smaller (power saver) cores. The last number is the integrated graphics.

Each core configuration scales with higher TDPs; the chip with two high-performance cores operates at a max of 55W for the PL2 turbo rating. The quad-core operates at up to 64W, and the hexacore operates at a peak of up to 115W.

(Image credit: Coelacanth’s Dream)

While this number may sound insane for a notebook, even for some of the largest notebooks on the market, TDP is a very different animal than it used to be. Intel allows OEMs to adjust the TDPs of its chips significantly, so the CPU is geared more toward the notebook’s design, rather than static TDPs which were once popular.

Intel has also introduced two levels of Turbo Boost behavior to help optimize efficiency in both notebook and desktop form factors. These levels are known as PL1 and PL2 states. PL2 is the most aggressive turbo clock available and is designed to go way beyond the CPU’s base power consumption for a short amount of time. This is why Intel’s mobile chips in general have seen higher TDP numbers over the past few years, making them look more power-hungry than they actually are.

Even for notebooks that are equipped with a high core count Alder Lake chip that boosts up to 115W, it’s doubtful it will boost that high for any long duration of time. And don’t expect many notebooks to be configured with that high of a TDP.

Acer has announced SpatialLabs, a new 3D technology that will debut on the company’s ConceptD laptops. I got a chance to try it. It’s not something we’ll realistically see on a consumer device anytime soon — but it’s pretty dang cool nonetheless.

SpatialLabs is, according to Acer, “a suite of experiences empowered by cutting-edge optical solutions.” Plainly, it’s a set of tools that makes 3D work look very realistic and cool without requiring special glasses to see it. It delivers content in Stereoscopic 3D, which presents a pair of nearly-but-not-quite-identical 2D images (one to each eye) that combine in your brain to look like one 3D picture. (It’s essentially imitating what your eyes already do.)

SpatialLabs uses a combination of three things to do this. There’s a stereo camera, consisting of two image sensors, in the laptop’s top bezel, which tracks the position of your eyes and head. There’s an optical lens bonded to the top of the display; the images for each eye are projected through this lens, then refracted to your eyes. And there’s real-time rendering technology inside, which allows you to rotate and move 3D models in certain applications.

That means there are some limitations to how SpatialLabs can be used. For one, only one person can use it at a time; Acer emphasized that I couldn’t have anyone behind me during my demo. You also can’t have a mask on during use and can’t have strong light behind you. And needless to say, you need a powerful system to run this stuff well: Acer sent me a ConceptD 7 Pro with an eight-core Core i7-10875H, an Nvidia Quadro RTX 3000, and 32GB of RAM to test the tech. One of these would cost $2,899.99 without the SpatialLabs features, and Acer didn’t specify how much the extra stuff would add to the cost. Regardless, I’m sure it’ll be well outside of my price range, but I can dream.

Acer showed me SpatialLabs at work in both proprietary and third-party software. In SpatialLabs Model Viewer, which professionals would use to showcase 3D models, I was able to play around with some animated 3D objects. The light and shadows change as the objects move, and you can adjust the light’s intensity and the direction it’s coming from. The very neat thing, though, is that you can move the objects along the Z-axis (that is, pull them toward you and push them away from you), and it looks surprisingly realistic.

The experience that really blew me away, though, was SpatialLabs Player, where you can play videos in stereoscopic 3D. You can swap between 3D mode and 2D mode (where you’ll see two images side by side). What I saw wasn’t seamless — there was visible ghosting, especially right after I moved my head — but things really looked like they were popping out of the screen at me. I ducked as a flurry of baseballs was thrown my way. I reached out and tried to touch a flying alien because it looked very real, and I am 12 years old.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen glasses-free 3D on a portable device, of course. All kinds of devices have tried it in the past, from smartphones to Nintendo’s 3DS. But this was the first iteration I’ve ever seen where turning my head an inch to the left didn’t ruin the entire thing. It was quite impressive.

You can also edit content in 2D on an external display while viewing it in real-time stereoscopic 3D on the ConceptD, using Maya through PiStage (which allows you to quickly present projects with Unreal Engine) or Blender through SpatialLabs Go. You can also use the latter to view YouTube content that was created for VR or 3D TV.

This could be you, for just $3,000.

Image: Acer

Finally, SpatialLabs supports Unreal Engine through Acer’s XR Runtime. You could use these to create and present 3D “experiences” (such as virtual showrooms). Acer is running a beta program for Unreal Engine developers and will loan admitted participants a free ConceptD SpatialLabs notebook for three months.

I saw a demo of a game, with all kinds of battle debris flying out of the screen at me, and one of a virtual furniture showroom, which I could wander around in. The ConceptD had trouble with both of these on the first run; the game was stuttery, and the showroom froze and wouldn’t close. Acer says that’s not uncommon due to how demanding the programs are, and restarting the system would do the trick. It did, and they worked fine the second time. But Acer does still have a kink or two to work out, it seems.

These were all quite fun for me to experience as a layperson. But the main benefit of this technology, of course, would be for users who actually work with 3D. So I asked The Verge’s senior motion designer, Grayson Blackmon, whether something like this would actually be useful for his workflow.

Blackmon was largely dubious. While he finds the idea of editing models in 3D intriguing, he’s not sure what the practical benefit would be for creators like him. “A lot of times, we’re creating for people who don’t have these technologies who are viewing a 2D image,” he told me. Blackmon also can’t see himself doing these kinds of tasks on a laptop. “If I’m getting into serious work, I’m usually sitting at a desktop,” he says. He’d be more interested if SpatialLabs were built into a bigger monitor.

But designers like Blackmon are also used to new technologies not holding up to their promises. His team usually holds off on updating to new versions of Adobe, for example, because they bring new bugs, and novel fancy-looking features tend not to be as helpful as they appear. For that reason, Blackmon doesn’t see himself being an early adopter of this kind of tech. “I might do it for my own personal enjoyment, but I’m not going to rely on it for production,” he says.

So that’s where we are. There are a number of caveats to SpatialLabs. It may be a while before we see professionals adopting it in full force and even longer before consumers can realistically try it out. (Acer is shooting to have SpatialLabs on the market sometime later this year.)

But hey, Acer does have a working product. And it’s very cool to witness. If nothing else, like so many other laptop technologies out there, it’s a possible glimpse of the future.

Microsoft has teamed up with Qualcomm to create a Windows on ARM-based dev kit for developers. The miniature PC will be sold at the Microsoft Store this summer, and is designed to be more affordable to encourage developers to create ARM64 apps for Snapdragon-based PCs.

Until now, developers have had to purchase devices like the Surface Pro X to fully test their ARM64 apps on Windows. That’s a costly exercise for developers, particularly when the Surface Pro X retails from $999 and up. While Microsoft and Qualcomm haven’t put a price on this new dev kit, there are promises it will be more affordable than what developers can buy today.

The Surface Pro X was one of only a few options for devs previously.

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

“This developer kit provides an affordable alternative to other consumer and commercial devices,” says Miguel Nunes, senior director of product management at Qualcomm. “With the smaller desktop configuration, this kit gives developers more flexibility than notebook options, and at a lower price point.”

The announcement of the dev kit comes just as Qualcomm reveals its second-generation Snapdragon 7c ARM-powered processor. It’s designed for entry-level Windows PCs and Chromebooks, with a clock speed bump over the original.

This dev kit will also help developers test Microsoft’s new x64 app emulation for Windows on ARM. This went into testing for Windows in December, and allows users to run 64-bit apps that haven’t been compiled for ARM-based devices yet. The emulation layer will bring a whole host of app compatibility to Windows on ARM once it’s fully available to end users.

Microsoft and Qualcomm are promising to reveal more about this dev kit during Build 2021 today, at a session entitled “What’s new for Windows desktop application developers.”

(Image credit: Qualcomm)

In an attempt to get more developers to build software for Windows 10 on Arm, Qualcomm is debuting a Snapdragon Developer Kit. The company announced the small desktop PC today ahead of Microsoft’s Build developer conference.

The new system was built “in collaboration with Microsoft” and will run Windows 10. While Qualcomm refers to the system as “cost-effective,” it hasn’t listed a price for the system, which will run on the Snapdragon 7c platform. It will be available for purchase in the Microsoft Store sometime this summer, and is part of an effort to have developers port software to native ARM64.

Qualcomm told members of the press that developers won’t need to return the system, an apparent dig at Apple’s Developer Transition Kits for the M1 processor, which needed to go back to the company.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Qualcomm)

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(Image credit: Qualcomm)

The Snapdragon developer kit resembles an Intel NUC or Apple’s Mac Mini, in that it’s a small, low-profile desktop. Thus far, every Windows on Arm device has been a laptop, as one of Arm’s benefits is long battery life. Miguel Nunes, senior director of product management at Qualcomm said in a statement that the “developer kit provides an affordable alternative to other consumer and commercial devices. With the smaller desktop configuration, this kit gives developers more flexibility than notebook options, and at a lower price point.”

Qualcomm’s kit has a large power button on top and a sparse selection of ports, including USB Type-A and an SD card slot on the side.

In December, Microsoft started adding x64 emulation to Windows on Arm Insider Builds. But the developer kit is an attempt to kickstart more Arm-native apps. Today, Zoom is announcing an optimized version of its video conference app, which is coming this summer.

There are a number of existing native Arm apps for Windows 10, including VLC, Twitter, Firefox, Edge, Microsoft Office, Netflix, Twitter, Skype and Windows 10. But the number that will be able to be emulated when x64 hits mainstream Windows will increase significantly. Still, native apps will perform even faster.

Without information liek price and full specs, it’s hard to even surmise what kind of effect this will have with the developer community. Qualcomm is teasing that more information will be shared at a Build session entitled “What’s new for Windows desktop application developers.”

Qualcomm also announced its Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 system on a chip today for entry-level Windows PCs and Chromebooks. The company was light on details, but promised laptops using it will start at $349 and offer multi-day battery life depending on use.

(Image credit: Intel)

We already know from an inadvertent leak by Intel itself that the company is preparing five notebook GPU models based on its Xe-HPG architecture. Still, the company’s plans for desktop PCs were not clear at all. This week, Igor’sLab attempted to fill in some gaps with information obtained from a slide that’s purportedly from an Intel DG2 presentation.

Up to 512 EUs

If the unofficial information is to be believed, Intel is readying five discrete desktop GPU SKUs with similar configurations as their notebook counterparts. The top-of-the-range gaming SKU1 is said to feature 512 execution units (EUs), 16GB of GDDR6 memory with a 256-bit interface, and a 275W TDP. Other gaming parts are the SKU2 with 384 EUs and 12GB of GDDR6 memory with a 192-bit bus and the SKU3 with 256 EUs and 8GB of memory featuring a 128-bit interface. All gaming GPUs are expected to come in a 43×37.5 mm BGA2660 package.

Intel is also preparing low-end discrete parts (SKU4 and SKU5) with 128 or 96 EUs, 4GB of RAM, and a 64-bit memory bus. These lower-end models will come in a 29×29 mm BGA1379 package and will be aimed mostly at notebooks. Yet, some low-end desktops can use these GPUs, too.

Intel’s Xe-HPG architecture is expected to inherit energy-efficient blocks from the Xe-LP architecture, clock speed optimizations designed for Xe-HP/Xe-HPC GPUs for data centers and supercomputers, high-speed internal interfaces, hardware-accelerated ray-tracing support, and a GDDR6-powered memory subsystem. Overall, the Xe-HPG will resemble Intel’s existing GPUs to some degree but will run faster and support additional capabilities. Intel’s Xe-HPG GPUs are set to be produced by TSMC.

Launching in 2022?

Given that the Xe-HPG is set to inherit relatively small Xe-LP’s EUs, it is surprising that Intel’s top-of-the-range desktop configuration for DG2 only features 512 EUs. Intel will also reportedly launch its lower-end DG2 GPUs later in 2021 with higher-end gaming SKUs expected to be available only in early 2022, which was also unexpected. This information looks odd as recently the company started an Xe-HPG marketing campaign.

Intel of course does not comment on unreleased products, so everything is unofficial and should be taken with a grain of salt.

Kobo has a new e-reader out, and its the company’s biggest yet: the Kobo Elipsa, which features a 10.3-inch, 1404 x 1872 resolution (227 ppi) E Ink display, a bundled stylus, and the ability to not just read books, but to annotate, underline, and mark them up just like a real paper book.

Gigantic e-readers, like the 9.7-inch Kindle DX, once were more common, but recent devices have trended towards more pocketable formats — Amazon’s Kindle’s max out at 7-inches, and Kobo’s Forma (its previous largest size) offers an 8-inch display.

But the Elipsa is one of the largest mainstream e-readers yet, offering a massive display that presumably isn’t just good for reading — it’ll also feature a bundled stylus, a first for the company. The new Kobo Stylus allows the tablet to be used to note-taking and annotations as well, complete with an OCR feature that promises to convert written notes into typed text.

Functionally, that makes the Elipsa not too dissimilar of a product than other giant E Ink tablets, like the reMarkable 2, which also features a 10.3-inch E Ink panel and a stylus that allows it to be used as a note-taking device. But there’s a big different in intent: the reMarkable is a device focused on note-taking, one that’s designed to replace a paper notebook, but happens to also support eBooks.

The Elipsa, on the other hand, is still an e-reader first, with access to Kobo’s eBookstore of over 6 million books, as well as best-in-class OverDrive support for easily browsing and borrowing library books from compatible libraries.

And while the note-taking aspect makes the Elipsa a unique entry for mainstream e-readers, there’s some caveats: PDFs with DRM can’t be marked up or annotated, and while OverDrive-borrowed books can be scribbled on, you’ll lose those notes when you return the book to the library (much like a real library book, although you probably shouldn’t write on those.)

In addition to the supersized screen, the Elipsa also offers a built-in “ComfortLight” system for reading in the dark, 32 GB of internal storage, 1GB of RAM, and a 2,400 mAh battery. The Elipsa also features Dropbox support, to allow for easy importing and exporting of documents.

The big screen and stylus will cost you, though: the Kobo Elipsa is set to cost $399.99 for a bundle that includes the e-reader, the stylus, and a cover. Preorders will start on May 20th ahead of a June 24th release date.

Our Verdict

The HP Elite Folio is a long-lasting, quiet laptop/tablet combo, but it offers a middling performance for a high price.

For

+ Versatile design
+ Runs very cool and quiet
+ 3:2 Display
+ Full-sized stylus charges in keyboard
+ Long battery life

Against

– Display could be brighter
– Windows on Arm has app compatibility issues
– Middling performance
– Few ports
– Pricey

There are a few laptops that fall into what I call an “executive notebook.” These are high-end, sometimes overly designed business laptops that you rarely see the rank-and-file office worker use. The new HP Elite Folio ($1,747.20 to start, $2,063.36 as tested) seems destined, with its vegan leather exterior and high price tag, for the C-suite.

HP has gone with Windows on Arm here, which means that the laptop runs quiet and has excellent battery life. But even as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors get more powerful and Windows on Arm slowly improves, there are still compatibility and performance sacrifices, so it’s not always fitting for the

best ultrabooks

But for those who rely on a stylus for writing on-screen or want a versatile form factor for various situations, you may be able to overlook that as long as you don’t use compute-heavy software. And if you value style, of course.

Design of HP Elite Folio

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HP’s new Folio means business. Or at least, it looks like it. The HP Elite Folio is a new, more professional take

on a previous design

. This laptop isn’t clad in metal, but rather polyurethane vinyl — or, as you might call it, vegan leather. Or as I call it, “

pleather

.” Unlike the old

Spectre x360 13

, which used real leather and came in brown, this is a more subdued black.

The result is a notebook that looks a bit like a briefcase, minus the handle, of course. If it didn’t have an HP logo on the lid under some stitching, I’d expect to see an intern carrying their resume in it. There’s no place to put your thumb to easily open the laptop, so I typically found myself requiring two hands to do so, which was a pain.

With the laptop open, it looks more traditional. There’s a 13.5-inch, 1920 x 1280 display in a 3:2 aspect ratio with a surprisingly thick bezel on the top. The deck features a backlit keyboard and also includes a spot to store and charge the included HP Slim Pen. This is a page straight out of the playbook Microsoft used with the

Surface Pro X

But the Surface Pro X is a true 2-in-1 detachable, and the Elite Folio has a different trick up its sleeve. The screen is on a hinge, and it can be brought forward into an easel mode that covers the keyboard but leaves the touchpad clear. You can also slide it further forward to be a tablet. (You could, if you wanted, also flip the screen upside down on the back of the device and use the display to watch videos or give presentations. This isn’t listed among HP’s options, but it works.)

The laptop looks like leather, but it doesn’t feel like it. It’s soft to the touch but definitely has a plasticky feel. For those wondering, yes, I did smell the laptop. While it pulls off a leather look, it can’t match the real thing’s fragrance.

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I can’t speak to how well this will hold up over months and years of use. In the immediate sense, it did manage to pick up minor scuffs or schmutz on my desk, but I could wipe it off with a damp cloth.

Port selection is extremely minimal, with a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port on either side of the laptop and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the right side.

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HP’s notebook is 2.92 pounds and measures 11.75 x 9.03 x 0.63 inches. That’s similar to the Lenovo Flex 5G (2.9 pounds, 12.7 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches), a convertible 2-in-1. The Microsoft Surface Pro X is 2.4 pounds (with the keyboard attached) and 11.3 x 8.2 x 0.3 inches. An Intel-based clamshell, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano, is 2 pounds and 12.7 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches.

HP Elite Folio Specifications

CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2
Graphics	Qualcomm Adreno 690 (integrated)
Memory	16GB LPDDR4-4266 SDRAM
Storage	512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
Display	13.5-inch, 1920 x 1280 touchscreen
Networking	Qualcomm QCA639X Wi-Fi 6 Dual Band and Bluetooth 5, Qualcomm Snapdragon X20 LTE Cat 16
Ports	2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C, 3.5mm headphone jack, nano SIM card slot
Camera	720p IR
Battery	46 WHr
Power Adapter	65 W
Operating System	Windows 10 Pro
Dimensions(WxDxH)	11.75 x 9.03 x 0.63 inches / 298.45 x 229.36 x 16 mm
Weight	2.92 pounds / 1.32 kg
Price (as configured)	$1,998.72

Windows 10 on Arm

The HP Elite Folio uses the latest Windows on Arm platform, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2. That comes with its benefits (long battery life, quiet), but in terms of performance and app compatibility, it’s certainly lacking.

To be clear, that’s the case on all Windows on Arm laptops at the moment. Apple has used Arm too on its most recent laptops with its

chips, with far greater success.

Windows on Arm can run 32-bit apps, but not 64-bit apps. That functionality is coming but is currently limited to Windows Insider builds, which you’re unlikely to see in a business environment. An increasing number of apps are running natively on Windows on Arm, including Office, browsers like Edge and Firefox, and some of Adobe’s, but the rest require emulation. Others that run natively include the popular media player VLC, Netflix, Twitter, Skype, and Windows Terminal.

Perhaps the most reliable place to get apps that work on the processor, native or not, is through the Windows store, which largely filters apps that don’t work with Arm.

Productivity Performance of HP Elite Folio

Here, we’re comparing the Folio, which has an 8cx Gen 2, with two other Arm laptops, the Lenovo Flex 5G with the last-gen Snapdragon, and the Microsoft Surface Pro X with SQ1, Microsoft’s entry-level offering. We also tossed the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano in the mix for a business notebook using an x86 platform, namely Intel’s 11th Gen processors.

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On Geekbench 5, which measures overall system performance, the HP Elite Folio notched a single-core score of 792 and a dual-core score of 3,115. The Lenovo Flex 5G’s 729/2,923 suggest the newer chip has its advantage in multi-core workloads, though this test is run through emulation, which has to be kept in mind. The Surface Pro X isn’t in this test, as we were still running Geekbench 4 when we tested it. The ThinkPad X1 Nano’s scores were 1,473/5,155, with the test running natively.

The Elite Folio transferred 25GB of files at 666.5 MBps, faster than both the Flex 5G and ThinkPad X1 Nano. The Surface Pro X was run on an older, 5GB version of the test, and that was the slowest of the batch.

Our Handbrake test currently doesn’t run on Arm chips, though it is starting to be included in early “nightly” builds. Our Cinebench R23 stress test is also incompatible with Arm. These will change when 64-bit support becomes a finalized part of Windows 10.

Display on HP Elite Folio

I’m glad that HP went with a 3:2 display on the Elite Folio. Simply put, 3:2 is the best aspect ratio for productivity laptop displays because the extra height lets you see more content on your screen at once. This 13.5-inch touchscreen has a resolution of 1920 x 1280.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

I found the laptop to be bright enough for productivity, but when you switch to multimedia, it’s a mixed bag. In the trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the color red popped in car paint, lights and a number of outfits. But a series of dim scenes in a montage made me wish I could turn up the brightness (though the dimness made for great contrast in a scene with purple backlighting).

HP’s screen covers 70.7% of the

DCI-P3

color gamut, which is just about in line with the Surface Pro X and ThinkPad X1 Nano. The Lenovo Flex 5G was more vivid at 81.4%

The Folio was the dimmest of the bunch with an average of 390 nits. The Surface Pro X was the brightest, measuring 448 nits.

Keyboard, Touchpad and Stylus on HP Elite Folio

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HP has implemented a keyboard with 1.3mm of travel into this small device. I didn’t have any issues with travel, but when I typed, I felt that the keys were a bit too stiff. It didn’t stop me from typing quickly; I hit 110 words per minute on the 10fastfingers.com typing test. But accuracy suffered slightly.

The 4.2 x 2.6-inch touchpad uses Windows precision drivers, and with a smooth, metal surface, I found it responsive and easy to glide my fingers against. Simple navigation and more complex gestures worked on the first try. It clicks a bit louder than some other touchpads, but I can get over that.

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HP’s Slim Pen lives in a dock above the keyboard, which also keeps it charged. It’s long and flat, more like a carpenter’s pencil than your standard writing instrument. It has a rocker on the side, which can be unwieldy because of how thin the buttons are. The button on the top, however, is easy to access. That comes at the expense of using it as an eraser like the Surface Pen, however.

I found that the Elite Folio’s screen offered solid palm rejection. The Pen uses Wacom drivers and offers 4,096 degrees of pressure sensitivity. HP claims it fast charges in 30 minutes, though in my use, it’s home in the laptop meant it was always topped off.

Audio on HP Elite Folio

HP’s partnership with Bang & Olufsen on its speakers continues to bear fruit. While there’s no software to tune the speakers yourself, they sound decent considering how thin this device is.

For instance, when I listened to Chvrches’ “He Said She Said,” the crashing drums, synths melodies and vocals were loud, clear and crisp. There was, however, a distinct lack of bass, which is a problem on many laptops.

One downside, however, is that the speakers vibrate a lot, and I could feel it under my hands on the touchpad and keyboard. While this isn’t unique to this laptop, it was far more distracting on the Folio than other devices.

Upgradeability of HP Elite Folio

In theory, the HP Elite Folio is upgradeable. HP has a video showing the process:

This is aimed at service technicians, and for good reason. The design means you have to do things in a weird order, like removing the pen slot from the keyboard before opening the

chassis

The RAM is soldered to the motherboard, but the SSD is upgradeable. The only rub there is that to actually change out the storage, you have to remove the entire thermal system. Some enthusiasts may be comfortable with that, but for most people, that’s a step too far.

Battery Life

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The Elite Folio’s Arm processor excels in the one place you would expect it: battery life. On our test, which involves browsing the web, running OpenGL tests and streaming video over Wi-Fi, all at 150 nits, the Folio lasted for 15 hours and 21 minutes. It was outclassed only by the Lenovo Flex 5G, using a last-gen Snapdragon processor, which ran for 17:30.

Microsoft’s Surface Pro X with the SQ1 ran for 9:30, while the Intel-based ThinkPad X1 Nano lasted for 12 hours flat.

Heat on HP Elite Folio

Because we couldn’t run our Cinebench R23 workload due to compatibility issues, we took the HP Elite Folio’s skin temperatures following 15 minutes of streaming video from YouTube. The fanless system was quiet and kept very cool.

The center of the keyboard, between the G and H keys, measured 27.8 degrees Celsius (82.04 degrees Fahrenheit). The touchpad was cooler at 26 degrees Celsius (78.8 degrees Fahrenheit).

The hottest point on the bottom of the laptop measured 30.3 degrees Celsius.

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720p

webcam in an executive notebook after more than a year of white-collar workers have been doing their jobs from home? Excuse me?

Stills and trial video from my desk, even in good lighting, were grainy. And colors, like a blue shirt I was wearing, were overly dark.

There is a physical webcam privacy switch, which covers the camera but doesn’t cut power to the hardware like some other HP laptops. It’s very small, and you need to use your fingernail to move it in either direction.

There are also IR sensors to log in to Windows 10 with facial recognition. This worked well, with the exception that you need both the cameras and the IR sensor for this to work. If you close the privacy cover, you can’t use it to log in. That’s a choice you have to make between privacy and convenience.

HP has limited the amount of software it includes on this laptop, which is a benefit, especially on an enterprise laptop. There are no crappy antivirus software trials or ports of phone games.

The two big pieces of software are HP Pen Settings, which lets you pair the included stylus and customize its functionality; and HP QuickDrop, which lets you send files and photos across your laptop and smartphone.

HP Pen Settings has a number of clever options, including assigning commands that would be useful to go through slides or play media while giving presentations. There’s also a way to get a virtual dial on the screen when holding a button down.

While this laptop has Microsoft Office preinstalled, at least it doesn’t include links to sponsored Microsoft Store applications.

HP sells the Elite Folio with a 1-year warranty. It can be boosted to three years for an extra $75.

As of this writing, HP is selling the Elite Folio in both a ready-to-ship configuration and customizable configurations.

The quick-ship one is $1,889 with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2, 16GB of RAM and 256GB SSD, as well as an LTE modem.

We reviewed it with 16GB of RAM, a 512GB storage and an LTE modem. That runs for $2,063.36.

If you want a 1,000-nit display with HP’s Sure View privacy, that’s an extra $169. A 4G modem is $201, while a 5G modem is $444.

The base model, with Windows 10 Home instead of Pro, 8GB of RAM, 128GB SSD and no mobile connection is $1,747.20.

Prices on the Folio seem to be fluctuating on HP’s website, so they may vary after this article was published.

Bottom Line

The HP Elite Folio review has a versatile design and, if you’re into the office chair aesthetic, a fake leather exterior that fits in any office.

HP’s Slim Pen is nice, and the fact that it is full-sized and can still charge by sitting in the system is a big plus for anyone who does a lot of writing on screen. The different screen modes will also be helpful for people who use touch screens a lot.

But while relying on the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 means long battery life and quiet operation, there are a series of small sacrifices that are made, largely based on Windows on Arm and app compatibility. Some apps work, some are emulated and 64-bit apps, while coming, aren’t ready for prime time right now, without downloading a beta version of the OS. These aren’t problems unique to the Elite Folio — they’re the same on the Lenovo Flex 5G and the Microsoft Surface Pro X.

If the chassis, touch screen and functionality allowed by the display-on-a-hinge design will make your job easier, this is worth considering. But for many, an x86 business notebook, like the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano with an Intel processor, can run more software, do it faster, and is cheaper in some configurations.

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Intel is starting to get its legs again. The company, which initially had issues with its 10nm chips, has released its first eight-core, 10nm Tiger Lake-H processors that are ready for gaming and high-end productivity notebooks.

For its 10th gen chips, Intel used a 10nm process (“Ice Lake”) for ultrabooks but used a 14nm chip (“Comet Lake”) for these enthusiast machines. Now, we have time to see what Intel’s 10nm SuperFin chips can do on the high end. Like the U-series Tiger Lake chips, these use Willow Cove execution cores paired with a UHD Graphics 750 engine that’s powered by Intel’s Xe architecture.

It comes at a crucial time. AMD’s

Ryzen 5000 series

(“Cezanne,” on a 7nm process) has proven powerful and, among gamers, popular. During current hardware shortages, some of the

best gaming laptops

have been nearly impossible to find. Intel claims that it has already shipped more than 1 million of its chips to its partners and that it will come in more than eighty different laptop designs.

The 11th Gen H-series processors include Thunderbolt 4 (and

USB 4

) and Resizable Bar support, and are notably Intel’s first eight-core laptop chips that work with PCIe 4.0 SSDs. AMD’s competing Zen 3 mobile chips are still on PCIe 3.0.

A lot is riding on Tiger Lake H’s success. Intel has already called its 11th generation the “world’s best gaming laptop processors,” and now, with the help of a sample unit, we’ve had a chance to see if those claims ring true.

How We Tested Tiger Lake i9

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Our Tiger Lake-H testing was performed on an Intel-branded sample “white box” system, similar to our early testing of Tiger Lake-U and Ice Lake. This isn’t a review of the Intel Core i9-11980HK processor inside so much as a performance preview of what you can expect from upcoming systems that will be available to buy. Our full reviews will come when we see the i9-11980HK and other 11th Gen CPUs in computers that are on sale.

Intel loaned reviewers these systems with the knowledge that they are pre-production systems that aren’t necessarily representative of final systems, which may have more finished drivers.

Unlike previous Intel sample systems, this one couldn’t toggle between TDPs. Many of Intel’s 11th gen processors will be configurable by the manufacturer, ranging from 35 to 65W (the Core i9-11980HK is a 65W, overclockable processor that peaks at 110W (PL2). In HWInfo, our unit showed a PL1 of 65W and a PL2 of 109W.

We did our testing on the suite we use to test gaming laptops to get an idea of where something specced similar to this sample system might fall. We had a limited amount of time with the system, so we could only run some tests. Some, like battery life, are more important on actual systems that will be on sale than this early sample.

Intel Reference Design for Tiger Lake i9 and Competitors

The Tiger Lake-H i9 reference design came with the following specifications:

CPU	Intel Core i9-11980HK (8C/16T, up to 5.0 GHz)
GPU	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Max-Q (6GB GDDR6) at 65W, Intel UHD Graphics
RAM	32GB DDR4-3200 (16×2)
Storage	2x 512GB Phison SM280512GKBB4S-E162 PCIe Gen 4 SSD
Display	16-inch, 2560 x 1600 (16:10)
Networking	Killer Wi-Fi 6E Ax1675X
Ports	2x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB Type-A, microSD card reader, 3.5mm headphone jack
Battery	90 WHr
Operating System	Windows 10 Pro

Yes, Intel’s sample system paired its top-end GPU with a mid-range Nvidia GPU. It’s an odd pairing on paper, but one that allows for slim systems. Intel claims that this will enable “thin enthusiast” laptops, which fall in between ultraportable notebooks with its H35 processors and the big, thick machines that include the most intensive graphics cards.

From our reviews database, we chose to compare a number of different laptops depending on the task. For gaming, we broke out the

Acer Predator Triton 300 SE

with a 35W i7-11375H and the Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5 with a Ryzen 7 5800H. Both of these also use RTX 3060 GPUs, like the reference system.

For our productivity benchmarks, we also included some other, bigger systems that may have more powerful GPUs to compare against a range of processors, including the Ryzen 9 5900HX in the

Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733

; the Intel Core i9-10980HK in the

Alienware m17 R4

; and the 35W Ryzen 9 5980HS in the Asus ROG Flow X13.

	Acer Predator Triton 300 SE	Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5	Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733	Alienware m17 R4	Asus ROG Flow X13
CPU	Intel Core i7-11375H	AMD Ryzen 7 5800H	AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX	Intel Core i9-10980HK	AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS
GPU	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Max-Q, 75W TGP	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 125W TGP	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, 130W	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080	AMD Radeon Graphics (integrated)
RAM	16GB DDR4-3200	16GB DDR4-3200	32GB DDR4-3200	32GB DDR4-2933	32GB LPDDR4x-4266
Storage	512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD	512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD	2x 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD	512GB Boot, 2TB (2 x 1TB RAID 0) SSD	1TB M.2 2230 NVMe SSD
Display	14-inch, 1920 x 1080, 144 Hz IPS	15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080, 165Hz, IPS	17.3-inch, 1920 x 1080, 360 Hz, IPS	17.3-inch, 1920 x 1080, 360 Hz	13.4-inch, 3840 x 2400, 16:10, 60 Hz, touch

And here’s how the CPUs all stack up on paper:

	Cores / Threads	Process Node	Base Frequency	Max Turbo Frequency	TDP
Intel Core i9-11980HK	16-Aug	10nm SuperFin	2.6 GHz	5.0 GHz	45 – 65 W
Intel Core i9-10980HK	16-Aug	14nm	2.4 GHz	5.3 GHz	45 – 65 W
Intel Core i7-11375H	8-Apr	10nm SuperFin	3.3 GHz	5.0 GHz	28 – 35W
AMD Ryzen 7 5800H	16-Aug	7nm FinFET	3.2 GHz	4.4 GHz	35 – 54W
AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX	16-Aug	7nm FinFET	3.3 GHz	4.6 GHz	35 – 54W
AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS	16-Aug	7nm FinFET	3.0 GHz	4.8 GHz	35W

Productivity Performance of Tiger Lake i9

We started out with our productivity suite to test the Core i9-11980HK to its 10th Gen counterpart, the highest-end Intel H35 processor and a series of AMD Ryzen competitors.

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On Geekbench 5, the Tiger Lake-H system started strong, pushing the highest single-core (1,649) of the bunch and beating the next highest multi-core score by more than 1,000 points (9,254). The next closest was the AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX in the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733, which also had 32GB of RAM.

The Core i9-10980HK, the 10th Gen chip from Intel, was in a close third on multi-core, though in single-core other Ryzen laptops surpassed it.

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The Intel sample system was also the fastest system to complete our Handbrake test, which transcodes a

video to 1080p (with one caveat: we removed laptops with far more powerful GPUs, which could have some effect. If you left in the Ryzen 9 5900HX, it was faster at 6:11 in the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733).

It was (unsurprisingly) significantly faster than the 35W Core i7, and also ahead of the Ryzen 7 5800H and 35W Ryzen 9 59080HS.

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The Intel sample system contained a pair of 512GB Phison PCIe Gen 4 SSDs, which the Core i9-11980HK can take advantage of. It was one of the speedier laptops in our test pool, but the Asus ROG Flow X13 was actually a little bit faster in our 25GB file transfer test.

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To check stability over a longer duration, we ran Cinbench R23 for 20 runs. The cooling, which was exceptionally loud during all of the tests (and sometimes while the sample system was doing absolutely nothing) kept it stable.

It started at a high of 11,846.31 while largely settling in the 11,600 range. During the Cinebench stress test, the CPU ran at an average of 3.5 GHz and an average temperature of 85.77 degrees Celsius (186.39 degrees Fahrenheit). While the chart looks largely stable, the monitoring tool HWinfo reported that the CPU was being thermally throttled for the majority of the test. This is the downside of putting a high-wattage processor in a slim system, and also explains the constant fan noise.

Gaming and Graphics Performance of Tiger Lake i9

In this system, Intel paired its top-of-the-line mobile processor with an RTX 3060 Max-Q. It’s a questionable decision for this kind of performance preview, as our first impression didn’t give us the chance to see what happens when this chip is used with a more powerful graphics card that would take full advantage of its capabilities. So our test pool here includes other laptops with an RTX 3060, either full or

Max-Q

On most of the benchmarks we ran, this thin and light notebook performed almost identically to what you would expect from Intel’s 35-watt Tiger Lake H processors that were launched earlier this year. That is, at

1080p

. We also ran the tests at the laptop’s native 2560 x 1600 resolution.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

On Shadow of the Tomb Raider (highest settings), the Intel sample system ran the benchmark at 62 frames per second, within one frame of the Acer Predator Trion 300 SE with H35. The Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5 with a full RTX 3060 Max-Q won out at 73 fps.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

We saw a very similar pattern on Grand Theft Auto V (very high settings). Intel’s system matched the Acer but fell behind the Alienware. On both Shadow of the Tomb Raider and GTA V, the Intel system was still playable above 30 fps at 2560 x 1600 on the same settings.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Tiger Lake-H finally had its moment on Far Cry New Dawn (ultra settings), running at 91 fps, beating out both the Predator (73 fps) and AMD-based Alienware (79 fps) at 1080p. At native resolution, the sample system was still over 60 fps.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

But on Red Dead Redemption 2 and Borderlands 3, we were back to the same old tale, coming extremely close to the H35 laptop. On RDR 2‘s medium settings, it ran at 48 fps at 1080p and 33 fps at 2560 x 1440.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

On Borderlands 3‘s “badass” quality settings, the game ran at 56 fps at 1080p, falling about 10 frames behind the Alienware. Intel’s sample system ran the game at 37 fps at 2560 x 1600.

Lastly, we ran the Metro Exodus gauntlet that we run in our laptop review. We have laptops play through the benchmark 15 times on the RTX preset (1920 x 1080) to simulate a half-hour of gaming. Intel’s CPU ran at an average of 3.38 GHz with an average temperature of 64.71 degrees Celsius (148.48 degrees Fahrenheit). There was some throttling, but not as often as during the Cinebench R23 stress test. The GPU ran at an average of 1,188.23 MHz and 64.21 degrees Celsius (147.58 degrees Fahrenheit).

Cooling Tiger Lake i9

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Unlike with some previous early Intel samples, we were allowed to crack this one open to show it to you.

The laptop has three fans, while even most gaming laptops stick to two larger ones. That may explain the decibels. But what’s also fascinating is that the motherboard in the reference platform has been placed effectively upside down. This means that we can’t see the full cooler, including the heat pipes. That would require far more disassembly.

There are still serviceable parts, but they are connected to the edge of the board. Notably, there’s only one 512GB SSD that’s easily accessible. The other one must be on the other side of the motherboard.

Impressions of Tiger Lake i9

As always, it’s extremely difficult to get a complete picture of how high-end, Tiger Lake-H chips will run in laptops that OEMs will start selling today. Our testing was done under extremely limited time, and only used one new 11th Gen H-series chip.

To complicate things, this reference design is meant to represent a new “thin enthusiast” sector for Intel, which meant we couldn’t see how the Core i9-11980HK will perform at its best, in a thicker laptop with more elaborate cooling. Of course, every laptop is unique, so the processors may perform slightly differently based on size, cooling and other factors. We hope to be able to see a bigger, flagship gaming system with this processor for a fuller idea soon.

In productivity testing, our early benchmarks show a leap for Intel and its 10nm SuperFin process, especially in multi-core workloads. But AMD’s best, the Ryzen 9 5900HX still puts up a fight in some areas.

In gaming, we’ll really have to wait. What we now expect from finalized thin systems is that they won’t run games much differently from H35 variants unless those titles really hit the CPU hard.

As usual, the best way to truly tell is when we start testing laptops with a Tiger Lake-H that you can actually buy. As those hit our labs, we’ll see a wider variety of laptop designs and the full range of 11th Gen H-series processors.

(Image credit: Framework)

Framework,

which announced its modular, repairable laptop

back in February, now has full specs, pricing and is opening pre-orders for the machine. It will come in three configurations, starting at $999.

That base model has an Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor, 8GB of DDR4 RAM, a 256GB NVMe, Wi-Fi 6 and will run Windows 10 Home. A $1,399 performance configuration bumps the processor up to an i7-1165G7 and doubles the RAM and storage to 16GB and 512GB, respectively. A professional model, starting at $1,999, has an i7-1185G7, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, support for vPro and runs Windows 10 Pro.

There will also be a DIY edition, starting at $749 barebones, that you build yourself from a kit and customize with parts and modules.

Each laptop will also have a 3:2, 2256 x 1504 display, 1080p webcam with a privacy switch, a 55Wh battery and a keyboard with 1.5 mm of key travel, all features you might find in one of the

best ultrabooks

. The entire motherboard is replaceable to allow upgrades to future generations of processors, which are typically soldered to the board on laptops.

Pre-orders are starting today in the United States, and Canada will come soon, with Asia and Europe coming before the end of the year.

But like most tech companies, Framework hasn’t been immune to supply chain issues, which it says will “limit the number of Framework Laptops we have available at launch.” The company will take its pre-orders in small batches to ensure it can fulfill orders. The first batch, Framework says, will ship in July, with more to come. A pre-order requires a $100 refundable deposit, and the balance will be paid when it’s ready to ship.

While the Framework Laptop sounds promising on paper, other small computer vendors have faced issues with fulfillment. Eve Devices, for instance, had issues fulfilling its Eve V, and some potential buyers have proven far more cautious around its Spectrum monitor and second-gen convertible. But Framework is acknowledging the difficulty in sourcing parts right now, so at least it’s being straightforward there.