Even though Intel’s Rocket Lake-S processors haven’t officially been released, that hasn’t stopped a Chinese laptop manufacturer, Hasee, from updating its current laptop offerings with desktop-based Rocket Lake parts and releasing them into the wild.
This is the second time we’ve seen a company violate Intel’s official Rocket Lake launch date – the first was a German e-tailer that sold over a hundred Rocket Lake chips a few days ago.
The laptops in question are the Hasee TX8 and TX9. The TX8 is the cheaper machines with multiple CPU choices including the Core i5-10400, i5-11400, or the Core i7-11700. You also get to choose between an RTX 2060 or the newer RTX 3060.
The TX9 is the flagship of the lineup and features the same CPU options, but boosts the discrete graphics card up to either a vanilla RTX 2070 or an RTX 3070.
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Theoretically, the biggest benefit of going with a desktop CPU in a notebook chassis is the higher clock speeds gained from the extra power the CPU can consume.
Hasee’s choice is especially interesting in that they chose mid-range parts like the Core i5-11400 and i7-11700 which feature a rather low 65W TDP. 65W is a wattage modern mobile CPUs are capable of hitting in thicker notebook chassis with the introduction of more aggressive Turbo Boosting algorithms and configurable TDPs.
The good news is if you want a Rocket Lake chip ahead of launch, you now have another way of getting it, as long as you’re prepared to pay international shipping fees.
Gaming notebook manufacturers may have found a new ally: cryptocurrency miners. DigiTimes today reported that the ongoing GPU shortage has led miners in China, Taiwan, and South Korea to purchase laptops featuring RTX 30 series graphics.
The lack of available RTX 30 series graphics cards is only part of the reason for this shift, according to DigiTimes, which said the shrinking price gap between a desktop GPU and a gaming notebook has also contributed to the latter’s rise among miners.
Some cryptocurrency miners have reportedly asked manufacturers to combine RTX 30 series graphics with budget components to further reduce that price gap. They aren’t planning to play games with the systems so why pay for other high-end parts?
We already knew that some miners had turned to gaming notebooks, but the efforts to essentially buy a GPU with a laptop for a case are new, and the report suggested that relying on these devices is becoming more popular than originally expected.
DigiTimes said that “notebook shipments were originally expected to slip quarter by quarter in 2021 as the pandemic would be gradually put under control,” but its sources claim “demand from cryptomining may keep the volumes in high gear.”
The problem is figuring out how to serve cryptocurrency miners with as little risk as possible. It’s hard to remember now, but just two years ago both Nvidia and AMD had to contend with an oversupply of GPUs because of the crypto market bust.
So it makes sense to build custom gaming notebooks, or introduce a product line specifically for cryptocurrency miners, while the market booms. But it’s also easy to forgive manufacturers for wondering if these miners are merely fair weather friends.
The MSI GP66 Leopard is a powerhouse gaming notebook housed in a fairly subtle shell that also boasts a comfortable keyboard. It also offers plenty to upgrade or repair, but it’s a chore getting inside.
For
Strong gaming performance
Comfortable keyboard
Replaceable components
Subtle design for a gaming notebook
Against
Difficult to open
Touchpad feels cheap
Too much bloatware
Just because you grow up a bit doesn’t mean you need to stop having fun. The MSI GP66 Leopard ($1,799.00 to start, $2,599.00 as tested) is a powerhouse gaming notebook with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 and Intel Core i7-10870H. But it would fit in anywhere, whether it be an office or a gaming room, thanks to its matte-black stylings. If you’re looking for gaming power without all of the flash, this might be on your list of the
best gaming laptops
.
If you ran some workstation tasks on this, you might believe it was a work machine. Only when you turn on the RGB keyboard do you know it’s time to play. There aren’t red stripes, or, say, an RGB lightbar like MSI’s other models.
It’s a powerhouse, and many of the components are upgradeable for replacement down the line. But while the GP66 Leopard is all grown up, there are still some areas, like its touchpad and its bloatware, where it needs some more maturing.
Design of the MSI GP66 Leopard
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As far as MSI’s gaming notebooks go, the Leopard is quite plain. While some of its other laptops have red accents or RGB light strips, the GP66 is an all-black affair. On the aluminum lid, even the dragon shield logo is tone-on-tone. Only the hinges, which are connected to aggressively shaped plastic molds, suggest this is anything other than a workstation PC.
The only real sign of the GP66’s gaming prowess is the keyboard, which has RGB backlighting courtesy of SteelSeries. But the black aluminum deck and the fairly thin bezels around three sides of the display suggest just a premium notebook. The bottom cover is plastic.
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The Leopard is a thick machine at 0.92 inches tall, so there’s plenty of room for ports. However, MSI has placed only a few of them on the sides: The right side has a pair of USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, while the left side has another Type-A and the headphone jack. The rest of the ports — USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C, HDMI, RJ-45 Ethernet and the charging port — are all on the rear of the device. Alienware has been doing this for years, and it’s a benefit if you use your laptop like a desktop replacement and don’t move it around much. But it can also be inconvenient if you like to use your laptop on your lap.
At 14.09 x 10.51 x 0.92 inches and 5.25 pounds, the Leopard isn’t exactly portable in the toss-it-in-a-bag sense. Dell’s 15-inch competitor, the Alienware 15 m4, is slightly lighter at 5 pounds and a similar size 14.2 x 10.9 x 0.9 inches, but its design is slightly more sleek. The Gigabyte Aorus 17G is expectedly larger with a bigger screen, at 5.95 pounds and 14.9 x 10.8 x 1 inches.
3x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, HDMI, 3.5 mm headphone jack, RJ-45 Ethernet
Camera
720p
Battery
65 Wh
Power Adapter
230W
Operating System
Windows 10 Home
Dimensions(WxDxH)
14.09 x 10.51 x 0.92 inches / 357.89 x 266.95 x 23.37 mm
Weight
5.25 pounds / 2.38 kilograms
Price (as configured)
$2,599.00
Gaming and Graphics on the MSI GP66 Leopard
MSI opted for a powerful implementation of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 for the GP66 Leopard. This version has a 130W max graphics power and a
boost clock
of 1,605 MHz.
Besides running benchmarks, I tried playing Control, a game I use often on laptops with RTX GPUs because of how tough it is to run and because
ray tracing
has a truly noticeable effect. With the settings maxed out at 1080p and with ray tracing on high, the game ran between 52 and 57 frames per second as I traded shots with hiss guards surrounding a control point, though it went as high as 70 during exploration.
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On Shadow of the Tomb Raider (1080p, highest), the GP66 hit 106 frames per second. The Aorus 17G, with an RTX 3080
Max-Q
ran the game at 86 fps, while the Alienware m15 R4 with an RTX 3070 played it at 77 fps.
The Leopard played Grand Theft Auto V (1080p, very high) at 125 fps, beating the Aorus (100 fps) and Alienware m15 (108 fps).
MSI’s laptop ran Far Cry New Dawn (1080p, ultra) at 103 fps, beating both the Alienware and Aorus by over 10 frames per second.
The GP66 Leopard outperformed on Red Dead Redemption 2 (1080p, medium), playing at 82 fps.
It also won out on Borderlands 3 (badass, 1080p), at 99 fps, while the Aorus 17G ran at 79 fps and the Alienware hit 84 fps.
We also ran our gaming stress test on the GP66 Leopard by looping the Metro Exodus benchmark at RTX settings for 15 runs, simulating roughly half an hour of gaming. It ran at a largely steady average of 76.38 frames per second across the runs. The CPU ran at an average of 3.73 GHz and an average temperature of 61.85 degrees Celsius (143.3 degrees Fahrenheit). The GPU ran at an average of 1.1 GHz and 61.49 degrees Celsius (142.68 degrees Fahrenheit).
Productivity Performance on the MSI GP66 Leopard
Beyond gaming, the GP66’s Intel Core i7-1070H and GeForce RTX 3080, along with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD are powerful parts that should aid in creative endeavors like streaming or video editing.
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On the Geekbench 5 overall performance benchmark, the GP66 earned a single-core score of 1,274 and multi-core score of 7,848. The Gigabyte Aorus 17G had scores of 1,265 and 7,895, respectively, while the Alienware 15 R5 notched scores of 1,252 and 7,642.
On our file transfer test, the Leopard copied and transferred 25GB of files at a rate of 1,059.78 MBps, falling just below the Alienware but ahead of the Aorus.
It took the GP66 Leopard seven minutes and three seconds (7:03) to complete our Handbrake test, transcoding a 4K video to 1080p. That’s slightly faster than the Alienawre (7:07) and far speeder than the Aorus (8:33).
Display on the MSI GP66 Leopard
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Our review unit came equipped with a 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080 (FHD) display with a 240 Hz refresh rate. The most demanding titles won’t run that fast, but you can take advantage of it if you like playing esports titles like Overwatch, Fortnite or Rocket League.
When I watched the trailer for the upcoming Mortal Kombat movie, I felt the need to turn up the brightness for the best experience. Cole’s yellow gloves popped, as did Kano’s red eye lasers against a dark background, but the screen was largely serviceable rather than special.
When I played Control, the screen was bright enough, even in some dark spaces. That game has a lot of red, and it really popped, especially against the Oldest House’s dark walls.
MSI’s panel covers 78.5% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, matching what we saw on the Aorus 17G. We reviewed the Alienware m15 R4 with a 4K
OLED
screen, so it’s not surprising to see superior coverage there.
However, at 277 nits of brightness, the screen was dimmer than both the Aorus (300 nits) and the Alienware (362 nits).
Keyboard and Touchpad on the MSI GP66 Leopard
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MSI’s inputs are a mixed bag. Arguably the more important part of a gaming laptop, the keyboard, is the superior of the two. For years now, MSI has partnered with SteelSeries on its keyboards, and they’ve typically been quite good. On the Leopard, the keys are a bit more shallow than I would like, but they’re still fairly comfortable to type on. I hit 120 words per minute with a 2 percent error rate, which is about as fast as I ever get on the 10fastfingers.com typing test.
The 2.5 x 4.1-inch touchpad is fine for navigating and gestures with its Windows precision drivers, but it felt like cheap plastic compared to the aluminum around it. On top of that, I found I had to click harder than on most laptops. For gaming, you should be using a mouse anyway, but this could be a little better for general productivity use.
Audio on the MSI GP66 Leopard
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When I listened to Daft Punk’s “Something About Us,” the various synths and samples were quite clear through the laptop’s bottom-firing speakers. The vocals, purposefully distorted, still stood out on top of the track, along with some piano backing. The low end, including some drums, could have used a bit more punch.
There is a semblance of bass, which many laptops don’t offer, and I was able to tune it more to my liking in the Nahimic audio software.
When I played Control, Jesse’s internal thoughts were clear, especially as her narration ran over the creeping voices of the hiss. At some points, though, I wished I was able to make the volume louder, though this is something else that could be solved with headphones.
Upgrading the MSI GP66 Leopard
The GP66 Leopard is pretty easy to upgrade or repair. Well…it is once you manage to get inside. Compared to some other gaming notebooks, it’s like breaking into Fort Knox.
At first, eleven screws separate you from the GP66 Leopard’s internals. A size 000 Phillips head screwdriver will do the trick. Note, though, that one screw is beneath a factory seal, which is a questionable practice at best. If you send this back through warranty, MSI will know you opened it.
Even after removing all the screws, the system was too tight to open at first. No spudger or pick would fit in the cracks in the chassis. I tried this for longer before I cared to admit, before I eventually found
a YouTube video
from someone that had cracked the case. There is a decorative cover around the hinges, which you can pop off with a spudger. Once that’s off, you can slowly move your way around from the rear ports to the front of the case and carefully remove the bottom.
Once you’re in there, you’ll find that the RAM, Wi-Fi card and the SSD are replaceable. There are two PCIe
m.2 SSD
slots, and since ours came with a sole 1TB boot drive, there is room to expand. The 65 Wh battery, too, is replaceable.
Battery Life on the MSI GP66 Leopard
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The MSI’s GP66 Leopard’s 65W hour battery isn’t going to last it terribly long on a charge. This, unfortunately, is a trend on gaming notebooks, but the Leopard with its full-power RTX 3080, didn’t last as long as competitors.
MSI’s notebook endured for two hours and 25 minutes on our test, which browses the web, runs OpenGL tests and streams video over Wi-Fi, all at 150 nits of brightness. The Alienware m15 ran for 4:01 and the Gigabyte Aorus 17G ran for 4:42.
Heat on the MSI GP66 Leopard
Call it the MSI GP66 Jet Engine.
To keep its components cool, the GPU fans run hard and loud (especially in extreme performance mode, which MSI sent the GP66 Leopard to us set to by default). Admittedly, if you use headphones this is a bit less of a problem.
We took surface temperatures while running our Metro Exodus gauntlet (see the gaming performance section above).
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The center of the keyboard, between the G and H keys, measured 38.6 degrees Celsius (101.48 degrees Fahrenheit), while the touchpad reached 25.6 degrees Celsius (78.08 degrees Fahrenheit). The hottest point on the bottom of the laptop was 46.7 degrees Celsius (116.06 degrees Fahrenheit).
Webcam on the MSI GP66 Leopard
MSI has a laptop with a 1080p
webcam
coming this year. This isn’t it.
No, the GP66 Leopard still has a 720p webcam, and an image at my desk was grainy, though at least it was color accurate with my blue eyes and green t-shirt.
One minor annoyance is that the light that notifies you the camera is on blinks, rather than staying on and static. This is extremely distracting when you’re having a video call or streaming and want to focus on what’s on the screen.
Software and Warranty on the MSI GP66 Leopard
There is quite a lot of software preinstalled on the GP66, which has been a trademark of MSI laptops for a bit now. Unfortunately, a lot of it is bloatware.
Let’s start with the good stuff (it’s a shorter list). There’s MSI Dragon Center, which lets you monitor CPU and GPU usage and other stats, as well as change between different modes of performance. SteelSeries Engine 3 lets you configure the lighting on the keyboard, though I feel MSI should roll this into the other app. Nahimic lets you customize audio profiles.
Aside from that, MSI has added a ton of extra bloat, including the Cyberlink suite (AudioDirector, ColorDirector, PhotoDirector and PowerDirector), as well as Microsoft Sudoku, LinkedIn, Music Maker Jam and Norton Security.
That’s on top of the regular
Windows 10
inclusions, like Roblox, Hulu, Hidden City: Hidden Object Adventure and Adobe Photoshop Express.
MSI sells the GP66 Leopard with a one-year warranty.
Configurations
We tested the MSI GP66 Leopard with an Intel Core i7-1070H, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD and a 15.6-inch, FHD display with a 240 Hz refresh rate. All of that adds up to a grand total of $2,599. (We have, however, seen an identical model with 32GB of RAM going for $2,499, so be sure to shop around).
For $1,799, you can get the Leopard with a Core i7-10750H, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and an FHD 144 Hz display.
Bottom Line
If you’re looking for a powerful gaming notebook that draws attention to games, not itself, the GP66 Leopard is worth looking at. The combination of a full-power RTX 3080 and 10th Gen Intel makes for a potent, if loud, gaming machine. And MSI has put it in a chassis that looks and feels fairly adult, even compared to something like the Alienware m15, which has also gone minimalistic.
There are some things MSI needs to work on here: primarily, the touchpad, which feels like an afterthought, and the sheer amount of bloatware that the company includes on its laptops. If you prefer a premium experience, the Alienware may be a better way to go, but a similarly specced model (with a 300 Hz compared to 240 Hz on the Leopard) is a little more expensive as of this writing.
But if you want a gaming notebook with powerful graphics performance, subtle styling and replaceable parts (even if it takes a bit of work to get to them), this Leopard will impress.
Being one of the world’s leading contract makers of laptops, Compal not only produces notebooks for large brands but also proposes various design concepts that may be eventually commercialized by one of its customers. This year Compal proposed a laptop design with three displays.
Compal’s Airttach is a 13-inch laptop that may be equipped with proprietary custom-built displays that can be seamlessly attached to the sides of the primary screen to create one large screen featuring a 48:9 aspect ratio. The side displays use proprietary power and signal interconnects (or maybe even a combination of wired and wireless technologies, based on some of the renders demonstrated by Compal), so the end user will not have to use any external cables. Meanwhile, the additional monitors have their own kickstands.
(Image credit: Compal)
Compal’s renders demonstrate screens with curved edges to eliminate borders and make the stretched three-piece screen look like one. Technologically, curved edges are only possible with AMOLED/OLED types of panels, so it will be a rather expensive product if the concept becomes a commercial product with curved edges.
(Image credit: Compal)
Since the Airttach design currently exists only on pictures, Compal didn’t disclose any of its actual specifications or characteristics, such as resolution and weight. Meanwhile, the company demonstrates a folio that can house the new units, so at least the Airttach is meant to be suitable for traveling.
(Image credit: Compal)
Expanscape’s Aurora 7 mobile PC with seven displays made quite a lot of publicity recently, but this is a custom-built design for very specific markets. In contrast, Compal’s Airttach is supposed to be a commercially-manufacturable device that is sold at retail outlets. To some degree, the Airttach resembles Razer’s Project Valerie introduced at CES 2017, but Compal’s device looks somewhat more elegant but somewhat less flexible (literally).
Nvidia today announced that Resizable Base Address Register (BAR) support is now available for RTX 3060 graphics cards and RTX 30 Series laptops. That’s earlier than the company anticipated, but it comes with a caveat, because its other desktop GPUs aren’t expected to receive drivers that support the technology until “late March.”
AMD was first to market with Resizable BAR support, which it branded as Smart Access Memory, but the technology is actually part of the PCIe spec. The feature expanded to the Intel Z490 platform in December 2020, and Intel told us earlier this month that it was ready to support Nvidia graphics cards as soon as possible.
So what is Resizable BAR? Nvidia explained in today’s announcement that it’s meant to let the CPU “efficiently access the entire frame buffer” by enabling as-needed transfers of textures, shaders, and geometry that can be processed concurrently rather than queued up. The result: improved performance. Maybe. In a few titles.
Intel’s GM of premium and gaming notebook segments, Fredrik Hamberger, told us that Resizable BAR support could lead to performance gains of 5-10% in some games. Nvidia said that “the performance benefits of Resizable BAR can vary substantially from game to game,” however, and that some titles actually performed worse. Support is also available for AMD CPUs.
(Image credit: Nvidia)
This led the company to say that it “will be pre-testing titles and using game profiles to enable Resizable BAR only in games where it has a positive performance impact.” That’s resulted in RTX cards supporting just eight titles, including Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Red Dead Redemption 2, with the initial driver that was released today.
Nvidia said it plans to expand Resizable BAR support to additional games when it rolls the feature out to more of its 30-series graphics cards next month. For now, though, it seems like the company’s support for the technology will only affect a very small portion of its customers. Let’s see if it raises the (resizable) bar later on.
Most people by a laptop, never upgrade it, and toss it when it’s time for a new model. Framework, a San Francisco-based startup, hopes to upend that paradigm with its Framework Laptop, a 13.5-inch notebook that appears to be an easily upgradeable, customizable portable unlike any other. It could also greatly reduce e-waste.
To start, the laptop will run off of 11th Gen Intel Core processors, and will support up to 64DB of
DDR4
RAM and up to 4tB of PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD storage. It will offer a 13.5-inch,
3:2 display
with a 2256 x 1504 resolution. It won’t be saddled with a
720p
webcam — instead, it will offer 1080p at 60 fps.
CPU
11th Gen Intel Core Processors
RAM
Up to 64GB DDR4
Storage
Up to 4TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD
Display
13.5-inch, 3:2, 2256 x 1504
Webcam
1080p, 60 fps
Connectivity
Wi-Fi 6
But for tinkerers and environmentalists alike, it’s the repair system that sounds awesome. The ports are housed in a series of expansion cards, so you can choose the inputs and outputs you want on the laptop, as well as on which side they go. There are four port bays, from which you can choose from USB Type-C, USB Type-A, DisplayPort, HDMI, a microSD card slot, a headphone amp, or an “ultra-fast storage” bay.
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The Wi-Fi, two memory slots and the SSD are all replaceable, rather than soldered. But the entire motherboard will also be replaceable so that you can put in newer processors later on. This, of course, is the tough part for a startup. Framework will ultimately have to succeed to put out new versions for the full potential to come through. Alienware had promised replaceable GPUs for the
Alienware Area-51m
gaming laptop, and those ultimately never truly came to fruition, and that was an established company.
Framework also states that “high-use” components, including the battery, display, keyboard and a bezel with customizable color options will be easy to replace and that you will be able to buy parts directly from the company. It is pledging to release updates “regularly” to the components, and that it is going to have an open system so that partners can sell their own modules through Framework’s market. Additionally, the laptop is made from 50% recycled aluminum and roughly 30% recycled plastic.
There will be pre-configured models with either
Windows 10
Home or Pro, as well as a DIY Edition, which lets you customize and assemble the modules yourself and choose either Windows or a distribution of Linux. The company says it will include a screwdriver either way for when you eventually want to open the laptop up to upgrade or repair.
Framework hasn’t yet announced the full specs, prices or configurations. It says those will come in “the next weeks,” along with a shipping date that’s more than the curent Summer 2021.
The company was founded by Nirav Patel, who worked at Oculus near the start back in 2012, and also has talent that has worked at Google, Lenovo, Apple and others. We’ll be curious to see how it fares and if Framework ultimately manages to deliver, both at launch and years down the road. It’s a lofty goal, but one that could be game-changing if it succeeds.
A San Francisco-based startup called Framework has just launched an ambitious project: a thin, lightweight productivity laptop that it claims can be “upgraded, customized, and repaired in ways that no other notebook can.”
Framework founder Nirav Patel told The Verge that the company aims to address his long-standing frustrations with consumer technology companies. Patel was one of the original Oculus employees and has worked for Apple as well. During that time, he says he “saw an industry that felt incredibly broken across the board.”
“As a consumer electronics company, your business model effectively depends on churning out constant tons of hardware and pushing it into channels, and into market, and into consumers’ hands, and then sort of dropping it and letting it exist out there,” Patel explains. “It encourages waste and inefficiency, and ultimately environmental damage.”
To that end, Patel sees the Framework Laptop as more than a product — he sees it as an ecosystem.
The Framework comes with a 13.5-inch 2256 x 1504 screen, a 1080p 60fps webcam, a 57Wh battery, and a 2.87-pound aluminum chassis. Inside, you’ll get 11th Gen Intel processors, up to 64GB of DDR4 memory, and “4TB or more” of Gen4 NVMe storage.
As is the case with all kinds of consumer laptops, buyers can swap out and upgrade various internal parts of the Framework, including the RAM, battery, and storage. The company is trying to bring three additional benefits to the table. The first is that you can also customize and upgrade external components of the chassis, including the keyboard, screen, bezels (which are magnetically attached), and ports (via an expansion card system). If you’re someone who hates dongles and docks, you can select four ports from an assortment that includes the usual suspects (USB-C, USB-A, HDMI, DisplayPort, microSD, etc).
The second is that Framework will be selling its own modules in a centralized online marketplace, which is also open to third-party sellers and resellers. The idea is that if your screen cracks or you feel like changing your bezels, you can hop onto Framework’s site to find replacements that are custom-made for your laptop rather than having to search around. Framework’s components are printed with QR codes that, when scanned, will bring you straight to a purchase page for their upgrades.
The third is that in addition to a pre-built Framework system, you can purchase a “DIY” kit of your selected parts, which you can then use to assemble the laptop yourself. The DIY Edition provides some operating system flexibility: you can install “your preferred Linux distribution” on it or your pick of Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro.
Image: Framework
It’s a cogent plan, to be sure. But Framework won’t be able to achieve its upgradable, sustainable future just by announcing an ecosystem — it has to actually create an ecosystem that will last. And whether Framework will continue to manufacture modules for this specific laptop model far into the future, or whether third-party partners will pick up the slack, is certainly a question mark.
If you’re any kind of PC enthusiast, you probably know that Framework is far from the first company to try a scheme like this. Intel has given modular computers a shot in the past, to little result — its Compute Card was a commercial failure, and its modular Ghost Canyon NUC (which had hardware partners on board at launch) still has yet to receive any new components. Alienware’s original Area-51m also never received its promised future-proof upgradable parts. Phone makers have tried modular devices as well: Google’s Project Ara smartphone, composed of Lego-style bricks that users could rearrange and swap in and out, didn’t go anywhere. The reality is that hardware is hard to build and modular hardware is even more challenging.
Image: Framework
Patel, for his part, believes those OEMs weren’t committed enough. “Other companies, they put it out there, and someone internally decided, ‘Eh, we’re going to focus on something else this year,’ and shut down the project,” says Patel. “This is not something we’re dabbling in. It’s not a side project for us that someone thought was interesting. This is the core of our company.”
“We are releasing new modules, and upgrades, and accessories, and so on to drive the health of the ecosystem, and we’re going to continue doing that for as long as customers want us to,” Patel adds.
Framework will be taking preorders this spring, and the device is expected to ship this summer. Pricing hasn’t yet been announced, though Patel says it will be “comparable to other well-reviewed notebooks.”
We recently reported about Expanscape, a startup developing battlestation laptops featuring up to seven displays and offering their prototypes to interested parties at undisclosed prices. Today we can share some more information about pricing, which tops out at an eye-popping $20,692 (after conversion) for the seven-screen model’s base configuration.
Expanscape’s Aurora laptops with five or seven screens are a work in progress, so every unit is unique to a large degree. The manufacturer says that it is getting closer to finalized pricing for its A7 prototype as it had standardized on specific hardware, but until now, the company hasn’t announced official prices of its multi-monitor laptops.
Expanscape currently has two types of laptop prototypes in three configurations. The ‘basic’ Aurora A5 notebook comes with five monitors: four 15.6-inch 4K displays and one 7-inch touchscreen integrated into its palm rest. This system packs an eight-core AMD Ryzen 7 4800U processor paired with 64GB of DDR4 memory, a 2TB PCIe/NVMe SSD, and a 2TB SATA SSD. This entry-level machine currently costs approximately £4,500, or $6,286 USD after conversion.
(Image credit: Expanscape)
The ‘full’ Aurora A7 laptops are equipped with seven displays and come in two configurations. One model features four 17.3-inch 4K monitors, two 9.7-inch 1536p monitors, and one 7-inch touchscreen. Another does not have the 7-inch touchscreen but comes with a 17.3-inch touch-enabled LCD in its base to replace the keyboard, which now extends from under the chassis.
Expanscape’s Aurora A7 notebooks with seven screens are naturally more expensive than their smaller A5 brethren. At present, these machines cost £15,000 ($20,952 USD after conversion) for a standard model, but the pricing goes up with all of the customizations required for the professional built-to-order systems.
All Aurora A7 machines come equipped with 128GB of DDR4 memory as well as 8TB of PCIe/NVMe and SATA storage.
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Notably, the current pricing of Expanscape’s Aurora machines is somewhat higher than several months ago because of component shortages and new policies at the UK border.
It is noteworthy that while Expanscape’s Aurora notebooks are still prototypes, they are rather clumsy and heavy. However, according to the manufacturer, demand for these systems is still fairly significant. Customers who bought the systems reportedly said that they needed them ‘yesterday.’
What remains to be seen is whether high demand for Expanscape’s Aurora A5 and Aurora A7 will enable the company to make them look and feel like commercial products and not just prototypes. Evidently, a more solid build will make these systems considerably more popular among interested customers.
The HP Spectre x360 14 is a beautifully constructed 2-in-1 laptop with a vibrant 3:2 OLED touch screen to showcase your work. It has an excellent keyboard and a variety of ports for all of your accessories. Those who prioritize battery life may want to consider a non-OLED configuration, however.
For
Sleek, attractive design
Vivid 3:2 display shows more of your work
Clicky, responsive keyboard
Thunderbolt 4 and USB Type-A ports
Against
OLED model doesn’t last all day
Difficult to upgrade SSD
There’s no need to beat around the bush: the HP Spectre x360 14 ($1,219.99 to start; $1,699.99 as tested) is one of the best ultrabooks we’ve tested in the last several months. It’s exquisitely designed with a 13.5-inch, 3:2 display that showcases more of your work, whether it be words, numbers, or code.
You’ll pay a premium price for it, but it sure feels premium, with a sleek chassis, clicky keyboard and both USB Type-C and Type-A ports, as well as a microSD card reader.
The model we reviewed had an impressive
OLED
screen with a 3,000 x 2,000 resolution. It looks great, but if you want all-day battery life, you may consider alternative configurations.
Design of the HP Spectre x360 14
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HP makes a handsome laptop. The Spectre x360 doesn’t make a ton of changes to what has largely become a tried and true design. It’s an aluminum notebook with solid construction. Ours came in “nightfall black” with copper accents, which I think is a bit showy for my tastes these days, but you can also get in “Poseidon blue” or my likely choice, “natural silver.”
The back two edges near the 360-degree hinge are chopped off, one of which makes room for a Thunderbolt 4 port. It’s a divisive choice, but it’s grown on me. That placement lets you flip from a laptop into a tablet while it’s charging and barely move the cable at all.
When you unfold the laptop for the first time, you’ll notice the big difference with this Spectre: a 13.5-inch, 3:2 display that feels incredibly luxurious compared to the 16:9 screen on the smaller
Spectre x360 13
that we recently reviewed. There’s minimal bezel around it, putting the focus on your work. It also creates a slightly longer profile for the whole device.
Unlike many 2-in-1s, the power button is on the keyboard, rather than the side of the device. As a person using it primarily as a laptop, I prefer this choice, though tablet-heavy users might be annoyed. There’s also a fingerprint reader next to the arrow keys, this, combined with the IR camera, allows for security options beyond a password whether in tablet or laptop mode, which I appreciate. The speaker grilles above the function keys make for a nice accent.
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There aren’t a ton of ports on the Spectre x360 14, but there’s enough for most people’s everyday use. Most of the action is on the right side, where you’ll find two Thunderbolt 4 ports (one on the right corner), a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a microSD card. On the right, there is one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port. The rest of that side of the notebook is magnetized to fit the included HP Tilt Pen.
At 2.95 pounds with an 11.75 x 8.67 x 0.67-inch footprint, the Spectre is fairly compact. The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 9310 is 2.9 pounds and 11.69 x 8.15 x 0.56 inches — a bit smaller — but also has a 13.4-inch screen in a 16:10 aspect ratio. The MacBook Pro is a 3 pound clamshell and measures 11.95 x 8.36 x 0.61 inches, and the Asus ZenBook Flip S UX371 is 2.7 pounds and 12 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches.
HP Spectre x360 14 Specifications
CPU
Intel Core i7-1165G7
Graphics
Intel Iris Xe Graphics
Memory
16GB LPDDR4-3733
Storage
1TB PCIe NVMe SSD with 32GB Intel Optane
Display
13.5-inch, 3000 x 2000 OLED touchscreen
Networking
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX 201 (2×2) and Bluetooth 5
Ports
2x Thunderbolt 4, USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, Headphone/microphone jack, microSD card reader
Camera
720p IR
Battery
66 WHr
Power Adapter
65 W
Operating System
Windows 10 Home
Other
HP Rechargeable MPP2.0 Tilt Pen
Dimensions(WxDxH)
11.75 x 8.67 x 0.67 inches / 298.45 x 220.22 x 17.02 mm
Weight
2.95 pounds / 1.34 kg
Price (as configured)
$1,699.99
Productivity Performance on the HP Spectre x360 14
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Our HP Spectre x360 14 review unit came with an Intel Core i7-1165G7, 16GB of LPDDR4 RAM and a 1TB PCIe
NVMe SSD
with 32GB of Intel Optane memory. In my use, it could handle plenty of browser tabs and streaming video without an issue.
On the Geekbench 5 overall performance benchmark, the Spectre earned a single-core score of 1,462 and a multi-core score of 4,904. The ZenBook Flip S was in a similar range. The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 had a higher score in multi-core performance (5,639). The MacBook Pro, too, had a higher multi-core score when emulated through Rosetta 2 to run the same version of the test (5,925).
The Spectre transferred 25GB of files at a rate of 533.61 MBps, faster than the XPS 13 2-in-1, but slower than the ZenBook Flip S (979.37 MBps).
In our Handbrake test, which transcodes a 4K video to 1080p, the Spectre x360 14 finished the task in 18 minutes and 5 seconds. While this was four minutes faster than the ZenBook, the XPS 13 2-in-1 was speedier and the MacBook Pro led the whole pack, even while emulating x86 instructions.
To stress the Spectre, we ran it through 20 runs of Cinebench R23. It was fairly consistent in the low 4,000’s, though there were some peaks up to around 4,300. The CPU ran at an average of 2.61 GHz and an average temperature of 74.07 degrees Celsius (165.33 degrees Fahrenheit).
Display on the HP Spectre x360 14
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The 13.5-inch touchscreen on the Spectre x360 has a 3:2 aspect ratio, making it taller than it is wide. It’s an opulent amount of space, especially for doing work. You’ll see more text, code, spreadsheet cells or whatever else you’re working on because the screen is taller. It’s a big improvement over 16:9 displays, and makes for a more natural shape as a tablet, as it’s similar in shape to a piece of paper.
Our main review configuration was an OLED model with a 3,000 x 2,000 resolution. It looked incredible, with deep blacks and vibrant colors, as has been the case on most OLED monitors we’ve seen to date. Of course, most videos are still 16:9, so when I watched the trailer for Godzilla vs. Kong, it was letterboxed on the top and bottom. The beginning of the trailer features the titular ape on a barge during a sunset, and its blue and orange hues were beautiful as jets flew overhead.
The OLED screen covers 139.7% of the DCI-P3 color gamut (the non-OLED, 1920 x 1280 screen covered 74.6%). The next best was the ZenBook Flip S, also with an OLED display, at 113.1%. The MacBook Pro measured 78.3% and the XPS 13 2-in-1 covered 70%.
The Spectre’s display measured an average of 339 nits on our light meter. This never seemed like an issue in regular use, though the ZenBook, XPS 13 2-in-1 and MacBook Pro all got far brighter.
Keyboard, Touchpad and Stylus on the HP Spectre x360 14
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The keyboard on the Spectre takes up as much room as possible, moving from edge to edge of the
chassis
. This gave HP room to include a full keyboard, including an extra column for home, page up, page down and end keys. The tilde key is a little squeezed, but not enough for me to be inconvenienced.
The keys are clicky (they even have a bit of a clicky sound!), and I really enjoyed typing on them. On the 10fastfingers typing test, I reached 105 words per minute with my usual 2% error rate.
There’s a fingerprint reader built into the keyboard on the right side, next to the arrow keys. On the function row, there’s a key to kill the camera. The F1 key is sort of wasted, though, in that it is programmed exclusively to open the browser and search for “how to get help in
Windows 10
.”
HP has equipped the Spectre x360 with a 4.5 x 2.8-inch touchpad. It’s slightly smaller than the MacBook Pro (5.1 x 32 inches), but is still plenty spacious. With Windows 10 precision drivers, it responded immediately to every gesture.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
A rechargeable stylus is included with the laptop, the “HP Rechargeable MPP2.0 Tilt Pen.” (MPP is short for Microsoft Pen Protocol.) It’s round with one flat edge that connects to the left side of the laptop with magnets. That flat side also has two customizable buttons
The Spectre’s palm rejection worked pretty well, and the stylus worked well with both tilting and shading in supported applications. In Paint 3D, using the crayon tool required extra pressure for a deep hue, just like the real thing. I do wish, like some of Microsoft’s styluses, that HP would add an eraser to the end.
HP claims it lasts 30 hours on a charge. When you slide up the top of the stylus, a USB-C port is revealed, which is a neat addition. A ring light on the very top tells you its charging status.
Audio on the HP Spectre x360 14
HP’s collaboration with Bang & Olufsen has produced winning laptop audio for a while now, and the Spectre x360 14 is no exception.
These things get loud — too loud, even. As I listened to Spotify, I turned the volume down as Fall Out Boy’s “Bob Dylan” stormed through my apartment. The drums, vocals and guitars were clear. Bass was a bit quiet. I tried changing that manually in the Bang & Olufsen control center, but to a little effect. There are presets in that app, but I found most of them to be overkill.
Upgrading the HP Spectre x360 14
Unfortunately, HP has made upgrades and repairs to the Spectre x360 14 more difficult for the average person than they need to be.
There are two visible Torx screws on the underside of the laptop, but underneath the rear rubber foot, there are four more Phillips head screws. The feet are applied with adhesive and could rip when you remove them. HP makes extras available to authorized repair shops.
If you did get into the laptop, per
the maintenance manual
, you would find that while the RAM is soldered down, the SSD, WI-Fi module and battery are user replaceable.
Battery Life on the HP Spectre x360 14
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Like most laptops with OLED screens, the Spectre x360 14’s battery life isn’t exceptional. It will last you most of the day, but you’ll want to bring the braided USB Type-C charger with you.
On our test, which continuously has laptops browse the web, run OpenGL tests and stream video over Wi-Fi at 150 nits, the Spectre ran for 7 hours and 14 minutes. A non-OLED version with a 1920 x 1280 screen ran for 12:11, should you value battery life over image quality.
The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 lasted 10:52, while the ZenBook Flip S (also with OLED) ran for 8:11. The MacBook Pro with Apple’s M1 processor lasted the longest at a whopping 16:32.
Heat on the HP Spectre x360 14
We took skin temperature measurements on the 14-inch Spectre x360 while running our Cinebench R23 stress test.
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The center of the keyboard measured 34.8 degrees Celsius (94.64 degrees Fahrenheit), while the touchpad was a cooler 29.4 degrees Celsius (84.92 degrees Fahrenheit).
The hottest point on the bottom was 47.1 degrees Celsius (116.78 degrees Fahrenheit).
Webcam on the HP Spectre x360 14
It’s a shame this beautiful, high-resolution screen wasn’t paired with a beautiful, high-resolution
webcam
. Like most laptop cameras, the Spectre x360’s is still stuck at
720p
.
An image I took at my well-lit desk was color accurate, catching my navy shirt, blue eyes and the mixed shades of brown in my hair and blue. But overall, the picture was grainy, and light coming in from some nearby windows was blown out.
On the bright side, it works with Windows Hello for facial login. While there’s also a fingerprint reader on the keyboard, this is better for logging in when it’s a tablet.
Software and Warranty on the HP Spectre x360 14
While the Spectre x360 is undoubtedly a premium device, it has the kind of bloat you would expect from some budget machines.
HP has a lot of its own software. I wish it would combine more of these disparate programs into the main app, HP Command Center, which lets you make performance adjustments based on temperature and sound and also lets you decide which software gets network priority.
There are separate pieces of software for choosing among different display modes, switching between headphone and speakers, changing HP telemetry settings and adjusting the buttons on the stylus. There’s also HP Quick Drop to move files between your phone and the laptop.
On top of all that, there is MyHP, which gives you your serial number and is otherwise filled in with some fairly vapid tips for using your PC. HP has also added LastPass, ExpressVPN, Netflix, trials of Adobe software and a promotion with Dropbox for new users to get 25GB of free space. There’s also a suite of McAfee software, including McAfee LiveSafe, Personal Security and File Lock.
Amazon Alexa is also preinstalled, which may be divisive. It sure is more useful than Cortana. Either way, it’s not actively listening. Instead, you have to sign in to your Amazon account.
Of course, there’s also some bloatware that’s included in most Windows 10 installs, like Hulu, Roblox and Hidden City: Hidden Object Adventure.
HP sells the Spectre x360 14 with a 1-year warranty.
HP Spectre x360 14 Configurations
We tested the Spectre x360 14 with an Intel Core i7-1165G7, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD with 32GB of Intel Optane memory, a 3000 x 2000 OLED display. It comes in black and costs $1,699.99 at Best Buy as of this writing.
HP sells other configurations on its own website, starting at $1,219.99 with an Intel Core i5-1135G7, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD with16GB of Intel Optane memory and a 1920 x 1280 touchscreen. Changing to black or blue adds $10 to the price, and for more money, you can go up to 2TB of storage (up to an extra $320).
Bottom Line
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The HP Spectre x360 14 is the best 2-in-1 laptop you can get right now. The 3:2 display highlights your work in laptop mode and is more natural than 16:9 or 16:10 screens in tablet mode. It offers solid performance, has a variety of ports, includes a stylus and has an excellent keyboard.
If battery life is your priority, the OLED screen won’t do you any favors, but the 1920 x 1280 model might be more your speed. The
MacBook Pro with M1
, a clamshell alternative, is top of the class in endurance. If you prefer a smaller footprint, the
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 9310
is still very good, though it has fewer ports and a 16:10 screen rather than 3:2.
But the Spectre x360 14 largely has it all, making this one easy to recommend if you’re willing to pay a premium price.
(Pocket-lint) – The desktop is dead, it would seem – and long gone are the days where a gaming laptop could only be a ridiculously overpowered, heavy and LED-encrusted monster that would take your arm off and crush your femurs should you try to either carry it anywhere or rest it on your thighs.
Everyone’s at it nowadays, quite cleverly realising that a slightly bumper-sized notebook is where it’s at for the modern-day video gamer. But, with so many out there to choose between, and so much cash at stake, which are the ones you really want to be thinking of? Here are our choices for the best gaming laptops on the market right now, for those who’d rather buy one than build.
Our pick of the best gaming laptops to buy today
Pocket-lint
Acer Predator Triton 500
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With the Predator Triton 500 Acer has made the sensible choice to not necessarily focus too madly on the looks – it’s a functional machine that makes performance its priority, and does so with real success. That said, the clean design of its chassis is quietly nice stuff. Underneath that metal is a spec list that can be tuned to absolutely eye-watering degrees if you’re willing to pay.
More mid-range bundles are probably advisable, though, and can still have you gaming away without hitches or lag, and connections galore mean you can hook it up to anything you’re likely to need to. The display is cracking, and performance is reliable without getting too hot, although battery life wasn’t top-class at around three hours. This is nonetheless a seriously solid effort from a manufacturer that’s a bit newer to the field.
If you’re looking for a capable gaming machine, but still want something that’s portable, easy-on-the-eye and powerful too, then look no further than the Zephyrus G14.
This is a 14-inch gaming laptop that packs enough power to play the latest games on the highest settings, while also having a battery that’ll support standard use throughout the day.
You can even get a variant of this machine which sports 1,000 customisable LEDs on the lid, meaning you can make it your own with various designs, logos or gifs. We thoroughly enjoyed this small notebook and thought it had plenty of character despite its small stature.
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 review: Good gaming in a small package
Pocket-lint
Gigabyte Aorus 17X
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This guy is a bit of a Rolls-Royce, an absolute monster of a machine that can completely crunch the latest games on their highest settings.
A 17-inch display and chunk design means it’s right on the edge of being portable at all, but the details are all finely tuned, meaning a great keyboard, trackpad and performance in all walks of computing.
It’s a pricey machine, and no mistake, but if you priority is sheer brute force, this is a great choice.
Gigabyte Aorus 17X review: Gaming to the extreme
Pocket-lint
Razer Blade 15 (2020)
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Razer’s Blade laptops were a bit of a revelation when they first debuted a few years back – although they took a few tries to get it right, the form factor and performance offered make for a fairly unreal combination. Now it feels like Razer improves the Blade every time it tweaks it, and this refresh of the Blade 15 brings ray-tracing power to the table without any compromises.
It’s about as understated as a gaming laptop comes, in a good way, and costs a bomb, but is lightning fast and crunches through current-generation games easily. It gets a little hot under pressure, although that’s hardly a unique issue. Battery life is also solid, and you won’t find ray-tracing in many current machines this small. If looks are your number one priority, the Razer Blade 15 might just be top of the pile.
Razer Blade 15 Advanced review: Fast ‘n’ loud
Pocket-lint
HP Omen 15
View offer on HP Store (sponsored link)
HP’s Omen line has been around for what feels like ages, and has been putting out reliable machines for most of that time. The Omen 15 is a solid continuation of that heritage. It’s pretty chunky, but with a great display and genuinely reasonable starting prices is a great option for those looking to spend slightly less to get gaming.
The Omen 15 does look distinctly gamer-y, with a crest on the back of the screen that won’t go unnoticed, but makes up for it with great performance and customisation options. Its 144Hz display is a joy, while HP is one of the few laptop makers that allows you to upgrade various components down the line if you get left behind – something that we’d love to see become more widespread in this age of sealed laptops. As an all-rounder, the Omen 15 is well worth a shout, especially for smaller budgets.
HP Omen 15 review: A portable and punchy gaming machine
Pocket-lint
Acer Nitro 5 (2021)
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Acer’s latest budget laptop is really impressive despite its label, and packs in some really good specs while keeping the price down impressively.
Its build quality isn’t best-in-class, but that’s entirely forgiveable given the extremely solid performance it’ll get you in the latest games, and a really lovely display rounds out the package in style. This is a great bit of a value in a market that can sometimes be a little overpriced.
The MSI GE65 Raider is one of those gaming laptops that pleases in many areas. It has plenty of connectivity options (including Ethernet), a decent spec setup, snazzy looks and plenty of gaming prowess too.
Highlights to this laptop include the keyboard (by SteelSeries), a remote control functionality through an accompanying app and decent performance for the price as well. With a 240Hz screen, RTX capable graphics and much more besides the GE65 Raider is certainly a gaming laptop to consider.
There aren’t too many 14-inch gaming laptops out there – it’s a form-factor that hasn’t got too much love. Loads of people prefer a smaller laptop, though, so we’re glad to see Acer indulging in it with this excellent build.
It’s also got a far more “normal” design than most gaming laptops, which is a good thing if you want to blend in a bit more.
On top of that, of course, you get really impressive performance in the latest games, making for a great package.
Acer Predator Triton 300 SE initial review: The everyday gamers’ laptop
(Pocket-lint) – Thunderbolt is a super-speed technology first invented by Intel. While it initially used Mini DisplayPort connectors, it now uses USB-C and is, essentially, a super-speed version of it.
Thunderbolt 3 is part of the upcoming USB 4 standard, but many of us don’t have the new USB-4 ports on the recent MacBooks. What many of us have – whether a recent Mac or a high-end notebook Windows PC – is a Thunderbolt 3 port that works on top of the USB-C standard. If you don’t have Thunderbolt on your computer but you do have USB-C, why not check out our guide to the best USB-C docks?
Thunderbolt’s benefit is the amount of data it can throughput – up to 40Gbps with the right cables. So it’s the best technology if you’re often transferring large files onto a compatible Thunderbolt drive. The docks here are fully Thunderbolt 3 compatible but they also have the key benefit of USB-C – you can connect up display, power and data to your laptop via a single cable.
All of these docks are designed for on-desk use. Again, if you need a portable hub, check our our guide to USB-C hubs.
Coincidentally, Intel has now announced Thunderbolt 4, coming to future Intel machines.
Our guide to the best Thunderbolt docks
Anker
Anker PowerExpand Elite
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This 13-in-1 Thunderbolt 3 dock is a beast. Not only does it boast 85W charging for your laptop, but it’ll give you 18W charging for your phone via USB-C.
There are also dual Thunderbolt 3 ports, two USB-C ports, four USB-A ports, an HDMI port, an Ethernet port, SD/microSD card slots, and a 3.5 mm headphone or auxillary port. Plus there’s Gigabit Ethernet, too. There’s pretty much no compromise here.
The Thunderbolt 3 port supports 5K at 60Hz while the HDMI port supports a resolution of 4K at 60Hz. You’re able to connect displays to both simultaneously for maximum performance.
Basically, it’ll connect to pretty much anything remotely modern. An 80cm/2.3ft Thunderbolt 3 cable is included.
Corsair
Corsair TBT100 Thunderbolt 3 dock
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Corsair’s TBT100 Thunderbolt 3 dock has a definite advantage over rivals in that it’s nicely sleek and can sit neatly under a display without drawing attention to itself.
It also offers plenty of connectivity options on its svelte frame with two USB-C ports, two USB-A, two HDMI and a 3.5mm combo headphone jack. There’s also an SD card reader, too, in addition to a Gigabit Ethernet port.
Indeed, the only disadvantage of the TBT100 is that there’s no USB-A on the front for connecting a USB stick or similar quickly and easily.
Belkin
Belkin Thunderbolt 3 Dock Pro
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The Belkin dock is the best if you have stacks of legacy USB-A gear that you need to connect into your Thunderbolt Mac or PC.
That’s because this fairly compact dock not only has four USB-A ports on the rear but also one on the front in addition to an SD card slot and headphone jack. It also supports 85W upstream charging.
However, there’s no HDMI on the rear of this unit – it’s designed for DisplayPort monitors and you can connect up dual 4K 60hz displays.
An 80cm/2.3ft Thunderbolt 3 cable is included.
CalDigit
CalDigit Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock
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This simple Thunderbolt 3 dock is a good solution if you want to connect displays via DisplayPort – there are dual DisplayPort 1.2 connectors that support 4K at 60fps.
There’s also a USB-A 3.0 port for flexibility plus Gigabit Ethernet for connections to wired networks. An alternative version of this dock features dual HDMI instead of dual DisplayPort.
Elgato
Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Pro
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This dock – from Corsair brand Elgato – is great if you have several devices that use the USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 connector – there are 2 x standard USB-C ports on the rear as well as dual Thunderbolt 3 ones, meaning there are plenty of options for newer devices.
Dual USB-A pon the front joins SD/micro SD card, Gigabit Ethernet and DisplayPort connectivity, too.
Plugable
Plugable Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C Dock
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With a whole host of connectivity, this Plugable device is great value for money – it has a stack oof ports including dual USB-C on the back (data only) and three USB-A ports – two on the rear and one on the front.
You can drive dual 4K displays at 60hz over Thunderbolt 3 using the dual DisplayPort connectors.
There’s also Gigabit Ethernet for good measure plus an 80cm/2.3ft Thunderbolt 3 cable is included.
(Pocket-lint) – Performing intervals during workouts are grueling enough without worrying about counting yourself up or down, which is why dedicated gym timers are an essential item for home gyms.
Having a clock on your wall provide time alerts can really help you focus on blasting out those final few reps, with most modern wall options able to be programmed for your specific session through remote control or a smartphone app.
If you prefer to keep things old-school, there are also more classic stopwatch-style or even sand timers to explore, too. Really, it’s all about what your setup requires and what fits your budget.
So, in order to help you level up and do away with the timer app on your phone, we’ve compiled some of the very best gym timers to center your workouts around. Time to explore.
Best gym timers you can buy today
Synergee
Synergee Interval Gym Timer
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Synergee’s wall-mounted gym timer is one of many LED, rectangular options you’ll discover when perusing this area, but it’s important to know that some are more functional than others.
Thankfully, this is a great option to consider for those who need the ability to tweak for HIIT and EMOM workouts. With the included remote, users can customize the number of intervals and the time of each round down to the second, with reminders and counting up or down also available.
For what it’s worth, it’s also a very clear display – and the unit itself is available in a number of different sizes, making it easy to match to your space.
GymNext
GymNext Flex Timer
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GymNext’s Flex Timer is the option to zero in on if you want to easily control your device from a smartphone or tablet.
The 2.3-inch display offers a really clear look at the timer function you’ve set, and you can even sync it up with your music and have the external speakers fade towards the end of each round.
Naturally, those speakers can also give you a buzz at the end of each interval, with the format for your sessions able to saved through the app.
Gymboss
Gymboss Interval Timer and Stopwatch
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If you’re less interested in mounting something to your wall, this tiny Gymboss timer is a great alternative.
Able to keep track of intervals ranging between 2 seconds and 99 minutes, and repeat up to 99 in total, there’s no compromise in timer functionality here.
Really, this is the pick for those who like to have the time clipped onto their waist as they work out. With chimes and vibrations able to bet set for countdowns, as well as a stopwatch and clock view, it’s simple but does everything most users need.
BTBSIGN
BTBSIGN LED Gym Timer
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For those who want a medium-sized timer for their home gym, BTBSIGN’s pick is a great option to consider.
The 10.98 x 3.58 x 1.61-inch unit is able to give you 12-hour or 24-hour time, count-ups or countdowns and custom intervals that you can easily return to. Plus, the remote even has pre-programmed options for Tabata and FGB CrossFit workouts.
Like all good timers, you can receive buzzes and beeps to signal new intervals or countdowns, too.
Seesii
Seesii Interval Timer
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Seesii’s gym timer is another that won’t take up an entire wall, making it a neat wall-mounted option for home gyms.
The overall dimensions rest at 11 x 4 x 1.5-inches, with plenty of the typical functionality you would expect from a gym timer. Through the remote, users can set custom intervals, set countdown or count-up times or have it act as a stopwatch. Up to 10 pre-set interval sessions can be saved, too, meaning you won’t have to go through setup every time.
What’s more, for those who want to train outside, hooking up a power bank via the USB slot will allow you to time yourself in the great outdoors.
Seiko
Seiko QHL062Y
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If you require a tiny gym timer with a bit of character, look no further than Seiko’s QHL062Y – modeled on the brand’s iconic clocks that sit on the edge of the running track.
Instead of logging you smashing world records, this dinky timer can instead be used to provide a stopwatch or countdown timer during your workouts.
We wouldn’t say it’s the most advanced option on this list, but it’s certainly got the most retro charm – and it’s a really great pick for casual use.
Comsmart
Comsmart Sand Timer
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There are undoubtedly more advanced options on this list, but, sometimes, the old ways are still the best for some.
So, if you’re the type to record your personal bests and reps with a notebook and pen, you might also enjoy timing your intervals with sand.
There are six pieces in this affordable and old-school set – giving you options for countdowns of one minute, three minutes, five minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes or a half-hour.
As usual, Intel’s poised for a busy year. The company has already launched its new 11th Generation Tiger Lake H35 mobile chips, and 11th Gen Rocket Lake should blast into the market this year to take on the likes of AMD Ryzen 5000. This week during The Tom’s Hardware Show, Intel also discussed the role resizable BAR is playing in its efforts to boost performance for gamers opting for those chips.
Through an advanced feature available through PCIe , resizable BAR lightens the burden on a GPU’s VRAM by only transferring data, like shaders and textures, when needed and, if there are multiple requests, simultaneously. This should boost gaming performance by allowing the CPU to “efficiently access the entire frame buffer,” as Nvidia put it. AMD already tackles this with its Smart Access Memory (SAM) feature available with Radeon RX 6000 graphics cards, but Nvidia added support for RTX 30-series mobile cards in January, with desktop graphics card support beginning in March.
Intel’s GM of premium and gaming notebook segments, Fredrik Hamberger, got into support for resizable BAR on The Tom’s Hardware Show, saying Intel collaborated with graphics card makers, namely Nvidia and AMD, for implementation. The goal, he said was a “standard solution” that could be compatible with multiple vendors.
Intel’s H35-series mobile chips, which target ultraportable gaming laptops, already support resizable BAR, as do all of Intel’s Comet Lake-H series chips and upcoming H45 series, Hamberger said. It’s just up to the laptop and graphics card makers to make the feature usable.
“The final drivers, from our side, it’s already there,” Hamberger told Tom’s Hardware. “Some of the OEMs are working on finalizing exact timing on when they have the driver from the graphics vendors, so I think you’d have to ask them on the exact timing.”
The exec also pointed to some games seeing performance gains of 5-10%.
“It is a pretty nice boost by just turning on this pipeline and, again, standard implementation versus trying to do something custom and proprietary,” Hamberger said.
Of course, the more games that support resizable BAR, the better. But Hamberger has confidence that we’ll see a growing number of game developers make that possible.
“It’s a pretty late feature that … is being turned on, but since it’s following a standard, I think that the nice thing is if you’re a developer you don’t have to worry about it being like, ‘Hey, [only] these three systems have it.’ It’s gonna be available both on notebooks … it’s part of our Rocket Lake platform as well on the desktop side,” Hamberger said.
“Our expectation is that you’ll see more and more developers turn on the ability to use this, and we’ll continue to scale it.”
You can enjoy this week’s episode of The Tom’s Hardware Show via the video above, on YouTube, Facebook, or wherever you get your podcasts.
A Chinese tweaker has almost managed to break records on the notebook 3DMark scoreboard by modifying an RTX 3080 equipped ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 to run at 155W instead of the GPU’s default TDP of 130W.
The mod was made by transferring the VBIOS from another RTX 3080 equipped laptop, the MSI GE76 to the Zephyrus Duo 15. Since the GE76’s RTX 3080 comes with a 155W power limit, this change will get transferred to the Zephyrus Duo 15 when you swap VBIOSes.
The Chinese overclocker managed a 3DMark TimeSpy graphics score of 13,691 points and an overall score of 13,174. Compared to the desktop sector, this modified RTX 3080 managed to beat the best RTX 3060 Ti TimeSpy Graphics score by roughly 100 points. But it loses in the overall score by around 700 points due to the CPU differences. Overall, this means the RTX 3080 mobile is 1% faster than the desktop RTX 3060 Ti.
Compared to other RTX 3080 laptops, the modified Zephyrus Duo 15 is in 2nd place at the time of this writing, and has an average graphics lead of 200-300 points over other 3080 mobile chips. Most RTX 3080 laptops score an average of 13,200 points with some hitting the 13,400 mark. This means the modified RTX 3080 mobile is 1.2% faster than other RTX 3080s.
Unfortunately, we don’t know if the modified RTX 3080 was overclocked or not. The author mentions nothing in terms of a core or memory overclock, so we believe his score was from the increased power limit alone. If true, the modified RTX 3080 has more potential headroom for an even higher score through conventional overclocking.
While the performance results from this mod are quite impressive, keep in mind that doing this yourself is very risky. Increasing the power limit on your GPU will put more strain on your cooling system and, more seriously, your power delivery system (which can destroy your laptop if overloaded). So make sure you know the risks if you want to attempt the same mod on your notebook.
However, it is cool to see what a mobile RTX 3080 can do with some extra power headroom. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll see laptops with these crazy high power limits in the future.
Intel kicked off 2021 with a fresh lineup of mobile processors with a unique twist. The 11th Gen Tiger Lake H35-series processors aren’t just for any ol’ laptop. They target what Intel calls “ultraportable gaming laptops.” And at 3 p.m. ET today on The Tom’s Hardware Show, we’re sitting down with the chipmaker to learn more about what that means.
The Tom’s Hardware Show livestream is every Thursday at 3 p.m. ET. Today, Intel’s general manager of premium and gaming notebook segments, Fredrik Hamberger, will join Tom’s Hardware editors to give us an inside look at Intel’s H35 chips.
You can watch today’s Tom’s Hardware show below at 3 p.m. ET:
You can also catch the show on Facebook and the Tom’s Hardware Twitch channel. Every episode is also available to download as a podcast.
And like with any episode of The Tom’s Hardware Show, we’ll be taking questions from the audience. Join the livestream at 3 p.m. ET to submit your questions via chat YouTube or Facebook, and we may discuss them on air.
Announced during CES 2021 in January, Intel’s H35 CPUs go up to four CPU cores, eight threads and a 35W TDP. The flagship Core i7-11375H Special Edition can hit a 5.0 single-core turbo frequency and has a standard base clock speed of 3.3 GHz at 35W (it drops to 3.0 GHz at 28W).
Intel is positioning the H35 series as an option for the growing number of machines looking to compete with the best gaming laptops by including a discrete graphics cards while remaining portable. Our Asus TUF Dash F15 review showed what the quad-core Core i7-1130H can do alongside a mobile RTX 3070 graphics card in a 0.78-inch thick clamshell.
Join Tom’s Hardware this afternoon to learn more and ask Intel your H35 queries.
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