We just had a new CORSAIR keyboard launch last week, and the company did introduce a few new things with the flagship K100 keyboard late last year, including a standard bottom row of keycaps and stock PBT doubleshot keycaps that necessitated a new mold. Now, anyone with an inkling of how much a keycap set mold costs will tell you that it makes sense to amortize that cost in the form of new products using the same keycap design. Add to this train of thought CORSAIR’s AXON hyper-processing technology, also introduced with the K100, and the likelihood of seeing a revamp of their keyboard lineup sooner rather than later suddenly makes sense. The K65 RGB Mini was a pleasant surprise in the new-to-CORSAIR form factor, and I expected perhaps an updated K70 with these updates next. Instead, some love is given to their budget-friendly membrane keyboard range, and here we are then with the newly updated CORSAIR K55 lineup.
Well, technically, the CORSAIR K55 RGB PRO XT just adds more ammo to my hypothesis that CORSAIR is running out of ideas about how to get out of their self-imposed keyboard numbering scheme that barely holds together logically today. But this time around, the added “PRO XT” makes sense since a CORSAIR K55 RGB keyboard precedes it. What the updated lineup does is offer not one, but two keyboards. The first—not provided as a review sample—is the K55 RGB PRO that builds upon the older keyboard and adds more backlighting zones and Elgato Stream Deck support for the G-keys. This K55 RGB PRO XT also adds per-key backlighting support and game integration with iCUE, but at a slightly higher cost. We will take a look at these features in detail and begin with the specifications in the table below—thanks to CORSAIR for sending a review sample to TechPowerUp!
Specifications
CORSAIR K55 RGB PRO XT Keyboard
Layout:
>104-key form factor in a US ANSI layout, language support dependent on region
After almost a decade of total market dominance, Intel has spent the past few years on the defensive. AMD’s Ryzen processors continue to show improvement year over year, with the most recent Ryzen 5000 series taking the crown of best gaming processor: Intel’s last bastion of superiority.
Now, with a booming hardware market, Intel is preparing to retake some of that lost ground with the new 11th Gen Core Processors. Intel is claiming these new 11th Gen CPUs offer double-digit IPC improvements despite remaining on a 14 nm process. The top-end 8-core Intel Core i9-11900K may not be able to compete against its AMD rival Ryzen 9 5900X in heavily multi-threaded scenarios, but the higher clock speeds and alleged IPC improvements could be enough to take back the gaming crown. Along with the new CPUs, there is a new chipset to match, the Intel Z590. Last year’s Z490 chipset motherboards are also compatible with the new 11th Gen Core Processors, but Z590 brings some key advantages.
First, Z590 offers native PCIe 4.0 support from the CPU, which means the PCIe and M.2 slots powered off the CPU will offer PCIe 4.0 connectivity when an 11th Gen CPU is installed. The PCIe and M.2 slots controlled by the Z590 chipset are still PCI 3.0. While many high-end Z490 motherboards advertised this capability, it was not a standard feature for the platform. In addition to PCIe 4.0 support, Z590 offers USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 from the chipset. The USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 standard offers speeds of up to 20 Gb/s. Finally, Z590 boasts native support for 3200 MHz DDR4 memory. With these upgrades, Intel’s Z series platform has feature parity with AMD’s B550. On paper, Intel is catching up to AMD, but only testing will tell if these new Z590 motherboards are up to the challenge.
The AORUS line from Gigabyte spans a broad range of products: laptops, peripherals, and core components. Across the enthusiast spectrum, the AORUS name denotes Gigabyte’s gaming-focused products, with the AORUS motherboard range featuring a consistent naming scheme that includes the Pro, Elite, Ultra, Master, and Extreme motherboards. Within this lineup, the Master serves as the high-end mainstream option offering prime features at a high but attainable price point.
The Gigabyte Z590 AORUS Master features a massive 19-phase VRM utilizing 90 A power stages and Gigabyte’s signature finned cooling solution. Both Q-Flash and a dual BIOS have been included, providing a redundant safety net for ambitious overclocking. The Gigabyte Z590 AORUS Master also offers a full-coverage aluminium backplate for added rigidity and additional VRM cooling. Additionally, Gigabyte has included a 10 Gb/s LAN controller from Aquantia. All of the features are in order, so let’s see how the Gigabyte Z590 AORUS Master stacks up against the competition.
1x Q-Flash Plus button 1x Clear CMOS button 2x SMA antenna connectors 1x DisplayPort 1x USB Type-C® port, with USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 5x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports (red) 4x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports 1x RJ-45 port 1x optical S/PDIF Out connector 5x audio jacks
After almost a decade of total market dominance, Intel has spent the past few years on the defensive. AMD’s Ryzen processors continue to show improvement year over year, with the most recent Ryzen 5000 series taking the crown of best gaming processor: Intel’s last bastion of superiority.
Now, with a booming hardware market, Intel is preparing to make up some of that lost ground with the new 11th Gen Intel Core Processors. Intel is claiming these new 11th Gen CPUs offer double-digit IPC improvements despite remaining on a 14 nm process. The top-end 8-core Intel Core i9-11900K may not be able to compete against its Ryzen 9 5900X AMD rival in heavily multi-threaded scenarios, but the higher clock speeds and alleged IPC improvements could be enough to take back the gaming crown. Along with the new CPUs, there is a new chipset to match, the Intel Z590. Last year’s Z490 chipset motherboards are also compatible with the new 11th Gen Intel Core Processors, but Z590 introduces some key advantages.
First, Z590 offers native PCIe 4.0 support from the CPU, which means the PCIe and M.2 slots powered off the CPU will offer PCIe 4.0 connectivity when an 11th Gen CPU is installed. The PCIe and M.2 slots controlled by the Z590 chipset are still PCI 3.0. While many high-end Z490 motherboards advertised this capability, it was not a standard feature for the platform. In addition to PCIe 4.0 support, Z590 offers USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 from the chipset. The USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 standard offers speeds of up to 20 Gb/s. Finally, Z590 boasts native support for 3200 MHz DDR4 memory. With these upgrades, Intel’s Z series platform has feature parity with AMD’s B550. On paper, Intel is catching up to AMD, but only testing will tell if these new Z590 motherboards are up to the challenge.
The ASRock Z590 Steel Legend WiFi 6E aims to be a durable, dependable platform for the mainstream market. The ASRock Z590 Steel Legend WiFi 6E features a respectable 14-phase VRM that takes advantage of 50 A power stages from Vishay. Additionally, ASRock has included a 2.5 Gb/s LAN controller from Realtek as well as the latest WiFi 6 connectivity. The ASRock Z590 Steel Legend WiFi 6E has all the mainstream features most users need packaged in at a reasonable price. All that is left to see is how the ASRock Z590 Steel Legend WiFi 6E stacks up against the competition!
2x Antenna Ports 1x PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard Port 1x HDMI Port 1x DisplayPort 1.4 1x Optical SPDIF Out Port 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A Port 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C Port 2x USB 3.2 Gen1 Ports 2x USB 2.0 Ports 1x RJ-45 LAN Port 5x HD Audio Jacks
After almost a decade of total market dominance, Intel has spent the past few years on the defensive. AMD’s Ryzen processors continue to show improvement year over year, with the most recent Ryzen 5000 series taking the crown of best gaming processor: Intel’s last bastion of superiority.
Now, with a booming hardware market, Intel is preparing to make up some lost ground with the new 11th Gen Intel Core Processors. Intel is claiming these new 11th Gen CPUs offer double-digit IPC improvements despite remaining on a 14 nm process. The top-end 8-core Intel Core i9-11900K may not be able to compete against its AMD rival Ryzen 9 5900X in heavily multi-threaded scenarios, but the higher clock speeds and alleged IPC improvements could be enough to take back the gaming crown. Along with the new CPUs, there is a new chipset to match, the Intel Z590. Last year’s Z490 chipset motherboards are also compatible with the new 11th Gen Intel Core Processors, but Z590 introduces some key advantages.
First, Z590 offers native PCIe 4.0 support from the CPU, which means the PCIe and M.2 slots powered off the CPU will offer PCIe 4.0 connectivity when an 11th Gen CPU is installed. The PCIe and M.2 slots controlled by the Z590 chipset are still PCI 3.0. While many high-end Z490 motherboards advertised this capability, it was not a standard feature for the platform. In addition to PCIe 4.0 support, Z590 offers USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 from the chipset. The USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 standard offers speeds of up to 20 Gb/s. Finally, Z590 boasts native support for 3200 MHz DDR4 memory. With these upgrades, Intel’s Z series platform has feature parity with AMD’s B550. On paper, Intel is catching up to AMD, but only testing will tell if these new Z590 motherboards are up to the challenge.
The MSI Enthusiast Gaming, or MEG for short, line of motherboards represents the best of the best MSI has to offer. Last year’s Z490 MEG line offered some of the best overclocking available on an Intel platform. Memory overclocking was particularly noteworthy due to such innovations as MSI’s tabbed memory trace layout. Those same innovations return on MSI’s new Z590 lineup with even more refinement. The MSI MEG Z590 ACE features a massive 19-phase VRM with top of the line 90 A power stages and a robust VRM cooling solution, four M.2 slots, Thunderbolt 4, and a plethora of overclocking features. The MSI MEG Z590 ACE has a premium spec sheet—let’s see if there is premium performance to match!
1x BIOS Flashback button 1x Clear CMOS button 2x SMA antenna connectors 1x HDMI port 2x USB Type-C® Thunderbolt ports 2x Mini DisplayPort input 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports (red) 4x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports 2x USB 2.0 ports 1x RJ-45 port 1x optical S/PDIF Out connector 5x audio jacks
After almost a decade of total market dominance, Intel has spent the past few years on the defensive. AMD’s Ryzen processors continue to show improvement year over year, with the most recent Ryzen 5000 series taking the crown of best gaming processor: Intel’s last bastion of superiority.
Now, with a booming hardware market, Intel is preparing to make up some of that lost ground with the new 11th Gen Intel Core Processors. Intel is claiming these new 11th Gen CPUs offer double-digit IPC improvements despite remaining on a 14 nm process. The top-end 8-core Intel Core i9-11900K may not be able to compete with its Ryzen 9 5900X AMD rival in heavily multi-threaded scenarios, but the higher clock speeds and alleged IPC improvements could be enough to take back the gaming crown. Along with the new CPUs, there is a new chipset to match, the Intel Z590. Last year’s Z490 chipset motherboards are also compatible with the new 11th Gen Intel Core Processors, but Z590 introduces some key advantages.
First, Z590 offers native PCIe 4.0 support from the CPU, which means the PCIe and M.2 slots powered off the CPU will offer PCIe 4.0 connectivity when an 11th Gen CPU is installed. The PCIe and M.2 slots controlled by the Z590 chipset are still PCI 3.0. While many high-end Z490 motherboards advertised this capability, it was not a standard feature for the platform. In addition to PCIe 4.0 support, Z590 offers USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 from the chipset. The USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 standard offers speeds of up to 20 Gb/s. Finally, Z590 boasts native support for 3200 MHz DDR4 memory. With these upgrades, Intel’s Z series platform has feature parity with AMD’s B550. On paper, Intel is catching up to AMD, but only testing will tell if these new Z590 motherboards are up to the challenge.
The MSI Performance Gaming line, or “MPG” for short, from MSI is generally pitched as the middle ground between the no-holds-barred MEG line and more value-oriented MAG line. The MSI MPG Z590 Carbon EK X is an exception. Developed in partnership with and distributed by EKWB, the MSI MPG Z590 Carbon EK X features a monoblock for CPU and VRM cooling as well as all the tools you need to integrate it into your custom water-cooling build.
The MSI MPG Z590 Carbon EK X features a 16-phase Vcore VRM on a 6-layer PCB. There is also 2.5 Gb/s LAN and built-in WiFi 6E, as well as three M.2 slot heatsinks and even a physical RGB LED off switch. EK is including a leak test kit with the MSI MPG Z590 Carbon EK X, so you can build with confidence.
Let’s take a closer look at what the MSI MPG Z590 Carbon EK X has to offer.
1x Intel 1225V 2.5G LAN 1x Intel WiFi 6E AX210 module
Rear Ports:
4x USB 2.0 ports 1x DisplayPort 2x USB 3.2 Gen1 5 Gbps Type-A 1x 2.5G LAN 5x Audio Connectors 1x Flash BIOS Button 1x HDMI port 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps Type-A 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 20Gbps Type-C 2x SMA WiFi connectors 1x Optical S/PDIF Out
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I built a new gaming PC in September to play new games like Microsoft Flight Simulator, Cyberpunk 2077, and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. I figured that picking Intel’s Core i9-10900K and Nvidia’s RTX 3090 would make this machine last for years and offer top tier performance in demanding titles like Microsoft Flight Simulator. I was wrong. Microsoft Flight Simulator is a notorious beast of a game and is quickly becoming the new Crysis test for PCs.
It has struggled to run smoothly above 30fps with all settings maxed out at 1440p on my PC, and even AMD’s Intel-beating Ryzen 9 5950X only improved the situation slightly for some.
Intel’s latest 11th Gen processor arrives with a big promise of up to 19 percent IPC (instructions per cycle) improvements over the existing i9-10900K, and more specifically the lure of 14 percent more performance at 1080p in Microsoft Flight Simulator with high settings. This piqued my curiosity, so I’ve been testing the i9-11900K over the past few days to see what it can offer for Microsoft Flight Simulator specifically.
It’s less than a year after the i9-10900K release, and I’m already considering upgrading to Intel’s new i9-11900K because I’ve found it boosts Microsoft Flight Simulator by 20 percent.
Intel’s Core i9-11900K processor.
The Verge doesn’t typically review processors, so we don’t own dedicated hardware testing rigs or multiple CPUs and systems to offer all of the benchmarks and comparisons you’d typically find in CPU reviews. For those, we’re going to recommend you visit the excellent folks at Tom’s Hardware, KitGuru, or Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry.
Intel’s new Core i9-11900K ships with eight cores, 16 threads, and boosted clock speeds up to 5.3GHz. On paper, that sounds like it would be less powerful than the 10900K with its 10 cores, 20 threads, and boosted clock speeds up to 5.3GHz, but the reality is far more complicated thanks to how games and apps are designed. Most of Flight Simulator currently runs in a main thread that’s often limited by how well your CPU can run single-threaded applications and games.
So in recent years Intel has managed to stay on top with its single-threaded performance, despite AMD offering more cores. That was until AMD’s Ryzen 9 5950X managed to beat the final Intel performance advantage late last year. Intel’s new 11th Gen chips are trying to reclaim its traditional advantage.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is a good example of where Intel typically has an advantage. It’s also an increasingly rare example of a game that’s very sensitive to your entire system components and not just how good your GPU is at rendering games.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is a demanding title on PC.
Intel’s Core i9-11900K does its job well enough here to boost performance by around 20 percent depending on resolution. I’ve tested a variety of flights taking off from different airports and flying over some of the world’s most beautiful locations and the most demanding cities the game has to offer. Everything feels smoother with Intel’s latest chips, but the results aren’t dramatic enough to get me beyond 60fps without stepping some settings down. A flight over Seattle with all the settings maxed out shows a 24-percent performance improvement with the new 11th Gen Core i9 at 1080p and an 18-percent increase at 1440p.
On my i9-10900K PC, I saw average frame rates of 38fps at 1440p and 33fps at 1080p. The Core i9-11900K managed to bump these to 45fps average at 1440p and 41fps average at 1080p. Averages during a particular benchmark don’t always tell the whole story, though. Over the hours I’ve been playing Microsoft Flight Simulator, I’ve noticed the game dip and stutter less than before. It’s still not perfect, but it’s certainly smoother overall.
If I dial the game back to high settings, it immediately jumps to a 66fps average at 1440p — demonstrating just how much the ultra settings hit frame rates. I can personally barely notice the difference between high and ultra settings in Microsoft Flight Simulator,so the boost here is noticeable thanks to the smoother gameplay.
I also tested Shadow of the Tomb Raider and the Cinebench R23 and Geekbench 5 benchmarks. Shadow of the Tomb Raider saw a tiny bump of around 3 percent at both 1080p and 1440p, while the i9-11900K managed some impressive single core performance gains in both Cinebench and Geekbench.
Intel Core i9-11900K benchmarks
Benchmark
Intel Core i9-10900K
Intel Core i9-11900K
% change
Benchmark
Intel Core i9-10900K
Intel Core i9-11900K
% change
Microsoft Flight Simulator (1080p)
33fps
41fps
up 24.2%
Microsoft Flight Simulator (1440p)
38fps
45fps
up 18.4%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (1080p)
176fps
181fps
up 2.8%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (1440p)
154fps
159fps
up 3.2%
Cinebench R23 single-thread
1281
1623
up 26.6%
Cinebench R23 multi-thread
14,968
14,826
down 0.94%
Geekbench 5 single-thread
1336
1766
up 32.1%
Geekbench 5 multi-thread
10,709
11,148
up 4%
I should note I was also hoping to do most of my testing with my existing Z490 motherboard, but that didn’t go to plan. I swapped the chip in with the latest BIOS update for 11th Gen processors and found that the system rebooted a few minutes into games without even a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). I wasn’t able to troubleshoot it fully in time for review, but the Asus Maximus XIII Hero (Z590) board supplied by Intel worked just fine.
You should be able to easily use 11th Gen processors with Z490 motherboards, as most manufacturers have already issued BIOS updates to support Intel’s latest processors. Some will even support M.2 NVMe storage using PCIe 4.0 with these latest chips, while others like Asus only support PCIe 4.0 on the Primary PCIe x16 slot with 11th Gen processors.
Intel’s 11th Gen processors finally deliver PCIe 4.0 support, and that’s good news for storage. Manufacturers have started to fully support PCIe 4.0 drives in recent months, with Western Digital, Samsung, GigaByte, and MSI all launching high-speed drives. If you have a compatible PCIe 4.0 NVMe drive, the upgrade to 11th Gen processors will certainly be worth it. I’ve managed read speeds of 6729MB/s and write speeds of 5206MB/s using Western Digital’s new SN850 1TB drive. Corsair’s MP600 also manages 4987MB/s read and 4259MB/s write speeds. Using Intel’s older 10th Gen chip, the Corsair drive managed 3484MB/s reads and 3235MB/s writes, so an 11th Gen upgrade improved speeds by more than 40 percent. If you work with a lot of files every day, the upgrade to 11th Gen processors will be worth it for PCIe 4.0 alone.
Western Digital’s SN850 has super fast PCIe 4.0 speeds with Intel’s 11th Gen processors.
I don’t think the Core i9-11900K does enough for me personally to upgrade from a 10900K, but the PCIe 4.0 support would tempt me more if I needed the speeds there. At $550 (if you can find it at this retail price), the Core i9-11900K sits in between AMD’s offerings, being less expensive than the top 5950X and 5900X Ryzen 9 chips and $90 more than the 5800X.
There’s some solid single-thread performance here, and the 11900K and AMD’s 5900X and 5950X all trade blows depending on the games. Intel’s performance improvement will come at a cost of energy efficiency, though. Tom’s Hardware found that the 11900K “sets the new high power mark” in several of its power tests, drawing over 200 watts in the same test that AMD’s Ryzen 9 5900X drew 116 watts. If you even need a new CPU, it’s worth considering just how much Intel’s latest chips will influence your energy bills and the games you play.
Whether you decide to upgrade to Intel’s 11th Gen or one of AMD’s chips will probably depend on the games you play and stock availability. A lot of games do a bad job of utilizing multiple cores on CPUs, mostly because console gaming hardware hasn’t offered solid CPU performance and spreading multiple rendering and physics threads across different cores can complicate game design. Intel’s new chips do a better job of handling these single threads to improve performance, but it’s very game-dependent.
For Microsoft Flight Simulator, the general consensus is that the game desperately needs to be moved to DirectX 12 for improvements to multi-core CPU performance. But Intel’s IPC improvements have managed to help until the Direct X 12 update arrives with the Xbox Series X release this summer.
Where Intel might have an advantage over AMD here is availability of chips. It has been increasingly difficult to find AMD’s latest Ryzen processors in recent months, thanks to a global chip shortage. Intel partners have already been accidentally selling some 11th Gen desktop CPUs, which may indicate it will have a steadier supply in the coming weeks.
The winner between Intel and AMD will be the company that can get these chips into the hands of PC gamers eager to upgrade. Much like the GPU market right now, benchmarks don’t matter when the best chip is often the only one you can actually buy.
(Pocket-lint) – We’re probably showing our age here, but when someone says “Highlander” it’s hard to not visualise Christopher Lambert’s 1986 movie of the same name. That said, the Toyota Highlander – the marque’s biggest SUV – is hardly new, as it’s been around for over 20 years, since the turn of the millennium.
From a UK perspective, however, the Highlander is all new, with this Hybrid model representing this SUV’s first time on our roads. It’s only available with a hybrid powertrain on these shores, making for a fairly individual pitch. To paraphrase the movie (we just can’t help ourselves): “there can be only one!” – as you’re not going to find many other 7-seat hybrids, save for examples like the pricier and plug-in Volvo XC90 T8 and Audi Q7 TFSI e.
Design
So is the Highlander Hybrid as immortal as Lambert’s character? Given the sheer scale of this 7-seat station wagon it’ll be hard to not feel invincible when sat behind the wheel.
Pocket-lint
From an outside perspective the look is very Toyota, with all the modern design cues, such as the trapezoidal grille and blue-tinted badge on the front (showing a touch of hybrid there).
There’s no escaping that the Highlander is a large vehicle; even its lowering roofline and those subtle curves to its sides can’t shroud the scale of this vehicle. That said, it’s not too outlandish either: there aren’t the off-the-charts quirky headlights like Toyota’s Prius.
Whether you think it’s as contemporary or European as a Volvo or Audi is a whole other question. And while you may have a preference one way or other, really the Highlander is mostly about practicality and space.
Interior Space
This is where the Highlander really sells itself. With three rows of seats – a pair up front, three to the centre, three to the rear – it’s a 7-seater as standard, driving appeal for families.
Or, who knows, maybe you want to drop the third row to reveal the gigantic boot space – it’s 1.13 metres long in that arrangement, which is huge – so you could easily fit a couple of dog crates in there for when you’re carting Mog and Molly, the Irish wolfhounds, out and about (there’s probably a joke here about West Highlander Terriers, but we wouldn’t dare, but of course).
The third row, when it’s up, is accessible through power-sliding the second row forwards to permit access. It’s not the biggest of spaces to sit, but if you’ve got a big family that’ll be on the road often then it’s perfectly fitting for young’uns.
The seats are comfy, too, with heated/cooled options available for the front pair. There’s a diamond-shape style throughout, providing cushioning where needed.
And to make everything feel airier a panoramic roof comes as standard. That’s usually thousands extra for some of the high-end brands, so is a nice touch to add to the sense of space.
Tech
Sat in the drivers seat, however, and the Highlander doesn’t feel at the top of its game when it comes to tech configuration and layout. This is where Audi rules the roost and the Highlander – while cheaper, for sure – doesn’t come anywhere close.
The main driver’s dials are all physical, mechanical objects – not built-in displays with adjustable options, as is so common these days. The mass of buttons surrounding the high-positioned integrated screen on the dashboard looks a bit dated already, too. Not to mention that for such a massive car and interior, that screen, at just 8-inches, looks small – and there’s no option for the 12-inch model in the UK, as you can find elsewhere.
Pocket-lint
Again, though, it’s all very practical. You won’t be digging through menus to find what you need. There are some great standards, such as a JBL soundsystem that’s rather decent, plus you can amp up the whole so-so navigation and infotainment experience with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto if you would prefer – so it’s got its good foot in the modern door. Even the air conditioning can be tri-zoned, so you can look after the temperature of all your passengers/family members.
Really and truly you don’t need several screens looking all fancy but not doing all that much. So the Highlander averts that, but in so doing it just appears a little last-gen. Which might also sound like something of a contradiction when there are oddities such as a digital rear-view mirror here (and unexpected and unnecessary surprise).
Drive
Don’t think of the Highlander Hybrid as you would a plug-in hybrid (PHEV), as the kind of range on offer here is very slight – you’re talking a mile or so of pure electric power, acquired from regenerative braking.
Pocket-lint
Now that might sound approaching pointless, but it’s not: because it’s always regenerating while driving, it will bring an improvement to overall consumption figures (39mpg is quoted). Meanwhile combined CO2 emissions, at 163g/km, also place the Highlander into a reasonable bracket for such a large vehicle – it’s one lower down than a Volvo XC90 T5’s 184g/km, for example.
Having an electric motor driving this all-wheel drive system delivers reasonable power – it’s actually Toyota’s most powerful full-hybrid system yet – that will see the Highlander from 0-62mph in 8.3 seconds. Not that you’ll be racing this wagon around much. Really it’s the quietness of a near-silent electric pull-away that we found most refined.
The petrol engine, here a 2.5-litre four-cylinder arrangement, does kick in with a bit of noise thereafter – although Toyota is keen to point out how much dampening has gone into the engine compartment and even all the windows to deliver a, let’s say, not rorty driving experience.
The best electric cars 2021: Top battery-powered vehicles available on UK roads
By Chris Hall
·
Pocket-lint
In terms of handling the Highlander is, well, effortless really. It’s comfortable, easy to manage, and we didn’t feel as though we were commanding a tank when on the roads – yes it’s large, but it’s not unwieldy. That’s the key boxes ticked for the whole family then.
Verdict
So can there be only one? Well, like we say, the Toyota Highlander Hybrid is a fairly individual pitch – as you won’t find many 7-seat hybrid SUVs on the market.
Yes, it’s still over £50K, so it’s no small chunk of change, and the hybrid system delivers very low genuine mileage from electric only. But the Highlander’s obvious competitors, such as the Volvo XC90 and Audi Q7, sit yet higher up the asking price ranks.
The Highlander’s overall tech experience already feels somewhat outdated, however, so it’s not the most future-facing car you’ll ever see. But it firmly ticks all the ‘practical’ boxes, ensuring heaps of space and comfort for carting around larger numbers of passengers/family members than you could in something smaller.
Which makes the Highlander Hybrid somewhat niche. But if 7-seats are a must and you want the mild benefit of a hybrid system then there’s few other places to go looking. Which ought to deliver a captive audience.
The wait for the new Apple TV goes on, but a new leak suggests the next-gen video streamer will come with an all-new remote control with improved Siri voice functionality.
Details are thin as the ground, but 9to5Mac claims to have “learned that Apple is developing a new Remote for Apple TV”. The source says the new zapper is being developed under the codename ‘B519’, whereas the current Siri Remote goes by the much catchier name ‘B439’. So in other words, something is afoot.
Today’s leak ties in with last week’s report by MacRumours, which noted that Apple had erased all mentions of “Siri Remote” from its tvOS14.5 beta, replacing it with the name “Apple TV Remote”. Again, it appears to point to a new wand.
While some love the simplicity of the current Siri Remote, which features a
minimalistic touchpad (we called it “skittish” in our Apple TV 4K review), others have bemoaned the lack of physical buttons and called for a replacement – which it seems like they’re going to get.
As for the box itself, talk of a new Apple TV has been swirling around for some time now. It’s rumoured to boast a faster processor, with a new focus on the Apple Arcade cloud-based video gaming service.
Well-known Twitter tipster Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) even suggested that if Apple drops its super-speedy A14 Bionic chip into the next Apple TV, it could give dedicated games consoles a run for their money.
With any luck, we’ll find out soon. Apple is rumoured to be holding a launch event in April that could see it unveil the new video streamer alongside the iPad Pro 2021 and AirPods 3. The iPhone 13, however, isn’t slated to arrive until September.
MORE:
Everything we know so far about the new Apple TV
Here’s our round-up of the very best video streamers
After almost a decade of total market dominance, Intel has spent the past few years on the defensive. AMD’s Ryzen processors continue to show improvement year over year, with the most recent Ryzen 5000 series taking the crown of best gaming processor: Intel’s last bastion of superiority.
Now, with a booming hardware market, Intel is preparing to retake some of that lost ground with the new 11th Gen Intel Core Processors. Intel is claiming these new 11th Gen CPUs offer double-digit IPC improvements despite remaining on a 14 nm process. The top-end 8-core Intel Core i9-11900K may not be able to compete against its AMD rival Ryzen 9 5900X in heavily multi-threaded scenarios, but the higher clock speeds and alleged IPC improvements could be enough to take back the gaming crown. Along with the new CPUs, there is a new chipset to match, the Intel Z590. Last year’s Z490 chipset motherboards are also compatible with the new 11th Gen Intel Core Processors, but Z590 introduces some key advantages.
First, Z590 offers native PCIe 4.0 support from the CPU, which means the PCIe and M.2 slots powered off the CPU will offer PCIe 4.0 connectivity when an 11th Gen CPU is installed. The PCIe and M.2 slots controlled by the Z590 chipset are still PCI 3.0. While many high-end Z490 motherboards advertised this capability, it was not a standard feature for the platform. In addition to PCIe 4.0 support, Z590 offers USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 from the chipset. The USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 standard offers speeds of up to 20 Gb/s. Finally, Z590 boasts native support for 3200 MHz DDR4 memory. With these upgrades, Intel’s Z series platform has feature parity with AMD’s B550. On paper, Intel is catching up to AMD, but only testing will tell if these new Z590 motherboards are up to the challenge.
The AORUS line from Gigabyte spans a broad range of products—laptops, peripherals, and core components. Across the enthusiast spectrum, the AORUS name denotes Gigabyte’s gaming-focused products. The AORUS motherboard range features a consistent naming scheme that includes the Pro, Elite, Ultra, Master, and Extreme motherboards.
The Gigabyte Z590I AORUS Ultra features a robust VRM utilizing 90 A power stages, along with Q-Flash for a redundant safety net for ambitious overclocking. Along with the standard Z590 updates, the Gigabyte Z590I AORUS Ultra has also added two additional Vcore power stages, which takes the total from 8 to 10. The Gigabyte Z590I AORUS Ultra also offers a full-coverage aluminium backplate for added rigidity and additional VRM cooling. Let’s see how the Gigabyte Z590I AORUS Ultra stacks up against its predecessor!
Specifications
Specifications
CPU Support:
Intel 10th Gen or later processors
Power Design:
CPU Power: 11-phase* Memory Power: 2-phase
Chipset:
Intel Z590
Integrated Graphics:
Dependent on installed CPU
Memory:
2x DIMM, supports dual-channel DDR4-4600 (OC) MHz
BIOS:
AMI UEFI BIOS
Expansion Slots:
1x PCIe 3.0 x16 slot
Storage:
4x SATA 6 Gb/s ports 2x M.2 ports (SATA3/PCIe x4)
Networking:
1x Intel 2.5 Gb/s LAN 1x Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200
Rear Ports:
1x DisplayPort 1x HDMI port 1x USB Type-C® port, with USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 support 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports (red) 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports 2x USB 2.0/1.1 ports 1x Q-Flash Plus button 1x RJ-45 port 2x SMA antenna connectors 3x audio jacks
Audio:
1x Realtek ALC1220 Codec
Fan Headers:
4x 4-pin
Form Factor:
ITX Form Factor: 6.7 x 6.7 in.; 17.0 x 17.0 cm
Exclusive Features:
APP Center
@BIOS
EasyTune
Fast Boot
Game Boost
RGB Fusion
Smart Backup
System Information Viewer
USB TurboCharger
Support for Q-Flash Plus
Support for Q-Flash
Support for Xpress Install
Testing for this review was conducted using a 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10900K. Stay tuned for an 11th Gen update when the new processors launch!
The official Rocket Lake launch isn’t even here yet, but professional overclockers are already pushing the Core i9 11900K past 7GHz. As Tweeted by APISAK, one overclocker called ‘ROG-Fisher’ so far has achieved this overclock on a ROG Maximus XIII Apex motherboard with a crazy-high voltage of 1.873v. That makes this score the highest frequency overclock on Rocket Lake–at least for right now.
(Image credit: Twitter)
Another overclocker in India has already begun work overclocking a 11900K. But for now, they have ‘only’ achieved 6.5Ghz, at a much lower vcore of 1.678v.
This is just the beginning for Rocket Lake. It will take time for overclockers to feel out these new chips to see where they can be pushed.
At least, for now, 7GHz seems to be the clock speed barrier to beat with liquid nitrogen cooling. Compare that to Intel’s Comet Lake-S chips, which could hit well in excess of 7GHz. In-fact, with one CPU-Z validation, one overclocker almost hit the 8GHz mark.
However, with Rocket Lake being the first-brand new architecture from Intel in over 5 years (and one of the only backported architectures), it makes us wonder if Rocket Lake will have any extra frequency headroom from the changes Intel has made to the architecture (compared to Comet Lake). Only time will tell.
For more details on Rocket Lake, check out our coverage here. The official Rocket Lake launch is tomorrow so stay tuned for our review. Perhaps we’ll see chips like the 11900K join the ranks as some of the best CPUs you can buy in 2021. And ‘can buy’ might be a key consideration. Given that Intel fabs its own CPUs, it seems unlikely the chip giant will suffer the same stock issues that have plagued AMD since the Ryzen 5000 launch last year.
Founded in 1999, EVGA is a US-based computer hardware company. After a longer hiatus, EVGA returns to the gaming mouse world with the X15, X17, and X20. The X17 is a right-handed ergonomic mouse with two main draws: Actual 8000 Hz polling and ultra-low lift-off distance owing to two additional, independent LOD sensors. PixArt’s PMW3389 sensor capable of 16,000 CPI is used, along with pre-tensioned main buttons. The default weight of 106 g can be further adjusted with five 5 g weights. In total, ten buttons are available, all of which can be rebound within EVGA’s Unleash software, which also has the usual options for RGB lighting, among others.
(Pocket-lint) – When a product arrives with a bag of sand and a bucket in tow for testing purposes, you know it’s not going to be just any old standard lifestyle product. But that’s exactly the point with the Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3: it’s a rugged tablet, designed for drops, water- and dust-resistance, and being generally all-round well ‘ard.
“Oh, how very telephone engineer,” quipped one member of the Pocket-lint team. Because, really, beyond the lifestyle-looking shiny retail packaging, this tablet’s overall vision – it comes with a removable battery, people, the likes of which we haven’t seen since the dinosaurs existed, right? – is far more aligned to the workforce than our consumer norm on the test bench.
Except, in the right hands, it could stretch to appeal. Sure, plenty of current kit offers water- and dust-resistance, but that usually comes wrapped in a finish that’s prone to scratches or cracks. The Tab Active 3, on the other hand, almost wants to be abused – something that kids are supremely good at, even without meaning to be. So, buckets and spades at the ready, because this is the kind of tablet that will survive those trips to the beach.
Design & Display
8-inch PLS LCD display, 1920 x 1200 resolution, 16:10 aspect ratio
Dimensions: 213.8 x 126.8 x 9.9mm / Weight: 426g
Rugged case and stylus included
Finishes: Black only
13MP camera
Pulling the Active Tab out of its box is a little like finding a time-travel wormhole. For a brief moment “Google Nexus 7” flashed before eyes, as if it was 2013 or something (which would be a little unfair: this Galaxy Tab has an 8-inch screen, not a 7-inch one).
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There’s even a protective case in the box, complete with a stylus holster and chunky stylus included (but no hard hat) – it’s all very frontline-worker out-in-the-field kind of stuff – to add reinforcement. The stylus needs a fairly stiff tug to remove it, but at least you’ll know it’s securely stowed.
All this is very befitting of purpose though. The Tab Active 3 has a trio of physical buttons integrated onto its front – so no Android softkeys here, it’s hardware instead – to navigate around the Google Android (it’s version 10, so reasonably well up to date). Whether bare handed or gloved, you’ll be fine using this tough tab.
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The screen itself has large bezels to its sides, so plenty of space to hold on, which again makes it look like an older-generation product. It makes sense in context, but that’s the reality of it – it doesn’t look new or especially fancy.
Rugged Testing
IP68 dust/water resistant – to 1.5m for 30mins
MIL-STD-810H military standard
1.5m drop tested
And so to the Galaxy Tab Active 3’s main sell: its ruggedness. This is certainly fun to test, because it’s such a rarity to lob a gadget around with pure abandon, but we got to go to town on this tablet.
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It survived no worries, of course, as that’s its whole purpose. Sure, you’re probably not going to bury it in sand – but you could. So whether that’s the beach or a sandpit, it wont suffer ingress and be damaged, neither will it get all scratched up.
The drop test from 1.5m high is no bother either, although we think it would actually survive more severe impacts with that case attached. It’s not designed to, in terms of the test rating – it’s military standard though – but it’ll survive unscathed, whereas a ‘normal’ glass-backed tablet just isn’t going to.
It’s a similar tale for the waterproofing: we submerged the tablet in about 15cm of water for half an hour and that was no bother for it. Indeed, we think it’d survive for far longer (especially at that depth, as the pressure isn’t exactly high). Plus it can handle, according to the ratings system, 1.5m of submersion for that half-hour period of time without drowning.
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All of this is good stuff, it’s the product delivering on what it’s supposed to do. But we’ve seen plenty of more refined consumer designs with newer hardware and specs also offer much of this – there are plenty of waterproofed mobile products, for example. It’s the Tab Active 3’s hard-shell extra casing that makes it a bit more significant though.
Performance & Battery
Samsung Exynos 9810 processor, 4GB RAM
5,050mAh removable battery, 15W charging
128GB storage, microSD card expansion
It’s rare that any products have removable batteries these days, but the Tab Active 3 does. A 5,050mAh one, no less, which is fairly capacious given the overall spec, and lasts for a long work day – around 11 hours. It’s not got phone longevity, therefore, given the scale of the device – but then you can just pop in a backup battery if you need.
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Under the hood the Tab Active has Samsung’s Exynos 9810 processor, meaning it’s on last-gen hardware rather than being really eye-catching and up to date. That might well mean it doesn’t run as hard or as hot as some modern day cutting-edge flagship hardware, but it also means for a pricey slate such as this that you’re not getting the greatest of potential.
Of course whether that matters will depend on just what you want to be doing with this tablet. After all, while you could watch Netflix on your lunch break, realistically we suspect this tablet will have proprietary installs for specific tasks.
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Samsung Knox, the company’s security framework – which is designed to give organisations the tools to manage work devices – comes as standard. That, really, tells you most of what you need to know – this is really for work rather than one to throw at the kids.
What is the Pocket-lint daily and how do you get it for free?
By Stuart Miles
·
Verdict
The more we lived with the Galaxy Active Tab 3, the more we wondered why it’s on both Samsung’s business and consumer website sections.
It’s clearly more aligned with the former, as at this price point it’s so far removed from a consumer-grade tough tablet for the kids that it won’t make sense for, well, almost anyone. We thought that might have been a good angle for such a products, but if that’s your thinking then save several hundred and pick up an Amazon tablet instead.
The fact is many consumer lifestyle products now offer some degree of rugged protection, more up-to-date designs, and as such the Active Tab 3 is therefore best left to who it’s really for: the workforce. It’s not bad by any means, it’s just kind-of retro and somewhat lost for purpose in a consumer context.
It’s hard to fault a 32-inch VA 1440p monitor with 165 Hz that sells for so little. There are a few flaws, but taken purely as a gaming display, the Pixio PXC327 delivers excellent performance where it counts. With excellent SDR picture quality and smooth video processing, it’s a great way to put a big screen on your desk for not a lot of money.
For
Good contrast
Excellent, large color gamut after calibration
Good value
Against
No sRGB mode
Undersaturated HDR color
Smearing effect with backlight strobe
Features and Specifications
Gaming monitors come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes, and we’ve covered just about every category currently available. Whether your preference runs flat or curved, there’s a screen for you. For the best experience, a panel of at least 25 inches diagonal is a good choice, but if you have the space and budget, well, bigger is usually better. One of the more unusual form factors is 32-inch curved. We’ve looked at a number of these over the past two years and found them very worthy of consideration. A 32-inch screen in the 16:9 aspect ratio provides plenty of width and height to immerse gamers while still being well-suited for productivity. Adding a curve brings the user a little closer to virtual reality.
Some of these screens are premium priced, but the Pixio PXC327 manages to break the cost barrier. This 32-inch VA panel with 1440p resolution and an 1800R curve sells for just $310, cheaper than most of the best gaming monitors, either direct from the manufacturer or several popular online outlets. Though it doesn’t offer a lot of bells and whistles, it does have AMD FreeSync Premium, along with a speedy 165 Hz refresh rate and HDR.
Pixio PXC327 Specs
Panel Type / Backlight
VA / W-LED, edge array
Screen Size, Aspect Ratio & Curve
31.5 inches / 16:9
Curve radius: 1800mm
Max Resolution & Refresh Rate
2560 x 1440 @ 165 Hz
AMD FreeSync Premium
Native Color Depth & Gamut
8-bit / DCI-P3
Response Time (MPRT)
1ms
Brightness (mfr)
350 nits
Contrast (mfr)
3,000:1
Speakers
None
Video Inputs
2x DisplayPort 1.2
1x HDMI 2.0
Audio
3.5mm headphone output
USB 3.0
None
Power Consumption
29.3w, brightness @ 200 nits
Panel Dimensions WxHxD w/base
28.5 x 16.7 x 7.5 inches (724 x 424 x 191mm)
Panel Thickness
1.7 inches (43mm)
Bezel Width
Top/sides: 0.4 inch (9mm)
Bottom: 0.7 inch (17mm)
Weight
12.1 pounds (5.5kg)
Warranty
3 years
Backlit by a white LED edge array, the PXC327 is specced for 350 nits maximum brightness and coverage of about 83% of the DCI-P3 color space. It accepts HDR10 signals and runs at 165 Hz without overclock. AMD FreeSync Premium is the native adaptive tech. It’s AMD mid-tier screen tear-fighting offering and adds low framerate compensation (LFC) over standard FreeSync. The PXC327 isn’t G-Sync Compatible-certified, but we got it to run Nvidia’s anti-screen tear feature anyway (see: How to Run G-Sync on a FreeSync Monitor). Both flavors of Adaptive-Sync and HDR work in concert over DisplayPort at 165 Hz and over HDMI at 144 Hz.
The PXC327 has little else in the way of features, but as a basic gaming monitor, it offers a lot of positives for the price.
Assembly and Accessories
You’ll need to break out the Phillips-head screwdriver to assemble the PXC327’s metal base and upright. From there, just snap the panel in place. The external power supply is a small brick, and you also get a DisplayPort cable.
If you prefer to use a monitor arm, the panel has 100mm VESA lugs in back, but you’ll have to source your own bolts to use them.
Product 360
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(Image credit: Pixio)
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(Image credit: Pixio)
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(Image credit: Pixio)
The PXC327 maintains the current styling trend of thin flush-mounted bezels with a 9mm frame around the top and sides and a 17mm wide strip across the bottom. Only a small Pixio logo is visible in the center. In back, there’s a larger Pixio logo molded in a shiny finish with the surrounding plastic done in smooth matte. A large chevron is deeply cut into the back cover also finished in gloss. Underneath that are geometric shapes that resemble the side of a sci-fi movie spaceship.
The input panel is clearly labeled with white lettering visible from the back. You get two DisplayPort 1.2 inputs that support HDR and Adaptive-Sync up to 165 Hz. A single HDMI 2.0 can do up to 144 Hz, along with HDR and FreeSync. You can also plug your best gaming headset into the 3.5mm audio jack. There’s a USB port for service and firmware updates, but it does not support peripherals.
The all-metal stand is much more solid than its thin appearance would suggest. However, it allows for a 25-degree tilt. There are no swivel or height adjustments available, but the PXC327 is light enough to move around easily. The screen sits a little low for a perfectly vertical position, so we had to tilt it up a bit.
OSD Features
You control all of the PXC327’s functions by a single joystick/button on the back right side of the panel. It moves through the simple and efficiently designed on-screen display (OSD) menu with ease and doubles as a power toggle. Clicking the four directions outside the OSD brings up quick menus for picture mode, input selection, brightness and Game Assist’s aiming point, timer and frames per second (fps) counter.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
There are seven picture modes which correspond to different game types. User is the default mode and makes all image controls available. Additionally, there are three user memories in the User Data submenu that can be saved and recalled. Black Equalizer raises the black level to make shadow detail easier to see. We left that option alone as the PXC327 has very good gamma accuracy and deep black levels. We had no problems seeing fine detail in dark places.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The PXC327 packs three Color Temperature presets, along with sRGB and a user mode. The RGB sliders allow for precise and accurate results during calibration, which we recommend because the preset temps are all either too cool or too warm.
You also get five gamma options. 2.2 is the default and best one. If you want to tweak color saturation and hue, there are sliders for that. And you can dial in a low blue light mode for fatigue-free reading. Note that the sRGB mode here does not reduce the color gamut from the native DCI-P3. DCI-P3 is the one and only choice.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Gaming Setup is where you’ll find the FreeSync toggle, three-level overdrive, Game Assist, HDR, dynamic contrast and MPRT, which is Pixio’s term for blur reduction, a backlight strobe.
Pixio PXC327 Calibration Settings
The PXC327’s default User mode has a few flaws that calibration can correct. For one, grayscale runs cool, but that’s easily fixed with adjustments to the RGB sliders in the User color temp. These tweaks also improved gamma, which is a bit too dark by default. No change to the gamma preset is necessary. We also recommend lowering the contrast slider to make highlights pop a bit more.
Once these changes are made, measured contrast is improved, and color is very accurate in the DCI-P3 realm. Again, there is no sRGB option available. The sRGB color temp setting does not reduce gamut volume at all.
Please try our recommended settings for the Pixio PXC327 below:
Picture Mode
User
Brightness 200 nits
51
Brightness 120 nits
25
Brightness 100 nits
19
Brightness 80 nits
13
Brightness 50 nits
5 (min. 34 nits)
Contrast
46
Gamma
2.2
Color Temp User
Red 55, Green 53, Blue 47
Once you switch over to HDR mode, which you must do manually, there are errors in color and luminance tracking that cannot be corrected. We’ll tell you more about that on page 4.
Gaming and Hands-on
The 32-inch form factor is great for just about any use. It provides enough image area to line up two word processing documents side by side. It’s great for editing music scores or photos. And you’ll see a huge portion of any spreadsheet. In the PXC327’s case, QHD resolution provides 93 pixels per inch, enough to render small details sharply without obvious jaggies. You can sit up close to this monitor without seeing the pixel structure in photos and videos.
The PXC327’s curve is subtle, which is typical of curved monitors with a 16:9 aspect ratio. In the past, we’ve wondered if this aspect ratio benefits from curvature at all, and after reviewing many panels in both 27 and 32-inch sizes, we say yes. Though we wouldn’t call it a deciding factor, the PXC327’s 1800R curve clearly enhances gameplay while making no real difference to the Windows desktop, which is a good thing. If gaming is the only intended use for a monitor, it’s hard to have too much curve. But if you must spend part of your day working, an extreme radius can be distracting.
With the PXC327, the Windows desktop looked bright and colorful, thanks to the large color gamut. If you need sRGB for Photoshop or accuracy otherwise, you’ll need to use a software profile. There’s no usable sRGB option in the OSD.
At our reference setting of 200 nits brightness, there was more than enough light output for a brightly lit office. In fact, we turned it down a bit when browsing the web. White backgrounds coupled with a large screen mean less light is necessary.
We weren’t as enamored with HDR operation in Windows. Brightness is locked to the maximum, which made the image very harsh. Color was also more muted than it is in SDR (you’ll see why in our HDR gamut test on page 4). Ultimate, there was no benefit to working in HDR mode.
Booting up our SDR copy of Tomb Raider, we were impressed by deep blacks full of detail and the rich, saturated color palette. Though we saw a bit more color than the game’s creators intended, it looked natural thanks to the PXC327’s accuracy after calibration. Greens and reds were particularly vivid, and fleshtones looked slightly ruddy. With a huge dynamic range, over 3400:1, image depth is superb.
We had the same experience playing Call of Duty: WWII in SDR mode. The PXC327 has contrast to spare. This is a good thing because switching to HDR mode showed some color flaws in terms of saturation. The game just didn’t have the expected pop in pop. Instead, it looked a little more muted than the SDR version of the game. You’ll see why this is so on page four. Meanwhile, HDR contrast looked about the same as SDR, which jives with our measurements, but the image was extremely bright. We weren’t able to play in HDR mode for long before fatigue set in.
There were no such issues with video processing. Our GeForce RTX 3090 graphics card was able to hit 165 fps no matter how intense the action became. That’s a benefit of the PXC327’s QHD resolution. Would 4K resolution look better? Probably a little but at a much greater hit to the wallet. This is one great-looking monitor for the price. Our machine with a Radeon RX 5700 XT card ran the same games at 120-140 fps, still very smooth and responsive. In all cases, we used the High overdrive setting. There was no visible ghosting, and motion resolution remained clear and sharp.
The backlight strobe was unusable in our tests. In addition to reducing brightness by around 20%, it created a smearing effect that made some objects appear doubled around the edges. We stuck with Adaptive-Sync for all gameplay and were more than satisfied.
The ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 3 is a ThinkPad through and through. It’s got the keyboard nub, the discrete mouse buttons, and the all-black chassis with scattered dots of red. (If you’ve seen its predecessor, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 2, you’ll know what you’re getting — the models are identical, with different chips.)
But this ThinkPad has a unique feature you don’t see every day: an OLED screen. That, combined with its discrete GPU, puts the X1 Extreme Gen 3 out of the business laptop space that ThinkPads traditionally dominate and into the crowded market for ultraportable content-creation machines. Among those competitors, the X1 Extreme has some significant drawbacks that keep it from reaching the top of the pack. But it still includes the features that have made ThinkPads so dominant across the board, and that means there’s certainly an audience for it.
Like other ThinkPads, the X1 Extreme is customizable for a variety of price points. All configurations have an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Max-Q. The base model is $2,734 (currently discounted to a much more reasonable $1,640) and includes a Core i5-10400H, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, a 1920 x 1080 non-touch display, and a standard 720p HD webcam. Among prebuilt models, you can go all the way up to a system with a Core i9-10885H, 64GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, a 3840 x 2160 OLED touchscreen, and an IR camera, all for — wait for it — $4,959 (currently listed at $2,974.40). My test configuration is in the middle; it includes a Core i7-10850H, 1TB of storage, 32GB of RAM, and the OLED touchscreen. It has an MSRP of $4,111 but is currently listed at $2,466. You can tweak most of the specs to your liking, though some are dependent on others; for example, all models that don’t have the base display come with the IR camera.
This model has two absolutely standout features. The first is the keyboard. ThinkPads usually have great keyboards, and this one is no exception. It’s one of my favorite keyboards that I’ve tried on a workstation laptop this year, with the possible exception of the Dell XPS 15. The keys have a comfortable texture and a heck of a lot of travel, without being too loud. The typing experience feels closer to that of a mechanical keyboard than to that of flatter laptop keys. I actually found myself eschewing my personal laptop during my testing period in favor of the ThinkPad because of how much I love typing on it.
There’s a row of useful hotkeys on the top of the deck. New to the X1 Extreme are three buttons tailored to remote work: F9 brings up the notification center, F10 answers calls, and F11 ends calls. There are also keys to cut the volume and microphone, toggle airplane mode, and adjust volume and brightness.
Ports include two USB 3.2 Gen 1, two Thunderbolt 3, one HDMI 2.0, one SD slot, one combo audio jack, and an optional Nano-SIM card slot.
One quick thing about the keyboard: the Fn and Ctrl keys are swapped from the locations where you’ll find them on most keyboards. This is how ThinkPad keyboards have been laid out since forever, and you can remap the keys through the BIOS or with Lenovo’s utility app if you prefer. But if you’re not a regular ThinkPad user, or you’ll be swapping between this machine and a personal laptop, it’s worth noting that it’ll take time to adjust (or you’ll be using mislabeled keys). I’ve been using the X1 Extreme for almost a week, and I’m still accidentally hitting Fn all the time.
The second standout feature is the 15.6-inch 4K OLED panel. It covers 100 percent of the sRGB spectrum, 100 percent of Adobe RGB, and 100 percent of P3. (Basically, it maxed out our colorimeter.) The panel is sharp and vibrant with great contrast. You can watch streaming content that supports HDR and swap between various color profiles with Lenovo’s Display Optimizer.
Build quality is another strength. Like most of its ThinkPad siblings, the X1 Extreme feels quite durable. There’s no flex in the keyboard or lid, and Lenovo says it’s been tested against “12 military-grade certification methods and over 20 procedures” for resistance to vibrations, shocks, extreme temperatures, humidity, and the like. The laptop achieves this without sacrificing much portability. It’s on the thick side at 0.74 inches — but at four pounds, it’s lighter than many competitors including the Dell XPS 15 and the MacBook Pro 16.
Lenovo says the multi-layered carbon fiber top cover “provides durability and weight advantages.”
The chassis has a black finish with a nice texture. The ThinkPad logo on the right palm rest and the X1 logo on the top cover add splashes of red. The lid has a unique carbon-fiber weave pattern, which looks and feels similar to the carbon-fiber palm rests on the Dell XPS 15. (This is only available on UHD models). Lenovo says this material is lighter and more durable than aluminum and other common chassis materials. It’s also likely part of the reason for the X1 Extreme’s lofty price tag.
There are dual far-field microphones that work alongside Cortana.
One note on the build: the lid and chassis aren’t the worst fingerprint magnets I’ve ever seen, but they do pick them up. After a few days of use, the keyboard deck was pretty smudgy.
Finally, the X1 Extreme comes with some helpful features for remote meetings. You can optimize the dual microphones for various settings (including voice recognition, solo calls, and conference calls) in Lenovo’s Vantage software. They didn’t have any trouble picking up my voice. And the stereo speakers are fine, delivering distortion-free audio with percussion and bass that are audible but not exceptional. You can create custom equalizer profiles in the preloaded Dolby Access software, and you can also toggle presets for scenarios like voice, music, movies, and games.
The infrared webcam was also a pleasant surprise — while a bit grainy, it was fairly color-accurate and delivered a decent picture in low-light environments. There’s a physical privacy shutter that’s easy to click back and forth. You can sign into the X1 Extreme with Windows Hello facial recognition, as well as a match-on-sensor fingerprint reader on the side of the keyboard deck, which was quick to set up and didn’t usually have trouble recognizing me.
All of this stuff is similar to the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 2 — there’s not much noticeable change. The Gen 3’s upgrades are on the inside. It has a six-core 10th Gen Intel processor and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Max-Q, where its predecessor had a 9th Gen Intel processor and a GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q.
The Core i7-10850H isn’t the most monstrous processor around, especially compared to AMD’s recent H-series chips. But it does bring the business-specific benefits of Intel’s vPro platform, and it did a fine job with my piles of spreadsheets, emails, Slacking, and other general office work.
Similarly, the GTX 1650 Ti Max-Q is a midrange graphics card — it’s not what you’d want to use for serious gaming or high-throughput professional video editing. But for amateur creators and other artists, it can certainly lend a hand.
My test model scored a 386 on PugetBench for Premiere Pro, which tests its proficiency in real-world Premiere Pro tasks. That’s not a shameful score among top competitors, but it’s not great either. The system comes in under scores we’ve seen from the Dell XPS 15 with the same GPU, and the six-core MacBook Pro, which has AMD Radeon Pro 5300M. And, of course, it loses out to creator machines with more powerful Nvidia chips, such as the lower-priced Gigabyte Aero 15 with an RTX 3060.
If you’re going to be doing intense content work, prepare to hear the fans. Even when I was just bouncing around in Chrome, they were audible quite often. On the plus side, they did their job: the laptop’s bottom, keyboard, touchpad, palm rests, and hinge all remained cold.
Lenovo says the ThinkPad can charge up to 80 percent in 60 minutes with its “Rapid Charge” feature.
Another compromise you’re making here is battery life. I only averaged four hours and 59 minutes on our battery test, which involved using the ThinkPad for continuous office multitasking on the Battery Saver profile, with the screen around 200 nits of brightness. I ran a trial without using Chrome to see if that would make a difference; it didn’t. And this result actually seems to be a bit on the high side — Tom’s Hardware got an even pithier two hours and 19 minutes on a synthetic streaming benchmark.
It’s not unexpected that a machine with a 4K screen and a discrete GPU wouldn’t last all day. But I got more juice out of the Gigabyte Aero 15, which has both an OLED display and a heftier graphics card. And if you don’t need the high-resolution screen (which many people won’t), the Dell XPS 15 (which still has an exceptional display) lasted an hour longer with my workflow, while my colleague Dieter Bohn got up to eight hours out of the MacBook Pro. Folks who are interested in the X1 Extreme who would prefer not to have it plugged in all the time should consider an FHD (1080p) model.
It’s a ThinkPad through and through.
Ultimately, the decision between the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 3 and other 15-inch thin-and-light workstations really boils down to: do you want a ThinkPad?
This is to say that the X1 Extreme shares many of the strengths and weaknesses of Windows machines like the XPS 15. Both have dazzling displays, decent chips, sturdy build, boisterous fans, and mediocre battery life. Both have best-in-class keyboards and touchpads, with average webcams and speakers.
But a ThinkPad and an XPS are still very different machines — and if you’ve used any member of either lineup before, you probably know which one you prefer. They have different looks and different feels. The ThinkPad is slightly lighter and slightly thicker, with more ports and larger bezels. The XPS is a bit more powerful, but the ThinkPad has extra business features.
The XPS, due to its lower price, is a more accessible model for most consumers. And the X1 Extreme’s weaker chips and poor battery life, in particular, are tough pills to swallow at such a high price. But there’s still a market for the X1 Extreme — and if you’re willing to sacrifice a bit of power, a bit of money, and a bit of battery life for the unique advantages of a ThinkPad, you probably fall into it.
Waiting for new hardware to release can be a grueling process. But this maker, known as Guido Burger, took matters into their own hands by creating an Adafruit Feather RP2040 before it was officially released.
The new board from Adafruit is available for sale as of now, but stock is limited. It uses the new RP2040 chip found on the Raspberry Pi Pico. Check out our Adafruit Feather RP2040 review for a closer look at the specs and what it can do.
Adafruit released the files on Github for any user interested in creating or modifying the board. However, RP2040 chips aren’t widely available. In order to pull off this project, Guido Burger had to reflow an RP2040 from a Raspberry Pi Pico module.
While the design files are available for free, users still need to purchase PCBs and assemble the components. This is more expensive and time-consuming but also makes customization an option.
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(Image credit: Guido Burger)
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(Image credit: Guido Burger)
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(Image credit: Guido Burger)
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(Image credit: Guido Burger)
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(Image credit: Guido Burger)
This is the first time we’ve seen a maker beat a company to their own release date. This project is also a great reminder that do-it-yourself options are available when Adafruit is waiting on more stock.
Sometimes the best Raspberry Pi projects are the ones you do because you can—not because you have to. Be sure to follow Guido Burger on Twitter for more details and Pi projects.
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