We’re breaking down tips and trips for making Windows 10 shine. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
Your PC is nothing without its operating system, and for most devices (about 1 billion to be more precise), that OS is Windows 10. Windows has been around for so long that even the technologically inept should be able to find their way around the latest version. But if you’re a tech enthusiast, you don’t just want to be able to just use Windows 10; you want to master it. Only then can you enjoy the performance your system was built for and make the most out of what both your computer, the ubiquitous OS and you as a user can do.
We’ve been detailing some of the handiest Windows 10 tips and tricks so you can maximize your PC’s relationship with the OS and make sure it works the way you want it to with your device. This means tips on maximizing Windows 10’s productivity software, momentous Windows 10 hacks that are sure to boost your productivity, Windows 10 troubleshooting tutorials to keep in your back pocket and even answers to questions you’re too scared to ask.
Windows 10 Productivity Tips
If you got the basics of Windows 10 down ages ago, you might be wondering what we have to offer you. The following are some of our favorite hacks for boosting productivity while working with Windows 10. Between ways to capture screenshots you may not have thought of and instructions for a DIY SSD, these should help you learn something you didn’t know before.
How to Get Windows 10 for Free (or Under $30)
15 Windows Tips to Help You Work Faster and Smarter
How to Share Your Internet Connection in Windows Using Ethernet or Wi-Fi
How to Free Up Space in Windows 10 and macOS
How to Turn a Windows 10 PC Into a Wireless Display
How to Use the Same Keyboard and Mouse With 3 or More PCs at Once
How to Map a Network Drive in Windows 10
Five Easy Ways To Capture a Screenshot in Windows 10 (also see: How to Take a Screenshot on a Mac)
How to Get Microsoft Office for Free (or Under $50)
How to Use XLOOKUP in Excel
How to Delete Blank Cells in Excel / Google Sheets
How to Shade Every Other Row in Excel / Google Sheets
How to Use an External Drive for Internal Storage
How to Build Your Own SSD
Simple RAM Overclocking With a Few Clicks: How to Enable XMP
Windows 10 Troubleshooting Tips
If you’re the kind of person who people call when they can’t get their system to work properly, you’ll want to get a firm grasp of all the following Windows 10 troubleshooting tutorials.
How to Use a Minidump File to Fix Your Windows BSOD
How to Factory Reset a Windows 10 PC
How to Boot Windows 10 in Safe Mode
How to Find a MAC Address in Windows 10
How to Monitor Your CPU Temperature
How to Test RAM: Making Sure Bad Memory Isn’t Crashing Your PC
How to Pause Windows 10 Updates
How to Fix the ‘Page Fault In Nonpaged Area’ Error in Windows 10
Windows 10 Security Tips
Windows security isn’t just something that enterprises need to worry about. Not only do everyday users need to think about their security on the web, security at home or in the office can also be an issue if you share a device. For all those things on the family computer no one else needs to see, the following how-tos should help you out.
How to Password Protect a Folder in Windows 10
How to Change Your Password in Windows 10
Windows 10 Tips and Tricks: Make It Yours
Microsoft doesn’t have the final word on how you experience Windows 10. We have step-by-step instructions for tweaking the OS to your preference. Maybe bright apps make your eyes weary, you want to change how your system boots or just don’t want to make a Microsoft account. Look to these Windows 10 tips and tricks for assistance.
New PC? Change These 13 Windows Settings Right Away
How to Enter the BIOS on any PC: Access Keys by Manufacturer
How to Create a Local Account in Windows 10
How to Hide the Taskbar in Windows 10
How to Format a Hard Drive Using the Command Prompt
Paint It Black: 15 Ways to Dark Mode Your PC
How to Change the Lock Screen Photos on Windows 10
Basic Windows 10 Tips and Tricks
In the tech world, it seems everyone knows it all, but the truth is no one does. Whether you’re a macOS converter (welcome), coming to Windows 10 from an older version of Windows, looking for a refresher or just plain don’t know how to do some basic or introductory tasks on Windows 10, we’ve got you covered.
How to Disable Notifications in Windows 10
How to Use Focus Assist to Control Notifications in Windows 10
Gigabyte is announcing seven new laptops featuring the hardware from Intel and Nvidia, two of which are packing Nvidia’s brand new RTX 3050 Ampere mobile GPU.
The new Gigabyte G5 and G7 are the company’s latest budget-friendly offerings for mainstream buyers. Both models are packing Intel’s 11th Gen Core processors, the eight-core i7-11800H or the hexa-core Core i5-11400H based on the Tiger Lake architecture. The G5 and G7 also use Nvidia’s newly released RTX 3050 and RTX 3050 Ti mobile GPUs.
Both notebooks feature dual DDR4-3200 slots supporting a max of 64GB (32GB per DIMM), and dual M.2 slots supporting PCIe with one allowing up to Gen 3 speeds and the other up to Gen 4. Plus, you get one 2.5-inch HDD/SSD slot that supports 7mm (or thinner) SATA drives.
The main difference between the G5 and the G7 is display size. The G5 is a 15-inch notebook while the G7 comes in a larger 17-inch form factor. Despite the changes in size, both laptops will come with the same panel specs, with a 1080p display at 144 Hz.
For connectivity the G5 and G7 come with four USB ports of different variations: You get a single USB 2.0 Type-A, dual USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports with one being type-C, and finally a USB 3.2 Gen 1 type A port.
For wireless connectivity, the G5 and G7 come with Intel’s AX200 or AX201 wireless cards which both support WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2. For storage and memory, you get dual M.2 slots with one supporting Gen 3 speeds and the other supporting Gen 4.
The line starts at $1,149 for the lowest-end G5.
Refreshed AERO 15/17
(Image credit: Gigabyte)
Gigabyte is also updating its Aero line of laptops, which are targeted towards creators and gamers alike. Gigabyte is adding two upgraded models to the Aero lineup, the Aero 15 OLED and the Aero 17 HDR with new CPUs.
The main differences between the 15 and 17 will be its size and display type (as the name implies), the Aero 15 will come with a Samsung AMOLED display so you get those very crisply visuals and stunning visuals. Unfortunately, you will not be able to get an AMOLED display for the Aero 17, so Gigabyte has opted for a 4k HDR display instead.
The upgrade you’re getting on the new refreshed Aero 15 and 17 are the CPUs; both the OLED and HDR variants get upgraded to Intel’s 11th Gen Tiger Lake CPUs, specifically the i9-11980HK or the i7-11800H. Giving these laptops a big performance and efficiency boost over previous Comet Lake mobile CPUs.
Like the previous Comet Lake-based Aero 15 and 17, you get options for either an RTX 3070 or RTX 3080 GPU with a 105W TDP.
AORUS 17X
(Image credit: Gigabyte)
Gigabyte is also refreshing the Aorus 17X, the companies flagship gaming laptop with a 17.3 display and a thick chassis with vapor chamber cooling to cool Nvidia and Intel’s top tier CPUs and GPUs.
The 17X will come with Intel’s highest-end mobile processor you can get, the i9-11980HK with 8 cores and a max turbo frequency of 5GHz. The chip has a configurable TDP up to 65W. What we don’t know is how Gigabyte configured the TDP for the Aorus 17X.
For graphics, the Aorus 17X will come with an RTX 3080, with a whopping 165W of target graphics power.
This flagship device includes some other top-end specifications, including a 300 Hz display and a mechanical keyboard with Omron gaming switches and RGB backlighting.
This laptop is set to launch in June starting at $2,099.
Unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum mining, Chia cryptocurrency farming does not require expensive accelerators or graphics cards. Yet, it still may be quite an expensive way of getting cryptocurrency as it requires fast SSDs to create plots and high-capacity HDDs to store those plots. Furthermore, since consumer-grade SSDs are not designed for write-intensive workloads (something that our avid readers know well), they can easily fail after weeks of ‘plotting,’ so one has to choose hardware for Chia farming wisely.
The creation of Chia plots is the most time-consuming task when it comes to Chia farming, so the use of fast SSDs in RAID mode is something that makes a lot of sense from performance and timing perspectives. However, not all SSDs are good enough for this workload. Inexpensive consumer-grade 1TB SSDs these days come with approximately 600TBW (terabytes to be written) endurance rating, which equals to about 0.3 drive writes per day (DWPD) over five years.
For client PC workloads, this is more than sufficient, but plotting Chia uses loads of writes, so a cheap 512GB SSD can be trashed in 40 days, reports MyDrivers. A higher capacity drive featuring a similar DWPD rating would have lasted longer, for about 160 days.
Roman ‘der8auer’ Hartung released a video about how to properly build a Chia farming rig. He did confirm that using SSDs for plotting makes a lot of sense, since it’s considerably faster than using HDDs for the same workload. He noted that for Chia farming and plot creation, it is crucial to choose SSDs with a high TBW and DWPD ratings, since they are more suitable for the task.
However, there is a catch. SSDs with a high TBW and DWPD rating are usually aimed at datacenters and are priced appropriately as they have a number of enterprise-grade features and sometimes come with higher-quality flash memory. Using them for mining may not be exactly financially viable. Recently, TeamGroup introduced SSDs specially designed for Chia mining that have a high TBW rating, but do not support any functionality one comes to expect from a datacenter SSD.
Speaking of financial feasibility, it should be noted that retail prices of high-capacity HDDs and SSDs have increased significantly in the last few weeks, and many popular models have gone missing. With elevated hardware prices, Chia farming may not be as lucrative as it used to be just a few weeks ago. Nonetheless, it does not look like actual short-term profitability will stop the ongoing Chia craze as many people hope that a future increase in the cryptocurrency’s price will offset any hardware costs.
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The Acer ConceptD 7 Ezel is a computer I will never own. But I really, really wish I could.
Artists, creators, and engineers who are looking for a powerful high-end convertible have all kinds of options on today’s market. But only Acer’s ConceptD line can fold in six different ways. There are not one, but two hinges attached to the display: a traditional clamshell hinge and another one in the middle of the lid that enables the screen to rotate outward. By using the two hinges in tandem, you can put the screen in nearly any position you want. This unique form factor makes the ConceptD 7 Ezel unlike any other laptop on the market.
There are other things that separate the Ezel from something like a MacBook, of course. It also has a sleek look with an attractive finish, a gorgeous 15.6-inch 4K UHD touch display, a built-in Wacom EMR pen, and all the ports you need. The chips on the inside are quite powerful. But you can find similar benefits in many convertibles that are half the price. The people who should shell out thousands of dollars for this device are those who have a need for the combination of its unique form factor and large screen — and the rest of us can be jealous of them from afar.
Before ogling too much over this form factor, you might want to know how much it costs. The $2,499 base model comes with an Intel Core i7-10750H, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. For $2,999.99, you can bump the graphics up to a GeForce RTX 2070 and 2TB of storage. I was sent the top model, which has a Core i7-10875H, 32GB of RAM, and a GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q, for a whopping $3,999.99. These components are both a generation old — Acer hasn’t refreshed the ConceptD with the latest chips yet — but they still deliver solid performance, as you’ll see later on.
These prices will make the ConceptD 7 Ezel an unrealistic purchase for most people, but there’s a 14-inch ConceptD that’s more affordable if you’re interested in this form factor. For those whose work involves professional design and video editing, CGI, machine learning, and the like, Acer also sells a ConceptD 7 Ezel Pro with an Nvidia Quadro GPU. Those are expensive, and people whose work requires a Quadro likely know who they are.
A normal-looking laptop, until you start bending the screen.
There are all kinds of ways you could theoretically arrange the ConceptD, but Acer has defined six. There’s Laptop (self-explanatory), Pad (tablet mode), Float (screen facing forward, hanging above the keyboard deck), Stand (screen facing forward, forming a tent shape over the keyboard deck), Share (screen facing upward, parallel to the keyboard deck), and Display (clamshell shape, but with the screen facing away from the keyboard).
I started out using the Ezel in Laptop most of the time, but Float grew on me quickly. It brought the screen much closer to me — it’s pretty far away in Laptop mode, given the size of the keyboard deck. I can see the use cases for the other modes as well: I’d love to use Stand to take notes during a lecture, for example, and Share could be useful for drawing while standing at a desk. The one form I can’t really see myself using is Pad because, at 5.6 pounds, the Ezel is too heavy to practically hold as a tablet unless you’re swole.
The one hiccup I ran into is that the screen is very top-heavy. A few times when I picked the device up, the screen would start to fall forward and I’d have to catch it to keep the lid open. My preferences for Windows tablet mode vs. Windows desktop mode also didn’t quite line up with the device’s. It stayed in desktop mode when in Stand, for example, but I’d prefer it switch to Tablet Mode in that form since the keyboard isn’t accessible.
Acer calls this the “Ezel Hinge design.”
The fact that these form factors are useful, of course, doesn’t mean that most people needthem. Convertibles like the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 can emulate most of these positions as well (Float and Stand are the really unique ones). The Ezel is really meant for people who will be using the nontraditional forms a lot. For those folks, it has two main benefits: moving the screen around is quite smooth and seamless (you don’t have to use two hands to flip the whole machine around, as you would with a 2-in-1 workstation), and the hinge is also sturdy enough that you can draw in Float and Share with no wobble at all. Of course, this sturdiness comes with a big weight penalty, in addition to its price premium — the Ezel is much heavier than most convertible machines.
That extra heft isn’t for nothing — there are some serious fans in this device. Specifically, there are two “4th-Gen AeroBlade 3D” fans in addition to three heat pipes, and there are vents all over the place including the sides of the case and above the keyboard. The system (which Acer calls its “Vortex Flow” design) did a good job of keeping the chassis cool during my day-to-day work — the bottom sometimes got warm but was never uncomfortably hot, and I never felt much heat on the keyboard or palm rests.
Acer ConceptD 7 Ezel benchmarks
Benchmark
Score
Benchmark
Score
Cinebench R23 Multi
8610
Cinebench R23 Single
1249
Cinebench R23 Multi looped for 30 minutes
8413
Geekbench 5.3 CPU Multi
7879
Geekbench 5.3 CPU Single
1280
Geekbench 5.3 OpenCL / Compute
91801
PugetBench for Premiere Pro
604
The fans had trouble keeping pace with the CPU, though. Temperatures stayed solidly in the mid-70s to mid-80s (Celsius) during a 30-minute loop of Cinebench — but throughout several runs of a five-minute, 33-second 4K video export in Adobe Premiere Pro, I saw it jump up to the mid-90s, and even high-90s often. Cinebench scores did decrease over time, and export times also got slower.
The ConceptD took two minutes and 55 seconds to complete the video export, which is one of the fastest times we’ve ever seen from a laptop. The Dell XPS 15 with the same processor and a GTX 1650 Ti took four minutes and 23 seconds (though different versions of Premiere Pro can impact export times, so synthetic benchmarks such as Cinebench are more precise for direct comparison).
Chunky as tablets go.
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Here’s Stand.
There’s a “specialized silent switch” under the touchpad.
The webcam’s okay. There’s no privacy shutter.
All ConceptDs include a Pantone-validated display.
SD card reader on the front.
On the left: one USB-A, two Thunderbolt 3, one headphone jack, one Kensington lock slot.
On the right: One USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, one DisplayPort, one HDMI, one Ethernet, one power port.
Check out that hinge.
I also ran PugetBench for Premiere Pro, which measures a device’s performance on a number of real-world Premiere Pro tasks, and the ConceptD scored a 604, which beats the XPS 15 as well. The ConceptD also solidly beats the XPS on Geekbench 5 across the board. The XPS isn’t exactly on a level playing field here, since it has a weaker GPU — these results just illustrate the increased performance that the ConceptD will give you for the extra money. Acer’s machine did lose to Apple’s M1 MacBook Pro in both single-core tests, which underscores how powerful Apple’s processor is in single-core workloads.
The Ezel comes with some software features tailored to creative work as well. In Acer’s ConceptD Palette app, you can swap between Native and Adobe RGB color presets, as well as customizable profiles. You can also monitor CPU, GPU, and memory usage to see how much power your apps are using, and you can toggle between various split-screen layouts if you’re multitasking.
Acer says it’s worked with developers to “optimize” the device to work with various software including Premiere Pro, After Effects, Maya, Revit, and KeyShot. You could also run games on the ConceptD, but it wouldn’t be the best choice since the screen is just 60Hz and won’t be able to display very high frame rates.
As is often the case with big workstations, the Ezel’s battery life isn’t amazing. I averaged four hours and five minutes of continuous use with the screen around 200 nits of brightness. That’s not unexpected, considering the high-resolution display and the discrete GPU, but it’s worth noting that you’ll probably need to bring the hefty brick with you if you’re taking the Ezel out and about.
Elsewhere, the ConceptD 7 is a fine laptop to use. The keyboard is a bit flatter than I prefer but comfortable enough. The backlighting is a dark orange color (Acer calls it warm amber) that looks nice against the white deck. The touchpad is a bit small for a laptop of this size and I sometimes hit plastic while scrolling, but it is quite smooth. The chassis itself is a sturdy magnesium-aluminum alloy, and it’s covered in a nice white finish that Acer says is “highly resistant” to dirt and sun exposure. There’s a fingerprint reader built into the power button on the left side of the chassis, which works just fine.
I enjoyed using the built-in stylus, though it’s a bit stiff to pull out of its garage and requires a substantial nail. The pen uses Wacom EMR technology, meaning it never needs to be charged; it draws its power from inside the display. I enjoyed the limited drawing I was able to do on the smooth matte display (I’m an amateur artist at best).
The pen lives on the right side.
Acer says the ConceptD utilizes “improved psychoacoustics” to provide a better listening experience. You can swap between presets for music, voice, movies, and various types of games in the DTS:X Ultra app that comes preloaded if you have external speakers or headphones connected. If you’re using just the laptop, there are Music, Game, Movies, and Voice presets in ConceptD Palette. The dual front speakers themselves deliver not-great audio that’s quite lacking in the bass department.
Do you want to switch to tablet mode?
The ConceptD 7 Ezel is… well, in a word, it’s awesome. But you don’t need me to tell you that you don’t need to spend $4,000 to get an awesome device. If you want a touchscreen convertible with stylus support and can live without quite this much processing power, devices like the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 and the HP Spectre x360 15 are half the price of this device, more portable, and also have outstanding screens. The Spectre’s screen doesn’t literally fold over the keyboard, but it’ll work for many of the same use cases. And even for folks who want this particular form factor, the smaller ConceptD 3 Ezel will be a more practical purchase. The ConceptD 7 Ezel is for those who need serious power.
But man, is the ConceptD 7 Ezel a great device for content creators. As a professional reviewer, I’ve used more creator-focused laptops than most people on the planet — and I’ve never used anything like this. It’s a great idea, it’s powerful, it’s well-built, and it’s a lot of fun to use. I won’t recommend that you buy it — but if you do, please know that I’m very jealous of you.
Phison expects SSD pricing to increase by at least 10% in the coming months due to rising demand driven by Chia cryptocurrency mining coupled with supply constraints. Furthermore, the company expects a currently short supply of SSD controllers to persist through 2022 and 2023.
Phison sells SSDs and other NAND flash-based storage devices powered by its own controllers to branded drive suppliers and PC makers. The company has a vast portfolio of products that use NAND memory from different manufacturers, so it has business relations with foundries (which produce its controllers), NAND makers, component suppliers, and OEMs. Microsoft is one of Phison’s major customers — the company uses a Phison-based SSD in its latest Xbox game consoles.
Unofficial reports say that Phison and other Taiwan-based designers of SSD controllers increased prices of their chips in the first quarter because of high demand amid production capacity constraints at foundries. Phison generated $460 million in revenue in Q1 2021 and earned $60.6 million in profits during the quarter, reports DigiTimes. The company is optimistic about its business in Q2 2021 as the demand for storage is increasing.
KS Pua, chairman of Phison, reportedly said that NAND flash makers were set to increase memory pricing again, by approximately 10% in Q3 2021, because of high demand driven by the growing PC market and the rise of Chia cryptocurrency mining. Higher flash pricing and the higher price for controllers will inevitably make SSDs more expensive in the coming months.
Unfortunately, it is hard to guess how significantly SSD prices might increase. Still, traditionally the prices of entry-level models get substantially higher as they are sold with razor-thin margins, and there is no way for suppliers to keep their prices stable, even at the cost of their own profits. Meanwhile, as Chia farmers prefer higher-end SSDs with better endurance, rapidly growing demand for such drives may also affect their prices.
SSD controller pricing will remain high in 2022 and 2023 due to constraints of production capacities at foundries, according to the chairman of Phison. Companies like TSMC, UMC, GlobalFoundries, and others are expanding their mature node production capacity to help address the shortfall, but the process will take some time.
My first case mod started when I prepared to attend my first LAN party, PDXLAN 2019 in Ridgefield, Washington. I had seen a couple of simple mods done by others that inspired me to mod my computer before attending. I opted for a very low budget build with a few older components, handmade parts and only using simple tools like scissors, razor blades and paint.
The concept came from my enjoyment of Initial D, a Japanese street racing manga series. More specifically, I liked the yellow Mazda FD3S RX-7 driven by the character Keisuke Takahashi. I decided that the color scheme for mod would be black and white like the manga with yellow highlights for the car.
Components List
CPU
Intel i5-3570K
Graphics Card
EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB SSC
Motherboard
Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H
RAM
8GB G.SKILL Ripjaws F3-12800CL9S-4GBRL
SSD
Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB
Cooling
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo and Corsair LL Series RGB Fans
Power Supply
EVGA 650
Body Work
Set on having Japanese manga incorporated into my build, I sourced several books which I knew had the RX-7 in them. My idea was to create side panels consisting of interesting scenes from the manga featuring the RX-7, and these would be easiest to apply if the computer case had relatively flat panels that I could fix these panels onto. With that in mind, I settled on the black EVGA DG-77 as a fitting case given its flat panels and tempered glass side. I removed the paint on the tempered glass with a razor blade and was left with a perfect canvas.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
I cut down the manga volumes into individual sheets and sorted them into several piles based on what was on the page: Pages I liked, those with the RX-7 on them, backgrounds, funny character scenes, etc.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
I took a trip to my local big box store and grabbed inexpensive bottles of acrylic paint in several shades of yellow that looked like they might match the color I wanted. (I have learned through experience that the paint bottle is rarely accurate to the color once it dries.) I put a glob of each paint on some paper and let it dry before picking the winner. I then took the pages of manga with the RX-7 on them and hand-painted each car yellow.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
I didn’t want all the scenes on each page; I only wanted the very best or most fun ones. So, I cut out each scene, text, car or character from the pages with an exacto knife. This was definitely time-consuming, but the result was better than I could have hoped for, as the finished panels were made up of all my favorite parts!
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
In most manga and comic books, the panels on a sheet are separated by hard, straight lines so I wanted my panel to have a clean, straight design. I used a piece of string and some tape to test the design I had in mind. It would allow me to still be able to see inside the case and hide some areas of the case interior that I didn’t want to be visible. I took some measurements off this string and I had a rough layout for my side panels.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Now the fun could begin. I got a beat-up table at a used furniture store for very cheap so that I could use the glass top as a perfectly flat surface that, after a few layers of paste wax, would prevent epoxy from sticking to it.
I then put blue tape down in the shape of the panel dimensions I needed, being sure to leave a couple inches of excess on all sides. After that, I could start laying out some of the manga cutouts that were painted with the yellow paint. I wanted these to be dispersed relatively evenly across the panels entirely.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
I then went through the piles of cutouts and filled in all of the empty spaces. This took a surprisingly long time before I was happy. I didn’t want any of them tipped too much or overlapping too much, so it turned into a jigsaw of fitting cutouts as efficiently as I could to fill in the empty space. But the time spent led to results that were worth the effort.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
I then made a mistake that almost ruined the entire panel. In hindsight, it was unnecessary, and I should have just skipped the step. I used Mod Podge to glue the panels to one another and to seal them so they wouldn’t shift around when I poured a thick layer of two-part epoxy over all the manga that I had laid out.
Mod Podge is a good glue for sealing paper projects and things like that, but I did not expect that as it dried it would create these large ripples in the thin manga paper. The goal was a perfectly flat panel and, at this stage of the project, it looked terrible. I had no choice but to push on with the project and hope the epoxy coat would cover the rippled manga. You can see these ripples clearly in a photo further down in this article.
Using a two-foot level, I leveled the table that the glass and project sat on. I planned to pour epoxy over the entire panel and, if the table were not perfectly flat the epoxy would just flow to the lowest point. This would make the panel thicker on one side than the others and might not even cover all of the manga sheets to make a perfectly smooth surface. Another trick I used was to create a dam of sorts around the perimeter of the panel with hot glue. One thick bead of hot glue around the edge would be enough to contain the epoxy I was going to pour onto the panel.
For the next part, I used a small 16-ounce kit of clear casting and coating epoxy resin that I bought from Amazon for cheap. I mixed up the parts thoroughly with a popsicle stick in a disposable drinking cup. Mixing epoxy completely is extremely important as any unmixed part A or B will never cure, and if you mix air bubbles into the epoxy you may have bubbles trapped in your clear coat. Stirring slowly and spending an extra minute mixing helps guarantee a successful epoxy pour. I mixed for a couple of minutes, being sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the cup and then proceeded to pour it over the manga panel.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The epoxy is thick like honey, so I used a silicone squeegee to spread the epoxy across the panel. Gravity leveled the epoxy and removed any lines left by the squeegee. You can also see clearly the contrast of the rippled manga panel and the healing properties of a thick coating of epoxy.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
There will always be some air bubbles that will float to the top of the epoxy. These can be removed easily with a hot air gun, butane or propane torch. I prefer a torch as the hot air gun can push the liquid epoxy around a bit if you are too close to the surface.
Keep the torch flame far from the epoxy surface, and in a sweeping motion, wave the flame across the entire epoxy surface. You will clearly see the bubbles on the surface pop from the heat of the flame. Remember to never stop moving the flame as the epoxy can burn.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
I let this cure for a couple of days so the epoxy was fully hardened before handling the panel or attempting to pull the sheet off of the waxed glass surface. It came off the glass easily and I moved the panel to a cutting mat so I could begin cutting the three pieces that would be adhered to the computer case.
The tools I needed for this were a utility knife and a metal ruler covered with green painters’ tape so it would not scratch the epoxy. I started with light cuts to establish the cutting line and worked up to harder cuts until I made my way through the panel.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
With the panels cut to size, I glued them to the case with silicone from the hardware store. It sticks well to glass and if I ever want to swap the side panels, it can be cut away with a razor blade. The last detail I needed for these side panels was a finished edge.
I wanted a nice black edge like the borders on the page of a manga. So, I got some thin strips of black acrylic. I was able to chamfer the edge cleanly by dragging a utility knife on edge along the corner of the acrylic. Using painters’ tape as a clamp, I stuck these on with a little gel super glue.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
I colored the other edges of the manga panels with a black permanent marker to finish the job.
Asus is announcing a slew of new gaming notebooks today, timed with Intel’s 35-65W Tiger Lake H processors and Nvidia’s new RTX 3050 and RTX 3050 Ti.
The new gaming laptops are a mix of old and new designs, flagship Zephyrus notebooks, more affordable TUF laptops, Strix G refreshes, and an update to the ROG Flow X13.
Among the Zephyrus lineup, the Intel flagship is the Zephyrus M16, with Intel’s latest and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070, as well as a 16-inch, 16:10 QHD display at 165 Hz. That screen is surrounded by narrow bezels on all four sides, allowing it to fit in a 15-inch chassis. Oddly, Asus didn’t specify exactly which CPUs it uses in the chassis.
Oh, and Asus is finally bringing the webcam back for this model, too. Hallelujah.
Asus will use liquid metal to cool the CPU and pair it with up to 48GB of DDR4-3200 memory and up to 2TB of PCIe Gen 4 SSD storage. The 90 WHr battery should help it out with endurance, but that’s something we’ll have to test on our own.
The lid has a matrix design similar to that on the
Zephyrus G14
, but with a film that makes it look colorful from different angles. The chassis will come in either black or white, and both will offer that effect.
Asus ROG Zephyrus M16
Asus ROG Zephyrus S17
CPU
11th Gen Intel Core H-Series
11th Gen Intel Core H-Series
GPU
Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 (16GB)
RAM
Up to 48GB DDR4 3200 MHz
Up to 48GB DDR4 3200 MHz
Storage
Up to 2TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD
Up to 3 PCIe Gen 4 SSDs in RAID0
Display
16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 165Hz, Pantone validated
17.3-inch, QHD 165Hz with G-Sync or 4K 120 Hz or 4K at 120Hz, Pantone Validated
Battery
90 WHr
90 WHr
Availability
Late Q2
Late Q2
There’s also a 17-inch model, the Zephyrus S17, which will use a liquid metal thermal compound and go up to an RTX 3080 for graphics. The S17 has room for up to three PCIe Gen 4 SSDs inside.
(Image credit: Asus)
The S17’s design borrows from the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo. The keyboard lifts up like the ScreenPad Plus, moving to a five-degree angle to assist with cooling and ergonomics. The 17-inch display comes in two options: a WQHD display at 165 Hz with support for advanced Optimus and Nvidia G-Sync, or a 4K, 120 Hz panel with adaptive sync.
Asus has moved the keyboard to a more traditional spot (it had previously been jammed in the front to make room for cooling, prior to this model’s lifting design), and the touchpad is under the keys, rather than next to them. There’s a wheel to control the mic, volume, and keyboard backlight, and the keys now use optomechanical switches.
(Image credit: Asus)
Lastly, Asus is also relaunching the TUF series. The new machines will support up to 32GB of RAM, include an open m.2 slot for user-upgradeable storage, and go up to an RTX 3060 on the graphics side. The F15 will have a 240 Hz display, while the F17 will settle for 144 Hz.
All of these devices are scheduled for late in the second quarter of 2021, and Asus hasn’t announced pricing just yet. Asus will also be refreshing a number of existing notebooks with Nvidia’s new RTX 3050 and RTX 3050 Ti GPUs.
Razer has just announced new versions of its Blade 15 workhorse gaming laptop, complete with some of the biggest changes to the lineup in some time.
Like many other laptops announced today, the new Blade 15 Advanced features Intel’s 11th Gen H-series processors and Nvidia’s RTX 30-series graphics chips, with up to a Core i9 11900H (2.5GHz base clock, 4.9GHz boost clock), an RTX 3080 GPU with 16GB of video memory (Razer declined to share the total graphics power ahead of publishing), and a 4K touchscreen.
The most welcome improvement might be the new fingerprint-resistant coating making its way to all of these new models. I can’t imagine that it’ll eliminate fingerprints altogether, but this should address one of the biggest annoyances with the prior models. The Windows Hello webcam is getting bumped up to 1080p resolution (from 720p), and Razer claims the trackpads have improved palm rejection.
For the new design, Razer managed to shave off a little more than a millimeter from the thickness of the Blade 15 Advanced, coming in at 15.8mm thick. Razer claims that it’s the smallest 15-inch gaming laptop with RTX graphics and is 17 percent smaller by dimensions compared to the MSI GS66 Stealth. This size reduction applies only to the starting model that has the RTX 3060, though. Thinner might sound more appealing, but it isn’t usually better for gaming performance. Nvidia allows OEMs like Razer to choose the wattage and clock speed of the GPU based on their laptop designs, and generally speaking, the thinner the laptop is, the worse it can be running games compared to thicker laptops that typically allow for bigger cooling systems.
The higher-specced options are thicker than this 15.8mm model, but that’s roughly the same thickness as the previous generation. The width and depth of these machines debuting today are also unchanged from the previous gen at 355 and 235mm (13.98 and 9.25 inches), respectively.
The Blade 15 Advanced can be configured with an FHD, QHD, or 4K display.Image: Razer
The latest (and thinnest) Blade 15 Advanced starts at $2,299, and this model has a 240Hz QHD IPS panel with 2.5ms response time and 100 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut. It has an octa-core Intel Core i7-11800H processor, the RTX 3060 GPU with 8GB of video memory, and 16GB of DDR4 RAM clocked at 3,200MHz. A 1TB NVMe SSD that supports PCIe 4.0 for faster read / write and transfer speeds and a 80Wh battery come standard across all Advanced models.
The selection of ports across the Advanced lineup is similar but not exactly the same as the models released earlier in 2021. The most notable exceptions are the two new Thunderbolt 4 ports. In addition, you’ll find an UHS-III SD card reader, two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, a headphone jack, and an HDMI 2.1 port. Aside from that, all new Blade 15 models support Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, 20V charging via USB-C.
All of the Advanced models also support upgradeable storage and RAM. The starting model has only one M.2 slot because of its thin design, but all other new models have an additional M.2 slot for a total of up to 4TB of storage supported.
Spending more will get you a better screen, processor, and GPU. Below you can see the specs of each option, as well as the most recent version of the prior Blade 15 Advanced.
QHD (240Hz IPS), upgradeable to FHD (360Hz IPS), or 4K (60Hz OLED with touch)
QHD (240Hz IPS, 2.5ms response time)
OLED 4K touchscreen (60Hz, 1ms response time)
Storage
1TB PCIe NVMe SSD (supports a second M.2 drive for a total of up to 4TB)
1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD
1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD (supports a second M.2 drive for a total of up to 4TB)
Memory
16GB dual-channel DDR4-2933MHz RAM (upgradeable to 32GB, user replaceable up to 64GB)
16GB dual-channel DDR4-3200MHz (upgradeable to 32GB, user replaceable up to 64GB)
32GB dual-channel DDR4-3200MHz (user replaceable up to 64GB)
Processor
Intel Core i7-10875H (2.3GHz base clock, 5.1GHz boost)
Intel Core i7-11800H (2.3GHz base, 4.2GHz boost)
Intel Core i9-11900H (2.5GHz base, 4.9GHz boost)
Graphics
Nvidia RTX 3070 (upgradeable to Nvidia’s RTX 3080 with 16GB of VRAM)
Nvidia RTX 3060 with 8GB vRAM
Nvidia RTX 3080 with 16GB vRAM
USB-C ports
Two (one being a Thunderbolt 3 port with four lanes of PCIe throughput)
Two Thunderbolt 4 ports
Two Thunderbolt 4 ports
USB-C charging
Yes (20V charging)
Yes (20V charging)
Yes (20V charging)
Battery
80Wh
80Wh
80Wh
USB Type A ports
Three (3.2 Gen 2)
Two (3.2 Gen 2)
Two (3.2 Gen 2)
HDMI 2.1 support
Yes
Yes
Yes
SD card reader
Yes (UHS-III)
Yes (UHS-III)
Yes (UHS-III)
Ethernet port
No
No
No
Headphone port
Yes
Yes
Yes
Webcam
Windows Hello 720p
Windows Hello 1080p
Windows Hello 1080p
Wi-Fi 6E support
Yes
Yes
Yes
Bluetooth
5.2
5.2
5.2
Starting price
$2,499
$2,299
$3,399
All of these new Blade 15 Advanced machines will be available for preorder starting Monday, May 17th from Razer. They’ll go on sale and ship sometime in June.
Intel introduced its long-awaited eight-core Tiger Lake-H H35 chips for laptops today, vying for a spot on our best gaming laptop list and marking Intel’s first shipping eight-core 10nm chips for the consumer market. These new 11th-generation chips, which Intel touts as the ‘World’s best gaming laptop processors,’ come as the company faces unprecedented challenges in the laptop market — not only is it contending with AMD’s increasingly popular 7nm Ryzen “Renoir” chips, but perhaps more importantly, Intel is also now playing defense against Apple’s innovative new Arm-based M1 that powers its new MacBooks.
The halo eight-core 16-thread Core i9-11980HK peaks at 5.0 GHz on two cores, fully supports overclocking, and despite its official 65W TDP, can consume up to 110W under heavy load. Additionally, Intel has also added limited overclocking support in the form of a speed optimizer and unlocked memory settings for three of the ‘standard’ eight-core models.
As with Intel’s lower-power Tiger Lake chips, the eight-core models come fabbed on the company’s 10nm SuperFin process and feature Willow Cove execution cores paired with the UHD Graphics 750 engine with the Xe Architecture. These chips will most often be paired with a discrete graphics solution, from Nvidia or AMD. We have coverage of a broad selection of new systems, including from Alienware, Lenovo, MSI, Dell, Acer, HP, and Razer.
All told, Intel claims that the combination of the new CPU microarchitecture and process node offers up to 19% higher IPC, which naturally results in higher performance potential in both gaming and applications. That comes with a bit of a caveat, though — while Intel’s previous-gen eight-core 14nm laptop chips topped out at 5.3 GHz, Tiger Lake-H maxes out at 5.0 GHz. Intel says the higher IPC throws the balance towards even higher performance regardless of 10nm’s lower clock speed.
The new Tiger Lake-H models arrive in the wake of Intel’s quad-core H35 models that operate at 35W for a new ‘Ultraportable’ laptop segment that caters to gamers on the go. However, Intel isn’t using H45 branding for its eight-core Tiger Lake chips, largely because it isn’t marking down 45W on the spec sheet. We’ll cover what that confusing bit of information means below. The key takeaway is that these chips can operate anywhere from 35W to 65W. As usual, Intel’s partners aren’t required to (and don’t) specify the actual power consumption on the laptop or packaging.
Aside from the addition of more cores, a new system agent (more on that shortly), and more confusing branding, the eight-core Tiger Lake-H chips come with a well-known feature set that includes the same amenities, like PCIe 4.0, Thunderbolt 4, and support for Resizable Bar, as their quad-core Tiger Lake predecessors. These chips also mark the debut of the first eight-core laptop lineup that supports PCIe 4.0, as AMD’s competing platforms remain on the PCIe 3.0 connection. Intel also announced five new vPro H-series models with the same specifications as the consumer models but with features designed for the professional market.
Intel says the new Tiger Lake-H chips will come to market in 80 new designs (15 of these are for the vPro equivalents), with the leading devices available for preorder on May 11 and shipping on May 17. Surprisingly, Intel says that it has shipped over 1 million eight-core Tiger Lake chips to its partners before the first devices have even shipped to customers, showing that the company fully intends to leverage its production heft while its competitors, like AMD, continue to grapple with shortages. Intel also plans to keep its current fleet of 10th-Gen Comet Lake processors on the market for the foreseeable future to address the lower rungs of the market, so its 14nm chips will still ship in volume.
Intel Tiger Lake-H Specifications
Processor Number
Base / Boost
Cores / Threads
L3 Cache
Memory
Core i9-11980HK
2.6 / 5.0
8 / 16
24 MB
DDR4-2933 (Gear 1) / DDR4-3200 (Gear 2)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX
3.3 / 4.6
8 / 16
16 MB
DDR4-3200 / LPDDR4x-4266
Core i9-10980HK
2.4 / 5.3
8 / 16
16 MB
DDR4-2933
Core i7-11375H Special Edition (H35)
3.3 / 5.0
4 / 8
12 MB
DDR4-3200, LPDDR4x-4266
Core i9-11900H
2.5 / 4.9
8 / 16
24 MB
DDR4-2933 (Gear 1) / DDR4-3200 (Gear 2)
Core i7-10875H
2.3 / 5.1
8 / 16
16 MB
DDR4-2933
Core i7-11800H
2.3 / 4.6
8 / 16
24M
DDR4-2933 (Gear 1) / DDR4-3200 (Gear 2)
Core i5-11400H
2.7 / 4.5
6 / 12
12 MB
2933 (Gear 1) / DDR4-3200 (Gear 2)
Ryzen 9 5900HS
3.0 / 4.6
8 / 16
4 MB
DDR4-3200 / LPDDR4x-4266
Core i5-10400H
2.6 / 4.6
4 / 8
8 MB
DDR4-2933
Intel’s eight-core Tiger Lake-H takes plenty of steps forward — it’s the only eight-core laptop platform with PCIe 4.0 connectivity and hardware support for AVX-512, but it also takes steps back in a few areas.
Although Intel just released 40-core 10nm Ice Lake server chips, we’ve never seen the 10nm process ship with more than four cores for the consumer market, largely due to poor yields and 10nm’s inability to match the high clock rates of Intel’s mature 14nm chips. We expected the 10nm SuperFin process to change that paradigm, but as we see in the chart above, the flagship Core i9-11980HK tops out at 5.0 GHz on two cores, just like the quad-core Tiger Lake i7-11375H Special Edition. Intel uses its Turbo Boost 3.0, which targets threads at the fastest cores, to hit the 5.0 GHz threshold.
However, both chips pale in comparison to the previous-gen 14nm Core i9-10980HK that delivers a beastly 5.3 GHz on two cores courtesy of the Thermal Velocity Boost (TVB) tech that allows the chip to boost higher if it is under a certain temperature threshold. Curiously, Intel doesn’t offer TVB on the new Tiger Lake processors.
Intel says that it tuned 10nm Tiger Lake’s frequency for the best spot on the voltage/frequency curve to maximize both performance and battery life, but it’s obvious that process maturity also weighs in here. Intel offsets Tiger Lake’s incrementally lower clock speeds with the higher IPC borne of the Willow Cove microarchitecture that delivers up to 12% higher IPC in single-threaded and 19% higher IPC in multi-threaded applications. After those advances, Intel says the Tiger Lake chips end up faster than their prior-gen counterparts. Not to mention AMD’s competing Renoir processors.
Intel’s Core i9-11980HK peaks at 110W (PL2) and is a fully overclockable chip — you can adjust the core, graphics, and memory frequency at will. We’ll cover the power consumption, base clock, and TDP confusion in the following section.
Intel has also now added support for limited overclocking on the Core i7-11800H, i9-11900H, and the i9-11950. The memory settings on these three chips are fully unlocked, although with a few caveats we’ll list below, so you can overclock the memory at will. Intel also added support for its auto-tuning Speed Optimizer software. When enabled, this software boosts performance in multi-threaded work, but single-core frequencies are unimpacted.
Intel also made some compromises on the memory front, too. First, the memory controllers no longer support LPDDR4X. Instead, they top out at DDR4-3200, and that’s actually not the case for most of the 11th-Gen lineup, at least if you want the chip to run in the fastest configuration.
The eight-core Tiger Lake die comes with the System Agent Geyersville just like the Rocket Lake desktop chips. That means the company has brought Gear 1 and Gear 2 memory modes to laptops. The optimal setting is called ‘Gear 1’ and it signifies that the memory controller and memory operate at the same frequency (1:1), thus providing the lowest latency and best performance in lightly-threaded work, like gaming. All of the Tiger Lake chips reach up to DDR4-2933 in this mode.
Tiger Lake-H does officially support DDR4-3200, but only with the ‘Gear 2’ setting that allows the memory to operate at twice the frequency of the memory controller (2:1), resulting in higher data transfer rates. This can benefit some threaded workloads but also results in higher latency that can lead to reduced performance in some applications — particularly gaming. We have yet to see a situation where Gear 2 makes much sense for enthusiasts/gamers.
Intel also dialed back the UHD Graphics engine with Xe Architecture for the eight-core H-Series models to 32 execution units (EU), which makes sense given that this class of chip will often be paired with discrete graphics from either AMD or Nvidia. And possibly Intel’s own fledgling DG1, though we have yet to see any configurations yet. For comparison, the quad-core H35 Core i9 and i7 models come equipped with 96 EUs, while the Core i5 variant comes with 80 EUs.
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(Image credit: Intel)
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(Image credit: Intel)
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(Image credit: Intel)
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(Image credit: Intel)
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(Image credit: Intel)
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(Image credit: Intel)
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(Image credit: Intel)
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(Image credit: Intel)
This is Not The Tiger Lake H45 You’re Looking for – More TDP Confusion
As per usual with Intel’s recent laptop chip launches, there’s a bit of branding confusion. The company’s highest-end eight-core laptop chips previously came with an “H45” moniker to denote that these chips have a recommended 45W TDP. But you won’t find that designation with Intel’s new H-Series chips, this even though the quad-core 35W laptop chips that Intel introduced at CES this year come with the H35 designation. In fact, Intel also won’t list a specific TDP on the spec sheet for the eight-core Tiger Lake-H chips. Instead, it will label the H-series models as ’35W to 65W’ for the official TDP.
That’s problematic because Intel measures its TDP at the base frequency, so a lack of a clear TDP rating means there’s no concrete base frequency specification. We know that the PL2, or power consumed during boost, tops out at 110W, but due to the TDP wonkiness, there’s no official PL1 rating (base clock).
That’s because Intel, like AMD, gives OEMs the flexibility to configure the TDP (cTDP) to higher or lower ranges to accommodate the specific power delivery, thermal dissipation, and battery life accommodations of their respective designs. For instance, Intel’s previous-gen 45W parts have a cTDP range that spans from 35W to 65W.
This practice provides OEMs with wide latitude for customization, which is a positive. After all, we all want thinner and faster devices. However, Intel doesn’t compel manufacturers to clearly label their products with the actual TDP they use for the processor, or even list it in the product specifications. That can be very misleading — there’s a 30W delta between the lowest- and highest-performance configurations of the same chip with no clear method of telling what you’re purchasing at the checkout lane. There really is no way to know which Intel is inside.
Intel measures its TDP rating at the chip’s base clock (PL1), so the Tiger Lake-H chips will have varying base clocks that reflect their individual TDP… that isn’t defined. Intel’s spec table shows base clocks at both 45W and 35W, but be aware that this can be a sliding scale. For instance, you might purchase a 40W laptop that lands in the middle range.
As per usual, Intel’s branding practice leaves a lot to be desired. Eliminating the H45 branding and going with merely the ‘H-Series’ for the 35W to 65W eight cores simply adds more confusion because the quad-core H35 chips are also H-Series chips, and there’s no clear way to delineate the two families other than specifying the core count.
Intel is arguably taking the correct path here: It is better to specify that the chips can come in any range of TDPs rather than publish blatantly misleading numbers. However, the only true fix for the misleading mess created by configurable TDPs is to require OEMs to list the power rating directly on the device, or at least on the spec sheet.
Intel Tiger Lake-H Die
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(Image credit: Intel – Tiger Lake-H Die)
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(Image credit: Tiger Lake-U (@Locuza_ via Twitter))
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(Image credit: Intel – Comet Lake-H Die)
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(Image credit: Intel)
The eight-core H-series chip package comes with a 10nm die paired with a 14nm PCH. The first slide in the above album shows the Tiger Lake die (more deep-dive info here) that Intel says measures 190mm2, which is much larger than the estimated 146.1mm2 die found on the quad-core models (second image). We also included a die shot of the eight-core Comet Lake-H chip (third image).
We’ll have to wait for a proper die annotation of the Tiger Lake-H chip, but we do know that it features a vastly cut-down UHD Graphics 750 engine compared to the quad-core Tiger Lake models (32 vs 96 EUs) and a much larger L3 cache (24 vs 16MB).
The Tiger Lake die supports 20 lanes of PCIe 4.0 connectivity, with 16 lanes exposed for graphics, though those can also be carved into 2×8, 1×8, or 2×4 connections to accommodate more PCIe 4.0 additives, like additional M.2 SSDs. Speaking of which, the chip also supports a direct x4 PCIe 4.0 connection for a single M.2 SSD.
Intel touts that you can RAID several M.2 SSDs together through its Intel Rapid Storage Technology (IRST) and use them to boot the machine. This feature has been present on prior-gen laptop platforms, but Tiger Lake-H marks the debut for this feature with a PCIe 4.0 connection on a laptop.
The PCH provides all of the basic connectivity features (last slide). The Tiger Lake die and PCH communicate over a DMI x8 bus, and the chipset supports an additional 24 PCIe 3.0 lanes that can be carved up for additional features. For more fine-grained details of the Tiger Lake architecture, head to our Intel’s Tiger Lake Roars to Life: Willow Cove Cores, Xe Graphics, Support for LPDDR5, and Intel’s Path Forward: 10nm SuperFin Technology, Advanced Packaging Roadmap articles for more details.
Intel Tiger Lake-H Gaming Benchmarks
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(Image credit: Intel)
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(Image credit: Intel)
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(Image credit: Intel)
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(Image credit: Intel)
Intel provided the benchmarks above to show the gen-on-gen performance improvements in gaming, and the performance improvement relative to competing AMD processors. As always, approach vendor-provided benchmarks with caution, as they typically paint the vendors’ devices in the best light possible. We’ve included detailed test notes at the end of the article, and Intel says it will provide comparative data against Apple M1 systems soon.
As expected, Intel shows that the Core i9-11980HK provides solid generational leads over the prior-gen Core i9-10980HK, with the deltas spanning from 15% to 21% in favor of the newer chip.
Then there are the comparisons to the AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX, with Intel claiming leads in titles like War Thunder, Total War: Three Kingdoms, and Hitman 3, along with every other hand-picked title in the chart.
Intel tested the 11980HK in an undisclosed OEM pre-production system with an RTX 3080 set at a 155W threshold, while the AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX resided in a Lenovo Legion R9000K with an RTX 3080 dialed in at 165W. Given that we don’t know anything about the OEM system used for Intel’s benchmarks, like cooling capabilities, and that the company didn’t list the TDP for either chip, take these benchmarks with a shovelful of salt.
Intel also provided benchmarks with the Core i5-11400H against the Ryzen 9 5900HS, again claiming that its eight-core chips for thin-and-lights offer the best performance. However, here we can see that the Intel chip loses in three of the four benchmarks, but Intel touts that its “Intel Sample System” is a mere 16.5mm thick, while the 5900HS rides in an ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 that measures 18mm thick at the front and 20mm thick at the rear.
Intel’s message here is that it can provide comparable gaming performance in thinner systems, but there’s not enough information, like battery life or other considerations, to make any real type of decision off this data.
Intel Tiger Lake-H Application Benchmarks
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(Image credit: Intel)
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(Image credit: Intel)
Here we can see Intel’s benchmarks for applications, too, but the same rules apply — we’ll need to see these benchmarks in our own test suite before we’re ready to claim any victors. Also, be sure to read the test configs in the slides below for more details.
Intel’s 11th-Gen Tiger Lake brings support for AVX-512 and the DL Boost deep learning suite, so Intel hand-picks benchmarks that leverage those features. As such, the previous-gen Comet Lake-H comparable is hopelessly hamstrung in the Video Creation Workflow and Photo Processing benchmarks.
We can say much the same about the comparison benchmarks with the Ryzen 9 5900HX. As a result of Intel’s insistence on using AI-enhanced benchmarks, these benchmarks are largely useless for real-world comparisons: The overwhelming majority of software doesn’t leverage either AI or AVX-512, and it will be several years before we see broad uptake.
As noted, Intel says the new Tiger Lake-H chips will come to market in 80 new designs (15 of these are for the vPro equivalents), with the leading devices available for preorder on May 11 and shipping on May 17. As you can imagine, we’ll also have reviews coming soon. Stay tuned.
Lenovo’s got a brand new set of Legion laptops coming this summer, and while they’re looking to be plenty powerful if you opt for the best CPUs and best graphics cards, it’s the inclusion of brand new RTX 3050 options on the new Lenovo Legion 5i’s low-end configurations that’s really piqued our interest.
Lenovo Legion 5i 15 Inch
Lenovo Legion 5i 17 inch
Lenovo Legion 5i Pro
Lenovo Legion 7i
CPU
Up to Intel Core i7-11800H
Up to Intel Core i7-11800H
Up to Intel Core i7-11800H
Up to Intel Core i9-11980HK
GPU
Up to RTX 3070
Up to RTX 3070
Up to RTX 3070
Up to RTX 3080
Memory
Up to 32GB DDR4-3200
Up to 16GB DDR4-3200
Up to 32GB DDR4-3200
Up to 32GB DDR4-3200
Storage
Up to 2TB SSD
Up to 2x 1TB SSD
Up to 2x 1TB SSD
Up to 2TB SSD + Up to 32GB Intel Optane
Display
15.6 inch, IPS Up to 2560 x 1440, Up to 165Hz, G-Sync Optional
17.3 inch, 1920 x 1080, IPS, Up to 144Hz
16 inch, 2560 x 1600, IPS, 165Hz, HDR, G-Sync
16 inch, 2560 x 1600, IPS, 165Hz, HDR, G-Sync
Starting Price
$969
$969
$1,329.99
$1,769
NA Release Date
July 2021
July 2021
July 2021
July 2021
The base Lenovo Legion 5i starts at $969, which is pretty impressive for an Ampere laptop. That price point comes thanks to the new RTX 3050 and RTX 3050 Ti, which will be available in both the Lenovo Legion 5i (15 and 17 inch models) and 5i Pro (which is internally identical to the 5i except for its 16 inch size, storage options and screen). Of course, you can still push these laptops up to an RTX 3070, but with RTX 30-series cards already being so hard to find, it’s encouraging to see these laptops starting at a more accessible price point.
(Image credit: Lenovo Legion)
Accompanying those RTX cards is your choice between the Intel Core i7-11400H and the slightly more powerful i7-11800H, plus a bevy of different RAM, storage and display options based on your configuration’s size. The 15 inch 5i tops out at 32GB of RAM and a single 2TB SSD, while 17 inch models have to settle for a maximum of 16GB of RAM and 2 different 1TB SSDs. The 5i Pro splits the difference with a maximum of 32GB of RAM and 2 different 1TB SSDs.
(Image credit: Lenovo Legion)
Display options are also a bit more luxurious on the smaller models. The 17 inch Legion 5i only goes up to 1080p @ 144Hz, while the 15 inch 5i can go up to 1440p @ 165Hz with G-Sync. The 5i Pro, which is 16 inches large, pushes the fidelity further with a 16:10 aspect ratio, hitting a resolution of 2560 x 1600. The 5i Pro also has a 165Hz refresh rate, HDR and G-Sync. All of these monitors are IPS.
(Image credit: Lenovo Legion)
The 15 inch 5i and 5i Pro also have two different color options each. The 5i comes in both black and white, while the 5i Pro comes in gray and white. The 17 inch 5i only comes in black. Visually, all three laptops look similar, although the 5i Pro has a light-up logo on its lid.
If you want to go even more powerful, there’s also the 16 inch Lenovo Legion 7i, which drops the RTX 3050 and RTX 3050 Ti GPU options in favor of an RTX 3080 config. The 7i also has an option for an Intel Core i9-11980HK chip, making it the only i9 laptop in this lineup. RAM can go up to 32GB and SSD storage up to 2TB, but there’s also an option to add on Intel Optane storage up to 32GB. As for display, you’ll get the same 16:10 display as on the Lenovo Legion 5i Pro.
(Image credit: Lenovo Legion)
The Legion 7i only comes in gray, and has RGB zones around its sides.
All of Lenovo’s new Legion laptops will launch in July, 2021. The 15 inch and 17 inch Legion 5i will both start at $969, while the Legion 5i Pro will start at $1,329. The Lenovo Legion 7i will begin at $1,769.
MSI is getting a new lineup, including some new designs, in sync with Intel launching its Tiger Lake-H processors. While it refreshed recently at CES 2021, this new launch includes more new designs. Some of them will also utilize Nvidia’s new RTX 3050 and RTX 3050 Ti graphics cards. Pre-orders begin today, and laptops will begin to ship on May 16.
MSI GE76 and GE66 Raider
The GE76 and GE66 Raider have taken the flagship spot. (The latter has long been on our list of the
best gaming laptops
.) They’re the same design, but with 17-inch and 15-inch screens, respectively. Both will go up to an overclockable Intel Core i9-11980HK and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080. At launch, the GE66 will go up to
4K
, while the GE76 will only have faster but lower resolution 1080p screens. Higher-resolution screens for the 17-incher will come in May and June.
While the design is the same, including a blue aluminum, MSI said it intends on using more powerful cooling. The Raiders also have
FHD
webcams and have bumped up to Wi-Fi 6E and Thunderbolt 4 for connectivity.
MSI GE76 Raider
MSI GE66 Raider
MSI GS76 Stealth
CPU
Up to Intel Core i9-11980HK
Up to Intel Core i9-11980HK
Up to Intel Core i9-110900H
GPU
Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 (16GB GDDR6)
Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 (16GB GDDR6)
Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 (16GB GDDR6)
RAM
Up to 32GB at 3,200 MHz
Up to 32GB at 3,200 MHz
Up to 64GB at 3,200 MHz
Storage
Up to 1TB
Up to 2TB
Up to 2TB
Display
17.3-inches, 1920 x 1080, up to 360Hz (QHD coming late May)
15.6-inch, up to 4K, QHD up to 240 Hz
17.3-inches, up to 4K, FHD up to 300 Hz
Networking
Killer WiFi 6E AX1675 (2×2), Bluetooth 5.2
Killer WiFi 6E AX1675 (2×2), Bluetooth 5.2
Killer WiFi 6E AX1675 (2×2), Bluetooth 5.2
Battery
99.9 WHr
99.9 WHr
99.9 WHr
Starting Price
$1,499
$2,299
$1,999
MSI GS76 Stealth
(Image credit: MSI)
We’re also seeing a larger version of the existing MSI Stealth. The new GS76 is a 17.3-inch version of the laptop. (We only saw the GS66, the 15.6-incher, at CES, though that is getting upgraded to new parts, too.) It won’t get the overclockable processor, but you get RAM going up to 64GB at 3,200 MHz, up to 2TB of SSD storage and the same 99.9 WHr battery as the Raider line. Like the Raider, there will be
QHD
options coming later in the month.
The new design has top-firing speakers, and MSI says this laptop will have a far more tactile keyboard than the previous 17-inch Stealth, the GS75.
MSI GL66 Pulse and Crosshair
The MSI GL Pulse is a new entry that joins the Crosshair, both of which are intermediate-level gaming laptops. They’re largely the same, including metal lids, but the Pulse has some engraved designs where the Crosshair is plainer.
Both the Pulse will start at $959 with a Core i5-11400H and RTX 3050 and go up from there, topping out at $1,799. Both are getting new keyboards with single-zone RGB, and while the more expensive Raider and Stealth will have Gen 4 SSDs, the GL lineup will stay on Gen 3.
MSI GF Katana and Sword
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(Image credit: MSI)
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(Image credit: MSI)
MSI’s most entry-level gaming notebooks are the new Katana and Sword. They’re replacing the previous GF Thin line. The two notebooks differ only in color: Katana is black with a red keyboard, while Sword is white with a blue keyboard. These differ from the GL lineup in that they are plastic and have fewer panel options.
Katana starts at $999 with a Core i7-11800H and an RTX 3050 Ti and goes up to $1,449 with a Core i7 and an RTX 3060. The white laptop, Sword has a single $1,099 configuration with a Core i7 and RTX 3050 Ti. Sword has a 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080 display at 144 Hz, while Katana will be at both 15 and 17 inches.
MSI Creator Z16
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(Image credit: MSI)
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(Image credit: MSI)
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(Image credit: MSI)
MSI is taking another shot at the MacBook Pro crowd with its new Creator Z16. It starts at an eye-watering $2,599 with an Intel Core i7-11800H, an RTX 3060, 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. The $2,999 configuration bumps up to a Core i9-11900H and 2TB SSD.
The new top-of-the-line creator notebooks are minimalist with a CNC aluminum build. MSI has opted for a 16:10 touch display with 2560 x 1600 resolution and a speed of 120 Hz. It also includes two Thunderbolt 4 ports, microSD slot. Unlike the Raider, this sports a 720p webcam and a 90 WHr battery.
Acer’s rolling out Intel 11th Gen H-series and RTX 3050/RTX 3050 Ti-equipped versions of its Predator Triton 300, Predator Helios 300 and Nitro 5 laptops. That marks a new low-end for Ampere on these systems, making them more accessible across budget ranges. Still, like the best laptops, you’ll be able to push these laptops up to RTX 3080 and RTX 3070 levels of power, too.
Predator Triton 300
Predator Helios 300
Nitro 5
CPU
11th Gen Intel Core H-series
11th Gen Intel Core H-series
11th Gen Intel Core H-series
GPU
Up to RTX 3080
Up to RTX 3070
Up to RTX 3070
Memory
Up to 32GB DDR4
Up to 32GB DDR4
Up to 32GB DDR4
Storage
Unannounced
Up to 2TB
Up to 2TB Raid 0 SSD
Display
15.6 inch, QHD @ 165Hz OR FHD @ 360Hz
15.6 inch or 17.3 inch, QHD @ 165Hz or FHD @ 360Hz
15.6 inch or 17.3 inch, QHD @ 165Hz, IPS
Starting Price
$1,699
Unannounced
15 inch: $1,099; 17 inch: $999
NA Release Date
June
Unannounced
June
The Predator Triton 300 and Predator Helios 300 both come with 11th Gen Intel Core H-series processors and the same 32GB DDR4 max memory capacity, with the key difference between the two being size and graphics options. The Predator Triton 300 has GPU options all the way up to an RTX 3080 and is 15 inches large, while the Predator Helios 300 tops out at an RTX 3070 and has both 15 inch and 17 inch options. Both laptops have two display options regardless of size, with either a QHD resolution and 165Hz refresh rate or an FHD resolution and 360Hz refresh rate.
(Image credit: Acer)
Like the Predator Helios 300, the Nitro 5 also has two different sizes that otherwise appear to be identical. Configs include 11th Gen Intel Core H-series processors and GPUs up to the RTX 3070. Memory can go up to 32GB of DDR4, while storage can be upped to 2TB of SSD storage over RAID 0. Regardless of size, all configs of the new Nitro 5 will have a QHD resolution, 165Hz refresh rate and IPS panel.
(Image credit: Acer)
Visually, all of Acer’s laptops appear to keep the same designs as previous iterations, meaning that all three machines have 4-zone RGB keyboards. And like Henry Ford supposedly said, you can get these machines in any color you want — so long as that color is black.
(Image credit: Acer)
Since this is a global announcement, some configuration details as well as pricing and release information are still uncertain. What we do know is that the Predator Triton 300 and both the 15 inch and 17 inch Nitro 5 will launch in North America in June. The Predator Triton 300 will start at $1,699, while the 15 inch Nitro 5 will start at $1,099 and the 17 inch Nitro 5 will start at $999.
HP’s first laptops to use Intel’s 11th Gen Tiger Lake-H processors are its ZBook G8 line, which consists of four notebooks. There are two ZBook Fury laptops — one 15.6-inch and one 17.3-inch — along with the ZBook Power and ZBook Studio.
The ZBook Power is the entry-level workstation, going up to an Intel Core i-11950H CPU, using GPUs with 4GB of VRAM. The HP ZBook Studio G8, aimed at data scientists and creators, uses more powerful GPUs, with both gaming-grade GeForce RTX and workstation-grade RTX A-series cards with as much as 16GB of VRAM.
(Image credit: HP)
In an atypical move, the ZBook Studio G8 is getting an RGB keyboard, which you would typically find in gaming laptops. In fact, it will use the Omen gaming hub to make profiles. These key presets can be set per application, not just games, so you could have custom lighting for creative software.
HP ZBook Power G8
HP ZBook Studio G8
HP ZBook Fury 15.6-inch G8
HP ZBook Fury 17.3-inch G8
CPU
Up to Intel Core i9-11950H
Up to Intel Core i9-11950H
Up to Intel Core i9-11950H, Up to Intel Xeon W-11955M
Up to Intel Core i9-11950H, Up to Intel Xeon W-11955M
Graphics
Nvidia T1200, RTX A2000 or Nvidia T600 (4GB GDDR6 each)
Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 (16GB GDDR6), Up to Nvidia RTX A5000 (16GB GDDR6)
Up to Nvidia RTX A5000 (16GB GDDR6) or AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (8GB GDDR6)
Up to Nvidia RTX A5000 (16GB GDDR6) or AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (8GB GDDR6)
The Fury line, which comes in both 15.6 and 17.3-inch sizes, offers the most power, including 11th Gen Xeon processors as well as up to 128GB of RAM. These two laptops also have configurable choices with either Nvidia or AMD graphics and allow for Intel LTE to work on the go.
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(Image credit: HP)
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(Image credit: HP)
For this round of workstations, HP is introducing its Tamper Lock system, which came from the Firefly G8, which notifies users or IT departments if the bottom of the laptop is removed. They can choose to disable the system, lock the BIOS or use Bitlocker to secure the system. Users would also know if RAM or HDDs were removed. Additionally, the laptops continue HP’s tradition of using Tile tracking to recover the notebook if it is lost or stolen.
Pricing has not been made available, but HP says it will announce that closer to the laptops’ launches.
SilverStone Milo 10 is a tiny PC case that supports a Mini-ITX motherboard – and when we say ‘tiny’ what we really mean is ‘less than four litres in capacity.’ You won’t be shocked to learn that Milo 10 does not support a graphics card and requires the use of an external power brick, but despite that you have a number of options and it is surprisingly versatile.
Watch the video via our VIMEO Channel (Below) or over on YouTube at 2160p HERE
Main features
Super small at only 2.7 litres or 3.6 litres depending on configuration
Includes interchangeable top covers for altering case size to accommodate various components
Includes VESA mounting plate for integration with monitors
Supports standard sized Mini-ITX motherboard
Supports slim optical drive with interchangeable bezel
Specification:
Motherboard support: Mini-ITX.
CPU cooler support: Between 29mm and 63mm depending on configuration of storage and top cover.
Expansion slots: None.
Included fans: None
Fan mounts: 1x 120mm/140mm in top cover.
Radiator mounts: None.
Optical drive bay: Slimline laptop ODD.
Internal drive bays: 1x 3.5-inch/2x 2.5-inch.
Front I/O: 2x USB 3.0 ports
Dimensions: 453mm H x 227mm D x 196mm W x 63mm H with standard top cover or 84mm H with Elevated cover.
We faced a dilemma during our build as we have a reasonable selection of Mini-ITX motherboards and a huge pile of CPUs, but finding an APU that is sub-65W nearly defeated us. In essence you can take AMD off the table and are forced to turn to Intel.
When you are working with relatively small items such as the SilverStone Milo 10 the regular form is use a banana for scale, however Leo was determined to get his hands in the picture to better illustrate the tiny size of this case.
This is probably the first (and last) time we will skip thermal testing during a case review as your choice of APU and cooler will make a huge difference to the results, along with the types of workload you perform. If you install an Intel Core i3-10300 and merely update spreadsheets or watch videos on YouTube, you will barely stress the CPU. We felt bad running 3D Mark Fire Strike for the video and simply did not have the heart to run Blender.
Closing Thoughts
Building a PC inside the SilverStone Milo 10 can be a fiddly process, although it gets easier with repetition, and you will find the situation improves if you choose your components wisely.
You will have noted our single biggest gripe with the SilverStone Milo 10 is its reliance on an APU with a relatively low power draw as that is a complete change in direction for us folk at KitGuru. The obvious choices for us would be an AMD Ryzen 5 5600G or Ryzen 7 5700G, however they are not on sale to the public and are exclusively in the hands of system integrators.
For that reason we doubt many home enthusiasts will line up to buy the Milo 10 case and its matching SilverStone AD120-DC DC board and external AC adapter combo kit, unless they have amazingly specific requirements that centre around the tiny form factor of this case.
On the other hand we can easily imagine system integrators using the SilverStone Milo 10 to deliver low powered PCs to offices, hotels and shops where space is at a premium.
While we are all in favour of small form factor PCs, they typically weigh in at 10-20 litres in volume and allow you a fair degree of latitude with your choice of hardware. By contrast the sub-4 litre Milo 10 is a more challenging proposition that is best suited to a customer who is simply unable to compromise in their pursuit of a tiny PC.
You can buy the SilverStone Milo 10 for £44.99 HERE.
Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.
Pros:
Pricing for the case is cheap, but you also have to factor in the DC power converter.
Supports a range of storage up to 3.5-inch HDD.
Supports a 120mm/140mm fan in the top cover.
Cons:
Requires an APU to provide graphics.
Limited to 65W TDP.
Requires an ITX motherboard which is limiting and probably expensive too.
KitGuru says: SilverStone Milo 10 requires the careful selection of an APU, motherboard, cooler and storage.
Home/Component/SSD Drives/Seagate launches One Touch SSD, delivering portable NVMe performance
Matthew Wilson 4 days ago SSD Drives
Today, Seagate launches the One Touch SSD, offering NVMe performance in an external, portable form factor, with up to 2TB of capacity.
The Seagate One Touch SSD is rated for sequential read/write speeds of up to 1030MB/s, using a USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB-C interface. As a portable drive, device compatibility is wide ranging, including support for Windows, Mac and Android devices.
As we can see in the image above, the One Touch SSD uses an aluminium top cover and a soft-touch fabric surface. Colour-wise, the drive is available in black, silver or blue. For monitoring, file syncing, backup and data recovery, users can install Seagate’s included Toolkit desktop software.
The Seagate One Touch SSD will be available before the end of this month with MSRPs of £79.99 (500GB), £134.99 (1TB) and £254.99 (2TB).
KitGuru Says: Are any of you in need of a portable SSD? What do you think of the new Seagate One Touch SSD?
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