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Mar 21, 2019
It's cheaper and easier than ever to add some smarts to your home, and today you make four of your dump devices smarter for the lowest price we've ever seen. B&H Photo Video is selling the TP-Link HS107 Wi-Fi dual-outlet smart plug for $25Remove non-product link with the on-page coupon today, down from a list price of $35.
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Mar 21, 2019
To maximize profits, corporations hire skilled professionals — project managers — who know how to increase efficiency. Want to discover their secrets? Learn the tricks of their trade with the Comprehensive Six Sigma Certification Collection, price dropped to just $35.
Project managers play a crucial role. They oversee the operations of a business, keep production on track, and eliminate waste so that financial targets are more easily met. But, there isn't just one way to accomplish this. Project managers, in fact, use several methodologies and tools to achieve success. And one of the most popular is Six Sigma.
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Mar 21, 2019
Today's a good day to ditch your bulky laptop and upgrade to Microsoft's stunning Surface 2-in-1. The Microsoft Store is selling a Core i5 version of the Surface Pro 6 for just $1,000Remove non-product link, complete with a fancy Type Cover keyboard thrown in. That's $330 off the list price for the two items, and thus a really great deal.
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Mar 21, 2019
The latest addition to the Lutron Caséta family delivers an excellent way integrate ceiling fans into your smart home.
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Mar 21, 2019
Cord-cutters now have plenty of options for watching the NCAA Tournament, but not all are equal.
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Mar 20, 2019
Anyone who has ventured into online gaming knows text chat can approach nuclear-waste-levels of toxicity. But what happens when it all shifts to voice-based chat in the future? Intel says it can help. Or at least, it hopes it can.
The company said on Wednesday night it's working with Spirit AI on ways to use machine learning and artificial intelligence to reduce the acidic speech gamers often fall back on during intense gaming sessions. Spirit AI already has a machine-based tool developers can use to help monitor forums and online chat. Intel wants to help extend the tools to the voice-based chat that's increasingly used in gaming.
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Mar 20, 2019
Intel confirmed Wednesday that a mobile version of its 9th-gen H-series Core chips will debut during the second quarter—and probably on the early side of that time window.
Frederik Hamberger, the general manager of premium and gaming notebook segments at Intel, said Wednesday that Intel would be coming out with a new 9th-gen mobile Core part "very, very soon," accompanied by customer laptops. H-series chips are sold into premium and gaming notebooks, and generally represent the most power-hungry and least power-efficient chips in Intel's lineup. For our analysis of how the 8th-generation Core chips top the 7th-gen mobile Cores, you can take a look at our earlier story.
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Mar 20, 2019
Great software makes great hardware truly shine, and it seems like Intel graphics chief Raja Koduri knows it. Shortly after Koduri assumed control of the Radeon Technologies Group at his last job at AMD, the company rolled out a long-overdue revamp of its Radeon Settings application. On Wednesday, at GDC 2019, Intel revealed an overhauled Graphics Command Center app ahead of the hotly anticipated 2020 launch of its "Xe" discrete graphics cards.
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Mar 20, 2019
Amazon's All-new Kindle improves upon the company's most affordable e-reader by adding a few new features for a slightly higher price. Announced Wednesday and due to ship April 10, the All-new Kindle starts at $89.99 with Special Offers (ads) enabled—$10 more than the starting price for the prior generation. It will cost $109.99 without Special Offers (you can also disable Special Offers later, for a fee).
Because the All-new Kindle is still the lowest-end model, you can't expect it to have all the perks of the midrange Kindle Paperwhite, which is our pick for the best Kindle for most users; let alone the Kindle Oasis, which has every imaginable e-reader bell and whistle—and a price to match. (For more Kindle reviews and how-to's, go to our Kindle product roundup.) Still, Amazon is offering some nice features for the price, including:
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Mar 20, 2019
Downloading books to your Amazon Kindle is easy. This quick tutorial will teach you how to deliver the unparalleled selection of books, magazines, newspapers and comic books that Amazon makes available, along with ebooks and other documents you may have on your computer, to your Kindle where you can read and enjoy them.
When buying a new book from Amazon
If you own a Kindle, you'll naturally wind up buying a book from Amazon's Kindle Store to read on it. If you're using your computer to purchase a new book or periodical to read on your Kindle, follow these steps to ensure that it's instantly transferred to your device.
After signing into your Amazon account and navigating to the page of the Amazon Kindle Store for the book you want to buy, look to the righthand side of your browser window:
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Mar 20, 2019
If you thought Epic was done snatching up exclusives for the Epic Games Store, you were very mistaken. The policy's proven contentious, to say the least, with both Metro Exodus and The Division 2 pilloried by a vocal contingent of "No Steam, No Buy" consumers.
But that's not stopping Tim Sweeney and co. This morning at its Game Developers Conference keynote, Epic confirmed fourteen additional exclusives. And before we get to counting them, let's just pause and think about how much money that entails, and how much money Fortnite is making. It's unfathomable.
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Mar 20, 2019
Boosting your computer's storage can make life easier, but high-capacity hard drives can get a little pricey. Today, though, our favorite external backup drive, the WD My Passport 4TB, is on sale for $100 on Amazon—a solid 29 percent drop from its list price of $140.
This sleek, attractive hard drive is designed for USB-C connections, but thanks to an included adapter, you can plug it into a USB 3.0 port as well. A huge 4TB of storage provides space for all your photos, videos, and other documents, while 256-bit AES hardware encryption and password protection help keep all that data safe. One of the best parts of this hard drive is its useful software suite, which includes WD Discovery to help locate and transfer files, and WD Backup to provide another level of peace of mind.
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Mar 20, 2019
Oculus isn't giving up on PC-based virtual reality yet. It's been three years since the original Oculus Rift launched, and you'd be forgiven for thinking Oculus's attention was elsewhere. All we've heard about the past year and a half was its standalone headset, the upcoming Oculus Quest, due to release this spring.
But as it turns out, Oculus has two headsets releasing this spring. Announced this morning at GDC, the Oculus Rift S is the Quest's PC equivalent and the Rift's proper successor, a slightly higher-end headset at a relatively affordable price.
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Mar 20, 2019
With cyberattacks and data leaks regularly populating the headlines, we could all benefit from upgrading our online security. For most of us, this means picking up a VPN to mask our browsing online. Right now, you can score a lifetime subscription to the highly rated Ivacy VPN and their NAT firewall for only $39.99, more than 90% off the usual price.
Ivacy VPN encrypts your data, thus preventing anyone else from accessing it. And, unlike other providers, Ivacy VPN won't throttle your bandwidth, so you can continue to use the web like you do now. You'll be able to protect up to five devices at once, enjoy access to their enormous server network, and you'll even get their NAT firewall add-on, which helps block malicious scans and connection requests from hackers trying to access your devices.
To read this article in full, please click here
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Mar 20, 2019
Given the chance, most of us would jump at the opportunity to bring down our power bills. But, there's a prevailing assumption that doing so involves dealing with steep upfront costs before the savings actually come in. Arcadia Power presents a different solution, however, and it's willing to give new users $20 off their first utility bill for trying out the platform.
At its core, Arcadia Power is a free platform that connects homeowners and renters to clean, low-cost energy solutions. Users who sign up become part of a community of more than 150,000 members, driving the platform's purchasing power and allowing Arcadia Power to negotiate for lower monthly payments for green energy.
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Mar 20, 2019
Web technology advances quickly. In fact, we've already experienced incredible leaps that have changed our lives forever. But we've only scratched the surface. Learn about what's to come with The AWS Certification Training Master Class Bundle, offered to readers for just $59.
Cloud computing is the next major advancement in web technology. It allows governments and corporations from around the globe to streamline their operations so they may better serve their communities. And that's why professionals that are well-versed in cloud technology and, more specifically, Amazon Web Services are in demand right now.
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Mar 20, 2019
Apple's string of product releases continues on Wednesday with the launch of the second-generation AirPods and a new wireless charging case.
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Mar 20, 2019
AMD's RX 590 isn't the best card you can get for 1080p gaming, but it's still a good option and well worth considering when there's a price cut. Today, Newegg is selling the PowerColor Red Devil Radeon RX 590 for $210 after a $20 mail-in rebate. On top of that you get three free games with AMD's Raise the Game offer. That's not bad at all considering the best price for Nvidia's closest parallel, the GTX 1660, is around $220—and that's for a stock version of Nvidia's card without any free games.
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Mar 20, 2019
We've partnered with Honor again for a giveaway, and this time it's for a brand new Honor Play smartphone. While we at PCWorld never formally reviewed it, our sister site Tech Advisor did saying: "Even if you're not a gamer, this is one of the best value phones on the market, offering flagship performance at a fraction of the price."
The giveaway is for an Honor Play in Ultra Violet, with 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM. The phone features a Kirin 970 processor, the same one featured in Huawei's powerhouse of a phone last year, the P20 Pro, and is designed with mobile gamers in mind.
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Mar 20, 2019
Today's smart bulbs are brighter and easier to control than ever, but choosing the right one for your environment remains a challenge.
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Mar 20, 2019
Can Microsoft Word read to me? Yes, it can. The Speak feature was incorporated into Microsoft Office (Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, etc.) back in version 2003. It was called Text to Speech (TTS) then, and it functioned much the same as it does now. Fortunately, it's a very simple procedure to set up and use, so you can get started immediately.
Add the Speak button to the Quick Access Toolbar
1. Click the Customize arrow on the Quick Access Toolbar.
2. From the dropdown menu, select More Commands.
3. On the Word Options screen Customize the Quick Access Toolbar, locate the Choose Commands From box and scroll down to the Speak command.
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Mar 20, 2019
When you really need to light up the night with just a size E26 bulb, this monstrous LED will do the job.
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Mar 20, 2019
The tech-obsessed Internet had a big laugh at the expense of the USB Implementers Forum in March, when the organization announced a new USB-C naming scheme that made the format more confusing than it already was.
Sure, yuck it up, folks. But you know what's even more annoying than a bunch of connection formats that are all named "USB 3.2?" A bunch of terribly designed cables that all serve a different purpose, each with their own ways of annoying you on a regular basis. USB-C certainly has its problems, but the old ways of connecting our PCs, phones, peripherals, speakers, and hard drives were much worse.
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Mar 19, 2019
Microsoft Teams is moving ahead in its gradual replacement of Skype for Business, which was once Microsoft's go-to solution for collaborating via video or text. On Tuesday Microsoft announced several new collaborative features that lean toward business use, especially for those who work in collaborative environments at an office.
One of the flagship features—background blurring for remote or home workers—has been beefed up with the ability to select a custom background. Other improvements include better whiteboarding, in both virtual spaces and the real world.
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Mar 19, 2019
It's safe to say that going into GDC 2019, Google's Tuesday morning keynote was the most anticipated on the schedule. Rumors have flown for weeks, though calling them "rumors" is perhaps underselling it. We knew Google was working on streaming games to the Chrome browser, after last year's Project Stream tests, and it was clear we'd see more about those ideas here.
Tuesday was the official reveal though. It's called Stadia, and already the old box-under-the-TV paradigm feels outdated.
Meet Google Stadia: Streaming games anywhere
"Building a game platform for everyone." That's the tagline Google went with during its presentation. You have a desktop? A laptop? A phone? Then you have Stadia. It's that easy. This is the future that game streaming allows.
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Mar 19, 2019
With the 2019 Game Developers Conference underway, the gaming community is looking forward to news on new ways to play. It's also a good time to take a look at your own gaming setup and see what could use some improvement. Today only, you can grab the go-to controller for PC gamers, Microsoft's Xbox One controller, at a pretty slick discount from B&H Photo Video. The wireless version of this controller will typically run you about $50, with another $25 for the wireless adapter, but this sale will get you both for just $45Remove non-product link—a pretty killer deal.
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Mar 19, 2019
That dreaded low-resolution "screen door effect" that's dogged virtual reality imaging since its inception just got blown off its hinges by HP's Reverb VR headset.
Announced Tuesday at HP Reinvent in Houston, the Reverb boasts twice the resolution of its predecessor—2,160x2,160—plus a wider 114-degree field of view. The Reverb is the highest-resolution HMD (head-mounted display) that's shipping among "major" makers, the company said.
That caveat of "major" HMD makers obviously excludes such smaller projects as Pimax's 8K headset. Even so, HP's Reverb will likely ship ahead of Pimax's unit.
Gordon Mah Ung
The controllers don't change for HP's Reverb, but the company has integrated Bluetooth into the headset to improve connection issues. HP's also improved the tracking algorithms.
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Mar 19, 2019
It's a good day to get a whole lot of storage at a great price. Our favorite budget SSD is available for cheaper than it's even been before. Amazon is selling the 1TB Samsung 860 QVO SSD for $108. That's down from it's MSRP of $130, and less than the 1TB Samsung 860 EVO's current price of $148.
It's understandable if you haven't heard of the QVO line before. This is Samsung's first consumer-grade quad-level cell (QLC) NAND drive. QLC NAND crams in four bits per cell versus three-bit per cell on the TLC NAND that underlies the 860 EVO. The end result is that with QLC, SSD makers can offer greater storage capacities at a lower cost.
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Mar 19, 2019
This baby monitor will alert you when your child moves to an unsafe position.
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Mar 18, 2019
Machine learning is coming to the masses, and those hordes of DIY drones and robots are about to get a whole lot smarter. On Monday at Nvidia's GTC conference, the company plans to reveal the $99 Jetson Nano Developer Kit. The kit is an expansion of the company's "Jetson" embedded graphics platform, and it aims to infuse your wildest maker projects with AI that the Raspberry Pi could only dream of. It'll be available immediately online, through distributors, and at GTC itself.
The Jetson Nano Developer Kit is a standalone version of the new Jetson Nano AI computer also announced today. As you'd expect from an Nvidia product, the GPU's the secret sauce—a 128-core beast that looms large on the maker board. Based on the "Maxwell" GPU architecture that powered the company's GeForce GTX 900-series graphics cards, it's capable of 472 GFLOPS of FP16 performance, HEVC video encoding at either 4K30 or 3x 1080p30 resolution, and HEVC decoding at 4K60 or 8x 1080p30—meaning it can monitor several high-definition video inputs at once and process the images it sees in real time. This is a powerful GPU to hand to makers. It's tamed by a massive black heatsink sitting atop the module.
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Mar 18, 2019
Nvidia invested heavily in real-time ray tracing capabilities in its GeForce RTX 20-series graphics cards—so much so that those highest-end GeForce GPUs swapped out the age-old "GTX" branding for the new "RTX" name. But industry support for the radical new technology hasn't been fast in coming. Only a handful of big-name games ship with RTX features enabled. At the annual Game Developers Conference on Monday, the company revealed plans designed to spur wider adoption. Beyond some dev-centric announcements, Nvidia is enabling basic ray tracing support for several non-RTX GeForce GPUs.
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Mar 18, 2019
The next great peripherals war is being waged over your ears. After every company on the planet put out a gaming mouse and then a mechanical keyboard, they turned their attention to headsets. So many headsets.
We know you don't want to scroll through every single headset review when all you want is a simple answer: "What's the best gaming headset I can buy with my hard-earned dollars?" This page holds the answers you seek, no matter what your budget is.
We'll keep updating our recommendations as we look at new products and find stronger contenders.
Updated 3/18/19 to include our review of the Logitech G935, which represents a solid-update to the company's flagship wireless headset. See the bottom of this article for all of our headset reviews.
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Mar 18, 2019
Whether you're looking for an over-the-ear, on-ear, or in-ear model, we'll help you find the perfect pair.
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Mar 18, 2019
These mostly inexpensive gadgets can make Google Home smart speakers even better.
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Mar 18, 2019
If you don't have hundreds of dollars to spend on new bulbs, hubs, and thermostats, you can still make your home a whole lot smarter. And today's a great time to start: B&H Photo is selling the TP-Link HS300 smart Wi-Fi power strip for $55Remove non-product link when applying the 31 percent coupon on the listing,, along with
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Mar 18, 2019
Apple has resurrected the iPad Air and updated the iPad mini in an attempt to streamline and simplify its family of tablets.
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Mar 18, 2019
We've seen some juicy deals on Corsair's excellent K70 mechanical keyboard lately, and while the deal Amazon is offering today isn't the best we've seen, it's still pretty darn good. The online retailer is selling the Corsair K70 RGB MK.2 for $100. That's $70 off the usual price, and the all-time low at Amazon for this particular keyboard.
This isn't the low-profile version of the K70 MK.2, which we spotted for $90 at Best Buy in January. Nevertheless, it offers a similarly stacked set of features as its laptop-like cousin: Cherry MX Speed switches, per-key RGB backlighting, 8MB of onboard profile storage, USB passthrough for your mouse or headset, anti-ghosting, full-key rollover, and compatibility with Corsair's iCue software for syncing all the Corsair RGB gear on your rig.
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Mar 18, 2019
A heaping helping of PiImage by Brad Chacos/IDG
The Raspberry Pi's very existence can be chalked up to creativity. Ebon Upton and the Raspberry Pi Foundation created the $35 mini-PC to inspire students to learn computer science and to enable tinkerers to dream up wild projects without breaking the bank.
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Mar 18, 2019
For a brief period in 2016, the Logitech G933 sat atop our recommendations for wireless gaming headsets. Retailing for about $100, less than half the price of premium options like the Astro A50, the 933 nevertheless was a great-sounding headset with an ingenious hidden microphone and a fancier look than the G930 it replaced.
But then Logitech put out the G533—cheaper, better looking, more comfortable, and built specifically for the PC. Yes, Logitech dethroned itself, and the G533 has sat on our recommendations list for nearly two years now.
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Mar 18, 2019
Sound quality is quite good—as long as you listen with active noise cancellation enabled; otherwise, it's just too boomy.
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Mar 16, 2019
Every so often I get the urge to travel to the Caverns of Time dungeon in World of Warcraft and behold one of the game's rarest creatures. It's not a dragon or another friggin' elf—oh, no. Instead, this once-endangered species is a portly human mage who ambles down shady lanes in the Hillsbrad Foothills.
So far as anyone knew, he was the only fat human in the game for at least a decade, and damn if he didn't make a potbelly look good. He carried himself with the poise of a king. He didn't give a flip what you thought of his paunch-friendly shirt. In a world where even walking corpses look as though they could model for Cosmo, he reminded me that not all heroes hate crèpes.
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Mar 15, 2019
Let's be real, nothing in this news round-up is going to top the stories we already wrote up this week: Halo is coming to PC again after 15 years, and Valve's letting you stream PC games to your phone or laptop while you're away from home. Those are both huge stories. What's left? Comparatively minor.
But Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam, Gearbox is teasing two game reveals at PAX East later this month, someone recreated Star Wars: Episode I Racer in Unreal 4, the Rising Storm devs are creating a new shooter set in an alt-history Cold War, and Doom has another terrible movie adaptation coming up soon. Like seriously, so bad Uwe Boll could've directed a better film.
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Mar 15, 2019
The company's 55- and 65-inch E9 and C9 models will arrive in April, with additional models to follow in May and June.
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Mar 15, 2019
we spotlight a lot of hard drive deals on PCWorld, but today's is one of the best values we've ever seen. Newegg is selling the WD Elements 6TB USB 3.0 external drive for a crazy-low price of $100Remove non-product link today when using the code EMCTWUA65. That's nearly 50 percent off the list price and matches the lowest we've ever seen.
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Mar 15, 2019
Apple has published a statement in response to Spotify's claims that it is being anti-competitive with its App Store fees. But it hits a sour note.
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Mar 15, 2019
Anker's affordable dash cams and car chargers are even more affordable today. The accessory maker is hosting a savings-stuffed one-day sale on AmazonRemove non-product link for a selection of its car gear, including chargers, dash cams, and phone mounts.
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Mar 15, 2019
Mobile phones and tablets are convenient. What's inconvenient is lugging around all the cables and chargers that go with them. And, that's what makes the SCOUT Wireless Portable Charger the perfect accessory, especially when you can pick one up at half-price.
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Mar 15, 2019
Maxon's popular Cinebench CPU benchmarking program just got a long-overdue update to bring it up to parity with modern PCs. We've already tried it, on two of the most powerful CPUs you can buy today, and have results to share, along with some historical context and tips for using it with your own CPU.
A little Cinebench history
The free Cinebench R20 app is intended to replace Cinebench R15, which first saw service in 2013. To give you an idea of how far we've come in hardware, the top-end desktop CPU in 2013 was a quad-core, 4th-gen Haswell Core i7, while an enthusiast-level chip was a six-core 3rd-gen Ivy Bridge-E Core i7.
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Mar 15, 2019
I finally decided to take the plunge and cut the cable cord, and I learned a few things along the way.
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Mar 15, 2019
We don't usually make a huge deal about the annual Game Developers Conference. Sure, we cover it. Why not? It's right down the street from our office in San Francisco, and in past years we've gotten some big stories out of it. It's where Microsoft gave us the first details on DirectX 12, back in 2014—a move that's just now starting to come to fruition. It's also where Epic made Unreal Engine free for developers. It's where real-time ray tracing became, well, real. And who could forget the mythological Atari VCS, a console we "saw" at GDC 2018 but still have yet to see in any working form.
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Mar 14, 2019
This RetroPie really happened: Watch (above) as our own Adam Patrick Murray and Alaina Yee build a RetroPie system after they weren't able to buy an SNES Classic. Go ahead, laugh at (and learn from) our mistakes.
For the past 20 years, retrogaming enthusiasts have dreamed of building a "universal game console" capable of playing games from dozens of different systems. Their ideal was inexpensive, easy to control with a gamepad, and capable of hooking into a TV set.
Thanks to the Raspberry Pi 3 hobbyist platform and the RetroPie software distribution, that dream is finally possible. For under $110, you can build a very nice emulation system that can play tens of thousands of retro games for systems such as the NES, Atari 2600, Sega Genesis, Super NES, Game Boy, and even the PlayStation.
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Mar 14, 2019
Imagine: Your entire gaming library on the go, accessible at all times as long as you have a controller or a mouse and keyboard with you. And then stop imagining, because that future is...here? Sort of? Today, Valve announced the Steam Link Anywhere service, the next logical extension of the streaming features it's been working on the past few years. As the name implies, you can now stream your Steam library to just about anywhere, as long as you have a strong internet connection.
Details are a bit fuzzy right now, and Valve's news post isn't helping much. The gist of it:
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Mar 14, 2019
Join The Full Nerd gang as they talk about the latest PC hardware topics. In today's show we talk about yet another Nvidia GPU release - the GTX 1660, and talk about the merits of upgradeable laptops like Alienware's Area 51m. As always we will be answering your live questions so speak up in the chat.
If YouTube is not your thing you can also watch us on Twitch, Facebook, and Twitter.
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Mar 14, 2019
There are plenty of great smart TVs. Our guide cuts through the alphabet soup to tell everything you need to know to buy the one that's right for you.
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Mar 14, 2019
Previously, Microsoft appeared poised to widen the reach of its gaming ecosystem, connecting games on iOS, Android, and even the Nintendo Switch to its Xbox Live multiplayer platform.
Only two of the three came through, however, as Microsoft announced Thursday that its Xbox Live SDKs would be ported to Android and iOS. As for the Switch, Microsoft had no comment.
Sharing achievements, friends lists, and gameplay was the first step toward establishing Microsoft's gaming ecosystem within the Windows PC and Xbox console. According to Windows Central, Microsoft was preparing to unveil a cross-platform SDK (or XDK) at the Game Developers Conference in March at a special session. That session, once named "Xbox Live: Growing & Engaging Your Gaming Community Across iOS, Android, Switch, Xbox, and PC," now has been renamed "Xbox Live: Growing & Engaging Your Gaming Community Across Platforms," and its description scrubbed of the juicy details.
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Mar 14, 2019
A huge SSD can make many elements of your computing life a whole lot easier, and today you can grab a massive—and ultra-fast—1TB Samsung T5 portable SSD that you can carry around with you for just $178 on Amazon. That's down from a list price of $250 and the lowest we've ever seen it. (And we've been keeping a close eye on this one.)
The Samsung T5 packs a ton of space into a compact, shock-resistant body that weighs less than two ounces. You connect the drive to your gear via a USB-C port, while compatibility with Windows, Macs, and Android devices means it'll work with pretty much everything except for iOS devices. In addition, it features speedy transfer speeds up to 540 MB/s.
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Mar 14, 2019
Amazon's got yet another ultra-enticing one-day sale for PC enthusiasts today, with this latest blowout focused on Acer hardware. Until midnight Pacific time on Thursday, you can pick-up some great deals on Acer laptops, Chromebooks, displays, backpacks, keyboards and accessories.Remove non-product link.
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Mar 14, 2019
We tend to be our own worst critics. For illustrators and comic artists, this statement couldn't be more true. Want to make sure your drawings are as good as they can be? Then give Clip Studio Paint PRO, discounted by 50% to just $29.99, a try on for size.
Formerly known as Manga Studio, Clip Studio Paint PRO is an all-in-one digital art software package that lets you produce your highest quality work. It offers all the features you'd expect to find in a title of this caliber, but manages to maintain a user-friendly interface that everyone can appreciate. And that's probably why it's used by over 4 million artists around the globe.
To read this article in full, please click here
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Mar 14, 2019
Hail to the new champion of the graphics card "sweet spot." Nvidia's $220 GeForce GTX 1660 usurps the prize from AMD's Radeon RX 580, which held the title for years now, and renders even the recently released Radeon RX 590 obsolete. And though Nvidia's latest GPU technically replaces the unimpressive $200 3GB GTX 1060, it actually manages to surpass the more potent (and pricier) 6GB GTX 1060 while simultaneously addressing the most glaring weaknesses of its predecessor.
Not too shabby, Nvidia. Not too shabby at all.
Nvidia isn't creating a Founders Edition for the GPU, but its board partners will release a variety of GTX 1660 models for Thursday's launch. Today, we'll be reviewing the $250 EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 XC Ultra, the more affordable cousin to the custom-cooled, highly overclocked $310 EVGA GTX 1660 Ti XC Ultra that we loved so much. Let's go!
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Mar 14, 2019
Music comes alive through the headphones you love most when played on even an average smart device or PC.
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Mar 13, 2019
HP has recalled 78,500 batteries used in its laptops and mobile workstations, due to overheating issues which can cause fire and burn hazards.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall on Tuesday, but noted that the recall expansion was previously announced independently on January 17 by HP, and delayed due to the government furlough. It's considered an expansion of the previous HP battery recall of January, 2018, which affected 50,000 batteries. HP has received eight new reports of battery packs in the U.S. overheating, melting, or charring, including one report of minor injury and two reports of property damage totaling $1,100, the CPSC said.
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Mar 13, 2019
The Alienware Area-51m is a flagship gaming laptop that breaks a lot of new ground. When it debuted at CES we already were intrigued by the desktop-class parts and highly upgradable design. Now that we have it in-house for testing, we couldn't resist taking a first look at the design and features, and run a few benchmarks while we were at it. Watch the video for more details, and read our news from the Alienware Area-51m's CES debut to learn even more.
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Mar 13, 2019
Right on schedule, the first Android Q developer preview has arrived, and there's a lot to unpack. As with the last few releases, there aren't a ton of user-facing features just yet—those will likely be reserved for Google I/O and the Pixel 4 launch in September. Nonetheless, the changelog is still filled with plenty of interesting tweaks and additions that will make your phone better than ever once the OS lands in late summer.
The biggest change is one that most people won't get to enjoy for years to come. Google already previewed its new folding interface with Samsung's ultra-expensive Galaxy Fold, but now it's making those new app actions—such as pause, resume, and resizing when opening a screen—available to all developers in order to make sure apps are displayed properly on the new crop of foldable screens.
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Mar 13, 2019
A wireless charger can keep your phone charged up without needing to fumble with wires, but they can be expensive and slow. Today's deal solves both of those problems: You can grab Anker's PowerWave wireless charging stand on Amazon for $16.79Remove non-product link, down from a list price of $26 and the lowest price we've ever seen.
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Mar 13, 2019
Just in time for Windows 7 to die, Microsoft is porting DirectX 12 to it -- on a game-by-game basis. The first game to deliver will be World of Warcraft, with others to follow.
Microsoft's latest graphics API has actually been around since 2015. But Microsoft typically reserved its latest features for Windows 10, the latest OS that already demands the latest hardware. DirectX 12's support for multithreading, for example, already generates "substantial framerate impriovement," Microsoft says.
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Mar 13, 2019
If you need to get some reading done without lugging around a ton of books, today's deal is for you. Amazon is selling the latest version of the 6-inch Kindle with no ads and the Kindle Paperwhite with ads at $70 and $100 respectively-a discount of $30. Sure, those are their typical sale prices, but this is about as good as it gets, as these are the all-time low prices for these devices. The sales started earlier this week, and it's not clear when they will end.
The latest version of the 6-inch Kindle without "Special Offers" comes in either black or white, and has built-in Audible functionality. This feature lets you read a book, and then switch to listening to the audio book via Bluetooth headphones while you're on a run. This basic device features a 6-inch, 167ppi, glare-free display and 4GB of onboard storage. The fact that it comes without special offers is great since it means your Kindle won't show ads when it's idle (which is a standard feature for most Kindles).
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Mar 13, 2019
If you're looking for near-studio quality headphones that won't break the bank, then you owe it to yourself to check out the V1's from Culture Audio. On sale for only $135, these headphones offer an immersive listening experience with top-grade features that cost way less than other name-brand models.
Culture Audio V1's provide everything you could need in a set of headphones and nothing that you don't. They feature 40mm neodymium speakers for exceptional audio, which is only complemented by their best-in-class 98% active noise cancellation.
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Mar 13, 2019
If you're looking for near-studio quality headphones that won't break the bank, then you owe it to yourself to check out the V1's from Culture Audio. On sale for only $135, these headphones offer an immersive listening experience with top-grade features that cost way less than other name-brand models.
Culture Audio V1's provide everything you could need in a set of headphones and nothing that you don't. They feature 40mm neodymium speakers for exceptional audio, which is only complemented by their best-in-class 98% active noise cancellation.
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Mar 13, 2019
Microsoft's latest Windows 10 build allows some users, using some PCs, to drive some phones directly from their PC—without removing them from their pocket.
Windows 10 Insider build 18356 supports screen mirroring within the Windows Your Phone app, which allows it to mirror and control what's being displayed on your Android's phone screen. That theoretically allows your PC to launch apps remotely, use messaging apps like WhatsApp, or perform other functions, all with your phone in your pocket.
Way back in October, Microsoft launched the Surface Pro 6 tablet, along with the Surface Hub 2 and other devices. It was then that Microsoft began showing off Your Phone's screen mirroring in a demo environment. Your Phone can already transfer photos back and forth between PCs and remotely respond to texts. (Here's a guide to using Your Phone.)
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Mar 13, 2019
Private Internet Access 2019 in brief:
P2P allowed: Yes
Business location: Denver, CO
Number of servers: 3,275
Number of country locations: 33
Monthly cost: $40 billed annually
VPN protocol: OpenVPN
Data encryption: AES-128 (GCM)
Data Authentication: (GCM)
Handshake: RSA 2048-bit
Private Internet Access is a favorite third-party VPN for many users, but its biggest drawback was that the user interface was too utilitarian. That changed recently with an overhaul of PIA's Windows desktop app. Here's our look at the latest version of PIA.
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Mar 13, 2019
The Lenovo IdeaPad 730S is notable not just for what it offers, but for what it doesn't.
Unlike many other laptops in the $900-and-up price range, the IdeaPad 730S doesn't transform into a tablet and doesn't even have a touchscreen. It uses a modest 1080p display instead of a battery-chewing QHD or 4K panel, and its wildest flourish is a Dolby Atmos speaker system, which for a laptop actually sounds pretty good.
By trimming away fancy gimmicks, Lenovo has delivered a lightweight laptop that looks great and performs well for a reasonable price.
One word of caution, though: We've tested two of these laptops, and both had constant Wi-Fi connectivity issues across multiple networks. Lenovo's suggested fix involved installing a newer Wi-Fi driver for a different laptop. This solved the problem, but the company hasn't said when it will officially release those drivers for the 730S.
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Mar 13, 2019
You won't need a smart home hub to control this smart outlet, but it will work with smart speakers running Alexa, Google Assistant, or Cortana.
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Mar 12, 2019
It's been 15 years since Halo last came to PC—15 years, 5 games, two entire console generations. And while Microsoft's paid a lot of lip service to the PC lately, there was still some uncertainty whether its flagship series would ever make it over.
No longer, though. Today, Microsoft revealed on its Inside Xbox stream that Halo: The Master Chief Collection is coming to PC—and not just PC, but Steam. To some extent that latter piece of news is even more surprising, signaling Microsoft might be relaxing its Windows 10 Store stranglehold for first-party titles. (It'll be in the Windows 10 Store as well, so if you own it on Xbox One the purchase might carry over. No details on that yet, though.)
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Mar 12, 2019
Windows 7 support ends about nine months from now, on January 14, 2020—and if you're a Windows 7 user, you'll see more than this story reminding you of that date. In fact, according to Microsoft, you could see several pop-up reminders warning you to upgrade to Windows 10 before the year is out.
Microsoft says that Windows 7 users will see a notification appear on their PC "a handful of times" before the year is out. The company didn't say what message it would contain, though, or when or where it would appear.
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Mar 12, 2019
A boom in wireless security cameras is inspiring a movement in DIY home surveillance. Follow our buying guide and read our reviews to find the best option for you.
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Mar 12, 2019
The G-Drive mobile USB-C external drive has forward-looking connectivity and stylish design that can help it stand out from the crowd, when performance is fairly even among competitors. USB-C connectors are the new standard for Macs and newer PCs (though USB-A ports will likely hang around for a while longer on the PC platform). G-Technology always delivers attractive designs that mesh particularly well with Apple's products. Alas, along with the Apple design cues, comes an relatively Apple-like price.
Design and specs
The G-Drive mobile USB-C comes in three capacities: 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB for $80, $95. and $150 respectively. 2TB or 4TB are your best cost per gigabyte. It's also available in three matte shades: gray, silver, and gold. All three drives measure 4.33 inches long and 3.23 inches wide, but where the 1TB and 2TB drives are 0.41 inch thick, the 4TB is 0.75 inch thick. That's because more platters must be stacked to reach the larger capacity.
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Mar 12, 2019
Today's streaming ecosystem means TV fans have access to a ton of on-demand and live content without needing a cable subscription. And these days, you don't even need a separate device to tap into these streaming options. Smart TVs ship with the smarts of streaming media boxes built right in, and today you can grab a feature-packed on a massive sale. Sony's 60-inch 4K HDR smart TV (XBR60X830F) is $798 at Amazon today, down from a list price of $1,098—a head-turning $300 discount.
You'll have to act fast though, because this today-only deal expires at midnight Pacific time.
This smart TV is built for a high-quality entertainment experience, with HDR and 4K Ultra HD capabilities providing top-notch visuals. You can also fine-tune control with Google Assistant, which is built-in and available with a dedicated button on the included remote. Not a fan of Google Assistant? You can also use Alexa once you connect your TV to an Alexa-enabled device like an Amazon Echo or recent Fire Tablet. Of course, the main attraction is this TV's streaming capabilities, which will allow you to tune into services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video with no need for an external streaming device.
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Mar 12, 2019
Mesh Wi-Fi maker Eero is officially part of Amazon today, and to celebrate it seems the online retailer is putting on a one-day sale. Right now you can pick up an Eero hub and two beacons for $299. That's not quite the all-time low of $296.65, but it's close, and this system usually sells for $400. The sale ends on Tuesday night just before midnight Pacific time.
Eero is a mesh Wi-Fi system, which promises to kill dead Wi-Fi spots in your house. Unlike a traditional Wi-Fi extender system, where signals are just repeated from the primary router, mesh systems act as routers working in tandem putting a "blanket" of wireless coverage around your house.
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Mar 12, 2019
You may be surprised to learn that AWS isn't the only cloud solution out there. In fact, Microsoft has their own cloud platform that's surging in popularity. You can explore its potential with the Complete Microsoft Azure Certification Prep Bundle 2019, discounted by over 90% to just $29.
The Complete Microsoft Azure Certification Prep Bundle 2019 includes access to four beginner friendly-courses that'll show you how to use Azure to deploy a cloud-based environment. Students will start by learning the foundations of cloud technology and then gradually move into more complex concepts. The courses are accessible online 24/7; and the content will be available to you for life, so it's a convenient way to learn too.
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Mar 12, 2019
These days, customers are smarter and more connected than ever — meaning their expectations are higher. In order to deliver a customer experience tailored to those needs, companies need to quickly transform the way their teams collaborate and work together. That's where Quip, a Salesforce company, comes in: a trailblazing communication and productivity platform that empowers teams to stay connected, work more efficiently and innovate at a rapid clip.
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Mar 12, 2019
Can Microsoft Word translate my documents to and from different languages? Yes, and it's easy. However, note that the Office 365 version requires the Office Intelligent services (included with subscription) and an Internet connection for the Translator feature to function.
Word asks if you want to "Turn On" this service the first time you use the Translate feature, which then remains "On" unless (or until) you disable the service from the Options menus. Additional features such as Editor, Smart Look Up, PowerPoint Designer, and more are included with these services.
Word 2013's and Word 2016's respective Translate features function essentially the same way, except the languages are located on your local system, and the menu design is slightly different.
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Mar 12, 2019
There are so many VPN services out there that it can often be overwhelming. While that's a good thing for competition, features, and pricing, it means choosing a VPN can be an absolute nightmare. That goes double for browsing the Google Play Store where it can be difficult to see which services are legitimate and which ones are outright scams.
That's why we're here to help. Over the past few years we've tested a ton of VPN services, looked at their privacy policies, and checked out their extra features. While our main focus was the PC, we've also kept our eye on the mobile apps.
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Mar 12, 2019
This easy-to-use security camera includes advanced motion detection, full HD video and smart home integration, all for less than $100.
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Mar 12, 2019
With a little wiring work, you can give your outdated alarm system a DIY upgrade.
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Mar 11, 2019
The HP Wireless Elite v2 keyboard-and-mouse combo offers an inexpensive, yet well-made way tountether yourself from your desktop or laptop, The full-sized keyboard's responsive, quiet keys deliver an exceptionally comfortable typing experience, and the wireless mouse is a stylish upgrade over your factory mouse or trackpad.
Design
The keyboard measures 17.28 x 6.02 x 0.61 inches, and at 1.5 pounds feels much more substantial than its thin-and-light design would suggest. Whereas most keyboards in this class will flex and bend with little effort, the Elite's plastic chassis has very little give.
Above the alphanumeric keys are dedicated keys for media playback and various program functions. Four hotkeys for volume control and quick access to your browser's homepage sit over the number pad. A Sleep button sits all on its own in the upper left corner of the keyboard.
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Mar 11, 2019
It's the third-party smart devices that put the "home" in Google Home. Here are our favorites.
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Mar 11, 2019
Event rumored to showcase a new on-demand video streaming service.
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Mar 11, 2019
Which remote control is the best companion for your smart TV and the rest of your entertainment system.
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Mar 11, 2019
In this episode of The Full Nerd, Gordon Mah Ung, Brad Chacos, Alaina Yee, and Adam Patrick Murray talk Nvidia's new GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, even more Ryzen 3000 rumors, and what we know about USB4 so far.
With Nvidia's new GeForce GTX 1660 Ti here, the crew ponders whether it matches up to a GeForce RTX 2060 and whether it makes the Radeon RX 590 irrelevant.
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Mar 11, 2019
The mouse is a simple tool: point and click. That's it. But if you're a PC gamer, you know that pushing virtual paper around on your desktop isn't the same as fragging bots and shooting zombies. (Not even remotely.)
What's more, picking the right gaming mouse is an intensely personal decision. Every little detail—its overall shape and size, the shape and placement its buttons, its cable (or lack thereof), its weight, its materials—can change how you feel about it. More than any other peripheral, a mouse is the hardest to recommend, because there is no objectively perfect mouse. Everyone's hands are different.
That said, we can guide you on your search. Below are our recommendations for gaming mice, built on years of experience first and foremost as gamers, and second as writers here at PCWorld.
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Mar 11, 2019
It's no secret that Macs could use a few more ports, and you can say the same about many modern thin-and-light Windows laptops, too. Today, you can end the no-port nightmare thanks to an Amazon sale on Anker's USB-C hubs. Both models on offer are at their all-time low prices, and by far. Anker's 7-in-1 USB-C hub can be yours for $42, down from a list price of $70, with an extra check-the-box coupon bringing it even lower to $35. A 4-in-1 hub is just $23, down from a list price of $30, but with a coupon of its own bringing it down to $16.
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Mar 11, 2019
If your PC's feeling a little pokey then today's a great day to visit Amazon. The online retailer is selling the AMD Ryzen 5 2600X for $170. On top of that, you get a free copy of Tom Clancy's: The Division 2. That's a fantastic price for the 2600X. It retails for $250, though it usually sells for closer to $200.
The Ryzen 5 2600X rocks six CPU cores with simultaneous multi-threading to bring the total thread count to twelve, all running at a base clock of 3.6GHz and a boost clock of 4.2GHz. That's a whole lot of processing power that will work wonderfully for gaming, but remember this chip doesn't have integrated graphics, so you'll need to pair it with a graphics card. The Ryzen 5 2600x is also an absolute beast for productivity applications, including video and photo editing.
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Mar 11, 2019
The RAT is back, and no I don't mean your trash-uncle's favorite glam metal band. Two years ago venerable peripherals maker Mad Catz filed for bankruptcy and then subsequently died, taking its designs to the grave with it. But not permanently, as it turns out! Mad Catz reemerged at CES 2018, or at least there's a new company wearing the skin of the old, a la corporate Hannibal Lecter.
And in addition to reviving the brand, nu-Mad Catz has revived the well-known RAT line of mice. So what's the verdict? Is the new Mad Catz worthy of the name? We went hands-on with the resurrected RAT 8 to find out.
This review is part of our roundup of best gaming mice. Go there for details on competing products and how we tested them.
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Mar 11, 2019
Superb sound and top-notch active noise cancellation make these wireless cans hard to beat.
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Mar 11, 2019
Switching to a solid-state drive is the best upgrade you can make for your PC. These wondrous devices obliterate long boot times, speed up how fast your programs and games load, and generally makes your computer feel fast. But not all solid-state drives are created equal. The best SSDs offer solid performance at affordable prices—or, if price is no object, face-meltingly fast read and write speeds.
Many SSDs come in a 2.5-inch form factor and communicate with PCs via the same SATA ports used by traditional hard drives. But out on the bleeding-edge of NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) drives, you'll find tiny "gumstick" SSDs that fit in M.2 connections on modern motherboards, SSDs that sit on a PCIe adapter and slot into your motherboard like a graphics card or sound card, futuristic 3D Xpoint drives, and more. Picking the perfect SSD isn't as simple as it used to be.
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Mar 11, 2019
NVMe is no longer a nice-to-have storage technology. If you're shopping for a new PC, it's a feature you should actively seek out. Moreover, if your PC is of fairly recent vintage, you should upgrade to NVMe. Here's why.
What it is
NVMe is a communications standard developed specially for SSDs by a consortium of vendors including Intel, Samsung, Sandisk, Dell, and Seagate. It operates across the PCIe bus (hence the ‘Express' in the name), which allows the drives to act more like the fast memory that they are, rather than the hard disks they imitate. Bottom line: NVMe is fast. Really fast. Like never-have-to-wait-again-for-your-computer fast.
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Mar 09, 2019
This is not an official review of Yakuza 0, nor is it an official review of Yakuza Kiwami. It can't be. The former released on PC last August, making this writeup more than six months overdue—or four years, if we time it to the original PS4 release. Kiwami's PC port is only a few weeks old as I write this, but I just finished Yakuza 0 this week and have only managed to put a few hours into the follow-up.
That said, I can't believe it took me so long to give this series a shot.
Realpolitik
Okay, maybe it's not that surprising. The Yakuza series is coming up on fifteen years old now, but until last summer's Yakuza 0 port the games had been primarily released on PlayStation (and uh...Wii U, of all places). And from talking to friends who are longtime fans, the early games were rough. The core was there, the key elements that make the series so special, but it hadn't quite gelled yet. The first two games to hit PC are modern Yakuza experiences, of a sort. Yakuza 0 is a prequel made a decade after the fact, and Yakuza Kiwami is a remake of the original game in the same engine as 0.
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Mar 08, 2019
Aside from its great screen, ultra-fast processor, and awesome camera, the Samsung Galaxy S10 has one more thing going for it: the array of colors available to choose from. Available in new "prism" finishes that change color depending on the light, a flamingo pink that's too cool for school, and two luscious ceramic options, it's a shame to put the Galaxy S10 in a case.
But it's also big, slippery, and fragile, and the last thing you want is a giant crack in it. So you're going to get a cast that both protects your S10 and lets its natural color shine through. Here are our favorite clear cases for the S10 so far:
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Mar 08, 2019
All I want to do is talk about how terrible the Sonic the Hedgehog movie looks. That's it. It's scarred me, deep into my soul. It's already the Super Mario Bros film for the modern era, in my mind. And if you don't know what I'm talking about? Well, you'll see what horrors lie in wait below.
That news, plus Halo rumors return to the PC, Diablo lands on GOG.com, Creative Assembly confirms it has three unannounced games in the works, Dead or Alive 6's $93 season pass, and Devil May Cry 5's silly live action cutscenes.
This is gaming news for March 4 to 8.
Weekend farmer
First up, this weekend's freebies. Epic's game giveaway continues this week with probably the most addictive game so far: Slime Rancher. Imagine Stardew Valley or Harvest Moon, except it's in first-person and instead of growing crops you're harvesting adorable slimes. It cannibalized hours and hours of my time upon release in 2017, and now you can own it for free—provided you make an Epic Games Store account, of course.
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Mar 08, 2019
Join The Full Nerd gang as they talk about the latest PC hardware topics. In today's show we cover Brad's Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti review, the latest 3rd gen Ryzen rumors hinting at more cores, and the problems Gordon has been having with USB 4. As always we will be answering your live questions so speak up in the chat.
If YouTube is not your thing you can also watch us on Twitch, Facebook, and Twitter.
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