The ergonomics of your desk and chair greatly influence how good you feel after a long session at your PC. But you don’t have to spend a ton on an office chair or standing desk—especially not at the moment, in the lead-up to next week’s Amazon Prime Day. Popular chairs and desks are already on sale, even in advance of the big shopping event’s July 8 start date — and not just on Amazon. That includes fan favorites like Staples’ Hyken, which is back down to nearly its all-time low. Read on for all the current best deals on standing desks and office chairs, and check out our Prime Day 2025 deals hub for juicy bargains in other tech categories. Best early Prime Day 2025 deals on office chairs Staples Cartwright Task Chair, Black – $50 (58% off at Staples) Staples Hyken Mesh Task Chair, Black – $120 (60% off at Staples) Staples Dexley Mesh Task Chair, Black – $160 (50% off at Staples) Staples always gives Amazon a run for its money with sales on affordable office chairs, and three of its more popular chairs are close (if not at) all-time low prices. Reddit’s beloved Hyken model leads the pack, with its wider-frame Dexley chair also on a sizable discount. Best early Prime Day 2025 deals on standing desks Dekhaoxe 31×15 Adjustable Height Mobile Computer Desk, White – $50 (38% off) Flexispot 48×24 sit-stand desk, Black – $110 (35% off) Flexispot’s standing desks start at much lower prices than competitors, making them popular among Amazon shoppers to begin with. With additional discounts, they’re a great entry into motorized sit-stand setups. Standing desks and office chairs FAQ 1. What features should I look for in a standing desk? We like dual motor standing desks with programmable controls—they’re a little more expensive, but moving the desk up and down is smoother. Their frames usually have a better build overall, too, making for less wobble during height adjustments and while in use. Programmable controls means you can go back and forth between two or even three height positions with a single button press, which makes for much better quality of life. No need to wait and monitor the adjustment as it’s happening. (That might sound like not such a big deal, but if you do it multiple times a day over the course of the year, those seconds feel tedious. Trust me on this one.) 2. What makes for a good office chair? This question can be tricky to answer, since what’s comfortable is a little different for everyone. Generally, you want enough support for your back so it doesn’t take on a hunched position, but not so much you can’t feel relaxed while sitting. You also ideally want to keep pressure off your lower back if you’ll be sitting for long periods—office chairs usually have seats shaped for this, rather than the flatter surfaces of kitchen and casual desk chairs.  Armrests, head supports, and mesh fabric can also play a role in comfort, but you may want to try out those features on a sample chair that a friend owns or in a store to see if you need those features. The mesh is particularly good if you sweat or get warm. Wheeled models are also useful for easily moving the chair—and you can upgrade the casters, as Reddit recommends for an even smoother experience. 3. How do I know if I’m getting a good deal on standing desks or office chairs during Prime Day? The deals we select are chosen not just for the product, but because their prices are among the lowest we’ve seen, especially given the pricing history over the last year.  If you’re striking out on your own, be sure to look at reviews, as well as Amazon’s AI summaries of user reviews—avoid anything with high return rates, or a known flaw. Also look for brands with not just high user reviews, but independent reviews online. Many standing desks are just rebranded models, and so too for cheaper desk chairs. 4. Will tariffs affect office chair and standing desk prices? Should I buy now? Very possibly yes. A high portion of manufacturing happens overseas, and the U.S. government intends to resume imposing sizable taxes on imports from many countries on July 9. If that happens, costs for goods will likely rise over the second part of 2025—and because most items won’t jump in price immediately, choosing to shop sooner rather than later could be the savvier financial move. Read...

One of the easiest ways to enhance your PC experience is to get a better monitor. It doesn’t require any upgrades for your desktop or laptop, and it shines up the primary way you interact with almost everything: the visuals. Prime Day is upon us again, but even before it lands on July 8th-11th, there are early deals to be found. (Here’s how to get Amazon Prime for free so you can get in on the extravaganza.) With U.S. tariffs affecting prices, to say nothing of general consumer trends, it might not be the smorgasborde of discounts we saw in previous years. But there are still savings to be had, on OLED monitors, gaming monitors, and standard office designs — and I’ve hunted down the best monitor deals in the list below. Even though it’s Prime Day, some of the best discounts juiciest can be found elsewhere on the web, so I’ve included those in the list as well. Best early Prime Day 2025 deals on OLED monitors ASRock 27-inch 1440p 240Hz OLED gaming monitor — $479.99 ($166 off at Newegg) Alienware 27-inch 1440p 360Hz OLED gaming monitor — $619.99 ($280 off at Dell) Sony 27-inch 1440p 480Hz OLED gaming monitor — $714.99 ($385 off at Amazon) Gigabyte 34-inch 1440p 240Hz ultrawide OLED gaming monitor — $679.99 ($390 off at Newegg) Gigabyte refurbished 49-inch 1440p ultrawide OLED gaming monitor $729.99 — ($120 off at Amazon) Alienware 32-inch 4K 240Hz OLED gaming monitor — $849.99 ($350 off at Dell) OLED monitors are the cream of the crop for gamers, thanks to incredible color vibrance and contrast, even if they’re not the absolute fastest on the market right now. But if you do need ludicrous speed, Sony is offering a 27-inch, 1440p panel with 480Hz (about double the current standard at this size) for hundreds less than the alternatives. For my money, Gigabyte has the best deal at the moment…but then I’m an ultrawide fanboy. If you’re looking for an OLED upgrade at the lowest price, ASRock is leading the pack with a rare 27-inch pick under the $500 mark. There will probably be a few more offerings like that on Prime Day, but I’d bet you won’t find a name brand for much lower. Best early Prime Day 2025 deals on gaming monitors KTC 24-inch 1080p 165Hz gaming monitor — $93.99 ($46 off at Newegg) ASRock 27-inch 1080p 240Hz gaming monitor — $104.77 ($85 off at Newegg) Alienware 34-inch ultrawide 1440p 180Hz gaming monitor — $329 ($70 off at Dell) Gigabyte 28-inch IPS 4K 144Hz gaming monitor — $399.99 ($200 off at Newegg) Samsung 32-inch 3K 240Hz gaming monitor — $499.99 ($700 off at BuyDig, use coupon code YFF23) For more affordable options for gamers, ASRock once again delivers with a 27-inch, 1080p display at just a hair over a hundred bucks. But I’d say that Gigabyte is giving the best bang for your buck with its 28-inch 4K option. Not only is it using an IPS panel for greater color accuracy, it’s packing a USB-C port for flexible video. It’s a great, affordable centerpiece to a setup that works for both, well, work and gaming. Pre-Prime Day 2025 deals on office monitors Acer 27-inch 1080p IPS 120Hz monitor — $109.99 ($40 off at Best Buy) Asus 24-inch 1080p IPS monitor — $119.00 (regular price at Amazon) Dell 27-inch 1440p IPS monitor — $179.99 ($40 off at Dell) Samsung 34-inch 1440p ultrawide monitor — $219.99 ($110 off at Amazon) MNN 15-inch portable USB-C monitor — $59.97 ($30 off at Amazon) I can personally recomend Dell’s 27-inch, 1440p IPS monitors, because I’ve been using them for years on either side of my ultrawide center display. It’s a perfect way to expand your desk space, but unless you need some gaming-grade speed, it works great as a primary display too. For laptop users, there’s no easier way to expand your mobile capabilities than with a USB monitor (especially since they now include power and video). And there are a bunch of affordable options now, too. FAQ 1. What size of monitor should I buy? Monitor size depends on personal preference and location.  A 24-inch monitor is fine for a desk that is around 24 inches deep, or less. Its small size will still be sufficient because the monitor is closer to you. Most people, however, will want to go with a 27-inch monitor. The added size will make the monitor easy to see. This also opens up a wider range of 4K monitor options, as 4K is very rare on a 24-inch monitor. Larger monitors, such as a 32-inch widescreen or 34-inch ultrawide, are great for deep desks and people who want an immersive experience. Monitors this large can serve as a TV replacement in a small room.  Displays of even larger size, such as 42-inch or 48-inch HDTVs, are best for home theater setups or an unusually large office. You’ll want to sit four to six feet away from a display of this size. 2. What display input is best? (HDMI vs. DisplayPort vs. USB-C) USB-C is the best display input for most people. It works by bundling DisplayPort into USB-C, so offers all the same features as DisplayPort. Yet it retains the features of USB-C including optional support for Power Delivery to charge external devices. This is why we recommend a USB-C monitor for most people. DisplayPort is generally second-best. It supports higher resolutions and refresh rates than HDMI. This input is particularly common on desktop computers.  HDMI comes in third due to lower resolution and refresh rate support. This is improved by HDMI 2.1, but this feature remains hard to find and often adds to a monitor’s price. All three of the options above handle 1080p at 60Hz, which is the most common resolution and refresh rate available today. It’s also important to buy a monitor that has an input compatible with your PC. 3. Are all monitors compatible with Windows and MacOS? Modern monitors are compatible with all recent versions of Windows and MacOS. They’re plug-and-play, which means the monitor should display an image without the need to install driver software or mess with Windows or MacOS settings. 4. Are tariffs affecting monitor prices? Yes. Deals for monitors around this sale aren’t as good as they were during Amazon’s last big sale in October, particularly for the largest, most expensive models. That said, we have managed to avoid the complete shutdown of imported stock that seemed likely during the most tumultuous back-and-forth tariff negotiations…so that’s something. Prices are unlikely to improve later in the year, so if you find a delectable deal on a monitor you’re interested in, Prime Day may be one of your best bets of the year. Especially if you buy on day one of the event — President Trump says additional reciprocal tariffs will return on July 9, the second day of Prime Week, and could plunge prices into chaos. Read...

Nearly eight months after Amazon announced it was phasing out its ad-supported Freevee streaming service, the standalone Freevee app is still widely available. Now it appears the app’s days are numbered.  On the July 1 update for the Apple App Store version of the Freevee app, a new note reads: “The Freevee app will be available until August 2025. Continue watching your favorite Freevee Originals and our library of hit movies, shows, and live TV on Prime Video for free, no subscription needed. Download Prime Video to get started and sign-in with your Amazon account.”  It’s not clear if the same deadline applies to the Freevee app for other platforms. For example, a similar message without the August 2025 deadline appears on the Fire TV version of the Freevee app.  We’ve reached out to Amazon for more details.  Word that the standalone Freevee app will only be available until next month—for Apple users, at least—doesn’t come as a big shock.  Amazon announced back in November 2024 that it would sunset the Freevee brand and fold all its ad-supported streaming shows and movies into Prime Video, a move intended to “deliver a simpler viewing experience for customers.”  At the time, Amazon said the phase-out of the Freevee brand would occur within a matter of weeks, but it didn’t give a firm date for yanking the standalone Freevee app, which has remained widely available.  First launched as IMDb Freedrive in 2019 before being rebranded as IMDb TV six months later, Freevee offered a mix of on-demand and ad-supported TV shows and movies as well as a wide range of FAST (short for “free ad-supported streaming TV”) channels.    In April 2022, Amazon rebranded the service yet again as Freevee and gave it a splashy re-rollout, complete with buzzy new shows such as Bosch: Legacy.  Freevee scored at least one genuine hit with Jury Duty, a reality show in which an unsuspecting juror served in a fake trial populated by actors, including James Marsden.  But having Freevee side-by-side with Prime Video soon became confusing for viewers and advertisers alike. Paying Prime Video subscribers were often surprised to find Freevee’s ad-supported content mixed in with Prime Video’s ad-free offerings, while the arrival of Prime Video’s ad-supported tier meant Amazon had two “with ads” streaming services but with different branding. Read...

After a period of beta testing, version 120 of the Opera browser is now being rolled out to the public. The biggest piece of news in this particular update is a new built-in translation feature with support for over 40 languages, and the browser is now based on Chromium 135. To protect privacy, the new Translator feature doesn’t pass any information on to third parties, and the translation itself is processed using AI (in partnership with Lingvanex) on Opera’s European-based servers. Other improvements in Opera 120 include improved password management, enhancements to Split Screen mode, refinements to Tab Islands, a new Miniplayer for videos, and VPN Pro. Lastly, Opera 120 includes a fix for a serious zero-day vulnerability (labeled CVE-2025-6554) in the V8 JavaScript engine. For more details, check out the full changelog for Opera version 120. Read...

If you’ve ever tried to buy a used car in America, you know about Carfax. It’s a service that gives you a breakdown of a specific vehicle’s history, including important stuff like confirmed mileage, services, and any accidents. HP wants to make something similar for used computers. It’s calling it PCFax. No points for originality. In a report from the IEEE (via Tom’s Hardware), HP lays out a plan for a system that can analyze a used computer’s hardware and spit out a history and health report based on telemetry collected by the firmware. The necessary data is saved on the SSD and unable to be altered by the user (at least in theory). The report includes crucial data like the computer’s model, hardware stats, manufacturing date, warranty info, a history of both software and hardware service, and ownership history. Of course, a lot of that info relies on human input and documentation—which is where the other shoe in this story drops. PCFax is a proprietary system relying on HP hardware and software, and at least at the moment it’s only being made available to HP’s enterprise and industrial clients. So, unlike the Carfax system that HP invoked in its description, it’s not exactly universal information. You can’t just say “show me the PCFax” if you’re buying a laptop on eBay or Facebook Marketplace. HP Still, there’s indication that HP is planning to bring this system to more than just the button-down brigade after it launches in 2026. “For enterprises and consumers purchasing second-life PCs, it provides detailed visibility into the complete service and support history of each system, including any repairs, upgrades, or performance issues encountered during its initial deployment.” It would be nice if HP opened up this system to other manufacturers with a more standardized approach. Ifs and buts, candy and nuts, etc. But cynicism aside, it’s nice to see a corporation committed to squeezing some more life out of its hardware and opening up more economical options to reduce e-waste. Read...

About a week ago, I decided I would never buy another Ethernet cable, ever. If you’re like me, you have a box or drawer with dozens of cables. And while some cables have specific connections, like USB-C, my wired network (such as it is) is just a random collection of colored Ethernet cables with tiny little markings telling me what they can or can’t do. How much data can that cable transfer? I had no idea. And that’s bad. I had never really thought about which Ethernet cables were being run between my cable modem, router, Xbox, and desktop PC. But I had performed speed tests more than once, and worried that my network was running slower than usual. And I also knew the problem: my network would run only as fast as its slowest segment. If my Ethernet cables were transferring less data than my router or gateway, I was potentially wasting money. I didn’t need to spend time researching the fastest mesh router or the best Internet gateway. If my cables were ancient, my entire network would be bogged down by my slowest cable. If my ISP quietly increased the speed of my broadband connection, I might not see any benefit. And I had already found an old Cat5 cable hooked up to my Xbox, a standard which had been basically extinct for about two decades. Ew! A Cat5 cable may be good enough for your current router, but it might not be for long.Mark Hachman / Foundry About a week before my colleague Dominic Bayley published a helpful explainer on the differences between Ethernet cables, I researched the problem myself. Ethernet comes in different categories, all the way from the ancient Category 3 to the latest Category 8. So Category 8 is the latest and greatest? OK, fine. How much does a Category 8 cable cost? Basically nothing, as it turns out. I discovered I could buy a five-pack of color-coded, nylon-braided Category 8 Ethernet cables for $35.99 on Amazon. Broadband services are always getting faster. Cable modems are, too. But even the fastest cable modems and broadband plans offer just a few gigabits per second, while this Cat8 cable offers a whopping 40Gbits/s of speed. Owning color-coded, braided Ethernet cables for about the price of a nice lunch made me happy.Mark Hachman / Foundry For me, it was a no-brainer. I bought the cables from Amazon, quickly swapped out my existing cables for the new color-coded options, and resolved never to think about what Ethernet cable I owned ever again. Get a five-pack of color-coded, nylon-braided Cat8 Ethernet cables for $35.99Buy Now at Amazon Read...

I’ve been enamored with the Asus Zenbook A14 laptop since I saw it at a presentation event earlier this year. Unfortunately, its featherlight build and incredible battery life didn’t quite justify its price of over $1,000. But Best Buy is addressing that imbalance today with a sale on the base model, bringing it down to just $649.99—the cheapest it’s ever been. The Zenbook A14 is basically Asus’ answer to the MacBook Air, with Asus representatives even telling me that the “A” very unofficially stands for Air. It’s a 14-inch model with an incredibly light weight of just 2.16 pounds (or 0.98 kilograms if you live in a civilized country). This base model is running on a Snapdragon X chip with 16GB of RAM, and though the 1200p display is a gorgeous OLED panel, it doesn’t have a touchscreen. It’s packing 512GB of storage. You can read all about this laptop in Chris Hoffman’s review of it for PCWorld. In short, it’s tiny, it’s featherlight, it has a unique “ceraluminum” finish that makes it stand out, and the battery life is absolutely astonishing—70 watt-hours in a laptop this small gives it a full 24 hours in a standardized battery test. For downsides, that 8-core Snapdragon X chip (the slowest of these Arm-based options) won’t blow anyone away, and it might just refuse to play some 3D-based games. (Note that this model sold by Best Buy isn’t the same one in the review. It’s a lighter sand color and has half the RAM and storage, 16GB/512GB, respectively.) I’ve been keeping an eye on this one, and this is $100 less than the best sale I’ve seen yet for the 16GB version of the Zenbook A14. I’d be very surprised if you find a better price for a new version of this laptop any time this summer, even with Prime Day approaching. But if you need something with more power or more ports, be sure to check out PCWorld’s picks for the best laptops. Get this super-light, long-lasting Zenbook A14 laptop for $650Buy now from Best Buy Read...

Stop the presses! Samsung’s T9 portable SSD just dropped to the best price we’ve seen in 18 months. You can now get the 2TB model for $170, which is a huge cut down from its $300 MSRP. You’ll need Prime to score this price, but that’s not a big deal when you can start a free 30-day Prime trial. (Afterwards, you can use the Prime trial to save even more on deals when Prime Day starts next week.) When we reviewed the Samsung T9, we gave it 4.5 stars and our Editors’ Choice award, appreciating its overall fast performance, its grippy textured surface, and its reassuring five-year warranty. At this price, the T9 is a fantastic deal. You’re getting a super-sleek and super-fast portable SSD that hits data speeds up to 2,000 MB/s, plus protection against accidents like bumps and drops. You’ll be able to use the Samsung T9 with just about any device you have at home, be it your laptop, smartphone, gaming console, or camera. And don’t worry about carrying this one with you anywhere you go because it’s compact, slim, and lightweight. It’s barely larger than your credit card, measuring 0.55 inches thick and weighing just 0.27 pounds. So, what are you waiting for? Snag the 2TB Samsung T9 for $170 before this deal vanishes into thin air. And remember, it’s a Prime deal, so start a 30-day free trial if you aren’t a Prime member yet. Not the right SSD for you? Check out our other best portable SSD picks. Save 43% on Samsung`s super-fast T9 portable SSDBuy now at Amazon Read...

The mouse is configured by default in Windows for use by right-handed users. This primarily means that the left button is the default “click” button. But it’s possible to change the mouse for left-handed use in two ways: The first way is via the Windows “Settings.” Open “Settings” via the Start menu and go to “Bluetooth & devices.” Select the “Mouse” option. Next to the “Primary mouse button” option, select “right” if you’re left-handed. You can also make the change via the Control Panel. To do so, click on the “View by” option near the upper-right corner and select “small icons.” You’ll see a “Mouse” option appear; click on it. In the window that opens, select the “Buttons” tab. Tick the “Switch primary and secondary buttons” box and close the window with “OK.” Read...

GPUs are getting insanely expensive. With the latest increases in prices and gaming demand, some gamers were already scoffing at 8GB of VRAM on allegedly mid-range cards. But if sales data is any indication, there’s a shocking lack of interest in that part of the market, with a 16GB card outselling the 8GB variant by more than 10-to-1. The RTX 5060 Ti is the subject of this particular chunk of data. When it launched in April, Nvidia offered it at two different memory capacities: 8GB for $379 and 16GB for $429. (Those are the base retail prices. Real prices are significantly higher for most models.) Nvidia declined to offer advance reviews for the 8GB model, and based on sales data, it looks like gamers themselves are similarly disinterested. According to TechPowerUp, German retailer Mindfactory.de has sold 16 times as many RTX 5060 Ti 16GB versions as 8GB versions. In the small slice of available data, 16GB cards from various OEM partners sold 1,675 units while 8GB versions moved only 105. TechPowerUp indicates that this isn’t a supply issue. It’s no surprise that the more powerful version of the card is more popular, given that it’s a relatively small price increase for a pretty huge bump in VRAM. But the sheer scale of the demand for one card over the other seems very telling. I should highlight that even tech media rarely gets this kind of glance behind the retail curtain, usually having to rely on much broader market reports to try and get a finger on the pulse of industry trends. And this is, indeed, just one retailer in one country with a relatively narrow view of the market. Obviously, you can’t apply the same thinking for a $400+ graphics card to a “budget” one… though I’ll point out that the $220 Intel Arc B570 uses 10GB of somewhat-dated GDDR6 memory, still more than Nvidia’s $250 RTX 5050. Drop the price down into that $200 range and 8GB is probably a lot more acceptable to buyers. A single model of a graphics card being a sales dud wouldn’t exactly be unprecedented, even for the near-monopoly giant that is Nvidia. Just last generation, the company canceled a 12GB variant of the RTX 4080 after getting negative feedback on its pricing, and even then the 16GB version of the card has sold far less than the RTX 4070 and 4090. We’ll have to wait for a more complete look at how the RTX 5060 Ti breaks down when it comes to actual gamers. It’s possible that sales of the 8GB model are far greater for system integrators, and it’ll be crucial to see how things stack up versus AMD’s competition. The Radeon RX 9060 XT is also offered in both 8GB and 16GB variants, though it’s considerably less expensive at $300 and $350, respectively, competing more directly with the $300 8GB RTX 5060 (non-Ti). Again, those are MSRP numbers—actual prices may be considerably higher. Read...