It’s easy to spend a lot of money on a laptop, but you don’t have to. In fact, most people don’t need to spend much at all. Whether you’re on a budget or you’re buying for a student or child, sometimes the best laptop is the one that’s most affordable. But just because you’re spending less doesn’t mean you should settle for less. To make sure your laptop won’t leave you frustrated and pulling your hair out, there are a few key specs that you shouldn’t compromise on—or else you’ll probably regret your purchase. What counts as a budget laptop? In this case, we’re aiming for a price around $500 and we’re using PCWorld’s best budget laptop picks to get a sense of what’s possible, what’s reasonable, and what’s non-negotiable. Just be aware that you’ll give up some luxuries (like a dedicated graphics card) at this price point, but you’ll end up with a great daily driver laptop for work, school, and everyday activities. That said, let’s dive into the most important specs for a budget laptop and the absolute minimum acceptable for each one. Operating system Asus, Samsung, Lenovo Asus, Samsung, Lenovo Asus, Samsung, Lenovo The very first choice you must make is the operating system. And if you’re on a budget, you really only have two options: Windows or ChromeOS. (You could also run Linux if you’re tech-savvy enough, but if you know enough to run Linux, you likely don’t need this article.) Windows is the de facto choice because it’s used everywhere, everyone is familiar with it, and most apps “just work” on Windows computers. But it has a lot of system overhead so it doesn’t run as well on low-end hardware and you might experience subpar performance. ChromeOS, which is the operating system for Chromebooks, is far more restricted in what apps it can run. If it isn’t available in the Chrome Web Store, you’re pretty much out of luck. (Sure, you can use workarounds like remote desktop-ing into a separate Windows machine, but that kind of defeats the point of buying a budget laptop!) That said, there are plenty of good reasons to buy a Chromebook over a laptop, like the bang-for-your-buck on performance and price, so don’t be turned off. Chromebooks are quite good these days. Note: If you’re buying a laptop for a student, you should definitely check with their school first because some schools have mandatory OS requirements. Even if they don’t, they might have specific software needs—and if that software isn’t available on ChromeOS, you’ll have to go with Windows. What about MacBooks? While it’s possible to buy a MacBook on a budget, you’ll have to give up a lot in the process—or stretch your definition of “budget.” Even the cheapest MacBooks far exceed $500, and they tend to be older discounted models. Generally speaking, Macs aren’t great for getting the best specs for your money. RAM Framework Framework Framework You can think of RAM like the amount of workspace you have on your desk: more RAM means more space to concurrently run apps and keep numerous files open, allowing you to jump between and multitask without having to close and re-open stuff all the time. That’s why RAM is key to laptop performance, and it’s important to get a laptop that has enough RAM to run smoothly. I recommend a minimum 8GB of RAM, but bump it up to 16GB if you want to “future proof” against growing needs in the future. The good news is, finding solid laptops with at least 8GB of RAM isn’t difficult—but if your budget is limited to around $300, you’re likely to be stuck with 4GB options at best. If you can afford it, it’s definitely worth the extra cash to hit 8GB, even on Chromebooks. Otherwise, you’ll find that your laptop’s sluggishness will affect your enjoyment of it. CPU BLKstudio / Shutterstock.com BLKstudio / Shutterstock.com BLKstudio / Shutterstock.com When it comes to CPUs on budget laptops, you have to temper your expectations. You won’t be able to get anything truly powerful, but you will be able to find something that suits your needs and gets you through non-intensive tasks like office work, studying, and watching videos. Among the more affordable Windows laptops, Intel i3 and i5 processors are the most common options. Ideally you should opt for the i5, but you can settle for an i3 if you’re on a tight budget; it should keep up with regular tasks as long as you pair it with at least 8GB of RAM. AMD Ryzen 3 and Ryzen 5 processors are also frequently seen in budget-tier laptops, and they can save you a little more money than their Intel alternatives. In Chromebooks, you’ll mostly find Intel i3 and i5 processors along with MediaTek options. MediaTek processors are typically found in budget phones because they have better battery life, but they have the disadvantage of being less powerful. Either way, opt for Intel or AMD if you care about performance. Just don’t expect any high-end gaming! You’d need a dedicated GPU for that, and that’s not happening in a budget laptop. Battery life Panos Sakalakis / Unsplash Panos Sakalakis / Unsplash Panos Sakalakis / Unsplash You have lots of options when it comes to battery life, even in the affordable laptop territory. Not only do weaker processors give you longer staying power, but larger batteries can help too—if you’re willing to sacrifice weight and portability. And here, too, is an area where your choice of OS matters. Generally speaking, Chromebooks usually last longer on a single charge than an equivalent Windows laptop. If you travel frequently or simply prefer to use your laptop unplugged, then aim for one that promises 10 to 12 hours of battery life. Most manufacturers overpromise and under deliver, so it’s quite possible you’ll only get around 8 hours despite their claims. Still, 8 hours of battery life on a laptop should be enough to last a workday or a school day, all while letting you live comfortably untethered. If in doubt about a particular laptop, check if PCWorld has reviewed it—we run battery tests to confirm if laptops live up to their promises. Storage capacity Jon L. Jacobi Jon L. Jacobi Jon L. Jacobi Sticking to a budget means cutting some corners, and storage space is usually among the first areas hit by compromise. That can be a problem if you aren’t careful, though. For the best laptop experience, you’ll want ample storage and you’ll want it to be fast. A slow hard drive with inadequate capacity will leave you micromanaging your files and apps as well as waiting inordinately long for files and apps to load. Among good budget options, you’ll find storage options ranging from 64GB to 256GB. Obviously, more is better, but if you’re on Windows, you shouldn’t dip below 128GB at the very least. (The operating system alone will take up around 30GB, and modern apps are space hogs on top.) Anything less than 128GB and you’ll find yourself running out of space so often that you’ll be tearing out your hair. Chromebooks, on the other hand, can survive pretty well on 64GB of storage for several reasons: the OS doesn’t take up as much space, Chromebook apps are typically smaller, and ChromeOS relies more on cloud storage than local storage. The downside is that you basically need 24/7 internet access for day-to-day use. Note: If you have to settle for a laptop with inadequate storage space, you can always add an external drive to expand capacity. Just make sure the laptop you get has enough ports for it (addressed later in this article), and stick to our picks for best external drives. Storage types Maxx-Studio / Shutterstock.com Maxx-Studio / Shutterstock.com Maxx-Studio / Shutterstock.com Modern Windows laptops come with two primary options: SSD or eMMC. Don’t settle for anything less than an SSD. Some cheaper laptops may offer eMMC drives, but eMMC drives run very slow and fill up faster due to their smaller capacities. You’ll be frustrated, trust me. Chromebooks, however, tend to come with three options: SSD, eMMC, and UFS. Again, I don’t recommend eMMC drives for the same reasons, but UFS is worth considering. Universal Flash Storage is “newer” and more typically found on mobile devices, but since ChromeOS is a mobile-like operating system, it’s well-suited to run on UFS. In general, UFS is faster than eMMC but slower than an SSD. If you want the best speeds, an SSD is still the best (but most expensive) option. If your goal is to save money, you’ll do fine with a UFS drive. Display resolution guteksk7 / Shutterstock.com guteksk7 / Shutterstock.com guteksk7 / Shutterstock.com At cheaper tiers, laptops mainly come with 720p or 1080p resolutions. I only saw one laptop featuring a higher resolution, but that came at the expense of cutting other corners. So, when buying a budget laptop, you’ll want to stick to 1080p unless you’re particularly strapped for cash. Going with 720p can save money, but the experience is subpar: text is harder to read, video content suffers, and you have less screen real estate for apps and files. Stepping up to 1080p solves all of that, and you’ll appreciate the improved resolution if you end up using your laptop to watch Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, etc. Laptop size Thiago Trevisan / IDG Thiago Trevisan / IDG Thiago Trevisan / IDG The ideal laptop size really depends on your needs. On the larger end, you have 15-inch and 17-inch laptops that provide bigger screens and wider keyboards, but laptops at this size tend to be heavy and detract from portability. And be aware that larger laptop screens may sometimes have lower resolutions, which can affect crispness of image and the actual amount of usable screen real estate. On the flip side, you have smaller 13-inch laptops that are lighter and more portable but generally more cramped with tighter keyboards. I find that the sweet spot for portable productivity is with a 13-inch laptop that has a 1080p resolution. You get ample screen real estate and crisp images, a lightweight body that doesn’t take up much space in a bag, and the price is usually quite affordable. Ports and connectivity Immo Wegmann / Unsplash Immo Wegmann / Unsplash Immo Wegmann / Unsplash Ports are important on budget laptops, especially if you’re sacrificing storage space and screen size. With the right ports, you have the flexibility to connect external drives and external monitors. Thankfully, unless you go very low on price, you have good options. If possible, aim for at least one USB-C port and one USB-A port. USB-C has taken over as the dominant connector, but plenty of storage devices and other accessories still rely on USB-A. If you can find a budget laptop with an HDMI port as well, you should consider it because it’ll make it easy to connect an external monitor. USB-C can theoretically handle monitors as well, but not every USB-C port is built the same and capable of supporting the same devices. Note: If you have to settle for a laptop with inadequate ports, you can always add extra ports separately with a USB-C hub or docking station. See our picks for best USB-C hubs and best Thunderbolt docks. Min specs for budget laptops in a nutshell Phew, that’s a lot to digest, so here’s a quick summary of my recommended minimum specs for budget laptops without all the contextual explanations and rationale: RAM: 8GB minimum, 16GB if you can afford it. CPU: Intel i3 or AMD Ryzen 3 minimum, Intel i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 if you can afford it. Battery life: At least 10 to 12 hours of claimed battery life (which is likely closer to 8 hours in real-world usage). Storage capacity: 128GB minimum for Windows, 64GB minimum for Chromebooks. If you need more space, you can always expand with an external storage drive. Storage types: SSD is what you want. For Chromebooks, you can get away with UFS. Avoid eMMC at all cost. Display resolution: 1080p minimum. Laptop size: 13-inch for portability, 15-inch for screen space (as long as you don’t sacrifice resolution to get there). Ports: At least one USB-C and one USB-A port, plus an HDMI port if you plan to use an external monitor. Alternatively, buy a separate USB-C hub or docking station to expand connectivity. All of this can be had for under $500 if you shop around, especially if you can be patient and wait for deals. I’ve seen laptops—both conventional and 2-in-1 laptops—that meet all these minimum specs, so you definitely don’t have to spend a lot for a decent laptop. As long as you aren’t expecting a powerhouse gaming machine that can rip videos in no time flat, you’ll be fine. For more tips, check out our guide to buying a budget laptop without getting screwed. Read...

Hardly a week goes by without a company, an organization, or a hospital falling victim to a ransomware attack. Their computer systems have been attacked by an extortion virus that encrypts all files and only releases them again upon payment of a high ransom. Yet the computers of almost all victims are protected by an antivirus program. How can this be? Further reading: Best antivirus software 2024: Keep your PC safe from malware, spyware, and more 1. Extremely number of attacks with very many viruses Back in 2023, we asked anti-virus expert Andreas Marx of AV-Test how so many infections escape antivirus software, even though it actually protects well. His answer: “Many programs successfully fend off around 99.9 percent of attacks, but that also means that one in 1,000 attacks is successful. And with over 100 million new malware programs a year and several billion Windows PCs, there is thus always a residual risk.” In other words, the masses do it. Criminals spread viruses by the millions, so in the end there are still many who can slip through the security gaps of a computer system. Peter Stelzhammer, security specialist and co-founder of AV-Comparatives, also sees the mass of distributed viruses as a reason for the success of malware. But he also mentions other reasons and gives tips for good protection. You can find the interview with Peter Stelzhammer at the end of the article. The detection rate of PC malware by antivirus programs in the AV-Comparatives test is between 98.9 and 100 percent. These are very good values. But they also mean that some pests are still overlooked. The detection rate of PC malware by antivirus programs in the AV-Comparatives test is between 98.9 and 100 percent. These are very good values. But they also mean that some pests are still overlooked. IDG The detection rate of PC malware by antivirus programs in the AV-Comparatives test is between 98.9 and 100 percent. These are very good values. But they also mean that some pests are still overlooked. IDG IDG Most malware is spread by e-mail. Either the malicious code comes directly as an attachment or a link in the e-mail leads to a virus. To a much lesser extent, malicious code also comes via messenger or SMS. In these cases, a link is almost always sent that refers to the malicious code or an infected website. Basic protection is provided by an installed antivirus program. Your PC also must not have any security vulnerabilities open. You can ensure this by always installing all program and Windows updates. These patches close newly discovered gaps in the system. In addition to these technical requirements, you must become a security guard yourself. Always be extremely suspicious of e-mail attachments and links you don’t recognize. If in doubt, refrain from opening the attachment. If this isn’t an option, open the attachment only in a secure environment, e.g. in a sandbox under Any.run. 2. Targeted attacks on security flaws Security researchers repeatedly find security flaws in the standard configuration of programs. Not often, but often enough, these are also vulnerabilities that can initially be exploited without typical PC viruses. This is the case, for example, when remote access to a company’s PCs is only protected with a standard password or simple passwords. This is virtually an invitation for hackers to take possession of these systems. Once they are logged onto a system, they can cause further damage by, for example, disabling the installed antivirus program and sneaking their malicious code into the system. Detecting vulnerable systems is easier than one might think. After all, scanners can be used to search large parts of the internet for vulnerable systems. In the simplest case, the attackers use search engines for security vulnerabilities such as Shodan. Use very complex and unique passwords for all services where someone can log on to your computer. It’s best to activate two-factor authentication. Typical home networks are affected in two places here. The first place is the router (if remote access is enabled for it) and the second is the computer itself (if a remote desktop service like Windows’ is used there). Here, Microsoft Defender has blocked a rather harmless file and placed it in quarantine. On a private PC, this software should provide sufficient protection. For companies there are other programs. Here, Microsoft Defender has blocked a rather harmless file and placed it in quarantine. On a private PC, this software should provide sufficient protection. For companies there are other programs. IDG Here, Microsoft Defender has blocked a rather harmless file and placed it in quarantine. On a private PC, this software should provide sufficient protection. For companies there are other programs. IDG IDG 3. Credential Stuffing: Stolen log-in data With this method, the attackers do not have to wait for someone to find a security hole in a software or standard configuration (see above). Instead, the attackers obtain the credentials of hundreds of thousands or millions of users from underground forums and attempt to log in with those credentials. These attacks are called credential stuffing and primarily target online services such as the mailbox or a shopping website, but can also be applied to remote desktops. With tools like Sentry MBA, credential stuffing works automatically. They test username and password combinations on a variety of websites simultaneously. For some online shops, a large part of the login traffic already comes from such tools. All users who use the same password for several accounts are at risk. On the other hand, those who create a separate password for each service have little to fear. 4. Targeted attacks via social engineering These attacks mainly affect employees of companies, but also at home on a private PC. This is shown by the attack on the private laptop of a LastPass developer. After hackers gained access to this laptop, they were able to penetrate the LastPass company network and steal a considerable amount of customer data. One possible form of attack is spear phishing. In this hacking method, the attackers find out very detailed information about the victim before the attack. For example, the hackers find out which employees are responsible for accounting or work in the human resources department. These people then receive an e-mail with an invoice or an application attached. Of course, the employee will open the attachment because the e-mail is addressed to them personally, speaks directly to them, and thematically falls one hundred percent within their area of work. The attachment usually contains a PDF file with malicious code that exploits a new vulnerability in the company’s PDF viewer. Good protection against spear phishing is particularly difficult because the attack is tailored to the victim. Good technical measures, such as only allowing e-mail attachments to be opened in a protected environment (sandbox, virtual PC), will likely help. 5. Attacks with new tricks like SMS and video A virus can usually bypass an antivirus program when it is still very new. The protection program does not yet recognize the virus. The attacker can make sure that the virus is new because new viruses can be bought in underground forums. However, the attacker must then get their new product onto as many PCs as possible as quickly as possible. This can be done via mass e-mails (see point one) or via new tricks. These include, for example, messages sent by SMS containing a link to the new malware. The State Criminal Police Office of Lower Saxony, for example, warns against such phishing SMS messages. The criminals often pretend to be DHL support. With fake parcel SMS messages, they try to get their victims to divulge private data. These are later used by the fraudsters for identity theft. But, of course, this scam can also be used to spread malicious code. The very latest is the use of videos created with the help of artificial intelligence. The videos show how expensive software like Adobe for example can be used for free with a crack. This link, which leads to the crack, contains malware. Alleged cracks for expensive software have been used for decades to infect other people’s PCs. What’s new is the elaborate packaging in the form of an explanatory video. What protects against spam by SMS also helps against spam by e-mail. Be very suspicious of links in a message. This mistrust should also be extended to other approaches such as elaborately made videos or extensive messages. Interview with a security expert We talked about this topic with Peter Stelzhammer, security specialist and co-founder of AV-Comparatives (www.av-comparatives.org). Check out our interview below. PCWorld: How can it be that antivirus programs detect 99 to 100 percent of all PC malware and yet so many computers are infected? Stelzhammer: The problem is that antivirus programs are still partly reactive. The cyber criminals, on the other hand, usually take a proactive approach. This means that the criminals look for and find gaps in the antivirus programs and exploit them. The manufacturers of the antivirus tools can only react afterwards, i.e. be reactive and close the gaps within hours or days. This can also be seen in our tests of antivirus software. Many tools protect a good 99 percent against all current viruses. So, a few viruses still get through. And with the mass of viruses, that explains some of the infected systems. By the way, the programs with one hundred percent detection in our test do not manage this in every test either. PCWorld: So is virus protection pointless? Stelzhammer: No. It’s already the case that I’m well protected against pests with a computer with a good anti-virus program and all updates. Especially as a private person. But it is important that the antivirus program and all other installed programs and, of course, Windows are up to date. And to be well protected in case of an infection, you also need a backup. This should not remain connected to the PC. Because then it could also be encrypted by ransomware. PCWorld: Do attacks focus more on companies or private PCs? Stelzhammer: Companies. That is more lucrative. Infected private PCs are collateral damage. PCWorld: What’s the most frequent type of attack? Stelzhammer: Phishing by e-mail or other messages and fake websites are the biggest entry vector. The criminals use sophisticated tricks. One example is the domain www.poIizei.com. The letter L in the address is actually a capital I. In this way, criminals can forge almost all web addresses in which the letter L appears. AI tools are designed not to produce harmful content. This hacker forum shows how the AI Chat-GPT can nevertheless be misused for criminal purposes. AI tools are designed not to produce harmful content. This hacker forum shows how the AI Chat-GPT can nevertheless be misused for criminal purposes. IDG AI tools are designed not to produce harmful content. This hacker forum shows how the AI Chat-GPT can nevertheless be misused for criminal purposes. IDG IDG PCWorld: Aren’t phishing attacks easy to recognize with a little practice? Stelzhammer: If you know your way around, you don’t have to fall for phishing. But there are many well-made forgeries today for e-mail and websites. The quality of the fakes will increase with new AI tools because with Chat-GPT and other programs, criminals will be able to generate large amounts of individual phishing e-mails. When a victim replies to it, the AI will send a plausible answer. This makes it even easier to foist a PC malware on victims or to elicit data from them. PCWorld: How do criminals smuggle so many extortion viruses into companies? Stelzhammer: There are two ways. One is mass attacks in which ransomware is sent to millions of e-mail addresses. Some careless employee will click on the link to the ransomware in the e-mail. And if the ransomware belongs to the one percent of malware that virus protection misses, the PC is infected. On the other hand, there are also targeted social engineering attacks against a company with well-forged e-mails. Mostly, these are e-mails to the personnel department with a PDF attachment. The employees expect e-mails with PDF attachments and will click on the attachment. PCWorld: Protection software usually comes in three equipment classes: Antivirus, Internet Security, and Total Security. Which variant do you recommend? Stelzhammer: You should choose the version that contains all important protection mechanisms. Today there are good antivirus products that not only protect against harmful files, but also offer good behavior-based detection and have a built-in web filter against phishing sites. If a product has these features, it is sufficient. Better equipped products offer more comfort, but not necessarily more protection. You pay for the comfort. PCWorld: Microsoft Defender usually scores worse in your comparison tests. Can you recommend the free on-board product? Stelzhammer: Defender is sufficient for private use. But there are other free antivirus programs that offer more. I recommend taking a look at our comparison tests, which we provide on our website (www.av-comparatives.org). Read...

Nvidia has confirmed that new graphics card drivers will cause blue screen crash loops on Windows 10 PCs that can’t execute a certain CPU instruction called POPCNT (Population Count). Specifically, older Windows 10 computers with CPUs that can’t handle the POPCNT instruction will crash during Windows bootup if installed with Nvidia’s graphics drivers from Release 555 (June 2024) or later. Starting with Release 555, Nvidia’s drivers no longer support older CPUs without the POPCNT instruction, causing Windows 10 to blue screen upon restarting after driver installation. If you have a supported Nvidia GPU but an unsupported CPU, do not install the latest Nvidia drivers from Release 555 or onwards. You’ll want to stick with older versions, such as Release 550. How to check if you’re affected On this support page, Nvidia announced the end of support for CPUs without POPCNT (which are technically already unsupported on Windows 10 and Windows 11) beginning with Release 555. Nvidia also provides instructions on using Microsoft’s free Coreinfo tool to check whether your computer’s CPU supports POPCNT. Here are the steps for your convenience: Download Coreinfo from this page. Extract the ZIP file, which should result in a folder titled Coreinfo. Right-click on the Coreinfo folder and select Open in Terminal. This will open PowerShell with the Coreinfo folder as current directory. Type .\coreinfo64 -f (including the starting period) and press Enter to launch the Coreinfo tool. After confirming the license rights, the Coreinfo tool will list out all the details and supported instructions of your CPU. This list should include POPCNT, and it will say Supports POPCNT instruction if your CPU does indeed support POPCNT. By the way: This problem with POPCNT mostly occurs on Windows 10 PCs, but it can also occur on older Windows 11 PCs. Installing Windows 11 24H2 without a POPCTN-supporting CPU will cause similar issues. What is POPCNT, anyway? POPCNT debuted in 2008 as part of the Intel’s Nehalem architecture, but also appeared in contemporary AMD CPUs at the time. Short for Population Count, POPCNT is an instruction that tallies up all the “set bits” (with value 1) in a binary number. It’s useful for different kinds of computations, including calculating parity bits, compression algorithms, and, more recently, AI-related work. In Intel’s Core processors, the instruction was introduced with second-generation Sandy Bridge CPUs, which launched in 2011. That’s a very long time ago, which means that even if you don’t have the latest hardware, your CPU probably supports it. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating ProsNice battery life thanks to Snapdragon X hardwareGood keyboard and speakersA perfectly serviceable laptop experienceConsBase model includes slower Snapdragon X Plus hardwareSurface Laptop is the same price and a better valueBuild quality, display, and specs just don’t stand outCopilot+ PC AI features are still a gimmickOur VerdictDell’s first Copilot+ PC is fine, but there’s nothing about it that stands out in the Snapdragon X lineup. That’s a problem when it costs as much as a Surface Laptop — but the right sale might make this machine a good buy. The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441 is Dell’s entry in the first wave of Copilot+ PCs with Qualcomm Snapdragon X hardware. Dell delivered a perfectly serviceable PC here, and many people would be happy using this laptop for the kind of light tasks a Snapdragon PC excels at. But this PC doesn’t stand out alongside other Snapdragon X laptops like Microsoft’s Surface Laptop, Lenovo’s Yoga Slim 7x, and Samsung’s Galaxy Book4 Edge. Qualcomm and Microsoft are proud of the number of PC manufacturers delivering Snapdragon X laptops at launch and this is definitely a perfectly fine entry from Dell. It feels like this machine was made to check a box: Yes, Dell also has a Snapdragon laptop. Still, this is a fine laptop — and, at the right sale price, it may be a great choice! Like other Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon X hardware, the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus (7441) is an Arm-based laptop. As discussed in PCWorld’s reviews of the Surface Laptop, Surface Pro, and Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x, application compatibility is decent but not perfect. Most applications run just fine, but some applications may not run at all or may run with bad performance. The situation is improving, but it’s early days for this new hardware. Also, despite the AI hook the industry is using to market these laptops, those exclusive Copilot+ PC AI features aren’t very interesting. Further reading: Best laptops 2024: Premium, budget, gaming, 2-in-1s, and more Dell Inspiron 14 Plus: Specs The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441 is another model in Dell’s existing Dell Inspiron 14 Plus lineup. This model comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon X hardware instead of an Intel CPU, and it’s one of the first Copilot+ PCs to arrive. All Snapdragon X Plus and Elite chips include a neural processing unit (NPU) capable of 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS) as well as a Qualcomm Adreno GPU. The base model Dell Inspiron 14 Plus (and the model we reviewed) comes with Snapdragon X Plus hardware. That’s the lowest tier of Snapdragon X hardware available – the other models are all branded as “Snapdragon X Elite.” Snapdragon X Plus has 10 cores with no “dual-core boost” feature while Snapdragon X Elite has 12 cores with a dual-core boost feature that can ramp up performance. However, you can spend more to upgrade this laptop to Snapdragon X Elite hardware. Aside from the base-model Microsoft Surface Laptop, which matches the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus’s starting pricing, I’ve seen most Copilot+ PCs ship with Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite hardware as standard so far. Dell only offers this laptop with 16 GB of memory – there’s no option for 32 GB of memory, as with some other Copilot+ laptops with Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite hardware. Our review model did have 512 GB of storage. For that much storage, this particular laptop $100 cheaper than a comparable Surface Laptop. But a Dell Inspiron 14 Plus with 256GB of storage will cost you $999, which is the same price as a base model Surface Laptop with the same storage. CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus X1P-64-100 Memory: 16 GB LPDDR5X RAM Graphics/GPU: Qualcomm Adreno Display: 14-inch 2560×1600 IPS display with 60Hz refresh rate, touch screen, and 16:10 aspect ratio Storage: 512 GB PCIe SSD Webcam: 1080p webcam Connectivity: 2x USB Type-C (USB4 Full Function), 1x USB Type-A (USB 3.2 Gen 1), 1x combo audio jack, 1x microSD card reader Networking: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 Biometrics: IR camera and fingerprint reader Battery capacity: 54 Watt-hours Dimensions: 8.81 x 12.36 x 0.67 inches Weight: 3.17 pounds MSRP: $1,099 as tested ($999 starting price) Dell Inspiron 14 Plus: Design and build quality IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus’s design is fine. Despite the flashy new internals thanks to the new Snapdragon X Plus ARM hardware, the laptop’s body is based on Dell’s existing Inspiron designs. This is the spitting image of the Intel-powered Dell Inspiron 14 Plus, which we called a well-rounded machine when we reviewed it earlier this year. It’s a fine design, and there’s nothing objectionable about it. There are lots of smooth edges. The laptop’s chassis uses a good amount of aluminum, but there are also plastic elements: For example, around the display. There’s not any noticeably flex while typing, but there is a bit of flex while handling the display. The modern Inspiron design does have a neat little feature. When you tilt the screen back, the keyboard will angle up towards you. It’s a nice touch. The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus (7441) is a perfectly fine Copilot+ laptop with Snapdragon X Plus hardware. It has decent build quality, a nice keyboard, and good speakers. If you’re looking for an Arm-based Windows laptop, you can’t really go wrong with it. Microsoft has set the Copilot+ PC standard with its Surface Laptop. There’s really no writing about a Copilot+ PC with Snapdragon X hardware without mentioning the Surface Laptop, and the Surface Laptop’s all-metal construction feels much more solid and premium. That’s a big thing to keep in mind when these machines start at the same price and both have Snapdragon X Plus hardware. Additionally, while this is a nice compact laptop and it’s reasonably light, it’s not the lightest Copilot+ PC. Weighing in at 3.17 pounds, this is heavier than Microsoft’s Surface Laptop and Lenovo’s Yoga Slim 7x. The chassis is nice enough. It’s fine and perfectly serviceable. But it just doesn’t stand out in comparison to similarly priced Copilot+ laptops. Dell Inspiron 14 Plus: Keyboard and trackpad IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus has a good keyboard. I enjoyed typing on it – it’s not mushy, although it’s not the snappiest, most premium laptop keyboard I’ve used. The entire surface of the keyboard deck feels comfortable. It also includes white backlighting. When we reviewed the Intel model, we said it had “an unreasonably good keyboard,” and I think that’s carried through to the Snapdragon version of the laptop here. It’s a good keyboard, but I’m not sure that feature alone is enough to stand out in the Copilot+ PC market. Lots of these Copilot+ PCs have nice keyboards. The trackpad is a reasonably good size and is fine to use. I didn’t have any problems with palm rejection. But the Surface Laptop offers a haptic trackpad at the same price point, and in my experience it offers a much nicer trackpad experience. Dell Inspiron 14 Plus: Display and speakers IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus includes a good IPS display. With a 2560×1600 resolution, 16:10 aspect ratio, 60Hz refresh rate, 400 nits of brightness, and a touchscreen, it’s not something you can complain about. This isn’t the vivid OLED display offered by some Copilot+ PCs like the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 or the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge, but I was plenty happy using it. (Of course, those OLED displays are extremely beautiful – and I really would prefer an OLED display). The 13.8-inch Surface Laptop offers a slightly smaller display with a slightly lower resolution, but it also offers double the refresh rate at 120Hz and up to 600 nits of brightness. So, while the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus’s display is fine, the Surface Laptop outshines it — literally, thanks to that higher brightness. Like the keyboard, the speakers on this machine are surprisingly good. There are a total of four speakers, and they’re plenty loud, reasonably clear, and even have more bass than I’d typically expect from a laptop of this size. Dell Inspiron 14 Plus: Webcam, microphone, biometrics IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus has a 1080p webcam. It’s a good webcam that worked well in a variety of lighting conditions. Thanks to the neural processing unit (NPU) and Copilot+ PC features, you have access to a variety of extra effects for the webcam thanks to Windows Studio Effects. For example, you can make it look like you’re always making eye contact with the camera or add various effects to your visage in real time. Additionally, Dell also includes a physical privacy shutter, and you can turn off the camera by sliding the shutter switch above the webcam. This machine also includes a presence sensor, so it can automatically go to sleep when you step away and turn on when you come back. Microsoft omitted this feature from the Surface Laptop for some reason. The dual-microphone hardware in this laptop works well, too, and it did a good job of picking up my voice without a lot of background noise. The combination of a nice webcam and microphone with long battery life — not to mention the good speakers — means this will be a great laptop for online meetings. Biometrics are one area where the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus stands above the Surface Laptop. This machine includes both an IR camera for facial recognition as well as a fingerprint reader in the power button at the top-right corner of the keyboard. While I personally prefer the facial recognition on a laptop — it will log you in quickly, once you open up the laptop — some people do prefer the fingerprint reader, and you have both here. Both the fingerprint reader and IR camera work well. Dell Inspiron 14 Plus: Connectivity IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus offers a reasonable selection of ports. On the left side, you’ve got a microSD card reader as well as two USB Type-C ports – these are USB4 “Full Function” ports that support 40Gbps transfer speeds, Power Delivery, and DisplayPort. You will be plugging the charger into one of these ports to charge the laptop. On the right side, you’ve got a USB Type-A port along with a combo audio jack. It’s a reasonable selection of ports on a thin and light laptop. Like other Qualcomm Snapdragon X-powered Copilot+ PCs, this machine includes Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 support. However, Windows 11 only supports Bluetooth 5.3 at the moment. The Wi-Fi worked well, although I don’t have a Wi-Fi 7 router set up to test the latest standard yet. Dell Inspiron 14 Plus: Performance Like other Copilot+ PCs with Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus or Snapdragon X Elite hardware, the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus works well in day-to-day desktop use, with snappy desktop application performance on battery power. It offers a great experience when using common PC productivity applications including web browsers, Microsoft Office apps, the Slack workplace chat app, and video-conferencing tools. The fans are nice and quiet in this type of day-to-day use, and the PC stays cool and quiet unless you push it hard, as we did in some of our benchmarks. As always, we ran the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus (7441) through our standard benchmarks to see how it performs. IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman First, we ran a CPU benchmark with Geekbench 6. We normally run PCMark 10, but it doesn’t run on Arm computers like this one. Geekbench 6 runs natively on ARM, so we can get an idea of this machine’s CPU performance when running native Arm code without Microsoft’s Prism translation layer playing a part. The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441 delivered a Geekbench 6 multi-thread score of 13,374. That’s a solid result and is right in the middle of the pack. Interestingly enough, it does beat the Surface Laptop’s Geekbench 6 score in our testing. That model of Surface Laptop we benchmarked has Snapdragon X Elite hardware, so it’s interesting to see the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus hardware performing so well in comparison to it. The fans stayed nice and quiet while the native Geekbench benchmark was running. These machines tend to run hottest and loudest while running heavy workloads using x86 code through the Prism translation layer. IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman Next, we run Cinebench R24. Cinebench R24 has a native Arm version, which means it isn’t running through the Prism translation layer. This is a heavily multithreaded benchmark that focuses on overall CPU performance. It’s a quick benchmark, so cooling under extended workloads isn’t a factor. But, since it’s heavily multithreaded, CPUs with more cores have a huge advantage. The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus’s fans spun up while the multi-threaded Cinebench benchmark was running. On a Snapdragon X PC, they kick in to provide extra cooling for intensive workloads like the one in this test. This machine delivered a multi-threaded score of 814. Unsurprisingly, that’s a little behind the Snapdragon X Elite-powered devices we’re comparing it to. IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman Next, we run a graphical benchmark. Despite Qualcomm talking up gaming performance, this isn’t really a gaming laptop. We recommend against buying any Snapdragon X Plus or Elite powered laptop for gaming. Still, as always, we run 3DMark Time Spy, a graphical benchmark that focuses on GPU performance. We also run 3DMark Night Raid. Time Spy is running through the Prism translation layer, while Night Raid is running natively on Arm. The pair of results shows the difference between x86 code translated with Prism and native Arm code. With a 3DMark Time Spy score of 1,868, the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus came in right in the middle of the pack. (The Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge we tested had the highest-end Snapdragon X Elite hardware with an upgrade Qualcomm Adreno GPU, hence its advantage). The Surface Laptop with Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite runs a tad behind the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus once again — perhaps that’s a cooling issue. It’s a good argument for getting the base model Surface laptop with Snapdragon X Plus hardware — the machine doesn’t seem to be taking a lot of advantage of that Elite hardware. IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman When we ran the Night Raid benchmark, the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus delivered a score of 26,744. That’s on the high end compared to the average Snapdragon X laptop, which is impressive. This machine is a bit larger and heavier than some of its competition, so I imagine the cooling is helping it deliver higher performance. Remember, the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus with Snapdragon X Plus has the same GPU as most Snapdragon X Elite laptops — except the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge with its top-end GPU. Overall, the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus delivers strong performance for a Snapdragon X Plus system and seems to have a good cooling system. The CPU performance is a tad on the slower side compared to most Snapdragon X laptops, but it’s not a major issue — and it even seems to pull ahead of the Surface Laptop. Overall, Snapdragon X Plus hardware seems like a perfectly fine configuration for most people. These machines are best with light desktop productivity usage, and there’s not a huge upgrade if you pay extra for Snapdragon X Elite. Dell Inspiron 14 Plus: Battery life We expect Snapdragon X Plus and Elite-powered laptops to deliver long battery life in our benchmarks. The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus pairs its Snapdragon X Plus hardware with a 54 Watt-hour battery and that IPS display should help it deliver longer battery life than competing laptops with OLED displays, which tend to use more power. IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman IDG / Chris Hoffman To benchmark the battery life, we play a 4K copy of Tears of Steel on repeat on Windows 11 with airplane mode enabled until the laptop suspends itself. We set the screen to 250 nits of brightness for our battery benchmarks. This is a best-case scenario for any laptop since local video playback is so efficient, and real battery life in day-to-day use is always going to be less than this. The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus lasted an average of 1,011 minutes or nearly 17 hours in our battery run-down test. That’s behind Microsoft’s Surface Laptop, which posted a result of 1,223 minutes or over 20 hours. Those numbers are so large that both sound fine, but remember that these are best-case scenario numbers and you will get substantially less runtime while you’re actually using the PC. The Surface laptop gives you some extra margin to work with, and that may make all the difference. Dell Inspiron 14 Plus: Conclusion The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus (7441) is a perfectly fine Copilot+ laptop with Snapdragon X Plus hardware. It has decent build quality, a nice keyboard, and good speakers. If you’re looking for an Arm-based Windows laptop, you can’t really go wrong with it. Still, I don’t think this laptop makes a ton of sense at its normal retail price. The Surface Laptop has similar hardware, a more premium build quality with no plastic, a much brighter display with a higher refresh rate, and a haptic touchpad that feels great to use. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x doesn’t cost much more than this machine and delivers a beautiful OLED display along with very reasonably priced storage and RAM upgrade options. The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus (7441) does have a few features the Surface Laptop doesn’t have, like a slightly larger display, a fingerprint reader, and a presence sensor. Still, at the same price as a Surface Laptop, I would recommend Microsoft’s hardware at this price point. It’s true that the 512 GB Dell Inspiron 14 Plus model we reviewed costs $1,099, while the equivalent Surface Laptop costs $1,199. However, the base-model Surface Laptop at $999 has equivalent hardware to the base-model Dell Inspiron 14 Plus, and that base model is a good choice for many Copilot+ PC buyers. But the story doesn’t end there: As I wrap up this review, Dell has the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus on sale on its website. The 512 GB model with Snapdragon X Plus is down from $1,099 to $899. That’s $100 cheaper than the base-model Surface Laptop and with double the storage. Or, you can get the base-model Inspiron 14 Plus laptop with 256 GB of storage for $849 — that’s $150 cheaper than the base-model Surface Laptop and with similar specs. It’s a good deal! If the normal retail price was that compelling, this laptop would stand out. Read...

Taking a photo with your smartphone has never been so easy, all you have to do is boot up the camera app and press the shutter. And because each shot costs nothing extra, you can take almost any number of pictures. But how can you conveniently transfer all those photos to your computer to save, sort, and edit them? We’ll tell you how. get windows 11 pro for cheap Windows 11 Pro Instead of connecting the smartphone to the PC each time using a USB cable, authorizing the data transfer, starting Windows Explorer, and storing the new files in the correct directory, you can have this done automatically. With a cloud service, you always have access to the entire collection on your computer, including the latest recordings. Our workshop presents the various transfer options from Android devices to Windows computers, describes important settings, and provides additional tips. Further reading: How to mirror your smartphone display on your PC monitor Snipping tool: What can the new Windows software do? Moment 5 was released as the first of two major function updates this year for the current Windows 11 version 23H2. One of Microsoft’s highlights is the new snipping tool for editing photos and screenshots from Android devices. It is assumed that this should also allow the software to be used for saving. Windows 11 links the Android smartphone and the PC via the new “Mobile devices” option. As soon as you take new photos, a message appears on the computer. Windows 11 links the Android smartphone and the PC via the new “Mobile devices” option. As soon as you take new photos, a message appears on the computer. IDG Windows 11 links the Android smartphone and the PC via the new “Mobile devices” option. As soon as you take new photos, a message appears on the computer. IDG IDG To use the function, click on Bluetooth and devices – Mobile devices in the Windows Settings app and activate the option Allow this PC to access your mobile devices. If necessary, log in with your Microsoft account. Clicking the Add device button (you may have previously clicked on Manage devices) generates a QR code that you can scan with the phone camera. Use the link that appears to install and start the Link to Windows app on your mobile device, including logging in. Windows then displays a six-digit code, which you enter and confirm on your smartphone. In the following queries, authorize “full access” to photos and videos. This links the two devices together. As soon as you take photos or screenshots with the phone, a message appears on the PC–but nothing more! In particular, Windows does not save new images either locally or in Onedrive. The system only opens the files for editing in the snipping tool when you click on the notifications. The Save automatically option only applies to screenshots on the PC. Windows Smartphone Link app shows all photos on the phone Microsoft’s “Smartphone Link” still exists under Windows 10 and 11: The Windows app provides access to smartphone photos, but does not automatically save them on the PC. Microsoft’s “Smartphone Link” still exists under Windows 10 and 11: The Windows app provides access to smartphone photos, but does not automatically save them on the PC. IDG Microsoft’s “Smartphone Link” still exists under Windows 10 and 11: The Windows app provides access to smartphone photos, but does not automatically save them on the PC. IDG IDG In addition, Windows 11 still contains the Smartphone Link app, which can also be found in Settings – Bluetooth and devices – Mobile devices. After clicking on Android, you only need to confirm an already connected smartphone with Select as described above. To connect, continue with First steps – Start pairing – Set up. The smartphone and computer are now paired again, but this time via Bluetooth. After confirming the usual pairing and access requests, Smartphone Link starts on the PC. In addition to the Messages tab for sending and displaying text messages and Calls for phone calls, Smartphone Link shows all the pictures on the phone in chronological order under Photos. Although the images can be saved individually, it’s not possible to save everything with one click or even automatically. OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox & Co.: Photos in the cloud Different apps, same principle: The smartphone apps from Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Dropbox (from left) automatically save photos in the cloud. Different apps, same principle: The smartphone apps from Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Dropbox (from left) automatically save photos in the cloud. IDG Different apps, same principle: The smartphone apps from Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Dropbox (from left) automatically save photos in the cloud. IDG IDG Transferring photos to the PC via the cloud is much easier. Ideally, the photos are sent directly from the smartphone to the online storage and backed up from there to the hard drive at home. Once set up, the photos are always available on the computer without any further action. We took a look at the functions of Amazon, Dropbox, Google, and Microsoft. The four services differ considerably in terms of setup and handling. Google, for example, does not offer any automatic synchronization of photos from the cloud to the PC hard drive by default, Amazon is complicated to set up, while Dropbox and Microsoft can be configured quickly. The prerequisite for synchronization is a (free) account with the respective provider, plus the corresponding app on the smartphone and software on the computer. The first step, i.e. synchronizing photos from your mobile phone to the cloud, differs from service to service, but the procedure is the same. You install the mobile phone app from the PlayStore, create an account with the provider if necessary, and log in. Then activate the automatic cloud backup of your images (and videos) in the app settings. With Google, all you need to do on Android devices is tap the profile picture or your initials in the top right-hand corner of the Photos app and activate the backup. All existing and new recordings are then stored in the cloud as soon as the phone is connected to the internet via Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi restriction can be removed, but synchronization via mobile internet consumes data volume and can incur costs. Set up automatic backup on the computer The photos are in the cloud, but not yet on the computer at home. Backing up on the PC is particularly easy with Dropbox. The Windows software always synchronizes all online files to the local hard drive. You can select the storage folder in the program settings under Synchronization, the photos from the smartphone can be found in the Camera uploads subdirectory. New ones are always there immediately. The Microsoft cloud OneDrive is already integrated in Windows 11. For Windows 10, download and install the app via the following link (the version in the Microsoft Store is outdated). The combination of the two tools Raidrive (above) and Puresync (below) automatically backs up the photos from the smartphone to the computer hard drive via the Google Cloud. The combination of the two tools Raidrive (above) and Puresync (below) automatically backs up the photos from the smartphone to the computer hard drive via the Google Cloud. IDG The combination of the two tools Raidrive (above) and Puresync (below) automatically backs up the photos from the smartphone to the computer hard drive via the Google Cloud. IDG IDG Backing up with Google is much more cumbersome. The desktop app offers access to other cloud content, but not to the photos. You can view them in the browser, but you have to select them manually to download them. Google’s export function is similarly cumbersome and also not recommended. The problem can easily be solved: The combination of the Raidrive and Puresync tools synchronize your photos to your PC hard drive automatically via the Google Cloud. First, install Raidrive, select Google Photos (not Google Drive!) as the new drive in the program, then click on Connect to Google Photos and grant Raidrive access to the cloud. The images will now appear in the Windows file manager. Puresync then takes over the transfer to the hard drive. Set up the synchronization software as follows: Set up new job – Backup/Copy – Standard – Next. Select the Photos subdirectory in the new drive as the Source folder and a directory on the internal or network hard drive as the Destination folder. In the next step, change the default setting for Start automatically from On schedule to On system startup, for example. While the first complete backup naturally takes some time, new photos are on the PC almost immediately after switching on. Last but not least, Amazon. If you’ve got a Prime membership, you have unlimited cloud storage for full-resolution photos. Here’s how it works. In addition to the Amazon Photos app on your smartphone, you will need the Windows software of the same name. Don’t be confused if the tool is suddenly called Amazon Drive after installation on the desktop. It is important for the automatic backup of photos on the PC to switch on the function in the desktop software under Settings – Synchronize and, after restarting the program, also activate the Pictures entry in Settings – Synchronize – Select folder. Specify the local storage folder in Download – Download to. After this somewhat tedious initial configuration, synchronization runs smoothly. Limited space in cloud storage Prime membership with Amazon includes unlimited storage space in the cloud for saving photos in their original resolution without having to accept any loss of quality. Prime membership with Amazon includes unlimited storage space in the cloud for saving photos in their original resolution without having to accept any loss of quality. IDG Prime membership with Amazon includes unlimited storage space in the cloud for saving photos in their original resolution without having to accept any loss of quality. IDG IDG As convenient as it is to store photos in the cloud, it does take up storage space and free storage space is rare. Dropbox offers 2GB for free, Amazon and Microsoft offer 5GB and Google 15GB. A JPG image from a smartphone in good resolution typically takes up around 5MB. This means that the free Dropbox can store just 400 images while Amazon and Microsoft can store around 1,000. Additional space will cost you more. Can you save the expense? Yes, you already know the unlimited storage space with Amazon Prime. Google does not limit the cloud storage either as long as you upload the images there as compressed JPG files rather than in their original size using the Save storage space option. In general, cloud use can be limited to the convenient transfer of photos to the PC and the online storage can be freed up again after local backup on the hard drive. You can either do this manually or let Puresync do it automatically. The free cloud volume is completely sufficient. Photos in the cloud and data protection The cloud storage services from Amazon, Dropbox, Google, and Microsoft are no longer limited to storing images. With the exception of the free Dropbox basic account, all services also offer functions for automatically recognizing image content. This includes faces, depicted objects, backgrounds, geo-information, and more. These tagging functions make it possible to quickly find specific images even in a huge pool of images. However, this raises questions about data protection, as the companies are looking through your (private) photos. That’s why it’s important that you can deactivate these functions and decide what you allow the respective storage service to do. Amazon provides information on automatic image analysis and data protection, as does Google, and Microsoft. Dropbox’s explanations are sparse. Read...

Computers used to be a lot noisier than they are today. And I don’t just mean the whir of spinning hard disks and the rattle of fans—they used to boop and beep every time you turned them on. If you miss the chimes of classic PC hardware but aren’t willing to switch to a machine that gets fewer than 1,000 frames per second in Doom, then this M.2 trinket might be for you. Japanese online shop Kadenken is selling an M.2 module with an integrated speaker that emits the distinctive beep-boops of an NEC PC-9800 series, which was first sold in Japan in 1982. NEC shipped more than 18 million units over its 20-year lifespan, and some of the same hardware was sold internationally as the APC series. So, it’s easy to see why someone might feel a little nostalgic about these classic boot-up sounds. Tom’s Hardware spotted the gadget, which comes in a 2280 format (80mm long) but can be cut down to 30mm if necessary to fit into laptops or smaller devices like the Steam Deck. Not that you should install it in a Steam Deck, of course, because in order to use this you’ll need a free M.2 slot. (Unless this sweet beep-boop noise is more important than having an operating system or a Wi-Fi card, I suppose.) The speaker module also makes it a few millimeters taller than a standard M.2 card, though desktop motherboards won’t be bothered by the extra clearance. It triggers the beep using the PCIe bus reset signal, so it should work on pretty much any computer upon initial boot or reset. The low-volume device is being sold for 2,880 yen (about $18 USD). You’ll probably spend more than that on shipping and import fees if you want to get your hands on it outside of Japan, though. Read...

It’s easy to get your hands on quality storage options these days, even without paying a fortune. That’s especially true when you can snag the SK Hynix Tube T31 on sale for just $70 at Amazon. Yes, that’s right! You can get a 1TB SSD in the form factor of a USB flash drive for the fantastic price of $70 instead of its regular $135. (It’s listed for $90 but also has an on-page coupon for an extra $20 off.) In our review of the SK Hynix Tube T31, we gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars and our Editors’ Choice award, praising its speed and compact design. “If you want the speed of an external SSD but the convenience of a captive Type-A connector and a svelte form factor, the Tube T31 is what you seek,” noted our expert Jon Jacobi. This pocket-sized SSD offers impressive data transfer speeds of up to 1,000MB/s (10Gbps), making it an excellent choice for quickly backing up large files and essential data. The Tube T31 is compatible with a wide range of devices, including gaming consoles and computers running any operating system. As with any regular flash drive, this one is plug-and-play so you won’t have any issues using it whenever you need it. And here’s the thing: at this price, the Tube T31 is cheaper than regular 1TB USB flash drives, except this one’s a full-blown SSD. It’s an absolute steal of a deal and worth every penny. Act fast and grab the SK Hynix Tube T31 for just $70 at Amazon today and don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity that won’t last forever. The SK Hynix Tube T31 has never been this cheapBuy now on Amazon Read...

Raised in an analogue world, Generation X were the first youth to have scientific calculators, video players, video games, CDs and finally computers. So what does the art they`ve made tell us? Read...

It’s been a long time coming! Microsoft is finally keen to improve integration between Windows 11 computers and Android phones. If you hate transferring files between the two, there’s good news ahead. Microsoft has started beta testing a new feature that lets you “see your Android phone in File Explorer” and “wirelessly browse through all your folders and files, including media that is on your Android phone.” Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Not only will you be able to view what’s on your phone, but you’ll also be able to move, copy, delete, rename, and even open directly without first bringing files and folders over to your PC. The best part is that you won’t even need a USB cable for this. You can access your Android phone wirelessly, which is fantastic news for anyone who needs to work with their phone via Windows regularly. In order for this to work: Your phone needs to be running Android 11 or later. Your phone needs the beta version of the Link to Windows app that’s available on the Google Play Store. Your PC needs to be running Windows 11. As of right now, this feature is only rolling out to those who are in the Windows Insider Program, but is available to all Insider Channels. Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Once registered for Windows Insider and opted into any Insider Channel, you can enable this feature by going to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Mobile Devices and choosing Manage devices, then allowing your PC to access your Android phone. After that, you’ll see a toggle in File Explorer to view your phone. If you don’t see the toggle, the feature hasn’t rolled out to you yet. Read...

More and more users are switching from previous versions to Windows 11. While upgrading is optional, if you buy a new computer, Windows 11 is increasingly becoming a given. As with previous versions, there are plenty of ways to customize the system to your preferences. Here are the tips to help you. APPEARANCE New colors Foundry Foundry Foundry If you don’t like the look of Windows 11, you can easily change the colors and shades: HOW? Open the Settings and select Personalization > Colors. Several options are available here: Select mode. Switch between Light, Dark, or Custom. The latter allows you to make different choices for Windows and individual apps. Transparency effects. Let the windows have a certain transparency. Accent colour. Choose the color scheme for Windows. Manual allows you to choose a color yourself while Automatic leaves the choice to the system. Give your computer a theme Foundry Foundry Foundry To make the look more consistent, you can choose a Theme, which is a combination of colors and backgrounds. HOW? Open Settings > Personalization > Themes. You can select a number of default options under Current theme and if you want something else, go to Get more themes from the Microsoft Store. BATTERY Check your battery Foundry Foundry Foundry If you’re wondering why your battery life is poor, Windows 11 has a built-in battery meter. HOW? Open Settings > System, Power & battery. You can see the battery level hour by hour at the top and with View detailed information you can change the time period and check which apps are consuming battery. Here you can also tap on Energy recommendations to get tips on what you can do. Tap on Apply to the ones that suit you or tap Apply all. Switch off your screen Foundry Foundry Foundry To save energy, you can set your computer to automatically switch to power saving mode. HOW? Open the Power & battery as above and select Screen and sleep. Decide after how long the screen should be switched off and in what way. Choose the right power mode get windows 11 pro for cheap Windows 11 Pro The more performance you use, the shorter the battery life. You choose the balance yourself. HOW? Open the Power & battery as above and go to Power mode. With the slider on the right, select Best power efficiency, Best performance, or the intermediate mode Balanced. Use the battery saver function Foundry Foundry Foundry Windows 11 has a smart battery saving feature that limits demanding activities. HOW? Open the Power & battery as above and press the down arrow at Battery saver feature. You can activate the function immediately — or when the battery is below a certain percentage. You can also dim the screen brightness when the battery saver is on. There is also a quick shortcut under Quick settings, the menu next to the clock. It is called Battery saving function. STORAGE Clear unnecessary files Foundry Foundry Foundry Many laptops have a small hard drive and Windows 11 can help you save space. HOW? Open Settings > System > Storage. At the top, you’ll see what’s taking up the most space, and clicking on a category will give you more details. In some cases, it will help you clear many files in one go. Use Storage Sense Foundry Foundry Foundry One helpful feature is called Storage Sense. It deletes files that Microsoft deems safe to remove. HOW? Open the Storage (as above) and scroll down to Storage Sense. Here you can switch the function on or off with the slider. By pressing the arrow on the right, you decide how the tool should work. You can select Automatic user content cleanup or start the function manually with Run Storage Sense. Get help to clean up If you’re not sure how to clean your computer, you can get tips from Windows. HOW? Open the Storage (as above) and go to Cleanup recommendations. Here you can see what you can delete without risk. APPARATUS Remove the autostart Many programs want to start automatically with Windows, which can slow down your computer. Make sure to remove the autostart for programs that don’t need it. HOW? Go to the Settings > Apps > Startup. Here you can see how much influence an application has on the start time and you can switch the autostart on or off with the slider on the right. Archive apps Foundry Foundry Foundry To save space and data, you can let Windows 11 archive apps that you rarely use. They will remain on your computer but will be paused and therefore take up minimal storage and bandwidth. HOW? Tap on Settings > Apps > Advanced app settings. Switch the function on or off Archived apps. SOUND Better volume control The volume control in Windows has become more advanced in recent updates. HOW? Click on the volume control icon at the bottom left to adjust the volume. Use the settings icon on the right to switch between audio devices (e.g. speakers/headphones) and adjust them individually. You can also access the menu with Windows+Ctrl+V. Improve the sound Foundry Foundry Foundry If you’re not happy with the sound, Windows 11 can make it better. HOW? Open the Settings > System > Sound. Tap your speaker under Output and go to Audio enhancement. Switch the feature on — or switch it off if you are not satisfied. Write with your voice If you don’t want to type with your keyboard, you can now actually use your voice. HOW? Open a text writing program and press Windows+H. Now a window will open and pressing the microphone will activate the voice input mode. Another press ends it. The cogwheel opens a settings menu where you can choose, among other things, whether to insert full stops and commas automatically. SYSTEM Protecting your computer’s memory The Memory Integrity feature provides extra security for your computer, but can lead to reduced performance. You choose whether to use it. HOW? Open the Settings > Privacy & security > Windows security and select Device security. Under Information about Core Isolation you can see if this is something you can enable or not. Note that it is not possible on all computers. Trimming Windows for gaming When playing games, you don’t want to be interrupted by system updates and restarts, and Windows 11’s gaming mode can prevent this. HOW? Open Settings > Gaming > Game mode. Use the slider to switch the game mode on or off. Check for errors Foundry Foundry Foundry When your computer is acting up, you can use the Troubleshooter. It’s a wizard that analyzes your computer, asks questions — and finds solutions. HOW? Open Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooter. A list of possible problems is displayed and to start a troubleshooter, press Run. Perform a reset Foundry Foundry Foundry If all else fails, you can restore your computer to how it was when it was new — but before you do, it’s important to make sure you have backups of everything important. HOW? Open the Settings and tap on System > Recovery. Here you can first try Fixing problems without resetting your computer and Fixing problems using Windows Update. If none of this works, you can select Reset this PC to launch a wizard that lets you choose which type of restore to perform. Read...