At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Stand supports good range of ergonomic adjustment Good range of USB-C connectivity with power delivery Includes Gigabit Ethernet (RJ45) Sharp, bright 4K image Cons Design doesn’t look cohesive USB ports have 5Gbps data rates Modest contrast ratio Our Verdict The Dell Pro 27 Plus is a sharp 4K monitor that’s solid for work and productivity, but its USB-C hub is the star of the show.  Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Dell Pro 27 Plus Retailer Price $514.95 View Deal $519.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices Sometimes a monitor is more than just a computer display. And sometimes, the display itself feels like an accessory to its other features. That’s certainly the case with the Dell Pro 27 Plus. The monitor has a bright, colorful 4K display. Yet for most people, the headline feature is likely the monitor’s extensive USB connectivity and Ethernet support. It’s an office monitor built specifically for use with mid-range business and productivity laptops that have modern USB-C connectivity. And, in that role, it’s great. Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best USB-C monitors for comparison. Dell Pro 27 Plus (P2725QE) specs and features The Dell Pro 27 Plus P2725QE’s basic specifications are precisely what I expect from a mid-range to high-end productivity monitor. It’s a 27-inch IPS panel with 4K resolution. The one highlight is the 100Hz refresh rate — though, regrettably, it’s not paired with Adaptive Sync. Display size: 27-inch 16:9 aspect ratio Native resolution: 3840×2160 Panel type: IPS LCD Refresh rate: Up to 100Hz Adaptive sync: No HDR: None Ports: 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x USB Type-C 5Gbps upstream with DisplayPort 1.4 and 90-watt USB Power Delivery, 3x USB-A 5Gbps downstream, 1x USB-C 5Gbps downstream data only, Gigabit Ethernet (RJ45) Audio: Slots for optional soundbar Price: $519.99 MSRP Still, the specifications list makes it clear that ports, not the display panel, are the priority. The monitor has three video inputs including a USB-C port with DisplayPort and Power Delivery. There are four additional downstream USB ports (three USB-A, one USB-C), plus Gigabit Ethernet. Dell Pro 27 Plus P2725QE design The Dell Pro 27 Plus P2725QE, like several other recent Dell productivity monitors, differs from its predecessors by ditching the silver or white rear panel design in favor of a matte black look. It’s professional, to be sure, but the stand is still silver. I find that an odd choice, as it gives the impression that the stand wasn’t made to ship with this monitor. Matthew Smith / Foundry Looks aside, the stand is decent. It’s heavy and sturdy but has a flat, compact base that minimizes its footprint on a desk. The stand also has a good range of ergonomic adjustment: 25 degrees of tilt, 90 degrees of swivel, and 150mm of height adjustment. It rotates 90 degrees into a portrait orientation, too. All of this is typical for a high-end office and productivity monitor, though the height adjustment is at the upper end of what’s common (some competitors stick to 110mm). The monitor also has a 100x100mm VESA mount for use with third-party monitor stands and arms. It weighs about 10 pounds without the stand, so it’s light enough that most stands and arms can hold it. Dell Pro 27 Plus P2725QE connectivity Dell made a clear (and, in my opinion, accurate) bet that, for many office and home office workers, a monitor’s connectivity is more important than its image quality. Because of that, the Dell Pro 27 Plus is packed with ports. Video connectivity spans DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.1, and a USB-C port with DisplayPort alternate mode. That’s typical for most monitors that support USB-C. However, the USB-C port expands connectivity to four additional USB ports. Three of these are USB-A and one is USB-C. The monitor also has Gigabit Ethernet. That’s a lot of ports, and it’s useful if you own a Windows or Mac with a USB-C port. Connecting a laptop to the Dell Pro 27 Plus immediately adds four USB ports and Ethernet. One of the downstream USB-A ports, and the only downstream USB-C port, are found in a pop-out hub on the monitor’s chin. It feels flimsy, but it allows for quick, easy connections without fumbling around behind the monitor. While the Dell Pro 27 Plus has a wide range of connectivity, it’s not without drawbacks. The monitor relies on USB with a data rate of just 5Gbps, so it’s not a good fit if you use high-speed external storage. People who need high-speed connectivity should consider a Thunderbolt 4 monitor like the Dell Ultrasharp 27 U2724DE or BenQ PD3226G (though those are more expensive). Dell made a clear bet that, for many office and home office workers, a monitor’s connectivity is more important than its image quality. Dell Pro 27 Plus P2725QE menus and features Owners can access the Dell Pro 27 Plus P2725QE’s menu system with a joystick hidden around the right side of the monitor. It provides quick, responsive access to menu options. The menu is easy to navigate and has a large font, so it’s easy to read. Alternatively, owners can access and change menu settings with Dell’s Display and Peripheral Manager (DPPM) software. The monitor’s options are limited, though. The monitor has just a handful of color modes and doesn’t target specific color gamuts, color temperatures, or gamma values. The menu system instead focuses more on controlling connectivity like USB-C charging and data rates. Matthew Smith / Foundry Dell doesn’t provide speakers with the Dell Pro 27 Plus. The monitor instead supports an optional soundbar. Strangely, though, the monitor’s product page doesn’t mention which soundbar is supported. The manual also lacks that information. In any case, Dell didn’t provide it for review, so I can’t comment on its quality. Dell Pro 27 Plus P2725QE SDR image quality The Dell Pro 27 Plus is all about SDR image quality. It doesn’t support HDR, and even if it did, the work and productivity apps this monitor is designed for (I’m talking Microsoft Word, VSCode, and Notion, among many others) aren’t meant for use with HDR turned on. Matthew Smith / Foundry First up is SDR brightness which, among all monitor categories, is arguably most important to those built for work and productivity. That’s because office monitors are likely to be used in a well-lit spaces. The Dell Pro 27 Plus does well here with a brightness of about 375 nits. Though not the brightest monitor available, it’s more than bright enough for use in most situations. In my home office, which has several windows that don’t receive direct sunlight, I found the monitor comfortable at 50 to 60 percent of its maximum brightness. A semi-gloss coat keeps glare to a minimum. It’s not fully matte, though, so bright light sources are still noticeable. Matthew Smith / Foundry Contrast is the weakness of the Dell Pro 27 Plus. It’s not bad for an IPS panel but in 2025, with OLED, VA, Mini-LED, and IPS Black panels on the market, it’s among the least contrast-rich and immersive display technologies available. That doesn’t matter in Word, but it’s noticeable when playing a game or watching a movie. The image looks flat and dull compared to the high-contrast alternatives. Matthew Smith / Foundry The Dell Pro 27 Plus has reasonable color gamut performance. However, as the graph shows, the Dell Pro 27 Plus is well behind some high-end alternatives, like the Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED and the BenQ PD3226G. That’s an important point. The Dell Pro 27 Plus is meant for office work and productivity, not content creation (such as photo, video, and digital art, among other digital media). If you care about color grading or tone mapping, you’ll want to set your sights on a more expensive alternative. Matthew Smith / Foundry I was surprised, then, by the Dell Pro 27 Plus’ excellent color accuracy. Though not a leader, it delivered results on par with monitors meant for content creation. The only significant color error was in cyan (a common result for IPS LED backlight monitors). I felt that led to a slight blue push in green and blue-green hues but, to my eyes, it was subtle. The Dell Pro 27 Plus also did well in color temperature (6400K, slightly below the target of 6500K) and gamma (2.2, right on target). That means the color temperature looks much as expected and that content looks about as luminous as intended. Sharpness is a perk. Spreading 3840×2160 resolution across a 27-inch display results in a pixel density of about 163 pixels per inch. Small fonts look crisp and high-contrast edges show little to no aliasing. There are sharper monitors, to be sure (like the Asus ProArt Display 5K), but they tend to be much more expensive. The Dell Pro 27 Plus has solid SDR image quality. With that said, it also feels like what I described earlier: a USB hub with a display attached. The display is good, but it’s more like a bonus than the main reason to buy the monitor. Dell Pro 27 Plus P2725QE HDR image quality HDR is not supported by the Dell Pro 27 Plus. That might seem unusual for a monitor that has a retail MSRP above $500, and it is. With that said, I don’t think most people buying the Dell Pro 27 Plus will need HDR, since it’s meant primarily for day-to-day office productivity. Dell Pro 27 Plus P2725QE motion performance Though not meant for gaming, the Dell Pro 27 Plus has a refresh rate of 100Hz. That means the monitor will have less motion blur than 60Hz alternatives. Scrolling text, for example, is easier to read. Adaptive Sync is not supported, however. That’s a huge bummer. The lack of it means the monitor can’t sync its refresh rate with the output of a video source for smooth gameplay in 3D games. While the P2725QE isn’t a gaming monitor, it would be nice to have the option to enjoy smooth gameplay if needed. Should you buy the Dell Pro 27 Plus P2725QE? The Dell Pro 27 Plus P2725QE is a boring monitor. But if you want a monitor for office productivity, coding, or any other use case that’s mostly about browsing the web or working with text, it’s a safe bet. It combines a bright, crisp 4K IPS panel with USB-C connectivity that makes it a good companion for a thin-and-light Windows or Mac laptop. Read...

I’ve been a Chromebook fan and advocate for many years now. I bought my first one back in 2013, just a couple years after they debuted, and I’ve since purchased several more. If you ask me why, it’s because I love their affordability, versatility, and simplicity. This trio of pros led me to switch from Windows laptops to Chromebooks and I haven’t looked back. But not everyone is as gung-ho about Google’s laptops as me, and that includes my older brother—we’ll call him “Jack”—who, for every bit of praise I lavish on Chromebooks, always has an objection. Jack was recently in the market for a new laptop, so I made it my mission to convince him to buy a Chromebook. Dave Parrack / Foundry Now, even though I write about tech for a living, I’m not a fan of telling people what to buy—it’s risky and I don’t like being blamed for giving “bad” advice. Plus, with Jack, not only was he comfortable with Windows, but he didn’t really have any issues or complaints with the operating system. But I felt like a Chromebook was a good choice for him, so on this particular occasion, I took the risk and tried to sway him. Long story short: it worked! I got through to him. He raised some good points, mind you, but a lot of them were misconceptions rooted in outdated Chromebook myths. Here’s how our conversation went and what I said to him to change his mind. Aren’t Chromebooks for students? Thomas Park / Unsplash Jack’s first objection to buying a Chromebook was that he didn’t feel they were grown-up devices meant for adults. And sure, I don’t blame him, what with the popularity of Chromebooks for use in schools and the education sector, plus Google’s marketing of Chromebooks as low-cost devices that are perfect for schools and colleges.  But those Chromebooks are not the same thing as other Chromebooks, and there are plenty of better Chromebooks that pack more power and are better suited for real-world use. I argue that Chromebooks are suitable for everyone, regardless of age, and they’re especially good for older folk thanks to the built-in security features of ChromeOS. What about all my Windows apps? Dave Parrack / Foundry Jack’s second objection was the potential (or perceived) loss of access to the Windows apps he used daily. Now, to be fair, that was a real concern about 10 years ago… Chromebook users had to make do with alternative web apps for lots of PC programs, and many of those alternative web apps couldn’t hold a candle to those “real” PC programs. But with ChromeOS now capable of running Android apps, and with most apps now offering Android versions, and with ChromeOS also being able to run Linux apps, this is much less of a problem now. Outside of business and enterprise, there’s a good chance the apps you use on Windows are also available on ChromeOS in some form or another. Aren’t Chromebooks cheap and slow? Mattias Inghe Having exhausted his core objections, Jack’s last throw of the dice was to comment that Chromebooks tend to be cheap, slow, and ugly. Which, while a little harsh, is an understandable sentiment given the reputation of Chromebooks in certain circles. However, that reputation is only partly earned. Yes, some Chromebooks are very cheap, and those cheap Chromebooks won’t have the best materials or build quality. But who says you have to buy a budget-tier Chromebook? Spend a little more and you can easily get a well-built Chromebook with decent specs that’ll last a few years. Seriously, check out our tips on how to buy a killer Chromebook. You can spend what you’d normally spend on a budget-friendly laptop—somewhere in the $500 range or less—and walk away with a darn good Chromebook that you’ll actually enjoy using. Buy the best Chromebook you can afford Michael Crider / Foundry In the end, I successfully persuaded my brother to get a Chromebook, and he didn’t drop a huge sum of money on it. (Want to switch from Windows to macOS? Oh, you’ll be paying dearly for it.) The key is that he spent as much as he was willing to spend to ensure that he got a respectable machine with decent performance. Chromebooks, like all laptops, aren’t all equal. If you cheap out on it, you’ll end up with a crappy one that you’ll hate. Or, in other words, you get what you pay for. Bump up your budget, then make sure you’re balancing the specs against your budget constraints. Other common Chromebook objections Dave Parrack / Foundry In my conversation with Jack, there were plenty of other common Chromebook objections that never came up. For completeness’ sake, let me tackle a few of them here: No, Chromebooks don’t always need to be connected to the internet. You can use many apps offline, watch downloaded content, manage local files, and work on local documents. No, Chromebooks aren’t just a glorified Chrome browser. As mentioned above, you can run Android and Linux apps natively on the machine, and there’s more to ChromeOS than apps. Yes, Chromebooks can do some gaming. Sure, not at the same level as Windows laptops, but you have options: Android games, web games, a beta version of Steam, and cloud gaming. Dive deeper with our article on whether Chromebooks are good for gaming. Ultimately, everyone (including Jack) can raise objections about Chromebooks. But ChromeOS has evolved a lot and Chromebook manufacturers have really stepped up. Google’s operating system is solid, secure, and dependable, and the hardware is satisfying to use. As for Jack, he’s been using his Chromebook for several months now and doesn’t regret his decision. It’s too early to tell whether he’s a complete convert yet, but for now, I can say that I’ve convinced a Windows fan to buy a Chromebook with zero regrets. Further reading: The best Chromebooks, from budget to premium Read...

VPNs, or virtual private networks, are versatile privacy tools that can enhance your online experience. They are very effective at helping you optimize your online privacy and security while also opening up location-restricted streaming content. But can they help improve your online gaming experience as well? Using a VPN while gaming can enhance your security, open up new game catalogs, and even help reduce your ping in some instances. However, despite these pros, VPNs also come with some potential drawbacks for gaming such as slower speeds and the potential to face platform-wide bans. Read on to find out whether or not using a VPN while gaming is the right option for you. Also, if you decide that you need a VPN for gaming, be sure to check out our best VPNs to find the service that fits your needs. Pros of gaming with a VPN: Enhanced security In regards to security, there is one major benefit to using a VPN while gaming: hiding your home IP address to mitigate DDOS or doxxing attacks. Anyone who spends any amount of time gaming online will understand that things can, and often do, get a bit toxic. Whether it’s an overly competitive gamer looking for an edge or a bad sport looking for revenge, they might go to extremes against opponents. This can include a DDOS (distributed denial-of-service) attack that slows down your connection or even a vengeful doxxing attack that exposes your personal data online.  A VPN can help protect you from both DDOS and doxxing by hiding your home IP address and routing your connection through an encrypted VPN server. This makes it much more difficult for toxic opponents to carry out targeted harassment against you. Prevents some ISP throttling Some ISPs, or Internet Service Providers, carry out secretive throttling on users who use a lot of data—especially during peak hours. This throttling can significantly slow down your connection speeds. While online gaming doesn’t account for too much bandwidth, downloading games can take up huge amounts of data—it’s not uncommon for modern games to top over 100GB downloads nowadays. Slower speeds will not only make these downloads take a lot longer, but they’ll also have drastic negative effects on your online gaming experience.  VPNs are one of the best tools to combat ISP throttling. By encrypting your traffic and routing it through a VPN server, your ISP will no longer be able to see what you’re downloading and therefore won’t be able to penalize you with activity-based throttling. It’s worth considering that while an ISP won’t be able to see your specific gaming or downloading activity, it’ll still be able to see the cumulative amount of data you use. Therefore, if your ISP imposes general data caps, then a VPN isn’t going to help in this situation. Access to game content in other countries This might be a bit more of a niche benefit with VPNs for gaming, but opening up location-restricted gaming content can be a huge plus for certain people.  Some online games employ geo-blocking technology to prevent users in specific locations from being able to access content in a different region. This practice is highly controversial and the EU has even gone so far as to have fined Valve and some game publishers in 2021 for this very thing. Unfortunately, it hasn’t stopped all geo-blocking activity by game developers. The best way around geo-blocked content is to use a VPN to connect to a server in the region that you want to access content. This VPN connection will spoof your location and allow you to play games or connect to game servers that aren’t available where you are. It’s worth noting though that many game servers or platforms utilize anti-VPN measures to detect and block VPN traffic. Also, you may be violating the terms of service by connecting with a VPN and can face consequences if caught—Steam, for example, may permanently ban your entire account from the platform. Can potentially reduce your ping A VPN allows you to pick and choose the location of your connection. This could provide the benefit of lowering your ping and latency.  Ping is the measure of how quickly your device sends and receives information from a game’s servers. This can have huge overall impacts because it allows you to respond faster to what’s happening in a game. Ping is especially important in competitive online games such as Valorant, Call of Duty, and League of Legends where quick responses are critical to success. VPNs will benefit those who live outside of commonly served areas such as the U.S., Europe, and eastern Asia the most. Using a VPN to find a more direct route to the closest game servers or data centers may lead to lower ping and latency. Be careful, though, as the opposite is true as well: If you connect to a VPN server further away from the data center than your physical location it may significantly increase your ping and latency. The key word here is “potentially.” Unless you know precisely where the nearest data center is, and whether a VPN server is close enough, you might end up on a wild goose chase trying to track down the best connection for only a minor payoff. Cons of gaming with a VPN: Slower connections speeds Connecting to a VPN, no matter what your intended use, is likely going to slow down your connection speed. Sure, ping is going to play a more impactful role in your gaming experience than just raw connection speeds, but a slower internet connection means slower downloads. There is going to be a knock-on effect as well if you have multiple devices connected to the same network, eating away at bandwidth. The best way around this is to use one of the fastest VPNs. These services are going to have less of a chance of noticeably slowing down your connection speeds. Still, all of this won’t matter if your home internet is slow already—it’s best to test and compare your home internet speeds and VPN connection speeds to know for sure. May violate a game’s terms of service This may not be a point that gamers consider when looking for a VPN for gaming. But it’s critical that you check the terms of service of any games or game apps you use to see if using a VPN is a violation. These apps go further than simply blocking VPN connections, they actually make users agree to their restrictions before allowing access to the games you want to play. The ultra-popular Steam app prohibits users from connecting to VPNs to disguise or spoof their location while gaming on its platform. The subscriber agreement states, “You agree that you will not use IP proxying or other methods to disguise the place of your residence, whether to circumvent geographical restrictions on game content, to order or purchase at pricing not applicable to your geography, or for any other purpose. If you do this, Valve may terminate your access to your Account.” While it may be possible to get away with using a VPN to access geo-restricted content on these platforms, you should consider carefully if it’s worth receiving a potential ban as a result. Adds another monthly expense This one is pretty straightforward, but still worth considering. Gaming nowadays is not a cheap endeavor and adding another monthly expense on top of those expensive AAA games just might not be in your budget. The very best VPNs cost money, and free VPNs simply aren’t going to cut it for gaming with all of the restrictions they put in place. For users who value privacy above all else, then a VPN has its perks. But not every gamer ultimately needs to use a VPN. If you mostly play singleplayer games, your internet speeds and ping are already good, or you’re not concerned with potential doxxing, then using a VPN solely for gaming probably isn’t worth the money. My top VPNs for gaming: If you do decide that you want to use a VPN while gaming, then the next step is finding the right VPN to use. Thankfully, I test and review VPNs for a living and I’ve put in countless hours playing games with different VPN services. Here are my go-to picks: NordVPN Read our review Best Prices Today: $3.39 at NordVPN (Monthly) Apart from being our top pick overall for best VPN, NordVPN is also the best at getting around region-restricted content. Users have access to an extensive server network spread across most of the countries of the world. Plus, NordVPN has the fastest consistent speeds of any VPN I’ve ever tested, meaning you won’t have any issues with negative game impacts or downloading large game files. A subscription to Nord even comes with access to a whole suite of extra security features such as malware and scam protection, ad-blocking, and a password manager. ExpressVPN Read our review Best Prices Today: $4.99 at ExpressVPN ExpressVPN comes with most of the same benefits as NordVPN, but makes connecting even simpler. With just one click you’ll be connected to the fastest server available near you and with its wide platform support you can connect with just about any device—it even has full support for Steam Deck. ExpressVPN is a bit more expensive, but comes with some great features such as a built-in password manager and advanced proprietary VPN protocols that help justify the cost. Surfshark Read our review Best Prices Today: $2.19 at Surfshark (Monthly) Surfshark is all about value. While it doesn’t have quite as many features as NordVPN, and isn’t quite as simple to use as ExpressVPN, it beats both on price—especially if you opt for a long-term deal. This isn’t to say Surfshark isn’t a capable VPN in its own right. In fact, it still includes more extra features than most other VPNs and has solid speeds and a large server network. All of this makes Surfshark a great value VPN if gaming is your priority. Related content How to save big money by using a VPN: Risks and benefits 14 VPN terms and features everyone should know Here’s why you should be using a VPN with your smart TV Why you need to pack a VPN for your next vacation Read...

Welcome to The Full Nerd newsletter—your weekly dose of hardcore hardware talk from the enthusiasts at PCWorld. Missed the hot topics on our YouTube show or latest burning issues from across the web? We’ve got you covered. Want this newsletter to come directly to your inbox? Sign up on our website! Adam and Will talked a lot about the future this week—at least, indirectly. The discussion with guest Wendell of Level1Techs circled around two seemingly niche interests, but we’re seeing in real-time how they’re spreading to mainstream use. Ask most people off the street to describe a PC, and they’ll describe a full system that hogs space on your desk or floor. But with the growing popularity of mini-PCs, I find myself wondering how long that association will last. Ten years ago, friends and family gave me blank stares when I eagerly showed off a compact 4×4-inch Intel NUC. They lived in a world with clear definitions: desktop PCs were large and powerful, while laptops were small and portable. Such a tiny computer with laptop specs yet no dedicated monitor or input didn’t make sense to them. Will we all come to think of this as the standard desktop PC in the coming years? IDG But now, pocket-sized PCs are enjoying a sharp rise in interest. And as Wendell points out, their application is pretty wide and varied at home. Mount them to the back of a monitor (which you can do with a standard VESA bracket), and you’ve got a clean setup that looks like an all-in-one PC but more easily serviced, upgraded, or replaced. On the other end of the spectrum, homelab enthusiasts can create entire armies of PCs with minimal footprint—and at minimal cost. In another decade, I wonder how outdated even a small-form-factor build will seem to most PC users. If the dearth of budget PC components and the inflating cost of mid-range parts both continue, mini-PCs may ultimately become the affordable default for folks who only need a basic computer. Wendell seems to agree—in this week’s episode, he says, “The [current] heyday is so good, it’s going to change desktop PCs at the low end.” And who knows? Perhaps Linux will simultaneously lose yet more of its feel as a thing for extreme nerds. Windows 10’s mass extension won’t be put off forever, and not everyone will replace their PC immediately. Based on the discussion with Wendell about Linux though (in which its charming complexities are once again made apparent), I’m not holding my breath just yet. In this episode of The Full Nerd… Willis Lai / Foundry In this episode of The Full Nerd, Adam Patrick Murray and Will Smith chat with guest Wendell of Level1Techs about a possible mini-PC future, the problem with Linux, and viewers’ Linux-related questions. (As you do when you’ve got Wendell in the house.) It’s two hours of super nerdy talk—and after a week of Amazon Prime Day deal hunting, my frazzled soul sorely needed to tune into such a full, meaty discussion. My favorite takeaways: Wendell thinks a typing speed of 130 wpm is slow, and also, I have no reason to be self-conscious about the five mini-PCs stacked on my desk right now. Missed our live show? Subscribe now to The Full Nerd YouTube channel, and activate notifications. We also answer viewer questions in real-time!  And if you need more hardware talk during the rest of the week, come join our Discord community—it’s full of cool, laid-back nerds. This week’s interesting nerd news Honestly, I don’t even know which team (aka Windows version) I’m rooting for anymore. I think neither.Microsoft I am grateful that for every infuriating move on Comcast’s part, a tech enthusiast on the web does something to make me still smile in spite of my outraged fury. Gross, Comcast wants to spy on us via Wi-Fi: Xfinity routers now can detect motion via interruptions to Wi-Fi signal strength between devices on your network and then send you a notification. Sounds maybe okay, except for the part where the company reserves the right to collect and log your data, plus possibly sell it to advertisers. My take: The old-school method of third-party modem/router + hollering at your cat to get out of the way works just fine. Gamers say no thanks to 8GB graphics cards: According to data shared by a German retailer, gamers apparently overwhelmingly favor the 16GB RTX 5060 Ti instead of the 8GB variants. Can’t imagine why people buying a “budget” card would want their GPU to remain versatile for as long as possible. Buying a graphics card sucks right now: Oh wait, I can imagine why people buying a “budget” card would want their GPU to remain versatile for as long as possible—it’s because trying to buy a video card anywhere near MSRP is difficult as heck at the moment, as our friend Steve Burke at Gamers Nexus dives deep into. At the high end, DIY builders are regularly paying 45 to 55 percent above suggested list prices. Ouch. Adam Patrick Murray / Foundry Windows 11 nag screens apparently work: Windows 11 usage just finally surpassed Windows 10—surprising news, given a recent report where Windows 11 had lost ground to Windows 10 in May. Never did I imagine a world where I’d watch market share for Windows versions the way I do the final quarter of a close football game. Modder sets world overclocking record by strapping DIY copper waterpipes to a GTX 1060: Sometimes it’s really fun watching people who stop, think about how they want to approach a situation, and say, “YOLO” Who needs more than 64 threads for 7-Zip? Who cares: Do you think when the 7-Zip devs lifted this restriction in the software, they shouted, “I release you from your bonds”? You know what, don’t answer that. That’s the official canon in my head now. AI’s hunger for electricity sparks a showdown with Pennsylvania’s governor: Artificial intelligence uses a lot of electricity—and apparently, the demand is so high that it’s affecting both supply and prices for consumers in the Keystone State. PA’s governor is threatening to ditch the state’s grid energy provider if new plants aren’t built. I’m hoping this news doesn’t signal a grim future where quality of life for ordinary people like you and me takes a nose dive in favor of tech companies’ vision for the future. That wraps up this week—I’m gonna spend my down time recovering from a shopping hangover…and I didn’t even spend that much. (By the way, if you need to stock up on any gear and live in the U.S., consider doing it now, given the further volatility around tariffs.) Alaina Read...

When I first learned Photoshop in the early 2000s, I spent a lot of time making desktop wallpapers. I played with filters and custom brushes, Matrix fonts, and inverted colors. You can probably still find my old “portfolio” of them online somewhere. I don’t have time for that anymore, but I do still use a PC wallpaper app. Weird, right? Here’s the thing: I don’t want fancy or advanced wallpapers. I don’t want them to be “dynamic” or “live,” I don’t want games tucked in the corner, and I don’t want live news or stock ticker details. (As you can tell, I’m not a fan of Windows widgets and notifications, either.) I just want my wallpapers to be simple yet varied. I want my Windows background to be fresh while my desktop icons remain legible. But because the built-in Windows Spotlight feature doesn’t offer much customization, I prefer to use the Dynamic Theme app instead—and in my humble opinion, it trumps all the premium alternatives. Why Dynamic Theme beats Spotlight Dynamic Theme is a freely available dynamic background tool available in the Microsoft Store (rest assured it works well with all recent versions of Windows) that augments the already-pretty-good Windows Spotlight. It’s been around since the Windows 10 days, so I’m not breaking new ground here, but it really is a diamond in the rough. It does everything I need a wallpaper app to do and more, plus it doesn’t cost a thing. To be fair, I love how Windows Spotlight gives you a new wallpaper every day, and my curiosities are satisfied by the fact I can click on a little info-bubble and get more information about the landscape, building, or vista in the day’s image. But Windows Spotlight is limited to 1080p and you can’t customize it beyond turning it on and off. Jon Martindale / Foundry Dynamic Theme takes all the things I like about Windows Spotlight and adds in the customization that’s missing. With an interface and theme that looks like a native Windows app, Dynamic Theme feels familiar and has a near-zero learning curve. Yet it gives you the ability to customize how your dynamically altered wallpapers change, including what they change to. You can choose between Windows Spotlight or Bing as sources for your background pictures (the latter of which can be higher resolutions), and you can choose which image is displayed, too, with the ability to cycle through all recent options and pick the one you like the best. Jon Martindale / Foundry You can have a different image for your desktop background versus your lock screen, choose how the background fits to your screen (useful if you have a monitor with a niche aspect ratio), and tweak the behavior of how the background image actually changes. You can have the changes happen dynamically, send you a notification when a new one is available, or have it trigger at a certain time of day. You can even have the pictures automatically saved offline so you can go back to them later or use them for something else entirely. Ditching the ads and the tracking One of the most lip-curlingly distasteful aspects of Windows Spotlight is that, alongside these gorgeous vistas and click-through insights into what or where I’m looking at, Microsoft also inserts ads for various apps and services into them. The little pop-up bubbles aren’t super distracting, but they’re definitely there—and they take away from the beauty of the backdrop and feel intrusive in an exploitative way. Dynamic Theme does away with all of that. Since it isn’t using Spotlight to change the wallpaper or lock screen background—just grabbing the images and changing it itself—there are no ads to be seen. Jon Martindale / Foundry However, Dynamic Theme does have one distasteful setting of its own. Fortunately, it’s a toggle and totally optional. Once you’ve downloaded the app and set it up as you like, make sure to navigate to the Information tab in the left-hand menu. Alongside some other useful options—like setting the app’s theme and having quick access to a feedback form—is the heading Diagnostic and usage data. This is the data collection portion of the app that can collect usage and diagnostic information on you and your machine. Ostensibly, it’s to help fix problems when they occur as well as improve the app’s overall service. But if the app is free, you’re the product. And if that bothers you, it’s great to see that there’s a toggle to Disable this data tracking. Straightforward, simple, and sublime The modern world of computing, from the internet we browse to the apps we use to the hardware that runs it all, so often feels bloated, oversold, and aggressively complicated. For that reason, it’s always a treat to find an application that’s so definitively simple. Dynamic Theme gives you the kind of control that Windows Spotlight should have, while ditching the worst aspects of it. It has a clean, straightforward UI that fits in with your Windows theme of choice and doesn’t take any time to learn to navigate. It lets you prioritize backgrounds that fit your displays and resolutions, leaning into gorgeous views of our world without messing around with resource-draining dynamic or live backgrounds which are more distracting than anything else. Jon Martindale / Foundry Dynamic Theme is unashamably old-school in its approach, and it’s exactly the kind of straight-thinking take that I want in something as fundamental to the Windows experience as an attractive, useful wallpaper that makes sure I can see my icons but remains fresh and dynamic. It changes when I want, how I want, and in a manner that doesn’t overstep its bounds. There’s no paid premium version and no ads. Just gorgeous pictures for my background and lock screen. I don’t have to scroll through a wallpaper site, find the right resolution or aspect ratio, or have my GPU working hard just to display the backdrop. Sometimes the best tools aren’t the latest and greatest. They’re the ones that continue doing the same great job they’ve always done. Dynamic Theme is one of them. Long may it continue. Further reading: Useful hidden gem Windows apps worth using Read...

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TL;DR: Through July 20, you can get Microsoft Visual Studio Pro 2022 for Windows for $14.97—the lowest price we’ve ever seen for a legit license (reg. $499). If you’ve ever looked into Visual Studio Pro, you’ve probably seen the steep price tag and clicked away. But during PCWorld’s Deal Days—that’s our answer to Amazon’s Prime Day—the $499 professional IDE is 97% off for a limited time. It’s a rare opportunity to add a pro-level tool to your workflow without breaking your budget or risking a non-legitimate license on another site. Regardless of your coding skills, you’ll appreciate the following: IntelliCode: This feature offers real-time coding suggestions to help you program faster. It also assists by highlighting your code so you’re aware of bugs or errors. CodeLens: This displays commit history, recent changes, and authorship to allow for more efficient programming across a team of developers. The ability to edit running ASP.NET pages in the web designer view and use hot reload capabilities across .NET and C++ apps. LiveShare: It comes with personalized sessions, access controls, and custom editor settings to speed up editing or debugging. Deal Days officially ends on July 20, so get your Visual Studio license for $14.97 before then (reg. $499). No coupon is needed. Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022See Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...

Amazon Prime Day 2025 is officially live, but the deals end at midnight Pacific on Friday — meaning you have just a few hours left to score some juicy deals on laptops. Just remember, you’ll need a Prime membership to access the deals. Here’s how to get it for free. If you’re not sure where to start, don’t worry, I’ve got you covered with a curated list of the best laptop deals on Prime Day. Why should you care about what I’ve got to say? Fair question. I oversee all laptop and Chromebook review coverage at PCWorld. I also maintain our best laptop deals roundup daily, along with our best laptops of 2025 roundup weekly. That means I’m hunting for the best laptop discounts online every single day, so I’m pretty well-attuned to the landscape, while my hands-on knowledge helps me unearth the true gems. Best Prime Day 2025 deals on budget laptops Lenovo IdeaPad 1, Intel Celeron processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/12GB RAM/128GB eMMC + 256GB PCIe), $284.05 ($74.95 off at Amazon) Asus VivoBook Go, AMD Ryzen 5 7520U processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/8GB RAM/512GB SSD, $329.99 ($100 off at Amazon) Dell Inspiron 15 3535, AMD Ryzen 5 7520U processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/8GB RAM/512GB SSD, $410.77 ($39.22 off at Amazon) Our top pick: With 8GB of RAM, a comfortable 1080p display, and a spacious 512GB of storage, the Dell Inspiron 15 3535 really hits the sweet spot at this price point (under $500). If you want a laptop that remains peppy after weeks of use, then this is the one to pick. Best Prime Day 2025 deals on mid-range laptops Samsung Galaxy Book4 (AI), Snapdragon X Plus processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $701 ($198.99 off at Amazon) Dell Inspiron 5441, Snapdragon X Plus processor/14-inch 1920×1200 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $717.34 ($82.65 off at Amazon) Apple 2025 MacBook Air, M4 chip/13.6-inch 2560×1664 display/16GB RAM/256GB SSD, $849 ($150 off at Amazon) Asus Vivobook 14 Flip, Intel Core Ultra 5 226V processor/14-inch 1920×1200 OLED touchscreen display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $869.99 ($130 off at Amazon) Our top pick: The Dell Inspiron 16 Plus is a great pick because you’re getting a high resolution 16-inch display (2560×1600), a good amount of RAM (16GB) and storage (1TB), and a powerful Intel Core?i7-13620H processor–all for under $800. Best Prime Day 2025 deals on premium laptops Microsoft Surface Laptop (2024), Snapdragon X Elite processor/13.8-inch ?2304×1536 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $969.99 ($430 off at Amazon) Apple MacBook Air, M4 chip/13.6-inch 2560×1664 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $1,049 ($150 off at Amazon) Samsung Galaxy Book5 360, Intel Core Ultra 7 processor/16-inch 1920×1080 AMOLED display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $1,049.99 ($300 off at Amazon) Asus Vivobook S 14, AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 processor/14-inch 3840×2160 OLED display/24GB RAM/512GB SSD, $1,057.99 ($142 off at Amazon) Asus ZenBook 15 Pro OLED, Intel Core i7-13620H processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/16GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,099.99 ($100 off at Amazon) Our top pick: Just a little over a grand for the Asus Vivobook S 14? That’s an excellent price for a laptop with the latest AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 processor and a super crisp 14-inch 3840×2160 display. You’re also getting 24GB of RAM, which is more than most laptops get at this price point. Best Prime Day 2025 deals on gaming laptops Acer Nitro V, Intel Core i5-13420H processor/RTX 4050 graphics/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/8GB RAM/512GB SSD, $649.99 ($150 off at Amazon) Acer Nitro 17, AMD Ryzen 5 8645HS processor/RTX 4050 graphics/17.3-inch 1920×1080 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $979.99 ($220 off at Amazon) Asus ROG Strix G16, Intel Core i9-14900HX processor/RTX 4060 graphics/16-inch 2560×1600 display/16GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,589 ($110.99 off at Amazon) Lenovo Legion 16, Intel Core i9-14900HX processor/RTX 4070 graphics/16-inch 2560×1600 display/64GB RAM/2TB SSD, $1,999 ($239.74 off at Amazon) Our top pick: The Asus ROG Strix G16 really stands out. Not only does the RTX 4060 graphics card deliver excellent gaming performance, but you’re also getting 16GB of RAM (ideal for running modern games) and 1TB of SSD storage for large installs. The 16-inch 2560×1600 display also gives you slightly more vertical space than your standard 1080p panel.  Other great Prime Day deals These aren’t the only Prime Day deals being tracked by the PCWorld team. If you’re looking to supercharge your home setup with the juiciest tech sales, hit the links for only the best expert-curated picks we’ve found. Best Amazon Prime Day tech deals: Great sales chosen by experts Best Prime Day PC computer deals: Gaming & mainstream desktops Best Prime Day laptop deals: Gaming notebooks, 2-in-1s, and more Best Prime Day deals on SSDs and storage Best USB flash drive deals for Prime Day 2025 Best monitor deals for Prime Day 2025: OLED, home office, and more Best Prime Day deals on Thunderbolt docks and USB-C hubs Best Prime Day mini PC deals: Big savings on tiny computers Best Prime Day deals on battery chargers and power banks Best Prime Day 2025 deals on Chromebooks Best Prime Day deals on office chairs and standing desks FAQ 1. What kind of laptop should I get? Well, it depends on your needs and lifestyle. A 2-in-1, for example, is a good fit for someone who travels often. You can swing the screen back 360 degrees and use it in tablet mode for taking notes or you can prop it up like a tent for watching movies with friends. If gaming is a top priority, then you’ll want to look into a laptop with powerful graphics hardware and a display with a high refresh rate. For those of us who need a basic laptop for general web browsing, a low-powered Windows laptop should do you just fine. 2. How can I tell whether a laptop is a good Prime Day deal? I always use CamelCamelCamel, a free tool that tracks Amazon price history. Just create an account, enter a product’s ASIN (found in its Amazon URL and starts with the letter B), and you’ll see a graph of its price history over time. It’s an easy way to spot the good stuff and to also know if you’re getting the lowest price. 3. Do laptop brands matter? Not really, as long as you stick to well-known brands. Big manufacturers like Acer and Dell make solid machines and often offer steep discounts on their websites. You might have a personal preference, though, like maybe you’ve historically stuck with HP machines. 4. How much memory do I need in a laptop? I always tell my friends and family to aim for at least 8GB of RAM. Anything less, and you’ll likely notice things starting to slow down. If you can go higher than 8GB, even better. The more RAM you have, the snappier your laptop will feel, especially for everyday tasks like web browsing or working in spreadsheets. For more demanding work, 16GB is a solid choice for productivity and gaming, while 32GB and beyond is ideal for video editing and other intensive tasks. 5. Is now a good time to buy a laptop? Will tariffs affect laptop prices? Yes! Prime Day tends to offer some of the lowest laptop prices of the year, especially on budget and mid-range models. Prices on premium and gaming laptops are all over the place, but Prime Day is one of those rare times where you’ll see good discounts across every category.  As for external factors like tariffs, there are currently no major new tariffs affecting laptops in the U.S., but this can change fast depending on trade decisions. Manufacturers hike the prices up later in the year, especially if supply chain issues pop up again, so if you’re thinking about pulling the trigger on a new laptop, now’s a good time to do it. Read...

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Browser extensions can be just as dangerous as regular apps, and their integration with the tool everyone’s constantly using can make them seem erroneously innocuous. Case in point: a collection of more than 200 extensions for Chrome and other major browsers are being used to “scrape” website content. This essentially turns browser users into a free data center, with capacity sold off for profit. The Secure Annex report (spotted by Ars Technica) is an interesting one, documenting the MellowTel system. Here’s how it works: Step one, a developer of a legitimate extension is offered a tool that integrates a software library into the extension. Step two, this software library utilizes the “unused bandwidth” for a browser in ways that aren’t obvious to the actual PC user. What’s happening is that the extension is using some clever tricks to scan and “scrape” the website behind the scenes, in the same way search engines like Google do… but crucially bypassing some of the basic protections that are in place, like security headers and robots.txt. So not only are the extensions slipping past some of the web’s basic guardrails, they’re doing so while parked on an unsuspecting PC, using up the processing power, bandwidth, and electricity of a user who downloaded a free browser extension. This essentially makes the end user’s browser a “bot,” in the researcher’s words. Step three, that scraped data — extremely valuable in the age of AI training sets, among other useful things — is collected and sold. Step four, the developer of the extension, who may or may not be aware of all of this, gets paid… along with the creator of the software library, of course. Hundreds of Chrome, Edge, and Firefox extensions have been documented using MellowTel, though some have been removed for malware (possibly unrelated to the report) or simply taken out the library in an update. An updated list from researcher John Tucker is available here, along with links to the relevant pages on the Chrome Web Store, Microsoft Edge add-ons repository, and Firefox add-ons repository. Here’s the interesting thing. Though this behavior certainly mimics the processes of a botnet or other malware, it’s not actively malicious… at least in terms that would obviously hold up in court. The user downloaded and installed the browser extension (almost certainly without reading the fine print), the developer included the library. This isn’t too far removed from, say, the advertisements on this very page that are sharing a whole lot more data about you than you might feel comfortable with. The system that enables the scraping is even open source, available for anyone to inspect. That said, this is definitely stepping over an ethical line, in my (totally independent, non-accusatory, and non-culpable) opinion. Gobbling up “unused bandwidth” is a red flag — that’s bandwidth that the user paid for, used or not, and will definitely show up in a bill if you happen to be on a metered connection while mobile. Using someone else’s bandwidth without explicit informed consent, to say nothing of computing power, smacks of the same kind of behavior that had extensions mining cryptocurrency with strangers’ computers. And that’s without considering the security issues. Tucker notes that in addition to the scraping behavior, the extensions gather other data including the computer’s (and thus the user’s) location, and opens potentially unsafe connections to remote web servers to transmit the data. The potential for browser extensions to be malicious or unsafe isn’t new, but this kind of scraping and harvesting behavior is likely to become more common in the future. Read...