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Intel i9-9900K explained: The road to 5GHz
Intel has released its new line of desktop processors, including the i9-9900K, an eight-core CPU which can boost up to 5GHz. These chips are certainly fast, but they also showcase some of the challenges Intel and entire chip industry has had in crafting speedier processors. In the 2000s, most people would have predicted we'd have 5GHz chips by around 2008. Though the first 5GHz chips did finally appear in 2013, they were outperformed by most other high-end chips on the market. So how can a processor that runs faster perform worse than a slower chip, and how fast will the i9-9900K really be?
Intel is making gaming easier for people without graphics cards
Intel is making life a little easier for PC gamers on a budget. A new driver update for its 6th-gen Core processors and above will configure a game to your rig's specs automatically. As PC World reports, this includes the "Kaby Lake G" processors on addition to Skylake. Finally, no more fiddling in the menus on your machine running integrated graphics to get a game to run above 20FPS. At least that's the idea. It's a lot like how NVIDIA's GeForce Experience works for discrete graphics cards. The first games to benefit from this include Battlefield 1, Dota 2, Grand Theft Auto V, League of Legends and Overwatch. Sure, you'll probably lose out on shadow detail and texture filtering, but at least you'll be able to play, period.
Netflix now streams HDR video on Windows 10
You no longer have to turn to your phone or TV to watch Netflix's more vibrant HDR video selection. The streaming behemoth has added support for playing HDR on Windows 10, both in the native Netflix app and in the Edge browser (sorry, no Chrome here). You're already set software-wise if you're running the Fall Creators Update. However, it's the hardware requirements that might leave you hanging -- and we don't just mean the need for an HDR10-compatible display.
What is Intel Coffee Lake?
Intel's 8th-generation "Coffee Lake" CPUs are now on the market. These chips come with a modest bump in CPU frequency, but the big news is that Intel is finally adding 6-core processors to its mainstream i7 and i5 lines. More cores means these chips will perform better at tasks that benefit from multithreading, such as content creation and data processing, and the increase in frequency and cores will give a boost to gaming frame rates. Intel used to release chips on a "tick-tock" cycle that saw every release alternate either a new design, or a new manufacturing process - called a "node." A new process node, like moving from 45nm to 22nm, means smaller transistors and a faster or more power-efficient chip. But manufacturing challenges made tick-tock falter a few years ago, and now new releases are much harder to predict. "Coffee Lake" is the fourth chip Intel has released at 14nm, and the third based on the "Skylake" design from 2015. New designs and nodes are coming, but we'll probably have to wait until they arrive in 2018 to see a big jump in performance.
Overclocking to 7GHz takes more than just liquid nitrogen
Over the years, I've been fascinated by two kinds of events at Computex: esports and extreme-PC-overclocking competitions. I doubt I'd ever make it as a professional gamer (I'm more of a Counter Fight kind of guy than a Counter-Strike man these days), but I'd jump at any opportunity to pour liquid nitrogen onto a PC motherboard, because even if I screw something up, chances are I'd still look cool doing so. It just so happened that at this year's Computex, gaming-accessory maker G.SKILL invited me to its extreme-overclocking workshop behind its contest stage. As a total newbie with absolutely zero knowledge of overclocking, I quickly took up this offer.
ASUS crams a GTX 1080 GPU into a 16.9mm-thick laptop
For most people, Zephyrus is the Greek god of the west wind, gently bringing spring, and fruit, to the peoples of the world. For gamers, you can be damn sure that definition is going to be quickly supplanted by the one created by ASUS's Republic of Gamers today. Now, Zephyrus means a pretty damn powerful gaming laptop in a surprisingly slender body, measuring just 16.9mm thick when closed, making it the "world's slimmest," according to ASUS. By way of comparison, Razer's latest Blade Pro, a high-water mark for such laptops, stands at 22.5mm.
Alienware 15 review: Bigger, but not necessarily better
Getting your hands on a bleeding-edge gaming laptop is an exercise in chasing chip architecture. It's sort of a waiting game. You wait for Intel and NVIDIA to upgrade their GPU and CPU standards, you wait for early adopter manufacturers to put them through their paces and, finally, you wait for the machine you want to hit the market with the new bells and whistles. In spring, we saw Dell's Alienware 13 kitted out with Intel's new Kaby Lake Core i7-7700HQ CPU and NVIDIA Pascal graphics -- and now that same combo is available in the company's larger 15-inch notebook.
ASUS ZenBook Pro UX550 is a powerhouse with a 4K touchscreen
It's been over two years since ASUS announced its original ZenBook Pro, and while the machine received a spec bump late last year, it's about time for the company to revamp its premium desktop replacement line. Announced at the "Edge of Beyond" event ahead of Computex, the new ZenBook Pro UX550 once again dons a 15.6-inch 4K touchscreen behind the spin-metal lid, except this time it comes with Intel's top Kaby Lake option plus an NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti graphics chip (with 4GB of DDR5 VRAM). More notably, at 18.9mm thick and 1.8kg (3.97 pounds), the UX550 is one of the most portable laptops in its class, beating the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 (25.44mm/2.62kg) and Acer Nitro 5 (26.75mm/2.7kg), which tout similar specs (except for their lack of 4K display option), while almost matching the smaller 14-inch Razer Blade (17.9mm/ 1.86kg).
Microsoft made the Surface Pro both lighter and quieter
Microsoft has mostly left the Surface Pro line untouched since late 2015, but the company is finally giving it a long overdue refresh today. Announced at an event in Shanghai earlier, the new machine -- now simply dubbed Surface Pro -- packs Intel's 7th-gen Core processors (Kaby Lake; m3, i5 and i7 flavors), an enhanced 12.3-inch PixelSense display (2,736 x 1,824) plus optional LTE Advanced radio due later this year. Microsoft calls this "the lightest, the best sounding, the fastest and the quietest Surface Pro ever," and the company was keen to claim that its own machine is 1.7 times faster than the iPad Pro.
Apple reportedly announcing a slew of MacBook updates next month
Apple's annual developer conference hasn't been a venue for product launches in four years, but it might produce a bumper crop of laptops this time around. Bloomberg sources hear that Apple is planning to upgrade at least the 12-inch MacBook and MacBook Pro line when WWDC kicks off in June. The Pros would get improved 7th-generation Core (aka Kaby Lake) processors with little to no external changes, while the 12-inch system is only said to be getting a "faster Intel chip" (our money's on Y-series Core i5 and i7 CPUs). However, the biggest deal may be an update to a system many thought Apple had left for dead: the MacBook Air.
LG's ultralight Gram laptops now available starting at $1,000
One of the most exciting things we saw at CES 2017 was LG's 14-inch Gram laptop, particularly because of its lightweight design (2.3 pounds). Today, the company announced that the device is now available, along with the 13.3 and 15.6-inch versions. Regardless of which screen size you choose, they all feature Intel's 7th-generation Kaby Lake processors and 1080p IPS displays. The cheapest model costs $1,000 and comes with a Core i5 CPU, 8GB RAM and 256GB of built-in storage, but it does lack a touchscreen. You can also get the 14-inch with these specs for $200 more.
The Alienware 13 gets better with VR and impressive battery life
Gaming laptops used to be an outlier in the world of portable computing. When the rest of the market was focused on extending battery life, gaming laptops doubled down on raw power and thick frames designed for better airflow. Trying to find a small gaming machine that didn't sacrifice power for portability was a fool's errand. Today, things are different. Gaming laptops can be thin, have enough battery life to survive a plane flight and double as a productivity and entertainment machines with few compromises. The best recent example of this to cross my desk is the Alienware 13, a small, powerful gaming laptop that does almost everything right.
Intel gives its NUC mini-PCs new processors, new ports and a new design
When you're looking for a tiny desktop, Intel's NUC computers are something of a standard. These bare-bone PCs have made a name for themselves as affordable, reasonably powerful and adorably small. Now they're even better: Intel is giving its line of tiny computers new seventh-generation desktop CPUs, a fresh design and Thunderbolt 3 ports.
Intel unveils its 7th-gen CPUs for desktops and performance laptops
Intel hasn't forgotten about desktop aficionados. Only a few months after debuting its seventh-generation CPUs for ultraportables, the chip giant is rounding things out with new processors for more-powerful machines. There's the H-series, targeted at "performance laptops and mobile workstations," and the S-series, meant for more-traditional desktops. They'll complement the two other lines of seventh-generation CPUs, which cover ultra-thin designs (the Y-series) and faster ultraportables (the U-series).
Lenovo's latest ThinkPads ship bloatware-free
It's virtually a tradition for Lenovo to unveil new ThinkPads around CES time, but this year it's doing something a bit different: its systems are defined by what they don't have. The PC builder has just unveiled a slew of mid-tier ThinkPad laptops that all run Microsoft's Signature Edition image of Windows 10 -- that is, you shouldn't expect bloatware bogging things down or introducing security holes. While ThinkPads have had cleaner software than Lenovo's non-pro systems as a general rule, this is good news if you're more interested in getting to work than dealing with unwanted apps.
Dell's updated XPS 13 includes a 'rose gold' model
When Intel formally launched its seventh-generation Core processors, you could practically hear the outcry for an updated Dell XPS 13 that uses them. It's a fan favorite among laptops, but a showcase for what Intel's technology can do for mobile performance and battery life. Well, you can relax. Dell is releasing an upgraded XPS 13 that not only touts the latest Intel tech, but also comes in an optional "rose gold" (aka light metallic pink). It's an acknowledgment that the XPS 13 and its near-borderless display have become design statements, and that many people would like color options beyond the usual shades of gray.
Acer's latest PCs include the first curved screen laptop
You no longer have to stick to your desk to enjoy a flashy curved display. Acer is unveiling flood of new laptops at Germany's IFA show, and the highlight by far is the Predator 21 X -- according to Acer, the world's first curved screen laptop. As the name suggests, opening up this gigantic gaming portable reveals a 21-inch curved, ultra-wide display that promises more immersion than you're used to with portable gaming. It 'only' touts a 2,560 x 1,080 resolution, but NVIDIA G-Sync support should give you smoother, game-friendly output.
Intel's seventh-generation Core CPUs will devour 4K video
4K video is finally gaining a foothold in home theaters this year, but for most PCs it's practically kryptonite. Even if you're lucky enough to have a powerful computer, dealing with such high-resolution video is a surefire way to spike your CPU usage and gobble up battery life. So it's little surprise that Intel made 4K performance the centerpiece of its long-awaited seventh generation Core processors, which were officially announced today. You can also look forward to a slew of other speed-enhancing features when the new chips hit laptops in September.
Microsoft won't support old Windows versions on new processors
Were you hoping to get a new Windows PC in the office this year without having to move to Windows 10 in the process? You might not have much of a choice, unfortunately. Microsoft has revealed that, from now on, newer processors from AMD, Intel and Qualcomm will require the current version of Windows to get enterprise support. Don't expect that Kaby Lake-based workstation to run Windows 7 properly... or more likely, at all.
