Apple : AMD vs Intel: which chipmaker does processors better? |
- AMD vs Intel: which chipmaker does processors better?
- AMD vs Nvidia: which should be your next graphics card?
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| AMD vs Intel: which chipmaker does processors better? Posted: 01 Aug 2019 02:00 PM PDT It’s time once again for us to dive into the perennial deathmatch: AMD vs Intel. After all, while the battle between Coffee Lake Refresh and AMD Ryzen 2nd Generation is still raging on, the war between Ryzen 3rd Generation, Ice Lake and Sunny Cove is about to begin. Essentially acting as the brain of your computer, the best processors are behind everything your PC does. This is why it’s so important to find the one for your specific needs – you don’t want to pay for features you don’t need. Currently, AMD is on top, selling twice as many processors, and with notable releases this year, it’s looking to continue that trend in the next couple of years, at the very least. Still, anyone who has followed the frantic battle of Intel vs AMD as closely as we have will probably already know that AMD and Intel have traditionally existed in different lanes. Where Intel has focused on higher clock speeds and efficiency, AMD has traditionally been all about high core counts and boosting multi-threaded performance. This means that there’s room for the coexistence between AMD and Intel – they cater to different audiences, with direct competition in the middle. If you’re not quite sure whether to pledge allegiance to either Team Red or Team Blue, continue on to the next slide for a constantly updated look at the AMD vs Intel clash. Gary Marshall and Michelle Rae Uy have also contributed to this article For bargain shoppers on the prowl for the next hottest deal, it used to be assumed that AMD’s processors were cheaper, but that was only because Team Red did its best work at the entry level. Now that Ryzen processors have proven AMD’s worth on the high-end as well as the low end, the tide has ostensibly turned. On the mid-range, AMD processors are currently taking the lead. For one, the $329 (£319, AU$519) Ryzen 7 3700X has twice the processing threads, despite being cheaper than the competition, the Intel Core i7-9700K, which is available for $374 (£384, AU$595). On the high end, while Intel chips currently range from 4 to 18 cores, AMD chips can now be found with up to 32-cores. And again, the manufacturer’s 7nm Zen 2 CPUs are at a much lower price point. The AMD Ryzen 9 3900X competes with the $1,199 (£1,115, about AU$1,713) Intel Core i9-9920X at only $499 (about £390, AU$720), while the AMD Ryzen 7 3800X is already beating Intel in multi-threaded work when it goes head to head with the $479 (£469, AU$684) Intel Core i9-9900K at only $399 (about £310, AU$580). That’s not all: rounding out AMD’s new Ryzen processor lineup is the AMD Ryzen 9 3950X, the mainstream market’s first-ever 16-core processor, which considering its power, won’t actually that expensive at $749 (about £590, AU$1,080). It was long-rumored that AMD’s Ryzen chips would offer cutting-edge performance at a lower price, and AMD’s 3rd-generation processors might be sealing the deal. Although, we still have to wait and see what Intel’s 10th-generation chips have to say about that. For anyone looking to dip their toes into the realm of the HEDT processors, AMD and Intel are very close right now, especially on the heels of the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX, at $1,799 (£1,639, AU$2,679). That might seem like a lot, but compared to the $1,999 (£1,859, AU$2,999) Intel Core i9-9980XE, it’s a downright bargain – especially given that AMD’s offering has nearly double the cores. Word is still out on whether or not Intel’s long-speculated Cascade Lake-X will change that. Intel might be aiming to shake things up though as it has announced that it’s planning on releasing a GPU aimed at gamers by 2020. And, it looks like Intel is already putting some of that effort, judging by its Gen11 graphics on the new Ice Lake processors. Still, AMD’s Ryzen 3rd-generation processors are giving Intel a run for its money and succeeding every step of the way. That’s not to mention the Intel processors in laptops that are running AMD Vega graphics. On the high-end, especially in cases where you don’t need to worry about on-board graphics, Intel’s processors are typically on top – its Core i9-9900K handily beats out the workstation-class Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX for less than half the price, as well as the Ryzen 9 3900X in single-core performance. Although, when it comes to multi-threaded performance Ryzen 9 3900X, which will set you back $499, does give the Core i9-9900K a run for its money. Same can be said for the Ryzen 7 3700X when put side by side with Intel Core i7-9700K, with the Ryzen 7 3700X taking the lead in multi-threaded workloads, but falling behind in its single-threaded ones. Additionally, while we have yet to see how the Ryzen 9 3950X performs in real-world scenarios, this 16-core, 32-thread processor aimed at the mainstream features a whopping 72MB of L3 cache and a boost clock of 4.7 GHz, all while maintaining a 105W TDP. AMD typically provides better multi-threaded performance, as a result of higher core and thread counts. Ryzen CPUs also offer more PCIe lanes, along with PCIe 4.0 compatibility, both of which come in handy if you want multiple NVMe SSDs alongside Nvidia SLI and AMD CrossFire multi-GPU performance. If you're building a gaming PC, you should be using a discrete graphics card, or GPU (graphics processing unit), rather than relying on a CPU’s integrated graphics to run games as demanding as Middle Earth: Shadow of War. Still, it’s possible to run less graphically intense games on an integrated GPU if your processor has one. In this area, AMD is the clear winner, thanks to the release of the Ryzen 5 2400G that packs powerful discrete Vega graphics that outperforms Intel’s onboard graphic technology by leaps and bounds. AMD has also launched an updated driver for its mobile Ryzen chips, which leads to up to 20% better performance in games like CS:GO and Fortnite. Yet, as we mentioned before, Intel has H-series mobile CPU chips with AMD graphics on board. In turn, this means that hardier laptops powered by Intel can now be thinner and their accompanying silicon footprints will be over 50% smaller, according to Intel client computing group vice president Christopher Walker. All of this is accomplished using Embedded Multi-Die Interconnect Bridge (EMIB) technology, along with a newly contrived framework that enables power sharing between Intel’s first-party processors and third-party graphics chips with dedicated graphics memory. Even so, it’s too early to tell whether this is a better solution than the purebred AMD notebooks. But, with Intel Ice Lake, Intel processors now feature the new Gen11 graphics, which feature more EUs, or Execution Cores, than the previous Gen9 graphics. Now, we haven’t got our hands on any laptops powered by Ice Lake, but we’re expecting to see a huge uplift in performance. On the high end, such as in cases where you'll be pairing your CPU with a powerful AMD or Nvidia GPU, Intel’s processors are typically better for gaming due to their higher base and boost clock speeds. However, now that AMD Ryzen 3rd Generation processors offer 15% better IPC (Instructions Per Clock) performance than their 2nd Generation counterparts, that story is starting to change. Plus, AMD still provides better CPUs for multi-tasking, as a result of their higher core and thread counts. While there is no clear winner in the graphics department, survey says AMD is the better option for integrated graphics, while hardcore gamers who don’t mind shelling out the extra cash for a GPU will find that Intel is better for gaming alone – although with Ryzen 3nd Generation AMD is closing that gap. Meanwhile, AMD is superior for carrying out numerous tasks at once. When you buy a new computer or even just a CPU by itself, it's typically locked at a specific clock speed as indicated on the box. Some processors ship unlocked, allowing for higher clock speeds than recommended by the manufacturer, giving users more control over how they use their components (though, it does require you know how to overclock). AMD is normally more generous than Intel in this regard. With an AMD system, you can expect overclocking capabilities from even the $129 (£84, AU$145) Ryzen 3 2200G. Meanwhile, you can only overclock an Intel processor if it's graced with the “K” series stamp of approval. Then again, the cheapest of these is the $173 (about £130, AU$240) Intel Core i3-9350K. Both companies will void your warranty if you brick your processor as the result of overclocking, though, so it’s important to watch out for that. Excessive amounts of heat can be generated if you’re not careful, thereby neutralizing the CPU as a result. With that in mind, you’ll be missing out on a few hundred stock megahertz if you skip out on one of the K models. Intel’s more extravagant K-stamped chips are pretty impressive, too. The i9-9900K, for instance, is capable of maintaining a whopping 5.0GHz turbo frequency in comparison to the 4.6GHz boost frequency of the Ryzen 9 3900X. If you’ve access to liquid nitrogen cooling, you may even be able to reach upwards of 6.1GHz using Intel’s monstrous, 18-core i9-7980XE. In the end, the biggest problem with AMD’s desktop processors is the lack of compatibility with other components. Specifically, motherboard (mobo) and cooler options are limited as a result of the differing sockets between AMD and Intel chips. While a lot of CPU coolers demand that you special order an AM4 bracket to be used with Ryzen, only a handful of the best motherboards are compatible with the AM4 chipset. In that regard, Intel parts are slightly more commonplace and are often accompanied by lower starting costs, too, as a result of the wide variety of kit to choose from. That said, AMD's chips make a little more sense from a hardware design perspective. With an AMD motherboard, rather than having metal connector pins on the CPU socket, you'll notice those pins are instead on the underside of the CPU itself. In turn, the mobo is less likely to malfunction due to its own faulty pins. When it comes to availability in 2019, it gets complicated. While both Coffee Lake Refresh and AMD Ryzen 3nd Generation processors are now widely available, and Ice Lake already currently shipping, Intel went through supply shortages. This resulted in financial analysts downgrading Intel’s stock in the face of both 14nm shortages and Cannon Lake’s constant delays, according to a report from CNBC. And, thanks to this mass confusion and increased prices from Team Blue, AMD has stolen the sales crown. Still, you can pick up processors from both companies today, though Intel chips like the Intel Core i9-9900K might have some increased pricing. AMD APUs like the AMD Ryzen 3 2200G are still great options for anyone on a budget, though. Future speculationIt really shouldn’t come as a surprise that AMD is having a great couple of years with its Ryzen processors – especially the high-end Threadripper processors. AMD is claiming more and more of Intel’s market share, up to 50% at the time of writing. If AMD keeps putting out processors as good as the Ryzen 7 3700X and Ryzen 9 3900X, bringing the 7nm Zen 2 architecture to mainstream processors for the first time, this trend will only continue. Behind the AMD Ryzen 3000 series chips is AMD’s Zen 2 microarchitecture. They’re touting up to 12-cores and 24-threads, as well as massive performance improvements. As for what these chips will be capable of, AMD pit the considerably cheaper AMD Ryzen 9 3900X against the Intel Core i9-9920X in Blender, with promising results. Additionally, AMD Ryzen 7 3800X boasted identical performance to the Intel Core i9-9900K. And if those chips aren’t enough, you’ll get your hands on the Ryzen 9 3950X soon enough, as it will roll out in September 2019. As for Intel, while it did struggle with the Cannon Lake release, it’s full steam ahead for its 10nm Ice Lake processors. These are out right now, and will be in laptops before the end of the year. Ice Lake will be behind the next generation of Ultrabooks, and will feature built-in Thunderbolt 3, WiFi connectivity and Gen11 graphics, among other features. The manufacturer is also expected to refresh its desktop processors, after it announced the Intel Core i9-9900KS, which is essentially a Core i9-9900K that has an all-core 5GHz boost clock, to better compete with Ryzen 3rd Generation processors. Finally, we’ve seen some evidence of Intel’s graphics cards beyond some vague gesturing. At GDC 2019, Intel showed off renders, giving us a tease of what its first graphics card would look like. Little short graphics cards with a single fan in a blower configuration. It’ll be interesting to see if it can compete with AMD’s higher-end GPUs. Keep this page bookmarked as we’ll update it when either manufacturers have more aces to reveal. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AMD vs Nvidia: which should be your next graphics card? Posted: 01 Aug 2019 01:47 PM PDT PC gamers will go on at length about the perennial Nvidia vs AMD rivalry, much like how console gamers have an ongoing Xbox One X and PS4 Pro feud. And, even if you’ve never heard about it before, the sheer amount of competition and innovation that’s resulted from this battle is nothing short of amazing.
If you’re not quite ready to pledge allegiance to one of these tech giants, it might be hard to figure out which best graphics card is an ideal match for your needs. But don’t worry, we here at TechRadar have decided to sit down and figure out once and for all the true winner in the battle of Nvidia vs AMD. (Spoiler: there is no true winner).
There are graphics card choices for days These days, the Nvidia vs AMD battle is in an awkward (or exciting, depending on your perspective) position. Almost a year after the release of its Turing architecture with the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, RTX 2080, RTX 2070 and RTX 2060, which is leading the pack in sales, Nvidia has recently rolled out its Super RTX cards, the RTX 2080 Super, RTX 2070 Super and RTX 2060 Super, all of which boast clock and memory speed boosts. And, while the RTX GPUs were much more expensive than their predecessors, their Super counterparts offer cheaper, competitive prices, in order to keep up with the increasing popularity of their more affordable AMD counterparts. AMD has covered the mid-range market recently with the new AMD Navi cards, backed by the new rDNA graphics architecture. This is the architecture behind the recently-released AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT and AMD Radeon RX 5700, two cards that take on the Nvidia RTX 2060 Super and RTX 2060, respectively. Though as far as competing with Nvidia’s ray-tracing technology, it seems like AMD is in no rush to jump on that bandwagon. There is talk of the so-called Navi 20 cards hitting the shelves in 2020, touting ray-tracing technologies, but don’t expect them to make an appearance this year. In the creative sphere, AMD revealed its Quadro RTX cards for laptops at Computex 2019, which will leverage the Turing architecture and real-time ray tracing for creative professionals. Leading this charge is the Quadro RTX 5000. No matter how you look at it, there are so many graphics cards from both AMD and Nvidia, so that’s why we crafted this guide – to help you figure out how they differ. From exclusive features to price-to-performance ratios, even down to drivers and features, we’ll help you find which graphics card manufacturer is right for you. PriceAnyone who browses Reddit or comment sections on tech websites will tell you that AMD is widely known for its affordability, and Nvidia for its high-end performance and high prices. But, how accurate is this really? Well, the answer is not as simple. In the past, Nvidia has rolled pricier cards. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, for example, is listed at $1,199 (£1,099, AU$1,899), which is almost twice the price of the last-generation GTX 1080 Ti. This price bump continues down the line, with the RTX 2080 at $799 (£749, AU$1,199) and the RTX 2070 at $599 (£569, AU$899). Luckily, the manufacturer has given its Super RTX cards more affordable price tags – $100 cheaper than their predecessors, with RTX 2070 Super at $499 and the RTX 2080 Super at $699. Additionally, Nvidia claimed that they would start at lower prices, for instance, the 2080 Ti should be starting at $999 (about £760, AU$1,385) – but we haven’t seen any cards offered at these prices. Right now, the most affordable Nvidia Turing card is the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650, which starts at $149 (about £115, AU$210). And, Nvidia finally has some graphics cards that can compete with AMD on the budget market as well. As for AMD, you can find a Radeon RX 500 card for a pittance. But, AMD is competing with Nvidia again at the high-end with the AMD Radeon VII, which will set you back $699 (£799, AU$1,169), for performance that is equivalent to the RTX 2080 in most cases. However, because it’s compatible with Mac – something no Nvidia card can claim – it has a leg up for professionals. That’s not all. The company’s mid-range Radeon RX 5700 sets you back $349 (£275, AU$500), the same price as the RTX 2060, but definitely better performing at 1440p on Ultra/Max settings. In fact, based on our review, it blows the RTX 2060 out of the water. On the other hand, the Radeon RX 5700 XT is touting a price tag of $399 (about £315, AU$580) – is around $50 (about £40, AU$70) to $150 (about £120, AU$220) cheaper than the RTX 2070 that it was initially designed to compete with. But then again, Nvidia’s RTX 2070 Super is only $100 more expensive for better raw performance and light 4K gaming – but $100 (about £80, AU$150) is still $100. Still, at the end of the day, the better price is going to depend on where you’re lucky enough to find a discount.
Image Credit: Nvidia PerformanceWhen you’re trying to build a PC that’s more powerful than your arch-enemy’s, buying a graphics card isn’t a matter of price, but performance. Packing the best performance for the lowest cost is arguably the most pertinent factor in driving GPU sales. Currently, the RTX 2080 Ti completely blows away every other consumer-grade graphics card with 11GB of GDDR6 memory and high-end Tensor and RT cores that will enable AI-controlled super sampling and real-time ray tracing. AMD right now doesn’t have anything in the same ballpark – but does that even matter? AMD has always been known for being the clear value champions, whereas Nvidia usually has more powerful hardware. However, at CES 2019, AMD revealed the Radeon VII. And, now that we’ve got our hands on it for testing, we can say that it’s on equal footing with the RTX 2080 – at least until you turn DirectX 12 on. Still, with its 16GB of HBM2 memory, the AMD Radeon VII will shine for any aspiring creatives out there. The lowest end current-generation graphics card in the RTX lineup is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060, with performance that outmatches the AMD Vega 56 at the same price point. And, while the prices for these two GPUs are mostly comparable, AMD is currently dominating the budget-to-mid-range product stack with the AMD Radeon RX 5700, which brings about 2GB more VRAM than the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 at the same price point. At the end of the day, AMD and Nvidia are still occupying completely different sides of the marketplace right now especially since AMD might not have ray tracing until 2020, so the best choice is going to rely on what games you’re trying to play and at what resolution. If you’re trying to play games like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey at 4K, you’re going to want to go with Nvidia. But, if you just want to play Overwatch at 1080p with a high refresh rate – go with AMD. Radeon VII is also looking promising for 4K performance – especially with that 16GB of HBM2 memory. In the meantime, the two new AMD Navi and the Nvidia Super RTX cards are going toe-to-toe in the 1440p gaming sphere.
Image Credit: AMD Software, drivers and featuresOne key draw to using Nvidia hardware over AMD is the Green Team’s GeForce Experience software. Because it delivers driver updates and optimizes games in addition to letting you broadcast gameplay and capture screenshots as well as videos directly from its easy-to-use interface, Nvidia GeForce Experience is posited as the one PC gaming application to rule them all. Meanwhile, AMD’s newly announced Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition aims to overtake Nvidia’s solution. The latest update is stacked features including automatic overclocking (that doesn’t need tensor cores) and stream games to your mobile device. AMD’s latest GPU software will even let you stream VR games to your phone or standalone VR headsets. So, you can leverage the power of your AMD graphics card to play the best VR games without slowdown. Radeon Software’s underlying benefit, of course, is also more consistent updates driver updates to account for every major game release. You could already livestream via Radeon Crimson ReLive, but now you can really customize your broadcast with a Xsplit/OBS-style program from AMD and multi-channel audio control. And as of June 10, 2019, AMD has also made available their new game-developer toolkit, Fidelity FX, for free. Fidelity FX enables game developers get more detail and crispness in low contrast textures, allowing them to fully take advantage of what these AMD Navi cards are capable of.
Image Credit: Nvidia Still, GeForce Experience boasts the game optimization features we’re all crazy for. So when you don’t know what settings are best for your computer in The Witcher 3, Nvidia takes care of the heavy lifting for you. AMD users can download and install Raptr’s Gaming Evolved tool to optimize their gaming experience. However, the add-on is less than ideal considering its biggest rival’s audience can accomplish nearly everything from within GeForce Experience. That includes using Nvidia Ansel to take way cool in-game photos at resolutions exceeding 63K (16 times that of which a 4K monitor can display). Nvidia also has a leg up when it comes to streaming games whether it’s to another gaming PC with at least a Maxwell-based GPU, as well as the company’s self-made tablets and set-top box. Not to mention, Nvidia also has a cloud-based gaming service call GeForce Now available to Windows 10 and MacOS users. And, of course you can’t talk about Nvidia in 2019 without mentioning ray tracing. When Team Green announced its Turing line of graphics card, it made huge claims about revolutionizing gaming with real-time ray traced lighting, shadows and reflections. Games with these features have been out for a while now, and while they certainly look great, these effects drain performance, even from cards designed for them. However, it won’t just be Nvidia for long. Word on the street is that AMD will have cards to support ray tracing in the future. Soon, AMD users won’t have to live their lives without ray tracing – though they may have to wait until 2020.
Image Credit: Nvidia ExclusivityIt was once rumored that AMD and Nvidia were enacting shady tactics, “paying off” game developers to show preferential treatment towards one or the other. Were this the case, it would certainly explain why certain games run better using GeForce graphics than Radeon and vice versa. Fortunately, besides new technologies like ray tracing and deep learning super-sampling in the new Nvidia Turing cards, we don’t see these concerns from PC gamers as much anymore – but they still exist. Following its Capsaicin & Cream livestream event at GDC 2017, we spoke with AMD its to discuss its strategy in contending with Nvidia. The news that the company would partner with Bethesda Softworks to optimize its games for Radeon, Ryzen or both was worrying to say the least. And it still is. At the time, the potential for games operating more smoothly on AMD systems meant that Nvidia could fight back by partnering with an equally large publisher. Although the latter maneuver hasn’t happened yet, early Wolfenstein II performance comparisons, such as this one from TechEpiphany on YouTube have exhibited better performance and lower temps coming from the AMD Radeon RX 64 when pitted against Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1080. We’re not saying there’s a bias towards AMD in Bethesda’s technical design decisions, however we aren’t ready to take off our tin foil hats quite yet either. Of course, Bethesda is hardly the only company to show favoritism to either team red or green. If you ever see an AMD or Nvidia splash screen ahead of the title page when you start a game, you can bet it will run better with that company’s hardware. So, which is better? NeitherThere’s so much to love, and in some instances “dis-love,” about both Nvidia and AMD graphics. In the end, both of these companies rely on competition with each other to thrive. Suffice to say, the Nvidia vs AMD debate requires that you understand there’s a reason Radeon and GeForce GPUs are so similar in performance right now. Each company is doing its best to keep up with the mindshare of the other, and that’s good for us. They’re basically fighting for our money, learning from each other’s mistakes and legislating marked improvements along the way. It’s up to you who wins the fiery contest of Nvidia vs AMD, although we will say this: Nvidia is unmatched in the 4K market right now. If it helps any, the RTX 2080 Ti is probably your best bet if you want your PC to keep up with your Ultra HD display – as long as you can afford it. On the other hand, if you’re on a budget and looking into mid-range cards, Nvidia and AMD graphics cards will probably be about the same.
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| Best laptops for kids 2019: the top laptops for kids in elementary school and beyond Posted: 01 Aug 2019 01:19 PM PDT Whether it’s for school or for play, getting the best laptop for kids is a great idea, because having a good laptop is completely necessary not only for grown-ups, but for the kids as well. The best laptop for kids will usually take the form of a rugged, cheap tablet. Eventually though, your kid will have to graduate to a proper laptop, especially when they’ll need one for school projects and homework. If your kids don’t know their way around a Windows 10 or a macOS environment just yet, rest easy. The best Chromebooks are very easy to use, and they’re the best laptops for kids who need a simpler user interface. These Chromebooks have large, durable displays that are great for getting schoolwork done. And, many of them are also able to run Android apps and games, so the kids can get a bit of downtime between assignments. And, finally, they’re also economical. So, what’s makes the best laptop for kids? How do you decide? Luckily, we’re here to help answer those questions. We put together a list of the best laptops for kids, all of which we tested and reviewed ourselves. With this list, we’ll go through all the affordable devices with rugged frames and even rigid parental controls. On it, you should be able to find one of the best laptops for kids your budget can afford.
Image Credit: Dell Chromebooks make for some of the best laptops for kids because they’re virtually mistake proof, and the Dell Chromebook 11 2-in-1 is no different. Drop it, and it’s fine. Download any malicious software? Well, you can’t! It’s one of the most secure environments for your kids to use a computer, made better by parental controls that you can set yourself. If your kid needs a very affordable laptop to get some schoolwork done, you won’t want to miss out on this excellent device – it even transforms into a tablet for a bit of light gaming after schoolwork. Read the full review: Dell Chromebook Inspiron 11 3181 2-in-1
Image Credit: Lenovo Is your kid used to Windows 10? If so, you’ll find the Lenovo IdeaPad 120S to be among the best laptops for kids – especially at this bargain price. The laptop is mildly ruggedized to survive slips and drops, and boasts a USB-C port for a bit of future-proofing. You can also trust that this device will be free of bloatware that can distract your child. That’s more than enough in our book to recommend this laptop to pretty much every parent – especially those who are Windows 10 fans.
Image Credit: Acer When your kids have finally graduated to a proper laptop, needing to write up papers for class, but you still want to get them something that won’t break the first time it gets dropped, then the Acer Chromebook Spin 11 might just be the laptop for you. It’s powerful enough to get through the kids’ daily schoolwork, and it’s a 2-in-1 so they can flip its comfy keyboard around to turn it into tablet mode for playing Android games or watching their favorite shows in their downtime. The display is a bit dim, and it’s unlikely to blow you away as far as performance, but it’s cheap, solid and reliable. What more can you ask for from one of the best laptops for kids? Read the full review: Acer Chromebook Spin 11
Image Credit: Acer When your kids approach double-digit years, they’re going to require something a bit more robust to support them through more demanding projects, not to mention, sharper streaming. Acer’s latest 15-inch Chromebook is, therefore, among the best laptops for kids – or yours, at least – bringing serious sophistication to your kids’ computing experience and needs, from its design to its great features like a full HD display, fast USB 3.0 connections and an HDR webcam. Keep in mind that this laptop is ideal for adolescents, as you’re swapping its lack of kid-proof features for a larger size, a more luxurious experience and a great price tag. Read the full review: Acer Chromebook 15
Image Credit: Asus If your kid wants a tablet, but you want them to get used to a classic computer configuration, the Asus Transformer Mini is the perfect compromise. This tablet brings plenty of power and ports to the table – not to mention a fingerprint sensor, stylus and keyboard cover – all in the box. That’s a lot of value for an affordable price. Rounding it out is a whopping 11 hours of battery life, so they can get through all their schoolwork and squeeze in some Netflix before bed. If your kids are just too used to tablets to unceremoniously jump to a traditional laptop, this is the one of the best Asus laptops for your kids. Read the full review: Asus Transformer Mini T102HA
Image Credit: Apple The 2015 MacBook Air might not be the newest kid on the block, but it’s still among the best laptop for kids who love the macOS environment – unlike the 2018 model. We know that parents aren’t made of cash, but it’s the cheapest Apple laptop out there, and the 2015 MacBook Air is available at bargain prices, especially in third-party websites. It also has great battery life, an operating system that’s smooth and easy to navigate, and a form factor that’s light and thin. The best Macs are famous for outlasting Windows laptops – and this one might just last your kid through high school and even college. Read the full review: MacBook Air
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| Should parents pay for an extended warranty for their student's laptop? Posted: 01 Aug 2019 01:06 PM PDT
Know how your student uses their laptopThousands of students head back to college every year, and even though your student — with an able laptop in hand — is responsible, lecture halls, dorms, labs, and libraries are bustling with people. Anyone can walk by and bump a laptop off a table, spill coffee on a keyboard, or step where they shouldn't when a backpack is being rearranged. Accidents happen, and even if your student is not one to abuse their tech devices, damage to a laptop can occur. Accidents are made more common due to the frequency of use. A laptop is usually hauled to each lecture, each lab, and each study session, then back home or to a dorm for hours of work in the evening. While a lot of laptops will see no more than a few hours of use in a day, your student's laptop might not have a cooldown for days, especially during exams and other crunch times. Laptops are designed to put up with this type of use, but that doesn't mean something can't fail. A battery might degrade to the point where it needs to be plugged in almost always, ports might stop working due to frequent use, or a display might collect some dead pixels. While you can still generally use a laptop should these problems creep in, you probably want the least amount of distractions for your student. Like with all insurance, there's the risk of paying for something you don't use, but not having to worry about these problems thanks to an extended warranty could make a big difference, and you could ultimately save a lot of money if you do go with extra protection and something fails after the basic warranty has run out. Check what's included in the basic and extended warranties
Using Microsoft's excellent Surface Laptop 2 — which we recommend for students — as an example, new purchases come with a one-year limited hardware warranty and 90 days of technical support. The one-year standard warranty only deals with hardware defects (internal components, display, touchpad, etc.) and will not provide any help for accidental damage. As for the 90 days of tech support, it's basically there to help get Windows 10 and its apps set up properly. An extended warranty, which is called Microsoft Complete in this case, can be added at the time of purchase or within 45 days of the purchase. It can be had for up to two years and will cover your student's laptop for any accidental damage, including drops, spilled liquids, or broken screens. For its duration, you'll also have the standard hardware defect coverage that is normally only in place for the first year.
For another example, using the Spectre x360 13t convertible that we also recommend for students, HP offers a standard one-year limited warranty with new purchases, as well as 90 days of tech support to help get everything set up. There are four other warranty plans you can choose from, including an extension of the original plan for two or three years, as well two- and three-year extended plans with accidental damage coverage. The best package, at least for accident-prone students, is likely the three-year coverage with accidental damage protection. It includes pickup, repair, and return of a damaged laptop, and it covers spills, surges, drops, and the standard hardware failure coverage. If a laptop is damaged beyond repair, there's even a money-back guarantee so you're not out of a laptop and the money you paid. That's a solid deal, especially because it costs far less than the price of a new laptop. Finally, Dell's Latitude 7400 2-in-1, which is classed as a business laptop and thus built to take more than an average beating, has some impressive warranty options. Not only are there basic hardware service warranties for up to five years, there are also ProSupport and ProSupport Plus options that cover everything from accidental damage (drops, spills, surges), onsite service for repairs, automated and predictive issue detection, and malware removal. If your student is particularly accident prone, this type of coverage is no doubt a great idea. Is it worth the extra money?It's clear from these examples gathered from some of our favorite laptops that extended warranties are not all the same. In general, the cost is far less than an entirely new device should catastrophic damage occur, but the length and breadth of coverage is something to which you need to pay attention. The most stylish laptop out there might not be a great match for your particular student because of warranty coverage, or you may choose to forego an extended warranty and hope for the best. No matter what laptop you buy, always be sure to read fully what is offered in the basic and extended packages. In most cases, an extended warranty for a laptop that will be subjected to life at school is a great idea. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Surface Book 2 vs. Surface Pro 6: Which one should you buy? Posted: 01 Aug 2019 01:05 PM PDT
We're big fans of Microsoft's Surface family of products and have used every entry since the very first Surface tablet. Spending thousands of hours with Surface, we've accumulated bags of experience to recommend the right Surface for you. The Surface Pro 6 and Surface Book 2 are two very different devices, targeting two very different groups of consumers. If you prefer a tablet experience, don't need to do inking, won't use the device with a physical keyboard much and would like to save some cash, Surface Pro 6 is the better option. Should you want to go all out and enjoy the signature Windows 10 on Surface experience, nothing beats the Surface Book 2 — so long as your pockets are deep for the more expensive configurations. Similar numbers on Surface
Surface performanceSurface Book 2 is the more powerful device, without question. Both devices can be configured with the same Intel Core i7 processor, but the Surface Book 2 has the advantage of a dedicated GPU and better overall computing. It's designed for extended power use, while the Surface Pro is more of a tablet you can use for intensive tasks irregularly. Because there's no dedicated GPU inside the Surface Pro 6, you'll need to rely on the Intel iGPU, and the Surface Pro 6 doesn't have Intel Iris graphics. This isn't a decision made by Microsoft, but Intel with its 8th-gen line-up of processors. If you need to rely on graphics processing, the only choice here is Surface Book 2. Portable computingSurface Pro 6 is more versatile and incredibly powerful tablet — you try running the full desktop Adobe Photoshop suite on an iPad — and while it does offer a battery life of around 13 hours, the Surface Book 2 edges out in front with upwards of 17 hours. It's not a huge difference, but worth considering if you're often found without power outlets. Something to bear in mind is pricing, which is where the Surface Pro 6 wins big time. The tablet starts from just $900, while you can expect to pay $1,150 for the Surface Book 2. Surface Pro 6 is almost as good as the Surface Book 2 and can even be kitted out with better internals than the base model Surface Book 2, but Microsoft's 2-in-1 notebook is simply better overall. Surface Pro 6 for tighter budgetsMicrosoft's Surface Pro 6 isn't a slouch, but a powerful tablet with massive potential in the right hands. It's also the cheaper of the two devices, when not including the optional Type Cover and Surface Pen. If you're all about a lighter, tablet-like Windows 10 experience, the Surface Pro 6 is likely the better choice. The ultimate Windows 10 experienceMicrosoft did so well with the Surface Book 2, we gave it a full five-star rating and raved about all of its features. Sure, it's the more expensive device in this comparison, but you get so much more in terms of configurations with the addition of discrete GPUs, making it a killer notebook. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 things parents need to know about buying their kid a phone Posted: 01 Aug 2019 01:05 PM PDT
Buying a new phone is a big decision — especially if you're buying one for your kid. Ensuring your child has a way to stay connected to friends and family is becoming more and more important these days, but with so many handsets out there vying for your attention and dollars, it can be difficult to decide which one is really best for your kid. That's where we step in. While there's no such thing as a perfect phone, there are a few factors to consider that should help make your buying decision that much easier. Battery life
A phone does your kid no good if it regularly dies before they even get out of class. As a general rule of thumb, buying a phone with a larger battery usually results in it lasting longer in between charges. Most phones batteries average at around 3,000 mAh or so these days, typically providing at least a full day of use on one charge. The more mAh a phone's battery has, the longer it should last. In addition to a big battery, other battery-sipping factors to be on the lookout for include display size, resolution, and the processor being used. Newer processors from Qualcomm have gotten quite good at using less and less power while still being fast enough to run all of the latest apps, and the smaller and lower-resolution a display is, the battery will continue to benefit. If you have a kid that tends to use their devices a lot or often forgets to throw their current phone on the charger, the Moto G7 Power is a great choice. Not only does it have a massive 5,000 mAh battery, but the rest of its components also allow for great endurance throughout the day. Its Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 is incredibly efficient, and while the 1570 x 720 display might not be the sharpest around, it helps to squeeze as much juice out of the phone as possible. Motorola advertises up to three days of battery per charge on the Moto G7 Power, making this one of the best Android battery champs — especially at this price point. Water resistance
When buying a phone for your kid, it's important you buy something that'll be able to stand the test of time. Some phones are more durable than others, and in these regards, one of the most important things to keep an eye out for is a device's IP rating. IP stands for "ingress protection" and is used to quickly identify a phone's resistance against water and dust. The best IP rating we typically see on phones is IP68 — meaning a phone is thoroughly dust tight (dust can't enter it at all) and can be submerged in water up to one meter. While some phones have similar resistance to the elements without being officially IP-certified, having that IP rating is a helpful reassurance that a phone can withstand certain things and keep on ticking just fine. One example of this is the Samsung Galaxy S10e. The S10e is a "budget" version of the more expensive S10 and S10+, featuring an IP68 rating so you know it's safe from harm's way. Software updates and security patches
Image Credit: Google When you go to buy a phone with your kid, some of their top priorities likely include the display, camera, battery, etc. Those things are all really important, but perhaps the most crucial thing to consider is how that phone will receive software updates as time goes on. Android phones get two types of updates: big OS updates — like the upcoming Android Q — and security patches. OS updates are released once a year, whereas security patches come out every single month. Unfortunately, most OEMs aren't very fast or consistent with getting these updates rolled out. Some of the worst offenders include Motorola, LG, and Samsung. If you buy your kid a phone from one of these companies, chances are they'll be waiting for a new version of Android for a while after it's released and won't get every security patch that comes out. Software updates and security patches are critical to a device's longevity. Not only do they add new features and keep things running smoothly, but they also patch any bugs or security vulnerabilities that could be harmful. If you want your kid to have a phone that's guaranteed to receive every single update that comes out, you'll want to buy them a Pixel phone from Google. Specifically, the Pixel 3a is what we recommend picking up. The Pixel 3a is Google's first mid-range Pixel phone, and as new updates and patches are released, it's first-in-line to get them on day one. Not only that, but it also has an incredible camera, great display, and snappy performance — all at a fantastic price. Biometric security
Image Credit: Android Central When your kid gets their new phone, that's precisely what it is — their phone. No one else's. To make sure it stays that way, it's a good idea to buy one with some form of biometric security. Biometrics used to be reserved for high-end flagship phones, but the technology is now readily available in phones that are much more affordable. The most common form of this security is a fingerprint sensor, and it does exactly what you'd think. Your kid can register their fingerprint on the sensor, and from that point forward, the phone will only unlock when their print is detected. Similarly, a lot of Android phones now come with some type of face unlock system. These are typically powered by a phone's front-facing camera and not nearly as secure as a fingerprint sensor, but it's helpful for your kid to have multiple options to get into their phone. Plus, there's always the fallback of a PIN or password. It's more common these days to find a phone with some form of biometrics than one without them, but for this category, we're going to highlight the Moto G7. Not only is it a fantastic all-around for under $300, but it also offers a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor in addition to face unlock. You don't need to spend a ton of money
Smartphones have always cost a lot, but these days, it's far too common to go out and see multiple devices being sold with price tags of $1000 or more. There's no denying how good most of these are, but for a lot of people, that's far too much to spend on a phone — especially if you're buying one for your kid. Thankfully, you don't need to spend $1000 to get a new phone. In fact, there are plenty of handsets out there that offer good experiences without breaking the bank. Right now, one of the most interesting is the Nokia 4.2. For under $200, the Nokia 4.2 has everything your kid could want. There's a 5.71-inch HD+ display with small bezels, expandable storage, a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, and even an NFC chip that allows for contactless payments with Google Pay. Making things even better, the Nokia 4.2 is part of the Android One program. This means that it's guaranteed to receive software updates and security patches for the next few years, albeit not quite as fast as if you buy something like the Pixel 3a. The Nokia 4.2 isn't perfect, but for the price, you'll be hard-pressed to find something that offers this much value. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best iPad for Students in 2019 Posted: 01 Aug 2019 01:04 PM PDT
Most students are on a limited budget, but that doesn't mean that you'll need to skimp out on features. The new iPad Air 3 is the best iPad that a student can get because it packs in a lot of power, including some Pro features, but is at a much more affordable price point than the iPad Pro lineup.
Who should buy the iPad Air 3 (2019)The iPad Air 3 is perfect for students, and anyone else who wants a powerful iPad that is capable of pro features, such as support for Apple Pencil (first-generation only) and the Smart Keyboard, but doesn't want to pay the Pro-level prices, which start at $800. It's also great for those who want a mid-size screen, don't need Face ID, and don't plan on using it for taking new photos. Is it a good time to buy the iPad Air 3 (2019)?Yes, it is an excellent time to buy the new iPad Air 3. It launched in early 2019, so it's packing the latest in Apple chips and specs, along with the iPad mini 5 (2019). Reasons to buy
Reasons not to buy
The iPad Air 3 is perfect for students who want an affordable tablet without skimping on power features
The iPad is a great option for students who don't want to carry around a heavy laptop computer, but still want something that's lightweight and powerful enough to take notes on during class lectures, work on research papers, or even draw on for projects. But if you're looking at an iPad Pro, the prices are a little out of reach for most students, who are probably on tight budgets. That's why the iPad Air is such a great pick. With the new iPad Air 3, students will have an iPad that provides plenty of screen estate with the 10.5-inch size. This means plenty of room to type and read on, especially if you're using a first-gen Apple Pencil for hand-written notes or drawings. Plus, the 10.5-inch size means the Apple Smart Keyboard fits perfectly with it, giving you the option of a full-size keyboard that is powered through the Smart Connector on the iPad Air itself. The iPad Air 3 also comes with an A12 Bionic chip, and while it's not as fast as the A12X of current iPad Pros, it's still a huge step up from the previous iPad Air with the A8X chip. It also comes with the Neural Engine for machine learning and computer vision, such as Augmented Reality. It's not the latest and greatest, but still powerful enough for what a student would use an iPad for. Apple also decided to include a laminated, wide-gamut display with True Tone on the new iPad Air 3. With the laminated display, you get an anti-reflective coating, so it's easier to use your iPad outdoors if necessary. A laminated display also means that the touch layer of the screen and the display LCD are fused together as a single layer, producing a better overall display. Wide-gamut gives you the truest colors available, so if you plan on using your iPad Air 3 for things like drawing and photo editing, you're getting the most accurate and precise colors available. While most of us don't think that the iPad should be used as your main camera, people still do, and that's perfectly fine if that's your only option. However, the iPad Air 3 only comes with an 8MP camera on the back, so photos taken with the tablet won't look as good as they would if you took the same image with an iPhone XS or XS Max, for example. But it still works fine for things like document scanning and the like. The front-facing camera is 7MP, which makes it great for video calls. We think the iPad Air 3 is an excellent pick for students, and pretty much anyone else who wants an iPad that offers power but at a much more reasonable and affordable price. It's the perfect middle ground, offering some Pro-level features at a midlevel price. Honestly, for what a student would be using an iPad for, the iPad Air 3 does it flawlessly, and so much more. Alternatives to the iPad Air 3
The iPad Air 3 sits right in the middle of offering powerful features while being highly affordable. However, you can go for the Pro for a few hundred dollars more, or you can even grab an iPad mini 5 for less.
If you need the best of the best and also have the money for it, then you definitely need to go with the iPad Pro line. You'll get the best Liquid Retina Display with True Tone, ProMotion, and wide color gamut for the most precise hues for drawing and photo editing work. It's also equipped with the fastest A12X chip for raw processing power and can make use of the second-generation Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard accessories. The cameras are also much better, and you can choose between 11 and 12.9-inch screens to best suit your needs.
The iPad mini 5 is very much like the iPad Air 3 in terms of the internals but packed into a smaller package. It's fast with the A12 Bionic chip, has the same specs for both the front and rear cameras (7MP and 8MP, respectively), and also supports the first-generation Apple Pencil, making it a great compact note-taking or sketching machine. The only thing it's missing is the Smart Connector, but you can always just use a Bluetooth keyboard with it. Bottom lineThe iPad Air 3 is the best middle-ground option for students who want power and affordability. Sure, the A12 is not as powerful as the A12X in the iPad Pros, but it's still pretty darn fast and powerful, especially compared with the previous generation of Airs. Plus, having support for the Apple Pencil in a non-Pro iPad is a huge bonus, even if it is just the first-gen. And the support for the Smart Keyboard makes being productive with the iPad Air easier than ever before. It has enough Pro features at a fraction of the price, making it one of the best options for students.
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| Best MacBook for Students in 2019 Posted: 01 Aug 2019 01:04 PM PDT
Most students looking for a new MacBook should pick up the MacBook Air. It's less expensive than other MacBooks, more powerful, and has a bigger display than the 12-inch MacBook while remaining lightweight. And though it might not be as powerful as the MacBook Pro, it should provide enough power for the average student to get through their day.
Who should buy this computer?College students who want a Mac for writing papers, doing research, surfing the web, light photo editing and just entertaining themselves should get the MacBook Air. It should also be a great computer for you when your academic career is over and you're headed out into the world. Is it a good time to buy this computer?The current MacBook Air came out in October 2018, so now is a great time to buy this Mac. Some solid discounts are popping up at retailers like Amazon, and we're likely many months away from a potential refresh. It's been a while since Apple refreshed any of its Macs in less than a year. Reasons to buy
Reasons not to buy
The MacBook Air is a great Mac for students, successfully riding the line between power and portabilityFor students, portability is a chief concern when it comes to buying a computer. Whether you're walking through your high school's hallways to your history class or sprinting across a college campus to make it your next lecture on time, you don't want to be lugging around a heavy computer. You want something fairly light. At the same time, you don't want a computer that's underpowered. The MacBook Air occupies the happy medium of that ideal. It's more powerful than the MacBook and thinner and lighter than the MacBook Pro. For the longest time, the MacBook Air was Apple's thin-and-light computer. Many credit MacBook Air with paving the way for the 'ultrabook' genre of computers that gained prominence in the early part of this decade. But Apple has since introduced the 12-inch MacBook, which debuted with a Retina display and was even thinner and lighter than the Air. Surely, if portability is your main concern, you should get the MacBook, right? Well, let's take a look at the modern MacBook Air. It now also (some would say 'finally') has a Retina display, without adding any bulk. And no, it's not as small as the MacBook, but it's almost as light. The MacBook Air comes in at 2.75 lbs, less than a pound heavier than the MacBook's 2.03. You're not making much of a sacrifice on weight. If the footprint of the computer is a concern, check out the MacBook, but you're gaining only about half-an-inch each on width and depth, so maybe the larger Air won't present much of a size problem. The other consideration the MacBook versus the MacBook Air is power. While the MacBook Air's eighth-generation Intel processor won't really keep up with those found in the current generation of MacBook Pro, it's more than a match for the 7th-generation processors found in the MacBook. For everything from web browsing to photo editing, the MacBook will find itself outmatched by the Air, all while the MacBook Air is priced at least $100 under the current MacBook. Speaking of power, the MacBook Pro is probably overkill for most students. Sure, some will be able to take advantage of its more powerful processors available to it, but if most of what you're doing is writing papers, putting together presentations, or doing research on the web, you probably don't need the level of power a MacBook Pro offers. And again, you'll be saving a bit of money if you get the MacBook Air, which is always something to consider. Ultimately, when looking at the current MacBook lineup through the lens of a student, the MacBook Air successfully rides the line between the thin-and-light MacBook and the powerful MacBook Pro. It will meet the needs of most students, and should still be a great Mac to have when you're ready to leave academics behind and head off into the world. Alternatives to the MacBook Air
The MacBook Air might be the best MacBook for most students, but different people have different needs. If you're looking for more power, then check out the MacBook Pro. It'll be a more capable machine for almost everything you want to do, with more expensive models offering an ever-increasing amount of power for tasks like photo and video editing, app development, scientific programs, illustration, and music production. It will last longer than the MacBook Air and perform at higher levels the entire time. If you're looking for more of a budget option, unfortunately, you're going to have to settle for something older from Apple. It's still a MacBook Air, but it lacks the Retina display of the newer model, and its processors are older. But, it still has all-solid-state storage, which means a lot when it comes to boot times. If budget is your chief concern and you still want a Mac, the older MacBook Air that Apple still sells should work just fine, if not quite as well as the new model.
The MacBook Pro offers a lot of customization options that allow you to create the computer you need. Offers everything from a seventh-generation dual-core Intel processor to an ninth-generation, eight-core i9 beast, configurable up to 32GB of memory with AMD Radeon graphics for the most intensive tasks. If power is what you want, that's what you'll get with the MacBook Pro.
Apple quietly bumped the specs on the MacBook Air in 2017, introducing a couple of new processors to choose from. Despite its lack of Thunderbolt 3 ports or a Retina display, the older MacBook Air should still be able to meet most of your needs. It even still has an SD card reader, something many Mac owners thought was lost to the ages (or at least the Mac). Bottom lineIf you want an excellent "medium" Mac laptop, get the MacBook Air. Offering enough power to meet most of the needs of student life while being almost as portable as a MacBook, the Air strikes a great balance between the other offerings in Apple's laptop lineup. It's also among the most affordable of the portable Macs, especially when you start getting into the upper echelons of what that MacBook Pro has to offer and even compared to the 12-inch MacBook.
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| Best laptops under $500: the best budget laptops around Posted: 01 Aug 2019 12:59 PM PDT Are you in the market for one of the best laptops under $500? We totally understand. Times are hard, and replacing your aging laptop hardware won’t be easy on your wallet, especially with all those premium laptops and their premium prices. Worry not. We put together a list of the top laptops under $500, featuring great quality devices that are worth the plastic and silicon they were printed on. We’ve rounded up the most impressive ones that we’ve tested since 2018, each one worthy of the best laptop under $500 accolade. Our list includes 2-in-1 laptops, cheap Chromebooks and incredibly affordable laptops that will get the job done without burning a hole in your pocket. Each of the products below scored at least four stars in one of our in-depth reviews, making them worthy of inclusion in a TechRadar buying guide. And since each has been thoroughly tested and critiqued by our expert editors, you can rest assured you’re getting a lot of value for less cash. These are the best laptops under $500 2019 has on offer.
Microsoft's Surface Go is not only the best Windows tablet for ultra-mobility, but also among the best budget laptops around. Thin, feathery, mobile and elegant, but minus the high cost, Microsoft has packed in everything they could in this, making it one of the best laptops under $500. If you’re a student, or just looking to spend less than a grand on a laptop, the Microsoft Surface Go is a winner for both work and play. Read the full review: Microsoft Surface Go
The Microsoft Surface Book 2 is plenty pricey, but the Acer Switch 3 is a fine alternative for far less cash, making it among the best laptops under $500 for fans of Surface Book 2’s features. This tablet is designed around largely the same idea as the Surface Book 2, even though it's less capable because of its lower-power components. For most tasks, however, it's a plucky little computer. What this 2-in-1 laptop holds over Microsoft's 'Pro' and 'Go' models is that it comes with the keyboard included. Of course, the Acer Switch 3 comes in several configurations, with USB-C, 8GB of memory, an IPS touchscreen and an Intel Core i3 7100U processor coming with the pricier option. Read the full review: Acer Switch 3
Among the best Chromebooks is also an economical product for anyone looking for the best laptops under $500. It's easy to see how the Dell Inspiron Chromebook 11 2-in-1 cuts the mustard. While it isn’t the most powerful Chromebook out there, it's exactly what people need it to be: budget-friendly, easy to use and able to take a beating. The Dell Inspiron 11 2-in-1 is more than capable of handling all your web browsing and document editing, and for that it's one of the best cheap laptops, as it won’t shatter from a simple stumble. Read the full review: Dell Inspiron Chromebook 11 2-in-1
With a shiny chassis that rivals the most recent MacBook, this stunning, 15-inch Chromebook makes an incredible impression with its battery life, lasting nearly 17 hours in our battery test. That's insane for a 15-inch laptop – Chromebook or not. But that’s not all. It also has a few other aces up its sleeves, including its roominess, bright display and fast charging ability. Best of all, it’s the best laptop under $500 (you’ll find one for less than $200, in fact), so budget buyers will love the value. Read the full review: Acer Chromebook 15
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| Call of Duty Modern Warfare multiplayer wants to become the adult Fortnite Posted: 01 Aug 2019 12:52 PM PDT Update: Our Call of Duty multiplayer feature includes two new trailers, including one that demos gameplay footage of the fresh 2v2 Gunfight mode. Call of Duty Modern Warfare is a remake in every way imaginable, down to making its multiplayer mode extra gritty and bringing back devastating killstreak rewards. You could say that the multiplayer gameplay is going back to its roots, but it's also taking obvious cues from much newer games like the free-to-play Battle Royale phenomenon Fortnite. It'll introduce cross-platform multiplayer so that console players on PS4 and Xbox One can play with PC gamers. You'll no longer have to consult friends on which version they're buying in order to jump into siloed, version-specific matches. While CoD Modern Warfare won't be free-to-play like Fortnite or PUBG, it will have a free season pass – there's no subscription attached to extra content for the first time. Activision has previously charged $50 for extra content, and it was another decision that divided friends. Finally, we don't have a max player count yet, but 64-player deathmatches are a thing and the Call of Duty team says its new gameplay engine can easily scale up to support larger player counts, even though the new 2v2 mode is just as fun. 'It's not like superheroes'Call of Duty wants compete with the modern multiplayer arena with these features: cross-platform multiplayer, free season pass content and much larger player counts. But it also wants to stake its claim on being the anti-Fornite in some ways. "It's not like superheroes," said Infinity Ward studio head Patrick Kelly. "It's real soldiers, it's real guys, it's real equipment." "We wanted to make a game that was authentic, that was gritty. The things you're going to see in the game are to the extent we possible can, we always ask ourselves 'Is this realistic? Is this authentic?'" "We always talk about things like 'ripped from the headlines.' Is it relatable content that feels like 'that's the kind of conflict or scenario that I'm used to seeing in the zeitgeist of today." New Gunfight modeThe chaos of massive multiplayer deathmatch games can be fun, and Call of Duty Modern Warfare certainly has that, but the new 2v2 Gunfight mode feels restrictive in the best possible sense. It leans heavily on precision. It pits players against each other with the same exact weaponry loadout. So if your two opponents have pistols, so will you and are one teammate. Every round of Gunfight randomly switches up the guns, with everyone having the same arsenal. The maps are purposely small, so it makes matches quick and accuracy count. A lot of twitch gameplay will happen in this game type, and that acts as good training for new CoD players, or ones who haven't played multiplayer in a while. More Call of Duty gameplay changesYou won't find zombies in Call of Duty Modern Warfare – that's never been in the spirit of this more realistic game. That's always been more of a Black Ops thing. Instead, you'll find a new Spec Ops mode and more tactical gameplay throughout the multiplayer mode. For the first time, you can mount your heavy weapons to stabilize them on windows and against walls, and then cleanly sweep rooms. Night Vision is here like never before, allowing you to don easy-to-equip goggles on demand and dramatically change up nighttime gameplay maps. Players who are used to attaching laser sights to their guns are immediately be outed. The new tactical sprint and door breaching moves are also bound to add a twist to your approach when taking on enemies, especially in limited 2v2 and 6v6 matches. They're more fast-paced and less chaotic – in a good way. Are these changes enough to compete with Fortnite when it comes to attracting an audience that has moved on to Battle Royale games? We'll know after Modern Warfare makes its return to a decidedly different video game battlefield on October 25. Something that won't change is console exclusivity for one platform. PS4 gamers will get early access to the multiplayer beta on September 12 (which is two days after the suspected iPhone 11 launch date). Everyone on Xbox One and PC should get access a week later, according to Infinity Ward. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First aftermarket AMD Navi graphics cards won't be cheaper than AMD models Posted: 01 Aug 2019 12:27 PM PDT Back when the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT and RX 5700 launched on July 7, we praised them for offering excellent value, even after Nvidia tried to beat AMD in pricing. And, while that's still definitely the case, you shouldn't expect to be able to pick up a third-party AMD Navi card for cheaper than AMD's reference models. This was pretty much confirmed when PowerColor, one of the biggest aftermarket manufacturers of AMD graphics cards, posted on Facebook, advertising its variations on the RX 5700 XT, starting at $399 (about £320, AU$570). That's the same price as the reference card, which launched at the same $399 (about £320, AU$570). The AMD Radeon RX 5700 will likely follow in the same footsteps.
Now, historically speaking, this isn't super out of the ordinary. A GPU manufacturer would release its reference design for a graphics card, and then the third party manufacturers would release entry-level cards that match it, with more enthusiast-class graphics cards featuring a higher price. However, starting with Nvidia's pascal cards, that started to change. Team Green released its Founders Editions of 10-series cards like the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti, charging more than its reference design. This ultimately culminated in the huge prices of the RTX 2080 Ti. So, long story short, it's not very surprising that the aftermarket AMD Navi graphics cards would start at the same MSRP as the reference designs. And, while it does mean you can't snag a great deal on a cheap third party card, it does mean that the pricing is a lot less confusing.
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| IBM is making all its software cloud-native following Red Hat deal Posted: 01 Aug 2019 11:18 AM PDT IBM has announced that it has transformed its software portfolio to be cloud-native and optimized it to run on Red Hat OpenShift enabling enterprises to build mission-critical applications once and run them on all leading public clouds including AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Alibaba and IBM Cloud and on private clouds. The software giant's new cloud-native capabilities will be delivered as pre-integrated solutions called IBM Cloud Paks. The IBM-certified and containerized software will provide both a common operating model as well as a common set of services including identity management, security, monitoring and logging. IBM Cloud Paks are designed to help improve visibility and control across clouds together with a unified and intuitive dashboard. The software and services announced by IBM, which include over 100 products across the company's expansive software portfolio optimized to run on Red Hat OpenShift, will be delivered on its hybrid multicloud platform. The platform itself is built on open source technologies such as Red Hat OpenShift and Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Senior vice president of IBM's cloud and cognitive software division, Arvind Krishna explained why the company is bringing its software from the data center to the cloud, saying: “IBM is unleashing its software from the data center to fuel the enterprise workload race to the cloud. This will further position IBM the industry leader in the more than $1 trillion dollar hybrid cloud opportunity. We are providing the essential tools enterprises need to make their multi-year journey to cloud on common, open standards that can reach across clouds, across applications and across vendors with Red Hat.” IBM Cloud PaksIBM Cloud Paks provide full software support and help protect the entire stack from hardware to applications to help customers rapidly migrate, integrate and modernize mission-critical applications on any cloud. The Cloud Paks can be deployed easily and are delivered as packages tailored for specific use cases with a consumption-based pricing model. IBM's first five Cloud Paks are available today and include the Cloud Pak for Data, Cloud Pak for Applications, Cloud Pak for Automation and the Cloud Pak for Multicloud Management. President and CEO of Red Hat, Jim Whitehurst provided further insight on IBM's announcement, saying: “Red Hat is unlocking innovation with Linux-based technologies, including containers and Kubernetes, which have become the fundamental building blocks of hybrid cloud environments. This open hybrid cloud foundation is what enables the vision of any app, anywhere, anytime. Combined with IBM’s strong industry expertise and supported by a vast ecosystem of passionate developers and partners, customers can create modern apps with the technologies of their choice and the flexibility to deploy in the best environment for the app - whether that is on-premises or across multiple public clouds.”
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| Intel Ice Lake release date, news and features Posted: 01 Aug 2019 10:22 AM PDT Intel Ice Lake is the herald the computing world has been waiting for – finally something we haven't seen before from Intel. These laptop processors are the first 10nm processors we've seen Intel put out in the mainstream – officially beating Intel Cannon Lake to the punch. Intel Ice Lake processors were initially revealed back at Computex 2019, and will be the first commercially available processors that will move from the aging 14nm process, which has been ‘enhanced’ repeatedly since the introduction of Broadwell almost five years ago. With AMD going full steam ahead with its 7nm Zen 2 processors, including AMD Ryzen 3rd Generation and Threadripper 3rd Generation, it’s about time for Team Blue’s chips to move into the modern age – even if it is only on the mobile side of things. Luckily, Intel Ice Lake has finally arrived, and it should be rolling out to all kinds of laptops, Ultrabooks and Chromebooks over the next few months. However, because the naming is complicated (who thought "Intel Core i7-1065G7" was a good name?), we thought it would be a good time to collect all the Ice Lake information in one place. So, be sure to keep this page bookmarked, and we'll keep it updated with all the latest 10nm developments. Cut to the Chase
Intel Ice Lake release dateIntel announced Ice Lake way back at CES 2019, and it came as a bit of a surprise, especially because Team Blue was saying it would be out before the holiday season hit. However, Intel stuck to the plan, as Intel Ice Lake processors have finally arrived on August 1, 2019. As for when these processors will make it to market, we'll start seeing laptops and Ultrabooks packed with these new U- and Y-series processors come to market over the next few months. In fact, we expect a good amount of them to appear at IFA 2019.
Image Credit: Intel Intel Ice Lake priceIntel Ice Lake is a mobile platform, and so while that does mean that laptop manufacturers have to pay Intel for the right to use its laptops, the price of the laptops using the chips will vary depending on the product. Still, you're likely to see entry level laptops using the Intel Core i3-1005G1, while only the most powerful flagships will get the Intel Core i7-1068G7.
Intel Ice Lake specsThe headline feature of Intel Ice Lake is, of course, the new underlying 10nm Sunny Cove architecture. What’s more, these new processors will be the first to feature next-generation Gen11 graphics. Overall, Intel has promised a 2x performance boost, thanks to the smaller fabrication processes and the die shrink from 14nm. However, Ice Lake mobile processors are limited to 4-cores. Aside from the chips’ main microarchitecture, Ice Lake CPUs will also come with native support for Thunderbolt 3, Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) and DL Boost. The new graphics are a significant improvement from the Gen9 GPU found in Intel’s current line of processors, which only featured 24 EUs, or Execution Units – whereas these new Ice Lake processors feature up to 64 EUs in the Intel Core i7-1068G7. One thing we noticed right away, however, is that the boost speeds of these processors are a bit lower than their Whiskey Lake predecessors. For instance, the Intel Core i7-8565U features a boost clock of 4.6GHz, compared to the 3.9GHz boost of the Intel Core i7-1065G7. This is a bit worrying, but because these chips feature higher IPC performance, we should see a boost in speed – something we're sure to test once we get our hands on an Ice Lake laptop. Lastly, Intel also promised that Ice Lake will help devices achieve a battery life of over 25 hours. This is largely thanks to Team Blue performing a top-to-bottom analysis of power draw to reduce energy consumption, and also using AI to intelligently alter the processor's performance to maximize efficiency. We also went ahead and listed the specs of all the Ice Lake processors down below.
Ice Lake Y-Series processors:
That's about all we know about Intel Ice lake right now, but we'll be sure to update this guide once we get our hands on an Ice Lake-powered laptop so we can see how well it performs. But, if the early numbers and Ice Lake specs are anything to go by, it looks like there's going to be a significant bump in performance over Whiskey Lake.
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| Cloud traffic is dominating enterprise networks Posted: 01 Aug 2019 09:41 AM PDT Cloud services now account for 85 percent of all enterprise web traffic according to Netskope's recently released 2019 Netskope Cloud Report which signals a need for organizations to adopt a holistic approach to securing both the cloud and web. Chief Strategy Officer at Netskope, Jason Clark stressed the need for enterprises to put proper controls in place to secure all traffic flowing into and out of an organization, saying: “As today’s enterprises embrace digital transformation and increasingly replace traditional web use with cloud service use, it is imperative to assess whether proper controls are in place to secure all traffic. While most tools are focusing on traditional web traffic, this significant shift to cloud usage is what’s causing security teams to go blind. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to properly securing an enterprise as it embraces new tools and technologies, but a clear understanding of traffic and proper vigilance should be a requirement for all.”
Netskope's report found that the top policy violations differ for enterprise cloud services and traditional web traffic. DLP policy violations, cloud activity policy violations and anomalous activity violations were the top three policy violations detected in enterprise cloud services while acceptable use policy violations, malicious site violations and malware detections were the top infractions for traditional web traffic. Rise in cloud servicesThe report also highlighted how cloud storage and collaboration apps comprise the majority of the top 20 cloud services list with consumer-focused social media services such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube also featured prominently on the list. This is a signal that more enterprises are allowing their employees to use corporate networks for personal use. Multiple instances of cloud service usage across an organization are helping to drive the heavy use of cloud services in the enterprise. Personal use of popular services, the use of app instances by individual departments or teams and the use of app instances with third-parties like business partners and customers are all factors that impact the number of instances being used. Netskope also found that the average number of cloud services per enterprise increased by 3.9 percent to 1,295 cloud services compared to 1,246 in the firm's previous report from October 2018. When it came to departments using the most cloud services, marketing was at the top of the list followed by HR and collaboration cloud services were the most widely used across departments. However, this widespread use of cloud services does open organizations to exposure of both customer and employee data.
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| Lyft suspends its San Francisco e-bike program following battery fires Posted: 01 Aug 2019 09:04 AM PDT Lyft has slammed the brakes on its San Francisco e-bike hire scheme after several bikes reportedly caught fire in the city. According to the San Francisco Examiner, the first incident happened on July 27, with another battery fire confirmed on July 31. Lyft reacted quickly, taking the city's 1,000 e-bikes out of commission while it investigates what went wrong. No bikes will be available to hire until the company has confirmed that they're safe.
It's no surprise that Lyft has acted quickly; San Francisco authorities historically take a dim view of startup transport companies causing a public nuisance. Electric scooter companies were banned from city streets after riders left the two-wheelers littering the sidewalks, and only one company (Scoot, owned by Bird) now has a license to operate there. Lyft's e-bikes (operating under the name Bay Wheels) had only been back on the streets for two weeks following a legal battle with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). Wheel troubleLyft got into the e-bike business in 2018 after acquiring Motivate – the parent company of various US-based bike-sharing schemes, including Citi Bike, Divvy and Ford GoBikes. Lyft acquired all of Motivate's tech and city contracts, and set about taking over the streets. It may be quite a while before the company is able to reassure the SFMTA that its cycles are safe for riders. To quote Twitter user Zach Rutta, who shared a picture of a melted Lyft battery on his account: "Yikes". This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Has Sony just registered another new Alpha camera? Posted: 01 Aug 2019 08:46 AM PDT Sony threw us recently with the announcement of the Alpha A7R IV (above), just as everyone had their hopes raised for an A7S III, A7000 or an A9 Mark II – and that was before launching the seventh iteration in its RX100 line, the RX100 Mark VII. But it seems the company isn't done with unveiling new kit just yet. Multiple sources, including Mirrorless Rumors, report that Sony has just registered a camera with the codename WW942051. Details are scant right now, but the registration details state that the new model is registered for 5.8GHz, 5.1GHz and 2.4GHz wireless frequencies in addition to Bluetooth.
The A7R IV was the first camera to arrive with 5GHz wireless frequency support, so it makes sense that a future model will pack more than just the 2.4GHz band. Thing is, Sony already registered cameras earlier this year with the codenames WW594724, WW716189 and WW246025, in addition to a WW642826 model, solely for 2.4GHz frequencies. We can assume that one of these is the RX100 VII, which only works on the 2.4GHz band. The absence of any other bands here may well be explained by the fact that such a camera would not be used in the same way as the A7R IV, such as for wireless tethered shooting, where a fast and stable connection is paramount. So, news of additional Wi-Fi bands in this new registration information certainly points to a reasonably powerful model on the horizon. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Apex Legends is about to get the ‘most fan-requested’ feature – but what could it be? Posted: 01 Aug 2019 08:41 AM PDT Apex Legends is about to get a major new feature, something which players have been most actively badgering for – although we don’t know what said introduction will be. What we do know is this mysterious feature will come to the battle royale at some point in August, over the next few weeks and will be delivered with a big in-game event.
This comes straight from EA CEO Andrew Wilson, following the company’s recent boasting about the success of Apex Legends in its latest financial report, and how the battle royale was a major money-spinner alongside the likes of FIFA. In a related earnings call, Wilson revealed: “The event coming in the next few weeks will bring new content and deliver one of the most fan-requested features since the launch of Apex.” But what is it?So, what could this “most fan-requested feature” possibly be? Naturally, there are a pile of theories about that being floated in discussions between Apex Legends addicts. The two most common possibilities which crop up are cross-platform play, and solo or duo game modes (as opposed to the three-player squads the game currently uses). We don’t see it being cross-platform, ourselves, and don’t really rank that as a massively requested feature, at least from our anecdotal experience of hanging about Apex-related forums. However, introducing either solo or two-player squads is certainly something plenty of people have been going on about since the outset, and is a definite possibility. That said, the game is just bedding in relatively speaking – having only been with us for half a year, with EA planning on the battle royale running for some 10 years into the future (another assertion made along with that financial report). So it could be a little early in the overall timeline to make such a radical change. Plus, solo mode really does go against the squad-based fabric of Apex Legends, which is built around teamwork in a lot of respects (the superb ping system being an obvious example, and one of the game’s best innovations, much copied elsewhere). That said, we wouldn’t bet against solo or duo modes, although we’ve a feeling it would be the latter rather than the former due to those team-related concerns. Train, train, train…Our best hunch, however, would be the introduction of a much more extensive training mode. This has certainly been one of the most-requested features we’ve seen, and it’s something we’d love to have ourselves. It might consist of a better fleshed-out shooting gallery, with not just access to all guns, but all attachments so you could try out different combinations and see exactly how they affect the weapon in question. Being able to switch character from Lifeline would be a bonus, too. Because as it stands, trying out different attachment load-outs is difficult, because you actually have to find the correct bits and pieces in a match, and of course you’re distracted from evaluating things with any real precision because, you know, you’re busy trying to win and stuff (hopefully – either that, or you mess about and drag your team down, which isn’t fair on them). Some bots or more engaging targets, rather than the current static ones, wouldn’t go amiss, either. Here’s a theory: maybe the event could be some kind of PvE scrap in a new area, which then becomes the upgraded training ground going forward (with PvE bots to take pot-shots at). We are, obviously, just guessing here. Other outside possibilities include a kill cam (to replay your death in all its glory, or lack of it), which data-mined leaks have pointed to in the past. Or what about that survival mode, or recruit mode, as previously uncovered by similar data-mining endeavors? Extreme longshots, for sure, but we guess it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve been hit by an unfeasibly accurate sniper round out of the blue…
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| Cisco fined for selling software with security flaws Posted: 01 Aug 2019 08:39 AM PDT Cisco has agreed to pay $8.6m to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of a whistleblower client who claims the software giant knowingly sold video surveillance systems to US federal and state agencies that could have been easily hacked because of critical software flaws. Attorney and partner at Phillips & Cohen, which handled the case, Claire M. Sylvia explained why the law firm took the client's case against the company, saying: “Our client raised important security concerns. We alleged in our complaint that the software flaws were so severe that they compromised the security of the video surveillance systems and any computer system connected to them.”
The software flaws were eventually addressed by Cisco and now the company will pay $2.6m to the federal government and up to $6m to 15 states, cities and counties as well as to the District of Columbia which purchased its video surveillance product. Video Surveillance ManagerThe federal settlement covers purchases of Cisco's internet protocol video surveillance product called Video Surveillance Manager from 2007 to 2014. Phillips & Cohen filed its lawsuit back in 2011 against the company on behalf of a former security consultant named James Glenn who worked for a Danish company that is a Cisco partner. Glenn was fired from his job after submitting a detailed report to Cisco in which he identified what he believed to be serious security flaws. The company's video surveillance system allows for the connection and management of multiple video cameras through a centralized server which gives users the ability to coordinate surveillance cameras at many locations at once. Cisco marketed its systems directly to government purchasers as it was particularly suited for their needs. This likely won't be the last of this kind of case that we see according to Sylvia who explained that whistleblowers who are ignored can use the law to their advantage, saying: “Cybersecurity products are an important piece of government spending these days, and it’s essential that those products comply with critical regulatory and contractual requirements. The tech industry can expect whistleblowers to continue to step forward when serious problems are ignored, thanks to laws that reward and protect them.”
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