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5 Reasons Why MSI Sword 16 HX Series Needs to Be on Your Wishlist
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In case you want to get your hands on a powerful and versatile gaming laptop this sale season, the MSI Sword 16 HX is definitely where you should be looking. Here's everything that you need to know about one of MSI's latest and greatest gaming laptop lineups!
Are you a student looking for a good reliable laptop to get through the semester smoothly? Then, you should take a look at our handpicked list of the best MSI laptop deals for students right here!
Sagnik Das Gupta
Lenovo showcased its Auto Twist AI PC at the IFA 2024, and it has certainly grabbed the internet's attention. This strange laptop has a motorized twistable hinge backed by AI face tracking that is meant to follow you around to ensure that the display always faces you. In addition, it can also use voice commands to open and close its lid, or transform into tablet or laptop modes.
Arjun Sha
Intel's new Lunar Lake chipsets look very promising. It delivers exceptional efficiency and matches Snapdragon X Elite's perf/watt figure. In the CPU department, Lunar Lake is slightly behind X Elite's Oryon CPU. However, Lunar Lake's GPU is much more powerful and the NPU has been redesigned to deliver AI performance up to 48 TOPS. Intel says Lunar Lake rivals Snapdragon X Elite in terms of battery life too.
Intel's new Lunar Lake architecture is redesigned to offer best-in-class efficiency, outperforming even ARM chips. Intel has now packed the CPU, GPU, and NPU onto the Compute tile. And it's manufactured on TSMC's N3B process node. The CPU cores -- Lion Cove and Skymont -- have been enhanced dramatically for improved efficiency and performance. Intel has removed HyperThreading from its CPU after two decades. The new Lunar Lake NPU can perform up to 48 TOPS alone. And the integrated Xe2 GPU is 30% faster than Meteor Lake GPU at half the power.
Abubakar Mohammed
PlayStation 5's 600GB internal storage may not be enough for more than 3-4 games. Thankfully, you can add a new SSD to your PS5 in the additional M.2 slot. Some of the best SSDs you can buy are Samsung 990 Pro, Corsair MP600 Pro LPX, PNY XLR8, and a few affordable options like the GM7000 and Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus.
The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H is one of the top-of-the-line CPUs in 2024. To find out how good it is, we decided to run the 155H through a variety of benchmarks that shed some light on the kind of performance it delivers. I ran Geekbench, Cinebench, 3DMark, PCMark 10, and CrossMark to get a concrete idea. This is a capable chipset with a pretty solid integrated GPU that can deliver some nice performance, and even let you throw some gaming into the mix.
Beebom Staff
Nvidia DLDSR is a feature that can be enabled via the Nvidia Control Panel. It is present under Manage 3D Settings > Global Settings > DSR - Factors > DL Scaling. When enabled, DLDSR upgrades the quality of your games using AI-based super sampling. Effectively, it can turn the rendering resolution of the game higher than what is supported by your monitor. The feature can even be enabled alongside DLSS for even more AI-enhanced goodness.
Ray tracing has been a major innovation over the last five years. However, today's mid-range graphics cards while supporting RT sometimes aren't capable of running games with ray-tracing enabled in demanding titles like Hogwarts Legacy and Alan Wake 2. Plus, games look amazing without ray-tracing enabled. For console gamers, choosing the performance mode with 60FPS is the preferred choice of many including myself given the smoother gaming experience albeit without ray tracing. After more than 5 years, I expected more out of this so-called "biggest advancement" in graphics!
The DirectX vs Vulkan graphics API comparison reveals that Vulkan performs better than DirectX 12 in the game called Path Of Exile. Next, in Red Dead Redemption 2, both APIs give similar performance results. However, there was more stability with Vulkan as compared to DirectX 12 although some users report the opposite. DirectX is quite an old graphics API, with the latest implementation being DX12. On the other hand, Vulkan is relatively new but supports features like being a cross-platform API.
Both liquid cooling and air cooling have their own advantages and disadvantages. Moreover, you have to consider many factors like cost, noise levels, performance, compatibility, reliability, and even maintenance. From a cost perspective, air coolers are more affordable as long as you don't need it for a powerful processor like an Intel Core i9. However, there are value for money AIO liquid cooling options on the market for 250-300W CPUs, which are available at prices better than air coolers at times.
The best budget graphics card for $350 is the AMD RX 7600 XT. Then, we have options like the AMD RX 7600 and Nvidia RTX 4060. Going down to around $200, the Intel Arc A750 is perfect and gives good performance for the price albeit suffering from stability issues in certain games. Between $150 to $200, there is the AMD RX 6600 and newly launched Nvidia RTX 3050 6GB. At the lower end, Intel Arc A380 costs around $100 and the most affordable graphics card.
Those looking to build a new system or upgrade their storage drives, we have listed the best NVMe and SATA SSD options that you can get in 2024. While the WD Black SN770 is the best NVMe SSD with its affordable price, reliability, speed, and DirectStorage support, I would recommend picking up the Crucial T700 NVMe SSD with PCIe Gen 5 support. Check out all the other options in this guide.
The best gaming CPUs from Intel and AMD are the Core i9-14900K and AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D respectively in the premium segment. For mid-rangers, the i5-14600K is a really good gaming CPU along with AMD's Ryzen 5 5700X3D for AM4 motherboards. Lastly, budget-centric users can pick up the AMD Ryzen 5 5600, Ryzen 5 7600, or Intel Core i5-12400.
The best kind of RAM to get for DDR5 systems is something with CL30 to CL36 timing. For DDR4, the best kind of RAM is CL16 to CL18. Speeds matter too, such as 6000MHz being sweet spot for DDR5 and 3200MHz/3600MHz for DDR4. In terms of both DDR5 & DDR4 RAM, G.Skill is a very good brand and offers various memory kits suitable for AMD and Intel builds. Memory from the G.Skill brand also ranks the highest among other picks in this guide.
To benchmark your GPU, you can download 3DMark's synthetic benchmark software. It is known to be the gamer's benchmark and has many intensive tests. Then, there is PugetBench content creation benchmark for Adobe's suite of apps. You can also run the Blender GPU benchmark to test your GPU's performance. Also, games like Cyberpunk 2077, Red Dead Redemption 2, Microsoft Flight Simulator and more have in-game benchmarking tools.
Ajith Kumar
Building a gaming PC is a dream for many gamers. And for hardcore One Piece fans like me what's more special is building a One Piece-themed gaming PC to flex on your friends. A Redditor has turned that dream into a reality by making a gaming PC for his little brother. This custom made PC's design included the famed bounty posters of Straw Hat, Luffy's devil fruit designs, and many more.
AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT has 16GB of GDDR6 and Nvidia RTX 4070 Super has 12GB of GDDR6X VRAM. Both offer various advantages, such as AFMF with AMD. Nvidia has a suite of nice-to-have apps such as Chat with RTX. In raw performance, both GPUs stand tall against one another. However, Nvidia has better performance in ray-tracing. Overall, it is up to the user if they prefer the reasons we listed to get RX 7800 XT or RTX 4070 Super. AMD is more value for money, while Nvidia consumes less power.
The new AI PC era is here. Basically, AI PCs have a special hardware component known as Neural Processing Unit (NPU). They are also designed with a better GPU than previous-generation PCs for the upcoming AI era of computing. While an AI PC can be worth it if there are features that can benefit your work, we are a long way away from the AI PC maturing. So, it's not worth buying an AI PC for now, unless you can take advantage of the features.
The New NVIDIA App is Here to Help You Break up with GeForce Experience
Upanishad Sharma
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It's no secret that the GeForce Experience app was annoyingly bad. However, we don't have to worry about that anymore as NVIDIA has just released a brand new app. Simply called the NVIDIA app, this new experience combines GeForce Experience, NVIDIA Control Panel and RTX Experience apps. Some new features include redesigned UI, improved driver panel screen, and a new AI Filters.
On X (formerly Twitter) the user @Wxnod has highlighted that certain RTX 40 Super graphics cards are not using the new 12V-2X6 standard. Though, Nvidia RTX 40 Super graphics cards with Founders Edition design have switched to it. It is unclear why some GPU manufacturers are still using 12VHPWR, but mitigations may have been placed to the design to ensure reliability & safety. The power supply should use 12V-2X6 too to ensure the best reliability.
Steam Deck 2: Steam Deck 2: Speculated Release Date, Potential Specifications, and More
Sampad Banerjee
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Steam Deck 2 is the next-generation handheld that will be released by Valve later. As per the official statement, we can speculate it to come out in 2025 or 2026. The company is also waiting for a new architecture to be unveiled by chipmakers. Once that's out, and Valve decides it meets the Steam Deck 2 demands, work on the console should begin. We expect the price should be similar to current offerings, but is expected to get higher as per a rumor. Speculation & rumors on Steam Deck 2 specifications state that RDNA 4 graphics architecture by AMD is expected.
Are you confused on whether to purchase the Intel Core i7-14700K (14th Gen) or the Intel Core i7-13700KF (13th Gen)? Fret not, because in this comparison, we compare both these CPUs in a variety of workloads. These include synthetic, content creation, and gaming benchmarks.
Lenovo Legion Y7000P is an upcoming gaming laptop has been teased by Lenovo China. This laptop is expected to come with up to an Intel Core i9-14900HX processor, part of Intel 14th Gen CPU lineup built on Raptor Lake Refresh architecture. The teaser, which was shared on Weibo, is quite theatrical showing a man from the Legion stealing the Y7000P from Lenovo HQ. The Weibo post which shared this teaser also hinted towards the availability, and it is expected for Lenovo Legion Y700P to launch in early January 2024.
The FEVM FN60G Mini PC features an LGA 1700 socket on the B760 motherboard. It has support for 12th, 13th and 14th Gen Intel desktop processors. The GPU is configurable, with dedicated options from all three brands Intel, Nvidia and AMD. This new Mini PC has Apple Mac Studio-inspired aesthetics, and has very similar looks.
Forget Thunderbolt, Lenovo ThinkBook 14+ with OCulink EGPU Support Is Coming in 2024
Satyam Kumar
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Lenovo ThinkBook 14+ is an upcoming laptop. This has been shown in leaks to feature Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, and also has an Oculink EGPU port. Oculink is better than Thunderbolt, providing less bottlenecks when using it for external laptop graphics.
Nvidia RTX 4070 Super is an upcoming graphics card which is expected to be revealed at CES 2024, at NVIDIA's 'Special Address' event. However, one particular GPU model known as ASUS Dual RTX 4070 Super has leaked prior to its launch. The leak reveals a dual-fan design for the graphics card along with the same 12GB GDDR6X memory. This is also speculation on the 16-pin power connector. Will it be made of 12VHPWR or the safer, newer 12V-2X6 standard?
AMD has launched a new desktop processor under the older Ryzen 5000 series. The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 has 8-cores and 16-threads, and is reportedly launching for $180. The processor does not have any integrated graphics, and is supported on most AM4 motherboards after a BIOS update. This new processor is an excellent budget CPU that will offer competent multi-core performance.
MSI Titan 18 HX Teased; World’s First 4K/120 Hz Mini-LED Laptop Display
Satyam Kumar
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MSI has teased the launch of its upcoming Titan 18 HX gaming laptop. This will be the world's first 18-inch 4K 120Hz Mini LED display on a laptop, as marketed by MSI. Specifications have been leaked through online product listings. Up to Intel Core i9-14900HX with 24-cores & 32-threads is expected on this gaming laptop. The GPU will be an RTX 4090. The leaked price shows that this laptop will be quite high-end, with $5000+ being quoted for a high-end variant of MSI Titan 18 HX with 4TB SSD & 128GB DDR5 RAM. This laptop will launch at CES 2024.
Microsoft Is Making Hundreds of Dollars Worth of VR Hardware Useless
Satyam Kumar
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Microsoft has announced that Mixed Reality platform and the Mixed Reality SteamVR application are now 'deprecated' features. The company will remove support for Mixed Reality application in a future Windows update. Many PCVR gamers still use Mixed Reality VR headsets to this day - are they being left in the dust? It is unclear for now, but earlier versions of Windows 11 as well as certain Windows 10 builds are listed as compatible with Mixed Reality.
AMD AM5 socket is used for Ryzen 7000 processors, including the incredibly popular Ryzen 7 7800X3D. Now, AMD has confirmed that it will support this motherboard socket till 2025 'and beyond'. Essentially, AMD has confirmed that AM5 motherboard users will be supported for a long time, with various new CPU upgrades coming for them in the future. While AMD will release new motherboards too, it is great to see their team reassuring everyone that AM5 will last beyond 2025.
Lian Li has launched its UNI FAN TL LCD. This is a PC case fan with an integrated screen. The resolution is 400x400, and the integrated display on the new UNI FAN is sized at 1.6-inch. The customizable screen lets you put whatever you want on it - whether it be a custom video, or your system statistics. The pricing starts from $46.99 and the fans have launched on Newegg. The fans are available in two sizes, 140mm/120mm. You can even buy it in reversed airflow and regular airflow designs.
Intel Core Ultra processors have been tested in Linux-centric CPU benchmarks. This testing revealed disappointing performance results. However, it is quite early to say which is the better processor. Depending on how a particular program takes advantage of Meteor Lake hybrid performance architecture in Core Ultra processors, the performance will differ. Intel's own benchmarks point us in the opposite direction, showing Core Ultra is better.
A new RTX 3050 graphics card is being worked upon, as per a new leak coming from WCCFTech and Chinese Forums and is reportedly launching in February 2024. The new RTX 3050 will have cut-down specs such as a 6GB VRAM capacity, different memory bus width, and lower CUDA Core count. It is expected that Nvidia will make RTX 3050 more affordable, and this new 6GB graphics card will have a market price of under $200.
Lenovo Legion 5 Pro with Intel Raptor Lake Laptop Chips Spotted Online
Satyam Kumar
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Lenovo Legion 5 Pro has leaked online in a product listing of Malaysian-based online shopping store known as Shopee. This upcoming gaming laptop is expected to launch in early 2024, and has already leaked online with various specifications being shown. Nvidia RTX 4070 & 4060 can be seen on these laptops, but more importantly the Raptor Lake based 14th Gen CPUs i9-14900HX and i7-14650HX were also spotted within the specs of Lenovo Legion 5 Pro. The price was also revealed, although it will likely differ based on the region.
AMD FSR 3 is an AI frame generation feature. You can enable it on any relatively modern GPU in a few games that support the technology, but Nvidia DLSS 3 cannot be enabled unless you have the latest RTX 40 Series graphics card. Now, with the latest FSR 3 mod, you can get frame generation working in any game that has DLSS 3 support! Whether you have RTX 30 Series or RTX 20 Series, you can enable frame generation with FSR 3 with this latest mod made by Nukem9.
Nvidia RTX 4070 Super, RTX 4070 Super, and RTX 4080 Super are new graphics cards that are expected to be unveiled very soon. The launch details of these new RTX 40 GPUs from Nvidia have now been leaked, and it has been revealed that these RTX 40 Super GPUs will start hitting the shelves from January 17th, 2024 onwards. Nvidia will have its product announcement on January 8th, 2024 at its 'Special Address' CES 2024 event.
Intel ExtraSS is an upcoming frame generation technology. It is expected to be open source, since it was tested on Nvidia's RTX 3090 graphics card. Intel's method of achieving FG is a little different from AMD and Nvidia, which rely on interpolation. Intel's vision will use extrapolation instead, and as a result ExtraSS could have better latency than current FG methods which use interpolation. The technology is currently under development.
Samsung Galaxy Book4 Laptop Lineup with Intel Core Ultra CPUs & RTX Unveiled!
Satyam Kumar
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Samsung Galaxy Book4 lineup has launched. Four different laptops under the Samsung Galaxy Book series have been updated, with the latest Intel Core Ultra processors. The Book4 Ultra even has an option of either RTX 4070 or RTX 4050 graphics cards from Nvidia, making them the most powerful Samsung laptop till date. The Book4 Pro comes in three variants, one even being a 2-in-1 laptop with 360-degree hinge. The new laptops will be available from January 2024.
MSI Prestige 16 & 13 AI Evo with Intel Core Ultra Processors Launched
Satyam Kumar
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MSI has just launched its new Prestige series laptops with Intel Core Ultra chips. These new CPUs are based on Intel's latest 14th-generation Meteor Lake architecture, bringing forward several new features and dramatic efficiency improvements thanks to the Intel 4 manufacturing process. The MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo and MSI Prestige 13 AI Evo are both launching this month, so they are basically the first 14th Gen laptops to become available.
ASUS has updated its ZenBook lineup with a brand-new laptop. The ZenBook 14 OLED (UX3405) features the new Intel Core Ultra processors, built on Meteor Lake 14th Gen architecture. This laptop will be available with up to Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor, with Intel Core Ultra 5 125H being offered on the base variant. Other notable specs include the 2.8K OLED display with 120Hz refresh rate, the all-metal chassis, and up to 15 hours of battery life.
When you buy a new laptop, look for the 'Intel Evo edition' certification. To make Windows PCs better, Intel's latest implementation of a standard helps buyers in knowing which laptops have modern features. This includes new AI features being part of the updated 'Intel Evo edition' standards. Moreover, Intel is updating its Unison app with new features, bringing forward an enhanced ecosystem for your iOS/Android/Windows computing devices.