Switching to a solid-state drive is the best upgrade you can make for your PC. These wondrous devices speed up boot times, improve the responsiveness of your programs and games, and generally make your computer feel fast. But not all solid-state drives are the same. You can spend big to achieve read and write speeds that reach a whole other level, or you can find top-notch SSDs that offer solid performance without breaking the bank.

Many SSDs come in a 2.5-inch form factor and connect to your PC via the same SATA port used by a traditional hard drive. But tiny NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) “gumstick” SSDs that fit in an M.2 connection on a modern motherboard are becoming increasingly common, along with blazing-fast PCIe 4.0 (and now 5.0) solid-state drives for compatible PCs; you’ll even find SSDs that sit on a PCIe adapter and slot into your motherboard like a graphics card or sound card. No, picking the perfect SSD isn’t as simple as it used to be.

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Why you should trust us: It’s in our name, PCWorld. Our reviewers have been testing PC hardware for decades. Our storage evaluations are thorough and rigorous, testing the limits of every product — from performance benchmarks to the practicalities of regular use. As PC users ourselves, we know what makes a product stand out. Only the best SSDs make this list. For more about our testing process, scroll to the bottom of this article

See also PCWorld’s guide to the best external drives if you’re strictly looking for a portable storage solution.

Updated June 27, 2024: If you’re on the hunt for an SSD to upgrade your Lenovo Legion Go or Thinkpad, Sabrent’s Rocket Nano 2242 is worth considering. It’s designed to fit the proportions of Lenovo’s portables, and happens to be a good performer to boot. If your interests are with PCIe 5.0, Corsair’s MP700 Pro SE comes very close to taking the performance crown, and could be a very compelling option if its price comes down.

Samsung 870 EVO – Best SATA SSD

Pros

• Excellent performance, especially with small file operations
• Unlike the QVO, long writes don’t slow down

Cons

• A little expensive

Best Prices Today: $64.99 at Samsung$103.14 at Amazon

If you’re looking to add some storage via a traditional 2.5-inch SATA drive rather than a tiny M.2 “gumstick,” Samsung’s spectacular 870 EVO is your best bet. It’s the fastest SATA SSD we’ve tested, it’s available in up to 4TB of capacity, and it’s exceedingly affordable given its speed. Enough said, really—though Samsung’s killer Magician SSD management software and long warranty period also deserve a shout-out. The EVO series is a legend among SSDs for a reason.

That said, the SK Hynix Gold S31 is also worth considering. It’s just a hair behind the 870 EVO in benchmarks and costs $12 less in its 1TB version, at $98. The SK drive is only available in a 1TB flavor these days, however, while the 870 EVO ranges from a 250GB model for $60 all the way up to a massive 4TB goliath for $450. Samsung’s 1TB offering costs $110.

Read our full Samsung 870 EVO SATA SSD review

Crucial BX500 – Best budget SATA SSD

Pros

• Good everyday performance
• Low price per gigabyte

Cons

• Slows drastically when secondary cache runs out

Best Prices Today: $69.99 at Amazon

The Samsung 870 EVO offers an intoxicating blend of performance and affordable pricing, but if you want as much capacity as possible for as cheaply as possible, consider the Crucial BX500. You can get its 1TB model for $41.99, a whopping $50+ less than the equivalent EVO, while a 480GB version costs just $24.99. 240GB and 2TB versions are also available.

“We recommend this QLC drive in the larger capacities for those who want good everyday performance for a budget price,” we said in our review. “The smaller capacities will likely run into more slowdowns during heavy writes.”

Read our full Crucial BX500 SATA SSD (2TB) review

Crucial P3 – Best PCIe 3.0 SSD

Pros

• Excellent everyday PCIe 3 performance
• Fantastically low price per GB

Cons

• Very low TBW rating
• Non-cached QLC writes are extremely slow

Best Prices Today: $64.99 at Amazon

Sure, PCIe 4.0 SSDs scream during big file transfers, but if you’re still using an older system with PCIe 3.0, upgrading to an NVMe SSD still provides substantial benefits to your PC’s speed and overall responsiveness. Better yet, you don’t need to break the bank to take advantage. The Crucial P3 is a very good daily performer, but it’s available for a bargain rate of just $44 for a 500GB model or $84 for a 1TB model. Though it doesn’t have top-tier PCIe 4 performance and the TBW rating is pretty low, the P3 does have excellent real-world write times and unless you really stress the drive you shouldn’t notice much of a difference anyhow.

All told, this drive is an outstanding choice for anyone looking to snag a solid everyday SSD at a great price.

Read our full Crucial P3 review

WD Blue SN580 SSD – Best budget PCIe 4.0 SSD

Pros

• Fantastically affordable
• Super fast real world transfers
• Single-sided for laptop upgrades

Cons

• Slows to less than 300MBps when writing off secondary cache
• Slightly low endurance rating

Best Prices Today: $48.87 at Amazon

Cutting-edge PCIe 4.0 SSDs aren’t quite as cheap as SATA or PCIe 3.0 NVMe drives, but now that the technology is becoming more established, we’re starting to see several models available at compelling prices. The best of the affordable bunch? The WD Blue SN580 NVMe SSD—and by quite a large margin. At just $50 for a 1TB model, you won’t likely find any PCIe 4.0 drives with storage that cheap. In our testing, the SN580 turned out both stellar benchmark and real-world results. It did slow down considerably in the large 450GB transfer test, but seeing as how it’s unlikely anyone will write that much contiguous data it likely doesn’t matter. In the end, the SN580 is a wonderfully high-performing PCIe 4.0 SSD that well undercuts the cost of competitors. At this price point it simply can’t be beat.

Read our full WD Blue SN580 review

Solidigm P44 Pro SSD – Best PCIe 4.0 SSD

Pros

• Fastest PCIe 4.0 SSD to date
• DRAM facilitates excellent random performance
• Synergy low-level Windows driver improves random performance further

Cons

• Inconsistent pricing on web

Best Prices Today: $70.18 at AmazonNot Available at Adorama

The Solidigm P44 Pro is the fastest PCIe 4.0 drive we have ever tested bar none. In fact, it finished within the top five fastest drives in our tests, and was only beaten by three next-gen PCIe 5.0 drives. Plus, it becomes even faster when you install the Solidigm Windows driver, which further improves random performance in small read/writes.

Not only does the Solidigm P44 Pro provide top-notch performance, but it also comes in at a very reasonable price if you shop at the right place—we found that pricing varies widely online from retailer to retailer. This is one of the best SSDs on the market, and holds its own at the top despite stiff competition from a crowded field of other excellent PCIe 4.0 drives.

Read our full Solidigm P44 Pro review

Teamgroup Z540 – Best PCIe 5.0 SSD

Pros

• PCIe 5.0
• Up to 4TB in capacity (soon)
• Second-fastest SSD we’ve tested overall

Cons

• Not particularly cheap

Best Prices Today: $142.99 at Amazon

As with any PCIe 5.0 SSD, there are important caveats to bear in mind. For starters, you’ll pay a premium over extremely fast, and in some cases even faster NVMe PCIe 4.0 drives that employ a host memory buffer (HMB) design, as you can see in our review of the Solidigm P44 Pro — our pick for best PCIe 4.0 SSD.

But if you use multi-threaded software and your system sports a 13th/14th-gen Intel CPU (which the Phison PS5026-E26-52 controller inside this drive is optimized for), you can be assured of benchmarking-busting performance.

Now, in all fairness the Z540 isn’t the fastest PCIe 5.0 drive we’ve tested. It traded benchmark wins with our previous top pick the Crucial T705. But the Teamgroup Z540 has that competitor beat, decisively, when it comes to price, making it the clear pick for this category.

How can you argue with the Z540’s $143, $247, and $470 asking prices for 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB, respectively, compared with the T705’s $155, $280, and $515 prices, when performance is so close? That’s the kind of savings that pushes a close-second winner into the lead, in our book.

That being said, keep an eye on those prices, because they are always changing, and today’s alternative pick could easily become tomorrow’s best buy. Similarly, Corsair’s MP700 Pro SE offers very competitive performance that could make it a tasty option if its prices are to come down.

Bottom line: PCIe 5.0 shoppers have lots to choose from!

Read our full Teamgroup Z540 PCIe 5 NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN770M SSD – Best SSD for Steam Deck

Pros

• Small 2230 form factor for handheld gaming rigs
• Up to 2TB of capacity
• Very good real-world performance
• 5-year warranty and good TBW ratings

Cons

• Slow writes when secondary cache is exhausted
• Requires host memory buffer support (HMB)

Best Prices Today: $79.99 at Amazon$109.99 at Best Buy

In the past, you were out of luck if you wanted to upgrade your storage in a smaller-sized device such as a handheld gaming console. The full-size 2280 NVMe SSDs wouldn’t fit. Thankfully, with the advent of more advanced handheld gaming consoles such as the Steam Deck, manufacturers are changing all of that. There are now a whole host of half-sized 2230 small form factor SSDs on the market. The latest from Western Digital, the WD Black SN770M is our favorite. It comes with up to 2TB of capacity and shockingly good real-world performance. It’s only 30mm long, which means it’ll fit perfectly into small devices such as the red-hot Steam Deck.

This HMB (Host Memory Buffer) drive has great everyday performance and a decent capacity-to-cost. In our testing it aced the 48GB and 450GB transfer tests—even beating out other top-notch full-sized PCIe 4.0 drives. The SN770M is a great SSD, but if your device is able to handle the longer 2280 drives, you’ll likely have more options to choose from and might be able to find better price-for-performance at that standard size. Regardless, this drive expertly fits a niche that is only growing more common with devices such as the Steam Deck.

Read our full WD Black SN770M review

Seagate Game Drive SSD – Best SSD for PS5

Pros

• Very good overall performance
• Excellent 4K performance
• Low-profile heatsink
• Twice the TBW rating of the competition

Cons

• A bit pricey
• No 4TB model

Best Prices Today: $119 at Amazon$214.99 at Best Buy

The Seagate Game Drive PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD was made specifically for next-gen consoles—the PS5 in particular. And it doesn’t disappoint. Instead of HMB, it features DRAM for primary caching duties, which is practically essential for Sony’s console system. This is important because the PS5 doesn’t support HMB, so a drive such as this with DRAM cache is a must. The drive comes in 1TB and 2TB models, which means you’ll have plenty of space to store all of your games should you need it.

While the Seagate Game Drive is optimized for a PS5, it’s no slouch as a regular SSD either. In our speed tests it did remarkably well, earning the spot as the second-fastest PCIe 4.0 SSD with random ops that we’ve ever tested. Seagate also provides a generous five-year warranty with the drive and it has an astounding 1,275TBW rating—more than double the industry norm. The drive is a bit pricey, but the special optimizations for PS5 means that console owners can rest easy knowing that their money is going to good use with the Seagate Game Drive.

Read our full Seagate Game Drive PS5 NVMe SSD review

Crucial X9 Pro – Best external SSD

Pros

• Super small form factor
• Great 10Gbps performance
• Handsome design

Cons

• Not the least expensive 10Gbps SSD available

Best Prices Today: $96.44 at Amazon

With great everyday performance and an affordable price, the Crucial X9 Pro is our favorite external SSD. This svelte beauty will give you transfer rates of 10Gbps and comes in 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB capacities with reasonable prices for each. In our testing we found that the X9 Pro performed admirably against the other 10Gbps competition. It especially excelled in the real-world 48GB transfer test and the 450GB write time test where it smoked other similar 10Gbps drives we’ve tested.

Crucial also has an X10 Pro model on offer that gives you 20Gbps transfer speeds, but you’ll pay quite a bit more for that extra speed. Regardless, we think that the X9 Pro will serve the average user perfectly fine with excellent all-around performance and a cheaper price point. You can’t ask much more from a 10Gbps USD external SSD than what the Crucial X9 Pro gives you.

Read our full Crucial X9 Pro review

Adata Elite SE880 SSD – Most portable SSD

Pros

• Very fast, over-20Gbps USB connection
• Extremely small form factor
• 5-year warranty

Cons

• Slows considerably during long contiguous writes
• Somewhat low TBW rating

Best Prices Today: $89.07 at Amazon

No SSD we’ve seen can match Adata’s Elite SE880 for portability. Indeed, measuring in at only 2.55 inches long, 1.38 inches wide, and 0.48 inches thick, it reminds you more of a USB thumb drive than a standard SSD. It weighs a mere 1.1 ounces to boot, virtually disappearing when placed in your pocket.

The Elite SE880 is also very fast at everyday tasks. In real-world 48GB transfer tests, the drive displayed outstanding marks. However, it did lose significant ground in the longer contiguous write tests meaning photo and video pros with large files might want to look at other options. Considering the respectable transfer rates and the small form factor, the Elite SE880 is a great pick for those looking to take their SSD on the go.

Read our full Adata Elite SE880 SSD review

Our latest external SSD reviews

• SK Hynix Tube T31: For the folks who like the convenience of USB-A connector thumb drive with the peformance of an SSD, the Tube T31 belongs in your pocket.
• SanDisk Desk Drive USB SSD: On the other end of the spectrum, you have an external SSD that’s meant to stay put, on your desk, where its large capacity (4TB or 8TB) is at the ready as a capable and speedy alternative to an HDD for backups.
• Adata SD810: This is a solid 20Gbps drive, as long as you don’t need to write large amounts of data to it on a regular basis — in our tests, the drive slowed considerably in that scenario. That being said, the 4TB capacity is an especially good value at just $300.

NVMe SSD setup: What you need to know

Be aware of what NVMe drives deliver before you buy in. Standard SATA SSDs already supercharge boot times and loading times for PCs, and for a whole lot cheaper. You’ll get the most use from NVMe drives, be it in a M.2 form factor like the Samsung 980 Pro or a PCIe drive, if you routinely transfer data, especially in large amounts. If you don’t do that, NVMe drives aren’t worth the price premium.

If you decide to buy an NVMe SSD, make sure your PC can handle it. This is a relatively new technology, so you’ll only be able to find M.2-connection motherboards from the past few years. Think AMD Ryzen and mainstream Intel chips from the 6th-generation era onward, for the most part. NVMe SSDs that were mounted on PCIe adapters were popular in the technology’s early years, before M.2 adoption spread, but they’re rarer now. Make sure you’re actually able to use an NVMe SSD before you buy one, and be aware that you’ll need four PCIe lanes available in order to use it to its full potential. You’ll need a newer Ryzen 3000- or 5000-series CPU, or an Intel 11th- or 12th-gen CPU, to run a PCIe 4.0 SSD to its full potential. PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs will work in a PCIe 3.0 computer, but at slower PCIe 3.0 speeds.

To get the most out of an NVMe drive, you want to run your operating system on it, so you must have a system that recognizes the drive and can boot from it. PCs purchased during the past year or two should have no problem booting from an NVMe drive, but support for that can be iffy in older motherboards. Do a Google search for your motherboard and see if it supports booting from NVMe. You may need to install a BIOS update for your board. If your hardware can’t boot from an NVMe SSD, your machine should still be able to use it as a secondary drive.

What to look for in an SSD

Capacity and price are important, of course, and a long warranty can alleviate fears of premature data death. Most SSD manufacturers offer a three-year warranty, and some nicer models are guaranteed for five years. But unlike the olden days of SSDs, modern drives won’t wear out with normal consumer usage, as Tech Report tested and proved years ago with a grueling endurance test.

The biggest thing to watch out for is the technology used to connect the SSD to your PC. We go into deeper details and buying advice in our guide on which type of SSD you should buy.

1. SATA: This refers to both the connection type and the transfer protocol, which is used to connect most 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch hard drives and SSDs to your PC. SATA III speeds can hit roughly 600MBps, and most—but not all—modern drives max it out. (More on that in the next section.)
2. PCIe: This interface taps into four of your computer’s PCIe lanes to blow away SATA speeds, to the tune of nearly 4GBps over PCIe gen 3. Those sort of face-melting speeds pair nicely with supercharged NVMe drives. Both the PCIe lanes in your motherboard and the M.2 slot in your motherboard can be wired to support the PCIe interface, and you can buy adapters that allow you to slot “gumstick” M.2 drives into a PCIe lane. PCIe 4.0 drives are significantly faster, but require an AMD Ryzen 3000-series or Intel Core 11th-gen (or newer) processor, along with a compatible PCIe 4.0 motherboard.
3. NVMe: Non-Volatile Memory Express technology takes advantage of PCIe’s bountiful bandwidth to create blisteringly fast SSDs that blow SATA-based drives out of the water. Check out PCWorld’s “Everything you need to know about NVMe” for a nitty-gritty deep-dive.
4. M.2: This is where things get tricky. Many people assume M.2 drives all use NVMe technology and PCIe speeds, but that’s not true. M.2 is just a form factor. Sure, most M.2 SSDs use NVMe, but some still stick to SATA. Do your homework. Many modern Ultrabooks rely on M.2 for storage.
5. U.2 and mSATA: You may also stumble across mSATA and U.2 SSDs, but both motherboard support and product availability are rare for those formats. Some older Ultrabooks included mSATA before M.2 became popular, and drives are still available if you need them.

Speed matters, of course, but as we said most modern SSDs saturate the SATA III interface. Not all of them, though.

SSDs vs. hard drives

Do you need an SSD? “Need” is a strong word, but we heartily recommend that everyone upgrade to an SSD. Solid-state drive speeds blow even the fastest mechanical hard drives out of the water. Simply swapping out the hard drive in your old laptop or desktop for an SSD can make it feel like a whole new system—and a blazing-fast one at that. Buying an SSD is easily the best upgrade you can make for a computer.

SSDs cost more per gigabyte than mechanical hard drives, though, and thus aren’t often available in ultra-high capacities. If you want speed and storage space, you can buy an SSD with limited space and use it as your boot drive, then set up a traditional hard drive as secondary storage in your PC. Place your programs on your boot drive, stash your media and other files on the hard drive, and you’re ready to have your cake and eat it too.

How we test SSDs

Drive tests currently utilize Windows 11 (22H2) 64-bit running on an X790 (PCIe 5.0) motherboard/i5-12400 CPU combo with two Kingston Fury 32GB DDR5 modules (64GB of memory total). Intel integrated graphics are used. The 48GB transfer tests utilize an ImDisk RAM disk taking up 58GB of the 64GB total memory. The 450GB file is transferred from a Samsung 990 Pro 2TB, which also contains the operating system.

Each test is performed on a newly formatted and TRIM’d drive so the results are optimal. Note that as any drive fills up, performance will decrease due to less NAND for secondary caching, and other factors.

The performance numbers shown apply only to the drive we were shipped as well as the capacity tested. SSD performance can vary by capacity due to more or fewer chips to read/write across and the amount of NAND available for secondary caching (writing TLC/QLC as SLC). Vendors also occasionally swap components. If you ever notice a large discrepancy between the performance you experience and that which we report (systems being roughly equal), by all means—let us know.

Video editing can put quite a heavy burden on any computer. So, when shopping for a laptop for video editing, you’ll want to make sure you’re loading up on enough heavy hardware firepower to get the job done. While you might not need the absolute top-of-the-line gear, simply buying a gaming laptop and calling it a day is probably not going to cut it. Beyond just processor and graphics performance, serious video editors need to take into account a few things such as the quality of the display, port selection, and onboard storage capacity.

Why you should trust us: PCWorld has been covering PCs since 1983, and reviews more than 70 notebooks a year in our never-ending quest to find the best laptops. Our expert reviewers evaluate every machine using a combination of performance benchmarks and rigorous usability standards, with an eye toward identifying the best laptops for specific needs and at various price points. We also edit lots of videos ourselves, with the results appearing on PCWorld’s YouTube channel. Take a look at our top picks for video editing below, followed by buying advice and more details about our testing process.

If you’re on a budget or just looking to save some money, you may also want to check out our daily roundup of the best laptop deals to scope out any discounts on content creation notebooks.

Update June 20, 2024: In addition to updating the list of recent laptop reviews, we’ve also replaced the Best Ultraportable for Video Editing pick with the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 ($1,599.99). It’s far less expensive than our former pick and it’s lightweight and has a wide range of connectivity options.

The best laptops for video editing

Dell XPS 17 (2023) – Best laptop for video editing

Pros

• Expansive 17-inch 16:10 display
• Thin chassis
• Incredible battery life

Cons

• Expensive
• 720p webcam

Why we like the Dell XPS 17 (2023)

The Dell XPS 17 (2023) is a fantastic laptop for content creation because it has a gigantic display and a good amount of graphics firepower. The OLED touch display, which measures a massive 17-inches, features a crystal clear resolution of 3840×2400 and a maximum brightness of 550 nits. It’s perfect for media editing, multitasking, and so much more. The machine is also powered by an Intel Core i7-13700H CPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070, which means it’s more than capable of handling any video editing you throw at it. The specific configuration we reviewed will cost you well over $3,000, so it’s likely not a viable option for the budget-conscious, but if your time is money, the Dell XPS 17 is money very well spent.

Who should buy the Dell XPS 17 (2023)

We feel the Dell XPS 17 is a phenomenal option for serious or professional video editors. The 4K screen is divine and it has the perfect amount of horsepower as far as internal components go. It also includes an SD card reader and multiple Thunderbolt 4 ports for quickly offloading videos or photos. Finally, the Dell XPS 17 can run up to 11 hours on a single charge, eliminating the need to go outlet hunting. Although we would’ve liked to have seen this model with an OLED screen, it’s still a top-notch pick.

Alternative option: The Dell XPS 16 is another good option for content creators. In fact, the hardware is almost identical to our top pick. The only real difference is that the Dell XPS 16 has an OLED screen and the Dell XPS 17 9730 does not. That said, the Dell XPS 16 didn’t make the cut because it doesn’t have as many Thunderbolt 4 ports and the keyboard is a real headache to use due to stiff keys.

Read our full Dell XPS 17 9730 review

Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra – Best laptop for video editing (if you don't need 4K)

Pros

• Fantastic battery life
• Solid GPU performance
• Gorgeous OLED screen that can be used outdoors
• Great audio
• AI-powered Core Ultra inside

Cons

• Chargers keep getting bigger
• Still not a great keyboard

Best Prices Today: $2999.99 at Best Buy

Why we like the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra

The Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra offers powerful performance as well as a gorgeous OLED display. Thanks to the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, it’s well equipped to handle any video editing task you throw at it. Plus, the 16-inch OLED display has a resolution of 2880×1800 and a refresh rate of 120Hz–so you can expect a crisp-looking picture with rich colors. Sure, it’s not 4K, but it’s still a fantastic screen for content creation. Battery life is absolutely absurd, too. This machine lasted a whopping 18 hours and 54 minutes on a single charge. Wall outlet? Who is she?

Who should buy the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra

Anyone looking for a powerful, long-lasting laptop and doesn’t need to edit 4K videos. In addition to the stunning OLED display and the long battery life, the audio is also quite punchy, sounding great up and down the audio range. If you switch on the Dolby Atmos feature, you’ll hear even richer sound. Though content creators may not necessarily need good audio (or likely use dedicated headphones), it’s still a nice perk.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra review

Apple MacBook Pro (M3, Pro) – Best MacBook for video editing

Pros

• Good performance
• 18GB of RAM
• Runs quiet

Cons

• Low performance advantage over M2 Pro

Best Prices Today: $1999 at Adorama$1999 at Apple$1999 at Best Buy

Why we like the Apple MacBook Pro (M3, Pro)

The Apple MacBook Pro (M3, Pro) will kick you in the teeth with its power (in the best way possible). Inside, you’ll find a 14-core GPU as well as 18GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. That amount of RAM will keep things running nice and smooth while the beefy GPU will chew right through any intense edits, though intense video editors will want to upgrade to a model with more storage or invest in an external SSD for added capacity. The 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display also has a ridiculously high resolution of 3024×1964, so editing should be a delightful experience. It even comes with three Thunderbolt 4 ports for speedy data transfers.

Who should buy the Apple MacBook Pro (M3, Pro)

Anyone who prefers Apple’s ecosystem. This configuration shows a 44 percent increase in performance (according to Geekbench’s Compute Metal test) compared to the M3 (sans Pro) model. You’ll also be able to see every detail of your photo or video editing work thanks to the gorgeous Liquid Retina XDR display. Battery life isn’t too shabby, either. The M3 Pro MacBook Pro will last you over ten hours on a single charge, which is more than a full work day.

Alternative option: If you’re looking for a bigger screen, then you should check out the MacBook Pro, M2 Pro. The Liquid Retina XDR display measures 16.2-inches and has a resolution of 3456×2234, so visuals should be sharp as knives. The M2 Pro also comes loaded with a powerful 19-core GPU.

Read our full Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro (M3 Pro, 2023) review

Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition – Best budget laptop for video editing

Pros

• All-day battery life
• Stunning display
• Durable build

Cons

• 720p webcam
• Keys feel too soft

Why we like the Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition

The Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition is a good option for those on a tight budget, as it ticks off all of the right boxes for a sub-$1,000 machine. For one, colors appear rich and varied on the 16-inch 1200p FHD display. Sure, it’s not 4K, but it’s still a good screen–our reviewer was surprised by the “depth of the blacks and greys.” As for internals, the AMD Radeon RX 7600S GPU and the AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS CPU should blitz right through graphically demanding tasks like video editing. It also lasted a whopping 11 hours on a single charge, which is shocking for a gaming laptop.

Who should buy the Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition

Anyone who’s looking to save money on a capable and long-lasting laptop. You don’t have to go outlet hunting because of the long battery life and the 1200p display offers nothing but stunning visuals. While the keys feel a bit mushy and the 720p webcam won’t be doing you any favors on video calls, we feel as though the pros far outweigh the cons, especially given the reasonable price point.

Alternative option: The Lenovo LOQ 15 is another good budget option to consider. It has a better GPU (RTX 4060) than our current top pick. Despite the high star rating, it didn’t end up making the cut because of the poor battery life (not unusual in a gaming laptop) and limited connectivity options. The Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition just stands out from the pack, especially where battery life is concerned, but the Lenovo LOQ would be a good budget option if your workflow is accelerated by Nvidia features and technology.

Read our full Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition review

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 – Best ultraportable laptop for video editing

Pros

• Very light and compact design
• Excellent performance for its size
• Robust build
• Visually stunning display

Cons

• Keys feel soft and mushy
• The webcam isn't the best quality
• The downward facing woofers sometimes sound muddy

Best Prices Today: $1599.99 at Best Buy$2499 at Asus

Why we like the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is “exceptionally sleek and compact,” according to our comprehensive review. Not only does it tip the scales at just 3.31 pounds, but you can easily pick it up with an index finger and a thumb. The slim form factor is impressive given the hardware inside, which consists of an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS CPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU. That means it’s powerful enough to handle editing photos in Adobe Photoshop and playing games with the graphics turned up. The connectivity options are also quite good and the OLED screen has a high resolution of 2880×1800. It’s not 4K, but you can still expect a sharp picture. The port selection includes two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, one USB-C 4, one HDMI, one 3.5mm combo jack, and one microSD card reader.

Who should buy the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14

Anyone that likes to work on-the-go. In addition to its slim form factor, it’s also quite tough with “premium CNC-milled aluminum alloy” throughout the chassis. It even achieved impressive frame rates in a couple of modern games. In fact, it managed 133 frames-per-second during the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark and 101 frames-per-second during Rise of the Tomb Raider benchmark, which is newer and more demanding. If you’re looking for reliable gaming performance in a tiny package, look no further than the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14.

Read our full Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 review

Recent laptop reviews

• Acer Aspire Vero 16: The Acer Aspire Vero 16 is pretty average in most areas, but at just about every turn it avoids being bad. This makes for a good all-around package that’s pleasant to use and rarely feels like a letdown.
• Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1: Lenovo delivered a 2-in-1 ThinkPad with great build quality, a nice pen, and serious battery life. But you may want to wait for a next-generation model powered by Intel’s Lunar Lake hardware.
• Acer Chromebook Plus 514: Acer’s Chromebook Plus 514 is a decent budget Chromebook that beats competitors on RAM and storage.
• Lenovo ThinkBook 13x: Lenovo’s ThinkBook is a better business laptop for most people than a top-of-the-line ThinkPad, but the lack of ports may be a problem.

How we tested

The PCWorld team puts each and every Windows laptop through a series of benchmarks that test GPU and CPU performance, battery life, and so on. The idea is to push the laptop to its limits and then compare it against others we’ve tested. Chromebooks, on the other hand, go through a series of web-based tests. It wouldn’t be fair or possible to run the same kinds of tests on a Chromebook, as they’re Chrome OS-based machines.

Below, you’ll find a breakdown of each test and the reasons why we run them. For a much deeper look at our review methodology, check out how PCWorld tests laptops.

Windows laptops

• PCMark 10: PCMark 10 is how we determine how well the laptop handles lighter tasks like web browsing, word processing, spreadsheets, and so on.
• HandBrake: HandBrake is more intensive than PCMark 10. It basically measures how long a laptop’s CPU takes to encode a beefy 30GB file.
• Cinebench: Cinebench is a brief stress test of the CPU cores. It does this by rendering a 2D scene over a short period of time.
• 3DMark: 3DMark checks if 3D performance remains consistent over time by running graphic-intensive clips.
• Video rundown test: To gauge battery life, we loop a 4K video using Windows 10’s Movies & TV app until the laptop dies.

This year’s Computex was one of the most monumental in ages. Funnily enough, that made it feel both insanely packed and curiously quiet on the PC front.

Qualcomm’s imminent entry into the premium PC space with Snapdragon X Elite-powered Copilot+ laptops cast a shadow over Computex after being announced in late May, with a wide array of top PC makers already on board for a June 18 launch. AMD and Intel’s keynotes focused heavily on their AI-infused laptop chips in response – but those aren’t launching until July and this fall, respectively. So, we heard a lot about the chips underpinning the next generation of laptops, but little about the laptops they’ll actually be in, with a few exceptions.

On the desktop, Nvidia focused on AI (natch) but AMD rolled out its hotly anticipated Ryzen 9000 desktop processors, powered by a new Zen 5 architecture. And PC component and peripheral makers were out in full force, flexing their influence in the increasingly competitive world of computing.

We live in interesting times — but enough backdrop. Which reveals got us deeply, personally excited? This is the best hardware and software of Computex 2024. Giddy up.

The best PC hardware and software of Computex 2024

AMD Ryzen 7 9700X

Adam Patrick Murray / Foundry

Adam Patrick Murray / Foundry

Adam Patrick Murray / Foundry

AMD’s Ryzen 7 9700X might not look exciting at first blush, with no increase to core count and only a slight bump to the maximum boost clocks — especially when you compare it to AMD’s new Ryzen 9 9950X flagship. But when you look at the thermal draw (TDP) you realize the exciting part: It’s 65 watts compared to the 7700Xs’ 105 watts.

That’s a huge drop in power, which hints at the efficiency of AMD’s Zen 5 architecture, and means that you should be able to get 8 fast cores without needing to worry about massive cooling solutions. Even with this drop in power AMD says that the Ryzen 7 9700X will still see an IPC/performance uplift, with the ability to push the chip harder for those who have more robust cooling installed. Of course, we’ll have to see how these Ryzen 9000 CPUs perform in reviews, but I’m all for cooler, quieter, and less power hungry systems. -Adam Patrick Murray

Intel Lunar Lake

Intel needed to get a win at Computex, to stem the sudden threat of Qualcomm-powered Copilot+ PCs serving as the vanguard for the future of Windows. Chipzilla didn’t have any firm products to show off, much less many laptops powered by its next-gen CPUs, but the company’s exhaustive Lunar Lake processor architecture reveal bought it time.

Intel says Lunar Lake will not only offer 14 percent faster CPU performance than its predecessors, it’ll have up to 50 percent higher graphics performance and a whopping 60 percent battery life, as well as a Snapdragon-matching NPU for AI workloads. It’ll serve as the vanguard for Intel’s next-gen Xe2 “Battlemage” GPU architecture, while ruthlessly eliminating technological standbys like hyperthreading and replaceable memory helped Intel optimize for peak power efficiency. Intel and AMD need better battery life, fast, to compete with Qualcomm’s new notebooks – and Lunar Lake shows Intel plans on putting up a fierce fight. –Brad Chacos

Fractal Design’s tiny Raspberry Pi concept case

Adam Patrick Murray / Foundry

Adam Patrick Murray / Foundry

Adam Patrick Murray / Foundry

I need to be clear: This is not an official product that Fractal will be selling, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of it at the company’s suite — and I hope they release this in some form in the future.

This custom-made Raspberry Pi case that looks like a very tiny Fractal North was fabricated to help showcase Fractal Design’s new Scape headphones (which is a new category for the company, and a promising headphone in its own right). I’m a sucker for both Fractal cases and tiny renditions of things, so this fun concept continues to live in the back of my mind — until it can, hopefully one day, live at the corner of my desk. –-Adam Patrick Murray

Nvidia SFF GeForce guidelines

Small form factor PCs are some of the most stylish around, especially if you don’t follow the trend for disco lighting and fishbowl displays. But the explosion in graphics card sizes, especially at the high end, means it’s almost impossible to build one with top-of-the-line components.

Enter refreshed SFF guidelines from Nvidia, which should finally mean you can get by with “just” 2.5 card slots for a high-end design. A maximum of 304mm in length and 50mm in height mean that building in stunning SFF cases like the Fractal Design Terra won’t force a compromise on graphics power. The guidelines top out at an RTX 4080 Super, and hopefully some AMD Radeon vendors will begin making cards that comply as well. –Michael Crider

Asus ROG Mjolnir Portable Gaming UPS

Asus / Unsplash (Brandon Morgan)

Asus / Unsplash (Brandon Morgan)

Asus / Unsplash (Brandon Morgan)

BRUH it’s a high-end uninterruptible power supply for PCs and more that LOOKS LIKE THOR’S HAMMER AND CHARGES IN THE SUN. And the handle doubles as a flashlight! Bruh. I’m in. –Brad Chacos

AMD Ryzen AI 300

Adam Patrick Murray / Foundry

Adam Patrick Murray / Foundry

Adam Patrick Murray / Foundry

While Intel and Qualcomm slug it out over long-lasting battery life, AMD took a different tact for its debut Copilot+-capable laptop chips: Sheer, unrelenting performance, powered by a new Zen 5 architecture.

Yes, Ryzen AI 300 CPUs have a fast NPU – the most capable we’ve seen, in fact – but AMD focused on compute domination here, spearheaded by a Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (phew) with 12 cores and 24 threads of full-fat power and powerful Radeon graphics juiced by the latest GPU architectural enhancements. Yes, battery life matters, but performance matters too—and AMD didn’t forget it. Look for the first Ryzen AI 300 laptops to shoulder onto store shelves in July. –Brad Chacos

Phanteks Evolv X2

Phanteks

Phanteks

Phanteks

I may seem overenthusiastic right now about this year’s crop of Computex case reveals, but the hoarder conditions in my home is proof of how many chassis I love. And it’s about to get more crowded.

I’ve been taken with the latest from Lian Li, Montech, and Fractal Designs, but one case in particular stands out—the Phanteks Evolv X2. Its classy, understated aesthetic is the computer component equivalent of garb worn to a white-tie affair. Sleek lines, tasteful aluminum accents, recessed mounting for cooling hardware—I feel like I should slip into a ballgown before sitting down game on a build in the Evolv X2. And you know what? I’m up for making my nights fancier come Q4 this year, especially when the buy-in is $150 USD. –Alaina Yee

Asus ROG Delta II gaming headset

Asus

Asus

Asus

A new gaming headset iteration might not seem that exciting, especially since the Asus ROG Delta II sports a similar design to other ROG headsets. But don’t let the exterior fool you — this bad boy will offer up some remarkable tech.

The most notable is Asus’ DualFlow Audio feature which allows you to listen to two different audio sources (via 2.4Ghz wireless or Bluetooth) at the same time or toggle between them. So now you can easily take that mobile call from your mom you’ve been avoiding during the heat of battle without ruining your precious KDA in Call of Duty. It even has two sets of volume wheels, one on either side, so you can separately control the volume for each audio feed. The ROG II also claims to have a jaw-dropping 110 hour battery life (with RGB turned off) and a mere 40 ms of latency over Bluetooth. That’s a delightful-sounding combination of features! – Sam Singleton

Ryzen 7 5800XT

AMD/BBC

AMD/BBC

AMD/BBC

We continue to wonder how long AMD will continue to support the venerable AM4 socket (through 2024 is the latest target, AMD executives said) but how can you not give the Ryzen 7 5800XT our highest Computex plaudit? The first Ryzen 5000 chips came out in 2020, and AM4 motherboards in 2016, but AMD continues to support the platform even after moving onto AM5 long ago. Many desktop PC owners started with a full build, then swapped out parts over the years as they constantly upgraded their “Frankenrig.” We applaud this customer-centric approach! –Mark Hachman

Lian Li’s Lancool 217

Lian Li / Unsplash (Henry & Co)

Lian Li / Unsplash (Henry & Co)

Lian Li / Unsplash (Henry & Co)

Lian Li’s new Lancool 217 computer case (with wood accents!) is absolutely gorgeous. I prefer understated designs over the more flamboyant variety, so it’s like this case was designed for me. A friend of mine has an Alienware desktop that looks just like a spaceship—it works great for him but yeah… no thanks.

While an eye-catching design is one aspect to consider, it means nothing if the product doesn’t function well. Not only was I impressed with the subtle yet sophisticated look of this case, but I’m also a fan (ha!) of the massive 170mm fans! I do just about everything on a desktop, including gaming as well as office work, so a proper cooling system is a must for me. Who knows? Maybe I’ll pick up the Lancool 217 in the near future… –Ashley Biancuzzo

Asus ROG Ally X

If I had to pick one thing that impressed me the most, it’s the Asus ROG Ally X. Or more specifically, how much the Ally X has improved over its predecessor with small but meaningful changes.

Ditching the proprietary (and expensive) mobile GPU port for Thunderbolt not only makes it more flexible, it’s a win for anyone who wants to give this thing more power. Doubling the battery and expanding the storage to a full-length 2280 SSD are wins for the user with an incredible engineering achievement. The ROG Ally X shows that even a poorly received debut doesn’t doom a product, so long as a manufacturer has faith in the idea and the technical chops to make it better. –Michael Crider

MSI Claw, Fallout Edition

MSI

MSI

MSI

Okay, the Fallout edition of MSI’s Claw gaming handheld is just plain fun. I’m currently watching the show on Amazon Prime, which is why I’ve currently got that nuclear wasteland on the brain. MSI’s fancy-pants Claw is designed to look like a Pip-Boy, a wearable minicomputer that stores all of your personal data from the Fallout universe.

The original Claw, which was released a couple of months ago, doesn’t seem to have the best reviews, but I’m hoping this Intel Lunar Lake-wielding refresh will breathe new life into the device. I imagine there’s only going to be a limited amount of Fallout editions available, so I’ll definitely keep a close eye on it as MSI releases more details in the future. –Ashley Biancuzzo

Acer SpatialLab Eyes camera

Want to up your Twitch game by shooting in 3D? Or how about giving those Zoom meetings an extra dimension? Well, Acer answered your prayers with its new SpatialLab Eyes camera that allows you to capture and stream 3D footage.

The best thing about this camera is that unlike other 3D capture devices such as the iPhone 15 Pro, the SpatialLabs Eyes allow you to livestream your footage. The 3D footage is captured thanks to the two forward-facing stereoscopic cameras (or “eyes”) with 8MP resolution per camera. The 3D footage will be viewable and compatible with other Acer SpatialLabs devices—their laptops and monitors with glasses-free 3D displays, as well as some VR headsets. Whether or not this will actually take off is yet to be determined, but Acer sure is betting big on it. SpatialLab Eyes should be available in the next few weeks after Computex 2024 and will retail for $549. –Sam Singleton

Acer

Acer

Acer

Acer’s SpatialLabs laptops do viewing stereoscopic 3D content without 3D glasses better than any devices I know. It’s just that they’ve always seemed more useful to 3D artists than a gamer like me. But Acer’s unveiling of the SpatialLabs Eyes Stereo Camera has just made the similarly equipped laptops 1,000 times more appealing.

The camera means anything and everything in my house is now open slather to be rendered in 3D on them: Funny 3D cat pics? You know I will! I’m no developer, but I’ve always liked the idea of dabbling with the 3D game engine Unity to get a simple VR “Choose your own adventure” mystery off the ground. This little camera may be just what I need to do that. –Dominic Bayley

Do you have a GeForce graphics card in your PC? Then you’ll want to check out the new Nvidia App, which unifies the longstanding Nvidia Control Panel and GeForce Experience mish-mash into a more singular interface. We’ve tried it and the Nvidia app is awesome, bringing some much-needed new ideas and cohesion to your gaming experience. And unlike GFE, you don’t need to log in to use it—correcting a key enthusiast gripe.

The Nvidia App remains in beta, but Nvidia wants more people using it. So at Computex 2024, Team Green revealed some nifty new Nvidia App goodies that might just woo you into making the switch from GeForce Experience (which, again, you should totally do anyway).

First and foremost, if you install the Nvidia App, you’ll be able to claim three free months of access to hundreds of games via Microsoft’s PC Game Pass. That’s a $30 value and an offer you normally only see attached to new gaming hardware, such as a laptop or graphics card. Yes, you can download and play PC pass games locally, no streaming needed – though Nvidia says you can stream over 130 PC Game Pass titles on GeForce Now these days, too, complete with up to 240 FPS speeds, 4K resolution, real-time ray tracing, and DLSS 3.

The offer kicks in starting June 4 at 6am Pacific Time and is also available to existing GeForce Experience users — you’ll find it in the Redeem section of the Nvidia App or GFE. You’ll need to have an Nvidia account to claim the three free months of PC Game Pass, and can’t already be a Game Pass subscriber.

But the awesome freebie isn’t the only benefit. Nvidia announced that it’s also bringing over the one-click performance tuning option from GeForce Experience, joining existing hardware monitoring options. You’ll find the option in a new Performance tab in the also-new System section.

Nvidia

Nvidia

Nvidia

“Power users may also adjust voltage, power, temperature and fan speed targets, which will change the parameters used by our advanced tuning algorithms,” Nvidia says. “This is useful, for instance, if you wish to maximize performance without going above a certain temperature threshold, or want fans to spin at 70% max.”

Additionally, owners of RTX 40-series graphics cards can now capture video using the AV1 encoding format.

“Utilizing the eighth-generation Nvidia” Encoders (NVENC) on GeForce RTX 40 Series graphics cards and laptop GPUs, AV1 improves encoding efficiency by 40%, producing higher quality videos without requiring more disk space,” Nvidia says. We agree; both NVENC and AV1 rock.

It’s been a confounding few years for PC gaming enthusiasts. Graphics cards have bloated in size as power and performance surged, with triple-slot-plus monstrosities virtually the norm in the mid-range and above. But itty-bitty small form factor PCs have been enjoying a renaissance of their own — and they’re not always able to fit today’s behemoth GPUs.

Nvidia’s new “SFF-Ready Enthusiast GeForce Card” guideline, announced during Nvidia’s Computex livestream, hopes to eliminate consumer confusion when the two trends collide.

It’s a pretty straightforward certification plan. Nvidia’s guideline includes specific requirements for the size allowed for the GPU itself (plus a bit of buffer for power connectors) as well as how much surrounding free space is required inside the case to properly house and cool the card.

Graphics cards and cases that meet these requirements can slap a new “Nvidia SFF-Ready” badge on their hardware and advertising. That lets everyday gamers know they’ll be compatible without question.

Nvidia

Nvidia

Nvidia

These graphics cards still won’t be as small as yesteryear’s designs, though. While two-slot GPUs used to be the new, full stop, the SFF-Ready Enthusiast GeForce Card guideline tops out at 50mm (or 2.5 slots) in height, with 151mm width and 304mm length requirements.

The PC cases need to carve out the same 2.5-slot height, but a slightly expanded 154.5mm-by-312mm housing area. Graphics card size is a maximum; case housing size is a minimum.

Nvidia

Nvidia

Nvidia

Nvidia whipped up a list of initially compatible GPUs and cases available now. You’ll see some of the biggest names in SFF cases on the list, as well as mostly GeForce RTX 4070 and 4070 Ti graphics cards on the list.

Since this guideline targets enthusiast graphics cards, it appears focused on the RTX 4070 and up, since mainstream GPUs tend to be smaller (and thus cheaper). Only one higher-class graphics card makes the current cut, though — Asus’ impressively slim ProArt RTX 4080 Super.

Further reading: Don’t build an ultra-tiny small form factor PC without reading this first

Yes, it’s true: That old AI gaming assistant April Fools’ joke that Nvidia made all the way back in 2017 is now reality. Well, kinda. And if Nvidia’s plans come to fruition, it could make your favorite PC gaming forums and wikis obsolete.

During its Computex keynote, Nvidia revealed “Project G-Assist” for the creation of customizable AI assistants for PC gamers, running on GeForce graphics cards. These AI assistants can be tuned to help you in specific games, providing detailed information about your personal adventures while reacting to on-screen events. They can also analyze and tune your entire gaming PC on the fly.

Ever wondered “What the hell is that??!!” when confronted by a snarling new alien menace in a game? G-Assist can tell you—and not just that, but also the optimal build for your character path if you’d like. It can then overclock your GPU to speed up performance, all without ever needing to leave your game.

G-Assist is the first AI assistant I’d actually want to install on my gaming PC. Let’s dig in.

Nvidia’s Project G-Assist is the ultimate gaming sidekick

Nvidia

Nvidia

Nvidia

Project G-Assist is the codename for a series of AI technologies and frameworks provided by Nvidia, with several new tools revealed for developers at the show. These capabilities monitor your gaming inputs (including on-screen information), process those inputs through a large language model (AI) with specifically trained data sets helped by other tools, then feed you the information you’re looking for in real time.

Anyone can use these tools however they see fit to create their own gaming assistants. The sky is the limit here. Nvidia provided two AI assistant concepts to show off G-Assist’s potential in eye-opening ways.

First, Nvidia created an Ark: Survival Ascended demo that shows how powerful these tools can be when they’re integrated by game developers and trained on a deep data set for that specific game.

It’s actually remarkable. Via a floating text field, you can ask the AI assistant what the best early weapons are, skill recommendations for your particular character build, help with problems, and more. It’s like having the world’s most knowledgeable wiki author riding shotgun with you, and you never have to alt-tab out to find the crucial info you need.

Nvidia

Nvidia

Nvidia

It’s a compelling vision—and it’s aided by computer vision, remember. In the demo, the protagonist asked “What is that thing?” while looking at a dinosaur and was promptly told that it’s most likely a titansaur, “[which] can be identified by its massive size and long neck.”

It’s easy to imagine enthusiast communities training their own AI assistants to provide tailored experiences for their favorite games, or developers providing help bots for new players, or an all-encompassing assistant trained on the top wikis to help in any game.

We’ll have to see if that dream winds up being reality, though. This all looks fantastic in theory, but Nvidia releases a lot of impressive tech demos and not all of them wind up being embraced by the community.

HAL, overclock my PC

But G-Assist’s potential isn’t limited to the act of playing games alone. Nvidia also showed off another G-Assist bot designed to help PC players tune their settings on the fly while tooling around in Cyberpunk 2077.

Nvidia

Nvidia

Nvidia

It was able to change options when asked to optimize the settings for image quality. It also suggested enabling Nvidia Reflex to reduce latency due to the system’s measurements at the time.

And when asked to provide a latency graph for the last 60 seconds, it popped one up immediately. That’s potentially a very helpful capability when you’re troubleshooting problems or trying to improve your responsiveness in-game.

Heck, it even initiated Nvidia’s one-click overclocking feature on command, complete with information about the GPU’s old and new clock speed measurements.

Nvidia

Nvidia

Nvidia

There’s a lot of promise here, and G-Assist showcases what’s possible with AI when you have a full-fat graphics card by your side. You won’t see GPU-less Copilot+ laptops pulling off capabilities like this, this fast, while actively gaming, on an NPU anytime soon. There’s a reason why Nvidia is pushing GeForce-equipped hardware as “Premium AI PCs” behind closed doors.

Separately, Nvidia is also working to introduce generative AI-powered NPCs in games via its Avatar Cloud Engine technology, which looks better and better every time we see it. Nvidia’s Seth Schneider recently joined our Full Nerd podcast to show off the ACE-powered Covert Protocol demo revealed at GDC this spring. Look for new ACE demos to be out in force during Computex 2024.

This week, Microsoft rolled out a surprise update to Windows 11 with the designation KB5037853. This update — optional for now, but expected to be rolled out of all users next Patch Tuesday — introduced a heaping helping of handy new quality-of-life features. Unfortunately, many users have also experienced various problems with the Taskbar after installing the update.

According to Microsoft’s support document, the Taskbar may suddenly disappear or refuse to respond after installing the update.

get windows 11 pro for cheap

Windows 11 Pro

Fortunately, Microsoft has now sent out a fix, but it may take up to 24 hours before it shows up for affected users. You can check Windows Update now to see if it’s available to you immediately. (If you’re installing optional Windows Updates like KB5037853, you know how to check Windows Update.)

Windows Latest also points out that it is not possible to install KB5037853 if you run Windows 11 via the virtualization program Parallels. The site says Microsoft is investigating that bug.

Further reading: Warning: Windows 11’s major 2024 update removes these features

The massive amount of advertising on the internet has prompted many users to install ad blockers, but it’s not working as smoothly as it did a few years ago.

YouTube users who try to skip ads are running into various show-stopping problems, as highlighted by Techspot.

Some users are reporting that videos jump straight to the end if an ad blocker is detected. Jumping back to the beginning doesn’t work either — it just skips to the end of the video again.

In other cases, the sound is muted, and the only way to hear what is being said is to switch off the ad blocker.

For some time now, YouTube has also been running a campaign against third-party software and add-ons that allow you to skip advertising, in a bid to get ad-weary users to pay for YouTube Premium instead. (No thanks!) That being said, this could be an issue with the ad blockers themselves. TechSpot says these issues are only affecting users of Adblock and Adblock Plus, while alternative ad blockers like uBlock Origin are still working as intended.

Further reading: These are the 10 most-watched YouTube videos of all time

Most computers and storage drives still use the common SATA or PCIe 3.0 interfaces to sling your bits of data around, but if you’re lucky enough to own a relatively modern PC, you might be able to upgrade to a solid-state drive (SSD) built on the insanely fast PCIe 4.0 protocol.

We’ve tested several PCIe 4.0 SSDs and the best one to cross our labs thus far is the Solidgm P44 Pro in a field of tough contenders thanks to ferociously fast speeds only rivaled by next-gen PCIe 5.0 SSDs.

Read on to learn more, including what to look for in PCIe 4.0 SSD.

Why you should trust us: We’re not called PCWorld for nothing. Our reviewers have been testing PC hardware for decades. Our storage evaluations are exhaustive, testing the limits of every product — from performance benchmarks to the practicalities of regular use. As PC users ourselves, we know what makes a killer product stand out. Only the best SSDs make this list. For more about our testing process, scroll to the bottom of this article.

Updated May 13, 2024: If you’re looking ahead to the next generation of cutting-edge storage, check out our recent review of the PCIe 5.0 Teamgroup Z540 SSD. It’s not the fastest PCIe 5.0 drive we’ve tested, but it comes in second, and comes at up to 4TB capacity.

Solidigm P44 Pro SSD – Best PCIe 4.0 SSD

Pros

• Fastest PCIe 4.0 SSD to date
• DRAM facilitates excellent random performance
• Synergy low-level Windows driver improves random performance further

Cons

• Inconsistent pricing on web

Best Prices Today: $70.18 at AmazonNot Available at Adorama

The Solidigm P44 Pro is without a doubt the fastest PCIe 4.0 drive we have ever tested. In fact, it finished within the top five fastest drives in our tests, and was only beaten by three next-gen PCIe 5.0 drives. Plus, by installing the Solidigm Windows driver you can further improve random performance in small read/writes making it even faster during everyday use.

Not only is the Solidigm P44 Pro performance top-notch, but it also has a very reasonable price so long as you shop at the right place—we found that pricing varies widely online from retailer to retailer. This is not only the best PCIe 4.0 drive on the market, but also one of the best SSDs period. And despite stiff competition from a crowded field of other excellent PCIe 4.0 drives it holds its own at the top.

Read our full Solidigm P44 Pro review

WD Black SN850X – Best PCIe 4.0 SSD runner-up

Pros

• Excellent performance
• Decently affordable given its speed
• Available up to 4TB
• Optional heatsink for 1/2TB models

Cons

• Pricey per gigabyte
• Somewhat parsimonious TBW ratings

Best Prices Today: $97.63 at Amazon$114.99 at Adorama$119.99 at Best Buy

The WD Black SN850X is a screaming-fast drive and ranks right up next to the FireCuda 530 near the top in terms of speed. The reason the WD Black SN850X edges out that drive as our pick for best PCIe 4.0 runner-up is that it offers better value for the money—not only does it give you the same great speed as the FireCuda, but it does so at a lower price per GB.

Also, in terms of overall performance, the SN850X stands out with its excellent real-world transfer rates and outstanding random write performance. In the crowded field of great PCIe 4.0 SSDs, the WD Black SN850X holds its own despite stiff competition.

Read our full WD Black SN850X review

WD Blue SN580 SSD – Best budget PCIe 4.0 SSD

Pros

• Fantastically affordable
• Super fast real world transfers
• Single-sided for laptop upgrades

Cons

• Slows to less than 300MBps when writing off secondary cache
• Slightly low endurance rating

Best Prices Today: $48.87 at Amazon

Now with the very first signs of PCIe 5.0 drives coming to market, we’re finally starting to see companies offering budget PCIe 4.0 NVMe drives at compelling prices. The best of the affordable bunch? The WD Blue SN580 NVMe SSD. At just $70 for a 1TB model at the time of writing, and with speedy transfers, you won’t likely find a better value PCIe 4.0 drive.

In our testing, the SN580 turned out both stellar benchmark and real-world results. Admittedly, it slowed down considerably in the large 450GB transfer test, but seeing as how it’s unlikely anyone will write that much contiguous data, it likely doesn’t matter. When all is said and done, the SN580 is a super-affordable, wonderfully high-performing PCIe 4.0 SSD. It simply can’t be beat at this price point.

Read our full WD Blue SN580 review

Solidigm P41 Plus – Best budget PCIe 4.0 SSD runner-up<h2 data-p_name="Solidigm P41 Plus NVMe SSD" class="product-chart-item__title-wrapper–title product-chart-title " id="solidigm-p41-plus-ssd-best-budget-pcie-4-0-ssd"></h2>

Pros

• Super affordable
• Good everyday performance

Cons

• Slowed significantly on our long 450GB write

Best Prices Today: $42.99 at Newegg$65.99 at Amazon

The Solidigm P41 is a fantastic budget SSD. It provides solid real-world performance at a super-affordable price. As is the case with all budget drives, you will need to sacrifice some speed in order to save money.

The P41 slows a bit during longer writes, but it’ll still provide great everyday performance for most users. In fact, it was neck-and-neck with our favorite budget drive above, the WD Blue SN580, in terms of performance. So why did we make it the runner-up? It mostly comes down to price. The SN580 is on average, is just a bit cheaper than Solidigm’s P41. This of course can change based on retailers, sales events, or even just a stiff breeze. When choosing between the two we recommend opting for whichever is cheapest at the time.

Read our full Solidigm P41 Plus NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN770M – Best PCIe 4.0 SSD for Steam Deck

Pros

• Small 2230 form factor for handheld gaming rigs
• Up to 2TB of capacity
• Very good real-world performance
• 5-year warranty and good TBW ratings

Cons

• Slow writes when secondary cache is exhausted
• Requires host memory buffer support (HMB)

Best Prices Today: $79.99 at Amazon$109.99 at Best Buy

In the past, you were out of luck if you wanted to upgrade your storage in a smaller-sized device such as a handheld gaming console where the longer 2280 NVMe SSDs wouldn’t fit. Thankfully, with the advent of more advanced handheld gaming consoles such as the Steam Deck, manufacturers are changing all of that. There are bunch of half-sized 2230 small form-factor SSDs on the market, and the latest WD Black SN770M is our favorite. It comes with up to 2TB of capacity and shockingly excellent real-world performance. Its unique feature is that it’s only 30mm long, meaning you’re able to use it in small devices such as a Steam Deck.

The SN770M drive has great everyday performance and truly impressive real-world transfer speed. During our testing, it cruised through the 48GB and 450GB transfer tests, beating out other zippy full-sized PCIe 4.0 drives. While the Rocket Q4 provides decent enough capacity-to-cost, if your device is able to handle the longer, standard-sized 2280 drives, you’ll likely have more options to choose from and might be able to find even better price-for-performance. Regardless, we love this compact SSD and the SN770M from Western Digital expertly fits a niche that is only likely to grow more common with devices such as the Steam Deck in the future.

Read our full WD Black SN770M review

Seagate Game Drive – Best PCIe 4.0 SSD for PS5

Pros

• Very good overall performance
• Excellent 4K performance
• Low-profile heatsink
• Twice the TBW rating of the competition

Cons

• A bit pricey
• No 4TB model

Best Prices Today: $119 at Amazon$214.99 at Best Buy

The Seagate Game Drive is a PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD that was made specifically for next-gen consoles—the PS5 in particular. And it doesn’t disappoint. It features DRAM for primary caching duties, which is a bit unique and almost essential for Sony’s console system. The PS5 doesn’t support HMB, so a drive such as this with DRAM cache is the optimal choice. The drive comes in 1TB and 2TB models, meaning you’ll have plenty of space to store all of your games should you need it.

While the Seagate Game Drive is optimized for a PS5, it’s no slouch as a regular SSD either. In our speed tests it did remarkably well, earning the spot as the second-fastest PCIe 4.0 SSD with random ops that we’ve ever tested. Seagate also provides a generous five-year warranty with the drive and it has an astounding 1,275TBW rating—more than double the industry norm. PS5 owners simply can’t go wrong with the Seagate Game Drive.

Read our full Seagate Game Drive PS5 NVMe SSD review

What to look for in an SSD

There are a few things to look out for, but most importantly you’ll want to focus on capacity, price, and warranty length. Three-year warranties are standard, but some nicer models are guaranteed for up to five years. And unlike the olden days of SSDs, modern drives won’t wear out with normal consumer usage, as Tech Report tested and proved years ago with a grueling endurance test.

Another crucial thing to watch out for is the technology used to connect the SSD to your PC. For more details and buying advice you can read our in-depth guide on which type of SSD you should buy.

1. SATA: This refers to both the connection type and the transfer protocol, which is used to connect most 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch hard drives and SSDs to your PC. SATA III speeds can hit roughly 600MBps, and most—but not all—modern drives max it out. (More on that in the next section.)
2. PCIe: This interface taps into four of your computer’s PCIe lanes to blow away SATA speeds, to the tune of nearly 4GBps over PCIe gen 3. Those sort of face-melting speeds pair nicely with supercharged NVMe drives. Both the PCIe lanes in your motherboard and the M.2 slot in your motherboard can be wired to support the PCIe interface, and you can buy adapters that allow you to slot “gumstick” M.2 drives into a PCIe lane. PCIe 4.0 drives are significantly faster, but require an AMD Ryzen 3000-series or Intel Core 11th-gen (or newer) processor, along with a compatible PCIe 4.0 motherboard.
3. NVMe: Non-Volatile Memory Express technology takes advantage of PCIe’s bountiful bandwidth to create blisteringly fast SSDs that blow SATA-based drives out of the water. Check out PCWorld’s “Everything you need to know about NVMe” for a nitty-gritty deep-dive.
4. M.2: This is where things get tricky. Many people assume M.2 drives all use NVMe technology and PCIe speeds, but that’s not true. M.2 is just a form factor. Sure, most M.2 SSDs use NVMe, but some still stick to SATA. Do your homework. Many modern Ultrabooks rely on M.2 for storage.
5. U.2 and mSATA: You may also stumble across mSATA and U.2 SSDs, but both motherboard support and product availability are rare for those formats. Some older Ultrabooks included mSATA before M.2 became popular, and drives are still available if you need them.

Speed matters, of course, but as we said most modern SSDs saturate the SATA III interface. Not all of them, though.

How we test SSDs

We test SSDs using a variety of synthetic benchmarks (such as CrystalDiskMark 6’s various tests) and real-world tests, including 48GB transfers that showcase how a drive performs during common tasks, and also a demanding 450GB transfer test that pushes an SSD’s cache performance to the limit.

The PCIe 4.0 testing was done on an MSI MEG X570 motherboard socketing an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-core CPU, using the same Kingston DRAM, cards, and software. All testing is performed on an empty, or nearly empty drive. Note: performance will decrease as the drive fills up.

Microsoft is packing more and more advertising into its Windows operating system. In Windows 11, ads now even appear in the Start menu (though Microsoft calls ads for apps or Windows services “recommendations”), and you’ll see full-screen ads for the Edge browser. You can sift through Windows settings and find individual options to turn them all off, but the flood of ads has encouraged resourceful programmers to develop tools designed specifically to eradicate them. Meet OFGB (“Oh Frick Go Back”).

After starting the small program, OFGB displays a selection menu (see the image above) that lets you select which Windows adverts you no longer want to see using checkboxes.

get windows 11 pro for cheap

Windows 11 Pro

For example, you can switch off ads in File Explorer or on the lock screen, and deactivate ads that appear in the Windows settings menu. You can also use it to banish the various welcome messages that appear in different places in Windows. The developer wrote OFGB in C# and it removes the ads by making the necessary changes in the registry.

Once you have made your selections, in most cases you will need to restart your PC for the chosen ads to disappear from Windows.

OFGB is free and of course ad-free. You can find the download here and a description of the tool here. You can read some background information about the motivations of the developer, who comes from the Linux scene, over at Tom’s Hardware. If you want options, Winpilot also removes ads from Windows 11 free of charge.

This March, in response to Texas’s age-verification law being upheld, the ultra-popular PornHub and numerous other adult sites operated by parent company Aylo went dark in the state. Replacing the NSFW videos you’d normally expect to see, a message decrying government overreach and proposed compromises has been posted.

It’s a similar chain of events to what happened last year when Utah enacted a law requiring websites to verify the ages of users.

Editor’s note: Updated May 2, 2024 with new information about Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case against governmental overreach.

Sam Singleton

Sam Singleton

Sam Singleton

And as with Utah, Texas’s actions prompted an increased interest in virtual private networks, or VPNs. Google searches for “VPN” immediately skyrocketed in Texas as folks looked to circumvent the ban. I checked Google Trends myself and, yep, Texas now shows 100 percent interest for “VPN.”

Sam Singleton

Sam Singleton

Sam Singleton

Now, to add further dismay to the NSFW crowd, the Supreme Court refused to hear a case in April brought by the Free Speech Coalition, a pornography industry trade group. The Coalition, as well as several other companies, petitioned the Court on the grounds of free speech. Unfortunately, the justices turned down the request, further cementing the government’s commitment to abstinence…whoops, I meant safety.

We might not be experts on law, but we sure know VPNs here at PCWorld! While we would never encourage circumventing any laws, if you’re a resident of Texas who just so happens to be looking for a VPN for totally legal reasons, here are some especially choice picks, culled from our roundup of the best VPN services.

Happy surfing, y’all! (But not too happy).

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN

Read our review

ExpressVPN is our best overall pick for VPNs and for good reason. You’ll get a ton of features for your money including wide-device support, ad- and tracker-blocking, and plenty of servers located both domestically and internationally to choose from.

It’s also one of the fastest VPNs we’ve ever tested, meaning you won’t have to downgrade your video quality to something that makes it look like the important bits were blurred on purpose—we’re talking about those fine special effect details in the latest Avatar: The Last Airbender series, of course.

NordVPN

NordVPN

Read our review

If you’re looking for a VPN that doesn’t log the sites you visit and provides fairly anonymous payment methods, NordVPN is a fine choice. It’s loaded with features and offers fast servers perfect for streaming videos. The one downside? While it only costs $4.19 per month if you commit to a two-year plan, it costs $12.99 monthly if you don’t want to sign up for a long term contract.

Mullvad

Mullvad

Read our review

Best Prices Today: $5.37 at Mullvad

This might be a better option, however. Mullvad isn’t just in our top five VPNs for overall speeds, it more importantly earns top marks for privacy, taking seemingly every effort to know as little as possible about its users. From our roundup:

“We’ve never seen another VPN that actively resists knowing who you are the way Mullvad does. Mullvad doesn’t ask for your email address, name, or anything else. Instead it assigns a random account number that acts as your identifier and login. Mullvad accepts payments using standard methods such as credit cards and PayPal, but you can also mail your payment in cash to remain as private as possible. Mullvad has a no-logging policy and doesn’t collect any identifying metadata from your usage.”

Better yet, it costs just $5 per month regardless of the plan you choose.

Windscribe Pro

Windscribe Pro

Read our review

Windscribe VPN has a totally free-to-use version with 11 worldwide locations to choose from including a U.S. server conveniently located outside of Texas. It also offers up to 10GB of bandwidth per month, which should be enough to do your business, whatever that business may be.

The service is also extremely easy to use with a simple setup and solid performance for a free VPN. Plus, if you find that you like the service’s free version you can always upgrade to premium with more features to expand your, um, horizons outside of just the local content.

Protecting your personal data isn’t just smart these days—it’s a necessity. As the world grows more and more connected, your private info becomes more and more valuable. Whether it’s using leaked info from website breaches to hack into your other accounts or holding your personal computer ransom for money, malicious evildoers won’t hesitate to ruin your day if it puts profits in their pockets.

All is not lost though. Following some basic security principles can help protect you from most of the attacks you’ll find on the World Wild Web. Better yet, these five easy security tasks should take only a short while to get set up. Do them now and sleep easier at night.

Further reading: Be safe! How I set up a ‘Paranoid PC’ to surf the risky web

1. Use a password manager

On of the biggest security risks these days is password reuse. Major websites and services report massive data breaches on a shockingly regular basis. If you’re using the same email and password for multiple accounts, and any of those accounts leak, attackers can hack into your other ones using the information.

The best overall password manager

Dashlane

Read our review

Best Prices Today: $4.99 at Dashlane

Using strong, unique passwords for every account you own protects against that—but memorizing a different random password for every website you create an account for is next to impossible. That’s where password managers come in. These tools can create strong randomized passwords for you, store the information, and automatically fill in login fields on websites and software alike. Browsers are starting to offer basic password management tools too. They work in a pinch, and you shouldn’t feel ashamed about using Chrome’s password manager over nothing, but aren’t good enough overall. Investing in a proper password manager is well worth it (especially because many services offer a free tier).

Our guide to the best password managers can help you find the perfect fit for your needs.

2. Enable two-factor authentication

Most major services now offer a two-factor authentication feature, especially if they handle more sensitive personal data. Turn it on whenever you can. If a hacker does somehow manage to gain access to your login information, 2FA can still save your bacon.

Two-factor authentication requires you to confirm your account two ways before you’re able to log in: with something you know, and something you have. The “something you know” is your username and password. The “something you have” comes courtesy of an authorized tool you have in your possession. Usually, 2FA requires you to input a code that’s either sent to you via text message or email when you try to log in on a device for the first time, or to grab a code from a supported 2FA app, or connect a security device devoted to account authentication. The exact method varies by service, and many offer several 2FA options. Without that code, hackers can’t break into your account even if they have your login information.

Some services, including Google accounts, are switching to passwordless “passkey” authentication that supercharge security without needing 2FA, but that technology is still in its early adoption days. Microsoft and Apple have also committed to adopting passkeys in time.

Our two-factor authentication guide explains the concept more deeply, and includes our picks for the best 2FA apps and hardware. Uber was hacked because an employee was tricked into sharing their 2FA code, however—even with two-factor authentication active, make sure you aren’t sharing those crucial codes with anybody else.

3. Stay safe with security software

Now that your online accounts are locked down, it’s time to turn our attention to security for your personal computer. You don’t want malware secretly siphoning off your information while you’re banking or browsing your medical history, after all, while ransomware can lock you out of your computer completely until you pay a bounty.

The best overall antivirus suite

Norton 360 Deluxe

Read our review

That’s where security software comes in. Yes, you still want to run antivirus and a firewall even in 2024. Good news, though: The Microsoft firewall that ships with Windows 10 and Windows 11 gets the job done just fine these days, while the Windows Security tools that come bundled with the operating system (including antivirus) now offer surprisingly good antivirus protection. Better yet, they’re enabled by default in Windows if you aren’t running a third-party alternative.

You still may want to run paid-for security software, as those suites offer much more than mere antivirus protection these days—you’ll also receive tools that protect against malicious ads and emails, more advanced firewalls, family protection for several devices, VPN access, and more. We regularly evaluate security software, and our guide to the best Windows antivirus suites can walk you through the top options. Use something though, even if it’s just Windows Security.

4. Don’t use a Windows admin account

Here’s one of the biggest under-the-radar security pro tips around: Don’t use a Windows administrator account day-to-day. Instead, use a secondary standard account.

A lot of malware tries to sneak itself on your system. Only administrator accounts can install software in Windows. If you’re using a standard account, you won’t be able to allow a rogue program onto you PC accidentally (at least not easily). For the best security, set up your computer with all the software you need using an admin account, but then use a secondary standard account to go about your business in general life. It’s very easy to switch over to your administrator account quickly when you need to install something new.

And definitely set your friends and family up with standard accounts if you’re sharing your computer with others. This Microsoft help page explains how to create accounts in Windows 10.

5. Back up your data

Finally, backing up your data is an underappreciated but vital aspect of your security toolkit. If a virus does manage to breach your computer’s defenses, having a comprehensive backup can help you restore any lost data, and potentially help you sidestep ransomware bounties.

great backup software that guards against malware too

Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office

Read our review

Best Prices Today: $49.99 at Acronis

There’s no single way to back up your data. Some people take “images” of the entire operating system, others rely on online backup services, and some folks simply drag key files over to external hard drives on the reg. Any method works as long as you’re doing something!

We’ve got several resources that can help you set up a data recovery plan, including guides to the best Windows backup software and the best online backup services. We’ve also rounded up the top free backup services, and have a guide explaining how you can back up your data for free using built-in Windows tools. Using free tools typically require a more patchwork, intensive process than the user-friendly premium offerings, but hey—they work.

Editor’s note: This article is periodically updated, most recently to update the intro and include relevant new links and info throughout.

Is your computer’s CPU too hot? If your PC starts spontaneously shutting down, locking up, or acting sluggish during intense tasks, overheating could be the issue, especially when the intense summer heat is scorching. Keeping tabs on your CPU temperatures is crucial when you’re overclocking your PC’s processor, too—you don’t want to accidentally push the performance pedal too far to the metal when you’re supercharging your pricey 6.2GHz Intel Core i9-14900KS or AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D, after all. Melting one of the best CPUs around is always a bummer.

Bizarrely, Windows doesn’t offer any way to check your computer’s CPU temperature. You could dive into your system’s BIOS to find the information, but that’s a lot of hassle to find a simple sensor reading. Fortunately, several free programs exist that make it easy to see your processor’s temperature. With that info in hand, you’ll know whether you’ll need to take more active steps to cool things down. We’ve included information on how to do that after the software recommendations below.

But first, make sure your fans and grills are clean of dust and debris, which can significantly impede with your system’s cooling. Every PC owner should have a supply of canned air around for this purpose.

How to check your CPU temperature

The fastest, easiest way to check your CPU temp is using the aptly named Core Temp. Be mindful during installation though! Like many free programs, it tries to install bloatware unless you uncheck some boxes during setup.

this cooler will instantly send CPU temps plummeting

NZXT Kraken X63 280mm

Once installed, open Core Temp to see a no-frills look at the current state of your CPU, including an average temperature reading at the bottom of the window. If you want even more detail, click the Show hidden icons button in the system tray located at the right edge of your Windows taskbar. You’ll see a temperature listing for every individual CPU core in your computer.

Core Temp’s Settings menu allows you to tweak exactly what you’ll see in the system tray, and how you’ll see it, but the default configuration makes it dead-simple to see if your CPU is overheating or performing as expected.

How to monitor CPU temperature

Core Temp isn’t the only option though. HWInfo is an in-depth system monitoring tool that provides deep details about every piece of your PC’s hardware. If you choose to run it in sensors-only mode, scrolling down to the CPU section—the dedicated section, not the CPU temperature portion of the motherboard listing—reveals current temps and other nitty-gritty details.

NZXT’s Cam software is another popular option with a diverse skillset. Its slick interface is easier to read at a glance than those on most other monitoring tools, and the program shows all sorts of useful info about your CPU, graphics card, memory, and storage. Cam also includes an in-game FPS overlay and overclocking tools, among other features. You can use NZXT’s Cam mobile apps to keep tabs on your software when you’re away from your PC, too.

Open Hardware Monitor and SpeedFan are other well-regarded monitoring tools that can track system information. You’ve got options! But for simply checking your computer’s CPU temperatures, Core Temp’s straightforward focus can’t be beat.

Mentioned in this article

Ryzen 5 7600X

Best Prices Today: $197.99 at Amazon | $219.99 at Best Buy

Finally, note that if you’re running an AMD Ryzen system, including current models like the ferocious Ryzen 9 7950X or the more modest Ryzen 5 7600X, you may see two different CPU temperature readings. You want the “Tdie” reading, depending on how the program you’re using displays the info. It’s a measurement of the actual heat on the die.

The alternative “Tctl” reading is the control temperature reported to your cooling system and sometimes includes a temperature offset to ensure universal fan speed behavior between the various Ryzen chips. Any of the programs above that list a single temperature account for the offset already.

How to check CPU temp in Windows 10

Since Microsoft’s operating system lacks any native temperature-checking tools, you’ll need to use one of the third-party programs listed above to check CPU temps in Windows 10.

What’s the best temp for your CPU?

One of our favorite CPU air coolers

Noctua NH-D15 CPU cooler

Best Prices Today: $109.95 at Amazon

The maximum supported temperature varies from processor to processor. Most of the free monitoring software mentioned above lists the information as “Tj. Max.” That stands for the temperature junction, or the highest operating temperature of the hardware. If you don’t see the information for some reason, search the CPU World website for your CPU’s model number to find the information. Every program listed above displays your processor’s model number, so it’s easy to find.

But that’s the maximum temperature—the point at which your processor freaks out and shuts down to avoid damage. Running anywhere near that hot regularly is bad for the long-term life of your hardware. Instead, follow this general rule of thumb regarding CPU temperatures under load.  

• Under 60° C: You’re running great!
• 60° C to 70° C: Still running fine, but getting a bit warmer. Consider cleaning the dust out of your PC if CPU temperatures continue to creep up over time.
• 70° C to 80° C: This is hotter than you want to run unless you’re pushing an overclock. If you’re not, definitely check to make sure your fans are working and there aren’t dust bunnies clogging up your system’s airflow.
• 80° C to 90° C: Now we’re getting too hot for long-term comfort. Check your hardware for broken fans or dust build-up, and if you’re overclocking, dial back your settings—especially the voltage if you’ve tweaked it. One notable exception: We sometimes see more powerful laptop processors hit the low 80s during gaming sessions when plugged in, at which point they start throttling back performance. This is expected, but if temperatures cross 85° C, be concerned.
• Over 90° C: Danger, Will Robinson!

How to lower your CPU temperatures

If you’re regularly encountering high CPU temperatures, there are some steps you can take to try and fix the issue.

First, clean out your PC. High CPU temperatures are often caused by years of dust and grime built up inside a PC, clogging fans and crucial air pathways. Local hardware stores usually charge outrageous prices for canned air, but you can pick up a bottle for about $10 on Amazon. PCWorld’s guide on how to clean your PC can walk you through the process. While you’re at it, check to make sure that all your fans are working correctly, pointed the right way, and that none of the vents in your PC are blocked. (Also, make sure your PC’s fans are set up for maximum cooling performance.) 

Hopefully that fixes the issue. If not, more intensive steps are in order. The thermal paste that transfers heat from your CPU to its cooler might have dried out if you’ve had your PC for a few years. That can cause temperature spikes.

Removing the old thermal paste with rubbing alcohol and applying a fresh layer can potentially help lower temperatures by a large amount. You can find small syringes of thermal paste by respected brands like Arctic and Noctua for under $10 on Amazon. (I’ve been a happy Arctic Silver 5 user for years now.)

If all that doesn’t help, your cooling solution simply might not be capable of keeping up with your CPU’s heat output, especially if you’re pairing a stock cooler or a modest third-party cooler with higher-end chips—and doubly so if you’re overclocking. Buying a new CPU cooler may be in order.

One of our favorite CPU air coolers

Noctua NH-D15 CPU cooler

Best Prices Today: $109.95 at Amazon

The Cooler Master Hyper H412 ($38 on Amazon) is a solid, affordable air cooler. With its larger heatsink and fan, it’s a solid step up over stock AMD and Intel CPU coolers. Moving up in size and price, the Noctua NH-D15 ($110 on Amazon) is one of the most effective air coolers ever to hit the streets, but its large size might block memory access or not even fit in smaller cases.

Closed-loop liquid cooling solutions (CLCs) provide far cooler temperatures than air coolers with minimal hassle and easy installation. Smaller 120mm units are available, but if you plan on overclocking, consider moving up to a model with larger 240mm radiator. We’re also partial to the even larger 280mm NZXT Kraken X3 ($150 on Amazon.) All that extra metal and fans can accommodate the fiercest overclocks. 

The Raspberry Pi single-board computer and all its variants have captured the imaginations of DIY enthusiasts and budding hobbyists alike. With the latest model, the Raspberry Pi 5, the mini-PC is more capable than ever, with an upgraded four-core 2.4GHz system-on-chip (SoC) that’s up to three times faster than previous models.

Much of the coverage you’ll see around the web focuses on the more fantastical projects—magic mirrors, portable gaming handhelds, intelligent drones, and so forth. Those maker masterpieces certainly show what sort of power the sub-$100 mini-PC is capable of in the hands of someone with a little imagination and a bin full of spare electronics. 

But most people, particularly beginners, won’t use the Raspberry Pi to whip up crazy creations. There are near-endless practical uses for this bare-bones kit, from media streaming to extending the range of your Wi-Fi network, as the following 10 projects demonstrate. Time to put that lil’ computer to real work. Heck, many of these projects will even work with the $10 Raspberry Pi Zero.

Further reading: Raspberry Pi 5: 6 great tips, tricks & uses for the single-board PC

HTPC media streaming

The original $35 Raspberry Pi may have been revolutionary to makers, but it took off with PC enthusiasts as well thanks to its ability to double as a dirt-cheap home-theater PC. That allure may have waned a bit in recent years as dedicated devices like the Chromecast hit the streets at similarly low prices, but using a Raspberry Pi as a media-streaming box still offers far more power than those streaming-centric sticks, especially if you have a sizeable local media collection.

There are a slew of HTPC-centric Raspberry Pi operating systems out there, each revolving around slapping your HD videos on the big screen. OSMC is built around the popular Kodi media center software (formerly XBMC), while RasPlex transforms your Pi into the ultimate Plex streaming box. The $21 Raspberry Pi TV Hat accessory, meanwhile, can grant your mini-PC the ability to read over-the-air TV signals.

Give a dumb TV smarts

Likewise, if you have a dumb TV that you’d like to add web browsing and other basic computing abilities to, the Raspberry Pi does the trick without costing anywhere near as much as a proper home theater PC. You’ll want to use a Raspberry Pi 2, 3, or 4, though—the original Pi and the Raspberry Pi Zero are just pokey enough to be frustrating for general tasks. With the right case, the Pi can look downright stylish in your home theater, too.

Bonus: If you’re connecting the Raspberry Pi to your TV, you can use it to stream web videos, too!

File storage server

You can also have your Raspberry Pi play wingman for the other devices in your house, serving as a centralized device that performs helpful tasks.

Case in point: You can use the mini-PC as a cheap NAS box for general file storage if you connect an external USB hard drive to the machine. Hit those links for technical details, and one tip if you’re planning to convert the computer to a file server: Use a wired ethernet connection rather than Wi-Fi if you’re able. Make sure you grab a solid external drive, too!

Wireless network printer

Printing isn’t as prevalent as it used to be, but the Raspberry Pi can help you transform that chunky old USB printer in your closet into a networked printer that every device in your house can use.

You’ll need a power source for each gadget, obviously, as well as a USB connection between the devices, but setting it up is pretty straightforward. This MakeUseOf tutorial walks you through the process step-by-step.

Extend your home’s Wi-Fi network

Raspberry Pi doesn’t make the home networks you use, but it can make the home networks you use better if you configure the mini-PC as a wireless range extender, tapping into the device’s ethernet and USB ports. Doing so can help your Wi-Fi signal reach the farthest corners of your house and help wipe out dead zones.

Configuring the device to bolster your home network will take a bit of time, and you’ll need to buy a USB Wi-Fi adapter to do it, but again, it’s relatively straightforward with a guide. Check out Adafruit’s reader-friendly tutorial.

Old-school gaming emulator

Gaming emulators are a legal gray area, but there’s no doubt that using the Raspberry Pi as a butt-kicking console emulator is a popular use for the machines. It can play games from a wide variety of consoles right on up to the PlayStation 1 era if you manage to snag some legal game ROMs, though the older the system being emulated, the better the performance.

Curious? Check out PCWorld’s complete guide to turning your Raspberry Pi into a retro gaming console for the full scoop.

A music streaming machine

The Raspberry Pi’s media chops aren’t limited to video streaming alone. Numerous operating systems have also been released that transform the device into a high-fidelity music player when connected to a speaker, sort of like a more powerful, flexible version of Chromecast Audio.

The various music-oriented OSes available offer different features; poke around the FAQs and features of each to see which is right for your needs. Here are tutorials on how to have your Raspberry Pi turn dumb speakers into smart music solutions with Volumio and Rune Audio (pictured), both of which offer mobile apps so you can control your tunes with your phone.

Learn programming

You could always use the Raspberry Pi as it was originally intended, too: As a low-cost introduction to programming and computer science. The mini-PC’s loaded with all sorts of software that encourages deep-level tinkering.

Beyond the command-line terminal, you’ll need to wade in often, you’ll also find versions of Wolfram Mathematica, Python program creation tools, and Scratch, an animation coding IDE for kids, in the Raspbian operating system that the Raspberry Pi Foundation encourages new users to install. Get smart!

Play Minecraft

Or you could play Minecraft. There’s a free Raspberry Pi version of Minecraft that anybody can download at no cost. Even better, it’s designed to teach you how to use the Python programming language as you build out the world. (Hey, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella did say that part of the reason the company purchased Mojang was to lure kids into computer science.)

Download Minecraft: Pi Edition and jump in.

Affordable productivity PC

With options of 2GB, 4GB, and now 8GB models, the Raspberry Pi 4 packs a heftier punch than previous RPi iterations—making it suitable for basic everyday tasks like web browsing, watching video streams, and document editing. Setting up one as a PC goes fast, too, with the bulk of the hour setup time devoted to waiting for the operating system installation to complete.

As a starter or secondary computer, it’s hard to beat, especially given its build cost of $100 (or even less, if you opt for the 2GB version and not the 4GB). Check out PCWorld’s full guide in how to put together a $100 Raspberry Pi PC for everything you’ll need.

Crazy awesome experiments

Let’s finish where we began. Once you’ve wrapped your head around the Raspberry Pi’s potential, why not try your hand at one of those awe-inspiring inventive projects? PCWorld’s look at 10 insanely innovative, incredibly cool Raspberry Pi creations can help with the inspiration, while the project guides at Instructables, Hackaday, and the Raspberry Pi Foundation website itself are ready to walk you step-by-step through the really awesome stuff like the magic mirror above.

Also check out our roundup of the best Raspberry Pi kits. Whether you’re a newbie who just wants to get all the basics with one purchase, or an experienced tinkerer looking to build a specialized project, a kit could be the way to go.

Editor’s note: This article is updated periodically to include new info, most recently to resurface these projects for Pi day (March 14, 2024) and note the release of the Raspberry Pi 5.

Update KB5034765, an important security update pushed as part of this month’s Patch Tuesday barrage, is turning into a nightmare for many Windows 11 users. It’s wreaking havoc on some Windows 11 machines that were previously working perfectly.

Many users who install this update on computers with Windows 11 22H2 or Windows 23H2 (the most current major versions of Windows 11) are horrified to see that the update or installation process hangs at 96 percent. The installation is then cancelled with the error code 0x800F0922. Microsoft has now confirmed this problem.

get windows 11 pro for cheap

Windows 11 Pro

The failed installation is part of an already long chain of problems caused by the Windows update KB5034765 since its release on February 13. For example, the taskbar sometimes disappears or File Explorer crashes after installing KB5034765. Some Windows 11 computers struggle with performance problems after installation.

But while Microsoft remains silent on all the other problems, the Redmond-based company has at least confirmed the installation failure and the error message 0x800F0922 here (for Windows 11 version 23H2 and Windows 11 version 22H2):

“Windows 11 devices attempting to install the February 2024 security update, released February 13, 2024 ( KB5034765) might face installation failures and the system might stop responding at 96%.

Resulting from this error, the following message might be displayed: “Something didn’t go as planned. No need to worry – undoing changes. Please keep your computer on”. This issue might be reflected in the Windows Event Viewer with error code ‘0x800F0922’.”

Microsoft is working on a solution to the problem and intends to provide an update. Until it is released (Microsoft is not giving a date), the company advises the following temporary solution:

“This issue can be prevented by deleting the hidden folder C:\$WinREAgent. A restart might be required. After following these steps, installing the February 2024 security update should succeed.”

Important: Before you’ll be able to see the hidden folder, you must first set File Explorer to display hidden elements. You’ll find it in File Explorer’s menu under “View > Show > Hidden elements”.

This article was translated from German to English and originally appeared on pcwelt.de.

At a glance

Expert's Rating

Pros

• Superb 4K and 1440p performance
• $200 cheaper than weaker non-Super version
• Excellent power efficiency and ray tracing
• Great creative chops, dual AV1 encoders
• Nvidia’s great features: DLSS, Frame Gen, Reflex, Broadcast, Video Super Resolution, and more
• Founders Edition is cool, quiet, and gorgeous

Cons

• Massive
• 16-pin power adapter is short and ugly
• Still priced high

Our Verdict

Nvidia’s already ferocious RTX 4080 gets a small performance boost and a big price cut for this Super-fied variant. It makes a world of difference. The cheaper GeForce RTX 4080 Super instantly upsets its rivals and becomes the best modern 4K graphics card under $1,000.

Nvidia sure has been fixing the biggest problems in its high-end GeForce RTX 40-series graphics card lineup with the newly announced “Super” series of refreshes. First, the RTX 4070 Super added 15 to 20 percent more performance to better fight AMD’s Radeon RX 7800 XT rival. Then, the RTX 4070 Ti Super upgraded the original’s memory system to better run games at 4K. Better yet, those cards still cost the same as their non-Super predecessors.

The biggest problem with the original RTX 4080? Its price. There was no denying its potency, but the 4080 debuted at $1,200, a staggering $500 more than last generation’s RTX 3080 — a 71 percent price increase for a mere 30 percent performance increase. Ick.

While the new GeForce RTX 4080 Super indeed offers some small speed increases, Nvidia once again aimed to plug the original’s weak spot. The RTX 4080 Super costs $999, a $200 improvement over the vanilla version (which is being discontinued).

Is it enough to make GeForce RTX 4080 Super competitive with AMD’s Radeon RX 7900 XTX, our current pick for the best 4K gaming GPU? Let’s take Nvidia’s own Founders Edition model for a spin and find out.

Further reading: The best graphics cards for PC gaming

Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super specs and features

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

The GeForce RTX 4080 Super still uses the same AD103 graphics die that powered the original 4080, but the full-fat version.

• Graphics processing clusters: 7
• Texture processing clusters: 40
• Streaming multiprocessors: 80
• CUDA cores: 10,240
• Tensor cores: 320 (4th generation)
• RT cores: 80 (3rd generation)
• Texture units: 320
• ROP units: 112
• Base clock: 2,295 MHz
• Boost clock: 2,550 MHz
• Memory clock: 11,500 MHz
• Memory data rate: 23 Gbps
• L1 data cache/shared memory: 10,240 K
• L2 cache size: 65,536 K
• Total video memory: 16GB GDDR6X
• Memory interface: 256-bit
• Connectors: 3x DisplayPort, 1x HDMI
• Form factor: Triple slot
• Power connectors: 3x PCIe 8-pin cables (adapter in box) OR 450W or greater PCIe Gen 5 cable
• Required system power supply: 750 Watts
• Video engines: 2xNVENC (8th Gen) with AV1, 1xNVDEC (5th Gen)
• Power: 15W Idle, 22W AV1 Video Playback, 246W Average Gaming Power (AGP), 320W Total Graphics Power (TGP)
• Max GPU temperature: 90° C

The vanilla 4080 disabled two “streaming multiprocessors” full of graphics, ray tracing, and tensor cores; the Super restores those, bringing the CUDA count total from 9,728 in the 4080 to 10,240 in the Super, a modest 5 percent increase. Nvidia also increased the Boost Clock speed from 2.51GHz to 2.55GHz, and nudged the memory clock speed upwards as well.

All told, Nvidia says the Super should be roughly 2 to 3 percent faster than the vanilla 4080 on average, and our own benchmark testing backs that up. The real draw here is the price cut — though considering the original RTX 4080 was a beastly performer for play and work alike, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

With 16GB of ultra-fast GDDR6X memory across a 256-bit bus, the RTX 4080 Super has no problem blowing through games at high detail settings even at 4K resolution (as you’d hope in a $1,000 graphics card). Impressively, Nvidia managed to eke out the extra performance without increasing the GPU’s power requirements.

The GeForce RTX 4080 Super supports all the modern Nvidia features that can push performance even higher, such as DLSS 3.5, Frame Generation, the latency-reducing Nvidia Reflex, G-Sync monitors, and more. Creative types will appreciate the dual AV1 encoders, optional Studio driver support, and (if you’re a streamer) excellent Nvidia Broadcast tools.

Nvidia’s Founders Edition design largely mirrors that of the original, from the (girthy) dimensions to the 16-pin 12VHPWR cable to the output setup: one HDMI 2.1, three DisplayPort 1.4a connections. The most notable change here is the color scheme, as the Super variants embrace a gorgeous blacked-out aesthetic with strong Darth Vader vibes. Nvidia’s custom cooler always impressed — visually, and practically — and it’s no different this time around.

But how does it handle? Let’s get to the benchmarks.

Our test system

Adam Patrick Murray, the smiling face of PCWorld on YouTube, performed all the following benchmarks on a custom-built system, using the latest publicly available drivers for all GPUs except the RTX 4080 Super itself, which used early 551.22 drivers supplied to the press.

Each benchmark run was conducted a minimum of three times, with the average value taken. We’re comparing the new $999 RTX 4080 Super against the original $1,200 RTX 4080 Super, the $799 Radeon RX 7900 XT, and Nvidia’s step-down RTX 4070 Ti. Ideally, we’d have RTX 4070 Ti Super benchmarks here, but we’re still in the process of testing that card. It should be about 10 percent faster than the vanilla 4070 Ti results shown below.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super performance benchmarks

Let’s start at 4K resolution, as that’s the most demanding common scenario for these ultra-high-end graphics cards, then look separately at 1440p performance. Note that in the charts below, the Radeon RX 7900 XT is incorrectly labeled as the pricier XTX. We will fix and replace the mislabeled charts soon.

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

The RTX 4080 Super and Radeon RX 7900 XT trade blows at both resolutions; Nvidia wins big in some titles, AMD wins big in some others, and they’re neck-and-neck in the rest. In general, Nvidia’s architecture runs a bit better at 4K resolution, while the Radeon has a slight edge at 1440p.

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

To gauge the efficiency of the ray tracing cores, we also tested Cyberpunk 2077 at the RT medium setting, with both AMD and Nvidia GPUs using AMD’s open FSR 2.0 upscaling feature in the game. In addition, we flipped ray tracing on in Returnal.

AMD has made huge strides in ray tracing, but it remains a bastion for Nvidia GPUs. The RTX 4080 Super tromps the Radeon RX 7900 XT at Medium RT, and as you ramp up the rays, Nvidia GPUs only widen the gap. You’ll need a high-end Nvidia graphics card like the RTX 4080 Super to run Cyberpunk’s glorious, fully path-traced Overdrive mode at anything above slide-show frame rates, and you can only do that by leveraging Nvidia’s full feature arsenal of DLSS 3.5, Frame Gen, and Reflex.

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

We also tested the power draw and maximum GPU temperature of these graphics cards. Adam tested these by running a loop of F1 22’s Miami track at 1440p/Ultra High preset, with no ray tracing or upscaling enabled, and noting the maximum result for each test.

Hot damn does the Radeon RX 7900 XT suck down some juice. Impressively, Nvidia made the RTX 4080 Super even more power efficient than its namesake, despite delivering a smidge more performance.

Should you buy the GeForce RTX 4080 Super?

While I couldn’t recommend the original RTX 4080 over the Radeon RX 7900 XTX at its chest-clutching $1,200 price, the GeForce RTX 4080 Super’s $999 price tag makes it much more competitive. In fact, I’d opt for Nvidia’s refreshed penultimate GPU over AMD’s champion now.

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

The performance upgrades in the 4080 Super are perfunctory and negligible; it’s the price drop that matters. The Super and the 7900 XTx both deliver screaming-fast frame rates in traditional games, trading blows left and right. That’s what made the Radeon so appealing versus the original 4080, especially with Nvidia’s card having such an exorbitant markup. But by matching the 7900 XTX’s $1,000 MSRP, Nvidia’s extras help the 4080 Super claim dominance.

The GeForce RTX 4080 draws massively less power than its AMD rival to deliver similar frame rates in traditional games. Flip on ray tracing and Nvidia holds a gargantuan lead, with stellar AI-powered features like DLSS, Frame Generation, and Ray Reconstruction pushing both speed and performance advantages to 11. Features like Nvidia Broadcast and Reflex hold deep practical appeal; RTX Video Super Resolution uses AI to make ugly videos beautiful. And Nvidia maintains a strong lead in most creative and machine learning/AI workloads if you like to put your GPU to work when you’re not playing — witness the dual AV1 encoders in the 4080 Super.

Radeon RX 7900 XTX

Read our review

Best Prices Today: $949.99 at Amazon

AMD has alternatives to some of those features (FSR, Radeon Anti-Lag+) and some key software wins of its own, like Smart Access Memory and the driver-level AMD Fluid Motion Frames. In general, however, Nvidia’s software features are more polished and performant. When you’re spending borderline four figures on a graphics card, the extras matter.

Taken as a whole package — performance, ray tracing, power efficiency, features, even prosumer tasks — Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4080 Super is the clear choice in its price range. This is the graphics card you want for 4K gaming without going over $1,000. You can often find the Radeon 7900 XTX on sale for $950 or so, but I’d still pick up the 4080 Super without hesitation given that option. At the high-end, where everything matters, I wouldn’t consider the AMD option unless it was on sale for $900 or (ideally) less, despite it being a fine 4K GPU in its own right.

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

That said, while the RTX 4080 Super’s $200 price drop helps this ferocious graphics card finally compete against its rival, I’d still like to see both of those cards dip even more. Remember that the RTX 3080 launched at $699; the 4080 Super would be spectacular if it cost $800, and much easier to recommend at $900. A thousand bucks is a whole heap of cash.

If you want 4K gaming, excellent ray tracing, and Nvidia features at a slightly lesser price, the $799 GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super is also worth considering now that it has 16GB of memory and a wider memory bus. It isn’t as fast as the 4080, obviously, but should still get the job done. Or if you want the ultimate gaming experience, there’s always the GeForce RTX 4090, though it’s priced at $1,600 and going for closer to $2,000 on the street.

Unless you have super-deep pockets or can justify a 4090 purchase by using it for work, too, the GeForce RTX 4080 Super is the most powerful Nvidia GPU available today. While we’d like it to fall in cost quite a bit more in an ideal world, with a $200 lower starting price, it’s finally time to actually consider the RTX 4080 family for the first time this generation.

New drivers for Intel’s Arc GPUs, unifying previously separate drivers for desktop Arc graphics cards and the Arc GPU integrated into new Core Ultra laptop processors, have led to significant performance increases for a range of DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 games.

Intel Arc A750 Limited Edition

Read our review

The average performance increase for Intel’s Arc A-series graphics cards is 37.4 percent across a wide range of (mostly DX11) games, but for some titles the figure is much higher. In the game Just Cause 4, with the new drivers, you should see a 268 percent increase in frames per second with “Very High” graphics settings and 1080p resolution.

Here are the complete list of improvements, as provided by Intel, for Arc desktop GPUs:

• Albion Online (DX11)
  • Up to 11% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
• Anno 1800 (DX11)
  • Up to 33% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Ultra High settings
• Apex Legends (DX11)
  • Up to 26% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
• Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (DX11)
  • Up to 13% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Ultra High settings
• Black Desert Online (DX11)
  • Up to 18% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
• Elder Scrolls Online (DX11)
  • Up to 10% average FPS uplift at 4K with Ultra settings
• Elex II (DX11)
  • Up to 101% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
• Humankind (DX11)
  • Up to 11% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Fantastic settings
• Hunt: Showdown (DX11)
  • Up to 27% average FPS uplift at 1080p with High settings
• Just Cause 3 (DX11)
  • Up to 160% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Very High settings
• Just Cause 4 (DX11)
  • Up to 268% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Very High settings
• New World (DX11)
  • Up to 13% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Very High settings
• Returnal (DX12)
  • Up to 8% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Epic settings
• Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm (DX11)
  • Up to 32% average FPS uplift at 1080p with High settings
• Sons of the Forest (DX11)
  • Up to 15% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
• Space Engineers (DX11)
  • Up to 69% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Extreme settings
• Star Citizen (DX11)
  • Up to 9% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Very High settings
• Star Wars Squadrons (DX11)
  • Up to 6% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
• Stellaris (DX11)
  • Up to 5% average FPS uplift at 1080p with High settings
• Tekken 8 (DX12)
  • Up to 15% average FPS uplift at 4K with Ultra settings
• The Last of Us Part 1 (DX12)
  • Up to 8% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
• Warframe (DX11)
  • Up to 20% average FPS uplift at 1080p with High settings
• Watch Dogs: Legion (DX11)
  • Up to 16% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
• XCOM 2 (DX11)
  • Up to 4% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Maximum settings

The improvements are not as impressive for Intel Core Ultra processors with Intel’s Arc integrated graphics. As an example, with the graphics settings “Very Low” and 1080p resolution in the game The Last of Us Part 1, you should only see a 6 per cent increase in frames per second.

Below, you’ll find the complete list of improvements in Core Ultra processors, as provided by Intel:

• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (DX12)
  • Up to 25% average FPS uplift at 1080p with High settings
• Returnal (DX12)
  • Up to 6% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Low settings
• The Last of Us Part 1 (DX12)
  • Up to 6% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Very Low settings

The new drivers also add initial support for several new games:

• Enshrouded
• Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
• Tekken 8
• Palworld

This article was originally published on pcforalla.se and translated from Swedish to English, with additional context added by the PCWorld staff.

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 has been on the market since February 2021, but the mid-range graphics card remains popular and widespread among gamers.

According to the latest Steam Hardware & Software Survey, the venerable Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 is currently the most widely used graphics card on Valve’s platform — and with good reason. In particular, it still offers an outstanding price-performance ratio for PC gamers.

But that’s not the only reason. What makes the GeForce RTX 3060 so successful, and is the mid-range graphics card still worth buying in 2024? Let’s take a look at this in detail.

Further reading: The best graphics cards for PC gaming

GeForce RTX 3060 in detail

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 is based on Nvidia’s GA106 “Ampere” graphics processor, which achieves a computing power of 12.74 TFLOPS (“FP32”) with a total of 3,584 shader units. That amount of power reaches the performance level of the current PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X game consoles, so it’s no slouch.

Nvidia’s GPU is supported by either 8 or 12GB of GDDR6 graphics memory, depending on the model you buy. Most models have 12GB.

The memory configuration of the RTX 3060 is surprising at first glance. It has 12GB of GDDR6 VRAM, which is even more than the significantly faster GeForce RTX 3080, which originally only had 10GB of GDDR6X. With some cutting-edge games requiring more than 8GB of VRAM to run Ultra settings even at 1080p resolution — especially with ray tracing active — the extra capacity is welcome in 2024.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 – Specifications

• GA106 graphics processor (“GA106-302”)
• 3.584 shader units with up to 1.77 GHz
• 12GB GDDR6 graphics memory at 15 Gbps
• Memory interface with 128-bit and 240 GB/s
• Up to 170 watts of power loss (“TDP”)

Though it has since been surpassed in efficiency by newer RTX 40-series GPUs, the RTX 3060’s power consumption (TDP) of 170 watts is comparatively low for a graphics card in this performance class.

These technical specifications paired with a comparatively favorable price versus current-gen GeForce and Radeon graphics cards are what make it so successful even at this later stage of its life.

At the level of current game consoles

Brad Chacos/IDG

Brad Chacos/IDG

Brad Chacos/IDG

As already mentioned, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 has computing power on a par with the currently available generation of games consoles, so it’s suitable for all games.

It is primarily aimed at gamers who play in 1080p resolution (1,920 × 1,080 pixels) at medium to high details. This opens up a huge market for Nvidia, as the manufacturer is particularly targeting gamers who want to spend $250 to $300 on a graphics card.

AMD Radeon RX 7600

Best Prices Today: $259.99 at Amazon

AMD’s rival Radeon RX 7600 and Intel’s Arc A750 graphics cards also exist in this price range, but both top out at 8GB of memory and consume more power, while the RTX 3060 holds a firm lead in ray tracing performance. Nvidia also offers a compelling suite of software features; while alternatives exist, Nvidia technologies like DLSS upscaling, the latency-reducing Nvidia Reflex, video-assisting Nvidia Broadcast, and RTX Video Super Resolution lead the pack and make the raw hardware inside the RTX 3060 even faster and more useful.

The GeForce RTX 3060 is still worth considering in 2024

In conclusion, we can say that the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 is still a solid choice in 2024 if you can get hold of a good custom design for under $300, especially if you prioritize Nvidia features and a large memory capacity.

Brad Chacos/IDG

Brad Chacos/IDG

Brad Chacos/IDG

If you don’t mind dropping back to 8GB of VRAM, the $270 Radeon RX 7600 runs a good clip faster than the 3060 at 1080p, while Intel’s Arc A750 does as well at a much lower $209 price, though its software features aren’t as advanced as Nvidia’s. The current RTX 4060 can also be found for around $300, but it only has 8GB of VRAM as well. We’d recommend skipping the 8GB RTX 3060 for one of those options and only focusing on 12GB models of the card.

Here are some of the best prices we’ve found on custom RTX 3060 graphics cards with 12GB of memory:

• MSI GeForce RTX 3060 12GB Ventus 2x (overclocked) for $289 at Amazon
• Gigabyte RTX 3060 12GB Windforce (overclocked) for $289 at Amazon
• Zotac RTX 3060 12GB for $289 at Newegg

The basic prerequisite for you to be happy with a GeForce RTX 3060 is your requirements for the graphics settings. You should play in Full HD with medium to high details and aim for 45 to 60 frames per second.

This article was translated from German to English and originally appeared on pcwelt.de.

A mere week after unveiling the GeForce RTX 4070 Super (and its siblings, the RTX 4070 Ti Super and 4080 Super) at CES 2024, Nvidia’s $599 graphics card is already primed to launch.

Review embargoes lifted for Nvidia’s new 1440p champion this morning ahead of a full release tomorrow morning. I’ve got the Founders Edition version of the card in hand but a severe case of the infamous post-CES plague prevented me from evaluating it fully. Fortunately, a host of other independent reviewers have done testing, and Nvidia’s latest GPU looks like a superstar.

Here are five things you need to know about the $599 GeForce RTX 4070 Super.

Super-sized performance boost

Nvidia’s biggest change to the GeForce RTX 4070 Super is the infusion of a whopping 20 percent more CUDA, ray tracing, and tensor cores in this new model, all at the same price as its vanilla namesake. Unsurprisingly, this results in a big boost in gaming performance:

“Averaged over the 25 games in our test suite, at 1440p, we find the RTX 4070 Super Founders Edition 15% faster than the RTX 4070 non-Super, which is a pretty substantial improvement for a refresh,” declares TechPowerUp, a margin substantiated by other reviewers. “This means that the card is able to match last generation’s RTX 3090 flagship, and the gap to RTX 4070 Ti shrinks to just 8%… While AMD’s Radeon RX 7800 XT was a bit faster than RTX 4070 in pure raster scenarios, this has changed with the RTX 4070 Super, which is now 7% faster.”

That’s a huge leap – and one that will no doubt help the RTX 4070 Super usurp the Radeon RX 7800 XT on our list of the best graphics cards. AMD’s rival often outpunched the RTX 4070 non-Super despite costing $100 less but that’s not the case with the Super.

Killer Nvidia performance-boosting AI technologies like DLSS, Frame Generation, and RTX Video Super Resolution can all push frame rates even further in games that support them. This is what the RTX 4070 should have been at launch.

Undisputed ray tracing champ

All those extra cores push the RTX 4070 Super’s ray tracing prowess to new heights, too.

“Ray tracing performance also scales similarly, at least when comparing the 4070 Super to the OG 4070 and the 4070 Ti,” KitGuru writes. “It is significantly faster than the RX 7800 XT over the eight games we tested with ray tracing enabled, to the tune of 47% on average, while it’s in the same class as the RX 7900 XTX.”

That’s a $1,000 AMD Radeon graphics card, for those keeping score. Ray tracing is a strength for Nvidia and the RTX 4070 Super pushes the pedal to the metal.

More power

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

More power requires, well, more power. The GeForce RTX 4070 Super has its “total graphics power” rating bumped to 220 watts, 20W more than the vanilla 4070. It also transitions purely to Nvidia’s 16-pin power connector. It seems like a worthwhile sacrifice for the performance on offer.

Still made for 1440p

Even with all the extra grunt, this probably isn’t a graphics card to pick up for long-term 4K gaming. While the step-up RTX 4070 Ti Super moves to a beefier memory configuration with more capacity and a wider bus width, the RTX 4070 Super sticks to the same AD104 GPU as the vanilla version. That means it comes with 12GB of memory over a 192-bit bus – great specs for 1440p gaming, but lighter than you’d want for 4K with games becoming more memory-intensive almost by the day.

The OG 4070 is sticking around

Finally, while the 4070 Ti Super and 4080 Super’s releases signal the deaths of the graphics cards they’re replacing, Nvidia is keeping the original RTX 4070 around, but at a lower $549 price point. We’d expect retailers and board partners to push that down closer to $500 on the streets, where the vanilla RTX 4070 and its DLSS 3 advantage will be much more competitive with AMD’s Radeon RX 7800 XT.

To the surprise of exactly nobody who has been following the PC industry the last six months, “AI PCs” were everywhere at CES 2024, powered by new chips like Intel’s Core Ultra and AMD’s Ryzen 8000 with dedicated “Neural Processor Units” (NPUs). These help accelerate AI tasks locally, rather than reaching out to cloud servers (like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot). But what does that actually mean for you, an everyday computer user?

That’s the question I hoped to answer as I wandered the show floor, visiting PC makers of all shapes and sizes. Most early implementations of local, NPU-processed software has focused heavily on creator workloads — improving performance in tools like Adobe Photoshop, DaVinci Resolve, and Audacity. But how can local AI help Joe Schmoe?

After scouring the show, I can say that NPU improvements aren’t especially compelling yet in these early days — though if you have an Nvidia GPU, you’ve already got powerful, practical AI at your fingertips.

But first, NPU-based AI.

Local AI takes baby steps

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

Frankly, NPU-driven AI isn’t compelling yet, though it can pull off some cool parlor tricks.

HP’s new Omen Transcend 14 showed off how the NPU can be used to offload video-streaming tasks while the GPU ran Cyberpunk 2077 — nifty, to be sure, but once again focused on creators. Acer’s Swift laptops thankfully take a more practical angle. They integrate Temporal Noise Reduction and what Acer calls PurifiedView and PurifiedVoice 2.0 for AI-filtered audio and video, with a three-mic array, and there are more AI capabilities promised to come later this year.

MSI’s stab at local AI also tackles cleaning up Zoom and Teams calls. A Core Ultra laptop demo showed Windows Studio Effects tapping the NPU to automatically blur the background of a video call. Next to it, a laptop set up with Nvidia’s awesome AI-powered Broadcast software was doing the same. The Core Ultra laptop used dramatically less power than the Nvidia notebook, since it didn’t need to fire up a discrete GPU to process the background blur, shunting the task to the low-power NPU instead. So that’s cool — and unlike RTX Broadcast, it doesn’t require you to have a GeForce graphics card installed.

Just as practically, MSI’s new AI engine intelligently detects what you’re doing on your laptop and dynamically changes the battery profile, fan curves, and display settings as needed for the task. Play a game and everything gets cranked; start slinging Word docs and everything ramps down. It’s cool, but existing laptops already do this to some degree.

MSI also showed off a nifty AI Artist app, running on the popular Stable Diffusion local generative AI art framework, that lets you create images from text prompts, create suitable text prompts from images you plug in, and create new images from images you select. Windows Copilot and other generative art services can already do this, of course, but AI Artist performs the task locally and is more versatile than simply slapping words into a box to see what pictures it can create.

Lenovo’s vision for NPU-driven AI seemed the most compelling. Dubbed “AI Now,” this text input-based suite of features seems genuinely useful. Yes, you can use it to generate images, natch — but you can also ask it to automatically set those images as your wallpaper.

More helpfully, typing prompts like “My PC config” instantly brings up hardware information about your PC, removing the need to dive into arcane Windows sub-menus. Asking for “eye care mode” enables the system’s low-light filter. Asking it to optimize battery life adjusts the power profile depending on your usage, similar to MSI’s AI engine.

Those are useful, albeit somewhat niche, but the feature that impressed me most was Lenovo’s Knowledge Base feature. You can train AI Now to sift through documents and files stored in a local “Knowledge Base” folder, and quickly generate reports, synopses, and summaries based on only the files within, never touching the cloud. If you stash all your work files in it, you could, for instance, ask for a recap of all progress on a given project over the past month, and it will quickly generate that using the information stored in your documents, spreadsheets, et cetera. Now this seems truly useful, mimicking cloud AI-based Office Copilot features that Microsoft charges businesses an arm for a leg for.

But. AI Now is currently in the experimental stage, and when it launches later this year, it will come to China first. What’s more, the demo I saw wasn’t actually running on the NPU yet — instead, Lenovo was using traditional CPU grunt for the tasks. Sigh.

And that’s my core takeaway from the show. NPUs are only just starting to appear in computers, and the software that taps into them ranges from gimmicky to “way too early” — it’ll take time for the rise of the so-called “AI PC” to develop in any practical sense.

Unless you already have an Nvidia graphics card installed, that is.

The AI PC is already here with GeForce

Thiago Trevisan/IDG

Thiago Trevisan/IDG

Thiago Trevisan/IDG

Visiting Nvidia’s suite after the laptop makers drove home that the AI PC is, in fact, already here if you’re a GeForce owner.

That shouldn’t come as a surprise. Nvidia is at the forefront of AI development as has been driving the segment for years. Features like DLSS, RTX Video Super Resolution, and Nvidia Broadcast are all tangible, practical real-world AI applications that users love and use every day. There’s a reason Nvidia can charge a premium for its graphics cards.

The company was showing off some cool cloud-based AI tools — its ACE character engine for game NPCs can now hold full-blown generative chats about anything, in a variety of languages, and its iconic Jinn character did not appreciate when I told him his ramen sucked — but I want to focus on the local AI tools, since that’s the point of this article.

A lineup of creator-focused Nvidia Studio laptops were on-hand showing just how powerful GeForce’s dedicated ray tracing and AI tensor cores can be at accelerating creation tasks, such as real-time image rendering or removing items from photos. But again, while that’s amazing for creators, it’s of little practical benefit to everyday consumers.

Two other AI demos are.

One, a supplement to the existing RTX Video Super Resolution feature that uses GeForce’s AI tensor cores to upscale and beautify low-resolution videos, focuses on using AI to translate standard dynamic range video into high dynamic range (HDR). Dubbed RTX Video HDR, it looked truly transformative in demos I witnessed. The overly crushed darks in a Game of Thrones scene caused by video compression were cleared up and brightened using the feature, delivering a stunning increase in image quality. It was a similar story in an underground scene from another still, where the back of a subway was dark beyond comprehension, but RTX Video HDR let you pick out a tunnel, garbage cans, and other hidden aspects previous lost to the gloom. It looks great and should be arriving in a GeForce driver later this month.

Nvidia

Nvidia

Nvidia

Then there was Chat with RTX, which truly impressed me. Most AI chatbots bump your requests out to the cloud, where they’re processed on company servers and then sent back to you. Not Chat with RTX, an upcoming application that runs on either the Mistal or Llama LLMs. The key thing here is it can also be trained on your local text, PDF, doc, and XML files, so you can ask the application questions about your specific information and needs — and it all runs locally. You can ask it questions like, “Where did Sarah say I should go to dinner next time I’m in Vegas?” and have the answer pop right up from your files.

Better yet, since it runs locally, the answers in our demos appeared much faster than the answers generated by cloud-based LLMs like ChatGPT, and you can also point Chat with RTX to specific YouTube videos to ask questions about its content, or to receive a general summary. Chat with RTX scans the YouTube-provided transcript for that particular video and your answer appears in seconds. It is rad.

Chat with RTX should also be out in demo form too, and Nvidia is releasing its backbones so that developers can create new programs that tap into it.

Compared to the AI demos I saw for NPU applications, the features on display at Nvidia’s booth felt both more practical and much more powerful. Nvidia reps told me that was a goal for the company; to show that AI PCs already exist, and can drive genuinely useful experiences — if you have a GeForce GPU, of course.

Bottom line

Intel

Intel

Intel

And that’s really my overarching takeaway on the AI PC from CES 2024. Will AI amount to more than former buzzwords like “blockchain” and “the metaverse,” which fizzled out in spectacular fashion? I think so. Companies like Nvidia are already using it to amazing effect. But NPUs are practically still in diapers and learning to talk. There’s no overly compelling practical feature that taps into them yet unless you’re a content creator.

Don’t get me wrong: The future looks potentially bright for local NPUs as a whole — the entire computing industry is willing it into being before our very eyes — but if you want a true AI PC right now, one with tangible, practical benefits for everyday computer users, you’re better off investing in a tried-and-true Nvidia RTX GPU than a chip with a newfangled NPU.