USB Type-C is the most flexible connection for notebooks and smartphones. The most important of its many capabilities is as a charging socket for battery-powered devices. USB-C should finally make everything simple: One socket, one cable, one power supply for all devices – from computers to smartphones and tablets to headphones and other peripherals.

So much for the theory, which always sounds simple with USB. The reality is more confusing.

Not every USB-C power supply is suitable for every device. Not all Type-C ports can be used to charge devices quickly or at all. And not every Type-C cable ensures reliable power transmission.

This guide will give you an overview of the technical possibilities of Type-C charging and recommends suitable power supply units for all devices. If you’d like to avoid all the background and simply know which cords as worth your hard-earned money, be sure to check out our roundup of the best USB-C cables. We perform hands-on tests that go far deeper than most other sources on the Web.

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IDG

IDG

USB Type-C: The standard connection for charging

Almost all mobile devices can now be charged via USB Type-C: For smartphones, Apple was the last major manufacturer to switch from the proprietary Lightning connector to USB-C last year with the iPhone 15.

Apart from that, there are only very cheap bargain smartphones that still rely on micro USB as a charging port. The situation is similar for tablets, where market leader Apple already favored USB-C over Lightning three years ago with the iPad 9. You will also hardly find any devices without USB-C for headphones, ebook, readers, and mobile speakers.

Only laptops still have numerous models that do not use Type-C to charge the battery: These are often older model series from the entry-level range. More frequently, however, USB-C is not the main connection for charging.

Although powerful gaming and multimedia laptops have USB-C, they also have a dedicated power connection with a higher charging capacity that fits the power supply unit supplied. Business laptops with a USB-C port and power supply unit often still have the hollow plug connection so that companies can continue to use power supply units from decommissioned models.

A Type-C connection on a laptop also does not always handle power delivery. The only way to find out whether a Type C socket is capable of power delivery is to look at the technical data. A Type-C port with Thunderbolt supports charging in any case.

Further reading: We tested 43 old USB-C to USB-A cables. 1 was great. 10 were dangerous

Advantages of power delivery via USB-C

The triumph of Type-C is easy to explain, as the connection offers numerous advantages for users and manufacturers:

• Cables can be connected quickly and easily because the symmetrical plug is twist-proof.
• The socket takes up little space so that devices can be made lighter and flatter.
• And as Type-C can handle data and video transmission as well as charging, ideally a single cable is all that is needed between the computer and peripherals, which keeps the desk tidy.

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IDG

IDG

Devices can also be charged faster with USB-C: Power supply units for micro USB only deliver up to 10 watts, while chargers with a Type A connection usually deliver 15 to 18 watts. Type-C, on the other hand, supports the improved USB Power Delivery (PD) transmission protocol, which usually allows charging capacities of up to 100 watts and even up to 240 watts in the current version.

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Belkin BoostCharge 240-watt charging cable

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However, this does not apply to all Type-C connections, devices, and cables: Although everything fits together mechanically, not every combination has to provide the optimum charging power — for example, because different levels of the Power Delivery standard are supported or devices and power supply units do not implement the standard correctly.

USB-C and Power Delivery: How the charging technology works

The technical basis for charging via USB-C is the USB Power Delivery (USB PD) standard. It specifies voltage levels of 5 to 48 volts and currents of 3 or 5 amps in so-called “power profiles” or “power rules.” Depending on the power supply unit, power cable, and device, charging capacities of between 10 and 240 watts are possible.

A typical smartphone power supply unit with 30 watts, for example, offers power profiles for a charging capacity of 15, 27, and 30 watts, while a laptop power supply unit also offers power profiles for 45, 60, 65, or 100 watts.

Before transmission begins, the power supply unit (source) and consumer (sink) agree on the required voltage and current: The power supply unit first checks the cable to see whether it can transmit up to 3 or 5 amps and provides a basic voltage of 5 volts.

It then tells the consumer what other voltages it can supply. The consumer answers which one it needs so that both can agree on a suitable power profile.

Ugreen

Ugreen

Ugreen

Ideally, any USB-C power supply will charge the device with a Type-C charging socket with optimum performance and as quickly as possible. Even if the power supply does not completely fulfil the requirements of the device, it should provide a minimum charging power, even if the charging process then takes longer.

Conversely, it does not speed up the charging process to use a power supply unit that offers a higher output than the device requires because the consumer cannot call it up.

Since version 3 of USB PD, the power supply unit and consumer can adjust the voltage and current more dynamically. To do this, both must support the optional standard extension PPS (Programmable Power Supply Protocol).

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Ugreen Nexode Pro 65W 3-Port GaN Fast Charger

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The device can then request voltage and current from the power supply unit that deviate minimally from the prescribed power profiles: This speeds up the charging process, but can also ensure that the battery is less stressed during charging or that a smartphone or notebook receives the appropriate charging power in real time depending on the current system load.

Labels such as Fast Charge or Super Fast Charge 2.0 on Samsung smartphones and power supply units, for example, indicate support for PPS.

Further reading: Best USB-C PD laptop chargers 2024: More portable power

How to find out whether a power adapter fits the device

The easiest way to do this is to use the power adapter recommended by the manufacturer for charging. This is common for laptops, as new devices are supplied with a suitable power supply unit.

Smartphones and tablets now often do not come with a power adapter in the sales box: You can buy the right charger from the device manufacturer.

USB-C should make this investment superfluous and put an end to the confusion of power adapters that only fit one device. A power supply unit that can charge all your devices without any problems is therefore ideal.

To do this, the power supply and device must have a USB-C connection and support USB Power Delivery: You should be able to find this information in the technical data, often as an abbreviation such as “PD” or “PPS.” If the power supply unit or device does not support USB PD despite Type-C, charging can start, but only at 15 watts.

So that you can charge all devices with one power supply unit, it should have sufficient charging power for the most powerful device and suitable power profiles for devices with lower energy requirements.

A laptop is usually the device that requires the highest charging power: Ultra-mobile laptops usually need a power supply unit with 45 watts, standard laptops require 60 watts, and particularly powerful laptops 100 watts.

For smartphones, tablets, and portable speakers or headphones, on the other hand, 30 watts or less is sufficient.

Further reading: Don’t buy these dangerous USB-C accessories

To ensure that a USB-C power supply for the laptop charges other mobile devices, it should support power profiles for 15 and 27 watts via USB-PD.

With third-party power supplies, you will often find a list of other devices that can be charged with it in the technical data of a laptop power supply. If tablets such as Apple iPad Pro and smartphones — for example Samsung Galaxy S24 — are listed, the power supply is also suitable for smaller mobile devices.

If you want to use the power adapter that came with your laptop, check the manufacturer’s website for information on its output power: If you find information such as “9 volts – 3 amps,” the power adapter is suitable for smartphones and tablets. These values are usually also printed on the power supply unit under “Output.”

Conversely, notebooks can also be charged with a smartphone power supply unit: This is helpful when travelling if you only want to take the lighter mobile phone charger with you. The power supply unit should offer at least 27 watts of charging power and a voltage of 9 volts. This is sufficient for small and light laptops.

It is best to switch off the notebook when charging, because if it consumes more power during operation than the mains adapter supplies, the battery will be drained even when the charger is connected. However, many notebooks require 15 volts and most require 20 volts as the charging voltage. If your smartphone power supply delivers this, the notebook can also be charged with it – but usually only slowly.

The best cable for charging via USB-C

A good USB-C cable is crucial to ensure that the charging power from the power supply unit to the device is stable. The cables transmit a current of up to 3 amps as standard.

This is sufficient for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Notebooks can also be charged with up to 60 watts using such cables – this is sufficient for small and lightweight laptops. For larger and more powerful laptops, however, charging will take longer depending on the battery size and operating load.

To charge these laptops at optimum speed via USB-C, you need a cable that can transfer 5 amps. The fast charging functions of some smartphones and tablets also require an appropriate cable – for example, Super Fast Charging from Samsung.

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IDG

IDG

These cables contain a chip, the so-called e-marker: It contains information about the capabilities of the cable, such as the maximum power supply capacity, voltage, and current values and supported charging protocols.

It outputs this information when the power supply unit and consumer negotiate the optimum charging power via USB-PD to ensure that the charger delivers the appropriate voltage and current values for the cable and the connected device.

Further reading: Samsung Galaxy owners: Buy this GAN charger for the fastest charges

Most manufacturers usually describe the corresponding cables as “100 watt cables.” You will also often find a reference to the e-marker chip in the technical data.

In addition to power transfer, USB-C also supports data and image transfer — if you want to use a cable for all applications, you must pay attention to this in its description: These multifunction cables are usually slightly more expensive than pure charging cables. Cables for Thunderbolt are guaranteed to support all USB-C transmission types.

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You can‘t tell how well a charging cable transmits data: In theory, longer cables are more susceptible to voltage loss and limit the flow of current due to a higher resistance. Thicker cables are supposed to ensure more stable transmission.

In practice, however, you cannot use this as a rule of thumb: The quality of a cable depends on its internal workmanship.

A basic tip: Buy cables for higher charging capacities from well-known suppliers such as Anker, Belkin, or Ugreen. They are reliable and usually cheaper than the corresponding offerings from the laptop or smartphone manufacturer.

Chargers with multiple ports: One power supply for all devices

A single power supply unit is usually not enough for a large number of devices: You often want to charge different devices at the same time via USB-C. This is why there are power supply units with several USB-C and USB-A ports, which can be used to charge a notebook, smartphone, and headphones in parallel, for example. This is also useful when travelling if you only have one socket available on the train, for example.

When making your choice, you should first consider how many devices you want to charge at the same time and on which ports: Multiple power supply units are available with numerous connection combinations, so you should always be able to find a suitable model.

Devices with two USB-C ports cost from around $20, while prices with three Type-C ports start at around $40. In most cases, the power supply units also have a charging port with a Type A connection in addition to the USB-C outputs.

You also need to decide what maximum charging power the multi power supply should have: Up to 45 watts is sufficient for a smartphone and headphones. If you also want to charge a laptop, at least 60 watts is recommended.

USB power supply units with multiple connections:

It is important to know how the power is distributed over the individual ports: The maximum charging power specified by the manufacturer usually applies to all ports together, only for the combination of certain ports or only if only one port is occupied.

For example, if you choose a 65-watt power supply because you also want to charge your laptop, it will usually only deliver this charging power if a single USB-C port is occupied. If you charge another device on the second Type-C port, the power is then divided between 45 watts on one port and 20 watts on the other – the laptop will then charge more slowly.

If all the ports on a three-port power supply are occupied by consumers, the power on a single port can drop even further. In addition, not all type C connections on the power supply unit have to deliver the same charging power: for example, the laptop may only receive up to 65 watts at port 1. If you connect it to port 2, it will only receive up to 45 watts.

best single-port usb-C charger

Anker 713 Nano II 45W Charger

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You should therefore look for the technical data for a model on the power supply provider’s website before buying: Well-known manufacturers such as Anker or Belkin list the charging power that the individual ports offer with single or multiple connections.

The desired power supply should definitely support USB-C Power Delivery and preferably also PPS!

Many manufacturers advertise more expensive models with the abbreviation “GaN”: This stands for the semiconductor material gallium nitride, from which, for example, the voltage converters in corresponding power supplies are made: They work very efficiently without overheating, which enables small power supply units with a high charging capacity.

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

At a glance

Expert's Rating

Pros

• Outstanding OLED screen
• Very light
• Great keyboard
• FHD camera

Cons

• Slightly slower processor
• Only 512GB of SSD storage
• No Wi-Fi 7

Our Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro 14 is a lightweight, elegant all-rounder for business professionals.

When it comes to the Galaxy Book line of laptops, Samsung has established itself in high-end notebooks for professional use. The laptops look excellent, are light and slim, and offer great displays. The new Galaxy Book4 Pro with a 14-inch screen is no exception. It has an OLED touchscreen with 3K resolution, its very sturdy aluminum casing weighs just 2.64 pounds and it’s around 12 millimeters thin. It’s finished in the classic grey of a stylish business notebook (Moonstone Grey color variant), which elegantly changes to a bluish hue depending on the incidence of light.

Bottom line? The Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro 14 is a lightweight, elegant all-rounder for business professionals. Let’s dig into why.

Looking for more laptop options? Be sure to check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops available today.

Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro 14: First impressions

In the fourth generation of Galaxy Books, Samsung relies on processors from the new Intel Meteor Lake platform, in the case of the test device on a Core Ultra 7 155H. This CPU generation is characterized by a significantly different architecture in which Intel assembles the processor modularly from individual chips (aka tiles). However, most notebook manufacturers, including Samsung, advertise Meteor Lake primarily as an AI processor due to the new NPU (Neural Processing Unit).

the Book4 pro's even more polished sibling

Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra

Read our review

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There’s little evidence of AI on the Galaxy Book4 Pro, but this also applies to other Meteor Lake laptops. For example, the test device lacks the Copilot button and, apart from the Windows Studio effects, which are supposed to improve video meetings via AI through auto-framing, automatic eye contact, and background blurring, there are no apps that can use the NPU.

This is disappointing, as Samsung’s current Galaxy smartphones show how AI can be put to good use. Even apps such as Samsung Gallery, which can utilize AI functions on the smartphone, do not offer them in the Windows version.

At the beginning of the benchmarks, it wasn’t the lack of AI on the Galaxy Book4 Pro that frightened us, but the miserable performance. The laptop’s mouse clicks were very delayed, programs were slow to open, and the first set of benchmarks delivered disappointing results. The problems cannot be solved with Windows updates and the Samsung Device Care analysis tool, as they cannot find more up-to-date drivers.

Only the manual installation of a new GPU driver directly from Intel solves the performance dilemma. Apparently, the driver for the Arc GPU installed by Samsung in December is responsible for the sluggish performance. After the driver update, the notebook runs as expected.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro 14: Performance

The new internal GPU is the performance highlight of Meteor Lake. In system tests such as PCMark 10 and Crossmark, the new CPU generation stands out from its predecessors from Raptor Lake’s U, P, and H series, primarily due to its significantly improved graphics performance. The Galaxy Book4 Pro performs above average in all applications that make heavy use of the GPU such as rendering and photo and video editing. This means that compact Meteor Lake laptops such as the Samsung laptop are now much better suited for multimedia and graphics tasks.

The Arc graphics in Meteor Lake can also set itself apart from the Iris Xe Graphics of the predecessor CPUs in gaming tests. In the 3DMark, it is 70 percent faster in Night Raid and almost twice as fast in Time Spy. This does not make the Samsung notebook really suitable for gaming, especially not in its high native resolution of 2880×1800 pixels. You have to reduce the resolution to Full HD and can only use the medium quality level for graphic details. Even then, the Galaxy Boo 4 Pro remains well below 60 fps in the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark.

Despite the increased performance of the internal processor GPU, users who do more than just occasional gaming or professional multimedia editing should still rely on an additional GPU. This also applies to AI applications, as the test with the AI benchmark Procyon proves. The NPU from Meteor Lake scores around 500 points in the Integer test with AI applications based on Intel’s Open-Vino programming environment–incidentally, the same as the GPU from Meteor Lake. An RTX 4070 GPU performs the same tasks four times as fast based on Nvidia Tensor with significantly higher power consumption.

In addition, Samsung limits the CPU performance due to the 14-inch form factor and only allows the Core Ultra a maximum power consumption of 60 watts and a standard consumption of 28 watts, while this processor in 16-inch notebooks is usually allowed to work with up to 80 watts and 45 watts in standard mode.

Accordingly, the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro is around ten to 15 percent slower in the system benchmarks than large Meteor Lake notebooks. In the Cinebench R23 CPU test, the Samsung laptop only achieves just under 9,000 points while the Core Ultra 7 155H in a 16-inch notebook achieves around 14,000 points.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro 14: Battery life

The Galaxy Book 4 Pro benefits from the economical CPU setting in battery mode. At less than 5 watts, the power consumption is around one watt lower than a comparably equipped 16-inch notebook with Meteor Lake and is also significantly lower than a notebook with a Raptor Lake H CPU and an OLED screen. However, the laptop’s 13 hour battery life is still not particularly long because Samsung only installs a battery with 62 watt hours due to the low weight and slim form factor.

The biggest mobility advantage of the Samsung notebook is its low weight, which also applies to the 65 watt power supply. It weighs only 166 grams and fills the laptop battery to 81 percent after one hour of charging.

Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro 14: Fan noise, temperature

The Galaxy Book4 Pro hardly heats up even during longer load phases. The operating noise is 38 dB(A) in the load test. It reached 42 dB(A) when I switched on Windows’ High Performance setting. Many Meteor Lake notebook already deliver in the standard Balanced setting.

The palm rest doesn’t warm up much in the load test. The underside of the notebook heats up to a maximum of 45 degrees, so you can easily place it on your thighs.

Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro 14: Display

The display is always a highlight of the Galaxy Book laptops. Our review unit has an OLED touchscreen with 3K resolution (2880×1800) and 10-bit color depth, which offers a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. The in-house panel is protected by Gorilla Glass DX. The screen is not completely reflection-free, as claimed by the manufacturer Corning, but is slightly less reflective than other touchscreens in direct light.

The Galaxy Book4 Pro also demonstrates the advantages of OLED technology” the contrast is extremely high, the luminance is very evenly distributed, and the color reproduction is outstanding. With Samsung covering almost all important color spaces and minimal color deviation, it’s slightly better than other OLED notebooks. The brightness is also pleasantly high at over 400 cd/sqm, only a few notebook screens are brighter, but they usually use more expensive panels with mini-LED backlight.

The Galaxy Book4 Pro is ideal for photos and films and even those who only come into contact with color in PowerPoint presentations and Excel diagrams at work will be pleased with the outstanding picture quality.

Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro 14: Ports

The Galaxy Book 4 Pro 14 only comes with 512GB of SSD storage, which isn’t much space given the price. On the other hand, the notebook offers many ports for a 14-inch laptop. There are two Type-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 on board, one Type-A port with USB 3.2 Gen 1, and an HDMI output. The slot for micro SD cards and audio connection via mini-jack are also welcome, as they are no longer commonplace on lightweight business laptops.

The front camera with Full HD resolution makes you look good in video calls and you can also log in securely via the camera or the finger sensor in the power button.

Unlike many Meteor Lake laptops, the Wi-Fi module in the Galaxy Book only supports Wi-Fi 6E and not Wi-Fi 7, but Wi-Fi 7 remains in its early days for now anyway.

Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro 14: Keyboard and touchpad

Despite the focus on elegant design and low weight, business notebooks should never neglect operating elements such as the keyboard and touchpad.

Samsung makes no compromises here with the Galaxy Book4 Pro. The keyboard is sturdy, all keys provide clear pressure feedback even when typing quickly and they remain relatively quiet. The number keys are smaller than the other keys, but they’re easy to reach because Samsung has placed them slightly away from the keyboard.

Sensitive users may be bothered by the clearly audible clicking noise of the touchpad. However, it provides clear and consistent feedback over the entire touchpad surface because of the stable build. Multi-finger gestures also worked just fine.

Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro 14 specs and features

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro?

Absolutely, if you’re in the target audience. As we said up top: The Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro 14 is a lightweight, elegant all-rounder for business professionals who need reliable performance and ample features on the go.

This article originally appeared on PC Welt and has been translated from German to English.

The HP Elitebook 640 is a classic work laptop for the desk or on-the-go. It offers a compact 14-inch format, but still plenty of connections for office peripherals and a 4G modem as an extra. The Intel XMM 7560R supports LTE-Advanced Pro with Cat 16, which theoretically enables up to 1 Gbit/s in download. The business notebook also offers the latest standard fare from a technical perspective, with a long 36-month warranty as a bonus for professional users.

As is usual for a mid-range business notebook, the Elitebook 640 avoids visual conspicuousness. The case comes in the usual silver-colored aluminium casing. At the top edge of the display is a slide switch that can be used to cover the camera. The laptop is also solidly built and can be opened comfortably with one hand, and the stable display hinge reliably holds the screen at the set angle. While the SSD could be faster, we generally liked this machine overall. Read on to learn more.

Looking for more options? Check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops available right now.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

HP Elitebook 640 G10: Many connectivity options

The 14-inch format offers the advantage that, in contrast to smaller notebooks, many connections can be accommodated on the casing, especially as HP has not made the 640 extra slim.

Numerous peripherals can be connected at the desk via HDMI, two Type-C, and two Type-A ports, while a Gigabit LAN connection ensures stable connectivity. One Type-C port supports Thunderbolt 4 with USB data rates of up to 40 Gbit/s and the other Type-C port transfers suitable external storage at up to 10 Gbit/s. Both ports can be used to charge the notebook with the supplied 65-watt power adapter.

The EliteBook also has a hollow plug for older power supply units. There’s no slot for memory cards, but there is one for smart cards. The front camera also only has a resolution of 720p, which isn’t super great.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

HP Elitebook 640 G10: Good enough for office work

The EliteBook 640’s screen isn’t state of the art. It still uses the 16:9 aspect ratio, as HP reserves the more practical 16:10 for office use for the more expensive Elitebook 840 and 1040 series.

The picture quality is sufficient for office use. However, the maximum brightness of just under 250 cd/sqm is too low to be able to work ergonomically on the notebook under sunlight despite the matte display surface. The 640 doesn’t deliver outstanding contrast values either and the same applies to color reproduction, but it’s good enough for Word and Excel.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

HP Elitebook 640 G10: Ideal for typists

A good keyboard is important for texts, tables, and other office applications. The EliteBook 640 scores points here, even though it lacks a number pad due to its compact casing. You get very clear pressure feedback when typing yet the sturdy keyboard remains quiet.

The touchpad is pleasant to use as well. It provides extremely clear feedback on a mouse click regardless of where you click on the large touchpad surface. For our taste, the surface could use more grip, which would facilitate fast and precise mouse movements.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

HP Elitebook 640 G10: SSD is a bit slow

The EliteBook 640 G10 uses a Core i7 from Intel’s 13th generation Raptor Lake: The Core i7-1355U works with ten cores – two of which are powerful P-cores – and 12 threads. The RAM is 16 GB and consists of a DDR4-3200 bar: the second DIMM slot is free so that the RAM can be easily expanded. You open the underside after loosening five Phillips screws.

In system tests such as PCMark 10 and Crossmark, the EliteBook 640 delivers the expected speed for this configuration, but works slower than other notebooks with the same processor. This is partly due to the compact casing, which offers less space for the cooling system and less heat dissipation surface. This is why HP limits the CPU power consumption to 51 (maximum) or 24 watts (standard). In a 16-inch notebook, the same CPU is therefore around 10 to 15 percent faster in Cinebench R23 and R24.

On the other hand, HP does not choose a particularly fast SSD with the SSSTC CL4. It performs significantly worse than other 512 GB drives in the PCMark 10 storage test.

HP Elitebook 640 G10: The fans are quiet

What the EliteBook takes away in terms of speed, you get back in ergonomics. The notebook always works quietly and hardly heats up. The fan runs at a maximum of 38 dB(A) under load, which you only notice when it’s quiet in the office. In addition, the temperature always remains uncritical at a maximum of around 40 degrees on the underside, allowing you to place the notebook on your thighs.

HP Elitebook 640 G10: Decent battery life

The EliteBook weighs about 3.1 pounds, a normal weight for a 14-inch laptop. It achieves just under 13 hours in the battery test, which is decent. However, HP only installs a battery with 51.3 watt hours, which prevents a longer runtime.

After one hour at the socket, the battery charges up to 82 percent. HP limits the charging capacity to 85 percent by default in order to extend its service life.

HP Elitebook 640 G10: Test results and technical data

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

At a glance

Expert's Rating

Pros

• Large display with good image quality
• Numerous connections
• Long battery life
• Keyboard with number pad
• Ambient light sensor
• 3-year warranty

Cons

• Only 512 GB SSD
• Mediocre keyboard and touchpad
• Camera only with 720p resolution

Our Verdict

The Acer Travelmate P4 is a solid business all-rounder that offers good computing power, battery life, and display quality at a favorable price.

A large screen makes it easier to work with extensive Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations. Multi-tasking is also easier if you can keep an eye on numerous program windows at the same time. However, the display diagonal should not be at the expense of mobility – even if you only want to take the notebook to a meeting and don’t want to use it mainly when travelling.

The Acer Travelmate P4 with a 16-inch display promises to optimally combine these advantages. Its housing made of an aluminum-magnesium compound in the grey-blue color Slate Blue presents itself in the inconspicuous standard look of many mid-range business notebooks.

Looking for more options? Check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops available today.

Acer Travelmate P4: Build quality

The lid can be opened with one hand, but the weight distribution is not perfectly balanced because the base of the case lifts slightly. However, you can open the screen by 180 degrees.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Acer Travelmate P4: Strong in brightness and color reproduction

The Travelmate’s 16-inch display is primarily characterized by its large screen area. At 1920×1200 and a pixel density of 141 ppi, the resolution is not particularly high, but it’s fine for office tasks and day-to-day productivity. The taller 16:10 aspect ratio makes scrolling through documents much easier, too.

In terms of picture quality, the Acer notebook can compete with more expensive laptops. The brightness of around 400 cd/sqm is suitable for outdoor use thanks to the anti-glare surface. In battery mode, however, brightness is lower at around 350 cd/sqm. The luminance is also evenly distributed, an advantage given the large screen surface. The notebook adjusts the brightness to the ambient light thanks to a sensor.

Due to the good color reproduction with complete coverage of the sRGB color space and low color deviation, the Travelmate is also suitable for image processing in the office environment. The only setback is that the contrast is just average. Display’s in top notebooks are a tad brighter and offer significantly better contrast. However, despite the favorable price, the picture quality is fully practical for a business all-rounder.

The lens of the 720p camera at the top of the display frame can also be covered with a slide switch.

Acer Travelmate P4: Many connections, easy to upgrade

The Acer Travelmate P4 has a good amount of connectivity options. It has two Thunderbolt 4 ports with 40 Gbps and two USB Type-A ports, 10 Gbps on the left and 5 Gbps on the right. There’s also a LAN port and a micro SD card reader in an unusual position on the front left of the casing.

The notebook has a power connection for a barrel connector, but the cable on the supplied power adapter only fits into one of the Type-C ports. Acer is thus complying with future legal requirements, but still allows older power supply units to continue to be used.

The SSD is only 512GB, which is not unusual for business notebooks in this price range. You can also swap the built-in M.2 drive for one with more storage space. The RAM bar, WLAN module, and battery can also be removed.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Acer Travelmate P4: Top for the office, good enough for multimedia

The Travelmate P4 works with an Intel Core i7 from the U family of the Raptor Lake generation and achieves the typical performance in the speed tests. It therefore fulfils the requirements of a practical business notebook, as it is very strong in office use and offers enough computing power for most multimedia tasks. It’s only too slow for graphics-intensive games and complex photo/video editing.

It sets itself apart from comparably equipped notebooks in office applications primarily because of its fast SSD from WD, which outperforms other 512 GB SSDs in both sequential transfer rates and in the PC Mark 10 storage test.

In multimedia applications, the Travelmate’s large casing proves to be an advantage over smaller notebooks with the same CPU. Because the waste heat is better distributed, the processor can run longer with higher power consumption and clock rate. In Cinebench R23, this results in a lead of around 15 percent over a 14-inch notebook with the Core i7-1355U.

Compared to notebooks with a Core i7 Raptor Lake-P, which has two more P-cores, the Travelmate performs around ten percent worse when high CPU performance is required. The deficit compared to multimedia notebooks with a GPU is very significant at over 20 percent.

The operating noise under load is 42 dB(A). The fan is clearly audible in quiet surroundings, but not so loud that it disturbs working. There are also no anomalies in the heat measurement. The Acer notebook reaches an uncritical 43 degrees at the hottest point on the underside.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Acer Travelmate P4: A sensible balance of endurance and weight

The Travelmate weighs just under 3.74 pounds, which is fine for a 16-inch notebook and qualifies it for occasional mobile use. If you want to use your 16-inch notebook more often on the move than at your desk, there are better alternatives such as the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 16.

The Travelmate achieves just under 16 hours in our battery test, a perfect performance considering the relatively small 56 Wh battery. It’s recharged to 82 percent after one hour at the socket.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Acer Travelmate P4: Size wins over ergonomics

The keyboard and touchpad primarily impress with their size rather than their outstanding ergonomics. The 16-inch form factor allows Acer to install an additional number pad and its keys are significantly narrower than those in the main keyboard. The key layout is standardized, but as with most laptops, the arrow keys are not offset and the up6 and down keys are smaller.

The sturdy keyboard has a decent pressure point and good travel, but is not entirely quiet when typing quickly. The bouncing space bar and the noticeably weaker pressure point of the Enter key are also annoying.

The large touchpad is not installed completely evenly, which results in a loud mouse clicking noise, especially on the right-hand side. In addition, you have to press the touchpad firmly to click the mouse until you feel the feedback. The surface is quite smooth, which allows you to move your finger quickly over the large touchpad area, but not immediately position it precisely.

Acer Travelmate P4: Test results and features

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

At a glance

Expert's Rating

Pros

• Lightweight
• Long battery life
• 5G
• Bright, high-contrast display
• 3:2 aspect ratio
• Privacy filter

Cons

• Very expensive

Our Verdict

The current version of the Dragonfly G4 remains an outstanding notebook for traveling because you hardly have to make any compromises for the low weight. It combines a very long battery life with practical speed, a very good albeit viewing angle-limited display, and a relatively large number of ports.

Road warrior, hybrid worker, business traveler. There are countless terms for people who work more on the road than at their desk. HP is addressing this target group with the Dragonfly G4. In the fourth generation, HP has equipped its lightweight notebook with a Core i7 from Intel’s Raptor Lake generation–apart from that, little has changed.

The Dragonfly weighs just under 2.64 pounds and is housed in a sturdy blue-grey casing made from a magnesium-aluminium mix. The material surface has a pleasant grip as it is slightly roughened. As the corners and edges are rounded, the Dragonfly is also painless to pick up. You can open the display 180 degrees with one hand. Read on to learn more.

Looking for more options? Check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops available today.

HP Dragonfly G4: Small notebook, loads of connections

Considering its compact form factor, the Dragonfly is well equipped: Above all, it has more ports than other ultra-mobile lightweights, which often only offer Type-C with Thunderbolt 4. The Dragonfly also has two of these 40 Gbps ports for connecting the power supply unit among other things. However, there’s also an HDMI 2.1 output and a USB Type A socket.

The HP notebook comes with plenty of business-ready extras, too. In addition to WLAN with Wi-Fi 6E, you can also go online on the go via the built-in 5G module. The slot for the nano-SIM card on the left-hand side of the casing can be conveniently removed without opening tools.

You can log in using your finger via a sensor button at the bottom right of the keyboard or via the full HD camera. Its lens can be closed with a special button, but automatic logging in and out of the notebook via HP’s Auto-Lock & Awake still works because this function recognizes the user via a proximity sensor.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

You can also use the F2 key to restrict the display’s viewing angle. This Sure View privacy filter is designed to prevent nosy neighbors on trains and planes from catching operational or other secrets with a quick glance at the screen.

The underside of the housing can be easily opened after removing four screws. The battery, SSD, and cellular module can be replaced. However, the RAM and WLAN hardware are soldered on.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

HP Dragonfly G4: Top choice for office work, sufficient for multimedia tasks

The Core i7-1355U in the Dragonfly delivers the usual speed for an economical processor from the U-series: The performance is absolutely sufficient for office applications and for most multimedia programs. It just isn’t made for demanding video editing and rendering applications. This is because the hybrid CPU can’t really pick up speed due to the thermal conditions in the compact casing. It calculates around ten percent slower in Cinebench R23, for example, than in a larger 15-inch notebook.

The speed advantage over the predecessor Dragonfly G3 with Alder Lake CPU is around 10 percent, a little more for multimedia, a little less for Office. However, compared to a professional multimedia notebook with GPU such as the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i, the speed deficit is only significant when, as in rendering, the CPU and graphics card are required to work together. During normal work with photos and videos, the lag is usually only around ten percent because the Dragonfly is equipped with a generous 32GB of RAM.

The two small fans in the HP notebook are quiet even under a heavy load. However, they frequently change their rotational speed, which causes the operating noise to fluctuate and disturb sensitive users more than when the fans rotate a little faster but at a constant volume.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

HP Dragonfly G4: Battery life will last you a long journey

An ultra-mobile business notebook is defined above all by its weight and battery life. The Dragonfly impresses in both disciplines. In addition to its low weight, it has an outstanding battery life of 17.5 hours in the WLAN test. The battery capacity is 68 Wh, if you’re curious.

HP Dragonfly G4: The display is ideal for office use

The 13.5-inch screen has an aspect ratio of 3:2. This is practical for office work, as the additional vertical pixels allow you to see more content from text documents and websites, for example, than with 16:9 or 16:10. The resolution of 1920×1280 is not exceptionally high, but is sufficient for standard office applications.

In the test, the Dragonfly shines with a very high brightness and excellent contrast. The latter makes text and spreadsheet work more pleasant while the former, in combination with the anti-reflective display surface, makes image content easy to read even in difficult lighting conditions. The Dragonfly can also automatically adjust its brightness to changing light conditions using a sensor.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

The luminance is not evenly distributed, as the brightness decreases significantly from top to bottom. However, this is less noticeable on the small screen than on a large monitor. What is immediately noticeable, however, is the display’s dependence on the viewing angle.

Even if you haven’t activated “Sure View”, the image immediately loses contrast and color saturation if you are not sitting in front of it optimally. Nevertheless, the screen can be tilted flexibly so that users of any height can find the ideal viewing angle.

HP Dragonfly G4: The keyboard and touchpad are designed for frequent typists and clickers

A top keyboard rounds off the Dragonfly G4’s office suitability. The keys are relatively large for this form factor. What’s especially pleasing is the very pronounced pressure point that all keys have across the entire keyboard surface including the space bar. As is usual with ultrabooks, the arrow keys are not positioned separately and the up and down keys are combined in the size of one key.

The touchpad also impresses with clear pressure feedback. It even remains very quiet when the mouse is clicked. The Dragonfly’s surface strikes the perfect balance between grip and speed. You can position the mouse pointer precisely or let it whiz quickly across the display as required.

HP Dragonfly G4: Test results and features

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

HP’s Omen line of laptops are known for their sheer speed and graphics firepower. The latest Omen 17 is no different in that regard, as it comes with a powerful Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 GPU and an Intel Core i9-13900HX CPU. The refreshed core components from the new GPU (Ada Lovelace) and CPU generation (Raptor Lake) are the main differences to last year’s Omen 17. The casing remains largely unchanged, however. It also sits in a black chassis with a plastic underside and a lid adorned with the Omen logo and lettering. The angular design gives the impression of pure power.

While this laptop has a lot to offer, there are a few unimpressive aspects to it. Fingerprints on the lid and wrist rest are a nuisance after a short time. The lid also wobbles when you change the viewing angle and the case has no ports on the back, making cable management difficult. That said, those are minor quibbles with an otherwise outstanding gaming laptop.

Looking for more options? Check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best gaming laptops.

HP Omen 17: The Omen Hub

The Omen Hub is HP’s central configuration tool for gaming settings. You can organize your games there, create a gallery with wallpapers and screenshots, but above all use the dashboard to get a quick overview of the system load and tune the CPU and GPU. For benchmarking, we use the performance mode for the system and the “dedicated GPU” setting in the options for Advanced Optimus.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

The GeForce RTX 4080, Nvidia’s second-best mobile GPU from the Ada-Lovelace generation, ensures speed in the HP Omen 17. It works with 7424 CUDA cores and 12 GB GDDR6 graphics memory and can consume up to 175 watts with the help of Dynamic Boost, the turbo clock is 2010 MHz. Like an RTX 4090, it’s integrated into the system with 16 PCIe 4 lanes while the other Ada-Lovelace GPUs can only utilize the bandwidth of PCIe 4 with 8 lanes.

It’s supported by the Intel Core i9-13900HX CPU. Like most manufacturers of high-end gaming laptops, HP relies on this processor with 24 cores and 32 threads, which are divided into 8 performance cores and 16 efficiency cores. Its intended power consumption in the Omen 17 is 130 watts, rising to 140 watts under load in the test.

HP Omen 17: Gaming performance

When it comes to speed, the Omen 17 is impressive in all respects. As for gaming performance, it’s only beaten by significantly more expensive notebooks with an RTX 4090, while laptops with a Ryzen 9 7945HX perform better as far as system performance goes.

In the 3D Mark Time Spy, the HP Omen 17 is around 15 percent behind laptops with the RTX 4090, but almost 50 percent ahead of models with the RTX 4070. The HP notebook is also just behind the RTX 4090 group in other tests such as Speedway or the Port Royal ray tracing test, but very clearly ahead of the RTX 4070 models.

Accordingly, most games do not cause the Omen 17 any problems in its native display resolution of 2560 x 1440. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, for example, the bandwidth ranges from 169 fps in the “High” setting to 105 fps if you set all controls, including ray tracing, to ultra-high details. Dirt 5 also remains playable at 71 fps with ultra-high details and ray tracing shadows. Notebooks with an RTX 4090 deliver around 20 to 30 fps more in these games and around 15 fps with ray tracing. But even here, the gap between the RTX 4080 and the mid-range RTX 4070 is considerable and is up to 50 to 60 fps. However, if you can do without the high resolution, you can get the same performance much cheaper.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

The current performance reference for gaming is Cyberpunk 2077: With the Omen HP 17, the game remains playable at 68 fps up to the “Raytracing Low” setting. Higher graphics quality causes the frame rate to drop below 60 fps, with only 21 fps remaining in ray tracing overdrive. An RTX 4090 only manages a few frames more, meaning that higher settings are not playable even with the top GPU model. By way of comparison: With an RTX 4070 and 1440p, Cyberpunk 2077 is only good enough for medium graphics quality if you want to stay safely above 60 fps. The combination of RTX 4070 and FHD, on the other hand, delivers similar results to the Omen 17.

However, if you activate DLSS 3 with Frame Generation, you no longer have to worry about the graphics settings in Cyberpunk 2077: AI scaling accelerates the Omen 17 to 82 fps even with Raytracing Overdrive.

HP Omen 17: Operating noise

The CPU benchmark Cinebench R23 not only determines the processor performance of a notebook, but also clearly shows how well the notebook manufacturer has cooling and fan noise under control.

The HP Omen 17 achieves over 25,000 points in this test, slightly lower than other gaming laptops with the Core i9-13900HX. This is because HP allows the CPU a slightly lower power consumption of 140 watts at its peak and around 100 watts on average, while the processor in other high-end laptops is allowed up to 160 watts maximum and 115 watts on average and can therefore achieve a higher clock rate.

Above all, HP wants to keep the fan noise to a minimum. In the endurance test, the laptop runs significantly quieter than similarly equipped notebooks at 53 dB(A), whereby “quieter” in the context of gaming notebooks is to be understood as “not quite as loud.” You should also definitely not use the Omen 17 within earshot of sensitive friends or colleagues for gaming.

Now onto the downside. The underside of the notebook gets very hot, we measured over 60 degrees at the hot spots. However, as long as you don’t place the laptop on a heat-sensitive surface or your thighs when gaming, you can ignore this test value. The temperature of the Omen 17 remains uncritical on the palm rest or the keyboard.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

HP Omen 17: Top speed for multimedia

The HP Omen 17 is also among the top performers in the system performance test and delivers top values in all applications. In PC Mark 10, it is only slightly slower than gaming notebooks with a Ryzen 9 7945HX, which performs better, especially in programs that require many CPU cores.

Compared to gaming laptops with a Core i7 and RTX 4060, the Omen 17 is particularly impressive in multimedia tests. While it’s around 10 percent faster in office tasks, it’s almost 30 percent faster in photo and video editing.

The Omen 17 uses the NVMe SSD Kioxia XG8 as a drive. It offers the expected high data rates of around 7 and 5 GB/s for sequential reading and writing, but is clearly behind a Samsung PM9A1 in practical tests, which can be found in other high-end notebooks.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

HP Omen 17: Loads of ports, mediocre camera

The Omen 17 is equipped to a high standard with 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD. The notebook offers three ports for external monitors, Thunderbolt 4 in addition to HDMI and Mini DisplayPort. You can also achieve data rates of over 20 Gbit/s with a suitable external hard drive via the flexible Type-C interface, while the three Type-A ports on the Omen 17 only allow a maximum of 5 Gbit/s (USB 3.2 Gen 1). The HP notebook also offers an SD card reader for memory cards.

However, the equipment list does not make us completely happy: The Omen lacks a 2.5 Gbit LAN port, for example – its network connection works at Gigabit speed – as well as a camera with Full HD resolution.

The SSD and RAM can be replaced in the Omen 17. There is a second M.2 slot for an additional drive.

HP Omen 17: High quality display

The 17.3-inch screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio shows 2560 x 1440 pixels. This means that the display is not as detailed as a 16-inch laptop with a slightly higher WQXGA resolution, for example. The 165Hz refresh rate of the Omen 17 is also not to be scoffed at, but in view of 300Hz displays, it’s not the measure of all things.

The picture quality is very decent. The test results show good values for brightness at just under 350 cd/sqm, contrast at 960:1, and color reproduction with 99% sRGB coverage. However, the Omen 17 cannot keep up with very good LED displays, mini-LED screens, or OLEDs.

HP Omen 17: The keyboard is a little different

As usual with Omen devices, this one has a key layout that deviates from the standard. Instead of a numeric keypad, there are nine shortcut keys on the right and a further six on the left. The four arrow keys, which are easily accessible at the bottom right of the test field, have a standard size. However, the Enter key is only single-line.

Typing on the keyboard with optical-mechanical switches is quiet, only the space bar bounces more audibly. However, the pressure feedback of the individual keys could be a little more pronounced.

The touchpad, on the other hand, confirms a mouse click clearly and loudly. If you play with the built-in mouse instead of an external mouse, you will be pleased with the fast and precise mouse movements. The touchpad also quickly implements multi-finger gestures.

In the Omen Gaming Hub, lighting effects can be set for four keyboard zones. For additional RGB effects, the Omen Light Studio program must be downloaded.

HP Omen 17: Battery life

The Omen 17 is clearly a desktop laptop. Weighing over six pounds, it can only be used on the move within your own four walls, especially as the power supply weighs just under another 2.8 pounds and the battery life is under three hours.

HP Omen 17: Benchmarks and specifications

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

When it comes to decently equipped gaming laptops, the price normally hovers around $1,300 to $2,000. Usually, these models have a GeForce RTX 4060 on board. Well, this configurable version of the HP Victus 16 for $1,799 comes with an RTX 4070 and promises better gaming performance in this price range. HP also combines the GPU with a powerful AMD processor.

The 16-inch laptop sits in a sturdy black plastic case. Its RTX 4070 has a TGP of 120 watts, less than the top model of this GPU, which is allowed to draw up to 140 watts in total. With 4,608 shaders, 36 ray tracing cores, and 144 tensor cores, however, it’s better equipped than the RTX 4060. The graphics memory is 8GB in both variants. Like all GeForce 40-series GPUs, the RTX 4070 also supports DLSS 3 with Frame Generation.

The processor is also striking in the Victus 16. HP uses a current Ryzen 7 7840HS. This Phoenix CPU uses eight Zen 4 cores with SMT while other notebooks in the price range of the HP Victus 16 with an AMD CPU usually use the 7735HS. This Rembrandt refresh has eight cores of the predecessor architecture Zen3+.

We performed all tests in “Performance” mode. You set the different modes as well as fan control and keyboard illumination in the Omen Gaming Hub tuning software.

Looking for more options? Check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best gaming laptops.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

HP Victus 16: The perfect combination for high fps

When it comes to 3D speed, the Victus 16 benefits not only from the RTX 4070, but also from the low resolution of its 16-inch display. It only shows Full HD with 1920×1080 instead of WQHD resolution.

In the 3DMark benchmark, the RTX 4070 is on par with an RTX 3080 from the previous generation. The advantage over an RTX 4060 is just under 20 percent in the Time Spy test to just under 30 percent in the Port Royal ray tracing test. However, the gap upwards is considerable. An RTX 4080 is over 50 percent faster than the RTX 4070.

Here’s what’s so striking. In 3D Mark, the RTX 4070 in the HP notebook does not show worse graphics performance than the same model with 140 watts when used on an Intel platform, despite the lower TGP, because with a power-hungry Raptor Lake CPU from the HX series at its side, the Nvidia GPU cannot always exhaust the possible power consumption.

For comparison, a Core i7-13700HX needs around 96 watts for just under 21,000 points in Cinebench R23 while the AMD processor only allows itself 60 watts for over 16,000 points. For a result that is almost 30 percent better, the Intel CPU requires 60 percent more power.

The advantage of a lower resolution is clearly evident in the gaming tests. In slightly older games, the HP Victus always delivers playable frame rates even with maximum details and ray tracing. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider (SOTTR), the notebook achieves 147 fps in ultra-high and 107 fps with activated ray tracing shadows in ultra-quality. In Dirt 5, it is 82 fps and 70 fps respectively in ultra-high and with ray tracing.

In contrast, similarly priced gaming notebooks with the combination of WQHD display and RTX 4060 only achieve playable frame rates of over 60 fps in SOTTR up to the Medium ray tracing level and in Dirt 5 only up to the High detail level.

In Cyberpunk 2077, the Victus 16 achieves playable frame rates in all settings without ray tracing. In Ultra, for example, the HP notebook achieves 87 fps. If you activate ray tracing, it still works well up to the low level with 79 fps, but with higher ray tracing quality, the frame rate drops below 60 fps. With DLSS3 enabled, including frame generation, everything works in Cyberpunk 2077. Even ray tracing overdrive with path tracing can be handled by the RTX 4070 with 75 fps.

Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the first games to support DLSS 3.5 with ray reconstruction. In this version, the upscaling technology uses additional AI computing power to achieve better ray tracing image quality.

Actually, all Nvidia GPUs that support DLSS can use Ray Reconstruction, including 2000 and 3000 series models. In Cyberpunk 2077, however, you have to activate Path Tracing for this function. Its high performance requirements make the game unplayable for most GPUs unless they can use Frame Generation, which only applies to the 4000 series. Even the RTX 4070 in the Victus 16 only manages 46 fps with DLSS Super Resolution without Frame Generation. Only with Frame Generation switched on, the notebook achieves playable frame rates with 75 fps.

In normal gameplay, the improved ray tracing quality is hardly noticeable. Still images, however, show more contrast in shadow areas and a sharper representation of mirrored objects.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

HP Victus 16: Enough cores for almost all applications

Even in system benchmarks like PC Mark 10 and Crossmark, the HP Victus 16 delivers a very decent performance for its price. Only in CPU-heavy applications does it lag behind notebooks with a Raptor Lake from the HX series. The AMD CPU can keep up well with a Raptor-Lake-H. Only when an application uses all CPU cores, like the rendering test Cinebench R23, can the Intel CPUs with 14, 16, or 24 cores clearly set themselves apart from the 8-core AMD processor.

The 1TB SSD from Kioxia with PCIe 4 delivers very high data rates of over 7 and just under 6 GB/s for sequential reading and writing. In the practical test, however, it performs weaker than the current top SSDs from Samsung and WD.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

HP Victus 16: The fans are under control

Under load, the fans in the Victus 16 operate at around 50 dB(A), somewhat quieter than comparably equipped 16-inch notebooks. HP adjusts the fan speed and thus the volume more flexibly than other manufacturers, who couple the processor’s highest performance mode with maximum fan speed. In the Victus 16, the fan occasionally spins up to 54 dB(A) for a short time in the load test, but also reduces the noise gently again without creating a constantly changing soundscape that’s more annoying than loud spinning fans.

HP Victus 16: Good enough picture quality

The Full HD display offers a maximum refresh rate of 144 Hz and a picture quality that is okay for the price range of the Victus 16. Contrast and color reproduction are good. However, the luminance of less than 300 cd/sqm is relatively low. Depending on the game, it’s also annoying that the brightness decreases significantly towards the lower display area.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

HP Victus 16: Fast USB ports are missing

The same applies to the Victus 16’s equipment: it’s adequate, but other notebooks in this price segment offer more. This doesn’t apply to the SSD size, which at 1TB is on the expected level or the communication hardware with Wi-Fi 6 WLAN and Gigabit LAN.

However, the HP notebook offers many, but mainly slow ports. The three Type A ports and the Type C port only deliver USB 3.2 Gen 1 data rates. Thunderbolt 4 or USB 4 with a higher speed are missing. Compared to last year’s model, HP has also omitted a card reader.

There are only two external monitor connections. One with HDMI 2.1 and Displayport 1.4a on the Type-C socket, which can also be used to charge the notebook if you don’t want to take the 230-watt power supply weighing over 700 grams with you. The one positive is that the front camera displays moving images in 1080p.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

HP Victus 16: Keyboard is mediocre, but the touchpad is good

The verdict on the controls is similarly ambivalent: On the right side of the keyboard is a large numeric keypad whose keys are hardly smaller than those in the core area of the keyboard. The Enter key, however, is only single-spaced, and the cursor keys, although easily accessible, are smaller. A poor pressure feedback is annoying when typing and playing games – at least the keyboard is built in stably and is quiet even when typing fast.

In the Omen Hub, you can only set a static illumination in one color for the entire keyboard field. It is only perceptible in the dark; in brighter ambient light, it is hardly noticeable that the keyboard has a colorful background.

The touchpad is more pleasing with a clear pressure point that does not acknowledge a mouse click excessively loudly. The surface offers a pleasant balance between grippy and smooth, for fast yet precise mouse control.

HP Victus 16: Good endurance

For a gaming notebook with a 16-inch display, the Victus 16 is quite light at just over five pounds. That’s light for a gaming laptop, which usually tips the scales at six pounds or more. In the battery test, it lasted just under six hours while WLAN surfing, another good result.

Gaming laptops: How we test

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

For the most part, the 2023 model of the XPS 13 Plus remains largely unchanged from its futuristic predecessor. It still retains the same striking design and high resolution display. However, the latest iteration now comes with the current 12-core CPU from the Raptor Lake generation, the Intel Core i7-1360P. While we had a few caveats, namely with the lack of connectivity and the 720p webcam, there’s still a lot to love. In addition to the boost in processing power, you’re also getting a quietly run laptop with a touch-enabled display. Read on to learn more.

Looking for more options? Check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops available today.

Dell XPS 13 Plus (2023) specs

Dell XPS 13 Plus (2023): Trackpad and keyboard

Using the invisible haptic touchpad takes a lot of getting used to. In fact, we couldn’t get used to it in the testing period. It’s hard to move the mouse pointer over longer distances because you never know where the touchpad begins and ends.

The haptic feedback on a mouse click also seems too slow and too hard. You always have the feeling that you have to press harder to trigger a reaction, although the input field does not move at all, but acknowledges the finger pressure with a vibration.

So it’s better to trigger a mouse click with a short finger tap. In our test device, the touchpad didn’t react reliably. The mouse pointer sometimes stops when your finger continues to move over the touchpad surface, or the touchpad only reacts to a gesture with a delay.

The keyboard, which takes up the entire width of the case, is more comfortable. Its keys are larger than those of other ultrabooks because they are directly next to each other. This makes typing fast and accurate. Only the arrow keys, which are not offset, are annoying to deal with. In bright ambient light, however, the dark grey lettering on the light grey keys is barely visible, even when the keyboard backlight is activated. You should only use it in poor lighting conditions.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Dell also places a bar with touch keys above the keyboard, which you can use to control the volume and brightness, for example, but also to trigger functions like Esc and Remove. As with the entire concept around this futuristic laptop, it has to be acknowledged that this element looks strikingly different, though an ergonomic advantage cannot be discerned.

From the outside, the XPS 13 Plus takes cues from the classic Dell design. The aluminium case is wrapped in elegant silver. It’s also angular with rounded corners and can be opened comfortably with one hand. You have to catch the lid with your fingers, as it does not offer a handy protrusion for lifting.

The lower plastic casing cover can be removed by unscrewing six screws. Only the SSD can be replaced, as the RAM and Wi-Fi module are soldered.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Dell XPS 13 Plus (2023): Perfect color reproduction thanks to OLED

Dell offers the XPS 13 Plus with three display variants. Our review unit has an OLED screen with 3.5K resolution, while the display with UHD+ offers even more pixels. The cheaper models come with 1080p resolution. This display can also be ordered without touch function, the high resolution screens are always touchscreens.

The screen in Dell’s ultrabook also proves its OLED strengths. It’s very strong in terms of color reproduction and contrast and, thanks to the very high dot density of 304 pixels-per-inch, shows many details and scales fonts very cleanly. In addition, the screen surface is very evenly illuminated. Only the brightness of the OLED is not outstanding, even compared to other OLED screens.

The OLED version of the XPS Plus 13 is worthwhile if you often have to deal with graphics and photos in office work or simply want a lightweight notebook with an outstanding display.

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Thomas Rau

Dell XPS 13 Plus (2023): The 12-core is enough for (almost) everything

If you’re constantly handling digital multimedia content, the XPS 13 Plus is less suitable. As a work machine for creators, it lacks computing power.

But for office use, the Core i7 is fully sufficient, especially since it is supported by a fast Samsung SSD. The Dell XPS 13 Plus also handles most demanding tasks quickly and smoothly. Only when particularly high CPU and graphics performance is required, such as when rendering or editing high-resolution videos and photos, can it not keep up with a notebook with a Raptor-Lake H(X) or an Nvidia GPU.

Its compact dimensions also limit the Dell XPS 13 Plus when high computing power is required over a longer period of time. The Core i7-1360P can work at a higher clock rate for longer in a 16-inch laptop, which is why the Dell notebook scores up to 20 percent worse in the CPU test Cinebench R23 with just under 7,700 points, for example.

Even compared to a Core i7 from the frugal U-series with only ten cores, which sits in a 15- or 16-inch notebook, the XPS Plus 13 can barely set itself apart in Cinebench. However, the fans in the Dell notebook are much quieter with a maximum of 40 dB(A) — especially compared to the Kreator notebooks. Nevertheless, they efficiently transport the waste heat out of the case, which does not heat up noticeably at any point.

Compared to the predecessor with a Core i7-1260P (Alder Lake), the current XPS 13 Plus works around ten percent faster, as the Raptor Lake CPU achieves higher clock rates with the same power consumption.

Dell XPS 13 Plus (2023): A lightweight travel companion

The Dell XPS 13 Plus is compact, flat and, at just under three pounds, not heavy. Even the small power supply hardly takes up any space in a backpack or bag. However, if you travel a lot and really have to pay attention to every gram of your notebook, you’ll find even lighter alternatives in the HP Elite Dragonfly and the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon.

The battery lasted just under ten hours on a single charge, which is a solid but not phenomenal result. The high display resolution and the processor from the P-series instead of the more economical U-series pull on the battery, so that the XPS 13 Plus treats itself to about one watt more in battery mode than notebooks without these features.

Dell XPS 13 Plus (2023): Streamlined ports

As with the handling, the XPS 13 Plus puts form before function when it comes to features. There are only two small ports on the case. These are two flexible Thunderbolt 4 ports that also serve for charging, meaning at least one is frequently occupied. Most users will probably not be able to avoid a docking station or adapters due to this scarce connection equipment. Dell includes an adapter for Type A USB as well as one with a mini-jack connection because the notebook does not have an audio jack, either.

The biometric login is more flexible. The XPS 13 Plus has a finger sensor in the power button at the top right and the camera supports facial recognition. However, its video resolution is only 720p.

Bottom line

All in all, this newer version of the Dell XPS Plus mirrors its predecessor. If you’re looking for something special, the Dell XPS 13 Plus is for you: Its chic case and top display make it an ultrabook that’s much more than just a ho-hum work machine. However, the unique streamlined concept is also the sticking point, and you should only opt for the laptop if you can cope with it. Otherwise, the touchpad frustration in office use and limited port selection may spoil the pleasure of the beautiful design.

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

An attack on your Wi-Fi network is not like a bank robbery: Instead of masked robbers blowing open the vault with a loud noise, a hacker inconspicuously approaches the router, searches for weak points and tries out several attack paths. Or he exploits a known security hole by unleashing an attack on the router that has been prepared for this purpose.

Because you never know when and where your router will become a target, you should always ensure that the device is protected against hacker attacks: Increase the protection level of the router with suitable settings so that an attack is too costly for the hacker. And keep yourself regularly informed about security gaps so that you can plug them with firmware updates.

We show you how the most dangerous Wi-Fi network attacks work and how you can protect yourself against them: This means you immediately have the right answer to hacker attacks at hand and can secure your router and home network in just a few simple steps.

Further reading: How to secure your home Wi-Fi network and router

Why hackers attack your Wi-Fi network

To attack a Wi-Fi network, hackers either attack the Wi-Fi connection between client and router or they attack the router directly.

With the first strategy, the attackers want to record data that the devices exchange via Wi-Fi: In this way, they can first guess the Wi-Fi key in order to then connect to the connection or redirect it. In this way, they gain access to sensitive information such as passwords for online banking or online accounts. They can then use these themselves or sell them to other hackers.

In addition, attackers can go online via your internet access to download copyrighted material, for example, or to carry out other criminal acts that cannot be traced back to the hacker, but only to you.

If attackers take over the router, all devices in the network are open to them: They can, for example, manipulate smart home devices that control lights, heating, or the alarm system. In addition, they can reach data on computers or NAS devices in this way, which they encrypt via ransomware in order to extort a ransom.

In most cases, a hijacked router becomes part of a botnet that hackers use to attack other targets, such as internal networks of government agencies or companies. But even if an attack has less ambitious goals, it can be annoying: For example, a neighbor who has the fun of disrupting your network and online connections with a Wi-Fi attack. Or family members who hope to override parental control settings or website filters by gaining unauthorized access to the router.

Deauthentification: The first attack on the Wi-Fi network

IDG

IDG

IDG

This is how the attack works: With a deauthentication, the hacker interrupts the connection between the router and a client. This logoff process is a common and standardized procedure in WLAN: A router, for example, sends a deauthentication message to a client that has not been active in the Wi-Fi network for some time, so that it does not have to maintain this connection unnecessarily.

With band steering or AP steering, the router can also forcibly deauthenticate a client so that it subsequently connects via a faster Wi-Fi frequency or with a repeater that provides it with a better Wi-Fi signal.

In the case of the deauthentication attack, the request to log off does not come from the router, but from the hacker. To do this, he manipulates a corresponding data packet: It contains the MAC address of the router and a client. In addition, the attacker must know the SSID of the attacked Wi-Fi network. If he also finds out the radio channel, the attack is even more targeted.

This is what the hacker wants to achieve: Deauthentication is the basis for most Wi-Fi network attacks. The attacker can, for example, interpose himself when the client wants to reconnect to the router after the forced logoff. The two devices exchange messages with which they confirm to each other that they know the agreed WLAN password without transmitting it directly. Then they define the keys with which the following data transfer is secured (4-way handshake).

With a suitable tool, the attacker intercepts the data traffic during the login, with which he tries to guess the Wi-Fi password. You can read more about how this is done in the section “Brute force attack” below. The Evil Twin attack also starts with a deauthentication attack.

However, the hacker can also permanently interrupt the connection between a client and the router (DoS, Denial-of-Service): To do this, he continuously sends deauthentication packets to the client, which therefore cannot reach the router. In a private network, smart home devices such as alarm systems or surveillance cameras can be paralyzed in this way.

How to fend off the attack: The deauthentication packets are not encrypted, so the attacker does not need a Wi-Fi or network password to send them, but only the Mac addresses and the WLAN SSID, which are easy to find out on a network.

You can prevent this by activating the Protected Management Frames (PMF) function: The easiest way to do this is with WPA3. PMF is a mandatory part of the current security standard. If you switch it on in the router, it also transmits the deauthentication packets with a common key so that the client knows that they actually come from the router it knows.

However, if the client does not support WPA3, this measure will not help you. However, PMF can also be used together with WPA2 on many routers: With the Fritzbox, for example, you can additionally activate PMF if you select the option “Activate support for protected logins of WLAN devices (PMF)” in the menu under “WLAN > Security.”

Brute force attack: How hackers crack your Wi-Fi password

IDG

IDG

IDG

This is how the attack works: All encryption in the Wi-Fi network derives the devices involved in a connection from the WLAN password they know. If, for example, after a deauthentication attack, the attacker cuts the data transfer to re-establish the connection, he can use it to deduce the password.

Usually, this does not happen directly after the interception, but the attacker unleashes a powerful computer with a strong CPU and GPU on the recording, which tries out different passwords in quick succession that could match it. He can speed up this process via an online service that uses several servers for this purpose. Dictionaries, databases with popular passwords, and character combinations serve as the basis for this attack.

In a masked attack, the attacker sets certain defaults that he believes match the Wi-Fi key — for example, that the first letter in the password is written in capital letters or that half of the password consists of numbers. This considerably reduces the effort required to crack the password: For example, guessing a nine-digit password in the form Anton1970 would take several years if the attacker had to try out all possible combinations of letters and numbers. If he speculates that the password consists of a name and a year, he will succeed in less than an hour.

This is what the hacker wants to achieve: If the attacker knows the Wi-Fi password, all doors in the home network are open to him. For example, he can infiltrate his own clients to gain access to other home network devices and shares. In addition, the entire data traffic can then be recorded without encryption.

How to fend off the attack: The above example clearly shows that the longer and more complicated a password is, the more difficult it is to crack. Therefore, you should definitely avoid predictable words or numbers such as name, address, year of birth, etc. in your Wi-Fi password. Special characters also increase the complexity of the password. In this case, a shorter password with eight to 12 characters is sufficient, but its components of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters are chosen completely randomly — for example z9!qO6+B§.

Also important: Do not use the password for another login, for example to an online account: If the provider of the account is hacked, the stolen passwords usually turn up quickly on the internet, and a network attacker can then use them for a brute force attack.

Further reading: Best password managers in 2023

Evil Twin: If the hacker places a false access point

Foundry

Foundry

Foundry

This is how the attack works: You are particularly at risk for this attack in a public Wi-Fi network. But this attack is also possible at home. The hacker sets up a router or access point that uses the same SSID as the regular router. This can easily be found out via a network scan. An attacker can proceed in a similar way with a honeypot attack: To do this, he offers WLAN in a place that has no internet access, but where this is not immediately noticeable: For example, if he sets up a fake access point with the SSID “Pizzeria” in an Italian restaurant.

Both attacks can easily be carried out with a notebook or smartphone, as long as the client that connects can also access the internet via it. The attacker increases his chances of success if he places the false access point in such a way that it offers a better signal strength than the real one. He can also use a deauthentication attack to get clients to log off from the real access point and then connect to the fake one. With an unsecured Wi-Fi network, the hacker does not have to do anything else. If there is a Wi-Fi password, the attacker could present the client with a manipulated login web page when trying to connect in order to retrieve the password.

This is what the hacker wants to achieve: With the Evil Twin, the hacker can monitor the client’s entire data traffic — for example, the entry of passwords for online banking or shopping. Since this attack is usually not noticed immediately, the hacker has enough time to record enough data.

In addition, he gains access to the client to search for sensitive files or to install malware that gives him more possibilities to control the device.

This is how you can protect yourself: In principle, you should not do anything on a public Wi-Fi network that requires you to enter an important password. If this is necessary, you must make absolutely sure that you establish an encrypted connection to the corresponding site: You can recognise this by the fact that the web address begins with https://.

The best protection against attacks in a public Wi-Fi network is a VPN that connects you to your router at home: This encrypts all data that you send via the public WLAN.

Further reading: The best VPN services in 2023

You should also avoid using Wi-Fi networks that do not require a password. It is also best to switch off the client so that it automatically connects to known WLANs: Otherwise, it will automatically contact every access point within range that uses a known SSID — even if it is a false one. Deactivate the automatic WLAN registration on a Windows notebook if you are in a public hotspot. This increases protection against an Evil Twin attack.

Router attack: How hackers exploit security gaps

This is how the attack works: The router is the most important device in your Wi-Fi network and therefore an attractive target for hackers. Many models facilitate these attacks through security gaps in the firmware: In most cases, it is based on Linux, which is why router manufacturers do not program all the functions themselves, but also rely on numerous open-source programs that may contain bugs.

In addition, some manufacturers fail to replace or remove from the firmware outdated firmware modules that are no longer maintained by programmers. These gaps allow attackers, for example, to have program commands executed on the router, as it does not check or filter these manipulated inputs. This can instruct the router to execute prepared scripts that give the attacker comprehensive control. Depending on the firmware gap, an attacker must be connected to the router via Wi-Fi or remote access to do this.

This is what the hacker wants to achieve: By means of a security hole, the attacker can completely take over the router in order to change settings or switch off security functions. In many cases, this serves to ensure permanent but unnoticed access to the router menu. The attacker can make the hijacked router part of a botnet with which he attacks other networks, for example, via a DoS attack or to send spam messages.

How to protect yourself: Regularly check whether new firmware is available for your router. It is also a good idea to regularly check important security websites that report on router vulnerabilities and to visit the support pages for your router model.

TP-Link

TP-Link

TP-Link

Remote attack: Access to the router via the internet

This is how the attack works: Many users have set their router so that its settings can also be accessed from the internet. Therefore, hackers can also find these routers with a network scan, because remote access usually takes place via standard ports, such as port 443. Similar to cracking the Wi-Fi password, the attacker then tries to find out the access information — for example, via a brute force attack.

This is what the hacker wants to achieve: In the menu, the hacker changes settings that give him control over the router. In this way, he can integrate it into a botnet or redirect the online access of Wi-Fi clients to a manipulated server, for example, by storing corresponding DNS settings: In this way, passwords can be tapped or malware can be infiltrated into the home network.

How to protect yourself: It is best to activate remote access to the router only when you absolutely need it. It is absolutely important to have a strong password for logging into the router menu.

The router should also be able to offer to set up a user account for remote access that is different from the one for local access.

For additional security, an IP address range can often be defined: Only devices with a matching IP address can then access the router menu remotely at all. Many routers also lock the menu after a certain number of failed logins or extend the time period after each failed attempt until someone is allowed to log in again.

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

MacBooks and Windows laptops used to have more in common than they do today: An Intel processor was at the heart of both mobile systems. Since November 2020, Apple has equipped its laptops with its own system-on-a-chip—the M1, which was followed by the M2 about a year ago.

This made the differences that have always existed between MacBooks and Windows notebooks even more obvious. But each platform has certain advantages and disadvantages that can be decisive for a purchase decision. Here the most important reasons why you should prefer a Windows laptop, while our friends at Macworld have a companion list of the reasons you might want a Mac.

Further reading: See our roundup of the best laptops for top picks at all price points.

1) Huge range of software for Windows laptops

You can really do everything with a Windows laptop: Because there is suitable software for every purpose—from productive programs for work, study, and school to creative applications in the multimedia field; from robust databases to smart mini tools with few functions.

Thanks to this large selection, you can choose among several alternatives within each software category. Take Office programs, for example: You can go for Microsoft 365, but also try Libre Office, Open Office, Softmaker Office, and other programs with similar functions. (We’ve got a roundup of the best free Office suites available.)

The same applies to security tools and actually every other software area. Last but not least, most programs that are central to MacBooks, such as Adobe software for multimedia editing, are also available for Windows notebooks.

best budget PC laptop

Acer Aspire 3

Read our review

Best Prices Today: $299.99 at Amazon

That’s why you’re not locked into one software source with a Windows notebook: Microsoft may like to direct you to its own store in Windows, but you can also download and install programs directly from software manufacturers that run smoothly on a Windows laptop. In addition, there is a huge range of free Windows programs based on open source or as freeware.

Gamers in particular should definitely go for a Windows notebook: Those who have higher demands than browser games will get a wide selection of current games from the most diverse categories there.

best midrange gaming laptop

ROG Zephyrus G14 (2022)

Read our review

2) Large selection of different models

Apple’s MacBooks cover the most important display sizes from 13 to 16 inches and performance classes: But there is always only one model series for one area of use. With Windows laptops, on the other hand, you can choose from a wide range of suppliers and notebooks—whether you’re looking for an ultra-mobile lightweight for travelling or need a large screen and high performance for photo and video editing.

So find the device that perfectly suits your needs without having to compromise.

Because of this wide range, there are also Windows notebooks for which no MacBook alternative exists—because they are lighter, smaller or larger, for example: The Microsoft Surface Pro 8, for example, weighs less than 2 pounds, and the Dell XPS 13 and the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon each weigh less than 2.75 pounds. This means they undercut the MacBook Air in terms of weight.

Size is not a problem either: If you need a lush screen, go for a Windows notebook with a 17- or 18-inch display. Especially creative workers who work intensively with photos and videos will find optimal models with class-leading display technology, such as the MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V with a Mini-LED screen, or the spacious 4K Dell XPS 17.

best ultraportable

Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320

Read our review

Best Prices Today: $1,698 at Amazon

Apple undisputedly sets design trends with the MacBooks that other manufacturers follow, but Windows PCs can also go the extra mile in their designs. Take, for example, the Asus Zenbook Pro 14 Duo, which combines two touchscreens in one case. Indeed, there are no Apple notebooks with even a single touch-enabled display, to say nothing of convertible and 2-in-1 form factors, such as the Lenovo Yoga 9i. If you want to operate an Apple mobile device with your finger, you have to reach for the iPhone or iPad.

With Windows laptops there is a large selection of devices with touchscreens that you can control flexibly with a tap of your finger on the display as well as via the touchpad and keyboard.

Most touchscreen laptops are convertibles: With them, the screen can be folded onto the keyboard via a 360-degree hinge, so that you hold a tablet in your hands, which you then operate as usual via the touchscreen. These devices also support pen input for writing, drawing, and painting: So you get the functions of a notebook and tablet in one device.

best touchscreen laptop

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9

Read our review

Best Prices Today: $989 at Amazon

And, of course, Apple completely ignores one huge target group: gamers. They absolutely need a Windows laptop: Only here can you get a powerful GPU—usually from Nvidia—that can display current games in complete graphic splendor. Here, too, they benefit from a huge range of models with different features and in different price ranges. (See our roundup of the best gaming laptops to learn more.)

3) Windows notebooks are cheaper

The large selection of Windows notebooks has another advantage: You are guaranteed to find a Windows laptop that is significantly cheaper than a MacBook or offers better features at a similar price.

The currently cheapest MacBook Air—as of August 2023—is currently available starting at $999 (and features the last-gen M1 CPU). But you can easily find a Windows notebook, such as the Acer Aspire Vero 14, for $100 less that features more CPU cores, more memory, and a bigger SSD.

Even creative professionals who have to spend a lot of money for top performance can save at least a little with a Windows notebook.

best macbook alternative

HP Dragonfly Pro

Read our review

4) Windows notebooks are easier to upgrade and repair

Windows notebooks are not only cheaper to buy, but also in the long term: Most models are easy to upgrade and repair. For example, you can easily install a larger SSD if you run out of storage space, upgrade to additional, faster RAM if performance drops, or replace the Wi-Fi module if the wireless connection fails.

This allows you to use your Windows notebook longer and you don’t necessarily have to buy a new device.

With almost all Windows notebooks, the SSD can be exchanged and replaced with a larger one, as current laptops use the standardized M.2 slot for this purpose. Larger laptops in particular offer a second M.2 slot for an additional SSD. With many models it is just as easy to change the RAM by removing the SO-DIMM bars and inserting new ones.

Only in flat ultrabooks is the LPDDR RAM often soldered directly onto the board. The Wi-Fi module is also often replaceable because, like the SSD, it sits in an M.2 slot.

In current Macbooks, however, the RAM and SSD are soldered to the circuit board and cannot be exchanged and replaced by the user with larger and faster memory. Replacing the battery is also complicated. No wonder repair experts like ifixit.com criticize MacBooks for this.

Tuning enthusiasts also have an easier time with a Windows notebook: gaming notebooks in particular are equipped with additional tools and UEFI functions for overclocking, which can be used to get more performance out of them.

best 16-inch gaming laptop

Asus ROG Zephyrus M16

Read our review

Best Prices Today: 2699.99 at Asus

5) With a Windows notebook you need fewer adapters—or none at all

Admittedly, this advantage of Windows laptops over MacBooks is narrow: Both now rely mainly on the flexible Type-C port with Thunderbolt to connect peripherals.

To connect multiple devices via one cable, such as USB storage and monitors, you definitely need a suitable docking station. Many flat ultrabooks, like the MacBook Air, have no ports other than an audio jack in addition to Type-C. On larger and more powerful notebooks, you will also find HDMI and a card reader—this applies to Windows models as well as the MacBook Pro.

However, most Windows notebooks still offer at least one USB type A socket: This is surprisingly helpful in everyday life because you can quickly connect a stick or an external hard drive without having to look for an adapter.

Gaming notebooks also almost always have an Ethernet port with Gigabit or 2.5Gbit speed—the best option for a fast and stable network connection. Business users looking for a notebook with a built-in LTE or 5G module or companies that want to secure device access via smart card also need a Windows notebook.

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

A Wi-Fi standard is like a blueprint for technology companies. It defines the specifications according to which Wi-Fi routers and networking gear transmit wireless data to PCs, smartphones, and more. Each standard intends to achieve two goals: Faster Wi-Fi speeds for every connected device and a smooth connection to as many devices as possible.

The new Wi-Fi 7 (with an official name 802.11be Extremely High Throughput) aims to achieve this by building on the groundwork of the last two WI-Fi standards and extending them. From Wi-Fi 6, it borrows functions such as OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing) and BSS Coloring, which ensure that even in very large networks every device can transmit data without delay. Wi-Fi 6E also contributes the 6 GHz transmission frequency, which enables Wi-Fi WLAN speeds.

The advantages of Wi-Fi 7 are already wooing device manufacturers; many companies already offer Wi-Fi 7 devices on the market. Some, such as AVM in Germany, are even skipping Wi-Fi 6E and immediately opting for Wi-Fi 7 in new products.

We explain the advantages of the new Wi-Fi 7 standard, present the first devices, and say for whom and when the switch to 802.11be will prove worthwhile.

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

Intel

Intel

Intel

The advantages of Wi-Fi 7

The IEEE standardization body has been working on Wi-Fi 7 since 2019. The new standard is scheduled to be ready in May 2024, but manufacturers of Wi-Fi chips and the routers, repeaters, and modules equipped with them aren’t waiting for the official release. The first Wi-Fi 7 products are based on a highly developed preliminary version of Wi-Fi 7, and the manufacturers will deliver details that are still changing via later firmware updates.

Wi-Fi 7 is compatible with the predecessor standards so you can be sure that all existing devices in your home network will connect to a new router. In many cases, it also provides faster speeds for Wi-Fi connections than Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 5 because it uses better antennas or more powerful hardware than your current router.

Every new Wi-Fi standard promises faster data transfers and more stable connections: These improvements seem more urgent than ever because even in private homes, more and more devices rely on a powerful wireless network — not only mobile ones like smartphones and notebooks, but also PCs and peripherals as well as devices for smart homes, TVs, and audio systems.

And all those connected devices need ever greater bandwidth for current and future applications; to be able to use an internet connection with gigabit speed or more without breaking, for example, or for uninterrupted video calls in the home office and the wireless connection of AR and VR glasses. Fast, low-latency Wi-Fi also enhances cloud gaming or virtual collaboration on large files in real time.

To achieve all this, Wi-Fi 7 offers a comprehensive set of tools: Wider radio channels, more and faster MIMO streams, as well as numerous features that ensure that many devices transmit simultaneously without interfering with each other.

More space: 6 GHz with 320 MHz channels

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IDG

IDG

As with Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 7 allows devices to use a third frequency for wireless transmission: In addition to 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies, they also operate at 6 GHz. Since only a few Wi-Fi products have been designed for this frequency so far, a 6 GHz connection usually runs without interference and thus faster.

Wi-Fi 7 accelerates the 6 GHz frequency by allowing radio channels with 320 MHz over this frequency — twice as wide as the 160 MHz channels over 5 GHz, and thus twice as fast. Devices for the European market can use a single 320 MHz channel because the EU has only released the frequency range from 5945 to 6425 MHz for 6 GHz wireless. In the USA, the spectrum is wider at 5925 to 7125 MHz, which is why three Wi-Fi connections with a 320 MHz channel can transmit side by side over 6 GHz without interference.

An advantage of the European solution? Since no other radio technologies operate in this frequency range, a Wi-Fi 7 router can use 6 GHz without restriction and does not need DFS (Dynamic Frequency Selection).

Routers with Wi-Fi 7 must support a channel bandwidth of at least 160 MHz over 6 GHz: This means that three Wi-Fi products can transmit simultaneously on this frequency without interference, even in Europe. At 5 GHz, only two 160 MHz channels are possible — if a router supports this channel bandwidth at all.

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IDG

Wi-Fi 7 transmits up to 46 GBit/s

The speed of a Wi-Fi connection depends primarily on the number of data streams (MIMO streams) going from the transmitter to the receiver. With Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6, there are a maximum of eight per frequency; Wi-Fi 7 offers twice as many. This results in a theoretical transmission rate of around 46 GBit/s if a Wi-Fi 7 connection uses 16 MIMO streams and a 320 MHz channel over 6 GHz — almost five times as much as with Wi-Fi 6.

Don’t expect to see other Wi-Fi 7 devices try to hit those maximum throughput speeds, however; even with Wi-Fi 5 and 6, manufacturers did not develop routers with eight streams per frequency. Some providers claim that their top models support eight or even twelve streams. Similar to advertised Wi-Fi speeds, however, this information refers to the sum of the streams over all frequencies — for example, in the case of a tri-band router with four streams each for 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz frequencies.

In practice, this information is irrelevant, because wireless transmission between two devices only takes place over one frequency, not simultaneously over several. So far, in any case, because that too is changing with Wi-Fi 7 — more on that later.

IDG

IDG

IDG

As with previous Wi-Fi standards, the top routers for Wi-Fi 7 therefore support a maximum of four MIMO streams per frequency, and notebooks and smartphones will mostly be equipped with Wi-Fi modules that use two MIMO streams.

Compared to similar Wi-Fi 6 devices, however, the new Wi-Fi 7 products can be more than twice as fast in the best cases. For one thing, they can use the 320 MHz channel over 6 GHz, which is twice as wide. In addition, Wi-Fi 7 works with the improved 4096-QAM modulation. This allows data that passes over the radio link to be packed more tightly, which increases the transfer rate. A MIMO stream from Wi-Fi 7 therefore also works faster than a Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 5 stream with the same channel width.

But the higher the modulation, the better the radio quality must be for the tightly packed data to arrive reliably. Wi-Fi-7 devices can therefore only use 4096-QAM in practice under optimal conditions and at short distances.

Top routers with Wi-Fi 7 manage a maximum data rate of 11.5 GBit/s with four MIMO streams (4×4) and the 320 MHz channel. In contrast, the fastest routers with Wi-Fi 6 achieve only up to 4.8 GBit/s with 4×4 MIMO and 160 MHz channel.

Wi-Fi 7 clients in smartphones and notebooks achieve a similar speed advantage. They work with 2×2 MIMO streams and a 320-MHz channel, which results in a maximum data rate of 5.8 GBit/s. That’s more than twice as much as the 2.4 GBit/s of Wi-Fi 6 clients with 2×2 and a 160-MHz channel.

Multi-Link Operation

With Multi-Link Operation (MLO), Wi-Fi 7 debuts a completely new feature never been seen before in any Wi-Fi standard.

MLO overrides a basic rule that used to apply to every Wi-Fi transmission: data transfer between two devices takes place via exactly one connection (link), i.e. a specific radio channel on a specific frequency.

If, for example, you have given the Wi-Fi connections over 2.4 and 5 GHz different names on a dual-band router, you can only select one for a client like your notebook, although both radio networks establish a connection between the same devices — router and notebook. This also happens if the client only displays a Wi-Fi SSID because you’ve activated functions such as mesh or band steering in your router. In this case, the router decides whether the link to the client is via 2.4 or 5 GHz.

IDG

IDG

IDG

With MLO, both devices can establish multiple links at the same time. Two tri-band devices, for example, then communicate in parallel over the frequencies 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz. To use MLO, both devices must support this function.

Then they can send data simultaneously over all links to increase the overall Wi-Fi speed. Alternatively, MLO reduces latency and stabilizes the Wi-Fi connection because the devices can flexibly switch to the link with the least interference. If the sender sends the same data over each link, it arrives at the receiver with greater reliability and without interference. If router and client have several radio units, they can also send and receive data simultaneously via MLO: The router then sends data via 5 GHz to the notebook, for example, which in turn sends other data to the router via a 6 GHz link.

Multi-RU: Wi-Fi even more efficient

If the Wi-Fi on your smartphone or PC seems slow, this is often not because it cannot transmit faster, but because it should not transmit faster. That’s because Wi-Fi transmission only takes place when the radio channel is free: the devices fight for access to it, and whoever doesn’t get it first has to wait. Since these waiting times are only fractions of a second, this is hardly noticeable for extensive downloads, normal web surfing, or sending e-mails.

On the other hand, it becomes problematic if many Wi-Fi devices in your home network always have to transfer only small amounts of data, but in the shortest possible time — like for for video calls, for online gaming, for smart home devices, or for working together on files via Teams, One Drive, or Google Docs.

Wi-Fi 6 already addressed this problem with the OFDMA function: This allows the router to divide the radio medium into small units — so-called resource units (RU) — which it assigns to different clients. With this, it transmits data to several clients at the same time to make efficient use of the Wi-Fi connection. Think of it like a mail-order company that doesn’t deliver orders from three customers in three barely filled trucks, but packs all the orders into one truck.

Wi-Fi 7 improves OFDMA with multi-RU: Routers with the new standard can then assign more than one RU to individual clients. This increases the transfer rate for these clients and the radio channel can be used even more efficiently.

Power-saving Wi-Fi operation

Devices with a battery or rechargeable battery can use a wireless connection even more economically with Wi-Fi 7. Here, too, the new standard extends a function of Wi-Fi 6: 802.11ax introduced the Target Wake Time (TWT), which the router uses to agree on fixed transmission times with mobile devices. They must only be reachable at this time. Otherwise, they remain in the power-saving sleep state.

Wi-Fi 7 introduces the Restricted Target Wake Time to ensure that the radio channel is always free for transmissions that absolutely must take place at a fixed time. It stipulates that only the designated client may transmit at this time, all others must vacate the radio channel.

New routers with Wi-Fi 7

To be able to use the numerous innovations packed into Wi-Fi 7, you need fresh hardware — i.e. routers and repeaters with Wi-Fi 7 as well as notebooks and smartphones that have a suitable radio module. Numerous manufacturers have announced routers and mesh systems for Wi-Fi 7, and you can already buy some. The available offerings will increase significantly by the end of 2023, including for repeaters as well as notebooks and smartphones.

Switching to Wi-Fi 7 is particularly worthwhile if you rely on high Wi-Fi speeds– for gaming, for example, but also if you frequently transfer large amounts of data in your home network for backups or video editing. Since Wi-Fi 7 also makes Wi-Fi transfers more stable, devices with the new standard are also a good choice if you have a home network with a large number of Wi-Fi clients or want to cover a large home wirelessly.

Last but not least, a router with Wi-Fi 7 is also a prerequisite for bringing online connections beyond the gigabit limit into your home network without restrictions: Most models have a WAN connection with 2.5 or even 10 GBit/s for this purpose.

TP-Link router with Wi-Fi 7

IDG

IDG

IDG

TP-Link announced seven mesh systems and routers with Wi-Fi 7 earlier this year, and two models are already available: The $700 Archer BE900 is a quad-band router that can establish four Wi-Fi connections over 6 GHz, twice 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz. It can use four MIMO streams on each frequency, which allows data transfers with up to 11.5 Gbit/s over 6 GHz, just under 5.8 Gbit/s each over 5 GHz, and just under 1.4 Gbit/s over 2.4 GHz.

Its two 10-GBit ports can be used for wireless or LAN connections; you can equip one with an adapter module (SFP+) to connect a fiber optic cable for internal networking. Other extras include an LED display that can show the time, Wi-Fi speed, or self-created graphics, among other things, as well as a small touchscreen that shows visitors the QR code for accessing the guest Wi-Fi network.

The $900 Deco BE85 is a mesh system for Wi-Fi 7 with two base stations. Each has two 10-GBit and two 2.5-GBit connections, which can be used for Wi-Fi connections to a modem, for LAN connections to home network devices, and for direct connections between the stations (backhaul). Wi-Fi transfer takes place via four MIMO streams per frequency (6 GHz, 5 GHz, 2.4 GHz), resulting in maximum data rates of around 11.5 GBit/s, 5.8 GBit/s and 1.4 GBit/s respectively. According to TP-Link, the high-end mesh system achieves around 9 GBit/s over the 6 GHz link in practice, provided the stations use the 10 GBit link for backhaul. TP-Link also promises a firmware upgrade in autumn that will upgrade the smart home standard Matter.

The Deco BE85 will be followed by cheaper TP-Link mesh systems, such as the Deco B75 and the Deco BE65. Both are tri-band systems. The B75 uses four MIMO streams over 6 GHz and two over the other frequencies, while the BE65 uses two MIMO streams for all three frequencies and uses Wi-Fi 6 instead of Wi-Fi 7 over 2.4 GHz.

IDG

IDG

IDG

TP-Link also offers two top routers with tri-band support and four MIMO streams each: the $600 Archer BE800 and the Archer GE800 with additional settings for gamers. Less expensive will be the Archer BE550, which also transmits over three frequencies, but only with two MIMO streams each. According to TP-Link, all routers with Wi-Fi 7 support the Easy-Mesh standard: this allows a mesh Wi-Fi network to be set up even with Wi-Fi routers from different manufacturers.

Wi-Fi 7 routers from Asus and Netgear

Asus’ first two Wi-Fi-7 routers, the ROG Rapture GT-BE98 and RT-BE96U, are aimed primarily at gamers and network professionals who want to benefit from higher WI-Fi speeds. Both use all three frequencies with four MIMO streams each, and thus come to maximum data rates of around 11.5 (6 GHz), 5.8 (5 GHz) and 1.4 GBit/s (2.4 GHz).

The GT-BE98 gaming router offers four LAN ports with 10 GBit/s, the RT-BE96U two, and both also have four gigabit ports each.

Netgear’s Nighthawk RS700 Wi-Fi 7 router also aims for maximum speed, with three frequencies and four MIMO data streams each as well as two 10-GBit ports.

Smartphones and notebooks with Wi-Fi 7

Asus

Asus

Asus

The advantages of Wi-Fi 7 can only be fully utilized if your client devices support it, too But you still have to be patient.

There are already some high-end smartphones available with suitable hardware for Wi-Fi 7, such as the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, the Asus ROG Phone 7, and the OnePlus 11.

They use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, which understands the new standard. That said, until recently, Wi-Fi 7 was not activated on any smartphone. Some manufacturers promise to activate the new standard soon via firmware upgrade, while others haven’t committed to doing so. The range of Wi-Fi 7 smartphones will increase by the end of the year, as CPU manufacturer Mediatek has also announced Wi-Fi 7-compatible hardware in the form of the Dimensity 9200.

The first notebooks with Wi-Fi 7 should also be available for purchase at the turn of the year. Intel will probably present a suitable Wi-Fi module together with its 14th Core generation Meteor Lake processors, possibly under the model name BE200.