Reviews Of Laptops And 2-In-1 PCs
Laptop PCs and 2-in-1 convertible tablet/laptop devices are the cornerstone personal computing systems for getting both work and play done on the road. From the big gun firepower of gaming laptops and desktop replacement machines, to ultra-lights and hybrids, we've got you covered here for what's hot in mobile computing.
When Acer debuted its Predator Helios 300 laptop line a little over a year ago, it quickly garnered praise for delivering an unexpected level of gaming performance for the price. At the time, the Predator Helios 300 came equipped with an assortment of hardware that could typically be found only on more expensive laptops. As such, we've had multiple requests to get our hands on one of the newer models and give it a full review. Well, for those who asked (and those who didn't), that's exactly what we're doing here. This past summer, Acer refreshed its Predator Helios 300 with an upgraded display...
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There's a wide range of ultra-premium laptops on the market at the moment. However, many of them are simply out of reach for the average mainstream consumer due to budget constraints. There are more budget friendly options though, such as the Acer Swift 3 we are looking at today. The base model in the series starts at a thrifty $650 USD, and that gets you an Intel 8th Gen Core i5-8250U processor, a 14-inch FHD display, and a 256GB SSD. Along with that premium hardware, the exterior also features a sleek brushed aluminum chassis and its display sports relatively thin bezels. The model we were...
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NVIDIA's Max-Q technology has only been on the market for about a year, but in that time quite few OEMs have jumped on the bandwagon. And for good reason. Max-Q is, or wants to be, the answer to a problem that has plagued mobile gamers since the first gaming laptop was birthed, spanked, and shipped off into the real world. We are, of course, talking about size. Bigger is not always better, especially in the mobile computing market. Most gaming laptops are bulky, heavy, and short on battery life. With Max-Q, NVIDIA is looking to change this by focusing on what they call the sweet spot when it comes...
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The Dell XPS 15 should look familiar if you're a regular HotHardware reader. We’ve seen various iterations of this power-users’ mobile PC over the past few years, usually with an Editors’ Choice logo pegged at the end of the review. The latest version keeps that winning streak alive, thanks to new, more powerful six-core Coffee Lake-based Intel Core processor options and robust NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics. As in previous generations, this new model is all about the upgrades, and the big news this time around is a selection of Coffee Lake 8Th Gen Intel Core i5, i7, and...
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Although they are well known overseas, those of you that live in the United States are probably not as familiar with a little company called Huawei. The thing is, it isn't little, and it has been around for quite a while. In fact, Huawei has been around since 1986 and is actually the largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer in the world. As of 2018 they are also the second largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, second only to Samsung. Huawei pushed Apple into third place earlier this year by taking a 15.8% stake in the worldwide market. That's impressive seeing as just three years...
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Gamers are willing to spend more on PC hardware than the average consumer, but at the same time, they are a knowledgeable and discerning bunch who understand exactly what it is they are getting for their hard-earned buck. They also follow market trends and appreciate a good value when one comes along. Dell is likely hoping that is what gamers will see in its recently introduced G Series laptops. And after spending some hands-on time with the new G7 15 Gaming, we think the Round Rock crew might be on to something. As the model name suggests, the G7 15 Gaming is a 15.6-inch laptop. It sits atop...
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HP's EliteBook series laptops launched back in 2008 to general success, and a decade later it remains one of HP's top-selling thin and light laptop lines. To celebrate 10 years of that success, the company decided to completely redesigned their business class powerhouse notebook to cater to today's changing workforce. When first launched, baby boomers were still a force in the corporate world. Fast forward a decade, and many of those boomers are living out their golden years on the golf course, with millennials making up nearly half of the mainstream workforce in the United States currently. To...
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Had someone asked us a year ago what we thought the top laptop brands would be heading into the summer of 2018, one name that would probably not have been mentioned is Huawei. It's not that laptops are a foreign product category to the Chinese manufacturer, it is just that Huawei is better known here in the U.S. for its smartphone lineup. It would be a mistake to overlook Huawei's new MateBook X Pro, however. Cutting right to the chase, the MateBook X Pro challenges the notion that you have to pay a hefty premium for a high-end ultraportable, one that brings all the bells and whistles that you...
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When Microsoft and Qualcomm announced "Always Connected" Windows 10 PCs back in late 2016, it was revealed that the first shipping systems would be powered by the Snapdragon 835 processor. The first generation of convertibles laptops have shipped from the likes of ASUS, HP and Lenovo with that processor platform on board, but a new generation will soon be upon us and today out at Computex, Qualcomm has unveiled new silicon technology to enable them. Powering this new breed of devices will be Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 850 Mobile Compute Platform. The Snapdragon 850 is a dedicated SKU that will only...
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Mobile device manufacturers seem to have really stepped things up in the engineering department since the arrival of the Microsoft Surface. After racing to the bottom with netbooks for a time, things turned around, and we’ve seen an influx of high-quality systems using premiums materials. We've seen gorgeous designs from ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo, especially in standard clamshell form factors. However, no one seemed to crack the code when it comes to the detachable form factor where the Microsoft Surface Pro shines. There have been some solid offerings in the space, no doubt, but the Surface...
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The ThinkPad line of notebooks has a long, storied history, from its beginnings as an IBM product, to Lenovo's continued refinements and improvements, generation over generation. ThinkPads are well known, often sought after products, especially by business-class road warriors, due to their no-nonsense design language, excellent keyboards, and reputation for reliability. In addition, ThinkPads have had one other thing remain consistent over the years -- a glorious little red nub, called a TrackPoint or pointing stick, that remains faithfully nestled between the G and H keys. For some it's...
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We have covered Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Yoga series since its inception, and while the company might only be on its 3rd generation machine, what's under its hood is what might be thought of as four generations of advancement since then. Of course we are speaking of the 8th Gen Intel Core-i5 8250U quad-core mobile processor on board the new Thinkpad X1 Yoga. What makes this chip different from its predecessor, is it has 4 psychical cores now and supports Hyper-Threading, all within the same 15W power envelope. At just 15W the Core i5-8250U doesn't require hefty thermal solution and large...
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Dell’s XPS 15 2-In-1 is a unique hybrid convertible, premium ultrabook in a couple of respects, partly because of its high quality Dell XPS series machined aluminum and hybrid carbon fiber construction, along with its beautiful 15-inch, 400 nits, near bezel-less Dell Infinity Edge display. However, the machine is also powered by a unique processor that marks the first collaboration of its kind by two archrivals in the PC processor arena, both Intel and AMD. Otherwise known as Kaby Lake G, the new Intel 8th Gen Core Series with integrated AMD Radeon RX Vega M graphics is a potent hybrid...
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Dell has been hard at work updating its notebooks with Intel’s latest 8th Gen Core processors, and we’ve already seen the fruits of their labor in the premium XPS 13. It’s now time for the business-oriented Latitude notebooks to get a taste of Kaby Lake R, so here today we have the Latitude 7390 2-in-1 on the test bench, ready to be put through its paces. The XPS 13 impressed us with incredible performance, even showing inter-generational gains using the same chip between late 2017 and early 2018 models, thanks to an improved thermal solution among a few other tweaks. The Latitude...
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