Category: Laptop

Microsoft prepares to launch Surface Book 3 and Surface Go 2

Microsoft is getting ready to unveil its Surface Book 3 and Surface Go 2 hardware. Recent retailer leaks have hinted that Microsoft is planning to use Intel’s latest 10th Gen processors on the Surface Book 3, alongside potentially up to 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. Rumors also suggest that Microsoft is switching to Nvidia’s Quadro graphics chips in some Surface Book 3 models. The switch will mean the Surface Book 3 will better cater to 3D animators, designers, and engineers who rely on the power of Quadro graphics cards that are optimized for a number of pro apps instead of gaming.

Microsoft is also preparing a Surface Go 2, a successor to its popular smaller tablet. Retailer leaks have also hinted that Microsoft will be offering a model with an Intel Core m3, alongside the typical Intel Pentium Gold processor option. Windows Central reports that the Surface Go 2 will also include a larger display at 10.5 inches, with slightly smaller bezels that are more similar to those found on the Surface Laptop 3.

The exterior size is said to be the same as the original Surface Go, though, so existing accessories and the Type Cover from the Surface Go will work on the Surface Go 2. The Intel Core m3 model will also reportedly include 8GB of RAM, 128GB storage, and an optional LTE connectivity.

Microsoft is planning to unveil its new Surface hardware next month, according to sources familiar with the company’s plans. Those plans could change due to the pandemic, but Microsoft has been working toward these new devices for quite some time.

AOC CU34G2X Review: 34 Inches, 1440p, 144Hz, Less Than $500

If you’ve been in the market for an ultrawide but don’t want to give up your resolution or refresh rate, AOC might just have the answer. The CU34G2X is 34 inches, 1440p, 144Hz, and tops it off with adaptive sync, all for less than $500. But is there a catch? I’ve spent more than two weeks using it as my daily driver and have the answer — and the results may surprise you. This is our review. 

Specifications

Current Price: $449

Monitor color: Black Red

Monitor size: 34 inch

Resolution: 3440×1440

Refresh rate: 144Hz

Response time (mprt): 1 ms

Panel type: VA

Backlight: WLED

Aspect ratio: 21:9

Brightness: 300

Contrast (dynamic): 80M:1

Pixel pitch: 0.23175

Active Screen Area: 797.22 x 333.72

Viewing Angle (CR10): 178/178 º

Colors: 16.7 Million

Bezel type: Frameless

Connections Signal input: HDMI 2.0 x 2, DisplayPort 1.4 x 2

DisplayPort Version: 1.4

USB Input: USB 3.2 (Gen1) x 4

Audio output: Headphone out (3.5mm)

Curved screen: Yes

Whats in the box HDMI Cable: 1.8 m

Displayport Cable: 1.8 m

Power shuko c5 Cable: 1.8 m

Ergonomics Swivel: -30°±2°~+30±2° °

Tilt: -5±2°~+23±2° °

Ergonomic height amount: 130mm

Base removal 

Vesa: 100×100

Power Power supply: Internal

Power Consumption On: 37W watt

Power Consumption Standby: <0.5W watt

Warranty period: 3 Years

Ask anyone who games on an ultrawide and they’ll tell you the same thing: it’s a game-changer. The extra screen real estate makes a huge difference in how immersive games feel to play, especially if the monitor has a curve like the AOC CU34G2X. Game support has also ticked up so much that I haven’t found a major game to be unplayable or poorly scaled in quite a long time. The wider space also works wonders for content creation — 16:9 feels downright cramped in Adobe Premiere now!

The AOC CU34G2X comes to market at $449 and offers an impressive set of specs. This is a full 1440p ultrawide (3440×1440) that also features deep 1500R curves and fast 144Hz refresh rate. On top of that, the panel actually comes in with a greater color depth than originally reported when the two monitors in this line were announced. Instead of being limited to 8-bit color depth, a quick dip into the Nvidia Control Panel shows that you can actually set it to 10-bit, Full RGB without needing to lower any other settings. That’s impressive and also a bit curious; why wouldn’t AOC by selling this more? I have an unproven idea, which I’ll get to in a little bit.

The CU34G2X uses a VA panel, which I’m happy to see. VA panels tend to represent a nice middle ground between TN and IPS displays, balancing out color and response time. The display is certified to cover 119% of the SRGB color spectrum and 88% of the Adobe RGB spectrum. It also features a 3000:1 contrast ratio, which is typical of VA gaming panels. In fact, the CU34G2X comes pre-calibrated from the factory and AOC includes a certification sheet right in the box. It’s a nice touch that I liked seeing. I would still lean toward a dedicated IPS panel for professional content creation due to its improved color accuracy, but the results here are great for gaming and work well for hobbyist content creation. 

That said, I found the display to be a bit dim out of the box with the factory calibration. To achieve proper calibration, the brightness needed to be set at about 60%, which was too dim for my liking. Thankfully, it supports multiple profiles, so for gaming I can opt for a bright and vibrant preset and for photo or video editing, I can swap to a flatter, more accurate profile. 

AOC quotes the monitor as having a 1ms response time, which is competitive with some of the fastest TN monitors used in eSports tournaments. I don’t have a way to test that personally, but our colleagues at PCMonitors.info found a response time just over 5ms, even with Adaptive Sync turned on. That figure matches up with my own selection of tests. Running the monitor through Lagom’s Response Time Test, I observed minor color shifting in the top two boxes, which is indicative of minor, but present, latency in light to dark shifting and vice versa. Likewise, the Test UFO Ghosting Test showed minor trails akin to other 4-5ms gaming monitors I’ve tested, like the Massdrop Vast (my previous daily driver). 

As you can tell from the picture above, turning the Overdrive setting to Medium definitely helped. The CU34G2X also features a Motion Blur Reduction setting which achieves a very similar effect. Turning it onto strong resulted in artifacting, so I left it on Medium. During games, I wasn’t able to observe any ghosting whatsoever. 

The panel itself is incredibly spacious. The 34 inch screen size is generous and is more than enough room for immersive gaming or even mimicking having a dual monitor setup. You can resize windows to fill each half, but the display also supports Picture in Picture (PIP) and Picture By Picture (PBP) to monitor two video sources at once or use a single display for your gaming PC and console, for example. It also adopts the “frameless design” which trades big plastic bezels for a quarter inch of black space around the picture and succeeds in making the monitor feel more generous. 

The CU23G2X also supports HDR content within windows and even within a picture setting. This is another feature that AOC isn’t upselling but is clearly part of its core design. Turning on HDR locks out many customization settings, like color balance and contrast, but each can still be adjusting using Nvidia and AMD’s control panels if you choose. That said, peak brightness tops out at 300-nits and without local dimming, this isn’t a “true” HDR experience.

Still, I turned it on, left it on, and am happy it’s there. Why? Number one, there is some behind the scenes manipulation going on that saturates colors in games and plays with contrast in a way that elevates the experience. Second, being able to enable HDR in Windows brings up whites in a way that not only makes them more crisp but makes the whole screen feel brighter. It’s not “true” HDR, but it’s better than SDR any day of the week. As an added extra you find only after plugging in? It’s an unexpected extra.

Having tested several of these monitors and researched many more, I can also say that this combination of features has historically been fairly rare. 300-nits brightness is fairly standard, if a bit brighter, than last generation’s 34-inch ultrawides. 144Hz, Freesync, and even having the option for HDR are definitely improvements over what the monitor industry offered for this price even one year ago. For a display of this size, you can’t expect the world without paying a hefty premium, but the trade-offs in picture quality and brightness are really fairly minor for all that you’re actually getting. 

Around the back, you’ll find two DisplayPort 1.4 connections and a pair of HDMI 2.0s. There’s also a headphone jack (no speakers) and four USB connections for your peripherals. The yellow USB port also supports fast charging for your modern smartphone. The stand is decent and offers height, rotation, and tilt, and snaps in place without the need to screw it into the panel. It also supports the VESA 100 mounting standard if you’re rather put it on an arm or third-party stand.

Usage Impressions

So let’s get into the heart of this review: what is it like for gaming? 

Before having the CU34G2X in for testing, I had been using the Massdrop Vast, which is very similar on paper. It’s also a curved, true 1440p monitor, if slightly larger at 35 inches. It featured an identical peak brightness of 300-nits and also had FreeSync/G-Sync support. The big difference was in refresh rate. The Vast was capped at 100Hz while the AOC peaked out at 144Hz. I expected a modest upgrade. 

Comparatively, the CU34G2X has turned out to be a much better monitor. The hidden benefits of 10-bit full RGB color and HDR were immediately elevating. It also proved to have a higher consistent brightness across the board, which allowed the display to offer better vibrancy and pop. Most importantly, the jump to 144Hz was a big jump and easily the high point of the whole experience.

Gaming on the CU34G2X is smooth and fluid. The bulk of my testing was with Doom Eternal and it perfectly exemplified why a high refresh rate is worth paying extra for. The frenetic, demon slaying action was a perfect match for the monitor. Using my 2080 Ti, the sense of motion and flow were definitely enhanced. The CU34G2X offered the best ultrawide experience I’ve ever had under $500. For gaming, it’s a bargain winner.

A Strange Problem That Seems to Be Solved

BUT… and this is a big but, it wasn’t without one major flaw which may now be a thing of the past. About once every 45 minutes, the screen would go black for 1-2 seconds before flashing back on. This was incredibly frustrating. In doing some research, I found that I wasn’t alone and it seemed to be related to G-Sync and its 48-144Hz default range. I believe that because disabling G-Sync completely removes the problem. But, that also makes the monitor much less appealing for gamers with Nvidia graphics cards. Instead, I followed a suggestion and tweaked the range to 52-144Hz. Small enough where I never noticed it and the problem was suddenly solved for my gaming. Strangely, it continued to happen in large Zoom conference calls of 15-20 people. 

I’ve heard G-Sync. I’ve heard that it’s related to Low Framerate Compensation and how Nvidia’s drivers interpret that. I’ve wondered if it could be related to bandwidth over DisplayPort. I can’t say for sure. 

What I can say is that, as of today, that problem appears to be fixed with the latest Nvidia driver update. I’ve set the G-Sync range back to stock and haven’t had it happen at all since and I’m going on six hours of straight use without a single flash. I will update this review should the flash come back.

Final Thoughts

The AOC CU34G2X wasn’t without its issues. The brightness is a little low at 300-nits, and that flashing would have warranted an RMA if it didn’t seem to be fixed. With it seeming to be eliminated, however, the CU34G2X becomes one of the best ultrawides you can buy under $500. Full 10-bit color, HDR support, and 144Hz at 3440×1440 makes for an outstanding gaming experience. 

When it comes to ultrawides, you should go in with your eyes open. True, 1000-nit HDR is going to be incredibly expensive when it’s finally available. The same is true with FALD. Even jumping to 400-nits is will cost hundreds of dollars more. Given the low cost of the CU34G2X, I can accept some growing pains and a bit less brightness. 

Overall, though I’m not more pleased than ever with the flashing issue seeming to be gone, I would still recommend Nvidia users wait a few days. Should it resurface, I will update this review and its score. If it doesn’t, at least in my case, a simple driver release was all that was needed to correct it. 

LENOVO CHROMEBOOK DUET TABLET LISTINGS SHOW UP AT MULTIPLE RESELLERS

We’re not the most patient folks around the Chrome Unboxed office. The day the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook launched, Robby made the 45-minute drive to the nearest Best Buy that had it in inventory and was back at the office by lunch. As excited as we were for the Galaxy, there is another device that we have been chomping at the bit to get our hands-on. The Lenovo Chromebook Duet could very well spawn the rebirth of the Chrome OS tablet and our hands-on time in Las Vegas left us wanting more. In case you missed it, here’s a closer look at the wallet-friendly premium tablet.

We have been waiting, impatiently, on word from Lenovo about an official release date for the Duet but as of today, mum’s the word. That doesn’t deter us from daily searching the web and Lenovo’s data site for some sign of this Chromebook that we’d give our eye teeth to have. Well, today we struck paydirt. I was about to take a quick break for lunch when I decided to give a Google search for the Duet another try and my effort was rewarded. I discovered the actual model number for the Lenovo tablet and a search for that number quickly returned multiple listings for the Duet tablet from multiple resellers. These aren’t seedy third-party listings either.

Among the sellers, I discovered an Amazon US and Canada listing. While still listed as “temporarily unavailable,” this listing is legit and all the official specs and photos are in place. This is a good indicator that an official release is just beyond the horizon. Investigating further, I found listings from Provantange and Connection IT. Both are large-volume resellers of IT products including a wide variety of Chrome devices. These listings are actually “live” and will allow you to place an order for the Duet. They do prompt you that the tablet is out of stock but you can place an order an secure your place in line for when it is made available.

What’s even more surprising is the list price on the latter two sellers. The Duet was announced with a retail price of $279 but Provantage and Connection IT is listing it for just under $250. Now, there is no mention of the included keyboard in the listing but I don’t know if that means anything. I was to understand that Lenovo was selling the Duet with the keyboard and no one said anything about a tablet-only configuration. If you’d like to keep tabs on the listings or even go ahead and place a pre-order, we’ve added the Lenovo Chromebook Duet to the Chrome Shop for easy location. I did speak with someone at Connection IT who stated that the Duet has been in their system for about three weeks and that it’s roughly about a month before they see actual inventory updates. So, we may be a mere week or two out from actually seeing the Duet out in the wild.

Microsoft’s Surface Go 2 passes through the FCC

The second iteration of Microsoft’s Surface Go tablet is on its way, and it just passed through the FCC. You can check out the filing here (spotted by WinCentral), and the product is only known as Portable Computing Device; however, the hardware version is listed as EV2, which is the same as we’ve seen from some Surface Go 2 leaks.

As for what to expect from the Surface Go 2, it’s going to be very similar to the original, as second-generation Surface products tend to be. Historically, it’s the third generation where the real change happens, as we’ve seen from Surface Pro 3, Surface 3, and Surface Laptop 3.

The Surface Go 2 will likely be mostly a spec bump. We’re expecting the base model to include an Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y, which is a modest bump from the Pentium Gold 4415Y we saw in the original model. But rather than being from the Kaby Lake family, the new model is from the Amber Lake family.

There’s also a higher-end model expected that will include a Core m3-8100Y, which is also from the Amber Lake lineup. It’s a much more expensive part though, costing about 65% more according to Intel’s listing. This version might be reserved for businesses.

The Surface Go 2 is expected to be announced soon, alongside the Surface Book 3.

MSI’s new laptops include 10th-gen Intel CPUs and RTX Super graphics

MSI is refreshing its gaming laptop lineup, including its popular GS Stealth and GE Raider series computers, to add Intel’s new 10th-generation Comet Lake mobile processors and the new Super variants of NVIDIA’s RTX mobile GPUs. In all, there are 12 new models to pick from, and, depending on the model, you’ll be able to max it out with either a Core i9 or Core i7 processor. Similarly, you can configure several of MSI’s new laptops with the RTX 2080 Super. 

Intel’s new 10th-generation chips feature mostly modest improvements over their predecessors. They have higher turbo frequencies by up to 500MHz and support for 2933MHz DDR4 RAM. In some situations, those enhancements should lead to performance improvements, but probably not the 50 percent gains MSI is touting. The big thing here is Intel is still manufacturing these chips using a 14nm process, whereas AMD has moved to a much more efficient 7nm process for its Ryzen 4000 series CPUs. 

Similarly, NVIDIA’s new Super series laptop GPUs aren’t a huge change from the already excellent RTX cards you could buy inside of notebooks last year. Both the RTX 2080 Super and RTX 2070 Super have additional CUDA cores compared to their non-Super counterparts but feature slower boost clock speeds. However, they include NVIDIA’s new Dynamic Boost and Advanced Optimus technologies. The former can lead to better performance in some instances. 

Besides new internals, there a couple of other smaller updates. To start, the GE66 Raider and GS66 Stealth include new higher capacity 99.9Wh batteries — which is the biggest battery you can take on a plane. They’ll now also come with 300Hz Full HD display option. Considering you can equip both the GS66 Stealth and GE66 Raider with an RTX 2080 Super, a GPU that’s overkill for 1080p gaming, you may actually be able to play some games at 300 frames per second to take advantage of the display’s refresh rate. MSI will also sell the GS66 Stealth in a new matte “Core Black” color that’s more subdued than the black and gold finish found on the GS65 Stealth.

However, the highlight of MSI’s refreshed lineup is the Creator 17. The company claims the Creator 17 is the world’s first laptop with a Mini LED screen, a relatively new display technology that has some of the same benefits of OLED for significantly less money. On paper, there’s a lot to like about the display. It’s a 17-inch 4K screen with a peak brightness of more than 1000 nits, 100 percent DCI-P3 coverage and HDR 1000 certification. Engadget Senior Editor Devindra Hardawar got a chance to see the Creator 17 at CES 2020. At the time, he said the display looked “brighter than any laptop I’ve ever seen.” You’ll be able to pair the Creator 17’s display with a GeForce RTX 2080 Super and Core i7-10875H processor. Like with its gaming laptops, MSI is also refreshing the Creator 15M and 17M with Intel’s new 10th-generation Comet Lake chips and NVIDIA’s new RTX Super cards. 

You’ll be able to purchase all of MSI’s new laptops starting on April 15th. 

Dell accidentally leaks images of new XPS 15 and 17

When it comes to Windows laptops, Dell’s XPS 13 is the laptop to beat. But the XPS 15 and XPS 17 are exciting upcoming releases as well, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see them officially announced in the coming weeks. That’s because — if a new leak from a Reddit user is to be believed — Dell has accidentally leaked an image of the upcoming XPS 15 and XPS 17 on the Precision laptops section of its website.

We expected Dell to refresh the XPS 15 alongside its 13-inch counterpart, but this is also our first look at the larger XPS 17, which we’ve been hearing rumors about for almost a year.

The image appears to have been removed, but thankfully the eagle-eyed u/WesolyKubeczek took a screenshot. Take a look.

The laptops on the right side appear to be the 2020 XPS 15 and XPS 17, while the bottom two appear to be upcoming additions to Dell’s Precision line. Look closely at the picture and you’ll see why: the laptop on the left (which is half open) has a numpad, which XPS models haven’t had in the past. The Precisions’ ports are also closer to the front of their chassis, while the 15’s and 17’s ports are at the rear (the XPS’s logic board is closer to the back of the device to accommodate its sizable battery). Plus, the Precisions are much thicker.

Regarding specific specs, the image doesn’t provide any shocking information, but it does confirm some things we already suspected. The most notable thing that’s missing is a single USB-A port on either of the XPS configurations in this picture, a choice that’s growing more common among high-end compact models (Dell already removed USB-A from the 2020 model of the 13). I also don’t see anything that looks like a Dell-proprietary power port, meaning these will likely charge exclusively by USB-C.

The photo does, however, show a full-size SD card slot on the 17, and what appear to be upward-firing speakers on both sides of the keyboards. The 15’s trackpad looks bigger than that of its predecessor, as do the arrow keys. And they both look pretty nice, with a (nearly) bezel-free design reminiscent of the powerhouse 13.

But what’s mostly exciting about this leak is that it indicates Dell is gearing up to officially announce these devices — so keep an eye out for that.

The 2020 Dell XPS 13 Is As Close As We’ve Come to Laptop Perfection

Dell is running into a real issue with the XPS 13, though in this case, it’s a good problem. Over the past couple of years, Dell has tweaked and refined its flagship 13-inch laptop to the point that we thought last year’s model was practically perfect. And now, Dell has released the new XPS 13 9300 with a more useful 16:10 screen, a larger touchpad and keycaps, slimmer bezels, and even better performance. At this point, the new XPS 13’s only significant shortcoming is that it has just two USB-C ports instead of three, though in return you do get a built-in microSD card reader. Pretty soon, Dell isn’t going to have anything left to improve, and even though this new XPS 13 isn’t completely flawless, there’s no doubt it’s the best ultraportable on the market.

In terms of design, the XPS 13 9300 is actually a tiny bit heavier and slightly smaller than the previous model, but the differences are so minute that even when holding both at the same time, it’s hard to tell. Around the edges of the laptop, Dell has opted for a shinier anodized finish that adds a bit of sparkle to the system without crossing the border into “Look at me!” territory.

You also get two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 3 (one on each side) for transferring data and power, along with a headphone jack on the right and a new microSD card slot on the left. Typically, I like when laptops makers add built SD card readers on laptops, though on something like the XPS 13 whose main duty probably won’t be editing photos and videos, I think most people would prefer a third USB-C port instead—especially considering one USB-C port will usually be reserved for charging.

Speaking of charging, I appreciate that Dell includes two different plugs for the XPS 13’s 45-watt power brick: one is a compact plug that you can jam right into the wall, while the other is a three-foot extension for when you need a little extra reach. However, with a battery life that lasted 9 hours and 59 minutes on our video rundown test, there’s a good chance you can make it through most or maybe all of your workday without actually needing to plug in. That time is half an hour better than what we got from the previous XPS 13 (9:26) and nearly three hours better than HP’s Envy 13.

Up top, Dell has also stepped up to a new 16:10 display (from the 16:9 panel it was previously using) which might not sound like much, but gives the XPS 13 a much-needed boost in vertical screen real estate. At the same time, Dell kept the XPS 13’s tiny webcams (which includes an IR camera for Windows Hello face login) while also decreasing the bezels around its 13.4-screen to the point that they are practically non-existent. Actual web cam image quality could be a tiny bit better, but it’ll more than suffice for all everyone stuck working from home right now.

For years, Dell has been talking about its Infinity Edge displays, but until now, there was always one side that was way fatter than the others which served as a strange disconnect between promise and reality. But for 2020, Dell has really delivered and the pay off is an extremely thin and sleek system with a screen that’s seven percent larger than before.

On our $1,750 review model sporting a Core i7-1065G7 CPU, 16GB of RAM and 512GB m.2 NVMeSSD, we also got a lovely 1920 x 1200 touch display (with a peak brightness of 429 nits), but depending on your budget you can go for a less expensive non-touch FHD+ display or a more premium 3840 x 2400 UHD+ panel. That said, I would probably stick with the FHD+ touch display, as the increase in resolution doesn’t have as big of an impact on a 13-inch display as it would on a larger 15-inch system.

And despite the 2020 XPS 13 having smaller dimensions than before, it also has a 17 percent larger touchpad and slightly larger keycaps that deliver excellent bounce and key travel. And in light of Apple recently switching back to scissor switches on its new MacBooks, Dell not messing with the typing experience is something I’ve come to appreciate even more. One small critique I have though—and I realize I may be reaching a bit— is that the backlighting on the XPS 13’s keyboard appears a bit uneven. Normally, something like that would barely even register as a complaint, but when there’s so little to nitpick and after seeing what a lot of gaming laptops makers are doing (including Alienware), I know there’s room for improvement.

For performance, the XPS 13 ain’t no slouch either, as pretty much across the board, the XPS 13 beat out its competitors on both benchmarks and real-world tests including WebXPRT 2015 for measuring browser performance, Handbrake for video editing, and Geekbench 4 for overall metrics. And even when you’re really pushing it, the XPS 13 generally delivers stable performance, with the fans only whining a bit under full load.

Admittedly, there are a couple of more enterprisey options that you won’t find on the XPS 13 like the built-in privacy screen found on some Lenovo and HP laptops or optional vPro CPUs, but for everything else, the XPS 13 is simply the best 13-inch ultraportable laptop you can get right now. Yes, depending on the config it can be a bit pricey and I wish it had just one more USB-C port. But the XPS 13’s excellent build, iconic design, and strong performance is the result of years of polish, and now like its anodized aluminum sides, Dell’s 13-inch flagship laptop is really shining.

README

The XPS 13 supports both face and fingerprint login via Windows Hello (its power button doubles as a fingerprint reader).

Dell includes a handy USB-C to USB-A adapter in the box, along with two adapters for its power brick that allow you to adjust its length.

The XPS 13 9300 only has two USB-C ports (down from three on the previous model), but in exchange you get a built-in microSD card slot.

If you’re not down with the white fiberglass deck, the XPS 13 is still available in classic carbon fiber too.

Hands-On with the Lenovo Yoga C740

Lenovo’s Yoga C740 is an affordable premium convertible PC that comes in both 14- and 15.6-inch form factors. I’ve been using the smaller version for the past few weeks during our stay-at-home order—thanks, Coronavirus!—and the 15-inch version arrived the other day. So here are some thoughts from my hands-on experience.

Design. The C740 provides a premium all-aluminum design that I find to be both modern and attractive. (Both versions are available in Iron Gray, but the 14-inch can be had in Mica as well.) Its curved rear pieces provide a unique look that is nicely offset by the device’s strong hinges, and they make it more comfortable to carry. As a convertible PC, the C740 supports multiple versatile usage modes—like tent mode, stand mode, and tablet mode—in addition to the standard laptop-style clamshell mode.

Display. The C740’s IPS displays are wrapped in small bezels and provide a Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution in a 16:9 panel with roughly 300 nits of brightness. The displays do support both multi-touch and active pen support, and they are exactly what one should expect at this price point. The 15-inch version can be had with an optional HDR 400 glossy display that is much brighter and offers wider viewing angles and Dolby Vision capabilities, albeit at the same Full HD resolution. But I find both versions to be bright, crisp, and colorful.

Components. The Yoga is powered by a 10th-generation Intel Core i5 -10210U or i7-10510U processor with Intel UHD Graphics, 8 or 16 GB of RAM, and 256 GB to 1 TB of PCIe-based SSD storage.

Noise and heat. Both versions of the C740 exhibit noticeable fan noise, but it is especially prevalent in the 15-inch version.

Connectivity. Connectivity is pretty standard for 2020, with Intel 9560 802.11AC (2 x 2) and Bluetooth 5.0. There is no cellular data option.

Ports. The 14-inch version of the C740 provides two USB-C 3.1 ports on the left and one full-sized USB 3.1 port on the right; the 15-inch version adds a second full-sized USB 3.1 port on the right. Both portables are powered by USB-C and ship with a 65-watt Lenovo power brick. There is a headphone jack on the left, and a large power button on the right. Lenovo places the power button there so you can access it no matter which usage mode you’ve configured.

Keyboard. Lenovo is usually near the top of the pack when it comes to keyboard quality and typing experience, and the C740 is no exception, with its backlit, scallop-shaped keys. However, the 15.6-inch version of the C740 provides a full numeric keyboard in addition to the standard keyboard; I’m not a big fan of this design because it offsets the most-often-used keys to the left, and many keys are actually smaller than on the 14-inch. The numeric keypad is small and easy to hit by mistake.

Touchpad. The Yoga provides a small, glass precision touchpad that is fast and accurate, and works well with multi-touch gestures.

Active pen. The C740 does not include an active pen, but it is compatible with the $70 Lenovo Active Pen 2, which provides 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and three buttons, but no tilt support.

Sound. Thanks to its dual Dolby Atmos speakers, the C740 provides a configurable spatial sound experience that works well across movies and music. (The 14-inch version has upward-facing speaker grills, but sound on the 15-inch version appears to come up through the keyboard.) Overall, the sound quality is decent.

Unique hardware features. Lenovo has outfitted the C740 with its secure Match-On-Chip fingerprint reader, which has been speedy and reliable in my tests. The webcam is lackluster, quality-wise, and it doesn’t provide Windows Hello facial recognition. But in the good news department, there is a small privacy shutter you can use to prevent unwanted access of the webcam. The C740 also provides dual far-field microphones so that you can interact with Amazon Alexa or Cortana from up to 12 feet away.

Portability. Lenovo claims that the 14-inch version provides about 13 hours of battery life while the 15.6-version is rated at up to 15 hours. I haven’t been able to test the battery life satisfactorily, sorry, but I expect the real-world figures to be about half that. In the good news department, its Rapid Charge capabilities allow the C740 to be charged to 80 percent in one hour. As for weight, the 14-inch version arrives at 3.09 pounds, which is at the upper-end of the weight range for this class, probably because of its sturdy all-aluminum design. The 15.6-inch version weighs 4.19 pounds and, yes, it feels as heavy as expected.

Software. The Yoga ships with Windows 10 Home version 1909 and I don’t believe that Pro is available, even as an option. Crapware volume is pretty low: Lenovo provides only a handful of its own utilities, but Lenovo Vantage, which provides software updates, has already spammed with upgrade offer notifications. And Lenovo still bundles McAfee on its PCs, software that I consider to be a crime against humanity.

Pricing and configurations. The 14-inch Yoga C740 starts at $900, while the 15.6-inch version starts at $860; both can quickly rise to about $1100 with processor, RAM, storage, and display upgrades. But both are likewise always on sale for less than those prices. Best Buy, for example, is selling the 14-inch review unit right now for $800. These are reasonable prices for the design, performance, and flexibility provided by the C740 in either configuration.

Recommendations and conclusions. With its modern, premium design and affordable pricing, the Lenovo Yoga C740 is a viable alternative to PCs costing hundreds more. I expected to love the 15.6-inch version, but the numeric keypad gets in the way of reliable typing, making the 14-inch version the more obvious choice in my opinion. Either way, the Yoga C740 is a solid choice and a great value.

At-a-glance

Pros

Modern, premium design

Affordable

10th-generation Intel Core i5 and i7 processors

Excellent fingerprint reader

Privacy shutter for webcam

Cons

The numeric keypad gets in the way on the 15.6-inch version

Fan noise

A bit of crapware

ASUS Launches ROG Strix XG27WQ Curved 165Hz Monitor: FreeSync Premium Pro Certified

AMD’s FreeSync Premium Pro certification promises quite a lot when it comes to features and quality, but unfortunately there are less than a dozen of such displays available on the market today. Thankfully, that market will be getting one more entry courtesy of ASUS, who recently announced its second FreeSync Premium Pro monitor, the ROG Strix XG27WQ. Touting support for superior capabilities, the 27-inch monitor is one of the most feature-packed FreeSync Premium Pro monitors to date, and it promises to be less expensive than some of its larger rivals.

The ASUS ROG Strix XG27WQ monitor relies on a curved 27-inch VA panel with a 2560×1440 resolution. All together, the monitor offers a peak brightness of 450 nits, a 3000:1 contrast ratio, 178°/178° horizontal/vertical viewing angles, a 1 ms MPRT response time, and a 165 Hz maximum refresh rate. The LCD offers one DisplayPort 1.2 inputs and two HDMI 2.0 to connect to its host and also has a dual-port USB 3.0 hub along with a headphone output.

AMD mandates FreeSync Premium Pro (previously FreeSync 2) monitors to support a wide variable refresh rate range (48 – 144 Hz or 48 – 165 Hz in case of the XG27WQ), feature Low Framerate Compensation, be capable of low-latency tone mapping to the monitor’s native color space, meet HDR brightness and and contrast requirements roughly equivalent to DisplayHDR 500, and reproduce at least 90% of the DCI-P3 color gamut (92% in the ROG’s case). The capabilities of the ASUS ROG Strix XG27WQ monitor actually exceed AMD’s requirements, which makes it a rather potent choice for gamers.

In addition to VESA’s Adaptive-Sync/AMD’s FreeSync VRR, the display also supports ASUS’s Extreme Low Motion Blur (ELMB) that makes fast-paced scenes look sharper even when a variable refresh rate technology is enabled. The ROG Strix XG27WQ also supports a variety of genre-specific game modes, ASUS’s Shadow Boost feature to make dark scenes look brighter, and enhancements like crosshair overlay for easier targeting in FPS titles.

Since we are dealing with an ASUS ROG-branded monitor, the model Strix XG27WQ not only features a stand that can adjust height, tilt, and swivel, but also one that has Aura Sync addressable RGB lighting as well as a projector that projects a logotype onto the table below.

Finally, it’s worth keeping in mind that ASUS sometimes formally introduces its products well ahead of their actual release date. As things currently stand, the company has not revealed anything about an actual launch date or pricing for ROG Strix XG27WQ, so it remains to be seen when the monitor will actually hit the streets.

CHUWI AEROBOOK PRO 15.6 PERFORMANCE TEST VIDEO

CHUWI AeroBook Pro 15.6 laptop is live on Indiegogo now and this new model features a 15.6-inch 4K screen, powerful Intel i5 processor, full-metal body, 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD combination. With a decent price of $500, it has raised more than 210,000 dollars in a week. To satisfy the curiosity of many supporters, CHUWI released the AeroBook Pro 15.6 review video, which shows the detailed information about its hardware and software.

AeroBook Pro 15.6 features a 15.6-inch 4K screen, resolution up to 3840*2160. It can bring a delicate and clear visual experience when watching 4K videos. Meanwhile, the powerful processor makes it play 4K high bit rate video smoothly. 

Equipped with powerful performance the laptop performs well in the benchmark test. It has a single-thread score of 341.4 and a multi-thread score of 964.4 in the CPU-Z test. In the GeekBench test, the single-core scores reach up to 4102 and multi-core scores reach up to 8149. Meanwhile, it comes with 256GB SATA SSD storage, continuous reading and writing speeds can reach 470.86 MB/s and 410.26 MB/s respectively.

With 8GB LPDDR4 large memory, AeroBook Pro 15.6 can run more office software in the background. It can display clear text and bring comfortable visual experience with a 15.6-inch 4K screen and full-size keyboard, which makes office work more efficient.

AeroBook Pro 15.6 can deal with video editing efficiently and run large software such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere Pro smoothly. Powerful performance can increase productivity. Built-in Intel Iris Graphics 550 graphics card, core graphics operating frequency can reach 1.1GHz, it performs well in graphic processing. Meanwhile, it can suit daily work and entertainment perfectly. 

From the above information, AeroBook Pro 15.6 features a 15.6-inch 4K screen, which can bring an amazing visual experience. Meanwhile, hardware configurations also perform well. It can suit office work and other scenes perfectly. With great configurations and a decent price of $600, it can be a cost-effective laptop for users to buy. Meanwhile, users participate in the activity on Indiegogo can get a 25% discount with the lowest price reaching $509. More information about the model of course available on the official website.