Category: Laptop

MacBook Pro 13-Inch (2019) Under Stress: Heat, Fan, And Noise Control

When the 13-inch MacBook Pro is running hot here are some ways to keep that extra heat under control.

I’ve been splitting my time between the new 16-inch MacBook Pro (late 2019) and the 13-inch MacBook Pro (mid-2019). One critical difference is how the two MacBooks dissipate heat.

My unscientific but practical litmus test is how hot the palmrest gets. The bigger (and newer) MacBook generally doesn’t get hot, even under larger workloads. The much smaller, more-thermally-challenged 13-inch, however, needs a little help sometimes.

The MBP 13 CPU load in my case is, in order of the biggest heat triggers: (1) running an LG UltraFine 5K display at 5,120-by- 2,880 resolution, (2) intermittent live video news feeds, (3) 15 to 20 active Chrome tabs, and (4) productivity stuff (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneDrive, and/or photo editing).

The single biggest trigger is the LG UltraFine 5K. But it’s the use of the LG UltraFine in combination with other software that gets the MacBook hot.

Problem: On larger workloads (delineated above) the 13 MBP palmrest often gets too hot to work with comfortably. In other words, my hand is sitting on metal that’s radiating temperatures between 95 and 105 degrees F.

The heat can vary depending on what I’m doing and other variables that, frankly, are a bit of a mystery. Sometimes Apple’s built-in thermal management works. Sometimes it doesn’t — again, a mystery on why Apple’s thermal management comes up short in some cases.

Solution: I’ve tried various fixes but the one that has been most consistently effective for me is Mac Fans Control. The program allows you to set CPU core temperature fan triggers and upper CPU core temperature limits. Or, alternatively, you can set custom RPM (revolution per minute) values.

The bottom line is, Mac Fans Control can bring down palmrest temperatures in some cases. Temperatures can drop enough that I can work comfortably for longer periods with large workloads.

Other solutions: there are other, simpler ways to fix overheating.

—A simple reboot sometimes does the trick because that will jettison background processes that may be unnecessarily gobbling up CPU cycles. This can be surprisingly effective. But it’s hardly a permanent fix.

—Or switching browsers: while all browsers are resource hogs, Chrome is notorious for the “Google Chrome Helper” that appears very conspicuously in Apple’s Activity Monitor utility eating up processor cycles and ratcheting up CPU core temperatures. This is not necessarily a permanent fix, though.

—Or you could also invest in a cooling pad — which is one of the most popular traditional fixes.

—Or opt for the 16-inch MacBook Pro which, based on my testing so far, handles bigger workloads just fine.

Noise: when the MacBook Pro 13 is doing something like video streaming or running a dozen or more Chrome tabs, the fans get active — even without a program like Mac Fans Control. But the fans do kick in a little earlier with Mac Fans Control than they would otherwise. That said, fan noise doesn’t bother me because it is barely audible and the duration is short.

Not for everyone: As a disclaimer, the Mac Fans Control program is not meant for everyone. Also, you run the risk of overtaxing your fans if you max out the settings — among other possible risks including breaking the warranty.

But I would also argue that a program like Mac Fans Control is necessary for users like me. Apple didn’t do its homework when, for example, the MacBook Pro 13 is hooked up to LG’s UltraFine 5K display (which Apple sells at its Apple Store — both online and physical stores). In short, some professional workloads break Apple’s thermal modeling. After all, the reason you purchase a MacBook Pro — with “Pro” being the operative word — is to run Pro-level software.

Anyway, proceed with caution. That’s what I did.

Lenovo IdeaPad S540: AMD is now the obvious choice

With the Ryzen 5 3550H, AMD has an APU on offer that while identical in construction to the Ryzen 5 3500U, is able to maintain its performance level for longer thanks to a higher TDP. Since the clock rates remain unchanged, both CPUs achieve the same initial results in a Cinebench R15 run. However, the performance of the Ryzen 5 3550H degrades much less over time, resulting in a better long-term performance.

Since Lenovo has made it a habit to fine-tune its own laptops to the installed CPUs, the IdeaPad S540-13API performs great. The cooling solution is more than capable of ensuring that the Ryzen 5 3550H maintains stable clock rates. Under moderate stress, a consistent clock speed of 2.6 GHz is feasible.

Aside from the raw CPU performance, the IdeaPad S540 can take full advantage of the integrated graphics unit AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 thanks to 16 GB of dual-channel RAM. This configuration is not only sufficient for image and simple video editing but also for some games.

Our criticisms relate to the exterior and particularly the glossy screen and the poor port selection. Since charging the 13-inch laptop further reduces the amount of available USB Type-C ports, users do not have a whole lot of ports left. We also would have liked to see a card reader.

In conclusion, Lenovo has made exactly the right choice with the AMD Ryzen 5 3550H, which outperforms many competing laptops.

This fast Alienware gaming monitor with G-Sync is on sale for $340

Since your monitor is the portal to actually using your PC, it makes sense to invest in a good one. Of course, the best gaming monitor for your needs depends on how you use your PC, and if ultra-fast framerates is your thing, check out this deal on the Alienware 25 (AW2518H).

This isn’t very big at 24.5 inches, and the resolution stands at just 1920×1080. However, that makes it easier on your hardware to utilize the rapid native 240Hz refresh rate it offers, making this a great choice for less demanding esports games (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive comes to mind). And as for the size, not everyone has the space for a hulking display.

As you might have guessed, the AW2518H is built around a TN panel (240Hz refresh rates are no longer the exclusive domains of TN displays, but IPS monitors are much fewer in number). Compared to a typical IPS display, TN panels have tighter sweet spots and lower color gamuts, so keep that in mind.

While professional photographers will want to look elsewhere, competitive gamers have reason to zero in on this one. It has a 1ms response time to facilitate quick reactions, and is built for speed and smooth gameplay. To that latter point, it supports Nvidia’s G-Sync technology with an actual G-Sync hardware module inside (as opposed to being a “G-Sync Compatible” model).

The AW2518H is also fairly generous in terms of connectivity. The underbelly is home to an HDMI 1.4 port, a DisplayPort 1.2 connector, two 3.5mm jacks (headphone and audio out), and four USB 3.0 downstream ports.

HP Elite Dragonfly review: An amazing convertible, not just for businesses

HP’s Elite Dragonfly is a sort of successor to the last EliteBook x360 1030, not that it’s discontinuing the EliteBook. This is a new product, rethinking what a business convertible can be. Rather than the standard aluminum, the Elite Dragonfly is made out of magnesium, making it extremely light.

But that’s not all, because it doesn’t make compromises to hit that weight. It uses a full U-series processor, has options for a UHD display or an FHD privacy screen, and it has powerful B&O speakers. There’s also an option for 4G LTE.

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This is the best description of the model that HP sent me that I could come up with. Mine isn’t 2.18 pounds though, as that’s what you get with the two-cell battery. The one that was sent to me has the four-cell battery, so it’s 2.5 pounds.

Design

Again, the HP Elite Dragonfly starts at just 2.18 pounds. That’s a category that I like to call wildly light. There are lighter laptops, but this is a convertible. I don’t know of a single lighter 13-inch convertible. HP does this by making it out of magnesium, a much lighter material than aluminum, which is actually one of the heaviest materials found in laptops.

Magnesium laptops, while incredibly light, often feel cheap and plasticky. I’ve noted this in my reviews of LG’s gram and Acer’s Swift 7 series. HP made the Elite Dragonfly feel more premium and less plasticky by machining the magnesium, and it gets the job done. I don’t think it feels as premium as aluminum does, but it does feel good to use, and it feels good to carry.

The color is Dragonfly Blue, not to be confused with Poseidon Blue, which is what’s on the Spectre convertibles. The lid is stamped with a silver HP logo, and the whole package is a welcome departure from the standard silver business laptops that we see so many of.

When compared to the previous EliteBook x360 1030, HP says that the keyboard is 26% lighter, the trackpad is 36% lighter, the display cover is 22% lighter, and the keyboard deck is 32% lighter. All-in-all, it’s clear that there was a lot of engineering work to get this thing under a kilogram.

On the left side of the device, there’s a single USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A port, a power button, and a nano-SIM slot. It’s disappointing that the Type-A port is USB 3.1 Gen 1 rather than Gen 2. After all, it’s a brand new device, so it’s not like HP is borrowing the design from an older iteration. The nano-SIM slot doesn’t use a pin, as the tray pops out when you press it.

On the right side, there are two Thunderbolt 3 ports, a 3.5mm combo audio jack, and an HDMI 1.4 port. Like USB 3.1 Gen 1, HDMI 1.4 is disappointing, since you can’t output at 4K 60Hz. If you’re connecting to a 4K monitor, you’ll have to use one of the Thunderbolt 3 ports.

I think HP did a fantastic job with the design. For a business PC, it makes sense to make one that’s beautiful, but also not flashy. If you want flashy, you can always get a Spectre x360.

Display and audio

The HP Elite Dragonfly has three display options. There’s a beautiful 4K HDR400 display with 550-nit brightness, and there’s also a 1080p model with HP’s Sure View Gen3 privacy screen. The one that the company sent me though is a 1W 1080p display with 400-nit brightness. Naturally, this is the one that you want for the best battery life, and that’s why HP sent it to me.

Personally, I’d have preferred the 1000-nit Sure View screen. 400 nits sometimes isn’t enough for using in direct sunlight, and it’s very possible that you might be using it outdoors with the freedom that 4G LTE provides.

On the other hand, Sure View keeps people from being able to see what’s on your screen. If someone is looking over your shoulder, they’ll just see a dark screen. That’s what’s new about Gen3, as previously, you’d see a white screen. It’s a phenomenal feature, and it’s a shame that HP doesn’t seed it in review units, especially since it’s one of the key features of the device.

HP continued its partnership with Bang & Olufsen for this device, once again including speakers next to the keyboard on either side of it, so you always have sound firing right up at you. They sound excellent. They’re loud enough to fill the room, and they’re crystal clear. You can really hear the depth of the audio with these speakers.

One other thing to note about the display is that it has a privacy guard built into the webcam above the screen. There’s also an IR camera for Windows Hello, something that I’ve come to expect from HP laptops.

Keyboard and trackpad

When I reviewed the HP EliteBook x360 1040 G5, I noted how much I loved the keyboard. It’s my new favorite over Lenovo’s ThinkPads, which is really saying something. The Elite Dragonfly is just as good, and I’m very happy to see HP’s continued emphasis on great keyboards. After all, I type for a living, so this is something that absolutely matters to me.

There are two main things that I look for in a keyboard: comfort and accuracy. This keyboard has both. It’s not too deep or shallow, and the resistance is just right. It’s also accurate, and I didn’t end up double-typing any characters or anything like that. Another third, yet slightly more minor thing that I look at is volume. This keyboard is quiet to type on, so you won’t be the noisy person in the room when you’re typing.

I really wish that HP would bring this keyboard to its Spectre consumer PCs, or at least that the Elite and Spectre teams would work more closely on what makes sense to use in both lineups.

The glass trackpad uses Microsoft’s Precision drivers, which is probably the most important thing. It’s fast and responsive. It’s also pretty large, making use of the available real estate. If you happened to be worried about it in such a light device, it’s still clickable, as HP didn’t make those kinds of sacrifices here.

There’s also a fingerprint sensor to the bottom-right of the keyboard. It’s nice to have the option of facial recognition and a fingerprint sensor for Windows Hello, especially since facial recognition doesn’t work if the webcam privacy guard is closed.

Performance and battery life

The model that HP sent me includes an Intel Core i7-8665U CPU, and let’s clear the air about that right now. Yes, it’s an eighth-generation CPU. The reason for that is because this is a business PC, and there are no 10th-generation vPro processors out yet. That’s coming next year.

You’re not really missing anything though. Even if this did use Intel’s 10th-gen 14nm ‘Comet Lake’ family of CPUs, there’s not that much of a difference. It’s still an excellent productivity machine, with the added security and manageability features that vPro offers.

Like I said, it’s for productivity. Naturally, you can use this convertible as a tablet and in other form factors with pen support, so it does do more. I like to use the pen for taking handwritten notes, but you ca also use it to draw, to mark up photos, to sign documents, and so on. I always appreciate this new world of convertibles when someone sends me a document to sign and I can simply fold back the display, sign it with the pen, and save it.

Some Adobe CC apps also support pen use, although this might not exactly be the machine for that. You’re getting into dedicated graphics territory there, or at least Intel Iris Plus territory. If you really want a business PC like this one with Iris Plus, you might want to wait for Ice Lake vPro.

The HP Elite Dragonfly also has an option for 4G LTE connectivity, something that I always appreciate. There’s nothing better than the freedom to connect to the internet from anywhere. You don’t have to worry about signing into public Wi-Fi or the security issues that might come with it, or ending up on some mailing list because you had to give up your email address.

Unfortunately, the Intel 4G LTE on this machine is very buggy right now. The 4G LTE driver seems to keep disconnecting and reconnecting. I actually had to turn the sound off because the Windows chime for when a device gets disconnected or reconnected is so annoying. And remember how great I said the audio is, as you can’t exactly enjoy music or video while this is going on. HP did send me another driver to use, but that didn’t fix the issue. The good news is that this will eventually get resolved. These things always are.

Battery life is pretty good, although HP did send me the model that gets the best battery life. I found that for real-world usage, you can easily get about eight hours. Naturally, that will go down if you have the lighter two-cell battery, or if you go for the 4K or Sure View displays. I do wonder how bad the battery life must be on those units, since HP rarely ever sends them out to reviewers.

For benchmarks, I used PCMark 8 and PCMark 10, as usual.

The benchmarks are exactly where you’d expect them to be for a Core i7-8665U. It definitely gets the job done for a productivity-centric machine.

Conclusion

The HP Elite Dragonfly is going to go down as one of my favorite PCs of the year, and that’s for the same reason that I loved the EliteBook x360 1040 earlier this year. It’s just great all-around, with a good screen, fantastic audio, and one of the best keyboards on the market.

One thing I missed, which was on the EliteBook x360 that I just mentioned, was the anti-glare display. I really wish HP included that on this model. It didn’t have washed out colors like many other anti-glare screens that I’ve seen, and it would have been a great addition, considering that this one can be a struggle to use outdoors at 400 nits. The other issue I had with the Elite Dragonfly is, of course, the buggy 4G LTE, which I assume will be fixed sooner rather than later.

But this is a 13-inch convertible that weighs in at 2.5 pounds (starts at 2.18 pounds), which is incredible. It makes it so much easier to carry around. It’s one of those PCs that you can put in a backpack and it feels like nothing is there at all. And at that weight, it’s not making compromises, still including a phenomenal keyboard, great speakers, and so on.

HONOR MAGICBOOK 15 INTEL 10TH-GEN EDITION GOES OFFICIAL IN CHINA FOR A PRICE OF $699

Last month, Huawei‘s sub-brand Honor unveiled its new ultrabook dubbed Honor MagicBook 15 in China. The laptop comes in two different screen sizes – 14-inch and 15-inch. Initially, the laptop was launched with AMD Ryzen 7 3700U chipset packed inside. The smartphone maker has now added another variant to the lineup and this time it runs on the latest Intel 10th-gen processor. Furthermore, the laptops now come with Nvidia GPUs for all your gaming needs.

HONOR MAGICBOOK 15 INTEL 10TH-GEN: SPECS, CONFIGURATIONS

The all-new Intel-based MagicBook 15 laptop comes in four different hardware configurations. The base variant of the laptop features Intel Core i5-1021U chipset paired with Nvidia GeForce MX250 2GB GDDR5 GPU. For memory, the laptop comes with 8GB/16GB RAM and 256GB/512GB SSD storage. The top-end variant of the laptop packs Intel Core i7-1021U processor, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD and GeForce MX250 GPU inside.

Honor MagicBook 15 has a 15.6-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels and a screen-to-body-ratio of 87 per cent. Furthermore, the display comes with a TUV Rheinland display certification. For biometrics, there is a fingerprint sensor underneath the power key button. Coming to the ports, there is a single USB 2.0 port, single USB 3.0 port, HDMI port and a one USB Type-C port. On the software side, the laptop runs on the Windows 10 Home Edition operating system.

For connectivity, the MagicBook 15 features NFC, Bluetooth 5.0 and headphone jack. Fueled by 42Wh lithium-polymer batter, the brand is offering 65W fast charging. The laptop can go from zero to 70 per cent in just 1 hour while the complete charging takes around an hour.

The base variant of the laptop with 8GB RAM and 256GB comes with a price tag of Yuan 4899 (roughly $699) while the 512GB variant will hit you somewhere around Yuan 5199 (roughly $742). The top-end variant, on the other hand, comes with double RAM capacity for a price of Yuan 5899 (roughly $842). The Intel Core i5 variant with 512GB RAM and 16GB ROM comes with a price tag of Yuan 5499 (roughly $785).It is already up for pre-order on Vmall.com while the shipping will commence from January 2020.

CHROMEBOOK TIP TUESDAY: QUICKLY ADJUST YOUR DISPLAY RESOLUTION

As the Chromebook market has evolved, the number of new screen sizes, resolutions, and aspect ratios has only increased. At this point, there are Chrome OS devices anywhere from 10-inches up to 15.6-inches, 720p to 4K, and everything in between. And that’s to say nothing of extended displays and Chromeboxes outputting to a vast variety of external monitors.

With all these variations in place at this point, Chrome OS requires the ability to actively scale the entire interface to work on different displays. Native 1080p looks pretty nice spread across 15.6 diagonal inches, but the same pixels squished into a 13.3-inch screen like the Pixelbook Go makes things quite small on screen.

The remedy to this predicament is display scaling, and Chrome OS has done this well for a few years now. Digging into your settings, you can find your internal display and its current scale percentage, adjusting if need be. Every Chromebook has a 100% mark set for it out of the factory, and it is different for each device. The Pixelbook Go, for instance, is set to a ‘resolution’ of 1536×864. The resolution slider then moves up and down by percentage based on this as the center point. (It’s important to note this isn’t actually changing the screen resolution, only making things on screen look as if the resolution was changing.)

Moving down to 80% gets you to 1920×1080 resolution which is the native resolution of the panel itself. I prefer something around 90% which looks like 1707×960. It gives me a tad more screen real estate while not making reading a strain on my eyes. Your mileage will vary, and that is why there’s a quick and simple way to move up and down this scale to dial in the resolution that works for you. No matter the one you choose, because of resolution scaling, things on screen will stay nice and crisp.

The way to quickly move between all these resolutions is simple and effectively something I use on a daily basis. All you have to do is press CTRL + SHIFT + =/- and you’ll see your screen adjust right in front of your eyes. While there’s no indication of what percent you are at when you do this in either direction, I’d advise just adjusting things until you feel comfortable with them. While 90% works for me, I only got to that point by adjusting it to my comfort level.

Depending on the task and the day, I move through multiple resolutions, so this trick is a real time saver. From time to time, I dig down in the settings (device > displays > display size) to see where I am on the scale, but not very often. If you ever want to just get back to the factor 100%, you can check that out, but there’s really no need. We hope this tip helps you out and makes your Chromebook experience just a bit better. Be sure to keep an eye out for next week’s tip!

Lenovo Yoga C940 15 review: The rare workhorse convertible

When Lenovo announced its new Yoga C940 at IFA this year, it was a sure winner. It takes the best of last year’s Yoga C930 and combines it with the best of this year’s S940 clamshell.

It keeps those features that I really loved last year, like the rotating Dolby Atmos soundbar in the hinge, and the built-in pen. And it shares the design language of the IdeaPad S940, packing the reverse notch, which doesn’t really serve a purpose anymore other than to provide an easier way of lifting the lid.

This is also the first 15-inch convertible to come out of the Yoga 900 series, and it packs a punch. This machine has a 45W Intel H-series processor, along with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 GPU. Indeed, it’s the rare powerful convertible, something that’s also seen in the HP Spectre x360 15, and in very few other places.

It’s worth noting that you can actually configure this PC with a Core i9-9880H, which is kind of wild. Even HP’s Spectre x360 15 doesn’t have that kind of offering, and I’m not sure there are any convertibles that do.

Design

The Lenovo Yoga C940 looks pretty much the same as the C930 did, being built out of aluminum and coming in the Iron Gray color. Of course, the 15-inch model is a bit bigger, a bit thicker, and a bit heavier. This thing weighs 4.41 pounds, and that’s what you get with powerful internals like this, which also require better thermals and a bigger battery. Note that the 14-inch model is almost a pound and a half lighter, although it has a 15W quad-core processor and no discrete graphics.

The lid has a black Yoga logo stamped on the top-left, and there isn’t anything else, even a Lenovo logo. Not that this matters at all, but I’d rather see at least a silver Yoga logo, something to add a bit of sexy to it. I also really like the design of the ThinkPad X1 Yoga, so Lenovo can do aluminum laptops that look pretty on the outside. I just feel like the design could use a bit more spice.

On the back of the device, you’ll see the rotating soundbar on the hinge. The other sides are flat with angled edges.

On the left side, there’s a power port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and two Thunderbolt 3 ports. Indeed, it does not come with a USB Type-C charger. Being that this is a powerful machine, it takes a 135W charger, and that’s too much for USB Type-C. Dell does make a 130W USB Type-C charger, but it’s the only one that does it. Luckily, if you buy that charger from Dell, you can use it to charge the C940.

On the other side, you’ll find the power button all the way toward the back, and a single USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A port. It’s a bit strange that it uses the 5Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 1, as the 14-inch model has a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A port, which gets 10Gbps. What’s also strange is that Lenovo.com lists this machine as using USB 3.1 Gen 2; however, both the reviewer’s guide and the marking on the port itself show it as Gen 1.

Another thing that you’ll find on the right side of the PC is the pen garage. Yes, like last year’s C930, this year’s model has a pen that’s built right into the device. There’s no worrying about a magnetically attached pen falling off in your bag, or a pen loop getting in your way. It’s just there when you need it, and it charges while you’re not using it. Naturally, this does mean that the pen will be a bit smaller than a standard one, but you can always pick up a Wacom pen if you need to.

Display and audio

The model that Lenovo sent me includes a 15.6-inch 1080p display, although it’s offered at 4K resolution. Other than the resolution, the screens are the same, both supporting Dolby Vision HDR400 at 500 nits.

Dolby Vision is one of those things that you want in a display. In fact, with any screen, HDR, color, and contrast are way more important then the resolution. Dolby Vision decodes the 12-bit PQ signal from a supported video, producing the content in the widest range of color possible, providing the most accurate colors, as long as you’re playing supported content.

But while that’s all more important than the resolution, I do think that you’ll want the 4K model. 1080p just doesn’t cut it for me on a 15.6-inch laptop. There’s definitely a fair bit of pixelation when using it. Naturally, that means that you’ll be sacrificing battery life.

I’m also a bit disappointed that there’s no OLED option. 15.6-inch OLED panels are becoming increasingly common, and they’ve recently been introduced in Lenovo’s entire range of 15.6-inch ThinkPads. The main reason I point this out though is because this PC is pretty much the ultimate media machine.

Aside from the Dolby Vision display, it has a Dolby Atmos soundbar. If this isn’t the best audio on a laptop, it’s easily close. It’s a rare combination of a speaker that gets super loud, but it’s also crystal clear. If you’re streaming media on it, you get a great display and killer speakers, and it makes for a phenomenal experience.

As mentioned above, it follows the same design as the Yoga S940 (IdeaPad S940 in the U.S.), and it has a reverse notch above the screen. What’s strange here is that it only seems to serve as a way to more easily open the lid. The Yoga S940 had that area packed with sensors and an IR camera. Those aren’t included in this PC. And I don’t think that the top bezel is small enough to where that reverse notch is needed to fit it.

Another thing that the C940 doesn’t borrow from the S940 is the curved-edge glass. This was a really nice touch on the S940, so I was sad to see it omitted from the C940.

Keyboard and trackpad

Like many 15.6-inch laptops, the Yoga C940 includes a number pad to the right of the alphabetical keys. The keys are shallower than what you’d find on a ThinkPad. Indeed, Lenovo’s consumer laptop keyboards are a more modern approach.

I really think that this is the best approach these days. The keyboard feels very comfortable to type on, and it’s comfortable to type on. Lenovo is really good at making keyboards, and I’ve never had a truly bad experience with one as I have with pretty much every other manufacturer.

I’ve typed a lot of articles on this machine, and I never got tired of it. Aside from the great keyboard, the big screen makes it great for productivity. And of course, it’s a convertible with pen support, so there’s a wide range of use cases.

The trackpad uses Microsoft Precision drivers, so it’s responsive and accurate. It’s aligned to the left, rather than in the center. Again, this is common for devices like this. You’ll also find a fingerprint sensor to the right of it, and that’s your only method for Windows Hello biometric authentication, since there’s no IR camera.

Performance and battery life

The performance on the Lenovo Yoga C940 15 is awesome, possibly the best of any consumer convertible. As I noted above, it’s the only one I know of that offers a Core i9-9880H, a vPro chip with a 45W TDP, eight cores, and 16 threads.

This one includes a Core i7-9750H, also a 45W chip but with six cores and 12 threads. The H-series is what you’ll find in gaming laptops and mobile workstations, so it’s pretty powerful. And of course, there’s the dedicated GPU, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650, which is built on the Turing architecture.

You can use the Lenovo Yoga C940 15 for just about anything. You can play games on it, edit video on it, or use it for general productivity tasks. Since it’s a convertible, you can use it as a tablet, and use the pen to draw, take handwritten notes, and so on. It’s powerful enough to handle Adobe CC, using tablet-centric interfaces in the various apps that support it.

That power affects the battery life, of course, but the battery life on this machine was weirdly good. I got a solid six hours of general use out of it, and in some cases, I could stretch it to eight hours. Lenovo lists the 4K UHD model as getting about three quarters the battery life of this, which is still pretty good. But make no mistake, the higher resolution will affect battery life.

I did have a few strange software issues, which I assume will eventually be fixed with software updates. I was completely unable to install Nvidia GeForce driver updates. Lenovo ended up sending me a new model because I had a touchscreen issue with the first one, and I still couldn’t install an Nvidia update on the new one. Windows 10 cumulative updates wouldn’t install either, oddly enough.

For benchmarks, I ran PCMark 8, PCMark 10, 3DMark, and VRMark. There’s only one VRMark test since it didn’t hit the minimum frame rate, so there wasn’t much sense in running the more advanced tests.

As I noted above, this is a powerful machine. That’s why I ran 3DMark and VRMark, which I don’t run on ultrabooks as they always come in at the 1% mark. It’s not a VR machine though. If you’re serious about gaming, you’ll still want a gaming PC. If you’re serious about video editing, you should look for more powerful dedicated graphics. This is better for an all-around solution.

Conclusion

The Lenovo Yoga C940 15 is sort of the ultimate PC. It’s great for streaming media, with a solid display and amazing speakers. It has the power to do what you need to do, from productivity, to editing video, to gaming. And it’s a convertible, meaning that you can use it in a wide range of form factors, such as as a tablet, where you can use the pen to draw, take handwritten notes, mark up photos, and more.

That’s not to say that I don’t have any issues with it though. Software issues were one thing, but I look at that as a temporary problem. I do find it irritating that a premium PC in 2019 could ship without an IR camera for facial recognition, and of course, I’m disappointed that there’s no OLED option in a market where 15.6-inch OLED displays are becoming common and when this is already such an amazing media consumption machine. When something gets to be so good at consuming media, the lack of an OLED option becomes a blemish.

But again, this PC is amazing all-around. Just the sheer versatility of it is fantastic. It has this diversity of things that it’s good at that make it a delight to use. It gets the job done, no matter what the job is.

NZXT’s H700 mid-tower PC case is on sale for $80, its lowest price ever

Save $50 on NZXT’s excellent H700 mid-tower case with a large tempered glass side window.

NZXT is having a fire sale of sorts, with discounts on a whole bunch of stuff. One that stands out is its H700 mid-tower chassis. This is similar in design to the H710i, one of the best PC cases around, except you’re trading built-in smart functionality for a lower price tag.

In this case, we’re talking about an even $80. That’s $49.99 below its most recent list price. Though it could sometimes be found for below its MSRP earlier this year, we’ve never seen this case dip below the $100 mark. So, you’re saving a decent chunk of change on this one.

You may recall that we compared the H700 to the H500. Our only real knock against the H700 was the price. This sale shoves that concern to the side. The H700 is a clean-looking case made of steel, with a large tempered side-glass panel to show off your handiwork. There’s room for lots of storage, too—you get seven 2.5-inch drive bays and a pair of 3.5-inch drive bays.

NZXT also deserves kudos for bundling four fans with this case. All too often, case makers skimp out in this regard, and it’s unfortunately not uncommon to only get a single fan. The H700, however, includes three Aer F120 (120mm) fans installed in the front and the an Aer F140 (140mm) fan in the rear.

That’s sufficient to keep your PC cool (and adds value to this case), though you can add up to three 120mm for two 140mm fans up top (or go with up to a 360mm radiator for a liquid cooling setup).

There are newer options out there, but with this discount, the H700 deserves consideration as one of the best mid-tower cases for the money. This sale ends on 12/27, so if you’ve been looking for a new case, grab it while you can.

This curved 144Hz gaming monitor from MSI is a deal at $130

Gaming monitors can get very expensive very quickly, especially once you go past 60Hz models. If you’re not looking for the absolute best picture quality, this curved 144Hz display from MSI is now just $139.99 from Office Depot. That’s a savings of $110 from the original MSRP.

This is an older monitor, originally released in mid-2017 (hence why it’s out of stock at Amazon right now). Still, this model offers a 24-inch curved design, a 1080p resolution, and a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz. For inputs, you get DVI, HDMI 1.4, and DisplayPort 1.2. It uses a lower-quality Twisted Nematic (TN) panel, but high refresh rate IPS screens come with a higher price tag, and TN is perfectly serviceable for gaming, and preferred by some for its responsiveness.

This is a FreeSync monitor, so the higher refresh rate mode is intended for use with AMD graphics cards. However, there are multiple reports of it working perfectly with Nvidia’s G-Sync compatibility mode, once you manually enable it from your GPU’s settings.

AOC Shows off Two 34-Inch Curved Monitors with 144 Hz and FreeSync

AOC is showing off its new set of ultra-wide curved monitors planned to hit the mid-range market, which most 34-inch monitors choose to ignore. The curve on this monitor is impressive at 1500R, as well as having a 21:9 aspect ratio and sporting a higher resolution of 3440 x 1440 along with added features such as AMD’s Freesync.

AOC shows off the CU34G2, and the CU34G2X 34-inch Curved Gaming Monitors with a 1500R Curvature, Ultra-Wide Display, and Freesync

Some of the features that these monitors offer include a 300 nits max brightness, a 3000:1 contrast ratio, and a 1 ms MPRT response time. These monitors provide support for AMD’s FreeSync technology, which makes sure there is no screen tearing as it shows the frames as the graphics card produces them. These monitors use a VA monitor, which offers faster refresh rates at a substantially lower cost.

The viewing angles are 178 degrees, both vertical and horizontal, which makes this display look right at almost any angle possible. With the included 4-port USB 3.0 hub, the monitors allow you to save crucial USB ports on your computer itself. Both monitors offer support for Game Color mode, which optimizes saturation for improved grey levels and image detail. This is one of many different color modes that optimizes the screen for applications and more importantly, games that are being displayed on the screen.

While both monitors the CU34G2 and the CU34G2X offer the fantastic features mentioned above, the CU34G2 provides a 100 Hz maximum refresh rate, while the CU34G2X offers a maximum 144 Hz refresh rate.

Samsung CJG56, 27-inch, 144 Hz Freesync Curved Gaming Monitor on Sale For $260 US

The CU34G2X offers two HDMI 2.0 ports while having just one DisplayPort 1.2. The CU34G2 offers two HDMI 1.4, which hurts the overall refresh rate if you plan on using an HDMI port to connect your computer to the monitors. The CU34G2 has one DisplayPort 1.4, which offers up to 144 Hz if the monitor supports it.

The CU34G2 is currently planned to be on sale for $442.65, which is relatively competitive for the monitor market, having the MSI Optix MAG341CQ, which usually costs $479.99 and has the same resolution, the 100 Hz refresh rate and 8 ms response rate. The CU34G2X is planned to the sale for $553.60, which is a lot more when compared to lower models, which is $74 more for just 44 Hz more in refresh rate and increase in the HDMI specification from 1.4 to 2.0.