Dell’s last XPS 13 was meant to be a farewell before the company sunset the entire XPS brand. But it was a bitter ending, and an overpriced one as well. Earlier this year, Dell resurrected the XPS name with the excellent (and very expensive) XPS 14 and 16. And now, it’s reinvented the XPS 13 […]
Laptop prices are out of whack. $500 used to get you a tolerable laptop, and $900 got you a really good one. They often had similar CPU, RAM, and storage options because that stuff was comparatively cheap; the difference was often in build quality and screen rather than power. But RAMageddon has thrown everything off. […]
If you’re a student looking for an affordable laptop, I have bad news and I have good news. The bad news is that computer prices are out of whack due to the ongoing RAM and storage crunch, making some a little pricier than they used to be and others wildly more expensive. The good news? […]
Finding a good laptop under $500 was hard enough before RAMageddon. They nearly always had cheap hardware and underpowered, often outdated chips. That’s what made the MacBook Neo so disruptive: It offered great build quality and good-enough performance starting at $599. Windows laptops couldn’t touch it. Even though it’s gone up to $699, it’s still […]
The HP HyperX Omen 15, which I first saw at CES, replaces the HP Victus 15, a longtime bestselling budget gaming laptop. The Victus cost just $800, or less when on sale, and was a good entry point to decent laptop gaming. The Omen 15 has nice little upgrades over the Victus. Its RTX 5050 […]
Framework laptops always come with compromises in exchange for their unique DIY premise. Even though you pay extra for one compared to sleeker options from competitors, it’s easier to excuse minor flaws for modular ports, easy repairs, and an impressive range of upgradeable parts. So what happens when Framework goes “Pro”? We get a one-of-a-kind […]
Last year, Microsoft’s 13-inch Surface Laptop quickly became one of my favorite thin-and-light Windows notebooks. At $900, it was easy to recommend to anyone wanting MacBook Air-like build quality and battery life on Windows – I even convinced my sister to buy one on sale. But that was last year. This year, thanks to RAMageddon, […]
The 2026 XPS 14 is the best premium laptop we’ve seen from Dell in a while, with incredible build quality in a thin machine and good performance thanks to Intel’s Core Ultra Series 3 “Panther Lake” chips. A bonus: Dell killed its lame “Premium Plus” naming scheme. XPS is so back! I can’t believe how […]
My eyes have seen the PC gaming promised land, and it’s a beautifully bright world without a shred of blurriness. It’s warm, it looks lovely, and it’s impeccably sharp. Also, it’s expensive as hell. I’ve dipped my toe in this world by testing a pre-production version of the upcoming Asus ROG Strix Scar 18, which […]
I’ve loved the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 since it launched in 2020. I bought one for my wife after reading about how awesome it was on a little site called The Verge dot com. Since then, the G14 has gotten some facelifts, chip bumps, an occasional special edition, a full redesign, and a 16-inch sibling […]