First Look: Lenovo Legion Pro 7i

It’s Techtober and lots of things I’m testing are under embargo, but here’s one I am allowed to talk about: the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i gaming laptop. Key specs on my review unit include an Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus, 32GB, an NVIDIA RTX5080 with 16GB of VRAM, and a 16″ WQXGA OLED that refreshes at 240HZ. Powering all this is a four. hundred. watt. power supply and a thermal management system that keeps the system from throttling — though it can make the air around your desk toasty. This is an absolute beast which can substitute for a …

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Review: Samsung Odyssey G80HS 6K/3K Monitor for Work and Play

Monitor resolution and refresh rates keep rising, and Samsung’s Odyssey G80HS provides a lot of both. For the right buyer, this is a no-compromise solution for work and play. Monitor resolution and refresh rates keep rising, and Samsung’s Odyssey G80HS provides a lot of both. The danger for products trying to do everything is that they fall short of alternatives that specialize. The only obvious drawback to the Odyssey G80HS is the $1600 price point; if you can afford it, it really does provide an excellent display that can switch between work and gaming. Physical setup is exceptionally easy and …

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Micro Center Thrives Despite Retail Trends and RAMpocalypse: A Photo Essay

Selling PCs and components at retail has undone retailers from Radio Shack to CompUSA to Fry’s, but Micro Center is thriving, opening new locations and renovating existing stores. I visited its most recently updated store, in Patterson, NJ, just ahead of its grand re-opening recently to attempt to see the changes and understand how Micro Center is succeeding where almost everyone else has failed. First, fair warning: if you have even a passing interest in PCs, gaming, 3D printing, or networking, this can be an expensive visit. I did not escape unscathed myself, picking up a retro numeric keypad to …

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Seagate Takes On The Consumer Data Explosion

Even in the modern age of cloud-based storage subscriptions, local storage is as important as ever. We’re creating more content, we need immediate access to it, and crucial personal and business data should never be fully entrusted to a third party. To address what they’re calling the “consumer data explosion,” Seagate just launched three new products, including the OneTouch backup drive pictured here that they sent over for me to review. The base model here starts at 8TB, costs just $260, connects with a single USB-C cable, and comes with software so you’re not relying entirely on the cloud. It …

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Need a Laptop? Microsoft Offers College Students $500 In Software, Gaming

With PC prices rising — and new competition from Apple at lower price points — Microsoft is putting together a compelling software and gaming package for college students who need a new laptop for finals. The promo includes a year of Microsoft 365 Premium, a year of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and a custom Xbox controller. Microsoft is putting the value at over $500, and while most college kids aren’t buying Microsoft’s productivity software (either at all, or at retail prices), it really is a nice package. Offsetting rising hardware prices in this way is smart. The controllers are terrific …

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Seagate Has An Astro Bot 5TB Game Drive Because Gaming is Supposed to be Fun.

If you have a modern PlayStation and you’re adding games this holiday season, you may be running out of storage. Sure, you could buy an NVMe SSD drive for the fastest solution, but large capacities are expensive, and thanks to the ongoing AI datacenter memory shortage, getting more expensive every day. Hard drives are a great way of adding significant capacity at more reasonable prices, but they suffer from being boring. Seagate has solved this problem with a Limited Edition Astro Bot Game Drive. It typically costs around $20 more than the plain white version, but adds more than $20 …

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