PCWorldの May 2022 の目次

It’s finally happening. After years of teases, promises, and hype, a third heavy-hitting player is entering the graphics card game, aiming to shake up the Nvidia and AMD duopoly. Intel’s hotly anticipated Arc GPUs are hitting the streets—though not in the way you might expect. Rather than debuting in desktop form, Arc’s grand reveal comes via laptops, which can drive home some of the enticingly delicious advantages Intel can provide in tuned systems revolving around its Core CPUs and Arc GPUs. Giddy up. MEET INTEL ARC LAPTOPS Intel recently took the wraps off its Arc A-series mobile GPUs, launching only the most humble variants—the affordable Arc 3 series. The A350M and A370M will appear in laptops now available for preorder, with prices starting at $899. More powerful Arc 5…

I know people who love Windows 11. I am not one of them. Before anyone tells me why I’m wrong—or that it’s ludicrous for a tech journalist to be against new technology—let me draw your attention to the exact problem first. I want you to right-click on the desktop in Windows 11 and tell me what you see. Does the menu have the Refresh option? Or are you forced to choose Show more options to get to a secondary right-click menu with the desired feature? If you have it, congrats. It means you keep your system up to date. (If you don’t, I suggest you finally run Windows Update.) But now repeat these same steps within a File Explorer window—arguably, the more common place you’d want to refresh the view.…

It’s been three years since Microsoft started releasing first-run Xbox and PC games on the all-in-one Xbox Game Pass service, and started an innovative platform-agnostic approach to publishing games. While Game Pass hasn’t conquered the game industry, it’s definitely making waves. Perennial console rival Sony has taken notice, and is now revamping its own subscription and streaming services for the PlayStation brand. But if you were hoping that the newly-rechristened PlayStation Plus would be a true rival to Microsoft’s excellent Xbox Game Pass on the PC, well, keep hoping. The upcoming reboot of PlayStation Plus makes a lot of sense if you’re heavily invested in the PlayStation brand. If you primarily game on the PC, it just doesn’t offer anywhere near the same kind of value. Here’s a quick breakdown of…

Here’s the thing: We’re not fans of free VPNs because you have to be even more careful with these than a regular, paid VPN. If it’s a free ad-supported VPN, for example, then your data is likely being used to earn money, which may defeat the whole point of a VPN. If privacy isn’t an issue, then you have to deal with restrictions such as speeds, a bandwidth cap, or a limit to the countries you can access. The bottom line is that if you truly want to use a VPN on a regular basis then it pays to pay for the privilege. With some VPNs charging the equivalent of just $5 a month or less there are definitely affordable options out there. But we know that not everyone shares…

TeamViewer is remote connectivity software for PCs that’s as powerful as they come, yet free for personal use, and easy enough for the uninitiated. I’ve used it extensively with computer-challenged relatives—to great praise and benefit. FEATURES Like all remote control software, TeamViewer lets you log onto another computer and use it as if it were your own. If your older relatives are having a problem logging on to their bank account, have them download and run/install TeamViewer, call you with the ID and password, and you can log on and explain stuff. (Or, more likely, simply fix the problem.) Once you’re logged on, you can also help them set up the computer for unattended access, so they don’t have to repeat the download/install process or provide you with the ID and…

About a year ago, I bought a Mac for the first time in my life. It’s not that I’m anti-Apple—I switch freely between iOS and Android, and I’m currently wearing an Apple Watch—but my preference for working in Windows has started to feel like a blind spot in my tech coverage. Even when I can borrow my wife’s MacBook to try the occasional app or MacOS trick, it’s not the same as living inside MacOS full-time. But unlike the average Mac buyer, I didn’t end up with a MacBook. Instead, I went with Apple’s diminutive Mac Mini, which is now sitting on my desk beneath my main monitor. Whether it’s Windows or MacOS, one thing I know for sure is that I’m an enthusiastic desktop PC user. While the laptop’s…

If you’ve got an active Facebook profile, you’re probably well aware of the polarizing dichotomy of the metaverse. It can be wondrous or it can be a cesspool of negativity and despair. If someone’s harassing you, for example, you can block them to limit almost all communications with that person. Also, if you’ve made amends and would like to reconnect, you can unblock them. Not sure how to do it? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Read on to learn more. ABOUT BLOCKING AND UNBLOCKING ON FACEBOOK When you block someone on Facebook, they’ll no longer be able to contact you, tag you, see your profile, or add you as a friend. However, you’ll still be able to see your message history and, in certain cases, content that the blocked…

It’s only taken five years, but Microsoft’s tabbed File Explorer, called Sets, could finally become a reality in Windows 11. At Microsoft’s Future of Hybrid Work event in April, Microsoft showed off several features that the company plans to bring to Windows 11. Microsoft didn’t provide a timetable for when they’ll be arriving, however. Some of them also are specific to particular applications; a number of features will be used for videoconferencing, for example, with automatic camera framing and a feature called Eye Contact. Others, such as Live Captions, have been previously revealed as part of Microsoft’s Windows Insider program and should be scheduled for a fall release. Sets, though, makes sense just because the concept is simple and straightforward. Microsoft will provide a tabbed interface, like you see in browsers,…

PC power supplies haven’t seen a whole lot of change in the last decade or two. We’ve gotten modular cables for easier routing, smaller standards for itty-bitty builds, and that’s about it. But Intel recently finalized the ATX 3.0 standard, coming soon to a full-size PC case near you. The biggest addition announced is a new standardized connection for graphics cards and other PCIe devices, delivering up to 600 watts on a single connector. Currently graphics cards are in a bit of a power pinch. The maximum throughput for an 8-pin ATX rail is 150 watts, so the biggest and most power-hungry GPUs need to double or even triple up, adding extra space requirements and more-complex cable routing inside the case. The new 12-pin 12VHPWR connection should be able to deliver…

In just a few years, new computer users won’t be able to remember the days when data was stored on spinning magnetic disks. The conventional hard drive will be about as relevant as an 8-track outside of mass storage. But the march of progress does require some unexpected adaptations, and newer and ever-faster solid-state drivesmight need a little extra help to hit those speeds. According to a blog post from SSD controller manufacturer Phison, that help will come in the form of active cooling. In layman’s terms, that means a dedicated fan for your NVMe storage drive (or whatever new standard comes after the PCIe gen 5 drives). “I would expect to see heatsinks for [PCIe] Gen5,” says Sebastien Jean, Phison’s CTO. And indeed, performance M.2 drives already come with…

Big laptops are back in style. Once all but abandoned, 16 and 17-inch laptops are once again widely available. Most models are expensive, however, and that’s especially true of 16-inch machines. Enter the Acer Swift 3 SF316-51. This mainstream 16-inch laptop has plenty of display real estate and a slim profile yet carries a mid-range MSRP of $999. Online retailers have sold it for as little as $849. That’s an alluring price for a large, capable laptop, but there’s a catch. Battery life is less than stellar and performance falls behind when it comes to more demanding apps. If you can live with those trade-offs, the Swift 3 has a big screen and is priced reasonably. SPECS AND FEATURES The Swift 3 SF316-51 packs a lot of value, episcally when…

Inexpensive speakers don’t have to be hopelessly basic. So many models are though, including some very popular ones like those in the Amazon Basics line. The Cyber Acoustics CA-2890 skirts that edge of mediocrity. If this $25 speaker bar were instead a set of stereo speakers, its shortcomings would allow our current favorite, the similarly priced Creative Pebble, to steamroll over it. So what keeps it out of the reject pile? Primarily one standout feature—the ability to clip it to a monitor. Anyone with a slim flat panel monitor (no more than about 0.75-in thick) can attach the Cyber Acoustics CA-2890 to the bottom of the panel. This model effectively reproduces an speaker bar accessory that Dell has long-produced for its series of monitors, but with a universal mount. The benefit…

Coverage. Speed. Latency. Security. All of these are important features of a Wi-Fi router, and they’re all things we’ve disregarded for this article. Because the question of the day is, which modern router looks the least like a consumer electronics appliance, and the most like something that would menace the Rebel Alliance in the third act? Gaming hardware in general has some weird aesthetics going on. Between the seas of black plastic and galaxies of RGB lights, an expensive gaming desktop setup looks like a rave in a NASA control center. But Wi-Fi routers in particular, with their multiple antennas and no real restrictions on size or shape, have proven an irresistible target for the more excessive kind of product designer. So we present a ranking of the most spaceship-like…

You don’t have to put up with bad smartphone calls. Audio hitches, fuzzy speech, hollow sound—they may still be a problem even in 2022, but you can circumvent them. The solution lies in your video calling apps, like Discord, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and FaceTime. Making an audio-only call through those services will sound much crisper and clearer. The reason? When you place a call through your Phone app, the way it transmits your voice compresses the data more heavily. The quality has improved since the move to VoLTE, or voice over LTE, but still falls short of voice calling apps. Estimates peg traditional calls at a bitrate of 16kbps; in contrast, Discord defaults to 64kbps. You can definitely hear the difference. Of course, the catch is that you’ll burn data…

Chrome is the most popular web browser on the planet. Which means that if you’re using it too, you’re a prime target for identity theft and other nasty detritus of the information age. While Google isn’t known for being the most privacy-forward company out there, its latest addition to Chrome is a definite point in its favor. The new Privacy Guide interface, soon to be available, is essentially an old-school user wizard to help you tighten down your browser’s privacy vulnerabilities. Privacy Guide will be presented as a card when users go into the “Privacy and security” section of the Chrome settings menu. In just a couple of minutes it will allow you to see what the browser is saving locally and syncing to your Google profile, with a somewhat…

Ever since around the release of the 5T, all the way back in 2017, OnePlus phones have been my go-to pick for “best bang for your buck” Android phone. A near-stock OS, solid camera, and sleek designs at mid-range prices helped build a loyal fan base of OnePlus fans. But over the years the cost for each new release has slowly crept up as OnePlus shifted to the flagship space to try and offer a more “premium” experience, and that’s exemplified by the newly announced $899 OnePlus 10 Pro. With Samsung locking down the majority of flagship Android devices sold in the U.S. it’s a tough market to get into, and one that doesn’t benefit from unique pricing like the mid-range. So does the OnePlus 10 Pro compete? How does…

It’s rare to review a monitor with the potential to revolutionize the industry, but the Alienware AW3423DW could do exactly that. It packs a cutting-edge OLED panel with Quantum Dot technology at a price surprisingly competitive with high-end IPS ultrawide monitors. Does this new Alienware make its peers obsolete? When it comes to 34-inch ultrawide monitors, yes—though this luxurious display isn’t quite perfect. Still, gamers will want to snatch the AW3423DW up without hesitation. SPECS AND FEATURES QD-OLED panel aside, the Alienware AW3423DW’s specifications are typical for an ultrawide gaming monitor. It packs a 34-inch screen with a 21:9 aspect ratio and a resolution of 3,440 x 1,440. The monitor also claims 99.3% coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut which, though high, can be matched by some premium IPS panels. Display…

If you’ve got a larger house with challenging Wi-Fi dead zones, typically your best bet is going to be populating your home with mesh routers. But that doesn’t stop router manufacturers from trying to make powerful single access-point systems, like the gamer-focused TP-Link Archer GX90, that accomplish the same goal. In my time with this excellent router, I was impressed by its high throughput and low-latency performance everywhere in my home. As a gaming router, it may not offer the most features, but its base level of performance was so good that if that’s all you want from your router, I can confidently say you won’t regret picking up the GX90. DESIGN The GX90 draws its design from 2018’s Archer C5400X—it features the same boxy appearance, encircled by the the…

Last year, we wrote that Windows 11 was, in a word, unnecessary. Have six months changed our opinion? No, though there are signs that Microsoft is fixing some of Windows 11’s most obvious flaws. Because virtually all of Microsoft’s development work now takes place on Windows 11, by necessity most of my work is done on Microsoft’s latest operating system. I’ve left most of my family’s PCs running Windows 10, however, in part because they’re simply used to the familiar Windows 10 environment. I still think that’s the right decision for most people. What follows isn’t a re-review of Windows 11. But it’s a good opportunity to think about whether the original review was influenced by first impressions, and what, if anything, Microsoft has accomplished in the intervening months. START,…

Device encryption is a security feature that Microsoft often quietly enables during Windows 11 setup. Sign in with a Microsoft account on a PC with compatible hardware, and the deed is (usually) done. In fact, many Windows 11 users may not even realize that their PC is encrypted—nor that the recovery key is also automatically saved to your Microsoft account. That key is necessary if you ever forget your password, or the data saved in your TPM gets wiped. It allows you to unlock the data stored on the drive, otherwise it’ll remain a scrambled collection of 1s and 0s. (A useful situation when someone else has your laptop, but far less so when you need access.) Fortunately, viewing that recovery key is easy. Just head over to account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey. For…