The best wireless adaptors can turn pretty much any device into a Wi-Fi enabled gadget that can connect to the internet.

While many modern devices have Wi-Fi built in, some devices, such as PCs and set top boxes, only have built-in support for wired Ethernet network connections.

The best wireless adaptors make it easy to add Wi-Fi functionality, either via a USB dongle, or by slotting into the PCI slot of a PC's motherboard.

Even if your device already has Wi-Fi, like many of the best laptops do, there are good reasons to use a wireless adaptor. For example, your laptop might be using older Wi-Fi technology, which means it doesn't support newer Wi-Fi, like Wi-Fi 6 and cannot benefit from the increased speeds and coverage the newer tech offers. Plugging in a new wireless adaptor can fix that.

You may also find that the built-in Wi-Fi of your laptop isn't that good, and it often loses connection to your wireless network. Adding one the best wireless adaptors on this page will boost your Wi-Fi connection. By plugging a USB wireless adaptor into your laptop via a USB extension cable can also give you greater flexibility if you struggle to get Wi-Fi reception.

So, read on for our pick of the best USB and PCI wireless adaptors of 2020.

Netgear is a trusted brand when it comes to networking kit, and its Nighthawk range has an enviable reputation for offering brilliant performance, so it's little surprise to find the AC1900 Wi-Fi sitting at the top of our best wireless adaptors list.

It adds blazing-fast WI-Fi to any device you plug it into, and the magnetic desktop cradle means it's an ideal adaptor for desktop PCs as well. It plugs into a free USB port, so it's easy to install, though its large size means you may worry about it sticking out of your laptop and accidentally getting snapped off.  

If you've got a PC and want to add a Wi-Fi adaptor to your motherboard, then the Asus PCE-AC88 is the best PCI wireless adaptor money can buy right now. Its powerful antennae can pick up wireless signals with ease, and you can use the included extension cable to better position the antennae for even better reception.

The attractive design of this PCI card includes a custom heatsink to keep it running cool when in use, as well. This does make it a little bit more tricky to install than other adaptors, and the extension cable could do with being a bit longer, but overall this is a fantastic PCI wireless adaptor.

Don't be put off by the spider-like design of the Trendnet TEW-809UB - this is one of the most powerful wireless adaptors money can buy right now. Sure, it's big and bulky, but it comes with four large antennae that can be positioned to maximise the range this adaptor can achieve.

Add support for Beamforming, and you've got a formidable USB wireless adaptor that can allow your device to access your Wi-FI network from previously unreachable locations.

If you have a new Wi-Fi 6 router, then you'll want to make sure your device is able to make use of the improved speeds and coverage the new technology offers, which is why the TP-Link Archer TX3000E is on this page. This is one of the few wireless routers that offers Wi-Fi 6 support, and plugging it into your PC's PCI slot will allow it to benefit from next-generation wireless speeds.

Again, it comes with external antennae for improving reception, and it's small enough to be easily installed in desktop PCs - even ones with very compact cases.

This handy USB wireless adaptor supports USB 3.0, and features Asus AiRadar Beamforming, and MU-MIMO via its easily-positioned antennae. While it's not the fastest wireless adaptor on this list, it is affordable and easily portable, meaning that it's a great choice for someone who does a lot of travelling.

For added value, the Asus USB-AC68 also includes a desktop cradle for use in the home or office, making it a good choice for a desktop PC as well.

The Linksys WUSB6300 is a micro wireless adaptor, and it's easily the smallest one on this list. That makes it brilliantly portable, and ideal for people who like to travel. However, just because it's small, it doesn't mean it lacks features.

It supports AC1200 speeds and is dual-band. There's also MU-MIMO and Beamforming tech packed into its small body. Best of all, the asking price is almost as small as the device itself, making this a great budget choice that doesn't compromise on performance.

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If you're looking for the best audio PCs and laptops, then you've come to the right place. On this page, we've listed the top machines that are ideal for music production.

Every PC and laptop in this list of the best audio PCs are ideal for running Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software, such as Image-Line FL Studio, PreSonus Studio One and Cubase. 

These are essential tools for music producers, and they can be rather demanding when it comes to specs, so every device in our best audio PCs list has enough power to run DAW software without a hitch - no matter how many tracks you're working on.

As well as having cutting edge components, the best audio PCs and laptops must be able to allow you to plug in multiple musical instruments, have a large enough hard drive to store your projects and uncompressed audio files, and have top-notch onboard audio quality (and the ability to plug into external speakers and monitors).

That's quite a demanding wishlist, and it means that many of the best audio PCs and laptops are quite expensive. However, they are well worth the money, and on this page you'll find our built-in price comparison tool, which scours the internet to bring you the best prices for these devices.

Apple has a great reputation amongst audio professionals, and with the 16-inch MacBook Pro, you can see (and hear) why that is. Apple took everything we loved about previous MacBook Pros, and made them even better, upping the screen to 16-inches, which gives you plenty of room to work on DAW software. It's incredibly powerful, as well, which means it can run audio production apps with ease. Its built-in speakers are absolutely fantastic as well, which means if you don't have external speakers, you can happily use the ones included here.

The only downside of the MacBook Pro 16-inch for audio professionals is the lack of ports. It comes with four Thunderbolt ports, which means you'll need to buy adaptors to plug instruments and older peripherals into it. However, data transfer speeds are excellent, so it's great for moving big audio files to and from an external hard drive.

This is truly the best MacBook - and laptop - for content creators, designers and other creative professionals.

Read the full review: MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)

The iMac has long been one of the cheaper ways to get into the macOS ecosystem, and we’re glad that hasn’t changed. Though what has changed, we also appreciate. The new iMac is packing with 8th- and 9th-generation desktop-class processors, letting this stylish all-in-one reach that fabled 8-core performance. 

This performance, by the way, makes it the best audio PC money can buy, as it can handle music production software with ease, while allowing you to plug in musical instruments and more. It's all combined in Apple's famous stylish all-in-one design and top-notch build quality.

Read the full review: iMac (27-inch, 2019)

While the regular Razer Blade laptop is famously a gaming laptop, Razer has taken its sheer power and turned the whole thing into one of the best mobile workstations for audio professionals. 

As we've come to expect from Razer's laptops, the Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition is packed with some of the very latest components, which means no matter what sort of DAW software you're running, this laptop will handle it with ease. On top of that, if has a powerful graphics card and a gorgeous, factory-calibrated 4K display. It's expensive, but it's also the best Windows-based alternative to the MacBook Pro when it comes to audio production.

Read the full review: Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition

The Surface Studio 2 is a great alternative to Apple's iMacs, and if you'd rather use Windows 10 over macOS, then this all-in-one from Microsoft is an excellent choice. Sleek, stylish and capable of handling DAW software with ease, along with a bright and vibrant built-in display, this is an excellent audio PC that would look great in anyone's studio.

It's not quite as powerful as the latest iMac, however, so if you want pure power, go for Apple's all-in-one. Still, this is an excellent performer, that's ideal for creatives.

Read the full review: Surface Studio 2

Mac mini fans, rejoice! The Mac mini has finally been upgraded with modern hardware, ushering Apple’s smallest Mac to the modern age, and it's easily one of the best audio PCs money can buy. It's a lot more affordable than many of the other devices on this list, but thanks to some upgraded components, including new processors and large amounts of RAM, the new Mac mini is a great tool for audio producers. Its compact size means you can fit it into any studio, and it's got plenty of power - but if you need more, you can actually hook up multiple Mac minis to share their processing power!

Read the full review: Mac Mini 2018

The formidable Acer ConceptD 7 is capable of handling complex and demanding tasks such as audio production. Clearly designed specifically with creative professionals in mind, it boasts that sheer power you’ll only find in workstations and gaming laptops. 

Beyond that excellent performance it delivers, it also offers decent port selection, a minimalist solid white design and that stunning Pantone-validated 4K IPS display. Obviously, it’s still pretty pricey, but no professional’s tool comes cheap. If you’re looking for a Windows-powered MacBook alternative for audio production, this is a fantastic choice.

Read the full review: Acer ConceptD 7 

Lenovo’s latest all-in-one offering isn’t as powerful as Apple’s premium AIO, the iMac Pro, or even the recently updated iMac, which now offers a 9th-generation Intel Core configuration. After all, the 8th-generation chips and Radeon RX 560 graphics are aging at this point. 

However, it is still plenty powerful to meet the needs of creative professionals out there who are not entirely impressed by Apple’s pricey machines. On top of that, the Lenovo Yoga A940 has a few aces up its sleeves, including 100% Adobe RGB support and Dolby Vision, a set of Dolby Atmos speakers, a port offering that’s more generous than Apple’s all-in-one, and a stylus included in the box.

Read the full review: Lenovo Yoga A940

Professionals and creatives need something that can handle any workload they can possibly throw at it. If you’re one such user, the iMac Pro isn’t just one of the best Macs for you; it’s the only Mac to consider. 

Not only does it have a vibrant 27-inch 5K display with a P3 wide color gamut, but it also boasts some of the most powerful hardware Apple could get its hands on. It’s extremely expensive though, so it’s really only meant for folks who have deep pockets and need that unbridled power to get through their daily workloads. 

Read the full review: iMac Pro 

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It looks like MacBook owners could get a free battery life boost in an upcoming update to macOS Catalina, with Apple working on a feature known as “Battery health management.”

The feature, which will be included in the macOS Catalina 10.15.5 update, which will come out later in 2020, is aimed at prolonging the lifespan of the MacBook’s battery. 

This should mean that MacBook batteries will last longer before needing to be replaced, and they should hold their charge better as well – so older MacBooks in particular will be able to go longer without needing to be charged.

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As The Verge reports, the battery health management tool does this by preventing the battery from charging fully to 100%. This may seem like an odd way to get longer battery life, but the science behind it makes sense, as it’s a bid to reduce how fast the battery ages.

Charging to 100% puts a strain on the battery, which can reduce its lifespan. That’s often why older battery-powered devices like laptops and smartphones need to be charged more regularly than when they were new. A battery at the end of its lifespan cannot hold enough charge to run for any decent amount of time unplugged from a power socket.

This means if you have a MacBook with a battery that just won’t hold its charge, your options are to either get the battery replaced or buy a new laptop – both of which are expensive.

Careful charging

So, while your MacBook will show the battery as 100% charged, the battery health management feature will ensure that it’s not actually at full capacity. According to Apple, the feature will determine how and when to apply this tweak depending on a user’s history of charging and battery temperature, and it could mean a significant improvement in battery lifespan.

All MacBooks that can run macOS Catalina, and which have Thunderbolt 3 ports, will be able to make sue of the feature – so that means MacBooks going back to 2016 and MacBook Air models released since 2018.

The feature will be turned on by default – but Apple promises you can turn it off if you like, and all the information it collects about how your MacBook’s battery is used will only be stored and used locally. Some information can be shared with Apple if you opt-in, and the company promises that this will be anonymous.

If the new Battery health management works as intended, it could fix one of the biggest complaints people have about MacBooks. Unlike many Windows 10 laptops, which have easily replaceable batteries, things are a lot more difficult (and expensive) when a MacBook’s battery begins to die.

We’re not sure when the feature, along with macOS Catalina 10.15.5, will be released, but we know it’ll be a free upgrade.

• These are the best MacBooks of 2020

From April 18, Zoom – the increasingly popular video conferencing service – will finally introduce an important security feature that many users have been asking for – the ability to choose what countries their virtual meetings are routed through.

While this is welcome news – Zoom’s increased popularity due to the coronavirus pandemic has put the service under scrutiny regarding its privacy and security policies – there is a fairly major catch, as only Zoom users who pay a subscription will be able to use the feature.

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Previously, Zoom came under a lot of criticism when it emerged that its calls are not using end-to-end encryption, and that calls are also being routed through countries – such as China – which could demand access to calls going through Zoom servers based in the country.

Zoom security – for a price

Zoom has 19 data centers based in the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, Latin America, Australia and China.

The new feature, which was announced in a blog post, will allow paid customers to opt out of certain data center regions. However, they will not be able to change their default region – which is where the customer’s account is created, and for most Zoom users will be the US.

While this is a welcome change, people using the free version will not be able to choose which countries their calls are going through. However, in the blog post, Brendan Ittelson, the CTO of Zoom, promises that the “data of free users outside of China will never be routed through China”.

Zoom CEO Eric S Yuan has already had to apologize after numerous security vulnerabilities were found in the service. This move is welcome, but users of the free version of Zoom may feel disappointed to be left out.

• Looking for a Zoom alternative? Here's the best video conferencing software around today

Via Neowin

We know that Microsoft is looking to redesign the iconic Start menu in Windows 10, and now the company has given us our best look yet thanks to a video on Twitter.

Posted by the Microsoft Design account, the short video shows how the Start menu, an integral part of the operating system since Windows 95, has evolved over the years.

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As you can see in the tweet below, the team asked Twitter users for their thoughts on the new design, and so far, the feedback looks to be mostly positive. 

Microsoft, and Windows 10 in particular, hasn’t had a brilliant run of news recently, mainly due to the ongoing issues with Windows 10 updates, so the company must be relieved that its updated Start menu seems to be a hit.

The Start menu’s new clothes

The new Start menu certainly looks less cluttered than the current version. Icons in the new Start menu now use Microsoft’s new ‘Fluent Design’ look, and there’s more space in general, making it less confusing if you have lots of apps installed.

It looks like Live Tiles, which are interactive icons that highlight information from the apps they represent, are still present in the new Start menu, despite persistent rumors that Microsoft is planning on killing them off.

One change which is perplexing some people, however, is the dropping of text under app icons. While this leads to a cleaner look, it relies on you knowing what the icons of the apps you’re after look like, as it will no longer display the name.

This might be the most controversial change the new Start menu makes, as it could make things more confusing for some people – especially after Microsoft has changed the look of many of the icons.

We’re not sure when the new Start menu will make an appearance – and its look could change when it finally does arrive. The next major update, the Windows 10 May 2020 Update, is coming out imminently, and it won’t appear that soon, so we may have to wait until the end of the year with the Windows 10 20H2 update instead.

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Via BetaNews

Resident Evil 3 has been remastered by Capcom and is out now, and it sure is a looker. But how does it perform at a monstrous 8K resolution? We fired it up on our 8K test machine to try out.

While we've also done a deep dive into how Resident Evil 3 runs on a variety of different graphics cards, here we look at how well the game runs at the incredibly demanding 8K (7,680 × 4,320) resolution.

To do this, we're running it on an incredibly powerful gaming PC kindly built for us by Chillblast, which includes the most powerful consumer graphics card in the world: the Nvidia RTX Titan, which sells for around $2,499 (around £2,000, AU$3,600).

As for the monitor, we're using the Dell UltraSharp UP3218K monitor, which costs $3,899.99 (£3,200, around AU$ 7,000).

So, this is a pretty hardcore setup, and not one you'd usually find in many people's homes. But what we want to see is just how realistic 8K gaming is.

Resident Evil 3 8K performance

So, how does Resident Evil 3 perform at 8K? Well, there's good news and bad. Unsurprisingly for such a graphically-intense game, as it's a particularly VRAM-hungry game.

Because we like to really punish the games (and hardware) we test, we first played Resident Evil 3 at 8K resolution with all the graphical settings set to max.

As you can see in the screenshot below, these settings take up a huge 19.09GB of graphics memory. Considering the most popular GPU for PC gamers at the moment (according to the Steam Hardware survey) is the Nvidia GTX 1060, which comes with either 3GB or 6GB of memory, pretty much every GPU in the world right now is going to be unable to play at this setting.

Even the Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti, the flagship GPU from Nvidia, won't be able to manage this, as it features a (still huge) 11GB of GDDR6 memory.

So, only the mighty RTX Titan with its 24GB of GDDR6 memory is going to be able to handle it.

And we use the term 'handle' loosely. As even though our gaming rig could technically play Resident Evil 3 at max settings at 8K, the results were far from playable.

In the opening first-person section, framerates dropped to a particularly choppy 17FPS. An early corridor chase scene didn't fare much better, hovering around 21FPS.

Once we got into the game proper, and started exploring a zombie-infested Racoon City, framerates hung around the 24FPS mark, with the MSI Afterburner software recording an average frame rate of 21.9FPS.

While that's not quite approaching slide-show levels of poor frame rates, it wasn't a terribly fun way to play, with the game stuttering and lagging, especially in sections where there was a lot of action.

However, we have to say, Resident Evil 3 looked absolutely stunning in 8K. That bump in resolution resulted in an incredibly detailed image. Take a look at the screenshot below for an example.

This gave us a thrilling glimpse of what kind of graphical quality we could expect from 8K games in the future – once our hardware catches up with the demands.

So, is Resident Evil 3 completely unplayable at 8K? Not quite. By dropping the preset so that it prioritizes performance over graphics (essentially setting most graphical settings to 'low'), we saw a big uptick in performance.

Playing over the same section again with the lower settings, we managed an average frame rate of 51FPS. and a minimum frame rate of 17.2FPS. In a few quiet spots, we also saw the FPS rise to 61.2FPS.

Of course, the trade-off here is drastically reduced image quality. While there were moments where the game looked very good, it certainly lacked the wow factor that comes with the higher graphical settings. 

Crucially, it also fell well short of that magic 60FPS average frame rate. Because of this, and the lowering of graphical settings, we'd recommend going for a lower resolution before dropping the graphical settings.

However, there were still a few tweaks to try. We turned off anti-aliasing completely (one could argue you don't need it when playing at 8K, anyway), and changed the 'Rendering Mode' from 'Normal' to 'Interlaced'.

This appeared to make the biggest impact, with the graphics memory demand dropping to a rather reasonable 2.66GB. Playing through the same section again, we now got average frame rates of an impressive 71FPS, with a minimum of 49.1FPS and a maximum of 162.1 FPS – though that was probably when we stood still in a dark spot for a moment.

Still, that is definitely very playable, and the game instantly felt smoother and more responsive. But looks-wise? Eesh. Not good.

The already ropy visuals looked even worse now, with a weird shimmering effect around fast-moving characters, no doubt caused by the Interlace rendering mode. While we were technically able to play Resident Evil 3 at 8K at these settings, we wouldn't want to.

With the Interlaced rendering technique making such a big difference, we looked to see if we could boost the other graphical settings elsewhere in a bid to make the game look good again.

Setting the graphical effects to 'medium' (and in some cases 'high') while keeping the Interlace rendering technique, we saw frame rates averaging 31FPS.

Not bad, but not great either, and the boost in graphical settings didn't make up for the weird graphical artefacts brought in by using the Interlaced rendering.

We also tried playing at the highest settings again, but with Interlaced rendering selected. This time, we got average frame rates of 31.8FPS, which is better (though the minimum frame rates were a shocking 7FPS), and again the graphical hit brought in by the Interlaced rendering was annoyingly noticeable.

So, changing the rendering technique isn't a magic bullet for high frame rates at 8K.

4K remains king

In the end, the most reliable way of getting high frame rates while not sacrificing image quality too much is to lower the resolution.

By dropping to 'only' 4K, we were able to get frame rates of 77.2FPS on average, and with all the graphical settings set to max.

4K is still a very high resolution, and the game looked fantastic – and played brilliantly as well.

But do you need an RTX Titan to play it at those resolutions? Certainly not. In our tests we found that the RTX 2080 Ti hit 74FPS on average at the same settings, and this is a GPU that while still very expensive, is almost half the price of the RTX Titan at $1,049 (about £837, AU$1,390).

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super is cheaper still, and hits 62FPS on average at 4K and max settings. Perfectly playable and more within reach of PC gamers.

So, while Resident Evil 3 is playable at 8K, and offers a tantalizing glimpse of what our 8K gaming future may hold, the best resolution for most people who want that Holy Grail of high resolutions, stunning image quality and great performance, remains 4K.

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It looks like Microsoft is planning some big improvements for Windows 10, with a new job posting revealing that the company is looking for a Software Engineering Manager for its Application connectivity team, which is a role that will focus on improving existing Windows 10 features, as well as working on the upcoming Windows 10X operating system for dual-screen devices.

So, what’s in store? In the job listing, which was spotted by Windows Latest, the job posting lists one of the major responsibilities as “Improving the performance of the Windows Indexer enabling end-users to rapidly find their files and information.”.

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This could mean that Microsoft is looking to overhaul the way Windows 10 indexes files on a PC, hopefully making it faster – and more reliable – to search for files, folders and applications, in Windows 10.

Windows 10’s current way of searching isn’t great – sometimes taking a while to complete, and causing some PCs to slow down – so any improvements here will be very welcome.

Better notifications

Another responsibility for the person taking up the role will be to “Improve reliability of Windows Notification system to support the needs of Xbox, Mobile devices and achieve ‘dial-tone’ reliability.”.

Again, this suggests that Microsoft will be improving how notifications are handled in Windows 10, and improve support for a wide range of apps to display messages to users.

Support for cloud-clipboard is also being worked on, it seems, which will allow for quick and easy sharing of files between devices.

Windows 10’s search and notifications features are two of its most-used features, and two of the features that could do with the most improvements, in our view, so hopefully we’ll see some big changes to Windows 10 coming soon.

• These are the best laptops of 2020

Asus has revealed the ROG Zephyrus Duo 15, the world’s first gaming laptop with two screens, and packed with some of the latest gaming tech to boot.

As well as the main 15.6-inch screen, which can either be a touchscreen 4K IPS panel, or a 300MHz 1080p display, a secondary 14.09-inch touchscreen, known as the ScreenPad Plus, sits above the keyboard, kind of like a super-powered Touch Bar, which you find on modern MacBooks.

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With a 3,840 x 1,100 resolution and stylus support, the ScreenPad Plus is designed to expand the desktop space of the laptop. As Asus told us, it could be used to display secondary apps when gaming, such as Twitch chats for streamers, allowing people to seamlessly interact with their audience (or use other apps) while gaming.

We were also told by Asus that it is working with games developers to add exclusive modes to their games for the ScreenPad Plus – so you could use the secondary screen to display maps, inventory and other options. While Asus hasn’t revealed what games will offer ScreenPad Plus-centric features, it could offer a decent strategic edge for players if enough titles take it up.

This isn’t the first Asus laptop to feature a secondary touchscreen, with the Asus ZenBook Pro Duo UX581 offering the same feature. We weren’t entirely convinced by it in the productivity laptop, but on a gaming laptop it makes quite a bit more sense.

Talking specs

While the second ScreenPad Plus display is the main talking point with the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15, Asus has also packed it with some cutting edge components – something we’ve come to expect from its Zephyrus lineup of gaming laptops.

So, there’s a model with an Intel 10th generation Comet Lake i7-1087H processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super GPU, up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM, and two 2TB M.2 SSDs with RAID 0 support.

There’s also a higher-specced version with an Intel Core i9-10980HK processor and Nvidia GeFroce RTX 2080 Super GPU.

Both versions come with a large 90Wh battery which should allow the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 to run without being unplugged for a little while, at least.

We had a quick go on the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15, and while we can see the potential of the second screen for gamers and creators, the ScreenPad Plus brings some compromises that we want to investigate further in our full review.

First, the dimensions and weight of the laptop are 36 x 26.8 x 2.1cm and 2.4kg, making this a bulkier and heavier laptop than we’re used to with the Zephyrus range of laptops, which are usually impressively thin and light affairs.

The other issue is price: this is an incredibly expensive laptop, which launches in July 2020 at £2,999.99 (around $3,000, AU$5,000) for the lower-end configuration, and £3,999 (around $4,000, AU$8,000) for the high-end version.

That’s an eye-wateringly high asking price, so the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 will be under a lot of pressure to justify it. We should hopefully find out if it manages to do just that when we get our hands on a review sample soon.

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Microsoft appears to be preparing the Surface Laptop 4 with the latest processor tech from both Intel and AMD.

A new benchmark has been spotted online which suggests that the upcoming Surface Laptop 4 will come with a choice of either new AMD Ryzen 4000 processors, or the upcoming Intel Tiger Lake-U CPUs.

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Both these new generations of processor technology bring big performance increases over previous models, so if this leak is accurate, it means we could see a Surface Laptop 4 that’s a serious step up from the Surface Laptop 3.

The latest benchmark leaks show what seems to be a Surface Laptop 4 with a Tiger Lake-U processor with a 2.7GHz base clock and 4.3 GHz boost clock, with four cores and eight threads. 

Choice of processors

If the Surface Laptop 4 does come with new Intel processors, it shows that Microsoft is serious about producing a device that offers strong performance in a thin and light design.

There have been rumors that the Surface Laptop 4 will offer new AMD Ryzen 4000 processors as well. Again, this means Microsoft’s laptop could benefit from the latest mobile technology, becoming a formidable device.

It also suggests that Microsoft will again offer a choice between Intel and AMD tech. Originally, Microsoft’s Surface devices only used Intel processors, but since last year, Microsoft began releasing configurations with AMD chips – a major coup for the CPU maker.

While these are still just rumors, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Surface Laptop 4 some time this year, and if it does indeed come with Intel’s and AMD’s latest and greatest mobile chips, then we could be in for a real treat.

•  These are the best laptops of 2020

Via NoteBookCheck

If you're looking for the best cheap webcams, then you've come to the right place. With many people around the world working from home, the best cheap webcams can be essential purchases, as they allow you to keep in contact with colleagues and clients, as well as friends and family, no matter where you are in the world.

If you're working from home, you probably don't want to spend a huge amount on a webcam, which is where our best cheap webcams guide comes in.

On this page, you'll find our picks of the best cheap webcams that don't sacrifice image quality, while still maintaining impressively low prices.

Sure, they won't come with some of the advanced features more expensive webcams boast, such as multi-mic arrays, 4K resolutions and auto pan and tilt, but when you're looking for a basic webcam you can plug into your PC or laptop and begin video conferencing right away, then you don't really need these kind of features anyway.

If you're after more powerful and feature-rich devices, then check out our best webcams guide, which covers webcams of all different prices.

Otherwise, read on for our pick of the best cheap webcams of 2020.

The Microsoft LifeCam Studio our pick for the best cheap webcam. Aimed at pro users with large displays, it features a familiar configuration of 1080p recording and 720p live video calling. It rotates 360 degrees, and can be mounted on a tripod with autofocus. The wideband mic delivers crystal clear audio, and Microsoft’s TrueColor system will shift the exposure dynamically to keep you well lit, making it a great choice for business conferencing and presentations.

It isn’t the most attractive webcam, but the LifeCam Studio isn’t really designed to be attractive. Instead, it’s made for business conferencing and presentations, with its 1080p recording, 720p live video calling and wideband mic to deliver crystal clear sound. This is a serious peripheral – one that requires a powerful PC for max settings – but that doesn’t mean it’s lacking bells and whistles. For instance, it comes with 360-degree rotating capabilities and Microsoft’s TrueColor system, which will shift the exposure dynamically to keep you well lit.

Read the full review: Microsoft LifeCam Studio

Logitech makes brilliant webcams, and the Logitech HD Webcam C310 is a fantastic budget offering, that offers very good image quality for the price. Resolution is just 720p, but for most people that won't be an issue. In fact, if you have an internet connection that struggles with high definition videos, then this is actually a bonus.

The Logitech G922 Pro Stream features the same classy design as its predecessor, the C920, but it’s especially interesting for gamers this time around. The C922 still boasts excellent 1080p video quality, great for hosting video calls, and its automatic low-light correction makes it a fantastic cam for streaming with the lights off. It also supports background removal, making it ideal for budding YouTubers.

• You can't stream without the best wireless router

AMD has posted a video showing off the RDNA 2 ray tracing capabilities of its upcoming graphics cards – with the tech also found in the PS5 and Xbox Series X– and this gives us an idea of the kind of graphical effects we may see in future games.

Using Microsoft’s just-announced DirectX 12 Ultimate API, which brings DirectX Raytracing tools, variable rate shading and more, the video (which can be seen below) shows off advanced lighting effects and reflections, amongst other bells and whistles.

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While this is just a tech demo – and in some cases goes a bit overboard with some of the effects (we doubt many games will be this shiny) – it does show what the Xbox Series X and future AMD Radeon graphics cards will be able to do.

Coming to Xbox Series X

As AMD explains, it has worked closely with Microsoft to add DirectX 12 Ultimate support to its upcoming AMD RDNA 2 architecture, and “with this architecture powering both the next generation of AMD Radeon graphics cards and the forthcoming Xbox Series X gaming console, we’ve been working very closely with Microsoft to help move gaming graphics to a new level of photorealism.”

The PS5 also uses AMD RDNA 2 tech to provide its graphics, but due to DirectX 12 Ultimate being Microsoft tech, it’s very unlikely to be coming to Sony’s console.

Nvidia also announced that its GPUs will support DirectX 12 Ultimate, bringing updated ray tracing effects to Nvidia’s graphics cards as well.

DirectX 12 Ultimate hasn’t got a launch date yet, but it’s likely to arrive alongside the Xbox Series X later in 2020.

• Everything you need to know about the Xbox Series X specs

Via Wccftech

If you're looking to buy Apple's thin and light laptop, then our MacBook Air 2020 vs MacBook Air 2019 guide is for you.

The new Apple MacBook Air 2020 was launched in March 2020, and the company promises that it's a big step up from the MacBook Air 2019 – but does that mean the latest model is the right one for you?

To help you decide, we've put together this guide that pits the new MacBook Air against the older model, helping you decide which one to go for.

Price and specs

Apple pitches the MacBook Air as its most affordable laptop, and the good news is that this continues with the MacBook Air 2020. In fact, this year's MacBook Air is even more affordable, as it has a new lower entry price.

The MacBook Air 2019 launched with an entry-level model that cost $1,099 / £1,099 /  AU$1,699. This model comes with a 1.6GHz dual-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz, 8GB of LPDDR3 RAM, 128GB storage and Intel UHD Graphics 617.

There’s also a model with the same specs, but with twice the storage at 256GB, which will set you back $1,299 (£1,299, AU$1,999).

Meanwhile, the MacBook Air 2020 starts at $999 / £999 / AU$1,599. Not only is this cheaper, but the specs are better, with the entry-level model featuring a dual-core 10th-generation 1.1GHz Intel Core i3 processor with a boost of 3.2GHz, 256GB storage and 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM.

There's also a higher-end MacBook Air 2020, priced at $1,299 / £1,299 / AU$1,999, which comes with a 10th-generation quad-core Intel Core i5 processor – the first time a quad-core CPU has been included in a MacBook Air – 512GB SSD storage and 8GB of RAM.

You can upgrade the processor, RAM and storage on both models at additional cost.

While the 2019 model comes with an i5 in its base configuration, the improvements Intel has brought to its 10th generation processors, compared to its 8th, closes the gap, especially when it comes to integrated graphics. Meanwhile, the faster RAM also helps improve performance.

Design

On the outside, it doesn't look like much has changed in the design of the MacBook Air. The MacBook Air (2019) is a remarkably thin and light laptop with dimensions of 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.61 inches (30.41 x 21.24 x 1.56cm) and a weight of 2.75 pounds (1.25kg).

The MacBook Air 2020 is just a tiny bit thicker, but otherwise almost identical in size with dimensions of 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.63 inches (30.41 x 21.24 x 1.61cm). It's also slightly heavier at 2.8 pounds (1.29kg).

So, while the new MacBook Air is slightly bigger, it won't feel like it's lost that iconic thin and light feel that the Air lineup is known for.

However, there is a more noticeable change with the MacBook Air 2020 – it has a new keyboard.

The new Magic keyboard of the Apple MacBook Air 2020 first debuted on last year's MacBook Pro 16-inch.

With a redesigned scissor mechanism, this keyboard should avoid the issues that plagued previous MacBooks with the older butterfly keyboard.

This new keyboard offers 1mm key travel for a responsive feel when typing, and the arrow keys are now in an inverted 'T' shape, as on PC keyboards, which makes them more intuitive to use.

There's also a separate delete key (something many people asked for) and a Touch ID fingerprint scanner for biometric login to macOS.

Display

One of the most noteworthy changes the MacBook Air (2019) brought was a display that boasts True Tone technology, bringing it in line with the MacBook Pro 13-inch (2019).

True Tone automatically adjusts the color temperature shown on the screen based on the ambient light. It can do a good job of making colors look more natural – especially in some conditions.

If you want color accuracy, however – if you’re a photographer or video editor, for example – then you’ll probably want to turn this feature off, which you have the option to do.

The MacBook Air (2020) also comes with the True Tone technology, and like its predecessor, it features a 13.3-inch display with LED backlighting, IPS technology and a native resolution of 2,560 x 1,600. That results in a pixel density of 227 pixels per inch on both screens, leading to an incredibly sharp picture.

However, the MacBook Air (2020) has the graphical edge thanks to its more powerful Intel Iris Plus graphics. It's also able to support an external 6K display, something the previous model can't match.

MacBook Air 2020 vs MacBook Air 2019: which one should you buy?

So, which MacBook Air should you buy? Usually this would be a complicated question, but this time it's pretty clear cut: if you're after a MacBook Air, then get the 2020 edition.

Not only does it have more recent and powerful hardware, leading to better performance, it's also launching at a lower price than the MacBook Air 2019. While we imagine the price of the 2019 MacBook Air will drop now that the 2020 model is available to buy, unless it drops by a huge amount, it'll still be worth going for the newer model due to the power difference.

Thanks to the better internal hardware, the MacBook Air 2020 is more future-proof, which means you won't feel the need to upgrade for a while. 

So, when it comes to the question of MacBook Air 2020 vs MacBook Air 2019: which one should you buy, the answer is clear: get the MacBook Air 2020.

• MacBook Pro 2019 vs MacBook Pro 2018 – is it worth an upgrade?

While Microsoft’s new and improved Edge web browser, which is now based on the open-source Chromium engine (the same used by Chrome), does a lot of things right, it still tries to force you to use the company’s unloved Bing search engine - but that could soon be changing.

At the moment Bing is the default search engine when you type search terms in the address bar of Chrome, as well as when you open a new tab. While you can change the address bar’s search  engine to something else like Google, Yahoo or DuckDuckGo, you’re currently unable to change the search engine displayed when you open a new tab.

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However, that appears to be changing, as a new Edge Canary update (which is an early version of Edge released to people who want to help test out new features) looks set to come with new options for changing the search engine used in new tab windows.

About time

As Windows Latest reports, users of the new Edge Canary update can now change the 'Search on new tabs' setting  from 'Search box', which uses Bing, to the Address bar, which will hide the Bing search box and let you quickly search from the address bar of Edge using whatever alternative search engine you’ve selected.

You can also now set a custom web page to show when you open a new tab, so you could set it to Google’s home page, for example.

To change these settings, you can type in Edge://settings/search in the address bar.

With these new settings appearing in Edge Canary, it’s expected that they will make their way to the proper version of Edge soon.

This is a welcome move by Microsoft, as although it tries to force Bing on Windows 10 users as often as possible, its search engine simply isn’t as popular as Google, which means many people will be glad to change the search engine in Edge to one they use more regularly.

• These are the best web browsers of 2020

Sigh. You know, Windows 10 used to be great. Maybe it was because Microsoft could have released almost anything after Windows 8 and it would seem brilliant in comparison, but at the time it seemed like the new operating system had fixed almost all its predecessor’s problems.

No longer did Microsoft force its ugly Metro interface on us, insisting on a big and ugly touch-screen interface for people who don’t have touchscreens. Instead, the good old Start menu was back!

And, while Windows 8 felt like a bloated piece of software that struggled to run on PCs that matched its minimum system requirements, Windows 10 felt like Microsoft had actually tried to make a piece of software that could run on older, or less powerful PCs.

While Microsoft will probably never release a lightweight operating system to compete with the likes of Chrome OS, many of us were pleasantly surprised with how well Windows 10 ran on its minimum specifications. It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than Windows 8.

So, what happened? Why is Windows 10 now such a mess? Recently, Microsoft has released update after update that appear to break more things than they fix. Then, when Microsoft scrambles to release a fix for those new problems, it seems like it introduces even more.

Many of those new problems even result in the notorious Blue Screen of Death. This error screen was once so widespread in earlier versions of Windows, it became iconic. Thought you’d finally seen the last of it with Windows 10? Well, it’s back. With a vengeance.

Now, Windows 10 has such a big install base, that even with plenty of reports of problems, for the majority of users, Windows 10 still works fine. And that’s a lot of people.

However, even if you’ve not been affected by a dodgy Windows 10 update, the steady stream of news about people who have been affected, and are now staring despondently at a blue screen, can’t help but lessen your confidence in Windows 10. Sure, it works for you now. But is it just a matter of time before Microsoft breaks your PC?

What can you do?

So, what can you do? Stopping Windows 10 from updating is a decent short-term fix. It means you can pause the updates from installing, wait to see if there are any reported problems (and going by Microsoft’s track record, there will be), and then decide whether or not to install it once you’re confident that it won’t impact your PC.

We explain how to stop a Windows 10 update, which takes you through the process. However, stopping Windows 10 updates should only be temporary. Most of the time, these updates include important security fixes, so you don’t want to run an unpatched operating system for too long.

So, maybe it’s time for a more drastic change. Maybe it’s time to leave Windows 10 behind.

Is Linux the answer?

One of the easiest ways to ditch Windows 10 is to get a new MacBook or Mac, which runs macOS, or a Chromebook, which runs Chrome OS.

That, of course, is a pricey option. However, if you want to keep your exciting PC or laptop and move away from Windows, then it’s time to seriously consider Linux.

Linux is an open-source operating system, and it’s incredibly popular. It’s free to download and install (apart from some versions that are for enterprise users) and it runs on any PC that can run Windows 10. In fact, due to it being more lightweight than Windows 10, you should find it runs better than Windows 10.

Perhaps best of all, Linux comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Called distributions, or distros, these different spins of Linux are aimed at different people. There are hardcore distros for Linux experts, as well as beginner distros, and ones that are built for running on old and underpowered hardware.

If you’re new to Linux, then Ubuntu and Mint are the distros to check out, as they are extremely easy to use. Mint in particular is good for Windows migrants as it has a user interface that’s very similar to Windows 10, so you’ll feel right at home.

Thanks to the popularity of Linux, many programs (and an increasing number of games) you use in Windows 10 will have Linux versions. And if not, there are plenty of excellent alternatives. While Microsoft Office doesn’t run on Linux, LibreOffice is a great (free) alternative, for example.

There’s also projects like WINE (Wine Is Not an Emulator) which let you run Windows 10 apps within Linux.

So, there’s plenty of reasons to switch to Linux if Windows 10 is bugging you. While it’s not ideal having to switch operating systems, if Microsoft keeps breaking Windows 10, it will leave many people with no other option – and that may in turn may shock the company into sorting out its mess.

• These are the best Linux distros

Reports are emerging that yet another Windows 10 update is causing problems for people who have downloaded and installed it.

The update in question is Windows 10 KB4540673, and it was only released on March 10. It was supposed to bring a number of security fixes, and even though this was supposed to be a minor update, it appears Microsoft’s recent habit of releasing updates that break more things than they fix has struck again.

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According to Windows Latest, this new update, which is for Windows 10 versions 1909 and 1903 – so the two most recent major versions of Windows 10 – is reportedly causing some people’s PCs to crash and display the dreaded Blue Screen of Death.

According to a reader of Windows Latest, “After installing it I started having BSOD every time I started my PC. Only solution I had was rolling back to a previous restore points of some days ago.”

There have also been people on Reddit reporting issues since installing the update, and while the number of cases seems low, it is growing.

More problems

While the most common problem with Windows 10 KB4540673 seems to be PCs randomly crashing – one user reported his PC crashing while playing CS:GO – other users have reported that the update takes an unreasonably long time to download and install.

Another user has also claimed that the update brings back the temporary user profile bug, which replaces the default Windows 10 user account with a new temporary one, removing any desktop icons or customizations. This was an issue that plagued a lot of people when it was included in a previous Windows 10 update.

What should you do?

If you’ve downloaded the Windows 10 KB4540673 update and are encountering any issues, the best way to fix the problem is to uninstall the update.

Open up the Settings app (the cog icon in the Start menu, or by pressing Windows + I on the keyboard), then click 'Update & security'.

From the window that appears, click 'Windows Update' on the left-hand menu, then 'View update history'.

Click 'Uninstall updates' then select KB4540673 to uninstall it. The problems should now be fixed.

You could also use the System Restore feature in Windows 10 to roll back your PC to a time when it was working correctly.

Microsoft has yet to comment on these new problems, and as we stated so far it seems like the issues aren’t too widespread. If you installed the update and you’ve not experienced any problems, then you’ll be fine to continue with it installed.

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