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22 Nov 2024   
  
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Get this upgradeable Asus laptop for just $210 and soup it up for cheap
On the whole, I don’t think you should buy a Windows laptop with less than 16GB of RAM — but I do think you should buy a dirt-cheap laptop if you can make some easy upgrades. It’s a great way to get a decent laptop at a bargain-bin price. And now’s your chance to do that because right now this upgradeable Asus Vivobook 14 is on sale for just $210 at Best Buy. That’s a whopping $220 off its original $430 price, a 51 percent discount. The Vivobook X1404ZA is a pretty decent deal at this price, with a 12th-gen Intel Core i3 processor, 8GB of RAM, and an admittedly small 128GB SSD for storage. It’s a good basic machine for browsing the web, watching video, and maybe playing very low-power games. But the kicker here is that you can pop the laptop’s bottom off and get access to a DDR4 RAM slot and a user-replaceable M.2 Gen 4 drive. So if you combine this hot deal with this 16GB RAM upgrade for $22 and this 512GB SSD upgrade for $41, you can get a far more capable machine for under $300 total (before taxes). That’s an absolute steal, and all you need is a screwdriver, some elbow grease, and a Windows re-install. You can do it. I believe in you. Other high points of the design include a 1080p non-touch screen, 10 hours of battery life, plus triple USB-A, one USB-C, and one full-sized HDMI port. The only real downer for me is that you can’t charge it via USB-C — it needs an old-fashioned barrel charger — but that might be an acceptable trade-off to get a laptop this cheap. Best Buy has offered this laptop on sale before, but this is a limited-time deal that’s only good today (October 30). It’s also available on Best Buy’s official eBay store, which might be worth a try if it’s out of stock or otherwise gone from the main product page. Save big on this upgradeable Asus laptop todayBuy now at Best Buy 
© 2024 PC World Thu, 31 Oct 5:05am 

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Asus microsite confirms Ryzen 9000 X3D chips are on the way
AMD’s X3D processors, outfitted with extra V-cache that can boost performance for 3D games, are all the rage with system builders. In fact, the existence of these souped-up chips might be part of the reason that sales for the initial Ryzen 9000 CPUs are less than spectacular. Well, here’s good news for gamers who are waiting for the X3D versions: Asus says they’re coming… thanks to a bit of a leak. Frequent Twitter leaker @momomo_us (via PCGamer) dug into the support pages for the latest Asus motherboards. Though there’s no mention of 9000-series processors with X3D V-cache on the public-facing page for X870 and X870E mobos, the URL for the page specifically mentions “9000-X3D”. Sure, “X3D” alone isn’t much to go on — an AM5 socket supports the newest Ryzen 9000 processors as well as the older 7000 series, which includes variants like the Ryzen 9 7950X3D. But “9000-X3D” definitely implies that X3D chips are in the pipe. Metadata beneath the site’s public-facing front, spotted by VideoCardz.com, mentions the new chips by name: “Asus AMD X870E & 870 motherboards are designed to get the most out of AMD Ryzen 9000 series X3D processors and are ready for Advanced AI PCs.” When will we see them? That’s the more interesting question. The Ryzen 7000 series kicked off the current AM5 socket with the first CPUs launching in September of 2022, then the Ryzen 9 7950X3D and 7900X3D followed in February of 2023. That seems to imply that Ryzen 9000X3D chips won’t be hitting store shelves before 2025. But speculators think they might be coming a lot sooner than that. AMD knows the X3D variants are a hit with gamers, who are the primary audience for sales of high-end desktop components at retail. In fact, they’ve gone back to the original Ryzen 7 5800X3D well twice, with the latest being the 5700X3D released in February of this year. Gamers can’t get enough of that V-cache special sauce, even at performance levels well below the flagship Ryzen 7 and 9 categories. So, combined with slumping sales of the newest Radeon graphics cards and a tepid response for the standard Ryzen 9000 CPUs, AMD might be looking to get those X3D versions of the chips on shelves as soon as possible. Asus’ little URL slip-up could be an indication that it’s prepping a marketing push for just that… or it could be a simple mistake that means nothing, and we’ll have to wait until next year proper. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but I haven’t seen any concrete evidence of an accelerated release for new X3D processors. Speaking as someone who’s running a 7800X3D right now, with an AM5 socket that should be compatible with a newer version, I’d love to be mistaken. 
© 2024 PC World Thu, 22 Aug 3:15am 

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This Asus USB-C portable monitor is perfect for laptops, now just $99
Portable monitors are a cheat code for boosting on-the-go productivity, giving you a multi-monitor setup you can fit in a laptop bag. And while there are plenty of budget options out there, right now you can get this Asus ZenScreen portable monitor for just $99 on Amazon. That’s a 29 percent discount off its $139 retail price. This monitor isn’t especially amazing, but it packs everything you need to give just about any laptop (or even a phone or tablet) a second screen. A single USB-C provides both power and video, with the 1080p IPS panel offering enough quality for video or photo editing on the go. With standard Windows drivers, you can either mirror your laptop’s primary screen or extend your desktop into a dual display. I dig the integrated kickstand, which can hold the monitor in standard landscape or portrait positions, or even hang from a wall hook if you’re in a tight space. The only downer is that the USB-C port is on just one side. Still, this is a great price for a portable screen from a name brand, and it comes with a three-year warranty — a rare find for any kind of mobile tech. Amazon says this is a “limited time deal,” so get an order in quickly to snag this monitor with a nice discount. Get an Asus USB-C portable monitor for just $99Buy now on Amazon 
© 2024 PC World Tue, 22 Oct 5:05am 

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Logitech’s MX Master 2S wireless mouse is 50% off today
The Logitech MX Master series is about as good as high-quality mice get, as long as you don’t need a gaming-specific model. Today, Lenovo’s online store is selling the MX Master 2S for just $50 with a coupon code. This model is a few years old, but it’s still rare to see a new version going for less than about $70. It’s a fantastic deal. The MX Master 2S features a sculpted body with premium materials, a super-fast ball bearing metal scroll wheel, and customizable thumb buttons with a second horizontal scroll. Its 4,000 DPI “Darkfield” sensor works on just about any surface, including glass. (The mouse’s curvy body won’t work for left-handed users, but otherwise it’s just about perfect for any advanced user.) This model came out in 2017 and has since been replaced by the MX Master 3 and 3S, both of which go for $100. What are you missing by going with this cheaper option? The biggest downer for me is the Micro USB charging port, as the newer designs use USB-C now. But the mouse should last for weeks on a charge, whether you’re using the wireless dongle or multi-device Bluetooth. And it has pretty much all the same core features, like Logitech’s cross-device Flow system. The only major difference is the newer 8K sensor and quieter clicks. Lenovo Lenovo Lenovo To get the $50 sale price, be sure to enter coupon code FALLMX (spotted by the penny-pinchers over at SlickDeals). The code area is on the cart page, below the “Proceed to Checkout” button. Shipping is free. Get a Logitech MX Master 2S mouse for $50Buy now at Lenovo's store 
© 2024 PC World Sat, 19 Oct 5:45am 

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