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23 May 2025

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Gigabyte’s reinvented Aero laptops hope to satisfy creators and gamers
Gigabyte’s Aero line of laptops is intended for media pros, those who need production power in a relatively portable package. Or at least they were intended for that. The new Aero X16 model that debuted at Computex 2025 hopes to thread the needle between creators and gamers, both of whom need extra oomph in their laptops. This new design goes with a popular AMD CPU plus Nvidia GPU combo, topping out with a Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 and a GeForce RTX 5070 with 85 watts of TGP, and it can be disabled with a MUX switch if you need more battery life than sheer pixel-pushing power. All of that hardware is shoved into a 16-inch chassis that’s under 17mm thick and 4.2 pounds light, an impressively sleek design. There’s a plethora of ports, though only one is USB-C (4.0). You get three USB-A ports, full-sized HDMI and Thunderbolt, and an old-fashioned barrel charger if you need to recharge faster than USB allows. The juicy bits for me are under the hood, where you have two M.2 slots for storage, two user-accessible SO-DIMMs for RAM, and a 76.1-watt-hour battery. But it’s not all good news. PCWorld’s Adam saw it in person and wasn’t impressed with the 2560×1600 IPS screen with 165Hz of refresh. That’s pretty good in gamer terms, but creators might not be satisfied. Adam says that even with a Pantone verification and 100 percent of SRGB coverage, it’s lacking full Adobe RGB color space. It’s an upgrade option Adam would like to see in the future. Gigabyte is also refreshing its A16 and A16 Pro gaming laptops. The A16 is making do with older CPUs from AMD and Intel and an RTX 5070 card with a max TGP of 80 watts. Step up to the Pro version and you get access to a newer Intel Core 7 250H and an RTX 5080 screaming at 115 watts. The Aero X16 is launching in June or July while the A16 should arrive in October. The beefier A16 Pro will be here in August. We have no idea what they’ll cost… which might as well be the official slogan of Computex 2025. For more on the latest laptops, be sure to subscribe to PCWorld on YouTube. Check out our weekly podcast The Full Nerd while you’re at it.

We finally got to sniff scented thermal paste — and we got it on video
Thermal paste, the heat-transferring goop that goes between a computer chip and whatever you’re using to cool it down, is boring. Does it work? Is it efficient? That’s all I care to know. But PCWorld’s Adam Patrick Murray, veteran technology journalist and scent savant, has been hunting scented thermal paste for years. He found it at Computex 2025. ID-Cooling is the vendor, Frost X55 is the paste. It’s being offered in five different scents: Luna, Viola, Bella, Poma, and unscented. If you want to watch Adam shove little capsules of smelly chemicals under his nose, see below for the video. Enjoy. The specific “flavors” of scent aren’t often hitting the mark. “I don’t mean to be mean, it’s not a bad scent, but it kinda smells like diapers,” said Adam when sniffing the Viola flavor, which is supposed to be floral. “No, no, no, no, no, a clean diaper, let me clarify! A clean diaper is what it smells like, not a dirty diaper!” ID-Cooling will be selling the paste in the usual squeeze tubes. But I wonder how much of the scent will actually make its way into the room after you’ve used it in a desktop PC. “I’d be willing to pay extra for comparable, or maybe even less performance, just to get this scent in my house,” says Adam. For more live coverage of Computex, be sure to subscribe to PCWorld on YouTube and check out our weekly podcast The Full Nerd.

BeyondTrust recognised as leader in secrets management
BeyondTrust named Overall Leader in the 2025 KuppingerCole Leadership Compass for Enterprise Secrets Management, praised for secure, scalable secrets solutions.

An America's Cup without an American boat? American Magic says it may not sail in Naples
American Magic has raised concerns about the “transparency” of Team New Zealand's decision to hold the 2027 regatta in Italy.

This ultra-portable Sonos Bluetooth speaker just hit its lowest price
Sonos is one of the better audio brands out there, but we rarely see significant deals on their products. That’s why today is a special day. Right now, the Sonos Roam 2 portable Bluetooth speaker just got its largest discount to date, bringing it down to $134 (25% off). This kind of discount is notable for just about any Bluetooth speaker, but particularly noteworthy for Sonos speakers. The Roam 2 is gorgeous with its sleek design and elegant build, while being compact and lightweight so it can join you outdoors with ease. It’s perfect whether you’re spending a day by the pool, at the beach, or in your backyard. It’s not just durable, but also comes with an IP67 waterproof and dustproof rating so it can survive your adventures in inclement weather. When we reviewed the original Sonos Roam, we gave it a 4.5-star rating and loved how small and lightweight it was along with the awesome features it brought to the table. The fact that it worked with Alexa was the cherry on top, allowing it to be used as a smart speaker. The newer Roam 2 has the same audio quality but better design and battery life, with a single charge able to keep the party going for up to 10 hours—a decent amount of time considering the speaker’s tiny size. With this being the best price we’ve ever seen for the Sonos Roam 2, there’s never been a better time to get one. Snag it now on Amazon for just $134 to level up your parties and adventures! Or check out some of our other favorite smart speakers for smart homes. The Sonos Roam 2 has never had a discount like this beforeBuy now at Amazon