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27 Jun 2025

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Alienware’s new OLED ultrawide gaming monitor is down to $700
Alienware, Dell’s gaming PC brand, has some of the most affordable OLED monitors from any major supplier. Granted, “affordable” is a sliding scale, and you’ll still pay hundreds more than an equivalent LCD gaming monitor, but as someone who’s taken the plunge, I think it’s worth it. Today Alienware’s newest ultrawide design, with a new look and a faster panel, is down to $699.99 on Amazon. This is the AW3425DW, a 34-inch model that debuted earlier this year. In addition to some sleeker looks, the 3440×1440 monitor has a considerably faster refresh rate than Alienware’s original “affordable” designs, boosted to 240Hz. That lets it match most of the other recent ultrawide offerings from companies like Samsung and Asus, while still undercutting them on price. With a $100 discount, this monitor is about the best deal you can find without going for a refurbished model or a whitebox brand. The monitor does sport a single USB-A and one USB-C downstream port, but with no mention of video input and just 15 watts of charging, it’s not a great companion for a recent gaming laptop. You’ll have to make do with just two HDMI 2.1 and one DisplayPort, um, ports. Still, if you’re looking for an affordable way to take your gaming desktop to the next level, look no further. For more info, you can check out PCWorld’s full review of the Alienware AW3425DW. If it’s not quite right for you, we have other picks for the best monitors on the market right now. Get an Alienware ultrawide OLED gaming monitor for $700View Deal

We asked Gamers Nexus: Should PCs smell good?
Computers aren’t really known for smelling like…anything. Maybe a whiff of new device plastic, or a bit of burning dust if you don’t have good cleaning habits. But at Computex 2025, we’re finally getting scented thermal paste. Adam already checked it out with a hands-on (nose-on?) investigation, but now we’re getting input from Steve of Gamers Nexus. So apparently the idea is that scented thermal paste won’t just smell when you apply it to the CPU. It’ll off-gas (oof, what an unappealing term) when the PC heats up. So the more you’re pushing it, the more it’ll smell…in a good way. That’s the theory, anyway. But it’s not just for CPUs anymore — Yeston, of the anime waifu graphics card designs, apparently makes a Radeon RX 9070 XT with an “ocean-themed fragrance module.” I suppose it could have been worse. Hyte is thinking about doing something similar for packaging, apparently. Adam’s all for this. But however you feel about scents in your PC parts, it’s not going to be free — the extra hardware and engineering in this stuff will cost extra. Should you pay for it? Steve says no. Adam says he wants a scratch-and-sniff PC case. Well okay then. For hot, smelly takes like that, be sure to subscribe to PCWorld on YouTube and watch our weekly podcast The Full Nerd.

I solved my TV streaming problems with this $30 keyboard
A few months ago, I kicked off an experiment to replace the Apple TV in my living room with a cheap mini PC, and I’m ashamed to report it hasn’t gone well. The fault lies entirely with me, because after picking up a Beelink S12 Pro Mini PC and writing that story, I never got around to solving a fundamental remote-control problem. I didn’t want a full-sized keyboard and mouse on my coffee table, but I kept waffling on what to use instead. In the meantime I drifted back to my old streaming setup for the convenience. But during a recent attempt to watch Mr. Robot on Tubi, in which a single episode was broken up by a half-dozen commercial breaks, I knew I had to take this experiment more seriously. Being able to skip those ads was one of my main reasons for bringing a mini PC into the living room, and I needed a proper remote control to make it all work. I think I’ve finally found the answer. The weird world of PC mini remotes Search on Amazon for “PC remote,” and you’ll find options in all shapes and sizes, from air mouses with gyroscopic controls to full-sized keyboard/trackpad combos that sit on your lap. But I didn’t want anything too bulky, and waving a remote at the TV to control it doesn’t sound very relaxing. Jared Newman / Foundry Ultimately, I settled on a $32 mini remote from a brand called Fosmon. It has a little trackpad on the right-hand side, and mouse buttons along its top edges. The idea is to grip it in both hands like a game controller, moving the cursor with your right thumb and clicking with your index fingers. (You can also tap the trackpad to click or use the additional mouse buttons at the bottom edge.) Compared to a standard streaming remote, the Fosmon remote is a lot thinner and only a little taller, so it doesn’t look out of place in the living room. It uses Bluetooth to connect wirelessly with the PC, and it has a USB-C port to charge its built-in battery. As for the keyboard, it’s reminiscent of the landscape keys on old Android phones, such as the Motorola Droid. I wouldn’t want to write a lengthy email on it, but it’s a huge step up from the on-screen keyboards you must deal with on smart TVs and streaming players. The arrow keys beneath the trackpad are also helpful for scrolling through pages and advancing through videos, and unlike most streaming remotes, the keys are backlit (you can this off if you don’t need or want it). Controlling your TV this way is obviously less convenient than using a traditional remote, but that’s the inherent trade-off with a living-room PC setup, where you’re navigating streaming sites that were made with cursor control in mind. I did need to dial down the mouse sensitivity settings in Windows to keep the cursor from jumping all over the screen, but I’d gotten pretty used to it within a few minutes. Room for improvement Jared Newman / Foundry While I like this type of remote for living-room PC use, I’ve also identified some issues with the Fosmon remote that have me looking at other options. For one thing, the Bluetooth connection isn’t ideal. Unlike USB peripherals, the Fosmon remote is unable to wake my mini PC from standby, which means I must set the PC to only turn its screen off instead of going to sleep when idle. The Beelink S12 Mini PC I’m using doesn’t consume much power to begin with, but I’d still rather not have it running at all times. My living room also seems to be somewhat hostile to Bluetooth controllers in general. If I sit on the couch and lean back, the remote connection gets a little finicky. I’ve had similar issues with Bluetooth game controllers both in the living room and in the basement directly below, so your mileage may vary. Lastly, the Fosmon can’t directly control my TV or soundbar. It does have built-in volume keys for adjusting the sound level in Windows, but that only works up to the maximum volume set by my TV remote, which I need to keep handy for TV power and input switching anyway. Looking around on Amazon, I’ve yet to find any remotes that solve all the above problems while preserving the Fosmon remote’s design, which I really like. There are a bunch of remotes with similar layouts—including ones with wireless USB connectivity and a programmable IR emitter for TV control—but none with Fosmon’s convenient shoulder buttons for triggering mouse clicks. iPazzPort So far, the closest alternative I’ve found is a $22 remote from iPazzPort. It has a bulkier design that puts the keyboard underneath the trackpad, but it offers wireless USB connectivity, programmable IR controls, a trackpad you can reach with your right thumb, and shoulder-mounted mouse buttons. I’ll play around with that one next, and keep whichever option performs best. In the meantime, at least I have a way to start using my living-room PC in earnest, complete with the ad-skipping tools and streaming guide apps I’ve been wanting to use for months. Next, I’ll start looking for software refinements to make the experience even more couch-friendly. Stay tuned. Sign up for Jared’s Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter for more streaming TV advice.