But with the launch of Ryzen, that has all changed. We’ve reviewed the range-topping 1800X here, along with the cheaper 1700, but two even cheaper Ryzen 5 chips which are launching in a couple of months. See also: Ryzen release date, price and specifications Update 15 March: We’ve now added the benchmark results from the Ryzen 7 1700 to our graph below. Plus, AMD has made an official comment on the Ryzen 1800X (and 1700X) temperatures – read more....
The iMac is, of course, a great example of Apple’s elegant industrial design. It houses everything – display, processor, graphics, storage, memory and so on – within its super slim case. It manages to pack everything into the thin case by use of advanced friction-stir welding, full-lamination display and micro engineering. It comes with a wireless keyboard and wireless Magic Mouse (buy the £25 Apple Battery Charger), so all you need to add is a modem/router and you’re in business....
Now that many of us listen to music via our phones rather than CD players or other old-fashioned devices we’ve had to compromise audio quality for convenience. Until now that is as Arcam has engineered its first product for mobile music lovers, the MusicBoost. MusicBoost is an iPhone case that promises to massively increase the audio quality you get from your phone, as well as offering iPhone protection and extended battery life....
Asus Transformer Book T100 Chi review: Build and Design The Transformer T100 arrives in its box like a regular clamshell folding laptop, albeit a very small one with 10.1-inch screen. The unit actually comprises two parts – a Windows 8 tablet and a snap-on keyboard assembly. When docked together you get some of the benefits of a real laptop, such as mechanical keyboard and finger trackpad, although screen angle is more limited in its tilt, almost certainly to prevent the back-heavy unit from toppling over backwards....
Last month we reviewed Choetech’s Portable Power Bank. Brick-like in design and pricier than many rival power banks, the Choetech took our fancy for its inclusion of Qualcomm Quick Charge support, making it the fastest power bank we’d seen. In common with the Choetech, on one of its two USB outputs the Aukey supports Quick Charge 2.0, which can reduce charging time by up to 75 percent with compatible phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S6....
Lightning was introduced by Apple in September 2012 with the iPhone 5, fifth-generation iPod touch and seventh-generation iPod nano. A month later the technology was added to the fourth-generation iPad and original iPad mini. Older iOS devices use the 30-pin dock, but if you have any of these or later iOS devices then the Aukey 3600mAh External Battery Charger is well worth a look. Particularly the iPhone. Aukey doesn’t state its battery’s efficiency, but with most offering around 70 percent (some is lost through heat generated and voltage conversion), you can expect around 2500mAh....
We show you some of the best alternatives to FaceTime for Android. And if you’re just about to make the switch away from iOS, or have designs on a new device in the months ahead, you should also take a look at our Best Android Phones 2017/18 guide. Facebook Messenger Much like the old adage that the best camera is the one you have with you, Facebook Messenger is most probably already installed on not only your device, but importantly those of your family and friends This makes it an obvious choice to use for video calls, as its ubiquitous nature means it offers the path of least resistance when it comes to signing up to a service and downloading the app....
We’ve found the lowest prices for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC right here. You’re going to struggle to find anything much cheaper online than the deals below over this Black Friday weekend. There is a rumour that Tesco is selling copies of the game for £30 (in-store only) but you’ll need to brave the wind and rain for that. Take a look at our best PS4 and Xbox One deals to grab a bargain this Black Friday....
In one short decade phones and social media have destroyed the cheap digital camera market, and we now take pictures at every event and post them on the internet, for better or worse. Thankfully phone cameras are exceptionally good these days. If you want to find the best phone camera then you’ve come to the right place. We fully test and review all the latest high-end, mid-range, and budget phones on the market, and camera quality is one of the main factors in deciding their final scores....
Smart lights can give you more colour options and more control (no more crawling around under the tree to find the switch). You can set up schedules, choose patterns and change colours at the touch of a (virtual) button. Plus, we’ve found some options for decorative smart lights that can stay up all year and don’t need to be packed away with the baubles and tinsel come January. Take a look at our round-up of the best smart lights for more ideas....
Offering a convenient, environmentally friendly way for people to get around and a fun riding experience, eScooters are hugely popular – even if they are still illegal to ride on public roads in the UK. That could change in the near future though, if comments from Transport Secretary Grant Shapps are anything to go by. Even if you do have private land to ride them on, the issue is that they can be expensive if you don’t know where to look, with some boasting a price tag of over £1000....
The Babadook This low-budget Aussie horror became an online sensation, and for good reason. Jennifer Kent’s directorial debut centres around the children’s book of your nightmares, but it’s not really about the book or the Babadook that haunts it. Instead grief, motherhood, and mental health run rampant in a film that’s almost as stressful when its monster is off the screen as when it creeps onto it. Fantastic Mr. Fox This stop-motion animation is Wes Anderson’s take on a family film: anarchic, oddball, but consistently charming....
Black Friday is still a while off on 24 November, with Cyber Monday just after on 27 November, but there’s no harm in being prepared, especially since deals will most likely start much earlier and run for the full month of November. As with so much tech, you tend to get what you pay for. We’d recommend avoiding the very cheapest, basic models that probably won’t live up to your expectations....
And that’s not even getting to the smart functionality. Smart lights can be operated remotely, by voice commands, or on a schedule. Many can also pulse in time to music, or add drama to your TV or gaming set up. Scheduling your lighting to come on at dusk or home time means your house will always have a welcoming glow when you need it. And scheduling it for morning can help you to wake more gently than a blaring alarm....
Indeed, more and more laptops (including Apple MacBooks and Dell’s XPS line) and tablets (such as Apple’s iPad Pro) use the latest USB-C connection standard—or its faster Thunderbolt 3 or 4 and USB4 siblings—because it’s small and versatile: the port can be used for a variety of things including connecting peripherals, displays and charging. But if you still need to connect non-USB-C devices to your USB-C laptop or tablet you’ll need a USB-C hub or adapter....
One of the easiest ways to completely change the look and feel of your device is by installing a theme. The popularity of Windows 10 means there’s a huge range to choose from, the vast majority of which are free. Here are our top picks. The best Windows 10 themes GreyEve Theme ‘Dark themes’ are becoming more and more popular as they provide a white text on a dark background, rather than darker text on a white background....
Touting gaming-focused features like a 144Hz AMOLED display, magnetic pop-up triggers, RGB lighting and 120W HyperCharge support, the Black Shark 4 Pro sounds tempting, but can the early 2021 spec hold its own against 2022 smartphones? Well… Design and build Big and bulky, but not unwieldyClean design with minimal RGBBuilt-in triggers are a game-changer The Black Shark 4 Pro is a gaming phone, and that means that it’s not the thinnest or lightest in the market – likely down to the beefed-up internals and larger cooling components than standard flagships....
These days they’re relatively affordable, though not nearly as cheap to buy as a multi-function inkjet. You’ll also be disappointed if you need to print photos or – in the DCP-L3510cdw’s case – require precise colour accuracy, but as long as these two things aren’t dealbreakers, a colour laser is a wise choice. I say laser, but this is actually an LED printer which uses an array of LEDs to create the image to print instead of scanning laser....
The camera connects via Wi-Fi to your router and lets you keep an eye on what’s happening when you’re not there. You can watch the live feed from your phone, and get alerts when the camera detects motion. See also: Nest Cam review and Y-cam HomeMonitor review BT Home Cam 100 review: Price That’s by no means the cheapest IP camera, but it’s cheaper than Nest (£159), Y-Cam Homemonitor Indoor HDS (£129) and others....
While those deals have ended, you can still find Currys’ more recent bundle which includes the Nest Mini with Fitbit Ace 2 for £49.99. Not to be left behind, now Argos is bundling the Google Nest Mini with the Fitbit Versa Lite smartwatch for £99.99. This is the cheapest price we’re seeing right now for the Versa Lite, and other retailers aren’t even including the free Google smart speaker, which has an independent RRP of £49 (discounted to £34 at Currys and Argos)....
