The Philips Hue app has grown in complexity over the past several years, with more and more new features and settings being tucked into the user interface. That makes it all too easy to miss the latest and greatest in Hue functionality.  Besides such newer features as light alarms, “mimic presence,” and—flashiest of all—Hue’s motion-sensing MotionAware technology, there are also old favorites like light timers and fade durations. Taken together, these (often well hidden) features can add polish to your Hue routines, keep your daily schedules on track, and even protect your home from would-be intruders.  Read on for seven hidden Hue features you need to try, starting with…  Mimic presence mode Philips Hue recently made the jump into the home security market, adding a series of Hue Secure-branded cameras along with door and window sensors and floodlights, But even if you’re not ready to invest in a Hue camera, you can still boost your security with this built-in Hue feature.  Just activate the “Mimic Presence” mode, and the Hue app will automatically turn your lights on and off to “mimic the activities that would be expected in those types of rooms,” perfect for scaring off burglars or anyone else thinking of sneaking into your empty home.  The “Mimic presence” feature is tucked into a long list of options on the Automations screen. Tap it, select one or more rooms, then select some or all the lights associated with the room. You can also set the mode to run all day, or only when it’s dark outside.  To trigger the “Mimic presence” mode, just locate it on the Automations tab and tap the “Play” button, or “Stop” to deactivate the mode. You can also set a Hue button to turn “Mimic presence” on or off, or map the mode to a Hue smartphone widget.  Light alarms  Here’s another Hue feature that can help keep your home safe. Rather than using audible alarms to ward off intruders, the Hue app can trigger light-based alarms that rapidly flash some or all of your Hue lights, ideal for spooking crooks as well as alerting your neighbors that something’s amiss.  To use light alarms, you’ll need a supporting device such as a Hue Secure camera, a Hue motion sensor (there are indoor and outdoor models), or a Hue contact sensor. You’ll also need to enable the Hue Security center (Settings > Security).  As you’re configuring Hue Security, it will guide you through the process of setting up a light alarm. For example, you’ll be able to decide which lights in your home should flash when the alarm is tripped, as well as whether your lights should flash white or red.   You can set your Philips Hue light alarms to flash either white or red.Ben Patterson/Foundry Besides a flashing light alarm, you can also create automations that trigger light scenes when a Hue sensor detects activity. For example, I created an automation that activates a bright light scene in my downstairs home office whenever the upstairs kitchen door is opened, handy for letting me know when my daughter comes home from school.  In my case, I drilled down to the settings for my Hue door and window sensors (Settings > Devices > Sensors > Contact Sensors), selected the lights that I wanted triggered (Office), then adjust the Behavior settings (“Bright” when the door is opened, “Return to previous state” when the door is closed).  MotionAware motion-sensing technology One of the coolest new Philips Hue features is also one that’s restricted to the new Hue Bridge Pro. Dubbed “MotionAware,” the feature lets you turn your Hue lights into motion sensors, perfect for triggering light scenes when people enter or leave an area. MotionAware works its magic by detecting disturbances in the wireless Zigbee signals used to connect Hue lights to the bridge, and you’ll need at least three MotionAware-capable Hue lights in an area to enabled a motion zone. MotionAware does have its foibles and as I just mentioned, it only works with the Hue Bridge Pro, not the standard Hue Bridge. Still, it makes for a great way to quickly deploy motion zones throughout your home, and while the $98.99 Bridge Pro is roughly twice the price of the regular bridge, it’s still cheaper than paying for individual Hue motion sensors in each room. The Hue Bridge Pro can turn your Hue lights into motion sensors.Ben Patterson/Foundry Fade duration  The Hue app offers both wake up and sleep automations that will gradually boost or dim the brightness in the morning or at night, but you can also set any light scenes to gradually fade in or out.  I find the “fade duration” setting particularly handy for smoothly changing daytime light scenes from, say, a warm morning glow to a cooler daytime look, all without making anyone in the room do a double-take. (The Hue app also has a “Natural Light” scene that changes the light temperature throughout the day, with an optional “transition time” between each time window. I just happen to prefer my own scene settings.)  Whenever you create a custom automation (tap the Automations tab, then tap the blue “+” button in the top-right corner of the screen), the Fade Duration option will appear as you’re setting the start time for the routine. The duration itself can last for anywhere between five minutes to an hour. If you’re adjusting an existing scene, you’ll need to tap “Start at” or “End at” to access the Fade Duration setting.  Light effects  Hue lights can do more than just shine in solid colors or white color temperatures. They can also flicker, shimmer, and pulse in a variety of shades, perfect for simulating a candle, a fireplace, or a lava lamp.  Just select any of your Hue lights in a room, then tap the Effects button (the one with a sparkly icon) next to the color and white color temperature controls. You’ll then see a variety of light effects, depending on the type of Hue light you’ve selected. Dimmable-only Hue white lights will offer Candle effects, while dimmable and tunable White Ambience lights will add Glisten and Sparkle effects. While and Color Ambience lights get even more effects, including Fireplace, Underwater, Cosmos, and Opal, all with different color options.  Among the Hue light effects you can choose are Candle, Fireplace (left), Underwater, and Cosmos (middle). You can also adjust the color, brightness, and speed for any of the effects (right).Ben Patterson/Foundry Even better, you can create your own custom effect for each category; tap Create Fireplace, for example, and you can pick your own color, as well as adjust the brightness and speed.  Once you’ve added effects for different lights in a room, you can create a scene with those effects by tapping the Save button.  Animated light scenes   Speaking of scenes, you can animate any Hue scene in a room (that is, any scenes aside from basic scenes like Bright, Dimmed, and Nightlight) with a single tap.  If you see a “Play” icon on a light scene, try tapping it; when you do, the scene will animate itself, pulsing gently according to its own rhythm. Tap the Edit button to change the brightness or speed of the animation, or to make the scene animate itself by default.  Light timers Need to set a timer but hate the blare of an audible alarm? Just as the Hue app offers light alarms, it also has light timers that can activate lighting scenes after a set duration of time.  Tap the “+” button on the Automations screen, then select the Timer option. You’ll need to set how long the timer should last (anywhere from a minute to 24 hours), which room or rooms will be included (or your entire home, if you like), and which scene you’d like activated when the timer ends.  Once that’s all set, you’ll see your new timer with a “Play” button at the top of your list of automations. Press the Play button, and when the countdown ends, the timer will trigger the lighting scene you selected.  This feature is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart lighting products. Updated with details about Hue’s MotionAware motion-detection technology. Read...

Microsoft has released a preview update for Windows 11 Insiders that adds AI features and easier formatting options to Notepad. The otherwise stripped-down text editor has also been given a new welcome screen that describes the app as “the essential text editor, enhanced.” Among the new features are AI-based tools that can generate and improve text. The results are displayed step-by-step as the text is created, in a way that resembles how well-known AI chatbots work. To use the features, you’ll need to log in with a Microsoft account. The update also includes expanded support for Markdown. Users can now work with bold, italics, tables, strikethrough text, and nested bullet lists, among other formatting features. Microsoft emphasizes that these AI features are entirely optional and can be turned off in Notepad’s settings. This Windows 11 preview update also brings some improvements to Paint, including features like AI-generated coloring book pages and a smarter Fill tool. Read...

Do you know what your gaming setup needs? A monitor upgrade! Luckily for you, LG’s 32-inch 1440p gaming monitor is on sale for just $200 on Amazon, a 33% discount off its $300 MSRP and aaaaalmost its best price of all time (it was a tad bit lower on Black Friday, but that’s it). In short, this is absolutely worth jumping on, and you’ll see why below. View this Amazon deal The LG UltraGear 32GS60QC-B was built to make your gaming life more beautiful and more immersive. With its massive 32-inch panel and a gorgeous 2560×1440 resolution, this monitor promises great visuals with vibrant colors and tons of crisp details. The 180Hz refresh rate is great for all but the most hardcore of gamers, and the 1ms response time is quick enough for all but the most competitive of gamers. The 1000R curvature on this screen is neither dramatic nor gentle, right in that sweet spot area that wraps around your vision to make things more immersive and ease eye strain, but not so much that it’s disorienting. The 32GS60QC-B also supports AMD FreeSync technology, which minimizes screen tearing and stuttering for a fluid visual experience by syncing the images to your GPU. As far as connectivity goes, this monitor features a DisplayPort and two HDMI, making it easy to connect to multiple devices at once should you have different machines for gaming and work, for instance. All things considered, this is an excellent monitor whether you’re gaming, working, browsing the web, or just watching Netflix and YouTube, and all of these features are darn good for this discounted price. Get the LG UltraGear 32GS60QC-B for only $200 while you can! Or if you want to keep looking, check out our roundup of the best gaming monitors. Get $100 off LG`s 32-inch 1440p 180Hz gaming monitorBuy now at Amazon Read...

By now, you’ve probably heard a thing or two about AI, specifically how AI data centers are hoarding massive amounts of RAM and taking it away from consumers. That surge in demand has rippled outward, affecting everything from environmental impact to rising RAM prices, and it’s a real bummer if you’re in the market for a laptop in 2026. We’re seeing this play out in real time, too. Framework—a laptop company known for its upgradeable, modular designs—has raised the price of RAM on its website not once, but twice now. Check out pcworld`s best laptop for upgrading Framework Laptop 13 (2025) Read our review The timing really sucks Not only is RAM becoming scarcer and more expensive with each passing day, but many laptop makers have removed the ability to upgrade memory. This shift was gradual and normalized long before memory became so volatile, but it happened.  Buying a base model of a laptop and upgrading the memory later used to be the norm. Back then, RAM was cheap enough that upgrading later was no big thing. Now, a lot of laptops have soldered memory, so you’re kind of stuck with whatever configuration you buy. In other words, you get what you get and you don’t get upset. What used to be a market problem is starting to look more like a design problem. Why laptops stopped being upgradeable While the full answer is more nuanced than this, the gist is that thinner laptop designs have less room for modular parts that can be taken out and replaced. That means harder to upgrade. There’s also the business aspect of it, too. If you can’t upgrade later on, you’re more likely to pay more upfront for additional RAM. Chris Hoffman / Foundry There are real engineering reasons behind this shift, too. Soldered RAM can be positioned closer to the processor, which improves power efficiency and reduces latency. (That’s important for battery life.) Fixed memory also makes it easier to manage heat, which matters in thin laptops that don’t have much headroom to spare. If you want performance, it’s got to stay cool in order to run well. Where the AI boom fits in all of this The AI boom didn’t create this upgradeability problem, but it did intensify it. When memory was cheap and plentiful, soldered RAM almost felt like a reasonable trade-off. But the second RAM got expensive and hard to come by, the cracks in the armor started to show.  You can’t exactly wait this one out, either. With RAM soldered in place, there’s no option to buy now and upgrade later when prices (hopefully) drop. What the AI boom did was expose an assumption that was haunting modern laptop design: that memory would always be cheap and easy to buy. Oh, sweet summer child… William Potter / Shutterstock.com And then there are the AI data centers, which are hoovering up huge amounts of RAM. This demand trickles down to consumers. To meet this sudden surge, manufacturers and laptop makers have to adjust how they handle their inventory, which affects prices for us normal folk. For example, Lenovo’s been holding onto a bunch of RAM with the hope that it’ll help keep laptop prices down. What does this mean for us? RAM prices are getting so crazy that some people are trying to come up with wacky workarounds. One modder is salvaging memory chips from old laptop RAM and soldering them onto a custom desktop DIMM in order to save some bucks. That’s a pretty extreme example, though. What about everyone else? If you’re the type of person who just peruses social media and watches YouTube, a RAM shortage could mean paying an additional $50 to $100 for the specific configuration you want. Chris Hoffman / Foundry But for power users? Well, that’s where things might get a bit dicey. If you’re trying to edit short videos or run some fancy AI features, that 8GB of soldered RAM will likely struggle, which is a problem because upgrading later isn’t an option. Your only options are to swallow the higher upfront cost on a stronger laptop or deal with the compromised performance. For people who push their machines harder than the average Joe, the limitations are going to be even more obvious. What used to be a minor annoyance is now a freaking headache. Higher prices and fewer choices? What a buzzkill. Is laptop upgradeability dead? The ongoing RAM shortage isn’t killing laptop upgradeability, but it is revealing just how inflexibly unupgradeable most modern laptops have become. Your choices are limited, period. That said, there’s always a silver lining. Framework laptops prove that upgrades still matter—it’s all about giving power and control back to the user. The main takeaway? Don’t take flexibility for granted. Read...

At a glance Pros Great color performance and accuracy Excellent motion clarity and 500Hz refresh rate Includes USB-C port with 98 watts of power delivery Wide range of image quality features Cons Design lacks style of some competitors AMD FreeSync support is not officially listed (but works) Black frame insertion feature, MPRT, is not as effective as Asus’ ELMB Our Verdict The MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED is yet another excellent 1440p / 500Hz QD-OLED monitor, and this one has a USB-C port with 98 watts of Power Delivery. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50 Retailer Price $799.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket An unprecedented wave of high-refresh gaming monitors has hit the market over the past few years, including multiple OLED and LCD displays with a maximum refresh rate of at least 500Hz. The MSI MPG 271QR delivers this alongside great color accuracy, but the most attractive reason to buy the MSI over another OLED competitor is the inclusion of USB-C with lots of Power Delivery. Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best monitors for comparison. MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50 specs and features The MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50 is part of a new wave of OLED monitors with a resolution of 2560×1440 and a refresh rate of 500Hz (or in some cases, slightly more). The MSI’s specifications are largely similar to competitors, such as the Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 G60SD. However, the MSI offers one specification that is unusual, and that’s a USB-C port with up to 98 watts of power delivery. Many direct competitors don’t offer USB-C at all, and most that do have USB-C, deliver less power through it. Display size: 26.5-inch 16:9 aspect ratio Native resolution: 2560×1440 Panel type: QD-OLED Refresh rate: Up to 500Hz Adaptive sync: Yes, Adaptive Sync, G-Sync Compatible HDR: Yes, VESA DisplayHDR 500 True Black Ports: 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 2.1, 1x USB Type-C with DisplayPort and 98 watts of Power Delivery, 1x 3.5mm audio out Audio: None Extra features: Ergonomic stand, proximity sensor Price: $899 MSRP, approx. $700 typical retail MSI announced the MPG 271QR at $899 MSRP, but it has quickly dropped in price due to holiday deals and can now be found for $650 to $700. That’s a big drop, though one that competitive monitors have matched. The MPG 271QR shouldn’t be confused with the MSI MAG 272QP QD-OLED X50, though the two are similar. The most notable difference is the USB-C port; the MPG model has USB-C with up to 98 watts of power delivery, while the MAG 272QP has just 15 watts. The MPG also has a proximity sensor not found on the MAG. MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50 design The MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50 opts for a reserved design with an all-black chassis and stand. Up front the bezels are deep, matte black on all sides, while around back you’ll find subtle black gloss MSI branding. A small, subtle MSI badge just above the stand’s neck provides a hint of RGB-LED customization, and is compatible with MSI’s Mystic Light for software control of the lighting, but it’s too small and dim to stand out. Matthew Smith / Foundry I generally like simple design, but I also can’t deny that MSI’s design has slipped a bit relative to the competition. Asus packs more flair and Samsung provides more luxury. The MSI looks fine but doesn’t stand out next to design leaders. Functionally, though, the MPG 271QR QD-OLED checks off the boxes. It has an ergonomic stand with a flat, unobtrusive base. The stand is solid and provides adjustment for height, tilt, swivel, and can pivot 90 degrees for use in portrait orientation. The monitor also has a 100x100mm VESA mount for use with third-party monitor stands and arms. MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50 connectivity Connectivity is a big part of the MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50’s story and, for some, will become the reason to buy it over a competitor. That’s because the MPG 271QR has a USB-C port with DisplayPort and up to 98 watts of Power Delivery. Many competitors don’t even have USB-C, so this is a notable feature. The USB-C port can handle the monitor’s full refresh rate and resolution. It also connects to two downstream USB-A ports with 5Gbps of data bandwidth. Alternatively to USB-C upstream input, the USB-A ports can be driven by a USB-B upstream port. KVM switch functionality is included for easy switching between two connected PCs. This means you can easily connect both a laptop and desktop (using the USB-A ports to connect your mouse and keyboard), then switch between them as needed. While I do like the USB-C port, I’ll admit it feels a tad less relevant here than with 4K/240Hz QD-OLED monitors, such as the MSI MPG 272URX. A 1440p/500Hz OLED, such as the MPG 271QR, is more likely to be used as a dedicated gaming display connected to only a desktop. Still, if you need USB-C, the MPG 271QR delivers. The MPG 271QR also has one DisplayPort 2.1 and two HDMI 2.1 for a total of four video inputs. All four video inputs can handle the monitor’s 1440p resolution at its maximum refresh rate of 500Hz. The MPG 271QR is an obvious choice if you want a competitive gaming monitor that’s also good for home office use. MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50 menus The MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50 has an attractive and easy-to-use menu system controlled by a joystick centered behind the lower bezel.Menu options are well labeled and the range of adjustment is extensive. You’ll find preset modes for several color gamuts including sRGB, AdobeRGB, and Display P3. Additional adjustments include six-axis color calibration and precise adjustments for color temperature and gamma. On the whole, the range of image quality adjustment here is on par with Asus, and better than typical gaming monitors from Alienware, Acer, and Samsung. A proximity sensor is included and provides options for automatic brightness adjustment, or to turn the monitor off entirely when you’re away. Though pitched primarily as a way to reduce OLED burn-in, the value of automatic brightness adjustment shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s much more convenient than manual adjustment throughout the day. Matthew Smith / Foundry There’s a healthy dose of gaming features including timers, frame rate counters, on-screen cross hair, plus black stabilizer and AI vision modes to reveal enemies in dark areas of a scene. The monitor also includes constrained aspect ratio modes to emulate a 24.5-inch monitor or 4:3 monitor. All of this is fairly typical for a OLED gaming monitor, but still good to see. MSI provides Windows software called MSI Gaming Intelligence. It can control monitor features within Windows, which is generally easier than using the on-screen menus. The Gaming Intelligence app doesn’t look as slick as Asus’ DisplayWidget or Dell’s Display Manager, but it does the job. MacOS users and Linux users are out of luck, though, as the Gaming Intelligence app is only available for Windows 10 and Windows 11. MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50 audio The MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50 doesn’t have built-in speakers, which is typical for an OLED monitor. A 3.5mm audio pass-through jack is provided to make connecting a headset easier. MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50 SDR image quality Matthew Smith / Foundry The MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50 has a Samsung QD-OLED panel with 2560×1440 resolution and a maximum refresh rate of 500Hz. QD-OLED panels are the most common type of OLED panel for computer monitors and universally perform well—the MPG 271QR included. First up is SDR brightness, where the MPG 271QR comes in at roughly 300 nits. That’s a respectable result. While some competitors have managed to climb above 300 nits, this has only happened recently. And 300 nits is generally bright enough for most situations, though it may still prove insufficient if you have a room with large, sunlit windows that lack shades. It’s also worth mention that the MPG 271QR has a glossy coat. Though the finish does attempt to mitigate glare, reflections will be obvious. Shoppers who despise glare (like me!) should look at the Samsung Odyssey OLED G60SD, which has a matte finish. Matthew Smith / Foundry Contrast is a highlight for all OLED monitors, and the MPG 271QR is no exception. The monitor achieves a perfect black level of zero nits, which means it can provide an effectively infinite contrast ratio. Perceived contrast is also excellent due to the glossy finish. A glossy finish will generally look more contrast-rich than a matte finish due to how light interacts with the display’s surface. Matthew Smith / Foundry Samsung QD-OLED panels are well known for their excellent color saturation. The MPG 271QR lives up to that reputation with color coverage that spans 100 percent of sRGB, 98 percent of DCI-P3, and 95 percent of AdobeRGB. This is close to as good as it gets for a monitor in 2025. Keep in mind, however, that other QD-OLED monitors provide the same performance. Asus’ ROG Swift PG27AQWP-W, which has a tandem LG WOLED panel, is also in this league. Matthew Smith / Foundry The MPG 271QR scores well in color accuracy even by the standards of OLED monitors, which are generally excellent. It also managed to achieve this with great color accuracy across all measured colors. No color had an error value above one, which is a spectacular result. This means the image is realistic and true to the intent of the content you’re viewing. MSI also delivers in gamma and color temperature. The gamma curve was right on target with a value of 2.2. This is notable because many OLED monitors have a default gamma curve of 2.3, which means the image appears just a hair darker than it should. Color temperature, meanwhile, came in at 6400K—a very slight miss off the 6500K target. Technically this means the image is a tad warmer than it should be, but this result is close enough that you’re unlikely to notice it.Also, as mentioned, MSI provides image quality adjustments for both gamma and color temperature, so you can adjust these values if your needs or preferences vary.Sharpness is one potential weakness, though in a relative sense. 2560×1440 resolution works out to roughly 110 pixels per inch (ppi) across the 26.5-inch panel, and looks sharp in many situations. However, 4K OLED monitors deliver about 163 ppi, which is a noticeable improvement. You’ll notice the sharpness disadvantage most when reading very small text, which can look a bit ragged if compared to a 4K display. On the whole, the MPG 271QR’s SDR image quality is superb. The monitor scores well across the board. While most QD-OLED monitors will look extremely similar, the MPG 271QR has a small advantage over most competitors in color accuracy and gamma performance. It’s also bright for an OLED display. MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50 HDR image quality Matthew Smith / Foundry The MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50 supports HDR and is VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 certified. It also supports a relatively new HDR mode called Electro-Optical Transfer Function Boost, or EOTF Boost, which tweaks HDR luminance mapping for a brighter result. This results in great, though expected, HDR brightness and performance. The MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED achieves up to 895 nits of brightness in EOTF Boost mode when 3 percent of the display was lit (and was only slightly dimmer in HDR 1000 mode, at 855 nits). This means the MPG 271QR can provide excellent brightness when small, bright objects are displayed. Expanding the area of the display that’s lit drastically reduces peak HDR brightness, which is typical for OLED displays. However, the MPG 271QR’s sustained HDR performance remains competitive across the board. I’ve tested brighter OLED monitors, such as the Asus ROG Swift PG27AQWP-W with tandem WOLED display, but they’re rare. The MPG 271QR’s test results translated nicely to real-world performance. The monitor looked electric while viewing the “Into the Storm” scene from Mad Max: Fury Road, which sees lighting arc around and across gigantic dust devils. The “Gargantuan” scene from Interstellar, meanwhile, showed good detail in the bands of the black hole’s accretion disk. These details tend to wash out in SDR. While the MPG 271QR has solid HDR performance, it lacks user HDR brightness control. This is a feature I prefer to see all OLED monitors provide. While giving the user HDR brightness control technically makes content less accurate, it makes using HDR in Windows far easier. Without it some HDR content (particularly static images) can at times become annoyingly bright. This is a feature that Asus’ OLED monitors usually include. MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50 motion performance Gamers who want outstanding motion clarity will be pleased by the MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50. It’s one of several new QD-OLED monitors with a refresh rate that can reach as high as 500Hz—more than twice the 240Hz refresh rate provided by common 4K QD-OLED monitors. That’s a big boost, and it shows. While 240Hz OLED monitors already look clear in motion, the MPG 271QR is obviously better at 500Hz. Small objects in motion look extremely crisp with details just a few pixels wide visible. Fine interface elements, like HP bars, character names, and floating text, are easy to read even when zooming across the display. And remember: There’s more to it than just the refresh rate. OLED also benefits from low pixel response times, which will also reduce blur. Because of this, an OLED monitor like the MPG 271QR will have better motion clarity than LCD alternatives even at lower refresh rates, such as 60Hz or 120Hz. The monitor lists support for Adaptive Sync and Nvidia G-Sync Compatible to provide smooth frame pacing in games. AMD FreeSync is not listed (which is unusual), but FreeSync worked when I connected the MPG 271QR to my AMD Radeon 7800 XT video card. MSI has a black frame insertion feature called MPRT. This inserts blank, black frames between standard frames, a trick which reduces motion blur. However, I didn’t find the improvement as noticeable as with similar features provided by competitors, such as Asus. Should you buy the MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50? The MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50 is yet another great OLED monitor. It serves up 2560×1440 resolution with a 500Hz refresh rate that delivers truly spectacular motion clarity that will appeal to highly competitive gamers, though some players might be disappointed by the lackluster design and subdued RGB-LED lighting. The MPG 271QR pairs its motion clarity with great color performance and a wide range of image quality features. It also has USB-C, which is rare among OLED monitors and helps the MSI stand out from its peers. These features make the MPG 271QR an obvious choice if you want a competitive gaming monitor that’s also good for home office use. Read...

AMD has revealed the price and availability for its recently announced Ryzen 7 9850X3D desktop PC processor, providing a safety valve of sorts to the desktop PC market. AMD said Thursday that the Ryzen 9850X3D, announced earlier at CES 2026, will be priced at $499 and ship on January 29th. The addition to AMD’s lineup puts it a step above the Ryzen 9800X3D, the first Ryzen X3D chip that was announced on Halloween 2024 for $479. But the chip’s performance immediately put it in high demand, and prices rose accordingly, at least for a while. Today, you can buy a Ryzen 7 9800X3D for $469 on Amazon, a sort of “rebound” price. (Amazon typically sells the chip at $459 instead.) “Building on the legacy of the 9800X3D, the Ryzen 7 9850X3D features a 400MHz improvement to the boost clock, making the world’s fastest gaming processor even faster,” AMD said. AMD believes the 9850X3D will outperform the competing Intel Core Ultra 9 285K by an average of 27 percent across multiple games, ranging from Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 (a 5 percent boost) to Baldur’s Gate 3 (a 60 percent increase). It runs at a top speed of 5.6GHz, with 8 cores and 16 threads. AMD does offer the Ryzen 9 9950X3D with 16 cores, but that chip costs substantially more: $699 (or $675 on Amazon right now). The Ryzen 9 9950X3D chip totally crushed the competition in our review. AMD still hasn’t launched a Ryzen 9000 X3D2 with cache populating both CCDs. However, AMD executives told PCWorld to “stay tuned” on the subject, implying that such a chip will be releasing soon. Separately, AMD officials said that they didn’t want to take away from what the company announced at CES 2026. Read...

Adult coloring books have long been a great gift idea for Christmas and birthdays, and now it seems like Microsoft is catching onto their popularity. According to a recent blog post, Windows Insiders are now starting to get access to a new update that adds two features to Windows Paint, one of which is AI-generated coloring books. With the new Coloring Book feature, you can ask Copilot AI to generate a series of coloring book pages according to your descriptions. Microsoft shows an example of cute cats on donuts (see above). The generated pages can then be saved or pasted directly onto the workspace, where you can then color them in yourself. The Coloring Book feature in Paint will only be available on Copilot+ PCs. Microsoft The Paint update also introduces a new slider for the Fill tool. This slider allows you to adjust how densely filled you want the area that you’re filling in. “Experiment with different tolerance settings to achieve clean fills or creative effects,” Microsoft writes in the blog post. The update is currently rolling out to Windows 11 Insiders on the Dev and Canary channels. This update also includes some improvements to Notepad, like expanded lightweight formatting, additional Markdown syntax features, and faster generation of AI text features. Read...

Fractal Design is easily one of the most high-profile PC enclosure makers, popular with desktop builders for their functional yet stylish designs. We often feature them in our live PC builds on YouTube, and I’ve got a North case mounted under my desk as I type this. The company’s newest case, the Pop 2 Air, is all about airflow from top to bottom. The Pop 2 Air inherits a lot of features from previous Fractal Design, um, designs, with full mesh on the front and top panels, triple LED-bedecked 120mm fans on the front, and space for 360mm radiator mounts. But I think this one’s a first for a Fractal case: a scoop-like feature at the front of the power supply shelf that Fractal calls a “GPU air guide” on its product page. This scoop directs incoming air right at the internal spot where GPUs are most often mounted. It’s a design touch I saw on a couple of cases at CES 2026, like the HAVN BF 360. Fractal Design Fractal’s case comes with three fans included, though there’s room for up to seven, including the rear 120mm. (You can also put two 140mm either front or top.) The Pop 2 Air also includes all of Fractal’s standard cable mounting hardware and creature comforts, like easily-removed panels and filters, toolless opening, and support for GPUs up to 416mm long. It’s a little subdued compared to bigger and more bombastic designs, with no mention of support for vertical GPU mounts or rear-side motherboard ports. But the price reflects that—the case is available at Newegg, starting at just $90 for the standard black version with a steel or tempered glass side. Upgrading to RGB fans, with an extra option for a white case, bumps it up to just $100. Read...

If you want to avoid cable-like prices for streaming TV, the best way is to aggressively cycle through different subscriptions. A new app called StreamWolf makes that process simpler. StreamWolf provides an overview of all your streaming subscriptions, shows you the total cost, and lets you cancel (or reactivate) individual services with just a button tap. It also offers some watchlist features so you can plan what to pay for at any given time. The app is still a work in progress, but it shows promise and offers some utility even in its early stages. It’s the kind of service that streaming platforms like Roku and Fire TV ought to provide themselves, but won’t. How it works StreamWolf is available for both iPhone and Android. While its creators may eventually charge a fee for its subscription management features (more on that below), the app is currently free to use. After launching the app and creating an account, you’ll be prompted to sign into all your streaming services. StreamWolf doesn’t collect any streaming passwords; it’s merely opening an in-app browser where you log into each service’s website. Jared Newman / Foundry Once you’re logged in, StreamWolf scans the contents of each streaming account page, so it can understand what plan you have and how much it costs. The app then displays the total cost of all your subscriptions, both annually and monthly. The real magic happens when you ask StreamWolf to cancel one of your subscriptions. Instead of just dropping you onto an account page, the app uses some automated browsing tools to handle the cancellation process by itself. This allowed me to cancel (and restart) my Netflix subscription just by tapping a button. Once your subscriptions are connected, StreamWolf provides a centralized way to turn them on or off.Jared Newman / Foundry StreamWolf currently works with Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, Peacock, Paramount+, and YouTube. Impressively, it will also recognize add-on subscriptions with those services, such as Amazon’s Prime Channels, YouTube’s Primetime Channels, and Disney’s various bundles. It properly noted, for instance, that my Disney+ subscription is in a bundle with Hulu. While StreamWolf isn’t the only app for managing your streaming subscriptions, I haven’t been impressed with any others. Some require manually inputting subscription details, so they’re barely more functional than a spreadsheet. Others gather that data automatically by connecting to your credit card and bank accounts, which feels overly invasive. (Rocket Money, notably, can share your financial data with advertisers.) By contrast, StreamWolf is focused entirely on streaming, keeps track of your spending without gathering sensitive financial data, and automates the tedium of managing your subscriptions. It’s filling a clear need as the cost of having too many streaming services gets closer to a typical cable bill. What’s not working yet As I mentioned earlier, StreamWolf is far from perfect. While playing around with it this week, I ran into several technical issues and noticed a bunch of ways that the app could be better. The biggest problem is that it didn’t accurately sum up my subscription spending. It lists my Disney+ and Hulu bundle at $11 per month, not the $5 per month Black Friday price I’m paying (or the regular price of $13 per month, for that matter). It’s also overestimating my monthly streaming bill by $34, apparently because it’s counting a couple of expired Amazon Prime add-ons. StreamWolf’s “Discover” section is a bit undercooked as well. You can add movies and shows to a watchlist, but navigation feels slow, and when I added “The Boys” via the search menu, it failed to appear in my watchlist. StreamWolf’s Discover section lets you keep track of what to watch.Jared Newman / Foundry StreamWolf might eventually use your watchlist to suggest the best times to pay for each service; but for now, the payoff of maintaining yet another watchlist isn’t worth the effort. (If the app synced your streaming activity via Younify, like Trakt is doing, that’d be pretty compelling.) StreamWolf could also use support for managing more streaming services. Notable omissions as of now include Apple TV+, Fubo, DirecTV, AMC+, and Starz. What’s next for StreamWolf StreamWolf is the first startup from James Harris and Steve Lewis, a pair of childhood friends from England who got fed up with manually cycling through all their TV subscriptions. They teamed up with Ron Downey, a U.K.-based streaming executive, who now serves as the company’s CEO. (The company is building a team in Columbus, Ohio, where Harris now lives.) In an interview, Harris and Lewis said they plan to eventually charge $3 per month for most StreamWolf features, but for now they’re focused on gathering feedback and improving the app. They also didn’t rule out keeping the app free and making money in other ways, such as through sales commissions when users re-subscribe to a service. Beyond just making the app more reliable, they’re also planning to bring live sports into the watchlist section. This could help users figure out what they need for the teams or leagues they follow—an increasingly complex calculation as sports rights become scattered across different services. If streaming platforms like Roku and Fire TV were actually on your side, they’d offer this kind of service themselves. Instead, they’re more interested in upselling you on extra subscriptions than helping manage what you already have. If StreamWolf can keep streamlining the process of cycling through subscriptions, it’ll be valuable countermeasure against runaway streaming costs. Sign up for Jared’s Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter for more streaming TV advice. Read...

Have you been waiting patiently for the chance to grab a fast 1440p gaming monitor for well under $200? Your patience is about to pay off! This is the deal you’ve been waiting for: Samsung’s Odyssey G5 is now 36% off on Amazon, bringing it down to just $160. This is the best price I’ve ever seen for this model, which means two things: it’s a true deal and there’s never been a better time to get one than now. View this Amazon deal The 27-inch Odyssey G53F features a beautiful IPS panel that runs at a spacious native resolution of 2560×1440, which isn’t just crisp and clear but also the “sweet spot” for modern gamers—it’s better than 1080p but doesn’t demand as much from your PC as a 4K screen. Complete with a 200Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time, it’s good enough for competitive gaming at all but the highest levels. When it comes to connectivity, the Odyssey G53F features two HDMI ports, a DisplayPort, and a 3.5mm audio jack. That’s about standard for monitors these days. But it does also offer AMD FreeSync Premium support for reduced choppiness, Auto Source Switch+ for instantly switching between connected devices, and HDR10 plus Black Equalizer for brighter highlights and deeper shadows. All of this translates to excellent gaming performance (and beyond) at an insanely affordable price. Grab this 27-inch Samsung Odyssey G53F for $160 on Amazon before this deal expires! Score Samsung`s 27-inch 1440p 200Hz monitor for only $160Buy now at Amazon Read...