Perplexity just launched Perplexity Computer, another agentic AI tool except this one acts as a kind of digital coworker. It can perform multi-step tasks on your behalf by employing several subordinate AI agents that work together to plan and deliver finished results. For example, Perplexity Computer can create dashboards, apps, presentations, and other projects by dividing the work between different sub-agents. The tool employs several different AI models simultaneously, including Claude Opus for reasoning, Gemini for research, and other AI models for images, video, and faster subtasks. Unlike OpenClaw, though, Perplexity Computer runs entirely in the cloud in a controlled environment, which reduces the risk of the AI affecting your local PC and files. The disadvantage is that it’s more limited compared to agentic AI tools that run directly on local hardware. Perplexity Computer is currently only available on the Perplexity Max plan, which costs $200/month. Read...

More and more AI tools are now becoming agentic, meaning they can perform actions on your behalf. Microsoft really wants to get in on the fun and hopefully convince users that they should switch over to Copilot, and they’re doing so with a new agentic AI tool called Copilot Tasks. Microsoft describes Copilot Tasks as a to-do list that handles all the tasks for you. You can ask Copilot Tasks to take care of recurring tasks, such as creating a weekly plan every Monday or picking out the most important emails in your inbox every evening and suggesting replies. Copilot Tasks will also be able to do things like plan, book, send out, and collect invitations to birthday parties, keep track of your paid subscriptions and cancel the ones you don’t use, and find, compare, and book the best tradespeople as needed. Microsoft states that these agentic AI features are still a “research preview,” so it may be quite some time before they’re actually launched to the general public. If you want to try out an early version of Copilot Tasks, you can sign up for the waiting list. Read...

RAM shortages, SSD shortages, Nvidia shortages, possible shortages of Intel CPUs — 2026 is off to a rough start, if that’s not enough, consider what AMD and Intel have to offer us in new desktop processors throughout this year. It’s not much at all. After a thrilling launch of its Core Ultra 300 (Panther Lake) chips, Intel is looking ahead to its upcoming “Arrow Lake Refresh” processors. But, as the name suggests, there might not be a whole lot there. Even AMD’s Ryzen AI 400 (Gorgon Point) chips, which include options for desktop PCs, also look like an incremental update. Now, rumors have surfaced that the chips consumers should really care about. The upcoming Intel “Nova Lake” desktop processor, which was originally due at the end of 2026, as well as AMD’s “Olympic Ridge” with Zen 6, might launch in 2027 instead. That leaves DIY builders with what, exactly? Not much in the way of new chips during 2026. Instead, the vibe is looking backwards. Intel has previously said that consumers were seeking out older, more powerful chips. AMD’s AM4 platform is being asked to hang on for just a while longer, while consumers scramble for (somewhat) cheaper DDR4 memory and mine yard sales for older hard drives. To think! “My main takeaway is that people have become very accustomed to the PC waterfall: getting more performance every year at the same price,” said Dean McCarron, principal at Mercury Research. “That’s not going to happen this year. If you want performance, you’re going to have to pay for it. And if you’re trying to stay at the same price, you’re not going to get the same kind of performance boost.” Does it all leave you with a slightly sour taste in your mouth? Let’s recap what we can expect in desktop PCs for 2026, based on what we know now. Intel: Arrow Lake Refresh Officially, Intel has not announced anything regarding the Arrow Lake Refresh. A key leak occurred earlier this month, when retailer Newegg reportedly published details of three Arrow Lake Refresh chips on its site: the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus ($357.12), the Core Ultra 5 250K Plus ($245.92), and the Core Ultra 5 250KF ($227.38). (The “Plus” helps identify the new chips.) Whether those prices are accurate or not remains to be seen. Intel’s original desktop Core Ultra (Arrow Lake) PC processors.Alex Esteves / Foundry We know a bit more about the top-end 270K Plus via a public Geekbench listing, as published by Tom’s Hardware. It’s a 3.70GHz chip with a total of 24 cores, with (presumably) 8 performance cores and 16 efficiency cores. (Geekbench, a benchmark, typically requires anyone who uses its benchmark to publish results to a searchable, public database.) That’s slightly more than the existing Core Ultra 7 265K, the Arrow Lake processor, with 8 performance cores and 12 efficiency cores. It also has a top (not base) clock speed of 5.5GHz. Intel charged $394 for that chip at launch, incidentally, though Amazon now sells it at a 30 percent discount (about $280). The Geekbench benchmark indicates that Arrow Lake Refresh will be a socketed processor compatible with the Socket 1851 socket used by the original Arrow Lake processor. That means consumers will be able to replace the older chip with the newer. But will the performance justify the upgrade? Let’s look at what we’ve seen. The first Geekbench score reported for the 270K Plus Arrow Lake Refresh chip was 3,235 for the single-core benchmark and 21,638 for the multi-core score. Unfortunately, it’s possible to find 265K scores that are higher than this. However, when comparing a sample 265K score from about the same timeframe as the 270K Plus submission (assuming similar driver software), two sample systems using the same motherboard generated single-core scores of 2,647 and 3,081 and multicore scores of 16,632 and 21,592. All this means is that there could be considerable variance. That’s between a five and 20 percent difference in the single-core result between the older Arrow Lake and the latest Arrow Lake Refresh, and a 0.2 percent to 26 percent difference in the multi-core score. (This could also be testing on wall power versus battery.) That’s a huge swing. The earlier Arrow Lake really didn’t offer a clear advantage over its predecessor. Will Arrow Lake Refresh be any different?Adam Patrick Murray & Will Smith / PCWorld You may have thought, as I did, that Arrow Lake sold poorly based on the chip’s poor reviews and customers asking for older Raptor Lake chips instead. That’s not true, McCarron said. Arrow Lake was overshadowed in part by how successful and profitable the older 13th- and 14th-gen Core chips were, but when Intel migrated the manufacturing node to its server chips, Raptor Lake went with it, leaving Arrow Lake instead. And it sold, but not as well as Raptor Lake. “I don’t think Intel really needs to do anything [with Raptor Lake Refresh],” McCarron said. “I’m sure people would like the power consumption to be different, or its performance to be different, but they don’t have to do anything, as it’s already happening.” Still, people apparently bought Raptor Lake because it was there. Twitter/X leaker @momomo_us puts the launch date of Arrow Lake Refresh on March 23. We’ll see if the new chip is as successful. AMD: Ryzen AI 400, plus more of the same AMD’s Ryzen 9000 series (both the 9000X chips as well as the market-leading X3D series like the Ryzen 9 9950X3D) aren’t going away; they’ll carry AMD through 2026 in the desktop space. They’re the clear leader in performance right now, and one of the few risks customers face is that for some reason they’ll sell out, as they did initially. Otherwise, AMD’s market share has steadily risen thanks to these excellent chips. There’s just one thing: they’re old, relatively speaking. AMD launched the Ryzen 9000 X3D at the end of 2024, and the killer Ryzen 9 9950X3D dropped a year ago. But just one chip, the Ryzen 7 9850X3D, was announced at CES, and it’s unclear if any more will arrive anytime soon. They’re all based on Zen 5 and the scariest rumor of late has been that the “Olympic Ridge” desktop debut of Zen 6 will have to wait until CES 2027 for an introduction. That’s a loooong way away. AMD Instead, there’s the Ryzen AI 400, which also traverses the mobile space as well as the desktop. AMD has confirmed that socketed Ryzen AI 400 processors for desktops would arrive as well. Historically, this has been a bit of a gray area. Intel promised us that we’d see a desktop version of its Core Ultra 100 series, Lunar Lake, then clarified that it would just mean a soldered-down version for all-in-ones instead. (And if there were, there weren’t many.) AMD has said the Ryzen AI 400 / Gorgon Point will be available for traditional socketed desktops, specifically the existing AM5 socket. AMD launched seven Ryzen AI 400 chips at CES 2026, including a pair of HX processors at the top end. It’s not clear whether they’ll all be available on the desktop. In any event, little has changed from the admittedly good performance of the Ryzen AI 300, which slightly exceeded the rest of its competition in the mobile space. All of AMD’s Ryzen AI 400s include up to 12 cores and 24 threads, and all use the Zen 5 architecture. Save for a faster memory speed and more AI TOPS, there’s not much difference from the earlier chip. Desktop PCs with a Ryzen AI 400 inside them will qualify for Copilot+ status, but Microsoft has basically granted Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite most-favored-nation status in that regard. From a performance standpoint, we know something about these chips, too. The Geekbench database also includes a number of benchmarks for the 10-core Ryzen AI 9 465, all running on the Asus Zenbook S16. The scores imply that the laptop was tested on battery and on wall power: as high as 1,538 on single-core testing, versus 9,001 on multicore. On what appears to be wall power, the most recent score at press time was 2,841 for single-core performance, and 13,705 for multi-core. If true, that’s pretty bad news for AMD on paper compared to Intel’s Arrow Lake Refresh: 2,841 vs. 3,041 (single-core) and 13,705 vs 21,592 (multicore). Ryzen would give up an advantage in single-core applications, such as running the operating system, unzipping files, and some games, as well as a big gap would exist in multithreaded applications. It’s unclear, of course, if these numbers will hold up in real-world testing. Given that AMD has already announced the Ryzen AI 400 chips, we’d expect them to officially launch soon. The sleeper here could be another AMD chip entirely: the Ryzen AI Max+, which has appeared in both laptops and tablets as well as desktops like the Framework Desktop. However, my review of the Framework Desktop and its superb Max+ 395 chip inside it was performed in the halcyon days of last August, when AI was taking hold but there was still enough RAM to go around. The AI Max+ chip I reviewed was designed to gobble up RAM — 128GB (!) of LP-DDR5X (!) soldered to the motherboard (!) — which seems kind of insane right about now. The AI Max+ certainly wins on paper, but in the real world it suffers from the same problems other desktop PCs do. Are Qualcomm or Nvidia wild cards? Not likely Can Qualcomm zoom in and save the day? Well, maybe — but so far, any promises it has made about socketed desktops haven’t materialized, and we have yet to see the Snapdragon X2 Elite, either. A big wild card is the Nvidia N1 and N1X. Supposedly, the partnership with Mediatek and its Arm core will produce the first laptops this year, but both companies have been very silent about the N1 and its high-performance offshoot, the N1X. It’s likely that Panther Lake was designed knowing the N1 would eventually challenge it. But still — laptops. An N1 mini PC sounds quite reasonable, but still isn’t the traditional desktop you might be hoping for. Otherwise, things are still rough. The price of DDR5 DRAM may have plateaued a bit, but it’s still roughly five times what it once was. DDR4 isn’t much better and can vary depending on capacity and speed. SSD prices aren’t getting any better, either. According to PCPartPicker’s storage trends, you’re essentially paying double what you would have in November, when we warned that you had better grab what deals you could find on storage and memory before they disappeared. You’re probably aware that hard drives are selling out, too. That’s not to say that desktop PC sales will suffer. In fact, Mercury’s fourth-quarter data shows that availability was better in desktops than laptops, McCarron said. Corporations will still refresh their PCs, just because they have to. Instead, we’re moving to a supply-constrained market, he said, where people will buy what they can, not what they want. Grim. Budget PCs will be especially vulnerable, McCarron predicted, and someone looking at a low-end PC should investigate a refurbished computer instead. In a word, it’s bleak. Unless you have a couple of bitcoins burning a hole in your wallet, building a desktop PC in 2026 seems like a lost cause. With what’s going on in the mobile space — with Panther Lake, the Nvidia N1, and maybe Qualcomm’s next-gen X2 Elite — maybe it’s worth calling 2026 the year of the laptop, instead. Read...

These days, you don’t need a pricey laptop or desktop PC to get your work done, to explore your hobbies and passions, or to waste time online with social media and Netflix. You can get all that done with a mini PC for a fraction of the cost, without sacrificing anything important. Today, Amazon is selling one such mini PC with a huge discount. The Kamrui Pinova P2 normally retails for $759.99, but right now you can snag it for just $499.99. That’s a hefty 34% off on a surprisingly powerful mini PC that will blow you away with what it can do. The Pinova P2 is a powerful pick, running on a speedy Intel Core i5-12600H processor alongside a massive 32GB of RAM. That’s a combo that can handle any task you need on a day-to-day basis, and it’s enough to smoothly handle Windows 11 without choking. The 1TB SSD on board also comes in handy, providing ample storage and fast system boots, app launches, and file transfers that’ll save you loads of time. With support for triple 4K/60Hz displays via HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB-C video, this mini PC has all you need for proficient multitasking. Connectivity is no problem, either, with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 for wireless internet and 6x super-fast USB-A ports for external drives, accessories, and peripherals. It’s a winner’s PC. You do not want to miss this one, especially with the current RAM and SSD shortage driving up prices on PCs and hardware. Score this powerful mini PC for just $499.99 while you can! If you do miss it, you might still be able to score another in our roundup of best mini PC deals. Save $260 on this Intel i5 mini PC with 32GB RAM and 1TB SSDBuy now at Amazon Read...

When travelling by train, whether locally or long-distance, you visit many stations. Albert Guillaume Marcer’s website Stations visualizes more than 2,500 stations in Europe and North America. To do this, Marcer explored the stations over the last ten years and made detailed notes on tracks, transfer options and more. Marcer has digitized these records and made them available in three-dimensional view on the Stations website. Together with publicly available sources, this has resulted in a highly realistic representation of each station. Stations allows users to virtually explore over 2,500 stations in Europe and North America, along with interesting background information on the buildings. Stations After opening the website, navigate using the Google map to search for available entries. Alternatively, use the two menus below the map to select the city or station. The website displays a 3D graphic of the station and important information below. This makes it easier to find your way around stations, for example when changing trains. There is also interesting additional information about the stations and their architectural background. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Easy to assemble and move Includes TizenOS with remote control Good contrast ratio Less expensive than alternatives Cons Short power cord, no built-in battery Modest color gamut Lackluster HDR and motion clarity Our Verdict The Samsung Movingstyle M7 is a mobile display with a smart TV operating system. It’s not perfect, but it delivers on its core features and undercuts the competition on price. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Samsung Movingstyle M7 Retailer Price $699.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Most computer monitors are meant to be used at a desk, but the Samsung Movingstyle M7 is a different breed. It ships with a heavy, wheeled base and pole stand that makes it possible to use nearly anywhere in your home, at least so long as a power outlet is nearby. The monitor also has Samsung’s smart TV operating system and a long list of standard features including Wi-Fi, a remote control, and built-in audio. Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best monitors for comparison. Samsung Movingstyle M7 (M70F) specs and features Technically, the Samsung Movingstyle M7 isn’t really a monitor. It’s a bundle that includes the Samsung Smart Monitor M7 and the Movingstyle base. However, it’s not possible to buy the Movingstyle base alone. Display size: 32-inch 16:9 aspect ratio Native resolution: 3840×2160 Panel type: VA-LCD Refresh rate: 60Hz Adaptive sync: None HDR: HDR10 compatible Ports: 2x HDMI 2.0, 1x USB-C with DisplayPort and 65 watts of Power Delivery, 3x USB-A 2.0 Audio: 10-watt speaker system Extra features: Remote control, TizenOS, wheeled stand, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.2 Price: $699.99 MSRP Samsung asks $699.99 for the Movingstyle M7, and it’s currently sold at that price online. That might seem expensive, as the Smart Monitor M7 that is bundled with the Movingstyle M7 retails for less than $250. However, the Movingstyle M7 is actually less expensive than competitive displays like the LG Smart Monitor Swing. Samsung Movingstyle M7 unboxing and assembly PCWorld monitor reviews don’t normally include a section dedicated to unboxing and assembly. With most monitors, the process is straightforward enough to skip. The Samsung Movingstyle M7, with its large floor stand, is a bit different. The monitor arrived in a single outer box containing two inner boxes: one with the Samsung M7 monitor, which can be purchased separately, and one with the Movingstyle stand. Both were tightly packed and the stand’s base weighs nearly 40 pounds, so unpacking takes some effort. I managed to unpack it solo, but it would be best to have someone help. Once everything is out of the box, assembly is straightforward, though it does require tools (which are included). First, the power cord is cabled through the tall pole stand, then the pole attaches to the base with screws and the monitor mount clamps onto the neck. The mount’s vertical position offers a good degree of adjustment. Matthew Smith / Foundry Finally, the monitor attaches to the mount with a VESA bracket, which screws to the back of the monitor. The bracket slides onto the mount and a final screw secures them tightly together. Setup definitely takes some doing. It took me about half an hour from start to finish. However, aside from the tightly packed box, I don’t have any complaints. The assembly instructions were useful and the various pieces screwed or clamped together without issue. Samsung Movingstyle M7 design Once assembled, the Samsung Movingstyle M7 has a clean, if obviously unusual, aesthetic. It is basically a 32-inch monitor mounted to a pole, so it is not exactly subtle, though the white colorway and curved design help it blend into a typical home environment. Matthew Smith / Foundry Samsung pitches this monitor squarely at home users, though it would also work well in a conference room. It is envisioned as a mobile display that can move between a kitchen, a home office, or a guest room as needed. The wheeled stand provides that mobility, allowing the monitor to be positioned where it is needed and rolled aside when it is not. The wheels are small and the clearance on the base is slim, however, so the stand will only roll on flat surfaces like hardwood or tile. One of my biggest concerns before I assembled the Movingstyle M7 was its stability. Fortunately, the stand holds up well in normal use. The base weighs almost 40 pounds, which is roughly four times the weight of the monitor itself, so an accidental bump or jostle is not going to send it to the floor. A determined shove can still tip it, though, so I would be cautious about using this monitor in a home with young children or a rambunctious dog. You will also want to think about the power cord. The Movingstyle M7 doesn’t include a battery and so requires a connection to a power outlet. Samsung’s marketing materials show the monitor with a lengthy white cord, but my review unit shipped with a black cord roughly 10 feet long. Though the wheels on the base make the monitor mobile, you won’t always need to move it for use, as the mount also adjusts for swivel, tilt, and height—though the height adjustment requires unclamping the mount from the pole, which is a bit finicky. The mount also supports 90 degrees of rotation into portrait orientation for those who want to use it that way.Curious readers might wonder if the Movingstyle stand can be used with other monitors. This is physically possible, as it uses a standard 100x100mm VESA mount, but the monitor’s documentation warns against it. I suspect that’s because the weight of the monitor attached has an impact on stability and Samsung doesn’t want to be liable for a too-heavy monitor tipping over. In any case, Samsung doesn’t sell the stand alone. It’s a complete package. Though the wheels on the base make the monitor mobile, you won’t always need to move it for use, as the mount also adjusts for swivel, tilt, and height… Samsung Movingstyle M7 connectivity Connectivity is not the Samsung Movingstyle M7’s most important feature, and it shows. The monitor offers two HDMI 2.0 video inputs and a USB-C port that supports DisplayPort alternate mode. The absence of a standard DisplayPort input may frustrate users who want to connect a desktop PC, though that is probably a less common use case for a monitor like this. The USB-C port also functions as an upstream data connection, linking to three downstream USB-A 2.0 ports. The monitor also has Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.2. The Wi-Fi connection allows the monitor to stream content directly from the internet without a connected PC, and the Bluetooth connection supports peripherals including game controllers. The monitor also supports AirPlay for wireless video from Apple devices. Samsung Movingstyle M7 menus and features The Samsung Movingstyle M7 is a full-fledged smart monitor running Samsung’s Tizen OS, the same operating system used by Samsung’s smart televisions. The monitor also ships with a wireless remote control. For all practical purposes, this makes it a 32-inch smart TV. It can stream content from all the major streaming apps, access Samsung’s own services, and run cloud gaming platforms without any external device connected. Matthew Smith / Foundry These features are always at least somewhat useful, but they are particularly useful here. The Movingstyle M7 can function as a fully independent display that needs nothing more than a power outlet and a Wi-Fi connection. I expect a lot of owners will purchase this monitor with no intention of ever connecting an external video source. The Tizen experience is serviceable. As with other Samsung smart monitors I have reviewed, the operating system can feel sluggish when opening settings menus and navigating between options. The interface leans heavily on icons paired with labels that are sometimes truncated and lose meaning out of context. Tizen is of course optimized for a television experience, so your opinion of it will depend on how much you intend to use the Movingstyle M7 as a TV versus a monitor. It’s frustrating if you only want to use the display as a monitor, as everything from setup (which requires Wi-Fi) to changing brightness takes longer than it should. The included remote is essential. However, there’s a multidirectional joystick and a few buttons tucked around the rear center of the display that can serve as a backup if the remote goes missing or you need to make a quick adjustment. In practice, though, you will want the remote in hand for nearly everything. Matthew Smith / Foundry Samsung Movingstyle M7 audio The Movingstyle M7 includes a 10-watt speaker system that delivers serviceable audio quality. Maximum volume is okay for a home office or guest bedroom, but it falls short in larger spaces like a living room or kitchen, especially if you are actually cooking and competing with background noise. Audio quality is clear but flat so more dynamic content like music and movies sound hollow. This is normally the part of a monitor review where I recommend external speakers and mention that most monitors don’t have great speakers, if they have any at all. The catch here is that using external speakers with the Movingstyle M7 is more complicated than usual. Any speakers you pair with this display should ideally move with it, but the stand doesn’t have a mount for them, so you’ll need to give your audio setup some thought. Samsung Movingstyle M7 SDR image quality Samsung’s Movingstyle M7 in fact pairs the stand with the Samsung Smart Monitor M7, which can be purchased on its own (the stand, however, is only available as part of the Movingstyle M7). The Smart Monitor M7 is an affordable monitor with an MSRP of $400, which is often slashed to $250 or less. So, how does its image quality stack up? Matthew Smith / Foundry I measured a maximum SDR brightness of 329 nits which, as the graph shows, is a fine but middle-of-the-road value. This level of brightness is much more than what’s required in most rooms. However, the Movingstyle M7’s mobility means it’s more likely to be used in a living room or kitchen with a lot of ambient light and no way to reduce it. In those situations, the monitor’s SDR brightness can prove merely adequate. Matthew Smith / Foundry Contrast is a win for the Movingstyle M7, as the Samsung Smart Monitor M7 has a Vertical Alignment (VA)-LCD panel. This type of panel can deliver lower levels of brightness in dark scenes, which improves overall contrast and provides a more immersive image. Of course, the Movingstyle M7 won’t match an OLED display, which will look far more alluring and pack more detail into dark scenes. Still, the Movingstyle M7 performs well enough to provide enjoyable contrast in a wide range of movies and games. Matthew Smith / Foundry Unfortunately, the Movingstyle M7’s color gamut is a weakness. I measured a gamut that spanned only 97 percent of sRGB and 78 percent of DCI-P3. As the graph shows, this is a fairly narrow color gamut for a modern display and it’s where the Smart Monitor M7’s low price is most apparent. The narrow color gamut is obvious in real-world use. Content looks unsaturated and lacks the impact it would have on a display with a wider color gamut. It’s passable, but it’s not going to impress viewers who are even moderately critical about image quality. Matthew Smith / Foundry Color accuracy is better, though the story has nuance. My testing found a very low color error across most colors, but a high color error (delta 6.3) in cyan. Subjectively, I thought the monitor lacked the ability to show much nuance in the blue-cyan range, causing colors in this range to seem particularly muted and unremarkable.The Movingstyle M7 results were once again solid in gamma and color temperature. I measured a gamma curve of 2.2, which is what I expect to see at default settings. I also measured a color temperature of 6700K, which is only a tad off the target of 6500K. That means the image looks a bit cooler than what’s ideal but is generally well-balanced.Sharpness is good, too, as the monitor delivers 3840×2160 resolution. If anything, the monitor tends to look a bit sharper than most 4K monitors in normal use. That’s because I typically viewed the monitor from further away than a desktop monitor. I was often at least 4 feet away from the Movingstyle M7 when viewing it. At that distance, a 32-inch display with 4K resolution looks remarkably crisp. The Movingstyle M7’s overall SDR image quality is not remarkable but holds up well enough. It provides solid contrast and a well-balanced image with generally good color accuracy. However, the monitor’s color gamut and brightness could be better. The vast majority of monitors in the same price range will have better image quality but, of course, they also won’t have a mobile stand. Samsung Movingstyle M7 HDR image quality The Samsung Movingstyle M7 technically supports HDR, as it can accept an HDR10 signal. However, aside from the mention of HDR10 support in the monitor specifications, Samsung doesn’t mention HDR. That’s for good reason. While an HDR10 signal can be viewed, it doesn’t look great due to the monitor’s limited brightness and color gamut. I wouldn’t say that HDR content looks better than SDR at all—just a bit different in terms of overall color presentation.In short, the Movingstyle M7 isn’t a good choice if HDR is at the top of your list of priorities. Samsung Movingstyle M7 motion performance I can say the same for the Movingstyle M7’s motion performance. The display has a maximum refresh rate of 60Hz and doesn’t offer adaptive sync, so motion fluidity isn’t great in modern PC or console games. I also noticed a lot of motion blur, which reduced motion clarity. To be clear, the motion performance looked fine for movies and shows. But if you’re interested in attaching a PlayStation, Xbox, or gaming PC, you’ll likely be disappointed. Is the Samsung Movingstyle M7 worth it? The Samsung Movingstyle M7 is a niche monitor that does what it was designed to do. It’s easy to assemble, moves across flat surfaces without trouble, and has a stand that makes the monitor usable almost anywhere you have open floor space. At a glance the $700 MSRP might seem steep, but it’s not bad for this type of display. LG’s StandByMe and Smart Monitor Swing are both currently priced around $800 at retail. You might save money if you go the DIY route and choose a stand and monitor independently, but the end result is unlikely to look as attractive (and in some cases will be downright ugly). If you want a large mobile display that you can position nearly anywhere the floor space is available, the Samsung Movingstyle M7 is a sensible choice. Read...

I’m not a huge PC gamer, which means I’ve never really considered buying a mechanical keyboard. In my experience, everyone I know who owns one has the fancy light-up kind for “serious” gamers. But recently I noticed how many cheap/affordable ones are available on Amazon, with numerous options going for less than $50. I even spotted one for just $20 and it looked pretty good—so much so that it felt like a bargain I shouldn’t pass up. So I jumped on it. I put in my order and waited to find out what all the fuss was about. Honestly, I don’t know what I was expecting. Could a mechanical keyboard really be a game-changer? Or would it be a disappointment that didn’t live up to the hype? How much of my experience would be “valid” considering I went for a bottom-barrel model? Would I even notice the cheaper build quality and lack of features? It was an experiment for me… and the results were mixed. As a mechanical keyboard virgin, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about Having worked in online publishing for decades, I’ve met a lot of people who are deeply passionate about technology—and so I’m used to being recommended products left, right, and center. I also love tech myself but I’m more of a skeptic, the opposite of an early adopter. I try to take a more objective view on what’s trending in the world of gadgetry and keep a level head when it comes to newfangled products. Here’s my “before” setup: an unassuming wireless membrane keyboard.Dave Parrack / Foundry Mechanical keyboards have obviously been around for a long time, stretching back as far as the 1970s, but when they became mainstream in the early 2010s, I was relentlessly pushed to try one by colleagues and friends alike. Not being a PC gamer—preferring the ease of console gaming—meant I was never persuaded to invest in one. However, the germ of the idea never quite died, thus I took a punt on it when I spotted this decent-looking mechanical keyboard for only $20. Will a cheap $20 mechanical keyboard be enough for me? It was a lot easier to keep out of the mechanical keyboard trend when everything was $100 and over, but there’s really no excuse not to give it a whirl when the entry price has come down so much. Sure, those cheapies are mainly Chinese brands that cut corners and skimp on essential features and maybe even neglect some safety precautions… But at $20, it’s hard to resist. And given how much time I spend on my PC as a working writer, I might as well try it out. If there’s even the tiniest potential for this peripheral to be an absolute game-changer that revolutionizes my productivity and makes me enjoy typing that much more, then I owe it to myself to see if that’s true. The Newmen GM611 mechanical keyboard, ready and waiting for me.Dave Parrack / Foundry The mechanical keyboard I ended up getting is the Newmen GM611. Newmen may seem like a proper brand at first glance—it’s certainly better than so many of the nonsensical all-cap ones you often see on Amazon, like VRURC and JAJAFOOK—but it’s a China-based company like the rest. Peeking at its Amazon storefront reveals a specialization in keyboards, mice, and webcams. Not too bad so far. So I bit the bullet. I sent in my order and also snagged a USB-A-to-USB-C converter with it. When it arrived, I promptly plugged it into my PC and took it for a spin… What I like about the keyboard I like the mechanical keyboard’s appearance. It somehow manages to look sleek and robust at the same time. It’s small but perfectly formed, with the only real omission being a dedicated number pad. However, it looks great sitting on my desk in front of my PC, especially when the sun sets and the multicolored keycaps light up. Dave Parrack / Foundry I also found the act of typing quite satisfying. Maybe because it was novel and something different to what I’m used to, or maybe because the clacking noise made each button press feel more definitive. Once I built new muscle memory for the key layout and started tolerating the sound (more on this below), it was surprisingly enjoyable. It’s been a while since I felt this much satisfaction just from tapping away on keys. Plus, setting up the keyboard was simple and seamless, both on my Windows PC and on my Chromebook. I plugged it in… and it worked! Right away. No extra effort on my part. I’m sure that’s the case with almost any reputable keyboard these days, but I appreciated it given the extra-cheap nature of the one I bought. No wrinkles. What I don’t like about the keyboard The first thing that struck me—and the main thing I’ve come to dislike about mechanical keyboards—was the noise. The clackety clack as I typed away on the keys? Very distracting! Maybe I’ll start to like it after a while, but I can see (or, in this case, hear) why mechanical keyboards are designed more for gaming than writing. Dave Parrack / Foundry I also had to build new muscle memory because the keys were taller and more spread out than the typical low-profile layouts I’m used to. It also surprised me how much pressure was needed to trigger each key. (I’ve been using a bog-standard membrane keyboard since my Windows 7 days—a long time spent on the same keyboard! We don’t recommend membrane keyboards, by the way.) And since this is a cheap mechanical keyboard, the customization options are limited. It has 19 different LED backlight effects that I can cycle through, plus 5 brightness levels. But that’s all. I’ve seen more expensive mechanical keyboards with much more to them. Of course, this is more an observation than a complaint. Can’t really expect all that much from something that only costs $20, can I? Do I buy a better one? Or go back to my standard membrane keyboard? Ultimately, having used this cheap mechanical keyboard for a few weeks now, I have a choice to make. Do I carry on with it? Invest in a better, more expensive model? Or return to the membrane keyboard that came with my Windows PC and is showing its age? My setup again, except this time with my new mechanical keyboard.Dave Parrack / Foundry While I enjoyed the typing experience on my cheap mechanical keyboard, I’m not enamored enough on the whole to invest further on a “better” model. If I were to ever start gaming on a PC in a big way, it might make sense then. But for now? When I really only use my keyboard to type words for work? Not going to happen. That said, given how cheap this keyboard was, I’m pleased and have no regrets. I won’t be getting rid of it. It’s still going to take some time to get used to it—especially the noise—but I’ll be going back and forth between this and my old membrane keyboard, at least until that one dies. I do like the tactile typing. Maybe one day I’ll love it. Further reading: The best mechanical keyboards Read...

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