Civil liberty groups say in a letter to Sir Mark Rowley the technology`s deployment is `disappointing`. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Respectable 1080p performance Excellent OLED display Fans aren’t very loud Not wildly heavy Cons Lenovo’s pricing is all over the place Short battery life Our Verdict The Lenovo Legion 5i 15IRX10 pairs an excellent display with solid internals for a great gaming experience. With a $1,199 price tag on a configuration close to our test unit, the value looks good. Just avoid Lenovo’s unnavigable first-party pricing. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Lenovo Legion 5i Retailer Price $1,599.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices Lenovo has a new generation of gaming laptops out, and Legion 5i 15IRX10 sits at the affordable end of the stack without cutting down too much. It features powerful processor options and a few RTX 50-series GPUs to power your games. Though Lenovo makes finding a good value hard with a chaotic pricing system, this Walmart configuration comes closest to our test unit and pegs the system at a solid bargain of $1,199. At that price, things look real peachy for the potent Legion 5i 15IRX10. Lenovo Legion 5i: Specs and features Model number: 15IRX10 CPU: Intel Core i7-14700HX Memory: 32GB DDR5 Graphics/GPU: Nvidia RTX 5060 (40-watt TGP) Display: 15.1-inch 1600p OLED,165Hz, Dolby Vision, VESA Trueblack 600 Storage: 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD Webcam: 5MP Connectivity: 1x USB-C 10Gbps with Power Delivery and DisplayPort 2.1, 1x USB-C 10Gbps with DisplayPort 1.4, 3x USB-A 5Gbps, 1x RJ45, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5mm combo audio Networking: WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 Biometrics: Windows facial recognition Battery capacity: 80 watt-hours Dimensions: 13.58 x 10.05 x 0.85 inches Weight: 4.3 pounds MSRP: Approximately $1,199 as-tested ($1,299 base) Though our test unit has the above configuration, Lenovo does not appear to offer this exact setup to consumers. There is plenty of customization available though. The Legion 5i 15IRX10 can come with 13th or 14th Gen Intel Core processors in this configurator, or even bump up to 2nd Gen Intel Core Ultra processors in a separate configurator. At the low end, you can get an Intel Core i7-13650HX with 16GB of memory, 512GB of storage, and an RTX 5050 for an “Est Value” of $1,634 (but an actual price of $1,299 at the time of writing) using the custom configuration tool. Bumping up to a Core i7-14700HX or Core i9-14900HX is also possible, but entails a swap to the RTX 5070 as well. Arrow Lake configurations have the same memory and storage options, but they start out with an Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX and RTX 5060 for an “Est Value” of $1,704 and actual pricing at $1,309. This can be upgraded to an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX, which also comes with an RTX 5070 instead, and brings the price to $1,559 (though the “Est Value” shows as $1,954). One notable difference of the Core Ultra models is that they upgrade one of the USB-C ports to Thunderbolt 4.  Using Lenovo’s custom configurations, there’s not a huge delta between the Raptor Lake and Arrow Lake options, and the Core Ultra models are likely to have superior single-core performance and battery life. That said, the configurator tends to have significantly higher prices than pre-configured models and therefore doesn’t offer a great value.  For those seeking the best price, Walmart offers the closest configuration to what we’re testing here. It’s available for $1,199 at the time of writing, and includes all of the above specifications except only 16GB of memory. Thankfully, that DDR5 is user-upgradeable, so you can cheaply bump it up to this system’s 32GB if needed. The Lenovo Legion 5i has an excellent display for gaming and entertainment, a sturdy build, solid performance, and surprisingly quiet fans. Lenovo Legion 5i: Design and build quality IDG / Mark Knapp The Legion 5i 15IRX10 isn’t remarkable in its design, but it’s not disappointing either. The system is completely blacked out aside from its Legion logo power button, the white keyboard legend and their RGB lighting, and a little gray Lenovo branding on the rear thermal shelf. All that black looks fine briefly, but it starts to show finger oils quickly.  The looks are largely clean with rounded corners and chamfered edges around the base that may not be super ergonomic but are at least more comfortable than sharp 90-degree angles. The base is all plastic with a smooth polycarbonate upper and rougher ABS plastic bottom. The base is fairly sturdy, not exhibiting much flex. The display is surrounded by modest plastic bezels. The back of the display gets the one premium aspect: an aluminum lid with Lenovo’s Legion branding embossed with a smoky mirror finish. The construction is similar to many of Lenovo’s other Legion laptops. The top of the display has an extra-large section to both house the camera and provide a lip for opening the lid easily. The display attaches to the base with two hinges slightly shifted forward from the back edge of the laptop. This creates a little butt (thermal shelf) at the back with extra room for heat sinks. That back edge is largely occupied by exhaust vents. No exhaust goes out the sides.  Underneath, the Legion 5i 15IRX10 sits on three large rubber feet that hold it firmly in place and lift it up a good ways to provide airflow into the two bottom fans. There’s a large grille underneath, though only a small percentage of this is actually grille — mostly right under the fans. In this case, this at least allows sufficient air intake and doesn’t provide any extra opportunity for dust to get in.  All told, the Legion 5i 15IRX10 isn’t particularly inspired or exciting, but it feels decent and is a sturdily built laptop. The choice of a 15.1-inch display provides decent screen space while keeping the laptop small enough to fit into even some tight laptop sleeves. It’s not so heavy either at just 4.3 pounds. And thanks to the very thin display and modest base, the build isn’t very thick for a gaming laptop.  Lenovo Legion 5i: Keyboard, trackpad IDG / Mark Knapp My experience with the Legion 5i 15IRX10’s keyboard has been somewhat mixed. On one hand, the keys are surprisingly well stabilized, and they have a decent dish to help feel out the center and edges. But their travel is kind of rubbery, giving them a somewhat odd feel, like they also push my fingers back when resetting. With some adjustment, I could see this actually turning into a positive, as a quick-resetting key is ready to press that much sooner, but as it stands, it sort of throws my fingers into a funk. I was ultimately able to get up to a typing speed of 114 words-per-minute with a decent 97 percent accuracy, but this still isn’t quite exceptional.  I still love that Lenovo accommodates a full-size set of arrow keys on many of its gaming laptops. This makes navigation so much easier. There’s also a full number pad on the right side of the keyboard, though this has slim keys that end up feeling a little cramped.  Lenovo packed in 24 RGB lighting zones, which ultimately kind of feels like overkill for any system that’s not just going to buckle down and give you per-key lighting. The 24 zones do allow for a slightly smoother wave or lighting that responds to audio playing from the computer. But the zones are all vertical columns, not functionally useful zones. Customization options are rather limited. And the edges of zones blend together when displaying different colors, so you won’t get an impactful and precise customization no matter how you shake it. The keyboard will let you cycle through backlighting presets by pressing Fn+Space, but there’s no key for adjusting backlighting brightness. That must be done through Lenovo’s Legion Space software. On the bright side, the lighting effectively illuminates the key legends.  The trackpad is nothing special. It’s fairly small for a laptop this size, but still spacious enough for four-finger gestures and general navigation. It’s far over to the left side of the computer, though, which can make it awkward to use for right-handed users. It’s mylar surface is also not as smooth as it could be. Lenovo Legion 5i: Display, audio IDG / Mark Knapp The Legion 5i 15IRX10 offers an excellent display. Just about every aspect of it delivers quality, and that’s great to see from a gaming laptop that skews toward the budget side of things. The 2560×1600 panel is plenty sharp at the size. It has the perfect contrast of OLED, not to mention the ultra-fast pixel response times. And with a 165Hz refresh rate, you’ll get smooth visuals both in and out of games. OLEDs weren’t always very bright, but this panel happily hits 523 nits. And to top it off, the panel is accurate. I measured its color accuracy at an average dE1976 of 0.51 with a max dE1976 of just 1.33. If you’ve got to do serious color work or just want to see your games the way they’re meant to look, this screen is up to the task. The audio isn’t quite as impressive, but it’s not bad. The speakers rely on the Nahimic app to provide sufficient sound, and it thankfully helps deliver on that. Playing games and watching movies, it provides plenty of audio generally, though I did find some spoken videos surprisingly quiet while listening with the app set to its default Music mode. There’s not much stereo separation from the little bottom-firing speakers even though they sit at the outer edges of the laptop, so they don’t make for the most engrossing game audio.  Lenovo Legion 5i: Webcam, microphone, biometrics IDG / Mark Knapp You’ll get a decent camera from the Legion 5i 15IRX10. Even though it’s sharp, it will appear a bit soft in modestly lit spaces. Even with several lights on in my small office, footage appeared soft and grainy. That said, it managed a very natural exposure. Though the camera offers a high resolution, it doesn’t have the infrared tech to enable facial recognition. The laptop also lacks a fingerprint scanner, so you’re out of luck for biometrics. The mic array on the Legion 5i 15IRX10 fails to impress. In a busy environment, it struggles thoroughly to capture my voice clearly. It does successfully eliminate background noise to a degree, but fully at the expense of its ability to pick me up. As soon as I talk in that loud environment, the background noise merges with my voice and makes anything I say unintelligible. Even in a quiet environment, my voice sounds rather distant with some room echo noticeable.  Lenovo Legion 5i: Connectivity IDG / Mark Knapp There’s little to get excited about from the Legion 5i 15IRX10’s various connections. It’s not making the most of its size, offering just two USB-C ports on the left side along with a USB-A port and Ethernet. The right side includes two USB-A ports, a 3.5mm jack, and a camera kill switch. The laptop’s charging port is located on the rear along with an HDMI port. The ports on the sides are rather awkwardly spaced with gaps of varying sizes between them. For instance, the USB-A ports on the right have the entire height of the keyboard dividing them. None of the ports are terribly fast either, with the USB-A ports topping out at 5Gbps and the USB-C ports hitting just 10Gbps — no 20 or 40Gbps ports. At least the HDMI port is up to the 2.1 spec. Both USB-C ports can also handle video output with one offering DisplayPort 2.1 and the other DisplayPort 1.4. The wireless connections are managed by a MediaTek card that offers Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. It’s been fast and reliable in my testing, though as with many MediaTek cards I’ve used over the years, there is often a small delay when waking up the laptop from sleep before it will reconnect to known networks.  Lenovo Legion 5i: Performance The Legion 5i 15IRX10 is built with high-performance in mind, even if it isn’t aiming for the highest levels possible on modern hardware. This kind of horsepower generally makes everyday operation and even light creative workloads a breeze. We can see that quite clearly in PCMark 10, which measures holistic performance of the system. The Legion 5i 15IRX10 performs wonderfully. It’s not exceptional in this category, though. Most gaming laptops have plenty to offer in this area, and the Legion 5i 15IRX10 actually ends up looking less impressive next to even older machines. The Dell G15 and Gigabyte G6X both ran on a lower-tier CPU and a prior-gen RTX 4060 GPU, and yet they came out ahead in this test. The previous generation Lenovo Legion 5i also came out well ahead thanks in part to a more potent CPU and faster storage.   IDG / Mark Knapp On the bright side, the Legion 5i 15IRX10 lagging behind those systems in PCMark isn’t the biggest deal, since all of the systems are offering smooth and responsive operation. And when it comes to raw horsepower, the Legion 5i 15IRX10 claws back some ground. Its processor offered substantially higher performance in Cinebench’s multi-core testing, dramatically outstripping all but the earlier Legion 5i’s Core i9-14900HX. This also helps us see why Lenovo opted for an older CPU. The newer Intel Core 7 240H falls well shy of the Core i7-14700HX’s performance, even failing to match its single-core speeds. It means little that the Core 7 240H is newer, though, as it’s actually a Raptor Lake CPU in disguise and not one of the newer Lunar Lake or Arrow Lake architectures.  IDG / Mark Knapp The combination of a potent CPU and newer RTX 5060 GPU works in the Legion 5i 15IRX10’s favor when it comes to graphics performance. Where it had fallen behind the prior-gen Legion in some cases, it turned the tides back into its favor in 3DMark’s Port Royal test, where it pulled well ahead of the Legion 5i. It also demonstrates how a strong CPU can avoid bottlenecks by thoroughly outpacing the Alienware 16 Aurora despite this machine running the same GPU. IDG / Mark Knapp Its performance in synthetic benchmarks translated well to actual games, too. It churned out an average of 153 fps in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Here again, it shows the difference a CPU can make, as the RTX 5060-powered Alienware fell behind all the RTX 4060-powered machines because its CPU was holding the GPU back. The Legion 5i 15IRX10 doesn’t have the same issue, and that lets its RTX 5060 show the generational uptick in performance it’s capable of.  IDG / Mark Knapp This performance checks out in Metro Exodus as well, where the Legion 5i 15IRX10 again leads the pack by a decent margin. The balance of a strong CPU and GPU help it stay ahead of these other systems, which appear largely held back by the limitations of the RTX 4060 (or Intel Core 7 240H in Alienware’s case). Of course, this does also highlight the limitations of the Legion 5i 15IRX10. In very demanding games, like Metro Exodus, it can struggle to meet the 60 fps threshold. That said, the system could hit an 82 fps average in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p Ultra.  IDG / Mark Knapp Performance is consistent, too. Running a string of Steel Nomad benchmarks, the Legion 5i 15IRX10 maintained nearly the same average framerate between runs. CPU and GPU temps also settled in and stopped increasing after just a couple minutes. The fans aren’t even terribly loud to manage the thermals.  Since the Legion 5i 15IRX10 has a 2560×1600 display, you might be tempted to play games at this resolution. In some lighter games, that will be readily doable. The Legion 5i 15IRX10 managed a 98 fps average in Shadow of the Tomb Raider at its native resolution. But in Cyberpunk 2077, it only hit 48 fps. For native resolution gaming, you’ll likely want to tap into DLSS and potentially frame generation technology.  Lenovo Legion 5i: Battery life As we see all too often, performance advantages tend to come at the peril of battery life. And sure enough, the Legion 5i 15IRX10 struggles to offer much longevity where runtime is concerned. In our local video playback test, it fell a little bit shy of four hours. That’s not only a bad result for a gaming PC, but it’s bad among this group, especially compared to the Alienware 16 Aurora’s surprisingly strong 10-hour runtime IDG / Mark Knapp In normal use, the battery life isn’t any better. I was able to stream a two-hour movie with the display at about 50 percent brightness and still have an hour of battery left. Web browsing, research, and writing consumed the battery at a similar rate, with it just scraping by at over three hours. Lenovo Legion 5i: Conclusion The Legion 5i 15IRX10 has plenty going for it as an affordable gaming laptop, assuming you steer clear of Lenovo’s inscrutable pricing and just go with the Walmart model closest to our test configuration. For $1,199, the Legion 5i 15IRX10 is offering a lot. It has an excellent display for gaming and entertainment, a sturdy build, solid performance, and surprisingly quiet fans. Though the design is decently portable, the battery doesn’t last long. So you’ll want to bring the charger if you plan to do much on the go. A lot of the value here hinges on the low price though. With upgraded internals, the price of different configurations can truly soar, and the quality of this laptop doesn’t quite feel like it stacks up against $2,000 systems. But as a low-cost option, it’s great. Read...

Certes launches quantum-safe technology that renders stolen data useless, protecting organisations against evolving cyber threats amid rising quantum computing risks. Read...

Certes launches quantum-safe technology that renders stolen data useless, protecting organisations against evolving cyber threats amid rising quantum computing risks. Read...

Although support for Windows 10 will not end in October 2025 after all, the additional grace period is only one year. This means that many users will soon not only have to say goodbye to their operating system, but also to their computer. Even if its components are powerful enough for Windows 11, it may become electronic waste: This is because Microsoft has strict requirements for the hardware on which the new operating system can run — especially when it comes to the processor. Most PCs and laptops that are more than eight years old are therefore excluded from the upgrade — even though they work without any problems under Windows 10 and would certainly do the same under Windows 11. However, you can make your computer officially fit for Windows 11 with small hardware upgrades: Whether this is worthwhile, whether it is even possible, and how much it costs depends on the specific PC or laptop. What your computer needs for Windows 11 The requirements that Microsoft places on a computer for Windows 11 look low at first glance: Processor with 64-bit support, two cores and a clock speed of 1GHz 4GB RAM 64GB storage for the installation Many old computers fulfill these requirements, which aren’t dissimilar from the requirements for graphics hardware with Direct X 12: Even PCs that are over 10 years old have suitable components. To make a PC with an Intel processor suitable for Windows 11, it is not enough to simply replace the processor. The new CPU also needs a new motherboard because it has a different socket format. IDG The same is true of Microsoft’s demand for a motherboard that has UEFI firmware with the Secure Boot function: This was already mandatory for computers with Windows 8, so complete systems should have been equipped with it since 2013. The requirement for TPM 2.0 is more problematic: Windows stores security keys in the Trusted Platform Module, which also monitors the PC boot process to ensure that no malware is active before Windows loads. TPM 2.0 was mandatory for complete systems with Windows 10, meaning that computers sold since the end of 2016 should be equipped accordingly. Prior to this, PCs and laptops were usually equipped with TPM 1.2 — which Microsoft believes makes them too insecure for Windows 11. However, most computers will fail to overcome one hurdle when switching to Windows 11: According to Microsoft, they absolutely need a processor that is on the official compatibility list, which is available for Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm models. This rules out all computers intended for private users that are equipped with an Intel processor before the 8th Core generation (“Coffee Lake,” “Kaby Lake R,” “Kaby Lake G,” “Amber Lake Y”) or an AMD CPU whose cores are not based at least on the Zen architecture. Complete systems with a supported CPU were available from spring 2018 — so if your computer is more than seven years old, Windows 11 cannot be installed without detours. Even with very old PCs, RAM, SSD, the processor clock rate or the number of cores are almost never the reason why Windows 11 cannot be installed. However, they lack security functions such as Secure Boot.WhyNotWin11 However, the Microsoft list is not consistent: Older processors such as the Intel Core i7-7820HQ from early 2017 or newer ones such as the AMD Athlon 3000G from the end of 2019, which is based on the Zen architecture, are also listed as suitable for Windows 11, although other processors with this architecture are excluded. Microsoft published new lists for the individual processor manufacturers for the Windows 24H2 update in February: They mainly contain more recent CPU models. However, some CPUs that were previously listed as supported have also been removed — including individual models from generations that are actually considered compatible with Windows 11. Whether this was accidental or intentional is unclear. These lists are actually aimed at PC manufacturers (OEMs), not private users. With older processors in particular, they do not give you any definitive certainty as to whether a particular CPU is supported by Windows 11 — and even if it is now, whether this will also apply to future updates of the operating system. How to check whether your PC is ready for Windows 11 If your computer is suitable for Windows 11 in its current configuration, you will be prompted at regular intervals to switch to the new system. Windows 10 also indicates this with a large window in the settings under “Windows Update”. Foundry If this is not the case for you, you can use tools to check how Windows 11-ready your PC is. Microsoft offers the PC Health Check for this purpose. Start the check by clicking the blue “Check now” button. If the computer fulfills the requirements for Windows 11, the overall result and the results for the individual components are highlighted in green. A yellow mark means that the tool could not perform the test for a specific requirement because the components or function was not recognized or has not yet been activated — for example, because Secure Boot is switched off. A cross in a red circle indicates that this component is preventing the upgrade to Windows 11 — in most cases the processor. Incidentally, you should not trust the age information displayed on the left-hand side of the tool’s start screen — it simply guesses based on certain system information, which has nothing to do with the actual age of the hardware or the Windows installation. The freeware WhyNotWin11 also checks the Windows 11 compatibility of the individual components and functions: Green means passed, red means failed. If the check tool reports that Secure Boot could not be detected, it may be because you have not activated this function. First start the Windows system information by running msinfo32 in the main window: “UEFI” must be in the “BIOS Mode” line. If “Off” is displayed for “Secure Boot State,” the UEFI supports Secure Boot, but it is not activated. To switch on Secure Boot, call up the UEFI settings: The most reliable way to do this is to click on “Restart now” in the Windows settings under “Update & Security > Recovery > Advanced Boot.” After a short time, the blue Windows pre-boot environment will appear: Select “Troubleshooting > Advanced options > UEFI firmware settings > Restart.” The computer now calls up the UEFI setup: Depending on the manufacturer, you will find the options for Secure Boot in the “Boot” or “Security” section. There, set Secure Boot to “Enabled,” “Switched on,” “UEFI,” or “Windows UEFI Mode.” After the restart, the “Secure boot state” in the system information should be set to “On.” If you open the TPM management under Windows with the command tpm.msc, the system will show you whether a corresponding security module is present and switched on. If Windows does not find a TPM in the system, you may first have to activate it in the UEFI setup settings.Foundry Proceed in a similar way to check for TPM: Enter tpm.msc in the Windows search window. If the information for a TPM and “Specification version 2.0” appear, everything is OK, version “1.2” is not sufficient for Windows 11 — you need a new processor here. If you see “No compatible TPM found,” the TPM may be compatible but not active. Now you need to call up the UEFI again and look for an option such as “Security Device,” “TPM State,” or, on a computer with an Intel CPU, “Intel PTT” or “Intel Platform Trust Technology.” The corresponding options for an AMD computer are called “AMD fTPM Switch” or “AMD PSP fTPM.” Set them to “On,” “Enabled,” or “Activated.” You need to replace this hardware for Windows 11 For an older PC, the route to Windows 11 usually involves changing the processor: Older CPUs also fulfill some of Microsoft’s requirements — they usually come with TPM 2.0 and their motherboard offers UEFI firmware with Secure Boot. However, the models on the compatibility list have additional functions that their predecessors do not have and that cannot be added later via an update: In most cases, these are security precautions against malware attacks on the operating system. The quickest and cheapest way to make an older PC fit for Windows 11 is to equip it with a processor that Microsoft allows. To do this, you must first clarify whether the CPU in your computer is soldered to the motherboard or sits in a socket — only then can it be replaced at all. Find out the model designation of the CPU — for example via the Windows Device Manager under “Processors,” in the Windows settings under “System > Info,” or with a hardware analysis tool such as HWinfo 64 or Speccy. Then research the technical data for this model on the processor manufacturer’s website — for example ark.intel.com. The hardware tools are also helpful — in HWinfo 64, look for “Main processor -> CPU platform.” If terms such as “Socket,” “PGA,” or “LGA” appear there, it is a socketed processor that can generally be expanded. If, on the other hand, you see the abbreviation “BGA,” also in the form “FC-BGA,” the processor is soldered onto the board — you cannot replace it. A complete PC with a desktop or tower housing usually has a socketed processor, whereas in many laptops the CPU is soldered. However, there are exceptions: All-in-one PCs or small mini PCs often use soldered laptop CPUs, while large laptops — for example, gaming and high-end laptops — often have a socketed processor. Intel: How to choose a suitable processor If the processor can be changed, the next step is to clarify whether a Windows 11-compatible model can be used instead. The new processor must fit into the existing slot on the motherboard installed in the PC. For older computers with Intel processors, your chances are slim: The socketed models from the CPU generations that are suitable for Windows 11 — from Coffee Lake onwards — use a different slot than their predecessors. This is also called LGA1151 — but version 1 differs from version 2 for Coffee Lake in terms of the electrical connections: You can therefore use a newer processor, but it will not work. When switching to Windows 11, you will therefore need a new processor and a new motherboard for the Intel platform. Only if the processor sits on the board in a socket can it be replaced with a new one. You can use check tools such as HWinfo64 to find out whether this is the case with your computer. IDG Depending on how powerful you want your computer to be after the upgrade, the upgrade will cost you between around $200 and $500. In addition, you can skip several CPU generations from Intel when buying a new processor and motherboard, as newer models are hardly more expensive than older ones: This not only makes the updated computer fit for Windows 11, but also gives it a generous increase in speed. If your old PC uses DDR4 RAM, you can even use the RAM on a board for the 14th core generation “Raptor Lake-R” from last year: A suitable motherboard such as the Asus Prime H610M costs around $100, and you can get a solid mid-range processor such as the Core i5-14400 as a boxed version with cooler for around $140. It will be significantly more expensive if you want to equip your old PC with the latest CPU generation Arrow Lake: Inexpensive processors such as a Core Ultra 5 225 cost around $250, with a suitable motherboard costing just over $100. You will also need DDR5 RAM, which is around $40 for 16GB capacity. If you only have a tight upgrade budget, you can opt for a board with an LGA1200 slot for an Intel PC: CPUs up to the 11th-generation Rocket Lake can be used there, such as a Core i5-11400F, which costs around $115 with a fan. In addition, an LGA1200 board such as the Gigabyte H510M v2 costs around $100. There are no costs for a new drive in any case: All boards for the upgrade options shown have M.2 and SATA connections so that you can continue to use an existing SSD — unless you need a flash memory with a larger capacity. The cheapest M.2 and SATA SSDs with 512GB are around $30 — an SSD with PCI Express 3.0 is sufficient for M.2 because the recommended boards do not support a higher PCIe version for the drive. In many cases, you can continue to use your existing power supply unit: Its connections should be suitable for the new board and the new components, unless you are using a powerful graphics card. However, it is generally advisable to replace the power supply unit on a computer that is six years old or older. Hardware upgrade for an AMD computer The upgrade path to Windows 11 is more favorable if you have a computer with an AMD processor: The manufacturer continued to use the AM4 socket for the older processors until 2022. This means, for example, that a Ryzen 7 1700 that does not work with Windows 11 can be replaced with a processor from the Ryzen 5000 series, such as the Ryzen 7 5700 or the Ryzen 7 5800XT. These models are still readily available and cost between $120 and around $180 with cooler. Many old PCs with AMD CPUs only need to be replaced to make them compatible with Windows 11. Check beforehand whether there is a UEFI Bios update for the installed board that supports the new processor.IDG Before you buy the new processor, check whether your existing motherboard supports it: The manufacturer must provide a suitable UEFI update, which can be found out on the support pages for the relevant board. You can continue to use the built-in RAM and an existing SSD. As with Intel, newer AMD processors support higher clock rates for DDR4: In everyday PC use, however, it is usually hardly noticeable that the existing DDR4 memory in the old computer runs a little slower. Read...

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At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Sturdy exterior escutcheon Fingerprint reader is fast and reasonably accurate Very inexpensive Cons Lost its Wi-Fi connection more than once Smart Life app is one of the worst management tools on the market Massive interior escutcheon Our Verdict This inexpensive smart lock covers the basics—and even provides a fingerprint reader—making for a very affordable smart lock if you don’t need any other bells and whistles. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: TCL D1 Fingerprint Smart Lock Retailer Price $89.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices You probably know TCL for its TVs, soundbars, and smart appliances more than its home security devices, but the manufacturer now offers no fewer than six smart locks (and one home security camera, too). One of its most ambitious smart locks—the D1 Pro Palm Vein Smart Lock—was a better value than the even more ambitious TCL D1 Max 3-in-1 Video Smart Lock, which boasted an integrated video doorbell. Both of those devices had their flaws, but if you’re willing to give up palm vein scanning technology and an integrated camera to see your visitors, the far more basic TCL D1 is the better value. This less-expensive alternative retains the PIN pad, fingerprint scanner, and Wi-Fi connectivity in a package that’s available at Amazon for just $90. That makes it one of the least expensive smart locks with a fingerprint reader on the market. Specifications The D1 has a familiar and basic industrial design, with an understated exterior escutcheon that features physical buttons (which illuminate when pressed) instead of a touchscreen, a standard fingerprint reader up top, and a traditional keyhole beneath. The lock carries no ANSI or BHMA certifications (need to know more about those standards? Our guide to smart lock quality and security will tell you everything you need to know.) The TCL D1 Fingerprint Smart Lock is one of the least expensive fingerprint smart locks on the market—it’s an excellent value. Inside the house, the massive interior escutcheon of the D1 Pro remains, measuring a gigantic 6.75 inches inches tall (just slightly smaller than the even larger 7-inch escutcheon on the TCL D1 Max I reviewed in January 2025). This lock is powered by eight AA batteries (not included) instead of a rechargeable cell. TCL says fresh batteries will supply nine months of juice. A USB-C port on the underside of the exterior escutcheon is available for emergency access power. Installation and setup The numeric PIN pad on the TCL D1 Fingerprint Smart Lock consists of physical buttons, but they become backlit when you press one. Christopher Null/Foundry Installation is straightforward and exactly in line with the D1 Pro Palm Vein Smart Lock I reviewed in December 2024. TCL includes a decent manual, but also provides bolts in multiple sizes, so you’ll need to pay close attention to ensure you use the right ones. (Pro tip: You will probably want the smaller ones unless you have a massively thick door.) These bolts attach the interior mounting frame to the door, and the interior escutcheon in turn connects to that frame. As with the D1 Pro, this requires juggling three screws in two different sizes, and features tiny screw holes that are difficult to reach with a standard size screwdriver. Again, I had to dig around for a tool small enough to get the job done and that wouldn’t mar the surrounding plastic housing. As with the D1 Pro, you’ll have to manage the lock in Tuya’s Smart Life app, which has not improved in any meaningful way since my last encounter with it. Onboarding the lock to Smart Life involves pressing a small button on the lock hardware followed by a numeric code to put it into pairing mode, though the manual will guide you through this process well enough if you follow along carefully. Pairing with a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network was expedient in my testing. As noted, the lock supports electronic access via fingerprint or PIN, in addition to the app. The unit supports a maximum of 50 PINs and 100 fingerprints. User management is done in Smart Life’s “Member management” section, where each user can be assigned PINs, fingerprints, or both. Nothing seems to have changed about this rickety system since I last encountered it, complete with the poor translations and unfortunate design choices that may rightfully make you question whether to put into it the necessary faith required to trust it with your homestead. TCL relies on one of my least-favorite third-party smart home apps and cloud services–Tuya Smart Life–for configuration and control. Christopher Null/Foundry Most of the common options for configuring temporary access are available in Smart Life, though one-time restricted access must be set to expire at the end of the day, rather than at a certain time. Oddly, temporary passwords for non-recurring users can, however, be set to expire at a given time, or, with the strangely named “dynamic” password, after five minutes. The “special password” feature from the D1 Pro is also available here. This feature lets you choose a separate PIN that users can enter if they are under duress. Tapping in the “special password” sends a push notification to the administrator to this effect. You can also designate a different fingerprint to be used as for duress incidents. It’s not the most elegant setup, with notifications like “${username} may be hijacked. Please act now!” But it does at least work mostly as intended. The Smart Life app is pretty dumb I remain baffled over Smart Life’s logging, which records all lock opening events, but not lock closing or failed opening attempts, both of which may be vital for some users. I also encountered several instances where the lock abruptly lost its Wi-Fi connection; the only foolproof way I found to quickly reconnect it was through removing and replacing the batteries—that’s hardly ideal if you’re trying to remotely manage the lock. This was probably the most troubling concern I had with this lock, as it renders the app unusable for a time (as there’s no Bluetooth backup in the event Wi-Fi is offline). Lock operations are smooth and reasonably quiet, with all actions verbally announced. The physical buttons offer a satisfying but not overly loud click when pressed, along with an electronic beep. The location and vertical alignment of the fingerprint reader aren’t ideal, but its accuracy is fine provided you keep your finger aligned the same way it was scanned, and it works quickly. Smart Life’s advanced settings for the D1 are minimal. Auto-locking can be configured from 5 to 900 seconds, and audio volume controls are robust. Some Googling will be required to figure out what certain options like “sleep time” are for (turns out this disables the app, but not PINs and prints, and prevents it from opening the lock during the set interval). Simple support for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa is included, but you’ll need Smart Life to manage credentials and perform most other functions. Should you buy the TCL D1 Fingerprint Smart Lock? Again, the price of the device is its strongest selling point by far: just $90, and apparently in free-fall as TCL prepares to release an updated model. I’ve not found any other reputable products with a fingerprint reader at that price point, though a few come close. If you’re looking to spend less and don’t need a fingerprint reader, take a look at the TP-Link Tapo DL100, a Wi-Fi smart lock with a PIN pad but no fingerprint reader that’s going for just $60. As with TCL’s other smart locks, the TCL D1 mostly gets the job done while being rough around the edges. If you have a door where “good enough” protection will suffice, give it a look. This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart locks. Read...

Philips Hue appears to be teeing up a new, more powerful hub that can turn Hue bulbs into motion sensors, according to leaked details and images that briefly appeared on Philips Hue’s own website.  The unannounced products, which have since been yanked from the “New on Hue” page, included the “faster” Hue Bridge Pro as well as a wired video doorbell, a refreshed and more efficient A19 bulb, permanent and globe-style versions of Hue’s Festavia outdoor string lights, a gradient light strip, and the ability to control your Hue lights with the Sonos voice assistant.  No pricing details were included in the leaked details, which were live on the Hue website for several hours Wednesday. The leaked products on the Hue website were initially spotted by users on Reddit. I’ve reached out to Philips Hue for comment.  Philips Hue generally rolls out its big product releases during the annual IFA conference in Berlin, with this year’s show slated to kick off on September 5, just a few weeks from now. It’s entirely possible that the leaked devices represent Hue’s upcoming IFA product lineup, but that hasn’t been confirmed. The highlight of the leaked Hue devices is the Hue Bridge Pro, which is “faster, has more capacity,” and offers “ultra-fast response times” along with “advanced AI features” and “expanded capacity,” according to the since-deleted marketing copy on Hue’s website.  Even better, the Hue Bridge Pro boasts “built-in MotionAware technology” that can “turn your smart lights into motion sensors,” the Hue leak said.  The Hue description didn’t include any additional details about its MotionAware feature, but I’ve previously written about Ambient Sensing, a technology that allows Zigbee devices, such as Philips Hue lights, to work together as motion sensors.  Such functionality would dovetail nicely with Philips Hue’s entry into home security, and it would also mirror the Wi-Fi-oriented SpaceSense feature offered by Hue’s sibling company, WiZ. (Both Philips Hue and WiZ brands are owned by the same parent company, Signify.)  Filling in some of the blanks is HueBlog, which reports that the Hue Bridge Pro will boasts a whopping 8GB of RAM (up from just 16MB in the existing Bridge) and a Wi-Fi module that allows for a wireless connection to your home router. The current Bridge needs a wired ethernet connection.  The “expanded capacity” of the Hue Bridge Pro is another interesting detail from the Hue leak. The current Hue Bridge has a soft device cap of about 50 products, a restrictive number for those with many Hue lights, sensors, and cameras in their homes. (You can go over the 50-device limit, but the Bridge’s performance may suffer as a result.) A new “pro” Bridge with an expanded capacity would be a lifesaver for those with large Hue collections, not to mention a better solution than trying to juggle multiple Hue Bridges on your network.   Circling back to the home security theme, the Hue leak also revealed what would be Hue’s first video doorbell, a wired unit that offers a “crisp 2K video stream” (up from the 1080p video support on Hue’s existing security cameras) as well as “instant” motion alerts and two-way audio.  This image of an unnanounced wired Hue video doorbell was live on the Hue website for several hours Wednesday.Philips Hue Also in the leak were details of support for Sonos Voice Control, which would allow users to “give simple commands to your Sonos devices to switch Philips Hue lights on and off, dim or brighten, change their color, or select a light scene.” Rumors of Hue lights gaining support for Sonos’s voice assistant began circulating earlier this month.  Meanwhile, Philips Hue’s workhorse A19 smart bulb seems poised to get an update, with the Hue leak describing a revamped A19 light that consumes 40 percent less power while offering the “widest range of tunable white tones.” An image of the revamped A19 bulb that breifly appeared on Philips Hue’s website. Philips Hue Other features for the unannounced A19 bulb detailed in the leak included “ultra-low” dimming and ChromaSync technology for “precise, consistent color-matching.” Hue’s ChromaSync functionality previously appeared in Hue’s Twilight table lamp. Additional leaked products included Festavia outdoor lights that can be mounted permanently on the outside of your home (many of Hue’s competitors have already released their own permanent outdoor lights) as well as globe-style Festavia string lights, with each bulb boasting “an inner tube that perfectly balances color and brightness.”  Finally, a new gradient indoor/outdoor light strip will arrive with the same ChromaSync technology as the A19 bulb, along with “ultra-bright, true white light” and OmniGlow, a “superior strip light that’s made to be a visible feature in any room,” according to the Hue leak.  This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart lights. Read...

Windows PCs are incredibly powerful and flexible, and that’s true even before you install any apps. As it turns out, Windows itself is chock-full of useful features that few people actually know about. If you’re a college student who wants to take your college laptop to the next level, here are several obscure Windows features that’ll help you whether you’re taking notes, researching projects, or otherwise. Related: The best laptops for college students Live captions Chris Hoffman / IDG Windows 11 has a feature called Live Captions that listens to audio and automatically generates readable captions on the fly. It works when you’re watching a video, but it also works with audio captured by your microphone. So, whether you’re sitting in class during a lecture or watching a recorded video, Live Captions can use speech-to-text technology to transcribe what you hear into readable text. To get started, just search for “live captions” in the Start menu and launch the Live Captions app. This app is available on all Windows 11 PCs and requires an internet connection to work. If you have a Copilot+ PC, the Live captions feature can actually work offline and also supports live translation between different languages. Clipboard history Joel Lee / IDG Whenever you copy and paste, you might think you’ve overwritten the previous thing you copied — but that’s not true. Windows 11’s Clipboard History feature keeps track of all the text and images you copy. Normally, when you paste, you just paste the last thing you copied. But you can choose from previously copied items by using the Windows key + V shortcut (rather than the usual Ctrl + V shortcut). You’ll be prompted to enable the Clipboard History feature if you haven’t already done so. Clipboard History even allows you to “pin” items so that they’re always available and conveniently accessible for easy pasting in the future. It’s one of the many useful productivity features on Windows. Handwriting to text input Ashkan Forouzani / Unsplash Some Windows laptops ship with support for capacitive pens. These pen-enabled PCs are a great choice for college students because they make it way easier to write handwritten notes, mathematical equations, diagrams, and more in excellent note-taking apps like OneNote. But with Windows 11, pen input works in any app thanks to handwriting recognition. You can write directly on any text field with your pen and Windows will instantly convert it to text. Dictation Chris Hoffman / IDG Windows 11 has built-in support for dictation, which means you can speak your thoughts aloud and they’ll be transcribed on the fly as text. In other words, you can type using your voice — just like on a phone. To open the Windows 11 dictation tool, use the Windows key + H shortcut. If you’re using a PC with a touch screen, you can also tap the microphone button on the touch keyboard to launch it. Related: I used Windows Dictation to write this article with my voice Web apps as desktop apps Joel Lee / IDG These days, many apps are actually just websites that run in the browser. Hate having to keep dozens of tabs open with all of the webpages and web apps you use? Well, there’s a better way. Windows 11 lets you turn webpages and web apps into Windows “apps” with their own taskbar icons and windows. They feel almost identical to usual desktop apps, and it’s a particularly convenient trick for single-page web apps you keep open 24/7 (e.g., Gmail, Spotify, Slack). To do this in Google Chrome, navigate to any website and click the three-dot menu > Save and Share > Install page as app. In Microsoft Edge, navigate to a website and click three-dot menu > Apps > Install this site as an app. (Mozilla Firefox doesn’t offer this feature.) Sticky notes Microsoft Microsoft OneNote is a great note-taking application, but it might be a little too complex for your needs. If all you want to do is jot down quick notes here and there, try the Sticky Notes app instead. Windows 11 has a built-in Sticky Notes app that you can launch by searching for “sticky notes” in the Start menu. This app can keep notes pinned to the desktop or kept in a simpler list format, and the notes can be synced between your PC and other devices. When syncing Sticky Notes with your phone, your notes are accessible via OneNote Mobile, Microsoft Launcher for Android, and Outlook for Windows. Emoji menu Chris Hoffman / IDG Windows has a convenient built-in quick insertion tool for emojis. To access it, you can use either the Windows key + Period or Windows key + Semicolon keyboard shortcuts. You can browse all the emojis included with Windows and insert them into any application or document. You can also start typing right after pressing the keyboard shortcut to search for a particular emoji. Text editing shortcuts 76 / Unsplash The Ctrl key provides so many essential keyboard shortcut tricks for editing text. My favorite part, though, is that it makes many keyboard actions apply to entire words instead of individual characters. Here’s what that means: Normally, when you press Backspace, you delete the a single character of text. But if you use the Ctrl + Backspace keyboard shortcut, you delete the entire previous word. This works with lots of shortcuts, including the Delete key. Another example is text selection. You can hold Shift and press the left or right arrows to select individual characters. But if you use the Ctrl + Shift + left or right arrow keyboard shortcut, you can select entire words at a time. And if you use Ctrl + Shift + Home or End, you can select entire lines of text with a single keystroke. Dynamic locking Joel Lee / IDG Whether you’re on a laptop or PC, you should be locking it whenever you aren’t using it, especially when you’re on campus. You’re probably already doing it with a keystroke (Windows key + L) or with a setting that automatically locks whenever your system goes to sleep. But there’s a better way in Windows 11: use the Dynamic Lock feature, which detects when your phone moves away from your computer and automatically locks when it does. You can set this up in Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > Dynamic lock. Presence-based locking Ernest Ojeh / Unsplash Newer laptops with Presence Sensors don’t even need to involve your phone. They can detect when you move away from your computer, then automatically lock when you do — and they can automatically unlock when you sit back down. If you’ve set up Windows Hello with facial recognition, they can even sign you back in automatically. Further reading: The best webcams for Windows Hello Focus timers Joel Lee / IDG Have you heard of the Pomodoro technique? It’s a method that helps you stay focused and get more done in less time. The key is to work in half-hour bursts with short breaks in between — and most people use timers to know when to switch between work and breaks. Windows 11 has a built-in Pomodoro timer. You can access it by opening the Clock app in the Start menu, then activating its Focus sessions feature. You can configure your focus session, during which all notifications and app alerts will be stifled. You can also link your Spotify account so the right music plays while you’re focusing. Do Not Disturb mode Joel Lee / IDG Windows has a Do Not Disturb feature that quiets down noisy notifications while you’re trying to focus. While Do Not Disturb has long been a popular feature on smartphones, Windows PCs didn’t actually have this sort of thing for many years. To enable Do Not Disturb mode on Windows 11, press Windows key + N to open the Notification Center, then click the bell icon with Z’s at the top-right corner. On Windows 10, you’ll need to activate a setting called Focus Assist to temporarily disable notifications. Sync with your phone Microsoft Windows makes it easy to access or control your phone right from your PC, but the process is different depending on whether you have an iPhone or Android phone (and each one’s functionality is different). If you have an iPhone, install the iCloud for Windows app. After you set it up, you’ll be able to link iCloud Photos to the Photos app and browse from within Windows. You’ll also get to integrate with iCloud’s other features, including Drive, Passwords, Contacts, Calendar, and Bookmarks. If you have an Android phone, open the Phone Link app from the Start menu. After you set it up, you’ll be able to text from your PC, manage your phone’s notifications, browse photos in your camera roll, and even copy-paste photos to your PC. Screenshots and screen recording Chris Hoffman / IDG Modern Windows PCs have powerful built-in screenshot tools. On Windows 11, it’s called the Snipping Tool, which is as easy to launch as pressing the Windows key + Shift + S keyboard shortcut (or the Print Screen key if you have that on your keyboard). Once the Snipping Tool is opened, you’ll see an overlay bar at the top of your screen. Use it to select the type of screenshot you want: Rectangle, Window, Full screen, or Freeform. Then, click or drag to select what you want to capture and you’ll get a notification. (You can click the notification to edit the screenshot before saving it.) Related: How to take smarter screenshots in Windows 11 The Snipping Tool also includes the ability to record video of your screen. Switch to the video camera icon in the overlay bar at the top of the screen, then draw a rectangle over the area you want to capture. Past versions of files Chris Hoffman / IDG Windows offers multiple ways to retrieve an older version of a file. If the file is synced to Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud storage, you can locate it in File Explorer, right-click it, and select OneDrive > Version history. For files that are only stored on your PC and not synced to a cloud storage service, you can set up the File History feature to regularly back up selected files and folders to an external drive. Then, you can restore previous versions of the file from there. Lost laptop tracking Chris Hoffman / IDG If you’re at college and using a laptop, you should always have a contingency plan in case your laptop is lost or stolen. One option is to use the built-in laptop tracking feature of Windows, which also lets you lock your laptop remotely. It won’t be as useful as similar features available on smartphones because your laptop probably doesn’t have a cellular connection. The tracking requires your laptop to be connected to Wi-Fi, and your laptop can’t be in sleep mode. Even so, it’s still useful even if it isn’t perfect. If you lose your laptop on campus, it’ll probably stay connected to Wi-Fi and be traceable. But the key is making sure the feature is active before you lose your laptop. Turn it on now by going to Settings > Privacy & security > Find my device and activate the Find my device option. Then, use Microsoft’s account devices page to track down your laptop. Further reading: Laptop security guide for college students Advanced calculators Chris Hoffman / IDG The built-in Calculator app on Windows is more powerful than it looks. Open the app’s menu and you’ll find different calculator modes, including a scientific calculator, a graphing calculator, and tools for converting currencies and units of measurement. Quick video trimming Joel Lee / IDG Windows comes with Microsoft’s Clipchamp video editor, but there’s actually another useful video tool buried within the operating system. With this feature, you can quickly trim video files and clip sections to save as their own smaller video files. You can do this by right-clicking on a video file in File Explorer, then selecting Open with > Photos. When the Photos app opens up with the video loaded, click the blue Trim button on the toolbar and select the part of the video you want to save. Further reading: How to use the free Clipchamp video editor Quick photo editing Joel Lee / IDG You’d be surprised by how capable the built-in Photos app can be. It’s not just a photo viewer — it’s also a good photo editor when you’re in a pinch or just need some simple crops and edits. After opening an image in Photos, click the blue Edit button in the toolbar to access the image editing tools. You’ll see options for cropping the image, marking it up, adjusting lighting, applying filters, and even using AI effects to erase elements and remove the background. Laptop battery drain statistics Joel Lee / IDG Everyone always wants more laptop battery life. If you find your laptop dying much faster than you think it should, you’ll want to look into which apps are the biggest battery drains — and Windows keeps track of that for you, making it easy to investigate and troubleshoot. On Windows 11, head over to Settings > System > Power & battery. Then, scroll down and expand the Battery usage section to view battery usage by app. On Windows 10, go to Settings > System > Battery to find these same details. Once you know which apps are killing your battery life, you can make informed decisions on what to do. (Battery stress is one of the common mistakes killing your laptop’s lifespan.) Further reading: Is it bad to always leave your laptop plugged in? Read...