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| PC World - 24 May (PC World)Programming is hard enough. As a coder, you want to find ways to save time without sacrificing code quality. That’s why Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 for Windows was created. Microsoft’s leading 64-bit integrated development environment is a seamless tool to help coders manage large and complex projects, and during our Memorial Day sale, it’s just $39.97.
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| ![](/n.gif) | | RadioNZ - 24 May (RadioNZ)![NZ Located](/pimages/nzsmall.gif) The plan could harm Aotearoa`s biodiversity and clean green image, environmental group says. Read...Newslink ©2024 to RadioNZ | ![](/n.gif) |
| ![](/n.gif) | | PC World - 24 May (PC World)At a glanceExpert`s Rating
ProsExciting saga that kept me hooked up to the final sceneTop-notch graphics and soundFully featured photo modeConsLimited gameplayThe beautiful graphics come at a priceThe story is good, but doesn’t quite get thereOur VerdictSenua’s Saga: Hellblade II is an atmospheric, intimate saga wrapped in a stunning setting, all at the expense of free and varied gameplay. If you don’t mind that playability takes a backseat, Hellblade II is a must-play for its exciting story and beautiful environments.
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Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II was stuck in development for a long time. First announced in 2019 and long known as the game that showed off the graphical muscle of the Xbox Series X, it was finally released on May 21, 2024… to unexpected silence. So, it was with trepidation that I embarked on this adventure.
Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft
Storytelling over action
On the surface, Hellblade II might look like any action or adventure game, like God of War or even Zelda.
But Hellblade II is no ordinary action game. It’s a game that scales down its gameplay moments to instead focus on its storytelling—a narrative that revolves around the outcast warrior Senua and her fight against both inner and outer demons.
This isn’t to say that classic game sequences are missing. There are secrets to find, enemies to destroy, and a few puzzles to solve. But the way forward, between all the action moments, consists mostly of marked paths with little opportunity for significant exploration.
Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft
Despairingly beautiful
In Hellblade II, you’ll be treated to many dialogue-filled walks through beautiful environments. From rainy beaches and terrifying caves to vast fields and smoking volcanic rocks. Across overgrown plains, gilded with magical sunrises. Through burnt villages where bloody, masked bodies cover the ground.
No matter where you are as Senua at any given moment, Hellblade II is incomparably beautiful—both in terms of technical visuals and environmental design. The fact that many scenes offer magical lighting, enhanced by excellent use of HDR, is icing on top.
Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft
Desperate voices
The dialogue in Hellblade II is of a high standard, whether spoken between friends or within Senua’s tortured mind. The character gallery isn’t large—and I would’ve liked to get to know the side characters more—but the dialogue that’s there is delivered with bravura.
And, in fact, the sound of the dialogue might just be the strongest aspect of this adventure. The voice acting, the sweet music, and above all Senua’s inner voices.
It’s easy to understand why the developers recommend playing with quality headphones. (I used Logitech’s Astro A50 X.) The immersive experience of her voices whispering around my head is phenomenal, and it takes a noticeable hit when I play with a regular soundbar.
Senua’s Saga Hellblade II
Senua’s Saga Hellblade II
Senua’s Saga Hellblade II
Cinematic limitations
In terms of sound and graphics, Hellblade II is nothing short of masterful, but not without sacrifices.
For example, the game world mostly consists of little more than a pre-determined path through fancy scenery—and even some details in the scenery (e.g., grass and plants) are completely static, including when Senua walks through them.
There are few objects to interact with, and it isn’t always obvious where the limits of an environment are. This can make some parts unnecessarily difficult to navigate, and some of the puzzles can be ridiculous to solve when there’s really nothing more than a fence or meter-high rock in the way.
Fortunately, the environments feel more vibrant than they actually are thanks to clever use of particles that whiz around in the air.
Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft
Fleshy battles in a small space
Something else that’s limited in Hellblade II is the game’s combat system. This limitation, however, is mostly benign and fully intentional on the part of the developers.
Instead of cutting down hordes of enemies by the minute, Senua never fights more than one enemy at a time. This creates intense, close-quarter battles where each opponent feels significantly more dangerous than the ones you typically find in action games.
However, I can’t shake the feeling that Hellblade II‘s battles are partially autoplay. It feels like the game—not me—decides whether Senua makes a nice parry or is flung away by a hard punch. There’s little variation in the attacks and many duels play out in similar ways. It’s an obvious limitation of the simple controls and cinematic setup.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall
While I buy the developers’ choice to go for stripped-down battles, the biggest highlights of Hellblade II‘s adventure are the times when you’re up against really big beasts. (I’m keeping it vague to avoid spoilers, but imagine vast areas torn apart by fire and water, accompanied by majestic music.)
The fact that the big battles, behind the thunderous setting, are actually relatively simple can be forgiven because whereas the usual battles feel more monotonous than they really are, the opposite is true here. It’s a shame that the adventure doesn’t contain more such sequences.
Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft
A grand saga in a limited game
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is a powerful experience that ticks most of the boxes, but it’s also a game—like its predecessor—that’s relatively short and limited as far as gameplay.
What disappoints me is how the story never fully grabbed me. Similar story-heavy adventures have stayed in my memory for days afterwards, but with Hellblade II it’s the graphics I remember most.
That being said, if you want an action-packed audiovisual smash hit with a thrilling plot, there isn’t much that beats Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. Just don’t expect anything like God of War or Zelda.
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| ![](/n.gif) | | RadioNZ - 22 May (RadioNZ)![NZ Located](/pimages/nzsmall.gif) Someone will have to front the cost of land-use changes necessary to protect the environment, the government`s top environmental advisor warns. Read...Newslink ©2024 to RadioNZ | ![](/n.gif) |
| ![](/n.gif) | | Stuff.co.nz - 21 May (Stuff.co.nz)![NZ Located](/pimages/nzsmall.gif) An “inconclusive” image of an animal thought to be a mouse led to a survey by Environment Southland, which did not find mice on the island. Read...Newslink ©2024 to Stuff.co.nz | ![](/n.gif) |
| ![](/n.gif) | | PC World - 21 May (PC World)At a glanceExpert`s Rating
ProsVPN works with streamingData removal service is faster than advertisedFrom a trustworthy privacy-focused companyConsVPN is very simple and bare-bonesPaying for an identity theft service you may never useOur VerdictDuckDuckGo’s PrivacyPro service is a decent privacy-focused bundle option. The VPN is admittedly rather bare-bones, but with promises to improve in the future. The data removal service is handy and works quickly as well. Fans of DuckDuckGo’s mission will see good value here, but those who don’t use the browser are better suited looking for alternatives.
Unlike rivals such as Google and Microsoft’s Bing search engine, DuckDuckGo unquestionably puts privacy first. Its popular search engine is based on user privacy, forgoing ad-trackers and never logging search history.
Recently, DuckDuckGo released an additional service called PrivacyPro to add to its growing collection of privacy-focused features. Consisting of a VPN, personal information removal tool, and identity theft restoration service, PrivacyPro hopes to offer a comprehensive set of privacy protections in one convenient bundle.
Is the PrivacyPro subscription bundle worth it? I took the new service for a spin to find out.
DuckDuckGo PrivacyPro in brief:
Device connections: 5 simultaneous connections
Business location: Pennsylvania, USA
Number of servers: 13
Number of country locations: 7
Cost: About $9.99 per month, or $100 for one year
Further reading: See our roundup of the best VPNs to learn about competing products.
What are DuckDuckGo PrivacyPro’s features & services?
DuckDuckGo PrivacyPro offers three services in one: a browser-based VPN, personal-data removal tool, and identity-theft restoration service. For the purposes of this review, I’ll mainly be focusing on the VPN and personal-data removal service.
Fortunately I was not a victim of identity theft while testing this service so I can’t personally speak to the effectiveness of the identity-theft restoration service. However, for this service DuckDuckGo has partnered with Iris — a leading identity-theft protection company. It offers 24/7 advisor support assistance.
For what it’s worth, the advisors promise to repair your credit after fraudulent activity, replace important documents, fix fraudulent medical claims, provide some travel assistance if you’re out of the country, and cover certain out-of-pocket expenses. Hopefully you never have to use it, but the service is included should you need it.
As for the VPN, compared to other standalone services such as ExpressVPN or NordVPN, it’s pretty spartan. Part of this can be attributed to the newness of the service, and part to the fact that it’s only browser-based and not a standalone application — it’s only available with the DuckDuckGo browser.
When you open up a new DuckDuckGo browser, you’ll see a globe icon with a lock in the upper right-hand corner — this is the VPN. If the lock is unlocked it means you’re not currently connected and it locks itself when you connect.
DuckDuckGo PrivacyPro’s brower-based VPN can be accessed in the upper right-hand corner of the DuckDuckGo browser.
DuckDuckGo PrivacyPro’s brower-based VPN can be accessed in the upper right-hand corner of the DuckDuckGo browser. Sam Singleton
DuckDuckGo PrivacyPro’s brower-based VPN can be accessed in the upper right-hand corner of the DuckDuckGo browser. Sam Singleton
Sam Singleton
Clicking on this icon opens up a very small pop-out window with a toggle to connect to the VPN. If you turn on the toggle, it will automatically connect to the nearest available server.
Once connected, this window will display the connection time of your current connection, the location of the server you’re connected to, and the server’s IP address. You can either click on the location here or navigate to VPN Settings at the bottom of the window to change the server location.
DuckDuckGo PrivacyPro VPN’s server list provides seven countries to choose from.
DuckDuckGo PrivacyPro VPN’s server list provides seven countries to choose from.
Sam Singleton
DuckDuckGo PrivacyPro VPN’s server list provides seven countries to choose from.
Sam Singleton
Sam Singleton
DuckDuckGo’s VPN currently offers 13 servers spread across seven countries, with the majority — seven — located in the U.S. Other country locations include Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK.
There are no real settings to speak of with the VPN. It’s not advertised, but the VPN comes with a built-in kill-switch feature, which worked well in my testing, blocking traffic when I manually forced a disconnection.
While not offered to Windows users, there is an additional split-tunneling feature available for Android. This allows you to pick and choose which apps run through the VPN and is a great way to optimize privacy for apps that need it while keeping others, such as games, from having their speed throttled by a VPN.
That’s about all there is to the VPN. There are no options for multi-hop, no fancy obfuscated servers, nor Onion-over-VPN connections — all things you’re apt to see with privacy-focused VPNs. I’ll try not to judge too harshly here as DuckDuckGo just released this VPN and to their credit, they are up-front about the improvements they hope to make in the future.
How is DuckDuckGo PrivacyPro’s Information Removal tool?
DuckDuckGo PrivacyPro’s personal data removal service will search popular data broker websites for your info.
DuckDuckGo PrivacyPro’s personal data removal service will search popular data broker websites for your info.
Sam Singleton
DuckDuckGo PrivacyPro’s personal data removal service will search popular data broker websites for your info.
Sam Singleton
Sam Singleton
DuckDuckGo acquired Removaly in 2022 to help them build their own in-house data removal service. It essentially scrapes a bunch of data broker websites for your personal information and then when found, sends requests to these sites to remove your records.
Even after the initial scan, the service will continually perform this function every so often to make sure no new records have been added.
The service is extremely straightforward. You initially tell DuckDuckGo your personal information such as names, pseudonyms and aliases, addresses, and year of birth. The service then quickly gets to work scanning websites — 53 sites in my case.
As it finds records of your personal data, it lists them so you can see what data each broker site has. After the scan, DuckDuckGo will send data-removal requests to all of the identified sites.
After identifying your info on data broker sites, DuckDuckGo PrivacyPro’s personal data removal service will then send removal requests.
After identifying your info on data broker sites, DuckDuckGo PrivacyPro’s personal data removal service will then send removal requests.
Sam Singleton
After identifying your info on data broker sites, DuckDuckGo PrivacyPro’s personal data removal service will then send removal requests.
Sam Singleton
Sam Singleton
You can keep tabs on the progress of any ongoing removals in the personal dashboard within the DuckDuckGo browser. They warn you that data removals can take “around 2-3 weeks to complete,” but I found the majority of mine were removed within the first week of testing.
These types of data removal services are popping up all over the place in recent years, with Surfshark’s Incogni and Mozilla’s Monitor Plus being a couple that come to mind.
Data brokers are still a rather unknown, but shady industry that makes tons of money off freely selling private user data online. Not only is it nice to see DuckDuckGo offering this type of removal service, but including it in an affordable bundle deal makes it even more appealing.
The inclusion of the data-removal service and identity-theft restoration make DuckDuckGo PrivacyPro worth the price.
How much does DuckDuckGo PrivacyPro cost?
The entire DuckDuckGo PrivacyPro bundle is offered either through a monthly subscription or a longer-term yearly subscription service.
The monthly subscription is $9.99 per month, and the yearly subscription is a one-time charge of $99.99.
If it was just the VPN we were talking about, I’d say that the service isn’t worth it. The VPN is still too much in its infancy to justify outlaying that kind of money when you could get so much more with other VPNs.
However, the inclusion of the data-removal service and identity-theft restoration make this worth the price. Individual subscriptions elsewhere can set you back the same price for each of these services — meaning you’d likely pay two or three times the price of PrivacyPro for the same features from a competitor.
How is DuckDuckGo PrivacyPro’s VPN performance?
When testing a VPN’s performance I typically measure connection speeds across its servers in six different countries around the world and then compare them to my baseline internet speed. Since DuckDuckGo’s VPN has so few servers, I just decided to test them in every country offered to get an average.
During the tests, DuckDuckGo’s VPN was able to manage 34 percent of the base download speed and a rather pedestrian 25 percent of the base upload speed. Those numbers aren’t terrible, but they put it well off the pace of the fastest VPNs I’ve tested.
Accessing geo-restricted streaming content is another crucial feature that you want to have with a VPN. So how does DuckDuckGo’s VPN work with notoriously tough services such as Netflix? Good, but not great. Most of the servers I tested were able to access Netflix successfully. Unfortunately, access with U.S. servers was a hit-or-miss and sometimes I ran into speed issues.
Overall though, I’d say DuckDuckGo is a decent choice of VPN to unblock Netflix and other streaming services. The caveat being that you might need to test a few different servers in the U.S. before you find one that works.
How is DuckDuckGo PrivacyPro’s VPN security & privacy?
DuckDuckGo’s VPN provides the secure WireGuard protocol.
DuckDuckGo’s VPN provides the secure WireGuard protocol.
Sam Singleton
DuckDuckGo’s VPN provides the secure WireGuard protocol.
Sam Singleton
Sam Singleton
The DuckDuckGo VPN only offers the WireGuard protocol currently. I don’t really have an issue with this though. WireGuard is one of the fastest and most secure VPN protocols and it’s open source, meaning it’s reliable and trustworthy.
DuckDuckGo states, “We don’t keep logs of your VPN activity. We have no way to tie what you do while connected to the DuckDuckGo VPN to you as an individual. For example, we don’t have any record of website visits, DNS requests, IP addresses connected, or session lengths.”
It does keep anonymous performance metrics such as CPU load and errors, but they assure you that nothing is connected to an individual user.
The company only uses dedicated VPN servers, meaning they aren’t shared with anyone else. The servers are rented from hosting providers and DuckDuckGo makes sure to point out they are kept separate from the servers used for search infrastructure.
The VPN currently has not undergone any independent audits to verify these no-logs claims, but that’s to be expected as the service is so new. Still, it’s something that I believe is very important to solidify user trust in a VPN provider and I hope it’s carried out in the near future.
DuckDuckGo is headquartered in Pennsylvania, U.S.A., which means that it falls within the jurisdiction of the Five Eyes data sharing alliance. It’s probably unlikely to matter much to the average user, but privacy-conscious users should take this into consideration before subscribing to its PrivacyPro service.
Is DuckDuckGo PrivacyPro worth it?
DuckDuckGo’s PrivacyPro provides a basic, but reliable VPN, a helpful data-removal service, and a life-saving-if-you-need-it identity-theft restoration service. Whether or not you think the subscription cost is worth it will depend almost entirely on if you are a DuckDuckGo browser devotee or not.
The VPN is good, but as a standalone service it isn’t robust enough to justify the expense. However, its easy integration into the DuckDuckGo environment and the addition of the other two services make this a convenient choice for those already using the browser. If you prefer a different browser, or just can’t be bothered to switch, then you’re best sticking with another, more powerful VPN.
Editor’s note: Because online services are often iterative, gaining new features and performance improvements over time, this review is subject to change in order to accurately reflect the current state of the service. Any changes to text or our final review verdict will be noted at the top of this article.
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| ![](/n.gif) | | PC World - 21 May (PC World)When typing on a keyboard, whether on a laptop or PC, you will come across small peculiarities – for example, the bumps on certain keys. But what purpose do these small bumps actually fulfil?
These elevations serve a very practical purpose: they help you to find the keys and type blind. This technique, also known as blind typing or ten-finger typing, allows you to type faster and more accurately without having to look at the keyboard. It is based on feeling and muscle memory, which allows you to intuitively know the position of each key.
The placement of the bumps on the F and J keys on standard QWERTY and QWERTY keyboards is no coincidence. It serves as an orientation aid for the index fingers of the right and left hand. This makes it possible to find your way around any keyboard without affecting your typing speed. Keyboards with a numeric keypad often also have a raised section on the key with the number 5 to make it easier to navigate the number field.
IDG
IDG
IDG
The advantages of the blind typing system are manifold: in addition to a higher typing speed, it improves accuracy, as you can constantly look at the screen and make corrections directly without having to search for the right keys first. Keyboard shortcuts are also easier to use. This can be a considerable efficiency gain, especially when working with software.
Further reading: The best wireless keyboards
Professional typists achieve speeds of 43 to 80 words per minute (WPM). With practice and the right technique, speeds of over 100 WPM are even possible. The traditional ten-finger typing method requires the index fingers to rest on the F and J keys while the other fingers operate the adjacent keys. Although this method is considered effective, studies show that other factors such as the movement of the hands and the number of fingers used can also influence typing speed.
The small bumps on the F and J keys are not just design elements. Rather, they are an important guide for experienced frequent typists – and for those who want to become one.
The small bumps on the F and J keys are not just design elements. Rather, they are an important guide for experienced frequent typists – and for those who want to become one.
IDG
The small bumps on the F and J keys are not just design elements. Rather, they are an important guide for experienced frequent typists – and for those who want to become one.
IDG
IDG
Self-learned skills as well as practice can make a significant difference. Websites like Type Racer offer a fun environment to improve typing speed and accuracy. To do this, they turn typing into a race against others while keeping an eye on accuracy.
Ultimately, practice is the key to perfection. The small bumps on the F and J keys are more than just a design decision – they are tools on the way to a more efficient and effective typing experience.
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| ![](/n.gif) | | PC World - 17 May (PC World)At a glanceExpert`s Rating
ProsFeels like a desktop replacementHas a large keyboard with a good layout for gamersReally powerful performanceConsThe display isn’t as colorful as an OLEDThe keys are a bit mushyThe charging brick is huge, which reduces its portabilityOur VerdictThe Dell G16 7630 is big and exceptionally powerful. It’s a great option for gamers wanting a desktop replacement at a more affordable price.
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The Dell G16 7630 is big and has plenty of muscle to run your favorite games. Its display is exceptional, and it runs media with very smooth motion.
It’s also priced to be affordable. But the gaming laptop’s sheer size means it’s not that portable. If you’re looking for a desktop experience but don’t want to shell out on an 18-inch laptop, then this ripper fits the bill exactly.
Further reading: See our roundup of the best gaming laptops to learn about competing products.
Dell G16 7630: Specifications
There was only one unit that I could find available at the time of writing this review, and it shares my review unit’s specifications. They are as follows:
CPU: Intel Core i9-13900HX
RAM: 32GB / 4800MHz
Graphics: RTX 4070 GPU
Display: 16-inch 2560×1600 QHD+ LCD, 240Hz refresh rate, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, 3ms response time, ComfortView Plus low blue light, Nvidia G-Sync
Storage: 1TB PCIe NVMe Gen 4 SSD
Webcam: HD 720p camera with single arrange digital mic
Connectivity: Thunderbolt 4 port, 3x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, HDMI 2.1 port, RJ45 Ethernet port, 3.5mm audio jack
Networking: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
Battery capacity: 84WHrs
Dimensions: 14.05 x 11.37 x 1.01 inches
Weight: 6.59 pounds (2.99kg)
Cost: $1,737 on Amazon
Dell G16 7630: Design and build
The Dell G16 7630 is unashamedly a laptop for gamers that like a large space to play on. Its generous dimensions measure 14.05 x 11.37 x 1.01 inches, so it has a desktop replacement feel to it.
The chassis features an aluminum cover that makes it sturdier than if it were just made of plastic, but I did notice a bit of give there compared to laptops with solid CNC-milled aluminum chassis. The lid is similar, in that it will flex with firm pressure, but not with moderate pressure.
The display is a sight to behold. It may be only 16 inches on the diagonal, but its16:10 aspect ratio means you benefit from extra vertical space than in the laptop’s forbears. It gives the illusion you’re using an even larger laptop. That’s helped along by very thin left and right bezels that make every inch of screen space a prize to savor.
Playing games like Battlefield I and Cyberpunk 2077 was a real pleasure — my frame rates were high enough to stay competitive with the best players…
The top and bottom bezels are a lot thicker than the sides, especially the bottom bezel which sits atop a tall hinge. That’s a fact I was very happy for, since it meant I could look almost straight on at the screen without having to crane my neck downwards.
As to styling, the Dell G16 7630 eschews gamer-centric touches like RGB logos, or flashy Tron lights like the kind you’ll find in Alienware laptops, in favor of a simple Dell logo on the lid instead. I wasn’t unhappy about that since it meant the G16 7630 was one of those rare gaming laptops I could use in the office without anyone blinking an eye.
At least that was the case when the laptop was fully charged. When it was time to charge it, the huge 330W power brick was kind of a giveaway — it’s probably the chunkiest and biggest charging brick I’ve seen.
My review unit was a smart Nightshade Black color, which has a kind of charcoal hue. It also blended in nicely with my office environment.
Dell G16 7630: Keyboard and trackpad
The keyboard’s single-zone RGB backlighting was a brilliant blue color on startup, which was quite mesmerizing to see. The keyboard is full-sized and has a useful key layout for gamers, including full-sized arrow keys and a collection of media shortcuts down the right-hand side.
Dominic Bayley / IDG
Dominic Bayley / IDG
Dominic Bayley / IDG
The laptop also sports a Game Shift Key that lets you change and maximize the laptop’s fan speeds for heavy tasks. The ADSF keys are outlined by a white border, which gives the keyboard the battle station look many gamers like.
Unsurprisingly for a laptop this size, the keys feel a bit mushy, but they fire off rapidly and with a satisfying low audible click. They are also nicely sized for my medium sized fingers — spacious but not trampoline-sized.
One hitch is the trackpad’s smallness. It plays second fiddle to the G16 7630’s keyboard and could do with an extra half inch in each direction. Its clicks are nevertheless fast, and the trackpad tracks well, so it’s not a total loss.
Dell G16 7630: Connectivity and audio
A useful assortment of ports line the G16 7630’s flanks, allowing me to plug in my normal array of peripherals. There’s a Thunderbolt 4 port for transferring my essential game files at a quick speed of up to 40Gbps and an ethernet port for when I want the lowest latency in games.
The laptop’s Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth functionality are also snappy — although, Wi-Fi 6 is rapidly becoming an older standard now, with laptops like the 2024 Razer Blade 16 now sporting the updated Wi-Fi 7 standard.
The Dell G16 7630 is a large laptop and it projects sound really well in a large room. The laptop’s two speakers are well tuned for mid-tones, so you get a nice neutral sound in games. I only noticed slight vibrations at higher volumes. Dolby Atmos support gives the audio an appealing immersive quality.
Dell G16 7630: Display and webcam
I made a promise to myself when the 2024 Razer Blade 16 came out that I wouldn’t play games in 2650x1600p with anything less than a 240Hz refresh rate. Thankfully my Dell G16 7630 came with the same refresh rate and resolution combination, which made for really fast and smooth game action.
Indeed, playing games like Battlefield I and Cyberpunk 2077 was a real pleasure — my frame rates were high enough to stay competitive with the best players. The screen resolution was also very detailed, but I’ve seen richer colors on OLED displays. Still, the Dell G16 7630’s 100 percent DCI-P3 color display produces a good enough picture to look bright and texture-rich.
The laptop’s brightness was also never an issue. I measured a peak brightness of 497 nits, which I used to my advantage to keep the display visible in very bright rooms of my house.
The 720p webcam impressed me less than the display. It’s adequate for chats and meetings, but some images came out looking a little orange at times.
A single microphone array also didn’t do my voice much justice in game chats. The sound lost some detail at different moments, which made me sound a little robotic.
Dell G16 7630: Gaming performance
The Dell G16 7630 features a fast high-end Intel i9-13900HX processor made for gaming. It belongs to the Raptor Lake family, and sports 24 cores and 32 threads and a maximum turbo frequency of 5.4GHz.
Compared to the older Alder Lake CPUs, this ripper has a more efficient P-Core microarchitecture and larger caches. It also supports faster DDR5 RAM (up to 5,600MHz), so it’s really designed to shred in games.
To test its performance, I first ran the Cinebench Multi-Threaded benchmark. This test flexes all the CPU cores to give an indication of how well the processor fares when it’s really pushed to the maximum.
Dominic Bayley / IDG
Dominic Bayley / IDG
Dominic Bayley / IDG
My review laptop clocked a score of 10,658 in this test, which was quite decent; to be honest, though, there are now a bunch of laptops with 14th-generation Intel CPUs that will muscle out a score like this. But for an Intel 13th-generation CPU, the i9-13900HX is well up to the task of running your most demanding games.
With plenty of thermal headroom in the hefty chassis, the laptop’s CPU also performed admirably in a bespoke test that uses the free HandBrake utility. The CPU managed to keep rising thermals at bay when tasked with encoding a 30GB MKV file to the MP4 format. It took just 828 seconds to finish.
Dominic Bayley / IDG
Dominic Bayley / IDG
Dominic Bayley / IDG
Anything under 850 seconds is quick and snappy. It bodes very well for carrying out tasks that really tax the G16 7630 CPU, like video editing or encoding. You can be sure the G16 7630 won’t just chug along, it’ll keep processing effectively even if it gets hot.
Moving on to the graphics performance tests, the 3DMark Time Spy 1.2 Overall test showed that Nvidia’s mid-range 4070 mobile CPU has a lot of muscle, placing third among its peers in our performance charts.
Dominic Bayley / IDG
Dominic Bayley / IDG
Dominic Bayley / IDG
In the Rise of the Tomb Raider gaming test, the Dell G16 7630 performed very respectably, placing just behind the Razer Blade 16 2024.
Dominic Bayley / IDG
Dominic Bayley / IDG
Dominic Bayley / IDG
The performance in the Shadow of the Tomb Raider gaming benchmark was even better. Here, the Dell G16 7630 toppled the field, opening up a can of whoop-ass on laptops like the Razer Blade 16 and the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14.
Dominic Bayley / IDG
Dominic Bayley / IDG
Dominic Bayley / IDG
These scores suggest that the Dell 16 7630 can be expected to perform capably and produce smooth action to keep you competitive in games.
The benchmarks reinforce what we already know about the RTX 4070 GPU, too — it’s a great video card that provides performance like Nvidia’s top-tier RTX 3080 GPUs.
What’s more, if that last score is any indication, this laptop offers a few performance surprises against laptops with RTX 40 series GPUs too.
Dell G16 7630: Battery performance
To test the laptop’s battery life, I started by charging the review unit up to 100 percent. The volume was set to 50 percent and a cheap pair of headphones was plugged in to control sound.
I also switched off the keyboard backlighting and the laptop’s Wi-Fi was switched to airplane mode. Finally, a 4K movie was set to run on repeat and the power cord was unplugged.
Dominic Bayley / IDG
Dominic Bayley / IDG
Dominic Bayley / IDG
The G16 7630’s 84WHr battery ran for 5 hours and 35 mins. That’s the length of time you can expect a lightweight task like running a video to last on this laptop. For gaming, which uses more power, you can expect about half that time — so about 3 hours of battery life.
That’s not great, but the laptop charges quickly when you plug it in. The only problem is the charging brick is so big you won’t want to take it with you when you leave your house.
Should you buy the Dell G16 7630?
The Dell G16 7630 is a seriously big laptop that really fills a niche market. For me that feels like gamers looking for a desktop replacement but who don’t want to shell out on a more expensive 18-inch gaming laptop.
There’s a solid argument why you’d want that, too. The configuration I reviewed costs just $1,899, which is a lot cheaper than say, the Razer Blade 18, which has a starting price of $2,599. That makes it a particularly good buy if you can get by without a lot of portability.
Gaming Laptops Read...Newslink ©2024 to PC World | ![](/n.gif) |
| ![](/n.gif) | | ITBrief - 17 May (ITBrief)![NZ Located](/pimages/nzsmall.gif) Call Design and ProHance join forces to revolutionise back-office operations with advanced analytics, aiming to boost productivity in an increasingly hybrid work environment. Read...Newslink ©2024 to ITBrief | ![](/n.gif) |
| ![](/n.gif) | | PC World - 17 May (PC World)With summer’s sweltering heat waves just around the corner, staying cool and comfortable becomes a paramount concern. The Zafro 10,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner is a great choice for anyone who wants to be able to cool down anywhere they may set up for the day. It also helps that it’s $90 off right now, bringing the price down to just $239.99.
Zafro’s portable AC is well-suited for rooms up to 450 square feet, offering rapid cooling capabilities that can lower indoor temperatures to a refreshing 61?. This feature is particularly beneficial during heat waves, providing a much-needed respite from the oppressive temperatures outside.
I personally tried a similar model when working from my semi-closed-in patio and I can honestly say I couldn’t have survived without it in mid-July. It would have worked even better in an actually insulated room, of course, but even so, the difference was major.
The air conditioner also boasts four operational modes—Cool, Dehumidifier, Fan, and Sleep. Since it has a high-efficiency compressor, the noise level is kept below 45dB. Whether you want to use the Zafro during the night or when working, this low noise feature guarantees a quiet environment.
Installation and operation are straightforward thanks to its portable design with wheels. The unit can be easily moved to any room with a hung or sliding window, where it can be quickly set up with the included hose and window adapter. Even if you have casement windows, there are ways to make this work with a little bit of DIY.
The air conditioner also incorporates a removable and washable double-layer filter, enhancing the indoor air quality by protecting against dust and other airborne contaminants.
Need to stay cool during the sweltering summer months? The Zafro 10000 BTU portable AC is a solid option with this huge discount applied, saving you from the heat and saving you money too.
Fight the heat with the $90 off Zafro 10000 BTU portable air conditioner at Amazon
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