There are quite a few Steam users who have accumulated huge libraries of games over their many years as gamers. It’s a meme that so many of those games remain unplayed long after being acquired, but that doesn’t seem to stop gamers from snatching up many more with every Steam sale. But one gamer stands out. Known as SonixLegend, this user has apparently taken things to the extreme as he’s now recognized as the Steam user with the largest game library. His collection contains over 40,000 different games purchased on Steam, and Valve has even awarded him with a unique Steam badge celebrating this achievement. Steam / SonixLegend According to his Steam profile, SonixLegend is from Shanghai, China and has been registered on Steam for 15 years. In that time, he has amassed an impressive collection of games to become one of the few people to own more than 30,000 games on Steam. As of this week, he has officially passed the 40,000 mark and owns 40,033 titles (as of this writing). Note that only full-fledged game titles that were actually purchased are included in this count. Free-to-play games, DLCs, and add-ons are not included. (SonixLegend also has more than 22,000 DLCs.) Here’s how much his collection is worth SonixLegend might just have the most valuable games library on Steam, with tracker site SteamDB estimating that his account is worth about $249,000 USD. If you were to buy all the games on his account at current prices (including discounts), it would cost over $641,000 USD. Honestly, SonixLegend has probably never played the majority of these games—and he probably never will—making it the ultimate “pile of shame.” Still, he has completed nearly 80,000 achievements, and he was apparently fond of the free game Alien Swarm from 2010, which he spent 551 hours playing and unlocked all of its achievements. If he continues to buy games at this rate, SonixLegend could probably cross the 50,000 games mark in a few years. At that point, Valve might have to create a new 50K badge just for him! Further reading: Hidden Steam features you shouldn’t overlook Read...

Microsoft-owned social networking site LinkedIn will soon start using the data of its users to train its AI models, reports Windows Latest. The platform has sent out emails to users about the change, which will start November 3rd, 2025 and apply to the US, EU, UK, and Switzerland. According to LinkedIn, the AI training will improve features such as the algorithm and text rewriting with AI, as well as make it easier for recruiters to find candidates. The data used comes from public profiles and posts, but not from private messages or hidden entries. Joel Lee / Foundry The setting is called “Data for Generative AI Improvement” and it’s enabled by default. Fortunately, it’s possible to disable the setting to prevent further use of your data for training LinkedIn’s AI models, but any data already used for training can’t be taken back retroactively. To disallow use of your data for training LinkedIn’s AI models, click on your profile photo at the top of the LinkedIn site and navigate to Settings > Data Privacy > Data for Generative AI Improvement, then disable the setting labeled “Use my data for training content creation AI models.” Alternatively, click this link to get there right away. Read...

Thinking it’s time you finally got a great gaming laptop? Now’s an excellent opportunity for that because Best Buy is selling an awesome 16-inch HP Omen for just $1,199.99—that’s a whopping $380 discount, and it ends tonight at 1 AM Eastern. Don’t miss it! This gorgeous 16-inch gaming laptop features a lovely IPS display with 1920×1200 resolution and speedy 144Hz refresh rate, which is perfect for the immersive gaming that comes from its Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 graphics card. That’s enough power to run the latest 3D games at decent settings, and you get to push things further with Nvidia’s latest features like DLSS 4 and ray tracing. This is a gamer’s laptop, for sure. But it’s also great for non-gaming tasks, thanks to its powerful AMD Ryzen 9 8940HX processor, ample 32GB of fast DDR5 RAM, and fast 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD. That’s a fantastic combo that can power through Windows 11 and all your necessary apps without struggling at all, along with however many open Chrome tabs you love to keep open and around. This HP Omen comes with HDMI 2.1 and USB-C video for external monitors, plus three other high-speed USB-A ports for external drives and peripherals. It also has Ethernet and 3.5mm audio, plus Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 for wireless connections. Altogether, it’s a packed laptop that’ll serve you well for many years to come. You have less than 24 hours to snag this awesome deal, so what are you waiting for? Get this HP Omen for only $1,199.99 before this time-limited discount runs out! It’s not every day you can score an RTX 5060 laptop like this at a price like this. But if you miss it, be sure to check out our roundup of the best budget gaming laptops for more winners. Save $380 on this hefty RTX 5060 laptop with 32GB RAMBuy now from Best Buy Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Good build quality and thoughtful design Reasonable day-to-day performance Garaged pen is excellent Cons Display specs are low for the price The slow NPU can’t run Copilot+ PC features Disappointing graphics performance RAM isn’t user-upgradable Our Verdict The HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i has the best pen storage I’ve seen on a laptop, and it has a premium metal chassis and thoughtful design. But the display specs are below par, and this laptop isn’t as long-lasting as Intel Lunar Lake-powered systems. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i Retailer Price Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices The HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i is a 13-inch convertible laptop aimed at knowledge workers. It’s a solid convertible PC with a thoughtful design. This laptop has a built-in pen slot so you can take your pen with you without worrying about losing it. That’s the kind of excellent touch that barely shows up on a spec sheet but really matters in day-to-day use. It all adds up to a comfortable day-to-day experience, although the display’s specs are on the weak side and you shouldn’t buy this machine if you’re looking for an “AI laptop.” HP recently redesigned its product names, and the EliteBook is HP’s line of laptops aimed at business users. The 8 Series is the entry level line of EliteBooks, and the “G1i” here means this is a first-generation model in the new lineup with an Intel CPU. The HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i is exactly what it appears to be. As a machine for businesses, HP has gone out of the way to make this laptop feel premium with a thoughtfully designed metal chassis, a spacious keyboard, and the best pen storage and charging system I’ve ever seen on a laptop. HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i: Specs The HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i comes with an Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processor — that’s an Arrow Lake-based chip, not Lunar Lake. Arrow Lake offers decent performance, but its neural processing unit is too slow for Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC requirements. Specifically, our review model had an Intel Core Ultra 7 265U CPU. Worth noting: While Intel’s Arc graphics are impressive, the Intel integrated graphics here are far behind what Intel is capable of producing. Business laptops tend to be upgradable, so it’s worth noting that the LPDDR5X RAM in this machine is soldered and not user upgradable. (The AMD-powered HP EliteBook 8 G1a I reviewed at the same time does have user-upgradable RAM.) The Intel NPU in this machine runs at up to 12 TOPS, which is much too slow for Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC requirements. It’s 2025, and manufacturers need to stop releasing “AI PCs” that don’t run the built-in Windows AI features. Even if you do have an app that uses an NPU for AI features, you’d want a faster NPU than this one. If you don’t care about AI PC features, that’s fine, and this is still a solid machine. HP offers other G1i models with hardware that does meet Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC requirements, but there’s no G1i Flip model that does meet this bar. (This shouldn’t be so complicated.) Model number: HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i 13-inch CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 265U Memory: 16GB LPDDR5X RAM Graphics/GPU: Intel graphics NPU: Intel AI Boost (up to 12 TOPS) Display: 13.3-inch 1920×1200 IPS display with 60Hz refresh rate and touch screen Storage: 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD Webcam: 1440p webcam Connectivity: 2x Thunderbolt 4 (USB Type-C 40 Gbps), 1x USB Type-C (10 Gbps), 1x HDMI 2.1 out, 1x combo audio jack, 1x USB Type-A (5 Gbps) Networking: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 Biometrics: Fingerprint reader and IR camera for facial recognition Battery capacity: 62 Watt-hour battery Dimensions: 11.88 x 8.51 x 0.61 inches Weight: 3.08 pounds MSRP: $2,024 as tested HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i: Design and build quality Foundry / Chris Hoffman The 13-inch HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i is available in a “Glacier Silver” color, and it has a metal chassis that feels solid in a good way. At just over three pounds, it’s a reasonable size and feels premium and high-quality. HP delivered a minimal design here without a lot of flash — silver metal, a black bezel around the display, and a few unobtrusive HP logos. For a portable 13-inch convertible laptop, this machine has a surprising number of ports. My favorite convertible feature here is the “garaged pen” or “nested pen” — you can insert the pen into a slot on the side of the laptop and store it there. You’ll always have the pen available with the laptop, and you don’t have to worry about losing it if the pen bumps against something in your bag. (I once had a Microsoft Surface Pro 2, and I lost my Surface Pen somewhere, because the magnetic connection was so weak that it was always trying to escape. It eventually did.) The hinge here feels smooth, solid, and stable. You can open it 360 degrees to lay the laptop flat or use it in tent mode, which is ideal if you’ll be using that pen on the screen. This machine includes built-in HP Wolf security. That will be a boon to enterprises who want to remotely manage these PCs, but I didn’t like the default end-user experience as an individual knowledge worker — it forced me to click through extra security dialogs to run applications like PCWorld’s usual benchmark tools. HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i: Keyboard, trackpad, and pen Foundry / Chris Hoffman The HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i has large keyboard that’s responsive and feels good to use. While the keyboard here feels like it doesn’t have as much travel as the 16-inch HP EliteBook 8 G1a I reviewed at the same time, it still doesn’t feel mushy. 13-inch convertibles aren’t known for their keyboards, so this is solid. I do wish there were full-size arrow keys, however, I use the arrow keys a lot. I’ll never get fully used to having the arrow keys be the smallest keys on the keyboard. The trackpad here is large for a 13-inch laptop and makes good use of the available space. The surface feels good, and the click-down action feels satisfying. I would’ve liked to see a haptic trackpad, but this feels good. This isn’t a glass trackpad, though — that’s a higher-end feature for premium machines that makes the surface feel even smoother. Additionally, the trackpad and keyboard are both quiet. This is nice to have on a business laptop where you may not want a lot of loud click-clacking. Foundry / Chris Hoffman The pen is a standout feature here. It’s an active pen that works well for writing notes in OneNote and drawing. But the garage is a serious innovation: Having the pen be “garaged” in the laptop itself ensures it’s always close at hand and there’s no concern of losing it. Plus, the pen charges itself inside the laptop, so you don’t have to go out of your way to charge it. The manufacturers of other convertible laptops should learn from what HP is doing here. It may be a bit thinner than some other pens I’ve used, but I could hold it just fine and I think many people would prefer having a slightly thinner pen that’s always at hand. HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i: Display and speakers Foundry / Chris Hoffman The HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i has a 13.3-inch 1920×1200 IPS display with a 60 Hz refresh rate. Those are pretty average display specs, which makes them low for a laptop in this price range. Our review model had a display with 400 nits of brightness, which is nothing special and HP even offers a model with just 300 nits of brightness, which sounds quite dim. The display is serviceable, and it looks fine, but it’s just nothing special. Many consumer laptops in this price range have displays with a higher display resolution, faster refresh rate, more brightness, or other nice-to-have specs like an OLED display. While the display here is fine, this is the part of the experience that stings the most. While HP offers variants with more brightness and other features, you can’t get this laptop with a higher-resolution display or a faster refresh rate. The Flip’s stereo speakers sound better than I’d expect for a 13-inch laptop. To my ear, the sound on this machine even sounded better than it did on the 16-inch HP EliteBook 8 G1a I reviewed at the same time. These speakers can pump out a good amount of volume. I test each laptop I review by playing Steely Dan’s Aja and Daft Punk’s Get Lucky. While you don’t get the kind of crisp instrument separation here that you would with a higher-end audiophile setup, audio sounded “full.” In Get Lucky, the sound was reasonably fun, and the bass sounded better than it had any right to for the size of the laptop, but you’d still want to use headphones for the best media experience. HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i: Webcam, microphone, biometrics Foundry / Chris Hoffman The HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i has a 5-megapixel 1440p webcam that HP seems proud of. It’s just a standard business webcam. I was expecting a bit more given how HP talked it up. It’s fine, but it’s a little noisy and seems to do better with bright lighting. I wouldn’t want to use this built-in webcam to record YouTube videos, but you’ll look clear enough in business meetings. This machine does have a physical privacy shutter so you can cover the webcam. The dual-array microphones here sound good but not amazing, although the background noise removal worked well. Business laptops often focus on microphone and webcam quality, and this feels average for a business laptop webcam. If you want a higher-end, crisper representation of your voice, you’ll want an external microphone. If you just want to be heard properly on video calls, this is more than good enough. This machine has both an IR camera for Windows Hello and a fingerprint reader at the top-right corner of the keyboard. Both worked well on our review model, and you have the option of signing in with either your face or a fingerprint. HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i: Connectivity Foundry / Chris Hoffman The HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i has a generous selection of ports, especially for a 13-inch 2-in-1 laptop. You get a total of three USB Type-C ports and two of them are Thunderbolt 4 ports, too. On the left side, this machine has two Thunderbolt 4 (USB Type-C 40 Gbps) ports, an HDMI 2.1 out port, and a combo audio jack. On the right side, there’s another USB Type-C port (10 Gbps), a USB Type-A (5 Gbps) port, and a security lock slot. Because there’s at least one USB Type-C port on each side of the laptop, you can plug the charging cable in on either side. That’s a great quality-of-life feature. HP also offers some models of this laptop with a Smart Card Reader and nano SIM card slot for cellular connectivity, but there are no models with any type of SD card slot. The review unit HP provided had Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 radios. This machine supports the latest wireless standards, and I had no problems with wireless networking. HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i: Performance The HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i we reviewed had a modern Intel Core Ultra 7 265U CPU (that’s Intel Arrow Lake) with Intel graphics, 16GB of RAM, and an NVMe SSD. That’s solid hardware for getting good day-to-day performance from the web browsers, productivity apps, and communication tools you’d be running on a business PC. But let’s dig deeper. As always, we ran the HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i through our standard benchmarks to see how it performs. Foundry / Chris Hoffman First, we run PCMark 10 to get an idea of overall system performance. With an overall PCMark 10 score of 6,968, the HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i came in a bit behind some other recent convertible laptops in terms of overall performance, but only a little bit, and it’s a smaller, more compact machine. Foundry / Chris Hoffman Next, we run Cinebench R20. This is a heavily multithreaded benchmark that focuses on overall CPU performance. It’s a quick benchmark, so cooling under extended workloads isn’t a factor. But since it’s heavily multithreaded, CPUs with more cores have a huge advantage. The HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i and its 12-core CPU produced a Cinebench R20 multithreaded score of 4,322. That’s a solid score for this type of machine, and let’s be honest: You’re not buying a 13-inch convertible PC with a pen if you plan on running CPU-heavy workloads. That’s not what this form factor is for. Foundry / Chris Hoffman We also run an encode with Handbrake. This is another heavily multithreaded benchmark, but it runs over an extended period of time. This demands the laptop’s cooling kick in, and many laptops will throttle and slow down under load. The HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i finished the encode process in an average of 1,515 seconds — that’s over 25 minutes. If sustained CPU performance is your goal, this type of machine isn’t ideal for you, but you can see Arrow Lake beating a Lunar Lake system (the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 10 Aura Edition) by a bit here. Foundry / Chris Hoffman Next, we run a graphical benchmark. This isn’t a gaming laptop, but it’s still good to check how the GPU performs. We run 3Dmark Time Spy, a graphical benchmark that focuses on GPU performance. With a 3Dmark Time Spy score of 2,362, the Intel integrated graphics in this machine did not impress. While Intel’s Arc graphics is now surprisingly good, don’t assume that all Intel integrated graphics has become impressive. If you plan on playing PC games or running demanding 3D applications, look for a Lunar Lake PC. Overall, the HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i’s performance was fine. The story here is just the story of this Intel’s Core Ultra 7 265U. It’s fine, but the graphics performance really chafes. After Intel showed it could deliver serious graphics horsepower, I don’t like seeing $2,000 laptops with graphics performance this low. HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i: Battery life The HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i has a 62 Watt-hour battery, which is a reasonable size for a 13-inch 2-in-1 machine. It delivered solid battery life in day-to-day use. Intel’s Arrow Lake CPU isn’t quite as power efficient as with Intel Lunar Lake and Qualcomm Snapdragon X processors, but it still delivers long-lasting performance. Foundry / Chris Hoffman To benchmark the battery life, we play a 4K copy of Tears of Steel on repeat on Windows 11 with airplane mode enabled until the laptop suspends itself. We set the screen to 250 nits of brightness for our battery benchmarks. This is a best-case scenario for any laptop since local video playback is so efficient, and real battery life in day-to-day use is always going to be less than this. The HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i lasted an average of 964 minutes in our benchmarks — that’s over 16 hours. That’s a solid number, and while real-world battery life will be substantially less, you should be able to get all-day battery life from this machine depending on your workload. That’s what really matters for business users, and the Flip delivers. But it would be nice to see Lunar Lake-level battery life here. HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i: Conclusion The HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i is exactly what it appears to be. As a machine for businesses, HP has gone out of the way to make this laptop feel premium with a thoughtfully designed metal chassis, a spacious keyboard, and the best pen storage and charging system I’ve ever seen on a laptop. But not all parts of this machine are quite so premium. I was expecting more from the webcam and microphone, and the display is the main part of the machine that doesn’t stand out. As far as performance, the story here is the story of Intel’s CPU troubles. After reviewing Lunar Lake laptops, I wince at seeing $2,000 Intel-powered productivity laptops with significantly lower graphics performance and power efficiency. And the Arrow Lake CPU here doesn’t deliver noticeably faster performance than Lunar Lake CPUs in our benchmarks. If you’re looking for a long-lasting, power-efficient portable PC, you should seriously consider getting a Lunar Lake-powered machine. But this laptop is still good, and if your workplace gets one for you, you may just love it, especially if you frequently use a pen and don’t want to juggle it. Read...

Nintex launches new AI features in its CE platform to enhance business automation, enabling dynamic workflow management and improved document processing. Read...

On Wednesday, Qualcomm announced three new Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme processors for PCs, pushing into what it calls ‘ultra-premium PCs’ with a 5GHz CPU and an NPU delivering an industry-leading 80 TOPS. Qualcomm made a name for itself with all-day battery life, but its new “multi-day” battery life received little mention in the context of the X2 Elite chips for Windows on Arm PCs. Now, it’s all about speed: the X2 Elite platform delivers 31 percent more performance than the X1 Elite at the same power, or the same performance at 43 percent less power. That’s helped by a move to 3nm versus the 4nm platform of the first Snapdragon X Elite. There are also some notable differences in Qualcomm’s updated CPU architecture. The Snapdragon X2 Elite incorporates third-generation Oryon CPU cores, and more of them: up to 18 in total, subdivided between a new “prime core” and a new “performance core,” which the first-gen X Elite ignored. Qualcomm even took a page from Intel and integrated memory on package, up to a whopping 48GB inside the X2 Elite Extreme. Finally, Qualcomm integrated its X75 5G modem, an unexpectedly significant addition. Qualcomm launched the two chip families at its Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit in Maui, where company executives said that the first PCs designed around the Snapdragon X2 Elite will ship in the first half of 2026. This aligns with the typical launch schedules of rivals AMD and Intel, who work with their own notebook customers to release products based on their chips. Demo laptops used to show off Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite. Mark Hachman / Foundry What are the features of the Snapdragon X2 Elite and Elite Extreme? Qualcomm is shipping three new members of its Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite platforms: the X2E-96-100, the X2E-88-100, and the X2E-80-100. Instead of using these impenetrable product names, think of them this way: Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme: 18 total cores, 12 prime cores (4.4GHz all cores sustained/5.0GHz boost), and six performance cores (3.6GHz sustained, no boost) Snapdragon X2 Elite: 18 total cores, 12 prime cores (4.0GHz sustained/4.7GHz boost), and six performance cores (3.4GHz sustained) Snapdragon X2 Elite: 12 total cores, six prime cores (4.0GHz sustained/4.4-4.7GHz boost), and six performance cores (3.4GHz sustained) The Qualcomm Oryon cores inside the first-generation Snapdragon X Elite were all based on the Arm architecture, though the company’s license allows it to design a “clean sheet” microprocessor as long as it remains compatible with Arm instructions. Unlike Arm, which now uses four different CPU cores in its Lumex processor, the first-generation X Elite chose one type: all 12 cores were performance cores running at full speed, even on battery. The base clock speed of the was 3.8GHz, with a turbo speed of 4.3 GHz. A summary of Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme chips.Qualcomm Now, things have changed. The Snapdragon X2 Elite and the Elite Extreme include both what Qualcomm calls Oryon Prime cores as well as Oryon Performance cores. The company isn’t emphasizing this, but the X2 Elite chips also include integrated memory — a whopping 48GB inside the X2 Elite Extreme. The Prime cores are key to the 5GHz clock speed, while the Performance cores are “tuned to provide premium responsiveness and user experiences in everyday workloads with extreme power efficiency.” Presumably, these function similarly to the “performance” and “efficiency” cores in Intel’s Core Ultra Meteor Lake and Lunar Lake chips. A combination of various factors — the GPU and CPU clock speeds and core count, as well as the memory speeds — are what differentiate Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite from the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme. What makes the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme different than the X2 Elite? According to a Qualcomm representative, it’s a combination of factors, including CPU and GPU clock speeds, memory, and core count. It appears the difference is memory speeds: 228GB/s for the X2 Elite Extreme via a 192-bit memory bus, and 152GB/s via a 128-bit bus for the Elite. All three chips connect to LPDDR5x memory. Integrating memory on the package is an interesting choice. Intel pursued that strategy with its Core Ultra Series 1 chip, Meteor Lake, then gave it up because embedding a fixed amount of memory didn’t allow its customers to differentiate their products. Intel’s chief executive at the time, Pat Gelsinger, called “Meteor Lake” a “one off” and a niche product, one that was forced into the spotlight because of AI. Right now, we don’t know why Qualcomm chose this course as well. But there’s a twist: only the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme has a fixed 48GB of integrated memory. The other two chips will embed ‘device-specific’ amounts of RAM, Qualcomm says, almost implying that the company will be designing custom processors. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme, showing the embedded memory.Mark Hachman / Foundry Qualcomm hasn’t clarified if the RAM will be usable as GPU VRAM, which matters because more VRAM generally supports more complex AI models. Cristiano Amon delivered a “vision” speech Tuesday night discussing the ubiquity of AI across various devices. Eventually, Qualcomm will probably follow with derivatives for cheaper, less powerful PCs. In April and September 2024, Qualcomm added the eight core and 10-core Snapdragon X Plus variants, with only the smaller chip graced with turbo capability. Those chips topped out at 3.4GHz, with turbo speeds up to 4GHz. In January 2025, Qualcomm tacked on the Snapdragon X, its lowest-cost offering for laptops under $600, with eight cores and speeds up to 3.0 GHz. So far, however, Qualcomm hasn’t said anything about those, nor how they would be architected. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite and Elite Extreme specifications, in greater detail.Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme is tops in TOPS Kedar Kondap, the senior vice president of compute and gaming, has said that he doesn’t particularly like the term “NPU,” since it focuses attention on a number rather than the AI experiences that accompany it. Within Qualcomm’s smartphone business, AI applications have been around for a decade, Kondap said; they include bokeh, various types of filters, and portrait mode. Within the PC space, selling the need for local AI has been a tougher battle. Qualcomm hasn’t made it easy on itself, either. Since the new Snapdragon X Elite chips have a whopping 80 TOPS — about twice the TOPS requirement of Copilot+ PCs — Qualcomm will have to, well, redouble its efforts to convince PC makers that such a powerful NPU is needed. First-generation Snapdragon X Elites would combine AI experiences, including Windows Studio Effects and others, and without even fully saturating the NPU. Basically, Qualcomm has yet to find the killer app for local AI — and Microsoft’s nominee, Microsoft Recall, has struggled to the point of near irrelevance. Behind the scenes, however, are local AI applications consumers don’t see, including updates to Phi Silica, Microsoft’s small language model for Copilot PCs. Adobe Premiere Pro and Blender can leverage the NPU for specific functions, in addition to the software’s work with the CPU and the GPU. But the applications still have to be specifically coded for NPUs, because of the absence of Microsoft’s Windows ML. One of the few experiences I saw at the Qualcomm Snapdragon Technology Summit (at press time) included this demo where users could play an instrument, then mix it in the laptop.Mark Hachman / Foundry “It’s not like you’re going to get this one app that needs those 80 TOPS, right, but if you’ve got 10 things running and each take 5 [TOPS], all of a sudden you’re at 50,” said Bob O’Donnell, president of TECHnalysis Reseach. “That could be discrete apps, but it might be individual agents working on your behalf.” Windows ML does the hard work of assigning the AI workload to the proper piece of silicon, which should help. “Windows ML is the built-in AI inferencing runtime optimized for on-device model inference and streamlined model dependency management across CPUs, GPUs and NPUs,” Microsoft says. The good news? After first being announced in 2018, Windows ML is now available, Microsoft said Tuesday. The Elite X2’s integrated modem may be its hidden treasure Qualcomm isn’t saying much about the Adreno graphics core inside of the Snapdragon X2 Elite family. The company says it offers a “2.3X increase in performance per watt and power efficiency over the previous generation,” and that’s about it. The X2 Elite Extreme chip will feature the X2-90 core running at 1.85GHz; the top X2 Elite chip will also feature the X2-90, but at 1.70GHz. The slowest X2 Elite, the X2E-80-100, will include a slower X2-85 at 1.70GHz. The Adreno core supports AV1, HEVC, and AVC decoding at dual 8K at 60 fps for all three chips. But Qualcomm’s GPU still doesn’t allow for an external GPU connection, meaning that the gaming market is largely out of reach (again). Is it a Snapdragon desktop PC? Probaby not, but this frisbee-shaped reference design is still pretty neat.Mark Hachman / Foundry It’s not clear how this will translate into the real world. In our extensive Snapdragon X Elite review, we didn’t really focus on gaming. However, when testing Intel’s Core Ultra Lunar Lake chip, I tested the original X Elite on a pair of games and they weren’t really playable. To Jim McGregor, the founder of Tirias Research, the integration of Qualcomm’s X75 modem into the X2 Elite platform might be the most unexpectedly significant addition Qualcomm made. Even though the company’s mobile platforms for handsets include CPU, graphics, and modem technology, the Snapdragon X Elite platform never included it. The X2 Elite does. “When they first came out with the embedded modem, I loved that device,” McGregor said, adding that he hoped Qualcomm would lean more into its connectivity advantage. “The fact that carriers wouldn’t support it was a pain in the butt.” “They make the best modems in the world, literally,” O’Donnell said. “So why not make that part of the platform?” Qualcomm calls the X75 “the world’s first Modem-RF System ready for 5G Advanced,” but the real news is simply that it’s there. Phones seamlessly roam from Wi-Fi to cellular; why shouldn’t PCs? Integrating a modem allows that to happen. Qualcomm also showed off an “all-in-one” reference design that slots into the base of a display.Mark Hachman / Foundry Internally, Qualcomm says that NVMe storage is supported via dual PCI Express 5.0. Notebooks incorporating the chip will be able to support a maximum display resolution of 4K at 144Hz, or three external 4K displays at 144Hz. Since the chip only supports 40Gbps USB4 for peripherals, that probably assumes software compression of some sort. PC makers will have 12 lanes of PCIe 5.0 to play with, except for the eight lanes usable by the slowest X2 Elite chip. Four PCIe Gen4 lanes will be available, presumably for storage. Qualcomm has added one component to help placate corporate IT managers: Guardian, a new X2 Elite out-of-band management feature to help track and manage X2 Elite systems. Market obstacles: More of the same for Windows on Arm Unfortunately for Qualcomm, it’s never just about the silicon. “It’s really hard to overcome a market that’s already got mass adoption, with industry leaders” McGregor said. “Those industry leaders, especially Intel, kind of stumbled. So there was an opportunity there, right? But it’s really hard when you go in with a different architecture, different product, and you’re taking it head on.” For all of its efforts, though, Qualcomm has yet to make a significant dent in the market. Mercury Research, which tracks CPU market share on a quarterly basis, still put AMD at about 20 percent of the notebook client PC market during the second quarter of 2025, with Intel receiving the other 80 percent. Dean McCarron, the principal analyst at Mercury, declined to specify Qualcomm’s actual market share because he was unsure of the exact sales numbers. Qualcomm’s fundamental problem, however, is that audiences haven’t responded as well as the company might have expected. For that, one can point to any number of factors: lingering concerns about app compatibility–a problem Qualcomm aggressively tried to address; issues with Microsoft’s rollout of its Copilot+ program, including apps like Microsoft Recall; and successful launches of rival mobile chips. McGregor ticked off more: a lack of support for STEM applications and a management solution for enterprise. In PCWorld tests, Qualcomm came out on top in terms of battery life, but AMD’s CPU performance exceeded the competition. Intel’s Core Ultra Series 2 (Lunar Lake) was arguably the overall winner, combining good CPU performance, very good GPU performance, and competitive battery life versus the other two chips. Consumers also tend to equate “AI” with ChatGPT rather than Copilot. In 2024, shipments of all Copilot+ PCs were abysmal: less than one percent of the market in 2024 and less than two percent during the first quarter of 2025. Though Microsoft launched the Copilot+ platform as a whole, it was largely oriented around Qualcomm and its first-generation Snapdragon X Elite.YouTube / Microsoft “I think what one of the biggest problems is that Qualcomm was strictly tied to and associated with Copilot, and it was honestly more of a Copilot issue than necessarily a Qualcomm issue,” O’Donnell said. “So I think that one of the challenges was that there was that very strong association that [Microsoft and Qualcomm] both thought was going to propel them to a higher place. Unfortunately, Recall is a real problem, and now we’re at the point where I don’t think anybody cares about Recall.” PC makers also welcomed the competition Qualcomm’s first X Elite chip introduced… then used it as leverage in negotiations with Intel and AMD (according to one source). In the United States, just nine shipping products currently include a first-generation Snapdragon X Elite chip, a source said. By contrast, 224 Intel systems and 106 mobile PCs use AMD’s chips, and Qualcomm’s market share is still quite small. Kedar Kondap, Qualcomm’s general manager of compute and gaming, doesn’t see it that way. In an interview before the launch, he pointed out that Qualcomm’s sales in its first year exceeded AMD and Intel in their own. At Qualcomm’s analyst day, Qualcomm chief executive Cristiano Amon put forward a target: $4 billion in sales by 2029, Kondap said. That’s years away, evidence that Qualcomm is playing the long game with its Snapdragon processors. “You have to give them credit because I lose track of this myself — they’ve only been in the market for 15 months,” O’Donnell said. “For 15 months, it’s not too shabby.” Disclosure: Qualcomm paid for my room, board, and travel expenses, but did not ask for or exert any editorial control over this story or other PCWorld content. Read...

How many of you are just itching to drop more than a thousand bucks on a handheld gaming PC? It seems there are indeed a few, as one Lenovo representative said some Legion Go 2 pre-orders have been delayed or cancelled due to much higher demand than the company expected. So sayeth an update to a Reddit AMA on the official Legion Go sub (spotted by Tom’s Hardware), where the representatives’ lack of response to requests on shipment times (originally scheduled for October) left posters seeing red. “The truth is pre-orders for the Legion Go Gen 2 has substantially exceeded our projections, leading to unforeseen delivery range extensions,” claims the Legion Go Team. “We will need to cancel some pre-orders placed directly on Lenovo.com.” The frustration appears to have started after some would-be Legion Go 2 buyers placed a pre-order, then saw their delivery times slip from a week or two to six weeks. Understandable, since this is a gaming device that costs $1,100 to start and stretches up to an eye-popping $1,350 for the upgraded version with an AMD Ryzen Z22 Extreme processor and other boosted specs. The Go 2 features removable controllers and an impressive OLED screen, but the price tag (equivalent to two or three Steam Decks or Switch 2s) hasn’t gone over all that well. I also wonder how much of this is really an upswell in demand versus some behind-the-scenes error on Lenovo’s part. Pinning the issues on a huge rush to buy a new gadget would be the smart thing to say from a marketing perspective, but it’s also possible that some late-stage production or logistical errors are gumming up the works. The Legion Go 2 is scheduled for release on October 31st, according to the Best Buy listing for the base model, which is still available to pre-order. Asus’ rival device—the ROG Xbox Ally co-branded with Microsoft—is scheduled for October 16th. It still does not have an official price. Read...

As much as you may hate Zoom meetings, you still have to attend them—and you probably want to look good while doing so. Don’t have Zoom meetings to worry about? A good webcam is still worth having, whether to video chat with friends, to record YouTube videos, or to have something on hand for a remote job interview. Fortunately, high-quality 4K webcams don’t have to cost a lot anymore. Take this Obsbot Meet 2 webcam, for instance. Normally $139, you can now grab it for just $108.99 on sale with a 22 percent discount. That’s a darn good price for a webcam that captures 4K at 60 FPS. As a general rule, we’ve had good experiences with Obsbot webcams here at PCWorld, with one of them even holding a spot in our roundup of the best overall webcams. Given the Meet 2’s stellar 4.4-star rating on Amazon combined with its lovely specs, I’m confident this one will be a great addition to your setup—especially for this price. On top of capturing 4K footage, the Obsbot Meet 2 features AI features that help the camera dynamically adjust its composition and focus, so you always look good whether you’re alone or in a group. You can also make gestures to control the camera, such as pinching the air to make it zoom in. This makes the Meet 2 awesome for live streaming while gaming. This webcam has a sleek design that’s great for travel, with it being easy to shove into a bag and take with you wherever you go. Setting up the webcam is easy too, as you only need to plug it into a USB-C port for both power and video feed. Get one of the best value 4K webcams out there with this discount: the Obsbot Meet 2 for just $108.99. Save 22% on this budget-friendly 4K 60 FPS webcamBuy now at Amazon Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Rapid input (thanks to Rapid Trigger) Quiet, pleasant typing feel Non-slip and high-quality PBT keycaps Streamlined web software, profiles on the board Stylish, discreet design (optionally with wooden sides) Reliable multi-device handling thanks to Bluetooth Cons Hot-Swap only for Gateron Double-Rail HE No rotary control, no dedicated media buttons High design; palm rest recommended High price Our Verdict The Keychron K2 HE offers fast, precise gaming performance with a sleek, office-friendly design, though its limited switch options and lack of media keys may be drawbacks. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Keychron K2 HE Retailer Price $129.99 View Deal $139.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices Friedrich Stiemer The Keychron K2 HE combines reverb effect technology with a compact 75 percent layout. Designed for gamers, it should also perform well in the office. We tested its design, build quality, features, switches, gaming performance, and everyday usability. The Keychron K2 HE combines reverb effect technology with a compact 75 percent layout. Designed for gamers, it should also perform well in the office. Keychron K2 HE: Design and workmanship The Keychron K2 HE is available either in black or as a special edition with wooden sides. We tested the latter version. The real wood side panels are neatly fitted, feel smooth and give the keyboard a warm, almost cozy look. Transitions and gaps are consistent, nothing creaks and the aluminum frame complements the high-quality look. Thanks to its weight of just under one kilogram (965 grams), the board is very stable on the table. The 75 percent layout saves space while retaining the arrow keys and the most important navigation row. Friedrich Stiemer The construction is robust: an aluminum frame at the top (“aluminum top frame”) keeps the keyboard rigid, a metal support plate under the keys (“plate”) stabilizes the switches, and several damping layers absorb vibrations. The so-called “tray-mount” design means that the circuit board and plate are screwed into the bottom tray, which ensures a direct, rather firm typing feel with little resonance. The acoustics are muted (“thockig”), mechanical background noise is kept to a minimum. However, we recommend a palm rest for prolonged use due to the height of the casing–this is not included and is therefore a minus point. Keychron K2 HE: Features and technology The Keychron K2 HE can be used via cable and wirelessly. Using USB-C and a 2.4 GHz dongle, you can achieve a polling rate of up to 1,000 Hz for fast, stable input. Bluetooth 5.2 connects up to three devices on request, but is noticeably slower, making it more suitable for office and multi-device use. Inside is a 4,000 mAh battery that lasts from a few days to several working weeks, depending on the lighting and usage profile. The non-slip PBT keycaps are available in ANSI or ISO layout, depending on the variant. However, the hot-swap system (buttons can be changed without soldering) is limited to Hall-effect switches of the Gateron Double-Rail type; classic MX switches do not fit. Practical for everyday use, you can switch between Windows and macOS key assignments using a slide switch, and Keychron includes suitable mod keys. Dedicated media keys or a volume knob are missing; control is via Fn combinations or remapping in the software. Friedrich Stiemer Keychron K2 HE: Technical specifications The Keychron K2 HE uses Hall-effect switches, where a magnetic sensor detects the keystroke. This allows the trigger and reset point to be finely adjusted for each button. The “Rapid Trigger” technology refers to the fast automatic reset immediately after release–ideal for quick follow-up entries. “Multiple Actuation/Dual-Action” allows different actions depending on the depth to which a key is pressed, while “Last-Key-Priority” prioritizes the last key pressed during simultaneous inputs. The integrated RGB lighting offers numerous effects and infinitely variable brightness. Friedrich Stiemer Everything is controlled via the Keychron Launcher, a web-based app for key assignments, macros, lighting, and fine-tuning the reverb effect switches. The keyboard saves profiles internally, but the USB cable is briefly required to apply changes. Friedrich Stiemer Keychron K2 HE: High-end switches The factory-lubricated linear switches of the “Gateron Double-Rail Nebula” type run very smoothly. The POM plunger with double-rail guide ensures high stability and minimal lateral wobbling. The release is freely selectable via software, from 0.2 to 3.8 mm in 0.1 mm increments. The spring is in the light range with a starting force of around 40 grams, the bottom-out is around 60 grams. The total travel is around 4.0 mm. The switching characteristics are roughly comparable to the Cherry MX Red. The typing feel remains soft and quiet, supported by the housing damping. Large keys are well stabilized, and the space bar, for example, is also extra damped. The stabilizers themselves are also lubricated for better acoustics and actuation. Friedrich Stiemer Keychron K2 HE: Gaming performance The Keychron K2 HE shows its strengths in 2.4 GHz and cable operation: low latency, 1,000 Hz polling (1-ms signal rate) and fast resetting thanks to Rapid Trigger. In practical terms, this means that the buttons trigger very early and are immediately ready for use again after minimal release. For shooters, we recommend a trigger travel of 1.2 to 1.5 mm on WASD and an RT hysteresis (the short reset travel that the button requires after release until it triggers again) of 0.1 to 0.2 mm. “Counter-punishments” and fine corrections are thus more stable. In our opinion, the space bar–for example, for jumping–can trigger even flatter (approx. 0.8 to 1.0 mm), while abilities or reloading are deliberately lower (approx. 1.8 to 2.2 mm) in order to avoid incorrect inputs. “Last-Key-Priority” prevents “stuck” inputs when changing direction simultaneously. The K2 HE processes N-key rollover (NKRO) without ghosting; fast double-taps and micro-corrections remain cleanly reproducible. With “Multiple Actuation/Dual-Action,” you can assign two actions to one key–for example, light press = walk, deep press = run or create, and then zoom on the same key. For rhythm/action games, the triggering per button can be very finely staggered; in our testing, short reaction chains were noticeably easier to time with Rapid Trigger. Friedrich Stiemer Bluetooth is noticeably slower (typical 125 Hz signal rate) and is not recommended for competitive gaming; there is occasionally a short “wake-up second” after standby. BT is sufficient for single-player games, streaming PCs, and office work. For gaming, you should use 2.4 GHz or USB-C. Practically, in the Keychron launcher, you can save profiles with different trigger depths and dual-action assignments for each game and load them quickly if needed. Keychron K2 HE: Everyday work Quiet operation, compact dimensions, and reliable multi-device handling make the Keychron K2 HE suitable for everyday use. The PBT keycaps are non-slip and resist shiny spots. The 75 percent layout takes some getting used to, but offers a good balance of space-saving and direct access. Friedrich Stiemer Keychron K2 HE: Battery life Depending on the brightness and mode, the board can comfortably last one to two working weeks in mixed use. Heavy RGB use and pure Bluetooth operation noticeably shorten the runtime. On the positive side, the board also maintains 1,000 Hz performance wirelessly via 2.4 GHz. Friedrich Stiemer Keychron K2 HE: Software As the Keychron launcher is a web app, you don’t need to install anything. Simply plug in the Keychron K2 HE via USB-C, allow the browser to access the device and customize key assignments, macros, lighting, and the reverb effect parameters. The keyboard saves these profiles internally, and they also apply in 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth modes. In practice, the trigger, reset point, and rapid trigger can only be changed via USB; there are no direct shortcuts for this on the keyboard itself. Light, brightness, and effect changes, on the other hand, work immediately via Fn combinations. Two profiles are recommended: a gaming profile with a flat trigger and an office profile with a deeper trigger travel and quiet lighting. Frequent remaps include Caps Lock to Ctrl or media functions on the arrow keys. Macros can trigger command sequences such as “mute mic and push-to-talk.” Friedrich Stiemer The launcher works on Windows and macOS, and usually also on Linux, provided the browser supports WebHID. Transferred changes take effect within a few seconds and then run autonomously on the keyboard. Input latency remains unchanged. Dedicated controls, such as a volume knob, are missing; media control is handled via Fn levels or remapping. 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Microsoft has uploaded the ISO files for Windows 11 25H2, the next major version of Windows 11. The so-called “enablement package” is also available, which lets you directly upgrade from Windows 11 24H2 to Windows 11 25H2 without needing the ISO file. ISO files for Windows 11 25H2 are available for x64 (Intel and AMD PCs) and Arm64 (Snapdragon PCs) architectures as well as Home, Pro, and Education Editions in 38 languages. Windows 11 version 25H2 RTM ISOs have now been uploaded to Microsoft`s servers. Download them here in x64 or Arm64 flavors https://t.co/PoCqjWgyL1— Windows Central (@WindowsCentral) September 22, 2025 According to Windows Central, this is the RTM (Released To Manufacturing) ISO, which means this is the official version of Windows 11 25H2 that Microsoft will be sending to PC manufacturers. However, Microsoft no longer officially uses the term RTM. The build number of the Windows 11 25H2 RTM ISO is apparently Build 26200.6584. The ISO download is on average about 7GB for x64, while the ISO for Arm64 is a few hundred MB smaller. The ISO file is available directly via Microsoft. Windows Central has linked all the individual ISO downloads for every architecture and language, so head there and click on the ISO file suitable for your PC. Do you need the Windows 11 25H2 ISO? You can use the ISO file to completely reinstall Windows 11 and bring it up to version Windows 11 25H2, meaning this is a great way to upgrade any PC that still runs on Windows 11 24H2 or 23H2. However, the leaner enablement package is recommended for PCs running Windows 11 24H2 since the download is smaller and the upgrade time is faster. Enablement packages for x64 and Arm64 can be acquired using the following Microsoft links: Enablement package (KB5054156) for x64 PCs Enablement package (KB5054156) for Arm64 PCs Despite all the above, Microsoft has not yet officially released Windows 11 25H2. As soon as it’s official, though, users on Windows 11 24H2 PCs will be offered the enablement package via Windows Update. You can then use that to cleanly and effortlessly upgrade to 25H2. Learn more about all the exciting new features in Windows 11 25H2, such as the new-look Start menu and its big upgrades. Read...