Remember when I upgraded a laptop’s entire GPU in just three minutes and filmed it for you? It wasn’t the only first I filmed that day! Here’s my Today I’m Toying With video hands-on with Framework’s industry-first standards-based 240W USB-C PD charging system. Look ma: no barrel jacks!
This is the Framework Laptop 16, and the company tells me I’m the first journalist to do this thing: show proof that upgrading a laptop’s GPU can be as easy as upgrading a desktop one. Alienware whiffed on this idea, but Framework is delivering. More on this right here.
The modular PC company didn’t say when it’d upload the promised files; turns out it’s today! Find center, right-align, and left-align options here on GitHub, if you’d rather have a single unbroken palmrest instead of spacers. (But instead of grey, why not try sparkle or wood or marble filament?)
HP has one of the best Labor Day sales of all with its 16-inch OmniBook 5. Originally $729.99, it’s just $119.99 to buy. You can even customize the laptop config (hit “Customize & Buy”) to include a 300-nit OLED screen for no extra charge. Unsurprisingly, HP’s site is getting slammed, so be patient.
Want to run your video card through the ray traced ringer? 3DMark has an “Extreme” version of its Solar Bay benchmark, available as a free update for paid Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android users. It’s decked out in specular reflections, uses new ray tracing techniques, and includes a stress test.
[Steam News]
The HP Omen 16 has a new configuration with an Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti GPU, launching soon starting at $1,999.
That’s an entry-ish-level laptop with a new top-tier config sporting an upper-mid GPU. HP offers a lot of Omen models, with this one squeezing in right below the Omen Max.
Look at this thing. According to Videocardz and Tom’s Hardware, it’s a custom 12.5-inch 4K handheld with Intel i9-14900HX and Nvidia RTX 4090 chips from a gaming laptop. There are pics and a video of it playing games, but none showing the build or internals.
Obviously, I want it.
Remember when ThinkPads had seven rows of keys, sandpaper TrackPoint nubs, ThinkLights, and keyboards that transformed to become wider when you opened their hinge? The Register’s Avram Pilch caught up with David W. Hill, who ran ThinkPad design from 1995 to 2017, about all of them — and the attempts to bring some back!
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ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 review: a $3,300 CES concept you can own.
Remember the Lenovo ThinkBook Gen 6 rollable laptop from CES? After all these months, it’s now for sale. It starts at $3,299 with an Intel Lunar Lake chip, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD, and that flexible OLED that expands from 14 to 16.7 inches.
I’m expecting a review unit very soon. What do you want to know about it?
Apple has released The Parent Presentation, an 81-page slide deck available in Google Slides, PowerPoint, or Keynote format, and a (now set to private) promo video hosted by “nepo baby” / Please Don’t Destroy comedian Martin Herlihy, aimed at getting students a Mac for school next year.
I can’t decide if it’s a solid pitch (who hasn’t held a family meeting to get approval for a high-priced tech purchase?) or if it will miss its target audience because it’s 8 minutes long and not in a vertical video format. Either way, we also have some advice on which laptop is the best option.
(Update: -- The YouTube video is no longer available, but the presentation slides are still there.)
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The quirky 2-in-1 has an endearing design that could be a great fit for students. But Framework once again has to prove itself.
