PCWorld May 2022

It’s finally happening. After years of teases, promises, and hype, a third heavy-hitting player is entering the graphics card game, aiming to shake up the Nvidia and AMD duopoly. Intel’s hotly anticipated Arc GPUs are hitting the streets—though not in the way you might expect. Rather than debuting in desktop form, Arc’s grand reveal comes via laptops, which can drive home some of the enticingly delicious advantages Intel can provide in tuned systems revolving around its Core CPUs and Arc GPUs. Giddy up. MEET INTEL ARC LAPTOPS Intel recently took the wraps off its Arc A-series mobile GPUs, launching only the most humble variants—the affordable Arc 3 series. The A350M and A370M will appear in laptops now available for preorder, with prices starting at $899. More powerful Arc 5 and Arc 7 notebooks…

It’s only taken five years, but Microsoft’s tabbed File Explorer, called Sets, could finally become a reality in Windows 11. At Microsoft’s Future of Hybrid Work event in April, Microsoft showed off several features that the company plans to bring to Windows 11. Microsoft didn’t provide a timetable for when they’ll be arriving, however. Some of them also are specific to particular applications; a number of features will be used for videoconferencing, for example, with automatic camera framing and a feature called Eye Contact. Others, such as Live Captions, have been previously revealed as part of Microsoft’s Windows Insider program and should be scheduled for a fall release. Sets, though, makes sense just because the concept is simple and straightforward. Microsoft will provide a tabbed interface, like you see in browsers,…

Chrome is the most popular web browser on the planet. Which means that if you’re using it too, you’re a prime target for identity theft and other nasty detritus of the information age. While Google isn’t known for being the most privacy-forward company out there, its latest addition to Chrome is a definite point in its favor. The new Privacy Guide interface, soon to be available, is essentially an old-school user wizard to help you tighten down your browser’s privacy vulnerabilities. Privacy Guide will be presented as a card when users go into the “Privacy and security” section of the Chrome settings menu. In just a couple of minutes it will allow you to see what the browser is saving locally and syncing to your Google profile, with a somewhat sanitized…

I know people who love Windows 11. I am not one of them. Before anyone tells me why I’m wrong—or that it’s ludicrous for a tech journalist to be against new technology—let me draw your attention to the exact problem first. I want you to right-click on the desktop in Windows 11 and tell me what you see. Does the menu have the Refresh option? Or are you forced to choose Show more options to get to a secondary right-click menu with the desired feature? If you have it, congrats. It means you keep your system up to date. (If you don’t, I suggest you finally run Windows Update.) But now repeat these same steps within a File Explorer window—arguably, the more common place you’d want to refresh the view. (For example, you’ve…

PC power supplies haven’t seen a whole lot of change in the last decade or two. We’ve gotten modular cables for easier routing, smaller standards for itty-bitty builds, and that’s about it. But Intel recently finalized the ATX 3.0 standard, coming soon to a full-size PC case near you. The biggest addition announced is a new standardized connection for graphics cards and other PCIe devices, delivering up to 600 watts on a single connector. Currently graphics cards are in a bit of a power pinch. The maximum throughput for an 8-pin ATX rail is 150 watts, so the biggest and most power-hungry GPUs need to double or even triple up, adding extra space requirements and more-complex cable routing inside the case. The new 12-pin 12VHPWR connection should be able to deliver…

Ever since around the release of the 5T, all the way back in 2017, OnePlus phones have been my go-to pick for “best bang for your buck” Android phone. A near-stock OS, solid camera, and sleek designs at mid-range prices helped build a loyal fan base of OnePlus fans. But over the years the cost for each new release has slowly crept up as OnePlus shifted to the flagship space to try and offer a more “premium” experience, and that’s exemplified by the newly announced $899 OnePlus 10 Pro. With Samsung locking down the majority of flagship Android devices sold in the U.S. it’s a tough market to get into, and one that doesn’t benefit from unique pricing like the mid-range. So does the OnePlus 10 Pro compete? How does it…