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The best graphics cards for PC gaming: A third contender appears

Most people who are in the market for a new graphics card have one primary question in mind: Which card will give me the most bang for my buck? Obviously, the answer will vary depending on your budget. Beyond that, there are a number of factors to  consider: Raw performance is important, but so are things like noise, the driver experience, and supplemental software. And do you want to pay a premium to get in on the bleeding edge of real-time ray tracing? Gaming GPU cheat sheet Our quick-hit recommendations: Best budget GPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G APU Remove non-product link   [newegg.com] Best 1080p GPU: GeForce GTX 1660 Super  [ newegg.com ] Best 1440p GPU: GeForce RTX 3060 Ti   [bestbuy.com]  Best 4K GPU:  GeForce RTX 3080 Remove non-product link   [bestbuy.com]  or  Radeon RX 6800 XT [bestbuy.com] Let us make it easy for you. We’ve tested nearly every major GPU that’s hit the streets over the past couple of years, f...

Watch: Will Intel's Alder Lake CPUs topple AMD's Ryzen 5000?

Intel says its upcoming 12th-gen Alder Lake CPUs will be the company’s “most significant” change in more than a decade. Alder Lake will likely be Intel’s first attempt to wrest the ”best CPU” performance crown back from a surging AMD, too. Yes, we know, we’re months away from a real show down, but in the spirit of sports analysts and Las Vegas bookies calling odds on the Super Bowl winner before the first game has even been played, here’s where we think Intel’s 12th gen Alder Lake may stack up against AMD’s mighty Ryzen 5000 —including AMD’s unexpectedly radical V-cache upgrade . Watch our predictions below, or visit the video directly on PCWorld’s Youtube channel. Be sure to subscribe while you’re there! To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3DMoi8X

Samsung is finally offering its top-of-the-line 4K TV tech in smaller sizes

Addressing TechHive's long-standing complaint about behemoth top-tier TVs, Samsung announced at CEDIA that its Neo QLED Q90A series will now be available in apartment-friendly sizes. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3DMsO7m

Xiaomi Leads Fitness Band, Apple Leads Smartwatch Shipments in Q2 2021 as Overall Market Grows 6 Percent: Canalys

Global wearables market saw a 6 percent growth in shipments in Q2 2021 as Xiaomi overtook Apple for the top spot, as per market analyst firm Canalys. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3BBiNrC

Buying a mechanical keyboard? Consider these 6 points of caution

When I bought my first mechanical keyboard in 2015, I had no idea what I was doing. Coveting the clackety sound and glorious key travel of mechanical switches, I sprung for a hefty Rosewill Apollo keyboard without doing much research. It ended up being a poor fit for me, and I sold it on eBay a few years later. Only later did I realize the depth of the mechanical keyboard rabbit hole , and how many granular options exist to get exactly the typing or PC gaming experience you want. After buying my first compact mechanical keyboard—then another, and another—I realized there was no going back to cheaper keyboards with mushy rubber membranes and blandly utilitarian aesthetics. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3yCSL5j

6-core vs. 8-core CPUs: What's better for gaming?

Just five years ago, debating the merits of a 6-core CPU versus an 8-core model wasn’t possible. We were all stuck with 4-core chips at a consumer level—to break past that barrier, you had to pay serious bucks for a high-end desktop (“big socket”) CPU. Not that you needed to go that extreme for gaming. Nowadays, game developers have begun adapting to the new normal of high core-count processors. And if you’re going to have a PC for years, you want one that’s going to comfortably see you through the duration. But choosing between a mid-tier 6-core CPU and a higher-tier 8-core CPU isn’t a simple matter of more cores equaling better performance. It’s actually a nuanced decision, one that you should come to after considering four major factors. Here’s how it shakes out.  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2Vb0hqq

This USB-C Lightning cable should terrify you

Now even your USB-C and Lightning cables can spy on you. Hak5 has begun selling USB-C and USB-A cables that yes, work as cables—but they can also be used hack your laptop, tablet, or phone remotely. The cable, first demonstrated by security researcher MG in late 2019, is designed to look like a standard USB cable. Lurking inside, however, is embedded Wi-Fi, web server, and keylogger functionality, along with the ability to remotely control the mouse and keyboard of the computer its attached to. Called the O.MG Cable, it’s described by Hak5 as being “built for covert field-use, with features that enhance remote execution, stealth, forensics evasion, all while being able to quickly change your tooling on the fly.” MG built this as a penetration testing tool for security researchers. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3tmNyhj