Dash cams are already essential in many countries because of scam artists who try to create accidents so they can sue you. They’ve also proven useful for catching cars flying into buildings, or the occasional meteor, as happened in Thailand and in Russia, all thanks to dash cams in the right place at the right time.

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If there is such a thing as a venerable vendor in the dash cam market, it’s Thinkware. The company has been at it for several years, and generally been well ahead of the feature curve with things such as voice command and bad-driver aids. However, while the company’s $150 X700 is good-looking and features a touchscreen interface, the video looks highly compressed, and GPS is available only as an external option. 

This review is part of our ongoing roundup of the best dash cams. Go there for information on competing products and how we tested them. 

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When Gearbox released the Homeworld Remastered Collection in 2015, I think fans collectively held their breath and thought “Well, what’s next?” The answer was 2016’s pseudo-sequel, Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak, which brought concepts from the spacefaring RTS down to ground level. There hasn’t been what you’d call a “proper” Homeworld sequel in nearly two decades though.

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Should you spend the extra money on an Intel K-series processor? It’s a question we’re frequently asked, because it isn’t as simple as you might think.

PCWorld CPU guru Gordon Mah Ung has the (nuanced) answer for you though. He explains everything you need to know about unlocked K-series processors: Yes, they’re the only Intel CPUs that can be overclocked, but by purchasing one of these premium parts, you’re also committing to buying an enthusiast-class Z-series motherboard, as only those parts can crank clocks beyond stock speeds. K-series chips also lack a cooler in the box.

For those reasons and others, Gordon thinks most people shouldn’t pay extra for an Intel K-series CPU. That’s the short answer. For a more detailed explanation, including a few very valid reasons why some people may want to consider a K-series chip, check out the video below.

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The budget-friendly end of the headset market must be a bloodbath these days. First HyperX tried making inroads with the $50 Cloud Stinger, then Astro dipped in with the Astro A10. With all these mainstream companies vying for entry-level dominance, it's harder than ever to stand out.

Tritton tries to do just that with the $50 Kunai Pro headset though. It's certainly cheap enough—but does it have the features to stand toe-to-toe with Astro? We went hands-on to find out.

This review is part of our ongoing roundup of the best gaming headsets. Go there for information on competing products and how we tested them. 

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Microsoft’s trying out a new “tablet” experience for two-in-ones that...looks a lot like today’s desktop interface.

As part of Windows 10 Insider build 18970 (20H1), Microsoft is testing out a new layout for undocked two-in-ones (and presumably tablets, too). The layout provides greater spacing between the various taskbar icons, and it collapses the search bar. A keyboard icon has also been added to the taskbar, to make it easier to enter text. The keyboard will activate automatically when you tap a text field, Microsoft said in a blog post.

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Set Amazon’s one-day PC sale aside for a moment, and consider: If you’re looking to cash in on a current-generation Surface before the next-gen hardware is announced, now’s the time to buy.

Microsoft has scheduled a “Microsoft event” in New York City on October 2, the traditional time and place for new Surface hardware. It’s been a year since Microsoft launched the Surface Pro 6 and Surface Laptop 2, and a bit longer for the Surface Go. That’s always a good sign that retailers will be trying to clear their shelves of older hardware, and that’s the case today: All three are 20 to 30 percent off today on Amazon. Similar discounts are available on the two-year-old Surface Book 2, too.

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What appears to be a new 32-core AMD Threadripper has appeared on the Geekbench benchmark database, giving ammunition to the belief that yes, we may be seeing a new Threadripper chip “soon,” in the words of AMD chief executive Lisa Su.

The Geekbench browser lists a 32-core “100-000000011-11” chip, with 32 cores and 64 threads. But the chip is also identified as an “AuthenticAMD Family 23 Model 49 Stepping 0,” code-named Sharkstooth, a member of the AMD Ryzen family. The CPU northbridge is also identified as a Ryzen part. The chip itself has a base clock of 2.2GHz, and a maximum frequency of 4.17GHz.

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Lenovo's C340 and S340 Chromebooks are built for consumers who want a little more style or substance in their browser-based laptop. Of course, Lenovo's been selling rather dowdy, education-oriented Chromebooks for years. The company's first foray into retail has clearly graduated and is ready to break out of that mold, offering some better materials and features, plus some eye-opening color. 

Lenovo Chromebook C340-11 pricing and features

Lenovo

I can sum up my first experience in 5G like this: 1.21 gigabits. That’s the first speed I hit when I started walking around Providence, Rhode Island, on Wednesday with the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G.

That wasn’t the top speed I hit either. Later in the day, I touched 1.48Gbps and 1.63Gbps. Nor did it represent an average speed, which was closer to 450Mbps. But my first impression of real-world 5G Ultra Wideband—made possible during a Verizon press event, but using already-deployed 5G infrastructure nodes—kind of blew me away.

Here are some real-world stats to help you wrap your brain around the promise of gig-plus download speeds:

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If you bought an AMD “Bulldozer” CPU and didn’t quite agree with AMD that it was an actual 8-core chip, congratulations: A judge has agreed with you, and you may be eligible for a small bit of compensation as a result.

As originally reported by The Register, AMD has agreed to pay up to $35 per chip for those who bought an FX-8120, FX-8150, FX-8320, FX-8350, FX-8370, FX-9370, or FX-9590, as a result of a settlement of a class-action suit brought in 2015. Unfortunately, the settlement hasn’t moved past the stage where both sides publish details of how to obtain compensation. (You can read our original AMD Bulldozer review, here.)

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In this episode of The Full Nerd, Gordon Mah Ung, Brad Chacos, Alaina Yee, and Adam Patrick Murray dive into hardware cycles.

We kick things off by talking about Remedy’s Control, an utterly outstanding game that serves as the new high-water mark for real-time ray tracing. RTX is on in no less than five different ways, and it’s stunning. After that, we dive into rumors of the Radeon VII’s demise, and remember how unlikely it was to even exist at all. Finally, we spend a long while dissecting the best time to buy new PC hardware before jumping into some Q&A with the Full Nerd community.

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If you can’t stand an excess of photons blasting your retinas, rejoice: dark mode is coming to the mobile version of Outlook, as well as Office on the web.

Microsoft said Wednesday that it’s bringing dark mode today to both Outlook for iOS and Android, as well as Office.com—the version of Office that lives on the web, not on your PC. When Apple rolls out iOS 13, the company will add dark mode to the iOS versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, OneDrive, Planner, and To-Do on mobile.

“While some Dark Mode experiences can be neon or overly bright, people felt that Outlook mobile kept the kind of relaxed feeling you might want in a dimly lit living room or bedroom,” Jon Friedman, the chief designer for Office 365, wrote in a blog post on Medium. “They described the experience as comfortable, crisp, clear, and aesthetically pleasing, a nod to how Dark Mode can reduce eye strain.”

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“It’s all about decisions, isn’t it?” says the steely-eyed Curator. “Decisions made in a hurry, in a panic.”

He peers across the table, holding judgment over my own decisions. One mistake, even made in ignorance, can be the difference between surviving Man of Medan or leading your characters to a grisly end. Run or hide. Take the knife or leave it behind. Apologize or say something sarcastic. Open the coffin or—

Wait, why would you open the damn coffin? Have you never seen a horror film before?

Creepy crashes

Four years ago, Until Dawn adapted Telltale’s branching-story structure to the horror genre, to great success. The catch? It was a PlayStation 4 exclusive, one of the handful of games that convinced me to buy that console in fact.

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Your laptop’s built-in speakers aren’t doing any favors for the gigs and gigs of music and movies on your hard drive. Even the best ones can leave your audio sounding thin and lifeless. External PC speakers—along with a good set of headphones—are a must for getting the best fidelity from your media files.

A trip online or to your favorite electronics store will reveal a head-spinning variety of options in this category, with some systems costing as much or more than you paid for your laptop. You don’t need to take out a personal loan to upgrade your audio, though. Quality speakers can be found even with a budget of around $100. And while there is a certain degree of “you get what you pay for” at this price level, you’ll be rewarded with satisfying sound if you’re willing to make a few compromises.

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Whatever you call the next Microsoft Edge—Microsoft Edgium? Microsoft Edge, built on Chromium? ChromEdge?—Microsoft’s fusion of the Chromium browser and the traditional Microsoft Edge is worth trying out, though the current beta version is a bit heavier than the traditional Edge.

Last week, Microsoft announced a stable beta channel for what it’s calling the next version of Microsoft Edge. Microsoft’s Edge browser will now be designed around Chromium, the open-source version of Google Chrome. Edgium—a convenient nickname, if one that Microsoft devs seem to hate—should feel familiar to both Edge and Chrome users, with a well-stocked larder of Microsoft-vetted extensions, as well as a gateway to the traditional Chrome store.

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Most of us flit among multiple devices throughout the day, so it’s reasonable to expect our “computer” speakers to do so as well. Logitech’s Z207 speaker system was designed with this in mind. Supporting both wired and wireless connections, it can effortlessly switch from your PC to your tablet to your phone, bringing rich, room-filling sound to your media wherever it’s stored.

This review is part of our ongoing roundup of the best budget computer speakers. Go there for information on competing products and how we tested. 

Each of the speaker enclosures measures about 9.5 x 3.5 x 4.9 inches (HWD) and weighs just over 2 pounds. They’re constructed entirely of plastic, including the attached stands. My review model had a matte-black finish, but they're also available in white. Both enclosures contain one uncovered speaker driver that handles the mid and high tones, and one passive radiator for the bass.

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Join The Full Nerd gang as they talk about the latest PC hardware topics. Today's show covers quite possibly the killer app for real time ray tracing: Control from Remedy, the death of AMD's Radeon VII, the best best time to buy PC hardware, and more. As always we will be answering your live questions so speak up in the chat.

If YouTube is not your thing you can also watch us on Twitch, Facebook, and Twitter.

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Microsoft has issued an invitation for an event on October 2 in New York City, the traditional time and place for new Surface hardware.

Microsoft isn’t explicitly tying the event to Surface—it’s billed as a “#MicrosoftEvent,” complete with hashtag, and with a line drawing of the Windows logo.That likely implies that Microsoft will be touting both new Surface hardware as well as new Windows 10 updates, together with the apps and services that connect to it.

Microsoft launched the Surface Pro 6, the Surface Laptop 2, the Surface Studio 2, and the Surface Headphones in October 2018. None dramatically revamped the Surface experience, though all of the computing hardware featured an updated, quad-core, 8th-gen Intel Core chip. Could the Surface Pro 7, Surface Laptop 3, and a Surface Studio 3 be on the way?

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Few of us ever get a chance to start over from scratch, but last night World of Warcraft players got exactly that with the launch of WoW Classic.

Blizzard Entertainment’s “newest” game is essentially the popular massive multiplayer online roleplaying game exactly as it played in 2004, right down to molasses-paced quest text, a dearth of quest markers, and enemies so tough that you feel compelled to group up with other players to beat them. Together, features like these made World of Warcraft’s earliest incarnation more social than its current form, and almost 15 years ago they helped lay the foundation for some of the most enduring friendships of my life.

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