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Computer company Framework wants you to upgrade and repair your laptop
Computer company Framework wants you to upgrade and repair your laptop
Framework
A common complaint about modern laptops is that they're essentially sealed boxes with no user-serviceable parts inside. A new tech startup, Framework, wants to bring the DIY vibe back to portable PCs with laptops that encourage tinkering and upgrading.
Laptops used to come with removable batteries at least, and sometimes they'd have upgradable RAM, storage or even GPUs. Today, that's the rare exception to the rule, especially with companies such as Apple integrating batteries tightly into the design -- MacBooks are essentially laptop-shaped batteries with tiny bits of computer wrapped around them. Many manufacturers now also solder RAM and storage directly to the motherboard.
Expansion bays allow for swappable ports.
Framework
The Framework Laptop is a 13.5-inch system that the company says was designed to, "empower you with great products you can easily customize, upgrade, and repair, increasing longevity and reducing e-waste in the process."
In this case, that means an expansion card system, socketed storage and RAM and a (hypothetically) replaceable main board and central processing unit. Also, "high-use parts like the battery, screen, keyboard and color-customizable magnetic-attach bezel are easy to replace, with spares available directly through our web store."
It sounds like a great idea, at least on paper, and the four accessory bays can choose between housing inserts for USB-C, USB-A, HDMI, DisplayPort, MicroSD, extra storage or even a dedicated headphone amp.
The base system will weigh just under 3 pounds and be 15.9mm thick. Other key specs include:
13.5-inch, 3:2 aspect ratio 2256x1504 display
1080p 60fps webcam
57Wh replaceable battery
11th Gen Intel Core Processors
Wi-Fi 6
Up to 64GB of DDR4 memory and 4TB of storage
The Framework company was founded by Nirav Patel, one of the early members of the Oculus team dating back to its Kickstarter days, and later the company's head of hardware. Pricing, exact specs and availability details for the Framework Laptop line will be forthcoming, with an expected launch this summer. Three base models will ship with Windows 10 Home or Pro, and a DIY edition will let you install your OS of choice -- yes, even Linux.
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Best MacBook Pro Alternatives for 2022
Best MacBook Pro Alternatives for 2022
Fortunately for Apple users, Apple has made some much needed changes to MacBook Pro in the latest generations. That means no more awful keyboard, annoying Touch Bar or overreliance on Thunderbolt/USB-C connections. The latest models of the 14-inch MacBook Pro and the 16-inch MacBook Pro come with M1 series processors, a top-notch design and displays with mini-LED backlighting. Apple also added back some of the ports that were missing in previous generations and removed the Touch Bar.
But the fact remains that there's a far bigger variety of designs, feature sets and display choices for Windows laptops and Chromebooks, and Windows remains the preferred platform for playing games locally. Cloud gaming lets Macs circumvent the gaming problem to a certain extent, but not completely; only a fraction of the universe of games is playable via the cloud.
An entry-level MacBook can stretch the limits of your budget, and those who've set aside a nice chunk of cash might want something a little more customizable. No one can deny that one appealing thing about Windows laptops is the variety. Even when trying to imitate the offerings of a MacBook (or an iPad or iPad Pro) there are all sizes of far less expensive Chromebooks, as well as 14- and 15-inch laptops that are slightly smaller and lighter than the 16-inch MacBook Pro, but not quite as small as the 13-inch MacBook Air, across the price spectrum. You can also get more variety, with alternatives like 2-in-1s. Plus, we're seeing lots of experimentation with multiscreen designs.
This list is periodically updated with new models we've tested and reviewed. It's a great place to start to get an idea of what's available. If you need advice on whether a particular type of laptop or two-in-one is right for you, jump to our laptop FAQ at the bottom of the list.
So when you want to go Windows, here are our recommendations for laptops to fill that MacBook-size void in your life.
Lori Grunin/CNET
If, like me, you're not a fan of OLED screens for photo editing -- they're not optimized for Adobe RGB and aren't great at tonal range in the shadows -- then what you need is a laptop with a good IPS display. The Dell XPS 17 9720 with the 4K screen option delivers that, and it's not as reflective as the OLED screens I've seen. Dell's PremierColor software isn't perfect, but it gives you more control over screen settings than most I've seen, and it has two Thunderbolt 3 controllers to make your external drives happy. It's heavier than the MacBook, but not much bigger, especially given its larger 17-inch screen. And while its battery life isn't terrific, its performance can certainly keep up.
And a great lower-cost alternative is the Dell Inspiron 16 Plus, which doesn't head to the front of the line primarily because of its lower build quality, and I'm assuming that if you're looking for a MacBook Pro equivalent you want the metal chassis, better screen and higher-end components. But if you also want to save as much as $1,000, it's worth considering.
Read Dell XPS 17 9720 review
Lori Grunin/CNET
If you're drawn to a MacBook Pro for its featureless-slab aesthetic, Razer's your Windows go-to. If you want one that roughly matches the 14-inch Pro for design, size and weight, the Blade 14 is your option; its little brother, the Razer Book 13 makes a great alternative to the 13-inch MacBook Pro when you want something a bit smaller and less expensive.
A smaller version than the 15-inch staple, the 14-inch Razer Blade delivers a lot of gaming power for its size without feeling small -- an important consideration for a gaming laptop, and one that Apple doesn't need to worry about -- but has decent battery life, a nice size for travel and a subtle design (for a gaming laptop) that's buttoned-up enough for sitting in a meeting with the top brass or clients.
Read our Razer Blade 14 (2021) review.
Josh Goldman/CNET
Dell's XPS 13 is a 13.3-inch laptop that's so trimmed up that the body is basically the size of an older 11.6-inch laptop. Being part of the company's XPS line means both its chassis and components are top-notch for its class, so you're getting great battery life and performance, too. Power delivery is via USB-C and it comes with a microSD reader and headphone jack. It comes in both a standard clamshell as well as the two-in-one, but I prefer the two-in-one because you can fold it up into a tablet if you have to work in a cramped space.
Read our Dell XPS 2-in-1 review.
Josh Goldman/CNET
What's better than the Touch Bar? An entire half-screen second display, that's what. The Duo's tilt-up second screen can act as an ancillary display, an extension of the primary display (for viewing those long web pages) or a separate control center from which you can run Asus' custom utilities or as control surfaces for select creative applications. Plus, Asus excels at squeezing every bit of performance out of its high-end laptops, and the 14-inch delivers great battery life, as well.
It comes in two models, 15-inch and the 2021 14-inch Duo 14 that we reviewed. The Duo 14 has either 11th-gen Core i5 or i7 processors, optional Nvidia MX450 discrete graphics and up to 32GB of memory.
Read our Asus ZenBook Duo review.
Commonly asked questions
Which is faster, a MacBook or a Windows laptop?
That's an almost impossible question to answer.
For one thing, it's a moving target. We're starting to see Windows models featuring Intel's new 12th-gen CPUs, which has the same hybrid core architecture as Apple's M1 chips, as well as new mobile GPUs. We haven't yet had a chance to test out many of these next-gen models, but it's safe to assume that Apple's M1 processors will be facing some stiff competition.
And thus far, Apple hasn't even launched an M1 MacBook with a discrete GPU, though its integrated graphics seem to scale up to compete with current low-end Nvidia and AMD graphics up to about the RTX 3070 and Radeon RX 6800M, and definitely improves on previous Intel-based Macs though neither is really surprising. But it means that at the high end we're still in sort of a MacBook holding pattern when it comes to comparisons with heavier Windows options.
Plus, differences in operating systems complicate things. Mac OS has long been more efficient than Windows and that's only improved now that Apple owns its entire food chain. But it doesn't need to worry about compatibility with partner systems and myriad different components. Then toss in difficulties getting repeatable, comparable, representative and broad-based benchmark results for cross-platform comparisons... well, I don't feel like going down that rabbit hole right now.
Is a MacBook Pro better for content creation than a Windows laptop?
Once again, a difficult question to answer because there's no sweeping generalizations you can make. If you're basing the concern on Windows' old reputation for being inferior for graphics work, it was accurate at the time but is no longer true.
Screens on Windows laptops have come a long way, and convertibles (aka two-in-ones) mean you can paint or sketch directly on the laptop screen. With a MacBook you'd need to buy an iPad as well.
Some graphics applications are only available on one platform or the other, so figuring out which ones you need and which you can switch away from is the first thing to decide before you choose between Windows and MacOS. Also consider that MacOS no longer supports 32-bit applications, so if you've got an old favorite that hasn't been updated -- this happens most with small utilities -- but still exists on Windows, that's something to think about.
Some applications may also be better optimized for one platform than the other, or rely on a specific GPU from AMD or Nvidia for their best acceleration. Since you can't really use an Nvidia card with a Mac and none of the M1 MacBooks incorporate any discrete graphics, Windows is probably a better bet, especially for programs that rely on Nvidia's CUDA programming interface. Think about any accessories you need, as well -- the drivers and utilities you need to use them may not be available or be stripped down on one or the other.
MacBooks may run faster than equivalently configured Windows laptops simply because MacOS is a lot more tightly integrated with the hardware than Windows can ever be on its side of the fence. Microsoft simply has to support a much wider variety of hardware than Apple will ever need to, and that adds performance overhead; this can be especially important for activities sensitive to latency, like audio recording. Windows' flexibility is both its strength and its weakness.
How we test computers
The review process for laptops, desktops, tablets and other computer-like devices consists of two parts: performance testing under controlled conditions in the CNET Labs and extensive hands-on use by our expert reviewers. This includes evaluating a device's aesthetics, ergonomics and features. A final review verdict is a combination of both those objective and subjective judgments.
The list of benchmarking software we use changes over time as the devices we test evolve. The most important core tests we're currently running on every compatible computer include: Primate Labs Geekbench 5, Cinebench R23, PCMark 10 and 3DMark Fire Strike Ultra.
A more detailed description of each benchmark and how we use it can be found in our How We Test Computers page.
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Apple's custom-built M1 processor and the new MacBook Airs, MacBook Pros and Mac Minis that use it are a problem for Intel. The divorce proceedings will last about two years as the prestigious customer gradually ejects Intel's chips from its personal computers.
But Intel isn't doomed.
The Santa Clara, California, company has some advantages and options in the PC market that insulate it from Apple's threat. Other PC makers aren't going to have as easy a time as Apple in moving past Intel. Intel is still the leader in higher-end chips more powerful than the M1. And it's got enough money on hand -- $18.25 billion in cash, equivalents and investments -- to let it spend its way to a better situation.
"There isn't much near-term threat to Intel's PC business beyond losing one sizable customer," said Linley Group analyst Linley Gwennap. That doesn't mean it's going to be easy for Intel, though.
Giving Apple grounds for divorce is the latest of the chipmaker's whiffs. Earlier achievements, like charting decades of steady chip industry progress with Moore's Law, pioneering PC technology standards and powering Google's data centers, have been overshadowed by newer flubs. That includes losing its manufacturing lead and failing to tap into the smartphone market. Intel ultimately sold its cellular chip business to Apple for $1 billion.
Though Macs account for only about 8.5% of the PC market, according to IDC, Apple remains one of the biggest and most influential tech companies. Its MacBook Air models led the trend to slim but useful laptops, its MacBook Pro models remain popular with programmers and the creative set, and Apple profits from selling premium machines costing hundreds of dollars more than most Windows PCs.
Losing Apple's business will sting. New Street Research analyst Pierre Ferragu estimated in a Wednesday report that 4% to 5% of Intel's revenue comes from Apple. But it's just one of the concerns Intel will need to address.
Intel said it's "relentlessly" focused on building leading chips. "We welcome competition because it makes us better," Intel said in a statement. "We believe that there is a lot of innovation that only Intel can do," including supplying chips that span the full price range of PCs and that can run older software still common in businesses.
It's also built its first samples of the 2021 Alder Lake PC chips and expects improvements in 2022 and beyond. "We're increasingly confident in the leadership our 2023 products will deliver," the company said.
Intel faces several challenges along the way, though.
The Qualcomm worry
One of the biggest concerns tied to the arrival of Apple's M1 is that it could embolden another Intel rival, Qualcomm, which already sells mobile-based processors for PCs.
The M1 is a member of the Arm family of processors that are used in every smartphone today. Qualcomm, a leading designer of those chips for Android phone makers, is pushing more-powerful versions of its Snapdragon chips for PCs, too, and several PC makers offer Windows laptops using them.
So far, though, Arm-based Windows laptops have shown lackluster performance and remain a rarity among customers. Arm PC makers have to prove better value and performance before more people adopt the machines, said CCS Insight analyst Wayne Lam.
Apple's transition to Arm-family M1 chips is also very different from Windows PC makers using Qualcomm chips. No PC maker is dumping Intel the way Apple is, so software makers don't need to worry as much about adapting their products for the new chip architecture. Though it might be nice to have, Qualcomm PC support isn't really essential.
The AMD threat
Intel is the dominant manufacturer of chips in the x86 family, which are the kind of processors you'd find in a normal laptop. But it's not the only x86 chipmaker.
"AMD is a greater threat in the near term," said Tirias Research's Kevin Krewell, who noted that PC makers aren't going to be quick to drop the industry standard family of x86 chips.
AMD has done well with high-end desktop processors, chiefly for gamers, and is making inroads in the server market, too. It's using Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. for manufacturing, taking advantage of its miniaturization progress to cram more circuitry onto new chips. Its new Zen 3 chip design offers a substantial speed boost.
In contrast, Intel, which manufactures its own chips, has struggled. It's only now moving in earnest from an earlier manufacturing technology with 14-nanometer features to a newer 10nm process after years of delays. Even next year's Rocket Lake chip for desktop computers will still be built with the 14nm process. (A nanometer is a billionth of a meter, and the smaller the measurement, the more transistors you can cram into a chip.)
AMD's Ryzen 5000 processor family, with up to 16 processing cores, challenges Intel in gaming PCs.
AMD
New manufacturing options
Intel is giving itself new options, including the ability to use other manufacturers like TSMC to build its chips. That's got risks, too, though, Gwennap said.
Moving some manufacturing to a partner makes it harder for Intel to justify the expense of trying to develop cutting-edge manufacturing, according to Gwennap. And the possibility that Intel could reclaim manufacturing once it fixes its problems could spook TSMC away from investing enough to meet Intel's massive demand.
Intel didn't comment on its manufacturing plan details. It said its integrated design and manufacturing approach helps competitiveness and in letting Intel assure customers it can supply the chips they need. "We've also been clear we will continue investing in leading process technology development," Intel said.
Apple, in contrast, has benefited from TSMC's steadily improved manufacturing. It's one reason it can fit a whopping 16 billion transistors onto its M1 chip, enough circuitry to power the main processor engines along with lots of extra abilities.
Apple's M1 starts small
Over and over during the new Mac launch event, Apple emphasized the performance per watt advantages of the M1. Translate that as being able to do useful work without draining a laptop battery fast.
Apple gets this advantage from the M1's lineage: the A series of processors that power iPhones. Smartphone chips have even stronger battery constraints than laptop chips. With the M1, a close relative of the iPhone 12's A14, Apple gets to add more transistor circuitry for more processing power and can run the chip at a higher clock speed than in phones, too.
Apple steadily increased A series chip performance for years, evolving the chip design and taking advantage of the prowess of TSMC, which manufactures the chips. Speed tests published by tech site Anandtech using the SPECint2006 benchmark show the A14 surpassing Intel's quad-core laptop chip, the 3GHz Core i7 1185G7 model that's a member of the new Tiger Lake processor family.
But the reality is that even Apple isn't ready to use the M1 in brawnier systems. The MacBook Air is all-in on M1, but Apple continues to rely on Intel for higher-powered 13-inch MacBook Pros. The 16-inch MacBook Pro, the iMac, the iMac Pro and the Mac Pro will continue to use Intel processors as Apple moves through a two-year transition to its own chips.
"It will get really interesting when Apple starts specifically optimizing its architecture for higher performance in a bigger thermal envelope and constant power for desktops," Techsponential analyst Avi Greengart said.
So yes, Intel has challenges. Apple's M1 is just the most obvious.
Sleek Lenovo Legion Y740S gaming laptop weighs just over 4 pounds -- but at a cost
Sleek Lenovo Legion Y740S gaming laptop weighs just over 4 pounds -- but at a cost
This story is part of CES, where CNET covers the latest news on the most incredible tech coming soon.
Lenovo's Legion gaming laptops offer good mainstream performance with designs that don't necessarily scream "gamer." So when I saw the announcement for the 15-inch Legion Y740S, a gaming laptop that weighs only 4.2 pounds (1.9 kg), is just 0.6-inch thick (14.9mm) starting at $1,100, and is expected to be on display at CES 2020 this week, I quickly searched for what discrete graphics chip would be in it to power my gaming on the go.
The answer is none. It has no discrete graphics.
The laptop will have up to a 10th-gen Intel Core i9 H-series processor. That chip's integrated graphics are expected to be good enough for entry-level gaming and other graphics tasks that Intel's integrated graphics weren't up for in the past. But for those who expect more from a gaming laptop than integrated graphics, which is everyone really, Lenovo has an answer.
In an interesting move, the company made an external Thunderbolt 3 GPU box to pair with the Y740S, the Legion BoostStation. Not every gaming manufacturer makes its own eGPU, but for Lenovo, the BoostStation enabled the ultraslim profile of the Y740S -- by putting the graphics on the outside. The eGPU itself bears a strong resemblance to a rotated version of Razer's Core X, with its slide-out tray, venting design, aluminum build and arrangement of the back Ethernet and USB ports.
The BoostStation is a bit less accommodating, though; it looks like it only fits a dual-width card instead of the triple-width slot on the Razer. However, you can use Lenovo's for external storage as well, with slots for a hard disk/SATA SSD or a pair of PCIe SSD modules, as long as the 500-watt power supply can accommodate your options.
Lenovo will offer pre-equipped versions of the BoostStation with Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060, 2070 or 2080 Super cards, a GTX 1660 Ti or an AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, though you can always choose your own graphics card. It starts at $250, which is a pretty good price for the empty box. It's expected to ship in May alongside the laptop. That's assuming Intel is able to deliver its processors on schedule, something it struggled to do much of last year.
One of the biggest issues with gaming laptops is that the GPU typically can't be upgraded, so at least this gives you options. But without discrete graphics built in, is the Legion Y740S even a gaming laptop? Lenovo gave it a new keyboard design with tactile feedback that it says is better for gameplay. But it also used a display panel with a 60Hz refresh rate, whereas much of its competition has moved to 120Hz panels (or faster) for smoother visuals. In the end, it's a thin-and-light 15-inch laptop with an edgier design and a few gaming features thrown in, but you'll need to spend more on the eGPU if you want to actually game with it.
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AMD reveals Ryzen 5000 series mobile processors at CES 2021
AMD reveals Ryzen 5000 series mobile processors at CES 2021
This story is part of CES, where CNET covers the latest news on the most incredible tech coming soon.
AMD announced its Ryzen 5000 series mobile processors on Tuesday, with Chief Executive Lisa Su taking to the virtual stage for her CES 2021 keynote. The new line includes a 35 watt version intended for a new generation of thin-and-light gaming laptops, directly competing with the 11th-gen Tiger Lake H35 CPUs announced by Intel the previous day. It also includes low-power U series processors which are used in mainstream lightweight laptop designs.
The reveal follows the graphics card maker's reveal of the desktop equivalent in November, which debuted the Zen 3 processing cores, the latest version of the 7nm architecture on which the bulk of the Ryzen 5000 series is based. For the H series, which for both Intel and AMD denotes the higher-powered processors, AMD adds a new HX tier; those CPUs can be overclocked, accessing power beyond their base 45w rating for better performance.
AMD Ryzen 5000 series mobile processors
Cores/threads
TDP
Base clock
Single-core boost clock
Ryzen 9 5980HX
8/16
45+w
3.3
4.8
Ryzen 9 5980HS
8/16
35w
3.0
4.8
Ryzen 9 5900HX
8/16
45+w
3.3
4.6
Ryzen 9 5900HS
8/16
35w
3.0
4.6
Ryzen 7 5800H
8/16
45w
3.2
4.4
Ryzen 7 5800HS
8/16
35w
2.8
4.4
Ryzen 5 5600H
6/12
45w
3.3
4.2
Ryzen 5 5600HS
6/12
35w
3.0
4.2
Ryzen 7 5800U
8/16
15w
1.9
4.4
Ryzen 7 5700U
8/16
15w
1.8
4.3
Ryzen 5 5600U
6/12
15w
2.3
4.2
Ryzen 5 5500U
6/12
15w
2.1
4.0
Ryzen 3 5300U
4/8
15w
2.6
3.8
A host of laptop manufacturers launched new and refreshed models incorporating the 5000-series CPUs. Most notable is Asus, which incorporates the highest-end Ryzen 9 parts in multiple systems, including the novel ROG Flow X13 with the 5980HS and the ROG Zephyrus Duo SE and ROG Strix Scar, both of which top out with the 5900HX. The Acer Nitro 5 will come in a model with the 5900HX.
Not all the 5000 series CPUs take advantage of Zen 3, though. Of the U series processors announced at CES, only the Ryzen 7 5800U and Ryzen 5 5600U do; the others are based on Zen 2, the same as the last generation of Ryzen 4000 mobile CPUs launched a year ago. There are several differences between Zen 2 and Zen 3, but perhaps most important in this context is Zen 3 delivers better performance per watt. In other words, better battery life.
As for actual performance in a head-to-head with Intel's equivalents, that will have to wait until we start getting models in to test. (Both AMD and Intel cite test results compared to each other, but those aren't very meaningful.)
Su also offered a demonstration of AMD's upcoming third-generation Epyc server chip, code-named Milan, running weather forecasting software. In the test, a server with dual processors, each with 32 cores, outpaced a dual-processor Intel server using Xeon Gold 6258R chips with a 68% performance advantage.
That's the kind of performance that appeals to customers like Lucasfilm, which built a special effects studio in Sydney entirely with AMD-based systems. "We just need as much firepower as possible," said François Chardavoine, Lucasfilm's vice president of technology, during the keynote.
Su also highlighted AMD's efforts to help COVID-19 research, having donated computing power to universities across the world, an effort that's used AMD's Epyc processors.
Dell XPS 13 (winter 2013) review: Still can't touch this sleek ultrabook
Dell XPS 13 (winter 2013) review: Still can't touch this sleek ultrabook
A little over a year ago, Dell debuted a then-quite-impressive little 13-inch laptop called the XPS 13. Aimed at the part of the business market that's become increasingly enamored of the MacBook Air and Windows ultrabooks, the XPS 13 was technically geared toward business customers, but with lots of stylistic flourishes and compact appeal. It was like a Windows MacBook Air, but with less impressive battery life. We called it the "Dellbook Air."
The XPS 13 is back for a second go in 2013, but it doesn't seem to have gotten the "Windows 8 touch" memo. Yes, it now has third-gen Intel Core i5/i7 processors, two USB 3.0 ports, and a higher-resolution 1080p screen. But a touch display? No.
Last year, we said this about the XPS 13's main drawbacks: "A limited port selection doesn't include HDMI or an SD card slot; the display should be better; and battery life falls behind other slim laptops." The new XPS 13 adds a fancy 1080p screen and gains a little more battery life, but that screen option will cost you: the 1080p version costs $1,299.
Sarah Tew / CNET
Can you live without touch on a laptop? Do you like the idea of a tweaked version of last year's XPS 13 in the current laptop world? There's really nothing wrong with what this new Dell XPS 13 brings to the table, but it's expensive, a bit heavy compared with other ultrabooks, and it lacks touch, which should be a major consideration when moving to Windows 8. Call it an old-fashioned ultrabook.
Price as reviewed / starting price
$1,599 / $999
Processor
1.9GHz Intel Core i7-3517U
Memory
8GB, 1,600MHz DDR3
Hard drive
256GB SSD
Chipset
Intel QS67
Graphics
Intel HD4000
Operating system
Windows 8
Dimensions (WD)
12.4x8.1 inches
Height
0.24-0.71 inch
Screen size (diagonal)
13.3 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter
3.0 pounds / 3.6 pounds
Category
13-inch
The Dell XPS 13 might have been one of the best-designed Dells since the Adamo. Soft-touch finishes, an elegant keyboard, sleek metal, and solid construction give instantly strong first impressions. The new XPS 13 isn't much different, and it still presents itself well.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Its footprint is smaller than a 13-inch MacBook Air, giving it something of the feel of a 12-inch laptop. The narrower footprint feels right, and the keyboard hasn't been compromised. A magnetic hinge opens smoothly, and the lid has just enough bezel to provide finger room to open and close, while maxing out screen real estate.
Did I say the XPS 13 seemed heavy and thick? Maybe that's unfair. It actually weighs an even 3 pounds, which is lighter than the 13-inch Air. It's 0.71 inch thick at its thickest point, tapering down to the other end. That's certainly slim and light enough for a 13-inch ultrabook, but the XPS 13 may be a psychological victim of its own small (for a 13-inch) footprint. It feels almost like an 11-inch Air in terms of dimensions, but the 11-inch Air is indeed lighter.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Lining up the new XPS 13 with last year's, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. So, our opinion stays the same, cosmetically: the backlit keyboard is comfortable and spacious, and the multitouch clickable touch pad has ample finger room.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Ah, but now the spectre of Windows 8 casts its shadow. Windows 8 is a touch-oriented OS. It's arguably not necessary, but you'll miss it on many of Microsoft's native apps. That touch pad is your lone tool to interface via touch at all, and in this case, it's just not as responsive as better versions out there. In particular, off-edge swipe gestures, which can be used to bring up Windows 8 functions, are hard to pull off.
Sarah Tew/CNET
The best -- and worst -- new feature of this XPS 13 is its 13-inch 1080p Gorilla Glass-covered display: it's crisp, bright, vivid, and looks great at all angles. It's a big step up compared to the average laptop, and better than the display on the MacBook Air. But not all XPS 13 models have it: step-down versions have 1,366x768-pixel displays, which I didn't test. That 1080p on a 13-inch screen used to look crammed, but the nice thing about Windows 8 is that its new tile interface and full-screen apps generally take advantage of higher-res smaller screens in ways that don't shrink and cram text and buttons down like Windows 7 did. It's a better experience.
But, I'll say it once again: there's no touch screen. I harp on that because this is a $1,600 computer, and there are touch ultrabooks out there for half that price. That may not matter to some people, but in the Windows 8 world, ultrabooks are routinely getting touch-screen makeovers without great cost. Top-end laptops are starting to have touch by default. The Dell XPS 13's lack of touch just feels like an oversight. At this price, it should at least have a touch-screen option. In a Windows 8 world, touch is just too potentially useful to completely ignore.
The 0.9-megapixel Webcam takes grainy pictures, and isn't as good as others I've seen.
Dell XPS 13 (2013)
Average for category [13-inch]
Video
Mini DisplayPort
HDMI or DisplayPort
Audio
Stereo speakers, combo headphone/microphone jack
Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks
Data
2 USB 3.0
2 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, SD card reader
Networking
802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Optical drive
None
DVD burner
Ports, configurations, performance The ports are sparse indeed on the XPS 13: two USB 3.0 ports and a Mini DisplayPort. No HDMI, no Ethernet, not even an SD card slot. I can forgive the first two, but not the third. There's plenty of room.
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This XPS 13 review unit is the highest-end model, the surf-and-turf of Dell's fleet: Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD, 1080p display, for $1,599. The lowest-end XPS 13 starts at $999, and has more-standard specs: Core i5, 4GB of RAM, 128GB SSD, but only a 1,366x768-pixel display. You can mix and match specs to some degree, but for 1080p you have to step up to a $1,299 model with 4GB RAM and a 128GB SSD. Sure, that sort of matches a MacBook Air, but it's hard to swallow for a PC -- especially one that lacks a touch screen.
The Core i7-3537 CPU is a little faster than the Core i7-3517 in the step-down 720p models, and handled as well as you'd expect a top-end, third-gen Intel ultrabook processor to perform. It's one of the fastest we've tested in our benchmarks, but not by a huge degree. You're still stuck with Intel HD 4000 graphics, which are fine for most purposes but, at this price, fall short of serious PC graphics power.
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Battery life, warranty The killer differentiator in a lot of superportable ultrabooks often comes down to battery life. The original XPS 13 in 2012 was a disappointment, getting a little under 5 hours. The new XPS 13 does a little better, scoring 5 hours and 31 minutes in our video playback battery drain test. An extra 40 minutes is nice, but it doesn't quite match up to the 6-plus hours a lot of top-end ultrabooks can achieve.
Dell offers a one-year warranty with at-home service (after remote diagnosis) with the XPS 13, plus a year of 24-7 "premium" phone support (1-877-717-3355). This can be upgraded in various ways on Dell's Web site: $199 to extend to three years, or up to $349 for additional accidental damage protection and LoJack.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Conclusion: A great laptop...for 2012 The Dell XPS 13 is a slightly fancier version of last year's Dellbook Air: compact, functional, and upgraded with an excellent display. But its price -- and its lack of touch-screen options -- leave it as a product I'd have some reservations recommending for everyone. It feels like last year's product in a 2013 Windows 8 world that's moved on from basic ultrabooks -- or, at this price, one that at least includes touch. You might not need a touch screen, but believe me, at this price Dell should be including one. When it does, the XPS 13 might once again be a serious contender for best Windows 8 ultrabook.
Nvidia's Grace AI chip leaves Intel processors behind
Nvidia's Grace AI chip leaves Intel processors behind
Nvidia has a new chip in the works for boosting artificial intelligence and other high-performance computing work: Grace, a design slated to arrive in mammoth supercomputers in 2023. Instead of accelerating conventional Intel-powered servers, though, the design includes its own built-in Arm processors.
Nvidia's current brainiest chip, the A100, is typically yoked to Intel Xeon processors. Nvidia chips do the grunt work, but Intel chips oversee it. With Grace, named after pioneering programmer Grace Hopper, the company opted to embed several Arm Neoverse processor cores within the chip to speed up processing, said Paresh Kharya, an Nvidia senior director. The chip news arrived at Nvidia's GTC 2021 conference this week.
The new chip should let AI customers run computing tasks that are vastly more complex than is possible with today's chip designs, a step toward the general artificial intelligence that is the holy grail of today's machine learning research, said Cambrian AI Researach analyst Karl Freund in a blog post.
The design illustrates Nvidia's dramatic ascent -- and Intel's struggles. Even decades of dominance in technology don't guarantee success when the rules of computing are constantly being rewritten. Your laptop likely comes with an Intel chip, but an Nvidia chip was more likely responsible for important AI work like filtering spam, improving image quality or recognizing your voice when you call your bank.
Not so many years ago, Nvidia was just a component supplier, a designer of graphics chips called GPUs to boost PC performance. Intel's family of processors, or perhaps compatible rival AMD chips, shouldered most of the computing work. Intel, though, has struggled in recent years to keep pace with chip miniaturization and to capitalize on the exploding use of AI.
The result: Nvidia's market capitalization vaulted over Intel's, reaching $357 billion compared with Intel's $278 billion. Much of the growth has been propelled by the fact that GPUs also turned out to be pretty good at AI work, specifically the computationally intense training process that builds the models that later run in data centers, PCs and phones.
Also in the ascendant is Arm, which licenses the chip designs and technology that power every smartphone, new M1-based Apple Macs and the world's fastest supercomputer. Nvidia is seeking to acquire Arm for $40 billion, a move some rivals like Qualcomm object to. Grace's integrated Arm chips let Nvidia read data from memory many times faster than with current designs, the company said.
Nvidia's Selene machine, currently the world's fifth-fastest supercomputer, pairs A100 chips with AMD Epyc CPUs. A 2023 Grace-based machine called Alps at Switzerland's National Supercomputing Center should be seven times faster, Kharya said. The Los Alamos National Laboratory in the US also will buy a Grace-powered supercomputer.
Under new Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger, Intel is working to reclaim its manufacturing lead, planning to tap into others' manufacturing abilities while it works on miniaturizing its circuitry inscribing technology.
Intel is building AI abilities into its main processors while working on dedicated hardware, too. It folded its Nervana chips operation, but its Habana AI acceleration processors are still under active development.
One hot area for AI chips is autonomous vehicles, whose self-driving algorithms rely on processing in camera imagery and other sensor data. It's a core focus for Nvidia AI chip work, for example with its Orin chip scheduled to debut in 2022 vehicles.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced new processors for AI, graphics and supercomputing at the company's GTC event.
Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET
At GTC, Nvidia announced a new chip called Atlan with quadruple the performance. It should arrive in 2025 vehicles, said Danny Shapiro, Nvidia's senior director of automotive work. Like Orin and Grace, Atlan relies on Arm cores, too.
Nvidia also announced a grander autonomous vehicle technology package called Hyperion 8. It combines two Orin processors with a host of sensors: eight exterior cameras, four exterior wider-angle fisheye cameras, three interior cameras, nine radar scanners and one lidar 3D scanner. The technology should arrive later in 2021.
Nvidia extended a partnership with Volvo, the companies said. Volvo plans to use Orin chips in its next-generation vehicles.
Intel has its own autonomous vehicle division, Mobileye. Tesla develops its own AI chips for its cars.
