It might seem early, but VPN deals have already begun for Black Friday — and these early deals from VPN providers look to be among the best ever. What’s more, you can make your purchase now and rest assured you’re getting the best price. Most VPN services start their discounts early and run the same deals through the entirety of the holiday season. We’re already seeing some great discounts on our Editors’ Choice picks, including ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark, and more. We’ll continue to track down and highlight the best VPN deals on offer leading up to and during Black Friday 2024. Best early Black Friday VPN deals ExpressVPN, $4.99 per month for 24 months + 6 free months (61% off at ExpressVPN) Surfshark VPN, $2.49 per month for 24 months + 4 free months (86% off at Surfshark) NordVPN, $4.49 per month for 24 months + 3 free months (70% off at NordVPN) Private Internet Access, $2.03 per month for 36 months + 3 free months (83% off at PIA) Proton VPN, $2.99 per month for 12 months (70% off at ProtonVPN) PrivadoVPN, $1.99 per month for 24 months + 3 free months (82% off at Privado VPN) IPVanish VPN, $2.19 per month for 24 months (83% off at IPVanish) Our Editors’ Choice and top overall VPN pick, ExpressVPN is offering a great deal on its long-term 2-year plan for $4.99 per month (61 percent off). The real kicker, though, is the extremely generous six extra months thrown in for new subscribers. That means not only are you getting the best VPN on the market at a steep discount, but you’ll also enjoy the service for an additional half of a year without paying an extra cent. Surfshark is another of our top picks here at PCWorld, and this one’s on sale for just $2.49 per month for two years (86 percent off). They also provide an additional four extra months for free when you sign up. Alternatively, you could opt for the NordVPN deal that’s currently $4.49 per month for two years (70 percent off). Both services come with a stacked line-up of privacy and security features. Personally, I think the Surfshark deal is a bit better — it comes with fewer features and the speeds are just a tad slower, but the price can’t be beat. FAQ 1. When is Black Friday? This year, Black Friday falls on Friday, Nov 29. However, many services have already started offering great discounts on VPNs. Keep your eyes tuned to PCWorld for the best VPN deal alerts. We’ll be covering discounts now through November and on to Cyber Monday, Dec 2. 2. What is a VPN? A VPN creates a secure tunnel between your PC and the internet. You connect to a VPN server, which can be located in the United States or a foreign country (like France or Japan). Your web traffic then goes through that server to make it appear as though you’re browsing from that server’s location and not from your actual location. When you’re using a VPN, it’s difficult for others to snoop on your web-browsing activity. Only you, the VPN service, and the website you’re visiting will know what you’re up to.  A VPN can be a great solution to a variety of concerns, such as online privacy, anonymity, greater security on public Wi-Fi, and, of course, spoofing locations. 3. What should I look for in a Black Friday VPN deal? There are a few things you should keep in mind when shopping for a good VPN deal. The first thing to consider is, of course, your budget. How much are you willing to spend each month? How much can you afford to drop on a longer-term plan with an upfront payment? You’ll also need to determine how long you intend to use the VPN. Do you just need it for a short trip? A few months? Or forever? The very best VPN deals are generally on longer-term plans for 2 or 3 years. After you decide on your budget and how long you’ll use the VPN, next you can start comparing features. Look at the number of servers and locations for each VPN. A good starting point is to look for services that have at least 1,000 servers and 30 or more country locations. The next thing to consider is VPN speed. This may be tricky to do since you aren’t likely to be able to test connection speeds without first paying to use the service. Reading reviews online will give you a general estimate. Look for reviews, like ours, that give you a relative average of connection speeds rather than direct Mbps speed comparisons for a more accurate picture. Finally, compare each VPN’s privacy protections. Does it have a no-logs policy? Has it undergone any independent audits of its servers? Where is the VPN company located? All of these are critical and you’ll want to go with a VPN that has clear and transparent data collection policies. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Great value Flexible form factor Surprisingly good keyboard Amazing battery life Cons Needs more RAM Android apps don’t run well Vertical kickstand reduces horizontal options Our Verdict The 2024 edition of the Chromebook Duet doubles down on its hybrid form factor and budget price. Lenovo has refined this design very well, and it remains a great choice if you want a cheap, reliable Chromebook that fits in small spaces and can do some light tablet duty. Just keep an eye on your tabs. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Lenovo Chromebook Duet (2024) Retailer Price $319.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Google representatives tell me that the Lenovo Chromebook Duet series is the best-selling Chromebook ever, and I believe them. With a low price, a Surface-style form factor, and a bit of an iPad look when all the extras are stripped off, it’s an appealing package, especially if you’re more comfortable with a touchscreen than with a mouse. The new version of the Chromebook Duet is an improvement in almost every way. The new revision to the model is an improvement in almost every way. While it still doesn’t handle heavy desktop-style tasks or Android apps very adroitly, it’s an excellent budget device if you want a little more flexibility than a standard laptop. Further reading: Best Chromebooks 2024: Best overall, best battery life, and more Lenovo Chromebook Duet: Physical Design  The newest ” Gen 9? model looks extremely familiar to the first two models but with more refinement. It’s still a tablet first, at least in a purely physical sense, with a little more of a focus on conventional web browsing thanks to ChromeOS. And while I appreciate the included stylus, its value proposition isn’t quite as good as it used to be, especially if you want the 8GB memory upgrade. And trust me, you want that upgrade.  Michael Crider/Foundry The Duet is an 11-inch tablet and bare of all its accouterments, you might confuse it for a standard iPad at first glance. But a little handling time quickly puts that notion to rest. It’s horizontally aligned, with a wider 19:10 LCD screen and a webcam poking out from the side with a handy physical shutter. You’ll also notice two different USB-C ports, one on the left side if you’re using it in laptop mode, and one on the top. An extra port for accessories and charging, but what’s with that weirdo placement?  Michael Crider/Foundry It makes sense when you notice the updated magnetic kickstand. This design dispenses with the fabric, allows a hole for the magnetically-charging stylus, and crucially, has a bit of a kink to it. The slanted angle allows the Duet to stand up in either horizontal or vertical mode, and either way those USB-C ports are not obstructed. It’s a thoughtful touch, though I have to point out that accommodating two different modes here means there’s only one angle for the tablet to stand up in either one. I’d prefer the flexibility of multiple angles in horizontal mode since that’s the way I used it by far. Lenovo Chromebook Duet: Chromebook first, tablet second ChromeOS has made big improvements in its touch interface, but this is still a “Chromebook” and not a tablet, at least according to the branding. So most of my time with the Duet was spent using it laptop-style with the kickstand and combined keyboard, touchpad, and screen cover attached. And I was surprised at how comfortable this was. One of the few low points of the original design was that the keyboard was a bit cramped and didn’t have a lot of give to the keys. Lenovo seems to have addressed this with a new design. It still sits flat as a pancake, but the keys have increased travel distance and the layout keeps all the alphanumeric keys at full size despite the squished layout. That makes typing for extended periods surprisingly natural. It’s not as good as a high-quality keyboard with a full-sized layout, and it’s a far cry from Lenovo’s best-in-class ThinkPad keyboards. But considering the restrictions of both the form factor and the price, it’s pretty darn good. Michael Crider/Foundry Ditto for the touchpad, which is plastic instead of glass, but is more than serviceable for scootin’ your cursor across a tablet screen. The screen is also fine, if not outstanding. The 1920×1200 resolution is a lot wider than a standard tablet and a little taller than most laptops, which is a good compromise. It’s an IPS-LCD panel with good color accuracy and plenty of brightness. Again, nothing here is going to blow you away versus a more expensive device, but it’s all acceptably in the pretty-good zone for a gadget that starts at $360.  Here are the specs, though keep in mind that since this tablet is running Arm-based hardware, it’s not an apples-to-oranges comparison to most x86-based Chromebooks. Model number: 83HH0000US CPU: MediaTek Kompanio 838 Memory: 4/8GB Graphics: ARM Mali-G57 MC3 Display: 10.95? IPS-LCD, 1920×1200, 60Hz Storage: 64/128GB SSD Webcam: 5MP (8MP rear camera) Connectivity: 2 USB-C, proprietary keyboard, 3.5mm audio jack Battery capacity: 68Wh Dimensions: 255.3 x 166.84 x 7.69mm (with keyboard and stand, approximately 17mm) Weight: 1.21 pounds, 2.09 pounds with keyboard and stand MSRP: $359.99/$399.99 Lenovo Chromebook Duet: Mobile guts, mobile limitations For that price, you get a MediaTek processor (Arm, but that’s okay, ChromeOS don’t judge) with four primary cores and four efficiency cores, a spartan 64GB of storage, and just 4GB of RAM. The upgraded model, which Google sent me as the review unit, boosts those last two to 8GB and 128GB, respectively. For that upgrade, you’re charged the princely sum of $399.99. That’s more than you’d pay for a base-model iPad, but well below that same iPad with a keyboard and stylus.   The mobile hardware also gives this gadget mobile-style battery life, including a solid workday of runtime and standby that I was never able to exhaust even when the tablet spent days in my bag. In this area, it shines above most Chromebooks that compete with conventional laptops. It’s a trade-off for raw, number-crunching power, sure, but considering the audience this device is shooting for and the requirements it brings, it seems like a good one to me.  Michael Crider/Foundry Other hardware includes a 5MP front-facing camera and a single 8MP rear-facing shooter, which I imagine was thrown in with the Arm-based chipset, and which I can’t imagine many people using too often. The webcam isn’t great, especially since the default “laptop” angle has it pointing right up my nose. It’s sharp but washes out easily and doesn’t handle low levels of light well. The rear camera is a little better, but again, I doubt you’ll be using that one regularly.  The tablet has a proprietary magnetic connection for the keyboard and a headphone jack, the latter of which was notably absent in the original design. The magnets connecting the keyboard and affixing it to the screen when closed are nice and sturdy, far less likely to move around — they clung to a coffee shop’s metal exterior table when I went on a walk. I don’t think that was intentional, but it’s reassuring nonetheless. I could wish for a MicroSD card slot to augment the low storage, but beggars can’t be choosers. And yes, a $400 Chromebook that doubles as a tablet qualifies as a beggar in this context.  Michael Crider/Foundry The Duet is surprisingly capable as a laptop, or as close to a laptop as something using the Surface form factor gets. The “good enough” display and keyboard combo lets you use it for hours without too much trouble, and any issues you might have with a smaller-than-usual display can be alleviated with a quick pinch gesture in Chrome or one of the apps that are pretending they aren’t just Chrome with another icon. But you’ll have to be mindful of how many you’re using. When you load up Chrome with more than six or seven tabs, especially with something particularly heavy like Gmail (or the WordPress interface I’m typing in right now), it tends to chug a bit. It’s not surprising — even with a RAM upgrade, this hardware wasn’t designed to be used by a tab addict. But this is somewhat mitigated by the fact that the small size of the tablet means using a dozen tabs or apps at once isn’t practical anyway.  Michael Crider/Foundry The Duet is pointedly not a Chromebook Plus model, so you don’t get access to the full gamut of Google’s AI features. It gets a lot less power than, say, the equally recent Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus. Testing via PCWorld’s gamut of Chromebook benchmarks, it’s less than half as powerful…which seems okay, since It’s approximately half the price, and aiming for a very different use case. CrXPRT 2: 107 Speedometer 2.0: 75.6 Basemark Web 3.0: 502.99 Kraken: 1164.15 Jetstream: 108.516 I’m not exactly crying into my beer over that one. But on the flip side, the form factor does encourage you to use ChromeOS in the other direction: as a kinda-sorta Android tablet.  Lenovo Chromebook Duet: As a tablet And frankly, it’s not a great one. Compared to, say, one of Samsung’s Galaxy laptops, it feels slow and clumsy, even if it’s technically far more capable with its full-power browser. Android apps from the Play Store chug, even simple things like Google’s own Keep Notes program, and that goes double if you try to run them side-by-side with Chrome browser windows or other Android apps. Games do okay, as long as you temper your expectations. The recently released Balatro was nice and snappy, but the far more visually complex Hearthstone tended to stutter and skip, even on its lowest setting for visual fidelity.  Lenovo Chromebook Duet, left, with iPad Air and Galaxy Z Fold 6.Michael Crider/Foundry And while the screen is fine for video — albeit at a somewhat unambitious HD resolution — the stereo speakers are a let-down. They’re plenty loud for a tablet or even a small laptop, but tinny and lacking in bass. Imagine a budget phone at about double the volume. It’s fine if you’re just listening to someone talk, but enjoying music or a movie’s audio demands a good set of headphones. Oh and by the way, this model has a headphone jack, something pointedly missing from the older designs. So if you’re looking for an Android tablet first and a Chromebook second, the Galaxy Tab or Pixel Tablet will serve you better, even if you have to spend a little extra on a keyboard and kickstand (should you want one). The Chromebook Duet works great as a handheld web browser, as Google’s done a lot of work to make ChromeOS’s touchscreen interface far more approachable. But if you prefer mobile apps as your means of interaction, it’s not the way to go. That’s especially true if you consider Samsung’s surprisingly flexible DeX system, which approaches this convergence form factor from the other direction.  Lenovo Chromebook Duet: Another budget hit This might sound like a lot of low points, and a lot of compromises. But considering this is a crossover device and a budget device, they’re basically all both understandable and forgivable. The changes that Lenovo has made are all improvements over the original and already very popular design, with the arguable exception of the double-mode kickstand. If Google and Lenovo have sold more of this design than any other Chromebook, I expect them to sell a lot more.  Go for the upgraded RAM, you’ll absolutely want it. Go for the upgraded RAM, you’ll want it, and the extra storage for Android apps is handy even if they don’t run great. Beyond that, make sure you keep your tabs under control and don’t demand too many extra fills or too much camera prowess. Everything else about the Duet is excellent, especially the value — and it doesn’t hurt that it’s already gone on sale a couple of times. Read...

Datadobi has unveiled StorageMAP 7.1, enhancing its data management platform with improved scalability, performance, and useful features like HDI Archive Appliance Bypass. Read...

Good Old Games (GOG.com) has launched what it calls the GOG Preservation Program, allowing you to keep playing “up to date” PC games even when the developers have stopped supporting them. GOG has placed 100 games in the program, including hits like the original Diablo and the Hellfire expansion, the first three Resident Evil games, Wing Commander III, Ultima VII, the original Fallout, and many more. They’re labeled as “Good Old Games” on GOG’s store page. GOG is attempting to solve what will inevitably become a growing problem: As more and more games are lost to history, developers and the PC industry move on. Code incompatibilities prevent older games from being used with the latest operating systems, and the small, niche market of fans face the specter of those games fading away entirely. GOG’s Preservation Program won’t add new features, but the company is trying to ensure the games at least run. “The GOG Preservation Program ensures classic games remain playable on modern systems, even after their developers stopped supporting them,” the company said Wednesday. “By maintaining these iconic titles, GOG helps you protect and relive the memories that shaped you, DRM-free and with dedicated tech support.” GOG’s Preservation Program basically formalizes efforts the company has been making for several years. For example, the page for Wing Commander III notes that the company “fixed an issue” with the German-language version as far back as 2016. It added cloud saves in 2019, and verified that the game would work with Windows 10 and Windows 11 as of today, November 13. GOG also adjusted the DOSBox emulator configuration to ensure that the game would run at enhanced performance on modern systems. It made similar changes to SimCity 2000, another game in the program. Other games that have been ported to the PC, such as Resident Evil, appear to have more detailed tweaks to ensure that the original console experience is preserved on the PC. GOG isn’t saying if its preservation efforts will stop here, or if it will continue supporting more and more games in the future. Even so, committing to the games we grew up with and loved is worth applause. Read...

As Black Friday draws closer, we’re seeing more and more stunning discounts for cool tech, and that includes this gaming-capable Acemagician AMR5 mini PC for just $289 on Amazon. That’s a big drop from its original $499 price tag. (The only catch here is that this price is for Prime members, but if you don’t have Prime, you can still snag this deal by signing up for a free 30-day Prime trial.) This tiny PC features a powerful AMD Ryzen 7 5700U processor that’s coupled with 16GB of DDR4 RAM, so you’ll have no issue running demanding apps and games. And if you want more power, you can later pop up the magnetic side cover and upgrade to 64GB of RAM. The Acemagician AMR5 also comes with a 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD, which should be enough speed and space for most of your files, apps, and games. If not, you can use the same accessible magnetic cover to add a second drive. Each drive can be up to 2TB, for a total of 4TB. And if you’re going to be using this mini PC as a workflow powerhouse, you can optimize your productivity with three 4K@60Hz displays, one through HDMI 2.0, one through full-feature USB-C, and one through DisplayPort. Other ports include four USB-A 3.0, full-size Gigabit Ethernet, and an audio in/out jack. Simply put, this thing is a beast. You can’t find a laptop or desktop PC with specs like this anywhere near this price. Act fast and grab this Acemagician AMR5 mini PC for just $289 while you can! Score this powerful gaming mini PC for 42% offBuy now on Amazon Read...

The future is coming, and that means making sure you’re well-versed in AI usage for when it matters. And while there are all kinds of AI tools now, the most prominent one remains AI chatbots like ChatGPT. When I take a step back and look at my own AI chatbot use, that’s what I’m predominantly doing with it: educating myself. Sure, I’m learning new skills and finding answers to questions when my kids stump me, but ultimately what I’m doing when I play around with the likes of ChatGPT Plus and Copilot Pro is learning how to use AI, period. And now that these AI chatbots have come out with premium subscription plans with even more advanced features, I wouldn’t blame you if you’re confused about why they have paid plans, what the benefits are, and whether they’re worth paying for. Like it or not, AI is the future The latest AI chatbots are impressive feats of engineering and software development that build on decades of work in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and neural networks. But it’s still a bit of frontier. Many are still figuring out what they can do and how best to use them, and many others still dismiss AI as a passing fad to ignore. While I don’t think we’ve yet reached the point where everyone needs to know how to use AI for day-to-day stuff, it feels like that time is fast approaching. Being able to work with AI is going to be a necessary skill, akin to general computer use and not being an ass to your colleagues. But can you get by on the free versions of ChatGPT, Copilot, and the rest? Or should you pony up for a premium plan? Well, that depends! Free AI chatbots are good enough for most If you haven’t found yourself dabbling with AI yet, whether at work or at home, and you don’t feel much pressure from colleagues or friends or family to do so, then you’re probably fine just using the free versions if and when you get around to it. ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, Apple Intelligence — they all offer free access with adequate capabilities, able to do all the basics you’d need to get your feet wet with generative AI chatbots. They can answer questions, generate draft text, create images from scratch, and ultimately help you familiarize yourself with using them. And over time, it’s possible — even expected — that advanced features that are currently premium-only will eventually be made free. Things like custom GPTs and Advanced Voice will become commonplace while other, newer features are introduced to paid subscribers. One major component of these AI chatbots is that you can communicate with them using natural language, so once you get the hang of how to give them the information they need to give you the response you want, it doesn’t matter whether you’re typing it or saying it. You don’t really need Advanced Voice — it just feels cooler and more futuristic. Of course, not all premium AI chatbot features are merely for aesthetics, convenience, or early access. There are some real reasons to pay up. Keep reading for aspects you might think are worth paying for. Related: Practical use cases for ChatGPT When are premium AI chatbots worth it? One interesting thing about AI chatbots like ChatGPT is that they can support different GPT models and even run custom GPT models. In essence, you can switch out the “brain” for another one, changing how it interprets your input to give you different output. Consistent access to the latest and greatest GPT models is worth paying for if you end up using AI chatbots a lot. The free versions are great for getting your feet wet, but they tend to run on older GPT models; as a premium subscriber, you can basically pay for better results — and in this case, better means more accurate, more reliable, and more useful due to improvements made to the underlying language model. For example, the latest GPT model offers much better coding capabilities compared to earlier ones, so it’s going to be more helpful if you’re trying to learn how to code with the aid of an AI chatbot. Similarly, an older GPT model might have outdated information or lack access to the latest developments, which could lead to wrong or misleading answers. If accuracy and guidance are important to you, then you might seriously want to consider paying for the latest GPT models. Moreover, some AI chatbots even let you create custom GPT models that are specifically tailored towards certain needs and tasks. For example, one custom GPT might be designed to teach the rules to board games, whereas another custom GPT might be configured to talk and behave like a condescending pirate. (You know, for funsies.) Access to custom GPTs is usually limited to paid subscribers, though. I might need a custom GPT to pretend to be the MU-TH-UR computer system from Alien, but do you? And if so, are you willing to pay for it?Jon Martindale / IDG Personally, I’m more of a stan for ChatGPT Plus, but there’s no denying that it isn’t as good as Copilot Pro when it comes to app integration, particularly with Microsoft 365 apps. If you’re a big Word, Excel, or Outlook user, you should really look into Copilot Pro’s capabilities and weigh whether you’d benefit from from it. Related: ChatGPT Plus vs. Copilot Pro, compared AI integration within specific apps won’t always be the way it is right now, but there’s no doubt in my mind that it’ll continue to improve, expand, and take over. You’ll be able to benefit from this shift sooner and over the long run if you take steps now to learn AI and become well-versed so you can more easily adopt newer advancements in the future. Another thing is that whether you’re using ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude, Gemini, or any other AI chatbot, premium plans typically remove (or at least increase) limits and grant priority access during peak usage times. That means you have assurance that you can use the tools of your choice whenever you want and that it’ll be consistent every time. On the other hand, if you stick with the free versions of these AI chatbots, you could get bumped for a premium user when the service is congested, or you might only be able to request a handful of prompts per day that aren’t enough to finish the task(s) you’re working on. Premium AI chatbots can be worth paying for, but only for some I don’t want to be “that guy” who says things like: “It’s only $20! You spend more on that on X, Y, Z…” Because I know that $20 is a lot, and who wants to shell out so much cash every month? Spending that much on an AI chatbot might be unjustifiable for you, especially if all you’re doing is having a bit of fun and familiarizing yourself with it. On the other hand, if you have money to burn, you could think about these novel premium features as “entertainment” and justify it as the cost of having fun with cutting-edge tech. But if there’s one group for whom premium AI chatbots are seriously worth it, it’s people who can make money with it. If you’re a creative, ChatGPT can help you brainstorm, write, edit, and think outside the box. If you’re an office worker, Copilot can drastically boost your productivity so you get more done in less time. If you’re a tech influencer, first-hand experience with AI is how you get the knowledge and expertise to do what you do. If you’re a job seeker, these AI chatbots can help you perfect your résumés and land better roles that pay more. In all of these cases, you’re likely going to cross whatever limits exist in their respective free plans, and you’re likely going to benefit from their advanced features that let you do more. For me, premium AI chatbot access pays for itself and then some, so it’s a no-brainer; if you can pay $20 per month and earn more out the other side, then that’s a sound investment. Plus, you can cancel as soon as you don’t need it. For now, premium AI chatbots don’t offer enough revolutionary features to be worthwhile for everyone. That’s on the developers, who still need to figure out what sorts of transformative features are needed to reach broader mainstream appeal. Until then, the free tier will likely remain more than good enough for most. Related: The truth of how people actually use AI chatbots Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Plenty of video inputs  Good SDR brightness  Excellent contrast ratio  Solid color gamut and accuracy  Cons Stand requires use of screws  No USB connectivity  Modest HDR brightness  Our Verdict The Gigabyte G34WQCP is an excellent budget ultrawide monitor that earns high marks in SDR brightness, contrast, and color performance. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Gigabyte G34WQCP Retailer Price $349.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Almost a year has passed since PCWorld reviewed the Gigabyte GS34WQC, a budget ultrawide monitor that earned our Editors’ Choice award. Now, Gigabyte is updating that model with the new Gigabyte G34WQCP. It’s similar to its predecessor but increases the maximum refresh rate from 144Hz to 180Hz.   Gigabyte G34WQCP specs and features  The Gigabyte G34WQCP’s basic specifications are similar to other budget ultrawide monitors. It’s a 34-inch, 21:9 aspect ratio display with a resolution of 3440×1440. The monitor also uses a Vertical Alignment (VA) panel, which is the more common choice in this category, though some competitors use an In-Plane Switching (IPS) panel. The monitor supports Adaptive Sync through AMD FreeSync and also supports HDR.  Display size: 34-inch 21:9 widescreen  Native resolution: 3440×1440 Panel type: VA  Refresh rate: Up to 180Hz  Adaptive sync: AMD Freesync Premium   HDR: Yes, VESA DisplayHDR 400 Certified  Ports: 2x HDMI 2.0, 2x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x 3.5mm headphone  VESA mount: 100x100mm  Speakers: 2x 2-watt speakers  Price: $349.99 MSRP  However, the G34WQCP makes two notable changes compared to the previous Gigabyte G34WQC. As mentioned, the refresh rate has been increased from a maximum of 144Hz to 180Hz. In addition, the monitor now has two DisplayPort 1.4 ports, while the previous model had just one.  Further reading: See our roundup of the best gaming monitors to learn about competing products. Gigabyte G34WQCP design   The Gigabyte G34WQCP’s design is basic. From the front, the display panel is framed by thin black bezels on three sides, with a small chin at the bottom featuring a centered Gigabyte logo. Gigabyte uses matte black plastic for the stand, while the rear of the display panel combines that with some semi-gloss accents.   While the G34WQCP isn’t much to look at, it’s well-built. The monitor’s plastic panels didn’t warp when I handled the monitor, and I didn’t hear creaks or groans while I set it up. That’s not a high bar to clear, but budget monitors don’t always hurdle it.  Matthew Smith / Foundry The monitor’s display panel is curved with a radius of 1500R (a lower number means a more aggressive curve). This is a moderate, readily noticeable curve, but not so aggressive that it becomes distracting outside of games. With that said, people who work with digital art, photography, and video may not like the curve, as it slightly warps the appearance of images and videos on the display (lines that are straight may not appear so, for example).   Despite its affordable price, the G34WQCP includes an ergonomic stand with a good range of height and tilt adjustment, though it doesn’t swivel. I found the stand easy to adjust, as it required little force to move, yet stayed firmly in place once positioned. Setting up the stand is finicky, though, as the stand doesn’t clip into place but instead uses screws. It’s a minor annoyance, but it makes setup slightly more complicated. The display also supports a 100x100mm VESA mount for use with third-party monitor stands and arms.  Gigabyte has an edge over other monitors in this price bracket. Gigabyte G34WQCP connectivity and menus   The Gigabyte G34WQCP provides two HDMI 2.0 ports and two DisplayPort 1.4 ports, for a total of four video inputs—one more than is typical for a budget ultrawide monitor. That’s one more port than the older Gigabyte GS34WQC, which had one DisplayPort input.  However, the new G34WQCP doesn’t  support its maximum refresh rate over HDMI; only the DisplayPort connections can achieve the full 3440×1440 resolution at 180Hz. That’s not a major problem, as the HDMI 2.0 ports are likely to be used with game consoles that can’t achieve 180Hz. Still, it’s worth knowing if you plan to connect a PC over HDMI.  USB connectivity is also absent. There is no USB-C input and no USB downstream ports for connecting wired peripherals. This is typical for a budget ultrawide monitor, but it’s a minor disappointment, as it makes the monitor less useful if your gaming den doubles as your home office.  Matthew Smith / Foundry The monitor’s on-screen menus are controlled with a joystick located on the rear right side of the display panel. The joystick is responsive, and Gigabyte’s menus are easy to navigate, thanks to well-labeled options. The range of options is extensive and includes adjustments for color temperature and gamma.  Is Gigabyte Control Center supported?  The monitor also comes with a pair of 2-watt speakers that provide basic audio. They aren’t loud and lack low-end depth, so they’re not good for games, movies, or music. Most people will prefer to use external headphones or speakers. Still, the built-in speakers are an acceptable option for watching a YouTube video or listening to a podcast.  Gigabyte G34WQCP SDR image quality  SDR image quality is, of course, very important for the Gigabyte G34WQCP. While the monitor does support HDR, most PC games still only support SDR, and most Windows applications are also limited to SDR. Fortunately for Gigabyte, the G34WQCP is a strong performer in SDR content.   Matthew Smith / Foundry Starting with brightness, the Gigabyte G34WQCP delivered an impressive maximum SDR brightness of 485 nits. This is much higher than necessary for most situations, but it’s a perk if you plan to use the monitor in a brightly lit room or near sunlit windows.  It’s also worth noting that curved display panels have a tendency to focus light sources behind the viewer, which can make the display less comfortable to view. The G34WQCP’s high brightness helps balance out that problem.   Matthew Smith / Foundry Contrast is a real highlight, as the monitor achieved an impressive contrast ratio of 4720:1. That’s an excellent result for a display that lacks a Mini-LED dynamic backlight or an OLED panel.   The G34WQCP’s image is immersive and provides convincing shadow detail in dark areas under most viewing conditions. The G34WQCP’s edge-lit backlight means it will still display slightly elevated black levels in the darkest scenes, but contrast otherwise looks fantastic.  Gigabyte has an edge over other monitors in this price bracket. IPS monitors like the RCA Premium Gaming Monitor and Asus ROG Strix XG27QCS have a far lower contrast ratio, which can make their images appear slightly flat and washed out. Other VA panel monitors, like the Xiaomi G34WQi, come close to the G34WQCP, but Gigabyte’s result is the best we’ve seen from a VA panel this year.  Matthew Smith / Foundry The G34WQCP’s color gamut is solid but doesn’t provide any advantage over the competition. It achieves 95 percent of DCI-P3 and 86 percent of Adobe RGB—figures that translate to a bright, vibrant image that looks saturated and lively.   However, as the graph shows, the monitor’s performance is in line with similarly priced monitors.   Matthew Smith / Foundry The same can be said for color accuracy. The G34WQCP’s accuracy is good enough that any errors are generally unnoticeable in typical use. However, even budget monitors now tend to ship with strong color accuracy out of the box, so this is no longer a defining characteristic.   The monitor produced a gamma curve of 2.3, slightly off our target of 2.2, which means content appears a bit darker than it should. Color temperature came in at 7000K, noticeably higher than the 6500K target, giving the image a cooler tone. The monitor does offer gamma and color temperature settings, so it’s possible to adjust these results, but the out-of-box image could use some improvement in these areas.  With a resolution of 3440×1440 spread across a 34-inch ultrawide panel, the monitor has a pixel density of about 109 pixels per inch, which is identical to a 27-inch widescreen monitor with a resolution of 2560×1440. This level of sharpness is enough to look crisp in games, movies, and photography. It usually appears sharp on the Windows desktop and in apps, but small fonts can start to reveal slight pixelation around the edges of characters. However, shoppers don’t have much choice when it comes to sharpness—aside from a few high-end 5K displays, nearly all 34-inch ultrawides deliver 3440×1440 resolution.  Overall, the Gigabyte G34WQCP delivers a bright, high-contrast image with strong color performance and acceptable sharpness. The monitor’s only notable flaws are its color temperature and gamma results, which are slightly off-target, but these can be adjusted in the settings. The G34WQCP’s image quality is impressive for the price; to see a significant improvement, you’d need to consider an OLED panel or a high-end Mini-LED monitor, both of which typically cost closer to $1,000.  Gigabyte G34WQCP HDR image quality  While the Gigabyte G34WQCP proved itself in SDR, the monitor’s HDR performance was unremarkable.  I measured a maximum sustained brightness of 372 nits. That level of HDR brightness is typical for a budget monitor but, unfortunately, nowhere near what’s required to do HDR justice. Most HDR content targets a luminance of at least 1,000 nits, so HDR viewed on the G34WQCP will look dimmer than intended and lack detail in bright areas of a scene.   The monitor also lacks some practical features, like an HDR brightness override. That means the brightness of HDR is entirely controlled by the content displayed. That’s fine if you’re viewing in a dark room, but can become an issue in brighter rooms.  In brief, the G34WQCP isn’t a good HDR monitor. Shoppers who want better HDR on a tight budget should consider cut-rate Mini-LED displays, like the Innocn 27M2V or Xiaomi G Pro 27i. These have their own drawbacks but, when it comes to HDR, they’re far more capable.   Gigabyte G34WQCP motion performance  Refresh rate is among the Gigabyte G34WQCP’s highlights, as the refresh rate has increased from a maximum of 144Hz to 180Hz. That looks like a big improvement on paper but, in reality, I’m not sure I can notice the difference. I think a refresh rate bump to about 240Hz is required before most people will find it noticeable.   With that said, though, motion clarity is good given the monitor’s size and price. The monitor displays small objects with good detail and motion feels extremely slick at high refresh rates. This level of motion clarity is table stakes for a modern gaming monitor, but it’s still leagues better than an old-fashioned 60Hz IPS or VA panel monitor.  The G34WQCP, like other VA panel monitors, tends to suffer “dark smear,” which results in more noticeable blur behind darker objects than bright objects. The problem is definitely visible, and it’s the reason why competitive gamers often prefer IPS and TN panels. With that said, though, the problem didn’t distract from my enjoyment of the monitor.  Adaptive Sync is available with official support for AMD FreeSync Premium, but G-Sync also functioned when I connected a Nvidia-powered laptop to the G34WQCP. This is typical, as FreeSync and G-Sync have a lot in common. Frame pacing was smooth and I didn’t notice any flickering or display drop-outs, though the same can be said of nearly all monitors I review.  Should you buy the Gigabyte G34WQCP? The Gigabyte G34WQCP picks up where last year’s GS34WQC left off. While the two monitors are similar, the new G34WQCP delivers better image quality thanks to its higher brightness and slightly improved contrast. The G34WQCP also kicks up the refresh rate to 180Hz and adds a second DisplayPort.   These additions slightly increase the price from $329.99 to $349.99, and that throws a wrinkle into this review. The prior GS34WQC is available for as little as $279.99, and while the new G34WQCP is better, the older model is an alluring alternative if you’re on a tight budget. The Gigabyte also faces stiff competition from the recently released Xiaomi G34WQi, which performs similarly to the G34WQCP but is less expensive at $269.99.   That makes the G34WQCP more difficult to recommend than its predecessor. With that said, though, it remains a good budget ultrawide with top-notch SDR image quality for the price. Read...

Alteryx has unveiled its Fall 2024 update, enhancing hybrid analytics capabilities and introducing features like Magic Reports to boost user experience. Read...

It’s easier than ever to keep your desk tidy when you use a compact charging station — like this awesome Baseus model that’s on sale for $20 right now, a solid $30 off its original price. The Baseus 65W USB-C wall charger currently has a 40 percent on-page digital coupon and an additional 20 percent slashed off with the 7DUZIEDB coupon code, which you can either redeem on the product page or copy/paste at checkout. This tiny GaN charging station features two USB-C ports and two USB-A ports, as well as a 5-foot extension cord that’s able to reach the nearest outlet no matter where you put it. From there, it’s up to you to plug in your various devices — laptop, phone, earbuds, tablet, camera, etc. — to get them recharged in a jiffy as needed. With a maximum output of 65W, your devices will refresh in no time. It’s fast enough to get an iPad Pro 11 from zero to a hundred in just two hours. (Of course, when multiple devices are plugged in, the charging rate will have to be split between them. That said, the charging station will smartly decide which ones to fast-charge.) Snatch this early Black Friday deal and get yourself a Baseus 4-port USB-C charging station for just $20 on Amazon! Save 60% on this fast 4-device USB-C charging stationBuy now on Amazon Read...

Nvidia has been trying all year to get its users onto the beta version of the Nvidia App, its new omnibus app for drivers, settings, and promos. This move might finally do it, though: the Nvidia App is now out of beta and ready to retire its predecessor. While GeForce Experience will still work if you have it installed, it’s no longer being bundled with Nvidia’s frequent GPU updates, and it probably won’t be long before the program is put out to pasture. If you haven’t tried it, the all-in-one Nvidia App is pretty good. It combines features from GeForce Experience and the seldom-used Nvidia Control Panel into a unified interface, including driver updates, system-wide and per-game graphics settings, monitor and video tweaks, and Nvidia’s promotional goodies (like some free in-game currency and goodies for Throne and Liberty). It doesn’t do everything, though. More advanced tools, like GeForce Now game streaming and Nvidia Broadcast, are linked and open in separate windows. And there are still a few small tools that aren’t in the UI yet, as Nvidia admits in its announcement post, like Nvidia Surround that can span virtual spaces across multiple monitors for playing games on two or three displays at once. Like GeForce Experience before it, the Nvidia App isn’t strictly necessary, and you can install drivers for your GeForce GPU using a separate, standalone process on both laptops and desktops. And Nvidia also gives you the option of running the App and downloading drivers without logging into an account, which is something I appreciate. Gotta keep that taskbar notification area lean! Further reading: Important Nvidia App tweaks for GeForce gamers Read...