No one who assembles a PC or sets up a new computer can avoid the BIOS or UEFI. That’s where you define the basics, from the boot sequence and memory profiles to security features like Secure Boot. Modern UEFI interfaces are graphical, can be operated using a mouse, and are much more convenient than legacy BIOS text menus… but they can still be daunting for first-time users. If you’re reluctant to dive into your PC’s BIOS/UEFI, have no fear! These tips will get you familiar and comfortable in no time. How to boot into BIOS/UEFI settings Mark Hachman / Foundry In order to boot into BIOS/UEFI, you have to press a key (or a combination of keys) during the startup process. If you aren’t quick enough, or if you press the wrong keys, you’ll end up in Windows. The exact key(s) you need to press depend on your motherboard’s manufacturer, but most of them use one of the following standardized keys: Delete, F2, F10, or F12. The correct key is often displayed on the screen for a brief moment with the motherboard logo, and it’s best to press the key several times as soon as you see it. However, there’s also an alternative way in Windows 11: open Settings > System > Recovery, scroll down to the Recovery options and look for “Advanced startup,” then click the button labeled Restart now. There you can directly call up the UEFI firmware settings. Step 1: Update your BIOS/UEFI Before you even start fine-tuning, you should update your BIOS/UEFI to the latest version. New versions often bring better RAM compatibility, extend CPU support, and/or fix security vulnerabilities. Download the update from the manufacturer’s website. (Pay attention to the exact model of your motherboard.) It will usually come as a ZIP file, which you can unzip and copy to a USB flash drive. Then, you should be able to find the update function in the BIOS under “EZ Flash,” “M-Flash,” or similar. (If you can’t find it, run a web search for instructions on how to update your particular motherboard.) Important: Make sure your PC doesn’t crash, restart, or shut down during a BIOS/UEFI update. Also, refrain from experimenting with overclocking or unstable power supplies while updating. Also, avoid the update if there’s an impending thunderstorm or if there are known power fluctuations affecting your area/house. Step 2: Set language and interface Many modern UEFI menus offer a graphical view, and some of them even let you interact using mouse controls. You’ll usually find the language setting directly in the main menu or under a tab labeled “General Settings.” Always change the language first so that you can find your way around more easily later. Some motherboards also offer a “Simple view” for beginners and an “Advanced mode” for fine-tuning. Step 3: Customize the boot sequence In order to install Windows on a PC, the PC must be bootable from a USB flash drive. That means you might have to re-order the boot sequence so that if the system detects a plugged-in USB drive, it first tries to boot off of it before moving on to the internal SSD (for example). You can do this in the BIOS/UEFI by navigating to the appropriate section and dragging the USB flash drive option to the top. After Windows is installed, make sure to change the order back and select the Windows Boot Manager or your system hard drive as the first boot device. Tip: If your PC doesn’t reliably recognize your USB drive at startup, try deactivating “Fastboot Mode.” Step 4: Optimize working memory Foundry By default, RAM often only runs at base clock rate. Activate the appropriate profile in the UEFI—depending on the manufacturer, this is called XMP (Intel), DOCP (Asus/AMD), or EXPO (AMD). This allows your RAM to utilize the full speed for which it’s designed without you having to manually overclock. You can usually find this option on the main page of the UEFI menu or under a tab such as “AI Tweaker” (for Asus), “OC” (for Gigabyte), or “Advanced Memory Settings.” Step 5: Set the fan and temperatures You can adjust fan curves under menu items such as “Q-Fan” or “Smart Fan Control,” which allows you to determine how loudly or quietly your PC fans run in everyday use. A steeper curve (i.e., faster at higher temperatures) is recommended for gaming while a flat curve (i.e., remain slow even when temperatures rise slightly) is more suitable for office or home server use, ensuring peace and quiet. Step 6: Optimize energy and performance Many motherboards offer power-saving features such as “C-States” (reduces the CPU voltage when idle) or “ErP ready” (reduces power consumption when switched off). If you need more power, activate Turbo Boost (Intel) or Precision Boost Overdrive (AMD). The latter ensures higher clock rates, but requires good cooling. Note: The combination of power-saving features and aggressive performance options can lead to instability on cheaper motherboards. If your PC crashes frequently after making such changes, switch Turbo Boost/PBO/C-States off again as a test. Step 7: Check security settings In order for Windows 11 to be installed, certain security features must be active in the BIOS/UEFI. If they’re missing, the setup will be canceled or even refuse to start. The two most important options are: Enable Secure Boot: Ensures that only boot loaders signed by Microsoft are loaded. Without Secure Boot, malware could be installed before the operating system starts. As a security measure, Windows 11 will refuse to install without Secure Boot. Enable TPM 2.0: Referred to as “fTPM” (AMD) or “PTT” (Intel) depending on the manufacturer. TPM 2.0 stores cryptographic keys securely in the system. Windows 11 will refuse to install without it. It’s also worth taking a look at the extended security options: BitLocker support: With TPM enabled, hard drive encryption such as BitLocker can be used without additional effort. This protects your data in the events of theft or loss of the computer. Supervisor/BIOS password: Protects the firmware settings from unauthorized access. Lock interfaces: Some motherboards allow you to deactivate USB ports or network adapters directly in the UEFI. This is practical for particularly sensitive environments where access to external devices needs to be restricted for security reasons. Step 8: Other advanced features If your PC is still running stably after all of the above tweaks, it’s now worth taking a look at some additional options: SATA/NVMe mode: For single SSDs and HDDs, AHCI is the standard. This ensures full performance and TRIM support. RAID is only worthwhile if you want to use several drives for purposes of data mirroring (RAID 1) or performance (RAID 0). Importantly, this setting must be defined before Windows is installed, as changing it later can lead to startup errors. Learn more about RAID setups and multiple drives working together. Activate virtualization: Features such as Intel VT-x and AMD-V make it possible to run virtual machines efficiently. If you want to use Hyper-V, VirtualBox, or VMware, you should switch this option on. Without virtualization activated, many things will still run but with significantly reduced performance. IOMMU/SR-IOV (optional): This feature is interesting for advanced users who want to use device passthrough or special virtualization scenarios. Tip: Even if you don’t need virtualization immediately, you can activate the feature directly now. This will save you having to search the BIOS later if you ever end up experimenting with virtual machines. Get comfortable with your BIOS/UEFI In short, the BIOS/UEFI is the control center of your PC. Just a few settings—such as RAM profile, boot sequence, and Secure Boot—can make a world of difference between a system that’s limping along versus a system that’s stable, fast, and secure. If you feel like it, you can eventually try your hand at fine-tuning the deeper settings, from individual fan curves to overclocking. But even without experimenting, with the right BIOS/UEFI settings, your new PC will now be ready to start and optimally prepared. Good to know: You only need to make most BIOS/UEFI adjustments once. After that, your computer will run permanently with the optimum settings without needing any annoying readjustments. Read...

TL;DR: Right now, it’s only $55 to get Microsoft Office Pro and Windows 11 Pro for life. This year, Microsoft raised the price for Microsoft 365 and ended support for Windows 10. If you want to avoid subscription fees and protect your computer, then get Microsoft Office Pro and Windows 11 Pro for life for only $54.97 (reg. $418.99). This sale will not last much longer. The Microsoft Office lifetime license comes with Word Excel PowerPoint Outlook Teams (free version) OneNote Publisher Access There are no recurring fees or renewals, and the software connects to your device rather than your Microsoft account. You can use it offline without losing access, and updates are included. Part two of this bundle is a lifetime license for Windows 11 Pro, which has a cleaner interface, faster performance, and stronger built-in security. It includes features like BitLocker drive encryption, Hyper-V virtualization, and Windows Sandbox for testing new apps in a safe environment. Copilot, Microsoft’s AI assistant, is integrated to help with tasks like changing settings or summarizing web content. Right now, it’s only $54.97 to get Microsoft Office and Windows 11 Pro for life. The Ultimate Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows: Lifetime License + Windows 11 Pro BundleSee Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...

Police minister Mark Mitchell says he willl be briefed on the allegations, including an officer who has been stood down after inappropriate material was found on a police-issued device. Read...

Samsung is bringing its mobile browser to the Windows PC, most likely as a way of making its ecosystem stickier for customers who are considering another brand. Beginning today, United States customers can sign up for a beta of the free Samsung Internet for PC browser, which will run on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. My colleague Michael Crider, with experience covering Android phones, tells me that the Samsung browser for Android phones has some fans, who believe it offers a simpler and cleaner version of the Chrome browser that Google installs on Android PCs. But it’s likely that Samsung’s new browser is designed to help sync up users of Galaxy phones, laptops, and now other PCs into a more cohesive ecosystem, as Samsung’s rather interesting Galaxy software tries to do. “As users move more fluidly between devices, Samsung Internet for PC also adds a new layer of intelligence powered by Galaxy AI, designed to make browsing smarter and more efficient,” Samsung said. “When logged into their Samsung Account, users can access some key Galaxy AI capabilities like Browsing Assist for instant webpage summarization and translation, helping them find the information they need faster.” Naturally, like other browsers that traverse various platforms—basically all of them, at this point—you’ll be able to sync favorites and the browser history to move seamlessly between devices. Samsungs browser does have some other advantages. Anti-tracking is built in, the company said, helping to ensure that users aren’t followed all over the web. A privacy dashboard is included, too. Still, Samsung’s blog post points to the ability to “unlock” even more intuitive browsing experiences in the future, including ambient AI. That’s probably a key here: if Samsung is going to invest in AI like everyone else, it’s going to need a dedicated customer base to take advantage. Voila, Samsung Internet for PC. Read...

Microsoft Copilot is tapping a key feature from Windows 11 Pro to enable Copilot’s AI to dig even further than it already has. It’s part of an update to Microsoft 365 Copilot called Researcher with Computer Use, debuting today for a limited subset of Microsoft 365 Copilot users. LLMs that engage in deep research, like Copilot, face a problem: some content is locked away behind an authentication process, like requiring a password. Researcher with Computer Use is adding a “secure virtual computer” with a virtual browser, terminal, and a text interface that will trigger when needed and also provide a visual “chain of thought” that can show you what’s happening and if you need to step in. All of this takes place within a “sandbox,” an optional virtual environment that has existed within Windows since the launch of Windows 10 Pro. Windows Sandbox is a powerful utility in Windows 10 and Windows 11 for surfing the web safely, since it creates a virtual OS within Windows that’s sealed off from your “main” Windows environment. It’s a much more secure way of visiting dodgy sites on the web or opening untrusted files—once you close the sandbox, the OS and everything within it vanishes. But you can still open files within it and read their contents, which is where Researcher steps in. Recently, Microsoft has also tip-toed into letting Copilot access a sandbox via Copilot Actions, an upcoming feature that would allow Copilot to take actions on the PC. In the near term, Microsoft also released a fall 2025 update for Copilot with long-term memory and integration into various services. In this case, Researcher with Computer Use isn’t designed for dodging malware, although that’s one benefit of it. The created sandbox is primarily designed as a test bed for code that Copilot creates, so it doesn’t put your machine at risk. The virtual browser can be used by Researcher to navigate the web and perform actions, Microsoft notes in a blog post, while the terminal interface is used for command-line-based code execution. “Deep research” LLMs typically come up with a plan, then execute it while keeping you abreast of what they’re doing and what’s going on. Researcher with Computer Use does this visually, snapping screenshots of the virtual sandbox as it works. While you can take over whenever you want, it’s also useful for when Researcher runs into roadblocks and needs a username and password to proceed further. That takes place via a “secure screen-sharing connection,” Microsoft says. Microsoft 365 Copilot Researcher with Computer Use will hand back control to the user to enter a password when needed.Microsoft Microsoft says that users at any given organization won’t have access to internal or proprietary information by default, though users and IT admins can choose to turn that on. The sources of data that Researcher sifts through can also be managed. “The user sees the actions of Researcher while it is accessing the web through the browser or using any computer use tools,” Microsoft added. “Researcher will always ask for explicit confirmation before taking any actions or request the user securely log in to any web sources in the browser when required to complete a task.” On BrowseComp—a benchmark focused on complex, multi-step browsing tasks—Researcher with Computer Use performed 44 percent better than the current version of Researcher, Microsoft said. Read...

Security researcher Jose Pino has discovered a security vulnerability in all Chromium-based browsers that are based on Chromium versions up to 143.0.7483.0, which includes Chrome, Edge, and Opera, but also Vivaldi, Arc, and Brave. In other words, most PCs on the planet are affected by the vulnerability, which Pino has named Brash because Chrome and Chromium-based browsers dominate desktops and mobile devices. The Brash vulnerability exists in Blink, the rendering engine of Google’s Chromium. According to Pino, the vulnerability “allows any Chromium browser to collapse in 15 to 60 seconds by exploiting an architectural flaw in how certain DOM operations are managed.” Pino continues (bolded text is his emphasis): “The attack vector originates from the complete absence of rate limiting on document.title API updates. This allows injecting millions of DOM mutations per second, and during this injection attempt, it saturates the main thread, disrupting the event loop and causing the interface to collapse. The impact is significant, it consumes high CPU resources, degrades overall system performance, and can halt or slow down other processes running simultaneously. By affecting Chromium browsers on desktop, Android, and embedded environments, this vulnerability exposes over 3 billion people on the internet to system-level denial of service.” We were able to recreate the vulnerability in Chrome, causing our browser to freeze and stop responding. In our case, the whole thing ended harmlessly—we simply closed Chrome and our operating system remained undamaged. However, in the real world, a browser that’s frozen this way could paralyze the entire computer. You can test the vulnerability yourself by navigating to brash.run in any Chromium-based browser. Firefox and Safari are safe and show no consequences when accessing the web page in question. Pino has published detailed documentation on Brash on this GitHub page. Google has not yet released a patch for the vulnerability and the company is still investigating the case. Read...

I bought a mini PC before I knew what to expect. At first, I thought it would just handle basic tasks, but I quickly discovered how capable these tiny machines can be. Now, in hindsight, there are a few things I wish I’d known sooner. Here are my top five. 1. They’re more capable than you think When I first saw a mini PC, I assumed it would be good only for basic tasks like web browsing, but that was before I discovered just how powerful these tiny machines can be. Today’s mini PCs, especially those with chips like the Intel N97 or N150, are surprisingly capable. Even the smallest machines can support 16GB RAM, quick SSDs, and multiple 4K displays. Processing power is something I thought was only going to be decent in the larger models, but my tiny GMKtek G5 has a maximum operating speed of 3.6GHz, which is very impressive. It runs all the apps and software I’ve ever asked it to, just like a laptop or larger desktop would. 2. They’re great for travel I’d always relied on my laptop for travel, but now I just pack my mini PC. My GMKtec G5 is smaller than a pack of Pop-Tarts and much less bulky. It easily fits in a coat pocket or my backpack and takes up a lot less space than my laptop did. Paired with a foldable keyboard, mouse, and portable monitor, I have a full mobile workstation at my fingertips. Setup doesn’t take long either, just a few minutes. 3. The power draw is very low One thing that isn’t stated enough is how impressively low the power draw is in most mini PCs. Most will idle at between 10-15 watts and rarely exceed 25 watts. That’s far less than an average desktop PC, which typically averages around 60 watts. The low power consumption makes mini PCs ideal for home servers and media centers. You can leave them running all day long without worrying about your electricity bill. They also run relatively cool and quietly, making them a low-maintenance, easy computing solution. Bonnie Bayley 4. Expandability options are very good It’s a common misconception that mini PCs are locked down and you can’t upgrade them, but that’s generally not the case. Most mini PCs come with at least one or two upgradable slots, usually for RAM or storage. It’s not uncommon to find spare M.2 or SATA slots inside, either. Because of that, you can end up with a very capable little computer after upgrading. Some even offer NVMe storage, 32GB of RAM, and even a discrete GPU in some cases. The external options are also strong–you can add USB-C docks, Ethernet adapters, and eGPU enclosures for graphics. If I’d known this earlier, I would’ve considered some of the lower-end models that I dismissed and budgeted accordingly for later upgrades. 5. Not all ports are the same You have to check the specification sheets carefully when buying a mini PC, because not all ports are created equal. For example, some USB-C ports don’t support video output and power delivery, even if they look identical to ports that do, and some HDMI ports are limited to 30Hz at 4K. A good way to learn about your mini PC’s I/O capabilities is to read reviews. They’re a reliable source of information to guide your buying decisions. Related content: I switched to a mini PC—but I’m thankful I knew these 5 things first I swapped my $1,000 desktop for a $300 mini PC and regret nothing Why you absolutely need a mini PC Read...

Much of the web has switched to secure links—that is, when you type in a site like pcworld.com, it serves its pages over an https (“hypertext transfer protocol secure”) connection rather than over non-secure http. But not every website operator has yet.  From a security standpoint, http leaves users open to exploits. Try to load an http connection and you open a window for bad actors to insert exploits, malware, or social engineering attacks. The development team at Chrome knows this is a problem, so in one year, the browser will shift its approach. Starting in October 2026 with the release of Chrome 154, Chrome will disallow all http connections by default. But wait, you might be saying. I’ve already seen Chrome flag sites as a privacy error for not being served over https. Yep, you’re correct. That warning has been around for a while, but it doesn’t block the connection. It also just shows up for sites that are only served as http. Chrome doesn’t yet flag or block connections that attempt to first reach the http site and then are automatically redirected to a version served over https. As the Google blog post about this upcoming change points out, even this kind of redirection provides the opening an attacker would need. Worse, because the “Not secure” warning doesn’t pop up in Chrome currently, users don’t even know they’ve made themselves vulnerable at that moment. Chrome currently shows a privacy warning when loading a http connection (left). When the Always use secure connections setting is on, the site won’t load and you’ll first see the screen on the right. Why now the move to https as a default? This change was long-planned, with the tipping point influenced by the adoption rates for https across the web. From its own statistics, Google estimates the number of sites delivering https connections between 95 to 99 percent, up from just 30 to 45 percent in 2015. If you’re worried about being hit with constant warnings (akin to those ubiquitous cookie setting notifications), Google has been quick to assure that it will balance security against usability. This default will apply to public sites, which overwhelmingly use https by default. The sticking point will be more so private sites like a router’s IP address (e.g., 192.168.1.1), but Chrome will only pop a warning on new or not-often visited sites. As for the reason for the long roll out, the timeline allows websites to fully switch to serving pages over https. Chrome will also phase users into this new default. Those already enrolled in Enhanced Safe Browsing will get moved to “Always Use Secure Connections” as their default starting in Chrome 147, slated for release in April 2026. The good news is that, according to Google’s own testing, users will rarely see intrusive pop-up warnings. So there’s really no reason to wait for the changeover to happen eventually. You can make the switch manually yourself now. Just navigate in Chrome to chrome://settings/security, then scroll down and flip the toggle for Always use secure connections. On the rare occasions you see http connections, you’ll first see a warning screen about a lack of https. If you continue on, the page will load and you’ll see the familiar privacy error warning, which still requires you to click a couple of times before you see the site. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Great value Solid display Generous RAM and storage for the price Reasonable webcam and mic Cons Slow Intel N-series CPU No fingerprint reader or facial recognition Middling battery life No keyboard backlight Our Verdict The Acer Aspire Go 15 may be one of the best budget laptops you can buy for under $500, but it makes some compromises to get there. This machine shines with light desktop use, but it isn’t built for demanding tasks. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Acer Aspire Go 15 (2025) Retailer Price Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices The Acer Aspire Go 15 is a 15.6-inch budget laptop that delivers great value for your dollar. With reasonable desktop performance, a nice 1080p display, 16 GB of RAM, and 512 GB of storage, there’s a lot to like here. But the Aspire Go 15 won’t pass for a premium laptop any time soon. Acer’s choice of budget-tier N-series Intel CPU and a small battery are compromises that were likely necessary to hit this price point. You’ll notice this compromise in day-to-day use. Acer Aspire Go 15: Specs Foundry / Chris Hoffman The Acer Aspire Go 15 pairs an Intel Core i3-N355 CPU with 16 GB of DDR5 RAM and a 512 GB SSD — that’s a good amount of RAM and storage for a $499 laptop. It’s available from both Best Buy and Target. While I was wrapping up the review, Target had it on sale for $429, which is a solid value. Compared to last year’s $299 Acer Aspire Go 15, this year’s model delivers 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage (up from 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage.) There’s been some inflation of laptop prices, but these spec bumps make the pill easier to swallow. This is a good amount of RAM and storage you’d want in a laptop. Anything less can become hard to live with. You could probably get by with 256 GB of storage, Acer is being generous! The big thing holding this laptop back is its Intel CPU and graphics. Intel N-series chips are designed for budget machines. It’s fast enough for basic desktop and productivity application use, but this is a budget CPU experience. Additionally, the Intel graphics hardware here is very slow. This machine isn’t a good fit if you plan on playing PC games or using other 3D apps. Acer chooses to ship this laptop in S Mode, which is a strange decision in 2025. You can’t install software from outside the Store unless you take it out of S Mode, but that just takes a few clicks and is free. Our review model came preconfigured by Acer already out of S Mode. Model number: Aspire Go 15 (AG15-32P-30YE) CPU: Intel Core i3-N355 Memory: 16GB DDR5 RAM Graphics/GPU: Intel graphics NPU: None Display: 15.6-inch 1920×1080 IPS display Storage: 512 GB PCIe Gen4 SSD Webcam: 720p webcam Connectivity: 2x USB Type-C (USB 3.2 Gen 2), 2x USB Type-A (USB 3.2 Gen1), 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x combo audio jack, 1x Kensington Lock slot Networking: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1 Biometrics: None Battery capacity: 53 Watt-hours Dimensions: 14.29 x 9.44 x 0.92 inches Weight: 3.74 pounds MSRP: $499 as tested The Acer Aspire Go 15 is a great pick if you’re looking for a budget Windows laptop under $500, especially if you can catch it on sale. The screen is solid, the build quality is reasonable, and the desktop performance is good enough for day-to-day application usage. Acer Aspire Go 15: Design and build quality Foundry / Chris Hoffman The Acer Aspire Go 15 is a 15.6-inch laptop made of plastic. It’s a combination of silver — a color Acer calls “Pure Silver” — and black. It’s a classic design. While this is a plastic chassis, it feels solid, there’s no concerning creaking. With a weight of 3.74 pounds, it’s possible to pick the laptop up by one hand on one side and hold it, if necessary. At 0.92 inches thick at the thickest point, it’s a little chunky compared to the average thin-and-light machine, but it’s a fine experience. The keyboard deck has a bit of flex to it, but I wasn’t worried about it. It feels fine for the price. The Aspire Go 15’s hinge feels good and solid, with a nice action. I did have to hold it with two hands while I opened it. But, once opened, the screen stayed firmly in place and didn’t shake around as I typed. You can keep pushing the screen back and the keyboard will tilt towards you. I was able to open it to a 145-degree angle or so. The Acer Aspire Go 15 is also a classic experience in terms of bloatware, with icons like “Booking.com” and “Dropbox promotion” pinned right to the taskbar out of the box. That’s to be expected at this price range, and you can remove it. Acer Aspire Go 15: Keyboard and trackpad Foundry / Chris Hoffman The Acer Aspire Go 15 has a full-size keyboard complete with a number pad at the right. Unfortunately, there’s no keyboard backlighting. That’s a shame, as it’s the kind of nice-to-have feature that would make this laptop easier to use. This machine’s keyboard is quite nice to use. It feels like it has a good amount of key travel, perhaps 1.5mm or so. Thinner laptops often skimp on the key travel to get even smaller, which makes the typing experience less satisfying. The trackpad also feels pleasant – it’s a good size, the surface is smooth enough, and it clicks down with a satisfying clunk rather than a noisy click. It’s good for the price range. Acer Aspire Go 15: Display and speakers Foundry / Chris Hoffman The Acer Aspire Go 15 has a 15.6-inch IPS display with a 1920×1080 resolution and up to 300 nits of brightness. It’s not a touchscreen. It’s matte and not glossy, so it will be better outdoors and in challenging lighting conditions than a glossy, reflective panel. The display looks solid. It’s a good size. Budget laptops tend to be 13 inches or smaller. A 15.6-inch 1080p display on a budget laptop is a great find. It has good viewing angles, which isn’t guaranteed on a budget laptop display. More expensive often deliver higher resolution displays, OLED panels, touchscreens, more brightness, and better color accuracy, but this is a good display for the price. The display’s brightness is a problem: I wanted to crank it up to 100% to make it readable in normal conditions. And that affects the battery life, as we’ll see. This machine’s speakers are okay. They’re on the quiet side, but there’s enough volume to hear them clearly in a quiet room. I test each laptop’s speakers I review by playing Steely Dan’s Aja and Daft Punk’s Get Lucky. While the instruments in Aja weren’t particularly crisp, the high notes didn’t run together. Get Lucky sounded fine but there was less bass than even the average laptop speakers — not a surprise for the price here. Acer Aspire Go 15: Webcam, microphone, biometrics  The Acer Aspire Go 15 has a 720p webcam. It’s fine, but it’s nothing special, a 1080p webcam will look better. It’s more than good enough for light video meetings, which is what matters. However, there’s no physical webcam shutter switch. Acer says this machine has “dual digital microphones” that “ensure voices are captured with precision.” This laptop’s microphones sound pretty good, actually. With a pair of headphones, this machine is nicely equipped for online meetings and video chats. This machine doesn’t have any biometric hardware — no fingerprint reader or facial recognition for easy Windows Hello sign-ins. It would’ve been nice to at least see a fingerprint reader. Without one, you’ll likely be typing a PIN to sign in each time you use your laptop. Acer Aspire Go 15: Connectivity Foundry / Chris Hoffman The Acer Aspire Go 15 has a good selection of ports. On the left side, it’s got two USB Type-C ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, and a USB Type-A port. On the right side, you’ll find a second USB Type-A port, a combo audio jack, and a Kensington lock slot. This machine charges via USB Type-C, which is convenient, but the USB Type-C ports are only on the left side. It would be nice to have a USB-C port on each side for flexibility. Additionally, the USB-C ports are USB 3.2 Gen 2, while the USB Type-A ports are USB 3.2 Gen 1. You won’t find Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 here, either. That’s not a surprise given the price and hardware class, and people who would be looking at this machine probably won’t need Thunderbolt 4 speeds anyway. This machine doesn’t have a microSD card reader or Ethernet jack, so you’ll need a dongle or another laptop if those are priorities. Under the hood, you’re getting Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 wireless hardware. That’s a little dated, but is still reasonable. Wi-Fi 6E isn’t critical, and Wi-Fi 7 is still just getting started. Acer Aspire Go 15: Performance The Acer Aspire Go 15 isn’t a speed demon on paper. Any Intel CPU with an “N” in its name is suspect, as this is a slower budget line. But, with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB SSD, this machine punches above its budget laptop weight. And, in light usage — apps like web browsers, Microsoft Office, and Spotify — the laptop delivered reasonable day-to-day performance. Intel’s N-series CPUs have become better than I remembered them being for light desktop usage, but the CPU and GPU show their slow speeds when we put the machine through our standard benchmarks to see how it performs. Foundry / Chris Hoffman First, we run PCMark 10 to get an idea of overall system performance. With an overall score of 3,851, the Acer Aspire Go 15 and its Core i3-N355 CPU were well behind other machines without Intel N-series CPUs. Foundry / Chris Hoffman Next, we run Cinebench R20. This is a heavily multithreaded benchmark that focuses on overall CPU performance. It’s a quick benchmark, so cooling under extended workloads isn’t a factor. But, since it’s heavily multithreaded, CPUs with more cores have a huge advantage. With a multithreaded score of 1,760, this machine’s eight-core CPU proved it isn’t ideal for CPU-heavy workloads. Foundry / Chris Hoffman We also run an encode with Handbrake. This is another heavily multithreaded benchmark, but it runs over an extended period. This demands the laptop’s cooling kick in, and many laptops will throttle and slow down under load. The Acer Aspire Go 15 took 2,663 seconds to complete the encode process — that’s over 44 minutes. It’s an unusually slow score. Foundry / Chris Hoffman Next, we run a graphical benchmark. This isn’t a gaming laptop, but it’s still good to check how the GPU performs. We run 3DMark Time Spy, a graphical benchmark that focuses on GPU performance. With an overall 3DMark Time Spy score of 731, the Intel graphics in this machine were unusually slow. If you want to do any PC gaming or use any professional apps that need GPU acceleration, this isn’t the right laptop for you. Overall, the benchmarks demonstrated that this laptop’s hardware isn’t particularly fast. It delivers reasonable day-to-day desktop performance with lightweight apps, but it isn’t ideal for more demanding workflows and you’ll notice the speed difference on this machine compared to one with a higher-end CPU, even when using basic desktop apps and web browsers. Acer Aspire Go 15: Battery life The Acer Aspire Go 15 has a 53 Watt-hour battery, which is on the small side. In day-to-day use the battery life seemed below what Acer’s reviewer guide promised and what I was led to expect in other reviews. The problem? I was cranking this 15.6-inch display up to 100 percent brightness, and that was hurting battery life Foundry / Chris Hoffman To benchmark the battery life, we play a 4K copy of Tears of Steel on repeat on Windows 11 with airplane mode enabled until the laptop suspends itself. We set the screen to around 250 nits of brightness for our battery benchmarks. This is usually a best-case scenario for any laptop since local video playback is so efficient, and real battery life in day-to-day use is always going to be less than this. The Acer Aspire Go 15 lasted an average of 401 minutes before suspending itself. That’s over six and a half hours, but not quite seven hours. Acer says to expect about ten and a half hours in this test, and I don’t doubt I would have seen those numbers if I lowered the brightness. In real-world use, you may get less battery life than you’d like from this machine unless you’re prepared to turn the brightness down more than you may like. Thankfully, this being a 15.6-inch laptop, you may be planning to use it as a desk and plug it in frequently enough. Acer Aspire Go 15: Conclusion The Acer Aspire Go 15 is a great pick if you’re looking for a budget Windows laptop under $500, especially if you can catch it on sale. The screen is solid, the build quality is reasonable, and the desktop performance is good enough for day-to-day application usage. Even the webcam and mic are decent, you’d look and sound fine using these in online meetings. But the compromises are real. This isn’t a premium experience, the battery life is below what I’d like to see, and this machine isn’t ready for you to put serious demands on its CPU or GPU. But let’s be honest: This machine will be more than enough for many people’s needs. 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