Search Results for: thunderbolt 3

When somebody mentions LG, you immediately think of PC gaming, right? Yeah, neither do I. To be honest, despite offering general-use laptops, I most associate the company with appliances and televisions. Apparently, the company wants to expand beyond thin and light "regular" laptops to hardcore gaming notebooks with its all new UltraGear brand. While the name "UltraGear" sounds a bit generic and uninspired, I suppose it does get the point across.

The first UltraGear gaming laptop will be model 17G90Q. This portable beast features a 17.3-inch display with an insane 300Hz refresh. It is powered by a cutting-edge 11th Gen Intel Tiger Lake H processor and hardcore NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Max-Q GPU. It even has premium features like Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 6E, and an RGB backlit gaming keyboard.

Everybody wants a giant and powerful desktop computer, but most consumers don't actually need a hardcore PC. Heck, nowadays, many consumers don't have enough space in their homes to accommodate a full-sized tower. If you find your home is too cramped, a laptop may be a wise choice. If you insist on a desktop, however, a mini computer, such as an Intel NUC can be a very good choice too.

MINISFORUM is another company producing mini desktop computers, and today, it announces quite the beauty. Called "EliteMini TH50," this diminutive Windows 11-ready desktop is powered by a very modern quad-core (8 thread) 11th generation Intel Core i5 processor (i5-11320H). My biggest complaint about MINISFORUM computers is they can be a bit loud. Thankfully, the company says this model will be much quieter.

When it comes to Mac accessories, OWC is one of the most respected makers out there. With that said, the company's products are not limited to Apple devices. In other words, if you have a Windows computer, for instance, many OWC offerings will work without issue.

Today, OWC launches a really cool new adapter that converts a single Thunderbolt 3/4 port into dual DisplayPort. This will enable a compatible Mac or Windows computer to output video to two external displays for optimal productivity. Sadly, due to a limitation of Apple's M1 processor, its newest MacBooks powered by that ARM chip will be limited to a single video output. Hopefully the next generation of Mac laptops with the rumored M1X processor will offer better multi-monitor support.

When disasters happen, such as a flood, it can be devastating to lose belongings -- especially expensive computers. While laptops and desktops can be replaced, the data housed on them often cannot. That's why it can be smart to back up your data to both the cloud and a rugged external drive. Redundancy is key to protecting your cherished photos, videos, and more.

Speaking of rugged external storage, today, OWC launches a very durable new portable solid state drive. Called "Envoy Pro SX," the Thunderbolt 4 SSD is insanely fast and is compatible with both Windows and Mac. More importantly, it is is built like a tank -- OWC says the drive is certified to not only be water resistant, but dustproof and drop-proof too. Nice!

The transition to PCIe 4.0 is undoubtedly in full effect, with more and more computers and motherboards having the new standard. Whether or not the user truly needs the benefits of PCIe 4.0 is debatable, but it is still cool regardless. After all, it is important to continually push boundaries.

One of the best aspects of PCIe 4.0 is faster solid state drives. For instance, today, Seagate unveils a new M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD. Called "FireCuda 530," this speedy gaming-focused SSD can be had with an optional aluminum heatsink -- for an added fee, of course. It offers a maximum read speed of 7,300MB/s and max write of 6,900MB/s.

The modern detachable PC form factor was made popular by Microsoft's Surface Pro. The iconic kickstand looks cool and allows you to position the screen at many angles. While these computers make for both good tablets and notebooks, they aren't exactly good laptops. Wait. Aren't notebooks and laptops the same thing? Typically yes, but these kickstand-based detachable computers are hard to balance on a lap; it is a bit of a misnomer to call them "laptop."

The Surface Pro is a pretty good computer overall -- as long as you don't need to use it on your lap -- but they can be very buggy. Microsoft's firmware releases often introduce problems -- even as other issues are fixed. Thankfully, if you like that form factor, you aren't limited to Surface. Today, for instance, Dell officially begins selling the Latitude 7320 Windows 10 detachable PC. And yes, it is a real Surface Pro alternative.

Buying a cable should be an easy task, but believe it or not, it isn't always. In fact, with USB Type-C and Thunderbolt cables, consumers often buy the wrong things. Even worse, many of these cables are out of spec, meaning they can damage your devices or malfunction. This is why you should avoid "no-name" brands, although even some reputable brands have been known to sell poor cables.

OWC is a brand that I trust very much, and apparently, it has had enough of the nonsense surrounding these cables. You see, the company has launched a high-quality universal Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C Cable that should work with all devices that use the USB-C connector. In other words, you can buy it without worry -- it has full certification for both power and data.

When Apple revealed its own ARM-based M1 processor, it changed everything. You see, Apple Silicon performance didn't just meet consumer expectations, it exceeded it by far. Yes, the M1 processor is a magic-like chip that is shockingly capable while sipping electricity -- battery life on M1 MacBook laptops is impressive. Apple deserves major props for its willingness to cut ties with Intel and forge its own path.

With all of the hype surrounding the M1 processor, I decided to buy my own Mac mini powered by the chip. It was quite inexpensive, priced under $700, so I felt comfortable diving into this new Apple Silicon world. After all, I am primarily a desktop Linux user -- I wasn't interested in spending thousands of dollars on my own curiosity.

Thunderbolt docks are useful devices that make it easy to transform a laptop computer into a desktop while also charging the battery. For years now, manufacturers have been releasing these docks, and while there have been many good ones, none are perfect. And yes, perfection is possible.

Gaming company Razer has announced its all-new "Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma," and it probably comes closer to perfection than any other dock I have seen. Unfortunately, it falls short due to a design flaw.

While I am not a "Mac guy," I recently bought a 2020 Mac mini. Why? Well, I was quite intrigued by Apple's new M1 processor, and the $699 starting price was actually reasonably affordable. And so, I went with the base model (8GB RAM, 256GB SSD), as Apple's prices for more memory and storage are a total rip-off. For instance, to go from 8GB to 16GB RAM costs $200. Sorry, but I can't drop two bills on 8GB. Not happening, Apple.

Unfortunately, you cannot upgrade the RAM, so the 8GB decision might bite me in the ass one day, but I'll cross that bridge later. However, since the little computer has two Thunderbolt and two USB ports, I knew I could always add fast storage later on. And now, Other World Computing (aka OWC) has a new rugged drive (for macOS and Windows 10) that is perfect for this.

Well, folks, Thunderbolt 4 is no longer the future -- it is the present. What does this mean? It is time for manufacturers to start flooding the market with TB4 docking stations! Make no mistake, Thunderbolt 4-enabled computers should work fine with existing Thunderbolt 3 hardware, including docks. With that said, if you get yourself a TB4 computer, and you don't already have a TB3 dock, you should absolutely try and buy a TB4 dock.

Today, Kensington unveils its first such product. Called "SD5700T," it is a Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station with 90W power delivery. For video, it can output dual 4K or single 8K. It is loaded to the gills with useful ports, such as USB-A, Gigabit Ethernet, and USB-C/Thunderbolt 4. But also, it features an SD card reader and a beautiful aluminum chassis. This should be a great way to transform a new TB4 laptop into a proper desktop computer.

If you're running Windows 10 version 20H2 or Windows 10 version 2004, you may well be experiencing problems if you're using a Thunderbolt NVMe SSD. There are also update compatibility holds in place for people trying to upgrade to these versions of Windows 10.

Microsoft has acknowledged an issue that causes such Solid State Disks to generate blue screens in recent versions of Windows 10. People affected by the issue will see an error that reads "DRIVER_VERIFIER_DMA_VIOLATION (e6) An illegal DMA operation was attempted by a driver being verified"; Microsoft says a fix is being worked on.

Thunderbolt 3 docking stations are really cool, but there is a big problem with them -- most computers don't have TB3! Unfortunately, manufacturers typically only put Thunderbolt 3 in premium laptops, with budget and mid-range computers often left out of the party.

Thankfully, USB is ubiquitous, and there are docking stations that are compatible with it. Most new docks, however, are designed for USB-C. So what do you do if you want a fancy new docking station but only have USB-A? Well, StarTech.com has a new product that answers that question. Called "DK30C2DPEP," it is a hybrid docking station that works with both USB-A and USB-C computers. This is achieved by supplying a USB-C to USB-C cable that has a USB-A adapter attached.

Well, folks, the Thunderbolt 4 revolution is just about here. Some computers with Intel's 11th-generation Core processors (Tiger Lake) will offer TB4 ports, and eventually, devices that can actually take advantage of the standard will be hitting the market. For the immediate future, however, Thunderbolt 3 will still reign supreme. Thankfully, TB4 is backwards compatible with TB3 (and uses the same USB-C connector), so your existing gear should continue to work fine.

If you are chomping at the bit to see some actual Thunderbolt 4 devices, I have some great news. Today, the typically Apple-focused company, OWC, unveils the Thunderbolt 4 Hub for Windows 10 devices. Essentially, it turns one TB4 port into three (no daisy-chaining needed), while also offering a USB-A port (3.2 gen 2) for good measure.

AMD has owned 2020 with its excellent Ryzen mobile processors, but you didn't expect Intel to remain quiet, did you? With its new 11th gen Core processors (also known as Tiger Lake), Intel is looking to battle back quite strongly -- especially with the new Iris Xe graphics.

Today, Dynabook announces two new durable (MIL-STD-810G) Portégé laptops that are powered by these new Intel chips. Called "X30W-J" and "X30L-J," the former is a traditional clam shell, while the latter is a 2-in-1. Both lightweight laptops have 13.3-inch screens and can be configured with either a Core i5-1135G7 or i7-11-65G7 processor. The X30W-J can be had with up to 48GB RAM (wow), while the X30L-J is limited to 32GB. They both have high-end features like Thunderbolt 4 and Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) too.