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The Best Dell Cyber Week Deals on Alienware Gaming PCs, Laptops, Monitors

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Dell’s Cyber Monday sale continues for Cyber Week, which starts now and continues through this weekend. There are still some great deals on Alienware and Dell XPS gaming PCs, Alienware and Dell G-series gaming laptops, gaming consoles, monitors, and electronics. Of particular note, for the first time ever the 2022-2023 Alienware Aurora R15 PC with the new 13th gen Intel Raptor Lake CPU and GeForce RTX 4090 CPU is on sale with a 10% off coupon code. That brings the price down to under $4K, still out of reach for most people, but a hefty $450 discount nonetheless. Check out the deals below.

New Release: Alienware Aurora R15 Intel Core i9 Raptor Lake GeForce RTX 4090 Gaming PC

with 240mm AIO Watercooling and 1350W Power Supply

Use code: GAMING10

Alienware Aurora R15 Intel Core i9-13900KF RTX 4090 Gaming PC with 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, 1350W PSU, 240mm Liquid Cooler

Use promo code “GAMING10”

10% off $4,399.99

New for the 2022-2023 season, the Alienware Aurora R15 is the first ever Dell PC equipped with both the 13th generation Intel Raptor Lake processor and the RTX 40 series GPU. The Intel Core i9-13900KF boasts a turbo-boosted clock speed of 5.8GHz and a whopping 24 cores and 32 threads. It’s definitely more powerful than the i9 Alder Lake, and it gives AMD’s flagship AMD Ryzen 9 7950X a run for its money.

The RTX 4090 is far and away the most powerful video card you can get right now. No other GPU, either from NVIDIA or from AMD, comes close. As a reference, the RTX 4090 is about 110% faster at 4K gaming than the already impressive RTX 3080. It’s about 60% faster than the previous king, the RTX 3090 Ti. That could very well be the single biggest performance upgrade within a single generational gap for the GeForce line of cards.

Cyber Week Dell Gaming PC Deals

The Dell Cyber Week Sale includes deals on both the Alienware Aurora and Dell XPS gaming PCs. The Alienware Aurora certainly has gaming in its DNA; it’s sleek, shiny, colorful, and include more customization options and better cooling than the XPS desktops to make your ultimate tricked out gaming PC. The XPS, on the other hand, boasts a simpler, more understated design with fewer options but at an extremely reasonable price point. In terms of gaming performance, both will do the job very well.

Alienware Aurora R13 Intel Core i7-12700F RTX 3060 Ti Gaming PC with 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD

New Dell XPS Intel Core i7-12700 Alder Lake RTX 3060 Ti Gaming PC with 16GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB SSD, 1TB HDD

Alienware Aurora R14 AMD Ryzen 7 5800X RTX 3080 Ti Gaming PC with 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD

Cyber Week Dell Gaming Laptop Deals

These are the best Cyber Week gaming laptop deals that Dell is offering right now. They include the Dell G-series value gaming laptops, which offer ample amounts of gaming power at a very respectable price, the Alienware enthusiast gaming laptops, which emphasize maximum performance above all else, and the Dell XPS laptops, which offer ultraportability.

Alienware m15 R7 15″ 2560×1440 Intel Core i7-12700H RTX 3060 Gaming Laptop with 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD

Use code: GAMING10

Alienware m17 R5 17″ AMD Ryzen 7 6800H RTX 3070 Ti Gaming Laptop with 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD

Use promo code “GAMING10”

25% off $2,149.99

Alienware m15 R7 15″ 2560×1440 AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX RTX 3080 Gaming Laptop with 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD

Alienware m15 R7 15″ Intel Core i9-12900H RTX 3080 Gaming Laptop with 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD

Dell G15 15″ Intel Core i5-12500H RTX 3050 Ti Gaming Laptop with 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD

Dell G15 15″ AMD Ryzen 7 6800H RTX 3070 Gaming Laptop with 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD

Cyber Week Dell Gaming Monitor Deals

Dell is one of the most popular brand of gaming monitors, and for good reason. Dell’s monitors generally have high quality panels with excellent image quality, have lots of features, and come with an above average warranty that often includes a bright pixel exchange policy. Dell monitors usually command a relatively high retail price tag, but aggressive discounts come by fairly often during Cyber Week.

Alienware AW3821DW 38″ 3840×1600 Curved 1ms 144Hz G-SYNC Ultimate Nano IPS Gaming Monitor

Alienware AW3423DW 34″ 3440×1400 Curved 0.1ms 175Hz G-SYNC Ultimate QD-OLED Gaming Monitor

Dell S3422DWG 34″ 3440×1440 Curved 1ms 144Hz VA Gaming Monitor

Dell S2721DGF 27″ 2560×1440 1ms 165Hz G-SYNC IPS Gaming Monitor

Alienware AW2521HFL 25″ 1ms 240Hz G-SYNC IPS Gaming Monitor

Cyber Week Dell Electronics Deals

Many people think that Dell only sells computers and monitors. That actually isn’t true. Dell carries a whole range of video game consoles, gaming chairs, headphones, video cards, arcade machines, and all kinds of other gaming products you might not have thought of. Even better, Dell runs Cyber Week deals on these items that you won’t see anywhere else.

Bonus $150 Dell eGift Card

Arcade1Up The Simpsons Arcade Cabinet with Riser and Themed Stool Bundle

Bonus $150 Dell eGift Card

Arcade1Up Terminator Arcade Cabinet with Riser

Bonus $75 Dell eGift Card

Arcade1Up Super PAC-MAN Counter-Cade

Bonus $35 Dell Gift Card

Nintendo Switch Animal Crossing Edition Console

Bonus $35 Dell Gift Card

Nintendo Switch Console

PS5, PS4

Logitech G29 Driving Force Racing Wheel

Xbox, PC

Logitech G920 Driving Force Racing Wheel and Pedals Set

Bonus $75 Dell Gift Card

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Gaming Headset

Bonus $75 Dell Gift Card

Thrustmaster TCA Yoke Boeing Edition

Bonus $100 Dell Gift Card

TCA Yoke Pack Boeing Edition with Yoke and Throttle

Bonus $75 Dell Gift Card

Alienware S5000 Gaming Chair

Why Pick a Dell or Alienware Gaming PC?

Not everyone is the DIY type, and building your own PC is definitely not for everyone. If you’re in the market for a prebuilt gaming PC, Dell is one of best brands we’d recommend. The Alienware gaming desktops offer a staggering array of options, all built into a custom chassis that’s both easy on the eyes and easy on the wallet. Alienware gaming laptops in recent years have been redesigned to be thinner and lighter while still offering the same immense power under the hood. Consistent build quality, available inventory, frequent sales, and solid customer service are the main reasons why Dell is at the top of our buying list. Below, you’ll find some of the best deals available on PCs and laptops on Dell right now.

Looking for more discounts? Take a look at our best Cyber Monday deals today.

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How a Microsoft blunder opened millions of PCs to potent malware attacks

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Getty Images

For almost two years, Microsoft officials botched a key Windows defense, an unexplained lapse that left customers open to a malware infection technique that has been especially effective in recent months.

Microsoft officials have steadfastly asserted that Windows Update will automatically add new software drivers to a blocklist designed to thwart a well-known trick in the malware infection playbook. The malware technique—known as BYOVD, short for “bring your own vulnerable driver”—makes it easy for an attacker with administrative control to bypass Windows kernel protections. Rather than writing an exploit from scratch, the attacker simply installs any one of dozens of third-party drivers with known vulnerabilities. Then the attacker exploits those vulnerabilities to gain instant access to some of the most fortified regions of Windows.

It turns out, however, that Windows was not properly downloading and applying updates to the driver blocklist, leaving users vulnerable to new BYOVD attacks.

As attacks surge, Microsoft countermeasures languish

Drivers typically allow computers to work with printers, cameras, or other peripheral devices—or to do other things such as provide analytics about the functioning of computer hardware. For many drivers to work, they need a direct pipeline into the kernel, the core of an operating system where the most sensitive code resides. For this reason, Microsoft heavily fortifies the kernel and requires all drivers to be digitally signed with a certificate that verifies they have been inspected and come from a trusted source.

Even then, however, legitimate drivers sometimes contain memory corruption vulnerabilities or other serious flaws that, when exploited, allow hackers to funnel their malicious code directly into the kernel. Even after a developer patches the vulnerability, the old, buggy drivers remain excellent candidates for BYOVD attacks because they’re already signed. By adding this kind of driver to the execution flow of a malware attack, hackers can save weeks of development and testing time.

BYOVD has been a fact of life for at least a decade. Malware dubbed “Slingshot” employed BYOVD since at least 2012, and other early entrants to the BYOVD scene included LoJax, InvisiMole, and RobbinHood.

Over the past couple of years, we have seen a rash of new BYOVD attacks. One such attack late last year was carried out by the North Korean government-backed Lazarus group. It used a decommissioned Dell driver with a high-severity vulnerability to target an employee of an aerospace company in the Netherlands and a political journalist in Belgium.

In a separate BYOVD attack a few months ago, cybercriminals installed the BlackByte ransomware by installing and then exploiting a buggy driver for Micro-Star’s MSI AfterBurner 4.6.2.15658, a widely used graphics card overclocking utility.

In July, a ransomware threat group installed the driver mhyprot2.sys—a deprecated anti-cheat driver used by the wildly popular game Genshin Impact—during targeted attacks that went on to exploit a code execution vulnerability in the driver to burrow further into Windows.

A month earlier, criminals spreading the AvosLocker ransomware likewise abused the vulnerable Avast anti-rootkit driver aswarpot.sys to bypass virus scanning.

Entire blog posts have been devoted to enumerating the growing instances of BYOVD attacks, with this post from security firm Eclypsium and this one from ESET among the most notable.

Microsoft is acutely aware of the BYOVD threat and has been working on defenses to stop these attacks, mainly by creating mechanisms to stop Windows from loading signed-but-vulnerable drivers. The most common mechanism for driver blocking uses a combination of what’s called memory integrity and HVCI, short for Hypervisor-Protected Code Integrity. A separate mechanism for preventing bad drivers from being written to disk is known as ASR, or Attack Surface Reduction.

Unfortunately, neither approach seems to have worked as well as intended.

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Technology

Repurposed NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060M Graphics Card Tested, A Mobility GPU For Desktop PCs That Performs Better Than Desktop Variant

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NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3060M Mobility GPU has been repurposed into a desktop-grade graphics card for the PC market. This is one of the many mobility Ampere GPUs that was designed for an entirely different market segment but due to GPU shortages earlier this year, it had been fused within a desktop graphics card and now we have the first tests.

Tested: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060M Mobility GPU In A Desktop Graphics Card?

Readers may remember during the graphics card shortage when the situation with obtaining components to create graphics cards was difficult, and prices were insanely high due to not enough stock on the shelves. Some Chinese OEMs looked at utilizing laptop GPUs as a replacement for desktop graphics cards. When the GPU shortage hit the hardest, Chinese OEMs came up with the idea to sell laptop GPUs as desktop models. One such graphics card was recently reviewed by the YouTube channel BullsLab Jay, showing the performance of a variant NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060M.

As stated above, this unique graphics card is a laptop-based GPU in a desktop graphics card. There is only 6 GB of GDDR6 memory available instead of the typical 12 GB we would see on the GeForce RTX 3060. Interestingly, the CUDA core count is upgraded from a desktop variant’s core count of 3584 cores to 3840 CUDA cores. The TDP on the mobile-based desktop GPU is 115W, whereas the full desktop variant would demand 170W. During the review, the review sample used by BullLab Jay is locked at 80W. Surprisingly, the card performs like a desktop graphics card and is much better than the 105W laptop series.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060M laptop graphics chip and the graphics card that uses a laptop GPU for the desktop card share the same name, the GN20-E3.

The hybrid desktop NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060M graphics card was not built for gaming but crypto mining. The reason is the lack of an LHR limitation but still offering close to the exact memory specifications for Ethereum mining. But now that mining is pretty much useless on these cards, they are entering the used market segment.

These hybrid NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 series cards are a Frankenstein monster of graphics cards, so there are no drivers created by the company manufacturing the GPUs, meaning they require custom drivers. The specific driver, the 512.12 release, is incredibly older. Due to NVIDIA’s lack of official support, it is speculated that the cards were manufactured illegally. Confusingly, NVIDIA appears not to show any interest in stopping the sale of any of these cards, which have a reasonably great demand on Chinese retailer websites.

The video is interesting because it allows the public to see how these hybrid cards performed. It is too bad that the cards never made it outside China’s marketplace, as they could have assisted with the crisis, even just a little. But it’s a good thing that GPU shortages are over. There was also the RTX 3070M graphics card which we talked about a few months ago here.

In the review, BullLab Jay shows that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060M desktop graphics card is identical to its laptop variant, even with the variation between TDP levels. Clock speeds are higher, between 100 to 300 MHz, and are dependent on the processes happening in the system at the moment. The desktop GPU offers excellent heat dissipation and ideal cooling that dwarfs laptop versions.

As for gaming performance, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060M graphics card actually managed to offer better performance than the desktop variant. This is due to the fact that it offers a higher core count.

Below are 3DMark scores tabulated from the review:

These hybrid NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 series graphics cards are not recommended for regular use with a lack of official support and possibly questionable warranty situations. But, it is interesting to see a laptop GPU in a desktop card, reminiscent of DIY projects found on the Internet.

News Sources: BullsLab Jay, VideoCardz

Products mentioned in this post



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Technology

Google says you can now turn these 400 Macs, PCs into reliable Chromebooks

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Enlarge / Google Chrome OS Flex.

Google today announced in a blog post that ChromeOS Flex, a version of its Chromebook operating system suitable for most hardware, has moved from early access to general availability. It also said it certified “over 400” devices, including systems from Apple, Dell, and HP, to run the OS smoothly and stably.

Google announced ChromeOS Flex in February, building upon its 2020 acquisition of CloudReady (CloudReady becomes ChromeOS Flex now that the latter is stable). Cloud OS Flex is downloadable to a USB drive for free, allowing you to install it on a Mac or Windows PC.

The most obvious use for ChromeOS Flex is to bring new life to a dated machine that may be too old to get software updates for its native OS. Our ChromeOS Flex beta review found the OS to be an interesting alternative for people content with doing most of their computing in a browser and for getting a budget-level Chromebook experience from an 8-to 9-year-old system.

In his blog post today, Thomas Riedl, director of Product, Enterprise and Education at Google, also highlighted enterprise potential for ChromeOS Flex, detailing 200 Nordic Choice hotels that reportedly used ChromeOS Flex to restore 2,000 computers in about two days after a ransomware attack.

In his blog, Riedl claimed that Google used ChromeOS Flex’s early access period to resolve “over 600 issues” and that the company will continue to certify more devices to run the OS. He said the hundreds devices already certified—including the Apple Mac Mini 7,1; Apple MacBook 7,1; Apple MacBook Air 5,1; and 1st Gen Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon—will provide a “consistent and high-quality experience” while running ChromeOS Flex.

You can still install ChromeOS Flex on a device Google hasn’t certified, assuming it meets the minimum requirements (Arm chips, for example, aren’t supported), but, according to Google, the machine has to be certified for the following functions to be Google-guaranteed:

  • System UI and graphics
  • Installation
  • Wi-Fi
  • Ethernet
  • Internal display (if applicable)
  • At least one method each of audio input and output
  • Sleep and resume
  • Touchpad
  • Keyboard
  • USB
  • Non-infrared (IR) webcam (if applicable)

Even with ChromeOS Flex certification, however, there are some functions that Google says it tested but are “not necessarily guaranteed to work on every certified model.” They are:

  • Bluetooth
  • Touchscreen
  • Automatic screen rotation
  • Keyboard shortcuts and function keys
  • SD card slots

And there are numerous features and ports that Google says aren’t tested or supported on ChromeOS Flex at all, including fingerprint readers, optical drivers, IR webcams, proprietary connectors, stylus input, and Thunderbolt functionality.

In general, a non-Chromebook running ChromeOS Flex may not have lesser performance, including boot speed, battery life, and power savings, as a machine running ChromeOS, according to Google.

ChromeOS Flex’s certified devices list shows a broad range, but for those used to a different operating system, the transition won’t necessarily be seamless. Still, it remains a viable option for those who would rather have a low-power, makeshift Chromebook than more e-waste.

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Technology

HP 4th of July Sale Is Live Now: 10% Off Coupon Code and Incredible Savings on Gaming PCs and Laptops

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HP is hosting its annual 4th of July Sale, complete with some incredible discounts on several of their latest model gaming desktop PCs and laptops equipped with the newest Intel Alder Lake CPUs and GeForce RTX 30 series video cards. To make the deal even sweeter, there are even tiered 5% off and 10% off coupon codes that stack with these instant discounts. These prices are competitive with the lowest prices you’ll see from other gaming brands elsewhere, and everything is backed by a 1 year HP warranty for peace of mind.

HP 4th of July Sale

HP

4th of July Sale

Even thought the Fourth is in our rear view mirror, the chances to save on gaming PCs and laptops, monitors and VR headsets is still live.

HP Coupon Codes

Use code: 5JULY4HP

5% off Select HP Gaming PCs $599+

Use promo code “5JULY4HP”

Use code: 10JULY4HP

10% off Select HP Gaming PCs $1099+

Use promo code “10JULY4HP”

No coupon needed

Free Shipping on Orders $49+

HP 4th of July Gaming PC Deals

HP also plenty of excellent gaming PC deals for the 4th of July week, especially when combined with the 5% off or 10% off coupon codes. Eligible models include the newly updated 2022 HP Envy and OMEN gaming PCs. The HP Envy lineup is nice for those who don’t want their gaming PC to look like… well, a gaming PC. It has plenty of customizable powerful components under the hood combined with understated aesthetics. If, however, you want bold standout looks (and RGB!) and over-the-top cooling, you’ll want to look towards the HP OMEN lineup. The HP OMEN 25L is a budget oriented gaming PC that offers RTX 30 series power at a fantastic price point. The HP OMEN 40L and 45L are updates over the previous generation’s 25L and 30L. The new models have a larger chassis volume and twin (40L) or triple (45L) intake fans for better airflow. The 45L goes even further by placing a 360mm liquid cooling system externally above the case dubbed the “Cryo Chamber”. That allows for cooling that rivals enthusiast DIY systems. Components wise, both the 40L and 45L are equipped with the newest Intel Alder Lake processor, Z690 motherboard and RTX 30 series video card.

Use code: 5JULY4HP

HP ENVY Intel Core i5-12400 Alder Lake RTX 3060 Ti Gaming PC with 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD

Select RTX 3060 Ti

Use promo code “5JULY4HP”

27% off $1,309.99

Use code: 10JULY4HP

HP OMEN 25L Intel Core i7-12700 RTX 3070 Gaming PC with 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 1TB HDD

Use promo code “10JULY4HP”

23% off $1,749.99

Use code: 10JULY4HP

HP ENVY Intel Core i7-12700 RTX 3070 Ti Gaming PC with 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD

Use promo code “10JULY4HP”

19% off $1,899.99

Use code: 10JULY4HP

HP OMEN 25L Intel Core i5-12400 Alder Lake RTX 3080 Gaming PC with 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD

Select RTX 3080

Use promo code “10JULY4HP”

26% off $1,919.99

HP OMEN 30L Intel Core i7-11700K RTX 3080 Ti Gaming PC with 32GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 2TB HDD

Use code: 10JULY4HP

HP OMEN 45L Intel Core i7-12700K Alder Lake RTX 3060 Ti Gaming PC with 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD

Use promo code “10JULY4HP”

28% off $2,109.99

Use code: 10JULY4HP

HP OMEN 45L Intel Core i7-12700K Alder Lake RTX 3080 Gaming PC with 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 1TB HDD

Use promo code “10JULY4HP”

20% off $2,699.99

HP 4th of July Gaming Laptop Deals

The HP 4th of July sale includes deals on three gaming laptops. HP OMEN laptops offer capable gaming performance in a sleek and thin package. These HP configs are equipped with either an RTX 3060 or RTX 3070 video card, which are recommended for portable gaming. A less power video card would limit the games you would be able to play, and a more powerful video card probably wouldn’t be noticeable in terms of 1080p gameplay performance.

Use code: 10JULY4HP

HP OMEN 16″ AMD Ryzen 7 5800H RTX 3070 Gaming Laptop with 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD

Use promo code “10JULY4HP”

19% off $1,549.99

Use code: 5JULY4HP

HP OMEN 15″ AMD Ryzen 5 5600H RTX 3060 Gaming Laptop with 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD

Use promo code “5JULY4HP”

23% off $1,299.99

Use code: 10JULY4HP

HP OMEN 15″ Intel Core i7-10870H RTX 3060 Gaming Laptop with 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD

Use promo code “10JULY4HP”

28% off $1,499.99

HP Reverb G2 VR Headset

The Reverb G2 normally sells for $599, but the HP Store has it for $200 off. That makes it the same price as the Oculus Quest 2 256gb model but with some significant upgrades under the hood. The Reverb G2 sports the second highest resolution of any VR headset with 2160×2160 pixels per eye (even more than the already impressive Quest 2’s 1832×1920 resolution), manual IPD adjustment, a far more robust headstrap than the Quest 2, inside-out tracking that doesn’t require external sensors, and off-ear headphones so they don’t get as grimy and maintains your peripheral hearing.

HP 4th of July Gaming Monitor Deals

A good gaming PC can’t reach its fullest potential unless it is paired with a good gaming PC. HP’s 4th of July sale includes some big discounts on three gaming-centric monitors. These monitors all boast blazing fast 1ms response times, 165Hz refresh rates, and high quality IPS panels. Of course they will make excellent general purpose workstation monitors as well.

HP OMEN 27i 27″ 2560×1440 1ms 165Hz GSYNC-Compatible Nano IPS Gaming Monitor

HP OMEN 25i 25″ 1080p 1ms 165HZ GSYNC-Compatible IPS Gaming Monitor

HP X32 32″ 2560×1440 1ms 165Hz AMD FreeSync Premium IPS Gaming Monitor

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Technology

Dell announces all-new redesigned XPS 13 and XPS 13 2-in-1 premium laptop and folio PCs for 2022

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  • Dell has announced the all-new XPS 13 (9315) and XPS 13 2-in-1 (9315) premium laptop and folio PC.
  • The new XPS 13 has a motherboard that is 1.8x smaller than last year’s model, making it the most compact XPS 13 yet.
  • Both laptops feature Intel 12th Gen U-series processors, and the 2-in-1 offers optional 5G connectivity.
  • The new XPS 13 is available and starts at $999, while the XPS 13 2-in-1 is coming later this summer, with a price yet to be determined.

While all the attention has fallen on the radical XPS 13 Plus (along with its high price tag), Dell had a few more laptops up its sleeve for those who wanted a more conservative yet modern design while also being more affordable.

The new XPS 13 and XPS 13 2-in-1, both 9315 model numbers, complete that lineup offering something for everyone who wants a clean, minimalist laptop.

XPS 13 (9315)

The all-new XPS 13 (9315) in Umber colorway for 2022.  (Image credit: Dell)

First up is the new XPS 13 (9315). At first glance, it’d be easy to dismiss it as just another refresh with its famed CNC machined aluminum and glass chassis but with a newer processor slapped in and some new colors; however, that is severely underestimating the internal work Dell has done.

For one, this is the lightest, thinnest XPS 13 with the smallest footprint. Sure, we’re talking millimeters, but it’s even noticeable in photo comparisons. We have a complete spec comparison between the new XPS 13 (9315) and last year’s XPS 13 (9310) for those who want a deeper dive.

Dell packed in Intel’s 12th Gen U-series processors (Core i5-1230U or i7-1250U), which have a base power of just 9 watts (versus 15 in last year’s model) and a max turbo power of 29 watts. While the XPS 13 (9315) is more powerful (and more efficient) than 2021’s XPS 13 (9310), it won’t be as powerful as the more-expensive XPS 13 Plus, which runs 28-watt P-series chips, which is part of the price difference.

Additionally, Dell has added human presence detection (ExpressSign-In), Wi-Fi 6E, new colors (Sky, Umber), Bluetooth 5.2, faster LPDDR5-5200 RAM, and faster storage (PCIe 4.0) while coming in just a hair lighter and smaller than last year’s model.

The display is still the same excellent 16:10 13.4-inch with Dolby Vision in either a 1920×1200 (FHD+) in touch or non-touch/anti-glare or UHD+ (3840×2400) with touch and anti-reflective. 

To accomplish all that while also improving thermals (there is just one fan now, instead of two), Dell is leveraging cell phone PCB (Printed Circuit Board) technology when designing the motherboard. That effort resulted in the board being a massive 1.8x smaller than the previous generation. With that extra space, Dell kept the battery nearly the same size (51WHr vs. 52) and put in larger speaker boxes for “deeper bass, louder sound, and better overall audio” with 4 watts of output.

While RAM has been previously soldered to the motherboard to save space, Dell is also now using an industry-first NVMe BGA SSD, which is just 13% the size of a traditional M.2 2280 SSD (it’s also now built into the board). That LPDDR5 x64 RAM is now also Package on a Package (PoP), a fancy term for stacking components — again, this is something never done in laptops as most use JEDEC memory standards.

XPS 13 (9315)
OS Windows 11 Home, Windows 11 Pro, Ubuntu 20.04
Processor 12th Gen Intel Core i5-1230U, i7-1250U
RAM 8GB, 16GB, 32GB LPDDR5-5200
Graphics Intel Iris Xe
Storage 256GB, 512GB, 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD
Display 13.4 inches, 16:10 aspect ratio, Dolby Vision, Eyesafe
1920×1200 (FHD+), 500 nits, 100% sRGB, AG
1920×1200 (FHD+), touch, 500 nits, 100% sRGB, AR
3840×2400 (UHD+), touch, 500 nits, HDR 400, 90% DCI-P3, AR
Ports Two Thunderbolt 4
Audio Stereo speakers, 4W output, MaxxAudio Pro, Waves Nx 3D, dual mics
Wireless Intel Killer Wi-Fi 6E 1675 (AX211), Bluetooth 5.2
Camera 720p, IR, ambient light sensor, human presence detection
Keyboard 1mm travel, backlight
Security Fingerprint reader, IR camera, HPD
Battery 51Wh
Dimensions 11.63 x 7.85 x 0.55 inches
295.4mm x 199.4mm x 13.99mm
Weight From 2.59 pounds (1.17kg)
Color Sky, Umber

Ports, however, are also cut down as there are just now two Type-C Thunderbolt 4 with no Type-A (a dongle is included in the box, however). Dell also eliminated the microSD slot and, more controversially, the 3.5 audio jack (there is an optional dongle for the headphone jack).

Pricing for the new XPS 13 starts at $999 (versus $1,249 for the XPS 13 Plus) and is now available for ordering. Besides Windows 11 Home and Windows 11 Pro options, users can also configure the XPS 13 with Ubuntu 20.04.

XPS 13 2-in-1 (9315)

(Image credit: Dell)

Besides the redesigned XPS 13, Dell brings back its 2-in-1 13-inch laptop. However, it is nearly unrecognizable from the previous model. Before, the XPS 13 2-in-1 (7390) was a more traditional laptop with a 360-degree hinge, which we praised highly. The new model is more like a Surface Pro — a tablet with a detachable keyboard, aka “folio” design. It leans much more heavily towards a tablet than a traditional laptop.

The new XPS XPS features a 13-inch 3K display with HDR400, and the new 9 watt 12th Gen Core i5-1230U or i7-1250U processor (the same as the XPS 13). The XPS 13 2-in-1 looks to be nearly all-display with Dell’s super thin screen borders. With Gorilla Glass 7 and active pen support, the folio design certainly opens the door for more usage cases like notetaking and drawing compared to the old model.

The XPS 13 2-in-1 is Dell’s first consumer PC with optional global 5G (and eSIM). For those who don’t need mobile data, the device falls back to Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2.

And because it’s now a tablet, the XPS 13 2-in-1 has two cameras. The front one is 5MP full HD (which is better than the XPS 13’s 720P) with IR for Windows Hello (a fingerprint reader is also built into the power button as another option). On the rear, the world-facing camera is a more powerful 11MP and can record up to 4K.

Ports are similar to the XPS 13 and XPS 13 Plus with just two Type-C Thunderbolt 4 with no 3.5mm headphone jack.

XPS 13 2-in-1 (9315)
OS Windows 11 Home, Windows 11 Pro
Processor 12th Gen Intel Core i5-1230U, i7-1250U
RAM 8GB, 16GB LPDDR4x-4266
Graphics Intel Iris Xe
Storage 256GB, 512GB, 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD
Display 13 inches, 3:2 aspect ratio, Dolby Vision, Eyesafe
2880×1920 (3K), touch, 500 nits, HDR 400, 100% sRGB, AR, pen support
Pen XPS Stylus (sold separately)
Ports Two Thunderbolt 4
Audio Waves MaxxAudio Pro, Waves Nx 3D, dual mics
Wireless Intel Killer Wi-Fi 6E 1675 (AX211), Bluetooth 5.2, 5G
Camera Front: 1080p, RGB + IR, ambient light sensor
Rear: 11MP 4K
Keyboard Attachable Folio (sold separately), 1mm travel
Security Fingerprint reader, IR camera
Battery 49.5Wh
Dimensions 11.5 x 7.9 x 0.29 inches
292.5mm x 201.2mm x 7.4mm)
Weight From 1.6 pounds (736g)
Folio: 1.23 pounds (560g)
Color Sky, Slate

Turning to some more controversial decisions besides no headphone jack is that the XPS Folio (the name for the zero-lattice keyboard with 1.0mm key travel and Precision touchpad) and XPS Stylus are sold separately. 

Moreover, that keyboard is not so much like Microsoft’s but rather the old-school style where it magnetically sticks to the rear of the device, forming a tent-like structure. This is due to no built-in kickstand with this PC. While this design works well on a desk, it’s not nearly as comfortable as the Surface Pro’s angled design and built-in kickstand.

Overall, the new XPS 13 2-in-1 at least stands out from every other non-enterprise convertible PC, which works in Dell’s favor. However, it remains to be seen if this radical new folio design will be a hit with consumers and will be amongst Dell’s best laptops. 

Availability for the new XPS 13 2-in-1 (9315) is due later this summer, although pricing has yet to be determined.

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Dell XPS 13 (9315)

The XPS 13 (9315) gets new performance hardware, human presence detection, and new color options, making it the best pick if you don’t need the XPS 13 Plus (9320).



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Technology

Microsoft has accidentally released Windows 11 for unsupported PCs

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Microsoft released the final version of its next big Windows 11 update (22H2) to Release Preview testers on Tuesday, and accidentally made it available to PCs that aren’t officially supported. Oops.

Twitter and Reddit users (via WindowsLatest) were quick to spot the mistake, with hundreds of Windows Insiders able to upgrade their Windows 10 machines on older CPUs. Microsoft has strict minimum hardware requirements for Windows 11, leaving millions of PCs behind, so the mistake will once again highlight the company’s controversial upgrade policy.

An unsupported PC gets offered Windows 11.
Image: AceRimmer412 (Reddit)

Windows 11 officially requires Intel 8th Gen Coffee Lake or Zen 2 CPUs and up, with very few exceptions. While there are easy ways to install Windows 11 on unsupported CPUs, Microsoft doesn’t even let its Windows Insiders officially install beta builds of the operating system on unsupported PCs, so this mistaken release is rather unusual.

Microsoft is aware of the mistake and says it’s investigating. “It’s a bug and the right team is investigating it,” says the official Windows Insider Twitter account. If you managed to install Windows 11 on an unsupported PC and were expecting only Release Preview updates for Windows 10, you should be able to rollback the unexpected upgrade in the settings section of Windows 11.



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Technology

Annoying desktop watermark comes to users of unsupported Windows 11 PCs

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Enlarge / Windows 11 running on an old Windows 7-era HP laptop.

Andrew Cunningham

Windows 11 has stricter system requirements than any Windows version before it, dropping support for a wide range of pre-2018 PCs in the name of improving the Windows platform’s security baseline. You can work around these requirements to install Windows 11 on unsupported PCs relatively easily, but Microsoft added warnings to its installer and has threatened to withhold updates from these systems. So far, the company hasn’t followed through on that threat. But using Windows 11 on these somewhat older computers is about to get more annoying.

A new Windows 11 update adds a “system requirements not met” watermark to the desktop of unsupported PCs, similar to the watermark you might see if you were running an early beta or unactivated version of Windows. The screenshot below is from a PC that supports TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot but uses an unsupported 6th-generation Intel Core CPU.

The watermark you’ll begin seeing on unsupported PCs. A similar “requirements not met” message will also appear in the Settings app.

Andrew Cunningham

This message will presumably appear when your PC doesn’t meet one or more of the operating system’s core security requirements: a supported Intel, AMD, or ARM processor; Secure Boot support; and TPM 2.0 hardware or firmware. This means it may also appear for users of PCs that are fully capable of meeting Windows 11’s requirements, but which have Secure Boot or their TPM turned off either by accident or on purpose (many motherboard BIOSes came with one or both disabled by default for years, though recent updates have changed those settings).

The new Windows 11 version (build number 22000.588) is currently in the Windows Insider Release Preview channel reserved for updates that will roll out to everyone within a few days or weeks. That means most people with unsupported hardware will begin seeing this message sooner rather than later, provided they’re keeping their PCs up to date.

Messages like this one were discovered in Windows 11 beta builds back in early February, suggesting that Microsoft has been considering these changes for a while. For now, the watermark doesn’t affect functionality, and these Windows 11 PCs will continue to operate as they did before. The watermark should be possible to disable via registry edits if that’s something you’re comfortable with. But it’s proof that Microsoft can continue to distinguish between supported and unsupported PCs after you’ve installed the operating system and that the company could use that distinction to withhold updates or disable some Windows features in the future.

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Technology

Daily Deals: Apple AirPods, Crucial PS5 SSD, LG C1 4K OLED TV, Alienware Gaming PCs, and More Are on Sale Today

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Today you can save $850 off the 2021 65″ LG C1 OLED 4K TV at Woot. It’s the best price we’ve ever seen and lower than on Black Friday. There’s also a PS5 compatible Crucial 1TB SSD that’s only $107.99. That’s a new price low for a PS5 compatible SSD from ANY brand (and Crucial is a very reliable brand). If you’re looking for a reasonable price on Apple Airpods, the 3rd generation Apple AirPods is also on sale today. These deals and more below.

65″ LG C1 4K OLED Smart Gaming TV

If money isn’t an object, OLED TVs are considered the best TVs you can buy right now. Compared to traditional LED LCD TVs, they offer better image quality, deeper blacks, better contrast ratio, wider color gamut, and super fast response times. They excel at both gaming and viewing 4K HDR content. In terms of general usability, they consume less power and they’re very thin and sit flusher against the wall. Amongst OLED TVs, the LG C1 is oft considered the flag bearer; it’s the one TV that all other OLED TVs are compared against. The LG OLED TV boasts several generations of optimizations under its belt and the latest C1 model is future proofed with technology like HDMI 2.1 (4K @ 120Hz), variable refresh rate, G-SYNC, the newest LG A9 Gen4 processor and a revamped webOS smart TV interface.

Crucial P5 Plus 1TB M.2 SSD

PS5 Compatible

Use code: AFFSSDMAR

Crucial P5 Plus 1TB Gen4 x4 M.2 SSD (up to 6600Mbps)

Use promo code “AFFSSDMAR”

38% off $174.99

Newegg has dropped the price on the Crucial P5 Plus SSD, making it the cheapest PS5-compatible SSD in our roundup today. Crucial’s newest P5 Plus series PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 SSD meets all the requirements for your PS5 SSD upgrade. It supports transfer speeds of up to 6,660MB/s, well above the 5,000MB/s minimum threshold. No heatsink is included, so add $10 for a cheap heatsink on Amazon.

Newest Apple AirPods for $144.99

The 3rd gen Apple AirPods came out in late 2021 at an MSRP of $179. Today there’s a $35 price drop at Woot. The 3rd gen Apple AirPods improves upon the 2nd gen with a longer battery life, (arguably) better sound, IPX4-rating for sweat resistance, and a MagSafe compatible wireless charging case.

3 Months of Paramount Plus for $3

Halo TV series premieres on March 24 only on Paramount Plus

Use code: BIRTHDAY

3 Months of Paramount Plus for $3

Use promo code “BIRTHDAY”

80% off $15.00

It’s the 1 year anniversary of Paramount Plus (previously known as CBS All-Access). To commemorate this milestone, Paramount is offering new subscribers a discounted rate of $1/mo for the limited ad plan (normally $5) or $2/mo for the ad-free plan (normally $10). Catch up on Paramount exclusive shows and movies like Picard, Star Trek Discovery, and Infinite with Mark Wahlberg. The Paramount exclusive Halo TV series premieres on March 24 as well. This limited time offer ends on March 7.

60% Off Atgames Legends Gamer Mini and Pro Standalone Arcade Consoles

The Atgames Legends Gamer Pro is a wireless arcade control top that also serves as a standalone arcade console (with the included puck) for up to 2 players. Plug the puck in and you get to play over 100 licensed built-in arcade classics without ever having to buy a separate arcade cabinet. Both wireless (Bluetooth) and wired (USB) options are available. Additionally, you can also use it as a controller for your PC, streaming device, or gaming console. The Gamer Mini offers the same experience but for a single player.

10% Off $50 Nintendo eShop Gift Card

Save $5 off any game at the eShop with this digital gift card from Amazon. Use it to pick up Kirby and the Forgotten Land when it releases on March 25 or Triangle Strategy, which releases on March 4. Or you can just hold onto the card and use it during the next eShop sale, since it stacks with instant discounts.

Alienware Aurora R12 RTX 3070 PC for $1499.99

Alienware Aurora R10 AMD Ryzen 7 5800 RTX 3070 PC with 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD

This is the first time we’ve seen an Alienware Aurora gaming PC equipped with an RTX 3070 priced at under $1500. The RTX 3070 is even more powerful than the previous generation’s fastest video card, the RTX 2080 Ti. This is the card to get if you want to push 144Hz frame rates or ultra high settings (or both) at up to 1440p. It’s powerful enough to handle most 4K gaming as well. It’s paired with some great specs, like a liquid cooled AMD Ryzen 7 5800 processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB SSD.

Alienware Aurora R12 RTX 3080 PC for $2199.99

Alienware Aurora R10 AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core RTX 3080 Gaming PC with 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD

The RTX 3080 is way more powerful than the previous generation’s best video card, the RTX 2080 Ti, and is the best recommended video card for 4K gaming. The RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3090 are the only cards that are (very slightly) more powerful, but they cost hundreds of dollars more. The RTX 3080 is paired with an AMD Ryzen 9 5900 CPU, which is one of the best processors you can get at the moment, whether it be for gaming or for workstation purposes. It’s been upgraded with liquid cooling as well. The rig is ready to go out of the box with 16GB of DD4-3200MHz RAM and a generously sized 1TB M.2 PCIe NVME SSD. Don’t worry, even the power supply is up to snuff with an ample 1000W rating.

ASUS ROG Zephyrus 15″ RTX 3080 Gaming Laptop

ASUS ROG Zephyrus 15″ 2560×1600 AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS RTX 3080 Gaming Laptop with 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD

For today only, Best Buy is offering this RTX 3080 equipped gaming laptop for only $1899. It’s paired with some pretty outstanding specs, like a 15.6″ 2560×1600 165Hz DCI-P3 IPS display, AMD Ryzen 9 processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. The RTX 3080 has an 80W TDP rating. It’s also very lightweight for a 15″ gaming laptop, weighing in at only 4.2 pounds.

Arcade1Up The Simpsons Arcade Cabinet

The Simpsons cabinet is a 3:4 replica of the arcade original, making it approximately 4 feet tall. That said, a matching riser is included which raises the height by another 1 foot, giving you the option of both sitting and standing play. Up to 4 players can join in on the classic Simpsons side-scrolling arcade game as Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa. If you don’t have a buddy around to play with, you can hop onto the live WiFi (no subscription required) to play with other remote Arcade1Up players. In addition to the core The Simpsons game, The Simpsons Bowling is also preloaded.

Arcade1Up Mortal Kombat Arcade Cabinet

Starting today at Walmart, the Arcade1Up Mortal Kombat has also dropped in price. Arcade1Up is known for releasing high-quality recreations of your favorite arcade games, and the Mortal Kombat cabinet (or is it Kabinet?) is no exception. In addition to the classic fighting game, the cabinet comes with 11 other games on board. This model doesn’t include a riser.

New Humble Choice PC Bundle: Get Mass Effect Legendary Edition and 7 Other Games for $12

Humble Choice PC Bundle ft Mass Effect Legendary Edition and 7 Other Games

Starting today, you can pick up a copy of Mass Effect Legendary Edition and 7 other PC games for only $11.99. Mass Effect Legendary Edition currently sells for $60 on Steam, so getting that game alone for $12 would already be a fantastic deal. Humble Choice gives you additional perks like access to their Humble Games Collection and up to 20% off Humble Store purchases for the rest of the month. You can cancel your subscription anytime.

85″ Sony X91J 4K Full Array LED Google TV (2021)

Projectors are out. You can score one of Sony’s higher-end full-array LED TVs of 2021 – at a massive size no less – for under $2000. A true (not simulated) 4K projector costs upwards for $4K+ and even at the price it couldn’t touch the image quality like you would on this TV. Compared to a “regular” 65″ TV set, the size difference is huge. An 85″ TV boasts a whopping 70% larger viewing area than a 65″ TV. You definitely won’t get a bigger screen AND amazing image quality for the same price anywhere else right now. It also boasts HDMI 2.1 for 4K @ 120Hz and VRR and it looks good in HDR thanks to its wide color gamut and full array LED backlighting with local dimming.

Logitech G Pro X Superlight Wireless Gaming Mouse

Weighs Only 63 Grams

Logitech G Pro X Superlight Wireless Gaming Mouse

The Logitech G Pro X Superlight is the lightest wireless mouse that Logitech carries. It’s 63 grams of weight is less than most wired mice. As a comparison, the original Logitech G Pro (wireless) weighs 80 grams, the G903 weighs 110 grams, the MX Master 3 weighs 141 grams, and the popular G502 (wired) weighs 121 grams. It features an accurate 25K HERO sensor, five mouse buttons, onboard memory, large PTFE mouse feet, and a click tensioning system.

WD Easystore 5TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive

WD Easystore 5TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive (BB Exclusive)

This portable hard drive adds more storage to your PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Portable drives are much smaller than their desktop hard drive siblings and require no additional power other than the obligatory USB port.

Mainstays Parson’s Lift-Top Coffee Table

Do you like snacking while gaming? This Mainstays coffee table from Walmart is 50% off today and might just fit your lifestyle. This lift-top coffee table features a top that convenient rises up and forward, putting your snacks right in front of you. There’s also plenty of space to neatly hide away all of your games, controllers, and accessories when they’re not in use.

Nintendo Switch OLED In & Out of Stock

The newest Nintendo Switch OLED model has been incredibly difficult to find throughout the holiday season. It’s back today on Amazon for a very limited time. This Switch features a larger, more vibrant OLED touchscreen display, an upgrade to the terrible OG kickstand, an ethernet port on the docking station, and of course new Joy-Con colors.

ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1660 Ti Gaming PC

ASUS ROG STRIX AMD Ryzen 5 3600X GTX 1660 Ti Gaming PC with 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD

Walmart is offering this AMD Ryzen 5 3600X GTX 1660 Ti equipped gaming PC for only $799. The GTX 1660 Ti is still a very capable video card that can handle just about any game at 1080p resolution. You certainly won’t find a more powerful video card for this price.

CyberpowerPC Gamer Xtreme RTX 3060 Gaming PC

CyberPowerPC Intel Core i5-11600KF RTX 3060 Gaming PC with 16GB RAM, 500GB SSD, 1TB HDD

Currently this is one of the least expensive RTX 3060 gaming rigs we can find. It’s sold and shipped by Amazon direct (not a 3rd party vendor). Although the ship date is a little while off in early April, there are reports of some people getting it much earlier. The low price tag might imply that the RTX 3060 is not up to snuff, but nothing could be further from the truth. The RTX 3060 is about 20% faster than the RTX 2060 SUPER and is on par with the RTX 2070. That means it handles 1080p gaming beautifully and has the chops to take on 1440p and VR.

RTX 30 Series Video Card Bundles at Newegg

If you prefer to build your own gaming PC instead and you absolutely cannot wait any longer for an RTX series video card, check out these combo bundles at Newegg. Pick up an RTX 3060, RTX 3070, or RTX 3080 video card bundled with a motherboard, SSD, RAM, computer case, or PSU. You’ll get a lot more value than spending the same amount (or more) on just the video card alone from a scalper on eBay.

$39.99 or Less Nintendo Switch Games

Save 33% off select Nintendo Switch titles from Gamestop and Walmart. These jnclude popular and well-rated games like Fire Emblem Three Houses, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. It’s a great chance to build out your Switch library, especially if you’re one of the many who picked up a brand new Switch console over Black Friday or the holiday season.

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Technology

Chrome OS Flex is an ideal off-ramp for millions of PCs that can’t run Windows 11

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Aurich Lawson

October 14, 2025, marks the end of support and security updates for the Home and Pro versions of Windows 10. That means it’s also the end of official guaranteed feature and security updates for Windows PCs that don’t meet Windows 11’s hardware requirements.

Viewed from early 2022, that date is still comfortably far off. Many Windows 10 PCs will break over the next three and a half years, and plenty of people who want to upgrade to nicer or faster hardware will have opportunities to do so. But those who enjoy repairing, maintaining, and upgrading older hardware to keep it useful will be peering over the edge of that Windows 10 update cliff before they know it.

So what happens to that hardware when Windows 10 goes away? Running Windows 11 on unsupported hardware is one possible solution, but we have no idea how long Microsoft will allow users to install, run, and update Windows 11 on older PCs. The company could cut off these computers’ security updates tomorrow, or it could allow them to run the new OS indefinitely. That uncertainty is hard to plan around.

Switching to a Linux distribution—particularly the more user-friendly distributions like Ubuntu, Mint, or Elementary OS—is another option. But “user-friendly” is relative, and any Linux distribution can have parts that are obtuse and difficult for newcomers to learn. And let’s face it, if a Linux distribution was going to truly compete with and succeed against Windows on consumer desktops and laptops, it probably would have by now.

Enter Chrome OS Flex, a Google-blessed and -supported version of the company’s lightweight operating system that will run on most standard PC hardware. Flex is a successor to CloudReady, a Chromium OS-based product that Google purchased in late 2020 and that we’ve covered since its very early days as a way to make aging PCs into ersatz Chromebooks.

Chrome OS (which is also Linux-based but is mostly trying to hide it) has managed to find a toehold in the Windows-and-macOS-dominated world of consumer PCs thanks in part to its simplicity, the backing of a large and well-resourced company, and its easy-to-use management tools for schools and businesses. And with Flex, Google is offering those organizations the opportunity to switch their Windows laptop fleets to Chrome OS fleets virtually overnight while also giving users of aging PCs an alternative OS to try.

We’ve downloaded and installed the first developer version of Chrome OS Flex and read through all of its documentation to figure out the kind of hardware it will run on and how it’s different from the CloudReady operating system it’s replacing.

Beware: Beta

Enlarge / The same tool you use to make Chrome OS recovery media will also make Chrome OS Flex media. And this one USB drive can cover all PCs.

Andrew Cunningham

You’ll find Chrome OS Flex listed among all the “real” Chrome hardware in the official Chromebook Recovery Utility. Select Chrome OS Flex as your device manufacturer and the dev channel build of Flex will show up. There’s no need to download different images for different devices or CPU types. The installation documentation is pretty clear and has plenty of details if you need them.

The dev channel build of Flex, based on Chrome OS version 100, is clearly a pretty early version of the operating system. It’s still labeled as “CloudReady” in more than one place, and Google’s list of certified models is filled with reminders that you should expect minor or major issues. As with CloudReady, it’s possible to run Chrome OS Flex entirely from the USB install drive if you want to try the OS without formatting your internal storage, and that’s what we’d recommend for now.

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