PCWorld 12.2022

INSIDE: WHY THE iPAD CAN’T REPLACE MY NOTEBOOK

DECEMBER 2022

SURFACE VS XPS VS HP ENVY

DELL XPS 13 SURFACE LAPTOP 5
HP ENVY 16
AMD
RADEON
RX 7900

XTX:
CRUCIAL
DETAILS
REVEALED

12

34

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In partnership with the Office of Minority Health and Health Resources & Services Administration.

CONTENTS

≥ DEPARTMENTS DECEMBER 2022

≥ FEATURES

7 News

31 Reviews & Ratings 90 Intel Core i9-13900K review: Raw, unapologetic power

111 Here’s How

122 Tech Spotlight 104 Why the iPad still can’t replace my laptop

COVER IMAGES COURTESY OF HP, DELL, MICROSOFT AND UNSPLASH DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 3

MASTHEAD

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Matt Egan
EDITOR IN CHIEF, CONSUMER BRANDS Jon Phillips

DESIGN DIRECTOR Robert Schultz

EDITORIAL

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SENIOR EDITORS Michael Brown, Mark Hachman
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STAFF WRITER Michael Crider
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DESIGN

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4 PCWorld DECEMBER 2022

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Volume 40, number 12
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DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 5

AMERICA’S DEADLIEST SHOOTINGS
ARE ONES WE DON’T TALK ABOUT

On any given day in America, an average of 65 of our mothers, brothers, partners, and friends
are taken from us by gun suicide. But tomorrow’s deaths could be prevented. Store your guns
safely: locked, unloaded, and away from ammo.

EndFamilyFire.org

News TECH NEWS AND TRENDS THAT WILL
AFFECT YOU TODAY AND BEYOND.

Microsoft is going to clamp down on
your OneDrive data cap

A key Outlook.com privacy feature, email aliases, is also sort of going away.

BY MARK HACHMAN

M icrosoft is placing additional copy of the email was forwarded to PCWorld
limits on the amount of data by an outside representative of Microsoft, and
you can store in OneDrive, referenced earlier by Windows Central.) That
beginning in February of next means that whatever attachments you have
year, and removing a significant anonymity stored in your existing inbox haven’t counted
feature shortly thereafter. as stored files until now, but will beginning in
February of next year.
According to an email sent to users,
Microsoft will begin counting attachments “This update will not impact your
linked to your Outlook.com address against Outlook.com mailbox storage amount,”
your data cap beginning February 1, 2023. (A Microsoft wrote. “However, this may

IMAGE: MICROSOFT DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 7

NEWS ONEDRIVE DATA CAP

reduce how much cloud storage you have In other words, a feature that allows you to
available to use with your OneDrive. If you associate your Outlook.com email address
reach your cloud storage quota, your ability with a separate alias that refers to a domain
to send and receive emails in Outlook.com you own ([email protected]) is
will be disrupted.” being removed in Nov. 2023. It appears that
the feature that allows you to associate an
Outlook.com only allows a maximum of alias with your Outlook.com email address,
20MB of files to be attached to an email, so such as [email protected], will
it’s unlikely your email has a ton of remain. The original text follows.)
attachments waiting to count against your
cap. Go beyond that, and Microsoft There’s another change worth knowing
encourages you to simply share a link to the about, too. It’s likely that you don’t know
file that you have stored in OneDrive instead. about the email aliases that you can create
within Outlook.com (fave.co/3A83Tee),
By default, Microsoft provides a terabyte which is probably why Microsoft is
of storage with every paid Microsoft 365 discontinuing them. But they’re a handy
account (fave.co/3WVWmsA), though users feature: While you’ll use the same email
have the option to pay for additional storage, inbox, password, account settings, and
too. While Google made headlines (fave. contacts as for your “real” email account, you
co/3hyldme) by counting virtually every file can create a separate alias to preserve
stored in its cloud against your data cap, anonymity. Outlook (the email client) allows
Microsoft does much the same thing—your you to see email sent specifically to that email
photos may be accessed via the Photos or at Outlook.com (the email service). The alias
OneDrive app, for example, but they’re can then be removed whenever you like—
already counted against your cap. (You can though doing so “deletes” it, permanently.
also tweak Google Photos to help reduce
your data cap [fave.co/3LZLBjG] within that Unfortunately, that handy alias feature is
service, too.) What Microsoft apparently being turned off in about a year’s time, on
hasn’t done is count generic Outlook.com November 30, 2023. But it’s not all bad—only
email against the cap—at least not yet. the ability to create new aliases is being
removed in a year’s time. If you want to create
Correction: While it’s true that Microsoft is one before then, you can, and it will still work
removing personalized email addresses in after the cutoff date. It might be worth
Microsoft 365—which can be referred to as creating a few aliases before then, just to try it
aliases—the support page where Microsoft out and have an additional option when it
announces this (fave.co/3UQof3I) only refers goes dark.
to connecting domains owned by GoDaddy.

8 PCWorld DECEMBER 2022

AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX
revealed: 5 crucial details PC
gamers need to know

Don’t have time to wade into the technical details? Here’s what PC gamers need to know
about AMD’s RDNA 3 GPUs. BY BRAD CHACOS

After a so-called “lost generation” (fave.co/3O1pryL) mere weeks ago, but its
for graphics cards plagued by monitor-melting lead isn’t going
shortages and scalpers, things uncontested for long. This week, AMD
are finally looking up for PC revealed its next-gen RDNA 3 architecture
gamers—and the battle for next-generation and two GPUs serving as its paragon: the
GPU supremacy has finally arrived. Nvidia Radeon RX 7900 XTX and 7900 XT (fave.
launched its ferocious GeForce RTX 4090 co/3UGlZMo).

IMAGE: FOUNDRY DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 9

NEWS REVEALED: AMD RADEON RX 7900 XTX

This ain’t your momma’s GPU throw-down, generated by Nvidia’s pricing of $1,600 for

though. AMD is doing some radically different the GeForce RTX 4090 and $1,200 for the

things with RDNA 3 and the Radeon RX 7900 RTX 4080. By contrast, RDNA 3’s flagship

XTX, and we’ve never seen a graphics card Radeon RX 7900 XTX will set you back “just”

quite like this before. We’ve already covered $999, and the single-X Radeon RX 7900 XT

the Radeon RX 7900 XTX’s technical notes costs $899.

in-depth in our announcement coverage, but if That’s the same price as the Radeon RX

you don’t feel like sifting through a discussion 6900 XT before it. Nvidia, on the other hand,

of dual-issue wave 32 instructions and increased the price of the RTX 4090 by $100

memory-controller vagaries, here are the five over the RTX 3090, while the RTX 4080 costs

key facts about RDNA 3 and the Radeon RX a whopping $400—50 percent—more than

7900 XTX that PC gamers absolutely need to the RTX 3080.

know before the launch on December 13. 2. RDNA 3 CHIPLETS FTW

1. THE RADEON RX 7900 Part of those cost savings no doubt stem from
XTX AND XT ARE A LOT the radical new technical design of the RDNA
CHEAPER THAN NVIDIA’S 3 GPUs. Traditionally, GPUs were built using
OFFERINGS huge “monolithic” dies that cram all

First, the price: It’s hard to call graphics cards necessary bits inside. But with RDNA 3, AMD

that set you back four figures a bargain, per is swiping a page from its ultra-successful

se, but it appears AMD heard the outrage Ryzen playbook. The Radeon RX 7900 XTX

and XT use several

chiplets working

together on the same

package instead: a core

GPU die surrounded by

up to six memory cache

dies that hold the card’s

Infinity Cache and

memory controllers.

We wade deeper

into technical details in

our RDNA 3

The Radeon RX 7900 XTX will set you back “just” $999. announcement

10 PCWorld DECEMBER 2022

450 watts through that massive

GPU die and cutting-edge

GDDR6X memory for truly

face-melting performance,

power use (and melting

12VHPWR adapters, fave.

co/3ULanaL) be damned.

But in a world crippled by

an energy crisis, power

efficiency matters. AMD

thankfully stayed true to its

efficiency focus with RDNA 3,

A Radeon RX 7900 XTX chip; see the six memory dies flanking the delivering a claimed 54 percent

core GPU die? improvement in performance-

per-watt over the already-

coverage (fave.co/3UGlZMo), but the upshot impressive RDNA 2 graphics cards. That, in

is that AMD can use TSMC’s cutting-edge turn, let AMD stick to saner power

5nm manufacturing process to spit out an requirements—both the Radeon RX 7900 XTX

abundance of smaller 300mm GPU dies,

then use its cheaper and more mature 6nm

process for the memory dies. That helps

AMD keep costs down on both nodes,

and no doubt helps the Radeon RX 7900

XTX and XT achieve their more palatable

prices. The central RDNA 3 GPU die

measures just 300mm squared. Nvidia’s

RTX 4090 die is over twice as large, and all

of it is made using TSMC’s expensive

cutting-edge node.

3. POWERFUL BUT Both the Radeon RX 7900 XTX and XT require a pair of
NOT OVERPOWERED standard 8-pin power connectors.

Nvidia swung for the fences with its

GeForce RTX 4090, pushing a monstrous

DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 11

NEWS REVEALED: AMD RADEON RX 7900 XTX

and XT only require a pair

of standard 8-pin power

connectors. They draw 355

watts and 300 watts,

respectively. The more

modest power

requirements mean that

AMD’s reference cards

stick to slightly-chonky-but-

fine 2.5-slot designs,

compared to the 3- and

even 4-slot monsters

common to RTX 4090

models.

Bottom line? Upgrading

from a recent Radeon or Mmmmmmm DisplayPort 2.1.

Nvidia graphics card to a

new Radeon RX 7900 XTX won’t require These upgrades may not mean much to

reconfiguring your rig or being a beta tester you if you’re not a content creator, but they’re

for a troublesome new power connector. Yay! very welcome indeed.

4. DISPLAYPORT 2.1, RDNA 5. WILL IT BEAT THE RTX
3 AV1, AND MORE 4090? WHO KNOWS!

AMD fluffs out RDNA 3 with some compelling Finally, the elephant in the room: Will AMD’s
extras, too. Unlike Nvidia’s RTX 40-series Radeon RX 7900 XTX and 7900 XT topple
GPUs, the Radeon RX 7900 XTX and 7900 XT Nvidia’s vaunted GeForce RTX 4090 (fave.
feature DisplayPort 2.1, which unlocks co/3O1pryL)? That remains to be seen—
monitor refresh rates up to 4K/480 (yes, always wait for independent reviews!—but
480Hz) and 8K/165. Gotta go fast! AMD’s the initial presentation leaves the prospect
new dual media engine also supports looking questionable.
simultaneous encode/decode of HEVC/AVC
streams, as well as bleeding-edge AV1 Don’t take this the wrong way: The
encoding, joining ranks with Nvidia and Intel’s Radeon RX 7900 XTX will be a brutally fast
recent GPU offerings. performer if the charts AMD provided prove
accurate. The Radeon RX 6950 XT (fave.

12 PCWorld DECEMBER 2022

co/3VBZskP) already beat the RTX 3090, and RDNA 3 it’s hard to prognosticate too heavily.
AMD says the Radeon RX 7900 XTX is 1.5 to We’ll have to wait for independent reviews to
1.7 times faster than the 6950 XT at 4K launch to know for sure.
gaming (for $250 less).
Likewise, AMD added AI
cores to RDNA 3,
meeting a key Nvidia
feature, and modified
Radeon’s ray-tracing cores
for up to 50 percent
higher performance. But
I’m not sure even that
huge uptick will be
enough to best Nvidia’s
RTX 4090 and 4080 in ray
tracing after GeForce’s
similarly huge uplift this
generation. And
crucially, AMD’s
benchmarks didn’t make
any comparisons to the
RTX 4090 whatsoever,
even though the 4090
has been available for
weeks now.

Between those tidbits
and the much lower
$999/$899 price tags,
the Radeon RX 7900 XTX
and XT could wind up
competing with the RTX
4080 instead—but with
so many new
technologies at play in

DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 13

NEWS

Ads invade Windows 11 Start Menu

New OneDrive “hints” are appearing in the user profile flyout menu. BY MICHAEL CRIDER

Far be it from us to criticize a little advertisement is the Windows 11 Start Menu,
advertising — after all, it’s what specifically the flyout menu you see when
keeps the lights on at this site, and you click on your user profile picture.
pretty much every similar one
around the web. But users who buy a As spotted by Twitter user Albacore (and
computer and, by extension, a $100-plus elaborated by NeoWin, fave.co/3NWMXNk),
copy of Windows from Microsoft are on at least some users of the latest Dev Channel
firmer ground for complaint. For example, version of Windows 11 are seeing little promo
the latest place Microsoft wants to spots for Microsoft OneDrive and creating
experiment with a little add-on- new Microsoft Accounts in this submenu. It’s
not especially surprising, or even that bad as

14 PCWorld DECEMBER 2022 IMAGE: MICROSOFT

Microsoft has already experimented with slipping Editor ads into File Explorer.

advertising goes, but it’s one more example more aggressive Windows-based advertising
of Microsoft treating Windows as an ad
platform for its other services. pushes before, but we’ll have to wait and

Earlier this year Microsoft experimented see whether this one makes it to the full
with slipping Editor ads into File Explorer
(fave.co/3hs0z73), then quickly backed off release channel.
when the story made the rounds. That was on
top of the usual pop-up “suggestions” for Twitter
things like Office 365 (fave.co/3DOmhIo), user
and the downright aggressive stance Albacore
Windows takes if you try to change the default spotted
web browser (fave.co/3rFUKp8) from that some
Microsoft’s own Edge. users of
the Dev
At the moment the new OneDrive ads Channel
aren’t showing up for all Dev Channel users, are
which indicates some A-B testing is going on. seeing
Microsoft has backed off from some of its ads in
the Start
Menu.

DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 15

NEWS

PowerToys now tells you which app
is blocking file deletion

The File Locksmith tool gives you a list of active programs accessing the file and a quick way
to shut them down. BY MICHAEL CRIDER

H ow often have you been in the Except that Windows often doesn’t tell you
middle of clearing off your which program is using it, so you shrug like
desktop by deleting a bunch of John Travolta in that one Pulp Fiction scene.
unused files, only for Windows The latest addition to the immanently useful
to tell you it’s in use by another program? PowerToys collection can fix that problem.

16 PCWorld DECEMBER 2022 IMAGE: MICROSOFT

In Windows
Explorer, right-
click the file
that’s refusing to
be deleted, then
click “What’s
using this file?”

The File Locksmith tool is available in the latest Windows user. The new addition was spotted

version of the program, 0.64.0 (fave.co/ by BleepingComputer (fave.co/3UQGQN4),

3Ut6RSH). but it’s only the latest in a growing collection

Using the tool is super easy. In Windows of super-small, super-useful little tools in

Explorer, right-click the file that’s obstinately the collection. It’s the seventh new addition

refusing to be deleted (or in use in any other to the collection just this year, including an

way), then click “What’s using this file?” The optical character recognition tool (fave.co/

File Locksmith tool will then give you a list of 3UrZcUx), a quick way to add accented

executables that are actively accessing the characters, and a quick way to capture GIFs

file, including handy info on the process ID (fave.co/3fXiW3v).

and user. You also

get a quick “End

task” button, so

you don’t have to

dive into the Task

Manager to tell

the program to

buzz off.

Microsoft’s

PowerToys is

quickly becoming

a must-have

addition (fave.

co/3OoQQKX) Another useful PowerToys tool is Text Extractor, which lets you highlight an area
for just about any of an image and copy the text inside it.

DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 17

NEWS

Intel’s next-generation Thunderbolt
will hit a blistering 80Gbps+

USB4’s own 80Gbps speeds may arrive somewhat before “Thunderbolt 5,” however.

BY MARK HACHMAN

J ust a few weeks after USB4 version 2.0 120Gbps of available bandwidth. But Intel
(fave.co/3g0AUCk) was announced, isn’t revealing when the next-gen
Intel has returned fire with its own Thunderbolt technology will roll out, or
80Gbps I/O standard, what it’s calling what it will be officially called.
“the next generation of Thunderbolt”
for docking stations and other devices. What we do know, however, is that several
major I/O standards are aligning for the
What will likely be called Thunderbolt 5 future. USB4v2, whose standard was finalized
has its own quirk: In certain situations, on Tuesday, will allow its own 80Gbps
specifically transmitting high-definition connections (fave.co/3g0AUCk) and forms
video, the available channels can be the foundation for the next-gen Thunderbolt
reallocated to allow from 80Gbps to up to spec. DisplayPort, one of the video protocols

18 PCWorld DECEMBER 2022 IMAGE: INTEL

they need.

It also appears as if

USB4v2 and the next-

gen Thunderbolt

specification will share a

common protocol and

physical-layer chip, so

you’ll be able to buy a

hybrid Thunderbolt-

USB4 dock.

What Intel’s

How Thunderbolt compares to USB4 version 2, according to Intel. announcement brings

with it is even more

that can run over Thunderbolt, also received flexibility. Future Thunderbolt ports on your

a more restrictive DisplayPort 2.1 laptop will run at essentially double the

specification (fave.co/3UQCi9p) that will speed that they do now while remaining

help better ensure interoperability with backwards-compatible with earlier

cables and components. Thunderbolt generations. Thunderbolt

Historically, a desktop or laptop PC docks—many of which support USB4 as

connected to various peripherals through well—will essentially double in speed, too.

separate cables. You’d use a HDMI or Consumers will be able to attach more

DisplayPort cable for a display or two, and a devices to those docks, or use devices that

USB cable to storage devices, mice and

keyboards. All of these required their

own ports on a laptop or PC.

Thunderbolt simplifies a PC’s

design, eliminating all of these

ports for a “one cable fits all”

solution. To be fair, Thunderbolt

essentially requires consumers to

buy a separate Thunderbolt docking station

(fave.co/3vtA0BE) to connect to various

legacy devices. On the other hand, a variety Thunderbolt essentially requires consumers to
of docks allow consumers to buy exactly what buy a separate Thunderbolt docking station.

DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 19

NEWS INTEL’S NEX T- GEN THUNDERBOLT WILL HIT 80GBPS+

run at higher speeds or higher refresh rates. be increased to 10 bits, Ziller said, while still

(Mice, keyboards, printers, and external hard maintaining sufficient bandwidth for data.

drives require just a small fraction of the Connecting two 4K displays to

available bandwidth Thunderbolt provides, Thunderbolt requires about 34Gbps, which

and they’ll work just fine.) can almost consume all of the bandwidth that

WHAT NEXT-GEN today’s Thunderbolt 3/4 docks provide—if
THUNDERBOLT WILL DO you connect a high-performance SSD to the
FOR YOUR PC system, you may not be able to achieve its full
performance. (Thunderbolt assigns priority to

The latter point is the most important. Today, the display protocols, so that your monitors

Thunderbolt docks are usually associated with always work as expected, Ziller said.) Next-

their ability to connect a pair of 4K, 60Hz gen Thunderbolt will simply add more

displays for increased productivity. Next-gen overhead in terms of data.

Thunderbolt, or Thunderbolt 5, will benefit External GPUs will also be directly

gamers: Jason Ziller, general manager of the connected to next-gen Thunderbolt docks or

Client Connectivity Division at Intel, said that Thunderbolt 5, Ziller said, using a standard

the spec will allow for either a single 4K four lanes of PCI Express.

display running at 240Hz, or a 1440p display That’s where the next-gen Thunderbolt

(2K) display at an eye-watering 480Hz, technology gets interesting. Inside, four

preferred by PC gamers who prefer high channels supplying 80Gbps of data

refresh rates. HDR data capabilities will also throughput in either direction (two channels

of 20Gbps apiece, one set

for receiving and another

for sending data) will be

able to be reconfigured at

need. That will reconfigure

the device where 80Gbps

is used for sending and

receiving data to one

where 40Gbps is used to

receive data, versus

120Gbps of bandwidth for

Next-generation Thunderbolt will be able to rebalance itself according transmitting data. It’s not

to bandwidth demands. quite clear, however, what

20 PCWorld DECEMBER 2022

“We’ll be talking more in

the future on how that’s

going to be done.”

Finally, Ziller and

Intel also aren’t saying

how much power the

next-gen Thunderbolt

standard will be able to

deliver. Still, Ziller did

say that Thunderbolt

“can” be aligned to the

Creatives and gamers will both benefit from the new standard. USB Power Delivery

specifications—which,

will happen if excessive data is moving back according to what manufacturers have said

and forth along the Thunderbolt bus. (fave.co/3Lu8tbd), can be up to 240 watts.

That’s just one of the things we really don’t That’s enough for some gaming notebooks.

know about next-gen Thunderbolt at the point We now know a little more about what

in time. For one, USB4v2 devices may be first Thunderbolt will offer next year. But as far as

to market. “We’re not really talking about more critical questions are more concerned—

timing of any products on this,” Ziller said. the name, availability, and price—we’re still

“We’re just in early phases of development largely in the dark.

right now. I think in the coming

months, we’ll give some more

details on some of that in the

future.”

“Next-gen Thunderbolt”

will use some of the same

passive cables as today’s

Thunderbolt 4 devices. The

1-meter passive cables will

remain the same, but any

cables over a meter long will

need to be replaced with “Next-gen Thunderbolt” will use some of the same passive cables as
next-gen cables, Ziller said. today’s Thunderbolt 4 devices.

DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 21

NEWS

New AMD Advantage Desktops
leverage Ryzen and Radeon’s
combined might

Ryzen and Radeon-powered offerings from PC makers like Cyberpower, Falcon Northwest,
and Maingear are on the way. BY MICHAEL CRIDER

A MD’s Advantage series of announcement of the Radeon 7000 GPU
laptops, built in cooperation series, AMD has decided to expand the
with OEM laptop makers like program to include desktops as well. AMD
Dell, Lenovo, and Asus, are a hit. Advantage Desktops will be available soon
Closely integrating Ryzen CPUs and Radeon from CSL, CyberpowerPC, eBuyer, Falcon
GPUs under the watchful technical guidance Northwest, Maingear, Origin, and Xidax.
of AMD itself makes some fan-favorite gaming
laptop designs, like the Asus ROG Zephyrus What qualifies a pre-built desktop for that
G14 (fave.co/3G9afho). Along with the Advantage label? To start with, it must have
nothing but the best from AMD’s chip offerings,

22 PCWorld DECEMBER 2022 IMAGE: AMD

the Ryzen 9 7950X CPU (fave.co/3Thn24k) and across the CPU and GPU, and AMD has

the new Radeon RX 7900 (fave.co/3UGlZMo) been trying to push for a more unified

XTX graphics card. On top of that, minimum approach ever since it purchased ATI way

specs for the other components include 2TB of back in 2006. Offering these pre-configured

NVMe storage, 32GB of DDR5 memory, liquid machines, with tangible advantages to the

cooling on the CPU (at least), an 80 Plus Gold CPU-GPU pairing and features that aren’t

(or better) power supply, and a desktop case available without it, might make it easier for

with toolless entry. AMD to break into the upper tiers of both

In addition, AMD Advantage Desktops are markets. At the time of writing AMD is sitting

pre-tuned and tested for ideal operation under at about 10 percent market share for CPUs

high thermal loads. The desktops come and 20 percent for graphics cards in

loaded with AMD’s Adrenalin package of desktops, and the Advantage program has

software, which includes the usual driver already been a success in laptops.

manager and AMD’s Smart Access Memory AMD didn’t announce specific dates or

(fave.co/3aReZar) for faster gaming frame prices for Advantage Desktops, and its

rates, plus an exciting new Smart Access Video promotional page doesn’t list any either. Its

feature for intelligently distributing encoding press release says they’ll be available “soon.”

and decoding tasks across the CPU and GPU. Perhaps that’s just as well. With retail prices

The company is hoping to lure in content for the Ryzen 9 CPU and RX 7900 XTX GPU

creators and streamers as well as the usual combining for $1700 on their own, plus a

gamers with a mountain of cash to spend on a laundry list of other high-end components

pre-built rig. AMD says that these desktops and a boutique markup, you’d better start

should be able to output to a 4K monitor at up saving your pennies now.

to 480Hz

in ideal

conditions.

There are

still plenty of

users who like

to mix and

match Intel

and Nvidia

parts with AMD Advantage Desktops are pre-tuned and tested for ideal operation under high
AMD parts thermal loads, such as when running graphics-intensive games.

DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 23

NEWS

It’s time for Windows to copy
Apple’s built-in text expander

Text expanders are a big time saver, as long as you can trust them. BY RYAN WHITWAM

A few keystrokes might not seem expander feature in macOS more than a
like a lot, but they add up over decade ago. It’s long past time for Microsoft
time. That’s why text expanders to add the same functionality to Windows.
can be a major productivity
boost, allowing you to create shortcuts for SAVING KEYSTROKES,
commonly used phrases across your SAVING TIME
computer. There are numerous programs that
do this on Windows (fave.co/3EoBPFM), Anyone who spends a lot of time typing can
some of which have been around since the benefit hugely from a text expander,
20th century, but Apple added its own text sometimes called “text replacement.” Instead
of typing the same long string of text over and

24 PCWorld DECEMBER 2022 IMAGE: BRAD CHACOS

over, you can use these programs to create a your computer, provided you have the

shortcut. For example, instead of typing out patience to set them up.

your address, you could set a shortcut For some people, the cost of these

consisting of a few keystrokes, like “myadr.” programs is worth it, but not everyone needs

Simply peck out those keys, and your the advanced features. Something like the

expander will insert the programmed text. macOS text replacement tool is a great place

Text expansion is also handy for quick access to start. It just supports plain text insertion,

to special characters that are a pain to access along with a few basic corrections like adding

on most systems. a period in place of a double space. Windows

Depending on how repetitive your text really should have a version of this tool, and

input gets, you might fire off shortcuts on a not only as a gateway to more powerful

regular basis, and that adds up. A few third-party solutions.

seconds here and there becomes significant

over the days and weeks. Most of the popular A QUESTION OF PRIVACY

text expanders for Windows include stats that There’s a notable drawback of text expanders

show you how much time they save—the one that will keep some people from ever installing

I use claims it has saved

me over an hour of

typing time in the last

several months.

Some of the myriad

text expanders for

Windows are free, but the

most powerful ones cost

money. These programs—

like PhraseExpress,

TextExpander, and

FastFox—include

advanced options like

date insertion, macros,

formatting, database

input, and more. They are

powerful tools that can

automate many tasks on Macros and shortcuts save a lot of time and help with productivity.

DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 25

NEWS WINDOWS SHOULD COPY APPLE’S BUILT-IN TEXT EXPANDER

one: They see everything you type. That’s how to save those keystrokes. Windows underpins

these apps know to fire off one of your the entire computing experience on PCs, so

programmed shortcuts, and many also have you have to implicitly trust it to access your

clipboard integration, so they can see what personal data. You don’t lose any measure of

you copy, too. The more privacy-minded will privacy by also using Windows to modify your

never accept the potential security implications text input as you type.

of giving a closed-source app that much Apple hasn’t done much to improve its

control, and it’s hard to blame them. text replacement feature over the years, but

That’s not to say any of the established Microsoft could do better in 2022. It would

players are actively doing anything be trivially easy to support plain text,

disreputable, but the internet is a big place. formatting, and some of the more basic

Why go to all the trouble of running features you get in third-party apps—plus,

background checks on developers to Windows already has a built-in clipboard

establish trust when you’re already using an manager, which is a core part of most

operating system that knows everything text expanders.

you’re doing? The OS can, and should, offer a Microsoft recently released the

simple feature like text expansion. Apple big 2022 Windows 11 update (fave.

does, and Microsoft should as well. co/3Mu22p3), but the company is no

A properly integrated text expander in longer locking itself into a set schedule for

Windows would provide a more secure way updates (fave.co/3TbAVl8). Now it will add

new features to

Windows whenever

the need arises.

The first of these

“continuous

innovation”

updates will arrive

soon in the form of

tabbed File Explorer

support. A future

update really ought

to add a text

Programs like PhraseExpress Standard offer what Microsoft should be expander—it’s a
offering for free. no-brainer.

26 PCWorld DECEMBER 2022

Steam for ChromeOS enters beta,
now available on 20 Chromebooks

Now you can play Dark Souls on even more cheap laptops. BY MICHAEL CRIDER

C hromeOS has a reputation for PC gaming, is expanding to more
running on lightweight, Chromebooks as it graduates from a very
affordable Chromebooks, but limited alpha.
that seems to be shifting as of
late. With the rise of game-streaming services Starting with Chrome beta version 108
(RIP, Stadia), several manufacturers have now available today, Steam for ChromeOS is also in
made “gaming” Chromebooks with powerful beta. In addition to offering improved
processors and fast screens. So it’s notifications and storage management, the
appropriate that Steam, the de facto home of program is expanding its list of compatible
hardware to include Core i3– and Ryzen

IMAGE: ASUS DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 27

NEWS STEAM FOR CHROMEOS ENTERS BETA

3–based devices. Other notable updates • ASUS Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip
include initial support for DirectX 12, Vulkan 1.3 • Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition
support, and a fix that makes games installing • HP Elite c640 14 inch G3 Chromebook
content from non-Steam servers (including • HP Elite c645 G2 Chromebook
many games with secondary launchers like • HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook
Final Fantasy XIV) perform more reliably. • HP Pro c640 G2 Chromebook
• Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook 16
Steam is also a lot easier to install now. • Lenovo 5i-14 Chromebook
Previously, it required users to be on the dev • Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook 14
channel and to then open up a Linux-style • Lenovo ThinkPad C14
terminal and type in an obscure command. Steam still has a long way to go to be a
Now on the ChromeOS beta (fave.co/ mainstream experience on ChromeOS. It’s
3UKdDDi), just switch the #enable-borealis still missing a lot of the essential features
flag to On in the chrome://flags menu (fave. the program includes, even on its more
co/3hE7hqY) and search for Steam in the limited Linux version, such as support for
ChromeOS launcher. external monitors or storage. The list of
officially supported games on Chrome is
The newly expanded list of supported also a tiny fraction of those on other
devices includes the new Gaming platforms, though it does include some
Chromebooks (fave.co/3O0Ndeh) from heavy hitters like Dark Souls and recent hits
Lenovo, Acer, and Asus, as well as the like Cult of the Lamb. Google still
Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition recommends at least 16GB of RAM and a
(fave.co/3fU0b11). Here’s the full list: Core i5 or Ryzen i5 or higher for the best
local performance.
• Acer Chromebook 514 (CB514-1W) Still, the improvements being made
• Acer Chromebook 515 (CB515-1W) show a commitment to gaming on
• Acer Chromebook 516 GE ChromeOS that might surprise those who
• Acer Chromebook Spin 514 (CP514-3H, think of it as a platform for less experienced
CP514-3HH, CP514-3WH) users and mass purchases for education
• Acer Chromebook Spin 713 and business users. Who knows, you might
(CP713-3W) see a Chromebook packing discrete
• Acer Chromebook Spin 714 graphics, or even a Chrome-powered
(CP714-1WN) desktop gaming PC, before too many years
• Acer Chromebook Vero 514 have passed.
• ASUS Chromebook CX9 (CX9400)
• ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5 (CX5500)
• ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5 (CX5601)

28 PCWorld DECEMBER 2022

Finish your high school diploma
for you and for them.


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Media:
Date Created:

Reviews & Ratings TESTED IN PCWORLD LABS

WE PUT HARDWARE & SOFTWARE
THROUGH RIGOROUS TESTING

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5: This
laptop is for Surface fans only

Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 5 struggles to exceed its predecessor, making Microsoft’s
decision to eliminate a Ryzen option a shortsighted one. BY MARK HACHMAN

P ut simply, Microsoft’s Surface is the size—13.5-inch or 15-inch—and what
Laptop 5 is Microsoft’s answer to configuration you prefer.
your question: What laptop should I
buy? The Surface Laptop is If you’ve read our review of the Microsoft
Microsoft’s laptop for everyone, its Toyota Surface Laptop 4 (fave.co/3jfyVII), you know
Camry, remaining virtually unchanged for almost exactly what to expect. The Surface
generation after generation. Your only choice Laptop 5 is nearly physically identical (with a
sliver of difference here and there) to its

IMAGE: MICROSOFT DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 31

REVIEWS MICROSOFT SURFACE LAPTOP 5

predecessor, in both the 13.5-inch and increases the Surface Laptop 4’s

15-inch editions. Microsoft gave us the latter productivity possibilities.

version for review. The other interesting change that the

The key changes are largely internal: an Surface Laptop 5 brings with it is the

upgrade to Intel’s 12th-gen Core (Alder elimination of an AMD Ryzen processor

Lake) and the addition of Thunderbolt 4, option, which in previous generations

which is tied to that processor’s capabilities. provided options for performance and battery

The latter is subtly significant, as it eliminates life. Unfortunately, Microsoft simply settled on

the dependence on Microsoft’s proprietary Intel’s 12th-gen Core (Alder Lake) for the

Surface Dock and allows you to choose from Surface Laptop 5.

the broader ecosystem of Thunderbolt Microsoft made a more subtle change in

docks (fave.co/3vtA0BE) instead. the display with the addition of Dolby Vision

Thunderbolt and/or a Thunderbolt dock IQ, a technology more commonly found in

provides a sizable upgrade in external I/O TVs to optimize high-dynamic range (HDR)

bandwidth, and that allows you to connect a content. Dolby IQ uses what the Laptop’s

multitude of legacy devices including two light sensor tells it about the ambient light in

4K, 60Hz displays. That significantly the room, and tries to adjust the display

output to give you the best

experience. (For more, see

PCWorld Australia’s Dolby IQ

explainer, fave.co/3AcIccX.)

Microsoft also continues to

provide a Surface Laptop for

Business option, which provides

the only option for those who

prefer Windows 11 Pro over

Windows 11 Home. For

consumers, the advantages are

minimal. But business customers

receive a slightly upgraded

processor option, Windows 11

Pro, and better support. (The

Microsoft made a more subtle change in the display with the difference between the Core
addition of Dolby Vision IQ. i7-1255U and Core 17-1265U is

32 PCWorld DECEMBER 2022

100MHz.) Improved support
may be important, as more of
the Surface Laptop’s
components are now
replaceable, including the
motherboard, battery, and
others—but (officially) only by an
approved technician.

BASIC FEATURES

Processor: 13.5-inch Microsoft has added a new color option to the Surface Laptop 5
(consumer): Core i5-1235U, lineup: Sage.

Core i7-1255U; (commercial):

Core i5-1245U, Core i7-1265U; 15-inch Operating system: Windows 11 Home

(consumer): Core i7-1255U (as tested) (consumer) / Windows 10 Pro or Windows 11

(commercial): Core i7-1265U Pro (commercial)

Display: 13.5-inch (2256×1504, 201 Dimensions: 13.5-inch: 12.1×8.8×0.57

ppi); 15-inch (2496×1664, 201 ppi) w/Dolby inches (14.5mm); 15-inch: 13.4×9.6×0.58

Vision IQ, PixelSense with touch inches (14.7mm)

Memory: 8GB/16GB/32GB LPDDR5X, Weight: 13.5-inch: 2.80 pounds (fabric)

16GB as tested to 2.86 pounds (metal); 15-inch: 3.44 pounds

Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB M.2 Colors: 13.5-inch: Sage, Matte Black,

NVMe SSD, 512TB as tested Sandstone, plus a Platinum Alcantara option;

Graphics: Iris Xe 15-inch: Platinum and Matte Black

Ports: 1 USB Type C (USB 4.0/ Prices: $1,799 as tested, otherwise:

Thunderbolt 4), 1 10Gbps USB-A, Surface 13.5-inch consumer, $999.99 to $1,699.99;

Connect, 3.5mm jack commercial, $1,099.99 to $2,399.99;

Security: Windows Hello camera 15-inch consumer, $1,299.99 to $2,399.99,

Camera: 720p (user-facing) commercial, $1,399.99 to $2,499.99

Battery: Design capacity: 47.7Wh Full HOW MUCH DOES THE
capacity: 46.0Wh (reported) SURFACE LAPTOP 5 COST?

Wireless: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.1

Audio: Dual far-field Studio Mics, Microsoft’s base pricing has not increased

Omnisonic speakers with Dolby Atmos over the Surface Laptop 4’s introductory

DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 33

REVIEWS MICROSOFT SURFACE LAPTOP 5

PRICE of the box. Forget stickers, RGB

CONSUMER lighting, or special-purpose
buttons—Microsoft’s Surface
$999 i5/8/256GB Platinum

13.5-inch $1,299 i5/8/512GB Platinum, Black, Laptop 5 is designed to be plain,
$1,499 Sage, Sandstone simple, and productive. You can
i5/16/512GB Platinum, Black, buy the 13.5-inch Laptop 5, with an
$1,699 Sage, Sandstone option to coat the chassis in black
i7/16/512GB Platinum, Black, Alcantara fabric, but you’ll
15-inch $1,299 i7/8/256GB Sage, Sandstone probably prefer the metal
$1,499 i7/8/512GB configurations.
COMMERCIAL $1,799 i7/16/512GB Platinum
$2,399 i7/32/1TB Platinum, Black As mentioned above, the
Platinum, Black Surface Laptop platform has
$1,099 i5/8/256GB traditionally included a single
$1,399 i5/8/512GB Black USB-C port alongside a USB-A port
$1,499 i5/16/256GB on previous iterations. In the
i5/16/512GB Platinum, Black Surface Laptop 5, that USB-C port
13.5-inch $1,599 i7/16/256GB Platinum, Black has been upgraded to Thunderbolt
i7/32/512GB Platinum, Black 4, in addition to the legacy Surface
15-inch $1,699 i7/32/1TB Platinum, Black, Connect port on the right side of
$2,199 i7/8/256GB Sage, Sandstone the laptop. That means you now
$2,399 i7/8/512GB Platinum, Black
$1,399 i7/16/256GB
$1,599 i7/16/512GB Black
$1,799
$1,899 i7/32/1TB Platinum
$2,499 Platinum, Black
Platinum, Black
Platinum, Black

Black

Microsoft sent us an email with the pricing for the various have three charging options: a
Surface Laptop 5 models. legacy Surface Dock or Surface

Dock 2; a new (though admittedly

price, which earns praise in a world where pricey) powered Thunderbolt dock; and the

inflation is now a common topic. 65W charger that ships inside the box.

OUT OF THE BOX Our review unit shipped with a Core i7
inside, keyed to the Recommended power

I’ve used Surface Laptops as test beds for setting within Windows 11. That’s typically the

various Windows iterations for years now, so lowest-performance setting, optimized for

the latest 15-inch Surface Laptop 5 feels more long battery life. Still, you’ll be really hard-

familiar than anything else. Many compare the pressed to hear any sort of fan noise at all on

Surface Laptop to an Apple MacBook (fave. these default settings, even under severe

co/3URnBCX), and the monolithic aluminum loads. Even set to maximum performance,

chassis feels incredibly sturdy as you pull it out there’s only a faint, pleasant hiss. That’s a

34 PCWorld DECEMBER 2022

an eyebrow.

Still, there’s no denying that

Microsoft’s Surfaces continue to

offer one of the most dynamic and

attractive displays around. Rival

laptops waffle between 1080p

and 4K displays; Microsoft

wanders somewhere between

with 1504p and 1664p displays on

the 13.5-inch and 15-inch

Laptops, using an uncommon 3:2

The Surface Connect port adorns the right side of the Surface screen ratio. Our 15-inch review
Laptop 5. unit generated 384 nits of screen

luminance (we consider 250 nits

credit to both Microsoft and Intel engineers, or so ideal for indoor use), which allows the

who optimized the internal components in Laptop 5 to be used outside on the sunny

accordance with the new Intel Evo days that linger on the West Coast. Microsoft

specification. Our tests do show that there’s a also got rid of the display brightness

bit of thermal throttling, however, where the nonsense with the Surface Laptop 4—back

Laptop will self-regulate its performance to then, Microsoft would dim the display on

prevent overheating. We’ll talk more about battery. Now the Laptop 5 runs as bright on

that in our performance section.

Remember, Microsoft says that

its customers have told it they

don’t changes to the Laptop

platform—though you may wonder

a bit at the hefty screen bezels that

total about 3/8 of an inch on the

sides and slightly more at the top.

Rivals who extend their displays to

nearly the end of the chassis won’t

get any competition here. Several

years ago, that sort of thing was The Surface Laptop 5’s color gamut at its default Vivid
ignored. You can’t help but raise settings; not too shabby for a business laptop.

DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 35

REVIEWS MICROSOFT SURFACE LAPTOP 5

battery as it does plugged into the wall. the handy legacy USB-A port for a mouse,

The Laptop 5 continues to offer a pair of Microsoft preserved the 3.5mm headphone

color profiles—Vivid and sRGB—that continue jack it eliminated in the Surface Pro 9. There

to deliver great color accuracy. The Surface are no microSD or SD card slots, though

Laptop 5 does not offer a 120Hz option those can be added via a USB-C dongle.

(either dynamic or fixed), however, since There are no Kensington or other locks at all.

Microsoft doesn’t see the Laptop as being as We were happy to see that the Surface

much of a “creator” product as a Surface Pro Laptop connected via a Thunderbolt dock to

9 tablet or Surface Laptop Studio (fave. a pair of 4K displays, delivering the expected

co/3LQurF9), which do have such an option. 60Hz refresh rates to both screens.

The Laptop 5 is still compatible with ARE THE SURFACE LAPTOP 5
Microsoft’s Pen Protocol (MPP), however. KEYBOARD, WEBCAM, AND
AUDIO WORTH IT?
Microsoft also offers Dolby Vision IQ (fave.
co/3tv9kQO), new for the Surface Laptop 5,

which interacts with the Laptop’s lighting All of these aspects are virtually unchanged

sensor to provide a more dramatic experience, from the Surface Laptop 4, and that’s a good

modulating the display brightness to punch up thing. We’d characterize all three aspects as

the display’s output. We didn’t notice any decent to very good.

dramatic improvement due to this feature, but Microsoft Surface keyboards used to be

it’s possible it needs some fine-tuning. among the best in the industry, but Microsoft

In addition to the Thunderbolt port and reduced the key travel to 1.3mm. Personally, I

equate the deeper key

travel on Lenovo laptops

and premier HP devices to

deeper cushioning on a

running shoe. It’s fair to say

that 1.3mm travel is still

comfortable. Otherwise,

the Surface keyboard

remains unchanged, with a

top row of narrow keys

devoted to common

On the left side of the Surface Laptop 5 is a USB-A port, an (unlabeled) laptop functions and that’s
Thunderbolt 4 port, and a headphone jack. about it. There are three

36 PCWorld DECEMBER 2022

just a few seconds of training, it

does an excellent job of

recognizing you, though our

history of older Surface devices

indicates that you’ll need to

retrain it over time, especially if

you’ve grown a beard or

shaved it. A PIN serves as a

backup.

Microsoft seems to have

resolved some of its issues with

the camera on the previous

Surface Laptop 4. A new

The keyboard of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5. face-finding feature on the

Camera app attempts to

levels of backlighting. balance lighting and color around your face

The Surface Laptop 5 trackpad is still rather than the scene at large. The camera

excellent, clickable nearly to the top. appears to capture more of the scene as well.

Gestures worked as expected. On balance, it’s an overall improvement even

Unfortunately, Microsoft seems to have if the resolution is slightly lacking compared

settled on a 720p

webcam as the default

resolution for the Surface

Laptop lineup, even

though other Surface

products, such as the

Surface Pro series, have

adopted the superior

1080p resolution. Like all

Surface devices,

Microsoft uses a depth

camera and Windows The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 webcam seems more color-accurate than
Hello to log you in via its predecessor, though everything looks fuzzy and soft. Microsoft tried to
biometrics. Even after save some money here, it appears.

DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 37

REVIEWS MICROSOFT SURFACE LAPTOP 5

never loaded up

its Surface

devices with

unwanted apps,

to its credit. In

fact, during the

setup process,

you can specify

what you’re

A trial to Xbox Game Pass is one of the perks that ship with the Surface Laptop 5, going to use the
provided you configure the laptop correctly during setup. Surface for
(entertainment,

family, gaming,

to the competition. Unfortunately, Microsoft’s etc.) and it will suggest apps and websites to

new Studio Effects (face tracking, background help you get started. Disney+ and Amazon

blur, and more) that it developed for Windows Prime Video appeared on the Surface Laptop

11 22H2 requires an Arm processor that, for 5 after I told Windows during the setup

now, the Surface Laptop 5 lacks. process that I would use it for entertainment.

The audio experience on the Surface HOW FAST IS THE SURFACE
Laptop 5 has noticeably degraded from the LAPTOP 5?
prior generation, however: The maximum

volume has decreased, and the overall At this point, virtually every standard X86 PC

soundscape sounds flatter than before. processor from Intel or AMD will run

Microsoft still includes its Omnisonic speakers Windows and most apps just fine, though

with Dolby Atmos backing them up, but you’ll encounter some glitches along the way.

either the wattage decreased or something’s Memory matters more than processing power

slightly muffling the speakers. Overall, they’re when browsing, and the Laptop 5’s 16GB

still decent, but I’d probably say that I’m now easily provides enough for dozens of tabs.

more inclined to listen to music using The lack of a discrete GPU means that any

headphones than the Laptop’s speakers, a game playing will be limited, though you’ll be

break from the past. able to play games using 2D sprites and some

Microsoft’s crapware-free Signature basic 3D games.

Editions of laptops that it sold on its website I was a little disappointed to see that the

may have disappeared, but Microsoft has Surface Laptop dropped 120 out of 11,581

38 PCWorld DECEMBER 2022

frames playing back a test stream from The Dynabook Portégé X40-K1437 (fave.
YouTube, especially because YouTube co/3hJE1ic) is a $1,769 business laptop, while
(sensing the capabilities of the hardware) only the $1,765 Lenovo Slim 7 Pro X (fave.co/
delivered a 1664×936 stream instead. That 3Se98z5) is a prosumer laptop with a lot to
may mean overall streaming performance is offer. We’ve also highlighted the $1,129.99
less than expected. Surface Laptop 4 (fave.co/3jfyVII) in orange,
to show how the Surface Laptop 5 compares
Keep in mind that, for whatever reason, to its predecessor.
Microsoft sets the Windows power/
performance slider (fave.co/3EuNt25) to Our standard benchmark suite includes a
prolong the battery life at the expense of choice of real-world and synthetic
performance, even when the Laptop is plugged benchmarks, with an eye toward trying to
in. Simply adjusting it to full performance can evaluate both applications you use and those
give you a massive performance boost under you may not. Our first, PCMark 10, tests office
certain scenarios, so we tested that, too. You’ll
find the Surface Laptop 5’s standard test scores PCMark 10
marked in red; we ran separate tests with the
“best performance” setting, and we’ve outlined CPU performance
those scores with a black bar. As you’ll see, in
some cases it makes a huge difference. Acer Swift X 6,363
Ryzen 7 5800U 6,188
On the other hand, Microsoft’s Surface 5,794
Laptop will slightly thermally throttle, slowing Asus Zenbook UM325S 5,424
itself down to prevent overheating. We saw Ryzen 7 5800U 5,414
this in the CPU, where performance dropped 5,330
5 percent over time, and in the GPU, where Lenovo Slim 7 Pro X 5,280
the laptop’s graphics performance dropped Ryzen 9 6900HS 5,103
about 8 percent. 5,100
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 5,098
We consider the $1,799.99 Surface max Core i7-1255U 4,920
Laptop 5 to be a somewhat pricey but 4,774
otherwise mainstream laptop, so we’ve Dynabook Portégé X40 4,230
compared them to others: the $900 Acer (2022) Core i7-1260P
Swift X (fave.co/3FpJVf7), the $1,200 Acer
Swift 3X (fave.co/3KVetsf), the $1,715 Dell HP Envy 14 14-eb0010nr
XPS 13 2-in-1 9310 (fave.co/3htGGMX), and Core i5-1135G7
the $1,210 HP Envy 14 (fave.co/3p4aPUv).
Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 (2022)
Core i7-1260P

Acer Swift 3X
Core i7-1165G7

Dell Latitude 7330
Ultralight Core i7-1265U

HP Spectre x360 16
Core i7-11390H

Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 9310
Core i7-12700H

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4
Ryzen 7 4980U SE

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5
Core i7-1255U

LONGER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCE

If you’re going to be performing office work with
the Surface Laptop 5, do yourself a favor and turn
up the performance slider.

DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 39

REVIEWS MICROSOFT SURFACE LAPTOP 5

Cinebench RT15.038 Handbrake 0.99.0 Encode

All threads Seconds

Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 (2022) 1,837 Lenovo Slim 7 Pro X 936
Core i7-1260P 1,755 Ryzen 9 6900HS
1,664
Dynabook Portégé X40 1,584 Acer Swift X 1,395
(2022) Core i7-1260P 1,531 Ryzen 7 5800U
1,408
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 1,376 Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 1,493
Ryzen 7 4800U 1,376 Ryzen 7 4980U SE
1,359
Asus Zenbook UM325S 1,173 Dynabook Portégé X40 1,500
Ryzen 7 5800U 993 (2022) Core i7-1260P
970
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 921 HP Spectre x360 16 1,500
Ryzen 7 4980U SE 896 Core i7-11390H
782
Dell Latitude 7330 Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 1,588
Ultralight Core i7-1265U max Core i7-1255U

Lenovo Slim 7 Pro X Asus Zenbook UM325S 1,722
Ryzen 9 6900HS Ryzen 7 5800U

Acer Swift X Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 1,737
Ryzen 7 5800U Ryzen 7 4800U

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 1,844
max Core i7-1255U Core i7-1255U

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 HP Envy 14 14-eb0010nr 2,461
Core i7-1255U Core i5-1135G7

HP Spectre x360 16 Acer Swift 3X 2,561
Core i7-11390H Core i7-1165G7

Acer Swift 3X Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 9310 3,287
Core i7-1165G7 Core i7-12700H

Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 9310 Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 (2022) 3,852
Core i7-12700H Core i7-1260P

HP Envy 14 14-eb0010nr Asus Zenbook Flip 13 4,489
Core i5-1135G7 Core i7-1165G7

Asus Zenbook Flip 13 SHORTER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCE
Core i7-1165G7

LONGER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCE

The story here is the sudden dominance of AMD Again, Handbrake presents a scenario where
Ryzen processors in the space, which also hurts dialing up the performance slider makes a
the Laptop 5 versus its predecessor. significant difference. Otherwise, Intel’s 12th-gen
Core processors don’t really hold up to AMD’s
two-generation-old Ryzen 4000 chips.

work, light gaming, CAD, photo editing, capabilities. Notice all of the AMD Ryzen
performance during video calls, and more. At laptops clustered at the top. The 12th-gen
default settings, the Surface Laptop 5 is Core laptops at the top use Intel’s P-series
simply anemic, comparably. Dial up the processors, which offer greater performance.
performance, though, and performance jumps There’s a clear gap between the 11th-gen and
by 28 percent. Suddenly, it’s a contender. 12th-gen Core laptops, but Microsoft isn’t
exactly dominating the segment. Remember,
We use Cinebench, a synthesized too, that the Surface Laptop 5 doesn’t offer a
benchmark, to try to determine how well the Ryzen option.
laptop will perform on an application that
leans hard into using the entire processor’s Handbrake, a real-world video

40 PCWorld DECEMBER 2022

transcoding tool, does the same—but with an purchasing a laptop with a discrete GPU—
emphasis on prolonged work, so that we can which is a perfectly fine idea if other aspects
see how long the laptop will perform using like battery life hold up. Here, the 12th-gen
sustained workloads. This is a good test of Core chip within the Surface Laptop 5 shows
both prolonged performance and how well definite improvement over the Surface Laptop
the laptop can cool itself to sustain a 4 and its Ryzen CPU.
prolonged workload.
Because the scores for the Surface
Finally, we use 3DMark as a way to Laptop 5 were sometimes lower than the
evaluate the performance of the integrated Surface Laptop 4’s, we wondered why.
Iris Xe 3D core and its implications for some Could it be the internal SSD was slowing the
light gaming. Only pay attention to the top machine down? Using CrystalDiskMark
four scores here if you’re interested in 8.0.1, we tested the Surface Laptop 4 and 5.

3DMark Time Spy Battery life

GPU performance Minutes

Lenovo Slim 7 Pro X 3,936 HP Envy 14 14-eb0010nr 901
Ryzen 9 6900HS 3,936 Core i5-1135G7 862
3,772 833
Acer Swift X 3,220 Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 9310 770
Ryzen 7 5800U 1,985 Core i7-12700H 753
1,917 735
HP Spectre x360 16 1,784 Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 732
Core i7-11390H 1,750 Ryzen 7 4800U 626
1,714 602
HP Envy 14 14-eb0010nr 1,482 Asus Zenbook UM325S 577
Core i5-1135G7 1,410 Ryzen 7 5800U 537
1,388 536
Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 (2022) 1,296 Acer Swift 3X 476
Core i7-1260P 1,290 Core i7-1165G7 317

Acer Swift 3X Acer Swift X
Core i7-1165G7 Ryzen 7 5800U

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 (2022)
max Core i7-1255U Core i7-1260P

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 Microsoft Surface Laptop 5
Core i7-1255U Core i7-1255U

Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 9310 Microsoft Surface Laptop 4
Core i7-12700H Ryzen 7 4980U SE

Dynabook Portégé X40 Lenovo Slim 7 Pro X
(2022) Core i7-1260P Ryzen 9 6900HS

Dell Latitude 7330 Asus Zenbook Flip 13
Ultralight Core i7-1265U Core i7-1165G7

Asus Zenbook UM325S Dell Latitude 7330
Ryzen 7 5800U Ultralight Core i7-1265U

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 Dynabook Portégé X40
Ryzen 7 4980U SE (2022) Core i7-1260P

Asus Zenbook Flip 13 HP Spectre x360 16
Core i7-1165G7 Core i7-11390H

LONGER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCE LONGER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCE

This is a quite respectable showing for the Surface The battery life of the Surface Laptop 5 is merely
Laptop 5. average, at roughly 10.5 hours.

DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 41

REVIEWS MICROSOFT SURFACE LAPTOP 5

The Surface Laptop 5’s SSD measured chips clustering near the top of the
noticeably faster: 882.46MB/s read and performance charts. As we’ve shown,
779.65MB/s writes for the Surface Laptop though, turn up the Windows performance
4, and 2,252MB/s reads and 1,933MB/s slider! Doing so elevates everything the
writes for the Surface Laptop 5. We have to Laptop has to offer, and considerably so.
conclude that the Ryzen chip simply made
more of a difference. Essentially, Surface devices have always
commanded a premium. That’s fine, especially
Of course, we also tested the battery life in niches (the Surface Pro tablet, the excellent
of the Surface Laptop 5, with a looped 4K Surface Laptop Studio) where the competition
video that runs until the battery expires. One isn’t as fierce. As someone who uses laptops
key is that we use a much brighter display that daily, the smooth, spacious design absolutely
we think is typical for the average user, rather resonates. But with now three generations of
than the extremely dim screen brightness that Surface Laptops that Microsoft has left virtually
Microsoft uses in its rated battery life. We unchanged, it’s best to conclude that the
believe that our tests more directly Surface Laptop 5 emphasizes design, not value
correspond to real-world usage, with or raw performance. Take your pick: Buy the
expected battery life significantly less than the Microsoft Laptop 5 if you’re in the first camp.
17 hours that Microsoft claimed. Otherwise, we suggest you look elsewhere
(fave.co/3qL4oHf).
VERDICT
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5
It’s a tough sell. Microsoft’s Surface displays
are always a strong suit, and we’re PROS
unabashed fans of the simple, unadorned
design. A Core i7, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB • Lovely aesthetics.
of SSD storage demands some sort of a • A gorgeous touch display.
premium. But remove that display, and a • Performance can be increased significantly via
device like the 14-inch Acer Swift X costs
$500 less and offers more everyday PC Windows.
performance, far better graphics, and
exceptional battery life. CONS

In fact, Microsoft’s decision to eliminate • Pricey.
AMD’s Ryzen from this generation of Laptops • Can’t match the performance of the Surface Laptop
looks a bit short-sighted in retrospect. Our
performance numbers simply show Ryzen 4 (Ryzen).
• Middling performance versus rivals.

BOTTOM LINE

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 generally prioritizes
aesthetics over performance, which isn’t always a
bad thing. On paper, there are many rivals that offer
more value.

$1,799

42 PCWorld DECEMBER 2022

Dell XPS 13: A stunning laptop—
until you lift the lid

Perfection is an illusion. BY MATT ELLIOTT

T he XPS 13 is a beauty. Among commutes, the XPS 13 is an easy travel mate
midrange laptops, it boasts the to take along.
sleekest, most compact design,
packing a 13.4-inch 16:10 display Despite its luxurious looks, the XPS 13 is a
into an enclosure that looks hardly any midrange ultraportable. It starts at $749 with
larger than an 11-inch Chromebook. But this Dell’s current discount, and our test system’s
is no Chromebook. Made from machined upgrades still keep the price at a reasonable
aluminum in an alluring blue hue and only a $1,149. Our test system features the baseline
half an inch thick, the XPS 13 has premium- CPU, a 12th-gen Core i5, that provides
grade looks. For regular trips and daily acceptable application performance but still
trails that of other midrange laptops that dial

IMAGE: DELL DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 43

REVIEWS DELL XPS 13

back the design touches and put more of Camera: 720p with Windows Hello
their budget toward more-capable Core i7 support
parts. It also lacks an OLED panel and 1080p
webcam, two features that are becoming Battery: 51 watt-hour
more common on midrange laptops. And we Wireless: WiFi 6 (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.1
found it annoyingly difficult to open the Operating system: Windows 11 Home
laptop’s lid, a seemingly small issue that Dimensions: 11.63×7.85×0.55 inches
became a great nuisance in quick order. Weight: 2.57 pounds
Price: Starts at $749/$1,149 as tested
SPECIFICATIONS The XPS 13 starts at $999, but Dell offers
constantly revolving discounts on its site and
Our Dell XPS 13 test system is selling for the baseline model is currently discounted to
$1,149 at its current discount from Dell and $749. It features a Core i5-1230U, 8GB of
features the following specs: RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a non-touch 13.4-
inch display. While it’s good to see a 512GB
Display: 13.4 FHD+ (1920×1200) touch SSD offered as the default storage option
panel with 500-nit rating instead of an undersized 256GB unit, we wish
Dell skipped past the meager 8GB of RAM
Processor: Intel Core i5-1230U and offered 16GB at minimum. Our test
Graphics: Iris Xe Graphics model features the 16GB memory upgrade,
Memory: 16GB which adds a hefty $150 to the bill. Adding
Storage: 512GB SSD touch support to the display costs another
Ports: 2 Thunderbolt 4 (3.5mm dongle $100, which feels steep since it doesn’t
and USB-A to USB-C dongle included) come with a bump in resolution or, better
yet, an OLED panel.

The subtle shade of blue allows it to stand out from the TOUGH NUT TO CRACK
sea of brushed aluminum laptops in silver.
The XPS 13 is a vision in metallic blue. The
subtle shade of blue allows it to stand out
from the sea of brushed aluminum
laptops in silver. The lid, bottom panel,
and keyboard deck are tinted aluminum
in a blue hue Dell calls Sky. There is also
an Umber option that’s a purplish brown.
The keyboard is made to match. The keys

44 PCWorld DECEMBER 2022

Opening the lid to get to the keyboard is a task more difficult than it ever should be.

on our Sky test system are an icy blue and, too, and roughly 2.5 pounds. It’s even lighter

appropriately enough, look really cool. than the 2.71-pound XPS 13 Plus, Dell’s

Opening the lid to get to the keyboard, upscale 13.4-inch model.

however, is a task more difficult than it ever As with the display, Dell wastes no space

should be. Most laptops have a notch on the with the keyboard—it runs from edge to

front edge that gives you the needed space edge. The keyboard feels roomy and there

for your fingertip to find purchase to raise the are no shortened keys to get accustomed to.

lid. The XPS 13 is completely devoid of such The keys offer shallow travel and snappy

helpful notching. The front edge of the lid is feedback for a pleasant and speedy typing

angled and overhangs from the keyboard experience. There’s two-level backlighting for

deck, but it is not wide enough for you to lift working on a red-eye or an otherwise dark

the lid without also lifting the entire laptop. I environment. The power button resides in the

found I needed to use my fingernail to

pry open the lid. In short order, opening

the XPS 13 felt like trying to get to the

nut inside a pistachio shell that has only

the smallest sliver of an opening.

When the XPS 13 is closed it cuts a

thin profile. It’s a hair over a half an inch

thick, and with thin bezels on all four

sides of the display, it measures only

11.63 inches wide and 7.85 inches

deep. It’s about as thin and compact as The keyboard feels roomy and there are no shortened
a 13.4-inch laptop gets. And it’s light, keys to get accustomed to.

DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 45

REVIEWS DELL XPS 13

upper-right corner of the keyboard and I measured the panel against its 500-nit

doubles as a fingerprint reader for easy, rating and found it to hit roughly 425 nits at

secure logins. maximum brightness. While it’s disappointing

The compact design doesn’t leave much the actual brightness wasn’t closer to its

room for the touchpad, but Dell made it rating, the panel is plenty bright for every

about as large as can be given the limited indoor setting we tried, from a sunny, south-

space between the bottom of the keyboard facing breakfast nook to an office under

and the bottom edge of the laptop. It offers ample artificial lighting.

smooth gliding and an accurate response, The display’s 1920×1200 resolution is

and the click mechanism is perfect, with just more than sufficient for the size of the display.

the right amount of travel. Dell set the display scaling to 150%, which

DISAPPOINTING WEBCAM, resulted in large text and icons that
SPARSE PORTS remained crisp and clear. I found that setting
the scaling to 125% provided a larger

The best two attributes of the XPS 13’s display workspace while keeping text at a font size

are its brightness and tallness. It has a 16:10 that was still large enough to be read easily

aspect ratio and is rated for 500 nits. At 16:10, without squinting.

the display is taller than a 16:9 screen, and the While superior OLED panels are

added vertical space makes the display feel becoming more common in midrange

larger than its 13.4-inch size. The effect of laptops, the XPS 13 appears to be just out of

having a taller aspect ratio grows in

importance as the size of the panel

shrinks. A larger, 15- or 16-inch

screen feels roomy at 16:10 or

16:9, but a smaller 13-inch screen

can feel cramped at 16:9 when

you are constantly scrolling

through web pages and

documents. The XPS 13’s 13.4-inch

screen certainly isn’t the easiest on

which to multitask, but the added

height the 16:10 ratio affords does

allow you to see more on the

screen with less scrolling required. The display is plenty bright for every indoor setting we tried.

46 PCWorld DECEMBER 2022

reach of OLED-land. It features a basic LCD for connecting headphones and another
panel with decent contrast and colors but USB-C to USB-A dongle for your USB-A
can’t match the quality of an OLED panel we peripherals. You’re on your own for
have seen on models that cost only a bit adapting to an HDMI connection.
more than the XPS 9315. It’s a shame the
touch panel option doesn’t also come with PERFORMANCE
an OLED upgrade.
Our Dell XPS 13 features the Intel Core
The laptop’s stereo speakers produce i5-1230U CPU, 16GB of RAM, integrated Intel
better sound than expected, although I will Iris Xe graphics, and a 512GB SSD. The Core
note I have low expectations for any laptop i5-1230U is a chip from Intel’s 12th generation
with only a pair of two-watt speakers. of Core processors with two performance
Especially on such a thin and compact system, cores and eight efficiency cores. It’s a
the XPS 13’s audio output is fairly dynamic member of the U-series of 9-watt chips that
with even a hint of bass. It has enough prioritizes efficiency over power.
muscle to fill a small room, although the
clarity quickly declines when you push the To see how it stacks up to its ultrabook
volume past 70%. competition, we looked at its performance
compared to that of the Acer Aspire 5 15
The webcam is a disappointment. While based on the 15-watt Core i5-1235U. You’ll
1080p webcams have quickly become the de also see the Acer Swift 5 and Samsung Galaxy
facto option on all but the must budget of Book2 Pro 360 in the charts; each features a
laptops, the XPS 9315 features a 720p Core i7-1260P, a chip from the P series that
webcam that suffers from a grainy image with sits between Intel’s efficient U-series and
oversaturated colors. I would expect to see a high-powered H-series. We also included last
720p camera on a low-end model from Dell’s year’s Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 9310 that features an
mainstream Inspiron line, but every XPS 11th-gen Core i7 part. Rounding out the
laptop should come equipped with a 1080p charts are two compact ultraportables with
camera by now. AMD Ryzen 7 5800U in the HP Pavilion Aero
13 and Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 Carbon.
Dell offers a sparse port selection on the
XPS 9315. The laptop features two In anecdotal testing, the XPS 13 felt peppy
Thunderbolt 4 ports—one on each side of during general Windows use, including
the system. That’s it. There’s not even a multitasking scenarios. Apps opened and
headphone jack. To supplement the minimal closed quickly, and I was able to juggle
ports, Dell includes two adapters in the box. multiple apps and windows without any lag.
There’s one USB-C to 3.5mm jack dongle The laptop also operated in near silence,

DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 47

REVIEWS DELL XPS 13

which is not always a given on a thin, compact suitable for Android tablets using HandBrake,
system that can present thermal challenges. the free video encoding utility. The XPS 13
managed to finish ahead of last year’s Dell
Our first benchmark is PCMark 10, which XPS 13 2-in-1 but took much longer to
measures performance on everyday complete the test than the other systems with
computing work including office 12th-gen Intel processors and AMD Ryzen 7
productivity tasks, web browsing, and video 5000-series chips.
chats. With only two performance cores, the
XPS 13 limped to a last-place finish on Next up is Cinebench, another CPU-
PCMark 10, trialing the other system that intensive test but one that renders a complex
featured more processing cores as well as 2D scene over a short period of time. The XPS
the Acer Aspire 5 15, whose Core i5-1235U 13 finished dead last and well off the pace set
has the same number of performance (2) and by the laptops with CPUs that feature a
efficiency (8) cores as the XPS 13’s Core greater number of processing cores.
i5-1230U. The Aspire 5 15’s CPU, however,
is a 15-watt chip compared with only 9 watts The XPS 13’s showing in lab testing did
for the XPS 13. That extra wattage results in not improve with 3D graphics testing. On
greater PCMark performance. 3DMark’s Time Spy benchmark, it finished last
among the group.
Our HandBrake benchmark tests how a
laptop is able to handle crushing CPU loads To test a laptop’s battery life, we loop a 4K
over a lengthy period—in this case, video using Windows 11’s Movies & TV app,
transcoding a 30GB MKV file to a format with the laptop set to Airplane mode and
earbuds plugged in. We set the screen

PCMark 10 Handbrake 0.9.9 Encode

CPU performance Seconds

HP Pavilion Aero 13 6,024 Acer Swift 5 1,580
Ryzen 7 5800U 5,684 Core i7-1260P 1,615
5,543 1,669
Lenovo Ideapad Slim 7 5,455 Lenovo Ideapad Slim 7 1,677
Carbon Ryzen 7 5800U 5,073 Carbon Ryzen 7 5800U 1,755
4,877
Samsung Galaxy Book2 4,445 Samsung Galaxy Book2 3,032
Pro 360 Core i7-1260P Pro 360 Core i7-1260P 3,287

Acer Swift 5 HP Pavilion Aero 13
Core i7-1260P Ryzen 7 5800U

Acer Aspire 5 15 Acer Aspire 5 15
Core i5-1235U Core i5-1235U

Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 9310 Dell XPS 13 9315
Core i7-1165G7 Core i5-1230U

Dell XPS 13 9315 Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 9310
Core i5-1230U Core i7-1165G7

LONGER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCE SHORTER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCE

48 PCWorld DECEMBER 2022

Cinebench R15 3DMark Time Spy 1.2

All threads GPU performance

Acer Swift 5 1,740 Samsung Galaxy Book2 1,969
Core i7-1260P 1,676 Pro 360 Core i7-1260P 1,935
1,422 1,714
HP Pavilion Aero 13 1,399 Acer Swift 5 1,331
Ryzen 7 5800U 1,257 Core i7-1260P 1,329
1,100 1,301
Samsung Galaxy Book2 921 Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 9310 1,071
Pro 360 Core i7-1260P Core i7-1165G7

Lenovo Ideapad Slim 7 HP Pavilion Aero 13
Carbon Ryzen 7 5800U Ryzen 7 5800U

Acer Aspire 5 15 Lenovo Ideapad Slim 7
Core i5-1235U Carbon Ryzen 7 5800U

Dell XPS 13 9315 Acer Aspire 5 15
Core i5-1230U Core i5-1235U

Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 9310 Dell XPS 13 9315
Core i7-1165G7 Core i5-1230U

LONGER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCE LONGER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCE

brightness to a relatively bright 250 nits to XPS 13 and its 12th-gen Core i5 chip. Further,
260 nits, which is a good brightness for the 720p webcam is behind the times and,
watching a movie in an office with the lights with only two ports, you are forced to keep
on. We had hoped that with its efficient Core track of two tiny adapters. For roughly the
i5 U-series chip, the XPS 13 would flip the same price, the slightly larger but still highly
script and finish toward the top of the chart portable HP Pavilion 14 Plus offers better
for battery life. Sadly, it did not. It failed to top performance along with an OLED display and
the 10-hour mark on our battery drain test, a 1080p webcam.
threshold most of the ultrabooks here were
able to exceed. Dell XPS 13

VERDICT PROS

At first blush, the Dell XPS 13 is an attractive • Incredibly thin and compact design.
ultraportable for its compact design, thin • Beautiful and rigid machined aluminum chassis.
profile, and unique tinted aluminum material. • Comfortable keyboard and touchpad.
As soon as you attempt to raise the lid,
however, the bloom is off the rose. It’s CONS
frustratingly difficult to perform the simple act
of opening the laptop. In addition, • Lid is difficult to open.
competing ultrabooks offer better • Mediocre performance.
performance and longer battery life than the
BOTTOM LINE

The Dell XPS 13 9315 boasts a gorgeous, incredibly
thin all-metal design, but its lackluster performance,
subpar webcam, and hard-to-lift lid prevent a
stronger recommendation.

$999

DECEMBER 2022 PCWorld 49

REVIEWS

HP Envy 16: Premium config in a
midrange build

Is it worth the high price tag? BY MATT ELLIOTT

T he HP Envy 16 is a big-screen, OLED panel that offers a dynamic image with
content-creation laptop that packs a stellar contrast ratio. Powering the display
a punch. With a roomy 16-inch on our test system is an Intel Core i9-12900H
16:10 display, media professionals CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 GPU, a
and hobbyists have plenty of space on which duo that puts our test system on the high end
to work. And our test system features an of the price scale.

50 PCWorld DECEMBER 2022 IMAGE: HP