THE GEFORCE RTX 3080 finally kicks off the new season of GPUs, sporting Nvidia’s new Ampere architecture (see: Ampere deep-dive, page 38). Forget the star players of the past couple of years; the hot young talent is ready to kick some serious ass. Even better: Nvidia isn’t asking for a massive signing bonus this round. The RTX 3080 takes over the outgoing RTX 2080 Super’s $699 price point, which means gaming enthusiasts can actually afford one (almost).
Just about everything has changed with the 3080 Founders Edition. It looks nothing like previous Nvidia GPUs, and frankly looks nothing like any other GPU we’ve seen. It has dual fans, but in a novel approach to cooling, the axial fan that’s closer to the video ports serves as something of a blower, while the back fan sits on the opposite side of the card and pulls air through the radiator fins. Nvidia claims it provides better cooling and lower noise levels than the previous generation, and our testing backs that up.
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SteelSeries Sensei Ten
An old favorite gets a new coat and sensor, but is it enough?
Razer Cynosa V2
A $60 keyboard from Razer?
Corsair MP400 2TB
Lots of cache for not much cash
Corsair HS70 Bluetooth
A no-nonsense, versatile headset
Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero
A Ryzen 5000 series refresh, but does the “Dark” matter?
Philips 279C9
A precision productivity package
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Founders Edition
RTX 2080 Ti performance at half the price?
HP EliteOne 800 G5
All for one and one for all
HyperX Cloud Stinger S
Sting like a bee
TECH PREVIEW 2021
THE MAXIMUM PC TEAM AND CO. PREDICT WHAT THE COMING YEAR HAS IN STORE FOR THE WORLD OF TECH
Lenovo Yoga 9i (15-Inch): A Competent Convertible
We recently reviewed the 14-inch Lenovo Yoga 9i, a compact convertible laptop with plenty of upside, but maybe you’re in the market for something a little larger. Its big brother, the 15.6-inch Lenovo Yoga 9i, brings the same high-quality hybrid form factor to a roomier display. Of course, the increased size makes the larger Yoga a little unwieldy as a tablet, but it also delivers more power. (The hybrid’s snappy Intel Core i7 H-Series CPU and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti graphics will impress.) Long battery life and an included stylus sweeten the pot for what is a good if not standout convertible. The premium HP Spectre x360 15 remains our favorite big-screen 2-in-1 machine.
What to look for in a gaming monitor: The specs that matter
Gaming monitors are awesome, but which one is right for you? Let us guide you through the specs you should care about.
Tested: 5 things you need to know about AMD's Radeon RX 6900 XT
Don’t have time to sift through benchmarking charts? Read this instead.
How DirectX 12 Ultimate supercharges graphics on Windows PCs and Xbox
DirectX 12 Ultimate serves as a force multiplier for the entire gaming ecosystem.
8 ways to make Cyberpunk 2077 run faster
Put the pedal to the metal, choom.
NEW GEAR
RUPERT HOLMES INVESTIGATES A CLEAN ELECTRICAL POWER SOURCE FOR YACHTS
CONSOLE BATTLE: PS5 AND XBOX SERIES X FIGHTING TO BE CHRISTMAS #1
With the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 launching this month, it’s never been a more exciting time to be a gamer.
BIRDMAN FLYING
Just like eventually landing that famous 900, TONY HAWK’S PRO SKATER 1 + 2 shines after so many failures.
Inside the Pandemic's Biggest Cash Cow: Scalper Bot Networks Hawking Hot Products
The pandemic and ensuing economic fallout may be leading internet users to dabble in the notorious art of scalping in order to buy up this holiday season’s hottest electronics and resell them for a hefty profit.
PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR
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