We always knew Microsoft’s upcoming DirectStorage technology would be fast, but how fast? Fast enough to load a game in just over a second, if a demonstration of an upcoming game, Forspoken, is any indication.
Microsoft released its DirectStorage API about two weeks ago, which allows the GPU to talk directly to the SSD to load games and textures without needing to pass through the CPU and main memory. At the time, we didn’t know which games would support it or exactly how quickl
We always knew Microsoft’s upcoming DirectStorage technology would be fast, but how fast? Fast enough to load a game in just over a second, if a demonstration of an upcoming game, Forspoken, is any indication.
Microsoft released its DirectStorage API about two weeks ago, which allows the GPU to talk directly to the SSD to load games and textures without needing to pass through the CPU and main memory. At the time, we didn’t know which games would support it or exactly how quickl
I’ve always been a big fan of Chromebooks. I like practical machines with a singular purpose and there’s nothing more straightforward than a Chromebook. They’re low-powered laptops designed with everyday tasks in mind. When I’m not messing around on my desktop computer, chances are I’m glued to my Chromebook, where I’m either typing up an article or checking the news on Twitter. Sometimes I like to play an archaic title like Final Fantasy IV (whale spaceship
AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution took the world by storm when it launched last summer—more than 80 games have already announced support for the performance-boosting upscaling technology, thanks to its easy inclusion and far-reaching hardware support. (It works on Nvidia and Intel GPUs as well as AMD’s Radeon graphics cards.) But while the simple spatial upscaling that FSR provides makes it universally appealing, the lack of temporal data tracking across multiple frames means
If you’ve wondered whether the new Halo TV series is any good, you’re in luck: Microsoft is making a one-month trial subscription to Paramount+ a “perk” of Game Pass Ultimate, and tossing in a three-month trial to Marvel Unlimited’s digital comics subscription service as well.
If you subscribe to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you may have noticed reminders about “perks” that are available as a, well, perk. If you haven’t, try open
Earlier this week Nvidia kicked off its GTC developer’s conference with a public presentation. On the same day the company held an investor call, explaining to people with enough money to make Solomon blush why Nvidia should get some more of it. The call is mostly dry financial statistics, but one slide is causing the gaming world to take a closer look. In the gaming section of the call, Nvidia said that gamers who upgraded from a previous-gen desktop graphics card to a GeForce RTX 3000-
Device encryption is a security feature that Microsoft often quietly enables during Windows 11 setup. Sign in with a Microsoft account on a PC with compatible hardware, and the deed is (usually) done.
In fact, many Windows 11 users may not even realize that their PC is encrypted—nor that the recovery key is also automatically saved to your Microsoft account. That key is necessary if you ever forget your password, or the data saved in your TPM gets wiped. It allows you to unlock the d
If you need some security software for your PC, we’ve got a good deal for you on our favorite antivirus suite. The PCWorld Software Store is selling a 15-month subscription to Norton 360 Deluxe for three devices for just $18. That’s $7 cheaper than you’ll find elsewhere for a 12-month subscription.
In our review, we gave the Norton 360 Deluxe 4.5 out of 5 stars and an Editors’ Choice Award. Norton 360 Deluxe has a good amount of features inside a very simple interfa
Staples is all about laptops in recent days, and we’ve found a solid deal for a good day-to-day computer. The office supply store is selling an Asus VivoBook 15 for $430. This laptop has an MSRP of $620 and, while it has the typical downside of sub-500GB storage, it makes up for that with a better processor and more RAM.
This Asus VivoBook 15 features an Intel “Ice Lake” Core i5-1035G1, which has four cores, eight threads, and a maximum boost to 3.6GHz. While it’s no
At a glanceExpert’s Rating ProsDeters and blocks active threatsAlerts for malware detectionParental controls and ad blockingPrioritize data flow, like videoBuilt-in remote VPN accessConsPriceDoesn’t disclose AdBlock list or sourceReplies on free consumer service (OpenDNS) to handle adult content/violence filteringOur VerdictThe Firewalla Gold router allows easily configurable and powerful control over a home network, from resisting attacks to identifying internal device threats to