PC Pro

The UK’s biggest selling PC monthly magazine, and your source of professional IT news, reviews and tests. Combining in–depth industry comment and analysis with rigorous product testing.

Microsoft’s great expectations may lead it into hard times

PC Pro • October 2024 Issue 361

Intel’s chips leave bad taste for PC buyers • Raptor Lake woes create problems for buyers and sellers alike

Boost for esports students • New lab offers cutting-edge facilities in Salford

CrowdStrike: will anything really change? • It’s been described as the world’s biggest IT failure. Barry Collins investigates whether any lessons will be learned

A little bit of history repeating

The A-List • The best products on the market, as picked by our editors

The dangers of arty-ficial intelligence • As AI allows anyone with a keyboard to become a writer or an artist, the world has become a more tedious and more dangerous place

Don’t feel guilty about giving kids tech • The whole point of tech for kids is to keep them quiet, so a tantrum-causing bug in an £8-a-month app causes equal anger for this particular parent

Streamy dreams of macOS on iPad • Full-blown app streaming is the only way forward for travelling power users, and I’m not embarrassed to include myself in that category

Readers’ comments • Your views and feedback from email and the web

Star letter

WINDOWS + MAC Every new feature • There’s a flood of new features coming to Windows 11 and macOS this autumn. Barry Collins and Tim Danton run you through the changes

THAT’S ALL FOLKS… UNLESS YOU’RE USING A COPILOT+ PC

CYBERSPACE ODDITY The story of BowieNet • In the 1990s it wasn’t only AOL and CompuServe offering internet access, but rock stars, too. Lee Grant recalls the extraordinary story of David Bowie’s ISP

INSTANT EXPERT CANVA • Nik Rawlinson explains how to master the hugely popular graphic design tool that does everything from editing images to designing T-shirts – and it needn’t cost you a penny

TURN AN OLD ROUTER INTO A WI-FI EXTENDER • Darien Graham-Smith finds out how a spare router could give you a free signal boost

AMD Ryzen AI 300 series • This landmark release not only provides a debut for Zen 5 architecture but also marks AMD’s all-out assault on AI

Asus ProArt PX13 • A pocket-sized dynamo, this convertible lacks for nothing, exudes industrial chic, and the price is easy to justify

Asus ProArt P16 • The ideal platform for AMD’s new Ryzen AI chips, this stylishly understated professional laptop does it all

Asus Zenbook S 16 (UM5606) • The ceramic-style lid makes this slim laptop stand out, but we question whether it’s worth the high price

How we test

What our awards mean

PCSpecialist 14 Lafité AI AMD • No frills and a terrible webcam, but this is one of the most affordable AI laptops around

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 9) • An attractively priced Snapdragon Copilot+ PC with strong battery life and a striking 14.5in OLED screen

Dell XPS 13 (Snapdragon) • The slickest and most customisable Copilot+ PC yet, but the screen is poor and competition tough

Dell Inspiron 14 Plus (Snapdragon) • A fine debut for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Plus chip, and great speakers, but what a shame about the screen

LG gram Pro 16 (2024) • The cheaper non-Nvidia option may suit you better, but this is a super-light laptop with a fine 16in OLED screen

Getac S510 • The first rugged laptop we’ve tested with a Core Ultra chip, and it ticks all the other necessary boxes, too

Dell Latitude 9450 2-in-1 • A no-compromise business convertible with quality in every area, making it worth the hefty price

MSI Cubi NUC 1M •...