GAMING & CREATIVE LAPTOPS

With Nvidia’s RTX 50-series now coming to laptops en masse, we put seven top contenders through their paces

BEST VPNS STAY SAFE IN 2025

WE PUT A DOZEN VPN SERVICES THROUGH THE WRINGER TO DETERMINE THE BEST FREE OFFERINGS AND WHICH ARE WORTH PAYING FOR

Key factors to consider when choosing a VPN

When investing in a VPN it makes sense to know exactly what features you need and those you don’t. It could end up saving you a lot of money

ExpressVPN

It’s expensive, but you’ll be hard-pressed to match ExpressVPN for features, performance or streaming

Mullvad

This privacy-focused service isn’t here to region-shift your video but offers consistent pricing and decent speeds

Streaming video comparison

Buyer’s guide

Practical buying and strategic advice for IT managers and decision makers

Don’t believe in AI? You need to get with the program

T h ere’s something about technology that makes

Readers’ comments

Your views and feedback from email and the web

Star letter

Games vs VHS

Don’t read this column unless you want to waste at least an hour of your life, says Jon Honeyball

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Y o u know

Retail on ransomware red alert

Background and analysis on all the important news stories

Online Safety Act challenged by Wikipedia

Controversial legislation faces first legal challenge

Trouble in Store for Apple

Barry Collins investigates the problems facing Apple after its stinging court defeat to Epic Games

Going neuro down in data centros

The idea of processors acting like brains is as old as computers, but when it comes to energy efficiency they have a long way to go

Tech and the beanstalk: a modern-day myth

When an AI can tell me how to tackle bindweed in my London allotment and actually be correct, I’ll start to believe in artificial general intelligence

The car feature Clarkson won’t talk about

There’s one chief requirement when I go car shopping, and it’s nothing to do with torque

WRITE YOUR OWN APPS WITH CHATGPT

BARRY COLLINS REVEALS HOW TO TAME THE AI TO CODE APPS ON YOUR BEHALF

EPAPER EVERYWHERE

Low-power screens are appearing in all manner of devices. Barry Collins plots the rise of ePaper

MICROSOFT DESIGNER

Nik Rawlinson tries out a free, AI-powered tool that can quickly put together social media images and more

Next-gen connections

As our devices get smarter and faster, we need new connectors to keep them all working smoothly together. Darien Graham-Smith examines the ports and technologies you might see on your next computer – or the one after that

Can robots fix fashion?

The trends and technologies that are the shape of things to come

Moto Razr 60 Ultra

A stunning screen, great cameras, superb battery life and a powerful chipset make this the best flip phone yet – but it comes at a price

Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1

Mediocre battery life, but if you like the 2-in-1 format – or simply having a touchscreen – this is a good-value choice

How we test

Laptops and PCs We run a selection

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13

A compelling evolution of the demanding executive’s favourite laptop, with its quality undimmed by time

Medion Erazer Beast 16 X1 Ultimate

Not the most refined gaming laptop, but with RTX 5090 graphics at RTX 5080 prices it’s the best value of the latest crop

Medion Erazer Hunter X30

A solid first outing from the German manufacturer, but the price must drop to earn a Recommended award

Alienware Area-51 Gaming Desktop (2025)

This behemoth of a gaming PC oozes class while extracting the most from its expensive components

CyberPowerPC Ultra 3D5090

The best gaming chip and graphics card combine with predictable power: if you refuse to compromise, buy it

MSI Pro AP272P

A questionable choice of processor and panel undermine its excellent connectivity and webcam

Dell 32 Plus 4K Monitor (S3225QS)

No USB-C, but this stylish monitor wins for its 120Hz refresh rates, excellent speakers and image quality

Dell UltraSharp 32 4K Thunderbolt Hub Monitor (U3225QE)

Gorgeous, high quality and supremely well connected, which very nearly justifies that price

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB

Delivering 15% more performance than its predecessor, this is a solid choice for 1440p gaming

Netgear Nighthawk RS100

Don’t be put off by the low price – this budget Wi-Fi 7 router delivers a decent helping of speed and range

Your bonus software

We scour the globe to negotiate the best software deals for our readers, from extended licences to full programs you don’t need to pay a penny for. Here’s this month’s lineup

Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 (2025)

With flashy lights and strong performance, the ROG Strix Scar 16 is only let down by its relatively high cost

Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2025)

The most powerful gaming laptop around – a fact that’s amply reflected in its bulk and that whopping price

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2025)

Superb performance combines with a svelte design and mesmerising OLED to deliver big

Gigabyte Aorus Master 16 (2025)

A strong performer, but it doesn’t feel as premium as its rivals – a fact reflected by its sub-£3,000 asking price

HP Omen Max 16 (2025)

Promises so much with its cutting-edge components and gorgeous OLED display, but ultimately disappoints

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10

A beast that delivers a new level of performance to take advantage of the bright 240Hz OLED panel

MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW

A punchy display and audio combo ensure this laptop feels premium, but MSI asks too much for 5080 graphics

Proton VPN Plus

This fast, feature-packed VPN is a strong choice for region-shifting, but it’s no longer a rebel leader

Surfshark

Fast, cheap and great for streaming, Surfshark remains one of our favourite VPN services

Avast SecureLine VPN

Use it if bundled with your antivirus, but too slow and limited to be worth a standalone subscription

CyberGhost

A mid-tier VPN that struggles to stand out for price, performance or video-streaming skills

Best free VPNs

If you don’t want to spend a penny on a VPN then you have plenty of options, but be careful to avoid those that want to harvest your data

NordVPN

Remains a contender but pricing is obscure and the renewal cost excessive, and falls behind rivals for speed

Norton VPN

There are no reasons to choose this service over the opposition, but it’s a worthy extra in Norton 360

Bag a software bargain

Don’t pay full price for software when we can offer you huge reductions on genuine products

Private Internet Access

An inexpensive consumer VPN with plenty of features but consistently poor transfer speeds

TunnelBear

Reliable and reasonably quick, this Canadian VPN maintains clear and consistent pricing

VyprVPN

Note its new USA HQ, but VyprVPN is still a decent service despite inconsistent speeds in our tests

Windscribe

A superb free offering that can be supplemented by tactical monthly purchases make this a strong choice

How we test

Every VPN is put through a rigorous series of performance tests

View from the Labs

Never mind staying safe and watching TV services from abroad, the big question is whether a VPN help you save money when buying online

Brother ADS-4900W

Perfect for busy SMBs, this is a fast, versatile network scanner with a destination for every occasion

Canon imageFormula DR-S350NW

An affordable scanner with good speeds and output quality plus a smart driverless scanning feature

Epson WorkForce DS-900WN

It’s pricey, but this EdgeLinkenabled desktop scanner is incredibly fast and delivers good-quality scans

Ricoh fi-8040

An affordable scanner with a nippy turn of speed, top output quality and a big choice of operational modes

LincPlus LincStation N2

A smartly designed, affordable all-flash desktop NAS with plenty of storage features and good 10GbE performance

Ubiquiti UniFi UNAS Pro

Modest performance and features, but the UNAS Pro offers a high storage capacity at an incredibly low price

Software licence MANAGEMENT

In an age of remote working and hosted services, it’s more important than ever to keep track of your licences. Nik Rawlinson looks at the challenges – and offers some practical advice to help you avoid accidental non-compliance

Disinformation management

If someone’s spreading lies, don’t despair – Steve Cassidy looks at how businesses can respond to the fake news threat

“I can’t afford for this to go wrong, and wrangling a cloud server is a level of trust that makes my toes curl”

Expert advice from our panel of professionals

“Any company pushing its eco-credentials without facilitating fixing is guilty of greenwashing”

As Acer loses another fan and Microsoft users move backwards, Lee explores the risks of exploding webcams

“I’m not claiming to be a prophet. I merely speculated wildly and, against all odds, hit the mark”

After urgently calling for anti-drone missile technology, Rois is pleased to discover that the MoD has heeded her advice

“I’ve done a bit of deep-diving myself and found some technical stuff that the FBI didn’t”

Davey indulges in time travel with hackers who have earned the ire of the FBI

“I got a long way into the project before it sank in that there were several new blind alleys”

As Steve prepares for the mother of all migrations, he explains the virtues of iSCSI and the sins of Apple’s OS X

One man’s fight for digital privacy

Inspirational stories from computing’s long-distant past