Close to the Metal

The holiday shopping season means hot sales, and this year there's a particular category of hardware the stands out. Monitors.

Apple's MacBook Pro has finally received an update, but it's expensive. Is it worth the upgrade? We go in-depth on this week's Close to the Metal podcast.

The 2-in-1 PC is a category that's received a lot of attention from manufacturers, but consumers seem wary. These devices tend to be expensive, and the benefits aren't obvious - but a new wave of excellent 2-in-1s may win you over.

Gaming mice are know to be expensive, yet the Amazon.com best-selling list is dominated by super-cheap, $10 gaming mice. Are they worth considering?

Apple has revealed all the details of the Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch and 15-inch, including what's inside. How do they stack up against Windows PCs?

Some of the best new laptops have just one or two USB Type-C ports. Can you really get by with one port, and if so, how?

In this week's episode we discuss Western Digital's first solid state drive, then dive into the surprisingly deep and complex market for solid state drives.

Intel's 7th-gen Core processors are now appearing in laptops available online and in stores. How important is it to get the latest processor?

We took a close look at a high-end GTX 1060 from Zotac. Though its performance was great, the price was hard to tolerate, given its increase over MSRP.

Apple's newest version of Mac OS X - sorry, MacOS - offers a few interesting new features, including Siri. But is it enough to restore faith in Mac fanatics?

The war between consoles and PCs is heating up as Sony has announced its PlayStation 4 Pro at just $399. Does this spell trouble for budget gaming PCs?

Intel's Developer Forum in San Francisco is the company's most important yearly event. This year, virtual reality is the focus. But what is Intel's angle?

The RX 480's fantastic reviews are followed by power draw problems, a VR porn festival in Japan is shut down by overcrowding, and Acer's Predator Z35 gaming monitor proves why bigger isn't always better.

The Falcon Northwest Mach V is one of the most expensive PCs. Is its high price tag worthwhile? What's real difference between it and a mid-range rig?

Most PC gamers need a discrete graphics card, and options from AMD and Nvidia have dominated the market for almost two decades. Which has the edge in 2016?

Windows 10's free upgrade is about to go extinct, and many users are stressing over whether switching to the new OS is worthwhile. We have the answer.

Microsoft has released its revised Xbox One S. Smaller than the original, and now with 4K support, it's a decent piece of hardware. But Xbox isn't just targeting console players with this release -- its audience is broader than that.