PCWorld on The Front Desk Review
We quote PCWorld's independent, hands-on testing — with attribution and a link to the original — on 95 product pages across our sourced price index. Every citation is dated and links back to your review. Visit pcworld.com
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Where PCWorld is cited
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Ergotron HX Desk Monitor Arm (Matte Black)
I attached both a 32-inch widescreen and 38-inch ultrawide monitor, which weighed roughly 15 and 20 pounds, respectively, and the HX easily handled both.
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Ergotron LX Pro Desk Monitor Arm (Matte Black)
The Ergotron LX Pro is a practical, effective, easy-to-use monitor arm.
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HUANUO Dual Monitor Mount HNDS6
The arm's metal construction feels rigid and looks durable.
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HUANUO Single Monitor Arm Mount HNSS6
The Huanuo HNSS6 Single Monitor Arm is easily our go-to recommendation for shoppers looking to buy the least expensive monitor arm that can still fulfill its job.
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In testing, the Geekom A8 proved to be an extremely versatile work computer for private use and the modern home office.
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Even in its factory configuration, the QNAP TS-264-8G is an extremely fast NAS server for the 2.5GbE network.
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Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 (LS27FG602S)
The text is nearly as easy to read as when it's sitting still.
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Google Nest Doorbell (Wired, 3rd Gen)
Google's Gemini is a game-changer, and the new Nest Doorbell's video resolution; person, pet, vehicle, and package recognition; and other features are best-in-class.
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First up is brightness, where the MSI Pro MP165 E6 achieves a solid 328 nits at its peak.
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The Level Lock Pro is the best and most attractive smart lock you can buy, and its support for Matter means it can be seamlessly integrated into any smart home ecosystem.
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Anker Nano Power Bank 5,000mAh 22.5W (A1653)
It works completely without cables and is plugged directly into the USB-C port on your phone.
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The Alienware AW2725D is a great OLED monitor with an MSRP of just $550, with SDR and HDR image quality that often rivals more expensive alternatives.
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The build quality is excellent — the chassis is made of solid aluminum, the hinge is smooth and easy to open with one hand, and it keeps the display solidly in place without any jostling during gaming sessions.
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Western Digital WD_Black SN8100
In retests on our new Z890/Core Ultra 225 the SN8100 performed like a champ.
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The Arzopa Z1FC is a solid option if you want an inexpensive portable monitor that covers the basics and then some.
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SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD (USB4)
I love the rugged, handsome design and relative affordability.
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Framework Laptop 13 (AMD Ryzen AI 300, 2025)
The screen gets incredibly bright, reaching almost 540 nits in my testing.
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the $549 Radeon RX 9070 is flat-out faster than the $549 RTX 5070 when you average out the combined results from all games in our suite. All told, the Radeon 9070 runs about 8 percent faster than the RTX 5070 at 1440p
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Across our suite, the Radeon 9070 XT runs 15 percent faster than the RTX 5070 on average, and 7 percent faster than the vanilla Radeon 9070.
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It sails past the 100 frames-per-second mark in many of our gaming benchmarks, even with all graphics settings cranked to the maximum at 1440p resolution.
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Color accuracy finally gives Asus a clear win.
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The Dell Ultrasharp U3225QE sets the new high bar other flagship office and productivity monitors must leap.
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In our tests, the LG UltraGear 27GX790A-B demonstrated motion clarity that was nearly as crisp as a still image.
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The Lenovo Legion Go S has an awesome design. It just feels great to hold, complete with nicely textured grips on the back.
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Western Digital WD_Black SN7100
The WD Black SN7100 was the fastest PCIe 4.0/host memory buffer design we've tested. It's our number one for the average user.
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in general, this graphics card outpunches the $300 Nvidia RTX 4060 and AMD Radeon RX 7600, with the lead growing even larger at 1440p.
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Roku's free content selection is excellent as well, with a vast catalog of free movies, shows, and linear channels.
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I was quite impressed with the photos that the Elgato Facecam Mk. 2 took.
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The Ryzen 7 9800X3D rocks , obliterating Intel's new Core Ultra 9 285K in games – but that's not all.
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Across our rendering and encoding benchmarks, the Core Ultra 9 285K consistently pulled ahead of last generation's 14900K flagship, with improvements ranging between 2 to 21 percent depending on the task.
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the Google TV Streamer was often a few seconds faster at launching apps and less likely to stutter while loading menus.
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Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 13.8-inch (2024)
the Surface Laptop's battery life is spectacular
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Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition
An expanding ecosystem of native Arm apps run great on this tablet, and when plugged in, the performance seems to be on par or even better than Intel's Core Ultra (Meteor Lake).
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Seagate Expansion Desktop 8TB (STKP8000400)
It also delivers twice the sustained transfer rate of 2.5-inch external hard drives.
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the Pro X 2 has an excellent frequency response and low distortion.
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And images captured by the MX Brio look great, almost surprisingly so.
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In organic testing, the robot cleaned up nearly all the debris on the floor of the pool, and it did a great job scrubbing walls and tile, too, working fast but working thoroughly and methodically.
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I found this deadbolt easier to set up than many others in the field, and particularly simple for Apple HomeKit configuration without even needing to install the Schlage Home app on my iPhone.
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In several days of testing the v4 ahead of its release, I found images to be crisp and lively whether recorded at day or night, either under standard IR conditions or with the spotlights on.
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The HP Spectre x360 14 is a light, versatile, and pleasant Windows 2-in-1 that's great for touchscreen superfans.
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Image quality is impressive, particularly at its highest resolution, and on-device motion and person detection worked well.
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the T705 took the top spot among all the drives we've tested in synthetic benchmarking, as well as in the overall aggregate score.
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The AW2725DF boasts a maximum refresh rate of 360Hz, a significant upgrade over the 240Hz refresh rate found across most 27-inch OLED monitors in 2023.
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All of the Tapo C120's features worked flawlessly in my testing.
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Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405, 2024)
The new Asus Zenbook 14 OLED has solid battery life and a gorgeous OLED screen.
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The Nextbase iQ 4K's captures are up there with the best I've seen.
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Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd Gen)
Both are sufficiently zippy with smooth animations, seldom running into any performance hiccups.
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The captures from the A810's front camera are among the best I've seen. The color is rich, and the detail outstanding.
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Ring Stick Up Cam Pro (Battery)
This indoor/outdoor camera is a no-brainer for any Ring customer looking to expand their home security coverage.
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Yeti GX maintains high sound quality right out of the box and is a compelling proposition in its price range
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Where the T9 dominated over the Kingston XS2000 and Teamgroup M200 was in our 48GB transfers. Shaving almost 100 seconds off those drives' times in the aggregate.
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Razer Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma
Razer's dock gave me no problems at all from a stability standpoint, with no random monitor disconnects. It was simply rock solid.
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The Blink Outdoor 4 is a solid budget-priced outdoor security camera with amazingly long battery and excellent privacy protection.
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Marrying good looks, great performance, and affordability, the X9 Pro is one of the top 10Gbps USB SSDs on the market.
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While the X10 Pro didn't blow our socks off in the synthetic benchmarks, it was truly excellent in our real-world testing–beating two Thunderbolt 3 competitors in the 48GB transfers.
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Corsair K70 MAX RGB Magnetic-Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
The wrist rest deserves particular praise.
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Despite the motor, it's impressively quiet while adjusting too.
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the 2K video I captured with the Pro 5S 2K was excellent in both daytime and color night-vision modes.
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The Bluetti AC180 impressed us with its efficiency and is perhaps one of the top—if not the top—portable power stations we've tested.
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SK Hynix Beetle X31 Portable SSD
The Beetle X31 aced our 48GB transfer tests, besting two very good drives.
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Overall, the Thinkware U3000's captures were very good, at least in terms of color and detail.
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Asus strikes back in color gamut. The new PA279CRV spans 100 percent of sRGB, 99 percent of DCI-P3, and 98 AdobeRGB, which together provide the best result of any similarly priced monitor we've recently tested.
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The Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro moves like an absolute ninja across your mouse mat or tabletop.
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In fact, I'd wager Era 100 is the best-sounding small streaming smart speaker on the market, ripe for almost anything you throw at it
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The Arzopa A1 Gamut looks and feels sturdy, has a nice bundled cover, offers plenty of connectivity, comes with all required cables, and delivers a bright, usable picture.
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Sony DualSense Wireless Controller
The adaptive triggers are even more impressive than the haptics.
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If you can set aside the price, the Razer Kiyo Pro Ultra is a fantastic 4K webcam that simply allows you to look your best.
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With surprisingly few compromises, the MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk delivers on most of the features of much more expensive options—leaving very little on the table.
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The Libra 2 makes devouring books a pleasure, in part due to the 300 dpi screen. It's crisp and easy on the eyes
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Keychron Q1 Pro QMK/VIA Wireless Custom Mechanical Keyboard
The Q1 Pro is simply the best premium Bluetooth keyboard on the market.
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TP-Link Tapo Smart Plug Mini P125M
the switch was invariably quick to respond to on-demand commands, whether I was nearby or away, or whether I was using the Tapo app or another app connected via Matter.
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The best ultrawide gaming monitor money can buy is even better than before.
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the third-generation Apple TV 4K solidifies its place at the top of the heap.
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You'd be hard pressed to find a more advanced and expandable portable power station than the EcoFlow Delta 2
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ASUS ROG Strix X670E-E Gaming WiFi
The Asus ROG Strix X670-E Gaming WiFi is loaded with features such as DDR5 and PCIe Gen 5 that will appeal to gamers.
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Microsoft Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 Core
They feel much more secure in the hand than the all-plastic design of the standard Xbox gamepad, and the dot texture is present all the way around.
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Lutron Caseta Diva Smart Dimmer Switch (DVRF-6L)
I tested it with a single recently purchased LED ceiling fixture and it had no problem dimming the load to almost completely off without inducing flicker.
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Google Nest Doorbell (Wired, 2nd Gen)
The new Nest Doorbell (Wired) provides excellent video quality, day or night.
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The Samsung 990 Pro is one of the best NVMe SSDs on the market.
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Anker 777 Thunderbolt Docking Station (Apex)
On first impression, this dock impresses, with the attractive, ridged chassis that implies industrial-class strength.
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CalDigit's TS3 Plus barely warmed under load.
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The Kensington SD5700T Thunderbolt 4 Dock is a quality Thunderbolt 4 docking station that boasts 11 ports and a 180W power supply.
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The Eero Pro 6E three-pack is an excellent mesh system that continues to be reliable and easy to use.
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The Eero Pro 6E three-pack is an excellent mesh system that continues to be reliable and easy to use.
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The Wyze Video Doorbell Pro worked great and the installation was one of the easiest I've experienced.
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This $50 streaming dongle feels fast and fluid, and it supports 4K HDR video with both Dolby Vision and HDR10+.
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The Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 takes good video both day and night, and is by far the smallest, most unobtrusive dash cam available.
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Seagate Backup Plus Hub 8TB (STEL8000100)
The Seagate Backup Plus Hub delivers a big bang for buck. Performance is very good for a USB hard drive, and you'd be hard put to find this kind of capacity elsewhere.
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At $15 for a set of two, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better value in a Wi-Fi smart plug.
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The new Wyze bulb is also unusually bright given its price range, while the slick, intuitive Wyze app makes it easy to group multiple bulbs together.
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By truly becoming completely invisible, the Level Bolt is about to change the smart lock industry as we know it.
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the Tandem's captures are excellent from a practical and legal perspective
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WD My Passport 5TB (WDBPKJ0050BBK-WESN)
the WD My Passport 5TB USB is attractive, affordable, and spacious
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Elgato's Stream Deck Mini refines the previous video switcher into a smaller and less expensive version, but retains enough flexibility for both hobbyists and professionals alike.
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The out-of-the box settings produced arguably the best images we've seen in a webcam.
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