Cleburne PC Repair: TechSpot Tech Gift Shortlist 2017

I loved this list of Excellent Christmas gift ideas that was pubished on Tech Spot. It is full of things that i want like an Iphone X. Things that I need like a SSD hard drive. Too bad there isn’t a replacement for Windows 10 coming out this Christmas. That would be so nice. Microsoft, here is my computer tip to you, Time For Windows 11!

The holidays are upon us and it’s time to start thinking about gifts for friends, family, and why not, yourself as it’s often the case those closer to you like to ask what you’re wishing for the most.

Particularly when it comes to computing and electronics, many will try to grab a good deal during Black Friday which sees a huge number of discounts on tech products.

However, in-between doorbusters and not-so-great yet deeply discounted products, it’s easy to forget that it’s better to spend wisely on a solid well-reviewed item.

We’ve built a shortlist of some of our favorite and most recommended tech gear in various categories covering PC hardware, to electronics and gaming.

PC Hardware and Components

The Ryzen 5 1600 is an exceptional value. On productivity workloads that can take advantage of multiple threads the Ryzen 1600 is great and it holds its own when gaming, too.

How can you not love a 6-core/12-thread CPU that can be overclocked to 4 GHz using the stock cooler for under $200.

The Core i5-8400 puts Ryzen in an awkward position when it comes to gaming and perhaps even the new Core i7 range for that matter.

Six high speed cores are going to be more than enough for the vast majority of gamers to play all the latest games without any frame hitches, while those seeking extreme frame rates for high refresh rate gaming shouldn’t have any problem with these new Coffee Lake Core i5s either.

Motherboards

Keyboards

Smartphones, Laptops & Desktops

Smartphones

With a near bezel-free display, the Galaxy S8+ looks gorgeous, and its design makes most other phones look last generation in comparison. The S8+ is immaculately crafted, with premium materials throughout, while retaining popular features from previous handsets like water resistance, a microSD card slot, and the 3.5mm headphone jack. And the 6.2-inch curved AMOLED display is just about the best-looking screen on any smartphone.

The iPhone X is clearly the best iPhone ever made. It’s thin, it’s powerful, it has ambitious ideas about what cameras on phones can be used for, and it pushes the design language of phones into a strange new place.

It is a huge step forward in terms of phone hardware, and it has the notch to show for it. If you’re one of the many people who preordered this thing, I think you’ll be happy, although you’ll be going on the journey of figuring out when and how Face ID works best with everyone else.

The LG G5 didn’t impress us last year as a flagship contender. But let’s be real here. At $230, the hardware you’re getting in this phone is far too hard to pass up.

The Snapdragon 820 inside still stacks up very well against modern flagships and the LG G5’s compact 1440p display is also bright, crisp, and clear.

If you want the best camera and the best performance at a highly affordable price, the LG G5 is as good as it gets today

It’s true that the iPhone 6S will show its age a lot quicker than the iPhone 8 or the iPhone X.

But look at it this way: When the iPhone 6S becomes too slow for your day-to-day use in, say, two years’ time, you could upgrade to the iPhone 8, which cost less than the brand-new 2019 model.

The iPhone 6S is an example of how recent iPhones have longer life spans when it comes to performance — and that we don’t need to spend top dollar for the new models.

This isn’t a phone that’s going to blow your mind with chip performance. It’s not here to be a mobile news reporter’s best friend for high-quality photos and/or video. But it’ll get you your emails and it’ll let you send a Tweet like nobody’s business. And it’ll do this for hours, and hours, and hours on end.

Laptops

The ZenBook UX330UA is one of the best laptop values you can get: It packs a speedy 256GB SSD, a fast Core i5 CPU and a sharp, 1080p screen into a 2.7-pound package. To get a notebook with similar features at that size, you normally have to pay well over $900.

Fortunately, Asus’ 13-inch laptop looks good on more than just paper, as it provides over 10 hours of battery life, strong performance and wide viewing angles.

With the base model sitting at $1,399, it’s pretty expensive even considering the decent array of hardware. This is another one of those cases where if you want the best on the market, you’ll have to pay a premium. Whether or not you can stomach the price is up to you, but as far as I’m concerned, the Blade Stealth is the best ultraportable currently available.

The base model MacBook Pro gets an updated processor and a price drop, making it the best choice for Mac shoppers who want a blend of power and relative affordability.

Lenovo’s signature business ultraportable is now in its 5th generation, adding new Intel Kaby Lake processors and a larger battery without sacrificing portability.

And after using this laptop for a few weeks now, it’s clear that Lenovo’s minor year-on-year improvements have led to a stunning device that’s the best ThinkPad ultraportable yet.

Acer’s 15.6-inch multi-talented multimedia machine smoothly renders current computer games on its glossy Full HD display. It makes a good impression in every other aspect too, regardless of the kind of application.

The device never grows particularly warm or loud. The new ULV quad-core processor provides plenty of power. A solid-state disk ensures a fast running system and an excellent battery life tops off the package.

The Asus ROG Zephyrus is the flagship model for Nvidia’s Max-Q initiative. It packs a fully-fledged GTX 1080 with 8GB of GDDR5, a Core i7-7700HQ and 16GB of RAM, inside a chassis that’s 17.8mm thick and 2.3 kg heavy. This makes the Zephyrus the slimmest GTX 1080 laptop on the market, and by a significant margin, too.

If you’re looking to purchase a pre-built gaming desktop that prioritizes performance over ridiculous designs and over-the-top liquid cooling, the HP Omen Desktop is a great choice. It’s not ludicrously expensive, yet it provides solid hardware, decent thermals, and loads of configuration options to suit a wide range of budgets.

Very few computers make a statement just by sitting on top of your desk. HP’s latest update of the Envy 34 all-in-one is one of them. A breathtaking display of technology and design that’s as impressive whether it’s on or off.

Great performance. Unparalleled display in the all-in-one space.

The newest 27-inch Apple iMac is a gorgeous machine with a brilliant display and a handful of modern upgrades at an appealing price. It’s not revolutionary, but it’s the best version of the iMac to date.

The Corsair One is one of the best small form factor gaming PCs you can buy right now, period. Corsair has hit the nail on the head with just about every aspect of this machine, from its design to its cooling solution. Its fantastic level of upgradeability and beautiful design is enough for me to highly recommend it.

The HP Z2 Mini G3 is the first mini PC we’ve seen that pushes the capability envelope into workstation territory, thanks to its powerful processing, ISV-certified Nvidia Quadro graphics, and combination of spacious and speedy storage.

If you need basic workstation-class performance for uses like CAD or financial analysis, the Z2 Mini packs that power into a surprisingly small package that’s well worth the price.