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If you remember Computex 2023, it was notably lacking in new laptops and desktops to show off despite fresh silicon debuting shortly beforehand. Not so this year! New chips are here once again, driving the AI hardware surge that’s picked up in intensity. With that, we’ve seen way more systems at Computex than perhaps any year prior, with lots to choose from Taiwan’s premier hardware manufacturers, among them Acer, Asus, and MSI. These are our favorite laptops and desktops from Computex 2024 that we can’t wait to get our hands on later this year.Asus ZenBook S 16
(Credit: John Burek)
Asus’ new 16-inch Zenbook is our favorite PC at the show, full stop. This system is a head turner, thanks to its classy aesthetic, super thin design, and gorgeous 120Hz 3K OLED screen. The minimalist geometric lid feels as high-quality as it looks, with Asus’ trademarked Ceraluminum coating, and the laptop only measures 0.43 inch thick and weighs 3.3 pounds. The Zenbook S 16 targets creative and professional users, meaning it’s more than just a pretty face. The Zenbook S 16 will run AMD’s Ryzen 9 AI 300 “Strix Point” processor at 28 watts (W), with as much as 32GB of 7,500MHz memory and up to 2TB of M.2 SSD storage. This should be a snappy, attractive laptop that pro users will enjoy, starting at a reasonable $1,399. — Matthew Buzzi, Senior AnalystAsus ExpertBook P5
(Credit: John Burek)
The Asus ExpertBook P5 was the best business laptop at Computex 2024 by merging the latest AI features with the tools and security guardrails that businesses need. It is powered by Intel’s new Lunar Lake Core Ultra processor, and you’ll get a proper business machine with TPM protections and MIL-STD 810H durability while still letting you take advantage of new tools like Copilot Recall and generative meeting notes. Add in a slim aluminum build, a glare-reducing screen, and advanced connectivity options like Wi-Fi 7, and you get the most advanced laptop we’ve seen yet for modern professionals. — Brian Westover, Lead AnalystAsus ProArt P16
(Credit: John Burek)
Asus showed off a range of new ProArt machines for professional creators, and the P16 is definitely the flagship. This 16-inch traditional clamshell laptop will run AMD’s new Ryzen 9 AI 300 processors at up to 70W on the processor side and up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU at 105W on the graphics end, which should mean real workhorse power for demanding media tasks. Its 4K OLED panel is just as important to some creatives as its maximum capacities of 64GB of RAM and 4TB of storage. Its design calling card is the digital dial on the touchpad, which lets you scroll easily to adjust volume, brightness, and in-app tools—an uncommon boon for creative workers. — M.B.Asus ProArt PZ13 Tablet
(Credit: John Burek)
The Asus ProArt PZ13 emerged as the standout tablet at Computex 2024 and a possible rival to the Microsoft Surface Pro tablet. Its 13-inch 3K OLED screen delivers vibrant, precise visuals and touch and pen support, which are crucial for detailed work. Remarkably portable at just 0.35 inch thick and weighing less than 2 pounds, it has a sturdy build, a detachable kickstand and keyboard, and an optional slim pen. Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon X-based processor, it balances efficiency and power, achieving up to 45 trillion operations per second (TOPS, a measure of AI performance) as a Copilot+ PC. With two USB Type-C ports, an SD card reader, and Wi-Fi 7 support for connectivity, the ProArt PZ13 looks like the ultimate tool for on-the-go creativity. — B.W.MSI Stealth A16 AI+
(Credit: John Burek)
Based on all evidence so far, gaming laptops won’t shy away from the AI PC phenomenon, either. MSI’s new Stealth A16 AI+ will embrace AMD’s upcoming “Strix Point” processor platform and do so in style. This sleek, all-black system weighs 4.62 pounds (decent for a 16-inch gaming laptop) and is only 0.7 inch thick, all built with a quality magnesium-aluminum alloy. It runs on AMD’s incoming Ryzen AI 9 300 Series processors, which feature a neural processing unit (NPU), like all so-called AI chips, and it can fit up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 in its thin frame. A QHD+ 240Hz panel should further appeal to gamers, as should the 32GB RAM and 2TB SSD maximums. Per-key backlighting, a dedicated Copilot key supporting Microsoft’s AI service, and plenty of connections sweeten the pot. You’ll find a class of gaming laptops that goes in for all-out power, but this sleek machine appears to balance its size and performance well, and we look forward to testing it out. — M.B.MSI MEG Vision X AI
(Credit: John Burek)
Desktop AI processors are imminent—Intel’s “Arrow Lake” desktop silicon is next up on the roadmap after Lunar Lake—but laptops have been the first hit by the AI PC wave. MSI will whet desktop fans’ appetites with the MEG Vision X AI, a gaming desktop with a touch screen and AI integration slated for later this year. The PC’s front-facing touch panel integrates with MSI’s AI Engine, which can optimize your performance, lighting effects, and audio settings. The AI Engine and touch screen together produce what MSI calls its “Human Machine Interface.” The Human Machine Interface also has a chatbot that can generate AI images, search your documents, and more. The processor will handle the workload alone without an NPU so that the graphics card can focus on more intense tasks, like gaming. This experimental product will only be proven by deeper testing, but it takes this spot as an intriguing first crack at an AI desktop. — M.B.Acer Aspire C27 AIO
(Credit: John Burek)
The Acer Aspire C27 revamps the traditional all-in-one desktop with Intel Core Ultra processors, Windows Copilot support, and a sleek design tailored for modern productivity. Equipped with Intel’s latest hardware, the C27 features Copilot support and Intel Unison to connect laptops or phones for syncing with Windows 11. Still, it doesn’t stop there, introducing twin display position adjustments (height and swivel) and plenty of ports. And, since the system includes the display, we prefer the 27-inch panel with blue light filtering and 1440p resolution. With a promised price of $899, it’s the first AIO we’ve been excited about in a long time. — B.W.AceMagic Tank 03
(Credit: John Burek)
The AceMagic Tank 03 is all about style. This cube-shaped mini PC packs a punch, with gaming-grade hardware, up to an Intel Core i9-12900H processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, crammed into a 6-by-6-inch chassis that’s festooned with RGB flourishes and a big glowing knob that lets you rapidly switch between performance modes. Snap-on side panels give you quick access to RAM and SSD slots and a rich selection of ports on the back. It’s a fusion of cyberpunk flash and gaming-grade muscle that really grabbed our attention. — B.W.Mini Maker Turbo Mini X
(Credit: John Burek)
Mini Maker is a new brand that is looking to make a mark in the mini-PC DIY market. This product is an unusual take: a mini-PC that can stand alone and use integrated graphics, or take a connection from a complementing external GPU at a higher data rate than most. The Turbo Mini X is a socketed (LGA 1700) 65-watt desktop with twin M.2 slots (heatsinks included) and support for three 4K external displays and Wi-Fi 7. The matching StreamPlay X external graphics box works over a PCI Express bus interface rather than the more common Thunderbolt that many eGPUs use. Pricing and availability are up in the air, but this PC has remarkable potential for extremely small footprint power. — John BurekECS Liva Z7 Plus
(Credit: John Burek)
ECS, aka Elitegroup Computer Systems, is well known as a longtime maker of compact PCs, and the company offers a huge slate of them. Many are designed for industrial applications and vertical markets and feature COM ports, unusually large arrays of video outputs, and fanless designs. However, the company makes a host of more general-use mini-desktops, too, in its Liva line, and the Liva Z7 Plus, coming this summer, impressed us for its sheer volume of connectivity. Based on “Meteor Lake”-H processors and able to take up to 96GB of SO-DIMM RAM, it has a huge array of USB front and back. You get five USB up front (three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, one 20Gbps Type-C, and a USB-A 2.0). On back are a pair of HDMI, plus four more USB, including two USB4, alongside twin LAN jacks. — J.B.
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