Mid-range Sony Xperia R1 and R1 Plus now available in India

The Xperia R1 costs INR 13,990, while the R1 Plus is slightly more expensive at INR 15,990.

The market for budget Android phones has been really strong for a while now, and Sony’s latest handsets are targeted at Indian customers looking to upgrade their current device without handing over a ton of money. The two new phones are the Xperia R1 and R1 Plus, and they’re both packing a solid punch for their asking price.

There are more similarities than differences between the R1 and R1 Plus, so let’s first talk about what sets the two phones apart. The R1 comes equipped with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage, but the R1 Plus kicks things up a notch with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage that’s also expandable.

Both phones come equipped with the same 5.2-inch TFT LCD display, each with a resolution of 1280 x 720, and because this is a Sony Xperia phone, you’ll find sizeable bezels on all sides. Unfortunately, unlike some of Sony’s more expensive devices, there aren’t any front-facing speakers to be seen here.

You’ll find a 13MP camera on the back and an 8MP shooter up front for taking all of your selfies, while under the hood of the two phones lies the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor, 2,620 mAh battery, and Android 7.1 Nougat. Also included is dual-SIM support, FM radio, USB Type-C, and Bluetooth 4.2.

The Xperia R1 and R1 Plus are available in India starting today, featuring price tags of INR 13,990 and INR 15,990 respectively (around $215 and $245 USD)

See at Sony

Honda’s cutesy robot cooler keeps drinks within reach

Honda didn’t just unveil a slick-looking EV coupe concept at the Tokyo Motor Show. It also had a robot… though it’s definitely not the kind of robot you’d expect from the company. Its RoboCas Concept is a super-cute cargo bot that can follow you around while hauling whatever you like in its large, customizable carrying space. Basically, it’s an autonomous cooler with giant eyes. Honda imagines people using it to open pop-up curry shops or haul pumpkins home from the farm. We could see this being incredibly helpful if you don’t have a car, or if you’d rather not drive just to haul some food and drinks to the park for a picnic. There’s just one problem: it’s not clear that RoboCas will move past the concept stage.

The transportation giant hasn’t said whether or not RoboCas will go into production, and The Verge notes that the prototype shown at the Tokyo Motor Show was stationary and had a Windows tablet unceremoniously stuck to its back. We don’t know the full capabilities of the robo-cooler, let alone whether or not it would be affordable as a production model. All the same, the idea is intriguing. Honda isn’t just planning for a transition to self-driving cars — it’s arguing that robotics can eliminate the need for any car in certain situations.

Source: Honda

India passes US to become second largest smartphone market

The US is now the third largest smartphone market in the world, according to a new report by global technology market analyst firm Canalys. The number of smartphone shipments to India grew 23 percent in the third quarter of this year, reaching just over 40 million units shipped. That makes India the second largest smartphone market, just behind number one China. Sorry, US, but you’re in third place now.

The brands selling the most in India? Samsung and Xiaomi, which sent 9.4 million and 9.2 million smartphones to India, respectively, account for almost half of the entire Indian smartphone market in the country. “This growth comes as a relief to the smartphone industry. Doubts about India’s market potential are clearly dispelled by this result,” said Canalys’ Ishan Dutt. “There are close to 100 mobile device brands sold in India, with more vendors arriving every quarter. In addition, India has one of the most complex channel landscapes, but with low barriers to entry. Growth will continue. Low smartphone penetration and the explosion of LTE are the main drivers.”

The top five vendors in India, including Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo and Lenovo, account for 75 percent of the total shipments in India, according to the report. While Samsung is a top seller, Canalys Analyst Rushabh Doshi believes that inexpensive smartphone maker Xiaomi will soon over take the Korean company “within a couple of quarters.” Still, it’s not just low-end phones making inroads in the country. Apple only started local production in India this year, and iPhone shipments have more than doubled to 900,000 units in the third quarter.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Canalys

NASA and Germany are about to refresh their climate science satellites

Cassini might have gotten a very emotional send-off at the close of its 20-year journey, but it’s not the only long-term space mission being retired this season. Today, the joint NASA-German Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) has ended operations after 15 years, three times longer than expected. Its mission: Precisely measure Earth’s gravitational field from a pair of satellites.

Both satellites were needed for GRACE to perform its mission, so when yet another of GRACE-2’s batteries failed and contact was lost in September, the writing seemed to be on the wall. The mission team worked heroically to bring it back online for one final data transmission, but it wasn’t enough power to operate the scientific instruments onboard.

Without fuel, GRACE-2 will dip Earthward and reenter the atmosphere in mid-to-late November, with some burning up and other parts plummeting to the ground with minimal risk. The team will eke all the data they can from GRACE-1 to close out the mission before it, too, sinks into the atmosphere in early 2018.

“We look back with pride and gratitude on the GRACE mission” said Prof. Dr. Reinhard Hüttl, Scientific Executive Director and Chairman of the Board at the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ), in a statement. “During the 15 years of the mission operation, the satellite tandem has measured the gravity field of the Earth and its variations in a highly precise manner, which helps us, for example, to accurately document changes in groundwater storage or in glacial retreat. Furthermore, the resulting influence on sea level rise can be detected thanks to the GRACE measurements. The mission has, thus, substantially contributed to a better understanding of the system Earth.”

But don’t get too broken up over spilled satellites. The successor mission, aptly named GRACE Follow-On, will begin in early 2018 with a pair of replacements riding a Falcon 9 to take over for the old GRACE spacecrafts.

Source: Phys.org

Apple Encourages Developers to Update Their Apps for iPhone X

Apple this afternoon reminded developers about the imminent launch of the iPhone X and encouraged them to submit apps that are optimized for the new device.

Developers can download Xcode 9.0.1 to test apps using the iPhone X simulator before submitting their updated apps to iTunes Connect.

The future is almost here. iPhone X will be available November 3. This stunning device features the all-new Super Retina display for more immersive experiences and Face ID, a secure new way to unlock, authenticate, and pay. The TrueDepth camera works with ARKit, and the A11 Bionic chip is designed for Core ML and Metal 2. Download Xcode 9.0.1, test your apps in the iPhone X simulator, and capture screenshots. Then submit your updated apps and metadata in iTunes Connect today.

There are specific Human Interface Guidelines developers are encouraged to follow when updating their apps for the iPhone X.

Developers need to take into account the iPhone X’s rounded corners, sensor “notch” at the top of the device, and the indicator area for accessing the Home screen to prevent clipping. Developers are discouraged from attempting to mask or call special attention to features like the rounded corners and the sensor housing at the top of the device.

Apps that support Apple Pay or Touch ID will need to make sure Face ID, not Touch ID is referenced within apps on the iPhone X. Apps that use Touch ID will be able to incorporate Face ID as a replacement automatically.

The iPhone X will be in the hands of customers starting on Friday, November 3, the official launch date for the device.

Tags: App Store, developer
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TouchArcade iOS Gaming Roundup: Animal Crossing Pocket Camp, Stranger Things in Minecraft, and More

This week seems like it was totally dominated by all things Animal Crossing Pocket Camp. The story of this game first kicked off over a year ago when Nintendo teased both Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem.

They were originally slated for a fall 2016 release, and, well, we have since seen how that turned out. In late January, Nintendo announced that Animal Crossing had been delayed until its next fiscal year. We suspected it’d make an appearance at the Apple keynote in September, but everything was quiet in the world of Animal Crossing until the Nintendo presentation this week which concluded with the soft launch only a few hours later.

The above video is me playing the first “session” of the game, which goes through the entirety of the game’s tutorial as well as getting pretty close to running out of things to do for the day. That took a little under two hours of playing, so at least on the surface it seems like Pocket Camp gives quite a bit of content away for free. We published a more in depth first impressions / review but the basic gist is Pocket Camp is exactly what you’d expect: A slimmed down version of Animal Crossing that runs on your iPhone.

Stranger Things season two is now on Netflix, giving everyone something to absolutely binge out on this weekend… And it seems that for whatever reason, Minecraft is also hopping onboard the Stranger Things hype train. (Or is it the other way around?) Either way, there’s a new Stranger Things skin pack in Minecraft which potentially contains spoilers as there are skins for both season one and season two characters. It’s pretty impressive how much these skin packs change the feel of the game, so, if that’s a thing you’re into… add Stranger Things skins to your collection right now.

If you haven’t heard of Paladins: Champions of the Realm, it should probably be on your radar. Basically, it’s a free to play Overwatch-like title that has system requirements which are shockingly low for a modern game. It’s been a hit in the PC world, and Hi-Rez just soft launched Paladins Strike, which is a mobile MOBA that uses Paladins characters and the universe to create an experience that’s way more fitting on touch devices. With Arena of Valor on the horizon, and many other good mobile MOBAS already out, I’m curious to see where this one will find a home on the App Store when it’s finally released.

In the world of Blizzard, next week is Blizzcon and you can download the Blizzcon app right now. It’s how you access all the virtual ticket content if you’re watching from home, and it does even more cool stuff if you’re actually at the event. If you’re even remotely interested in Blizzard stuff, the virtual ticket is worth picking up as you’ll see every event and presentation streamed in real time. If that’s what you’re into, watching the streams is a surprisingly great experience. Also, this week’s tavern brawl in Hearthstone is an amazing Halloween-themed event that you really shouldn’t miss. Definitely fire up Hearthstone and give it a go.

MOBAs seem to be the cool new thing on the App Store, and being one of the oldest, Vainglory isn’t about to let these new kids on the block get any headway in the market. They just announced a new 5v5 mode that you can pre-register for, and as part of that, they’re also updating the game to take advantage of the 120hz screen of the iPad Pro. I’m not sure how 5v5 will turn out, but Vainglory at 120fps sounds absolutely amazing– Provided you’ve got a new iPad to play it on.

Last, but not least, is an upcoming game from Annapurna Interactive titled Florence. There aren’t a whole lot of details just yet, but the tagline is “an interactive story about love and life.” It’s being made by Mountains, which is a new indie studio that has Monument Valley alum Ken Wong as the creative director. Annapurna releases awesome things and Ken is an ultra-talented guy, so we’re expecting big things. There’s no release date yet beyond 2018, so hopefully it comes earlier in the year instead of later in the year.

That’s it for this week’s big stories in the world of iOS gaming, and as always, if you’re into these sorts of things and want an absolute overflow of information in the mobile gaming scene be sure to visit TouchArcade.

Tag: TouchArcade gaming roundup
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Apple Updating Some iPhone X Orders With Improved Delivery Dates

Some customers who pre-ordered the iPhone X when pre-orders went live and initially received shipping estimates of one to two weeks are seeing their orders upgraded to delivery on November 3.

MacRumors reader Colin ordered a 256GB iPhone X from T-Mobile and was originally provided with a delivery estimate of November 10 to November 17, which has now been updated to November 3.

Colin’s updated iPhone X delivery estimate
My own iPhone X order, placed right at 12:01 a.m., originally listed a delivery estimate of November 10 to November 17. It was just recently updated to a confirmed November 3 delivery date on Apple’s site. Other customers who ordered early and saw the same delays may also get their shipments sooner than expected.

Colin’s original iPhone X delivery estimate after pre-ordering
This is also good news for customers who have much longer wait times, as it suggests Apple is working rapidly to get orders out. Customers with two to three or four to five week delivery estimates may not have to wait quite that long if Apple can ramp up supply fast enough.

Right now, all iPhone X pre-orders are sold out and have been since about 15 minutes after pre-orders first went live. If you buy an iPhone X today, the delivery estimates are at 5 to 6 weeks.

Apple has confirmed it will have iPhone X stock in stores on launch day, so for customers who don’t want to wait for weeks to get one of the new devices, lining up is an option. Supplies are limited, though, so it will be best to go as early as possible, likely even the night before.

Related Roundup: iPhone XBuyer’s Guide: iPhone X (Buy Now)
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Intel finally soothes the PC gamer crowd with Optane-branded high-capacity SSDs

Why it matters to you

Intel is pushing to blur the lines between system memory and NAND-based storage, and the journey begins with three new Optane-branded devices.

After releasing two products for the data center based on its new “3D” Optane-branded memory technology  earlier this year, Intel has now turned to the mainstream market to serve up its new tech to PC gamers. Called the Optane SSD 900P series, the new family consists of two add-in PCI Express-based cards, and a 2.5-inch model that connects to the U.2 port on your PC’s motherboard. All three are available now.

The big deal with Intel’s new Optane technology is that it supposedly blends two types of memory together to create one super-fast, high-capacity solution, incorporating volatile and non-volatile memory. Volatile memory is another term for system memory (DRAM) that’s extremely fast but doesn’t retain information when the PC is turned off, nor does it have a high storage capacity. Meanwhile, non-volatile memory (NAND) used in solid state drives isn’t as fast, but is capable of storing data, and provides a high capacity.

Intel’s Optane technology is based on a “3D” crisscross design called XPoint (cross point) that stacks memory layers vertically like a skyscraper for faster access. Every layer includes dozens of columns, each comprised of a single memory cell, its selector, and perpendicular wires mounted above and below to access the memory cell. To modify the memory cell, this design applies voltage changes instead of relying on “bulky” transistors.

Because there are no transistors, Optane technology uses the extra physical space to cram in more storage capacity than your typical system memory stick. But at present you’re still not going to see the same storage capacity found on hard drives due to cost. Intel’s new U.2-based model only serves up 280GB of storage capacity while its two add-in cards provide 280GB and 480GB.

Here are the specifications:

900P Add-In Card
900P U.2 Drive
Max Sequential Read:
2,500MB/s
2,500MB/s
Max Sequential Write:
2,000MB/s
2,000MB/s
Max Random Read:
550,000 IOPS
550,000 IOPS
Max Random Write:
500,000 IOPS
500,000 IOPS
Storage Capacity:

280GB / 480GB

280GB
Connection Type:
PCI Express
U.2 connector (SFF-8639)
Interface:
PCI Express NVMe 3.0 x4
PCI Express NVMe 3.0 x4
Form Factor:
Half-Height Half-Length card
2.5-inch drive
Hardware Encryption:
AES 256-bit
AES 256-bit
Price:
$389 / $699
$389

What we have to note here is that you’re not getting DRAM speeds with these three Optane-branded storage devices. System memory can push more than 12,000MB/s in read speeds and more than 11,000MB/s in write speeds. We’ve also seen PCI Express-based M.2 SSDs come close to the sequential read numbers shown above in our laptop and stand-alone SSD reviews, but the write numbers in the specifications are impressively high.

But Optane drives have an extremely low latency, and that’s important. They use PCI Express lanes that have direct access to the processor and system memory, which are faster than lanes used by traditional hard drives and solid state disks. That means faster data transfers to and from the storage device.

Available now, the add-in card costs $389 (280GB) and $699 (480GB), and the U.2-based model costs $389. Intel also provides Optane-based “cache sticks” to speed up your hard drive in 16GB and 32GB capacities.

Editor’s Recommendations

• Corsair Neutron NX500 SSD burns with speed, but doesn’t scorch your PC
• Intel ready to serve Coffee Lake to the mainstream PC market, leaked slides show
• Desktops are dead? Lenovo says no as it shoves new gaming PCs into the spotlight
• 8th Gen Intel Core news: Mobile quad-cores confirmed, desktop rumors stay strong
• Acer stalks IFA with insanely powerful desktop, cutting-edge ultrawide monitor

Weekly Rewind: Laser TVs, heli-biking, 3D-printed Halloween costumes

A lot can happen in a week when it comes to tech. The constant onslaught of news makes it nigh impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of this week’s top tech stories, from the best Black Friday deals you can find (already) to 3D-printed Halloween costumes — it’s all here.

The ultimate Black Friday Guide: All the hottest deals, none of the junk

Calling Black Friday the Super Bowl of commerce is like calling the sun “kind of hot.” Every year, on the morning after Thanksgiving, consumers across America wake up in the darkness of early morning, bellies full of half-digested turkey, and sprint to their favorite stores in hopes of nabbing items at ridiculously low prices. In this consumer Bacchanal, time is of the essence. The crowds are massive and supplies limited, so knowing what you want and where to get it can save you time and headaches. You wouldn’t want to wait in front of Best Buy for three hours only to get in and find the Nintendo Switch is sold out, would you?

Let the annual Digital Trends Black Friday guide help you sift through the vast array of deals to discover the best ones.

Read: The ultimate Black Friday Guide: All the hottest deals, none of the junk

The Mazda Vision Coupe is achingly beautiful

The rumors claiming Mazda would introduce a brand-new coupe at the biennial Tokyo Auto Show were partially true. It might not be the born-again rotary-engined sports car fans were eagerly waiting for, but the Vision Coupe concept has immediately earned a spot on the list of Mazda’s most beautiful models to date.

The Mazda Vision Coupe isn’t a coupe in the proper sense of the term, as it has four doors. It’s more of a sporty fastback with a coupe-esque roof line — think of it as a budget Audi A7. The front end wears a more elegant evolution of Mazda’s Kodo design language, which characterizes the brand’s current models. Large wheels pushed out as far as possible give the Vision Coupe a sporty, confident stance. It looks like it’s moving fast even when it’s parked.

Read: The Mazda Vision Coupe is achingly beautiful

Parenting is hard. These gadgets make it a little easier

Technology impacts almost every aspect of our lives these days. We can track our sleep, ask Alexa to turn down the thermostat, and request a masseuse through an app. It’s no surprise then, that technology for parenting has become such a growing market.

While we shouldn’t let technology raise our children, why not lean on some of these innovations to make a tough job a little bit easier? Technology for parenting has provided a range of benefits for the whole family, including safety, peace of mind, more quality time and sleep.

Here are a handful of innovations are having a big impact on parenting today.

Read: Parenting is hard. These gadgets make it a little easier

Get the Google Pixel and Pixel XL at a discount from the Google Store

In light of the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL’s launch, the Google Store is offering steep discounts on all first-gen Pixel models. Be forewarned that quantities are limited, though.

• 32GB Pixel: $550 (down from $650) or $22.88 per month for 24 months
• 128GB Pixel: $650 (down from $750) or $27.04 per month for 24 months
• 32GB Pixel XL $670 (down from $770) or $27.88 month for 24 months
• 128GB Pixel XL: $770 (down from $870) or $32.04 per month for 24 months

Both the Pixel and Pixel XL come in 32GB and 128GB storage capacity options and in your choice of black, silver/white, or blue. Google cheekily calls these “quite black,” “very silver,” and “really blue.” The blue version can only be had with 32GB storage.

Read: Get the Google Pixel and Pixel XL at a discount from the Google Store

Still need an outfit for Halloween? Check out these 3D-printed costumes

So it’s getting closer to Halloween and you’re scrambling for a costume idea, or you’re missing that special piece to tie it all together. Well, instead of frantically buzzing around town looking for the right shop with the right stuff, have you considered turning to tech for your Halloween costume? Fire up that printer and check out our list of 3D-printable masks and costume pieces to get all geared up for this year’s spooking.

Read: Still need an outfit for Halloween? Check out these 3D-printed costumes

Of course the world needs this noise-canceling fork that masks noodle slurping

We’ve all been annoyed by a someone slurping their soup or ramen before, but chances are you’ve never thought someone would create a product that serves as a solution for this sound. Well, we’re happy to announce that a Japanese instant-noodle titan Nissin has stepped up and created a noise-canceling fork designed to drown out the sounds from slurping ramen and other noodles.

 The Otohiko, as it’s called, is a ramen utensil that’s designed to create a bridge between the “cultural friction” that exists among cultures that allow slurping and cultures that don’t.

Read: Of course the world needs this noise-canceling fork that masks noodle slurping

Heli-biking is the newest extreme sport to hit the Alaskan mountains

Adventurous mountain bikers and adrenaline junkies are going to want to add the Tordrillo Mountain Lodge to their bucket list of must-visit places in the U.S. The Alaskan resort, which lists Olympic gold medal-winning skier Tommy Moe among its co-owners, has become the first in the country to offer heli-biking tours. These backcountry excursions take adventurous travelers deep into the Alaska mountain range by helicopter, giving them the opportunity explore a vast wilderness from the seat of a fat tire bike.

Located about 75 miles from Anchorage, Tordrillo has been one of the premier heli-skiing and snowboarding lodges for years. In fact, it was one of the very first resorts in the U.S. to offer visitors the opportunity to use a helicopter to access untouched backcountry powder, first launching its operation nearly 20 years ago. Naturally, that expertise lends itself well to heli-biking too.

Read: Heli-biking is the newest extreme sport to hit the Alaskan mountains

Hisense Laser TV is a projector that puts 100 inches of awesome on your wall

Lasers! And TV! What could be better? That’s the premise behind the Hisense Laser TV, which was revamped for CEDIA 2017 attendees last month and unveiled in a New York City event Tuesday evening. Priced at $10,000, the all-new 100L8D Laser TV looks like a short-throw projector — and that’s because the system is based around one — but with an over-the-air (OTA) TV tuner and speakers built in, Hisense can technically call it a TV.

The NYC event took place at the retail home of high-end audio brand Harman Kardon, which will make the built-in 2.1-channel audio system in the product. Hisense says it will push out 110 watts, which should make for decent sound. More interesting is the overall idea behind the 100L8D Laser TV — something Hisense calls a “market-creation” product — which is meant to serve those who want a big-screen experience without the hassles and limitations associated with conventional front-projection systems.

Read: Hisense Laser TV is a projector that puts 100 inches of awesome on your wall

Take the stress out of Thanksgiving with Martha & Marley Spoon

While there are plenty of meal kits floating about for your daily dinners, Thanksgiving is no ordinary meal. As such, Marley Spoon’s Thanksgiving box contains everything you need to create a dinner for between eight and ten dinner guests (and hungry dinner guests at that). Included in the box is a 12 to 14 pound free-range turkey from Goffle Road Free Range Poultry Farms (with a brown sugar glaze and pan gravy); ingredients for a classic herb stuffing with dried cherries; mashed potatoes; green beans with shallots and lemon; roasted root vegetables with brown butter, herbs, and almonds; and spiced apple oat crisp.

While you’ll still be able to claim credit for pulling together the entire meal, you won’t have to worry about hunting down the perfect bird or the right vegetables and herbs, nor will you have to scour the web or your grandmother’s cookbook for recipes — everything will be provided in a single box.

Read: Take the stress out of Thanksgiving with Martha & Marley Spoon

Editor’s Recommendations

• Weekly Rewind: Translating headphones, tech flops, Tesla trucks, and more
• Weekly Rewind: Amazon’s new product lineup, the Levi’s smart jacket, the Chrome competitor
• Weekly Rewind: A spying Google Home Mini, the Nobel winner, ‘Star Wars’ spoilers
• Take the stress out of Thanksgiving with the Martha & Marley Spoon kit
• Hisense Laser TV is a projector that puts 100 inches of awesome on your wall

These are the best processors for building a PC on any budget

Ready to build a new PC, or upgrade your current version into a more powerful machine? Then you’ll need to figure out which of the world’s best processors is right for you. Don’t waste your time — we’ve got the top new chips for upgrading in the handy list below. Whatever your budget, we’ve got a recommendation for you.

If you’re building a PC for the first time, don’t forget to read through our guide on how to build a computer (no experience require).

Budget — AMD Ryzen 3 1200 ($110)

For the past decade, whatever your budget, we would probably have recommended you buy Intel, but that all changed in 2017 with the launch of AMD’s Ryzen range of CPUs. AMD has always had a strong presence in the economy end of the CPU market, but with Ryzen, it also brings solid performance.

For around $100, the Ryzen 3 1200 CPU comes with four cores and a boosted clock speed of 3.4GHz. It boasts 8MB of L3 cache and comes unlocked, so you can play around with overclocking if you like. In our testing, we found it to be a very capable gaming chip, especially given its price point.

It does lack multi-threading support, however, meaning you’re restricted to four threads at once. That said, comparably priced Intel chips are only dual-core, so it will have much stronger multi-threaded performance even without additional threads.

One consideration to make though is that unlike Intel’s counterparts, the Ryzen 3 1200 does not feature an on-board graphics chip, so you will need an add-in graphics card. If you can’t budget that in, something like the Intel Core i3-7100 is a viable alternative, but its processing capabilities are far behind those of this AMD chip.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

Entry-Level — Ryzen 5 1600 ($210)

The Ryzen 5 1600 replaces our previous Intel recommendation at this price point and does so with gusto. It offers six cores — Intel’s readily-available alternatives are only quad-core — and it has multithreading, so has 12 threads at once for maximum multi-threaded performance. It also sports 16MB of level 3 cache and turbos up to 3.6GHz.

With an unlocked core, you can also overclock it further for added performance, bringing it closer to the stock frequencies of the slightly heftier 1600X CPU of the same range.

This chip sits firmly in the middle of the Ryzen lineup and is capable of solid gaming performance, as well as more multithreaded-orientated tasks such as video and image editing. Although it may be challenged by the new-generation of Intel Coffee Lake chips, until those become more widely available, the Ryzen 5 1600 is arguably the best mid-range CPU purchase out there.

If you have to opt for an Intel alternative right now, the Core i5-7500 is a comparable buy. It can be found for a few dollars cheaper, but keep in mind that it comes with two less cores and lacks hyperthreading.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

Enthusiast — Core i5-7600K ($230)

This chip makes a big jump up in frequency to a base of 3.8GHz, with a Turbo Boost maximum of 4.2GHz. While this quad-core processor lacks hyper-threading, it’s still one of the quickest i5 chips available. It comes unlocked, too, meaning it can be overclocked. The unlocked chips don’t come with a cooler, though, so keep that $30 addition in mind.

Although this chip does lack the additional cores and threads of the aforementioned Ryzen 5 1600, it does offer stronger single-core performance, especially when it comes to certain games. This is even true when you compare the i5-7600K to its direct competitor, the 1600X. Although it’s arguable that Ryzen chips will offer better gaming support in the future as multi-threading becomes more important, we’ve been expecting better multithreading in games for years now and it’s improving at a snail’s pace.

The Core i5 7600K then, is one of the best gaming chips you can buy right now, and although it’s fair to suggest the 1600X as a viable alternative, this is the one we’d suggest at this price point.

It is very much a gaming chip, though. The average home computer — even if it sees a lot of action — doesn’t usually need this much power, or the ability to overclock, which is a premium feature in Intel’s range.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

High-end — Core i7-7700K ($330)

The 7700K is a quad-core, 4.2GHz beast, with a turbo boost maximum of 4.5GHz. That’s a smaller boost over the base clock than found on the Core i5 model, but as with the 7600K, this chip is unlocked. This means the processor multiplier can easily be bumped to increase the base clock. In our testing, it handled the task adeptly.

Also, because this is a Core i7 model, it has hyper-threading. This means it can handle eight processing threads, even though it has only four physical cores.

It’s ideal if you want to spend some quality time building a machine and running plenty of tests to find the optimum settings. That said, the Core i5 options still present a better value for the majority of users — only the most demanding workloads require the robust power of the i7-7700K.

It’s also important to highlight that Ryzen chips still give even this powerful chip some stiff competition. While there currently is no real debate that the 7700K is a much better gaming chip, a Ryzen 7 1700 would beat it in most multi-threading tasks at a comparable price point, so it is a viable alternative.

Read our full Intel Core i7-7700K review

Buy one now from:

Amazon

Bleeding Edge — Core i9-7980XE ($2,090)

If money is no object, then the Core i9-7980XE is the CPU for you. Crowned by many as the king of all processors, this Skylake-X processor is arguably the fastest processor ever made and features not only stellar power right out of the gate, but powerful overclocking potential.

Released in September, the i9-7980XE is the epitome of Intel’s response to AMD’s Ryzen processors. It threw everything but the kitchen sink on to that die and the results are astounding. It packs 18 cores under the hood, doubling that to 36 threads with hyperthreading. It sports a base clock of just 2.6GHz, but that turbos up to 3.4GHz with all cores enabled and can reach 4.4GHz with Turbo-Boost 3.0.

With a price tag of more than $2,000, however, the 7980XE is a chip that should only really be considered for those who really need enormous multi-threaded and single-threading performance. There are plenty of comparable offerings with much cheaper price tags, such as Intel’s own 7900X ($960) and AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper 1950X ($880). Either would be great options if you’re looking for top-tier performance and don’t care about how much you spend.

Although it’s completely unnecessary for 99 percent of desktop users, if you want the absolute cutting edge and have zero interest in getting the most bang for your buck, then Intel’s Core i9-7980XE is the best processor you can get right now.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

Update: Replaced budget, extreme, and mid-range offerings with more contemporary processors.

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