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Thermal Master P3
Product Reviews

Thermal Master P3 thermal camera review

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Thermal Master P3: 30-second review

Thermal imaging has come a long way from bulky, industrial-grade gear to sleek, smartphone-powered tools. The Thermal Master P3 is a prime example of that evolution. Building on the success of its predecessors, particularly the ultra-compact P2 Pro, the P3 refines the formula with sharper resolution, manual focus, and a more tactile, professional-grade build. It’s a device that doesn’t just fit in your pocket; it earns its place in your toolkit.

At its core, the P3 is a plug-in thermal camera designed for Android and iOS devices, offering a native 256×192 infrared resolution that can be digitally enhanced to 512×384 using the brand’s X³ IR software. That’s a notable leap from the P2 Pro’s fixed-focus setup, which, while impressively portable, lacked the precision needed for close-up diagnostics. The addition of manual focus and a macro lens transforms the P3 into a serious contender for professionals who need more than just a thermal snapshot.

The build quality also marks a shift in tone. Where the P2 Pro leaned into minimalism with its featherweight plastic shell, the P3 opts for an aerospace alloy body that feels solid and premium without sacrificing portability. It’s still light enough to carry anywhere, but now rugged enough to survive the kind of environments where thermal imaging is most useful.

So who’s this for? The P3 is ideal for engineers, HVAC technicians, electricians, and anyone working in diagnostics or maintenance. It’s particularly well-suited to electronics professionals who need to spot micro-heating anomalies on PCBs, thanks to its macro lens and manual focus. It’s also a smart pick for field inspectors who want a reliable thermal tool without the bulk or battery anxiety of standalone imagers.

In short, the Thermal Master P3 isn’t just an upgrade — it’s an evolutionary step. It takes the portability of the P2 Pro and adds the kind of precision and build quality that professionals demand. If you’ve been waiting for a thermal camera that’s as serious about detail as you are, the P3 might be the one to beat.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Thermal Master P3: price and availability

  • How much does it cost? $299/£299/€299
  • When is it out? It is available now
  • Where can you get it? You can get it in most regions from an online reseller and directly from Thermal Master.

Thermal Master P3 offers one of the best balances of resolution, manual focus, and build quality at the $299 mark. It’s available direct from the Thermal Master official site here.

At that price, it is comfortably below flagship models like the FLIR One Pro, yet offers superior thermal resolution and control. While it lacks a visible light overlay and requires sideloading on Android, these trade-offs are minor compared to the imaging clarity and build quality it provides.

It can be bought on Amazon.com, but the price there is the MSRP of $349.

The Thermal Master P2 Pro is cheaper and more portable, but the lack of manual focus makes it less suitable for detailed inspections.

I’d position the P3 as a mid-range powerhouse that punches above its weight in precision and build quality, especially for professionals in electronics and HVAC. 

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Thermal Master P3: Specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Feature

Specification

Model

Thermal Master P3

Infrared Sensor

RazorX? IQ+

IR Resolution

256×192 (native), 512×384 (via X³ IR? upscaling)

Temperature Range

-20°C to 600°C

Accuracy

±2°C or ±2% (whichever is greater)

NETD (Sensitivity)

Estimated

Focal Length

4.3 mm

Focus Type

Manual focus + macro lens

Digital Zoom

Up to 15×

Frame Rate

Image Enhancement

X³ IR™ software upscaling

Colour Palettes

12 options (e.g. whitehot, ironred, red hot)

Compatibility

Android (USB-C), iOS (Lightning/USB-C), Windows PC

App Availability

iOS App Store; Android via sideload

Body Material

Aerospace alloy

Dimensions

59 × 27 × 17.2 mm

Weight

26.3g

Power Consumption

Low (powered via phone connection)

Use Cases

PCB inspection, HVAC, automotive, pipelines

Thermal Master P3: Design

  • Tiny camera
  • PC and phone
  • 50mK NETD

If cuteness played a part in this evaluation, then the P3 would score highly.

This tiny camera measures just 59mm across, is 27mm high, and only 17.2mm thick, with most of that thickness being the length of the lens.

There is only a single control on it, that being the twisting lens to focus, everything else is done from the phone or PC app.

What’s less endearing is that the thermal sensor is exposed, as Thermal Master didn’t include a lens cap for this device. What you do get is a soft carry case that includes a short 27mm adapter to use it with an Apple Lightning connector.

Included in the box is a longer, 45cm cable that connects the P3 to a PC using either USB-C or USB-A. Disappointingly, those at Thermal Master responsible for creating the soft carry case weren’t informed about this cable, and it won’t fit with the camera in the case.

That’s annoying, and another consideration is that using it with a Laptop or desktop PC means there’s no tripod or other way to position it without holding the camera.

If you are using this device to analyse a motherboard for hot spots, you’ll need to rig something temporary up, or print your own mounting system with a 3D printer.

Those using it with a phone might also have issues, since the USB-C blade on the camera is deeper than some phone ports, causing a gap between the two. Obviously, since it’s USB-C, it is possible to put the camera in either facing the user or away, but as it’s necessary to see the screen, away is the most useful.

When it’s inserted, the P3 draws power from the phone or PC, which might reduce battery life if the exercise is a prolonged one.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

In terms of the thermal technology in this camera, the P3 uses the same RazorX IQ+ sensor that Thermal Master used in the P2 Pro. Its native resolution is 256×192, but on this device, Thermal Master has implemented X³ IR upscaling to deliver 512×384 by combining the data from multiple passes.

That’s much better than the 160×200 offered by the FLIR Lepton 3.5 sensor, and the sensitivity is similar. These sensors are rated by NETD, defined as the smallest temperature difference a thermal sensor can detect before the signal becomes indistinguishable from noise. Typically, it’s measured in millikelvin (mK), and the RazorX IQ+ is rated as better than 50mK. The best devices are <25mK, good are <50mK, and some less desirable choices can only register 70mK.

The other vital specification for this sensor is its temperature range, which is -20°C to 600°C, with an accuracy of plus or minus 2°C. That probably makes it unsuitable for those forging metals that have high melting points, but it’s fine for heating systems and vehicle repairs.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Design score: 4/5

Thermal Master P3: User experience

  • Android and iOS
  • Good quality captures
  • Limited PC connection

While it does work with a PC, the P3 was made with smartphone users in mind.
For those using an Apple phone, on the iPhone 15 and newer models, a Lightning Port or USB-C is required. The P3 includes a USB-C to Lightning adapter for older models. The device should run on iOS version 13 or higher to ensure app compatibility and feature support. Additionally, the device should be an iPhone 7 or newer, as older models may struggle with resolution upscaling and frame rate.

For Android users, ensuring compatibility with the P3 app and stable performance, a device must have a USB-C port for direct connection and OTG (On-The-Go) support enabled. The device should run on Android version 8.0 or higher. A Snapdragon 660 or equivalent processor and above is recommended for smooth image rendering and upscaling. Additionally, the device should have at least 3GB of RAM to handle high-resolution thermal data and ensure app responsiveness.

I’ll talk about performance later, but the first significant irritation of this platform is that for Android users, the app must be downloaded and then sideloaded. Why it isn’t on the Google Play Store is a mystery, since the iOS version is on Apple’s store.

This isn’t a straightforward exercise for an average Android user, as it involves configuring the phone to accept sideloaded apps, and then finding the right version on the Thermal Master website. The file actually comes via Dropbox, and for some inexplicable reason “.1” was added to the file extension, meaning that Android phones won’t identify this as an app.

To install the app, it needs to be renamed to the “.apk” extension.

Did anyone at Thermal Master test this? It’s just a magnet for support calls in its current form.

Once installed, the app correctly identified the P3, but confusingly, the app is called the Thermal Master P2 app. I presume this is because this app was written for the P2 Pro, and the developers assumed it would never be used with any other hardware.

That said, it did enable the X³ IR upscaling on the P3, a feature missing from the P2 Pro.

This multi-pass mode generates better resolution images, but it significantly reduces the framerate, regardless of the phone’s power. That makes it harder to use, unfortunately.

I suspect that the real issue here is that USB-C ports on Android devices are normally USB 2.0, and the amount of data that needs to flow back probably hits the transfer speed limits.

But whatever the reason, if high-quality images are required, then it’s something you may be forced to work around. For thermal images, the results are good, better than the Thor002 I recently reviewed.

However, there is a missing piece to this puzzle that phones with inbuilt sensors can do, but this system doesn’t offer. Phones with a thermal camera in their sensor often have a mode that captures a conventional light image with a thermal one. These are either stored alongside each other or combined to form a hybrid image.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The P3 software doesn’t offer the hybrid option to use the phone camera to show the location in conventional light, but it does have a picture-in-picture option. In this mode, it captures a smaller version of the rear camera image and floats it above the thermal image. The problem here is that the zoom levels between the two images are massively different, and while you can zoom the P3 sensor, there is no control over the normal light camera.

It also doesn’t work if you have the P3 inserted to look forward, and it doesn’t save both images individually when you snap a shot.

Images are saved at 1440 x 1080, which is at least a proper ratio of the natural 256 x 192 sensor. They both have a 1.33 ratio, which is an improvement over the Thor002 captures, which were stretched by arbitrary numbers.

For those wondering, the capture resolution appears to be unrelated to the screen of the capture phone, since in my tests I used the Oukitel WP210, and that has the curious resolution of 1080 x 2412.

Overall, this is an excellent thermal camera. My only reservation about it is that to use the X³ IR upscaling seems to require an inordinate amount of processing power, slowing updates markedly. That’s even on a relatively powerful phone.

I suspect that GPU acceleration in many SoCs could make its use less demanding if Thermal Master recoded the application to make better use of those chips.

A word of warning. If you get one of these and use it with a phone, don’t forget to remove it after use, as the power consumption of the camera will drain the battery if you leave it connected.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The PC application is exclusively on Windows, and it defaults to Chinese on installation, so you will need to alter that to English if, like me, you don’t speak that language.

Interestingly, the PC tool is a cut-down version of the phone application, missing some of the more exotic features. There is no X³ IR upscaling toggle, as it appears to be active all the time, and supporting that assertion, the output of captured files is 512 x 384 resolution.

The big issue I encountered with the PC software is that the camera is on the USB cable, so it needs to be held by the user all the time. After a very short time, this becomes exceedingly frustrating, since manually focusing something you are holding is a fraught exercise. On the PC, this hardware so badly needs a tripod or at least something that enables the camera to be mounted.

That there is no Apple Mac OS or Linux tool is disappointing for those who use those platforms. There also isn’t a ChromeOS app, but it might be possible to use the Android software in that context.

Overall, the software could be better, but it works.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

  • User experience score: 3.5/5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Thermal Master P3 Camera samples

Image 1 of 13

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Thermal Master P3: Final verdict

This product is tantalisingly close to being brilliant, but it needs a stand/tripod/mount, and the software needs refinement. Undoubtedly, the part that Thermal Master nailed was the hardware of the camera, which could only be bettered with software-controllable focus.

Overall, the P3 is a significant improvement over the P2, and the best add-on thermal solution I’ve seen so far.

If Thermal Master could come up with a tripod, it would stand head and shoulders above the competitor offerings.

Should I buy a Thermal Master P3?

Swipe to scroll horizontallyThermal Master P3 Score Card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

High quality at a reasonable price

4/5

Design

Highly engineered and portable

4/5

User experience

Needs a tripod and improved software

3.5/5

Overall

Excellent quality and easy to carry

4/5

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also Consider

Thermal Master P3: Price Comparison



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Varric and Harding in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
Product Reviews

We can’t keep making videogame stories for players who aren’t paying attention to them

by admin



Harvey Randall, Staff Writer

(Image credit: Future)

Last week I was: Talking about entropy in MMORPGs, and being a busy bee in World of Warcraft.

I’ve noticed a trend—particularly in some recent RPGs—of, well, let’s call it ‘Netflixiness’.

Dialogue designed to leave absolutely nothing to interpretation, to exposit information in the most direct way possible, devoid of any real character or context. There’s an assumption that any moment the audience spends confused, curious, or out-of-the-loop is a narrative disaster.

I hate to keep knocking Dragon Age: The Veilguard about, especially since I still had a decent time with it all told, but the thing that made me break off from it after 60 hours really was its story. It’s a tale that does get (slightly) better, but it gave me a terrible first impression I never quite shook.


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Given the game’s troubled development history, and the fact that some of its writers have produced perfectly fine work before (Mordin Solus, for cryin’ out loud), I’m led to believe this pattern comes from the top. Well, I have a hunch.

When Varric says “That ritual is going to tear down the Veil—the only thing separating us from the Fade and an endless number of demons” to Rook, his mission partner, who should know all of this already, I can’t help but think of one thing. Second screen viewing.

In this excellent article in the International Journal of Communication, Daphne Rena Idiz recounts a time where an interviewee told her that Netflix had insisted: “What you need to know about your audience here is that they will watch the show, perhaps on their mobile phone, or on a second or third screen while doing something else and talking to their friends, so you need to both show and tell, you need to say much more than you would normally say.”

Now Harvey, one might say, that makes absolutely no sense. Videogames—with some exceptions in genre, like idlers—aren’t played as second screen activities. To which I would reply: You’re exactly right, but since when has that stopped executives from chasing trends against common sense before? These are the people who thought Veilguard still should’ve been a live service game. After everything.

This is conjecture, but I don’t think it’s out of pocket to assume some of these companies are chasing the narrative successes of streaming services. Or that in doing so, their big bosses might adopt all sorts of “wisdom” designed for making media meant to be consumed, not enjoyed.

After all, in these second-screen shows, nothing is left up to chance. If your audience gets lost, it’s bad. If your audience gets confused, it’s bad. Bad stories are confusing. Good stories are understood. I know these things because I’ve looked at other good, popular stories.

The Veilguard follows in this trend, because it’s a game that’s terrified of audiences getting lost at any point. As fellow PCG writer Lauren Morton put it, it’s “desperate to chew my food for me”. And whether the problem lies with big movers and shakers at EA, or their selected testing audiences, it doesn’t matter. Because we’re shooting ourselves in the foot, here.

Everybody loses

Videogames are enjoyed in a ton of different ways—some are even designed for you to tap out of the story entirely, or to only engage with it as an option. And this is fine. But you cannot, as EA did, reach for other audiences on the assumption that the nerds will like whatever you give ’em.

(Image credit: BioWare, Electronic Arts)

Some players will skip every cutscene, glaze over every dialogue entry, and hammer their skip button ’till the face button’s worn out. And I have no qualm with these people—they simply value a different set of things from me. We can coexist. It’s the design assumption that we must be met in the middle that’s messing us up.

For this player, a story that’s impossible to ignore will barely register for them. If anything, it might backfire—making them feel coddled or pushed into situations they don’t care about. And for me, dialogue that’s written for people who aren’t paying attention makes my brain want to crawl out of my skull and autonomously go do anything else.

Here’s the thing: Good writing advice says to ‘show, not tell’ not because everything must be shown as soon as it comes up, lest the audience be lost, but because it’s inherently more interesting to give us the pieces we need to draw conclusions. Crucially, you don’t always have to actually give people information.

Confusion isn’t a fail-state, not having the answers immediately isn’t a disaster. It’s okay to let a question mark float above your player’s head, or to trust they’ll get the gist from context clues. We can tell the ritual Varric and Rook are trying to stop is dangerous because they’re trying to stop it. I promise.

Confusion isn’t a fail-state, not having the answers immediately isn’t a disaster.”

I feel like there’s this phantom assumed viewer who, without a full set of narrative cards in their hand, will throw their controller and immediately do something else. And that makes me sad, because it assumes your players aren’t curious. That they don’t want to have questions, or aren’t interested in seeing where something leads.

Some aren’t, sure, but if you design videogame stories for them, you rob from your most invested players the simple pleasures. Analysing the story, looking deeper into scenes, discussing it with each other online. And as someone who watched Final Fantasy 14 reach a fever-pitch of over-explaining during Dawntrail, that stings, let me tell you.

I’m sick of seeing games with an air of corporate weight sitting on top of them. I’m tired of watching a scene and going “yep, that probably tested well with audiences”. I’m exhausted by this pervasive idea that writers are to be resented, or that I have the memory of a goldfish (I do, but that’s besides the point).

I want to get a little lost. I want to have to think about what a scene I just watched meant. I want to see where your story goes, rather than be told where it’s headed. We simply cannot keep making videogames for people who aren’t paying attention, because it won’t change anything for them—and it’s making the rest of us bloody miserable.

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Dell S3225QC
Product Reviews

Dell S3225QC 32-inch 4K QD-OLED Monitor Review: Compelling gaming value

by admin



Why you can trust Tom’s Hardware


Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

When I write about a monitor’s gaming feel, I’m usually referring to its speed, smoothness, and response. But something I rarely see is a display with good integrated sound. The speakers in most panels are of similar quality to the beeper that tells you when the microwave is finished cooking. They are often tinny and distorted above polite volumes.

Dell has sought to remedy that with its S3225QC. This 32-inch OLED monitor brings a real soundbar with spatial audio to the table. I’m talking about five speakers with 25 watts of amplification and a user position sensor that focuses sound on the listener and creates a true sense of space and immersion. And it delivers a decent picture too with 4K resolution, 120 Hz, HDR10 and Dolby Vision, plus Adaptive-Sync and wide gamut color. It’s wrapped in a luxurious package that enhances any desktop or media room. Let’s take a look.

Dell S3225QC Specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Panel Type / Backlight

Quantum Dot Organic Light Emitting Diode (QD-OLED)

Screen Size / Aspect Ratio

32 inches / 16:9

Max Resolution and Refresh Rate

3840×2160 @ 120 Hz

Row 3 – Cell 0

FreeSync and G-Sync Compatible

Native Color Depth and Gamut

10-bit / DCI-P3+

Row 5 – Cell 0

HDR10, DisplayHDR 400

Row 6 – Cell 0

Dolby Vision

Response Time (GTG)

0.03ms

Brightness (mfr)

250 nits SDR

Row 9 – Cell 0

1,000 nits HDR (3% window)

Contrast

Unmeasurable

Speakers

5x 25w

Row 12 – Cell 0

Spatial Audio w/user position sensor

Video Inputs

1x HDMI 2.1

Row 14 – Cell 0

1x USB-C (DP 1.4 alt)

Audio

Integrated soundbar

USB 3.2

1x up, 2x down (type C)

Power Consumption

49.7w, brightness @ 200 nits

Panel Dimensions

WxHxD w/base

28.3 x 19.8-24.2 x 8.8 inches

(719 x 503-615 x 224mm)

Panel Thickness

2.8 inches (71mm)

Bezel Width

Top: 0.3 inch (8mm)

Row 21 – Cell 0

Sides: 0.4 inch (10mm)

Row 22 – Cell 0

Bottom: 2.2 inch (56mm)

Weight

22.1 pounds (10kg)

Warranty

3 years

Today’s best Dell S3225QC deals

  • Dell S3225QC (Blue OLED) at Amazon for $849.99

I’ll address the elephant in the room first. 120 Hz is a bit slower than typical gaming monitors. The best 4K gaming monitors typically start at 144 Hz, and lately, I’ve been reviewing 240 Hz models in a steady stream. The net effect is that the S3225QC shows a little motion blur and has slightly higher input lag than the competition. But for casual gaming and entertainment, the sound is on another level, as in, the others aren’t even close.

The sound bar is front and center with a two-inch wide fabric covering five speakers driven by 25 watts of amplification. In the middle is a sensor that tracks the user’s head position to keep the soundstage focused on the listener. It also makes sound seem to come from the sides and behind through phasing that adapts in real time. It’s a great alternative to headphones and, in my opinion, it’s more immersive.

The picture comes courtesy of a 32-inch Quantum Dot OLED panel with 4K 3840×2160 resolution, equating to a 140ppi pixel density. The QD layer delivers over 105% coverage of DCI-P3, putting it on par with other high-end QD-OLEDs. HDR10 is supported, but you also get Dolby Vision, which is still a rarity in the computer monitor genre. This standard embeds dynamic tone mapping in the content metadata, meaning it renders correctly on any display, regardless of its peak output. HDR10 has fixed value tone mapping, and that manifests as clipped highlight detail when the content’s peak values don’t match the display.

Color is very accurate with verified factory calibration data in the OSD. Dell saves a bit of paper and instead includes nine screens of test results unique to each S3225QC. Peak output is specified at 250 nits for SDR and 1,000 nits for HDR when measuring a 3% window. Variable brightness is only engaged for HDR content and is not an option in the OSD. The S3225QC carries VESA’s DisplayHDR 400 True Black certification.

While players of twitchy shooters may pause at the 120 Hz refresh rate, it is supported by Adaptive-Sync over HDMI. It has no issues with either FreeSync or G-Sync systems and keeps frame tears out of the equation at all refresh rates.

I mentioned luxury earlier, and the S3225QC is undoubtedly in that category. It features premium build quality, including a white stand and backing, with inputs hidden beneath a cover, and offers premium ergonomics. It’s high-end all the way, but the price is relatively low at $800. While that isn’t a trifle, it is less than similar offerings from HP, Dough, Asus, and Acer. It gives up some speed to those brands, but it more than trounces their audio quality. So, with your priorities in mind, let’s see how it tests.

Assembly and Accessories

Dell continues to ship its displays in recyclable packaging with molded pulp securely protecting the contents. The S3225QC comes in the usual three bits that assemble without the need for tools. If you plan to use an arm, there’s a 100mm VESA mount in the back with fasteners included. A small cover hides the input panel once you make your connections. The cable bundle is just a single USB-C and IEC for the internal power supply.

Product 360

Image 1 of 5

(Image credit: Dell)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Dell)(Image credit: Dell)(Image credit: Dell)

The S3225QC is a monitor that looks great from any angle. I’m partial to white displays, and this one makes thoughtful use of contrasting materials to achieve a high-end aesthetic. The front immediately draws the eye down to the fabric grill covering the sound bar with its central user position sensor and small Dell logo. A power LED glows at the lower right. The screen has a shiny front layer, which requires a little consideration of light sources to avoid reflection. The bezel is thin around the top and sides, measuring eight and ten millimeters, respectively.

The back is completely smooth and featureless, save for a small Dell logo at the top. The input panel is concealed beneath a snap-on cover and includes one HDMI 2.1 and a USB-C with DisplayPort 1.4 function. Another USB-C supports peripherals, and there’s a third one hidden in a pop-out bit on the bottom of the panel. See the above photo to find it.

The side view highlights the elegant white stand, which is anchored by a round piece that provides a 5/21-degree tilt, a 30-degree swivel, and 4.4 inches of height. There is no portrait mode. Movements are smooth and firm with no wobble or play. The base has sufficient size and weight to support the S3225QC’s 22-pound weight.

OSD Features

The S3225QC’s OSD appears when you press the joystick behind the panel’s lower right corner. It will be familiar to any users of Dell or Alienware monitors and is logically laid out with nearly every option required for image adjustment and convenience.

Image 1 of 10

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Brightness and Contrast get their own sub-menu with sliders that range from zero to 100. The input selector can be set to automatically detect incoming signals. In the Color menu, there are nine picture modes available. Standard is the default, and it is accurate and well-suited for gaming, video, or productivity. The Creator mode offers four color gamut choices if you don’t want to use the native setting, which covers around 105% of DCI-P3. I noted that DCI-P3 refers to the cinema standard with 2.6 gamma and a D63 white point, while Display P3 uses a 2.2 gamma with D65.

In Custom Color, you can adjust RGB gain and bias sliders, plus hue and saturation controls for all six colors. I used the gains to take the S3225QC to reference level.

There are six HDR modes that engage when HDR10 signals are present. Desktop is the default, but I found HDR Peak 1000 a little more dynamic in tone. Custom Color HDR lets you calibrate, but that is completely unnecessary as the S3225QC is spot-on out of the box. Dolby Vision can be toggled on and off and is compatible with Dolby Vision content, video, and gaming.

The PBP/PIP mode offers five different screen splits and positioning of the PIP window when viewing two video sources at once.

In the audio menu, you can toggle the spatial audio on and off. When it’s on, a bezel-mounted sensor tracks the user’s head position to focus the sound appropriately. It creates a palpable sense of space and immersion with sound seeming to come from the sides and behind.

The joystick and on-screen quick menu can be programmed to provide quick access to many monitor functions. In the Others menu is a panel health indicator and an option to run the refresh routine manually. When the health indicator turns red, it runs the refresh automatically. Finally, you can view the calibration report in the info menu, which contains nine pages of information unique to each S3225QC.

Dell S3225QC Calibration Settings

The S3225QC doesn’t require calibration in the Standard picture mode, but if you visit Custom Color, it’s possible to make the picture even more precise. It offers RGB gain and bias sliders; I only had to adjust the gains for excellent results. It also includes hue and saturation sliders, but I didn’t need to change those. The only thing missing here is gamma presets, which isn’t a big deal if 2.2 is the goal. It hits that perfectly. But options are always welcome. Some users might prefer 2.0 or 2.4. My SDR settings are below. I noted that there is no variable brightness option available. For HDR signals, the peak does vary, and you get six additional modes. HDR Peak 1000 is the best choice there.

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Picture Mode

Custom Color

Brightness 200 nits

89

Brightness 120 nits

49

Brightness 100 nits

37

Brightness 80 nits

25

Brightness 50 nits

9 (min. 36 nits)

Contrast

75

Color Temp User

Gain – Red 94, Green 96, Blue 99

Row 8 – Cell 0

Bias – Red 50, Green 50, Blue 50

Gaming and Hands-on

Admittedly, I took on a review of a 120 Hz gaming monitor with a little trepidation. I frequently say, and still maintain, that 144 Hz should be considered a starting point, and you can never have too many Hertz. Initial tests during the S3225QC’s installation showed slight motion blur in my suite of moving test patterns. But once I loaded up Doom Eternal, my perception changed.

I am not a skilled gamer, but I am experienced enough that I can get through most titles on a moderate difficulty level. With the S3225QC, I noticed the blur only because I knew about it in advance. And once I started playing, it didn’t reduce my enjoyment of the monitor one bit. A lot of that is thanks to its fantastic sound.

The spatial audio feature is a real thing, and I was immediately struck by the expansive sound stage. Though it works best with content mastered in Dolby Atmos, it had a positive impact on the stereo feed from games and YouTube videos. The bass was so present, it seemed a little overblown at first, but within a few minutes, I realized I was hearing the full spectrum of sound, which is a rarity from a computer monitor. This had a profoundly positive effect on gameplay. When Dell or Alienware adds this feature to a faster monitor, they’ll have a hard time keeping up with demand. It’s that good.

More familiar aspects of my usual run-and-gun and rapid turn maneuvers were handled well by the S3225QC. Motion blur is there but not distractingly so. And input lag is low enough for my average skills; it kept up with me just fine. However, if you’re a pro-level competitor, this monitor won’t be the best choice.

The physical elegance and design played well into the everyday workload when I wrote copy in Word, or managed test data in Excel. A large screen is perfect for this because there is ample room for two or three documents in fully readable form. Side by side editing is the main reason I go for 32-inch 16:9 screens. The S3225QC’s does this well and adds a flexible PBP option if you need to connect two video sources. I also noted the extra USB-C ports, including the nifty pop-out one underneath the panel.

Takeaway: Though the S3225QC lacks the perfect motion resolution of its 240 Hz competition, it more than makes up for it with incredible audio quality. Among gaming and entertainment screens, you won’t find better sound. And it makes a compelling alternative to headphones, even the premium ones with spatial audio. For everyday use, it offers lots of screen area, flexible PIP/PBP and plenty of USB ports along with a colorful, bright, accurate and contrasty image.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test PC Monitors

MORE: How to Buy a PC Monitor

Dell S3225QC: Price Comparison



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Valiant's Bloodshot Relaunch Mired by Transphobic Dogwhistles
Product Reviews

Valiant’s Bloodshot Relaunch Mired by Transphobic Dogwhistles

by admin


Update, 8/17/2025 @ 10:57 AM: After his old Twitter posts were discovered, Bloodshot writer Mauro Mantella has since deleted the account and posted an apology on Instagram.

“I want to offer my most sincere apologies. I know I made a mistake, but at no point did I intend to spread a message of hate,” it begins. In his apology, he revealed he first wrote the issue’s script in Spanish, then “changed it a bit” when converting it to English. This conversion led to him “borrowing a common phrase used by haters and tried to adapt it to the fictional world of vampires I was building. But now I see that it was understood in a completely different way.”

Mantella continued with an urge for readers to believe his subconscious “betrayed me when I tried to make a sharp comment,” and that he was “always referring to this fictional world where vampires force their children into eternal life without their consent.” He also revealed the second issue will provide “consequences” for this narrative choice and continue to strictly be about “the fictional context of the story I wrote.”

As for his past social media posts, he called himself a fan of conspiracy theories, which he uses for story fuel because it’s “fascinating and inspiring.” He is committing to being “more careful and serious about what I share and write,” and stressed his stories contain a “humanist, conciliatory approach — one that focuses on people, not on conflict or on judging anyone.”

Mantella affirmed his views as “center/left-thinking,” which he says makes him a “peronista” in Argentina, and called it “painful” to be regarded as alt-right. He swore has no right-wing inclinations or support for fascism, and is “very sad and ashamed to be in the middle of this situation, and I acknowledge my mistake. This has been a lesson for me, and I will do everything I can to make amends.”

Original story: Earlier this week, comic book publisher Valiant continued its recent “Beyond” reboot with Bloodshot #1. Shortly after its release, readers noted the comic—written by Mauro Mantella with art by Fernando Heinz Furukawa—contained narration that felt like a pointed jab at transgender people.

In the panels below from the issue, Bloodshot muses about his struggles against vampires and how the Yakuza have worked with the local government to “normalize blood consumption, and that’s messing with the minds of the younger ones. […] There are kids who want to be bitten to become vampires because their favorite influencer says they’re one. And parents who force their children into that irreversible change just to feel modern, and believing that they’ll be thankful for it when they grow up.”

© Fernando Heinz Furukawa/Valiant Comics

The character’s inner thoughts aren’t that dissimilar to how transphobic people seem to think people begin to question their gender identity—the idea that trans people do it for kicks, or that they’ve been led astray by a particular person online who’s spreading the message, particularly when it comes to kids. This thinking and desire to “protect our children” is what’s led to so many anti-trans laws in the United States that prevent gender-affirming care, erase transgender people from American culture, and generally try to ensure that they are not allowed to exist in day-to-day public life or are put into incredibly dangerous and life-threatening situations.

Comics industry workers soon decried Bloodshot, leading to co-publisher Alien Books and Mantella’s apology “for the harm caused by the phrasing in [the comic]. While the story takes place in a fictional world of vampires and cults, we understand that a specific line of dialogue has been read as alluding to real-world issues, specifically, the discrimination faced by trans people.”

“That was never the intention,” it continues. “The original line was written by an Argentinian creator and was unfortunately a case of nuance being lost in translation. We fully recognize that intent does not erase impact, especially when dealing with subject matter that affects real lives and communities.”

Alien will change the dialogue in the book’s digital and collected editions and vowed to give scripts a “more intense review by our proof readers.” But the apology itself was undermined by pinning the blame on nuance being “lost in translation,” as many pointed out Mantella himself is a professional translator and has worked with U.S.-based comic publishers before, including DC Comics. Compounding the issue further is that Mantella’s social media history is ridden with instances of him sharing right-wing and particularly anti-LGBTQ views. At the time of writing, several posts and shares from Mantella’s online presence have been found, either still on his accounts or since deleted after they were recirculated online in the last few days, including previously retweeted jokes from an anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ Twitter account, similar memes espousing COVID-19 and vaccine denialism, as well as conspiracy theories surrounding Ukraine during its years-long war with Russia.

io9 has reached out to Alien for comment regarding Mantello’s past social media behavior and will update when, or if, a response is given.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.





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WIRED Tests Dozens of Air Purifiers a Year. Here’s What We Look For (2025)
Product Reviews

WIRED Tests Dozens of Air Purifiers a Year. Here’s What We Look For (2025)

by admin


If I put a box on its side and cannot grasp the product to lift it from its box, then that’s the first strike. WIRED considers accessibility, and this means handles and wheels on heavier air purifiers. When I review a unit, I think about those with less upper body strength moving the appliances, and whether they’d be able to maneuver it around their home. I move air purifiers all around my apartment; I shouldn’t have to bend at the knees to adjust a purifier’s location.

Photograph: Lisa Wood Shapiro

I was able to move the 50-pound ProX using its hidden handles and built-in lockable wheels.

After an air purifier is unboxed, it’s time to pair it with its app. Not all the air purifiers WIRED tests have an app, but if one does, the pairing process should not be complicated, nor should it require a lot of time. The best user experience is when an air purifier has a QR code that opens the app and adds the device. An app with a simple dashboard, graph that corresponds to the AQI color codes, and a smart remote is usually all that’s needed, though it’s a bonus if the app gives the filter life expectancy.

I prefer a simple power bar design that shows the percentage of filter life used. And while air purifier models give recommendations for when to replace the filter, like every six months, or when the replace filter indicator light glows on the appliance, nothing beats the heads-up of knowing exactly how much filter life has been used.

Internal Air Sensors, Lights, and Scores

While some air purifiers had internal air sensors when I first started testing in 2018, the majority of current purifiers we test now have them. If the purifier has internal sensors, there is usually an indicator light. Next question: Does the air purifier have an easy-to-see or read indicator light or air quality index (AQI) score? If it’s a smart air purifier, then the sensor’s readings feed into the device’s app. And I prefer an indicator light that follows the EPA’s color codes for the air quality index. That means green for good air, yellow for moderate, orange for unhealthy for sensitive groups, red for unhealthy, purple for very unhealthy, and maroon for hazardous. There are some companies, like Coway, that have their own take on the color codes, which can be confusing.

Photograph: Lisa Wood Shapiro

While Coway’s air purifiers are consistently WIRED’s top-rated picks, if I could change one thing about them, it would be their custom color scale, where blue means good and green means moderate. More and more air purifiers are also displaying their internal sensors’ air quality numbers. Most times, air purifiers will show a reading of PM 2.5. If the internal sensor senses an uptick in PM 2.5, the auto mode will trigger a higher fan speed, the indicator light might show orange and red along with the PM 2.5 number like 100. I should be able to see that light across the room, and the numbers should be easy to read.

Then there are some models, like those from Shark, that use their own scoring system. A score of 100 represents good air on the display of Shark’s NeverChange, for example, but 100 PM 2.5 would be considered unhealthy.

Photograph: Lisa Wood Shapiro

Shark

NeverChange Air Purifier

Noise and Size Matter

I think the labeling on air purifiers is confusing on purpose. Often the square footage listed on a product is for one air exchange per hour at the purifier’s highest setting. An air exchange is how many times an air purifier can clean the air of a room in an hour. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends five air exchanges an hour. If you have a 200-square-foot room, your air purifier needs to be able to pull the air of the room into the filter using the fan. That air runs through the filter, PM 2.5 and VOCs are captured by the filter, and the clean air is released back into the air at least five times in an hour. Often, WIRED won’t recommend air purifiers that can only clean unusually small spaces. And while those cute tabletop or miniature air purifiers seem like an easy solution, they are usually too tiny to effectively clean the air in an average-size room.

WIRED also uses a decibel meter to check the manufacturer’s decibel claims. Most of the time, the decibels are close to those listed on the purifier’s user manual. Sometimes they are louder. What’s too loud? The hum of a refrigerator is somewhere between 40 and 50 decibels; a conversation is around 60 decibels. Ideally, an air purifier should be able to clean the air in your room five times an hour without sounding like a conversation. And if an air purifier is louder—a lot louder—than the manufacturer claims, we’ll include that in our review or won’t recommend it.

If an air purifier is too loud at its highest fan setting, users are likely to turn down that fan speed to a quieter and less effective setting, rendering the air purifier into nothing more than a wellness prop. Another issue WIRED takes into account is when the air intake overpowers the external vents, causing unsightly clumps of pet hair to accumulate on the outside of the air purifier.



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Product Reviews

The best gaming monitors in 2025

by admin


If you want to get the most out of your games — whether you’re into competitive FPS titles, sprawling RPGs or story-driven adventures — a good gaming monitor can make all the difference. Smooth gameplay, low input lag and crisp visuals are just the start. With the right screen, everything from your aim to your immersion gets a serious upgrade.

These days, there’s a lot more to consider than just refresh rate or screen size. You’ll find ultrawide gaming monitors, widescreen displays, models with USB-C support, and monitors that can bring out the best in your CPU and GPU. Some even match the style of your setup, pairing perfectly with gaming headsets and accessories for a clean, cohesive look.

Whether you’re shopping on a tighter price range or splurging on high-end picture quality, we’ve rounded up the best options to suit different setups and play styles — so you can level up your experience without the guesswork.

Table of contents

Best gaming monitors for 2025

AOC

Screen size: 27-inch | Resolution: 2,560 x 1,440 | Refresh rate: 180Hz | Panel type: VA | Response time: 1ms GtG | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Brightness: 1000 cd/m² | Weight: 11.9 pounds with stand | Display type: VA panel with Mini LED backlight | Response time: 1 ms GtG | Connector type: 1 × DisplayPort 1.4, 2 × HDMI 2.0

The Q27G3XMN offers a nearly unbeatable mix of features, performance and affordability. It’s a mini-LED monitor with HDR performance that’s not as good as the OLEDs on this list, but far better than anything you’ll find on an edge-lit LCD. With a 180Hz refresh rate, it’s also fast enough for all but the most fast-paced competitive esports games. Best of all, it’s priced affordably at under $300. For those reasons, unless you have a bigger budget or more specific needs, the Q27G3XMN is going to be the best bet for most people.

Pros

  • Relatively affordable
  • True HDR performance
  • Fast enough

Cons

  • Expect some smearing
  • No USB ports

$298 at Amazon

AOC

Screen Size: 23.8-inch | Resolution: 1,920 x 1080 | Refresh Rate: 180 Hz | Panel Type: VA | Response Rate: 4ms (gtg) | Aspect Ratio: 16:9 | Brightness: 250 cd/m² | Weight: 6.9 pounds with stand | Display type: VA panel with W‑LED backlight | Response time: 1 ms MPRT | Connector type: 1 × HDMI 2.0, 1 × DisplayPort 1.4, plus 3.5 mm audio out

Today, there are only two reasons to buy a 1080p monitor: Either you want the fastest possible display, or you want to spend as little as possible and get as much performance as possible. If the latter is true, I would go for the AOC 24G15. For $110, you’ll get a 24-inch screen with a high contrast VA panel, 180Hz refresh rate and 1ms response rate. If you’re patient, I’ve seen the 24G15 go on sale for as little as $90.

One thing to note: AOC also sells a 27-inch version of the 24G15 for about $30 more. I would avoid that model; it won’t look good due to low pixel density.

Pros

  • Affordable
  • 180Hz refresh rate
  • 1ms response rate

Cons

  • Low resolution
  • Epect some smearing

$109 at Amazon

Alienware

Screen size: 26.7-inch | Resolution: 2,560 x 1,440 | Refresh rate: 360Hz | Panel type: QD-OLED | Response time: 0.03ms (GtG) | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Brightness: 250 cd/m² | Weight: 9.4 pounds without stand | Display type: QD‑OLED | Response time: 0.03 ms GtG | Connector type: 2 × DisplayPort 1.4, 1 × HDMI 2.1, USB 3.2 Gen 1 hub including 1 × Type‑C (downstream)

If you want a gaming monitor that basically does it all, the Alienware AW2725DF has a lot going for it. This QD-OLED features a 360Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response. It also carries a Vesa DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification, so expect near-flawless HDR performance. It even has a HDMI 2.1 port if you want to use it with an Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5. From a performance standpoint, the only downside is that it won’t produce true blacks in rooms with too much ambient light. However, this is true of every QD-OLED monitor on the market right now.

At close to $1,000, it’s also expensive. But for what it’s worth, the OLED market is incredibly competitive at the moment. I’ve seen the AW2725DF go on sale a few times over the past couple of months, dropping to as low as $700.

Pros

  • 360Hz refresh rate
  • Fantastic HDR performance
  • Three-year burn-in coverage

$698 at Amazon

Dell

Screen size: 34.18-inch | Resolution: 3,440 x 1,440 | Refresh rate: 165 Hz | Panel type: QD-OLED | Response time: 0.01ms (GtG) | Aspect Ratio: 21:9 | Brightness: 250 cd/m² | Weight: 13.8 pounds with stand | Display type: QD‑OLED ultrawide (curved 21:9) | Response time: 0.1 ms | Connector type: Built‑in USB 3.2 Gen 1 hub, standard DP and HDMI inputs

For those looking for a more immersive gaming experience, an ultrawide monitor is the way to go. And right now, one of the best 21:9 displays you can buy is the Dell AW3423DWF. It offers an excellent 165Hz refresh rate, 0.01ms response time and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro support. The panel is also DisplayHDR TrueBlack 400 certified, making it great for watching movies and playing single-player games. The only feature that would make the AW3423DWF better is had Dell included an HDMI 2.1 port, but since ultrawide gaming isn’t really a thing in console gaming, the omission is not a deal breaker.

$571 at Amazon

LG

Screen size: 31.46-inch | Resolution: 4K and 1080p | Refresh rate: 240Hz and 480Hz | Panel type: WOLED | Response time: 0.03ms (GtG) | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Brightness: 275 cd/m² | Weight: 19.8 pounds with stand | Display type: WOLED dual‑mode OLED (4K UHD or FHD) | Response time: 0.03 ms GtG | Connector type: DisplayPort and HDMI ports (DP for 4K 240 Hz or HDMI for 1080p 480 Hz), G‑Sync/FreeSync compatible

If money is no object and you play a mix of immersive games and competitive shooters, the LG 32GS95UE-B is the monitor for you. It offers something no other monitor on this list does. The 32GS95UE-B4K is both a 4K, 240Hz display and an FHD, 480Hz one. Moreover, it can switch between those two modes with the press of a button.

Yes, the 1080p output looks muddy stretched across a 32-inch screen, but for a feature that extends the versatility of an already incredible monitor, that’s a small sacrifice. At $1,400, the 2GS95UE-B is the most expensive monitor on this list. But if you’re in the market for a 4K display, chances are you’ve already spent a lot of money building a PC that can drive that many pixels.

Pros

  • Dual 4K and 1080p modes
  • Up to 480Hz refresh rate
  • OLED

Cons

  • Very expensive
  • Low pixel density at FHD

$1,099 at Adorama

How we test gaming monitors

While I’ve not used every product recommended in our list, I have extensively tested dozens of gaming monitors in the past, including models with WOLED and QD-OLED panels. In the case of the Alienware monitor I highlight above, I bought one for myself with my own money. Separately, I spent dozens of hours over a two-year period researching computer monitor options to write the current version of this guide.

Factors to consider before buying a gaming monitor

LCD vs OLED

When shopping for a gaming monitor, you first need to decide if you want to go with a screen that has an LCD or OLED panel. For most people, that choice will come down to price; OLED gaming monitors are more expensive than their LCD counterparts. Even if money isn’t a concern, the choice might not be as straightforward as you think; both LCD and OLED panels come in a few different flavors, and knowing the differences between each type is important to making an informed decision.

LCD monitors come in three different varieties: twisted nematic (TN), vertical alignment (VA) or in-plane switching (IPS). For the most part, you want to avoid TN monitors unless you’re strapped for cash or want a monitor with the fastest possible refresh rate or fast response rate. TN screens feature the worst viewing angles, contrast ratios and colors of the group.

The differences between VA and IPS panels are more subtle. Historically, VA gaming monitors featured slower pixel response times than their TN and IPS counterparts, leading to unsightly image smearing. However, that’s improved in recent years. VA panels also frequently sport better contrast ratios than both TN and IPS screens. They’re not dramatically better than their IPS siblings on that front, but when contrast ratios aren’t an inherent strength of LCDs, every bit helps.

On the other hand, IPS panels excel at color accuracy and many offer high refresh rates and response times that are as fast as the fastest TN panels. The majority of LCD gaming monitors on the market today feature IPS panels, though you will frequently find VA screens on ultrawide monitors.

What about OLED?

If you can afford one, an OLED screen makes for the best monitor for gaming. The ability of organic light-emitting diodes to produce true blacks is transformational. Simply put, every game looks better when there isn’t a backlight to wash out shadow detail. Plus, you can experience true HDR with an OLED screen, something that LCDs aren’t known for.

Today, OLED screens come in two different flavors: WOLED and QD-OLED, with LG producing the former and Samsung the latter. I won’t bore you with the technical details of how the two panel types differ from one another other than to note both technologies broadly offer the same set of shortcomings.

Most notably, OLED monitors don’t get very bright. At best, the most capable models peak at around 250 nits when measuring brightness across the entire screen. I didn’t find this to be an issue in my testing, but your experience may vary depending on the ambient light in your gaming setup.

If brightness is important to you, note that due to manufacturer tunings, different models can perform better than others, even if they feature the same panel from LG or Samsung. It’s worth comparing monitors in the same class to find the model that’s right for you.

Separately, almost all OLEDs feature sub-pixel layouts that produce text fringing in Windows. The latest generation of OLED panels from both LG and Samsung are much better in this regard, to the point where modern OLEDs are good enough for reading and image editing. However, it’s still worth going to your local Micro Center or Best Buy to see the model you want in person, as the text fringing issue is hard to capture in photos and videos.

Another (potentially more serious) issue is burn-in. Organic light-emitting diodes can get “stuck” if they display the same image for long periods of time. Every OLED gaming monitor you can buy today comes with features designed to prevent burn-in and other image quality issues. Provided you don’t use your new OLED monitor for eight hours of daily productivity work, I don’t think you need to worry about burn-in too much.

Screen size, resolution and aspect ratio

After deciding where you fall on the LCD vs OLED debate, you can start thinking about the size of your future gaming monitor. Personal preference and the limitations of your gaming setup will play a big part here, but there are also a few technical considerations. You should think about size in conjunction with resolution and aspect ratio.

A 1440p monitor has 78 percent more pixels than a 1080p resolution screen, and a 4K display has more than twice as many pixels as a QHD panel. As the size of a monitor increases, pixel density decreases unless you also increase resolution. For that reason, there are sweet spots between size and high resolution. For instance, I wouldn’t recommend buying an FHD monitor that is larger than 24 inches or a QHD one bigger than 27 inches. Conversely, text and interface elements on a 4K monitor can look tiny without scaling on panels smaller than 32 inches.

You also need to consider the performance costs of running games at higher resolutions. The latest entry-level GPUs can comfortably run most modern games at 1080p and 60 frames per second. They can even render some competitive titles at 120 frames per second and higher — but push them to run those same games at 1440p and beyond, and you’re bound to run into problems. And as you’ll see in a moment, a consistently high frame rate is vital to getting the most out of the latest gaming monitors.

If your budget allows for it, 1440p offers the best balance between image quality and gaming performance. As for 1080p resolution and 4K, I would only consider the former if you’re on a tight budget or enjoy competitive gaming shooters like Valorant and Overwatch 2. For most people, the user experience and productivity benefits of QHD far outweigh the performance gains you get from going with a lower resolution screen.

Just a few years ago, 4K was not a viable resolution for PC gaming, but then NVIDIA came out with its 40 series GPUs. With those video cards offering the company’s DLSS 3 frame generation technology, there’s a case to be made that the technology is finally there to play 4K games at a reasonable frame rate, particularly if you exclusively play big, AAA single-player games like Alan Wake 2 and Cyberpunk 2077 or enjoy strategy games like the Total War series. However, even with frame generation, you will need a GPU like the $999 RTX 4080 Super or $1,599 RTX 4090 to drive a 4K display. Plus, 4K gaming monitors tend to cost more than their 1440p counterparts.

If you want an ultrawide, note that not every game supports the 21:9 aspect ratio, and fewer still support 32:9. When shopping for a curved monitor, a lower Radius, or ‘R’ number, indicates a more aggressive curve. So, a 1000R monitor is more curved than an 1800R one.

The best gaming monitor

(Photo by Igor Bonifacic / Engadget)

Refresh rates and response times

And now, finally, for the fun stuff. The entire reason to buy a gaming monitor is for its ability to draw more images than a traditional computer monitor. As you shop for a new screen, you will see models advertising refresh rates like 120Hz, 240Hz and 360Hz. The higher the refresh rate of a monitor, the more times it can update the image it displays on screen every second, thereby producing a smoother moving image. When it comes to games like Overwatch, Valorant and League of Legends, a faster refresh rate can give you a competitive edge, but even immersive single-player games can benefit.

A monitor with a 240Hz refresh rate will look better in motion than one with a 120Hz refresh rate, but there are diminishing returns. At 60Hz, the image you see on your computer monitor is updated every 16.67ms. At 120Hz, 240Hz and 360Hz, the gap between new frames shortens to 8.33ms, 4.17ms and 2.78ms, respectively. Put another way, although a 360Hz monitor can display 50 percent more frames than a 240Hz screen in a given time period, you will only see a speedup of 1.14ms between frame intervals. And all that depends on your GPU’s ability to render a consistent 360 frames per second.

Ultimately, a fast response monitor will do you no good if you don’t have a gaming PC with a graphics card that can keep up. For example, with a 1440p 360Hz monitor, you realistically need a GPU like the RTX 4070 Super or RTX 4080 Super to saturate that display while playing competitive gaming titles like Overwatch 2 and Valorant.

There’s also more to motion clarity than refresh rates alone. Just as important are fast response times, or the amount of time it takes for pixels to transition from one color to another and then back again. Monitors with slow response times tend to produce smearing that is distracting no matter what kind of game you’re playing. Curved gaming monitor options help with immersion by wrapping the screen around your field of vision, making the gaming setup feel more expansive. Unfortunately, response times are also one of the more opaque aspects of picking the best gaming monitor for your needs.

Many LCD monitor manufacturers claim their products feature 1ms gray-to-gray (GtG) response times, yet they don’t handle motion blur to the same standard. One of the reasons for that is that many companies tend to cherry-pick GtG results that make their monitors look better on paper. The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) recently created a new certification program to address that problem, but the grading system is unwieldy and, as far as I can tell, hasn’t had a lot of pickup from manufacturers.

For now, your best bet is to turn to resources like Rtings and Monitors Unboxed when shopping for a new gaming monitor. Both outlets conduct extensive testing of every screen they review and present their findings and recommendations in a way that’s easy to understand.

FreeSync vs G-Sync

No matter how powerful your system, it will sometimes fail to maintain a consistent framerate. In fact, you should expect frame rate fluctuations when playing graphically-intensive games like Alan Wake 2 and Cyberpunk 2077. For those moments, you want a gaming display with adaptive sync. Otherwise, you can run into screen tearing.

Adaptive sync technologies come in a few flavors. The two you’re most likely to encounter are AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA G-Sync, and each has its own set of performance tiers. With G-Sync, for instance, they are – from lowest to highest – G-Sync Compatible, G-Sync and G-Sync Ultimate.

The good news is that you don’t need to think too much about which adaptive sync technology a display supports. In the early days of the tech, it was rare to see a gaming monitor that offered both FreeSync and G-Sync since including the latter meant a manufacturer had to equip their display with a dedicated processor from NVIDIA. That changed in 2019 when the company introduced its G-Sync Compatible certification. Today, if a monitor supports FreeSync, it is almost certainly G-Sync Compatible, too, meaning you can enjoy tear-free gaming whether you’re using an AMD or NVIDIA GPU.

In fact, I would go so far as to say you shouldn’t make your purchasing decision based on the level of adaptive sync performance a monitor offers. As of right now, the list of G-Sync Ultimate-certified displays is about two dozen models long, and some are a few years old now.

The best gaming monitor

(Photo by Igor Bonifacic / Engadget)

Inputs

Almost every gaming display on the market right now comes with at least one DisplayPort 1.4 connection, and that’s the port you will want to use to connect your new monitor to your graphics card. If you own a PS5 or Xbox Series X/S, it’s also worth looking out for monitors that come with HDMI 2.1 ports, as those will allow you to get the most out of your current generation console.

A word about HDR

As fast and responsive gaming monitors have become in recent years, there’s one area where progress has been frustratingly slow: HDR performance. The majority of gaming monitors currently on sale, including most high-end models, only meet VESA’s DisplayHDR 400 certification. As someone who owned one such monitor, let me tell you it’s not even worth turning on HDR on those screens. You will only be disappointed.

The good news is that things are getting better, albeit slowly. The release of Windows 11 did a lot to improve the state of HDR on PC, and more games are shipping with competent HDR modes, not just ones that increase the brightness of highlights. Thankfully, with more affordable mini-LED monitors, like our top pick, making their way to the market, HDR gaming is finally within reach of most PC gamers.

Gaming monitor FAQs

Are curved monitors better for gaming?

It depends on personal preference. Many manufacturers claim curved monitors offer a more immersive gaming experience due to the way the display wraps around your field of vision. However, I find the edge distortion distracting, particularly when you increase the field of view in a game.

What aspect ratio should I look for in a gaming monitor?

The vast majority of 24-, 27- and 32-inch gaming monitors feature 16:9 aspect ratio panels, and that’s been the case for many years. In fact, nearly every game made in the last two decades supports 16:9 resolutions, such as 1,920 x 1,080 and 2,560 by 1,440, and if you buy a standard-sized monitor, you won’t need to worry about letterboxing.

In the case of ultrawides, 21:9 is the most common aspect ratio, with some very wide models sporting 32:9 panels. Among games, support for 21:9 and 32:9 resolutions is far from universal, so don’t be surprised if a game doesn’t fill the entirety of your screen.

Is OLED good for gaming?

OLED monitors are great for gaming. Not only do they offer excellent motion clarity and input latency, but they’re also easily the best displays for HDR gaming. If money is no object, and you primarily use your PC for gaming, you can’t go wrong with an OLED monitor.

How much does a good gaming monitor cost?

While you could easily spend more than $1,000 to obtain the best gaming monitor on the market now, the reality is that the budget and midrange categories have never been more competitive. In 2015, I spent $500 CAD to buy a 1080p monitor with a 144Hz refresh rate and TN panel. The budget AOC model I highlight above is not only cheaper than my first gaming monitor, but it also features a faster 180Hz refresh rate and a higher contrast VA panel.



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Chuwi GameBook 9955HX
Product Reviews

Chuwi GameBook 9955HX creator laptop review

by admin



Why you can trust TechRadar


We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Dynabook Protege X40-M: 30-second review

Checking through the specifications of the Chuwi GameBook 9955HX and the CPU and GPU both hint at a high-performance laptop, just without the usual astronomical high price. Checking over the machine highlights the balance Chuwi has struck with the design and quality of the materials. While they might not match the likes of the Asus ProArt P16 and other high-end creative and gaming laptops, it still offers a good overall build quality.

Unlike other gaming laptops, Chuwi has really kept the design aesthetics reserved, so like many of the best business laptops, this machine will look equally at home, in the office, or design studio as it would in a gaming environment. With a sleek, plain top, a good array of ports around the sides and back, and the only hint that this is something different from your standard office laptop being the honeycomb design on the base.

Several key features instantly appeal when you open up the GameBook 9955HX. First and foremost is the large screen and full-size keyboard with a number pad on the right, making it ideal for anyone scouting for the best laptops for photo editing or the best laptops for video editing.

Getting into the use, Windows 11 Pro runs smoothly from the outset, with the CPU and GPU combo alongside the 32GB of RAM and 1TB SSD providing all the speed you need for all standard applications, which is proven through the PCMark scores.

Content creation, again using Premiere Pro, Adobe Lightroom, and Photoshop, showed the machine had absolutely no issues with editing 4K and even some 8K video, although expansion storage was needed. With two USB Type-C ports, you get a relatively fast connection to the machine. This is the first highlight where cost has been cut, with USB 3.2 Gen 2 used over the faster USB Type-C interfaces, meaning you only get 10GB/s, considerably lower than the later USB4 that you’d expect to see on a machine with these specifications.

However, the reduction in USB interface generation is one of the only areas where the specifications have been pared back. Internally, there is space for additional RAM and increased storage, including the PCIe 5 M.2 slot and fast connection through Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 wireless connectivity options, both of which are tried and tested rather than being the latest generation.

Overall, the test showed the machine put in a great performance, with an easy access turbo power option, when you’re connected to AC power, to accelerate the CPU and GPU further, giving a boost when playing games, especially. There is little not to like about the raw performance of this GameBook.

When you consider the price and what’s on offer, it’s hard not to be impressed with what Chuwi has managed to offer at this price.

  • Chuwi GameBook 9955HX (1TB 32GB RAM) at Walmart for $2,299

Chuwi GameBook 9955HX: Price & availability

  • How much does it cost? £1804
  • When is it out? Now
  • Where can you get it? Widely available

The Chuwi GameBook is available directly through the Chuwi website for £1,804, which, considering the specification including 32GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive, is exceptional value for money.

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

Chuwi GameBook 9955HX: Design

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

Specifications

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX (16 cores, 32 threads, up to 5.4GHz)
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPU (12GB GDDR6)
RAM: 32GB DDR5 5600MHz (2 x 16GB, dual channel, upgradable to 64GB)
Storage: 1TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD (supports two M.2 2280 slots, one Gen4, one Gen5, upgradable)
Left Ports: 2.5G RJ45 LAN, USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (supports 100W PD charging), 3.5mm audio jack
Right Ports: USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A, Kensington lock slot
Rear Ports: HDMI 2.1 Port (Support 4K@120Hz), USB 3.2 Gen 2, Mini DP (DP2.1a, UHBR20 80Gbps)
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
Audio: 2W stereo speakers, Dual microphone array
Camera: 1080p IR webcam (supports Windows Hello, with physical privacy cover)
Size: 356.7 x 253.8 x 21.4 mm
Weight: 2.3kg
OS Installed: Windows 11 Pro
Accessories: 140W USB-C power adapter

Removing the Chuwi GameBook 9955HX from the box, the first thing that strikes you, especially at this price point, is just how good and robust the laptop feels, with the monitor protected in an aluminium casing, while the main body is made from a similar colour, high-impact plastic. While it doesn’t give quite the same premium feel as some other laptops, it is nevertheless of decent quality.

When it comes to size and weight, because this is a gaming-focused PC requiring lots of cooling for the powerful CPU and GPU, the size and weight are slightly heavier than many work-focused laptops. It measures 356.7 x 253.8 x 21.4 mm and weighs in at 2.3kg.

Despite all that processing power and features, it’s still a relatively decent-sized machine and more than portable, as I found during the process of this test.

Looking over the body of the laptop, there’s a good rubber bar on the base along with two small feet to keep it securely in place on the desktop, and there’s a good amount of venting on the bottom and across the back of the machine, ensuring that the powerful CPU/GPU combo stays cool.

On the left-hand side, you have a LAN port with an ingenious flip-down door design that helps partially protect the port and integrates with the design of the case. This network port is joined by a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port that enables 100W of PD power for charging when the laptop is off, and a USB Type-A Gen 1 port, alongside a standard 3.5mm audio jack.

Alongside venting at the back, there’s also a USB Type-C port at up to 140W PD power again when the power is off, a mini DP 2.1 and an HDMI 2.1 port enabling 4K at 120Hz, and finally, on the right-hand side, there are two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports and a lock slot for securing the laptop if needed.

Opening up the lid reveals the 16-inch, 2.5K (2560 x 1600), IPS, 300Hz refresh rate and up to 500 nits brightness 16:10 screen that offers a clear display for office work, content creation, as well as gaming.

One of the big features for anyone looking at this laptop for work, as well as content creation and gaming, is the full-size keyboard, even down to the four cursor keys, all full-sized with a handy numeric pad, which is slightly reduced in size, giving plenty of control and input options. While the keyboard is of decent quality, it doesn’t quite have the same precise actuation that you would find with some of the more premium models.

Still, that’s not to say it doesn’t feel good to type on, and it is responsive. Likewise, the trackpad is a decent size and supports gesture control, again, of a decent quality, but doesn’t quite have the high-end premium feel you might expect with some of the more premium laptops.

One final design feature to point out is across the top bar of the laptop, alongside gaming detailing. There is the power button, and next to this is the turbo button, which gives the laptop a power boost for gaming and other applications that need a little bit more grunt from the CPU and GPU, with an Office, Balanced and Turbo mode.

Chuwi GameBook 9955HX: Features

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

Featuring an AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX CPU with 16 cores, 32 threads, 64MB cache and up to 5.4GHz clock speed within Zen 5 architecture, this mobile CPU is an ideal fit if you’re looking for a laptop that can handle high-demand applications and games. It’s supported by an impressive GPU in the form of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti laptop GPU, which features 12GB of GDDR7 VRAM, 140W TGP, 1406 AI TOPS, and supports full ray tracing.

Complementing the CPU and GPU is the dual-channel SODIMM RAM, and the standard machine comes equipped with 2×16GB DDR5 5600MHz modules, but you can expand this up to two 32GB sticks if required. Access to the inner workings is through the base with 11 screws needing to be removed before the base of the machine can be lifted away. From there, the layout is extremely neat and easy to work with.

For storage, the machine features two slots and comes pre-installed with a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, placed in the PCIe 5.0 slot. You can also add a second M.2 2280 PCIe SSD card into the secondary slot, which is a PCIe 4.0 slot. Ideally, you buy yourself a PCIe 5.0 M.2 2280 module and insert that into the PCIe 5.0 slot to make the most of that additional speed, and place the operating system onto the PCIe 4.0 slot.

Powering the machine is a 77.77Wh battery that offers 15.4V and 5,050mAh capacity. While this is impressive considering the power draw, used for high-end gaming or content creation, battery life is going to be rather limited.

However, there has to be a balance between the size of the machine and the battery used, with a 140W AC power supply for high-demand applications. It’s probably worth swapping over to AC power rather than using the battery. It’s also worth noting that while there are two USB-C ports that enable PD power, this is only for use when the machine is off.

Connectivity options are as described previously, with a good range of ports, although the USB Type-C port is an older generation USB3.2 Gen 2 rather than USB4.

As you’d expect, there is a webcam built in, supporting Windows Hello face recognition. One feature I like here is that there’s a physical privacy cover. It can be slid across the camera, and once it is down, the camera shows a red cover to highlight the status.

For gaming and content creation, there are two relatively powerful two-watt speakers and a dual mic on the camera. These are all of decent quality, although nowhere near the depth or clarity of sound you would expect from a premium model.

All in all, considering the price point, the features are well balanced, giving you all the power you need for high-demand applications and games, while balancing out some features, such as the USB interfaces, to manage overall cost.

Chuwi GameBook 9955HX: Performance

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

Benchmarks

CrystalDiskMark Read: 5538.97
CrystalDiskMark Write: 5208.69
Geekbench CPU Multi: 18134
Geekbench CPU Single: 3220
Geekbench GPU: 150671
PCMark Overall: 8367
Cinebench CPU Multi: 32863
Cinebench CPU Single: 2175
Fire Strike Overall: 35793
Fire Strike Graphics: 40250
Fire Strike Physics: 37287
Fire Strike Combined: 18934
Time Spy Overall: 15855
Time Spy Graphics: 16763
Time Spy CPU: 12135
Wild Life Overall: 40003
Steel Nomad Overall: 3743
Windows Experience Overall: 8.1

The Chuwi GameBook 9955HX impresses first and foremost with the speed at which Windows boots up from cold, enabling you to load up apps and get started in a couple of minutes if not less. All Microsoft Office applications run smoothly, and if you prefer Google Docs, the wireless internet connection using Wi-Fi 6 is good and robust, with the option to hardwire into the network if you prefer. From a work perspective, this machine provides a solid foundation for standard administration software.

Through tests for Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel, all applications loaded quickly, and with a large 16-inch screen in decent resolution, it’s easy to navigate and update multiple documents and presentations with ease.

One of the things that stands out is the full-size keyboard. When you are used to using a MacBook Pro or similar high-end premium laptop with a reduced keyboard, the fact that it has the number pad, full-size cursors, and access to the F keys at the top just makes workflow much easier without having to use key combinations.

Moving on from the base applications and starting to look at content creation options, I loaded up Adobe Premiere Pro, Photoshop and Lightroom to see how the machine would handle an 8K video shot on a Canon EOS R5C and Sony A7 IV. The performance was superb. However, the one-terabyte SSD quickly filled up, and I was pleased to see that I could quickly pop in a secondary SSD, boosting internal storage up to 3TB.

For ease, this was installed in the secondary PCIe slot, enabling transfer rates of up to 5,000MB/s when benchmarked in CrystalDiskMark.

During the test, I checked the USB-C port transfer rate when connected to an external SSD, using a Lexar Armour 700 USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 drive. The port managed just under 1,000MB/s transfer rate, with a score of 976.27MB/s read and 968.92MB/s write, showing that this is a USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface, while not the fastest, it still delivers decent transfer rates if you need to use an external drive for video or images.

When it came to render speed from Adobe Premiere Pro, the RTX 5070 Ti did the brunt of the processing, reflected in the Cinebench scores with a CPU multi score of 32,863 and single CPU score of 2,175, which are within the range for premium creative and gaming laptops.

As testing continued, I was able to batch edit multiple images shot on the Sony A7 IV within Adobe Bridge and Photoshop, as well as apply quick changes and organise files within Adobe Lightroom. The machine rendered thumbnails and effects quickly. I was impressed with the quality of the screen, which I didn’t expect to be quite as good for a laptop that’s firstly gaming and secondly at this price.

Checking the quality of the screen with DataColor Spyder X2 Ultra, it was awarded an overall rating of 4.5, which is very good, scoring maximum points on both gamut and contrast, while the white point and colour uniformity both came in at 4.5. While colour accuracy was slightly down, this isn’t a creative-focused laptop, but with a colour accuracy of 4, it still displayed sRGB at 100%, Adobe RGB 79%, and P3 at a respectable 81%.

Essentially, for workflow, gaming, and multimedia playback, this monitor is high quality; however, if you are looking to use this machine for critical creative work, you need to be mindful that the colours won’t be 100% accurate.

For gaming, this is where it really comes into its own. While it can’t compete with a dedicated desktop gaming machine, the performance afforded by the AMD Ryzen 9 HX CPU and GeForce RTX really does make it stand out, with some of the fastest benchmarking results I have seen for a laptop of this type, including a Wild Life overall score of 40,003, Fire Strike at 35,793, and Time Spy at 15,855. These are in line with premium laptops that can cost almost double what you’d pay for the Chuwi GameBook.

When it comes to performance, the display, keyboard and touchpad layout are all well considered, and while the fans do kick in under load, considering the price, that is more than acceptable.

Alongside all the hardware is the Chuwi Easy Care maintenance application, which is an in-depth dashboard for your system. It enables you to monitor the machine, the use of internal memory, and gives you access to easy driver updates, system optimisation, and the health of the system.

There are also three different power modes: Office, Balanced and Turbo, two of which can be activated when on battery power, with the third only accessible when plugged into the AC main power. The first mode is Office, taking the CPU right down to minimum, conserving power, so if you’re commuting or working on battery, you can maximise battery life.

Then there’s Balance, which balances CPU and fan power but gives a bit more performance, and Turbo, which can only be used when plugged into AC power and boosts overall performance, making it ideal for content creation or gaming. The most significant performance boost is when you push the turbo button, running a side-by-side test with 3D Mark Fire Strike on Office mode, it scored 34,958, switching to Balanced produced a score of 35689, and Turbo mode produced 37,417 at each stage, marking a noticeable change in performance.

What I also like is that you can go into the BIOS and select which power mode to use as default, so if you always game, you can leave it in Turbo mode, though once you’re unplugged from AC, it will switch to Balanced. If you mostly work on office documents, select Office mode to maximise battery, and if you do a bit of everything, Balanced would be the one to set as default.

Chuwi has put the work into making this extremely usable, and the BIOS is testament to this. It looks modern and, for once, is easy to navigate with all the options and settings clearly laid out, and if you need to swap boot drives, change default performance modes, or anything else you’d usually do in the BIOS, it’s all here and easy to find.

At the end of the test, I am impressed with just how good this laptop is for the price, its performance puts it well within the premium laptop range, yet while it’s expensive, it’s far cheaper than other laptops with similar specifications, and the fact that it includes some of the latest technology means that it’s great for gaming and office work, as well as content creation, although you do need to check the colour accuracy for critical creative work.

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

Chuwi GameBook 9955HX: Final verdict

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

If you were to write a wish list for a high-performance laptop, the GameBook 9955HX pretty much hits almost every point. It has a large 16-inch screen which is beautifully uniform, with a slightly matte finish making it extremely viewable, and the large keyboard just makes it easy to use for office applications and gaming.

Connectivity options might be a little limited in comparison with premium laptops, for example, downgrading to USB 3.2 Gen 2 rather than USB4, but still, with a 1,000MB/s average transfer rate, it’s decent.

The different power modes take it from Balance, Office to Turbo, essentially giving the machine a huge boost in power, making it ideal as you swap from low-to mid-demand applications, across to higher, and the machine just gives you that additional power needed to complete tasks that would otherwise be time-consuming on a slower machine, though there is a sacrifice in battery life.

Across the board, I’ve been impressed with the build quality, hardware, upgradeability, and performance. Chuwi has also included their own health management software in the form of Chuwi Easy Care to enable you to keep an eye on the overall health of the machine. If you go into the BIOS, there is a comprehensive set of options that look easy to navigate and understand, with a modern design that is a breakaway from what is more ordinarily seen on most other laptops.

As a complete solution, the GameBook is a solid option that’s well priced, powerful, and offers enough to satisfy all types of users.

Should I buy a Chuwi GameBook 9955HX?

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Value

Exceptional value for money for top-of-the-range CPU/GPU, usually at a much greater price

5

Design

The design is a little mixed, with a high-quality monitor casing, coupled with a plastic main body

4

Features

Has a good range of features that help to balance the cost of components with performance

4.5

Performance

With three easy-to-access power modes, you can adjust how the machine performs to suit your needs

5

Overall

Exceptional value for money with performance you expect from a premium laptop

5

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

For more top choices, we’ve reviewed the best laptops for work and gaming.

Chuwi GameBook 9955HX: Price Comparison



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A phone held up to a PC monitor. Both are playing Wordle
Product Reviews

Today’s Wordle clues, hints and answer for August 18 #1521

by admin



All the help you need to get your Wordle winning week off to the best kind of start is right here and ready whenever you are. Dip your toe into the waters with our clue for the August 18 (1521) puzzle with confidence, knowing we’ve got plenty of other hints available if you need something more. We’ve even got today’s Wordle answer at the bottom if you need it. However Monday’s game goes, you’ve got a win.

A clue for today’s Wordle

Stuck on today’s Wordle? Here’s a clue that pertains to the meaning of the word.

If you’re still just as stuck after our clue, scroll down for further hints.


Related articles

Hints for the August 18 (#1521) Wordle

Our Wordle hints will start vague so as to just give you a bit of a nudge in the right direction at first.

As you scroll down, they’ll offer more and more help towards figuring out today’s word without fully giving it away.

Are there any repeated letters in today’s Wordle?

There’s a repeating letter in here, so keep that in mind while you work.

How many vowels are in today’s Wordle?

Most of the letters you need to find today are vowels.

What letter does today’s Wordle begin with?

You’re going to need to start today’s word with an “I”.

Monday’s gonna Monday, right? Not while we’re here. Keep scrolling, you’re almost at today’s answer.

The August 18 (#1521) Wordle answer is…

(Image credit: Future)

This is it. No turning back now!

The solution to today’s Wordle puzzle is…

The meaning behind today’s Wordle answer

Whether it’s a hot topic, a point of debate, or the latest glorious edition of PC Gamer magazine, it’s called an issue.

Previous Wordle answers

Past Wordle answers can give you some excellent ideas for fun starting words that keep your daily puzzle-solving fresh. They are also a good way to eliminate guesses for today’s Wordle, as the answer is unlikely to be repeated.

Here are the last 10 Wordle answers:

  • August 8: IMBUE
  • August 9: NASAL
  • August 10: MINTY
  • August 11: SOUTH
  • August 12: NOMAD
  • August 13: KEFIR
  • August 14: KNELL
  • August 15: LEVEL
  • August 16: MATTE
  • August 17: LOUSY

Learn more about Wordle 

(Image credit: Future)

How to play Wordle

Wordle’s a daily guessing game, where the goal is to correctly uncover today’s five letter word in six goes or less. An incorrect letter shows up as a grey box. A correct letter in the wrong space turns up yellow. And the correct letter in the right place shows up as green. There’s no time limit to worry about, and don’t forget that some letters might be used more than once.

Get better at Wordle!

What’s the best Wordle starting word?

Generally you want to pick something with a good mix of common consonants and vowels in it as your Wordle opener, as this is most likely to return some early green and yellow letters. Words like SLATE, CHIME, and REACT all work, but feel free to find your own favourite.

Is Wordle getting harder?

(Image credit: Valve)

Wordle is not getting harder!

There will always be the occasional day where the answer is the name of a body part, has a sneaky double vowel, or a word obscure enough to send everyone rushing off to a dictionary. But the daily answers, edited by Tracy Bennett, are still a good mix of common terms and tougher challenges.

Remember that if you’re craving more of a challenge, you can enable Hard Mode under the ⚙️ options menu. This option doesn’t make the words themselves harder, but it requires that “any revealed hints must be used in subsequent guesses.”

How did Wordle begin?

Wordle is the creation of Josh Wardle, and began life as a small personal project before its public release in 2021. From there it’s gone on to become a global phenomenon, attracting a dedicated daily audience, billions of plays, a whole host of competitors, and even a seven-figure sale to the New York Times where it’s become a mainstay of daily games alongside the crosswords and Connections.



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Photo: Ethan Daniels/Stocktrek Images
Product Reviews

Major Plastics Treaty Ends in Failure

by admin


This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.

Diplomats from around the world concluded nine days of talks in Geneva — plus a marathon overnight session that lasted into the early hours of Friday — with no agreement on a global plastics treaty.

During a closing plenary that started on Friday at 6:30 a.m. — more than 15 hours after it was originally scheduled to begin — nearly all countries opposed an updated draft of the United Nations treaty that was put forward by the negotiating committee chair, the Ecuadorian diplomat Luis Vayas Valdivieso. Many of the delegates said the text did not reflect their mandate under a U.N. Environment Assembly resolution to “end plastic pollution” by addressing the “full life cycle” of plastics.

“We are truly sad to say that we will not have a treaty to end plastic pollution here in Geneva,” the head negotiator for Norway, Andreas Bjelland Erikse, told the chair. Valdivieso wrapped up the meeting just after 9 a.m. with the promise that they would continue at a later date.

The decision ends a contentious week and a half of discussions during the “resumed” fifth session of negotiations over a United Nations plastics treaty, which started in Geneva on August 4. Delegates had arrived in the city hoping to finalize a treaty by Thursday, having already overrun their original deadline to complete the agreement by the end of 2024.

Signs of a logjam were apparent even within the first few days of the talks, however, as countries hewed to the same red lines they’d stuck to during previous negotiations. A so-called “like-minded group” of oil-producing countries said it would not accept legally binding obligations and opposed a wide range of provisions that other nations said were essential, including controls on new plastic production, as well as mandatory disclosures and phaseouts of hazardous chemicals used in plastics.

During a plenary on August 9, three observers independently told Grist that the negotiations felt like “Groundhog Day,” as countries reiterated familiar talking points. A norm around consensus-based decision-making discouraged compromise from all countries, though the like-minded group — which includes Bahrain, Iran, and Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Russia, among other countries — was particularly intransigent and understood it could simply block proposals rather than shift its positions. Instead of whittling down a draft of the treaty that had been prepared late last year during the previous meeting in Busan, South Korea, delegates added hundreds of suggestions to it, placing a deal further from reach.

Over the course of the Geneva talks, delegates rejected two new drafts of the treaty prepared by Valdivieso: one released on Wednesday, which was so objectionable that countries said it was “repulsive” and lacked “any demonstrable value;” and the most recent one published just hours before Friday’s 6:30 a.m. plenary. Many expressed their preference to revert back to the Busan draft as a basis for future discussions.

Despite Friday’s outcome, the plastics treaty does not yet appear to be dead. Virtually all countries expressed an interest in continued negotiations — the European Union delegate Jessika Roswall said she would not accept “a stillborn treaty” — and many used their mic time during the closing plenary to remind others of what’s at stake.

“We cannot ignore the gravity of the situation,” a negotiator from Madagascar said. “Every day, our oceans and ecosystems and communities are suffering from the consequences of our inability to make decisive and unified actions.” Tuvalu’s delegate, Pepetua Election Latasi, said failing to enact a treaty means that “millions of tons of plastic waste will continue to be dumped in our oceans, affecting our ecosystem, food security, livelihoods, and culture.”

Still, without a change in the negotiations’ format — particularly around decision-making — it’s unclear whether further discussions will be fruitful. The norm around “consensus-based decision-making” means the threat of a vote can’t be used to nudge obstinate countries away from their red lines; unless decision-making by a majority vote is introduced then this dynamic is unlikely to change. “This meeting proved that consensus is dead,” said Bjorn Beeler, executive director of the International Pollutants Elimination Network, a coalition of health and environmental organizations. “The problem is not going away.”

Why is it so hard to make decisions at the plastics treaty?

Procedural rules for the plastics treaty negotiations say that, for substantive issues, delegates “shall make every effort” to reach agreement by consensus. Otherwise they can vote by a two-thirds majority, but only as a “last resort.”

When delegates sought to clarify these rules during the second round of talks in 2023, there was so much disagreement that it sank several days of negotiation. The result is that delegates have defaulted to consensus for everything, fearful of broaching the subject and losing even more of their limited negotiating time.

Yet consensus-based decision-making is also one of the main reasons that the negotiations have gone so slowly: Oil-producing countries have used these rules to their advantage to either stall or water down interim agreements at each round of negotiations, frustrating progress even when they’re greatly outnumbered.

Other nonprofits and advocacy groups staged several silent protests during the Geneva talks raising this same point, displaying signs reading, “Consensus kills ambition.” 

Senimili Nakora, one of Fiji’s delegates, said during the closing plenary that “consensus is worth seeking if it moves us forward, not if it stalls the process.” Switzerland’s negotiator, Felix Wertli, said that “this process needs a timeout,” and that “another similar meeting may not bring the breakthrough and ambition that is needed.”

Other countries raised broader concerns about “the process” by which negotiations had proceeded. Meetings had been “nontransparent,” “opaque,” and “ambiguous,” they said during the plenary, likely referring to unclear instructions they had received from the secretariat, the bureaucratic body that organizes the negotiations.

Inger Andersen, the U.N. Environment Programme’s executive director, told reporters on Friday that it at least had been helpful to hear countries more clearly articulate their red lines. “Everyone has to understand that this work will not stop, because plastic pollution will not stop.”

The plastics industry, which has opposed controlling plastic production and phasing out groups of hazardous chemicals, said it would continue to back a treaty that “keeps plastics in the economy and out of the environment.” Marco Mensink, council secretary of the International Council of Chemical Associations, said in a statement: “While not concluding a global agreement to end plastic pollution is a missed opportunity, we will continue to support efforts to reach an agreement that works for all nations and can be implemented effectively.”

Environmental groups, scientists, and frontline organizations were disappointed to leave Geneva without an ambitious treaty. They said it would have been worse, however, if countries had decided to compromise on key provisions such as human health and a “just transition” for those most likely to be affected by changes to global recycling and waste management policies, including waste pickers.

Under the circumstances, they applauded delegates for not agreeing to the final version of the chair’s text. “I’m so happy that a strong treaty was prioritized over a weak treaty,” said Jo Banner, co-founder of the U.S.-based organization The Descendants Project, which advocates to preserve the health and culture of the descendants of enslaved Black people in of a swath of Louisiana studded by petrochemical facilities

“It feels like our voices have been heard,” added Cheyenne Rendon, a senior policy officer for the U.S. nonprofit Society of Native Nations, which has advocated that the treaty include specific language on Indigenous peoples’ rights and the use of Indigenous science.

By contrast, observers’ voices were literally not heard during the final moments of the concluding plenary in Geneva. After more than two hours of statements from national delegations, Valdivieso turned the mic over to a parade of young attendees, Indigenous peoples, waste pickers, and and others who had been present throughout the week and a half of talks. But only one speaker — from the Youth Plastic Action Network — was able to give a statement before the United States and Kuwait asked the chair to cut them off and conclude the meeting.

It is now up to the plastics treaty secretariat to set a date and time for another round of negotiations, which are not likely to happen until next year. In the meantime, all eyes will be on the U.N. Environment Assembly meeting in December, where Andersen is expected to deliver a report on the negotiations’ progress — or lack thereof — and which could present an opportunity for the like-minded countries to lower the ambition of the treaty’s mandate: the statement spelling out what the treaty is trying to achieve. Some environmental groups fear that Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and others will try to change the mandate so that it no longer refers to the “full life cycle” of plastics, but just plastic pollution — thus turning the treaty into a waste management agreement rather than one that addresses the full suite of plastics’ harms to health and the environment, including during the material’s production.

Banner said she doesn’t feel defeated; in fact, she’s “more passionate than ever” to keep fighting for legally binding restrictions on the amount of plastic the world makes.

“I’m planning to survive,” she added, and to do that, “we have got to stop the production of plastic.”

This article originally appeared in Grist at https://grist.org/international/plastics-treaty-inc-5-2-geneva-consensus-kills-ambition/. Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Learn more at Grist.org



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The 7 Best Mattress Toppers (2025) Out of Dozens We've Tested: Supportive, Plush, Memory Foam
Product Reviews

The 7 Best Mattress Toppers (2025) Out of Dozens We’ve Tested: Supportive, Plush, Memory Foam

by admin


Honorable Mentions

Not everything we test makes the cut as a pick, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad mattress topper. Here are a few that our testers slept on and still got a good night’s sleep with, but didn’t love as much as the picks above.

Avocado Alpaca Topper for $809: If you’re looking for a mattress topper that’s extra soft, WIRED reviewer Scott Gilbertson recommends the Avocado Alpaca Mattress Topper. He says it’s one of the softest things he’s ever slept on, and that it’s like sleeping in a cocoon of fluffiness. While it’s only 2 inches thick, it still has that cozy sinking sensation of deeper mattress toppers. There are two options: medium-firm or plush, with the first using organic wool and the second using what Avocado calls “baby alpaca” fiber. Luckily that’s a reference to how soft it is, not the age of the alpaca itself. It’s certainly a luxury purchase, but a great pick of you want something super soft.

Avocado Eco Organic Mattress Topper for $296: This is another good organic mattress topper, made from latex foam. It’s got a nice bouncy feel to it thanks to the latex, rather than a sinking feeling you’ll get from memory foam. It’s softer than our main organic pick, which might be more your preference.

Brooklyn Bedding 3-Inch Latex Mattress Topper for $509: This latex mattress topper was fine, with a nice spring to it and a good softness without being too soft. But the Avocado Eco was more comfortable and nearly half the price.

Helix Dual Comfort Mattress Topper for $374: If you and your partner have different sleep surface needs—specifically, one of you loves a firm surface while the other wants a softer one—Helix has made a mattress topper with you in mind. The Helix Dual Comfort Topper has a softer side and a firmer side, so each person can get their ideal mattress feel without needing to splurge on a split king bed. The softer side uses memory foam infused with copper gel, which promises the “Luxury Plush” feel that has a gentle sinking sensation, while the firmer side uses high-density foam that kept my back-sleeper husband’s spine nice and straight as he likes. Plus, it has a cooling cover wrapping it up into one cohesive topper.

Helix Premium Memory Foam Mattress Topper with GlacioTex for $374: This memory foam topper doesn’t have as much of a sinking sensation as the Company Store or Tempur-Pedic toppers, for better or worse—my hips felt a little lower than the rest of my body, and I noticed more motion transfer than with the aforementioned foams. But this Helix topper is a good option if you don’t want that super sinking feeling. There’s no heat retention whatsoever due to the hypoallergenic GlacioTex cover, and it has handy straps that attach to each corner of the mattress. Helix also has a trial period and limited lifetime warranty, so you can give this one a try and change your mind, unlike Tempur-Pedic, which has no return policy. —Kat Merck

Nest Soft Latex Topper for $599: Nest’s latex-based topper looks and feels like an incredibly soft pillow top has been added to your mattress. It’s one of the softest toppers I’ve ever tried, and it had a memory foam-adjacent feel of sinking into the topper, but with a little more spring and pillowy feel to it. It’s one of the most expensive ones we’ve tested, though, and isn’t hugely better nor does it offer the most support.

Nolah Mattress Topper for $314: If you’re looking for that new-bed feel, Nolah’s topper adds a fresh layer of a semi-dense proprietary foam inside an organic cotton cover to the top of any mattress. It’s just 2 inches thick, and the firm version softened WIRED reviewer Martin Cizmar’s bed, offering some pressure relief and a plush new-bed feel.

PlushBed Natural Latex Mattress Topper for $301: If you love something firm but want a thicker option than 2 inches, Scott recommends PlushBed’s topper instead. It has five firmness levels, and he’s a big fan of the extra-firm option. It’s also a nice range if you want to pick a really specific level of firmness, as most other toppers only offer one or two options.

Tempur-Pedic Tempur-Adapt Mattress Topper for $359: According to WIRED reviewer Kat Merck, our resident memory foam fan and reviewer, this is a top-of-the-line memory foam topper for softening a too-firm mattress, and it works very well to prevent motion transfer. It doesn’t have her favorite iteration of Tempur-Pedic’s memory foam, but it still works well. It also has a washable cover that zips off, and corner straps keep the topper securely in place, plus a 10-year warranty (but no trial or returns).

Tempur-Pedic Tempur-Cloud Topper for $179: I like a soft bed. In fact, if you had asked me before I tried the Tempur-Cloud topper if a bed could be too soft, I’d have said no. But I have changed my mind. There actually exists a mattress topper that might be too soft. I’m a stomach sleeper, and this memory foam is so plush and so deep that during my week of testing I found myself having to practically fling my body if I needed to move at any point during the night. It also has a tendency to sleep hot, and because a user sinks so deep, there’s a potential for neck pain if they normally sleep with an overstuffed pillow. But aside from that, the Tempur-Cloud topper is basically the last word for soft-bed fans who want to completely eliminate both motion transfer and any trace of a hard mattress. —Kat Merck

Turmerry Latex Mattress Topper for $206: If you want something organic on a budget, this 2-inch latex topper is a good price and our favorite organic topper on a budget. You’ll have to buy the cover separately, but you don’t need it if you want to save the money. Turmerry uses a five-zone design to make the topper firmer in some areas, like your head, and softer around others, like your shoulders.

Toppers We’d Skip

Leesa Mattress Topper for $224: This mattress topper didn’t have great construction. We found it didn’t fit neatly on the bed, had weird spots on the edges, and was too soft.

Brooklyn Bedding 4 lb. Memory Foam Topper for $290: Neither my husband nor I could get a good night’s sleep when this mattress topper was on our bed. It also doesn’t offer the same benefits as other memory foam toppers we’ve tested.

FAQs

What Is a Mattress Topper?

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A mattress topper is a sheet of supportive materials—options include memory foam, latex foam, cotton, or even coils—that you add to the top of your mattress to change the feel without replacing the entire mattress. It’s a good option to soften up a mattress that’s too firm, or add some targeted support on a good mattress. Some toppers can make a mattress more firm, too, like our favorite organic topper pick.

How Do You Know If You Need a Mattress Topper?

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It’s a great thing to add if you need a surface change without needing to replace your entire mattress. A mattress topper won’t fix an old or unsupportive mattress (check out our guide to the Best Mattresses to fix that!) but it can take a good mattress and make it into a perfect one with the right makeup.

I struggle with back pain and a side sleeper, so I gravitate towards toppers that are soft for my shoulders but aren’t so soft that my back isn’t supported. My editor Kat Merck has a too-firm mattress that she likes to add a memory foam topper to to achieve her ideal level of softness. What you want in a topper will depend on your sleeping preferences and what changes you want in the mattress you already have. But a lot of folks can benefit from a good topper.

What Are the Types of Mattress Toppers?

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Wool: Wool mattress toppers are usually filled with wool batting or stuffing—think the stuff you fill a quilt or upholstered chair with—and wrapped in cotton. It’s soft, but not as extremely soft as memory foam and not as springy as latex is, either. Wool is a good temperature regulator, so it’s a nice choice for hot sleepers.

Pillow Top: Pillow top mattress toppers are designed to have the fluffy feel of a pillow on top of your mattress. The insides of a pillow top can vary: Some add a pillow top design over layers of foam, while others are simply a pillowy layer of down feathers between you and your mattress. Our favorite pillow top uses latex but still has a fluffy, slightly sinking feeling of laying down on a pillow.

Latex: Latex is a manufactured substance, made from rubber trees. That rubber base gives it a nice bounce and spring compared to memory foam. Even though it’s not labeled as foam, a latex topper usually has a foamlike sheet similar to memory foam as its base. It’s also sometimes referred to as man-made organic, since its base is a natural substance, but it does have to be processed in order to become the latex you’d sleep on or use in other products. You’ll get less sinkage with latex compared to memory foam, and less heat retention.

Memory Foam: Memory foam is actually polyurethane (a plastic polymer) foam, created by adding other compounds—the exact combination of compounds varies by company—to the polyurethane to create the memory foam itself. It’s also known as “viscoelastic” polyurethane foam, or low-resistance polyurethane foam (LRPu). It’s designed to conform to your body but return to its original shape afterward; the “memory” name comes from remembering its original shape. Memory foam tends to be one of the softest toppers, and it has a lot of sinkage (which you might love, might hate) and tends to retain more heat. Some companies add extra ingredients, like cooling gel or graphite, to help make the memory foam cooling.

Serene Foam: Serene foam is a newer trademarked material created by Carpenter Co., the parent company of Casper Sleep. It’s made of billions of polyurethane bubbles like memory foam is but also consists of microscopic air capsules. It’s designed to address some of the downsides of traditional memory foam, including heat retention and variable firmness levels, while maintaining the same plush, pressure-relieving feel. A quick warning if you love a heating pad: polyurethane Serene foam is not recommended for use with heated devices like electric blankets or heating pads.

Hybrid: Hybrid mattress toppers use multiple fillings that can be found on their own. These combinations can vary; our favorite hybrid topper from Helix uses coils and foam, while ViscoSoft’s hybrid topper uses a mix of memory foam and soft fiber for a pillow top feel. If you’re feeling like a single type of topper isn’t suiting your needs—whether it’s too soft or not soft enough—a hybrid option might be best for you.

How Thick Should a Mattress Topper Be?

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Mattress toppers are usually available in 2- or 3-inch heights, and some even come in a whopping four inches. The inches aren’t necessarily an indicator of how good a topper will be for your sleeping needs, but if you know you want a super soft experience, you might want a thicker topper to get a softer feel.

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