Articles by Brandon Hill | Tom's Hardware

Brandon has been tinkering with PCs since childhood and received his first "real" PC, an IBM Aptiva 310, in the mid-1990s. He next went on to build his first custom PC with an Intel Celeron 300A processor overclocked to 450MHz on an Abit BH6 motherboard. Brandon has written about PC and Mac tech since the late 1990s, first at AnandTech before moving to DailyTech and later to Hot Hardware. When Brandon is not consuming copious amounts of tech news, he can be found enjoying the NC mountains or the beach with his wife and two sons.

Articles by: Brandon Hill

Lenovo shows off ThinkBook VertiFlex laptop and Smart Motion dock concepts at IFA – rotating displays and AI-powered docks that follow your every move

By Brandon Hill published 5 September 25

Lenovo’s ThinkBook VertiFlex and Smart Motion concepts appear to have a better-than-average chance of reaching production.

Lenovo's IFA launches include 4K 240 Hz OLED gaming monitors — Legion Pro 7 laptops features Ryzen 9 9955HX3D with an RTX 5080

By Brandon Hill published 5 September 25

Lenovo goes all-in with OLED panels on its latest Legion gaming monitors and gaming laptop.

Acer Swift 16 AI on a wooden table with a Panther Lake wallpaper.

Intel Panther Lake breaks cover in Acer Swift 16 AI — company also touts world's largest trackpad with stylus support

By Andrew E. Freedman published 3 September 25

The Acer Swift 16 AI debuted at IFA with support for Intel's upcoming Panther Lake processors.

Acer hedges its hardware bets, puts vPro and ECC memory in new high-end gaming laptop

By Andrew E. Freedman published 3 September 25

The Acer Predator Helios 18P AI straddles the line between gaming laptop and AI workstation, with an RTX 5090 and up to 192GB of ECC memory.

Acer's new Predator gaming monitor boasts a 720 Hz OLED panel, if you like gaming at 720p — 27-inch panel can also do native 1440p at a swift 540 Hz

By Brandon Hill published 3 September 25

Acer’s Nitro family hits the mainstream segment with IPS and VA panels, while the new Predator X27U F8 is an OLED that goes after the premium sector.

Acer Nitro V 16S AI review: Value-priced, but outgunned in gaming

By Brandon Hill published 27 August 25

Acer’s Nitro V 16S has performance in line with other RTX 5060 laptops, but you can find faster systems for $1,299.

Aura Triple Aero 15.6 Pro Max portable monitor review: 43 inches of real estate spread across three displays

By Brandon Hill published 20 August 25

The Aura Triple Aero 15.6 Pro Max is a beastly “portable” monitor with three 15.6-inch 1080p IPS panels.

Apple's Migration Assistant makes transferring all your data to a new Mac so easy that even a caveman could do it

By Brandon Hill published 14 August 25

Migration Assistant is an easy and efficient way to transfer your data from an old Mac to a new one.

I created a Time Machine volume for Macs with a TP-Link router to simplify my backup tasks, and it was surprisingly easy — one central backup point can back up all the Apple devices on your network

By Brandon Hill published 12 August 25

Wireless Time Machine access is an easy way to keep your MacBook data backed up.

I expanded my Wi-Fi 7 network by adding a TP-Link Deco BE25-Outdoor satellite, quadrupling performance for long-distance connections in my backyard

By Brandon Hill published 12 August 25

For less than $150, I was able to boost my backyard wireless performance effortlessly.

A finger pointing at a blue screen with the text "Wi-Fi 7"

Now that Wi-Fi 7 has been around for a while, is it worth upgrading?

By Brandon Hill published 6 August 25

Premium Wi-Fi 7 brings some noticeable performance and reliability benefits over preceding standards, but not everyone should upgrade.

Snag up to 40% off with these excellent portable monitor deals that can expand your laptop screen space, just in time for the back-to-school season

By Brandon Hill last updated 5 August 25

There are excellent back to school deals to be had on portable monitors from Arzopa and Feelworld

Alienware 16 Aurora review: Long on endurance, short on performance

By Brandon Hill published 2 August 25

The Alienware 16 Aurora is thin and long-lasting, but it's not a powerful gaming laptop.

Netgear's Orbi 370 offers affordable dual-band Wi-Fi 7 mesh starting at $249.99 — company brings next-gen router pricing more in line with competition from TP-Link and Amazon

By Brandon Hill published 29 July 25

The Orbi 370 is available starting at $249.99 for a router and one satellite

TP-Link Archer BE9700 Wi-Fi 7 router review: Tri-band Wi-Fi 7 at an affordable price

By Brandon Hill published 22 July 25

The TP-Link Archer BE9700 comes in at roughly half the price of its closest competition.

MSI Katana 17 HX gaming laptop review: 1080p gaming with Nvidia’s RTX 5070

By Brandon Hill published 21 July 25

MSI’s Katana 17 HX gets the basics right with Raptor Lake and an RTX 5070 for around $1,300.

Asus ROG Strix G16 (2025) review: a well-rounded gaming laptop

By Brandon Hill published 18 July 25

The ROG Strix G16 makes some fair hardware tradeoffs to reach a more attractive price point than more premium competitors.

Best Amazon Prime Day Deals Live — The Best Tech & PC Hardware Deals you can still get before Prime Day ends

By The Editors of Tom's Hardware last updated 11 July 25

Here is live coverage of the best Amazon Prime Day deals across tech, PC hardware, laptops, SSDs, peripherals, accessories, and more.

This Anker 24,000 mAh power bank deal hits lowest-ever price for Prime Day — $76 for 140W charging and three USB ports

By Brandon Hill published 11 July 25

Deals The Anker 737 is a 24,000 mAh power bank with three USB ports and up to 140W charging (in and out)

These Ugreen retractable USB-C power bricks are a traveler's best friend, now up to 33% off — 45W for $20, 65-watt for $35 in Prime Deal

By Brandon Hill published 11 July 25

Deals Ugreen's 45- and 65-watt charging blocks feature a retractable USB-C cable and two additional USB ports.

This 32-inch Asus ROG Mini LED gaming monitor is 27% off — steep discount on a 4K panel with DisplayHDR 1000

By Brandon Hill published 10 July 25

Deals The Asus ROG Swift PG32UQXR is now available with a 27% discount, giving you 4K 160Hz Mini LED goodness for just $734.

ASRock’s 27-inch Phantom Gaming monitor is just $104 — 240 Hz at 1080p on the cheap

By Brandon Hill published 9 July 25

Deals Now is the right time to strike if you're looking for an ultra-cheap 240Hz 1080p gaming monitor.

These budget gaming monitors are an absolute steal this Prime Day — up to 40 percent off fast refresh rates and big panels

By Brandon Hill published 9 July 25

Deals The ASRock Phantom PG27F15RS1A is a true standout with a 27-inch 1080p 240 Hz panel for $104.

These are the best Wi-Fi 7 mesh routers from Asus, TP-Link, Eero, and Netgear that I found on Prime Day

By Brandon Hill published 8 July 25

Deals Prime Day means great deals on Wi-Fi 7 routers from your favorite manufacturers.

Apple's entire AirPods family drops to their lowest prices ever for Prime Day — AirPods Pro 2 just $149

By Brandon Hill published 8 July 25

Deals There are deals to be had on the AirPods 4, AirPods 4 with ANC, AirPods Pro 2, and AirPods Max

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