Articles by Matt Safford | Tom's Hardware

Matt began piling up computer experience as a child with his Mattel Aquarius. He built his first PC in the late 1990s and ventured into mild PC modding in the early 2000s. He’s spent 15 years covering emerging technology for Smithsonian, Popular Science, and Consumer Reports, while testing components and PCs for Computer Shopper, PCMag and Digital Trends. When not writing about tech, he’s often walking—through the streets of New York, over the sheep-dotted hills of Scotland, or just at his treadmill desk at home in front of the 50-inch HDR TV that serves as his PC monitor.

Articles by: Matt Safford

Asus unveils cable-free AIO liquid coolers to streamline PC builds for a cleaner look — ROG Strix LC IV series debuts with proprietary AIO Q-Connector, motherboards to match

By Zhiye Liu published 7 January 26

Asus launches new ROG Strix LC IV series of AIO liquid coolers that don't need any cables, thanks to a proprietary AIO Q-Connector.

Lenovo's top ThinkPads and Yogas go all-in on Panther Lake — business laptops come with Windows and Linux options

By Andrew E. Freedman published 7 January 26

Lenovo is updating its high-end ThinkPad and Yoga laptops with Intel's Panther Lake Core Ultra processors at CES 2026.

Lenovo's CES concept devices include a rollable ultra-wide OLED Legion gaming laptop – ThinkPad concept has an expandable screen that wraps around the outside of the lid

By Matt Safford published 7 January 26

Lenovo keeps rolling out screen-expanding laptop concepts.

Lenovo brings handheld-favorite SteamOS to the flagship Legion Go 2 — the AMD Z2 Extreme gets official SteamOS support for the first time

By Jake Roach published 7 January 26

Lenovo is bringing official SteamOS support to AMD’s Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor for the first time with an updated Legion Go 2.

Asus' Zenbook lineup gets 2026 refresh — ZenBook 14, Duo return with new AMD, Intel, and Snapdragon chips

By Sayem Ahmed published 6 January 26

A pretty platter of portable PC's pepper CES 2026

Asus puts Strix Halo in the TUF Gaming A14 — strong integrated graphics in a very thin chassis

By Andrew E. Freedman published 6 January 26

Asus is packing AMD's latest Strix Halo processor into its thin and light TUF Gaming A14 laptops.

Asus teams up with HiFiMan for planar magnetic ROG Kithara gaming headset — extremely comfortable and excellent audio, for a price

By Matt Safford published 6 January 26

Asus’ latest ROG Kithara wired headset sports customized, open-back HiFiMan planar magnetic drivers, a removable MEMS boom mic, and a balanced cable with swappable plugs.

Hands-on with Asus’s ROG Falchion Ace 75 HE: Premium gaming, with an emphasis on physical adjustments and web-based configuration

By Matt Safford published 6 January 26

Magnetic switches, 8K polling, and a tactile wheel for fine-tuning switch sensitivity – but I’d like to see a wireless model.

Alienware brings OLED to its gaming laptops for the first time in years — anti-glare OLED display boasts 240Hz refresh rate and 0.2ms response time

By Jake Roach published 6 January 26

Alienware is bringing its 16-inch laptops up to speed with other high-end offerings, introducing a 240Hz OLED panel for the first time ever across its Area-51 and Aurora designs.

Keychron launches wireless Q Ultra keyboard series with up to 660 hours of battery life with 8K polling — plus a keyboard made of marble

By Sarah Jacobsson Purewal published 6 January 26

Keychron's new special edition keyboards are made of (literal) stone.

Acer updates Predator, Nitro gaming laptops at CES 2026 – Panther Lake finds its way across the lineup

By Andrew E. Freedman published 5 January 26

Acer's new Predator and Nitro gaming laptops are getting bumps up to Intel's 3rd Gen Core Ultra Series processors, but we don't know how much they'll cost.

Acer refreshes Swift laptops with Panther Lake — claims 'world's largest haptic touchpad' on Swift 16 AI

By Andrew E. Freedman published 5 January 26

Acer is refreshing its Swift, Swift Edge, and Swift Go laptops at CES 2026 with the latest Intel processors, but we still don't know how much they'll cost.

HP puts HyperX name on Omen gaming laptops — new systems get Intel and AMD's latest processors

By Andrew E. Freedman published 5 January 26

HP has put HyperX front and center as its gaming system brand, combining it with Omen as it updates systems to Panther Lake and Gorgon Point.

Dell brings back XPS laptops — ditches the capacitive touch bar, adds 1Hz display option, and upgrades 14 and 16-inch models

By Andrew E. Freedman published 5 January 26

A new, thinner XPS 13 is also coming later this year.

HP's new OmniBook Ultra 14 gets Panther Lake and Snapdragon X2 options inside — exclusive variant of Qualcomm chip has 85 TOPS

By Andrew E. Freedman published 5 January 26

HP's new top-of-the-line consumer laptop is focused on slim AI performance with Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X2 chips and Intel's Panther Lake processors inside.

Qualcomm expands Snapdragon on Windows with X2 Plus – 10-core ARM CPU boasts 35% single-core jump

By Jake Roach published 5 January 26

Qualcomm is expanding its second generation of Windows chips with the X2 Plus lineup, which claims a 35% jump in single-core and a 17% increase in multi-threaded performance.

CyberPowerPC's MA-01 comes with analog color control knobs, woven steel mesh, and slanted airflow – modern trimmings meet retro design in new curved-glass PC case

By Matt Safford published 5 January 26

Cyberpower is coming to CES 2026 with the stunning MA-01 case with analog RGB knobs, resonance-killing steel mesh exhaust, and component and cable-hiding angled vents that also direct airflow.