Technologies

Asus Gaming Laptops Overwhelm with 2023 Updates

Even the most basic refreshes announced at CES have some useful enhancements.

Asus’ CES gaming laptop announcements seem to touch every single model in its portfolio, and include 2023’s biggest gaming hardware trend (so far), an 18-inch gaming laptop.

Yes, there are also the usual everything-is-updated-to-2023-generation components, like Intel 13th-gen H and HX-series processors and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 40-series GPUs (as well as «next-gen» AMD CPUs and GPUs, which we’re expecting to hear about during the keynote on Wednesday night, Jan. 4). The company has announced a couple of interesting gaming monitors as well.

Screen updates abound — there are lots of 240Hz 1440p displays with smaller bezels and 16:10 aspect ratios, which you’ll see everywhere in gaming laptops — and you’ll see 15- and 17-inch models swapped out for 16- and 18-inch ones, which is another big trend at the show.

The actual physical redesigns are modest, so don’t look for an all-ver new look, just new components and features.

Optimized for Optimus

My fave new feature is the rollout of Nvidia Advanced Optimus support across all Asus’ gaming laptops with Nvidia GPUs (or at least most of them). That’s the technology that enables the laptop screen to switch between operating on the discrete GPU or the integrated GPU without forcing you to reboot, and which finally lets the laptop display use G-Sync. It’s potentially a big energy efficiency and battery life saver.

Asus’ ROG Nebula HDR displays, available on the Zephyrus M16, Zephyrus G14, Strix Scar 16 and Flow X16, have double the mini LED backlight zones: 1,024. They’re DisplayHDR 1000-compliant screens with a peak brightness of 1,100 nits. They have larger heatsinks, too, because that level of brightness can get hot. As mentioned above they’re 1440p 240Hz, plus 100% P3 gamut coverage. One exception is the Nebula HDR screen in the Zephyrus G14, which is a dimmer DisplayHDR 600. The 3ms pixel refresh isn’t stellar, though.

Asus also has an external GPU box called the XG Mobile. It works with systems like the 13-inch Flow X13 and Flow Z13 laptops and the 16-inch Flow X16, adding extra graphics power. That XG Mobile previously contained an Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU, and this year it’ll get bumped up to a newer 40-series RTX GPU. That’ll help this expensive add-on feel like a better long-term investment.

AMD isn’t getting left out. there’s a new model that highlights all the latest and greatest technology on offer from that company, called the TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition. It’s one of the few laptops incorporating an AMD GPU, which is up to generation RDNA 3 this year. Sadly, the MUX switch — a clunky way to toggle between the discrete and integrated GPU — lives on here. It’s not as elegant a solution as Optimus, nor does it have Thunderbolt 4 support (it does have USB 4), because that’s still an Intel thing.

There are a few other AMD CPU-based models as well and several of the new gaming laptops, including the 16-inch Zephyrus models, have newer six-speaker arrays. Perhaps more importantly, many of the ROG offerings have been (finally) upgraded to 1080p webcams, which is something we should expect from every laptop now.

We don’t have any pricing yet, but they all seem to be slated for Q2 shipping.

Technologies

Here’s the Best Time to Spot November’s Supermoon, the Brightest Moon of 2025

Does the moon look brighter and bigger? It’s not just you — here’s why this month’s supermoon is even more super.

November is a great month for skygazers, featuring a trio of meteor showers and the return of the northern hemisphere winter constellations. This week, it also features the second of four consecutive supermoons. This month’s supermoon will happen on Nov. 4-5, and November’s beaver moon is special because it’ll be the brightest full moon of 2025.

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In addition to being a supermoon, November’s full moon is known as the beaver moon. There is some debate as to why it was named this way. Some believe that this was the best time of year in the old days to set beaver traps to get pelts for winter clothing. Others believe that it coincides with the busiest part of the year for beavers, who are now stocking their lodges with supplies for the upcoming winter.

The brightest supermoon: When’s the best time to see it?

The moon will reach peak illumination at 8:19 a.m. ET on Nov. 5, making the evening of Nov. 4 and the morning of Nov. 5 the best times to view the moon.

Since moon phases shift slowly, the moon will appear almost full for nearly a week. If you are unable to view the full moon on its best night due to weather or other reasons, you can still see a mostly full moon at any point from Nov. 3 to Nov. 8.

For all of those days, the moon will be measurably brighter in the night sky compared to any other full moon in 2025. The reason for this is because of the moon’s elliptical orbit. Since it’s not a perfect circle, the moon’s 27.3-day journey around the Earth brings it closer to us on some days, a phenomenon known as perigee. If there is a full moon during this time, it’s branded as a «perigean full moon,» which you may know better as a supermoon.

Not all supermoons are equal, and November’s will be a little more special than others. According to The Farmer’s Almanac, the beaver moon will be a scant 221,817 miles away from Earth, making it the closest full moon of the year. That means it’ll be the biggest and brightest of the year.

In practice, the differences are fairly minor and likely won’t be visible to the naked eye when compared side by side to other supermoons. A supermoon is only about 7% larger than a regular full moon. According to NASA, the biggest difference is when comparing a supermoon to a micromoon, where a supermoon will be about 14% larger and 30% brighter. So, if you notice that your backyard patio is lit up more than usual, it’s because of the supermoon.

Also due to the moon’s orbit, November will also bring a micro new moon, which means the moon will be as far away from the Earth as it can get — a phenomenon known as apogee. November’s new moon occurs on Nov. 20, but you won’t be able to see it.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Monday, Nov. 3

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Nov. 3.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s fairly straightforward, but if you need help, read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: On the ___ (using Tinder or Bumble)
Answer: APPS

5A clue: Color of the second-hardest Connections category
Answer: BLUE

6A clue: Prepare, as a Thanksgiving turkey
Answer: CARVE

8A clue: Have to have
Answer: NEED

9A clue: Camper’s construction
Answer: TENT

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Kimmel’s channel
Answer: ABC

2D clue: Audience member who’s in on the magic trick
Answer: PLANT

3D clue: Many a baby food
Answer: PUREE

4D clue: Typical number of objects that humans can hold in working memory, hence phone numbers
Answer: SEVEN

7D clue: Summer hrs. in N.Y.C.
Answer: EDT

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Nov. 3, #406

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Nov. 3, No. 406.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a fun one. The purple category, as always, is a real brain-bender. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Catch up!

Green group hint: Beehive State.

Blue group hint: Hoops statistics.

Purple group hint: Signal-callers, but tweak their last name.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Fall behind.

Green group: Utah teams.

Blue group: Categories of points in a basketball box score.

Purple group: NFL QBs, with the first letter changed.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is fall behind. The four answers are drop back, falter, lag and trail.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is Utah teams. The four answers are Cougars, Jazz, Mammoth and Utes.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is categories of points in a basketball box score. The four answers are bench, fast-break, paint and second-chance.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is NFL QBs, with the first letter changed. The four answers are cove (Jordan Love), Ellen (Josh Allen), mix (Bo Nix) and wields (Justin Fields).