If you’re looking for the latest in a gaming notebook at this weekend’s PC Show in Singapore, then Aftershock PC’s newest models sporting Intel’s new CPUs are surely worth checking out.

The homegrown company is showing off its X17S and X15S machines, which it says are the first in Singapore to have the faster, yet cooler-running processors. And they look slim and sleek – unlike most gaming notebooks. …

Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai (left) at Intel executive vice-president Tom Kilroy’s Computex keynote.

As if you did not get the message last year, PC makers are coming up with even more hybrid designs this year that promise to deliver the best from both a tablet and laptop.

Expect more of the detachable, convertible, flip, slider, rotatable designs that have characterised the most dramatic rethink in PCs in years, going by the new devices unveiled at this year’s Computex show in Taipei this week.

This year, though, these “two-in-one” gadgets can run even faster and longer while being thinner and lighter, thanks to Intel’s new “Haswell” or fourth-gen Core processors made specially for users on the move. …

Packing my bags last night for the this year’s Computex show in Taipei, I was ready to bring a Microsoft Surface Pro on my trip to report on the yearly computer expo. In the end, I left the gadget behind, and lugged my old 14-inch HP laptop along, despite a backache.

The Surface Pro, brilliant as it is, just did not tick all the boxes for me.
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One of Lenovo’s most hotly-anticipated ThinkPads ever announced will finally make its first retail appearance in Singapore at the PC show this Thursday.

First announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year, the ThinkPad Helix is the first ever ThinkPad to come in the tablet plus keyboard dock form factor. And with a starting price of S$2,199, it’s probably the most expensive convertible we’ve seen so far.

So what does the Helix offer with that high sticker price? …

The Surface Pro tablet cum PC from Microsoft will cost S$1,198 for a basic 64GB model when it ships in Singapore from June 3, weeks ahead of the original end-June date. A 128GB model will go for S$1,328.

The full-fledged machine featuring an Intel Core i5 chip and running Windows 8 Pro will attract users who have been holding out for a tablet that can double up as a laptop on the go. …

To be honest, I wasn’t quite sure about the MSI S20 Slidebook when I first saw it. Slide-out Windows 8 machines, like those from Sony and Toshiba before it, haven’t done really well, mainly because of the limitations that often come with such a design.

Can MSI make a difference with this portable tablet cum laptop?

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If money is no issue, then Lenovo’s X1 Carbon Touch (above) is an ideal slim and light companion for all your work trips. But if you can’t bear to part with S$2,999 for the expensive laptop, there are affordable – yet fast – ultrabooks that make for great machines on the go.

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Dell Vostro 5460

Road warriors and professionals now have another option to choose from when shopping for a business laptop – the Dell Vostro 5460.

An ultra-portable machine, the Vostro 5460 is encased in an aluminium chassis that measures in at 18.3mm in thickness and weighs a mere 1.54kg. …

The arrival of touch-screen tablets and other designs with screens that flip, turn or rotate has not revived the fortunes of the ailing PC market.

Instead of providing a much-needed reboot, these Windows 8 machines may actually have made things worse by plunging the market into its steepest ever decline, according to research firm IDC. …

Samsung Series 7 Chronos

Folks who like Samsung’s slim laptops can look to more from the Korean electronics firm, after it introduced two new additions to its Series 7 lineup and upgraded its Series 9 notebooks with a full HD screen. All new models are in the shops in Singapore this week. …