The chips are down

A lot of the talk at Computex is going to be focused around AI computing. The question of what’s powering the new slate of Copilot+ PCs is a a big one for anyone thinking of making a purchase. 

We’ve already seen Qualcomm take the wraps off the Snapdragon X Elite and now AMD has stepped up on the eve of Computex to announce its new laptop-focused Ryzen AI 300 Series chip. The company claims it’s the “world’s best processor for Copilot+ PCs,” and it will sit alongside the Ryzen 9000 series of desktop CPUs offering, you guessed it, a focus on executing AI workloads.

You can read the full story on the Ryzen AI 300 Series right here but rest assured we’ll be doing our best to get hands on with anything AMD can offer us at this year’s show. 

It’s all coming together

The show floor at Computex won’t officially open until tomorrow in Taipei but we got to take an early look at some of the booths. Asus, MSI, Intel and all of the other big players were out in full force but we also got a chance to see the booths of some of our favorite accessory makers like UGREEN and NuPhy.

As we were walking around the show floor at Computex, many of the displays were still being built. There were even trucks, cranes and a few bicycles whizzing past us as we got the lay of the land. Besides new PCs and laptops, we also saw quite a few SIM racing rigs as well as some impressive multi monitor setups. We’ll be back on the show floor first thing tomorrow, so stay tuned for our latest on the ground coverage from Computex 2024.

Not your typical laptop

Before we even had a chance to go check out the show floor at Computex, we came across a unique laptop with a very interesting design. While other laptops use some recycled components, this one at the registration desk has a chassis made entirely from post consumer recycled plastic. Apparently it’s an Acer Aspire Vero with an Intel Evo chip under the hood.

I had a chance to test it out while we were waiting for our press badges and unlike the aluminum frames you find on other laptops, the recycled plastic felt really soft on the palms of my hands. However, the laptop’s bezels were quite large and the E and R keys were reversed. It turns out these eco-themed R and E keys on the 50% post consumer recycled plastic keycaps reinforce the call to Reduce, Reuse & Recycle according to Acer. What I liked most about this Acer Aspire Vevo laptop is how the bits of white really stand out on its recycled blue chassis.

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We’ve made it to Taipei

Tom’s Guide is on the ground in Taipei and ready to check out all of the latest tech at Computex this year. Even though things don’t actually kick off until tomorrow, it’s clear that AI and specifically AI laptops will be a big focus of this year’s show. We’re heading inside now to get our press badges and to see what’s been set up so far.