Internet Protocol version 6, also known as IPv6 is the successor to the current Internet Protocol, IPv4. It’s all set to eventually replace IPv4 as the standard protocol, as it increases the number of available IP addresses and even improves IPv4’s routing capabilities. IPv6 utilizes 128-bit internet addresses, unlike 32-bit addresses used by IPv4, which […]
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Microsoft’s latest Windows 10 Creators Update was made available earlier this month, but we’re starting to see problems already. It has reached the point where Microsoft themselves have issued a warning against updating your operating system. What’s the fuss, you may ask? Well, older systems might not be able to handle the new Creators Update […]
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A dedicated Game Mode was one of the most talked about features in the Windows 10 Creators Update, which was released in April 2017. Microsoft claimed that enabling Game Mode will bring a noticeable difference while playing games, but you might be thinking how exactly does this process work, so let me explain this to you. Game […]
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A few months back, Microsoft had announced that it was going to compete with Google’s Chrome OS with Windows 10 S. The streamlined version of Windows, was launched alongside the Surface Laptop and is developed for primary use in educational institutions. Built from the core of Windows 10 Pro, the Windows 10 S is meant to […]
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Internet Protocol version 6, also known as IPv6 is the successor to the current Internet Protocol, IPv4. It’s all set to eventually replace IPv4 as the standard protocol, as it increases the number of available IP addresses and even improves IPv4’s routing capabilities. IPv6 utilizes 128-bit internet addresses, unlike 32-bit addresses used by IPv4, which […]
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Fingerprint sensors have now become a common norm amongst smartphone devices. However, the actual use of technology on consumer devices dates back to the time when OEMs such as HP and Lenovo started using fingerprint sensors on their devices. While Microsoft has made things easier for manufacturers with the launch of Windows Hello on Windows […]
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When it comes to gaming laptops, there are a ton of options to choose from. There are brands, including Razer, MSI, Asus, Acer, and more. Then there’s the sheer variety of laptops that count themselves as gaming laptops; laptops with an MX150 sometimes count themselves as gaming laptops in a budget. The pricing is a vast are itself, and while a lot of companies offer gaming laptops in the budget to mid-range prices, the choices become lesser and lesser as you approach the higher-end of the spectrum.
The Acer Predator Trition 700 is in that higher-end of the spectrum. At Rs. 2,99,999, this laptop is by no means a mid-ranger. It’s clearly, unarguably, in the premium segment of gaming laptops, and if you’re wondering how it performs, well this is our review of the Acer Predator Triton 700.
The Triton 700 comes in a number of different models, each with its own set of specifications. The one we have here is the Predator Triton 700 PT715-51 783D (talk about long names), and comes with the following specs:
| Dimensions | 39.3 x 26.6 x 1.8 cm |
| Processor | 7th-gen Core i7-7700HQ @2.8GHz |
| Memory | 16GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 1TB SSD |
| Display | 15.6-inch FullHD, 120Hz |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 with 8GB GDDR5X |
| I/O | 1x USB 2.0, 3x USB3.0, 1x USB 3.1 Type-C Port (Gen 2), HDMI, RJ-45 Ethernet, DisplayPort, Headphone and Mic Ports |
| Networking | Killer Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2 |
| Battery | 3 cell, 4,670mAh |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home 64-bit |
| Price | Rs. 2,99,999 |
In terms of design, the Acer Predator Triton 700 is one classy-looking laptop — something I can’t say about a lot of gaming laptops because they’re usually built to look menacing and beastly. The Triton 700 takes a different tack in this regard, with it’s sleek, stealthy black body without any accents. The laptop gives off a very minimal vibe, except for the obvious “Predator” logo on the lid with a blue outer-glow (which I’m not a fan of), and as thin as this is, it could be a laptop for regular use as well, but it’s not (more on that later).
Once I opened the lid, however, Acer makes it pretty clear that this here is a gaming laptop and it’s outer looks are just for that… “looks.” From the inside, the Triton 700 looks, for the lack of a better word, sexy. There’s still that matte-black finish all over the chassis, and there’s a glass pane above the keyboard that gives a sneak peak into one of the Triton 700’s two cooling fans (which has RGB lighting, by the way), some heatpipes and a little bit of the physical board underneath. The glass itself has a black tint to it making the underlying circuitry look that much cooler. However, the glass pane isn’t there just for the looks, it serves a purpose. A weird, ‘this-is-simply-difficult-to-use’ purpose, but a purpose nonetheless — it houses the trackpad. Yeah, the Triton 700 features a trackpad that’s positioned above the keyboard.
A weird, ‘this-is-simply-difficult-to-use’ purpose, but a purpose nonetheless
For all it’s sleek looks, the Triton is a very well built laptop, and one that doesn’t feel like it’ll break if you slam the lid shut (believe me, there are laptops that feel flimsy as all hell), but that’s something you’d expect from a laptop that’s priced as much as the Triton 700. The laptop features its power button on the right side, which is actually pretty intuitive if you think about it, but a lifetime of using laptops with power-buttons somewhere in (or around) the keyboard meant that I had to get used to this particular placement.
One thing I personally liked was that I could open the lid with a single hand, instead of having to hold the base of the laptop with one hand and opening it with another. This is something I’ve gotten used to over my years of using a Mac, and something that most Windows laptops, for some strange reason, can’t be counted on for. I’ve only ever seen the Dell 7000-series gaming laptop that my colleague Pranob uses as his daily, and this Triton 700 do that.
For some reason, Acer decided against implementing Windows Hello hardware in the laptop, which means you can’t log in with your fingerprint or facial recognition. That may not be a big deal to a lot of people, but again, for Rs. 2,99,999, you kind of expect the best of everything.
Overall, the design and build quality of the Triton 700 is excellent all around, and gives off a very stealthy, yet beastly feel to the laptop. I love it.
As far as I/O and connectivity goes, the Predator Triton 700 has an abundance of ports for whatever you may need to do. The laptop includes three full size USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0 port, a thunderbolt 3/USB 3.1 Type-C port, an HDMI out, and a DisplayPort as well. Coming from a 2017 MacBook Pro, these many ports were something of a shocker to me, but they’re not too many, to be completely objective about it.
Coming from a 2017 MacBook Pro, these many ports were something of a shocker to me
For internet connectivity, the Triton 700 features a standard RJ-45 port that supports Gigabit networking thanks to the Killer Wireless AC 1535 network-card, along with support for Wi-Fi ac standard and Bluetooth 4.2. Also, since this is a gaming laptop, it not only features a headphone jack, but also a dedicated microphone-in port.
The Acer Predator Triton 700 comes with a 15.6-inch FullHD IPS LCD display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Obviously, at this price one might expect either a higher quality display, or a refresh rate of 144Hz maybe. While I can’t speak to Acer’s decision to go with a 120Hz panel, the 1080p display is obvious because higher refresh rates aren’t possible with something like a 4K display, so that’s out of the question. A lot of gaming laptops these days are opting to go with higher refresh rates instead of higher resolutions, including the MSI GE73 Raider that we recently reviewed.
Quality-wise, the display on this Triton 700 laptop is stunning. It can get pretty bright, it’s definitely sharp, and colors on the display look really good. Plus, the viewing angles on this display are pretty nice too. Oh, and the display has support for Nvidia G-Sync, which means less tearing, reduced input lag and display stutter.
The speakers on the Triton 700 are amazing. The laptop has speaker grilles on both sides of the keyboard which amounts to a set up that can get quite loud if you need it to be. The grilles are covered with cloth, which is fine, except in a country like India, you’ll not be able to clean the dirt that accumulates inside the grille for fear of tearing out the cloth. Anyway, I didn’t notice any issues with the sound even on max volume, and the outputs are great all around. The bass is good, and all around levels that the speakers produce are pretty great.
That said, you’ll not be able to use the speakers while gaming for sure. The fans on the Triton 700 can get really really loud. So loud, in fact, that sounds from games like CS: GO, and PUBG are all but inaudible over the din of the fans. For all other purposes of media consumption, including watching movies and YouTube videos, the Triton 700’s speakers are loud enough and then some.
The Predator Triton 700 comes with a full-sized RGB mechanical keyboard — something that was expected considering the price of the laptop. The keyboard comes with a ton of lighting effects that can be customized using the bundled Predator Sense software, and you can even change the backlight color for each individual key if you want. There are some presets including highlighted WASD keys that will be popular among gamers, and you can obviously create your own.
One thing that I would’ve liked to see is the ability to adjust the keyboard back-light brightness, but sadly, the Triton 700 doesn’t let you do that. You can only turn the back-lighting on/off.
The keyboard itself, though, is pretty damn good. I mean, it’s a mechanical keyboard, so it’s tactile and has a decent travel which makes it great for long sessions of using the laptop.Plus it has full-sized arrow keys which is definitely a plus.
Typing with this keyboard is fun, but it did take me some time to get used to the travel since I’m accustomed to the butterfly switches on the MacBook Pro. I would’ve loved the keyboard even more if there was a palm-rest on the laptop, but the design of the keyboard, and the placement of the trackpad makes it impossible to include a palm rest without making the laptop impossibly huge. That said, the laptop is quite sleek, and after a while I found that I was used to typing on it without a palm rest as well, so it’s mostly a matter of time.
In my usage of the laptop as my daily driver for over a week now, I noticed one minor annoyance with the keyboard. If the laptop lid is kept closed for a long time, the keyboard backlight sometimes fails to come back on once the laptop is unlocked and being used. It takes an additional minute or so to enable the backlight on the keyboard. This only happens rarely, and it could just be an issue with the unit we received. It’s not a big deal, but for a laptop of this price and caliber, I expect everything to be perfect.
The trackpad on the Acer Predator Triton 700 is probably the only thing in the entire laptop that I’m not a fan of. I mean, sure, it looks uber-awesome in the way it’s a see through pane of glass and shows off the cooling fan underneath it along with some heat pipes. It’s almost an incredibly well designed trackpad, except when you consider usability.
It’s almost an incredibly well designed trackpad, except when you consider usability.
From the perspective of actually using the trackpad, the one on the Triton is absolutely unusable. I mean, just imagine using a trackpad that’s above your keyboard. Not just that, the heat pipes passing underneath the trackpad make it incredibly hot to touch when doing anything other than casual browsing or word-processing.
However, I do get why Acer decided that it wouldn’t be a big deal. The company used the trackpad to highlight the internals of the laptop, and show off the cooling fan with RGB lighting, all because they know gamers won’t be using the trackpad anyway. Most serious gamers (and that’s who this laptop is aimed at) will always use a dedicated gaming mouse instead of relying on the trackpad.
Also, the entire glass pane on the top isn’t a trackpad. There’s a decent sized chunk of the pane that’s the trackpad, and it’s demarcated in very slightly visible angular lines on the corners.
Other than the fact that it’s completely unusable, the trackpad on the Triton 700 is pretty nice.
Talking about the performance of the Triton 700, let me put it this way — the laptop features a 7th-gen Core i7 clocked at 2.8GHz, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, a 1 TB SSD, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 with the Max-Q design all stuffed in that chassis. Obviously, the performance on this thing is mind blowing.
I tested out the performance with a few games that I personally like to play, and the Triton 700 handled them like a boss (I mean, duh).
I started out with a game that’s decidedly a cake-walk for this laptop — CS:GO. I know this is well below what you’d play on a laptop like this, but I just tested out every game I play. With CS: GO, the Triton 700 got an average frame-rate of 169 FPS reaching as high as 209 FPS with all the settings turned to max. That was very much expected.
I loaded up Rocket League next, and the laptop handled it like a champ too. With all settings turned up to max, and resolution set to Full HD, Rocket League ran at an average of 228 FPS, going up to 250 FPS (at which point I assume it got limited due to the in-game FPS limit).
I also tried out PUBG on the Triton 700, and that infamously unoptimized game, on max settings churned out an average of around 60 FPS, going as high as 120 FPS. I’m gonna call that an awesome performance, especially considering that this laptop has a GTX 1080 built on the Max-Q design.
Lastly, I played Far Cry 5 on the laptop (and almost got carried away with it, by the way) and on Ultra settings with Full HD resolution, the game got an average frame rate of 55 FPs and a max frame rate of 59 FPS. However, when tested with the in-game benchmarking tool, it showed up an average frame rate of around 60 FPS, and a max rate of 80+ FPS.
In synthetic benchmarks as well, the Triton 700 is like hot knife through butter. The laptop scores a whopping 14061 in Fire Strike on 3DMark, 3891 in PCMark 10, and gets upwards of 94 FPS on Cinebench OpenGL test. For a laptop this sleek, with a Max-Q design, these numbers are really great, and the laptop doesn’t leave a lot to be desired in terms of raw power.
The Predator Triton 700 features a dual fan system and uses two Aeroblade 3D fans designed especially to maximize air flow inside the thin chassis of the laptop. One of these two fans is visible through the glass trackpad area above the keyboard, and features RGB lighting as well.
The laptop comes with 5 heat pipes to ensure a cool running performance and since the heat pipes fall directly under the trackpad, it becomes quite hot. I checked the temperatures with an IR thermometer, and the trackpad gets over 50 degrees Celsius within 30 minutes of playing a game like PUBG. However, this is a tradeoff that allows for the keyboard to remain extremely cool during gaming, and since you’ll be using a mouse anyway, this is actually a tradeoff worth making.
Other than that, I didn’t notice any thermal throttling on the laptop even with intensive gaming sessions. While the CPU temperatures, according to the Predator Sense software, went as high as 89 degrees, and the GPU temperatures went up to 83 degrees, the laptop kept performing perfectly well.
I was also really impressed by the cooling. Within a few minutes of shutting down a game, the laptop drops back to normal temperature. I must say, the Aeroblade 3D fans that Acer has used in the Triton 700 are definitely amazing.
The only one place where I felt the Triton 700 let me down is the battery life. Since this is a sleek laptop, especially by gaming laptop standards, I expected a smaller-than-usual battery on this. However, the 3-cell 4,670 mAh battery that powers the Triton 700 is exceedingly tiny for the amount of power this laptop needs.
In its default settings, with ‘best battery life’ selected in the battery settings, the Triton 700 barely lasted around 1.5 hours doing nothing but browsing on Firefox with around 5-6 tabs open on average. None of the tabs were even playing audio or video, they were mostly text/image content. That shocked me because 1.5 hours of battery life on web-browsing with ‘best battery life’ selected is a terrible performance.
I also gathered up a lot of courage and tested out the laptop’s battery performance in ‘best performance’ mode and it lasted around an hour with the same workload of browsing on Firefox with 5-6 tabs open on average.
The battery life shouldn’t be a problem for gamers, because they’ll most probably keep the laptop connected to an outlet while gaming for better performance. However, the sleek form-factor of the Triton 700 made me think that maybe this could be a daily driver for me. Needless to say, the battery life makes it very clear that this laptop (regardless of its form factor) is not meant for every day use, and is specifically aimed at gamers.
The battery life makes it very clear that this laptop (regardless of its form factor) is not meant for every day use
Pros:
Cons:
SEE ALSO: MSI GE73 Raider 8RF Review: Gaming Without Compromises!
All things considered, the Acer Predator Triton 700 is an absolute beast when it comes to gaming performance, speaker quality, design, and build. The laptop screams ‘gaming’ from the inside, and yet from the outside, it’s a very discreet, minimal, and stealthy looking thing that most people won’t, at first sight, recognize as a gaming machine.
With the 7th-gen Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and the Nvidia GTX 1080 GPU (Max-Q design), the Predator Triton 700 offers top-tier performance inside a sleek design. In my opinion, I’m glad Acer went with the GTX 1080 based on the Max-Q design since it trades off very little in terms of performance for a huge gain in terms of design and over-all portability.
So yes, if you’re looking for a top-tier gaming laptop, the Predator Triton 700 is something you should definitely check out. It doesn’t bring the flashy lights all over the place look that most gaming laptops do, but it brings a lot to the table in terms of performance.
Buy the Acer Predator Triton 700 from Amazon (Rs. 2,99,999)
Gaming laptops can be a complicated sort of beast to opine upon considering the immensely huge variations in configurations at different price ranges. So when we first got the HP Omen 15 at our office, and I got the chance to use it, I was expecting a similarly difficult task ahead. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the HP Omen in almost every single way possible. At Rs. 1,54,490 the HP Omen 15 is somewhere between the mid-range and premium segment of gaming laptops, so if you’re confused about the HP Omen as a gaming laptop worth its price, here is my review of the HP Omen 15.
Before we get into the nitty-gritty details about this laptop, let’s get the on-paper specifications out of the way. Here’s what the HP Omen 15 comes packing:
| Dimensions | 36 x 26.3 x 2.6 cm |
| Processor | 8th-gen Core i7-8750H @2.2GHz |
| Memory | 16GB DDR4 RAM @2666MHz |
| Storage | 128GB NVMe M.2 SSD + 1TB SATA HDD 7200RPM |
| Display | 15.6-inch FullHD 144Hz |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5 |
| I/O | 1 HDMI 2.0; 1 headphone/microphone combo; 1 microphone-in; 1 Mini DisplayPort ; 1 RJ-45; 1 Thunderbolt 3 (Data Transfer up to 40 Gb/s, DP1.2, HP Sleep and Charge); 3 USB 3.1 Gen 1 (1 HP Sleep and Charge), SD Card reader |
| Networking | Intel Wireless-AC 9560 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Battery | 4-cell, 70Wh |
| Weight | 2.25 kg |
| Price | Rs. 1,54,490 |
Okay, now that we have the specifications all out of the way, let’s see what this laptop is like in real life.
The first thing I noticed with the HP Omen 15 is that it looks exceedingly beautiful. There’s no other way to put it. It’s sleek (as far as gaming laptops go), it has those sharp edges and low-poly cuts so often found in gaming laptops along with vents that (as is usual with most gaming laptops) look like they belong on the exhaust of a sports car.
Add to that the black and red aesthetic that HP has chosen to go with here, and this laptop is definitely one of my favorite gaming laptops as far as looks go. The body is built out of high quality, strong feeling plastic and I don’t mind it at all. The back of the lid has a dual carbon-fiber and brushed metal patterning on it with the Omen logo inlaid in red. Everything here looks really cool, making the HP Omen 15 one of the few laptops that scream gaming without having the bulk of other gaming rigs.
Once the lid is open, the laptop looks, if possible, even better. It’s all black with a brushed metal finish on the base, and the display is recessed into the lid to make sure there are no issues with the keys getting imprinted on the screen (it happens with a lot of laptops). There are tiny bezels wrapping the display, which I like, except the bottom bezel which is ginormous and holds the Omen logo along with the 144Hz sticker. One problem I do have with the display here is that there’s a lot of flex in the screen. A LOT. It bends so much it’s kind of scary and I fail to understand how laptops at this pricing fail to get this right so often.
The power button is placed on the top left corner of the laptop and looks amazing, it lights up with a sleek red light when powered on, and looks really awesome. I don’t even mind the Omen branding above the keyboard even though it’s quite unnecessary (and so is the Bang & Olufsen branding on the top right). The laptop doesn’t have biometric authentication, not that I blame it, not a lot of gaming laptops do, however, I would’ve liked to see a fingerprint scanner on the laptop, and considering how much space is available on this thing, I think HP could’ve fit one in it.
As far as I/O and connectivity is concerned, the Omen 15 will not leave you wanting. It has a lot of ports, and boasts of top of the line connectivity. On the sides you’ll find 2x USB 3 ports along with an SD Card reader. Plus, there’s a headphone+mic combined port along with a dedicated mic port as well. There are even more ports on the back – there’s a USB-C port, an ethernet port, a mini display port, an HDMI out, and a USB 3 port as well.
For wireless connectivity, the laptop comes with Intel Wireless-AC 9560 and supports WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, so it’s ready for the future for sure. Along with that it features Bluetooth 5, which is something not even some very expensive gaming laptops come with. Kudos to HP for not taking connectivity lightly and going with something like Bluetooth 4.1.
The display here is a 15.6-inch FullHD panel that boasts a refresh rate of 144Hz – that’s pretty impressive I must say and definitely makes the experience of using the laptop a lot better. With 144Hz, not only will your gaming experience be better, but even while simply using the laptop day-to-day, you’ll notice a massive difference in the smoothness of animations, scrolling… everything. Basically, a 144Hz display will spoil you, in a good way.
Other than that, the display has a really impressive color reproduction and manages to render colors very accurately. In our test I was able to differentiate between a background at RGB values 255,255,255 with a rectangular portion of the display set to color 253,253,253 – that’s seriously impressive. The viewing angles here are great too, especially from top to bottom, moving side to side does slightly affect the colors, but that change is so minimal it’s barely even noticeable in normal usage. I only noticed it while running the test for viewing angles.
The display is remarkably sharp and can also get quite bright, and on top of that it’s a matte display which makes it even better if you’re trying to use it outdoors in sunlight, or indoors with lights behind you (as I am right now). Reflections are a non-issue with this display and I love it.
HP’s laptops have long had speakers from Bang & Olufsen, and that holds true with the Omen 15 as well (that branding isn’t just a placeholder, after all), and the B&O legacy really shows with this laptop.
Even with speakers placed on the bottom of the laptop underneath the palm rest, the speakers are incredibly loud and clear. I tried listening to a lot of songs on the Omen 15, and not once did the speakers let me down. There’s excellent sound representation, the bass is decent, the highs and mids are remarkable, and the loudness of the speakers is enough to fill a medium sized room full of talking people. I love it, and it’s the first laptop I’ve used other than the MacBook Pro that has made me appreciate the depth of the sound from its speakers.
There’s also a headphone jack just in case you need to plugin external speakers, or a headphone, but for stuff other than gaming, I don’t think you’ll need a headphone with this laptop. It’s pretty loud and clear on its own.
The Omen 15 also packs in a standard membrane keyboard, complete with a numpad. Obviously, I would’ve loved a mechanical keyboard here, but the keyboard HP has gone with is pretty damn good on its own, and I don’t think there’s any cause to complain here. Since this is a gaming laptop, RGB lighting is present on the keyboard. However, unlike some MSI gaming laptops, the HP Omen doesn’t have individual RGB lighting on each key, opting instead for a more traditional 4-zone RGB backlit keyboard which can be configured from the Omen Command Center.
The WASD keys are outlined in white, because most gaming laptops tend to make them as easily differentiable from the rest of the keys as possible, however, HP went one step ahead and added one of those bumps you find on the ‘F’ and ‘J’ keys on a keyboard to the ‘W’ key as well, making it easier to find the key by simply feeling around without looking at the keyboard.
There are no customisable macro keys here, as you might find on some other gaming laptops, but HP does include a dedicated key to launch the Omen Command Center. There’s also a full sized arrow-key layout here that I’m especially fond of.
Basically, the keyboard here is a pretty great choice from HP. Without going with a mechanical keyboard that would’ve raised the price by a bit, HP has put in a keyboard that offers ample travel, is comfortable to type on, and doesn’t make a lot of noise — all of which are great things.
The trackpad on the HP Omen is, dare I say smaller than I was expecting, and not made out of glass (something I’ve come to expect from more expensive laptops these days). Maybe I’m used to laptops with larger trackpads thanks to my years of using a Mac, or maybe gaming laptops like the Mi Gaming Laptop have spoiled me when it comes to trackpad sizes, but the trackpad on the HP Omen feels rather small to comfortably make use of Windows’ gestures.
It’s not a tiny trackpad like the one you’d find on the HP Envy, but it’s not big either. Some people might find it to be the perfect size, and I was, at one point thinking that it might just be. However, while using gestures to swipe between desktops, or for multitasking, I quickly realised that the trackpad didn’t offer enough real-estate to comfortably and naturally perform the gestures. Add to that the fact that it has dedicated left-click and right-click buttons on the bottom and I feel like HP could’ve made a much bigger trackpad if they had just opted to not include the buttons here.
To be fair, if you like having dedicated click-buttons on your laptop, you’ll probably like these. They are nice and clicky, but if you’re like me, you’ll probably end up not using them at all.
Talking about the performance on this sleek beast, with specs like an 8th-gen Core i7, 16GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 GPU, you would obviously expect great things from this laptop, and that shows in both benchmarks and real world performance.
In terms of benchmarks the laptop performs quite well, scoring impressive numbers all across the board. In Geekbench, the laptop scores 4,800 in the single-core test, and 18,836 in the multi-core test. It also manages 4,089 on PCMark 10, and in 3DMark the HP Omen scored 4,993 in Time Spy, and 12,856 in Fire Strike. In the Cinebench R15 OpenGL test the laptop scores 109.08fps, and 1038cb in the CPU test.
The laptop even handles stress tests well, scoring 97.6% on the Fire Strike stress test.
As far as real world performance is concerned, the HP Omen will not let you down. I’ve used the laptop extensively, for everything from my usual work related tasks, to intensive and long gaming sessions, and the laptop handles everything like a champ. Multi-tasking is a breeze with the i7 and ample amounts of RAM in the system, and normal everyday tasks are no challenge for the laptop.
However, the Omen 15 is a gaming laptop at the end of the day, so real world performance should really be tested out with games; and so I did. I played a bunch of games on the Omen 15, including the likes of PUBG, Project Cars 2, Far Cry 5, and Fortnite, and the laptop handles everything easily.
In PUBG with Ultra settings and motion blur turned off, the game hovered around 70 to 80 FPS throughout my gaming sessions which is incredible. I don’t think there’s any call for reducing the graphics settings to High or anything, because 70+ of Ultra is pretty amazing, and completely playable.
In Far Cry 5, the laptop was pushed a bit, but still managed to easily handle the game. With all the graphics set to Ultra, the game’s benchmark showed an average frame rate of 75FPS, with the minimum and maximum frame rate being 64FPS and 86FPS. That’s pretty damn good. However, while actually playing the game, I did notice that at certain points the frame rate dropped to ridiculously low values. However, those occurrences were few and far in between, and the laptop quickly picked up the pace in less than a second or two, otherwise maintaining around 60FPS with ease.
Project Cars 2 also runs like a charm on this laptop, and with everything set to maximum, and motion blur turned down to low, I experienced absolutely no issues with playing the game. I did crash quite a bit during the many many custom races I tried to play, but I crashed in a sweet 70+FPS, so there’s that.
I also played Fortnite, because I love it, and needless to say the game ran ‘Epic’ — both in terms of settings and in terms of the frame-rate I got. I set the FPS limit to unlimited, and the game hovered around 100+FPS throughout, and that’s wonderful even if not surprising with a laptop of this caliber.
We can’t talk about gaming without talking about thermals because as impressive as it may be to have a gaming laptop with such horsepower in a form factor as sleek as this, slimmer laptops usually suffer with thermal issues. The HP Omen, however, isn’t your regular sleek laptop at all.
The Omen 15 doesn’t come with an overload of heat pipes — there are only 2, but what it does come with are extremely efficient fans, and large vents on the back to effectively push the hot air out of the system which is why throughout my long gaming sessions, the laptop didn’t thermal throttle (or get hot to touch) even once. The keyboard doesn’t get warm to the touch at all and that’s impressive. The only place that I did notice the laptop getting a little warm from was the back (obviously), and the portion that says ‘OMEN’, which is expected because that’s directly above the heatpipes and the fans. Even then, though, the laptop wasn’t too hot, not even uncomfortably warm.
In terms of battery, the HP Omen 15 comes with a 4-cell 70Whr battery that lasts decently long enough. In best battery life mode with the brightness set to 50%, the Omen 15 lasted me an easy 3 hours which is pretty decent by gaming laptop standards. During that time I used the laptop as my normal work laptop which means writing some articles, having around 15-20 tabs open of Firefox Quantum at any given time, and Adobe Photoshop CC running alongside for the featured images and stuff… along with a YouTube tab playing songs in the background.
In best performance mode the battery lasts for a considerably less amount of time, which is expected, but still under the same workload I was able to push the laptop to around 2 hours of usage before plugging it.
I think it’s a pretty decent battery. Obviously, it doesn’t last even close to what you’d get from ultrabooks, but that’s because this is not an ultrabook. This is a gaming laptop with a GTX 1070 inside it, and 3 hours of battery is a pretty decent number to get with that. Also, as a gamer, you’d not be using it without plugging it in so it really won’t make much of a difference.
Charging up the laptop takes considerable time, with it taking around 2 hours (give or take) to get from 10% to a 100% charge when plugged in and not in use. That’s quite a lot, but considering that it has a much bigger 70Whr battery, I’d say it’s okay.
Overall, the battery performance of the Omen 15 is pretty satisfactory, and much like almost everything else about the laptop, I don’t have anything bad to say about it.
The HP Omen is a pretty great gaming laptop with a nice, sleek design and performance that will not let you down. However, it does come with its own set of pros and cons.
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SEE ALSO: MSI GE73 Raider 8RF Review: Gaming Without Compromises!
All things considered, the HP Omen 15 is definitely a laptop that’s worthy of its Rs. 1,54,490 price tag. That said, the Omen 15 isn’t the only option you can go with. As far as sleek gaming laptops with great specs are concerned, there’s the MSI GS65 Stealth that comes with similar specs, but 1TB of SSD storage for $2,499 (launched in India for Rs. 1,89,990). Also, if you’re looking for a laptop that’s drastically cheaper than the Omen and you’re willing to sacrifice performance and looks, there’s the Asus TUF Gaming Laptop that comes with 1050Ti, 8GB of RAM, and a 120Hz display for Rs. 73,990.
However, the HP Omen 15 is a particularly great laptop at this price, and it manages to check a lot of the boxes for a great gaming laptop. It has a great design that manages to hit a certain sweet spot between being flashy and being stealthy, it has great specs, a display that’s 144Hz, really sharp and accurate, a nice keyboard, and performs like a champ. So, if you’re looking to buy a gaming laptop in the Rs. 1.5 Lakh price range, I’d suggest the HP Omen 15 for sure.
Microsoft has experienced its fair share of success with the Surface line-up of 2-in-1 detachable PCs, and rightfully so, as those devices offer portability and computing prowess in a sleek form factor. Microsoft later expanded its line-up of Surface devices by launching the Surface Book and the Surface Laptop. The latter is a mid-range laptop which boots Windows 10 S and is targeted at providing a seamless Windows 10 experience.
While the Surface Laptop has been available in the US for quite some time, Microsoft brought the sleek laptop to the Indian market only in August this year. We have the Core i5-powered variant of the laptop for review, which comes equipped with 8GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage and is priced at Rs. 86,999.
While the device might not appear to be a formidable computing machine going by its hardware, there is something you should keep in mind i.e. Microsoft created the Surface Laptop and Windows OS too, which means you can expect the same level of seamless software and hardware integration as Apple’s MacBooks. So, if you are in two minds whether the Surface Laptop is the right pick for you, let me share my experience of using the device.
Before we delve into an in-depth assessment of the Surface Laptop’s hardware, performance and features, let’s take a look at the specifications of the unit we have for our review:
| Dimensions | 308.1 mm x 223.27 mm x 14.48 mm |
|---|---|
| Display | 13.5-inch 2256 x 1504 (201 PPI) PixelSense |
| Processor | 7th Generation Intel Core i5 |
| Storage | 8GB |
| Graphics | Intel HD 620 |
| Storage | 128G PCIe SSD |
| OS | Windows 10 S |
| Connectivity | 1 x USB 3.0, 3.5 mm Headset Jack, 1 x Mini DisplayPort, Surface Connect |
| Wireless | Dual-band 802.11ac WiFi, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible, Bluetooth 4.0 LE |
| Battery | 14.5 hours |
| Price | Starts at Rs. 86,999 |
Our Surface Laptop’s review unit is powered by a 7th Gen Intel Core i5-7200U processor coupled with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. However, higher-end variants which come equipped with a 7th Gen Intel Core i7-7660U CPU, paired with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage are also available. In the graphics department, there is a choice between an integrated Intel HD 620 and an Intel Iris Plus 640 GPU, however, considering the Surface Laptop’s pricing in India, a discrete NVIDIA GPU would have been a much better option for buyers.
Microsoft has launched a total of five Surface Laptop models in India, and following are the configuration options and their pricing:
If there is one parameter where the Surface Laptop stands out from virtually any other device is its unique design and the excellent build quality, and I can assure you that the moment you hold the Surface Laptop in your hands, you will realize what I am talking about. The Surface Laptop’s chassis is made out of Aluminum, which is lightweight yet sturdy enough to give the plastic-made laptops out there a run for their money in terms of durability.
The entire frame housing the display and the bottom pane are all carved out of polished silver metal, and they exude a class that is worth the price of the laptop, if aesthetics is something that matters to you. Then there is the silver Microsoft logo, which ups the ante of aesthetics and gives the Surface Laptop an identity of its own, much like the illuminated Apple logo stands out for the MacBooks out there.
Our review unit is the Platinum variant, which is a silver shade with a light-greyish undertone, and to put it simply, it looks stunning. The Surface Laptop is also available in Rose Gold, Cobalt Blue and Burgundy color options, but they are not available in India.
The hinge of the Surface Laptop offers the perfect amount of resistance when it comes to opening and closing the device or adjusting the display’s angle to your liking. The hinge mechanism is pretty solid, but whether it will be able to retain its fluid characteristic, in the long run, is a question though. The Surface Laptop’s base has a tapered design, measuring around just 7mm at its thinnest point, and weighs only 1.25kg. So yes, the laptop is quite portable, measuring in at just 308.02 mm x 223.20 mm x 14.47 mm, and can be easily carried around in a sling bag without you even feeling its weight.
The most striking design element of the Surface Laptop is the keyboard and its fabric deck, which is covered entirely with a layer of Alcantara, a very premium material made out of polyester and polyurethane. The fabric provides a suede touch, and it looks and feels excellent.
But we’ll talk more about it later. As far as durability is concerned, the Surface Laptop seems like it can handle its fair share of moderately rough usage, thanks to the solid build. But what’s surprising and also a little bit worrying is that the lid flexes a bit, however, that does not create any visual distortion on the screen. All in all, I can say that Microsoft has created a very unique laptop which inherits the Surface gene but lacks the signature 2-in-1 detachable mechanism of its siblings, the Surface Book and the Surface Pro.
In its bid to outclass the MacBook Pro, Microsoft has apparently also taken a few steps which might not be appreciated by users. The new generation of MacBooks only features two USB Type-C Thunderbolt ports, but Microsoft outdid Apple by including just one USB 3.0 port, a Mini-DisplayPort and a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is definitely not a good sign when it comes to versatility, especially if your day to day work involves frequently transferring files from external storage devices.
We understand that ultrabooks are not very generous when it comes to ports, but the Surface Laptop is definitely not the thinnest laptop out there, and if it can accommodate a USB 3.0 port, why not add a couple more ports. At least a few USB Type-C ports would have partially sufficed for the sheer lack of port selection.
All three of the ports mentioned above are located on the left edge, while the right edge houses the Surface Connect Port for charging. But there is one ‘pricey’ redeeming factor here: the Surface Dock. Microsoft’s Surface Dock connects via the Surface Connect Port and gives you four additional USB 3.0 ports, two extra Mini Display ports, a Gigabit Ethernet and an audio output socket. But that extra port selection might burn a hole in your pocket, as the Surface Dock is currently listed on Amazon at Rs. 18,439, which is way too pricey to even consider buying it.
But there is at least one silver lining here, and that comes in the form of the integrated USB port present on the bundled 44W charger. Moreover, the positioning of the ports is also a little off, thanks to the tapered design of the laptop, especially when it comes to connecting the charger to the Surface connect port.
I often found myself struggling to connect the charger without the need to slightly lift the device and see where the charging pin has to fit. And needless to say, it was an additional hassle, howsoever minor it may be. I wonder, why Microsoft did not include a good ‘ol USB Type-C charging port which could have saved the Surface Laptop users from fidgeting around with the charging port every time they need to juice up the battery.
Now let’s talk about the signature feature of the Surface Laptop, its Alcantara fabric-surrounded keyboard and trackpad. The Alcantara fabric certainly provides a dash of premium appeal and feels smooth to touch, but not slippery enough to ruin your typing experience.
Since the fabric is coated with a layer of polyurethane, it resists spills, but just don’t go all experimental and spill a glass of water or soda over the keyboard, because the fabric can resist it, but you might end up damaging the circuitry beneath the keys. Microsoft claims that the keyboard can be cleaned with a damp lint-free cloth, but we suggest you proceed carefully when cleaning the keyboard and the Alcantara layer with a wet fabric.
Another thing that left me wondering is that since the Alcantara layer is a fabric after all, it would eventually get stained or show some sign of wear on the spot where your palm rests on the deck after using the Surface Laptop for a long time. We hope it does not happen because it would ruin the Surface Laptop’s unique look, but more importantly, if it does show signs of aging, there is no way you can replace the layer of Alcantara fabric.
As to how the keyboard performs, the keys have a decent 1.5mm travel and have a nice springy feedback, which makes it a joy to type long articles on it. In the initial stage, I felt the keys a little mushy for my liking, but then I quickly got a hold of it and reverted to my normal typing speed numbers that I clock on my daily driver, the Lenovo ThinkPad, which honestly has one of the best keyboards on any laptop out there.
However, there are some minor flaws here too. First of all, the keyboard deck flexes a little bit, especially in the middle section, which certainly does not bode well for a device whose USP is its stylish keyboard. And just in case you are wondering, the keyboard is backlit and it provides three brightness levels, which has become the norm on premium ultrabooks out there.
As for the Surface Laptop’s Precision trackpad, it is large (105 mm x 70 mm), responsive and an absolute joy to work on. The trackpad features a layer of glass on top for a premium experience, and I am not exaggerating when I say this, the multi-finger gestures work buttery smooth and in my time using the Surface Laptop as my daily driver, I don’t remember encountering any glitches or non-execution of gestures.
The click mechanism of the trackpad buttons is quite solid and it requires just the perfect amount of force to register a click. Overall, I was mighty impressed by the Surface Laptop’s keyboard and trackpad, on the fronts of aesthetics as well as functionality.
The Surface Laptop’s display is one parameter that will surely surprise you if you haven’t had the chance to try a Surface device before. And that surprise is for the good, I can guarantee you that. The Surface Laptop features a 13.5-inch PixelSense display with an odd resolution of 2256 x 1504 pixels and a non-standard 3:2 aspect ratio with a pixel density of 201PPI. The Surface Laptop’s display has 10-point multi-touch support and is protected by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on top.
The 3:2 aspect ratio of the screen might take some time getting used to, but once you’ve used it for a couple of hours, you’ll realize some of its benefits, especially when it comes to productivity tasks. Windows 10 scales the display to 150% by default, and we found this to be the most optimum value, however, if you are not comfortable with it, you can always change the resolution and magnification to your liking.
As for me, the extra vertical space proved to be a welcome change and something that I quickly fell in love with, because my work involves split-screen multitasking for 99% of the times. So, scrolling through documents and files was a more enjoyable experience on the Surface Laptop’s 3:2 display compared to the conventional 16:9 panels.
The display renders crisp colors, had an accurate color reproduction with a vivid output and was sufficiently responsive to touch inputs. But on the downside, the display is glossy, which means it is a fingerprint magnet. So, if your work involves a lot of touch and type, keep a clean fabric in handy and be ready to wipe the smudges every now and then. Viewing angles are good too, but rotating it above a threshold washes out the colors to some extent, but then, that is normal with a majority of devices in that price range.
The Surface Laptop boasts of Omnisonic speakers with Dolby Audio Premium support and has dual stereo microphones. The speaker grill is located just below the hinge in a single continuous row on an angular plane, making sure that whatever be the position of the lid, it does not interfere with the sound waves coming out of the speakers and muffle the audio output.
As for the sound quality itself, the Surface Laptop delivers crystal clear audio with a surround sound experience, and there is minimal distortion even if the volume is set to the highest level.
In my experience, I found that the attention to detail paid by Microsoft’s team in ensuring a well-balanced audio output is certainly commendable, and reflects in the Surface Laptop’s real-life audio performance. I played a variety of songs from multiple genres, some with heavy bass, a few instrumental songs and a couple of classics from country music, and to my surprise, I couldn’t find a flaw that could even remotely ruin the songs for me.
But if we are to go nit-picking, I can only say that the bass output could be a little better, but then, there are not many people who buy an ultrabook and fire a bass-heavy song at their workplace. Even a few of my audiophile colleagues, who have a hard time ‘really appreciating’ a device’s audio output unless it approaches the ‘perfection point’ for them, found the Surface Laptop’s sound output to be surprisingly good for an ultrabook.
As for me, I would choose the Surface Laptop any given day over other laptops in same price bracket if audio output was the sole selection parameter.
The Surface Laptop is not a computing beast by any means, and the unit we received for review was the lowest-end model of the laptop, packing a 7th Gen Intel Core i5-7300U processor clocked at 2.60GHz, coupled with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of SSD storage. While this set-up could have been sufficient for a buttery-smooth performance on a Windows 10 S-powered device, which the Surface Laptop boots by default, our unit had been upgraded to Windows 10 Pro, so a ton of third-party apps were installed on it.
Now let’s talk about how the Surface Laptop performs in day-to-day life and whether it can serve as your daily workhorse. Well, in my case, my daily work involves writing a ton of articles, running at least 5 different apps in the background, split-screen multitasking throughout the day with continued music playback in the background, all the while connected to the internet.
Normally, the Surface Laptop worked fine, but as soon as I opened around 12-15 different chrome tabs in multiple windows while other tasks were in progress, the Surface Laptop started to stutter occasionally and I even noticed the UI freezing a couple of times. When this happened, the device failed to register touch inputs on the screen as well as gestures on the trackpad. While these stutters were not frequent enough to give up instantly on the Surface Laptop, I expected it to handle those tasks with ease, provided the deep level of software and hardware integration Microsoft advertises for its Surface line-up.
Otherwise, switching between different apps and windows was super smooth, provided the apps you are running in the background are not very resource intensive. I normally use light-weight image-editing software for my work, but just to test the Surface Laptop’s potential, I installed Adobe Photoshop. In the beginning, the photo-editing software worked fine, but as I switched to multi-layer image editing with heavy visual effects, the speed slowed down noticeably.
I tried to test the Surface Laptop’s computing process on another parameter i.e. casual gaming. I tried Tencent’s port of PUBG Mobile on the Surface Laptop via an emulator and was left disappointed by the experience. Poor graphics rendering, frame drops and lags made the game nearly unplayable, thanks in no part to the integrated Intel HD 620 GPU. Even playing PUBG at the lowest graphics setting was not a pleasing experience, as the input registration was not as swift as one might expect despite a smoother visual experience on low graphics settings.
I also tried Fortnite on the Surface Laptop and it didn’t fare any better. Upon installing Fortnite, the game was set to medium graphics settings at 60FPS by default after analyzing the system resources, which gave me some hope of an enjoyable gameplay experience, but boy was I wrong.
The same stuttering and frame drop persisted, and even after reducing the frame rate to 30FPS and graphics settings to low, the gameplay did not improve by a noticeable margin. But that’s not all. Another problem I faced was that some titles simply failed to scale to the Surface Laptop’s non-standard aspect ratio.
Another issue was heating during intensive tasks. Microsoft claims to have employed a new vapor chamber cooling system on the Surface Laptop, but apart from that fancy word, the heating is quite noticeable with the temperature rising to a level that you won’t be able to keep the laptop comfortably on your lap. But then, the Surface Laptop is not made for gaming. However, when it comes to productivity tasks, the work experience on the Surface Laptop is a breeze.
If you are eager to know how the Surface Laptop fared in benchmark tests, we’ve got you covered. The Surface Laptop managed to score 2,899 points on PC Mark 10, 3,802 points on 3D Mark, 4,162 points (single core) and 8,187 points (multi-core) on GeekBench 4 test. The benchmark results could have been higher if there was an 8th Gen processor powering the sleek device, which is certainly something many potential buyers will think twice about.
But if you are a demanding user, then you can go for the better-equipped versions which cost as much as Rs.2,33,999. So yeah, it’s a rather costly affair to buy a better-equipped version. And no, don’t even think about upgrading individual internal components, because all parts are soldered to the motherboard.
No wonder, why the Surface Laptop received a repairability score of zero on a scale of 1 to 10 in iFixit’s teardown. So, here’s one piece of advice. If you are adamant about buying the Surface Laptop, better assess your needs very carefully and then choose the Surface Laptop model which you think can handle your computing demands.
Moving ahead of the Surface Laptop’s performance, which is a mixed bag of fluidity and sporadic stutters, we come to the device’s battery life. Microsoft has not revealed the Surface Laptop’s battery capacity, but an iFixit teardown revealed that it packs a 45.2Whr unit. Microsoft claims that the Surface Laptop can provide a battery back-up of around 14.5 hours.
Typically, my work involves a full day of writing articles, editing images, continuous music playback in the background, watching a few YouTube videos and running at least six apps in the background simultaneously. As a test, I juiced up the battery to 100% and after 8 hours of work, I still had around 20% battery left, which is certainly great. So yes, if you use the Surface Laptop as your daily driver, you don’t have to worry about running to the nearest charging point.
As for the time it takes to fully charge the device, the Surface Laptop went from 0-100% in approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes when the device was kept idle with the brightness set to the lowest value and no tasks running in the background. However, the charging time might vary if you keep working on the device and multiple resource intensive apps are active.
SEE ALSO: MSI GE73 Raider 8RF Review: Gaming Without Compromises!
The Surface Laptop is one of the most aesthetically unique laptops out there and has a build that rivals, and even outclasses, the design of devices which carry a significantly higher price tag.
A premium build, an excellent battery life and zippy performance go in the favor of the Surface Laptop, but an exorbitant price tag is something that cannot be ignored.
The version we reviewed packs a 7th Gen Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, coupled with an integrated Intel HD 620 graphics and it’s priced at Rs. 86,999. Sure, the Surface Laptop looks great, has decent performance and a solid battery life but it also has its fair share of issues like heating during intensive tasks, lack of ports and the fact that it comes with an older gen processor. Well, in this price range, you have various other options that bring better value for money.
There’s the HP Envy 13, which is priced lower at Rs. 75,490 yet brings an 8th Gen Core i5 processor and a 256GB SSD. While the HP ultrabook might look as great as the Surface Laptop, it’s still a premium looking laptop. There’s also the newly launched ZenBook 13, which brings even better specs like an 8th Gen Core i7 and 512GB SSD at a slightly lower price of Rs. 84,990. So, the point is, if you are looking for a laptop in this price range, I would suggest you go with the HP Envy 13 or the ZenBook 13 because they offer much better value for money than the Surface Laptop.
But then, the Surface Laptop is not your run of the mill laptop. It has been designed by Microsoft to deliver the most fluid Windows 10 experience on a PC, and that too, in a design that stands out the from the rest. The Surface Laptop does deliver on that promise, well sort of, and if that is something you are after, then you should not hesitate from splurging on the sleek device.
It’s 2018 and if you are still using your browser to download files from the internet, you might as well go back to the stone age. For me, there is nothing more infuriating than having to download files using browsers, as the whole process is clumsy and broken. First of all, you don’t receive good download speeds, and even when you do, your download can break anytime. That’s why you should always use a download manager. A good download manager not only brings faster download speeds but also allows you to pause and resume your downloads. It also allows you to run multiple downloads in parallel and set priorities for those downloads. So, it’s time that you switch to a download manager and to help you with that cause, we are bringing a list of the 10 best download managers for Windows that you can use today:
Note: Some of the download managers in the list let you download content from platforms like YouTube, Vimeo etc. However, downloading content from these platforms for commercial use or piracy is illegal. So, make sure to read the privacy policy and terms & conditions of these tools before you start using them.
JDownloader is one of the best download managers that you can get for your Windows PC. First of all, the download manager is open source and completely free to use. Unlike the paid download managers which provide a free version which runs with ads, with JDownloader you get everything for free, that too without any ads. Talking about its features, the downloader manager allows users to start, stop or pause downloads, set bandwidth limitations, auto-extract archives, and much more. Some of my other favorite features of this app include multiple file downloads, support for popular content sites such as Vimeo and YouTube, add-on support, and more.
JDownloader is already a powerful download manager, however, it allows you to make it even more feature-rich and powerful by using a set of more than 300 plugins. For example, one of my favorite plugins is the scheduler plugin which allows met to shcedule my downloads. Whenever I am downloading huge files, I schedule it to download in the night as I get the best speeds then. With JDownloader’s scheduling feature, I don’t have to remember to start and stop the downloads. This is just the tip of the iceberg and you can enhance JD’s capabilities based on your needs. As you can see, JDownloader is a very capable download manager for Windows and you should definitely try this out.
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Visit: Website (free)
Internet Download Manager also known as IDM is probably one of the most popular download managers for Windows out there. The biggest feature and probably the USP of Internet Download Manager is its easy integration with all the major browsers out there. I still get surprised by the accuracy with which IDM intercepts all the download links allowing me to easily download the files using its service rather than the browsers’ built-in downloader. This deletes the extra step where I need to consciously use a download manager as it automatically captures all my downloads. While other download managers also do this, none of them does it as good as Internet Download Manager.
Other features of IDM include the ability to pause and resume downloads, support for downloading multiple files in parallel, faster download speeds, and more. IDM comes with a smart download logic accelerator that features intelligent dynamic file segmentation and safe multipart downloading technology to accelerate your downloads. This also ensures that even when your PC crashes in the middle of a download, IDM will be able to resume the download without having to start from scratch. Internet Download Manager also supports proxy servers, FTP and HTTP protocols, firewalls, redirects, cookies, authorization, audio and video content processing among other things. It is one of the most powerful download managers out there and you should definitely try this one out.
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Visit: Website (free 30-day trial, $29.95)
Ninja Download Manager is one of my most favorite download managers for Windows. First of all, the app is probably the best looking download managers out there. I mean, while rest of the download manager on this list are functional, none of them is going to win any design award. Since Ninja Download Manager is new in the market, the developers had the chance to create something modern and they did exactly that. The app looks like a modern Windows 10 app and doesn’t stick out like an eyesore. When you get past its looks, you will find that Ninja Download Manager is one of the best and fastest download managers out there.
The software uses multiple simultaneous connections which basically divides the whole file into different chunks and uses different server points to download different chunks, thereby bringing your exponentially faster download speeds. Other features like pausing and resuming downloads, scheduling downloads, multiple downloads, queuing downloads, and more are also here. One of my favorite features of NDM is its sequential downloads feature which ensures that your files are downloaded from start to finish, thus, allowing you to preview your downloads even before completion. It comes in really handy while downloading big video files, as it allows you to check if the quality of file is good or not before you waste time and data on downloading the entire file. I love NDM and highly recommend this to anyone looking for a good download manager for Windows.
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Visit: Website ($19)
Free Download Manager or FDM is yet another open-source download manager for Windows which is very powerful. FDM, like other download managers on this list, brings faster download speeds by splitting the downloading files into different parts and then downloading those parts simultaneously. It also supports pausing and resuming of downloads even when a download is interrupted abruptly. One of the unique features of FDM is its support for torrent files which comes in really handy at times. I also love its bandwidth management features which allow me to allocate bandwidth to downloads thereby allowing me to surf the web without any hindrance in speed. FDM is also one of the best looking download managers on this list and I quite like its modern and clean UI.
All that said, my favorite feature of Free Download Manager is its smart file management and scheduler system. With FDM you can easily organize downloaded files by their type. So, all my files are organized even before they are downloaded. With FDM, all my videos, games, and music downloads are sent to their respective folders. I love using FDM and it’s one of my most favorite download managers in the market. The fact that it is totally free to use without any ads makes this even better. If you are looking for a free and powerful download manager for Windows, definitely try it out.
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Visit: Website (free)
EagleGet is a free all-in-one download manager which can be integrated to Chrome, IE, Firefox, Opera, offering support for HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, MMS and RTSP protocol. What this means is that the software can automatically catch download links from the above-mentioned browsers thereby allowing you to download files without any problem. Just like the other download managers on this list, EagleGet uses advanced multi-threaded technology to speed up connections so that you get speedier downloads. It also supports all the other features including multiple downloads, the ability to pause and resume downloads, adjusting the priority of downloads, bandwidth allocations, and more.
One of the best features of EagleGet is its built-in malware checker and file integrity verifier. The feature protects users from virus attacks while at the same time ensures that the downloaded file is genuine and original. The software is completely free to download and use, however, you have to either agree to see ads or share your bandwidth with other users who are using this software. In a way, it acts similarly to a torrent where you have to share your bandwidth for being able to download files. If you like what you read here, download EagleGet by clicking on the link below.
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Visit: Website (free)
uGet is yet another open source download manager for Windows which is completely free to use. It brings features such as multi-connection downloads which uses file splitting to increase download speeds, batch download with file queuing, and the ability to resume and pause downloads without having to start the downloads from the beginning. One of my favorite things about uGet is its looks. The app automatically adjusts its appearance based on the color scheme and icons of the operating system it is installed on. Apart from the normal light and dark themes, uGet also comes with various hybrid themes which really make this app stand out from the rest.
Other features of the app include a clipboard manager which monitors your clipboard for any copied download link and prompts you to ask if you would like to download those files, browser integration with Chrome, Firefox, Chromium, Opera, and Vivaldi, and support for multiple mirrors protocol among other things. I have used uGet in the past and I quite like its user interface. The download speeds were also great and the app works exactly as advertised. It’s a good option for anyone looking for a free and ad-less download manager for Windows.
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Visit: Website (free)
Xtreme Download Manager is one of the oldest download manager available for Windows and it works great. The app is best for handling downloads of video content as it supports link parsing for most of the major video platforms including YouTube, Dailymotion, Facebook, Vimeo, Google Video and 1000+ other websites. That does not mean to say that it is only good for downloading videos. On the contrary, just like all the other download managers on this list, Xtreme Download Manager works with all file types. That being said, it is best for downloading video files. One of my favorite features of XDM is the ability to download entire playlists from YouTube without having to input links for individual videos.
The app also seamlessly integrates with Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox Quantum, Opera, Vivaldi and other Chromium and Firefox based browsers. Other features of Xtreme Download Manager include the ability to pause and resume downloads, scheduling of download time using the built-in smart scheduler, speed limiter which helps in managing bandwidth allocation, support for proxy servers, authentication algorithms, and more. As you can see XDM is a powerful download manager and it definitely deserves a place on this list.
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Visit: Website (free)
iDownload Manager is a small but powerful download manager utility for Windows. The best thing about the iDownload Manager is that it is available on the Windows Store which means that you don’t have to go through set-up or anything. Just click on the install link and it will be installed on your machine. It also means that even if you are using the Windows S version which restricts users to use only the Microsoft Store apps, you will be able to use this app. When it comes to features, iDownload Manager brings all the features that we have come to expect from a good download manager by now.
The software supports fast download speeds using file splitting, batch download of files, prioritizing downloads, bandwidth allocations, pausing and resuming of downloads and more. Just like Free Download Manager, iDM also brings a file management system which allows users to allocate different download locations to different file types. This makes it very easy to organize your downloads. Finally, the app is completely free to use so there is no harm in checking it out.
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Visit: Website (free)
Internet Download Accelerator is a good download manager program for Windows which aims to solve the three biggest problem people face when downloading files using a browser; download speeds, the ability to resume broken downloads, and the management of downloaded files. Just like the other download managers on this list, Internet Download Accelerator increases the download speeds by splitting a file being downloaded into several parts and then downloading these parts at the same time. It also resumes broken downloads from HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP servers. The IDA also integrates with all the major browsers including Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Mozilla, Opera, Netscape, Safari, Yandex.Browser, Vivaldi, and others to give a seamless downloading experience. If none of the above download managers meet your needs, you should give this one a try.
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Cons:
Visit: Website (free, $9.95)
The last download manager app for Windows on our list is the Free Rapid Downloader which is a fairly good download manager with all the important features. It is is an easy to use Java downloader that supports file downloads from Rapidshare, Youtube, Facebook, Picasa and other file-sharing services, including the new ones like Mega. The ability to download files from file sharing services such as Rapidshare and Mega is one of the best features of this app. Other features of the app include support for concurrent downloading from multiple services, downloading files using a proxy list, support for streaming videos or pictures, smart clipboard monitoring, and more. If you download a ton of files from file-sharing websites, this is the best download manager for you.
Pros:
Cons:
Visit: Website (free)
SEE ALSO: Top 10 Best Epub Readers for Windows
That ends our list of the best download managers for Windows that you can use. I have included both paid and free download managers here so everyone can enjoy the benefits of using a download manager. Do check out the list and let us know which is your favorite download manager amongst them all. Also, if there is a download manager that you already enjoy using and is not on the list, share its name in the comments section below. Do share this article with your friends who are still using their browsers to download files from the internet.
As a consumer, you must be aware that the current market for laptops is filled with tons of great options. There are options in all segments, for all kinds of users. Moreover, if you do have a lot of money to spend, chances are, you’re going to easily get a powerhouse PC packaged in a portable laptop form for yourself. As such, making the right choice requires a lot of hard work. Luckily for you, we at Beebom are here to make things a lot easier for you. Whether you’re a gamer, a business user, or just a casual user, we have curated a list of the best laptops under 100k or 1lakh rupees, and have further divided the list into multiple sections for your convenience:
One of the best gaming laptops you can get under 100000 INR is the Dell Inspiron 7577. The laptop comes with a 7th gen Core i7 processor running at 2.8GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz so you can rest easy that the processor won’t bottleneck performance. Other than that, there’s a whopping 16GB RAM here, along with a 1TB hard drive and 256GB SSD so games will launch fast, and keep running smoothly.
However, the most important thing is obviously the GPU, and the Inspiron 7577 comes with 6GB of Nvidia’s GTX 1060 graphics. Yes, the RTX series GPUs are here, but laptops with those graphic cards are yet to surface, and more importantly, games that support ray tracing are also not quite there yet. The Inspiron 7577’s GTX 1060 will easily let you run all your favorite AAA titles with ease. If you’re looking for a gaming laptop under Rs. 100000, you should definitely consider the Dell Inspiron 7577.
Buy the Dell Inspiron 7577 from Flipkart (Rs. 99,990)
The MSI GL63 packs in the latest 8th-gen Intel Core i7-8750H processor with a clock speed of up to 4.1GHz. Supporting it is a single stick of 8GB DDR4-2400MHz RAM, with an extra slot allowing you to upgrade the RAM anytime you want. We all know the core part of a gaming laptop is the GPU, and the GL63 is no slouch there, offering the user with a Nvidia GTX 1050ti with 4GB of GDDR5 memory. As for storage, the laptop comes with a 128GB SSD for all your immediate media consumption, along with a 1TB HDD for all your games and more. Furthermore, the laptop should aid you for gaming in the dark as well, thanks to the Steelseries Red Backlit Keyboard, which really adds to the whole gaming feel. And let’s not forget, MSI is a brand that takes cooling very seriously, and MSI’s Cooler Boost 5 Technology works wonders for lowering down the temperatures of the laptop.
Buy from Flipkart: (Rs. 94,990)
Acer was the top gaming PC brand in India in Q4 2017, thanks to its stunning range of gaming products. The Predator Helios 300 is one of the company’s best selling products in the country, thanks to its beastly horsepower under the hood. The laptop comes with a 8th-gen Intel Core i7 processor paired alongside 8GB DDR4 RAM. The device packs in a super fast 128GB SSD along with a 1TB HDD to satisfy all your storage needs. As for your gaming needs, the laptop comes equipped with 4GB of Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti graphics, which provides desktop grade graphics performance. All of this, while not even crossing the 1 lakh INR barrier.
Buy from Flipkart: (Rs. 99,990)
The Asus TUF FX504GE is one of the best gaming laptops you can get under 100000 INR. The laptop offers great hardware and superb value for money, combining an 8th-Gen Intel Core-i7 Processor with 8GB of DDR4 RAM. The system features a dedicated Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti with 4GB of GDDR5 VRAM, which is the best entry level graphics card in the market today. As for storage, the Asus TUF FX504GE packs in a 1TB HDD which provides plenty of storage for all your games. All in all, the Asus TUF FX504GE is a great buy if you’re looking for a high performance and reliable eSports gaming laptop under 100000 INR.
Buy from Amazon: (Rs. 79,990)
The Dell Inspiron 7373 is part of the 7000 series which is at the top of the Inspiron line-up. A 2-in-1 laptop, the Dell Inspiron 7373 packs in the 8th-gen Intel i7 processor along with a whopping 16GB of DDR4 RAM. Oh, and if you thought that was big, the device also boasts of a humongous 512GB SSD storage option. All of this, packed inside a 13.3-inch laptop which weighs just 1.45kg and is convertible as well. Considering that Dell is offering this superb package under 1 lakh INR, this is an easy recommend to anyone out there.
Buy from Amazon: (Rs. 94,990)
If you’re someone who has been following our website and reads our reviews of laptops, you’d be surprised why I’ve included the Acer Nitro 5 Spin on this list. Having reviewed the Acer Nitro 5 Spin a while ago, I was genuinely disappointed with this machine. But that is because Acer advertises it as a gaming product, which it certainly isn’t. Move past those claims and you have an amazing convertible in your hands, powered by the latest 8th-gen i5-8250U processor along with 8GB of DDR4 RAM. The laptop offers 1TB of HDD storage which should be more than enough. Oh, and if you think that was all, the laptop also comes with Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 dedicated graphics, which should handle all your graphics-intensive tasks with ease. All in all, the Acer Nitro 5 Spin is an amazing convertible laptop, with great features, all under 1,00,000 INR.
Buy from Flipkart: (Rs. 76,990)
If you’re in the market looking for a great convertible laptop, Lenovo’s Yoga is something that you must have heard of. The convertible laptop can be used for a variety of functions and can be used in five different setups as per your convenience. The Yoga 720 draws power from a 8th generation Intel i5-8250U processor coupled with 8GB of DDR4 RAM. The 13-inch FullHD display supports multi-finger touch while the audio tuned by Harman provides for a joyful multimedia experience. The 512GB SSD is likely to serve you with ample storage for all your creative and nifty uses. The laptop weighs only 1.25kg so it would suit you if your tread with your laptop a lot.
Buy from Amazon: (Rs. 89,800)
For those of you with deeper pockets who want the best productive laptop out there, the Apple MacBook Pro should be at the top of your list, just as it is on ours. The newest MacBook Pro, while lacking the Touch Bar, offers some serious hardware for all your productive tasks. The device comes with a 2.3GHz Intel Core i5 processor coupled with 8GB LPDDR3 RAM. The MacBook Pro packs in a 128GB Solid State drive for super-fast storage, along with Intel Iris Plus 640 Graphics for all your graphics needs as well. Apart from the lack of a touch bar, the MacBook Pro is still one of your best options for a productivity laptop that’s sleek, beautiful and light. However, with the launch of the new MacBook Air the prices have gone up a bit. But, if you can go slightly over budget, I’d still recommend getting the MacBook Pro.
Buy from Amazon: (Rs. 1,03,990)
The Dell XPS 13 is one of the best ultrabooks I’ve used till date, and believe me, I’ve used a hell lot of them. Fitting a beautiful 13.3-inch screen within an 11-inch body, the Dell XPS 13 is easily one of the most beautiful looking laptops out there. Oh, and it is not just beauty, the Dell XPS 13 is a powerhouse as well. Packing in the latest 8th-gen Intel i5-8250U processor along with 8GB of LPDDR3 RAM, the Dell XPS 13 is the perfect mobility laptop. You also get a 256GB of SSD storage which offers super-fast read and write speeds while on the go. Oh, and thanks to the 52WHr battery, you can easily use your XPS 13 for long hours without the need of charging it.
Buy from Dell: (Rs. 89,590)
Asus recently unveiled the latest addition to its ZenBook 13 lineup of laptops and it is one of the best laptops that you can buy in under 100000 price range. The laptop is powered by the 8th generation Intel Core i5 processor along with Nvidia’s MX150 graphics card. I am still amazed by the fact that Asus was able to pack so powerful internals inside a laptop which is only 1.3 cm thick and weighs just 1.12 kilograms. The laptop also comes with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage. The SSD is very fast and ekes out quite good read and write speeds. The beautiful almost bezel-less 13.3-inch display also comes with touch support. Finally, there is a big 54-watt hour battery which should easily serve for a long time.
Buy From Amazon: ₹98,999
Microsoft Surface line of devices has always been my favorite windows machines and their first laptop has only bolstered this feeling. I will be the first to say that the Microsoft Surface Laptop is not for those users who want the best bang for their buck rather it’s for people who want their laptop to be exquisitely designed. If you fall in the second category, you will be quite happy with the Surface Laptop. The device is using a magnesium chassis which not only looks good but is also very sturdy. The entire area around the keyboard along with the palm rest has been covered with Alcantara fabric which feels really nice.
Talking about the internals, the laptop is powered by the 7th generation Intel Core i5 processor with built-in Intel HD 620 graphics card. The base version of this laptop comes with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of SSD storage. The USP of the device is its 13.5-inch pixel-sense display which has a resolution of 2256 x 1504 pixels and looks absolutely gorgeous. As I said, if you want the best value for your money, this is not the laptop for you, however, if you can appreciate all the engineering and design that has gone into making this exquisite piece of technology, you should definitely check it out.
Buy From Amazon: ₹79,990
SEE ALSO: 10 Best Laptops Under 70000 INR You Can Buy
So, that’s all from our side. The above list of best laptops under 100000 INR was curated with a lot of members of the Beebom team getting together and deciding on the best choices. With the current crop of laptops in the market, your new laptop will not only be good looking but also really powerful. So, did any of the aforementioned laptops catch your eye? Do you have any other suggestions in store for us? Do share your thoughts in the comments section below.
When it comes to music player applications, Winamp is a name that needs absolutely no introduction. A staple of just about every PC back in the days, the legendary software introduced many of us (including, yours truly) to the whole concept of enjoying music on our computers. Fast forward to the present day, and it has been superseded by a number of great music player programs. The developers of Winamp has also shown no interest in releasing regular updates which had me looking for apps that can act as Winamp alternatives. So, if you are also someone who is ready to ditch Winamp for a better and regularly updated music player applications, here are the 7 best Winamp alternatives for Windows you can install in 2019.
Looking for not just a music player, but also a powerhouse media organizer application? MediaMonkey is just the Winamp alternative you need. It can easily manage media collections spanning hundreds of thousands of songs, both local and network stored. Advanced functions let you sort & organize music based on genre, artist, and things like that.
MediaMonkey supports nearly all music formats (e.g. MP3, FLAC, AAC), and thanks to its syncing prowess, it can backup and sync media with numerous Android, iOS and Windows devices. And if you’re still not impressed, it even lets you share media with UPnP and DLNA compatible devices like TVs. Oh, and let’s not forget the various add-ons available for it, which help MediaMonkey speak song title, stream music over the web, and do lots of other cool things.
Platform Availability: Windows 10, 8 and 7 (Desktop); Android (Mobile)
Price: Free, $24.95
Developed by a former freelance contractor for Nullsoft (the company behind Winamp), Foobar2000 is probably the most flexible and extensive music player out there. Sure, its UI looks pretty dated, but underneath that, it hides tons of features. Foobar2000 has a highly modular design and you can completely customize which modules (e.g. playlist manager) are shown. (For example, the companion screenshot below shows the latest version 1.3.10 displaying the Album art, Track info, Playlist, and Spectrogram modules).
It can rip Audio CDs and convert media in numerous different formats. Foobar2000 can even read media files stored in archives such as ZIP and RAR. Other features include customizable keyboard shortcuts, portable installation, and an extensive SDK that allows features like playback stats, UPnP streaming etc. that can be added to the software.
Platform Availability: Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP (Desktop); Development for all major mobile platforms planned, via crowdfunding support.
Price: Free
MusicBee has always been one of the most popular Winamp alternatives. But now, we have a new version of the software which brings some major improvements to the table. Much like the original version, the updated MusicBee software can play all popular formats, and supports gap-less playback as well. There’s built in tag editor, which lets you easily edit or add ID3 tag information to songs, and the same can be fetched online too.
MusicBee’s Auto DJ mode lets you automate music playback, complete with configurable settings like library sources, similar artist track playback etc., which can be saved as custom filters. Oh, and the Music Explorer module can be used to browse the top charting artists, albums etc., thanks to MusicBee’s integration with the Xbox Music service. Also, the plug-in support (including those of Winamp) lets you add extra features (e.g. device syncing) to the software.
Availability: Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP.
Price: Free
Winyl is a lightweight music player app with a simple UI, rich audio codec support, and a whole lot more. Winyl is an easy-to-use music player that can handle pretty much any audio file you throw at it. The app also has a dedicated radio section, with which you can tune in to your favorite shows on air.
In addition to that, you also get ‘Smartlist’ feature’, a feature which automatically creates playlists for you based on 25 most played tracks. Besides the fact that Winyl can handle various file formats like WMA, M4A, MP3, OGG, MPC, APE, FLAC, etc., Winyl also supports audio output in standards like WASAPI and ASIO.
Availability: Windows 10, 8, 7, and Vista.
Price: Free
For those wanting a straightforward music player application that packs a healthy balance of features and simplicity, AIMP is the Winamp alternative to go for. Just load up your music library, and enjoy it with AIMP’s 32-bit audio processing for a great experience. It comes with a number of audio effects, such as Flanger and Voice remover, and can even record Internet radio to standard audio files.
However, perhaps the most unique feature of AIMP is that it can load the currently playing track (up to 250 MB) into the RAM, thus resulting in a more seamless playback. And that’s not all. AIMP’s feature list includes configurable global hotkeys, automatic shutdown, and support for numerous plug-ins.
Platform Availability: Windows 10, 8, 7, and Vista (Desktop); Android (Mobile)
Price: Free
iTunes is yet another software in this list that needs no introduction. This particular music player from Apple has been making rounds around the internet ever since it came out, and it’s proven to be one of the best music players.
Now, there’s a common misconception that iTunes can only be used with an iOS device. But that’s not really true. Even if you don’t own an iOS device, you can still use iTunes as your default music player on Windows. In addition to importing your own library of songs, you can also search of tracks and albums online on Apple iTunes store. We’re talking of Apple’s rich library of songs which includes millions of songs. Of course, they’re not available for free, but it’s still nice to have a library when you need it.
In addition to music, you can also find movies, TV Shows, podcasts, and audiobooks as well. iTunes truly is a versatile media hub, and it’s definitely checking out.
Availability: Windows 10, 8, 7, and Vista.
Price: Free
Bread Player is the only paid app in this list, however, we truly think that it’s worth the asking price of $0.99. It’s one of those music players that’ll catch your attention the first time you use it. Much like every other suggestion mentioned in this list, Bread Player also supports a wide array of audio codecs like MP3, M4A, FLACa, and more.
You can also rely on Bread Player to automatically import the tracks and albums that are saved in your PC. Additionally, the player also comes with support for synced lyrics. which is definitely handy. Heck, Bread player also takes care of missing artist details of a track. Awesome, right? Well, the Bread player is packed with a lot of other interesting features like, so be sure to check it out.
Availability: Windows 10
Price: $0.99
SEE ALSO: 10 Best Video Players For Windows
Winamp has always been (and still is) one of the most feature laden and popular music player applications. And while it’ll be surely awesome when it returns to a regular update cycle, for the time being, the above discussed applications are going to serve you just perfect. Try them all, and sound off your thoughts in the comments below.
Windows 10 is by far the most popular operating system in the world. Currently, it has more than 800 million users and it’s comfortably going to cross over a billion users within this year. However, we also know that Windows is the most pirated OS in the world. The reason behind its piracy is that users think that owning Windows OS is expensive. So to clear up the misconception, we have come up with this article where we share some easy ways to use Windows 10 without pirating it. In fact, you can use Windows 10 for free without buying a Windows 10 key. There are also many other ways to get a Windows 10 key at a much cheaper price. So, abstain from piracy as we show you how to get Windows 10 Key for free or cheap in 2019.
There are many ways to legally obtain a Windows 10 key and we will discuss all of the methods in this section. You can jump to any section you find desirable. So without taking much time, let’s begin with the recommended method.
Two years back, Microsoft quietly made Windows 10 free to download, install and use. However, the sad part is that users are still unaware of it. If you are looking for a Windows 10 key, the better alternative will be to use the free version of Windows 10 instead of buying a new license key. It comes with all Windows functionalities and you will get feature and security updates too. Basically, everything works similar to the activated Pro version.
The only limitation is that you can’t personalize Windows appearance, but it hardly matters. Also, an “Activate Windows” watermark always appears on the bottom-right corner of the screen. However, both these limitations are actually not much of a big deal. There are no intrusive prompts forcing you to buy a Windows 10 key or any sort of lockout from your PC. Let me make it clear, there is no difference between the free and paid version of Windows 10 other than visual customization and “Activate Windows” watermark. You are absolutely free to use it, any way you want. Using the free Windows 10 seems a much better option than pirating Windows 10 Key which is most probably infected with spyware and malware.
To download the free version of Windows 10, head over to Microsoft’s official website and download the Media Creation Tool. After that, you can download the ISO file and create a bootable USB. If you want a step by step guide, follow our tutorial here.
To bring more students and researchers under the Microsoft ecosystem, the company has partnered with schools, colleges, and universities from many countries. Under this partnership, students can avail many Microsoft products at a discounted price or even free of cost. If you are a student at any educational institute, you can get a Windows 10 key, Microsoft Office 365, Oracle software and access to many other Microsoft goodies. Microsoft has a dedicated OnTheHub website for students where you can find all the details about the offerings.
Just head over to OnTheHub page and scroll down to the bottom. Here, select your Country, State, and School. After that, it will provide you a WebStore link of your institute.
Open the WebStore and you will find all the products offered by your institute. If your institute has included Windows 10 in the partnership program then you will find it here. Just search for Windows 10 and you are likely to get it. Do note that you must have an active email ID from your school, college or university to register on the portal. You will have to use your student email ID to finally obtain the Windows 10 key.
If you missed the Windows 10 upgrade period in 2016 and want to update your PC now then let me tell you the upgrade period has not ended. Also, you don’t need to buy a separate Windows 10 key to upgrade your PC. You can still upgrade your PC with your older Windows license and the activation works without any issue. Here is how you can do it.
Download the Media Creation Tool from here and run it. Just choose “Upgrade this PC” option and click on “Next”. That’s it. The tool will download and upgrade your older Windows PC to Windows 10 without requiring a Windows 10 Key.
If you want to check the activation after updating to Windows 10, navigate to Settings-> Update and Security-> Activation tab on the left pane. Here, you will find the activation status. This way you will save yourself from buying a new Windows 10 key.
If the free version of Windows 10 doesn’t cut for you or you are not a student anymore or you no longer have an old PC to upgrade then you can buy a new Windows 10 key at a cheaper price. Here I will share some authentic sources from where you can get a genuine Windows 10 key at a much cheaper price. But before that, let me explain briefly the reason behind the low cost. You can get a Windows 10 key from Microsoft at around $200 which is generally called a retail license. A retail license can be used to activate Windows on one system to another as you upgrade your hardware over time. It basically follows you and remains with you.
Whereas, cheaper license keys which you mostly find online are actually OEM keys which are tied to hardware and not you. Once you use an OEM key to activate a single system, it gets tied to the motherboard and it’s exhausted then and there. You can’t use the same license key again in case you replace your motherboard in future or move to a new PC. These OEM keys are generally distributed to large companies in bulk so the prices are significantly low in comparison to the individual retail keys. As you can see, OEM keys are absolutely legal and are no different than retail keys. You can definitely go ahead and buy it. Now having cleared the confusion, let us find some great deals.
There are many shady portals which offer Windows 10 keys for as low as $5 (₹500). However, most of them don’t work and are a complete scam. I suggest you to stay away from those shady deals. To make sure, you are buying from an authentic seller, follow these tips. Always look for the highest rated seller and go through the reviews. Also, look for older sellers which have been on the platform for some time. Now having said all of that, here are the deals to go for.
Buy Windows 10 Key from eBay ($6.55)
Buy Windows 10 Key from Flipkart (₹399)
Note: The Windows 10 Key on eBay regularly gets sold out. So, if our link is not working just search for Windows 10 Key on eBay buy from a trusted seller.
If you want a clean copy of Windows 10 without any question of legitimacy, you should buy a retail Windows 10 key directly from Microsoft. Just head over to Microsoft’s page and buy it without any hesitation. If you are a student, you can avail some discount. Move to the second section above and find the deals offered by your institute.
SEE ALSO: How to Take a Screenshot on Windows 10
So that was our complete guide on how to find Windows 10 key for free or at a much cheaper price. You can go through the article and choose the best method for activating your PC. Personally, I have no problem using the free version of Windows as it allows me to do every single thing of importance. Besides that, I have mentioned the other options as well so go through them. You can also buy cheap Windows 10 keys from eBay or Flipkart. It works pretty well and without any issues. So that will be all from our side. If you still have some questions, you can let us know in the comment section below. We will try to clear up your doubts.
![How to Start Windows 10 in Safe Mode [Updated]](http://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/How-to-Start-Windows-10-in-Safe-Mode-Updated.jpg)
Windows 10 is a great operating system with plenty of features. It comes with decent malware protection and has several security safeguards. However, the lack of sandboxing and abundant use of third-party programs make the OS vulnerable to unidentifiable attacks. In such cases, we have to use Safe mode on Windows 10 to inspect and cleanse our PC from harmful programs. If you are facing a similar situation and want to know how to start Windows 10 in Safe mode, you have come to the right place. Here, I have discussed everything from basics to advanced methods to boot Windows 10 in Safe mode. So without further ado, let’s get started.
In this article, we will learn how to start Windows 10 in Safe mode, for both functional and non-functional PCs. If your PC is booting fine then you can easily start Windows 10 in Safe mode. However, if Windows 10 is not booting at all and showing a blank screen then there are two neat ways to start the PC in Safe mode. You can jump through the section to find a desirable solution. Now having said that, let’s begin the guide for working PCs first.
If your PC is working fine and you want to start Windows 10 in Safe mode then follow the steps mentioned in this section. All four methods are pretty easy and straightforward so you will not have any issues booting Windows 10 into safe mode. With that being said, here we begin.
1. This is the easiest way to start Windows 10 in Safe mode. Just open the Power menu and press the “Shift” key while clicking on the “Restart” menu.
2. The PC will restart to “Choose an Option” screen. Here, click on the “Troubleshoot” menu.
3. If your PC is not booting into “Choose an Option” screen then go back to the Windows sign-in screen and restart the PC while pressing the “Shift” key.
4. On the next screen, click on the “Advanced Options”.
5. Now, click on “Startup Settings”.
6. Here, click on the “Restart” button to boot into the Startup menu.
7. Finally, you will see the option to boot into Safe mode. Press “4” or “F4” key to boot into Safe mode. If you want internet access in Safe mode, press “5” or “F5” key.
8. The PC will reboot again and it will start Windows 10 in Safe mode. Now you can go ahead and inspect your PC.
9. To get out of the Safe mode, simply restart and you will be back in the normal mode.
1. You can start Windows 10 in Safe mode through Advance Startup as well. Just press “Windows” and “I” keys at once to open the Windows Settings. Here, click on “Update and Security” menu.
2. After that, switch to the “Recovery” tab and click on the “Restart Now” button under Advanced Startup.
3. Your PC will restart to “Choose an Option” screen. From here on, you can follow the similar steps shown in the above section. Finally, Windows 10 will start in Safe mode.
1. You can configure the Boot menu to force Windows 10 to start in Safe mode. All you have to do is press “Windows” and “R” keys simultaneously to open the Run window. Here, type “msconfig” and hit enter.
2. A System Configuration window will open. Here, switch to the “Boot” tab and enable the checkbox for “Safe Boot”. Finally, click on the “Ok” button and close the window.
3. In a few seconds, a prompt will appear asking you to restart Windows 10. Just click on the “Restart” button and your PC will instantly restart and boot into the Safe mode.
4. In case you want to go back to the normal mode, open the System Configuration window again in Safe mode and uncheck the “Safe Boot” option. Further, click on “Ok” and restart your PC. Now, Windows 10 will boot into the normal mode.
In earlier versions of Windows, pressing the F8 key while booting Windows would open the startup menu. From there, you could easily boot into the Safe mode within seconds. It was the easiest and best way around to boot into the Safe mode. However, with the release of Windows 8 things changed and now the F8 key functionality has been deprecated. Nevertheless, there is a neat way to enable booting into Safe mode through the F8 key. It works just like before and it’s awesome. Here, I am going to show you how to get it back.
1. Press the “Windows” key once and type “cmd”. Command Prompt will appear in the search result. Simply click on “Run as Administrator” in the right pane. After that, it will prompt you to confirm your action, click on “Yes”.
2. Now just copy the following command and paste it in the Command Prompt window. After that, hit enter and the changes will be made.
bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy
3. Now, restart your PC and press the F8 key while booting, you will be greeted with Advanced Windows Startup menu. From here, you can easily start Windows 10 in Safe mode.
4. In case, you want to revert the changes, open Command Prompt again and paste the following command. Now, hit enter and the F8 key functionality will be disabled.
bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy standard
If your PC is not booting and keeps throwing a blank screen then you will have to take another route to start Windows 10 in Safe mode. In some cases, rogue programs take over the crucial resources of the computer and impair the operating system from running properly. To disable these programs and services, you will have to boot into Safe mode through the Windows recovery environment. In this section, I am going to show you how you can start Windows 10 in Safe mode on non-functioning PCs.
Yes, you read that right. In order to trigger the Windows recovery environment(winRE), you must interrupt the normal boot process by turning off the PC and turning it on for three consecutive times. winRE automatically kicks in whenever it finds there is a problem with the startup process. Here, I will show you how to do it.
1. Turn on the PC and wait for the loading Windows screen to appear. After that, press the power button for straight 10 seconds to turn off the PC forcibly.
2. Again, turn on the computer and turn it off similar to the above step. Repeat the same steps one more time.
3. Following three consecutive interruptions, turn on the PC again. This time the PC will boot into Windows recovery environment. At first, it will try to repair the computer by itself. so wait for some time.
4. In case, winRE fails to repair the computer, it will provide you an “Advanced Option” to repair the PC. Click on it and it will lead you to “Choose an Option” screen.
5. From here on, you can easily boot into the Safe mode. I have shown the complete steps with screenshots in the first section above so check that out. Anyway, you can follow this path to find the Safe mode option.
Troubleshoot -> Advanced Options -> Startup Settings -> Restart -> Press “4” or “F4” key to boot into Safe mode.
If the above method didn’t work or your PC is not even booting or showing any sign of life then follow this method. You will need a Windows 10 installation disc or a bootable thumb drive. If you have no idea how to create a bootable USB, follow our tutorial here. Having said that, let’s begin with the steps.
1. Insert the Windows 10 installation disc or a bootable thumb drive on your PC. After that, turn on your computer. Your computer should detect the external Windows installation source. You will see something like this.
2. After that, an installer window will appear. Select your language, country, and keyboard layout and click on the “Next” button.
3. Here, click on “Repair your computer” located at the bottom.
4. Finally, it will open “Choose an Option” menu. Here, click on “Troubleshoot”.
5. On the next screen, click on “Advanced Options” and then open “Command Prompt”.
6. Here, type the following command and hit enter. It will force Windows 10 to boot into the Safe mode by default.
bcdedit /set {default} safeboot minimal
7. After that, close the Command Prompt window and go back to the “Choose an Option” screen. Here, click on “Continue” to start Windows 10 in Safe mode.
8. Your PC should boot fine into Safe mode. Now, you can cleanse your PC from rogue programs and viruses.
9. In case, you want to move back to the normal mode, open Command Prompt again by following the same process mentioned above. After that, type the following command and hit enter. This will reset the boot menu to normal mode.
bcdedit /deletevalue {default} safeboot
10. Now come back to “Choose an Option” screen and click on “Continue” to boot into the normal mode. That’s it.
SEE ALSO: How to Speed up Windows 10 in 2019 [Effective Methods]
So that was our detailed guide on how to start Windows 10 in Safe mode. The process is pretty straightforward if your PC is working fine. However, if you are facing problems booting into your Windows 10 PC, then I have shared two alternate methods which can save your day. Nevertheless, you can go through all the options and choose the one that you find convenient. In case, your PC is still not booting to Safe mode, you can comment down below with your questions. We will be happy to take a look.
With the release of Windows 10 in 2015, Microsoft brought many changes to the foundation of Windows OS. One of the major changes was overhauling the Windows Photo Viewer and replacing it with a modern-looking Photos app. However, the performance took a big hit with the new app and still in 2019, the app takes a significant amount of time before it previews an image. This issue remains a major grudge among Windows users as most people generally browse photos on their Windows PC. Nevertheless, we have found some great Windows Photo Viewer alternatives which can replace the native Photos app. Also, I have mentioned a neat hack which can bring back the old Windows Photo Viewer on Windows 10. So having said that, let’s begin with the list.
In this section, I have mentioned a total of 8 Windows Photo Viewer alternatives which perform way better than the native Photos app. Also, you can go through the simple guide to restore the old Windows Photo Viewer. Now without wasting any time, let’s get started.
IrfanView is the best application for viewing photos on Windows PCs, hands down. You are absolutely going to love this app if you are coming from the default Windows 10 Photos app. Unlike the Windows Photo Viewer, it’s extremely snappy and loads images in no time. The difference in performance is simply day and night given that IrfanView is a pretty lightweight app. It has a footprint of just 3 MB so there’s no bloatware embedded in the app.
Besides the performance, it supports countless media formats, has decent image editor built in, can convert media files, batch edit images and a lot more. You can also zoom images and switch to different images with the scroll bar. Basically, the functionalities are very similar to the earlier Windows Photo Viewer and you will get all those perks with IrfanView. So if you are looking for the best Windows Photo Viewer alternative, just install IrfanView and say goodbye to the laggy mess that is the Windows 10 Photos app.
Download IrfanView from Microsoft Store (Free)
Install IrfanView from its Website (Free)
While IrfanView is a complete powerhouse of an app, it looks dated in terms of user interface and design. If you want similar performance like Irfanview, but with modern aesthetics, then ImageGlass is a great alternative. It’s a simple, modern looking photo viewer without any bells and whistles, but the performance is vastly superior to the native Windows 10 Photos app. The image loading time is almost negligible and you get an instant preview of the images the moment you open it. What I love about ImageGlass is the quick menu on top of the image. Unlike nested menus, it has quick access to all important features like rotation, zoom, print, etc on the top bar. You want to rotate an image, just click on the rotate button and there you have it. Overall, ImageGlass is a great Windows Photo Viewer alternative and I am sure you will love the performance jump from the native Photos app. If IrfanView’s user interface doesn’t cut for you, you should definitely go for ImageGlass.
Download ImageGlass from its Website (Free)
For many, the simple photo viewer on Windows 7 was the best app to view images. It was fast, efficient and worked without any issues. If you want the same app on Windows 10 as well then there is good news. You can get back the old Windows 7 Photo Viewer on Windows 10 easily and without much workarounds. In this section, I will share some easy steps to replace the Photos app on Windows 10 with the older Windows Photo Viewer. So without further ado, let’s begin with the steps.
1. First of all, download the Registry file to activate old Windows Photo Viewer from here.
2. Now, open the Registry file. It will seek your permission, allow it. After that, it will ask your final permission before merging the file with your Registry. Click on the “Yes” button.
3. Now open Windows Settings by pressing “Windows” and “I” keys at once. Here, click on “Apps”.
4. Next, switch to the “Default Apps” tab on the left pane and change the default photo viewer to “Windows Photo Viewer”.
5. Now go ahead and open images. You will find the old Windows Photo Viewer is back and the images are loading in no time. Enjoy!
If you are someone who always wants to view the images in full-screen mode then FastStone Stone Viewer is the best app to get. It’s pretty fast, opens a range of image formats, and gives you a complete view of the image in its entirety. If you are a photo editor, the full-screen preview can help you a lot in getting a clear idea of the image. This app is basically designed for users who work on images all day long. Besides, there are also a few editing options including color management, viewing histogram, changing effects, etc. All in all, FastOne Image Viewer is a powerful photo viewer app with great performance. And if you are a photographer or an image editor, this app is strongly recommended.
Download FastStone Image Viewer from its Website (Free)
XnView is quite a popular app for viewing photos on Windows computers. What makes XnView stand out from other apps is that it can handle multiple images in a single, tabbed window. Having a one-stop window for all the open images make it easier for users to view and navigate to all the photos at the same time. For example, if you want to compare multiple images side by side, then it can organize the images in a single window with the ability to preview images in detail. You can zoom, change the orientation, start a slideshow all within one window. I found this feature really interesting and helpful. It’s one of the best Windows Photo Viewer alternatives and you will be surprised to see the performance even while dealing with multiple images. So to break down XnView for you, if you are someone who deals with multiple images at once then XnView is a great option. Go for it.
Download XnView from its Website (Free)
HoneyView is a simple and lightweight photo viewer for the Windows platform. It doesn’t fancy a long list of features like other apps in this list but provides a minimal interface with stable performance. Image loading is fairly quick and you won’t find any sort of lag issues. Further, the app has all the basic features like crop, rotation, slideshow, etc. However, there are two things that I liked the most and those are bookmarks and image clipboard. You can bookmark an image and find it quickly whenever you are browsing photos on your PC. Also, you can copy multiple images in the clipboard and paste them in predefined folders. So to conclude, if you are looking for Windows Photo Viewer alternatives, HoneyView is an awesome app to replace the native Photos app. It’s kind of simple yet functional and very stable. Also, if you don’t want any Registry hacks, this is the closest you can get to the older Windows Photo Viewer.
Download HoneyView from its Website (Free)
Nomacs is an open-source photo viewer app and it’s pretty good, both in terms of performance and visuals. Talking about the former, photo loading is way faster and efficient than the native Photos app. The image preview is almost instant and there is no stutter or lag while opening multiple images. Coming to the interface, it has got a standard look of an image viewer with a dash of image editor baked in. There are basic features like zoom, crop, print, etc. However, underneath, it also has an inbuilt image editor which is pretty feature-rich. You can sharpen images, do batch processing, manage opacity, and a lot more. To sum up, if you are looking for Windows Photo Viewer alternatives which can also provide you some editing features then Nomacs is the best pick for you. I am sure you are going to love it.
Download Nomacs from its Website (Free)
JPEGView is the lightest of all the apps mentioned in this list with a memory footprint of just 2 MB. At the outset, it is a very simple photo viewer app with support for JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF, and a few other media formats. By default, JPEGView opens the images in full-screen mode, but you can change it to window mode as well. It offers a few features like color correction, quick navigation, photo enhancements, etc within the app. You also get basic features including rotation, slideshow, quick access to EXIF data, etc. Overall, I like JPEGView for its tiny footprint and good performance without choking the CPU. So, if you are using a low-powered Windows PC and looking to replace the native Photos app then JPEGView can be a great alternative. You should definitely go for it.
Download JPEGView from its Website (Free)
SEE ALSO: How to Legally Get Windows 10 Key for Free or Cheap in 2019
So that ends our article on the best Windows Photo Viewer alternatives available right now. You can go through the list of apps and find out which one suffices your need. I have tried to include apps for various use-cases so that you can choose accordingly. However, I would like to recommend IrfanView as it’s the fastest image viewer out there. The image loading is just blazing fast. Further, if you are proficient with Windows OS then go for the Registry hack and bring back the old Windows Photo Viewer. It’s worth doing it. So that’s all from our side. If you liked the article and want to see similar articles on Windows then do let us know in the comment section below.
While Windows 10 is improving by leaps and bounds, there are some legacy features the new OS is sadly leaving behind. It’s the same case with the inbuilt DVD player. For years, Windows users could play DVDs with the native Windows Media Center application without any problem. However, due to some issues with proprietary codecs, Microsoft had to forego the once-popular Windows Media Center. Now with WMC being discontinued, the users are out on a limb. So in this article, I have shared the 10 best DVD players for Windows 10 which work flawlessly. Along with that, I have provided some additional tips to make the DVD playback seamless on your PC. So without wasting any time, let us begin.
Windows Media Center was a popular media application which had support for several media formats. It could play media files directly from the DVD without any codec or incompatibility issues. However, due to licensing issues with the MPEG2 codec, Microsoft had to strip Windows Media Center from native DVD playback support. Gradually, WMC faded into oblivion and Microsoft discontinued the product with the release of Windows 10. At present, there is no native way to play DVDs on Windows 10. But you don’t have to worry at all. We have got some amazing third-party apps which can play DVDs without any issue. So without further ado, let’s begin with the best DVD players for Windows 10.
In this section, we will share the 10 best DVD players for Windows 10. Almost all the apps support and can play a large number of DVD media formats. Besides the third-party apps, we have also included a DVD player developed by Microsoft. So that being said, let’s go ahead and check out the apps.
VLC doesn’t need much introduction, but if you have no idea about it, let me briefly tell you about this awesome app. VLC is a free and open-source media player which supports countless numbers of media formats. It can play DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and both encrypted and unencrypted DVDs. Talking about the performance, it’s simply top-notch and plays videos without any stuttering issues. You won’t find any incompatibility, lag or audio issues with VLC, largely due to its huge library of decoders and encoders. VLC heavily relies on FFmpeg project which provides many alternatives to the proprietary codecs. All in all, it’s one of the best apps among all DVD players for Windows 10 and you simply can’t go wrong with it.
Download VLC Media Player (Free)
Note: You must have VLC 3.0 and above to play Blu-ray media files. Also, make sure to download the installation file directly from the official website. The one hosted on Microsoft Store doesn’t support Blu-ray playback.
Since Windows Media Center is no longer available, Microsoft has developed a standalone app which can play DVDs fairly well. It is not part of the OS and you will have to download it from the Microsoft Store. Do note that Windows DVD Player is a paid app and you will have to shell out $14.99 to buy it. But before that, you can take a 7-day free trial and decide if you want to go with this app. At the outset, it plays DVDs pretty well and supports many video formats. However, you can’t play Blu-rays so that’s a bummer. Nevertheless, the performance is decent and I found no playback issues. Overall, it’s a good app without any bells and whistles. If you miss Windows Media Center, this app could be a good replacement, but do take a trial before finalizing your purchase.
Download Windows DVD Player (Free trial for 7 days, $14.99)
Media Player Classic is a pretty popular app, second only to VLC. Similar to VLC, it’s a free and open-source app which supports a multitude of media formats. It can render DVD and Blu-ray media files flawlessly using its in-house developed codec. MPC, as it’s widely known, is popular for its community-based codec pack. It’s their largest library of codecs which can transcode and play almost every media format out there. To conclude, Media Player Classic one of the best DVD players for Windows 10. If VLC Media Player doesn’t cut for you due to some reason, I have no hesitation recommending the Media Player Classic. Go for it.
Download Media Player Classic (Free)
Kodi is a powerful media center app which can play any and everything you throw at it. Among the many things it offers, Kodi has playback support for DVDs, CDs, Blu-rays and a lot more. You have to just insert the DVD and Kodi will detect the media source. It uses something called the Core which is designed to handle DVD playback. The Core is based on the libdvdcss library which supports almost all the mainstream media formats. It’s so powerful that it can transcode media files in real-time. It can play videos directly from VOB, FUP and other DVD media formats without uncompressing it. If you are looking for the best DVD players for Windows 10, Kodi is surely one of them. You should definitely give it a try.
Note: To play DVDs automatically with Kodi, go to Settings-> Player-> Discs-> Enable the first toggle. Also, if you are new to Kodi, check out our article on best Kodi addons, Kodi repos, Kodi skins, Kodi keyboard shortcuts, Kodi installation guides, and more to get started with the app.
Download Kodi (Free)
CyberLink PowerDVD is a powerful application to play all kinds of media disc formats. It can play 8K, 4K and HDR videos from DVD and Blu-ray media discs. The app has got certification from the Blu-ray Disc Association so it uses the proprietary codecs to play a large number of media formats without any playback issues. Besides the video playback, it has got TrueTheater Technology which is supposed to bring surround sound system effect. It’s clear that CyberLink PowerDVD is a feature-rich app and one of the best DVD players for Windows 10. But it comes at a price and you will have to pay $59.99 to buy the Standard version. However, before purchasing you can take a free trial for 30 days and see if the premium features make sense to you.
Download CyberLink PowerDVD (Free Trial for 30 days, Standard Version Starts at $59.99)
KMPlayer is one of the oldest and most powerful multimedia players available for Windows 10 OS. It supports a wide range of media formats including DVD, VCD, SVCD, and Blu-ray disc images. KMPlayer sports a powerful renderer which can play any kind of video format you throw at it. The video quality is great and there is no lag whatsoever even while playing large files. KMPlayer has a huge list of media libraries and in-house codec support which brings significant improvement to DVD playback. Simply put, if you are looking for a DVD Player for Windows 10 which supports almost every media format then KMPlayer is for you. Just install it and you will be all set to play DVDs on your Windows 10 PC without any issues.
Download KMPlayer (Free)
PotPlayer is a simple multimedia player for Windows 10 with support for DVD playback. It doesn’t have a fancy UI but it can play Blu-ray disc images, IFO media files, and more. The great part is that the performance is absolutely fantastic. It uses open-source video codecs to transcode and render DVD media files. I found no stuttering, incompatibility or rendering issues while playing DVD files with PotPlayer. If you are looking for a no-frills DVD player for Windows 10, PotPlayer can be a great alternative. You should definitely give it a shot before going for the paid ones.
Download PotPlayer (Free)
SMPlayer is another free and open-source app which can play a large number of media formats including DVD, VCD, Blu-ray, etc. The video playback is excellent with great clarity and it can also play 4K videos up to 60 FPS. Overall, the performance is quite stable and I found no glitch while playing multiple DVD media files. It can also provide subtitles for videos played from DVD and Blu-ray discs so that’s great. Besides, SMPlayer supports hardware acceleration so you will not face playback delay or stuttering issues while playing a large volume of DVD media files. All in all, it’s an awesome DVD player for Windows 10 and you can give it a try for a change.
Download SMPlayer (Free)
GOM Player is an interesting DVD player for Windows 10. Among many media formats, it can play DVD, VCD and SVCD disc images flawlessly. The distinct feature about GOM Player is that it can play broken media files by finding the missing codecs. It has something called Codec Finder service which looks for the damaged part and rebuilds the index. It patches the bad frames with missing codecs or by simply skipping it. If you have a DVD and you are unable to play it due to damaged tracks, you can give GOM Player a shot. It’s definitely worth it.
Download GOM Player (Free)
5KPlayer is our final app on this list. It’s a multimedia player which supports several mainstream media formats including DVD and VCD images. Do note that it doesn’t support Blu-ray media files so you will have to convert the disc images first and then play it with 5KPlayer. Talking about the performance, it is quite decent and the app can play DVD file formats directly from the optical disc. I didn’t find any stutter or audio delay issues while playing DVDs so that is great. All in all, it’s quite a decent app and you can give it a try if you want a sleek-looking DVD player for your Windows 10 PC.
Download 5KPlayer (Free)
In the above section, I have shared the top 10 best DVD players for Windows 10. But if you want to truly have a seamless experience with DVDs then you must tweak the Auto-Play settings. It will make the DVD watching experience much better. Here is how you can do it.
1. Press the Windows key once and type “DVD”. You will find “Play CDs or other media automatically” option. Click on it.
2. Here, scroll down and change the “DVD movie option” to the DVD player of your choice. Similarly, you can change apps for other scenarios as well. After that, click on the “Save” button.
3. That’s it. Now whenever you will insert a DVD on your PC, the said DVD player will open up, ready to play the media files. Enjoy!
SEE ALSO: 10 Best DVD Burning Software
So that was our list of top 10 DVD players for Windows 10. You can go through the article and pick whichever fits your bill. I would, however, recommend VLC because of its no-nonsense experience. You just install VLC and it works. Nevertheless, you can go through other options and choose one according to your preference. So to wrap up, if you liked the article or you want to share your favorite DVD player, do comment down below. We will definitely check it out.
Windows 10 is a great operating system with advanced security features and lots of safeguards at different levels. However, we can’t rule out the possibility of a system failure with any electronic device. There can be hardware or software issues which may cripple the system completely. In such cases, taking a backup is highly recommended and it becomes more so given that Windows has been prone to system failures and BSOD errors in the past. While resetting Windows 10 can solve some of these problems, in most cases, you will stand to lose your data. So to avoid any such unforeseen failures, we should take a Windows 10 backup and store it on a separate memory device like an external hard disk. For this article, we have done thorough research and found some great native and third-party tools to create Windows 10 backup. So without further ado, let’s begin with the guide.
In this article, we are going to discuss both native and third-party solutions for creating backup of your Windows 10 machines so you don’t have to lose your data.
Microsoft offers three ways to create a Windows 10 backup. The easiest method is File History which lets you back up your important files to a separate memory device. The second way is to create a complete system image which will help you recover your PC from hardware failures or OS damages. The third one is a cloud-based backup through OneDrive. So having talked briefly about the different ways, let us dive deep and learn about all the methods in detail.
Back Up Windows 10 Using File History
Using the File History feature, we can create exact copies of drives and save it on a separate memory device. Keep in mind that this process will only backup your files and not Windows OS. In case, you want to completely create a full Windows 10 backup including system files, move to the next section. Also, you will need an additional memory storage device to store the backup. You can use a portable hard disk or pen drive to store the backup.
1. First of all connect your external storage device. Now, open Windows Settings by pressing “Windows” and “I” keys at once. Here, open “Update and Security”.
2. After that, switch to the “Backup” tab on the left pane. Under “Backup using File History”, click on “Add a drive” option.
3. Here, you will find the removable memory storage device. Click on it and you are all set to automatically backup your files.
4. On the next page, you can customize various settings like which folders to back up and the frequency of backups.
You can create a full Windows 10 backup with Backup and Restore feature. It lets you create an exact copy of your hard disk including the operating system. In case, there are hardware failures or operating system issues in the future, the full system image can help you restore your PC to the working state with all your personal files intact. Interestingly, Backup and Restore was first released with Windows 7, but it’s not in active development right now. The same functionality has been shipped with Windows 10 without any major changes. Now having said all of that, let’s begin with steps.
1. Open Control Panel and click on “Backup and Restore (Windows 7)” under System and Security.
2. Here, click on “Create a System Image”.
3. Now select the drive where you want to save the complete system image and click on the “Next” button. It’s recommended that you save it on a separate memory device to recover your PC from unforeseen damages.
4. Next, you can choose the additional drives to include in the system image. After that, click on “Start Backup”. That’s it. The backup process will start in the background and you will be notified once it’s done.
If you want to back up all your important files and folders to the cloud then you can use OneDrive. It comes pre-installed on Windows 10 so you will not have to manually install it. Here is how you can use it to sync your files seamlessly to the cloud.
1. Press the “Windows” button once and type OneDrive. You will find the app on the top of the search result. Click on it.
2. Here, sign in to your Microsoft Account. If you don’t have a Microsoft Account, go here and create one.
3. After that, you will find the OneDrive folder in your “User” folder. Here, you can move any file or folder and it will be instantly synced to OneDrive. If you want to access the files on the cloud, you can do so by following this link. You are done.
In this section, we will learn about some great third-party applications which can create complete Windows 10 backups in a few clicks. We will talk about two awesome apps which can create a full system image and a separate app to backup your files to cloud. So having said that, let’s begin with the first app.
Macrium Reflect is the best way to clone your hard drive to an external memory device. It works very similar to the Backup and Restore feature, but provides a lot of customization and features. The great part is that you can create a single system image which can be mounted on a pen drive or hard disk as a bootable media. Basically, you will be able to clone your system to other PCs in a few clicks. Now let’s go through the steps.
1. Download the free version of Macrium Reflect from here. You can also go for the paid version which costs $69.95 for extra features. However, the free version is quite good and has all the necessary features required for a complete Windows 10 backup.
2. Run the installer and you will get a bunch of options. Keep it as it is and click on the “Download” button. The installer will start downloading the setup file. Further, click on “Next” wherever necessary.
3. You will need to register your email ID and provide the key to continue with the installation.
4. After the installation is complete, Macrium Reflect will open up. Here, select the drives you want to backup and click on “image this disk”.
4. After that, choose the destination folder to save the Windows 10 backup image. Now, click on “Next”.
5. Here, choose the Template for your Backup Plan. It basically means how and when the backup schedule will occur. The best plan is “Differential Backup Set” so choose that and simply click on the “Next” button.
6. Here, you will be shown the summary of backup drives, rules, and schedules. Click on “Finish” and you are all set to backup Windows 10 without any issues.
7. It’s recommended to move the backup file to a separate memory device or simply choose a separate removable media as the destination folder. It will save you from a lot hassle if the hardware breaks in the future.
8. In case, you are swapping a new hard disk or moving to a new PC, I would recommend you to go for “Clone this disk” option. It will copy everything from boot partition to the type of disk including the OS and personal files. But you will need a separate hard disk to clone your system.
9. There are also various features available in Macrium Reflect including scheduler, backup for specific folders, system image backup, etc. You can go through them and find the best way to create a full Windows 10 backup.
AOMEI Backupper is another great utility for creating a complete Windows 10 backup. The USP of this app is its user-friendly interface. If you find Macrium Reflect to be overwhelming, you can go for AOMEI Backupper. It has got almost all the features including disk, files, system and partition backup. Here is how you can use it.
1. Download the free version of AOMEI Backupper from here. If you want advanced features, you can also go for the professional edition for $43.96.
2. Install the program and open it. You will find these two options on the home screen. Click on “Backup”.
3. Here, choose the type of backup you want to do. If you want to create a Windows 10 backup solely for the operating system, choose “System Backup” and click on “Next”.
4. Here, select the destination folder to save the backup file and click on “Start Backup”. You can use both, local or external drive to store the Windows 10 backup image.
5. In case, you want to backup specific folders, you can choose “File Backup”. And for complete hard disk backup, choose “Disk Backup”. If you want to backup folders at a specific time automatically then choose “File Sync”. Finally, if you want to retain the Master Bootloader with the recovery partition, choose “Partition backup”. This will let you backup the recovery OS mostly on laptops.
6. So that’s how you can create a Windows 10 backup image using the AOMEI Backupper. You can also use the “Clone” feature, in case you are swapping new hard disk or moving to an SSD.
While local backup is great, sometimes the cloud backup makes things a lot easier in storing and finding our files. If you are looking to seamlessly back up important files to the cloud, Backup and Sync from Google is a great option. You can use it to upload your files and folders to Google Drive instantly. Here is how you can use Backup and Sync on Windows 10.
1. First of all, download Backup and Sync from here and run it. Now, log in to your Google account.
2. After that, it will ask you to select pre-defined folders which it will automatically back up. Click on “Next” and you are all set to backup Windows 10 files.
3. A Google Drive folder is also created on your “User” folder. If you want to instantly back up a file to Google Drive, just paste it in the Google Drive folder and you are done. You can find all your synced files and folders on Google Drive.
SEE ALSO: How to Reset Windows 10 in 2019 [Guide]
So that ends our article on how to create a full Windows 10 backup. As we saw, Windows 10 has two great ways to create a backup. If you want to back up important files and drives then File History can get things done. However, if you are fearful that someday your PC will fail you then you can create a full system image. It will help you in the long run. And in case, if you are not satisfied with native Windows’ tools then you can go for third-party apps. I would recommend Macrium Reflect as it is a powerful app with multiple features. So that will be all from us. If you liked the article or want to share your favorite method to backup Windows 10 then do let us know in the comment section below.
Windows Essentials, as we all know was a suite of exciting Microsoft apps bundled together. It had almost everything a user needed to get started with Windows OS. However, Microsoft discontinued Windows Essentials in 2012 and decoupled the suit into standalone apps. While users can still use Windows Essentials on older operating systems, there are a few features which are broken and doesn’t work at all. So if you are looking to make Windows Essentials work on the latest Windows 10, you have come to the right place. In this article, I have tried to deconstruct Windows Essentials and have shared the steps to get it working on Windows 10. Also, I have provided a few alternatives to the popular Windows Essentials apps.
Before we get to our tutorial, let us first learn a little about Windows essentials and discuss some of the reasons as to why Microsoft deprecated the beloved suit of applications.
Windows Essentials was released in 2006 with the launch of Windows XP. Windows Essentials became quite popular because it had the most fun and exciting apps Microsoft was developing at that time. For example, there was Live Messenger for instant messaging; Photo Gallery for viewing and sharing photos; Mail for email communication; the hugely popular Movie Maker for creating some great movies; Live Writer for blogging and OneDrive for uploading files to the cloud.
However, Microsoft deprecated Windows Essentials in 2012 and it’s no longer in development. The reason behind discontinuing Windows Essentials is that Microsoft is putting all its focus on Windows 10. At present, Windows 10 comes pre-installed with modern apps having similar functionality to the earlier ones. While it’s understandable that Microsoft is moving forward with modern apps, users still want to use the no-frills suite of Windows Essentials. So if you want to install Windows Essentials on your Windows 10 PC, follow the steps in the below section.
In this section, we will learn how to install Windows Essentials on Windows 10. While the Windows Essentials is officially deprecated, archive.org has archived the last stable build of Windows Essentials 2012. We will be using the same build to install it on our Windows 10 PC. So here is how it goes.
1. Download Windows Essentials 2012 from here. Click on “wlsetup-all.exe” file to download the setup file.
2. Now run the setup file. It’s an offline installer so you will not need an internet connection. However, if the .NET framework is not updated to the latest version on your PC then it will download and install the framework from the internet first.
3. After that, you will be provided two options. Either to install all of the apps included in Windows Essentials or choose the programs you want to install. Click on your preferred choice and proceed ahead.
4. If you want to choose the applications, you will find this screen. Select your choice of applications and click on the “Install” button.
5. Windows Essentials 2012 will start installing the selected programs. So keep patience as it will take some time. After the installation is complete, you will be prompted with this dialog.
6. Now you can go ahead and use Windows Essentials applications as you want. Here is Windows Movie Maker running on Windows 10.
Note: Integration with various sites like Facebook, Vimeo, etc. are broken due to API changes. So you will not be able to interact with other services right from the application.
In this section, we will get to know about all the Windows Essentials alternatives. While Windows Essentials was great, there are a few features which are broken due to API changes. Also, the user interface looks dated and doesn’t blend well with the Windows 10 design language. Anyway, if you have moved to Windows 10 and want to discover a new suite of apps which can replace Windows Essentials, then read on and find out the alternatives.
I want to talk about Windows Movie Maker first because it was the most popular application among all the Windows Essentials apps. For the time, Windows Movie Maker was really great and feature-rich. I loved creating short movies with images, videos, and audio synced in the background. However, with Windows 10, Microsoft has replaced Windows Movie Maker with a new feature called Microsoft Story Remix. The feature is part of the Photos app on Windows 10 and you can use it to create stunning videos. Similar to WMM, you can import images, videos, audio and a lot more. Also, you have a new set of 3D effects, video filters, and transition effects which are really cool and brings a pleasant look to the videos. While WMM was good for its time, Microsoft Story Remix is a modern app with new features and enhancements. You should give it a look.
The Photos app comes pre-installed on Windows 10 so look for Photos and open it. Now, click on “New Video” on the top-bar to get started with Microsoft Story Remix. If you are unable to find the Photos app, here is the direct link.
Install Photos (Free)
Windows Live Mail was a pretty good email client, but there were some issues with automatic deletion of emails. Nevertheless, Windows Live Mail has been replaced with a modern-looking Mail app on Windows 10. It has almost every feature of Windows Live Mail and I would say it brings a ton of improvements. On the plus side, it supports notifications, multiple email protocols, has a nice user interface and brings a stable experience. Also, Calendar and Tasks are now integrated with the Mail app so you will always be up to date with your schedule. If you are looking to replace Windows Live Mail, the new Mail app is worth the look.
The Mail app comes pre-installed on Windows 10. Just search for the Mail app and you will have it. In case you are unable to find it, here is the direct link to the Mail app.
Install Mail (Free)
Windows Photo Gallery was surely a hotshot among the Windows Essentials apps. You could organize all your photos on the PC and edit them without leaving the window. There was also a photo-sharing option through OneDrive and Facebook. Nevertheless, Windows 10 has a standalone Photos app which can do everything that Windows Photo Gallery could do. You can organize all your photos and videos, create albums and edit them within a single application. The great part is that the Photos app can detect identical human faces and organize them in separate folders. It can also organize photos and videos based on similar locations. As you can see, the new Photos app on Windows 10 is quite capable and can be a great alternative to the Windows Photo Gallery.
The Photos app comes pre-installed on Windows 10 so search for it and you will get it. If you are unable to find it, here is the direct link for the Photos app.
Install Photos (Free)
The OneDrive application bundled with Windows Essentials 2012 is outdated and you should use the latest version of OneDrive on Windows 10. OneDrive has gone through many iterations of active development and now it supports seamless sync without any latency issues. You can upload photos, files, folders and huge volumes of data instantly. The great part is that any changes in local files are reflected in real-time on the cloud. So to sum up, if you are using the old OneDrive that came with Windows Essentials, you should install the latest version.
OneDrive comes pre-installed on Windows 10. Anyway, here is the direct link for the latest OneDrive build.
Install OneDrive (Free)
Family Safety was part of Windows Essentials in Windows 7. It had a few options like web filtering and access to activity history of family members enrolled in Family Safety. However, after 2012, Microsoft decoupled Family Safety from the OS to a unified portal on the web called Family Group. If you are a parent, you can access your kids’ activity history from the Family Group dashboard. You can also set screen time limits, filter content, share your Office 365 subscription, access your kids’ location, and a lot more. We can see that the new Family Group is a much robust management center to control and access various aspects of your family members. I would recommend you to go with Family Group instead of the limited Family Safety app.
You can access the Family Group dashboard on the web from here.
Windows Live Writer was one of the popular Windows Essentials apps for bloggers and publishers. It supported many blogging platforms including WordPress, Blogger, Squarespace, etc. For writers, it was truly a great application with various features and integration with many blogging platforms. However, Microsoft chose to discontinue Windows Live Writer and currently there is no official alternative on Windows 10. But there is nothing to worry as the .NET foundation has forked Windows Live Writer and created Open Live Writer. The new Open Live Writer looks and works very similar to its old predecessor. The integration with various blogging platforms have been fixed and now you can use Open Live Writer without any issues. The application is available on Microsoft Store so you can easily grab it.
Install Open Live Writer (Free)
SEE ALSO: 50 Useful Windows 10 Keyboard Shortcuts You Should Use (2019)
So that ends our article on Windows Essentials and how you can get it working on Windows 10. However, I would recommend you to go for the alternatives as I have mentioned in the article. The alternatives are quite good and polished with familiar features and great performance. But if you are someone who is well-versed with the old interface and features then you can very well install all the Windows Essentials apps on your PC. So to wrap up, if you liked the article and want to share your thoughts about Windows Essentials, do comment down below and let us know.
Windows 10 is an overall great operating system, there is no doubt about that. However, users across the spectrum feel that Windows 7 was much simpler, easy to use and provided better performance. Well, to be frank, that is true to some extent as Windows 10 is shipped with lots of bloatware and unnecessary features and apps. Recently, we did an article on how to speed up Windows 10 to make it bloat-free. Even if you don’t want to roll back to Windows 7, sometimes the new Windows 10 updates break your PC and it’s wiser to rollback to previous versions of Windows 10 to use it smoothly. In this article, I have shared three simple ways to downgrade Windows 10 to the previous OS or build in easy steps.
Here, we will learn about all the methods to downgrade Windows 10. You can either downgrade to Windows 7/8/8.1 or the previous Windows 10 working build. There are three ways to achieve this task and we will take you through all of them. So having said that, let us begin with the easiest method.
If you have recently upgraded your PC to Windows 10 from Windows 7/8/8.1 then this is the sure-shot method to downgrade to the earlier OS. The process is pretty simple and straightforward. While your data will not be deleted in the process. It’s still recommended to back up your valuable files and folders. Now, let’s begin with the steps.
Note: You can’t downgrade Windows 10 using this method if you are past 10 days of Windows 10 upgrade. So make sure the 10 days limit has not reached before you attempt to downgrade your PC. If you are past 10 days, this method will only downgrade your PC to the last updated version of Windows 10.
1. Press “Windows” and “I” keys at once to open Windows Settings. Here, click on “Update and Security”.
2. Switch to the “Recovery” tab and you will find “Go back to previous version” section. Click on the “Get Started” button just below the section.
3. Now Windows will take you through many options. It will ask you if you want to keep your files, programs, drivers, etc. Choose accordingly and proceed ahead. Finally, click on “Go back to earlier build” button and your computer will restart and initiate the downgrade process.
4. After a few hours, your computer will boot back to the previous operating system. Now, you can enjoy your PC with earlier Windows OS in full glory.
If you are past the 10 days limit then you can downgrade Windows 10 using the Reset tool. It allows you to go back to the first operating system that your PC shipped with. However, this process also wipes the data so make sure to back up everything essential from your PC. Keep in mind, resetting the PC to factory default settings will reset your computer to the first installed OS i.e. when you bought your PC. For example, if your PC had Windows 7 when you had bought it then it would reset to Windows 7. However, if your PC had Windows 10 initially then it would fall back to Windows 10 only. So keep that in mind and proceed ahead.
1. Similar to the steps mentioned above, navigate to Windows Settings -> Update and Security -> switch to Recovery tab. Here, click on “Get Started” under “Reset this PC” section.
2. Now, a mini window will open. Here, click on “Keep my files” to keep your data intact. Nevertheless, it is advised to back up your data as a precautionary measure.
3. On the next screen, click on “Only the drive where Windows is installed” option. It will only reset your C drive or whichever drive you have installed Windows on.
4. The PC will reboot and start the reset process. After a few hours, your PC will boot with the factory-default version of Windows.
Note: I have written an extensive guide on how to reset Windows 10. You can check my tutorial for detailed instructions, in case you want to dig deeper.
If your Windows 10 PC was working fine, but due to some recent Windows 10 update, your PC is not booting up or having performance issues, then this method will help you downgrade your PC to the previous working build. Here are the steps to follow. Reminding again, make sure to back up important files and folders before attempting to downgrade Windows 10.
1. Open the Recovery window by navigating to Windows Settings -> Update and Security -> switch to Recovery tab. Here, click on “Restart Now” under the “Advanced Startup” section. Your PC will boot to an Advanced Startup screen.
2. In case your PC is not booting at all, then try turning on and off your PC 3 times in a row. An “Automatic Repair” screen should appear. Here, click on “Advanced Options” and it should take you to the Advanced Startup screen.
3. On the Advanced Startup screen, click on “Troubleshoot”.
4. On the next screen, click on “Advanced Options”.
5. Finally, you will find the “Go back to the previous build” option. Click on it and your PC will start the downgrade process. After a while, your computer will boot back to the last working build. Enjoy!
SEE ALSO: How to Create a Full Windows 10 Backup in 2019
So that was our easy guide on how to downgrade Windows 10 to the previous OS or build. There are three different ways to downgrade Windows 10 and you can go through any of them based on what problems you are facing. Overall, the first method should be enough for you. However, if you are past the 10-days rollback period, then move to the second method. And in case, you are having issues with the current build of Windows 10, you can rollback by following the third method. So that will be all from us. If you are still facing issues with Windows 10, do let us know in the comment section below. We will try to help you out.
Gone are the days when you needed a DVD to install Windows operating system. It was a long and tedious process of burning and mounting the disc. With the latest enhancements, you can easily create Windows 10 bootable USB in a few simple steps. In this article, I have shared some of the easiest ways you can install Windows 10. The best part is that it doesn’t take much time and can get your job done in just 3 to 4 minutes. So having said that, let’s begin with the guide and learn how to create Windows 10 bootable USB right away.
There are many ways to create a Windows 10 bootable USB, but we will primarily focus on two popular methods. Besides that, I will also share one interesting method in which you don’t even need a USB pen drive to boot Windows 10, let alone create a bootable USB. So having said that, let’s begin with the guide.
Rufus is a hugely popular application which lets you create bootable USB of any operating system. The best part about Rufus is that it’s pretty fast and light. In fact, it can create bootable drives way early than other tools. I love Rufus for its efficiency and I am pretty sure you are going to love it. Here are the steps.
1. First and foremost, download and install Rufus (free). The file size is pretty low at 1 MB and it doesn’t require any kind of installation. Just download it and run. Initially, it will ask for your permission to run, so click on “Yes”.
2. This is your standard Rufus interface. You don’t have to touch any other options. Just plug your USB pen drive and Rufus will detect it. After that, click on the “SELECT” button and choose the Windows 10 ISO image.
3. Now, click on the “START” button and you are done. In about 3-4 minutes, Rufus will create Windows 10 Bootable USB and then you can use it to live boot on any PC.
If for some reason, you don’t like Rufus, you can use PowerISO (Free) as an alternative. It’s pretty similar to Rufus and works great. To create Windows 10 bootable USB, open Tools and click on “Create Bootable USB”.
Microsoft has developed the Media Creation Tool, a program to create Windows 10 Bootable USB easily. While it doesn’t allow you to manually select an ISO image, it downloads the latest Windows 10 ISO image from Microsoft’s server and creates a bootable USB. Basically, it makes the process much simpler and easier. So here is how it goes.
1. Download Media Creation Tool from here and run it.
2. After that, click on the “Accept” button to proceed ahead.
3. Now, select the “Create Installation Media” option and click on the “Next” button.
4. On the next page, it will pre-select your PC’s configuration. If you want to change it, untick the recommended options and make changes. After that, click on the “Next” button.
5. Here, select the “USB flash drive” option and click on the “Next” button.
6. On the next page, it will detect your USB pen drive. If it’s not showing then remove your pen drive and plug it again. After that, click on the “Next” button.
7. Finally, it will start downloading the latest copy of Windows 10 and will create Windows 10 bootable USB thereafter.
We have been creating Windows 10 bootable USB since a very long time. However, Microsoft has made some great changes in Windows 10 which allow you to mount the ISO image in the form of a DVD drive. Basically, you don’t need a pen drive or a separate tool to create a bootable Windows 10 drive. Here is how to do it.
1. Right-click on the ISO image and click on “Open With” and select “Windows Explorer”.
2. Now, the ISO image will be mounted as a separate bootable drive on your PC. Here, open the “Setup” file and go through the instructions. After that, you will be able to install the operating system without creating a Windows 10 bootable USB.
SEE ALSO: How to Download and Install Windows 10 S on Your PC
So that was our short guide on how to create a Windows 10 bootable USB. As I have mentioned above, Rufus is a no-frills application to create a bootable USB quickly. It’s simply the best and you would not need anything else. However, if you want to install the latest version of Windows 10, I would recommend the Media Creation Tool. It works pretty good and provides a seamless experience. I have also mentioned that you don’t need to create Windows 10 bootable USB, the inbuilt mount feature is great. But, keep in mind, you can only use this method on functional PCs. So that is all from us. If you want to learn more about Windows 10, do comment down below and let us know.