The Edge Web browser built into Windows 10 promises a new ground-up experience after years of diminishing returns from the company’s longtime staple, Internet Explorer. Besides new features, such as the ability to mark up and share annotated pages, Edge promises to be more secure and even more useful, thanks to the addition of the …

Sarah Tew/CNET Windows 10 represents a major change in how PCs look and work. Most early reviews and impressions of the new operating system have been positive, emphasizing the integrated desktop and start menu, the new Edge browser, and the Cortana digital assistant. But historically, upgrading a PC to a new OS has been known to cause performance and compatibility …

Nearly every laptop, tablet, hybrid or desktop currently running Windows 8 or even Windows 7 will be eligible for a free upgrade to the new Windows 10 operating system sometime on or after July 29. Consumers with the “home” version of their current OS will be able to download the mainstream Windows 10 Home version at no cost, for at …

Sarah Tew/CNET For the last couple of months, the official July 29 launch date for Windows 10 has been drummed into our heads. In recent weeks, however, that date has come to look more like the starting line than a finish line. According to Microsoft, that July 29 date is when the first wave of Windows users will be able …

Intel If it seems like only months ago that we were talking about Intel’s fifth generation of processors for laptops, desktops, hybrids and tablets — also known by the codename Broadwell — that’s because it was. Officially launched in January at CES 2015, those CPUs (the central processing units that provide the “brains” of the PC) offered modest performance boosts …

Now playing: Watch this: Alienware Alpha updates its custom PC interface with… 0:50 Dell is hitting reset on the software bundled with its Alienware Alpha gaming desktop . The console-like desktop is ditching its Alpha UI user interface for a new version, called HiveMind, which adds extra multimedia functionality and many more customization options. Packing gaming components into a small …

CNET/Dan Ackerman LOS ANGELES — A new line of PC graphics cards are coming from chip-maker AMD, the company announced during the annual E3 video game trade show and exposition. The new Radeon R9 Fury X, Nano and 300 series, and the R7 300 series graphics cards are targeted at gamers looking to explore 4K, virtual reality and other new …

Now playing: Watch this: Which 2015 Apple MacBook should you buy? 4:33 This year has already seen a wealth of new Apple products, including the Apple Watch , the new 12-inch MacBook, a new version of the Logic Pro music-making software, and updates to both the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro laptops. For anyone considering a new MacBook purchase, …

Sarah Tew / CNET Following its recent announcement of new back-to-school laptops and hybrids , HP is now adding a new series of desktops, covering budget systems, performance machines and all-in-ones. Desktop PCs have long been something of an afterthought for many computer makers, with much of their recent efforts in design, features and branding going towards slim laptops and …

Now playing: Watch this: Microsoft announces Microsoft Edge browser 6:31 The upcoming Project Spartan Web browser for Windows 10 now has an official name: Microsoft Edge. At Microsoft Build, the company announced new features and details for the Web browser previously known as Project Spartan . The most notable is the browser’s official name — Spartan will now be known …