The annual Consumer Electronics Show can sometimes be a major showcase for new laptops, desktops and other Windows PCs, but generally only when a major shift in processors or the Windows operating system is due. In other years, PC makers saved their best stuff for the back-to-school or holiday seasons. With a long-delayed fifth generation …

Sarah Tew/CNET The might be a year best summed up by the phrase, “There’s just one small problem…” In 2014, we saw some groundbreaking PCs, in both mobile and desktop systems, but each step forward was saddled with a flaw or two that, if not fatal, at least dampened our enthusiasm somewhat. Best holiday computers +5 more See all photos …

HP This has been a banner year for gaming PCs, and gaming laptops in particular. Following excellent gaming systems from Lenovo, Asus, Origin PC, Razer and others, HP is adding a new entry, timed for the holiday season, called the Omen. HP at one time produced many gaming laptops and desktops, especially after acquiring the Voodoo brand in 2006, but …

Acer Acer is joining the small but growing list of companies pitching laptops with 4K resolution displays. The new Ultra HD version of the Aspire V Black Edition has a 15.6-inch screen with a 3,840×2,160-pixel resolution, paired with a high-end CPU and a discrete graphics card for serious PC gaming. Lenovo sells a very similar system, the Y50 , and …

Nvidia Gaming laptops have come a long way in the past few years, from big bulky boxes that could barely play new games to slim, powerful rigs that can pump out high resolutions and fast frame rates. But even the best gaming laptops perform well behind midlevel gaming desktops, which have more powerful CPUs and GPUs. Nvidia hopes to close …

With the release of the Windows 8 Surface Pro, Microsoft has reclaimed some of the good will it lost with the Surface RT. Unlike the earlier Surface product, the Pro features the full version of Windows 8, uses a powerful Intel Core i5 CPU, and can install and run just about any software app that a standard laptop or desktop …

It’s become very fashionable lately to talk down the personal computer. HP infamously flirtedwith dropping out of the PC business before backtrackingunder a new CEO, and a Dell executive recently said, “We’re no longer a PC company, we’re an IT company.” Add two years of non-stop iPad fever (and the resultant tablet gold rush), and that old-fashioned keyboard-touchpad-screen device sitting …

The headlines were flying fast and furious online, even before Apple’s iPhone press event ended. With only an updated iPhone 4, called the 4S, and no iPhone 5, today’s news was labeled a “big disappointment,” and it was said that the iPhone 4S “disappoints Apple fans (and Wall Street).” On Twitter and Facebook, comments included: “The S in iPhone 4S …