Brian Westover

Saint Anthony, United States

Lead Analyst and AI Columnist at PCMag

Techie. Search nerd. All around geek. Lead PC analyst and AI columnist at @PCMag. (Formerly at @tomsguide and @laptopmag.)

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Articles

The AI Goldrush Spawns a New Breed of PC: All Hail the Personal Supercomputer

2 weeks ago | pcmag.com | Brian Westover

AI is everywhere, but for most of us, it's in the cloud. That's a problem for businesses and individuals who want to use AI without the internet. As AI's prominence has grown, the need for standalone systems that can handle the power to run large language models (LLMs) and other models on personal systems has only increased. But those models demand levels of performance that most PCs can't handle—that was until Nvidia announced Project DIGITS.
The AI Goldrush Spawns a New Breed of PC: All Hail the Personal Supercomputer

2 weeks ago | flipboard.com | Brian Westover

4 hours agoThis smart new internet speed test blows Ookla out of the waterReady to see if you’re really getting the speed you pay for? These days, our tech experiences are all about speed—and our expectations for instant action are actually kinda insane.
From Spreadsheet Zero to Hero: How I Use ChatGPT to Unlock Excel and Google Sheet Mastery

2 weeks ago | au.pcmag.com | Brian Westover

There's no escaping spreadsheets. Tools like Excel and Google Sheets are ubiquitous these days, and learning how to use them more effectively will quickly enhance your daily work. But spreadsheets aren't always the easiest thing to work with. Grids of numbers, obscure menus, arcane formula syntax—it can leave you feeling lost and overwhelmed. That's the bad news. The good news? I've figured out how to harness AI to make Excel and Google Sheets much easier to work with.
Starlink Mini vs. Standard Kit: Which Is Best for Satellite Internet?

2 weeks ago | uk.pcmag.com | Brian Westover

Starlink Satellite Internet, ExplainedWhen it comes to choosing the right Starlink equipment, the biggest question really boils down to your primary internet needs. Starlink, the satellite internet service from Elon Musk's company SpaceX, is all about bringing broadband internet access to places traditional services like cable or fiber may never reach—essentially, anywhere with a clear view of the sky.
Gigabyte Makes Bold Desktop Debut With AI-Driven PC Lineup at Computex

2 weeks ago | pcmag.com | Brian Westover

Hardware announcements are already coming in hot and fast at Computex, but one bit of news from Gigabyte marks a significant change for the company, which is best known for its desktop components and gaming laptops: Gigabyte desktops are on the way. The decision to move into the consumer desktop space might seem odd, given the decline of desktop computing in recent years, but Gigabyte is banking on one major factor: AI.
Gigabyte Makes Bold Desktop Debut With AI-Driven PC Lineup at Computex

2 weeks ago | flipboard.com | Brian Westover

5 hours agoSecond Latin American Influencer Gunned Down in Two WeeksThe two murders of young women have some parallels. For the second time in two weeks, a young Latin American influencer has been shot to death. Just …10 hours agoTrump signs bill cracking down on explicit deepfakesThe bipartisan Take It Down Act, which passed both chambers of Congress overwhelmingly, is one of the few pieces of legislation Trump has signed into law in his second term.
Dell Ditches the GPU for an AI Chip in This Bold New Workstation Laptop

2 weeks ago | pcmag.com | Brian Westover

Dell just made a major play in AI hardware with its new Pro Max Plus workstation laptop, announced at Dell Technology World. Moving beyond conventional graphics chips for crunching big AI tasks, the Dell Pro Max Plus features discrete, enterprise-grade AI inference hardware based on a new neural coprocessor from Qualcomm. Built to run large, multi-billion-parameter AI models locally, the Pro Max Plus is a significant step forward for businesses that want to implement and test advanced AI tools.
Dell Ditches the GPU for an AI Chip in This Bold New Workstation Laptop

2 weeks ago | del.ly | Brian Westover

Dell just made a major play in AI hardware with its new Pro Max Plus workstation laptop, announced at Dell Technology World. Moving beyond conventional graphics chips for crunching big AI tasks, the Dell Pro Max Plus features discrete, enterprise-grade AI inference hardware based on a new neural coprocessor from Qualcomm. Built to run large, multi-billion-parameter AI models locally, the Pro Max Plus is a significant step forward for businesses that want to implement and test advanced AI tools.
In Its 2025 Surfaces, Microsoft Is Still Sweet on Snapdragon X. But Why?

1 month ago | pcmag.com | Brian Westover

Microsoft has two new Surface products for 2025, a new pair of Copilot+ PCs with the latest AI features and cool new colors. However, I was surprised to see that Microsoft again went exclusively with Qualcomm Snapdragon X processors in these new machines. Sure, back in January, new enterprise Surface models came out, dubbed Surface for Business, with Intel Core Ultra 200V ("Lunar Lake") silicon.
Trick Out Your Dish! The Complete Guide to Starlink Accessories and Mounts

1 month ago | pcmag.com | Brian Westover

Joining the satellite internet revolution? Some optional accessories will make your installation smoother. Here's a look at all the official Starlink and Starlink Mini accessories for mounting, cabling, and carrying, plus tips from our Starlink expert.