Over the past year, we’ve seent the rise of gaming as a regular part of our lives. Whether you’re playing a game or watching others play, it has taken up a bunch of your time while you’re indoors. It has even reached a point where you’ve decided to purchase a dedicated gaming device to play those games you see online. For HP, they’re hoping their latest offering  — the HP OMEN 15 — is something you want to consider.

Inside, it comes with 9th generation Intel Core processors paired with the latest NVIDIA GeForce GPUs. In essence, the device provides high quality gaming content for both playing and streaming on various platforms. Along with up to 32GB of RAM, it allows you to handle multiple applications — essential for content streaming.

Also, the HP OMEN 15 boasts a FHD display with a 144Hz refresh rate, which is decent for competitive play. To complement, the device also comes with a dual storage configuration of up to a 256GB SSD and an internal HDD. If you just stick with an SSD, it expands up to 512GB with 32GB of Intel Optane Memory included. If you’re worried about the heat when playing for longer hours, HP added its OMEN Tempest Cooling Technology for efficient air flow. They even managed to jam all of these in one sleek and ultra-thin chassis complete with an RGB keyboard for the full gamer experience.

The HP OMEN 15 starts at PhP 79,990, and is available through HP’s online retailers.

Buy now from Lazada

Lenovo Legion has a lineup of three new gaming machines that definitely deserve your attention. These are the Legion 5, Legion 5 Pro, and Legion 7.

The new arsenal embraces innovation by providing better resolution displays, AI-bolstered thermal cooling, and framerate customization, and the power to completely immerse gamers or face difficult tasks at ease with the AMD Ryzen 5000 H-series Mobile Processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3000 Series GPUs. Users can work hard during the day and play harder at night with the savage performances

AMD Ryzen 5000 H-series Mobile Processors

The new Legion 5, Legion 5 Pro, and Legion 7 are among the first notebooks equipped with the AMD Ryzen 5000 H series Mobile Processors. These are the only processors in the world to have 8 high-performance cores suited for ultrathin gaming notebooks. Powered by AMD’s new Zen 3 Core Architecture and the world’s most advanced x86 chip technology, the processors combine incredible efficiency, elite performance, and long-lasting battery life that will keep gamers playing more for years to come.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3000 Series GPUs

Accompanying the AMD Ryzen 5000 H-series Mobile Processors are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3000 Series GPUs developed to bring the ultimate gaming performance. These graphics cards are jam-packed with new internals such as the award-winning NVIDIA Ampere architecture, 3rd Generation Ray Tracing Cores, 2nd Generation Tensor Cores, and streaming multiprocessors to give gamers and content creators the most realistic graphics ever along with cutting-edge AI to fine-tune art to the smallest detail. They also feature NVIDIA DLSS 2.0 Technology that also uses AI to accelerate the laptop’s performance when playing games. Booting up Cyberpunk 2077 with DLSS Technology, for example, boosts performance by up to 60 percent.

Smarter Technology by Lenovo

The Legion 5, Legion 5 Pro, and Legion 7 come with the Lenovo Legion AI Engine that currently supports the top-16 AAA games and enables them to be played as smoothly as ever. The engine combines the best-in-class hardware, software, and machine learning to overclock PC performance. Upon booting up a game, the Legion AI Engine automatically detects and routs the most-ideal Thermal Design Power (TDP) settings to the CPU and GPU to achieve the maximum frames per second (FPS) in games. It also uses machine learning in other games to continuously tune gaming performance for maximum results.

The new Legion lineup also utilizes AI in the Coldfront 3.0 thermal management system to keep the temperature inside cooler as gaming action heats up. Coldfront 3.0 packs an intelligent intake system that allows for an increased airflow of up to 18 percent as compared to the last generation by using turbo-charged dual-fans and quad-channel exhausts with vapor chamber technology. Together with the help of efficient thermal conduction materials, Coldfront 3.0 moves huge volumes of air through components to dissipate heat rapidly and allows for optimized performance and all-day mobility with long-lasting battery life.

The world’s first 16” QHD gaming notebooks

Both the Legion 5 Pro and Legion 7 are the first gaming laptops in the world to come out with 16” Quad High Definition (QHD) displays, allowing them to have a taller and clearer (2560 x 1600 resolution) 16:10 aspect ratio. Combined with up to a 165Hz refresh rate, 100 percent sRGB, and 500 nits of brightness, gamers are treated to a cinematic-like experience that also assists in competitive games. The larger display raises a gamer’s sightlines and provides a better field of view, so they’ll detect enemies faster. Moreover, both displays of the Legion 5 Pro and Legion 7 have 3ms response times and can come out VESA DisplayHDR 400 Certified and with Dolby Vision  and NVIDIA G-SYNC support.

Nahimic Audio

The new Legion lineup’s Harman speakers are now optimized with Nahimic Audio. Designed for gamers, Nahimic gives a competitive edge with 360-degree audio and features such as Night Mode with smart volume reduction, and Sound Tracker that visually points out a sound’s source and direction in a game. Nahimic Audio also enables crystal-clear video calls with its background noise suppression feature, and it also comes with Sound Sharing that allows the streaming of audio from a PC to two different headsets without the need for audio adapters.

Reinforced Support

Lenovo’s upgraded Vantage software is also bringing the speed in the Legion 5, Legion 5 Pro, and Legion 7. They now come with the Vantage Smart Performance Services solution that reduces PC downtime by scanning, detecting, and removing traces of spyware, malware, and adware. Gamers can also use the new solution to significantly reduce lag and latency issues while playing online multiplayer games through its ability to fix network and access issues.

Aiding the Lenovo Vantage in enabling seamless play among the new devices is their 3-Year Premium Care warranty service that’s bundled together with the notebooks upon purchase. The service consists of solutions that provide an advanced and tailored level of care that reduces downtime, increases efficiency, and keeps customers moving. Included among the offerings that users of Premium Care can enjoy are a 24/7 direct hotline to Specialized Senior Technicians, comprehensive hardware and software support, and an Annual PC Health Check.

Pricing, availability, and promo

From the week of April 30 and onwards, gamers can get their hands on the Legion 5 Pro that has a starting price of PHP 84,995. The notebook is available in Storm Grey and comes bundled with a free Legion Recon Gaming backpack (PHP 2,995) upon purchase.

The Stingray White and Phantom Blue Legion 5, on the other hand, will be available within the quarter with a starting price of PHP 74,995, while the Legion 7 in Storm Grey is expected to hit local stores in the early first half of 2021 and will start at PHP 139,995. Both notebooks will also be bundled with a free Legion Recon Gaming backpack.

To celebrate the arrival of its new gaming lineup, Lenovo is holding its Legion Ultimate Upgrade Promo. From May 7 to May 31, 2021, customers who purchase participating products are entitled to a Legion Upgrade Pass that can have up to PHP 66,995 worth of gaming freebies.

Every purchase is eligible for one Upgrade Pass and to claim, customers must visit legion.lenovo.com/promotions and provide purchase details.

Customers will then receive a promo code equivalent to their Upgrade Pass, and this will randomly select the Upgrade Pass color that they’ll get. The colors and their corresponding freebies are as follows:

• White Upgrade Pass – Legion Pilipinas Jacket
• Bronze Upgrade Pass – One of the following: Legion H300 Headset, Legion M600 Gaming Mouse, Legion K300 Gaming Keyboard, or Legion H600 Headset
• Silver Pass – One of the following: Lenovo G25-10 Gaming Monitor, Legion Y25-25 Gaming Monitor, or Lenovo Q27q-10 Monitor
• Gold Pass – Either Legion 5 or Legion Phone Duel 1

For the full mechanics of the Legion Ultimate Upgrade Promo and the complete list of participating products, visit legionphpromos.com. Customers can also submit their promo codes to Lenovo through the same link.

Lenovo Legion’s new lineup of gaming notebooks are available at official Lenovo Legion stores and Lenovo Authorized Resellers nationwide. Visit lenovo.com/ph/en/where-to-buyto get in touch with the nearest store. The devices are also available online through the Lenovo Legion Flagship Store at Lazada.

This is a press release from Lenovo Legion Philippines

After an excruciating wait, it’s official — PUBG Mobile is coming back to India. But this time, it’ll have a new name: Battlegrounds Mobile India with some added features, and an India-centric focus.

Krafton, the game’s developer, has announced it’ll be launching the Battlegrounds Mobile India soon. The game will bring an AAA-rated multiplayer experience alongside exclusive in-game events, tournaments, and leagues. While a launch date isn’t available, Krafton did confirm that pre-registration will be opened up soon.

The game will be free-to-play and incorporate the same battle royale concept that made it popular. Although, little detail is available about maps, guns, vehicles, and the plot (if there is any) of the game.

Furthermore, the game’s developer said that it would comply with all local laws and compliances. This includes data localization — storage of data within Indian borders. The announcement has cheered millions of players in the country who’ve been waiting for an alternative ever since the primary game was barred.

Why PUBG had to go

In mid-2020, India and China were involved in a fatal border skirmish that left many casualties on both sides. Following the conflict, India took a stringent anti-China stance and banned a host of apps that were developed or backed by Chinese companies. TikTok, owned by ByteDance, was among the first to come under the hammer.

PUBG Mobile was also included in the ban because Chinese giant Tencent was a distribution partner of the game. Following the ban, Krafton quickly removed Tencent from the agreement and announced plans to launch a new game independent of any Chinese influence.

Indian developers rode the hype wave, and many TikTok clones were touted as the next big thing. On the same lines, nCore Studios tried to bridge the gap by launching FAU-G, but it was a colossal failure. In fact, it still doesn’t have a battle royale mode, so it’s safe to assume Call of Duty: Mobile is the only practical alternative left for users right now.