Other Than the Too-Hot-to-Touch Underside and Uncomfortably-Hot Keyboard Despite the Annoying Noise From the Fan, How’d You Enjoy the Play, Mrs. Lincoln?

Scharon Harding, reviewing the HP Spectre x360 13.5-inch laptop for Ars Technica:

Regardless of what I put it through, the Spectre stayed surprisingly cool for its size. After an hour-long stress test, for example, the only part of the chassis that was too hot to touch comfortably was its underside, although the keyboard was borderline.

HP changed the fan design for the 2022 Spectre x360 13.5-inch compared to the 2021 model, and the company claims that the new model delivers up to 10 percent increased airflow and an 8 percent improvement on “acoustic performance.”

The phrase “Stockholm Syndrome” gets overused, but I think PC hardware reviewers are in a deep state of denial as to how high Apple silicon has raised the bar for performance-per-watt, in day-to-day practical terms. To an M-series MacBook user, the above paragraphs sound like they must have been written years ago. Too-hot-for-your-actual-lap laptops and audible cooling systems are dark ages shit.

★ Sunday, 28 August 2022