Sean Hollister

Alienware’s flagship desktop finally ditched proprietary parts last year (no more Dell-specific motherboards) and welcomed AMD’s flagship Ryzen X3D desktop chips in November. Now it’s getting the latest AMD chip too — just know the new 9850X3D is only a tad faster than the 9800X3D (AMD says roughly 7 percent uplift).

When the Kickstarter launches, it will cost $179 for the machined aluminum version, but if that’s too much, its makers say you’ll be able to get it cheaper with a 3D-printed shell or as just the board.

Qualcomm sells Arm chips that play PC games on Windows... and occasionally on Android... and newly on SteamOS too. So: when do we get a Qualcomm Steam Deck? Qualcomm tells me PC handhelds aren’t happening at CES, but it’s “keeping an eye” on GDC in March for possible Windows ones! Full context here.

Perhaps the Fraction by Deglace truly is “the ultimate vacuum cleaner.” I’ve spent far too much time repairing and replacing plastic Dyson components; swappable modular batteries sound great! But it’s also got “Neural Predictive AI” that sounds a lot like trying to sell you proprietary replacement parts before they’re needed.

The Chicago company’s still keeping the dream alive, year after year, after year, and it’s a joy to see their playable art grace the halls of CES. No rumored Pokémon Pinball machine yet, but these pricy Walking Dead and Star Wars machines look great.