[Hardware] Hot Hardware’s 10 Best Of CES 2024: Here Are The Showstoppers

[Angel of Death]

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas has now come to a close, and as the HotHardware team make its way back home, it's time to reflect. This year we saw a plethora of new tech, from artificial intelligence applications to laptops, desktops, and displays, amidst so much more. Truthfully, it's hard to catch all the announcements and see all of the exhibits between live showings, keynotes, various venues and the show floor. However, we have determined the best-of-show that we think you should be aware with CES 2024 behind us.2024 might just be the year NPCs get better artificial intelligence, and NVIDIA is planning to capitalize on that opportunity. One of the coolest AI applications we came across was the Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE), which had been mentioned previously at Computex 2023. This is a collaboration between NVIDIA and startup Convai, wherein developers can integrate cloud-based generative AI into their games to enhance NPC conversations to mimic that of the real world. Take a look at the demo we got to see live in the video below, and let us know what you think of the tech:

Lenovo always has some cool stuff to show off, and this year was no different. With its latest ThinkBook announcements the company came out swinging this CES. The first of these is the ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid, a laptop that effectively includes an Android tablet and packs in portability, functionality, and artificial intelligence prowess. If you thought the Lenovo dual-display laptop of yesteryear’s CES was wild, you'll probably dig this one. In short, this laptop is powered by Intel Core Ultra processors and Intel Arc graphics, but it has a 14” 2.8K OLED display that can be detached and used as an Android tablet powered by a Qualcomm processor and a separate battery. Attached the notebook to an external display, and you can use both devices at the same time.

Going a more traditional route but cool nonetheless, the Lenovo Thinkbook 13x Gen 4 is an ultra-thin and ultra-light laptop powered by Intel Core Ultra Processors, Intel Arc Graphics, up to 32GB of 8400Mhz LPDDR5x RAM, and some impressive I/O. It also has a whopping 74-WHr battery, which Lenovo claims can drive this laptop for up to 21 hours of video playback, 11.4 hours of web browsing, or 8.2 hours of conference calls.

Dell had a couple of really cool announcements, but its new Ultrasharp displays were definitely stand-outs. There is a 40” WUHD display in the Ultrasharp line-up, but that is going to be over the top for most folks. The 34” Ultrasharp U3425WE, however, hits the sweet spot. This is a WQHD (3440x1440) display boasting a 120Hz refresh rate, 99% DCI-P3 coverage, and an IPS Black panel that delivers a 2000:1 contrast ratio. Further, it features a built-in Thunderbolt 4 Hub, which can deliver 90W of power and includes:

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