(credit: Aurich Lawson)

It's been quite a while since we last put together a desktop PC-building guide, partly because trying to fight your way through bots and scalpers to pay twice the retail price for a graphics card was a miserable experience that we wouldn't want to inflict on anyone.

But even as 2022 has made most things more expensive, PC builders have lucked out. CPUs and motherboards are in stock and easy to buy, DDR4 memory is actually cheap, and you can head online to Amazon, Best Buy, or Newegg and find virtual shelves full of GPUs at prices that, while still somewhat inflated, would have seemed miraculous six months ago.

Overall PC demand is expected to fall quite a bit in the coming months, but if you've been waiting patiently to build your first desktop or replace an existing build, this is probably the best time to build a PC since mid-2020.

Enlarge / Acer's 2022 Swift 5 laptop. (credit: Scharon Harding)

Specs at a glance: Acer Swift 5 (SF514-56T-797T)
Screen	14-inch 2560×1600 60 Hz IPS touchscreen
OS	Windows 11 Home
CPU	Intel Core i7-1260P
RAM	16GB LPDDR5
Storage	1 TB PCIe 4.0 SSD
GPU	Intel Iris Xe (integrated)
Networking	Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
Ports	2x USB-C (Thunderbolt 4), 2x USB-A (3.2 Gen 1), 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5 mm jack
Size	12.22 x 8.4 x 0.59 inches (310.5 x 213.3 x 14.95 mm)
Weight	2.65 lbs (1.2 kg)
Battery	56 Whr
Warranty	1 year
Price (MSRP)	$1,500

The Acer Swift 5 ( $1,500 MSRP) may not be your dream ultralight laptop, but it's not a bad one. You won't squeeze the most performance out of the Swift, and its touchpad still bothers me after weeks of use. But with perks like a good port selection and a strong keyboard, the laptop is worth a look if you want to save some money. Even though there are some compromises, it's a decent option with a lower price tag than similarly specced alternatives.

Colorful design

The Swift 5 is priced lower than other ultralights with 12th Gen CPUs, a fact that is apparent when you hold it. According to Acer, the chassis is made from 6053 aluminum alloy with a 75 HV hardness and anodization to fight degradation (its gold accents are double-anodized). But instead of a luxurious metallic-like finish, like Lenovo's Yoga 9i carries, it looks and feels like lightweight plastic that can still fall victim to scratches.

Subtle texturing helps the design, though, and prevents the laptop from feeling too slippery during use. The keyboard showed subtle flex when I typed aggressively, and that flexing became more apparent when I pressed down on the keyboard.

Enlarge / After building the R1T adventure truck, Rivian has followed up with the R1S SUV. (credit: Jonathan Gitlin)

Rivian provided flights from DC to Albany and back, plus two nights in a hotel so we could drive the R1S. Ars does not accept paid editorial content.

Last September, we drove one of Rivian's new electric trucks and found its R1 platform highly competent on and off the road, with an impressive level of engineering that made driving to the top of a mountain almost effortless . It's been a tough few months for the electric vehicle maker since then, with supply chain issues delaying deliveries , a former executive filing a discrimination lawsuit, and shareholders upset about a rather clumsy price hike .

But Rivian remains very well-funded, and its factory in Normal, Illinois, is finding its feet building electric trucks as well as delivery vans for Amazon . Now another R1-based EV is entering production—the R1S SUV.

Like its truck sibling, the R1S is a friendly-looking thing, particularly compared to the more aggressive SUVs coming out of Detroit. Partly that's down to the design of the lights, which should set off your pareidolia , and partly down to what now passes for a relatively low hood height, with curved edges finding favor over sharp creases at the corners.

Enlarge (credit: Julius Csotonyi)

A group of researchers has recently made an astounding discovery.

Using an innovative imaging technique, an international team of scientists has uncovered remarkable details of a pterosaur's soft tissue. Despite an age of approximately 145–163 million years, the wing membrane and the webbing between both feet managed to survive fossilization.

Armed with new data, the team used modeling to determine that this little pterosaur had the capacity to launch itself from the water. Their findings are published in Scientific Reports.