Your home for the latest and greatest PC hardware news, reviews, and editorial content
latest
Steam downloads shouldn't kill your Wi-Fi: Why modern QoS requires a multi-core router
If your router doesn’t have these features, replace It
Turbine noise and head crashes: The physical limits that killed the 15,000 RPM hard drive
Why hard drives maxed out at 7,200 RPM: The engineering nightmare of spinning platters faster
I turned my Raspberry Pi into an automatic backup server (instead of buying a NAS)
The ultimate budget NAS alternative: Why a Raspberry Pi and a refurbished hard drive make the perfect backup node
Why 144fps still feels choppy: How Nvidia's frame rate limiter fixes frametime spikes
The one Nvidia setting that fixes problems that even high FPS can't cure
Everyone says you need a NAS for Plex—you don't
Why a cheap used mini PC is the ultimate Plex server
The ROM chip trap: Why swapping a dead hard drive's PCB will instantly crash its read/write heads
How a simple PCB swap will permanently destroy your modern hard drive
Your NAS drives are 100% healthy, but your files are dead: The illusion of SMART tests
SMART tests are not enough: Why your NAS needs data scrubbing to survive
SSDs killed the dual-actuator HDD: Why two mechanical arms couldn't save the hard drive
Why doubling a hard drive's IOPS still can't beat cheap NVMe
Stamped pits vs organic dyes: Why commercial CDs outlived your CD-R backups
Why 'disc rot' is quietly destroying your oldest backups
Why your budget SSD suddenly writes slower than a hard drive: The hidden catch of QLC NAND
Why budget SSDs are perfectly fine for gaming (but will ruin your home server)
After testing this portable Wi-Fi hotspot, I won’t travel anywhere without it
Portability and a reliable connection for remote workers and travelers.
Why I leave my external hard drives plugged in 24/7: The cheap way to prevent SSD write fatigue
I used an external HDD the 'wrong' way—and it worked better
Sony Memory Sticks, xD, and SmartMedia: 7 forgotten storage formats that definitely stole your files
Which fragile format stole your files? Take a trip down memory (card) lane
Power Loss Protection shouldn't be an enterprise exclusive: Why your next NVMe needs PLP capacitors
The DRAM cache trap—why a simple power outage can instantly corrupt your consumer SSD
Why filling your M.2 slots might be throttling your GPU: The hidden limit of PCIe lanes
Stop ignoring PCIe lanes: It's the one CPU spec that limits your entire PC
The lost era of SCSI tape drives: Why 90s PCs backed up data on audio cassettes
Yes, people really once backed up PCs on tape
Why your USB flash drive slows to a crawl: The hidden trap of tiny caches and thermal throttling
How to tell a good USB flash drive from a bad one
I switched to an open-source router and there's no turning back, here's why
Open-source routers come with many benefits. These are the ones I find the most compelling.
Wi-Fi extenders are a waste of money: A budget mesh system is the ultimate fix
Everyone should have a mesh router by now