md-pictures/Shutterstock.com The power supply (PSU) is a critical part of any PC. It powers all the components in your PC, and a bad or faulty one can bring everything down. Here’s what to look for in a power supply while putting together a PC. A PSU Is a Critical Piece of PC Infrastructure When we turn on a light, open…
Dafinchi/Shutterstock.com Laptops offer the power of a PC wherever you go, from the other side of the country to the other side of the couch. But sometimes you want a desktop for a bigger display, a larger keyboard, and a beefy mouse. Here’s how to turn your laptop into a pseudo desktop. Any Laptop Can Transform Into a Desktop Transforming your…
Vania Zhukevych/Shutterstock You might not realize it, but every time you purchase a new desktop CPU, you also get a ticket for a giveaway called the “silicon lottery.” Two CPUs of the same model can perform differently when pushed to their limits thanks to something called “CPU binning.” What Is Binning? Binning is a sorting process in which top-performing chips…
robtek/Shutterstock.com The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S ushered in a new generation of console gaming. Since backward compatibility is such a big deal this generation, it’s possible you no longer have much use for your old console. So what do you do with an old console you no longer need? Consider Donating Your Old Consoles By far,…
Pryimak Anastasiia/Shutterstock.com Anybody looking for serious graphics power needs to have a graphics card from AMD, NVIDIA, or (someday soon) Intel. Not everyone wants that kind of power, however, especially when it comes at a price tag of $150 to more than $1,000. How Good Are Integrated Graphics? So what do you do if you aren’t interested in shelling out…
Mr.Mikla/Shutterstock So, you’re thinking about buying an Xbox. Do you want a Series X or S? Is your existing TV good enough, or do you need to upgrade? And will you have to stand the console up like some sort of monolith? Let’s answer the most pressing Xbox Series X and S questions. What’s the Difference Between Series X and…
Apple Apple is rethinking how components should exist and operate inside a laptop. With M1 chips in new Macs, Apple has a new “Unified Memory Architecture” (UMA) that dramatically speeds up memory performance. Here’s how memory works on Apple Silicon. How Apple Silicon Handles RAM In case you haven’t already heard the news, Apple announced a new slate of Macs…
Microsoft The Xbox Series X comes with a 1TB internal drive, while the Series S includes a modest 500GB instead. After downloading a few games, you might find your console is already low on space. Here are several ways you can add more space, with a solution for every budget. What Uses All That Space? Whether you buy a laptop, tablet,…
In June 2020, Apple announced its intention to move away from Intel for the Mac lineup. The M1 is the first ARM-based custom system-on-chip (SoC) designed from the ground up by Apple. Here’s what you need to know about Apple’s custom silicon. What Is the M1 Chip? The M1 is Apple’s first custom silicon system on a chip for use…
If the keyboard on your Windows 10 computer has a broken or missing key (and it’s one you don’t use often), you might be able to work around it until you get a new keyboard. Here are a few ideas you can try in a pinch. Method 1: Remap the Key with Software Using Microsoft’s free PowerToys utility for Windows…