PC Components, Peripherals And Gadget Reviews And News
Dig into our deep-dive product reviews and news of PC components from processors, to motherboards, graphics cards (GPUs), sound cards, and storage, along with other gadgets and peripherals that complete the computing experience. Whether you're a DIY PC enthusiast builder or just looking to read-up on what should be inside or connected to your next pre-built PC, here's where you'll find all the nuts and bolts sorted on what makes modern computer systems tick, as well some of the best user interface devices to go with them.
Whether you knew you needed it or not, locally-hosted AI is the next big thing in PCs, and AMD is at the forefront of this movement. The company was first to market with consumer processors sporting AI-accelerating Neural Processing Units (NPUs), and it's now on its third generation of processors for "AI PCs."
That's...
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AMD released an array of professional workstation GPUs in 2023, with the powerful flagship Radeon Pro W7900 sitting at the top of the heap. You can read our in-depth review of the GPU right here.
The Radeon Pro W7900 has a similar GPU configuration to the consumer-class Radeon RX 7900 XTX, with the same 96 unified...
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Arm Holdings plc, or "arm", was once considered a vendor of processors designed for embedded and low-power systems, but those days are well past at this point. Having conquered mobile some time ago, processors based on Arm's Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) are now challenging the supremacy of the long-dominant...
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When building a new PC, it's very likely that your fancy motherboard will feature multiple M.2 sockets. It's almost guaranteed that some portion of these SSD slots will be connected directly to the CPU socket, while others will connect to the CPU via the motherboard chipset. This undoubtedly adds latency, hurting...
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Dell UltraSharp 34 Curved Thunderbolt Hub Monitor U3425WE: MSRP $819, Currently $769.99 The Dell UltraSharp 34 U3425WE is a beautiful, curved Thunderbolt-enabled monitor featuring IPS Black technology, for enhanced contrast and color accuracy, with great viewing angles. Integrated Thunderbolt Hub Tons Of IO Great...
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Razer Firefly V2 Pro Illuminated Mouse Mat: MSRP $99 Razer's new Firefly V2 Pro RGB-enabled mouse mat looks wild and offers a ton of customization options via Razer's Synapse app. 16.8M color customizable RGB lighting Near frictionless mouse movement Rubberized base holds mouse mat secure Expensive Fairly large We're...
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Samsung T5 EVO Portable SSD: Starting $159 (2TB), $599 (8TB) The recently-released Samsung T5 EVO is a compact, rugged, external USB-C SSD that's well suited to a wide array of use cases. Compact Size Rugged Enclosure Excellent Compatibility Huge Capacity Price Premium Faster, More Affordable Options Available Samsung recently expanded its...
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WhiteFox Eclipse Mechanical Keyboard: Starting at $140 The WhiteFox Eclipse is a beautiful, mechanical keyboard with hot-swappable switches and an innovative modular design. Hotswappable switches Excellent feel and sound Modular design that's easy to disassemble Comes with high-quality switches and keycaps...
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We recently had the opportunity to meet with Qualcomm to learn the latest about its Snapdragon X processor line-up for emerging AI PCs and to get more hands-on time for performance benchmarks. During our meeting, we got the scoop on the Snapdragon X Plus, a 10-core variant of the platform that will drop into the...
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There can't really be any doubt at this point: AI is going to change all of our lives, and there's no going back from here. Still, there's quite a bit of debate over exactly how it's going to happen. If you listen to hardware vendors like AMD and Intel, they'll tell you that you absolutely need to upgrade your...
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Most high-end PC components assume you want to show off—cases have windows, everything is crawling with RGB, and there are even connectors that make it easier to hide your cables. What if there aren't any cables, though? MSI has released a new PC case fan system that does away with cables. Well, almost—there are...
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It's been nigh on nine months since Jeff Kampman from Intel's Graphics Technical Marketing team raised the question: does AMD's 3D V-Cache actually help that much if you're not running a top-end graphics card? Well, we've been busy and haven't had time until just recently to get the testing done, but now we have and...
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PNY CS3150 XLR8 1TB: Price As Tested $185 PNY's CS3150 1TB SSD has one of the best coolers we've seen on a PCIe 5.0 SSD, though it trails in regard to write performance versus 2TB drives. Good Reading Performance 1TB and 2TB Models Available Cooler Is Low-Profile And Uses USB Header Connector Three Different Themes To...
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Razer Iskur V2 Gaming Chair: MSRP $649 Razer's Iskur V2 gaming chair is easy to assemble and offers an adjustable built-in lumbar support system that can pay off if you take the time to find your sweet spot. Sleek Design 4D Adjustable Armrests Looks And Feels Premium Generous Recline Angle (Up To 152 Degrees)...
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TerraMaster F2-212: Starting at $169.99 The TerraMaster F2-212 is a great entry-level NAS that can add terabytes of reliable storage to your home network. Excellent price Great media server with hardware 4K transcoding Easy setup and management Single 1Gb LAN Port No expandability Limited software add-ons Drive bays...
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Some people have claimed that AI is a fad, or a flash in the pan. It's easy to understand the perspective; the hype around the explosion of generative AI feels similar to the hype around previous fads, like 3D TVs or the metaverse. AI isn't a fad, though. It is already transforming every single part of the tech...
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Intel Core i9-14900KS: MSRP $699 Intel just released its fastest desktop processor yet, the 24-core / 32-thread Core i9-14900KS, which is capable of running at up to a blistering 6.2GHz. Single-Thread Dominance Great Overall Performance Drop-In For Existing Platforms Highest Clocked CPU To Date Powerful Cooler Is A Must Outgoing Platform High...
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ASRock Radeon RX 7900 GRE Steel Legend: MSRP $549 The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE originally launched in China, but recent changes in the GPU market spurred the "legendary" release of this great new GPU option from ASRock and others.. Good Perf Per Dollar 16GB Of VRAM Good Overclocker Quiet Operation Dedicated Lighting...
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Crucial T705: MSRP 2TB for $399, With Heatsink $439 The Crucial T705 NVMe SSD packs Micron's latest NAND flash memory, fresh firmware tweaks, and Phison's E26 controller, to offer class-leading performance. Ultra High Sequential Transfers Low Latency Top Performance In Trace-Based Tests Not Always Fastest In Random 4K...
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MSI Spatium M570 Pro: 2TB for $329 The MSI Spatium M570 Pro is a PCIe Gen 5 SSD with class-leading performance and an integrated cooler that (literally) towers over the competition. Excellent Performance Native PCIe Gen 5 Interface Low Latency Great For Gamers Price Premium Not Suitable For PS5 MSI has consistently...
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ADATA Legend 970 PCIe Gen 5 SSD: Currently $339 (2TB) The Competitive Overall Performance Great Game Level Loads PCIe Gen 5 Interface Low Latency, Good Responsiveness Negative Notes Audible Active Cooler Price Premium At this point in time, PCIe 5.0 SSDs have been around for while, and we've already evaluated...
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Seagate FireCuda 540: 2TB for $299 The speedy Seagate FireCuda 540 is a PCIe Gen 5 SSD with fast sequential transfers, which targets discerning gamers and content creators. Excellent Overall Performance Fast Game Level Loads Competitive Latency Latest PCIe Gen 5 Interface Requires Additional Cooling Price Premium Over...
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