I ran local LLMs on Intel’s cheapest iGPU, and the results were surprisingly decent

Unlike cloud-based AI models, locally-hosted large language models are infamous for their sky-high system requirements, with the more powerful ones requiring plenty of tensor cores and ample VRAM. Although I’d argue that with MoE offloading, Mixture of Experts models can run even on ancient systems, you’ll still need a discrete graphics card to run these bulky LLMs.

Zoe Clarke
New Zealand

Buying a GPU in 2026 means buying a software ecosystem, not a graphics card

I'm no stranger to building PCs. As a matter of fact, I've either built a rig from the ground up or purchased a laptop every second year since 2015 for a variety of reasons, either for myself, or for friends and family. The dynamics of a purchase have always been...

Alexis Gerard
France

The new SteamOS update finally adds controller support for some big handheld names

While people have settled on the desktop OS they want the most, the fight for the king of the handhelds still wages on. Right now, we have two major competitors in the world of portable PC devices: SteamOS and Windows 11. Microsoft had a headstart with non-Steam Deck devices, but...

William Garcia
Boston

User-replaceable batteries are coming back in a big way

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more news about gadgets and smartphones, follow Dominic Preston. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started In 2023, the European Union...

Michael Johnson
Chicago

The Steam Deck taught PC handheld makers the wrong lesson

If you take a look at the modern handheld landscape with devices like the ROG Ally X, the Lenovo Legion Go, and the MSI Claw, the numbers are just jaw-dropping, with 8-core CPUs, 24GB of DDR5 RAM, and massive screens. On paper, these devices absolutely annihilate the Steam Deck's aging...

Theo Sullivan
United Kingdom

My Fire TV Stick is infinitely better ever since I enabled this hidden setting

By default, Amazon locks your device down to its curated ecosystem. This means you miss out on powerful media players, custom launchers, and niche streaming tools.

رها صدر
Iran

I canceled ChatGPT, Claude, and Copilot subscriptions just to go back to this powerful AI tool

It’s easy to get caught up in the LLM race. For a while, my monthly credit card statement read like a lineup of premium AI subscriptions: ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro, and Microsoft 365 Premium with Copilot.

Sophia Wilson
Atlanta

After 22 years, you can finally download Paint.net from the URL ‘Paint.net’

When I used Windows, Paint.net was my go-to app when I needed an image editor that was more powerful than Paint, but didn't need all the bells and whistles that GIMP or Photoshop had. Despite this, I was always peeved that you couldn't actually download Paint.net from the website 'Paint.net'....

Michael Johnson
Chicago

KDE Plasma 6.7 is on the horizon as a flurry of bug fixes make it in before release

It's always a fun time keeping tabs on the development of a Linux kernel, distro, or desktop environment. If the next version is a long way away from releasing, you can satiate your excitement by checking out all the cool new features that are getting added on a weekly basis....

Minea Korpela
Finland

I ditched LM Studio for an open-source alternative — and my local model is doing things it couldn’t before

My entry into self-hosting was never going to run through a terminal, so LM Studio's one-click install and clean GUI is what got me running local models, and it's been my default ever since. But the longer I lean on local AI, the more I run into things LM Studio...

Indiana Van de Mortel
Netherlands

People are making their Steam Controllers ‘sing’ songs, and so can you

As people are getting their hands on the Steam Controller, they're discovering that it's better at making sounds than a controller has any right being. First, people discovered that the Steam Controller played the Wilhelm scream whenever it was dropped. Now, someone has made a program that allows the Steam...

Emily Brown
Houston

The Mercedes CLA offers great EV specs for an average price

Despite headwinds from the current administration, automakers continue to release well-equipped EVs with bigger battery packs and increasingly faster charging speeds. For those who want to travel further between plugging in, the future is still bright, just slightly tinted. But there haven't been many sedans starting around or below $50,000,...