A gaming PC isn't really complete without a few must-have PC gaming apps. Every gamer will have a different set of apps that they deem absolutely essential, without which their gaming PC can't function (or so they believe). I'm not going to get into what you should or shouldn't install on your gaming PC. Instead, I'll just share the apps that happen to be regular fare on my personal gaming PC.

With Apple's WWDC 2024 event now over, the entire XDA team can take a break after weeks of huge announcements by the biggest tech companies in the world. And while there was a lot to talk about from Apple's camp, that doesn't mean that the rest of the world stood still. Amidst the iOS and macOS announcements, we saw someone revive a printer with a Raspberry Pi and Arm declaring that it wants all Snapdragon X Elite laptops destroyed. Regardless of if you skipped WWDC or you saw nothing but Apple news, here's our top five news pieces of the past week.

The central processing unit (CPU) produces waste heat due to the amount of power drawn from the motherboard. To allow the chip to run as designed by AMD and Intel, we need to facilitate the transfer of heat between the integrated heat spreader (IHS) and the base plate of a heatsink or water block. Thermal paste helps with this by filling in gaps between the two surfaces, which can be caused by manufacturing defects or damage. The choice of thermal paste doesn't matter much, but here are our favorites, depending on the application.

Network-attached storage (NAS) can be expensive, especially when shopping for a pre-built enclosure. An old PC can create a NAS and you don't have to swap the operating system. If you're familiar with Windows and prefer to stick with Microsoft's software, it's entirely possible to create a NAS using Windows 11. This guide will show you what you need and how to configure Windows so it's better suited to storing lots of data, running services, and having multiple clients connect through the local area network (LAN).

Microsoft has had a rough time with its new AI-powered Recall feature for Copilot+. Ever since the public learned that Copilot can only do its job if it takes a screenshot of your desktop every so often, people haven't been keen on having the service running on their PC. Add to the fact that someone discovered that Recall saves plain text logs of your activity, which caused the Redmond giant to recall Recall until later. However, that hasn't stopped Microsoft from adding new features to Recall, one of which has made its way onto the Insider build.

Among computer vocabulary words, bit is certainly one of the most well-known. Whole generations of video game consoles and their pixelated art styles are defined by bits (such as 8-bit and 16-bit), and many applications offer both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

Image: David Pierce / The Verge Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 42, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, so psyched you found us, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I’ve been writing about Excel, reading about tin foil hats and the song “Smooth,” obsessing over Francis Ford Coppola’s note-taking system, watching Anyone But You, Hit Man, and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol because I had a bunch of plane rides, and debating buying Jabra headphones even though Jabra is quitting the headphone game.I also have for you a new minimalist phone, a book to read, a documentary to watch, a fun hack for your Rabbit R1, and much more. Let’s get into it.(As always, the best... Continue reading…

Windows 11 is one of the most common operating systems used by modern PCs and laptops. While the operating system is great, the default apps on Windows aren't always the best. This is usually the first thing that users change on their OS. When you use Windows you get a slew of free applications, like Microsoft Edge, the Mail app, and even apps like Paint and even a free video editor, Clipchamp. While most of these apps are easy to uninstall or change from the default, there are more intrusive apps like Dropbox and Teams which require some deeper settings changes.

When you're looking for a great computer to use on the go, detachables are worth looking at just as much as the top iPads are, but it's tough to beat a full-featured Windows tablet like the ThinkPad X12 or the Latitude 7350. These machines blend the best of the tablet and laptop worlds.

Windows may be almost 39 years old now, but many of the features available in Windows 11 have their roots in the past versions of Microsofts flagship OS. Take the iconic Start menu, for instance. First implemented in Windows 95, it has become a stable UI element of the Windows ecosystem.

Despite all the controversies and quality control issues that have affected Asus ROG Ally owners, I've had a fantastic experience using the device through about half a year of ownership. For me, it's the best PC gaming handheld on the market. That's true even though it certainly has flaws, like a seemingly-defective microSD card reader and Windows-related annoyances. After a whirlwind of leaks and rumors over the last few weeks, Asus debuted the new ROG Ally X at Computex 2024. It's similar to the original ROG Ally for the most part, but it's different in all the right ways.

Image: NASA Voyager 1, the farthest human-made craft from the Earth, is finally sending back data from all four of its scientific instruments, NASA said this week. That means the agency is once more receiving its readings on plasma waves, magnetic fields, and space-bound particles.Voyager 1 stopped sending back good data in November, and fixing it was fraught as engineers had to wait 45 hours to hear anything back. In April, the agency got it to start sending back health and status information, then science data from two of its instruments in May. Now, NASA says Voyager 1, which is over 15 billion miles from Earth, is “conducting normal science operations” and the agency just needs to resync its timekeeping software and do some maintenance on a... Continue reading…