No matter the advancements in manufacturing processes or the price tag of your PC components, everything is bound to fail someday. While some components usually last much longer than others (think 20 years vs. 5 years), you're always at the mercy of luck when it comes to component lifespan.

Intel makes numerous processors, split into different families. For the desktop, we've got Core i5, Core i7, and Core i9. Within each family are processor stock-keeping units (SKU), for instance, the 14900K. The Intel Core i9-14900K, being part of the Core i9 family, is one of the most powerful chips on sale from Intel. But what does the K mean? There's also an Intel Core i9-14900F, so which is the better processor to buy? I'll explain what these suffixes mean and how to pick the right chip for your system.

Remember the 2048 craze that spread across the internet? If you missed out, 2048 was a fun game where you combined identical number tiles using the arrow keys. The goal was to make the 2048 tile, which was a lot trickier than it first seemed. Now, someone has made their own version of the game using a tiny board and some LEDs, and it seems like a great way to pass the time.

With Made By Google now behind us, we've got lots of cool things to explore with the new range of Pixel 9 devices. However, as much as the new Pixel phones made a big impact, that didn't mean nothing else happened in the last week. As such, here's a quick roundup of all the awesome news pieces we found in the past week.

We know that a Nintendo Switch 2 is coming out - the questions are, when will it be released, what hardware will it have, and how much will it cost? We've seen leaks and rumors in the past covering the Nintendo Switch 2, but we've only just caught wind of a potential price. And if the rumor is true, it seems that Switch fans are going to need to stomach a pretty big leap in price.

I'm the first one to recommend must-have programs for every PC, from a fast browser and decent VPN client to a great wallpaper app and RGB software. However, I also believe one should not go overboard with installing every single "productivity-enhancing" program one comes across. As you can guess, I'm firmly in the "keep things simple" camp, and think you should also consider joining it.

Image: David Pierce / The Verge Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 48, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, get ready for a lot of books this week, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) I’m back after a couple of weeks off — thanks to everyone who wished me a good vacation and sent over book recommendations! I wound up reading Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, She Rides Shotgun, and The Wager and highly recommend all three. Mostly, I spent two weeks chasing a toddler around various restaurants and playgrounds, and it was a good time, but I am oh so very glad to be back hanging with all of you. And it turns out I missed a lot of good stuff!This week, I’ve been reading about W... Continue reading…

Image: Samar Haddad / The Verge Laura Mae Martin is a big believer in the settings menu. As Google’s executive productivity advisor, Martin spends much of her time working with other Googlers on improving their productivity and communication systems — and one of the things she often recommends is taking a few minutes to poke through the options. “With your phone, with your email, your Slack, all these things, the features are there, but we don’t take the time to dive into them,” she says. She even thinks you should maybe have to look at settings before you can use the app. “Like, you can’t get into the app unless you spend 10 minutes figuring out what it can do.”On this episode of The Vergecast, the first in our three-part miniseries about all things productivity... Continue reading…

In addition to having a great laptop or computer, it's also important to have a great set of complimentary accessories as well. Probably one of the first things that you think of when it comes to accessories is great keyboard and mouse. But there's also one that often gets overlooked, and that's your monitor. Not only can this accessory make a huge difference in your professional life, but it can also make some big changes to your personal life as well.

AMD rolled out four new processors to launch its Ryzen 9000 series. Two of these chips are Ryzne 9 SKUs, offering impressive performance with at least 12 physical cores for serious computing. We've reviewed the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, but which processor should you buy? For the Ryzen 9000 series, AMD went all in with efficiency, offering notable gains over previous-generation processors without sucking more power and producing additional heat. I'll compare specifications, pricing, and performance to help you make the right decision for your PC.

The Venom F5 Revolution at Circuit of the Americas. | Image: Hennessey Special Vehicles Hennessey Special Vehicles crashed its Venom F5 — a $3 million hypercar — while driving nearly 250mph on the Launch and Landing Facility (LLF) runway at Kennedy Space Center in July. Newly reported details show the cost of the crash, which happened while the company was testing out new components of the car.The crash damaged the runway surface, according to crash-related documents acquired by ClickOrlando. The damage was apparently minimal, and repair, plus subsequent hazmat cleanup, cost $712.70, which was billed to Space Coast Testing, the company that manages runway rentals. Renting the LLF, which was once used as a landing strip for NASA’s Space Shuttle and serves aerospace purposes like delivering the United Launch Alliance’s... Continue reading…

Microsoft always sells Windows in multiple editions that cater to different kinds of users, and Windows 11 is no different. If you're just buying a PC at your local Best Buy, your choices will boil down to either Windows 11 Home or Windows 11 Pro, but even the Pro edition is far less common on laptops these days. You'll usually only find on it on business laptops.