When you're building a gaming PC, it might feel logical to buy "gaming" components. However, just like there's no such thing as a "gaming" motherboard or "gaming" RAM, you don't need to fall into the trap of "gaming" SSDs. What determines the suitability of a PC component for gaming workloads is the underlying specs, not what the manufacturer decides to call it. So, just like a CPU or GPU can be used in both gaming and non-gaming PCs, regular SSDs lacking any "gaming" branding work just like any other drive in a gaming PC. You don't even need the fastest SSDs with fancy features; you just need to get the basics right.

There are plenty of great laptops on the market right now, and most you don't even need to pay top dollar for because of all the great sales that are going on during the holidays. If you've been looking to pick up a gaming laptop for a good price, the MSI Katana is going to be one to check out.

Have you given Warframe a try? I actually gave it a go for the first time earlier this year, despite it being around for 12 years now. It's a ton of fun, and it's one of those games that just get better the more you play it. By the time I hit the Warframe: 1999 expansion, I was pretty much sold on always being a player.

Instead of adding more and more tools to my existing workflow, I’m always looking for new ways to make the ones I already use work better. There are always hidden features and ways to squeeze more value out of the tools I already rely on. The tool I use most these days in my daily workflow is NotebookLM.

Framework hasn't had the best of years. After the US tariffs caused some havoc with individual component parts, the company had to raise its prices to match. After all, given the modular design of Framework systems, there's no easy way to mitigate the rising cost of an individual component other than to simply have it cost the consumer more.

At first, I treated Perplexity like a nicer and smarter version of Google, but it has snuck into my digital life permanently at this point. I even find myself reaching for it more than my good ol’ Brave browser at times, mainly because it personalizes the results based on whatever prompt I give it. It’s become pivotal to some of my design workflows and even helped me set up my first local LLM. It also pairs really well with note-taking apps like Microsoft Loop and Obsidian.

We all have our own preferences when it comes to hardware, but occasionally, a product will hit a sweet spot that makes it a good choice for most people. If you're looking for a new monitor, for the time being, that product is going to be the HP Omen 34.

Raspberry Pi Imager has always been the easiest way to get a fresh OS onto a microSD card, yet the experience sometimes felt a little buried in menus and assumptions. Version 2.0 changes that in a meaningful way. It introduces a redesigned workflow that guides you through setup with more clarity, better explanations, and a cleaner interface that suits beginners and power users alike. The update is more than a visual refresh because it makes the path from download to a bootable Raspberry Pi much clearer.

Reactions to Metroid Prime 4: Beyond have been mixed among Nintendo fans. Some people really love what the game brings to the series, while others have taken issue with the writing and dialogue of the characters that appear in the story. When the game was being previewed by media outlets, there was a harsh reaction I saw online to some of the new characters that interact with Samus Aran during the game. But it may not be those new characters themselves that are the issue, and instead, may be a byproduct of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond trying to remain faithful to the earlier entries in the series.

I've been on the home-server and home lab bandwagon for several years now. I like the control, privacy, and flexibility that come with it, but over the years, I've realized that many of the most popular self-hosting tools might not be the best for me. They can be too heavy in terms of services needed to keep them up and running, or just in terms of features. Often, they are just overkill compared to what I need them for — case in point: NextCloud. So, when I discovered NextExplorer, it felt like exactly what I'd been looking for. A simple, functional, self-hosted app that offers an equally simple and clean web interface.

The plug-and-play style of smart home devices is convenient but expensive. ESPHome is monumental in helping you save costs and build your own smart devices to pair with Home Assistant. All you need is an ESP32 microcontroller board and a bunch of sensors — no soldering or traditional code writing required.

2025 has not been a good year for purchasing PC hardware. Near the start of the year, we saw people dash to snap up as many RTX 50s as they can to resell to gamers and AI enthusiasts alike. Now, the ever-ravenous AI market has turned its gaze onto RAM, buying up sticks left and right. It has gotten to the point where one of the first businesses to sell DDR RAM to consumers, Crucial, has gone business-only to take advantage of the huge corporate demand.