You've probably heard this a million times, but building a balanced PC isn't the right answer every time. Balancing the core components in every build seems sensible on the surface, but quickly falls apart in the face of real-world considerations. Gaming at 1080p involves wildly different considerations than gaming at 4K. And a PC for video editing needs to prioritize different components than one for 3D rendering. Building an intentionally lopsided PC is the best way to extract the most performance out of your budget. You don't need to build a "balanced" PC; you need to build one optimized for your needs.

Password managers have been around for quite some time now, enabling and securing access to all your login credentials across hundreds of websites, if not thousands. LastPass was a service I used for some time, but the numerous security mishaps and changes in features and subscriptions made me rethink it. Self-hosting a password manager is possible with Vaultwarden, which is a server application for Bitwarden. I have been playing with self-hosted tools for the last year, especially incorporating tools like Jellyfin, NextCloud, Immich, and a few more. So, I decided to pack my bags and switch to a self-hosted password manager overnight.

As someone testing out new Docker containers on the daily, both out of my interest in checking out new self-hosted services, as well as for surfacing cool new utilities here at XDA, I can have dozens of containers running simultaneously. And for the longest time, I didn't notice just how much space Docker was eating up on my SSD. Until one day, I got a low storage warning on my NAS. That didn't seem right, except it was. Docker was hoarding way more space than it really should be.

You know what I've never thought of one while using a gaming PC? "Man, I really hope my RAM sticks aren't overheating." I mean, I'm sure if you pushed a system to its absolute limit and didn't have proper airflow within the case, maybe RAM can malfunction in a hot environment. However, if I'm diagnosing a system issue, thinking of how hot the RAM is getting is pretty down there in my list of things to check.

Most Windows users have come to terms with the fact that Microsoft doesn't deserve praise for its implementation of the Settings app in Windows 11. I might be beating a dead horse saying this, but it is impossibly difficult to find anything in the Settings program because there's significant overlap between categories, and the overdone compartmentalization barely makes sense. The only saving grace here is the continuation of the Control Panel and its options, in the background. However, if you don't know where to look, some of these settings can be a chore to locate.

If you told me last year the Nex Playground would outsell Microsoft's Xbox, even for two weeks, I would have laughed my way out of the room. It's a three-inch cube of a game console that's likely less powerful than your phone, one which uses a single camera to track your body. It only plays curated, certified kid-safe games. Though frequently compared to the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Kinect, the Nex Playground is worse than either at tracking motion. Nor is it cheap: $250 upfront plus $89-a-year or $49-a-quarter annual subscription to get more than a basic sampler. If you like a game, you can't buy it separately. Many are little better …Read the full story at The Verge.

I've been on the home server and self-hosted train long enough to know that when you're constantly experimenting with apps and services, you're tempted to opt in for larger, all-encompassing platforms that promise to do everything. NextCloud is a prime example of such an app. I understand that it's got a place and there's a reason why it's such a beloved tool in the self-hosting community, but for me, I've come to realize that more features do not always translate into a better experience. Control, privacy, flexibility are what drew me into self-hosting in the first place, and I've started preferring apps and services that come without the baggage of excess services, databases, background jobs and more things than you need.

While the original LCD Steam Deck may not have been the best handheld console on the market, it was a very affordable choice for people who couldn't shell out for the OLED ones. While the Steam Deck LCD sits at $399, the cheapest OLED model is $549. That's a good chunk of change that may decide whether someone can or cannot afford one.

Every morning, once I’ve sorted the coffee, I open my laptop and go through a set of tasks. These aren’t directly part of my work, but like a pre-workout, they set the pace for the rest of the day. This includes opening a bunch of apps, like the browser, calendar, my notes, and several other apps, and opening several browser tabs. None of this is time-consuming, and it’s such a habit now that I don’t even realize I’m doing it.

RJ Scaringe is sitting in Rivian's Palo Alto offices, explaining why the adventure-themed EV company suddenly decided to build its own self-driving cars, when an unexpected guest glides by the window outside: Waymo. A robotaxi from the Alphabet-owned company pulls up outside the office. The passenger, an analyst from Goldman Sachs, briefly takes a selfie before climbing inside. The Rivian founder and CEO chuckles at the scene. "That's amazing," he laughs. "So perfect."The arrival of the Waymo helps clarify the challenge that lies ahead for Rivian. A few hours earlier, Scaringe was onstage in front of an audience of hundreds of investor …Read the full story at The Verge.

NVMe has become the default recommendation for almost any storage discussion. It’s faster on paper, newer, and often positioned as an automatic upgrade over SATA. For desktops and laptop use, that logic absolutely holds up. For home lab use, though, the picture is much more nuanced.

Windows XP, nowadays, is a dangerous operating system to use. It hasn't been supported in a long, long time, and there are numerous security holes and issues with it that make it significantly easier to target and attack when compared to modern counterparts, such as Windows 11. However, there's an interesting consequence of its age that, almost paradoxically, helps prevent attacks. Because it's so old, it lacks a lot of modern Windows features... and that includes features that malware may look to take advantage of, too. That's why I installed Windows XP, and then tried to install malware on it.