4 PC settings you’ve never touched that are silently costing you performance

Modern PC hardware often has more interlinked elements than the average user can keep track of. Sure, seasoned gamers may know about XMP/EXPO, Resizable BAR, and GPU power limits, but the majority of users are unaware of these settings. I want to highlight some other PC settings that directly impact your gaming performance, thermals, noise levels, stability, and security. You may not know these settings exist, or even if you do, you may not consider them worth the hassle. Some users are also overly cautious about fiddling with the firmware, BIOS settings, and voltage/frequency settings out of fear of lasting damage. Thankfully, the settings on this list are perfectly safe to tweak, and will almost always deliver positive results for your system. The default settings might work, but you’re unknowingly leaving performance on the table.

Naja Jensen
Denmark

Sonos users are vibe-coding their own apps, and I tested the best 3

I stopped playing hide-and-seek with the Sonos app and finally removed it. The app just kept getting in the way, and the subscription nag got to me. It turns out, it’s not just me; several other Sonos users are tired of app woes as well. Lately, I’ve been running Snapcast...

William Garcia
Boston

NotebookLM and Claude finally turned my reading into something actionable

I consume a lot of media and information every day. Between books, articles, research papers, and, of course, videos, it's a lot of information overload. The problem isn't finding all this information; it's turning it into something I can actually use.

Jane Smith
Los Angeles

Sealed Super Mario Bros. sells for a record $3 million

You know this came for free bundle with the console for $150, right? | Image: Heritage Auctions A copy of Super Mario Bros., still in the box and sealed with its original sticker, just sold at Heritage Auctions for $3 million. That absolutely crushes the previous record of $2 million,...

Paula Méndez
Spain

Your motherboard is throttling your PCIe slots in BIOS, and you probably don’t know how to fix it

Modern PC builders spend countless hours researching CPUs, GPUs, SSDs, and memory kits, but many overlook one of the most important performance settings hidden inside their motherboard's BIOS. I used to assume that if my hardware was physically installed correctly, it would automatically run at its maximum speed. After all,...

Jane Smith
Los Angeles

Amazon security research reportedly led to the White House’s Anthropic Fable ban

According to the Wall Street Journal, the export control directive that led to Anthropic cutting off access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 was triggered in part by cybersecurity research from Amazon and conversations between CEO Andy Jassy and the White House. According to the report, the paper from Amazon...

Carter Johnson
New Zealand

Linux gaming needs immutable distros more than it needs freedom

Over the past year, I've fallen in love with Linux and everything it has to offer. The immense variety of options in distros, desktops, and software make Linux a very fun space where you never run out of things to talk about. But as fun as it is, the future...

Minttu Hatala
Finland

X-Men ’97 has what Master of the Universe is missing

In 2026, Marvel and Mattel are both releasing projects designed to capitalize on people's love for iconic animated heroes from their childhoods. Masters of the Universe has put a live-action He-Man on the big screen, and the second season of X-Men '97 is about to fling some of Charles Xavier's...

Michael Johnson
Chicago

I revived a cheap Android tablet by turning it into a Home a**istant control panel

Over the last couple of months, I’ve started looking into ways I can repurpose old hardware. PC rigs are the easiest to revitalize, as Proxmox is all they need to turn into functioning LXC (and sometimes, even VM) hosting workstations. Meanwhile, individual components like graphics cards, RAM sticks, and storage...

Olivia Miller
Seattle

Glance is replacing my browser homepage, and it’s the most useful thing I’ve self-hosted all year

The browser homepage is the page you look at the most when you use your computer, yet it's often not that useful. Aside from quick links to your most visited pages, most browsers just show you a barely-curated news feed or something. Vivaldi does have a heavily customizable page I...

Sophia Wilson
Atlanta

Treating your ISP’s router as the brain of your home network is the biggest mistake you can make

Even though wireless standards have advanced all the way to Wi-Fi 7, many people don't even think about their routers until their internet's down or their Wi-Fi acts up. When I first switched to fiber in 2014, I didn't care which router my ISP offered as long as I could...

Bently Campbell
Canada

This free streaming app completely changed how I watch live TV on my Samsung TV

Streaming services are reaching a point where they're just as expensive (if not more so) than a cable subscription, so I asked myself: what's the point? I've done away with the majority of my streamers in favor of a Jellyfin server, and I love it. I'm not a big fan...