PC Hardware News, Reviews & Buying Guides — Page 15 of 62
Daily news digests, deep-dive reviews, and long-form buying guides on GPUs, CPUs, home AI workstations, local LLM runtimes, retro PC builds, and the tools real builders use in 2026.
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- Pi Pico Puts Bluetooth Keyboards on the I2C Bus — Pi Pico W bridges Bluetooth HID keyboards to I2C: a synthesis of PIO architecture, firmware options, and real-world maker project… Mike Perry · 2026-07-15
- Cheap 80s Keyboard Gets a Modern Brain Upgrade — A $7 Raspberry Pi Pico and open-source QMK firmware can transform a 30-year-old keyboard into a programmable, RGB-capable modern… Mike Perry · 2026-07-15
- Dump and Archive Your Retro PC's IDE Drives in 2026: A USB Adapter Workflow — Dump and archive your retro PC's IDE hard drives in 2026 using a Unitek USB adapter and ddrescue — plus a CompactFlash boot replacement… Mike Perry · 2026-07-15 · 13 min read
- Best 4K Monitor for the PS4 Pro and PS5 in 2026 (Value Pick) — The best value 4K monitor for a PS4 Pro or PS5 in 2026, with the panel specs that actually matter for console gaming — HDMI, HDR, VRR and… Mike Perry · 2026-07-15 · 12 min read
- Ryzen 5 5600G vs Ryzen 7 5700X: Best CPU for a First Gaming PC in 2026 — The Ryzen 5 5600G vs Ryzen 7 5700X call for a first gaming PC in 2026 — iGPU frame rates, GPU-paired numbers, and a clear verdict matrix. Mike Perry · 2026-07-15 · 12 min read
- Best Budget GPU for Local Stable Diffusion and ComfyUI in 2026 — Why the RTX 3060 12 GB is still the best budget GPU for local Stable Diffusion and ComfyUI in 2026 — with SD 1.5, SDXL and Flux numbers. Mike Perry · 2026-07-15 · 12 min read
- Retro Nintendo Switch 2 Dock Channels the N64 and Holds Six Game Cards — A retro Switch 2 dock styled like the N64 stores six Game Cards — what it means, and the plug-and-play retro consoles worth buying in 2026. Mike Perry · 2026-07-15 · 17 min read
- The Best Raspberry Pi Projects for Students in 2026 (With a Real Parts List) — The best Raspberry Pi projects for students in 2026 — with a real parts list built around a Pi 4 8 GB and a Pi Zero W starter kit. Mike Perry · 2026-07-15 · 11 min read
- Build a Raspberry Pi Zero Cyberdeck in 2026: Parts, Wiring and a Working BOM — Parts, wiring and a real BOM for a 2026 Raspberry Pi Zero cyberdeck build — plus when to jump to a Pi 4 8 GB variant instead. Mike Perry · 2026-07-15 · 14 min read
- Set Up a Local LLM Coding Assistant in VS Code on an RTX 3060 12GB (2026) — Step-by-step guide to running a local LLM coding assistant in VS Code on an RTX 3060 12 GB in 2026 — models, extensions, and honest… Mike Perry · 2026-07-15 · 12 min read
- Local LLM vs Claude in 2026: What an RTX 3060 12GB Rig Actually Replaces — Where a local RTX 3060 12 GB LLM rig actually replaces Claude in 2026 — model tiers, real cost break-even math, and the tasks each side… Mike Perry · 2026-07-15 · 11 min read
- OpenAI Codex Now Encrypts Agent-to-Agent Instructions: The Case for Local, Auditable Agents — OpenAI Codex encrypts agent-to-agent instructions in 2026 — this walks the case, and the reference build, for a fully auditable local… Mike Perry · 2026-07-15 · 13 min read
- Qwen-Audio-3.0-TTS-Plus Tops the Speech Arena: Run It Locally on an RTX 3060? — Qwen-Audio-3.0-TTS-Plus tops the Artificial Analysis Speech Arena — here is what it takes to run it locally on a 12 GB RTX 3060. Mike Perry · 2026-07-15 · 11 min read
- Ryzen 7 5800X3D Hard to Find: DDR5 CPU Alternatives Worth It? — The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is scarce and overpriced on the secondary market. Here's how AM5 DDR5 alternatives and budget AM4 picks compare for… Mike Perry · 2026-07-15
- NVIDIA's AI Servers Run on Hot Tub Coolant — No Evaporators Neede — NVIDIA's newest AI server racks use glycol-based coolant — the same chemistry as hot tubs — eliminating evaporators and simplifying data… Mike Perry · 2026-07-15
- GPU-Accelerated Autorouter Handles Monstrous PCB Designs — GPU-accelerated autorouters are changing complex PCB design. Here's what hardware and tools to evaluate for large, high-layer-count board… Mike Perry · 2026-07-15
- Alienware Area-51 RTX 5090 Gets $2,580 Off — Worth It? — A $2,580 markdown on the Alienware Area-51 RTX 5090 with 24-core CPU and 64GB DDR5 reshapes the prebuilt value case for 4K gaming in 2026. Mike Perry · 2026-07-15
- Benchmarking Asus Tablet Repairability Scores 2026 — iFixit repairability scores for Asus tablets in 2026: methodology breakdown, where the lineup lands vs. competitors, and key DIY repair… Mike Perry · 2026-07-15
- AMD Ryzen AI Halo Mini PC: Open-Source Power Analyzed — AMD Ryzen AI Halo brings Zen CPU power, RDNA integrated graphics, and NPU inference to a mini PC form factor with fully open-source Linux… Mike Perry · 2026-07-15
- Mount a 90s Big-Box CD-ROM ISO on Win98 Without a CD Drive — Skip the failing optical drive on your Pentium-era rig. Here's the CompactFlash-on-IDE workflow for mounting CD ISOs under Windows 98. Mike Perry · 2026-07-15 · 11 min read
- Best Cooler for the Ryzen 7 5800X: Noctua NH-U12S vs Cooler Master ML240L — Noctua NH-U12S vs Cooler Master ML240L on the Ryzen 7 5800X — the temperature deltas, boost-clock math, and the right pick per workload. Mike Perry · 2026-07-15 · 11 min read
- Best SSD for a Local-LLM Rig in 2026: NVMe vs SATA — An NVMe drive speeds up local-LLM cold starts by 3-5x; after that, storage is irrelevant. The two-drive setup that actually works. Mike Perry · 2026-07-15 · 11 min read
- Pi Pico Puts Bluetooth Keyboards on the I2C Bus — A Pi Pico project bridges a Bluetooth keyboard to any I2C host — retro machines, MCUs, and SBCs that lack a USB-HID stack. Mike Perry · 2026-07-15 · 10 min read
- DeepSeek Seeks More Cash Weeks After $7B Round — DeepSeek is reportedly seeking more capital weeks after its $7B raise. Here's what it signals for the pace of new open-weight releases. Mike Perry · 2026-07-15 · 10 min read
- Ollama on the RTX 3060 12GB: Model Sizes and tok/s for 2026 — A practical map of every Ollama model that fits on the 12GB RTX 3060 in 2026 — with real steady-state tok/s numbers per quant. Mike Perry · 2026-07-15 · 11 min read
- Can You Run Local TTS on an RTX 3060 12GB in 2026? — Every mainstream open TTS model — Piper, Kokoro, XTTS-v2, Parler-TTS — fits in the RTX 3060 12GB with room to spare. Here's what's fast. Mike Perry · 2026-07-15 · 11 min read
- RTX 5060 vs RTX 3060 12GB for Local LLMs in 2026 — The RTX 5060 is faster on paper, but its 8GB of VRAM offloads any 13B+ model. Here's why the RTX 3060 12GB still wins the local-LLM fight. Mike Perry · 2026-07-15 · 13 min read
- BOSGAME VTA-439: AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 Mini PC for Linux — BOSGAME's VTA-439 pairs AMD's Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 with strong Linux driver support, making it a standout mini PC for homelab, AI inference… Mike Perry · 2026-07-15
- GPU & CPU Upgrade ROI: Cost-per-FPS Calculator Guide — A structured methodology for calculating GPU and CPU upgrade ROI using performance delta, cost-per-FPS, and net upgrade cost — with 2026… Mike Perry · 2026-07-15
- Started a Homelab a Month Ago: Am I Doing It Right? — One month in? Here's how r/homelab community wisdom and public hardware benchmarks define 'doing it right' — covering CPU, storage… Mike Perry · 2026-07-14
- Steam Deck LCD Battery Swollen: Diagnosis & Safe Fix Guide — Steam Deck LCD battery swelling explained: spot physical signs, understand why SteamOS health tools can lag behind, and find safe… Mike Perry · 2026-07-14
- Using an LLM to Fix Win98 Voodoo & TNT Driver Installs — Local LLMs are surprisingly good at diagnosing Voodoo, TNT2 and Windows 98 driver install conflicts. Worked examples and gotchas. Mike Perry · 2026-07-14 · 9 min read
- Can a Raspberry Pi 4 8GB Run Local LLMs in 2026? — Small 1-3B models run at 1-5 tok/s on a Pi 4 8GB — usable for narrow offline tasks. Interactive chat needs a bigger box. Mike Perry · 2026-07-14 · 9 min read
- Started a Homelab a Month Ago — Is a Ryzen 5 5600G Enough? — A first-month homelab with a Ryzen 5 5600G runs Jellyfin, Home Assistant, and 10+ containers with real headroom. Where it strains. Mike Perry · 2026-07-14 · 9 min read
- Best CPU Coolers for AMD Ryzen in 2026: 5 Picks Ranked — Five ranked AMD Ryzen CPU coolers from a $36 air tower to a 420mm AIO, with thermal charts and pairing guidance for 2026 builds. Mike Perry · 2026-07-14 · 10 min read
- KOORUI vs Samsung Odyssey: Best 27" 4K Gaming Monitor? — KOORUI's mini-LED HDR versus Samsung's panel consistency at $490-500. Which 27-inch 4K gaming monitor wins your desk in 2026. Mike Perry · 2026-07-14 · 9 min read
- This DIY 'Steam Controller Puck' Emulates Xbox, Switch & PS Pads — A DIY ESP32-based puck lets one controller present as Xbox, Switch or DualSense — build details, latency, and compatibility. Mike Perry · 2026-07-14 · 9 min read
- How Many CPU Cores Does a Local-LLM Rig Actually Need? — Six cores handles GPU-resident chat; eight cores earn their keep on prefill and CPU offload. Real numbers and pairings for AM4/AM5. Mike Perry · 2026-07-14 · 10 min read
- AMD Ryzen AI Halo ($4K) vs a DIY RTX 3060 Local-LLM Rig — The $4K Ryzen AI Halo unified-memory box vs a $700 DIY RTX 3060 12GB rig for local LLMs — spec deltas, benchmark tables, and a verdict. Mike Perry · 2026-07-14 · 10 min read
- Best Performance-per-Dollar Hardware Rankings 2026 — Public benchmark data from TechPowerUp, PassMark, and Tom's Hardware reveals which GPUs and CPUs deliver the best performance-per-dollar… Mike Perry · 2026-07-14
- Beyond LLMs: How Agent Logic Scales Enterprise AI — Agent logic—task decomposition, tool routing, and state persistence—solves the cost and reliability gaps that stall enterprise LLM… Mike Perry · 2026-07-14
- Bilingual Voice Agents: Frontier ASR on Code-Switched Speech — Whether frontier ASR can handle bilingual customers who code-switch mid-sentence: published benchmarks, deployment patterns, and hardware… Mike Perry · 2026-07-14
- CPU Cooler Bracket Fix: How to Secure Your CPU When It Fails — When a CPU cooler bracket snaps or goes missing, safe options range from manufacturer replacement kits to 3D-printed parts — no adhesives… Mike Perry · 2026-07-14
- Retro Console Mods in Canada: 2026 Legal & Hardware Guide — Canadian retro console modding in 2026: Copyright Act legal basics, popular hardware upgrades for N64, SNES, and PS1, plus community… Mike Perry · 2026-07-14
- Razer Blade 16 (2026) Review: Gaming Performance and Endurance — Razer Blade 16 (2026) synthesized from published reviews: RTX 50-series gaming, dual vapor chamber thermals, and class-leading battery… Mike Perry · 2026-07-14
- MicroPython Now Runs on the Super Nintendo — Here's What That Means — A new MicroPython port targets the Super Nintendo's 65816 CPU — the same chip that ran Super Mario World. It's slow and constrained, but… Mike Perry · 2026-07-14 · 3 min read
- This Retro Switch 2 Dock Looks Exactly Like an N64 — and Holds Six Cards — A new third-party Switch 2 dock has surfaced with an N64-shaped base that stores six cartridges. Here's what it is, why the accessory… Mike Perry · 2026-07-14 · 3 min read
- Turtle Beach Recon 50 in 2026: Is the $40 Gaming Headset Still Worth It? — The Turtle Beach Recon 50 is still worth $30-40 in 2026 for casual PC and console gaming, but only just. Detachable mic, 40mm drivers, and… Mike Perry · 2026-07-14 · 8 min read
- The $5M Sega Bet That Saved Nvidia — and Still Shapes GPU Launches — In 1996 Sega wrote Nvidia a $5M check that kept the company alive through the NV1 flop. That reprieve produced the RIVA 128, TNT, GeForce… Mike Perry · 2026-07-14 · 8 min read
- Build a Jellyfin Media Server on a Raspberry Pi 4 8GB: Measured Perf — A Raspberry Pi 4 8GB runs Jellyfin cleanly for direct-play 1080p to 2-3 clients. Software transcoding is not viable. Full storage… Mike Perry · 2026-07-14 · 8 min read