Build a pc articles
The Best Desktop PCs 2021: Pre-Built FTW?!
When buying a new desktop PC you have two main options: you can build one yourself or you can buy a "pre-built." Here are some of the best desktop PC in a variety of form factors for gaming and basic computing.
Ultra vs. High Settings in PC Games or: Why Ultra Quality Settings are Dumb
It's time to discuss something that's been bugging me for some time: Ultra quality settings in PC games. Everyone wants to crank stuff up to the max, but what we've discovered is that Ultra settings are actually pretty dumb.
Radeon RX 6600 XT vs. GeForce RTX 3060: Tested in 30 Games
We'll compare the Radeon RX 6600 XT head-to-head against the GeForce RTX 3060 in 30 games, to see how they stack up, giving us a second chance to sort of re-review the 6600 XT using actual retail pricing.
AMD Ryzen 3 5300G Review: Best Value CPU You Probably Can't Buy
The Ryzen 3 5300G is a 4-core, 8-thread processor featuring 6 CU Vega graphics... the problem is, you can't buy it. You see, the 5300G is an OEM-only part, but a pretty interesting value part at that.
The Best CPU Coolers 2021
How should you keep your CPU cool? And should you opt for the best air cooler or an all-in-one liquid cooler? This guide will cover many great options at every size and price point.
Fractal Design's Torrent combines striking looks with max airflow
AMD Ryzen 7 5700G APU Review: Radeon GPU Inside
The Ryzen 7 5700G is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture. It used to be OEM only but it's now landing on retail as well, sporting Radeon integrated graphics. So is it any good?
5 Ideas to Improve and Bring New Life into Your Old PC Case
If your PC case is several years old, you may feel like you could do with some convenience or utility features that it's missing and it's not a replacement that you want but some useful add-ons.
Can a Gaming Laptop Offer Better Value than a Gaming Desktop PC?
With insane GPU prices out there, are you better off buying a gaming laptop? Laptops are more widely available and are not ridiculously priced in some instances, and performance has improved a lot in recent years.
The Best Intel B560 Motherboards: VRM Tested
After a long testing process, we're ready to show our Intel B560 motherboard VRM thermal data. We've tested a dozen B560 motherboards priced between $80 and $150 with four different 11th-gen Intel CPUs. Here are the results.
Boutique PC Builders vs OEM Pre-Built Gaming PCs
Buying a new gaming PC today presents a few challenges due to the GPU shortage. We recently compared our recommended PC building specs to OEM gaming PCs. Now let's do the same comparing pre-builts to boutique PC builders.
Build a PC vs. Pre-Built (Scoring a GPU in the Process)
With ongoing component shortages and insane graphics card prices, a pre-built gaming PC that gets you a new fast GPU suddenly looks like a very reasonable option that we must consider.
TechSpot PC Buying Guide - Early 2021
Is this a good time to buy or build a new PC? It depends on what you do and your actual needs. The TechSpot PC Buying Guide offers a comprehensive analysis of today's best desktop PC hardware spanning four budgets and intended uses.
Intel Core i5-11400F Review: The New Value Champ
The Core i5-11400F coupled with a B560 motherboard make for an interesting build configuration, as it's significantly cheaper than the Core i5-11600K/Z590 and less than the cost of the Ryzen 5 5600X.
Intel Core i9-11900K Review: Not a Great Flagship CPU
Usually it's the flagship CPU grabbing the headlines, but frankly, the Core i9-11900K at a list price of $540, simply doesn't stand a chance. But because you'll want to know where it stands, here we are.
Intel Core i5-11600K vs. AMD Ryzen 5 5600 vs. Core i5-10600K
Rocket Lake is finally here and today we're checking out the new Core i5-11600K to see if it's a worthy replacement for the affordable 10600K and/or defeating the overpriced Ryzen 5 5600X.
Intel's unreleased i7-11700K is being sold and shipped in Germany
Is Zen 3 Worth It for Gaming? Ryzen 5600X vs. 3600 vs. Core i5-10400F
In order to wrap up our 6 core/12 thread CPU testing, we had to add the Ryzen 5 5600X to the mix. We're going back to the data we recently collected for testing the Core i5-10400F and Ryzen 5 3600, all of it using the Radeon RX 6800 in a range of PC games at 1080p, 1440p and 4K resolutions.
Core i5 10400F + Radeon RX 6800 Tested: Looking for the Best Value CPU
We check out Intel's Core i5-10400F, a direct competitor to the Ryzen 3600 to see how this budget CPU performs when paired with a last-generation high-end Radeon gaming GPU.
Samsung 980 Pro vs. Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus
Samsung offers some of the best SSDs on the market, but Sabrent rocked the boat with their PCI 4.0 drive the last generation. The new Samsung SSD 980 Pro and Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus are now out, and here comes our test.
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 + Radeon RX 6800: Tested at 1080p, 1440p and 4K
The Radeon RX 6800 is bound to be a popular GPU choice and with so many of you using the still amazing Ryzen 5 3600, it makes sense to see how it performs with the new RDNA2 GPU.