Enthusiast project turns the Steam Controller into a cross-platform gamepad
OpenPuck firmware adds Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, and Steam Controller modes
Enthusiast articles
AMD X870 Motherboard Roundup: 53 Motherboards Tested
After six months of testing, we compare 53 AMD X870 and X870E motherboards across VRM thermals, USB performance, PCIe lane sharing, features, and value.
This retro enthusiast forced Windows 11 to run on a Core 2 Quad Q6600 and AGP graphics
The modded system ran "rock stable" despite the aging hardware dating back to 2003
TechSpot PC Buying Guide: Four Smart Builds for a Difficult PC Market
Building a PC in 2026 means navigating inflated RAM, storage, and GPU prices. We assembled four balanced systems that prioritize performance, value, and sensible upgrade paths.
Which game made you a gamer, and what technology made you a lifelong enthusiast?
Every enthusiast has an origin story
The Real Reason Nvidia Has Abandoned PC Gamers
Nvidia's shift away from PC gaming wasn't driven by AI alone. Slowing GPU gains, rising manufacturing costs, and longer upgrade cycles made gamers a far less attractive business.
In Hindsight: Tech Quotes That Got the Future Right and Wrong
Tech leaders love predicting the future. Sometimes they nail it, sometimes they miss spectacularly, and sometimes they leave behind quotes that only get better with age.
Someone got 26 years of Windows running on a classic IBM ThinkPad T43 without a virtual machine
A bare-metal tour through Windows history
Flipper One is a next-gen Flipper Zero with a Linux brain and serious hardware upgrades
Making personal computing (and white-hat hacking) personal again
Gamers Are Wrong About 1440p vs 1080p CPU Benchmarking
Here We Go Again, or: Why GPU Bottlenecks Hide True CPU Performance.
Gamers keep demanding 1440p CPU benchmarks, but higher resolutions often hide the very performance differences CPU testing is supposed to reveal. Here's why 1080p still matters most.
How often do you upgrade your PC?
Rising prices and slower performance gains are reshaping the enthusiast upgrade cycle
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Review: Twice the 3D V-Cache
AMD finally delivers dual 3D V-Cache on Zen 5 with the 9950X3D2, but does twice the cache translate into real gains? We test performance, power, and value to see if this flagship makes sense.
AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 arrives as Intel scraps Core Ultra 9 290K Plus
Dual-chiplet 3D V-Cache design pushes 208MB cache as competition tightens in high-end CPUs
Intel may finally extend desktop CPU socket support to multiple generations
Intel's rumored LGA1954 socket could break the one-and-done cycle
Big quote: Intel's next desktop CPU platform could mark a turning point in how the company handles socket compatibility – a sore spot for many PC enthusiasts who have grown used to frequent motherboard replacements. Robert Hallock, Intel's vice president and general manager of its enthusiast channel, has suggested a shift in thinking about how long the company's sockets will support new chips.
A microscope reveals the ghost of analog video hidden inside a LaserDisc
A YouTuber's optical experiment turns forgotten media into a lesson in photonic engineering
The big picture: When retro tech obsessive Shelby Jueden pointed a low-cost digital microscope at a decades-old LaserDisc, he didn't just see reflections of light – he uncovered the physical trace of analog video itself. His experiment shows how the LaserDisc's 1970s-era analog encoding can still reveal faint traces of recorded video, illustrating how optical media once stored motion pictures before digital formats arrived.
Stop the Slop: 8 Tools That Clean Up Windows 11
If Windows 11 feels cluttered with AI features, ads, and background services, these popular free tools help strip out the bloat, disable telemetry, and give you more control over the OS.
What happens when you try to power a desktop PC with 56 AA batteries?
An experiment pushes consumer alkaline batteries to their limits in the name of science and stubborn curiosity
Were We Wrong About Ryzen's Best Feature All Along?
Platform longevity helped define Ryzen's rise, but was it really the secret sauce? As Nova Lake and Zen 6 approach, we revisit AM4 to see how much socket support truly shaped the CPU market.
11 Need-To-Know Tools in Microsoft PowerToys
Microsoft PowerToys packs more than 30 utilities into a single toolbox, but not all of them are worth using. These 11 stand out as genuinely useful, and a few others you can safely ignore.
A $300 Radeon RX 9060 XT just smashed the world GPU overclocking record
A record 4.77 GHz under liquid nitrogen
AMD Just Made Another Radeon Mistake
AMD has an easy win sitting right in front of it, yet it's choosing not to take it. FSR 4 already works on older Radeon GPUs, so why is AMD still holding it back?
CapFrameX lets you analyze gaming performance beyond average FPS
CapFrameX is a free Windows tool for capturing and analyzing PC gaming performance, with an emphasis on frame times, FPS behavior, and smoothness metrics like 1% and 0.1% lows.
Cherry Xtrfy MX 8.2 Pro TMR Keyboard Review
Cherry's MX 8.2 Pro TMR is its first magnetic keyboard using tunnel magnetoresistance tech instead of Hall Effect, promising ultra-fast wireless performance and rare hot-swap support for mechanical switches.
AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D Review: For the FPS Chasers
AMD's Ryzen 7 9850X3D promises the fastest gaming performance yet, with higher clocks and a small price bump. But does it deliver real gains, or is it just more hype?
Nvidia G-Sync Pulsar Tested: A Massive Leap in LCD Clarity
Nvidia's new G-Sync Pulsar takes gaming motion clarity to a new level. After hands-on testing, we break down how its advanced strobing, VRR support, and rolling scan work together to deliver elite results.
