Summary Thunderbolt 5 has been here for some time, but aside from being used as a high-bandwidth hub connector for docks, there hasn’t been a use case that can push the speedy protocol to its limits. This should change with the arrival of Thunderbolt 5 eGPUs and eGPU enclosures and docks. eGPUs and eGPU Enclosures Are a Hot Topic Again Now thatPC gaming handheldshave slowly begun to penetrate the mainstream gaming market, the demand forexternal GPUsandeGPU enclosuresand docks is rising with the release of each new handheld gaming PC....

If you’re looking for a deal on your next gadget or gift, here are the best discounts available on all sorts of goodies this week. Save on Google’s Pixel 7a, wireless earbuds, smart lights, a retro vinyl record player, and more. Google will likely announce a new Pixel 8a budget smartphone in May, but last year’s Pixel 7a is still an excellent phone, especially at anall-time low price of $349. Score Samsung’s stunning 75-inch “The Frame” TV for nearly 40% off, PC accessories, or get a waterproof portable speaker for the pool or beach....

Toshiba has announced an interesting new record player called the Aurex AX-RP10. It’s a device designed for vinyl lovers who want a mix of classic analog sound and modern wireless features. This small turntable is a great choice for people who want to take their vinyl records outside their homes to the beach, a picnic in the park, or a smaller living space where a full-sized turntable isn’t practical. It’s wireless, so it’s meant to be used as a radio would be, so if you’re into records, this is a huge step....

Quick Links Mounting a TV might seem like one of those simple weekend jobs—buy a bracket, drill some holes, pop it on the wall, done and dusted. But that’s exactly how you end up with a screen that’s off-kilter, wires dangling like jungle vines, or worse, a TV that’s slowly sagging into a sad tilt. There’s more to mounting a TV than meets the eye. So before you start eyeballing wall space or rummaging around in your toolbox, take a moment to condier a few important details....

Quick Links Summary NVIDIA’s DLAA (Deep Learning Anti-Aliasing) is an AI-powered tool to eliminate jagged edges in video games, maintaining native resolution unlike DLSS. It improves image quality with less performance cost than traditional methods, ideal for GPUs with sufficient power to run a game at targeted resolution and framerate. We live in a time where graphics cards are not just about brute rendering power. DLAA is a feature on modern NVIDIA cards that can increase image quality, but what exactly is DLAA, and when should you use it?...

Quick Links Gift cards have a bad reputation for being boring, thoughtless gifts. However, when buying a gift for a techy person, somefree money to spend in Apple App Storeor Google Play Store may just be the perfect thing. Permission to Spend Money There’s a weird thing that happens to a lot of us when it comes to making purchases in app stores. Many people won’t think twice about buying a $5 coffee every morning, but they can’t justify $0....

Summary I love my aluminum unibody MacBook to death, but Apple’s leaving a clear gap in its laptop lineup where a more affordable “MacBook SE” with a plastic shell could fit in. We’ve seen them put their best hardware in cheaper shells for their phones, so why not laptops? The First MacBooks Were Plastic! Apple is no stranger to plastic laptops. I still love the look of the old iBooks, which, like the classic iMacs of the time, had colorful translucent plastic bodies that would probably be in fashion again right about now....

Quick Links Summary Serial ports might be slow and not much use to most computer users these days, but thanks to their simplicity and reliability these ports may be with us for a long time yet. While the parallel port is now safely buried in the grave of obsolescence, it may seem odd that the humble, slow serial port is still around. But as it turns out, bit-by-bit, this humble communications port has become essential....

Are you tired of trying to come up with unique passwords for your school logins? What about those pesky database passwords. Credit cards? Don’t get me started. Every student should use a password manager, and here are several ways you may employ one in your student life. Memorable Passwords Can Be Easy to Guess We’re all guilty of using memorable passwords for our online accounts. Often, you might even reuse the same password for many accounts (I’ve been guilty of this too)....

Summary Google Docs and Microsoft Word are both word processors, but you’ll quickly notice the differences in how they work once you start using them. I prefer Docs over Word and will (likely) never use Microsoft’s word processor to make documents. Here’s why. Docs Doesn’t Require Installation The great thing about Docs is that you don’t need to install it. It’s a web-based office suite tool, allowing you to create, edit, and manage documents from any web browser....

Windows 11 marked the return of widgets, and Microsoft is still slowly but surely making improvements. And now, in the latest Windows 11 Insider Build 26058, we see some big changes to the Widgets board, weather lock screen options, a new cursor, and more. While the Windows 11 Widgets board is great, many users weren’t happy about the News feed showing up in the same space. With this latest release, users now have the option to hide the news feed from their board....

Quick Links Summary Overclocking the CPU, GPU, and RAM is pretty mainstream, but one component we often overlook is VRAM. Below, I’ll cover the ins and outs of VRAM overclocking. I’ll also do a few benchmarks to see if there’s an actual difference in real-world gaming. What Happens When You Overclock VRAM TheVideo Random Access Memory (VRAM)on your graphics card is very similar to system RAM in the sense that it temporarily stores data on very fast storage chips....

Summary Realism is something I’ve seen gamers wish for often. They not only want games that look realistic, but want them to behave in realistic ways. But, is thatreallysomething that makes a game better? For the most part, I don’t think so. What You’re Actually Asking for Is Authenticity What I think people are asking for when they say “realism” is actually “authenticity”. What’s the difference? Well, look at a game likeCall of Duty: Modern WarfareandBattlefield....