Water-cooling systems look spectacular inside a PC. But do you really need them? For most gamers, the honest answer is… no. At least not if the sole aim is to squeeze more performance out of your machine. In many cases, a good air-cooling system is perfectly adequate and more sensible.
When it comes to CPU cooling, it’s not just about achieving the lowest possible temperatures. You’ve also…
For a year or two in my childhood, the Sega Dreamcast was the future. Not just of video games, but of everything. It had 3D graphics better than anything on the market. It had an internet connection for online gaming. It had Crazy Taxi. In 1999, the Dreamcast was the…
I have a headache from dealing with Secure Boot this past week. I’m also now worried about the future of security on PCs, given the economy right now.
Let’s rewind. On June 24, security certificates for a very important Windows feature began expiring. (This actually…
Xbox isn’t doing so hot, and you don’t think an MBA to see that. Its console hardware sales are in a distant third place behind Sony and Nintendo, even as the prices of those boxes keep going up. Microsoft’s software side isn’t exactly tearing up the sales charts either. The end result? Huge layoffs and organizational changes, announced today.
In a lengthy and surprisingly frank open…
If you’re currently experiencing problems with storage space on your Windows 11 PC, it may not be your own fault—even if you’re hogging a massive number of files and/or apps. You might actually be affected by a system bug that can take up as much as 500 GB of…
What is Windows Secure Boot? Here’s what to know
July 6, 2026
Most people don’t spend time thinking about Secure Boot. (Not even the staff at PCWorld.) But this Windows security feature provides a vital protection against dangerous malware—one some PCs have just lost.
So what is Secure Boot, exactly? And why should you pay…
This is the eighth year running that I’ve written a roundup of the best new games for low-power PCs. And before now, I felt like it might be losing its relevance. After all, the Steam Deck doesn’t have a discrete graphics card, and plenty of new laptops are coming out with tons of integrated graphical oomph.
But with the RAM crisis apparently sending PC value backwards by years, it might…
For a time, it seemed as though the Windows world was going to have to admit defeat at the hands of Apple’s almighty silicon. Apple M-series chips are shockingly efficient, which tends to give MacBooks an edge in portability and performance in thin, light laptops.
However…
Are Microsoft’s core productivity apps — Word, Excel, and PowerPoint — endangered by the rise of AI?
That’s the point that Bloomberg and its sources addressed in coverage this week, noting that Microsoft is being buffeted by AI disruption as its stock plunges.
Anyone installing Windows 11 from scratch today will quickly realize that the operating system no longer wants to be just an operating system. Even during setup, you have to click your way through numerous prompts. Microsoft account, OneDrive, Microsoft 365, location sharing, diagnostic data, personalized advertising — time and again you have to actively opt out before you even reach the…
