How-To Geek - Components

The M.2 slot under your CPU is in the worst possible place, and manufacturers are never going to fix it

Ismar Hrnjicevic — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 14:15:13 GMT

If you've ever bought a new motherboard and read the user manual or just checked the diagram on the manufacturer's website, you've likely noticed that the fastest (usually PCIe Gen 5) M.2 slot for an NVMe SSD is usually located right underneath the CPU, while the slower, older-generation slots are placed elsewhere.

Why AMD's latest drivers make ditching NVIDIA actually worth it

Monica J. White — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 15:45:13 GMT

The GPU market is a hellscape right now, and Nvidia's RTX 50 Super isn't coming to save us all (not that it would even if it did arrive). If you want a new GPU, my advice is not to get one. But what if you're desperate? Please, don't default to Nvidia.

I stopped saving up for a new GPU after optimizing my CPU's graphics performance

Monica J. White — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 15:00:14 GMT

With Nvidia's RTX 50 Super a pipe dream, and GPU prices crazier than ever, now is not the time to get a new graphics card. Look, I wouldn't mind, but no. The prices are way too wild.

I thought 16GB of VRAM was overkill until I started automating my work with local LLMs

Nick Lewis — Sun, 09 Aug 2026 12:30:14 GMT

When I first picked up a 5070 Ti, I did so with gaming in mind. I didn't anticipate constantly running into the VRAM ceiling.

I switched from NVIDIA to AMD, and one difference surprised me every day

Goran Damnjanovic — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 17:45:13 GMT

I had used NVIDIA GPUs for about a decade until I replaced my trusty RTX 3070 with an RX 9070 XT in early 2025. The AMD graphics card was, and still is, impressive when it comes to gaming performance, but after making the switch, what surprised me most was the software, not the hardware.

It's time to throw away your PC's small AIO liquid cooler

Sydney Butler — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 12:00:13 GMT

There was a time when AIO (All-In-One) liquid coolers were the perfect middle ground between expensive and complex custom loops and loud and ineffective air coolers. No matter which AIO you chose, it was probably better than most air coolers you could have used in the same build.

I've started buying "broken" GPUs, and it's not because I know how to fix them

Nick Lewis — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 12:15:13 GMT

I currently own several GPUs—including two RTX 50-series GPUs—that have damaged display outputs. As strange as it seems, I actually purchased these "broken" cards without any thought to repairing them. And while that may sound counterproductive, there is actually a simple reason: I only use them for compute.

Your PC has a hidden USB limit

Jorge A. Aguilar — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 16:30:13 GMT

Most people treat USB ports as background infrastructure. You plug things in, they work, and you don't think about them until something stops showing up in File Explorer. I assumed desktop PCs were basically immune to the problems I'd seen on laptops, where I'd already burned out ports by pulling too much power through them. However, the limits are real; they just fail in quieter and stranger ways than I expected.

Stop gaming on these 4 AMD processors

Ismar Hrnjicevic — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 12:45:13 GMT

AMD has been competitive in the CPU market for years now, with Ryzen processors consistently dominating across all price brackets in gaming benchmarks. While modern AM5 and even some AM4 chips are still excellent choices, the same cannot be said for some of AMD's older offerings.

This PC dock gives you dual 4K 60Hz monitors without using Thunderbolt

Jon Fingas — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 13:00:13 GMT

You usually need a Thunderbolt port to run more than one high-resolution monitor without software or other tricks, but it's now just a matter of plugging in a USB-C cable. Plugable has introduced a PC dock that allows dual 4K 60Hz monitors without drivers on Windows PCs and Chromebooks.