Feature Index Page 9

  • Top 10 Best MMOs

    When we look at the video games that have truly stood the test of time, MMORPGs are always near the top of that list. The genre has been around for decades, but what's the secret sauce that makes MMOs so popular and long-lasting? And which titles are worth playing today?

    By Cohen Coberly on

  • Explainer: What is an API?

    You've probably heard about APIs and even used them before, but what are they? Let us explain what an API is, and take a quick look at where and how they get used.

    By Nick Evanson on

  • Not Intel, Not AMD: Alternative CPU Architectures from Around the World

    The desktop CPU space could be considered a duopoly, but if you know where to look, there's life beyond Intel and AMD. From custom Arm designs to Russian government chips, there's a plethora of other lesser known chips out there.

    By Arjun Krishna Lal on

  • Top Alternatives to Adobe Photoshop

    While many professionals swear by Adobe Photoshop, others find it a bit overkill, and that also goes for the subscription. If you're among the latter, you should try some of these alternative photo editing tools.

    By Sami Haj-Assaad on

  • How USB Works

    For 25 years, the USB port has been a faithful old friend, connecting and powering our everyday gadgets and peripherals. But how exactly does that happen? Welcome to our explainer on the inner workings of USB, and a look at how it's managed to survive for so long when others have come and gone.

    By Nick Evanson on

  • King's Field Retrospective: Exploring the Roots of Elden Ring and Dark Souls

    A decade ago Demon's Souls launched on the PS3, an action RPG import from a little-known Japanese developer named FromSoftware. It'd only be accurate to say that game and its successors transformed the action-RPG genre.

    By Arjun Krishna Lal on

  • 10 Most Memorable Fictional Technologies

    Science fiction books, movies, games, TV shows and other media have long been home to amazing technology. Many of these ideas can serve as inspiration for today's scientists, but just how close are we to the real-life versions?

    By Rob Thubron on

  • Why Incognito Mode and Private Browsing are Not Private

    Are you expecting to have complete privacy when you enable incognito mode or private browsing? Think again. Even if you are using a secure browser, you are probably still getting tracked when you go online.

    By Heinrich Long on

  • Improving and Customizing the Windows Taskbar

    With a few easy tweaks, the Windows taskbar can save you time and display more information while taking up less screen real estate... and become less disturbing.

    By Amir Shoam on

  • 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.

    By Amir Shoam on

  • 10+ Ways to Free Up Space in Windows

    With games now taking up dozens of gigabytes, and Windows updates needing more space than they used to, you may find your drive filling up more often. Here are a few tricks to help you clear clutter and free up space in Windows.

    By Sami Haj-Assaad on

  • 3Dfx Interactive: Gone But Not Forgotten

    3Dfx's Voodoo and Voodoo2 graphics are widely credited with jump-starting 3D gaming and revolutionizing computer graphics nearly overnight. The 3D landscape in 1996 favored S3 Graphics with around 50% of the market. That changed rapidly as it was estimated that 3Dfx accounted for 80+% of the 3D accelerator market during the heyday of Voodoo's reign.

    By Shawn Knight on

  • CPU and GPU Availability and Pricing Update: May 2021

    Here's our monthly update looking into the current state of the CPU and graphics card markets. The good news is that one of the two is looking quite healthy, while the other is looking perhaps even worse than it was a month ago.

    By Tim Schiesser on

  • The 10 Most Anticipated PC Games of 2021

    The rest of the year is filled to the brim with what looks to be an excellent selection of new PC-exclusive and cross-platform releases. Here's a condensed list of some of the more exciting and anticipated PC game releases.

    By Cohen Coberly on

  • Intel B560 is a Disaster: Huge CPU Performance Differences and a Power Limit Mess

    Recently I found testing Intel B560 boards so frustrating that I had to stop to warn readers of the possible pitfalls when buying one such board. Our findings are alarming and something all potential buyers should know.

    By Steven Walton on

  • Ripping and Tearing: 27 Years of Doom

    Doom is rightly considered the granddaddy of the FPS genre, a claim few games can make. Let's look at each memorable entry in the Doom series from development to reception.

    By Rob Thubron on

  • 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.

    By Amir Shoam on

  • Biggest Rivalries in Computing History

    History is filled with famous rivalries, but few have matched the intensity and the viciousness seen when two tech industry giants clash heads. Here are the 5 biggest rivalries in computing history.

    By Rob Thubron on

  • Which iPad Model Should You Get?

    If you want to upgrade your iPad, you may find there are more options than ever before. The latest Pro models differ in more than size, and these add to the existing 8th-gen iPad, 5th-gen iPad Mini, and 4th-gen iPad Air.

    By Amir Shoam on

  • How 3D Game Rendering Works: Anti-Aliasing

    The 3D games we play and love are all made up of thousands, if not millions, of colored straight lines, which inevitably will look jagged in our screens if not for smoothing anti-aliasing techniques.

    By Nick Evanson on

  • CPU and GPU Availability and Pricing Update: April 2021

    As stock shortages of CPUs and graphics cards continues, it's time for an update on the market to see what the current situation is looking like, and whether there will be any relief for buyers in the coming weeks.

    By Tim Schiesser on

  • TechSpot PC Buying Guide: Early 2021

    The TechSpot PC Buying Guide offers a comprehensive analysis of today's best desktop PC hardware spanning four budgets and intended uses.

    By Amir Shoam on

  • Going "Hands Free" with GM's Super Cruise

    Going "hands-free" in a car used to relate to talking on your phone, but the phrase is taking on a whole new meaning thanks to hands-free driving technology like GM's Super Cruise which we had a chance to test out.

    By Sami Haj-Assaad on

  • Intellivision: Gone But Not Forgotten

    Mattel developed a gaming system called Intellivision in the late 1970s, around the same time that the Atari 2600 launched. However, it made such an impression that the iconic console was never forgotten and is, in fact, making a comeback.

    By Cal Jeffrey on

  • Are Gray Market Game Key Sites Legit?

    So you're going to buy a game from one of those no-good-gray-market key sites like G2A? Are those legit? What do developers and gamers think?

    By Matthew DeCarlo on

  • Did You Know? 14 Strange But True Tech Facts

    Many of the breakthroughs made since the advent of the transistor were simply inconceivable a century ago, but what makes tech culture even more interesting are the anecdotes and fun facts that came along the way.

    By Shawn Knight on

  • Superhuman: The Future of Email or a Monumental Waste of Money?

    For the past two months, I've been using Superhuman, an invite-only email client Silicon Valley startup owners swear by. With a wait list that's 250,000 users long, it's touted it as "Gmail, if it'd been built today, not a decade ago."

    By Arjun Krishna Lal on

  • 21 Years of Hitman: How Stealth Action Got Perfected Over the Last 2 Decades

    The Hitman series helped define the modern stealth action game, with the formula evolving and building up a large following spanning 20 years. Here's a recap of the key titles featuring genetically engineered and professional hitman Agent 47.

    By Sami Haj-Assaad on

  • TechSpot's Guide to Spring Cleaning your Gadgets and Computers

    With spring upon us, it's not just our homes and cars that deserve a bit of elbow grease to make them shiny and spotless -- our tech and computing devices need just as much care and attention.

    By Nick Evanson on

  • CPU and GPU Availability and Pricing Update: March 2021

    CPU and graphics card pricing and availability are still a mess, but is the situation improving? Can we expect to get back to PC building any time soon?

    By Tim Schiesser on