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A new explainer on processor longevity notes that most CPU failures happen early due to manufacturing defects, while older, aging chips typically show up as performance bottlenecks rather than outright failure. It recommends using Windows Task Manager's Performance tab to monitor CPU usage, noting normal load should stay under 20 percent, with sustained spikes near 90 percent during tasks signaling a possible upgrade need.
A technical explainer describes how a system bottleneck occurs when one PC component, such as a CPU or GPU, limits the performance of the rest of the system, which can be identified through stress tests. It also covers bottleneck calculator tools, which estimate hardware mismatches without requiring a full stress test, though the explainer notes these tools often fail to capture how a system actually behaves under load.
Isopropyl alcohol, commonly used to clean phones and computers, typically retains peak effectiveness for about three years from manufacture, according to the report. Beyond that window, especially if stored improperly in heat or sunlight, the solution can change in ways that make it less suitable for cleaning sensitive electronics like PC internals.
Tom's Hardware's November 7 Premium roundup features an interview-driven look at why Apple is reportedly adding touch to OLED (PROLED) displays in 2026, a detailed breakdown of Micron's new DRAM and NAND roadmap including 1-delta DRAM made in the US and 400-plus-layer 11th-gen NAND, and a conversation with GlobalFoundries VP Sudipto Bose about its new FDX Fusion process, which uses DUV lithography to achieve 7nm-class performance.
Six pallets of Nvidia equipment worth $11.4 million disappeared after leaving Oakland on August 29 aboard a truck bound for Fort Worth, Texas, disguised with a food transport company's logo. Oakland police confirmed a grand theft report was filed on September 13, and the truck was last tracked to San Bernardino County before investigators lost its trail. No arrests or recovery of the cargo have been reported.
Korean leaker Lanzuk reports that Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 9 and Fold 9 Ultra will carry over camera hardware from their predecessors. The Fold 9 Ultra is said to keep a 200MP main, 50MP ultrawide, and 3x optical telephoto setup, while the standard Fold 9 reportedly retains a 50MP main and 50MP ultrawide dual-camera configuration.
Corsair has discounted its MP700 Pro SE 4TB Gen 5 SSD by $180, bringing the price down to about 14.5 cents per gigabyte. The drive, which launched near $650, offers improved read/write speeds and endurance over the standard MP700 Pro, along with a five-year warranty and 8GB of LPDDR4 DRAM at this capacity.
Valve's latest Steam Hardware Survey shows the share of gamer systems with 32GB or more RAM fell by over 5% in a single month, while PCs with 1TB or more total storage dropped nearly 5%. Correspondingly, the proportion of systems with 8GB and 16GB RAM rose, as did those in the 750GB-999GB storage bracket.
Several companies are now marketing AI-powered wearable devices designed to continuously capture and recall conversations, pitched as tools to overcome forgetfulness. Privacy advocates cited in the report warn that constant recording by these gadgets could alter the basic dynamics of human interaction.
A new open-source project offers a curated reference for NVIDIA V100 SXM2 module carrier boards, documenting 800 canonical contacts across two connectors along with NVLink connection tables for two- and four-GPU configurations. The release includes KiCad starter files, schematic PDFs and a standalone workbook, built by compiling and reconciling previously scattered reverse-engineered data rather than original hardware research.
PC Games Hardware benchmarked a modder-supplied RTX 2080 Ti with VRAM doubled to 22GB against the stock 11GB version across nine memory-intensive games and an AI image-generation task. The extra memory made little difference at 1440p but produced large gains at 4K with upscaling and frame generation in titles like Flight Simulator 2024, where the stock card stuttered or an 11GB card crashed outright in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
John Wu, creator of Magisk and a Google employee, said on X that rooting a Googlebook blocks the app-casting feature that lets Android phones send apps to the laptop. He explained the phones refuse to cast because a rooted Googlebook fails hardware key attestation checks. Googlebooks have been on sale for about a month and are marketed partly on this cross-device casting capability.