标签：#pc

It’s not a great time to shop for a gaming laptop. The unprecedented rise in cost for RAM (and storage to a slightly lesser extent) has made laptops with low-to-midrange specs cost much more than they should. Recent deals on gaming laptops worth your attention have been uninspiring, but one recently caught my eye: MSI’s […]

For the last couple weeks, I've been in an extremely lucky position: I've been spending a lot of time playing games on Valve's Steam Machine. We gave the Steam Machine a 6, and I don't disagree with my colleague Sean Hollister's review. But even though I already own a PS5 and an Xbox Series X, […]

Why HDI PCB Manufacturing Starts Long Before the First Hole Is Drilled When people think about PCB manufacturing, they usually imagine drilling, plating, imaging, etching, solder mask, and surface finishing. For conventional PCBs, that assumption isn't too far from reality. For HDI (High Density Interconnect) PCBs, however, manufacturing actually begins long before any physical production starts. The success of an HDI project is often determined during engineering review rather than on the factory floor. Manufacturing Starts with Design Decisions A PCB layout may pass every design rule check inside CAD software while still being difficult to manufacture efficiently. Typical examples include: unnecessary stacked microvias excessive sequential lamination extremely aggressive trace and space dimensions unrealistic copper balancing inefficient stack-up planning None of these issues are fabrication defects. They are engineering decisions. The earlier they are identified, the lower the overall project cost becomes. The Stack-Up Is More Important Than Many Engineers Expect One of the biggest misconceptions is that increasing the layer count automatically solves routing problems. In reality, a carefully planned stack-up usually provides greater benefits than simply adding more copper layers. A good stack-up improves: signal integrity impedance consistency EMI performance power distribution thermal behavior More importantly, it creates a PCB that is easier to manufacture repeatedly with stable quality. HDI Is a Balance Between Performance and Manufacturability Many first-time HDI designs focus only on routing density. Experienced engineers usually focus on manufacturability. For example: Should this microvia really be stacked? Can staggered vias achieve the same result? Is another lamination cycle actually necessary? Can the BGA fan-out be optimized differently? Each decision influences fabrication complexity, yield, lead time, and production cost. Why DFM Matters More for H

C:\ArsGames takes a look at the time Chris Roberts more or less made a whole movie.

Dbrand is the company that shipped a product that told Nintendo's legal team to "go fuck yourself," and the company that had a second set of lawyer-dodging PS5 plates ready when Sony threatened to sue over the originals. But on June 29th, the company finally ate some serious humble pie, canceling its Portal-themed Companion Cube […]

If you've submitted a BOM for quoting recently and gotten a lead time that made you do a double take, you're not imagining things. Passive component sourcing in 2026 is tighter than it's been in a few years — and MLCCs are the epicenter. I want to break down why this is happening, which component categories are actually at risk, and — more importantly — what you can do at the design stage to make your board less vulnerable to it. This isn't a "just wait it out" post; there are concrete layout and BOM decisions that meaningfully change your exposure. Why now? Three demand sources are converging on the same MLCC/inductor capacity that used to be dominated by consumer electronics: AI server infrastructure — GPU power delivery networks alone can chew through hundreds of decoupling capacitors per board, and hyperscaler order volumes dwarf typical consumer runs. EVs — automotive-grade passives (AEC-Q200, X8R/X7R) come from a narrower qualified supplier base, so even modest EV growth disproportionately tightens that segment. Renewables/grid infrastructure — pulling on high-voltage inductors and power resistors. On the supply side, new MLCC/ferrite production lines take 12–24 months to come online from the capital decision. Semiconductor fabs can reallocate capacity relatively fast; passive component fabs can't. That structural lag is the real reason lead times stretch out faster than they recover. Which parts are actually at risk Not everything is equally exposed: Category Normal LT 2026 Tight-Market LT Exposure Commercial MLCC (X7R, 0402/0603) 4–8 wks 8–16 wks Moderate–High High-density MLCC (0201, high µF) 6–10 wks 16–26 wks High Automotive MLCC (AEC-Q200, X8R) 10–14 wks 20–30+ wks Very High C0G/NP0 (precision/timing) 4–8 wks 6–12 wks Low–Moderate Power inductors (shielded, low DCR) 6–10 wks 12–20 wks Moderate–High Chip resistors 2–6 wks 4–8 wks Low Chip resistors are the least affected — manufacturing capacity is less concentrated and swapping vendors doesn't trigger a

The price of LG’s UltraGear 27GX700A-B 1440p gaming monitor that came out last August has dropped to nearly its best price yet. You can grab it at Amazon for $484.99 or at LG for $499.99 (originally $599.99). That’s a great deal considering this is one of LG’s Primary RGB Tandem panels built with fourth-generation WOLED […]

Dbrand did not do its homework when it made the Companion Cube case for the Steam Machine.

Dbrand announced Monday that it's refunding everyone who bought its Steam Machine Companion Cube, which it said it made "without a license from Valve." Dbrand announced the Portal-themed Steam Machine accessory in November and took preorders for it last Monday. But a few days later, the product had disappeared from the company's website and the […]

It's not exactly surprising that RAMaggeddon is making new tech hardware really expensive. But if you've been in the market for things like a new computer or tablet, this week has been filled with sticker shock. Given how many companies announced price hikes related to component shortages, it seems unlikely things will get cheaper any […]

If League of Legends and Valorant players have the right hardware and elect to opt into "pre-boot security mechanisms and Windows' own native protection features," then, starting today, they can switch the Vanguard anti-cheat software from always-on to one that's "on demand." With "Vanguard Pre-Check," the kernel-level driver won't launch when your system does, according […]

There are some some sizable discounts on new and recent hits from the last few years for the Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and the Xbox Series X / S for Prime Day. Most Amazon game deals are physical copies, but every so often there’s a better or equivalent price on digital versions, as well […]

The Steam Machine is here, with a base price of $1,049. Yes, that's nearly twice the price of a PS5, but what you're buying here isn't a console but a full-on PC - and a tiny one at that. Valve says it's selling the Steam Machine basically at cost. So we asked ourselves: What would […]

This is not a review of the MSI Claw 8 EX AI Plus, the first gaming handheld available with Intel's new Arc G3 Extreme handheld gaming chip. Now that my colleague Sean Hollister is done reviewing the Steam Machine, I'll let him go deep on the new Claw at some point in the future. This […]

MSI's Intel-powered Claw gaming handhelds have so far mostly been Windows machines, meaning that anyone who picks one up has to deal with the crusty experience that is Windows on a handheld gaming PC. But now, both Valve and Intel tell The Verge that they're working with each other, and people like YouTuber ETA Prime […]

Valve's Steam Machine finally has a price: a whopping $1,049 for the 512GB configuration or $1,349 for the 2TB version. And those are without bundled controllers, which drive up the cost more. The prices are so high in part because Valve isn't subsidizing the hardware, and the company has already indicated that the component crisis […]

Valve says it's using a randomized purchase queue to make the experience "less frustrating and more fair."

The Steam Machine is a cool little console that's about as powerful as a PlayStation 5, according to my colleague Sean Hollister's in-depth review. But one area where it lags behind is with its earlier version of AMD FSR upscaler: It's just not as good as it should be. Yes, it can sharpen low-res graphics […]

The Steam Machine is here, but getting one is a little complicated. Valve is taking preorders using a reservation system, which is intended to make the process more fair and harder for bots to exploit. However, it's a bit different than the $5 reservations Valve used for the Steam Deck. Starting today, you can sign […]

If you don't get lucky with Valve's Steam Machine reservation system, you can make your own Steam Machine instead. Valve says that "starting with the SteamOS 3.8 release, you can put together your own Steam Machine using whatever PC parts you want." SteamOS 3.8.10 launched last week with a slew of updates, including "improved compatibility […]