All posts tagged: upgrading

5 reasons you should think twice before upgrading your GPU right now

5 reasons you should think twice before upgrading your GPU right now

Published by skeptic

This is the least ideal time to be upgrading your GPU that I’ve seen in the past couple of decades. Trust me, I should know. My PC cost more than my car. Due to the influence of AI on the consumer PC hardware market, graphics cards that were launched years ago are currently retailing at higher prices than they initially launched at. In our current, extra-unstable economic climate, we all really should be trying to wring out every last ounce of value from the technology we currently own. On that note, I’m going to try and convince you why you really shouldn’t upgrade your current GPU. Be it the increasing influence of supersampling on frame rates or why a monitor upgrade is more sensible than a graphics card one, here are the main reasons you should keep the GPU you’re using right now. Related You’re leaving GPU performance on the table if this Windows setting is off It’s not major gains, but any strain off the CPU is good to me. GPU prices are completely …

How to refresh your phone without upgrading it

How to refresh your phone without upgrading it

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. No matter how snappy your smartphone feels when you first buy it, it will inevitably slow down over time. When that happens, you have to decide when it’s time to upgrade. Eventually, an upgrade becomes necessary—especially once your phone stops receiving software updates and becomes more vulnerable to security issues. But you can often delay that moment longer than you might think. If you’d rather avoid the cost of a new phone and get more life out of your current one, try these steps on your device and see how much they help. Remove and limit apps When your phone gets cluttered with too many apps, it starts to impact performance. Getting rid of apps you don’t frequently use can make a difference. Do an audit of what’s on your phone and see how many apps on your device are gathering digital dust. Note that you can always reinstall them later or use the web versions. If you’re on …

15 Design-Forward DIY Tools Worth Upgrading to This Year

15 Design-Forward DIY Tools Worth Upgrading to This Year

Published by skeptic

Something has shifted in the workshop. After years of DIY being sold as a weekend hobby for the mildly bored, home improvement has quietly become a serious cultural force. The global DIY market is forecast to hit nearly a trillion dollars this year. And while a third of you are apparently planning on starting a new DIY project in the next three months, the primary motivator for DIYers is, you guessed it, saving money. Not a bad thing right now, considering how the Iran war is spiking prices. The tape measure and the drill you inherited from your folks will only take you so far. Fortunately, the tools driving this boom have never been smarter, and better hardware should mean, hopefully, better results. Whether you’re building furniture, finishing a deck, or just finally hanging that TV straight, the tools available right now are genuinely more precise than anything a generation ago could have imagined. From a miniaturized soldering station to a kid-safe desktop cardboard router, these are WIRED’s 15 picks worth making room for in …

Is an M5 MacBook Pro worth upgrading from an M1 model? What the numbers tell us

Is an M5 MacBook Pro worth upgrading from an M1 model? What the numbers tell us

Published by skeptic

Kerry Wan/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways M5 MacBook Pro is much cheaper than the M5 Max and M5 Pro. M5 upgrades are noticeable  the further you go back in Apple’s catalog.  Older Macs still work fine. Not everyone needs to upgrade. Apple launched the MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips earlier this month. While they tend to get a lot of attention, the base model M5 MacBook Pro is still an incredibly competitive device. Plus, at just $1,599, it’s significantly cheaper than the Pro models. Also: MacBook Neo review: My biggest concern with Apple’s near-perfect budget laptop The base model M5 is especially impressive when you stack it next to the M1 MacBook Pro, which is now over five years old. Its display is nearly an inch larger, the M5 boasts over six hours more battery life on one charge, has 3.5 times faster AI performance, more storage, and more base memory at 16GB. Going off core hardware alone, that’s a significant step …

Fix these network settings before upgrading your internet plan

Fix these network settings before upgrading your internet plan

Published by skeptic

Slow internet can drive anyone up the wall. Pages take forever to load, video calls get stuck at the worst moments, and streaming anything turns into a buffering nightmare. But not all of it is your ISP’s fault. There are router defaults you should fix before blaming your ISP. Similarly, some settings can also free up the bandwidth you already have but are otherwise being wasted. If your first instinct is also to call your ISP and throw money at a faster internet connection, hold your wallets; there are network settings that can fix the problem. Your DNS might be holding you back Your ISP’s DNS often isn’t the fastest option Yadullah Abidi / MakeUseOfCredit: Yadullah Abidi / MakeUseOf Every time you type a website address into your browser, your device sends a request to a DNS server that translates that name into an IP address. If your DNS server is slow, you’re going to have a slow response, which means websites will load more slowly, no matter how fast your internet connection is. It’s one …

The best adjustable dumbbells for upgrading your home workouts, reviewed by a PT

The best adjustable dumbbells for upgrading your home workouts, reviewed by a PT

Published by Sam Flores

The weight range is good, spanning from a light 2.3 kilograms to a heavier 22.7 kilograms per dumbbell in increments of 1.13 kilograms. It’s an odd increment amount but that’s because these adjustable dumbbells work in pounds rather than kilograms, so the 1.13 kilogram increment is 2.5 pounds. I will admit that I did struggle to work out what weight I was dealing with when using these, as every label displayed the weight in pounds rather than kilograms. The colour band indicators on the metal rails correspond to the weight chart on the handle, but as this was all in pounds, I had to keep doing mental arithmetic in my head to work out what that meant in kilograms. Once you’ve figured this out it’s a much smoother process. The padded rubber handle was comfortable to grip and didn’t feel rough on my hands, and despite the odd look of these, they still worked well overall. Key specifications Weight range: 2.3kg to 22.7kg Increment size: 1.13 kg (2.5lbs) Type of mechanism: Pin How do adjustable …

Windows 10 is vulnerable, but upgrading to Windows 11 Pro is only right now

Windows 10 is vulnerable, but upgrading to Windows 11 Pro is only $13 right now

Published by skeptic

TL;DR: Windows 11 Pro was $199, but right now, it’s only $12.97. Last year, Microsoft ended support for Windows 10. One major consequence of that is that machines running Windows 10 aren’t getting the essential security updates that keep your data private. The good news is that it’s also really cheap to upgrade right now. Before, it would have cost you $199 to get Windows 11 Pro, but right now, it’s only $12.97. This offer ends very soon. Security is one of the main reasons to move away from Windows 10. Windows 11 Pro uses newer hardware security tools like TPM 2.0 and UEFI, which help your PC check that nothing has been tampered with when it starts up. BitLocker can encrypt your whole drive so your files are harder to get into if your laptop is lost or stolen, and Smart App Control helps block shady or unsafe apps before they run. If you run virtual machines, test software, or connect to business networks, tools like Hyper-V, Windows Sandbox, and Azure AD support give you …

This Acer laptop from last year is the reason I’m not upgrading in 2026

This Acer laptop from last year is the reason I’m not upgrading in 2026

Published by skeptic

ZDNET’s key takeaways The Acer Swift Edge 14 is currently on sale, with prices starting at $1,500 Its ultrathin design, vibrant 3K display, and soft-touch keyboard are sure to turn heads It runs on a last-gen CPU, which makes the asking price hard to justify. more buying choices Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. I went into this review expecting the Acer Swift Edge 14 to be the brand’s next top-performing laptop, but that isn’t the case. Instead, it’s Acer’s latest midrange machine — but a very good one at that. It boasts a standout design, decent performance, and a long-lasting battery.  There’s so much to like about this laptop, so let’s start with what impressed me the most.  Also: RAM prices are ridiculous in 2026 – here’s how my PC buying advice is changing this year Best laptop deals of the week Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article. Why we like it The first thing that stood out to me was the …