标签：#pc

You can now gift games without a Steam account and sort your wishlist into categories.

First four compatible titles can be run with an 11-year-old graphics card.

New gaming gear is always promising to shave milliseconds off latency or response time. The improvements usually aren't obvious. But the Glorious GHS InfinitePlay wireless headset, on the other hand, could save you far more than just milliseconds: It has the fastest hot-swap battery system I've ever used, and the headset doesn't die when you […]

The aptly-named “2K Megahits 2026 Bundle” from Humble includes 15 Steam games for $15. It’s a smattering of the publisher 2K’s biggest games of the 2010s, including BioShock Infinite, Risk of Rain 2, Borderlands 3, and XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The bundle will be available until August 7th, though the bundle page notes that keys for […]

If you’ve been thinking about upgrading your gaming monitor, LG’s 27-inch 27GX704A-B pairs a glossy WOLED panel with a fast refresh rate, and it’s currently on sale for $379.99 (about $70 off) at Amazon and directly from LG, marking a new low price. It originally launched at $799.99, but has been available for under $500 since […]

Nothing is more frustrating than spending hours, or even days, perfecting a PCB design only to discover it fails during production. The secret to avoiding this is simple: apply PCB design standards from the very beginning. These guidelines act as a blueprint for reliability, manufacturability, and long-term performance, guiding every aspect of your board—from trace widths and spacing to via placement, solder mask, and layer stackups. Following these recommended practices doesn’t just prevent manufacturing errors—you save time, reduce costs, improve quality, and minimize delays. Whether you’re building a prototype or preparing for full-scale production, designing with these rules in mind ensures your PCB performs exactly as intended. Applying these best practices sets the foundation for success in any production scenario. By starting with the right standards, you can avoid costly mistakes before they happen and bring your product to life smoothly. Why PCB Design Standards Matter (More Than You Think) PCB standards are not theoretical rules. They are: • Proven engineering practices • Built from real-world failures • Designed to reduce risk Without them, you are basically designing blindly. With them, you get: • Higher first-pass success rate • Faster manufacturing approval • Reduced rework and cost • Better product reliability Steps to Apply PCB Standards in Your Design Here’s a practical, step-by-step guide to apply PCB design standards effectively: Step 1: Start with the Right Standards (Not All Are Needed) You don’t need to follow everything. You need to follow the right ones. Key standards to consider: • IPC-2221 → General PCB design standard • IPC-7351 → Footprint design guidelines • IPC-A-600 → PCB acceptability • IPC-A-610 → Assembly quality Practical Tip: Start with IPC-2221 + IPC-7351 if you're doing design. Step 2: Apply Standards During Component Placement Most failures start here—not routing. Common Mistakes: • Random component placement • Ignoring signal

The Asus ROG Swift 32-inch 4K QD-OLED gaming monitor has almost everything I want in a high-end gaming monitor, most notably a QD-OLED panel for inky black levels and vivid colors that go beyond what’s possible on an LCD screen. Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo have this model on sale for $899.99 (usually $1,299.99). […]

Federal authorities have arrested a Florida man suspected of stealing at least $220,000 in crypto through malware-infected Steam games, as reported earlier by local news outlet Local10. In the complaint, officials accuse 21-year-old Zyaire Wilkins and co-conspirators of launching eight malware-embedded games from around May 2024 to February 2026, allowing them to infect about 8,000 […]

Valve has been incredibly friendly to customers who need repairs - which is why it was so surprising to hear that Valve was already discontinuing the battery for the Steam Deck LCD handheld. It would have meant you could no longer just buy a battery from iFixit and install it yourself. Why would Valve stop […]

When I first told you about the "OLED Xbox Ally X of my dreams," I had to curb my enthusiasm a bit. That's partly because I hadn't yet tried the handheld myself, and partly because Asus was only planning to sell it bundled with a pair of expensive AR glasses! I'm happy to say both […]

Almost all gaming laptops have gone up in price over the past year. Curiously, the surprisingly fast Asus ROG Flow Z13 gaming laptop/tablet combo has not. It’s actually gotten quite a bit cheaper recently. Best Buy has the lowest price on the configuration that includes the AMD Ryzen AI Max Plus 395 “Strix Halo” chipset, […]

SteelSeries has the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless gaming headset on sale for $239.99 (currently between $300 and $350 at other retailers). The Xbox version that supports a host of other platforms including PlayStation, PC, and Switch is available in both black and white. The PlayStation version, which supports the same platforms except for Xbox, is […]

Notes from bringing up a PCIe WiFi module on i.MX8MQ; symptoms and how to diagnose them. Phy link never came up — what does this mean? This message is typically seen in dmesg as shown below. [ 3.828121] imx6q-pcie 33800000.pcie: iATU: unroll T, 4 ob, 4 ib, align 64K, limit 4G [ 4.807241] imx6q-pcie 33c00000.pcie: Phy link never came up [ 4.841482] imx6q-pcie 33800000.pcie: Phy link never came up [ 5.821279] imx6q-pcie 33c00000.pcie: Phy link never came up [ 5.830481] imx6q-pcie 33c00000.pcie: PCI host bridge to bus 0001:00 [ 5.854997] imx6q-pcie 33800000.pcie: Phy link never came up [ 5.862205] imx6q-pcie 33800000.pcie: PCI host bridge to bus 0000:00 It means one of the following The PCIe peripheral is not powered up. PCIe reset is not deasserted, so the chip is in reset. This could be because the DTB is deasserting an incorrect GPIO. Reference clock is not enabled Using the incorrect PCIe controller in the device tree. As we can see that both the PCIe controllers can report this. So first determine which controller is the peripheral hooked to. More on this in the next section. Which PCIe controller is my device on? ( &pcie0 vs &pcie1 ) The rule here is to match by address and not by label/name. If the schematic calls out controllers as PCIE1 and PCIE2, and the device tree lists pcie0 and pcie1, understand the mapping. The DTS label is arbitrary - match by register base ( @address in the node name), which is the same in the DTS reg and the reference memory map. For definitive addresses look in the .dtsi , as sometimes the manuals are misleading. Given below is a mapping table for i.MX8MQ DTS. | ADDRESS (in .dtsi) | Silicon (RM) Label &pcie0 | 0x33800000 | PCIe1 &pcie1 | 0x33c00000 | PCIe2 The addresses are listed in the chip’s memory layout are from processor reference manual. Below is snapshot from the i.MX8MQ reference manual, where the layout for the core A-53 is listed. Start Address | End Address | Size | Description 3381_0000 | 3381_3FFF | 4MB | PCIe-2 << inco

While fully loaded models are quite pricey, the HP OmniBook Ultra is hard to beat for those in the market for a premium Windows ultraportable.

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