Darren Allan

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).

Articles by: Darren Allan

A young woman is working on a laptop in a relaxed office space.

'We love this... except gradual rollouts': Windows 11 search is being improved in a big way, with users impatient to get these changes — and I don't blame them

By Darren Allan Published

The search box is being improved across the board, and Microsoft is pleasing the computing crowd once again.

Power button of Steam Machine

New Steam Machine red light warning isn't anything to worry about — an overzealous overheating warning is reportedly due to a BIOS bug

By Darren Allan Published

Seeing a red light on your Steam Machine? Don't panic — it's most likely due to a bug that triggers a temperature warning to come on 'much earlier' than it should.

Mature man using laptop in a cafe, looking annoyed

Confused about your PC specs or hardware? Windows 11's Copilot app is getting new powers to help you 'understand your device'

By Darren Allan Published

Copilot app's new 'PC insights' feature has been greeted with some skepticism.

Female couple sitting on sofa with Microsoft Surface tablet, both laughing

How I think Microsoft's campaign to fix Windows 11 is going so far — the verdict now we're 3 months in

By Darren Allan Published

What Microsoft has done in its first quarter of curing the ills of Windows 11 — and what other medicine should be administered.

2 Comments
Power button of Steam Machine

Steam Machine hits 'Red Line of Death' issues — but there's no need to panic about bricked PCs yet

By Darren Allan Published

"You said you wanted a 'console-like experience' in a PC": some gamers are already throwing shade and comparing the incident to the Xbox 360's infamous red ring.

Windows fail

What would be your worst nightmare for Windows? Leaked Microsoft video from 2024 shows what many would regard with pure horror: a Copilot OS

By Darren Allan Published

This is what Windows could have become if Microsoft leaned heavily into AI — an OS starring Copilot.

Young woman using laptop, looking annoyed

Microsoft suggests Copilot is the 'button you can press to fix everything' in Windows 11 — here's hoping it can fix the company's marketing department

By Darren Allan Published

Microsoft needs to stop this kind of cringe marketing to change perceptions around Windows 11.

angry businesswoman working with a laptop at office

Keep running low on storage and don't know why? Mysterious Windows 11 file that ate tons of drive space is fixed in latest update

By Darren Allan Published

If your drive space has been mysteriously disappearing of late, the problem could be Capability Access Manager.

Windows Notepad

'Pure old-school Windows': Ex-Microsoft engineer shrinks down Notepad to 2.5 kilobytes with 'no bloat, no telemetry, no nonsense'

By Darren Allan Published

Want Notepad to be like it was in the Windows XP era — except even leaner? TinyRetroPad is here.

a green laptop

Microsoft fires shots at MacBook Neo, but that battle looks to be an uphill struggle — and rumored ditching of more affordable Surface laptops won't help

By Darren Allan Published

'But it's Windows. You run the risk that any or every monthly update will break something': Microsoft fires shots at MacBook Neo, but the internet fires back.

Steamroller gaming PC shown on a desk, side-on angle

New Steam Machine clone shows copycats are missing the point — the $1,299 'Steamroller' may run SteamOS, but it gets 4 key aspects wrong

By Darren Allan Published

The Steam Machine's looks and size are key elements of its appeal — and we shouldn't forget about thermals and noise either.

A RAM stick held in a hand

Apple may have a plan to 'ease frustration over price hikes and longer delivery times' with its Macs — but I wouldn't count on it working

By Darren Allan Published

Analyst suggests more consumer RAM is going to data centers next year — maybe a lot more, and that's a real worry.

Dbrand Companion Cube case for the Steam Machine

Companion Cube case for Steam Machine is canceled by Valve after Dbrand bafflingly forgot to get permission to make the thing

By Darren Allan Published

'You had two jobs! Ask Valve, and make the thing': The Companion Cube case for the Steam Machine is no more.

Computer memory RAM on motherboard background

Lenovo declares a 'new normal' for higher memory pricing in the 2030s, while Microsoft forecasts prices to double again in a year

By Darren Allan Published

The RAM crisis could get a lot worse over the next few years if Lenovo and Microsoft are right — and I can easily believe they are.

3 Comments
LDLC Stim Machine advert showing the PC against a beige background

'Stim Machine' is an alternative build outgunning the Steam Machine with a more powerful GPU, all at the same price — but there are notable compromises

By Darren Allan Published

An AMD 9060 XT graphics card makes this alternative to the Steam Machine much more powerful, but that's not quite the full story.

Windows 10's grave

Microsoft extends Windows 10 support out of the blue — consumers now get updates for another year to October 2027

By Darren Allan Published

Worried that you run out of extended support for Windows 10 in a few months? Don't panic — Microsoft is now covering consumers to October 2027.

Person using Steam Machine PC

Valve clarifies that all Steam Machines have a single 16GB RAM stick — here's what this means, and why I think it's another reason gamers may hold off buying the PC

By Darren Allan Published

A previous statement from Valve indicating that the Steam Machine was a 'RAM lottery' in terms of memory configuration was, in fact, mistaken.

MacBook Air 15-inch with M4 chip on a creative's desk with screen open

Don't delay that MacBook upgrade — Apple's laptop price hikes could be much worse than the iPhone 18 Pro, analysts predict

By Darren Allan Last updated

We know price hikes are inbound for all major Apple products, but MacBooks could potentially come off worst.

A masculing hand holding the Microsoft Surface Laptop 13-inch at an angle

Some Microsoft Surface devices just got big price cuts — but the catch is they've had big RAM cuts, too

By Darren Allan Published

Microsoft has dropped the RAM to 8GB with new entry-level models, prompting questions over whether that's enough memory.

Crysta 3D printed cube of bee

The modern version of a fly trapped in amber: 3D printing your Gaussian Splat is one of the most amazing things I've seen in a long time

By Darren Allan Published

Want to DIY a perfect model of a local landmark to sit on your shelf in a 'dry snow globe' style? Now you can with a 3D-printed Gaussian Splat.

RAM

Yes, the bad news on the RAM crisis has been relentless lately — but Asus and SK Hynix just gave us glimmers of hope that some relief could be on the horizon

By Darren Allan Published

The RAM crisis gloom has been thick and heavy lately — so are you ready for some better news?

Two laptops showing Windows 11 and Windows 10

Windows 11 is now 5 years old — and for the first time this decade, I think Microsoft's finally onto a winner with the OS

By Darren Allan Published

Windows 11 got off on the wrong foot, but Microsoft has recovered strongly this year with the fix the OS campaign — and more besides.

The Steam Machine next to a fish bowl

If you were on the fence about the Steam Machine, this RAM configuration twist might push you off it — straight into the build-your-own camp

By Darren Allan Published

'This whole Steam Machine is the most depressing thing for me in the last 7 months. It's officially DOA': gamers hate the RAM configuration lottery with Valve's new PC.

Screenshot of Steam Machine

'Going to make myself stick with SteamOS instead of slithering back to Windows': gamers get ready to abandon Windows 11, as Valve focuses on boosting SteamOS on the desktop

By Darren Allan Published

Valve has made it clear how it's improving SteamOS for desktop PCs, and working hard to support Nvidia GPUs.

7 Comments
A RAM stick held in a hand

Memory expert predicts huge RAM price hikes over the rest of 2026 — but I'm not buying it (the forecast, or the RAM)

By Darren Allan Published

Fed up with high RAM prices? They could get way worse in 2026, and this is getting seriously depressing now.

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