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

Woman disgusted by her laptop

No, that budget laptop doesn't have 1.1TB of storage — watch out for this shady trick some Amazon sellers are trying

By Darren Allan Published

PSA: watch out for this shady practice with cheap laptops that appear to have 1.1TB or 1.2TB of storage — they absolutely don't.

Corsair Vengeance DDR5 RAM kits in a cardboard box

The RAM lottery crowns a new winner — Redditor buys a $300 Corsair Vengeance DDR5 kit and gets sent a box of 10 worth $3,000

By Darren Allan Published

10 for the price of 1: Redditor buys 32GB DDR5 RAM kit for $300, ends up with 320GB of memory.

A masculine hand holding an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 showing off the power connector

'Modern games are pushing GPU architectures harder than ever': Micron reveals faster new video RAM that could power Nvidia RTX 6000 GPUs

By Darren Allan Published

'Rising size of game assets and AI models has outpaced GPU memory capacity, until now': Micron reveals faster new video RAM.

Woman disgusted by her laptop

Microsoft's planned new AI trick for Edge will 'automatically open the Copilot side pane' with Outlook email links — and I can feel the hate already

By Darren Allan Published

Microsoft is looking to bring a new AI trick to Edge — and I'm betting most of the browser's users will hate it.

Rear three-quarter view of HP Laptop 14 open on white desk with pink wall in background

HP admits RAM crisis has got so bad, memory now accounts for 35% of the cost of its PCs

By Darren Allan Published

HP has 'qualified new suppliers' as RAM crisis intensifies — memory now accounts for 35% of the cost of its PCs.

A selection of Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti graphics cards.

Nvidia seemingly wants to make Linux better for gamers — and one way or another, that must worry Microsoft

By Darren Allan Published

Job ad hints at Linux GPU driver improvements — which could be an exciting sign for the future of gaming.

Press shot of an Nvidia chip

Dell and Lenovo laptops with Nvidia CPUs 'could come in the first half of this year' — so get ready for some thin-and-light gaming powerhouses (hopefully)

By Darren Allan Published

Nvidia's new Arm CPU could debut in laptops in Q2 2026 — but I'm skeptical we'll see these notebooks anytime soon.

A woman sitting in a chair looking at a Windows 11 laptop

Will the Control Panel ever die? Rare feature migration to Settings spotted in Windows 11, but don't get your hopes up for more of this

By Darren Allan Published

Microsoft shifts another Windows 11 feature to Settings from the Control Panel — but I expect the latter will still be with us in the 2030s.

Computer memory RAM on motherboard background

RAM crisis shows (slight) signs of easing as DDR5 prices drop — but there's a sting in the tail

By Darren Allan Published

Sick of RAM price hikes yet? All of us surely are, but there's at least some cause for optimism this month.

ASUS ExpertBook Ultra 2026

Acer and Asus have stopped support for laptops in German patent dispute — and I think this is a truly worrying situation for consumers

By Darren Allan Published

Needing a VPN to get support for your laptop is not an acceptable situation.

Mature man using laptop in a cafe, looking annoyed

Will Microsoft ever stop messing with Notepad? Windows 11 app could soon get another feature — and I'm predicting a backlash

By Darren Allan Published

Is Notepad getting too bloated these days? If you're of that opinion, you won't like what Microsoft has planned next.

girl using laptop hoping for good luck with her fingers crossed

It seems Microsoft just started work on Windows 11 27H2 — and this could be the update that saves the OS... or dooms it

By Darren Allan Published

I just hope Microsoft delivers on the promises of greater stability and faster performance for the OS.

DLSS 3 in Cyberpunk 2077

Thought AMD's FSR had caught up with Nvidia's DLSS? This extensive survey of PC gamers very much suggests otherwise

By Darren Allan Published

DLSS owns FSR in battle of the upscaling techs — and native 4K can't hold a rendered candle to Nvidia's GPU-booster either.

PC gamer looking confused at monitor

'Absurd GPU pricing update': new report shows painful reality of graphics card price hikes, particularly for Nvidia models

By Darren Allan Published

If you needed any confirmation that GPUs are getting a lot more expensive, these stats make it painfully clear.

Man looking in hope at a laptop

Microsoft has finally started its campaign to 'make Windows 11 better' — here's what's getting fixed in the next update

By Darren Allan Published

We should see Windows 11 start to improve on the reliability front from next month — or here's hoping, anyway.

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Mac mini M4 in studio

Mac mini shortages are starting to happen — and the OpenClaw AI boom is a key reason

By Darren Allan Published

Apple's Mac mini and the Mac Studio now have very long lead times for delivery.

12-inch MacBook 2017

As Apple's affordable MacBook seemingly looms, I'm not so worried about that rumored iPhone CPU — but something else

By Darren Allan Published

A lower-tier MacBook with a wallet-friendly price is expected to debut soon, but I fear Apple won't equip it with enough RAM.

Apple March Event invite shown on an iPhone screen

5 things to expect at Apple's big event on March 4 — and 5 things that might not make it

By Darren Allan Published

Apple has announced a press event – or 'experience', rather – which might consist of online announcements and hands-on deep dives with products.

MSI RTX 5090 Lightning GPU graphics card shown against a black background

MSI RTX 5090 Lightning now costs up to $15K on eBay — but there's a better way to buy the GPU

By Darren Allan Published

The RTX 5090 Lightning is ludicrously expensive on eBay, so enthusiasts hunting for this pricey GPU should consider buying from the UK.

PC gamer looking at PC in anger and disbelief

Microsoft's new Windows 11 update fixes nasty bug that left gamers staring at the dreaded 'Black Screen of Death'

By Darren Allan Published

Have your gaming sessions on Windows 11 been interrupted by black-screen crashes lately? There's now a fix for this.

Corsair DDR5 RAM sticks shown in new plastic clamshell packaging with bright green label

Corsair's pricey DDR5 RAM now comes in very different packaging — and it's all about foiling RAM scammers

By Darren Allan Published

Corsair is putting its high-end RAM in a sealed plastic clamshell to help prevent return-related scams.

Happy woman sitting on a bed with a coffee and a laptop

Windows 11 could finally get one of the most-requested features from Windows 10, as Microsoft gets serious about winning over the haters

By Darren Allan Published

How serious is Microsoft about repairing the damaged reputation of Windows 11? Serious enough to bring back moving the taskbar.

HP Omen gaming laptop shown against a rendered background of an action game

Scared of PC price hikes? HP's latest brainwave is renting you a gaming laptop rather than selling it — but the pricing looks as painful as the RAM crisis

By Darren Allan Published

HP offers 'gaming laptop as a service' where you never own the notebook, and just pay monthly — but I'm far from convinced.

Back view of a man using a laptop with Windows 11's Microsoft Store app open

'These updates raise the bar for security and privacy on Windows': Microsoft has a plan to toughen up Windows 11's defenses

By Darren Allan Published

Microsoft is bringing tighter security to Windows 11, including smartphone-style app permissions.

The 12-inch MacBook on a hedge.

Apple could defy the RAM crisis with a rumored cheaper MacBook — which sounds like its biggest laptop launch for years

By Darren Allan Published

Apple could deploy its affordable MacBook with shipments of 5 to 8 million units – at a price that'll really shift these laptops.

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