Articles by 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

Maingear Retro98 PC shown on a desk next to old CRT monitors

'1998 on the outside — 2026 inside': Maingear's Retro98 'nostalgic sleeper' PCs are power-packed and fabulously retro

By Darren Allan published 30 January 26

Maingear's Retro98 PC looks like a boxy beige tower, but packs cutting-edge hardware.

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

Miss Windows 10's movable taskbar? You still can't relocate it in Windows 11, but a new PowerToys feature could be the next best thing

By Darren Allan published 30 January 26

PowerToys is a nifty suite of add-ons for Windows 11, and a potential new feature could be a welcome addition.

'We need to improve Windows in ways that are meaningful for people': Microsoft promises to fix Windows 11 this year — and it's about time

By Darren Allan published 30 January 26

There's a steep hill to climb here, but at least Microsoft is making it clear that it's serious about bringing an end to the painful bugs.

Nvidia GeForce Now shown running on Linux laptop with penguin in foreground

Nvidia just gave gamers another reason to switch to Linux — a shiny new GeForce Now app

By Darren Allan published 30 January 26

Linux desktop PCs and laptops now have a full official app, rather than the previous handheld-focused offering.

Costco shelves showing an array of prebuilt PCs

RAM is the new gold – why Costco is pulling memory from display PCs to halt a shoplifting surge

By Darren Allan published 29 January 26

It used to be GPUs that might be shoplifted from display PCs on retailer shelves – now it's high-end RAM.

Microsoft tells us Windows 11 has hit a billion users — and if you're confused because you thought it was a failing OS, here's what's going on

By Darren Allan published 29 January 26

Windows 11 has hit a billion users – and faster than Windows 10 – so how does that work given all the hate aimed at Microsoft's newest OS?

MSI MAG 272QP X50 monitor with a happy gamer playing a shooter

'Windows 11 25H2 edges ahead of Windows 10 in gaming performance': testing proves newer OS is faster — but there's an elephant-sized BSOD in the room

By Darren Allan published 28 January 26

Think Windows 10 is faster than Windows 11 for gaming? You're dead wrong, based on a new test — but I'm betting this won't sway Windows 10 holdouts.

Skeleton of an office worker waiting for their laptop to boot

Microsoft is finally fixing Windows 11 under the hood — but new stats suggest it could be too little, too late

By Darren Allan published 28 January 26

Microsoft is working to smooth out the inner workings of Windows 11, but I'm struggling to have any confidence in this effort.

AMD Ryzen 9850X3D bundle with RAM and cooler in a blue box

AMD could be working on a way to minimize RAM price hike pain — by bundling Ryzen CPUs and DDR5 memory

By Darren Allan published 27 January 26

An official collaboration between AMD, V-Color and Cooler Master hints at more possible bundle deals in the future.

Need a new PC? Beat the RAM crisis price hikes — these Mac mini M4 deals could be the desktop bargain of the year

By Darren Allan published 27 January 26

Sick of Windows 11? This Mac mini M4 deal could be the smartest purchase you make in 2026.

NextGear Clear Shift shown when transparent, so you can see through side and front glass panels

A coin-op gaming PC — and one that can cloak its hardware innards — here are 3 of the weirdest, coolest new PC cases

By Darren Allan published 26 January 26

A DIY project for a PC that's turned on by inserting a coin, and a case that can go from opaque to transparent at the touch of a button.

Corsair Vengeance DDR5 RAM sticks shown on a black background

The RAM crisis in a nutshell: Amazon reveals 'flash deal' for DDR5 RAM that's over twice the price it was four months ago

By Darren Allan published 26 January 26

The worrying thing is that while this 'deal' is a painful reminder of just how bad things have gotten, the worst may be yet to come.

Microsoft admits Windows 11 update is nuking system drives, albeit there's a 'limited number of reports' of these disasters

By Darren Allan published 26 January 26

Windows 11 runs into another disastrous bug with its latest update — Microsoft admits an 'issue in which devices are failing to boot', worryingly.

NexPhone shown on a desk connected to a monitor

The NexPhone could already be the most important hardware launch of 2026 — here's why

By Darren Allan published 24 January 26

Windows 11 in your pocket — why I think the NexPhone is the wake-up call that Microsoft desperately needs.

AMD's Ryzen 9850X3D is out next week – at a price that makes it a seriously tempting CPU for gamers

By Darren Allan published 23 January 26

AMD reveals Ryzen 9850X3D costs $499, dispelling rumors that gaming champ CPU would be really expensive.

Asus ROG X870E motherboard showing the CPU socket

'We have initiated an immediate internal review': Asus responds to worries about AMD Ryzen 9800X3D CPUs dying in its motherboards

By Darren Allan published 23 January 26

Following past issues with ASRock motherboards, we're now seeing an uptick in reports of problems with Asus boards.

Young woman using laptop, looking annoyed

Microsoft shovels more features into Windows 11's Notepad — but isn't it time the company focused on fixing things instead?

By Darren Allan published 22 January 26

Is this going to irritate a fair few Windows 11 users? You can pretty much bank on that.

Windows 11's 2026 goes from bad to worse as two new bugs cause havoc crashing apps — but there are possible fixes

By Darren Allan published 22 January 26

Windows 11 is becoming a crash-happy nightmare as two new bugs are now frustrating users.

New concept devices from Qualcomm featuring the Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme chips.

Windows 11's Xbox app arrives on Arm PCs — just in time for Nvidia's rumored debut with its N1X CPU

By Darren Allan published 21 January 26

Xbox app debuts on Arm PCs as Microsoft boasts that over 85% of Game Pass titles now work with Arm CPUs.

The 'days of cheap 1TB SSDs' are over — I've picked the top 3 SSDs you should buy now to avoid price rises

By Darren Allan published 21 January 26

High-end SSDs have already shot up in price, and more affordable models are likely to follow, so the time to buy is now.

A woman getting frustrated by her laptop

Windows 11 update is breaking sleep mode on some PCs — but there's one trick that might help

By Darren Allan published 21 January 26

Microsoft might have fixed that bug with shutdowns, but its latest Windows 11 update means sleep mode now locks up some PCs.

Intense close-up of RAM against a black background

The memory price hike crisis could get even worse, as US threatens 100% tariffs – this is how it could affect you

By Darren Allan published 20 January 26

Consumers in the US now face an additional danger in terms of factors that could seriously hike the price of laptops and PCs.

Processor ARM race heats up as Nvidia could soon challenge Intel, AMD and Apple with its N1X laptop CPU

By Darren Allan published 20 January 26

Nvidia's N1X chip could debut in laptops within the next couple of months, with next-gen N2 CPUs rumored to follow later in 2027.

'It really is the craziest time ever': data centers to grab 70% of all high-end memory chips in 2026 as AI boom leaves consumers in the cold

By Darren Allan published 20 January 26

RAM has already skyrocketed in price, but with no respite in sight, the worry is that it'll be moon-rocketing by the time this year is out.

The Nvidia RTX 5090 has vanished from retailer shelves in US – and GPUs from third-party sellers cost nearly as much as a whole PC

By Darren Allan published 19 January 26

GPUs from third-party sellers in the US cost almost as much as a full PC that packs Nvidia's flagship graphics card.

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