40 articles · newest first
The CPU does the actual work while you vibe code. The tiny fetch-decode-execute loop it runs, how it differs from a GPU, and why it's where speed and cost come from.
Syntax · 3d ago · 4 min
RAM is the desk your computer works on: fast, and wiped the moment the power's off. Why a busy app runs out, how it differs from storage, and how it relates to a GPU's VRAM. Tap to see it fill.
Syntax · 3d ago · 4 min
The fastest desktop chip ran ferociously hot — and sat at the sharp end of Raptor Lake's instability-and-degradation crisis. What actually went wrong, why owners offloaded it, and the lesson on halo chips.
Voltage · 6d ago · 8 min
Get excited about the breakthrough, stay skeptical about the timeline. A running shortlist of future tech that actually matters — batteries, EV design, local-AI hardware — with the hype filtered out.
Glitch · Sep 22 · 7 min
Every year a headline promises a 2,000 km EV from a revolutionary battery. The real breakthrough — solid-state doubling energy density — is genuine; the number is mostly hype. The honest state of battery tech in 2026.
Glitch · Sep 22 · 8 min
For local AI the decider is VRAM — and that's exactly where laptops are capped. Why a desktop (or a unified-memory mini-PC) usually wins, when a gaming laptop is still right, and how to choose.
Voltage · Sep 22 · 8 min
That impossibly low, red, wheel-hugging anime bike was fiction for 30 years. Smartech Motor's Rapid K-1988 got closest to making it real — and it only works because it's electric. What's real, what's still concept.
Glitch · Sep 22 · 7 min
AMD Ryzen power, NVIDIA RTX graphics and a fast 300Hz screen at a saner price than the halo laptops. What the ROG Strix G15 is, how its configs differ, who it's for, and how to pick the right one.
Hitbox · Sep 22 · 8 min
Biostar's Valkyrie boards were a real swing at the enthusiast crown — heavy VRMs, 10-layer PCBs, a bold gold-and-pink look. What they were, the specs that mattered, and whether an LGA1200 board makes sense now.
Voltage · Sep 22 · 8 min
12GB is the entry floor for local AI — enough to run genuinely useful models, but with a real ceiling. Here's exactly what 12GB gets you, and when you'll want more.
Voltage · Aug 5 · 10 min
The cheap used pick versus the newer 16GB card. More VRAM and speed, or the lowest price? Here's the honest budget-GPU showdown for local AI.
Voltage · Aug 5 · 10 min
12GB of VRAM runs more than you'd think — from snappy 7B models to a DeepSeek R1 distill. Here's exactly which local models the RTX 3060 12GB can run, and how fast.
Voltage · Aug 5 · 10 min
Years on, the RTX 3060 12GB is still the cheapest sensible entry to local AI — 12GB of VRAM for around $200-250 used. Here's honestly how good it still is, and the one price catch.
Voltage · Aug 5 · 10 min
The o1-mini-beating 32B distill wants ~20GB of VRAM, so 24GB is the target. Here are the best GPUs to run DeepSeek R1, from the value king to the fastest.
Voltage · Aug 5 · 10 min
Two cheap 16GB cards give you 32GB of VRAM — enough for 30B+ models — for around the price of a single high-end GPU. Here's whether that dual-5060-Ti path actually makes sense.
Voltage · Aug 5 · 10 min
They run the same models — but one costs nearly twice as much. For local AI, where VRAM matters more than raw speed, the cheaper card makes a surprisingly strong case.
Voltage · Aug 5 · 10 min
16GB of VRAM opens up a lot — from snappy 7B models to gpt-oss-20b. Here's exactly which local models the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB can run, and how fast, with real benchmark numbers.
Voltage · Aug 5 · 10 min
At $549 it's the cheapest new way to get 16GB of VRAM — and for local AI, VRAM is what matters. Here's honestly how good the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB is, and where its limits are.
Voltage · Aug 5 · 10 min
Qwen3-Coder's best variants want 24GB of VRAM, and its huge context wants headroom. Here are the best GPUs to run it, from the value king to the fastest option.
Voltage · Aug 5 · 10 min
gpt-oss-20b fits on a 16GB card, but the model's huge context can quietly overflow it. Here are the best GPUs to run it, from the cheapest 16GB option to the 24GB value king.
Voltage · Aug 4 · 10 min
Building a local-AI rig and unsure how big a PSU to buy? Here's the simple wattage math for single and dual GPUs — plus why power-limiting lets you get away with a smaller supply.
Voltage · Aug 4 · 10 min
Because AI inference is memory-bandwidth-bound, the last chunk of your GPU's power budget buys almost no extra tokens. Cap the wattage and you run cooler, quieter, and cheaper for basically free.
Voltage · Aug 4 · 10 min
eGPUs get a bad rap from gaming benchmarks — but local AI is a totally different workload, and an external GPU can hit ~92% of native speed. Here's whether one's worth it for your laptop.
Voltage · Aug 4 · 10 min
GDDR7 modules and TSMC wafer costs just pushed every RTX 50 card higher this week — but the ugliest number isn't the one everyone's quoting.
Voltage · Aug 4 · 6 min
Nvidia still owns local AI because of CUDA. But AMD's ROCm has quietly grown up — and in 2026 it's a genuine option, with caveats. Here's the honest state of Radeon vs GeForce for running LLMs.
Voltage · Aug 4 · 10 min
Everyone asks about VRAM — but your system RAM matters too, especially without a big GPU. Here's how much RAM you actually need for local AI, from 16GB to 128GB, and what each tier runs.
Voltage · Aug 4 · 10 min
The Tesla P40 is the cheapest way to get 24GB of VRAM, period. But it's a headless server card with no fan, and it's slow. Here's whether the bargain is worth the hassle.
Voltage · Aug 3 · 10 min
Both have 16GB of VRAM, so for local AI they run the same models. The 5080 is faster, but for AI that matters far less than you'd think. Here's the honest call — and a better idea.
Voltage · Aug 3 · 10 min
Copilot+ 'AI PCs' have a dedicated NPU chip — but here's the catch nobody advertises: it can't run local chatbots. A cheap old GPU runs them 10x faster. Here's the truth.
Voltage · Aug 3 · 10 min
Windows is the easy path and works great for most people. Linux gives power users an edge, especially with AMD. Here's which OS to run local AI on, and why it matters less than you think.
Voltage · Aug 3 · 10 min
If your local model feels sluggish, it's usually one of a few fixable things. Here's how to speed up local LLM inference, from the one change that matters most to the fine-tuning.
Voltage · Aug 3 · 10 min
Apple Silicon's unified memory makes Macs quietly great for local AI: the RAM number is how big a model you can run. Here's which Mac to buy for AI, from the Mini to the Studio.
Voltage · Aug 3 · 10 min
A second GPU doubles your VRAM, which unlocks 70B models — but it's not free performance, and most people don't need it. Here's when a dual-GPU local-AI rig is actually worth it.
Voltage · Aug 1 · 10 min
A local coding model gives you a private, offline, unlimited Copilot — but the good coding models are big. Here's the GPU you need to run them well, at every budget.
Voltage · Aug 1 · 10 min
You don't need a $1,500 card to run AI at home. A used RTX 3060 12GB does it for around $220, and there are even cheaper 24GB tricks. Here's the cheapest way to get real VRAM.
Voltage · Aug 1 · 10 min
For years, 'wired for competitive' was gospel. In 2026 it's outdated: 2.4GHz wireless is as fast as wired, and the pros use it. Here's when wired still makes sense.
Voltage · Jul 31 · 11 min
A great USB mic gets you 90% of the way for a fraction of an XLR setup's cost and hassle. Here's the honest streaming-mic guide, from plug-and-play to studio-grade.
Voltage · Jul 31 · 11 min
Hall-effect keyboards with rapid trigger took over competitive gaming. The Wooting boards dominate the pro scene. Here's what the tech does, and whether it's worth it for you.
Voltage · Jul 31 · 11 min
Component prices are the highest in years, so the old budget numbers are wrong. Here's what each gaming-PC tier actually costs in 2026 — and the resolution each one really targets.
Voltage · Jul 31 · 11 min
Gen5 SSDs hit 12,000 MB/s and cost a fortune. In games, they load less than a second faster than a Gen4 drive. Here's the SSD you should actually buy for gaming in 2026.
Voltage · Jul 31 · 11 min