compact PC Archives

AppWizard

November 28, 2025

These AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT Black Friday deals finally make this mid-range GPU a true bargain

AMD's RX 9000 series graphics cards, particularly the RX 9060 XT, have seen fluctuating retail prices often exceeding the suggested MSRP. However, Black Friday has brought several deals, making the RX 9060 XT more accessible. The Asus Dual Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB model is available for 9, down from its typical price of 9. It features 32 RDNA 4 compute units and has shown strong performance in gaming tests, achieving 51fps in Doom: The Dark Ages at 1440p and 113fps in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 at 1080p. The RX 9060 XT requires a single eight-pin PCIe power connector. The XFX Swift AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT OC Gaming Edition with 8GB of VRAM is priced at 9.99, which is the lowest price for this model during Black Friday, down from its MSRP of 9.

AppWizard

November 27, 2025

SteamOS is so close to greatness — but can Valve finally crack anti‑cheat and remove the biggest barrier holding PC gamers back?

SteamOS is a Linux-based operating system developed by Valve, designed for the Steam Deck and other compatible devices, offering features like cloud saves and cross-device connectivity. However, it faces challenges with compatibility for games that use kernel-level anti-cheat systems and require Trusted Platform Module 2.0 support. Notably, games like Rust and Apex Legends have dropped support for SteamOS and Linux due to concerns over cheating and low user bases. Valve is working on anti-cheat solutions for SteamOS, but the lack of support from developers remains a significant barrier. Valve's hardware roadmap includes the Steam Machine and Steam Deck, but the Steam Machine will not receive financial subsidies like the Steam Deck. The success of SteamOS may depend on its ability to attract a substantial user base and persuade developers to collaborate on integrating anti-cheat systems.

AppWizard

November 13, 2025

Valve announces new Steam Machine and Steam Controller

Valve is set to launch the Steam Machine and Steam Controller in early 2026. The Steam Machine is a compact PC running on a Linux-based SteamOS, featuring a customizable design, USB-A port, microSD card slot, DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0, and Ethernet ports. It is powered by a “semi-custom AMD Zen 4” CPU, “semi-custom AMD RDNA3” GPU, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM, with storage options of 512GB or 2TB SSD. It offers approximately six times the performance of the Steam Deck, enabling 4K gaming at 60 FPS. The Steam Controller is a wireless device that replicates the Steam Deck's control methods, featuring sticks, buttons, triggers, trackpads, and gyro controls, with Bluetooth and wired connectivity. It allows for customizable input methods for each game and is compatible with any device running Steam. Pricing details have not been disclosed, but they are expected to be competitive with equivalent PCs and gaming controllers.

Winsage

November 20, 2024

Microsoft debuts new Copilot software, touts AI growth at Ignite Conference

Microsoft unveiled significant updates to its cloud and AI services at the Ignite conference in Chicago, including enhancements to Microsoft 365 Copilot, new AI agents, and plans to use Nvidia’s Blackwell GB200-powered AI servers. Nearly 70% of the Fortune 500 now use Microsoft 365 Copilot. New features include Copilot Actions for summarizing meetings and consolidating communications, and advanced AI agents like the Interpreter for Teams and Employee Self-Service Agent. Microsoft introduced the Azure AI Foundry SDK for building AI applications and announced the Windows 365 Link, a compact PC for cloud services, set to retail for starting in April 2025. The company also launched the Microsoft Security Exposure Management platform and enhanced security for AI applications with the Data Loss Prevention feature for Microsoft 365 Copilot. Microsoft’s shares have increased by 12% over the past year.

BetaBeacon

May 7, 2024

CORSAIR ONE i500 compact Windows 11 gaming PC will give you wood

The CORSAIR ONE i500 is a compact PC with a footprint 30 percent smaller than traditional full-sized desktops. It features the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card and the Intel Core i9-14900K processor, making it a powerful option for content creators, professionals, and gamers. The PC also includes advanced liquid cooling technologies for temperature management and has a sleek chassis designed for both aesthetics and efficiency.