solid-state drive Archives

Winsage

March 5, 2026

I tested Windows 11 LTSC in 2026, and it’s the best version of Windows 11 without Copilot, AI and other bloat

Windows 11 LTSC (Long-Term Servicing Channel) is a specialized edition of Windows 11 designed for organizations that prioritize stability over the latest features. It allows users to defer feature updates for up to ten years, receiving only monthly quality updates and optional feature updates every three years. LTSC includes only Microsoft Edge as a modern app, with classic versions of Calculator, Notepad, and Paint, and lacks Copilot integration, the Microsoft Store, and Widgets. Users can operate LTSC without signing into a Microsoft account. The version was officially announced in April 2023, with Enterprise and IoT editions set to launch in late 2024. It is suitable for large organizations, industrial systems, IT departments, and IoT devices needing long-term support. General users can download a 90-day trial of LTSC, but a clean installation is required for transitioning from Windows 11 Pro or Home. The minimum system requirements include a 1 GHz processor, 4 GB RAM, and 64 GB storage. LTSC offers advantages such as no bloatware, a stable environment, and a lower storage footprint, but it does not receive new Windows features and lacks access to the Microsoft Store by default.

Winsage

January 5, 2026

Windows 11 finishes an embarrassing last in speed test of six Windows generations — but there’s a big catch

A YouTuber named TrigrZolt conducted tests comparing six versions of Windows (XP, Vista, 7, 8.1, 10, and 11) using six Lenovo ThinkPad X220 notebooks with Intel Core i5-2520M CPUs, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB HDDs, which do not meet the minimum requirements for Windows 11. Windows 11 ranked last in several metrics, including boot-up speed, memory consumption, and battery life. It was slower than all other versions in opening applications, particularly Paint and File Explorer. However, it ranked fourth in storage efficiency and performed reasonably well in one web-page loading test. The testing conditions, including outdated hardware and the choice of benchmarking applications, may have skewed the results against Windows 11. Users expressed concerns about Windows 11 being bloated and criticized its performance issues.

Winsage

December 19, 2025

Windows Server 2025 gains native NVMe support, 14 years after its introduction — groundbreaking I/O stack drops SCSI emulation limitations for massive throughput and CPU efficiency gains

Windows Server 2025 now supports native NVMe I/O, moving away from SCSI bus commands. This feature requires a registry key modification or group policy MSI to activate. Users can see performance improvements of up to 80% in IOPS and a 45% reduction in CPU utilization during high I/O loads. Testing on a two-socket Intel system with 208 logical cores and a Solidigm D7-PS1010 SSD showed a 45% increase in IOPS with one thread, 78% with eight threads, and 71% with 16 threads, alongside a 41% and 47% decrease in CPU load during 4K random reads with eight and 16 threads, respectively. The I/O processing workflow has been redesigned for better performance, enhancing overall latency and responsiveness. Community feedback is mixed, with some users experiencing negligible differences and others suggesting that only PCIe 5.0 NVMe devices can fully utilize the new I/O stack. There is no timeline for this feature's rollout to Windows 11, and its effectiveness may vary based on drive firmware quality. Home computing tasks may not see significant improvements, but multitasking and gaming experiences could benefit from reduced CPU load and improved system responsiveness.

AppWizard

November 19, 2025

Abxylute 3D One Handheld PC Boasts Glasses-Free 3D Display, Puts Games in Depth

The 3D One from Abxylute is a handheld gaming PC that combines tablet functionality with gaming console features. It measures 10.2 inches wide, 6.7 inches tall, and weighs 1.92 pounds, expanding to 14.4 inches wide and 2.45 pounds with detachable controllers. The controllers attach magnetically and include buttons, Hall effect joysticks, and a touchpad. It has a 10.95-inch touchscreen with a 2560 x 1600 resolution, 120 Hz refresh rate, and a brightness of 480 nits. The device features a 50-watt-hour battery, Intel Core Ultra 7 258V chip, 32 GB of LPDDR5x memory, and a one-terabyte NVMe SSD. It includes various connectivity options, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth. The Kickstarter campaign offers early bird pricing at 9 and standard pricing at 9, with shipments starting in December.

AppWizard

October 3, 2025

Helldivers 2 dev explains why the PC version takes a million years to update and has 3X the filesize of the console versions: old, undemocratic hard drives

Brendan Armstrong, the deputy technical director at Arrowhead Game Studios, explained that Helldivers 2's file size on PC is approximately 150GB due to the use of hard disk drives (HDDs) by many players, compared to the smaller size on consoles. To improve loading times for HDD users, the game duplicates certain data files, which helps reduce the "seek" time that can bottleneck performance. Armstrong estimated that around 12% of players still use HDDs. He discussed the challenges of reducing file size without significantly increasing loading times, noting that removing duplicated assets could lead to load times being ten times slower for HDD users. Arrowhead is exploring ways to manage the game's install size while accommodating both HDD and solid-state drive (SSD) users.

Winsage

September 10, 2025

Your Windows registry doesn’t need “cleaning”, but you can do these 5 things instead

Cleaning the registry may not significantly enhance PC performance. More effective strategies include: - Cleaning unwanted files, particularly in the Downloads folder, using built-in Windows 11 applications. - Upgrading RAM, especially if the system has 8GB or less. - Installing the operating system on a solid-state drive (SSD) for improved speed and responsiveness. - Managing startup applications to reduce processing power and memory consumption. - Reinstalling Windows for a fresh start while retaining personal data.