Enterprising Tom’s Hardware member tecmo34 has taken the time to write a “Recommended Build” guide, outlining the parts you should get for a “budget” gaming PC. Whether you prefer an Intel or AMD CPU, tecmo’s got you covered. Here are two gaming PC builds he’s recommended, with input from TH’s more veteran members. Both are designed to “play games at mid. to max. settings at a monitor resolution of 1440×900 or less”:

$505 Intel Build

CPU: Intel Pentium E5300 2.6GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor ($70)
MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L ATX Intel Motherboard ($80)
RAM: CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 …read more

I have a feeling that many of us know unconsciously what can be done with a Hacked PC, but it took The Washington Post to illustrate the concepts, categorizing the various badness into six neat categories (click the pic below to see the Post’s graphic in full):

I will admit considering the vulnerabilities of Financial Credentials as a revelation. Aside from the almost-cliche possibility of stolen credit card numbers and bank accounts details is the potential to manipulate stock trades and mutual funds on your non-consented behalf. Overlooking those is understandable, especially since many of us don’t really have the sound …read more

Is it just me, but is the second Lauren Laptop Hunter (the one with mom) cuter than the first?

Video: Laptop Hunters $1700 – Lauren and Sue get a Dell XPS 13

Video: Laptop Hunters $1000 – Lauren Gets an HP Pavilion

So, based on the brand preferences of 5,000 people, it seems Microsoft’s Laptop Hunter ads are working:
At least that’s the findings of a study done by BrandIndex, who asked 5,000 people whether or not they believe they get good value for their money from a PC or Mac.
Apple had its highest BrandIndex rating in late winter, according to Ad Age, with a score of 70 on a scale of -100 to 100 (zero means neutral). Apple today sits at a much lower rating of 12.4.
Microsoft sat near zero in early February to a value-perception score of 46.2 presently, noted the …read more