Reviews

After testing the full lineup, TF7 stands out as the best value—affordable, easy to apply, and reliable for mid-range systems. TF4 is also a solid pick for budget builds. On the higher end, TF8-EX and TFX deliver strong performance but fall short in durability and user-friendliness, especially with their thick, hard-to-apply texture. TF9, unfortunately, underwhelms across the board. Overall, Thermalright’s thermal paste lineup is a bit hit or miss, but TF7 hits the sweet spot for most users

The Thermalright Assassin X 90 SE is a compact air cooler that punches way above its weight, especially considering the $17 price tag. With 4 direct-contact copper heat pipes and a quiet 92mm ARGB fan, it easily handles 65W TDP CPUs and even manages bursts of 130W heat in stress tests. It's ideal for replacing stock coolers on mid-range builds and fits well in small cases. While it’s not made for high-end CPUs or heavy overclocking, the Assassin X 90 SE delivers excellent value and solid cooling for budget-conscious users.

The MSI MEG Ai1600T is a powerful and premium power supply built for serious PC enthusiasts who need high performance and exceptional efficiency. The PSU runs quiet, handles heavy loads with ease, and even lets you monitor and control everything from fan speeds to power usage through MSI’s software. It’s a bit overkill for most gamers, but for anyone running dual GPUs or looking to future-proof their setup, this PSU really delivers.

The ASRock B860 LiveMixer WiFi is a budget-friendly motherboard aimed at content creators who need tons of connectivity without breaking the bank. Priced at $190, it offers a great mix of features like WiFi 6E, Thunderbolt 4, and 22 USB ports. While it doesn’t have the most powerful power delivery or the newest WiFi 7, it still performs well for gaming and everyday tasks, supports fast DDR5 memory, and includes Gen5 slots for both graphics cards and storage. Overall, it’s a good value pick for creators and gamers who want reliable performance and excellent connectivity

The ASRock B860 Steel Legend WiFi is a solid choice for people looking for a reliable and affordable motherboard. It supports Intel’s Core Ultra series processors and DDR5 memory, making it future-proof for most tasks. While it skips out on WiFi 7 and offers just one Thunderbolt port, it still provides great performance with PCIe Gen5, good audio, and plenty of USB and storage options. At $200, it’s a great value, especially for gaming and everyday use.

Now that my team and I have finished testing over two dozen PSUs, we can finally round up the best ATX 3.1 options that offer great performance for the price.

Does Assassin's Creed Shadows meet the humongous expectations for the series' first entry set in Japan? The answer will largely depend on who you ask. For fans of Ubisoft's RPG gameplay, buying the latest entry is a no-brainer. Between the massive open world and satisfying combat, the game more than delivers on the core tenets of the Assassin's Creed RPG. However, in doing so, it falls into familiar territory, often to its own detriment.

The MSI MPG A1000GS is a well-built and stylish power supply that offers decent performance for gamers and creators, especially those looking to power high-end NVIDIA GPUs or dual mid-range cards for AI and machine learning. It features great cable quality with easy management and runs quietly under load. However, it gets really hot at max load, and its lack of support for AMD GPUs is a big miss. While it’s a step forward in some areas, it feels like MSI made a few odd choices that limit its full potential.

The ASUS ROG Crosshair X870E Hero is one of the most premium ($700) offerings for AMD's most premium chipset. It offers a fresh, all-black design highlighted by the large Polymo Lighting II array, excellent VRMs, five M.2 slots, and 20 USB ports. Dual LAN ports are also on offer, but we would've preferred a singular 10G port.

After testing and comparing dozens of AIOs, we have finally rounded up the best CPU coolers for the Ryzen 9 9950X3D.

ID-Cooling’s new X45 thermal paste is an upgrade over their previous versions, offering better thermal performance with easier application thanks to its lower thickness. It’s ideal for overclockers or anyone wanting top cooling without spending much—priced at $6.99 for 2g. It performs slightly better than the older X25 and beats top brands in temperature tests.

The Ryzen 9 9950X3D is nailing all workloads and gaming benchmarks, and we've rounded up the best motherboards for it.