Articles by Matt Safford, Managing Editor

Matt began piling up computer experience as a child with his Mattel Aquarius. He built his first PC in the late 1990s and ventured into mild PC modding in the early 2000s. He’s spent 15 years covering emerging technology for Smithsonian, Popular Science, and Consumer Reports, while testing components and PCs for Computer Shopper, PCMag and Digital Trends. When not writing about tech, he’s often walking—through the streets of New York, over the sheep-dotted hills of Scotland, or just at his treadmill desk at home in front of the 50-inch HDR TV that serves as his PC monitor.

Articles by: Matt Safford

Best RAM Bundle Deals 2026 – make PC builds and upgrades more affordable with the best memory combo deals available

By Joe Shields, Matt Safford Last updated 31 August 26

Find the best RAM bundle deals for your next PC build. We track top combos with motherboards, CPUs, coolers, and more — updated regularly as prices and stock change fast.

Adata Urban Tapsafe 2TB review: Solid-state storage you unlock with your phone

By Matt Safford Published 30 August 26

Adata's Urban Tapsafe portable SSD sports magnetic face plates, a metal mounting clip, the ability to unlock the drive with your phone, and share selective access with others via an app.

Grab Keychron's compact K8 wireless mechanical keyboard for an all-time low of $34 — 87-keys, Gateron Red switches, and white backlight keeb is 56% off

By Matt Safford Last updated 21 August 26

Deals A no-nonsense TKL from a respected brand, at a bargain-basement price

Dell XPS 13 (2026) review: the new bar for mainstream Windows laptop excellence

By Matt Safford Published 20 August 26

Editor's Choice

An affordable laptop that looks and feels like a premium ultraportable

Asus ROG Edition 20 gaming PC build – A pretty powerhouse PC that next to no one can afford

By Matt Safford Published 17 August 26

What’s it like to build a PC with some of the most expensive components on the market? Asus sent us its ROG 20th anniversary components so we could find out for ourselves.

Acer Swift Go 16 AI (AMD Gorgon Point) Review: A balanced, affordable, big-screen portable

By Matt Safford Published 10 August 26

Acer’s Swift Go 16 AI is a capable mid-range laptop with a large touchscreen and a slim metal shell. It stands out among modern competition, if you can find it on sale for under $1,000.

Best PC Cases 2026: Our Tested Picks for Your Next Build

By Joe Shields Last updated 5 August 26

Find the best PC cases we’ve tested for airflow, performance, and standout design—from budget ATX gaming and airflow-focused builds to Mini-ITX and high-end XL/EATX workstations.

A collection of eight recent motherboards, in their boxes, on a desk, showcasing the types of boards that typically land on our lest of best motherboards we have benchmarked.

Best Motherboards 2026 for Gaming, by Socket and Chipset

By Joe Shields Last updated 4 August 26

Here are the best motherboards we've tested for recent AMD and Intel platforms. Choose from our expert benchmarked picks of the best available motherboards based on our testing and reviews.

PSA: Your watch band may be messing with your laptop – magnetic clasps can cause lid sensors to lock your PC

By Matt Safford Published 30 July 26

Got a new laptop (or a new watch band) and getting kicked to the lock screen as you try to type?

Testing old drives as external storage to avoid price hikes — hard drive, SATA SSD, and NVMe in enclosures up to 80 Gbps, tested

By Matt Safford Published 28 July 26

For as little as $10 (or less on sale), you can use an old drive as external storage, but will that dusty drive deliver the speed you need?

Two images of laptops at Computex, with a render of an array of them in the bottom half.

The bifurcated laptop landscape of Computex 2026 – MacBook Neo competitors with 8GB of RAM, and expensive Nvidia laptops promising an agentic-focused future of Windows on Arm

By Matt Safford Published 1 July 26

Premium Take your pick: an expensive laptop promising an agentic AI future, or affordable options with RAM allotments stuck in the past.

This is what Tom's Hardware readers clicked the most during Prime Day — Portable displays, DVD burners, the Nintendo Switch 2, and two decent SSD deals, among others

By Matt Safford Published 26 June 26

What you clicked on, because of all the PC parts that were overpriced or unavailable

Rosewill SSD cloner and eraser on a desk, connected to a laptop

Rosewill’s M.2 SSD Cloner and Eraser drops to its lowest-ever price of $47 — become an IT hero, or just save yourself some time and frustration

By Matt Safford Published 26 June 26

Deals Clone and erase NVMe drives, offline, or connected to a PC, for less than $50.

Best Wireless Keyboards 2026: Our Tested Picks for Gaming, Typing, and Traveling

By Sarah Jacobsson Purewal Last updated 26 June 26

Whether you’re gaming from the couch, writing a book on the road, or you just want a clutter-free desk, these are the best wireless gaming (and typing) keyboards we've tested and reviewed.

Best PC Speakers 2026: From Budget to Audiophile Bliss

By Matt Safford, Sarah Jacobsson Purewal Last updated 25 June 26

These are the best computer speakers that we've tested — whether you’re looking for a simple stereo system or 5.1 surround sound.

Several of my favorite under $50 gadgets, including a screwdriver in its case, M.2 cloner, webcam, travel adapter, and retro mouse

These 15 under-$50 gadgets have upgraded my tech life, and they're all on sale

By Matt Safford Published 25 June 26

From electric screwdrivers to high-res webcams, these are inexpensive game-changers.

Today only, you can snag a 37-inch 4K Samsung monitor for just $249 – B&H offers up a big productivity screen for 50% off in a one-day deal

By Matt Safford Published 25 June 26

Deals B&H is selling a 37-inch 4K Samsung monitor for half off, or just $249, today only.

Innocn, Arzopa, Veout, and WGK portable monitors

These four portable monitors are on sale for Prime Day: Get a second screen for your PC or console for as little as $39

By Matt Safford Published 24 June 26

These four portable monitors are available at low prices for Prime Day. Get a second screen for your PC or console for as little as $39 .

Best CPU Coolers 2026: AIO and Air Coolers

By Joe Shields Last updated 22 June 26

These are the best air and liquid/AIO CPU coolers we've tested, for all consumer systems, from small form-factor builds to overclocked big rigs.

Old SSDs and hard drives on a shelf with an M.2 SSD enclosure

Save hundreds during this storage pricing hellscape by turning an SSD or hard drive you aren’t using into a useful external drive for as little as $8 – put an old drive to good use as external storage

By Matt Safford Published 22 June 26

Good storage deals are sadly dead, but an affordable enclosure can bring an old drive back to useful life.

Best SSD and Hard Drive Enclosures

By Avram Piltch Last updated 21 June 26

You can take any M.2 or SATA storage drive, put it in an enclosure and connect to a computer via USB. We tested more than a dozen enclosures to help you find the best one.

Royal Kludge R65 RGB keyboard on a wood bench

One of our favorite budget gaming keyboards drops back down to its lowest-ever price of $45 at Amazon — RK R65 packs lubed switches, metallic knob, and gasket mount for excellent sound and feel

By Matt Safford Published 21 June 26

Deals I've been using this keyboard for over a year, and it sounds better than many that cost three times as much.

A collection of the best SSDs we've tested, in a small red toolbox, on a wooden table

Best External SSDs 2026

By Matt Safford Last updated 18 June 26

We've tested dozens of external hard drives and SSDs, running them through several benchmarks, and chosen models we've reviewed that offer the best balance of performance, features and price.

Best Flash Drives 2026: Fast, Spacious, Pocketable USB Storage

By Matt Safford Last updated 17 June 26

Today's best flash drives are faster and speedier than ever. We've tested dozens to find the best.

Best Mini-ITX Cases 2026: Our Tested Picks for Compact PC Builds

By Matt Safford, Joe Shields Last updated 17 June 26

See the best Mini-ITX cases we've tested for compact, high-performance builds. From airflow and cooling to GPU and component fit, find the best small-form-factor case for your rig.

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