Buyer's Guides

Once the domain of external, bus-powered hard drives, these days the market for external storage has been almost completely consumed by portable SSDs. Rapid technological advancements in NAND flash technology (including the advent of 3D NAND) has allowed their capacity to eclipse 2.5-inch HDDs, all the while multiple improvements in host interface speeds (such as the move from USB 2.0 to 3.0, and onwards to 3.2 Gen 2 / Gen 2x2 / USB4) has made portable SSDs faster and more reliable than the hard drives they replace. All of which has helped to make portable SSDs the go-to solution for external storage, both big and small. For our latest storage buyer's guide, we've rounded up some of the best portable SSDs we've looked at in...

Best CPUs for Gaming: February 2024

As the first quarter of 2024 is already well underway, there's not been much in the way of launches since last year. Of particular note is AMD's launch of...

35 by Gavin Bonshor on 2/2/2024

Best Intel Motherboards: Holiday 2022

Since we posted our previous motherboard guides, there has been a couple of notable processor launches. Perhaps one of the most impressive of the aforementioned launches is Intel's 13th...

4 by Gavin Bonshor on 12/12/2022

Best Mechanical Keyboards: Holiday 2022

Continuing our run of holiday buyers' guides, today we're taking a look at peripherals. Considering that a PC’s peripherals can easily outlive the main system’s components and usually stay...

2 by E. Fylladitakis on 11/25/2022

Best AMD Motherboards: Holiday 2022

It has been a busy couple of months for both Intel and AMD, as well as their partner motherboard manufacturers. The release of AMD's latest Ryzen 7000 series processors...

13 by Gavin Bonshor on 11/3/2022

Best Laptops: Holiday 2021

With 2021 coming to a close, it is time again to look back at the laptop market. Despite bumps from the COVID pandemic, the laptop ecosystem continues to flourish...

26 by Brett Howse on 12/1/2021

Best Android Phones: November 2021

We’re nearing the end of the year and the holiday season, and all relevant devices for 2021 have seen their releases, and we’re entering a period of quiet before...

23 by Andrei Frumusanu on 11/19/2021

Best CPUs for Workstations: June 2021

Sometimes choosing a CPU is hard. So we've got you covered. In our CPU Guides, we give you our pick of some of the best processors available, supplying data...

55 by Dr. Ian Cutress on 6/10/2021

Best SSDs: May 2021

A solid state drive is often the most important component for making a PC feel fast and responsive; any PC still using a mechanical hard drive as its primary...

21 by Billy Tallis on 5/14/2021

Best Video Cards for Gaming: Q1 2019

For gaming PCs that push the pretty pixels on the screens, the video card is the most important component. And given the sheer amount of custom options, choosing the...

19 by Nate Oh on 3/11/2019

Best CPUs for Gaming: Holiday 2018

Sometimes choosing a CPU is hard. So we've got you covered. In our CPU Guides, we give you our pick of some of the best processors available, supplying data...

0 by Ian Cutress on 10/24/2018

Best CPUs for Gaming: Q3 2018

In our series of Best CPU guides, here’s the latest update to our recommended Gaming CPUs list. All numbers in the text are updated to reflect pricing at the...

1 by Ian Cutress on 6/19/2018

Best CPUs for Gaming: Q1 2018

Sometimes choosing a CPU is hard. So we've got you covered. In our CPU Guides, we give you our pick of some of the best processors available, supplying data...

1 by Ian Cutress on 1/2/2018

Best CPUs: August 2017

Our newest CPU Guide can be found here: https://www.anandtech.com/show/9793/best-cpus Best CPUs, August 2017 Sometimes choosing a CPU is hard. So we've got you covered. In our CPU Guides, we give...

0 by Ian Cutress on 8/30/2017

Best CPUs Q2 2017

In our series of Buyer Guides, here’s the latest update to our recommended CPUs list. All numbers in the text are updated to reflect pricing at the time of...

1 by Ian Cutress on 7/6/2017

Best Tablets: Q1 2017

Unlike the red-hot smartphone market that continues to grow, with new models appearing at a blistering rate, the tablet market is, well….a little boring. Apple still releases a few...

30 by Matt Humrick on 3/31/2017

Best CPUs: Q1 2016

When building a custom PC, especially on the consumer side, the processor is typically second or third down the list of priorities, behind graphics, storage or specific motherboard features...

17 by Ian Cutress on 3/24/2015

PSU Buyer's Guide: Holiday 2014

In this Holiday Buyer's Guide, we will be evaluating and recommending desktop PC power supply units. We should clarify that the selection of a PSU is based on parameters...

23 by E. Fylladitakis on 12/3/2014

Best SSDs: July 2014

Given the recent product releases in the SSD industry, it is now a good time to do another purchase recommendation post. We did our first "Best SSDs" post in...

42 by Kristian Vättö on 7/23/2014

Best Desktop Video Cards - Holiday 2013

Continuing our series of Holiday Buyer’s Guides, today we’ll be taking a look at desktop video cards. Cyber Monday kicks off today, and while video cards neither have the...

44 by Ryan Smith on 12/2/2013

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