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

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

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.

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 25 June 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.

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.

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 PC Cases 2026: Our Tested Picks for Your Next Build

By Joe Shields Last updated 17 June 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.

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.

Best AIO Coolers 2026

By Matt Safford Last updated 17 June 26

After measuring CPU temperatures and fan noise for dozens of AIO coolers under load, we've chosen the best closed-loop cooler options to keep your PC cool and quiet.

Best USB Hubs 2026: Powered, Portable and Type-C

By Avram Piltch, Matt Safford Last updated 16 June 26

Whether it's a tiny portable hub or a desktop unit with extra power, you need a USB hub to make the most of your computer. We've tested dozens of models to find the best.

Best Budget Mechanical Keyboards 2026: Our tested picks under $100

By Matt Safford, Sarah Jacobsson Purewal Last updated 16 June 26

We've tested dozens of cheap mechanical keyboards and picked the best budget options under $100.

Levelplay shows off magnetically attached fans that are reversible, connect via pogo pins and USB-C – plus an AIO that trades a screen for a big knob

By Matt Safford Published 8 June 26

Levelplay took to Computex with some interesting cooling concepts, like magnetic fans that can be reversed in seconds, and an AIO that puts a big tactile knob for fan control on top of your CPU.

Take your OpenClaw box back to the future with retro Mac Mini, Mac Studio docks — Wokyis tempts Nintendo and Apple lawyers, while adding a screen, ports, and style to your modern Mac

By Matt Safford Published 4 June 26

Wokyis is already selling its M5 dock that turns your Mac Mini into a mini Macintosh. But it plans to add G7 NES-themed docks, as well, with up to 80Gbps of throughput and larger 7-inch screens.

Best of Computex 2026: Innovating despite disruptions

By The Editors of Tom's Hardware Published 4 June 26

From affordable premium laptops to next-gen handhelds, and Nvidia bringing its Spark to Windows on Arm, these are the 11 best products introduced at this year’s show.

Computex 2026 Live: Day three in Taipei

By Stephen Warwick Last updated 4 June 26

Every update live from Taipei as Computex continues in Taiwan.

Lian Li's Edge Platinum V2 PSUs have an LED dust indicator, magnetic filter, and a snap-on fan and USB header hub — Edge line's trademark 90-degree power connector also returns

By Matt Safford Published 3 June 26

Lian Li's Edge V2 PSUs add a dust-detecting LED indicator, a removable filter, and a snap-on hub for fans and USB devices. They should arrive in September, at up to 1350 watts.

The Nanggang Exhibition Center with an Nvidia banner strewn across it.

Tom's Hardware Unfiltered: Computex 2026, Day 2 — Interviews, roundtables, and the first day at the Nanggang Exhibition Center

By Matt Safford, Jake Roach, Joe Shields, Jeffrey Kampman Published 3 June 26

Premium As Computex 2026 fully kicks off, our team finally enters the halls of the Nanggang Exhibition Center in Taipei in the latest in our series of daily blogs.

Corsair shows off gaming mouse with dedicated Stream Deck launch button — wireless mouse also gets almost 50 hours of 8K battery life

By Sarah Jacobsson Purewal Published 3 June 26

Corsair showed off its Stream Deck-integrated gaming mouse, the Nightsword v2 Wireless SD, which has a dedicated Stream Deck launch button.

A Street in Taipei with signs for Nvidia and Computex in the background.

Tom's Hardware Unfiltered: Computex 2026, Day 1 — night markets, taking the MRT train, and a slew of demos

By Paul Alcorn, Matt Safford, Jake Roach, Jeffrey Kampman, Joe Shields Published 2 June 26

Premium The Tom's Hardware team in Taipei reports back on what they've been up to as Computex 2026 begins to gather momentum. Take a look at how we're making

Frore System’s solid-state AirJet Mini cools Intel’s Wildcat Lake laptop reference design – 15W of sustained, fanless cooling helps MacBook Neo competitor reach a svelte 11.3 mm, remain silent

By Matt Safford Published 2 June 26

Cutting-edge cooling in low-cost laptops? Sign me up.

Hands-on with Asus’ ROG Azoth Extreme Edition 20 mechanical keyboard – when carbon fiber isn’t enough, Asus goes for the gold

By Matt Safford Published 2 June 26

Upgraded Azoth Extreme features 24-karat gold accents, transparent switches and keycaps, and up to 1,600 hours of battery life over 2.4 GHz.

Asus ROG 20th anniversary Harpe II Extreme Edition

Hands-on with Asus’ ROG Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 gaming mouse – 24K gold and a 65K sensor

By Matt Safford Published 2 June 26

Asus ROG celebrates its 20-year run with a gold-and-black gaming mouse with a see-through backside and impressive / excessive specs.

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