Articles by Zhiye Liu, News Editor, RAM Reviewer & SSD Technician

Zhiye's passion for computer hardware ignited in his pre-teen years, thanks to a learning moment in which a power connection mishap set his Pentium P54CS system on fire and inadvertently short-circuited his entire home. Over the years, Zhiye's curiosity evolved into a relentless pursuit of deeper knowledge of computer hardware. A regular kid tinkering with something beyond his comprehension eventually became a power user for one of the world's top computer hardware brands. His quest to understand the inner workings of computer hardware has led him to become a writer at Tom's Hardware. When Zhiye isn't covering the latest processor, graphics card, or putting SSDs through their paces, you'll often find him overclocking RAM to the rhythm of the latest trance hits.

Articles by: Zhiye Liu

PNY GeForce RTX 5080 Overclocked Triple Fan

Gamer scores Nvidia’s $999 powerhouse RTX 5080 for a jaw-dropping $562 — the Walmart clearance aisle is the secret weapon to beat the AI-driven GPU shortage (Updated)

By Zhiye Liu Last updated 4 February 26

Shoppers share their best GeForce RTX 50-series purchases in a Reddit thread from Walmart's electronics clearance aisle.

Purported Arrow Lake Refresh CPUs might bring extra performance with no price premium — early retailer listings show practically no price hike for some Core Ultra 200K Plus chips

By Zhiye Liu Published 3 February 26

The performance benefits of a refresh at current-gen prices

Fake Samsung 990 Pro passes basic checks but runs slower than a USB 2.0 drive — counterfeit SSDs proliferate as NAND shortage creates the perfect storm for bogus deals

By Zhiye Liu Published 2 February 26

A Redditor recounts his experience with a Samsung 990 Pro clone that looks like the real deal.

Sandisk crushes wallets with up to 2.8X SSD price hikes as NAND shortage strangles the market — WD Black SN8100 8TB skyrockets past $2,500, more than a high-end gaming PC

By Zhiye Liu Published 31 January 26

Sandisk has significantly increased prices on SSDs sold through its online store, with some models seeing increases of up to xx.

Ryzen 7 9800X3D drops within dollars of all-time low price in wake of 9850X3D launch — previous gaming champ now down to $443 from $479

By Zhiye Liu Published 29 January 26

The Ryzen 7 9850X3D hits retail for $499, while the Ryzen 7 9800X3D's price has gone down to $443.

Cooler Master makes a massive AIO liquid cooler for up to 2000-watt CPUs — a gigantic 360x360mm MO-RA-like cooler for mere mortals

By Zhiye Liu Published 29 January 26

Cooler Master showcases its upcoming 360² (360x360mm) AIO liquid cooler for workstations at an event in China.

Zotac warns component shortages threaten the 'very survival' of GPU manufacturers and distributors — message to Korean customers suggests that the worst could be yet to come

By Zhiye Liu Published 27 January 26

GPU vendors and distributors are feeling the AI pinch.

AMD's next gaming champ to debut at $499, and you can already buy it ahead of launch — Ryzen 7 9850X3D is $30 more expensive than the Ryzen 7 9800X3D

By Zhiye Liu Published 22 January 26

AMD has confirmed that the Ryzen 7 9850X3D will hit retail on January 29 at an MSRP of $499.

V-Color Manta XFinity RGB DDR5-6400 C32 2x64GB Review: Two-Module Powerhouse

By Zhiye Liu Published 21 January 26

The Manta XFinity RGB DDR5-6400 ranks among the fastest 128GB memory kits available today. But does it truly live up to the hype?

Intel axes 12th Gen Alder Lake and 4th Gen Xeon Sapphire Rapids — final orders for Intel's first hybrid CPUs end in just a few months

By Zhiye Liu Published 21 January 26

Intel's 12th Generation Alder Lake and 4th Generation Xeon Sapphire Rapids Scalable processors have reached end-of-life (EOL) status.

Kioxia exec says the AI boom means the era of the cheap 1TB SSD is over —company's NAND supply is sold out for this year and likely through 2027

By Zhiye Liu Published 21 January 26

Kioxia's Memory Business Director warns that the global NAND flash shortage means affordable SSDs are gone for good.

DRAM shortage fuels fake GPU scams as China-based fraudsters exploit the supply crisis — RTX 4080 GPU sold at cut price was actually an RTX 3060 mobile chip with fake VRAM

By Zhiye Liu Published 20 January 26

Chinese GPU repair shop exposes massive fraud operation selling counterfeit GeForce RTX 40-series cards on the secondhand market.

AMD vows to fight for gamers as DRAM shortage sends GPU prices skyrocketing — Radeon GPU prices have already surged over 10%

By Zhiye Liu Published 17 January 26

AMD will try to keep graphics card prices as low as possible for gamers during the DRAM shortage.

Nvidia CEO with GeForce RTX 50-series GPU

Gamers face another crushing blow as Nvidia allegedly slashes GPU supply by 20%, leaker claims — no new GeForce gaming GPU until 2027

By Zhiye Liu Published 15 January 26

Hardware leaker MEGAsizeGPU claims Nvidia has reportedly slashed graphics card supply to its AIC partners by 15% to 20%, and there won't be any new GeForce graphics cards until 2027.

Intel’s comeback weapon to fight AMD reportedly drops this spring — Core Ultra 200K Plus and 200HX Plus CPUs set for March or April launch

By Zhiye Liu Published 14 January 26

Hardware insider shares launch and embargo information for Intel's upcoming Arrow Lake Refresh and Panther Lake processors.

42 bewildered Amazon customers duped by $999 RTX 5090 scam, sent fanny packs instead — bait-and-switch deployed by seemingly reputable buyer

By Zhiye Liu Last updated 13 January 26

An Amazon seller is tricking desperate buyers by offering a fake GeForce RTX 5090 for $999

Steam Machine pricing soars past PS5 Pro and Xbox Series X in new retailer listing — 1TB SKU shatters $1,000 barrier

By Zhiye Liu Published 10 January 26

Czech retailer Smarty has listed Valve’s highly anticipated Steam Machine at $950 for the 512GB version and $1,070 for the 1TB model—both before taxes.

MSI unlocks the full power of AMD CPUs with new MEG X870E Unify-X Max motherboard — premium Ryzen overclocking comes to AM5

By Zhiye Liu Published 8 January 26

MSI showcases the long-awaited MEG X870E Unify-X Max motherboard for Ryzen processors at CES 2026.

Asus unveils cable-free AIO liquid coolers to streamline PC builds for a cleaner look — ROG Strix LC IV series debuts with proprietary AIO Q-Connector, motherboards to match

By Zhiye Liu Published 7 January 26

Asus launches new ROG Strix LC IV series of AIO liquid coolers that don't need any cables, thanks to a proprietary AIO Q-Connector.

Phison's new SSD controller sips a mere 2.3W and runs at 14.7 GB/s, addressing PCIe 5.0's power concerns — more affordable and power-saving PCIe 5.0 drives are coming for laptops and gaming handhelds

By Zhiye Liu Published 6 January 26

Phison launches the new E37T PCIe 5.0 SSD controller at CES 2026, while also providing an update on the E38 controller with upcoming drives spanning up to 8TB.

OWC reveals 192TB of blazing 6.6 GB/s storage inside desktop data powerhouse — twelve 16TB M.2 SSDs deliver potent speed through Thunderbolt 5

By Zhiye Liu Published 5 January 26

OWC unveils a game-changing capacity boost for its ThunderBlade X12 RAID storage solution— now offering an astonishing 192TB of storage, doubling its previous maximum.

Sandisk’s new Optimus SSD line-up replaces retired WD color-based models — new Optimus, GX, and GX Pro tiers for 2026

By Zhiye Liu Published 5 January 26

Sandisk has reimagined its WD Black and WD Blue SSDs, unveiling the new Optimus series designed specifically for gamers, creators, and professionals.

Forgotten Star Wars Racer Revenge game is key to jailbreaking PlayStation 5, price soars 1,900% overnight amid leaked ROM keys exploit — Physical copies of the PS4 game go from $20 to $400 on eBay

By Zhiye Liu Published 2 January 26

News that Star Wars Racer Revenge is now essential for the latest PlayStation 5 jailbreaks has sent physical copy prices skyrocketing, sparking a frenzy among collectors and gamers alike.

PCIe card housing AMD chipset unlocks more connectivity on any motherboard, including Intel models — or you can give any B650 motherboard the top-tier connectivity of X670

By Zhiye Liu Published 31 December 25

Open-source expansion card brings AMD's B650 chipset expansion capabilities to any system that has a PCIe 4.0 x4 expansion slot.

Nintendo 3DS prices skyrocket up to 76% — vintage Nintendo console rivals the cost of a brand new Switch 2

By Zhiye Liu Published 30 December 25

Vintage Nintendo 3DS gaming handhelds are soaring in price, with the XL version selling for between $200 and $350 on eBay.

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