Last Updated: May 2026
If you play games on a laptop, a cooling pad is one of the smartest accessories you can buy. Gaming pushes your CPU and GPU hard, generating significant heat — and laptops have far less thermal headroom than desktops. A good cooling pad can drop temperatures by 15–25°C, prevent thermal throttling, and extend the life of your hardware.
In this guide we cover the best laptop cooling pads for gaming in 2026, from budget picks under $30 to premium options for serious gamers.
Last Updated: May 2026
Finding a great gaming keyboard doesn’t mean spending a fortune. The budget gaming keyboard market has improved dramatically — in 2026 you can get mechanical switches, RGB lighting, anti-ghosting, and solid build quality for well under $100. You just need to know which ones are actually worth buying.
This guide covers the best gaming keyboards under $100 for every type of gamer, from casual players to competitive FPS enthusiasts.
Before jumping into the picks, here are the three things that matter most at this price point:
Last Updated: May 2026
If you’re looking for a solid gaming keyboard without spending a fortune, the SteelSeries Apex 3 and the HyperX Alloy Core RGB are two of the most popular options in the budget segment. Both are membrane keyboards, both offer RGB lighting, and both come in under $50 — but there are some meaningful differences that could make one a much better fit for you than the other.
In this comparison we’ll break down everything you need to know: build quality, switches, features, performance, and value — so you can make the right call.
There are numerous reasons you might want to build your own PC. Maybe you’ve entered some gaming Tournaments and need to make sure you have the best framerate and visuals. Perhaps you’ve just got an interest in computer parts and how they work. Sometimes people just want a PC that’s more exciting than the ones that are offered on the market. Whatever your reasoning, I’m sure you haven’t been able to find any good deals on GPUs or RAM. In fact, you’ve probably noticed prices are pretty high.
Unfortunately it’s true: a $500 gaming PC build isn’t what it used to be. Even building a gaming PC under 1000 is pretty hard these days.
A year or so back, cryptocurrency mining drove the price of GPUs way higher than they should be. In addition, it was super difficult to find a solid GPU. While prices have stabilized a bit, they still haven’t gone back down to prices before the price surge caused by crypto-mining.
Second-hand GPUs are not a bad investment so long as you find a GPU that was well taken care of for a good price. Make sure to ask the seller if it has been overclocked though as that can significantly reduce the lifespan of a GPU.
Other CPU parts have gotten more expensive as well due to shortages and overall inflation.
Generally speaking, parts aren’t too difficult to find at this point in time like they were a year or so back. Also, building your own gaming PC is still the best way to get the most bang for your buck when compared to buying a pre-built gaming PC.
There’s also something special about saving for, researching, building, and playing games with your custom built rig. Sure, you can buy a computer at Best Buy and bring it home, but I can guarantee you won’t have the same sense of satisfaction.
You may also be considering just going with a Console. This is definitely a good option. However, PC gaming, with the right hardware, offers better graphics, frame rates, resolutions, awesome PC exclusives, and arguably a better overall gaming experience. There are many perks of PC gaming. You also know exactly what’s in your PC and you can put together a machine tailored to you.
So, to answer the question, in our opinion, it is definitely worth it to build your own custom gaming PC. To re-iterate a few of the points above, here are the benefits of building your own gaming PC.
If you have a high-end gaming PC and are still using the built-in motherboard sound card, you may be missing out on a fully high-end gaming experience. Built-In motherboard sound cards have definitely improved over the years, however, a stand alone sound card in most cases will provide better sound. In this post, we look at a few reasons why you would opt for a stand-alone sound card and then we pick a few of the best external sound cards for gaming.
It is pretty obvious that the main difference between external and internal sound cards is how they are installed. An internal card will be installed directly into the motherboard, whereas an external sound card will connect externally, usually via USB, to the PC.