How-To Geek

Did you know that you can run a desktop-sized graphics card on a mini PC with a USB port? Well, you can. It’s actually easier than you might think with an eGPU. I took my RTX 3080 out of my desktop and plugged it into my mini PC and the performance improvement was pretty crazy. Here’s what it takes to plug a desktop graphics card into a USB port, and why you might want to do it.

Once you finally pick something to watch on Netflix after sifting through its extensive catalog, the last thing you want is to stream in low quality.

Every weekday morning I wake up to a daily brief prepared for me by Claude with what that day will hold. Tasks, calendar appointments, upcoming todos, even what emails need my attention, all waiting at my desk before I ever step into the office. This has changed how I work and improved my productivity, and here's exactly how you can steal it.

I started 3D printing around a decade ago through my job at the time, working in a technology research division of a local university. Back then, there was no way I could afford a printer of my own, but I was happy to learn the ropes of 3D printing on my employer's dime.

Samsung's Galaxy Watches are among the most feature-loaded smartwatches out there, so much so that it could be difficult for users to explore every option. Hence, we've compiled a list of five hidden features every Galaxy Watch owner must know about.

You probably know that Android phones have a hidden Developer options menu that contains a bunch of settings allowing you to do all kinds of stuff. If you own a Samsung Galaxy device, the secret goodies don't end there.

Raspberry Pis are becoming more expensive than mini PCs if you want real compute power. But, Raspberry Pis still do something better than any mini PC can—GPIO (general purpose input/output). With GPIO headers, a Raspberry Pi can interact with real-world objects like garage door openers, sensors, and more, and it doesn’t need 16GB of RAM to do it.

Countless Windows habits have come and gone over the years. One of the most common ones, oddly enough, was reinstalling the entire operating system just to restore a PC's original performance.

When I put together my new server, I pooled two old SSDs I'd had sitting around from an old PC into a single big drive. Superficially, combining the drives has worked perfectly so far, but I regularly regret one thing: "striping" them together.

I've spent years fixing Windows shortcuts that silently break in updates, so I've updated this list to reflect Windows 11's current reality. The old Control Panel isn't going anywhere, but its access methods have shifted. Here are the ways that actually work for you right now.

I've had my LG TV for several years. It's still going strong, but there are a lot of things that it does that are really annoying. I decided to see if Claude could help me fix some of the biggest annoyances.

I love that Android allows me to swap keyboard apps, but if I'm being honest, I rarely stray from Gboard. That being said, I'm not entirely comfortable with how much it talks to Google. That's why I was intrigued by a privacy-focused mod of Gboard.

The cost of living right now is crazy, and gas prices are going through the roof, despite what certain people might try to tell you. Putting gas in my car has never been so expensive, so I decided to use my smart home to track gas prices and alert me when it's a good time to fill up.

I've never really been a guy who spends much time on the command line or terminal on any computer or OS, but these days, as I get into more self-hosting projects and take remote control of devices on my LAN, I find myself SSH-ing from my Mac's terminal at least once or twice a week.

Similar to eyesight, everyone's hearing is unique. Some of us can hear most frequencies audible to the human ear, while others struggle with certain ranges, which can affect their experience when listening to music and watching videos.

Product recalls are just a fact of life, but we're all busy, which means you don't always realize you've bought something dangerous. I only found out my Toyota's airbags had been subject to a recall three years after it happened! Now that could have ended poorly indeed.

With it being the heart of hurricane season in the States, power outages are pretty common right now. When the lights and the internet go out, you've got to have something to do to pass the time, and having your favorite Netflix series downloaded and ready to go can be a lifesaver.

I figured plugging my NAS straight into my PC would be the fastest way to move files. I did not think I really needed a router in the middle to act as an extra hop. I had thought just one cable meant full speed. The idea is common enough that plenty of people try it. I didn't expect the router to be doing so much in the background.

Obsidian is, in my opinion, incredibly powerful because it keeps its core feature set intentionally lean. It’s designed to be customizable, and the community plugins are what fill those gaps. But sometimes, those plugins don't just add cool features—they fix fundamental problems that, honestly, feel like things the app should have out of the box. Here are the three best plugins I've found, in no particular order.

After a long day, you probably plop your smartwatch onto its charging puck on your nightstand and leave it there overnight. Or, if you wear it to bed to track your sleep, you might leave it charging all afternoon after getting home so you can put it back on right before bedtime.