It feels like every week the component crisis worsens, driving the prices of hardware for even mid-level PC gaming to insane prices that only a few could afford without draining their savings.

Fortunately, price discounts are still a thing, giving us PC players brief respites from this RAMpocalypse. One such deal is this 26% discount for AMD Ryzen 7 7800XD, reducing the price of one of our favorite gaming CPUs from $449.99 to $333.99 on Amazon.

Why buy the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D?

The AMD Ryzen 7800X3D may be three years old, but it's still packing plenty of processing power to help your PC run games with extremely high performance that will make them feel so much smoother and more responsive to play with.

How high, you may ask? Well, my colleague, Ben Wilson, confirmed in his 4.5-star review of the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D that its 3D V-Cache makes an obvious difference to games, even if it doesn't thrill in productivity.

You can boost the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D's performance further by overclocking it using the Precision Boost feature with the Ryzen Master app. This is all done while the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D's power management system keeps it stable and cool.

However, don't expect to use this CPU for grinding through productivity tasks in a speedy manner, as its performance rates in this regard are somewhat lacking compared to Intel's (often more expensive) offerings.

Additionally, the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D isn't compatible with DDR4 RAM, so folks running PC rigs with older RAM may need to upgrade (which is easier said than done thanks to this AI-induced RAM crisis sucking all our RAM dry).

So, if you're looking to upgrade your gaming PC without breaking too much bank, this 26% discount for the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D at Amazon is currently one of the safest and most affordable bets out there.

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The Seagate Xbox Expansion Card is a must-have accessory for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. It's a plug-and-play drive with quick enough speeds to play games right from the card.

But the Seagate Xbox Expansion Card is running out of stock. Scanning the web shows retail listings with warnings of low stock or a lack of stock at all. Other stores have the cards but at inflated prices. If you want to get a Seagate Xbox Expansion Card, you need to act quickly.

Below, I'll list all places I've found the card in stock. It's now difficult to find them at all, let alone at a good price.

Is it a good time to buy a Seagate Expansion Card?

Right now is a good time to buy a Seagate Xbox Expansion Card for three reasons. First, the card is below its launch price at certain retailers. Second, the card is running out of stock, so if you want one you need to act quickly. Third, games like GTA 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will take up a lot of space, so you'll need more storage.

Gaming prices are out of control right now. RAM and storage seem to get more costly each month. There aren't signs of the market correcting any time soon, either.

The most pressing factor here is that stock of the Seagate Xbox Expansion Card is running out. Literally as I wrote this article, Best Buy marked the card as unavailable. Newegg and Amazon have the card in stock but at wildly inflated prices.

The only Seagate Xbox Expansion Cards I've found in stock are the ones listed above, including the 2TB model at Walmart. If you spot a model in stock, please flag it and I'll update this piece.

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Razer's gaming keyboards have consistently ranked as some of the best you could buy, and, of course, they double up as generally excellent options for work and studies. Because let's be honest, if a keyboard doesn't feel good for actual typing, then is it even doing its job?

• Crush the new semester with Razer keyboards

We already praised the Huntsman V3 Pro as "the world's most advanced gaming keyboard", and for now, the downside of its high price has been solved as the tenkeyless (TKL) model drops to $124.99 at Best Buy. Compared to its original MSRP of $219.99, it's instantly a much more tempting pick.

That $95 price drop stands alongside a discount on the full-size variant that we tested, bringing that to $180.74 with a much more specific $69.25 discount. Either way, you'll gain access to Snap Tap, Razer's solution for perfect counter-strafing in FPS games that prioritizes the most recently pressed button.

What makes the Huntsman V3 Pro so good?

Adjustable actuation is one of those phrases that crops up around keyboards, and it's a feature that shines when you have the time to dig into it. Essentially, you can change the depth at which the optical switches underneath the keys detect a valid press, usually opting for shallow pushes during gaming and more deliberate, deeper pushes for typing.

If you're into tweaking and personalization, you'll get a lot out of it by fine-tuning the actuation and saving it to one of the on-board memory profile slots. That, paired with its brushed aluminum chassis and double-shot PBT textured keys for more durable lettering, makes for a comfortable typing experience.

On the flip side, we noted in our (full-size) Razer Huntsman V3 Pro review that the leatherette wrist rest isn't perfect, but it is magnetic, so if you'd rather use it only for typing and remove it for a night of gaming, it's easy to detach. I'd recommend giving it a fair try, as it's generally better to use something to support your wrists than nothing at all, but your mileage may vary.

Overall, this discount makes the Huntsman V3 Pro, whether TKL or full-size, an absolute bargain. Even if you don't make use of all the extra dials at first, diving into customization would help you assign them to your most-used features soon after. It's a quality wired keyboard that works just as hard for daily typing, so you could probably argue it's a back-to-school expense if you tried.

Frequently Asked Questions

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In an age where the best laptops are being price-gauged for everything they're worth thanks to AI eating all our RAM and memory, sometimes laptops we never took a shine to can end up being smarter financial alternatives, provided they have redeeming qualities and discounts to back them up.

One such flawed but capable laptop is the 16-inch, 2-in-1 Lenovo Yoga 7i, a laptop that doesn't quite get the "2-in-1" part right but makes up for it with all-day battery life, a strong SSD for fast boot-up times and decent storage space, and more enticing features that are now 20% off for $799.99 at Best Buy (was $999.99).

Why buy the Lenovo Yoga 2-in-1 laptop?

Now, the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 16-inch isn't the greatest laptop in the world. When our laptop expert, Ben Wilson reviewed it, he remarked that its "sub-par IPS panel prevents its tablet mode from appealing to creatives who demand accurate color reproduction."

Plus, no bundled-in stylus pen combined with a stiff screen hinge makes the laptop's tablet mode not as useful or enjoyable compared to its competition.

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However, that doesn't mean the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 is worthless, as it has plenty of redeeming qualities.

It features above-average performance rates for crushing productivity tasks thanks to its Intel Core Ultra 5 Processor (2024) and 16GB RAM, a 512GB SSD to help store vital data files and boot its systems quickly, a 70Wh battery that will last over thirteen hours, and solid Wi-Fi 7 connectivity to ensure you never lose connection with the internet and never wait forever for web pages to load.

It's also got a built-in fingerprint scanner that acts as a secondary security measure for your precious work files, a 2K touchscreen with 60Hz refresh rates and 1080p resolution so you can view documents and spreadsheets with clear clarity, and competent performance rates for tackling AI-related tasks thanks to its integrated Copilot+ feature and a Neural Processing Unit capable of 40 TOPS.

So if you're looking for a reliable mid-range laptop that won't cost you over $1,000 to tackle work reports or school exams while travelling, the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 that's now 20% off at Best could be the best unlikely weapon you didn't know you needed for slaying productivity backlogs.

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The ASUS Zenbook A16 is not a gaming laptop, but what if it were a gaming desktop? One YouTuber sought to find out what happens when you connect an eGPU to the Zenbook A16. The results are surprising and show a promising potential future for gaming on Arm processors.

Connecting the Zenbook A16 is not something for the faint of heart. Until recently, it was not possible to connect any GPU to a Snapdragon X-powered laptop, even if you were willing to use unofficial methods.

ETA Prime connected an RTX 4060 to a Zenbook A16 using the developer driver for RTX Spark. That GPU is also from NVIDIA, and its driver can be installed on a PC like the Zenbook A16 to connect an RTX 4060.

Obviously the setup is not official or optimized, but it does work to an extent. Some other NVIDIA GPUs were also successfully connected, but ETA Prime saw the best performance with the RTX 4060.

ETA Prime runs through all of the specific hardware used, but the heart of it all is the AOOSTAR AG03 Thunderbolt 5 & OCuLink eGPU Dock.

The Zenbook A16 was able to hit impressive framerates and settings when connected to the RTX 4060.

In ETA Prime's video, you'll see Forza Horizon 6, Cyberpunk 2077, Project Cars 2, and DOOM: The Dark Ages at very respectable framerates and settings.

Hitting those framerates often required frame generation, but gameplay looks smooth. In Cyberpunk 2077, ETA Prime was able to hit the low 40s at high settings without frame generation and the low 70s with frame generation.

The Zenbook A16 runs on a Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme processor, which is quite speedy. But the chip leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to graphics. On top of that, games are not always optimized for Windows on Arm, so you can end up with issues like Halo: Campaign Evolved missing textures and having a transparent ground.

Experimentation by ETA Prime and Ghobso Gaming (who tested Halo: Campaign Evolved) shows that Snapdragon X2 chips are capable of playing games. But those processors lack support and optimization.

If drivers ship and game developers embrace Snapdragon X-powered PCs, we could see a significant jump in gaming on Windows 11 on Arm.

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Halo: Campaign Evolved launched recently, giving gamers a chance to explore a reimagining of the legendary Halo title. Since the game is on Game Pass and playable on PC, Xbox, and PS5, people are finding a variety of ways to play.

The Hyperkin Duke is a glorious and chunky way to take a trip down memory lane, but you may be interested in something sleeker. You may be asking, "How does a Snapdragon X2 laptop handle Halo: Campaign Evolved?" You're not alone. Luckily, YouTuber "Ghobso Gaming" has an answer.

Ghobso Gaming has tested over 200 games on the Surface Pro 11 with a Snapdragon X Plus. Recently, they tried playing Halo: Campaign Evolved on an ASUS Zenbook A16. That laptop is powered by a Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme.

That chip is the most powerful of the Snapdragon X2 lineup, so you may have high hopes for playing a few games. Unfortunately, Halo: Campaign Evolved got just one star from Ghobso Gaming on the Zenbook A16.

"It's not great news," said Ghobso Gaming. "I went on to the second level and that's where we got some big problems," explained the YouTuber. Confusingly, some of the textures of the game are completely missing when played on a Zenbook A16 powered by a Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme.

When I first saw the gameplay footage, I thought to myself, "I don't remember there being that much water in the original." But the ground of levels in the game is not water reflecting other parts of the map. It's simply gone.

On maps where there is a lot of vegetation on the ground, the textures are seemingly gone. You can look straight through the ground and see other parts of the level.

The graphical issue is peculiar, though it doesn't affect movement within the game or other mechanics. There's a chance that the problem could be fixed with an update and then Halo: Campaign Evolved could be playable on Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme systems.

During their testing, Halo: Campaign Evolved hit between 30 FPS and 50 FPS for Ghobso Gaming (with frame generation enabled). That's not great, but it's fine for sneaking in some gameplay between meetings.

Gaming on ASUS Zenbook A16

The ASUS Zenbook A16 is a 5-star laptop. Our Ben Wilson went so far as to say the PC is "everything a flagship Windows laptop should be."

Wilson added that the A16 is a stellar example of how Windows laptops can answer to Apple's MacBook Air without resorting to ridiculous pricing. While it may differentiate itself when it comes to price, the Zenbook A16 has one key thing in common with the MacBook Air: it's not a gaming laptop.

The fact that the Zenbook A16 struggles with Halo: Campaign Evolved is not shocking. Our testing of games by Wilson saw a mixture of perfect, playable, and not available.

Gaming on Snapdragon X processors continues to be a work in progress. I think we will see a day in which Snapdragon X PCs compete with devices powered by Intel or AMD chips. I hope that someday we'll see a great gaming handheld powered by Snapdragon X. But until drivers and other key components improve, gaming on Snapdragon X will remain mostly just potential.

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The harsh reality of heading back to school is the exam prep work. I've been there. Strict deadlines, heavy revision, and pressure on your shoulders. It can be intense when you don't have anything to help manage all of your work.

Luckily, a laptop to help you write and catalog all your studies beforehand for any exams with high performance is currently discounted to $899.99 at Best Buy — the ASUS ZenBook 14, featuring a vibrant 2K OLED display.

Why buy the ASUS Zenbook 14?

This specific UM3405GA-ZB_70 model of the ASUS ZenBook 14 laptop is a major upgrade from the UX3402ZA predecessor we reviewed four years ago, at least performance-wise.

With the new model's AMD Ryzen AI 9 465 2026 processor, 16GB of RAM, and Integrated AMD Radeon graphics, the ZenBook 14 will deliver fast performance in documents and spreadsheets, editing media, and browsing online without slowdowns, even when you have multiple apps or browser tabs open.

Additionally, it features an NPU rated for up to 50 TOPs so you can use its Copilot+ integrated functions to run AI-empowered programs like Windows Recall to see snapshots of your past activity or conjure quick art images with Cocreator.

Other notable features include a 512GB SSD to store files, a portable-friendly ultra-thin design, a 1080p Full-HD IR webcam with swift face login, and a 14-inch 2K OLED Touchscreen display so it can render images with crystal-clear clarity at a traditional 60Hz refresh rate, 2K resolution, and 500 nits of max brightness with HDR support and 100% accuracy of the DCI-P3 color gamut.

So if you need a powerful laptop in the mid-range area to save you from getting an 'F' on your exams or help you clear deadlines faster, then the ASUS ZenBook 14 that's now 25% off could be your savior.

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