Darren Allan

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).

Articles by: Darren Allan

New Mac mini M4 in a studio

Apple Mac mini M4 gets thumbs-up from iFixit for repairability – but not without downsides around SSD upgrades

By Darren Allan published

Mac mini M4 is commendably repairable, but there are issues with some soldered ports, and notably with the proprietary SSD.

An AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D on a desk on top of its retail packaging

AMD Ryzen 9800X3D CPU has totally sold out – and a new worry is that fresh stock may not arrive until late December

By Darren Allan published

The situation around Ryzen 9800X3D stock appears to be very shaky, with scalpers again causing misery for genuine buyers.

Steam Deck OLED in limited edition white color

Steam Deck OLED white model arrives on November 18 – but it’s limited edition, and once sold out, will be gone forever

By Darren Allan published

You’ll have to be quick to grab the limited edition handheld, and you’ll also pay a premium too.

OpenAI

OpenAI’s next-gen Orion model is hitting a serious bottleneck, according to a new report – here’s why

By Darren Allan published

In certain areas, next-gen Orion is failing to impress compared to the existing GPT-4 model.da

An annoyed looking woman sitting at a desk and using a laptop

Microsoft stealthily installs Windows 10 update to nag you to upgrade to Windows 11 – and not for the first time

By Darren Allan published

If you’ve had enough of Microsoft’s nagging about your PC needing an upgrade, we’ve got some bad news…

Intel Core Ultra processor

Intel admits ‘self-inflicted wounds’ with Core Ultra 200S CPUs not performing as well as expected – but promises fixes are coming

By Darren Allan published

Intel is on the back foot, once again this year, but is promising fixes for gaming performance in particular.

Three Intel Arc A580 cards against a blue dotted background

Intel Battlemage rumored for December – could new budget GPUs win over gamers neglected by Nvidia and save the Arc brand?

By Darren Allan published

Rumor hints that we could get the new budget GPUs PC gamers are crying out for.

An Nvidia RTX 4090

Nvidia RTX 5090 Ti suddenly pops up – and RTX 6000 GPUs are mentioned in trademark filings too – but don’t get excited

By Darren Allan published

Ready for Nvidia RTX 5000 graphics cards? New trademark filing is another hint that next-gen GPUs are about to arrive.

Screenshots from WWDC 2022

MacBook Air OLED reportedly delayed until at least 2028 – here’s why

By Darren Allan published

Hoping for a MacBook Air with OLED screen? You might be waiting a long time if this rumor is right.

Microsoft demonstrating Cocreator in Paint

Windows 11’s Paint and Notepad apps are getting smart new AI features – though one of the best will be for Copilot+ PCs only

By Darren Allan published

Crave more AI in Windows 11? Paint and Notepad are getting updates with new AI features to do more of the creative heavy lifting for you.

A PC Gamer looking happy sat in front of their desktop monitor

AMD Ryzen 9800X3D overclocking potential shown: CPU hits jaw-dropping 6.9GHz, exceeds 1,200 fps in Counter-Strike 2

By Darren Allan published

The Ryzen 9800X3D is the first 3D V-Cache processor that allows for overclocking, and it looks seriously good in these early tests.

HP Color LaserJet Pro 3201dw during our printer test procedure

Windows 11 24H2 misery continues, as Microsoft’s buggy update is now breaking printers – especially on Copilot+ PCs

By Darren Allan published

If you’re having problems with your printer after installing the 24H2 update, you’re certainly not alone.

Two people in an office working on an Apple iMac M4

Apple’s next-gen iMac 24-inch could get a much-wanted upgrade for the screen (though maybe not the one you want)

By Darren Allan published

A new rumor suggests that Apple’s iMac 24-inch for 2025, and its next-gen Studio Display monitor, will get a 90Hz display.

Windows 10 Fail

Windows 11 update fails are becoming a joke – but it looks like Microsoft is working hard on fixing them

By Darren Allan published

Fed up with Windows 11 having a rash of bugs lately? You wouldn’t be alone, but Microsoft is underway with fixing a bunch of these problems.

Render of AMD Ryzen chip

Gigabyte spoils AMD’s Ryzen 9000X3D surprise by leaking flagship 16-core CPU, which could be something special for gamers with X3D ‘turbo mode’

By Darren Allan published

Gigabyte lets 3D V-Cache cat out of the Zen 5 bag, casually mentioning 16-core Ryzen 9000X3D CPU in a press release.

A man sitting at a desk by a window, typing on a laptop

Paint it black – today is your last chance to download Paint 3D in Windows 11

By Darren Allan published

Paint 3D is not far off a decade old at this point, but it was sidelined by Microsoft a few years back – and now it’s fully getting the chop.

Xbox Wireless Controller Velocity Green

Windows 11’s feature to allow typing with your Xbox controller has vanished in a blow for owners of handheld gaming PCs

By Darren Allan published

Another glitch has hit Windows 11 24H2, and this time Microsoft has run into trouble with its gamepad layout for the on-screen keyboard.

A person using the M4 MacBook Pro.

MacBook Pro M5 next year might be disappointing as rumor suggests the real fireworks are coming with MacBook Pro M6 with OLED in 2026

By Darren Allan published

Waiting for a fully revamped MacBook Pro with OLED screen? It’s not coming next year, but in 2026, and there’s a growing amount of buzz around this rumor.

Ring Video Doorbell being used by Ant and Dec

Your Ring doorbell is getting its weirdest new feature yet, courtesy of Ant and Dec

By Darren Allan published

Want Ant and Dec to be the doormen at your home? Amazon has made it so with the Ring doorbell’s latest quick replies.

A pair of Intel Arc Alchemist chips in front of a dark purple background

Intel could have a plan for its future GPUs to better challenge AMD and Nvidia, as patent hints at new chiplet design

By Darren Allan published

Intel patent suggests future GPUs could be split into chiplets – a whole new approach for 3rd-gen Celestial graphics cards?

An AMD processor on a metal surface

AMD Strix Halo leak suggests flagship mobile chip with integrated GPU to perhaps outdo an RTX 4070 – but there’s a catch

By Darren Allan published

New leak reveals more details about the Ryzen AI Max Pro range, which could leave Apple’s MacBook Pro laptops in the dust.

A PC gamer looking happy

AMD reveals Ryzen 9800X3D CPU priced at $479 – runs at a speedy 5.2GHz boost, can be overclocked, and promises much smoother gameplay

By Darren Allan published

The Ryzen 9800X3D processor will go on sale in a week, and AMD has sprung a surprise reveal on us today.

Gmail at 20

Struggling to find emails in Gmail? Google’s new filter could soon ease your headaches

By Darren Allan published

Searching within Gmail could soon get a nifty new option to help you more easily locate emails lost deep within your stuffed-to-the-gills inbox.

Render of AMD Ryzen chip

Gigabyte leaks AMD Ryzen 9800X3D CPU (again) and explains ‘X3D turbo mode’ for its AM5 motherboards – but don’t get your hopes up too much

By Darren Allan published

How fast will the turbo mode make your CPU go? Some PC gamers might be disappointed compared to what we’ve heard about this mode previously.

Close up of Chromebook

Chrome slowing down your laptop? Google’s new performance controls could help the browser run faster

By Darren Allan published

Google keeps pushing with features to provide peppier performance for its web browser, and here are some fresh additions on that front.

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