Amongst what feels like a deluge of bad news for Xbox right now, from console price rises (again) and threatened studio closures, it seems GTA 6 preorder sales data has become the next battleground for which fans and publications are using to stick the knife in. There’s a particular social media post right now being shared from IGN stating that, based on their affiliate data, PlayStation is outperforming Xbox on GTA 6 preorders by a rate of 8-to-1.

Windows Central can confirm that we’ve received a statement from an Xbox spokesperson on this matter: “This doesn’t represent pre-order data. We’ve had record orders. People should wait for real data and not clicks on affiliate links."

Why affiliate data isn’t reliable on its own

We’re living in an era where social media narratives often outpace verified market reality, and to be clear, IGN does state in the quote that it's based on their own community data. But it’s worth noting that while it is likely true that PlayStation is receiving more orders based on their console share of the market, nobody actually knows the concrete sales data yet, and relying on affiliate linking programs from one website to draw broad conclusions about the state of affairs is a shaky tactic.

But it IS one that’s gathering traction as it’s being amplified by reports such as this one from Vice, and it’s gathering significant engagement. Engagement that will no doubt have reached the general public outside of the gaming sphere, too, as it's being shared around on Instagram, X, and other platforms.

Affiliate programs track user traffic and clicks directed through specific retail links. Such data inherently reflects the specific demographics, regional biases, and shopping habits of a single publication's readership rather than being a mirror for total industry performance. Treating click-through metrics as a proxy for platform health risks spreading misinformation, as can be seen in the current cycle regarding Grand Theft Auto 6 preorders.

(Speaking of which, we have our own list of links for pre-ordering Rockstar’s highly anticipated game, so go check that out. Girl's gotta plug!)

RELATED: Everywhere you can buy GTA 6

An unquestionably rocky time for Xbox

The discourse right now is occurring against the backdrop of an incredibly volatile console market. There’s a perfect storm of economic pressures, including the significant price hikes taking effect on August 1, 2026, on Xbox consoles, driven by the global crisis in memory and storage component supply.

On a personal note, I’ve wondered why Xbox, during the week of GTA 6 preorders, would choose this moment to announce price increases. GTA 6 is the final major catalyst that will push many remaining Xbox One and PS4 users to the current generation, and both Microsoft and Sony should be utilizing this to their full advantage. While Sony will likely announce its own price increases, waiting until after GTA 6 has launched could be a savvy move to maintain goodwill with the general gaming public, letting Xbox take the brunt of the frustration during a critical sales window for both platforms.

However, by announcing these hikes in advance, could Xbox have actually secured a surge of panic orders during Amazon Prime Week? If we were to look at our own affiliate data, we saw significant click-through rates on discounted Xbox Series X units at Walmart and Target. But for the reasons I have already mentioned, to base a market analysis on that would be biased reporting. Our audience, which is already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem, is naturally drawn to deals on Xbox hardware; that doesn't necessarily reflect the wider gaming community, does it?

RELATED: Cheapest way to get GTA 6 on both Xbox and PS5

It’s more important than ever right now for the gaming community to distinguish between anecdotal affiliate traffic and concrete commercial data. As our Xbox contact noted, waiting for official comprehensive sales reports is the only way to gauge the true state of the market. Until then, statistics derived from click-based affiliate programs should be viewed for what they are: a measurement of a specific website's outgoing traffic, not a reflection of the global gaming state of affairs.

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On October 14, 2025, Microsoft officially ended support for Windows 10, despite widespread pleas from millions of users still relying on the operating system. The move risked leaving nearly 400 million PCs without updates, effectively rendering them obsolete. However, Microsoft ultimately extended Windows 10’s lifespan through its Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, giving users continued access to critical patches beyond the end-of-support date.

The Restart Project group, which helped co-develop the "End of 10" toolkit to support Windows 10 users who can't upgrade to Windows 11, claimed that Microsoft's move to continue pushing security updates to Windows 10 beyond its end-of-support feels like a last-minute snooze button, which only acts as a band-aid on a bleeding system.

It's no secret that Microsoft has been pushing users to upgrade to Windows 11, but soaring RAM prices have driven hardware costs sky-high, making the transition even more difficult. This is on top of the operating system's strict hardware requirements and arguments of flawed design elements.

In France, critics even staged a symbolic “funeral” for Windows 10, protesting Microsoft’s push toward Windows 11 and what they see as planned obsolescence. Yet, as recent developments suggest, the company may finally be listening.

Microsoft quietly extended Windows 10's ESU program by another year. As a result, users enrolled in the program will continue receiving support until October 14, 2027. The extension is free for those who sign in to Windows 10 with a Microsoft account, ensuring critical updates remain available beyond the original cutoff.

What does the community think about Windows 10's extended lifeline?

"People might start switching to Linux and using open source software for replacements if this RAM/storage issue doesn't get resolved in the next year," a Windows Central reader indicated.

Groups like End of 10 have been pushing users to transition to Linux following Windows 10's end-of-life. The campaign encourages steadfast Windows 10 users to ditch the Windows ecosystem entirely and switch to a version of Linux on any outdated devices, using a lack of ads and telemetry tracking as the key selling points to get users to switch camps.

"I said a year ago that this was going to happen, and I'll say it again, it's going to happen next year too," another reader added. "Windows 10 will be supported till October 2028. This has nothing to do with prices. This was planned since the beginning. But like last year, Microsoft did not say until late this was happening for free, so that people did not plan accordingly and as many as possible move to 11. Same this time. Same next year."

"Windows 10 to Windows 11 is like when you need new running shoes, but Nike discontinued the kind you’ve been buying new versions of for years, and the other kinds are fine but don’t measure up," another user commented in the r/technology subreddit on Reddit. "So you’re like “f*** it, I’ll just wear these until they fall apart.”

For context, a recent HP survey found that 3 out of 10 HP PCs are still running Windows 10. This was a slight decrease from September 2025, when HP and Dell indicated that up to 50% of PCs were still running on the operating system, prompting the PC makers to suggest that users won't upgrade to Windows 11 overnight, and the process could even roll over into 2026.

Some even claimed that Microsoft's decision to extend Windows 10's support beyond 2026 is an outright admission that it's better than Windows 11. "So are they finally admitting that Windows 11 isn't good enough almost 5 years later?"

To that end, it remains unclear how Microsoft extending support for Windows 10 via its ESU program to 2027 will impact Windows 11's market share. The operating system had just started gaining some momentum and even surpassed Windows 10 as the most dominant desktop operating system in the world in July, 2025.

In the interim, you can take advantage of Microsoft's extended support for Windows 11 by enrolling in the ESU program for free by signing in with a Microsoft account, or pay for access via 1,000 Microsoft reward points or $30.

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If there ever was a golden age of cheap memory and storage, I'm sorry to tell you that it's over.

The 2TB NVMe SSD you bought early last year? It now costs three times what you paid. The 32GB kit of DDR5 RAM that was $90 last summer? It's now somewhere between $300 and $500, if you can find it for sale at all.

The effects of the RAM crisis are being felt downstream in tech markets everywhere. Xbox just announced this week another console price hike. Apple announced it's raising prices of its MacBooks. Microsoft recently raised the prices of its Surface PCs. The Steam Machine is making its debut at $1,049. I could go on and on.

The worst part of this whole RAMpocalypse? No one really knows when it's going to end.

Why are memory and storages prices still going up?

So what happened? AI happened. The way the world's memory market is set up relies on three major companies to supply everyone else with DRAM for consumer memory and storage.

Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron realized early on in the AI boom that they could make a whole lot more money by moving away from consumer memory and into high-bandwidth memory (HBM) that's used in AI datacenters.

Profit margins are enormous on the other side, and I really don't find it surprising that these massive corporations made the shift, as companies like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have essentially offered blank checks to buy up as much memory as possible.

The fallout of these moves by the three big memory manufacturers, of course, is a strangulation of the consumer memory market. And this isn't a typical supply crunch like we've seen in the past that can be remedied by a new manufacturing plant coming online.

This time around, the memory crisis is a reallocation of the world's DRAM manufacturing capabilities, and there's no real end in sight.

I don't think RAM and SSD prices will drop anytime soon

I'm not expecting to see tech prices drop anytime soon, and you don't have to take my word for it.

Counterpoint Research confirmed in February that memory prices rose in Q1 2026 by 80% to 90% compared to Q4 2025. Late last year, Kingston noted that it had seen a 246% increase in NAND wafer pricing compared to the start of 2025, the steepest ever in the company's 29-year history.

In February 2026, Gartner released findings suggesting that, by the end of 2026, DRAM and SSD prices could surge by 130% compared to 2025, which could raise PC prices by 17%. I believe we're already seeing that estimation come into play, and this same study predicts that global PC shipments could fall by 10.4% this year.

It gets worse. Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra signaled earlier this year that the RAM crisis would continue beyond 2026. This week, Micron announced that most of its DRAM has been bought up via long-term contracts through 2030, and that there's almost certainly no end to the crisis.

SK hynix, another one of the three big DRAM players, stated in 2025 that its HBM, DRAM, and NAND manufacturing capacity is sold out through 2026.

OK, I know that's a lot of numbers, but I'm trying to drive the point home: the RAM and SSD crisis isn't likely to end in 2026. It probably won't end in 2027, either. 2028 could be our lucky year, but that's relatively far into the future and harder to predict.

The problem is compounded by the fact that it takes a very long time to create new fabrication plants, not to mention the billions of dollars required to get the project going.

Micron is building a new fab plant in Idaho, for example, but it's not likely to begin producing anything meaningful until the end of 2027. Keep in mind that this is the same company that axed its entire consumer RAM and SSD portfolio in 2025 to focus on AI clients.

Samsung and SK hynix, meanwhile, are focusing on raising production in their existing plants, as new fabs won't be ready until the late 2020s.

Most of the analyst forecasts I've read rightfully point to some relief coming no earlier than late 2027, and I'm not talking about 2024-era prices. If those prices ever return, it will be at the end of a long, slow decline as the market levels out.

If memory prices drop, will PC prices also fall?

I certainly enjoy entertaining more conspiratorial ideas, and the one question that I don't think enough people are asking is about PC prices after memory and storage markets return to normalcy.

Will the laptops, PC components, consoles, tablets, and other affected tech products drop in price once RAM and storage markets return to normal?

If I'm being optimistic, then yes, I do believe that a correction in component costs would also lead to a correction in PC and console pricing. History suggests that this isn't out of the ordinary. There was a glut of memory and storage in 2023 and 2024, and I recall consumer prices did soften a bit.

However, I don't think 2026/2027/2028 is at all the same as years gone by. PC makers are expecting to see a major hit in worldwide PC shipments in 2026. As mentioned, Gartner predicts a 10.4% decline. IDC research points to an 11.3% decline.

The twist is that by raising prices for consumers, the PC market is still expected to grow by hundreds of billions of dollars in the coming years.

This is what I find particularly frightening. If the volume of sales drops but profits keep growing, is there really any financial pressure that will make PC makers drop prices?

I don't think most PC makers will care that entry-level buyers are priced out of the market when enthusiasts and enterprise customers continue to shovel money their way. Why bother with discount laptops at thin margins?

👉 Conspiracy theory or apt prediction? — The AI-fueled hardware shortage will kill local PCs, paving the way for subscription-based cloud computing

Gartner believes the sub-$500 laptop market will completely disappear by 2028, and I'd say we're already well on our way. Will that market recover when RAM and SSD prices return to normal? Hard to say.

I can reference the GPU price spikes from a few years ago during the crypto boom and pandemic shortages. GPU prices went up, the market leveled off, and GPU prices came back down. But they didn't go all the way back down, resetting at a higher baseline than before.

Consumers had become used to paying inflated GPU prices, and there was really no incentive to drop prices back to 2019 levels. I think the same logic applies to the PC market.

The Chinese wildcard could save us all

Competition is likely the only thing that can save us, barring a collapse of the AI boom and a bursting of the market bubble.

Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron currently control about 90% of the world's DRAM production, which makes it painfully easy to coordinate pricing. I'm not saying it's explicit collusion, but it's certainly something.

The best chance of breaking up this oligopoly comes from China. Companies like YMTC and CXMT have been steadily growing their share of the NAND market with newfound production and new fabs.

If these competitors can indeed scale up production and get their products out to international buyers, I don't see how that wouldn't disrupt the oligopoly. It's not exactly smooth sailing for China's manufacturers, though, as issues with exports, access to advanced equipment, and geopolitical concerns are all hurdles they must pass.

What does this mean for you and your next PC?

Gartner expects PC lifetime for regular consumers to increase by 20% by the end of this year. The cheap PC upgrade cycle has all but come to an end.

When new DRAM factories do come online, I expect them to serve AI customers first. Consumers will get the scraps, just like they are currently. Chinese DRAM makers might enter the international market and force prices to fall, but I doubt by enough to make a serious impact.

👉 Best Windows laptop in 2026

If you're waiting for the RAM crisis to be over before you buy your next device, I have some bad news. The most optimistic predictions put easing as early as late 2027 or 2028, while the most pessimistic push the dates into the 2030s.

Should you need a new PC now, I recommend buying one that will last for years to come. What some thought was a brief blip on the PC market's graph has some serious staying power. What it will look like, if it ever returns to normal, is anyone's guess.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Amazon Prime Day has entered its fourth and final day, and I know that some of you are probably tired of the sheer amount of deals floating around social media and your favorite websites.

I get it. There are countless deals to sift through, and the fatigue is real. However! I figured it was worth throwing together a collection of the deals that our readers here at Windows Central seemed to love the most.

• Shop all Amazon Prime Day deals

At the top of the list, and no surprise in the current console pricing climate, is Seagate's 2TB Storage Expansion Card for the Xbox Series X|S. Although the original Amazon deal expired, you can still save $55 at Newegg.

In second place is Geekom's A7 Max mini PC and its $204 discount available at Best Buy. Third place is unsurprisingly inhabited by a discounted Surface Pro 11; the original deal ran out, but you can still save $300 on a new model at Walmart.

Several other popular sales, including the Xbox Series X, Surface Laptop 7, and Seagate's other capacity expansion cards, are long gone, but the following deals are confirmed to be all in stock as of noon ET on June 26.

Most popular Prime Day deals according to Windows Central readers

More details about the most popular deals at Windows Central

Stop the presses! A laptop maker just announced a price reduction in 2026. Despite the ongoing RAM crisis and component shortage, Framework just dropped the price of the Framework Laptop 13 Pro.

Framework was able to source a new SSD from its partner ADATA that offers better performance and reliability while costing less.

Framework Laptop 13 Pro preorders have not started shipping, so any order that's already been placed has been upgraded to the new SSD and had pricing adjusted.

"This new SSD comes in 1TB and 2TB options, and the 1TB lands at a lower price than the 500GB SSD we had previously qualified, so we will also switch 500GB orders to the 1TB drive at the lower price," explained Framework.

Framework's website did not show the reduced pricing when I drafted this piece, so I can't share the exact costs of the new configurations. I'll update this piece as more information becomes available.

The announcement comes as good news for those shopping for the unique laptop from Framework, but it's a relatively small reprieve from the current financial climate.

Even in Framework's announcement of the price decrease, the PC maker warned that CPU price increases are expected. "We expect that we will need to adjust the overall system price on Framework Laptop 13 Pro in the coming weeks for new orders," said Framework.

Framework dropped its prices on the same day Apple unveiled several price increases, which led to a playful jab. Framework clarified in a follow-up post that the timing of its reductions was coincidental and not in response to Apple.

The unfortunate reality is that many laptop makers have bumped up prices, including Framework. Microsoft, Dell, Lenovo, HP, and others have all had to raise prices. For a short time, Apple was immune to price hikes due to its stockpile of components, but that is no longer the case.

We shouldn't expect things to improve in the immediate future. When Microsoft announced another wave of price increases to Xbox consoles, the company said it expects another doubling of console storage and memory prices by the fall of 2027. The same factors that contribute to those components doubling in price will affect PC parts.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Microsoft plans to begin the Windows 11 July 2026 Security Update on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. In this seventh month of the year, the company is rolling out several new features and improvements for existing features. In addition, this update is expected to deliver a number of bug fixes.

In this new quality update, Microsoft will be introducing brand new features, including the Point-in-time Restore recovery feature and the Screen tint accessibility feature.

This release also introduces the new Windows Update changes that allow users to pause updates indefinitely. The Widgets feature receives a few changes to make the experience quieter and less distracting.

Furthermore, in this release, users will also find changes to the Windows Magnifier, a new default for installing printers using Windows Ready Print support, as well as improvements to the Settings app, File Explorer, Bluetooth, network virtualization, touchpad, and much more.

In this guide, I'll highlight the most significant changes in the July 2026 Security Update for Windows 11 versions 25H2 and 24H2, since both are identical.

Windows 11's new features arriving in July

As per usual, the company uses the Controlled Feature Rollout (CFR) technology to roll out new improvements gradually, so it may take some time before you see them.

Point-in-time Restore recovery feature

Starting with the July 2026 Security Update, Microsoft is introducing Point-in-time Restore, a new recovery feature designed to quickly roll back a system to a previous good working state.

The feature works automatically and creates restore points that include settings, files, and apps using the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), allowing you to recover your computer when an issue arises.

Point-in-time Restore comes enabled by default in the Home and Pro editions of the operating system. However, the system must have at least 200GB of storage.

You can always control the feature in Settings > System > Recovery by using the "View or edit" button. On the page, you can turn the recovery feature on or off, configure the restore point frequency and retention, and decide how much storage the feature uses.

At the bottom, the feature will also notice the most recent restore points.

If something is working correctly, you can always access the feature from the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), and from the "Point-in-time Restore" page, select the restore point to recover your device.

Screen tint accessibility feature

In this update, the company is also rolling out Screen tint. This accessibility feature applies an overlay color on the screen designed to reduce eye strain and improve viewing comfort.

The feature is available in Settings > Accessibility > Screen tint. Once enabled, you can choose from one of the six preset color overlays or create a custom color.

In addition, there is a slider to control the overlay strength.

While the Screen tint feature seems similar to the Night Light feature, they are different, and they can work alongside each other. However, this feature automatically turns off Color filters and vice versa.

Windows Update new controls

Windows Update is getting a major upgrade. In this release, Microsoft is adding the ability to pause updates indefinitely, which seems to be the closest we'll get to completely turning off automatic updates.

As part of the changes, the "Pause updates" option now includes a calendar view that lets you pause automatic updates for up to 35 days. However, you can re-pause updates as many times as you want.

The only caveat is that if you want to postpone updates for more than 35 days, you'll need to manually pause them again. Otherwise, the system will download and install updates automatically as soon as the scheduled expiration expires.

Widgets with less distracting defaults

The company is trying to make the experience quieter and less distracting.

Widgets now open directly to the dashboard on first use, with hover activation disabled and notifications and Taskbar badges minimized by default.

The experience also offers more control over notifications and personalization settings, allowing users to customize Widgets from the Settings menu.

The dashboard icons can display the number of alerts, while badges clear automatically after leaving the dashboard. Microsoft notes that some settings will continue to adapt based on usage patterns to help limit interruptions.

This update also includes improvements to reliability, responsiveness, and overall visual quality across the Widgets experience.

Windows Magnifier improvements

In a continued effort to improve accessibility features, the software giant is also updating the Magnifier with more granular controls, allowing you to enter exact percentage values rather than having to use the zoom buttons to increase or decrease the zoom level.

Also, in the settings flyout, the zoom adjustment now allows users to set increments up to 400 percent.

Printer default changes

Starting with the quality update for July 2026, the operating system will install printers by default using the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP), provided the device is supported.

If you prefer to revert this configuration, open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, and turn off the "Default install printer using Windows Ready Print" option.

Location settings improvements

Microsoft is making location settings easier to understand in Settings > Privacy & Security > Location.

When location services are turned off, options such as "Default location" and "Allow location override" no longer appear active, since apps and services cannot access location data.

As a result, these settings will now be greyed out until location services are enabled, helping clarify when the options are available and reducing confusion.

File Explorer improvements

After installing this quality update, you'll notice that File Explorer will launch faster thanks to new speed improvements.

Also, on the Home page, when hovering over files, users who are logged in with a work or school account should now see options like "Open file location" and "Ask Copilot."

In addition, the address bar now supports paths with double backslashes and quotation marks, making it easier to paste or type folder paths from different sources.

Continuing with the improvements to the address bar, the experience now closes more reliably after selecting an option. Finally, File Explorer improves its ability to rename files.

Bluetooth changes

Microsoft is rolling out a series of Bluetooth improvements focused on reliability, compatibility, and audio performance.

For example, Windows 11 now keeps the microphone mute status synchronized between the system audio controls and Bluetooth headphones that include dedicated mute buttons or indicators, providing a more consistent experience during calls.

The update also improves compatibility with certain audio accessories. For instance, AirPods should enter pairing mode faster, and Beats Studio Pro headphones should offer more reliable microphone performance.

Voice calls on devices that support the Hands-Free Profile (HFP) should be more reliable. LE Audio accessories can begin playing audio faster while the microphone is active, and Windows 11 stability has been improved for some systems affected by Bluetooth-related driver issues.

The operating system will no longer incorrectly display a "Remove failed" message when a Bluetooth device cannot be removed because the Bluetooth radio is unavailable or has changed since the device was paired.

In addition, the "Bluetooth & devices" settings page has been updated to provide a more stable and consistent experience.

Connection reliability has also been enhanced. Classic Bluetooth audio devices can reconnect more quickly after a computer resumes from hibernation. At the same time, LE Audio accessories should maintain more reliable connections when switching between devices and recover more smoothly from temporary disconnections.

Phone Link improvements

Microsoft is improving how phone calls are handled between Windows 11 and a connected smartphone through Phone Link.

When you place a call from your paired phone, the audio will stay on the phone while it rings, then switch to the computer only after you answer the call on Windows 11.

This change helps prevent audio from switching between devices unexpectedly before the call connects.

The update also improves the "Do Not Disturb" experience. When Do Not Disturb is enabled, incoming calls from a connected phone will no longer ring through the computer, reducing interruptions while you're working.

Voice Typing and Voice Access

As you speak, Voice Typing and Voice Access can now refine the text in real time. In addition, the feature improves its capability to adapt to background noise. However, this is only available for Copilot+ PCs.

Furthermore, Voice Access and Voice Typing are now available in German, Spanish, and French.

Networking changes

The software giant is introducing several networking improvements focused on reliability, performance, and virtualization.

For virtualized environments, Confidential Virtual Machines (CVMs) now use SR-IOV hardware acceleration by default to improve network performance. At the same time, a networking configuration issue affecting nested Hyper-V setups has been fixed to ensure virtual machines are provisioned correctly.

The update also enhances the reliability of the networking stack. It reduces some Wi-Fi-related blue screen errors, improves cellular (WWAN) connectivity, and adds better support for IPv6-based VPN connections.

In addition, Microsoft has improved compatibility with certain third-party VPN solutions and server configurations that use SR-IOV networking. Network adapter settings and bindings are now also preserved during operating system upgrades, helping prevent networking configurations from being reset after an operating system update.

Touchpad changes

If you use a compatible touchpad, there's a touchpad customization option that lets you adjust the size of the bottom-right right-click area.

In Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad, you can choose between "Default," "Small," "Medium," or "Large" to control how much of the touchpad responds to a one-finger right-click.

This feature is available only on devices with a pressable touchpad surface. If your computer manufacturer provides touchpad customization through its own software, the system will display a "Custom" option to reflect those settings.

Windows Central's Take

I find it interesting that one of the biggest additions in this update is a feature designed to help when Windows 11 breaks rather than when everything is working perfectly.

Microsoft has spent the last few years talking a lot about AI, Copilot, and new experiences, but Point-in-time Restore addresses a much more fundamental problem. Every user eventually runs into a bad update, problematic driver, or software conflict. When that happens, recovery tools suddenly become far more important than whatever new feature was added to the Start menu.

The Windows Update changes also stand out to me because they give users a little more breathing room. The software giant clearly isn't interested in letting people permanently turn off updates, but repeatedly extending the pause period feels like a practical compromise between security and user control.

As for the rest of the update, I see it as evidence that Microsoft is continuing to chip away at long-standing annoyances. Faster File Explorer performance, Bluetooth reliability improvements, and less intrusive Widgets aren't headline-grabbing changes. However, they're often the updates that have the biggest impact on how the system feels after months of daily use.

Which feature in the July 2026 update are you most looking forward to trying on Windows 11? Let me know in the comments.

More resources

Explore more in-depth how-to guides, troubleshooting advice, and essential tips to get the most out of Windows 11 and 10. Start browsing here:

• Windows 11 on Windows Central — All you need to know
• Windows 10 on Windows Central — All you need to know

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

In case you didn't notice (I'm joking, because you definitely did), PC gaming has become a painfully expensive hobby. Amazon Prime Day is supposed to help offset that with massive discounts, but does it really count when it brings components back to near-MSRP levels? We take what we can get, I suppose.

Either way, it's difficult to recommend building your own PC from scratch right now. If you've never tried it, the anxiety of handling now-overinflated RAM will surely feel worse than ever — and that's one of the easiest parts to install. On the bright side, iBUYPOWER has some merciful discounts on pre-builts.

A pre-built gaming PC is just easier

Yeah, I might get some pushback from die-hard gaming PC builders, but I don't have any qualms with a pre-built option. I've been there — installing a CPU for the first time, losing my mind about installing thermal paste correctly (just a pea-sized amount, guys), and stressed about RAM profiles alongside other BIOS options. You don't have to do any of it.

Installing and setting up Windows 11 is the same wherever you go, and iBUYPOWER's decision to ship graphics cards (GPUs) separately isn't as intimidating as it looks. They slot in just like an old-school game cartridge and hold in place with a few screws. That's really all there is to it, and each rig comes with clear instructions anyway. I'd know, I tested a Trace X PC earlier this year. Treat yourself, PC gaming is the best.

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