Paul Lilly
Paul is a seasoned geek who was first seduced into the world of computers and technology by the Commodore 64, and through the years he’s courted a number of OSes and platforms from DOS on up to the latest version of Windows. Having joined the HotHardware team in 2011, Paul is now a mainstay of the site covering the news beat and reviews, and resident wiseguy who keeps the mood light. He’s also an experienced freelance technology writer whose work has appeared in a number of online and print publications.
Opinions and content posted by HotHardware contributors are their own.
Recent posts
So here's the deal—Black Friday and Cyber Monday discounts will arrive in earnest very soon. Retailers are in the habit of pushing out holiday bargains increasingly early every year, so barring a generous return or exchange window, you want to be careful on what you splurge on. That said, there are some tantalizing...
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In a surprise move, Western Digital is splitting its hard disk drive (HDD) and flash memory storage businesses into separate companies, effectively spinning off its solid state drive (SSD) division. The move comes around the eight-year anniversary of when Western Digital announced plans to acquire SanDisk for $19...
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Much to the dismay of gamers who own certain third-party controllers and peripherals, Microsoft has begun actively blocking unauthorized accessories on its Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S game consoles. If you own an affected product and try using it with your Xbox console, you may run into error code 0x82d6002, which...
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It's only a matter of time before Intel introduces 14th Gen Core Raptor Lake Refresh processors for mobile (laptops) just it recently did on the desktop. We must be getting close, too, considering the leaked benchmark runs that are now popping up. The most recent one points to an upcoming ASUS ROG Strix Scar 16 gaming...
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If you're a frequent visitor of our site, then you may have caught our all-out PC build guide for playing Alan Wake 2 at max settings. One thing we didn't touch on, however, is the display—we kept the focus on the game's bone-crunching hardware requirements, particularly at the high end. It's an expensive build for...
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This is the last weekend before Halloween, which means stores will fully pivot from spooky decorations to Thanksgiving and Christmas-themed displays (which are already up, naturally). Before that happens, however, you can bolster your PC games library with some scary titles. Additionally, Blizzard Entertainment is...
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There has been a lot of talk about Arm encroaching onto x86 territory (more so than it already has), especially on the heels of Qualcomm unveiling its Snapdragon X Elite platform, which is perhaps the biggest threat to x86's dominance to date. Don't tell that Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, though. While addressing Intel's...
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Up until now, ASUS has resisted releasing a GeForce RTX 40 series graphics card as part of its TUF White series. That just changed, however, with the introduction of the TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti White OC Edition with a dazzling "draped in moonlight" aesthetic. Just be sure to keep a can of compressed air and/or...
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Apple TV+ is home to some legitimately great content, not the least of which is Ted Lasso, For All Mankind, and The Morning Show. The series Severance, winner of two Emmy awards, is worthy of binging as well. It also felt like a steal at $6.99 per month plus frequent promotions (and a free trial if you're new)...
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TP-Link is pushing out a new Wi-Fi 7 router, the Archer BE550 (model BE9300) that it hopes will put upgrading to the latest wireless protocol "within affordability range of the typical tech consumer." That doesn't mean it's cheap—you're looking at dropping $299.99 for this thing. But it's at least on par with high-end...
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It seems as though everyone and their uncle is making gaming monitors now, and before you shout, 'Yeah, but not Thermaltake!', well guess what? It does as well. Thermaltake's introductory gaming displays actually broke cover a few weeks ago, but now they're formally announced. There are two of them, one of which is a...
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Intel announced it is advancing its semiconductor technology facilities at its Gordon Moore Park campus in Hillsboro, Oregon. The chip maker views the expansion as an important step towards regaining process technology leadership by 2025, which has been one of Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger's main goals when he returned to...
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Horror fans will get to see if Alan Wake II lives up to the hype when the game releases later this week. In the meantime, gamers who own an Intel Arc graphics card can download the latest Arc driver, version 31.0.101.4900, for a purportedly substantial performance gain at both 1080p and 1440p resolutions, according to...
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Starting a business and having it be successful is incredibly difficult. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang acknowledged as much in a recent interview in which he shared some candid remarks about what it was like like being a budding entrepreneur. The most surprising tidbit, however, came when he revealed that if he could take a...
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Back in the old days, it wasn't uncommon to bestow a drop of blood (or more) inside a gaming PC as a sort of accidental sacrifice—many of those beige towers from yesteryear had sharp edges on their metal panels and it was easy to gash your finger. Fast forward a few decades and Blizzard is giving away a Diablo...
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If you live by the mantra 'Go big or go home' when it comes to shopping for a TV, then you're going to go bananas over a huge discount on Hisense's 100-inch behemoth. Hisense took a machete and swiftly cut the price in half, putting it in semi-reasonable territory. And what's more, beyond just being a massive TV, it's...
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Pricing on solid state drives (SSDs) has fallen so precipitously over the past couple of years that it's easy to forget how volatile the market can be. We're about to be reminded, according to TrendForce, which says client SSDs are on track to shoot up anywhere from 8-13% by the end of the year. The guidance comes...
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We're over a week removed from Amazon's second Prime Day event but what's arguably one of the best gaming deals around is only just now surfacing. It's for an ASUS TUF Gaming laptop configuration that's sitting pretty with a GeForce RTX 4070 GPU inside, and if you can find a gaming laptop with the same GPU for a lower...
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Seagate is adding its FireCuda 520N to the relatively small but growing pile of M.2 2230 form factor solid state drives (SSDs) that fit neatly inside compact handheld PC game consoles like the Steam Deck. Available in 1TB and 2TB capacities, the FireCuda 520N offers more storage space than what the Steam Deck and ASUS...
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Samsung is expanding its partnership with Batteries Plus to offer authorized, in-warranty repairs at select locations. The big benefit for Galaxy device owners is potentially having access to faster service when something breaks, including same-day repairs in some cases. For those who live near a Batteries Plus...
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NVIDIA and Hon Hai Technology Group, otherwise known as Foxconn, jointly announced plans develop a new class of data centers and systems designed to "accelerate the AI revolution." It's the latest strategic move by NVIDIA to capitalize on the burgeoning market for AI hardware and applications, where the firm has...
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Remember when Netflix was a DVD-by-mail subscription service? It recently shipped its last DVD after successfully pivoting into a streaming juggernaut, and for its next trick, Netflix has set its sights set on getting into gaming in a big way. Efforts are already underway, though Netflix is apparently wanting to make...
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