Alex Wawro

Nobody says you have to play by Valve's rules In summary: PCWorld explores custom DIY PC builds as superior alternatives to Steam Machines, with builds starting at $1,050 despite current high component costs.

Now is a great time to take 10 minutes and upgrade your PC setup so you can suffer less pain down the road. In summary:

3 ways to get free Kindle books In summary: PCWorld reveals three effective methods for obtaining free Kindle books legally, including Amazon's hidden free section, library apps, and public domain sources.

Being a PC nerd isn't always about desktop parts. Sometimes the smallest conveniences — like this laptop stand — are nerd-worthy too. In summary:

7 months with Kensington's latest trackball mouse Some of us here at PCWorld really liked Kensington's chunky Expert Mouse TB800 EQ because

Cleaning out your PC case is a chore you should be doing regularly, but the question of what to use (and how to use it) can have serious consequences for your PC hardware. Do you prefer to blow air out, vacuum it out, or both?

From better window management to faster file previews, PowerToys makes Windows easier to use in ways Microsoft still hasn't built in.

A strange little hacker gadget reminded me that confusion, failure, and experimentation were always the best parts of building computers.

A GPU vendor warns price hikes are coming later this year, and I can't help wondering if that means now is the right time to pull the trigger.

Who knew the peach emoji could be so powerful? In a past life there was a PCWorld print magazine, and I wrote a monthly column for it.