Building an AI workstation is rarely about buying the single fastest component on the market; it is about finding the specific "sweet spot" that fits your workload. Whether you are prioritizing VRAM capacity, PCIe lane availability, or thermal management, the right build depends entirely on how you plan to use your machine. The goal isn't just raw power, but the ability to run the tools you need efficiently.
This is the first article in a new AI Hardware series talking about the requirements for running AI Models and why paying attention to these things can help you build a better AI Workstation. If anything learning why a DGX Spark or Mac Mini work but, can also be really slow.
2026 marks the 30th year for Lexar and they started CES off with an announcement that they were going to be the global storage partner for the Argentina National Football (Soccer) Team and launched a number of AI focused storage devices.
According to CES 2026 material there were over 4100 exhibitors registered to attend along with several unknowns looking to take advantage of CES by hosting their own events in area hotels. It is not practical to see everything but with a good pair of shoes and a crisp Pepsi I attempted to do the impossible.
Pro Gamers Group was available at CES showing of some of the latest products available in their catalog including a number of ultra light mice, a racing chair and some rather impressive GPU waterblocks.
This article is designed to be a start of a multi-part project to highlight some of the current trends in the enthusiast PC industry. Many of these trends are supported by manufacturers and at the forefront is Thermatake.
In this article I discuss the many sides surrounding a watercooled PC. As a hardware enthusiast I feel watercooling is the ultimate mod, it will give you the best performance and looks great
Gigabyte had a really cool meeting room setup this year. As you walked in they had the normal meeting area setup with many of the new and existing products on display nearby. In the center of the room was a broadcast station hosted by Hicookie doing a live overclocking show, both for people in the meeting room and online via their live broadcast.
Cooler Master has been a driving force in case design for years and they are back with an interesting concept they call the makers.
I have met with CyberPowerPC in the past and have been really impressed with their system designs, this year is no exception.
EVGA hit it out of the park this year announcing an entire suite of products from a gaming laptop to a computer case.
darkFlash Explore DE360 @ TechPowerUpAorus X870E Elite X3D Ice Motherboard ReviewCrimson Desert Performance Benchmark ReviewHighPoint Announces Rocket 1604L: The World’s Most Compact PCIe Gen5 x16 Retimer AIC for AI and Industrial EdgeTurboQuant - the Pied Piper Technology for AITurboQuant: Revolutionizing AI Efficiency Through Extreme Compression – A Game Changer for Search and Large Language ModelsBuilding a Multi-GPU AI Workstation on a BudgetGAMEMAX Introduces MAX PB Series ATX 3.1 80PLUS Bronze PSUsCOLORFUL Presents iGame Z890 ULTRA-S W and iGame Z890M ULTRA Z MotherboardsTEAMGROUP Introduces The T-CREATE CLASSIC H514 M.2 PCIe 5.0 SSD