Key Takeaways
- Both NVMe and portable SSDs offer massive speed boosts over hard drives.
- Noise-canceling headphones can reignite your love for music with premium sound quality.
- Gaming handhelds can easily become the device you spend the most time with.
- OLED TVs, aftermarket Wi-Fi routers, and fitness trackers can transform your daily tech usage.
Shopping for tech products often descends into days and weeks of research and confusion, and sometimes, disappointing purchases. It doesn’t help that there are just so many different kinds of products vying for your attention. From the best laptops and gaming PCs to the best graphics cards and smartphones, the average consumer will buy a lot of technology in their lifetime. While many of these items end up being useless after the honeymoon period, some tech investments can affect your life in significant and meaningful ways.
I’ve experienced this myself after spending time with many of the products I’m going to list below. Before I had them, I could never imagine how big of an impact they’d have on my daily tech usage. Suffice it to say that these products could be the best tech investments of your life.
Related
6 old budget devices that I still use today
The allure of new gadgets never gets old, but I still love to use some of my older devices
10 NVMe SSD: It’s about time
SATA got nothing on it
This is priority number one if you still haven’t upgraded to a device with an NVMe SSD. Compared to conventional hard drives, even a SATA SSD is significantly faster, but the best NVMe drives take things to a completely different level. Consider this: a SATA SSD tops out at around 500-600 MB/s while even the slowest PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD cruises at around 2,000 MB/s — four times faster than its SATA counterpart. Plus, the most recommended PCIe 4.0 SSDs don’t cost a lot either.
An NVMe SSD is the biggest performance boost you can give your PC.
This extra speed isn’t just for benchmarks or synthetic workloads. You can actually feel the difference yourself when booting Windows, opening applications, running games, and transferring files. Today’s fastest SSDs, the high-end Gen5 drives, have touched 14,000 MB/s read speeds. It’s mind-boggling how far storage speed has come in such a short span of time. Needless to say, an NVMe SSD is the biggest performance boost you can give your PC. You have to see it to believe it.
Related
SSD vs HDD in 2024: What kind of storage do you really need?
While both SSDs and HDDs have their use cases, you might need more storage than you think you do
9 Noise-canceling headphones: They’re worth it
I rediscovered my love for music
Around the time I completed my MBA, I just fell out of love with music. It’s just that other stuff took priority — playing on my gaming PC, watching TV, reading books, and playing tennis. I never had free time when I’d consider just listening to my old favorite songs. But, after mulling a Sony WH-1000XM4 purchase for months, and finally getting it at a great price, I dove right back in. It was as if I had never abandoned my love of music.
During the first few days with the headphones, I used them literally everywhere I went.
The level of noise-cancellation on the XM4 was so beyond anything I had ever experienced on my budget earphones and headphones. During the first few days with the headphones, I used them literally everywhere I went. Be it at the mall, walking down the street, or commuting to work, I couldn’t have enough of the pristine sound and noise-canceling effect. Plus, the bonus features like wear detection, touch controls, and adaptive sound control exponentially heightened the value I obtained.
If you haven’t used these yet, the best noise-canceling headphones can easily become some of your most prized possessions.
Related
Sony WH-1000XM5 vs. AirPods Max: Which over-ears will keep you tuned in so you can chill out?
The AirPods Max and Sony WH-1000XM5 are both high-end, over-ear headphones but which pair comes out on top?
8 Mechanical keyboard: Reward your fingers and ears
It’s the thock that counts
A mechanical keyboard is probably not on your Amazon wishlist. But believe me, it should be. Once you use a mechanical keyboard, you can never go back to a membrane one. They’re so different from each other at a fundamental level that you just can’t compare the two. There are many reasons why I love mechanical keyboards, but in a nutshell, they not only offer you highly satisfying feedback when typing, but also sound heavenly when they’re built well.
Adding a mechanical keyboard to your setup will keep you hooked to your desk as you won’t get tired of typing on it.
The best mechanical keyboards will offer you features like customizable switches, seamless wireless connectivity, RGB lighting (if you’re a fan), and various size options. Adding a mechanical keyboard to your setup will keep you hooked to your desk as you won’t get tired of typing on it. If you’re into modding, the simplest mods for mechanical keyboards can help you further improve the experience to your liking by adding foam, changing keycaps and switches, or lubing switches and stabilizers.
Related
Beginner’s guide to mechanical keyboards: Switches, keycaps, form factors, and more
Ready to buy or build your new mechanical keyboard and enter the rabbit hole?
7 Handheld gaming console: The new way to play
You might even love it more than your PC or PS5
The age of beefy handheld gaming consoles is upon us. From retro portable consoles to full-fledged PC replacements, you can pick what you please. A handheld is not meant to replace your traditional PC or console experience, but it’s possible that you might find yourself playing the most on your smallest gaming device (aside from your phone). The best PC gaming handhelds let you play your entire Steam library on a portable, 7-inch powerhouse.
If you’ve been on the fence about buying a handheld, try playing on a friend’s device to see how you like it.
The Steam Deck OLED is probably the safest choice for most new handheld buyers, but if you’re a Nintendo fan, the Switch OLED has got you covered. Even Android handhelds are getting crazy popular these days. If you’ve been on the fence about buying a handheld, try playing on a friend’s device to see how you like it. That’s what I did, and I can’t wait to get myself a Steam Deck soon.
Related
Big gaming handhelds are ruining the point
With gaming handhelds having increasingly bigger screens, the portability is going away. It’s time to slow down.
6 Lightweight laptop: Game-changing for productivity
You won’t hesitate to carry it around
I generally hate working on laptops. I’ve always had bulky 15-inch laptops that weighed a ton and looked terrible. I used them for years during my master’s degree and then a corporate stint. The first moment I got a chance to change it up after that, I built myself a gaming PC and retired my laptop. But, after seeing some of the best 13-inch laptops on the market, I’m tempted to grab one. But I just can’t justify the investment yet.
A sleek and easy-to-carry machine can be the difference between being chained to your PC and breezing through documents while admiring the scenery on a train ride.
But it could be different for you. I work exclusively on my PC, but if you’re in the habit of working from a café or while traveling, a fast and lightweight laptop could be just what you need to boost your productivity. One of the MacBook Air models or Windows convertibles could be great options for you. A sleek and easy-to-carry machine can be the difference between being chained to your PC and breezing through documents while admiring the scenery on a train ride.
Related
MacBook Air (M3, 2024) vs HP Spectre x360 14 (2024): Should you go clamshell or hybrid?
The M3 MacBook Air offers a performance boost, but is it worth getting over the excellent Spectre x360 14?
5 OLED TV: Once you go there…
The pinnacle of image quality
Your TV is something you spend a lot of time with — streaming Netflix, watching YouTube videos, or chewing through your local media collection. Most of us probably own a large-sized, smart LED TV that does the job. But, what if you could unlock a whole new TV viewing experience with a stunning OLED screen? The kind of rich, deep blacks and punchy contrast that OLED TVs are capable of is not something you will experience on other panels, except perhaps on the newest Mini-LED TVs.
And once you see the kind of image quality these OLEDs deliver, you’ll find that the investment is worth it.
Buying one of the best OLED TVs is a significant investment, currently around $1,250 for a 55-inch LG C2 — but you’re buying it for the long haul. Once you see the kind of image quality these OLEDs deliver, you’ll find that the investment is well worth it.
Related
Can you use a TV as a computer monitor?
If any screen comes with an HDMI port, it can act as an alternative or second computer monitor.
4 Dedicated streaming device: I’m talking Apple TV 4K
Ditch the crappy smart TV experience
Smart TVs can do a lot, but inevitably, every model reaches the same destination: sluggish performance causing you frustration. My 55-inch Hisense TV has unfortunately followed this trajectory too, becoming a crawling mess just 2 years after I bought it. The easiest way to solve this issue is to buy one of the best streaming devices on the market, the Apple TV 4K.
The 3rd generation of Apple’s streaming box features the A15 Bionic chip seen on the iPhone 13 and 14 series phones, which is responsible for its buttery-smooth UI and overall performance. You’ll struggle to find a comparable TV viewing experience on even the best streaming devices. The Apple TV 4K 3rd gen costs a lot more than any other competitor, but it’s also leagues ahead of them in quality. I’m just waiting for June to come around, when we’ll see if Apple finally launches a 4th gen device. If not, I’ll be buying the 3rd gen model in a heartbeat.
Related
How to adjust the video quality on Apple TV
Ensure you’re using the optimum settings on your Apple TV.
3 Aftermarket Wi-Fi Router: Upgrade your ISP router
Get the most out of your Wi-FI
Although you’re already using a Wi-Fi router with your internet connection, it’s probably not the most ideal one. Your ISP-provided router is almost always pretty basic and only enough to deliver the advertised speed of your connection. By upgrading your ISP router, you can get rid of the network congestion typically seen in apartments, get access to triple bands for your newer devices, and enhance network performance when gaming.
The best Wi-Fi routers range from as low as around $100 to as high as $700. But, for most homes, a $100 or $200 router will be more than enough to upgrade your internet experience compared to what you can get on your ISP router.
Related
If you’re buying a router, these are the specs you need to think about
Buying a router can be complicated, but these are the most important specs to make sure you get the right one.
2 Portable SSD: Speed on the go
Drastically faster than external hard disks
We take blazing-fast speeds for granted on M.2 SSDs in our PCs and laptops, but external drives are still lagging in terms of write speeds. For instance, even the fastest external HDDs only feature max speeds of around 280 MB/s. In contrast, the best portable SSDs can hit around 1,000 MB/s via USB-C 3.2 (Gen 2) and even around 3,000 MB/s via Thunderbolt 3. This places external SSDs in the same class as PCIe 3.0 SSDs — pretty impressive for an external drive.
When you upgrade from slower flash drives and external HDDs to portable SSDs, you’ll never be able to go back.
High transfer speeds become extremely convenient if you’re regularly transferring files from your desktop to your laptop, desktop to TV, or from your home office to your workplace. When you upgrade from slower flash drives and external HDDs to portable SSDs, you’ll never be able to go back.
Related
Samsung T9 Portable SSD review: A great rugged SSD for mobile creators and photographers
Samsung’s T9 Portable SSD is excellent for storing all types of files, becoming great for content creators and professionals
1 Fitness tracker: Gamify your workouts
A small investment for your health
A lot of people (including me) still haven’t warmed up to fitness trackers, either in the best smartwatch category or in the smart band family. If you feel the same, you might want to rethink how a fitness tracker can change the way you look at workouts. By tying your fitness to metrics and leaderboards that you can actually see, you’re likely to view working out as a game instead of a chore.
When you see great numbers on your tracker, you’ll be motivated to work out even more.
This would immediately incentivize you to work out more, boosting the perceived value you get from the smart device as it will report your increased activity numbers. And when you see great numbers on your tracker, you’ll be motivated to work out even more. This feedback loop is bound to keep you disciplined with your workouts. Obviously, a fitness tracker alone wouldn’t magically transform your fitness routine, but it can definitely be a catalyst by gamifying your workouts.
The best tech investments can reap huge rewards
Not every tech product will benefit everyone to the same extent, but I hope that most of the 10 products mentioned above will pique your interest. SSDs can provide your computer with a huge performance boost, and a lightweight laptop can motivate you to work more on the go. Noise-canceling headphones are likely to do wonders for your music-listening experience, just like OLED TVs can do for your enjoyment of movies and shows. Using a new device for the first time, like a PC gaming handheld or a fitness tracker, can open you up to new experiences.