I’m often asked which websites I use the most often throughout my workday.
Well, there are a bunch of great sites that find myself visiting over and over again, and I thought I’d take this opportunity to tell you about a few of them.
Here’s a short list of the six websites I visit most often while researching and writing posts for this tech blog:
1 – Google – I seem to spend at least half of every workday researching the latest and most accurate information I can find on the topics I write about. And I believe it goes without saying that Google is a researcher’s best friend.
For example, many of the tech questions I receive are about hardware upgrades such as “What’s the fastest CPU I can buy for this motherboard?” or “What’s the best video card that will work with a 375 watt power supply?“
Google makes it easy to find good answers to questions like that, and it helps me find them in a hurry!
2 – Crucial – I head over to Crucial when I need to find out what type of RAM a particular computer uses. All I have to do is enter the brand and model of the PC, and voilà…there it is!
What’s more, if a computer comes into my shop for a RAM upgrade I can run Crucial’s handy System Scanner and find out what type of RAM it uses, how many RAM slots are inside, how many RAM sticks are already installed and the maximum amount of RAM the system can use – all without even taking the cover off the case!
3 – TomsHardware – If there’s a single go-to place on the Internet for computer information and assistance, it’s Tom’s Hardware.
The charts and data pages on this site are updated regularly with information on the latest CPUs, video cards and other hardware components, and I can almost always find a forum post discussing most any wacky computer issue that I might not have seen before.
4 – TechRadar – I try my best to keep up with the latest gadgets and cutting-edge technologies, and TechRadar is my go to site for tech news of that sort.
Whether it’s a review of the latest new smartphone or the latest news about the Net Neutrality controversy, TechRadar is likely to have it first (and have it right).
5 – OlderGeeks – Most sites where you can download free software tend to bundle extra add-on software along with their downloads.
And of course the companies that are hawking those add-on programs pay the download sites big bucks for that bundling service.
The problem is the end user ends up installing software they don’t want along with the program they came to download in the first place!
The folks at OlderGeeks take a different approach to earning revenue from their site: They accept donations.
If you download a free program from OlderGeeks and you’re happy with the service, you’re more than welcome to donate a few bucks to help support the site.
But if you aren’t inclined to make a donation, that’s fine too. You’re still welcome to come back at any time and download any other programs you might need or want. No pressure, just an excellent service.
Either way, your downloads will always be malware-free. What’s more, there won’t be any irritating add-on programs attached to their installers either!
6 – Amazon – I know, you’re thinking “Amazon isn’t a tech website!“, and you’re right. But it is a website that I use virtually every day.
Remember how I mentioned above that Crucial is my goto website for quickly gathering all the information I need concerning RAM compatibility?
Well, after I find out what kind of RAM I need to buy, I usually head straight to Amazon and order it. In fact, I order almost all of my tech items from them. This post explains why I absolutely love shopping at Amazon.
There you have it – my top six most-visited tech-related websites.
Bonus tip: If this list had included seven websites instead of six, the seventh one would have been Webopedia, the online encyclopedia for computer and Internet terms. Check it out!