computer hacks

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computer hacks

RAM Prices Got You Down? Try DDR3. Seriously!

January 20, 2026 by 5 Comments

DDR3 seemed plenty fast when it first showed up 19 years ago. Who could say no to 6400 Mb/s transfer speeds? Of course compared to the modern DDR5 that’s glacially slow, but given that RAM is worth its weight in gold these days– with even DDR4 spiking in price– some people, like [Gheeotine], are asking “can you game on DDR3“? The answer is a shocking yes.

[Gheeotine] builds two budget-friendly PCs for this video, using some of the newest DD3-supporting motherboards available. That’s not exactly new: we’re talking 12 to 15 years old, but hey, not old enough to drive. We certainly didn’t expect to hear about an x79 motherboard hosting an Ivy Bridge processor in 2026, but needs must when the devil dances. The only concession to modernity is the graphics cards: the x79 mobo got an RX6600XT 8GB, and the other build, using a z97 motherboard got an NVIDIA RTX 4060. The z97 motherboard allowed a slightly newer processor, as well, an i7 4790, with the new and exciting Haswell architecture you may have heard of. Both boards are maxed out on RAM, because at less than one USD/GB, why not?

[Gheeotine] puts a few new titles through their paces on these boxen, and while the results aren’t amazing, everything he tries comes out playable, which is amazing in and of itself. Well, playable unless you’re one of those people who can’t stand playing at resolutions under 4K or FPS under 100. Those of who spent their formative years with 29.7 FPS or 25 FPS in NTSC or PAL regions aren’t going to complain too loudly if frame rates dip down into the 30s playing at 1080p for some of the more demanding titles. Ironically, one of those was the five-year-old Crysis Remastered. Given the age of some of this hardware “Can it Run Crysis” is a perfectly reasonable question, and the answer is still yes.

If you want modern games, you’re much better off with a z97 chipset motherboard if you chose to go the DDR3 route, since you won’t run into issues related to the AVX2 instruction, which first appeared with the Haswell microarchitecture. Here at Hackaday our preferred solution to the rampocalypse is software optimization, Since holding your breath for that would probably be fatal, cost-optimizing PC builds is probably a good plan, even if some might balk at going all the way back to DDR3.

Of course if you’re going to use nearly-retro hardware like DDR3, you might as well go all-out on retro vibes with a nostalgic 80s-style, or even 50s-style case. 

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A Petabyte NAS Using Consumer-Grade Parts

January 17, 2026 by 35 Comments

Self-hosting a few services on one’s own hardware is a great way to wrest some control over your online presence while learning a lot about computers, software, and networking. A common entry point is using an old computer or Raspberry Pi to get something like a small NAS, DNS-level adblocker, or home automation service online, but the hobby can quickly snowball to server-grade hardware in huge racks. [Dennis] is well beyond this point, with a rack-mounted NAS already up and running. This build expands his existing NAS to one which can host a petabyte of storage out of consumer-grade components.

The main reason for building this without relying too much on server-grade gear is that servers are generally designed to run in their own purpose-built rooms away from humans, and as a result don’t generally take much consideration for how loud that environment becomes. [Dennis] is building a lot of the components from scratch for this build including the case, the backplanes for the drives, and a backplane tester. With backplanes installed it’s time to hook up all of the data connections thanks to a few SAS expanders which provide all of the SATA connections for the 45 drives.

There are two power supplies here as well, although unlike a server solution these aren’t redundant and each only serves half the drives. This does keep it running quieter, along with a series of Noctua fans that cool the rest of the rack. The build finishes off with an LED strip which provides a quick visual status check for each of the drives in the bay. With that it’s ready for drives and to be connected to the network. It’s a ton of wiring and soldering, and great if you don’t want to use noisy server hardware. And, if you don’t need this much space or power, we’ve seen some NAS builds that are a bit on the smaller side as well.

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Project Fail: Cracking A Laptop BIOS Password Using AI

January 15, 2026 by 47 Comments

Whenever you buy used computers there is a risk that they come with unpleasant surprises that are not of the insect variant. From Apple hardware that is iCloud-locked with the original owner MIA to PCs that have BIOS passwords, some of these are more severe than others. In the case of BIOS passwords, these tend to be more of an annoyance that’s easily fixed by clearing the CMOS memory, but this isn’t always the case as [Casey Bralla] found with a former student-issued HP ProBook laptop purchased off Facebook Marketplace.

Maybe it’s because HP figured that locking down access to the BIOS is essential on systems that find their way into the hands of bored and enterprising students, but these laptops write the encrypted password and associated settings to a separate Flash memory. Although a master key purportedly exists, HP’s policy here is to replace the system board. Further, while there are some recovery options that do not involve reflashing this Flash memory, they require answers to recovery questions.

This led [Casey] to try brute-force cracking, starting with a Rust-based project on GitHub that promised much but failed to even build. Undeterred, he tasked the Claude AI to write a Python script to do the brute-forcing via the Windows-based HP BIOS utility. The chatbot was also asked to generate multiple lists of unique passwords to try that might be candidates based on some human guesses.

Six months later of near-continuous attempts at nine seconds per try, this method failed to produce a hit, but at least the laptop can still be used, just without BIOS access. This may require [Casey] to work up the courage to do some hardware hacking and erase that pesky UEFI BIOS administrator password, proving at least that apparently it’s fairly good BIOS security.

Play Games In UEFI…to Access Your Computer

January 9, 2026 by 15 Comments

These days, bootstrapping a computer is a pretty straight forward process, at least as far as the user is concerned. But in the olden days, one would have to manually flick switches entering binary code to get the computer to boot. While certainly not as painstaking as manually flipping bits, these games written for UEFI systems hearken back to the days when accessing your computer was a touch more complicated than pressing a power button.

The repository features five games ranging from a falling ball maze to an age verification quiz. The one thing they all have in common is that to complete system boot, you need to win. All are available in UEFI modules which can not only run in QEMU virtual machines, but bare metal if you so choose.

In no particular order, the games featured are a User Evaluation For Ineptness, which presents a simple addition problem for the user to complete. Insult Sword Fighting, which requires the user to select the correct come back to a prompted insult. Fall To Boot, a falling ball maze navigation game. Age Verification, a set of questions about 80s culture to prove the user is old enough to use the computer. And finally, UEFI Says, a simple memory game.

All of these games are fairly simple, but it’s rather fun to see them built using EDK II as a UEFI module. Let us know down in the comments which is your favorite. And if you’re running an ARM computer, you too can join in on the fun!

Thanks [thatsgrand] for the tip!

 

 

Scientific staff members working on the computing machine Setun

The Setun Was A Ternary Computer From The USSR In 1958

January 3, 2026 by 47 Comments

[Codeolences] tells us about the FORBIDDEN Soviet Computer That Defied Binary Logic. The Setun, the world’s first ternary computer, was developed at Moscow State University in 1958. Its troubled and short-lived history is covered in the video. The machine itself uses “trits” (ternary digits) instead of “bits” (binary digits).

When your digits have three discrete values there are a multiplicity of ways of assigning meaning to each state, and the Setun uses a system known as balanced ternary where each digit can be either -1, 0, or 1 and otherwise uses a place-value system in the normal way.

An interesting factoid that comes up in the video is that base-3 (also known as radix-3) is the maximally efficient way to represent numbers because three is the closest integer to the natural growth constant, the base of the natural logarithm, e, which is approximately 2.718 ≈ 3.

If you’re interested to know more about ternary computing check out There Are 10 Kinds Of Computers In The World and Building The First Ternary Microprocessor.

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Benchmarking Windows Against Itself, From Windows XP To Windows 11

January 2, 2026 by 94 Comments

Despite faster CPUs, RAM and storage, today’s Windows experience doesn’t feel noticeably different from back in the 2000s when XP and later Windows 7 ruled the roost. To quantify this feeling, [TrigrZolt] decided to run a series of benchmarks on a range of Windows versions.

Covering Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8.1, 10 and 11, the Pro version of each with the latest service packs and updates was installed on the same laptop: a Lenovo ThinkPad X220. It features an Intel i5 2520M CPU, 8 GB of RAM, built-in Intel HD Graphics 3000 and a 256 GB HDD.

For start-up, Windows 8.1 won the race, probably due to having the Fast Boot feature, while Windows 11 came in dead last as it showed the desktop, but struggled to show the task bar. Windows XP’s install size was the smallest and also had the lowest RAM usage with nothing loaded at 800 MB versus 3.3 GB for Windows 11 in last place.

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3D Printed PC Case Focuses On Ease Of Access

December 26, 2025 by 24 Comments

There are all kinds of fun, glowing PC cases on the market these days. However, if you want something that focuses on serviceability over flash while still looking stylish, you might like the Makeyo MK01. It’s a PC case that you can print yourself, and [Marst_art] has published a video on what it’s like to whip one up at home.

The MK01 is assembled from lots of smaller parts, so the components can be made on any 3D printer that has a print area of 210 x 210 mm or more. All the outer panels are affixed to the main chassis with magnets, which makes servicing easy. You can just pop off panels when you need to get inside without undoing any fasteners or clips.

Plus, the cool thing about the MK01 is that since you’re printing it yourself, you can easily make whatever mods you like prior to printing it out. [Marst_art] notes that he threw in a USB-C port to the front panel for easy access, and a few internal mounts for 2.5″ SSDs. He also made some mods to the power switch assembly. It also bears noting—you get to choose your own color scheme when you make one of these. This level of customization is something you simply don’t get when you buy off the shelf!

[Marst_art]’s video is a useful guide if you’re planning to undertake such a build yourself. It outlines what it’s like to actually print one of these things on a consumer printer, and how the settings will influence the final look and feel. It’s worth noting that you’ll probably want to print this in ABS or another filament that can handle high heat, unless you’re building a very cool running machine.

It’s not just a great looking case, it’s a highly functional one, too. Files are available on Printables if you’d like to make your own. We’ve featured other printed cases before, too.

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