This previous-generation machine still chugs along, and you'll save a bunch of cash. All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links. If you need a lightweight laptop with some gaming chops, last year's model of the Asus TUF Gaming A14 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is currently marked down to just $900 at Walmart . This budget-friendly laptop was already a good choice at its original price, and is even more appealing when it's discounted to under $1,000.

Fine-tuning large language models (LLMs) with parameter-efficient techniques such as LoRA and QLoRA has enabled adaptation of foundation models on modest hardware. Yet the efficiency of such training on consumer-grade GPUs, especially under strict 8 GB VRAM limits, remains underexplored. We present a controlled profiling study of LoRA/QLoRA fine-tuning using the Qwen2.5-1.5B-Instruct model on a single NVIDIA RTX 4060. Across three representative configurations, we systematically vary batch size, sequence length, optimizer choice (AdamW vs. PagedAdamW), and precision (fp16 vs. bf16). We report throughput (tokens/s), time per 10k tokens, and VRAM footprint, alongside energy estimates derived from GPU board power limits. Our results show that paged optimizers improve throughput by up to 25% (628 tok/s vs. 500 tok/s baseline), while bf16 degrades efficiency relative to fp16. Despite 8 GB constraints, sequence lengths up to 2048 tokens were feasible using parameter-efficient strategies. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic case study of LLM fine-tuning efficiency on consumer GPUs, providing reproducible benchmarks and practical guidelines for resource-constrained researchers and practitioners.

Intel's second-generation Xe2 Arc GPUs are real, and once again, they could be compelling options for gamers looking for capable video cards under 250. Confirming leaks from the past week, Intel today unveiled the 249 Arc B580 and the slightly less capable 219 B570, both of which target 1,440p gaming. They feature the company's new XeSS2 AI capabilities (which are also coming to the older Arc cards), including Super Resolution upscaling (like the original XeSS), frame generation and low latency modes. The goal, according to Intel, is to deliver more performance per dollar compared to NVIDIA's 299 RTX 4060 and AMD's Radeon 7600. It's a noble pitch, but one that's also a repeat of what Intel attempted with its previous Arc GPUs.

The Acer Nitro 14 delivers great RTX 4060-powered gaming performance at a low retail price. This machine makes many compromises to keep the price down, but they're all reasonable. The Acer Nitro 14 is a gaming laptop that's all about value. I have a soft spot for this type of laptop: Expensive gaming laptops are impressive, but you don't have to spend a lot of money for a great gaming experience. There's something beautiful about any laptop that delivers solid performance at a low price. But you'll have to accept some compromises to keep the price down.

The GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB brings Nvidia's awesome DLSS 3 mainstream, but offers disappointing value as an upgrade to the 3060 Ti and as a standalone 1080p gaming option in 2023. Technical decisions also make it unappealing for 1440p gamers, unlike its predecessor. At first blush, Nvidia's $399 GeForce RTX 4060 Ti (8GB) looks like it should be a smashing success. Its predecessor, 2020's $399 GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, was one of the best GPUs in a strong RTX 30-series generation, offering impeccable 1080p and spectacular 1440p gaming performance at a reasonable price. The new RTX 4060 Ti sticks to the same price while weaving in Nvidia's latest killer RTX 40-series features, like DLSS 3, Reflex, RTX Video Super Resolution, best-in-class ray tracing, AV1 encoding, stunning power efficiency, and more. Nvidia made technical decisions--reducing core counts and altering the memory subsystem--that allow the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti to scream at 1080p resolution but make it unappealing for 1440p gaming.