drive

tomshardware.com/pc-components/ssds/4tb-samsung-990-pro-m-2-ssd-falls-27-percent-hits-20-cents-per-gigabyte-our-favorite-high-capacity-pcie-gen-4-drive-is-the-ultimate-storage-for-your-game-library

Oct 21

4TB Samsung 990 Pro M.2 SSD falls 27%, hits 20 cents per gigabyte — our favorite high-capacity PCIe Gen 4 drive is the ultimate storage for your game library

456

58 11

trendforce Oct 19

Hyperscalers are already locking in HDD supply for 2028, yet still expect a shortage. HDD lead times remain at 50 weeks vs. 16 weeks in a balanced market ... Show more

130

5

techradar.com

techradar.com/pro/behold-intel-plans-a-480gb-gpu-a-video-card-with-more-memory-than-the-average-laptop-ssd-has-storage-but-of-course-its-for-ai-and-curiously-it-will-use-lppdr5x-not-even-gddr7

Oct 19

Behold, Intel plans a 480GB GPU, a video card with more memory than the average laptop SSD has storage — but of course it's for AI, and curiously ...

225

176

Oct 18

What became of all the legendary hard drive brands #PCGH #pcgh #hdd #retro #Seagate #seagate #Toshiba #toshiba #westerndigital #WesternDigital

1:00

12

21

Digital Trends

Oct 19

Would you pay $1,000 for a PlayStation 6? Sony’s next console could cost even more, according to a hardware insider who claims its RAM and SSD alone now cost ... Show more

7

1

pcgameshardware.de/RAM-Hardware-154108/Specials/Speicherpreise-RAM-SSD-HDD-Oktober-2026-Analyse-1557035/

Oct 18

Storage Crisis Analyzed: RAM, SSD, HDD, and GPU Price Check: According to 3DCenter’s price index, DDR5 memory will cost 5.6 times the pre-crisis level in German ...

9

20

trendforce Oct 05

HDD lead times remain at 50 weeks vs. 16 weeks in a balanced market.#Toshiba has announced an HDD capacity expansion, but meaningful supply relief is unlikely ... Show more

bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crje5kwwdy8yo

86

9

BBC Oct 23

Motorcyclist who filmed himself at 189mph on Kent roads jailed: Amin Belechguer, from Clapham, London, admitted to 22 counts of dangerous driving.

178

244

Your SSD's "100% health" is lying to you, and here's how to check what it's actually hiding

Oct 22

1

xda-developers.com/data-from-backblaze-hard-drives-prove-the-dont-buy-big-rule-is-completely-backwards/

Oct 18

Data from 341,000 hard drives prove the 'don't buy big' rule is completely backwards

Microsoft To Block ReFS-Formatted USB Drives And External Storage On Windows Starting January 2027

1

Wccftech Oct 20

37

392

Intel stopped making Optane, but its tiny 118GB drive is still the boot drive home lab enthusiasts hunt for

Oct 20

wccftech.com/sonys-playstation-6-price-set-to-surpass-1000-ram-ssd-costs-680/

0

2

Wccftech Oct 19

Sony’s PlayStation 6 Price Is Set To Surpass $1000, As RAM and SSD Costs Have Risen Over $680

insights.trendforce.com/p/weekly-radar-006

25

130

trendforce Oct 19

Weekly Radar 006: HDD Shortage Risk Extends Into 2028: 4Q26 eSSD price talks begin, though hikes above 30% remain difficult to push through.

3

0

Push Square

pushsquare.com/news/2026/10/phantom-blade-zero-will-gobble-up-a-massive-chunk-of-your-ps5s-ssd

Oct 19

Phantom Blade Zero Will Gobble Up a Massive Chunk of Your PS5's SSD: Space raiders

7

16

pcgameshardware.de/Playstation-6-Konsolen-281371/News/Preis-Speicherkosten-RAM-SSD-680-USD-1557041/

Oct 18

PS6 Price: Insider Estimates Storage Costs at Over $680: KeplerL2 estimates the GDDR7 RAM and SSD of the Playstation 6 alone at more than $680 ...

theregister.com/software/2026/10/19/engineer-was-so-sick-of-office-pranks-he-wiped-his-antagonists-disk/5302162

2

9

dlvr.it Oct 19

Engineer was so sick of office pranks, he 'wiped' his antagonist's disk: Revenge is a dish best served by autoexec.bat

Toshiba to double HDD production capacity amid devastating shortages

1

0

trendforce Oct 12

0:43

8

3

trendforce Oct 15

Meta and Chinese Brands Drive Doubling of AR Glasses Shipments, 2026 Forecast Expected to Reach 1.31 Million Units, Says TrendForce

trendforce.com/presscenter/news/20261015-13273.html

3

0

tomshardware.com/pc-components/ssds/sk-hynix-to-place-custom-tiny-cpu-cores-in-its-ssd-controllers-to-ease-arm-load-as-drive-speeds-rocket-each-h-tpu-reportedly-draws-2-5-percent-of-a-cpu-cores-power

Oct 14

SK hynix details H-TPU, tiny cores that offload the Arm CPUs in its SSD controllers

22

3 0

IEEE Spectrum

canarymedia.com/articles/energy-efficiency/hidden-device-free-up-gigawatts-grid

Oct 17

How Variable Frequency Drives Unlock Hidden Grid Power: Variable frequency drives can slash motors’ power use

3

2

xda-developers.com/windows-11-default-settings-wearing-out-ssd-turning-off-can-extend-life/

Oct 16

Windows 11's default settings are quietly wearing out your SSD and turning them off can extend its life

1

4

Kotaku

kotaku.com/jailbroken-ps5s-can-now-emulate-ps2-games-using-physical-discs-2000743781

Oct 11

Jailbroken PS5s Can Now Emulate PS2 Games Using Physical Discs: Support for PlayStation 3 discs appears to be on the way too

3 similar articles

18

25

heise online

heise.de/news/Bericht-Seagate-und-Toshiba-im-Bieterstreit-um-Uebernahme-von-TDKs-HDD-Geschaeft-11478599.html

Oct 09

Report: Seagate and Toshiba in a bidding war to acquire TDK's HDD business: TDK is the last independent supplier of read/write heads for hard drives. Now ...

3 similar articles

53

9

fox5atlanta.com Oct 05

Chick-fil-A takes a stand against fast-food drive-thru AI trend: Chick-fil-A is turning down artificial intelligence in its drive-thru lanes ...

fox5atlanta.com/news/chick-fil-a-takes-stand-against-fast-food-drive-thru-ai-trend

2.1k

1k

xda-developers.com/i-built-a-recovery-usb-that-can-fix-a-windows-pc-even-when-windows-wont-boot/

Oct 18

I built a recovery USB that can fix a Windows PC even when Windows won't boot: One flash drive to save them all

Key FactsRecovery USB aids Windows PCs that will not boot

Sep 23, 2026 · Reading time: ~45 sec.
Summary created with AI assistance · Source: xda-developers.com

The author uses Ventoy with GPT and Secure Boot support to manage four ISOs on the drive.

The official Windows 11 ISO opens the recovery environment without relying on files stored on the damaged drive.

Hiren’s BootCD PE starts a desktop with network drivers, enabling file backups and drive checks.

Rescuezilla creates images, while SystemRescue examines damaged partitions and can copy readable data from failing drives.

Never let your machine reach a place where your mind hasn't reached first.
— Abhinav, author of the article, applying aviation-derived wisdom to PC recovery.

0

1

xda-developers.com/windows-11s-dev-drive-isnt-just-for-developers-and-i-moved-my-game-library-onto-one/

Oct 13

Windows 11's Dev Drive isn't just for developers, and I moved my game library onto one

Key FactsTest: Dev Drive speeds game launches on Windows 11

Oct 13, 2026 · Reading time: ~30 sec.
Summary created with AI assistance · Source: xda-developers.com

A Dev Drive is a Windows 11 storage volume using ReFS instead of NTFS, designed for specialized workloads.

On a trusted Dev Drive, Microsoft Defender uses performance mode and scans files asynchronously; fewer default filters reduce I/O overhead.

For the comparison, the author moved his Steam library and installed Backrooms: Escape Together on the same PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD.

On the Dev Drive, initial shader compilation took under two minutes, later runs under one second; game and level loading was nearly instantaneous.

0

1

Visordown Oct 06

ZXMoto is working BMW R1300 GS rivaling big-bore boxer twin: ZXMoto has unveiled a working shaft drive boxer twin of around 1,000cc, with 100bhp ...

visordown.com/news/zxmoto-working-bmw-r1300-gs-rivaling-big-bore-boxer-twin

40

330

tomshardware.com/pc-components/storage/the-swiss-army-knife-of-usb-docking-dvd-drives-is-on-sale-also-available-with-built-in-m-2-ssd-slot-or-sata-hard-drive-dock-usd28-for-dvd-writer-and-hub-usd33-gets-an-added-sata-dock-or-pay-usd39-for

Oct 06

The Swiss army knife of USB docking DVD drives is on sale, also available with built-in M.2 SSD slot or SATA hard drive dock — $28 for DVD writer and hub ...

40

1 1

xda-developers.com/sata-ssd-smartest-second-drive-spending-more-on-nvme-pointless/

Oct 09

SATA SSDs are still the smartest second drive you can buy, and I can't justify spending more on NVMe

blocksandfiles.com/disk/2026/10/06/seagate-and-toshiba-both-want-to-acquire-tdks-disk-read/write-head-business/5301393

0

1

blocksandfiles.com Oct 06

Seagate and Toshiba both want to acquire TDK's disk read/write head business

46

11

trendforce Oct 05

Meanwhile, DRAM tightness is becoming an enterprise SSD constraint. DRAM lead times remain Very Tight at 20 weeks vs. 8 weeks in a balanced market ... Show more

arstechnica.com/security/2026/10/apple-changes-full-disk-access-permissions-to-curb-abuse-from-ai-agents/

5

0

Ars Technica

B

Oct 03

Apple changes full-disk access permissions to curb abuse from AI agents: Meta says FDA isn't sufficient to Muse reading messages. Apple begs to differ.

34

12 7 0

tomshardware.com/pc-components/dram/micron-now-has-an-88-percent-margin-on-consumer-memory-price-hikes-drive-revenue-client-business-is-microns-only-unit-that-shipped-less-memory-this-quarter

Oct 02

Micron now has an 88% margin on consumer memory as price hikes drive profits — client business is Micron's only unit that shipped less memory this quarter

75

16 322 0

Digital Trends

digitaltrends.com/computing/ssd-prices-have-skyrocketed-but-i-found-6-prime-day-storage-deals-worth-grabbing/

Oct 07

SSD prices have skyrocketed, but I found 6 Prime Day storage deals worth grabbing

3

0

motortrend.com/reviews/first-drive-2027-lotus-emira-420-sport

Oct 06

2027 Lotus Emira 420 Sport First Drive: Certified Joy Machine: We drive the 2027 Lotus Emira 420 Sport with extra power and chassis upgrades that enhance the ...

42

10

CTVNews

ctvnews.ca/business/article/microsoft-nvidia-ceos-to-unveil-new-ai-laptop-at-san-francisco-event/

Oct 07

Microsoft, Nvidia CEOs to unveil new AI laptop at San Francisco event : Microsoft will unveil a new laptop powered by Nvidia’s chips, seeking to turn Windows ...

20

1

The Times and The Sunday Times Oct 06

I made a film about Russian ‘war crimes’. Now I’m being threatened Counterterror police are investigating threats against a British film-maker over his ... Show more

Fund the Film — Can I Go Home Now?

1:13

102

55

Windows has been slowing down every USB drive you plug in for 8 years, and one setting fixes it

Oct 21

Key FactsWindows USB Policy Prioritizes Safe Removal Over Speed

Oct 3, 2026 · Reading time: ~30 sec.
Summary created with AI assistance · Source: xda-developers.com

Microsoft made Quick Removal the default with Windows 10 version 1809 in October 2018, replacing Better Performance.

Quick Removal disables write caching and permits unplugging without safe ejection; Better Performance requires the drive to be ejected.

In the test with 6,000 files totaling about 760MB, Quick Removal took 11:31 versus 10:31 with Better Performance.

The setting is found in Device Manager under drive properties and Policies; a reboot is recommended afterward.

1

5

Digital Trends

digitaltrends.com/computing/these-four-ssd-deals-deserve-a-look-before-october-prime-day/

Oct 02

These four SSD deals deserve a look before October Prime Day: Four Amazon SSD discounts cover extra game storage, portable files, and a speed-focused PC upgrade ...

trendforce.com/news/2026/10/02/news-toshiba-to-double-ai-data-center-hdd-capacity-by-fy2027-with-380m-expansion-as-ai-storage-demand-surges/

7

0

trendforce.com Oct 02

[News] Toshiba to Double AI Data Center HDD Capacity by FY2027 With $380M Expansion as AI Storage Demand Surges

35

21

xda-developers.com/i-paid-for-pcie-5-ssd-and-my-games-load-exactly-as-fast-as-they-did-on-my-old-drive/

Oct 04

I paid for a PCIe 5.0 SSD, and my games load exactly as fast as they did on my old drive

0

1

xda-developers.com/shucking-drives-used-to-be-the-best-storage-deal-around-and-now-its-a-gamble/

Oct 05

I still shuck drives for my NAS, but the gamble isn't worth it anymore unless you have a backup plan

0

1

xda-developers.com/this-tiny-free-app-exposed-200gb-forgotten-files-windows-never-told-about/

Oct 06

This tiny free app exposed 200GB of forgotten files Windows never told me about: If your computer is running low on space and you don't know why ...

Key FactsWizTree scans NTFS drives in seconds using the MFT

Oct 2, 2026 · Reading time: ~30 sec.
Summary created with AI assistance · Source: xda-developers.com

Windows’ standard method checks directories individually and often needs several minutes for drives containing hundreds of thousands of files.

WizTree instead reads the Master File Table (MFT), which records filenames, sizes, physical locations, and timestamps.

As a result, a scan typically takes only two to three seconds even with millions of files.

SquirrelDisk needed about seven seconds for the C: drive, while WizTree completed the same scan in 0.9 seconds.

0

1

motortrend.com/reviews/first-drive-2026-ford-mustang-rtr

Oct 01

2026 Ford Mustang RTR First Drive: Gittin Lit Is Nothin’ but a Good Time: Is Ford and RTR’s drift-influenced creation, the 2026 Ford Mustang RTR ...

electrek.co/2026/10/02/tesla-emergency-drive-away-25000-supercharger-damage-who-pays/

14

3

Electrek

B−

Oct 02

Tesla might charge you up $25,000 if you use its latest feature: Tesla says its new Emergency Drive Away feature can do up to $25,000 in Supercharger damage per ...

5

3

tomshardware.com/pc-components/storage/biwins-cl-100-mini-is-a-particularly-puny-but-potent-ssd-for-portable-gaming-15-x-17-mm-in-size-and-up-to-2tb-in-capacity

Oct 02

BiWin's CL 100 Mini is a particularly puny but potent SSD for portable gaming — tiny drive is only 15 x 17 mm in size, but up to 2TB in capacity

16

0 0

tomshardware.com/raspberry-pi/component-shortages-drive-raspberry-pi-prices-up-by-up-to-23-percent-escalating-lpddr4-lpddr5-costs-trigger-the-third-price-hike-of-the-year

Oct 02

Memory shortages drive Raspberry Pi prices up by up to 23% — escalating LPDDR4, LPDDR5 costs trigger the third price hike of the year

6

1 0

motortrend.com/reviews/first-test-2026-tesla-model-3-standard-rwd

Oct 02

2026 Tesla Model 3 Standard First Test: Range, Charging, and Performance of the Cheapest New Tesla

4 similar articles

12

7

TechSpot

techspot.com/news/114066-scammers-selling-fake-blu-ray-drives-ps3-emulation.html

Oct 02

Scammers are selling fake Blu-ray drives to PS3 emulation fans: Developers of the RPCS3 PS3 emulator recently shared a warning about the latest fraud attempts ...

5

1 0

xda-developers.com/windows-11-default-hibernation-file-ieating-32gb-ssd-write-cycles-one-fix/

Oct 01

Your Windows 11 default hibernation file is quietly eating 32GB of SSD write cycles, and here is the one-command fix

Key FactsWindows 11 hibernation file can consume up to 32GB

Sep 10, 2026 · Reading time: ~30 sec.
Summary created with AI assistance · Source: xda-developers.com

According to the article, hiberfil.sys normally reserves 40% to 100% of installed system memory.

With 64GB of memory, the file can occupy 25GB to 50GB of SSD storage, the article says.

The article estimates that daily writes could reach 5TB to 10TB or more over two years.

For full deactivation, the article gives powercfg.exe /hibernate off; powercfg /type reduced retains Fast Startup and shrinks the file to about 3–6GB.

0

10

404 Media Sep 29

Some tech workers in San Francisco hooked up ChatGPT to a Toyota Corolla and got it to drive around a parking lot. The people behind the stunt call themselves ... Show more

0:49

phys.org/news/2026-09-hidden-star-cluster-milky-crowded.html

30

1

Phys.org

B

Sep 30

Hidden star cluster discovered in Milky Way's crowded disk defies easy classification

1

xda-developers.com/counterfeit-hdds-are-flooding-the-market-heres-how-to-spot-one/

Oct 06

Counterfeit HDDs are flooding the market — here's how to spot one: It might not be simple, but you need to do what you can

autoguide.com/auto/2027-nissan-rogue-hybrid-has-a-gas-engine-and-pure-electric-drive-44638924

0

1

Autoguide.com Sep 21

2027 Nissan Rogue Hybrid First Look: A Gas-Powered Electric Crossover: Nissan is officially bringing its long-running e-POWER technology to the U.S.market ...

13 similar articles

8

20

trendforce Sep 21

Stronger North American Demand to Keep Enterprise SSD Prices on an Upward Trend in 4Q26, Says TrendForce

trendforce.com/presscenter/news/20260921-13246.html

24

0

Sep 20

Do you still have an HDD installed in your setup? 🫣 #benchmark #ssd #festplatte #pcgaming #thebloodofdawnwalker

2:31

15

7

Sep 23

We check out the Sharge's Disk Pro 2 Ultra: A compact, magnetic DIY SSD dock. #ExternalSSD #ExternalStorage

1:54

18

1

xda-developers.com/re-evaluating-all-of-the-hdds-in-my-nas/

Oct 04

A 443,000 drive study just proved one hard drive brand fails twice as often as another

0

3 105

ComputerBase

computerbase.de/artikel/pc-systeme/apple-mac-mini-m6-test.99469/

Sep 21

Apple Mac mini M6 review: The new super-core is once again leaving the competition in the dust

14 similar articles

5

3

motortrend.com/reviews/first-test-2026-tesla-model-3-standard-rwd

Sep 29

2026 Tesla Model 3 Standard First Test: Range, Charging, and Performance of the Cheapest New Tesla

35

7

TechSpot

techspot.com/news/113949-high-end-audio-brands-ditching-cd-players-because.html

Sep 23

High-end audio brands are ditching CD players because nobody makes disc drives anymore

8

0 145

pcgameshardware.de/Festplatte-Hardware-255553/Specials/Spiele-auf-HDD-oder-SSD-installieren-Tipps-1553839/

Sep 22

What happens when you install a new game on an HDD?: Solid-state drives, or SSDs for short, are now found in every gaming PC. But their storage space is ...

phys.org/news/2026-09-faint-young-stars-reveal-spiral.html

3

Phys.org

B

Sep 24

Faint young stars reveal spiral galaxy Messier 74 may be twice as large as thought

1

0

trendforce Sep 21

#HDD is facing an even severe squeeze. Driven by agentic AI services, demand is keeping HDD supply extremely tight. Lead times are now at 50 weeks—more than ... Show more

6

0

xda-developers.com/bootable-usb-with-10-free-tools-to-fix-pc-problems/

Sep 24

I keep a bootable USB with 10 free tools on it, and it has fixed every PC problem I have had this year

Key FactsBootable USB combines ten free PC recovery tools

Oct 1, 2026 · Reading time: ~45 sec.
Summary created with AI assistance · Source: xda-developers.com

Ventoy turns one USB drive into a multiboot device for Windows and Linux ISOs without repeated reformatting.

Netboot.xyz fetches needed operating-system ISOs from its library over Ethernet when a working internet connection exists.

Hiren’s BootCD PE provides a graphical Windows environment, while System Rescue offers terminal or graphical tools for Linux installations.

Clonezilla can clone systems that cannot boot; GParted Live handles partitions, and MemTest86 investigates memory problems.

Keeping this bootable drive has saved me many times, and if you don't have one, it's time to build one now.
— Abhishek, XDA author; from his article about keeping a bootable USB with 10 free tools.

0

1

xda-developers.com/c-drive-getting-full-simple-command-recover-space/

Sep 23

My C: drive was getting full, so I ran a single command to recover free SSD space in seconds

Key FactsDISM Cleanup Freed 6–7 GB on a Windows 11 Drive

Aug 29, 2026 · Reading time: ~30 sec.
Summary created with AI assistance · Source: xda-developers.com

The C: drive had fallen below 30 GB of free space, although no performance problems were apparent.

Analysis showed WinSxS using about 17 GB to store multiple versions of Windows system files.

StartComponentCleanup, intended to remove older updates, left about 11 GB and recovered approximately 6–7 GB.

The author did not run /ResetBase because it prevents rollbacks; recoverable space varies between systems.

0

2

xda-developers.com/windows-searchs-default-indexing-mode-could-be-writing-gigabytes-to-your-ssd-every-day-for-a-feature-almost-nobody-uses/

Oct 13

Windows Search's default indexing mode could be writing gigabytes to your SSD every day for a feature almost nobody uses

Key FactsWindows Search: Large indexes can consume substantial storage

Sep 17, 2026 · Reading time: ~30 sec.
Summary created with AI assistance · Source: xda-developers.com

Windows Search stores file contents and reindexes changed files; on some systems, Windows.db can reach 200GB.

An administrator PowerShell query shows the size; a few hundred megabytes is considered unremarkable, while larger values warrant investigation.

Rebuilding the index may temporarily make results incomplete; in the author’s example, the process took about 20 minutes.

The default Classic mode indexes selected folders, while Enhanced searches the entire PC and can index considerably more files.

0

1

xda-developers.com/why-your-os-runs-on-c-and-not-a-or-b/

Sep 25

Windows lives on the C: drive, and the reason it's not called A: or B: goes back to the 1970s

Key FactsWhy Windows Uses C: for Its System Drive

Sep 25, 2026 · Reading time: ~30 sec.
Summary created with AI assistance · Source: xda-developers.com

In the late 1970s, CP/M used A: for the first floppy drive and B: for the second.

MS-DOS adopted this arrangement, which became standard for compatible systems during the IBM PC era.

When hard drives appeared in the early 1980s, the first received the next available letter, C:.

Windows retains C: mainly because of older software, backward compatibility, and decades of user familiarity.

financialexpress.com/business/news/india-made-chips-are-now-being-exported-ashwini-vaishnaw/4342404/

0

4

The Financial Express

C−

Sep 18

India-made chips are now being exported: Ashwini Vaishnaw: More fabs, deeper indigenisation and stronger design capabilities will drive the next phase

5

4

xda-developers.com/windows-11-quietly-encrypted-your-entire-pc-and-one-firmware-update-can-lock-you-out-of-everything/

Oct 10

Windows 11 quietly encrypted your entire PC, and one firmware update can lock you out of everything

Key FactsWindows 11 Device Encryption Can Trigger Unexpected Recovery Lockouts

Sep 14, 2026 · Reading time: ~45 sec.
Summary created with AI assistance · Source: xda-developers.com

Since October 2024, Windows 11 24H2 has enabled Device Encryption by default on many clean installs and resets.

For local accounts, Microsoft says the recovery key is not automatically saved when the device is encrypted.

BIOS or UEFI updates, TPM changes, and boot-manager modifications can reportedly trigger the 48-digit key prompt.

Users should save the key before changing Secure Boot or the TPM and suspend BitLocker during those changes.

I've argued time and again that many of the default settings and updates that Windows 11 ships with assume the best interests of the user, but in practice, they can backfire and cause them genuine harm and loss.
— Abhinav, author of the article

0

6

xda-developers.com/your-bios-throttling-ssd-one-toggle-can-fix-it/

Sep 25

Your BIOS is probably throttling your SSD, and a single toggle can fix it: PCIe power management can play spoilsport with system responsiveness

which.co.uk/news/article/places-you-should-never-store-your-passwords-aAOLf3H9vTbd

0

1

which.co.uk

C−

Sep 16

6 places you should never store your passwords – unless you want to get hacked: Strong passwords help protect your online accounts, but saving them in the wrong ...

73

9

xda-developers.com/my-proxmox-host-was-writing-hundreds-of-gigabytes-a-day-to-an-ssd-that-barely-stores-anything/

Sep 27

Your Proxmox boot drive is probably dying faster than you think — here's what's actually happening