Alan Dexter
Alan has been writing about PC tech since before 3D graphics cards existed, and still vividly recalls having to fight with MS-DOS just to get games to load. He fondly remembers the killer combo of a Matrox Millenium and 3dfx Voodoo, and seeing Lara Croft in 3D for the first time. He's very glad hardware has advanced as much as it has though, and is particularly happy when putting the latest M.2 NVMe SSDs, AMD processors, and laptops through their paces. He has a long-lasting Magic: The Gathering obsession but limits this to MTG Arena these days.
Latest articles by Alan Dexter
![A Gigabyte and MSI pair of motherboards against a coloured background, with a PC Gamer Recommended logo](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xkzB9JngUNy8x5yA7EbdiT-320-80.jpg)
Best gaming motherboards in 2024
By Dave James last updated
Best Mobo The best gaming motherboards from the top Intel and AMD chipsets.
![Sabrent Rocket 2230 and WD Black SN850X SSDs](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/nnVn3PFZ5gZLLDR9zpeX8i-320-80.jpg)
Best M.2 SSDs for gaming in 2024
By Jeremy Laird last updated
High speed Our choices for the best NVMe SSDs give you blisteringly fast load times.
![The best SSD for gaming buying guide header with two NVMe SSDs and a recommended logo](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/znNcHLK5XbKt54m7kv39CJ-320-80.jpg)
Best SSD for gaming in 2024
By Jeremy Laird last updated
Speedy storage Give your gaming PC a serious speed boost with the best SSD for gaming.
![An image of the best external hard drives on a red background with the PC Gamer recommended badge](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/FhJmAVqAFq2AefAa9m3Byk-320-80.jpg)
Best external hard drives in 2024
By Nick Evanson last updated
TB on the go Grab one of the best external hard drives to increase your storage space or backup your PC.
![Two of the best gaming PCs on a grey background with the PC Gamer Recommends badge in the top right.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/TS6C4vcLR4PyCuWKJCextk-320-80.jpg)
Best gaming PCs in 2024: these are the builds and brands I recommend
By Dave James last updated
Perfect PC Everything you need to know about buying the best gaming PC today.
![Best gaming laptop: Razer and Lenovo gaming laptops on a blue background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/FC5PhtCekPHZpRheeexnSK-320-80.jpg)
The best gaming laptops in Australia for 2024
By Dave James last updated
Portable powerhouses Don't compromise on power or portability with the best gaming laptops.
![Best MSI gaming laptop deals](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5PDW7HKPcLduRJx6dXYYzB-320-80.jpg)
Best MSI gaming laptop deals
By Alan Dexter published
Big Dragon Energy Ride the dragon with these killer MSI gaming laptop deals.
![iBuyPower Gaming RDY SLMBG218 three quater shot on red.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ee2Xx9Tgh238cnshGoasjf-320-80.jpg)
iBuyPower Gaming RDY SLMBG218 PC review
By Alan Dexter last updated
Review The CPU focus will appeal to a niche but gamers would benefit more from a better GPU.
![NZXT Streaming Plus BLD Kit three quarter shot on red.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/fin26ZhA5ERyyd78XmvwmN-320-80.jpg)
NZXT Streaming Plus BLD Kit PC review
By Alan Dexter published
Review Lego for adults… and there's nothing wrong with adults playing with Lego either.
![Build Redux Good three quarter view on red.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/UVpwK6PgRW95VgZDRzyPbA-320-80.jpg)
Build Redux 'Good' PC review
By Alan Dexter published
Review A good spec and build produce a good gaming PC.
![Lenovo Legion 5 Gen 6 AMD and Intel laptops](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/fpaENnAxBocpFGi8dvsPL3-320-80.jpg)
Save up to $300 on these RTX 3060 Lenovo laptops right now
By Alan Dexter last updated
Deals Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5? 15.6-inch or 17.3-inch? The choice is yours.
![Western Digital WD_Black SN850X on a black background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/gSbBjtt5iQ6seHUPH7n34C-320-80.png)
Western Digital's new drive promises to be every gamer's dream SSD
By Alan Dexter last updated
News Up to 7,300MB/s, predictive loading, minimized latency, and adaptive thermals promise perfection.
![Western Digital SN750 SE](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kbHvSfNLTZgrwNcKY6B99F-320-80.jpg)
Western Digital's new SSD is aimed at budget gamers
By Alan Dexter last updated
News The WD_Black SN750 SE is a long way off the performance of the SN850.
![The Samsung Neo G9 font on with scifi background.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/wAFthVfcJ4qAoZCFw2sUEh-320-80.jpg)
Samsung promises big things with the first DisplayPort 2.1 8K ultrawide monitor
By Alan Dexter published
News Shame it isn't really 8K.
![HTC Vive Pro 2](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/eJn7FwYiYbUjxuXpnunLwE-320-80.jpg)
HTC's new Vive Pro 2 headset comes with a beefy specs list... and price tag
By Alan Dexter last updated
News Dedicated PC VR isn't giving up the fight just yet.
![AMD RDNA 3 announcement](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LKUAqfghNpcbUMkZwhzrQT-320-80.jpg)
Watch AMD announce its new Radeon RX 7000-series graphics cards right here
By Alan Dexter published
News "Together we advance_gaming" is my new catchphrase.
![Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 on a green background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/GcEznVPAnNS8w3vFQaeGXP-320-80.jpg)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080: Release date, price, and specs
By Alan Dexter published
The slightly more affordable Ada Lovelace GPUs are set to arrive in November.
![Apple's M1 Ultra System-on-chip](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/yh3sJz9YUde266UQ732YqM-320-80.jpg)
Big surprise, Apple's new M1 Ultra isn't actually faster than an RTX 3090
By Alan Dexter last updated
News Benchmarks show Apple may have been over-eager with the M1 Ultra's performance.
![G.Skill RAM in a motherboard](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/JtpykvMDxr3qSpcaU4pyj9-320-80.jpg)
G.Skill shows DDR5-8000 kit running on an Intel Core i9 13900K
By Alan Dexter published
News It's also announced Trident Z5 DDR5-7800 kits are on the way.
![AMD Ryzen CPU in logo](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/rMyoiHV2qeXxZQaduuJvaU-320-80.jpg)
Windows 11 appears to be hobbling AMD Ryzen 7000 performance
By Alan Dexter published
News Another reason gamers may want to look lower down AMD's CPU stack.
![Micron RAM production shot](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/touVkbHcbymwCibB5ip7HV-320-80.jpg)
RAM and SSD prices could increase as manufacturers cut production
By Alan Dexter published
News If you've been eyeing up a RAM or SSD upgrade, you may want to act now.
![Intel's Raja Koduri holding an A770](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hiKttbTRQq2LFwzoA3X7K4-320-80.jpg)
Intel promises its drivers 'will get there' as Arc Alchemist A770 readies for launch
By Alan Dexter published
News Not long to go until we find out if this is going to be a three-horse race.
![Acer Predator BiFrost](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/TzkgoLTDGnb56CGQFRiHVJ-320-80.jpg)
Acer shows off its own take on the Intel Arc A770
By Alan Dexter published
News The Acer Predator BiFrost certainly catches the eye.