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
![AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D processor](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/tVBSmW36cfDikZTXZDuR8d-320-80.jpg)
'Locked' AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D overclocked to 5.14GHz
By Alan Dexter published
News Using MSI's expensive Godlike X570 motherboard, but that's still impressive.
![AMD Ryzen Master running on the Ryzen 7 5800X3D.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5yLWjoVhihuyftNtXpeeGa-320-80.jpg)
AMD's Ryzen 7 5800X3D doesn't support overclocking or PBO. Zilch
By Alan Dexter published
News AMD's newest chip doesn't overclock, undervolt, or support PBO.
![Render of AMD 3D V-Cache technology](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/q2WXdWXfd8Q7FmiGW5g7pM-320-80.jpg)
AMD's new Ryzen 7 5800X3D prioritises gaming above all else
By Alan Dexter published
News Video encoding and 3D rendering take a hit for the sake of games.
![Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/j4mQeZpVdoERv7D8dyx8XC-320-80.jpg)
Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus (2022) 1TB review
By Alan Dexter published
Fresh New firmware and flash make an already strong SSD even better.
![Cyberpunk 2077 running at 72p](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/QEk9uihG9XHRLPKH7nJo3d-320-80.jpg)
Cyberpunk 2077 running at 72p is impressively hideous
By Alan Dexter published
News Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
![Intel Core i5 12400](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VpmHehYaMvW6AbtKnCShS-320-80.jpg)
Six-core CPUs are now more popular than quad-core chips on Steam
By Alan Dexter published
News The march of progress pushes gaming PCs forward.
![Intel Pixel Pat platformer](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/JUvCxUYPjFJ6smLWyHnJeK-320-80.jpg)
Intel's retro platformer to celebrate its CEO's first year is surprisingly fun
By Alan Dexter published
News Spice up your Monday with some 8-bit browser action.
![Western Digital WD_Black SN770 1TB](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/B74HeNVjMjcdqJBoeKu7WN-320-80.jpg)
WD Black SN770 1TB SSD review
By Alan Dexter published
Momento Something DRAM-less this way comes.
![Intel Alder Lake Core i5 12400 stock cooler](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PD8U5MQ4pnHf6nZW86e7af-320-80.jpg)
Modder improves Intel's Alder Lake stock cooler with a strip of paper
By Alan Dexter published
News Intel's Core i5 CPU cooler runs quieter with the simplest of hacks.
![Seagate Skyhawk AI HDD on NVR](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qa62iePxfBAqoYCMnVVywN-320-80.jpg)
Seagate's new hard drives show it's on track to deliver 50TB HDDs by 2026
By Alan Dexter published
News Once again the humble hard drive refuses to go to the grave.
![Forspoken](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5HfHgpvA7GA8zin8nCpKiB-320-80.jpg)
Thanks to DirectStorage, Forspoken loads in only one second
By Alan Dexter published
News Long load times could soon be a thing of the past.
![Apple M1 Ultra next to an AMD Ryzen 3 3300X for scale.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/mFkwXP87fbs6c9pVzcL37n-320-80.jpg)
Apple's M1 Ultra absolutely dwarfs your CPU
By Alan Dexter published
News Remember, it's what you do with it that counts.
![Asus ROG Flow Z13 on a desk](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Mtd5Mk3PbhMgisBgWJeZhK-320-80.jpg)
Asus ROG Flow Z13 tablet review
By Alan Dexter published
Muddled An undeniably gorgeous sliver of hardware searching for a problem to solve.
![AMD Ryzen 5000 illustration with boxed CPU](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/UccC436zbLdGbTm3Cm3amJ-320-80.jpg)
There's an annoying catch with AMD's cheapest Zen 3 CPU
By Alan Dexter published
News The Ryzen 5 5500 could have been a great budget chip, but it's too limited.
![AMD Ryzen 7 5700G](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/UFByHHSmWvVneHGaTKatGj-320-80.jpg)
Motherlode of new AMD Ryzen CPUs could be on the way according to retailers
By Alan Dexter published
News Rumours suggest up to 10 new AMD Ryzen chips will land in April.
![Image of Razer Blade 17 by a window.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WtTg8npoNLyNTXftuzZpKS-320-80.jpg)
Razer Blade 17 gaming laptop review
By Alan Dexter published
Cutting-edge Razer takes equal parts Intel Alder Lake CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPU to make for a potent laptop brew.
![Steam Deck playing God of War](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/76MjYFdoCT5MWPHHLmsN4L-320-80.jpg)
Does the Steam Deck Throttle?
By Alan Dexter published
Is Aerith, the APU in the Steam Deck, cramped by the constraints of the handheld?
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ebzbphhNETEfLtCuxtbvUQ-320-80.jpg)
Great moments in PC gaming: Feeding the bear in The Long Dark
By Alan Dexter published
Grrr There's a bear in there.
![A whale displayed on a LG TV](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XB47qJhFaBDrhNkwQKGbE3-320-80.jpg)
Should I use a TV as a computer monitor?
By Alan Dexter published
Ask PC Gamer You don't have to limit your PC gaming to a desk.
![AMD Ryzen 6000](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kueaY2BJiHjXJeSQ2JK87T-320-80.jpg)
With RDNA 2 in super thin laptops the Steam Deck isn't your only mobile gaming option
By Alan Dexter published
News Integrated graphics have never looked so promising.
![AMD Ryzen 6000 Series mobile](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/TJh4fpGFM3PMQj7WFjgoxK-320-80.jpg)
AMD's 'fundamental' 6nm Ryzen upgrade promises 'massive increase in yield'
By Alan Dexter published
News Chip crisis? What chip crisis?
![Shot from the El Coyote Cojo benchmark](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/e4r3VanvnJQp4Xze2nzwEZ-320-80.jpg)
The Cyberpunk 2077 patch finally delivers: there's now an in-game benchmark
By Alan Dexter published
News Can your machine run it at the top settings? Now you can easily see.
![Unlock frame rates in Lost Ark](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/T5inUAcmiy3dY5DJAKn8RQ-320-80.jpg)
You should unlock your frame rate in Lost Ark, here's how
By Alan Dexter published
Lost fps Give yourself the edge in the latest MMO ARPG.