
Jacob Ridley
Jacob earned his first byline writing for his own tech blog, before graduating to breaking things professionally at PCGamesN, where he was one half of a popular weekly YouTube show. Joining PC Gamer in 2020, Jacob is now managing editor of the hardware team, and you'll usually find him testing the latest components or building a gaming PC. He says he's determined to build a fort as big as a house out of case boxes. Jacob enjoys heading out of the office to report from floors, benches, and, if he's lucky, plush press rooms at the biggest tech shows, such as Computex and CES.
When he's not writing about components, you'll find Jacob trying to get away from the modern world as fast as possible by bike and pitching up camp in murky woods.
Latest articles by Jacob Ridley

I've tested PhysX now that it's sorta supported on the RTX 50 series and I'm more convinced than ever it's a feature worth fighting for
By Jacob Ridley published
Physexcellent PhysX matters, ya know.

Crypto boss sentenced to 15 years over 'epic, generational scale' fraud that lost over 40 billion dollars
By Jacob Ridley published
News A so-called stablecoin collapsed back in 2022.

Oracle will shop around for AI chips after adopting a policy of 'chip neutrality'… but of course it'll still buy the latest Nvidia GPUs
By Jacob Ridley published
News AMD sales team, assemble!

Best gaming PC builds: budget, mid-range and high-end recommendations
By Jacob Ridley last updated
DIY Component prices are rising, but it's still possible to put together a great DIY build for less than many prebuilts.

Google is under investigation in the EU to find out whether it imposes unfair terms on content creators for AI
By Jacob Ridley published
News We'll have a look, course we'll have a look.

Five things I want you to think about before you buy your first gaming laptop
By Jacob Ridley last updated
Laptop livin' Gaming laptops can be excellent, but you need to shop wisely to avoid making a mistake. Here's my advice.

Black Friday gaming chair deals 2025
By Jacob Ridley, Shaun Prescott last updated
Deals Be seated in comfort.

Best graphics cards in 2025: I've tested pretty much every AMD and Nvidia GPU of the past 20 years and these are today's top cards
By Dave James last updated
Pixel Pushers I've made a career out of prodding graphics cards and this has been the toughest set of recommendations I can remember.

Best handheld gaming PC in 2025: my recommendations for the best portable powerhouses
By Jacob Ridley last updated
Portable PC PC gaming has officially gone portable, and these handheld gaming PCs are mighty quick.

I build loads of gaming PCs and this is the first to make me regret my decisions with my own personal rig—here's what you need to build it yourself
By Jacob Ridley published
Chilly Tinted glass makes everything look better.

Five things I always tell people before they buy their first gaming chair
By Jacob Ridley published
Saddle up I've been testing gaming chairs for eight years, and here's what I always tell people looking to buy one.

Best wireless gaming mouse in 2025: These are the rodents I love getting my mitts on
By Dave James last updated
Unbound Let go of the tethers and embrace the freedom of living life cable-free.

Best gaming mouse in 2025: I've tested the very best mice and these are my top picks
By Dave James last updated
Pinpoint The best gaming mouse for every game, budget, grip, and size.

Best wireless gaming headsets in 2025: the top cans I'd buy myself
By Dave James last updated
Untethered The best wireless gaming headsets allow you to enjoy your games and music tangle-free.

Best CPU for gaming in 2025: These are the chips I recommend for gaming, productivity, and peace of mind
By Jacob Ridley last updated
Happy Cores Fire up your rig with the best CPU for gaming. More cores, more clocks, more of everything that matters.

How much is that Steam Machine in the window? Let's talk potential pricing for Valve's new living room gaming box
By Jacob Ridley published
Steam Savings We don't know the price of the Steam Machine—but we can take a pretty good guess.

Best PC joysticks in 2025: These are my top picks for everything from flight sims to space shooters
By Dave James last updated
Locked On The best PC joysticks take you to new heights.

How grip sensing was added to the new Steam Controller is a 'typical Valve story' involving a passionate employee moving desks
By Jacob Ridley last updated
News One Valve employee essentially made it happen.

Valve recommends sharing your game library on microSD card between Steam Deck, Steam Frame, and Steam Machine: 'They're fully interoperable, just bring it along with you'
By Jacob Ridley published
News Saves downloading them all again.

Valve announces the Steam Controller and it's genuinely good: 'we knew we needed to make this controller'
By Jacob Ridley last updated
News The new Steam Controller is a smart way to play PC games on the sofa, stealing the Steam Deck's clever controls.

Valve on viral marketing and leaks: 'Everybody assumes we have some sort of like grand plan... and it's literally just somebody fat fingering something'
By Jacob Ridley published
News You're probably thinking about this sort of stuff a lot more than Valve is.

Foveated streaming is the genius tech behind Valve's Steam Frame and its seamless wireless gaming performance
By Jacob Ridley published
News Making wireless VR truly possible.
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