
Jacob Ridley
Jacob earned his first byline writing for his own tech blog. From there, he graduated to professionally breaking things as hardware writer at PCGamesN, where he was one half of a popular weekly YouTube show. He would go on to run the team as hardware editor before joining PC Gamer's world-class staff as senior hardware editor. Today, he's managing editor of the hardware team, and you'll find him spending his days reporting on the latest developments in the technology and gaming industries. He's found reporting from floors, benches, and, if he's lucky, plush press rooms at the biggest tech shows, such as Computex and CES. But more often than not he's hunched over the office test bench evaluating the newest PC components.
When he's not writing about GPUs and CPUs, you'll find Jacob trying to get as far away from the modern world as possible by wild camping.
Latest articles by Jacob Ridley

Best Amazon Prime Day PC gaming deals in Australia
By Shaun Prescott, Jacob Ridley last updated
Deals Amazon's Prime Day event is coming—save cash on PC components, peripherals and more.

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 gaming PC builds: budget, mid-range and high-end recommendations
By Jacob Ridley last updated
DIY From an $800 penny-saving PC to a $4,000+ monster.

I've just wrapped up testing with the best new PC fan I've used in a long time: Noctua's NF-A12x25 G2
By Jacob Ridley published
I'm a fan This fan shreds (in a good way).

Best PC fans in 2025: I've put these case fans through their paces to find the coolest and quietest
By Jacob Ridley last updated
Fan-tastic The best PC fans will keep your gaming PC cool and quiet.

Lenovo might have just leaked the more powerful Legion Go 2's release date for September
By Jacob Ridley published
News The release date for the proper sequel to the Legion Go has come from its own social channels, though it might've said something it shouldn't.

No, 16 billion passwords didn't just get exposed in a mega-hack, but you should get with the program and stop reusing passwords anyways
By Jacob Ridley published
News This supposed breach might not be what it seems but don't let that deter you from getting yourself a password manager and turning on 2FA.

AMD just mentioned an as yet unreleased Ryzen X3D chip that could become the budget gaming CPU of champions
By Jacob Ridley published
News Come on, AMD, let's see this chip on shelves around the world.

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 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 mechanical keyboards in 2025: the clacky boards I'd buy in a heartbeat
By Jacob Ridley last updated
Click Clack Make the switch with our guide to the best mechanical gaming keyboards.

Best gaming keyboards in 2025: the fastest, smoothest and loveliest boards I've tested
By Jacob Ridley last updated
Keyed in The best gaming keyboards have it all: style, ergonomics, and of course, the most satisfying clickity clacks.

Best SSD for gaming in 2025: the speediest SSDs I personally recommend
By Jeremy Laird last updated
Speedy storage Give your gaming PC a serious speed boost with the best SSD for gaming.

Best ultrawide monitor for gaming in 2025: the immersive panels I recommend for PC gamers
By Jacob Ridley last updated
Expansive It's time to go wide... ultrawide: these gaming monitors are wider, brighter, and faster than ever.

Best gaming PCs in 2025: these are the rigs and brands I recommend today
By Dave James last updated
Perfect PC Everything you need to know about buying the best prebuilt gaming PC.

An RTX 3080 Ti 20 GB engineering sample has been spotted on eBay for $2,000, proving Nvidia plays with all the goodies we never get
By Jacob Ridley published
News Though most appear to get chucked in the bin.

Best gaming chair in 2025: the seats I'd suggest for any PC gamer
By Jacob Ridley last updated
Take a seat Treat your posterior to one of the best gaming chairs.

Best CPU coolers in 2025: I've tested the latest liquid coolers and air coolers to find the very best for your CPU
By Jacob Ridley last updated
Cool Breeze Our picks for the best CPU coolers will have your processor running cool with air or liquid during the hottest gaming sessions.

Best air cooler for CPUs in 2025: keep your processor chilled with one of these budget-friendly and capable coolers
By Jacob Ridley last updated
Air dried Quiet, reliable and affordable—why not consider a CPU air cooler in 2025?

Best liquid cooler for CPUs in 2025: I've tried all the best AIO coolers and these are my top picks
By Jacob Ridley last updated
Wetware These are the best liquid chip chillers to suit all budgets, form factors, and processors.

The most convenient handheld gaming PC I've ever used is getting upgraded with an OLED screen, Ryzen HX 370, and a repositioned mouse nub (that's the best bit)
By Jacob Ridley published
News Seriously, check out this nub.

Best OLED gaming monitors in 2025: I can't keep my eyes off these vivid displays
By Jeremy Laird last updated
Eye candy The best OLED gaming monitors deliver awesome speed and eye-popping HDR performance.

Introducing ‘The Rig’: everything under the hood of the PC Gaming Show’s top of the line PC build
By Jacob Ridley published
THE RIG Marvel at The Rig's high-end specs in full here

Xbox is no longer a console, it's a platform, and it's already entered a battle for control over your handheld gaming PC
By Jacob Ridley published
Xbox everywhere Xbox is becoming more like PC and Windows is becoming more like Xbox... is Microsoft looking to muscle SteamOS out of the way?
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.