Jacob Ridley

Jacob Ridley

Managing Editor, Hardware

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

ASRock's new RX 9050 on a gradient background with the box.
AMD launches the RX 9050, and it's even more entry-level than expected - update: it's $279 and limited to certain regions

By Jacob Ridley Last updated

News Oh, and the 4 GB version is OEM-only.

News
The Cooler Master V8 Ace 3DHP installed on a test bench and on its box.
Cooler Master V8 Ace 3DHP review

By Jacob Ridley Published

Score: 85% Proving air coolers are still cool in 2026.

Score: 85%
A 300 millimetre silicon wafer in the clean rooms at the Globalfoundries fabrication (fab) plant in Dresden, Germany, on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021.
Chinese company reportedly building its own DUV chipmaking machines, and that's a really big deal

By Jacob Ridley Published

News Meanwhile, the US still hopes to block ASML from selling and servicing similar machines in China.

News
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan and an Intel chip with a white diagonal line dividing the two
Is Intel back? Company's latest earnings report remarkably different in tone to 12 months ago

By Jacob Ridley Published

News "I'm confident that Intel is well positioned to help define the next era of computing," says CEO Tan.

News
An Arctic Freezer 36-S on a desk and installed in a gaming PC, with the Freezer 36 nearby.
Arctic Freezer 36-S review

By Jacob Ridley Published

Score: 84% Surprisingly effective for the money.

Score: 84%
Two of the best PC fans on a blue background with the PC Gamer Recommended badge in the background.
Best PC fans in 2026: I've put these case fans through their paces to find the coolest and quietest

By Jacob Ridley Last updated

Fan-tastic Here are our recommendations from our tests.

Fan-tastic
A Secretlab Atlas gaming chair in a home office during set-up and after it's completed.
Secretlab Atlas review

By Jacob Ridley Last updated

Score: 78% Comfy, smart, and just a lil' too close to the champ.

Score: 78%
The PC Gamer buying guide to the best racing wheels
Best PC racing wheels in 2026: my favorite direct drive and budget steering wheels for sim racing

By Jacob Ridley Last updated

Driven Speed away with the best PC racing wheel for gaming.

Driven
Be Quiet's latest air coolers on a box with black fans.
Be Quiet Dark Rock 6 and Dark Rock Pro 6 review

By Jacob Ridley Published

Score: 65% Better, but at what cost?

Score: 65%
The Steam Machine on a white stand with a blue background and various ports on display.
Sign up for a Steam Machine before June 25: Valve running one-time randomized queue due to limited availability and to 'limit resellers'

By Jacob Ridley Published

News Sign up before then for a chance to buy a Steam Machine sometime this year.

News
The Steam Machine on a white stand with a blue background and various ports on display.
Steam Machine is here, starts at $1,049

By Jacob Ridley Published

News Valve admits its higher than hoped: "Our original goal for the price… is no longer viable."

26 Comments
News
A group of gaming laptops on a blue background.
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.

Laptop livin'
The Havn HS 360 at Computex 2026.
Havn is making a smaller, lighter version of the excellent HS 420, with a few convenient upgrades too

By Jacob Ridley Published

News The HS 360 is smaller and a little more convenient compared to the HS 420.

News
UGreen NASync DXP4800 Pro on a desk with multiple HDDs installed.
If I had known how incredibly useful a NAS would be, I would've set one up a lot sooner

By Jacob Ridley Published

NAS Queen I'm running a NAS and loving it.

11 Comments
NAS Queen
A tour around Secretlab's office in Singapore ahead of the launch of the Secretlab Atlas, the company's brand new task chair.
Secretlab's CEO is getting tough on copycat chairs and doesn't feel pressure to adopt AI: 'If we were owned by outside investors, you can bet that AI will be somehow jammed down our throats'

By Jacob Ridley Published

Talking chairs I speak with Ian Ang about building a gaming chair company at the company's Singapore office.

Talking chairs
A tour around Secretlab's office in Singapore ahead of the launch of the Secretlab Atlas, the company's brand new task chair.
I was roasted by a physician for sitting weird but they gave me some great tips for healthier gaming

By Jacob Ridley Published

Sort your posture It only took talking to an esports medicine expert to make me realise where I was going wrong.

13 Comments
Sort your posture
A tour around Secretlab's office in Singapore ahead of the launch of the Secretlab Atlas, the company's brand new task chair.
Secretlab's new Atlas chair is cheaper, slimmer than the Titan Evo and I've been sitting comfortably in it for the past couple days

By Jacob Ridley Published

News Starts at $499.

News
Thermal Grizzly's new prototype products at its Computex 2026 booth.
Thermal Grizzly's experimental direct-die CPU block is '3-4 times better' than most—but it uses diamond sheets that cost €500 each

By Jacob Ridley Published

News It's just a pet project, I'm told.

News
Corsair's new Warthog case with a light over the rear IO panel, at computex 2026.
Corsair's fighter jet-inspired case comes with a switch to toggle a light above the rear IO panel

By Jacob Ridley Published

Computex 2026 Technology is going places at Computex 2026.

Computex 2026
The Cooler Master MasterFlow GPU accessory at its Taiwan HQ.
The blower is back: Cooler Master has made a GPU accessory that pushes hot air outside your case rather than onto your CPU

By Jacob Ridley Published

News This thing sits atop of your graphics card and offers a 4–6 degree improvement, says Cooler Master.

News
Cooler Master's Project AIO at its HQ in Taiwan.
Cooler Master is playing around with a 2000 W CPU and GPU cooling solution with four huge 180 mm fans

By Jacob Ridley Published

News Project AIO Liquid Cooling Solution.

News
Thermaltake's new novel PSU design at Computex 2026.
Thermaltake has built a PSU that splits in two… on purpose

By Jacob Ridley Published

Computex 2026 All in the name of an easier installation process.

Computex 2026
Cooler Master's new case products on display at its HQ during Computex 2026.
Cooler Master is stuffing its latest cases with truly humongous fans for high airflow and quiet operation

By Jacob Ridley Published

Computex 2026 Up to 220 mm.

Computex 2026
Wooting's new knob on display at its booth at Computex 2026.
Wooting's big knob is much more than a volume dial, set to arrive later this year for 80 HE

By Jacob Ridley Published

Computex 2026 There's more to this knob than meets the eye.

Computex 2026
The Tryx Holo with a holographic display on the show floor at Computex 2026.
Tryx claims 'world's first holographic liquid cooler' at Computex but I doubt it was much of a contest

By Jacob Ridley Published

Computex 2026 The Tryx Holo has a 3D holographic visual effect through a window on the pump unit.

Computex 2026
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