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 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
Elon Musk calls OpenAI 'a lie' after announcing plans to make his 'spicy' ChatGPT rival open-source this week
By Jacob Ridley published
News Grok is made by xAI and is available for users on X, but 'don’t use it if you hate humor'.
Best gaming keyboards in 2024
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 wireless gaming keyboard in 2024
By Jacob Ridley last updated
Freedom Cut the cord with the best wireless gaming keyboards.
Best 4K gaming monitors in 2024
By Dave James last updated
4K Vision The best 4K gaming monitor has all the bells and whistles an enthusiast could ever want or need.
Convai aims to put an end to basic 'one-line' NPCs with AI but says it 'needs more high quality writers and artists, not less' to get it done
By Jacob Ridley published
Chatty bots I chat to the CEO of Convai, an AI platform that empowers videogame NPCs with personalities.
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.
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.
Best microphone for gaming in 2024
By Jacob Ridley last updated
Mouth Noises Make your voice heard with the best microphones for streaming and gaming.
Oregon just passed the most powerful right to repair legislation yet in the US
By Jacob Ridley published
News The law would ban the practice of parts pairing from 2025, and once in place will make repairs much easier for customers.
Destructive testing of six liquid cooling radiators reveals some don't match the marketing
By Jacob Ridley published
News In-depth testing by Igor's Lab shows brass used instead of copper within some radiators, among other complaints.
What are XMP and EXPO profiles and how do I use them?
By Jacob Ridley last updated
Ask PC Gamer XMP and EXPO profiles automatically set your system RAM to higher frequencies. Here's how to do it.
Best wireless gaming mouse in 2024: no tails on these rodents
By Dave James last updated
Unbound Let go of the tethers and embrace the freedom of living life cable free.
Best VR headset in 2024
By Jacob Ridley last updated
Jack In Immerse yourself in stunning game worlds with the best VR headset.
Best ultrawide monitor for gaming in 2024: the expansive panels I recommend for PC gamers
By Jacob Ridley published
Expansive It's time to go wide... ultrawide: these gaming monitors are wider, brighter, and faster than ever.
Best gaming desk in 2024
By Dave James last updated
Gametops We've chosen the best gaming desks based on hours of playing on both sitting and standing desks just to see which is worth your money.
Asus ROG Swift OLED PG49WCD review
By Jacob Ridley published
Ultra OLED The ultimate OLED gaming screen? Probably, but the panel technology still has drawbacks.
Nvidia's new desktop app doesn't require you to login: 'your identity isn't essential to this experience'
By Jacob Ridley published
News You can access pretty much all of the features included in the Nvidia App without making an Nvidia account.
Nvidia's game filter for RTX GPUs lets you enable HDR in games that never supported it
By Jacob Ridley published
News Works with any RTX 20-series or newer graphics card and on games running DirectX 9–12 or Vulkan.
Shadowplay can now capture games at 120 fps and gets a new look in the Nvidia App
By Jacob Ridley published
News Do most need to capture at 120 fps? Probably not, but it's nice to have the option.
The new Nvidia App killing GeForce Experience: new overlay, system monitoring, 120fps capture, and lets you add HDR to any game
By Jacob Ridley published
News The Nvidia App is currently in beta but will also replace the Nvidia Control Panel eventually.
I'm calling time on stick drift and getting Hall effect in every one of my controllers in 2024
By Jacob Ridley published
Drifting away I never want to experience stick drift again in my life, and Hall effect is an easy answer.
Best OLED gaming monitors in 2024
By Jeremy Laird last updated
Eye candy The best OLED gaming monitors deliver crazy speed and eye-popping HDR performance.
This real-world Angel Lamp from Alan Wake 2 actually works to make you feel like you're stuck in a horror novel of your own creation
By Jacob Ridley published
News If only Wake had an Alexa compatible lamp in the Dark Place.