
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

Ducky One X review
By Jacob Ridley published
Needs work The world's first induction keyboard fails to materialise into a must-have product.

Monster Hunter Wilds PC performance: From Nvidia's latest, past AMD's greatest, to Intel's failing silicon, this is what the game does to PCG's own rigs
By Dave James published
We put our own machines through the ringer with the Monster Hunter Wilds benchmark, to lesser or greater success.

This no-vidia gaming PC is a great example of how small design decisions can make it feel like you're building a PC on easy-mode
By Jacob Ridley published
Simple All thanks to a roomy case, fan controller, and incredibly simple NVMe slots.

Noctua NH-L12S review
By Jacob Ridley published
Lil' chill A classic low-profile air cooler still worth a look in 2025.

This Minecraft creation blots out the sun for the villagers below, they surely praise it as God, but we know it really to be a functioning 32-bit computer with 2 kB of RAM
By Jacob Ridley published
News This computer, built fully within Minecraft, ran the Fibonacci Sequence.

Asus says its easy-peasy PCIe slot causes 'no damage that would affect functionality' following claims of excessive wear, but says it'll cover any damage
By Jacob Ridley published
News "...we have found no impact on the functionality of either the graphics card or the motherboard."

I built the mullet of gaming PCs with MSI's Project Zero 'Back-Connect' parts
By Jacob Ridley published
Mullet PC Business up front, party out back.

Fractal Design Terra review
By Jacob Ridley published
Tiny Terra Cute, compact, and easy to build with.

Logitech G RS Wheel Hub and RS Track Wheel review
By Jacob Ridley published
Wheely good The wheel upgrade I've been waiting for.

I will get a Switch 2 for Pokémon and no handheld gaming PC on Earth can stop me
By Jacob Ridley published
Switch sides Even as a dyed-in-the-wool PC gamer, I can't resist the pull of Nintendo's exclusives.

Logitech G RS Shifter and Handbrake review
By Jacob Ridley last updated
Shifty Sequential shifter and handbrake in one robust package.

I tried a sim racing rig that generates 'wind' at CES 2025 and it's claimed to help keep VR nausea at bay
By Jacob Ridley published
News It's surprisingly immersive.

Thermaltake's new 2000 W PSU is too powerful to be sold in the USA and comes with four PCIe 5.0 GPU power connectors
By Jacob Ridley published
News We're going to need a bigger power outlet.

This Jinx-inspired gaming PC is my favorite of CES 2025 and I'm head over heels for the hardware
By Jacob Ridley published
News Just look at that distro plate…

Hyte's new $20 processor frames are yet another way to customise your gaming PC
By Jacob Ridley published
News Finishing touch or unnecessary add-on?

Colorful PC cases are so in this year
By Jacob Ridley published
News Thermaltake and Hyte are serving up pastel pink and purple at CES 2025.

The ROG Zephyrus G14 is calling to me even more now it has an RTX 5080 stuffed inside it
By Jacob Ridley published
News The new Zephyrus 2025 models are mostly the same as last year's, but that's not a bad thing.

This keyboard combines two of my favorite things: mechanical switches and bread
By Jacob Ridley published
News This mechanical keeb is most certainly not gluten free.

The SSDs and RAM on this new Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 can be upgraded entirely without tools
By Jacob Ridley published
News That's a welcome change from soldered memory and fiddly NVMe slots.

Nvidia announces the RTX 50-series, led by the $1,999 RTX 5090 with 'twice the performance of the 4090'
By Jacob Ridley last updated
News With more AI acceleration than ever even the RTX 5070 is claimed to offer RTX 4090-level performance for $549.

Intel is 'confident' about next-gen Arc Celestial GPUs following Battlemage's success
By Jacob Ridley published
News The Arc B570 will be available from next week, too.
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