Zak Storey

Zak Storey

After graduating from the University of Derby in 2014, Zak joined the PC Format and Maximum PC team as its resident staff writer. Specializing in PC building, and all forms of hardware and componentry, he soon worked his way up to editor-in-chief, leading the publication through the covid dark times. Since then, he’s dabbled in PR, working for Corsair for a while as its UK PR specialist, before returning to the fold as a tech journalist once again. 

He now operates as a freelance tech editor, writing for all manner of publications, including PC Gamer, Maximum PC, Techradar, Gamesradar, PCGamesN, and Trusted Reviews as well. If there’s something happening in the tech industry it’s highly likely Zak has a strong opinion on it.

Outside of the world of silicon transistors, Zak also moonlights as first barista and head of coffee, at a local independent cafe in the Forest of Dean. In his spare time, you can find him training calisthenics, or out in the Wye Valley shooting longbows with his field archery club.

Latest articles by Zak Storey

WD Black SN7100 and Lexar NM790 SSDs on a pink background with PC Gamer Recommended label on top

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.

Speedy storage
A Crucial P510 SSD installed in a gaming PC.

Crucial P510 NVMe SSD review

By Zak Storey published

Balanced Well balanced, affordable, and a prime pick for your next rig.

Balanced
The Kioxia Exceria Plus G4 on a desk, ready to be installed inside a gaming PC.

Kioxia Exceria Plus G4 NVMe SSD review

By Zak Storey published

Excelsior From flash maker to drive creator, the price just ain't right on this one.

Excelsior
An SK Hynix Platinum P51 drive installed inside a gaming PC.

SK Hynix Platinum P51 NVMe SSD review

By Zak Storey published

Platinum Seriously impressive if only it was a touch more affordable.

Platinum
Biwin Black Opal X570 Pro loaded into a gaming PC.

Biwin Black Opal X570 Pro 2 TB review

By Zak Storey published

Black Opal Taking the fight to Phison, the drive that may or may not exist.

Black Opal
Powercolor Alphyn AM10 Wireless Gaming Mouse with RGB enabled on a desk.

PowerColor Alphyn AM10 Wireless Gaming Mouse review

By Zak Storey published

New arrival Punching well above its weight class, but not priced right just yet.

New arrival
An air cooler from Noctua and a liquid cooler from Arctic on a blue background with the PC Gamer Recommended badge in the upper right.

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.

Cool Breeze
Two of the best liquid coolers on a red background with the PC Gamer recommended badge in the top right.

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.

Wetware
NZXT Kraken Elite 360 liquid cooler set-up inside a gaming PC.

NZXT Kraken Elite 360 RGB (2024) review

By Zak Storey published

Poppin' Exceptional style, simple installation, and mildly frustrating fans.

Poppin'
Tryx Panorama 360 liquid cooler installed on a test bench.

Tryx Panorama 360 review

By Zak Storey published

Widescreen The glitz, the glamor and one serious price tag.

Widescreen
The NZXT Kraken Plus 360 RGB liquid cooler installed in a test bench.

NZXT Kraken Plus 360 RGB (2025) review

By Zak Storey published

Cheap screen All the bells and whistles for a hell of a lot less.

Cheap screen
Two PC cases on a yellow background with the PC Gamer recommends badge in the upper right corner.

The best PC cases in 2025: These are the chassis I'd use for my next gaming build

By Jacob Ridley last updated

Best Case You'll want the best PC case if you're building your perfect gaming PC.

Best Case
Lian Li O11 Vision Compact PC case

Lian Li O11 Vision Compact PC case review

By Zak Storey last updated

Glassy Exceptional versatility and style meets affordability.

Glassy
A gaming PC lit up with neon-style lighting and using an RX 9070 XT graphics card.

The RX 9070 XT might not be the truly mid-range graphics card I'm still dreaming of but it turned my latest sci-fi PC build into a frame rate menace

By Zak Storey published

Tron-style Quiet, cool collected, Tron-themed (sort of), thanks to the Evolv X2 and a ton of Lian Li fans, this machine slaps.

Tron-style
NZXT H3 Flow

NZXT H3 Flow case review

By Zak Storey published

Bigger, bolder, and surprisingly versatile.

PC Cases
NZXT H9 Flow RGB+ PC case

NZXT H9 Flow RGB+ case review

By Zak Storey published

Flowing Revamped and redesigned; it's big, pricey, and seriously good.

Flowing
WD Black SN8100 and Lexar NM790 SSDs on a blue background with PC Gamer recommended logo on top

Best M.2 SSDs for gaming in 2025: my top picks for blazing fast storage

By Jeremy Laird last updated

High speed Our choices for the best NVMe M.2 SSDs give you blisteringly fast load times.

High speed
A WD Black SN8100 solid-state drive on a desk and ready to be installed.

WD Black SN8100 2 TB NVMe SSD review

By Zak Storey published

Wicked drive The fastest drive on the planet, right now.

Wicked drive
A Crucial P310 SSD installed inside a gaming PC.

Crucial P310 1 TB (2280) review

By Zak Storey published

Plucky Little to big, this budget QLC drive certainly delivers.

Plucky
A WD Black SN7100 SSD installed inside a gaming PC.

WD Black SN7100 1 TB review

By Zak Storey published

Top quality Top-quality drive with a confusing price tag.

Top quality
Crucial T705 NVMe SSD on a desk.

Crucial T705 1 TB review

By Zak Storey published

Speed machine Once the world's fastest sequential SSD, this plucky stick still holds its own.

Speed machine
Phanteks Evolv X2 PC case

Phanteks Evolv X2 PC case review

By Zak Storey published

Original Monolithic, monstrous and beautiful, but at a cost.

Original
A Samsung 9100 Pro SSD in both 2 TB and 4 TB sizes.

Samsung 9100 Pro 2 TB review

By Zak Storey published

Too late? Nearly two years on, and Samsung's first PCIe 5.0 drive is, well, average.

Too late?
A gaming PC with RGB lighting enabled on a desk.

This gaming PC build smashes together the very latest components but if I did it again, I'd do it differently

By Zak Storey published

OTT The H9 Elite looks glorious, but with an RTX 5090 plus AMD's 9950X, it makes for a toasty little number.

OTT
NZXT H7 Flow PC case being built into

NZXT H7 Flow PC case review

By Zak Storey published

Super-cool Pseudo full-tower with some insane cooling.

Super-cool
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