Dave James
Dave has been gaming since the days of Zaxxon and Lady Bug on the Colecovision, and code books for the Commodore Vic 20 (Death Race 2000!). He built his first gaming PC at the tender age of 16, and finally finished bug-fixing the Cyrix-based system around a year later. When he dropped it out of the window. He first started writing for Official PlayStation Magazine and Xbox World many decades ago, then moved onto PC Format full-time, then PC Gamer, TechRadar, and T3 among others. Now he's back, writing about the nightmarish graphics card market, CPUs with more cores than sense, gaming laptops hotter than the sun, and SSDs more capacious than a Cybertruck.
Latest articles by Dave James
![Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic headpones on a green two-tone background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/TYaDGzGb9gasLKNij2TG3G-320-80.jpg)
The best audiophile headphones for gaming in 2024: my top recommendations for the best cans money can buy
By Dave James last updated
Audiophile Immerse yourself in your games with the best audiophile headphones for gaming.
![A GameSir Nova Lite and Microsoft Xbox Wireless pair of controllers against a coloured background with a PC Gamer recommended logo](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/cdWnsApaCEWi3SDdEUTxWo-320-80.jpg)
Best PC controllers in 2024: the pads I recommend for PC gamers
By Dave James last updated
Total control Grab one of the best PC controllers for when your keyboard and mouse simply won't do.
![An Asus ROG Ally X and Valve Steam Deck against a colored background with a PC Gamer Recommended logo](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8ndgqJcefkxNDGKEsxrhUg-320-80.jpg)
Best handheld gaming PC in 2024: my recommendations for the best portable powerhouses
By Jacob Ridley last updated
Portable PC PC gaming has officially gone portable, and these handheld gaming PCs are mighty quick.
![Best gaming monitors on a green background with the PC Gamer Recommends badge in the top right of the image](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kQ24HdzUS9YedZTLwTc7zb-320-80.jpg)
Best gaming monitors in 2024: the pixel-perfect panels I'd buy myself
By Dave James last updated
Eye candy The best gaming monitors balance price with panel quality, resolution and refresh rate.
![Two of the best 4K gaming monitors, the MSI MPG 321URX QD-OLED and the LG UltraGear 27GR93U on a grey background with the PC Gamer recommended logo in the top right corner](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WxPAR33Yh7pFgYCh9hxmdA-320-80.jpg)
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.
![Starfield running DLSS](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8wbx3omhdCiYHYjRPNb53m-320-80.jpg)
How to add DLSS and Frame Generation to Starfield
By Dave James last updated
Upmarket upscaling As well as whether you should...
![MSI Titan GT77 HX gaming laptop with RTX 4090 and Core i9](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MFM5aSQaSAoUp5qvcxHCeQ-320-80.jpg)
Best cheap gaming laptop deals
By Dave James last updated
Deals Our regularly updated list of all the best gaming laptop deals you'll find today.
![Best gaming laptop: Razer and Lenovo gaming laptops on a blue background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/FC5PhtCekPHZpRheeexnSK-320-80.jpg)
Best gaming laptops in 2024: I've had my pick of portable powerhouses and these are the best
By Dave James last updated
Portable powerhouses Don't compromise on power or portability with the best gaming laptops.
![Gaming PC group shot](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xXhrEsP3nMY9e43WUFUxSC-320-80.jpg)
Best cheap gaming PC deals today
By Dave James last updated
deal Our simple advice: don't pay full price for a gaming PC.
![Image of some of the best gaming desks with a green background.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6hYG6rVVuTgsrHfQ49zTpM-320-80.jpg)
Best gaming desk in 2024: my top picks for standing, sitting and everything in between
By Dave James last updated
Top Desks 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.
![Best CPU coolers on a blue two tone background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/nHE37G8FAZsFScutycSKhb-320-80.jpg)
Best CPU coolers in 2024: I've loaded these AIO and air coolers onto today's top CPUs
By Dave James 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.
![The best gaming chairs guide header image with Logitech Herman Miller Embody chair and Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 on a green background with PC Gamer recommend badge.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/UHtKGg7rxCoE3yoZpJakja-320-80.jpg)
Best gaming chairs in 2024: the seats I'd suggest for any gamer
By Jacob Ridley last updated
Take a seat Treat your posterior to one of the best gaming chairs.
![Big gaming computer set up with headset and two screens. There is an empty chair. Nobody is there and the screens show live streaming of an esport event.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/RMQqKDnDCF7AY6MYYYGuoQ-320-80.jpg)
Best VPN for gaming in 2024
By Abigail Shannon last updated
Stealth Mode Prevent DDoS attacks, secure your devices, boost your speed, and get games for bargain prices – all with a gaming VPN. Here are my top picks.
![Amazon Prime Day deals scattered on a blue background.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/gABVTa5BbDWeLENRyLKTiM-320-80.jpg)
Best UK Amazon Prime Day PC gaming deals
By Nick Evanson last updated
Prime Day Deals Don't forget, it's not just Amazon that have lots of big discounts on everything PC gaming.
![A collection of graphics cards on a colourful background.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/V8wiUBwunrqA24vJHEheUR-320-80.jpg)
Cheap graphics card deals this week
By Dave James last updated
Pixel pushers Yes, once more there are cheap graphics card deals.
![Some Prime Day gaming laptop deals scattered on a blue background.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MhbagZpZvKxnZvF37S2kvB-320-80.jpg)
Amazon Prime Day gaming laptop deals
By Dave James last updated
Prime Day Deals The big summer sales event is over and all that's left to do is mop up the last remaining deals—there are some!
![Three gaming desktop PCs, the Alienware Aurora R16, Lenovo Legion Gen 8 and the Yeiyan Odachi, on a green/blue background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/oKEr9uc3UQxoRKip4M3mVd-320-80.jpg)
Amazon Prime Day gaming PC deals
By Dave James last updated
Prime Day Deals There are always some tasty gaming PC deals on the table.
![A screenshot from a YouTube video showing Tony Blair delivering a speech on "the Tech Revolution and Britain’s Economic Growth"](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/rUd7DXfywxDLpDCgF9vg4L-320-80.jpg)
The Tony Blair Insitute 'did not simply ask ChatGPT for the results' of its AI impact report, it trained its own version of ChatGPT instead
By Andy Edser last updated
news If there's one thing I trust, its AI predictions. Said nobody ever.
![Corsair HS55 and HyperX Cloud Alpha wireless gaming headsets against a colored background, with a PC Gamer Recommended logo](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kDSxfYxMRUSPTbVCtknKGh-320-80.jpg)
Best wireless gaming headsets in 2024: 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.
![Two of the best headsets side by side on a pink background.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/JcTkkafu6X9GPCiZ28k7RV-320-80.jpg)
Best gaming headsets in 2024: I'd bet my ears on these headphones
By Dave James last updated
Quality cans Treat your ears to some treacle with the best gaming headsets.
![The best mechanical keyboards on a grey background with the PC Gamer recommends badge in the top right.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Hj3btuQZyHad9pbyk4qJSn-320-80.jpg)
Best mechanical gaming keyboards in 2024
By Jacob Ridley last updated
Click Clack Make the switch with our guide to the best mechanical gaming keyboards.
![Notepad](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/srJRRFzEyNEAYbURVX673L-320-80.jpg)
The latest Windows update means Notepad might now be my favourite word processor
By Dave James published
news Having not really been updated since 1983, Notepad is getting rich features without losing its essence.
![The best gaming keyboards on a grey background with the PC Gamer recommends badge.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/jmAUH4fCVSoSrYDXiTrzxj-320-80.jpg)
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.