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
![Intel's first High NA EUV tool set up.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6TNzpBAZcccTewcNUDc2cY-320-80.jpg)
There are few easy ways to get across the incredible complexity required to build a modern computer chip: this photograph is one of them
By Jacob Ridley published
News Makes you realise we'd have a tough job ever getting this technology back if it were, let's say, somehow forgotten.
![Roccat Burst Pro Air gaming mouse with RGB LEDs enabled on colourful deskmat.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/UHFQwqUQXGyK3RJY6xodQf-320-80.jpg)
Roccat is gone, replaced by Turtle Beach: 'We felt that time and resources would be best spent focusing under a single brand'
By Jacob Ridley published
News The PC peripheral brand has been fully assimilated into parent company Turtle Beach.
![An ASUS BTF graphics card with the connector up-close.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LxNXNvaaFRYGKubcfBWQab-320-80.jpg)
Gaming PCs with no visible cables are the boldest design change I've seen in a decade of building computers
By Jacob Ridley published
Look ma, no cables! From motherboards and power supplies sneakily hiding cables, to graphics cards and fans that entirely get rid of them, we're seeing the end of cluttered gaming PCs.
![A modded PS1 inside a portable form factor.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/E42UudRptZNRB5YqqvjfnM-320-80.jpg)
Here's a portable PS1 built from the remnants of an actual console and it only took folding the motherboard 'like a book'
By Jacob Ridley published
News Does this hurt the motherboard?
![Playseat Formula Intelligence - F1 Edition racing seat on a gradient background.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/NSZm6S4VZsxmTGftT2Xw3P-320-80.jpg)
Playseat's latest racing seat makes it crystal clear that you like F1, in case a cockpit in your room wasn't clear enough
By Jacob Ridley published
News I still want one, though.
![Star Citizen salvager](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WqmJJ6yxsmAqDLPNfLLeqY-320-80.jpg)
Updated Star Citizen minimum system requirements look gentle but they're more guidelines than actual rules
By Jacob Ridley published
News You still don't want to play this game with less than 32GB of RAM or without a decent CPU.
![An aerial view of Samsung's upcoming Taylor Texas fab site.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/owFUE22gjtAUJJka6Tgr53-320-80.jpg)
US promises Samsung $6.4B to build more chips on US soil, which only increases the chance of a Made in USA GPU at some point
By Jacob Ridley published
News Samsung, TSMC, and Intel are all big benefactors from the CHIPS and Science Act cash the US Government is throwing around right now.
![A screengrab of a video showing someone removing the casing from a semiconductor under a microscope.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/HKeDsUngUQbUnWWG6D7Mt3-320-80.jpg)
My top TikTok account of the minute: this 'guy with two microscopes' that peeps inside computer chips
By Jacob Ridley published
News Ready for your close-up?
![Lenovo Legion Pro 7i gaming laptop on a blue background.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/bnCGcm4rgscqzBkVms9sAL-320-80.jpg)
Our favorite gaming laptop is $700 off right now: not a bad price to secure an RTX 4080
By Jacob Ridley published
Deal The Lenovo Legion 7i is down to just over $2,000 over at B&H right now.
![The Glorious D 2 Pro 4KHz/8KHz gaming mouse on a desk.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/yVNq4ksC8WrSYEtBj8DUAm-320-80.jpg)
Glorious Model D 2 Pro 4K/8KHz Edition review
By Jacob Ridley published
8K 8,000 Hz polling is wasted on me.
![The Nextorage X Series 2TB drive on a desk.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/maWNGgYgdYhfHSenjTNrck-320-80.jpg)
Nextorage X Series (NN5PRO) 2TB review
By Jacob Ridley published
Cost per GB The fastest SSD for random reads/writes we've ever tested, but for what purpose?
![A Scuf Envision Pro controller on a desk](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/FrubAyLacnu2R7mWpwzxUk-320-80.jpg)
Scuf Envision Pro controller review
By Jacob Ridley published
PC first A high-end controller actually designed for PC gaming.
![Acer Nitro 16](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vAk77uWvFipFywhkvr8Big-320-80.jpg)
A 16-inch gaming laptop is desirable but make it an RTX 4070 model for $1,200 and I'm in
By Jacob Ridley published
Deal Acer's Nitro 16 is currently on offer over at Newegg, and it's not just the Nvidia GPU I'm into.
![Google Earth images of TSMC's Fab 21 construction in Arizona over the span of two years.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ASbkZkKjvPJSXzWQBHYMmh-320-80.jpg)
President Biden says he'll hand $6.6 billion to world's largest chipmaker to stick around and expand in Arizona
By Jacob Ridley published
News That's CHIPS Act cash headed into TSMC's pocket, and in return it'll build not one but three fabs in Arizona.
![Intel Arc A750 Limited Edition graphics card](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/gYoU3QZJsLeuE7SNF5zqam-320-80.png)
Intel Battlemage reportedly headed our way before Black Friday
By Jacob Ridley published
News That's sometime before November 29, for non-Americans or reluctant capitalists.
![Google headquarters is seen in Mountain View, California, United States on September 26, 2022.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hF9CqPG4h4hmTkKtVQ9FkX-320-80.jpg)
Google sums up 2023's security exploits: the good news is fixes are blocking some types of zero-day attack. The bad news is Windows has seen more than most
By Jacob Ridley published
News 2023 also saw a greater number of zero-day attacks in the wild than 2022, but still fewer than 2021.
![A controller in the style of the Mysterious Artefact from Baldur's Gate 3, created by Rudeism.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/cLBhSKPfVWxK9xdnxSDR6n-320-80.jpg)
This custom controller builder is making one in the shape of the Mysterious Artefact from Baldur's Gate 3, and it mostly works
By Jacob Ridley published
News Shadowheart approves.
![An AndaSeat gaming chair on a blue background.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/UH8xJgijPfHMRS9hdWk3NM-320-80.jpg)
Knock an extra 10% off this new AndaSeat gaming chair—dropping it and its fifth dimension armrests under $400
By Jacob Ridley published
Deal We've got a coupon code for an extra 10% off, if you're interested. Did I mention the 5D armrests?
![Razer Blade 14 gaming laptop on a desk.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YqsyoyGrBvstxVCx5PpDre-320-80.jpg)
Razer Blade 14 (2024) review
By Jacob Ridley published
Nice 'n' pricey AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS | Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 (140W) | 32GB DDR5 | 1TB SSD | $2,700 | £2,700
![The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. logo atop a building at the Hsinchu Science Park in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. TSMC is scheduled to release earnings results on Oct. 19.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/K9uYnQH7zFqsKZ4cLofDfn-320-80.jpg)
Major Taiwan earthquake temporarily halts production at Nvidia and AMD chipmaker
By Jacob Ridley published
News The earthquake is one of the largest in Taiwan's history, leaving at least seven dead and more trapped.
![A Gigabyte gaming monitor on a blue background.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/37arKn5BBfUgXiVmxtHuWP-320-80.jpg)
There's practically never been a better time to upgrade to 1440p, as this $170 165Hz Gigabyte gaming monitor proves
By Jacob Ridley published
Deal It's not some junker, either: IPS panel, 1ms response time, and FreeSync Premium all well under $200.
![Lexar Play 2230 1TB SSD on top of a Steam Deck.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/UnnKHrxQenMQ6WeBntmNcP-320-80.jpg)
Lexar Play 2230 1TB SSD review
By Jacob Ridley published
Handheld upgrade For a Steam Deck, ROG Ally, or Legion Go SSD update, look no further than the impressive Play 2230.