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
![Ayaneo Kun handheld gaming PC](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/sNUEWc4cCfMXgnJyJ4pxr8-320-80.jpg)
Ayaneo Kun handheld PC review
By Dave James published
Sticky Physically wonderful, technically impressive, frustratingly quirky.
![AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D processor](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/UNEXbPxiugyPF2cRWdeaZ4-320-80.jpg)
One of the biggest CS2 tournaments in the world has completely switched over to AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D chips 'to ensure a smooth esports experience'
By Dave James published
news The first Counter-Strike 2 Major is getting big system upgrade ahead of its kick-off this month.
![Dr. Lisa Su at SXSW Conference holding MI300 GPU](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ihC6XZVYjRLXb9vAWQzNY7-320-80.jpg)
If you're 'worried about what AI will do' AMD's Dr. Lisa Su says 'the answer is not go slower, that is definitely not the answer'
By Dave James published
news Go faster, and maybe buy more Instinct GPUs.
![Diablo 4 with ray tracing and DLSS3](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4tj5bBTz7GtsmxJtva2gJf-320-80.jpg)
Oooh, shiny. Ray tracing is coming to Diablo 4 March 26
By Dave James published
news New reflection and shadow features are incoming to leach your frame rates.
![Acer Nitro 16](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WWyc6ANwtvYpYPtNqL9fxD-320-80.jpg)
Acer's got two of the cheapest RTX 4070 gaming laptops around today
By Dave James published
deal These two 16-inch laptops are a great price and come with some great hardware, too.
![Global warming, conceptual computer illustration. Statue of Liberty, New York, USA, flooded and in ruins, in a possible future. This is showing a rise in sea levels due to global warming. Global warming is the increase of average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans. The melting of ice and glaciers contribute to the rise in sea levels.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EAJWqCM9HsTGyeUCtiDCvW-320-80.jpg)
Microsoft says AI data privacy lawsuit 'devotes 198 pages to doomsday hyperbole about AI as a threat to civilization'
By Dave James published
news Also says AI is kinda like a VCR, so believe what you will.
![Dough Spectrum One](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/dLpjeVQio8o6GnXfwmzwUe-320-80.jpg)
The glossy 4K gaming monitor I'd pick over any current OLED is just $500 today
By Dave James published
deal There's a $200 discount on the gorgeously glossy Dough Spectrum One at both Amazon and B&H Photo.
![HP Omen Transcend 14 gaming laptop from various angles](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5M3xq95kst8wULxMGQannV-320-80.jpg)
HP Omen Transcend 14 gaming laptop review
By Dave James published
Cutie A supremely affordable, surprisingly gorgeous little gaming laptop with just a few teething troubles.
![HP Omen Transcend 14](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vMn73yGScFTds2DG2RZjBf-320-80.jpg)
HP Omen's affordable new 14-inch Meteor Lake gaming laptop is already on sale with a chonky $300 discount and an RTX 4060 GPU
By Dave James published
deal The RTX 4060 version is a great price at just $1,270.
![PC Gamer Best of CES award](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/SQuGaG8PwhXAkDMCHdgd26-320-80.jpg)
The Best of CES 2024
By Dave James published
CES 2024 The products and features we loved so much from the year's show.
![Valve Steam Deck OLED handheld PC](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LLFqM532iCTPhKDDbZyzVJ-320-80.jpg)
Absolute masochist uses a mismatched pair of old iPods to game on their Steam Deck
By Dave James published
News I know the Deck's touchpads take a little getting used to, but this is just silly.
![Framework Laptop 12th Gen upgrade](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5xromFPmQV8xXwtLmu7eoP-320-80.jpg)
Come get on the Framework bus with me and bag yourself an 11th Gen 13-incher for just $499
By Dave James published
News Framework's opening up its Factory Seconds and Refurb offerings as well as giving developers more to play with.
![Acer Predator Triton 14 gaming laptop](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/AqypfEsxtdpobc4RxLJmiQ-320-80.jpg)
I love a little gaming laptop and this powerful 14-incher with an RTX 4070 has never been so cheap
By Dave James published
deal At $1,300 it's the cheapest it's ever been, with $1,500 as low as it's ever gone in the past. There's also no compromise on power in this slimline shell.
![Two of the best gaming PCs on a grey background with the PC Gamer Recommends badge in the top right.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/TS6C4vcLR4PyCuWKJCextk-320-80.jpg)
Best gaming PCs in 2024: these are the builds and brands I recommend
By Dave James last updated
Perfect PC Everything you need to know about buying the best gaming PC today.
![Alienware QD-OLED AQ322QF and AW2725DF](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/BFqtkXt8FbKeGYCusPPUVY-320-80.jpg)
There are still massive problems with OLEDs as gaming monitors and that's why I'm sticking with my gorgeous glossy IPS for now
By Dave James published
OLED? Oh no Maybe I'll eat these words when the next-gen panels arrive, but for my PC needs OLED's not doing it for me on the desktop.
![OneXPlayer 2 Pro handheld gaming PC](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/V3FmRKfvhXG4rbiUDjYeDm-320-80.jpg)
OneXPlayer 2 Pro handheld gaming PC review
By Dave James published
Too much A big boi gaming handheld that wants to be your laptop too. And arguably fails to be either.
![President's Day Header](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6A79fzriotxWpW66aE8JAU-320-80.jpg)
Presidents' Day PC gaming deals 2024: the best bargains available today
By Dave James last updated
El Presidente Treat yourself this Presidents' Day with some great savings on TVs and the latest PC hardware.
![ASRock RX 7900 XT and MSI RTX 4070 Ti graphics cards](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/F8vZd4gUN5tzK7HpXX4b5o-320-80.jpg)
These hefty RTX 4070 Ti and RX 7900 XT graphics card deals are asking one key question: Do you want more memory or ray-traced gaming performance?
By Dave James published
Deal We're looking at big discounts on two tasty GPUs, but which is right for you?
![ABS gaming PC with 32GB DDR5 from TeamGroup](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/JjTRRK6mpS5ALiTCNEtW7K-320-80.jpg)
Gamers with ravenous RAM appetites rejoice, this RTX 4070 gaming PC with 32GB of DDR5 is under $1,200
By Dave James published
Deal And it's pretty damned quick memory, too.
![Ayaneo Kun handheld gaming PC](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/pfEtiqwU3GbxthjJon4FeQ-320-80.jpg)
There's one thing gaming laptops need to learn from Valve, Lenovo, and Ayaneo handhelds: Trust us
By Dave James published
Take the power back The level of granular control over the hardware inside modern handheld gaming PCs is a million miles away from that available to gaming laptops.
![Asus TUF Gaming RTX 4080 Super](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WBoWxJdJ7AWrX5d7JKGiMV-320-80.jpg)
Asus TUF Gaming RTX 4080 Super review
By Dave James published
Why pay more? If you can't get your hands on a Founders Edition, Asus' MSRP TUF boi is an excellent alternative.
![Nvidia RTX 4080 Super Founders Edition graphics card](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YyegbDygGBwydKJ2Gyu6h8-320-80.jpg)
Nvidia RTX 4080 Super Founders Edition review
By Dave James published
RTX Rehab With the same performance, but a $200 haircut, the RTX 4080 Super is a necessary rehabilitation of the maligned RTX 4080.
![Framework 16 gaming laptop](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8BR3v8eMetg5gEqfRXLQWi-320-80.jpg)
Framework 16 modular gaming laptop review
By Dave James published
💕 You're buying for the promise, not the performance. But when the potential is this damned enticing it's hard to resist.
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