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
![Memorial Day deals SSDs on a blue background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KN4EGGNrAEn7HKArcwjrTT-320-80.jpg)
These Memorial Day SSD deals bring 2TB of quality NVMe storage down to $0.07 per gigabyte
By Jacob Ridley published
Deal These aren't budget drives—I'm only recommending the good stuff.
![Razer Fujin Pro gaming chair at a desk](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zT5EaYXirKgMwvZxhEdzxS-320-80.jpg)
Razer Fujin Pro review
By Jacob Ridley published
Subtle A first stab at the premium office chair market, the Fujin Pro is not as far off the mark as you'd expect.
![TSMC semiconductor manufacturing process showing multiple wafers stacked up](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/CHPKtJPpZ97km5bxLLvhHG-320-80.jpg)
The world's largest chipmaker could flip a kill switch and remotely disable its machines in the event of an invasion
By Jacob Ridley published
News That's one helluva kill switch.
![Microsoft's Task Manager in Windows 11](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/sM9ZgtUVQf9UdK3jNxtbAA-320-80.jpg)
PC user annoyed about Task Manager jumping around gets told how to fix it with one button—by the developer that built the application 30 years ago
By Jacob Ridley published
News Now that's great customer support.
![Scarlett Johansson at the 2020 Oscars.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/W86ZvFzb52fW8RuQFASMVD-320-80.jpg)
OpenAI pauses use of GPT-4o 'Her' voice due to similarity to Scarlett Johansson: 'so eerily similar… my closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference'
By Jacob Ridley published
News The Hollywood star says they were approached by OpenAI to use her likeness, but declined.
![Noctua's NV-FS2 fans on audio equipment.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/q3WSZA8oY2KYv2DxMXkC3b-320-80.jpg)
Noctua's newest products will keep you, and your consoles, cool
By Jacob Ridley published
News Built using our favorite PC fan, the NF-A12x25.
![Intel Lunar Lake](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/bRop79AxaTjxW9Q3fdYt39-320-80.jpg)
Intel's Lunar Lake is here to remind you x86 still has a place in laptops: 'You've never seen x86 power characteristics quite like this'
By Dave James published
news It's coming out swinging, promising faster AI, CPU, and gaming performance than AMD and Qualcomm
![MSI RTX 4060 graphics card](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/rfBE7bab2T36m6ajivv6J6-320-80.jpg)
Hey, look, an RTX 4060 legitimately below $300
By Jacob Ridley published
Deal A rare discount down to $293 for the entry-level RTX 40-series graphics card.
![Google Search homepage with the Google logo and search bar.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PVTjyzVPLpcQ6iUazKhDHD-320-80.jpg)
Google looks intent on breaking the business of the internet, and AI won't fix it
By Jacob Ridley published
Hi, Gemini New AI search tools may be sold as useful to users, but what's in it for the people creating quality content?
![Mark Zuckerberg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ZPe9FuwsE3G3hL6rxFrUsA-320-80.jpg)
Meta is reportedly back on its wearables bit: this time it wants to stick cameras on earbuds for AI
By Jacob Ridley published
News You'll never guess what the codename for the project is.
![A screenshot from an OpenAI video showing off new GPT-4o features.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6zCA2TwA7NKq9vjc7PNgVb-320-80.jpg)
OpenAI unveils GPT-4o with a video of a man making small talk with his phone and I cannot pretend it's not really weird
By Jacob Ridley published
News OpenAI unveils GPT-4o with new audio, video and text recognition abilities—rolling out to free users.
![Clackeys artisan keycaps on display](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/FZdxgpWpSdik4YL6URKH6Q-320-80.jpg)
Clackeys, a big name in artisan keycaps, is closing down: 'I am sorry I could not keep this boat afloat'
By Jacob Ridley published
News The company never turned a profit, says CEO and founder Robert Vignone.
![Screenshot from Visit Wales' metaverse project](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/S6f9ZKrjKxXhkT3e3iBqU8-320-80.jpg)
Land of dragons and jank: I took a trip to Wales in the metaverse
By Jacob Ridley published
Es i i'r metaverse! Croeso i Gymru metaverse!
![Asus ROG Ally X teaser screenshot saying 'extra, extend, expand'](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/F3jK6o2rhV7Cju2x5ZquqT-320-80.jpg)
Asus (sorta) announces the ROG Ally X: bigger battery, updated design, same performance as original ROG Ally
By Jacob Ridley published
News "Not everything is changing but there are significant improvements across the board."
![Asus Zephyrus G14 2024 on a blue background.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/RLBruhs3BstkZiW7PVEiE5-320-80.jpg)
My top pick for a 14-inch gaming laptop in 2024 is $250 off with an RTX 4060 inside it
By Jacob Ridley published
Deal You can save a chunk of change on the new and improved ROG Zephyrus G14.
![Glorious KeyCapsules keycap set, GPBT Sketch, on a gaming keyboard.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/CZG2vCRoLTH5Cjp8NDjj9d-320-80.jpg)
Keycap delivery! This limited edition keycap set from Glorious has turned my clean-cut keyboard into crude doodles and I'm surprisingly here for it
By Jacob Ridley published
Doodles The set gives the impression someone has drawn all over my lovely gaming keyboard with a white marker pen.
![Micron's LPCAMM2 memory module.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/gHiGNipa4KbnnQZJF8kMUL-320-80.jpg)
A new form of easily upgradeable memory promising thinner laptops and low power is now available
By Jacob Ridley published
News Micron is shipping its first LPCAMM2 modules out, and they're now available to buy individually or within the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7.
![Valve Steam Deck with the GeForce Now webpage open.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xqUKtkcK3NoLEo7nkuKMjU-320-80.jpg)
Hallelujah, Nvidia will now take care of the fiddly GeForce Now set-up on Steam Deck for you
By Jacob Ridley published
News It's not quite a dedicated app but it's a big improvement on tweaking the settings yourself.
![Flexispot E7L desk set-up in an office.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Eio5dpQE9g2YgcCNFrnKwb-320-80.jpg)
Flexispot E7L adjustable standing desk review
By Jacob Ridley published
Handy L One of the best ways to make use of an awkward corner.
![A screengrab of the Windows 11 VPN interface](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8BnLpf6w3sCTqEP4UGBpub-320-80.jpg)
Trouble connecting to your VPN? Microsoft admits that a recent Windows security update is preventing virtual connections
By Jacob Ridley published
News The April security update is to blame.
![Starforge Systems Navigator Pro gaming PC unboxing and installation.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xTdc2gLdJsDQAGoxNmsDZW-320-80.jpg)
Starforge Systems Navigator Pro review
By Jacob Ridley published
The right direction Built with care.
![Nvidia's Ray Reconstruction in action, with a comparison shot showing the technology on and off.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/mEmKcZRh4BAWVRhK39SwmW-320-80.jpg)
Classic PC games modded with RTX Remix just received support for one of Nvidia's newest features: Ray Reconstruction
By Jacob Ridley published
News Should help deliver some slick-looking scenes, even in older titles.
![NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is shown in a clean room at the Astrotech Space Operations facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 8, 2022.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/RqTWKMkNLekyKTw9BGnLxW-320-80.jpg)
NASA's latest speed test logs its laser-based comms system at 25 Mbps—a connection speed usually good for online gaming—over 140 million miles through our solar system
By Jacob Ridley published
News Just don't look at the ping.
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