Nick Evanson
Nick, gaming, and computers all first met in 1981, with the love affair starting on a Sinclair ZX81 in kit form and a book on ZX Basic. He ended up becoming a physics and IT teacher, but by the late 1990s decided it was time to cut his teeth writing for a long defunct UK tech site. He went on to do the same at Madonion, helping to write the help files for 3DMark and PCMark. After a short stint working at Beyond3D.com, Nick joined Futuremark (MadOnion rebranded) full-time, as editor-in-chief for its gaming and hardware section, YouGamers. After the site shutdown, he became an engineering and computing lecturer for many years, but missed the writing bug. Cue four years at TechSpot.com and over 100 long articles on anything and everything. He freely admits to being far too obsessed with GPUs and open world grindy RPGs, but who isn't these days?
Latest articles by Nick Evanson
![Nvidia RTX 5090 Founders Edition graphics card on different backgrounds](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uJa2eJRhCQq8cApckUnPtE-320-80.jpg)
We asked a PSU expert which adapters or extensions are okay for the RTX 50-series. His answer: 'DO NOT BUY adapters or extenders, they can all be dangerous'
By Nick Evanson published
news Spending $2,000 or more on a new GPU? Then get the right PSU and cables to go with it.
![Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 chip inside it.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/TfgmGNXad8R8hxjF75En9i-320-80.jpg)
Just in case you've forgotten all about them, AMD posts a less-than-convincing argument as to why AI PCs are better than any other type of PC
By Nick Evanson published
news NPUs are the key, apparently, but don't ask about what doors they unlock.
![A screenshot taken from the 2025 Nvidia tech demo Zorah](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/GqBdrBud9XQYaNp8DPAAy8-320-80.jpg)
I've been testing Nvidia's new Neural Texture Compression toolkit and the impressive results could be good news for game install sizes
By Nick Evanson published
news Big textures go tiny but there is a price to pay.
![A collection of NVMe SSDs on orange.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/TS44xiDUQAMviLKqDZYhgh-320-80.jpg)
Best cheap SSD deals for gaming today
By Jacob Ridley last updated
deal Cheap and speedy NVMe drives to boost your gaming PC's capacity and lower those load times.
![An image of a Lenovo gaming monitor against a teal background with a white border](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/75TW9h5CbbS2gyay533kwV-320-80.jpg)
Why pay more? This 27-inch 1440p gaming monitor is perfectly priced at just $153
By Nick Evanson published
Deal IPS panel, high refresh rate, VRR support. It's all there.
![graphics cards on a purple background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4V2F8uBSraWcBEyWzPcvTM-320-80.jpg)
Where the AF are all the graphics cards?! It's not just the new RTX 50-series that's impossible to buy, finding any decent GPU in stock at the major US retailers right now is like staring into an abyss of nothing
By Nick Evanson published
Barren shelves It's like the pandemic's back for another round of GPU misery.
![Star Wars Jedi: Survivor outfit locations](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/b5MtbTPmaejhRTLGTvScdh-320-80.jpg)
Epic talks shop about stuttering in games that use its Unreal Engine and offers solutions to the problem
By Nick Evanson last updated
news To precache or to bundle your PSOs, that is the question. Fortunately, Epic has the answer, too.
![A screenshot of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 using the game's photo mode](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/TT2Q5Na9ZLZvro9ejStDS3-320-80.jpg)
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is proof, if any was ever needed, that you don't need the latest graphics technology to have a great-looking game that also runs well
By Nick Evanson published
This year's bar Warhorse Studio has set the bar for others to aim for in 2025.
![Civilization 7 screenshot](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zL3YTybRoXsViFHYqnfQah-320-80.jpg)
Not even the most powerful gaming PC is going to get around Civilization 7's ridiculously variable performance
By Nick Evanson published
Ping pong perf Strategy games are supposed to be all about the CPU when it comes to performance, but Civilization 7 will just stress everything in your gaming PC
![A screenshot of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 using the game's photo mode](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/NJoGtPTcEAnbpzgXdNxEgg-320-80.jpg)
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 performance analysis—scalable frame rates, decent graphics, and barely a stutter in sight
By Nick Evanson published
Medieval marvel And for once, upscaling is completely optional. Wait, this is 2025, yes?
![A screenshot from Civilization 7, using the game's maximum graphics settings](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3FJpyqpZPuNHw3TSfKBpPL-320-80.jpg)
Civilization 7 PC performance analysis: Playable on lots of systems but the late game will grind down whatever CPU you have
By Nick Evanson published
Taxing turns Don't be fooled by how well it runs when you first start playing.
![Spider-Man swinging from a web in Spider-Man 2](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WHCPppYKcndbFLKKtrbczU-320-80.jpg)
Spider-Man 2's PC launch woes are woe-ier than you think, as it looks like GPU-powered DirectStorage is hobbling performance
By Nick Evanson published
news Not Nixxes' finest hour, that's for sure.
![Intel office](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/noDe2kTV3kRZ3W7ngLXyH8-320-80.jpg)
Intel will be keen to forget 2024 despite its products selling well because its foundries still keep on swallowing money
By Nick Evanson published
news Client, data, AI, networking, and edge were all up compared to 2023.
![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.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/rw4LA9vFks7CdWmSXCcM8V-320-80.jpg)
Best CPU coolers in 2025: I've loaded liquid and air coolers onto today's top processors and these are my favorites
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.
![An image of two MSI OLED gaming monitors on a teal background with a white border](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PLoDzRnhvuoNYihkBErCbc-320-80.jpg)
If you're picking up a new RTX 5080 or 5090 today, then either of these glorious OLED monitors will be a perfect match
By Nick Evanson published
Deal Traditionally dimensioned or super ultrawide, both are a feast for your eyes
![Promotional images for the DSKY Moonwatch by Apollo Instruments](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/q2JJh7pkgh2VqzAfMPXXzV-320-80.jpg)
This ultra-cool Apollo computer-inspired smartwatch looks rather beautiful but at the same time weirdly incongruous with the fashion-man model shots
By Nick Evanson published
news Slap a slice of American engineering history onto your wrist.
![Nvidia RTX 5090 Founders Edition graphics card on different backgrounds](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/K78fo9ofXS7WmSeRqHTHtE-320-80.jpg)
MSI says that the supply of its RTX 5090 cards will be very tight, due to a limited supply of GPUs from Nvidia
By Nick Evanson published
news Artificial supply constraint or a sign of genuine manufacturing limitations?
![A close-up photo of a monitor displaying the Windows 11 start icon, with the screen's pixels clearly visible](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/m3Eipa2BWGLR4SaGthxNv8-320-80.jpg)
You don't need an RTX 5090 or a 4K monitor for gaming when you can play Snake on your monitor's subpixels. But you will need a microscope or a good macro lens
By Nick Evanson published
news Or just squint really, really hard.
![Nvidia RTX 5090 Founders Edition graphics card on different backgrounds](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/dbyMS2G9kvcew8wvqTVruE-320-80.jpg)
This spectacular GB202 die shot shows just how massive Nvidia's RTX 5090 GPU is but it's not the largest chip it's ever shoehorned into a gaming graphics card
By Nick Evanson published
news Count the transistors with me. One, two, skip a few, ninety-two point two billion.
![An Arctic Liquid Freezer III and Deepcool Gammaxx S240 pair of AIO liquid CPU coolers against a split grey background, with a PC Gamer Recommended logo in the top right corner](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qLFKPicWok3KutXQkvmAhh-320-80.jpg)
Best liquid cooler for CPUs in 2025: I've tried all the best AIO coolers and these are my top picks
By Nick Evanson last updated
Wetware These are the best liquid chip chillers to suit all budgets, form factors, and processors.
![Packaging for Intel Core i5 13400F and AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D on a green background with a PC Gamer Recommended logo](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/dpxySY7GWp6Fn2Vo37nf34-320-80.jpg)
Best CPU for gaming: these are the chips I recommend for gaming, productivity and peace of mind
By Jacob Ridley last updated
Happy Cores Fire up your rig with the best CPU for gaming. More cores, more clocks, more of everything that matters.
![A collage of PC components, including a CPU retail box, motherboard, RAM kit, and power supply unit against a teal background with a white border](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/CRxXZypPkwjahFXa9dFVr-320-80.jpg)
If you're looking to upgrade your gaming rig to make it ready for an RTX 5090, here are the best parts to match that gigantic GPU
By Nick Evanson published
Deal Like a dating show host, I've picked the perfect CPU, motherboard, RAM, and PSU to get.
![A photo of an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K processor next to an Intel logo](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3yLpUZWYiRd2sXRskkh8B8-320-80.jpg)
Arrow Lake's had three months of Windows and BIOS updates to fix its performance, and my testing shows in some games, it's worse
By Nick Evanson published
Wayward arrow I thought fixes were supposed to improve things.
![A screenshot of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth PC version, using the game's photo mode](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ERcQxqfS5zh4yMrpQ9qP85-320-80.jpg)
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth PC performance analysis: Runs well and looks good, but the tight system requirements and dearth of PC-centric options spoil the show
By Nick Evanson published
Cloud Nein Limited graphics options, capped frame rates, and a mediocre upscaling system. Gee, thanks Square Enix.
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