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
![Corsair Platform:6 Creator Edition gaming desk](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uj7hjUf9RWcjoSiyzGkD6X-320-80.jpg)
Corsair Platform:6 Creator Edition gaming desk review
By Dave James published
Full package A Swiss Army Knife of a gaming desk with the promise of becoming a streaming home studio.
![Razer Blade gaming laptops](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/w493hcR7BLuf6jJunHfjET-320-80.jpg)
Razer's Blade gaming laptops have lost their edge
By Dave James published
Rusty The metaphor might write itself, but the competition has gotten so fierce Razer can no longer ignore it.
![intel cpu](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Ria5erNerXX8q9PbzyAZvG-320-80.jpg)
The Chinese government is phasing out Intel and AMD CPUs and Microsoft's Windows OS because they don't fit its new 'safe and reliable' guidelines
By Chris Szewczyk published
News This is getting nasty.
![Valve Steam Deck OLED orb](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/z3Ejd8pQQQkEXcxqzDQqWm-320-80.jpg)
Valve explains how it built an orb out of Steam Deck OLED prototypes rather than making Half-Life 3, vowing 'we will construct an orb at any opportunity'
By Dave James published
news "We presume people from around the globe will make the pilgrimage to bask in its glow."
![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.
![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.
![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.
![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.
![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.
![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.
![MSI RTX 4070 Ti Super graphics card](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Geen7Dfp9HhrgpgqsdxacE-320-80.jpg)
MSI RTX 4070 Ti Super Ventus 3X review
By Chris Szewczyk published
Superseder A solid upgrade with a superior spec, but there's an asterisk.
![JBL and Creative earbuds on an orange background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XBpqJ78CZX7ZLywyf56EfV-320-80.jpg)
The best wireless gaming earbuds in 2024
By Dave James last updated
Budding gamers So you finally managed to bag a Steam Deck or ROG Ally, now what are the best gaming earbuds to go with it?
![PC cases from Corsair and NZXT](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/wEJkzQRis9DQFiUhu8357K-320-80.jpg)
The best PC cases in 2024
By Dave James last updated
Best Case You'll want the best PC case if you're building your perfect gaming PC.
![PNY RTX 4070 Super XLR8 graphics card](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Hr6ZB3bgbQDRgbzxgBGabU-320-80.jpg)
PNY RTX 4070 Super XLR8 review
By Dave James published
OC? A quality GPU but more proof, if any more were needed, of the irrelevance of factory overclocked graphics cards.
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