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
![Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE19000 Wi-Fi 7 router on a display stand](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/bDrgbcRjQ9SHPRscE9yp98-320-80.jpg)
Asus has ROG-ified its monstrous BE19000 Wi-Fi 7 router to be more Thargoid than ever before
By Nick Evanson published
news Ludicrous looks and speed, but I still kind of want one, no matter how pricey it is.
![A delidded AMD Ryzen 9000 series processor held in a hand, showing the two CCD and one IOD chiplets](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zu72JJXmoXDK29xyhrkFqh-320-80.jpg)
We've got our hands on AMD Strix Point and Granite Ridge, and they're both so pretty
By Nick Evanson published
news Has silicon ever looked so silky and sweet?
![Photo showing AMD CEO, Dr Lisa Su, holding a Ryzen 9 9950X at the Computex 2024 announcement event](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/W3aGUiyQHnbDkxg7R6casS-320-80.jpg)
Are 16 cores in the new Ryzen 9950X sufficient for gaming? 'There's no physical reason we couldn't do more than 16 cores,' says AMD
By Nick Evanson published
news Hardware's not the barrier, it's all about software and having enough customers.
![AMD Zen 4 AM5 socket photograph](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/z4FcLUghB6rnmVvwFKmVBm-320-80.jpg)
AMD promises AM5 socket life support through to 2027 and beyond
By Nick Evanson published
news It's got some way to beat the AM4 socket, which is still getting new chips, even now.
![Image of a Ryzen 9000 series processor with the heat spreader removed, against a red background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2sFaGJpSpCBMn3GrKWwGJb-320-80.jpg)
Peeking under the hood of AMD's Zen 5: Here's what has been changed and improved in the new CPU architecture
By Nick Evanson published
news Deceptively small updates to the CPU architecture combine to give the new processors a 16% bigger punch on average
![Promotional image of an AMD Ryzen 9000 series processor](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/TgPr2guS4j5nsqtiEcjMBV-320-80.jpg)
AMD announces Zen 5 and the Ryzen 9000 series, with a 16% IPC uplift shipping in July
By Nick Evanson published
news League of Legends fans and Blender users could see over 20% more performance, compared to Zen 4
![A screenshot of the Steel Nomad graphics test in 3DMark](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/dTjm9NGzR3noyisgE3BMLo-320-80.jpg)
Today's GPUs are supremely capable and graphics in the latest games are utterly spectacular, so why do I not get the same wow factor that I got 26 years ago?
By Nick Evanson published
New World Blues It's no Brave New World for me but that doesn't mean it isn't for new travellers.
![A photo of the Computex Best Choice Award stand, showing the title against a background of lights and sheet metal roofing, in Taiwan](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/dRbquog2TNWTDi6wtbFk8A-320-80.jpg)
Super exclusive graphics cards, motion capture suits, and glasses for digital nomads are all winners in the 2024 Computex Best Choice Awards
By Nick Evanson published
news Given that AI was a big theme this year, there are surprisingly few AI-related items, which is a refreshing change.
![A photo of a material science researcher holding a piece of AlScN-based flash memory in tweezers, with the person out of focus in the background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/gnHxpssHKRzdy9CVM4LYJX-320-80.jpg)
Researchers have developed a type of flash memory storage that can withstand temperatures higher than the surface of Venus
By Nick Evanson published
news No gaming applications as such, but it could lead to tougher SSDs in your PC.
![A screenshot from a DIY Perks video showing the host standing behind a large desk, with a built-in ultrawide monitor, keyboard, and mouse](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/F6D6txMczZ5e9eWDhugnk7-320-80.jpg)
Invisible PC projects are ten a penny but this one is so good, I want all my rigs to be like this
By Nick Evanson published
news As with all great ideas, there are a few hiccups along the way, but the result is well worth it all.
![A rendering showing the early plans for two new Intel processor factories in Magdeburg, Germany.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ngwrwKikgC3KMse7zHZDTU-320-80.jpg)
Neolithic burial sites and now too much of the wrong soil type, Intel's new foundry in Germany isn't getting finished any time soon
By Nick Evanson published
news Chip fabrication plants aren't quick to build but Intel was surely hoping it would be well under way by now.
![A close-up of a IT engineer / technician insert a backup tape in a backup robot in a rack.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Vnnx8tk8j9A3onMsCVasPX-320-80.jpg)
Despite being older than the PC, magnetic tape storage is far from dead, in fact it's growing with 153,000,000 terabytes of the fragile stuff shipped in 2023
By Nick Evanson published
news Though it's still less than the amount of HDD storage shipped in just three months.
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/RUWaKG3F9qRw7gFMgqDxoU-320-80.jpg)
Windows 11's new 'AI' Recall feature has been cracked to work without a fancy new NPU
By Nick Evanson published
news If seven TOPs of AI power are enough for Recall, what's the point of an NPU?
![A screenshot of Windows 95, with WordPad running on the desktop](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ekAKxszBeMtPgfyfSmMBoE-320-80.jpg)
This year's 24H2 Windows 11 update will wave goodbye to Cortana, WordPad, Steps Recorder, and more
By Nick Evanson published
news I'm off to write F in WordPad and save it in a rich text file for posterity
![Zotac RTX 4080 Super Amp Extreme Airo](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/nyfyTC7GG7X7ze756yEmYP-320-80.jpg)
Gaming PCs and components look set to jump in price in the US as import tariff exclusions come to an end
By Nick Evanson published
news Certain graphics cards, motherboards, and even PC cases could rise by as much as 25% in price.
![Images of the Warhammer 40k Titan Evo Ultramarine edition gaming chair, a collaboration between Games Workshop and Secretlab](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EHUMeVUdrBezT5uoJYQ4VN-320-80.jpg)
Secretlab is asking the question: Can you be a true Warhammer 40k fan if you don't have a purity seal on your gaming chair?
By Nick Evanson published
news Secretlab has just the thing to showcase your faith to the Emporer.
![Macro view of the group of computer PC DRAM memory modules circuit board PCB with selective focus effect](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5fqsVcETkLSUGyWAmSThCP-320-80.jpg)
DDR6 looks set to double data speeds over DDR5, with DDR6-21000 being the ultimate target
By Nick Evanson published
news Development is still ongoing so don't expect to see it any time soon, though.
![Machdyne Blaustahl USB 8kB FRAM storage device](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zfbQJperQywoikFBcQv4ya-320-80.jpg)
A USB stick that will hold your precious data for 200 years, what's the catch? Er... it only holds 8kB
By Nick Evanson published
news Your login details for Steam can now live longer than you. And probably longer than Valve.
![A promotional image showing several laptops resting on furniture, as part of Microsoft's Copilot+ AI PC ecosystem](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/stCTxhdVpJPB7dcKTSPk-320-80.jpg)
Microsoft's auto AI upscaler will only be available on Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ AI PCs to begin with
By Nick Evanson published
news And narrowing down its scope even further, it'll only work on a very small number of games.
![A screenshot from Ghost of Tsushima, showing a wide landscape, full of trees and hills, with the setting sun casting a red hue across the view](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/DqaFtiMw7rLouRUCU4URTS-320-80.jpg)
Ghost of Tsushima PC performance analysis: Your CPU will be fine, your GPU will whine, but there are settings for every gamer out there
By Nick Evanson published
Ghosting Your GPU Unless you happen to own an Intel Arc graphics card. You're out of luck, I'm afraid.
![HDMI and DisplayPort cables](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PqSg4zcvwgNsk9CEXULdbW-320-80.jpg)
The messy DisplayPort 2.1 specs mean you could be limited to a monitor cable too short to be of any use if you want to hit 4K at 240 Hz
By Nick Evanson published
news The devil is in the details, as the saying goes, but also in the wiring in this case.
![Zen 4c](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/igX3gahVQAKHPDCcQrMK9U-320-80.jpeg)
AMD Zen 6 could deliver a full 32-core chiplet, with Zen 5c reportedly set to offer its own 16-core CCX
By Nick Evanson published
news Server-market EPYC models will see the most cores, but desktop Ryzens could get a bump too.
![XDefiant promo art - three XDefiant soldiers and an XDefiant robot dog charging at an enemy](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/e4bN9fqgQQZcbrScDxEmLC-320-80.jpg)
Ubisoft's XDefiant system requirements are so low that even a manky old potato will run the game
By Nick Evanson published
news Po-tay-toes. Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a GPU.
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