Maximum PC is the magazine that every computer geek, PC gamer, or content creator should read every month. Get Maximum PC digital magazine subscription today for punishing product reviews, thorough how-to articles, and the illuminating technical news and information that PC power users crave. Maximum PC covers every single topic that requires a lightning-fast PC, from video editing and music creation to PC gaming; we write about it all with unbounded enthusiasm for our collective hobby.
Maximum PC
GAMER’S DELIGHT
Intel’s Raptor refresh • New world’s fastest desktop processor. Possibly…
AFFORDABLE MACBOOK?
GOODBYE THIRD-PARTY PRINTER DRIVERS
Tech Triumphs and Tragedies • A monthly snapshot of what’s good and bad in tech
AMD’S V-CACHE CPU GOES MOBILE • New Asus ROG is a monster
UNITY TO CHARGE FOR INSTALLATIONS • New plan derided by developers
14th Gen mobos
Hidden-cable cards
20Gb/s from Thunderbolt 5
Samsung GDDR7 Heads for 32Gbps • DRAM IS AT THE HEART of many computing devices. Whether it’s DDR4 and DDR5 in PCs, HBM2 and HBM3 in GPUs, or GDDR6 and GDDR6X in graphics cards, a lot of the building blocks remain the same. It’s the signaling that get upgraded, and now GDDR7 is on its way, with Samsung modules in production and Micron’s alternatives to arrive in 2024.
THE BEST GAMING MONITORS
Why does GPU pricing have to be so infuriating? • I NOTED A WHILE BACK that prices of pretty much everything had normalized with the pandemic receding and other supply chain abnormalities subsiding. The one exception were GPUs. Several months later, while graphics cards are cheaper, they still haven’t returned to historical trends. But what’s even more frustrating is that pricing just doesn’t make sense.
DOCTOR • THIS MONTH THE DOCTOR TACKLES…
BEST VALUE GAMING PC • The best new mid-range AMD system?
AMD BUDGET GAMING RIG
THE AMD 7800 RIG THE MOST BANG -FOR-BUCK QHD MACHINE OF 2023?
AMD AI TOOLS GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR RYZEN AND RADEON RX GEAR
UPGRADING YOUR STEAM DECK STORAGE • 2TB and 1TB M.2 2230 SSDs are readily available, and Jarred Walton shows you how to do it
VALVE’S EXPENSIVE STORAGE OPTIONS
BATTERY LIFE
DON’T FILL IT UP
LINUX & PROTON
PREMIUM DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION • PLUS receive a digital copy of these three special guides, and 100+ back issues
ARM VERSUS X86 THE END OF AN ERA • Is it a case of when—not if—Arm chips replace x86 CPUs in our PCs? Jeremy Laird investigates, and wonders whether the very question is outdated in an age of AI and heterogeneous and opensource computing
RISC VERSUS CISC • WHAT’S IN AN INSTRUCTION SET?
DO CPU CORES STILL MATTER? • WHY HETEROGENEOUS COMPUTING SOMETIMES MAKES CPU POWER IRRELEVANT
TAKING A BIG RISC-V • MAYBE THIS ISN’T ABOUT ARM VERSUS X86 AFTER ALL
GAME OVER FOR GAMING PCs? • If you’re looking for the ultimate gaming experience, does it still make sense to invest heavily in hardware? We look at the alternatives
CLOUD GAMING
CONSOLES
CHROMEBOOKS
NON-GAMING LAPTOPS
GAMING LAPTOPS
GAMING PCS
MINI PCS
GREEN PCs MISSION IMPOSSIBLE? • The world’s biggest PC maker says it can achieve net-zero by 2050. Barry Collins visits Lenovo’s US headquarters to get his hands on plant-based PCs, bamboo packaging, and vegan leather covers
SERVERS THAT HEAT A SWIMMING POOL
HOW TO • STEP-BY-STEP GUIDES TO IMPROVING YOUR PC
Record your family history with Gramps • YOU’LL NEED THIS
NAVIGATING GRAMPS
PROVE YOUR CLAIMS
TAKE GRAMPS FURTHER
Master three great Thunderbird add-ons • YOU’LL NEED THIS
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