Maximum PC

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

DELIVERING THE INTEL

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D sells out instantly • The latest chip excels, then flies off the shelves

NVIDIA UPGRADES (AND DOWNGRADES) GEFORCE NOW • MID-TIER RES BOOSTED, BUT PLAYTIME CAPPED

INTEL’S BATTLEMAGE GPUS: DECEMBER DEBUT? • Launch could shake up budget GPU market

Tech Triumphs and Tragedies • A monthly snapshot of what’s good and bad in tech

GOOGLE LEAKS PREVIEW OF JARVIS AI • The new assistant can take control of Chrome

APPLE UNVEILS MAC MINI M4 • The new Mac Mini lineup offers considerable performance improvements

Valorant has best anti-cheating system

Microsoft brings AI rewriting tool to Notepad

Starcraft Games Added to PC Game Pass

CPU Gaming Showdown: 9800X3D vs Core 9 285K • THE PAST MONTH has been both exciting and underwhelming. Intel had a lot riding on Arrow Lake—check our reviews on pages 74 and 76. The third iteration of Intel’s desktop CPU architecture, it got an upgrade from the Intel 7 process node used with Raptor Lake to TSMC’s N3B. AMD replied with the 3D V-Cache enabled 9800X3D, based on the Zen 5 architecture.

THE LIST • THE BEST MINI PCS

Can Nvidia make Arm chips work for gaming? • THE LATEST WHISPERS claim that Nvidia will put a new SoC into production in September 2025, and that it will be aimed at ‘high-end’ PCs. Of course, games are the one thing that Arm chips still struggle with. But if anyone can crack that conundrum, it’s Nvidia, right?

DOCTOR • THIS MONTH THE DOCTOR TACKLES…

LEAN GREEN FPS MACHINE • Intel’s Ultra series has arrived. Is it any good?

WHY WE ALWAYS PICK TWO SSDs

THE GREEN DEVIL

POLYGONS ALL THE WAY DOWN

INTEL’S LATEST GENERATION

GEAR of the YEAR • We bestowed a record number of products our “Kick Ass” award in 2024. Welcome to our guide of the best tech of the year

magazinesdirect.com

PREMIUM DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION

INTEGRATED GRAPICS SHOOTOUT • Intel Lunar Lake takes on AMD Strix point for mobile supremacy

MSI Titan 18 HX

A BRIEF HISTORY OF RAY TRACING • Nate Drake discovers how ray tracing was implemented in computer graphics and revolutionized art, movies, and video games

SUBSCRIBE TODAY

HOW TO • STEP-BY-STEP GUIDES TO IMPROVING YOUR PC

Meta Quest 3S

Remove bloatware from Windows

Play Windows games on Linux

Use Windows Mobile Hotspot

Turn your phone into a wireless webcam

The death of balance • Social media has killed the internet

Editor’s Pick: Sony INZONE M10S • Does this represent value for money?

Intel Core Ultra 9 285K • Designed by Intel, made by TSMC, a match made in heaven?

Intel Core Ultra 5 245K • Can Intel compete in the budget CPU battle?

Asus ROG Maximus Z890 Hero • All the ports for all the money

HP Omen 17 • When getting the job done isn’t good enough…

Netgear Nighthawk RS300 • High-speed Wi-Fi 7 at a competitive price

Acer Swift 14 AI • A true battery life king

Bag a software bargain • Don’t pay full price for software when we can offer you huge reductions on everything from security software to Windows 11 Pro

Razer Kraken V4 Pro •...