Articles by Jackie Thomas

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN. Previously, she was TechRadar's US computing editor. She is fat, queer and extremely online. Computers are the devil, but she just happens to be a satanist. If you need to know anything about computing components, PC gaming or the best laptop on the market, don't be afraid to drop her a line on Twitter or through email.

Articles by: Jackie Thomas

How to build a cheap gaming PC that doesn't suck

By Jackie Thomas published 8 November 21

Updated If you want to try PC gaming but don't want to sell a kidney, we can help you build a cheap gaming PC that doesn't suck.

Lab Notes: Intel Core i9-12900K reviews are here, but what about TechRadar?

By Jackie Thomas published 4 November 21

Intel Core i9-12900K reviews have arrived, but we've run into a lot of problems that have stopped us from publishing a review right on time.

Intel Alder Lake is here and it feels like Team Blue is back

By Jackie Thomas published 27 October 21

Intel has finally announced its Alder Lake-S platform, and it's looking like the best thing the company has put out in years.

Microsoft Surface Duo 2 review

By Jackie Thomas published 25 October 21

The Surface Duo 2 is Microsoft’s follow-up to its original dual-screen device. This time, with a much-improved camera and a faster chipset.

So it turns out the MacBook Pro's M1 Max isn't a gaming chip, does it matter?

By Jackie Thomas published 25 October 21

Now that performance information about the M1 Pro has been appearing, it seems that it falls short of dedicated GPUs in gaming workloads.

How to build a PC

By Jackie Thomas published 22 October 21

Updated Before you the plunge into the world’s most adult form of expensive lego, we'll show you how to build a PC the right way

The Apple M1 Max means you don't need a gaming laptop for video editing anymore

By Jackie Thomas last updated 20 October 21

Analysis The Apple M1 Max is going to be excellent news for anyone that doesn't want to carry a garish gaming laptop everywhere they go

The Apple M1 Max looks incredible, but don't count Intel out yet

By Jackie Thomas published 19 October 21

Intel Alder Lake H-series specs have leaked through Ashes of the Singularity, and it's looking promising, even in the face of the Apple M1 Max.

Apple M1 Pro and M1 Max - everything we know about the new Apple chips

By Jackie Thomas last updated 19 October 21

Apple's next-gen silicon, the Apple MX chip, is on its way. Here's what we know.

AMD Radeon RX 6600 on top of a laptop, next to a skull and a Sylveon plush

AMD Radeon RX 6600 review

By Jackie Thomas published 13 October 21

Recommended

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is the first budget-level graphics card we’ve seen in two years, in the midst of one of the biggest GPU shortages in history. But how does it hold up?

Gigabyte Aorus inflatable chair on a gray and white background

This is it, the worst gaming chair I've ever seen

By Jackie Thomas published 7 October 21

OPINION Gigabyte previewed a new gaming chair on its German Twitter account, and it's the worst thing I've ever seen.

A woman thinking about Windows 11 appearing in a thought bubble

You might want to wait to install Windows 11 on your gaming PC

By Jackie Thomas published 6 October 21

Two security features on Windows 11 can significantly hamper gaming performance, and given that Windows 11 doesn't add much for gamers right now, it's probably good to wait a while.

Surface Laptop Studio on a blue table, next to a cup of coffee, on a street in New York

Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio review

By Jackie Thomas last updated 5 October 21

The Surface Laptop Studio is an all-new design from Microsoft, bringing a lot of what made the Surface Book so iconic to a brand new and unique form factor that artists are going to love.

Windows 11 is available to download now, even though it comes out tomorrow

By Jackie Thomas published 4 October 21

Windows 11 has arrived earlier than its October 5 release date

Intel Core i9-12900K price leak suggests Alder Lake launch is around the corner

By Jackie Thomas last updated 4 October 21

Prices for Intel's next lineup of processors have leaked online, could this mean that they're coming soon?

Microsoft Store is finally allowing third party stores like Amazon and Epic Games Store

By Jackie Thomas published 28 September 21

Microsoft has announced that all manner of third party software and storefronts are coming to the Microsoft storefront, and that's awesome.

The biggest Intel Alder Lake leak suggests Core i9-12900K is coming November 4

By Jackie Thomas published 27 September 21

MSI just announced specifications for a new cooler mount that accidentally revealed when the new Intel processors will be dropping. And, it's pretty soon.

Quake 2 experiment brings ray tracing to aging graphics cards

By Jackie Thomas published 23 September 21

A new Linux Mesa driver has appeared online, enabling ray tracing support in Quake 2 on older AMD GPUs through software emulation. But performance will probably be pretty awful.

Surface Book 3 review

By Jackie Thomas published 22 September 21

Updated The Surface Book 3 is the long-awaited next installment in the Surface Book lineup, with speedy 10th-gen Intel processors and Nvidia Turing graphics.