Designed for the rabid PC hobbyist, Maximum PC brings tons of news and reviews written in an irreverent, edgy style. Full disclosure is the modus operandi here, and there's an almost overwhelming amount of tech specs and features for each product that's discussed, tweaked, stretched, shaken, and stirred. Whether you want to upgrade your CPU or compare the newest motherboards and graphics cards, Maximum PC is a great resource for all your PC computing needs. --Michael Lewis


This is without a doubt my favorite computer-related magazine. While many of the well-known players in this field (especially the ones with "PC" in their name) have dedicated increasing portions of their magazines to business-related topics, Maximum PC has stayed true to the cause of helping the individual home enthusiast or expert get the most from his machine. If you want to read about B2B apps, corporate firewalls, or XML, look elsewhere, but if you want comprehensive reviews of the latest hardware and software written for people who don't need a tutorial to rename a file on their PC or insert a chart into an Excel file, look no further.

If you're the sort of person who builds his own machine or is thinking of doing so, Maximum PC will likely prove itself useful to you. Likewise for those planning to do their own hardware upgrades. And if you're like me and just like to stay aware of and knowledgeable about current products and technologies then this is still an excellent and informative read.

To be fair, there are a few features that may be displeasing to some readers. The writing is occasionally glib with a tendency towards sophomoric humor. There's also a fair amount of focus on gaming, particularly 3D gaming technology. And the overriding theme of much of the magazine is maximizing the speed, power, and coolness of your machine. To me these aren't negative qualities, but this may not be of interest to some users.

All in all this is still my favorite magazine and the one I most look forward to receiving each month. I have no plans to end my subscription.